The Irish standard., 1890-08-02
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.

LIN UNhNUWN AZ hlCA.
Binger's Story Of His Journey to
Strange Lands
Regions Where White Man Has Mover Been
Before-Popular Impressions Regard
ing Kong, Her Mountains and
Inhabitants, Arc Erroneous.
The Paris Geographical Society last
month gave its grand medal of gold,
the highest honor it has to bestow, to
Captain Binger, the intrepid explorer,
who has made the most notable Journey
for years in the interior Of Africa, says
che Now York Sun. The public has al
ready been told Of his visit to the
famous city Of Kong, which no white
man ever saw before; of his discovery
that there are no Kong mountains, and
OF his long journey from the Niger
river TO the Gulf of Guinea through
wholly unknown lands. But many in
5eresting details of his journey were
not known until his long address before
the Paris Geographical Society. Some
of the pictures he brought home with
aim have also boon published, ono OF
which, the view OF Kong, is particularly
Interesting because though the world
mad known of the oity for many years,
nobody had any idea how it looked, ex-
cept that it was supposed to be buried
among mountains, which proves to be
very incorrect notion.
Captain Bingor was we'll fitted for the
difficult and dangerous mission he
undertook, for his quality as an African
traveller had already been tested in
Shree previous Journeys to Senegal,
during which he had lived long among
che natives and understood several OF
their languages. He left Bamaku, the
.principal French post on the upper Nj
scr, in the spring of 1887, and his first
mission on his journey through the un-
known to the ivory coast was to attempt
10 make peace between two powerful
negro kings Cloth Of whom had accepted
tho protectorate Of France)-Samory,
the famous Mohammedan prophet, and
Tieba Binger found that Samory was
besieging Sikaso, the chief town of his
enemy. Thither, with his modest little
escort Of ten men in charge of eighteen
well-laden donkeys, the explorer
wounded his way: War with all it's hor-
rors was everywhere manifest.
A'War and famine says Binger,
sehad made vast oharnol house of the
nany provinces in this great region.
The dead were scattered everywhere.
Many villages were deserted. The first
day T entered the stricken region
counted fifteen bodies along tho road.
Later was able to count them by the
hundreds. In every little thicket, in
all the huts of the depopulated villages
1 found the dead, and many a skeleton
was bleaching in the sun. On some
river banks where there was only one
boat to convey the fugitives fleeing
from the enemy the frightened. crowd
had fought for tho possession of the
boat, and the weaker had succumbed
and died on tho bank, too feeble to win
the other shore by swimming across the
deep, swift stream. These rivers gave
mo great deal OF trouble, for had to
unload the donkeys and put our trade
goods in smaller packages, which !
placed in large calabashes that my men
pushed before them as they swan the
rivers.
CATER marching fifteen hours day
for seven days 7 reached Sikaso, the
chief town of King Tieba, a place of
about FIVE thousand inhabitants, sur
rounded by great clay wall fanked by
huge towers that served as bastions
This kind Of fortifcation is CONSIDERS
as impregnable by the blacks. In these
sieges, therefore, the aim Of the in
vesting army is to reduce the town by
famine, or to win the mastery through
the treason of some of the inhabitants
Tieba is an energetic negro, and as fast
as Samory erected wooden Notifications
around the town he drew up redoubts
opposite them outside the walls, and he.
even succeeded in preventing Samory
from completely investing the town. 1t
was therefore difficult to reduce the
place by famine, as it was impossible to
prevent Tieba from bringing in pro-
visions. About once in eight days a
large force Of Tieba's soldiers would
come from the country with a fresh sup
olyof food. He kept in the town only
a sufficient number Of men to defend
}&he place, and the rest of his troops
were engaged in keeping up the supply
of provisions. !. M 81.
Captain Binger's efforts to restore
peace were in vain. SamoryI said he
told the people 81 his CAPT tai when he
left them that he would never return
without the head of Tieba. and he
intended to keep his word. Twelve
ESI,tousand sot his people were scattered
around the. walls of aso,s Of whom
six thousand were sol iers armed with
aintloeks. The otlhe rs we're laborers,
host and MostSof his X cav
horses died .proper and
sEe4acsen not