New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-11-30
NOT DARKEST AFRICA.
CIVILIZATION MAKING SOME PROGRESS
HERE AND THERE

London, November IL.
While the world is shuddering at the revealed
atrocities of civilization in the Congo Valley, 1t
is some poor consolation to know that there are
other parts of Africa in which the European
invaders have not been altogether curse. Sub
stantal progress appears to be making In East
Africa in the direction Of opening up the country
to trade pacifying the warning tribes, and miti-
eating the evils Of slavery. Especially is this
true in the territories along the Shife and around
Lake Nyassa, where many heroic British mission
aries have been long unselfshly laboring The
opening Of the Zambesi to commerce, in spite Of
Portuguese obstreoerousness, was most important
gain, and the system of river steamers and land
carriage which has been organized on the Fam
bes Shire Lake Nyassa and Stevenson Road now
gives quick, safe and easy access to the very
heart OF Africa. The most trying work now Is
to undo the mischief that the Portuguese have
done, so far as possible. IL never can be all un-
done. The Portuguese have so systematically de-
graded and debauched the natives wherever they
have come into contact with them that an in
efaceable brand Of evil now rests upon the whole
region. II was the Portuguese who taught the
natives how to make intoxicating drinks. AS a
result Of that pious instruction the inhabitants
of Nyassalapd and the Shire Highlands are now
almost universally drunkards There is a per-
petual orsie of intoxication there, from home
made grog, which is rapidly destroying the bodies
as well as the souls Of the natives. Murders are
OF almost hourly occurrence and wars between
tribes never cease, all caused by drunkenness
And all this in spite Of the fact that no liquors
have been imported into that country for years
Perhaps it seems unfortunate to mention this re-
glOn as one where the advent of Europeans has
been blessing; yet so it is, despite the mischief
M mis-
aries have done great and noble work there.
And now British commercial and political agents
are carrying law and order and industry forward
with rapid strides A year and half ago the
well-known explorer and writer, Mr.. H. H. John
ston, British Consul at Mozambique, was sent up
to Nyassaland to make peace, if possible. between
the Swahili Arabs and other tribes that were then
waging destructive warfare In this mission
he was successful; and he performed much other
work and made many observations that gave to
his expedition more than ordinary interest
Mr.. Johnston describes the country through
which the Upper Shire passes as a very desirable
land, broad, slightly undulating plain, mag
nifcently fertile and well-watered, land emf
nently suited for the growth of coffee, cotton,
sugar cane, tobacco, and other tropical produce.
The inhabtants are, however, almost hopelessly
degraded through strong drink still finer
Here there no fewer than nine perennial rivers,
some of them Of considerable volume which de-
scend from the lofty mountain ranges of Bunta
Wukukwe and Ukinga, and enter the lake between
Karonga and Parumbira Bay the moisture which
percolates from them through the soil giving the
konde plain appearance of perpetual spring.
The land at the north end Of the lake is verit-
able African Arcadia. You may walk for miles and
miles through banana plantations then you may
emerge understanding fields of maize and
millet and cassava All the oozy water meadows
planted with rice but, above all, the great
wealth of the country is in CATTLE which, elsewhere
by common in Nyassaland, thrive re-
markedly in the konde district, and consequently
milk and beef are cheap and abundant. The in
habitants of this happy land are q contented,
Neutrality-suspicious. folk, who knew no trouble
until the Arabs sought to subdue them few years
ago.
Another beautiful region is the Mambwe
country, toward the southern end Of Lake
Tanganyika. just before going thither MIR.
Johnston met French explorer, Captain Trivier,
who had been travelling there. Captain Trivier
was deeply impressed with the manner in which
the Mambwe natives had become Britannicized BY
contact with the missionaries Wherever he went
through those lands the natives invariably greeted
inally learnt from the missionaries, but which
has now come into common use among many OF the
people who have not yet seen white man. Still,
however we'll they behaved toward Mr.. Johnston,
these A-mambwe are exceedingly cruel to one
another. and their fair country blessed with such
q perfect climate and such perfect soil, is ravaged
and laid waste by civil war. One Of the leading
chiefs of the Mambwe country, named Kera, had
heard of Mr. Johnston's travelling and treaty
making in the land, and determined to give him
reception which should at once impress him with
his maEnifcence and power. So he killed twelve
people, and stuck their heads on posts planted in
regular order, in such way that they formed
kind of avenue leading up to the chief entrance
to his town.
Further north. in East Africa, the work Of CIV
ilizaton is being pushed vigorously by the I'M
peral British East Africa Company. The ter
ritores of this gigantic concern comprise about
600. 900 square miles, with more than Il 90 miles
of coast line Mr.. George S. Mackenzie, who has
been the chief administrator of affairs there, gives
q most hopeful and gratifying account of whap
has been done and is now going forward. With
in the first twelve months of its existence he says,
the company, with the of peaceful means
alone, was able to assure the absolute freedom OF
all the slaves who had run away from their
masters but were still resident within the sphere
of the company's operations, the number exceed
inc an estimated total of over 1000 souls. The
naval cruisers capture and free on an average
only 100 slaves per annum system was estao-
shed whereby slaves DESTROYS of liberation were
empowered to purchase emancipation, but al
though, in order to assist these runaways, the
company offered to provide them with work and
pay the ordinary rate of wages in preference TO
mnloyino other labor scarcely $50 voluntarily
came forward to avail themselves Of the privilege
to secure their freedom, which they could GER
tainly have done within n period of six months
Such was the apathy of the enslaved in respect
to their future. Mr. Mackenzie thinks 1t waste
of time and money to maintain fleet on the
coast to capture slave-ships. The proper plan Is
to suppress save-hunting in the interior and that
is to be done by building roads and opening up
the country Ii q portion only of the enormous