Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-30

of the overhanging trees, and yet without
seeing a single canoe or trace of human hab-
itation. On every side extended the silent,
illimitable forest, haunted by elephants and
bufaloes we knew, for the banks, which
rose from the water here, bore frequent
traces of the passage across the stream Of
these huge brutes, and the lurking places.
we suspected, of Lufembi savages, if even
these wild people cohld make their homes
in its impenetrable depths.
THE HEART OF A CONTINENT.
Climbing tree one day which stood on a
bluff whose river face was clothed in a cling
ing mass of lerns and creepers, 1 looked in
land and away up river. Everywhere
spread broad, boundless expanse of trees
wave of thick forest extending from my
feet to the furthest limits OF the horizon.
There was no change in any direction
overhead The clear sky and the bright sun
light, underneath and all around level with
the SKY line-the dark forest and its still
impenetra0le wall of foliage. l could not
help feeling that this was indeed the heart
of Africa; that here, far from the outer
world, throbbed the pulses of hidden con-
tinent. What strange life might not lie
concealed in those silent woodland depths?
Whence came this mysterious river, yelling
silently up from the dim, swampy recesSes
of the surrounding Torest-through which,
for ages and ages, the elephant had roamed
and savage man through countless genera
tions OF barbarians had pursued the same
daily, monthly, yearly round of bIoodshed
and misery, laughter and death-cannioal
feasts and parental JOY when another little
savage had opened his baby eyes on the
theater of life, whose strange scenes and
stranger characters were to develop before
l.. laI,s Al, - 1.
which the genius of Africa has raised around
her inmost shrine.
Several days were passed trayersing the
dreary solitudes, without coming in contact
with single human being. And each day
our supply OF food grew less, without anv
means of replenishing it.
VOICE FROM THE TREES.
On the fourth day we were surprised to
hear voice coming from the trees, and TO
listen to a native shout. We sent our
canoe, and brought him on board the Flor
ida; but this was not done without diff
Guilty, for our men had sharp chase before
he was finally caught. He was yery. sui
len fellow, and our interpreter had some
trouble in coaxing him to speak at all. We
were not very far from a village, he told us.
AT his request a drum was handed him, and
he beat signal to his village. We heard
the answering signal. He told us.
too, that they would know that it
meant strangers were here, and that we
should soon see plenty of his people.
In the morning a number of strange-look-
ing men came down toward US in canoes,
bringing fuel and presents. We soon made
friends. We learned that their village was
three or four miles off. These people were
Balolo, and had the same peculiar tribal
marks 1 have already mentioned [ went
over to their village, a wretchedly poor
place, with absolutely nothing to trade and
only one poor tusk of ivory in the whole
village. Leaving the poverty-stricken set
tlement behind US, we started up stream
again with the utmost care, for we soon dis
covered that there was succession of sharp
turns and no end of snags Immediately
ahead. In avoiding these we were con-
stantly running into the banks, for just at
this point the stream is narrower and more
rapid than at any other.
SIGNS OF LIFE AGAIN.
Toward evening we came to traces of an
encampment on the left bank of the river,
where the Lufenbi, the dreaded tribe OF
cannibals, were said to be. These were the
first signs of houses we had seen in four
days; for the last three davs had been spent
in lodging the snags of the river and avoid
ing disaster to the Florida. There were no
signs of lie about the encampment, SO we
stopped and sounded shrill blast from the
steamwhistle; but there was no response
save the echoes which seemed to repeat
themselves indefinitely before dying out on
the wooded shores. We pushed on for a
mile or more, and then we observed fires on
shore and two men standing near the edge
of the bank. As the Florida drew near one
of the men ran off with the speed of a deer,
and the other, almost equally alarmed by
our sudden appearance, darted in behind
the trees and regarded us from that point
OF vantage. Several of our men jumped on
shore and tried by persuasion to coax him