Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1891-07-24
ABSOLUTELY PURE
FRENCH AFRICAN EXPEDITION


Sent Out 30 Quietly that It Was Unheard
OF for Weeks.
The French very quietly have sent q
new expedition to Africa, and no one
outside the promoters Of tho enter
prize heard anything ABOUT i assil i.
was far under way, says the New York
Sun. In December last the committee
on French Africa was formed in Paris
for the purpose Of promoting explora.
tion and French trade in the interior Of
Africa In . month afkak ite orgsnizA-
tion it had perfected its plans and the
leaders 'of the expedition were on
their way to Africa to carry out the
projects of the committee.
The Sun already has reported the
fact that Paul Crampel nearly year
ago assembled the Mobangi tributary OF
the Congo with large expedition fol
the purpose of reaching the most north.
ern part OF it's course and then pushing
northwest over 700 miles through the
unexplored territory between the Mo.
bangi and Lake Tchad. In the
opinion of the committee on French
Africa the work OF Crampel would be
robbed of half its value unless q second
large expedition was sent to establish
posts among the tribes with whom he
may now be making treaties. and to
provide for the establishment OF
French enterprise in the countries he il
traversing. His expedition, from
which nothing has been heard TO
months, is supposed to be far on its way
to the lake. and if he has been favored
by fortune he has placed many tribes in
the unknown country in the basin OF
the Shari, and on the outskirts of Bag
irmi, under the protection of France.
The new expedition which the commit.
tee planned was organized to take out
larger quantity of trade goods and
other material than Crampel carried on
his journey, and to make permanent
establishments along his route.
The expedition was placed under
charge of Jean Dybowski with whom
four other white men we're associated.
The party went directly to Senegal,
where forty-two lsptots, or soldiers, in
Frances native army in Seneegamba
were enlisted. They are armed with
repeating rifles. The party, with q
great quantity Of supplies, then sailed
south, and they should have arrived at
Loango, q little north of the Congo,
about ten days ago. At that point they
expected to hire large number of car
riers and make the journey overland to
Stonley Pool, where they will embark
on French vessels and steam up the
Congo and the Mobango to Crampers
furthest camping place on that river.
The expedition has been instructed in
no case to use firearms against the ma
tives except as q last resort, to take
nothing forcibly from them. and to pay
them . Just price in merchandise for
everything received. Unlike most Of
the expenditions to which the natives Of
interior Africa have thus far been &C.
customed. the commercial element will
be . very prominent feature of this en-
terprise, and the presence of merchants
in the party who will buy whatever can
profitably be shipped down the Mo-
bangi will accentuate the pacific char
acter Of the enterprise. 1t is expected,
also, that the scientific men connected
with the party will render considerable
service to science in the great unknown
region. In this way the committee on
French Africa hope to extend the in
Auence of France from the Congo to
Tchad.
1t is particularly noteworthy that at
this time the French have two expedi-
tions now pushing eastward to Lake
Tchad from the upper and the lower
Niger, and that they hope soon to send
expeditions across the Sahara to the
same goal. Before many years they
fully expect that Algeria will be con-
nected with Lake Tchad iy rail. This
famous fresh water sea is. therefore, the
point toward which French enterprises
in Algeria and Tunis, thelSoudan and
the Congo are converging, and it is the
policy of France to extend its interests
from these various points on three sides
of the lake, until they form junction
upon the banks of Lake Tchad. They
have entered upon this great scheme
with much enthusiasm and they believe
! they will thus link together all the
great territories they control in North
Northwest, and Central Africa.