New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-07-14

part in any enterprise. Shooting and fishing In
Scotland were his most serious occupations as
well as his sport Later ne supervised the building
of short railroad which was intended to shorten
the distance from the upper reaches Of the Dan
ube 10 the Black Sea. 1t was In his travels mere
and there throughout Hungary that he met the
lady who became his second wife and the COM
panion OF his life In the Soudan.
The affection for Africa. and particularly for
the country of the Whit, Nile, began with MIN
very gently. He meditated for years upon plan
OF reaching the sources II the river. After MS
railroad was completed he undertook tour OF
Asia Minor. and II was while he was shooting
bear boars wolves. red-detr and roe-deer IN the
forests Of the Sabanga Mountains that the Afr-
can project completely formed itself In his mind.
For the last few years." ne wrote from Sabanga
to one Of his sisters. my dreams have been Of
Africa; and for some time have cherished a
secret determination to make trip into the
Unknown" His motives at this time appear to
have been mere love OF adventure and the amb-
ton OF shooting big game. But he chose for
tunate moment He was we'll aware that Cap
tains Spoke and Grant travelling from the south
east were exploring the region about Victoria
Lake, with the ultimate intention OF descending
the Nile to Egypt. II he made no discoveries
OF his own ne stood n chance at least OF giving
aid and comfort to those indefatigable travellers
when they should need help most He could
choose his own time and MS own course. subject
only 70 the obstacles which nature. and particu-
Iary human nature In Central Africa. put In
his way. Paying all his expenses himself. he
had not to undergo the pain Of waiting on the
slow movements OF Government or of learned
societies. lie waited only to learn Arabic. and
this he did while making a reconnaissance TO
Berbcr and familiarzing himself with the tricks
Of African travel In Abyssinia. within period
OF fourteen months he explored and mapped all
the chief tributaries OF the Nile. and was able
20 satisfy Sir Roderick Murchison. president OF
the Royal Geographical Society. concerning the
relations Of the Atbara and Blue Nile to the main
stream. The life he led appears 70 have pleased
him. He purchased house In village near
Khartoum. where as he said himself he enjoyed
perfect immunity from all poor rates. tthes'
taxes and other public burdens. not more than
two thousand miles from church. with the ad-
vantage Of a post town at the easy distance Of
seventy leagues 'rhe manor comprised the right
OF shooting throughout the parishes OF Abysslnia
and soudan pieniifuly stocked with elephants.
Hons. rhinoceros CRATES. buraloes. hippopotami.
leopards and a great variety OF antelopes'
He found that the most dangerous animals he
was likely TO meet In the Nile Valley were human
beings From the lrst the slavc-hunters who
made Khartoum their headquarters marked him
ns n SPY They went far NJ 20 threaten his
Iifc in the effort - tter him from his proposed
Journey When they found him determined. they
plotted 10 mlslead him. They melted his men
10 mutiny. and there were times. and that IRE
quently when only his prompt courage and over
whelming physical strength saved him from
disaster. Years af,erward some OF the men who
had been with him compared him with other
explorers When We DID not obey" said they.
he shook US; then our teeth dropped out"
Lady Baker was not Inferior to her husband In
tho coolness with which she faced peril. Bakers
skin as hunter kept the party we'll supplied
with meat. and his abundant resources enabled
him 10 satisfy all demands that were made upon
him.
As lie penetrated further and further Into the
interior he began to cherish the hope that he
nigh, outrun Spoke and Grant and have the
glory Of discovering the sources Of the Nile. This
hope was dispciled by his meeting with them.
But he had the pleasure. almost as great. OF sup
plying their wants and sending them on In COM
for, 10 Egypt. Meanwhile they had told him OK
another lake which contributed 20 the current
Of the Nile and had given him all the Information
which they could collect on the subject. In spite
OF all the obstacles which the slave-traders and
treacherous natives could put In his way. In
spite OF sickness and encouragement he kept
I'D the search until he was rewarded by the sight
81 the great lake to which he gave the name Of
the Albert Nyanza. II was spectacle worth all
IL had cost. Far the eye could reach TO the
southwest and west" he wrote In his notebook,
the boundiess sheet OF water lay like n mirror
while to the northwest II wac bounded by
high range Of mountains: there the lake was not
more than about forty or nfty miles wide. on
all sides where land was visible the lake was
completely shut In by mountains"
The minute intimacy with the affairs OF the
soudan and OF Central Africa made Baker the
recipient Of an extraordinary orer from Isma.
then Khedive OF Egypt special point about
this memoir OF Sir Samuel Baker is the View II
gives In harmony with Bakers own experience
OF Ismairs character. He is not Represented here
ms the despot who figures In many books on
modern Egypt. but az the first ruler who had
enlightened opinions az TO the needs OF his coun-
try. above all as the first Egyptian statesman
who conceived the idea Of doing away with
slavery. The result Of his arrangement with
Baker was that the latter spent four years In
the Soudan. and for the time being almost broke
up the traffic. His work was the beginning OF
struggle which ended with General Gordon's
death AT Khartoum Both men have left on rec
ord a guarded tribute to Ismaii Khedive. They
believed him TO have been actuated with an
honest purpose TO put down the elave trade.
Both agreed that the real responsibility for the
failure to restore order and freedom In the Sou
dan lay with England.
The four years when Baker was Governor
General OF the equatorial provinces OF Egypt
OF failure. He gaiacd a reputation for severity
which he rcpudated. Gordon found harsh meas
ures equally necessary. But Mt the close Of this
episode In his career Baker returned TO England
10 occupy thenceforth private station There are
traces In this memoir Of disappointment on
hIs part at finding that the English Govern
ment gave him 10 opportunity for public service.
hut on the whole he lived a pleasant life. When
he was weary Of his home. he sought recreation