The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-17
WORN BY THE WATER
WONDERFUL CAVES DISCOVERED IN
EASTERN AFRICA.

Hardy Explorers Bound for Lake Rudolph
Encounter on Their Way Some Curious
Characters and Customs Among the
Abyssinians During Their SOjourn
They Discover an Amazing Tunnel
Bored Entirely Through the Base OF q
Mountain by a River Beautiful Rock
Forms Due to Erosion.
(Copyrighted 1895 by the Associated Press)
New York Feb. 16.-The Associated
Press has received the following letter
from Dr. A. Donaldson Smith, of Phil
adelphia, in which news of the Lake
Rudolph, eastern Africa, expedition Is
given UP to Dec. IA, 1894. The letter is
dated from the Shebeyeli river near
Somoliland. He relates the details OF
his encounter with Dodjas Wada Cub
bra, an Abyssian ruler. who had ex-
terminated or enslayed the native Gal
las and who prevented DR.. Smith and
his party from proceeding. The doctor
writes:
''Da Gubbra proved himself to be
one of the funniest and wittiest old
men imaginable His wife and daugh-
ter and principal female slaves had
their eyebrows removed and large
crescents tattooed in blue ink over their
eyes. They do not cook their meat but
eat it Immediately the animal is killed.
They always conceal their faces when
eating or drinking and the sight of
lot of AbySSianS squatted about dead
bullock with their cloakS thrown COM
pletely over their heads is very anus
ing. They have many curious customs.
Such thing as morality is unknown
among them. They seem to delight IN
cruelty treating their slaves. l have
frequently seen young girls kicked and
beaten for quite trifling offenses-
I'VE made rich discovery on our
way south. / had heard of river that
ran under a mountain where the great
God of the Calais, Waco, had carved
place for himself AS we were not far
from it Mr.. Gillett and / made an eX-
cuse that we wished TO shoot elephants
which abounded there. We made a
hard push and to our surprise and de-
light discovered the most beautiful sub
terranean passage it would be possible
TO imagine. a large tributary of the
river Juba had carved way for itself
under a mountain a mile in length. On
the other side of the stream were great
vaulted chambers from twenty-five to
$50 feet high and supported on massive
columns. The columns were most
many would form long arched pass
ages. The mountain was followed out
a great distance On the other side Of
the stream. l have named them the
caves of Wyndlawn.
THE greater part Of our journey has
oeen through the richest country
from an agricultural point Of view |
have ever seen and the climate would
suit an European farmer exactly.
There are signs Of much previous Guilt
vation, but little land is cultivated at
present. The owners have been killed
off, as is evident by the human skele-
tons lying about. For every village
hat is inhabited there are at least six
hat are without owners. All about
.hese villages there are large areas
hat were highly cultivated five years
ago, and even more recently, before
he Abyssinans grabbed the land and
SLAUGHTERED the natives. We have
ong journey before us and it will prob
IDLY be several months before we
each Lake Rudolph.
(Signed) "a. Donaldson Smith