New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-21
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
AMONG AFRICAN TRIBES.

Eastern ATTIC p g. Honorary Member Of
the Imperial and Royal SsosTapnc1pl n sSS,esy rs
..S enn" nv the Author and Maps. PIP. xiv. go.
Macmillan & Co
The question what it TO be the future OF 'ne Da'N
Continent is forced upon one wnen such wv" 10
this falls from the press. No other continent no,
AVER h.en trayersed so thoroughly In advance OF al,
ATTEMPTS at settlement Nevertheless 10 sur
80 "a ana regions which are new. The author
ro,r,,o.a IN the present was purely scioh'mc'
ana he confesses himself fortunate IN nav'ns Sc
cured the cooperation Of Lieutenant Won hoh"ci VI
the Austro- Huns arian Navy. Togetncr INC t"o
planned a Journey into portion OF hne' Ai'ioa
vb,ch had hitherto remained unexplored by inc
.,.rs~.,or ~ lieutenant Won H6hne this exploration
s,nnlemented and completed that which ne nao pre-
y1ousy accomplished in company with Count ieieN''
AZ that time Lakes Rudolph ana stephahe were
discovered and studied IN detail. Between 'hose
lakes and the Indian Ocean lies VIDE region
which had long been successfully guarded from INC
~ursos,ty Of travellers by its Somali inhabitants IL
1as IN this region and only few miles from the
coast that Baron vanderdecken was killed IN 1901
His fate deferred other adventures until no"
Chanier and Won Hohne have shown that the
country was not impenetrable.
Al fighting was anticipated Mr.. Chonler AZ
tempted to drill his porters in tho use OF the r1ncs
His efforts TO tcach them to shut one eye In taking
aim only resulted IN thcdr closing both eyes 50 they
nred thedr guns with both eyes OPEN After many
days training and the waste OF 1000 ROUNDS OF am
munttion. ne found that few Of them could hit
large packing at distance OF eighty yards. II
they took aim long enough. The Soudanese and
Soman however true 70 their instincts. soon be-
came excellent shots and took great pride in their
use Of the rife. Tho drill was no: without its
value for the men VINO could shoot proved useful
when the caravan attacked by the Wanrzara
tx1besmen. Rifles and ammunition constituted a
noteworthy part of the loads which had to be car
ried by man and beast though there was also
quantity Of goods suitable for trade with the natives
or for presents for tine chiefs and headmen Of the
Tribes besides the provisions necessary for the ex
petition. For the cai,oemen the transportation OF
heavy loads comparatively easy. On land the
march a long, though somewhat Intermittent.
contest with forest and jungle. where the way had to
Re cleared with axes and machetcs. This slow and
laborfous advance enlivened by hunting the rhi-
noceros and various kinds o. deer antelope on the
higher ground. ard the hippopotamus at the river
side. Puff adders and other dangerous scrpents
caused frequent alarms. But what with the game
killed and the rice and mllet traded for with tho
natives, in addition to tho stock carried from The
coast. everybody Jared we'll in the matter OF food
The want of water was the most serious difficulty,
and this at timcs the cause Of much suffering
Considering tho nature Of tho way. II hardly
surprising that occasionally a porter disappeared
with his load Usually he was caught and driven
back to the line. Sometimes the pack would be
found while the dcserter escaped Jungle fever and
dysentery interfcred with the work. but Lieutenant
Hohnel proved 10 be capable in medicine
IN map-making. The mon took to drugs with a WILL
They pretended 10 be sick in order TO be doscd But
q prescription of the most nauseous meli-
cines gradually checked their curiosity.
Sometimes the effort to cut way through jungle
was . painful one. Five hours hard work and only
half a mile Of advance to show for II bad enough
But the thicke,s were mass Of thorns, that
ting down shrub WAS only the beginning Of the
trouble It gave. The work OF Clearing raised the red
ants in myrtads. The natives. says Mr.. Chanler
called these very appropriately boiling water" by
Of describing the scalding sensation which they
caused on the skim In the bush these ants
cred everybody from head to foot in few minutes
After days Of struggle with such foes the travellers
and their servants were well pleased rest for a
while at the head of navigation on the Tana River
At the coast they had heard Of the Rendile people
VINO said to be rich IN herds especially Of
Of burden. and they looked forward to meeting with
These natives replace their animals worn out
and dying by the way So. in hopes Of finding them.
they pressed on down the river, tormented by
mosquitoes and small. black redllead nce. Game
fairly plentiful and there fish In the river
but these found TO be infested with sma worms
The country through which the river passed varied
somewhat On each side beyond the narrow valley 1t
was desert. The valley itself was sometimes a mere
channel In the rocks while at others 1t widenei
and was beautsied 81 groves. When affairs seemed
at the very worst. the travellers would come
IN sight or q forest OF dhum PAINS, where
tnnumerablo birds sang and where in shaded
hooks bloomed bcll-like flowers Of pale purp,e
with a crimson centre They heard much Of lake
into which the river emptied and at last when they
came a fat-topped hill. the remains Of WORN
out volcano about so feet in height they clam
bered to the summit rough blocks Of lava, and
were overjoyed to see what looked like q body OF
water in the distance. But the river led them into
. region OF jungle and swamp. where venomous
ee1pents and insects were numerous and where the
cir laden with malaria Where the lake should
have been they found a vast marsh overgrown
with rank grass in which the waters Of tho Guaso
esyro vanished from sight. Without attempting TO
explore this forbdding region the travellers turned
back toward the slopes of Mount Kenya and the
Jomben range. These reached without
much suffering and sickness.
The mysterious Rend:le tribe found at last by
q Journey far 10 the northwarl but the mystery was
not solved. Tho author only OF the
tribe. but he found the TO be OF unusually light
complexion for Africans with straight hair and blue
eyes. Their appearance confirmed their statements
that they of a different race from any of the
surrounding peoples. They were suspicious and
cunning IN their dealings and showed from the first a
desire to get rid OF their visitors StK the explorers
might have pushed on 10 the northward TO complete
q task which really only fairly begun. II
foreseen accident had not upset all their plans Tho
frequent accounts of hunting exploits form at
tractive part OF the book But these ended at asst in
painful injuries to Lieutenant Won H0hnel. who
almost killed by a wounded rmnoceros. The party
turned back 10 the Daitcho country whence a
Journey Of 200 miles had TO be undertaken to pace the
injured man in competent medical care. Then the
porters and drivers became troublesome. and finally
Mr.. Chanler gave up the effort to carry his work
alone and returned to the coast Tho maps which
accompany the volume show that the country imme-
diate,y north and east of Mount Kenya thor
oughly traversed But the land TO the Of Lakes
Rudolph and stephanie Is still. blank the map
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