The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-20
III.

IAdo, at tho close OF December, 1SS1 Emin
first heard OF the Mahdist rising. that p%olitico-
religious war for independence In the Soudan.
which. owing to the inability Of the Egyptian
Government to act betimes, developed from
| paltry beginnings into one OF the most serious
upheavals that have convulsed Africa during the
present century. We need not here review the
familiar course OF this revolution. which culmi-
mated in the capture OF Khartoum and the
murder of Gordon on Jan. 20, 1895. As far
back az 1894. Equatorla had suffered from the
inroads OF the Mahdists. but had repealed them.
In 1886, they again assailcd the province. AS
early as May "a. 1895. a letter addressed by
Nubar Pasha to Emin Pasha. Commandant OF
Gondokoro. had ordered him to withdraw his
garrisons by the eastward route to Zanzibar.
Emin. however. determined to continue In the
position intrusted to him by the Governor
General on behalf OF the Egyptian Govern
ment. In n letter dated Jan. 90. 1897. one of
the last received from him previously tohis so
called rescue by Stanley. he announced: II am
fully decided to stay. and. even ssuming that
no help comes. and the provinces slowly goes to
pieces. l shall remain steadfast TO the end. 1t
is perfectly clear to me that, with my motley
crowd. a journey right across Uganda and over
the lake is an impossibility, and II it came to
the worst. 1t would be much easier to push
forward with or without KabreRa's help. from
the southern extremity of the Albert Nyanza
directly to the northern point Of Tanganyika
to the English missionary station there"
Then ensued a period OF protracted me-
gotiations with the neiGhboring chiefs to
the south. whose friendship and alliance
Emin sought to gain. because. in the event
OF a determined Mahdist advance from the
north. he considered. as we have seen. that
his only possible course was a retreat to the
south via the Albert Nyanza to Lake Tangan-
yika. At that time he had not heard OF the
existence OF an intermediate lake. the Albert
Edward Nyanza. During the months that fol-
lowed he occasionally received news from Eu-
rope through the medium of the British mis-
sionaries. and. in this way. heard of Stanley's
expedition. We need not recapitulate the prin-
cipal incidents in the %latter'S journey. but
merely point out that 1t has long been doubtful
whether Stanley rescued Emin. or Emin. STAN
ley. The reader OF this biography will scarcely
be able to resist the conclusion that. instead
of Stanley's bringing help to Emin, it was
the latter who succored the wrecked rem
nants of SANKEY'S expedition. As n mat
ter Of fact. some famine-stricken. tattered.
worn and exhausted men brought him Just
thirty four cases OF ammunition. two bales of
half-spoiled clothes and a letter from the
khedive. According to Emin's diary. extracts
from which are here printed. Stanley proposed
to him to renounce his allegiance to the
Khedive and turn over the equatorial province
to the King OF the BeIgians who would. OF
course. incorporate 1t with the Congo State.
Emin would be made Governor-Genera and
allowed to II anne his salary. Ifthis proposal were
unacceptable. Stanley suggested that Emin
should establish himself at the northeastern
corner Of the Victoria Nyanza. under the
auspices Of an English trading corporation.
II ia ual lppwp that tho nfa, 70 pna Lio
province to the Congo State was rejected by
Emin. and although he looked with more favor
on the offer to employ him in the service OF the
English East Africa Company he finally de-
cided to evacuate Equatorial, being moved
thereto by mutinous demonstrations on the
part OF his soldiers. On Emin's arrival at the
east coast, he entered upon n new career.
which is set forth in the second OF these vol
umes. Although he had profcssed for many
years to be a Turk and had cut himself off
from almost all ties with his fatherland, yet no
sooner did circumstances lead him within
sight OF n German flag than he was overcome
by the love of his native country. He refused
all the offers OF the British East Africa Com
pany. and periodically accepted a mere pit
lance in order to further the colonial enter
prises of the German Empire.
For the subsequent achievements of Emip
Pasha in the service Of the German Govern
ment and for his prosecution OF the new expe-
dition into the interior. which was to bring him
to a tragic end. we must refer the reader to the
second of these volumes. The later. like the
earlier part Of his career. bears witness to sin
Gular unsellshness. as well as a remarkable
capacity for administration and exploration.
Long after the whole Soudan had been overrun
by Mahdist hordes and communication with
Cairo had been utterly cut oil. he held out In
the post which had been conided to him by
the Governor-Genera When he consented to go
to the coast with Stanley he went. notaltogether
voluntarily, but rather as Stanley's prisoner.
when he took charge OF the expedition
equipped by the German Empire. he was faith
full tothe last. 1t has been ale ged by those
who had only a superficial acquaintance with
him, that the object OF his last enterprise was
to make himself master OF the ivory stored in
former province with II view to enrichinR
himself. There seems to be no warrant for
the imputation of a sordid aim. II Elnin
thought at all of securing the abandoned treas-
ures, it was. as his notes make clear. in the in
terest Of his country. that the cost Of the Jour
ncy might be betrayed and that fresh means
for scientific investigation might be provided.
There is. perhaps, more foundation for the
that lie was rather IA student than
a man OF action. 1t is certain that nothing
was more hateful to him than brutality.
hit the mark when he said
Of him: That Emin is n great scholar
is beyond dispute; but II | had his pro-
nle before me. it would show. | believe. the
back Of his head TO be insuficiently developed
betokenIng a want Of the brute energy which
cannot be altogether dispensed with IN Africa"
All that Emin really accomplished for science
will not he known until his diaries have been
carefully worked over by competent specialists.
+. Won Richthofen. who has inspected
them. describes them as documents of ex- ,
importance. which. in many re-
spects, will probably be the future historians
only sources of information" Prof Hartlaub
Of Bremen has said In the Dputsrhe Rprup:
- Emin's researches have thrown light
as MONDAY upon a great tract OF
Africa, which. so far as science was
had hitherto been shro,ded in
This is especially true regarding
ornithology. We are also indebted to him fora
mass of valuable notes on the habits Of the ami
mails that came under his observation" His
pathological researches have been the subject
of speclalpraise from Giegler Pasha. who. with
his intimate knowledge Of the Soudan. writes:
y No African traveller can have at all ap-