The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-05-10
Henry M. Stanley.

Henry M. Stanley, who died in Lon-
don yesterday, won his consplcu1ty
among the great explorers of Africa
by hard and periNous work. Many
people speak of him as if his sole
distinction was the discovery OF DR..
Livingstone at Ujiji, but the story OF
his career shows that he was the lead
ing factor in the development of the
commercial exploitation. of the Dark
Continent
Commercial and missionary enter
prises have made great changes IN
the appearance of the maps of Africa
during the past forty years. Stanley
lived to see the whole Of the African
continent partitioned among the Eu-
ropean powers; the sources ana
courses Of the Nile, the .Zambesl, the
Congo ascertained and charted, the
great rivers put into practical use for
TRANSPORTATION; railroads penetrating
the Congo valley far into the interior;
steamers plying on the Congo and the
Nile to remote points, and the great
enterprise, the Cape-CairO railway,
more than half constructed, Whlle the
British Uganda railway, reaching into
the region of the equatorial lakes, Is
nearly completed.
1t was an Americansmewspape the
New York Herald, whose enterprls1ng
proprietor, Mr.. Bennett, sent Stanley
to explore equatorial Africa, to search
for the missing Livingstone, whom ne
found at Ujiji and rescued him. sick,
holt @ q
search for Livingstone led to 1mpor-
tant explorations and discoveries, such
as the true source of the Congo. 1t
was in 1877 that Stanley, after fight
ing, with his b0atmen, for their nVes
against bloodthirsty cannibals ana
journeying thru the jungle and drag
ging their boats round boiling cat
aracts and facing great perils beyond
the western shore of Lake Tanganylka,
in eastern Africa, discovered small
stream flowing westward toward the
distant Atlantic, and found it was the
source of the great Congo river.
Within seven or eight years the
leading European powers ana the
United States got together In confer
ence, and the result, was the organiza-
s ton of the Congo Free State under
the sovereignty Of the King OF Bel
GUM. Stanley was instrumental IN
bringing about this revolution In the
notifies of Central Africa and opening
I'D the whole basin Of the Congo to
the trade Of the world. Round this
central basin the European powers
have appropriated territory which they
are developing from the seacoast in
land, England, France and Germany
leading. The whole continent is I'M
der reclamation from savagery.
The former explorers, like Spoke,
Livingstone, Burton and Grant, pre-
pared the way: Stanley carried on
the work with such distinguished her
oism and persistence and notable re-
suits, that the whole civilized world
was aroused to the deepest interest
in the hitherto meagerly- defned re-
gion.
English by birth, Stanley was an
American citizen and newspaper man.
while American newspaper enterprise
opened for him the pathway of dis
. covery. .- q.,,.4
The wisdom Of Stanley was indi-
Gated at the international Congo con-
ference in Berlin in 1885, when his
counsel prevented the abandonment
of the enterprise, he insisting upor
the recognition Of the new state, 6
permanent settlement of its boundary
and naturalization Of the territory.
Stanley, like every other man who
has accomplished something of value
q to the human race, had his detractor:
who tried to rob him of his hard-wor
honors. His record stands unim
peached and the country of his brit
has accorded him distinguished honors
4, The Dunn column on the editorial pag
of the Pioneer Press is given UP thi
morning to a lengthy lamentation owe