The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-04
BACK FROM CONGO
BRITISH COMMISSIONER TELLS OF
 EXPERIENCES
Object of Visit Was to Determine Boun- diary Dispute--Saw Strange People in the Dense. <
 Iunwfea.s

London. Oct. 3--After twenty months travel in some of the widest parts of East Africa. Lieut. Colonel Bright. Brit ish Commissioner in connection with the disputed frontier between Great Britian and the Congo Free State, has return ed home.
 The Commissioner has acomplished much valuable work including the sur vey of the Io-Congolese frontier from thessouth of Lake Albert Edward to the File-Congo watershed. Much new country was trayersed. and many wild and Httle-known tribes were vis- ited. The relations with the Belgian omcers of the Congo Commission were good. but in places much anxiety was caused by the hostile ande treacherous attitude of the natives. The joint Com mfsion lost five of it's. members. who were killed at various times in the more unsettled regions, while several were wounded while working in small par ties escorting stores or mails.
 The main object of xhe expedition was to survey and report to the two Gov ernments upon the disputed boundary | In the neighborhood Of the thirtieth meridian. The position assigned to this meridian at the time of the Anglo Con- golese Treaty of 1894 was found to be some twenty miles to the west of It's correct. position. thus involving the question of the ownership of the coun- try bounded by the supposed position of the meridian and its actual place. Great Britian maintains that the position ss given in the treaty, although since found to be inaccurate, Is the real line for the boundary to follow, and that the true position of the meridian as since determined does not in any way affect the international boundary. The Brussels Government on the other hand. maintains that the meridian itself is the actual frontier.
 The work of the Joint Commission has proved beyond doubt that the meridian as shown in the maps on which the 1894 treaty was based is in wrong position. The region invoiv- ed in the dispute comprises a strip of country of roughly 5000 square miles. This includes the eastern shore of Lake Albert Edward and the Ruwenzori mountain, and if the Brussels conten- tion were maintained 1t would deprive Great Britian of access to Lake Albert Edward. Full reports have been sent to the Governnents concerned. and future action will be the subject of diplomatic negotiations.
 During one of the Journeys of Cap tain F. Jack. R. E.. one of the British Commissioners. along the western shore
 
 upset by hippopotamus. an animal which abounds in this lake and in the River Semliki. two privates of the Kinks African Rifles being drowned. There were several small encounters with the more savage tribes through whose country the Commissioners pass ed. several members being killed.
 The Commission had some interest Ing experiences in the dense forest along the banks of the Semliki. where weeks were spent by the officers in ex- amfning the country. The conditions were most depressing, the sun was sell dom seen, and the forest growth was so thick that camp could only be pitch ed in the native villages. The contin- ual rain and semi-darkness together with the presence of myriads of sting Ing ants, made life very uncomfortable. In this forest a piRmv elephant was shot by a German party. The forest was densely inhabited by people who live in the thick underRroth.
 All the paths to the forest villages are strongly stock aded, and in addition the jungle itself was thickIy studded with wooden spikes in order to prevent surprise. The inhabitants in this for est differ entirely from the pigmies of the Ituri. They are cannibals, and when pressed for food exchange their children for those of other families. They refuse to eat members or their own family They displayed great ner- vousness at the first aDrearance of the white man. but were quite friendly.
 At the southern end of the boundary the Commissioners met some interest ing people, who are curious in the fact that they owe allegiance to no chiefs. Each family owns its own village, and recognizes no head. The whole com- munity, however, is dominated by clan of witch women, who are very hostile to Europeans, and claim occult powers. These people were largely responsible for much of the trouble with the natives. The chief witch wom- an visited the British camp, and proved herself to be not only very attractive. but very clever person. It transpired that on the night previous to her visit to the British camp she had summoned a meeting of the people, and told them that she had arrangeds to clear the Europeans out of the country.
 Fortunately for her it happened that the day on which she promised to get rid of the strangers was the date on which the Commission had struck camp.