The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-03-13

OF his railroad Journey he will find native
porters ready to accompany him. The
custom is TO take about thirty Of these
for every white man In the party. and
they are paid from $50 10 s. per month
for their services. For the first thirty
miles or so Mr. Roosevelt viii have 10
watch out for desertions from his ranks.
II is one OF the rules that the porters
must be paid a months wages in advance,
and the willy Africans are not averse to
deserving a day or two after their service
begins.
II is said that one Of the essential
things TO successful hunting trip ia the
Interior OF Africa is an abundant supply
or glass beads and cheap alarm clocks.
Diamonds have no such value 10 the in
terror natives as these possess, and Theo-
dore Roosevelt VIII probably give the
world q hrst-class imitation Of Christie
pier Columbus and Capt John Smith
in trading with the aboriglnes. II is re-
lated by Columbus in his diary that he
felt many pangs of conscience for trad
ing worthless trinkets for valuable gold
but Capt John Smith has not bequeathed
20 posterity single word OF regret at be-
ms able to drive so good bargain
One OF the worst things Mr.. Roosevelt
will have to contend with on his expedi-
tion is the white ants. These insects
travel in vast hordes. overrunning every
thing that comes their way. They can
eat anything but stone and metal. and
event suit OF clothes left in their path
at night will be no more than a tangled
bunch Of threads next morning Then
there are the poisonous insects with
which he viii have TO contend. Not long
ago party OF hunters happened to be in
the very section 10 which Mr.. Roosevelt
is going. One happened TO notice some
thing like mosquito on his hand. AM
monia was put on It, but the arm began
70 swell, resisting every sort OF treat
nent Finally II was decided 10 ampu-
tate the arm. This was done, and the
stump scared with fire. Even this heroic
treatment did not avail. and the victim
finally died in unutterable agony
Up to three generations ago the inte-
riOr OF Africa was as unknown as the
region Of the South Pole IS to-day No
matter that for centuries upon centuries
before the coast regions of Africa had
been the seat of a civilization which &C
complished great things. No matter Il
the Valley Of the Nile IS even to-day
teeming with the magnificent ruins Of
temples. tombs. and towers surprising
anything the modern hand has yet reared.
No matter II the ancient Egyptian knew
q secret Of embalming that has preserved
his body intact 10 the present day
Just beyond these things the dark in
terror Of Africa remained undisturbed.
How comes It that America and Au-
stralia. both so recently discovered.
fairly teen with cities? That the iron
horses speed from end to end OF both con-
tinents2 That the herds OF buffalo are
a.
dollars are spent on the education OF the
Indian? And yet Africa, known from re-
hottest ages. can boast only a few miles
Of railroad Elephants and lions roam
over her "uninhabItable downs" while
the sons OF Ham, unpublished. still cam
IS devour the white man who runs across
their track?
The ancients did make some excursions
into Central Africa. Herodotus told some
tales that were long regarded with sus-
picion. although they probably con
tanned grains Of truth. The well-known
story of the five young men who were
captured by the dWarfs was entirely dis
credited until the recent discovery OF
the "plgmies'' OF Central Africa. And
certainly no one can disprove the tale OF
the Phoenician vessels which sailed down
the Red Sea and returned through the
pillars OF Hercules
About the seventh century the Arabs
Joined forces with the hoors and con-
Quered Spain. Southern Italy, and the
whole OF Northern Africa. With the
asset OF their nomadic character, they
found little difficulty IN pushing into the
heart Of the dark continent They took
possession OF many towns and come OF
their writers left very coed descriptions
OF the interior Of Africa Trade and COM
merce were encouraged under Arab rule
and TimbuctOo arose to its great height.
Prince Henry OF Portugal gave great
, impetus 20 navigation and exploration.
He waged a war against the Moors. and
captured Ceuta, the fortified promontory
opposite Gibraltar Among his prisoners
were some very learned men. From
these he heard OF the depths OF Africa,
OF Timbuctoo, with its ivory palace and
its salt mines. He Immediately estab-
llshed a school of navigation and fitted
out expeditions. He was in search OF a
short route to India, and Of the aforesaid
ivory and salt. He was also in search OF
Prester John. tabled monarch Of untold
wealth, who, Ike Paul, became a Chris
tian in an instant. Hitherto, rumor had
placed his monarchy In India That
country being pretty well explored in
the fifteenth century and Prester John
still missing. rumor simply transferred
his kingdom 20 Africa, somewhere IN the
region OF Abyssinia. It all resulted in
De Cana rounding the Cape Of Good
Hope, but the interior was still a great
unknown.
Toward the end Of the eighteenth cen
fury James Bruce. a cannie Scotchman.
traced the source Of the Blue Nile under
the impression that he was following the
course Of the great river itself At one
time he kept himself in favor with the
natives by shooting a tallow candle
through a wooden table Returning. he
was censured for giving the information
that one savage tribe ate raw meat cut
from the living animal. An account Of
Bruce SAYS: He Is the tallest man YOU
ever saw gratis"
Finally. Mungo Park, also a Scotchnan.
was chosen to discover the source OF the
Niger After an absence OF a year and
half he returned Through untold suf-
fering he learned much OF the geography
and natural history OF Africa Seven
years later he was induced to try again
This expedition ended disastrously. One
by one the members OF the party died, and
al last Park himself was drowned. having
jumped into the river from his canoe TO
escape an attack from the shore.
The next important expedition was led
by Maj. Denham and Capt. Chapperton.
This resulted in the discovery OF Lake
Chad. believed TO be the source OF the
Niger. The Geographical Society Of
Paris had offered the Grand Prix OF 1o.o0O
francs TO the first visitor from Timbuctoo.
Hence It became the Mecca Of all ex-