Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1914-05-28
NATIVES OF CONGO
REMEMBER STANLEY
American Party Goes Over E.
plorer's Route for Wild
Life Films.
From the New York Times.

From the New York Times.
Henry M. Stanley Is still wildly re-
hembered by natives in the heart Of
Africa. according to James Barnes, OF
the Barnes-Kearton expedition, which
spent more than a year traversing 5000
miles Of Jungle and forest in Africa
under the auspices Of the American
Museum Of Natural History. They
were armed chiefly with moving pic
ture machines, with the object OF
starting a film library of wild life. Mr.
Barnes reached London this week.
In the course of a picturesque mar
ratiNe of his experiences to the New
York TiRes correspondent. he said:
Crossing the northern end Of the
great mountain range known as the
MOUNTAINS of the Moon. discovered by
Stanley, but only thoroughly explored
by the Duke of Abruzzi. we reached the
valley of che Semltki river, where we
obtained pictures of the giant croco-
ollie. for the Semliki 'croc' far exceeds
all Others in size. We filmed one lear
high, and it looked like an antedelnvian
monster,
1T was a place of almost absolute
starvation. The dreaded tse-tse fly
was very prevalent, so, after a week.
with as much haste as possible. we
crossed the hot plain and entered a
great forest. stretching 1000 miles
across the. continent. We followed
Staniey's route in the reverse direction.
1T was interesting how many elder
chiefs who had either fought against or
helped him remembered Stanley. One
native who remembered the explorer
we'll when askedstow Great Bula Mem
f0vt , 49, 49, O-~-I, - o. r-x--
called, from the fact hat he blasted
rocks from the river channel, impressed
him, replied in a few awestricken
words:
He could kill a man with a glance
Of his eye.'
w saw in the possession of a mis-
sionary the identical camera Stanley
abandoned because he did not have a
professional photographer who under
stood Its operation. We also obtained
photographs of Stanley's island, Star
Vation camp. the cataract where he lost
his precious little steamer, and of the
surviving steamer, which is still run
ming.
The Congo in the last three years
has undergone a metamorphosis and is
no longer commercially paying. The
progress when the country was under
the regime of King Leopold has been
checked. Commercially the change has
been enormous. Five years ago the
profits ancruing from rubber exporta-
millions Of pounds sterling. Now not
10 tons Of rubber are leaving the coun-
try The rubber industry Is dead In
the Congo. The hold of the Belgian
officials upon natives is slowly wan
ing, the blacks themselves showing
signs Of setting out Of hand.
The beautiful country around the
lases and some rivers has been devas-
tatad by plague, and sleeping sickness
has wiped out $50, 900 inhabitants in the
last 10 or Is years.
A regards the future of the Congo,
fSom observations of our rather hur-
Red trip. there is but one answer. The
me1oRl nor political, but the necessity
Of combating h scourge Of sleeping
sickness. Fully half the inhabitants
who used tc live along the Congo
river have fallen victims. Vast ter
fftoJies once teemtng with human life
arr now u~ninhabited. You can't
mag1n It. 1t Is simply awful.
THE rubber industry, owing to low
price and difficulties with native. la
Dor, is a dead issue, but mineral Wealth
n newly discovered diamond fields
hold tempting possibilities.
Only w really live commercial
propositions are In the hands of Eng
ASA AN <AAAACA 4SdAkS. uo 1uRkc
helm and Ryan interests are spending
large sums, pushing forward not only
prospecting, but are actually produc-
Ing gold and diamonds, while the Sun
light SOAP people, who are in search
of palm oil. have instituted a regular
streamer service. A corps Of efficien,
organizers and managers Is building
railways and really developing sec
ttons OF the Congo in a b~usinesslike
fashion. In N Of the mines north
of Ranahi, we found gold nuggets
Weighing more than seven pounds. We
q some difficulty getting movies o.
the tallest under fou feet, when they
saw US coming, deserted their villages
and ran and left only an old woman
behind.
Mosquitoes. which are supposed te
exist In large numbers. I may dismiss
with a passing remark. I've seer
more In n evening in New jersey
than I encountered In a whole year il
Africa.
Interesting films were obtained o,
native customs and dances. They die
Also We made interesting phonograpI
records Of native songs n music. I'm
fortunately the greater part Of these
was lost as the porters intrusted with
the boxes grew tired and threw then
away In the forest. This and tn,
compkte loss of our collection O
scarabs, which disappeared in the sam.
way. were u only severe disappoint
menks. Altogether the expedition OBJ
tanned nearly five miles of films, shok
Ing SO different speciments OF ANNA
lie, embarrassed and unwounded.'
ThA NhAnuinen ~ NAuf~.