The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1914-05-28
NATIVES OF CONGO
REMEMBER STANLEY
American Party Goes Over Ex.
plorer's Route for Wild
!. Life Films.
Fron the New york Times.

From the New York Times.
Henry M. Stanley Is still yividly re-
membered by natives in the heart d
Africa. according to James Barnes, oi
the Barnes Kearton expedition, which
spent more than a year trayersing 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 O
starting film library OF wild life. MT
Barnes reached London this week.
In the course of a picturesque mar
rative OF his experiences to the New
( 3rk Times 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 the Semliki river, where we
obtained pictures OF the giant croco-
ollie, for the Semliki croc' far exceeds
all others In size. We filmed one near
ly 30 feet long. standing to 4 feet
high. and II looked like an antedeluvian
monster.
1T was place OF almost absolute
starvation. The dreaded tse-tse ny
was very prevalent, SO, after a week,
with as much haste as possible, we
crossed the hot plain and entered q
great forest. stretching 1000 miles
across the continent. We followed
Stanley'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
well when asked how Great Bula Mem
tari' or Stone Breaker as Stanley was
called, from the fact that he blasted
rocks from the river channel, impressed
him.. replied In a few awestricken
words: .s.,..I ..... T.. .,...a
He could kill man with a glance
OF his eye.' ## ,/" at ..r.E>t
1--WE saw in the possession OF q mig
sionary the identical camera Stanley
abandoned because he did not have O
professional photographer who under
stood its operation We also obtained
photographs of Stanley's island, Star
walton camp, the cataract where he lost
his precious little steamer, and Of the
surviving steamer, which Is still run
ming. " @N|.
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
pCSh CttOIiuOuS. EiN0 SCdTS dBO VlAlU
profits accruing from rubber exporta-
ton under forced labor amounted to
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 getting out of hand. ~
'The beautiful country around the
lakes and some rivers has been devas-
tated by plague, and sleeping sickness
has w:ped out 250.000 Inhabitants in the
last 10 or 15 years. ~
"As regards the future Of the Congo,
from observations OF our rather hur-
ried trip. there is but one answer. The
great burning question il neither COM
mercial nor political, but the necessity
OF combating the scourge OF sleeping
sickness. Fully half the inhabitants
who used to live along the Congo
river have fallen victims. Vast ter
ritories once teeming with human life
are now uninhabited. You can't
imagine 1t. 1t is simply awful.
"The rubber industry, owing to low
price and difficulties with native la
Dor, is a dead Issue, but mineral wealth
and newly discovered diamond fields
hold tempting possibilities. ...
Only two really live commercial
propositions are In the hands OF Eng
lish and Americans. The Guggen-
heim and Ryan interests are spending
large sums, pushing forward not only
prospecting, but are actually produc-
Ing gold and diamonds, while the Sum
light soap people, who are in search
OF palm oil, have instituted q regular
streamer service. A corps Of efficient
organizers and managers Is building
railways and really developing Sec
tions Of the Congo In a businesslilxe
fashion. In one Of the mines north
OF Banalai, we found gold nuggets
weighing more than seven pounds. we
had sono difficulty getting movies of
Mbuti or pigmies. The forest people.
the tallest under four feet, when they
saw us coming, deserted their villages
and ran and left only an old woman
behind. '..s.s. '-..I =
Mosquitoes, which are supposed to
exist In large numbers, may dismiss
with passing remark. I've seen
more In one evening in New Jersey
Africa. . - - - -
Interesting Aims were obtained NJ
native customs and dances, They did
about everything except the tango.
Also we made interesting phonograph
records of native songs and music. I'm
fortunately the greater part of these
was lost as the porters intrusted with
the boxes grew tired and threw them
away In the forest. This and the
complete loss Of our collection ~
scarabs, which disappeared In the same
way. We're our only severe dfsappoint-
ments Altogether the expedition oh.
taiDed nearly five miles of films, show
!ns ~ uifferent speciments of animal
hIe, embarrassed and unwounded"