Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1889-10-05 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

TRAVELS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.  Mr. Herbert Ward, a prominent member of the Stanley Expedition, who has lately returned to England prior to.a journey to the United States,delivered the other evening at a very interesting lecture based on his travels in the Congo. Mr. Ward, who was cordially received, at the outset of his narrative briefly traced the history of exploration in Equatorial Africa, and then narrated, with much descriptive power and occasional gleams of humour, his personal observations and experiences connected with the Congo, whither he went under Belgian auspices. He told how he was appointed to the command of the Ist Company of Zanzibaris which followed Stanley's route to a point up the river, where he was left in charge of a camp ; how Stanley proceeded on to Aruwimi, and, after forming an entrenched camp, went further in search of Emin; how, when Stanley did not return, as promised, and two-thirds of the men awaiting him had died, he (Mr. Ward) had returned to the Congo's mouth that Stanley's long absence might be known in Europe. He had 246arted on this journey with only 35 men, finding his way through swamps, in which he had to climb over and under fallen trees, walking knee-deep in decayed leaves, through dense forests, where no sky was visible, and where the silence was so oppressive that a man was startled by the sound of his own voice, and consequently almost afraid to speak. When on the Congo, gliding down the river in native canoes, he and his men had to be on the alert night and day for the natives, who crowded the banks or ventured on the stream in their boats, blowing their war horns, beating drums, casting their assegais at the strangers, and making general demonstrations of hostility, consequent on their belief that Mr. Ward was an Arab leader, and had come to kill and eat them. These and other difficulties were, however, passed through, and, finally, the mouth of the river was reached. Having delivered his message for Europe he again proceeded up the river, going as far as Mongalla, where, in the beginning of August, 1888, he received news of the death of Major Barttelot. Further ill-fortune was in store, for information soon arrived that Mr. Jamieson was ill at Stanley Falls. Mr. Ward hurried to the river side, and found his friend lying in. a canoe in a dying state. On the following evening the unfortunate young traveller died. Nothing remained for Mr. Ward but to proceed again to the coast and communicate this sad news to the committee in London. The journey down the Congo to Stanley Pool occupied about a month. In reply to Mr. Ward's cable, a message came instructing him to return to the Aruwimi Camp, and to take command there. On reaching Stanley Pool, Mr. Ward heard of Stanley's return to Bonalya, the scene of Major Barttelot's murder, and that he had taken with him all the men and loads that were at that time at Bonalya. Mr. Ward continued his journey, however, in order to collect together the sick men who had been left on account of their inability to walk when Major Barttelot struck camp in the Aruwimi. Ile remained at Stanley Falls as the guest of Tippoo Tib for a month, and while with him saw and heard many curious things as to the doings of the Arabs and the way in which they obtained their ivory. He was only able while there to get two out of the 45 men who had gone with him in the first instance, the rest having died, mainly because they had been accustomed to live on rice, and could not digest or assimilate the manioc which they were obliged to eat in the heart of Africa. With these two, and some of those whom Jamieson had brought down, he returned in canoes down the Zambesi, paddling 28 days without stopping, sometimes attacked by the hippopotami, one of which bit off the stern of his canoe, and occasionally meeting with worse perils, but, in the end, he got safely to the mouth of the river and so back to Europe.  The steamship Frederick, Captain Holm, of Kamigsberg, arrived at Grimsby on Saturday with 12 of the crew of the barque Andromeda, of Lillesand, which was found helpless north-east of the Dogger Bank, and three of the crew of the disabled brig Melanger,of Farsend, which was passed derelict. Four of the crew had been previously rescued  At tne I names rolice-court on Inursuay, vv iniarn Marshall, a police constable, applied to Mr. Saunders for a warrant for the apprehension of a man named George Smith, a shoemaker, for attempting to commit suicide by cutting his throat with a knife. About 12 he was called to a house in Rectory-square, Stepney, and on entering one of the rooms he found Smith lying on the floor in a pool of blood, suffering from a terrible wound in the throat. Dr. Grant found a knife lying by the man's side, and ordered his removal to the London Hospital.—The application was granted. At a meeting of the !National Agricultural Labourers' Union Mr. Arch said that a great deal of sickness prevailed among the members last year, necessitating the payment of £1,975 in excess of the receipts. The voting of the members shewed 753 for and 143 against a reduction of sick benefits. Reductions ai e also to be made in the superannuation fund.. The Most Rev. Dr. Logue, Roman Catholic Primate of All Ireland, after reading a Papal allocution in Armagh Cathedral on Sunday, said that the Popa is likely to leave Rome soon for some country where he will have liberty. Referring to what he described as general irreverence for religion on the Continent, the Archbishop declared that Ireland was also losing ground in this respect. Some Irish Catholic politicians now spoke of the Pope's authority with contempt.