STANLEY'S STORY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2326, 11 January 1890, Page 2

STANLEY'S STORY

A LETXEB FROM TH^ GREAT EXPLORER, Mr Startle? who was met at Mainw>hby a "New York Herald" corespondent, haa addressed the following Interesting letter to th»t journal :— HAFFir AS AN HJNEBT LABOBBB. "1 find tl; then most oopveulent to imagine you nb'.e to tell my friends maoh that 1 shoulA like to say to them. First ' of all^latx (n perfect health, and feeL like a laborer of a Satardsy eventaf '/ returning home with bis. week's work done, his week 1* wages in his pocket, arid . ' glad that to morrow is the Sabbath. ' : j.i Dunr was Nor bhibxed. "Just a>b;>ut three years ago, while feotaring in Naw Eoglaid, a massage oama ftom Tinder the sea, bidding me to hasten and take a commission to rollers Bmin Pasha at Wadelai; but e§ people generaHy do **ltb faithfal pack holies, TiJ numbers (f Hi le ttifl9s,oddsftnd ends wars) piled oc, over and above the proper burden. Twenty various , lit tie oommiseiooa were added to the prtnblpal oaijj rs , each requiring dye asre and thoaght. Well, looking back ovor what has been aoaompllfhed. I see no reason for acy he*rt'« discontent We can say we shirked no task, and that good will, aided by steady tffrt, enabled us to oomplete every little job as wall as etrcamitanOM permlttedr ■ , „ : GBOGRiPHIOAL DISOOTIBMB. ' ;,' (^ '•Over acid above the happy of our appointed duties we have not been unfoiftunate In geograpbieal dlsooverlei. - The Aruwlml is now known from iti source to its bourne. The great Ooogo forest, covering as large an atmm^ France and the Iberian Peninsula, we can now certify to be an absolute faot. The . Mountains of the Mooa this time, beyond c the least doubt, hare been located, and Buwisnzwl, ' The Oiond Kiog,' robed In eternal eaoir, has been seen a>nd IU flunks explored and some of its shouldars aaoeudod, Mounti (iordon Bannatt and Maoklnnon cones being bat giant .sentries warding off the approach to the inner im ?; of * Toe Cloud King. 1

OVIE BANGB AND BAKOI. . ; ; "On the southeast of the range the ' conneotlon between Albert Edward Iff/an«»•' and the Albert Nyanzt haa been dUioovered^ and the extent of tha format ' lake it now known for the firat tJhu. " Range after range of moantalne hea been,, traversed, iieparated by Booh traots of * p»ataie Und as would make yonr oowboja ._. ont West m»id wit'j eavy BLAOKBEBBIM UHDJB THI IQCrATOKi " And right under the burning Equatoi ; we have fed on bUckberrlea and bllbertlea and qHenobed our ihirat with' aryatal water jEceaU from enow bade. . We\haTa; f abo been able to add nearly 6000 aqo^ra milea of water to Victoria ISyaczt, SPKOIAXISTII WHiti HATE MTOHjTO §AT.; rT\ "Oar natarallat will expatiate upon . the new apoolea of anlmala, birds, and plants be dlioovered. Our aaigeon wlil tell what he kcowa of the ollmate and iti . amenlilea. It will Uke oi all we know ' how to a*y what new store of knowledge baa been gathered from this no expect id field of diecoverlea, '.-- _-. a. v-^ ■■•:..

" I alwayt euapected that U the eentnr . regions betirden the Equatorial Uk»i something worth peeing would be found, bat I was net prepared for such t harveal v of new fscts. .. ; . • HI9 BttDS SHAPED IT PBOVIDIHOI. ; ' '■ " This ban oartalnly been tha most ex*; ] traordloaty expedition I havsever led Into ;^ Africa. A veritable divinity, saemaito have hedged ai while we J3ainßyed. ; I say It with all reverenea It his Impelled :; as whither It would, effaoted lt« own will, ; • but nevertheless gaided end proteoted aa, A DRIAD TISITAnON. " Wha'. am yoa make of tbta, for fnitauce ? On Aagoat 17, 1887, all. the r ffij6ra of tbu rear column are anlked atf' Yambuya. They have my letter of Inatruotlona before them, but lnatead of - preparing for tbo morrow'a march, to fallow oar track, they decide to wait afc . Yambaya, which deolalon Inlltatea the; most awfal (eason auy oommanUy of men " ever endured in Afiloa or elaetrhere. '. ■

"The reaults are that thr6eqaar(ei»a of their force die of slow poison. Their com*,,: mander is murdered, and tha second - oflaoer dies so on after of slokneas and grief Another offioer Is waited to a skeleton, ■-. and obliged |so return horns, A fourth Is sent to wantler aimlessly up and down the Oongo, and the survivor is found In such a fearful, pesthole that we date not ' deiorlbe its horrors. , " . f 0 OATS OF T4ABITO ANXIBTT.

"On tae name data, 160 mUerairjjv^ tha offioer ol the day leads 333 men of the advanced oolumn. Into the bash, loses the path and all oonacloasnesi of." hit whereab ats, cud- every step he take* only leads hlin farther aitray. His people bspome frantic; his white companions, vexad and irritated by the sense of the " evil around them, cannot devise any ex« padi^nt to relieve him. They nre sartounded by cannibals, and poison-tipped arroirs thla tluir numbers. ;

" Meantime I, ia oommsndot the tiveit oolaan, am noxiously searching ap ax) down the river in four different directions; through £oreals my sdouta are asektag foe v; them, but not until the sixth day warl: >J Buooessful in iindlog tbem L : ' xwßtva vonths LAin ;; ; :li-i" J "Taking ihe same month and the aame date, in 1888, a year later, on August 17, I listen, horror struck, to the tale of the _ last survlvlug officer of the r«ar ooluma at Banalya, and am told of nothing bat death^ and diaatter, disaster and death* ' death and disaster. I see nothiog bat | horrible foims oi men amltten. with dlseaie, bloated, dU6gured and ■oatred,; ;?. while the scene la the camp, Inramecw for ' iha murder of pjor Birttetot barely fou weeks before, Is simply sickening, A. ?aZMC. DATI. - "On the ■)m9 day, 600 mile* wast of this oamp, Jaoaesoa wore ont with fatigue ■- aiokness and aoirow, breathed hit laat • A "Oa the mxi day, August 16, 600 miles east, Em In Paoha and my offioat Jephsou, ace suddenly sutrouaded by iafuriated rebsis, who menaoa them with loaded r flas and Instant death, but fortunately they lelent and only make them prisoners, to bo delivered to th.9 Mahdls(a.

" Having eavad Bonny oat of tbe jawa of death we arrive a second t'meat Albert Nyanzi, ta find Emit) Pasha and JephBon prisoners lev dally expectation of thai*. * doom. * ' '; OliU THE INFiUENCK AT TKB HUM " Jephson'e owa letters will dee crib* hit anxiety. Not until bath were in my otnp tnd the Egyptian fugitives nnder oar protection did I begin to see that I waa only carrying out a higher plan than/ mice, my own designs were constantly f rostrated by unhappy ciroumstanoeß. Xv endeavored to steer my course sa dlreot ate '" possible, but there was an anaccountabl« irflaence at the halm, AOKNOWiEDaKS OOD'S HASD, ,- .X ( ♦' 1 gave as maen goodwill to my duttefc ? ' a» the strfcteat honor would, compel. My f^ith that tbe purity of my motive deserved '" flocoafs w«a firm, but I have been consoloos that the isauea of every effort ware in other hands. BAFB, SOUND, AN» WSLL. <( Not one offices who waa with ma will j forget the miseries he has endured, yet * everyone that started from his home destined to march with the advance column, and share its wonderfal adventare*, is here to diy safe, tound, and wall, and the «Raruld " correspondent may lne?vtew them feohl«heart'soontant, ' ' I WAIOHBD OVJIR BY/ XHDB OBCA^O*. 'i ■'''■ ''Thla is not due to me. I^leuieaant Stairs was plaice! with a poisoned, tro* ISka othetß ; bai; olbt-ra died, »ud he llvei. Tbe poisoned tlo o<mo cut from ancbr iih | heaec eisflitHnn" inorithe aftar'iiu waa I pierced. Jrhiui: uraa four caouthe & I prisoner, vita gcurcU with loaded rftat around him. That th«y M Dot bokOh

WHAT THEY WBNT THKOOOH "These officers have had to wade throogh ai many »s seventeen streams ■nd broad expanses of mod find swamp In • day. They have endured a aun thftt loorohed whatever It touched. A multitude of Impedimenta have rofflad their tempuß and harassed tbelr boms. "They hare been maddened with the agonies of fierce f evera. They bave lived for months In an atmoepbere that medioal authority declared to be deadly They bava faced dengers ©very day, and tuoi? j diet has been all throogh wb&t legal serfs would bave deolared to be lr.famoua and ■bomlnsble, and yet they live. WvTBINO CLAIMED BT SIANLBT. " Thl* Is not doe to me any mcra than the courage with whioh they have borne all that was imposed npon them by their ■nnoundlDga or the cheery energy whioh they bestowed on their work, or the hopefnl voloea whioh rang in the eara of a deafening multitude of blacks and urged the poor boulb on to their goal. UNBELIEVKES EEBDKED. " The vulgar 011 it luck, Unbeliever will call it chance, but deep down in each heart remains the feeling that of verity, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamad of in common philosophy, v I most be brief. Numbers of scenes crowdthe memory MATBBIALfI 70R A LIVING PICTUKE. " Gould one but sum them into a picture it would have a grand interest. The uncomplaining heroism of our dark followers, the brave maiihocd latent in each uncouth disguise, the tenderness we Lave ■een ieiuing from namelees entitlea, the .great love animating the ignoble, the sacrifice m%de by ihe unfortunate for our more unfortunate, the revert c j wo have noted in barbarians, who evai ..3 ourselves, were inspired with nobleness aid incentive to duty—of all hose could speak if we would, but I leava that to the " Hertld " correspondent, who, if he haß eyes to see will see much for himself, aud mho, with his gifts of composition, may present a very taking outline of what his been done, and is now near ending, thanks. be to Gon tor ever aad ever !' ]