MR. STANLEY'S EXPLORATIONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 266, 7 December 1876, Page 4

MR. STANLEY'S EXPLORATIONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.

We (Star) condense the following from a let 'er fro<n Mr Stanley, dated Übaj»wp, Western Unyamwe. i, April 24th, 1H76. He states that be has discovered that the Kagpra river, forms a great like ahout 80 miles in length, and from 4 to 5 miles io width. He travelled up the right bank with the object of discovering its source, and on the sixth day, from a point of observation, he saw the Kagera flowing South-west, which was only a swift-flowing stream of no very grejat width or depth. The DBtives inlormed him that the lake-like Akanyaru was an affluent bf theKagera, and emptied itself into the Victoria Nianza, a fact which he afterwards proved by exploration. He was unable to penetrate beyond the mouth of tbe Akanyaru, owing to tha wiidness of the natives of Kishakka snd Ugulu, who have a deadly aversion to strangers, the sight of even a strange dog being sufficient to send them into paroxysms of' spear-shaking and bow-bending. These natives are so dreadfully afraid ot losing their cattle, that tf one cow die of Bickness, the whole neighborhood is searched to discover the person who is supposed to have bewitched it, and the suspected person is killed. The nalives will not give a stranger even a spoonful of milk. Between the lakes Victoria and Albert, all the lakes, rivers, mountains, and basins, run in a north-easterly and south-westerly diraction. Ha heard of another lake west of Ak»nyarii, but he could get no certain information. He got within 15 days' journey of Ujiji, to which place he proposed to return, then explore the Tanganyika, and travel north by a circuitous route to effect the exploration of tbe Albert. He had seen a ' Daily Telegraph ' eighteen months old, He contradicts a statement, by Colon I Grant, tbat Luke Victoria was only 12 miles iu width, aud says this is tbr breadth of one of the bays. In another letter Mr Stanley describes bis mode of living. He had 160 men with him. For a necklace be bought a chicken or a peck of sweet potatoes, and two yards of cloth would purchase a _oat or a sheep. It was costing him at the rate of 58,4000 necklaces a year. He next describes bis *' battles," as lie styles them. Oae at liurn which lasted three days, and in which he lost 21 mebj end killed 35 of the enemy, and wounded about 100. " Twice," he says, "we made a clean sweep through their country, burning and destroying whatever we came across, and would have liked to have exterminate the wretches, bad not my mission required my duty in anoiher direction. One ol iheir barbed arrows would go through a bullock at twenty yards. In six months he had travelled 720 by land and 1004 by water.