STANLEY IN AFRICA. AN AUCKLANDER MEETS HIM. STANLEY ON A WHITE DONKEY. THE TURKISH FLAG IN FRONT.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 227, 5 November 1887, Page 3

STANLEY IN AFRICA. AN AUCKLANDER MEETS HIM. STANLEY ON A WHITE DONKEY. THE TURKISH FLAG IN FRONT.

Mr William James Davy, who was educated at the Auckland College and Grammar School at the time when Mr Farquhar Macrae was head - master, is at present in Central Africa. Mr Hairy Davy, of Messrs Shera Bros.' establishment, is the brother of this gentleman, and has just received a letter from the wanderer, in which he describes in a graphic manner a meeting which he had with the great African explorer, Stanley, about the end of list May. Mr Davy .states that his brother has now been away from New Zealand about 8 years. Ho is an engineer, and was for some years engaged in that capacity on. the Ducal line oi steamers travelling from Brisbane to London. 110 is now engaged with the Sandiord expedition in Central Africa to proceed to the Congo River and build a steamer foi the use of the expedition. His brother wrote to a sister in. Wellington gi\ing a description of hia meeting with Stanley, and this letter was subsequently forwarded for his perusal. Mr Davy kindly allowed one of our staff to> make extracts from the portion of this letter which refers to the Stanley expedition. The letter is written from Kirchasso., and is dated the 29th of May, 1887, Mr Da'-y slates : '' Since I last wrote I have been clown the river a day's march off Matadi, or about 20 miles from it." This is at the head of the navigation, Ott the Lower Congo, and is the spot where ib Mas reported that Stanley had been drowned. Mr Davy proceeds to state : " Within a month 1 have walked 500 miles over rough country, and only a path 18 inches wide. I finished all my business and returned to the above station (Kirchasse). On my way back I met the Emm Bay expedition on the match up country. I had a longtalk with Stanley, the great African explorer. He is api etty old fellow. Stanley was liding on a white donkey, and had a Zanzibar walking in iiont of him carrying a Turkish flag. Behind him were the Stanley stripes. The expedition numbered 900 men and 16 donkeys, all of which were white. I also had a chat with all the white officers, and they were a jolly lot. "It was a sight lo see those men from where I iir&t sighted the expedition. I had a good look out from the top of a hill that commands the small plain tlnough which they were passing. The Suani llivcr ilows tlnough this plain, and is lo&t to view by the hilly country that surrounds the plain. I stood and. watched thepe men Minding in and out of the nairow path. At times they were completely hidden fiom view by the high grass, which leaches in some places from 18 to 20 teet. As I passed all thesepeople, I noticed that they were die.-sed in all fashion,?. The Zanzibar, with his loose clothing and bare feet, cairying a litlc and his wad of 2451bs ; the Egyptians in the Eastern dress and large turbans, ai mod the same as the former, but wearing boots : also die Soudani, with hi-3 loose jacket, trousers and boots, his legs being bound up with flannel leggings, to present the snake bites from taking 1 1 eileet. The-o latter are line lighting men, but cannot s^and the climate and the fatigue on the maich. "Alter I had passed them all I found quite 20 men lying by the roadside sick a)id e\idently dying, but I could not help them. I heaid afterwards that from 10 to 15 oi these men had died, and there lay rotting in the sun by the side of the track and poisoning the air. '•The column of men extended for about 4 or 5 miles. Stanley and his company left here on the Ist of May tor Stanley Falls. From there he will again have to stiike to the ne>v road, and this part of his journey he, of course, is now doing by water. It is a distance of 900 miles, and leads light into the heart of Africa. I Mill bluntly be on the same piece of -water myself. We ha-\ c heard nothing of Stanley since the meeting, but expect news by the little A.F.A. (a steamer) which comes down the liver shortly. ; ' ' Hero in Kirchasso Stanley made the Sandford expedition a picsent of a white donkey, so now we ha\o three animals to ride about on, W<? have ono of the Emiu Bay expedition with us and as I writeT he Is sitting at the same table, occupied in a similar manner. He is a jolly felloM', and leaves by the next steamer to join Stanley. His name is K. J. Troupe. I iorgot to mention that Stanley has with him the greatest slave-trader in the world. He is an Arab named Tipa Tib, He is for the purpose of supplying porters through the daik continent. He is a line - looking man, about 35 years of _ age. When he shook hands with me he asked, through his interpreter, if I belonged to the Sandford expedition, and when he was answered in the affirmative he incited me to the Stanley Falls Station, which lie is going to give back to the Free State. This station was taken in tight by the Arabs from the Free States, and he is now going up to restore it again."

Hippo t ami Shooting:Mr Davy then proceeded to inform his friends that he has not been hippopotami shooting for a long- time, but he expects to go out shortly, as it is fine sport. He states that he is getting along splendidly and expects to make a small fortune piior to leturning to 'Now Zealand.

A Laud of SnakesMr Davy next deals with tbo featui'es of the country. He states that snakes are the worst reptiles with which they have to -deal out there. They are very numerous — a fact which he accounts for as due to the shelter affoulcd them by the high grass. Only the day before the letter Ava"si\ ritten ho states : " I was called out by a native to sco a typhoon which was curled round a fowl, and which it was doing its best to swallow. But on seeing' us he let go his hold and I went for my gun, but was too late. I then gob hold of a big stick, but ho got away before I could get at him. Mr Davy also states that some of the insects do nofc look very inviting and are pretty numerous. The butterflies are very beautiful, and he is making a collection of them. In concluding his letter Mr Davy says : "I expect to bo hero for two years and then hope to return to New Zealand." The Greatest Slave Trader. The greatest slave trader *in the world referred to in the letter as Tip-a-Tib is known by the name of Tippu Tib. He is the leader of the Arabs beyond the Aruwine Rivor, which is about 1,500 miles up the Congo. Prior to his joining Stanley tho Arabs had been hostile towards the whites, buc the fact o£ their leader accompanying Stanley from Zanzibar was considered as~a guarantee that the Arabs would not molest tho expedition, as ib was thought that Tippu Tib would be able to suppress the hostility which had broken out during his absence. Tho fact that he told Mr Davy that he was going to restore the Stanley Falls station to the Free State seems to show a conciliatory disposition.