MR STANLEY'S MISSION.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2777, 8 January 1878, Page 2

MR STANLEY'S MISSION.

Tae .Chfcri Livingstone Biver.

A Land of Ivory,

The Future Commerce of Africa.

(FROM THU IMIfcX TECKdluril, KOV. 12.)

(Continued from our last.)

It has been a custom from a remote,' period, with morchnuts and European' travellers desirous of penetrating inland from the West Coast, to give " rum dashes." Hum is au article unknown ou the East Const, and I cannot but think that it acts perniciously on the insignificant chiefs of small village. We found them exceedingly bumptious, aud* not easily, mollified without rum. Having almost crossed Africa, we could not gratify their demands for this spirit, aud had to stand firm and resolute in our determination to pass through these small tribes; but, though we were not compelled to use force, there was frequently a disposition among them to oppose our journey by arms. Neither bad we the gaudy uniform coats of a bygone century to gratify their love of tinsel and finery. Still, there was ! there no rupture of peace. We were j allowed to proceed without violence, more as,strange curiosities than anything.else, j I believe, and as people «rbo had come ' from wild lands whither the white people had never ventured before. Possibly on that account there may have been a small feeling of respect mingled with their J3alous regard for us. I speak, of course, about the people called Basundi and those inhabiting eastern Mabinda. The tribes above the Babwcndeand liateko were more kindly disposed. lam indebted to them for many a laborious service performed for very little pay; and during five months our intercourse with them was of the most amicable kind. Those on the south side vied with those of the north of the river in the Cataract districts to assist us. Food was generally more plentiful ou the south, and in many instances the natives were more friendly. „ The entire area which the Livingstone drains embraces about 860,000 square miles. Its source is in that high plateau, south of Lake Tanganika, in a country called Bisa, or Übisa by the Arabs. The principal tributary feeding Bemba Lake is the Chambezi, a broad, deep river, the extreme sources of which must be placed about E. lon. 33°. Bemba Lake, called Bangweolo by Livingstone, its discoverer, is a large body of shallow water, about 8400 square miles in extent. It is the residuum of an enormous lake that in very ancient times must have occupied an area of 500,000 square miles, until by some great convulsion the western maritime mountain chain was riven asunder, and the Livingstone began to roar through the fracture. Issuing from Bemba Lake, the river is known under the name of Luapula, which, after a course of nearly 200 miles, empties into Lake Rlweru—a body of water occupying an area of about 1,800 square miles. Falling fromMweru it obtains the name of Lualaba from the natives of Bua. In Northern Bua it receives an important affluent called the Kamalondo. Flowing in a direction N. by W., it sweeps, with a breadth of about 1,400 yards, by Nyangwe, Mauyema, in S; lat. 26deg. 15miu. 45sec, E. long. 26deg. smin., and has an altitude of about 1,450 feet above the ocean. The good Doctor, having lost two weeks in his dates, appears, according to Stanford's map of. 1871, to have placed Nyangwe in S. lat'. 4deg. lmin., E. long. 24deg. 16rain.; but this wide difference may be due to the carelessness of the draughtsman. Those who feel interested in it should compare mine with the latest may issued by Stanford or that published with the traveller's last journals. The distance the Livingstone has flowed from its extreme source in Eastern Bisa to Nyangwe Manyeraa is about 1100 miles. Lake Ulenge I inquired very industriously for, but I am unable to confirm what the Doctor appears to hare heard from Abed* bin-Salem and Mohammed-bin Said, hit informants. Kamalondo Biver, which' runs through Bua to the Lualaba, is a lacustrine channel, and I am told it has several small lakes in its course. Pfoba* bly Ulenge may be a name given to one of these. At Nyangwe, Mauyema, the Livingstone is distinguished by various titles. The Arabs and Wanguana call it the Ugarowa, the Wagubba carriers pronounce the name Luilaba; emphasising the second syllable. - The natives of Nyangwe, also, emphasising the second' syllable, call it Lu-alawa, while the Nor* them Wagenya distinctly pronounce the name as Bu-arowa. To prevent confusion, however, it is best to adopt the spelling given by the European discoverer of the river, viz., Lualaba. A few days north of Nyangwe the Lualaba inclines East of North. It meets impediments. High spurs, from-the Uregga Hills bristle across the river, and wild scenes of falls and foamy water meet the eye. Near these cataracts very impracticable savages are found, who resent iv a ferocious manner the appearance of strangers. Arabs hare paid terribly for taer iv* trusion. Along the. river banks on both sides > dwell the fishermen called Wagenya by the Arabs, and Wenya — pronounced Wainya by themselves —a most curious tribe, remarkably cowardly, but also singularly treacherous and crafty, and utterly impenetrable to the usual "softsoap, " sugar-arid-honey " style. North ' of Uvinza is a powerful people of another kind, of superior mettle ; not habitually : cannibalistic, but very aggressive. Each time Arabs have ventured to enter their region they have met with a decided repulse. This tribe is called by the Arabs Warongora Meno, by themselves-Wa-. broiro. They inhabit a large extent of country on the right bank. On the left are still Ihe Wagenya, which, as you proceed West, iutroduco you to the; warlike Bakusu, where, at all i hours, the traveller must be a man of action. Upon these gentry the approaches of a whole congress of bishops and missionaries could have no effect, except as native "roast beef." The Lualaba you bear now in plain accents called Buwiirowa. It still clings to E long. 26°: It begins to receive great affluents, the principal of which along the right bank are the Liru, Urmeli or Urindi, tbe lXonn or Lowa, and the Kankora. On the left bank are theßuiki, the Easuku, and the Eumami, though there are scores of creeks aud streams constantly visible as you proceed down channel on either side. For a thorough comprehension of the subject, without fatigue of study, you must understand that from the moment the Livingstone issues from Lake Bemba. or Bangweolo, it skirts, nt a distance of 200 miles or so, the mountain chain which shuts in the Tanganika on the west; and

—as if its bed was related to the same

system by which tbe-great lakes, Nyassa, Tanganika, and the Albert, are disposed —it stil! clings to the base of that extra* ordinary mountain region long after it has left the parallel of latitude of the north end of Lake Tanganika. By a series of powerful affluents it drains the entire western versant of the lake regions as far north as 4deg. N. latitude, while along the counter slope, torrents and unimportant streams find their steep course to the lakes Albert, JKivu, and Tanganika. At

the Equator, the great river which haa been the immediate recipient of all tributaries from the .East, and baa skirted the western base of the lake mountain region between East longitude* 96deg. and 26deg., sinks into a lower bed, and turns north-west, baring reached the great plains which extends between the maritime . mountain region and the lake mountain region. The service the great river " hitherto performed for itself, namely, to to receive the northern. tributaries discharged down the Western Tenant of the lake mountain region, now devolves upon the Aruwimi — the" Welle of Schweinfurth (?i -the second affluent of the Congo, which, no doubt, at a future

time, will prove of immense value, as it ■ -. is open to any Teasel that may be success* fully launched on the Upper Congo. Below the junction of the Aruwinii otr intercourse with the cannibals of these lands was of so precarious a nature that we dared not continue our exploration ... alont; the banks, because they involved > us in conflicts of the most desperate"^ nature with powerful tribes. . For this : reason I hare no doubt we overlooked

a great many important tributaries.- Besides, the Livingstone spread over, such an enormously wide bed* with sometimes a dozen channels, that though I frequentlj ' passed what appeared to me to be new .. rivers, I preferred to construct my ohart tree from hypothetical streams. An almost certain guide to me as I journeyed along one of the many broad channels in distinguishing the main from the islands was that the former was inhabited, and the latter below the Aruwimi very rarely. When forced by famine to. risk an en* counter .with the ferocious savages, I ' •• made for the right bank, and opportunities were then given me to explore. But the interests of native society and those of geography .were: ever at variance in this region. The natives had never heard of white men; they had never seen strangers boldly penetrating their region, neither could they possibly understand what advantage white or black men could gain by attempting to begin an acquaintance. It is ' the custom for no tribe to penetrate below or above the district of any other. Trade has hitherto been conducted from hand to hand, clan to clan, country to country; and, as the balance of, power is pretty fairly maintained, only. three tribes have as yet been able to overcome opposition. These are the Warnnga, Wa« Mangala, and the Wyzanzi. - - After our battle with the Mangala we showed a preference for the left bank, and soon after discovered the greatest affluent of the Livingstone, the Ikelemba, which I take to be tbe Eas-eye, the last syllable pronounced like " eye," " bye," Ac. It is nearly as important as the main river . itself. The peculiar color of its water; which is like that of tea, does not com* i mingle with the silvery ripples of the main stream until after, a distance of 130 miles below the' confluence. It is the union of. these two rivers which gives its light brown color to the Lower Living stone.

A little after passing E. lon. 18deg., we come to the river called by Europeans, on their vague charts of the inland region, the "Kwango," a deep stream, about 600 yards wide,, entering the Livingstone through lines of hills, which, receding from the neighbourhood, assume the altitude of Mountains. This Kwango if known to the natives as Ibari Nkutu, or the river of Nkutu. A little west of E. lon. I7deg. the great river, which had spread itself out into enormous breadths, slowly contracts, becomes interrupted by lines of rocky relict of hill points, craggy islands, or bars of lava, and thunders down steep after ateep along a distance of nearly 180 miles to the majestic and calm Lower Livingstone. In these .180 miles it has a fall of 585 feet, as ascertained by the boiling point of water. The cataracts and rapids along this entire distance may be passed overland by a. month's easy march along either the south or the north side. We encountered no difficulty with the peoples of this region. Once the cataracts are passed the explorer may , push his way to Koruru or Monbuttn, I sincerely believe, or to the southern ridge of the Great Basin; and if he can find cause to quarrel with the lower tribes he must be charged with having sought it. If we take into consideration the fact that each day's march introduces one to fresh chiefs and clans, : and that a cordial reception will be given to him by all, we are com* polled to respect these very various people still more for their amiability and gentle manners with strangers. The Basundii, perhaps, may give trouble to the traveller, but, being well supplied with cloth and rum, and using tact and great patience, the traveller just starting from the West Coast has h better chance of ingratiating himself with them than I, whohadex* v hausted my cloth and beads and all means to win particular favor. What we possessed were simply a few cloths and striu.es wherewith to purchase food from the natives on the tide. As travellers bound for tbe. Great Basin, must in future start from the West' Coast, and may very probably take my route—as they ought to do, for we have, shown its practicability—they perhaps" - will pardon me if, I suggest that a want of firmness and perseverance has caused most of the expeditions from the West . Coast to collapse. Neither Bacongo nor Basundi, I feel convinced, will use force

to oppose him, and there is no cause to frcl frightened by big words. There are no martial or ferocious savages in the neighbourhood of the West Coast on the north or south side of tbe Livingstone after passing Yellalla Falls/ If I, with my knowledge of the character of the peoples of this region, were bound on an exploration of the. Great Basin, I should undoubtedly perr'er the south hank he* cause of its greater supplies of food. la our descent of the lower cataracts we suffered terribly from hunger when the violence of the rapids happened to keen us on the north side. '" - **

In writing of the Lower iiiver 1 an compelled to disclose errors of the " Congo Expedition "of 1816. lam well aware its principal members were scientific men.~ . Captain Tuckc-y was the author of a book; on Maritime Geography. Still, having found one cataract on his chart where there ought to hare been dozens of falls, I soon discovered his qualifications did no^ -

prevent him from going wrong. Between that position and Isangila, or Sangala, the existing map is a tissue of Errors. From Sangala, or rather Isangila Eulls, \re travelled overland, in five easy marches, to Boma with a sick and starving company, a distance which the Congo Expedition estimated at 100 miles in a straight line, or 130 miles or so according to the road ; to have accomplished which, though I took no observations en route overland, I consider would have been an impossible feat, considering the character of the country and the debility of our people. According to the pedometer the distance we travelled was only 57 miles, geographically 45 miles. One of Captain Tuckey's sentences, "Terriblo'niarch, worso to us than the retreat from Moscow," and the sad mortality in that expedition both of Europeans and negroes, • I suspect may together explain the enormous discrepancy between their distances and ours. Under such physical prostration what wonder that a mile should seem a league ? In such a state as the members of that unfortunate and disastrous expedition must have been in, I doubt whether any of them took the trouble to make astronomical observations. In Stanford's map, which I believe to have been constructed from information ob- j tamed from Captain Tuekey's Expedition, with additions from the Fathers at SanSalvador, I also find a great many names of countries and towns about which no one could give me any information. " Pomlv), a general name for the inland countrjp*' means nothing of tho kind, but Mpumbus is the name of a great market or fair district on the south bank, inhabited by the Basesse, near E. long. 16deg. " Auzico," printed large and black, is unknown. "Monsol.Eoyal Town,"unknown, may mean Mossul, or Little River, as called by the up tribes. " Concobella " may possibly be Nchuvila, " King of Nkunda, Esseno, Hondi, Canga, Dinjee, Condo Yonga, Pangwelunghi," are all unknown. " Vambre" and " Tainbre Biver" I inquired particularly for, but did not succeed in discovering one native who had ever heard of such a name. Mosongois, Bo.doubt, Misongo inUyanzi. Mopendea and Fungeno are absolutely unknown. Tho Bancora Eiver is perhaps a corruption of Bangala or Bangara, a people inhabiting Mangala. As I have stated above, in rough numbers, the entire area drained ,by the " Biver of Congo," or the Eiver Kwango, as it must no longer be called, is about 860,000 square miles, 450,000 miles of which ii almost taken up entirely by the great basin lying between the lake and maritime regions. The length of the Livingstone is about 2900 miles, divided thus : From the source toNyangwe, 1100 miles; from Nyangwe to the Atlantic, nearly 1800 miles.

(To he continued.)