MR STANLEY'S MISSION.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2801, 5 February 1878, Page 2

MR STANLEY'S MISSION.

Lecture at Cape Town.

(Continued from our latt.J

" Well, go and find your man who can tell the story of the dwarfs." After a little while the man is seat for and comes to us. He was a fine-looking specimen of a natire of Zanzibar, and rery richly dressed. (Mr Stanley minutely described him.) He is a man of affable and polite demeanour. I ask him to be seated. He salaams and siti down. Then coffee is served to him, and he begins something ia this fashion: " You ask me to tell you of that terrible fight we had with the dwarfc. We started with several Arab chiefs, and they all took their men and got together, and • made one expedition of li.o guns. After going fire days we came to Uximba, and then through the forest to Urega. For a * month we trarelled on, and at length crossed the Lualaba. There we entered Ukusu until we came to the Lumaoi. Next we entered Ukungu and passed into Wakuna, and there were the dwarfs. We heard all along tho way that there waa ivory to be had rery cheap; that one necklace of beads would buy a tusk so high. We got to the King of Ukubs, and saw little fellows so long as one's arm. They were so small you could hare eaten them at one bite. They had votjUjl*big heads and little bits of bows and ' - arrows. The king asked us where we had come from. We said from a little town on the river. 'What do you wantP' said he. ' We want ivory.' 'What Will you give us for itP * 'Beads and other .things/ . ' That is right.' Next day we came into the dwarf country, and the rery first day we got 35 tusks for little or nothing. Then we made another adrance into tho interior, another day's march, We got a. few more tusks. Prosperous - and happy at the prospect of our investment, we made another day*s journey into the land of the dwarfs' country. The king of the dwarfs came up to us and we negotiated with him. All things were going on well, because we wanted only irory, and it was so cheap and gcod that we were quite happy. The first notice that we had of any disturbance was one day when one of our women went down tq get some water. We heard hpr scream, and went to see what was the matter. We saw there was an arrow in her breast. VVe asked her who did it, and she said one of the little men. Then they all swarmed about us just like bees. They began 'piff-piff' with their bows and arrows. The war cries of these little savages were perfectly deafening. Although they were such little men they made the forests ring with their cries. We Were not prepared for this attack, and began to pull down the Tillage in order to surround ourselves with a palisade, so that we might hare some defence against the arrows. The battle began, and very dreadful it was. • 'here was no rest. It waa shooting day

and night, and always clouds of arrows pouring in on us. These little meu fought in relays, one, troop relieving the other. Just as soon as one troop was tired they got another force to take their place. As they fought in relays, day and night, wo got wearied out, and many of us died of thirst, and most were wounded. Then we had fired away all our shot, although we had plenty of powder left, so we were ohliged to put bea-Is and things into our guns and fire them away at the saTages. Wo were quite shut up. Somo of the boldest of us managed to get out and kill a few of the little savages, but it was of no use, after all. At last we had to hold a council of war, and we fancied that if we could get hold of the king of the dwarfs it would be all right. So a dozen of the boldest of us determined to try it, ond we went into the woods, and laid a trap-for the king. One m^n went into ono tree, and another into another tree, and so on. It so happened that one of us was a mati who could throw the knobstick very well, and he threw it at the king as he came along, and knocked him down. Then there was a general scuffle, and while the dwarfs were all scrambling together in a heap, we got down and carried-away the insensible king into the catnip Then we told the dwarfs, by mean^fjf the king, that if they did not stop the war we would kill the king. They said they would stop the war if we would only give him up. So we gave up the king, but the war did not stop. It began again, and went on worse and worse, day and night, until there were very few of us left. Then those who still remained alive thought it was necessary to try to got away before they, too, were killed. In the dead of the night we got out of this forest and tried to make our way home. We lost the track, and the savages trailed us and followed us up—every step of the road was marked with a corpse—until the few surviving—only five men —were left to tell the tale, and I nm one of them. This is the story of the dwarfs." I said, " This is a very terrible story indeed. Dwarfs, cannibals, gorillas, boaconatrictors, puff-adders, ants, cataracts, dark forests, and no end to the river that goes always to the north, to say nothing of spirits and so on. These are difficulties to be conquered." But I found that my people began to quake in their skins. They did not want to go. They said they were going to be eaten. I tried to expostulate with them, but it was of no use. I said, " You cannot be eaten until you are killed. Even if you are killed and eaten, what does it matter, you can't feel it when you are killed?" They said, "Yes; but it is so very bad to be eaten, even if you don't feel it." I replied, " I don't see how we can get out of it. We must go on." I then went to a renowned Arab chief and said to him, " I want you to take me six weeks' journey through this forest. I hear there is a big river running through to the Congo Lualaba." He said, " How ranch will you give me P " "I said, "§1000." "No." " I'll give you 81500." " No." " Well, then, i'll give you §2000." "No." "I'll make it §2200." "No." "Then I'll say $2,500." He paused ; §2,5C0 is a deal of money. Then he said tome, " Write it down," and the bargain was sealed. " Now," said he, 'Til take care nobody shall eat you." There were 140 new soldiers. My people forgot their fears. We were too many to be eaten now. On Nov. 15,1876, we started from Nyangwe. Our journey lay north. It was simply what the Arab had said—one long, tedioua forest. We found it extending all the way from our start to the south part of the Lake Albert. After that-we crossed the river. The Arabs got tired of it, and wanted to return. I said, "We are not Very happy just now, but if you must leave my people I suppose you must leave them. If my people follow me I can go on and do it. But I can't do it by myself." " What are you going to do? " "You stop here until I carry my people on that island and go to the other side. When we are all there, if you want to go, then I'll say good-bye." "O! I see. All right."

So we got to the island, and our Arabs returned. We were on the verge of the cannibal lands. When the Arabs had seen that all the people were together on the island they bade us farewell. We got into our canoes and packed all the people into them—men, women, children, goods—everything went into the canoes, and we began our journey down the river. Everybody was looking very sad and mournful. Not a word was uttered by anybody. I think it was the saddest time -I ever experienced in Africa, but it did not last long. They soon saw what a nice thing it was to go gliding down the river, with a tall bank of thick woods on each, side, and nothing but Sabbath stillness all around —nothing to do but to paddle and sing all the way down—untrl they began to think it was not so bad, after all, as they thought. They began to think. " Before this we carried lots of goods on our shoulders, and heavy bales on our heads, and our backs were weary, but now they are not." So the second day they recovered their spirits, and had quite forgotten tbe cannibals and monkeys, boaecaratEJotors, puff-adders, and everything else; At last we came to the cannibal lands, and the cannibals mustered in ■trong force. They asked us who gave ■us permission to go there. We said we did not know we wanted anybody's permission; They said, Yes; it must be had on their river. Wo said to them, " You keep on your own side of the river. Yon do not claim more than half of it, we suppose, We will cling so closely to the opposite side of the river and the other Dank that if you attack us you must attack the people on the other side of the river." We started. They asked :

" Where are you going ? " " Down the river to our own country." "We never heard of anything being there. Where do yon come from P " " From the other sea." " From the other sea ? There is none. Dp yon come from up there P " (pointing to'the clouds.) ' "' ' «' How is it wo never saw or heard of anybody like you before P " " I suppose it was owing to your own ignorance." " Well, you must turn back. We can't allow you to go on." " I am very sorry, but I must go on. If you will allow us we are quite willing to pay you for leave to pass. Look !" and we, showed them some fine gaudy clothes and cowries and beads and polished brass wire. No; they would not have any at all. "Go back," they said. Hut the river was not going back, and all the time wo were talking we went along with the current, and otlier natives were coming down, until we got into apother country. The people of that

pluco came out in their ennoes. This was on the frontier "f '' « cannibal lands. They maintained ouuii.!r iv-nversalion with us. They said. '' You pass u« today without fighliiii,'. but vun't till to morrow. That king does not allow anybody to go down, and if lie refuses then 1 is nobody who can stand liH'hit him." " Well," we said, "if we musl be killed, why, we shall bo kil'ed, but vnshall go on." Next day wo went on us before. This king came out to meet ua with 14 canoes. They looked ridiculously small to come out against our canoes. We passed two of them. We fired and cut the water all around the ennoe, and this fr'-jhtcded him, and la* retired without our having to fire a shot at him. The king at the iicct pi-see l*ad 28 canoes. He sounded the war-drum, and catce up in excellent style His people hurled spears at us, and we were obliged to kill some. This was the fr.*t time we did so. By

d'ut of soina sharp fighting we cleared the track. A couple of hours farther on 30 or 40 canoes camu oul against us. The people in these canoes had bows and arrows and spenrs, and wp got two of our meu wounded with arrows, and one man was hurt by a spear. Some of these men bed also kuives. The war-cry sounded, loud on bolh banks of the river. The third party came on in strong force and tried hard several times to pierce our column. We cleared the track fora fourth time until the sun set, and then we thought that, in order to gctvid of these abominations (hat swavmed about us, we would hide on an island and have one good sleep. We did so, and lam glad to say we slept comibrlab'y enough that night. Next day another fight look place at ten o'clock, and there was another at two o'clock, and a third attpek at five, besides another at eight o'clock, when we managed to get to sleep. At last we came to the Equator. Livingstone said that this river was the Nile. It is south and north of the Equator where the strength of the cannibals lies. Then we had six cataracts to contend with. Next we tried the left bank, but to go on wes simply impossible. Down below us were the cateracts. We could not row back on account of the stream being so swift, and besides tbat we should have hp.d to fight again with these people. There was only one way, to show our manliness and die. So I sent four canoes on up the river, and they landed half their crews. Half had orders to go behind into the forest, and while we attacked them in front they opened in the rear. This was done only jusl in time, for the cataracts were- roaring close by us. Having gained a footing we got down towards them, and made a palisade or camp. In the night we threw out scouts and cut a road, and laid down sticks and rollers. 'J hen we built a camp at the extreme end of this track, and at early dawn we drew these canoes of ours right over these sticks or rollers to the next stage. We had a second camp where we rested. Next night we went on in the same way, and so on. To he continued.