ACROSS AFRICA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 291, 7 December 1900, Page 6

ACROSS AFRICA.

SJtAJOR GIBBO.VS'S WONDERFUL JOURNEY.

The English Press Association's representative recently had an interview with Major A. St. Hill Gibbons, ."?rd East Yorkshire Regiment, who has just returned to Euglaud from a unique African journey lasting two and a quarter years, during which, time the expedition covered over 13,000 miles, and this >not including their travel by railway or steamship routes.

The main ooject of Major Gibbons's journey was to complete the survey of the Marotse country, and to determine the tribal distribution there. This work was carried to a successful conclusion, and the whole country, from the Kafukwe River on tho east to the Kwito River on the west, and the Zambosi-Co>ngo watershed to IS south latitude, or a total area of over 200,000 miles, has boon hydrographJcally and ethnographic-ally surveyed. The information thus acquired may be expected to prove of value to the Imperial Government in settling the Anglo-Portuguese boundaries in West Central Africa. An interesting feature of Major Gibbons's work in this region was the discovery of the source of the Zambesi at a point nearly a hundred miles distant from its supposed position. On the completion of his Marotseland work Major Gibbons, in order to extend the scope of the expedition, separated from his companions and adopted the northern route, travelling by way of the chain of lakes to the Upper 2S"ile. According to his charts considerable amendments will be necessary, both with reference to the relative position, shape, and extent of most of the great lakes, especially in the case of Lakes Kivu and Albert Edward, the latter of which is now found to be absolutely different in s&ape ana size from existing maps.

Including his previous journey the routes of Major Gibbons's expedition now form v cross on the African map, one line gong from the Cape to Cairo and the other from i Chinde on the east to Benguela on the west coast. The. routes in Marotseland alone exceed SOOO miles. By the completion of t'.iis journey Major Gibbons has personally travelled a greater distance than any other explorer in Africa, probably not excluding Livingstone. One of the most pleasing features of his travels is that, although continually passing through unexplored country and frequently across districts said to be inhabited by hostile and even cannibal tribes, and this with a small unarmed party, Major Gibbons has (never had occasion to use his rifle in anger, and is proud of the fact that he has never killed a native nor lost one of his boys from death, either by disease or misadventure. The explorer has brought home a large amount of valuable data on the general and political situation in the countries through which he has travelled, and also over 300 photographs. His sporting collection includes a white rhinoceros from the Upper Nile, although it has always been understood that these very rare beasts were only to be found in South Africa..

To Reuters representative, who met Major Gibbons on his arrival at Boulogne, the explorer said:—

The story of my expedition is not a sensational one, though by no means devoid of interest. I have had no adventures vrith cannibals, nor have I any stories of horrible scenes to recount. Our business consisted of steady hard work, of tea performed under circumstances of -difficulty, but so far as cannibals, or' horrors are concerned we neither saw the one nor. came across the other. The object of this journey, as indeed of all my previous work, has been not so much geographical research as the furtherance of the interests of Imperial Brij tain. My expedition left England in May, 1898, my companions being Captain Quickc, I King's Dragoon Guards; Cap.taln Stevenson Hamilton, Inniskilling ■■ Dragoons; Messrs L. C. Weiler arod Muller, and Captain Alexander, ornithologist, who, however, returned home at an early date after doing good work on the Zambesi. ACROSS THE ZAMBESI. The passage of the Zambesi proved moro exciting than we had anticipated, and had it not been for the admirable behaviour of the boats, which were specially constructed on the Hodgetts principle, the whole expedition would have been lost. On one occasion while towing and steaming up some rapids the boat got wedged on the rocks, and was only got off after great difficulty. It was entirely due to the splendid efforts of both whites and blacks that the boat 1 and those on board were saved.

During the ten months in whiek we were exploring in the Marotse country we worked independently, it having always been my impression that much effort is wasted when all the members of an expedition work on the same route. And here I think it only right to say, with regard to the stories which I hear have been current of dissension among the members of my party, that there was never from start to finish the slightest friction between' the working members of the expedition and myself. The loyalty and energy of Captains Qnlcke and Hamilton enabled the expedition to Increase the scope of its work. Captain Qulcke performed what I regard as one of the finest African journeys ever made. He not only crossed the continent from east to west, but in doing so travelled at least twice as far as was necessary for the mere crossing. As regards the passage of the Zambesi, I give the fullest credit to Mr Weller, who acted as engineer, and who on many occasions got us out of a nasty fix. Captains Quickc and Hamilton on reaching their respective coast ports heard of the war in South Africa, and both took part in the relief of Mafeking. I was less fortunate in this respect, as I only heard of hostilities four months after the declaration of war, when I was three months journey from South Africa. Our work in Marotseland was much facilitated by the cordial co-operation of Major Coryndon, the British representative, and of Lewanika, the king, 'In whose capital of lilalui I stayed for over nine weeks. CURIOUS RACE.OF BUSHMEN. While In Marotseland we discovered a tribe of bushmen totally different from any I had previously seen. Timid to a degree, they are of slight build, but not unduly short. They hare not thick lips but rather their lips recede, giving them almost the appearance of being toothless, and, curiously enough, they have a light skin/ being little darker than a surnburnt white mail. They are armed with bows and arrows,and have no habitations of any kind. Their food consists largely of snakes, and at the close' of their day's hunting they sleep on the ground wherever they may happen to be. They are nude except for a cat skin hamging from the waist. They were quite friendly, and, although at first they bolted at the sight of my camera,-1 ultimately succeeded In getting some photographs. Early last November I discovered the actual source of the Zambesi, which I found to be the best j part of a hundred indies north-west of the place attributed to It iv the standard maps. The river rises in an undulating but not mountainous country some 5000 feet above sea level. The whole vicinity is almost depopulated by the slave trade. While tra-

(■piling iv Marotseland I was surprised to find thai the traffic- in human flesh was actively carried on in the remoter districts. 1 wow had considerable difficulty owing to the refusal of my carriers to travel along anything but the caravan road. Fortunately, I had previously acquired five donkeys, and with these and only four boys I was compelled to push on. Progress was extremely difficult, as the river valleys were simply sponges necessitating; bridge building. Often I had to construct three bridges a day, and also to corduroy the swampy ground. Matters were not made any easier by two of my darkies beiug killed by lions, one of which I succeeded In shooting. After leaving Marotseland I fell in with a Belgian expedition under Lieutenant Leinaire on the Congo-Zambesi watershed, and I travelled with, his party for a month until we reached the Belgian station of Lukafu in Katanga. Alter reaching Lake Mwcru I journeyed .north to Tanganyika, through Belgian territory, and thence in native canoe.-! up the lake to Mtowa, the Belgian district headquarters, where I met Europeans of almost every nationality. Thence I was taken by Mr Kabinek, an Austrian, in the steamer Good News ro Uvira, a Belgian post at the extreme north end of Tanganyika. While 1 was on the march between this point and Lake Kivu the tlilliculties between the Belgians and the Germans with regard to the frontier wore at a crisis. ALL THE CURSES OF AFRICA.

Between Kivu ami Lake Albert Edward I traversed the volcanic regions known as Umfumbira (cooking range) in the norih and Kurunga to the south. Though said to be full of cannibals, 1 can only say that personally I saw no evidence of cannibalism. The people, who were armed with bows and arrows and lances, wore passively hostile. They lined the hills and narrowly watched my movements. At one time they became threatening, and gathered round in large numbers. My boys became alarmed, and closed round me, but there was no fighting, and I managed to get through safely. On getting near Lake Albert 1 witnessed the effects of all the curses of Africa at once. 1 had no sooner passed through recently raided villages, strewn with dead bodies, than I came upon a large village ill which the inhabitants were dying of starvation by hundreds. The scene was sickening, and the stench beyond description. About this time I saw a large war party, probably composed of cannibals, on the march to avenge the raidings to which I have referred, and on reaching a camp on Lake Albert Edward I saw live or six villages spring into flame almost simultaneously, telltag me that they had accomplished their work.

Proceeding up the east side of Lake Albert Edward towards Uganda I found that the natives, though not openly hostile, would render me no assistance, but there was a marked change on reaching Uganda proper. For the first time .since leaving the lower Zambesi I found natives walking about unarmed. Women and children did not run away at «ght of the white man, but stood aside and respectfully saluted. I spent several weeks at Kampala waiting for letters, and visited Sir Harry Johnston, who was then suffering from fever. Everything was quiet in Uganda, and the officials were looking forward with confidence to the effects of the reforms which the Commissioner was about to Introduce. From Uganda I proceeded to the Belgian station of Kere, on the Upper Nile, reaching there just four days too late to catch Major Pecke's sudd-cutting steamer. After spend-ing-a considerable time waiting for a steamer, I eventually got passage on a gunboat, and travelled down with Bimbashi Sanders, the Governor of Fasboda.

In conclusion, and In publicly thanking the officers of all nationalities for the courtesy shown to me in my travels, I wish specially to say a word about the Belgians.. I saw a good deal of them. I passed 11 of their stations, spent a fortnight at Katanga and three months on the Upper Nile, and I think it only right to say that I never saw any ground for the accusations brought against them—mostly, I believe, a native report, on which too much reliance seems to have been placed. Mr Muller's untimely death from dysentery was a serious loss to the personnel of the expedition. By his cheerful energy and many acts of devotion he had endeared himself to all his companions It was owinK to his death and Mr Weller's serious illness that the steamers and supplies were prevented from reaching us. ■