American.

Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 435, 11 September 1872, Page 3

American.

GLORIOUS NEWS. : (From f Now York Herald '3rd July.) : It is with the deepest emotions of pride and that I announce the arrival thisvday, of letters from Mr Stnnley, Chiet of the * Herald ', Exploring Expedition to Central Africa, I have forwarded the leTters by mail. Knowing, however, the importance; ot the subject and the » m PJ" tience with which reliable news is awaited, I hasten to telegraph' a summary of the 'flerald 'JexpldrerV letters, which arp full of the most romantic interest, while affirmfrig, emphatically, the safety of Dr Livings»on<y and confirming themeagre reports already sent on here by telegraph . from Bombay ami duly forwarded to the 1 Herald.' To bring up the thread of the •thrilling narrative where the last communication from him ended, he proceeds' with his account of the journey. It will be rer called that. when last heard, from he had * arrived in the country of Unyanyembe,. after a. perilous .maroh of eighty-two days from Jßajrampyo, on ...the | coast, opposite tha island 'of Zanzibiar.- " The road up . td'ttiis pbint had been in the regular caravan track', and tlie 'journey' was performed in a ■much shorter, time f than the same distance had' been traversed by previous explorers. - Th# expedition arrived' at Unyahyembe on the 28rd of June, 1871,' where -he sent forward his communication. TJie caravan ■ had need of rest, and it was necessary »to refit while: an opportunity was at hand through the medium ot the Arab .caravans then on .their way to various: points, on the coast with ivory and slaves. The exnedi-; tionjiad sujffered lerribly, but the heart of the, 'Herald 'explorer .never gave out. ■The terrible climate of the countries through which it had .passed told, on it even more, than the difficulties of the tribes' at war among themselves and upon everything that came their way, and which th^y were in sufficient force to attack. The caravans met at the various halting places i threw every discouragement in the wa^/ which tended to destroy the morale of the expedition. - Seedy Bombay, however, the captain of the expedition proved invaluable in controlling the disaffected, whether with tact or. a wholesome display of force when necessary. The incessant rains, alternated with a fierce African sun, made the atmosphere heavy, charged with moisture, and producing a rank, rotten vegetation. In the mountainous regions which we traversed the climate was, of course, much better, and the result was that the expedition •much improved in health. The miasmatic vapors and other hardships of the journey had played sad havoc with its number and force. The total loss up to this point by sickness had been one white man, two of the armed escort, and eight of the pagazis or native porters. The two horses had also succumbed, and twenty-seven of the asses had either fallen by the wayside and had to be abandoned or else the rascally native donkey leaders had allowed them to stray from the kraal at night. As a consequence, a considerable quantity of the stores were either lost or wasted., but .the rolls of Merikahi (American cloth) — for shukkah and doti — the beads and wire— had been as far as possible preserved, they being the only money in Central Africa.. In July all was prepared to move through Unyanyembe; but before long it was found that almost insuperable difficulties were interposed. The country 1 tnere is composed of thick jungle, with large clearings frr the cultivation of holeus. The utmost alarm and excitement was spread through the native villages at the expectation of a war. The inhabitants were shy of intercourse, and it was with great difficulty that supplies could be obtained. A little further .on the villages on either side of the track were found to be filled with Arab caravans afraid to advance, and gathering together for security. The cause of all this alarm was soon discovered. The ku honga or black mail levied by the head men of the tribes as a sort of toll for passage through their territories, had been inordinately raised in the TJjowa country by Mirambo, King of the "Wagowa. Obstinate fights had already occurred in which small bands of his soldiers had been several being killed. He had, therefore, declared to the traders that no caravan should pass to TJjiji except over his body. The Arabs thereupon held a council, and, finding themselves strong in fighting men declared war on Mirainbo. The ' Herald.' commander took part in this. The Arabs appeared to anticipate a'speedy victory, and preparations for a jungle fight were accordingly made. The ammunition was looked to, muskets inspected and matchlocks cleaned. The superior armament of the ' Herald ' expedition made their assistance a matter of great importance to the Arabs. . .-, A.n:' address , was delivered to the members of the expedition through Selim, the interpreter, and the forces, with the American flag flying, were marshalled by Captain Seedy Bombay. At daybreak on the day following, according to previous arrangement, the q,rmpd men were divided into three parties. - The vanguard for attack, the rear guard as immediate reserve, and the >remainder, consisting of the less active, yrer& stationed. with the impedimenta and the slaves in the kraals. The advance was : ordered and: responded to with alacrity, and the first village, where the .soldiers of s Mirambo were lying was , at once attacked and speedily captured. ■ The inhabitants were either killed or clriven ■away! ','"',''■ • •' '" ' • > " .■'••■' " '' . --*^ftfh'jer v jllage fqllqwed the fat§ of the fjrst/ and T h;bth yejs ; I#| |n a§hes. bpftjre nfghtfail: The trpops TFearifid; wij;h $he hpt day's/work, but all I "if ere- plate at 1 t^gfrsucee^s. thus fee. (fhe cpminanderifcifche i Heral^ |:.exppd|t^Qn^ qn^fs: return; fo QAmVf pasge4 ft iwpt,* mi

m:>rnmg found him in a high fever. ;■ He was therefore obliged to remain in camp, and his forces refused to fight except under his lead. This weakened the Arab force considerably, and, although the dreaded Mirambo and his followers, thirsting for vengeance, were known to be in the vicinity, the day was passed in fatal inactivity. ; The third day seemed as if about to pass like the preceding, * the Herald' com: mander -still-' suffering from the fever, -when shots were, heard in the direction of the Arab kraals, and it soon became evident that the wily Mirambo had^ ambushed the Arabs This, in effect/ was the case.. A, superior body of natives, armed with muskets, assegais (spjears) arid poisoned arrows, bad suddenly burst upon the Arabs. A terrific slaughter ensued, jvvhich ended in the rout of the Arabs, who took refuge in the jungle. The fourth day brought with it the; fruit of the disaster. The Arabs could not be prevailed on to renews the fight, and desertion and flight, became the order of the day. Even the men of the ' Herald ' Expedition ..deserted/leaving but six; with #n% commander. Mirambo now threatened the town of ; Unyanyembe. j By; is'tupe'ndbuß exertion the commander collected one hundred and fifty of the jfugitives, these being convinced by their numbers, when collected together, that Resistance was iti ll possible, resolved toiqbey the commander. With five days' provisions on hand the houses were loopholed and barricades .erected, videttes stationed arid the. defenders'told off as well as 'their number*, armanient arid morale could be individually depended on. The American flag 1 was hoisted, and the trembling; inhabitants awaited the expected attack. This, however, wa9 destined noi to come off; for, to the general ;delight. a Wanyamwezi scout brought in the joyful ; intelligence that Mirambo, with all his forces had departed, not caring to risk an engagement except in the jungle. Mustering* what force was possible, the intrepid * Herald ' commander then started for Ujiji, on the Tanganyika Lake, or Sea of Ujiji. The Arabs endeavoured in vain to dissuade him from this. Death, they said, was certain to the muzanyu (white man) and his fol-. lowers. This frightened the already demoralised pagazis, and caused a serious loss to the expedition in the person of Shaw, the English sailor. Undaunted by the forebodings of ill, and the losses by desertion, the caravan once more was on the march and pushed forward by another road to the one where Mirambo and his Africans were awaiting the first caravan. This road lay through an untrodden desert and caused a great detour in order to come again upon the caravan road in the rear of the Wajowa. No great mishaps were met with, and when the villages and cultivated fields of sorghum and holcus were reached everything progressed favourably. Alter a four hundred mile journey the outlying portions of the province of Ujiji were reached. Word had reached the expedition of the presence of Dr Livingstone in the province within a recent period, and accordingly preparations were made ior a triumphal entry into Ujiji. The pagalis who chanced to be unladen, proceeded, beating drums and blowing upon Kudu horns. The armed escort fired salutes every moment, keeping feu de joie, and the American flag floated proudly over all. In the distance lay the silver bosom of Tanganyika Lake, at the foot of the stately mountains' in the background, Bnd fringed with tall trees and lovely verdure. It was a lovely relief to the pilgrims of progress. Before them lay the settlement or town of Ujiji, with its huts and houses looking dreamily like a land of rest. The astonished natives turned out at the unwonted display, and flocked in crowds to meet them with deafening shouts and beating of drums. Among they advancing throng was noticed a muscular group of turbaned Arabs, As the advanced still nearer one of the group who walked in the centre was noticed to. be differently attired from the others. The group halted, and the word was passed back that a mazaugu was among them. Spurring forward the 'Herald commander indeed. saw that, strongly contrasting with the dusky, sunburnt Arab faces, was a hale-looking, grey-bearded white man, wearing a navy cap, with a faded gold band and a red woollen jacket. It was a trying moment, wherein every emotion of hope and fear flashed through the brain. The fatigues fadedfin the intensity of the situation; The questions, was this he who bad Bofl'ong been sought, or could it be a delusion of the mind, or was the white man some unknown wolf of humanity? crowded the mind, bringing their changing feelings with them. A few. feet in front of the group the ' Herald ' commander halted, dismounted and advanced on foot. A Historic meeting. Preserving a calmness of exterior before the Arabs which was hard to simulate as he reached the group, Mr Stanley said : — "Dr Livingstone, I presume ?" A smile lit up the features of the hale white man as he answered :—" Yes, that is my name." The meeting was most cordial, and the wearied baravan, joyous at the triumph of the expedition, were escorted to the town. After a rest and a meal, in which milk, honey and fish from Tanganyika were new features, Livingstone told his story, which in brief as follows : — In March, 1866, he informed the ' Herald 'explorer that he started with twelve Sepoys, nine Johanna men, and seven liberated slaves. He travelled up the i Eoyuma river. ■ Ije|qr.e th^y had tjaei} ..gQPfI. YSP7 l° n g the. lnqn, be.ca.ine frightened a, t the nature pf the jqurney, and' the. reports of hostile triljes, up the cpu.n.l% they were to. pass through, At length tliey d.essrt£d him,

doing soy circulated the report of: his death. ' Livingstone proceeded on his journey in spite of the isolation, and after some difficult marching reached the Chambezi River, which he crossed. He found that this was not the Portuguese Zambezi River, as had been conjectured, but, on the contrary, wholly separate. He traced its course, and found it called; further on the Lualaba., . He continued his explorations along its banks for 700 miles, and has become convinced in con sequence, that, the Chambezi is doubtless, the source of the Nileji and that this will mate a total length for the mystic river of Africa of 2,000 miles. His explorations also establish that the Nile is not supplied by Lake Tanganyika. He reached within 180 miles of the source and explored the surrounding ground,- when finding himself without •supplies, he was, obliged to return £o Ujiji, and. was in . a -,• state . of destitution there twhen m<3t by the "commander of the ' Herald ' expedition. On the 16th of .October, 1871,. the two explorers left Ujiji and arcived at TJnyanyembe toward! the end of November, where they passed together exploring the district. They then returned and spent Christmas together at tTjiji. The 'Herald ' explorer arrived at the point of sending this ;, important intelligence , on the 14th of Marchy 1872 leaving Livingstone at Unyanyembe. ' Livingstone's further plans— He, will explore jthe. north , shore of Tanganyika Lake and the remaining 180 miles of the Lualaba River. '„ . . . . This herculean task he expects will occupy, the next two years. ;