THE FRENCH EXPEDITION IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA.

Press, Volume XXXI, Issue 4288, 28 April 1879, Page 3

THE FRENCH EXPEDITION IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA.

The French Geographical Society- (#ays an English journal) will shortly hold' a special meeting at the Sorbonne to weloome Lieutenant Savofgnan de Braze i and Dr. Bsllay, who have just returned to France from their, three years' expedition' in equatorial Africa. The expedition was undertaken for the pur- | pose of tracing the course of the river Ogowai in the French settlement of Gaboon ; and at the end of 1874, Lieutenant SavorgI nan de Brazza end De. Bellay landed" upon the. west coast, accompanied by M. Marohe, who had been the companion of* the' late Marquis de Oompiegne in more than one of his journeys, but who did aot go very far with them. Both the lieutenant and the doctor were laid op with fever for some time; and it was not until August, 1875, that they left the last of the European factories; at Lambarene, the real starting. point of their . expedition, with an escort of twelve laptots (native Senegal, troops in the French service), under the command of Quartermaster Hamon. The course of the river Ogowai may be divided into three sections of about equal length—the tipper; the middle, and the lower. The middle' section. follows' the equatorial- line, the two others l bending about one degree southward, the one towards its source, the other towards its mouth. The goods and baggage had to be conveyed in canoes and upon the backs of the natives; but throughout the whole of their journey MM; de Brazza and Bellay Bad great difSoulty in obtaining any assistance from the blacks; and towards the end they encountered open hostility. Halting at Lope, a large village situated on the Ogowai, about halfway between its source and the Atlantic, the travellers made a journey into the territory of the Fans, who seemed very friendly ; and from thence to Doume, much higher up the river. Here M. de Brazza was struck down by illneet, and the expedition remained at Doume till the spring of 1877. Above the falls of Poubara the Ogowai becomes a very insignificant stream; and the expedition might have ended there, for the question as to whether the Ogowai communicated with large inland lakes was settled in the negative; bat the leaden determined to explore the country beyond the source of the river. In March, 1878, they were compelled to renounce the service of the free natives and secure forty slaves, who were far more dooile, and who' were well rewarded for their work. After leaving the basin of the Ogowai, the expedition Buffered a good deal from want of food and water, the country being devastated by famine; but matters mended when they reached the N'yambo, a stream flowing eastward, which brought them to a large river, the Alima, not indicated upon any map. This river, which ia nearly 200 , yards broad at many points, and about sixteen feet deep, is, as they believe, one of the tributaries of the Congo. They followed the Alima for some distance, partly on foot, partly in canoes ; but they were attacked at various points by the natives, and after three of the escort had been wounded they felt it necessary to return their fire. Anxious to avoid a night attack on the river, M. de Brazza and Dr. Bellay disembarked their men, and threw up some entrenchments, which were attacked the next day by the natives, whom they succeeded in repulsing. Having only fifteen guns, and with their ammunition running short, they resolved, however, to abandon the course of the stream, which continued to run eastward, and making towards the north they found the natives less hostile, but they could not obtain any provision*. After crossing several streams, all of which flowed eastward, the expedition was obliged to separate ; M. de Braaaa pursuing his journey beyond the equatorial line, while Dr. Bellay and quarter-master Hamon awaited him at the falls of Poubara. M. de Brazza made some progress in this direction ; but, the rainy season Betting in and barring his further progress, he rejoined hie companion in September, the expedition getting back to Gaboon at the end of November. The expedition had lasted three years, during fifteen months of which its members were cut off from all communication with the civilised world ; while for the last five months they had to march barefooted, their legs oovered with sores, and half-starved. But they can set against this the fact that 800 milee of ground were covered, more than half on foot, and that the area of ground hitherto unexplored which has been brought within the domain of geography is equal to that of Belgium.