THE NAVY IN CENTRAL AFRICA

Otago Witness, Issue 3291, 11 April 1917, Page 7

THE NAVY IN CENTRAL AFRICA

10,000 MILE JOURNEY TO LAKE TANGANYIKA. SOME EXPERIENCES. A mcmlxf <£ tho British naval expedition to Laka Tanganyika, which has now returned to England, has related some- of his romantic experiences- to tho Central News.

"Tho African naval expedition," he stated, "composed of 27 oflicei'3 and men under Commander Spicer Simson, R.N. (mow D. 5.0.), left England in June, 1915, taking with them two small armoured motor boats, tho Mimi and the Tou-tou, each armed with a throe-pounder and a maxim gun, the object being to co-operato with the Belgians and drive the Germans off Lake Tanganyika. These boats were taken across country from Capetown through tho heart of the Congo bush by traction haulage, oxen, and native labour. Reads had to be made and hastily constructed bridges thrown across rivers and gorges until the River Lualaba was reached Here a river voyage of 350 miles lay in front of them, and after a journey of nearly 10,000 miles the boats were put into the lake on Christmas live.

"Christmas Day was occupied in fixing guns in position, and on J'oxing Day the Mimi and Tou-tou chased and captured the German gunboat Kingani, after an action lasting barely 15 'minutes. A few weeks later tho German gunboat Yon Wisemann was sunk by the British flotilla. This practically finished the Germans on the lake, the climax being reached when they blew up their remaining vessels and abandoned the lake, leaving it in th 3 hands of the British and Belgians. _ ' " Having finished their job, the expedition left Bismarckburg for their return journey to England on October 21, 1916. Trekking through tho forest of North Rhodesia, they found abundant sport, lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo, and varieties of buck abounding. On their camping ground each night largo fires were lighted to keep effl lions, whoso growls could be heard in the darkness. Native villagers turned out in hundreds to welcome the white men, bringing gifts of fowls, eggs, and native beer. Often the villagers accompanied tho expedition for considerable distances, dancing along and singing tho praises of the white men.

"After a 13 days' march the party arrived at River Lukuroo. Here a fleet of 150 'dug-outs' —canoes made of hollowed-out tree-trunks and paddled by natives—awaited them. By means of these canoes they reached the swamps of Lake Banguelo. " The expedition camped off the bank of the river each evening, always taking care to get tho evening meal over before darkness came on, as, owing to the swarms of mosquitoes, flies, and flying beetles, attracted by lisrhts, a meal by artificial light was quite "impossible. Often during the night the camp had to be shifted, owing to the unpleasant attentions of millions of ants, moving from an old abode to a new one, swarming over everything. The bite of these ants was distinctly painful, the only remedy being to go and. stand in the river up to one's neck and rub the ants off one's bodv.

"In these parts there was a marked difference in the attitude of the natives, who m great fear fled into the bush on the appearance of the white men. From Lake Banguelo the party were srlad to get into the River Luapulu, and from there a short trek took them to ih* railhead of N'Doro."