Stanley in Africa: The Wonderful Discoveries and Thrilling Adventures of the Great African Explorer, and Other Travelers, Pioneers and MissionariesBoyd, James P. (James Penny)
History
Stanley in Africa: The Wonderful Discoveries and Thrilling Adventures of the Great African Explorer, and Other Travelers, Pioneers and Missionaries
Boyd, James P. (James Penny)
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904
After a march of 113 days the southern waters of Victoria Nyanza were
reached. From this point Stanley sent letters to the coast stating that
his objective was now Mpwapwa, 230 miles inland, whither provisions
should be sent. This was done, and an armed escort was furnished him by
German officials thence to the coast, at Bagamoyo, opposite Zanzibar,
where the expedition arrived about December 1, 1889. Thence steamer was
taken to Zanzibar, where the hero of the expedition, together with Emin
Pasha, and all the officials, were received with open arms, fetes and
acclamations. Telegrams of congratulations poured in from crowned heads,
and all parts of the world. A sample from Queen Victoria types them all.
London, December 12th:
“My thoughts are after you and your brave followers, whose hardships
and dangers are at an end. I again congratulate you all, including
the Zanzibaris, who displayed such devotion and fortitude during your
marvelous expedition. I trust Emin Pasha is making favorable progress.”
One drawback to all these exultations at Zanzibar was the fact that Emin
Pasha, after escaping all the tribulations of the wilderness, had fallen
from the piazza of his hotel at Bagamoyo, on December 5th, and received
injuries of an alarming nature. The sad announcement of this clouded the
occasion somewhat, and gave a tone of melancholy to what would have been
unmixed gratulation.
In reply to a cablegram from the Emperor of Germany, Stanley said,
December 7th:
“Imperator et rex. My expedition has now reached its end. I have had
the honor to be hospitably entertained by Major Weismann and other of
your Majesty’s officers under him. Since arriving from Mpwapwa our
travels have come to a successful conclusion. We have been taken across
from Bagamoyo to Zanzibar by your Majesty’s ships Sperber and Schwalbe,
and all honors coupled with great affability, have been accorded
us. I gratefully remember the hospitality and princely affability
extended to me at Potsdam; and profoundly impressed with your Majesty’s
condescension, kindness and gracious welcome. With a full and sincere
heart I exclaim, long live the noble Emperor William.”
And writing for the general public, he says:
“Over and above the happy ending of our appointed duties, we have not
been unfortunate in geographical discoveries. The Aruwimi is now known
from its source to its bourne. The great Congo forest, covering as
large an area as France and the Iberian Peninsula, we can now certify
to be an absolute fact. The Mountains of the Moon this time, beyond the
least doubt, have been located, and Ruwenzori, “The Cloud King” robed
in eternal snow, has been seen and its flanks explored, and some of its
shoulders ascended, Mounts Gordon Bennett and Mackinnon cones being but
giant sentries warding off the approach to the inner area of ‘The Cloud
King.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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