Stanley's Adventures in the Wilds of Africa: A Graphic Account of the Several Expeditions of Henry M. Stanley into the Heart of the Dark ContinentHeadley, Joel Tyler
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Stanley's Adventures in the Wilds of Africa: A Graphic Account of the Several Expeditions of Henry M. Stanley into the Heart of the Dark Continent
Headley, Joel Tyler
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904
Before night a caravan arrived, bringing, among other things, a copy of
the _Herald_, containing an account of a Presidential levee in
Washington, in which the toilette of the various ladies were given.
While engrossed in reading in his tent, Stanley suddenly became aware
that his tent-door was darkened, and looking up, he saw the chief's
daughters gazing with wondering eyes on the great sheets of paper he
was scanning so closely. The sight of these naked beauties, glittering
in brass wire and beads, presented a ludicrous contrast to the
elaborately-dressed belles of whom he had been reading in the paper, and
made him feel, by contrast, in what a different world he was living.
On the 12th, the caravan reached Munondi, on the Ungerangeri River. The
country was open and beautiful, presenting a natural park, while the
roads were good, making the day's journey delightful. Flowers decked the
ground, and the perfume of sweet-smelling shrubs filled the air. As they
approached the river, they came upon fields of Indian corn and gardens
filled with vegetables, while stately trees lined the bank. On the 14th,
they crossed the river and entered the Wakami territory. This day and
the next the road lay through a charming country. The day following,
they marched through a forest between two mountains rising on either
side of them, and on the 16th reached the territory of Wosigahha. As he
approached the village of Muhalleh he was greeted with the discharge of
musketry. It came from the fourth caravan, which had halted here. Here
also good news awaited him. An Arab chief, with a caravan bound east,
was in the place, and told him that he had met Livingstone at Ujiji, and
had lived in the next hut to him for two weeks. He described him as
looking old, with long, gray mustache and beard, just recovered from
illness, and looking very wan. He said, moreover, that he was fully
recovered, and was going to visit a country called Monyima. This was
cheering news, indeed, and filled Stanley's heart with joy and hope. The
valley here, with its rich crops of Indian corn, was more like some
parts of the fertile west than a desert country. But the character of
the natives began to change. They became more insolent and brutal, and
accompanied their requests with threats.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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