266 



NA TURE 



[January 21, 1892 



teriology " ; but we almost forgive this irrelevant intrusion 

 in admiration of the way in which he bore his many and 

 great trials ; and we find ourselves happy when we read 

 that on January 25, 1888, Stairs appeared on the scene 

 with a column of fine-looking men, fat, muscular, and 

 glossy-skinned, these beiiig the very same who had left 

 Ipoto as skeletons only three months ago. 



Ipoto was left without regret, but with friendly farewells, 

 on January 27. Stairs's able men had the boat to carry ; 

 the feeble folk crawled on as best they could ; some days 

 two miles, other days three or four, or even six, would be 

 got over ; one day one man would lie down and die, 

 another day two would follow the example ; but at last, 

 on February 8, Fort Bodo was gained. 



Mr. Stanley and Jephson had it in excellent order ; 

 six tons of Indian corn were stored up in the granary ; 

 there was a rich supply of plantains over a radius of a 

 couple of miles ; there was a good water supply, and even 

 a stock of milch cattle, three cows, and about twenty 

 goats. The camp was in a clearing of the forest ; a plan 

 of it will be found in " Darkest Africa " ; there was one 

 road leading to it from Manyuema, and another which 

 led in the direction of the Albert Nyanza ; the huts were 

 good ; each had a good veranda, which furnished some 

 shade. While arrangements were being made for Mr. 

 Stanley's second visit — this time with the boat — to the 

 lake, he took seriously ill ; and it was a month before, 

 thanks to his constitution and the care of his doctor, he 

 was again able to think of advancing. Nelson was then 

 left in care of the fort. Stairs had been sent back to 

 Ugarrowa's camp to bring up the men who had been left 

 there, and he was to abide with Nelson at Fort Bodo 

 until Stanley's second return. 



On April 2, 1888, the second march to the Albert 

 Nyanza began ; the force numbered 122. In eight days 

 the Ituri River was reached, and on the next day the 

 open plain, and for the first time for twelve months 

 Parke was out of the dark forest. 



We need not dwell on the journey through the hilly 

 country, on the first views of the Mountains of the Moon, 

 and of the lake, nor of the meeting with Emin Pasha, 

 for all these facts have been related- at greater length in 

 Mr. Stanley's volumes, but it being arranged that Stanley 

 should return to Yambuyafor the rear column, and bring 

 them up to the lake before the general return to Zan- 

 zibar should be commenced, he and Dr. Parke started 

 back through the forest on May 24, leaving Jephson 

 behind with Emin Pasha ; the men at this time appear 

 to have been in good condition, so that Fort Bodo was 

 reached in about ten days' march ; the natives on the 

 route back were friendly, and one day was devoted to 

 helping some of the chiefs in a feudal fight. 



At Fort Bodo, Stairs and Nelson were found "looking 

 fit," but many of the people, some of whom had been 

 brought by Stairs from Ugarrowa's camp, were suffering 

 from fever and bad ulcers. From this fort Mr. Stanley 

 departed on his memorable journey to Yambuya on 

 June 16, leaving Stairs in command at Fort Bodo, with 

 Nelson and Parke to assist. Fifty-seven men were left 

 in their charge, and Stanley's' directions were that when 

 Jephson came to Fort Bodo, which he had arranged to 

 do within two or three months, then all the party were, as 

 soon as could be, to return with all the loads to the lake, 

 NO. I 1 60, VOL. 45] 



and remain there with Emin Pasha until Stanley came 

 up from Yambuya. This part of the volume is full of 

 interest, as it gives us for the first time an idea of how a 

 period of just over six months was spent in this fort ; for, 

 as matters turned out, Jephson with Emin Pasha being 

 made prisoners, was unable to come to them, and they 

 waited in some impatience, until at last the leader himself 

 appeared with the remnant of the party from Yambuya. 

 Parke accompanied Stanley on his way to Yambuya as 

 far as the Manyuema camp (Ipoto), to collect some ot 

 the goods which had been left behind during his former 

 residence there. 



From Ipoto Mr. Stanley went west, and Parke returned to 

 Fort Bodo, bringing with him not only the goods he went 

 back for, but some seed rice, some goats, and, not least, a 

 female dwarf, one of the pygmies, whom he had purchased 

 for a handful of beans, twelve cups of rice, and six cups 

 of corn. He also had full instructions from his chief; 

 among these latter were orders to " Plant, sow, and plant, 

 as though you were going to make a long stay at Fort 

 Bodo. If Jephson comes, well, you can go along with 

 him. If Jephson does not turn up, you have abundance 

 of food for yourselves." It took Parke ten days to get 

 back to Fort Bodo, and on July 6 the long watch began. 



By August 9 the men were so broken down by the 

 prevailing ulcers that it was impossible to go out after 

 any game, for there were not enough of them to form 

 a guard ; twenty-five were " badly sick " out of the 

 fifty-five. There seems, judging by the statements on 

 p. 256, to have been a somewhat slack surveillance of 

 sanitary matters about the camp, which, from the plan 

 made by Stairs, was one apparently easily kept clean ; a 

 stream abounding in small fish ran not far away ; but Parke 

 declares that " the Zanzibaris owe a great deal of their 

 physical ill-being to their timidity and laziness." The 

 officers in charge did not by any means escape their 

 share of sickness, and first Parke was laid up, and then 

 Nelson, and lastly, Stairs. On September 5, Ali Jumba 

 came to Stairs and told him that the men proposed, first, 

 that fifteen of the strongest of them should go with one 

 white officer to the edge of the forest, and, if they found 

 the natives friendly, that they should then push on to 

 Emin, asking him to come on and relieve the others at 

 the fort ; or, secojidly, that all the men should leave the 

 fort, and convey the loads by a system of double journeys, 

 until they should arrive at some good banana plantation, 

 where they should make a camp, and remain until re- 

 lieved either by Stanley or Jephson. The men made these 

 proposals, because they said they could get little or no 

 food at Fort Bodo, and that they would die of starvation 

 unless some move was made. 



On a consultation, it was resolved that neither of these 

 ideas of the men were practicable, and that there was no 

 fear of starvation, as there was corn already in store to 

 furnish a small quantity to each man of the party until 

 the new corn should be reaped. When October came, 

 all hopes of Jephson making his appearance were aban- 

 doned, and no thoughts as to the true cause of his non- 

 appearance seem to have entered their minds. 



December 18 was the day on which Mr. Stanley said 

 he expected to return to Fort Bodo, and on the 20th he 

 appeared. He was looking careworn and haggard to an 

 extreme degree. Bonny was the only one of the staff 



