506 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. IX., ISO. 225 



were rejected, however, and he received instruc- 

 tions to return to his province and develop its re- 

 sources. He did so, but since that time the Mahdi 

 has cut off his connection with Egypt, and the 

 accession of King Mwanga in Uganda has cut off 

 that with the south. A. M. Mackay the mission- 

 ary, who is kept as a kind of hostage by the king, 

 writes on June 26, 1886, in reference to this des- 

 pot, "Again and again he has expressed his deter- 

 mination not to let us leave, being guilty in his 

 conscience, and constantly alarmed by rumors 

 from the east, partly arising from Dr. Fischer's 

 journey that way, and partly from reports of the 

 presence of w^hat we think must be the main body 

 of Bishop Hannington's caravan. . . . He has 

 ordered our boats to be v^^atched lest we should 

 escape, and he is reported to have said tiiat when 

 he hears of an array reaching the Ripen Falls he 

 will murder us at once, and then let the white 

 men come and catch him. . . . Every time a fit 

 of malice comes on, it is on suspicion that we 

 mean to ' eat the country.' . . . Being alarmed, 

 he is dangerous, while his insufferable conceit 

 makes him ob'-tinate " {Scottish geogr. mag., Dec. 

 1886). It will be remembered that Junker found 

 great difficulty in getting leave to return south. 



The state of Emin's province in the summer of 

 1886 may best be seen from a letter written by 

 him to Robert Felkin on July 7, 1886, vt'hich has 

 been published in the Scottish geographical maga- 

 zine. He says, " I am glad to be able to te!l you 

 that the province is in complete safety and 

 order. It is true that the Bari gave us some little 

 trouble, but I was soon able to restore order in their 

 district. Since I last wrote you, all the stations 

 are busily employed in agricultural wOrk, and, at 

 each one, considerable cotton plantations are 

 doing well. This is all the more important for 

 us, as it enables us, to a certain extent, to cover 

 our nakedness. I have also introduced the shoe- 

 maker's art, and you would be surprised to see 

 the progress we have made. We now make our 

 own soap, and we have at last enough meat and 

 grain, so that we have sufficient to keep life 

 goiug ; such luxuries, however, as sugar, etc., of 

 course we have not seen for many a long day. 

 I forgot to say that we are growing the most 

 splendid tobacco. . . . Our relations with Ka- 

 braga have still continued friendly. He has also 

 had the goodness to send my letters to Mr. Mackay 

 in Uganda, and has permitted me to buy several 

 necessary articles from the Zanzibar Arabs who 

 live in his country. Captain Casati has, on this 

 account, acceded to my wishes, and taken up his 

 residence with Kabraga in the mean time, in order 

 to look after our interests. Dr. Junker is at pres- 

 ent in Uganda, and hopes soon to start on his 



homeward journey. I am only too glad that 

 he at least has been enabled to escape from 

 hei'e." 



It will be remembered that the Mahdi, after 

 the conquest of the province of Bar-el-Gasal, tried 

 to attack Emin Pasha. His expedition, however, 

 proved a failure. In the equatorial province com- 

 munication was not interrupted at any time, and 

 we hear of frequent journeys between Lado and 

 the upper end of Lake Mvutan. 



Since that time Emin's position has not become 

 worse, as Junker succeeded in sending him from 

 Uganda two thousand dollars' worth of cotton 

 goods, and later news refer to goods bought by 

 Emin's agents in Uganda. The latest letter of 

 Emin Pasha is dated Dec. 18, 1886. He writes to 

 Dr. Junker that King Mwanga allowed him to 

 buy goods from Zanzibar! merchants, and that 

 he obtained permission to have ammunition and 

 provisions sent froin Zanzibar. 



From these facts we conclude that Emin's posi- 

 tion in his province is difficult on account of his 

 isolation from Europe, but that there is no immi- 

 nent danger. Therefore Stanley's expedition is 

 not so much a relief expedition as one intended to 

 provide him with such troops, guns, and ammu- 

 nition as will enable him to hold, his own in his 

 province, and to continue the work he has so suc- 

 cessfully begun. Evidently he is unwilling to 

 leave his soldiers and officers, and to abandon a 

 province in which, under the most adverse circum- 

 stances, he has restored peace, and saved the 

 natives from the oppressions of corrupt officers 

 and slave-hunters. 



Stanley's expedition could not take the nearest 

 and best-known route t hrough Uganda, on account 

 of the hostility of Mwanga. Neither was it ad- 

 visable to avoid Uganda by passing north-east of 

 the Victoria Nyanza ; for the Waganda frequent- 

 ly make war upon the tribes of that district, 

 while they do not visit the region west of Unyoro. 

 Though ."litanley expeiiences considerable diffi- 

 culty in reaching Stanley Pool, his expedition has 

 been so far very lucky, and there has been hardly 

 any imexpected delay. Once on the upper 

 Kongo, he will not find any difficulty in reaching 

 the rapids of the Mburu, from which point his 

 route will be easterly through an unknow^n 

 country. It is not probable that his large caravan 

 will meet any serious obstacle, and we may hope 

 that he will succeed in accomplishing his object, 

 thus enabling Emin Pasha either to return, or to 

 continue his work in safety. 



That our readers may be able to follow the 

 doings in Central Africa, we publish with this 

 number a map of the region, which is corrected 

 to date. 



