The New York Herald Newspaper, November 15, 1875, Page 3

THE PANDORA, An Exciting, Interesting Voyage to the Northern Seas. BEAR HUNTING IN THE WATER. Groping Without Compass or Sun Through Ice Drift and Fog, -—-—— THE GRAVES ON BEECHY ISLAND. “Monument House’-—-A Scene of Devastation and Ruin. Bereny Ist.anp, August 25, 1875. Running south all next day before a rattling northern breeze we arrived in the entrance to Lancaster Sound | on the morning of the 20th and soon were iif sight of ice, Here we had another bear hunt, Forty miles away from any land we found an old she bear and two cubs swimming about as leisurely as though water was their natural element. A poat was instantly lowered and an exciting chage took place. A fresh breeze was biowing at the time, which caused a rough, chopping tea, and the bears struck out to windward as though they instinctively knew this would pat the boat ata disadvantage. They appear to be very intelligent and affectionate animals. The old bear swam a short dis iance whead of the young ones, but kept continually turning about, as if te encourage them and urge them on. It was pitiful. to see the poor beasts swimming thus for life, without a bope of escape, and the more so a8 they appeared to be quite aware of their danger, and made the most desperate efforts to get away. It was alin vain, Whatchance had they against four Mout pair of arms pulling alight shell of a boat that shot over the water under the rapid stroke of the oars Uke an arrow? {0 a quarter of an hour the boat nad fot ap to within three or four yards of them; there | Were two shots, and the old bear and one of the cubs stopped swimming and lay lifeless on the water. Cap- jain Young had shot one and Mr, Pirie tho other, But bey determ:ned to capture the third, and with much difficulty succeeded at last in throwing a running ‘noose over his Lead. He resisted with all his might, setting up a ferce howl and trymg to capsize the boat, which he would ‘very soon have succeeded in doing had he but been able to get one paw over her thwarts, Finding the bout was too swift for hin he tried to hold back. He Awam and struggled and dove, and tore and bit at the rope, and half drowned himself, howling’ savagely all the time, They at last brought him alongside and fastened him up to the nettings, giving him line to #wim about, while the bodies of the other two were dragged up over the side. He watehed this operation with strange, wild, intelligent eyes, as though wondering what his mother meant by going in so quietly, and, curiously enough, began yet in too, He was only a baby bear after all, and thought that if his mother went in it must be all tight. He did not resist when hauled over in his turn, but scrambled up willingly, snapping viciously at everybody, however, when he got a chance, evidently much frigntened, nevertheless, He was chained up to the side, but kept up a terrible howling until the body of the other cub, still warm, was thrown to him. He instantly sprang upon it and began rooting and smell- Ing at it, pushing it with his nose, uttering all the While a plaintive moan, and occasionally biting it | fently as though trying to awaken it, Then he lay down beside it, with his head on the body, and Watched us with his sharp, inquiring, intelligent eyes, in an imploring way, as though asking us What We moant by treating him in that cruel manner, ‘He howled hideously when the body was taken away from him, but consoled himself witb the skin of the old one, which was thrown to him, and upon which he lay down and slept, Poor little fellow! He was as fright- ened as achilt by the terrible and powerful beings around him, and found adreary kind of company in the skin of his dead mother. FOG AND DRIPT ICE, We pushed forward steadily during the 20th and 21st, seeing only a little ice, and that was along the northern shore. On the evening of the 21st, when off Cape Wa render, we were enveloped in a heavy clond of fog, which came rolling off the land, and soon after we came into loose drift ice, and as we could not see what might be before us we were obliged to heave to and wait. As this fog and drift ice betokened ® pack before us we kept off during the aight and worked slowly down toward the south coast, When the fog cleared away next morning we found ourselves on the edge of an extensive pack, which Reemed to cover the whole sound and through which no land could be seen. So we stood again for the north shore, pushing through the loose ice here and there, but keeping outside the pack until two in the afternoon, when we were close enough to the land to see there was no more hope of a lead here than there was on the south side, and we therefore hove to again. So much ice in Lan- caster Sound in August is a very unusual thing and we were greatly disappointed at finding our way blocked, the more as it was already getting late in the season and we had not yet arrived atthe critical part of our voyage. However, there was nothing todo but wait patiently torachange. An Arctic navigator cau com- mit no greater mistake than to plunge into a pack be- yond which he can see no open water, slightest movement of the ice is suffictent to make either advance or retreat impossible, so that atter hav. ‘ug made ouly three or four miles perhaps he finds himsel{ beset for the winter, with open water in sight, which he would be able to reach had be not allowed his ship to get beset. The best plan ia ¢o wait, for the light- est Wind will sometimes cause wonderful changes in the lee in a few hours, DANGER PROM ICR, We had proof of this upon the present occasion. The ship had been allowed to drift against a floe to which she was moored, but we bad not been here more than two hours when the ice began to move, and before we knew it we were almost caught by the loose ice which came drifting down upom ls, threatening to jam us against the pack. It required some sharp dodging to scape, which we effected with as little delay as possible, und again proceeded along the edge of the pack toward the southern shore. A light southerly breeze had sprung up, and it was this which had put the Jee in motion, driving it toward the northeru shore. We were delighted with the view of open water here on the southern side of the Sound, and, putting on gail and Steam, we were soon fur past the barrier which but-a few hours before had appeared impenetrable, buying been delayed here just twenty-four hours, Lancaster Sound was discovered by Sir John Ross in 1820, and pronounced by him to be a bay, although he had scarevly cntered it, It was afterward navigated by Parry in 1825, who proved it to be @ sound which con- uected with a strait, which he ealled Barrow, that in its turn conducted into a chal |, Which he named alter Wellington, and another broad, ice bound sea, after ward named Melville Sound, Lancaster Sound bas of late years become a fishing ground for the Dundee whalers, who generally fish bere in July, aud sometimes push as far west as Regent lolet, ‘eave about the Ist of August with the whales, and we jaw neither whaler nor even a single reai whale, ‘though there were many white ones aud any num- der of finbacks. Ou the morning of the 2th, when about opposite | Regent Inlet, we were again enveloped im a dense fog, which settled down over us like a huge wet dlanket, and clung to us for two days, almost stopping cur progress, We groped our way cautiously ‘brough Barrow Strait like a blind man, for we were tow so near the magnetic pole that the compass was atterly useless, while the fog completely hid the sun and stars, and made it impossible to get observations. At length, about tive o'clock in tho wening, the fog suddenly lifted and showed us, Mt the distance of about half a mile, a tremendous wall Xf rock several hundred feet high, which, in the slowly ifting fog, seerned to rise into the clouds, ‘og quite cleared away we found we were on the north hide of Burrow Strait, just at the entrance of Kaastock Say and im sight of Beechy Islaud, which point we were trying to reach, We had actually groped our way through nearly the whdle length of Burrow ‘Strait, with- Out compass or sun, fortwo days, aud then found our- trying to | for the | They | When the | selves almost at the very point we were in search of. If luck, it was very good luck, but there must have beon some good management on the part of our Captain and navigating officer. BRECHY ISLAN! A bold, high promontory, rising several hundred feet ‘above the surf dashing against its base, streaked with alternate layers of brown and black, like a wall of mas- sive masonry; @ little bay running in bebind this promontory, along whose shore may be seen, first, a large boat dragged high up on the beach, with a tall mast standing up in her; farther along two more boats, likewise hauled up on the beach; then a house, with masses of boxes and barrels scattered around in heaps, and a flagstaif in front. It is midnight, and the steep, high walls of rock that shut in the little bay on all sides are bleak and bare and dark, except where lighted up here and there with streaks of snow, and they rise uh ragainat the bright northern sky still aflame with the departing glory of the Arctic sun, which is scarcely below the horizon, in masses of rugged, sullen grandeur, But there are no lights shining from the windows of this house, no children about the door, no figures on the beach to waye us a welcome, no fishermen moving about among the boats, no nets strewed along the shore, no flag on the flagstaff, no dwellers in this dwelling, no inhabitants in this habi- tation, The place is sad, silent and lonely as a grave- yard, And it may well appear lonely, for no human, form has crossed the threshold of this house, no human | foot trod the beach, no human voice disturbed the long | dreary silence for twenty years. ‘THK GRAVES OF PRANKLIN’S MEN, Itmay well appear siléut and mournful, for it is Beechy Island, where was picked up, after years of search, the lost trail of Sir John Franklin, when were found the first tokens of the passages of the lost expedition—ominous and sinister tokens they were, that seemed to poiut, but too surely, the way the expedition had gone; for they were graves—the graves | of three men the expedition lost when wintering here. | It was kere Sir John passed his first winter after leav ing England, as was evident from masy* things that | were foun: uch as boards, the remains of a house, fireplaces, built of stones; a blacksmith’s forge and a huge caira, built of empty meat tins, most of which | had contained rotten moat, furnished by a man now | | known among Arctic navigators and explorers as the | “infamous Goldner.”” | Butnota line of writing was found, nor no indica- | tion of the movements of the expedition, nor what had been accomplished, nor what plans were made for | the next season, nor which direction they were going, except the ominous indications furnished by the head- | boards of the graves. | As longas the search for Sir Jobn Franklin was | kept up Beeehy Island was made a starting point and | place of meeting for the different ships that were sent | out, and atone timo no less than ten snips of different | expeditions were iying in the little bay. | | | | | | | | | | THR YACHT MARY. At length, when the search was finally abandoned by the Enghsh government, Sir James Ross, before re- turning to England in 1851, landed all the stores which he did not need, and which would have been useless | out of the Arctic, and left them for the use of future expeditions. Among other things ho left a boat of about twenty tons, the yacht Mary, two large lifeboats, un India rubber boat and a light wooden j boat, together with carpenters’ and blacksmiths’ tools and all sorts of other useful things. The North Star wintered here in 1852, when the house was built and called Northum- | berland House. Upon leaving, part of the pro- visions were stowed away in it to protect them from the bears. Sir Leopold McClintock visited it again in | | ‘the Fox in 1857, since which time it has remained un- | disturbed by any human visitant, waiting through the | silent, dreary years for the arrival of the next ship. That ship came at last, and she was the Pandora, Captain Young wished to examine the state of the stores here, in order to know whether we could depend upon finding provisions here in case we should be obliged to abandon our ship in Peel Sound, McClintock Channel or Franklin Strait, “NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE’? BROKEN INTO, Upon going ashore a scene of devastation and ruin met our gaze which we were little prepared to see. “Northumberland House’’ had been broken into, and half the stores apparently destroyed. The ground out- side was strewn with tins of preserved meat and veg- etables, forty pound tins of pemmican, great rolls of heavy blue cloth, hundreds of pairs of woollen mittens | and socks, rolls of soft white flannels, bales of blankets, bales of clothing, banks of woollen yarn—all | Seattered over the ground in the most admired | disorden fhe fine, warm bdiue cloth, the flannels and blaukets and clothing, were for the most part torn into shreds and strings; the meat and pemmi- can tins, where not torn open, were pierced with holes; the little wooden boat was split and broken and scarcely anything was left of the India rubber boat. The honse itself, which was bpilt of boards, was considerably dam- aged. The maraufers had apparently broken in at the window on the south side, which had probably pot been nailed up, and, to enlarge the opening, had torn away haif the boards on this side. The snow had got in dur- ing the winter and partly melted during the summer, frozen and thawed again during succeeding winters and summers, 80 that now everything to a depth of three feet from the ground was imbedded in a solid mass of | ice. In short, the rain and destruction was so great | that the place resembled the scene of a first class rail- way accident more than anything else I could think of. But who were the maranders who had so wantonly destroyed everything? Who were these thieves that steal for fun—these burglars that leave their booty be - hind them—housebreakers that not only break houses but everything else they can lay their hands upon, in- stead of carrying it off to the nearest pawnbroker ¥ Evidently the Polar bears. The marks of their claws ‘erywhere and on every thing. They had even gn into two or three barrels of salt beef, which | | they had quite ap and it was their claws that had | punched holes in the heavy pemmican tins, Polar bears seem to be possessed of the very genius of destruction. Nothing that they can destroy, injure, mutilate, bite, scratch, deface, claw or throw down escapes them; an they do it apparently without any other object than destruction for its own sake. They appear to have j fone systema cally to work and to have left nothing | untouched or uninjured that was not absolutely too | strong for thom, aud it only remained for them to spply the torch, as men would have done, to complepe the work of ruin, A SURVEY MADR. A great part of the provisions, however, as flour, meat, sugar, preserved milk, some of the tinned meat, | was put up in solid, heavy ‘trou-hooped barrels, whiclt they bud found too strong for their claws and which were consequently uninjured. Captain Young made a survey of everything, in order to report to the Admiralty on the condition of the stores, The yacht Mary proved upon inspection to be in good condition, and, with a few slight repairs, would be quite seaworthy, Her sails were stowed away be. neath deck, quite dry und well preserved, and she was provided with oakum, ealking and carpeaters’ tools, which, althuugh rasted somewhat, were nevertheless | capable of being used, The two lifeboats were not in | | sueh good conditio | worthy with a little he flour, sugar and salt | | | 1 \ | | i | | meat in barrels were in good condition, as was a con. | siderable quantity of the tinned beet and mutton that the bears had pot been able to getat, Many of the cases of pemmican had holes punched in them, and | were consequently spoiled; but even many of | | those that the bears had apparently been throwing at each other had escaped injury, and there were | probably a couple of hundred that’ had not been dis- | | turbed. We found several barrels full of boots and | | St, but is au independent lake, flowing into the Nile, the | source of the Nile will haye been ascertained and a shoes, most of which were in excellent prevervation. | Part of them were made of felt, with cork soles an inch thick, and others of beautifully prepared seaiskin | as soit as Kid, with ordinary sole leather soles, and with the exception of one or tWo barrels that had probably | let m the rain, they were, after twenty years lying here, quite as good as new. ‘They all bore ihe mark of Jeils, Oxford street, aud certainly did the maker | credit, ‘hore were also a barrel or two of leather shoes of old fashion, with square toes and low quar- any of which were so small they must have nded for girls. The milk we found to be well , although it had lost most of its virtues, through the fault of its original preparation or the great number of the freezings and thawings it had undergone, we could not tell. Phe MOUSE REPAIRED. | | Captain Young made a complete survey of the stores, | | taking a tew of them he thought we might need, headed ap ail the barrels, nailed up the boxes and re Paired the house, which was sadly going to rack and ruin. Among our men was one, “Old Florence,” who had not ouly been here in the Fox, but also in the North Star, und had helped to build the house, He theu a young man, but he is now old, weather. beaten, grizzled and worn, aud a fine example of the Old-fashioned sea dog, Near the house 1 monu- ment of Lieutenant Bellot, the young French naval | officer who fost his life in the search for Sir John | Franklin when serving with the expedition, and lying | at its fect, on a stone piatform, was a marble slab, the tombstone of Sir John Franklin, placed here by Sir | Lcopeld MeChutock when in command ot the Fox, | Both monuments were sent out by Lady Franklin. ~ AN ARCTIC GRAVEYARD, Up nearly at the head of tue bay, about three miles! from Northumberland House, are ihe graves of three | of the crew of the Erebus and Terror, Franklin's ships, | And two of the North Star's crow. They all stand im a | Tow, and are marked by simple headboards of oakabout | two inches thick, on which the names are cut with the name of the ship, ageand date of their death. In ad- | dition there are engraved on two of them the following lines of Holy Writ: “Choose ye thia day whom ye will serve,” “Thus saith the Lord, co or your ways ’ —texts that seem to hide some mysteri Binister us that of the graves themselves’ ene & ‘Dhis Arctic graveyard {s situated on a gray | which rises up (rom the lite bay toward the toot op a | high bluff that frowns down upon it as though resent. | tog the intrusion of buman dead in this tonely world, Sad enough lovked the poor headboards as ¢ | sinking sun threw its yellow vays iwg long shadows from them over t the shingly slope, silent, sad, dreary and mournful ag every thing else ib this dreary Arctic world / if NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1875.—TRIPLE SHEET. THE NILE MYSTERY. siietinctielpmecicematd Judge Daly on African Ex-| ploration. He Regards Stanley as the Discoverer of the Source of the Nile, PTOLEMY'S GEOGRAPHY —VINDICATED. Making Known the Resources of a Great Continent. Last Thursday night, at the meeting of the Geo- graphical Society, Chief Justice Daly, in syeaking of the efforts made to solve the great mystery of the Nile’s source, took occasion to repeat an assertion he made years since, when the discoveries of Speke and | Baker were published, and also to express an opinion regarding the plucky young journalist now investi- | gating the watersheds of Equatorial Africa, CHIRP JUSTICE DALY'S REMARKS, He said:;—The evening being devoted to Africa, I cannot suffer it to pass without’ noticing the important result thus far of the expedition of Mr. H. M. Stanley, sent out by the New York Heratv and the London Telegraph. After a journey of great peril, attended by the ioss of about half his command, and which was carried through by the indomitable perseverance and courage by which Mr, Stanley been distinguished, he reaching | the southern shore of the Victoria Niyanza, where Speke’s great discovery was made, and has been able with a small vessel to explore the eastern side of the lake, hitherto unknown; agd, as Speke and Grant had in 1861 explored the western side, the result of Mr. Stanley’s successful efforts is that the whole of the lake is now known and the streams that flow into it, has hitherto succeeded in Tt is impossible to overestimate the value of this explora- tion, as it brings the long-vexed question of the source | of the Nile nearer to a solution than anything that has yet been done. MAGNIFICENT POSSIBILITIES OF STANLEY'S MISSION. Mr, Stanley, when last heard from, was on the northern shore of the lake, and has announced | his intention to proceed from thence with his little vessel to explore the Albert Niyanza. If his life shall be preserved and, succeeding in this further explanation, he should find that the Albert Niyanza is in communication with the Lualaba of Livingstone and thereby connected with the great net- work of river's and lakes traced by Livingstone, of which the Lualaba is a part, then the Nile will not only prove | to be the longest river in the worid, but the outlet of the most extensive and the most extraordinary water system upon the globe. If, on the other hand, as is highly probably, be should find that the Albert Niyanza 18 not connected with any great water system south of southern part of which is simply supplied by streams rising in the land immediately about it, then the question settled that has agitated the world for more than 2,000 years. Aristotle declared 2.000 years ago, upon information the source of which we do not know, that the Nile took its rise in a mountain called the Silver Mountain, which he placed near the Equator, not far from the parallel of the island of Menuthias, the modern Zanzibar, THE REGMANN AND KRAPP DISCOVER[ES. ‘This mountain appears to be the same mentioned by the Arabian geographers in the Middle Ages as the White Mountain, and both undoubtedly refer to Kill- manjaro, discovered by the missionaries Rebmann and Krapf in 1848, which is a mountain 22,000 foet high, lying to the south and east of the Victoria Niyanza about | three degrees below the Equator, with a dome-like summit, capped with snow, which, when free of clouds and in the sinshine, has the appearance of a dome of silver, These missionaries also discovered another great snow-capped mountain, Kenia, east of the Victoria Niyanza and one degree south of the Equator, of larger size, if not of greater elevation, than Killmanjaro, which Dr, Krapf describes as rising into a huge wal! | with a*gigantic roof, above which rise close to each other two immense horns, as he calls them, or mighty towers, giving to the whole such a grand and majestic | took that he was overwhelmed at the sight of it. | | i They also found other mountains, denoting fa extensive range, of which Kenia and Killmanjaro are the most clevated peaks, and Dr. Krapf was of the opinion that the snow melting from these huge mountains, with the tropical rains of that region, supplied the waters which formed the Victoria Niyanza, aud were the remote source of the | Nile, They found a multitude of rivers rising amidst their snow-capped mountains, Rebmann counted twenty flowing from the heights of Killmanjarp, none of which, however, flowed westward; but they found that rivers flow north and west from Mount Kenia; and Dr. Knapp tought that it was these rivers that formed the Victoria Niyanza, and that the immediate | source of these rivers was the marshy and wooded country of the Waman people, east of the lake, This suggestion that Mount Kenia, with its two great horns or immense towers, is the elevated land from which the streams rise that flow into the Victoria Nlyanza, recalls the statement of Herodotus that he was told by the scribe in Egypt, who kept the sacred treasures of Minerva, that the fountains of the Nile were midway between two hills with sharp, conical | tops, one of which was named Alphi and the otber Mapbi, to discover which fountains was the constant object of Livingstone. I mention these circumstances | for their bearing, as I shall presently show, upon Mr, | Stanley’s discoveries, but before doing so shall refer to | a few other facta, PROLEMY’S GEOGRAPHY, Ptolemy, whose geography was written in the middle | of the second century of our era, says:—‘On the western boundary of the Anthropagi are the Mountains of the Moon, whose snows are received by the marshes | | of the Nile.”” In the maps of Agathodaemon, of Alexandria, pre- | fixed to the edition of Ptolemy of 1478, and which are | supposed to be contemporaneous with Ptolemy, the | Nile is represented as flowing from two lakes lying par- | allel with each other, about eight degrees south of the Equator, which are supphod by streams represented as | risiug from a chain of mountains that are called upon the map the Mountains of the Moon, | THE REDISCOVERIES OF SVEKE AND BAKER. | in my anniversary address after the discovery of the | Victoria Niyanza by Spekeand of the Albert Niyanza by Baker you may remember that 1 oxpressed | the belief that these iukes were merely re- | discoveries; that Speke and Baker had sim- | ply found the two lakes laid down in the old map of Atrica prefixed to the geography of Ptolemy, and that, although piaced in the early map some six degroes further to the south than where they were found, they were evidently the same lakes, as Ptolemy had made many errors in respect to the position ot | places both north and south of the Equator, as, for in- | stance, in the case of Cape Guardafui, which he placed six degrees further south than it ‘The view I then | oxpressed was not at first very favorably received, which led we to investigate further and I found that thexe two lakes were not only known to Ptol- | emy, or to big cartographer Agathodaemon, | but that the Arabian geographers from the ninth to the eleventh centuries represented on their maps as the source of the Nile a large lake upon the Equator, in exactly the same position as the Vie- toria Niyanza, and what 18 the more remarkable, with ‘a large island in it, which it has, Ukerewe, around which Mr, Stauley sailed last March. OLD GROGRAPHERS ON THE NILE MYSTERY, | This lake on the Fquator, with its island and streams | flowing into it from what are called the Mountains of | the Moon, is found on the Arab map prefixed to the Rasm, A, D, 835; im that of Abul Hassan, A. D. 1008, aud of Birunensis, A. D. 108 In the | map of Edrisio, A. D. 1164, it is re” tained in the same position upon the Equator, but two lakes, corresponding to the lakes of Ptolemy, are ropresented below it, with streams rugningiatoi, My" | tinguished geographer, was of the opinion long ago that belief is that the existence of the Victoria Niyanza as a large lake, directly upon the Equator, was then well known io the Arabs, and it may be that they knew that | there was another great lake (Albert Niyanza), which was also a fountain or reservoir of the Nile, and that Edrisio, in attempting, in the composition of his great work, to reconcile what was known with the two lakos placed on Ptolemy’s mapeight degrees farther south, erroneously adopted three lakes as the solution of the difficulty. Three lakes being now introduced led to just con- fusion for four centuries afterward among geographers and cartographers. Some adhered to the one lake upon the Equator; others adhered exclusively to the two lakes as represented upon the Ptolemaic map; others, like Magrebinus, united the three into a great | Jake upon the Equator, and made it the source alike of the Nile and the Congo, while others rejected the lakes altogether, until at last cartographers settled down ‘upon the two lakes represented inthe Ptolemaic map until the middle of the last century, when, in conse- quence of the reform in cartography introduced by D’Anvilles of excluding everything that was not cer- tain, these two lakes were omitted in all future maps and, when rediscovered a century afterward by Speke | and Baker, had been forgotten, We have then the statement of Ptolemy that the Nile rises in marshes formed by streams descending from what he calls the Mountains of the Moon, with the rep- | resentation by his cartographer that these streams | form two great lakes lying nearly parallel to each uther, | from which the remotest branch of the river, the | White Nile, flows. We have also the opinion of the missionary Krapf that the marshy and woody lands | east and southeast of the Victoria Niyanza supply the | Water which flows into it, and that these marshes are | fed by streams descending from Mount Kenia and its | Vicigity. The information of Herodotus is thatthe foun- | tains of the Nile were midway between ‘two hills with | sharp conical tops,” although the position assigned to | them by the scribe who gave the intermation to Herod | otus is much fartber down the river, T may add also | that the late Dr. Baker, an African explorer and a dis- | | the missionaries Rebmann and Krapf had, in Killman- yaro and Kenia and the mouritain range connected with them, discovered Ptolemy's Mountains of the Moon, WHAT THR BLOOD-STAINED LETTER MAY REVRAL Now to apply these facts to Mr. Stanley's discoveries, Mr. Stanley’s first letter detailing his exploration along the eastern shores of the Victoria Niyanza has not yet been received in this country, the French offi- cer to whom it was intrusted having been killed, although it has since been found and we shall ere long know its contents, What we have are his second let- ter and his map, which are suilicient for my present purpose, They show that a large river, the Shimeeyu, estimated by him to be 350 miles in length, flows into Speke’s Gulf at the southeastern end of the Victoria Niyanza; that it is the chief affluent of the lake and that seven rivers flow into the lake on its castern side, That a rugged and hilly country extends from Uchambi, on the south of the lake, to the eastern extremity of Speke’s Gulf, when. complete change occurs, the land suddenly sinking down into a flat, marshy country, with the indication that Speke’s Gulf formerly extended many miles in- land—this’ marshy country being drained by &@ powerful stream, the ern shore a sterile range of mountains, devoid of vegetation; that after he passed the table mountain of Magita, on all sides of which he found low barren plains extending far inland, with an impression on his part that a great plain or series of plains bound the lake country east, He then passed portions of country covered with water. When he asked the natives what lay beyond the immediate lake lands the answer was, “Only plains.’ Again, northward he passed low, flat and wooded uistricts until he reached the tall mountains of Ugeyeya and the River Gori, which swells in the rainy season to a great breadth and depth, and learned that far east for twenty day’s march the country is a continuous plain, where no stream runs north, but all flow into the Victoria Niyanza. Upon approaching the northeastern end of the lake, and after passing the island of Ugingo, he came to gigantic mountains, along the base of which the little vessel sailed, and beyond this all that was seen was ‘a low, flat, wooded country to the Equator, and at the northeast end of the lake the land was flat, through which a river flowed into the lake. IDENTIFYING THE MOUNTAINS OP THE MOON. This exploration indicates in my opinion the marshes of Ptolemy, the marshy and wooded land mentioned by Dr. Krapt and that the mountain regions east and southeast of it from Kenia to Kilimanjaro, are, as Dr. Ruana, which empties | | into Speke’s Gulf, Then follows along the east- | 80 | of the THE = CONGO PIRATES. Summary Punishment Inflicted by a British Squadron, VILLAGES BURNED DOWN “The Police Work of Civilization” as Done by British Seamen, A SANGUINARY LESSON. [From the London Standard, November.) ‘The following official report of the operations against the Congo pirates has been forwarded to us from the Admiralty :— * Active, 1X THE River Coxco, Sept. 18. Sin—t have the honor to report, for the information of the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty, the steps that have been taken to punish the natives fn the Congo | for their piratical attack upon the British schooner Ger- aldine, On the 80th of August I moved the torce at ny disposal (Her Majesty's ships Active, Encounter, Spitetul, Merlin, Foam, Arie! and Supply) from Shark’s Point to | above Bull Island, near to the scene of the outrage, and next morning the boats of the squadron conveyed | | a landing party, consisting of 150 seamen and 100 ma rines, with rocket apparatus and a 7-pounder boat’s gun mounted for land service, a distance of from four to five miles up the Chango Creek, on the north side of the river, where they were disembarked and hostilities commenced. The particulars of this day’s work, and the subsequent operations of the expedition, are fully narrated in the erclosed reports from Captain Bradshaw, of Her — Majesty’s ship Encounter, who commanded it, and Commander M. B. Medlycott, of the Spiteful, who served under him as second in command, that beyond the information contained in the accompanying chart, forwarded to show the positions of the creeks, | &e., there is scarcely In reviewing these anything reports their to be added. Lordships will | observe that although we were well provided with guides, and the scouts throughout displayed the greatest activity, all endeavors to bring the landing party into personal contact with the pirates failed; and we invariably had to take satisfaction in bombard- ing and burning their vill nd farms (in all sixty- seven), in the destruction of their canoes and growing crops, and in cutting down their palms and banana trees. I, however, feel satisfied that the moral effect produced on these savages by three gunboats appearing in creeks which it has hitherto been believed no man-of-war could ascend, and the unexpected attack made upon them in their remot- est habitations, will = combine —to._ render the punishment — inflicted effectual to pre- Vent a repetition of such outrages—at any rate, for some time to come—and I believe the object of the ex- pedition will have been none the less fultilled, even counter’s seamen) was officored by Lieutenant Teng ‘Sub-Lieutenant Elias, and No. 3 Company (Spit seamen) by Lieutenant Gardiner and Sub -Licuter Domville and Bennett. The above were augmented by a party of scouts, comprising twelve picked men from the squadron and native gui laced tudor ‘the eomimand of Lieutenant St, Thole The roc was taken charge of by Lieutenant ®. ¥. W, Nesham, the gunnery Jieutenant, and a seven-pound boat gun, specially mounted for land xervice, was commanded by Sub-Lieutenant P. K, Scott. In referring to the mention made by Captain Brad- shaw of the good services of Lieutenants Nesham and Rolfe, of the Active, and Lieutenant Long, of the Encounter, have only to add that they are all of them highly valuable and deserving officers. 1 had the satisfaction of observing on several occa- sions the admirable steadiness of the marines, whose services throughout have been most valuable, On the 2d of September, when anchored with the Ariel in the Maliela Creek, and ring the absence of the landing party, the natives kept up an annoying fire on the two gunboats from the bushes, one of their shots severely wounding Mr. Robert Dixon, engineer in charge of the Ariel, while standing on the quarterdeck, Licutenant-Commander W, C. Karslake subsequently landed with portions of the two ships’ companies and ded in driving them of my “galleys,” and suc and destroying two villages in the neighbor: hood. On this occasion the men of the Merlin were wounded, Mr, Dixon is the senior engineer on thir station, and of eleven years? standing. MERTING OF TRADERS, At a meoting of traders held on board the Merlin ot the 4th mst, for the purpose of discussing native affair which is | should it be found that there has been comparatively | little bloodshed. THE SHISSILONGHIS. The Shissilonghis, or the natives who live on islands formiug the Delta of the Congo, are by no means cow- ards, and, although they have never attacked us ‘on the march, on most occasions they hung about our rear, and, according to their usual tactics, commenced a dropping fire as the force | re-embarked apd the boats began to move out of the creeks; and although—thanks to the inferiority of their arms and ammunition—they have not proved them selves on the present occasion very formidable, I be- lieve, with « less imposing force and fewer precautions, they would have been fouad by no means a contempt. | ible foe. As it was, their slags, fired not further than thirty 7 1s off, frequently fell thick about us, in spite avy bombardment of the bushes by the gun. boats and the fusilade from the smallarms, and had it not been that the principal boats were fitted with pro- tecting plates of sheet iron, backed with wood, and raised nbout two and a half feet from the gunwale, the injury we should have suffered might have been very great. The chief features which characterize the coun- try we have been operating in are dense bush and al- most impenetrable mangrove swamps, and both officers and men deserve great praise for the manner in which, in a trying climate, they overcame the many diflicul ties that constantly presented themselves, In the ab- sence of reliable information | am unable to form even an approximate idea of the luss of lite sustained by the natives; but I have authority for stating that the shells from the gunboats did considerable exe- cution, ‘But it is to be presumed that the rockets and rifle bullets were not Beke supposed, Ptolems’s Mountains of the Moon, end- | ing with Killmanjaro, the Silver Mountain known to Aristotle, It further indicates that Stanley has come upon the realand ultimate source of the Nile, but opinion upon that subject must be suspended until he | has explored the southern shores of the Albert Niyanza. The discovery of the source of the Nile has been so tre- quently assumed that it is scarcely safe to conjecture while anything remains unexplored which is essential to the problem. STANLEY AS A VERIPIER OF ARISTOTLE AND PTOLEMY, I cannot, however, resist the conviction that Stanley has reached the source, and that it 18 found to cor- respond with what Aristotle and Ptolemy stated re- specting it. If this should, as I apprehend it will, prove to be the fact, then it illustrates the difficulties that attend the acquisition of geographical knowledge by showing that our modern explorations and discoy- cries have only verifled what was known 2,000 years ago. ERIN GO BRAGH. Rey. Thomas J. Ducey, of St. Michael's parish, gave a very interesting lecture yesterday evening at the Cooper Institute, on “The Irish People,” The lecturer first reviewed the tenacity of the Irish people to their | waved his cutlass backward, without their effect. action amounted to five wounded, three severely, and two ee (return enclosed); but it is with the deepest regret that in addition to these I have to re port the accidental death of Manuel Fernandez, whose services were kindly placed at my disposal by Signor Valle, a merchant’ of Ponta’ de Lonba,— to guide the expedition to the villages of Lucalla, a noted pirate on the south bank of the river, above Scotch- man’s Head. He was shot by an able seaman of the Spiteful under the following cireumsiances:—The galley of the Spite- The casualties on our side in | {ul being the last bout of a long String at the landing place at the head of -~—_Lucajla Creek, the crew were ordered — out to | clear ‘away the bush in the immediate vicinity, with their rifles unloaded, Isaac Bow, A. B. ol oue of her crew, having gone about the boat, heard men hailing to “stop him, looking round be saw a man running through the thick bush, about 100 yards off, in a direction away trom the | boats, He hailed him two or three times to stop, and | No notico, however, was | taken of his hails or signal, and the’ man running faster, and the stick he had in bis hand seeming to be a gun, Bow loaded his rifle and shot him, in the belief that he was firing on an enemy. The unfortunate deceased being an old man fad lost his uerve and was afraid to disembark with Captain Bradshaw when he first landed. About three-quarters of an hour afterward, however, it would appear that he changed his determination on | remembering that he had some information to impart, and be indisereetly left the boats without any escort and thus met with his sad fate, Atter a full inquiry | imto the circumstances I consider that Bow may be ex- religion and country. He proolaimed himself “an Irishman, though he never boasted of it.” He reviewed | the early history of the country, her conversionto | Christianity, her various struggles for nearly a thousand years, first with the Northmen, then with Norman foudalistn, and lastly with the Protestant Reformation, He concluded with much good advice to bis countr, men, telling them to avoid being led by demagogues and scheming politicians, He urged ui Jand and to cultivate it instead of remaning herded together in cities, He showed how, with sobriety and industry, their labor would soon make them independent of capital and they would form an influential class in the community. | He concluded with a touching appeal to them, above all things to preserve their religion and tovccupy the | their love both for their native country and the land of | their adoptior, His lecture was full of that character- istic humor which prociaimed him atrue son of the sod and which drew forth continual rounds of applause from his admiring audience, Rev, A. J. Donuelly presided over the assemblage and introduced the speaker. Conspicuous on the plat- form were Fathers Riordan, Healy and Ryan, with | | Judge Brady and Mr. Greene and Mr, Devlin, of the St. Michael's Society, TRISH NATIONALITY. An adjourned meeting of Irish nationalists was held last night im O'Donovan Rossa’s hotel. The object of the meeting was to complete arrangements for a con templated demonstration in the Cooper Institute on the night of the 23d inst, The oceasion is the eighth anniversary of the execution of Ireland's latest victims to liberty, Allen, Larkin and O'Brien, who suffered the death penalty im Manchester, on the 23d of November, 1867, Extensive arrangements were provided by the ‘action of last might’s meeting, and a very numerously attended demonstration is looked forward to, ‘The following permanent otlicers were choven:—General FP, F. Millen, ebairman; Mr. Mortimer Moynahan, secretary, and O'Donovan Rossa treasurer, The following resolution was adopted :— Resolved, That at the meeting in commemoration of the execu@ou of th nchester martyrs, to be held at the Cooper Institute -on the night of the 23d inst., we give an xpression of upinion on the present aspect of the agitation fur home rule in Ireland and its effect ou the national cause, aud also on the action of olin O'Connor Power in evn? nection therewith in this ry. Ata late hour the meeting adjourned until next Sun- day night, at eight o'clock. SMALLPOX IN A POLICE STATION. John MeMichael, a man without fixed residence, en- tered the Fifth precinct station house in Williamsburg, on Saturday night, hideous and repulsive with small- OX. only allayed by his removal to the County Hospital and disinfection of the premises, A CORPSE IN A STREET CAR. At alate hour on Saturday night the driver of car No. 182 of the Montrose avenue car line rushed into the Fifth precinct station hi Williamsburg, and re- pore that four men who rode down irom Bushwick had jumped out of the car at the terry and burried into the ferry house, leaving the corpse of a child ander seat of the car, Oilicer Dredger was sent to investigat the matter, and, opening the bundie, surg enough found that it Was a dead body, but of a—dog, ‘The consternation which his entrance caused was onerated from any culpable rashness in this matter, 1 enclose a copy of a letter addressed to St, Valle report. ing the unbappy event, and I trast their Lordshiy under the circumstances of the case, will approve my promise to recommend Her Majesty's government to render some pecuniary assistance to the family of the deceased im case any of them should have been depend- ent on him, observing that I have as yet received no information on this point, Lat first entertained a hope of being able to recap- ture Manuel Vacea, but he fled from his village direc tly the ships made their appearance at Sbark’s Point; and | even if they knew his hiding place, which 1s doubttul, the traders assure me that no bribe would induce the natives to deliver him up at present, When, however, alluurs geta little settled again there may be a better | a whee dee chance, and if he and Ané Langé, Ané Quango and Cucula, who are the most troublesome characters, could be deported, I feel convinced the trattic of the river would be comparatively secure. A VILLAGE BURNED, Without guides it would Lave been impossible to find our way lo the different villages that have been destroyed, and as these were readily provided by King Antonio and King Plenty, with whom we have treaty engagements, and Chimbach, the most important of he Ponta de Leuba princes, and there being no evi- | dence to show that either of them was in any way con- cerned in the present act of piracy, | their towns have been spared, and so the most powerful chiefs in the lower part of the Congo remain friendly to us. Mamballt, the native who I reported im my despatch No. 82, of the wsth of March, 1875, had insulted the Consul at a pulaver on shore at Ponta de Lenha, had # very large town on that island, consisting Of some 250 huts, and these have been burned as apunishment. The boats en- gaged in these operations were—The Active’s steam pinngee No, 1; the Active’s steam pinnace No, 2 | (brought up froth the Cape), m charge of Sub-Lieuten- it A. C, Middlemai ; the Ascension’s steam luuneb, in charge of Sub-Lieutenant M. P, Scott, who was also” in charge of a seven-pounder field gun; the Encounter’s steam pinnace, in charge of ‘Lieutenant G. Richards the Supply's am cutter, in charge om different occasions of avigating Lieutenant T. H. Flood, of the Spiteful, and Navigating Licutenant 1, G. Fenn, of the Sapply; the Spiterul’s steam cutter, Pulling boats—The Active's launch, in charge of Mr, J, Miller, boutswaim; the Ac- tive’s first cutter, in charge of Mr. 8, H. Benson, as- sistant paymaster, a volunteer, there being no execu- tive to appoint; the Active’s second cutter, in charge n different occasions of Sub-Licutenants Ht. C. Re; nolds and T. B. Triggs, who were also second m con mand of the Active’s company of seamen; the Ei counter’s launch, in charge on different occasions of Lieutenants H. G. Archer and D. M’N, Riddel; the En- counter’s first cutter, in charge of Mr. L. Bayly, navi- gating midshipman; the Encounter’s second cutter, in charge of Mr. W. i Dodridge, assistant paymaster, w volunteer, there being no executive to appoint; the Spiteful’s pinnace, in charge on different vccasions of Lieutenant Snowden and Lieutenant Gardiner, the latter aiso in command of the Spiteful’s company of seamen No, 1; the Spiteful’s paddle-box boats—No. 1, in charge on different occasions of Lieutenan® Gardiner and Mr, ‘August, gunner; No, 2, in charge on different occa- sions of Sab-Leutenants E. M. Domville and J. B, Ben- hett, who Were also second in command of the Spite- ful's company of seamen No. 3; the Merlin’s cutter, in charge of Mr, Vincent, boatswain; the Foam’s cutter, in charge of Mr. Cramp, gunner; the Ariel’s cuttor, in charge of Mr. Gilmour (acting); the Ariel’s gig, in charge of Navigating Sub-Lieutenant C, E. Pritchard, THE LANDING PARTY. ‘The landing party consisted of three companies of fifty seamen each, from the Active, Encounter, and Spitetul, and 100 marines under Lieutenant A. B, Cre bie, R. M. L. 1. of the Active. No, 1 Company (Active’s seamen) Was commanded on different days by Licuten- ants Rickman and Adair, who had under them Sub- Lieutenants Reynolds and Triggs, No. 2 Company | | fence befo: | charged $1 for his visit, and the best moans of pringing the wstigators of the outrage to punishwent, Sefor Valle alone showed any willingness to render muy assistance. He immediately | sent for the “Prince of his factory, one Chimnbaeh, whom I have betore mentioned, and made him | furnish guides for the Macateila Creek. The | others, however, refused to exert their influence iu any way with the chiefs (aud from their trading | connections they must hav ) all if they did so they would ¢ | revenge would be taken on them after the left the | river. At this time, I believe, none of the natives in this district suspected they would be Included in the punishment, for the beats Which the day before had been employed in soundiag at the back of the island reported there were no signs of their taking to the } bush, aud the villages were full of people, some armed and others not. Two days alter we ‘attacked and | found all deserted and every bit of property removed. Observing in Commodore Wilmot’s letter to their Lordships, dated the 7th of June, 186) (No, 186), | it is stated that the scruples of King Antonio about going on the watet I overcome, and that on the Istot June, d been on board the Rattlesnake to signa treaty, | summoned the present King, his son, to attend on board the Active and assure me of his friendliness. While, however, he expressed his willingness to furnish guides or render any other assistance in accordance With the terms of the treaty with his father, which be has lately ratilied, Antonio | declined to come on the water, on the ground that it would be against his fetish, and be would die if he gaw ‘the great sea."’ From what 1 have been able to gather, I believe it is a fact: that if he were to Wiryak through the rule and come atloat be woald die, foro | would be poisoned by some of his people, and lus degth would be put down to the fetish. I think it probable that the old King was personated by one of his chiefs, and, therefore, have not pressed my demand: DEMONSTRATION UP THR RIVER. Lconsidered the present occasion a fitting one fot making a demonstration in the upper part of the river, and, accordingly, after the operations, took the thre gunboats, with 100 marines and’ the — Bana, to Embomma, where I held a palaver with the ight kings, and had the — satisfaction of receiving their assurance that they had no sym- pathy whatever for the pirates, and would do what they could to bring about the capture of Manuel Vacca. These kings, unlike the chiefs in the lower parts of the Congo, have a recognized authority throughout the country, and it was observable that they were treated with marked deference by their inferiors. These pro- ceedings, to which I attach much importance, were con- ducted with the greatest ceremony and appeared to impress the natives with much wonder aud as- tonishment. There appears to be little doubt that the present complications would never have arisen had the crew of the Geraldine been ly armed, and I have, therefore, as a pre- cautionary measure, requested’ Her Majesty’s Consul to issue instructions obliging the consignees of mer- chant vessels hereafter arriving in the river, and the masters thereof, to provide proper means for their de- brn og | to ascend above Boolembemba, The unmterrupted health of the squadron during the time it has been employed in this anbealthy river may be attributed to the care with which Fleet Surgeon Henry Fegan, ©. B., considered the precautions that should be adopted to secure its preservation, and I have to acknowledge the many valuable suggestions he has submitted tome, Ihave the honor to be, sir, your obedeint servant N, WHEWETT Commander, A STRANGE DOCTOR HOW MR, CLARK WAS ASSAULTED AND ROBBED, AND WHAT PREPARATIONS WERE MADE FOR THE OUTRAGE, Mr. Louis Clark, sixty years of age, occupies the sec- ond floor of the tenement house No, 211 Division street, and makes his living by selling bread, About five months ago he was thrown from his wagon, and © of his knees was hurt so that he has not since been able to leave his apartment, In the meantime his wifo has attended to his business, At five o'clock yesterday morning Mrs, Clark started as usual to serve her eus- | tomers with bread, leaving her husband in bed. Soon after she left four men entered his bedroom, and before Mr. Clark could raise an alarm snatched a black velvet skull cap from his head, rolled it into a hard wad and crammed it into his month as a gag. They then re moved the flannel bandages from his leg and BOUND HIS HANDS AND PERT 80 firmiy that he could not move, As soon as he wae secured the thieves ransacked the premises. They tound and carried away with them a gold ring, three silver spoons and $31 1n money. ‘As soon as the thieves lett Clark cried out for help, but the gaz so stifled his cries unat the people whd oceupy the other parts of the house thought that the "cries were caused by the pain in his leg, and for some time paid no attention to him. He was nearly suilo cated, and on the port of fainting trom exhaustion, when they dinally went to his relict, ‘The allair was reportcd atthe Madison street police | station, and Detective Maloney was dotailed to work up the case, At four o’clock in the afternoon he arrested Dr. David Dandes, of No, 71 Hester street, and took ; him to Clark’s house. As soon as the Doctor entered tha room the old man exclaimed, “That’s one ‘of the robbers !’” and tried to get out of bed to assault him, Muloney searched the Doctor's apartments, and, though he found none of Clark's property, he did und a quantity of silver ware which he believed to be the PROCERDS OF OTHER NURGLARIES. There were fourteen tablespoons of Various sizes, seven teaspoons, two knite handles, two goblets, thi cups and a sinall casket. Some of the spoons wero marked “R. ©. R. & 3, 1837,” others “E. Steph 1838,’ but wost of them were without marks, Un ot of the cups was engraved “H. B, 1867,” “at dictum,’ and a strange cipher. There was also a silver watch wnd chain and a lady’s gold chain and brooch. Dr. Dundes pretended to be unable to speak any language except bis native German, His wite represeats Lim aa a practising physician and herself as a midwite. Mr. suys thaton Thursday last Dr. Dundes called on him, Teprescnted himself asa physician, and said that he could cure his leg ina short time. He nd promised to call again, On Wednesday a woman ealled on Clark during his wife’? absence, and pretended to want to buy out his business. © asked particularly about the ~—shour Clark left the house in the morning, the value of the business, and when he wag to nuke a settlement with the baker with whom he dealt, To the last question Clark answered that he should pay $150 this (Monday) morning. He says that Mrs. Dundes looks like the woman who wanted to buy him out, but seems a hte older, so that he could nos identify her positively, BOLD HIGHWAY ROBBERY. A mitdnight on Saturday night a man named John Glenn was passing along Vau Vorst street, Jersey City, on his way to bis home, when he was attacked by three rowdies of the First ward gang named Thomas Keniffe, William Conaugh and William Curry, who knocked bim down and kicked lim till he became insensible, after which they rifled his pockets, which contained the sum of $14 When Glenn recovered suiliciently he pro- ceeded to the First precinct police station and gave @ description of the highwaymen, all of whom were ar- rested yesterday and fully identified. They were com- titted for examination, A POST OFFICE ROBBER, William Johnson, the barglar who was arrested while skulking in the cellar of the Post Office at Bergem Point, has confessed that he committed the burglaries at the Hudson City and Greenville Post offices, Cer- tain marks on the window of the latter office were evi- dently made by an implement found in his possession, ‘The revolver stolen by him from the Greenville office he sold to a Long Island farmer for $2 and the stawpa were disposed of in New York. Johnson’s residence in Railroad avenue, Jersey City, has long been the re- sort of thieves, A STREET CAR COLLISION, At about five I’, M. on Saturday a collision occurred at the corner ot Stanton street and the Bowery, between car 148 of the Third avenue line and an under- taker’s wagon, driven by Horace B. Hibble, employed by Smith, Winston & Co., of No, 274 Bowery, by which ibbie was thrown to the ground and severely injured on the head and shoulders. ‘The horses attached to the car took fright and the driver, while endeavoring ta moana; them, was drawn over the dashboard slightly injured. POISONED CHEESE. Through cating cheese purchased froma grocer) store in Clark township, near Rahway, N. J., some atx, tecn families have been poisoned during the past week, but in no case so sefiously as to reach a fatal rewult. It seems the cheese had been prepared in a press, the verdigris from which spread itrough the: iS