THE terrible letter of Mr. Wilmot Brooke is, if possible, a more cogent condemnation of Major Barttelot's expedition than the communication published in the Standard of yesterday. Mr. Wilmot Brooke says that the English settlers on the Congo have been horrified at the news which has come of the deeds done in the name of Barttelot and Stanley. The Zanzibaris who have accompanied the explorers are in the habit of hiring Manyemas, who are loathsome cannibals, and who only attached themselves to Major Barttelot on condition that they were to be allowed to do what they pleased. What they pleased meant the wholesale robbery and murder of inoffensive villagers, followed up by a bout of cannibalism. These precious allies of British and civilised explorers are in the habit of eating their captives, and it is a common thing, says Mr. Brooke, to see human hands and feet sticking out of their cooking pots.
"Do Englishmen, who are anxious to see the 'blessings of commerce' introduced to Stanley Falls, know what it means?" asks Mr. Brooke. Well, as the "blessings of commerce" imply a polite and comprehensive East African formula for rum, murder, robbery, and slave raiding and trading, they ought to have known by this time. But apparently they do not, or the formation of a new East African Company would hardly have been heralded with the usual flourish of Philistine trumpets. Nobody knows better than the white trader in Africa that he is a curse to everybody but himself. Unfortunately, he keeps his knowledge to himself.
THE Government have finally decided not to issue a reward for the discovery of the Whitechapel murderer or murderers, and have thereby driven a tolerably long nail into their reputation in East End constituencies. It is entirely beside the mark to say that a reward would be useless, because no one would be so inhuman as to shelter the murderer. But supposing there is more than one murderer? The supposition is that the first of the series was the work of a gang. However, it is not so much a question of deliberately shielding as of indifference. We are afraid that in the Alsatias of which Mr. Barnett speaks there are men and women who would not walk across the street even to bring the Whitechapel murderer to justice. Moreover, there is the understood fact that since the discontinuance of rewards, the percentage of undoubted murders has gone up enormously.
LYCEUM THEATRE. - Sole Lessee Mr. Henry Irving. - TO-NIGHT, at 9.0, (Last 11 Performances) MR. RICHARD MANSFIELD, in DR. JEKYLL and MR. HYDE.
Preceded at 8 by LESBIA. Classical Comedy in one Act, by Mr. Richard Davey. LESBIA, Miss Beatrice Cameron.
MORNING PERFORMANCE NEXT SATURDAY, at 2.0.
MONDAY, Oct. 1, A PARISIAN ROMANCE. Mr. Mansfield as THE BARON CHEVRIAL.
Box-office (Mr. J. Hurst) open daily from 10 to 5.
A Missionary Describes the Cruelty of the Major's Cannibal Following - How Civilisation and Commerce are Spread in Central Africa.
The last report of Major Barttelot to the Emin Relief Committee is published this morning as "a record," says Sir F. de Winton, "of the difficulties which a brave man had to encounter and the courage and resolution with which he did his duty." The following are extracts from the report. The italics descriptive of Muni-Somai (who looks very much like an emissary of Tippoo Tib's) are ours. Major Barttelot says:-
We are about to make a move, though with far less numbers than I originally intended. Tippoo Tib has with great reluctance given us 400 men. I have also obtained from another Arab, called Muni-Somai, 30 more carriers. We shall move not earlier than 9 June, and our forces will be as follows:-
Nationality. Number. Arms. Loads. Soudanese ... 22 ... Rifles, 22 - Zanzibaris ... 110 ... " 110 90 Manyema ... 430 ... Muskets, 300 380
The officers who are going are:-
Major Barttelot, in command.
Mr. J. S. Jameson, second in command.
Mr. W. Bonny.
Sheik Muni-Somai, in command of Manyema force. Sheik Muni-Somai is an Arab of Kibuyeh, who volunteered to accompany the expedition as commander under me of the native contingent.
23 May. - I had my palaver with Tippoo Tib. He then told me he could only let me have 400 men, 300 of whom were to carry 40lb. loads and 100 20lb. loads. I told him of what he had promised Mr. Jameson at Kasengo, but he said never had any mention of 800 men been made, only of the 400; that it was quite impossible he could give us more men, as he was short of men at Kasengo and Nyanjwe, as he was at present
that he had completely drained the country. I was forced to submit, but hoped that he might be able to collect another hundred or so at and around Yambuya. Tippoo then asked me if I wanted a head man, stating that, in the former agreement, Mr. Stanley had said that if a head man was taken he should be paid. I replied, "Certainly, I want a head man." He then presented me to the Arab, Muni-Somai. This man agreed to come, and I send you the terms I settled with him. Muni-Somai himself appears a willing man, and very anxious to do his best. He volunteered for the business. I trust you will not think his payment excessive, but the anxiety it takes away as regards his men and the safety of the loads is enormous, for he is responsible for all the Manyema and the loads they carry, and thus saves the white officers an amount of work and responsibility which they can now devote to other purposes.
I need not tell you that all our endeavors will be most strenuous to make the quest in which we are going a success, and I hope that my actions may meet with the approval of the committee, and that they will
concerning those actions, either in the present, past or future, till I (or Mr. Jameson) return home. Rumor is always rife, and is seldom correct, concerning Mr. Stanley. I can hear no news whatever, though my labors in that direction have been most strenuous. He is not dead, to the best of my belief, nor of the Arabs here or at Kasengo. Concerning Tippoo Tib, I have nothing to say beyond that he has broken faith with us, and I can only conjecture, from surrounding events and circumstances, the cause of his unreasonable delay in supplying men, and the paucity of that supply. To wait longer would be both useless and culpable, as Tippoo Tib has not the remotest intention of helping us any more, and to withdraw would be pusillanimous, and, I am certain, entirely contrary to your wishes and those of the committee.
8 June. - This morning I had the loads for Tippoo Tib's and Muni-Somai's men stacked, and Tippoo Tib himself come down to see them prior to issuing. However, he took exception to the loads, said they were too heavy (the heaviest was 45lb.), and his men could not carry them. Two days before he had expressed his approbation of the weight of the very same loads he refused to-day. We were to have started to-morrow, so we shall not now start till 11 or 12 June, as I am going to make all his loads weigh exactly 40lb. It is not the weight of the loads he takes exception to; in reality, it is having to perform the business at all. He has been almost forced to it by letters received from Mr. Holmwood, against his own and more than against the wish of his fellow Arabs, and filled with aspirations and ambitions of a very large nature, the whole business has become thoroughly distasteful to him, which his professed friendship for Stanley cannot even overcome. His treatment of us this morning showed that most thoroughly. But, should he not act up to his contract, I hope it will be taken most serious notice of, when it comes to the day of settling up.
but it should not always be so.
We weighed all the loads before one of Tippoo Tib's headmen, and he passed loads which had been condemned shortly before in the morning, which fully shows that for some reason or other he wishes to delay us here, but for what purpose I cannot say.
9 June. - We shall easily be able to start by the 11th, but I am sorry to say our loss of ammunition by the lightening of the loads - for it was the ammunition they particularly took notice of - is something enormous.
Lieut.-Colonel Wilmot Brooke sends to the Times a letter received from his son (who interviewed four white men from the Aruwimi camp) by the last West African mail. Mr. Wilmot had just returned from an unsuccessful journey into the Central Soudan with a view of commencing missionary work. Mr. Wilmot says:-
"Month after month passed away, and not a word was heard till just of late, when the reoccupation of Stanley Falls by the Congo Free State authorities has reopened traffic, and brought us full accounts of the interval from white men, Zanzibaris, and natives. Of the marching column itself we have no direct news whatever. Nine deserters, who started back for the camp, were caught by the natives, and only two escaped, the
Our attention on the Congo has been quite absorbed just of late with the news from Aruwimi camp, which has produced a general feeling little short of consternation. In order that Englishmen at home may know the extreme degree of wickedness, the atrocious cruelty that has been and is taking place in connection with the force left behind at Aruwimi camp,
a few words of explanation are necessary as to the state of affairs in the neighborhood of Stanley Falls. The Zanzibara traders settled about the Falls have in their pay large bodies of Manyema cannibals, whose wild-beast ferocity is so great, and whose cruelty is so diabolical, that the Zanzibaris express horror and disgust at the bare idea of associating with them in their marauding raids; eye witnesses, both English and Arab, have assured me that it is a common thing, which they themselves have seen on passing through the Manyema camps, to see
sticking out of their cooking-pots. To these men the Arabs issue firearms and send them off to catch the human beings with whom the ivory must be bought, for buying ivory with cloth is a slow and needlessly expensive process, and Tippoo Tib has discovered a system far superior, by which every tusk of ivory can be wrung out of a district, and that for a few kegs of powder and the loan of a few old flintlocks. Off go the man-eaters with shouting and yelling and great jubilation. What follows is now too well known. The Manyema men who came under the patronage of the expedition to the hitherto untouched Aruwimi region have carried on their work absolutely unchecked in the immediate neighborhood of the camp, and Englishmen have stood and watched while their Manyema allies fired at the heads of unhappy men and women who had leaped into the river and were trying to swim across, and have gathered round the Manyema camp fires at night to hear them relate their prowess. The raid is over, the first unexpected volley usually rendering further opposition hopeless.
the village is nothing but smouldering embers, the women and children are hurried off as prisoners to the Zanzibari camps, with rich stores of plunder, goats, and fowls, and plantains, and native canoes, and native furniture, far more than covering the cost of the raid. And now "trade" begins. In a few days the unfortunate husbands and parents of the prisoners come out of the bush; they know what is wanted; they have to ransom their relatives with ivory, and the price having been agreed upon the poor creatures go off and collect it. When at last they have scraped it all together the prisoners are returned, and the remnants of a once populous town go off to find a new refuge. The Zanzibaris have an object in giving back the prisoners when the ransom is paid; they will do duty again. Hardly have the wretched fugitives settled down again, built some huts, and begun to plant, than the Manyemas sweep down on them afresh, and the whole process is gone through again, as the residents at Aruwimi camp can testify. The 400 Manyemas who have at last consented to go with Major Barttelot have only done so after expressly stipulating that they are not to be interfered with, so that pillage, murder, and man-eating will, no doubt, lay waste the country along the line of march as they have already the country round the camp. The column will thus throw open still more virgin country to the Manyemas. Dead men will tell no tales, and the midnight volley and shrieks of dying men will never be heard from far back in the gloomy forest by the passing Congo steamers.
Two Men Hang Themselves.
A watchman named Brien, of 1, York-place, Bethnal-green, hung himself last evening to the bedpost. A laborer named George Ashton, of 26, Arthur-street, Golden-lane, committed suicide by the same method yesterday afternoon.
A Star reporter, who called at the offices of several of the largest missionary associations this morning, found everyone there intensely interested in the latest reports from Central Africa, and not a little at a loss to estimate the effect the news would have on missionary operations. It seems to have been no secret even among the officers of societies who have no present representation on the Congo that some of the methods being adopted for the advancement of civilisation and Christianity in that part of the Dark Continent have been peculiar, to say the least. The Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, the foreign secretary of
stated to The Star reporter that his society had no stations on the Congo, but that they had considerable knowledge of some of the methods in vogue there, and some very decided opinions thereon, but as it was not in their bailiwick he did not care to say any more. Referring to the letter of Mr. Wilmot-Brooke, Mr. Thompson said he understood that the gentleman had gone to Africa entirely on his own responsibility, being connected with none of the missionary organisations. Rev. Mr. Hartley, secretary of
said they were about to dispatch an agent to the African interior by way of the Congo, and that his instructions would doubtless be affected by the facts just now being brought to light.
Westminster, it was learned that no later news had been received from Central Africa than has already been made public, but all their information for several months past has been to the effect that a great majority of Barttelot's force was composed of people whose practices were notoriously bad, and who could not be trusted in any sort of fair dealing. Mr. Stock, one of the secretaries of
said that he had met Mr. Wilmot-Burke, and believed him to be a man who would be very careful of his facts, and his letter was sure to attract a great deal of attention. The society that is most directly interested in the district traversed by the Emin Relief Expedition is
who have stations all along the Congo, and through whose efforts many of the recent advances in that part have been made possible. The Star reporter saw the secretary, Mr. A. H. Baynes, this afternoon, and found him full of the subject. "I read everything I can get hold off relating to what is going on in Central Africa," said he "but I cannot say that I am surprised at what I have seen. Wilmot-Brooke's letter taken in connection with Barttelot's last letter, only confirms me in my opinion that
We know through our missionaries that the Manyema are not only confirmed cannibals, but that they are professional robbers, and, of course, it is not to the credit of any expedition that such a set of men form a part of it. I believe, however, that neither Barttelot or Stanley could help taking them on. Until the station was opened up at Aruwimi the Manyema were not in the way, but when once they were within bow-shot they must be made use of. It would not do to snub them, and I believe that Tippoo Tib took advantage of this fact to saddle them on to the relief party to effect his own ends. That Arab, Muni-Somai, is nothing else than a lieutenant of Tippoo Tib, put forward to do his dirty work, and I believe he has only been carrying out his orders. One reason I suspect Tippoo Tib," continued Mr. Baynes, "is on account of the way he acted about Barttelot's luggage. He objected to the overweight of those parcels only that contained
and when Barttelot had to send any of these back, he did just what was wanted by his enemies. If he felt inclined to object it would have been useless, for with several hundred such fellows as the Manyema under the command of that Arab sheik the rest of the party were powerless. I don't believe a word of what has been said about Barttelot treating them cruelly. No doubt the shoe was on the other foot. It is a bad business all round, and the cause of Christianity will be in no wise strengthened by the knowledge that an expedition having civilisation for its object has been so largely made up of such despicable wretches as the Manyema."
"I think Stanley is safe." I know him well. He is a wonderful man, and has a remarkable power of dealing with men. In any sort of an emergency he would be at his best, and I still have faith in his ultimate return. If there is any trait in Stanley's methods more prominent than another, it is mystery, and I believe he will be heard from when he gets nearer the accomplishment of his mission."
Late last night five detective-sergeants of the Clerkenwell district went to King's-cross Station in consequence of information received by Inspector Peel, and there, after waiting a short time, arrested a young man who answered the description given of one of the two men wanted for the Canonbury murder some months ago. He was charged with burglary in Islington, but if witnesses can identify him he will be charged with the murder. The police state they feel confident they have got the right man, but will not divulge the nature of the information on which they made the arrest.
The murder it will be remembered was committed in broad daylight at about four o'clock in the afternoon. Two men were seen to knock at the door of the house of the unfortunate old lady, who was subsequently found dead behind the door, but though the men were chased by a courageous Frenchwoman, they escaped. As many as 14 arrests were made, but up till now no criminal proceedings have ever been taken against anyone.
Looks like "Leather Apron."
The police-constable who proved a charge of drunkenness against Thomas Mills, a cabinet-maker, at Worship-street to-day, said he found him in Shoreditch surrounded by an angry crowd of people, who declared he was "Leather Apron," and threatened to lynch him. Mills, addressing the magistrate, said, "It's quite true, sir, whenever I go out they say I'm 'Leather Apron,' because the Police News published a portrait of the man and I'm like it. I can't get work, and I get a drop to drink, and then I get angry." - The Assistant-gaoler said that the prisoner had been before the court only on Tuesday for being drunk and was then discharged. He has been before the court many times. - Mr. Saunders said if he kept sober people would not take any notice of his likeness to a picture, and fined him 2s. 6d.
We shall, says the Photographic Art Journal, henceforth regard the tourist who wanders about cities and the countryside, at home or abroad, with his red-covered Badeker, with an eye of suspicion, since we learn that a Dr. K. Küguer has produced a new form of detective camera, which in appearance counterfeits the well-known guide-book. It is divided into three compartments; the front compartment acting as a camera, the second as a store for plates, and the third as a holder for already exposed plates.
