"It took us nineteen marches to reach the southwest angle of the range, the Semliki Valley being below us on our right, and which, if the tedious mist had permitted, would have been exposed in every detail. That part of the valley traversed by us is generally known under the name of Awamba, while the habitable portion of the range is principally denominated Ukonju. The huts of the natives, the Bakonju, are seen as high as 8,000 feet above the sea.
"A few days later we entered Unyampaka, which I had visited in January, 1876. Ringi, the king, allowed us to feast on his bananas unquestioned. After following the lake shore until it turned too far to the southwest, we struck for the lofty uplands of Aukori, by the natives of which we were well received, preceded as we had been by the reports of our great deeds in relieving salt lake of the presence of the universally obnoxious Warosura.
"If you draw a straight line from Nyanza to the Uzinja shores of Victoria Lake it would represent pretty fairly our course through Aukori, Karagwe and Uhaiya to Uzinja.
"Aukori was open to us because we had driven Wanyaro from the salt lake. The story was an open sesame. Here also existed a wholesome fear of an expedition which had done that which all the power of Aukori could not have done. Karagwe was open to us, because free trade is the policy of Wanyamba and because the Wateanda were too much engrossed with their civil war to interfere with our passage. Uhaiya admitted our entrance without cavil, out of respect to our numbers, and Wakwiya guided us in a like manner, to be welcomed by Wazinja.
"Nothing happened during our long journey from Albert Lake to cause us any regret that we had taken this straight course, but we have suffered from an unprecedented number of fevers. We have had as many as one hundred and fifty cases in one day. In the month of July we lost one hundred and forty-one Egyptians.
"Out of respect to the first British Prince who has shown an interest in African geography we have named the southern Nyanza, to distinguish it from the other two Nyanzas, Albert Edward Nyanza. It is not a very large lake compared to Victoria, Tanganika and Nyassa. It is small, but its importance and interest lie in the sole fact that it is the receiver of all the streams at the extremity of the southwestern or Left Nile basin, and discharges these waters by one river, the Semliki, into Albert Nyanza. In a like manner Lake Victoria receives all streams from the extremity of the southeastern or Right Nile basin and pours these waters by the Victoria Nile into Albert Nyanza. These two Niles amalgamate in Lake Albert, under the well-known name of White Nile.
"By the route taken I traversed the Semliki Valley, the Awamba, the Usongora, the Toro, the Utraiyana, the Unyampaka, the Antrosi, the Karagive, the Uhaiya, the Uzimza, the South Victoria and the Nyanza. No hostile natives were met. Since we left Kabbarega we travelled along the base of the snowy range Ruwenzori. Three sides of the Southern Nyanza or Nyanza of Usongora, which is called now Albert Edward Nyanza, are about nine hundred feet higher than Albert Nyanza, having an exit at Semliki which receives over fifty streams from the Ruwenzori and finally enters the Albert Nyanza, making the Albert Edward the source of the southwest branch of the White Nile, the Victoria Nyanza being the source of the southeast branch."
The relief committee at once made arrangements for the forwarding of supplies to meet Stanley at Mpwapwa. It was thought that he could not reach the coast before the beginning of next year. Mpwapwa is a station about one hundred and fifty miles from the coast, on the road from Zanzibar and Bagamoyo to Lake Tanganika. But the expedition made rapid progress. On November 20th Captain Wissmann telegraphed from Zanzibar that Stanley had reached Mpwapwa on November 10th, and simultaneously there came a despatch which Captain Wissmann had written at Mpwapwa on October 13th, as follows:
"Four of Stanley's men and one of Emin's soldiers have arrived here. They left Stanley at Neukmma on August 10th, and came by way of Noembo and Mwerieweri north to Mgogo in thirty-three days, including nine days on which they rested. Emin and Casati had three hundred Soudanese soldiers and many other followers with them. They had in their possession a large quantity of ivory. Stanley had a force of two hundred and forty Zanzibaris and was accompanied by six lieutenants—Nelson, Jephson, Stairs, Parke, Bonny and William. The expedition struck camp as soon as the messengers started. Therefore the party should reach Mpwapwa by November 20th. Emin and Stanley repeatedly fought and repulsed the Mahdists, capturing the Mahdi's grand banner. A majority of Emin's soldiers refused to follow him southwards, asserting that their way home did not lie in that direction. Emin left two Egyptian officers in charge of stations."