Jules Alexandre Milz
Jules Alexandre Milz (10 September 1861 – 1 October 1902) was a Belgian soldier who was active in exploring the northeast of the Congo Free State.
He arrived in Boma on 25 July 1888 and was assigned to the Bangalas District, where Willem Frans Van Kerckhoven was preparing the vanguard of the Léon Roget expedition.
On 8 February 1889 the column was at the confluence of the Aruwimi with the Congo River, where the Basoko station was established, capital of the new Aruwimi-Uele District.
In April 1890 Milz and Joseph Duvivier accompanied Roget to found a post in Djabir (Bondo[b]) on the Uele.
Sultan Djabir signed a treaty with Milz and a post was established on the site of the former Egyptian zeriba of Deleb.
[1] Milz began construction of the station while Roget, guided by Sultan Djabir, tried unsuccessfully to join Alphonse van Gèle in Yakoma.
[5] Roget left Djabir in July to return to Basoko, the Pool and Boma, leaving Milz in command with instructions to attempt the liaison with Yakoma.
[6] There are conflicting reports about who took the initiative, but it seems that Van Gèle heard of the presence of a European in Djabar on November 18 and set out via a roundabout route up the Uele, reaching the village of Gamanza on 2 December.
At the start of July most of the Van Kerckhoven expedition had gathered in Djabir, consisting of 15 Europeans and 500 Africans of the Force Publique.
Ponthier, Semio and his soldiers would go by land, while Milz would accompany Van Kerckhoven with the provisions by water.
Milz, Gustave Gustin, Clément-François Van de Vliet and Semio, who had traveled by land along the south bank of the Uele, were attacked by the Barambo [fr].
They continued, making contact with the local chiefs and selecting sites for new posts, and reached the confluence of the Gada River with the Uele on 18 March, where they chose to build a new station at the village of Mbegu, named Niangara.
They reached Surur on 10 June and decided to go up the Nzoro River, but found it blocked by rapids, which were called the Milz Falls.
The column was divided, leaving 200 of the less able-bodied men at the foot of the rapids, while the others went ahead in search of the Gustin-Semio advance guard.
On 11 July Van Kerckhoven and Milz left by land along the south bank of the Nzoro through difficult country, with the soldiers carrying their loads for lack of porters.
On 18 December 1892 he reached the Dungu-Kibali confluence, the head of the Uele, where Florimond Delanghe was waiting to take over command of the expedition.
