Jeannette Expedition New York early in 1874; the newspaperman was impressed by De Long, and assured him that his Arctic ambitions would have the enthusiastic support of the "Herald". In the meantime De Long had applied to the Navy Department for an Arctic command, a request that he was informed would "receive due attention". James Gordon Bennett Jr., had succeeded his father as proprietor of the "New York Herald" in 1866. He had won renown in 1872, when his reporter Henry Morton Stanley, sent by Bennett to Africa in search of the British missionary-explorer David Livingstone, cabled that Livingstone had been found.
Livingstone–Stanley Monument 10 November 1871 as clearly detailed in Stanley's book, "How I Found Livingstone". David Livingstone's journal also confirms Ujiji as the location, with an entry the day before the meeting reading "At dawn, off and go to Ujiji", a town he knew well. Livingstone then details meetings with several Arab residents of Ujiji including one who was supposed to be keeping his goods from his previous visit, before recording Stanley's arrival. From their writings, the visit to Mugere appears to be the one on 25–27 November which Livingstone and Stanley described as being one of the most hospitable they enjoyed.