THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

Southland Times, Volume 3, Issue 102, 16 October 1863, Page 7

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

I (From tho JEfyropean Times:) ,-?^ » j Captains Spelte and" Grant^ the discoverers of ..the -source of the Nile, iffere welcomed' on their return home, Jby~Jthe Geographical : Society, on, the pi V June. . In ppening the meeting; jSir Roderick Murchison, referring to Ithe great discovery made by the gallant tcplorers, said the Queen took the jlreatest possible interest in this mar-: |t ellous achievement of human enterprise.' Her had specially congratulated him most graciously on the subject' during her visit to the International Exhibition building a few days since.! The Prince of Wales, their vice-patron, evinced no, less interest ,in the discovery than her Majesty, and it was only through a most pressing engagement that, his Royal Highness was not present that evening. The King of Italy had sent, through the Marquis d'Azeglio, two gold medals, specially struck in honor of the occasion, for presentation to Captains Speke and Grant, accompanied by a most flattering letter, which he would read to them. The .French Geographical Society, having given Captain Speke their gold medal for his discoveries in the Lake Nyanza district in 18.58, Captain Speke had shown his sense of the honor done to him by naming the principal channel leading from the lake after the Emperor Napoleon. Captain Speke met with a most flattering reception, the whole meeting rising and cheering loudly. When silence was at last restored, Captain Speke said that, before reading his paper, he begged to introduce to them a little boy belonging to one of the most intelligent of the equatorial t-ibes. It was through the friendliness and fidelity of a man of this tribe that he was able to complete his great work, and he thought it only just that the Government should educate some of the most intellectual of this race, and send them back to their native couutry as consuls, to assist in spreading our commerce and civilization throughout Eastern Africa. The little fellow, a fine boy of about fourteen, is an excellent specimen of the intellectual black type, his nose being as straight, and his forehead as high, as those of a European, although his woolly head and dark skiu were thoroughly characteristic of his African blood. He seemed in no way disconcerted at Ms reception, and was as cool and collected as if he had attended the meetings of the Society all his life. Captain Grant had a similar companion with him. Captain Speke commenced his paper, "The Nile and its Tributaries compared," by describing the Lake Nyanza, the principal head of the Nile. This lake is situated in latitude 3 deg. S., and from that point to its debouchure in Mediterranean, in latitude 81 deg. N., l&e Nile traverses a distance of over Wvf) geographical miles, or nearly onetenth of the circumference of the earth When he discovered the Nyanza Lake in 1858, he found it to be a large sheet of sweet water, lying about 3,500 feet above the level of the sea, and he at once felt certain that it Could only be the source of some vast river such as the Nile. The natives had traditions, too, of its great extent, and certain Arab merchants of Zanzibar, who pene.«trated those regions in search of ivory, assured him that Nyanza was the source of some great river. Other traditions heard from the natives confirmed him in this opinion; and he believes he would have settled the question of the source of the Nile in 1859, by travelling to Uganda with an Indian merchant, had not the chief of the expedition fallen ill. On his return to England, he found Sir Roderick Murchison deeply imbued with the necessity of at once completing the work he had left undone. He himself could not rest satisfied until the world had accepted his views, now happily confirmed by actual inspection and observation. On returning with Captain Grant to Unyanyembe, , five degrees south of the lake, 1861, he hit upon a new route, ffhich he supposed, from the accounts of the ivory merchants, would lead to a creek in the western flank of the lake ,- but owing to the confusion existing in the language of the country with regard to the terms river and lake, it turned out to be a hew lake, the Luero-lo-Urigi, which once contained large quantities of water, hut is now fast drying up. It is to the west and north of Karage that the great lake receives its [largestsupply of terrestrial water, through Ithe medium of the Ki tangle river, which drains off the Luero-10-Urigi, and many minor lakes. . These lakes are all mere puddles compared to the Nyanza ; but the Kitangule is a noble river, sunk low in the earth, like a huge canal, and measuring eighty yards across. The question now arises, what forms these lakes without number ? The Mountains of the Moon, from whence they derive their water, are in the middle of the rainy zone, where he observed, in 1862, that no less than 233 days of the year were more or less wet days. The first place from which he obtained a view of Lake Nyanza, during the second (expedition, was from the town of Mashonde, in the tJdda portion of the country of Uganda, on the western side of the lake. Pursuing his way northward along the shore to the valley of Katonga, which is situated on the equator, the 'and above the lake becomes very beautiful, being composed of low sandstone bills, deeply scored and seamed by the beavy rains, covered with gigantic grass of unsurpassed verdure, and by dells of trees as tall and straight as the Mue gums of Australia. Travelling, Wever, is most irksome in this part of the country, for> owing to the gradual subsidence of all the streams, 'he moorlands surrounding them are toere networks of rushes, covering unfathomable soft bogs. Crossing the

equator, he reached the Mworango, a stream of moderate size, and said to flow out of the lake. It runs north and joins the Nile in the kingdom of Unyora, when its name is changed to Kafu. Further on the Luajerri follows .its example ; and still further on, at the centre of the noTthern coast of the lake issues the parent stream of the Nile, falling over rocks of igneous character, 5 and 'forming falls twelve feet high, which he had christened by the name of the Ripon Falls, in honor of the President of the Geographical Society at the time of the starting of the expedition. The escape of Nyanza's waters twenty miles north of the equator, was the only outlet examined, owing to the barbarous restrictions placed on travel-, lers by the king of (he country. They, however, saw the junction of the Nile with the Kafu and Asua rivers, and crossed the Luajerri half way between its escape from the lake and its junction with the parent stream. Proceeding down the Nile from the llipOn Falls, they first passed through a row of sandstone hills, after which the river rushes down due north with the beauty of a mountain torrent, running off at last into long flats, more like a lake than a river. In Unyora it is increased by the contributions of the Kafu and Luajerri, and continues navigable as far as the Karuma Falls, where it rushes on with boisterous liveliness. They could not continue their passage beyond this point, owing to a war that was raging in the country. They next met with the old river in the Madi country, where it still bears the unmistakeable character of the Nile — long flats and long rapids. Here it is that another great feeder from the Nyanza lake, the Asua river, joins it on the eastern side. On the other side a long flat extends far into the country — as far, Captain Speke believes, as the little Luta Nzigi lake. With the rest of the Nile We ought to be well acquainted, but little is really known about it, owing to the fact of no one having yet taken the trouble to place nilometers at proper spots. Proceeding onward, the next great affluent is the" Bahr-el-Ghazal, which joins the Nile with hardly any visible stream, having more the appearance of a lake ! than of a river. The second is the Geraffee river, which may be said to be only one- third of the Nile in size at its point of junction. Its source has yet to be discovered. Its character suggests the possibility of its coming from Lake Nyanza. The third affluent is the Southern Sobat river, also full and navigable. The Northern Sobut they passed without knowing it. Captain Speke then went on to describe some other tributaries of the Nile, concluding by giving an account of his meeting with Mr Baker at Khartoum, who had nobly come up the Nile to meet him with three ladies. Mr Baker aud his party intended following out the stream supposed to lead to the Little Luta Nzigi Lyke to its source. They would be pleased to hear that Mr Petherick was in perfect health and excellent spirits, and trading energetically when last he heard of him. j At the suggestion of the President, Captain Speke gave a long and interesting of the people of the countries through which lie passed, and detailing the reception he met with from the various Kings and chiefs. The people of this part of the country are most intellectual but have a great distrust of the white mm, owing to the enormities committed by the slave traders. The difficulties of travelling through these couutries are almost insuperable, from numberless causes. The native Kings are continually at war with each other, which causes wholesale desertion among the men forming the expeditions. The na'ives, however, with whom he had had amicjble relations, were most friendly and honest, not only helping him themselves with presents, but sending men with him into other friendly nations as safeguards. He considers that the race is the same as the Abyssinian, with a strong admixture of the Hindoo. They are mostly tall, well made men, with straight noses and curly hair. They have no religion, and do not believe in a soul. The people of Karagwe he praises most highly. The King and princes are in in every respect worthy of the epithet; "gentlemen.'' He described . the country around the Mountains of the Moon as a perfect Paradise. The King of Nuanda, continued Captain Speke, was a most intelligent and inquiring man. His Majesty asked questions about the geography of the world, and especially about the north, and was astonished to hear of the land surrounded by water. He asked about the stars and sun, and what became of the old suns and moons. His anxious desire was to obtain knowledge upon every topic which came under his notice. The King had heard of the extraordinary power of the white people, and wished to know from the travellers whether it was not so great that, if they choose, they could blow up Africa. They went out shooting together, and sometimes his sons accompanied them, and they always acted in the most courteous end gentlemanly manner. When about to resume his journey, the King scut an officer to the King of Utanga, informing him of his wish to visit the country, and praying his brother potentate to afford every faciliiy in his power. The gallant speaker referred to the illness which had overtaken his fellow traveller, Captain Grant, at this stage of the journey, and proceeded to give some interesting accounts of his visit to, and reception by, another! sable monarch in the territory adjoining. Here he was surprised at the neatness and tidiness of the people, the manner in which they deported themselves, and the style of the native dress, which, he said, would not disgrace a fashionable promenade in London.

These people of Uganda were a most superior set. The King had prepared a grand reception for him. On arriving at the place indicated, Jhe found the palace filled with men and women ; cattle were being led about the, approaches to the palace ; there were bands of musicians, and a great display of public rejeicing. The King was seated on a throne of brass, beautifully dressed, and carried his shield and spear, and his warriors round him were also armed with spears. The officers squatted around the King, and with these a general conversation was kept up. Wearied with sitting so long in the sun, he (Capiain Speke) put up his umbrella to the intense wonder of the court and its sovereign. At last the courtiers and warriors left, and, while in full stare at him, the King said " have you seen me? " . He replied that he had had that pleasure, and, looking at his watch, found that he had enjoyed that gratification for exactly half an hour, and hoped his Majesty was quite well. The King then went into the palace, to which he also had the honor of being invited. When he arrived there, he found, to his great* surprise, that che King was sitting, not with men, as he had been just before, but in the midst of his wifes — at least two or three hundred ih number. Here again the same gazing- at each other ensued, and at the end of about half an hour the King again inquired if he (Captain Speke) had seen him ! In addition to this the King asked him where he had come from, and said he should like very much to see him again. He replied that 1 c should bu happy to be favored with the opportunity of visiting his Majesty, and added that, as was ; lwajs the customwith him on approaching men of rank, he had brought with him. and begged his Majesty's acceptance of, some small presents. The King said "Let me see them." The first of the presents shown him was a revolver pistol. This the King took up and played with in the most ridiculous manner, for he had no idea of its use. At the end of our interview he said, "It is now getting dark ; would you like someliquor ? — What will you take?" And said that he would send something to-morrow. The King took a great fancy to shooting, and several shooting parties were arranged, the King having practised beforehand by shooting the cows 'in his yard. The shooting parties amused the King amazingly ; they were accompanied by a band cf musiciaus — and very good bands too they were — by officers, and by many of his wives. The arrangement of the procession was a somewhat difficult affair, and it was arranged that the Englishmen should go before the King. To this, however, he (Captain Speke) ohjecte ', on the ground that he never went before royalty. The King was in some difficulty, because by placing him after him he would be between his Majesty and his wives. The point, however, was conceded, and he found that the best place in the procession, for the women were as amiable as amiable could be. Whenever any vulture or any other bird flew up, the King shouted out, " Now, then, shoot i that;' 1 and he was kept firing as fast as he could, and each time that a bird was knocked over, the King and his officers and his ladies clapped their hands, and danced in the most extraOrdinary manner. Starting on his journey, Captain Speke U. ld the meeting how he was opp( sed by the natives of Usoca, how boats filled with armed men threatened to impede their progress, and how a complete victory was gained by the discharge of one or two rifles, the effect of which spread the utmost consternation among the native warriors. Sir Roderick Murchison, with a few appropriate words, then placed in the hands of Captains Speke and Grant a goU medal, which the King of Italy had forwarded to the Geographical Society, with a request that it should be presented to the successful explorers of the source of the Nile. i