I cannot resist by argument
such fervent hopes; but if good and capable men are determined to make
the attempt, they may now be assured of peace and security at Gondokoro,
where they will have the advantage of the good name left by the
excellent but unfortunate members of the late Austrian mission.
GEOGRAPHY.
I have not changed my opinions that have already been expressed in "The
Albert N'yanza," except that, from the native testimony, I presume there
must be a channel which connects either a lake or series of lakes with
the Albert N'yanza.
Without a guide, it would be a work of much time and difficulty to
discover the true channel among the labyrinth-like inlets that
characterize the vast beds of floating water-grass.
Many years ago, when at Magungo, on the Albert N'yanza, I could not at
first believe that the raft-choked entrance of the Victoria Nile in
apparently dead water was indeed the mouth of that important river. My
subsequent experience in the marshy and lacustrine Bahr Giraffe has
confirmed my impressions of the extreme difficulty of deciding upon the
non-existence of a channel until after a lengthened investigation.
I cannot conceive that the Lualaba of Livingstone can be included within
the Nile Basin. Livingstone decided the level of the Tanganyika lake to
be within 72 feet of my level of the Albert N'yanza. With the same
instruments he determined the altitude of the Lualaba to be lower than
the Albert N'yanza, thus showing the impossibility of a connection
between that river as an affluent with the lake.
I will not presume to assert that the Lualaba is a source of the Congo,
as I have a strong objection to geographical theories or assertions
unless proved by actual inspection, but if Livingstone's observations
for altitude are correct, it is impossible that the Lualaba can be
connected with the Nile. [*]
[*Footnote: Mr. Stanley's discoveries since this was written have
confirmed my suppositions.]
Dr. Schweinfurth's discovery of the Welle river flowing towards the
west, between the 3rd and 4th deg. N. lat., is a clear proof that no
river can be running from the south to the north-east towards the Nile
Basin, otherwise the Welle river would be intersected.
In page 186, vol. ii., Dr. Schweinfurth [*] writes: - "Its course [the
Lualaba], indeed, was towards the north; but Livingstone was manifestly
in error when he took it for a true source of the Nile, a supposition
that might have some semblance of foundation originating in the
inexplicable volume of the water of Lake M'wootan (Albert N'yanza), but
which was negatived completely as soon as more ample investigation had
been made as to the comparative level, direction, and connection of
other rivers, especially of the Welle."
[*Footnote: "The Heart of Africa."]
Although Dr. Schweinfurth was unprovided with astronomical instruments,
we may place thorough reliance in the integrity and ability of this
traveller, who has taken the greatest pains to arrive at true
conclusions.
