Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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Some
Historians Have Indeed Endeavoured To Prove, That The Voyage Was
Altogether Beyond Any Means, Which Navigation At That Early Era Could
Command; But In The Learned Exposition Of Rennell, A Strong Degree Of
Probability Is Thrown Upon The Early Tradition.
At all events it may
be considered, that the obscure knowledge, which we possessed of the
peninsular figure of Africa, appears to have been derived from the
Phoenicians.
Herodotus, however, was himself a traveller, in those
early times, of no mean celebrity. Despairing of obtaining accurate
information of the then known part of the habitable world, he
determined to have recourse to travelling, for the purpose of
completing those surveys, which had been undertaken by his
predecessors, and which had been left in a dubious and indefinite
state. He resided for a considerable period in Egypt, during which,
he entered into a friendly communion with the native priests, from
whom he obtained much accurate information, as well as a great deal
that was false and exaggerated relative to the extensive region,
which extends from the Nile to the Atlantic. According to his
description it is much inferior in fertility to the cultivated parts
of Europe and Asia, and suffering extremely from severe drought; yet
he makes mention of a few spots, such as Cinyps, and the high tract
Cyrene, which, undergoing the process of irrigation, may stand
comparison with the richest portions of the globe. Generally,
however, in quitting the northern coast, which he terms significantly
the forehead of Africa, the country became more and more arid.
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