The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-23 00:00:00

feet above the level of the sea, he at once felt cer-
tain that it could only be the source of some vast
river like the Nile. Tee traditions of the natives,
too, confirmed this conjecture, by their account
of the great extent of the lake, while the
Arab merchants, who had visited those districts in
search of ivory, asserted boldly that it was the
source of a great river. Captain SPEKE tells us
that he would have settled the question in 1859,
but the chief of the party he was accompanying
having fallen ill, he was compelled to return. Sir
RODERICK MURCHISON, however, was deeply im-
pressed with the necessity of further researches, and
accordingly Captains SPEKE and GRANT started on
their last and conclusive expedition. On reaching
Unyanyembi, 5 deg. south of the lake, they fol-
lowed a near route, which they conjectured from the
accounts of the ivory merchants would lead to the
creek on the Western side of the lake, but owing to
some confusion between the terms river and lake,
they found that the path led them to another lake,
the Luero-10-Urigi, which was once of great extent,
but is now drying up. The travellers thus made an
accidental discovery, which though not of much
profit familiarised them still more with the nature
of the country. The Luero-10-Urigi and other
neighbouringitaniegu lakes are drained by the river
K
which Captain SPEKE describes as a
noble stream, 80 yards wide, and sunk low in the
earth like a • huge canal. This river flows into
the Victoria Nyanza, bringing it its largest
supply of terrestrial water. All these lakes aro
supplied from the Mountains of the Moon, where
more than two-thirds of the year are wet and
rainy. Among the many errors and misstatements
current respecting the African interior, there is
none greater than the commonly received notion of
the scarcity of water. The abundant means of irri-
gation and water works supplied to the settler
encourages the sanguine view now beginning to be
taken of the future rise and progress of these long
neglected wilds. The popalation, according to
Captain SPEKE, are for the most part courteous and
intelligent. Making due allowance for his grate-
fill feelings towards the people of Karaguve and
their King, his account of them is most promising.
They present, however, a singular anomaly in the
human race, if the travellers' account be true, that
they have no religion, and do not believe in a soul.
We should incline to think that this can hardly be
entirely correct—that some dim superstition or lin-
gering tradition must prevent the natives of Kara-
guve from forming so remarkable an exception
to the belief in another life, which has
been the universal idea of all races and
generations. The difficulties and dangers,
the labours and disappointments which fell to the
lot of these enterprising travellers heightened the
triumph of their success, but did not serve to abate
their energies. The public will no doubt receive
before long a fuller account of their wanderings,
and of the gradual progress of their scientific dis-
coveries. Englishmen may well be proud of
adding such an achievement to the list of their
daring feats, and the boastful nineteenth century
has another cause for triumph. It may serve, how-
ever, to temper the self-conceit of modern science,
to learn that the great lake which has proved to be
the source of the grand old river, was clearly
marked in an Arabian map more than 1,000 years
old, while PTOLEMY was the first to give an ac-
count of the sub-equatorial lakes of Africa.
Captains SPEKE and GRANT have not met the
usual reward of public benefactors, for kings and
philosophers have combined to do them honour,
while the enthusiastic reception they met with last
night at Burlington House must have served to
convince them of the honour and admiration which
their countrymen have bestowed on their labours.