The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-11-23

B0rvat1OnS which went 20 the Royal Ob60rva-
tory at the Cape required much time for cal
culation, worked out a number in rough
way, leaving out many minute corrections,
such as for the height Of the thermometer
and barometer tho horizontal parallax and
semi-diameter of planets, using but one
moons semi-diameter and horizontal parallax
for a set of distances though of several hours
duration, corrections for the differences of
proportional logarithmizing, etc., and with
these confessedly imperfect longitudes, made
and sent home sketch maps to give general
ideas of the countries explored. They were
imperfect as calculated and made in the con-
fusion of the multitude of matters that crowd
on the mind of an explorer, but infinitely
better than many of the published maps Sir
| Thomas Maclean, for instance, saws that
| short of a trigonometric survey, no river has
been laid down so accurately as the Zambesi;
and Mr. Mann, after most careful examina-
nation of the series of chronometric observa-
| tions in positions which more than once ran
from the Sea of Zette up to Lake Nyassa, any
error in the longitude cannot possibly amount
to four minutes Well, after all my care and
risk of health, and even of life, it is not very
| inspiriting to find 200 miles of lake tackled on
to the northwest end of Nyassa-and these
200 miles perched up on the upland region
| and passed over some 5000 feet higher than
| the rest of the lakes.
We shall probably hear that the author of
this feat claims therefrom to be considered
| theoretical discoverer of the sources of the
Nile My imperfect longitudes and sketches
| led some to desecrate the perfect ones from
the observatory. This position was fixed by
| seven sets of lunar distances; that is at least
| G3 distances between the moon and stars, and
| probably hundred attitudes of sun or stars
all made in risk of, and sometimes actually
suffering from, African fever. Six sets
showed from one to three minutes on each
-. j.. l.. L. -
| seventh showed a few minutes to the west
The six were thrown aside, and the seventh
adopted, because a Portuguese said to me
that he thought that spot might be about
midway between Ambaca and the sea. Am
baca he had never seen; and the folly of
intermeddling is apparent from the change
not making the spot perceptibly nearer the
imaginary midway, and no one had ever OBJ
| served them before nor in our day will OBJ
serve again. Other freaks, and one specially
immoral, were performed, and to my gentle
remonstrance l received only a giggie. The
desecration my positions have suffered is pro-
baby unknown to the Council, but that is all
the more reason why should adhere to my
resolution to be the guardian of my own
observations till publication. 1 regret this,
because the upsetting of the canoe, or any
thing happening to me, might lead to the
entire loss of the discoveries.
My borrowed paper is done, or 1 should
have given a summary of the streams which,
flowing into Chambeze, Luapula, Lualaba,
and the lakes, may be called sewers. Thir-
teen all larger than the Isis at Oxford, or
Avon at Hamilton, run into one line of drain
age, five into another, and four into third
ecepticle-twenty-thre in all Not having
seen the Nile in the north, 1 forbear any
comparison of volume. trust that my labors,
though much longer than l intended, may
meet with your Lordships appreciation.
have, etc., DAVID LIVINGSTONE.
P. S.-Always something new from Africa;
large tribe lives in underground houses in
Rua. Some excavations are Said .o, be thirty
miles long, and have running rills in them-a
whole district can stand a.siegein them; the
writings therein, / have been told by some
of the people, are on wings of animals, and
not letters. Of course I should have gone to
see them. They are said to be very dark,
well-made.
In letter addressed to DR.. Kirk, Consul at
Zanzibar, and dated July S, near Lake Bang
weolo, Livingstone writes:-
For Captain Frazer and our friends at Zau.
zibar, L may say have found what I believe
to be the sources of the Nile between 10 and
II degrees south, or nearly in the position as
, signed to them by Ptolemy
r 1t is not one source from a lake, but up
, wards of twenty of them. Lake Lemba
which possibly is an arm of Tanganyika, has
four rivers flowing into it. One 1 measured
and find it to be 294 feet-say 100 yards wide
: and waist deep, and flowing fast in Septem,
Der. No rain had fallen since 18th May
Elsewhere it almost requires canoes This
has eleven good-sized ''burns" flowing into
, it. Taking these four rivers as one line OF
{ drainage Ga fifth from Marenga must be
, added), then the Chambeze flows from the
a side into the centre of great valley, and re-
q ceives three streams as large as the Isis al
q Oxford or Avon at Hamilton. The Chambeze
+ enters Bangweolo Lake and receives two
8 streams, then changes its home to Luapula
s and flowing north, receives two streams about
n so yards broad each.
a Luapula receives one and enters Moerc
C Lake to receive five streams; one is eighty
S yards broad, and always requires canoes. Or
:, leaving Moero it is called Lualaba which re
d ceives two good-sized streams, and it forms
v Ulenge either q lake with many islands or ;
n division with many streams, which are takeI
u up by the Lufra, large river, which by five
k branches drain the west side of the great val
d ley, which probably is that of the Nile,
y have still to follow down the Lualaba, an(
8 see whether, as the natives assert, it passes
q Tanganyika to the west or enters it and find
8 an exit by the river called Locunda into LAX
It Chowambe, which conjecture to be that dis
4 covered by Mr.. Baker.
a shall not follow Lualaba by canoes, as VI
l. did the Zambesi from near the Victoria Fall
e to the Kebrabassa-that was insanity, and
n am not going to do any more mad things.