River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1872-10-11
DIR. LIVINGSTONE.

What the Great Explorer has ACCOM-
plished i'm EquatOric Africa-Hfs Dis
cOvely of a Great Lac<ustine River
Congo :-An Interesting Problem
The Fountains of HerOdOtus and
PtOlemy-The Inexhaustible Copper
Region.
So much has been written concerning
DR.. Livingstone's recent discoveries
and his future programme in Central
Africa, that the prevailing popular
ideas on the subject are not very clear
ly defined. A general survey of the
operations is briefly given in the Lon
don Saturday Review of August "a,
from which we extract the following
for the perusal of such of our readers
as are interested In geographical re-
searches:
From Livingstone's last dispatch,
dated Unyanyembe, February 20, 1872,
we get the latest views of the great
traveller as to what he had achieved,
with his plans for the future. What
he has placed beyond doubt is the ex-
istense of a great mountain range, d.
viding the drainage of the Zambesi
from that to the northward, Identical,
probably, with Ptolemy's Mountains of
the Moon. But more important still
is the great valley system Of lakes and
rivers, starting from broad upland
between ten and twelve degrees south
and from four thousand to five thou.
sand feet above the sea, from which
rise mountains six thousand or seven
thousand feet in actual height. This
watershed extends over seven hundred
miles from west to east. COur tless
springs here ooze up from the spongy
soil, spreading out, says Living
stone, to a bird's-eye view, like
the frost vegetation on a window
pane. In passing over sixty miles OF
latitude he waded thirty-two primary
sources of this kind. Several of them
are covered with veritable living
bridges, the rich, dark, glossy leaved
grass with its leaves and roots felting
itself into a mat, which, when stepped
upon Yields twelve or fifteen inches,
the water rising to that height up the
leg holes here and there appearing
through which any one might "plump
through and finish the chapter" When
the water is shallow the lotus, or sacred
lily. sends it's roots to the bottom and
spreads it's broad leaves across the
floating bridge. Uniting into foLr such
streams in the main these springs form
the headwaters of the Chambesi, the
bed of which Livingstone followed from
it's source till it entered lake Bang
weolo. $50 miles wide and 1000 feet
above the sea, which our readers will
find set down in Keith Johnson's map,
1s7O.) Turning thence northward it
flows, under the new name of Luapula,
past the town of Cazembe-a distin-
guished chief made known to us by DIR.
Lacerda, the Portuguese-into Lake
Moero, also set down in the said map.
Thence the great river forces it's way
to the north through the Rua Noun
tains and spreads out into new lake,
called Ulenga or Kamalondo, in the
Manyema country. 1t is here called
the Lualaba, and has been named by
Livingstone Webb's Lake River, after
friend. Soon after this it makes to
the west great bend of $50 miles, and
after further bend of 100 miles to the
north and west, with 30 miles of south
ing next, draws round to the north
east, receiving the Lomame or
Lock-, Joined to which it flows
through large lake called "Lincoln'
BY the discoverer. Thence the united
stream spreads out into fourth large
lake with many islands, to which Liv-
ingstone gives no name, and which he
was unable to explore, failing health
and supplies compelling his return in
1870 to Till. Somewhat to the south
west from hence natives reported a re-
markable mound, from the base of
which the springs or fountains divide
into two great rivers to the northeast.
One of these, the Lufra, named by
Livingstone Bartle Frere's, flows into
Lake Kamalondo. That to the north
west of the mound, OF "Youngs Foun-
tain, " is considered by him to form the
upper waters of the Lomane. These
streams, with two Others, which be be-
lieves to run south, are held by him to
be those mentioned by Herodotus as