The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-08-20

DR.. Livingstone's Letter to his Brother.
TORONTO, ONT, Aug. 19.-The following is
DIR. Liyingstone's letter to his brother in Cana
da:
UJIJI, Nov. Is, 1871.
My Dear Brother-I received your welcome
letter in February last, written when the cable
news made you put off your suits of mourning.
This was the first intimation had that the
cable was successfully laid in the deep Allan
tic. Very few letters have reached me for years
in consequence of friends specializing where
should come out on the west coast down the
Nile or elsewhere. The water shed is a broad
upland between 1000 and 5000 feet above the
sea and some 20 miles long. The springs of
the Nile that rise thereon are almost innumer-
able 1t would take the best part of a mans
life to count them One part "a miles of lati-
tude, gave ~ springs from the calf to tho waist
deep, or one spring for every two miles. A
birds-eye view of them would be like the vare
CATION of frost on the window panes. To as
certain that all of these fountains united with
the four rivers in the upper part of the Nile
valley was work of time and much travel.
Many weary foot 1 trod before light dawned
on the ancient problem. If had left at the
end of the two years for which my expenses
were barely paid, l could have thrown very lit
tie more light on the country than the Portu-
guese, who in their three slavery visits to Co
zombeS asked for ivory and slaves and heard OF
nothing else L asked about the waters, ques-
TONED and cross-questioned, till L was really
as afflicted hydrocephaitus. l went forward,
backwards and sideways, feeling my way and
every step of the way. was generally CROP
ing In the dark for who cared where where the
rivers ran.
OF these four rivers into which the springs
OF the Nile converge, the central one is call ed
Luataba and is the largest 1t begins as the
river Chambeze, which flows into the great lake
Bangwala. On leaving it its name is changed
to Lapala and that enters Lake Moero. On
coming out of ii, the Iul1ha il assumed
and 1t flows into third lake, Kamolordo, which
receives one of the four large drains mentioned
above
1t then flows on and makes two enormous
DenuS 10 the west which made me often fear
that was following the Congo instead of the
Nile. 1t il from one to three miles broad and
never can be waded at any part or at any time
OF the year. Far down the valley it receives
another OF the four great rivers above mention
ed, the Locke or Lawame, which flows through
what have named Lake Lincoln, and then
joins central Lualaba. We have there only
two lines of drainage in the lower part of the
great valley, that is Tal1ganyika and Albert
lakes, which are but one lake river, or, say if
you want to be pcdantic, locustian river. These
Two form the eastern line of the Lualaba which
call Weob's. Lualabais then the western line
nearly as predicted by Potolcmy in the second
century OF our era.
After the Lamame enters the Lualaba, the
fourth great Re in the central line of drain
age IL found, but this have not yet seen nor
yet the link between the eastern and western
mans: AT the top of Plolomy Loop the great
central hue goes down into large seedy lakes,
possibly those reported to Neras Centurian, and
these form the western OF petheric arm which
Spoke, Grant and Baker believed to be the riy-
er OF Egypt, Neither can they be called the
Nile until they unite
Inc lakes mentioned in the central line of
drainage are by no means small. Lake Bang
woo, at the lowest estimates, is $50 miles long
and tried to cross it and measure its breadth
exactly The first stage was to an inhabited
island, thirty -four miles. The round stage
could be seen from its highest point, or rather
the tops of the trees upon it, evidently lifted by
mirage.
AT the third stage the main land was said to
BE as far beyond, but my canoe men had stolen
| the canoe and they got hint that the real own
ers were in pursuit, and got into furry to re-