Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-10-17
The Nile Sources.

FROM the leLI6rS WHicl we nave go III
received from Mr., Stanley, detailing the
labors, vicisslluies and results OF his
present expedition, our readers will have
| discovered that bis appointed field OF
! operation embraces: tirst thorough
| exploration OF the first discovered Of the
| great equatorial reservoirs of the Nile,
the lake Victoria NiyaUza; second, a
| similar circumnaviga ton Of the Albert
| Niyapza, which may be called the twin
! lake with the VictOIia,Of the Nile fJuDt-
aims, and next, land here We reach, no
| doubt, the main and paramount object
| of the expedition the finishing OF the
! unfinished work Of Livingstone, in fol-
! lowing down the great river which
| drains bis interior basin, from the point
| where the IRmented chief OF African
! explorers was compelled, "a mere
| Iuekle G1 b0nCs,n to leave the enchspt-
| ing stream aud return 70 Ujji his base
| OF ODerations on the lake IgnganyIka.
| Here the reader will remember Stsniey
| found toe brave ola man,and from those
| timely and much needed supplies on
| hand so rapidly restored MIN t. health
| and strength that he would not listen to
| the proposition Of return hOmeWard
| short of another effort 10 establish the
! outlet of that beautiful interior river
| which he firmly believed TO be the
| Nile. The march of Stanley on this ey-
petition from the east African coast
through 8 wilderness OF seven hundred
| miles of difficult swEmps, jung es, nss-
lsria and hostile tribes OF savagss, fur
nishe3 one Of the most remark able eX
| amples of military sagscity, discipline
aud herOism, fortitute ana successful
perseverance OF ali the heroic adven-
lures into the heart OF aboriginal Africa
Yet il is apparent, from his first reports
of bis fifty-eigbt days reconnaissance Of
the Victoria Lake, that the civilized
world will be amply rewarded for his
iabOrs, whatever may be the fate in
those African Wiid5 reserved for him.
He is so completely acc!imated, how
ever, to the pestiienuai air OF equatorial
Africa, SO thoroughly experienced rs sn
African traveller, 50 quick TO provide for
all probable contingencies OF Danger and
so fully Informed as to the field If labor
still bsf0re him, that we have the high
est confidence that he will return from
this enterprise with all the hOaors Of
complete success. He has established
the Truth of Speke's report that the Vic
toria Lake is one vast body Of water
and not a chain OF lake 5, as cOrjectured
to be, by Burton, and as supposed to be
by Livingstone. He has shown
to the world that the wild
tribes iuhabiting the shores of
this great lake occupy large
tracts of amazing fertility, and that
these people are rich in theiT resources
Of cattle and elephants for profitable
trade with the outside world. Uuques-
tiOnably, his disclosures of these riches
will shortly attract the enterpTisiug mer-
cantiie spirit of England and the United
States to the project Of opening COM
mercial highway rom The s9aboaTd to
the Victoria Niyanza. We anticipate 9
similar report from the Albert Niyauza
Sir Samuel Baker, in his fimOas mili.
tary expedition up the Nile in the ser
vice Of the enlightened and progressive
khediye Of Egypt, narrowly escaped
with his command fIom the treacherCus
and warlike savsg9s and siave-traders
on the peninsula between these two
great lakes; but he gave those savages
such q wholesome cbastisement that
they have since been comparatively
peaceable. General Gordon ana Cap
tain Long, too, at pTeseAS ia the khe-
dive's service, have recently impressed
those tribes with the invIncible power OF
the white man, so that in crossing over
from the Victoria to the Albert lake We
expect that Stanley will find friend
among those tribes instead Of enemies.
Ia mis- ciTcumnavig8tiOn OF the Albert
lake, which has been explored only by
Baker southwark for one hundred
miles or SO from its northern
outlet, Stanley may solve the
only remaining mystery OF the Nile,
which is its reported connection with
the Tanganyika. / was by some Of the
natives reported to Baker, while on tbs
borders of this lake on his military eX-
petition, tnet there was 3 Davigable
connection between this lake ann the
TaDgaDyika; but this report was treated
as an invention, with the fact before the
world that Livingstone and Stanley, in
a canoe trip from Ujji to the north end
of the TaDganyika, found there river
with o strong curl ent from the north
flowing into the lake Thus dividing
ridge was established between the two
lakes, and yet there may be a navigable
connection between them, q we shall
presently show. Proceeding now to s
general explanation of the Central Afri-
can discoveries presented in the map be
fore us, We fiud that these recO. ded re-
suits Of many explorations within the
last sixty years are due to the lofty Il
hilton and the inspiring temptation OF
discovering the source or sources Of the
wonderful Nile, and OF it's steady and
never-faIling stream, and Of its annual
fertilizing ihundation of Egypt. Bruce,
on reaching ia Abyssinia the sources OF
the Blue Nile, thOugDthe had discovered
the head springs Of the main river; but
the Bue Nyle 10 the White Nile bears
hardly the same comparison of
length and drainage that The
upper Mississippi bsaIs to the
greater Missouri. The vIceroy of Egypps
expedition, over thirty years ago, Sas
the fira t regularly orga liz9d and equip.
ped undertaking u determine the
length and sources OF the White Nil or
main river. This expedition assembled
Il c stream from the cataracts o. Egypt
to a Ioint four degTee1 north Of the
equator, and within a bundled miles of
Lake Albert, when, dispiIited sBd ex-
hsusted, it faced shout and returned
down the river 10 Cairo. The first ac,
tasI discovery OF one Of The fountain
heads of the great river was that of
Spoke aud Grant, in their discovery Of
the great lake, to which, in honor OF
their sovereign, they gave the name OF
Victoria, coupling il with the native
name N'yanZa or NiyarzR. They
traced to its outlet, and lis outlet ihey
found was the Nile, or branch Of The
Nile. Convinced on their part that they
had discovered the fountain mead OF the
river they 10 reported it, and il was so
accepted by the world until Sir Samuel
Baker, a few years later, in ascending
ths main stream from AbyssiDia, die
covered west Of the Victoria, and cross
ing the equst0r, too. another great lake
tributary TO the Nile, to which, in
honor Of the worthy coDsoit Of his
sovereign, he gave the name OF AL
bert Niyanzs. Thus, it was considered
that the whole problem Of the sources Of
the Nile was settled, excepting the ex-
tent and the drainage OF the Albert
lake. But it was inferred by the London
Royal Geographical society that this
lake extended southwark only degree
or two fellow the equator, and that, with /
the Victoria, il absorbed al the fountain
hesds Of the Nile. But Livipgstuue,
meantime, from Lake Tanaanyika /
westward, had been quietly pursuing, /
unknown to the world, mis- lAb0rious ex- 1
plOratiOns and his extraordinary discov- /
cries in that great exterior region OF .
fertile lowlands, and OF springs, lakes /
and rivers, which we will call Living. /
stones interior basin. In consulting |
our map the reader will perceive that |