The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-01-15
THE NILE SOURCES.

ALL THE EVIDENCE STILL IN FAVOR OF nv
THE MAIN STREAM OF THE NILE
NEW YORK, Jan. T. 1871
| To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
| The recent dscoveries in the Victoria Lake basin
OF Lieutenant Colonel Long, an enterpriang
American offlcer IN the service OF the Khedive OF
| Egypt and or Lieutenant Cameron, British TX.
| plorer, at the south end OF Lake Tanganyika Are
valuable contributions toward the settlements OF
| the Nile sources but they do not reach the man
| question weaken the CONCLUSION or Living.
stone and Stanler, that the general outlet OF Iiv.
Ingstone's magnificent Interior system OF springs,
lakes and rivers lying west OF the Tanganyka
basin Is the main stream Of the mighty Nile.
| And here, for the information OF the general
reader, we Will briefly describe the wonderful
Nile and Its basin, as far as established from actual
explorations, ana the vast interior sub.equa-
torial region, with It's magnificent chain OF lakes
and rivers. discovered by Livingstone, and lmly
believed by him to belong to the Nile basin The
ascertained iountalnheads Of the Nile are the
| Victoria and Albert lakes, lying in the midst of
lofty mass OF mountains, on the Equator and ex.
tending some three degrees south Of 'the liner
The delta OF the Nile, where it Is discharged into
the Mediterranean is marked by the thrty-second
degree Of north latitude. From It's ascer tanned
sources, therefore, the course OF the river from
south to north is through thrty-nve degrees OF
latitude. Between the sources and the outlets OF
the Mississippi there are twenty degrees Of lati.
tude so that the old Nile stretches through fifteen
degrees moro than our '.Father OF Waters" or, as
the bird dies, the Nile Is ascertained TO be
thousand miles longer than the Mississippi.
And yet the real sources OF the Nile are not
established. Bruce thought he had discovered
them In the lofty plateau OF the noun tains OF
Abyssinia; but those lakes and streams were only
,he sources or the Blue Nile and the Atbara trbu-
taries OF the main river, which Baker, from actual
bservation, established furnishing, with their
| spring foods, the annual foundations OF Egypt
The ascertained heads OF the main river. or White
Nile, lie thousand miles south OF the confluence
OF the Blue Nile. And yet Livingstone died in the
faith that there must still be added to the drain
age of the White Nile o region lying the south
west OF the Albert and Victoria lakes in the very
heart OF the Continent extending seven or eight
hundred miles still further southwark. and rom
three to four hundred miles In width. This region
| Is drained by the Lualaba River and its numerous
tributary lakes and streams; and II Livingstone
was right to the identity Of this great stream,
then the sources OF Old Father Nile lie eight de.
grees south Of the Equator, and his course Is
through forty degrees OF latitude and Is twice. In
q straight line, the course the Mississippi.
This Is the matter which Stanley has bow In hand,
and concerning which, In taking up the trail OF
Livingstone. he Is confidently expected to finish
triumphantly the brave old mans glorious under
| taking.
Toward the solution of this very interesting and
important problem OF the Nile sources we have
the following discoveries made from actual ex-
plorations:-
First The discovery OF the Victoria Lake by
Spoke and Grant, which they believed to be the
discovery Of the lountain-nead Of the Nile.
SecOnd-rhe discovery by Baker OF the Albert
Lake which, in conjunction With the Victoria, he
believed at the time as embracing the drainage OF
1ni,d-The exploration oy Perherick OF. the
Ghazal or Gaa SCI south~ar "a beyond
on the east side of the Albert Lake.
yika, lying south Of the Albert lake, to which we
Fytn-Llvngstones explorations and dis
Mes 'he Rver IN the In
Stabilize late adventures OF Baker between the
Victoria and Albert lakes
Seventh-rhe recent explorations and discoveries
OF Long and Cameron.
From all these explorations and discoveries the
only fact established bearing upon the Nile
sources is fact that the great elevated Equato-
rial basin Of the Albert and Victoria lakes is
drained into the Nile. Beyond this lact as to the
heads Of the great river we are lett to differences
and conjectures.
Whether the general outlet Of Livingstone's
beautiful and extensive system of interior lakes
and rivers west OF the Tanganyika Is the Congo or
the Nile Is the great problem remaining still IN
solved, the problem to which Livingstone devoted
many years OF persistent explorations and in
which his lite was at last SACRIFICED; ana the prob
| lem which It Is now hoped throughout the civilized
world the present Stanley expedition in Central
Africa will completely solve.
Captain Longs discoveries In the Victoria Lake
region amount to this THAT the Victoria Lake is
not the Yast expanse OF water 1t was supposed to
be from the partial explorations OF Speke and
Grant, but that IL Is comparatively small lake,
and that there are OJher lakss In the same gene
Sir Samuel Baker, In his late military expedi-
0n 70 as 1e S aad c
was q navlgaole connection between the Albert
and Tanganylka lakes !; but on his return he seems
to nave dismissed these reports as entitled to but
lie mad doubtless learned on his return to Egypt,
II not before, tnat Livingstone ana Stanley had IN
q boat rowed to the north END of Lake Tanganyika
from U,ui and had there been met by powerful
This excursion established the TACT that the gene.
raj outflow OF the lake was to the south. The con-
cluson naturally followed that the Outh0wIng
stream from the lake was at its southern end, and
was discharged into the Indian Ocean.
But Lieutenant Cameron writes from Kawela,
UjijL May IA that ~ have made a successful voy.
age around the southern part OF the Tanganyika,
e Lssega little to the south Of the groap
Islands visited by Captain Spoke IN 1882 | think
also, from what have heard from the Arabs mere
that the Luaaba Is the Congo" Then, after
speaking OF the rich trade OF the Lualaba Giving.
stones great interior rver as the Congo Lleuten-
ant Cameron says:-''The only obstacles to u Tree
water communication OF which i know the
Yeilaa Falls and the rapids Of the Lualaba. short
way above Nyanpcre. The Lukuga is at present
INSTRUCTED with grass but way might easily be
cut through that" Here, then, we have the fact
that the Tanganyika Lake, through It's outlet. the
Lukuga, Is discharged into LlvingstOne's interior
river the Luaaoa, passing round the dividing
mountain barrier 1T the southern end OF the lake,
and that according to the Arabs the Lualaba Is
the Congo.
But Livingstone. the only white man who has
explored the Luaapa and It's interior system OF
tributary lakes aud rivers. says mo. The Lualaba
is the Nle.r And, having himself traced the
tborr nf np m o
plateau where they lnterock with the sources oil
tne Zambes, LIVINGSTONE opinion oil the Lhalaba
we consider worth much more than the Wild
stories OF the Arabs, who win say any thing winch
they tnink Will please the explorer III the way OF
Information, such as their reports to Baker, Tor IN.
stance, OF navgable strait from the south end OF
the Albert Lake to the north end OF the Tangan-
yika.
I'M hr