New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-02-14
CENTRAL AFRICA.

1t is possible that during the present
century there will be definite and final
determination of the question of the
source of the Nile and other points upon
which geographers have differed in rela-
ton to the arrangement of the map of
central Africa. Owing to the difficulty of
penetrating the unknown regions of that
country by many of the modern explorers
who set out upon this scientific mission
they were unable to solve these geograph-
ical problems. Captains Spoke and Grant,
in the year 1859, started on an expedition
from Zanzibar, on the eastern coast of
Africa, for the purpose Of solving the
mystery of the source of the Nile, and
after nearly three years wandering they
came upon the borders of what is now
known as Lake Victoria Nyanza, and in
July, 1862, penetrated the so-called
"White Nile" as far as about one degree
north latitude, discovering the other arm
Of the delta, or the river Luajeri. Subse-
quently Sir Samuel Baker followed and
made known another lake not far
from the Victoria, which was named
by him Albert Nyanza, which he
supposed to be the great basin Of the
Nile, maintaining that if other sources
were cut off or dried up, the Nile
would flow on forever. After Baker came
Burton, who followed in the wake of
Baker, and confirmed him in his reports
CT the Albert lake and the country sur
rounding it. Then came Livingstone, the
most assidous and persevering Of all the
explorers, who spent 4>pnths Of the later
period of his life tssolving the great
mystery. He consids "a Lake Tanganyika
as the fountain head of the Nile and pur-
sued his Investigations under that i'm
preston. He died while engaged in his
work, leaving others to pursue it. He
ended his days in the conviction that the
river Lualaba, one of his discoveries,
would ultimately settle the whole Nile
question, and to support this conclusion
he brought the curious and seemingly
overwhelming testimony of Herodotus
The recent explorations Of Lieutenant
Cameron go very far toward proving that
Livingstone was wrong and that he spent
the last year Of his life near the head
waters of the Congo, q river flowing into
the Atlantic ocean. Lieutenant Cameron
is continuing his Investigations, and it is
now highly probable he will prove the
Lake Tanganyika and the Lualaba to be
the source and headwaters of the Congo
river.
We are now informed that Colonel
Long, an American belonging to the
army of the Khedive of Egypt, has,
without doubt, accomplished what all the
other Nile explorers failed to do. In April,
1874, he was ordered by General Gordon,
Governor General of the provinces of the
Equator, to proceed from Gondokors,
station on the Nile above Khartoum, to |
make journey to the residence Of M'tisi,
King of Uganda, country bordering on
Lake Victoria, on the northwest. He set !
out on the twenty-fourth of April, and |
after fatiguing journey of nearly two
arrived at the residence of the
King of Uganda, where he rested until
early in July, when he proceeded upon
the work Of the exploration of the source
Of the Nile. The Lake Victoria Nyanza
lies on the equator in longitude 81 |
east, It was been supposed nv MANY n