New-York tribune., 1889-11-06
THE NILE PROBLEM SOLTED.


shows that he has succeeded in clearing up an
other, and apparently the last, of the Nile mys-
teries. His line of retreat from the Albert Ny
ana led directly toward Muta Nzge and thence
Southeasterly to the Victoria Nyanza. His
march has enabled him to trace the connection
between the Albert Nyanza and Muta Nzige to
which he has assigned the name of Albert Ed
ward Nyanza, and thus to locate definitely a
second source of the White Nile corresponding
to the Victoria Nyanza. The Albert NyanZa
is practically storage reservoir, into which are
emptied the waters Of the Victoria Nyanza and
the Albert Edward Nyana. Each Of the
southern lakes whose northern shores touch the
Equator is connected by tortuous outlets with
the third lake, whence flows the White Nile
toward Khartoum and the Blue Nile. As the
absence OF any connection between Lake Tan
ganyika and hluta Nzge has been proved by
Livingstone, Cameron and Stanley himself the
sources of the Nile are now indisputably ascer-
tanned.
The Victoria Nyanza was first seen by Cap
tain Speke in 1858, subsequently identified by
him in 1867 as one of the sources of the Nile,
and circumnavigated and surveyed by Stanley
in 1875. The Albert NyanZa was discovered
in 1861 by Sir Samuel Baker who reached one
Of its sOuthernmost bays after fighting his way
through UnyOro. He was induced by the
natives to believe that the lake extended south
ward for hundreds of miles. He wrote a letter
to Livingstone in 1873, asserting that Albert
and Tanganyika were undoubtedly one and the
same lake. Stanley in 1875, after ingratating
himself in King Mtesas favor, obtained an
army of 900 warriors to accompany him as an
escort from the Victoria Nyanza to the Albert
Nyanza. After marching without molestatiOn
through CnyOrO and Gambaragara he reached
an arm of what he supposed to be the Albert
Nyanza. To this he gave the name of Beatrice
Gulf and then retreated with his army without
making any explorations or surveys Mtesa'S
staggering general was frightened by reports
which he received of signs of resistance among
the natives, and the explorer was compelled to
return to the Nyanza, whence he passed rapidly
with his own followers to Tanganyika and then
descended the Congo to the Atlantic. On his
maps at that time Albert was represented as
long lake with Beatrice Gulf in the centre.
Gessi contradicted him speedily by completing
the survey CT the Albert Nyanza, and showing
that it only extended little way beyond the
point where Sir Samuel Baker first caught sight
Of its waters; and Captain Mason subsequently
proved that Beatrice Gulf was an arm of a
separate lake known as Muta Nzige. Stanley
in 1877 had not approached Albert Lake, but
an unknown body of water, ranking with Vic
toria Lake in dignity as one of the sources of
the Nile.
Emin explored the southern quarter of Lake
Albert in vain for n tributary connecting the
second lake with it; but Stanley as he first APP
preached the Nyanza at the end of his terrible
forest march clearly deserted the river stretch
ing from the blue mountains like a silver snake.
That riyer he followed after reaching the lake
the third time and learning of the Imprisonment
Of Emin and the disasters which had overtaken
the Government of the Equatorial Provinces
during his absence 1t led him along the bases
Of snOw-capped mountains until he reached the
Equator and Usongora and Unyampaka the
final stages Of his fantastic march fourteen
years before with MteSa's army. This time he
had leisure for completing the work which he
had then set out to accomplish, and one of the
results OF his southwark march is the yielding
up of the last secret of the old problem of the
source of the Nile. This is only meagre COM
pensatiOn for the disastrous termination a year
ago of Emns fortunes at Wadelai, of which
Stanley's letter bears the first decisive account.
for Osman Digna's report of that transaction
after having been generally diScredited is now
partly corroborated by the explorer himself.