The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-12-05


journey in Africa;
"VLLAGE OF BATUNDU,
lturu River, Central Africa,
September 8, 1889.
''My Dear Grant, have only been able
to write scrappy letters hitherto, though l
start them with a strong inclination to give
our friends the complete story of our
various marches and their incidents, but so
far l have been compelled to hurriedly close
them lest should miss an opportunity to
send them. This one, for instance, know
net how to send at present, but accident
ally the arrival Of a caravan or an acct
dental detention OF the expedition, may
furnish the means. | will trust to chance
and write nevertheless.
''You, more than any Of the committee,
are interested in Lake Albert Let US deal
with that first. When, on December Is,
1883, we sighted the lake, the southern part
lay at our feet almost like an immense map.
We glanced rapidly over the grosser de-
tails, the lofty plateau, the wall of Unyoro
to the east and that of Baregga
to the west rising nearly three
THOUSAND feet above the silver water,
and between the hills the stretched
out plain, seemingly very fat and grassy,
with here and there dark clump of brush
wood, which as the plain turned southwest
erly, became thin forest. The southwest
edge of the lake l fixed at nine miles in a
direct southeasterly line from this place
This will make the terminus of the south
west corner deg. IL min. north latitude
by prismatic compass. The magnetic bear
ing of the southeast corner, just south Of a
number of falls is ! deg. 81 min.
This will wake it about deg. II min.3 80 sec.
north latitude, with a magnetic bearing Of
l deg. IS min. taken from north latitude
deg. % min. 80 sec This about exactly de-
scribes the line of the shore running from
the southwest corner of the lake to the
southeast corner of Lake Albert
Baker fixed his position at latitude deg.
Is min. north, if recollect rightly. The
center of Vacovia terrace bears l deg 81
min. 30 sec. magnetic from my first point
of observation. This will make his Waco
via about l deg Is min. IS Sec, allowing
10 deg. west variation. In trying to solve
the problem of the infn ity of Lake Albert,
as sketched by Baker and finding that the
lake terminus is only four miles south of
where he stood to view it from a little hill,
and on beautifully clear day one would
almost feel justified in saying that he had
never seen the lake.
''But the position of Vacovia proves that
he actually was there and the general cor
rectness of his outline of the east coast
from Vacovia to Magungo also proves that
faces northeast we say that Baker has done
exceedingly well; but when we turn them
southwark, our senses in vain try to pene-
tIste the mystery because our eyes see not
what Baker saw With Lieutenant Stairs,
Mounteny, Jephson, Surgeon Parke,
Emin Pasha, Captain Casati, 1 look with
with my own eyes upon the scene and find
Baker has made an error. L am somewhat
surprised also at Bakers attitudes of Lake
Albert and the Blue mountains and the
breadth attributed by him to the lake.
The shore opposite Vacovia is ten and
quarter miles distant, not forty or fifty
miles. The Blue mountains are nothing
else but west upland, the highest centre
of the hill being not above six thousand
feet above the level of the sea. The alti-
tude of Lake Albert by the aneroid and
the boiling point will not exceed 2, $3.50.
Last of all, away TO the southwest, where
he has sketched his infinite stretch of lake,
BE- there rises about forty miles from Vacovia
an immense snowy mountain, a solid,
square browed mass with an almost level
summit between two lofty ridges. II it
were a beautifully clear day he should have
seen this, being nearer to it by thirteen
geographical miles than was.
about the lake discovered by me in 1876
l can learn very little from natives. At the
chief village of the Kavallis | saw two ma
tives who came from the region; one Of
them hailed from Unyampalla and the other
from Usongera. The first said that Albert
lake is much larger than that near Unyam-
paka. The other said that the southern
lake is larger as it takes two days to cross
it. He describes it as being a months
march from Kavallis. Their accounts
differ so much that one is almost tempted
to believe that there are two lakes, the
smaller one near Unyampaka and con-
nected by a river or channel with that of
Usongera
''My interest is greatly excited, as you
may imagine, by the discovery of Ruwen-
ha rr1Or pfnir1 oFaA n Ia
rival of Kilimo Marc Remember that we
are in north latitude and that this noun
tain must be near or on the equator itself;
that it is summer now and that we saw it
in the latter part of May; that the snow
line was about estimated at only one
thousand feet below the summit, hence 1
conclude that it is not the Gordon Bennett
seen in December, 1876, though it may be
so, which the natives said had snow only
occasionally. At the time l saw the latter
there was no snow visible. 1t is little
further east according to the position 1
give IL than Ruwenzori. All the questions
which this mountain naturally gives rise
to will be settled, / hope, by this expedi
ton before II returns to the sea.
If at all near my line of march its length,
height and total history will be ascertained.
"Many rivers will be found TO issue foom
this curious land between the two Wuta
Nziges. What rivers are theyl Do they
belCns to the Nile or the Congel There is
no river going east or southeast from this
section except the Katonga and Kafur, and
both must receive, if any, but very small
supply from Mount Gordon Bennett and
the RuwenZori. Now, the mountain must
therefore be drained principally south and
west. If the south streams have any con-
necticn with the lake, south; if west, Sem
iliki, tributary of Lake Albert, and some
river flowing to the Congo must
receive the rest of its waters.
Then, if the lake south receives any con-
siderable supply the interest deepens.
Does the lake discharge its surplus to the
Nile or TO the Congol If to the former,
then it will be of great interest to you and
you will have to admit that lake Victoria
is not the main source Of the Nile. If to
the Congo, then the lake will be the source
of the river Lowwa or Loa since it is the
largest tributary to the Congo from the
east between the Aruuimi and Luami
For your comfort will dare to venture an
opinion even now that the lake, is the
source of the Iowa, though I know moth
ing positive of the matter but | infer it
from the bold manner in which the
Aruwimi trenches upon domain that
anyone would have imagined that it be-
longed to the Nile.
sit was only zen minutes march between
the head of one of its streams to the crest
of the plateau whence we looked down
upon Albert nyanZa. From the mouth of
the Aruwimi to the head of this stream
it is three geographical miles in a straight
line. Well next to Arumwimi in size is the
Lowwa river and from the mouth of the
Lowwa tothe longitude of Unyampaka post