The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-01-15

caracy- There is a Spanish globe in the
Nalonal library al Paris. produced about
As$i, which gives, with wonderful approx
NATION 70 the truth, the course OF the
n0hso as discovered BY Stanley. The
nFer issues from lake flows north. de-
scrioes large curve 10 the north OF the
equator. then turns west and southwest %
ne Atlanta There are at least ten DIFF
lerent maps OF TIE sixteenth and seven
leenth centuries. IN various libraries OF
Europe. on which the Kongo Is represent
e as Issuing from a considerable mass
.. water IN the far interior. though most
q the geograpderS Of the last century
paced its sources only about 30 miles
in-anG, and depicted the river as flowing
EoFtn Tor ne distance and turning at,-
ruptiy TO the sea
TX seems perfectly evident that white
travellers. whose names have fallen into
o'-itloh, crossed or nearly crossed the
continent IN the sixteenth century. There
y no doubt also that many centuries be-
lore these forgotten trsvs-ers outlined
the couFse or the koago some OF the iarg-
er features OF Central Africa were fairly
wei known Herodot1s knew something
aoout them. and Pt0ierny fell but little
Snort OF locating accurately the Central
Af1can lakes; and yet Central Africa
vas almost a perfect bank on the maps
or nfty years ago.
Livingstone. Stanley and their succes-
sor5 nave therefore been engaged IN the
main IN replacing or ne maps features
that in their large aspects we known
before This is perhaps the most conspic-
uous Illustration % the fact. now ard then
deserved in the case OF explorers in our
day. tnat sometimes they bring home In
formation that is good and true. bat the
world discre44ts Il. and they may be IA
their graves for years before justice Is
done 70 taeiE efforts 10 add 10 human
knowledge.
We are aware that these views as 10 the
origin Of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen
fury maps are not approved by some geog-
raphers, who think the maps are based. as
to the lake regions, upon information given
by the ancients. and as TO the Kongo basin
upon no data worth mentioning But their
arguments seem 70 fall TO the ground before
the evidence OF the maps themselves. Take,
for instance. the map OF equatorial Africa
from the Atlas Historique" on which DR.
Peters pamphlet is based. It has Just
been published IN the Movement Geog-
raphiQue. IL Is very imperfect, bat we
might have derived from IT, before Stanley
fioated down the KOngo, q fair idea OF the
real course OF the KOngo 70 the sea IL
gives FAR more accurate notion Of the
hydrUgra ply Of the southern part Of the
Kougo basin than appeared on the large
map OF the kongo in 1Ss5. II shows the
great forest through which Stanley trav-
eled 70 Albert Nyanza. and places Il on
the map with approximate correctness. 1t
says that this forest IS inhabited by the
Bake Bake dwarfs. Stanley called them
the Tekke TelSke dwarfs II denotes A
large region as inhabited by cannibals. bat
places this country too far 10 the east
II gives a better idea OF the real outline OF
Victoria NyanZa than Capt Speke's map
itself All this detail is shown about two
degrees too far 10 the south, but this error
appears throughout. and the relative posi-
ton Of the various features is shown with
approximate accuracy.
Not the slightest hint OF nine-tenths Of
this detail Is given by the ancient geogra-
pliers. and it is inconceivable that this map
could have approac he3 the truth in SO
many respects fortuitously. The theory
that the natives themselves supplied this
information TO Europeans on or near the
coast seems equally untenable. for We have
overwhelming evidence that their geog-
raphic contribution TO the work Of explorers
has been Of very slight value.