The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-11-15
EXPLORING A RIVER
The Niger, the Mystery of Africa,
Was Long a Puzzle.
SOLVED IN A CURIOUS WAY.

Worked Out the Problem of Where
the Great Stream Entered the Sea.
The Niger is the third greatest river
| in Africa and the eleventh in rank in
| the world. A century ago nobody had
| found where the Niger river reached
the sea. and as the mystery grew the
theory became popular that the Kongo
or Zaire river was the lower part of
! the Niger.
The most impressive fact known
about the Kongo was that the majestic
| flood it poured into the Atlantic fresh
| ened The sea several miles from the
shore. 1t certainly was a great river
Mungo Park. the splendid and in
| trepid young Scotchman who inaugu
| rated the modern era Of African ex-
| ploration. was largely responsible for
| the theory that the Kongo might be the
astic over the idea He wrote that II
| the theory turned out TO be true the
| fact in commercial sense would be
second In Importance only to the dis
| covery of the Cape of Good Hope
The German geographer Reichard
| became interested in the problem OF
the Niger. and, gathering All data
| available with regard to the waters
| In the equatorial regions of West At
| RIGA. he came to the conclusion that
| the Niger must end its way TO the
ocean through the streams OF n delta
and that this delta was probably on
| the coast of the blight of Benin. where
a large number of small streams were
known TO enter the Atlantic
The eminent geographer hit the nail
on the head. His theory told the truth.
The problem was solved in an arm
chair. but the English gentlemen. who
at that time were organizing the Tuck
ey (KongoI expedition. laughed to
scorn the German hypothesis. declared
that Richards deductions were "en
titled TO very little attention" and that
his data were wholly gratultOus."
James Mcqueen was another arm.
chair investigator. but the books he
read were hundreds of black slaves
taken to the West Indies from the Nj
ger river region. He had read Mungo
Parks fascinating story of his jour
10y down the Niger for hundreds OF
miles and thought 1t very strange that
40 explorer had ever found where the
great river reached the sea Mcqueen
began 10 question every native of the
lower Niger he could find and kept ac-
rumulating this testimony for i've
Years before he was ready TO publish
his results
In 1921. when he had solved the puz-
zle to bis satisfaction. he issued book
in which he announced as fact and
not as theory that the Niger reached
the sea through wide spreading delta
in the region Of the "oil rivers. AS a
fact. the delta front is exactly where
Mcqueen said ii was. The oil rivers
are the delta streams Of the Niger.
McQueens book made more fun for
tue learned geographers than any
comic newspaper The idea that an
obscure trader IN the West Indies
should dream that bis confabs with
ignorant slaves had solved the Niger
mystery was most amusing joke.
Mcqueen lived TO see the day when his
Joke was recognized as n solemn geo
graphical fact
The Niger delta, one of the largest In
the world. stretches go miles along
the coast. Most OF its streams are
small. and skirting the coast, one can
hardly observe them. so completely
are they hidden In the dense region of
mangrove swamps Explorers soon
found that they might struggle for
weeks up n stream only 70 prove 1t
bind alley. for popularity of the
Niger Is that not few independent
rivers form between 1.-THE delta branch
es and have no connections with the
Niger itself Most OF the delta is
network. difficult TO enter or to retreat
from
All nature is hideous there-the
brown waters laziiy coursins. the evil
doors Of the slime aud oozc. the rcpul-
sive animal life from crocodile to
pythons. lurking in the shadow for
their prey and q choice collection OF
insect plaques. including the anDpheles
mosquito with its poisonous sting
These terrible conditions. perssting
for about forty miles inland. are then
succeeded by solid earth, noble trees
and sweet air, but the swamp region
Of he lower delta is one OF the most
forbidding parts OF Africa.
Richard Lander at last. in 1890,
Coating down tho Niger. was taken by
natives into the Nun branch of the
delta and descended it to the sea. The
Niger problem was solved
England gave the Niger a wide
berth till after 1850 1t waS thought
to be plague stricken region from
which no good would ever come. Its
terrors have fed today before the ad.
vance IN knowledge. Large vessels
ascend the Forcados branch. carry
ting commerce to aud from the far In.
terror Of Africa, and Nigeria, a com
ing empire OF industry, With its great
cattle. cotton, tin mines ana other re-
sources is joined to the sea both by
rail and rNer-Cyrus c. Adams In
American Review of Reviews.
Diplomacy.