The Meeker herald., 1917-06-16
EXPLORING A RIVER
The Niger, the Mystery Of Africa,
Was Long a Puzzle.
SOLVED IN A CURIOUS WAY.
Two Armchair" Scientists. Who Never
Set Foot In the Dark Continent.
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 whore the Niger rive 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 WIS that the majestic
flood it poured into the Atlantic fresh
cned the sea several miles from the
shore. 1t certainly was great river
Mungo Park. the splendid and in
trepid young Scotchman who inaugu-
rated the modSn era Of African ex-
ploration, was largely responsible for
the theory that the Kongo might be the
outlet OF the Niger. He was enthusi-
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
lue NlSCts anu ShthN' hhS So Ns'.
available with regard to the waters
in the equatorial regions of West AT
RIGA. he came to the conclusion that
the Niger must find its way to the
ocean through the streams of 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
mt that time were organizing the Tuck
ey GIongo, expedition. laughed to
scorn the German hypothesis. declared
that Richards deductions were zen
titled to very little attention" and that
his data were wholly gratnitous.
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
ney down the Niger for hundreds OF
miles and thought 1t very strange that
no explorer had ever found where the
great river reached the sea, Mcqueen
began to question every native or the
lower Niger he could find and kept nc
cumulating this testimony for five
years before he was ready to publish
his results
In 1921. when he hadssolved the puz-
zle to his satisfaction. he issued book
In which he announced rs fact and
not as theory that the Niger reached
the sea through wide spreading delta
in the region of the "oil rivers" As
fact. the delta front Is exactly where
Mcqueen said 1t was. The oil rivers
are the delta streams of the Niger
McQueens book made more fun for
the learned geographers than any
comic newspaper The idea that an
obscure trader In the West Indies
should dream that his 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 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
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 a stream only to prove 1t a
blind 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-thc
brown waters lazily coursing. the evil
odors of the slime and ooZe. the repul-
sive animal life from crocodile to
pythons. lurking in the shadow for
their prey. and n choice collection OF
insect plaques. including the anopheles
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. bur the swamp region
Of the lower delta is one Of the most
forbidding parts OF Africa.
Richard Lander ut last. in 1850.
foating down the Niger. was taken by
natives into the Nun branch OF the
delta and descended 1t to the sea. The
Niger problem was solved.
England gave the Niger 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
ing commerce to and from the far In
terror of Africa. and Nigeria. com
ing empire OF industry. with its great
cattle cotton. tin mines and other re-
sources. is Joined to the sea both by
rail and river.-Cyrus C. Adams In
American Review Of Reviews.