Celebrated Travels and Travellers, Part 3.: The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth CenturyVerne, Jules
History
Celebrated Travels and Travellers, Part 3.: The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century
Verne, Jules
Discoveries in geography; Explorers; Voyages and travels
On the 3rd May, Clapperton took leave of the sultan. This time there
was a good deal of delay before he was admitted to an audience. Bello
was alone, and gave the traveller a letter for the King of England,
with many expressions of friendship towards the country of his visitor,
reiterating his wish to open commercial relations with it and begging
him to let him have a letter to say when the English expedition
promised by Clapperton would arrive on the coast of Africa.
Clapperton returned by the route by which he had come, arriving on the
8th of July at Kouka, where he rejoined Denham. He had brought with him
an Arab manuscript containing a geographical and historical picture of
the kingdom of Takrour, governed by Mahommed Bello of Houssa, author of
the manuscript. He himself had not only collected much valuable
information on the geology and botany of Bornou and Houssa, but also
drawn up a vocabulary of the languages of Begharmi, Mandara, Bornou,
Houssa, and Timbuctoo.
The results of the expedition were therefore considerable. The
Fellatahs had been heard of for the first time, and their identity with
the Fans had been ascertained by Clapperton in his second journey. It
had been proved that these Fellatahs had created a vast empire in the
north and west of Africa, and also that beyond a doubt they did not
belong to the negro race. The study of their language, and its
resemblance to certain idioms not of African origin, will some day
throw a light on the migration of races. Lastly, Lake Tchad had been
discovered, and though not entirely examined, the greater part of its
shores had been explored. It had been ascertained to have two
tributaries: the Yeou, part of whose course had been traced, whilst its
source had been pointed out by the natives, and the Shari, the mouth
and lower portion of which had been carefully examined by Denham. With
regard to the Niger, the information collected by Clapperton from the
natives was still very contradictory, but the balance of evidence was
in favour of its flowing into the Gulf of Benin. However, Clapperton
intended, after a short rest in England, to return to Africa, and
landing on the western coast make his way up the Kouara or Djoliba as
the natives call the Niger; to set at rest once for all the dispute as
to whether that river was or was not identical with the Nile; to
connect his new discoveries with those of Denham, and lastly to cross
Africa, taking a diagonal course from Tripoli to the Gulf of Benin.
II.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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