Stanley in Africa: The Wonderful Discoveries and Thrilling Adventures of the Great African Explorer, and Other Travelers, Pioneers and MissionariesBoyd, James P. (James Penny)
History
Stanley in Africa: The Wonderful Discoveries and Thrilling Adventures of the Great African Explorer, and Other Travelers, Pioneers and Missionaries
Boyd, James P. (James Penny)
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904
On his way westward from Lake Nyassa, he came upon the Loangwa River, a
large affluent of the Zambesi from the north. Crossing this, and bearing
northwest, he confronted the Lokinga Mountains, from whose crests he
looked down into the valley of the Chambesi. It was clear that these
mountains formed a shed which divided the waters of the central basin,
or lake region, of Africa from those which ran south into the Zambesi.
Had he discovered the true sources of the Nile at last? Where did those
waters go to, if not to the Mediterranean? The journal of his last
travels is full of soliloquies and refrains touching the glory of a
discovery which should vindicate his theory and set discussion at rest.
And what was he really looking down upon from that mountain height?
The Chambesi——affluent of Lake Bangweola? Yes. But vastly more. He was
looking on the head waters of the northward running Lualaba, which proved
his _ignis fatuus_ and led him a six year dance through the wilderness
and to his grave. The Lualaba has been christened Livingstone River, in
honor of the great explorer. Then again it was only the Lualaba in name,
which he was pursuing, with the hope that it would turn out to be the
Nile. It was really the great Congo, for after the Lualaba runs northeast
toward Albert Nyanza, and to a point far above the equator, it makes a
magnificent sweep westward, and southwestward, and seeks the Atlantic at
a point not ten degrees above the latitude of its source.
Thus was Livingstone perpetually deceived. But for all that we must
ever admire his enthusiasm for research and his heroism under extreme
difficulties. When he plunged down the mountain side into the depths of
the forests that lined the Chambesi, it was to enter a night of wandering
which had no star except the meeting of Stanley at Ujiji in 1871, and no
morning at all. What a story of heroic adventure lies in those years!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account