The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, And Explorations of the Nile SourcesBaker, Samuel White, Sir
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The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, And Explorations of the Nile Sources
Baker, Samuel White, Sir
Albert, Lake (Congo and Uganda); Nile River; Sudan
"A large trade might thus be established, as not only Unyoro would
supply ivory, but the lake would open the navigation to the very heart
of Africa. The advantage of dealing with Kamrasi direct would be great,
as he is not a mere savage, demanding beads and bracelets; but he would
receive printed cottons, and goods of various kinds, by which means the
ivory would be obtained at a merely nominal rate. The depot on the Luta
N'zige should be a general store, at which the vessel ascending from the
station above the cataracts would deliver the various goods from
Gondokoro, and from this store the goods would be disseminated
throughout the countries bordering the lake by means of vessels.
"The only drawback to this honest trade would be the general hatred of
anything honest by the Khartoumers; the charms of cattle razzias and
slave-hunting, with the attendant murders, attract these villanous
cut-throats to the White Nile expeditions, and I fear it would be
difficult to raise the number of armed men required for safety, were
legitimate trade the sole object of the ivory hunter.
"Even in Obbo, I believe that printed calicoes, red woollen shirts,
blankets, &c. would purchase ivory. The elevation of this country being
upwards of 3,600 feet, the nights are cold, and even the day is cold
during the wet season; thus clothing is required; this we see in the
first rudiments of covering, the skins of beasts used by the natives;
the Obbo people being the first tribe that adopts a particle of clothing
from the Shillook country (lat. 10 degrees) throughout the entire course
of the White Nile to this latitude (4 degrees 02 minutes). Kamrasi's
tribe are well covered, and farther south, towards Zanzibar, all tribes
are clothed more or less; thus Obbo is the clothing frontier, where the
climate has first prompted the savage to cover himself, while in the hot
lowlands he remains in a state of nakedness. Where clothing is required,
English manufacturers would find a market in exchange for ivory; thus
from this point a fair trade might be commenced.
"From Farajoke, in the Sooli country, lat. 3 degrees 33 minutes, up to
this date the most southern limit of my explorations, the lake is about
nine or ten days' march in a direct course; but such a route is
impossible, owing to Debono's establishment occupying the intervening
country, and the rules of the traders forbid a trespass upon their
assumed territory. Koorshid's men would refuse to advance by that route;
my men, if alone, will be afraid to travel, and will find some excuse
for not proceeding; from the very outset they have been an absolute
burthen upon me, receiving a monthly allowance of two pounds of beads
per head for doing literally nothing, after having ruined the
independence of my expedition by their mutiny at Gondokoro."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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