The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, And Explorations of the Nile SourcesBaker, Samuel White, Sir
History
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
"FEB. 4th.--F. most seriously ill. Started at 7:30 A.M., she being
carried in a litter; but I also fell ill upon the road, and having been
held on my ox by two men for some time, I at length fell in their arms,
and was laid under a tree for about five hours; getting better, I rode
for two hours, course south. Mountains in view to south and southeast,
about ten miles distant. The country, forest interspersed with villages:
the Somerset generally parallel to the route. There are no tamarinds in
this neighbourhood, nor any other acid fruit; thus one is sorely pressed
in the hours of fever. One of the black women servants, Fadeela, is
dying of fever."
"FEB. 5th.--F. (Mrs. Baker) so ill, that even the litter is too much
for her. Heaven help us in this country! The altitude of the river level
above the sea at this point is 4,056 feet."
"Feb. 6th.--F. slightly better. Started at 7 A.M. The country the same
as usual. Halted at a village after a short march of three miles and a
half. Here we are detained for a day while a message is sent to Kamrasi.
Tomorrow, I believe, we are to arrive at the capital of the tyrant. He
sent me a message today, that the houses he had prepared for me had been
destroyed by fire, and to beg me to wait until he should have completed
others. The truth is, he is afraid of our large party, and he delays us
in every manner possible, in order to receive daily reports of our
behaviour on the road. Latitude by observation at this point, 1 degree
50 minutes 47 seconds N."
"FEB. 7th.--Detained here for a day. I never saw natives so filthy in
their dwellings as the people of Unyoro. Goats and fowls share the but
with the owner, which, being littered down with straw, is a mere
cattle-shed, redolent of man and beast. The natives sleep upon a mass of
straw, upon a raised platform, this at night being covered with a
dressed skin. Yesterday the natives brought coffee in small quantities
to sell. They have no idea of using it as a drink, but simply chew it
raw as a stimulant. It is a small and finely-shaped grain, with a good
flavour. It is brought from the country of Utumbi, about a degree south
of this spot."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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