The Discovery of the Source of the Nile — John Shaqi
The Discovery of the Source of the NileSpeke, John Hanning
History
The Discovery of the Source of the Nile
Speke, John Hanning
Africa, East -- Description and travel; Nile River; Nile River Valley -- Discovery and exploration; Uganda -- Description and travel
The next day, as we had no further need of our Beluch escort, a halt
was made to enable me to draw up a "Progress Report," and pack all
the specimens of natural history collected on the way, for the Royal
Geographical Society. Captain Grant, taking advantage of the spare time,
killed for the larder two buck antelopes, and the Tots brought in, in
high excited triumph, a famous pig.
This march, which declines from the Kingani a little, leads through
rolling, jungly ground, full of game, to the tributary stream Mgeta. It
is fordable in the dry season, but has to be bridged by throwing a tree
across it in the wet one. Rising in the Usagara hills to the west of the
hog-backed Mkambaku, this branch intersects the province of Ukhutu in
the centre, and circles round until it unites with the Kingani about
four miles north of the ford. Where the Kingani itself rises, I never
could find out; though I have heard that its sources lies in a gurgling
spring on the eastern face of the Mkambaku, by which account the Mgeta
is made the longer branch of the two.
Chapter III. Usagara
Nature of the Country--Resumption of the March--A Hunt--Bombay
and Baraka--The Slave-Hunters--The Ivory-Merchants--Collection of
Natural-History Specimens--A Frightened Village--Tracking a Mule.
Under U-Sagara, or, as it might be interpreted, U-sa-Gara--country of
Gara--is included all the country lying between the bifurcation of
the Kingani and Mgeta rivers east, and Ugogo, the first country on the
interior plateau west,--a distance of a hundred miles. On the north it
is bounded by the Mukondokua, or upper course of the Wami river and on
the south by the Ruaha, or northern great branch of the Lufiji river. It
forms a link of the great East Coast Range; but though it is generally
comprehended under the single name Usagara, many sub-tribes occupy and
apply their own names to portions of it; as, for instance, the people
on whose ground we now stood at the foot of the hills, are Wa-Khutu,
and their possessions consequently are U-Khutu, which is by far the best
producing land hitherto alluded to since leaving the sea-coast line. Our
ascent by the river, though quite imperceptible to the eye, has been 500
feet. From this level the range before us rises in some places to 5000
to 6000 feet, not as one grand mountain, but in two detached lines,
lying at an angle of 45 degrees from N.E. to S.W., and separated one
from the other by elevated valleys, tables, and crab-claw spurs of hill
which incline towards the flanking rivers. The whole having been thrown
up by volcanic action, is based on a strong foundation of granite and
other igneous rocks, which are exposed in many places in the shape of
massive blocks; otherwise the hill-range is covered in the upper part
with sandstone, and in the bottoms with alluvial clay. This is the
superficial configuration of the land as it strikes the eye; but,
knowing the elevation of the interior plateau to be only 2500 feet above
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