Transcriber’s Note: Italics are enclosed in _underscores_. Additional notes will be found near the end of this ebook. THE STORY OF EXPLORATION EDITED BY J. SCOTT KELTIE, LL.D., SEC. R.G.S. THE NILE QUEST BY SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. [Illustration: [_Frontispiece_ SPEKE (from a Drawing by the Author).] THE NILE QUEST A RECORD OF THE EXPLORATION OF THE NILE AND ITS BASIN BY SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. (PRESIDENT OF THE AFRICAN SOCIETY) _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR AND OTHERS_ WITH MAPS BY J. G. BARTHOLOMEW [Illustration] LONDON ALSTON RIVERS, LIMITED ARUNDEL STREET, W.C. 1906 THE STORY OF EXPLORATION Probably few of the stories that tell of the achievements due to the curiosity of humanity have a wider or more lasting interest than that which is concerned with the exploration of the lands and seas, which give feature to the face of the earth. It is a long story, and would be longer still, if the men in the remote past had left any record of their wanderings. Even as it is, in the scanty and perplexing records left behind them by ancient Egyptians, Phœnicians, Carthaginians, Hebrews, and even Chinese, the story begins more than three thousand years ago and, so far as the pioneer work of exploration is concerned, may be taken to have practically concluded with the end of the nineteenth century. It seems, therefore, an opportune time to recount the leading episodes in this long record of incessant human effort, in a manner which will appeal to, and interest, all intelligent readers. In the series of volumes, which will be issued under the general title “The Story of Exploration,” it will be sought to make the narrative circle round the personality of the men who had the leading share in carrying on the adventurous work.