Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 2Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
History
Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 2
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Africa, West -- Description and travel; Congo River -- Description and travel; Ethnology -- Africa, West
Since these lines were written, I have to lament the collapse of
the Livingstone-Congo Expedition. In 1872 the great explorer's
friends, taking into consideration the prospect of his turning
westward, organized a "relief" from West as well as from East
Africa. Mr. J. Young, of Kelly, generously supplied the sinews of
travel, and Mr. Clements R. Markham, Secretary of the Royal
Geographical Society, lent important aid in preparing the
exploration. Navigating-Lieutenant W. J. Grandy, who had seen
service on the eastern coast of Africa, landed at S. Paulo de
Loanda in early 1873, and set out from Ambriz in March of that
year. The usual difficulties were met and overcome, when
Lieutenant Grandy was summarily recalled. The official
explanation ("Royal Geographical Society," December 14th, 1874),
is that the measure was in consequence of Livingstone's death.
The traveller himself says:--"Complying with instructions, we,
with many regrets at the idea of leaving our work unfinished when
all seemed so full of promise, commenced preparations for the
return, leaving good presents with the chiefs, in order to
procure a good reception for those who might come after us." An
Ex-President of the Royal Geographical Society had asserted, "The
ascent of the (Upper) Congo ought to be more productive of useful
geographical results than any other branch of African
exploration, as it will bring to the test of experiment the
navigability of the Congo above the Falls, and thus possibly open
out a means of introducing traffic by steam into the heart of the
continent at least two thousand miles from the mouth of the
river."
With this explicit and stimulating assertion before us, we must
lament that England, once the worthy rival in exploration of
Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, is now too poor to support
a single exploration on the West African Coast, when Germany is
wealthy enough liberally to subsidize two.
Note.
A nous deux, Dr. E. Behm!
My objections to your paper are the three following: 1. It
generally understates the volume of the Nzadi, by not allowing
sufficiently for the double equinoctial periods of high water,
March to June, as well as September to December; and by ignoring
the north-equatorial supply. 2. It arbitrarily determines the
question of the Tanganyika, separating it from the Nile-system
upon the insufficient strength of a gorilla, and of an oil-palm
which is specifically different from that of the Western Coast;
and 3. It wilfully misrepresents Dr. Livingstone in the matter of
the so-called Victoria Nyanza.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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