What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the NileSpeke, John Hanning
History
What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile
Speke, John Hanning
Horn of Africa -- Description and travel; Nile River; Tanganyika, Lake
The little hill alluded to as marking the south-east angle of the
lake, I again saw; but so indistinctly, though the atmosphere was very
clear, that I imagined it to be at least forty miles distant. It is
due east of my station on Observatory Hill. I further draw my
conclusions from the fact, that all the hills on the country are much
about the same height--two or three hundred feet above the basial
surface of the land; and I could only see the top of the hill like a
hazy brown spot, contrasted in relief against the clear blue sky.
Indeed, had my attention not been drawn to it, I should probably have
overlooked it, and have thought there was only a sea horizon before
me. On facing to the W.N.W., I could only see a sea horizon; and on
inquiring how far back the land lay, was assured that, beyond the
island of Ukéréwé, there was an equal expanse of it east and west, and
that it would be more than double the distance of the little hill
before alluded to, or from eighty to one hundred miles in breadth.[59]
On my inquiring about the lake's length, the man faced to the north,
and began nodding his head to it; at the same time he kept throwing
forward his right hand, and, making repeated snaps of his fingers,
endeavoured to indicate something immeasurable; and added, that nobody
knew, but he thought it probably extended to the end of the world. To
the east of the Observatory, a six hours' journey, probably fourteen
or fifteen miles, the village of Sukuma is situated, and there canoes
are obtainable for crossing to Ukéréwé, which island being six hours'
paddling, and lying due north of it, must give the firth a breadth of
about fifteen miles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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