June 13, 1859.] EXPLORATIONS IN EASTERN AFRICA. 357 



Capt. Speke, had discovered the Nyanza ; at any rate the rising of the Nile is 

 very considerable at the Mission Station, Gondokoro, in lat. 4° 40' N., and is 

 very broad. These waters must come from some considerable source. He con- 

 sidered the Nyanza to be the true source of the Nile, and the point at which he 

 reached it to be the most extreme from the debouchure of the Nile at Alexandria. 

 Even supposing that there does not exist any overflow of the lake at the 

 northern end, which might probably be the case in the dry season, he believed 

 that it will bear the same relation with the Nile at Gondokoro that the Parung 

 La Tso (River) does with the Sutlej. There is no ovei-flow from the surface 

 of the Tso Moriri (Lake), yet it is the principal source of that branch of the 

 Sutlej River which the Tibetans call the tributary Parung La Tso, after the 

 Parung La (Pass), which also receives the Tso Moriri waters by percolation. 

 The Tso Moriri waters filter through spongy bogs for a short distance, and then 

 collecting, taper oif in small channels to the Parung La Tso. 



The President then invited Captain Burton to give some information re- 

 specting the native manufactures and productions. 



Captain Burton, f.r.g.s. — The finest copal in the world is exported from 

 the Coast. These regions also supply the largest, whitest, and softest ivory. 

 The other ex|X)rts are chiefly rhinoceros horns and hippopotamus teeth. 

 Cotton is found in every part of the country where the water is near the soil 

 and where the country is marshy ; it grows in great abundance round the 

 Lake Tanganyika. Here is a specimen of cloth made in Unyamwezi, the 

 "Land of the Moon" [the cloth was produced.] The natives, however, 

 prefer the American fabrics on account of their being closer and lighter. 

 Iron is found throughout the country in great abundance. Coal may exist 

 [the Captain exhibited specimens of native iron]. Copper is only to be found 

 in the country of the Kazembe, so frequently visited by the Portuguese traders. 

 Coffee is not cultivated, and therefore is not of use in commerce. There is a 

 particular kind of frankincense found in all the countries about the dry table- 

 lands beyond the mountains. The palm-oil tree grows almost wild ; I have 

 brought home a specimen used by the inhabitants. The great want of the 

 country is the facility for carriage. A tramroad from the coast to the Lake 

 would materially increase the commerce, and it could be laid down at com- 

 paratively very little expense. Hides are procurable in any quantity, and there 

 are many other sources of wealth which are comjmratively useless on account 

 of the difficulty of transport. Rice and grain might be grown in great quan- 

 tities. Horses will not live eight months in the country. Asses are found to 

 be of very little service ; they are not strong, and people will load them too 

 much. Independently of their load, we found that one died simply from the 

 fatigue of walking down to the coast. Oxen do not thrive in some parts 

 of the country, owing, it is supposed, to a poisonous grass. In some 

 parts, especially in Karagwah, Ujiji, and the whole of that district, there 

 is a large dun-coloured animal ; the nuro.erous wars, however, tend greatly to 

 diminish the cattle. Almost all the wars are on account of cattle or of slaves. 

 Generally speaking, a tribe does not sell its own children, except for powerful 

 reasons. The usual course is to obtain supplies for the trader by attacking 

 and plundering their neighbours. There are two kinds of slave-trade : the 

 external domestic slave-trade, carried on by Arabs with great difficulty (this 

 will be in the course of time put down), and also the internal slave-trade, 

 which demands still more strongly the attention of Europe, for nothing but 

 the development of the commercial resources of the land can affect it. 



The President. — As the usual time for adjournment has arrived, there is 

 only one other duty which remains for us to perform this evening, namely, to 

 vote our cordial thanks to the gentlemen who have submitted their papers to 

 us. After the very full discussion which has taken place, I will not detain 

 you with any farther observations of my own. I would merely say that, 



