. MISCELLANIES. 
the8e opinions, and that which is 
‘supported by the greatest au-_ 
thorities (being the opinion not 
‘only of some of the principal Geo- 
graphers of antiquity, but of 
‘D’Anville and Rennell among the 
moderns), it is supposed, that the 
Niger has an inland termination 
somewhere in the eastern part of 
Africa, probably in Wangara or 
Ghana: and that it is partly dis- 
charged into inland lakes, which 
have no communication with the 
sea, and partly spread over a wide 
extent of level country, and lost 
in sands or evaporated by the heat 
of thesun. ‘The principal ground 
of this supposition is, the opinion 
of some of the best-informed 
writers of antiquity on the geo- 
graphy of Africa, and a_ sort 
of general persuasion prevalent 
among the ancients to the same 
effect ; circumstances, it must he 
acknowledged, of some weight in 
determining this question: since 
there is good reason to believe, 
that the knowledge of the ancients 
concerning the interior of Africa 
Was much more extensive and ac- 
curate than that of the moderns. 
Itis justly observed by Dr. Ro- 
bertson, that the geographical dis- 
coveries of the ancients were made 
chiefly by Jand, those of the mo- 
derns by sea; the progress of 
conquest having led to the former, 
that of commerce to the latter.— 
Hist. of America, vol. ii. p. 316, 
3vo.) Besides which, there are 
several distinct and peculiar causes 
which have essentially contributed 
to our present ignorance respect- 
ing theinterior of Africa, namely, 
the great prevalence of the slave 
trade, which has confined the at- 
tention of European adventurers 
Vor. LVII. 
577 
exclusively to the coast ; the small 
temptation which the continent of 
Africa held out, during the conti- 
nuance of that trade, to internal 
commerce ; and the almost impe- 
netrable barrier raised up against 
Europeans in modern times, by 
the savage intolerance of the 
Moors. 
The ancient opinion respecting 
the termination of the Niger just 
alluded to, receives a certain de- 
gree of confirmation from the best 
and most authentic accounts con- 
cerning that part of Africa in 
which the Niger is supposed to 
disappear. This is represented by 
various concurrebt testimonies to 
be a great tract of alluvial coun- 
try, having several permanent 
lakes, and being annually over- 
flowed for three months during 
the rainy season. 
Against the hypothesis of an 
inland termination of the Niger, 
several objections have been urged, 
which are well deserving of at~ 
tention. They are’ principally 
founded on a consideration of the 
vast magnitude which the Niger 
must have attained after a course 
of more than 1,600 geographical 
miles, and the difficulty of con- 
ceiving so prodigious a stream to 
be discharged into lakes, and eva- 
porated even by an African sun, 
To account for such a phenome- 
non, a great inland sea, bearing 
some resemblance to the Caspian 
or the Aral, appears to be neces- 
sary. But, besides, that the ex- 
istence of so vast a body of water 
without any outlet into the ocean, 
is in itself an improbable circum- 
stance, and not to be lightly ad- 
mitted : such a sea, if it really ex- 
isted, could hardly have remained 
2P 
