57s ANNUAL REGISTER, 1815. 
a secret to the ancients, and en- 
tirely unknown at the present 
day. 
It may just be observed, that 
D’Anville following Ptolemy and 
_other writers whom he considers 
as the best informed on the inter- 
nal geography of Africa, is satis- 
fied that there are two considera- 
ble rivers, the Niger and the Gir ; 
both of which are said to termi- 
nate in the same quarter of Africa, 
and precisely in the same manner. 
The Gir, totally unknown in the 
present day, is familiarly men- 
tioned by Claudian, who, how- 
ever, it may be recollected, was a 
native of Africa: 
—“ Gir, ditissimus amnis 
“ #thiopum, simili mentitus gurgite 
Nilum.” 
Carm. 21. v. 252. 
In some MSS. it is notissimus 
amnis; but the other reading is 
more probable. 
‘ 
‘Domiterque ferarum 
Girrheus, qui vasta colit suo rupibus 
antra, 
“ Qui ramos ebeni, qui dentes vellit 
eburnos.” 
Carm. 47. v 20. 
_ II. The second opinion respect- 
ing the Niger is, that it terminates 
in the Nile. In other words, this 
hypothesis identifies the Niger 
with the great western branch of 
the Nile, called the White River, 
which D’Anville traces from a 
source very far S.S. W. to its junc- 
tion with the Nile near Sennaar. 
He likewise accurately distin- 
guishes this stream from the east- 
ern branch, which is much shorter 
and of inferior magnitude, and 
takes its rise in the mountains of 
Abyssinia. This opinion is main- 
tained by Mr. Hornemann, Mr. 
Grey Jackson, and several other 
modern travellers; and it is 
slightly sanctioned by Strabo and 
Pliny, who speak of the sources 
of the Nile as being reported by 
some to be in the farther parts of 
Mauritania. But it may be af- 
firmed with great confidence, that 
of all the hypotheses respecting 
the termination of the Niger, that 
which supposes it to be a branch 
of the Nile, ig the most unfound- 
ed, and the least consistent with 
acknowledged facts. It is indeed 
rather a loose popular conjecture, 
than an opinion deduced from 
probable reasoning; since no- 
thing appears to be alleged in its 
support, except the mere circum- 
stance of the course of the river 
being in a direction towards the 
Nile, and a few vague notions of 
some of the African natives with 
regard to this subject, which are 
unworthy of the smallest atten- 
tion. 
Mr. Jackson, indeed, in his 
Travels (p. 310), states ittobe a 
fact universally known among the 
rich African traders, that the Ni- 
ger and the Nile are one and the 
same river, by means of which 
there is a practicable communi- 
cation between Tombuetoo and 
Grand Cairo. Between these two 
cities caravans are continually 
passing, and a large trade is car- 
ried on; bat Mr. Jackson ob- 
serves that the expense of land- 
carriage, by means of camels, is 
more moderate than that by 
water, and that the journey also is 
more agreeable. He gives an 
account of the voyage to Cairo 
down the Niger having actually 
