Miscellaneous hiicllUjenee. 200 



(lie hope of extending the field of discoveries, he fought in a cause which 

 was not his own : all around him perished; the entire army was destroyed ; 

 he, however, escaped; and, more fortunate than prudent, he rejoined his 

 companions in Bornou, and informed them of the existence of a great 

 transversal chain of mountains, lying between the 9th and 10th degrees of 

 north latitude, and situated precisely in the same manner as that of Kong, 

 and. from which flows, in the direction of the north, a river of immense 

 lirfciSth. On reaching the extremity of its course, he was within only 450 

 miles of the Atlantic* 



Our inquiries on the north of the Equator have been extended as far as 

 the 10th degree of latitude on three different points : on the east, between 

 the two Niles, by M. Cailliaud; on the west, in the direction of the sources 

 of the Senegal and the Niger, by M. Mollien and Major Laing; and in the 

 centre of Africa by Major Denham— and in every part their advance has 

 been obstructed by lofty mountains, and impenetrable forests, occupied by 

 tribes of savages who nave never been subjected to the yoke of Islamism : 

 mountains which now form a barrier to the introduction of European 

 civilization, as they formerly did to the diffusion of the Mussulman law. 



It is known what a brilliant scene here opened itself to the regards of the 

 English travellers : a warlike city on the frontier of the country ; a numerous 

 cavalry, both men and horses cased in armour ; a profusion of gold and of 

 iron, worked with an art now entirely unknown ; flourishing and populous 

 cities, standing at a few miles from each other; an immense commerce, of 

 which they had formed no idea; periodical markets, which were frequented 

 every week by upwards of a hundred thousand people ! What a harvest 

 for Geography ! what a recompence for the fatigues and perils undergone 

 by the three travellers ! They have before their eyes the great central lake, 

 of which mention was made in the relations of the natives, but the existence 

 uf which could till then be denied ; and they ascertained, by their own 

 observations, that it received within its bosom ihe waters of different rivers, 

 flowing into it from the north, the west, and the south : the Niger, or at 

 least a river which descends from the side of Tombouctou and Haoussa, 

 flows into it in the month of July, under a form of a moderate stream. This 

 lake was ascertained by them, as tar as their researches went, to be upwards 

 of 220 miles in length; its breadth is not yet known, and we are ignorant 

 whether it has any issue — whether, as is the case of the Caspian Sea, the 

 influx of tributary streams is compensated for by evaporation; and finally, 

 whether, on a rise in its waters, it flows towards the basin of the Nile— a 

 question which still remains undecided, notwithstanding all these great dis- 

 coveries! No wonder, then, that we look with so much impatience for 

 some news respecting the ulterior proceedings of the expedition. 



But, at the very moment when learned Europe was expecting with 

 anxiety the new fruits of the English expedition, it learns that its hopes are 

 diminished by an irreparable loss: Dr. Oudney sunk, after a few days- 

 illness, under the severity of this fatal climate. The young Toole, who set 

 out after him from Tripoli, joined the expedition, and had scarcely arrived 

 when he also fell a victim : all our hopes now rest upon the intrepid Denham, 

 on Lieut. Clapperton, and on Mr. Tyrwhit. The rare devotion of Dr. 

 Oudney, and the singular circumstances of his death, are worthy of a few 

 moments' attention \ they will serve to show the full extent of the loss that 

 the interests of science have sustained in that indefatigable traveller. He 

 set out from Bornou in December, 1823, (a year after his passage across the 

 Great Desert) and directed his course to the west, in the direction of Kano, 

 accompanied by Mr. Clapperton, with whom he reached the confines of the 

 kingdom. On their arrival at this spot, the caravan was attacked by ;t 

 • Men and unexpected cold of the greatest intensity ; the waters were frozen 

 on all sides; the contents of the skins borne by the camels were entin Ij 

 congealed ; and the Doctor felt seriously unwell : he, however, continued 

 his laborious career for seventeen more successive days. On the 12th oi 

 January he again endeavoured to set out at break of day, as was his custom : 

 the camels were already loaded, but his strength failed him, and, in a few 

 moments after, he expired in the arms of hi9 companion, less regretting his 

 death than grieved at not having been able to do more for his country 



■ And not at 300miles,as was said at first, the longitude of ftlourzouk 

 baling been inaccurately stated. 



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