CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



1850-55, Dr Earth, crossing the Great Desert 

 from Tripoli, explored the country of Nigritia as 

 far south as Adamawa, and from the east of Lake 

 Tchad westward to Timbuktu. From Kakawa, 

 the capital of Bornu, a kingdom which lies west 

 of Lake Tchad, he travelled southward to Yola, 

 the capital of Adamawa, which is three miles 

 in length, and has 12,000 inhabitants. Here he 

 came upon the river Chadda, or Benue", flowing 

 in a broad and majestic course from east to 

 west, which joins the Niger by Kororofa. Dr 

 Barth expressed his conviction that 'along this 

 natural high-road, European influence and com- 

 merce will penetrate into the very heart of the 

 continent.' He also visited Masena, capital of 

 the country of Bagirmi, which lies upwards of a 

 hundred miles to the south-east of Lake Tchad, 

 and which contains a population of about a 

 million and a half, nominally Mohammedans. 

 He next proceeded through the Houssa states, in 

 the direction of the Niger. Of this region the 

 dominant inhabitants are the Fulbe, or Fellatah, 

 an intelligent and energetic people, strongly 

 Mohammedan. Their principal city, Kano, con- 

 tains 3 population of from 30,000 to 40,000. 

 Cloth is manufactured and dyed in this chief 

 commercial emporium of Central Negroland. The 

 capital is Sokoto. Dr Barth spent eight months 

 at Timbuktu, and reports that city as being 

 provincial, but important as the seat of Moham- 

 medan learning and worship, and as being upon 

 that point of the Niger which is nearest to 

 Morocco. The settled population of Timbuktu is 

 about 13,000, and the floating population from 

 5000 to 10,000. It has a circumference of between 

 two and three miles. The houses, as is usual in 

 Central Africa, are of clay. Gold, salt, and kola- 

 nut are the chief articles of commerce. The 

 population of Negroland is about 10,000,000. 



Of Southern Central Africa but little was 

 known previous to the laborious explorations of 

 Dr Livingstone ; although the continent had been 

 crossed by two Portuguese, and on two occasions 

 the route from Tet to Cazemb had been made. 

 Having commenced as a medical missionary 

 among the Betjuans, or Bechuanas, north of the 

 Orange River in 1840, Livingstone crossed the 

 Kalihari Desert in 1849, an d came upon Lake 

 N'gami, which drains the country between the 

 Orange and Zambesi rivers. In 1850, he visited 

 the chief of the Makololo, a Betjuan tribe, in the 

 valley of the Upper Zambesi, whose capital is 

 Linyanti. To counteract the slave-trade carried on 

 by the Mambari, a tribe intermediate between the 

 Makololo and the Portuguese settlements on the 

 west coast, Livingstone returned to Linyanti in 

 1853, with the object of finding a direct route to 

 the west coast He first explored the Zambesi 

 valley north to lat. 14 S. where the rivers Leeba 

 and Liambye unite. This country is very fertile. 

 The Makololo rear cattle and grow maize, beans, 

 vegetables, and durra. In cultivating, they employ 

 the hoe, a native manufacture of iron. Afterwards, 

 proceeding from Linyanti, Livingstone came to 

 the country governed by the Muata Yanoo, a flat 

 region, with some wooded tracts, and striking 

 westward, arrived at Loanda, the capital of the 

 colony of Benguela, on the 3ist May 1854. Return- 

 ing to the interior, he next resolved to try whether 

 a better commercial route could not be found east- 



296 



ward, along the Lower Zambesi. Hindered from 

 descending the river in boats, by the great Vic- 

 toria Falls, he struck north-east to the confluence 

 of the Kafne, thence by the Zambesi to Tele", and 

 finally to Quilimane. In 1859, Livingstone and 

 Kirk penetrated to Lake Shirwa, and traced the 

 Shir to Lake Nyassa. In 1857-58, Lake Tanga- 

 nyika was discovered by Burton and Speke, who 

 crossed from Zanzibar, exploring on their way the 

 plateau country of the Unyamuezi. Speke there- 

 after discovered the great Victoria N'yanza. In 

 1860, Speke and Grant found the northern outlet 

 of this lake ; but being obliged to part with it at 

 its westward bend, the travellers held northward, 

 and reached the White Nile, above Gondokoro, 

 where they met Sir Samuel Baker, to whom they 

 reported that they had heard of another lake lying 

 to the west of this route. In 1864, Sir Samuel 

 Baker explored this lake, which he called the 

 Albert N'yanza, a great inland sea, 300 miles 

 long, and 90 broad. In 1866, Dr Livingstone 

 set out with the object of discovering the true 

 source of the Nile. Starting from the east coast, 

 he made his way into the interior, passing Lake 

 Nyassa, and reaching the elevated region south 

 of Lake Tanganyika. He there discovered the 

 Chambeze, which he subsequently found to rise 

 about 11 S. and flow westward into Lake Bang- 

 weolo, and beyond is known as Luapula and Lua- 

 laba. It has since been proved to be the head- 

 waters of the Congo, but was regarded by its dis- 

 coverer as belonging to the Nile basin. At Ujiji, 

 Livingstone, whose long absence in the interior 

 had caused great anxiety, was found by Stanley 

 in November 1871. His next attempt to explore 

 these regions more fully ended with his life at 

 Ilala, near Lake Bangweolo, 4th May 1873, and 

 thence his body was brought to be buried in 

 Westminster Abbey. Lieutenant Cameron, after 

 exploring Tanganyika, followed the Lualaba to 

 Nyangwe, whence, striking across the continent, 

 he reached Benguela on the Atlantic seaboard in 

 October 1875, after a march of about 3000 miles, 

 H. M. Stanley, in his expedition of 1874-77, con- 

 clusively proved what Cameron had rendered 

 almost certain that the Lualaba or Luapula is 

 identical with the Congo. Starting from the east 

 coast at the head of 300 men, he circumnavi- 

 gated the Victoria Nyanza, examined part of 

 Tanganyika, and, striking the Lualaba at Nyang- 

 we, forced his way in spite of enormous difficulties 

 along the course of the river, and arrived at the 

 mouth of the Congo in August 1877. Since, 

 Stanley has headed the Belgian expedition for 

 establishing four civilising stations on this river. 

 Major Serpa Pinto, in 1877-79, accomplished the 

 journey across Africa from Benguela to Natal, 

 exploring the upper waters of the Zambesi. 



A remarkable incident in the recent history of 

 Africa is the formation of the Free State of the 

 Congo, mainly the outcome of the enterprise of 

 Leopold II., king of the Belgians, and the traveller 

 Stanley. A conference of the great powers at 

 Berlin sanctioned the constitution of such a state 

 under a European or American governor and 

 officers. The state comprises the greater part of 

 the basin of the Congo River from the great lakes 

 to the Atlantic, with a coast line of nearly 40 

 miles on the Atlantic shore. Le"opoldville is the 

 chief station in this vast area. 





