Ill 



IfBTvlW. afW 





1*04, thi* adventurou. 

 UM Niger at 



tote 



SMSMI, to 1804, th 



-. i 



mtV. with UM> purpose of ssiltog down the river 

 r that usjbt be. He fa) ascertained to have 

 UM dUss of Jcnix*. Timbuctoo, and Yaour or 



^s>d to have bwa killI in the river at Bouasa, a abort 

 below UM tail: bat no part of hi* journal aftar bs left 

 ha* beast ior>d. Meanwhile, now that UM interest 

 had beoosns strong and general, a good 



known to Europe reep toting the countries to the east of 

 and especially the kingdom of Boroou, then the moat poi 

 to Central Africa. Mr. K ilcr, niperoargo of an American 



in the interior and some parts nearer the coast 

 .' who, in 1799, penetrated from Cairo to Mourzouk, in 

 MM Desert, and on the line of the common route from Tripoli to 

 many particular* which had not before been 



i of Timbuctoo, 

 : powerful state 

 i American Teasel, who 



bed been taken captive by the native* in 1816, and carried into the 

 totsrior. obtained from the information of an Arab merchant by 

 whom he had been purchased, an account of the course of the Joliba, 

 to a greater dJr*-TM** beyond Timbuctoo than previous notices had 

 1 it ; but hi* statement* were evidently not to be altogether 

 In 1816 an expedition sent out by government under 

 I of Captain Tuckey, to the Congo, in the idea that it 

 would be found to be the same with the Joliba or Niger, ascended 

 that river for about 280 miles, and also examined part of the 

 adjacent country. At the same time. Major Peddie, and after bis 

 JTslh Captain Campbell, conducted another party from the mouth of 

 UM Senegal through UM Foulah territory as far a* Kakundy. In 1817 

 Mr. Bowdkb explored a part of the extensive territories of the 

 surrounding on the north, east, and west, the district of 

 , who occupy that part of the coast of Guinea where the 

 i Mrrm of Cape Coast Castle is established. In 1820 very 

 idditions were made to the knowledge formerly possessed 

 both of the geography and the people of interior Africa, by the 

 i of Mr. Jackson'* account of the territories of Timbuctoo 

 from the communications of Kl Hsge Abd Sabm 

 . Mussulman merchant, who had visited these states. 

 This year also appeared at Paris the account of a journey made by 

 M. Molliso to th* sources of the Senegal and Uie Gambia, in which, 

 astttog out from the isle of St-Louis, at the mouth of the Senegal, 

 be traversed the country in a south-easterly direction a* far a* the 

 town of Timbo, nearly in 10* N. 1st and above 14 W. loiig. Some 

 further information wa* also obtained by means of the expedition of 

 Minsri. Ritchie and Lyon, who, in 1819, penetrated from Tripoli to 

 Moursouk ; and from the journey performed, in 1821, by Major 

 Ij rf. from Sierra Leone, through the Timannee, Koorauko, and 

 Soottott countries. 



But a more important and uocessf ul attempt than any which had 

 been hitherto made to explore the interior of Africa was that of 

 Major Denham and Lieutenant CUpperton in 1822. These travellers, 

 setting out from Tripoli along with a caravan of Arab merchants, 

 smssiJ the desert and reached the great inland sea or lake called 

 Tchad, the coast* of which, to the west and south, were examined by 

 Major Denham while Lieutenant CUp|>crton proceeded to the 

 westward through the kingdom of Born.ni and the country of the 

 till he arrived at Sackatoo, situated on a stream which 

 run* into the Joliba. A great mass of information 

 UMSS hitherto nnvinted regions, lying to the east of 

 t, wa* obtained in the course of this expedition; but not 

 i that could bs depended on was learned a* to the remaining 

 ooun* of the Niger, or the Quorra, a* it was found to be called 

 at Sackatoo. It wss wry generally stated to flow into the sea at 



being that be should endeavour to penetrate to the scene of his 

 former adventure* from the coast of Quince, He accordingly set 

 out for the interior from Badagry, a short distance to the east of 



Cap* Coast Cattle, and taking a north-easterly direction, proceeded 

 through UM kingdom of Yarril*. ..r Kyc... till he reached the Niger 

 at Boussa. when Park perished. Crossing the river, he entered the 

 ktosdom of Nyfft, after traversing which, and some of 

 district, a. far a. th* great commercial citv ol 



, where 

 teUM west, and 



a* UM gnat commercial city of Kann, the capital of 

 be had been to his former jonm.-y. In- turned again 

 reaching rktAstoo, UMTS died, lit* servant, Richard 

 Lasxkr. afterward* returned to Kano. and proceeded thence through 

 UM ktogdosa of Zsjpsf, considerable way towards the south, 

 '"'J."*. to *!* M of the branch, of the Niger. 



UM grand problem of its termination by miling 

 "TWIT* B*h * "topped by th* natives, and compelled 

 i tan back whan bs had got a* far a* Dunrora, which he understood 



!lfc T l !"f'l/ l T U ' J " n<l a " P"* *"* fr ""' il M "- 

 whiU, Major Latog. already mtioo4 had succeeded in making his 



11 * T'mln'ct"", in August, 1826, 

 "wUoss of that famous city, wh.-n- 

 murdered on his return, in the 



'""* 



-, 



bis ps-r, have yrt 



There was 



AKRICA. 1U 







also published about 1830 an account of a Journey from Sierra 

 Leone to Timbuctoo, performed by a M. Cuillu', a : .once. 



The discovery of the long-sought termination of the .lolibn, Quorra, 

 or Niger, however, ha* since been effected by the fortunate and 

 well-conducted enterprise of Richard Lander and his br 

 Leaving Badagry on the 22ud of March, 1830, these two travellers, 

 following nearly the same route which had been taken by CUpperton 

 through the kingdom of Eyeo, reached Boussa on the 17th of June. 

 They afterwards ascended the river as far a* Yauuri, from !:i. li 

 they returned to Boussa, where they remained for some time, and 

 then embarked on the river which they hoped would conduct them 

 to the sea. In this expectation they were not disappointed. After 

 various adventure*, Richard Lander had at hut the happiness, < 

 evening of the 18th of November, to find himself at the mouth of 

 the greater branch of the river, here called the river Nun, or the 

 First Bras* River, from the negro town of Brass which stands upon 

 its banks a short distance inland. There is another great branch 

 entering the sea a few miles more to the south, called the Second 

 Brass River. The traveller wa* afterward* joined by his br 

 and the two reached Portsmouth together on the 9th of June, 1 -:.l . 

 They left Kugland again with two steam-vessels and a transport, 

 which were built and fitted out by Mr. Macgregor Laird and some 

 spirited merchant* of Liverpool for the purpose of attempting the 

 ascent of the Niger, if possible, as far as Sackatoo or Timbuctoo. 

 The expedition was also joined by Captain W. Allen, for whom the 

 Admiralty had requested a passage for the purpose of making a 

 ,-urxey of the river. The expedition sailed in July, 1832, reached 

 the mouth of the Quorra in safety, and ascended the river to Rabba, 

 in 9 N. Ut The Tchadda was also ascended to Dagbeh, in 8 N. 

 Ut. a distance of above 100 miles from its confluence with the 

 Quorra. The results of the expedition were most disastrous. It 

 was indeed shown that the Quorra is navigable in moderate-aired 

 vessels from the sea to Boussa; but as a commercial speculation tin- 

 expedition entirely failed, and it was attended with a melancholy loss 

 of life caused by the climate. 



In 1839 Lord John Russell, then Colonial Secretary, addressed a 

 letter to the Lords of the Treasury, proposing another expedition. 

 to ascend the Quorra by steam-boats, for the purpose of arresting 

 the foreign sUve-trade, by the establishment of new commercial 

 relations with certain African chiefs and powers. The assent of 

 the government was given, and three stoam-vesseU were sent out 

 to the mouth of the Niger in 1841. But a disastrous sickness 

 unhappily visited the expedition when it had only been a few days 

 in that river, and it was unable to ascend the river so far as had been 

 previously reached in the expedition of 1832. This expedition 

 was likewise a failure, and its result, together with that of the 

 preceding one, has prevented even the most sanguine from making 

 any renewed attempts of a similar kind. Mora recently, ho 

 Lieutenant Me Leod, R.N., who had served six years on the African 

 coast, made a proposal to ascend the Quorra in a stenm-luuneh, 

 devised by him expressly for that purpose. In such a Yes* 

 profiting by his own experience of the climate, and th;i 

 he hopes not only to reach Timbuctoo, but the upper course of the 

 river, to cross thence to the Gambia, and descend that riv, r. 



In the region between the Quorra and the coast, Mr. Duncan, one 

 of the survivors of the Niger expedition in 1841, has made some 

 .idditions to our geographical knowledge by his journey to Adafoodia. 

 This traveller has since met with an untimely death, after having 

 reached the African shores in order to make a second attempt to 

 penetrate into the interior, and to reach if possible Timbuctoo. 



The real for discovery in Africa, which has been so strongly felt 

 within the last half century, has also aent out a succession of tru \ 

 to explore the southern regions of that vast continent The prim-i]>nl 

 settlement in this quarter, that of the 'ii|~- of Good Hope, was 

 founded by the Dutch about 1650, and remained in thejr hand." till 

 it was finally taken from them by the British in 1806. Kor more 

 than a hundred years after the establishment of this colony, it 

 occupied only the extreme angle of the African continent : nor does 

 mm h information seem to have been obtained with regard to any 

 of the native tribes, except the nearest Hottentots, lying beyond that 

 boundary. The first traveller who penetrated any considerable way 

 into the interior was Captain Henri Hop, who was sent out 

 expedition of discovery by the Dutch governor in 1761, and traversed 

 a considerable part of the country of the Namaquas. He was 

 followed by the Swedish naturalist Span-man, and by Vaillant, whose 

 journeys were made between 1775 and 1785, and extended to the 

 territory of the Bosjesmans, three or four hundred mile* north from 

 Cape Town. In 1797 the regions lying in this direction were 

 traversed by Mr. Barrow from the territory of the Kaffirs in the east 

 to that of the Namaquas in the west, including the desert of the 

 Great Karroo, and as far north as the foot of the Sneuwl.erp-n, or 

 Know Mountains. In 1801 the great Wrier formed by this range 

 wa* for the first time passed by Messrs. Trutter and Somerville, who, 

 crossing the Gareep, or Orange River, penetrated as far as Litakoo 

 or Lnttokoo, the capital of the Bechuanas. Soon afterwards m 

 lrty, under the conduct of Dr. Cowan and Lieutenant Donovan, 

 was sent out from Cape Town to cross the country to Mozambique, 

 or Sofala and accounts were received from them when they had 



