113 



AFRICA. 



AFRICA. 



ill 



advanced eleven days' journey beyond Lattakoo. But here, in the 

 country of the Wanketzens or Wanketchies, the unfortunate adven- 

 turers appear to have been destroyed by the natives. A few years 

 afterwards Dr. Henry Lichtenstein penetrated as far as Lattakoo, and 

 brought back much more complete information respecting the 

 Boshuanas, and the other tribes whose territories he traversed, than 

 had been before obtained. Mr. Burchell also reached Lattakoo in 

 1812 ; and in the following year it was visited by Mr. John Campbell, 

 the missionary. In 1820 Mr. Campbell returned to that capital, 

 and proceeded thence as far east as to the hitherto unvisited city of 

 Mashow, from which he directed his course northward till he reached 

 Kureechanee, about latitude 25" S. South-west from this last town 

 he found himself on the borders of a desert which he was informed 

 extended an immense distance to the westward. In 1823 Lattakoo 

 was once more visited by Mr. George Thompson, whose accounts of 

 many parts of the country lying between this point and the colony, 

 as well as of some of the Kaffir tribes to the east, are much more 

 complete than any that had before been given to the public. In the 

 years 1835 and 1836 Dr. Andrew Smith made an interesting journey, 

 in which he visited the sources of the Caledon and the Maputa, 

 ascended the heights of the Caffrarian Mountains, and advanced as 

 far as the southern tropics in the tracks of the traders. The principal 

 object, however, of this expedition, namely, the discovery of a long 

 reported large lake in the interior, since discovered by Livingston, 

 was unsuccessful. In 1836 and 1837 Captain J. E. Alexander explored 

 the countries of the Namaquas, Bosjesmans, and the Hill Damaras, 

 extending from 30 to 23 S. lat., by which a considerable blank in 

 our maps of Southern Africa was filled up. 



The eastern portions of South Africa, from Natal as far as the 

 Tropic of Capricorn, were also visited by M. Adolphe Delegorgue, 

 but no geographical discoveries of any great importance were made. 



Several highly important discoveries have been made since those 

 now recorded. First, that of the large lake above-mentioned, by 

 the Rev. D. Livingston. This lake had been indicated on maps dated 

 so far back as 1508, relying on the native accounts received by the 

 early Portuguese settlers in South Africa. Philips, Campbell, Harris, 

 and other travellers within this century heard of it, and more than 

 twenty years ago it was shown in the maps in nearly its correct 

 position. Mr. Livingston, the missionary stationed at Kolobeng 

 (placed by him in about 244 S- 1*1, ttn< i 26 E. long.), accompanied 

 by Messrs. Oswell and Murray, set out, on the 1st of June, 1849, on a 

 journey to reach the lake, and after having travelled 300 miles 

 through the desert Bakalikari, which had hitherto presented an 

 insurmountable barrier to Europeans, came, on the 4th of July, in 

 about 214 S. lat., and 26J E. long., to a magnificent river, the 

 Zouga, which issues from the lake, and is 30 yards broad where first 

 seen. From this point, following the river upwards in a winding 

 north-westerly direction, they had to travel about 300 miles more to 

 reach the eastern extremity of the lake. The Bataoana tribe live here, 

 and their town is situated in about 20 20' S. lat, and 24 E. long., 

 on the lake. The party rode six miles in a south-easterly direction 

 to the broad part of the lake, which gradually opened out, and left 

 nothing but a horizon of water in the direction they were riding. 

 Nothing definitely however was ascertained as to its extent, the 

 natives saying that it took 25 days to travel round it. Its name, as 

 given by Mr. Livingston, is Ngami, but it has several other names ; 

 its height above the sea was computed by the barometer to be 

 2825 feet. After a very short stay in the town of Bataoana, the party 

 retraced their steps and reached Kolobeng on the 10th of October. 

 In the following year Livingston made a second journey to the lake, 

 with the intention to penetrate to the northward of it, but the fever 

 and the fly called ' tsetse ' forced him to abandon this project. The 

 bite of this fly, which abounds in those regions, is destructive to oxen, 

 horses, and dogs. Some information was however gleaned from the 

 natives, namely, that the Ngami is merely a reservoir for the surplus 

 waters of a much larger lake or marsh containing numerous islands, 

 about 150 or 200 miles beyond. Sebitoane, who was defeated by the 

 Griquag, near Mohito or Latakou, in 1814, lives on one of these 

 islands. The river which falls into the Ngami at its north-west 

 extremity, is called the Teoge, has a very strong current, and 

 frfi|iiently brings down large trees and carcases of animals. Other 

 rivers were reported as existing beyond Sebitoane's district, and a 

 large population was said to live on their banks. In 1851 Mr. 

 Livingston, accompanied by Mr. Oswell, again started for the north. 

 This time their route was in a more easterly direction, and they 

 succeeded in pushing their researches northward to 17 25' S. lat., 

 and between 24 30 and 26 50' E. long., traversing a considerable 

 tract watered by deep and constantly flowing streams, which they 

 believe to be feeders of the river Zambezi. The Zouga, as had been 

 previously ascertained, is dissipated and absorbed in sands and salt- 

 pans, and the travellers in the last journey passed over a large salt 

 incrustation of about 100 miles in length and 15 miles in width, and 

 saw many others lying to the north of the spot where the Zouga loses 

 itself. Considerably to the north of these great natural salt-pans, in 

 the countn- watered by the supposed tributaries of the Zambezi, 

 Mr. Livingston met with a population more advanced in intelligence 

 than most of th tribes of South Africa. Shortly before his arrival the 

 slave-dealers had, for the first time, penetrated from the west coast, 



OEOO. DIV. vol. i. 



and through the temptation of gaudy European goods had purchased 

 many children. As this country abounds in many natural produc- 

 tions which might afford a good barter, Mr. Livingston suggests that 

 English merchants might earn a legitimate profit by sending goods 

 thither, and thus check the trade in slaves. 



In 1851 Mr. Frank Galton left England with the intention of 

 following up Livingston's discoveries, but for certain reasons this 

 project was abandoned, and, instead, he proceeded to \Valvisch Bay on 

 the western coast of Africa, north of the Tropic of Capricorn. He 

 explored the region between that bay on the south, and Ondonga, in 

 17 58' S. lat., near the river Nourse on the north, and as far inland 

 as 21 E. long. Through this journey we obtain a description of the 

 Damara people, who, though a race of fine stature, are in a low moral 

 state, and likely to be extinguished by their more centralised, 

 powerful, and intelligent neighbours on the north, the Ovampo. The 

 high table-land, which was traversed to reach the Orampo, is cut 

 through by deep ravines, the chief of which serve as escapes for the 

 periodical flood of the rivers. In delineating the moral character, as 

 well as the physical conformation of the different tribes of South 

 Africa, it is interesting to observe, from the observations of Mr. 

 Galton, how their differences are connected with the form, subsoil, 

 and vegetation of their respective lands. Thus, the arid inland 

 plateaus, covered only with thick jungle and short brushwood, hold 

 the dwarfed and sinewy Bushman ; the more open, hilly, and 

 undulating pasture-lands, the Damaras ; whilst the rich corn-lands 

 on the north are occupied by the race which is the most civilised and 

 advanced, the Ovampo. Ondonga, the capital of this people, is 

 estimated to be about 70 or 80 miles to the south of the great river 

 Amorongo Achilunda, the Nourse of our maps. The table-land 

 inhabited by the Damaras rises in some points to 5000 and 6000 feet 

 above the sea. M. Gassiott also, one of the most recent travellers in 

 South Africa, has pushed his way through a region occupied by the 

 northern Boers, and reached the Limpopo river, and subsequently 

 undertook another journey to the same country. 



In the separate articles treating on EGYPT, ABYSSINIA, NUBIA, &c., 

 will be found some notices of the discoveries in Northern and 

 Eastern Africa ; but of the missionary explorations from the eastern 

 coasts, and the great North African expedition, we will give a 

 notice here. 



The zealous and enterprising missionaries, Krapf and Rebmanu, 

 stationed at Rabbai 'Mpia, near Mombaz, in about 4 S. lat., began 

 their journeys into the interior of the continent in 1847. In that 

 year Mr. Rebmann penetrated westward to Teita, " a country whose 

 mountains rise to such a height out of the vast surrounding plains, 

 that on some eminences near Rabbai 'Mpia they are to be seen at a 

 distance of 90 miles ;" and in the April following (1848), the same 

 missionary performed a journey farther into the interior, to the still 

 more elevated country of Djagga, where, at a distance of rather more 

 than 200 geographical mUes from the coast, in a direction about 

 W.N.W. from Mombaz, he made the remarkable discovery of a lofty 

 mountain, named Kilimandjaro, of which the summit is covered with 

 perpetual snow. The existence of snow on Kilimandjiiro has been 

 disputed in Europe, though it is difficult to say on what reasonable 

 ground. However, on subsequent journeys, both Mr. Rebmann and 

 his colleague Dr. Krapf have satisfied themselves of the fact; and 

 unless it be intended absolutely to impugn their veracity, their 

 evidence cannot be rejected. In April, 1849, he again set out on his 

 way into the interior, but was unable to proceed beyond Djagga. In 

 November and December of the same year Dr. Krapf successfully 

 penetrated as far as Ukambani, a country situated northward of 

 Djagga. Of the geographical results of this journey, one of the most 

 important is the discovery of another snowy mountain, named Ke'nia, 

 of larger size if not of greater elevation than Kilimandjiiro. Ke'nia 

 is thus described by Dr. Krapf : " The sky being clear, I got a full 

 sight of the snow mountain. ... It appeared to be like a gigantic 

 wall, on whose summit I observed two immense towers, or horns as 

 you may call them. These horns or towers, which are at a short 

 distance from each other, give the mountain a grand and majestic 

 appearance, which raised in my mind overwhelming feelings. 

 Kilimandjiiro in Djagga has a dome-like summit ; but Ke'nia has the 

 form of a gigantic roof, over which its two horns rise like two mighty 

 pillars, which I have no doubt are seen by the inhabitants of the 

 countries bordering on the northern latitudes of the equator. Still 

 less do I doubt that the volume of water which Ke'nia issues to the 

 north runs towards the basin of the White Nile." In Rebmann's 

 map (' Church Missionary Intelligencer") Ke'nia is placed in 1 S. lat., 

 35 10' E. long., at a distance of 320 geographical miles north and 55 

 west from Mombaz ; this position, however, can only be considered as 

 a rough approximation. In the last journey of Dr. Krapf he again 

 visited the country of Ukainbdni and the river Dana, as the upper 

 course of the Ozi is called. On this journey the enterprising traveller 

 was subjected to the greatest hardships and sufferings, and indeed 

 barely escaped with his life. No fresh discoveries were made in this 

 journey, but some further information was collected respecting the 

 river which flows from the Ke'nia (Ndukenia or Kirenia) northward, 

 and forms most probably one of the head-waters of the Nile. Such 

 are the results of the missionary journeys from Mombaz, which, it is 

 to be feared, will now for some time be interrupted. 



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