XV 



his fingerless right hand bore testimony to the wounds he re- 

 ceived. 



But his claim to fame and public notice rests upon his work as an 

 African explorer, at a time when a dark pall of ignorance still spread 

 over most of Central Africa, and when the real sources of the Nile 

 were still a mystery. In 1859 Burton and Speke returned from the 

 heart of Africa, after the former had discovered Lake Tanganyika, 

 and the latter Lake Ukerewe, which he named the Victoria Nyanza, 

 and rightly conjectured to be the main source of the Nile. But 

 the two allies quarrelled, and Grant from the first championed his 

 friend Speke, and accompanied him in I860 when he was commis- 

 sioned by the Royal Geographical Society to lead an expedition for 

 the exploration of the Victoria Nyanza. Crossing to the mainland 

 from Zanzibar, the travellers marched by Unyanyembe to the country 

 on the west shore of the lake. There they made friends with the 

 King Rumanika, of whom, and the men who constituted the ruling 

 population of the region, Grant often spoke in kindly remembrance. 

 He had a high opinion both of the country and of the people, and was 

 wont to compare the chiefs, with their retainers, to the old chiefs of 

 his native Highlands, who, like them, were cattle rearers and cattle 

 raiders, proud of their descent, scornful of work, but hospitable and 

 honourable after their own fashion. In July, 1862, the explorers 

 reached their goal, the point where the Nile issues from the northern 

 shore of the Victoria Nyanza, thus verifying Speke's prediction. 

 They followed the Nile for 120 miles, when they were obliged to 

 leave it, but they struck it again 70 miles lower down, and at length 

 reached Gondokoro, in February, 1863, where they met Samuel 

 Baker, who had been sent out to assist them. On their return to 

 England the two explorers were received with enthusiasm. Grant 

 was given the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1864, 

 in which year he published an interesting and instructive work, under 

 the title " A Walk across Africa ; " he also contributed to the account of 

 the botany of the expedition, which fills a volume of the ' Transactions 

 of the Linnean Society.' In 1866 he was made a Companion of the 

 Bath. In 1868 he served in the Abyssinian campaign, and for his 

 services was made a Companion of the Star of India. He became a 

 Fellow of the Royal Society in 1873. 



He was one of the simplest, most modest, and genial of men, and a 

 universal favorite : a man of commanding stature, but with the 

 kindliest expression of face.. After his return from Abyssinia, his 

 time was mostly spent between London and Nairn. His death has 

 caused a sad blank in the large circle of his friends and acquaintances. 



J. T. W. 



