Aug. 31, 1876] 



NATURE 



375 



\ 



Mr. Stanley does not exaggerate the importance of this 

 discovery. That the river has any connection with Tan- 

 ganyika is in the highest degree improbable, as the V^ic- 

 toria into which it drains is more than 500 feet above the 

 level of Tanganyika ; but the question of the connections 

 of this lake Mr. Stanley, we hope, has by this time 

 solved. He afterwards traced the Kagera upwards in a 

 south and west direction, the direction in which trend all 

 the ranges in this region, as, indeed, run all the great 

 ridges, troughs, basins, and valleys from Alexandria to 

 the Nyassa Lakes. In Southern Kishakka, however, 

 a valley struck in from the north-west, through which 

 he found issuing into the Kagera, a large lake-like river 

 called Akanyaru. Above the confluence the Kagera was 

 seen to be a swift-flowing stream of no great depth or 

 breadth. From the Mlagata hot springs Stanley ob- 

 tained a good view of the region to the north-west, 

 including the Ufumbiro mountains, two sugar-loaf cones 

 and a ridge -like mass, reaching a height of 12,000 

 feet. From this point of view, also, he saw three other 

 lofty ridges separated by broad valleys. Between two of 

 these ridges flows the Nawarongo river rising in the 

 Ufumbiro mountains, and flowing south by west to join 

 the Akanyaru lake-river. Another large lake he heard of 

 as lying to the westwards, but of this he could obtain no 

 certain information. 



Of Stanley's visit to Lake Albert Nyanza little need 

 at present be said, as he succeeded in obtaining only a 

 glimpse of it, when he felt himself compelled to return. 

 Some important obsei-vations, however, he did succeed 

 in making, and collected many scraps of information. 

 His statements about "the king of mountains," Gam- 

 baragara, and its pale-faced, brown-haired inhabitants, 

 the chief medicine-men of the notorious Kabba Rega, 

 have roused curiosity to the utmost. This mountam, 

 which appears to be situated somewhere on the north 

 of Unyampaka, in height between 13,000 and 15,000 

 feet, Mr. Stanley conjectures to be an extinct volcano, 

 as " on the top of it is a crystal-clear lake, about 

 500 }ards in length, from the centre of which rises a 

 column-like rock to a great height. A rim of stone like 

 a wall surrounds the summit, within which are several 

 villages, where the principal medicine-man and his people 

 reside." Stanley's route to the Albert Lake was partly 

 through Unyoro and partly through an uninhabited tract 

 of Ankori, his camp being pitched near the edge of the 

 plateau which borders the lake, in the district of Unyam- 

 paka. During his march he made important observations 

 on the contour of the plateau which separates the two 

 lakes, the structure of the mountains and ridges, the 

 courbe of the watersheds and of the rivers Katonga and 

 Rusango. The general correctness of Baker's map, so 

 far as the east coast is concerned, has been confirmed, 

 and although the actual lake may not extend south of the 

 equator, it is probable that there are long stretches of 

 papyrus swamps at its head. The kingdom of Unyoro, 

 under Kabba Rega, occupies a large extent of the eastern 

 shore of the lake, and includes many minor states, the 

 names of which, and of others on the west side, Mr. 

 Stanley succeeded in collecting. The extensive pro- 

 montory of Usongora, forming Beatrice Gulf, on the 

 shores of which Mr. Stanley encamped, is the great salt- 

 field whence all the surrounding countries obtain theij 

 salt, and rumour makes it a land of wonders, with a moun- 

 tain emitting fire and stones, a salt lake of great extent, 

 hills of salt, and a breed of large savage dogs and long- 

 legged natives. Mr. Stanley gives the latitude of his camp 

 on Lake Albert as 0° 25' N. and longitude 31° 24' 30" E. It 

 is difflcult to reconcile this last datum with previous 

 observations, and indeed with the length of Stanley's own 

 march between the two lakes. If his own map of Vic- 

 toria is correct, the two lakes must be within thirty miles 

 of each other. It is probable, we believe, that Sir Samuel 

 Baker's map places the east coast of the lake too far west, 



and that its position will have ultimately to be changed, 

 but if to so great an extent as is indicated by Stanley's 

 statement, must be solved by further observations. At 

 present we cannot reconcile Signor Gessi's narrative wit a 

 that ef Stanley. Gessi states that he was stopped ia his 

 navigation by a " forest of Ambatch," some thirty miles 

 to the north of Stanley's Beatrice Gulf, and that the natives 

 declared the lake extended no farther south. The state- 

 ments of the two travellers are equally positive, and we 

 have no reason to distrust either, and therefore we can 

 only wait for more information, which, it is likely, will 

 now soon reach us, either from Mr. Stanley or Mr. Lucas, 

 an independent traveller, who is actuated purely by a love 

 of exploration, and who, by last accounts, was on his way 

 to the lake. 



On his return from this expedition Mr. Stanley set out 

 southwards through Karagwe for Ujiji,his purpose being, 

 if possible, to reach Lake Albert from the west and make 

 as thorough an exploration of it as he has done of the 

 Victoria Lake. The chances are that he will be success- 

 ful. It was while in Karagwe that, by the assistance of 

 the hospitable old king Rumanika, he was able to explore 

 the Kagera lacu-.trine region. On completing this explora- 

 tion he visited the hot springs of Mlagata, two days' 

 march from Rumanika's capital, in a deep-wooded gorge 

 clothed in the most luxuriant vegetation. These springs 

 reach a temperature of about 130° Fahr., and are greatly 

 resorted to for their supposed curative effects, which Mr, 

 Stanley seems to doubt. 



Mr. Stanley's last letter is dated April 24, 1876, from 

 Ubagwe, Western Unyamwezi, fifteen days' journey from 

 Ujiji, which, if all has gone well, he will have reached long 

 ago. Before setting out for Lake Albert again, he pro- 

 posed to explore the hitherto un visited portion of the 

 north-west shore of Tanganyika. From this exploration 

 some authorities expect important results to follow ; it is 

 indeed thought possible that in this direction will be 

 found the real outlet of Tanganyika, and that Cameron's 

 river Lukuga may ultimately be discovered to be after all 

 only an indentation of the lake, and that moreover a con- 

 nection will be found between Tanganyika and the Albert 

 Nyanza. However this may be, both explorers have done 

 work of the highest importance in African geography, and 

 the last published letters of Stanley must be regarded as 

 a really valuable contribution to the solution of the great 

 Nile problem and to an accurate knowledge of Central 

 Africa. He has proved himself an explorer of the greatest 

 capability, and the expedition he leads reflects credit on 

 the enterprise and public spirit of the proprietors of the 

 two newspapers who have sent him out 



COFFEE IN CE YLON 



CEYLON is perhaps best known to Europeans through 

 being one of the chief coffee-growing countries in 

 the world, and indeed, after its production of cinnamon, 

 which gives it a position that is quite unique, its chief 

 claims to notice from the ordinary untravelled English- 

 man are derived from its coffee. The plant is supposed 

 to have been introduced into the island by Arabs Irom 

 the Persian Gulf more than 200 years ago, as there are 

 traditions extant among the Singhalese of its flowers 

 having been offered at the shrine of the sacred tooth of 

 Buddha in Kandy at a remote date. The art, however, 

 of preparing any beverage from its berries was unknown 

 to the natives, or at least unpractised by them until recent 

 times, and it was only in 1827 that the first plantation 

 was opened — by Sir Edward Barnes, the then Governor — 

 with the idea of exporting coffee to the European market 

 This estate was situated not far from Kandy, and at an 

 elevation of some 1,800 feet above the sea. Thirteen 

 years afterwards the first rush of speculators in coffee 

 occurred, when the average quantity exported was 54,000 



