﻿KiaRITLL 



NILE. 



Tba whole eonrM of the Qaom pmbaMr eioeed* 9500 milea. The 

 Tehsdda, which joioi it neiir R* N ' >t infrrior in sice to the 



Quorra : indeed eome think the > be the priucipnl rirer. 



The volume of water brought dowu •>} u,.- Tchedda evidently shows 

 that it tniint have n long eoune ; and this, with some other facts, 

 induced Captaia Allen to suppoee that the Tehadda is the channel by 

 which the Lake Tchad diaehaigea ita waters into the Quorra— a sup- 

 position which hat hitherto rewired no con6rmation. FVom the facta 

 ■tated in a pn-cedrng part of this article it might be questioned whether 

 Lake Tchad lias any outlet at all. 



Several expeditions have been undertaken to explore the Quorra, 

 but (•eDerally B|>eakinc, they hnvt< failed to make us much better 

 acquainted with the river. In the year 1832, Mr. M'Orecor LairJ, 

 and some other gentlemen of Liverpool, formed an association for thk 

 purpose of oprning a liircct communication with the interior of Africa 

 by nacrnding the Quorra. Two iteam-boata were fitted out for the 

 expe'lition, ami a sailing vessel was also equipped to carry out the 

 good< with which it was proposed to trade with the natives. Richard 

 Lauder, alrea'ly known by his African journeys, was engaged to take 

 the direction of the expedition, which was also joined by Lieute- 

 nant Allen, fur whom the Admiralty had requested a passage for the 

 purpose of making a survey of the river. The expedition reached 

 the mouth of the Quorra in safety, and the rirer was ascended to 

 Rabba iu 9° N. lat ; the Tehadda was also ascended to Dagbeh, in 

 8° N. lat, 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 iu moderate-sized vessels 

 from the sea to Bousea ; but as a commercial speculation the expedi- 

 tion entirely failed, and it was attended with a meUncholy loss of lift! 

 causrd by the climate. Unly nine persons of those aboard the steami rs 

 survived ; among these were Mr. M'Qregor Laird and Lieutenant 

 Allen. Expeditions sent out by government in 1841 under Captain 

 Allen, and others fittetl out since, ended with similar result.;, the 

 insalubrity of the climate being the main obstacle to the success of 

 the different enteiprises. 



(Park; MoUien; Laing; Caillid ; Clapperton ; lAnder, Journal; 

 Umdtm Gtographical Journal, roL viiL ; Laird and OldSeld, Xarraiive 

 of mt Sxpeiitian into the Interior of Africa ; Petermann, A ccount of the 

 Proffreu of the Expedition to Central Africa in 1850-5S ; Athenaum for 

 1852-54.) 



NIOKITIA is a term, formerly applied by geographers to that 

 part of Africa at present known by the name of StKNKin. [SoodXn.j 



NIKOLAJEFF. fCnERsoN.] 



NILE {Xilut, in Latin^ the name of the great river of Eastern 

 Africa, the various branches of which have their rise in the high lauda 

 north of the equator, and, flowing through Aby.<sinia and other regions 

 to the we-tward of it, meet in the country of Seunaar. The united 

 stream flows northward through Nubia and Egypt, and after a course 

 of more than two thousand miles from the farthest explored point of 

 its principal branch, enters the Medit<-rraueau by several mouths, 

 which form the delta of Egypt The word Nil seems to be an old 

 ii diijenous api>ellation, meaning river, like that of Gir in Suudiin and 

 other oountries south of the Atlas. The modem Egyptians call the 

 river Bahr-Nil, or simply Bohr; in Nubia it is called by various 

 names; in Seunaar the central branch, or Blue River, is called Adit; 

 and in Al>ys<iuia, AbawL The three principal branches of the Nile 

 are : — 1, the Babr-el-Abiad, or White River, to the west, which is now 

 ascertained to be the lai^est and longest; 2, the Bahr-el-Azrek, or 

 Blue River, in the centre ; S, the Tacazze, or Atbimi, which is the 

 •aatam brunch. These three branches were known to Ptolemnus, 

 who seems to hare considered the western as the true Nile, and to 

 hare called the others respectively Astapus and Astaboras, but his 

 knowledge of them was very limited. The Bahr-el-Abiad was traced 

 upwards by Linant in 1827 as far as Aleis, a direct distance of 132 

 geographical miles south of Khartum, which is iu 15° 34' N. lat. and 

 about 32° 80' E. long., and at the confluence of the Blue and White 

 Rivers. In 1840, 1841, and 1842, expeditions were sent by the Pasha 

 of E^.'ypt to explore the course of the river to its sources, accom- 

 panied by some Europeans of scientific acquiremeuts, among them 

 Dr. Weme, a Prussian sui^eon, who published an account of Uie 

 second expedition. In the first the party marched upwards from 

 Khartum for 8S days along the banks of the river, when they b^an 

 to retrace their stepa. At this point the river was shallow, full of 

 iaiaods, and six hours in breadth ; and there were no mountains iu 

 ■igbt. The latter part of the march apiwan to have been in a 

 direction nearly west, and as the firat island of the Shilluks, which 

 Uiiy TMched on the twelfth day, is not far from Aleis, according to 

 Liuant's tUUnirnt, the extreme point attained was probably about 

 10* N. lat and 211* E. long. By theae expeditions it has been aaocr- 

 taio^l, that as f«r south as Aleis the Bahrel-Abiad is in general from 

 one to two milea wide, and runs in a bottom, which is generally four 

 mile* wide, but sometimes even six miles. Farther south the riv.r is 

 three miles wide, and contains a great number of low iaianda. Near 

 9' 11 ' N. l»t the Bahrel-Abia<l is joined from the east by a large 

 tributary, the Sobat, which is supposetl to rise in the mountains of 

 Abyssinia, and brings down a volume of water nearly equal to that of 

 the principal river. Above this point the Bahrel-Abiad flows from 

 wcat to taat for about a hundied miles, and appears to traverse an 



immense swamp interapersed with many ■mailer and larger lakes, 

 one of which is stated to cover an area of 420 square miles. The 

 river is completely navigable, without cataracts nml even without 

 rapids. At length the exprditiuns nrrived in the country of a black 

 nntion called the Barrys, where their progress was stopped by a ledge 

 of gneias which traversed the river in uU its width. Here the oarr«ttt 

 was estimated at six miles an hour, and mountains became risible, 

 extending from east to west This point, the farthest adrance of 

 Dr. Werne, was in 4° 42' N. lat, 80' 68' E. long. The natives aUted 

 to Dr. Weme that the sources of the river were much farther south. 



About the end of 1845 M. Anthony d'Abbadie claims to have found 

 the source of the White Nile in a stream called tde Oibe, the source 

 of which, in the mountains of Marya, he reckons to be in 7* 49' 48' 

 N. lat, and in 88° 2' 39" E. lon(»., thus making the river bend round to 

 the north and east. But Dr. Beke and others still contend, founding 

 their belief on information obtained fn>m native*, from the masa of 

 water brouglit down, and other reasons, that the Olbe of M. d'Abbadie 

 is at most only an affluent, and that the true sonrce is not yet disco- 

 vered, though it probably lies in a range of mountains iu about 

 2° B. lat This theory lie considers to be conflrmtd by the intelligence 

 obtained by Dr. Krapf (one of the explorers of Africa from the eastern 

 coast) in 1851, who heard of a river issuing from a large lake at the 

 foot of the mountains of Keuio, flowing northward throngh another 

 lake, and having an immense body of water. 



Since Dr. Werne's visit the Pope's Vicar-Oeneral in Africa, Dr. 

 Knoblecher, who has a missionary establishment at Khartum, has 

 ascended the White Nile somewhat farther. He reached 4° 9' N. lat 

 in the country of the Barry negroes in 1850, twice ascended a moun- 

 tain called Lngaek, nn I saw the river trending away in a south- 

 westeriy direction, until it was lost between two mountains. He was 

 also informed by the natives that beyond these mountains the river 

 came straight from the south. The river was about 625 feet wide, 

 and from 10 to 15 feot deep. 



The Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue River, which waa long supposed to be 

 the main branch of the Nile, has three sources in the high land of 

 Qojam, near the village of Oeesh, south-west of Lake Dembca, in 

 10' 59' 25' N. lat, 86° 65' 80" E. long., according to Brace's observa- 

 tions. The Agows, who inhabit that district, worship the river. 

 [Abyssinia.] The sources of the Azrek appear to have been visited 

 by Father Paez, and perhaps by other mi-sionaries. long before Bruce. 

 After a north and north-west course of about 70 miles, the Azrek, or 

 Abawi, as the Abyssinians call it, enters the Lake Dembea or Tzana 

 on its southwestern side. This fine lake is 65 miles in length from 

 Bouth-caj>t to north-west, accordin^f to Bruee's map, and above 30 

 milts in its greatest breadth ; its surface is more than twice that of 

 the Lake of Qeneva. It occupies the centre of an derated table-land, 

 surrounded by hills and mountain ranges, from which numerous 

 streams fall into the lake. The Blue River, Issuing from the lake at 

 its south-east extremity, runs first to the south-east, forming a large 

 cascade at Alata; after which it flows nearly due south, and then 

 turns to the south-west encompiutsing the provinces of Qojam and 

 Damot, and leaving Amhara proper on its right or eastern bank. 

 After receiving several affluents from the high lands of Shoa and Efat, 

 it turns to the north-west, forming a curve which twice intersects the 

 tenth degree of north latitude The vast tract between this branch 

 and that of the White Nile is yet unexplored ; it is nominally 

 dependant on Sennaar, and ia inhabited by the Denka, the Shilluks, 

 the Bukki, and other negro tribes, who are pagans. Continuing 

 its coune in a north-north-west direction, towards the low country 

 of Sennaar, the Azrok, or Adit, as it is here called, passes by the 

 town of Sennaar, which is on its left bank, in about 13° 30' N. lat, 

 33° 45' E. long. Continuing to flow nearly in the same direc- 

 tion, it receives on its right bank the Dandar, Rabat, and other 

 streams which flow from thu outer or western aide of the highlands 

 which inclose the baaiu of Lake Dembea. At Khartum the White 

 and Blue Rivers unite, the former being the wider. After passing 

 Halfay the united stream of the Nile bends towards the uorth-eastj 

 passes by Shendy and the ruins of Meroe, and on entering the country 

 of Berber it receives on its eastern bank the Tacazze or Atbara, the 

 third great confluent of the Nile. 



The Tacazze, perhaps the Astaboras of the ancients, rises in the 

 high mountains of Lasto, iu about 11* 40' N. lat, 39° 40' E. long. 

 Its sources were known to thu Jesuit missionaries in Abyssinia, and 

 have be«o visited of late yean by Pearce. It flows for a considerable 

 distance in a northern direction between the range of the Samen 

 Mountains on the west, amd those of Lasta, Salowa, and Bora on the 

 east It receives on its right bank the Arequa from Antalo. On 

 arriving at 13* 15' N. lat. the Tacazze turns to the north-west, forming 

 the boundaiT between the kingdom of Amhara, on its left, and TijL;re 

 on its right bank. The river has numerous rapids, which render it 

 furdable at most Seasons of the year. Salt saw iu it enormous 

 crocodiles of a greenish colour and lan;e hippopjtamL Proceeding 

 northwest through the lowlands of Waldhuba and Walkayt, about 

 14° 50' N. lat, 36° 40' E. lung, it receives on iu left bank the Angrab, 

 which rises on the north slope of the highland of Dembea. It after- 

 wards receives several other streams which come from the tame 

 direction and pass through the country of R is el-Keel. It then inclines 

 more to the north; and bstween the parallels of 16' and 17° N. lat. 



