198 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



at mid-day ; nevertheless, on the thirteenth day from Vacovia 

 they. landed at the mouth of the Somerset river where it empties 

 into Albert lake. From this point, with the aid of their glasses, 

 the explorers could plainly see the outlet of the main Nile, 

 some thirty miles to the northwest of them, from whence they 

 could trace its line northward to the Madi country, through 

 which they had passed on their outward journey. Mrs. Baker, 

 though still too weak to walk, and suffering greatly from fever, 

 proposed, with Spartan heroism, that they should follow the lake 

 to the head of the Nile, and then proceed down the stream in 

 canoes, so as to prove beyond a doubt that they had really discov- 

 ered the principal source of the great river. But the guides 

 declared that it would be impossible to descend the rapids, and 

 that they would be beset by hostile natives who would dispute 

 every mile of their journey, and murder them before they could 

 reach a place of safety. Similar objections were urged against 

 Stanley attempting to descend the Congo, a few years later, but 

 instead of heeding them he relied upon his own judgment and 

 accomplished the feat, as related elsewhere in this volume, and 

 proved himself to be the greatest and most determined explorer 

 that ever visited Africa. Had Baker followed the advice and 

 wishes of his heroic wife, he would have settled the Nile question 

 beyond all dispute, and reached home fully a year sooner than 

 he did. But some allowance must be made for his sick and 

 dispirited condition, and due honor be accorded him for the per- 

 severance and daring he displayed on all occasions. The only 

 regret is that, having come so near the solution of the great 

 problem, he^ did not fully prove it. 



ASCENDING THE SOMERSET RIVER. 



HE decided that it was not advisable to attempt a return by 

 way of the Nile, but that their proper course was to ascend the 

 Somerset river to the falls, and then proceed overland to Unyoro, 

 returning from thence by the same route they had come. 

 Accordingly, after resting two days and procuring food from the 

 natives, they proceeded up the river in canoes, reaching the falls 

 at a distance of eighteen miles from the lake. Here the river 



