THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 447 



asked him how he would like to complete the labors left unfin- 

 ished by Livingstone. The inquiry added fresh fuel to his most 

 ardent desire, and the result was an arrangement between the 

 proprietors of the Telegraph and the New York Herald by which 

 he was commissioned to undertake an exploration of Central 

 Africa with the special view of finding the Nile's source. 



The preliminaries having been agreed upon, he was not long in 

 making his departure. Applications poured in upon him from 

 the adventure-loving spirits of Europe and America, begging per- 

 mission to join the expedition, but he chose only three young 

 Englishmen, John and Edward Pocock, and Frederick Barker. 

 In the matter of dogs, however, he was more liberal, for he 

 selected four, a mastiff, retriever, bull-terrier, and a bull-dog. 



There was no lack of money at his disposal, and he was thereby 

 enabled to equip his expedition with everything that he might by 

 any possibility require ; and when he set sail on the 15th of 

 August, 1874, for Zanzibar, he was better prepared for the work 

 before him than any previous expedition. He arrived at Zanzi- 

 bar on the 21st of September, and on November 12th, more than 

 200 porters having been engaged, the expedition set sail for Bag- 

 amoyo. When ready to start for the interior, the expedition 

 comprised 356 persons, among whom were thirty-six women, and 

 when they marched out of Bagamoyo, on the 17th of November, 

 they formed a line half a mile in length. Among the heaviest 

 articles was a boat, named " Lady Alice," forty feet long, six 

 feet beam, and thirty inches deep. Tt was made in twelve sec- 

 tions, and afterward cut into as many more, to facilitate its 

 transportation. 



DEATH OF EDWARD POCOCK. 



NOTHING out of the usual course of events in African travel 

 occurred until the 17th of January, 1875, when Edward Pocock 

 died of typhus fever, after a short illness. This deplorable event 

 was intensified in its sadness by the facts connected with his 

 enlistment. Possessing a laudable ambition to unite his name 

 with discoveries that would benefit mankind, he hadleft England 

 with a mother's blessing, to share the hardships and trials of the 



