I7S 



NA rURE 



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and Uganda, and skirting Lake Baringo and Turkan, we 

 doubt if any figliting would be necessary. We have 

 reason to believe that the King of the Belgians will not 

 object to Mr. Stanley undertaking an expedition, and 

 that Mr. Stanley will choose the East Coast route, but 

 whether through Masai Land, or by the the west side of 

 Lake Victoria Nyanza, and so on to Albert Nyanza, re- 

 mains to be seen. What geographers would like most of 

 all, would be an expedition by the Congo and Moban:,'i 

 Rivers. In this way, not only would fresh discoveries be 

 combined with the relief of Emin Pasha, but, by send- 

 ing out two independent expeditions, the latter would 

 almost certainly be accomplished. 



Our map is intended to show the various routes that 

 have been proposed. There is, first, the Masai Land 

 route described above, the total length of which, to 



Wadelai, where Emin Pasha is stationed, is only 820 

 miles, and thus is the shortest of all the routes. Mr. 

 Thomson has traversed this route to within 300 miles of 

 Wadelai, and these 300 miles are as yet unexplored. The 

 most formidable difficulty here would be the belli- 

 cose Masai, but these, ]VIr. Thomson has shown, can, 

 after all, be managed. By keeping well to the east, there 

 would be little danger of the cruel young potentate of 

 Uganda hearing of the expedition, and so the lives of 

 missionaries and native Christians would not be endan- 

 gered. Next is the Uganda route, which is understood 

 to be favoured by Mr. Stanley, and which is 1050 miles 

 in length, and all previously traversed. Most tempting of 

 all the routes, if exploration were the only object in view, 

 would be the Congo-Mobangi route. The Mobangi is 

 one of the greatest of the tributaries of the Congo, and 



has been navigated for about 250 miles by Mr. Grenfell. 

 On the other hand. Dr. Junker has been down theWelle- 

 Makua to 22^ E., within about 200 miles of Grenfell's 

 farthest. Now, if we were certain that the two 

 rivers were one, in spite of the rapids on the 

 Makua this is a route we should be strongly in- 

 clined to support. But no risks should be run and no 

 experiments tried in a matter so critical. By all means 

 send an expedition by this route, and solve one of the 

 few remaining hydrographical problems in African 

 geography. We must say, however, that those best 

 acquainted with the levels in this region still maintain that 

 the Welle does not come down to the Congo at all, or, if it 

 does, not by the Mobangi. This route is 1900 miles in 

 length. The .\byssinian route, in our opinion, does not 

 deserve any consideration so far as the relief of Emin 

 Pasha is concerned, though there is some exploring work 



to be done in this direction. The total length from 

 Massowah to Wadelai is 1400 miles, — Massowah to 

 Fashoda 700 miles, of which at least one half is un- 

 explored, and from Fashoda to Wadelai by the Nile about 

 700 miles. In the same category as the Abyssinian 

 route is the Shoa route — 1050 miles, from Assab to 

 Wadelai, 300 miles being unexplored. There is also a 

 rumour that the King of the Belgians intends to send Mr.. 

 Stanley up the Nile, but this is a rumour that can scarcely 

 be credited. 



Altogether it seems evident that, if Emin Pasha is to be 

 reached with the least possible delay and with sub- 

 stantial relief, the .Masai Land route is the one to take. 

 There is one important consideration that must be men- 

 tioned. With a caravan consisting solely of men they 

 could take only what they themselves would consume, 

 and it is difficult to see how a supply of ammunition and 



