TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 655 



General Gordon, and the re-establishment of a civilised government over the 

 •whole of the Nile basin ; or from the slavery question, in which our nation has 

 taken the most active and leading part ; or from the spectacle of a white man, Emin 

 Pasha, establishing a settled form of government in the heart of the continent, 

 between the two great slave-dealing communities of the Bahr-el-Ghazaland that of 

 the Upper Congo and Lake Tanganika ; or from the expedition sent to convey to 

 him the succour he so much needs, under the leadership of Mr. H. M. Stanley ; or 

 from the intense interest recently exhibited by the nations of Europe in portion- 

 ing out Africa between each other— an interest that has led on the west 

 coast to the establishment of the Congo Free State, and the German protec- 

 torate in the Cameroons, France and Portugal adding largely to the possessions 

 they already hold, and England contenting herself with strengthening her grip 

 upon the Niger, and on the east coast by the formation of the British and German 

 spheres of influence; or to the colonies which Great Britain possesses in the 

 southern extremity of this great continent ; or to the struggle which sooner or later 

 must be fought out between Christianity and Mohammedanism as regards the native 

 races of Central Africa, in which the river Congo will play an important part : j 

 say when we consider all these and the many other problems of this continent the 

 vast interests they represent, and the varied influences they may yet exert on the 

 future history of this earth, as well as the extraordinary part which Great Britain 

 has been permitted to play in lifting the veil of mystery and doubt which up to 

 our own_ times enveloped these regions, we are forced to aclcnowledge that the 

 country in which the civilised world takes the most active and absorbing interest 

 is Africa, and that the Dark Continent still maintains its supremacy. 



As regards Afi-ica two very remarkable journeys have recently been brought to 

 a successful conclusion — that of Count Teleki, an Austrian, on the north, and that 

 of Mr. Amut in the regions south of the equator. 



The former, entering Africa at Mombasa, at the head of a numerous and well- 

 equipped caravan, passed through the Masai country by what is known as Thomp- 

 son's route, and, pushing northwards, discovered Lake Rudolph, a large inland salt 

 lake, and by following its shores he was enabled to trace with commendable accuracv 

 its shape, size, and position. The existence of a large lake, called Samburu, in the 

 direction of Count Teleki's journey, had for some time been spoken of by the Arabs 

 who traded in that region, but nothing definite was known concerning it. Count 

 Teleki also obtained much valuable information of the region between Mount Kenia 

 and Lake Rudolph, its inhabitants, its rivers, and its products; and the details of 

 his most interesting and successful journey have yet to be published. 



Mr. Amut, on the other hand, started in 1883 from Pietermaritzburg with a 

 very slender equipment and hardly any following. His object was to prove the 

 existence of healthy plateaus in the interior of Africa where" white men could live 

 and prosecute the work of missionary civilisation without being exposed to the 

 malarial influences which exist in so many parts of Central Africa. 



Taking a northerly course, he reaches the Zambesi, whose waters he follows as 

 far as Lealui. From this point his route trends to the west as far as Robono-o, 

 the capital of the Bihe country. From Robongo he continues his march^to 

 Bailundu, and thence he reaches Benguela, on the west coast. Thus he crossed 

 Africa in the same direction as Livingstone's first journey, though somewhat to 

 the south of Livingstone's route. While at Bailundu he'meets some messengers 

 from Msidi, the chief of the Garengenze country, who beseech him to visit their 

 king ; and having replenished his stores, he retraces his steps to the interior. 



From January 1885 to February 1886 he perseveres in his attempt to reach 

 the capital of Msidi's country, and his efforts are at length crowned with success. 

 After a sojourn among these people for two years, during which time he 

 thoroughly succeeded in obtaining their confidence and that of their ruler Msidi, 

 he returned to Europe in the latter part of last year, but not before he had 

 established two other white missionanes at Mukururu to continue the work he 

 had begun. 



He also inade several small expeditions during his residence at Mukuru, the 

 most interesting of which was to the cave-dwellers of Urua mentioned by Living- 



