388 THE FUNCTION AND FIELD OF GEOGRAPHY. 



years, dating from Livingstone's memorable journey across the conti- 

 nent. Though the north of Africa was the home of one of the oldest 

 civilizations, and though on the shores of the Mediterranean, Phceni- 

 cians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans were at work for centuries, it 

 has only been within the memory of many of us that the center of the 

 continent, from the Sahara to the confines of Cape Colony, has ceased 

 to be an unexplored blank. This blank has been filled up with bewild- 

 ering rapidity. Great rivers and lakes and mountains have been laid 

 down in their main features, and the whole continent, with a few unim- 

 portant exceptions, has been parceled out among the powers of Europe. 

 But much still remains to be done ere we can form an adequate concep- 

 tion of what is in some respects the most interesting and the most 

 intractable of the continents. Many curious problems still remain to 

 be solved. The pioneer work of exploration has to a large extent been 

 accomplished; lines have been run in all directions; the main features 

 have been blocked out. But between these lines the broad meshes 

 remain to be filled in, and to do this will require many years of careful 

 exploration. However, there still remain one or two regions that afford 

 scope for the adventurous pioneer. 



To the south of Abyssinia and to the west and northwest of Lake 

 Rudolf, on to the LTpper Nile, is a region of considerable extent, which 

 is still i^ractically unknown. Again, in the western Sahara there is 

 an extensive area, inhabited mainly by the intractable Tuaregs, into 

 which no one' lias been able to penetrate, and of which our knowledge 

 is extremely scanty. Even in the central Sahara there are great areas 

 which have not been traversed, while in the Libyan desert much remains 

 to be done. These regions are of interest almost solely from geograph- 

 ical and geological standpoints. But they deserve careful investiga- 

 tion, not only that we may ascertain their actual present condition, but 

 in order, also, that we may try to discover some clews to the j)ast his- 

 tory of this interesting continent. Still, it must be said that the great 

 features of the continent have been so fully mapped during the last half 

 century that what is required now is mainly the filling-in of the details. 

 This is a process that requires many hands and special qualifications. 

 All over the continent there are regions which will repay special inves- 

 tigation. Quite recently an English traveler, Mr. Cowper, found not 

 far from the Tripoli coast miles of magnificent ruins and much to cor- 

 rect on our maps. If only the obstructiveness of the Turkish officials 

 could be overcome, there is a rich harvest for anyone who will go to 

 work with patience and intelligence. Even the interior of Morocco, 

 and especially the Atlas Mountains, are but little known. The French, 

 both in Tunis and Algeria, are extending our knowledge southwards. 

 All the powers who have taken part in the scramble for Africa are 

 doing much to acquire a knowledge of their territories. Germany, 

 especially, deserves praise for the persistent zeal with which she has 

 carried out the exploration of her immense territories in east and west 



