4$0 THEORIES RESPECTING THE NIGER, 
southward ; then a lofty mountain turns it nearly 
south-east ; and the mountains continuing to ex- 
tend along its banks, cause it to follow that direc- 
tion during the remainder of its course to Wassa- 
nah. The information collected at that city very 
strongly favoured the belief, that the river which 
passed by its walls, was the same river as the Con- 
go. Upon these facts the ingenious critic, who 
has distinguished himself as the ablest advocate for 
that hypothesis, modifies it in the following man- 
ner. He adopts the opinion above stated, that 
there are two rivers flowing in opposite directions, 
to which the common name of Niger is at present 
applied. These he supposes to be separated by the 
chain of mountains traversed by Sidi Hamet, on 
the south side of which flows the Niger of the 
East, the Zolibib and Zad of that traveller ; on 
the north side the Niger of the West, the river of 
Cassina, the Nile of the Negroes of the Arabians, 
which runs westward, and loses itself in the Sea of 
Soudan, or some other receptacle. This system, 
in the present state of twilight in which we are in- 
volved, appears, on the whole, the most probable 
which existing materials allow us to form. I shall 
barely mention the following additional conjecture. 
Is it impossible that the Gozen Zayr of Sidi Ha- 
met, and the Mar Zahr of Adams, may be the Ni- 
ger of the West, and Tombuctoo the point of junc- 
