MISTAKE OF CAPTAIN SPEKE. 
695 
and in the north as wadys, both words meaning the same 
thing — river beds where no water now flows. I am now 
trying to follow the western arm down, and have seen 
enough of it to confirm the information which the Greek 
geographer or others derived from ancient explorers. 
The eastern arm of Tanganyika, upper and lower, has 
been much exaggerated in breadth. I carefully watched 
its steady flow to the north for three months by means of 
broad masses of aquatic vegetation which, but for this 
current, would be the means of choking it up, as is the 
case with Okaro, the Victoria Nyanza. As soon as I have 
ascertained where the western arm joins the eastern I shall 
retire and pray that the Almighty may lead me safely 
home. I have no wish to speak dogmatically of what I 
have done, and I feel a little sorry that I am in a manner 
compelled to speak disparagingly of the opinions of 
modern discoverers of the sources of the Nile. The great 
mistake of Captain Speke was the eager pursuit of a fore- 
gone conclusion. When he discovered the Victoria Nvanza 
he at once leapt to the conclusion that therein lay the 
sources of the Nile, the whole lake being 600 miles down 
the great Nile Valley and so much away from the sources. 
As soon as Speke and Grant looked towards their Nyanza 
they turned their backs on the fountains, and in their 
splendid achievements of following the river down, every 
step took them further away from the Caput Nili. Baker 
came further up the great valley than any other explorer 
in modern times, had his face in the right direction, but 
turned when some 700 miles from the sources. He seemed 
inclined to make the' lower Tanganyika a second source to 
Speke’s. Those two large rivers begin in a lake. I am 
glad that he has received some of the honors he deserves. 
Ptolemy’s small lake Coloc is a more correct view of 
Victoria Nyanza than that given nowadays. As to breadth 
the native Arabs might be mistaken, but not in saying 
that they knew three lakes where a huge Victoria Nyanza 
has been run in. 
