S06 Dr Brown on the Correspondence he tween Mr Paris 
ding to Noki Congo, 60 miles above Embomma. A Eu- 
ropean, therefore, w'ould probably sustain the fatigue of such an 
expedition tolerably well. A hundred whites, in ten boats, to 
provide as much as possible against casualties, and fitted out in 
the way he proposed in his former letter, having only a prince 
or chief from Cabenda, with three or four of his domestics 
as linguists, who could easily be procured there, might sur- 
mount every difficulty. Mr Maxwell had no hesitation in de- 
claring it as his firm belief, that, in either of these ways, such 
an adventure might be conducted to a prosperous issue in five 
rnontlis, even should the Congo prove to be a continuation of 
the Niger, allowing 100 days to ascend the stream, and 50 to 
2 -eturn. He had, however, not much doubt of the identity of 
the two rivers, as none but a northerly direction w^ould afford 
scope for a longer course than eight or nine hundred miles ; 
a distance very inadequate, indeed, to the collection of such 
a vast quantity of water as is discharged by the Congo. As 
the commonly received opinion of the Niger losing itself in 
lakes, rests solely on the authority of the ancients, we may 
reasonably suppose, that when sickness, the jealousy of the 
natives, the river sw'elling to an inland sea, like Lake Superior, 
or any other cause, determined them to relinquish the pursuit, 
they would, as their only apology, say that it ended there : and 
wo may readily imagine, that in many places, it does expand 
into immense lakes. But we are not left to conjecture on this 
point, for that the Congo does so, says Mr Maxwell, is past all 
doubt, from the innumerable islands of bulrush and other aqua- 
tic plants that are continually floating down ; and these islands 
indisputably come from above the falls, for they could not be 
formed on the margin of a rapid running river, some of them 
being 60 yards in diameter, having their roots firmly entangled 
and wove together, as may well be supposed from their sustain- 
ing the concussion at the cataracts in such large portions ; ren- 
dering it necessary, while vessels lie at anchor in the stream, to 
have a man constantly at the helm to steer clear of them. 
Should Government, therefore, undertake this expedition, Mr 
Maxw ell thinks that these boats and men could easily be sent 
out ill some of the King^’s ships, that are occasionally ordered 
on these stations, and might run up the river with perfect free- 
