142 
DOWN THE VICTORIA NILE 
Africa in 1863, he had met with Captain Speke, who told him of his 
discovery of the Victoria Nyanza, and of the existence of another large 
lake which the natives called the Luta Nzige. 
“Speke expressed his conviction that the Luta Nzige must be a 
second source of the Nile, and that geographers would be dissatisfied 
that he had not explored it. To me this was most gatifying. I had 
been much disheartened at the idea that the great work was accom¬ 
plished, and that nothing remained for exploration; I even spoke to 
Speke, 'Does not one leaf of the laurel remain for me?’ I now heard 
that the field was not only open, but that an additional interest was 
given to the exploration by the proof that the Nile flowed out of one 
great lake, the Victoria; but that it evidently must derive an addi¬ 
tional supply from an unknown lake as it entered it at the northern 
extremity, while the body of the lake came from the south. The fact 
of a great body of water such as the Luta Nzige extending in a direct 
line from south to north, while the general system of drainage of the 
Nile was from the same direction, showed must conclusively that the 
Luta Nzige, if it existed in the form assumed, must have an important 
position in the basin of the Nile.” 
After a long and toilsome journey Sir Samuel and his devoted 
wife, who had accompanied him on this expedition, reached the vicinity 
of the lake. Both Baker and his wife were suffering from fever and 
its effects; they had had great difficulty in finding porters, and the 
prospect before them was most depressing and discouraging. Matters 
were very bad, but they were soon to become worse. On the fourth 
day they came to the River Kafoor, which, bending south, they were 
obliged to cross. This could be done only in a very curious way. The 
whole stream was matted over with a carpet of floating weeds, so 
strong and so thick that it was sufficient to bear the weight of a man 
if he ran quickly. The width was about thirty yards. Baker started, 
begging his wife to follow him rapidly, keeping exactly in his foot¬ 
steps. When he was half-way across, he turned to see why she was 
not with him, and, to his horror, saw her standing in one place, and 
sinking through the weeds, her face distorted and purple, and almost 
at the moment of his catching sight of her, she fell headlong down 
with a sunstroke. 
