THE NILE MYSTERY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4450, 24 June 1875, Page 3

THE NILE MYSTERY.

(From the Argus.) Mystery still surrounds the source of the mile. In spite of the heroic work of Dr. Livingstone and the labors of Sir Samuel Baker, Speke, Burton, and others, old Nilus continues to be a mysterious river, and his origin is even now a geographical puzzle. The current belief is that the source of the Nile has been found, but this, like many other current beliefs, happens to be wrong, for tliough no one, out of Africa at least, knows where the true source is, well-informed persons do know that it has not yet been discovered. The honor does not belong to Livingstone, as he mournfully confessed himself ; nor to Sir Samuel Baker, who speaks slightingly of the travelled doctor ; nor to Speke and his party, who only connected the Victoria IN’Yanza with the Albert N’Yanza, and, consequently, with the Nile. Sir Samuel Baker, with, as we fancy, unusual incautiou, in an article published in Macmillan’s Magazine, speaks slightingly of the geographical theories of Livingstone, and ridicules his fervent prayer that he may be spared to discover the fountains of Herodotus. Granted that there may be some small portion of delusion—some little selfdeception—in the theory to which we know Livingstone clung so fondly, it by no means follows that the whole theory is a mistake,—a blunder unworthy of so great a traveller as Livingstone, and in hypothesis, to speak with caution, not worth the trouble of investigation. Had Livingstone lived to verify his own recorded figures of latitude and longitude, matters would have been much clearer than they now are, for, as far as we can discover, the large map published mid the last records of Livingstone’s work is worth very little. Some errors there certainly are, and it is only fair to the doctor to say that he desired that all his figures should he duly examined and verified by a friend on whom he relied before they were given to the public. This has not been done, so that it is quite likely that many corrections ■will be made, and points which are now most confused will be cleared up. In the meantime we may, perhaps, do some little public service by showing the exact condition of the question as to the sources of the Nile at the present time, in the absence of any recent news from the explorers who are now engaged in endeavoring to solve the problem. We have in a former paper on this subject already pointed out that one of the problems to be dealt with is the connection or, otherwise of the great and famous lake Tanganyika with the Nile system. The editor of Livingstone’s records claims that the doctorhad solved the problem, and that he had conclusively proved that there is no connection between the Albert N’Yanza and this lake. This is, however, claiming too much. Livingstone did discover that a stream comes in at the north end of the lake, hut he left another to discover the outlet, which is on the western side, and we do not yet know where the stream which flows out in a mighty volume goes to. It may join the Congo system, and find its way into the Atlantic Ocean somewhere about the sixth degree of south latitude, or it may turn to the north and join that mighty maze of waters which helps to make that wonderful river the Nile, upon which Ctesar gazed and marvelled, aud which remains a marvel and a mystery to this day. And here we find how hard was the fate of Livingstone, He asserts in good set terms that when Speke made for the Victoria N’Yauza, he turned his hack upon the true source of the Nile, and, contrary to many accepted opinipns, we have no hesitation in saying that Livingstone may’ be right, unless he has been altogether deceived as to his own discoveries. There is good evidence to show that the true source of the Nile will be found somewhere near to the 10th degree of.south latitude, or seven degrees further south than the most southern point of the Victoria N’Yanza. , It is in this latitude that Dr. Livingstone places his four mysterious fountains, to which he has given names, although he had never seen them, and there are, we think, grave doubts as to whether they exist. Livingstone’s information came from Arab traders and others, , and there can scarcely be a doubt that some streams exist to give rise to the reports. 1 , But it is significant that the nearer he got to the supposed locality of the fountains the less he could hear about them. When on his last journey he reached again the great Lake Bangweolo, discovered by himself, and somewhere near the latitude of the supposed fountains, though much further to the east, he questioned the natives, but they knew of no fountains, and in fact he could learn nothing about the objects of his ardent desires, the search for which, whilst weak and ill, led to his death. Still the fountains may exist, as the Arabs slavers wander far and wide over the country, and are able to give a better account of remote places than the natives themselves, who keep generally to their own districts. But whether the fountains exist or not, whether Livingstone was or was not deceived upon this point, is no great matter after all, because there is, we hold, abundance of evidence to ,show that in the locality indicated streams arise which may possibly find their way, after a devious journey, to the Nile. If so, the most southerly of them is the true source of the Nile beyond question, and the Nile is a much longer river than is generally supposed. The reason for this belief may he briefly stated, and we may say that they are mainly derived from the records left by Livingstone liimself. If he is approximately right, there cannot he a doubt that the source of the Nile is far away to the south, and that the river drains the continent of Africa somewhat after the fashion in which the Amazon drains a large portion of South America. It is known that there is a dividing plateau or range af no great distance from the coast, so that the waters on the northern side flow to the south, but it is not yet known whether some of them do not turn to the west, and so find an outlet into the Atlantic instead of the far-distant Mediterranean. Now, ..Livingstone, in one of his journeys, discovered a very large river in lat, 40deg. S., which ho describes as being very deep, a mile wide, and flowing to_ the north. This he took to be the continuation of the Lualabaor Luasse, and had no doubt that it formed part of the Nile system. Unless this river turns off suddenly to the west into the basin of the Congo, it must eventually reach the Nile, either by falling into the Albert N’Yanza Lake or joining the Nile itself. Livingstone’s opinion appears to be that these streams are all cut off from a western outlet by the elevated range, part of which, far to the east, he himself crossed, as all must who make for the interior, either from Zanzibar on the east or St. Paul de Loanda on the west. Possibly the river may fall into the Albert N’Yanza, and thus help to make up the stream which issues as the Nile from the northern end. It must be remembered that the western side of this lake has never been explored at all, and that all that is known is what Sir Samuel Baker could see through a telescope. He saw a range of mountains and numerous waterfalls, and it is just possible that the largo river seen by Livingstone finds its way to lake in that fashion. Still, another hypothesis is possible. The Albert N'Yanza is said to turn, to the west at its southern end, it may g 6 bo far in that direction as to receive the waters of the known network of rivers combined in one. In either case Livingstone would be, in the right as to the source of the Nile being far to the south, aud as to Speke turning his back upon them when ho made so eagerly for the Victoria N'Yanza. It is probable, , at all events, that the great interior basin, in which there are seven or eight known lakes of immense size, is drained by the Nile, and that none of the waters east of the twentieth parallel of cast longitude find an outlet by the Congo, Of course, wo do not speak positively. All is so obscure at the present time that attest wo can but make a guess, and our chief aim at present is to correct the prevalent belief that the question s as to the

source of the Nile is settled. So far from that being the case, the most important problems have yet to be solved, and it has to be shown whether Livingstone is right or wrong. If lie is right, the Nile becomes even a mightier river than it was supposed to be, and Livingstone must be credited with the honor of having fairly shown what had to be done to clear away all the remaining mystery. If he is wrong, we can hut feel sorry that he should have been so mistaken, and have laid down his life in the prosecution of a vain and profitless search. But, as we have shown, there is much to make us think him in the right, apart from the report of the Arabs, and the theoretical considerations which follow from the supposed formation of the country. If Livingtone is right, the source of the Nile is to be found in the Mossamba Mountains, somewhere about latitude lOdcg. to 12deg. south, with or without the classical fountains of Herodotus, which are supposed to flow in various directions. From this it will follow that, gomehow, all the great interior lakes—Lake Nyaastv ou the eastern side excepted—are part of the Nile water supply, and that this river drains the whole basin in the very heart of xVfrica, For the Lomame, which is supposed to rise in the mountains named, is joined by streams flowing from the lakes, and may be joined by the stream which has been found to issue from the western side of the great Lake Tanganyika. If Livingstone is wrong, all this mass of water passes into the basin of the Congo, and so finds its way to the sea. The source of Nile will thus be, as far as we can judge, the most southerly stream which flows into the Victoria N’Yanza, aud the fountains of Herodotus, if they exist at all, fail to send down their classic waters to classic and even mystic Egypt. If Livingstone is right, the Nile is over 3000 miles in length, measuring in a straight line ; if he is wrong, the length will be about 2100 English miles. It will be seen, therefore, that this is a question as to 600 miles of country and river, which Livingstone was resolved to settle, aud ■which resolve made him reject the good advice given by Stanley and others, to return home and recruit his health. He may have been mistaken in his desire to make good an ancient guess, he may have allowed his imagination to lead him astray, but those who read the account which he has left of his labors must admit that he saw the moot land, and had his hand upon the very heart of the mystery. Those who would solve the problem will have to follow in his footsteps, for, as he himself said, theoretical geography is worth little or nothing.