FEARLESS ADVENTURER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 June 1940, Page 7

FEARLESS ADVENTURER

CHARLES TILSTONE BEKE. Charles Tilstone Beke was born at Stepney on October 10, 1800. He is remembered today, not only for his discoveries round about Mount Sinai, but for his daring entry into an unknown country. It was in 1840 that this intrepid Englishman made his first journey to Abyssinia—then much less known than now. He went with three objectives, to abolish slavery, to establish trade with England, and to discover the sources of the Nile. He had remarkable adventures. He went over the great mountains which Ptolemy called the Moon Mountains. He was the first to discover the natural feature known as the Salt Lake of Assal. He fixed the latitude of over 70 stations, and mapped about 70.000 square miles. He explored the area between the Nile and Hawash. and discovered the River Gojeb. He collected the vocabularies of 14 languages and dialects. Only a man of tremendous energy and determination could have successfully carried through such a programme against so many difficulties. Returning to England, he attempted to open up trade with Abyssinia; and in 1864 he took his life in his hands when he went through a hostile country till he gained admittance to the presence of King Theodore, pleading for the lives of imprisoned missionaries. He had the good fortune to secure their freedom, but unhappily the king afterwards went back on his word, and some of the missionaries were imprisoned again and tortured, an incident which led to the Abyssinian war, and the death of the king. To Aid the British Beke furnished the Government with valuable plans, maps, and information. There is no doubt that much of the success of the Abyssinian expedition was due to him, but all the reward he received for material which had cost him 40 years to gather was the sum of £5OO. He died in 1874.