African Exploration Research Articles

Recent African Exploration

Recent African Exploration

Geographical Notes

WE much regret to learn of the death, at Loanda, on March 17, of Dr. Paul Pogge, the successful African explorer. Dr. Pogge, since 1880, was the companion of Lieut. Wissmann in the exploration of the region inland from the Portuguese possessions, and around the kingdom of Muata Janvo. He accompanied Wissmann as far as Nyangwe in the journey of the latter across Africa, and in May 1882 set out to return to the station at Mukenge. Doubtless the hardships to which he has been subject, combined with fever, have told on Dr. Pogge's health. In 1874 he was a member of the German African Expedition which was sent out to explore the same region, and with only native companions succeeded in penetrating as far as the capital of1 Muata Janvo.

Geographical Notes

WE understand that a letter was received in London last Saturday from a member of one of the Belgian Expeditions in Central Africa, stating that he had met Mr. Thomson, with the African Exploration Fund's Expedition, on May 18, at a place some ten days' march from Simba's, so that the party had evidently found it necessary to return to the coast by the caravan route to Bagamoyo or Saadani instead of following the original plan of coming out at Kilwa. It is probable that the change of route was necessitated by civil wars among the native tribes. Mr. Thomson has thus had an opportunity, not contemplated at the outset, of passing through a considerable tract of unknown country between the south-east of Lake Tanganyika and Unyan-yembe, and it is satisfactory to know that in so doing he has been able to visit Lake Hikwa and settle its proper position, which has been a puzzle to geographers for some time. In a map accompanying the account of Mr. H. B. Cotterill's journey with the late Capt. Elton northwards from the head of Lake Nyassa, this lake is placed with dotted lines in a position which is probably a good deal too much to the south and east of its true locality. The letter above referred to added that Mr. Thomson was in excellent health, and that he claimed to have traversed 2,000 miles of unknown country in the twelve months he had then been on the march. A telegram from H.M.'s Consul-General at Zanzibar, dated July 17, announces the safe return of Mr. Thomson and his party.

GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES

ACCORDING to present arrangements, we believe that Mr. Keith Johnston, the leader of the expedition which the Committee of the African Exploration Fund are about to despatch from the East Coast of Africa to Lake Nyassa, will leave England on November 14 for Zanzibar, together with his second in command, Mr. Thomson, whose more especial function it will be to study the geology of the country traversed. Mr. Thomson, we believe, has had an excellent training as a geologist, and it is expected that he will make important contributions to our knowledge of the geology of the region to be visited. The expedition will not actually start for the interior till next spring, and the interval will no doubt be utilised in making short journeys on the mainland, and in procuring all information possible in regard to the inhabitants, language, &c., of the region which is about to be thoroughly and scientifically explored. We sincerely trust that Mr. Johnston may not meet with the same trouble in the matter of porters as has so long retarded the progress of the Belgian and one or two other expeditions, but we do not hear that the Royal Geographical Society have formally given in their adhesion to the most recent suggestion for facilitating African travel by the purchase of one or more Indian elephants.

THE DARK CONTINENT 1

IN our article last week on “Old Maps of Africa” we said that even if it were the case that the great lakes and rivers of Central Africa were known to early Portuguese missionaries and traders, it would not in the least detract from the glory of modern African explorers. Even if the work of those early travellers had not been clean forgotten, it was done so imperfectly that in any case it would have had to be done over again; their work bears about the same relation to that of modern explorers that the observations of an ancient Chaldean shepherd watching with powerless eyes the march of the stars, while he tended his flock on the hill-side, do to those of a modern astronomer armed with all the instruments of an observatory. It scarcely needs a perusal of these two volumes to convince us that it would be simply absurd to attempt to deprive Mr. Stanley of the glory of being the first white man whose keel has cleaved the broad bosom of the Upper Congo. He has done his work in such a way that there is no chance of it being ever forgotten.

African Exploration

MR. STANLEY'S letter and the map in the Telegraph of Monday enable us to realise somewhat more fully the nature and extent of the discoveries made by the intrepid traveller. Mr. Stanley is bent on calling the great river, so much of which he has explored, by the came of Livingstone. As a rule we think it a mistake to change native geographical names where these can be satisfactorily ascertained. In the case of the Lualaba-Congo, however, the river seems to have quite as many names as there are tribes or villages on its banks, and it would be a happy solution of the difficulty to confer upon it the most memorable name among African explorers. Mr. Stanley himself has taken great pains to obtain accurately the native names of tribes and places, and he animadverts with severity on geographers for crowding the map of Africa with names that probably correspond to nothing. For this they cannot be greatly blamed, neither need he be too hard on previous travellers for misunderstanding the significance of native words.

Remarks on the Line of Inland Telegraph Suggested in the African Exploration Committee's Circular

Remarks on the Line of Inland Telegraph Suggested in the African Exploration Committee's Circular

Across Africa 1

OUR readers are no doubt already familiar with the main results of Commander Cameron's remarkable march across the continent of Africa; many details concerning it have appeared through various channels. These, however, have only been sufficient to whet the appetite of all who take an interest in African exploration for the complete narrative; this we find quite as interesting and informing as we had reason to believe it would be. Commander Cameron has not attempted to produce a highly polished summary of the copious notes he seems to have taken by the way; he takes the reader along with him step by step and day by day over the long and to him often tedious route he had to travel, and in the end the reader finds he has become possessed of a substantial amount of new information concerning one of the most important sections of one of the most interesting continents.

African Exploration Fund. August, 1877

African Exploration Fund. August, 1877

Important Points in Central African Explorations

Important Points in Central African Explorations

Livingstone's African explorations; despatch from Dr. Livingstone to the Earl of Clarendon, dated near Lake Bangweolo, south central Africa, July 8th, 1868

Livingstone's African explorations; despatch from Dr. Livingstone to the Earl of Clarendon, dated near Lake Bangweolo, south central Africa, July 8th, 1868

Geographical Notices. No. XIX,-Physical Geography of the Report on the Mississippi river, by Humphreys and Abbot, Red River Basin, Arkansas and White River Basin, St. Francis Basin, Ohio Basin, Yazoo Basin: Basin of Small Direct Tributaries, Recent explorations encouraged by the Smithsonian Institution-In the Peninsula of California, by Mr. John Xantus, of the Hudson bay territory, by Mr. Kennicott, by

Geographical Notices. No. XIX,-Physical Geography of the Report on the Mississippi river, by Humphreys and Abbot, Red River Basin, Arkansas and White River Basin, St. Francis Basin, Ohio Basin, Yazoo Basin: Basin of Small Direct Tributaries, Recent explorations encouraged by the Smithsonian Institution-In the Peninsula of California, by Mr. John Xantus, of the Hudson bay territory, by Mr. Kennicott, by

Recent African Explorations: Proceedings of (A) Speke, (B) Petherick, (C) Lejean, (D) Peney, and (E) Livingstone

Recent African Explorations: Proceedings of (A) Speke, (B) Petherick, (C) Lejean, (D) Peney, and (E) Livingstone