Upon the whole there seems to be no reasonable ground of doubt with regard to the fact either of Park's death or of its having happened in the manner described in Isaaco's Journal. The first of these may be considered as morally certain, the latter as highly probable. But the exact time when this event took place and the circumstances attending it, are left in great obscurity; partly from a general want of distinctness and precision in the narrative; but principally because the particulars related, depend altogether upon the unsupported testimony of a slave, (represented as the only survivor of those who were with Park at the time of his death,) from whom the information was obtained at an interval of three months after the transaction. It is obvious that no reliance can be placed on a narrative resting upon such authority; and we must be content to remain in ignorance of the precise circumstances of Park's melancholy fate. But that he was attacked by the natives on his voyage from Sansanding eastwards, that he was overpowered by numbers, and that he perished on his passage down the Niger, cannot reasonably be doubted.
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The leading parts of Mungo Park's character must have been anticipated by the reader in the principal events and transactions of his life. Of his enterprising spirit, his indefatigable vigilance and activity, his calm fortitude and unshaken perseverance, he has left permanent memorials in the narrative of his former travels and in the Journal and Correspondence now published. In these respects few travellers have equalled, none certainly ever surpassed him. Nor were the qualities of his understanding less valuable or conspicuous. He was distinguished by a correctness of judgment, seldom found united with an ardent and adventurous turn of mind, and generally deemed incompatible with it. His talents certainly were not brilliant, but solid and useful, such as were peculiarly suited to a traveller and geographical discoverer. Hence, in his accounts of new and unknown countries, he is consistent and rational; he is betrayed into no exaggeration, nor does he exhibit any traces of credulity or enthusiasm. His attention was directed exclusively to facts; and except in his opinion relative to the termination of the Niger (which he supported by very plausible arguments) he rarely indulged in conjecture, much less in hypothesis or speculation.
Among the characteristic qualities of Park which were so apparent in his former travels, none certainly were more valuable or contributed more to his success than his admirable prudence, calmness and temper; but it has been doubted whether these merits were equally conspicuous during his second expedition. The parts of his conduct which have given occasion to this remark, are, his setting out from the Gambia almost at the eve of the rainy season, and his voyage down the Niger under circumstances so apparently desperate. On the motives by which he may have been influenced as to the former of these measures, something has been said in the course of the foregoing narrative. [Footnote: See p. lxvi.] With regard to his determination in the latter instance, justice must allow that his situation was one of extreme difficulty, and admitted probably of no alternative. In both cases our knowledge of the facts is much too imperfect to enable us to form a correct opinion as to the propriety of his conduct, much less to justify us in condemning himunheard.
In all the relations of private life, he appears to have been highly exemplary; and his conduct as a son, a husband, and a father merited every praise. To the more gentle and amiable parts of his character the most certain of all testimonies may be found in the warm attachment of his friends, and in the fond and affectionate recollections of every branch of his family.
There are some moral defects very difficult to be avoided by those persons, who from a situation comparatively obscure, rise to sudden distinction and celebrity. From these failings Park was happily exempt. He was a stranger to all vanity and affectation; and notwithstanding his great popularity and success, appears to have lost no portion of the genuine simplicity of his character and manners. This simplicity originated perhaps in a considerable degree from a certain coldness and reserve, which, as was before remarked, rendered him very indifferent, and perhaps somewhat averse, to mixed or general society. It was probably owing to the same cause that his conversation, for a man who had seen so much, had nothing remarkable, and was rarely striking or animated. Hence, although his appearance was interesting and prepossessing, he was apt to disappoint the expectations of strangers; and those persons who estimated his general talents from his powers of conversation, formed an erroneous and inadequate opinion of his merits.
In his person he was tall, being about six feet high, and perfectly well proportioned. His countenance and whole appearance were highly interesting; and his frame active and robust, fitted for great exertions and the endurance of great hardships. His constitution had suffered considerably from the effects of his first journey into Africa, but seems afterwards to have been restored to its original vigour, of which his last expedition afforded the most ample proofs.
Park's family consisted of three sons and one daughter, all of whom, together with Mrs. Park their mother, are now living. He also left a mother, four brothers (of whom one is lately dead), and three sisters.
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In the death of Mungo Park we have to lament not only the loss of the most distinguished traveller of modern times, but the failure of an expedition, honourable to Great Britain and highly interesting to humanity and science. For a time this unfortunate event has had the effect of damping the ardour of geographical enquiry, and of discouraging all ideas of farther endeavours to explore the interior of Africa. But we may hope that the publication of Park's Journal will revive the attention of enlightened men to this subject; and that the prospect of future discoveries in that quarter of the globe will not be hastily abandoned.
It has been seen that Park's failure was entirely owing to the improper season at which his journey was undertaken, and that this circumstance was occasioned by a series of unforeseen delays arising from a great variety of causes. A slight difference in some of those accidents which retarded his progress to the Niger, might obviously have had a most material influence on the ultimate success of the expedition. Thus, for example, if he could have sailed for Africa immediately after receiving his official instructions, if his passage had been quicker, if fewer causes of delay had occurred on the coast and afterwards during the journey, and finally, if the rainy season, which is subject to some slight variations, had commenced a little later;—he might perhaps have been able to reach the banks of the Niger in good order, and with a loss comparatively small; and in that case might have proceeded on his journey eastwards at the conclusion of the rainy season with some prospect of success. But the safe arrival of Park's expedition at the Niger, which was only just possible in the actual circumstances of the case, would have been morally certain provided he had sailed from England (as he ought to have done) before the month of October, and had been ready to take his departure from the Gambia towards the interior at the end of November; from which time there is always an uninterrupted continuance of fine and healthy weather during a period of five months.
Hence we may safely conclude that, supposing all reasonable precautions to be taken, an expedition similar to that of Park, may penetrate to the Niger and along the banks of that river as far as the eastern frontier of Bambarra, in good order and with very little loss; and this most important fact is justly considered by Park himself as being fully established by his own disastrous expedition. [Footnote: Journal, p. 140.]
In what degree it is practicable to penetratebeyond Bambarrayet remains to be ascertained; since it cannot be said that this question is determined, or even materially affected, by what took place in Park's expedition. No general inference upon this subject can be fairly deduced from an extreme case, such as Park's evidently was; nor does it follow, because a small party consisting of four Europeans and a few Negroes, was attacked and overpowered, that an expedition well appointed and properly organized, would experience a similar fate. It may be observed also that, ill provided as Park was with the means of defence, he was able to proceed in safety beyond Tombuctoo, where the Moors are most numerous, and would in a short time have reached a country beyond the Moorish territory, where the danger would probably have been much diminished. [Footnote: See letter to Sir Joseph Banks (ante p. lxxviii) in which Park says "that, according to the information of the guide, they should touch on the Moors no where but at Tombuctoo."] Neither is it altogether certain that his death was not one of thoseaccidents, to which such enterprises are peculiarly liable, but from which no general conclusion can be drawn. [Footnote: Such, for example, as Captain Cooke's death, which certainly affords no argument against voyages of discovery. It may be observed that the statement in the note annexed to Amadi Fatouma's Journal (see p. 213) gives some countenance to the supposition mentioned in the text. From this note it appears that certain presents which Amadi had delivered from Park to one of the chiefs of Haoussa for the use of the king, were with-held from the latter in consequence of the chief's being informed that Park would not return; and that the king's resentment, occasioned by his receiving no presents, was the cause of Park's death.—It may be proper on this occasion to apprize the reader that the notes to Isaaco's Journal (except in one instance, p. 181) are all of them printed from the manuscript of the translation, and appear to be parts of the original document transmitted from Africa. They seem to have been inserted by the translator; and in several cases, apparently, were added from information which he received from Isaaco.]
It will appear, upon a due consideration of these circumstances, that reasonable and sufficient inducements still exist for attempting farther discoveries in Africa; and that nothing really unfavourable to such undertakings can with propriety be inferred from Park's late failure; but on the contrary, that the events of that mission furnish additional grounds of encouragement and new prospects of success. The propermodealso of conducting such discoveries in future, may now be considered as ascertained. Before Park's late Journey, the important question whether an expedition of this kind should be accompanied by a military escort, was involved in some difficulty. Apprehensions might then be entertained lest the appearance of an armed force passing through the country might alarm the jealousy of the natives, and produce hostile combinations, by which any small body of European troops would sooner or later be overpowered. It might also have been doubted, and with great appearance of reason, whether it would be practicable on such a march to obtain proper supplies of provisions. The history of Park's expedition appears to furnish a clear and satisfactory solution of both these difficulties; and experience having shewn that large tracts of the African continent may be traversed in safety by the aid even of a small and ill organized force under circumstances the most unfavourable, the question as to the expediency of a military escort may now be said to be determined.
The sufferings of Park during his former journey, and the melancholy fate of Major Houghton, Mr. Horneman, and other travellers distinguished by their enterprise and ability, demonstrate the utter hopelessness of such undertakings, when attempted by solitary and unprotected individuals. Even if the two schemes of discovery were equally practicable, the military plan (supposing always that the force employed is strictly limited to the purposes of security and protection) would on several accounts be entitled to a decided preference; inasmuch as it affords more ample means of observation and enquiry, as it is calculated to inspire the Africans with a greater respect for the European character, and as it may be rendered far more efficacious for the purposes of friendly and commercial intercourse. [Footnote: If the practice of sending out single individuals on journies of discovery into Africa is still to be continued, it would be better perhaps to employMahometantravellers, who might accompany some of the great caravans. The dangers, to which European adventurers are always exposed, from the ferocity and intolerance of the Moors, would thus in a considerable degree be avoided. There is reason to believe that individuals sufficiently intelligent for an expedition of this kind, and whose constitutions would also be well suited to the climate of Africa, might be found without much difficulty among the Mahometan inhabitants of Hindostan. If a fair judgment can be formed of this class of the British subjects from theTravels of Abu Taleb(the genuine and highly interesting production of a native Mahometan of the East Indies), a very favourable opinion must be entertained of their intelligence and general information.]
The scheme of an expedition into the interior of Africa, formed upon these principles, has lately been proposed from high authority, which holds out a considerable prospect of success. From the quarter in which the suggestion has originated, a reasonable hope may be entertained that this plan, of which the following is a short outline, will ultimately be carried into effect. [Footnote: The particulars of the projected expedition here alluded to, which are given in the text, are extracted from a very interesting communication lately made to the African Institution by Major General Gordon, Quarter Master General of the British Forces.]
In the Royal African corps now serving at Sierra Leone there are three companies of black men, enlisted from the slaves obtained from the numerous slave trading vessels which have at different times been condemned as prize upon that coast. Among these there are several natives of Tombuctoo, Haoussa, Bornou and other countries even more distant; some of them having been brought from parts of Africa so remote as to have beentwo, threeandfourmoons upon their journey to the coast. Most of them have acquired sufficient knowledge of the English language to express themselves so as to be understood, although they retain their native languages, which they still speak with fluency.
These men, having been trained and disciplined with great care, are become excellent soldiers, and are spoken of by the Governor of Sierra Leone in the highest terms of approbation for their obedience, steadiness and general good conduct. They are of course inured to the climate, are accustomed to hardships and fatigues, and capable of the greatest exertions. They are at the same time courageous and high spirited, feeling a pride and elevation from the advantages which they enjoy, and the comparativerankto which they have attained; and they are warmly attached to the British Government.
It is proposed that a proper and well selected detachment of these troops should form the basis of the intended expedition; and that, besides the person having the immediate command, one or two other leading persons should be appointed, each properly qualified to assist in the direction and management of the principal concerns, and (in case of emergency) to undertake the sole charge of the expedition. The number of the troops employed would of course be regulated by a due regard to the probable means of subsistence; but it is proposed that they should be sufficiently numerous to enable the leaders, in cases where it might be expedient, to separate with small detachments, taking distinct lines of march as local circumstances and other occasions might require. [Footnote: The writer is well aware that, in some of the opinions which he has expressed with regard to the black troops of Sierra Leone, he can hardly expect the concurrence of several excellent individuals, among the best friends of the African cause, who are known to be averse to the employment of Negroes in the military service; and he is ready to admit that the practice which has prevailed of enlisting captured Africans is liable to some abuse. Let such abuses be anxiously guarded against by all the means which legislative wisdom can devise; let every charge of misconduct in this respect be rigorously investigated; and if it should appear to be well founded, let it be pursued with the utmost strictness and severity. But let not occasional abuses be urged as valid arguments against the practice itself, if it should be ascertained to be, on the whole, beneficial to the Africans. It has been stated by enlightened and benevolent persons, who have witnessed the state of slavery in the West Indies (and the assertion has every appearance of probability) that the embodying and employment of black troops has had the happiest effect in elevating and improving the Negro character, and in giving a greater degree of importance to that oppressed race. In the instance of Sierra Leone, to which these observations more immediately relate, compare the situation of a captured Negro, when rescued from the horrors of a slave vessel with that of the same man a short time afterwards, when serving as a British soldier! The ordinary condition of human life has nothing similar to this change; it is a transition from the most abject misery to ease, comfort, and comparative dignity.—Add to this, the extreme difficulty (which every unprejudiced enquirer must admit) attending the management and disposal of great numbers of these captured Negroes in a small colony like Sierra Leone; and the utter impossibility, considering their savage ignorance and total want of habits of industry, of providing all of them, or even any tolerable number, with agricultural establishments.]
The principal objects of this expedition would be similar in all respects to those of Park's last journey—to ascertain the course and termination of the Niger, to acquire a geographical knowledge of the countries through which it flows; and to procure all possible information relative to the condition of the inhabitants, their commercial relations and their general state of improvement. With a view to the attainment of these objects of practical and scientific enquiry, the leader of the expedition would be enjoined in the most strict and positive terms by his official instructions, to avoid all acts of aggression towards the natives, and (except in cases of absolute self-defence) to abstain from every species of violence. He would be farther directed to use his utmost endeavours to establish a friendly intercourse and communication with the inhabitants; and for this purpose to employ the most intelligent of the black troops, in all cases in which it might be practicable, as interpreters of the expedition and messengers of peace and conciliation.
By the plan which has thus shortly been described, every disadvantage which attended Park's mission, would be avoided, and all its defects supplied; and there seems to be every reasonable assurance that an expedition, formed and conducted upon such principles (with a due attention to the proper season for travelling), would be attended with ultimate success.
It would be difficult to anticipate the full extent of those beneficial consequences which may ultimately be expected from the successful result of such an expedition. We may perhaps be justified in expecting that the intercourse, thus formed with the interior of Africa, will eventually open new communications of trade, and possibly create new markets; that a certain portion of that vast commerce, which is now carried on with Tombuctoo from Morocco and the shores of the Mediterranean, may be diverted to the western coast; and that great quantities of European goods, now conveyed through other channels, may be transported into the centre of Africa through the new route of the Niger.
But without speculating too confidently upon commercial revolutions of the nature here alluded to, which are for the most part very slow and gradual, and seldom effected without much difficulty; we may safely conclude that any rational and well concerted expedition to the interior of Africa must be of great efficacy in promoting and extending the legitimate and beneficial commerce with different parts of that vast continent, which has been rapidly advancing since the Abolition of the slave trade. [Footnote: See Appendix, No. VI.] We may also reasonably expect that such enterprises, judiciously conducted, will have important effects upon the civilization and general improvement of Africa, by exciting industry and diffusing useful knowledge among the natives; and that some portion of these advantages may, in due time, be extended to those remote and sequestered countries, which are at present excluded from all intercourse with Europe, and abandoned to hopeless ignorance and barbarism. Let us hope that the honour of passing those barriers, which have hitherto separated Africa from the civilized world, is reserved for the courage and perseverance of that nation, by whose enlightened and disinterested exertions so much has been effected in modern times, for the advancement of geographical knowledge. The voyages of discovery which have been undertaken by the command of His present Majesty, unstained by the guilt of conquest, and directed exclusively towards objects of humanity and science, have conferred a lasting distinction on the British name and character. The attempt to explore the interior of Africa, dictated by the same generous views, is in no respect less interesting, nor does it promise less important results, even than those great undertakings; and it will be peculiarly worthy of an age and nation, rendered for ever memorable in the annals of mankind by the Abolition of the African slave trade.
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APPENDIX. No. I.
Page viii.
There is no part of Europe, in which education has been a subject of more general attention or produced more important effects than in Scotland. During little more than a century, a system of public instruction established in that country, has not only had the most beneficial influence upon industry and private morals, but has been the principal cause of one of the most remarkable changes of national character that has ever yet taken place during so short a period. At a time when the public attention in this country is so laudably directed towards providing means of instruction for the poor, a few remarks on the effects of a system of general education in Scotland may not be thought unseasonable. The following facts and observations relative to this important subject are principally extracted from the interesting Life of Burns, the poet, written by the late amiable and excellent Doctor Currie.
The system of education in Scotland, though closely connected with its ecclesiastical establishment, owes its first legal existence to a statute passed in the year 1646 by the Parliament of that Kingdom for establishing schools in every parish, at the expense of the landholders, for the express purpose of teaching the poor. On the Restoration in 1660 this excellent statute was repealed; and nothing further was done or attempted for the instruction of the people during the reigns of Charles and James, which were chiefly occupied in religious persecution. But in the year 1696, some years after the Revolution, the statute of 1646 was re-enacted nearly in the same terms, and continues to be the law of Scotland at the present time. Connected with this legislative provision are many acts passed by the General Assemblies of the church of Scotland, which are binding as to matters of ecclesiastical jurisdiction; and the whole together forms a code of regulations, which is eminently distinguished for the reasonableness and practical good sense of its particular provisions, and which experience has shewn to be perfectly effectual for the important purpose intended. So much convinced indeed are the lower classes in Scotland of the benefits attending this system, that, where the parishes are large, they often form subscriptions and establish private schools of their own, in addition to the parochial seminaries.
In the year 1698, about the time when this system was established, Fletcher of Saltoun, in one of hisDiscourses concerning the affairs of Scotland, describes the lower classes of that kingdom as being in a state of the most abject poverty and savage ignorance; and subsisting partly by mere beggary, but chiefly by violence and rapine, "without any regard or subjection either to the laws of the land or to those of God and nature." Some of the instances given by this writer of the disorder and violence of that period may remind us of the effects produced by a similar state of things during our own times, upon theIrish peasantryin the disturbed parts of that unhappy country. "In years of plenty," says Fletcher, "many thousands of them meet together in the mountains, where they feast and riot for many days, and at country weddings, markets,burials, and other public occasions, they are to be seen, both men and women, perpetually drunk, cursing, blaspheming, and fighting together." [Footnote: Political Works of Andrew Fletcher, 8vo: London 1737, p. 144.] Such was the state of Scotland at the time when the present system of education was established.
It is justly stated by Dr. Currie that, at the present day, there is perhaps no country in Europe, in which, in proportion to its population, so small a number of crimes fall under the chastisement of the criminal law, as in Scotland; and he adds, upon undoubted authority, that on an average of thirty years preceding the year, 1797, the executions in that division of the Island did not amount to six annually, and that more felons have been convicted and sentenced to transportation at one quarter sessions for the town of Manchester only, than the average number of persons sentenced to a similar punishment during a whole year by all the Judges of Scotland. [Footnote: Works of Robert Burns, Liverpool 1800. vol. 1. p. 353, 8vo.]
But the influence of education in Scotland has not been merely negative or confined to the diminution of criminal offences; it has produced in a very eminent degree those habits of industry and frugality, upon which all civilization and improvement ultimately depend. In no age or country have these excellent qualities, the cardinal virtues of the lower orders of society, been more prevalent than among the peasantry and common people of Scotland during modern times: in none have the instances been more frequent of individuals who, by a course of meritorious exertions, have raised themselves from an inferior condition of life to ease and competence, and sometimes to riches and distinction.
It is impossible to conceive any situation more happy and respectable than that of the parent of a well educated family (such as was the father of the subject of this memoir, and such as there are now many others among the farmers and peasantry of Scotland) enjoying the just reward of his paternal cares in the prosperity and success of his children; each of whom he sees engaged in some beneficial pursuit, each bettering his condition in life, and each advanced somewhat in the scale of society above the situation in which he was born. It is this visibleprogressand continualimprovementin the circumstances and condition of families, so frequent in the class here particularly alluded to, which produces the greatest portion of happiness of which any community is capable; which stimulates to intelligent activity, and useful, persevering exertions; and which keeps alive and invigorates that orderly, quiet ambition, which is the foundation of all private and public prosperity, and the great civilizing principle of individuals and nations.
It is true that there are several other circumstances, besides the system of public education in Scotland, which have assisted in producing that extraordinary change of national character which has given occasion to the present remarks. But of the various causes which have contributed to this change, education is by far the most important, and that, without which indeed all the rest would have been comparatively of no avail. It is to early instruction, most unquestionably, that we must attribute that general intelligence, and those habits of thoughtfulness, deliberation, and foresight, which usually distinguish the common people of Scotland, where-ever they may be found, and whatever may be their employments and situations; which ensure their success in life under favourable circumstances; and in adverse fortune serve as a protection against absolute indigence, and secure to them a certain station above the lowest condition of life.
The truth of this remark will be apparent from a few practical instances, drawn from the experience of common life, of that general superiority which is here attributed to the lower classes of the Scotch, as the effect of their superior industry and intelligence—1. Every one has remarked the great number of professional gardeners from that country, many of whom have been common labourers, and who if they had been no better educated than most English labourers, must always have remained in that situation. Of this numerous class Mr. Dickson, Park's brother-in law, is a remarkable and most distinguished example.—2. Scotland supplies a considerable number of stewards, confidential clerks, book-keepers, &c. from a class of society, which in most other countries furnishes only domestic servants. The British Colonies, and especially the West Indies, are chiefly provided with clerks, overseers of plantations, &c. from this source.—3. The prodigious number of non-commissioned officers in the army, who are natives of Scotland, having been raised from the ranks in consequence of their knowledge of reading and writing, and general good conduct, is also very remarkable.—The recollection of most readers will probably supply them with other examples; but there are two instances, somewhat out of the course of ordinary experience, which deserve to be particularly mentioned.
In the year 1803, Mr. Matthew Martin, a gentleman distinguished for his active benevolence, having been for some time engaged, under the sanction of Government, in a laborious enquiry concerning the "State of Mendicity in the Metropolis," was desired to make a Report upon that subject for the information of Government. From the statement which Mr. Martin prepared on that occasion and laid before the Secretary of State, it appeared that the number of Scotch beggars in London was remarkably small, especially in proportion to the Irish beggars, with whom it was most natural to compare them. Of 2000 beggars, whose cases were investigated by Mr. Martin, the following is a summary.
Belonging to parishes home 570distant parishes 336Irish 679Scotch 65Foreign 30
The second of the two cases is of a still more uncommon nature.—In the course of the expedition against Egypt in 1807, the advanced guard of Major General Fraser's army having taken possession of Rosetta and occupied a position at El Hamed a few miles from that town, was surprised by a strong corps of Turkish troops, and after an obstinate conflict and the loss of many lives, compelled to surrender. According to the Turkish custom, the prisoners taken were sold as slaves, and dispersed over the whole country; some of them being sent as far as Upper Egypt. Great exertions were naturally made by the British government to redeem those unfortunate persons from captivity; and this was happily effected as to all the prisoners, except a few who could not be traced, by the assistance of Signor Petrucci, the Swedish consul at Alexandria.
From the authentic documents relating to this transaction, it appears that the ransoms paid for the redemption of the captives differed very considerably; the prices varying from between twenty and thirty pounds to more than one hundred pounds sterling for each man. But it is observable, on comparing the different rates, that the highest ransoms were paid for those, who must be considered, from their names, to have been natives of Scotland; and who, it may be presumed, were morevaluablethan the rest from being more orderly and intelligent. It could not have been easily anticipated that a soldier, brought up in a Scotch parish school, was likely, when enslaved by the Turks and a captive in Egypt, to derive much advantage from hiseducation. Yet it is probable from this circumstance that the intelligence and habits of good conduct, which he acquired from early instruction, might recommend him to his master, and as domestic slavery admits of many mitigations, might procure him kinder and better treatment.
APPENDIX. No. II.
Page xix.
Major Rennell, in his Geographical Illustrations of Park's travels, has done ample justice to the knowledge and judgment, so eminently displayed by D'Anville in the investigation of several important points relative to the geography of North Africa, which have been elucidated by this writer from very imperfect materials with extraordinary sagacity and success. In the 26th volume of the Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions, there are two very important Dissertations by this distinguished Geographer; the first, On the sources of the Nile; and the second, Concerning the rivers of the interior of Africa, with reference to the opinions of the ancient and modern writers who have treated on that subject. The latter is the most immediately connected with the particular questions alluded to in the text; and it is remarkable that the principal opinions, or rather conjectures, of D'Anville (of which the opinion relating to the course of the Niger is the most important), although deduced from very uncertain and discordant sources of information, have been confirmed in a great degree by the discoveries of modern travellers, especially by those of Park. It appears that D'Anville was well acquainted with the existence of Tombuctoo, and had even ascertained the situation of that city, as well as the general course of the Niger with a considerable degree of precision. He had also formed a plan for sending a person, properly qualified, on an expedition from the French settlement of St. Joseph on the river Senegal, to Tombuctoo; but owing to some circumstance which he does not explain, the scheme did not take effect. As the Dissertation here alluded to may not be in the hands of every reader, the passage relating to this subject may be worth transcribing.—After mentioning Ghana as the principal Mahometan city of Nigritia, spoken of by Edrisi, he says that many of the Fatimites, who escaped from the power of the Califs, took refuge in the interior of Africa, where they formed various states. He then proceeds as follows:
"Tombut ou Tombouctou, est actuellement entre les villes de la Nigritie, celle dont on parle davantage. On ne doit point être surpris qu'Edrisi n'en fasse pas mention. Outre qu'elle se peut juger hors des limites de ce qui lui a été connu, Léon d'Afrique nous apprend que la fondation de Tombut par un prince de Barbarie, appellé Mensa-Suléiman, est de l'an 610 de l'Hégire, qui repond à l'an 1213 de l'ère Chrétienne, ce qui est postérieur à la géographie d'Edrisi, composée vers le milieu du douzième siècle. La situation de cette ville n'est pas précisément sur le Niger; mais elle y a son port, nommé Cabra, à quelques milles de distance. Comme aucune des nations commerçantes de l'Europe n'a pénétré aussi avant dans les terres, en cette partie d'Afrique, que la nation Françoise, par ses établissemens sur le Sénéga, elle est plus à portée qu'une autre d'acquérir quelque connoissance de cet intérieur. J'ai appris, d'une personne qui avoit commandé plusieurs années au fort Saint-Joseph en Galam, lequel se peut estimer distant en droite ligne de l'entrée du Sénéga d'environ cent trent lieues françoises; que les Bambaras, qui du fond du pays amènent des esclaves noirs, comptent quarante huit journées depuis Tombut jusqu'au fort Saint-Joseph, et que la mesure commune de la journée s'évalue à environ cinq lieues, d'où il résulte autour de deux cens quarante lieues. Le moyen d'en savoir davantage seroit, que quelque personne habituée au climat, comme il y en a dans le haut du Sénéga, accompagnée d'interprètes, et qu'une instruction préalable auroit mise au fait d'une partie des choses dont il seroit à propos de s'informer, fît le voyage de Tombut. Un évènement a empêché l'exécution d'un projet, auquel j'avois très-volontiers pris part dans cette vûe."
Mém. de l'Acad. des Inscriptions, Tom. xxvi. p. 72.
The above passage was written by D'Anville about the year 1754; and it is not a little extraordinary that during the sixty years that have since elapsed, a period so much distinguished for geographical discovery, Tombuctoo should never have been visited by any European traveller: and that one of the greatest marts of African commerce, which is annually resorted to by caravans from various parts of that continent, should remain at this time entirely unknown to the civilized world.
In speaking of Tombuctoo as being still entirely unknown, the writer is aware that a particular description of that city has been given in anAccount of the Empire of Moroccopublished in the year 1809 by Mr. James Grey Jackson, who resided in that part of Africa during many years. But Mr. Jackson derived his whole knowledge of Tombuctoo from the accounts of native traders; upon whose unsupported testimony very little reliance can be placed; especially as to matters of detail, or such facts as require to be stated with any degree of exactness. Considering that Mr. Jackson's information was obtained from this source, the very minuteness and apparent precision of his account, are circumstances highly unfavourable to its authenticity.
With reference to the internal geography of Africa, the writer may take this opportunity of observing, that next to the African Association, to whom we are indebted for almost all the authentic information which we possess upon this subject, [Footnote: The valuable discoveries of the late Mr. Browne (whose death must be lamented as a public loss) form an exception to this general remark; but perhaps the only exception.] considerable praise is due to the Sierra Leone Company; under whose auspices, during the time they were in possession of that colony, several important journies into the interior were judiciously undertaken and successfully executed. Among these may be mentioned an expedition in 1794 by Mr. Watt and Mr. Winterbottom (being a land journey of near five hundred miles, in going and returning by different routes) to Laby and Teembo, both of them considerable towns, and the latter the capital of the Foulah country. Tombuctoo appeared, from the enquiries made by the travellers, to be well known at both those places; and the communication with that city from Laby, though it was spoken of as a journey of four moons, was represented to be open, and they were furnished with many particulars of the route. Shortly afterwards, in consequence perhaps of this information, a project was formed at Sierra Leone of sending out a mission to Tombuctoo; but Mr. Watt, who was to have undertaken the journey, died; and the invasion of the colony by the French in September 1794, together with the destruction which followed, seems to have put a stop to expeditions of this nature.
The editor has been favoured by Mr. Macaulay, late Secretary of the Sierra Leone Company and formerly Governor of the Colony, with a sight of the Journals of the expedition to Teembo as well as of some other missions from Sierra Leone of inferior importance. They do great credit to the writers (especially the Journal to Teembo) and contain many valuable and interesting particulars; several of which have been given to the public in the Reports of the Sierra Leone Company, and in Dr. Winterbottom's judicious account of the native Africans in the neighbourhood of that colony. But there is still room for a compilation or selection from these Journals, which, if well executed, would be an instructive and interesting publication.
APPENDIX. No. III.
Page xxix.
Soon after Mr. Edwards's death several letters passed between Park and Sir William Young, now Governor of Tobago, upon a subject immediately connected with the question, considered in the memoir, relative to the assistance afforded by Mr. Edwards in preparing Park's travels for the press. Copies of these letters having been transmitted to the editor by Park's family, he thinks it right on the present occasion to lay them before the public; remarking at the same time that, after due consideration of their contents, he continues to be of the opinion which he has expressed in the text.
The occasion of this correspondence appears to have been as follows. Mr. Edwards was engaged, at the time of his death, in preparing for the press an enlarged and corrected edition of hisHistory of the West Indies; but as he did not live to complete it, his friend Sir William Young superintended the publication of the work, and added a short preface; in which, speaking of Mr. Edwards's literary merits, he mentioned "the judicious compilation and elegant recital of the travels of Mungo Park". This produced a letter of expostulation from Park to Sir William Young, of which either no copy was kept, or it has been since lost or mislaid; but the nature of its contents will be seen from the sequel of the correspondence.
Sir William Young to Mr. Park.
59 Harley-street, November 9th, 1803.
"The day before yesterday I received your letter dated so far back as August 25th. It appears to have been put into the London post, addressed to my clerk's lodgings, only last week, and reached me in the country November the 7th. I am thus particular as to dates, as I could not bear the imputation of having so long neglected the due acknowledgment of a letter from one whom I so highly esteem and respect. In regard to the question you state, I understood from the late Mr. Edwards, that he assisted in the general arrangement of the materials you supplied, as Dr. Hawkesworth did, in the case of a voyage by the great navigator Captain Cooke; and that the previous Account or Summary of your Travels delivered into the African Association was written by him; to which your fuller Account of your Travels in detail was subsequent. The word "author," I believe, does not occur in the passage you refer to; and if the words "compilation and recital" seem to bear any application beyond the prospectus before adverted to, or in any way to trench on your just pretensions as a writer, I truly lament the inaccuracy, and will take the most immediate means of rectifying the error, which circumstances may place within my reach; either by present correction or on a new edition of the work. My situation as Secretary of the African Association furnishes me with documents from which I have learned so highly to appreciate your character and to entertain so grateful a sense of your public services, that it would be painful in me, in the smallest degree to have stated any thing that might be so construed as to affect your just literary pretensions; although it is difficult to add to the just and high reputation you held independently, from the fortitude, discretion, and resource so eminently shewn in your distinguished and successful enterprise."
Mr. Park to Sir William Young.
Fowlshiels, 14th May, 1804.
"I perceive by your letter, that you meant the words 'compilation' and 'recital,' to refer entirely to the Abridgment of my Travels, which was written for the perusal of the gentlemen of the African Association, by Mr. Edwards, their Secretary.
"A printed copy of this Abridgment was delivered to each of the gentlemen at their annual meeting, but I believe it was never publicly sold. The greater number of readers are therefore but slightly acquainted with it; and to such, the words above-mentioned will naturally convey a very different meaning. Having thus explained myself to you, I hope you will see the propriety of correcting the passage above-mentioned as soon as possible. I must therefore request you will permit me to insert your letter in any of the periodical publications, or favour me with a correction of the passage, as you may think proper."
Extract from a letter of Sir William Young to Mr. Park
May 25, 1804.
"The letter which I wrote on the subject of the publication of your travels in Africa, is perfectly at your service to make any use of, which you may think proper. No measure can be more satisfactory and agreeable to myself, than that which may most fully render justice to your high and well earned reputation in every point of view."
APPENDIX. No. IV.
The question regarding the termination of the Niger is one of the most doubtful and obscure in modern geography, and in the present defective state of our information with regard to the interior of Africa, seems hardly to admit of a clear and satisfactory solution. Of the difficulties with which the subject is attended, some judgment may be formed from the various and even opposite opinions which have been maintained relative to the course of the Niger, since Park's discoveries have ascertained that it flows from west to east. As the enquiry is somewhat curious, a summary view of these different opinions, and of the principal arguments by which they are supported, may not be uninteresting to the readers of Park's life. To investigate the question with the accuracy and minuteness which it deserves, would not only very far exceed the limits of a note, but would require much more information upon this subject than the editor possesses, united with some previous habits of geographical disquisition.
I. According to the oldest of these opinions, and that which is supported by the greatest authorities (being the opinion not only of some of the principal Geographers of antiquity, but of D'Anville and Rennell among the moderns), it is supposed, that the Niger has an inland termination somewhere in the eastern part of Africa, probably in Wangara or Ghana: and that it is partly discharged into inland lakes, which have no communication with the sea, and partly spread over a wide extent of level country, and lost in sands or evaporated by the heat of the sun.
[Footnote: Proceedings of the African Association, vol. i. p. 535.]
The principal ground of this supposition is, the opinion of some of the best informed writers of antiquity on the geography of Africa, and a sort of general persuasion prevalent among the ancients to the same effect; circumstances, it must be acknowledged, of considerable weight in determining this question: since there is good reason to believe, that the knowledge of the ancients concerning the interior of Africa was much more extensive and accurate than that of the moderns. It is justly observed by Dr. Robertson, that the geographical discoveries of the ancients were made chiefly by land, those of the moderns by sea; the progress of conquest having led to the former, that of commerce to the latter. (Hist. Of America, vol. ii. p. 3l6, 8vo.) Besides which, there are several distinct and peculiar causes which have essentially contributed to our present ignorance respecting the interior of Africa; namely, the great prevalence of the slave trade, which has confined the attention of European adventurers exclusively to the coast; the small temptation which the continent of Africa held out, during the continuance of that trade, to internal commerce; and the almost impenetrable barrier raised up against Europeans in modern times, by the savage intolerance of the Moors.
The ancient opinion, respecting the termination of the Niger which has just been alluded to, receives a certain degree of confirmation from the best and most authentic accounts concerning that part of Africa, in which the Niger is supposed to disappear. This is represented by various concurrent testimonies to be a great tract of alluvial country, having several permanent lakes, and being annually overflowed for three months during the rainy season.
Against the hypothesis of an inland termination of the Niger, several objections have been urged, which are well deserving of attention. They are principally founded on a consideration of the vast magnitude which the Niger must have attained after a course of more than 1600 geographical miles, and the difficulty of conceiving so prodigious a stream to be discharged into lakes, and evaporated even by an African sun. To account for such a phenomenon, a great inland sea, bearing some resemblance to the Caspian or the Aral, appears to be necessary. But, besides that the existence of so vast a body of water without any outlet into the ocean, is in itself an improbable circumstance, and not to be lightly admitted; such a sea, if it really existed, could hardly have remained a secret to the ancients, and entirely unknown at the present day.
It may just be observed, that D'Anville, following Ptolemy and other writers whom he considers as the best informed on the internal geography of Africa, is satisfied that there aretwoconsiderable rivers, the Niger and theGir; both of which are said to terminate in the same quarter of Africa, and precisely in the same manner. The Gir, totally unknown at the present day, is familiarly mentioned by Claudian, who, however, it may be recollected, was a native of Africa:—
'Gir, ditissimus amnis'Aethiopum, simili mentitus gurgite Nilum.'Carm. 21. v. 252.
In some MSS. it isnotissimusamnis; but the other reading is more probable.
'Domitorque ferarum'Girrhaeus, qui vasta colit sub rupibus antra,'Qui ramos ebeni, qui dentes vellit eburnos.'Carm. 47. v. 20.
II. The second opinion respecting the Niger is, that it terminates in the Nile. In other words, this hypothesis identifies the Niger with the great western branch of the Nile, called theWhite River, which D'Anville traces from a source very far SS.W. to its junction with the Nile near Sennaar. He likewise accurately distinguishes this stream from the eastern branch, which is much shorter and of inferior magnitude, and which takes its rise in the mountains of Abyssinia. This opinion is maintained by Mr. Horneman, Mr. Grey Jackson, and several other modern travellers; and it is slightly sanctioned by Strabo and Pliny, who speak of the sources of the Nile as being reported by some to be in the farther parts of Mauritania. But it may be affirmed with great confidence, that of all the hypotheses respecting the termination of the Niger, that which supposes it to be a branch of the Nile, is the most unfounded, and the least consistent with acknowledged facts. It is indeed rather a loose popular conjecture, than an opinion deduced from probable reasoning; since nothing appears to be alleged in its support, except the mere circumstance of the course of the river being in a direction towards the Nile; and a few vague notions of some of the African natives with regard to this subject, which are unworthy of the smallest attention.
Mr. Jackson, indeed, in his Travels (p. 310), states it to be a fact universally known among the rich African traders, that the Niger and the Nile are one and the same river, by means of which there is a practicable communication between Tombuctoo and Grand Cairo. Between these two cities caravans are continually passing, and a large trade is carried on; but Mr. Jackson observes, that the expense of land-carriage by means of camels is more moderate than that by water, and that the journey also is more agreeable! He gives an account of the voyage to Cairo down the Niger, having actually been performed in the year 1780 by a party of seventeen negroes, the particulars of which expedition, he says that he received from 'a very intelligent man who has an establishment at Tombuctoo.' These negroes proceeded down the Niger from Jinnie, on a commercial speculation, and reached Cairo after a voyage of fourteen months. They returned by the caravan, and arrived at Jinnie, after an absence of more than three years. Some of the facts which they reported are not a little extraordinary:—viz. that in several places they found the Nile so shallow, in consequence of channels cut for irrigating the lands, that they could not proceed in their boat, and were obliged to transport it some distance over-land; that they saw between Tombuctoo and Cairotwelve hundredcities and towns, adorned with mosques and towers, &c. It is needless to comment upon suchhearsaystatements, received from an African traveller or merchant more than twenty years after the transaction is said to have happened; nor would any allusion have been made to them in this place, if Mr. Jackson's book had not been much commended by distinguished critics, and quoted as an authority respecting the interior of Africa by several geographical writers.
[Footnote: Edinburgh Review, vol. xiv. p. 306.]
The principal, and apparently decisive, objection against this supposed junction of the Niger and the Nile, is grounded upon a comparison of the greatdifference of levelbetween the beds of the two rivers. From the authentic information we possess by means of Mr. Browne, respecting the countries west of the Nile, it is now clear, that if this junction takes place at all, it must be in the upper part of the Nile, before that river has quitted the higher regions of Africa, from whence it has still 1000 geographical miles to run before it reaches the sea, passing in its way through several cataracts. But it is utterly incredible that the Niger, which, in order to reach this part of the Nile, must have run at the least 2300 miles, should not in so long a course have descended to a level considerably lower than that which is here described. This objection is urged with great force by Major Rennell, who justly considers it as being entirely decisive of the question; but he has added several other arguments, which those who take an interest in this question, will do well to consult.
[Footnote: Proceedings of the African Association, vol. i. p. 537; and vol. ii. p. 268, 280.]
III. The supposition, mentioned in the text (p. lxviii), that the Niger terminates in the River Congo, or, as it is sometimes called, the Zaire, is entirely a recent conjecture, adopted by Park in consequence of the information and suggestions of Mr. Maxwell, an experienced African trader, who appears from his letters to have been a man of observation and intelligence. The principal arguments in support of the opinion are shortly and clearly given in the memoir addressed by Park to Lord Camden; but the subject will receive additional elucidation from Mr. Maxwell's own statement, and especially from his striking description of the river Congo, the vast magnitude of which is little known, and has not sufficiently attracted the attention of geographical writers. The following passage is extracted from a letter, dated Prior's Lynn, near Longtown, July 20, 1804, addressed by Mr. Maxwell to William Keir, of Milnholm, Esq., a friend of Park, to whom the letter was communicated by Mr. Maxwell's desire.
"Before ever the Niger came to be the topic of conversation, it struck me, that the Congo drew its source far to the northward, from the floods commencing long before any rains take place south of the equator; since it begins to swell perceptibly about the latter end of October, and no heavy rains set in before December: and about the end of January the river must be supposed at its highest. At no time, however, can the rains to the southward of the Line be compared with those in the Bight of Guinea, where ships are obliged to have a house erected over them during these months.
"But, whether the Congo be the outlet of the Niger or not, it certainly offers the best opening for exploring the interior of Africa of any scheme that has ever yet been attempted; and the ease and safety with which it might be conducted, needs no comment. However, if the Nigerhasa sensible outlet, I have no doubt of its proving the Congo, knowing all the rivers between Cape Palmas and Cape Lopes to be inadequate to the purpose; nor need the immense course of such a river surprise us, when we know that the river St. Lawrence, contemptible in size when compared with the Congo, encompasses the whole of North America, issuing through a chain of lakes. But instead of seven or eight lakes, the Congo may be supposed to pass through seventeen or eighteen; which will solve any difficulty as to the floods of the Niger not immediately affecting the Congo. I believe that our information of the Niger losing itself in the Desert rests wholly upon the authority of the Romans, a people whose pursuits never led them to trace the course of rivers with a view to traffic or civilization. If we may credit the accounts of travellers in crossing the deserts, we find that, where-ever they get water for refreshment, there are invariably verdure and palm trees; and these spots in the desert of Lybia were termed by the ancients Oases, or Islands. Now, if such small springs could produce such permanent effects, we may reasonably suppose, that the immense stream of the Niger increased to three times the size from where Mr. Park left it, would long before this have made the desert as green as any water meadow and found its way gradually to the ocean, or inundated the whole country."
"I can with much truth say this of the river Congo, that by comparing it with other rivers, according to the best writers, it must rank as the third or fourth in magnitude. Considering the force of the current it produces in the sea, carrying out floating islands sixty or seventy leagues from the coast, the Amazon or Plata only can cope with it. Many traders, whom I met with at Embomma, (a settlement on the banks of the Congo distant thirty leagues from its mouth,) had come one month's journey down the river, which, reckoned at twenty miles each day (and they count them by the moon,Gonda), would make six hundred miles; and they spoke of it as equally large where they came from, and that it went by the name ofEnzaddi, as it does among all the natives upon the coast. Should the shallow water, as laid down opposite Saenda, detract from the assumed size of the Congo, let it be remembered, that the river there is spread out ten miles in width, the middle channel of which has never been accurately sounded. It has long been my opinion that Leyland's or Molyneux Island at Embomma (either of which might be rendered as impregnable as Gibraltar at a very small expense) would be a choice station for establishing an extensive commerce with the interior of Africa. Indeed, if the idea of the Congo being the outlet of the Niger prove so upon trial, we may consider it as an opening designed by providence for exploring those vast regions, and civilizing the rude inhabitants."
[Footnote: A chart of the Congo by Mr. Maxwell was published many years since by Laurie and Whittle, Fleet street.]
Besides this account given by Mr. Maxwell, there are other testimonies to the magnitude of the Congo, shewing it to be a river of the first class, and larger probably than the Nile. In a journal (which the editor has seen) of an intelligent and respectable naval officer, Captain Scobell, who visited the coast of Africa in the year 1813, in H.M. sloop of war the Thais, the Congo is described as "an immense river from which issues a continued stream at the rate of four or five knots in the dry, and six or seven in the rainy season." In a subsequent passage he says, "In crossing this stream, I met several floating islands, or broken masses from the banks of that noble river, which, with the trees still erect, and the whole wafting to the motion of the sea, rushed far into the ocean, and formed a novel prospect even to persons accustomed to the phenomena of the waters." He adds, that there are soundings to the distance of from thirty or forty miles from the coast, arising probably from the vast quantity of alluvial matter brought down by the force of the stream.
Other accounts state, that the waters of the Congo may be distinguished at sea more than thirty leagues from the coast, and that the water is fresh at the distance of thirty miles.
[Footnote: Lopez, Merulla, and Dapper, referred to in Phillips's Voyages, vol. iii. p. 236.]
These, perhaps, are exaggerations; but they may be received, in confirmation of the preceding testimonies, as sufficient proofs of a general opinion among navigators with regard to the size and force of this prodigious river. It is mentioned by Major Rennell in his very interesting account of the Ganges, that the sea in the bay of Bengal ceases to be affected by the waters of that river, and recovers its transparency, only at the distance of about twenty leagues from the coast. (Phil. Transactions, vol. lxxi.) But the Ganges being obstructed by its Delta, and passing through eight channels into the sea, is probably much less rapid and impetuous than the Congo.
To this it must be added, that all the accounts concur in representing, that the stream of the Congo is of a more uniform height, and subject to much less variation from the dry and rainy seasons, than any tropical river which is known; and that on a comparison with such rivers, it may be considered to bein a perpetual state of flood. The average rising of the Ganges in the rainy season is stated by Major Rennell to be 31 feet, being about the same with that of the Nile; whereas, the difference between the highest point of the Congo about February, and the lowest in September, is only about nine feet; and the river, at the latter period, has all the appearance to a stranger of being in full flood.
[Footnote: MS. Letter of Mr. Maxwell to Mr. Park, Oct. 12, 1804.]
It is this remarkable peculiarity, which distinguishes the Congo from other great rivers of a similar description, and which leads to important conclusions with regard to its origin and course.
In support, then, of the hypothesis which identifies the Congo with the Niger, the following arguments, deduced from the preceding facts and observations, may be alleged:—1. The great magnitude of the Congo. 2. The probability that this river is derived from very remote sources, perhaps considerably north of the equator. 3. The fact, that there exists a great river north of the equator, (the Niger,) of which the termination is unknown, and which may, perhaps, form the principal branch of the Congo. These, in truth, are the only grounds upon which the present supposition can be fairly said to rest. Arguments founded upon etymological conjectures, supposed resemblances of names, or affinity of languages, &c. &c., are, for the most part, too arbitrary and fanciful, and liable to too much uncertainty to be entitled to any place in disquisitions of this nature. The same remark is applicable to the narratives and descriptions given by native travellers and merchants, and, in general, to allAfrican evidencewhatever, except when supported by collateral proof from other less exceptionable sources.
Such being the evidence in favour of the hypothesis respecting the Congo, the objections against this theory must be admitted to be weighty and formidable. The principal of these are, 1. That it supposes the course of the Niger to lie through the vast chain of theKongMountains (ancientlyMontes Lunæ), the great central belt of Africa. Of the existence of these mountains there appears to be no doubt; and from their situation in the midst of a great continent, they may reasonably be supposed to be of vast size and extent; in which case it is difficult to understand, how the Niger could penetrate this barrier, and force a passage southwards. 2. The course of the Niger, estimated from its source in the mountains of Senegal (supposing it to be the same river with the Congo, and to flow by Wangara and Cashna through the centre of Africa into the Atlantic), would be considerably more than 4000 miles. But the course of the Amazon, the greatest river in the old or new world with which we are acquainted, is only about 3500 miles; and, although the existence of a river considerably greater than any yet known, may be within the limits of physical possibility; yet, so improbable a supposition ought not to be adopted upon slight or conjectural reasoning, or upon any thing much short of distinct and positive proof. To give such a vast extension to the Congo upon the grounds stated by Mr. Maxwell, might justly be considered as one of those exaggerations, to which, according to a remark of D'Anville, geographical writers upon Africa have always been remarkably prone, 'en abusant, pour ainsi dire, du vaste carrière que l'intérieur de l'Afrique y laissoit prendre.' (Mém. de l'Academie des Inscriptions, Tom. xxvi p. 61.)
[Footnote: The following scale (taken from Major Rennell's Memoir of a Map of Hindostan, p. 337,) shewing theproportional lengthof some of the most considerable rivers already known, may be useful to the reader on the present occasion.
EUROPE.Thames 1Rhine 5-1/4Danube 7Wolga 9-1/2
ASIA.Indus 6-3/4Euphrates 8-1/2Ganges 9-1/2Burrampooter 9-1/2Ava 9-1/2Jennisca 10
ASIA CONTINUED.Oby 10-1/2Amoor 11Lena 11-1/2Hoanho (China) 13-1/2Kian Keu 15-1/2
AFRICA.Nile l2-1/2
AMERICA.Mississipi 8Amazon 15-3/4
It must be observed, however, that themagnitudeof a river depends much less upon the length of its course than upon the number of auxiliary streams which fall into it. It is this latter circumstance, which occasions the vast size of the Ganges, compared, for example, with the Nile; although the course of the latter is so much longer. Rivers not fed by auxiliary streams, may even becomesmallerin consequence of the length of their course. The editor is indebted for these observations to Major Rennell.]
Before the editor finally dismisses the subject of the Congo, he may be allowed to express a hope that this distinguished river, which hitherto has been only known as one of the greatest marts of the Slave Trade, may at length be rendered conducive to objects of civilization and science; and that some use will now be made of this great inlet into Africa, for the purpose of exploring a part of that continent which as yet is entirely unknown; or, at least, of obtaining more complete and authentic information relative to the Congo itself, which must unquestionably be considered as a very curious and interesting subject of enquiry. Such an enterprise, according to the opinion of Mr. Maxwell, would not be attended with much difficulty. In a letter to Mr. Park, dated Oct. 12, 1804, alluding to the subject of the Congo, he speaks of an intention which he had formed some time prior to Park's discoveries, of exploring that river. His scheme was to carry out with him from England six supernumerary boats, well adapted for rowing and sailing; each being of such a size as to be easily carried by thirty people, and transported across several cataracts, with which the course of the river is known to be impeded. On his arrival at the coast, he meant to hire about thirty or forty black rowers, and to sail up the Congo with proper arms, provisions, and merchandize, in the month of May (the dry season south of the equator) calculating upon an absence from the coast of about ten weeks. Mr. Maxwell considered this scheme as perfectly practicable, and likely to be attended with no very great expense; but he was prevented from executing his intention by the war of 1793, which made it inconvenient and unsafe for him to encumber the deck of his vessel with supernumerary boats.
IV. The fourth and last opinion respecting the termination of the Niger, is that of a German geographer, M. Reichard, which was published in the 'Ephemerides Géographiques,' at Weimar, in August, 1808, and is referred to in a respectable French work, entitled, 'Précis de la Géographie Universelle, par M. Malte-brun.' The fourth volume of this work, which appeared at Paris in the year 1813, (p. 635) represents M. Reichard's hypothesis to be, that the Niger, after reaching Wangara, takes a direction towards the south, and being joined by other rivers from that part of Africa, makes a great turn from thence towards the south-west, and pursues its course till it approaches the north eastern extremity of the gulph of Guinea, when it divides and discharges itself by different channels into the Atlantic; after having formed a great Delta, of which the Rio del Rey constitutes the eastern, and the Rio Formoso, or Benin River, the western branch.
Without entering into the details of M. Reichard's reasoning in support of this hypothesis, which is often somewhat hazardous and uncertain, it may be sufficient for the present purpose to observe, that his principal argument is founded on a consideration of the peculiar character belonging to the tract of country situated between the two rivers, which consists of a vast tract of low, level land, projecting considerably into the sea, and intersected by an infinity of small branches from the principal rivers. In these and other respects, it appears to bear a considerable resemblance, according to the best descriptions of that coast which we possess, to the Deltas at the mouths of the Nile, the Ganges, and such other great rivers, as by depositing large quantities of alluvial matter previous to their discharge into the sea, form gradual additions to the coast. For it may be proper in this place to remark, that the formation of Deltas, even by rivers of the first magnitude, is by no means universal; some of the greatest that are known being without them. Of this the Amazon, Plata, and Oronoko are mentioned by Major Rennell as distinguished instances; to which may now be added, the Congo. The difference appears to be owing to the depth of the sea at the mouth of the rivers, and perhaps to other circumstances, which are not quite understood.
[Footnote: See Reunell's Geogr. System of Herodotus, 4to. p. 483.]
Both of the two rivers, enclosing the great alluvial tract which has been described (the Rio del Rey and the Formoso), are stated to be of considerable size, being each of them seven or eight miles broad at the mouth; and the supposed Delta, estimated by the line of coast, is much larger than that of the Ganges: consequently, the two streams, if united, must form a river of prodigious magnitude. But neither of the rivers has ever yet been explored; nor has the interior of the country, to any distance from the coast, been accurately described by any European traveller. Hence, the question whether the two rivers are ever really united, and whether the tract in question is a complete Delta or not, still remains to be ascertained. With regard also to the course, or even the existence, of the great river to which this Delta is said to belong, and which M. Reichard supposes to come from the northeast of Africa, there is no tradition nor any vestige among travellers or geographical writers; the whole is purely conjectural. But the supposition, so far at least as relates to the alluvial origin of the tract in question and the junction of the two rivers, has great appearance of probability.
On comparing Mr. Maxwell's hypothesis respecting the Niger with that of M. Reichard, which we are now considering, the latter may be said to have gained something in point of probability, by diminishing the distance which the Niger has to flow in order to reach the Atlantic. But the length of its course, even when thus reduced, is still a considerable difficulty, and a great incumbrance on the hypothesis. The objection arising from the Niger's being conceived to penetrate the Kong Mountains, seems to be nearly of equal weight in both cases, on the supposition that this vast chain of mountains is of the extent generally imagined; which there appears to be no reason to doubt.
It may be mentioned as an objection to both of these hypotheses, that no traces whatever of the Mahometan doctrines or institutions are now to be found on either of the coasts where the Niger is supposed to terminate. In no part of the world has the spirit of enterprise and proselytism, which properly belongs to the Mahometan character, been more strikingly displayed than in the extensive regions of North Africa. Its effects are every where conspicuous, not only in the religious belief of the greater part of the inhabitants; but even where Mahometism is not actually established, in their manners, and customs, and in the predominance of the Arabic language, which is almost every where grafted upon the native African dialects. These circumstances, however, are peculiar to North Africa; nothing of a similar kind having been remarked on the coast of Guinea, and still less on that of Congo and Angola. Mr. Maxwell also states in a letter to Mr. Park, that he had made enquiries of a great number of negroes who had come down the Congo from great distances; but that he could never hear of any Mahometan priests having visited the countries on the banks of that river. Supposing the Niger really to flow through the centre of Africa, and to discharge itself any where into the Atlantic, it is reasonable to believe that some of the Mahometan colonists must long since have established themselves on the banks of that river, and penetrated to the shores of the ocean.