130
AFRICA
[exploration
turned west to survey the Albert Nyanza, reaching what he supposed to be a bay of that lake, situated under the equator, but which subsequently proved to belong to an independent piece of water. Compelled to desist from further attempts in this direction, Stanley turned south for Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, which lake he circumnavigated, and then went west to attack the problem of the termination of the Lualaba. He, too, encountered immense difficulties in the attempt to penetrate the trackless forests of the equatorial basin, but, building a fleet of canoes, succeeded in tracing the river round its great northern bend, until after a journey of 1600 miles he finally reached the known part of the Congo, near the west coast. In this great journey he had to contend not only with natural difficulties, such as the furious cataracts by which the Congo is broken, but with the opposition of warlike cannibal tribes, through whose territory he had constantly to fight his way. The result was to bring to light a river system of hitherto unsuspected magnitude, the Congo proving to be one of the principal rivers of the globe not only in respect of volume and size of basin, but also of length of course, in which respect it is second only to the Nile among African rivers. Exploration. This great achievement helped still further to stimulate a general interest in Equatorial Africa, which had already had its The last quarter of the 19th century saw the almost outcome, since Livingstone’s death, in movements entire completion of the broad outlines of African goo destined to lead to important results. In 1873 the ^quatorial graphy. This period has been in the main one of filling German African Society was founded, and this body Africa. itself the task of exploring the interior of Angola in of detail, the wide blank space which previously occupied set other districts of West Africa. The success attained hardly the centre of the continent on our maps having practically and came up to expectations, but in 1876 Dr Paul Pogge succeeded in disappeared in 1877. A very brief recapitulation of the reaching the town of the negro potentate, the Muata Yanvo. In earlier stages of African exploration may be given before that year King Leopold of Belgium summoned to Brussels an international conference to take measures for the systematic speaking of this later period. opening up of the continent. The outcome was the inauguration After the Portuguese voyages to the East had in the 15th cen- of the International African Association with its headquarters in tury made known the whole coast-line of the continent, a certain Brussels, while committees were formed in the various European amount of progress towards knowledge theZambezi, interior, countries, the German society being reconstituted, and continuing Earlier principally in Angola and athe region ofofthe Periods. wag made_ Bllt wittL the decline of Portuguese power to do good work in the southern Congo basin. On the Congo itself Mr Stanley inaugurated a great undertaking on behalf of at the end of the 16th century a period of stagnation ensued, King Leopold, which ended in the establishment of the Free broken only by Jesuit and Capuchin missionary enterprise in State of the Congo in the basin of that river, and the exploration Abyssinia and Angola, and by French and English trading ad- of its various tributary streams. Meanwhile the French had venture in Senegambia. The first great advance was due to the already been exploring the interior of their colony of the Gabun, action of the African Association (founded 1788), whose agents the Ogowe having been explored in 1875 and 1876 by Marche (Mungo Park amongst them) made known the geography of the and De Compiegne, and from 1875 by Pierre S. de Brazza, who, Niger region and of various parts of Northern Africa. About 1850 reaching the upper basin of that river, made his way across the be^an the great series of journeys, which in the south, east, and watershed to the Congo in 1880. The whole region between the north first shed certain light on the geography of the inner regions Gabun and the Congo was in time explored by French officials, of the continent—the discovery of the course of the Zambezi by Dr among whom J. de Brazza, brother of Pierre, was one of the first Livingstone; of the great lakes of Eastern Africa and the source of to penetrate to the far north (1885). South of the Congo the the Nile, by Burton, Speke, Grant, and Baker ; and the researches Portuguese were likewise active, a great expedition being sent of Dr Barth in the Central Sudan, being the principal results. out in 1877 under Pinto, Capello, and Ivens, for the exploration Dr Livingstone’s last great journey, commenced in 1866, began to of the interior of Angola. The first-named made his way by the lift the veil from the western half of the equatorial regions, but, head-streams of the Kubango to the Upper Zambezi, which he though leading to the discovery of an entirely new river system descended to the Victoria Falls, thence proceeding south-east to west°of Lake Tanganyika, it was brought to a close by the travel- Pretoria and Durban. Capello and Ivens, after crossing the ler’s death (1873) before the uncertainties which attached to tins Upper Kwanza, confined their attention to the south-west Congo new river system were cleared up. With Livingstone s death, and basin, where they disproved the existence of Lake Aquilunda, the universal interest aroused by the story of his labours, the which had figured on the maps of that region since the 16th latest period of African exploration may be said to have begun. century. Farther south, in the region of the Kunene and •In immediate connexion with Livingstone s work was the ex- Ovampo, good work was done in 1879 and following years by a pedition of Lieutenant Cameron, who early in 1873 left Zanzibar French missionary, Pere Duparquet. Following the example set with the object of supporting the greatwork. explorerAfter and by Dr Pogge, the Germans Schiitt and Buchner added to the Latest carrying on independent geographical knowledge of the Muata Yanvo’s empire, while Von Mechow r ,e J,,nnn learning of theofdeath of Dr Livingstone, which occurred explored the Kwango to about 5 south. The most important 1673=1900. ,on lst Mayl that year) Cameron continued his way Cameron to Lake ^^^3, by a new route, and afterwards results were, however, obtained by Pogge and Wissmann, who through previously unknown regions beyond Muata anvo’s ^ . effected the circumnavigation of the greater part of the passed kingdom, and reached the Upper Congo at Nyangwe, whence Stanley. lak6; (nscovering its outlet towards the Congo on the Wissmann made his way to the east coast. In 1884 Mr Arnot, west. He then proceeded to Nyangwe, the Arab trading post who had reached Benguela from Natal by a route roughly the on the Lualaba or Upper Congo, which had been _ Livingstone’s reverse of Pinto’s, started west and made his way along the farthest point on the great river ; but the difficulties in the way Zambezi-Congo watershed to Garenganze or Katanga. In 1884-85 of a further exploration of its course proving insurmountable, a German expedition under Wissmann solved the most important Cameron turned south-west through an entirely unknown region, geographical problem relating to the southern Congo basin by and made his way across the southern Congo basin to Benguela on descending the Kasai, the largest southern tributary, which, conthe west coast. From his view of the Lualaba, which had been at trary to expectation, proved to unite with the Kwango and other first thought by Livingstone to belong to the Nile basin, Cameron streams before joining the main river. Further additions to concluded that it could be nothing else than the upper course of the knowledge of the Congo tributaries were made at the same the Congo. Meanwhile Mr H. M. Stanley, who had become famous time by Mr Grenfell, a Baptist missionary, who (accompanied in for his relief of Dr Livingstone in 1871, started again for East 1885 by Von Framjois) made several voyages in the steamer Africa as correspondent of the Daily Telegraph and New York Peace, especially up the great Ubangi, ultimately proved to be Herald to attempt the solution of the chief remaining problems the lower course of the Welle. Another German expedition under of Central African geography. His first task was the thorough Kund and Tappenbeck also made discoveries north of the Lower examination of the Victoria Nyanza, which had been held by some Kasai. In 1885-87 an Austrian expedition under Dr south to consist of several independent lakes, and which he reached by a Lenz crossed Africa from west to east by the Congo Central new, almost direct, route from Bagamoyo to its southern point. and Lakes Tanganyika and Nyasa. Farther south Africa. After circumnavigating the lake and thus proving the general Capello and Ivens in 1884-85 crossed the continent accuracy of its delineation by its discoverer, Captain Speke, Stanley from Mossamedes to the mouth of the Zambezi, breaking new 1 ground en route, especially in the borderlands between the Upper 4tb, according to the inscription cut by his followers.
mission for purposes of transport, while out of eight captured in Cameroon in 1900, three have been successfully tamed, ihe employment of Indian elephants in East Africa was tried without much success, both by the Belgian expedition of 1879 under Captain Carter and by Count von Gotzen m 1893. It is among the lowest subdivisions of the animal kingdom that the species that most injuriously affect the settlement of Africa occur l ie devastation caused by locusts need not be dwelt upon, while the question of the spread of malaria by means of mosquitos has already been referred to. Hardly less detrimental by reason of the fatal effects of its bite on most domestic animals is the tsetse fly, an insect fortunately confined to Africa. Researches are being made with a view to discovering the way in which the poison acts, but though, it has been proved that the blood of infected animals contains'^ a haematozoon closely allied to the Trypanosoma present m the Surra disease of India, the endeavour to produce immunity. by inoculation has so far failed, nor have any means of alleviating the disease been discovered (cf. Pvoc. loy, Soc. vol. Ixiv.).
