Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 25 - A-AUS.pdf/156

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

132

AFRICA

[exploration

coast, started on a more extended journey through the region of steppes between Kilimanjaro and the Victoria lake, afterwards, visiting the latter and exploring the head-streams ol the Kagera, its chief feeder. In the steppe region above alluded to he discovered two new lakes, Manyara and Eiassi, occupying parts of the East African valley system. This region was again traversed in 189394 by Count von Gotzen, who passed to the south ol Manyara, ascending Mount Gurui in its neighbourhood, and thence continuing his route westwards to Lake Kivu, north of Tanganyika, which, though heard of by Speke over thirty years before, had never yet been visited. He also reached for the first time the line of volcanic peaks north of Kivu, one of which he ascended, afterwards crossing the great Equatorial forest by a new route to the Congo and thewest coast. The region of the upper Kagera and Lake Kivu has since been further explored, especially by the Germans Von Irotha, Ramsay, Bethe, Kandt, and Von Beringe, and the Englishmen Groo-an and Moore, the first accurate survey of the lake being made by Kandt (1898-99). East of the Victoria Nyanza good work has been done by the zoologist Neumann, and by Von Trotha, Werther, Kaiser, and others. The exploration ol Mount Kilimanjaro has been the special work of Dr Hans Meyer. In British East Africa the Tana river districts, as far as the slopes of Mount Kenya, were explored in 1889-91 by Pigott, Dundas, Hobley, &c., and the Juba in 1891 by Dundas. The British railway survey in 1892 under Macdonald gave an miBast proved basis for the mapping of the country on the line Africa. of route, while Captain Lugard traversed the whole Valuableterritory to Lakes Albert Edward and Albert in 1891-92. scientific work was done in 1893 by Dr Gregory, whountl ascended Mount Kenya to a height of 16,000 feet, while 91° J1eflao« and north of the mountain was explored between 1892 and 1896 by Chanler and Von Hohnel, A. H. Neumann, and Kolb, the lastnamed reaching a point only a few hundred feet below the summit. In 1893-94 Mr Scott Elliot reached Ruwenzori by way ot Uganda, returning by Tanganyika and Nyasa, and in 1896 Mr Hobley madethe circuit of the great mountain Elgon, north-east of the V ictona Nyanza. During the pacification of Uganda various surveys wereexecuted by British officers. Lake Choga on the Nile between the G1 and Albert lakes was explored in 1898 by Captain KirkTn German South-West' Africa journeys were made, after the Victoria a member of Colonel Macdonald’s expedition, while the annexation of the territory, by Schenok, Schinz, Fleck, Ihml, patrick, himself advanced north-west from Mount Elgon to the Francois, Dove, and others, who added to the knowledge leader Latuka country, and Captain Austin went north to Lake Rudolt Southof th; western Kalahari as well as of the districts nearer West and the coast_ In British South Africa Selous and Holub and the Omo. In 1899 Mount Kenya was ascended to its summit South continued their explorations, while in 1895-96 the whole by a party including Mr H. J. Mackinder. Lastly, m the region Central country between the Upper Zambezi and the Kafukwe of the Lower Juba, explorations were made m 1895-96 by Mi C. H. Craufurd, and in 1899 by Mr A. C. VV. Jenner and Dr V .. Africa. was explored by Captain (now Major) Gibbons, Mr. Reid, and Captain Bertrand. More recently (1898-1900), Major Gibbons, ^In the peninsula of Somaliland, &c., a period of rapid advance, assisted by Captains Quicke, Hamilton, and others, explored the due chiefly to Italian activity, began about. 1890, when Bnchettigorges of the Middle Zambezi, as well as the whole upper basin Robecchi made a journey along the eastern coast from SomaIi of the river. The region of Lake Ngami and the Okavango was Obbia to beyond Cape Guardafui. In the following w Ga//a Explored and its geology elucidated in 1896-97 by Dr. Passarge year he went from Mukdishu to Obbia, and thence On the east the boundary with Portuguese territory was surveyed crossed through Ogaden to Berbera on the Gull ol lands in 1892 by a mixed commission, on which the British representative Aden. In the same year Prince Ruspoh made his first journey was Major Leverson. West of Lake Nyasa explorations were made southwards from Berbera, while Baudi and Candeo penetrated to in 1889 and 1890 by Alfred Sharpe, who in the latter year crossed line on the Upper Webi, which place was also reached m l 893 bythe Loangwa and ascended the Mchinga escarpment; m 1890-91 Captain Swayne. In 1892 Bottego and Grixoni left Berbera and bv Joseph Thomson, who crossed the plateau beyond that escarp- made their way past Ime to the Upper Juba, which Bottego^ explored ment to the neighbourhood of Lake Bangweuln, making a wide its source, both travellers finally making their way md Logh tocircuit to the west and south on the return journey ; and moie to east coast. Prince Ruspoli in 1893 reached Logh from the recently by Foa, Weise, Moloney, Codrington, and others. Lake the north, and, proceeding north-west in search of the Omo discovered Rukwa, in German territory, north of Nyasa, was visited from the the Sagan Lake Abbaya, but was afterwards killed by an south in 1889 by H. H. Johnston and Kerr Cross ; m 1894 by elenhant. and The next expedition was that of Dr Donaldson Smith, W H Nutt, who made his way from the west across the Iipa who, starting from Berbera in 1894, explored the head-streams ot plateau ; and in 1897 by L. A. Wallace, who made the first com- the Webi, and made his way to the region of Lakes Abbaya plete circuit of the lake. The fact of a diminution of its area had Stefanie, and Rudolf, ascending the main feeder of the last-named already been ascertained by German travellers from the noith. among the mountains to the north. He eventually reached the Farther west Lake Mweru, Garenganze, and the Luapula were coast at Lamu by the east of Lake Rudolf. In 189o Lottego, explored in 1890 and 1892 by Alfred Sharpe, while Lake Bang- east accompanied by Sacchi, Vannutelli, and Citerni, left Brava with weulu and the Luapula were carefully surveyed m 189.)-9 6 and the purpose of finally solving the problem of the Omo, which some 1898-99 by Poulett Weatherley. A journey made in 1898 by Mr had considered unconnected with Lake Rudolf. Beyond Lake Campbell, a missionary, from Garenganze to Blantyre by the south Abbaya he came upon a larger lake to the north (Pagade or of Bangweulu, also deserves mention. Margherita) and pushed west through mountainous country to tfie In the southern districts of German East Africa, the upper basin Omo which he succeeded in tracing to Lake Rudolf. After exof the Rufiji was explored in 1886 by Count Pfeil, and the country nloring the west shore of that lake the explorers went north-west between that river and the Rovuma in 1893-94 by Von German gch(?]e all(j Ramsay. The hilly districts north of Nyasa and discovered the head-streams of the Sobat, afterwards ascending Bast ]iaye peen examined by various travellers, including to the Abyssinian highlands, where the leader lost his life during Africa. yj Boi'nhardt, who in 1896 discovered there consider- an attack by the natives. An English expedition under H. b Cavendish (1896-97) followed somewhat in Bottego s steps, but able deposits of coal. Farther north the_ parts between the coast after reaching the south end of Lake Rudolf went south, discoverand Tanganyika have been surveyed by Prince, Ramsay, and others. a new lake in a volcanic region between Rudolf and Laringo. Tovvards0the north of the German sphere three important journeys ing In&1897 the French traveller, De Bonchamps, traversed the southern were made across the whole width of the territory within a few years borderlands of Abyssinia and further explored the head-streams ot of its final acquisition. In 1891 Emin Pasha, accompanied by Dr the Sobat, and about the same time his compatriot M. Darragon, Stuhlmann, made his way south of the Victoria Nyanza to the went south near the chain of lakes ending in Abbaya. Captain western Nile lakes, visiting for the first time the southern ami Wellby, previously known as a Tibetan explorer, took a somewhat western shores of Lake Albert Edward. In the same year Dr O. similar route south in 1898-99, but pushed on to Lake Rudo.fi Baumann who had already done good work m Usambara, near the

Gribingi, a principal branch of the Shari. He was followed in 1892-93 by Maistre, who, reaching the Gribingi by a more westerly route, passed westward to the Benue. In 1894 Clozel reached the Worn a south-western feeder of the Shari, which last was reached in 1896 by Gentil, who for the first time launched a steamer on its waters, and pushed on to Lake Chad, the ultimate objective of the French for many years. Further exploration m the bhau basin was effected in 1898-99 by Behagle. Farther east towards the Nile watershed explored first by Junker and others from the north, the pioneers from the south were Belgian officers, who went north from the Congo before the French territorial claims were fully acknowledged. Thus Hanolet reached Dar Runga, south of Wadai, while Nilis and De la Kethulle made their way (1894) to the borders of Darfur. Subsequently F rench agents also pushed towards the Nile basin. In 1896-97 Liotard and Cureau reached the western borders of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, while Marchand led a large military expedition through the heart of the province, reaching Fashoda on the Nile early m 1898, and completing the crossin» of the continent through Abyssinia to the east coast. Finally” in the west of the French territory, a journey from the Sano-a to the coast was accomplished by Fourneau m 1898-99. Recent exploration in the Congo State has been carried out almos entirely by Belgian officers. After the identity of the Welle with the Ubangi(1887-88) had beenbyfinally ascertained, its course Congo surveyed Yangele, the upperand basin of the State. river was traversed in all directions by Van Kerkhoven and his subordinates (1891-93), and later by Chaltin and others. Various southern tributaries of the Congo were navigated by Delcommune in 1888-89, particularly the Lukenye and the Boloko or Lomame. In 1890-92 important expeditions traversed the south-east Congo basin by overland routes to Garenganze, under Le Marinel, Delcommune, and Bia, the second of whom reached Tanganyika, and explored the course of the Lukuga. In 1896-9/ the two main upper branches of the Congo and the country between them were surveyed by Lieutenants Brasseur and Cere kef, and in 1898 the southern borders of the great Equatorial forest on the eastern verge of the Congo basin were traversed by Lieutenant