NILES tions were fitted out for that purpose ; the first ascended to lat. 6 30' N., discovering on its passage the mouth of the Sobat, Lake No, and the Bahr el-Ghazal ; the second reached lat. 4 42' N. ; and the third went not quite so far. In November, 1849, Dr. Knoblecher, a Roman Catholic missionary at Khartoom, accompanied the annual trading expedition sent up the Nile by the Egyptian authorities, and ascended the river to lat. 4 10' N., then further than any other explorer had ever gone. The Bahr el- Ghazal was explored by Petherick in 1853 and the five following years, and subsequently in 1862 and 1863. In the latter year, Miss Tinne, the Dutch traveller, visited the southwestern affluents of the river, and lost her life in this region in 1869. She was succeeded in the same field, in 1869-'71, by Schweinfurth, whose acquirements as a botanist have given excep- tional value to his work. The explorations of Speke and Grant, Baker, and Livingstone have already been mentioned. A short time prior to the first journey of Baker, however, Miani, the Italian traveller, advanced the limit of ex- ploration from the north to a point considera- bly beyond Gondokoro, in the neighborhood of Afuddo, lat. 3 32' N. Our knowledge of the White Nile has been largely increased by the recent military expedition sent out by the khe- dive for the suppression of the slave trade (1871-'3) under the command of Sir Samuel Baker. The following are the more important works of recent date relating to the exploration of the Nile: Petherick's "Travels in Central Africa" (1859); Speke's "Journal of the Dis- covery of the Source of the Nile" (1863); Baker's "Albert N'yanza" (1866), "The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia" (1867), and "Is- maiilia (1874) ; Sehweinfurth's " The Heart of Africa" (2 vols., 1874); and "The Last Jour- nals of David Livingstone " (2 vols., 1874). NILES, a city of Berrien co., Michigan, on the E. bank of the St. Joseph river, here crossed by an iron bridge, and on the Michi- gan Central railroad, 105 m. S. W. of Lansing and 165 m. W. S. W. of Detroit ; pop. in 1874, 4,592. The site is diversified, and the sur- rounding country is rich in agricultural pro- ducts. There are several handsome business blocks, and the chief street is well built up with brick structures. The business houses carry on a large trade. The river affords good water power, which is controlled by the Niles manufacturing company. There are two pa- per mills, several large founderies and machine shops, a national bank, several union schools, two weekly newspapers, a monthly periodical, and six churches. Niles was settled in 1828, and incorporated as a village in 1838. NILES, Hezekiah, an American journalist, born in Chester co., Pa., Oct. 10, 1777, died in Wil- mington, Del., April 2, 1839. He learned the trade of a printer, and about 1800 was one of a publishing firm in Wilmington ; afterward he contributed to a periodical, and for six years edited a daily paper in Baltimore. He is chief- NILSSON 453 ly known, as the founder in 1811 of " Niles's Register," a weekly journal published at Balti- more, of which he was the editor till August, 1836. The " Register " was republished by him in 32 volumes, extending from 1812 to 1827, and was continued by his son W. O. Niles and others till June 27, 1849, making 76 volumes in all. He also compiled " Principles and Acts of the Revolution " (1822). NILES, Nathaniel, an American inventor, born in South Kingston, R. I., April 3, 1741, died at West Fairlee, Vt., Oct. 31, 1828. He gradu- ated at Princeton in 1766, studied medicine and law, and afterward theology, and was licensed to preach. He was never ordained, but con- tinued to preach occasionally during his whole life. Becoming a resident of Norwich, Conn., he invented a process of making wire from bar iron by water power, and connected it with a wool-card manufactory. After the revolu- tion he removed to Orange co., Vt., and filled subsequently several public offices in that state, being speaker of the house of representatives in 1784, judge of the supreme court for several years, a representative in congress from 1791 to 1795, one of the censors for the revision of the state constitution, and six times presiden- tial elector. He published several discourses and sermons, and wrote a "History of the Indian Wars," published in the " Massachu- setts Historical Collections." NILGHAU. See ANTELOPE. NILSSON, Christine (Mme. ROUZAUD), a Swedish vocalist, born at Hussaby, near Wexio, Aug. 3, 1843. Her father, though only a peasant, was a violinist, and had charge of the music at the village church. He taught his son Carl the violin, and Christine would pick out for her- self on the instrument the tunes that she heard her brother play. Her proficiency became so great that the neighbors came to listen and admire, and finally Carl took her with him to the fairs at the neighboring market towns. At one of these her playing and singing attracted the attention of Thornerhjelm, a magistrate of Ljunby, who offered to provide for her mu- sical education. The offer was accepted, and Mile. Valerius, afterward baroness of Lenhu- sen, became her first instructor. She was sub- sequently sent to Stockholm and placed under the tuition of Franz Berwald. From Stock- holm she went to Paris and studied assiduous- ly under Wartel for three years, making her debut in October, 1864, at the Theatre Lyrique in Verdi's Tramata. At this theatre she also appeared in Don Giovanni and in the char- acter of Astrafiammante in Mozart's " Magic Flute." In June, 1 867, she appeared in London in Tramata, singing later the part of Margue- rite in Gounod's Faust. In March, 1868, she made her appearance at the Grand Opera in Paris as Ophelia in Ambroise Thomas's Ham- let. Later in that year, on the occasion of her second visit to England, she took part in the Handel commemorative festival at the crystal palace. Her first appearance in America was
