THE RIVERS OF AFRICA.
For many years Africa was believed to be a land destitute of rivers in its interior sections. The explorations made by Dr. Livingstone proved to the world that what had been formerly termed the unexplored territory is not the barren, riverless region that imagination had pictured.
Still, the nature of the rivers was for a long time but imperfectly determined.
It is generally acknowledged that, of all the great rivers, there is scarcely one that has been successfully traced from source to mouth throughout its entire length. Even the tributaries of these rivers are but imperfectly known, owing to the many difficulties attending their exploration.
We have a right, then, to expect much from later investigation, as more and more of the country is opened to observation.
The journals of such men as Livingstone and Stanley open a vast storehouse of knowledge to those who read them. Fascinated, as by a romance, we lose ourselves in these pages, and in imagination follow their footsteps through "Darkest Africa."
The rivers of South Africa have their rise mostly in the neighboring highlands. Many of these rivers are, in fact, not much greater than mountain torrents, whose courses are as short as their currents are rapid.
Most of the rivers of Africa have obstructions, in the form of sand bars, at their mouths. The Orange River is a striking example, the water at its mouth being choked by a vast deposit of sand.
The chief great rivers of Africa are the Nile, the Niger, the Zambesi, the Orange, the Congo, the Senegal, and the Gambia.
Although all the great rivers have served as links to connect the journeys of the various explorers, yet the Nile, the Niger, the Zambesi, and the Congo have been chosen as the chief guides for the more recent explorations.
Each of these great rivers has distinct characteristics and striking peculiarities. The Nile, though a river of the greatest antiquity, was for many, many years a problem in the minds of those busied with the geography of Africa.
Many of the records kept by the early explorers were, unfortunately, lost. Among those that were preserved were many that were not reliable in their information. Many of the accounts were most conflicting in fact and detail. This led to much confusion and much discussion. Men naturally were slow to accept information which they could not prove to be authentic.
Wars among the natives of the interior were most disastrous to the explorer. At best, his life, interesting and exciting as we might suppose it to have been, could certainly not have been an enviable one. Only dauntless courage and boundless enthusiasm could have led him into regions where he must suffer not only fatigue, but privation; not only danger from wild beasts hungry for their prey, but from cruel, treacherous savages lurking on every side.
The countries watered by the Niger offered an immense field for exploration. Inviting as this region was to the explorer, it afforded many difficulties. Savage beasts and treacherous natives were foes that might be overcome, but who could withstand the attacks of fever and malaria, unsuspected foes to health and life, in this region of pestilence and disease?
Mungo Park, a Scotch explorer, relates that, out of a party of forty-four, but four survived the exploration, owing to the unhealthy character of the climate. He relates that he received various kinds of treatment at the hands of the natives. The women, however, were for the most part kindly disposed and benevolent.
At one time the king of the region of Bambarra, through which he was passing, forbade him to cross the Niger. He was obliged to remain over night in one of the villages. None of the natives would receive him into their huts. Finally, he took shelter in the branches of a tree. He was worn out from hunger and fatigue. A storm came up, from which he was wholly unprotected, but he was befriended by a woman, who was passing on her way from her daily work in the field. She took him home to her hut, kindly cared for him, and did all she could to make him comfortable.
It is the custom of the women to lighten their labor by singing songs as they work. On this occasion Park was made the subject of this song which was sung by one of the young women of the village. The melody was sweet and rather plaintive; the words simple.
"The winds roared and the rain fell.
The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat under our tree.
He has no mother to bring him milk; no wife to grind his corn."
To this a refrain was added, in which all the women joined.
"Let us pity the white man;
No mother has he to bring him milk;
No wife has he to grind his corn."
It was to Richard Lander that the geographical students were indebted for much information about the Niger. He encountered many dangers, and, with his followers, was finally taken prisoner by the natives.
Only on the promise of a heavy ransom were they allowed their freedom. By the offer of heavy bribes, he made arrangements with the natives to convey him, with his party, to the sea. The journey was by way of the Niger, and proved to Lander that water communication could be opened into the interior of Africa. Thus he solved one of the greatest problems in the geography of the continent.
In the southern portion of Africa, the more recent explorations have been mostly in connection with the Zambesi River, its extensive basin, and its many affluents. Most of the results were due to the energy of Livingstone, whose footsteps we shall like to trace later. We must regard Livingstone not only as an explorer, but as a zealous missionary in the great field open to him. Only through his indomitable courage, boundless faith, and untiring devotion could he have accomplished his arduous labor.
Most of the difficulties that attended the exploration of the great rivers were due largely to the character of the countries through which they passed. Much of it was, of course, wholly unbroken territory. Tangled forests, treacherous morasses, and wild jungles were difficulties that constantly tried the courage and fortitude of the men who formed the exploring parties.
But these were not all they had to encounter in the way of obstacles. Wild animals, fierce for food, or angered at having their haunts invaded, lay ready to attack them. Hostile savages lurked in the depths of the forests, or pursued them to the water's edge, eager to shed their blood. Even on the rivers there was no safety; for the enraged natives pursued them in their canoes, and attacked them boldly, trusting to the poisoned arrows which they hurled fiercely at them.
As if these were not difficulties enough to be met and overcome, the hearts of the explorers often sank in dismay as they encountered fresh obstacles in the bed of the streams. Here were dangerous rapids, over which their canoes were liable to be hurled, only to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Barred by such obstacles, the canoes often had to be carried overland on the backs of the men, till the course of the river became navigable.
Much of the information received from such friendly natives as they found, living in villages along the course of the river, was unreliable. They were often misled, too, by the various names given to the same river in the different sections of the country.
Many of the rivers make such intricate wanderings as to lose themselves in one section to reappear again in other sections, but under different names. On this account, much time was lost in doubt and speculation.
As we read of the exploits of these explorers, we shall be able to comprehend more fully the extreme difficulty of the work they undertook, and, in many cases, carried out so successfully.
Through the light they shed we shall be able to read the story of Africa. We shall find it both fascinating and instructive.