The World and Its People, Book VII: Views in Africa

by Anna B. Badlam

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.