As they sat on the deck, sheltered by the double awning above them, Doctor Bronson told his nephew the history of the discovery of the Albert N'yanza.
"It is very strange," said he, "that only in very recent times has any one known of the existence of this lake. Some of the negroes had told the Arab traders who used to come to Gondokoro for ivory that there was a great body of water a long distance to the south, but their accounts of it were very much confused; and farthermore, as there was no prospect that a lake would yield ivory, the traders paid little heed to the story.
"When Speke and Grant explored the Victoria N'yanza, in 1862, they heard of this lake, but were not permitted to visit it. Their information was not altogether clear, but it was sufficient to convince them that there was a body of water between the Victoria N'yanza and the lakeless Nile. They left the Somerset River, or Victoria Nile, at Kuruma Falls, a few miles below the present station of Foueira, and did not see the river again until they were between the third and fourth parallels of north latitude. They were then nearly a hundred miles below the point where we now are, and, of course, there was no place on their route where a single glimpse of the lake could be obtained.
"On February 15, 1863, they reached Gondokoro, and met Mr. Baker—the same Sir Samuel or Baker Pacha whom we have occasion to mention so often—and told him about the undiscovered lake. Baker determined to reach it if possible; and after a good deal of difficulty he succeeded in overcoming the scruples of the natives, and persuaded them to guide him to the mysterious water."
Fred asked if Mr. Baker ascended the main stream of the Nile to its head, as they had done.
"Not by any means," was the reply. "In the first place, transportation by water was out of the question, on account of the falls in the river, and also owing to the absence of suitable boats even for smooth sailing. Baker pushed southward, by land, over much the same route that Frank has now taken. He passed the Victoria Nile into the country of Unyoro, having a long and tedious journey, and finally reached the lake at a small fishing village on the eastern shore. This village is marked on the maps as Vacovia. It is of little practical consequence, but will always be an important spot to geographers.
"It was on March 14, 1864," continued the Doctor, "that Mr. Baker, who was accompanied by his wife, reached the shore of the new lake at the village I have mentioned. He gave the name of Albert N'yanza, in honor of Prince Albert, to this body of water, and the name has been accepted by all geographers, and will probably be permanent. You may therefore record in your note-book that Sir Samuel Baker was the first white man to see the lake, and that the honor of the discovery was shared by Lady Baker.
"From the point where he saw it the lake appeared to stretch out to a vast extent to the south and south-west. On the west, or opposite shore to where he stood, there was a range of mountains whose tallest peaks were about seven thousand feet in height.
"Baker was unable to explore the lake as he desired. He only made a voyage by canoes along the coast as far as the mouth of the Victoria Nile, which he ascended to Murchison Falls. From there he continued his journey by land, and did not again see the lake. He found the coast between Vacovia and Magungo bounded by high cliffs, most of them covered with trees, but frequently so steep that it would have been difficult or impossible to climb them. In some places they were almost perpendicular. If you look with your glass you can possibly make out some of these rocky headlands in the neighborhood of Magungo."
Fred turned his glass in the direction indicated, and could distinctly see several bold cliffs that seemed to overhang the lake. They extended to within a few miles of the point where the Nile emerges from the lake, when they fell off, and gave place to low and at times swampy ground.