The Prospective Civilization of Africa [pp. 171-191]

THE PRINCE TON RE VIEW.
Lake itself can scarcely be called accessible from the sea. The
open navigation of the Nile ceases at Assouan, and thus extends a distance of only eight degrees out of the thirty-two
between the Victoria Nyanza and the Mediterranean. After
this cataracts occur, at intervals of some Io00 or I50 miles, as
far as lat. I6~ Io', which can only be surmounted with great
difficulty by small steamers and other boats of a strong make
for a month or so at the height of the inundation. By these
means, or in some instances by land-carriage, European-built
boats have been placed upon the Middle Nile above the Nubian Falls, and steamers have plied, and, we believe, still ply,
between Berber (lat. 17~ 50') and Gondokoro.' The Albert
Nyanza has been reached and explored by officers of the Gordon-Pasha expedition, and the possibility of effecting the tour de
force above spoken of has thus been demonstrated. But the
natural difficulties remain, and are irremovable. The Nile can
never be used as a commercial water-way between Assouan and
Khartoum, or between Gondokoro and the outlet of the Albert.
Even between Khartoum and Gondokoro it is not a safe line of
communication, since it is liable to be blocked by masses of
floating vegetation and dense thickets of the papyrus rush,
which always hinder, and sometimes absolutely prevent, navigation. Boats have had to be abandoned at the great vegetable barrier near the junction of the Nile with the Bahr el Ghazal,
and expeditions have had to continue their journey by land.
The Congo is, in respect of volume, a still larger stream than
the Nile. It is second among rivers only to the Amazon, pouring into the Atlantic Ocean, as it does, more than 2,000,000
cubic feet of water every second. Its length from its source in
Lake Bangweolo considerably exceeds 2000 miles, and it is
I200 yards wide before it reaches Nyangwe, or within 5oo
miles of its source. Numerous broad and deep tributaries reach
it from either side, and the basin which it drains appears to
have a length of 20 and a width of I 7 or I8 degrees. Had it the
general character of the Amazon, how grand an avenue would it
furnish for access to the whole western equatorial region of the
African continent! But unfortunately here again Nature is
I Geo,raphical yournal for I876, p. 413.
174