cumferenee of our globe. Now from tbis southern point,
round by the west, to where the great Nile stream issues,
there is only one feeder of any importance, and that is the
Kitangttle river; whilst from the southernmost point,
round by the east, to the strait, there are no rivers at all
of any importance; for the travelled Arabs one and all
aver, that from the west of the snow-clad Kilimandjaro to
the lake where it is cut by the second degree, and also
the first degree of south latitude, there are salt lakes and
salt plains, and the country is hilly,. not unlike Unya-
miiezi; but they said there were no great rivers, and the
country was so scantily watered, having only occasional
runnels and rivulets, that they always had to make long
marches in order to find water when they went on their
trading journeys: and further, those Arabs who crossed
the strait when they reached Usoga, as mentioned before,
during the late interregnum, crossed no river either.
There remains to be disposed of the “ salt lake,” which
I believe is not a salt, but a fresh-water lake; and my
reasons are, as before stated, that the natives call: all
lakes salt, if they find salt beds or salt islands in such
places. Dr Krapf, when he obtained a sight of the
Kenia mountain, heard from the natives there that there
was a salt lake to its northward, and he also heard that a
river ran from Kenia towards the Nile. If his information
. was true on this latter point, then,, without doubt,
there must exist some connection between his river and
the salt lake I have heard of, and this in all probability
would also establish a connection between my salt lake
and his salt lake which he heard was called Baringo.* In
no view that can be taken of it, however, does this unsettled
matter touch the established fact that the head of
the Nile is in 3° south latitude, where, in the year 1858, I
discovered the head of the Victoria N’yanza to be.
* I t is questionable whether or not this word is a corruption of Bahr
(sea of) Ingo.
I now christened the “ stones ” Ripon Falls, after the
nobleman who presided over the Royal Geographical Society
when my expedition was got u p ; and the arm of
water from which the Nile issued, Napoleon Channel, in
token of respect to the French Geographical Society, for the
honour they had done me, just before leaving England, in
presenting me with their gold medal for the discovery of
the Victoria N’yanza. One thing seemed at first perplexing
—the volume of water in the Kitangule looked as large as
that of the Nile; but then the one was a slow river and the
other swift, and on this account I could form no adequate
judgment of their relative values.
Not satisfied with my first sketch of the falls, I could
Kipon Fails, n°t resist sketching them again; and then, as
the cloudy state of the weather prevented my
observing for latitude, and the officer of the place said a
magnificent view of the lake could be obtained from the
hill alluded to as intercepting the view from the falls, we
proposed going there; but Kasoro, who had been indulged
with nsunnu antelope skins, and with guinea-fowl for
dinner, resisted this, on the plea that I never should be
satisfied. There were orders given only to see the “ stones,”
and if he took me to one hill I should wish to see another
and another, and so on. It made me laugh, for that had
been my nature all my life; but, vexed at heart, and
wishing to trick the young tyrant, I asked for boats to
shoot hippopotami, in the hope of reaching the bilk to
picnic; but boating had never been ordered, and he would
not listen to it. “ Then bring fish,” I said, that I might
draw them : no, that was not ordered. “ Then go you to
the palace, and leave me to go to Urondogani to-morrow,
after I have taken a latitude;” but the wilful.creature
would not go until he saw me under way. And as nobody
would do anything for me without Kasoro’s orders,
I amused the people by firing at the ferry-boat upon the
Usoga side, which they defied me to hit, the distance