Yambuya.
whirlpools, eddies, or back-currents; it is a steep
rolling of a flood over, probably, a clean reef. They
are about 450 yards wide, from the deep bend ,in
the right bank to the low point projecting into the
stream from the left bank.
Thus we are halted after an ascent of about ninety-
six English miles of the Biyerre'. As the confluence of
the river with the Congo is in N.'Lat. 1° 14', and our
camp below the rapids is in N. Lat. 1° 13', our course
has been true easterly, notwithstanding the three or
four semi-circular bends in the rivers run.
Although all these geographical questions will be
presently settled, yet halting from pursuing the search
further, I ought to state my reasons for still maintaining
the opinion that this river must be the
Welle.
From these rapids, the distance to Inguima, on the
Welle, is about 155 geographical miles in a direct
line. The natives of Yankui call the river Biyerre;
the Basoko admitted it also, but stated that only the
Upper Aruwimi was called the Biyerre, that is, that
portion of it above the rapids.
The Welle of Schweinfurth is called by Miani, Ware
and Werre; .another calls it Meri or Bere.
It is a large river, 600 yards wicle and 25 .feet deep—-
we have traced it east across one degree of longitude.
Over the rapids we see that the hill-range which has
caused the interruption runs north-west and southeast.
The river has been deflected from its course by
the bills, and must flow from a north-westerly direction.
Rounding the south-easterly extremity, it runs direct
west to the Congo. ' That there are other rapids Yamtmya.
up above these may well be imagined; the great
bends we have already passed make it quite possible
that there are many more; and a mere view, such as
we had of this curve above the rapids trending northwesterly,
has but little value. But a glance at the
large semi-circular bend between the confluence of the
Nekke' with the Welle, and the junction of the Grurba
and the Welle, will serve to show that two inverse
bends would about connect the Welle', Bere', or Werre of
Schweinfurth, Miani, and Junker with the river called
Biyerre, which we have just ascended. The Itimbiri
is not large enough to receive such a river as the
Welle' is figured on the maps of its explorers. The
Biyerre’s great volume must absorb, not only the
Welle, but most probably the Nepoko of Junker. At
this season the river Biyerre discharges 150,000 cubic
feet of water per second into the Congo.
Now, Dr. Barth describes the Shari, the river which
many geographers insist upon as receiving the While,
t h u s .
“ I found myself floating on this noble river, which
was certainly 600 yards across. On the western shore
the river sweeps slowly along, and, in general, appears
not to be very deep. In the channel the poles of the
ferrymen indicated a depth of 15 feet.
If we suppose that this | noble I river, the Shari, to
he 600 yards wide, of an uniform depth of 15 feet,
and a current of two knots an hour, we only obtain
K 2