book, Lieutenant Speke, o f a more active disposi-Hp°rtance tke discovery, and in his ‘ Lake Re-
tion, mustered a small force o f men,, and, w i t h f c ions’ and ‘Nile Basins,’ in lectures, speeches, and
his superior’s permission, set out northward onH®ssay s *nmaSaz*nes> and conversations with friends,
July 9, 1858, on an exploring tour, and on the p a l ways vigorously combated the theory.
30th o f the same month arrived at the south end K On the 30th February 1859, Burton and S p ek e ’s
o f a lake called b y the Wanyamwezi who w e r e ! task o f exploration, which had occupied twenty-
with him the N’yanza, or the Lake, and b y the I |fv e months, terminated with the arrival o f the
Arabs, Ukerewe. expedition at the little maritime village o fK o n -
AtMu an za, in LTsukuma, he to o k a survey 0f l ^ uckV ° n the Indian Ocean,
the b od y o f the water, such as might be embraced I
in a view taken from an a l t i t u d e , o f 2 0 0 f e e t » O n opening John Hanning S p ek e ’s book
above the lake. ‘ Journal o f the Discovery o f the Source o f the
In his reflections on the magnitude o f the water ! Nile,1 we are informed on the v e ry first page
expanse before him, Sp ek e wrote:— “ I no longer k*s secon<I important expedition into Africa,
felt any doubt that the lake at my feet gave birth p which was avowedly for the purpose o f established
that interesting river, the source o f which has i tke truth o f the assertion that the Victoria
been the subject o f so much speculation, and the B p anza (which he discovered on the 30th o f
object o f so many explorers.” Jhty 1858) would eventually prove to be the
* * * * * source o f the Nile, may be said to have commenc-
A nd again: “ This is a far more extensive on o f May 1859, the first day o f his
lake than the Tanganika; so broad you could M^urn to England from his last expedition, when,
not see across it, and so long that nobody knew at tke invitation o f Sir Roderick Impey Murchison,
its leagth.” T o this magnificent lake Lieutenant Igf6 cahecI at h is . house to show him his map,
S p e k e , its discoverer, gave the name o f Victoria |for the information o f the R o y a l Geographical
N’yanza. S o c ie t y .”
From this Short view o f the Victoria Lake, H ^ r . S p ek e, who was now known as Captain
S p ek e returned» to Unyanyembe, and announced B P e k e> was entrusted with the command o f the
to Lieutenant Burton that he had discovered the B ccee(Img expedition which the R o y a l G eo source
o f the White Nile. Lieutenant Burton did ^Bnphicnl S o c ie ty determined to send out for
not acquiesce, in his companion’s views o f the im- B e Purpose o f verifying the theories above