[Illustration: A MAP OF AFRICA North of the parallel of 7° South
Latitude; _Shewing the course & direction of the principal_ Rivers &
Mountains, _particularly of the_ NIGER & of the GIR _WITH THEIR
TRIBUTARY STREAMS,_ from the best Authorities.
DRAWN BY JAMES MCQUEEN Glasgow 6th. June 1820.
_Engraved by W. H. Lizars Edinburgh._
_Engraved by W. H. Lizars_
_Edinburgh, Published by Willm. Blackwood 1821._]
A
GEOGRAPHICAL AND COMMERCIAL
VIEW
OF
NORTHERN CENTRAL AFRICA:
CONTAINING A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT
OF THE
Course and Termination
OF THE
GREAT RIVER NIGER IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
* * * * *
BY JAMES M‘QUEEN.
* * * * *
EDINBURGH:
PRINTED FOR WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH;
T. CADELL, IN THE STRAND, LONDON; AND
W. TURNBULL, GLASGOW.
* * * * *
1821.
* * * * *
Printed by Balfour and Clarke,
Edinburgh, 1821.
TO
HIS GRACE
THE DUKE OF MONTROSE,
THIS WORK
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY
HIS OBLIGED, MOST OBEDIENT, AND
HUMBLE SERVANT,
JAMES M‘QUEEN.
PREFACE.
* * * * *
The subsequent sheets regarding the Geography and Commerce of Northern
Central Africa, are with much deference submitted to the public. They
are the results of much labour, long research, and numerous inquiries,
carried on with a view to elucidate these important subjects.
When Mr. Park returned from his first journey, I was resident in the
Island of Grenada (West Indies). There I had Mandingo Negroes under my
charge, who were well acquainted with the Joliba. They knew the name
perfectly from hearing me pronounce it in reading Mr. Park’s book. I
also knew a Houssa Negro, who said he rowed Mr. Park across the Niger.
These things naturally attracted my attention; and being fond of
geographical subjects, I endeavoured to collect all the accounts which I
could concerning the features of the country on the Upper Niger, as well
from Negroes as from gentlemen of my acquaintance, who had obtained
their information from similar sources. Though it was scarcely possible
to reduce these, standing by themselves, into regular order, yet,
connected with other accounts, they became satisfactory, and formed the
commencement of my labours and collections on this subject. The
narratives of every one were filled with the accounts of high mountains,
great rivers, populous countries, and large towns. By these means, my
particular attention was fixed upon this interesting subject, and my
researches have been pursued day succeeding day, ever since the period
above mentioned. Numerous authorities regarding this interesting portion
of Africa have been examined with much care, and the most striking facts
elicited from their pages. This investigation in the geographical
department, has led to the conclusion which is now submitted to the
world. It is for the public to judge how far the work has been
judiciously and accurately performed.
It is nearly five years, since, in a small treatise, I pointed out that,
in the Bights of Benin and Biafra, the Niger certainly entered the
ocean. Various travellers, and researches made since that period, have
enabled me to delineate with greater accuracy the course of this
important river, and its numerous tributary streams through the interior
of the country. Perfect accuracy on these subjects is at present
unattainable, nor is it here pretended to. The delineation of the
general features of the country was all I had in view, and this I
flatter myself has been done with sufficient accuracy to establish all
the leading points which were contemplated.
The Public will no doubt feel surprised when, considering the number and
magnitude of the rivers in the Bights of Benin and Biafra, that no
attempt has ever been made to penetrate by means of the chief and most
powerful of these streams into the interior of the country. Yet such is
the fact. The rivers of interior Africa were believed to be like no
other rivers. By one they were stated to run, first increasing, and then
diminishing, till the current disappeared altogether. By another, that,
flowing in opposite directions, they at last met and stood still; and by
a third, that one of the greatest rivers in the world, with all its
tributary streams, was swallowed up in a lake, or absorbed by sands.
Such were the theories formed; and no farther inquiry was considered
necessary. Thus Central Africa has for ages been buried from the eyes of
the civilized world, and in a similar manner, unworthy and erroneous
theories are at work to mislead the public, and shut up the vast
continent of New Holland. The mighty rivers lately discovered in that
Continent are also represented as terminating in a lake or swamps,
chiefly because it has been said that the Niger does so terminate. Near
600 miles of the coast of New Holland, on the south-west side, remain to
be explored. In the north-east corner of the Great Bay, which
circumscribes the south-west part of that continent, no doubt is the
outlet of all the waters of that vast country, which, flowing from every
point of the compass, converge towards that quarter, and after forming a
lake or lakes, in all probability issue therefrom, and pour a mighty
tribute into the ocean. Whoever casts his eye upon the map of the world,
must be struck with the faithful resemblance which the Great Bay, and
the south-west coast of New Holland, bear to the Gulph of Guinea and the
south-west coast of Africa. To the same point in both Continents all the
rivers converge. Another Niger and another Gir will perhaps ere long be
found out, traversing the interior of New Holland, and therefore it is
of the utmost consequence that Great Britain should get possession of
the country round the mouths of these streams, which would thus give her
the complete command of all that immense country.
In the way to open up and establish a commercial intercourse with
Africa, there will no doubt be a diversity of opinions. On such an
important subject, involving so many interests, and such mighty
consequences, I would wish to be understood as offering my opinion with
great deference. Nevertheless, from what I have learned of Africa, and
from what I know of the Negro character, I am convinced that the plan
proposed and recommended in this work, or one formed upon a similar
basis, is that which will soonest render the trade with Africa the most
beneficial, either to Africa or to Great Britain.
In recommending the destruction of the system of slavery in Africa, I am
not so sanguine or inconsiderate as to imagine, or to expect, that this
can or ought to be accomplished in a moment. It can only be effected in
a gradual manner; and abolition can only be beneficial by being
accomplished in this way. It must be the work of much time. There is
also too much reason to fear, that Africa can only rise to freedom and
civilization through the medium of slavery in the first instance. The
great error committed by her Princes, and all Europeans who have
hitherto held communication with Africa, is, that they withdraw the
labours of Africa to cultivate other quarters of the world, in place of
fixing its exertions to the soil which gives it birth. It is this system
which has hitherto retarded the civilization of Central Africa. Let
those then, who are slaves in Africa, or who may in future become so by
the regulations of the native powers, be employed to cultivate Africa,
and the population of that Continent will, with its improvement,
gradually rise to freedom, knowledge and civilization. There is no other
safe way to accomplish the object.
There is one article of commerce which is particularly abundant in the
parts of Africa which have been considered, namely, rice, the particular
value of which I have omitted to mention. This article may be purchased
in the countries adjoining the Niger, at the low value of a halfpenny to
three farthings per lb. or about 90s. per cwt. Here it costs four times
the sum, and in the West Indies a still greater price. It is needless to
point out the advantages which would result from prosecuting this branch
of commerce.
I cannot help thinking, that the accounts which we have heard of nations
in the interior of Africa devouring their prisoners is incorrect, and
arises from a want of knowledge of their customs and language. It is
well known that the Negroes believe in the power of witchcraft to such a
degree as to sink under the idea, pine away, and die. I omit numerous
instances in the West Indies where the individual inflicting, and the
individual suffering, were each equally so convinced of the fatal power,
as neither reasoning, threats, nor punishment, could remove the
impression. Thus situated, the infatuated sufferer stated that his enemy
was devouring him. From Beaver’s African Memoranda, we learn that this
practice is quite common on the western coast of Africa, and is known by
the common appellation, that such and such a person “_eats another_,” or
is “_eaten by another_.” From this may arise the reports of there being
nations in the interior, and elsewhere, who eat each other and their
prisoners.
After these sheets were nearly all printed off, the kindness and
attention of Professor Jameson of the University of Edinburgh, put into
my hands the new work from the pen of Mr. Bowditch, regarding the
interior of Africa. From this, the important fact is obtained, that the
river which flows from the east is navigable, and navigated, at any
rate, to Lake Caudee, or Fittre, if not further; for instead of days
journeys, as related in his former work, we find that it _is sixty-five
days navigation_ from the island of Gangi, near Yaoora, to the borders
of Fittre Lake. Park navigated the Niger to Boussa, in the immediate
neighbourhood of Gangi; and we have it confirmed by the previous
authority, that the eastern river is navigable also. This confirms what
both Edrisi and Leo Africanus related concerning it. Leo Africanus also
clearly points out that there were several rivers besides the Niger, and
that all the others emptied themselves into it. The Negro kingdoms which
he enumerated and visited, were, as he distinctly states, situated
either upon “_the Niger, or other rivers which flow into it_.” That it
did not run to the Egyptian Nile, but from it, and that it was not lost
in a lake, but terminated in the ocean, Gregory of Abyssinia states most
pointedly. Flowing west from the Egyptian Nile, he says, “Descendit enim
versus regionem Elwah, et sic illabitur in _Mare Magnum_, i.e. Oceanum
Occidentalem.”
Also, from the work just quoted, it would appear that the river from the
east joins the Niger about and below Yaoora. In the itinerary of
Brahima, the route from Yahndi and Gamba, to the Niger, is given. The
last place on that route is Schal. “Here,” says Brahima, “is the river
which is named Coudha, _on the extremity of which is the great kingdom
of Your,” (Yaoora.)_ If this relation is correct, then it would appear
that the Great Eastern River is that which is called Coudha, Kaoda, or
Quolla, and that it flows into the Niger to the south of Yaoora, forming
the boundary of this state on that quarter. It is by no means improbable
that this is really the case. With one remark I shall conclude my
observations on these subjects. It appears, from all geographical
authorities in early times, that nearly all the great rivers in the
different continents were uniformly laid down as flowing from the same
source, or as being joined together in some part of their course. This
is the case with the great rivers in the Eastern World, in Africa, and
lastly in America, where the Rio de La Plata and the Great Maranon are
represented as uniting, and then separating from each other, and then
flowing in nearly opposite directions. Perpetuating such erroneous
ideas, has led into the confusion which has long reigned in the
geography of Africa.
In speaking of the magnitude of African cities and states, it must
always be borne in mind that these are considered chiefly according to
the accounts derived from the authority of Arab, Moor, and Negro
travellers, whose comparisons, again, are drawn from what they saw or
heard of in Africa. These accounts must not be taken as applied to, or
compared with, European Kingdoms and States. Several cities in Africa,
however, are certainly populous, and the number of this description is
undoubtedly also very considerable.
In the numerous authorities to which I have referred, and which I have
quoted, I have uniformly given their exact words, that my readers may be
enabled to judge for themselves concerning the truth of what I advance.
In the style and composition of the work, I have to claim the indulgence
of the public. Avocations of a different kind necessarily engage my
time; and my distance from Edinburgh, where the work was printed, has,
in a few instances, led into errors, which, however, are either very
obvious, or not very material.
The interest which is now excited about every thing connected with
Africa, must soon lead to measures by some European power, such as will
clearly and accurately develope every part of the interior of that long-
neglected and very remarkable country. I hope that this honour, and the
immense advantages to be derived therefrom, both political and
commercial, are reserved for Great Britain.
It is only necessary further to add, that the substance of the following
work, in what regards both the geography and the trade, were embodied
into separate memorials, and with a map of Northern Africa, (which has
been reduced and engraved for this work) upon a large scale, submitted
to his Majesty’s Government _in the latter end of June last year_.
Especially these were laid before the noble Lords at the Head of the
Admiralty and the Colonial Department, the Right Honourable the
President and Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and other
distinguished members of the Executive Government. To his Grace the Duke
of Montrose I feel particularly indebted for the interest he took in the
furtherance of a plan which, if prosecuted, would be attended with
incalculable advantages to the West of Scotland, and to Glasgow in
particular.
GLASGOW, _March_ 22, 1821.
CONTENTS.
* * * * *
GEOGRAPHY OF NORTHERN AFRICA.
CHAP. I.
Page
Ancient Geography of Central Africa — General Observations —
Accounts of the Interior by Ptolemy, Edrisi, Ibn-al-Vardi,
Scheabeddin, Mackrisi, Batouta, Abulfeda, Ebn Haukal, Leo
Africanus — Termination of the Niger, &c. 1
CHAP. II.
Joliba, two branches, source western, ditto eastern — River
Zamma; course till junction — Snowy mountains — Balia — Lake
Clonia — River Guinola — Kaniaba — Bammakoo — Magnitude of Niger
— Rapids — Marraboo — Yamina — Sego — Jennë — Ba Nimma — Ba
Maniana — Lake Dibbie — River Gozen Zair — High Mountains —
Walet — Course of Niger, north-east — Ba Moriaca — Jinbala —
Rakbara — Kabra — Timbuctoo — Bahar-el-Ahmar — Course of ditto —
Houssa — Magnitude of Niger at Timbuctoo — Sidi Hamed — Course
of river south-east — Mountains — Kaffo — Rocks — River bursts
through a chain of mountains — Exceeding high ridge to
south-west — Cabi, a Ferry — Yaoora — Great River from east may
join here — Boussa — Park’s death — Cause of it — Wauwa — Gange
— Nyffe — Wassanah — Magnitude of Wassanah — Magnitude of Niger
or Zadi — Course to “Great Water” — Junction with the Sea, and
where — General Observations 59
CHAP. III.
Eastern rivers — Misselad or Gir, source and course — Dar Saley
— Wara — Other rivers — Gir turns west — Lake Fittre — Magnitude
of River; junction with the Shary — Bahr-el-Feydh — Bahr Djad —
Course of Gir west — Gambarou — Birney — Bornou — River Tzad —
Face of the country — Cano or Ghana — Kashna — Gulbe, supposed
course of ditto — Position of Kashna — Junction of eastern and
western rivers — Vancara or Owencara; what it is — Bito — Temian
— Cannibals — Junction of Gir and Bahr Kulla, source and course
of ditto — Mount Thala — Miri — Junchor and Bahr Salamat Rivers
— Lake Haimat — Island at the junction of Gir and Niger — Lybia
Palus — Lake of Jackson, or sea of Sudan; what that is —
Robertson — River Loro — Fillanee — Water communication between
the sea-coast and north-east parts of Africa — Course of the
Niger to the sea in the Bights of Benin and Biafra — Boundary of
Benin — Bahr Kulha; what it is 93
CHAP. IV.
Bights of Benin and Biafra — Rio de Formosa — Delta of Benin —
Innumerable Rivers — Rio Forcados — Gatto Creek — Cape Formosa —
Rivers East — New Calabar and Bonny River; their great magnitude
— Old Calabar and Cross Rivers — Rio Elrei — Salt Ground — Great
Trade in Salt — Face of the Country in the Delta — Trade to
these Places — Inundation of the Rivers — Time of ditto — Shews
they are different from either the Congo or the Egyptian Nile —
Currents in the Sea near the Coast — Number and Magnitude of the
Rivers in the Delta — Breadth — Depth — Trade — Natives into the
Interior — A Race of People almost White — Leucæ Ethiopians of
Ptolemy — General Observations on the N.E. and North parts of
Central Africa — Accounts of Travellers — Kong — What it means —
Great Magnitude of the Niger, and his Tributary Streams — Length
of Course — Compared to Magnitude of Bahr-el-Abiad at Shilluk —
Cannot be the same Stream — No Connection with that River 128
CHAP. V.
Country south of the Elrei — High land of Cameroons — An extinct
Volcano — Chariot of the Gods — Old Cameroons — Jamoor and
Malemba Rivers — Moöhnda, or Danger River — Gaboon River —
Nazareth, Liverpool, Bristol, and Tawney Rivers — Congo River —
Rivers West of the Rio de Formosa — Rio Lagos — Mory River —
Country around it — Rio Volta — Boosempra, Ancobra, and Assinee
Rivers — Mesurada River — Sierra Leone — Way to explore Africa —
Distances of Places, how ascertained — How to command Africa —
Fernando Po, a sure stronghold — Sierra Leone, a secondary place
— A settlement inland of the greatest importance — Extent of
country it would command — French settlement in Africa — Wish to
extend their power in that quarter — Rivers, their great use in
the Torrid Zone — East coast of Africa, important for Commerce —
Rivers Zambezi and Zebee — Island of Socotora — Situation of
Africa — Slavery — The Slave Trade — Extent thereof — Slavery
and Superstition — Scourges of Africa — How to benefit Africa —
Colonization — Advantage of Colonies — The chief strength of
Britain — Eagerly coveted by France — Our efforts in Central
Africa would civilize all Northern Africa — Must expect to meet
difficulties — Perseverance will ensure success 156
TRADE AND COMMERCE OF NORTHERN CENTRAL AFRICA.
Colonies necessary to Great Britain — France anxious to colonize
Africa — New markets can alone relieve our trade — Old
overstocked — Africa the best field — Superior productions —
Country near the Niger — Powerful, populous, cultivated, and
commercial states — Large cities — Numerous valuable productions
— Africa long neglected — Formerly enriched other countries —
Articles of export and import — Particular enumeration and value
of those most in demand — Salt — Ostrich feathers — Spices —
Precious stones — Gums — Drugs — Dye-stuffs — Gold dust — Ivory
— Gunpowder, Fire-arms, &c. — Value of articles — Great profits
on trade — Immense advantages of a water conveyance — Hardships
attending the trade at present — Value of articles at the Gold
coast and the interior — Extent and value of the trade at
present — Would supply our West India Colonies with provisions —
Obtain plenty of fine cotton — Would open up a trade to the Cape
of Good Hope and India — Abolition of the slave trade would
relieve and cultivate Africa — If not checked, our West India
colonies must be ruined — Infringe the rights of no civilized
nation in colonizing Africa — Three modes of establishing the
trade — A chartered company the best — Regulations under which
to be formed — Government must countenance and support such an
undertaking — Plans to be adopted and pursued — General
reflections on the climate of Africa, and the importance of the
contemplated undertaking 211
ERRATA.
Page 8. 3d line from bottom, _for_ Girgires, _read_ Girgiris.
27. 10th do. — itineries, — itineraries
28. 3d line from top, — Canal — Canoe
33. 2d line from bottom, — Cetenum — Ceterum
57. 3d line from top, — comes — come
85. 3d line from bottom, — _Kabee_ — _Kabeer_
105. 3d do. — bar — bark
123. 15th line from top, — West — East
— 3d line from bottom, — occurrence — occurrence
of which, which
138. do. — turnings — burnings
177. 2d line from top, — outlet — outlets
GEOGRAPHY
OF
NORTHERN AFRICA.
* * * * *
CHAP. I.
_Ancient Geography of Central Africa — General Observations — Accounts
of the Interior by Ptolemy, Edrisi, Ebn-al-Fardi, Sheabiddin, Mackrisi,
Batouta, Abulfeda, Ebn Haukal, Leo Africanus — Termination of the Niger,
&c._
The central parts of Africa, and, in a very particular manner, the
interior parts of the northern division of that great continent,
together with the course and termination of the great river Niger, are
still in a great measure unknown. Become the eager object of European
research, these cannot much longer remain hid. It is surprising they
have remained undiscovered so long. To explore and determine accurately
these important points, is the most interesting geographical problem
that now remains to be solved.
Unworthy and erroneous theories, and to which all information hitherto
received has been forced to bend, have long led astray the public mind,
and general exertions of Europe, from the true path by which the
interior of Northern Africa can be explored, and the only way by which
the course and termination of the Niger can be ascertained. The road,
however, is easy, and quite accessible. Nature has formed it. The Niger,
and his tributary streams, pursue their course through Central Africa.
From the west, and from the east, they converge to one point. After
uniting in one channel, the mighty current divides itself into several
streams, which enter the Atlantic ocean by navigable estuaries in the
Bights of Benin and Biafra.
Allowing we had no positive information of the course and magnitude of
the Niger lower down than Bammakoo, Sego, and Lake Dibbie, still the
fact of there being such a river continuing its course eastward from the
latter place, is sufficient to induce us to look for its exit on the sea
coast. We are quite certain that it does not enter the sea to the north;
and we may say we are equally sure that it does not finish its course in
any sea to the east. To the south, therefore, we must turn our
inquiries. In no part of Western or Southern Africa is there stronger
grounds to look for this estuary, than in the coast below Benin. There
the soil is all alluvial. For a great distance into the interior, stones
larger than a man’s fist are unknown. The country is flat, and inundated
during the swell of the rivers from the tropical rains. The land is
daily gaining on the sea from the quantity of alluvial matter brought
down from the interior. The whole country and coast, for a great extent,
is intersected with arms and outlets of rivers, communicating with each
other inland. The bottom of the sea, along a great extent of coast, is
all soft mud. From the Rio Lagos to the Rio Elrei river, no fewer than
twenty streams enter the ocean, several of them of surprising magnitude,
and navigable for ships. Large floating islands are borne down by their
waves, and carried into the ocean. The great magnitude of these rivers
will by and bye come more particularly under our review.
As the easterly course of the Upper Niger is now no longer a matter of
dispute, it would be perfectly superfluous to bring forward, in detail,
the authority of writers and geographers, from the days of Herodotus
downwards to this day, to prove this important fact. Its termination is
now the subject which engages the attention of all. The theories at
present most in vogue, are, _first_, that it flows eastward, reaching
beyond the parallel of 18° North Lat. and then, in about 20° East Long.
flows south-east, and is the parent stream of the Bahr-el-Abiad, or Nile
of Egypt; _second_, that it terminates in a large lake in the interior,
which also receives the waters of the Gir, or Nile of Soudan, coming
from the eastward; _third_, that the waters of both rivers are lost in,
and absorbed by swamps and sandy deserts, in a country called Wangara;
and _fourth_, that the Niger from his middle course flows south, and
joins the great River Congo, or Zaire.
Every one of these theories is grossly erroneous, contrary to every
authority on which reliance can be placed, and in opposition to every
feature of geography exhibited any where else on this globe. The
expedition to the Congo, so lately undertaken, and so unfortunate, has
nevertheless settled the question, that the Congo and Niger are
different streams. The lake said to receive and retain the waters of the
Gir and the Niger, can no where be heard of, either as a sea of salt or
fresh water, in the interior of Africa. Wangara, said to absorb these
rivers in swamps and sands, or rather those parts of Africa where
Wangara is said to lie, is, as the name signifies, a country of a
different description—a country intersected by many powerful rivers,
mountainous, fertile and cultivated, and inundated during the rains.
That the Niger flows to form the Bahr-el-Abiad, is contrary to all
probability, contrary to the good authority of Ptolemy, contrary to the
authority of the best Arabian geographers, and contrary to excellent
modern authority. Yet it is most surprising that an opinion, so
improbable in itself, and so directly opposite to all the authorities
mentioned, should even to this day continue to be believed and
maintained.
In following out this subject, and establishing by conclusive evidence,
the fact which I have advanced, it may not be unnecessary to consider
the general outline of the Roman and Arabian geography of this portion
of Africa, to which our attention is directed, before we consider
authorities of more recent dates. The coincidence will thus be more
apparent, and the fact more obvious. In the geography of Ptolemy we are
not to look for the accuracy of modern details. Nevertheless, his
general features of Northern Africa are worthy of attention. In his
days, it is obvious, from his enumeration of mountains, rivers, and
nations, that it must have been much better known than it now is; and,
therefore, we must the more regret that he did not then possess the
means which we now possess of fixing the positions of the places he
mentions with geographical accuracy. On this part of the subject,
however, it is not my intention to enter at great length, but merely to
select the undisputed and clearer parts which tend so strongly to
confirm the accounts of modern travellers concerning the course and
termination of the great and important streams already mentioned.
The most ancient Greek and Roman authors seem to have been very
imperfectly acquainted with the great Zahaara, or the countries beyond
it. Ptolemy himself seems altogether to overlook the desert, though he
minutely enumerates the countries beyond it. Strabo and Pliny conceived
that the streams which descended from the south-east side of Mount Atlas
formed the Niger, and which river was in these days believed to be one
with the Egyptian Nile. They stated that the streams descending from
Mount Atlas hid themselves, or rather run under the desert for a space
occupying 24 days journey, when, emerging, they continued their course
to the eastward, united in the Niger. This desert they describe as being
composed of _black dust_. Modern travellers all describe it as scorching
sands. Whether any alteration has taken place on it during the lapse of
so many ages, cannot be determined; but it is by no means improbable
that its extent is considerably increased, from the sands gaining on the
cultivated ground, as is well known to be the case on the side towards
Egypt. It is a curious fact, that, approaching the middle thereof,
reckoning from the Atlantic Ocean, abundance of water is found upon
digging some feet below the surface, and which the Arabs term, “_the sea
under ground_.” This remarkable circumstance might suggest to Strabo and
Pliny the idea already mentioned of the rivers from Mount Atlas running
under ground.
Ptolemy wrote on Egypt in the second century of the Christian era. Then
Africa was better known. The interior of the northern division thereof
he describes apparently from good authority, and with considerable
accuracy, only he seems altogether to leave out the Great Desert. Mount
Mandrus, the middle of which was in 23° East Long. from Ferro, and 22°
North Lat., and Rhisadirus Mountain more to the south, he places as the
barrier which divides the waters which flow westward into the Atlantic
Ocean, by the rivers Stachirus, &c. (the Senegal, Gambia, &c.) from
those which flow eastward in the Niger. Turning eastward from Rhisadirus
Mountain, we find Mount Caphas in about 10° North Lat. which divides the
waters which flow south into the _great gulf_, or Gulf of Guinea, and
those which flow north to join the Niger. In Caphas, we readily
recognize the Kong range. Eastward, in the same parallel, there is a
blank or opening, and then comes Mount Thala, situated in 10° North Lat.
and 38° East Long. from Ferro.
Before proceeding further, it is necessary to correct an obvious error
in the longitude, as reckoned by Ptolemy. He places Alexandria in 60°
30′ East Long. from Ferro, or 42° 29′ from Greenwich. This we know is
12° too much, Alexandria being in 30° East Long. from Greenwich, or 48°
from Ferro. It is evident, therefore, that we must deduct one-fifth
(decreasing this deduction in proportion as we go west) from the
longitude, as laid down by Ptolemy, in order to correct his reckoning.
By doing this, we shall see how accurately the positions of some places
agree with modern accounts.
South of Mount Thala, in 3° North Lat. and 33° East Long. we have Mount
Arualtes, and eastward of that in North Lat. 1° 30′, and East Long. 47°,
we have Mount Arangas. Turning north in 10° North Lat., and 50° East
Long. we have the chain of hills called the Garamantican rampart, which
divides the waters which flow west in the Gir, from those deserts which
stretch eastward to the Nile. Turning westward, in the parallel of 21°
North Lat. and extending along by the sources of the river Cinips, from
40° to 45° East Long. we have Mount Girgiris, and from 8° to 10° farther
west, in the same parallel of Lat. are the Usargala mountains. Next, in
North Lat. 32°[1], and East Long. 20° 30′, we have Mount Sagapola,
placed most erroneously in the map accompanying the work, in 20° North
Lat. and 15° East Long., in the south side, in place of the north side
of the desert.
The formidable barriers here enumerated, according to the delineation of
Ptolemy, encircle or enclose those extensive valleys, if I may use the
expression, through which the Niger, the Gir, and their tributary
streams, take their course, leaving only the opening between Mount Thala
and Mount Caphas, for the collected flood to escape to the southward.
How much these general outlines agree with modern accounts, our future
investigations, and the map accompanying this work, will shew.
It is in this portion of Africa that the greatest rivers flow, greater,
as Ptolemy must mean, than any other which flowed in the northern
division of that continent. In the middle of the country, says he, the
greatest rivers display themselves, viz. the Gir, joining together the
Usargala mountain and the Garamantican barrier or rampart. One branch of
this river makes the Lake Chelonides, in 20° North Lat. and 49° East
Long. (21° East Long. from Greenwich,) and another the Lake Nuba in
North Lat. 15° and East Long. 50°, or 22° from Greenwich, answering very
accurately with the Lake Fittre of modern authors. The course of the Gir
westward, Ptolemy distinctly marks, by enumerating the cities on its
northern bank, from Lynxana, in 20° 30′ North Lat. and 48° 30′ East
Long., unto Thycimath, situate in 19° 45′ North Lat. and 38° East Long.
Still more westward, he places his Gira metropolis in North Lat. 18° and
36° East Long. or 12° East from Greenwich.
Next is the Niger river, running east, and joining both Mount Mandrus
and Mount Thala, that is all the waters which are collected in the vale
between these mountains flow to form the Niger. The course east he
distinctly marks, by marking first the Lake Nigrites, and then the
cities on both the northern and southern banks, viz. on the north from
Pessidy, situate in 18° North Lat. and 19° East Long. to Panagra, in 16°
45′ North Lat. and 31° East Long. On the south bank from Thuspu,
situated in 17° 45′ North Lat. and 26° 30′ East Long. unto Dudum in 15°
North Lat. and 31° East Long. or about 6° east of Greenwich. At this
point the river is evidently declining south considerably, and a space
of 5° of longitude, by Ptolemy’s reckoning, intervenes between this part
of the Niger and the Gira metropolis, the last point mentioned on the
Gir river.
The Niger, we are informed, makes the Lake Nigrites in 15° East Long.[2]
and 18° North Lat. This is evidently the Lake Dibbie. The Nigira
metropolis is placed on the map at the junction of a river coming from
the north-east, and in 17° 45′ North Lat. and 25° 20′ East Long. which
is about 3° east of Greenwich, answering in longitude very nearly indeed
with the position of Timbuctoo. On the north side the Niger receives two
branches, viz. one from the Sagapola mountain, and another from the
Usargala mountain, which latter is probably that branch which joins at
the Nigira metropolis. That from the Sagapola mountain is evidently a
mistake, providing that mountain is correctly laid down; but a branch
springing south of the desert, and coming from that direction, does
perhaps join the Niger. Ptolemy, in his account of the Sagapola
mountain, seems to take no notice of the Great Desert, that mountain
being placed to the north of it. The Upper Niger he clearly brings from
the north-west.
On the south the Niger receives one branch _nigh to_ two places, viz.
17° North Lat. and 21° East Long. and also 13° 30′ North Lat. and 21°
East Long. The accuracy of this we shall by and by have occasion to
notice more particularly. Towards the Rising Sun it also receives one
branch above the Lybian Lake, which lake is placed in 16° 30′ North
Lat., and 35° East Long., or about 12° east of Greenwich. This branch,
no doubt, comes from the eastern part of, or from the country eastward
of Mount Thala. Ptolemy seems to indicate, when he says, above the
Lybian Lake, that this branch joined the Niger after the latter had
issued from the lake. Yet his exact meaning is not easily ascertained.
The point, however, is of considerable importance; for, if to the
westward of the lake, no stream coming from the east could join the
Niger but the Gir. Be this as it may, it is obvious that he means that
this branch from the eastward and this lake communicated with the Niger.
Whoever considers for a moment, must see that it could not fail also to
have a communication with, or rather that it must receive the waters of
the Gir. The latter stream, in its westerly course, is distinctly traced
to 18° North Lat. and 36° East Long., while the Lybian Lake is placed in
16° 30′ North Lat. and 35° East Long., only about 100 miles S.W. from
the Gira metropolis. This is curious and important.
The Niger from this point continues a southerly course, otherwise it
could not join Mount Thala, the middle of which is in 10° North Lat. and
38° East Long., or 13° 40′ east of Greenwich. Further, we have in
Ptolemy no accurate accounts of the course of this river. But that it
flows south and joins the ocean, he certainly meant, when he says, that
Lybia, wherein he had described the courses of the rivers mentioned, was
bounded on the south by that part of Ethiopia Interior called Agisymba;
and concerning these African rivers, he says, “Illorum vero qui _per
interiorem Æthiopam_ fluant, quique _fontes et ostia_ in continente
habent maximi sunt Gir et Niger.” (Lib. ii. E. 1. de maximis
fluminibus.) In this the southern course is very plainly marked, and
also their termination in the ocean.
With one observation I shall conclude this part of the subject. In Mount
Girgiris, situate, as has been already mentioned, Ptolemy states that
the river Cinips has its source in two places, viz. in the parallel of
21° North Lat. and in 40° and 45° East Long. This river flows north, and
enters the Mediterranean between the greater and the lesser Syrtes, in
42° 15′ East Long., or to the eastward of modern Tripoli. No such river
we certainly know flows through this part of Africa. It is therefore
probable that the springs in Mount Girgiris flowed, joined, and formed a
river running in a different direction. The river Cinyphus, which enters
the Mediterranean, is certainly one of those streams which rise north of
the desert, and have very short courses indeed, compared to what the
Cinips would have, if it flowed from Lat. 21° North, a course of nearly
800 miles. The river springing in Mount Girgiris certainly takes a
different direction, and doing this, it will correspond with the
accounts of the direction of the rivers in that part of Africa, as these
are described by modern travellers.
After Ptolemy, the early Arabian authors and geographers demand our
attention. From their careless and obscure manner of writing on these
subjects, it is impossible to reconcile all their statements.
Sufficient, however, remains to shew us our way. According to Leo, the
ancient Arabian chroniclers, viz. Bukri and Mishuudi, knew nothing in
the land of the Negroes till the year of the Hegira 380 (A.D. 1002,)
except Alguechet and Cano. These discoveries were evidently made from
Egypt, as Alguechet is an Oasis in the desert 120 Arabian miles distant
from Egypt, and seems to have been the first stage in the road to
western discovery. At the period last-mentioned, however, the Arabs from
Barbary passed the great desert, and all the countries to the south
thereof were quickly explored and conquered. Those formidable deserts,
which formed a rampart against the advance of the most powerful nations
of antiquity, were, to the roving Arab, strengthened by enthusiasm, and
fortified by predestination, no barriers whatever. Innumerable swarms
soon found their way to the southward, and planted, amidst powerful
colonies, the standard and religion of their prophet on the banks of the
Niger. They penetrated through the centre of the country, from sea to
sea, from the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Guinea. When the Portuguese
first discovered the latter part of the coast of Africa, they found the
population every where mixed with Arabs. The western parts of the
continent, however, namely, the countries along the north and south of
the Senegal, were less known to them to much later periods. These seem
to have been the refuge of the ancient inhabitants of Morocco, &c. who,
driven from their ancient abodes by the disciples of Mahommed, sought
refuge across the desert, and, being a more intelligent and hardy race
than the Negroes, were thus for a longer period enabled to repel the
attacks of their restless enemies.
The central and southern parts of Northern Africa became thus well known
to the Arabian writers, either from observation or report. In some
parts, however, they contracted, and in others extended, the continent
beyond its proper limits. “The ambient sea,” (Bahar Addolum, Sea of
darkness, or Atlantic Ocean,) says Abulfeda, “extends itself from
Mauritania until it has passed the desert of Lemptuna, (Great Desert,) a
vast wilderness of barbarians, to the country of the Nigritæ. Thence it
stretches yet farther southwards, till it has _passed beyond the
Equator_, after which it extends to the east, _behind the mountains of
El Komri_, from whence the Nile of Egypt has its source. Again, it
proceeds southward,” &c. Leo Africanus states, that the “south part of
Africa abutteth upon the Ocean Sea, which compasseth it almost as far as
the deserts of Gaoga.” These deserts of Gaoga, according to the same
authority, lie to the south and the south-west of the kingdom of Gaoga,
which kingdom extended on the west bank of the Nile from the confines of
Egypt, southward 500 Arabian miles, to the great bend of the Nile, about
Dongola. This, with the account from Abulfeda, shews how much the early
Arabian writers were deceived regarding the true position of the Gulf of
Guinea, and how far eastward they conceived that it pierced into the
African continent.
Belad-el-Soudan, was the general term applied to those parts of Africa
inhabited by Negroes, south of the Great Zahaara, and west of the
deserts of Nubia. “Belad-el-Soudan,” says Bakui, who flourished about
the year 1400, “or the Country of the Blacks, extendeth on the north to
that of the Berbers, on the south to deserts, on the east to Ethiopia,
and on the west to the ocean sea. It is burned by a perpendicular sun.
The inhabitants are naked, part Mussulmen, and part Infidels.” Speaking
of that portion of Africa which abounds with mines of the “most pure
gold,” Ebn Haukal says, “this land of the Blacks is a very extensive
region. Their skin is of a finer and deeper black than any other blacks,
whether Habeshis, (Abyssinians,) or Zingians, (Ethiopians;) and their
country is more extensive than that of any other nation of blacks. _It
is situated on the coasts of the ocean to the south_.” This distinctly
points out the northern shore of the Gulf of Guinea. Ebn Haukal was the
most accurate of all the Arabian geographers, and is with great reason
supposed to have visited every country which he describes. Regarding the
boundary south, Bakui seems not to have been so well-informed, when he
says, it is “by deserts” on that quarter. But he evidently carries his
Belad-el-Sudan no farther south than the mighty chain of Kong and the
chain in the same parallel of latitude, stretching eastward to El Komri.
By the word deserts, we are to understand not only sandy deserts, like
the great Zahaara, but likewise mountainous, rugged, and woody countries
less civilized, cultivated, and inhabited than others. Leo Africanus
enables us to clear up this point. He states, that the kingdom of Melli
is bounded south by “certain deserts and dry mountains,” which are
without doubt the bleak mountains in the Kong chain. But still more
expressly, and to the point, he states, that “the land of the negroes
lies between the Lybian Desert (Zahaara) and a _desert_ to the south,
which stretcheth to the main ocean.” But that it is not barren sands is
evident, for he adds, “_in the desert are infinite_ nations (except by
report) unknown to us.” The country south of Guangara, the same
authority informs us, is of a similar description. Hence the authority
of Leo and Bakui is reconciled, and the meaning of their respective
descriptions, and others of a similar nature, given by other Arabian
writers, are, by this elucidation rendered clear and plain.
Belad-el-Sudan, or the country of the blacks, is, by Arabian authors,
divided into several large portions, each of which contains a number of
kingdoms and states. The larger divisions which are more immediately
connected with our present investigation, are the land of Gaoga, the
land of Kanem, Ghana, Maly, Meczarat-al-Sudan, Lamlem, and Belad-el-
Tibri. The four first occupied the whole country south of the Great
Desert, and the deserts of Lybia, extending through central Africa, from
the Egyptian Nile to the sources of the Senegal. The three latter
divisions, or portions, lie to the south of the former.
Gaoga does not properly belong to the land of the negroes, which, in
fact, commences from the western borders of the former. Gaoga, 300 years
ago, comprehended all that country from the confines of Egypt to the
desert south of Dongola, and from the Nile to the limits of the great
empire of Bornou. In the latter direction, according to Leo, it is about
500 miles in breadth. The country is in general barren, and full of
burning deserts.
The land of Kanem. This was formerly a mighty and important country,
though now merged in the great empire of Bornou, and parcelled out into
smaller states, such as Bagherme, &c. “On the borders of the Nile,” says
the Egyptian historian Macrisi, “lies also the land of Kanem; the king
of which is a Mahommedan. _It is at a great distance from the land of
Maly_. The capital is Heymy. The first town on the side towards Egypt
(that is on the caravan route) is Zeilah, and the last, reckoning
lengthways, is called Kaka, about three months journey from the other.
The people go veiled. Their king remains behind a curtain when he speaks
to any one. Except on two mornings each year, at the time of Asseer, no
one sees him. Their main food is rice. It grows without culture. They
have wheat, Indian corn, (dhoura,) figs, lemons, and other fruits. Their
currency is cotton-stuffs, called Dandy, and cowries. Gourds grow to a
great size. They make ships (perhaps rafts) of them, upon which they
cross the Nile. To the south of them are forests and deserts inhabited
by wild creatures, like demons, approaching to the figure of a man, whom
a horseman cannot overtake, and which hurt people. In the night there
appears something like fire; it shines, and when any one goes towards
it, it retires to a distance from him, so that if he should even run, he
never can come up with it, but it always keeps before him, and if he
throws a stone at it, and hits it, sparks fly from it. These countries
lie between Barca and Mogreb (a general name for Southern Africa) and
extend to the south as far as the middle Gharb. Their religion is of the
sect of Imam Malek Ibn Anes.”— (Burkhardt.)
The manners, customs, and produce of the country, are much the same as
are now found in Bornou, at that time a province of Kanem. The wild
creatures like demons are no doubt the African ourang-outang and ape,
which abound in the forests of Southern Africa, particularly towards Dar
Kulla and countries south of Bornou, which places, from the great extent
of the land of Kanem, it evidently reached. That they hurt, and even
attack people, particularly women, we learn from various authorities.
Mollien, page 286, says, “it is dangerous to meet the African ourang-
outang, particularly if a person be unarmed;” and in pages 290 and 291,
he relates an account of an assault made upon a woman by a number of
apes, who beat her most severely, and afterwards fought a desperate
battle with the principal inhabitants of a village near Galam, who went
on horseback to attack these animals. The fire that appeared at night
was most probably the fire fly, so numerous near rivers and forests in
the torrid zone, and which perhaps formed those “_fiery rivers_” which
astonished Hanno, the Carthaginian navigator and his followers.
From the description here given by Macrisi, it is plain that the Nile
(the Gir,) or some, if not all its large branches, passed through this
land of Kanem. Ibn-al-Vardi confirms the account of Macrisi. The former
states that “Konem, or Kanem, is a large country, situated along the
Nile,” and, what is still more to the point, he says, “the inhabitants
were all Mussulmen _of the sect of Imam Malek_.” Cities fall and empires
disappear, but the sects, tribes, and religion of the Arabs survive the
roll of ages, and form our sure guides. Edrisi also states Kanem as a
large district, and adds, that some negroes stated that Kaugha was
subject to it. Kanem, though humbled, is still known. According to
Burkhardt, “it is a large district, inhabited by the tribes of Tendjear,
and Beni Wayl,” (p. 479.) It is situated east of Bornou, and near the
river Sharee, and Bahr el Gazalle. Sheeref Imhammed places Kanem north
of Bornou in the road to Mourzook, but Burkhardt is perhaps the best
authority.