strong with the tribute of a lake (Lough Allen), and traverses the
middle of Ireland, in a direction from north-east to south-west. Thrice
again he widens out into a lake; first into the little Lough Boffin,
then into the larger Lough Ree, and lastly, when he has got more than
half way to the ocean, into the yet longer Lough Derg. Below Limerick
he opens into a noble estuary, and when at length he falls into the
sea between Loop Head and Kerry Head, the glorious river has completed
a course of two hundred and fourteen English miles. The greater part
of the Shannon runs through the central plain which separates the
mountainous north from the mountainous south.
“It was on a beautiful day that I embarked to descend the Shannon.
Flowing out of a lake, and forming several other lakes in its progress,
the water is extremely clear and beautiful. The movement is in general
equable, excepting a few rapids which are avoided by means of canals.
The banks, too, are pleasing to the eye. Large green meadows stretch
along the sides of the river, and villages alternate with handsome
country seats, surrounded by their parks. Herons abound along the
margin, and many of these beautiful birds were continually wheeling
over us in the air, their plumage glittering again in the rays of the
sun.
“We arrived at Banagher. Then gliding along by Redwood Castle and the
beautiful meadows of Portumna, we left the town of Portumna to our
right, and entered the waters of Lough Derg. The steamer in which we
had hitherto travelled was of small dimensions, with a wheel under the
stern, to allow of its passing through some canals of no great breadth;
but on the broad lake a new and larger vessel prepared to receive
us. The two steamers came close to one another, to exchange their
respective passengers, and their manœuvre, as they swept round on the
wide water, pleased me much.
[Illustration: THE SHANNON]
“Of the lakes that like so many rich pearls are strung upon the
silver thread of the Shannon, Lough Ree and Lough Bodarrig, lying in
a level country, and in a great measure surrounded by bogs, present
little that is pleasing to the eye. Lough Allen is situated almost
wholly within the mountainous districts of the north, and a large
portion of Lough Derg is made picturesque by the mountains of the
south. Like all Irish lakes, Lough Derg contains a number of small
green islands, of which the most renowned is Inniscaltra, an ancient
holy place, containing the ruins of seven venerable churches of
great antiquity, and the remains of one of those remarkable columnal
erections known in Ireland under the name of “round towers.” We passed
the sacred isle at the distance of a mile and a half, but we could very
distinctly make out all its monuments by the aid of a telescope.”
It is not every visitor to Shannon’s shores that has unqualified praise
for the scenery. Thus speaking of the sites selected by the saints of
old for their retreats, Cæsar Otway exclaims: “What a dreary place is
Glendalough! what a lonely isle is Inniscaltra! what a hideous place
is Patrick’s Purgatory! what a desolate spot is Clonmacnoise! From the
hill of Bentullagh on which we now stood, the numerous churches, the
two round towers, the curiously overhanging bastion of O’Melaghlin’s
Castle, all before us to the south, and rising in relief from the
dreary sameness of the surrounding red bogs, presented such a picture
of tottering ruins and encompassing desolation as I am sure few places
in Europe could parallel.”
The traveller who wants to see the most accessible beauties of the
Shannon usually starts at Limerick and leaves the river at Athlone,
though some go as far as Carrick on Shannon. The chief loughs
traversed are Derg and Ree; and the only towns of any importance are
Killaloe, Portumna and Athlone.
About eight miles above Limerick are the Rapids or Falls of Doonass,
where the Shannon pours an immense body of water, which above the
rapids is forty feet deep and 300 yards wide, through and above a
congregation of huge rocks and stones that extend nearly half a mile,
and offers not only an unusual scene, but a spectacle approaching much
nearer to the sublime than any moderate-sized stream can offer even in
the highest cascade.
Castleconnell is beautifully situated on the east bank. It has a
popular Spa, and is a famous centre for salmon fishing. The castle,
from which the town is named, stands on an isolated rock in the middle
of the town. It was anciently the seat of the O’Briens. When Ginkell,
William the Third’s General, took the castle, he caused it to be
dismantled. Castleconnell is famous for its salmon fishing and eel
weirs. The Castleconnell fishing rods are famed all over the world.
Eight miles above Castleconnell near the entrance to Lough Derg is
Killaloe.
The navigation from Limerick to Killaloe is carried on by canal so
as to avoid the rapids of Killaloe and Castleconnell. Killaloe is a
charmingly placed village, but it is probably best known as the place
above all others in Ireland dear to the heart of the angler. The fine
old cathedral, on the site of a much older church, dates from the
Twelfth Century. The Choir is used as the parish church. Commencing at
Killaloe is Lough Derg, an expansion of the Shannon to the proportions
of a lake. The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York made a trip up
Lough Derg to Banagher in the summer of 1897, and the route is now
known as the “Duke of York” route.
As every one knows, the Shannon is much the largest river in the
United Kingdom. Its breadth, where it expands into the long narrow
lakes that mark so much of its course, stretches to as much as
thirteen miles. Lough Derg, the first of these expanded stretches,
is twenty-three miles long, and exceedingly picturesque. Its shining
surface, overshadowed by blue hills, is broken here and there by woody
islands famous in history and song. Killaloe itself takes its name from
the ruined church on the island below the twelve-arched bridge (“the
church on the water”). The salmon fisheries here are very important
and profitable, and--which is probably more interesting to the
traveller--the river is free to every one who possesses a rod and line.
It was here, at the lower end of Lough Derg, that Brian Boru’s palace
of Kincora once stood, in the Ninth Century. The mound on which it was
built is all that remains of a place that displayed, 1,200 years ago,
the utmost glory of the fierce, proud Irish kings. The ruined castle
of Derry crowns another small islet; and Holy Island, thirty acres in
extent, is a spot full of interest. Like Glendalough, it was chosen
out, early in the Christian era, for a retreat of piety and learning.
One cannot but observe the excellent taste in scenery displayed by
the monks of ancient days, in selecting these peaceful refuges from
a stormy world. What can be more lovely than the vale of the seven
churches, or than Innisfallen Island? and Holy Island compares not at
all ill with these still more famous places. St. Caimin, in the early
part of the Seventh Century, settled here, and built a monastery,
which soon became famous for its learning. Seven different churches
afterwards grew up on the island, and one of the most beautiful round
towers in Ireland still raises its head seventy feet above the waters
of the lake, among the ruins of these sacred places. This part of the
lake is crowded with islands, and the ruined castles and monasteries
are very numerous. At the town of Portumna, some miles further on,
another stop is made, as the castle and abbey are particularly well
worth seeing. This was another spot celebrated for its learning. The
monastery of Tirdaglass, whence many manuscripts issued, was founded
by St. Columba in the Sixth Century. At Clonmacnoise, further on,
the traveller may see the cradle of the ancient art and learning
of Ireland, and the most important seat of religion in early days.
St. Cearan (early Sixth Century) is especially associated with the
spot; the great cathedral was built in his honour, and the holy well,
dedicated to the Saint, is still the object of constant pilgrimage.
Round towers, ancient Irish crosses, ruined churches and monasteries,
are here in abundance. The ancient city of Clonmacnoise has disappeared
altogether. This is a place of the greatest possible interest to
antiquarians, and even ordinary travellers will find much pleasure in
the beauty of the picturesque ruins.
At Banagher is the fortified bridge of seven arches, protected by two
towers and a battery. This is all the more interesting, for, not being
an antiquity in any sense, it was finished in 1843, as a matter of fact.
Above Lough Derg, the country is fertile, but not especially striking
until Lough Ree is reached. This second great expansion of the river
fairly rivals the first in beauty. Of its twenty-seven islands, the
most attractive is Inis Clothran, on which the famous Queen Maev of
Connaught spent her declining years. She is said to have built a
splendid stone house for herself here, and lived on the island until
she died, at the age of a hundred and two. Some ruins still remain to
mark the spot, although the date of Queen Maev goes back nearly two
thousand years. Antiquarians consider that Shakespeare’s fairy Queen
Mab was a development of the many legends told about this powerful,
wicked, and fascinating Queen of far-off days.
Portumna, at the head of the lake, commands fine views of Lough Derg,
and the hilly land to the west. After leaving this town the scenery
becomes dull and monotonous till we reach Meelick, where the river is
so devious that a canal rejoins the Shannon at the mouth of the Little
Brosna. Immediately above, the stream begins to divide and becomes very
tortuous till Banagher is reached.
At the upper end of Lough Ree is Lanesborough, a small town with a
fine bridge of six arches and a swivel arch. From this point the sail
to Tarmonbarry presents little beauty or interest. The country is
generally a wide extent of bog, abounding in remains of trees and the
extinct Irish elk. Opposite Tarmonbarry, the Royal Canal, communicating
with Dublin, joins the Shannon. When the river again widens into Lough
Forbes, the Seven Churches of Kilbarry come into view: only three and
part of a round tower are now standing. Lough Forbes is triangular in
shape, and the shores are low boggy land not destitute of a certain
quiet beauty. Lough Boderg shaped like a T is the only remaining sheet
of water before reaching Carrick on Shannon where the tourist’s voyage
generally ends.
THE DANUBE
I. BOWES
Next to the Volga, the Danube is the largest river in Europe, and for
volume of water and commercial importance it far exceeds that river. It
is estimated that the Danube carries more water to the sea than all the
rivers of France.
The river rises at the head of a pleasant little valley high up in
the mountains of the Black Forest; coming tumbling down the rocks a
tiny stream of clear water, and, gathering strength and volume from
numerous springs and rivulets, it cuts a deep channel into the rich
soil and dances gaily along, presently to be joined by the Brigach and
its twin-sister, the Brege, which rise about ten miles further to the
south. These are the highest sources of the mighty River Danube, the
great water highway of Europe, celebrated for ages in legend and song
and in ancient and modern history for important military events, and,
in its flow of nearly 2,000 miles to the Black Sea, unfolding the most
remarkable panoramas of natural beauty known to the geographer; whilst
on its banks may be found groups of the most interesting nationalities
of the world.
[Illustration: THE DANUBE]
Donaueschingen, a tidy little town in the Grand Duchy of Baden, is
sometimes called the source of the Danube. It is situated about a mile
and a half below the point where the Brigach and the Brege join the
river, which from this point is called the Donau or Danube, and it
is the head of the navigation for small boats on the upper river.
Between here and Ulm there are twenty-one weirs and dams, and many
pleasant villages, pretty little towns, ruined castles, and princely
residences; amongst the latter may be named Hohenzollern, near
Sigmaringen, the seat of the Imperial family of Prussia. The scenery in
the locality of the castle is of great beauty, and the town, pleasantly
situated on the banks of the river, has a charming appearance.
The river below Sigmaringen flows through a broad, fertile valley, and
with a quicker current, as the banks have been partially canalized; and
small towns, with names of wondrous length and ponderous sound, such as
Munderkingen, Kiedlingen, Reichenstein, etc., suggest places that are
or have been of great importance. In the distance the great tower of
the Cathedral of Ulm is seen rising up out of the low horizon. Ulm is a
great military stronghold, and the old town a maze of narrow, crooked
streets. The Cathedral is said to be next in size to that at Cologne,
and is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture, with the highest stone
tower in the world.
Below Ulm several smaller towns are passed before reaching Ratisbon,
a city of 40,000 inhabitants, famous for many historical events.
The Cathedral of Saint Peter is one of the architectural glories of
Germany. Freight steamers, barges, tugboats, and passenger steamers
abound on this part of the river. Long flat boats sixty feet long,
such as we see on the Rhine, pass down to the Lower Danube, laden with
grain, timber, etc.
Linz, with its 500,000 inhabitants, is an interesting town; and the
river scenery, between here and Vienna, is said to rival the Rhine
scenery, the hills being more varied in outline and the slopes richer
in verdure.
At Vienna the river is more crowded still, and is crossed by some
fine road and railway bridges; and many show sights are here, such as
cathedrals, historical buildings, etc., and more than a fair share of
_cafés_, theatres and music-halls. In this respect it rivals Paris,
and, some say, exceeds it in wickedness.
After leaving Vienna, Hainburg, Kieben and Presburg (with its 50,000
inhabitants), where the Hungarian kings have for ages been crowned,
are passed; then Komorn, and through the fertile plains of Hungary to
Buda Pesth, a beautiful, prosperous city, with a population of 500,000.
It is said that the extensive quays facing the river and the imposing
buildings are the finest on the whole course of the Danube. Lower down
the river the inhabitants on either bank show distinct traces of Magyar
descent.
And now leaving the Hungarian territory for Servia, Belgrade with its
great fortress comes in sight. Many parts of the city are Turkish in
appearance, and the inhabitants are a mixture of Hungarians, Turks and
Servians.
About sixty miles below Belgrade the river leaves the Hungarian plains,
and at Bazias the chief hindrances to the navigation of the Danube
begin and extend to Sibb, a distance of about eighty-two miles. The
obstructions may be divided into four sections, viz:--No. 1. The Stenka
Rapids; No. 2. The Kozla Dojke; No. 3. The Greben Section; and No. 4.
The Iron Gates. The first named rapids are about 1,100 yards long;
nine miles lower down the second section--about one and a half miles
long--begins, and the river is narrowed from about 1,000 yards in width
to about 300 and in some places 170 yards. These rapids are caused by
rocks in the bed of the river, some of which are almost dry at low
water, extending nearly across it, and causing sudden alterations in
the currents and dangerous whirlpools and eddies.
At Greben, four miles lower down, there were formidable obstacles to
be overcome, and some of the heaviest work in the undertaking had to
be faced; for at this point a spur of the Greben Mountain juts out
into the river, and suddenly reduces its width at low water. When the
snow and ice in the upper reaches of the river melt, or in heavy rain,
the river rapidly rises, and, being blocked by these obstacles, causes
damaging floods in the fertile valleys of Hungary.
Below the Greben rapids the river widens out to about one and a half
miles, and passing the cutting and training walls at the rapids of Jucz
enters the Kazan defile, which is said to be the most picturesque part
of the Lower Danube. The cliffs, of great height, approach nearer and
nearer to each other, until the river is contracted to 120 yards wide.
Passing through this dark and sombre defile into the valley of Dubova,
it widens to 500 metres; the mountains again approach and reduce the
width to about 200 yards. The depth at these straits varies from ten
metres to fifty metres. It was through this defile that Trajan, nearly
2,000 years ago, made riverside roads and towing paths in continuation
of the small canals and waterways to evade the rocks and currents and
to facilitate the transport of his armies and military trains for the
Roman campaigns in Central Europe. The ruins of these works are a
proof of the great labour expended upon them, and also of the skill in
engineering possessed by the Romans in those days. The tablets engraved
on the rocks, still in part visible, commemorate their heroic deeds.
Following our course down the river, at ten kilometres from the Kazan,
we come to Orsova, a rather important place of call for steamers and
trading-vessels; and, now that the river is navigable for larger
vessels, this place is destined, from its railway communications, etc.,
to become a great trading centre.
At a distance of eight kilometres from Orsova, the Iron Gate, situated
between Roumania and Servia begins, and is for a length of about three
kilometres the largest and most dangerous obstacle on the Lower Danube.
The rocks in the channel impede the current, forming dangerous eddies
and cataracts.
The Prigrada Rock rises above low water with a width of 250 metres and
a length of about two kilometres, stretches in a crooked line across
the river to the Roumanian shore, with a narrow channel, through
which vessels of light draught only can be navigated with difficulty.
The river, pouring over this rock, forms dangerous whirlpools and
cataracts, requiring the greatest watchfulness, care, and experience on
the part of the navigator to overcome the dangers of what has well been
called “The Iron Gates.” Hundreds of steamers and vessels have been
wrecked in attempting this dangerous passage.
Like many other great projects many schemes had been proposed and plans
for carrying them out by different authorities had been considered,
but nothing definite was done until in 1888, the Hungarian Government,
under rights conferred upon it by the Berlin Treaty of 1878, and
the London Treaty of 1871, undertook the work of construction and
administration under the conditions of the treaties which gave them the
power to levy tolls on trade ships for covering the expenses of the
works.
The ceremony of the inauguration took place on the 27th of September,
1896, when the Emperor of Austria, King Charles of Roumania, and King
Alexander of Servia, with an immense gathering of bishops, generals
and diplomatic representatives, etc., met at Orsova, and proceeded
through the Iron Gates and the beautiful and romantic Kazan Pass with a
procession of six vessels, which included a monitor and torpedo boat,
and accompanied by a continuous discharge of artillery and the loud
huzzas of the immense gathering of soldiers, visitors and inhabitants.
Below the Iron Gates the river broadens out and the scenery is tame
and uninteresting, for the vast plains of Roumania extend from the
foot of the hills here to the shores of the Black Sea, and the
maritime and commercial aspects of the surroundings begin to manifest
themselves--the river becomes more crowded with craft of all kinds as
we approach the towns on the Lower Danube.
We pass Widin, and, lower down, Sistova where, in the Russo-Turkish
war, the Russians crossed the river to Plevna and the Balkan passes.
Thirty-five miles lower down we reach Rustchuk, the most important
Bulgarian town on the river, and fast becoming a great emporium of
trade, being on the main line of railway to Constantinople, _viâ_ Varna.
We then pass Silistria and approach the longest railroad bridge in the
world. This bridge crosses the Danube below Silistria, and carries the
railway from Kustendji on the Black Sea into Roumania.
Braila, 125 miles from the mouth of the river, is the chief port
for the shipment of produce, etc., from the grain-growing regions
of Roumania and Northern Bulgaria. Here are extensive docks, grain
elevators, and thousands of men of all nationalities engaged in loading
steamers and sailing vessels from all countries. The British flag is
everywhere present. As a commercial port the place is fast outstripping
its neighbour, Galatz, fifteen miles lower down.
From Galatz to the sea, the navigation of the river, the dredging,
removing of obstacles, levying of tolls, etc., is controlled by an
International Commission established by treaty in 1878, since which
date great improvements have been made, chiefly in the lower reaches
and the Sulina mouth of the river, by the construction of groynes,
revetments and cuttings to avoid the bends, and constant dredgings by
powerful dredgers are carried on.
THE NIGER
J. HAMPDEN JACKSON
It will probably be a century hence before men fully realize the extent
of the world’s debt to those English noblemen and gentlemen who in
the last decade of the last century, sent forth Mungo Park as their
emissary to find and trace specifically upon the map all he might
discover as to this mysterious river. Their choice of the man was
exceptionally fortunate.
I pass over all their disappointments, and the persistent courage with
which they bore them, and need only remind you that these Englishmen
of the African Association--soon afterwards to become the Royal
Geographical Society--not only found and equipped Park and Clapperton
and Lander, but it was at _their_ cost, on _their_ business and for
_their_ entertainment alone, that Barth, the German explorer (whose
brilliant and most accurate explorations are in our day constantly
credited to his own nation instead of ours), undertook and finished his
great journeys into Hausaland from North Africa.
We follow Park from his first discovery of the Niger at Sego, look
with him on the breadth at that spot of its stream, realize his
disappointment at having to return to England; his joy at coming for
the second time to Bambarra, and then his voyage in the little craft
bearing his country’s flag down to the devious waters of the unexplored
river; past Kabara, from whose hill-top he might have seen Timbuktu
had he but known and had he not been attacked there by the people on
trying to land. Next we sail with Park past Birni, close to the capital
of the former Songhay Empire, past Say, up the stream to Boussa, the
capital of Borgu, 650 miles from the sea; and here on that memorable
day of 1806 we see poor Park meet his death, and I hope it may not be
long ere some worthy obelisk at the spot shall set forth indelibly the
great record of his mission.
We come now to Richard Lander, and in like manner I take you over the
route of this famous voyager, from Badagry (whence he struck inland)
to Boussa, where he found the relics of Park, and then in his boats
down stream past Mount Jebba--standing midway in the river, with an
elevation above sea level of some 300 feet--past Rabbah--then the
largest city on the Niger--to Egga, where the great ferry of the
Kano-Ilorin traffic makes prosperous the chief port of Nupé, and
now--in the distance--appears the table-topped Mount Patteh, rising
1,300 feet from the right bank, and as we sail with Lander under its
shadow there opens out before us the noble confluence at Lokoja, where
the Benué, the Niger’s mighty tributary, pours its mile-broad current
into this great West African river. Next Lander passes between the
jagged and stunted peaks of the Nigretian Alps, and nearing Idda,
sees its bold precipices of red sandstone rear themselves on the left
bank, and admires the giant baobab trees, the clustered round-roofed
huts, and the busy throngs of Igara people passing to and fro from the
riverside. But our explorer has vowed to follow the great Niger to its
outflow, and we are still some 280 miles from the sea.