A VIEW OF LAKE ALBERT NYANZA.
At a great distance to the northwest could be seen a lofty range of
mountains. Baker learned from the natives that these mountains, beyond
which he had fancied the lake must lie, were really its western
boundary.
A few days later he had the pleasure of looking at this beautiful sheet
of water. He was the first Englishman who had ever had the honor to
prove its connection with the Nile.
He was about fifteen hundred feet above the lake when he first sighted
it. "Opposite to him the lake was about sixty miles broad, but to the
south and southwest lay a boundless horizon like the ocean. Immediately
on the other side rose a grand range of mountains, some of them seven
thousand feet high, and down two streams in their rifts plunged great
waterfalls, visible even at that vast distance, to add their
contributions to the fresh-water lake."
Here lay the long-sought-for lake. Wild waves swept over its surface, as
he descended the steep declivity to reach its shore. In bold triumph
they swelled and burst at his feet upon the white, pebbly beach. Filled
with enthusiasm, Baker stooped and drank of the pure, fresh water from
the vast reservoir before him.
Near by lay a little fishing village. Around the huts stood beautifully
made harpoons, hooks, and the lines used by the fishermen. These fishing
outfits were used not only to catch the gigantic fish, of two hundred
pounds or more, which abound in the lake, but also the hippopotamus and
the crocodile.
Baker found that the lake, which he named the Albert Nyanza,--as an
imperishable memorial of one loved and mourned, not only by England's
queen, but by all England,--has a length of about three hundred miles in
a southwesterly direction. It then turns to the west, but its extent in
this direction was not known at the time of Baker's explorations. The
extent is believed to be not far from that of Victoria Nyanza, which
covers an area of not less than thirty thousand square miles.
It seems remarkable that such a great reservoir had not been sought for
before, or at least that the necessity for its existence had not been
seen. Such a vast body of water would seem to be absolutely required to
force a river like the Nile over a distance of twenty-five hundred miles
to the sea. At the northeast corner, at Magungo, the river which forms
the connecting link between the two feeders of the Nile enters this
lake. Thirty miles to the north the great Nile flows out of the lake and
wends its way to the sea.
Baker soon made preparations for a fortnight's voyage upon the lake. Two
canoes, one twenty-six, the other thirty-two feet long, were secured.
Both these canoes were hollowed out of logs. In the smaller canoe a
cabin was built.
The voyage was most interesting. The scenery along the lake was
beautiful. Sometimes the mountains in the west were lost sight of, as
the canoes kept within a hundred yards of the shore. Sometimes the
cliffs would recede, and leave a meadow, more or less broad, at their
base. Frequently the rocky column would descend vertically into deep
water. "Again, a grand mass of gneiss and granite, eleven hundred feet
high, would present itself, feathered with beautiful evergreens, with
every runnel and rivulet in its clefts fringed with graceful wild date
trees." Hippopotami floated lazily about in the water, while crocodiles,
roused to alarm by the canoe, would rush out of the bushes to hide
themselves in the depths of the lake.
The water was beautifully transparent. A crocodile that Baker killed
with his rifle sank to a depth of eight feet, yet his bleeding form
could be plainly seen at the bottom of the lake.
Once, an elephant came down out of the forest to bathe. On another
occasion, fourteen of these immense animals were seen sporting in a
sandy cove, and enjoying themselves by throwing jets of water in all
directions.
When the expedition had gone about ninety miles, the lake began to
contract. Vast beds of reeds extended to a distance of a mile from
shore. They were of the nature of the floating vegetation in the stream
where Mrs. Baker so nearly lost her life.
Not caring to cross on this frail support, Baker and his party followed
the shore for a mile, till they had passed this mass of floating
vegetation, and found a broad, still channel bordered with reeds on each
side. Here was the river which links the Albert to the Victoria Nyanza.
The river between the two lakes has a course of about two hundred and
fifty miles. There is a succession of cataracts below Karuma Falls. They
occupy some forty miles of the river bed.
The mouth of the Victoria Nile is still water. It has a width of half a
mile. The river at the mouth, as it tranquilly enters the lake, presents
a strong contrast to the current at Karuma Falls, where the water comes
seething and boiling, rushing and tearing over the rocky bed.
Baker and his party found the eastern, or Magungo, shore of the lake to
be a delightful section, bordered by enormous trees. The soil was firm
and sandy, in some instances rocky. The country beyond the shore of the
lake rose in a rapid incline towards the town of Magungo, which is
built on an elevated ridge about a mile away.
While Baker's party waited along the shore of the lake, some of the
natives arrived from the villages, bringing a goat, some fowls, eggs,
milk, and fresh butter. In return, Baker gave the chief a quantity of
beads, which greatly delighted this child of nature.
The march up the hill to Magungo was now in order. The day was clear and
bright. The soil was sandy and rather poor, but the road was hard and
well kept.
A splendid view lay before the little party as they reached Magungo and
looked back upon the lake. They were now fully two hundred and fifty
feet above the level of the water. The country seemed to have a general
elevation of about five hundred feet, for five or six miles, when it
began by gentle undulations to descend to the lake.
The most prominent objects to be seen were the mountains on the Magella
side, forming the western boundary, while in the foreground lay the
lake.
A few miles to the north there appeared an opening in the ridge. The
lake, much contracted, continued to the west, while the mountain range
on the north side of the gap extended on to the northeast.
The country due north and northeast was remarkably level. As far as the
eye could see, an expanse of bright green reeds marked the course of the
Nile, as it made its exit from Albert Nyanza Lake.
At Magungo the width of the sheet of water was about seventeen miles. It
continued its course in a long strip to the mouth, where it lost itself
in a level valley of green rushes.
Baker and his party could not yet persuade themselves that the quiet,
tranquil stream issuing from Albert Nyanza was the same which rushed
impetuously on its way at Karuma Falls.
It remained, then, to prove the statements of the guide that the Nile
was dead water for a considerable distance from its junction with the
lake; that a great waterfall rushed down from the mountain to swell the
current near Karuma Falls; and that the river was simply a succession of
cataracts in its course to these falls.
On the assurance of the chief of Magungo, and of some of the natives,
that these falls were within six days' marching distance, Baker's little
party embarked in canoes for the purpose of exploring the river and
assuring themselves of its identity with the stream which made its exit
from the lake.