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| Thursday, 22 April 2004 |
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"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" by Derrick Schokman There can be few better known phrases in the English langauge that the above stratified Victorian greeting of Stanley when he found Livingstone in the wilds of Central Africa in 1871. In 1866, the legendary but impoverished medico-missionary Dr. David Livingstone, desperate to convert his fame and mystique into tangible wealth, set off in search of the source of the Nile as a sort of geographical swansong. During his wanderings he drifted out of contact for several years, leaving the British Government to suspect that he was lost. Henry Morton Stanley, a foreign correspondent in the New York Herald, was sent out by his publisher to find Livingstone. The northern corner of Uganda below the Sahara in the region of the Great Rift Valley and its lakes was a point of rendezvous for Central African explorers. That is where Stanley proceeded and found Livingstone in the crowded market of Ujiji, along with Arab traders in search of ivory for the markets of Egypt, Turkey and Persia. Over a four-month period the pair became close friends, exploring the northern part of Lake Tanganyka together. When Stanley returned he left Livingstone a four years worth of supplies to continue his quest of the source of the Nile. The old explorer however was too exhausted to take full advantage of those supplies. He died 18 months after the separation. His body was embalmed and taken back to England for burial in Westminster Abbey. Quest The 19th century quest to find the source of the Nile was complicated. Not only by the remoteness of the terrain, but also by the way the river weaves between Lakes Victoria and Albert. English explorers Burton and Speke found Lake Tanganyika together in 1858 and went their separate ways, Burton believing Lake Tanganyika to be the source of the Nile. Speke did not think so. With a new partner, Grant, he believed that Lake Victoria was the source. It was left to Stanley on another expedition to Central Africa, sponsored by the Herald and Daily Telegraph, to confirm Speke's belief that the northern end of the lake via the Ripon Falls was the only outflow to the Nile. In 1907, when Winston Churchill was touring the area as Under Secretary of State to the Colonies, he described this source of the Nile as follows: "The exit or overflow of the Great Lake is closed by a natural rampart or ridge of black rock, broken or worn away in two main gaps to release the waters. Through them the Nile leaps at once into majestic being and enters upon its course of a perfect river 300 yards wide." Churchill was much concerned with the waste of such mega hydro-power. "What fund it would be," he wrote, "to make the immemorial Nile begin its journey as a turbine." His wish was granted. The falls in time vanished under a great concrete dam, which provides electric power to most of East Africa. Congo Stanley, in his explorations was also responsible for tracing the course of the Congo river, and discovering the Stanley Falls, Livingstone Falls and Stanley Pool. When England showed no interest in developing the Congo, Stanley was employed by King Leopold II of Belgium to open up the region. He laid the base for that by creating 22 river stations and a railway towards the mouth of the river. Baker It was left to another English explorer, Samuel Baker, well-known in this country during early colonial times as a big-game hunter and entrepreneur in N'Eliya, to discover the second source of the Nile in Lake Albert on March 14, 1864. This is what Baker wrote in his diary on that eventful day: "The day broke beautifully clear, and having crossed a deep valley between hills up to the opposite slope, we hurried to the summit. The glory of our prize suddenly burst on us! There like a sea of quick-silver, lay far beneath a boundless sea horizon to the south and southwest glittering in the noon-day sun, and on the west some 50 to 60 miles away blue mountains. It is impossible to describe the triumph of that moment." Baker's 'blue mountains' turned out to be Ruwenzori or the Mountains of the Moon, later discovered by Stanley on his last expedition in 1887. Funded by commercial interests Stanley was hired to rescue the German-born Emin Pasha, who was stranded at Waddai near Lake Albert, when his authority in Sudan was threatened by the Madhi. Achievements Stanley's achievements earned his a patron's medal and special gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1873 and 1890, a seat in the House of Commons in 1895, and a Knighthood in 1899. Stanley died at the age of 63. His wish to be buried next to Livingstone in Westminster Abbey was denied. After the funeral service in the Abbey his ashes were removed and buried in Pirbright. May 10 of this year 2004 marks the 100th death anniversary of this Victorian conquistador, who led the way into darkness and opened the door to the 'scramble for Africa'. |
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