A LIVELY CHASE

during that arduous voyage I had always failed, but after so much hard work and perseverance the cup was at my very
lips, and I was to drink at the mysterious fountain before another sun should set at that great reservoir of Nature that
ever since creation had baffled all discovery. I had hoped, and prayed, and striven through all kinds of difficulties, in
sickness, starvation, and fatigue, to reach that hidden source; and when it had appeared impossible, we had both
determined to die upon the road rather then return defeated. Was it possible that it was so near, and that tomorrow we
could say, the work is accomplished The March. The sun had not risen when I was spurring my ox after the guide, who,
having been promised a double handful of beads on arrival at the lake, had caught the enthusiasm of the moment. The
day broke beautifully clear, and having crossed a deep valley between the hills, we toiled up the opposite slope. I hurried
to the summit. The glory of our prize burst suddenly upon me There, like a sea of quick silver, lay far beneath the grand
expanse of water, a boundless sea horizon on the south and southwest, glittering in the noonday sun; and on the west, at
fifty or sixty miles distance, blue mountains rose from the bosom of the lake to a height of about feet above its level. It is
impossible to describe the triumph of that moment; here was the reward for all our labour for the years of tenacity with
which we had toiled through Africa. England had won the sources of the Nile Long before I reached this spot, I had
arranged to give three cheers with all our men in English style in honour of the discovery, but now that I looked down
upon the great inland sea lying nestled in the very heart of Africa, and thought how vainly mankind had sought these
sources throughout so many ages, and reflected that I had been the humble instrument permitted to unravel this portion
of the great mystery when so many greater than I had failed, I felt too serious to vent my feelings in vain cheers for
victory, and I sincerely thanked God for having guided and supported us through all dangers to the good end. I was
about feet above the lake, and I looked down from the steep granite cliff upon those welcome waters upon that vast
reservoir which nourished Egypt and brought fertility where all was wilderness upon that great source so long hidden
from mankind; that source of bounty and of blessings to millions of human beings; and as one of the greatest objects in
nature, I determined to honour it with a great name. As an imperishable memorial of one loved and mourned by our
gracious Queen and deplored by every Englishman, I called this great lake the Albert Nyanza. The Victoria and the
Albert lakes are the two Sources of the Nile. The zigzag path to descend to the lake was so steep and dangerous that we
were forced to leave our oxen with a guide, who was to take them to Magungo and wait for our arrival. We commenced
the descent of the steep pass on foot. I led the way, grasping a stout bamboo. My wife in extreme weakness tottered
down the pass, supporting herself upon my shoulder, and stopping to rest every paces. After a toilsome descent of about
two hours, weak with years of fever, but for the moment strengthened by success, we gained the level plain below the
cliff. A walk of about a mile through flat sandy meadows of fine turf interspersed with trees and bush, brought us to the
waters edge. The waves were rolling upon a white pebbly beach: I rushed into the lake, and thirsty with heat and
fatigue, with a heart full of g ratitude, I drank deeply from the Sources of the Nile. Within a quarter of a mile of the lake
was a fishing village named Vacovia, in which we now established ourselves. Everything smelt of fish and everything
looked like fishing; not the gentle art of England with rod and fly, but harpoons were learning against the huts, and lines
almost as thick as the little finger were hanging up to dry, to which were attached iron hooks of a size that said much for
the monsters of the Albert lake. On entering the hut I found a prodigious quantity of tackle; the lines were beautifully
made of the fibre of the plantain stem, and were exceedingly elastic, and well adapted to withstand the first rush of a
heavy fish; the hooks were very coarse, but well barbed, and varied in size from two to six inches. A number of harpoons
and floats for hippopotami were arranged in good order, and the tout ensemble of the hut showed that the owner was a
sportsman. The harpoons for hippopotami were precisely the same pattern as those used by the Ham ran Arabs on the
Taka frontier of Abyssinia, having a narrow blade of three quarters of an inch in width, with only one barb. The rope
fitted to the harpoon was beautifully made of plantain fibre, and the float was a huge piece of ambatch wood about
fifteen inches in diameter. They speared tha hippopotamus from canoes, and these large floats were necessary to be easily
distinguished in the rough waters of the lake. My men were perfectly astounded at the appearance of the lake. The
journey had been so long, and hope deferred had so completely sickened their hearts, that they had long since disbelieved
in the existence of the lake, and they were persuaded that I was leading them to the sea. They now looked at the lake
with amazement two of them had already seen the sea at Alexandria, and they unhesitatingly declared that this was the
sea, but that it was not salt. Vacovia was a miserable place, and the soil was so impregnated with salt, that no
cultivation was possible. Salt was the natural product of the country; and the population were employed in its
manufacture, which constituted the business of the lake shores being exchanged for supplies from the interior. I went to
examine the pits: these were about six feet deep, from which was dug a black sandy mud that was placed in large

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