Landers Travels

Lander's Travels

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Title: Lander's Travels The Travels of Richard Lander into the Interior
of Africa
Author: Robert Huish
Release Date: June 20, 2004 [EBook #12667]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LANDER'S
TRAVELS ***

TRAVELS OF RICHARD AND JOHN LANDER, INTO THE
INTERIOR OF AFRICA, FOR THE DISCOVERY OF THE COURSE
AND TERMINATION OF THE NIGER;
FROM
UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE
LATE CAPT. JOHN WILLIAM BARBER FULLERTON, Employed
in the African Service:
WITH A Prefatory Analysis of the Previous Travels OF PARK,
DENHAM, CLAPPERTON, ADAMS, LYON, RITCHIE, &c. Into the
hitherto unexplored Countries of Africa.
BY ROBERT HUISH, ESQ.
Author of the "Last Voyage of Capt. Sir John Ross, to the Arctic

Regions," "Memoirs of W. Cobbett, Esq." "Private and Political Life of
the late Henry Hunt, Esq." &c. &c. &c.
LONDON:
_(Printed for the Proprietors,)_
PUBLISHED BY JOHN SAUNDERS, 25, NEWGATE STREET.
1836.

INTRODUCTION.
Many are the acquisitions which geography has made since the
boundaries of commerce have been extended, and the spirit of
enterprise has carried our adventurous countrymen into countries which
had never yet been indented by a European foot; and which, in the great
map of the world, appeared as barren and uninhabitable places,
destitute of all resources from which the traveller could derive a
subsistence. It must, however, on the other hand, be admitted, that
design has frequently had little to do in the discovery of those countries,
however well it may have been conceived, and however great the
perseverance may have been, which was exhibited in the pursuit. The
discovery of America was, indeed, a splendid example of an
enlightened conception, and an undaunted heroism, crowned with the
most complete success; and the laudable and unabated ardour which
this country, in despite of the most appalling obstacles, has persisted in
solving the great geographical problem of the Course and Termination
of the Niger, may be placed second in rank to the discovery of
America.
As long as any fact is shut out from the knowledge of man, he who is in
search of it will supply the deficiency by his own conclusions, which
will be more or less removed from the object of his pursuit, according
to the previous opinions which he may have formed, or to the credit
which he may have placed on the reports of others. These remarks
cannot be better illustrated, than in the case furnished by the Joliba, the
Quorra, or Niger, the termination of which river was utterly unknown
until Richard and John Lander, braving difficulties which would have
broken any other hearts than theirs, succeeded in navigating the river
until its conflux with the ocean. Since Park's first discovery of the
Joliba, every point of the compass has been assumed for the ulterior
course and termination of that river, and however wrong subsequent

discovery has proved this speculative geography to have been, it is not
to be regarded as useless. Theories may be far short of the truth, but
while they display the ingenuity and reasoning powers of their authors,
they tend to keep alive that spirit of inquiry and thirst for knowledge
which terminates in discovery.
Various accounts of this river had been gradually collected from
different sources, which afforded grounds for fresh theories respecting
its termination. That of Reichard was the favourite, he supposing that it
assumed a southwest course, and terminated in the gulph of Guinea. It
was observed at the time, that there was neither evidence on which such
an opinion could be supported, nor any by which it could be refuted.
Discovery has proved him to be right in respect to its ultimate disposal;
but at the same time, he participated in the general error regarding its
course to Wangara. These different opinions appeared in several
publications, in which, as might be expected, much error was mixed up
with the general correctness. That the river flowed into the sea at Funda,
was the principal and chief point that was gained; but the most
extraordinary circumstance attending this discovery, was, that no one
knew where Funda was. The only exception to these was the theory of
Major Denham, supported by Sultan Bello's information, who
continued its easterly course below Boossa, and ended it in Lake
Tchad.
Such was the uncertain condition in which the course of the Niger
remained, when the happy idea occurred of sending the Messrs.
Landers to follow its course below Boossa. By this step