Lake Ngami, or, Explorations and Discoveries During Four Years’ Wanderings in the Wilds of Southwestern Africa

448 Pages·1857·75.37 MB·English

by  Charles John Andersson

LAKE NG AM I;
OR,
EXPLORA11IONS AND DISCOVERIES
DURING
FOURY EARSW' ANDERINIGNS T HEW ILDS
OP
•
SOUTH WESTERN AFRICA.
DY
CHARLES JOHN ANDERSSON.
~itg an Jntrobutfori Jtiitr
BY
JOHN CHARLES FREMONT.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.
Jl&PBESBNTING8 .PORTING il>VENTURJ:8 808JEOT8 OP NATURAL Bl8TORT DEVJOU
1 1
POR DE!l'tROYINGW il..O A.N1¥AL8, BTO.
•
NEW YORK:
DI X, EDWARDS & 00 ., 321 BRO.ADW A Y.
LO NDON: H URST & BLAOKETT.
1857.
Digttized by Google
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
=- - -
- ----: -- ===-=- - - -
- -- - ~-
- --
~
--
--=--
--== -
-
- :
-
- -
-=-
-=-
-- -
-
- -
-
•
-
'
-
-
D,g,t,zed
by Google
•
Enter ed, according to act of Congress, in tho year 18.56,b y
DIX , ED \VARDS & CO.,
l u the Clerk'e Otlioc of t.he Districl <.:uurt of tJ10 United States for the Southern
DiKtrioto f Ne,v York .
•
Jome¥ . Taow,
Pri,gcr, S1~n,01J1)er, and f:fcel?Ot}1!<r,
'
an 613 19 B,~dwAy,
Cor. \Yblle Slrool, ~o,. York.
Digttized by Google
A LET'fER
1'-ROM
,
JOHN CHARLES FREMONT .
NEw YoRK, Nov. 16, 1866.
:-I willingly comply with your reque st ; for I
GENTLEMEN
have no doubt that, in publi shing an American edition of Mr.
Andersson's valuable work, you will render an acceptable ser
vice to the cause of geographical knowledge. I am but too
happy to do what I can to extend either the fame or the
influence of his labors. It is impossible that the record of his
strange and important experiences should not, everywhere, be
received with favor. Particularly by Americans, whom a spirit
of intelligent and adventurous curiosity has sent abroad over
all the earth, will it be read with congenial and appreciative
interest.
It is needless for me to say that I read such books as this of
Mr. Andersson's with o. peculiar pleasure, greatly enhanc ed by
old associations. Familiar-although, perhaps, in an inferior
degree with similar '' wanderings,'' I find, in the brief record
of a night, or the journey of a day, many unwritten thi ngs
much that the traveler aifterward thought unworthy of men
tion, but which, at the time, filled his mind and ·heart. Nigl1ts
of sleepless anxiety, and days of wearing doubt or despondency,
crowd the unwritten page ; often a chance word suggests trains
of incidents and circumstances, which do not come under the
eye of the general reader. But, aside from the attractions of
•
personal sympathy, these books possess a charm for me which,
I confess, I do not find in any other department of literature .
•
Digttized by Google
.
,
VI LETTER FROM JOHN CHARLES FREMONT.
It hardly occurs to our minds, tl1at the thousands of years
which have rolled away, impressed with the infinite aetivity of
the human race, have not sufficed to make known to us our o,vn
habitation. We have extended our researches into other worlds,
material _a nd spiritual, but have not yet made ourselves ac
quainted with the earth on which we tread.
In these latter days, new and grand pictures have been dis
played to our minds, giving a wider field to the imagination.
That primeval darkness which hu11go ver the waters of the cir
cum polar sea, and obscured the interior of Africa, has vanished
~efore the generous courage of Kane, and the brave endurance
of Barth and his companions. Many, before them, were called
to the noble ta.sk; but the glorious fruition of the chosen few
was long delayed. We give our heart-felt admiration to the men
who have penetrated the night of ages, and, in bringing its se
crets to the light, have uncovered the graves of their brave
predecessors who perished under the fevered noon of Africa and
the frozen night of the Polar Sea.
Remote, uncertain, beset with uncommon a.nd undefined dan
gers, these journeys, like that from whose undiscovered bourne
no travel er returns, seemed to fascinate with a mysterious charm.
The dangerous path had always its travelers. One by one, they
disap1Jeared from the horizon of our knowledge ; but unrecord ed
deaths, and regal prohibition s, the regretful sympathy of nations
for brave lives thrown a\vay, all were ineffect ual to chill the
enthusiasm \Vltich urged new followers into their devoted path.
" Death's couriers, Faine nnd Honor, called them to the field again."
Those adventurers who had the pl1ysical strength and good for
tune to go safely through their enterprises, from wl1atever fi~ld
tl1ey retu rned, found ever a cordial welcome, and a deep and
prevailing intei-est in the records of their experience. At no
period of the world's history has this interest in explorations
been more universal and active than at the present time. The
recen t important geographical discoveries, which n1ay be con
sidered to have very a,ppropriately closed the brilliant era of the
last thirty years, have roused public curiosity to an unusuaJ
Digttized by Google
..
,
LETT E R F. ROM JOH N .C HARLE S FR E MON T. VU
degree. To quote the language of an eloquent \\'riter of our
own day, himself a distinguished traveler-Mr. Bayard Taylor:
One by one, the outposts of barbarism are stormed and car
u
ried, advanced parallels are thrown up, and the besieging lines
of knowledge, which, wl1en once established, can never be re
taken, are gradually closing rou11d the yet unco11quered mys
teries of the globe.''
Of these many move1nents of exploration, none, certainly,
have evoked a stronger zea.1, or given occasion for nobler displays
of energy and endurance, or are likely to lead to more signal
consequenc es, than those which have been directed toward the
great African continent. That vast, populous, and fertile region,
over which the profounde st mystery has brooded from the earli
est time, which was known to the ancier1ts only for a short
distance along the shores of the ?\1:editerranean and Red seas,
and which, up to a recent day, has resisted all the efforts of
modern enterpri se to pe11etrate beyond the skirts of its coasts, is
now becomi11g accessible, and, in a few yea rs, will bn.ve revealed
to us all its secrets and its treasure.
The recent prema t ure death, on tl1e field of th eir labors, ot
several eminent African discoverers, 11asa wakened public sym
pathy, and, together with the int-eresti ng result s of their re
searcl1es, has turned attention in that direction nod induced a
general disposition to be better informed in regard to the cou n
try. On this account 1'1r. Andersson's narrative will be parti
cularly acceptable. His lallors were directed to the same
general object, and belonged to the same epoch as tllat body
of explorers whose efforts have almost succeeded in throwing
open the whole interior of Africa. A narrow belt, of ten or
fifteen degrees of latitude, is all that separates thP-fields of the
northern and southern explorers-all that shuts out from our
scope of view the entire African continent. The darkness,
which for so n1any centuries has been gathered about this divi
sion of the globe, is almost dispelled ; and it is not an unfound
ed anticipation which ex1Jects to see Africa traversed from Cape
Colony to Tripoli within the next ten years. Should this prob
lem be finally solved, and the conjecture of Mr. Andersson,
Digttized by Google
'
..
.
,
Vlll LETTER FROM JOHN CHARLES FREMONT.
that the immense and rich interior of the country is pierced by
a fine navigable water, be realized, we may expect such an
advance in the civilization and commerce of Africa as will give
to it a real place in the society of nations, and a sense of com
pleteness to our own ideas of the globe.
Very respectfully, Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
J. C.
FREMONT.
MBssRs. D1:x, & Co.
EDWARDS
•
-
Digttized by Google
PREFACE
TO THE ENGLISH EDITION.
THE following Narrative of Explorations and Di scoveries during
four years in the wild s of the South,vestern parts of Africa, con
tains an account of two expeditions on that continent bet ween
the years 1850 and 1864 . In the first of these journeys, the
countries of the Dnmaras (previously all but unknown in Europe)
and of the Ovambo (till now a terra incognita) were explored;
in the second, the newly-discovered Lake N gami was reach ed
by a rout e that had always been deemed impracticable. It is
more than probable tha ,t this route (the shortest and best) will
be adopted as the one by which commerce and civilization may
eventually find their way to the Lake regions.
The first journey was performed in company with Mr. Francis
Galton, to whom we are indebted for a work on '' Tropical
South Africa.;'' on the second, the Author was alone, and al
together dependent on his o,vn very scanty resourc es.
,vas as
It suggested to t he Author, rega rds the first journey,
that from the ground having been pr eoccupied, it would be best
for him to commence ,vbere his friend left off. Th ere was some
reason for this. But, on mature consideration, he deemed it de
sirable to start from the beginning ; otherwise he could not have
given a connected and detail ed account of the regions he visited.
Moreover, from the Author having remained two years lon ger
in Africa than Mr. Galton, be has not only been enabled to as
certain the truth respecting much that at first appea red obscure
Digttized by Google
X PREFA CE ,
and doubtful, bu t has bad many opportuni ties of enlarging the
stock of inform ation acquired by himself and friend when to
gether. Besides, they were often separated for long periods,
during which many incidents and adventur es occurred to the
Author that are scarcely alluded to in '' Trop ical South Africa."
Aud, lastly, the impr essions received by different individual s,
even under similar circurnstances, are generally fou11dt o vary
greatly; which, in itself, would be a sufficient reason for tl1e
course the Author has decided on pursu ing.
As will be seen, the present writer has not onl)r described the
general appearance of the regions he visited, but has given the
best information he was able to collect of the geological feat ures
of the country, and of its probabl e mineral ,,;ealth ; and, slight
thou gh it may be, he had the grati fication of finding t hat the
hints be threw out at the Cape and elsewhere, ,vere acted upon;
that mining compani ~s were formed, and that mining operations
are now carried on to some extent in regions heretofore consid
ered utte rly wor thless.
The Author has also spoken, at some length, of the religion
11ndm anners and customs of such of the native tribes (previously
a,11b ut unkno wn to E uropeans) visited by hin1 during his seve
ral journeys. Ile also noted many of th eir super stitio ns; for,
much attention, as has been truly observed, canr1ot be paid
t-00
to the mythologi cal traditions of savages. Considerable discre
tion is, of course, needful in this mat ter; as, if every portion
were to be literally received, we n1ight be led in to grievous
errors. Still, by attending to '"'hat ninny might call absurd
superstit ions, we not only attain to a knowl edge of th e mental
tend encies of the nati ves, but are made acquainted wit~ int er
esting facts to uching tl1e' geograpl1ical distr ibution of meu and
inferior animals.
Since the different me1nbers constituting the brute creation
are so inti1nately connect ed with the econo1ny of n1an, and since
many of the beasts and birds, indigenous to those parts of Africa
visited by the Author, arc still but i1nperfectly known, he has
though t it advisable to ente r largely i11to their l1abits, etc .; the
rather, as natural history has, from childhood, bee11h is favorite
•
•
Digttized by Google
•
PREFACE. X1
pursuit, and is a subject ,vith which he therefore feels conversant.
And though part of what he bas stated regarding the rhinoceros,
the hippopotamus, the koodoo, the ostrich, and others of the
almost incalculable varieties of animals found in the African wil
dernes s, may be known to some inquirers, it is still hoped that
tt1c general reader will find matter he bas not previously met
with.
Tt1e Author has endea, rored in the following pages, faithfully,
and in plain and unassuming language, to record his experiences,
impressions, feelings, and impulses, under circumstances often
peculiarly trying. He lays claims to no more credit than may
attach to an earnest desire to make himself useful, and to fur.
ther the cause of science.
It is more than probable that his career as an explorer and
pioneer to civili zation and commerce is terminated. Still, he
would fain hope that his hun1ble exertions may not be without
their fruits.
When he first arrived in Af1ica, be generally traveled on foot
throughout the w,hole of the day, regardless of heat, and almost
scorning the idea of riding on horseback, or using any other
mode of conveyance. Indeed, he was wont to vie with the
natives in endurance; but now, owing to the severe hardships he
has undergone, 11is const•tution is undermined, and the founda
tion of a malady has been laid that it is feared he will carry with
him to the day of his death. Yet, such is the perverseness of
human nature, that, did circumstances permit, he would return
to this life of trial and privation.
•
•
Digttized by Google