



Produced by Sonya Schermann, Paul Clark and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)









    Transcriber's Note:

    Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
    possible. Some minor corrections of spelling have been made.

    Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.




The World’s Great Explorers and Explorations.

    Edited by J. SCOTT KELTIE, Librarian, Royal Geographical Society;
    H. J. MACKINDER, M.A., Reader in Geography at the University of
    Oxford; and E. G. RAVENSTEIN, F.R.G.S.




MUNGO PARK AND THE NIGER.


[Illustration: MUNGO PARK.]




                       MUNGO PARK AND THE NIGER.

                                  BY
                            JOSEPH THOMSON,
                 AUTHOR OF “THROUGH MASAI LAND,” ETC.

                               NEW YORK
                         DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
                              PUBLISHERS




EDITORIAL PREFACE.


The story of the world’s exploration is always attractive. We
naturally take a keen interest in the personality of the men who have
dared to force their way into the unknown, and so unveiled to us the
face of mother earth. The interest in the work of exploration has
been particularly strong and widespread in recent years, and it is
believed that a series of volumes dealing with the great explorers and
explorations of the past is likely to prove welcome to a wide circle
of readers. Without a knowledge of what has been accomplished, the
results of the unprecedented exploring activity of the present cannot
be understood. It is hoped, therefore, that the present series will
supply a real want. With one or two exceptions, each volume will deal
mainly with one leading explorer, bringing out prominently the man’s
personality, telling the story of his life, and showing in full detail
what he did for the exploration of the world. When it may be necessary
to depart somewhat from the general plan, it will always be kept in
view that the series is essentially a popular one. When complete the
series will form a Biographical History of Geographical Discovery.

The Editors congratulate themselves on having been able to secure the
co-operation of men well known as the highest authorities in their own
departments; their names are too familiar to the public to require
introduction. Each writer is of course entirely responsible for his own
work.

                                                           THE EDITORS.




CONTENTS.


   CHAP.                                                  PAGE

      I. THE FIRST GLIMMERING OF LIGHT                       1

     II. MORE LIGHT: THE ARAB PERIOD                         6

    III. OPENING UP THE WAY TO THE NIGER                    19

     IV. PREPARING FOR PARK: THE AFRICAN ASSOCIATION        31

      V. MUNGO PARK                                         36

     VI. AT THE THRESHOLD                                   46

    VII. FROM THE GAMBIA TO THE SENEGAL                     53

   VIII. ACROSS THE SENEGAL BASIN                           65

     IX. TO LUDAMAR                                         76

      X. CAPTIVITY IN LUDAMAR                               85

     XI. TO THE NIGER                                       97

    XII. DOWN THE RIVER TO SILLA                           107

   XIII. THE RETURN THROUGH BAMBARRA                       120

    XIV. REST AT KAMALIA                                   134

     XV. THE SLAVE ROUTE                                   143

    XVI. BACK TO THE GAMBIA AND HOME                       154

   XVII. MUNGO PARK AT HOME                                164

  XVIII. MUNGO PARK AT HOME--(_continued_)                 175

    XIX. PREPARING FOR A NEW EXPEDITION                    186

     XX. PARK’S SECOND RETURN TO THE GAMBIA                196

    XXI. STILL STRUGGLING TOWARDS THE GREAT RIVER          208

   XXII. TO THE NIGER                                      221

  XXIII. THE LAST OF PARK                                  233

   XXIV. THE FULAH REVOLUTION                              246

    XXV. NEW ENTERPRISES AND NEW THEORIES                  254

   XXVI. THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER                      264

  XXVII. THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER--(_continued_)       277

 XXVIII. FILLING UP THE DETAILS                            288

   XXIX. THE FRENCH ADVANCE TO THE NIGER                   301

    XXX. THE ROYAL NIG