Volume 1

A narrative of the expedition sent by Her Majesty's government to the River Niger, in 1841, under the command of Captain H.D. Trotter, R.N. By Captain William Allen, and T.R.H. Thomson. Pub. with the sanction of the Colonial office and the Admiralty / [William Allen].

  • Allen, William, 1793-1864.
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A narrative of the expedition sent by Her Majesty's government to the River Niger, in 1841, under the command of Captain H.D. Trotter, R.N. By Captain William Allen, and T.R.H. Thomson. Pub. with the sanction of the Colonial office and the Admiralty / [William Allen]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    A NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION TO THE RIVER NIGER. CHAPTER I. Ancient Copts first acquainted with the interior of Africa—Herodotus, his account of the earliest African explorers—Ptolemy—Greeks and Romans—Imperfect knowledge of the interior of Africa—Arab tra- - vellers—Ibn Batuta and Leo Africanus—First Association formed in England for promoting discovery in Africa—Messrs. Ledyard and Lucas—Major Houghton—Mungo Park, his discovery of the Niger —Horneman—Park’s second expedition—Captain Tuckey’s attempt to penetrate Africa by the Zaire—Ritchie and Lyon—Clapperton, Oudney and Denham’s overland route—Clapperton’s second attempt —Sultan Bellos’ idea of the Nile and Kowara, or Niger—Major Laing reaches Timbuktth— Richard and John Lander trace the Niger from Bussah to the coast—Commercial Expedition formed at Liverpool to ascend the Niger—Lieutenant W. Allen accompanies it—Mr. Macgregor Laird and Richard Lander take charge of the enterprise—Its failure as a commercial speculation—Mr. Becroft ascends the Niger. THE vast regions of central Africa, for inscrutable purposes, have been, as it were, a sealed book which has excited and eluded the curiosity of civilized nations of all ages. Although many attempts have been made