Journal of the discovery of the source of the Nile.
Edinburgh, Blackwood, 1863
Back in England, Speke was showered with honours and feted by the Royal Geographical Society. But doubts of his claim remained, voiced particularly by Burton, primarily because Speke had not followed the Nile from Karuma Falls to Gondokoro. (Using Speke's maps, Baker would discover what Speke had thereby missed: Lake Albert.) A debate with his former friend-turned-nemesis Burton was arranged for 16 September 1864 to settle the matter; however, on that morning word arrived that Speke had died in a gun accident. Some thought it was a suicide, for he was known as an accomplished sportsman and hunter. Speke and Grant's successes are undisputed, however: they were the first Europeans to cross equatorial eastern Africa, and their explorations added more than 500 miles to the known geography of the area. Today Lake Victoria and its feeder streams are considered the sources of the White Nile.
First edition, 8vo, xxxi, [1], 658 pp., 32 pages ads at end (one dated April June 1863), engraved frontispiece portrait of Speke, engraved portrait of Grant, 24 engraved plates, 2 maps (1 folding), illustrations in text, original brown cloth gilt, gilt pictorial vignette to upper cover, light wear, a very good copy.
Hilmy II, p255.
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