er, and
is characterized by occasional reaches of papyrus. Finally, the Ghazal
turns east and again becomes broader until Lake No is reached. As a rule
the banks in this section are marked by anthills and scrub. The anthills in
one valley are so close together "that they somewhat resemble a gigantic
graveyard." (Sir William Garstin). The rise of the Ghazal river in flood
time is barely 3 ft., a depth sufficient, however, to place an enormous
area of country under water.

_Exploration of the River._--Rumours of the existence of the Bahr-el-Ghazal
led some of the Greek geographers to imagine that the source of the Nile
was westward in the direction of Lake Chad. The first map on which the
course of the Ghazal is indicated with anything like accuracy is that of
the French cartographer d'Anville, published in 1772. The exploration of
the river followed the ascent of the White Nile by the Egyptian expeditions
of 1839-1842. For a considerable portion of the period between 1833 and
1865 John Petherick, a Welshman, originally a mining engineer, explored the
Ghazal region, particularly the main stream and the Jur. In 1859 a
Venetian, Giovanni Miani, penetrated the southern regions of the Ghazal
basin and was the first to bring back reports of a great river (the Welle)
flowing west beyond the Nile watershed. In 1862 a Frenchman named Lejean
surveyed the main river, of which he published a map. In 1863 Miss
Alexandrine Tinne (_q.v._) with a large party of friends and scientists
ascended the Ghazal with the intention of seeing how far west the basin of
the Nile extended. The chief scientists of the party were the Germans,
Theodor von Heuglin and Hermann Steudner. Considerable additions to the
knowledge of the region were made by this expedition, five out of the nine
white members of which died from blackwater fever.[2] Georg Schweinfurth
(_q.v._) between 1869 and 1871 traversed the whole of the southern
district, and crossing the watershed discovered the Welle. The efforts to
destroy the slave trade in the Ghazal province led (1879-1881) to the
further exploration of the river and its tributaries by Gessi Pasha, the
Italian governor under General C. G. Gordon. Wilhelm Junker (_q.v._) about
the same period also explored the southern tributaries of the Ghazal. These
were carefully surveyed, and the Jur (Sue) followed throughout its course
by Lieutenant A. H. Dye and other members of the French mission under
Colonel (then Captain) J. B