y of exploration, and in the year 1861 he returned to Central
Africa. Interest in the slave-trade deterred him from following the
directions under which he had been sent out, namely, to bring relief
to Speke and Grant. Sir Samuel Baker anticipated him in relieving the
expedition, and this so angered Speke that he attempted to have Pethrick
deprived of his consular position. Pethrick died in 1882.

When Lieutenant Richard Francis Burton had completed his famous journey
through Hedjaz to the sacred city of Mecca, he called at the port of
Aden at the southwest extremity of Arabia. While there, he made friends
with the authorities, and persuaded them to allow him to penetrate
Africa through Somaliland, which is situated to the southwest of
Abyssinia. He hoped by an overland journey westbound to strike the Nile
at its headwaters. John H. Speke accompanied Burton on his journey, and
thus gained his first experience of African exploration. Unfortunately
this expedition was not a success, for the Somali were so suspicious
of the object of the travellers that they forced them to return to the
coast.

[Illustraton: 277.jpg THE MAIN STREAM OF THE NILE]

Once more, in 1856, the same party started farther south from Zanzibar.
Hearing of a great inland lake, they pressed forwards to make an
exploration, but were prevented by the Masai tribes. Burton was now laid
up with fever, and Speke formed a large party and crossed the Unyamivezi
and Usukuma. On July 30, 1858, they were fortunate enough to cross one
of the bays of the southern half of Lake Victoria Nyanza. They struck
northwards, and, on August 3rd, gained sight of the open waters of the
great lake. Speke did not realise the vast area of the lake at this
time, and put down its width at about one hundred miles. As he had
promised Burton to return at a certain pre-arranged date, he went back
to the coast. Burton, however, was unreasonable enough to be displeased
with Speke's discovery, and the two fell into strained relations. On
arriving at the coast, Speke at once went back to England, and there
raised funds to make a longer and more complete exploration. He was
naturally anxious to learn more about the great lake in the middle of
the continent, and, besides this, he thought that he could demonstrate
to the satisfaction of the scientific world that this vast basin of
water was the source of the White Nile. Captain James A. Grant asked
leave to accompany Speke, and became his ef