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In March 1864 Sir Samuel Baker and Lady Florence Baker approached
the mouth of the Victoria Nile in two long dug-out canoes propelled
by local oarsmen. It had taken them 12 days to make the journey
along the shoreline of Lake Albert. Sam writes “The chief
of Magungo assured me that the broad channel of dead water at
my feet was positively the brawling river that I had crossed below
the Karuma Falls. The guide and locals laughed at my unbelief,
and declared that it was dead water for a considerable distance
from the junction with the lake, but that a great waterfall rushed
down from a mountain, and that beyond that fall the river was
merely a succession of cataracts throughout the entire distance
of about six days' march to the Karuma Falls.
I had promised Speke that I would explore most thoroughly the
doubtful portion of the river that he had been forced to neglect
from Karuma Falls to the lake. I was myself confused at the dead
water junction, and, although I knew that the locals must be right,
as it was their own river, I was determined to sacrifice every
other wish in order to fulfil my promise, and thus to settle the
Nile question absolutely."
As they paddled up river “The roar of the waterfall was
extremely loud, and after sharp pulling for a couple of hours,
during which time the stream increased, we arrived at a point
where the river made a slight turn. Upon rounding the corner,
a magnificent sight burst suddenly upon us. On either side the
river were beautifully wooded cliffs rising abruptly to a height
of about 300 feet; rocks were jutting out from the intensely green
foliage; and rushing through a gap that cleft the rock exactly
before us, the river, contracted from a grand stream, was pent
up in a narrow gorge of scarcely fifty yards in width; roaring
furiously through the rock-bound pass, it plunged in one leap
of about 120 feet perpendicular into a dark abyss below. The fall
of water was snow white, which had a superb effect as it contrasted
with the dark cliffs that walled the river, while the graceful
palms of the tropics and wild plantains perfected the beauty of
the view.
This was the greatest waterfall of the Nile, and, in honour of
the distinguished President of the Royal Geographical Society,
I named it the Murchison Falls.”
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