River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile

After 134 days, the expedition reached Kazeh, an important trading town in the region. The team was now three quarters of the way to Lake Tanganyika. Despite being close to the lake, they desperately needed provisions. Burton hired Shaykh Snay bin Amir to help acquire goods and hire porters. Burton and Speke also asked Snay about Rebmann and Erhardt’s map. According to Snay, the map was wrong. The missionaries drew one lake when they should have drawn three. The names of these lakes were Nyasa, Tanganyika, and Nyanza (also called Ukerewe). Snay also told Burton and Speke to go to Nyanza, rather than the town of Ujiji, located on Tanganyika. Burton was uninterested in changing plans, despite Speke’s pleas.

Despite setbacks due to illness, the expedition finally reached Lake Tanganyika, which represents “the longest and second deepest freshwater lake in the world, slicing through more than four hundred miles of the Western Rift Valley” (144). Burton was in awe of the lake and wrote several gushing descriptions. Speke could not see the lake because of issues with his eyesight, which he resented.

The men needed a boat to survey the lake. After recovering from an illness, Speke set off to meet with an Arab leader, called a Shaykh, who lived on the western shores of Tanganyika and had such a boat.