{"id":378,"date":"2025-12-28T10:47:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T10:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/word\/?p=378"},"modified":"2025-12-28T10:47:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T10:47:52","slug":"i-now-heard-the-distressing-news-of-the-death-of-my-poor-friend-speke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/i-now-heard-the-distressing-news-of-the-death-of-my-poor-friend-speke\/","title":{"rendered":"I now heard the distressing news of the death of my poor friend Speke"},"content":{"rendered":"

I now heard the distressing news of the death of my poor friend Speke. I could not realize the truth of this melancholy report until I read the details of his fatal accident in the appendix of a French translation of his work. It was but a sad consolation that I could confirm his discoveries, and bear witness to the tenacity and perseverance with which he had led his party through the untrodden path of Africa to the first Nile source.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I now heard the distressing news of the death of my poor friend Speke. I could not realize the truth of this melancholy report until I read the details of his fatal accident in the appendix of a French translation…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[4],"yoast_head":"\nI now heard the distressing news of the death of my poor friend Speke - Samuel White Baker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/i-now-heard-the-distressing-news-of-the-death-of-my-poor-friend-speke\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I now heard the distressing news of the death of my poor friend Speke - Samuel White Baker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I now heard the distressing news of the death of my poor friend Speke. 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To me this was most gratifying. I had been much disheartened at the idea that the great work was accomplished, and that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/england-had-never-sent-an-expedition-to-the-nile-sources-previous-to-that-under-the-command-of-speke-and-grant\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":1},"title":"England had never sent an expedition to the Nile sources previous to that under the command of Speke and Grant","date":"March 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"England had never sent an expedition to the Nile sources previous to that under the command of Speke and Grant. Bruce, ninety years before, had succeeded in tracing the source of the Blue or Lesser Nile; thus the honor of that discovery belonged to Great Britain. 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I was myself confused at the dead-water junction; and although I knew that the natives must be right--as it was their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":229,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/at-the-first-blush-on-meeting-them-i-had-considered-my-expedition-as-terminated-by-having-met-them-and-by-their-having-accomplished-the-discovery-of-the-nile-source-but-upon-my-congratulating-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":4},"title":"At the first blush on meeting them, I had considered my expedition as terminated by having met them, and by their having accomplished the discovery of the Nile source; but upon my congratulating them with all my heart upon the honor they had so nobly earned, Speke and Grant with characteristic candor and generosity gave me a map of their route, showing that they had been unable to complete the actual exploration of the Nile, and that a most important portion still remained to be determined","date":"October 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"At the first blush on meeting them, I had considered my expedition as terminated by having met them, and by their having accomplished the discovery of the Nile source; but upon my congratulating them with all my heart upon the honor they had so nobly earned, Speke and Grant with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":299,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/blazing-fire\/","url_meta":{"origin":378,"position":5},"title":"Blazing fire","date":"February 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Keedja waited to receive us by a blazing fire. 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