Benuë

Benuë (spelt also Binuë and, by Dr Barth, Benuwë), an important river of Central Africa, forming the great eastern affluent of the Niger, which it joins about 230 miles above the mouth of that river in the Gulf of Guinea. Dr Barth describes the Benuë as being 800 yards across, with a general depth in its channel of 11 feet, and 'a liability to rise under ordinary circumstances at least 30 feet, or even at times 50 feet higher.' In 1854 an expedition under the command of Dr Baikie explored it as far as Dulti, a place about 350 miles above its confluence with the Niger. In a second expedition, undertaken in 1862, Dr Baikie explored as far north as Kano, in Hausa. The Church Missionary Society sent out an exploring party in 1879, under Mr Flegel, who, in 1883, reached its sources, in the Adamawa (q.v.) country, in 7° 30' N. lat. and 13° E. long. Flowing through wide tracts of fertile territory, and navigable for 700 miles, the Benuë is a highway into the heart of the Soudan, and is evidently destined to be an important channel of commerce with Central Africa.