Travels in Central Africa, and Explorations of the Western Nile Tributaries

In1861,WelshexplorerandBritishconsulfortheSudanJohnPetherick(1813–82)departedforCentralAfricaonamissionfortheRoyalGeographicalSociety,withhiswifeKatherine(1827–77).Firstpublishedin1869,thistwo-volumeaccountisbasedonnotesandlettersmostlywrittenbyKatherine,anddescribestheirjourneytoGondokoro,bringingboatsandsuppliesforCaptainsSpekeandGrant.HerdescriptionsprovidevaluableinsightsintoAfricancustomsandtraditions,particularlywithregardstotheconditionofwomen.TheworkalsogivesanaccountofthecontroversyinwhichPetherickwasfalselyaccusedoftakingpartintheslavetrade.Volume2containslettersandofficialdocumentsthatclarifythiscontroversyandexoneratehim,aswellasseveralrichlyillustratedappendicesdescribingthelocalfaunaandflora.