James Augustus Grant
Encyclopedia
James Augustus Grant, CB
, CSI
, FRS, FRGS (11 April 1827 — 11 February 1892) was a Scottish
explorer of eastern equatorial Africa
.
Grant was born at Nairn
in the Scottish Highlands
, where his father was the parish minister, and educated at the grammar school and Marischal College
, Aberdeen. In 1846 he joined the Indian army. He saw active service in the Sikh War
(1848—49), served throughout the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and was wounded in the operations for the relief of Lucknow
.
He returned to England in 1858, and in 1860 joined John Hanning Speke
in the memorable expedition which solved the problem of the Nile
sources. The expedition left Zanzibar
in October 1860 and reached Gondokoro
, where the travellers were again in touch with what they regarded civilization, in February 1863. Speke was the leader, but Grant carried out several investigations independently and made valuable botanical collections. He acted throughout in absolute loyalty to his comrade.
In 1864 he published, as supplementary to Speke's account of their journey, A Walk across Africa, in which he dealt particularly with "the ordinary life and pursuits, the habits and feelings of the natives" and the economic value of the countries traversed. In 1864 he was awarded the patron's medal of the Royal Geographical Society
, and in 1866 given the Companionship of the Bath
in recognition of his services in the expedition.
Grant served in the intelligence department of the Abyssinian
expedition of 1868; for this he was made C.S.I.
and received the Abyssinian medal. At the close of the war he retired from the army with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
Grant had married in 1865, and he now settled down at Nairn, where he died in 1892. He was buried in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral.
He made contributions to the journals of various learned societies, the most notable being the "Botany of the Speke and Grant Expedition" in vol. xxix. of the Transactions of the Linnaean Society.
in December 1861.
Grant's illness prevented him from being with Speke when Speke became the first white man to see the outpouring of the White Nile
from Lake Victoria. However, as small compensation, his may be the first recorded case and first description of Mycobacterium ulcerans
infection (Buruli ulcer
). The print in his book shows Grant being carried on a wicker stretcher, leaving Karague. Reasons for regarding the illness as Mycobacterium ulcerans infection are:-
, one of the largest and handsomest of that family in Africa, was named in his honor.New International Encyclopedia
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CSI
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
, FRS, FRGS (11 April 1827 — 11 February 1892) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
explorer of eastern equatorial Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Grant was born at Nairn
Nairn
Nairn is a town and former burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness...
in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
, where his father was the parish minister, and educated at the grammar school and Marischal College
Marischal College
Marischal College is a building and former university in the centre of the city of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland. The building is owned by the University of Aberdeen and used for ceremonial events...
, Aberdeen. In 1846 he joined the Indian army. He saw active service in the Sikh War
Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Second Anglo-Sikh War took place in 1848 and 1849, between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the East India Company.-Background...
(1848—49), served throughout the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and was wounded in the operations for the relief of Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
.
He returned to England in 1858, and in 1860 joined John Hanning Speke
John Hanning Speke
John Hanning Speke was an officer in the British Indian Army who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa and who is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile.-Life:...
in the memorable expedition which solved the problem of the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
sources. The expedition left Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
in October 1860 and reached Gondokoro
Gondokoro
Gondokoro was a trading-station on the east bank of the White Nile in Southern Sudan, 750 miles south of Khartoum. Its importance lay in the fact that it was within a few miles of the limit of navigability of the Nile from Khartoum upstream...
, where the travellers were again in touch with what they regarded civilization, in February 1863. Speke was the leader, but Grant carried out several investigations independently and made valuable botanical collections. He acted throughout in absolute loyalty to his comrade.
In 1864 he published, as supplementary to Speke's account of their journey, A Walk across Africa, in which he dealt particularly with "the ordinary life and pursuits, the habits and feelings of the natives" and the economic value of the countries traversed. In 1864 he was awarded the patron's medal of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, and in 1866 given the Companionship of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in recognition of his services in the expedition.
Grant served in the intelligence department of the Abyssinian
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
expedition of 1868; for this he was made C.S.I.
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
and received the Abyssinian medal. At the close of the war he retired from the army with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
Grant had married in 1865, and he now settled down at Nairn, where he died in 1892. He was buried in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral.
He made contributions to the journals of various learned societies, the most notable being the "Botany of the Speke and Grant Expedition" in vol. xxix. of the Transactions of the Linnaean Society.
Grant's Illness in Africa (John Hayman MD)
In his book, "A Walk across Africa" 20, Grant gives the following description of his illness, which broke out when they reached the native kingdom of Karague, on the western side of Lake VictoriaLake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
in December 1861.
- "The following account of my own ailments I give, not with a wish to parade them, but in order to convey information:- Having had fevers twice a month, in December my usual complaint assumed a new form. The right leg, from above the knee, became deformed with inflammation, and remained for a month in this unaccountable state, giving intense pain, which was relieved temporarily by a deep incision and copious discharge. For three months abscesses formed, and other incisions were made; my strength was prostrated; the knee stiff and alarmingly bent, and walking was impracticable. Many cures were attempted by the natives, who all sympathized with me in my sufferings, which they saw were scarcely endurable; but I had great faith - was all along cheerful and happy, except at the crises of this helpless state, when I felt it would have been preferable to be nearer home. The disease ran its course, and daily, to bring out the accumulated discharge, I stripped my leg like a leech. Bombay (an interpreter) had heard of a poultice made of cow-dung, salt, and mud from the lake; this was placed on hot, but merely produced the effect of a tight bandage. Baraka (another interpreter) was certain a serpent had spat upon my leg- "it could not have been a bite". Dr. M'nanagee, the sultan's brother, knew the disease perfectly; he could send me a cure for it - and a mild gentle peasant of the Wanyambo race came with his wife, a young pleasing like person, to attend me. With the soft touch of a woman he examined the limb, made cuts over the skin with a penknife, ordered all lookers-on outside the hut, when his wife produced a scroll of plantain-leaf, in which was a black paste. This was moistened from the mouth and rubbed into the bleeding cuts, making them smart; afterwards a small piece of lava was dangled against my leg and tied as a charm round the ankle. .....
- These cures had no apparent effect, but the disease did improve. By the fifth month the complaint had exhausted itself; at last I was able to be out of the hut inhaling the sweet air, and once more permitted to behold the works of God's creation in the beautiful lake and hills below me.
- By the end of March 1862 there were some hopes of my leaving Karague to join Speke in UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. The king had sent an officer and forty of his men to convey me up to the kingdom I so long wished to see. .... .... Being unable to walk, I was placed in a wicker stretcher (14 April 1862), and trotted off on the heads of four Waganda (tribesmen of the area).
- On our journey, the stretcher was changed from head to the shoulder of the Waganda, who went at the rate of six miles an hour, jostling and paining my limb unmercifully. The coach and four, as I may term it, was put down every mile, or less, that the bearers might rest, laugh, joke, .... One great difficulty was to make them carry the conveyance so that the country in front could be seen in travelling; this they, for some reason, refused to do, and persisted in carrying me head first, instead of feet (fig 1-10).
- The stretcher which had carried me part of the way from Karague had been discarded, as the Waganda saw my only ailment was lameness and a stiff knee joint.
- (July 1862). Speke asked me whether I was able to make a flying march of it with him, while the baggage might be sent on towards Unyoro. At that time I was positively unable to walk twenty miles a day, especially miles of Uganda marching, through bogs and over rough ground. I therefore yielded reluctantly to the necessity of our parting; and I am anxious to be explicit on this point, as some have hastily inferred that my companion did not wish me to share in the gratification of seeing the river. Nothing could be more contrary to the fact. My state of health alone prevented me from accompanying Speke to set at rest for geographers the latitude of the interesting locality, as to which we were perfectly satisfied from native reports.
Grant's illness prevented him from being with Speke when Speke became the first white man to see the outpouring of the White Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
from Lake Victoria. However, as small compensation, his may be the first recorded case and first description of Mycobacterium ulcerans
Mycobacterium ulcerans
Mycobacterium ulcerans is a slow-growing mycobacterium that classically infects the skin and subcutaneous tissues, giving rise to indolent nonulcerated and ulcerated lesions. After tuberculosis and leprosy, Buruli ulcer is the third most common mycobacteriosis of humans. M...
infection (Buruli ulcer
Buruli ulcer
The Buruli ulcer is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. The genus also includes the causative agents of tuberculosis and leprosy...
). The print in his book shows Grant being carried on a wicker stretcher, leaving Karague. Reasons for regarding the illness as Mycobacterium ulcerans infection are:-
- The explorers passed through an area where the disease is known to occur.
- They passed through this area at a time just after the present maximal seasonal incidence of the disease.
- The history of the lesion, with a prodromal fever, swelling, followed by ulceration and a copious discharge would seem typical of the oedematous form of the disease, as occurs in the Congo.
- The disease was recognized by the local inhabitants who had a treatment for it, similar to the traditional remedies which may still be in use (Lunn H.F., personal communication).
- The history of the disease, with gradual healing after 6 months leaving residual scarring and contractures is characteristic of the more severe form of the illness.
Trivia
Grant's gazelleGrant's Gazelle
The Grant's gazelle is a species of gazelle. Its populations are distributed from northern Tanzania to southern Sudan and Ethiopia, and from the Kenyan coast to Lake Victoria. Its Swahili name is Swala Granti.-Taxonomy and genetics:...
, one of the largest and handsomest of that family in Africa, was named in his honor.New International Encyclopedia
New International Encyclopedia
The New International Encyclopedia was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the International Cyclopaedia and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926.-History:...