VISSMAN Hermann Wilhelm

In 1880, the African Society in Germany sent an expedition to Luanda with the mission to establish a permanent station there, which could serve as a base for further penetration in the north and east. Management expedition was entrusted to the already happened in the state Mouat-Yamvo Paul Pogge. His companion was the 27-year-old lieutenant Hermann Wilhelm von Vissman, . to a random restaurant to get acquainted with Pogge not even thought about Africa and much, . sure, . no idea then, . that will be one of the most prominent scholars of the Congo Basin.,

. Pogge and Vissman arrived in Luanda in January 1881
. Soon they were in Malange and in June were there to Kimbundu. From Kimbundu they headed north-east and north. Following mostly along the left bank Tshikapa, they followed the river to the place of its confluence with the Kasai. On the other side of Kasai opened the way to more completely unknown to Europeans Region. Crossed the river, Pogge and Vissman moved eastwards across the watershed between the Kasai and its right tributary Lulwa (Lulu). Descending into the valley Lulwa, the travelers arrived in the area of resettlement of the people bashilange (Ben-Lulu), belonging to an ethnic group Baluba.

In December 1881, and Pogge Vissman bashilange were made with a detachment to the east and soon reached the lake Mukamba (Munkamba). To their dismay, it turned out to be a small karst lakes: Vissman walked him around five hours.

Continuing our journey eastward, the expedition came to the river Lubi, and then to a larger river Lubilash. With joyful surprise, German researchers found that the river has another name - Sankuru, which clearly hint of "Sankorra" Cameron - "the object of so many stories, hypotheses and assumptions". The collected information, they said that Lubilash formed by the confluence of Lubiranzi and Lwemba, whose sources at the time saw Cameron.

Further progress in the east has led travelers to the valley Lomami. In April 1882, the expedition left to Lualaba and crossed the river, arrived in Nyangve. Hence Pogge returned to the country bashilange and then went back to Angola, which got seriously ill. He died March 17, 1884 in Luanda. Vissman same Nyangve moved from the usual way slave caravans to Tanganyika, and thence to the east coast, where he arrived in November 1882. In April next year, he had already made a report on the results of the expedition at a meeting of "the African Society in Germany". A detailed description of his travels TransAfrica Vissman gave in the book "Under the German flag across Africa from west to east", published in Berlin in 1889.

. Expedition Pogge - Vissmana largely has expanded geographical knowledge of the southern basin of the Congo; it first opened for science a vast territory between the Kasai and crowbars
.

Shortly after returning from his travels Vissman TransAfrica was planning a new expedition, whose purpose was to be a study of Kasai. Vissman turned his project to the Belgian king. Leopold II perfectly aware of the importance of direct exploration of the waterway from the southern Congo Basin to the already under the control of the International Association of the middle reaches of the river. He enrolled at the service Vissmana Association and placed at his disposal considerable resources.

In January of 1884 travelers have landed in Luanda, and a month later arrived in Malange. This expedition was made in July of that same year, crossed the valley Cuango and moved to the northeast. Crossing the Kasai, in the same location as in 1881, Vissman made a short excursion up the river valley located and opened her mouth Tshikapa eight-meter above the waterfall, he named the name of Pogge.

. In November 1884 the expedition reached the residence of the leader Kalamba Mukenge Valley Lulwa
. Not far from the village Mukenge station was built Luluaburg (Lulvabur). Satellites Vissmana taken away several radial routes: between the rivers and Lulwa Lubi, a tributary Sankuru and to the north, between the rivers and Lulwa Sankuru.

At the end of May 1885 travelers sailed down the Lulwa and soon reached the confluence with the Kasai Lulwa. Kasai was free of rapids, but it made it difficult to navigate the many shoals. Vissman Try to keep the right bank, so as not to miss the point of confluence Sankuru. The mouth of the largest right tributary of the Kasai was opened in mid-June. Continuing down the Kasai, . travelers found, . to my surprise, . that the river, . rather than maintaining the north-west direction (the, . obviously, . would have to be, . if the Kasai was, . as suggested by Stanley, . upper arm), . increasingly deviates to the west,
. In early July flotilla Vissmana passed the mouth of the Cuango, then FIPI, and finally arrived at the confluence of the Kasai in the Congo. In the middle of that month, travelers were already in Leopoldville.

Expedition Vissmana was extremely important geographical results. Presentation of the identity of the Kasai and hands so ingrained that to meet Vissmana to the mouth of Hands was specially sent to the ship with food and other supplies. Now, however, revealed that empties into the Congo Kasai called Kwa that Sankuru, Cuango and FIPI - its tributaries and, hence, Kasai collects water throughout south-western Congo basin.

. Vissman not only established the concept of drainage system Kasai, and have mapped all the traversed path, including the middle and lower reaches of the Kasai confluence Lulwa to the mouth and lower reaches Lulwa
. Was mappable to fix position of the mouths of other major tributaries of the Kasai: Sankuru, Lwanga, Kwango, FIPI. Francois complied with the first measurements of the cost of water in the Kasai. Description of this journey and its scientific results was voluminous content of the joint labor Vissmana, Wolff, Francois and Mr.. Mueller "In inner Africa", published in Leipzig in 1888.

. Research Expedition Vissmana were substantially supplemented by Ludwig Wolff, who will soon arrive in Leopoldvill was appointed head of the new expedition, which was designed to consolidate the positions of "Independent State of Congo" in the basin of the Kasai
. At the end of 1885 the expedition on board the "Stanley" and "Al-Awan" climbed the Kasai and Lulwa Lvebo to the mouth and thence by land reached Luluaburga.

In January - March 1886 Wolf aboard the Antonov-Avan "climbed Sankuru to the extreme limit of navigation - the waterfall, later called his name. German traveler also visited the lower reaches of the left tributary of Sankuru - Lubi, but on the way back discovered and partially explored a tributary - Lubefu; the river and had a second name - Lomami and, consequently, Wolf received her Lomami Cameron.

. Returning to the Kasai, Wolf met in April 1886 with the newly arrived in Central Africa Viessmann
. They carried out a joint sailing above the mouth of the Kasai Lulwa and found that the navigable stream water extends for another hundred-odd miles and ends seven meter waterfall, which was named Vissmana. After that, Wolf returned to Europe and then took part in a German expedition to Togo, where he died in 1889. Wolf report on the study Sankuru and map of the river have been published in "Messages Petermann (1888).

. Vissman some time engaged in activities of colonization on the shores of Lulwa, . a failed attempt to explore the upper reaches Lubilasha (Sankuru), . subsequently passed through the same, . close to the route of his first trip, . to Nyangve, . then to Tanganyika and, . turning south to Malawi, . out in the end to the Indian Ocean off the coast of Quelimane,
. This journey Vissmana, . described them in a small book, "My second cross Equatorial Africa from the Congo to the Zambezi" (Frankfurt / Oder, . 1891), . did not result in contrast to the previous significant discoveries, . but also helped to deepen the knowledge of the southern Congo Basin, . its nature and people.,