An official expedition to discover the course of the Niger from the starting point of Tripoli, rather than West Africa. Denham and Clapperton were part of the expedition led by the Scottish doctor Walter Oudney to open relations with the Fulani kingdom, whose legendary trading centre was Kano, in order to discover the source of the Niger, which was widely believed to flow into Lake Chad. Having crossed the Sahara and found no rivers entering Lake Chad, the party divided with Denham exploring the Shari River and Oudney and Clapperton (who shared a mutual loathing of Denham) proceeding to Kano. Oudney died en route but Clapperton was received by the ruler of Kano, Mohammed Bello who, having first supplied an accurate map of the course of the Niger, later backtracked and supplied another misleading map when he realised the dangers of opening up his kingdom to foreigners. Clapperton rejoined Denham at Lake Chad and back across the Sahara.

First edition, 4to, xlviii (i.e. lxviii), 335, [1](blank); [4], 138, [139]-269 (appendix), [1](printer's note), [2](list of plates)pp.; frontispiece and thirty-six engraved plates, plus one folding map, contemporary calf, modern reback, new endpapers, corners worn, a good clean copy.