Series 2: Africa

On the first page of Chapter 1 of Denham's Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, Denham mentions Mr. Ritchie and Capt. Lyon. Denham was sent by the British government to follow up on their explorations in Africa. Matthew Lyon is a rare combination of both the Arctic and Africa explorer. He is mentioned in the Denham's Narrative as having been sent in 1818 to Africa to find Timbuktu (a trans-Saharan trade caravan oasis) and the source of the Niger River. Lyon left Tripoli and got as far as Murzouk near Lake Chad and after a year of wandering in the Sahara returned to England and given command in 1821 of H.M.S. Hecla under Parry on a second attempt to find the Northwest Passage. He had a great interest in the native peoples of the places he visited.