PETHERICK, JOHN (18131882)

This article appears in Volume V21, Page 305 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: PER-PIG

PETHERICK, JOHN (18131882) , Welsh traveller in

East

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

Central Africa, was born in Glamorganshire, and adopted the profession of mining engineer. In 1845 he entered the service of Mehemet All, and was employed in examining Upper

Egypt

EGYPT

Nubia

NUBIA

, the Red Sea

coast

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

and Kordofan in an unsuccessful

SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH

for coal. In 1848 Petherick left the Egyptian service and established himself at El Obeid, the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of Kordofan, as a trader, dealing largely in gum arabic. He was at the same time made British consular agent for the Sudan. In 1853 he removed to Khartum and became an ivory trader. He travelled extensively in the Bahr-el-Ghazal region, then almost unknown, exploring the Jur, Yalo and other affluents of the Ghazal. In 1858 he penetrated to the Niam-Niam country. His additions to the knowledge of natural history were considerable, among his discoveries being the Cobus maria (Mrs Gray's waterbuck) and the Balaeniceps rex (white-headed stork). Petherick returned to England in 1859 where he made the acquaintance of J. H. Speke, then arranging for his expedition to discover the source of the Nile. While in England Petherick married, and published an account of his travels. He returned to the Sudan in 1861, accompanied by his wife and with the rank of

consul

. He was entrusted with a mission by the Royal Geographical Society to convey to Gondokoro relief stores for Captains Speke and Grant. Petherick got boats to Gondokoro in 1862, but Speke and Grant had not arrived. Having arranged for a native force to proceed

south

SOUTH
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

to get in

touch

TOUCH (derived through Fr. toucher from a common Teutonic and Indo-Germanic root, cf. " tug," " tuck," O. H. Ger. zucchen, to twitch or draw)

with the absentees, a task successfully accomplished, Mr and Mrs Petherick under-took another journey in the Bahr-el-Ghazal, making important collections of plants and fishes. They regained Gondokoro (where one of their boats with stores was already stationed) in February 1863, four days after the arrival of Speke and Grant, who had meantime accepted the hospitality of Mr (afterwards Sir) Samuel Baker. The charge that Petherick failed to meet his engagement to those travellers is unsubstantiated. A further charge that Petherick had countenanced and even taken part in the slave trade was subsequently shown to have no foundation (Petherick in fact had endeavoured to stop the traffic), but it led

Earl

EARL

Russell, then secretary for foreign affairs, to abolish the British consulate at Khartum (1864). In 1865 the Pethericks returned to England, and in 1869 published Travels in Central Africa and Explorations of the Western Nile Tributaries, in which book are set out the details of the Speke controversy. Petherick died in London, on the 15th of July 1882.

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