Herman Vissman Traveler Country: Germany

Biography of Herman Wilhelm von Wissmann

Herman Wilhelm von Wissmann (1853-?) was a German explorer and colonial administrator. In 1880, he was appointed as the lieutenant of the expedition sent by the African Society in Germany to establish a permanent station in Luanda, which would serve as a base for further exploration of the Congo Basin. Accompanied by Paul Pogge, the leader of the expedition, Wissmann embarked on the journey that would make him one of the prominent explorers of the Congo River basin.

The expedition reached Luanda in January 1881 and then proceeded to Malanje and Kimbundu. From there, they traveled northeast and north, following the left bank of the Chikapa River until its confluence with the Kasai River. Crossing the Kasai, Pogge and Wissmann entered a previously unexplored region for Europeans. They continued eastward, crossing the watershed between the Kasai and its right tributary, the Lulua. Descending into the Lulua Valley, they arrived in the territory of the Bashilange people, belonging to the Baluba ethnic group. In December 1881, Pogge and Wissmann, accompanied by a Bashilange troop, headed east and reached Lake Mukamba. However, the lake turned out to be a small karstic pond, which Wissmann circumvented in just five hours.

Continuing their journey eastward, the expedition reached the Lubi River and then the larger Lubilash River. They were ecstatic to discover that the Lubilash River was also known as the Sankuru, which had been a subject of speculation and hypotheses. The information they gathered indicated that the Lubilash was formed by the confluence of the Lubiranzi and Lwembe rivers, which Cameron had observed during his own expedition. Further eastward progress led them to the Lomami Valley. In April 1882, the expedition arrived at the Luabale River and crossed it to reach Nyangwe. Pogge returned to Angola due to illness and died in Luanda on March 17, 1884. Wissmann, on the other hand, continued his journey to Tanganyika and reached the east coast in November 1882. In April the following year, he reported the results of the expedition to the African Society in Germany. A detailed account of his trans-African journey was published in his book "Under the German Flag Across Africa from West to East" in Berlin in 1889.

The Pogge-Wissmann expedition significantly contributed to geographical knowledge of the southern part of the Congo Basin. They were the first to explore the vast territory between the Kasai and the Lomami rivers. Following his return from the trans-African journey, Wissmann began planning a new expedition to explore the Kasai region. He presented his project to King Leopold II of Belgium, who recognized the importance of discovering a direct water route from the southern part of the Congo Basin to the middle Congo, which was already under the control of the International Association. Leopold II enlisted Wissmann in the service of the association and provided him with significant resources.

In January 1884, Wissmann and his expedition landed in Luanda, reaching Malanje a month later. From there, they embarked on their journey in July, crossing the Kwango Valley and heading northeast. After crossing the Kasai at approximately the same location as in 1881, Wissmann made a short excursion up the river and discovered an eight-meter waterfall, which he named after Pogge. In November 1884, the expedition reached the residence of Chief Kalamba Mukenge in the Lulua Valley. They established the Luluaburg station near the village of Mukenge. From there, Wissmann's companions explored various routes in the region, including the area between the Lulua and Lubilash/Sankuru rivers.

In late May 1885, the expedition sailed down the Lulua River and reached the confluence of the Lulua and Kasai rivers. They discovered that the Kasai River deviated westward instead of maintaining its northwest direction, as previously believed. In early July, Wissmann's flotilla passed the mouths of the Kwanza, Fimi, and finally arrived at the confluence of the Kasai and Congo rivers. They reached Leopoldville in mid-July. The Wissmann expedition had significant geographical achievements. Their discoveries challenged the prevailing belief that the Kasai and Ruki rivers were the same. Wissmann accurately mapped the Kasai River system, including its middle and lower reaches, as well as the lower Lulua River. The expedition also determined the positions of the major tributaries of the Kasai, such as the Sankuru, Lwange, Kwango, and Fimi. Francois conducted the first measurements of water flow rates in the Kasai. The comprehensive account of the expedition and its scientific findings was published in the extensive joint work of Wissmann, Wolf, Francois, and G. Muller titled "In Inner Africa," which was published in Leipzig in 1888.

Wissmann's explorations were further complemented by Ludwig Wolf, who was appointed as the head of a new expedition aiming to establish the presence of the Congo Free State in the Kasai Basin. In late 1885, Wolf's expedition ascended the Kasai and Lulua rivers on the steamships "Stanley" and "An-Avang." They reached the mouth of the Lwebo River and proceeded on foot to Luluaburg. In January to March 1886, Wolf sailed up the Sankuru River on the "An-Avang" and reached the waterfall that was later named after him. He also explored the lower reaches of the Sankuru's left tributary, the Lubi, and partially surveyed its right tributary, the Lomami, which he mistakenly identified as Cameron's Lomami River.

Upon his return to the Kasai, Wolf met Wissmann in April 1886. They embarked on a joint navigation of the Kasai beyond the mouth of the Lulua and discovered that the navigable section extended for over a hundred kilometers and ended with a seven-meter waterfall, which was named after Wissmann. Afterward, Wolf returned to Europe and later participated in a German expedition to Togo, where he died in 1889. Wolf's report on the exploration of the Sankuru and the map of the river were published in "Petermann's Mitteilungen" (1888).

Wissmann engaged in colonization activities along the banks of the Lulua and made an unsuccessful attempt to explore the upper Lubilash (Sankuru) region. He then retraced a similar route to his first journey, traveling from Nyangwe to Tanganyika, and from there, he turned south towards Lake Nyasa and eventually reached the Indian Ocean coast near Kilimane. Although this journey did not result in major discoveries like his previous expeditions, it added to the knowledge of the southern part of the Congo Basin, its nature, and its population. Wissmann documented this journey in his book "My Second Crossing of Equatorial Africa from Congo to Zambezi" (Frankfurt an der Oder, 1891).