New-York tribune., 1867-05-15
EQUATORIAL AFRICA


delyered al the Cooper Institute, the brst Oh tpo
lectures 20 be given by him uoder the auspices 0
,ssoai,,o tor the Advancement of Science and Ar
rbc I,cu,r was introduced by Dr. John H. Grseom' 0"
hebaf of the Association, and spoke as follows
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: | have been invited US t ne
socv for the promotion of Science and Arr 10 the
fore you to give brief outline Of my 6i6de9ce
,i0ns Of Equatorial Auca come wtn feel tIat the
before y0u, for no speaker besides, - of two lee.
VasneSs OF the thege s too great lo 49, ard
tures But hope You VIII Io9K Moon oo1 trayeieE who
assure Won will fTy his best to recount 20 !1a so0 %
ne,dGIts Of hi: trSyf, ri dAd aRrSSdis rads large Cocen
stated and brought more than zVU piIus, M of which
Scre new 20 science killed 1000 qu9druleu&s, & ~ Win
, tbe, SoS were stuffed by me ANA sent h0hSl EtH
a,oc tb9n 70 skeletons. About 30 OF these quaUuEy
~crt new 10 science When returned 10 eWioth ~ ~
80 bg also 2l gorilla skins and ekeetOns beside ehn
osTzde ana collections of insects reptiles, and shells
SCI SCI oeciiSps Now viii Try TO the best of 10y ability
10 give yOu birds eye view of the physical GEOGRAPHY
of the country have explored, and OF some of the
tribes that hbabit it, ana forth. My eXplola-
fous have demonstrated that equatorial Africa from the
West coast forms belt OF impenetrabc jungle as aI as
have been This immense forest did not stop mere Dut
seen as far as my eyes could reach ana the nStE
had never heard where 1t ended The bieadIi oi tns
gigantic forest extends north ana south OF the Equator
Two three degrees on each side Now ana men pa,
mes lOOking IKE islands, arc seen IN INC luaI VI ts
dark OF everlasting foliage and low graIelW my eyes
met them no could conceive unless ne mas llVed III
such solitude " certain distance h0lh lhc totsI
he mountainous regions beyond 1t rises almost parallel
ird the whole of the West Coast of Africa, between
these mountains and the sea The country nave EXPLORED
cipal ones being the Benia the Am lh9 Hloon9a' NV
GaboOn, the Nazareth, the MeNiaS, the Fer1and NaI
The four northern rivers short account OF their
sources being on the first table land he Nazareth the
MeXas the Fcnand Naz are formed ny the RIVER OSO-
ban, which is formed by the RcmbO Okanda ana the
Renbo NyoDJa The low land u auVial ana nls , no
doubt been formed in the course Of time by the washing
ward this immense belt Of woody country extends further
exploration alone can show but suppose VIII ne seen
surprised If il reached the lake regions Of Eastern Ant
ca The Mexias and the Nazareth are only outlets OF the
into FeTnand-Vas, chiefly through the Npouounay;
thus these three rivers are In fact mouths OF the osoD
and they with the intervening lOwland (Which are
evidently auvial deposits an extensive ana very com
plicated network of creeks, swamps ana dense fol-
ests for which have proposed the name OF Delta OF
the OgObai. My explorations in this labyrinth We're
exeeednly tedious and resulted only in the knowledge
that this large tract entirely mnhabted by human be
that during the rainy season, when the rivers ana
their divergent creeks swollen the whole country is
overiOwed; that the Land is covered with immense
PALM there being found of the customary
Land and water are tenaned only by wild beasts
reptiles and mtOleIable swarms OF musketoes; ana
suffered very much by the exploration OF TINS good
for-nohing country Laughter mean that part Oi H.
in this great woody wilderness scattered and di
NIdod IN great number OF tribes was STRUCK Dy tHe
absence Of those species of animals which are found IN
almost every other part OF Africa and wOndeedno al it,
for the country was so unlkc those parts at hau boe
explored before. / found neither HOn rhlnOecrOs,
ZEBRA giraffe, ostrich. The great number of spe-
res of anteOpes and gazeles Though found everywhere
tlse) were not TO be seen. The forest, tmny lnna,
~ d beSs M NSM anG Maf hen SG Ry the sde Of the %d
rOamed the Ape OF which there are several varieties
plantation OF the native, ana sent munger anu desO1On
into his household told You Travelled on loot 1heie
beasts of burden. no horse no camel no donkey
cattle, man, or rather the only beast
of burden. Laughter While often miles after miles
bird, the chatter of monkey or the footsteps Of
gazele, the humIning OF insects, the falling OF a
leaf the gentle murInur of some hidden stream,
only upon our ears to break the deafness OF this
awug silence and disturb the stiffness of this the grandeSt
solitude can ever behold-sOltude which often dld
chill me- but which well adapted 10 the study OF
natnie but which now and then sent chill of do not
ENOW /
The explorer has continually TO fight against hunger and
starvation. There forests which have been resting
Cor ages their gloomy solitudes. nfavol
able TO the rapid increase OF beasts who are their
climate and really ] could not tell yOu
bow many times laid prostrated by fever and sickness,
but amid the pers had TO endure was sustained by an
s,,tausi0ss which l cannot describe felt that was
The pioneer Of the country and my whole soul was en-
pleasantly when illness did not lay proStrste, and
lhen women always took care of for the tender heart
0 woman Is seen III savage Aifiea' lApplauseI Now
md then was rewarded by the discovery of new bird
Of new animal on Of something else, and these made
e forget the hardshps had passed through The fur
lher l went into the interior the higher became
ran about from r. f. to s. E. direction. There were
Ltil other ranges of mountains further eastward
bear the shore The rainy season begins in septem-
shanee found that Il rained an the year round The
dry season lasts from the middle end Of May 10 Sep
West and the rainy from the East North Of the
Equator the rain seemed 20 come from the northeast
south Of the Equator II came almost from the East
rhe is 22 inches during the year. but ii rains
more into the interior have 10 doubt the fall Of rain is
still greater The greatest fan OF rain have in "A
hours q inches Two OF three degrees of latitude
akes enormous difference in the time of the rainy
dry season Longitude Affects the seasons though III
degree. think these differences OF lOnBudes and
attitudes have been rather overlooked in account
ihe interior as I have said, there seemed to be
40 distinct seasons we had rain throughout the day
season. though not very heavy AS IL not accompanied
Dy thunder The tOrnadOes most always from lhe
North East or from the East and are very common In Feb
luaIy March and APRIL The traveller warned before
tand OF the approaching tornado The sky, toward the
ueases the wind which had been blowing before may
.ay against ~ stops everything becomes still the birds
Uneasy OF sudden under the black spot rises a
white spot, which in an incredibly short space Of
CLOVIS with an extraordinary force. This lasts
iour or five minutes. Then comes deuge Of
shake the under your Just the tornado
rises the magnetic needle vbrste In the dry season the
moon, and lasts for three or four days. bat
;wice during my last Journey which lasted two years
aour then all round the horisOn all very hazy
Che more went into the interior the more cloudy |
passed without my being able to take astrOnom-
al eT At that time OF the year Jn9e
sloudy and overcast the sea-shore. Though tray
ed under the equator II does not follow that the heat Of
The great moisture Of the country being the OF
anu Ss9 Ine vast Iolests Ihst cover IT, Inc highest
in May aud April-9s degrees Fahreuhet-this Of /
cSYrse Y ~ coolest rpaeS ua9ss yeiandaa era i9 a
lions Of the Temperature In the fofesf n S7hcf We
may say the sun never peperses the ground except that
u perces through the foliage and then. From Ga
Fahrenheit in the village II Was 81 in the forest and
The thermometer stood In the at l4si5. UnOrtu-
So in the shade had been robbed Of my sun teimOne
ter but have 99 q2gpt aS rs powers Of n the sun
mum heat Of the sun during the day was at ! |
o'clock the maximum OF the heat Of tue emperature al
3OclOck The heat of the was the same al 70 O'Clock
a. m and at O'Clock p m from ll5' TO l25', though at
O'Clock in the afternoon the temperatute vas srSalE
From O'Clock 70 o'clock the heat o. the AtmOsnhet
remained about the same not Varying under ordlhafy
more than II. The lowest temperature
have in July 63 to 64 asd for few days while
IN the Ashango country II never rose higher than 62'
The wsrmer months Of Tue year were December, Janu