The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-02-28
The Lower Course of the Congo.

In this recently explored region, as
yet but imperfectIy known, the claims
of Portugal, France, and of the Inter
national association. which is repre-
scented by Stanley. and may ultimately
represent England, come into conflict.
For this reason the article by Mr.. b !
H. Johnston (Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc, !
December, 1888 is worthy of the at |
tention of all t. whom commerce ana /
the political relations Of nations are
subjects of Interest. The mouth OF
the Congo is single; and seems unIn-
posing when compared with the deltas
of the Nile, Niger and ZambeSI. TINS
SiLgltness Of the outlet suggests the
.del that it may not be of very ancient
tatp, and thsre are now blind creeks
leading seward which may in time
become new outlets. Banana POINT,
on one side of the entrance, is a little
peninsula of sand, which would long
ago have been washed away by the
river and the ocean had not
the hand Of man preserved 1t
by erecting factories and planting
palms: The Dutch factory ls the
largest On the inner side of the
sandspit is al. inlet of the Congo.
| with room for whole n2Ey; ana SO
deep that the largest snip can be
mo0red within fifty yards of the shore.
From Sierra Leone to the River
| pgowe, at the mouth of which the
| French are now acting, the one pre-
vdiling landscape is that of endless
| forest. The mouth of the Ogowe is
s2me five degrees north of that OF the
Co0go, but, from the northward trend
| OF the latter river, some OF its attiu-
entS rise not Gar from the sources of
the former; and it is by This route that
| De BraZza intends toreach The Congo.
At the Ogowe, little south of THE
Congo, the thick forest retreats from
the coast and gives way to parRllke
sccu cry, which continues to Caoeca de
C,hra, where it is s;;fceeded by dry
region with scanty vegetation, which
is, in its turn, superseded at about
thirteen degrees south latitude by
actual desert, northern continuation
Of the ISalahari desert. The typical
region Of Africa; and that OF the larg-
est game animals, is file open parklike
country that covers inland a FAR BROAD
er belt than that which it occupies
upon the coast. The forest belt to the
north of it is the home of the anthro'
poid APES, and extends eastward &c
Lake Victoria MAMA and the west
ern shores of Tanganyika:
The places of interest before reach
liz Stanley Pool are Kissangue
about twenty-five miles from the sea
Ponta da Lenha, Bona, Mussuca
: Viyi, surrounded by the grandesl
, scenery on the Congo; the gorge o.
: Helrs Chaldron below it anu TN
| rapids of Yellala above it; IsaDgila
) with its rapids; Manyanga AID Lutete
5 q Large native village near the Ntombt
Mataka Falls: which are the nearest
l approach to cascade that the lower
| Congo exhibits. Above Stanley Poo
5 the country becomes more tropical, To-
, the forest belt is reached. Between
/ Bona and the sea--and especially a
r Boma-the climate is insaiuhr1ous
but the higher one proceeds up tn
!, river the healthier it becomes. Water
not from the Congo, the water O.
! which is disagreeably sweet, but from
| pumberfess e~er=running Tiyulets, Ii
t abundant above FiVI: Beyond Stan
( ley Pool the temperature ranges from
co. at 2 in the morning to S7s in tn
!. shade at noon, and is delightful. Til
l highest observed at Vivi was, on on
day, 981 in the shade. Whtn dealt
5 from suDstr0ke occurs it may usual.
I be attributed to imprudence, as
: | helmet or umbrella should be EN-
5 ployed as a protection:
g At the mouth of the Congo Their
? are about four months OF rain-tron
a November to March-with an inter
g vening dry season in January; bu
the rainy season lengthens on ascend
7 ing the river, and on Stanley poCl tn
, | rains are continuous from Octobe
: till about May 20. Higher still it rain
t often in June, August and September
1 The absence of continuous forest II
r regions which have dry season is at
e trlbuted by Mr.. Johnston to the grea
( bush fires started by the native
l among the long dry grass for the pur
e pose Of making cleariDgs This is i'm
possible in region of perpetua
+, moisture. The Congo is in no sens
S a boundary in the distribution of Ger
+ tain forms of life, which follow line
]. determined by climate and food-line
which usually intersect the course o
! the river. The natives of the Cong
l basin are not negroes-they are Ban
tn, very different family. Fine tai
men, with delicately small hands ant
= we'll shaped feet, a fine face, high, thil
nose, beard, mustache and abundan
hair-some Of the tribes are perfec
Greek statues in form. Their tint /
: a warm chocolate and they are fire
Z from offensive smell.
l The. pig is largely kept by thes
= peoples, is found among the Bantl
:, races right across Africa, aud ar
pears to be of Asiatic origin. Tn
l sheep have many resemblances t.
! those of Persia, especially the eve
: and young rams. The dog is like tn
pariah dog of India and the East
with look of the dingo added, and i
=, considered SO great luxury that b,
! an unwritten law only the male SCI
may eat its flesh. The Muscovv duck
; which is slowly spreading up tn
= river; the sugar cane, corn, swee
! potatoes, pineapples, groundnuts, OF
apges and limeS-most Of them Amer
, lean plants-were introduced By tn
; Portuguese. There is no great chic
! or emperor in all this vast region
which is calculated by Mr.. Stanley t.
have population of 100000.