The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-29

yhioh a good many mlSconCepls ns seem 10
- current
The author of these volumes comprehends
Shat a histc .ical narrative. according to the
modern convention Of It. ought 10 begin with
some geoloriral data. Accordingly. he re-
minds " that travellers in the Sahara and
Libyan dos rita have remarked that in those
wastes. now arid and rainless. there are gorges.
river and torrent beds. full Of wnterworn peb-
bes. and evon containing the fossnised remains
of forests. There ara, indeed. many indica-
lions OF nm excessive rainfall at some remote
Epoch. The rock drawings found in the Fezzan
ehow that oxen wero at one period used "a a
means OF transport across the Saraha; so there
must have been water rnd pasture for them at
that time. Evidently in the moro or less dis
tant past, conditions prevailed In the sahara
differing very s~ignallS from those Of to-day.
Their cause hns only recently been made appar-
ent. The solution OF the mystery lies IN the
Congo basin The great Congo River and its
Afluents drain nm area Of 4 million aud n half
square miles. This vast basin ~ shut in on
the west by II range Of mountains which runs
parallel with the coast, on the east by a rance
running north and south. In the longitude Of
lake Tanganika. while a ridge In the latitude
OF Benguela forms the southern rim. The
northern WINTER portlny is an lrrcculor line In
the si.th and seventh dcrre.. 81 north l,ti-
tude. The wafer %, this bnuenso orca finds
ITS exit 10 the OCEAN ny tb. narror gorge which
the Congo ha. torn through m. v,.t-coas
range. known us IN. Crrstal Nountalns This
outlet gorge OF tie Congo is in many rorts
mora than ooO ree, d,cp tho aidcs h,iny sona-
tines neaHy perpcnLlcrl,r for threa- ,ou,,hs
Of that altitude II is boweyer very ayid,nt
that there was a time when the hills now cnt
were continuous. aui ,yInu no rorpe existed
Hrhe highlands then shut In tho p,,cr. and thor,
was no Congo River. A wat f~rcsh- vster lake
must have covered ~. 2rea,er ror, of tho
COMO basin The prelcnt love, Of Stanley
Pool u LOIS feet al,oqo the atlantic Ocoan
hut the preat hike Which then existed must hnvs
been 500. and perhors lNN. feet IN depth before
ns waters overrowei at the lowest point Of
1he western barrier. an, hogan To cnr tho gorge
Which we now know ~ the Congo River. The
Evaporation from this great expsnse OF water
nu account for the excessive rainfall which
bnoe existed in what ARE now the rninless
deserts OF LIbya and the Sahara.
When or how the great overflow came We
6annot tell, but II probably happened in times
which. accord ng to geological standards. are
&eOmparatiyely recent The Jordan flows into
mo Dead Sea. which has no outlet but
evaporation balances the influx. and a mean
level 4, mai ,tained. The same balance be-
tveen evaporation, and Influx prevails in the
Caspian. When Livingston saw Lake Tan
sanIka. the same law WAS working there. the
lake the, had no outlet now. however. an in
creased rainfall has caused the lake 10 over
now and its waters find their vay nj nrssent
a. Az. ,,,a, IT, AZ. - ~, -
y VI. n"N" 49, '"' .o"so, II io"es'
point In the mis- which connneo the prehistoric
Congo sea could not have been much less than
800 - 49, ~ p,''.u' :" o'ahos
fooi. 80 there was plenty OF room Tor va
riations OF level. Tho wash OF the rains and
On. rank vepatotion h ova ohlitsra,od al .,o,,
~ =. - ~ -,
Oh pcdche" ana shore heS on ue barrier
ranges, but tho gorge itself and the cut hills
haar vitneas 10 the eayly history of tho river
49, - Az. 49,
~ ono UNI" VI a"oNho' '"o os'ahoo oe'"een
che rainfall and the evaporation Of the Congo
sn,.rd sea bocama an far disturbed Tint the coo
oVernowed th7 hlah' SANDY orea't~orks oil the
ridge westward Of Stanley Pool. Tho hills
ehera ara , 500 feet aboye the level Of tba MOO,
49, $50 -. 4. -. - ~
from Wnich thero ~ q IONS s'eauy rse' Inc
natives call the ridge the Mpumbu dam, al
though there l. no tradition OF the bursting
through IT,. loose. sandy soil, which would re-
lease a flood several times the volume OF the