St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-07-04
EXPLORING A NEW RIVER.
Another white suace ON the Congo
Map Being Filled with Geo
graphic Detail.

More than 20 years ago Savorgnan
de Brazza carried little steam
launch overland between the head-
waters of the large Ogowe river ana
the upper part Of river on :. Tue
other side of the divide, a few mics
away. The natives called this stream
the Alma, and De Brazza beheved !.
was q tributary of the Congo ana
that he might steam down the Alma
to the upper Congo far above stan
ley Pool.
His experiment was great sue
cess, says the New York Sun. He
descended the Alma about 400 miles
and finally entered the Congo where
the great river. is several miles IN
width. Then he hoated down that
river to Stanley Pool.
Meanwhile Stanley had been Ia
boriously ascending the Congo, drag
ging his supplies around 235 miles
of rapids; and when he reached Stan
ley Pool he was much surprised to
find the French flag floating on its
northern bank. De Brazza had ar
rived before him and was founding
the station of Brazzaville.
Ever since that day a large white
space has existed on the map be-
tween the Alma and the Congo
Explorers were too busy elsewhere
to trace the rivers in that region.
At last the Pama river, supposed to
be the largest tributary of the Alma,
has been partly explored, and = por-
ton of the blank space on the map
has been filled. =
Capt. Scheerlinck, agent of the
Commercial and Agricultural Society
of the Alma, has assembled its Pama
tributary for distance of about 80
miles. The upper part of the river
has also been explored, but no one
has visited the middle portion.
The river is about 200 miles in
length, and Capt. Scheerlinck found
that for part of the way it flows
through q wooded region in which
are numerous herds of elephants and
buffaloes. The country is.not dense
ly peopled, but there are a number
of large settlements on its banks,
where white trading stations have
been established.
1t was near the place where the
Pama joins the Alma that De Braz-
"a found a native chief. whom he
attempted to use to further his po-
litical schemes in behalf of France.
The story is good illustration OF
the tricks to which explorers some
times resort when they are scram-
bling for all the territory they can
seize.
De Brazza announced that on the
Alma was the capital of the great
King Makoko, direct descendant
of the ancient kings Of the large ma
tive state of Congo, south OF the
river of that name, and in Portu-
guese territory. This sovereign, he
declared, was the ruler of all the
country between the Alma and the
Congo and of both banks Of the Con-
go between Stanley Pool and the
mouth of the Alma.
He signed treaty with this great
king, who placed his entire territory
under the sovereignty of France.
The treaty was seriously discussed
and approved in the French cham
Der of deputies; but, after all. France
never came into possession of both
banks of the upper Congo.
It was conclusiyely shown in a
few months that the great King
Makoko'' was nothing but poor
little Bateke chief, with only few
hundred followers and a very small
territory. He had no influence what
ever outside his small domain. When
the real facts were made known,
nothing more was said about the
famous Makoko, and the French gave
up all claim to the territory on the
left bank OF the Congo.