.■5-i<5yg8?i:f:>:::>!':v-:. OF Africa '/ilorX^it pos-^ THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. ARTHUR SILVA WHITE, SECRETABY TO THE ROYAL SCOTTISH GE0GRAPHI04L SOCIETY; EDITOR OF THE "SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE;" FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIEIY OF EDINBURGH, ETC. ILLUSTRATED WITH A SET OF FOURTEEN MAPS SPECIALLY DESIGNED BY E. G. RAVENSTEIN, F.R.G.S. LONDON: GEORGE PHILIP & SON, 32 FLEET STREET LIVERPOOL: 45 to 51 SOUTH CASTLE STREET. 1890. PEEFACE. T^HE awakening of Africa to a new life is one of the most notable events of our times. In consequence of its recognition as a factor in in- ternational politics, the continent has assumed a position which, though imperfectly understood, is not the less characteristic and definite. This result is due to the combined action of Europe. We must assume that the European Powers in Africa have accepted their self-imposed and responsible task of reclaiming the continent with a full knowledge of its extent and difficulty. The development of Africa, however, if it is to be profitable to those who have undertaken it, and not merely a fetish for philanthropic parade, involves far more than blind enthusiasts would have us to believe. It is one of the colonial problems of the next century. The factors that compose it are many and varied, and, it must be confessed, appear to be scarcely known to the majority of those who without hesitation register their vote in favour of unlimited territorial acquisitions. We have been accustomed vi PREFACE. to enter upon African campaigns with a light heart, neither reckoning the cost nor foreseeing the end ; and the experience thereby gained has been dearly bought. Surely, therefore, the time has come when we should take into our councils those whose special knowledge fits them to advise or control ? The African Question is in the main a geograph- ical problem. In its initial stage — the conquest and development of African lands — we have to deal not so much with political as with geographical conditions. It is only after the latter are under- stood that we can effectually control the former. Although not sufficiently competent myself to treat this geographical problem in a manner that might be regarded as authoritative, I have attempted to define the outlines of an inquiry into the subject. From an examination of the physical and political phenomena of Africa I have sought to deduce the general laws that should govern its development. Each phase of my subject has been made to illus- trate its practical bearing. Thus, from a survey of the mountains, lakes, and rivers of Africa, we dis- cover the lines of least physical resistance to the migrations of men ; whilst the consideration of political relations assists us in understanding the movements of commerce. Again, it is necessary for us to know the climatic conditions of the various PREFACE. vii regions before we are in a position to judge of their suitability for commercial enterprise or as European colonial settlements. Upon the distinctive character and resources of those regions must depend the nature and direction of their political development. The plan of the book has been to proceed step by step, as far as possible in natural sequence, and to build up Africa under the eyes of the reader, so to speak. Within reasonable limits, and not forgetting the due proportion of their component parts, I have endeavoured to give complete pictures of Africa, by dealing successively with the various aspects under which the continent is known to Europe. I travel again and again over the same ground, but each stage of the survey is undertaken with a different object in view. In the treatment of detail I have proceeded from the general to the particular, every fresh departure being marked by a closer inspection. The book has been written to meet the require- ments of that somewhat mythical and exacting per- sonage, the general reader. Those who are well versed in the geography of Africa may find it defi- cient in detail, but even to them it may perhaps prove suggestive and profitable. Mr. E. G. E-avenstein has specially designed a very complete series of maps to accompany the volume ; and I am greatly indebted to him, not only for the care he has bestowed on these maps, but also viii PREFACE. for his assistance in the revision of the text. It is scarcely necessary to add that Mr. Ravenstein's maps, embodying the original researches of a life- time, are a valuable contribution to the cartography of Africa. By a study of them the reader will not only be assisted in understanding the text, but will also discover a vast amount of detail ignored in my descriptions. Mr. Ravenstein has himself sup- plied a Note at the end of the volume, discussing the data upon which his maps have been con- structed. Finally, it gives me great pleasure to acknow- ledge the generous co-operation of my publishers. A. S. W. Edinburgh, October 1890. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. PAGE Preliminary survey of the continent — Its geological and physical structure — Oceanic and inland drainage-basins — Coincidence of political settlement with Oceanic drainage-areas . . . i CHAPTER 11. MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. Geographical distribution of the chief mountain-systems, and con- sequent development of the great river-systems, in relation to accessibility from the sea and internal communications . . 17 CHAPTER III. CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. Distribution of temperature — Actual temperatures — Distribution of atmospheric pressure, and prevailing winds — Annual rain- fall — Distribution of soils — Zones of vegetation — Distribution of animals — Classification of climates — Acclimatisation . . 51 CHAPTER IV. THE INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS. General considerations — Linguistic groups and their geographical distribution — Characteristics of Negroes and of native life — Survey of the indigenous populations : their mental, moral, and material culture ; their political organisations and social development — Capacity of the Negro for developing higher CONTENTS. PAGE forms of culture — Non-resistance, from the comparative absence of political cohesion in Bantu Africa, against the European domination — Native rights and European responsibilities . . 85 CHAPTER V. ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY. Historical sketch of the progress of Islam and the extension of Arab influence — The border-land of Islam in the south — Signs of the times— Historical sketch of the progress of Christian missions — Results of missionary enterprise — Methods of INIohammedan propagandism and Arab rule, as compared with those adopted by Christian missions and European rule : in their effect upon the Pagan populations— Conclusions 129 CHAPTER yi. THE TRAFFIC IN SLAVES. The sources, conditions, and extent of the Slave Trade — Discussion of remedial measures 161 CHAPTER VII. PROGRESS OF EXPLORATION. Historical sketch of the progress of discovery and of exploratory work in Africa — Limits to our present knowledge — The task of the future, its probable direction, and the spirit in which it should be undertaken 183 CHAPTER VIII. COMMERCIAL RESOURCES. Progress of exploitation — Commerce, the most important initial factor in African jiolitics — Commercial supremacy rather than empire tlie uixlorlying motive of Euroj)ean enterprise — The r(;i;.'n of comiiK.Tce — Tiie value of African laiuls — (Jeographical distribution of products, and the Tnovements of commerce — (leograpliical distril)utioii of ivory — Coincidence of slave-routes witli tradc-rontcH, ivory being tlie i)riiicipal article of exi>ort — The liquor-trallic — The Labour Problem — Colonisation — Char- tered companies — "Robber-economy" — Honesty the best policy 217 CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER IX. THE EUROPEAN DOMINATION. PAGE Relative absence of native political rule — Survey of the European colonies, protectorates, and spheres of influence — The political situation — Comparative absence of effective occupation by the European Powers — Obstacles to European political settlement not necessarily insuperable, but limitations to be observed . 249 CHAPTER X. POLITICAL PARTITION. Cause and effect — Methods — Definitions — The Berlin Conference of 18S4-85 — Territorial boundaries in Africa before the Confer ence, and those settled at or immediately after the Conference — Progress of the partition of Africa — Dij)lomatic negotiations, treaties, conventions, &c. — Fixed boundaries — Undefined terri- torial limits 279 CHAPTER XL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. General principles underlying the develoi)ment of Africa along natural lines, derived from an examination of the various aspects under which the continent is known to Europe at the present day NOTES ON THE MAPS, BY E. G. RAVENSTEIN, F.R.G.S. 323 INDEX 333 LIST OF MAPS BY E. G. RAVENSTEIN, F.R.G.S. Height of Land (Contoured Map) Plate I. River-Basins and Ocean Currents .... „ II. Mean Annual Temperatures „ III. Mean Annual Range of Temperature ... „ IV. Annual Rainfall „ V. Geological Sketch „ VI. Zones of Vegetation „ VII, Commercial Products „ VIII. Density of Population „ IX. Languages „ X. Religions, and Missionary Stations . . . . „ XI. Progress of Exploration „ XII. Political Partition „ XIII. Forms of Government „ XIV. CHAPTER I. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE CONTINENT — ITS GEOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OCEANIC AND INLAND DRAINAGE-BASINS COINCIDENCE OF POLITICAL SETTLEMENT WITH OCEANIC DRAIN- AGE-AREAS. MAPS. Contoured Map Plate I. E-ivkb-Basins, &c ,, II. Geological Sketch „ YI. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. AFEICA is the Pariah of Continents. Nature, whilst The Pariah Continent, lavishing on her the most bounteous gifts, has, at the same time, imposed certain barriers and restrictions to their enjoyment which hamper no other continent. Although Egypt and the Mediterranean Littoral saw the dawn of the earliest civilisation, circumstances, chiefly of a geographical character, ha^'e been against the development of Africa. Hence it has happened that, at the present day, we have Ijeen called upon to re-discover the continent and to exploit its natural resources. We are told that Africa is a continental area of ini- its geoiogi- p • 1 • ^^ anti- mense antiquity, a large portion of it being Ixiilt up of quity. rocks belonging to Archaean, Palteozoic, and early Mesozoic times. These, it is true, are geological terms that may fail to convince the lay reader. Should, however, any further proof of the extreme antiquity of the continent be required, it is afforded by the singular uniformity and simplicity of its coast-line. Therein lies a phenomenon that at once arrests attention. Geologists regard as the continental plateau, not only the Continental plateau. great mass of the dry land, l)ut also its extension under the sea to a depth of one thousand fathoms. Now, this so-called continental plateau very closely corresponds in its direction with the present trend of the coast-lme on the east, the south, the w^est, and the noi'th-west. The dry land of Africa, in l)rief, occupies almost the entire area of the continental plateau. The coast-line shows a general absence of large 4 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Absence of estuaries, deep bays, narrow gulfs, firths and fiords, all of gulfs, &c. which are such characteristic features of the much younger coast-line of North-Western Europe. We miss also the graceful peninsular forms wliich differentiate the continent of Eurasia. Hence it is that, though Africa is three times greater in area than Europe, its coast-line measures only about 17,700 miles, whilst that of Europe is over 2000 miles longer. This remarkable absence of bays and gulfs in Africa, or of any large indentations in its coast-line, is explained by the washings of the continent — the immense amount of detritus brought down by the rivers^having, in the course of ages, gradually filled them up. The Gulf of Guinea, so called, is not a true gulf ; while the Gulf of Aden and the Eed Sea, with which it communicates, belong as much to Asia as to Africa : they simply separate the two continents, and constitute Africa an immense island — for the Suez Canal, y2> miles in length, gives it an ipso facto existence as such. Only in the Mediterranean, in the ancient Syrtes, do we recognise something like a true gulf. To the south of this small gulf, and, indeed, at many localities along the shores of the Mediterranean and the Eed Sea, are actual depressions below the sea-level, which, at some remote period, must have been the heads of gulfs and straits that have gradually disappeared as the land was elevated : raised beaches, far inland, now mark spots upon which the sea once broke in waves. Geoiofficai Of gcological systcms in Africa very little need be said. sv stems* All the greater divisions are I'cpresented ; but it is to be noted that Archaan, I'aheozoic, and ]\Iesozoic strata occupy the major portion of the surface. Eocks of later Mesozoic age extend o\er large tracts in the northern portion of the continent, while Tertiary deposits are similarly developed across wide regions which di'ain towards the Mediterranean. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. 5 The West Coast — in contradistinction to the North and East Geological Coasts — has shown a remarkable persistency throughout an immense lapse of time, for it seems to have been outlined as far back as in the Palaeozoic era ; and the general dis- tribution of rocks of this age and of the older Arch£ean scliists throughout the continent would appear to indicate that in Palaeozoic times the major portion of what is now land was then under water. Numerous small islands com- posed of Archaean rocks must in those times have dotted this sea, not only on the West Coast, but also along the main continental axis and elsewhere. In Mesozoic times, the land in the west and in the south and east had considerably increased in extent ; but vast areas in the Interior would appear to have been occupied by shallow seas. Within those areas we now find : in Northern Africa, Jurassic and Cretaceous, and in Southern and Central Africa, Triassic strata. The major portion of the continent would thus appear to have been dry land after Mesozoic times. In late Mesozoic times considerable volcanic outpourings took place in Eastern Africa; and it is probable that these volcanic eruptions were connected with the movement that resulted in the intensification of the main continental axis — that large backbone of elevated land which traverses the conti- nent in a N.E — S.W. direction — and in the accompanying deformations of the earth's crust along the tract within which we now find the great lakes. The only deposits of Quaternary and later age we need refer to here are the enormous alluvial accumulations met wdth along the courses of the principal rivers and their tributaries, and the drifting sands which overspread such wide regions in the desiccated areas of Northern Africa. In its general configuration, Africa conforms to the conti- Conformity to conti- nental type. Its hio-hest elevations are found, in accordance nentai '/ ir Q type. with the general law, on that side which faces the deepest zone 6 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. sea : next the Indian Ocean. Its land sculpture is due prin- cipally to the action of denudation, guided and controlled l»y the geological character and structure of the rocks, charac- We havc, then, these characteristic physical features to teristic physical start witli : that the dry land of Africa occupies the greater features. "^ . portion of the continental plateau, and that the shore-line is almost without any great indentations. This absence of spacious bays and protected roadsteads has, it is evident, played an important part in the political development of Africa. The plateau character of the continent has, in like manner, been the means of excluding European enterprise from the interior lands, and has constituted Africa the out- cast she now is. Coastal From the abysmal depths of the surrounding seas the continent rises by terrace upon terrace. A narrow coastal zone, from lOO to 300 miles in width, and not exceeding, say, 600 feet in elevation, girdles the greater part of the continent. Here the seafaring nations of Europe have timorously planted their colonies, for the expansion of which a coast-line as a base is so absolutely essential. This coastal zone penetrates most deeply into the Mediterranean lands, to the east of the Ali^erian highlands, mto the Western Sahara, and along the valleys of the Lower Niger and of otlier large rivers. Inland The great inland plateau rises abruptly from the coastal belt, for the most part step-like, in a succession of terraces, its hii'-liest elevations being attained in the north-east. As this vast inland plateau, varying between 600 and 3000 feet in elevation a])ove the sea-level, composes the greater part of Africa, and includes very many subsidiary plateaus, it niiiy pci'baps Ix-, conxcnicnt- tn (list ingiiisli it IV(»iu its com- pniicnt, paits by apjdying to it tbc Icnn I ba\(^ already used in its strict geological sense — that of the continental plateau. plateau. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. 7 It is, however, to be observed that the more we learn of Northern Africa, particularly of the Saharan regions, the less we observe the permanence of the })lateau type, though in the southern half of Africa it is well defined. The main axis of this continental plateau, as we shall Continental axis. henceforth call it, extends like a backl)one in a S.W. — N.E. direction from the South-West Coast to the shores of the Eed Sea, near which we find its most important nucleus, the volcanic mountain region of Abyssinia. From this main axis three subsidiary axes* strike transversely, like ribs, in a north-westerly direction : one follows the shores of the Eed Sea, separating them from the l)asin of the Nile ; another runs parallel to the West Coast, more or less con- tinuously ; and the third takes a middle direction, dividing the catchment-basins of the Nile and Congo, and stretching a mighty arm, as it were, across the Sahara to within a com- paratively short distance of the Mediterranean. The mean altitude of Africa, taken roughly at 2000 feet, Elevation of land conforms very nearly to the mean elevation of the land of masses, the globe. Africa may, therefore, be regarded as a plateau of moderate elevation. Its mean altitude, however, is very greatly exceeded by that of Asia. As far as is known, its highest summits are reached in Kenia, which lies on the Equator, and in Kilima-njaro, a little to the south. The latter is estimated to be 19,680 feet above the sea-level, whilst the former cannot be much under. Mr. Stanley has quite recently (1889) discovered in the Euwenzori group, situated in the source-region of the Nile, snow-clad peaks which cannot be much under 19,000 feet in elevation. High mountains occur also in South Africa, in Abyssinia, on the Guinea coast, in Morocco, and in the Sahara, the enumera- tion of which is here unnecessary, because later on we shall * The contours selected for the map illustrating this chapter may not, how- ever, distinctly bring out these transverse subsidiary axes of the continent. 8 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. encounter them again. At present we are concerned only with distributions and generalisations. General Froiu tliis distribution of the great mountain-systems of structure. Africa, it will be seen that they do not exactly follow the law that holds good in regard to other continents : that the main continental axis coincides with its greatest length ; although, if we regard the subsidiary axes above referred to, we see in them only a variation of this physical law. There is another general law, which, on the other hand, is well exemplified in Africa : that the chief island masses occur to the south and east of continents. Thus, we find Madagascar — which at one time, however remote, formed part of the mainland — situated, in accordance with this law% to the south and east. Madagascar itself, built up in terraces just like the parent mass, is, it is true, the only African island of any size. In the Gulf of Guinea there are a few small volcanic islands, stretching in a south- westerly direction from Mount Camarons ; and small groups of volcanic islands appear off the North-West Coast; but they are comparatively insignificant. Vast size of It is difficult to realise the immense size of Africa. Its simplicity of form imposes upon the mind of the casual observer. Many people, in fact, regard it as a country, and not as a large continent. Yet, if we seek its continental centre, or that point in the Interior which is most remote from all tlie surrounding coasts, we find that, in order to reach it, we slujuld require to travel a distance of over 1 100 miles. Only in Asia, whose continental centre is as remote as 1600 miles, should we require to travel a greater distance; but then Asia is duc-tliii-d larger than Africa. Emboss- The exterior margins of the broad plateaus of Africa will generally be found, as in those of other continents, to be hi<^dier than tlieir central portions, thus presenting toward the sea a sort of natural nuupart. This peculiar emboss- ment. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. 9 ment of the continent, whilst determining its river-systems, has formed one of the most liostile impediments in regard to the accessibility of the interior lands. The rivers and Cataracts, lakes are, of course, the true natural highways ; ])ut all the large rivers, not only in their upper, but also in their middle and lower courses, where they break through the margins of the plateaus, have, in consequence, their beds filled with all sorts of rocky obstructions ; and so great is their inclina- tion that the accelerated waters become rapids, or break into cataracts, or fall down sheer heights, in their eager passage to the sea. And unfortunately, from the fact of the inland or continental plateau approaching so near to the coasts, all the great rivers have their navigation obstructed at relatively short distances from their mouths. Serious obstacles are thus placed in the way of free commercial intercourse between Inner Africa and the outside world. In order better to realise the physical relief of Africa, Drainage- 1 1 • 1 T • • areas. let US endeavour to picture the disposition of its oceanic and mland drainage-basins,* thus illustratmg in the most forcible manner possible the chief slopes of the continent towards the surrounding seas, or into those enclosed basins whose drainage- waters never reach the Ocean at all. Of these catchment-basins, by far the most important is that draining into the Atlantic Ocean. In this respect Africa agrees with Europe and the Americas : about half of the land of the globe drains into the Atlantic. The following are the drainage- areas of Africa : — 1. Atlantic Ocean. 2. Mediterranean Sea. 3. Indian Ocean. (a.) Madagascar. * By drainage-basins I refer to surface drainage only, — more correctly speaking, catchment-basins. DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Oceanic drainage basins. Enclosed basins. 4. Three Inland drainage-areas : — (a.) Sahara Desert. (Jb.) Kalahari Desert. (c.) Eastern Abyssinia. By consulting the map, it will be seen at a glance how greatly the Atlantic Ocean drainage-area is in excess of the other drainage-areas of the African continent. It includes, of course, the mighty river-systems of the Niger and Congo, besides all the river-basins of the West Coast. The Congo alone discharges as great a volume of water as probably all the rivers of Africa taken together, the Niger m this respect coming next, and the dissipated Nile taking only a fourth place. The Nile, originating below the Equator, is the only river of importance in the Mediter- ranean dramage-basin, its magnificent system extending like a tongue far into the interior of Africa. The Indian Ocean drainage-basin includes, besides Madagascar, all the rivers of the East Coast, of which the Zambezi and Limpopo are the chief, from the Cape up to the Eastern Horn. Of the enclosed basins, or those basins having a self- contained hydrographical system, by far the most extensive is that of the Sahara, which in the south impinges on the Sudan. Lake Tsad lies in a trough, l)ut not l)y any means, as was at one tune supposed, in the lowest part of the Saharan plateau. Besides the small enclosed basin between the Abyssinian highlands and the sea, in which there are restricted areas of absolute depression, tliere is a third, surrounding the Kalahari desert and holding Lake N'ganii. These are all more or less desert or riverless regions, in which the. annual rainfall is under five or ten inches ; and the explanation of their origin, tliough ])artly due to the configuration of the land, will be given when we come to consider the meteorological conditions of Africa. If we compare the chief rivers of Africa with the great A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. n rivers of the world, the Congo will be found to rank second River- _ . systems. only to the Amazons in those respects which constitute an important river, namely, in point of drainage-area and annual discharge of water. The fact of their mouths being situated on or near the Equator, and their catchment-basins receiving in consequence an excessive rainfall, sufficiently ^ accounts for their abnormal volumes of discharge. But in regard to mere length, the Congo is exceeded by ^ of _ the great rivers of the world. Of these, the Mississippi- Missouri heads the list with a course of 4192 miles, and the Nile comes next with 4018 miles (though some day it may establish even a closer contest). In its lengthy course through desert lands the Nile, however, loses more w^ater by evaporation than any other liver of the same or of much lesser importance : hence the comparatively small volume of its discharge. The discharge of a river may, rouglily speaking, be said Discharge . ^ o ... . of rivers. to equal the excess of rainfall over evaporation in its basin. The usual discharge of Tropical or sulj-Tropical rivers is calculated by Dr. John Murray to l)e about one-fifth of the rainfall on the river's basin ; but the Nile discharges only about one-thirty-seventh. European rivers discharge ])etween one-third and one-fourth of the rainfall on their catchment-basins. The lakes of Africa, which play so important a part in Lakes, the accessibility of the continent, conform to the general law as regards the salinity or freshness of their waters ; that is to say, those not provided with outlets have, for the most part, salt or brackish water, unless submarine outlets carry off the salts held in solution. Lakes thus fall under two comprehensive divisions. All the great lakes of Africa, except Tsad, are situated along the continental axis, in areas of relative depression, or along the line of great faults or fractures in the earth's crust. 12 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Lakes. Though most of them fluctuate in level, they are all very different in character to lakes like Tsad and N'gami, which, being situated in low, swampy ground, expand and contract enormously, in accordance with the seasons. Another class of lake is to be found in those expansions of a river's course in low or "spongy" ground, such as are common in the basin of the Congo. But all of these lakes are formed in areas of relative depression, and are, therefore, to be again differentiated from the lakelets or marshes bordering the shores of the Mediterranean and Red Seas, where there are small areas of absolute depression — that is to say, localities Ijing below the sea-level. One might go on multiplying instances of dissimilarity in the characteristics of the various lakes of Africa, but our present purpose has been served in what has already been said in regard to them. Coinci- "VVe have completed our preliminary survey of the con- poiiticai tinent in its oroQ-raphical and hydrographical relations — settlement * ^ ./ O 1 with drain- skctchcd, it is true, in broad outlines ; but before proceeding age-areas. ' ' ; i: o in the next chapter to fill in details, attention should be directed to a very striking fact. It will be found, on com- paring the maps, that what may be called political settle- ment in Africa has coincided very closely with the oceanic drainage-areas, while the inland drainage-areas have been , . . 1 practically deserted by man, as they have been paralysed ' ])y Nature. Physical This phenomenon illustrates in a very lucid manner how obstacles against political Settlement is controlled by physical obstacles. In expansion, ^^^frica it has, in fact, after first finding a footing on the coasts, endeavoured to penetrate into the Interior by the most natural highways — tliose af'l'ordcd by tlic great river- systems. Bearing this parallel in niiud, we have at once some explanation of the fact that, lor instance, the Medi- terranean Littoral has from time immemorial been European A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. 13 rather than African. The Sahara desert has proved an impassable barrier against any considerable political expan- sion southwards. In practical politics, therefore, Africa may be said to be limited on the north by the Sahara-Mediterranean water- parting. Elsewhere we shall show how, in a far greater degree, physical obstacles of one kind or another have con- trolled or limited the expansion of political power in Africa, which, in its natural course, by following the lines of least resistance, would endeavour to proceed along the fluvial highways of the continent. CHAPTER II. MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHIEF MOUNTAIN-SYSTEMS, AND CONSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OP THE GREAT RIVER-SYSTEMS, IN RELATION TO ACCESSIBILITY PROM THE SEA AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS. MAPS. Contoured Map Plate I. River-Basins, &c „ II. I MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. N" the present chapter we shall examine in detail the oceanic and inland drainage-basins of Africa. The most prominent physical features of the Mediter- Mediter- ranean sea- ranean seaboard are concentrated in and around the high- board, land region extending eastwards from the Atlas Mountains to the Gulf of Gabes. The Atlas range in the east sinks towards the highlands of Algeria. The uplands of Algeria and Tunis rise in terraces at a short distance from the coast, but on their south side they fall rapidly to those remark- able depressions called shotts, which extend inland west- wards from the Gulf of Gabes for a distance, of about 235 miles. As these shotts are probably the vestiges of what was once an inland sea, and some of them at least could be connected by canals, efforts have not been wanting on the part of the French Government to turn them to account as fluvial highways into the Interior. The maritime low- lands are cori tinned almost uninterruptedly eastwards to the Nile delta, and have a breadth of 100 miles or less in most places. They are backed in the south by stony desert lands, called hammadas and serirs — of which the latter are relatively the higher ; and the uniform flatness along the coast is broken by the bold and picturesque promontory of Barka (the ancient Cyrenaica), which advances its steep and rugged sides far into the sea. At one part of the Gulf of the Syrtes the hammadas, or stony jjlateaus, impinge upon the coast, and attain elevations of over 2500 feet. In no part of the Mediterranean Littoral are large rivers E 1 8 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Absence of possible. 'E\en in Algeria the river-beds are filled with rivers. water only in the rainy season. Along the remainder of the coast the conditions are still less favourable to the formation of large streams, thongh in past ages the deep channels leading into the Gulf of the Syrtes must have held considerable rivers. Atlas Before entering the Sahara, it will be more convenient Mountains. n -it i a r> • to contniue our survey or JN^orth Africa westwards to the Ocean, where we enter the northern portion of the Atlantic drainage-basin. This corner of Africa is occupied by the imposing range of the Atlas Mountains, which runs as a backbone along it. Into its Alpine fastnesses few travellers have penetrated, but those few have returned with the most inspiring accounts. Peaks reaching from ii,ooo to 12,000 feet and more, to the south of Morocco city, have been reported as common. The highest summit of which we have any precise knowledge appears to be Tizi-n-Tamjurt, which Mr. Joseph Thomson estimated at about 15,500 feet. Fine valleys and gorges penetrate the mountains in all directions, and there are several practical)le passes. The range, which is of no great geological antiquity, is built up in long terraces. Archrean rocks occur, Ijut tliey liave been lidgcd up by subsequent movements. In the west the mountain range breaks into a plateau at about sixty miles distant from flie Atlantic coast. The coast-line itself, opposite tlie Canary Islands, is low, and is eveiywliere cut up by wadis, which only contain any considerable amount of water in llu' scasdii wlicn Ihc snows of tlie Atlas are melting. Sahara \V(; now enter tb(! doniiiiii of ibci Sahara. There is suffi- rcgiun. cjeiil evidene(! to show lliat this gi-eat sandstone plateau at one tinn", not \-ery iviikiIc in u:eoloL;i(;d liistdvy, was to a large extent suljincrged ; llmn^h this is a contention disputed ]iy soinr; autlioi-ilies. I''ossil iciii;iii)s h;i\-e ])oon discovered in MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. 19 many places, and there are still several minor depressions and lakes left. By depressions we do not mean all the Jiofra of the Arabs, who sometimes apply this term in a relative sense, but those small enclosed areas which are actually below the sea-level. Of these, reference has already been made to the sJiotfs on the northern border-land of the Sahara, into which wide and lengthy channels conduct the scanty water-supply of the inland plateau. Others of smaller area are found in the northern portion of the Libyan Desert, west of the Lower Nile, in Siwah and elsewhere, ujjon which have grown up flourishing oases. Over one-half of the Sahara is occupied by plateaus and Physical . , . , , features. mountams ; the remanider is steppe-land and desert, dotted with oases. The transition areas bordering on the cultivated zones are more extensive in the extreme south than in the north. Not more than one-ninth is covered by the endless sands which popular tradition formerly ascribed to the whole area of the Sahaiu. The highest elevations occupy the middle regions, along the central axis of the Saharan plateau, running in a N.W. — S.E. direction, and culminating in the mountains of Tibesti — an imposing nucleus, with summits of nearly 8000 feet. Its extension in the plateau to the N.W. contains summits of over 5000 feet. This highland region, l)uilt up of limestone and sandstone, though falling under the mean elevation of the chief European ranges, rivals them Ijoth in length and extent; it is, in fact, about 1000 miles long. Between it and Tripoli another highland region occurs in the border-range ; and outlying groups of mountains, contain- ing heights of 5000 feet, are found elsewhere within the Sahara, as in the Azben plateau. In the east the Sahara plateau adjoins the watershed of the Nile ; in the south it meets that of the Congo, and in the west that of the Niger- Benue. The Ahaggar highlands drain by wadis into the 20 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Niger basin ; but some of the streams flow north, and others are lost in the inland basin of the desert. Enclosed areas of relative depression occur more especi- ally in the Western Sahara ; and others are found near the borders of the highest mountains, as, for instance, that lying under the Borku plateau — the Bodeli, which receives the overflow waters of Lake Tsad by the Bahr-el-Ghazal channel. Water- The Sahai'a is furrowed in many directions by river- sapply. beds, none of which contain water the whole year round ; but in the length and width of their channels they rival the great rivers of Europe, thus pointing to a time when, under more favourable climatic conditions, this region was traversed by magnificent waterways. The underground supply of water at the present day is, on the other hand, remarkably great. In most places, especially near high land, water is easily reached by sinking for it. This sub- terranean water-supply, when 1)rought to the surface by artesian wells, and when naturally flowing near the surface or into areas of relative depression, creates, as if by magic, those refreshing oases on the caravan routes between the ]\Iediterranean States and the Sudan, which serve as so many stepping-stones across the inhospitable wastes. Upon the nature of the water-supply depend, of course, the char- acter and extent of the oasis. In general terms it may be stated that, other conditions being fa\ourable, wherever the water reaches the surface, at that spot an oasis is formed. "When tlie water lies as much as fifteen to thirty feet below, artesiiiii wells are requii-cd to rcacli it. At otlior spots it percolates to the surface ii) tlic Inrm of springs, or wells Tip as siirfacc-drainage, or by oiIkt diicct means of infil- tration. "Water, in fact, is Uic lil'c-lil 1 of Africa, more especially in tln^ laiidess regions surli ;is we are now con- .sidering, ami it is more pre(;i(;us tliaii " mucli lino gobl." MOUXTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. 21 The Wadi Draa, the length of whose channel exceeds that Desert streams. of the Ehine, is the best example of a true desert stream under the most favourable conditions. Its upper course, draining from the soutliern slopes of the Atlas, carries a certain amount of water all the year round ; but only when the snows of the Atlas are melting does the river ever reach the sea, owing to the immense amount of evaporation and absorption it undergoes in passing through the arid regions of its middle and lower courses. Farther to the east we find another large river-bed, that of the Igharghar, which in places is as much as fifteen miles wide. This remark- able river-channel, coming from the south and pursuing a course of 700 miles, receives from the S.W. a tributary arm of almost equal size, and eventually leads into the Shott Melrihr. There are, moreover, many other wadis con- ducting their scanty water-supply into the sandy wastes, wdiich greedily alisorb wliat little water is left after the abnormal evaporation, or into areas of relative depression, where marshes are formed in the season of rains. In the latter case, if the w^aters have held solutions of saline matter, large areas are left during the dry season over which the salt lies stretched out like a crystal sea. The Sahara in this way offers a valuable commercial commodity to any who may take the trouble to gather it. The Tsad Ijasin, situated in a trough lying between the Tsad basin, watersheds of the three chief rivers of Africa, the Nile, the Congo, and the Niger, is an immense self-contained hydrogra- phical system situated in the very heart of Africa. The eleva- tion of the lake above the sea-level is about 800 feet. In the dry season it resembles a marsh, occupied by a cluster of large islands, but a marsh greater in area than the island of Sicily, In the season of rains its waters rise from twenty to thirty feet, and then the Tsad becomes an inland sea of im- posing proportions. It occasionally overflows by its outlet, the 2 2 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Bahr-el-Ghazal, whose chaimel conducts in a N.E. direction for a distance of about 300 miles into the Bodeli depression. Lake Tsad receives many important tributary streams — one from the west equalling the Ehine in length ; and its chief feeder, the Shari, is the largest river in Africa not reaching the sea. The Sliari and its tributaries drain tlie high watershed country to the south-east of the lake. AVhether the Tsad basin is hydrographically connected with that of the Benue-Niger in the season of rains is a point not yet sufficiently elucidated ; but there is strong evidence, such as that furnished by Barth and Vogel, in favour of some such connection between the Shari and the Benue. Means of It is obvious, froui wliat has been said in our survey of communi- loi -iii- ^ • ^ cation. the bahara as an inland draniage-basni, that the desert possesses no natural means of communication. Although there are no insurmountable physical obstacles, as far as the lie of th(^ land is concerned, conditions of climate, wliich we shall subscfjuently consider, have condemned the greater portion of this I'egion as one of peril. Into it none may thoughtlessly enter. To cross it, utilising the oases as stepping-stones, requires the resources of a large caravan, and necessitates an innnense waste of time, some tliree or four months being reqnii'cd for the overland journey. We have seen, too, how ]iolitically isolated it has been in the past; and fartlici' on we sliall find that, as regards coni- nu'icial intercourse with tlic chief centres of poi)nlation witliin its liasin, moic ail\ antageous highways are offered llian tliosc l)y tlic oNcilaml caiaxan I'outes. I'Ik! I'sad I'egion, on llic other liainl, tliouL;h t<'clinically belonging to the Sahara diaiiiauv-liasin, is cliniatically and in other res])(!cts an iiili'^ral ]iniii(iii nl' the great Sudan, stretehing friaii ocean lo oeean. Access to its hasin is ad'ordeil liy other routes, from tlu; east, west, and south; and, Liiveii the trade to at tract, 1 hej-e need he no ob.stacdes MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. 23 in the way of permanent conniiercial highways converging from those directions upon the important regions bordering the Lake, but more especially the densely populated countries to the south of it. The valley of the Kile, in its entire length from the NUe vaiiey. Equator to the Mediterranean, to which drainage-basin it consequently belongs, is the next area we have to consider. The mighty river, issuing from its lake-reservoirs, drains nearly the wdiole of ISTorth- Eastern Africa, receiving its chief affluents west and east of its lower middle course, and finally empties its waters into the Mediterranean. The Victoria Nyanza, its highest source-reservoir, is situated at about 4000 feet above the level of the sea ; and, as the Nile is about 4000 miles in length, its average fall to the sea is consequently one foot per mile. The watershed enclosing its basin approaches very close upon the source- country, but widens out enormously in the middle region, both east and west ; it then closes in gradually upon the banks of the Lower Nile, until it merges in the Deltaic lands. The highest source-stream of the Nile will be found in Source- streams one of the large feeders entering the Victoria Nyanza from and lake- the south. This lake, receiving tributary streams from all sides, is the largest in Africa : it is estimated to exceed the area of Scotland. The Nile, issuing from the head of this immense reser^'oir, breaks throuo-h the mountainous country on its northern border by cataracts and falls, form- ing by the way many enlargements of its channel, and joins the Albert Nyanza. Lake Albert, situated some 1600 feet below the level of the A^'ictoria, is probably nothing more than the eroded valley of a once mighty affluent of the Nile, for the rocks on either side, rising in corresponding terraces, are of the same geological formation. It now acts as the second reservoir of the Nile, and is itself connected in the S.W. with the third reservoir, the Albert Edward Nyanza, reservoirs. 24 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. 3307 feet above sea-level, by a newly discovered river called the Semliki. These two lakes, therefore, with the Semliki Eiver, form the south-western arm of the Upper Nile. The Albert Edward Xyanza and its outlet, the Semliki, receive innumerable tributary streams from the high mountain mass of Euwenzori. Source- The sourcc-country of the Nile is, in brief, situated within an immense irregular triangle, the apex of which is formed by the confluence of its S.E. and S.W. branches, and the base of which is represented by the Congo watershed. Nile We can now trace the Nile as it issues out of the head of system. Lake Albert, a majestic stream, bound on its long journey to the ]\Iediterranean. Passing through a valley flanked on either side by mountains which recede as the river flows north — e\'entually leaving only a few sentinel groups to mark its l)anks — the Nile soon lea^'es the plateau- country finally behind, and enters the steppe-land, where its banks are lost in extensive swamps. Its first important accession is where it is joined, from the west, by the Balir-el-Ghazal. This affluent, striking the Nile almost at riglit angles to its course, contributes the large sii})ply of water which its triluitaries gather from the northei'u slopes of the Congo- Nile waterslied. The uiiitt'd stream, a little lower down, receives through its right bank the tributary waters of the Sobat, draining from the southern extension of the Al)yssinian highlands. AVith this accession to its strength, the Nile takes ii}) a dclinite nortliciii course and ilows as a l)old stream. At Kharti'im it receives its chief right- hand tril)utary, the ]>lue Nile, l^p to this junction, the main stream is known under several designiitions, but it may l)e exclusively regarded by us as the AVliite Nile. B.ieanci 'I'll'' I'.l IK' N i]<\ oiin ilia ti ii'j; ill till' Alpine heights of Abys- Wliite Niies. sinia, is an iiii])oitant river-system in ilsrlf. Tt too, like the White Nile, has its lake-reservoir, the Tsana, situated 5760 MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. 25 feet ahove the sea-level. Out of this lake the Blue Nile issues from the south. As if in mere exaltation of spirit, the river at first describes a magnificent bend, and finally, leaving its home of high birth, enters lower country. Here, it must be confessed, it pursues an irregular course until its union with the White Nile at Khartum. "We observe, therefore, two highly important confluences Conflu- in the upper reaches of the Nile : the one where all the source-stream sof the White Nile are united in Lake Albert ; and the other at Khartum, where the White and Blue Niles mingle their waters. From Khartum, the Nile, as a sober and respectable river The united Nile. that has abandoned the frolics of its youth, enters a new phase, and one which is often experienced by man in the middle course of life : serious troubles come. It has to con- tend against a hostile environment and to struggle for mere existence. It soon receives, it is true, a small accession of strength in the tributary waters of the Atbara, from Abyssinia ; but from thence its onward course is an unaided and a very weary one indeed. It has to traverse I2C0 miles, for the most part through arid deserts, which con- /, > stantly sap its strength, before it can relinquish the burden of its existence on the shores of the Mediterranean. Before singing the requiem of the Nile, however, a pass- Abyssinia, ing reference is due to Abyssinia. These picturesquely sculptured highlands, rising at least on two sides from a forbidding steppe-country, form a sanatorium in that part of Africa, the possession of or control over which should some day prove highly advantageous to Italy. In the north, the country falls in gentle declivities and in low hills to the desert country between the Nile and Red Sea ; and in the south it is in a sense united by isolated groups of mountains and high-lying valleys with the main axis of the continent. In the east, the mountains are abrupt and precipitous, and 26 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. practically no draiuage-waters find their way in that direc- tion ; but in the west the slopes are more gradual, and on that side they send tributary waters to the Nile. The highest peaks of Abyssinia are evenly distributed, several of them attaining altitudes little under 15,000 feet. But, owing to the highly mountainous character of the country, its rivers are torrents and they pursue very tortuous courses. In regard to the Atbara, one interesting fact may be recorded. It is this river that brings to the Nile the fertile alluvium which, in the course of ages, has contributed to the formation of its delta. Means of licgardiug the Nile as a means of connnunication, we can communi- cation, readily understand how its immense fluvial system must ha^-e appealed in the past to those who had only an imperfect knowledge of its hydrography as a magnificent highway into Central Africa. Unhappily, the Nile valley, so tempting in its apparent directness of communication with the Interior, is obstructed by obstacles that, even apart from tlie utterly hostile conditions of climate, im- pose limits whicli up to the present day have never been passed. Some of these obstacles may be referred to in this place. It is only natural that in the source-country of the Nile the ri veer's bed should be obstructed so as to defy navigation ; but between Khartum and Assuan there are six cataracts, wliich more or less hinder navigation. Although at Assuan and clscw here; satV; ])assages may be found in the season (»f lains, this, tlic i"'irst Cataract, may be regarded as the natnral southern rronlirr of Lower l*]gyi)t. Above this point no lirni hold can lie krpl, iij)on the riNcrnin ])oj)ula,tion for any coiisidcialilc dislancc. ( )|' coiusc, the Nile Aalley can again be easily icacjieil nnich I'aillier south, — for instance, at P.cilier, hy a line of lails laid from Sawakin (Suakiii); hut that would he practically introducing a new MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. 27 highway, although not a fluvial one, and at once renuning the political base of operations from the shores of the Mediterranean to those of the Eed Sea. The country within the loop of the Nile occupied by the Nubian Desert has in the past, and will doubtless in the future, set a limit to any effective administration originating from Lower Egypt-; and this for reasons which will more fittingly be given in the next chapter. The Eed Sea drainage-area, with its short wadis, may Red sea be regarded as relatively of no hydrographical importance, basin. The water-parting between the Nile and the Eed Sea passes over desert country, for the most part occujiied by barren hills, although mountains reaching over 6000 feet are found, and, near Abyssinia, e\en as high as 8000 feet. The enclosed hydrographical basin between Abyssinia and Enclosed basin, the sea is a triangular region of considerable extent. The south-west coast of the Gulf of Aden has undergone cer- tain modifications of level ; behind it lies a broad zone of flooded land, containing depressions below the sea-level, and the land rises inland in terraces. Except the Hawash, flow- ing from Abyssinia, and losing itself in the thirsty soil, there are no permanent streams within this enclosed basin, its deeply eroded valleys carrying water only in the rainy season. We now come to the most important drainage-basin of Atlantic Africa, that of the Atlantic, the extreme northern corner of basin, which has already been referred to. The great bend which the coast makes, forming in its Guifof . Guinea mnermost recess what is known as the Gulf of Guinea, clauns our chief attention, because into this sheltered sea — taking its widest limits — about three-fourths of the total drainage-waters of the continent ultimately find their way. In no other part of the world, Mr. J. Y. Buchanan aJBfirms, does the influence of the coast make itself felt so far out at 2S DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Atlantic drainage- area defined. Senegal and Gambia Rivers. sea. The Xiger and the Congo are, of course, the chief of the many important rivers of that portion of Africa ; and the enormous deposits of dark mud which they bring down to the ocean have contributed in a remarkable degree to the filling up of the coast-line. The soft muds off the mouth of the Congo have, in fact, been traced out at sea as far as 600 miles, at depths of 30CO fathoms. The Atlantic Ocean drainage-basin includes all the river- systems from the Senegal, opposite the Cape Verde Islands, in the north to near the Cape of Good Hope in the south. In the Equatorial regions the Congo and its affluents carry the interior watershed, in the neighbourhood of Tanganika, almost to the East Coast. The Niger, also, in the north encroaches boldly upon the Sahara regions. The outstanding topograpliical features of the Atlantic drainage-basin are the almost uninterrupted coastal ranges, situated at no very great distance inland, behind which the rivers are developed, and through which they ultimately force their way in their journey to the ocean. There are detached groups of mountains, such as Mount Camarons and others to the south of it, from whose valleys issue large rivers, but none larger than the Ogowe. We then approach the Congo as it breaks through the outer rim of tlie inland plateau. South of the Congo, again, the coastal highlands unite with the mitin continental axis. The T^]»])cr Guinea Coast is, Inr \\\(\ most part, flat and cut lip into iMiiin'i'ous lagoons, into which the smaller rivers liiid Hicir \v;iy. TIk; Futa -billoii highlnmls gi\c liirlh not only to the large rivers Senegal and Gambia, but also to several trilmtai'ies of tlic Upper Niger. The Senegal and thi- (liiiiiliia arc. iia\igable foi' long distiinci's IVom llieir nioutliH, es])ecially in thi' scisoii of r;iins.— Ihc I'oinicr ii]) to the ra])ids near Mcdim', mid ihc. laLtrr iiji to Ihe rapids ciifioii are raised to within 100 fatlioms of the smface of the sea, whilst between tlicni Ibc S(»Mnding-line had to tra\('l ten times that distance in oiilci- to reach th(^ bed of I he ocean. As, for reasons which have alicafly liccn nicni ioncd, llic watcis of the Gulf of (iiiiiK.'a arc slowly rcccihni:, wc may confidently })oint to tlie formation in the, course, of ages of a delta of enormous extent at tlie mouth of tlie Cong(». ll, must not, however, canon. MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. 35 be supposed that this submarine canon is in any way (hie its origin. to erosion by the river, the effect of which in this respect cannot be felt for any great distance from shore, because the river current itself, as Mr. J. Y. Buchanan has pointed out, does not prevail below the surface of the sea for more than twenty fathoms, and gradually thins out in its onward course. For many miles from shore the colour of this ocean river is of a darkish yellow, tinged with red ; and at more remote places this layer of fresh water is so thin that the screw of a steamer will churn it up and disclose the deep- sea water below. Mr. Buchanan has, in fact, demonstrated that the canon has not been hollowed out, but that it has been built up by the sediment deposited through the agency of the circulation of the sea water. We may now regard the Congo river-system as a means Means of communi- of communication between the sea and the interior lands cation., which it drains. For this purpose we may regard the intricate network of waterways above Stanley Pool as be- longing to the Upper Congo. From Stanley Falls to Stanley Pool the main arm of the Congo traverses a distance of nearly 1000 miles, and is navigable throughout the entire distance. It is very broad all the way, measuring in places as much as fifteen or even twenty-one miles across. According to the latest estimates by Belgian officers, which may possibly prove to be too sanguine, the Kasa'i and Sankuru have about an equal extent of navigable waters; and the third great affluent of the Congo, the M'bangi, has about 600 miles. Moreover, we are told that, taking- all the tributaries into account, there are over 7000 miles of continuous waterways accessible from Stanley Pool. We must, therefore, at once recognise the importance of this centre, situated, as it is, so near to the West Coast. If we accept the Belgian estimates as accurate, the aggregate length of the banks of the navigable waterways of the 36 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Upper Congo must be 14,000 miles, or about tliat of the coast-line of Europe from the North Cape to Constantinople. One can understand the enthusiasm of Mr. Stanley in re- garding such a length of navigable rivers, with people on their shores waiting to be supplied with the manufactures of Europe ! The recent discovery that the Lomami is navi- gable for 600 miles from its confluence with the Congo to a point a little beyond the latitude of ISTyangwe, which lies only a short distance to the east, carries our fluvial com- munications into the very heart of Africa. As regards the Lower Congo, ocean-going steamers stop at the port of Boma, though there is water enough to float them up to Matadi : the depths, however, are constantly changing, owing to the shifting sandbanks. Between Matadi and Stanley Pool, past the cataracts, a railway is in progress of construction ; so that these insuperable obstacles to transport by water will eventually be overcome by the enterprise of man. Between Procccding soutli, froui the mouth of the Congo, we the Congo . . , . . . an-1 Orange enter Upon an extensive region draimno; mto the Atlantic. Rivers. ^ o o The western slopes of the continental axis, extending between the Congo and Orange Elvers, send several im- portant streams to the ocean. Chief among them are the Kwaii/^a ami Kuiu'nr, wliicli rise from opposite sides of a watershed in the South-Centi'al plateau country, their source-streams being in proximity to one anotlier and not far removed — say, alxjut 100 miles — fi())u tlie coast. Oro-T.-i- 'I'lic coniiiiy sniiib of llic howcr Congo, aliliough gradually pliical icatures. usccndiiig IVoiii the coast iiiln Ihc Iiitriioi', dors not at fii'st rise in tuii'aces. It will lie seen thai the highest land is at (ii'st far icnioNcd IVoni Ihc coast, and that it gradually draws closer as \\r. jiiocccd sunlh. There are districts in the Intcriur lying at an average elevation of 5000 feet, ami I'lijoying a 'J'cnipciate climate, wliich are MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. 37 as well watered as any other parts of Afiica. The Kwauza is navigable for 250 miles from its mouth. The Knnene, on the other hand, is shallow, even in its lower course, and is not navigaljle. South of the Kunene, as far as the Orange Eiver, there Absence of extends a dreary coastal region, which, as it rises gradually into the Interior, is said to improve in quality ; but it sends no j)ermanent streams to the sea. Along this coast there are no harbours, though Walvisch Bay affords a secure road- stead. Behind this British possession there are tracks into the Interior, but along the rest of the coast, to the north and to the south, there are practically none. The Orange Eiver and its tributaries are comprised under Orange a self-contained system, resembling m many hydrographical respects that of the great Congo itself. We here leave, it is true, the important region of the continental axis of elevation, but we find its counterpart in tlie south, bear- ing a very close resemblance in miniature, and trending also in a S.W. — N.E. direction. The Orange Eiver rises at no great distance from the East__Coast, in the high ^ U-'^'V^ border-r ange o f the Draken Berge — one peakjowering over its source at an elevation of over 10,000 feet ; and it receives fine tributaries from the north and from the south. — As a river-system it occupies the whole Atlantic drainage- area of South Africa proper. The watershed between it and the Indian Ocean drainage-basin culminates towards the east in the massifs of the Draken Berge. This mountain- range falls in steep terraces towards the Natal coast, but its inland slope, towards the Transvaal plateau, is more gentle. Situated between the Vaal and Molopo tribu- taries of the Orange Eiver is the fine plateau of Southern Bechuana-land, which in parts reaches 5000 feet, but sinks towards the enclosed area around Lake N'gami to some 2000 feet. DEVELOPMENT OE AERICA. Communi- cations. Lake N garni. Indian Ocean drainage- basin. The Orange Eiver, on account of the numerous cataracts formed in the country through which it flows, is practically unnavigable. It is, in consequence, of little or no use as a means of communication. Moreover, with the exception of Saklanha Bay, situated some sixty miles to the north of Cape Town and providing a good natural harbour, there are no places on this coast where ships can find safe anchorage. In the large enclosed hydrographical basin holding Lake X'gami we have a reproduction on a small scale of that of Lake Tsad. The former lies to the north of the Orange Eiver and the letter to the north of the Congo : hence we have another remarkable bathyhypsographical feature in which these two river-systems resemble one another. The N'gami, however, though fluctuating in size like its proto- type, is a comparatively insignificant lake. It, too, like the Tsad, lies on the border of a desert zone — that of the Kalahari. In its neighbourhood are numerous depressions, in which salt-pans are formed ; and there exist also many larse river-beds with little or no water in them. The N'gami has its outlet in the Zuga channel, which carries off its overflow waters into the salt-pans. This concludes our survey of the wliole Atlantic drainage- area. The Indian Ocean drainage-basin is the last we shall have to con.sider. That portion of South Africa the mountain torrents of wbich flj-ain into the Indian Ocean is comprised under the siiullu'iii slojjcs of tlie In'gh border-range which, starting fioiii the ('a])(! of (lood IIopc, runs ]);iiallel to the coast in a nortli-easterly diivcijoii to (lir I)ialut our picture of Africa is, up to the present, only a lilack-and-white sketch, more wliite than Ijlack ; ;inil \\i- can only liojx; to convey a semblance of realism when we resort to colours, wlien we clothe the mountains and tlic plains with vegetation. We havc regarded our sulijcct-mailer in the present MOUNTAINS, LAKES, AND RIVERS. 47 chapter from one point of view only : accessibility. In Accessi- bility of how far is the continent, by the natural disposition of its African mountain barriers, favoural)le or otherwise to the migratory movements of men ? In how far do the rivers of Africa, from their facility for navigation, offer highways into tlie interior lands ? "Well, if we have seen anything at all, we nnist have recognised how the great river-systems of Africa give frge ^ access into the Interior at least up to the points where, as • cataracts and rapids, they break through the rim of the continental plateau. Eailways could be built to obviate such hindrances to internal communications, such as at the cataracts of the Lower Congo, where the upper reaches of ^ the river are sufficiently valuable and attractive as highways. ,/ As far as roads are concerned, it is well known that native tracks lead from every village to every other village ; and then there are the caravan routes, to which we shall refer subsequently. Highways, like the Stevenson Eoad between Lakes Nyassa and Tanganika, will be built when the proper time arrives : that is to say, when trade prospects warrant their construction. Across the unhealtliy coastal zone, from the depots of commerce, also, railways will in time run inland to the chief commercial centres. Though we are told it is unwise to prophecy until we are sure, I venture to remark that, in the end, it will be found impossible for Europeans to colonise Africa without the rapid means, such as railways afford, to reach the high-lying and relatively healthier regions of the Interior. It is all a question of time and of experience. At present we have the most elementary notions as to the proper manner of " opening up " Africa. Elsewhere will be explained some of the difficulties we shall have to face and the problems to be solved. It is evident that the physical embossment of Africa, / / ^ although providing splendid waterways throughout the /( L>C. 48 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. iuland plateau, does not afford steamers uninterrupted access j j from the sea, except in most cases for comparatively short ^ ' ' distances. And this is one of the reasons, though not the chief, why at the present day we see the coasts occupied by Europeans and Inner Africa by unregenerate Natives. CHAPTER IIT. CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE ACTUAL TEMPERATURES — DISTRI- BUTION OF ATMOSPnERIC PRESSURE, AND PREVAILING WINDS — ■ ANNUAL RAINFALL DISTRIBUTION OF SOILS ZONES OF VEGETA- TION DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS CLASSIFICATION OF CLIMATES ACCLIMATISATION. MAPS. Mean Anndal Temperatures (Actual) Mean Annual Range of Temperature Annual Rainfall .... Geological Sketch .... Zonks of Vegetation .... Plate III. „ IV. V, „ VI. ., VII. T CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. HE phenomena of climate are so manifold and complex, Phenomena of climate. and our data in Africa are, moreover, so limited and imperfect, that we can refer to them here only in very general terms, and in so far as their practical application is concerned. They necessarily include atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, and the resvdting aerial circulation or prevailing winds, which in the main determine rainfall. Vegetation, in its tvirn, depends partly on rainfall ; the geo- graphical distribution of animals is largely controlled by vegetation ; and upon both of these depends in a great measure the distribution of the populations. In working up to this final result, therefore, we shall be following the natural sequence of physical phenomena, or of cause and effect, by first considering the meteorological conditions of Africa. First, then, as regards temperature.* As the greater Mean portion of Africa lies within the Tropics, we are prepared perature. to find there a very high mean annual temperature. From the Northern Tropic (Cancer) southwards to the Orange Eiver, and excepting only the western seaboard and a small portion of the South-East Coast, which are cooled by their proximity to the ocean, there is a zone with a mean annual * The data in regard to temperature and atmospheric pressure are derived mainly from Dr. Alexander Buchan's monumental maps of the world illus- trating the Challenger volume on the subject. These maps are the most recent and authoritative we possess. They do not give actual temperatures, of course, but temperatures reduced to sea-level. The former we shall con- sider apart, in connection with Mr. Ravenstein's map (Plate III.). 52 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. temperature of 80° Fahr. This zone encloses a correspond- ing inner zone of 85° Fahr. To the north, the Sahara and Libyan deserts lie within the zone of 70° to 80° Fahr. ; and to the south we find a corresponding zone of mean annual temperature along the West Coast and in the high-plateau country of South jAfrica. The Mediterranean seaboard, the South-West Coast, and the southern-most part of Cape Colony enjoy the mean annual temperature of Southern Europe : from 60° to 70° Fahr. Mean tern- Bearing in mind these zones of mean annual temperature,, February.' it will be instructivc to compare them with the mean tem- peratures of the two extreme months, February and August, when the juxtaposition and interchange of seasons between the northern and southern Hemispheres is well exemplified in Africa. In February — the winter of the northern, and the summer of the southern, Hemisphere — the zone of 80° Fahr. lies more to the south and west, whilst the zone of 85° Fahr. is immensely increased in size, and encloses two large patches or areas indicating as high a temperature as 90° Fahr. These two patches are situated, the one — and the smaller one — to the north of the Equator, in the source- country of the Upper Nile ; the other, south of the Equator, in the high-plateau country between Lake Tanganika and the Orange River. The zone of 70° to 80° Fahr. includes part of tlie West Coast and the south coast of Cape Colony, in the southern Hemisphere ; while, in the northern Hemisphere, the Saharan regions experience a mean temperature of from 60" to 80" Falir. The Mediterranean seabuai'd has, however, a mtian teni])(;rature of from 50° to 60° Fahr. Meantem- W(! unturally fiiid vcry nearly the reverse of these con- peratiires '■ . . . , , , tt . , . . Augukt. (Iitioiis 111 August, wlu'ii tlie northern Hemisphere enjoys its KuiiiiiK'T. Then tin' zone of 80' Fibi., Ihougli prevailing as far south as Lake Nyassa, rcacli(!s tlie shores of the Mediter- ranean, aixl IcMvcs only a poi'tion of North-West Africa "out CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. 53 in the (comparative) cold " of from 70° to 80° Fahr. Within this zone of 80° Fahr. we find, well to the north of the Equator, interior zones of 85°, 90°, and even 95° Fahr., their axes lying, roughly, N.W. and S.E. The innermost zone of 95° Fahr. is situated in the heart of the Sahara. South of the isothermal line of 80° Fahr. are zones of 70°, 60°, and 55° Fahr., extending to the Cape. All of these isothermal lines, enclosing the zones above influence the ocean referred to, are, of coui'se, more and more deflected as the "po" tem- perature neighbourhood of the sea is approached, and therefore assume approximately the curvature of the coasts. So far we have discussed temperatures reduced to sea- Actual tempera- level ; but Mr. Eavenstein's map (Plate III.) illustrating tures. this chapter will convey to the reader a far more realistic idea of this dry subject, for there only actual temperatures have been given. It will be seen how relatively few places there are in Tropical Africa where temperatures favourable to Europeans can be found. A mean annual temperature of from 72° to 80° Fahr. prevails almost everywhere, and in the East Coastal zone it rises to and above 80° Fahr. Only in the very highest regions do we find temperatures of from 64° to 72° Fahr. When, however, we enter the more Tem- perate regions of Africa, in the north and in the south, we there find temperatures congenial to Europeans. But, of course, temperature is not everything : it is modified in many ways by local conditions, and more especially by the relative humidity of the atmosphere. Having glanced at mean temperatures in Africa, we may briefly consider the prevailing winds. The sun, which is the source of all life, is the prime cause Atmos- p , phenc preS" or the movements of the atmosphere. Without its beneficent sure, action there would be stagnation above and death below. In its apparent path through the Tropics, the sun gives rise to those variations of atmospheric pressure known in meteor- 54 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. ological science as areas of low and of liigh pressure.* But the distribution of atmospheric pressure is further deter- mined by the geographical distribution of land and water. Hence we have those phenomena which lead to diversity of climate. Prevailing: It is not my intention here to exhibit the working of the winds. machinery, so to speak, but simply the manufactured result. Upon the varying relative distribution of atmospheric pres- sure depends the prevailing winds, or, as Dr. Buchan lucidly expresses it : " the flow of the air from a region of higher towards a region of lower pressure, or from where there is a surplus to where there is a deficiency of air." Land and Wc havc uot space cveu to glance at diurnal phenomena, breezes. of which the land and sea breezes are the most notable examples. Of the prevailing winds in the interior of Africa we know next to nothing ; and, indeed, we can speak only very approximately of those in other parts of the con- tinent, except pei'haps in Algeria, in South Afi'ica, and on the Eed Sea. In discussing the prevailiug winds of Africa, the most * Areas of loiv pressure follow approximately the path of the sun, but are ultimately deteruiined by the chief land-masses ; and for the following reasons. In the summer months the land is much warmer than the ocean in the same latitudes : hence pressure is lower, owing to the ascending heated currents carrying away a portion of the atmosphere, whose place is then taken by relatively colder, and therefore heavier, air. Also, in higher latitudes over the ocean in the winter the temperature is higher than over the land in the same latitude : lience ascending currents of air set in, and pressure is lower. Tiiese physical phenomena are simply reversed in areas of hif/h pressure. In the winter months temperature over the land is lower than over the ocean in the same latitudes, consequently the air is denser or heavier, and pressure is high : hence it is that pressure is high ()V(,'r all the continents during tiie winter months of those continents. Furthermore, it is esKential to bear in mind tiiat, on the eastern sides of all the great oceans, between aliout latitudes 20° to 40" north and south, pres- Hure inki'jh at all hcusoiih, but highest in the sunrnu r nmnths of the respective oceans. These remarks are introduced in (iniir to assist lay readers the better to underHtund the meteorological phenomena with which we are dealing. CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. 55 important factor to take into acconnt is that of the Trade- Trade- winds. winds, which, though shifting with the apparent path of the sun, blow more or less constantly, unless locally affected, from the N.E. in the northern Hemisphere and from the S.E. in the southern Hemisphere. The intervening region is a belt of calms. In the southern Hemisphere the S.E. Trades prevail more or less regularly off the West and South-East Coasts; but in the northern Hemisphere the N.E, Trades are only constant off the Atlantic shores of Africa. In the northern Equatorial regions of Africa, both on Monsoon ^ winds. the West and East Coasts, there are monsoon winds. Off the West Coast the S.W. monsoon blows into the Gulf of Guinea as the prevailing wind throughout the year, though this is a region which is comparatively calm. On the East Coast, on the other hand, the monsoons are controlled by the disturbing element of a large continental mass in proximity — Asia. These winds prevail in Southern Asia more or less from the S.W., by S., to the S.E. from April to October, and from N.E. during the other months of the year ; and their influence is felt over the whole of the great Horn of Africa as well as off the coasts. Along the Eed Sea the wind is almost always northerly ; and on the Medi- terranean seaboard the winds vary from S.W., N.W., and N.E. throughout the year. How far these winds are likely to prevail in the Interior can only be approximately determined by a careful examina- tion of isobaric charts, showing atmospheric pressure, and, inferentially, the prevailing winds, month by month. We have, however, said enough to assist us in making the appli- cation we are about to consider — the rainfall of Africa.* The heaviest rainfall occurs in the Equatorial regions. Rainfall: -J-, , -,1 . ,. Equatorial Enclosed longitudinal zones of from 50 to 100 inches of zone. annual rainfall are found at several places within those * See map (Plate V.) illustrating this subject. 36 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Rainfall : Tropical and sub- Tropical zones. Desert regions. Sources of Kreat river- systems. limits. In the heart of Africa — the Congo forest region — a zone of over 50 inches extends as far south as the Zambezi watershed. Within this Equatorial belt there are, moreover, two districts which receive an even heavier annual rainfall — over 100 inches. The S.W. monsoon winds carry from the region of calms in the Gulf of Guinea an abnormal amount of moisture, which is precipitated on coming in contact with the cooling influence of the coastal uplands ; and a similar patch of heavy rainfall occurs near Sierra Leone. Curiously enough, in the extreme north-west of Madagascar there is also a heavy annual rainfall of over 100 inches. Outside this rainy Equatorial zone we find in the north two zones, of from 25 to 50 inches, and of from 10 to 25 inches of annual rainfall, respectively, extending up to the southern borders of the Sahara ; and in the south there are corresponding zones, but, instead of their axes lying east and west, they extend, roughly, N.N.W. and S.S.E., making a deep inland curve on the South-West Coast. The greater portion of the Sahara receives under 5 inches of annual rainfall : hence its desert character. Eor the winds coming from Europe and blowing from a colder to a warmer region, the air thereby gradually increases its capacity for absorbing and letaining moisture, veiy little of which is precipitated over the thirsty desert lands. But in the transitional regi(Jiis north and south of the Sahara, as well as iu tlie mountain districts, an annual rainfall of fiDiii 5 to 10 inclies is found. Much the same conditions prevail in the domain of the Kalahari Uesert, whence, however, the winds blow outwards to the sea. The Atlas Mountains, on the other hand, aircsst th(! rainfall, and enjoy as much as from 10 to 50 inches during tlie year. We have now soiik! explanation o\ why the great river- systems of Africa are situated where they are found: tlieir CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. 57 source-streams originate in the regions of relatively tin; highest annual rainfall. As regards the seasons of rain, we may thus broadly Rainy seasons. define them. The Mediterranean seaboard receives its rains in the winter months ; so also do the extra-Tropical coasts of South Africa. Where the abnormal rainfall on the nor- thern shores of the Gulf of Guinea occurs, there is a double rainy season ; the same conditions prevail also on the coast of Angola, south of the Congo, where the rainfall is small. The eastern Horn of Africa, enjoying only a light rainfall, is under the influence of the monsoon rains, which extend far inland — betw^een the Ked Sea, on the latitude of Sawa- kin, in the north and Zanzibar in the south. The Sahara and Lil^yan desert (excepting the mountain regions), the Kalahari, a portion of the South-West Coast, and other smaller districts in Africa, are rainless regions. But the remainder of the continent, and by far the larger portion, has a single rainy season. The seasons at which rain falls in this inter-Tropical zone vary with the position of the sun. In the belt of calms along the Equator, however, as might be expected, there is rain all the year round : for there the light airs meet and discharge their moisture, which otherwise would be carried away. The Equatorial limit of snowfall reaches the African shores snow-iine. of the Mediterranean in the northern Hemisphere, and the highlands of the Cape in the southern Hemisphere ; whilst in the most elevated districts of both of these regions snow may fall in the middle of every winter. Snow falls also on the very highest mountains of Africa wherever they may rise above a certain altitude, even at the Equator ; but this vertical limit of snowfall is too uncertain for us to consider it in any detail. Suffice it to say that Mounts Kilima-njaro, Kenia, Euwenzori, and probably also the mountains of Abys- sinia, thrust their crests above the line of perennial snow. 58 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Distribu- tion of soils. Soils : Archasan rocks. Soils : Paljeozoic division. Soils : Mf.-sozoic strata. From the consideration of meteorological conditions we pass by a natural transition to the question of soils, which have a reflex action upon climate. In regard to the distribu- tion of soils in Africa, which, from the agricultural stand- point as well as from that of political settlement, is of prime importance, very little can be said with certainty : our data in this respect are of the most imperfect and limited kind. On referring to our geological map (Plate VI.), however, we can broadly distinguish the soils which must be more or less developed in the great geological divisions. The Archaean rocks, for instance, frequently yield soils not unlike those of granitic tracts ; that is to say, where the slope of the ground is considerable, the soil is necessarily thin and gravelly, and is not cultivable ; but, in the lower- lying tracts where such rocks prevail, clay-like soils are occasionally well developed. Such soils, w4th proper treat- ment, are often fertile. Of rocks belonging to the great Palccozoic division, it may be said in general terms that the soils most likely to be en- countered will be argillaceous or clay-like in character, though many are more or less arenaceous or sandy. And as regards the fertility of the soils overlying these rocks, much depends on the configuration of the ground. On moderate slopes and gently undulating ground the soils and subsoils are often of considerable depth. All gradations of character are met with, from more or less loose sandy soils to very heavy soils consisting largely of clay. The fertility of all these soils is, of course, largely influenced by the amount of organic matter wliich they may happen to contain. 'I'hc Mesozoic strata of Central and South Africa have ii pic\al(!iit arenaceous or saiuly cbaracter, and the soils yielded l»y tliem on Rlo])ing gidiiiid mid ii])lands are some- what open and liglit. In the, north of Africa, where the later Mesozoic strata arc well developed, limestones and CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. 59 calcareous sandstones are tolerably abundant, and the over- lying soils, in places where the slope of the ground allows of their accumulation, are usually fertile. In Abyssinia enormous areas are occupied by volcanic rocks, wluch are believed to be of Mesozoic age, and the soils formed from the disintegration of these rocks is almost invariably fertile ; but, unfortunately, owing to the configuration of the country, the loose soils are continuously swept down from the plateaus and terraces into the great river valleys. We have already observed how the Eiver Atbara carries away the sediment which goes to form the Nile Delta. Tertiary rocks are developed chiefly along the Mediter- soiis : Tertiary ranean seaboard, and consist largely of limestones and cal- rocks, careous strata. The soils yielded l)y these, under normal climatic conditions, are frequently highly fertile ; but, un- fortunately,* the regions in Africa over which Tertiary strata are principally developed are characterised by an extremely dry climate, so that wide areas are practically desert. On the other hand, where water is plentiful, the abundant growth of vegetation indicates the natural fertility of the land ; and, doubtless, irrigation on an extended scale would reclaim many broad tracts of desert lands which in former times appear to have been cultivated with success. Enormous regions in iSTorthern Africa have become desiccated even within historical times. Abundant facts tend to show that, in the flourishing days of Egypt and Carthage, for in- stance. Northern Africa was much better watered than it is now, and sustained a very large population ; the land, which was also irrigated, was, in fact, under extensive cultivation. The Quaternary and Recent deposits consist in North soiis: Africa chiefly of movino; sands and of the gravel and grit that and Recent "^ '=' . . deposits. strew the courses of rivers which have either ceased to * In African affairs this term is a qualification that necessarily occurs aj,'aia and ajrain. 6o DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. exist or are greatly diniiuislied in volume; and in Central and South Africa these deposits are represented by the alluvial accumulations of the great rivers and their tribu- taries. Best soils Looked at broadly, therefore, it is obvious that the soils for agricul- -i i i turaipur- most readily available for agricultuial purposes are those great Hats which border the streams and rivers. But there must be enormous tracts in the Mesozoic and Paheozoic areas readily capable of being brought under cultivation ; while, with judicious disforesting, large regions of uplands might be converted into rich pasture-lands. Kor can it be doubted that if the forests, which in the times of the Itomans and Carthaginians clothed large districts of North Africa, were in part restored, and good systems of irriga- tion adopted, the soils of these regions would soon cease to Effect of be regarded as barren. The inliuence of forests in reo-ulatins forests on *=*. o O rain-^ tlic raiii-supply is undoubted, for they prevent the rain from being rapidly absorbed underground, besides keeping the soils from being washed away and inducing a more humid climate generally. Before leaving this question of the distribution of soils in Africa and their fertility, the attention of the reader should be specially directed to the maps illustrating this chapter, which may be studied for the elucidation of details into which space forbids us to enter. And, as a rough and ready guidance to the subject, it may be added that the best agricultural regions of England have from twenty-five to twenty-eight inches of annual rainfall. Distribu- The vegetation of Africa naturally falls to be described tion of _ vegetation, uiidcr latitudinal zones. According to Dr. Behm,* the area of Africa may be thus distinguished : — * Die Bevolkeruwj der Erde, vi. i8So. Erfjunzunrjsheft, Petcrmaniis Mitteil- unyen, No. 62, p. 59. CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. 6r 36.4 per cent, is occupied by deserts. 14 6 ,, „ ., ,, steppes. 5.3 „ ., ., ,, scrub. 21.3 ., ,. .. ., savannas. 21.8 ,, .. ,, ,, forests * and cultivated lund. .6 ,, ,, ,, ,, the larger lakes. Eoughly speaking, therefore, about half the continent is occupied by deserts and steppes, and of the other half tlie moiety is an area of savannas. We have left less than a quarter of the area of Africa in which fairly fertile land is found, and a large portion of that, especially in the Equatorial regions, is covered with forests. Almost the whole of the northern Hemisphere is desert or steppe country, and the most fertile lands are in the southern Hemisphere, chiefly distributed along the continental axis and in the river valleys. The typical zones of vegetation in Africa are thus Vegeta- broadly distinguishable: — (i.) The Mediterranean zone ; typical JO \ / ^ } zones. (2.) Sahara desert zone ; (3.) Equatorial zone of Tropical vegetation; and (4.) Savannas of South- Central and South Africa. This being the general distribution of vegetation in A f rica, we may proceed to view it in somewhat greater detail. "What we want to arrive at is the outward aspect of the continent in its characteristic features, upon which only we can afford to dwell. The Mediterranean lands, with the exception of the desert Mediterra- . nean zone. tracts on the eastern Littoral, sustain a vegetation similar to that of Southern Europe, if somewhat more Tropical. In the highly mountainous regions of Morocco there are fine forests and pasture-lands with rich soils capable of yielding any growth, according to altitude ; but this development of vegetation applies only to the northern slopes ; for, as we * The above estimate was, of course, antecedent to Stanley's discoveries. 62 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. cross the watershed and enter the domain of the Sahara, we abruptly emerge upon the broad steppes. The finest soils are found in the Tell lands, of moderate elevation, which intervene between the coast and the " Middle Atlas ; " and there a climate, with seasonal changes not uidike those of England, is found. The farther we penetrate south, vegeta- tion in Algeria becomes scantier ; and we eventually pass over a rocky steppe-country into the Algerian Sahara. This border-land of desert is dotted with oases, in which the date- palm is the typical growth. Much the same conditions prevail in Tunis. But in Tripoli, along the remainder of the Mediterranean coast up to the Nile Delta, except in the peninsula of Barka and the narrow coastal zone in its neighbourhood, we encounter a soil of almost universal barrenness, favourable for little else but the growth of marketable grasses, vegetables, and Tropical fruits. The steppes and deserts extend in many places right up to the sea, and are backed, at a very short distance inland, by stony plateaus. The terrible Libyan Desert itself advances to the coast-line and encroaches upon the Nile Delta. The luxuriant vegetation of the Mediterranean basin is, therefore, limited to the highland region in the n(n-th-west, and is thereby carried still farther, to the Atlantic^ Desert Soutli of tliis zouc is tlic pitilcss dcscrt plateau, stretching from shore to shore across the immense breadth of North Africa, and continuing its characteristic features eastwards into Asia, thus raising a most effectual barrier between the two largest centres of population in the world, the incon- venience of whicli for purposes of inter-communication has only ])arLially been <)1)\ iiitc(l by llie fortunate coincidence of the Isthmus of Suez and by the genius of Dc Lesscps. The desert zone is supreme, tluui, Ix^twciai the Atlantic and the lied Sea. The Lower Nile, which Liavcrses the Libyan, Nubian, zone CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. 6;^ and Arabian deserts, carries only a thin thread of vegetation, practically limited to its narrow valley, through the thirsty land of the Pharaohs ; whilst the Upper Nile flows through a savanna and steppe region. Where, however, the moun- tains of the Sahara reach a superior elevation, or where the water comes to the surface and forms oases, a corresponding desert vegetation is encouraged. Let us try to realise what the Sahara is really like. It is not by any means as yellow as it is painted. The desert of the Sahara is popularly regarded as a level a picture of expanse of sand of indefinite extent, resembling an ocean, desert. But regions of this character within its domain are rare and comparatively restricted. The Libyan desert, it is true, is an immense district in itself (not much smaller than European Eussia), and resembles very closely an ocean of sand, the high dunes formed by the prevailing N.E. wind counterfeiting " Atlantic rollers ; " but the Libyan Desert, where organic life is scarcely possible, is the most desolate region in the whole of this zone, though some consider the bare rocky plateaus of certain portions of the Sahara are infinitely more depressing, for they have so gloomy and sombre a hue. The true desert is where, in this vast plateau, the dunes lie heaped up and murmur like the waves of the sea;* where animal life, if it exist at all, assumes the protective colour of the sand ; where there are no birds, no trees, no flowers : " the sky without clouds, the sands without shadow : " " the region of blind forces of heat and wind." Only about one-ninth of the Sahara is covered with sand ; the remainder consists of mountains and rocks, steppes and oases. In the high-lying districts, the valleys are covered with trees and are fairly habitable ; and in the * In the regions of dunes the sand emits a sound like a clarion, whether by the rubbing together of the molecules it is not possible to say (Reclus). 64 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Arabian desert, to the east, a luxuriant vegetation exists in the river valleys. The Western Sahara is somewhat different in character : there are extensive plains, with mountains, hills, and valleys, and dry wadis ; and the land is not so desolate but that life can be supported almost anywhere within its borders. Of the oases little need be said, they are so familiar to all of us : their luxuriant vegetation standing out, in our imagination, as in a sea of fire, — safe ports for the exhausted convoy of dusty and parched travellers. This is wdiat the Sahara is not unlike in fine weather, but when a sandstorm occurs, or when the suffocating hot winds blow, then it is a region unfit for man or beast. Transition Betwecu latitudes 13° and 15° north, we emerge almost region. imperceptibly on the transitional region of pastoral steppe- country, which grows grasses and sometimes edible corn, and heralds a land of plenty beyond. Between this inter- mediate region and the Tropical forest zone extends, almost continuously between the oceans, a fine park-like country, with antelopes and giraffes a-hiding, and mimosa trees casting shadows over the grassy tracts, or congregating into open forests. Kalahari The descrt zouc of the northern Hemisphere has its coun- desertzone. . j • i i i> i terpart m the mucli more restricted desert zone or tlie South-West Coast, which, increasing in depth from Ambriz to Mossamedes, eventually penetrates into the Kalahari domain, and, farther east, merges gradually in the fine grass- country of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. Patches of desei't land occur also in tlic Icaroos of South Africa and in the steppe-districts of otlicr ]»oi'ti()ns of Africa. In these stony and sandy places there is a desert vegetation, which, after a heavy rainfall, is remarkably developed; the soils are alternately di'cnichcd and l)aked, and the ])lants strike their loots deep underground, some sLoiiiig up thcii' moisture- CLIMATE AND COGNATE PHENOMENA. 65 supply in bulbs, like tbe "kengwe" (water-melon). Where iron occurs, the sandy or clay soils obtain a reddish tinge. Salt-pans are formed in many places. In the river-beds which carry off the surface-drainage there is always a certain amount of vegetation apparent. The origin and general characteristics of these desert zones have already been commented upon ; it is sufficient for our present purpose to remember that they mostly afford a precarious subsistence to a hardy, half-savage, indigenous population. The regions of Tropical vegetation are more or less co- zone of ° i O Tropical incident with those enjoying the highest mean annual vegetation, temperature and heaviest rainfall : that is to say, they border the Gulf of Guinea and prevail inland, up to the great Lakes in the east, and in the Congo basin. South and west of the Congo the dry coast-lands effectually limit this Tropical zone of vegetation ; and patches of savannas occur elsewhere within its domain. The mangrove swamps and alluvial plains of the Lower Niger give place, as we penetrate into the inland plateau and leave the primeval forest behind, to the hardier vegeta- tion of a drier soil and climate : in room of the palm-oil tree we find the shea-butter tree, and instead of yams we meet with native corn and maize. From the low, sandy coasts of Upper Guinea we may have to pass over grassy plains, or perhaps steppes, before gaining the primeval forest ; but once this region is reached, we encounter a dense and tangled growth of Tropical vegetation, the luxuriance of which is extraordinary. Nor is this vegetable abandon peculiar to the coast inland from the Gulf of Guinea : it is also widely distributed in the Central Sudan and in the Congo basin. Mr. Stanley, in lucid and picturesque language, thus The great IT Congo describes the dense forest region which he recently dis- Forest, covered and traversed between the Congo and Lake Albert : E 66 DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA. Mr. Stan- " The momings generally were stern and sombre, the sky ley s de- scription of coversd with lowering and heavy clouds ; at other times the great ® "^ Congo rj thick mist buried everything, clearing off about 9 A.M., Forest. j o' o ^ > sometimes not till 1 1 A.M. Nothing stirs then : the insect life is still asleep ; the forest is still as death ; the dark river (Ituri), darkened by lofty walls of thick forest and vegetation, is silent as a grave ; our heart-throbs seem almost clamorous, and our inmost thoughts loud. If no rain follows this darkness, the sun appears from behind the cloudy masses ; the mist disappears ; life wakens up before its brilliancy ; butterflies skurry through the air ; a solitary ibis croaks an alarm ; a diver flies across the stream ; the forest is full of a strange murmur ; and somewhere up-river booms the alarm-drum — the quick-sighted natives have seen us ; voices vociferate challenges ; there is a flash of spears, and hostile passions are aroused." * This short passage gives a very vivid impression of the primeval forest. In the same paper ]\Ir. Stanley speaks of the impediments that arrested the progress of his expedition : " These consisted of creepers, varying from one-eighth of an inch to fifteen inches in diameter, swinging across the path in bowlines or loops, sometimes massed and twisted together ; also of a low, dense bush occupying the sites of old clear- ings, which had to be carved through before a passage was possible. Where years had elapsed since the clearings had been abandoned, we found a young forest, and the spaces between the trees choked with climbing plants, vegetable creepers, and tall plants. Tliis kind had to be tunnelled through before an incli of progress could be made. The primeval forest offered least obstruction ; but tlie atmosphere was close, stagnant, impure ; and an eternal gloom reigned there, intensified every other day Ijy the thick black clouds chafed with rain, — so cliaracteristic of this forest region." * Scottlah (Jwjrapliical Ma