The Vaal, a tributary of the Orange River, skirts the northern edge of the State. The Orange River skirts its southern edge.

The Vaal River flows west, then bends a little to the south. The Orange River also flows west, but bends a little to the north.

As the two rivers sweep around, they inclose the Orange River Free State, not only forming its northern and southern boundaries, but turning their courses so as to unite about midway on the western border.

Under the name of the Orange River, the united streams flow west, along the northern edge of Cape Colony and the southern edge of Great Namaqua Land, to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Orange River Free State may be called the connecting link between Cape Colony, the Transvaal Republic, and Natal. The total area of the State is estimated above fifty thousand square miles.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A SCENE IN THE DRACHENBERG MOUNTAINS.]

The whole region drained by the Orange River may be considered as a vast plateau, which rises from three thousand to five thousand feet above the level of the sea. Very little woodland is to be found except along the banks of the river and its tributaries.

That portion of the country which comprises the Orange River Free State is diversified by vast undulating plains. These slope from one of the mountain systems down to the Vaal River. They are dotted at intervals by rocky hills.

On the east and southeast the Drachenberg Mountains form a natural barrier between this section and the coast regions.

The northern part of the State is very level. Hundreds of square miles of territory are to be found with scarcely a break in the horizon.

In strong contrast to the northern sections are those of the eastern part of the State.

If we should cross the State from Cape Colony to Natal, we should arrive at the summit of the pa.s.ses that lead to the latter colony without finding a single mountain in sight. Suddenly, an advance of a step or two would bring us to the edge of an immense mountain chasm. At its foot, nearly a thousand feet below us, we should perceive the coast region stretching out towards the Indian Ocean.

When the Dutch took possession of the Orange River Free State, it was inhabited by different native tribes. Most of these have been driven off to other sections, just as the Indians of America have been driven out by the white man to seek new hunting grounds. A few of the more powerful tribes, however, still dispute the possession of the soil with the settlers.

All the rivers of the State belong to the Orange River system. Many of them have distinctly Dutch names. In fact, the whole State bears abundant evidence of the presence and personality of the colonists. It is rather curious that they have had to wrest their land from the hands of native tribes, or have had to struggle with foreign powers, just as their ancestors had to wrest Holland from the grasp of Old Father Ocean, or engage in a war with other nations, that looked with longing on the little country of d.y.k.es and ditches.

The history of the struggles of the colonists is an interesting one. We are led to wonder if the Dutch nation must always struggle for the possession of any land it may wish to occupy, whether in the Netherlands or in the Dark Continent.

In the early days of colonization vast herds of the larger varieties of antelopes roamed over the great plain of the State; most of them have disappeared as man has invaded their grazing places.

Interest has centered about the Orange River Free State, owing to the discovery of diamonds here, and in Griqualand, a narrow strip of land bounding it upon the west. It will be interesting to view these diamond sections later on in our reading.

The Senegal River rises not very far from the source of the Niger, at the extreme west of the so-called Kong Mountains. It flows first northwest and then west, and loses itself in the Atlantic Ocean a little north of Cape Verd.

The length of the river has been estimated as upwards of eleven hundred miles. The last seven or eight hundred miles are navigable only for flat-bottomed boats. In fact, here and there throughout its whole course, the navigation of the river is frequently interrupted by cataracts, shoals, and rocks.

The banks of the river are covered with verdure, and in some sections with timber. In the lower part of its course the river is dotted with numerous islands. These are usually large, well cultivated, and fertile.

The entrance to the river is somewhat difficult, owing to the breakers and to the existence of a sandbar. In dry weather this bar has been known to be covered by only eight or nine feet of water.

The Gambia is a smaller stream than the Senegal, flowing about in the same direction and through the same section of country. Its length is estimated at about one thousand miles. The mouth of the river is about four miles broad. Just before the river reaches the sea its current is fully double its width at the mouth.

The river is navigable for vessels of one hundred and fifty tons as far as the town of Barraconda. This town is situated on the right bank of the stream, about two hundred miles from the sea. The river enters the sea a little to the south of Cape Verd.

The Senegal and Gambia drain the tract of country named, most appropriately, Senegambia. It is a large maritime tract, bounded on the north and west by the Sahara and the Soudan, on the south by Sierra Leone, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.

Between the two rivers, which are two hundred and fifty miles apart, there are no very important water-courses. Between the Gambia and the frontier of Sierra Leone there is but one stream of any size, the Rio Grande.

The coast of Senegambia is deeply indented by various arms of the sea, which resemble somewhat the estuaries of rivers.

The country forms the western and northern slope of the Kong plateau.

Portions of it are still but partially explored.

The soil of Senegambia differs widely. On the coast we find either low, flat, alluvial plains, or an undulating country broadening to the north.

In the northern frontier this tract merges into the Sahara. In the interior the plateau rises from the coast plains in a series of mountainous terraces, and finally loses itself in the Kong Mountains.

The loftiest elevations of the soil are only a little more than three thousand feet.

Strictly speaking, the country is divided into three sections, High, Middle, and Low Senegambia. High Senegambia lies to the north of the Senegal and is inhabited chiefly by the Moors. Middle Senegambia is the section along the borders of the Senegal. It is inhabited chiefly by negroes, who divide themselves into numerous tribes. The climate of this section is extremely hot and in the marshy districts it is very unhealthy. The soil is fertile, and yields the usual productions of the hot regions of Africa. Lower Senegambia includes the sections bordering on the Gambia.

As a country, Senegambia has a most luxuriant vegetation. The monkey bread tree is characteristic of the country. It is considered the most enormous tree upon the globe, and while other trees may surpa.s.s it in height none equal it in the size of its gigantic trunk and limbs.

Specimens have been found measuring sixty, seventy-five, and even a hundred feet in circ.u.mference.

While the native population of Senegambia consists of negroes of various types, European nations are well represented. The British have a number of settlements along the banks of the Gambia. Along the banks of the Senegal are various French settlements. Scattered along the rivers at various points are numerous small factories managed by the Portuguese.

The chief commercial products of Senegambia consist of gum, beeswax, ivory, bark, and hide.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE CONGO RIVER.

The Congo River flows into the Gulf of Guinea and is a most magnificent river, more wonderful in some respects than the Nile. It is the only one of the large rivers of Africa which has anything approaching an estuary; all the others having delta mouths. So great is the volume of water which it discharges at its mouth, that forty miles out at sea its water is only partially mingled with that of the Atlantic, while nine miles from the coast the water is perfectly fresh.

The Congo River was for many years a veritable Will-o'-the-wisp to explorers. Its ident.i.ty was lost so many times, that the geographers looked upon the course of this river as one of the greatest problems connected with the study of Africa they had ever been called upon to solve.

The Congo has a length of more than three thousand miles. The maritime region of the Congo River basin is restricted in its character. For a few miles inward the ground has an upward slope; then the traveler is confronted by ridge upon ridge of hills, which gradually a.s.sume the character of high mountains.

The Congo rushes on through this mountainous section, as though through one of our western canons, till it reaches Stanley Pool. Here the channel becomes much broader, the stream attaining a width of five miles, with an extraordinary depth of water. As the river spreads itself to attain this breadth, it flows placidly on through fertile plains, rich in vegetation.

Geographers have, for convenience, divided the river into well-defined sections, the Upper and the Lower Congo.

The Lower Congo has a length of about three hundred and thirty miles. It is the part of the river between Leopoldville--situated on the banks of Stanley Pool--and the sea and has a navigable current for about one hundred miles, between Vivi and the sea. Above Vivi the river for about fifty miles is lined on either side by high slate cliffs. These tend, of course, to narrow the channel. It is in this section that the Lower Livingstone Falls occur, and prevent navigation.

For a distance of about ninety miles above these falls the course of the river is somewhat broken, but it becomes navigable as far as Manyanka.

Here the Upper Livingstone Falls are situated, and the river again becomes unnavigable.

The Upper Congo starts at Stanley Pool, and as far as Stanley Falls--a distance of over one thousand miles--has a navigable current. It is, in fact, the grand highway for commerce right into the heart of Africa.

From Stanley Falls to Nyangwe, a distance of nearly four hundred miles, the river has a more or less broken current.

Between Nyangwe and Lake Moero there is still another stretch of four hundred miles.

More than two hundred miles from Lake Moero lies Lake Bangweolo, or Bemba. At a distance of nearly four hundred miles from Bemba the Congo, under the name of the Chambesi, takes its rise.

During Dr. Livingstone's explorations to discover the sources of the Nile and to penetrate the secrets of the lake region of Africa, he became much interested in the course of the Chambesi, which he thought, at first, might be one section of the Zambesi. The names seemed to him somewhat similar in sound, and he decided to make an exploration of the stream.