Life on the Congo

Transcriber’s Note
Cover created by Transcriber and placed in the Public Domain.
A CATARACT OF THE CONGO, FROM THE BAYNESTON STATION.
From an Original Sketch.
BY THE REV. W. HOLMAN BENTLEY Of the Baptist Mission
With an Introduction BY THE REV. GEORGE GRENFELL Explorer of the Upper Congo
LONDON THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY
56, Paternoster Row; 65, St. Paul’s Churchyard; and 164, Piccadilly.
Although only four years have elapsed since my colleague penned the accompanying chapters, yet events have followed each other so fast that another short chapter seems to be needed to bring them up to date. During this brief interval, our knowledge of the geography of the country and the distribution of its waterways has been considerably extended; important political events have transpired on both the eastern and western boundaries of the Congo Free State; commerce has seriously undertaken the task of exploiting the resources of the interior; and missions also have been moving onward, and at the same time have succeeded in strengthening their old positions.
The length of navigable waterway accessible from Stanley Pool has already been proved to be more than 5,000 miles; and there are several important rivers which flow into the Congo, still to be traced to their ultimate points, besides tributaries of which we know nothing, save that their volumes promise long navigable channels into the interior. These unvisited waterways at a very moderate estimate will add another 1,000 or 1,500 miles to that wonderful system of natural canals which is destined to prove such an important factor in the civilization of this portion of Central Africa. So important are the facilities afforded by the Congo water system that, notwithstanding the increased distance involved, Mr. Stanley has taken advantage of them in making his attempt to relieve Emin Pasha, who is encamped at Wadelai on the Upper Nile; and if the proposed railway for connecting the Upper with the Lower Congo does but become an accomplished fact, these waterways will be the usual routes for communicating with the Central Soudan, Lakes Albert, Muata Nzige, and Tanganika, as well as with Nyangwe and the empire of the Muata Yamvo.