CHAPTER LXV.
VIEWS IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA.
The explorer, Paul Du Chaillu, gives some interesting views of sections of Equatorial Africa, which from the western coast, as far as he had been, are covered with an almost impenetrable jungle, which begins where the sea ceases to beat with its continual waves; how much farther this woody belt extends, only further explorations will be able to show. From the farthest point it extends eastward as far as the eye can reach; near the banks of a large river, however, running from a northeast direction towards the southwest, prairie lands are to be seen.
"Now and then prairies looking like islands, resembling so many gems, are found in the midst of this dark sea of everlasting foliage; and how gratefully my eyes met them no one can conceive, unless he has lived in such a solitude. Here and there prairies are seen from the seashore, but they do not extend far inland, and are merely sandy patches left by the sea in the progress of time.
"In this great woody wilderness man is scattered and divided into a great number of tribes. The forest, thinly inhabited by man, was still more scantily inhabited by beasts. There were no beasts of burden, neither horse, camel, donkey, nor cattle. Men and women were the only carriers of burdens. Beasts of burden could not live, for the country was not well adapted to them. The only truly domesticated animals were goats and fowls, the goats increasing in number as I advanced into the interior, and the fowls decreasing.
"I was struck by the absence of those species of animals always found in great number in almost every other part of Africa. Neither lions, rhinoceroses, zebras, giraffes, nor ostriches were found; and the great variety of elands and gazelles, although found almost everywhere else in Africa, were not to be seen there.
"Travelers in my locality would never dream that such vast herds of game could be found on the same continent, as those described by different travelers. Hence, large carnivorous animals are scarce, leopards and two or three species of hyenas and jackals only being found. Little nocturnal animals are more common, but they are very difficult to get at.
"Reptiles abound in the forest. There are a great many species of snakes, the greater part of which are very poisonous. Some are ground snakes, others spend part of their lives upon trees, while some are water snakes. A very dangerous snake is the black variety of the cobra. This snake is much dreaded; for, when surprised or attacked, it rises up as if ready to spring upon you.
"There is also a large water snake found often in the beautiful clear water of the streams of the interior. I have often seen this snake coiled up and resting on the branches of trees under water.
"Lizards are also abundant in some districts, and it is interesting to watch how they prey on the insect world. Among them I noticed a night species, that lives in the houses, and that is the great enemy of cockroaches. They are continually moving from one place to another during the night in search of their prey. During the day, they remain perfectly still, and hide themselves between the bark of trees forming the walls of the huts.