The Congo has several large affluents. On the south we find the Kiva, into which a most noble river, the Kasai, flows; the Lulongo, which flows through a densely populated region; and the Ruki River, on the mouth of which Equatorville has been built.
On the north bank of the river we find such tributaries as the Mobangi, the most important of all the rivers flowing into the main stream; for it drains, by means of its multitude of head streams, the whole of the region that lies between the Congo and the equatorial provinces of Egypt. The Itimbiri is another river flowing into the Congo from the north. It enters the river just where the stream attains its greatest breadth. About one hundred and fifty miles below Stanley Falls, the waters of the Aruwimi enter the Congo to swell its current.
CHAPTER XV.
THE PEOPLE OF THE CONGO RIVER BASIN.
Stanley estimated the population of the Upper Congo basin at forty-three millions. Other explorers testify to the dense population and to the extent of the villages, as they are termed.
One writer tells of the great astonishment he felt at the length of these villages. It was no uncommon thing to find five and six miles of continuous street.
An Arab guide told Stanley that he had sometimes been two hours in passing through some of these villages. An eminent German explorer states that in one section of the country an almost unbroken line of huts and structures stretches along the established caravan route.
The people are often barbarous to strangers, yet it is possible to approach them by means of trade. They are very keen to take advantage of the trader who offers the goods of the white man in exchange for the articles they have to barter.