CHAPTER XVII.
MORE VIEWS OF THE CONGO REGION.
Back, stretching far behind the lofty banks of the noble Congo, lies a country rich in its enormous wealth of natural productions. The toil and enterprise of another generation can hardly hope to gauge its resources, and it is doubtful if even coming generations can exhaust its stores.
The vegetation of the Upper Congo region is most wonderful. Whole forests of the oil palm are a common feature. From this tree vast quantities of oil are obtained, while the kernels are used for oil cakes. The India-rubber plant is another important production. Stanley believed that enough of the gum could be exported in a single year to defray the cost of a railway through that section. Vegetables of all descriptions are also abundant.
The trade in ivory alone would furnish, according to Stanley, an enormous revenue. He estimated that one million dollars' worth of ivory could be exported annually for twenty-five years, before the elephant would become extinct in the basin of the Upper Congo.
The banana and the plantain flourish, as do fruits and herbs of many kinds. Potatoes, onions, and cabbages have been introduced from Europe, and thrive here. Rice, wheat, and other grains have done well, when suitable localities have been chosen for them. There is, in fact, scarcely any limit to the natural advantages of an area of over a million square miles. Its fertility and richness of soil are at once a wonder and delight.
It must have been a great disappointment to Stanley, when, on his return from an official visit to Europe, he found that there had been gross and wanton neglect on the part of many whom he had left in charge of the settlement at Leopoldville.
He had pictured to himself well-cultivated gardens and flourishing fields. To his dismay, he found the native town almost hidden by the rank growth which held almost undisputed possession of the soil.
The steel boats were at anchor, as they had been for more than a year. No attempt had been made to clean them or to keep them in repair.