“And the natives secure and sell to the merchants large amounts of gold, in form of rough, large rings. They make fine gold ornaments, and wear vast quantities.
“This trade with Interior Africa, so eagerly sought, will soon lead to railroads, in different directions—from Liberia to the Niger, and across to Zanzibar from South Africa; and in other directions. The work is begun, and will not stop.
“The French and the English are planning for railroads in different directions. The former are building one from Senegal to Timbuctoo.
“The nations of Europe are, to-day, in a strife to secure the best locations for trade with this rich country. And soon there will be no more ‘unexplored regions.’
“The coasts on the west and east are generally low and unhealthy. But the interior is higher, and will be more suited to the white man.
“It is, in the main, an elevated table-land, from 1,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea, variegated with peaks and mountains, from 3,000 to 20,000 feet high, snow-capped, and with valleys and broad plains, hot springs, and salt pans, and innumerable springs, inlets and streams.
“In some regions, for a distance often to twenty miles, there is a scarcity of water in the dry season. Other places are flat plains, which are overflowed in the rainy season, so they cannot be inhabited or cultivated, except in the dry season. And such localities are unhealthy.
“But by far the greater part of the country is capable of being inhabited and cultivated—with an abundance of timber of many kinds, suitable for all the purposes of civilization, for boats, houses,
wagons, furniture and implements—but all different from anything in America. Some kinds are equal to fine mahogany.
“This central portion of Africa is blessed with numerous large lakes, three large rivers, and many smaller.