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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



approach by which Central Africa might be un- 

 interruptedly connected with the already settled 

 regions of Southern Africa plainly lies through 

 the Transvaal country, the plateau of Honoma- 

 tapa, Tete on the Zambesi, and Lake Nyassa. 

 The distance is about six degrees, or 150 

 leagues, through an elevated region, free from 

 the fevers which infest the coast. A Frenchman, 

 Dr. Emilien Allou, has, in fact, just made the 

 journey from the South-African republic to the 

 Zambesi, bringing back collections of great in- 

 terest from the number of new species they em- 

 brace. Were the republic of the Boers to become 

 a member of the Cape Confederation, England 

 would have only to establish a few stations be- 

 tween the Limpopo and the Zambesi, and at 

 once the tide of immigration, which is now en- 

 riching Natal, would begin to pour in from that 

 side. In a few years the Anglo-Saxon influence 

 would pervade Africa, and win for civilization 

 the magnificent region of the great lakes. This 

 peaceful conquest would be in no sense exclusive, 

 for there is plenty of room here for energetic men 

 of every nation. 



Let no one imagine that this is all a dream. 

 The future that awaits European stations in this 

 region is assured by the success which has at- 

 tended the founding of Arab posts in the interior. 

 At Kazeh, in Unyanyembe ; at Kawele, on the 

 shore of Tanganyika ; and at Kwakasonga, on the 

 Lualaba, the Arabs have permanent residences. 

 They live here in great comfort, owning large 

 houses, herds, poultry, slaves. By the caravans 

 which at stated times go down to the coast, they 

 are supplied with coffee, tea, sugar, arms, and tex- 

 tile fabrics. Even in a far less accessible region, at 

 Nyangwe, at a considerable distance beyond Tan- 

 ganyika, Cameron found an Arab, Jumat Meri- 

 cani, making exchange both with Zanguebar and 

 Benguela, that is to say, with the coasts of both 

 oceans. 



The natives are extremely gentle and peace- 

 ful in disposition ; and, though strangers seldom 

 visit this country, save for the purpose of slave- 

 hunting, and destroying and depopulating their 

 villages, English travelers have nearly always 

 been able to procure provisions at the ordinary 

 prices. If travelers have been robbed, it has 

 nearly always been by their own carriers. Hus- 

 bandry is very well understood, and conducted 

 with care, the men laboring in the fields nearly 

 the entire day. When the country is not wasted 

 by war, the population increases, and the jungle 

 is quickly cleared away. A noteworthy instance 

 of this is cited by Cameron. In 185*7, when 



Burton and Speke were on their way to the in- 

 terior, on the journey which resulted in the dis- 

 covery of Lake Tanganyika, they experienced 

 great difficulty in traveling through the Mgunda- 

 Mkali country. There was a lack of water, the 

 jungle was almost impassable, and many of their 

 carriers perished in the effort to make their way 

 through it. When Cameron visited this region 

 in 1873, everything was changed. A tribe of 

 the Wanyamwesi, driven back by local wars, had 

 settled here. In the heart of the forest they had 

 built villages, had dug wells, and had converted 

 the jungle into well-cultivated fields. The ap- 

 pearance of the country was delightful, resem- 

 bling an English park. Hence European settle- 

 ments would here find in abundance the neces- 

 saries of life ; and if, as their numbers increased, 

 they were to render less frequent those wars be- 

 tween tribe and tribe, which now desolate the 

 country, progress would be assured, and the well- 

 being of the people would be augmented rapidly. 

 Another instance of the success which awaits 

 the colonist in these regions, long regarded as 

 inaccessible, is supplied by the adventures of M. 

 Bonnat, as lately rehearsed by him at a meeting 

 of the Paris Society of Geography. In 1860, 

 Bonnat was a member of an expedition com- 

 manded by Captain Charles Girard, who had re- 

 solved to ascend the Niger. Girard having aban- 

 doned this enterprise, M. Bonnat, by himself 

 alone, penetrated into the interior of Guinea, and 

 there entered on a very lucrative business career. 

 The village in which he lived was attacked by the 

 Ashantees. Carried away to Coomassie, he was 

 treated very harshly, as were also his two com- 

 panions in captivity — a German and his wife. 

 Soon the king conceived a liking for Bonnat, and 

 took him into his favor. There he spent five 

 years, experiencing all manner of kind treatment. 

 He learned the language of the natives, and found 

 that they carried on an extensive trade with a 

 large town in the interior, Salaga, which is in 

 commercial relations with the Sahara, and even 

 with Tunis. When the English made war on the 

 Ashantees, the king determined to put Bonnat to 

 death. He was made fast to a tree, and was on 

 the point of being beheaded, when, as luck would 

 have it, the marines entered Coomassie. In 1874 

 he again set out for Africa, intending to settle at 

 Salaga, of which town he had heard such wonder- 

 ful stories. He succeeded in ascending the river 

 Volta, despite its rapids, and in overcoming the 

 objections made by the native chiefs ; thus he has 

 opened a new route for commerce. He was the 

 first European to visit Salaga, a city of over 40,- 



