68 BEDINGFELD ON THE CONGO. [Keb. 27, 1860. 



produces com, farinha, beans, and almost every European vegetable 

 in abundance, and Lieut. J. W. Pike, k.n., saw at one of the Portuguese 

 factories a vine bearing excellent grapes. That gentleman is lately 

 returned from the Congo, and I am indebted to him for much in- 

 formation respecting the present state of the river. 



I believe there has been no attempt to explore this river above 

 the rapids since that of Captain Tuckey in 1815; the sickness and 

 mortality in this expedition at first sight seem alarming, and may 

 have been partly the reason why no effort has since been made. 

 A careful perusal of Professor Smith's Journal (who accompanied 

 Captain Tuckey) will, however, show good cause why it should 

 not be so. 



The treatment of African fever was at that time little known ; 

 blood-letting and calomel to salivation seem to have been resorted 

 to. Free use of palm-wine, liberty to run about amongst the 

 swamps, or sleep in the dews at night or in the negro huts, with 

 excesses in another way sure to tell in an African climate, together 

 with over-fatigue, will readily account for the great mortality. I 

 believe the Congo to be as healthy as any other river in Africa, 

 and the peculiar dryness of the atmosphere, mentioned by Professor 

 Smith, would make it likely to be more so. 



This expedition seems to have arrived in the river at the very 

 worst time for exploring, viz. when it was at its very lowest, and 

 they were consequently obliged to travel by land, and endure much 

 more fatigue than would otherwise have been the case. At that 

 time they estimated the largest rapid, that of Yallata, to be a fall of 

 30 feet in 300 yards ; 17 days later the river had risen 7 feet, 

 with no perceptible difference in the current; the rise in the wet 

 season seems to be in the narrows between 12 and 15 feet, but at 

 Punto de Lenha it is only 5 or 6 feet. 



We are led to believe that the Congo flows through a very 

 rich country capable of the highest cultivation, with abundance of 

 water independent of the river itself. Professor Smith thus speaks 

 of it at the point at which they were obliged to turn back owing 

 to the sickness of their party: "We are at the beginning of a 

 country evidently capable of extensive cultivation, with a fine 

 navigable river, abundance of provisions for sale, and an increased 

 population." Captain Tuckey, also speaking of the river a little 

 lower down, but above the rapids, says — " It is a magnificent river, 

 three miles wide, with the most beautiful scenery equal to anything 

 on the banks of the Thames." 



The Zambesi, for many reasons, will never prove a good outlet 

 for the produce of the interior, for it is not navigable for sea-going 



