Fkr. 27, I860.] BEDINGFELD ON THE CONGO. 67 



occurred to me that the Congo river is well worthy the attention 

 of the Eoyal Geographical Society. 



In the first place, in addition to its being so much nearer Eng- 

 land than the Zambesi (within a month by steamer), the dangers 

 of the Cape of Good Hope and the Mozambique Channel are also 

 avoided. It has no bar, having 150 fathoms water at its mouth. 

 It is navigable for sea-going ships nearly 100 miles, either under 

 sail or steamer. I myself took H.M.S. Pluto, drawing 9 feet, to 

 Embomma and back with very little trouble. H.M.S. Antelope and 

 Medusa have also ascended as far as Punto de Lenha, the latter 

 vessel drawing 12 feet, in the month of August, when the river is 

 at its lowest. Should the trade ever be developed, it is within 

 reach of the West African packets, and I also hear a Portuguese 

 line is now established to Loanda, touching the islands of St. 

 Thomas and Prince's ; provisions are abundant and cheap ; natives 

 friendly ; and I believe with very little encouragement they might 

 be induced to cultivate ground-nuts (of which considerable quan- 

 tities are even now exported), or anything else likely to pay, to a 

 much larger extent than they do at present. They could also 

 collect palm-oil, copper ore, ivory, gum, and beeswax. Cotton 

 grows everywhere as on the east coasts ; there is also lignum vitse 

 above the rapids. At Punto de Lenha, about 30 miles above Shark 

 Point, there are numerous factories, and room for more if the bush 

 were cleared away ; vessels here lie in deep water alongside the 

 wharves for loading and unloading ; it is tolerably healthy, and a 

 few miles above this point the mangrove ends, and high land com- 

 mences. The factors here state that the wild cotton, growing in 

 abundance, is of good quality, and easily separated from the seed ; 

 it produces two crops a year (I should mention that at Loanda, only 

 200 miles south of this, cotton is exported, and its cultivation en- 

 couraged by the present governor). They also state that the islands 

 in this part of the river, some of them of considerable size, are well 

 suited for its cultivation. 



The village of Embomma is situated on a hill, and is admirably 

 adapted for a trading settlement ; there are also several factoiies of 

 the Portuguese ; a large market is held here once a week, and it is 

 the central depot for slaves. The French have established there 

 factories on a large scale for the emigration scheme at the mouth of 

 the river, opposite Shark Point, and they were to have had a 

 small steamer to ply between Tench Point and Embomma, to bring 

 down the so-called emigrants. 



The country round Embomma is the granary for the slave fac- 

 tories along the country and the coast to the north of the river ; it 



