Phillips.] 4bb [Nov. 2, 1888, and 



At Vivi, which is situated a little beyoatl Matadi on a plateau ninety- 

 nine metres above the river, the navigation is stopped by the rapids. 

 Further up the river begin tlie "Livingstone Falls." 



TOPOGRAPHY. 



The Congo Independent State is divided, topographically, into two 

 regions, the one elevated, which is known as the Upper Congo, the other 

 depressed, the Lower Congo. Between these territories rolls tempestu- 

 ously the river Congo over thirty-two cataracts and rapids, forming an 

 immense staircase that prevents all navigation for a space of 250 kilo- 

 metres ; it bars access to the most extensive, the most fertile and most 

 healthy portion of the State. 



To obviate this obstruction a railway has been planned that will avoid 

 the cataracts and render communication more easy with the Upper Congo. 



Lately the fertility and population of the Lower Congo have been 

 called into question, on account of the marshy and desert stretches of 

 country through which the lower river flows, but recent travelers state 

 that this opinion is erroneous ; that at a distance of about ten kilometres 

 back from the river-banks there is a dense population, and tliat the region 

 is fertile and cultivated. 



CLIMATE. 



The year on the Lower Congo is sharply divided into the hot season, or 

 that of the rains, from the end of October until about the middle of May, 

 and the dry season, from the middle of June to the end of September. 



Day and night are of nearly equal length ; toward 6 a.m. daybreak be- 

 gins, and about 6 p.m. the evening twilight sets in, abruptly, without the 

 intervening transitions usual in temperate regions. 



The climate of Congo is, in comparison with that of most tropical coun- 

 tries, remarkably cool and agreeable. In the hot season the thermometer 

 is seldom more than from 80° to 86° (Fahrenheit) in the shade, and in the 

 " cacimbo,"or cool season, it usually ranges from 60° during the night to 

 75° during the day. During the rainy season the markings are higher, 

 and the humidity with which the atmosphere is filled renders the heat 

 almost suffocating. During the dry season all day a refreshing sea breeze 

 blows, frequently with considerable violence, which is replaced after 

 nightfall by an equally strong one from the land, so the atmosphere un- 

 dergoes a continual renovation, and a light covering is always desirable 

 during the hours of darkness. The light rains occur in the lower country 

 in October, succeeded by the great rains, with violent thunder storms. 



Sooner or later the foreigner must pay his tribute to the climate in the 

 shape of a spell of fever, although it can be readily checked by quinine 

 before and after the attack. Careful and nutritious living, together with 

 the avoidance of unnecessary exposure to the torrid heats of midday, and 

 the heavy dews of night, are the best sanitary precautions. Spirits should 

 be avoided. 



