GEOGEAPHICAL PKOGRESS AND DISCOVERY. 



329 



with manifestations of hostility upon his pre- 

 vious expedition. He succeeded in striking a 

 treaty of peace with Maskoko, and obtained 

 by purchase the cession of a strip of land, 

 called Meuma, on the bank of the Congo, not 

 far from Stanley Pool. On this territory he 

 established a second French station, to which 

 the name of Brazzaville has since been given. 

 The country between the two stations is open 

 and salubrious. It is expected that this will 

 become an outlet route for many of the rich 

 products of the Congo Valley. The traveler 

 descended the Congo to Stanley's advanced 

 post, about twenty-five miles above Vivi. The 

 physical difficulties in the way of Stanley's en- 

 terprise of building roads around the cataracts 

 seem to him insuperable. Mountain - chains, 

 6,500 to 10,000 feet in height, cross the course 

 of the river, and numerous affluents enter it 

 through deep ravines. la addition to these ob- 

 stacles, the banks of the Congo here are peopled 

 with bellicose tribes. De Brazza proceeded 

 by sea to the Gaboon, and started again for 

 Franceville. With Dr. Ballay he intends to 

 descend the Alima in a steam-launch and thor- 

 oughly explore the Congo Valley. 



When De Brazza ascended the Ogowe he 

 was accompanied by Pere Delorme, whose ob- 

 ject was to select a spot for a mission-station. 

 The latter paid considerable attention to the 

 ethnographical conditions of the country. On 

 the lower course of the river some Orungu 

 villages are met with, inhabited by the Nkomis 

 and Camas. The country here lies very low, 

 and, being inundated during the great rains, is 

 unhealthy. Farther up the river the country 

 becomes more and more open, pleasanter, and 

 higher above water-level ; while the mangrove 

 thickets disappear, and are replaced by forest- 

 trees, including the date and other palms. Aft- 

 er the Nkomis and Camas come the Galois, 

 Eningas, and Adyombas. Thess tribes speak 

 the same language that is used on the Gaboon. 

 They are all very superstitious, but not fanatical, 

 like the people about Cape Lopez. One hun- 

 dred and ten miles up the river are found the 

 Bakalais, who are being driven away by the 

 numerous Pahuins ; between the latter, occupy- 

 ing the right bank of the river, and the former, 

 occupying the left bank, there is continual 

 war. Pere Delorme says that the Pahuins 

 will here, as they have in the Commi country 

 and on the Rembo, end by remaining masters 

 of the region. They are not enervated by vice, 

 and have no slaves nor human sacrifices. Aft- 

 er passing these tribes the rapids are reached, 

 rendering navigation very difficult and dan- 

 gerous. Above these the river again becomes 

 navigable, and different tribes are met with 

 along the banks, such as the Okandas, Oshebas, 

 Adumas, Ondumas, and others. 



The cession of the greater part of his terri- 

 tory by the Sultan of Sulu to the British North 

 Borneo Company, and the recently ventilated 

 schemes of not only rendering the rich prov- 

 ince commercially tributary, but erecting there 



a political dependency and naval base for Great 

 Britain, have drawn attention to this slightly 

 known, but to ethnologists and naturalists ex- 

 ceedingly interesting island. The North Bor- 

 neo Company obtained concessions originally 

 granted by the potentates of Snlu and Brunei 

 to an American company in 1865. The Ameri- 

 can adventurers not caring to continue the en- 

 terprise, they were bought out, in 1877, by 

 an Englishman prominent in the Hong Kong 

 trade, who associated with himself a number 

 of other Englishmen, and in 1881 obtained a 

 charter from the British Parliament. Not on- 

 ly the Dutch regarded the extension of British 

 protection to the adventure with suspicion, as 

 the Spanish Government claims prior rights 

 and concessions in the same territory, and the 

 Spanish Legislature has protested against the 

 British protectorate. The natural products 

 of Borneo are so numerous and abundant, 

 and many of them so peculiar to the country 

 as well as valuable, that it appears in prospect 

 one of the richest regions of the globe. The 

 Dutch Government claims the political control 

 over the whole island, to the extent of pro- 

 hibiting annexations by other powers. The 

 only British settlement is on the small island 

 of Labuan. The native state of Sarawak, com- 

 prising about 25,000 square miles of territory, 

 with a population of 240,000 souls, was organ- 

 ized by Rajah Sir James Brooke, and has made 

 considerable advances toward civilization and 

 good government, a result which is due to his 

 method of developing the country by native 

 means under the guidance of European intelli- 

 gence. This little nation has maintained its 

 independence for forty years, in spite of the 

 fears of its founder. With a yearly revenue of 

 $200,000, a sufficient military force is kept up 

 to garrison fourteen forts, three gunboats are 

 maintained, a competent staff of European 

 officers and native authorities are paid, com- 

 merce and agriculture are protected, and secu- 

 rity to life and property everywhere insured. 

 The adjacent dominion of Brunei, comprising 

 the coast-region of Northern Borneo between 

 Sarawak and the northern end of the island, 

 has been ceded to the North Borneo Com- 

 pany. The people of Brunei are sadly mis- 

 governed and oppressed by the exactions of 

 petty princes. The dominion of Sulu extends 

 from Celebes Sea on the east to the range of 

 mountains separating it from Brunei on the 

 northwest. All the rest of the island, about 

 three quarters of its entire surface, is claimed 

 as Dutch territory. The central parts of Bor- 

 neo are unexplored. Nearly all the large rivers 

 rise near the center of the island, where there 

 is, according to native reports, a very lofty 

 mountain called Tibang. In this region rise 

 the Bulongan and the Kutei, which empty on 

 the east coast ; probably the Kina Batangan, a 

 fine river which flows through the territory 

 granted to the North Borneo Company, and 

 empties in a bay on the northeast coast ; the 

 Barito, or Banjer Massin, which flows to the 



