CONGO, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE. 



165 



16,540,976 tonsin!883. Thenumberof Ameri- 

 can vessels was 9,575, tonnage 3,236, 641, against 

 9,499, of 3,307,203 tons in 1883 ; the number 

 of foreign vessels, 22,406, of 11,966,467 tons, 

 against 23,629, of 13,233,773 tons, in 1883. 



The percentage of the total commerce car- 

 ried in American vessels in 1884 was 16-42 per 

 cent., against 16-28 in 1883, 15-5 in 1882, 16 in 

 1881, 17-4 in 1880, 22'6 in 1879, 25'9 in 1878, 

 26-5 in 1877, 33-1 in 1876, 25'8 in 1875, 35'6 in 

 1870, 27-7 in 1865, 66-5 in 1860, and 75 -2 in 

 1856. 



CONGO, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE. 

 The International African Association was es- 

 tablished under the patronage of the King of 

 the Belgians, with the aim of bringing about 

 union and co-operation among the persons and 

 societies in various countries interested in Afri- 

 can discovery, and thus organizing exploration 

 on a systematic plan for the purposes of ex- 

 tending science, promoting the commercial de- 

 velopment of Africa, and counteracting and 

 checking the slave-trade. The German Afri- 

 can Society and the French section of the 

 International Association were organized as 

 branches, and occupied themselves with the 



between the Atlantic coast and the Upper 

 Congo, and preparing the way for traders and 

 To prevent the annexation of 



missionaries. 



its field of labor by European powers, the 

 Association asked for recognition as a quasi- 

 political organization, the trustee of sovereign 

 rights, which were to belong to a free" state or 

 free states of the Congo, to be organized under 

 its auspices. 



Geography of Central Africa. The interior of 

 Africa is an elevated plateau, ranging in alti- 

 tude from 2,000 to 4,000 feet, with mountain- 

 masses rising to 10,000 or 12,000 feet, and even 

 19,000 feet, which is the height of the Kili- 

 mandjaropeak, east of Victoria Nyanza. In the 

 most elevated region, on the eastern side of 

 the continent, among the great lakes, the three 

 principal rivers of Africa take their rise. The 

 Zambesi, flowing into the Indian Ocean, drains 

 the country south of the Congo basin, and re- 

 ceives through the Shire the surplus waters of 

 Lake Nyassa. The Nile takes the outflow of 

 the Victoria and Albert lakes. The Victoria 

 Nyanza, the largest of the inland seas, exceed- 

 ing Lake Superior in size, is above the level 

 of the others. In the flood- season it overflows 



MAP OP THE CONGO COUNTRY. 



exploration of west equatorial Africa, the for- 

 mer sending out Schutt and Buchner, and later 

 Pogge and Wissmann, to the Angola coast, and 

 the latter sending De Brazza and Dr. Ballay to 

 explore the Ogow6. The Belgian society de- 

 voted itself at first to opening paths for explor- 

 ers and traders from the Zanzibar coast into 

 the interior. Afterward it placed its resources 

 at the disposal of Henry M. Stanley, for the 

 purpose of establishing his influence over the 

 tribes on the Congo, improving communications 



into the lakes on the south. During that pe- 

 riod all the lakes and the head-waters of the 

 great rivers are connected by navigable chan- 

 nels. The navigable water-courses of that part 

 of Africa are innumerable. The Congo Valley 

 is also intersected by long rivers, many of 

 them navigable to their source, and is sprinkled 

 with a multitude of lakes. The course of the 

 river is about 3,000 miles long. The soil of 

 central Africa is exceeding fertile, and the 

 climate pleasant and healthful. The interior 



