Africa^ its Past mid Future. 107 



The Kongo Free State comes next. It holds on the coast only 

 the mouth of the river, its main possessions lying in the interior, 

 Belgium is the only country that has planted colonies inland. 

 Like all the interior of equatorial Africa, the valley of the 

 Kongo is well watered and has continuous rains. The land is 

 rich and fertile, but is practically inaccessible, and, before any 

 extensive commerce can be carried on, must be connected by rail- 

 road with the ocean. The Compagnie du Congo has just com- 

 pleted a survey for a railroad on the south side of the Kongo, 

 from Matadi, opposite Vivi, to Stanley Pool. It did not encoun- 

 ter any unusual difficulties, and has submitted the plans and pro- 

 jects to the King of Belgium for his appi'oval. 



South of the Kongo Free State are the Portugese possessions 

 of Angola, Benguela, and Mossamedes. Portugal, the first coun- 

 try to circumnavigate Africa, and the first to colonize it, has for 

 several centui'ies had factories, and carried on a large trade with 

 Africa, exchanging clothes and blankets for slaves, gold and 

 ivory. It claimed the valley of the Kongo ; but the claim has 

 been reduced, and is now bounded for a considerable distance on 

 the north by a line running due east and west on the 6th parallel 

 of south latitude. They have good harbors at St. Paul de Lo- 

 ango, Benguela, and Mossamedes, on the Atlantic coast, and the 

 best harbor of Africa, at Delagoa Bay on the Indian Ocean. The 

 territory claimed will, I believe, prove to be the most valuable in 

 Africa. It is well watered by numerous tributaries of the Kongo 

 and by the Zambezi and its branches. It is higher than the 

 Kongo valley, and is therefore more healthy. Several Portu- 

 guese, English, and German travelers have crossed and recrossed 

 this part of the continent, and the Portuguese have some small 

 settlements on the coast and in the interior. The Portuguese of 

 the present generation have not the enterprise and trading spirit 

 of their forefathers, and are doing very little for the settlement 

 of the country. 



South of the Portuguese possessions, England claims from the 

 Portuguese possessions on the Atlantic to their possessions on the 

 Pacific, including Namaqua-Land, Cape Colony, the Transvaal, 

 and Zulu-Land. 



Namaqua and Damai'a Land, formerly claimed by the Ger- 

 mans, are now put down on some of the maps as belonging to 

 England. The only harbor on the coast is held by the English ; 

 and, from the character of the country, we are not surprised that 



