May 27, 1887.] 



SCIENCE. 



523 



explorations. On the west side we find liigli 

 mountains in Adamaua, — which probably form 

 the north-western corner of Central Africa, — 

 and the volcanic Kamerun Mountains, which lie 

 on one line with those of S. Thome and Anno 

 Bon. 



THE PEOPLE OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



The northern boundary of the Bantu language, 

 to which almost all tribes and nations of Central 

 Africa belong, is a line running from Kamerun to 

 the outlet of the Mvutan Nsige, including the 

 Victoria Nyanza, thence turning south to the Kili- 

 ma Njaro, and reaching the coast in about latitude 

 1" south. As compared with the large area oc- 

 cupied by dialects of this linguistic stock, the ex- 

 tent of other languages is very limited. Those of 

 the negroes of the upper Nile, the Niam-Niam 

 and Mangbatu, the Galla, and also those of the 

 Benue and Central Sudan, do not belong to this 

 stock ; and it is impossible, with our present 

 knowledge, to classify them properly. 



The anthropologist finds even greater difficulty 

 in classifying the races of Africa than the lin- 

 guist, for the different types of African people 

 are connected by numerous links. There are only 

 a few places where a characteristic difference in 

 appearance may be observed. As one instance we 

 mention the remarkable light tribes of the Welle- 

 Nile watershed, — the Niam-Niam and Mang- 

 batu, and the scattered dwarfs of Central Africa. 

 In comparing the ethnological peculiarities of the 

 Niam-Niam with those of their neighbors, it strikes 

 us that the Fan or Mpongwe, who invaded the 

 Gabun region from the east, are very similar to 

 them, and that their characteristic throwing-knife 

 is found in southern Adamaua, and in slightly 

 differing forms over the whole area north of the 

 Kongo. 



The dwarfish Mucassequere of the Kuando, 

 south of Lunda, the Watwa of the southern 

 Kongo basin, the Akka of the Welle, and several 

 other West African tribes, are, in their anthro- 

 pological appearance,, very similar to the Bush- 

 men of South Africa. Their height is about four 

 and a half feet, they are of a yellowish com- 

 plexion, and have woolly hair. The scattered oc- 

 currence of these tribes all over Central Africa 

 makes it very probable that they inhabited the 

 whole country before the invasion of the Bantu. 

 Their languages are little known, but all of them 

 seem to have adopted to a great extent that of 

 the people with whom they live. They do not 

 till the soil, but live almost exclusively as hunters. 



The majority of the negroes live on the prod- 

 ucts of agriculture and stock-raising. There are 



no tribes without agriculture in Central Africa, 

 except the dwarfish Watwa and Akka. Though 

 their implements are very simple, they clear the 

 dense woods, and fence in their fields. Hirse is 

 the most important grain they grow. It is culti- 

 vated in all parts of Africa. Sorghum, manioc, 

 and batatas are grown in the lower countries, 

 maize and pulse on the highlands. In Uganda, 

 bananas are the principal food. Stock-raising is 

 the favorite occupation of many East African 

 tribes. The herdsmen are frequently warlike na- 

 tions who have subdued agricultural tribes. The 

 Galla, Wahuma, and Watuta have founded em- 

 pires of this kind. On the upper Nile the natives 

 are engaged in both stock-raising and agriculture. 

 Cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, and poultry are raised 

 by these people. 



The most remarkable industry of Africa is that 

 of iron-working, which is known in all parts, the 

 Bushmen alone being unacquainted with it when 

 they became known to the Europeans. The Afri- 

 cans know how to obtain the iron from the ores, 

 and manufacture beautiful implements of it. Be- 

 sides iron, they manufacture copper implements 

 and make copper and iron wire. The negroes do 

 not know how to tan skins, but soften them by 

 scraping and beating ; neither do they practise the 

 art of joining wood ; while carving, plaiting, and 

 weaving are highly developed. 



The civilization of the negroes is not at all a 

 low one. Their mode of life, their industry, and 

 their political institutions are ample proof of this. 

 Large empires founded by men excelling in intel- 

 ligence and character, and extensive migrations of 

 energetic nations, are characteristic of its history. 

 The observations of all explorers show that arts 

 and industry are far more developed in the in- 

 terior than near the coast. Here, as everywhere 

 else, the contact with nations of a higher civiliza- 

 tion, the whites and Arabs, tends to destroy the 

 native culture. Here the ruthless Arabian slave- 

 hunters devastate regions which were flourishing 

 before their arrival, and the final destiny of the 

 Africans will depend to a great extent on the end 

 of the final struggle between the whites and the 

 Arabs. 



THE VEGETATION OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



The peculiar character of the landscape of Cen- 

 tral Africa is due to the great extent of its high- 

 lands and the frequently alternating woods and 

 savannas. In the rainy districts of the west coast 

 north of the Kongo, den?e forests prevail, but far- 

 ther south the vegetation is not so luxuriant. Hei-e 

 we find the baobab and the plants characteristic of 

 the savannas of the central plateaus. But even in 



