412 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE. Chap. XX. 



stream only came upon our ears to break the deacl- 

 ness of this awing silence, and disturb the grandest 

 solitude man can ever behold — a solitude which often 

 chilled me, but which was well adapted for the study 

 of Nature. 



I was surprised at the small number of new birds 

 I found. I did not find more than ten species dif- 

 ferent from those of my former collections. 



At a certain distance from the coast hills com- 

 mence, which gradually increase in elevation, and 

 form mountain ranges, running parallel to each other 

 in a south-east and north-west direction. They 

 range along the whole of the western coast, and 

 seem to bear themselves towards the southern part 

 of Africa. 



Between these mountains and the sea the country 

 I have explored is generally low and marshy. 

 Several rivers rising on the western slope of the 

 first range flow through these lands and discharge 

 themselves into the sea.* Consequently these rivers 

 are short, and being so near together, the quantity of 

 water they throw into the sea is not great. . The 

 most important commercially being the Gaboon, on 

 account of its port. 



I mentioned, in 'Equatorial Africa,' that I had 

 been surprised by the enormous quantity of water 

 discharged into the sea by the rivers forming the 

 delta of tlie Ogobai. I further said that the Ogobai 

 was formed by two rivers, the Eembo (river) Okanda 

 and the Rembo Ngouyai ; the former I had not seen, 



* Names of rivers — Benito, Muni, Monda, the delta of the Ogobai, 

 Nazareth, Mexias, Fernand Vaz, and the Commi river. 



