In the last chapter we read about some of the people who lived in the
Eastern lands south of the desert. They were among the wisest of the
dark-skinned African tribes. In this chapter we shall read about some
of the people who live in the Western part of Central Africa. If the
Baganda walked day after day towards the sunset, they would reach the
land of the great River Congo. This is not a narrow strip of land
along one river, like Egypt, but a very large country with many great
rivers, but all of these at last pour their waters into one very large
one, which is called the Congo. Then the Congo takes all the water
from the whole land to the great salt sea. Like Uganda this country
is very hot, and so, because there is so much sun and so much water,
there are great forests. In places where there are no trees the grass
and maize grow much higher than a man's head. In the forests there
are wild beasts--lions, leopards, elephants, and hippopotami--as well
as deer which are good to eat. Many of the people spend most of their
time hunting in the forests for food and skins.