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THE
YOUNG FOLKS' LIBRARY
FOR SCHOOL AND HOME.
EDITED BY
LARKIN DUNTON, LL.D.,
HEAD MASTER OF THE BOSTON NORMAL SCHOOL.
VOLUME XI.
* * * * *
THE
_YOUNG FOLKS' LIBRARY_,
Edited by LARKIN DUNTON, LL.D.,
HEAD MASTER OF THE BOSTON NORMAL SCHOOL.
Designed to supplement the ordinary school reading-books with valuable
practice in reading, and at the same time to reenforce the instruction
in special lines of school study with useful information and choice
selections from the best literature.
_Stories of Child Life._
Vol. 1. Book I.--AT HOME.
Vol. 2. Book II.--AT PLAY.
Vol. 3. Book III.--IN THE COUNTRY.
Vol. 4. Book IV.--AT SCHOOL.
_The World and its People._
Vol. 5. Book I.--FIRST LESSONS.
Vol. 6. Book II.--GLIMPSES OF THE WORLD.
Vol. 7. Book III.--OUR OWN COUNTRY.
Vol. 8. Book IV.--OUR AMERICAN NEIGHBORS.
Vol. 9. Book V.--MODERN EUROPE.
Vol. 10. Book VI--LIFE IN ASIA.
Vol. 11. Book VII.--VIEWS IN AFRICA. Part One.
Book VII.--VIEWS IN AFRICA. Part Two.
Book VII.--VIEWS IN AFRICA. Complete.
Vol. 12. Book VIII.--AUSTRALIA AND THE ISLANDS OF THE SEA.
Vol. 13. Book IX.--HAWAII AND ITS PEOPLE.
THE WORLD AND ITS PEOPLE.
BOOK VII.
_VIEWS IN AFRICA._
BY
ANNA B. BADLAM,
AUTHOR OF "STORIES OF CHILD LIFE."
EDITED BY
LARKIN DUNTON, LL.D.,
HEAD MASTER OF THE BOSTON NORMAL SCHOOL.
[Illustration]
SILVER, BURDETT & COMPANY.
NEW YORK . . BOSTON . . CHICAGO.
1900
COPYRIGHT, 1895, 1896,
BY SILVER, BURDETT & CO.
PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT.
It is now conceded by all educators that school instruction should be
supplemented by reading matter suitable for use by the pupil both in the
school and in the home. Whoever looks for such reading, however, must be
struck at first with the abundance of what is offered to schools and
parents, and then with its lack of systematic arrangement, and its
consequent ill adaptation to the needs of young people.
It is for the purpose of supplying this defect, that the publishers have
decided to issue a series of volumes, under the general title of the
YOUNG FOLKS' LIBRARY FOR SCHOOL AND HOME.
These books are intended to meet the needs of all children and youth of
school age; from those who have just mastered their first primer, to
those who are about to finish the high school course. Some of the
volumes will supplement the ordinary school readers, as a means of
teaching reading; some will reenforce the instruction in geography,
history, biography, and natural science; while others will be specially
designed to cultivate a taste for good literature. All will serve to
develop power in the use of the mother tongue.
The matter for the various volumes will be so carefully selected and so
judiciously graded, that the various volumes will be adapted to the
needs and capacities of all for whom they are designed; while their
literary merit, it is hoped, will be sufficient to make them deserve a
place upon the shelves of any well selected collection of juvenile
works.
Each volume of the YOUNG FOLKS' LIBRARY will be prepared by some one of
our ablest writers for young people, and all will be carefully edited by
Larkin Dunton, LL.D., Head Master of the Boston Normal School.
The publishers intend to make this LIBRARY at once attractive and
instructive; they therefore commend these volumes, with confidence, to
teachers, parents, and all others who are charged with the duty of
directing the education of the young.
SILVER, BURDETT & CO.
PREFACE.
Africa is a vast continent inhabited, for the most part, by people who
have not felt the influence of Christianity and modern civilization, and
who, consequently, differ from us in character and habits of life.
To become intelligent in regard to the continent, so as to know it, with
its rich flora and strange fauna, as a part of the world in which we
live, is an important part of a child's education. But a close
acquaintance with the people who inhabit it, and with their occupations,
interests, homes, and modes of thought and feeling, is an essential
condition of that broad sympathy with humanity and that strong unselfish
patriotism which should be characteristic of every true American
citizen; for we know our blessings only by contrast.
The elevating influence of civilization, both old and new, is made still
more apparent by studying its manifestations in the northern and
southern sections of the continent, where its power is set off in
contrast with the uncivilized interior. This is especially true of the
study of ancient and modern Egypt.
It is the purpose of the present volume to furnish the young people of
this country an opportunity for such study and knowledge. Many books
have been written about Africa for older folks; but this is an attempt
to unlock the treasures of this hitherto inaccessible field for the
special benefit of the young, and thus to contribute something towards
enlightening their heads and warming their hearts.
The book should be read with a good map of Africa, and, so far as
possible, with maps of the various sections of the country, constantly
open before the reader.
Acknowledgment is here made of indebtedness to the following excellent
works, which are cordially recommended to the readers of this book: "The
Countries of the World," Vol. VI; "The Story of Nations," Vol. II;
"Africa Illustrated"; "Famous African Explorers," Vols. I and II; "A
Journey to Ashango-Land"; "Livingstone's Researches in South Africa";
"Travellers in Africa"; "Home Life on an Ostrich Farm"; "Geography,
Physical, Historical, and Descriptive"; and "Polar and Tropical World."
THE EDITOR.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
_GLIMPSES OF THE DARK CONTINENT._
CHAPTER PAGE
I. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW 13
II. SOME PHYSICAL FEATURES 16
III. THE OASES OF THE DESERT 24
IV. MORE PHYSICAL FEATURES 30
V. FEATURES, ANCIENT AND MODERN 36
VI. THE RIVERS OF AFRICA 43
VII. THE NILE, THE MOST ANCIENT OF RIVERS 49
VIII. THE NIGER, THE RIVER OF THE WEST 59
IX. THE ZAMBESI, THE RIVER OF SOUTHEAST AFRICA 63
X. A VIEW OF VICTORIA FALLS 69
XI. ANOTHER VIEW OF THE ZAMBESI 74
XII. THE DESERTS OF SOUTH AFRICA 79
XIII. GLIMPSES OF RIVERS 86
XIV. THE CONGO RIVER 93
XV. THE PEOPLE OF THE CONGO RIVER BASIN 98
XVI. VIEWS OF THE CONGO BASIN 102
XVII. MORE VIEWS OF THE CONGO REGION 108
XVII. THE CONGO FREE STATE 114
XIX. THE LAKE REGION OF AFRICA 117
XX. "THE LAND OF THE MOON" 121
XXI. VIEWS OF LAKE TANGANYIKA 124
XXII. SOME VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE 128
XXIII. THE MARCH TOWARDS VICTORIA NYANZA 131
XXIV. VIEW OF THE NILE AT LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA 136
XXV. THE APPROACH TO LAKE ALBERT NYANZA 140
XXVI. A VIEW OF LAKE ALBERT NYANZA 146
XXVII. FROM LAKE ALBERT NYANZA TO MURCHISON FALLS 151
XXVIII. MOUNTAINS OF AFRICA 156
XXIX. SOME PECULIAR FEATURES OF AFRICAN SOIL 162
XXX. THE MINERALS OF AFRICA 166
XXXI. THE DIAMOND FIELDS 171
XXXII. GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AFRICA 180
XXXIII. NATIVES OF SOUTH AFRICA 189
XXXIV. A VIEW OF CAPE COLONY 197
XXXV. ANNEXATIONS TO CAPE COLONY 208
XXXVI. ANOTHER VIEW OF CAPE COLONY 210
XXXVII. NATAL 215
XXXVIII. KAFFRARIA, OR KAFFIRLAND 220
XXXIX. KAFFIR TRAITS AND CUSTOMS 225
XL. HOTTENTOT CUSTOMS 230
XLI. ORANGE FREE STATE 237
XLII. THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC 243
XLIII. OVER THE DRACHENBERG MOUNTAINS 251
XLIV. VIEWS OF THE BOERS 254
XLV. OTHER SECTIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA 263
XLVI. RETROSPECTIVE VIEWS 269
PART II.
_BROADER VIEWS OF THE CONTINENT._
CHAPTER PAGE
XLVII. VIEWS OF WESTERN AFRICA 277
XLVIII. UPPER GUINEA 283
XLIX. LOWER GUINEA 298
L. THE CLIMATE OF AFRICA 306
LI. THE VEGETATION OF AFRICA 311
LII. VARIETIES OF VEGETATION 317
LIII. VIEWS OF ANIMAL LIFE 322
LIV. THE ANTELOPE FAMILY 327
LV. SOME OF THE RUMINANTS 331
LVI. VIEWS OF ELEPHANTS 336
LVII. VIEWS OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 340
LVIII. VIEWS OF THE RHINOCEROS 346
LIX. LION HUNTING 351
LX. INCIDENTAL VIEWS OF ANIMAL LIFE 357
LXI. BIRD LIFE IN AFRICA 360
LXII. THE OSTRICH IN A WILD STATE 366
LXIII. OSTRICH FARMING AT CAPE COLONY 376
LXIV. VIEWS OF AN OSTRICH FARM 383
LXV. VIEWS IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA 388
LXVI. CROCODILES 393
LXVII. ANTS OF AFRICA 397
LXVIII. THE PEOPLE OF AFRICA 402
LXIX. PEN PORTRAITS 413
LXX. VIEWS FROM LIVINGSTONE 418
LXXI. VIEWS FROM ANDERSSON 424
LXXII. NEW VIEWS OF NATIVES 427
LXXIII. MORE VIEWS FROM LIVINGSTONE 437
LXXIV. CURIOUS MODES 443
LXXV. THE EMPIRE OF MOROCCO 451
LXXVI. INTO ALGERIA 470
LXXVII. THE STATE OF TUNIS 484
LXXVIII. THE PROVINCE OF TRIPOLI 488
LXXIX. FEZZAN 496
LXXX. THE PORT OF EGYPT 500
LXXXI. THE NILE DELTA AND THE SUEZ CANAL 506
LXXXII. CAIRO, THE GREATEST CITY IN AFRICA 516
LXXXIII. EDUCATION IN CAIRO 522
LXXXIV. GIZEH AND ITS PYRAMIDS 531
LXXXV. HELIOPOLIS, THEBES, AND KARNAC 539
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PART I.
ENCAMPMENT OF BEDOUIN ARABS 12
OASIS IN THE SAHARA 25
GATHERING DATES 33
PAPYRUS ON THE NILE 41
"SMOKE-RESOUNDING" FALLS OF THE ZAMBESI 67
A SCENE IN THE DRACHENBERG MOUNTAINS 88
VICTORIA NYANZA 135
CROCODILES ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE 152
CROSSING THE DESERT 160
INTERIOR OF A DIAMOND MINE 173
WASHING SAND FOR DIAMONDS 178
CAPE TOWN AND TABLE BAY 184
ZULUS (NATIVES OF SOUTH AFRICA) 271
PART II.
NATIVES OF SENEGAMBIA 279
GUINEA COAST NATIVE 281
SIERRA LEONE 284
A NATIVE OF THE GABOON RIVER 299
RHINOCEROS CHARGING THE HUNTERS 350
OSTRICHES 370
DR. LIVINGSTONE NEAR THE CLOSE OF HIS LAST JOURNEY 446
STANLEY ON THE MARCH 448
PYRAMID AND SPHINX 450
TANGIER 456
A WATER CARRIER AT FEZ 462
DINNER TIME IN MOROCCO 466
STREET IN ALGIERS 479
SUEZ CANAL 508
A STREET SCENE IN CAIRO 520
* * * * *
[Illustration: ENCAMPMENT OF BEDOUIN ARABS. _Frontispiece._]
PART ONE.
_GLIMPSES OF THE DARK CONTINENT._
CHAPTER I.
A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW.
The name "Dark Continent" has been most aptly applied to Africa. Little
was known of its geographical features until within the last twenty-five
or thirty years. Some knowledge had been gained of its native tribes,
but this was very indefinite, and in many ways unreliable.
Ignorance and superstition clouded the minds of those who heard accounts
of the adventures of the early explorers. Stories of their encounters
with wild beasts and cruel savages were eagerly listened to, but were
regarded as marvelous tales, similar to those of the "Arabian Nights."
Descriptions of dreary wastes of sand, tangled forests, wild jungles,
and treacherous morasses were exciting topics, but evidently thought to
be features of a country that existed only in the minds of those who
related its wonders.
Boys and girls of fifty years ago, as they conned their geography
lessons or pored over their maps, no doubt allowed their thoughts to
stray beyond the little tract of country represented in bright colors
upon the map of Africa. Upon such a map only those portions which
represented partially explored territory were thus colored. The portion
representing the vast regions unknown alike to the adventurer and to the
explorer was colored black, and marked "unexplored territory."
This feature of the map must have been very suggestive to boys and girls
in those old school days, when the only stories of adventures that they
possessed were of the nature of "Robinson Crusoe" and "Swiss Family
Robinson."
No doubt many an imaginative boy lost himself in scenes of wild
adventures in these unexplored regions. His ready imagination pictured
them as teeming with savage life and fraught with hidden danger.
His most vivid daydreams could never have depicted the real dangers,
privations, and cost to life, as they have become known to us through
the letters and journals of recent explorers.
These men must always live in the hearts and memories of the people.
They must ever be regarded as dauntless heroes who ventured to cross the
border land between the known and the unknown territories of Africa.
Through hardship and privation these explorers have gained a definite
and accurate knowledge of many portions of Africa. Thus have they shed
light upon a portion of the globe which, compared with other continents,
we must still regard in many ways as the "Dark Continent."
Doubtless no part of the earth has been made the subject of so many
books in so short a period as Africa. Their number is legion. We find
them not only in the language of our own country, but in foreign
languages. The recent books written upon Africa would form a library of
themselves.
The origin of the name Africa has furnished a topic for wide discussion
by students and historians. Some believe the name to have come from a
Greek word meaning "south wind." Others believe it to have been formed
from the Latin word signifying "sunny." Then there are others who are
quite positive that the name came from a Greek word meaning "without
cold."
Africa is the most tropical of all the continents. It will be well to
look up its position upon the globe. We shall find it situated in the
Eastern Hemisphere, south of Europe, and southwest of Asia. It lies very
nearly between latitudes 37 deg. N. and 35 deg. S.
If we look at its general shape,--an irregular triangle,--we shall be
able to trace quite a resemblance to South America. Wonderful and
interesting, however, as we know the characteristics of that continent
to be, we shall find that Africa has far more wonders to unfold.
Africa was originally a vast peninsula, attached to Asia by the Isthmus
of Suez. The two continents were separated by the completion of the Suez
Canal. In all respects, Africa is now an enormous island.
It is larger, by far, than either Europe or Australia, but somewhat
smaller than either Asia or America.
It is indeed difficult to get a correct estimate of a country still
shrouded to a great extent in darkness, so far as our actual knowledge
of it is concerned. It has been roughly estimated to contain upwards of
eleven and one-half millions of square miles.
Let us look at the map of Africa. We find that the continent is indented
by no deep gulfs or bays. There are few capes or peninsulas along the
coast, which, for the most part, is regular and unbroken.
The absence of deep gulfs and bays running into the interior is one of
the principal reasons why the exploration of the continent has been so
difficult, and why so little is known of its vast interior.
True, we find upon the Mediterranean coast the Gulf of Sidra, the Gulf
of Arabia upon the coast of the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Guinea
upon the Atlantic coast. The latter is the only important inlet upon the
Atlantic coast, and divides into two branches,--the Bight of Biafra and
the Bight of Benin.
The extreme points of land upon the several coasts are Cape Bon upon the
north, Cape Verd upon the west, Cape of Good Hope upon the south, and
Cape Guardafui upon the east.