The story of Africa and its explorers (1892) (14784048295)

Identifier: storyofafricaits03brow (find matches)
Title: The story of Africa and its explorers
Year: 1892 (1890s)
Authors: Brown, Robert, 1842-1895
Subjects:
Publisher: London : Cassell
Contributing Library: University of Connecticut Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries



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le ofNovember Mohammeds caravan again bearanto move. Crossing the Tondy, a tributary ofthe Bahr-el-Ghazel, and a host of minorrivers, December and January found him inthe Mittoo country—a region of broad grassyplains, broken by huge stones of fantastic out-line, and by thickets or single trees, with hereand there an encampment of huts rising froma platform of clay like paper coneson a flattable. These zerebas were often great villages one of the chief hunting-grounds of the ivory-traders. The elephants that still swarmed werekilled by the natives setting fire to the junglesin which they lived—the wretched animalshuddling together and heaping grass overtheir bodies as a protection against theflames, until they fell suffocated by the densesmoke. Tall grass covered most of the regionwhere trees did not clothe the soil, thevillages of the natives occupying the openspaces which occurred at intervals. TheNiam-Niam—a cannibal race the existence ofwhom had until then been knoAvn only by
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O K) TO ? ^ fc^ 56 242 THE 8T0BY OF AFRICA. the reports of Piaggia, a roving Italian, whohad passed a year amongst them,* and theArab traders—are among the most savage oftribes. With the exception of a skin roundtheir loins, they go entirely naked, a fewstripes painted on their black skins serving inthe way of decoration. From the Niam-Niamcomitry that of the Monbuttoo—a race newto geographers—was next reached, and theacquaintance made of King Munza and hismany wives. The capital of this monarchwas some miles south of a river called theWelle, 800 feet broad, and deep in the driestseason, which was found to flow to the westout of the area of the Nile basin. This was,perhaps, the most important geographicaldiscovery of Schweinfurths expedition, andfor years afterwards formed one of themany problems in African hydrography. Atfirst it was believed to be identical withEarths Shari, which flows into Lake Tchad;but researches made by another German, manyyears later, proved that the sur