ettt g
se of South
culiar genera.
| ascend the
radually from
16 temperate
]l parts of A.
se of Brazil,
specially the
ent for ship-
¢ Adansonia
tain kinds of
can teak, are
forests. The
most remark-
s. Extensive
Certain palms
ts of A., and
inhabitants,
he north, and
q. v.), both of
ely arid, and
f the desert;
y amidst the
- supplies an
y the ships of
ers, to shores
ution of the
flourishes on
arge quantity
very different
. V.), a legum-
s remarkable
he ground to
nsively culti-
- ground-nuts
ambia. The
> for the vast
hemums and
roteacea, are
atures of its
most parts of
ons of other
L the tropical
w extensively
id millet. A
or fundungi
e west, and
byssinica and
grows luxuri-
1 tobacco are
cceeded well
gypt, where,
orious irriga-
tered soil of
nost careless
ut doubt, be
T regions, as
; abundantly.
- the Cape of
rent parts of
he lion, the
e tiger is not
1d the Asiatic
'~ the canine
ng in some
al species of
ogs (Phasco-
. particularly
bra, and the
, a8 are also
. occupy, in
ther parts of
nost remark-
- the smaller
us numbers,
AFRICA.
devastating the fields of the colonists. The ostrich is I extinguished, and the very terms which express it,
found in almost all parts of A. Parrots, flamingoes,
and guinea-fowls may also be mentioned among the
birds. Crocodiles are found in the rivers, and many
kinds of lizards and serpents occur, not a few of the
latter being poisonous. There are also tortoises and
turtles of different species. The domestic animals
succeed well. Camels are said to have been intro-
duced by the Arabs, and are plentiful in the northern
regions.
It would be hazardous to assert that A. is deficient
in maneral wealth, though, judging from our present
imperfect knowledge, it does not seem to be extremely
rich. Gold is much more plentiful than silver, being
found abundantly in the sands of the great rivers
that flow out of the central region, on the coast of
Guinea, and also in the south-east of A. The
Sierra Leone coast has valuable iron ore, which is
also found in the Upper Senegal, the region of
Timbuktu, the Congo chain of mountains, Egypt,
and Darfur. Copper is plentiful at Majomba, and in
some other places; salt may be obtained from almost
every district in A. except Sudan, and sal-ammoniac,
saltpetre, sulphur, and emery in various portions of
the continent.
Population.—The population is vaguely estimated
at above 100,000,000. The native inhabitants belong
to one of the three great divisions of the human
family, called, by Dr Latham, Atlantide, the Ethiopic
of other ethnologists. The subdivision into tribes is
endless, but they may be all classed in six groups:
1st, The Negro Atlantide.—These have, in an exag-
gerated form, the black unctuous skin, woolly hair,
projecting jaws, flat nose, and thick lips, character-
wstic of the whole variety. But it is important to
observe the comparatively narrow area to which the
negroes proper are confined. They occupy Western A.,
from the Senegal to the Gaboon, Sudan in the centre,
and the low parts of the Upper Nile. The dusky or
brown hue is more prevalent through A. as a whole
than the jet-black of the negro ; which seems nearly
coincident with river valleys and deltas lying within
the tropics. 2d, Kafir Atlantide.—In physical con-
formation, they are modified negro; the jaws are less
projecting ; their language has some singular pecu-
liarities. They occupy from north of the equator
to south of the Tropic of Capricorn. 3d, Hottentot
Atlantide.—These, according to Dr Latham, have a
better claim to be considered a second species than
any other section of mankind. Their colour is brown
rather than black ; the hair grows in tufts. The
stature is low, and the bones of the pelvis peculiar.
Their language has a characteristic click, They
inhabit the south of the continent, and are divided
into Hottentots and Saabs, or Bushmen. 4¢h, Nilotic
Atlantide, occupying the water-system of the Upper
and Middle Nile. The leading tribes are the Gallas,
Agows, Nubians, and Bishari, forming the population
of Abyssinia, Adel, and Nubia. It connects by
imperceptible gradations the Coptic and Semitic
groups with the rest of the African. 5th, Amazigh
Atlantide, usually called Berbers, In conformation,
they vary from the negro to the Arab type. The
language is sub-Semitic. They inhabit the ranges of
the Atlas, the Sahara, the Canary Isles,” and are
found as far south even as the centre of Sudan. 6th,
Egyptian Atlantide, or old Egyptians, represented
by the modern Copts. Both language and physical
conformation connect them, on the one hand, with
Berbers and Nubians; on the other, with the
Assyrians, Jews, &e.
In religioz'z, the natives are as various as in lan-
guage ; but it may be questioned whether some of
the tribes, especially in South A., can be fairly
described as- having any religion. In not a few of
these, the religious consciousness seems wholly
|
to have dropped out of their language. Such, at
least, was the result of Moffat’s observations, though
perhaps the degradation in which he found some
tribes plunged was in itself a barrier to a just and
adequate communication with them ; for the lower
that races or individuals sink, the less easy is it to
understand them. Throughout the north, and to a
considerable extent in the interior, the creed of
| Mohammed is received, but held very loosely by
many. The Mohammedan tribes on the west coast
divide themselves into two classes—the Marabouts
and the Sonnachees; but it is not easy to under-
stand the exact nature of this distinction, beyond the
simple fact, that the Marabouts profess to adhere
rather strictly to the laws of the Prophet, while the
Sonnachees are more secular, make little profession
of sanctity, but eat pork and will drink spirituous
liquors. The lowest form of superstition, styled
Jetichism, prevails among the uncultured negro tribes,
as well as among the Gallas, a nation widely spread
| south-east of Abyssinia; and the practice of offering
human sacrifices is found in many tribes. The
Abyssinians hold by tradition a crude form of
Christianity.
Of the forms of government among the several
nations and tribes, our knowledge is not sufficiently
definite. Though there is despotism, it appears to
be limited to some extent by a respect for the ¢ head-
men’ in every tribe, who form a sort of aristocracy,
and whom the king must consult on all important
affairs. The liberty of speech employed in a native
parliament, or rather ‘palaver,’ is often considerable.
Though women are generally found in a degraded
position, the wives of the king often take a part in
council, and exercise their influence in the affairs of
state. Civilisation, in the proper sense of the term,
is only to be met with in the settlements of the
Europeans ; for the condition of the Moors, Arabs,
and Lgyptians is scarcely entitled to rank higher
than that of semi-civilisation.
Of science, art, and literature, we can say little ;
for all that had been achieved under the Pharaohs
and Ptolemies disappeared with the conquest of the
Moslems. A schoolmaster is found in almost every
Mohammedan village; but the Koran is the only
book studied. Medicine is little understood, though
the tribes in the south and elsewhere have great
faith in its powers, and practise it in a very absurd
and superstitious style. Among many tribes, the
religion might be styled medicine-worship. Inocu-
lation, as a preservative against the small-pox, is
common among the Mohammedan tribes. Mechan-
ical skill is generally respected; and the smith or
worker in iron is reckoned among the ‘head-men’
in every tribe. To the African mind, the products
of Kuropean skill and industry are the strongest
arguments that can be brought forward to prove
the superiority of our religious doctrines : thus com-
merce seems indispensable to prepare the way for
any extensive changes of creed.
Of the interior commerce or barter of the natives
among themselves, our knowledge is scanty. Cara-
vans of camels pass over the wide deserts by such
routes as lead them to the greatest number of
springs, brooks, and oases, or comparatively fertile
places. The chieftains in the desert are the principal
traders; and one feature in their character, though
carried to a cruel extreme, is certainly favourable to
commerce : debtors are treated with great severity.
When payments are delayed, not only the debtor
himself, but, if he is absent, any -member of his
family, may be seized as a slave. Timbuktu, on
the southern edge of Sahara, is the chief commercial
depdt and central station for the caravans which
arrive from Tafilet, Tripoli, and other plac&gs in
