The World and Its People Part 4

In the days of antiquity the Nile had several mouths. Five of these mouths have, in the course of ages, become filled with silt. The whole alluvial district which these mouths enclosed formed the ancient Delta.

The ancients believed that the whole of this alluvial deposit had been gained from the sea.

The basin of the Nile, or Egypt proper, is formed by the ranges of the Arabian hills on the east and the Libyan on the west. The eastern chain of these mountains is about one thousand feet above the level of the sea.

Egypt is separated from Nubia by a low hilly region. This region is about fifty miles broad from north to south. It is composed of granite rocks. The same formation of rocks extends up the sh.o.r.e of the Red Sea, nearly to the opening of the Gulf of Suez. It stretches inland over a tract of some thirty miles in extent.

In this section of Egypt the scenery is wild and picturesque. The course of the Nile is frequently interrupted here by cliffs or broken ma.s.ses of granite rock. It is in this way that the magnificent, yet disastrous, cataracts of the Nile are formed. The granite section of Egypt terminates at a.s.souan. Much of the material used in building the great monuments of Egypt must have been brought from this section.

Upper Egypt is bounded by two ranges of hills. Both these ranges run northward. The Arabian range is on the right, the Libyan on the left, of the river. Sandstone prevails to a great extent in both these ranges. It is a durable rock, easily cut. It was used very extensively in the erection of ancient temples. The ancient city of Thebes was built of it.

The sandstone rocks in a large section of Egypt are covered with moving desert sands. In the lands which border the Nile they are covered with the alluvial deposit which the river brings down in its course.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PAPYRUS ON THE NILE.]

All along the valley of the Nile the scenery is tame and monotonous. The sandstone is easily worn away by the action of the waters, and this in a measure accounts for the table-lands, which are of frequent occurrence.

It would also account for the vast amount of alluvial deposit, most of it being worn-out rocks.

The fertile valley of the Nile differs widely from the desert regions which enclose it. This is true not only of the botanical life, but of the zoological life as well.

Many of the European trees and plants are found in Egypt. The date palm, sycamore, acacia, and tamarisk are some of the trees peculiar to its climate. The papyrus, which the ancients used largely in the manufacture of paper, and the lotus, or water lily of the Nile, are peculiar to Egypt.

Of late years the cultivation of the papyrus plant has been neglected.

Specimens of it are now rather rare. Sugar cane, cotton, indigo, and tobacco are cultivated in its place.

Gourds and melons are found in abundance. Wheat and barley were extensively cultivated by the ancients. These are still cultivated, and maize and durra have been added. The latter is a coa.r.s.e, strong gra.s.s.

It grows to a height of from four to eight feet. It has thickly crowded panicles. The grain is round, and about the size of a mustard seed.

Durra may be regarded as the princ.i.p.al corn plant of Africa. It yields an abundant product. It is even more productive than maize, but the meal from it does not make good bread. Used like rice, it makes an excellent pudding, or may be used in other forms for food. The stalks and husks are coa.r.s.e, but make excellent fodder for horses and cattle. The grain, too, is often given to them.

Egypt is very deficient in timber land. Pharaoh obtained cedar from Lebanon and ebony from Ethiopia, as our Bible history tells us.

s.p.a.ce will not allow us to linger over either modern or ancient Egypt.

The latter is more fascinating than the former. It will be interesting for us to take our Bibles and, looking over the Old Testament, acquaint ourselves with the stories of Moses, Joseph, Pharaoh, and other characters of the days of ancient history.

Did s.p.a.ce permit, we might dwell upon the ancient occupations, as gla.s.s blowing and pottery, and upon the various implements connected with them. The bellows, siphons, chisels, presses, balances, levers, and harpoons would awaken our interest and curiosity, if we could but look into some museum of Egyptian relics.

The weapons of war, too,--the spears, clubs, maces, swords, daggers, bows, and hatchets,--would seem to us not only strange, but formidable.

No less interesting would be the pictures of war boats, and the galleys used upon the Nile.

We might delight to run our fingers over the ancient harps, lyres, and guitars. The drums, flutes, cymbals, and tambourines would have fascinations for most of us, making us wish to test our musical ear.

There are many books, however, that can satisfy our curiosity over the lives of the ancient Egyptians, and we shall be fascinated by all we may find time to read.

CHAPTER VI.

THE RIVERS OF AFRICA.

For many years Africa was believed to be a land dest.i.tute of rivers in its interior sections. The explorations made by Dr. Livingstone proved to the world that what had been formerly termed the unexplored territory is not the barren, riverless region that imagination had pictured.

Still, the nature of the rivers was for a long time but imperfectly determined.

It is generally acknowledged that, of all the great rivers, there is scarcely one that has been successfully traced from source to mouth throughout its entire length. Even the tributaries of these rivers are but imperfectly known, owing to the many difficulties attending their exploration.

We have a right, then, to expect much from later investigation, as more and more of the country is opened to observation.

The journals of such men as Livingstone and Stanley open a vast storehouse of knowledge to those who read them. Fascinated, as by a romance, we lose ourselves in these pages, and in imagination follow their footsteps through "Darkest Africa."

The rivers of South Africa have their rise mostly in the neighboring highlands. Many of these rivers are, in fact, not much greater than mountain torrents, whose courses are as short as their currents are rapid.

Most of the rivers of Africa have obstructions, in the form of sand bars, at their mouths. The Orange River is a striking example, the water at its mouth being choked by a vast deposit of sand.

The chief great rivers of Africa are the Nile, the Niger, the Zambesi, the Orange, the Congo, the Senegal, and the Gambia.

Although all the great rivers have served as links to connect the journeys of the various explorers, yet the Nile, the Niger, the Zambesi, and the Congo have been chosen as the chief guides for the more recent explorations.

Each of these great rivers has distinct characteristics and striking peculiarities. The Nile, though a river of the greatest antiquity, was for many, many years a problem in the minds of those busied with the geography of Africa.

Many of the records kept by the early explorers were, unfortunately, lost. Among those that were preserved were many that were not reliable in their information. Many of the accounts were most conflicting in fact and detail. This led to much confusion and much discussion. Men naturally were slow to accept information which they could not prove to be authentic.

Wars among the natives of the interior were most disastrous to the explorer. At best, his life, interesting and exciting as we might suppose it to have been, could certainly not have been an enviable one.

Only dauntless courage and boundless enthusiasm could have led him into regions where he must suffer not only fatigue, but privation; not only danger from wild beasts hungry for their prey, but from cruel, treacherous savages lurking on every side.

The countries watered by the Niger offered an immense field for exploration. Inviting as this region was to the explorer, it afforded many difficulties. Savage beasts and treacherous natives were foes that might be overcome, but who could withstand the attacks of fever and malaria, unsuspected foes to health and life, in this region of pestilence and disease?

Mungo Park, a Scotch explorer, relates that, out of a party of forty-four, but four survived the exploration, owing to the unhealthy character of the climate. He relates that he received various kinds of treatment at the hands of the natives. The women, however, were for the most part kindly disposed and benevolent.

At one time the king of the region of Bambarra, through which he was pa.s.sing, forbade him to cross the Niger. He was obliged to remain over night in one of the villages. None of the natives would receive him into their huts. Finally, he took shelter in the branches of a tree. He was worn out from hunger and fatigue. A storm came up, from which he was wholly unprotected, but he was befriended by a woman, who was pa.s.sing on her way from her daily work in the field. She took him home to her hut, kindly cared for him, and did all she could to make him comfortable.

It is the custom of the women to lighten their labor by singing songs as they work. On this occasion Park was made the subject of this song which was sung by one of the young women of the village. The melody was sweet and rather plaintive; the words simple.

"_The winds roared and the rain fell.

The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat under our tree.

He has no mother to bring him milk; no wife to grind his corn._"

To this a refrain was added, in which all the women joined.

"_Let us pity the white man; No mother has he to bring him milk; No wife has he to grind his corn._"

It was to Richard Lander that the geographical students were indebted for much information about the Niger. He encountered many dangers, and, with his followers, was finally taken prisoner by the natives.

Only on the promise of a heavy ransom were they allowed their freedom.

By the offer of heavy bribes, he made arrangements with the natives to convey him, with his party, to the sea. The journey was by way of the Niger, and proved to Lander that water communication could be opened into the interior of Africa. Thus he solved one of the greatest problems in the geography of the continent.

In the southern portion of Africa, the more recent explorations have been mostly in connection with the Zambesi River, its extensive basin, and its many affluents. Most of the results were due to the energy of Livingstone, whose footsteps we shall like to trace later. We must regard Livingstone not only as an explorer, but as a zealous missionary in the great field open to him. Only through his indomitable courage, boundless faith, and untiring devotion could he have accomplished his arduous labor.