lemba, 50 miles S. of Loango, has a fine harbor, and is much frequented by Europeans. The slaves brought to this port are of an excellent quality, strong, inured both to fatigue and subordination. They are called Congos, and are more highly val4. Cabenda is ued in the West Indies than any other slaves. delightfully situated in the neighborhood of Malemba. The port is free to all European nations.

2. CONGO is bounded N. by the river Zaire or Congo, which separates it from Loango; E. by a rugged chain of mountains; S. by Angola, from which it is separated by the river Dande; and W. by the ocean. The Portuguese have several forts and factories for carrying on the slave trade. St. Salvador, the capital, is in the interior and has not been visited by the Europeans for many years.

3. ANGOLA lies immediately south of Congo, and extends on the coast from the mouth of the Dande to that of the Coanza. The Portuguese have settlements here,the capital of which, and of all the Portuguese settlements in this part of Africa, is Loando St. Paul. This city contains 18,000 inhabitants, and carries on an extensive commerce. The number of slaves exported is estimated at 16,000 annually.

4. BENGUELA lies immediately south of Angola, and extends on the coast from Coanza river to cape Negro in 16° 5' S. lat. The climate is very unhealthy. The inhabitants are rude and barbarous, and have little connection with Europeans. The Portuguese have a few settlements here, the chief of which is called Benguela or St. Philipe de Benguela, situated on the bay of Vaccas or Cow's bay, in lat. 12° 28′ S.

SOUTH AFRICA.

South Africa may be divided into 1. The colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 2. Caffraria.

I. COLONY OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

Situation and Extent.] The colony of the cape of Good Hope, now belonging to the British, is bounded N. and E. by Caffraria ; S. by the Indian ocean, and W. by the Atlantic ocean. It is nearly 600 miles long from east to west, and on an average about 200 broad. The area is estimated at 120,000 square miles.

Face of the Country.] The leading feature in the aspect of this territory consists of three successive ranges of mountains,

running completely across the country from east to west, almost parallel to each other, and to the southern coast. The first range is at the distance of from 20 to 60 miles from the coast. The second range, called the Zwarte Berg, or Black mountain, is considerably higher and more rugged than the first. The belt interposed between the Zwarte Berg and the first range is nearly of the same average breadth as that between the first range and the sea, but is of considerably greater elevation. Beyond the Zwarte Berg, at an interval of 80 or 100 miles, rises the Nieuweldt mountains, the highest range of southern Africa, and the summits of which are supposed to be 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. They form the northern boundary of the colony. The belt or plain interposed between these two last chains is considerably more elevated than either of the other two, so that this country forms as it were a succession of terraces, rising above each other.

The plain next to the sea is covered with a deep and fertile soil, watered by numerous rivulets, well clothed with grass, and with a beautiful variety of trees and shrubs. The second terrace contains a considerable proportion of well watered and fertile lands; but these are mixed with large tracts of the arid desert, called Karroo. The third belt, called the Great Karroo, is almost entirely a vast desert.

Capes and Bays.] Cape Agvillas, in lat. 34° 55' S. is the most southerly point of Africa. The Cape of Good Hope forms the point of a peninsula, which juts out at the S. W. extremity of the colony, and is connected with the main land by an isthmus, ineluded between Table bay on the north and False bay on the south. Saldanha bay, lying north of Table bay, is the most secure and convenient harbor in Southern Africa. St. Helena bay is on the same coast 30 miles further north. Algoa bay is on the southern coast, and nearly at the eastern extremity of the colony.

Rivers.] There are 6 or 7 considerable rivers, which discharge themselves into the ocean after watering extensive tracts of country. Among them are the Great Fish river, which forms the eastern boundary of the colony, dividing it from Caffraria; and Sunday river, which falls into Algoa bay. Orange river, the largest river in Southern Africa, rises in the N. E. part of the colony, and after a westerly course of 600 miles, runs into the Atlantic under lat. 28° 30′ S. The principal part of its course is without the limits of the colony.

Chief Town.] Cape town, the only place in the colony deserving the name of a town, is agreeably situated at the head of Table bay, on a plain, sloping downwards from the Table mountain, which rises immediately back of the town to the height of 3,582 feet above the level of the sea. It is regularly laid out, and contains about 16.000 inhabitants, of whom 10,000 are negroes. Table bay affords poor accommodations for shipping, and during 4 months of the year, from May to September, when the winds blow from the north and north-west, vessels are obliged to seek shelter in False bay on the opposite side of the peninsula.

Productions.] The grounds in the vicinity of Cape town, for 20 or 30 miles in every direction, are employed almost entirely in raising wine and fruits; beyond this limit, for 50 or 60 miles, grain is raised in large quantities and of a very superior quality; the more remote parts of the colony are devoted to pasturage. Tobacco and many other plants thrive perfectly and might be cultivated to a great extent.

Population.] The population in 1810 was estimated at 81,000, of whom one third were whites and the rest negroes or Hottentots. The free inhabitants may be divided into 4 classes, viz. the inhabitants of the capital, wine growers, corn farmers, and graziers. The wine boors reside in the immediate vicinity of Cape town, and are the most civilized and comfortably situated of the peasanty. Most of them are descended from French families, by whom the vine was first introduced. The corn hoors live generally at the distance of two or three days journey from the cape. Their agriculture is miserable, but the soil is fertile, and notwithstanding their slovenly management, they are generally in good circumstances. The grazier is much more uncultivated than the other classes. Many are perfect Nomades, wandering from place to place, and living in straw huts like the Hottentots.

Hottentots.] The Hottentots are the aborigines of this country. Their territory extends eastward along the sea-coast to the borders of Caffraria, and northward to the Orange river. They may be divided into 3 classes, viz. the inhabitants of the colony; the Bosjesmans, or wild Hottentots, who inhabit the mountainous districts, extending along the northern frontier of the colony; and the Namaquas, who occupy the north-western coast. All these classes were found by the Europeans in the lowest state of civilization. The inhabitants of the colony have been reduced to a state either of absolute slavery, or to a dependence not materially different. Their numbers, of late years, have rapidly diminished; and there are not now supposed to be, within the limits of the colony, more than 15,000. The Bosjesman Hottentots cherish a deadly hostility to the colonists, and from their rugged and inaccessible haunts frequently make inroads upon the plantations, carry off the cattle and sheep, and kill the farmers and their domes. tics. The Bosjesmans are among the ugliest of the human race, exhibiting in excess all the deformities observed in the Hottentots of the colony. They are extremely diminutive in size, the tallest of the men measuring only 4 feet 9 inches in height. Their activity, however, is incredibly great; and in running on rough ground, it is said, horsemen have no chance with them. In this respect they differ entirely from the Hottentots of the colony, who are naturally the most indolent people on earth. The Namaqua Hottentots differ very little in their persons from the other tribes, but use a language widely different.

Missionary stations.] The United Brethren established a mission among the Hottentots in 1736, which was renewed in 1792, and since that time the London Society have sent out many

missionaries. The labors of both have been attended with the happiest effects. The Hottentots, at the several settlements now cultivate the fields, own large numbers of cattle, exercise various trades, and contribute liberally to the support of religious and charitable institutions, exhibiting a wonderful proof of the power of Christianity to elevate men from the lowest point of intellectual and moral depression. Gnadenthal, the principal missionary settlement of the United Brethren in South Africa, is 120 miles from Capetown, in a direction nearly due east. Bethelsdorp, the principal establishment of the London Missionary society, is near the shore of Algoa bay, 500 miles east of Cape

town.

Political importance.] This colony was originally planted by the Dutch, but in 1806 it fell into the hands of the British, and was confirmed to them, in 1815, by the Congress of Vienna. Its principal importance, in a commercial view, is derived from its convenience, as a place of refreshment to vessels sailing between Europe and the East Indies. It also consumes British manufactures to a large amount. The value of merchandize imported into the colony from Great Britain, in 1809, was £311,016. The principal exports are wine and brandy.

II. CAFFRARIA.

Situation.] Caffraria, Kaffraria, or the country of the Kaffers, is most properly the territory extending along the coast of South Africa, in a N. E. direction from the Great Fish river, which separates it from the colony of the cape of Good Hope, to Key's river, which divides it from the country of the Tambookies. The name, however, is sometimes applied to all that part of South Africa which is not included in the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, the tribes which inhabit this country, so far as Europeans are acquainted with them, being mostly of Kaffer origin.

Inhabitants.] The principal tribes known to Europeans in Caffraria, taken in its largest sense, are the Kaffers, Boshuanas, Damaras and Tambookies. 1. The Kaffers, or inhabitants of Caffraria proper, differ in every respect from the bordering race of Hottentots. There is not perhaps in the world a finer race of men as to external figure; they are tall, robust, muscular and handsome. Though black, or very nearly so, they have not a line of the African negro, either in their countenance or persons. They are more addicted to agriculture than the Hottentots, but pasturage is the favorite and general occupation. Their general habits are peaceable, but with the savage Bosjesmans they are frequently at war. They have had occasional contests with the colonists, but the blame is said commonly to have been with the latter; and when victors, they have never been guilty of any cruelty. European mariners shipwrecked upon their coast have been treated with the greatest humanity.

2. The Boshuanas consist of numerous tribes, inhabiting the country north of the Cape colony and reaching for an indefinite extent into the interior of Africa. They are evidently of the same original stock with the Kaffers, but somewhat altered; interior in bodily strength and stature, but superior in civilization and the arts of life. Their towns are of considerable magnitude. Latakoo contains 7 or 8,000 inhabitants. Nothing was known of the Boshuanas till 1801, when two English travellers penetrated into the country. Since that time Latakoo has been visited by Dr. Litchtenstein and Mr. Campbell. It is the capital of the Matchappin tribe, the only one among the Boshuanas yet visited by Europeans. Beyond them are numerous others which appear to be farther advanced in agriculture and the arts, and the race seems to improve as you progress northward.

3. The Damaras are a Kaffer race inhabiting the country between Orange river and the tropic. 4. The Tambookies live on the eastern coast, immediately north of the Kaffers. Very little is known about either of these tribes.

EAST AFRICA.

Situation and Divisions.] East Africa includes all the countries lying on the eastern coast of Africa between the tropics. It may be divided into 1. Nubia. 2. Sennaar. 3. Abyssinia. 4. The countries south of Abyssinia.

ca.

1. NUBIA.

Situation.] Nubia is bounded N. by Egypt; E. by the Red sea; S. by the kingdom of Sennaar, which is sometimes considered as a part of Nubia; and W. by unknown regions of Central AfriIt extends on both sides of the Nile from 17° to 24° N. lat. Face of the Country. With the exception of the immediate banks of the Nile, Nubia consists almost entirely of sandy and rocky deserts, extending on the east to the Red sea, and on the west to the Sahara. The eastern bank of the Nile is much better fitted for cultivation than the western, being more easily and abundantly watered. This is rather remarkable, since all the splendid ruins for which this region is distinguished are on the opposite bank. Hence we may suspect this last to have been formerly more fertile and populous, but reduced to its present state by the continual encroachments of those immense moving sands which extend to the westward. As the Nile here seldom or never overflows its banks, the territory is irrigated exclusively by the sakies or wheels constructed for the purpose of raising the waters of the river to the level of the adjacent grounds.