It was Diego Cam, an intrepid Portuguese navigator, who, in 1484, voyaging towards the mythical East Indies, discovered the Congo. In the name of his sovereign, King Juan II., he took possession of the country, though it does not appear that he proceeded far into the interior. From n’zadi, the native name for river, the Portuguese formed the word Zaire, and it is by this name that the river was long called. It so appears in the map of Martin of Bohemia, who accompanied the expedition. The globe prepared by this German cosmographer is still to be seen in the museum of Nuremberg. It was not until two centuries later that the river was called Rio de Congo.

On the south promontory of the Delta the Portuguese erected a pillar to commemorate their discovery. This promontory is still known as the Padrão Foreland. It is certain that these Portuguese, who were missionaries before they were explorers, remained a considerable time in the Delta; for they converted the King of Ekongo, as the country was then called, to Christianity. It was to this king that the sovereigns of Angolo traced descent, and it is significant that their blue banner with the golden star is to-day the flag of the Congo Free State.

About seven years after the first expedition a second was sent out from Portugal, and the ruins of the trading posts then established, called San Antonio and Salvador, are still to be seen. The old Kingdom of Ekongo continued a hundred miles into the interior. It was bounded on the north by N’zadi, the modern Congo, and on the south by the river Coanza. The accounts of the early traders, some of which are still preserved in the State archives of Portugal, abound in fanciful descriptions. To the mediæval mind the forest was peopled with mythical monsters. It was probably for this reason that the superstitious Portuguese kept so near the coast.

In 1534 San Salvador, which until the arrival of the Portuguese was known as Ambassa, became the seat of a bishopric. Here a cathedral was erected, but later the see was transferred to St. Paul de Loanda, which thus became the capital of the Portuguese authority.

In 1784, to maintain their occupation of the Congo, the Portuguese built a fort at Kabinda, about thirty miles north of the mouth of the river. Several slave stations also were established in the interior. From this position they were soon driven by the French, though the latter made no attempt to found a colony.

In 1816 the British Government despatched an expedition to the Congo. James Kingston Tuckey, the leader, explored the river from its mouth to a distance of 170 miles into the interior. In his description of the country Tuckey speaks of the numerous slave stations along the banks. At this period two thousand slaves were exported annually. Fifty years later this number had increased to over one hundred thousand!

The Congo with its multitudinous branches forms a river-basin unequalled even by that of the Mississippi. This great territory, over fourteen hundred miles in breadth, covers an area of nearly a million square miles. Though mere size is not always a measure of importance, yet this region is unsurpassed, in respect to natural resources, by any part of the world. Second only to the Amazon in volume, the Congo precipitates about 2,000,000 cubic feet of water each second into the Atlantic.

This immense basin has been divided by geographers into three gradual terraces: the first and lowest is near the coast; the second, in the region of the Upper Congo; and the highest in the vicinity of the great lakes. According to the official Act the basin is bounded by the watersheds of the neighbouring basins of the Niari, the Ogowe, the Shari, and the Nile on the north; by the eastern watershed line of the affluents of Lake Tanganyika on the east; and by the watersheds of the basins of the Zambesi and the Loge on the south. Congoland is about 1,500,000 square miles in extent. From its western frontage of 400 miles it broadens eastward until at Lake Tanganyika it has a frontier of about 1500 miles.

The numerous ramifications of the Congo open rapid and economic channels of communication to the interior. To this magnificent system of waters the country also owes its unequalled fertility. Many of the rivers now practically useless can in time be rendered navigable by the skill of the engineer. Where blasting out channels is not feasible canals can be built to connect the navigable parts of the stream. It is obvious, too, that the effects on that torrid climate of these great rivers, from one to twenty miles in breadth, must be considerable. Without them the country would be an arid desert, another Sahara, deadly to life, both animal and vegetable.

We shall first follow the successive stages of the Congo, as the Chambesi, the Luapula, and the Lualaba, in the huge watershed on the eastern border between Lakes Nyassa and Tanganyika.

The source of the Congo is in the Chingampo Mountains, in British territory, and about 50 miles from the western confines of German East Africa, whence it issues as the Chambesi. It was Livingstone who, in 1867, discovered the Chambesi. Mistaking it for the undiscovered source of the Nile, he explored it towards the south-west—250 miles—as far as Lake Bangweolo. Thence he followed its gradual curve to the north, first as the Luapula, through Lake Moero, as far as Ankorro; and then as the Lualaba, in a north-westerly direction to Nyangwe, 1300 miles from its source. The river assumes the distinctive name of the Congo first at Nyangwe. It was from this place that Stanley, in 1876, made his famous descent of the river. The journey, which covered 1660 miles by water and 140 miles by land, was accomplished in 281 days.

From Nyangwe the river flows due north 400 miles as far as Stanley Falls. The country between these two places is peopled by the cannibal Bakumu. With “these insensate furies of savageland” Stanley had many bloody encounters. “At every curve of this fearful river,” he writes in his now famous book, “the yells of the savages broke loud on our ears, the snake-like canoes dashed forward impetuously to the attack, while the drums and horns and shouts raised fierce and deafening uproar.”

From Stanley Falls the river, flowing west and north-west, makes a huge curve, in the form of a horse-shoe, to Equateurville, where the junction of the Congo with the Ruki takes place. Throughout this immense curve, called the Middle Congo, and as far south as Leopoldville, a distance of 1068 miles, the river is navigable. In the contiguous territory live the Balolo, or “men of iron,” forgers of metal instruments. Famous as warriors, they are also noted as clever craftsmen, and are valuable allies of the State.

From the junction of Lake Matumba with the Congo, the river, flowing south-west about 450 miles to Manyanga, forms the boundary between the French and the Belgian possessions. Thence down to Matadi it pursues a southerly course of about 100 miles through the territory of the State. From Matadi, whence it flows westward to the sea, it forms for 30 miles the northern boundary of the Portuguese Congo.

At Stanley Pool the Congo is no longer navigable. Here, gathering the full force of its waters, the now immense river ploughs its passage for over 200 miles through the Crystal Mountains, whence by a succession of plunges it bounds down to Matadi, 1800 feet below.

From Matadi, unobstructed and triumphant, it hurls the overwhelming volume of its current far into the Atlantic. At its meeting with the sea, the Congo, now over 3000 miles in length, is fully twenty miles wide.

Until a few years ago there was considerable controversy as to the true upper course of the Congo. This has been at last established by the explorations of Delcommune, Bia, and Brasseur; and it is now agreed that the upper course is that continuation of the Chambesi called the Luapula, and not the Lualaba, as was formerly believed.

The Luapula, the boundary between the Congo State and North-Eastern Rhodesia, and navigable for 340 miles above Kassongo, is longer than the Lualaba. It is, however, inferior to the latter in size and in the number and importance of its affluents. The Lualaba rises in the southern part of the Congo territory, about fifty miles west of North-Western Rhodesia. The source of this river was discovered by Lieutenants Derscheid and Francqui.

Along the important tributaries of the Luapula is the Lufupa, which joins it not far below Nzilo. It is at the Nzilo gorge that the first cataracts on the Luapula are encountered. They continue almost uninterruptedly for forty-three miles. Another affluent of the Luapula is the Lubudi, a considerable river on the left, which, because of its breadth and volume, was at first mistaken for the main stream. The next important tributary—the Lufila—empties into the Luapula at Lake Kassali. It flows through the fertile country of the Katanga.

This region, noted for its mineral resources, is described by travellers as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” It was first explored by that indefatigable pioneer, Delcommune. Until a few years ago the Katanga was ruled by the truculent tyrant, Msiri. Now that this despot is dead, the country is developing rapidly. The climate is far more healthful than in the regions around the Lower or Middle Congo. The fertility of the soil and the advantageous climate augur a brilliant future for this section of the State. The conditions are, in fact, well adapted to the needs of the white race, and here, no doubt, eventually will be established cities no less important and flourishing than those of Java. Already a railway to the Katanga is being constructed. Great deposits of copper are known to exist here, and it is expected that the development of these resources will begin a new era in the history of Central Africa. By the railway, Katanga will be brought within six weeks of the European centres.

In this vicinity also are the Kibala Mountains, which will, no doubt, soon attract tourists from all parts of the world. The beauties of this section are thus described by their discoverer, Delcommune:

We shall now briefly refer to the more important tributaries of the Congo proper, first taking up those that join the river from the south.

Of these the Lomami is navigable for nearly 650 miles. Rising in the Usamba Plateau, 600 miles east of Lake Moero, it runs almost parallel to the Congo till it joins that stream 150 miles west of Stanley Falls. The Lomami varies in breadth from 60 to 400 yards. In places it has a depth of twenty feet, and it is destined to play an important part in the development of this part of the continent. It was on the Lomami that one of those entrenched camps was established which proved so effective in the expulsion of the Arabs and suppression of the slave trade. The many tributaries of the Lomami, some of which are navigable, make that river the natural base also of commercial operations.

The next southern affluent of the Congo is the Lulongo. Rising not far from the valley of the Lomami it flows for several hundred miles in a south-westerly direction and empties into the Congo at Uranga. A northern tributary of the Lulongo is the Lopori. Both of these streams are rendered more important by the fact that, being free from obstruction, they are navigable. They water a beautiful and exceedingly fertile country, some of which is yet unexplored.

South of the Lulongo and almost parallel to it is the Ruki. It has two upper courses and rises near the great valley of the Lomami. The Ruki is a wide, open river, nearly six hundred miles in length. It empties into the Congo at Equateurville, and because of its several tributaries it renders a large territory easily accessible.

But the largest of all the southern affluents is the Kassai, which ranks in importance next to the Congo itself. The exact course of the Kassai was until recently a matter of considerable speculation. This has now been definitely determined, and the Sankuru, formerly thought by some geographers to be the main course of that river, is now known to be its largest affluent. The Kassai rises nearly one thousand miles south of where it joins the Congo, near the Portuguese possessions in the south-western corner of the Congo State. Its course is north, north-east, and north-west. Navigable from Wissmann Falls, which is situated about midway its length, it forms its junction with the Congo not far above Stanley Pool. Joining the Kassai, near Bokala, is the river Kwango, which, rising in the Portuguese possessions, flows directly northward for several hundred miles. The Sankuru, like so many other of the Congo rivers, rises in the Sambas Plateau. Its course is first due north, then west, and, at its junction with the Kassai, is an imposing stream, almost as deep and broad as the Kassai itself. The Lubefu, a northern tributary of the Sankuru, reaches almost to the valley of the Lomami.

It is intended soon to build a railroad connecting these rivers, and when this is accomplished a large area not now accessible will be open to commerce. Necessarily such trading stations will, for a while at least, need governmental protection. Hence each station will be in the nature of a military establishment, and will form also the nucleus for a future city. The Caucasian, observing, of course, certain necessary precautions, will find the climate of a large part of this section quite congenial. It is not unlike that of the tablelands of Java or of the highlands of Ceylon. Moreover, the soil no less than the forests and the mineral resources of this vicinity will offer splendid opportunities to the investor.

Necessarily the future of this part of the Congo, as well as that of all regions distant from the navigable rivers, is dependent upon the construction of a railway system which will bring them into touch with the rest of the world. That such railways cannot be built without a great expenditure of money is obvious, but the success of the lines already established and the enormous profits sure in the end to repay the investors are calculated to attract sooner or later the necessary capital. All who have visited this part of the Congo country are agreed that its natural resources are incomparably greater than those of any part of Europe. When developed they will excite the wonder of the world. But this result, so devoutly to be wished, involving as it does the betterment of millions of lives lately enveloped in densest ignorance, is not to be attained without some sacrifices. Capital, time, and labour must co-operate to bring about this result.

On the right or northern bank of the Congo are to be found several large affluents. Of these, one of the most important is the Aruwimi, which joins the Congo just below Nyangwe. The Aruwimi rises in the Blue Mountains, not far from Lake Albert Nyanza. Thence flowing westward about seven hundred miles, and gathering on its way the waters of its numerous tributaries, it is, when it reaches the Congo, a copious stream over a mile wide. Above Yambuya the navigation of the Aruwimi is rendered impossible by a succession of cataracts, that bane of the African navigator. However, the beauty and the resources of the surrounding country somewhat compensate for these hindering conditions. Here is the famous forest of Ituri, the home of a vast population and the haunt of many species of game. In and around the Ituri occurred some noted skirmishes with the mutinous Batetelas.

About 150 miles west of the Aruwimi the Rubi reaches the Congo at Itembo. Rising in the Mabode about 500 miles north of Stanley Falls, it flows west and south-west for a distance of 600 miles.

Three hundred miles west of the Rubi is the Mongalla. It rises at the northern boundary of the State and, flowing south-south-west, reaches the Congo at Molieka. The Mongalla is a fine, open stream, and on its banks the Government has established a line of important stations. By these the State maintains control of the surrounding territory and renders possible commerce with a large population. Similar stations have been and are being erected along the smaller navigable streams, and these, when connected with the centres by railroad and by telegraph, as eventually they will be, will make the whole interior equally accessible.

Probably no tributary of the Congo is of more importance than the Ubanghi. It was Van Gele who, in 1886, first explored the Ubanghi country and demonstrated the strategic value and commercial possibilities of this mighty river. The Uelle, which flows in a north-westerly direction, rises in the Blue Mountains. It was discovered by Dr. Junker, the German explorer, and may be considered the upper course of the Ubanghi. Above the Panga Falls, the Uelle is navigable for large vessels as far as Niangara.

After receiving the waters of the Uelle the Ubanghi forms for a long distance the boundary between the Free State and the French territory. Beyond Banzyville the river makes a wide curve towards the north to Waddas, whence it flows almost directly south, joining the Congo a little above Lake Matumba. The rich valley through which this splendid stream, over a thousand miles in length, takes its winding course, comprises an area of 160,000 square miles. Emin Pasha described it as possessing wonderful productivity—“The Granary of Equatoria” he called it. Here the natives, who are instinctively agricultural, raise tobacco, coffee, and sugar-cane in large quantities. The highways now being constructed will give to the industry of this region an immediate impetus, and the natives, who are skilful in the making of brick, will greatly contribute to the development. It is also proposed to continue the Uelle Railway to the left bank of the Nile. Such a continuous route, amply justified by the resources of this section and by commercial considerations, will be a most desirable consummation.

The Lua, an eastern branch of the Ubanghi, will prove of great commercial importance. Captain Heymans, who first navigated the Lua, explored it as far as Bowara. The Dekere, which also has been partly explored, is probably the upper course of the Lua, and this continuous stream will prove a convenient route to the Uelle.

In this way the great detour of the Ubanghi, in which are the impassable cataracts of Zongo and Mokoangi, can be successfully avoided.

The importance of the Mbomu, a northern ramification of the Ubanghi, is increased by the fact that it forms for a considerable distance a natural boundary between the Congo Free State and the French possessions. Its position, therefore, renders it of considerable political consequence. The Mbomu, although not yet entirely explored, is destined therefore to play, with its numerous branches, a large part in the history of the Congo. The country around is not only of great fertility, but also very beautiful. Here is to be found one of the finest forests in the territory.

By means of the Congo and its tributaries an admirable system of communication is being established, the ramifications of which, supplemented by the telegraph and the railway, will within a few years render every part of this vast territory accessible. In proportion thereto will increase the authority of the State and its civilising influence. The growth of commerce, and the security and advancement of the native population, are, in fact, coexpansive with the extension of the facilities of intercommunication. The larger rivers—the Kassai, the Kwango, the Lualaba and the Ubanghi—are all patrolled by government steamers.

Of hardly less importance than the rivers of the Congo are the lakes. Besides the larger and navigable lakes are hundreds of smaller ones. There are thousands of shallow pools along the courses of the rivers, as those along the upper Luapula. It was that keen observer, M. Delcommune, who foretold that many of these lakes will eventually disappear. He contended that a combination of causes, chief among which being the dryness of the equatorial climate and the consequent evaporation of the water, will gradually bring about this result. By a succession of experiments, covering a period of more than two years, he discovered a diminution of the water of the Lualaba. This process of evaporation, incessantly continued for centuries, will completely absorb the water in the marshes and pools, and decrease the volume of the great rivers themselves. However, this need occasion no alarm. On the contrary, it is believed that it will aid materially the development of the country. Not only will it dry the pestiferous marshes, but it will also define the beds of the rivers, whose courses, because of the contraction of their channels, will thus be rendered simpler and more definite.

By the disappearance of the pools and lagoons, now to be found in the vicinity of the rivers, hundreds of thousands of acres of valuable arable lands will be reclaimed. And as this soil, formed of alluvial deposits, is exceedingly fertile, the benefits that will accrue therefrom are incalculable. The famous polders of Holland, and the lowlands of Egypt near the mouth of the Nile, demonstrate the possibilities of such a soil.

But it will not be necessary to wait for the slow processes of nature. Vast areas can be drained by artificial means, and this, since the sun is for ever assisting, can be done without great cost. The lands so drained will possess, besides their extraordinary fertility, other advantages, not the least of which is their accessibility.

The most important lake in the western part of the State is Lake Leopold II., discovered by Stanley in 1882. It is broad but shallow, and is joined to the Congo by the Mfini and the Kassai. On its banks are several flourishing stations. North-west of Lake Leopold is Lake Matumba, from which the navigable river, Irebu, flows upwards into the Congo.

On the north-eastern boundary is Lake Albert Edward, the western part of which belongs to the State. This lake, the haunt of numerous hippopotami, is joined to Lake Albert Nyanza, which is about 150 miles north, by the Semlika, the boundary between the Belgian and British possessions.

Directly south of Lake Albert Edward is Lake Kivu. From this lake, part of which is yet unexplored, flows the river Rusisi. This torrential stream dashes through a rocky country, descending 2380 feet in 68 miles. It empties into Lake Tanganyika. On the eastern shore of the lake are Lubuga and Luahilimta, trading stations, established by the State. Lake Kivu is dotted with hundreds of islets, and is situated in the centre of a lofty plateau. Towering from this plateau rises a range of enormous snow-clad volcanic cones, from eight to over fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. Of these the highest is Kirunga-cha-gongo, which is said to be the largest inland volcano in the world. It was first ascended by its discoverer, Count von Gotzen, and later by the English naturalist, Moore. All around Kivu are inaccessible crags, calcined gorges, and arid deserts, showing that the whole region is of volcanic origin. Such is the wonderful clarity of the atmosphere that the outline of every crag and spur of the mountains is visible sixty miles away. The forests of Kivu abound in elephants. Travellers report seeing here as many as a thousand in one day.

Of Lake Kivu Count von Gotzen, its discoverer, has given an excellent account. I quote the following from his work, Durf Afrika von Ost nach West:

Directly south of Kivu, and connected with it by the river Rusisi, is Lake Tanganyika, partitioned equally between the Congo Free State and German East Africa. It is about four hundred miles in length and nearly fifty in breadth. It was Stanley who first circumnavigated Lake Tanganyika, though it had been discovered in 1858, about twenty years before, by Burton and Speke. It was, in fact, the latter who first called the attention of the world to the Congo Region. On the shores of this lake Lieutenant Cambier, in 1879, established, at Karema, the first station of the International Association of the Congo. Cambier was so impressed with the possibilities of this region that, by purchase and treaty, he obtained from its native ruler about five thousand acres of land, and this tract may be regarded as the nucleus of King Leopold’s colony. It was this station on Tanganyika also that afterwards became the basis of operations against the Arab slave-trade.

From Albertville, Baudouinville, and other stations on its western shore a flotilla of small vessels and several steam-yachts now navigate this lake, and to these other and larger craft will soon be added. A telegraph and telephone line, connecting Kassongo on the Lualaba with Baraka on Lake Tanganyika, was opened in the latter part of 1903. This line will soon be extended to Lake Kivu.

The region around Tanganyika is noted for its beautiful scenery, and a large part of it is said to be unusually healthful. Like Kivu, this lake is situated in an immense plateau, six thousand feet above the sea. The angular inclination and general configuration of all these lakes in the eastern part of the Congo is, in fact, very similar; each lake, however, has its individual scenery, climate, and peculiar flora. Moore found Tanganyika floored with the shells of millions of molluscs, the zoölogical remains of a dead sea. He discovered here also three kinds of sponges. On the eastern shores abound huge swamps and immense tracts of mimosa. The dark red cliffs on the West Coast form a brilliant contrast to the blue African sky and the white clouds. Between Tanganyika and Nyangwe, the old slave-capital of Tippo Tip, the country is tenanted by the Manyema, famous as collectors of ivory. Surveys are now being made for a railway from Beni to Tanganyika. This it is proposed to continue to Stanleyville on the Middle Congo.

Lake Moero, one hundred miles south-west of Tanganyika and the south-eastern boundary between British territory and the State, was discovered by Livingstone. It was first explored, however, by the Belgian officers, Bia and Francqui. This lake, which is one hundred miles long and about half as broad, is now patrolled by a steam-yacht.

Only a few years ago the immense basin of the Congo was an untamed wilderness, “a slave-park” Stanley called it, bare to raids of murderous marauders. Bands of predatory Arabs swooping down upon the defenceless natives decimated whole tribes, and carried away men, women, and children by the thousand. The slave-trader stalked like a pestilence through the land, leaving in his wake the smoking ruins of a hundred villages and the charred skeletons of his black victims.

It was not only the natives who suffered from the raids of merciless ravagers; but the Europeans, explorer, merchant, and missionary, were also subject to their tyrannical impositions. And when, as in the case of Emin Pasha, they opposed the designs of these despoilers, they were ruthlessly murdered. Flame and sword, robbery and massacre,—such, until ten years ago, were the chief episodes in the epic of the Congo.

To-day this vast region is not only geographically determined, occupied, and effectually protected, but the power of the Arab raider has been for ever annihilated. Regions which for ages were the scene of carnage and holocaust have now been pacified. Where all was insecurity and turbulence a reign of law and order has been substituted.

Nature has here been so prodigal of her gifts that her very extravagance renders in some respects the task of colonisation less easy. Before roads could be built it was necessary to hew down huge forests; before stations could be established it was needful to explore and to conquer the wilderness. The paths that plunged into the jungle ended in trackless solitudes. The vastnesses bristled with unknown terrors. There was call for the explorer and the pioneer, but it seemed as if ages must elapse before there was need of the carriers of commerce.

To conduct broad highways from the coast to the centre, through a territory so vast in extent, so dangerous, and so impenetrable, would seem indeed a task for centuries. Such, too, it is safe to assume, would still be the situation had it not been for the magnificent water-system of the region and the great colonising genius who turned its natural destiny to the civilising course of an onward industry. Without these splendid flowing highways of commerce, pulsing from the heart of the continent to the sea, the wonderful progress of the last quarter of a century would not have been possible. Following the lead of the Congo and its tributaries, Belgian pioneers have moved through the great wilderness, planting the plough and the cross, until to-day Central Africa, so long curtained from the eyes of civilised man, lies bare to the world.

It was by this instrument that the siege of the great unknown was prosecuted. It was thus that that citadel of despair, the stronghold of Darkest Africa, was subjugated. And as we look at the magnificent results, and at the still more magnificent future which those results foreshadow, we cannot but conclude that this natural aid to the efforts of a heroic band of explorers was more than the mere manifestation of blind chance.

The campaign of exploration planned by King Leopold, and executed by his courageous subjects and his able ally, Stanley, was the first of those remarkable achievements of practical utility that have no parallel in the history of modern colonisation. In the Congo and its affluents these State-builders found a providential and generous auxiliary. These wide rivers, the veins of the civilisation of the Congo, are the key to a situation of which triumphant Belgian sacrifice and valour in Central Africa will yet perfect the sequel.

To the existence of these natural allies, then, is largely due the speedy extirpation of the slave trade, the suppression of cannibalism, the control of the country, the gradual conversion of its populations to the saving influences of civilisation, the effective system of communication between port and port, and the beginnings of the development of those vast resources which already excite the cupidity of nations less successful. Indeed, without such advantage it is doubtful whether the King of the Belgians would have been equal to the onerous responsibilities he so cheerfully assumed.

But now with more than nine thousand miles of waterways open to navigation, few sections of this immense domain are to-day inaccessible. Great areas which but a few years ago were virgin forests are now under successful cultivation. The jungle, once the lair of the cannibal, is safe and peaceful. Where the raider ravished his shrieking victims, the State and the Mission instruct in the attributes of a useful life. Chaos has at last yielded to order, and another triumph has been added to civilisation in the short term of twenty years. It is a great story, and the Prince who wrote it on the face of Africa need not deign to hear the hiss of envy straining at the gorge. Let Leopold II. find consolation in that rugged philosophy of Carlyle which mocked at the timid temper of his own time: “To subdue mutiny, discord, widespread despair by manfulness, justice, mercy and wisdom, to let light on chaos and make it instead a green flowery world, is great beyond all other greatness, work for a God.”