DR. SCHWEINFURTH'S BOOK ON AFRICA.*

(FIRST NOTICE.)

A TRAVELLER who congratulates himself upon the fact that the numerous attacks of fever which he has already undergone have so extensively disorganised his spleen that it has ceased to be affected by any miasma, and " has perhaps assumed the office of a condensator," so that he may set about encountering unknown perils and incalculable fatigues, recommends himself at once to his readers by this odd simplicity. Dr. Schweinfiirth has the characteristic intensity and absorption of a botanist, the quaint- ness of that type which Lucien Biart illustrates with such perfect humour in his Dr. Bernagius, and we owe the most important work on Africa which has appeared for several years to what he calls " the blameless avarice of a plant-hunter." The booty he longed for lay in the equatorial districts which are traversed by the western affluents of the Upper Nile, and he meant to reach it in the train of the merchants of Khartoom, which distant place was hardly to be deemed the beginning of his journey to the land of the pigmy and the cannibal, those accessories and accidents to the mysterious flora, his visions of which, to use his own words, " rendered Europe insupportable to dwell in, without seeing his cherished designs accomplished."

The literary attraction of this work is as strong as it is rare. The very qualities which render African explorers in general efficient in their vocation, make them clumsy, almost inarticulate in description, and for the most part, only the unwearying interest of their subjects pulls one through the reading of their books. But Dr. Schweinfiirth adds to the accuracy and perspicacity of the trained scientific mind a charming style, admirably rendered by the translator, which carries one along through the record of his observations and of the main purpose of his expedition—animated by many-sided intelligence, and in- formation by whose extent he only is unimpressed, and guided by true German thoroughness. The man interests us as much as the facts, by his self-abnegation, his quiet taking for granted of ,feats upon which most travellers would have reasonably dilated, his deliberate manner of doing extraordinary things, his calmness in danger, his patience in suffering, and the stores of laboriously acquired information on all sorts of collateral subjects on which he draws when difficulties arise and opinions differ. No impatience, no anxiety to push on and get over intervening space disturbs this equanimous traveller, who is perpetually observing

• The Heart of Africa: Three Years' Travels and Adventures in the Unexplored Regions of Central Africa. From 1868 to 1871. By Dr. Georg Sebweinfdrth. Translated by Ellen E. Frewer. London: Sampson Low, Marston, and Co. everything. Here is a characteristic passage, referring to a de- ten' ion of two days on board the steamer which had brought him to Djidda, from whence he was to pursue his voyage to Suakin, in an open Arab boat :-

" We did our utmost to enjoy the sea-water at all hours of the day. Had the heat and sun-glare been less overpowering, we might have truly enjoyed the splashing and sport in the bright green floods which spread over the shallows, where coral banks ranged themselves below, and %, here the eye could detect a thousand marvels. Like terraces filled with the choicest plants, the sloping beds of coral descended with -variegated festoons into the purple shades of the deep ; strange forms ' were witnessed in these living groves, and conspicuous among others was the 'bride of the fish,' which is celebrated in the Arabian fishing- song, • 0 bride, lovely bride of the fish, come to me.' Ever and anon on my voyage, which was to me an Odyssey, did I delight to catch fragments of this song, as it was dreamily murmured by the man at the stern during the hot mid-day hour, when the crow had sunk into slumber, and while, noiselessly and spirit-like, our vessel glided through the emerald floods. The enchantment, as of a fairy-tale, of those waters, with their myriad living forms of every tint and shape, defies all power of description."

When the twelve-days' voyage ends, and the desert-journey begins, the cheerful, admiring spirit is the same. One speedily grows used to the motion of the camel, camping-out is delightful ; "comfortably stretched upon the clean, smooth stones of the valley," one finds repose, in the camphor, mint, and thyme-laden air, undisturbed by cry of mountain bird or howl of beast of prey, lulled into slumber by the song of the desert cricket. We linger over the Nile voyage, though it has nothing absolutely novel to offer, because it is so delightfully described, with its rich variety of animal and vegetable life, and the incidental details, briefly men- tioned, which prove how closely and exhaustively the traveller studied his route. Numerous discoveries in his favourite science rewarded the courage with which Dr. Schweinfurth investigated the shores of the Shillook Islands, coming in contact with many fierce beasts, and making acquaintance with the Baggara Arabs, the finest race of nomad people dwelling on the Nile, splendidly formed, and bolder robbers than any other Ethiopians. They bring down elephants with lance and sword, "a feat scarcely less free from risk than playing with lions and leopards as though they were kittens." When he pushed through a wilderness on the right bank, trodden only by buffalo, he made discoveries which convinced him that in past ages the entire Nile Valley exhibited a vegetation harmonious throughout ; and the traditions of animal life lead him to believe that the ibis, the hippopotamus, and the crocodile also once dwelt in far more northerly latitudes than now. At Fasboda, in one of his excursions, he killed, with a heavy charge of shot, of which, however, only four grains hit the creature, an African boa fifteen feet long. The skin was beautifully spotted, and made a capital waterproof gun-case. He inspected many of the villages of the Shillook tribe, who inhabit the entire left bank of the White Nile, and who number 1,200,000. They used to be an independent and interesting people, but they are dwindling and losing all their ancient characteristics under Egyptian rule. The villages are sur- rounded with forests of green acacia, concerning which the author has much to say in the interests of commerce. The groves extend over an area of 100 square miles, and their rich produce, of which a hundredweight might, with ease, be collected in a day by one man, is entirely neglected. Here is a curious account of the " soffar," or flute variety of the gum acacia :— " From the larvae of insects which have worked a way to the inside, their ivory-white shoots are often distorted in form and swollen out at their base with globular bladders, measuring about an inch in diameter. After the mysterious insect has unaccountably contrived to glide out of its circular hole, this thorn-like shoot becomes a sort of musical instru- ment, upon which the wind produces the regular sound of a flute ; the natives of the Soudan have named it the Whistling Tree. In winter, the acacia forests offer a strange spectacle ; the boughs, bare of leaves, and white as chalk, stretch out like ghosts; they are covered with the empty pods, which cluster everywhere like flakes of snow, whilst the voices of a thousand flutes give out their hollow dirge. Such is the forest of the Soifer."

The day on which the traveller first saw the papyrus, once plenti- ful in Egypt, but which must now be sought upon the threshold of the central deserts of Africa, was elevated by the botanist to a festival. Thenceforth the navigation was extremely difficult, and Dr. Schweinfiirth soon came in contact with the extraordinary grass barrier which beset Baker's expedition in 1870-1, but he made his way to the Gazelle nevertheless. It was one of the objects of his journey to show the importance of the Western affluents of the Nile which unite in the Gazelle ; and he botanised among the grass tangles, finding many curious and beautiful plants.

Interest attaches to each step of the way towards the scene of his actual exploration, in its strict sense of investigating the hitherto unknown, which embraced a wide tract of country extending southward from the Meshera, on the Bahr-el-Ghazal, and between the tenth and third degrees of north latitude ; and

at each we recognise the fullness, nicety, and impartiality of his observation. He differentiates the tribes and their customs, and marks off each by some distinct touch of precision ; as, for instance, the Nueir, concerning whom he quotes Hueglin's saying that " amongst men they hold very much the same place that flamingoes, as birds, hold with reference to the rest of the feathered race ;" and adds, "like the birds of the marshes, the Nueir are accustomed for an hour at a time to stand motionless on one leg, supporting the other above the knee. Their leisurely long stride over the rushes is only to be compared to that of a stork. Lean and lanky limbs, a long thin neck, on which rests a small and narrow head, complete the resemblance." With his arrival at the cut de sac, which the Nubian sailors call their Meshera, and his study of that curious island-world, we find Dr. Schweinfiirth distinguishing himself from many African travellers by frequent reference to his predecessors, careful record of their exploits, and impartial, temperate discussion of their points of difference from himself. He is engrossed with the subject, not with his own personality, and simply anxious that to the subject shall be done the amplest justice. His painstaking exactitude on this point is the more to be admired, as he might be naturally supposed to be chiefly concerned for his German readers, who might not care about English explorers. But he would not wrong his compatriots by supposing them to be ignorant of anything, and so he carefully traces the route of Consul Petherick, who, in 1860, was the first to open mercantile transactions with the tribes resident in the remote regions which are watered by the Gazelle. The Meshera, with its inhabitants, and old Shol, its female ruler (since dead), form an extraordinary picture. With the start from thence to " Ghattas's Seriba "—the caravan being little under five hundred —the true flavour of adventure and wildness comes into the narra-

tive. Ghattas was the merchant under whose protection and in whose boat the explorer travelled, and his Seriba was a depot, on

the route to the Niam-niam country, for ivory, ammunition, barter- goods, and means of subsistence,—in short, a village enclosed by palissades, which Dr. Schweinftirth might use as head-quarters.

The course of the caravan lay for some time through a notoriously hostile country, but they were strong in numbers, arms, and order.

Dr. Schweinfiirth's own escort consisted of six Nubians, who bad already travelled on the White Nile (among them was Biharn, Consul Petherick's former cook), and he is careful to record that they all served him faithfully. He was offered a saddle-ass by the Governor of Ghattas's Seriba, but he declined, and thus simply 'records an astonishing feat :—

" I had other objects in view than mere progress; I wished to observe and take notes of anything that came in my way, and to collect plants, and whatever else might be of interest. Thus, entirely on foot, I began the wanderings which for two years and three months I pursued over a distance of more than 2,000 miles. Neither camels nor asses, mules nor horses, teams of oxen nor palanquin-bearers, contributed their aid. The only animal available, by the help of which Central Africa could be opened to civilisation, is exterminated by fire and sword. The elephant is destroyed mainly for the purpose of procuring for civilised nations an article wherewith to manufacture toys and ornaments, and

Europeans set a pernicious example to savages in this respect. It would be well for Africa if some of the philanthropists would consider the pitiable lot of the elephants, to whose usefulness Burton bears testimony in his Nile Basin."

Dr. Schweinfiirth recurs frequently to this subject, and afterwards gives a horrible account of the extent and manner of the slaughter of these noble creatures. He also mentions an elephant "two hundred years old," if the " two hundred" be not an error on

the part of the translator. The journey across Dinka Land, with its immense cattle-farms, is extremely interesting, and on the

author's arrival at the first Seriba, he describes himself as pass- ing a few weeks "in a transport of joy, enraptured .by the un-

rivalled loveliness of nature," and gives a delightful sketch of the park-like scenery. Here the botanist lingered, though the explorer hankered after the " Niam-niam " country. Ghattas's Seriba became his head-quarters, from whence he made excursions, always on foot, to the surrounding territories, which, especially the district of the Dyoor, he investigated most thoroughly. Men, beasts, and natural productions are all reproduced for us with photographic accuracy, but without tedium, and it is quite surprising to observe the immense variety of customs and characteristics which he discerns among contiguous tribes. The Bongo, whom we already know very well from Petherick's Travels in Central Africa, form the subject of an important section of the first volume, but the elephant-hunting for which this hideous race used to be famous is among the things of the past. There are very few old men among the Bongo, and

only they remember it. The pictures of the Bongo are frightful and repulsive, chiefly owing to the horrid custom of extending the lower lip and inserting plugs of wood into the

-orifice. They also insert pieces of straw into the edges of the -nostrils, three on each side, and a favourite ornament for the nasal cartilage is a copper ring ; while several of the women wear, in addition, a clasp or cramp at the corner of the mouth. It would not be possible in the space at our disposal to do more than 'indicate the points of interest in this important book, and to direct attention to the completeness of its plan and execution. From his central position, first in a Seriba of Ghattas's, and afterwards in that of Aboo Sam:tat, anothe r merchant of Khartoum, at Sabby, Dr. Schweinftirth descended on all the regions round about, and literally swept them clean of facts, specimens, and suggestions. Though there is plenty of adventure and a fair allowance of danger, -enough to please the most adventurous explorer in these excur- sions, no prominence is given to those features,—they are taken completely as a matter of course, and the author evidently assigns importance only to the results. The treasure-trove of natural history • is extensive and delightful,—for instance, twelve varieties of ante- lope and a very curious rock rabbit, which, when it has been shot, sticks to the rock with its feet, in its death-struggles, as though it had grown there. The Mittoo tribes came under the author's in- vestigation at this period. Their collective country is situated between lat. 5° and 6° N.,- and they would seem to be the link between the more human Dinka, Dyoor, and Bongo peoples, and the terrible ultra-savage races which inhabit the core of Africa's heart,—the wretched tree tribes, and the subjects of King Munza, dwellers in the wonderland which is opened up in the conclusion of the first, and completely explored in the second volume. In the scale of humanity all the Mittoo tribes are inferior to the Bongo, from whom they are distinguished by a darker complexion and a frame less adapted to sustain exertion or fatigue. The Bongo are proud of their powers of endurance, and can subsist for a length of time upon mere roots without any perceptible -change in their appearance ; whilst the Mittoo, under the same ordeal, would waste almost to skeletons, and in a short time would abandon all attempt at work. Their portraits represent shocking -degradation, and some of their customs are horrible, yet, strange to say, music is held in high estimation among the tribes which compose this group, and they alone have a genuine appreciation of melody, negro music in general being mere recitative and alli- teration. Aboo Sammat decided upon making his first experiment with Mittoo bearers in the expedition to which Dr. Schweinfiirth attached himself, and it was with a reluctant escort of these poor -creatures—who had heard dismal tales of the nature of the country and the cannibal propensities of the people—that the caravan of 800 set out for the land of the Niam-niam.