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The Continent of Africa: Zambesi

MINERALS. Precious metals do not appear to be very uniformly distributed throughout Africa. In Guinea the Kong mountains are noted for their gold fields, and these were the principal source of supply until the discoveries were made in California and Australia. Gold is also found in the Transvaal territory and thence to the Zambesi. Iron and copper are found in many portions of inter-tropical Africa, and seams of coal have been uncovered along the Zambesi river. Salt is plentiful everywhere. Diamond-fields of great extend abound in the S. portion of the continent. One stone found in the fields along the Orange river was sold in the rough state for £11,400, or over $57,000.

ANIMALS.-The quadrupeds found in this country cover a wide range of natural history. The chimpanzee and the gorilla exist; baboons and monkeys abound in great numbers. There are five species of African rhinocerous, all restricted to the region S. of the Great Desert. The elephant is similarly limited. This animal, unlike its Asiatic congener, has never been domesticated. Multitudes of hippopotami are met on the Nile, the Niger, the Senegal, and nearly all the equatorial lakes and rivers. The ox abounds, and is remarkable for its size. Buffaloes are numerous, while the giraffe, the camelopard, the zebra, the quagga, and antelope are everywhere encountered. The lion is still found in the Atlas mountains and throughout a great portion of the tableland. Leopards, panthers, tigers, cats, hyænas, jackals, and foxes are numerous. Camels, tame goats and coarse-wooled sheep are plentiful. The birds are almost identical with those of Europe. Additional to these are the ostrich, the guinea fowl, and the serpent-slaying secretary bird. In Egypt is found the sacred ibis of the ancients, and many other water birds frequent the streams and lake basins. Reptiles everywhere abound. The proportion of venomous serpents to those which are harmless is greater than elsewhere. Crocodiles are found in the Nile. Africa is richer in tortoises than all the other regions of the globe combined. In general terms it may be said that there are, according to Murray, 472 species of mammals peculiar to Africa, and among them are 94 species of quadrumana, 76 of carnivora, 74 of ungulata, and 121 of rodentia.