Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/118

 white or greyish rhinoceros still abounds. "West and north of Karagwe the large mammals have not yet been disturbed either by Europeans or Arabs, these somewhat inaccessible regions having hitherto remained unvisited by explorers.

Ruanda, lying directly west of the Tangure river, and stretching away as far as the northern slope of Lake Tanganyka, is probably the most powerful state in this still unexplored region. According to the statements of the Arabs, who have vainly endeavoured to penetrate into the country, whence they would be promptly expelled, because "famine and drought follow in their train," here are some very large villages, and the land is said to abound in minerals and hot springs. South of Mount Mfumbiro all the slopes seem to be covered by an immense forest of useful timbers. Northwards M'poro and U-Sagara, also called Ankori or Mkole, are also said to be rich in valuable products. Most extraordinary things are related of this mysterious country, wicked dwarfs, far more formidable than giants, taking a prominent part in all these reports. It is probable that a race of pigmies, like the Akka of the forests of the river Welle, and the Obongo of the Ogoway basin, occupy the upland valleys of Mount M'fumbiro and the ranges running northwards towards Mounts Kibanga and Gambaragara. Stanley states that the king of U-Ganda sent an expedition against these dwarfs, but the cold seems to have prevented his soldiers from penetrating into the upland valleys. Here also the chief power appears to be in the hands of the Wa-Huraa, these conquerors from the east having thus apparently reached the water-parting between the Nile and Congo basins. This still unexplored country will doubtless sooner or later occupy a position in the history of the continent analogous to that which it already holds in its geographical aspect. Thanks to its climate and productions, it may become a new Europe in the very heart of Africa, and here will be the principal health-resort of the Nile and Congo lowland regions. The kingdom of U-Ganda, the best known of all the states on the plateau of the Nile basin, seems to be also the most populous, as it certainly is the most powerful. Its form is that of a crescent, stretching west and north of the Nyanza, and comprising Koki, U-Du (Uddu), and other states, as far as the mouth of the Alexandra Nile. Eastwards it extends even beyond the Somerset Nile, having gradually absorbed the U-Soga country. It also possesses the large Sesse Archipelago, besides several other islands. In the interior its still undefined limits are lost in dense uninhabited jungles, and quite recently it has claimed sovereignty over Karagwe and U-Sui. Its total area may be estimated at 20,000 square miles, and, including the dependencies, at about 70,000 square miles. Stanley's calculations, based on the number of armed men, make the population about 2,775,000.