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* CONGEB. 276 CONGO. ent genua, Leptocephalus. This name, being the ■older, has displaced the long-used generic term, Conger. See Eel; and Plate of Eels, Congers, and MoRAYS. CONGER, Edwin Hurd (1343 — ). An Ameri- can pulitieian and diplomat, bom in Knox County, III. He graduated in 18(32 at Lombard University (Oalesburg, 111.), and at the Albany Law School in ISlili, and in the latter year was admitted to the bar of Illinois. He served in the Federal Army during the Civil War, was brevet- ted major, and in 18G8 set up a.s a stockman and IjanUcr in Iowa. From 1885 to 1891 he was a member of Congress, and at the close of the latter year was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and JNIinister Plenipotentiary to Brazil. In 1898 he was transferred to the embassy in China, a post of obviously greater importance. He was the only representative of a foreign power who, during the siege of Peking from June 28 to Augu.st 14, 1900, was able to send a communica- tion to his Government. Subsequent to the siege, he was prominent in the peace, negotiations be- tween the Chinese commissioners and the foreign envoys. CONGESTION (Lat. congestio, accumula- tion, from congercre, to carry together, from com-, together + gerere, to carry). An abnormal increiise of blood in the vessels, due to increased pressure in the arteries or obstruction to the emptying of the veins. Emotion or exercise, by causing the heart to beat more rapidly; alcohol, or other drugs, by expanding the ai-teries as well as stimulating the heart; local irritation by cold, a blow, or a burn, may cause congestion of the active variety, with the production of a rosy color. A tight garter, a stooping posture, or the swelling of a finger from injury may cause passive congestion by obstructing the veins, in which ease the color of the congested part is liluish or purple. In certain diseases in which the blood deteriorates, such as smallpox, typhoid fever, and septic conditions, the blood gravitates to the most dependent parts of the body, and 'hyposta.tic congestion' of the lungs, liver, and skin result* mechanically. Congestion occurs during many diseases. CONGLETON, kon'g'1-ton. A market-town of Cheshire. England, on the Dane, about 26 miles south of Manchester (Map: England, D 3). Its chief industries consist of manufactures of silks and towels. Population, in 1891, 10,744; in 1901, 10,706. Congleton appears in Domesday, and received a charter from Henry de La«ey in the thirteenth century. CONGLETON, Henry Brooke Paknell. See Parnell, Henry Brooke. CONGLOMEKATE (from Lat. conglomera- ius, p. p. of conglomerare, to roll together, from com-, together -j- glomerare, to roll into a ball, from glomus, ball). A sedimentary rock (com- monly called 'puddingstone') composed of peb- bles cemented together by finer grained rock material. Conglomerates form along shores, and the ]iebbly beaches which are now fonning will, when consolidated, produce conglomerates. Since conglomerates can form only in shallow water (where the force of the waves is sufficient to move pebbles), their occurrence within the strata of the earth's erust indicates an encroach- ment of the sea upon the land. Such an en- croachment occurs during and after a subsidence of the land beneath the sea, when deposits of sediment are laid down. Conglomerates, there- fore, generally lie at the base of geological for- mations and serve to separate these formations from one another. Their occurrence also indi- cates a lost page of the record which the sedi- mentary rocks have furnished of the earth's history. CONGO, kon'go, or KONGO (from the Afri- can triljc of Mosieongo). The largest, and, ex- cejjting tlie Nile, the longest river of Africa, and in length, volume, and drainage area, one of the great rivers of the earth. It drains most of Cen- tral Africa west of longitude 32° E., from latitude 8° N. to 12° S. It has its source in the moun- tain region in latitude 9° S. and longitude 32* E., at a point a little southeast of Lake Tan- ganyika (ilap: Africa, F 5). The headstream is the Zambezi River, which Hows southwest and enters Lake Bangweolo (altitude, about 3800 feet ). The outlet of this lake, Icnown as the Lua])ula River, flows south westward, then north- ward, and enters Lake Moero (altitude 2900 feet). The outlet of this latter lake, still called the Luajiula, flows northwestward and, in lati- tude 7° S., longitude 27° E., joins the Lualaba River, which Hows north from its source in Katanga, in latitude 12° S., longitude 26° E., to form the Congo by its junction with the Lua- pula. About 60 miles north of the confluence of tne Luapula and the Lualaba the Congo is joined by the Lukuga, the outlet of Lake Tanganyika (altitude, 2700 feet). Below this point several minor tributary streams are received by the Congo, mainly from the eastern side, until, at the equator, in longitude 24° 30' E., at a point about 80 miles below Stanley Falls, the Congo is joined by the Lomami, which has a parallel course on the west. Eastward of this point the Congo begins its great bend toward the west. About 60 miles below the entrance of the Lo- mami, the Aruwimi enters the Congo from the east, and still farther down-stream there join at inteiwals from the north the rivers Itimbiri, Mongala, Ubangi (which drains the borders of Sudan, and is a very powerful stream), Sanga, Likuala, and jMossaka, besides smaller streams; and from the south the Lulongo, Ruki, and Kas- sai. Below these, throughout the lower 500 miles of the river's course, only small tributaries are received. About 300 miles from the mouth of the Congo is Stanley Pool, an enlargement of the river. 'The mouth is in latitude 6° S., longitude 12° E. The basin of the Congo consists of pla- teaus ranging in altitude from 1000 to 3000 feet. It is in tlie descent from the plateau near the west coast that the impediments to navigation occur. The basin is densely forested with a great variety of broad-leaved trees, and an al- most impenetrable undergrowth. The river is navigable for ocean steamers from its mouth to a point about 110 miles up-stream, where navi- gation is internipted by falls and rapids; and also by stenmbnats from Stanley Pool to Stan- ley Falls, for a distance of nearly 1000 miles farther. The length of the navigable waters of the Congo system is estimated at about 9000 miles. Over 100 steamers were engaged in traflic on the upper Congo waters at the end of the nine- teenth century. The completion of the Matadi Railroad has placed the middle course of the river in communication with its estuary. The Congo has a length of about 2500 miles, and