Page:Travels in West Africa, Congo Français, Corisco and Cameroons (IA travelsinwestafr00kingrich).pdf/414

 at a place called Lestourville, close to Franceville, established in memory of a Governor who died, are now the outposts of Christianity in these West African regions. The main results of these travels on the Ogowé may be summarised as having shown that the Ogowé is one of the great rivers of Africa, the largest river between the Niger and the Congo, the largest strictly Equatorial river in the world, its course lying fairly neatly along the line for over 700 miles. It has a catchment basin roughly computed—for its basin is not yet thoroughly explored—of 130,000 square miles, and its discharge of water into the Atlantic is, according to the season, between 360,000 and 1,750,000 cubic feet per second.

Its main affluents are, in order of merit, the Ngunie entering on its south bank, and the Ivindo, and the Okanda, both of which enter on its north bank.

The Ogowé is, on the whole, more of the nature of the Congo than of the Niger, save that unlike the Congo, it has an immense delta. This delta commences at Lembarene, just below the point where it receives the waters of the Ngunie river. The delta region is tremendously interesting both in flora, fauna, and fetish; but it is tradeless, and its main population is made up of malaria microbes and mosquitoes, and it is supremely damp. Indeed the whole of it and the country from the Gaboon to Cette Kama, save the strange bubble-shaped mountains like Mount Sangato, Mount Mandji and Mount Okoneto, is under water when the Ogowé and its neighbouring rivers come down in the "long wet"; and the lakes in the Lembarene district, Elivã Ayzingo and the still larger Elivă z'onlange, and all the string of lakes along the O'Rembo, Ungo, and Vinue overflow into the forest. The Sierra del Cristal cuts the course of the Ogowé just above Njole, forming the region of the rapids. There are 500 miles of these rapids, rendering navigation impossible in any other craft