Wonders of the tropics; or, Explorations and adventures of Henry M Stanley and other world-renowned travelers, including Livingstone, Baker, Cameron, Speke, Emin Pasha, Du Chaillu, Andersson, etc., etc .. . il of death from thirst or starvation; for the countryabounds in game, and the course does not throughout lie through inter-minable swamp, as in the river navigation. But from the very beginningthe explorer is beset with hindrances and annoyances small and army of porters must be got together, drilled and fed. Like otherAfricans, they are children of impulse, credulous, suspicious,
Wonders of the tropics; or, Explorations and adventures of Henry M Stanley and other world-renowned travelers, including Livingstone, Baker, Cameron, Speke, Emin Pasha, Du Chaillu, Andersson, etc., etc .. . il of death from thirst or starvation; for the countryabounds in game, and the course does not throughout lie through inter-minable swamp, as in the river navigation. But from the very beginningthe explorer is beset with hindrances and annoyances small and army of porters must be got together, drilled and fed. Like otherAfricans, they are children of impulse, credulous, suspicious, often lying,,cowardly and treacherous. On the slightest provocation they are seizedwith panic, and desert; or they take advantage of relaxed discipline. The leader must be possessed of inexhaustible good-humor, and at thesame time be able to prove, when occasion requires, that he is a sternmaster, A dove-like demeanor will hardly suit the African explorer; hemust be wise as a serpent and watchful as a hawk. When at length astart is made, difficulties accumulate at every step. In a country whererain falls for ten or eleven months in the year, under a vertical sun, thegrowth of vegetation is (285) 286 WONDERS OF THE TROPICS. In the dry season the grass and shrubs are burned far and wide; butafter a few weeks rain the new plant-life starts up with incredible quick-ness. The country is covered with an impenetrable jungle of grass,reeds, and bamboos. A thick undergrowth starts up below the shade ofthe forest trees; the great stems of the pandanus, the banana, and thebaobab are covered to their tops with a feathery growth of parasitic fernsand orchids, and festooned with the tough branches of the wild vine andthe liana, and other twining and creeping plants. The rivers are at their highest mark, and the marshes are profoundand impassable. The native villages are almost smothered under thedark luxuriance of plant-life, and lions and other beasts of prey can creepup unseen t
Size: 1257px × 1988px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherphiladelphiapa
