Advanced Geography . There are many large towns and villagesin the park-like district south of lake Tchad,and the region is thickly settled. Most of thepeople are Negroes. These people are well advanced in many respectsbeyond the savage state, for they carry on an extensivetrade and have some manufactures. The towns near lake Tchad are trade centerswhere caravans meet. The ivory tusks of ele-phants form a leading article of export. Camelsand horses in large numbers are reared for mar-ket. Grain and cotton are important products. The so-called Kong mountains are chiefly the southernborder of a
Advanced Geography . There are many large towns and villagesin the park-like district south of lake Tchad,and the region is thickly settled. Most of thepeople are Negroes. These people are well advanced in many respectsbeyond the savage state, for they carry on an extensivetrade and have some manufactures. The towns near lake Tchad are trade centerswhere caravans meet. The ivory tusks of ele-phants form a leading article of export. Camelsand horses in large numbers are reared for mar-ket. Grain and cotton are important products. The so-called Kong mountains are chiefly the southernborder of a much-worn plateau that rises in broad terracesfrom the coast of the gulf of Guinea and spreads farnorthward. The inland slope of this old plateau is inthe basin of the Niger river. The Niger basin is thought to be about three fourths aslarge as that of the Mississippi. The Niger river risesin the hilly district near the southwest end of the oldplateau region. After making a great bend northward, THE KONGO BASIN. 93. or several Ired miles in ;he Sahara desert, the river turns southward and enters the sea through the largest delta in Africa. The greater part of this deltais covered with forests andcoarse grass. Small steamersfrom the sea can go a fewhundred miles up the Niger,before their progress is stopped by rapids; but the steamers canascend the Binue branch to a point about 600 miles from theriver mouth. No other river in tropical Africa is navigable for sogreat a distance inland from the sea. Timbuktu, on the Niger, was once an important center of thecaravan trade, but it is now far surpassed by towns farther east,such as Kuka and Kano which together have a population of about100,000. See map of Africa on page 181. Each year many camelscross the desert, carrying ivory, ostrich feathers and gold dust fromthe basin of the Niger. The caravans return southward with cloth,trinkets and salt. The coastal regions south and southwest of the Nigerbasin are reached by the equatorial r
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