from the Cape, along the East side of Africa to the Red Sea, are Cafraria, and the coasts of Natal, Sofala, Mozambique, Zanguebar, and Ajan. The entrance into the Red Sea is called the Straights of Babelmandel; to the West is the Kingdom of Abyssinia, above it is Nubia, comprising Sennaar and Dongola, above which is Egypt. To the West of Abyssinia is Darfur. West of Nubia is Bornou. The remainder of Africa is almost wholly unexplored and unknown.

Among the memorable places and cities in Africa, we may reckon

The principal Rivers of Africa are the Nile, the sources of which were for so many ages unknown. Mr. Bruce, however, in his Travels to Abyssinia for this express purpose, visited what the Abyssinians termed the Source of the Nile, rising from three fountains at a village called Geesh, in the territory of the Agows,

November 5th, 1770. But geographers still maintain that Mr. Bruce mistook the course of the ancient Astapus, now called Bahr el Azreek, or Blue River, for that of the Nile, or Bahr el Abiad, whose sources are yet undiscovered, and are probably to be searched for in those lofty Alps called the Mountains of the Moon, in Lat. 8° N. 600 miles beyond the sources of the Nile of Abyssinia. The great Cataracts of the Nile are in Nubia, about 40 feet high; those of Syene are now only rapids. On the Western side of Africa is the great river Niger, whose sources are also unknown, which was formerly thought to communicate with the Nile. It is singular, that this river, tho' on the Western side of Africa, runs towards the East, and most probably discharges itself into some immense lake in the central and unexplored parts of Africa*. Above the Niger is the river Senegal, and below it the Gambia, both flowing into the Atlantic.

Of the Mountains, the most memorable is Mount Atlas. The central parts of Africa may possibly contain immense mountains, as the mountains of Abyssinia are of prodigious height, and yet seem but parts of some great central chain, There is also some high land about the Cape.

The most remarkable features of Africa are the immense Deserts of Sand, the chief of which, called Sahara, or the Great Desert, is about 3000 miles in length, and almost 1000 in breadth. The sand is here carried by the wind like waves in the sea, or rather like immense mov

* There seems some foundation for this. See the note on p. 245,

ing columns, which not unfrequently overwhelm whole caravans of the unhappy travellers who attempt to cross these perilous deserts. Frequently also both themselves and their camels perish for want of water.

Below the Straights of Gibraltar, are the Madeira Islands, two in number, belonging to Portugal, and below them the Canary Islands, or Fortunatæ Insulæ of the antients, belonging to Spain, seven of which are inhabited. The chief of the Canary Islands is Teneriffe, where is the celebrated mountain called the Pike of Teneriffe, which is an almost extinct volcano, about 12,138 feet above the level of the sea. Below the Canaries are the Cape Verd Islands, ten in number, lying off Cape Verd, and belonging to the Portuguese, the chief of which is St. Jago. North of Congo is the Island of St. Thomas, belonging to the Portuguese, and very considerably to the West of it the Island of Ascension, below which, to the South East, is the small Island of St. Helena, belonging to the English, where the homeward bound East Indiamen touch for refreshments. Off the coast of Mozambique is the Island of Madagascar, which is one of the largest in the world, being 840 miles long, and 240 broad; it has been very little explored, and presents a rich prospect to

2

the industry of future speculators. East of Madagascar are the Islands of Mauritius and Bourbon, lately called the Isles of France and ReUnion. The smaller African islands on the coast of the Red Sea are not worth particular notice.

The religion of Morocco, the Barbary States, and Egypt, and many of the Northern tribes of Africa, is Mahometan. The Abyssinians are nominally Christians, but their doctrines have been grossly corrupted. The Central and Southern tribes of Africa are generally Pagans.

CHAPTER VI,

AMERICA.

THE immense Continent of America, forming rather another hemisphere than a quarter of the globe, was discovered by Columbus. In his first voyage he discovered the Bahama Islands, October 12, 1492, and soon after Cuba and St. Domingo. It was not till his fourth voyage that he discovered the main land of South America, in the year 1502; previously to which time Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine, had published an account of the islands discovered by Columbus, and from this circumstance, has given his name to the New World. The first discovery of North America was made by Giovanni Cabot, a Venetian in the service of our Henry VII. A. D. 1497,