In the animal kingdom we find the lion, the leopard—often called the tiger, but the tiger is not yet known except as a native of Asia and the Asiatic isles—hyenas, jackals, and others of the canine family, a species of elephant, differing in some particulars from that of Asia, several species of rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, wart-bogs (phascocluerus), and many kinds of monkeys, particularly within the tropics. The giraffe, the zebra, and the quagga, are peculiar and characteristic, as are also numerous species of antelope. which occupy, in African zoology, the place of deer in other parts of the world. The gnu is one of the most remarkable of the antelope genus. Some of the smaller species occasionally appear in prodigious numbers, devastating the fields of the colonists. The ostrich is found in almost all parts of A. Parrots, flamingoes, and guinea-fowls may also be mentioned among the birds. Crocodiles are found in the rivers, and many kinds of lizards and serpents occur, not a few of the latter being poisonous. There are also tortoises and turtles of different species. The domestic animals succeed well. Camels are said to have been introduced by the Arabs. and are plentiful in the northern regions.
It would be hazardous to assert that A. is deficient in mineral wealth, though, judg ing from our present imperfect knowledge, it does not seem to be extremely rich. Gold is much more plentiful than silver, being found abundantly in the sands of the great rivers that flow out of the central region, on the coast of Guinea, and also in the s.e. of A. The Sierra Leone coast has valuable iron ore, which is also found in the upper Senegal, the region of Timbuetoo, the Congo chain of mountains, Egypt, and Darfur. Copper is plentiful at 3lajomba and in some other places; salt may be obtained from almost every district in A. except Sudan, and sal-ammoniac, saltpeter, sulphur, and emery in various portions of the continent.
Population.—The pop. is vaguely estimated at about 190,000,000. The native inhab itants belong to one of the three great divisions of the human family, called, by Dr. Latham, Atlautidte, the Ethiopic of other ethnologists. The subdivision into tribes is endless, but they may be all classed in six groups: 1. The Atlantidtv.—These have, in an exaggerated form, the black unctuous skin, woolly hair, projecting jaws, flat nose and thick lips characteristic of the whole variety. But it is important to observe the comparatively narrow area to which the negroes proper arc confined. They occupy w. A., from the Senegal to the Gaboon, Sudan in the centre, and the low parts of the upper Nile. The dusky or brown hue is more prevalent through A. as a whole than the jet black of the negro, which seems nearly coincident with river valleys and deltas lying within the tropics. 2. Kaffir Atlantalce.—In physical conformation, they are modified negro; the jaws are less projecting; their language has some singular peculiarities. They
occupy from n. of the equator to the s. of the Tropic of Capricorn. 3. llottentot Allan ticlte.—These, according to Dr. Latham, have a better claim to be considered a second species than any other section of mankind. Their color is brown rather than black; the hair grows in tufts. The stature is low, and the bones of the pelvis are peculiar. Their language has a characteristic click. They inhabit the s. of the continent, and are divided into Hottentots and Saabs, or Bushmen. 4. Nilotic Attantidte, occupying the water system of the upper and middle Nile. The leading tribes are the Gallas, Ago•s, Nubi ans, and Bishari, forming the population of Abyssinia, Adel, and Nubia. It connects by imperceptible gradations the Coptic and Semitic groups with the rest of the African.
5. Amaziglb Atlanhiltz, usually called Berbers. In conformation, they vary from the negro to the Arab type. The language is sub-Semitic. They inhabit the ranges of the Atlas, the Sahara, the Canary isles, and are found as far s. even as the center of Sudan.
6. Egyptian AtlantbIce, or old Egyptians, represented by the modern Copts. Both lan page and physical conformation connect them, on the one hand, with Berbers and Nubians, on the other hand, with the Assyrians, Jews, etc.
In religion the natives arc as various as in language; but it may be questioned whether some of the tribes, especially in s. A., can be fairly described as having any religion. In not a few of these, the religious consciousness seems wholly extinguished, and the very terms which express it, to have dropped out of their language. Such, at least, was the result of 3Ioffat's observations, though perhaps the degradation in which he found some tribes plunged was in itself a barrier to a just and adequate communication with them; for the lower that races or. individuals sink, the less easy is it to understand them. Throurrhout the n., and to a considerable extent in the interior, 'the creed of Mohammed is received, but held very loosely by many. The Mohammedan tribes on the w. coast divide themselves into two classes—the Marabouts and the Sonnachees; but it is not easy to understand the exact nature of this distinction, beyond the simple fact that the Mara bouts profess to adhere rather strictly to the laws of the prophet, while the Sonnachees are more secular, make little profession of sanctity, but eat pork and will drink spiritu ous liquors. The lowest form of superstition, styled fetichism, prevails among the uncul tured negro tribes, as well as among the Gallas, a nation widely spread s.e. of Abyssinia; and the practice of offering human sacrifices is found in many tribes. The Abyssinians bold by tradition a crude form of Christianity.