Congo

(kong go.) a region of S.W. Africa, to the S. of the equator, bounded N. by the river Congo or Zaire, separating it from Loanda; S. by the Dando, dividing it from Angola; W. by the S. Atlantic; and E. by the comparatively unknown countries of S. Central Africa That division of C. nearest the ocean is flat, sandy, and malarious; the other, extending inland, ascends by terraces to a fine, fertile table-land, marked by the great cataracts of the Zaire. The natives are negroes of an inferior type: lazy, dirty, debauched, and idolatrous; but, on the other hand, hospitable and well-disposed. C. is subject to great heat, periodical heavy rains, and violent tornadoes and thunder-storms. The Portuguese po e some settlements within its limits.CONGO RIVER. See ZAIRE. [s. 217]