"
I was disappointed after the Gambia and Gaboon rivers in the
approach to the Congo. About eight miles south of the mouth the
green sea changed to a clear brown which will be red during the
flood. Some three degrees (F. 79deg. to 82deg.) cooler than the salt
tide, the lighter water, which was fresh as rain, feathered out
like a fan; a rippling noise was faintly audible, and the clear
lines of white foam had not time to melt into the coloured
efflux. The flow was diverted into a regular curve northwards by
the South Atlantic current; voyagers from Ascension Island to the
north-west therefore feel the full throb of the great riverine
pulse, and it has been recognized, they say, at a distance of 300
miles. Lopez, Merolla, and Dapper[FN#7] agree that the Congo
freshens the water at thirty miles from the mouth, and that it
can be distinguished thirty leagues off. The Amazonas tinges the
sea along the Guiana coast 200 miles, and the effect of the
Ganges extends to about twenty leagues. At this season, of
course, we saw none of the floating islands which during the
rains sail out sixty to seventy leagues from land. "Tuckey's
Expedition" informs us, that the Hon.
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