Presently we came to a remarkable feature of this coast, the
first specimen of which was seen at Point Ovindo in the Gaboon
River. The Iberian explorers called them "Sernas," fields or
downs, opposed to Coroas, sand-dunes or hills. They are clearings
in the jungle made by Nature's hand, fenced round everywhere,
save on the sea side, by tall walls of dark vegetation.;
averaging perhaps a mile long by 200 yards broad, and broken by
mounds and terraces regular as if worked by art. These prairies
bear a green sward, seldom taller than three feet, and now ready
for the fire,--here and there the verdure is dotted by a tree or
two. It is universally asserted that they cannot be cultivated;
and, if this be true, the cause would be worth investigating. In
some places they are perfectly level, and almost flush with the
sea; in others they swell gently to perhaps 100 feet; in other
parts, again, they look like scarps and earth-works, remarkably
resembling the lower parasitic craters of a huge volcano; and
here and there they are pitted with sinks like the sea-board of
Loango. These savannahs (savanas) add an indescribable charm to
the Gaboon Coast, especially when the morning and evening suns
strike them with slanting rays, and compel them to stand out
distinct from the setting of eternal emerald.
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