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+Project Gutenberg's Celebrated Travels and Travellers, by Jules Verne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Celebrated Travels and Travellers
+       Part III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century
+
+Author: Jules Verne
+
+Illustrator: Léon Benett
+
+Translator: N. D'Anvers
+
+Release Date: September 19, 2008 [EBook #26658]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ron Swanson. (This file was produced from
+images generously made available by The Internet
+Archive/Canadian Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
+
+
+
+
+LONDON: GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: Map of the work which had to be done in the 19th
+Century. _Gravé par E. Morieu 23, r. de Bréa Paris._]
+
+
+
+
+CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
+
+BY JULES VERNE.
+
+
+TRANSLATED BY N. D'ANVERS,
+AUTHOR OF "HEROES OF NORTH AFRICAN DISCOVERY," "HEROES OF SOUTH AFRICAN
+DISCOVERY," ETC.
+
+
+WITH 51 ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY LÉON BENETT, AND 57 FAC-SIMILES FROM EARLY
+MSS. AND MAPS BY MATTHIS AND MORIEU.
+
+[Illustration: Ship sailing near icebergs.]
+
+London:
+SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
+CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
+
+1881.
+[_All rights reserved_.]
+
+
+
+
+TO
+DR. G. G. GARDINER,
+_I Dedicate this Translation_
+WITH SINCERE AND GRATEFUL ESTEEM.
+
+N. D'ANVERS.
+HENDON, _Christmas, 1880_.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.
+
+
+In offering the present volume to the English public, the Translator
+wishes to thank the Rev. Andrew Carter for the very great assistance
+given by him in tracing all quotations from English, German, and other
+authors to the original sources, and for his untiring aid in the
+verification of disputed spellings, &c.
+
+
+
+
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE 19TH CENTURY.
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
+
+REPRODUCED IN FAC-SIMILE FROM THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS, GIVING THE
+SOURCES WHENCE THEY ARE DERIVED.
+
+
+PART THE FIRST.
+                                                                   PAGE
+Map of the work which had to be done in the 19th Century _Frontispiece_
+
+Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
+
+Map of Egypt, Nubia, and part of Arabia  _To face woodcut of Jerusalem_
+
+Portrait of Burckhardt  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
+
+"Here is thy grave" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
+
+Merchant of Jeddah  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
+
+Shores and boats of the Red Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
+
+Map of English India and part of Persia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
+
+Bridge of rope  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
+
+"They were seated according to age" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
+
+Beluchistan warriors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
+
+"A troop of bayadères came in"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
+
+Afghan costumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  48
+
+Persian costumes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
+
+"Two soldiers held me"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
+
+"Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  59
+
+"He beheld the Missouri"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  64
+
+Warrior of Java . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  65
+
+A kafila of slaves  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  70
+
+Member of the body-guard of the Sheikh of Bornou  . . . . . . . . .  73
+
+Reception of the Mission  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  74
+
+Lancer of the army of the Sultan of Begharmi  . . . . . . . . . . .  75
+
+Map of Denham and Clapperton's journey  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  78
+
+Portrait of Clapperton  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  79
+
+"The caravan met a messenger" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  86
+
+"Travelling at a slow pace" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  93
+
+View on the banks of the Congo  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  97
+
+Ashantee warrior  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  97
+
+Réné Caillié  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
+
+"He decamped with all his followers"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
+
+Caillié crossing the Tankisso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
+
+View of part of Timbuctoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
+
+Map of Réné Caillié's journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
+
+"Laing saw Mount Loma"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
+
+Lower Course of the Niger (after Lander)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
+
+Mount Kesa  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
+
+"They were all but upset" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
+
+Square stool belonging to the King of Bornou  . . . . . . . . . . . 133
+
+Map of the Lower Course of the Djoliba, Kouara, Quoora, or Niger
+     (after Lander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
+
+"It was hollowed out of a single tree-trunk"  . . . . . . . . . . . 141
+
+View of a Merawe temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
+
+The Second Cataract of the Nile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
+
+Temple of Jupiter Ammon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
+
+"Villages picturesquely perched"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
+
+Map of the Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
+
+Circassians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
+
+"Excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
+
+Map of the Sources of the Mississippi, 1834 . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
+
+View of the Pyramid of Xochicalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
+
+
+PART THE SECOND.
+
+New Zealanders  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
+
+Coast of Japan  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
+
+Typical Ainos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
+
+"In the twinkling of an eye the canoes were empty"  . . . . . . . . 188
+
+Interior of a house at Radak  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
+
+View of Otaheite  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
+
+One of the guard of the King of the Sandwich Islands  . . . . . . . 198
+
+"The village consisted of clean, well-built huts" . . . . . . . . . 204
+
+A Morai at Kayakakoua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
+
+Native of Ualan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
+
+Sedentary Tchouktchis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
+
+Warriors of Ombay and Guebeh  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
+
+Rawak hut on piles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
+
+The luxuriant vegetation of the Papuan Islands  . . . . . . . . . . 230
+
+Map of Australia  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
+
+A performer of the dances of Montezuma  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
+
+Ruins of ancient pillars at Tinian  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
+
+An Australian farm near the Blue Mountains  . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
+
+Native Australians  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
+
+Berkeley Sound, in the Falkland Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
+
+The _Mercury_ at anchor in Berkeley Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
+
+The waterfall of Port Praslin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
+
+The wreck of the _Uranie_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
+
+Natives of New Guinea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
+
+Meeting with the Chief of Ualan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
+
+Natives of Pondicherry  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
+
+Ancient idols near Pondicherry  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
+
+Near the Bay of Manilla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
+
+Women of Touron Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
+
+Entrance to Sydney Bay  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
+
+"Apsley's Waterfall"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
+
+Eucalyptus forest of Jervis Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
+
+New Guinea hut on piles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
+
+New Zealanders  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
+
+Attack from the natives of Tonga Tabou  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
+
+Lofty mountains clothed with dense and gloomy forests . . . . . . . 309
+
+Natives of Vanikoro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
+
+"I merely had the armoury opened" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
+
+Reefs off Vanikoro  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
+
+Hunting sea-elephants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
+
+Map of the Antarctic Regions, showing the routes taken by the
+     navigators of the 19th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
+
+"Here congregate flocks of penguins"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
+
+Dumont d'Urville  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
+
+"Only by getting wet up to their waists"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
+
+Anchorage off Port Famine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
+
+"The rudder had to be protected"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
+
+View of Adélie Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
+
+Reduced Map of D'Urville's discoveries in the Antarctic Regions . . 349
+
+"Their straight walls rose far above our masts" . . . . . . . . . . 350
+
+Captain John Ross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
+
+Map of Victoria, discovered by James Ross . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
+
+"Two small sledges were selected" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
+
+Esquimaux family  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
+
+Map of the Arctic Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
+
+Rain as a novel phenomenon  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
+
+Discovery of Victoria Land  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS.
+
+
+FIRST PART.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+THE DAWN OF A CENTURY OF DISCOVERY.
+                                                                   PAGE
+Slackness of discovery during the struggles of the Republic and
+Empire--Seetzen's voyages in Syria and Palestine--Hauran and the
+circumnavigation of the Dead Sea--Decapolis--Journey in Arabia--
+Burckhardt in Syria--Expeditions in Nubia upon the two branches of
+the Nile--Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina--The English in India--Webb
+at the Source of the Ganges--Narrative of a journey in the Punjab--
+Christie and Pottinger in Scinde--The same explorers cross
+Beluchistan into Persia--Elphinstone in Afghanistan--Persia
+according to Gardane, A. Dupré, Morier, Macdonald-Kinneir, Price,
+and Ouseley--Guldenstædt and Klaproth in the Caucasus--Lewis and
+Clarke in the Rocky Mountains--Raffles in Sumatra and Java  . . . .   3
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+THE EXPLORATION AND COLONIZATION OF AFRICA.
+
+I.
+Peddie and Campbell in the Soudan--Ritchie and Lyon in Fezzan--
+Denham, Oudney, and Clapperton in Fezzan, and in the Tibboo
+country--Lake Tchad and its tributaries--Kouka and the chief
+villages of Bornou--Mandara--A razzia, or raid, in the Fellatah
+country--Defeat of the Arabs and death of Boo-Khaloum--Loggan--
+Death of Toole--En route for Kano--Death of Oudney--Kano--
+Sackatoo--Sultan Bello--Return to Europe  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  66
+
+II.
+Clapperton's second journey--Arrival at Badagry--Yariba and its
+capital Katunga--Boussa--Attempts to get at the truth about Mungo
+Park's fate--"Nyffé," Yaourie, and Zegzeg--Arrival at Kano--
+Disappointments--Death of Clapperton--Return of Lander to the
+coast--Tuckey on the Congo--Bowditch in Ashantee--Mollien at the
+sources of the Senegal and Gambia--Major Grey--Caillié at
+Timbuctoo--Laing at the sources of the Niger--Richard and John
+Lander at the mouth of the Niger--Cailliaud and Letorzec in Egypt,
+Nubia, and the oasis of Siwâh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  85
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+THE ORIENTAL SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT AND AMERICAN DISCOVERIES.
+
+The decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions, and the study of
+Assyrian remains up to 1840--Ancient Iran and the Avesta--The
+survey of India and the study of Hindustani--The exploration and
+measurement of the Himalaya mountains--The Arabian Peninsula--
+Syria and Palestine--Central Asia and Alexander von Humboldt--Pike
+at the sources of the Mississippi, Arkansas, and Red River--Major
+Long's two expeditions--General Cass--Schoolcraft at the sources
+of the Mississippi--The exploration of New Mexico--Archæological
+expeditions in Central America--Scientific expeditions in Brazil--
+Spix and Martin--Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied--D'Orbigny and
+American Man  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
+
+
+SECOND PART.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD, AND POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
+
+The Russian fur trade--Kruzenstern appointed to the command of an
+expedition--Noukha-Hiva--Nangasaki--Reconnaisance of the coast of
+Japan--Yezo--The Ainos--Saghalien--Return to Europe--Otto von
+Kotzebue--Stay at Easter Island--Penrhyn--The Radak Archipelago--
+Return to Russia--Changes at Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands--
+Beechey's Voyage--Easter Island--Pitcairn and the mutineers of the
+_Bounty_--The Paumoto Islands--Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands--
+The Bonin Islands--Lütke--The Quebradas of Valparaiso--Holy week
+in Chili--New Archangel--The Kaloches--Ounalashka--The Caroline
+Archipelago--The canoes of the Caroline Islanders--Guam, a desert
+island--Beauty and happy situation of the Bonin Islands--The
+Tchouktchees: their manners and their conjurors--Return to Russia . 173
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+FRENCH CIRCUMNAVIGATORS.
+
+The journey of Freycinet--Rio de Janeiro and its gipsy
+inhabitants--The Cape and its wines--The Bay of Sharks--Stay at
+Timor--Ombay Island and its cannibal inhabitants--The Papuan
+Islands--The pile dwellings of the Alfoers--A dinner with the
+Governor of Guam--Description of the Marianne Islands and their
+inhabitants--Particulars concerning the Sandwich Islands--Port
+Jackson and New South Wales--Shipwreck in Berkeley Sound--The
+Falkland Islands--Return to France--The voyage of the _Coquille_
+under the command of Duperrey--Martin-Vaz and Trinidad--The Island
+of St. Catherine--The independence of Brazil--Berkeley Sound and
+the remains of the _Uranie_--Stay at Conception--The civil war in
+Chili--The Araucanians--Discoveries in the Dangerous Archipelago--
+Stay at Otaheite and New Ireland--The Papuans--Stay at Ualan--The
+Caroline Islands and their inhabitants--Scientific results of the
+expeditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
+
+II.
+Expedition of Baron de Bougainville--Stay at Pondicherry--The
+"White Town" and the "Black Town"--"Right-hand" and "Left-hand"--
+Malacca--Singapore and its prosperity--Stay at Manilla--Touron
+Bay--The monkeys and the people--The marble rocks of Faifoh--
+Cochin-Chinese diplomacy--The Anambas--The Sultan of Madura--The
+straits of Madura and Allas--Cloates and the Triad Islands--
+Tasmania--Botany Bay and New South Wales--Santiago and
+Valparaiso--Return _viâ_ Cape Horn--Expedition of Dumont d'Urville
+in the _Astrolabe_--The Peak of Teneriffe--Australia--Stay at New
+Zealand--Tonga-Tabu--Skirmishes--New Britain and New Guinea--First
+news of the fate of La Pérouse--Vanikoro and its inhabitants--Stay
+at Guam--Amboyna and Menado--Results of the expedition  . . . . . . 274
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
+
+Bellinghausen, yet another Russian Explorer--Discovery of the
+islands of Traversay, Peter I., and Alexander I.--The Whaler,
+Weddell--The Southern Orkneys--New Shetland--The people of Tierra
+del Fuego--John Biscoe and the districts of Enderby and Graham--
+Charles Wilkes and the Antarctic Continent--Captain Balleny--
+Dumont d'Urville's expedition in the _Astrolabe_ and the _Zelée_--
+Coupvent Desbois and the Peak of Teneriffe--The Straits of
+Magellan--A new post-office shut in by ice--Louis Philippe's
+Land--Across Oceania--Adélie and Clarie Lands--New Guinea and
+Torres Strait--Return to France--James Clark Rosset--Victoria . . . 321
+
+II.
+THE NORTH POLE.
+
+Anjou and Wrangell--The "polynia"--John Ross's first expedition--
+Baffin's Bay closed--Edward Parry's discoveries on his first
+voyage--The survey of Hudson's Bay, and the discovery of Fury and
+Hecla Straits--Parry's third voyage--Fourth voyage--On the ice in
+sledges in the open sea--Franklin's first trip--Incredible
+sufferings of the explorers--Second expedition--John Ross--Four
+winters amongst the ice--Dease and Simpson's expedition . . . . . . 358
+
+
+
+
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: PART I.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+THE DAWN OF A CENTURY OF DISCOVERY.
+
+Slackness of discovery during the struggles of the Republic and
+Empire--Seetzen's voyages in Syria and Palestine--Hauran and the
+circumnavigation of the Dead Sea--Decapolis--Journey in Arabia--
+Burckhardt in Syria--Expeditions in Nubia upon the two branches of the
+Nile--Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina--The English in India--Webb at the
+Source of the Ganges--Narrative of a journey in the Punjab--Christie
+and Pottinger in Scinde--The same explorers cross Beluchistan into
+Persia--Elphinstone in Afghanistan--Persia according to Gardane, A.
+Dupré, Morier, Macdonald-Kinneir, Price, and Ouseley--Guldenstædt and
+Klaproth in the Caucasus--Lewis and Clarke in the Rocky Mountains--
+Raffles in Sumatra and Java.
+
+
+A sensible diminution in geographical discovery marks the close of the
+eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries.
+
+We have already noticed the organization of the Expedition sent in
+search of La Pérouse by the French Republic, and also Captain Baudin's
+important cruise along the Australian coasts. These are the only
+instances in which the unrestrained passions and fratricidal struggles
+of the French nation allowed the government to exhibit interest in
+geography, a science which is especially favoured by the French.
+
+At a later period, Bonaparte consulted several savants and
+distinguished artists, and the materials for that grand undertaking
+which first gave an idea (incomplete though it was) of the ancient
+civilization of the land of the Pharaohs, were collected together. But
+when Bonaparte had completely given place to Napoleon, the egotistical
+monarch, sacrificing all else to his ruling passion for war, would no
+longer listen to explorations, voyages, or possible discoveries. They
+represented money and men stolen from him; and his expenditure of those
+materials was far too great to allow of such futile waste. This was
+clearly shown, when he ceded the last remnants of French colonial rule
+in America to the United States for a few millions.
+
+Happily other nations were not oppressed by the same iron hand.
+Absorbed although they might be in their struggle with France, they
+could still find volunteers to extend the range of geographical
+science, to establish archæology upon scientific bases, and to
+prosecute linguistic and ethnographical enterprise.
+
+The learned geographer Malte-Brun, in an article published by him in
+the "Nouvelles Annales des Voyages" in 1817, gives a minute account of
+the condition of French geographical knowledge at the beginning of the
+nineteenth century, and of the many desiderata of that science. He
+reviews the progress already made in navigation, astronomy, and
+languages. The India Company, far from concealing its discoveries, as
+jealousy had induced the Hudson Bay Company to do, founded academies,
+published memoirs, and encouraged travellers.
+
+War itself was utilized, for the French army gathered a store of
+precious material in Egypt. We shall shortly see how emulation spread
+among the various nations.
+
+From the commencement of the century, one country has taken the lead in
+great discoveries. German explorers have worked so earnestly, and have
+proved themselves possessed of will so strong and instinct so sure,
+that they have left little for their successors to do beyond verifying
+and completing their discoveries.
+
+The first in order of time was Ulric Jasper Seetzen, born in 1767 in
+East Friesland; he completed his education at Göttingen, and published
+some essays upon statistics and the natural sciences, for which he had
+a natural inclination. These publications attracted the attention of
+the government, and he was appointed Aulic Councillor in the province
+of Tever.
+
+Seetzen's ambition, like that of Burckhardt subsequently, was an
+expedition to Central Africa, but he wished previously to make an
+exploration of Palestine and Syria, to which countries attention was
+shortly to be directed by the "Palestine Association," founded in
+London in 1805.
+
+Seetzen did not wait for this period, but in 1802 set out for
+Constantinople, furnished with suitable introductions.
+
+Although many pilgrims and travellers had successively visited the Holy
+Land and Syria, the vaguest notions about these countries prevailed.
+Their physical geography was not determined, details were wanting, and
+certain regions, as for example, the Lebanon and the Dead Sea had never
+been explored.
+
+Comparative geography did not exist. It has taken the unwearied efforts
+of the English Association and the science of travellers in connexion
+with it to erect that study into a science. Seetzen, whose studies had
+been various, found himself admirably prepared to explore a country
+which, often visited, was still in reality new.
+
+Having travelled through Anatolia, Seetzen reached Aleppo in May, 1802.
+He remained there a year, devoting himself to the practical study of
+the Arabic tongue, making extracts from Eastern historians and
+geographers, verifying the astronomical position of Aleppo, prosecuting
+his investigations into natural history, collecting manuscripts, and
+translating many of those popular songs and legends which are such
+valuable aids to the knowledge of a nation.
+
+Seetzen left Aleppo in 1805 for Damascus. His first expedition led him
+across the provinces of Hauran and Jaulan, situated to the S.E. of that
+town. No traveller had as yet visited these two provinces, which in the
+days of Roman dominion had played an important part in the history of
+the Jews, under the names of Auranitis and Gaulonitis. Seetzen was the
+first to give an idea of their geography.
+
+The enterprising traveller explored the Lebanon and Baalbek. He
+prosecuted his discoveries south of Damascus, and entered Judea,
+exploring the eastern portion of Hermon, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea.
+This was the dwelling-place of those races well known to us in Jewish
+history; the Ammonites, Moabites, and Gileadites. At the time of the
+Roman conquest, the western portion of this country was known as Perea,
+and was the centre of the celebrated Decapolis or confederacy of ten
+cities. No modern traveller had visited these regions, a fact
+sufficient to induce Seetzen to begin his exploration with them.
+
+His friends at Damascus had tried to dissuade him from the journey, by
+picturing the difficulties and danger of a route frequented by
+Bedouins; but nothing could stay him. Before visiting the Decapolis
+region and investigating the condition of its ruins, Seetzen traversed
+a small district, named Ladscha, which bore a bad reputation at
+Damascus on account of the Bedouins who occupied it, but which was said
+to contain remarkable antiquities.
+
+Leaving Damascus on the 12th of December, 1805, with an Armenian guide
+who misled him from the first, Seetzen, having prudently provided
+himself with a passport from the Pasha, proceeded from village to
+village escorted by an armed attendant.
+
+In a narrative published in the earlier "Annales des Voyages," says the
+traveller,--
+
+"That portion of Ladscha which I have seen is, like Hauran, entirely
+formed of basalt, often very porous, and in many districts forming vast
+stony deserts. The villages, which are mostly in ruins, are built on
+the sides of the rocks. The black colour of the basalt, the ruined
+houses, the churches and towers fallen into decay, with the total
+dearth of trees and verdure, combine to give a sombre aspect to this
+country, which strikes one almost with dread. In almost every village
+are either Grecian inscriptions, columns, or other remnants of
+antiquity; amongst others I copied an inscription of the Emperor Marcus
+Aurelius. Here, as in Hauran, the doors were of basalt."
+
+Seetzen had scarcely arrived at the village of Gerasa and enjoyed a
+brief rest, before he was surrounded by half a score of mounted men,
+who said they had come by order of the vice-governor of Hauran to
+arrest him. Their master, Omar Aga, having learned that the traveller
+had been seen in the country the preceding year, and imagining his
+passports to be forgeries, had sent them to bring him before him.
+
+Resistance was useless. Without allowing himself to be disconcerted by
+an incident which he regarded as a simple contretemps, Seetzen
+proceeded in the direction of Hauran, where after a day and a half's
+journey he met Omar Aga, travelling with the Mecca caravan. The
+travellers having received a hearty welcome, departed on the morrow,
+but meeting upon his way with many troops of Arabs, upon whom his
+demeanour imposed respect, he came to the conclusion that it had been
+Omar Aga's intention to have him robbed.
+
+Returning to Damascus, Seetzen had great trouble in finding a guide who
+would accompany him in his expedition along the eastern shore of the
+Jordan, and around the Dead Sea. At last, a certain Yusuf-al-Milky, a
+member of the Greek church, who, for some thirty years, had carried on
+traffic with the Arab tribes, and travelled in the provinces which
+Seetzen desired to visit, agreed to bear him company.
+
+The two travellers left Damascus on the 19th of January, 1806.
+Seetzen's entire baggage consisted of a few clothes, some indispensable
+books, paper for drying plants, and an assortment of drugs, necessary
+to sustain his assumed character as a physician. He wore the dress of a
+sheik of secondary rank.
+
+The districts of Rasheiya and Hasbeiya, at the foot of Mount
+Hermon--whose summit at the time was hidden by snow--were the first
+explored by Seetzen, for the reason that they were the least known in
+Syria.
+
+He then visited Achha, a village inhabited by the Druses, upon the
+opposite side of the mountain; Rasheiya, the residence of the Emir; and
+Hasbeiya, where he paid a visit to the Greek Bishop of Szur or Szeida,
+to whom he carried letters of recommendation. The object which chiefly
+attracted his attention in this mountainous district, was an
+asphalt-mine, whose produce is there used to protect the vines from
+insects.
+
+Leaving Hasbeiya, Seetzen proceeded to Bâniâs, the ancient Casaræa
+Philippi, which is now a mere collection of huts. Even if traces of its
+fortifications were discoverable, not the smallest remains could be
+found of the splendid temple erected by Herod in honour of Augustus.
+
+Ancient authorities hold that the river of Bâniâs is the source of the
+Jordan, but in reality that title belongs to the river Hasbany, which
+forms the larger branch of the Jordan. Seetzen recognized it, as he
+also did the Lake of Merom, or the ancient Samachonitis.
+
+Here he was deserted by his muleteers, whom nothing could induce to
+accompany him so far as the bridge of Jisr-Benat-Yakûb, and also by his
+guide Yusuf, whom he was forced to send by the open road to await his
+arrival at Tiberias, while he himself proceeded on foot towards the
+celebrated bridge, accompanied by a single Arab attendant.
+
+He, however, found no one at Jisr-Benat-Yakûb who was willing to
+accompany him along the eastern shore of the Jordan, until a native,
+believing him to be a doctor, begged him to go and see his sheik, who
+was suffering from ophthalmia, and who lived upon the eastern bank of
+the Lake of Tiberias.
+
+Seetzen gladly availed himself of this opportunity; and it was well he
+did so, for he was thus enabled to study the Lake of Tiberias and also
+the Wady Zemmâk at his leisure, not, however, without risk of being
+robbed and murdered by his guide. Finally he reached Tiberias, called
+by the Arabs Tabaria, where he found Yusuf, who had been waiting for
+him for several days.
+
+"The town of Tiberias," says Seetzen, "is situated upon the lake of the
+same name. Upon the land side it is surrounded by a good wall of cut
+basalt rock, but nevertheless, it scarcely deserves to be called a
+town. No trace of its earlier splendour remains, but the ruins of the
+more ancient city, which extended to the Thermæ, a league to the
+eastward, are recognizable.
+
+"The famous Djezar-Pasha caused a bath to be erected above the
+principal spring. If these baths were in Europe, they would rival all
+those now existing. The valley in which the lake is situated, is so
+sheltered, and so warm, that dates, lemon-trees, oranges, and indigo,
+flourish there, whilst on the high ground surrounding it, the products
+of more temperate climates might be grown."
+
+South-west of the lake are the remains of the ancient city of Tarichæa.
+There, between two mountain chains, lies the beautiful plain of El
+Ghor, poorly cultivated, and overrun by Arab hordes. No incident of
+moment marked Seetzen's journey to Decapolis, during which he was
+obliged to dress as a mendicant, to escape the rapacity of the native
+tribes.
+
+"Over my shirt" he relates, "I wore an old kambas, or dressing-gown,
+and above that a woman's ragged chemise; my head was covered with rags,
+and my feet with old sandals. I was protected from cold and wet by an
+old ragged 'abbaje,' which I wore across my shoulders, and a stick cut
+from a tree served me as a staff; my guide, who was a Greek Christian,
+was dressed much in the same style; and together we scoured the country
+for some ten days, often hindered in our journey by chilling rains,
+which wetted us to the skin. For my part, I travelled an entire day in
+the mud with bare feet, because I could not wear my sandals upon sodden
+ground."
+
+Draa which he reached a little farther on, presented but a mass of
+desert ruins; and no trace of the monuments which rendered it famous in
+earlier days, were visible. El-Botthin, the next district, contains
+hundreds of caverns, hewn in the rocks, which were occupied by the
+ancient inhabitants. It was much the same at Seetzen's visit. That Mkês
+was formerly a rich and important city, is proved by its many ruined
+tombs and monuments. Seetzen identified it with Gadara, one of the
+minor towns of the Decapolis. Some leagues beyond are the ruins of Abil
+or Abila. Seetzen's guide, Aoser, refused to go there, being afraid of
+the Arabs. The traveller was, therefore, obliged to go alone.
+
+"This town," he says, "is entirely in ruins and abandoned. Not a single
+building remains; but its ancient splendour is sufficiently proved by
+ruins. Traces of the old fortifications remain, and also many pillars
+and arches of marble, basalt, and granite. Beyond the walls, I found a
+great number of pillars; two of them were of an extraordinary size.
+Hence I concluded that a large temple had formerly existed there."
+
+On leaving El-Botthin, Seetzen entered the district of Edschlun, and
+speedily discovered the important ruins of Dscherrasch, which may be
+compared with those of Palmyra and Baalbek.
+
+"It is difficult to conjecture," says Seetzen, "how this town, which
+was formerly so celebrated, has hitherto escaped the attention of
+antiquarians. It is situated in an open plain, which is fertile, and
+watered by a river. Several tombs, with fine bas-reliefs arrested my
+attention before I entered it; upon one of them, I remarked a Greek
+inscription. The walls, which were of cut marble, are entirely crumbled
+away, but their length over three quarters of a league, is still
+discernible. No private house has been preserved, but I remarked
+several public buildings of fine architectural design. I found two
+magnificent amphitheatres constructed of solid marble, the columns,
+niches, &c., in good condition, a few palaces, and three temples; one
+of the latter having a peristyle of twelve large Corinthian pillars, of
+which eleven were still erect. In one of these temples I found a fallen
+column of the finest polished Egyptian granite. Beside these, I found
+one of the city gates, formed of three arches, and ornamented with
+pilasters, in good preservation. The finest of the remains is a street
+adorned throughout its length with Corinthian columns on either side,
+and terminating in a semicircle, which was surrounded by sixty Ionic
+columns, all of the choicest marble. This street was crossed by
+another, and at the junction of the two, large pedestals of wrought
+stone occupied each angle, probably in former times these bore statues.
+Much of the pavement was constructed of hewn stone. Altogether I
+counted nearly two hundred columns, still in a fair state of
+preservation; but the number of these is far exceeded by those which
+have fallen into decay, for I saw only half the extent of the town, and
+in all probability the other half beyond this was also rich in
+remarkable relics."
+
+From Seetzen's description, Dscherrasch would appear to be identical
+with the ancient Gerasa, a town which up to that time had been
+erroneously placed on the maps.
+
+The traveller crossed Gerka--the Jabok of Jewish history--which forms
+the northern boundary of the country of the Ammonites, and penetrated
+into the district of El-Belka, formerly a flourishing country, but
+which he found uncultivated and barren, with but one small town, Szalt,
+formerly known as Amathus. Afterwards Seetzen visited Amman, a town
+which, under the name of Philadelphia, is renowned among the
+decapolitan cities, and where many antiquities are to be found, Eleal,
+an ancient city of the Amorites, Madaba, called Madba in the time of
+Moses, Mount Nebo, Diban, Karrak, the country of the Moabites, and the
+ruins of Robba, (Rabbath) anciently the royal residence. After much
+fatigue, he reached the region situated at the southern extremity of
+the Dead Sea, named Gor-es-Sophia.
+
+The heat was extreme, and great salt-plains, where no watercourses
+exist, had to be crossed. Upon the 6th of April, Seetzen arrived in
+Bethlehem, and soon afterwards at Jerusalem, having suffered greatly
+from thirst, but having passed through most interesting countries,
+hitherto unvisited by any modern traveller.
+
+[Illustration: Jerusalem.]
+
+[Illustration: Map of Egypt, Nubia, and part of Arabia.]
+
+He had also collected much valuable information respecting the nature
+of the waters of the Dead Sea, refuted many false notions, corrected
+mistakes upon the most carefully constructed maps, identified several
+sites of the ancient Peræa, and established the existence of numberless
+ruins, which bore witness to the prosperity of all this region under
+the sway of the Roman Empire. Upon the 25th of June, 1806, Seetzen left
+Jerusalem, and returned to St. Jean d'Acre by sea.
+
+In an article in the _Revùe Germanique_ for 1858, M. Vinen speaks of
+his expedition as a veritable journey of discovery. Seetzen, however,
+was unwilling to leave his discoveries incomplete. Ten months later, he
+again visited the Dead Sea, and added largely to his observations. From
+thence he proceeded to Cairo, where he remained for two years, and
+bought a large portion of the oriental manuscripts which now enrich the
+library of Gotha. He collected many facts about the interior of the
+country, choosing instinctively those only which could be amply
+substantiated.
+
+Seetzen, with his insatiable thirst for discovery, could not remain
+long in repose, far removed from idleness though it was. In April,
+1809, he finally left the capital of Egypt, and directed his course
+towards Suez and the peninsula of Sinai, which he resolved to explore
+before proceeding to Arabia. At this time Arabia was a little-known
+country, frequented only by merchants trading in Mocha coffee-beans.
+Before Niebuhr's time no scientific expedition for the study of the
+geography of the country or the manners and customs of the inhabitants
+had been organized.
+
+This expedition owed its formation to Professor Michälis, who was
+anxious to obtain information which would throw light on certain
+passages in the Bible, and its expenses were defrayed by the generosity
+of King Frederick V. of Denmark. It comprised Von Hannen, the
+mathematician, Forskaal, the naturalist, a physician named Cramer,
+Braurenfeind, the painter, and Niebuhr, the engineer, a company of
+learned and scientific men, who thoroughly fulfilled all expectations
+founded upon their reputations.
+
+In the course of two years, from 1762 to 1764, they visited Egypt,
+Mount Sinai, Jeddah, landed at Loheia, and advancing into Arabia Felix,
+explored the country in accordance with the speciality of each man. But
+the enterprising travellers succumbed to illness and fatigue, and
+Niebuhr alone survived to utilize the observations made by himself and
+his companions. His work on the subject is an inexhaustible treasury,
+which may be drawn upon in our own day with advantage.
+
+Seetzen, therefore, had much to achieve to eclipse the fame of his
+predecessor. He omitted no means of doing so. After publicly professing
+the faith of Islam, he embarked at Suez for Mecca, and hoped to enter
+that city disguised as a pilgrim. Tor and Jeddah were the places
+visited by him before he travelled to the holy city of Mecca. He was
+much impressed by the wealth of the faithful and the peculiar
+characteristics of that city, which lives for and by the Mahometan
+cultus. "I was seized," says the traveller, "with an emotion which I
+have never experienced elsewhere."
+
+It is alike unnecessary to dwell upon this portion of the voyage and
+upon that relating to the excursion to Medina. Burckhardt's narrative
+gives a precise and trustworthy account of those holy places, and
+besides, there remain of Seetzen's works only the extracts published in
+"Les Annales des Voyages," and in the Correspondence of the Baron de
+Zach. The Journal of Seetzen's travels was published in German, and in
+a very incomplete manner, only in 1858.
+
+The traveller returned from Medina to Mecca, and devoted himself to a
+secret study of the town, with its religious ceremonies, and to taking
+astronomical observations, which determined the position of the capital
+of Islam.
+
+Seetzen returned to Jeddah on the 23rd March, 1810. He then
+re-embarked, with the Arab who had been his guide to Mecca, for
+Hodeidah, which is one of the principal ports of Yemen. Passing the
+mountainous district of Beith-el-Fakih, where coffee is cultivated,
+after a month's delay at Doran on account of illness, Seetzen entered
+Sana, the capital of Yemen, which he calls the most beautiful city of
+the East, on the 2nd of June. Upon the 22nd of July he reached Aden,
+and in November he was at Mecca, whence the last letters received from
+him are dated. Upon re-entering Yemen, he, like Niebuhr, was robbed of
+his collections and baggage, upon the pretext that he collected
+animals, in order to compose a philtre, with the intention of poisoning
+the springs.
+
+Seetzen, however, would not quietly submit to be robbed. He started at
+once for Sana, intending to lay a complaint before the Iman. This was
+in December, 1811. A few days later news of his sudden death arrived at
+Taes, and the tidings soon reached the ears of the Europeans who
+frequented the Arabian ports.
+
+It is little to the purpose now to inquire upon whom the responsibility
+of this death rests--whether upon the Iman or upon those who had
+plundered the traveller--but we may well regret that so thorough an
+explorer, already familiar with the habits and customs of the Arabs,
+was unable to continue his explorations, and that the greater portion
+of his diaries and observations have been entirely lost.
+
+"Seetzen," says M. Vivien de Saint Martin, "was the first traveller
+since Ludovico Barthema (1503) who visited Mecca, and before his time
+no European had even seen the holy city of Medina, consecrated by the
+tomb of the Prophet."
+
+From these remarks we gather how invaluable the trustworthy narrative
+of this disinterested and well-informed traveller would have been.
+
+Just as an untimely death ended Seetzen's self-imposed mission,
+Burckhardt set out upon a similar enterprise, and like him commenced
+his long and minute exploration of Arabia by preliminary travel through
+Syria.
+
+"It is seldom in the history of science," says M. Vivien de Saint
+Martin, "that we see two men of such merit succeed each other in the
+same career or rather continue it; for in reality Burckhardt followed
+up the traces Seetzen had opened out, and, seconded for a considerable
+time by favourable circumstances which enabled him to prosecute his
+explorations, he was enabled to add very considerably to the known
+discoveries of his predecessor."
+
+Although John Lewis Burckhardt was not English, for he was a native of
+Lausanne, he must none the less be classed among the travellers of
+Great Britain. It was owing to his relations with Sir Joseph Banks, the
+naturalist who had accompanied Cook, and Hamilton, the secretary of the
+African Association, who gave him ready and valuable support, that
+Burckhardt was enabled to accomplish what he did.
+
+Burckhardt was a deeply learned man. He had passed through the
+universities of Leipzic, and Göttingen, where he attended Blumenbach's
+lectures, and afterwards through Cambridge, where he studied Arabic. He
+started for the East in 1809. To inure himself to the hardships of a
+traveller's life, he imposed long fasts upon himself, accustomed
+himself to endure thirst, and chose the pavements of London or dusty
+roads for a resting-place. But how trifling were these experiences in
+comparison with those involved in an apostolate of science!
+
+Leaving London for Syria, where he hoped to perfect his knowledge of
+Arabic, Burckhardt intended to proceed to Cairo and to reach Fezzan by
+the route formerly opened up by Hornemann. Once arrived in that
+country, circumstances must determine his future course.
+
+Burckhardt, having taken the name of Ibrahim-Ibn-Abdallah, intended to
+pass as an Indian Mussulman. In order to carry out this disguise, he
+had recourse to many expedients. In an obituary notice of him in the
+"Annales des Voyages," it is related that when unexpectedly called upon
+to speak the Indian language, he immediately had recourse to German. An
+Italian dragoman, suspecting him of being a giaour, pulled him by his
+beard, thereby offering him the greatest insult possible in his
+character of Mussulman. But Burckhardt had so thoroughly entered into
+the spirit of his rôle, that he responded by a vigorous blow, which
+sending the unfortunate dragoman spinning to a distance, turned the
+laugh against him, and thoroughly convinced the bystanders of the
+sincerity of the traveller.
+
+[Illustration: Portrait of Burckhardt. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+Burckhardt remained at Aleppo from September, 1809, to February, 1812,
+pursuing his studies of Syrian manners and customs, and of the language
+of the country, with but one interruption, a six months' excursion to
+Damascus, Palmyra, and the Hauran, a country which had hitherto been
+visited by Seetzen only.
+
+It is related that, during an excursion into Gor, a district north of
+Aleppo, upon the shores of the Euphrates, the traveller was robbed of
+his baggage and stripped of his clothes by a band of robbers. When
+nothing remained to him but his trousers, the wife of a chief, who had
+not received her share of the spoil, wished to relieve him even of
+those indispensable garments!
+
+The _Revue Germanique_ says:--"We owe a great deal of information to
+these excursions, respecting a country of which we had only crude
+notions, gained from Seetzen's incomplete communications. Burckhardt's
+power of close observation detected a number of interesting facts, even
+in well-known districts, which had escaped the notice of other
+travellers. These materials were published by Colonel Martin William
+Leake, himself a geographer, a man of learning, and a distinguished
+traveller."
+
+Burckhardt had seen Palmyra and Baalbek, the slopes of Lebanon and the
+valley of the Orontes, Lake Huleh, and the sources of the Jordan; he
+had discovered many ancient sites; and his observations had led
+especially to the discovery of the site of the far-famed Apamoea,
+although both he and his publisher were mistaken in their application
+of the data obtained. His excursions in the Auranitis were equally
+rich, even though coming after Seetzen's, in those geographical and
+archæological details which represent the actual condition of a
+country, and throw a light upon the comparative geography of every age.
+
+Leaving Damascus in 1813, Burckhardt visited the Dead Sea, the valley
+of Akâba, and the ancient port of Azcongater, districts which in our
+own day are traversed by parties of English, with their _Murray_,
+_Cook_, or _Bædeker_ in their hands; but which then were only to be
+visited at the risk of life. In a lateral valley, the traveller came
+upon the ruins of Petra, the ancient capital of Arabia Petræa.
+
+At the end of the year Burckhardt was at Cairo. Judging it best not to
+join the caravan which was just starting for Fezzan, he felt a great
+inclination to visit Nubia, a country rich in attractions for the
+historian, geographer, and archæologist. Nubia, the cradle of Egyptian
+civilization, had only been visited, since the days of the Portuguese
+Alvares, by Poncet and Lenoir Duroule, both Frenchmen, at the close of
+the seventeenth century, at the opening of the eighteenth by Bruce,
+whose narrative had so often been doubted, and by Norden, who had not
+penetrated beyond Derr.
+
+In 1813 Burckhardt explored Nubia proper, including Mahass and
+Kemijour. This expedition cost him only forty-two francs, a very paltry
+sum in comparison with the price involved in the smallest attempt at an
+African journey in our own day; but we must not forget that Burckhardt
+was content to live upon millet-seed, and that his entire _cortége_
+consisted of two dromedaries.
+
+Two Englishmen, Mr. Legh and Mr. Smelt, were travelling in the country
+at the same time, scattering gold and presents as they passed, and thus
+rendering the visits of their successors costly.
+
+Burckhardt crossed the cataracts of the Nile. "A little farther on,"
+says the narrative, "near a place called Djebel-Lamoule, the Arab
+guides practise a curious extortion." This is their plan of proceeding.
+They halt, descend from their camels, and arrange a little heap of sand
+and pebbles, in imitation of a Nubian tomb. This they, call "_preparing
+the grave for the traveller_" and follow up the demonstration by an
+imperious demand for money. Burckhardt having watched his guide
+commence this operation, began quietly to imitate him, and then said,
+"Here is thy grave; as we are brothers, it is but fair that we should
+be buried together." The Arab could not help laughing, both graves were
+simultaneously destroyed, and remounting the camels, the cavalcade
+proceeded, better friends than before. The Arab quoted a saying from
+the Koran: "No human being knows in what spot of the earth he will find
+his grave."
+
+[Illustration: "Here is thy grave."]
+
+Burckhardt had hoped to get as far as Dingola, but was obliged to rest
+satisfied with collecting information about the country and the
+Mamelukes, who had taken refuge there after the massacre of their army
+by order of the viceroy of Egypt.
+
+The attention of the traveller was frequently directed to the ruins of
+temples and ancient cities, than which none are more curious than those
+of Isambul.
+
+"The temple on the banks of the Nile is approached by an avenue flanked
+by six colossal figures, which measure six feet and a half from the
+ground to the knees. They are representations of Isis and Osiris, in
+various attitudes. The sides and capitals of the pillars are covered
+with paintings or hieroglyphic carvings, in which Burckhardt thought a
+very ancient style was to be traced. All these are hewn out of the
+rock, and the faces appear to have been painted yellow, with black
+hair. Two hundred yards from this temple are the ruins of a still
+larger monument, consisting of four enormous figures, so deeply buried
+in the sand that it is impossible to say whether they are in a standing
+or sitting posture."
+
+These descriptions of antiquities, which in our own day are accurately
+known by drawings and photographs, have, however, little value for us;
+and are merely interesting as indicating the state of the ruins when
+Burckhardt visited them, and enabling us to judge how far the
+depredations of the Arabs have since changed them.
+
+Burckhardt's first excursion was limited to the borders of the Nile, a
+narrow space made up of little valleys, which debouched into the river.
+The traveller estimated the population of the country at 100,000,
+distributed over a surface of fertile land 450 miles in length, by a
+quarter of a mile in width.
+
+"The men," says the narrative, "are, as a rule, muscular, rather
+shorter than the Egyptians, having little beard or moustache, usually
+merely a pointed beard under the chin. They have a pleasant expression,
+are superior to the Egyptians in courage and intelligence, and
+naturally inquisitive. They are not thieves. They occasionally pick up
+a fortune by dint of hard work, but they have little enterprise. Women
+share the same physical advantages, are pretty as a rule, and well
+made; their appearance is gentle and pleasing, and they are modest in
+behaviour. M. Denon has underrated the Nubians, but it must not be
+forgotten that their physique varies in different districts. Where
+there is much land to cultivate, they are well developed; but in
+districts where arable land is a mere strip, the people diminish in
+vigour, and are sometimes walking skeletons."
+
+The whole country groaned under the yoke of the Kashefs, who were
+descendants of the commander of the Bosniacs, and paid only a small
+annual tribute to Egypt, which, however, was sufficient to serve as a
+pretext for oppressing the unfortunate fellaheen. Burckhardt cites a
+curious example of the insolence with which the Kashefs behaved.
+
+"Hassan Kashef," he says, was in need of barley for his horses.
+Accompanied by his slaves, he walked into the fields, and there met the
+owner of a fine plot of barley. "How badly you cultivate your land,"
+said he. "Here you plant barley in a field where you might have reaped
+an excellent crop of water-melons of double the value. See, here are
+some melon-seeds (offering a handful to the peasant proprietor); sow
+your field with these; and you, slaves, tear up this bad barley and
+bring it to me."
+
+In March, 1814, after a short rest, Burckhardt undertook a fresh
+exploration, not this time of the banks of the Nile, but of the Nubian
+desert. Justly conceiving poverty to be his surest safe guard, he
+dismissed his servant, sold his camel, and contenting himself with one
+ass, joined a caravan of poor traders. The caravan started from Daraou,
+a village inhabited partly by fellahs and partly by Ababdéh Arabs. The
+traveller had good reason to complain of the former, not because they
+recognized him as a European, but because they imagined him to be a
+Syrian Turk, come to share the commerce in slaves of which they had the
+monopoly.
+
+It would be useless to enumerate the names of the bridges, hills, and
+valleys in this desert. We will rather summarize the traveller's report
+of the physical aspect of the country.
+
+Bruce, who had explored it, paints it in too gloomy colours, and
+exaggerates the difficulties of the route. If Burckhardt is to be
+credited, the country is less barren than that between Aleppo and
+Bagdad, or Damascus and Medina. The Nubian desert is not merely a plain
+of sand, where nothing interrupts the dreary monotony. It is
+interspersed with rocks, some not less than 300 feet in height, and
+shaded by thickets of acacias or date-trees. The shelter of these trees
+is, however, unavailing against the vertical rays of the sun, which
+explains an Arabic proverb, "Rely upon the favour of the great and the
+shade of an acacia."
+
+At Ankheyre, or Wady-Berber, the caravan reached the Nile, after
+passing Shigre, one of the best mountain springs. One danger only is to
+be feared in crossing the desert; that of finding the wells at Nedjeym
+dry; and, unless the traveller should lose his way, which, however,
+with trustworthy guides, is little likely to happen, no serious
+obstacle arises.
+
+It would appear, therefore, that the sufferings experienced by Bruce
+must have been greatly exaggerated, although the narrative of the
+Scotch traveller is generally trustworthy. The natives of the province
+of Berber appear to be identical with the Barbarins of Bruce, the
+Barabas mentioned by D'Anville, and the Barauras spoken of by Poncet.
+They are a well-made race, and different in feature from the negroes.
+They maintain their purity of descent by marrying only with the women
+of their own or of kindred tribes. Curious as is the picture Burckhardt
+draws of the character and manners of this tribe, it is not at all
+edifying. It would be difficult to convey an idea of the corruption and
+degradation of the Berbers. The little town of Wady-Berber, a
+commercial centre, the rendezvous for caravans, and a depôt for slaves,
+is a regular resort of banditti.
+
+Burckhardt, who had trusted to the protection of the merchants of
+Daraou, found that he had made a great mistake in so doing. They sought
+every means of plundering him, chased him out of their company, and
+forced him to seek refuge with the guides and donkey-drivers, who
+cordially welcomed him.
+
+Upon the 10th of April a fine was levied upon the caravan by the Mek of
+Damer, which lies a little south of the tributary Mogren (called Mareb
+by Bruce). This is a well-kept and cleanly Fakir village, which
+contrasts agreeably with the ruins and filth of Berber. The Fakirs give
+themselves up to the practices of sorcery, magic, and charlatanism. One
+of them, it is said, could even make a lamb bleat in the stomach of the
+man who had stolen and eaten it! These ignorant people have entire
+faith in such fables, and it must be reluctantly admitted that the fact
+contributes not a little to the peace of the town and the prosperity of
+the country.
+
+From Damer, Burckhardt proceeded to Shendy, where he passed a month,
+during which time no one suspected him to be an infidel. Shendy had
+grown in importance since Bruce's visit, and now consisted of about a
+thousand houses. Considerable trade was carried on--grass, slaves, and
+cattle taking the place of specie. The principal marketable commodities
+were gum, ivory, gold, and ostrich feathers.
+
+According to Burckhardt, the number of slaves sold yearly at Shendy
+amounts to 5000; 2500 of these are for Arabia, 400 for Egypt, 1000 for
+Dongola and the districts of the Red Sea.
+
+The traveller employed his time during his stay at Sennaar in
+collecting information about that kingdom. Amongst other curious
+things, he was told that the king having one day invited the ambassador
+of Mehemet Ali to a cavalry review, which he considered rather
+formidable, the envoy in his turn begged the king to witness part of
+the Turkish artillery exercises. But at the outset of the
+performance--at the discharge of two small mounted guns--cavalry,
+infantry, spectators, courtiers, and the king himself, fled in terror.
+
+Burckhardt sold his wares, and then, worn out by the persecutions of
+the Egyptian merchants who were his companions, he joined the caravan
+at Suakin, intending to traverse the unknown district between that town
+and Shendy. From Suakin he meant to set out for Mecca, hoping to find
+the Hadji useful to him in the realization of his projects.
+
+"The Hadji," he says, "form one powerful body, and every member is
+protected, because if one is attacked the whole number take up arms."
+The caravan which Burckhardt now joined consisted of 150 merchants and
+300 slaves. Two hundred camels were employed to convey heavy bales of
+"danmour," a stuff manufactured in Sennaar, and cargoes of tobacco.
+
+The first object of interest to the travellers was the Atbara, a
+tributary of the Nile, whose banks, with their verdant trees, were
+grateful to the eye after the sandy desert. The course of the river was
+followed as far as the fertile district of Taka. During the journey the
+white skin of the pretended sheik Ibrahim (it will be remembered that
+this was the name assumed by Burckhardt) attracted much attention from
+the female population, who were little accustomed to the sight of
+Arabs.
+
+"One day," relates the traveller, "a girl of the country, of whom I had
+been buying onions, offered to give me an extra quantity if I would
+remove my turban, and show her my head. I demanded eight more onions,
+which she immediately produced. As I removed my turban, and exposed my
+white and close-shaven head to view, she sprang back in horror and
+dismay. I asked her jokingly if she would not like a husband with a
+similar head, to which she replied with much energy, and many
+expressions of disgust, that she would prefer the ugliest slave ever
+brought from Darfur."
+
+Just before Goz Radjeh was reached, Burckhardt's attention was
+attracted to a building, which he was told was either a church or
+temple, the same word having the two meanings. He at once proceeded in
+that direction, hoping to examine it, but his companions stopped him,
+saying, "It is surrounded by bands of robbers; you cannot go a hundred
+steps without danger of attack."
+
+Burckhardt was unable to decide whether it was an Egyptian temple, or a
+monument of the empire of Axum.
+
+At last the caravan entered the fertile district of Tak or El Gasch, a
+wide watered plain, whose soil is wonderfully fertile, but which for
+two months in the year is uninhabited. Grain is plentiful and is sold
+in Jeddah for twenty per cent. more than the best Egyptian millet.
+
+The inhabitants, who are called Hadendoa, are treacherous, dishonest,
+and bloodthirsty; and their women are almost as degraded as those of
+Shendy and Berber.
+
+Upon leaving Taka, the road to Suakin and the shores of the Red Sea lay
+over a chain of chalk hills. At Schenterab granite is found. The hills
+presented few difficulties, and the caravan reached Suakin in safety
+upon the 26th May. But Burckhardt's troubles were not yet at an end.
+The Emir and Aga combined to plunder him, and treated him as the lowest
+of slaves, until he produced the firman which he had received from
+Mehemet Ali and Ibrahim Pasha. This changed the face of affairs.
+Instead of being thrown into prison the traveller was invited to the
+Aga's, who offered him a present of a young slave. M. Vivien de Saint
+Martin writes of this expedition, "This journey of from twenty to
+twenty-five days, between the Nile and the Red Sea, was the first ever
+undertaken by a European. The observations collected, as to the settled
+or nomad tribes of these districts are invaluable for Europe.
+Burckhardt's narrative is of increasing interest, and few can compare
+with it for instruction and interest."
+
+Upon the 7th of July Burckhardt succeeded in embarking in a boat, and
+eleven days later he reached Jeddah, which serves as a harbour to
+Mecca. Jeddah is built upon the sea-shore, and is surrounded by a wall,
+which, insufficient as it would be against artillery, protects it
+perfectly from the attacks of the Wahabees, who have been nicknamed the
+"Puritans of Islamism." These people are a distinct sect, who claim to
+restore Mahomedanism to its primitive simplicity.
+
+"The entrance to the town, upon the side nearest the sea," says
+Burckhardt, "is protected by a battery which overlooks the entire fort,
+and is surmounted by one enormous piece of artillery capable of
+discharging a five-hundred pound shot, which is so renowned throughout
+the Arabian Gulf, that its reputation alone is enough to protect
+Jeddah."
+
+The greatest drawback to this city is its want of fresh water, which is
+brought from small wells two miles distant. Without gardens,
+vegetables, or date-trees, Jeddah, in spite of its population of twelve
+or fifteen thousand (a number which is doubled in the pilgrimage
+season) presents a strange appearance. The population is the reverse of
+autochthonous; it is composed of natives of Hadramaut and Yemen,
+Indians from Surat and Bombay, and Malays who come as pilgrims and
+settle in the town. Burckhardt introduces many anecdotes of interest
+into his account of the manners, mode of living, price of commodities,
+and number of traders in the place.
+
+[Illustration: Merchant of Jeddah. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Speaking of the singular customs of the natives of Jeddah, he
+says:--"It is the almost universal custom for everybody to swallow a
+cup full of ghee or melted butter in the morning. After this they take
+coffee, which they regard as a strong tonic; and they are so accustomed
+to this habit from their earliest years, that they feel greatly
+inconvenienced if they discontinue it. The higher classes are satisfied
+with drinking the cup of butter, but the lower classes add another half
+cup, which they draw up through the nostrils, imagining that they thus
+prevent bad air entering the body by those apertures."
+
+The traveller left Jeddah for Tayf on the 24th of August. The road
+winds over mountains and across valleys of romantic beauty and
+luxuriant verdure. Burckhardt was taken for an English spy at Tayf,
+and, although he was well received by the Pasha, he had no liberty, and
+could not carry on his observations.
+
+Tayf, it appears, is famous for the beauty of its gardens; roses and
+grapes are sent from it into all the districts of Hedjaz. This town had
+a considerable trade, and was very prosperous before it was plundered
+by the Wahabees.
+
+[Illustration: Shores and boats of the Red Sea.]
+
+The surveillance to which he was subjected hastened Burckhardt's
+departure, and upon the 7th of September he started for Mecca. Well
+versed in the study of the Koran, and acquainted with all the practices
+of Islamism, he was prepared to act the part of a pilgrim. His first
+care was to dress himself in accordance with the law prescribed for the
+faithful who enter Mecca--in the "ihram," or pieces of cloth without
+seam, one covering the loins, the other thrown over the neck and
+shoulders. The pilgrim's first duty is to proceed to the temple,
+without waiting even to procure a lodging. This Burckhardt did not fail
+to do, observing at the same time the rites and ceremonies prescribed
+in such cases, of which he gives many interesting particulars; we
+cannot, however, dwell upon them here.
+
+"Mecca," says Burckhardt, "may be called a pretty town. As a rule, the
+streets are wider than in most Eastern cities. The houses are lofty and
+built of stone; and its numerous windows, opening upon the street, give
+it a more cheerful and European aspect than the cities of Egypt or
+Syria, whose dwellings generally have few windows on the outside. Every
+house has a terrace built of stone, and sloping in such a way as to
+allow water to run down the gutters into the street. Low walls with
+parapets conceal these terraces; for, as everywhere else in the East,
+it is not thought right for a man to appear there; he would be accused
+of spying upon the women, who spend much of their time upon the terrace
+of the house, engaged in domestic work, drying corn, hanging out linen,
+&c."
+
+The only public place in the city is the large court of the Grand
+Mosque. Trees are rare; not a garden enlivens the view, and the scene
+depends for animation upon the well-stocked shops which abound during
+the pilgrimage. With the exception of four or five large houses
+belonging to the administration, two colleges, which have since been
+converted into warehouses for corn, and the mosque with the few
+buildings and colleges connected with it, Mecca can boast of no public
+buildings, and cannot compete in this respect with other cities in the
+East of the same size.
+
+The streets are unpaved; and as drains are unknown, water collects in
+puddles, and the accumulation of mud is inconceivable. For a water
+supply the natives trust to heaven, catching the rain in cisterns, for
+that obtained from the wells is so foul that it is impossible to drink
+it.
+
+In the centre of the town, where the valley widens a little, the mosque
+known as Beithóu'llah, or El Haram, is situated. This edifice owes its
+fame to the Kaaba which is enclosed in it, for other Eastern towns can
+boast of mosques equally large and more beautiful. El Haram is situated
+in an oblong space, surrounded on the eastern side by a quadruple
+colonnade, and by a triple one on the other. The columns are connected
+by pointed arches, upon each four stand little domes constructed of
+mortar and whitened outside. Some of these columns are of white marble,
+granite, or porphyry, but the greater part are of the common stone
+found among the mountains of Mecca.
+
+The Kaaba has been so often ruined and restored that no trace of a
+remote antiquity remains. It was in existence before this mosque was
+built.
+
+The traveller says, "The Kaaba is placed upon an inclined base some two
+feet high, and its roof being flat, it presents the appearance at a
+little distance of a perfect cube. The only door by which it can be
+entered, and which is opened two or three times a year, is on the north
+side, about seven feet above the ground, for which reason one cannot
+enter except by means of a wooden staircase. The famous 'black stone'
+is enshrined at the north-eastern corner of the Kaaba, near the door,
+and forms one of the angles of the building four or five feet above the
+floor of the court. It is difficult to ascertain the exact nature of
+this stone, as its surface has been completely worn and reduced to its
+present condition by the kisses and worshipping touches bestowed upon
+it by countless millions of pilgrims. The Kaaba is entirely covered
+with black silk, which envelopes its sides, leaving the roof exposed.
+This veil or curtain is called 'the Kesoua,' and is renewed yearly
+during the pilgrimage. It is brought from Cairo, where it is
+manufactured at the expense of the Viceroy."
+
+Up to the time of Burckhardt no such detailed account of Mecca and her
+sanctuary had been given to the world. For this reason we shall insert
+extracts from the original narrative; extracts which might indeed be
+multiplied, for they include circumstantial accounts of the sacred
+well, called Zemzem, water from which is considered as an infallible
+remedy for every complaint. The traveller speaks also of the "Gate of
+Salvation," of the Makam Ibrahim, a monument containing the stone upon
+which Abraham sat when he was engaged in building the Kaaba, and where
+the marks of his knees may still be seen, and of all the buildings
+enclosed within the temple precincts.
+
+Judging from Burckhardt's minute and complete description, these spots
+still retain their former physiognomy. The same number of pilgrims
+chant the same songs; the men only are no longer the same. His accounts
+of the feast of the pilgrimage and the holy enthusiasm of the faithful,
+are followed by a picture which brings before us, in the most sombre
+colours, the effects of this great gathering of men, attracted from
+every part of the world.
+
+"The termination of the pilgrimage," he says, "lends a very different
+aspect to the mosque. Illness and death, consequent upon the great
+fatigues undergone during the voyage, are accelerated by the scanty
+covering afforded by the Ihram, the unhealthy dwellings of Mecca, the
+bad food, and frequent absolute dearth of provisions. The temple is
+filled with corpses brought thither to receive the prayers of the Iman,
+or with sick persons who insist upon being carried, as their last hours
+approach, to the colonnade, hoping to be saved by the sight of the
+Kaaba, or in any case to have the consolation of expiring within the
+sacred precincts. One sees poor pilgrims, sinking under illness and
+hunger, dragging their weary bodies along the colonnade; and when they
+no longer have the strength to stretch out a hand to the passer-by,
+they place a little jar beside the mat upon which they are laid, to
+receive what charity may bestow upon them. As they feel the last moment
+approach, they cover themselves with their ragged clothes, and very
+often a day passes before it is ascertained that they are dead."
+
+We will conclude our extracts from Burckhardt's account of Mecca with
+his opinion of the inhabitants.
+
+"Although the natives of Mecca possess grand qualities, although they
+are pleasant, hospitable, cheerful and proud, they openly transgress
+the Koran by drinking, gambling, and smoking. Deceit and perjury are no
+longer looked upon as crimes by them; they do not ignore the scandal
+such vices bring upon them; but while each individually exclaims
+against the corruption of manners, none reform themselves."
+
+Upon the 15th of January, 1815, Burckhardt left Mecca with a caravan of
+pilgrims on their way to visit the tomb of the prophet. The journey to
+Medina, like that between Mecca and Jeddah, was accomplished at night,
+and afforded little opportunity for observation. In the winter
+night-travelling is less comfortable than travelling by day. A valley
+called Wady-Fatme, but generally known as El-Wadi, was crossed; it
+abounded in shrubs and date-trees, and was well cultivated in the
+eastern portion. A little beyond it lies the valley of Es-Ssafra, the
+market of the neighbouring tribes and celebrated for its plantations of
+dates.
+
+The traveller relates that "The groves of date-trees extend for nearly
+four miles, and belong to the natives of Ssafra as well as to the
+Bedouins of the neighbourhood, who employ labourers to water the
+ground, and come themselves to reap the harvest. The date-trees pass
+from one person to another in the course of trade; they are sold
+separately. A father often receives three date-trees as the price of
+the daughter he gives in marriage. They are all planted in deep sand
+brought from the middle of the valley, and piled up over their roots;
+they ought to be renewed every year, and they are generally swept away
+by the torrents. Each little plot is surrounded by a wall of mud or
+stone, and the cultivators live in hamlets or isolated cabins among the
+trees. The principal stream flows through a grove near the market;
+beside it rises a little mosque, shaded by large chestnuts. I had seen
+none before in the Hedjaz."
+
+Burckhardt was thirteen days in reaching Medina. But this rather long
+journey was not lost time to him; he collected much information about
+the Arabs and the Wahabees. At Medina, as at Mecca, the pilgrim's first
+duty is to visit the tomb and mosque of Mahomet; but the ceremonies
+attending the visit are much easier and shorter, and the traveller
+performed them in a quarter of an hour.
+
+Burckhardt's stay at Mecca had already been prejudicial to him. At
+Medina he was attacked by intermittent fever, which increased in
+violence, and was accompanied by violent sickness. This soon so reduced
+him, that he could no longer rise from his carpet without the
+assistance of his slave, "a poor fellow who by nature and habit was
+more fit to tend camels than to take care of his worn-out and enfeebled
+master."
+
+Burckhardt being detained at Medina for more than three months by a
+fever, due to bad climate, the detestable quality of the water, and the
+prevalence of infectious illnesses, was forced to relinquish his
+project of crossing the desert to Akabah, in order to reach Yanibo as
+quickly as possible, and from thence embark for Egypt.
+
+"Next to Aleppo," he says, "Medina is the best-built town I have seen
+in the East. It is entirely of stone, the houses being generally three
+stories high, with flat tops. As they are not whitewashed, and the
+stone is brown in colour, the streets, which are very narrow, have
+usually a sombre appearance. They are often only two or three paces
+wide. At the present time Medina looks desolate enough; the houses are
+falling into ruins. Their owners, who formerly derived a considerable
+profit from the inroad of pilgrims, find their revenues diminishing, as
+the Wahabees forbid visitors to the tomb of the prophet, alleging that
+he was but a mere mortal. The possession which places Medina on a par
+with Mecca is the Grand Mosque, containing the tomb of Mahomet. This is
+smaller than that at Mecca, but is built upon the same plan, in a large
+square courtyard, surrounded on all sides by covered galleries, and
+having a small building in the centre. The famous tomb, surrounded by
+an iron railing painted green, is near the eastern corner. It is of
+good workmanship, in imitation of filagree, and interlaced with
+inscriptions in copper. Four doors, of which three lead into this
+enclosure, are kept constantly shut. Permission to enter is freely
+accorded to persons of rank, and others can purchase permission of the
+principal eunuchs for about fifteen piasters. In the interior are
+hangings which surround the tomb, and are only a few feet from it."
+According to the historian of Medina, these hangings cover a square
+edifice, built of black stones, and supported upon two columns, in the
+interior of which are the sepulchres of Mahomet and his two eldest
+disciples, Abou-Bekr and Omar. He also states that these sepulchres are
+deep holes, and that the coffin which contains the ashes of Mahomet is
+covered with silver, and surmounted by a marble slab with the
+inscription, "In the name of God, give him thy pity." The fables which
+were spread throughout Europe as to the tomb of the prophet being
+suspended in mid air, are unknown in the Hedjaz. The mosque was robbed
+of a great part of its treasures by the Wahabees, but there is some
+ground for believing that they had been forestalled by the successive
+guardians of the tomb.
+
+Many other interesting details of Medina, and its inhabitants,
+surroundings, and the haunts of pilgrims, are to be found in
+Burckhardt's narrative. But we have given sufficient extracts to induce
+the reader who desires further information respecting the manners and
+customs of the Arabs, which have not changed, to refer to the book
+itself.
+
+Upon the 21st of April, 1815, Burckhardt joined a caravan which
+conducted him to Yembo, where the plague was raging. The traveller at
+once fell ill and became so weak that it was impossible for him to
+resort to a country place. To embark was equally impossible; all the
+vessels which were ready to start were crowded with soldiers. He was
+compelled to remain eighteen days in the unhealthy little town, before
+he could obtain a passage in a small vessel which took him to Cosseir,
+and thence to Egypt.
+
+Upon his return to Cairo Burckhardt heard of his father's death. The
+traveller's constitution had been sorely tried by illness, and he was
+unable to attempt the ascent of Mount Sinai until 1816. The study of
+natural history, the publication of his diary, and his correspondence,
+occupied him until 1817, at which time he expected to go with a caravan
+to Fezzan. Unfortunately he succumbed to a sudden attack of fever, his
+last words being, "Write and tell my mother that my last thought was of
+her."
+
+Burckhardt was an accomplished traveller; well-informed, exact to
+minuteness, patient, courageous, and endowed with an upright and
+energetic character. His writings are of great value; the narrative of
+his voyage in Arabia--of which he unfortunately could not explore the
+interior--is so complete and precise, that owing to it that country was
+then better known than many in Europe.
+
+In writing to his father from Cairo on the 13th of March, 1817, he
+says, "I have never said a word about what I have seen and met with
+that my conscience did not entirely justify; I did not expose myself to
+so much danger in order to write a romance!"
+
+The explorers who have succeeded him in the same countries unanimously
+testify to his exactness, and agree in praising his fidelity,
+knowledge, and sagacity.
+
+"Few travellers," says the _Revue Germanique_, "have enjoyed in a like
+degree the faculty of observation. That is a rare gift of nature, like
+all eminent qualities. He possessed a sort of intuition which discerned
+the truth, apart from his own observations, and thus information given
+by him from hearsay has a value that seldom attaches to statements of
+that nature. His mind, early ripened by reflection and study (he was
+but in his thirty-third year at the time of his death), invariably went
+straight to the point. His narrative, always sober, is filled--one may
+say--rather with things than words; yet his narratives possess infinite
+charm; one admires the man in them as much as the savant and observer."
+
+While the Biblical countries occupied the attention of Seetzen and
+Burckhardt, India, the birthplace of most of the European languages,
+was about to command the attention of students of language, literature,
+and religion, as well as of geography. For the present our concern is
+with those problems of physical geography, which the conquests and
+studies of the India Company were about to solve by degrees.
+
+In a preceding volume we have related how the Portuguese rule was
+established in India. The union of Portugal with Spain, in 1599, led to
+the fall of the Portuguese colonies, which came into the possession of
+the English and Dutch. England soon afterwards granted a monopoly of
+the commerce of India to a Company which was destined to play an
+important part in history.
+
+At this time Akbar, the great Mogul emperor, the seventh descendant of
+Timour Leng, had established a vast empire in Hindustan and Bengal,
+upon the ruins of the Rajpoot kingdoms. Owing to the personal qualities
+of Akbar, which had gained for him the surname of the Benefactor of
+Man, that empire was at the height of its glory. The same brilliant
+course was pursued by Shah Jehan; but Akbar's grandson, Aurung Zeb,
+inspired by an insatiable ambition, assassinated his brothers,
+imprisoned his father, and seized the reins of government. While the
+Mogul Empire was in the enjoyment of profound peace, a clever
+adventurer laid the foundations of the Mahratta Empire. The religious
+intolerance of Aurung Zeb, and his crafty policy, led to the
+insurrection of the Rajpoots, and a struggle, which by draining the
+resources of the empire, shook his power. The death of the great
+usurper was followed by the decadence of the empire.
+
+Up to this period the India Company had been unable to add to the
+narrow strip of territory which they possessed at the ports, but it was
+now to benefit by the conflict between the nabobs and rajahs of
+Hindustan. It was not, however, until after the taking of Madras, in
+1746, by La Bourdonnais, and the struggle against Dupleix, that the
+influence and dominion of the English Company was materially increased.
+
+The crafty policy of Clive and Hastings, the English Governors, who
+successively employed force, stratagem, and bribery, to attain their
+ends, laid the foundation of British greatness in India, and, at the
+close of the last century, the Company were possessors of an immense
+extent of country, with no less than sixty millions of inhabitants.
+Their territory included Bengal, Behar, the provinces of Benares,
+Madras, and the Sircars. Tippoo Saib alone, the Sultan of Mysore,
+struggled against the English encroachments, but he was unable to hold
+out against the coalition formed against him by the skill of Colonel
+Wellesley. When rid of their formidable enemies, the Company overcame
+such opposition as remained by pensions; and, under the pretext of
+protection, imposed upon the rajahs an English garrison which was
+maintained at their expense.
+
+One would imagine from all this that the English rule was detested; but
+that is not the case. The Company, recognizing the rights of
+individuals, did not attempt to change the religion, laws, or customs
+of their subjects. Neither is it surprising that travellers, even when
+they ventured into districts which, properly speaking, did not belong
+to Great Britain, incurred but little danger. In fact, so soon as the
+East India Company was free from political embarrassments, it
+encouraged explorers throughout its vast domains. At the same time
+travellers were despatched to the neighbouring territories to collect
+observations, and we propose rapidly to review those expeditions.
+
+[Illustration: Map of English India and part of Persia. Gravé par E.
+Morieu.]
+
+One of the first and most curious was that of Webb to the sources of
+the Ganges, a river concerning which uncertain and contradictory
+opinions prevailed. The Government of Bengal, recognizing the great
+importance of the Ganges in the interests of commerce, organized an
+expedition, of which Messrs. Webb, Roper, and Hearsay, formed part.
+They were to be accompanied by Sepoys, native servants, and
+interpreters.
+
+The expedition reached Herdouar, a small village on the left of the
+river, upon the 1st of April, 1808. The situation of this village, at
+the entrance of the fertile plains of Hindustan, had caused it to be
+much frequented by pilgrims, and it was at this spot that purifications
+in the waters of the holy river took place during the hot season.
+
+As every pilgrimage implies the sale of relics, Herdouar was the centre
+of an important market, where horses, camels, antimony, asafoetida,
+dried fruits, shawls, arrows, muslins, cotton and woollen goods from
+the Punjab, Cabulistan, and Cashmere, were to be had. Slaves, too, were
+to be bought there from three to thirty years of age, at prices varying
+from 10 to 150 rupees. This fair, where such different races,
+languages, and costumes were to be met with, presented a curious
+spectacle.
+
+Upon the 12th of April the English expedition set out for Gangautri,
+following a road planted with white mulberries and figs, as far as
+Gourondar. A little farther on water-mills of simple construction were
+at work, upon the banks of streams shaded with willows and
+raspberry-trees. The soil was fertile, but the tyranny of the
+Government prevented the natives from making the best of it.
+
+The route soon became mountainous, but peach, apricot, nut, and other
+European trees abounded, and at length the expedition found themselves
+in the midst of a chain of mountains, which appeared to belong to the
+Himalaya range.
+
+The Baghirati, which is known further on as the Ganges, was met with at
+the end of a pass. To the left, the river is bounded by high, almost
+barren mountains; to the right stretches a fertile valley. At the
+village of Tchiavli, the poppy is largely cultivated for the
+preparation of opium; here, owing probably, to the bad quality of the
+water, all the peasants suffer from wens.
+
+At Djosvara the travellers had to cross a bridge of rope, called a
+"djorila." This was a strange and perilous structure.
+
+"On either side of the river," says Webb, "two strong poles are driven
+in, at a distance of two feet from each other, and across them is
+placed another piece of wood. To this is attached a dozen or more thick
+ropes, which are held down upon the ground by large heaps of wood. They
+are divided into two packets, about a foot apart; Blow hangs a ladder
+of rope knotted to one of these, which answers instead of a parapet.
+The flooring of the bridge is composed of small branches of trees,
+placed at intervals of two and a half, or three feet from each other.
+As these are generally slender, they seem as if they were on the point
+of breaking every moment, which naturally induces the traveller to
+depend upon the support of the ropes which form the parapet, and to
+keep them constantly under their arms. The first step taken upon so
+shaky a structure is sufficient to cause giddiness, for the action of
+walking makes it swing to either side, and the noise of the torrent
+over which it is suspended is not reassuring. Moreover the bridge is so
+narrow, that if two persons meet upon it, one must draw completely to
+the side to make room for the other."
+
+[Illustration: Bridge of rope.]
+
+The expedition afterwards passed through the town of Baharat, where but
+few of the houses have been rebuilt since the earthquake of 1803. This
+locality has always enjoyed a certain importance from the fact that a
+market is held there, and also on account of the difficulty of
+obtaining provisions in the towns higher up, as well as from its
+central position. The routes to Jemauhi, Kedar, Nath, and Sirinagur all
+meet there.
+
+Beyond Batheri the road became so bad that the travellers were obliged
+to abandon their baggage. There was a mere path-track by the edge of
+precipices, amid débris of stones and rocks; and the attempt to proceed
+was soon relinquished.
+
+Devaprayaga is situated at the junction of the Baghirati, and the
+Aluknanda. The first, coming from the north, hurries along with noise
+and impetuosity; the second, broader, deeper, and more tranquil, rises
+no less than forty-six feet above its ordinary level in the rainy
+season. The junction of these two rivers forms the Ganges, and is a
+sacred spot from which the Brahmins draw considerable profit, as they
+have arranged pools there, where for a certain price pilgrims can
+perform their ablutions without danger of being carried away by the
+current.
+
+The Aluknanda was crossed by means of a running bridge, or "Dindla,"
+which is thus described:--
+
+"This bridge consists of three or four large ropes fixed upon either
+bank, and upon these a small seat some eighteen inches square is slung
+by means of hoops at either end. Upon this seat the traveller takes his
+place, and is drawn from one side of the river to the other by a rope
+pulled by the man upon the opposite bank."
+
+The expedition reached Sirinagur upon the 13th of May. The curiosity of
+the inhabitants had been so much excited that the magistrates sent a
+message to the English begging them to march through the town.
+
+Sirinagur, which had been visited by Colonel Hardwick in 1796, had been
+almost completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1803, and had in the
+same year been conquered by the Gorkhalis. Here Webb was joined by the
+emissaries whom he had sent to Gangautri by the route which he himself
+had been unable to follow, and who had visited the source of the
+Ganges.
+
+"A large rock," he says, "on either side of which water flows, and
+which is very shallow, roughly resembles the body and mouth of a cow. A
+cavity at one end of its surface gave rise to its name of Gaoumokhi,
+the mouth of the cow, who, by its fancied resemblance, is popularly
+supposed to vomit the water of the sacred river. A little farther on,
+advance is impossible, a mountain as steep as a wall rises in front;
+the Ganges appeared to issue from the snow, which lay at its feet; the
+valley terminated here. No one has ever gone any farther."
+
+The expedition returned by a different route. It met with the
+tributaries of the Ganges, and of the Keli Ganga, or Mandacni, rivers
+rising in the Mountains of Kerdar. Immense flocks of goats and sheep
+laden with grain were met with, numbers of defiles crossed, and after
+passing the towns of Badrinath and Manah the expedition finally reached
+the cascade of Barson, in the midst of heavy snow and intense cold.
+
+"This," says Webb's narrative, "is the goal of the devotions of the
+pilgrims. Some of them come here to be sprinkled by the sacred spray of
+the cascade. At this spot the course of the Aluknanda may be traced as
+far as the south-western extremity of the valley, but its source is
+hidden under heaps of snow, which have probably been accumulating for
+centuries."
+
+Webb furnishes some details respecting the women of Manah. They wore
+necklaces, earrings, and gold and silver ornaments, which were scarcely
+in keeping with their coarse attire. Some of the children wore
+necklaces and bracelets of silver to the value of six hundred rupees.
+
+In winter, this town, which does a great trade with Thibet, is
+completely buried in snow, and the natives take refuge in neighbouring
+towns.
+
+The expedition visited the temple at Badrinath, which is far-famed for
+its sanctity. Neither its internal nor external structure or appearance
+give any idea of the immense sums which are expended upon it. It is one
+of the oldest and most venerated sanctuaries of India. Ablutions are
+performed there in reservoirs fed with very warm sulphureous water.
+
+"There are," says the narrative, "a great number of hot springs, each
+having their special name and virtue, and from all of them doubtless
+the Brahmins derive profit. For this reason, the poor pilgrim, as he
+gets through the requisite ablutions, finds his purse diminish with the
+number of his sins, and the many tolls exacted from him upon the road
+to paradise might induce him to consider the narrow way by no means the
+least expensive one. This temple possesses seven hundred villages,
+which have either been ceded to it by government, given as security for
+loans, or bought by private individuals and given as offerings."
+
+The expedition reached Djosimah on the 1st of June. There the Brahmin
+who acted as guide received orders from the government of Nepaul, to
+conduct the travellers back immediately to the territories of the
+Company. The government had discovered, a little late it must be
+admitted, that the English explorations had a political as well as a
+geographical significance. A month afterwards, Webb and his companions
+entered Delhi, having definitely settled the course of the Ganges, and
+ascertained the sources of the Baghirati and Aluknanda; in fact, having
+attained the object which the Company had had in view.
+
+In 1808, the English government decided upon sending a new mission to
+the Punjab, then under the dominion of Runjeet Sing. The anonymous
+narrative of this expedition published in the "Annales des Voyages"
+offers some particulars of interest, from which we will extract a few.
+
+Upon the 6th of April, 1808, an English officer, in charge of the
+expedition, reached Herdonai, which he represents as the rendezvous of
+a million individuals at the time of the yearly fair. At Boria, which
+is situated between the Jumna and the Sutlej, the traveller was an
+object of much curiosity to the women, who begged permission to come
+and see him.
+
+"Their looks and gestures," says the narrative, "sufficiently expressed
+their surprise. They approached me laughing heartily, the colour of my
+face amused them extremely. They addressed many questions to me, asking
+me whether I never wore a hat, whether I exposed my face to the sun,
+whether I remained continually shut up, or only walked out under
+shelter, and whether I slept upon the table placed in my tent, although
+my bed occupied one side of it; the curtains were, however, closed.
+They then examined it in detail, together with the lining of my tent
+and everything belonging to it. These women were all good-looking, with
+mild and regular features, their complexion was olive, and contrasted
+agreeably with their white and even teeth, which are a distinguishing
+feature of all the inhabitants of the Punjab."
+
+Mustafabad, Mulana, and Umballa were visited in succession by the
+British officer. The country through which he passed was inhabited by
+Sikhs, a race remarkable for benevolence, hospitality, and
+truthfulness. The author of the narrative is of opinion that they are
+the finest race of men in India. Puttiala, Makeonara, Fegonara,
+Oudamitta, which Lord Lake entered in 1805 in his pursuit of a Mahratta
+chief, and finally Amritsur were stages easily passed.
+
+Amritsur is better built than the generality of towns in Hindustan. It
+is the largest depôt of shawls and saffron as well as other articles of
+Deccan merchandise. The traveller says:--
+
+"Upon the 14th, having put white shoes on my feet, I paid a visit to
+the Amritsur or reservoir of the elixir of immortality from whence the
+city derives its name. It is a reservoir of about 135 feet square,
+built of brick, and in the centre is a pretty temple dedicated to
+Gourogovind Sing. A footpath leads to it; it is decorated both within
+and without, and the rajah often adds to its stores by gifts of
+ornaments. In this sacred receptacle, the book of the laws, written by
+Gouron in the 'gourou moukhtis' character, is placed. This temple is
+called Hermendel, or the Dwelling of God. Some 600 priests are attached
+to its service, and comfortable dwellings are provided for them out of
+the voluntary contributions of the devotees who visit the temple.
+Although the priests are regarded with infinite respect, they are not
+absolutely free from vice. When they have money, they spend it as
+freely as they have gained it. The number of pretty women who daily
+repair to the temple is very great. They far excel the women of the
+inferior classes in Hindustan in the elegance of their manners, their
+fine proportions, and handsome features."
+
+Lahore was next visited by the officer. It is interesting to know what
+remained of that fine city at the commencement of the present century.
+The narrative says:--
+
+"Its very high walls are ornamented externally with all the profusion
+of Eastern taste, but they are falling into ruins, as are also the
+mosques and houses inside the town. Time has laid its destructive hand
+upon this city, as upon Delhi and Agra. The ruins of Lahore are already
+as extensive as those of that ancient capital."
+
+Three days after his arrival the traveller was received with great
+politeness by Runjeet Sing, who conversed with him, principally upon
+military topics. The rajah was then twenty-seven years of age. His
+countenance would have been pleasant, had not the small-pox deprived
+him of one eye; his manners were simple, affable, and yet kingly. After
+paying visits to the tomb of Shah Jehan, to the Schalamar, and other
+monuments at Lahore, the officer returned to Delhi and the possessions
+of the Company. To his visit was due that better knowledge of the
+country which could not fail to tempt the ambition of the English
+Government.
+
+The following year (1809), an embassy, consisting of Messrs. Nicholas
+Hankey Smith, Henry Ellis, Robert Taylor, and Henry Pottinger, was sent
+to the Emirs of Scinde. The escort was commanded by Captain Charles
+Christie.
+
+The mission was transported to Keratchy by boat. The governor of that
+fort refused to allow the embassy to disembark, without instructions
+from the emirs. An interchange of correspondence ensued, as a result of
+which the envoy, Smith, drew attention to certain improprieties
+relating to the title and respective rank of the Governor-General and
+the emirs. The governor excused himself upon the ground of his
+ignorance of the Persian language, and said, that not wishing a cause
+of misunderstanding to exist, he was quite ready to kill or put out the
+eyes (as the envoy pleased) of the person who had written the letter.
+This declaration appeared sufficient to the English, who deprecated the
+execution of the guilty person.
+
+In their letters the emirs affected a tone of contemptuous superiority;
+at the same time they brought a body of 8000 men within reach, and put
+every possible difficulty in the way of the English efforts to procure
+information. After tedious negotiations, in the course of which British
+pride was humbled more than once, the embassy received permission to
+start for Hyderabad.
+
+Above Keratchy, which is the principal export harbour of Scinde, a vast
+plain without trees or vegetation extends along the coast. Five days
+are necessary to cross this, and reach Tatah, the ancient capital of
+Scinde, then ruined and deserted. Formerly it was brought into
+communication by means of canals, with the Sind, an immense river,
+which is, at its mouth, in reality an arm of the sea. Pottinger
+collected the most precise, complete, and useful details respecting the
+Sind, which were then known.
+
+It had been arranged beforehand that the embassy should find a
+plausible excuse for separating and reaching Hyderabad by two different
+routes, in order to obtain geographical information on the country. The
+city was soon reached, and the same difficult negotiations about the
+reception of the embassy, who refused to submit to the humiliating
+exactions of the emirs, had to be gone through. Pottinger thus
+describes the arrival at Hyderabad. "The precipice upon which the
+eastern façade of the fortress of Hyderabad is situated, the roofs of
+the houses, and even the fortifications, were thronged by a multitude
+of both sexes, who testified friendly feeling towards us by acclamation
+and applause. Upon reaching the palace, where they were to dismount,
+the English were met by Ouli Mahommed Khan and other eminent officers,
+who walked before us towards a covered platform, at the extremity of
+which the emirs were seated. This platform being covered with the
+richest Persian carpet, we took off our shoes. From the moment the
+envoy took the first step towards the princes, they all three rose, and
+remained standing until he reached the place pointed out to him--an
+embroidered cloth, which distinguished him from the rest of the
+embassy. The princes addressed to each of us polite questions
+respecting our health. As it was a purely ceremonial reception,
+everything went off well, with compliments and polite expressions.
+
+"The emirs wore a great number of precious stones, in addition to those
+which ornamented the hilts and scabbards of their swords and daggers,
+and emeralds and rubies of extraordinary size shone at their girdles.
+They were seated according to age, the eldest in the centre, the second
+to his right, the youngest on the left. A carpet of light felt covered
+the entire circle, and over this was a mattress of silk about an inch
+thick, exactly large enough to accommodate the three princes."
+
+[Illustration: "They were seated according to age."]
+
+The narrative concludes with a description of Hyderabad, a fortress
+which would have scarcely been able to offer any resistance to a
+European enemy, and with various reflections upon the nature of the
+embassy, which had amongst other aims the closing of the entrance of
+Scinde against the French. The treaty concluded, the English returned
+to Bombay.
+
+By this expedition the East India Company gained a better knowledge of
+one of the neighbouring kingdoms, and collected precious documents
+relating to the resources and productions of a country traversed by an
+immense river, the Indus of the ancients, which rises in the Himalayas,
+and might readily serve to transport the products of an immense
+territory. The end gained was perhaps rather political than
+geographical; but science profited, once more, by political needs.
+
+Hitherto the little knowledge that had been gained of the regions lying
+between Cabulistan, India, and Persia, had been as incomplete as it was
+defective.
+
+The Company, thoroughly satisfied with the manner in which Captain
+Christie and Lieutenant Pottinger had accomplished their embassy,
+resolved to confide to them a delicate and difficult mission. They were
+to rejoin General Malcolm, ambassador to Persia, by crossing
+Beluchistan, and in so doing to collect more accurate and precise
+details of that vast extent of country than had hitherto been acquired.
+
+It was useless to think of crossing Beluchistan, with its fanatic
+population, in European dress. Christie and Pottinger, therefore, had
+recourse to a Hindu merchant, who provided horses on behalf of the
+Governments of Madras and Bombay, and accredited them as his agents to
+Kelat, the capital of Beluchistan.
+
+Upon the 2nd of January, 1810, the two officers embarked at Bombay for
+Someany, the sole sea-port of the province of Lhossa, which they
+reached after a stay at Poorbunder, on the coast of Guzerat.
+
+The entire country traversed by the travellers before they arrived at
+Bela was a morass, interspersed with jungle. The "Djam," or governor of
+that town, was an intelligent man. He put numerous questions to the
+English, by which he showed a desire to learn, and then confided the
+task of conducting the travellers to Kelat, to the chief of the tribe
+of Bezendjos, who are Belutchis.
+
+[Illustration: Beluchistan warriors. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The climate had changed since they left Bombay, and in the mountains,
+Pottinger and Christie experienced cold sufficiently keen to freeze the
+water in the leather bottles.
+
+"Kelat," says Pottinger, "the capital of the whole of Beluchistan,
+whence it derives its name, Kelat, or _the city_, is situated upon a
+height to the west of a well-cultivated plain or valley, eight miles
+long and three wide. The greater portion of this is laid out in
+gardens. The town forms a square. It is surrounded on three sides by a
+mud wall about twenty feet high, flanked, at distances of 250 feet, by
+bastions, which, like the walls, are pierced with a large number of
+barbicans for musketry. I had no opportunity of visiting the interior
+of the palace, but it consists merely of a confused mass of mud
+buildings with flat roofs like terraces; the whole is defended by low
+walls, furnished with parapets and pierced with barbicans. There are
+about 2500 houses in the town, and nearly half as many in the suburbs.
+They are built of half-baked bricks and wood, the whole smeared over
+with mud. The streets, as a rule, are larger than those in towns
+inhabited by Asiatics. They usually have a raised footway on either
+side for pedestrians, in the centre an open stream, which is rendered
+very unpleasant by the filth and rubbish thrown into it, and by the
+stagnant rainwater which collects, for there is no regulation insisting
+upon it being cleaned. Another obstacle to the cleanliness and comfort
+of the town exists in the projection of the upper stories of the
+houses, which makes the under buildings damp and dark. The bazaar of
+Kelat is very large, and well stocked with every kind of merchandize.
+Every day it is supplied with provisions, vegetables, and all kinds of
+food, which are cheap."
+
+According to Pottinger's account, the population is divided into two
+distinct classes--the Belutchis and the Brahouis, and each of these is
+subdivided into a number of tribes. The first is related to the modern
+Persian, both in appearance and speech; the Brahoui, on the contrary,
+retains a great number of Hindu words. Intermarriage between the two
+has given rise to a third.
+
+The Belutchis, coming from the mountains of Mekram, are "Tunnites,"
+that is to say, they consider the first four Imans as the legitimate
+successors of Mahomet.
+
+They are a pastoral people, and have the faults and virtues of their
+class. If they are hospitable, they are also indolent, and pass their
+time in gambling and smoking. As a rule, they content themselves with
+one or two wives, and are less jealous of their being seen by strangers
+than are other Mussulmen. They have a large number of slaves of both
+sexes, whom they treat humanely. They are excellent marksmen, and
+passionately fond of hunting. Brave under all circumstances, they take
+pleasure in "razzias," which they call "tchépaos." As a rule, these
+expeditions are undertaken by the Nherouis, the wildest and most
+thievish of the Belutchis.
+
+The Brahouis carry their wandering habits still farther. Few men are
+more active and strong; they endure the glacial cold of the mountains
+equally with the burning heat of the plains. They are of small stature,
+but as brave, as skilful in shooting, as faithful to their promises, as
+the Belutchis, and have not so pronounced a taste for plunder.
+
+Pottinger says, "I have seen no Asiatic people whom they resemble, for
+a large number have brown hair and beards."
+
+After a short stay at Kelat, the two travellers, who still passed as
+horse-dealers, resolved to continue their journey, but instead of
+following the high road to Kandahar, they crossed a dreary and barren
+country, ill-populated, watered by the Caisser, a river which dries up
+during the summer; and they reached a little town, called Noschky or
+Nouchky, on the frontier of Afghanistan.
+
+At this place, the Belutchis, who appeared friendly, represented to
+them the great difficulty of reaching Khorassan and its capital, Herat,
+by way of Sedjistan. They advised the travellers to try to reach Kerman
+by way of Kedje and Benpor, or by Serhed, a village on the western
+frontier of Beluchistan, and from thence to enter Nermanchir. At the
+same moment the idea of following two distinct routes presented itself
+to both Christie and Pottinger. This course was contrary to their
+instructions; "but," said Pottinger, "we found a ready excuse in the
+unquestionable advantage which would result from our procuring more
+extensive geographical and statistical knowledge of the country we were
+sent to explore than we could hope to do by travelling together."
+
+Christie set out first, by way of Douchak. We shall follow his fortunes
+hereafter.
+
+A few days later, while still at Noutch, Pottinger received letters
+from his correspondent at Kelat, telling him that the emirs of Scinde
+were searching for them, as they had been recognized, and that his best
+plan for safety was to set out immediately.
+
+Upon the 25th of March Pottinger started for Serawan, a very small town
+near the Afghan frontier. Upon his way thither Pottinger met with some
+singular altars, or tombs, the construction of which was attributed to
+the Ghebers, or fire-worshippers, who are known in our day as Parsees.
+
+Serawan is six miles from the Serawani mountains, in a sterile and bare
+district. This town owes its existence to the constant supply of water
+it derives from the Beli, an inestimable advantage in a country
+constantly exposed to drought, scarcity, and famine.
+
+Pottinger afterwards visited the Kharan, celebrated for the strength
+and activity of its camels, and crossed the desert which forms the
+southern extremity of Afghanistan. The sand of this desert is so fine
+that its particles are almost impalpable, and the action of the wind
+causes it to accumulate into heaps ten or twenty feet high, divided by
+deep valleys. Even in calm weather a great number of particles float in
+the air, giving rise to a mirage of a peculiar kind, and getting into
+the traveller's eyes, mouth, and nostrils, cause an excessive
+irritation, with an insatiable thirst.
+
+In all this territory, Pottinger personated a "pyrzadeh," or holy man,
+for the natives are of a very thievish disposition, and in the
+character of a merchant he might have been involved in unpleasant
+adventures. After leaving the village of Goul, in the district of
+Daizouk, the traveller passed through the ruined towns of Asmanabad,
+Hefter, and Pourah, where Pottinger was forced to admit that he was a
+"Feringhi," to the great scandal of the guide, who during the two
+months they had been together had never doubted him, and to whom he had
+given many proofs of sanctity.
+
+At last, worn out by fatigue, and at the end of his resources,
+Pottinger reached Benpor, a locality which had been visited in 1808 by
+Mr. Grant, a captain in the Bengal Sepoy Infantry. Encouraged by the
+excellent account given by that officer, Pottinger presented himself to
+the Serdar. But instead of affording him the necessary help for the
+prosecution of his journey, that functionary, discontented with the
+small present Pottinger offered him, found means to extort from him a
+pair of pistols, which would have been of great use to him.
+
+Basman is the last inhabited town of Beluchistan. At this spot there is
+a hot sulphureous spring, which the Belutchis consider a certain cure
+for cutaneous diseases.
+
+The frontiers of Persia are far from "scientific," hence a large tract
+of country remains not neutral, but a subject of dispute, and is the
+scene of sanguinary contests.
+
+The little town of Regan, in Nermanchir, is very pretty. It is a fort,
+or rather a fortified village, surrounded by high walls, in good
+repair, and furnished with bastions.
+
+Further on, in Persia proper, lies Benn, a town which was formerly of
+importance, as the ruins which surround it sufficiently prove. Here
+Pottinger was cordially received by the governor.
+
+"On approaching," says Pottinger, "he turned to one of his suite and
+asked where the 'Feringhi' was. I was pointed out to him. Making me a
+sign to follow him, his fixed look at me, which took me in from head to
+foot, proclaimed his astonishment at my costume, which in truth was
+strange enough to serve as an excuse for the impoliteness of his
+staring. I was wearing the long shirt of a Belutchi, and a pair of
+trousers which had once been white, but which in the six weeks I had
+worn them had become brown, and were all but in rags; in addition to
+this I had on a blue turban, a piece of rope served me as a girdle, and
+I carried in my hand a thick stick, which had assisted me greatly in my
+walking, and protected me from dogs."
+
+In spite of the dilapidated appearance of the tatterdemalion who thus
+presented himself before him, the governor received Pottinger with as
+much cordiality as was to be expected from a Mussulman, and provided
+him with a guide to Kerman. The traveller reached that town upon the
+3rd of May, feeling that he had accomplished the most difficult portion
+of his journey, and was almost in safety.
+
+Kerman is the capital of ancient Karamania. Under the Afghan rule it
+was a flourishing town, and manufactured shawls which rivalled those of
+Cashmere.
+
+Here Pottinger witnessed one of those spectacles which, common enough
+to countries where human life is of little value, always fill Europeans
+with horror and disgust. The governor of this town was both son-in-law
+and nephew of the shah, and also the son of the Shah's wife. "Upon the
+15th of May," says Pottinger, "the prince himself judged certain
+persons who were accused of killing one of their servants. It is
+difficult to estimate the state of restlessness and alarm which
+prevailed in the village during the entire day. The gates of the town
+were shut, that no one might pass out. The government officials did not
+transact any business. People were cited as witnesses, without previous
+notice. I saw two or three taken to the palace in a state of agitation
+which could scarcely have been greater had they been going to the
+scaffold. About three in the afternoon the prince passed sentence upon
+those who had been convicted. Some had their eyes put out, some the
+tongue split. Some had the ears, nose, and lips cut off; others were
+deprived of their hands, fingers, or toes. I learned that whilst these
+horrible punishments were inflicted, the prince remained seated at the
+window where I had seen him, and gave his orders without the least sign
+of compassion or of horror at the scene which took place before him."
+
+Leaving Kerman, Pottinger reached Cheré Bebig, which is equally distant
+from Yezd, Shiraz, and Kerman, and thence proceeded to Ispahan, where
+he had the pleasure of finding his companion Christie. At Meragha he
+met General Malcolm. It was now seven months since they had left
+Bombay. Christie had traversed 2250 miles, and Pottinger 2412.
+Meanwhile Christie had accomplished his perilous journey much better
+than he had anticipated.
+
+Leaving Noutch upon the 22nd of March, he crossed the Vachouty
+mountains and some uncultivated country, to the banks of the Helmend, a
+river which flows into Lake Hamoun.
+
+Christie in his report to the Company says:--
+
+"The Helmend, after passing near Kandahar, flows south-west and west,
+and enters Sedjestan some four days march from Douchak; making a détour
+around the mountains, it finally forms a lake. At Peldalek, which we
+visited, it is about 1200 feet in width, and very deep; the water is
+very good. The country is cultivated by irrigation for half a mile on
+either side; then the desert begins, and rises in perpendicular cliffs.
+The banks of the river abound in tamarind-trees and provide pasturage
+for cattle."
+
+Sedjestan, which is watered by this river, comprises only 500 square
+miles. The portions of this district which are inhabited are those upon
+the river Helmend, whose bed deepens every year.
+
+At Elemdar Christie sent for a Hindu, to whom he had an introduction.
+This man advised him to dismiss his Belutchi attendants and to
+personate a pilgrim. A few days later he penetrated to Douchak, now
+known as Jellalabad. He says:--
+
+"The ruins of the ancient city cover quite as large a space of ground
+as Ispahan. It was built, like all the towns of Sedjistan, of
+half-burned bricks, the houses being two stories high, with vaulted
+roofs. The modern town of Jellalabad is clean, pretty, and growing; it
+contains nearly 2000 houses and a fair bazaar." The road from Douchak
+to Herat was easy. Christie's sole difficulty was in carrying out his
+personation of a pilgrim. Herat lies in a valley, surrounded by high
+mountains and watered by a river, to which it is due that gardens and
+orchards abound. The town covers an area of about four square miles; it
+is surrounded by a wall flanked with towers, and a moat full of water.
+Large bazaars, containing numerous shops, and the Mechedé Djouna, or
+Mosque of Friday, are its chief ornaments.
+
+No town has less waste land or a denser population. Christie estimates
+it at 100,000. Herat is the most commercial of all Asiatic towns under
+the dominion of native princes. It is the depôt for all the traffic
+between Cabul, Candahar, Hindustan, Cashmere, and Persia, and itself
+produces choice merchandize, silks, saffron, horses, and asafoetida.
+
+"This plant," says Christie, "grows to a height of two or three feet,
+the stalk is two inches thick; it finishes off in an umbel which at
+maturity is yellow, and not unlike a cauliflower. It is much relished
+by Hindus and Belutchis. They prepare it for eating by cooking the
+stalks in ashes, and boiling the head like other vegetables; but it
+always retains its pungent smell and taste." Herat, like so many other
+Eastern towns, possesses beautiful public gardens, but they are only
+cultivated for the sake of the produce, which is sold in the bazaar.
+After a stay of a month at Herat, disguised as a horse-dealer,
+Christie, announcing that he would return after a pilgrimage to Meshid,
+which he contemplated, left the town. He directed his course to Yezd,
+across a country ravaged by the Osbeks, who had destroyed the tanks
+intended to receive the rain-water.
+
+Yezd is a large and populous town on the skirts of a desert of sand. It
+is called "Dar-oul-Ehabet" or "The Seat of Adoration." It is celebrated
+for the security to be enjoyed there, which contributes largely to the
+development of its trade with Hindustan, Khorassan, Persia, and Bagdad.
+Christie describes the bazaar as large and well stocked. The town
+contains 20,000 houses, apart from those belonging to the Ghebers, who
+are estimated at 4000. They are an active and laborious people,
+although cruelly oppressed. From Yezd to Ispahan, where he alighted at
+the palace of the Emir Oud-Daoulé, Christie had travelled a distance of
+170 miles upon a good road.
+
+At Yezd, as we have seen, he met his companion, Pottinger. The two
+friends could but exchange mutual congratulations at the accomplishment
+of their mission, and their escape from the dangers of a fanatical
+country.
+
+Pottinger's narrative, as may perhaps be gathered from the sketch we
+have given, was very curious. More exact than most of his predecessors,
+he had collected and offered to the public a mass of most interesting
+historical facts, anecdotes, and geographical descriptions.
+
+Cabulistan had been, from the middle of the eighteenth century, the
+scene of a succession of ruinous civil wars. Competitors, with more or
+less right to the throne, had carried fire and sword everywhere, and
+converted that rich and fertile province into a desert, where the
+remains of ruined cities alone bore witness to former prosperity.
+
+About the year 1808 the throne of Cabul was occupied by
+Soojah-Oul-Moulk. England, uneasy at the projects formed by Napoleon
+with a view of attacking her possessions in India, and at the offers of
+alliance made by him through General Gardane to the Shah of Persia,
+resolved to send an embassy to the court of Cabul, hoping to gain the
+king over to the interests of the East India Company.
+
+Mountstuart Elphinstone was selected as envoy, and has left an
+interesting account of his mission. He collected much novel information
+concerning this region and the tribes by which it is peopled. His book
+acquires a new interest in our own day, and we turn with pleasure to
+pages devoted to the Khyberis and other mountain tribes, amid the
+events which are now taking place.
+
+Leaving Delhi in October, 1808, Elphinstone reached Kanun, where the
+desert commences, and then the Shekhawuttée, a district inhabited by
+Rajpoots. At the end of October the embassy arrived at Singuana, a
+pretty town, the rajah of which was an inveterate opium-smoker. He is
+described as a small man, with large eyes, much inflamed by the use of
+opium. His beard, which was curled up to his ears on each side, gave
+him a ferocious appearance.
+
+Djounjounka, whose gardens give freshness in the midst of these desert
+regions, is not now a dependency of the Rajah of Bekaneer, whose
+revenues do not exceed 1,250,000 francs. How is it possible for that
+prince to collect such revenues from a desert and uncultivated
+territory, overrun by myriads of rats, flocks of gazelles, and herds of
+wild asses?
+
+The path across the sand-hills was so narrow that two camels abreast
+could scarcely pass it. At the least deviation from the path those
+animals would sink in the sand as if it had been snow, so that the
+smallest difficulty with the head of the column delayed the entire
+caravan. Those in front could not advance if those in the rear were
+delayed; and lest they should lose sight of the guides, trumpets and
+drums were employed as signals to prevent separation.
+
+One could almost fancy it the march of an army. The warlike sounds, the
+brilliant uniforms and arms, were scarcely calculated to convey the
+idea of a peaceful embassy. The envoy speaks of the want of water, and
+the bad quality of that which was procurable was unbearable to the
+soldiers and servants. Although they quenched their thirst with the
+abundant water-melons, they could not do so without ill results to
+their health. Most of the natives of India who accompanied the embassy
+suffered from low fever and dysentery. Forty persons died during the
+first week's stay at Bekaneer. La Fontaine's description of the
+floating sticks might be aptly applied to Bekaneer. "From afar off it
+is something, near at hand it is nought." The external appearance of
+the town is pleasant, but it is a mere disorderly collection of cabins
+enclosed by mud walls.
+
+At that time the country was invaded by five armies, and the
+belligerents sent a succession of envoys to the English ambassador,
+hoping to obtain, if not substantial assistance, at least moral
+support. Elphinstone was received by the Rajah of Bekaneer. "This
+court," he says, "was different from all I had seen elsewhere in India.
+The men were whiter than the Hindus, resembled Jews in feature, and
+wore magnificent turbans. The rajah and his relatives wore caps of
+various colours, adorned with precious stones.
+
+"The rajah leant upon a steel buckler, the centre of which was raised,
+and the border encrusted with diamonds and rubies. Shortly after our
+entrance the rajah proposed that we should retire from the heat and
+importunity of the crowd. We took our seats on the ground, according to
+Indian custom, and the rajah delivered a discourse, in which he said he
+was the vassal of the sovereign of Delhi, and that as Delhi was in the
+possession of the British, he honoured the sovereignty of my government
+in my person.
+
+"He caused the keys of the fort to be brought to him and handed them to
+me, but having received no instructions regarding such an event, I
+refused them. After much persuasion the rajah consented to keep his
+keys. Shortly afterwards a troop of bayadères came in, and dancing and
+singing continued until we took our leave."
+
+[Illustration: "A troop of bayadères came in."]
+
+Upon leaving Bekaneer the travellers entered a desert, in the middle of
+which stand the cities of Monyghur and Bahawulpore, where a compact
+crowd awaited the embassy. The Hyphases, upon which Alexander's fleet
+sailed, scarcely answered to the idea such a reminiscence inspires.
+Upon the morrow Bahaweel-Khan, governor of one of the eastern provinces
+of Cabul, arrived, bringing magnificent presents for the English
+ambassador, whom he conducted by the river Hyphases as far as Moultan,
+a town famous for its silk manufactures. The governor of the town had
+been terror-struck at hearing of the approach of the English, and there
+had been a discussion as to the attitude it was to assume, and whether
+the latter intended to take the town by stratagem, or to demand its
+surrender. When these fears were allayed, a cordial welcome followed.
+
+Elphinstone's description, if somewhat exaggerated, is not the less
+curious. After describing how the governor saluted Mr. Strachey, the
+secretary to the embassy, after the Persian custom, he adds,--"They
+took their way together towards the tent, and the disorder increased.
+Some were wrestling, others on horseback mixed with the pedestrians.
+Mr. Strachey's horse was nearly thrown to the ground, and the secretary
+regained his equilibrium with difficulty. The khan and his suite
+mistook the road in approaching the tent, and threw themselves upon the
+cavalry with such impetuosity that the latter had scarcely time to face
+about and let them pass. The disordered troops fell back upon the tent,
+the servants of the khan fled, the barriers were torn up and trampled
+under foot; even the ropes of the tent broke, and the cloth covering
+very nearly fell on our heads. The tents were crowded immediately, and
+all was in darkness. The governor and six of his suite seated
+themselves, the others stood at arms. The visit was of short duration;
+the governor took refuge in repeating his rosary with great fervour,
+and in saying to me, in agitated tones, 'You are welcome! you are
+welcome!' Then on the pretext that the crowd inconvenienced me, he
+retired."
+
+The account is amusing, but are all its details accurate? That,
+however, is of little moment. On the 31st December the embassy passed
+the Indus, and entered a country cultivated with a care and method
+unlike anything to be seen in Hindustan. The natives of this country
+had never heard of the English, and took them for Moguls, Afghans, or
+Hindus. The strangest reports were current among these lovers of the
+marvellous.
+
+It was necessary to remain a month at Déra, to await the arrival of a
+"Mehnandar," a functionary whose duty it was to introduce ambassadors.
+Two persons attached to the embassy availed themselves of that
+opportunity to ascend the peak of Tukhte Soleiman, or the Crown of
+Solomon, upon which, according to the legend, the ark of Noah rested
+after the deluge.
+
+The departure from Déra took place upon the 7th of February, and after
+travelling through delightful countries, the embassy arrived at
+Peshawur. The king had come to meet them, for Peshawur was not the
+usual residence of the court. The narrative says,--"Upon the day of our
+arrival our dinner was furnished from the royal kitchen. The dishes
+were excellent. Afterwards we had the meat prepared in our own way; but
+the king continued to provide us with breakfast, dinner, and supper,
+more than sufficient for 2000 persons, 200 horses, and a large number
+of elephants. Our suite was large, and much of this was needed; still I
+had great trouble at the end of a month in persuading his majesty to
+allow some retrenchment of this useless profusion."
+
+As might have been expected, the negotiations preceding presentation at
+court were long and difficult. Finally, however, all was arranged, and
+the reception was as cordial as diplomatic customs permitted. The king
+was loaded with diamonds and precious stones; he wore a magnificent
+crown, and the Koh-i-noor sparkled upon one of his bracelets. This is
+the largest diamond in existence; a drawing of it may be seen in
+Tavernier's Travels.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The Koh-i-noor is now in the possession of the Queen of
+England.]
+
+Elphinstone, after describing the ceremonies, says,--"I must admit that
+if certain things, especially the extraordinary richness of the royal
+costume, excited my astonishment, there was also much that fell below
+my expectations. Taking it as a whole, one saw less indication of the
+prosperity of a powerful state than symptoms of the decay of a monarchy
+which had formerly been flourishing."
+
+The ambassador goes on to speak of the rapacity with which the king's
+suite quarrelled about the presents offered by the English, and gives
+other details which struck him unpleasantly.
+
+Elphinstone was more agreeably impressed with the king at his second
+interview. He says,--"It is difficult to believe that an Eastern
+monarch can possess such a good manner, and so perfectly preserve his
+dignity while trying to please."
+
+The plain of Peshawur, which is surrounded on all but the eastern side
+by high mountains, is watered by three branches of the Cabul river,
+which meet here, and by many smaller rivers. Hence it is singularly
+fertile. Plums, peaches, pears, quinces, pomegranates, dates, grow in
+profusion. The population, so sparsely sprinkled throughout the arid
+countries which the ambassador had come through, were collected here,
+and Lieut. Macartney counted no less than thirty-two villages.
+
+At Peshawur there are 100,000 inhabitants, living in brick houses three
+stories high. Various mosques, not in any way remarkable for
+architecture, a fine caravanserai, and the fortified castle in which
+the king received the embassy, are the only buildings of importance.
+The varieties of races, with different costumes, present a constantly
+changing picture, a human kaleidoscope, which appears made especially
+for the astonishment of a stranger. Persians, Afghans, Kyberis,
+Hazaurehs, Douranis, &c., with horses, dromedaries, and Bactrian
+camels, afford the naturalist much both to observe and to describe
+respecting bipeds and quadrupeds. But the charm of this town, as of
+every other throughout India, is to be found in its gardens, with their
+abundant and fragrant flowers, especially roses.
+
+[Illustration: Afghan costumes. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The king's situation at this time was far from pleasant. His brother,
+whom he had dethroned after a popular insurrection, had now taken arms
+and just seized Cabul. A longer stay was impossible for the embassy.
+They had to return to India by way of Attock and the valley of Hussoun
+Abdoul, which is celebrated for its beauty. There Elphinstone was to
+await the result of the struggle between the brothers, which would
+decide the fate of the throne of Cabul, but he had received letters of
+recall. Moreover, fate was against Soojah, who, after being completely
+worsted, had been forced to seek safety in flight.
+
+The embassy proceeded on its way, and crossed the country of the
+Sikhs--a rude mountain race, half-naked and semi-barbarous.
+
+"The Sikhs, who a few years later were to make themselves terribly
+famous," says Elphinstone, "are tall, thin men, and very strong. Their
+garments consist of trousers which reach only half way down the thigh.
+They wear cloaks of skins which hang negligently from the shoulder.
+Their turbans are not large, but are very high and flattened in front.
+No scissors ever touch either hair or beard. Their arms are bows and
+arrows or muskets. Men of rank have very handsome bows, and never pay a
+visit without being armed with them. Almost the whole Punjab belongs to
+Runjeet Sing, who in 1805 was only one among many chiefs in the
+country. At the time of our expedition, he had acquired the sovereignty
+of the whole country occupied by the Sikhs, and had taken the title of
+king."
+
+No incident of any moment marked the return of the embassy to Delhi. In
+addition to the narrative of events which had taken place before their
+eyes, its members brought back invaluable documents concerning the
+geography of Afghanistan and Cabulistan, the climate, animals, and
+vegetable and mineral productions of that vast country.
+
+Elphinstone devotes several chapters of his narrative to the origin,
+history, government, legislation, condition of the women, language, and
+commerce of these countries; facts that were largely appropriated by
+the best informed newspapers when the recent English expedition to
+Afghanistan was undertaken.
+
+His work ends with an exhaustive treatise upon the tribes who form the
+population of Afghanistan, and a summary of invaluable information
+respecting the neighbouring countries.
+
+Elphinstone's narrative is curious, interesting, and valuable for many
+reasons, and may be consulted in our own day with advantage.
+
+[Illustration: Persian costumes. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The zeal of the East India Company was indefatigable. One expedition
+had no sooner returned than another was started, with different
+instructions. It was highly important to be thoroughly _au fait_ of the
+ever-changing Asiatic policy, and to prevent coalition between the
+various native tribes against the conquerors of the soil. In 1812, a
+new idea, and a more peaceful one, gave rise to the journey of
+Moorcroft and Captain Hearsay to Lake Manasarowar, in the province of
+the Un-dés, which is a portion of Little Thibet.
+
+This time the object was to bring back a flock of Cashmere goats, whose
+long silk hair is used in the manufacture of the world-famed shawls. In
+addition, it was proposed to disprove the assertion of the Hindus that
+the source of the Ganges is beyond the Himalayas, in Lake Manasarowar.
+A difficult and perilous task! It was first of all necessary to
+penetrate into Nepaul, whilst the government of that country made such
+an attempt very difficult, and thence to enter a region from which the
+natives of Nepaul are excluded, and with still greater reason the
+English.
+
+The explorers disguised themselves as Hindu pilgrims. Their suite
+consisted of twenty-five persons, one of whom pledged himself to walk
+in strides of four feet! This was certainly a rough method of
+ascertaining the distance traversed!
+
+Messrs. Moorcroft and Hearsay passed through Bareilly, and followed
+Webb's route as far as Djosimath, which place they left on the 26th of
+May, 1812. They soon had to cross the last chain of the Himalayas, with
+increasing difficulties, owing to the rarity of the villages, which
+caused a scarcity of provisions and service, and the bad roads, at so
+great a height above the level of the sea.
+
+Nevertheless they saw Daba, where there is an important lamasery,
+Gortope, Maisar; and, a quarter of a mile from Tirthapuri, curious hot
+springs.
+
+The original narrative, which appeared in the "Annales des Voyages,"
+speaks of this water as flowing from two openings six inches in
+diameter in a calcareous plain some three miles in extent, and which is
+raised in almost every direction from ten to twelve feet above the
+surrounding country. It is formed of the earthy deposits left by the
+water in cooling. The water rises four inches above the level of the
+plain. It is clear, and so warm that one cannot keep a hand in it
+longer than a few minutes. It is surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke.
+The water, flowing over a horizontal surface, hollows out basins of
+various shapes, which as they receive the earthy deposits contract
+again. When they are filled up, the flow of the water again hollows out
+a new reservoir, which in its turn becomes full. Flowing thus from one
+to the other, it finally reaches the plain below. The deposit left by
+the water is as white as the purest stucco close to the opening, a
+little further it becomes pale yellow, and further still
+saffron-coloured. At the other spring it is first rose-coloured, and
+then dark red. These different colours are to be found in the
+calcareous plain, and are no doubt the work of centuries.
+
+Tirthapuri, the residence of a lama, is of great antiquity, and is a
+favourite rendezvous for the faithful, as a wall more than 400 feet
+long and four wide, formed of stones upon which prayers are inscribed,
+sufficiently testifies.
+
+Upon the 1st of August the travellers left this place, hoping to reach
+Lake Manasarowar, and leaving on the right Lake Rawan-rhad, which is
+supposed to be the source of the largest branch of the Sutlej.
+
+Lake Manasarowar lies at the foot of immense sloping prairies, to the
+south of the gigantic mountains. This is the most venerated of all the
+sacred places of the Hindus, which is no doubt owing to its distance
+from Hindustan, the dangers and fatigues of the journey, and the
+necessity of pilgrims providing themselves with money and provisions.
+Hindu geographers regard this lake as the source of the Ganges, the
+Sutlej, and the Kali rivers. Moorcroft had no doubt as to the error of
+this assertion as regards the Ganges. Desiring to ascertain the truth
+as to the other rivers, he explored the steep banks of the lake, and
+found a number of streams which flowed into it, but none flowing out of
+it. It is possible that before the earthquake which destroyed Srinagar,
+the lake had an outlet, but Moorcroft found no trace of it. The lake is
+situated between the Himalayas and the Cailas chain, and is of
+irregular oblong shape, five leagues long by four wide.
+
+The end of the expedition was attained. Moorcroft and Hearsay returned
+towards India, passed by Kangri, and saw Rawan-rhad; but Moorcroft was
+too weak, and could not continue the tour; he regained Tirthapuri and
+Daba, and suffered a great deal in crossing the ghat which separates
+Hindustan from Thibet.
+
+The narrative describes the wind which comes from the snow-covered
+mountains of Bhutan as cold and piercing, and the ascent of the
+mountain as long and painful, its descent slippery and steep, making
+precautions necessary. "We suffered greatly," says the writer; "our
+goats escaped by the negligence of their drivers, and climbed up to the
+edge of a precipice some hundred feet in height. A mountaineer
+disturbing them from their perilous position, they began the descent,
+running down a very steep incline. The hinder ones kicked up the
+stones, which, falling with violence, threatened to strike the
+foremost. It was curious to note how cleverly they managed to run, and
+avoid the falling stones."
+
+Very soon the Gorkhalis, who had hitherto been content to place
+obstacles in the way of the travellers, approached them with intent to
+stop them. For some time the firmness displayed by the English kept
+them at bay; but at last, gaining courage from their numbers, they
+began an attack.
+
+"Twenty men," says Moorcroft, "threw themselves upon me. One seized me
+by my neck, and, pressing his knees against me, tried to strangle me by
+tightening my cravat; another passed a cord round my legs and pulled me
+from behind. I was on the point of fainting. My gun, upon which I was
+leaning, escaped my hold; I fell; they dragged me up by my feet until I
+was nearly garotted. When at last I rose, nothing could exceed the
+expression of fierce delight on the faces of my conquerors. Fearing
+that I should attempt to escape, two soldiers held me by a rope and
+gave me a blow from time to time, no doubt to remind me of my position.
+Mr. Hearsay had not supposed that he should be attacked so soon; he was
+rinsing out his mouth when the hubbub began, and did not hear my cries
+for help. Our men could not find the few arms we possessed; some
+escaped, I know not how; the others were seized, amongst them Mr.
+Hearsay. He was not bound as I was; they contented themselves with
+holding his arms."
+
+[Illustration: "Two soldiers held me."]
+
+The chief of this band of savages informed the two Englishmen that they
+had been recognized, and were arrested for having travelled in the
+country in the disguise of Hindu pilgrims. A fakir, whom Moorcroft had
+engaged as a goat-herd, succeeded in escaping, and took two letters to
+the English authorities. Aid was sent, and on the 1st of November the
+prisoners were released. Not only were excuses offered for their
+treatment, but what had been taken from them was returned, and the
+Rajah of Nepaul gave them permission to leave his dominions. All's well
+that ends well!
+
+To complete our sketch, we must give an account of Mr. Fraser's
+expedition to the Himalayas, and Hodgson's exploration to the source of
+the Ganges, in 1817.
+
+Captain Webb, as we have seen, had traced the course of that river past
+the valley of Dhoun, to Cadjani, near Reital. Leaving this spot upon
+the 28th of May, 1817, Captain Hodgson reached the source of the Ganges
+in three days, and proceeded to Gangautri. He found that the river
+issues from a low arch in the midst of an enormous mass of frozen snow,
+more than 300 feet high. The stream was already of considerable size,
+being no less than twenty-seven feet wide and eighteen inches deep. In
+all probability the Ganges first emerged into the light at this spot.
+
+Captain Hodgson wished to solve various questions; for example:--What
+was the length of the river under the frozen snow? Is it the product of
+the melting of these snows? or did it spring from the ground? But,
+wishing to explore further upwards than his guides advised, the
+traveller sank into the snow up to his neck, and had to retrace his
+steps with great difficulty. The spot from which the Ganges issues is
+situated 12,914 feet above the level of the sea, in the Himalayas.
+
+Hodgson also explored the source of the Jumna. At Djemautri the mass of
+snow from which the river makes its escape is no less than 180 feet
+wide and more than forty feet deep, between two perpendicular walls of
+granite. This source is situated on the south-east slope of the
+Himalayas.
+
+The extension of the British power in India was necessarily attended by
+considerable danger. The various native States, many of which could
+boast of a glorious past, had only yielded in obedience to the
+well-known political principle "divide and govern," ascribed to
+Machiavelli. But the day might come when they would merge their
+rivalries and enmities, to make common cause against the invader.
+
+This was anything but a cheering prospect for the Company, whose policy
+it was to maintain the system that had hitherto worked so well. Certain
+neighbouring States, still powerful enough to regard the growth of the
+British power with jealousy, might serve as harbours of refuge to the
+discontented, and become the centres of dangerous intrigues. Of all
+these neighbouring States that which demanded the strictest
+surveillance was Persia, not only on account of its contiguity to
+Russia, but because Napoleon was known to have designs in connexion
+with it which nothing but his European wars prevented him from putting
+into execution.
+
+In February, 1807, General Gardane, who had gained his promotion in the
+wars of the Republic, and had distinguished himself at Austerlitz,
+Jena, and Eylau, was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, with
+instructions to ally himself with Shah Feth-Ali against England and
+Russia. The selection was fortunate, for the grandfather of General
+Gardane had held a similar post at the court of the shah. Gardane
+crossed Hungary, and reached Constantinople and Asia Minor; but when he
+entered Persia, Abbas Mirza had succeeded his father Feth-Ali.
+
+The new shah received the French ambassador with respect, loaded him
+with presents, and granted certain privileges to Catholics and French
+merchants. These were, however, the only results of the mission, which
+was thwarted by the English General Malcolm, whose influence was then
+paramount; and Gardane, disheartened by finding all his efforts
+frustrated, and recognizing that success was hopeless, returned to
+France the following year.
+
+His brother Ange de Gardane, who had acted as his secretary, published
+a brief narrative of the journey, containing several curious details
+respecting the antiquities of Persia, which have been, however, largely
+supplemented by works brought out by Englishmen.
+
+The French Consul, Adrien Dupré, attached to Gardane's mission, also
+published a work, under the title of "Voyage en Perse, fait dans les
+années 1807 à 1809, en traversant l'Anatolie, la Mésopotamie, depuis
+Constantinople jusqu'à l'extremité du golfe Persique et de là à Irwan,
+suivi de détails sur les moeurs, les usages et le commerce des Persans,
+sur la cour de Téhéran et d'une notice des tribus de la Perse." The
+book bears out the assertions of its title, and is a valuable
+contribution to the geography and ethnography of Persia.
+
+The English, who made a much longer stay in the country than the
+French, were better able to collect the abundant materials at hand, and
+to make a judicious selection from them.
+
+Two works were long held to be the chief authorities on the subject.
+One of these was by James Morier, who availed himself of the leisure he
+enjoyed as secretary to the embassy to acquaint himself with every
+detail of Persian manners, and on his return to England published
+several Oriental romances, which obtained a signal success, owing to
+the variety and novelty of the scenes described, and the fidelity to
+nature of every feature, however minute.
+
+The second of the two volumes alluded to above was the large quarto
+work by John Macdonald Kinneir, on the geography of Persia. This book,
+which made its mark, and left far behind it everything previously
+published on the subject, not only gives, as its title implies, very
+valuable information on the boundaries of the country, its mountains,
+rivers, and climate, but also contains interesting and trustworthy
+details respecting its government, constitution, army, commerce,
+animal, vegetable, and mineral productions, population, and revenue.
+
+After giving an exhaustive and brilliant picture of the material and
+moral resources of the Persian Empire, Kinneir goes on to describe its
+different provinces, quoting from the mass of valuable documents
+accumulated by himself, thus making his work the most complete and
+impartial yet issued.
+
+Kinneir passed the years 1808 to 1814 in travelling about Asia Minor,
+Armenia, and Kurdistan; and the different posts held by him during that
+period were such as to give him exceptional opportunities for making
+observations and comparing their results. In his several capacities as
+captain in the service of the Company, political agent to the Nawab of
+the Carnatic, or private traveller, his critical acumen was never at
+fault; and his wide knowledge of Oriental character and Oriental
+manners, enabled him to recognize the true significance of many an
+event and many a revolution which would have escaped the notice of less
+experienced observers.
+
+At the same time, William Price, also a captain in the East India
+Company's service, who had been attached as interpreter and secretary
+to Sir William Gore Ouseley's embassy to Persia in 1810, devoted
+himself to the study of the cuneiform character. Many had previously
+attempted to decipher it, with results as various as they were
+ridiculous; and, like those of his predecessors and contemporaries,
+Price's opinions were mere guess-work; but he succeeded in interesting
+a certain class of students in this obscure branch of research, and may
+be said to have perpetuated the theories of Niebuhr and other
+Orientalists.
+
+To Price we owe an account of the journey of the English embassy to the
+Persian court, after which he published two essays on the antiquities
+of Persepolis and Babylon.
+
+Mr. Ouseley, who had accompanied his brother Sir William as secretary,
+availed himself of his sojourn at the Court of Teheran to study
+Persian. His works do not, however, bear upon geography or political
+economy, but treat only of inscriptions, coins, manuscripts, and
+literature--in a word, of everything connected with the intellectual
+and material history of the country. To him we owe an edition of
+Firdusi, and many other volumes, which came out at just the right time
+to supplement the knowledge already acquired of the country of the
+Shah.
+
+Another semi-Asiatic semi-European country was also now becoming known.
+This was the mountainous district of the Caucasus. As early as the
+second half of the eighteenth century, John Anthony Guldenstædt, a
+Russian doctor, had visited Astrakhan, and Kisliar on the Terek, at the
+most remote boundary of the Russian possessions, entered Georgia, where
+the Czar Heraclius received him with great respect, and penetrated to
+Tiflis and the country of the Truchmenes, finally arriving at Imeritia.
+The next year, 1773, he visited the great Kabardia, the Oriental
+Kumania, examined the ruins of Madjary, visited Tscherkask and Asov,
+discovered the mouth of the Don, and was about to extend his researches
+to the Crimea when he was recalled to St. Petersburg.
+
+Guldenstædt's travels have not been translated into French. Their
+author's career was cut short by death before he had completed their
+revision for the press, and they were edited at St. Petersburg by Henry
+Julius von Klaproth, a young Prussian, who afterwards explored the same
+countries.
+
+Klaproth, who was born at Berlin on the 11th October, 1783, gave proof
+at a very early age of a special aptitude for the study of Oriental
+languages. At fifteen years old he taught himself Chinese; and he had
+scarcely finished his studies at the Universities of Halle and Dresden,
+when he began the publication of his "Asiatic Magazine." Invited to
+Russia by Count Potoki, he was at once named Professor of Oriental
+Languages at the Academy of St. Petersburg.
+
+Klaproth did not belong to the worthy race of book-worms who shut
+themselves up in their own studies. He took a wider view of the nature
+of true knowledge, feeling that the surest way to attain a thorough
+acquaintance with the languages of Asia and of Oriental manners and
+customs was to study them on the spot. He therefore asked permission to
+accompany the ambassador Golowkin, who was going to China overland; and
+the necessary credentials obtained, he started alone for Siberia,
+making acquaintance with the Samoyèdes, the Tongouses, Bashkirs,
+Yakontes, Kirghizes, and other of the Finnic and Tartar hordes which
+frequent these vast steppes, finally arriving at Yakutsk, where he was
+soon joined by Golowkin. After a halt at Kiakta, the embassy crossed
+the Chinese frontier on the 1st January, 1806.
+
+The Viceroy of Mongolia, however, insisted upon the observance by the
+ambassador of certain ceremonies which were considered by the latter
+degrading to his dignity; and neither being disposed to yield, Golowkin
+set out with his suite to return to St. Petersburg. Klaproth, not
+caring to retrace his steps, preferred to visit hordes still unknown to
+him, and he therefore crossed the southern districts of Siberia, and
+collected during a journey extending over twenty months, a large number
+of Chinese, Mandchoorian, Thibetan, and Mongolian books, which were of
+service to him in his great work "Asia Polyglotta."
+
+On his return to St. Petersburg he was invested with all the honours of
+the Academy; and a little later, at the suggestion of Count Potoki, he
+was appointed to the command of an historical, archæological, and
+geographical expedition to the Caucasus. Klaproth now passed a whole
+year in journeys, often full of peril, amongst thievish tribes, through
+rugged districts, and penetrated to the country traversed by
+Guldenstædt at the end of the previous century.
+
+Klaproth's description of Tiflis is curious as compared with that of
+contemporary authors. "Tiflis," he says, "so called on account of its
+mineral springs, is divided into three parts: Tiflis properly so
+called, or the ancient town; Kala, or the citadel; and the suburb of
+Issni. This town is built on the Kur, and the greater part of its outer
+walls is now in ruins. Its streets are so narrow, that 'arbas,' as the
+lofty carriages so characteristic of Oriental places are called, could
+only pass with difficulty down the widest, whilst in the others a
+horseman would barely find room to ride. The houses, badly built of
+flints and bricks cemented with mud, never last longer than about
+fifteen years." In Klaproth's time Tiflis boasted of two markets, but
+everything was extremely dear, shawls and silk scarves manufactured in
+the neighbouring Asiatic countries bringing higher prices than in St.
+Petersburg.
+
+Tiflis must not be dismissed without a few words concerning its hot
+springs. Klaproth tells us that the famous hot baths were formerly
+magnificent, but they are falling into ruins, although some few remain;
+the floors of which are cased in marble. The waters contain very little
+sulphur and are most salutary in their effects. The natives, especially
+the women, use them to excess, the latter remaining in them several
+days, and even taking their meals in the bath.
+
+The chief food of the people of Tiflis, at least in the mountainous
+districts, is the bhouri, a kind of hard bread with a very disagreeable
+taste, prepared in a way repugnant to our sybarite notions.
+
+When the dough is sufficiently kneaded a bright clear fire of dry wood
+is made, in earthen vessels four feet high by two wide, which are sunk
+in the ground. When the fire is burning fiercely, the Georgians shake
+into it the vermin by which their shirts and red-silk breeches are
+infested. Not until this ceremony has been performed do they throw the
+dough, which is divided into pieces of the size of two clenched fists,
+into the pots. The dough once in, the vessels are covered with lids,
+over which rags are placed, to make sure of all the heat being kept in
+and the bread being thoroughly baked. It is, however, always badly
+done, and very difficult of digestion.
+
+Having thus assisted at the preparation of the food of the poor
+mountaineer, let us join Klaproth at the table of a prince. A long
+striped cloth, about a yard and a half wide and very dirty, was spread
+for his party; on this was placed for each guest an oval-shaped wheaten
+cake, three spans long by two wide, and scarcely as thick as a finger.
+A number of little brass bowls, filled with mutton and boiled rice,
+roast fowls, and cheese cut in slices, were then brought in. As it was
+a fast day, smoked salmon with uncooked green vegetables was served to
+the prince and his subjects. Spoons, forks, and knives are unknown in
+Georgia; soup is eaten from the bowl, meat is taken in the hands, and
+torn with the fingers into pieces the size of a mouthful. To throw a
+tid-bit to another guest is a mark of great friendship. The repast
+over, grapes and dried fruits are eaten. During the meal a good red
+native wine, called traktir by the Tartars, and ghwino by the
+Georgians, is very freely circulated. It is drunk from flat silver
+bowls greatly resembling saucers.
+
+Klaproth's account of the different incidents of his journey is no less
+interesting and vivid than this description of the manners of the
+people. Take, for instance, what he says of his trip to the sources of
+the Terek, the site of which had been pretty accurately indicated by
+Guldenstædt, although he had not visited them.
+
+"I left the village of Utzfars-Kan on the 17th March, on a bright but
+cold morning. Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me. After half an hour's
+march, we began to climb the steep and rugged ascent leading to the
+junction of the Utzfars-Don with the Terek. This was succeeded by a
+still worse road, running for a league alongside of the river, which is
+scarcely ten paces wide here, although it was then swollen by the
+melting of the snow. This part of the river banks is inhabited. We
+continued to ascend, and reached the foot of the Khoki, also called
+Istir-Khoki, finally arriving at a spot where an accumulation of large
+stones in the bed of the river rendered it possible to cross over to
+the village of Tsiwratté-Kan, where we breakfasted. Here the small
+streams forming the Terek meet. I was so glad to have reached the end
+of my journey, that I poured a glass of Hungarian wine into the river,
+and made a second libation to the genius of the mountain in which the
+Terek rises. The Ossetes, who thought I was performing a religious
+ceremony, observed me gravely. On the smooth sides of an enormous block
+of schist I engraved in red the date of my journey, together with my
+name and those of my companions, after which I climbed up to the
+village of Ressi."
+
+[Illustration: "Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me."]
+
+After this account of his journey, from which we might multiply
+extracts, Klaproth sums up all the information he has collected on the
+tribes of the Caucasus, dwelling specially on the marked resemblances
+which exist between the different Georgian dialects and those of the
+Finns and Lapps. This was a new and useful suggestion.
+
+Speaking of the Lesghians, who occupy the eastern Caucasus, known as
+Daghestan, or Lezghistan, Klaproth says their name is a misnomer, just
+as Scythian or Tartar was used to indicate the natives of Northern
+Asia; adding, that they do not form one nation, as is proved by the
+number of dialects in use, which, however, would seem to have been
+derived from a common source, though time has greatly modified them.
+This is a contradiction in terms, implying either that the Lesghians,
+speaking one language, form one nation, or that forming one nation the
+Lesghians speak various dialects derived from the same source.
+
+According to Klaproth, Lesghian words have a considerable affinity with
+the other languages of the Caucasus, and with those of Western Asia,
+especially the dialects of the Samoyedes and Siberian Finns.
+
+West and north-west of the Lesghians dwell the Metzdjeghis, or
+Tchetchentses, who are probably the most ancient inhabitants of the
+Caucasus. This is not, however, the opinion of Pallas, who looks upon
+them as a separate tribe of the Alain family. The Tchetchentse language
+greatly resembles the Samoyede and other Siberian dialects, as well as
+those of the Slavs.
+
+The Tcherkesses, or Circassians, are the Sykhes of the Greeks. They
+formerly inhabited the eastern Caucasus and the Crimea. Their language
+differs much from other Caucasian idioms, although the Tcherkesses
+proceed, with the Wogouls and the Ostiakes--we have just seen that the
+Lesghian and Tchetchentse dialects resemble the Siberian--from one
+common stock, which at some remote date separated into several
+branches, of which the Huns probably formed one. The Tcherkesse dialect
+is one of the most difficult to pronounce, some of the consonants being
+produced in a manner so loud and guttural that no European has yet been
+able to acquire it.
+
+In the Caucasus also dwell the Abazes--who have never left the shores
+of the Black Sea, where they have been settled from time
+immemorial--and the Ossetes, or As, who belong to the Indo-Germanic
+stock. They call their country Ironistan, and themselves the Irons.
+Klaproth takes them to be Sarmatic Medes, not only on account of their
+name, which resembles Iran, but because of the structure of their
+language, which proves more satisfactorily than historical documents,
+and in a most conclusive manner, that they spring from the same stock
+as the Medes and Persians. This opinion, however, appears to us mere
+conjecture, as in the time of Klaproth the interpretation of cuneiform
+inscriptions had not been accomplished, and too little was known of the
+language of the Medes for any one to judge of its resemblance to the
+Ossete idiom.
+
+"However," continues Klaproth, "after meeting again the Sarmatic Medes
+of the ancients in this people, it is still more surprising also to
+recognize the Alains, who occupied the districts north of the
+Caucasus."
+
+He adds: "It follows from all we have said, that the Ossetes, who call
+themselves Irons, are the Medes, who assumed the name of Irans, and
+whom Herodotus styles the Arioi. They are, moreover, the Sarmatic Medes
+of the ancients, and belong to the Median colony founded in the
+Caucasus by the Scythians. They are the As or Alains of the middle
+ages. And lastly, they are the Iasses of Russian chronicles, from whom
+some of the Caucasus range took their name of the Iassic Mountains."
+This is not the place to discuss identifications belonging to the realm
+of criticism. We will content ourselves with adding to these remarks of
+Klaproth on the Ossete language, that its pronunciation resembles that
+of the Low-German and Slavonic dialects.
+
+The Georgians differ essentially from the neighbouring nations, alike
+in their language and in their physical and moral qualities. They are
+divided into four principal tribes--the Karthalinians, Mingrelians, and
+Shvans (or Swanians), inhabiting the southern range of the Caucasus,
+and the Lazes, a wild robber tribe.
+
+As we have seen, the facts collected by Klaproth are very curious, and
+throw an unexpected light on the migration of ancient races. The
+penetration and sagacity of the traveller were marvellous, and his
+memory was extraordinary. The scholar of Berlin rendered signal
+services to the science of philology. It is to be regretted that his
+qualities as a man, his principles, and his temper, were not on a level
+with his knowledge and acumen as a professor.
+
+We must now leave the Old World for the New, and give an account of the
+explorations of the young republic of the United States. So soon as the
+Federal Government was free from the anxieties of war, and its position
+was alike established and recognized, public attention was directed to
+the "fur country," which had in turn attracted the English, the
+Spanish, and the French. Nootka Sound and the neighbouring coasts,
+discovered by the great Cook and the talented Quadra, Vancouver, and
+Marchand, were American. Moreover, the Monroe doctrine, destined later
+to excite so much discussion, already existed in embryo in the minds of
+the statesmen of the day.
+
+In accordance with an Act of Congress, Captain Merryweather Lewis and
+Lieutenant William Clarke, were commissioned to trace the Missouri,
+from its junction with the Mississippi to its source, and to cross the
+Rocky Mountains by the easiest and shortest route, thus opening up
+communication between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The
+officers were also to trade with any Indian tribes they might meet.
+
+The expedition was composed of regular troops and volunteers, numbering
+altogether, including the leaders, forty-three men; one boat and two
+canoes completed the equipment.
+
+On the 14th May, 1804, the Americans left Wood River, which flows into
+the Mississippi, and embarked on the Missouri. From what Cass had said
+in his journal, the explorers expected to have to contend with natural
+dangers of a very formidable description, and also to fight their way
+amongst natives of gigantic stature, whose hostility to the white man
+was invincible.
+
+During the first days of this long canoe voyage, only to be compared to
+those of Orellana and Condamine on the Amazon, the Americans were
+fortunate enough to meet with some Sioux Indians, an old Frenchman, a
+Canadian _coureur des bois_, or trapper, who spoke the languages of
+most of the Missouri tribes, and consented to accompany the expedition
+as interpreter.
+
+They passed the mouths of the Osage, Kansas, Platte or Nebraska, and
+White River, all tributaries of the Missouri, successively, and met
+various parties of Osage and Sioux, or Maha Indians, who all appeared
+to be in a state of utter degradation. One tribe of Sioux had suffered
+so much from smallpox, that the male survivors, in a fit of rage and
+misery, had killed the women and children spared by the terrible
+malady, and fled from the infected neighbourhood.
+
+A little farther north dwelt the Ricaris, or Recs, at first supposed to
+be the cleanest, most polite, and most industrious of the tribes the
+expedition met with; but a few thefts soon modified that favourable
+judgment. It is curious that these people do not depend entirely on
+hunting, but cultivate corn, peas, and tobacco.
+
+This is not, however, the case with the Mandans, who are a more robust
+race. A custom obtains among them, also characteristic of
+Polynesia--they do not bury their dead, but expose them on a scaffold.
+
+Clarke's narrative gives us a few details relating to this strange
+tribe. The Mandans look upon the Supreme Being only as an embodiment of
+the power of healing. As a result they worship two gods, whom they call
+the Great Medicine or the Physician, and the Great Spirit. It would
+seem that life is so precious to them that they are impelled to worship
+all that can prolong it!
+
+Their origin is strange. They originally lived in a large subterranean
+village hollowed out under the ground on the borders of a lake. A vine,
+however, struck its roots so deeply in the earth as to reach their
+habitations, and some of them ascended to the surface by the aid of
+this impromptu ladder. The descriptions given by them on their return
+of the vast hunting-grounds, rich in game and fruit, which they had
+seen, led the rest of the tribe to resolve to reach so favoured a land.
+Half of them had gained the surface, when the vine, bending beneath the
+weight of a fat woman, gave way, and rendered the ascent of the rest
+impossible. After death the Mandans expect to return to their
+subterranean home, but only those who die with a clear conscience can
+reach it; the guilty will be flung into a lake.
+
+The explorers took up their quarters for the winter amongst the
+Mandans, on the 1st of November. They built huts, as comfortable as
+possible with the materials at their command; and in spite of the
+extreme cold, gave themselves up to the pleasures of hunting, which
+soon became a positive necessity of their existence.
+
+When the ice should break up on the Missouri, the explorers hoped to
+continue their voyage; but on their sending the boat down to St. Louis,
+laden with the skins and furs already obtained, only thirty men were
+found willing to carry the expedition through to the end.
+
+The travellers soon passed the mouth of the Yellowstone River, with a
+current nearly as strong as that of the Missouri, flowing through
+districts abounding in game.
+
+Cruel was their perplexity when they arrived at a fork where the
+Missouri divided into two rivers of nearly equal volume, for which was
+the main stream? Captain Lewis with a party of scouts ascended the
+southern branch, and soon came in sight of the Rocky Mountains,
+completely covered with snow. Guided to the spot by a terrific uproar,
+he beheld the Missouri fling itself in one broad sheet of water over a
+rocky precipice, beyond which it formed a broken series of rapids,
+extending for several miles.
+
+[Illustration: "He beheld the Missouri."]
+
+The detachment now followed this branch, which led them into the heart
+of the mountains, and for three or four miles dashed along between two
+perpendicular walls of rock, finally dividing itself into three parts,
+to which were given the names of Jefferson, Madison, and Galatin, after
+celebrated American statesmen.
+
+The last heights were soon crossed, and then the expedition descended
+the slopes overlooking the Pacific. The Americans had brought with them
+a Soshone woman, who had been protected as a girl by the Indians of the
+east, and not only did she serve the explorers faithfully as an
+interpreter, but also, through her recognition of a brother in the
+chief of a tribe disposed to be hostile, she from that moment secured
+cordial treatment for the white men. Unfortunately the country was
+poor, the people living entirely on wild berries, bark, and the little
+game they were able to obtain.
+
+The Americans, little accustomed to this frugal fare, had to eke it out
+by eating their horses, which had grown very thin, and buying all the
+dogs the natives would consent to sell. Hence they obtained the
+nickname of Dog-eaters.
+
+As the temperature became milder, so did the character of the natives,
+whilst food grew more abundant; and as they came down the Oregon, also
+known as the Columbia, the salmon formed a seasonable addition to the
+bill of fare. When the Columbia, which is dangerous for navigation,
+approaches the sea, it forms a vast estuary, where the waves from the
+offing meet the current of the river. The Americans more than once
+incurred considerable risk of being swallowed up, with their frail
+canoe, before they reached the shores of the ocean.
+
+Glad to have accomplished the aim of their expedition, the explorers
+wintered at the mouth of the river, and when the fine weather set in
+they made their way back to St. Louis, arriving there in May, 1806,
+after an absence of two years, four months, and ten days. They had in
+that time, according to their own estimate, traversed less than 1378
+leagues.
+
+The impulse was now given, and reconnoitring expeditions in the
+interior of the new continent rapidly succeeded each other, assuming, a
+little later, a scientific character which gives them a position of
+their own in the history of discovery.
+
+A few years later, one of the greatest colonizers of whom England can
+boast, Sir Stamford Raffles, organizer of the expedition which took
+possession of the Dutch colonies, was appointed Military Governor of
+Java. During an administration extending over five years, Raffles
+brought about numerous reforms, and abolished slavery. Absorbing as was
+this work, however, it did not prevent him from publishing two huge
+quarto volumes, which are as interesting as they are curious. They
+contain, in addition to the history of Java, a vast number of details
+about the natives of the interior, until then little known, together
+with much circumstantial information respecting the geology and natural
+history of the country. It is no wonder, therefore, that in honour of
+the man who did so much to make Java known, the name of Rafflesia
+should have been given to an immense flower native to it, and of which
+some specimens measure over three feet in diameter, and weigh some ten
+pounds.
+
+[Illustration: Warrior of Java. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Raffles was also the first to penetrate to the interior of Sumatra, of
+which the coast only was previously known. He visited the districts
+occupied by the Passoumahs, sturdy tillers of the soil, the northern
+provinces, with Memang-Kabou, the celebrated Malayan capital, and
+crossed the southern half of the island, from Bencoulen to Palimbang.
+
+Sir Stamford Raffles' fame, however rests principally upon his having
+drawn the attention of the Indian Government to the exceptionally
+favourable position of Singapore, which was converted by him into an
+open port, and grew rapidly into a prosperous settlement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+THE EXPLORATION AND COLONIZATION OF AFRICA.
+
+I.
+Peddie and Campbell in the Soudan--Ritchie and Lyon in Fezzan--Denham,
+Oudney, and Clapperton in Fezzan, and in the Tibboo country--Lake Tchad
+and its tributaries--Kouka and the chief villages of Bornou--Mandara--A
+razzia, or raid, in the Fellatah country--Defeat of the Arabs and death
+of Boo-Khaloum--Loggan--Death of Toole--En route for Kano--Death of
+Oudney--Kano--Sackatoo--Sultan Bello--Return to Europe.
+
+
+The power of Napoleon, and with it the supremacy of France, was
+scarcely overthrown--the Titanic contests, to gratify the ambition of
+one man at the expense of the intellectual progress of humanity, were
+scarcely at an end, before an honourable rivalry awoke once more, and
+new scientific and commercial expeditions were set on foot. A new era
+had commenced.
+
+Foremost in the ranks of the governments which organized and encouraged
+exploring expeditions we find as usual that of England. It was in
+Central Africa, the vast riches of which had been hinted at in the
+accounts given of their travels by Hornemann and Burckhardt, that the
+attention of the English was now concentrated.
+
+As early as 1816 Major Peddie, starting from Senegal, reached Kakondy,
+on the River Nuñez, succumbing, however, to the fatigue of the journey
+and unhealthiness of the climate soon after his arrival in that town.
+Major Campbell succeeded him in the command of the expedition, and
+crossed the lofty mountains of Foota-Djalion, losing in a few days
+several men and part of the baggage animals.
+
+Arrived at the headquarters of the Almamy, as most of the kings of this
+part of Africa are called, the expedition was detained for a long time,
+and only obtained permission to depart on payment of a large sum.
+
+Most disastrous was the return journey, for the explorers had not only
+to recross the streams they had before forded with such difficulty, but
+they were subjected to so many insults, annoyances, and exactions, that
+to put an end to them Campbell was obliged to burn his merchandize,
+break his guns, and sink his powder.
+
+Against so much fatigue and mortification, added to the complete
+failure of his expedition, Major Campbell failed to bear up, and he
+died, with several of his officers, in the very place where Major
+Peddie had closed his career. The few survivors of the party reached
+Sierra Leone after an arduous march.
+
+A little later, Ritchie and Captain George Francis Lyon, availing
+themselves of the prestige which the siege of Algiers had brought to
+the British flag, and of the cordial relations which the English consul
+at Tripoli had succeeded in establishing with the principal Moorish
+authorities, determined to follow Hornemann's route, and penetrate to
+the very heart of Africa.
+
+On the 25th March, 1819, the travellers left Tripoli with Mahommed el
+Moukni, Bey of Fezzan, who is called sultan by his subjects. Protected
+by this escort, Ritchie and Lyon reached Murzuk without molestation,
+but there the former died on the 2nd November, worn out by the fatigue
+and privations of the journey across the desert. Lyon, who was ill for
+some time from the same causes, recovered soon enough to foil the
+designs of the sultan, who counting on his death, had already begun to
+take possession of his property, and also of Ritchie's. The captain
+could not penetrate beyond the southern boundaries of Fezzan, but he
+had time to collect a good deal of valuable information about the chief
+towns of that province and the language of its inhabitants. To him we
+likewise owe the first authentic details of the religion, customs,
+language, and extraordinary costumes of the Tuarick Arabs, a wild tribe
+inhabiting the Great Sahara desert.
+
+Captain Lyon's narrative also contains a good deal of interesting
+information collected by himself on Bornou, Wadai, and the Soudan,
+although he was unable to visit those places in person.
+
+The results obtained did not by any means satisfy the English
+Government, which was most eager to open up the riches of the interior
+to its merchants. Consequently the authorities received favourably the
+proposals made by Dr. Walter Oudney, a Scotchman, whose enthusiasm had
+been aroused by the travels of Mungo Park. This Dr. Oudney was a friend
+of Hugh Clapperton, a lieutenant in the Navy, three years his senior,
+who had distinguished himself in Canada and elsewhere, but had been
+thrown out of employment and reduced to half-pay by the peace of 1815.
+
+Hearing of Oudney's scheme, Clapperton at once determined to join him
+in it, and Oudney begged the minister to allow him the aid of that
+enterprising officer, whose special knowledge would be of great
+assistance. Lord Bathurst made no objection, and the two friends, after
+receiving minute instructions, embarked for Tripoli, where they
+ascertained that Major Denham was to take the command of their
+expedition.
+
+Denham was born in London on the 31st December, 1783, and began life as
+an articled pupil to a country lawyer. As an attorney's clerk he found
+his duties so irksome and so little suited to his daring spirit that
+his longing for adventure soon led him to enlist in a regiment bound
+for Spain. Until 1815 he remained with the army, but after the peace he
+employed his leisure in visiting France and Italy.
+
+Denham, eager to obtain distinction, had chosen the career which would
+best enable him to achieve it, even at the risk of his life, and he now
+resolved to become an explorer. With him to think was to act. He had
+asked the minister to commission him to go to Timbuctoo by the route
+Laing afterwards took when he heard of the expedition under Clapperton
+and Oudney; and he now begged to be allowed to join them.
+
+Without any delay Denham obtained the necessary equipment, and
+accompanied by a carpenter named William Hillman, he embarked for
+Malta, joining his future travelling companions at Tripoli on the 21st
+November, 1821. The English at this time enjoyed very great prestige,
+not only in the States of Barbary, on account of the bombardment of
+Algiers, but also because the British consul at Tripoli had by his
+clever diplomacy established friendly relations with the government to
+which he was accredited.
+
+This prestige extended beyond the narrow range of the northern states.
+The nationality of certain travellers, the protection accorded by
+England to the Porte, the British victories in India had all been
+vaguely rumoured even in the heart of Africa, and the name of
+Englishman, was familiar without any particular meaning being attached
+to it. According to the English consul, the route from Tripoli to
+Bornou was as safe as that from London to Edinburgh. This was,
+therefore, the moment to seize opportunities which might not occur
+again.
+
+The three travellers, after a cordial reception from the bey, who
+placed all his resources at their disposal, lost no time in leaving
+Tripoli, and with an escort provided by the Moorish governor, they
+reached Murzuk, the capital of Fezzan, on the 8th April, 1822, without
+difficulty, having indeed been received with great enthusiasm in some
+of the places through which they passed.
+
+At Sockna, Denham tells us, the governor came out to meet them,
+accompanied by the principal inhabitants and hundreds of the country
+people, who crowded round their horses, kissing their hands with every
+appearance of cordiality and delight, and shouting _Inglesi_,
+_Inglesi_, as the visitors entered the town. This welcome was the more
+gratifying from the fact that the travellers were the first Europeans
+to penetrate into Africa without wearing a disguise. Denham adds that
+he feels sure their reception would have been far less cordial had they
+stooped to play the part of impostors by attempting to pass for
+Mahommedans.
+
+At Murzuk they were harassed by annoyances similar to those which had
+paralyzed Hornemann; in their case, however, circumstances and
+character were alike different, and without allowing themselves to be
+blinded by the compliments paid them by the sultan, the English, who
+were thoroughly in earnest, demanded the necessary escort for the
+journey to Bornou.
+
+It was impossible, they were told, to start before the following
+spring, on account of the difficulty of collecting a kafila or caravan,
+and the troops necessary for its escort across the desert.
+
+A rich merchant, however, Boo-Bucker-Boo-Khaloum by name, a great
+friend of the pacha, gave the explorers a hint that if he received
+certain presents he would smooth away all difficulties. He even offered
+to escort them himself to Bornou, for which province he was bound if he
+could obtain the necessary permission from the Pacha of Tripoli.
+
+Denham, believing Boo-Khaloum to be acting honestly, went off to
+Tripoli to obtain the governor's sanction, but on his arrival there he
+obtained only evasive answers, and finally threatened to embark for
+England, where he said he would report the obstacles thrown in his way
+by the pacha, in the carrying out of the objects of the exploring
+expedition.
+
+These menaces produced no effect, and Denham actually set sail, and was
+about to land at Marseilles when he received a satisfactory message
+from the bey, begging him to return, and authorizing Boo-Khaloum to
+accompany him and his companions.
+
+On the 30th October Denham rejoined Oudney and Clapperton at Murzuk,
+finding them considerably weakened by fever and the effects of the
+climate.
+
+Denham, convinced that change of air would restore them to health,
+persuaded them to start and begin the journey by easy stages. He
+himself set out on the 20th of November with a caravan of merchants
+from Mesurata, Tripoli, Sockna, and Murzuk, escorted by 210 Arab
+warriors chosen from the most intelligent and docile of the tribes, and
+commanded by Boo-Khaloum.
+
+The expedition took the route followed by Lyon and soon reached
+Tegerry, which is the most southerly town of Fezzan, and the last
+before the traveller enters the desert of Bilma.
+
+Denham made a sketch of the castle of Tegerry from the southern bank of
+a salt lake near the town. Tegerry is entered by a low narrow vaulted
+passage leading to a gate in a second rampart. The wall is pierced with
+apertures which render the entrance by the narrow passage very
+difficult. Above the second gate there is also an aperture through
+which darts, and fire-brands may be hurled upon the besiegers, a mode
+of warfare once largely indulged in by the Arabs. Inside the town there
+are wells of fairly good water. Denham is of opinion that Tegerry
+restored, well-garrisoned and provisioned, could sustain a long siege.
+Its situation is delightful. It is surrounded by date-trees, and the
+water in the neighbourhood is excellent. A chain of low hills stretches
+away to the east. Snipes, ducks, and wild geese frequent the salt lakes
+near the town.
+
+Leaving Tegerry, the travellers entered a sandy desert, across which it
+would not have been easy to find the way, had it not been marked out by
+the skeletons of men and animals strewn along it, especially about the
+wells.
+
+"One of the skeletons we saw to-day," says Denham, "still looked quite
+fresh. The beard was on the chin, the features could be recognized. 'It
+is my slave,' exclaimed one of the merchants of the kafila. 'I left him
+near here four months ago.' 'Make haste and take him to the market!'
+cried a facetious slave merchant, 'lest some one else should claim
+him.'"
+
+[Illustration: A kafila of slaves. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Here and there in the desert are oases containing towns of greater or
+less importance, at which the caravans halt. Kishi is one of the most
+frequented of these places, and there the money for the right of
+crossing the desert is paid. The Sultan of Kishi, the ruler of a good
+many of these petty principalities, and who takes the title of
+Commander of the Faithful, was remarkable for a complete disregard of
+cleanliness, a peculiarity in which, according to Denham, his court
+fully equalled him.
+
+This sultan paid Boo-Khaloum a visit in his tent, accompanied by half a
+dozen Tibboos, some of whom were positively hideous. Their teeth were
+of a dark yellow colour, the result of chewing tobacco, of which they
+are so fond that they use it as snuff as well as to chew. Their noses
+looked like little round bits of flesh stuck on to their faces with
+nostrils so wide that they could push their fingers right up them.
+Denham's watch, compass, and musical snuffbox astonished them not a
+little. He defines these people as brutes with human faces.
+
+A little further on the travellers reached the town of Kirby, situated
+in a wâdy near a low range of hills of which the highest are not more
+than 400 feet above the sea level, and between two salt lakes, produced
+by the excavations made for building. From the centre of these lakes
+rise islets consisting of masses of muriate and carbonate of soda. The
+salt produced by these wâdys, or depressions of the soil, form an
+important article of commerce with Bornou and the whole of the Soudan.
+
+It would be impossible to imagine a more wretched place than Kirby. Its
+houses are empty, containing not so much as a mat. How could it be
+otherwise with a place liable to incessant raids from the Tuaricks?
+
+The caravan now crossed the Tibboo country, inhabited by a peaceful,
+hospitable people to whom, as keepers of the wells and reservoirs of
+the desert, the leaders of caravans pay passage-money. The Tibboos are
+a strong, active race, and when mounted on their nimble steeds they
+display marvellous skill in throwing the lance, which the most vigorous
+of their warriors can hurl to a distance of 145 yards. Bilma is their
+chief city, and the residence of their sultan.
+
+On the arrival of the travellers at Bilma, the sultan, escorted by a
+number of men and women, came out to meet the strangers. The women were
+much better-looking than those in the smaller towns; some of them had
+indeed very pleasant faces, their white, regular teeth contrasting
+admirably with their shining black skins, and the three "triangular
+flaps of hair, streaming with oil." Coral ornaments in their noses, and
+large amber necklaces round their throats, gave them what Denham calls
+a "seductive appearance." Some of them carried fans made of grass or
+hair, with which to keep off the flies; others were provided with
+branches of trees; all, in fact, carried something in their hands,
+which they waved above their heads. Their costume consisted of a loose
+piece of Soudan cloth, fastened on the left shoulder, and leaving the
+right uncovered, with a smaller piece wound about the head, and falling
+on the shoulders or flung back. In spite of this paucity of clothing,
+there was not the least immodesty in their bearing.
+
+A mile from Bilma, and beyond a limpid spring, which appears to have
+been placed there by nature to afford a supply of water to travellers,
+lies a desert, which it takes no less than ten days to cross. This was
+probably once a huge salt lake.
+
+On the 4th February, 1823, the caravan reached Lari, a town on the
+northern boundary of Bornou, in lat. 14 degrees 40 minutes N. The
+inhabitants, astonished at the size of the "kafila," fled in terror at
+its approach.
+
+"Beyond, however," says Denham, "was an object full of interest to us,
+and the sight of it produced a sensation so gratifying and inspiring,
+that it would be difficult for language to convey an idea of its force
+or pleasure. The great Lake Tchad, glowing with the golden rays of the
+sun in its strength, appeared to be within a mile of the spot on which
+we stood."
+
+On leaving Lari, the appearance of the country changed completely. The
+sandy desert was succeeded by a clay soil, clothed with grass and
+dotted with acacias and other trees of various species, amongst which
+grazed herds of antelopes, whilst Guinea fowls and the turtle-doves of
+Barbary flew hither and thither above them. Towns took the place of
+villages, with huts of the shape of bells, thatched with durra straw.
+
+The travellers continued their journey southwards, rounding Lake Tchad,
+which they had first touched at its most northerly point.
+
+The districts bordering on this sheet of water were of a black, firm,
+but muddy soil. The waters rise to a considerable height in winter, and
+sink in proportion in the summer. The lake is of fresh water, rich in
+fish, and frequented by hippopotami and aquatic birds. Near its centre,
+on the south-east, are the islands inhabited by the Biddomahs, a race
+who live by pillaging the people of the mainland.
+
+The explorers had sent a messenger to Sheikh El Khanemy, to ask
+permission to enter his capital, and an envoy speedily arrived to
+invite Boo-Khaloum and his companions to Kouka.
+
+On their way thither, the travellers passed through Burwha, a fortified
+town which had thus far resisted the inroads of the Tuaricks, and
+crossed the Yeou, a large river, in some parts more than 500 feet in
+width, which, rising in the Soudan, flows into Lake Tchad.
+
+On the southern shores of this river rises a little town of the same
+name, about half the size of Burwha.
+
+The caravan soon reached the gates of Kouka, where, after a journey
+extending over two months and a half, they were received by a body of
+cavalry 4000 strong, under perfect discipline. Amongst these troops was
+a corps of blacks forming the body-guard of the sheikh, whose
+equipments resembled those of ancient chivalry.
+
+[Illustration: Member of the body-guard of the Sheikh of Bornou.
+(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+They wore, Denham tells us, suits of chain armour covering the neck and
+shoulders. These were fastened above the head, and fell in two
+portions, one in front and one behind, so as to protect the flanks of
+the horse and the thighs of the rider. A sort of casque or iron coif,
+kept in its place by red, white or yellow turbans, tied under the chin,
+completed the costume. The horses' heads were also guarded by iron
+plates. Their saddles were small and light, and their steel stirrups
+held only the point of the feet, which were clad in leather shoes,
+ornamented with crocodile skin. The horsemen managed their steeds
+admirably, as, advancing at full gallop, brandishing their spears, they
+wheeled right and left of their guests, shouting "Barca! Barca!"
+(Blessing! Blessing!).
+
+Surrounded by this brilliant and fantastic escort, the English and
+Arabs entered the town, where a similar military display had been
+prepared in their honour.
+
+They were presently admitted to the presence of Sheikh El-Khanemy, who
+appeared to be about forty-five years old, and whose face was
+prepossessing, with a happy, intelligent, and benevolent expression.
+
+The English presented the letters of the pacha, and when the sheikh had
+read them, he asked Denham what had brought him and his companions to
+Bornou.
+
+"We came merely to see the country," replied Denham, "to study the
+character of its people, its scenery, and its productions."
+
+"You are welcome," was the reply; "it will be a pleasure to me to show
+you everything. I have ordered huts to be built for you in the town;
+you may go and see them, accompanied by one of my people, and when you
+are recovered from the fatigue of your long journey, I shall be happy
+to see you."
+
+[Illustration: Reception of the Mission. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+The travellers soon afterwards obtained permission to make collections
+of such animals and plants as appeared to them curious, and to make
+notes of all their observations. They were thus enabled to collect a
+good deal of information about the towns near Kouka.
+
+Kouka, then the capital of Bornou, boasted of a market for the sale of
+slaves, sheep, oxen, cheese, rice, earth-nuts, beans, indigo, and other
+productions of the country. There 100,000 people might sometimes be
+seen haggling about the price of fish, poultry, meat--the last sold
+both raw and cooked--or that of brass, copper, amber and coral. Linen
+was so cheap in these parts, that some of the men wore shirts and
+trousers made of it.
+
+Beggars have a peculiar mode of exciting compassion; they station
+themselves at the entrance to the market, and, holding up the rags of
+an old pair of trousers, they whine out to the passers-by, "See! I have
+no pantaloons!" The novelty of this mode of proceeding, and the request
+for a garment, which seemed to them even more necessary than food, made
+our travellers laugh heartily until they became accustomed to it.
+
+Hitherto the English had had nothing to do with any one but the sheikh,
+who, content with wielding all real power, left the nominal sovereignty
+to the sultan, an eccentric monarch, who never showed himself except
+through the bars of a wicker cage near the gate of his garden, as if he
+were some rare wild beast. Curious indeed were some of the customs of
+this court, not the least so the fancy for obesity: no one was
+considered elegant unless he had attained to a bulk generally looked
+upon as very inconvenient.
+
+Some exquisites had stomachs so distended and prominent that they
+seemed literally to hang over the pommel of the saddle; and in addition
+to this, fashion prescribed a turban of such length and weight that its
+wearer had to carry his head on one side.
+
+These uncouth peculiarities rivalled those of the Turks of a masked
+ball, and the travellers had often hard work to preserve their gravity.
+To compensate, however, for the grotesque solemnity of the various
+receptions, a new field for observation was open, and much valuable
+information might now be acquired.
+
+Denham wished to proceed to the south at once, but the sheikh was
+unwilling to risk the lives of the travellers entrusted to him by the
+Bey of Tripoli. On their entry into Bornou, the responsibility of
+Boo-Khaloum for their safety was transferred to him.
+
+So earnest, however, were the entreaties of Denham, that El-Khanemy at
+last sanctioned his accompanying Boo-Khaloum in a "ghrazzie," or
+plundering expedition against the Kaffirs or infidels.
+
+The sheikh's army and the Arab troops passed in succession Yeddie, a
+large walled city twenty miles from Angoumou, Badagry, and several
+other towns built on an alluvial soil which has a dark clay-like
+appearance.
+
+They entered Mandara, at the frontier town of Delow, beyond which the
+sultan of the province, with five hundred horsemen, met his guests.
+
+Denham describes Mahommed Becker as a man of short stature, about fifty
+years old, wearing a beard, painted of a most delicate azure blue. The
+presentations over, the sultan at once turned to Denham, and asked who
+he was, whence he came, what he wanted, and lastly if he were a
+Mahommedan. On Boo-Khaloum's hesitating to reply, the sultan turned
+away his head, with the words, "So the pacha numbers infidels amongst
+his friends!"
+
+This incident had a very bad effect, and Denham was not again admitted
+to the presence of the sultan.
+
+[Illustration: Lancer of the army of the Sultan of Begharmi.
+(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The enemies of the Pacha of Bornou and the Sultan of Mandara, were
+called Fellatahs. Their vast settlements extended far beyond Timbuctoo.
+They are a handsome set of men, with skins of a dark bronze colour,
+which shows them to be of a race quite distinct from the negroes. They
+are professors of Mahommedanism, and mix but little with the blacks. We
+shall presently have to speak more particularly of the Fellatahs,
+Foulahs, or Fans, as they are called throughout the Soudan.
+
+South of the town of Mora rises a chain of mountains, of which the
+loftiest peaks are not more than 2500 feet high, but which, according
+to the natives, extend for more than "two months' journey."
+
+The most salient point noticed by Denham in his description of the
+country, is a vast and apparently interminable chain of mountains,
+shutting in the view on every side; this, though in his opinion,
+inferior to the Alps, Apennines, Jura, and Sierra Morena in rugged
+magnificence and gigantic grandeur, are yet equal to them in
+picturesque effect. The lofty peaks of Valhmy, Savah, Djoggiday,
+Munday, &c., with clustering villages on their stony sides, rise on the
+east and west, while Horza, exceeding any of them in height and beauty,
+rises on the south with its ravines and precipices.
+
+Derkulla, one of the chief Fellatah towns, was reduced to ashes by the
+invaders, who lost no time in pressing on to Musfeia, a position which,
+naturally very strong, was further defended by palisades manned by a
+numerous body of archers. The English traveller had to take part in the
+assault. The first onslaught of the Arabs appeared to carry all before
+it; the noise of the fire-arms, with the reputation for bravery and
+cruelty enjoyed by Boo-Khaloum and his men, threw the Fellatahs into
+momentary confusion, and if the men of Mandara and Bornou had followed
+up their advantage and stormed the hill, the town would probably have
+fallen.
+
+The besieged, however, noticing the hesitation of their assailants, in
+their turn assumed the defensive, and rallying their archers discharged
+a shower of poisoned arrows, to which many an Arab fell a victim, and
+before which the forces of Bornou and Mandara gave way.
+
+Barca, the Bornou general, had three horses killed under him.
+Boo-Khaloum and his steed were both wounded, and Denham was in a
+similar plight, with the skin of his face grazed by one arrow and two
+others lodged in his burnoos.
+
+The retreat soon became a rout. Denham's horse fell under him, and the
+major had hardly regained his feet when he was surrounded by Fellatahs.
+Two fled on the presentation of the Englishman's pistols, a third
+received the charge in his shoulder.
+
+Denham thought he was safe, when his horse fell a second time, flinging
+his master violently against a tree. This time when the major rose he
+found himself with neither horse nor weapons; and the next moment he
+was surrounded by enemies, who stripped him and wounded him in both
+hands and the right side, leaving him half dead at last to fight over
+his clothes, which seemed to them of great value.
+
+Availing himself of this lucky quarrel, Denham slipped under a horse
+standing by, and disappeared in the thicket. Naked, bleeding, wild with
+pain, he reached the edge of a ravine with a mountain stream flowing
+through it. His strength was all but gone, and he was clutching at a
+bough of a tree overhanging the water with a view to dropping himself
+into it as the banks were very steep, and the branches were actually
+bending beneath his weight, when from beneath his hand a gigantic
+liffa, the most venomous kind of serpent in the country, rose from its
+coil in the very act of striking. Horror-struck, Denham let slip the
+branch, and tumbled headlong into the water, but fortunately the shock
+revived him, he struck out almost unconsciously, swam to the opposite
+bank, and climbing it, found himself safe from his pursuers.
+
+Fortunately the fugitive soon saw a group of horsemen amongst the
+trees, and in spite of the noise of the pursuit, he managed to shout
+loud enough to make them hear him. They turned out to be Barca Gana and
+Boo-Khaloum, with some Arabs. Mounted on a sorry steed, with no other
+clothing than an old blanket swarming with vermin, Denham travelled
+thirty-seven miles. The pain of his wounds was greatly aggravated by
+the heat, the thermometer being at 32 degrees.
+
+The only results of the expedition, which was to have brought in such
+quantities of booty and numerous slaves, were the deaths of Boo-Khaloum
+and thirty-six of his Arabs, the wounding of nearly all the rest, and
+the loss or destruction of all the horses.
+
+The eighty miles between Mora and Kouka were traversed in six days.
+Denham was kindly received in the latter town by the sultan, who sent
+him a native garment to replace his lost wardrobe. The major had hardly
+recovered from his wounds and fatigue, before he took part in a new
+expedition, sent to Munga, a province on the west of Bornou, by the
+sheikh, whose authority had never been fully recognized there, and
+whose claim for tribute had been refused by the inhabitants.
+
+[Illustration: Map of Denham and Clapperton's Journey. Gravé par E.
+Morieu.]
+
+Denham and Oudney left Kouka on the 22nd May, and crossed the Yeou,
+then nearly dried up, but an important stream in the rainy season, and
+visited Birnie, with the ruins of the capital of the same name, which
+was capable of containing two hundred thousand inhabitants. The
+travellers also passed through the ruins of Gambarou with its
+magnificent buildings, the favourite residence of the former sultan,
+destroyed by the Fellatahs, Kabshary, Bassecour, Bately, and many other
+towns or villages, whose numerous populations submitted without a
+struggle to the Sultan of Bornou.
+
+The rainy season was disastrous to the members of the expedition,
+Clapperton fell dangerously ill of fever, and Oudney, whose chest was
+delicate even before he left England, grew weaker every day. Denham
+alone kept up. On the 14th of December, when the rainy season was
+drawing to a close, Clapperton and Oudney started for Kano. We shall
+presently relate the particulars of this interesting part of their
+expedition.
+
+Seven days later, an ensign, named Toole, arrived at Kouka, after a
+journey from Tripoli, which had occupied only three months and fourteen
+days.
+
+In February, 1824, Denham and Toole made a trip into Luggun, on the
+south of Lake Tchad. All the districts near the lake and its tributary,
+the Shari, are marshy, and flooded during the rainy season. The
+unhealthiness of the climate was fatal to young Toole, who died at
+Angala, on the 26th of February, at the early age of twenty-two.
+Persevering, enterprising, bright and obliging, with plenty of pluck
+and prudence, Toole was a model explorer.
+
+Luggun was then very little known, its capital Kernok, contained no
+less than 15,000 inhabitants. The people of Luggun, especially the
+women--who are very industrious, and manufacture the finest linens, and
+fabrics of the closest texture--are handsomer and more intelligent than
+those of Bornou.
+
+The necessary interview with the sultan ended, after an exchange of
+complimentary speeches and handsome presents, in this strange proposal
+from his majesty to the travellers: "If you have come to buy female
+slaves, you need not be at the trouble to go further, as I will sell
+them to you as cheap as possible." Denham had great trouble in
+convincing the merchant prince that such traffic was not the aim of his
+journey, but that the love of science alone had brought him to Luggun.
+
+On the 2nd of March, Denham returned to Kouka, and on the 20th of May,
+he was witness to the arrival of Lieutenant Tyrwhitt, who had come to
+take up his residence as consul at the court of Bornou, bearing costly
+presents for the sultan.
+
+[Illustration: Portrait of Clapperton. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+After a final excursion in the direction of Manou, the capital of
+Kanem, and a visit to the Dogganah, who formerly occupied all the
+districts about Lake Fitri, the major joined Clapperton in his return
+journey to Tripoli, starting on the 16th of April, and arriving there
+in safety at the close of a long and arduous journey, whose
+geographical results, important in any case, had been greatly enhanced
+by the labours of Clapperton. To the adventures and discoveries of the
+latter we must now turn. Clapperton and Oudney started for Kano, a
+large Fellatah town on the west of Lake Tchad, on the 14th of December,
+1823, followed the Yeou as far as Damasak, and visited the ruins of
+Birnie, and those of Bera, on the shores of a lake formed by the
+overflowing of the Yeou, Dogamou and Bekidarfi, all towns of Houssa.
+The people of this province, who were very numerous before the invasion
+of the Fellatahs, are armed with bows and arrows, and trade in tobacco,
+nuts, gouro, antimony, tanned hares' skins, and cotton stuffs in the
+piece and made into clothes.
+
+The caravan soon left the banks of the Yeou or Gambarou, and entered a
+wooded country, which was evidently under water in the rainy season.
+
+The travellers then entered the province of Katagoum, where the
+governor received them with great cordiality, assuring them that their
+arrival was quite an event to him, as it would be to the Sultan of the
+Fellatahs, who, like himself, had never before seen an Englishman. He
+also assured them that they would find all they required in his
+district, just as at Kouka.
+
+The only thing which seemed to surprise him much, was the fact that his
+visitors wanted neither slaves, horses, nor silver, and that the sole
+proof of his friendship they required was permission to collect flowers
+and plants, and to travel in his country.
+
+According to Clapperton's observations, Katagoum is situated in lat. 12
+degrees 17 minutes 11 seconds N., and about 12 degrees E. long. Before
+the Fellatahs were conquered, it was on the borders of the province of
+Bornou. It can send into the field 4000 cavalry, and 2000 foot
+soldiers, armed with bows and arrows, swords and lances. Wheat, and
+oxen, with slaves, are its chief articles of commerce. The citadel is
+the strongest the English had seen, except that of Tripoli. Entered by
+gates which are shut at night, it is defended by two parallel walls,
+and three dry moats, one inside, one out, and the third between the two
+walls which are twenty feet high, and ten feet wide at the base. A
+ruined mosque is the only other object of interest in the town, which
+consists of mud houses, and contains some seven or eight hundred
+inhabitants.
+
+There the English for the first time saw cowries used as money.
+Hitherto native cloth had been the sole medium of exchange.
+
+South of Katagoum is the Yacoba country, called Mouchy by the
+Mahommedans. According to accounts received by Clapperton, the people
+of Yacoba, which is shut in by limestone mountains, are cannibals. The
+Mahommedans, however, who have an intense horror of the "Kaffirs," give
+no other proof of this accusation than the statement that they have
+seen human heads and limbs hanging against the walls of the houses.
+
+In Yacoba rises the Yeou, a river which dries up completely in the
+summer; but, according to the people who live on its banks, rises and
+falls regularly every week throughout the rainy season.
+
+On the 11th of January, the journey was resumed; but a halt had to be
+made at Murmur at noon of the same day, as Oudney showed signs of such
+extreme weakness and exhaustion, that Clapperton feared he could not
+last through another day. He had been gradually failing ever since they
+left the mountains of Obarri in Fezzan, where he had inflammation of
+the throat from sitting in a draught when over-heated.
+
+On the 12th of January, Oudney took a cup of coffee at daybreak, and at
+his request Clapperton changed camels with him. He then helped him to
+dress, and leaning on his servant, the doctor left the tent. He was
+about to attempt to mount his camel, when Clapperton saw death in his
+face. He supported him back to the tent, where to his intense grief, he
+expired at once, without a groan or any sign of suffering. Clapperton
+lost no time in asking the governor's permission to bury his comrade;
+and this being obtained, he dug a grave for him himself under an old
+mimosa-tree near one of the gates of the town. After the body had been
+washed according to the custom of the country, it was wrapped in some
+of the turban shawls which were to have served as presents on the
+further journey; the servants carried it to its last resting-place, and
+Clapperton read the English burial service at the grave. When the
+ceremony was over, he surrounded the modest resting-place with a wall
+of earth, to keep off beasts of prey, and had two sheep killed, which
+he divided amongst the poor.
+
+Thus closed the career of the young naturalist and ship's doctor,
+Oudney. His terrible malady, whose germs he had brought with him from
+England, had prevented him from rendering so much service to the
+expedition as the Government had expected from him, although he never
+spared himself, declaring that he felt better on the march, than when
+resting. Knowing that his weakened constitution would not admit of any
+sustained exertion on his part, he would never damp the ardour of his
+companions.
+
+After this sad event, Clapperton resumed his journey to Kano, halting
+successively at Digou, situated in a well-cultivated district, rich in
+flocks; Katoungora, beyond the province of Katagoum; Zangeia,
+once--judging from its extent and the ruined walls still standing--an
+important place, near the end of the Douchi chain of hills; Girkoua,
+with a finer market-place than that of Tripoli; and Souchwa, surrounded
+by an imposing earthwork.
+
+Kano, the Chana of Edrisi and other Arab geographers, and the great
+emporium of the kingdom of Houssa, was reached on the 20th January.
+
+Clapperton tells us that he had hardly entered the gates before his
+expectations were disappointed; after the brilliant description of the
+Arabs, he had expected to see a town of vast extent. The houses were a
+quarter of a mile from the walls, and stood here and there in little
+groups, separated by large pools of stagnant water. "I might have
+dispensed with the care I had bestowed on my dress," (he had donned his
+naval uniform), "for the inhabitants, absorbed in their own affairs,
+let me pass without remark and never so much as looked at me."
+
+Kano, the capital of the province of that name and one of the chief
+towns of the Soudan, is situated in N. lat. 12 degrees 0 minutes 19
+seconds, and E. long. 9 degrees 20 minutes. It contains between thirty
+and forty thousand inhabitants, of whom the greater number are slaves.
+
+The market, bounded on the east and west by vast reedy swamps, is the
+haunt of numerous flocks of ducks, storks, and vultures, which act as
+scavengers to the town. In this market, stocked with all the provisions
+in use in Africa, beef, mutton, goats' and sometimes even camels'
+flesh, are sold.
+
+Writing paper of French manufacture, scissors and knives, antimony,
+tin, red silk, copper bracelets, glass beads, coral, amber, steel
+rings, silver ornaments, turban shawls, cotton cloths, calico, Moorish
+habiliments, and many other articles, are exposed for sale in large
+quantities in the market-place of Kano.
+
+There Clapperton bought for three piastres, an English cotton umbrella
+from Ghadames. He also visited the slave-market, where the unfortunate
+human chattels are as carefully examined as volunteers for the navy are
+by our own inspectors.
+
+The town is very unhealthy, the swamps cutting it in two, and the holes
+produced by the removal of the earth for building, produce permanent
+malaria.
+
+It is the fashion at Kano to stain the teeth and limbs with the juice
+of a plant called _gourgi_, and with tobacco, which produces a bright
+red colour. Gouro nuts are chewed, and sometimes even swallowed when
+mixed with _trona_, a habit not peculiar to Houssa, for it extends to
+Bornou, where it is strictly forbidden to women. The people of Houssa
+smoke a native tobacco.
+
+On the 23rd of February, Clapperton started for Sackatoo. He crossed a
+picturesque well-cultivated country, whose wooded hills gave it the
+appearance of an English park. Herds of beautiful white or dun-coloured
+oxen gave animation to the scenery.
+
+The most important places passed en route by Clapperton were Gadania, a
+densely populated town, the inhabitants of which had been sold as
+slaves by the Fellatahs, Doncami, Zirmia, the capital of Gambra,
+Kagaria, Kouari, and the wells of Kamoun, where he met an escort sent
+by the sultan.
+
+Sackatoo was the most thickly populated city that the explorer had seen
+in Africa. Its well-built houses form regular streets, instead of
+clustering in groups as in the other towns of Houssa. It is surrounded
+by a wall between twenty and thirty feet high, pierced by twelve gates,
+which are closed every evening at sunset, and it boasts of two mosques,
+with a market and a large square opposite to the sultan's residence.
+
+The inhabitants, most of whom are Fellatahs, own many slaves; and the
+latter, those at least who are not in domestic service, work at some
+trade for their masters' profit. They are weavers, masons, blacksmiths,
+shoemakers, or husbandmen.
+
+To do honour to his host, and also to give him an exalted notion of the
+power and wealth of England, Clapperton assumed a dazzling costume when
+he paid his first visit to Sultan Bello. He covered his uniform with
+gold lace, donned white trousers and silk stockings, and completed this
+holiday attire by a Turkish turban and slippers. Bello received him,
+seated on a cushion in a thatched hut like an English cottage. The
+sultan, a handsome man, about forty-five years old, wore a blue cotton
+_tobe_ and a white cotton turban, one end of which fell over his nose
+and mouth in Turkish fashion.
+
+Bello accepted the traveller's presents with childish glee. The watch,
+telescope, and thermometer, which he naively called a "heat watch,"
+especially delighted him; but he wondered more at his visitor than at
+any of his gifts. He was unwearied in his questions as to the manners,
+customs, and trade of England; and after receiving several replies, he
+expressed a wish to open commercial relations with that power. He would
+like an English consul and a doctor to reside in a port he called Raka,
+and finally he requested that certain articles of English manufacture
+should be sent to Funda, a very thriving sea-port of his. After a good
+many talks on the different religions of Europe, Bello gave back to
+Clapperton the books, journals, and clothes which had been taken from
+Denham, at the time of the unfortunate excursion in which Boo-Khaloum
+lost his life.
+
+On the 3rd May, Clapperton took leave of the sultan. This time there
+was a good deal of delay before he was admitted to an audience. Bello
+was alone, and gave the traveller a letter for the King of England,
+with many expressions of friendship towards the country of his visitor,
+reiterating his wish to open commercial relations with it and begging
+him to let him have a letter to say when the English expedition
+promised by Clapperton would arrive on the coast of Africa.
+
+Clapperton returned by the route by which he had come, arriving on the
+8th of July at Kouka, where he rejoined Denham. He had brought with him
+an Arab manuscript containing a geographical and historical picture of
+the kingdom of Takrour, governed by Mahommed Bello of Houssa, author of
+the manuscript. He himself had not only collected much valuable
+information on the geology and botany of Bornou and Houssa, but also
+drawn up a vocabulary of the languages of Begharmi, Mandara, Bornou,
+Houssa, and Timbuctoo.
+
+The results of the expedition were therefore considerable. The
+Fellatahs had been heard of for the first time, and their identity with
+the Fans had been ascertained by Clapperton in his second journey. It
+had been proved that these Fellatahs had created a vast empire in the
+north and west of Africa, and also that beyond a doubt they did not
+belong to the negro race. The study of their language, and its
+resemblance to certain idioms not of African origin, will some day
+throw a light on the migration of races. Lastly, Lake Tchad had been
+discovered, and though not entirely examined, the greater part of its
+shores had been explored. It had been ascertained to have two
+tributaries: the Yeou, part of whose course had been traced, whilst its
+source had been pointed out by the natives, and the Shari, the mouth
+and lower portion of which had been carefully examined by Denham. With
+regard to the Niger, the information collected by Clapperton from the
+natives was still very contradictory, but the balance of evidence was
+in favour of its flowing into the Gulf of Benin. However, Clapperton
+intended, after a short rest in England, to return to Africa, and
+landing on the western coast make his way up the Kouara or Djoliba as
+the natives call the Niger; to set at rest once for all the dispute as
+to whether that river was or was not identical with the Nile; to
+connect his new discoveries with those of Denham, and lastly to cross
+Africa, taking a diagonal course from Tripoli to the Gulf of Benin.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Clapperton's second journey--Arrival at Badagry--Yariba and its capital
+Katunga--Boussa--Attempts to get at the truth about Mungo Park's
+fate--"Nyffé," Yaourie, and Zegzeg--Arrival at Kano--Disappointments--
+Death of Clapperton--Return of Lander to the coast--Tuckey on the
+Congo--Bowditch in Ashantee--Mollien at the sources of the Senegal and
+Gambia--Major Grey--Caillié at Timbuctoo--Laing at the sources of the
+Niger--Richard and John Lander at the mouth of the Niger--Cailliaud and
+Letorzec in Egypt, Nubia, and the oasis of Siwâh.
+
+
+So soon as Clapperton arrived in England, he submitted to Lord Bathurst
+his scheme for going to Kouka _viâ_ the Bight of Benin--in other words
+by the shortest way, a route not attempted by his predecessors--and
+ascending the Niger from its mouth to Timbuctoo.
+
+In this expedition three others were associated with Clapperton, who
+took the command. These three were a surgeon named Dickson, Pearce, a
+ship's captain, and Dr. Morrison, also in the merchant service; the
+last-named well up in every branch of natural history.
+
+On the 26th November, 1825, the expedition arrived in the Bight of
+Benin. For some reason unexplained, Dickson had asked permission to
+make his way to Sockatoo alone and he landed for that purpose at
+Whydah. A Portuguese named Songa, and Colombus, Denham's servant,
+accompanied him as far as Dahomey. Seventeen days after he left that
+town, Dickson reached Char, and a little later Yaourie, beyond which
+place he was never traced.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: Dickson quarrelled with a native chief, and was murdered
+by his followers. See Clapperton's "Last Journey in Africa."--_Trans._]
+
+The other explorers sailed up the Bight of Benin, and were warned by an
+English merchant named Houtson, not to attempt the ascent of the
+Quorra, as the king of the districts watered by it had conceived an
+intense hatred of the English, on account of their interference with
+the slave-trade, the most remunerative branch of his commerce.
+
+It would be much better, urged Houtson, to go to Badagry, no great
+distance from Sackatoo, the chief of which, well-disposed as he was to
+travellers, would doubtless give them an escort as far as the frontiers
+of Yariba. Houtson had lived in the country many years, and was well
+acquainted with the language and habits of its people. Clapperton,
+therefore, thought it desirable to attach him to the expedition as far
+as Katunga, the capital of Yariba.
+
+The expedition disembarked at Badagry, on the 29th November, 1825,
+ascended an arm of the Lagos, and then, for a distance of two miles,
+the Gazie creek, which traverses part of Dahomey. Descending the left
+bank, the explorers began their march into the interior of the country,
+through districts consisting partly of swamps and partly of yam
+plantations. Everything indicated fertility. The negroes were very
+averse to work, and it would be impossible to relate the numerous
+"palavers" and negotiations which had to be gone through, and the
+exactions which were submitted to, before porters could be obtained.
+
+The explorers succeeded, in spite of these difficulties, in reaching
+Jenneh, sixty miles from the coast. Here Clapperton tells us he saw
+several looms at work, as many as eight or nine in one house, a regular
+manufactory in fact. The people of Jenneh also make earthenware, but
+they prefer that which they get from Europe, often putting the foreign
+produce to uses for which it was never intended.
+
+At Jenneh the travellers were all attacked with fever, the result of
+the great heat and the unhealthiness of the climate. Pearce and
+Morrison both died on the 27th December, the former soon after he left
+Jenneh with Clapperton, the latter at that town, to which he had
+returned to rest.
+
+At Assondo, a town of no less than 10,000 inhabitants; Daffou,
+containing some 5000, and other places visited by Clapperton on his way
+through the country, he found that an extraordinary rumour had preceded
+him, to the effect that he had come to restore peace to the districts
+distracted by war, and to do good to the lands he explored.
+
+At Tchow the caravan met a messenger with a numerous escort, sent by
+the King of Yariba to meet the explorers, and shortly afterwards
+Katunga was entered. This town is built round the base of a rugged
+granite mountain. It is about three miles in extent, and is both framed
+in and planted with bushy trees presenting a most picturesque
+appearance.
+
+[Illustration: "The caravan met a messenger."]
+
+Clapperton remained at Katunga from the 24th January to the 7th March,
+1826. He was entertained there with great hospitality by the sultan,
+who, however, refused to give him permission to go to Houssa and Bornou
+by way of Nyffé or Toppa, urging as reasons that Nyffé was distracted
+by civil war, and one of the pretenders to the throne had called in the
+aid of the Fellatahs. It would be more prudent to go through Yaourie.
+Whether these excuses were true or not, Clapperton had to submit.
+
+The explorer availed himself of his detention at Katunga to make
+several interesting observations. This town contains no less than seven
+markets, in which are exposed for sale yams, cereals, bananas, figs,
+the seeds of gourds, hares, poultry, sheep, lambs, linen cloth, and
+various implements of husbandry.
+
+The houses of the king and those of his wives are situated in two large
+parks. The doors and the pillars of the verandahs are adorned with
+fairly well executed carvings, representing such scenes as a boa
+killing an antelope, or a pig, or a group of warriors and drummers.
+
+According to Clapperton the people of Yariba have fewer of the
+characteristics of the negro race than any natives of Africa with whom
+he was brought in contact. Their lips are not so thick and their noses
+are of a more aquiline shape. The men are well made, and carry
+themselves with an ease which cannot fail to be remarked. The women are
+less refined-looking than the men, the result, probably, of exposure to
+the sun and the fatigue they endure, compelled as they are to do all
+the work of the fields.
+
+Soon after leaving Katunga, Clapperton crossed the Mousa, a tributary
+of the Quorra and entered Kiama, one of the halting-places of the
+caravans trading between Houssa and Borghoo, and Gandja, on the
+frontiers of Ashantee. Kiama contains no less than 13,000 inhabitants,
+who are considered the greatest thieves in Africa. To say a man is from
+Borghoo is to brand him as a blackguard at once.
+
+Outside Kiama the traveller met the Houssa caravan. Some thousands of
+men and women, oxen, asses, and horses, marching in single file, formed
+an interminable line presenting a singular and grotesque appearance. A
+motley assemblage truly: naked girls alternating with men bending
+beneath their loads, or with Gandja merchants in the most outlandish
+and ridiculous costumes, mounted on bony steeds which stumbled at every
+step.
+
+Clapperton now made for Boussa on the Niger, where Mungo Park was
+drowned. Before reaching it he had to cross the Oli, a tributary of the
+Quorra, and to pass through Wow-wow, a district of Borghoo, the capital
+of which, also called Wow-wow, contained some 18,000 inhabitants. It
+was one of the cleanest and best built towns the traveller had entered
+since he left Badagry. The streets are wide and well kept, and the
+houses are round, with conical thatched roofs. Drunkenness is a
+prevalent vice in Wow-wow: governor, priests, laymen, men and women,
+indulge to excess in palm wine, in rum brought from the coast, and in
+"bouza." The latter beverage is a mixture made of dhurra, honey,
+cayenne pepper, and the root of a coarse grass eaten by cattle, with
+the addition of a certain quantity of water.
+
+Clapperton tells us that the people of Wow-wow are famous for their
+cleanliness; they are cheerful, benevolent, and hospitable. No other
+people whom he had met with had been so ready to give him information
+about their country; and, more extraordinary still, did not meet with a
+single beggar. The natives say they are not aborigines of Borghoo, but
+that they are descendants of the natives of Houssa and Nyffé. They
+speak a Yariba dialect, but the Wow-wow women are pretty, which those
+of Yariba are not. The men are muscular and well-made, but have a
+dissipated look. Their religion is a lax kind of Mahommedanism
+tinctured with paganism.
+
+Since leaving the coast Clapperton had met tribes of unconverted
+Fellatahs speaking the same language, and resembling in feature and
+complexion others who had adopted Mahommedanism. A significant fact
+which points to their belonging to one race.
+
+Boussa, which the traveller reached at last, is not a regular town, but
+consists of groups of scattered houses on an island of the Quorra,
+situated in lat. 10 degrees 14 minutes N., and long. 6 degrees 11
+minutes E. The province of which it is the capital is the most densely
+populated of Borghoo. The inhabitants are all Pagans, even the sultan,
+although his name is Mahommed. They live upon monkeys, dogs, cats,
+rats, beef, and mutton.
+
+Breakfast was served to the sultan whilst he was giving audience to
+Clapperton, whom he invited to join him. The meal consisted of a large
+water-rat grilled without skinning, a dish of fine boiled rice, some
+dried fish stewed in palm oil, fried alligators' eggs, washed down with
+fresh water from the Quorra. Clapperton took some stewed fish and rice,
+but was much laughed at because he would eat neither the rat nor the
+alligators' eggs.
+
+The sultan received him very courteously, and told him that the Sultan
+of Yaourie had had boats ready to take him to that town for the last
+seven days. Clapperton replied that as the war had prevented all exit
+from Bornou and Yaourie, he should prefer going by way of Coulfo and
+Nyffé. "You are right," answered the sultan; "you did well to come and
+see me, and you can take which ever route you prefer."
+
+At a later audience Clapperton made inquiries about the Englishmen who
+had perished in the Quorra twenty years before. This subject evidently
+made the sultan feel very ill at ease, and he evaded the questions put
+to him, by saying he was too young at the time to remember what
+happened.
+
+Clapperton explained that he only wanted to recover their books and
+papers, and to visit the scene of their death; and the sultan in reply
+denied having anything belonging to them, adding a warning against his
+guest's going to the place where they died, for it was a "very bad
+place."
+
+"But I understood," urged Clapperton, "that part of the boat they were
+in could still be seen."
+
+"No, it was a false report," replied the sultan, "the boat had long
+since been carried down by the stream; it was somewhere amongst the
+rocks, he didn't know where."
+
+To a fresh demand for Park's papers and journals the sultan replied
+that he had none of them; they were in the hands of some learned men;
+but as Clapperton seemed to set such store by them, he would have them
+looked for. Thanking him for this promise, Clapperton begged permission
+to question the old men of the place, some of whom must have witnessed
+the catastrophe. No answer whatever was returned to this appeal, by
+which the sultan was evidently much embarrassed. It was useless to
+press him further.
+
+This was a check to Clapperton's further inquiries. On every side he
+was met with embarrassed silence or such replies as, "The affair
+happened so long ago, I can't remember it," or, "I was not witness to
+it." The place where the boat had been stopped and its crew drowned was
+pointed out to him, but even that was done cautiously. A few days
+later, Clapperton found out that the former Imaun, who was a Fellatah,
+had had Mungo Park's books and papers in his possession. Unfortunately,
+however, this Imaun had long since left Boussa. Finally, when at
+Coulfo, the explorer ascertained beyond a doubt that Mungo Park had
+been murdered.
+
+Before leaving Borghoo, Clapperton recorded his conviction of the
+baselessness of the bad reputation of the inhabitants, who had been
+branded everywhere as thieves and robbers. He had completely explored
+their country, travelled and hunted amongst them alone, and never had
+the slightest reason to complain.
+
+The traveller now endeavoured to reach Kano by way of Zouari and
+Zegzeg, first crossing the Quorra. He soon arrived at Fabra, on the
+Mayarrow, the residence of the queen-mother of Nyffé, and then went to
+visit the king, in camp at a short distance from the town. This king,
+Clapperton tells us, was the most insolent rogue imaginable, asking for
+everything he saw, and quite unabashed by any refusal. His ambition and
+his calling in of the Fellatahs, who would throw him over as soon as he
+had answered their purpose, had been the ruin of his country. Thanks
+indeed to him, nearly the whole of the industrial population of Nyffé
+had been killed, sold into slavery, or had fled the country.
+
+Clapperton was detained by illness much longer than he had intended to
+remain at Coulfo, a commercial town on the northern banks of the
+Mayarrow containing from twelve to fifteen thousand inhabitants.
+Exposed for the last twenty years to the raids of the Fellatahs, Coulfo
+had been burnt twice in six years. Clapperton was witness when there of
+the Feast of the New Moon. On that festival every one exchanged visits.
+The women wear their woolly hair plaited and stained with indigo. Their
+eyebrows are dyed the same colour. Their eyelids are painted with kohl,
+their lips are stained yellow, their teeth red, and their hands and
+feet are coloured with henna. On the day of the Feast of the Moon they
+don their gayest garments, with their glass beads, bracelets, copper,
+silver, steel, or brass. They also turn the occasion to account by
+drinking as much bouza as the men, joining in all their songs and
+dances.
+
+After passing through Katunga, Clapperton entered the province of
+Gouari, the people of which though conquered with the rest of Houssa by
+the Fellatahs, had rebelled against them on the death of Bello I., and
+since then maintained their independence in spite of all the efforts of
+their invaders. Gouari, capital of the province of the same name, is
+situated in lat. 10 degrees 54 minutes N., and long. 8 degrees 1 minute
+E.
+
+At Fatika Clapperton entered Zegzeg, subject to the Fellatahs, after
+which he visited Zariyah, a singular-looking town laid out with
+plantations of millet, woods of bushy trees, vegetable gardens, &c.,
+alternating with marshes, lawns, and houses. The population was very
+numerous, exceeding even that of Kano, being estimated indeed at some
+forty or fifty thousand, nearly all Fellatahs.
+
+On the 19th September, after a long and weary journey, Clapperton at
+last entered Kano. He at once discovered that he would have been more
+welcome if he had come from the east, for the war with Bornou had
+broken off all communication with Fezzan and Tripoli. Leaving his
+luggage under the care of his servant Lander, Clapperton almost
+immediately started in quest of Sultan Bello, who they said was near
+Sackatoo. This was an extremely arduous journey, and on it Clapperton
+lost his camels and horses, and was compelled to put up with a
+miserable ox; to carry part of his baggage, he and his servants
+dividing the rest amongst them.
+
+Bello received Clapperton kindly and sent him camels and provisions,
+but as he was then engaged in subjugating the rebellious province of
+Gouber, he could not at once give the explorer the personal audience so
+important to the many interests entrusted by the English Government to
+Clapperton.
+
+Bello advanced to the attack of Counia, the capital of Gouber, at the
+head of an army of 60,000 soldiers, nine-tenths of whom were on foot
+and wore padded armour. The struggle was contemptible in the extreme,
+and this abortive attempt closed the war. Clapperton, whose health was
+completely broken up, managed to make his way from Sackatoo to Magaria,
+where he saw the sultan.
+
+After he had received the presents brought for him, Bello became less
+friendly. He presently pretended to have received a letter from Sheikh
+El Khanemy warning him against the traveller, whom his correspondent
+characterized as a spy, and urging him to defy the English, who meant,
+after finding out all about the country, to settle in it, raise up
+sedition and profit by the disturbances they should create to take
+possession of Houssa, as they had done of India.
+
+The most patent of all the motives of Bello in creating difficulties
+for Clapperton was his wish to appropriate the presents intended for
+the Sultan of Bornou. A pretext being necessary, he spread a rumour
+that the traveller was taking cannons and ammunition to Kouka. It was
+out of all reason Bello should allow a stranger to cross his dominions
+with a view to enabling his implacable enemy to make war upon him.
+Finally, Bello made an effort to induce Clapperton to read to him the
+letter of Lord Bathurst to the Sultan of Bornou.
+
+Clapperton told him he could take it if he liked, but that he would not
+give it to him, adding that everything was of course possible to him,
+as he had force on his side, but that he would bring dishonour upon
+himself by using it. "To open the letter myself," said Clapperton, "is
+more than my head is worth." He had come, he urged, bringing Bello a
+letter and presents from the King of England, relying upon the
+confidence inspired by the sultan's letter of the previous year, and he
+hoped his host would not forfeit that confidence by tampering with
+another person's letter.
+
+On this the sultan made a gesture of dismissal, and Clapperton retired.
+
+This was not, however, the last attempt of a similar kind, and things
+grew much worse later. A few days afterwards another messenger was sent
+to demand the presents reserved for El Khanemy, and on Clapperton's
+refusing to give them up, they were taken from him.
+
+"I told the Gadado," says Clapperton, "that they were acting like
+robbers towards me, in defiance of all good faith: that no people in
+the world would act the same, and they had far better have cut my head
+off than done such an act; but I suppose they would do that also when
+they had taken everything from me."
+
+An attempt was now made to obtain his arms and ammunition, but this he
+resisted sturdily. His terrified servants ran away, but soon returned
+to share the dangers of their master, for whom they entertained the
+warmest affection.
+
+At this critical moment, the entries in Clapperton's journal ceased. He
+had now been six months in Sackatoo, without being able to undertake
+any explorations or to bring to a satisfactory conclusion the mission
+which had brought him from the coast. Sick at heart, weary, and ill, he
+could take no rest, and his illness suddenly increased upon him to an
+alarming degree. His servant, Richard Lander, who had now joined him,
+tried in vain to be all things at once. On the 12th March, 1827,
+Clapperton was seized with dysentery. Nothing could check the progress
+of the malady, and he sank rapidly. It being the time of the feast of
+the Rhamadan, Lander could get no help, not even servants. Fever soon
+set in, and after twenty days of great suffering, Clapperton, feeling
+his end approaching, gave his last instructions to Lander, and died in
+that faithful servant's arms, on the 11th of April.
+
+"I put a large clean mat," says Lander, "over the whole [the corpse],
+and sent a messenger to Sultan Bello, to acquaint him with the mournful
+event, and ask his permission to bury the body after the manner of my
+own country, and also to know in what particular place his remains were
+to be interred. The messenger soon returned with the sultan's consent
+to the former part of my request; and about twelve o'clock at noon of
+the same day a person came into my hut, accompanied by four slaves,
+sent by Bello to dig the grave. I was desired to follow them with the
+corpse. Accordingly I saddled my camel, and putting the body on its
+back, and throwing a union jack over it, I bade them proceed.
+Travelling at a slow pace, we halted at Jungavie, a small village,
+built on a rising ground, about five miles to the south-east of
+Sackatoo. The body was then taken from the camel's back, and placed in
+a shed, whilst the slaves were digging the grave; which being quickly
+done, it was conveyed close to it. I then opened a prayer-book, and,
+amid showers of tears, read the funeral service over the remains of my
+valued master. Not a single person listened to this peculiarly
+distressing ceremony, the slaves being at some distance, quarrelling
+and making a most indecent noise the whole time it lasted. This being
+done, the union jack was then taken off, and the body was slowly
+lowered into the earth, and I wept bitterly as I gazed for the last
+time upon all that remained of my generous and intrepid master."
+
+[Illustration: "Travelling at a slow pace."]
+
+Overcome by heat, fatigue, and grief, poor Lander himself now broke
+down, and for more than ten days was unable to leave his hut.
+
+Bello sent several times to inquire after the unfortunate servant's
+health, but he was not deceived by these demonstrations of interest,
+for he knew they were only dictated by a wish to get possession of the
+traveller's baggage, which was supposed to be full of gold and silver.
+The sultan's astonishment may therefore be imagined when it came out
+that Lander had not even money enough to defray the expenses of his
+journey to the coast. He never found out that the servant had taken the
+precaution of hiding his own gold watch and those of Pearce and
+Clapperton about his person.
+
+Lander saw that he must at any cost get back to the coast as quickly as
+possible. By dint of the judicious distribution of a few presents he
+won over some of the sultan's advisers, who represented to their master
+that should Lander die he would be accused of having murdered him as
+well as Clapperton. Although Clapperton had advised Lander to join an
+Arab caravan for Fezzan, the latter, fearing that his papers and
+journals might be taken from him, resolved to go back to the coast.
+
+On the 3rd May Lander at last left Sackatoo en route for Kano. During
+the first part of this journey, he nearly died of thirst, but he
+suffered less in the second half, as the King of Djacoba, who had
+joined him, was very kind to him, and begged him to visit his country.
+This king told him that the Niam-Niams were his neighbours; that they
+had once joined him against the Sultan of Bornou, and that after the
+battle they had roasted and eaten the corpses of the slain. This, I
+believe, is the first mention, since the publication of Hornemann's
+Travels, of this cannibal race, who were to become the subjects of so
+many absurd fables.
+
+Lander entered Kano on the 25th May, and after a short stay there
+started for Funda, on the Niger, whose course he proposed following to
+Benin. This route had much to recommend it, being not only safe but
+new, so that Lander was enabled to supplement the discoveries of his
+master.
+
+Kanfoo, Carifo, Gowgie, and Gatas, were visited in turns by Lander, who
+says that the people of these towns belong to the Houssa race, and pay
+tribute to the Fellatahs. He also saw Damoy, Drammalik, and Coudonia,
+passed a wide river flowing towards the Quorra, and visited Kottop, a
+huge slave and cattle market, Coudgi and Dunrora, with a long chain of
+lofty mountains running in an easterly direction beyond.
+
+At Dunrora, just as Lander was superintending the loading of his beasts
+of burden, four horsemen, their steeds covered with foam, dashed up to
+the chief, and with his aid forced Lander to retrace his steps to visit
+the King of Zegzeg, who, they said, was very anxious to see him. This
+was by no means agreeable to Lander, who wanted to get to the Niger,
+from which he was not very far distant, and down it to the sea; he was,
+however, obliged to yield to force. His guides did not follow exactly
+the same route as he had taken on his way to Dunrora, and thus he had
+an opportunity of seeing the village of Eggebi, governed by one of the
+chief of the warriors of the sovereign of Zegzeg. He paid his respects
+as required, excusing the small value of the presents he had to give on
+the ground of his merchandise having been stolen, and soon obtained
+permission to leave the place.
+
+Yaourie, Womba, Coulfo, Boussa, and Wow-wow were the halting-places on
+Lander's return journey to Badagry, where he arrived on the 22nd
+November, 1827. Two months later he embarked for England.
+
+Although the commercial project, which had been the chief aim of
+Clapperton's journey, had fallen through, owing to the jealousy of the
+Arabs, who opposed it in their fear that the opening of a new route
+might ruin their trade, a good deal of scientific information had
+rewarded the efforts of the English explorer.
+
+In his "History of Maritime and Inland Discovery," Desborough Cooley
+thus sums up the results obtained by the travellers whose work we have
+just described:--
+
+"The additions to our geographical knowledge of the interior of Africa
+which we owe to Captain Clapperton far exceed in extent and importance
+those made by any preceding traveller. The limit of Captain Lyon's
+journey southward across the desert was in lat. 24 degrees, while Major
+Denham, in his expedition to Mandara, reached lat. 9 degrees 15
+minutes, thus adding 14-3/4 degrees, or 900 miles, to the extent
+explored by Europeans. Hornemann, it is true, had previously crossed
+the desert, and had proceeded as far southwards as Niffé, in lat. 10
+degrees 30 minutes. But no account was ever received of his journey.
+Park in his first expedition reached Silla, in long. 1 degree 34
+minutes west, a distance of 1100 miles from the mouth of the Gambia.
+Denham and Clapperton, on the other hand, from the east side of Lake
+Tchad, in long. 17 degrees, to Sackatoo, in long. 5 degrees 30 minutes,
+explored a distance of 700 miles from east to west in the heart of
+Africa; a line of only 400 miles remaining unknown between Silla and
+Sackatoo. The second journey of Captain Clapperton added ten-fold value
+to these discoveries; for he had the good fortune to detect the
+shortest and most easy road to the populous countries of the interior;
+and he could boast of being the first who had completed an itinerary
+across the continent of Africa from Tripoli to Benin."
+
+We need add but little to so skilful and sensible a summary of the work
+done. The information given by Arab geographers, especially by Leo
+Africanus, had been verified, and much had been learnt about a large
+portion of the Soudan. Although the course of the Niger had not yet
+been actually traced--that was reserved for the expeditions of which we
+are now to write--it had been pretty fairly guessed at. It had been
+finally ascertained that the Quorra, or Djoliba, or Niger--or whatever
+else the great river of North-West Africa might be called--and the Nile
+were totally different rivers, with totally different sources. In a
+word, a great step had been gained.
+
+In 1816 it was still an open question whether the Congo was not
+identical with the Niger. To ascertain the truth on this point, an
+expedition was sent out under Captain Tuckey, an English naval officer
+who had given proof of intelligence and courage. James Kingston Tuckey
+was made prisoner in 1805, and was not exchanged until 1814. When he
+heard that an expedition was to be organized for the exploration of the
+Zaire, he begged to be allowed to join it, and was appointed to the
+command. Two able officers and some scientific men were associated with
+him.
+
+Tuckey left England on the 19th March, 1816, with two vessels, the
+_Congo_ and the _Dorothea_, a transport vessel, under his orders. On
+the 20th June he cast anchor off Malembé, on the shores of the Congo,
+in lat. 4 degrees 39 minutes S. The king of that country was much
+annoyed when he found that the English had not come to buy slaves, and
+spread all manner of injurious reports against the Europeans who had
+come to ruin his trade.
+
+On the 18th July, Tuckey entered the vast estuary formed by the mouths
+of the Zaire, on board the _Congo_; but when the height of the
+river-banks rendered it impossible to sail farther, he embarked with
+some of his people in his boats. On the 10th August he decided, on
+account of the rapidity of the current and the huge rocks bordering the
+stream, to make his way partly by land and partly by water. Ten days
+later the boats were brought to a final stand by an impassable fall.
+The explorers therefore landed, and continued their journey on foot;
+but the difficulties increased every day, the Europeans falling ill,
+and the negroes refusing to carry the baggage. At last, when he was
+some 280 miles from the sea, Tuckey was compelled to retrace his steps.
+The rainy season had set in, the number of sick increased, and the
+commander, miserable at the lamentable result of the trip, himself
+succumbed to fever, and only got back to his vessel to die on the 4th
+October, 1816.
+
+[Illustration: View on the banks of the Congo. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+An exact survey of the mouth of the Congo, and the rectification of the
+coast-line, in which there had previously been a considerable error,
+were the only results of this unlucky expedition.
+
+In 1807, not far from the scene of Clapperton's landing a few years
+later, a brave but fierce people appeared on the Gold Coast. The
+Ashantees, coming none knew exactly whence, flung themselves upon the
+Fantees, and, after horrible massacres, in 1811 and 1816, established
+themselves in the whole of the country between the Kong mountains and
+the sea.
+
+[Illustration: Ashantee warrior. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+As a necessary result, this led to a disturbance in the relations
+between the Fantees and the English, who owned some factories and
+counting-houses on the coast.
+
+In 1816 the Ashantee king ravaged the Fantee territories in which the
+English had settled, reducing the latter to famine. The Governor of
+Cape Coast Castle therefore sent a petition home for aid against the
+fierce and savage conqueror. The bearer of the governor's despatches
+was Thomas Edward Bowditch, a young man who, actuated by a passion for
+travelling, had left the parental roof, thrown up his business, and
+having married against the wishes of his family, had finally accepted a
+humble post at Cape Coast Castle, where his uncle was second in
+command.
+
+The English minister at once acceded to the governor's request, and
+sent Bowditch back in command of an expedition; but the authorities at
+Cape Coast considered him too young for the post, and superseded him by
+a man whose long experience and thorough knowledge of the country and
+its people seemed to fit him for the important task to be accomplished.
+The result showed that this was an error. Bowditch was attached to the
+mission as scientific observer, his chief duty being to take the
+latitude and longitude of the different places visited.
+
+Frederick James and Bowditch left the English settlement on the 22nd
+August, 1817, and arrived at Coomassie, the Ashantee capital, without
+meeting with any other obstacle than the insubordination of the
+bearers. The negotiations with a view to the conclusion of a treaty of
+commerce, and the opening of a road between Coomassie and the coast,
+were brought to something of a successful issue by Bowditch, but James
+proved himself altogether wanting in either the power of making or
+enforcing suggestions. The wisdom of Bowditch's conduct was fully
+recognized, and James was recalled.
+
+It would seem that geographical science had little to expect from a
+diplomatic mission to a country already visited by Bosman, Loyer, Des
+Marchais, and many others, and on which Meredith and Dalzel had
+written; but Bowditch turned to account his stay of five months at
+Coomassie, which is but ten days' march from the Atlantic, to study the
+country, manners, customs, and institutions of one of the most
+interesting races of Africa.
+
+We will now briefly describe the pompous entry of the English mission
+into Coomassie. The whole population turned out on the occasion, and
+all the troops, whose numbers Bowditch estimated at 30,000 at least,
+were under arms.
+
+Before they were admitted to the presence of the king, the English
+witnessed a scene well calculated to impress upon them the cruelty and
+barbarity of the Ashantees. A man with his hands tied behind him, his
+cheeks pierced with wire, one ear cut off, the other hanging by a bit
+of skin, his shoulders bleeding from cuts and slashes, and a knife run
+through the skin above each shoulder-blade, was dragged, by a cord
+fastened to his nose, through the town to the music of bamboos. He was
+on his way to be sacrificed in honour of the white men!
+
+"Our observations _en passant_," says Bowditch, "had taught us to
+conceive a spectacle far exceeding our original expectations; but they
+had not prepared us for the extent and display of the scene which here
+burst upon us. An area of nearly a mile in circumference was crowded
+with magnificence and novelty. The king, his tributaries and captains,
+were resplendent in the distance, surrounded by attendants of every
+description, fronted by a mass of warriors which seemed to make our
+approach impervious. The sun was reflected, with a glare scarcely more
+supportable than the heat, from the massive gold ornaments which
+glistened in every direction. More than a hundred bands burst at once
+on our arrival, into the peculiar airs of their several chiefs; the
+horns flourished their defiances, with the beating of innumerable drums
+and metal instruments, and then yielded for a while to the soft
+harmonious breathings of their long flutes, with which a pleasing
+instrument, like a bagpipe without the drone, was happily blended. At
+least a hundred large umbrellas or canopies, which could shelter thirty
+persons, were sprung up and down by the bearers with brilliant effect,
+being made of scarlet, yellow, and the most showy cloths and silks, and
+crowned on the top with crescents, pelicans, elephants, barrels, and
+arms, and swords of gold.
+
+"The king's messengers, with gold breastplates, made way for us, and we
+commenced our round, preceded by the canes and the English flag. We
+stopped to take the hand of every caboceer, (which, as their household
+suites occupied several spaces in advance, delayed us long enough to
+distinguish some of the ornaments in the general blaze of splendour and
+ostentation). The caboceers, as did their superior captains and
+attendants, wore Ashantee cloths of extravagant price, from the costly
+foreign silks which had been unravelled to weave them, in all the
+varieties of colour as well as pattern; they were of an incredible size
+and weight, and thrown over the shoulder exactly like the Roman toga; a
+small silk fillet generally encircled their temples, and massy gold
+necklaces, intricately wrought, suspended Moorish charms, inclosed in
+small square cases of gold, silver, and curious embroidery. Some wore
+necklaces reaching to the navel, entirely of aggry beads; a band of
+gold and beads encircled the knee, from which several strings of the
+same depended; small circles of gold, like guineas, rings, and casts of
+animals, were strung round their ancles; their sandals were of green,
+red, and delicate white leather; manillas, and rude lumps of rock gold,
+hung from their left wrists, which were so heavily laden as to be
+supported on the head of one of their handsomest boys. Gold and silver
+pipes, and canes, dazzled the eye in every direction. Wolves' and rams'
+heads, as large as life, cast in gold, were suspended from their
+gold-handled swords, which were held around them in great numbers; the
+blades were shaped like round bills, and rusted in blood; the sheaths
+were of leopard skin, or the shell of a fish like shagreen. The large
+drums, supported on the head of one man, and beaten by two others, were
+braced around with the thigh-bones of their enemies, and ornamented
+with their skulls. The kettle-drums, resting on the ground, were
+scraped with wet fingers, and covered with leopard skin. The wrists of
+the drummers were hung with bells and curiously-shaped pieces of iron,
+which jingled loudly as they were beating. The smaller drums were
+suspended from the neck by scarves of red cloth; the horns (the teeth
+of young elephants) were ornamented at the mouth-piece with gold, and
+the jaw-bones of human victims. The war-caps of eagles' feathers nodded
+in the rear, and large fans, of the wing feathers of the ostrich,
+played around the dignitaries; immediately behind their chairs (which
+were of a black wood, almost covered by inlays of ivory and gold
+embossment) stood their handsomest youths, with corslets of leopard's
+skin, covered with gold cockle-shells, and stuck full of small knives,
+sheathed in gold and silver and the handles of blue agate;
+cartouch-boxes of elephant's hide hung below, ornamented in the same
+manner; a large gold-handled sword was fixed behind the left shoulder,
+and silk scarves and horses' tails (generally white), streamed from the
+arms and waist cloth; their long Danish muskets had broad rims of gold
+at small distances, and the stocks were ornamented with shells.
+Finely-grown girls stood behind the chairs of some, with silver basins.
+Their stools (of the most laborious carved work, and generally with two
+large bells attached to them) were conspicuously placed on the heads of
+favourites; and crowds of small boys were seated around, flourishing
+elephants' tails curiously mounted. The warriors sat on the ground
+close to these, and so thickly as not to admit of our passing without
+treading on their feet, to which they were perfectly indifferent; their
+caps were of the skin of the pangolin and leopard, the tails hanging
+down behind; their cartouch-belts (composed of small gourds which hold
+the charges, and covered with leopard's or pig's skin) were embossed
+with red shells, and small brass bells thickly hung to them; on their
+hips and shoulders was a cluster of knives; iron chains and collars
+dignified the most daring, who were prouder of them than of gold; their
+muskets had rests affixed of leopard's skin, and the locks a covering
+of the same; the sides of their faces were curiously painted in long
+white streaks, and their arms also striped, having the appearance of
+armour.
+
+"We were suddenly surprised by the sight of Moors, who afforded the
+first general diversity of dress. There were seventeen superiors,
+arrayed in large cloaks of white satin, richly trimmed with spangled
+embroidery; their shirts and trousers were of silk; and a very large
+turban of white muslin was studded with a border of different coloured
+stones; their attendants wore red caps and turbans, and long white
+shirts, which hung over their trousers; those of the inferiors were of
+dark blue cloth. They slowly raised their eyes from the ground as we
+passed, and with a most malignant scowl.
+
+"The prolonged flourishes of the horns, a deafening tumult of drums,
+and the fuller concert at the intervals, announced that we were
+approaching the king. We were already passing the principal officers of
+his household. The chamberlain, the gold horn blower, the captain of
+the messengers, the captain for royal executions, the captain of the
+market, the keeper of the royal burying-ground, and the master of the
+bands, sat surrounded by a retinue and splendour which bespoke the
+dignity and importance of their offices. The cook had a number of small
+services, covered with leopard's skin, held behind him, and a large
+quantity of massy silver plate was displayed before him--punch-bowls,
+waiters, coffee-pots, tankards, and a very large vessel with heavy
+handles and clawed feet, which seemed to have been made to hold
+incense. I observed a Portuguese inscription on one piece, and they
+seemed generally of that manufacture. The executioner, a man of immense
+size, wore a massy gold hatchet on his breast; and the execution stool
+was held before him, clotted in blood, and partly covered with a cawl
+of fat. The king's four linguists were encircled by a splendour
+inferior to none, and their peculiar insignia, gold canes, were
+elevated in all directions, tied in bundles like fasces. The keeper of
+the treasury added to his own magnificence by the ostentatious display
+of his service; the blow pan, boxes, scales and weights, were of solid
+gold.
+
+"A delay of some minutes whilst we severally approached to receive the
+king's hand, afforded us a thorough view of him. His deportment first
+excited my attention; native dignity in princes we are pleased to call
+barbarous was a curious spectacle; his manners were majestic, yet
+courteous, and he did not allow his surprise to beguile him for a
+moment of the composure of the monarch. He appeared to be about
+thirty-eight years of age, inclined to corpulence, and of a benevolent
+countenance."
+
+This account is followed by a description, extending over several
+pages, of the costume of the king, the filing past of the chiefs and
+troops, the dispersing of the crowd, and the ceremonies of reception,
+which lasted far on into the night.
+
+Reading Bowditch's extraordinary narrative, we are tempted to ask if it
+be not the outcome of the traveller's imagination, for we can scarcely
+credit what he says of the wonderful luxury of this barbarous court,
+the sacrifice of thousands of persons at certain seasons of the year,
+the curious customs of this warlike and cruel people, this mixture of
+barbarism and civilization hitherto unknown in Africa. We could not
+acquit Bowditch of great exaggeration, had not later travellers as well
+as contemporary explorers confirmed his statements. We can therefore
+only express our astonishment that such a government, founded on terror
+alone, could have endured so long.
+
+It is a pleasure to us Frenchmen when we can quote the name of a
+fellow-countryman amongst the many travellers who have risked their
+lives in the cause of geographical science. Without abating our
+critical acumen, we feel our pulse quicken when we read of the dangers
+and struggles of such travellers as Mollien, Caillié, De Cailliaud, and
+Letorzec.
+
+Gaspar Mollien was nephew to Napoleon's Minister of the Treasury. He
+was on board the _Medusa_, but was fortunate enough to escape when that
+vessel was shipwrecked, and to reach the coast of the Sahara in a boat,
+whence he made his way to Senegal.
+
+The dangers from which Mollien had just escaped would have destroyed
+the love of adventure and exploration in a less ardent spirit. They had
+no such effect upon him. He left St. Louis as soon as ever he obtained
+the assent of the Governor, Fleuriau, to his proposal to explore the
+sources of the great rivers of Senegambia, and especially those of the
+Djoliba.
+
+Mollien started from Djeddeh on the 29th January, 1818, and taking an
+easterly course between the 15th and 16th parallels of north latitude,
+crossed the kingdom of Domel, and entered the districts peopled by the
+Yaloofs. Unable to go by way of Woolli, he decided in favour of the
+Fouta Toro route, and in spite of the jealousy of the natives and their
+love of pillage, he reached Bondou without accident. It took him three
+days to traverse the desert between Bondou and the districts beyond the
+Gambia, after which he penetrated into Niokolo, a mountainous country,
+inhabited by the all but wild Peuls and Djallons.
+
+Leaving Bandeia, Mollien entered Fouta Djallon, and reached the sources
+of the Gambia and the Rio Grande, which are in close proximity. A few
+days later he came to those of the Falemé; and, in spite of the
+repugnance and fear of his guide, he made his way into Timbo, the
+capital of Fouta. The absence of the king and most of the inhabitants
+probably spared him from a long captivity abbreviated only by torture.
+Fouta is a fortified town, the king owns houses, with mud walls between
+three and four feet thick and fifteen high.
+
+At a short distance from Timbo, Mollien discovered the sources of the
+Senegal--at least what were pointed out to him as such by the blacks;
+but it was impossible for him to take astronomical observations.
+
+The explorer did not, however, look upon his work as done. He had ever
+before him the still more important discovery of the sources of the
+Niger; but the feeble state of his health, the setting in of the rainy
+season, the swelling of the rivers, the fears of his guides, who
+refused to accompany him into Kooranko and Soolimano, though he offered
+them guns, amber beads, and even his horse, compelled him to give up
+the idea of crossing the Kong mountains, and to return to St. Louis.
+Mollien had, however, opened several new lines in a part of Senegambia
+not before visited by any European.
+
+"It is to be regretted," says M. de la Renaudière, "that worn out with
+fatigue, scarcely able to drag himself along, in a state of positive
+destitution, Mollien was unable to cross the lofty mountains separating
+the basin of the Senegal from that of the Djoliba, and that he was
+compelled to rely upon native information respecting the most important
+objects of his expedition. It is on the faith of the assertions of the
+natives that he claims to have visited the sources of the Rio Grande,
+Falemé, Gambia, and Senegal. If he had been able to follow the course
+of those rivers to their fountainhead his discoveries would have
+acquired certainty, which is, unfortunately, now wanting to them.
+However, when we compare the accounts of other travellers with what he
+says of the position of the source of the Ba-Fing, or Senegal, which
+cannot be that of any other great stream, we are convinced of the
+reality of this discovery at least. It also seems certain that the two
+last springs are higher up than was supposed, and that the Djoliba
+rises in a yet loftier locality. The country rises gradually to the
+south and south-east in parallel terraces. These mountain chains
+increase in height towards the east, attaining their greatest elevation
+between lat. 8 degrees and 10 degrees N."
+
+Such were the results of Mollien's interesting journey in the French
+colony of Senegal. The same country was the starting-point of another
+explorer, Réné Caillié.
+
+Caillié, who was born in 1800, in the department of the Seine et Oise,
+had only an elementary education; but reading Robinson Crusoe had fired
+his youthful imagination with a zeal for adventure, and he never rested
+until, in spite of his scanty resources, he had obtained maps and books
+of travel. In 1816, when only sixteen years old, he embarked for
+Senegal, in the transport-ship _La Loire_.
+
+At this time the English Government was organizing an inland exploring
+expedition, under the command of Major Gray. To avoid the terrible
+almamy of Timbo, who had been so fatal to Peddie, the English made for
+the mouth of the Gambia by sea. Woolli and the Gaboon were crossed, and
+the explorers penetrated into Bondou, which Mollien was to visit a few
+years later, a district inhabited by a people as fanatic and fierce as
+those of Fouta Djallon. The extortions of the almamy were such that
+under pretext of there being an old debt left unpaid by the English
+Government, Major Gray was mulcted of nearly all his baggage, and had
+to send an officer to the Senegal for a fresh supply.
+
+Caillié knowing nothing of this disastrous beginning, and aware that
+Gray was glad to receive new recruits, left St. Louis with two negroes,
+and reached Goree. But there some people, who took an interest in him,
+persuaded him not to take service with Gray, and got him an appointment
+at Guadaloupe. He remained, however, but six months in that island, and
+then returned to Bordeaux, whence he started for the Senegal once more.
+
+Partarieu, one of Gray's officers, was just going back to his chief
+with the merchandise he had procured, and Caillié asked and obtained
+leave to accompany him, without either pay or a fixed engagement.
+
+[Illustration: Réné Caillié. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The caravan consisted of seventy persons, black and white, and
+thirty-two richly-laden camels. It left Gandiolle, in Cayor, on the 5th
+February, 1819, and before entering Jaloof a desert was crossed, where
+great suffering was endured from thirst. The leader, in order to carry
+more merchandise, had neglected to take a sufficient supply of water.
+
+At Boolibaba, a village inhabited by Foulah shepherds, the travellers
+were enabled to recruit, and to fill their leathern bottles for a
+journey across a second desert.
+
+Avoiding Fouta Toro, whose inhabitants are fanatics and thieves,
+Partarieu entered Bondou. He would gladly have evaded visiting
+Boulibané, the capital and residence of the almamy, but was compelled
+to do so, owing to the refusal of the people to supply grain or water
+to the caravan, and also in obedience to the strict orders of Major
+Gray, who thought the almamy would let the travellers pass after paying
+tribute.
+
+The terrible almamy began by extorting a great number of presents, and
+then refused to allow the English to visit Bakel on the Senegal. They
+might, he said, go through his states, those of Kaarta, to Clego, or
+they might take the Fouta Toro route. Both these alternatives were
+equally impossible, as in either case the caravan would have to travel
+among fanatic tribes. The explorers believed the almamy's object was to
+have them robbed and murdered, without incurring the personal
+responsibility.
+
+They resolved to force their way. Preparations were scarcely begun for
+a start, when the caravan was surrounded by a multitude of soldiers,
+who, taking possession of the wells, rendered it impossible for the
+travellers to carry out their intentions. At the same time the war-drum
+was beaten on every side. To fight was impossible; a palaver had to be
+held. In a word, the English had to own their powerlessness. The almamy
+dictated the conditions of peace, mulcted the whites of a few more
+presents, and ordered them to withdraw by way of Fouta Toro.
+
+Yet more--and this was a flagrant insult to British pride--the English
+found themselves escorted by a guard, which prevented their taking any
+other route. When night fell they revenged themselves by setting fire
+to all their merchandise in the very sight of the Foulahs, who had
+intended to get possession of them. The crossing of Fouta Toro among
+hostile natives was terribly arduous. The slightest pretext was seized
+for a dispute, and again and again violence seemed inevitable. Food and
+water were only to be obtained at exorbitant prices.
+
+At last, one night, Partarieu, to disarm the suspicion of the natives,
+gave out that he could not carry all his baggage at once, and having
+first filled his coffers and bags with stones, he decamped with all his
+followers for the Senegal, leaving his tents pitched and his fires
+alight. His path was strewn with bales, arms, and animals. Thanks to
+this subterfuge, and the rapidity of their march, the English reached
+Bakel in safety, where the French welcomed the remnant of the
+expedition with enthusiasm.
+
+[Illustration: "He decamped with all his followers."]
+
+Caillié, attacked by a fever which nearly proved fatal, returned to St.
+Louis; but not recovering his health there, he was obliged to go back
+to France. Not until 1824 was he able to return to Senegal, which was
+then governed by Baron Roger, a friend to progress, who was anxious
+_pari passu_, to extend our geographical knowledge with our commercial
+relations. Roger supplied Caillié with means to go and live amongst the
+Bracknas, there to study Arabic and the Mussulman religion.
+
+Life amongst the suspicious and fanatic Moorish shepherds was by no
+means easy. The traveller, who had great difficulty in keeping his
+daily journal, was obliged to resort to all manner of subterfuges to
+obtain permission to explore the neighbourhood of his house. He gives
+us some curious details of the life of the Bracknas--of their diet,
+which consists almost entirely of milk; of their habitations, which are
+nothing more than tents unfitted for the vicissitudes of the climate;
+of their "_guéhués_" or itinerant minstrels; their mode of producing
+the excessive _embonpoint_ which they consider the height of female
+beauty; the aspect of the country; the fertility and productions of the
+soil, &c.
+
+The most remarkable of all the facts collected by Caillié are those
+relating to the five distinct classes into which the Moorish Bracknas
+are divided. These are the _Hassanes_, or warriors, whose idleness,
+slovenliness, and pride exceed belief; the _Marabouts_, or priests; the
+_Zénagues_, tributary to the Hassanes; the _Laratines_; and the slaves.
+
+The _Zénagues_ are a miserable class, despised by all the others, but
+especially by the _Hassanes_, to whom they pay a tribute, which is of
+variable amount, and is never considered enough. They do all the work,
+both industrial and agricultural, and rear all the cattle.
+
+"In spite of my efforts," says Caillié, "I could find out nothing about
+the origin of this people, or ascertain how they came to be reduced to
+pay tribute to other Moors. When I asked them any questions about this,
+they said it was God's will. Can they be a remnant of a conquered
+tribe? and if so, how is it that no tradition on the subject is
+retained amongst them. I do not think they can be, for the Moors, proud
+as they are of their origin, never forget the names of those who have
+brought credit to their families; and were such the case, the Zénagues,
+who form the majority of the population, and are skilful warriors,
+would rise under the leadership of one of their chiefs, and fling off
+the yoke of servitude."
+
+Laratine is the name given to the offspring of a Moor and a negro
+slave. Although they are slaves, the Laratines are never sold, but
+while living in separate camps, are treated very much like the
+Zénagues. Those who are the sons of Hassanes are warriors, whilst the
+children of Marabouts are brought up to the profession of their father.
+
+The actual slaves are all negroes. Ill-treated, badly fed, and flogged
+on the slightest pretext, there is no suffering which they are not
+called upon to endure.
+
+In May, 1825, Caillié returned to St. Louis. Baron Roger was absent,
+and his representative was by no means friendly. The explorer had to
+content himself with the pay of a common soldier until the return of
+his protector, to whom he sent the notes he had made when amongst the
+Bracknas, but all his offers of service were rejected. He was promised
+a certain sum on his return from Timbuctoo; but how was he even to
+start without private resources?
+
+The intrepid Caillié was not, however, to be discouraged. As he
+obtained neither encouragement nor help from the colonial government,
+he went to Sierra Leone, where the governor, who did not wish to
+deprive Major Laing of the credit of being the first to arrive at
+Timbuctoo, rejected his proposals.
+
+In the management of an indigo factory, Caillié soon saved money to the
+extent of two thousand francs, a sum which appeared to him sufficient
+to carry him to the end of the world. He lost no time in purchasing the
+necessary merchandise, and joined some Mandingoes and "seracolets," or
+wandering African merchants. He told them, under the seal of secrecy,
+that he had been born in Egypt of Arab parents, taken to France at an
+early age, and sent to Senegal to look after the business of his
+master, who, satisfied with his services, had given him his freedom. He
+added, that his chief desire was to get back to Egypt, and resume the
+Mohammedan religion.
+
+On the 22nd March, 1827, Caillié left Freetown for Kakondy, a village
+on the Rio Nuñez, where he employed his leisure in collecting
+information respecting the Landamas and the Nalous, both subject to the
+Foulahs of Fouta Djallon, but not Mohammedans, and, as a necessary
+result, both much given to spirituous liquors. They dwell in the
+districts watered by the Rio Nuñez, side by side with the Bagos, an
+idolatrous race who dwell at its mouth. The Bagos are light-hearted,
+industrious, and skilful tillers of the soil; they make large profits
+out of the sale of their rice and salt. They have no king, no religion
+but a barbarous idolatry, and are governed by the oldest man in their
+village, an arrangement which answers very well.
+
+On the 19th April, 1827, Caillié with but one bearer and a guide, at
+last started for Timbuctoo. He speaks favourably of the Foulahs and the
+people of Fouta Djallon, whose rich and fertile country he crossed. The
+Ba-Fing, the chief affluent of the Senegal, was not more than a hundred
+paces across, and a foot and a half deep where he passed it; but the
+force of the current, and the huge granite rocks encumbering its bed,
+render it very difficult and dangerous to cross the river. After a halt
+of nineteen days in the village of Cambaya, the home of the guide who
+had accompanied him thus far, Caillié entered Kankan, crossing a
+district intersected by rivers and large streams, which were then
+beginning to inundate the whole land.
+
+On the 30th May the explorer crossed the Tankisso, a large river with a
+rocky bed belonging to the system of the Niger, and reached the latter
+on the 11th June, at Couronassa.
+
+[Illustration: Caillié crossing the Tankisso.]
+
+"Even here," says Caillié, "so near to its source, the Niger is 900
+feet wide, with a current of two miles and a half."
+
+Before we enter Kankan with the French explorer, it will be well to sum
+up what he says of the Foulahs of Fouta. They are mostly tall,
+well-made men, with chestnut-brown complexions, curly hair, lofty
+foreheads, aquiline noses, features in fact very like those of
+Europeans. They are bigoted Mohammedans, and hate Christians. Unlike
+the Mandingoes, they do not travel, but love their home; they are good
+agriculturists and clever traders, warlike and patriotic, and they
+leave none but their old men and women in their villages when they go
+to war.
+
+The town of Kankan stands in a plain surrounded by lofty mountains. The
+bombax, baobab, and butter-tree, also called "cé" the "shea" of Mungo
+Park, are plentiful. Caillié was delayed in Kankan for twenty-eight
+days before he could get on to Sambatikala; and during that time he was
+shamefully robbed by his host, and could not obtain from the chief of
+the village restitution of the goods which had been stolen.
+
+"Kankan," says the traveller, "is a small town near the left bank of
+the Milo, a pretty river, which comes from the south, and waters the
+Kissi district, where it takes its rise, flowing thence in a
+north-westerly direction to empty itself into the Niger, two or three
+days' journey from Kankan. Surrounded by a thick quick-set hedge, this
+town, which does not contain more than 6000 inhabitants, is situated in
+an extensive and very fertile plain of grey sand. On every side are
+pretty little villages, called _Worondes_, where the slaves live. These
+habitations give interest to the scene, and are surrounded by very fine
+plantations; yams, rice, onions, pistachio nuts, &c., are exported in
+large quantities."
+
+Between Kankan and Wassolo the road led through well cultivated, and,
+at this time of year, nearly submerged districts. The inhabitants
+struck Caillié as being of a mild, cheerful, and inquiring disposition.
+They gave him a cordial welcome.
+
+Several tributaries of the Niger, including the Sarano, were passed
+before a halt was made at Sigala, the residence of Baranusa, the chief
+of Wassolo. He was of slovenly habits, like his subjects, and used
+tobacco both as snuff and for smoking. He was said to be very rich in
+gold and slaves. His subjects paid him a tribute in cattle; he had a
+great many wives, each of whom owned a hut of her own, their houses
+forming a little village, with well cultivated environs. Here Caillié
+for the first time saw the Rhamnus Lotus mentioned by Park.
+
+On leaving Wossolo, Caillié entered Foulou, whose inhabitants, like
+those of the former district, are idolaters, of slovenly habits. They
+speak the Mandingo tongue. At Sambatikala the traveller paid a visit to
+the almamy.
+
+"We entered," he says, "a place which served him as a bedroom for
+himself and a stable for his horse. The prince's bed was at the further
+end. It consisted of a little platform raised six inches from the
+ground, on which was stretched an ox hide, with a dirty mosquito
+curtain, to keep off the insects. There was no other furniture in this
+royal abode. Two saddles hung from stakes driven into the wall; a large
+straw hat, a drum only used in war-time, a few lances, a bow, a quiver,
+and some arrows, were the only ornaments. A lamp made of a piece of
+flat iron set on a stand of the same metal, stood on the ground. This
+lamp was fed by a kind of vegetable matter, not thick enough to be made
+into candles."
+
+The almamy soon informed Caillié of an opportunity for him to go to
+Timeh, whence a caravan was about to start for Jenneh. The traveller
+then entered the province of Bambarra, and quickly arrived at the
+pretty little village of Timeh, inhabited by Mohammedan Mandingoes, and
+bounded on the east by a chain of mountains about 350 fathoms high.
+
+When he entered this village, at the end of July, Caillié little dreamt
+of the long stay he would be compelled to make in it. He had hurt his
+foot, and the wound became very much inflamed by walking in wet grass.
+He therefore decided to let the caravan for Jenneh go on without him,
+and remain at Timeh until his foot should be completely healed. It
+would have been too great a risk for him in his state to travel through
+Bambarra, where the idolatrous inhabitants of the country would be
+pretty sure to rob him.
+
+"The Bambarras," he says, "have few slaves, go almost naked, and are
+always armed with bows and arrows. They are governed by a number of
+petty independent chiefs, who are often at war with one another. They
+are in fact rude and wild creatures as compared with the tribes who
+have embraced Mohammedanism."
+
+Caillié was detained at Timeh by the still unhealed wound in his foot,
+until the 10th November. At that date he proposed starting for Jenneh,
+but, to quote his own words, "I was now seized with violent pains in
+the jaws, warning me that I was attacked with scurvy, a terrible
+malady, all the horrors of which I was to realize. My palate was
+completely skinned, part of the bone came away, my teeth seemed ready
+to fall out of the gums, my sufferings were terrible. I feared that my
+brain might be affected by the agony of pain in my head. I was more
+than a fortnight without an instant's sleep."
+
+To make matters worse, the wound broke out afresh; and he would have
+been cured neither of it nor of the scurvy had it not been for the
+energetic treatment of an old negress, who was accustomed to doctor the
+scorbutic affections, so common in that country.
+
+On the 9th January, 1828, Caillié left Timeh, and reached Kimba, a
+little village where the caravan for Jenneh was assembled. Near to this
+village rises the chain erroneously called Kong, which is the general
+name for mountain amongst the Mandingoes.
+
+The names of the villages entered by the travellers, and the incidents
+of the journey through Bambarra, are of no special interest. The
+inhabitants are accounted great thieves by the Mandingoes, but are
+probably not more dishonest than their critics.
+
+The Bambarra women all wear a thin slip of wood imbedded in the lower
+lip, a strange fashion exactly similar to that noticed by Cook amongst
+the natives of the north-western coast of America. The Bambarras speak
+Mandingo, though they have a dialect of their own called _Kissour_,
+about which the traveller could obtain no trustworthy written
+information.
+
+Jenneh was formerly called "the golden land." The precious metal is
+not, however, found there, but a good deal is imported by the Boureh
+merchants and the Mandingoes of Kong.
+
+Jenneh, two miles and a half in circumference, is surrounded by a mud
+wall ten feet high. The houses, built of bricks baked in the sun, are
+as large as those of European peasants. They have all terraces, but no
+outer windows. Numbers of foreigners frequent Jenneh. The inhabitants,
+as many as eight or ten thousand, are very industrious and intelligent.
+They hire out their slaves, and also employ them in various
+handicrafts.
+
+The Moors, however, monopolize the more important commerce. Not a day
+passes that they do not despatch huge boats laden with rice, millet,
+cotton, honey, vegetable butter, and other native products.
+
+In spite of this great commercial movement, the prosperity of Jenneh
+was threatened. Sego Ahmadou, chief of the country, impelled by bigoted
+zeal, made fierce war upon the Bambarras of Sego, whom he wished to
+rally round the standard of the Prophet. This struggle did a great deal
+of harm to the trade of Jenneh, for it interrupted intercourse with
+Yamina, Sansanding, Bamakou, and Boureh, which were the chief marts for
+its produce.
+
+The women of Jenneh would not be true to their sex if they did not show
+some marks of coquetry. Those who aim at fashion pass a ring or a glass
+ornament through the nostrils, whilst their poorer sisters content
+themselves with a bit of pink silk.
+
+During Caillié's long stay at Jenneh, he was loaded with kindness and
+attentions by the Moors, to whom he had told the fabulous tale about
+his birth in Egypt, and abduction by the army of occupation.
+
+On the 23rd March, the traveller embarked on the Niger for Timbuctoo,
+on which the sheriff, won over by the gift of an umbrella, had obtained
+a passage for him. He carried with him letters of introduction to the
+chief persons in Timbuctoo.
+
+Caillié now passed in succession the pretty villages of Kera, Taguetia,
+Sankha-Guibila, Diebeh, and Isaca, near to which the river is joined by
+an important branch, which makes a great bend beyond Sego, catching
+sight also of Wandacora, Wanga, Corocoïla, and Cona, finally reaching,
+on the 2nd of April, the mouth of the important Lake Debo.
+
+"Land," says Caillié, "is visible on every side of this lake except on
+the west, where it widens out like a vast inland sea. Following its
+northern coast in a west-north-west direction for a distance of fifteen
+miles, you leave on the left a tongue of level ground, which runs
+several miles to the south, seeming to bar the passage of the lake, and
+form a kind of strait. Beyond this barrier the lake stretches away out
+of sight in the west. The barrier I have just described cuts Lake Debo
+into two parts, the upper and lower. That navigable to boats contains
+three islands, and is very wide; it stretches away a short distance on
+the east, and is supplemented by an immense number of huge marshes."
+
+One after the other, Caillié now passed the fishing village of Gabibi;
+Tongoon in the Diriman country, a district stretching far away on the
+east; Codosa, an important commercial town; Barconga, Leleb, Garfolo,
+Baracondieh, Tircy, Talbocoïla, Salacoïla, Cora, Coratou, where the
+Tuaricks exact a toll from passing boats, and finally reached Cabra,
+built on a height out of reach of the overflowing of the Niger, and
+serving as the port of Timbuctoo.
+
+On the 20th, Caillié disembarked, and started for that city, which he
+entered at sundown.
+
+"I, at last," cries our hero, "saw the capital of the Soudan, which had
+so long been the goal of my desires. As I entered that mysterious town,
+an object of curiosity to the civilized nations of Europe, I was filled
+with indescribable exultation. I never experienced anything like it,
+and my delight knew no bounds. But I had to moderate my transports, and
+it was to God alone I confided them. With what earnestness I thanked
+Him for the success which had crowned my enterprise and the signal
+protection He had accorded me in so many apparently insurmountable
+difficulties and perils. My first emotions having subsided, I found
+that the scene before me by no means came up to my expectations. I had
+conceived a very different idea of the grandeur and wealth of this
+town. At first sight it appeared nothing more than a mass of
+badly-built houses, whilst on every side stretched vast plains of arid,
+yellowish, shifting sands. The sky was of a dull red colour on the
+horizon; all nature seemed melancholy; profound silence prevailed, not
+so much as the song of a bird was heard. And yet there was something
+indescribably imposing in the sight of a large town rising up in the
+midst of the sandy desert, and the beholder cannot but admire the
+indomitable energy of its founders. I fancy the river formerly passed
+nearer the town of Timbuctoo; it is now eight miles north of it and
+five of Cabra."
+
+[Illustration: View of part of Timbuctoo. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+Timbuctoo, which is neither so large nor so well populated as Caillié
+expected, is altogether wanting in animation. There are no large
+caravans constantly arriving in it, as at Jenneh; nor are there so many
+strangers there as in the latter town; whilst the market, held at three
+o'clock in the morning on account of the heat, appears deserted.
+
+Timbuctoo is inhabited by Kissour negroes, who seem of mild
+dispositions, and are employed in trade. There is no government, and
+strictly speaking no central authority; each town and village has its
+own chief. The mode of life is patriarchal. A great many Moorish
+merchants are settled in the town, and rapidly make fortunes there.
+They receive consignments of merchandise from Adrar, Tafilet, Ghât,
+Ghâdames, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.
+
+To Timbuctoo is brought all the salt of the mines of Toudeyni, packed
+on camels. It is imported in slabs, bound together by ropes, made from
+grass in the neighbourhood of Tandayeh.
+
+Timbuctoo is built in the form of a triangle, and measures about three
+miles in circumference. The houses are large but not lofty, and are
+built of round bricks. The streets are wide and clean. There are seven
+mosques, each surmounted by a square tower, from which the muezzin
+calls the faithful to prayer. Counting the floating population, the
+capital of the Soudan does not contain more than from ten to twelve
+thousand inhabitants.
+
+Timbuctoo, situated in the midst of a vast plain of shifting white
+sand, trades in salt only, the soil being quite unsuitable to any sort
+of cultivation. The town is always full of people, who come to exact
+what they call presents, but what might with more justice be styled
+forced contributions. It is a public calamity when a Tuarick chief
+arrives. He remains in the town a couple of months, living with his
+numerous followers at the expense of the inhabitants, until he has
+wrung costly presents from them. Terror has extended the domination of
+these wandering tribes over all the neighbouring peoples, whom they rob
+and pillage without mercy.
+
+The Tuarick costume is the same as that of the Arabs, with the
+exception of the head-dress. Day and night they wear a cotton band
+which covers the eyes and comes down over the nose, so that they are
+obliged to raise the head in order to see. The same band goes once or
+twice round the head and hides the mouth, coming down below the chin,
+so that the tip of the nose is all that is visible.
+
+The Tuaricks are perfect riders, and mounted on first-rate horses or on
+fleet camels; each man is armed with a spear, a shield, and a dagger.
+They are the pirates of the desert, and innumerable are the caravans
+they have robbed, or blackmailed.
+
+[Illustration: Map of Réné Caillié's Journey.]
+
+Four days after Caillié's arrival at Timbuctoo, he heard that a caravan
+was about to start for Talifet; and as he knew that another would not
+go for three months, fearing detection, he resolved to join this one.
+It consisted of a large number of merchants, and 600 camels. Starting
+on the 4th of May, 1828, he arrived, after terrible sufferings from the
+heat, and a sand-storm in which he was caught, at El Arawan, a town of
+no private resources, but important as the emporium for the Toudeyni
+salt, exported at Sansanding, on the banks of the Niger, and also as
+the halting-place of caravans from Tafilet, Mogadore, Ghât, Drat, and
+Tripoli, the merchants here exchanging European wares for ivory, gold,
+slaves, wax, honey, and Soudan stuffs. On the 19th May, the caravan
+left El Arawan for Morocco, by way of the Sahara. To the traveller's
+usual sufferings from heat, thirst, and privations of all kinds, was
+now added the pain of a wound incurred in a fall from his camel. He was
+also taunted by the Moors, and even by their slaves, who ridiculed his
+habits and his awkwardness, and even sometimes threw stones at him when
+his back was turned towards them.
+
+"Often," says Caillié, "one of the Moors would say to me in a
+contemptuous tone: 'You see that slave? Well I prefer him to you, so
+you may guess in what esteem I hold you.' This insult would be
+accompanied with roars of laughter."
+
+Under these miserable circumstances Caillié passed the wells of
+Trarzas, in whose vicinity salt is found, also those of Amul Gamil,
+Amul Taf, El Ekreif, surrounded by date-trees, wood, willows, and
+rushes, and reached Marabouty and El Harib, districts whose inhabitants
+are disgustingly dirty in their habits.
+
+El Harib lies between two chains of low hills, dividing it from
+Morocco, to which it is tributary. Its inhabitants, divided into
+several nomad tribes, employ themselves chiefly in the breeding of
+camels. They would be rich and contented, but for the ceaseless
+exactions of the Berber Arabs.
+
+On the 12th July the caravan left El Harib, and eleven days later
+entered the province of Talifet, famous for its majestic date-trees. At
+Ghourland, Caillié was welcomed with some kindness by the Moors, though
+he was not admitted to their houses, lest the women, who are visible
+only to the men of their own families, should be seen by the irreverent
+eyes of a stranger.
+
+Caillié visited the market, which is held three times a week near a
+little village called Boheim, three miles from Ghourland, and was
+surprised at the variety of articles exposed for sale in it:
+vegetables, native fruits, fodder for cattle, poultry, sheep, &c. &c.,
+all in large quantities. Water in leather bottles was carried about for
+sale to all who cared to drink in the exhausting heat, by men who
+announced their approach by ringing a small hand-bell. Moorish and
+Spanish coins alone passed current. The province of Tafilet contains
+several large villages and small towns. Ghourland, El Ekseba, Sosso,
+Boheim, and Ressant, which our traveller visited, contained some twelve
+hundred inhabitants each, all merchants and owners of property.
+
+The soil is very productive: corn, vegetables, dates, European fruits,
+and tobacco, are cultivated in large quantities. Among the sources of
+wealth in Tafilet we may name very fine sheep, whose beautifully white
+wool makes very pretty coverlets, oxen, first-rate horses, donkeys, and
+mules.
+
+As at El-Drah, a good many Jews live in the villages together with
+Mohammedans. They lead a miserable life, go about half naked, and are
+constantly struck and insulted. Whether brokers, shoemakers,
+blacksmiths, porters, or whatever their ostensible occupation, they all
+lend money to the Moors.
+
+On the 2nd August the caravan resumed its march, and after passing
+A-Fileh, Tanneyara, Marca, Dayara, Rahaba, El Eyarac, Tamaroc,
+Ain-Zeland, El Guim, Guigo, and Soporo, Caillié arrived at Fez, where
+he made a short stay, and then pressed on to Rabat, the ancient Saléh.
+Exhausted by his long march, with nothing to eat but a few dates,
+obliged to depend on the charity of the Mussulmans, who as often as not
+declined to give him anything, and finding at Fez no representative of
+France but an old Jew named Ismail, who acted as Consular Agent, and
+who, being afraid of compromising himself, would not let Caillié embark
+on a Portuguese brig bound for Gibraltar,--the traveller eagerly
+availed himself of a fortunate chance for going to Tangiers. There he
+was kindly received by the Vice-Consul, M. Delaporte, who wrote at once
+to the commandant of the French station at Cadiz, and sent him off
+bound for that port, disguised as a sailor, in a corvette.
+
+The landing at Toulon of the young Frenchman fresh from Timbuctoo, was
+a very unexpected event in the scientific world. With nothing to aid
+him but his own invincible courage and patience, he had brought to a
+satisfactory conclusion an exploit for which the French and English
+Geographical Societies had offered large rewards. Alone, without any
+resources to speak of, without the aid of government or of any
+scientific society, by sheer force of will, he had succeeded in
+throwing a flood of new light on an immense tract of Africa.
+
+Caillié was not indeed the first European who had visited Timbuctoo. In
+the preceding year, Major Laing had penetrated into that mysterious
+city, but he had paid for his expedition with his life, and we shall
+presently relate the touching details of his fatal trip.
+
+Caillié had returned to Europe, and brought back with him the curious
+journal from which our narrative is taken. It is true his profession of
+the Mohammedan faith had prevented him from taking astronomical
+observations, and from making sketches and notes freely, but only at
+the price of his seeming apostasy could he have passed through the
+region where the very name of a Christian is held in abhorrence.
+
+How many strange observations, how many fresh and exact details, did
+Caillié add to our knowledge of North-West Africa! It had cost
+Clapperton two journeys to traverse Africa from Tripoli to Benin;
+Caillié had crossed from Senegal to Morocco in one--but at what a
+price! How much fatigue, how much suffering, how many privations, had
+the Frenchman endured! Timbuctoo was known at last, as well as the new
+caravan route across the Sahara by way of the oases of Tafilet and El
+Harib.
+
+Was Caillié compensated for his physical and mental sufferings by the
+aid which the Geographical Society sent to him at once, by the prize of
+10,000 francs adjudged to him, by the Cross of the Legion of Honour and
+the fame and glory attached to his name? We suppose he was. He says
+more than once in his narrative that nothing but his wish to add by his
+discoveries to the glory of France, his native country, could have
+sustained him under the trying circumstances and insults to which he
+was constantly subjected. All honour then to the patient traveller, the
+sincere patriot, the great discoverer.
+
+We have still to speak of the expedition which cost Alexander Gordon
+Laing his life; but before giving our necessarily brief account, for
+his journals were all lost, we must say a few words about his early
+life and an interesting excursion made by him to Timmannee, Kouran and
+Soolimana, when he discovered the sources of the Niger.
+
+Laing was born in Edinburgh in 1794, entered the English army at the
+age of sixteen, and soon distinguished himself. In 1820 he had gained
+the rank of Lieutenant, and was serving as aide-de-camp to Sir Charles
+Maccarthy, then Governor General of Western Africa. At this time war
+was raging between Amara, the Mandingo almamy, and Sannassi, one of his
+principal chiefs. Trade had never been very flourishing in Sierra
+Leone, and this state of things dealt it its death-blow. Maccarthy,
+anxious to put matters on a better footing, determined to interfere and
+bring about a reconciliation between the rival chiefs. He decided on
+sending an embassy to Kambia, on the borders of the Scarcies, and from
+thence to Malacoury and the Mandingo camp. The enterprising character,
+intelligence, and courage of Laing led to his being chosen by the
+governor as his envoy, and on the 7th January, 1822, he received
+instructions to report on the manufactures and topography of the
+provinces mentioned, and to ascertain the feeling of the inhabitants on
+the abolition of slavery.
+
+A first interview with Yareddi, leader of the Soolimana troops
+accompanying the almamy, proved that the negroes of the districts under
+notice had only the vaguest ideas on European civilization, and that
+they had had but little intercourse with the whites.
+
+"Every article of our dress," says Laing, "was a subject of admiration;
+observing me pull off my gloves, Yareddi stared, covered his
+widely-opened mouth with his hands, and at length exclaimed, 'Alla
+Akbar!' 'he has pulled the skin off his hands!' By degrees, and as he
+became more familiar, he alternately rubbed down Dr. Mackie's hair and
+mine, then indulging himself in a loud laugh, he would exclaim, 'They
+are not men, they are not men!' He repeatedly asked my interpreter if
+we had bones?"
+
+These preliminary excursions, during which Laing ascertained that many
+Soolimanas owned a good deal of gold and ivory, led to his asking the
+governor's sanction to explore the districts to the east of the colony,
+with a view to increasing the trade of Sierra Leone by admitting their
+productions.
+
+Maccarthy liked Laing's proposal and submitted it to the council. It
+was decided that Laing should be authorized to penetrate into Soolimana
+by the most convenient route for future communications.
+
+Laing left Sierra Leone on the 16th April, 1824, and rowed up the
+Rokelle river to Rokon, the chief town of Timmannee. His interview with
+the King of Rokon was extremely amusing. To do him honour Laing had a
+salvo of ten charges fired as he came into the court in which the
+reception was to be held. At the noise the king stopped, drew back,
+darted a furious look at his visitor, and ran away. It was with great
+difficulty that the cowardly monarch was induced to return. At last he
+came back, and seating himself with great dignity in his chair of state
+he questioned the major:
+
+"He wished to know," says Laing, "why he had been fired at, and was,
+with some difficulty, persuaded that it had been done out of honour to
+him. 'Why did you point your guns to the ground?' 'That you might see
+our intention was to show you respect.' 'But the pebbles flew in my
+face; why did you not point in the air?' 'Because we feared to burn the
+thatch on your houses.' 'Well, then, give me some rum.'"
+
+Needless to add that the interview became more cordial after the major
+had complied with this request!
+
+The portrait of the Timmannee monarch deserves a place in our volume
+for more than one reason. It is a case of _ab uno disce omnes_."
+
+"Ba-Simera," to quote Laing again, "the principal chief or king of this
+part of the Timmannee country, is about ninety years of age, with a
+mottled, shrivelled-up skin, resembling in colour that of an alligator
+more than that of a human being, with dim, greenish eyes, far sunk in
+his head, and a bleached, twisted beard, hanging down about two feet
+from his chin; like the king of the opposite district he wore a
+necklace of coral and leopard's teeth, but his mantle was brown and
+dirty as his skin. His swollen legs, like those of an elephant, were to
+be observed from under his trousers of baft, which might have been
+originally white, but, from the wear of several years, had assumed a
+greenish appearance."
+
+Like his predecessors in Africa, Laing had to go through many
+discussions about the right of passage through the country and bearers'
+wages, but thanks to his firmness he managed to escape the extortions
+of the negro kings. The chief halting-places on the route taken by the
+major were: Toma, where a white man had never before been seen;
+Balandeko, Roketchnick, which he ascertained to be situated in N. lat.
+8 degrees 30 minutes, and W. long. 12 degrees 11 minutes; Mabimg,
+beyond a very broad stream flowing north of the Rokelle; and Ma-Yosso,
+the chief frontier town of Timmannee. In Timmannee Laing made
+acquaintance with a singular institution, a kind of free-masonry, known
+as "Purrah," the existence of which on the borders of the Rio Nuñez had
+been already ascertained by Caillié.
+
+"Their power" [that of the "Purrah"], says Laing, "supersedes even that
+of the headmen of the districts, and their deeds of secrecy and
+darkness are as little called in question, or inquired into, as those
+of the Inquisition were in Europe, in former years. I have endeavoured
+in vain to trace the origin, or cause of formation of this
+extraordinary association, and have reason to suppose, that it is now
+unknown to the generality of the Timmannees, and may possibly be even
+so to the Purrah themselves, in a country where no traditionary records
+are extant, either in writing or in song."
+
+So far as Laing could ascertain Timmannee is divided into three
+districts. The chief of each arrogates to himself the title of king.
+The soil is fairly productive, and rice, yams, guavas, earth-nuts, and
+bananas might be grown in plenty, but for the lazy, vicious, and
+avaricious character of the inhabitants who vie with each other in
+roguery.
+
+"I think," says Laing, "that a few hoes, flails, rakes, shovels, &c.,
+would be very acceptable to them, when their respective uses were
+practically explained; and that they would prove more beneficial both
+to their interest and ours, than the guns, cocked hats, and mountebank
+coats, with which they are at present supplied." In spite of our
+traveller's philanthropic wish, things have not changed since his time.
+The negroes are just as fond of intoxicating drinks, and their petty
+kings still go about wearing on grand occasions hats the shape of an
+accordion, and blue coats with copper buttons, with no shirts
+underneath. The maternal sentiment did not seem to Laing to be very
+fully developed amongst the people of Timmannee, for he was twice
+roundly abused by women for refusing to buy their children of them. A
+few days later there was a great tumult raised against Laing, the white
+man who had inflicted a fatal blow on the prosperity of the country by
+checking its trade. The first town entered in Kouranko was Maboum, and
+it is interesting to note _en passant_ what Laing says of the activity
+of the inhabitants.
+
+"I entered the town about sunset, and received a first impression
+highly favourable to its inhabitants, who were returning from their
+respective labours of the day, every individual bearing about him
+proofs of his industrious occupation. Some had been engaged in
+preparing the fields for the crops, which the approaching rains were to
+mature; others were penning up cattle, whose sleek sides and good
+condition denoted the richness of their pasturages; the last clink of
+the blacksmith's hammer was sounding, the weaver was measuring the
+quantity of cloth he had woven during the day, and the gaurange, or
+worker in leather, was tying up his neatly-stained pouches, shoes,
+knife-scabbards, &c. (the work of his handicraft) in a large kotakoo or
+bag; while the crier at the mosque, with the melancholy call of 'Alla
+Akbar,' uttered at measured intervals, summoned the dévôts Moslems to
+their evening devotions."
+
+Had a Marilhat or a Henri Regnault transferred to canvas a scene like
+this, when the dazzling light of the sun is beginning to die away in
+green and rose tints, might he not aptly name his painting the _Retour
+des Champs_, a title so often given to landscapes in our misty climate.
+
+"This scene," adds Laing, "both by its nature and the sentiment which
+it inspired, formed an agreeable contrast with the noise, confusion,
+and the dissipation which pervaded a Timmannee town at the same hour;
+but one must not trust too much to appearances, and I regret to add,
+that the subsequent conduct of the Kouranko natives did not confirm the
+good opinion which I had formed of them."
+
+The traveller now passed through Koufoula, where he was very kindly
+received, crossed a pleasant undulating district shut in by the
+Kouranko hills and halted at Simera, where the chief ordered his
+"guiriot" to celebrate in song the arrival of his guest, a welcome
+neutralized by the fact that the house assigned to Laing let in the
+rain through its leaky roof and would not let out the smoke, so that,
+to use his own words, he was more "like a chimney-sweeper" than the
+white guest of the King of Simera.
+
+Laing afterwards visited the source of the Tongolelle, a tributary of
+the Rokelle, and then left Kooranko to enter Soolimana. Kooranko, into
+which our traveller did not penetrate beyond the frontier, is of vast
+extent and divided into a great number of small states. The inhabitants
+resemble the Mandingoes in language and costume, but they are neither
+so well looking nor so intelligent. They do not profess Mohammedanism
+and have implicit confidence in their "grigris." They are fairly
+industrious, they know how to sew and weave. Their chief object of
+commerce is rosewood or "cam," which they send to the coast. The
+products of the country are much the same as those of Timmannee.
+
+Komia, N. lat. 9 degrees 22 minutes, is the first town in Soolimana.
+Laing then visited Semba, a wealthy and populous city, where he was
+received by a band of musicians, who welcomed him with a deafening if
+not harmonious flourish of trumpets, and he finally reached Falaba, the
+capital of the country.
+
+The king received Laing with special marks of esteem. He had assembled
+a large body of troops whom he passed in review, making them execute
+various manoeuvres accompanied by the blowing of trumpets, beating of
+tambourines, and the playing of violins and other native instruments.
+This "fantasia" almost deafened the visitor. Then came a number of
+_guiriots_, who sang of the greatness of the king, the happy arrival of
+the major, with the fortunate results which were to ensue from his
+visit for the prosperity of the country and the development of
+commerce.
+
+Laing profited by the king's friendliness to ask his permission to
+visit the sources of the Niger, but was answered by all manner of
+objections on the score of the danger of the expedition. At last,
+however, his majesty yielded to the persuasions of his visitor, telling
+him that "as his heart panted after the water, he might go to it."
+
+The major had not, however, left Falaba two hours before the permission
+was rescinded, and he had to give up an enterprise which had justly
+appeared to him of great importance.
+
+A few days later he obtained leave to visit the source of the Rokelle
+or Sale Kongo, a river of which nothing was known before his time
+beyond Rokon. From the summit of a lofty rock, Laing saw Mount Loma,
+the highest of the chain of which it forms part. "The point," says the
+traveller, "from which the Niger issues, was now shown to me, and
+appeared to be at the same level on which I stood, viz., 1600 feet
+above the level of the Atlantic; the source of the Rokelle, which I had
+already measured, being 1470 feet. The view from this hill amply
+compensated for my lacerated feet.... Having ascertained correctly the
+situation of Konkodoogore, and that of the hill upon which I was at
+this time, the first by observation, and the second by account, and
+having taken the bearings of Loma from both, I cannot err much in
+laying down its position in 9 degrees 25 minutes N. and 9 degrees 45
+minutes W."
+
+[Illustration: "Laing saw Mount Loma."]
+
+Laing had now spent three months in Soolimana, and had made many
+excursions. It is a very picturesque country, in which alternate hills,
+valleys, and fertile plains, bordered by woods and adorned with
+thickets of luxuriant trees.
+
+The soil is fertile and requires very little cultivation; the harvests
+are abundant and rice grows well. Oxen, sheep, goats, and a small
+species of poultry, with a few horses, are the chief domestic animals
+of the people of Soolimana. The wild beasts, of which there are a good
+many, are elephants, buffaloes, a kind of antelope, monkeys, and
+leopards.
+
+Falaba, which takes its name from the Fala-ba river, on which it is
+situated, is about a mile and a half long by one broad. The houses are
+closer together than in most African towns, and it contains some six
+thousand inhabitants. Its position as a fortified town is well-chosen.
+Built on an eminence in the centre of a plain which is under water in
+the rainy season, it is surrounded by a very strong wooden palisade,
+proof against every engine of war except artillery.
+
+Strange to say in Soolimana the occupations of men and women seem to be
+reversed; the latter work in the fields except at seed time and
+harvest, build the houses, act as masons, barbers, and surgeons, whilst
+the men attend to the dairy, milk the cows, sew, and wash the linen.
+
+On the 17th September, Laing started on his return journey to Sierra
+Leone bearing presents from the king, and escorted for several miles by
+a vast crowd. He finally reached the English colony in safety.
+
+Laing's trip through Timmannee, Kooranko, and Soolimana was not without
+importance. It opened up districts hitherto unknown to Europeans, and
+introduced us to the manners, occupations, and trade of the people, as
+well as to the products of the country. At the same time the course was
+traced and the source discovered of the Rokelle, whilst for the first
+time definite information was obtained as to the sources of the Niger,
+for although our traveller had not actually visited them, he had gone
+near enough to determine their position approximately.
+
+The results obtained by Laing on this journey, only fired his ambition
+for further discoveries. He, therefore, determined to make his way to
+Timbuctoo.
+
+On the 17th June, 1825, he embarked at Malta for Tripoli, where he
+joined a caravan with which Hateeta, the Tuarick chief, who had made
+such friends with Lyon, was also travelling as far as Ghât. After two
+months' halt at Ghadames, Laing again started in October and reached
+Insalah, which he places a good deal further west than his predecessors
+had done. Here he remained from November, 1825, to January 1826, and
+then made his way to the Wâdy Ghât, intending to go from thence at once
+to Timbuctoo, making a tour of Lake Jenneh or Debbie, visiting the
+Melli country, and tracing the Niger to its mouth. He would then have
+retraced his steps as far as Sackatoo, visited Lake Tchad and attempted
+to reach the hill.
+
+Outside Ghât the caravan with which Laing was travelling was attacked,
+some say by Tuaricks, others by Berber Arabs, a tribe living near the
+Niger.
+
+"Laing," says Caillié, who got his information at Timbuctoo, "was
+recognized as a Christian and horribly ill-treated. He was beaten with
+a stick until he was left for dead. I suppose that the other Christian
+whom they told me was beaten to death, was one of the major's servants.
+The Moors of Laing's caravan picked him up, and succeeded by dint of
+great care in recalling him to life. So soon as he regained
+consciousness he was placed on his camel, to which he had to be tied,
+he was too weak to be able to sit up. The robbers had left him nothing,
+the greater part of his baggage had been rifled."
+
+Laing arrived at Timbuctoo on the 18th August, 1826, and recovered from
+his wounds. His convalescence was slow, but he was fortunately spared
+the extortions of the natives, owing to the letters of introduction he
+had brought with him from Tripoli and to the sedulous care of his host,
+a native of that city.
+
+According to Caillié, who quotes this remarkable fact from an old
+native, Laing retained his European costume, and gave out that he had
+been sent by his master, the king of England, to visit Timbuctoo and
+describe the wonders it contained.
+
+"It appears," adds the French traveller, "that Laing drew the plan of
+the city in public, for the same Moor told me in his naive and
+expressive language, that he had 'written the town and everything in
+it.'"
+
+After a careful examination of Timbuctoo, Laing, who had good reason to
+fear the Tuaricks, paid a visit by night to Cabra, and looked down on
+the waters of the Niger. Instead of returning to Europe by way of the
+Great Desert, he was very anxious to go past Jenneh and Sego to the
+French settlements in Senegal, but at the first hint of his purpose to
+the Foulahs who crowded to stare at him, he was told that a Nazarene
+could not possibly be allowed to set foot in their country, and that if
+he dared attempt it they would make him repent it.
+
+Laing was, therefore, driven to go by way of El Arawan, where he hoped
+to join a caravan of Moorish merchants taking salt to Sansanding. But
+five days after he left Timbuctoo, his caravan was joined by a fanatic
+sheikh, named Hamed-ould-Habib, chief of the Zawat tribe, and Laing was
+at once arrested under pretence of his having entered their country
+without authorization. The major being urged to profess Mohammedanism
+refused, preferring death to apostasy. A discussion then took place
+between the sheikh and his hired assassins as to how the victim should
+be put to death, and finally Laing was strangled by two slaves. His
+body was left unburied in the desert.
+
+This was all Caillié was able to find out when he visited Timbuctoo but
+one year after Major Laing's death. We have supplemented his accounts
+by a few details gathered from the reports of the Royal Geographical
+Society, for the traveller's journal and the notes he took are alike
+lost to us.
+
+We have already told how Laing managed to fix pretty accurately the
+position of the sources of the Niger. We have also described the
+efforts made by Mungo Park and Clapperton to trace the middle portion
+of the course of that river. We have now to narrate the journeys made
+in order to examine its mouth and the lower part of its course. The
+earliest and most successful was that of Richard Lander, formerly
+Clapperton's servant.
+
+Richard Lander and his brother John proposed to the English Government,
+that they should be sent to explore the Niger to its mouth. Their offer
+was accepted, and they embarked on a government vessel for Badagry,
+where they arrived on the 19th March, 1830.
+
+The king of the country, Adooley, of whom Richard Lander retained a
+friendly remembrance, was in low spirits. His town had just been burnt,
+his generals and his best soldiers had perished in a battle with the
+people of Lagos, and he himself had had a narrow escape when his house
+and all his treasures were destroyed by fire.
+
+He determined to retrieve his losses, and to do so at the expense of
+the travellers, who could not get permission to penetrate into the
+interior of the country until they had been robbed of their most
+valuable merchandise, and compelled to sign drafts in payment for a
+gun-boat with a hundred men, for two puncheons of rum, twenty barrels
+of powder, and a large quantity of merchandise, which they knew
+perfectly well would never be delivered by this monarch, who was as
+greedy of gain as he was drunken. As a matter of course the natives
+followed the example of their chief, vied with him in selfishness,
+greed, and meanness, regarded the English as fair spoil, and fleeced
+them on every opportunity.
+
+At last, on the 31st March, Richard and John Lander succeeded in
+getting away from Badagry; and preceded by an escort sent in advance by
+the king, arrived at Katunga on the 13th May, having halted by the way
+at Wow-wow, a good-sized town, Bidjie, where Pearce and Morrison had
+been taken ill, Jenneh, Chow, Egga, all towns visited by Clapperton,
+Engua, where Pearce died, Asinara, the first walled city they saw,
+Bohou, formerly capital of Yariba, Jaguta, Leoguadda, and Itcho, where
+there is a famous market.
+
+[Illustration: Lower Course of the Niger (after Lander).]
+
+At Katunga, according to custom, the travellers halted under a tree
+before they were received by the king. But being tired of waiting, they
+presently went to the residence of Ebo, the chief eunuch, and the most
+influential man about the person of the sovereign. A diabolical noise
+of cymbals, trumpets, and drums, all played together, announced the
+approach of the white men, and Mansolah, the king, gave them a most
+hearty welcome, ordering Ebo to behead every one who should molest
+them.
+
+The Landers, fearful of being detained by Mansolah until the rainy
+season, acted on Ebo's advice, and said nothing about the Niger, but
+merely spoke of the death of their fellow-countryman at Boussa twenty
+years before, adding that the King of England had sent them to the
+sultan of Yaourie to recover his papers.
+
+Although Mansolah did not treat the brothers Lander quite as graciously
+as he had treated Clapperton, he allowed them to go eight days after
+their arrival.
+
+Of the many details given in the original account of the Landers'
+journey, of Katunga and the province of Yariba, we will only quote the
+following:--
+
+"Katunga has by no means answered the expectations we had been led to
+form of it, either as regards its prosperity, or the number of its
+inhabitants. The vast plain on which it stands, although exceedingly
+fine, yields in verdure and fertility, and simple beauty of appearance,
+to the delightful country surrounding the less celebrated city of
+Bohoo. Its market is tolerably well supplied with provisions, which
+are, however, exceedingly dear; insomuch that, with the exception of
+disgusting insects, reptiles, and vermin, the lower classes of the
+people are almost unacquainted with the taste of animal food."
+
+Mansolah's carelessness and the imbecile cowardice of his subjects had
+enabled the Fellatahs to establish themselves in Yarriba, to entrench
+themselves in its fortified towns, and to obtain the recognition of
+their independence, until they became sufficiently strong to assume an
+absolute sovereignty over the whole country.
+
+From Katunga the Landers travelled to Borghoo, by way of Atoupa,
+Bumbum--a town much frequented by the merchants of Houssa, Borghoo, and
+other provinces trading with Gonja--Kishi, on the frontiers of Yarriba,
+and Moussa, on the river of the same name, beyond which they were met
+by an escort sent to join them by the Sultan of Borghoo. Sultan Yarro
+received them with many expressions of pleasure and kindness, showing
+special delight at seeing Richard Lander again. Although he was a
+convert to Mohammedanism, Yarro evidently put more faith in the
+superstitions of his forefathers than in his new creed. Fetiches and
+gri-gris were hung over his door, and in one of his huts there was a
+square stool, supported on two sides by four little wooden effigies of
+men. The character, manners, and costumes of the people of Borghoo
+differ essentially from those of the natives of Yarriba.
+
+"Perhaps no two people in the universe residing so near each other,"
+says the narrative, "differ more widely ... than the natives of Yarriba
+and Borghoo. The former are perpetually engaged in trading with each
+other from town to town, the latter never quit their towns except in
+case of war, or when engaged in predatory excursions; the former are
+pusillanimous and cowardly, the latter are bold and courageous, full of
+spirit and energy, and never seem happier than when engaged in martial
+exercises; the former are generally mild, unassuming, humble and
+honest, but cold and passionless. The latter are proud and haughty, too
+vain to be civil, and too shrewd to be honest; yet they appear to
+understand somewhat of the nature of love and the social affections,
+are warm in their attachments, and keen in their resentments."
+
+On the 17th June our travellers at last came in sight of the city of
+Boussa. Great was their surprise at finding that town on the mainland,
+and not, as Clapperton had said, on an island in the Niger. They
+entered Boussa by the western gate, and were almost immediately
+introduced to the presence of the king and of the midiki or queen, who
+told them that they had both that very morning shed tears over the fate
+of Clapperton.
+
+The Niger or Quorra, which flows below the city, was the first object
+of interest visited by the brothers.
+
+"This morning," writes the traveller, "we visited the far-famed _Niger_
+or _Quorra_, which flows by the city about a mile from our residence,
+and were greatly disappointed at the appearance of this celebrated
+river. Bleak, rugged rocks rose abruptly from the centre of the stream,
+causing strong ripples and eddies on its surface. It is said that, a
+few miles above Boussa, the river is divided into three branches by two
+small, fertile islands, and that it flows from hence in one continued
+stream to Funda. The Niger here, in its widest part, is not more than a
+stone's-throw across at present. The rock on which we sat overlooks the
+spot where Mr. Park and his associates met their unhappy fate."
+
+Richard Lander made his preliminary inquiries respecting the books and
+papers belonging to Mungo Park's expedition with great caution. But
+presently, reassured by the sultan's kindness, he determined to
+question him as to the fate of the explorer. Yarro was, however, too
+young at the time of the catastrophe to be able to remember what had
+occurred. It had taken place two reigns back; but he promised to have a
+search instituted for relics of the illustrious traveller.
+
+"In the afternoon," says Richard Lander, "the king came to see us,
+followed by a man with a book under his arm, which was said to have
+been picked up in the Niger after the loss of our countryman. It was
+enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and our hearts beat high with
+expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it, for, by its size, we
+guessed it to be Mr. Park's Journal; but our disappointment and chagrin
+were great when, on opening the book, we discovered it to be an old
+nautical publication of the last century."
+
+There was then no further hope of recovering Park's journal.
+
+On the 23rd June the Landers left Boussa, filled with gratitude to the
+king, who had given them valuable presents, and warned them to accept
+no food, lest it should be poisoned, from any but the governors of the
+places they should pass through. They travelled alongside of the Niger
+as far as Kagogie, where they embarked in a wretched native canoe,
+whilst their horses were sent on by land to Yaoorie.
+
+"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards," says Richard Lander, "when
+the river gradually widened to two miles, and continued as far as the
+eye could reach. It looked very much like an artificial canal, the
+steep banks confining the water like low walls, with vegetation beyond.
+In most places the water was extremely shallow, but in others it was
+deep enough to float a frigate. During the first two hours of the day
+the scenery was as interesting and picturesque as can be imagined. The
+banks were literally covered with hamlets and villages; fine trees,
+bending under the weight of their dark and impenetrable foliage,
+everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of the sun's rays, and,
+contrasted with the lively verdure of the little hills and plains,
+produced the most pleasing effect. All of a sudden came a total change
+of scene. To the banks of dark earth, clay, or sand, succeeded black,
+rugged rocks; and that wide mirror which reflected the skies, was
+divided into a thousand little channels by great sand-banks."
+
+A little further on the stream was barred by a wall of black rocks,
+with a single narrow opening, through which its waters rushed furiously
+down. At this place there is a portage, above which the Niger flows on,
+restored to its former breadth, repose, and grandeur.
+
+After three days' navigation, the Landers reached a village, where they
+found horses and men waiting for them, and whence they quickly made
+their way, through a continuously hilly country, to the town of
+Yaoorie, where they were welcomed by the sultan, a stout, dirty,
+slovenly man, who received them in a kind of farm-yard cleanly kept.
+The sultan, who was disappointed that Clapperton had not visited him,
+and that Richard Lander had omitted to pay his respects on his return
+journey, was very exacting to his present guests. He would give them
+none of the provisions they wanted, and did all he could to detain them
+as long as possible.
+
+We may add that food was very dear at Yaoorie, and that Richard Lander
+had no merchandise for barter except a quantity of "Whitechapel sharps,
+warranted not to cut in the eye," for the very good reason, he tells
+us, that most of them had no eyes at all, so that they were all but
+worthless.
+
+They were able, however, to turn to account some empty tins which had
+contained soups; the labels, although dirty and tarnished, were much
+admired by the natives, one of whom strutted proudly about for some
+days wearing an empty tin on his head, bearing four labels of
+"concentrated essence of meat."
+
+The Sultan would not permit the Englishmen to enter Nyffé or Bornou,
+and told them there was nothing for them but to go back to Boussa.
+Richard Lander at once wrote to the king of that town, asking
+permission to buy a canoe in which to go to Funda, as the road by land
+was infested by plundering Fellatahs.
+
+At last, on the 26th July, a messenger arrived from the King of Boussa
+to inquire into the strange conduct of the Sultan of Yaoorie, and the
+cause of his detention of the white men. After an imprisonment of five
+weeks the Landers were at last allowed to leave Yaoorie, which was now
+almost entirely inundated.
+
+The explorers now ascended the Niger to the confluence of the Cubbie,
+and then went down it again to Boussa, where the king, who was glad to
+see them again, received them with the utmost cordiality. They were,
+however, detained longer than they liked by the necessity of paying a
+visit to the King of Wow-wow, as well as by the difficulty of getting a
+boat. Moreover, there was some delay in the return of the messengers
+who had been sent by the King of Boussa to the different chiefs on the
+banks of the river, and lastly, Beken Rouah (the Dark Water) had to be
+consulted in order to ensure the safety of the travellers in their
+journey to the sea.
+
+On taking leave of the king, the brothers were at a loss to express
+their gratitude for his kindness and hospitality, his zeal in their
+cause, and the protection he was ever ready to extend during their stay
+of nearly two months in his capital. The natives showed great regret at
+losing their visitors, and knelt in the path of the brothers, praying
+with uplifted hands to their gods on their behalf.
+
+Now began the descent of the Niger. A halt had to be made at the island
+of Melalie, whose chief begged the white men to accept a very fine kid.
+We may be sure they were too polite to refuse it. The Landers next
+passed the large town of Congi, the Songa of Clapperton, and then
+Inguazilligie, the rendezvous of merchants travelling between Nouffe
+and the districts north-east of Borghoo. Below Inguazilligie they
+halted at Patashie, a large fertile island of great beauty, planted
+with palm groves and magnificent trees.
+
+As this place was not far from Wow-wow, Richard Lander sent a message
+to the king of that town, who, however, declined to deliver the canoe
+which had been purchased of him. The messenger failing in his purpose,
+the brothers were compelled themselves to visit the king, but as they
+expected, they got only evasive answers. They had now no choice, if
+they wished to continue their journey, but to make off with the canoes
+which had been lent them at Patashie. On the 4th October, after further
+delays, they resumed their course, and being carried down by the
+current, were soon out of sight of Lever, or Layaba, and its wretched
+inhabitants.
+
+The first town the brothers came to was Bajiebo, a large and spacious
+city, which for dirt, noise, and confusion, could not be surpassed.
+Next came Leechee, inhabited by Nouffe people, and the island of Madje,
+where the Niger divides into three parts. Just beyond, the travellers
+suddenly found themselves opposite a remarkable rock, two hundred and
+eighty feet high, called Mount Kesa, which rises perpendicularly from
+the centre of the stream. This rock is greatly venerated by the
+natives, who believe it to be the favourite home of a beneficent
+genius.
+
+[Illustration: Mount Kesa. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+At Belee, a little above Rabba, the brothers received a visit from the
+"King of the Dark Waters," chief of the island of Zagoshi, who appeared
+in a canoe of great length and unusual cleanliness, decked with scarlet
+cloth and gold lace. On the same day they reached the town of Zagoshi,
+opposite Rabba, and the second Fellatah town beyond Sackatoo.
+
+Mallam Dendo, chief of Zagoshi, was a cousin of Bello. He was a blind
+and very feeble old man in very bad health, who knew he had but a few
+years longer to reign, and his one thought was how best to secure the
+throne to his son.
+
+Although he had received very costly presents, Mallam Dendo was
+anything but satisfied, and declared that if the travellers did not
+make him other and more valuable gifts, he would require their guns,
+pistols, and powder, before he allowed them to leave Zagoshi.
+
+Richard Lander did not know what to do, when the gift of the tobé (or
+robe) of Mungo Park, which had been restored by the King of Boussa,
+threw Mallam Dendo into such ecstasies of joy that he declared himself
+the protector of the Europeans, promised to do all he could to help
+them to reach the sea, made them a present of several richly-coloured
+plaited mats, two bags of rice, and a bunch of bananas. These stores
+came just in time, for the whole stock of cloth, looking-glasses,
+razors, and pipes was exhausted, and the English had nothing left but a
+few needles and some silver bracelets as presents for the chiefs on the
+banks of the Niger.
+
+"Rabba," says Lander, "... seen from Zagoshi, appears to be a large,
+compact, clean, and well-built town, though it is unwalled, and is not
+otherwise fenced. It is irregularly built on the slope of a
+gently-rising hill, at the foot of which runs the Niger; and in point
+of rank, population, and wealth, it is the second city in the Fellatah
+dominions, Sackatoo alone being considered as its superior. It is
+inhabited by a mixed population of Fellatahs, Nyffeans, and emigrants
+and slaves from various countries, and is governed by a ruler who
+exercises sovereign authority over Rabba and its dependencies, and is
+styled sultan or king.... Rabba is famous for milk, oil, and honey. The
+market, when our messengers were there, appeared to be well supplied
+with bullocks, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, and abundance of
+poultry. Rice, and various sorts of corn, cotton cloth, indigo, saddles
+and bridles made of red and yellow leather, besides shoes, boots, and
+sandals, were offered for sale in great plenty. Although we observed
+about two hundred slaves for sale, none had been disposed of when we
+left the market in the evening.... Rabba is not very famous for the
+number or variety of its artificers, and yet in the manufacture of mats
+and sandals it is unrivalled. However, in all other handicrafts, Rabba
+yields to Zagoshi."
+
+The industry and love of labour displayed by the people of the latter
+town were an agreeable surprise in this lazy country. Its inhabitants,
+who are hospitable and obliging, are protected by the situation of
+their island against the Fellatahs. They are independent too, and
+recognize no authority but that of the "King of the Dark Waters," whom
+they obey because it is to their interest to do so.
+
+On the 16th October, the Landers at last started in a wretched canoe,
+for which the king had made them pay a high price, with paddles they
+had stolen, because no one would sell them any. This was the first time
+they had been able to embark on the Niger without help from the
+natives. They went down the river, whose width varies greatly, avoiding
+large towns as much as possible, for they had no means of satisfying
+the extortions of the chiefs. No incident of note occurred before Egga
+was reached, if we except a terrible storm which overtook the
+travellers when, unable to land in the marshes bordering the river,
+they had allowed their boat to drift with the current, and during which
+they were all but upset by the hippopotami playing about on the surface
+of the water. All this time the Niger flowed in an E.S.E. direction,
+now eight, now only two miles in width. The current was so rapid that
+the boat went at the rate of four or five miles an hour.
+
+[Illustration: "They were all but upset."]
+
+On the 19th October the Landers passed the mouth of the Coudonia, which
+Richard had crossed near Cuttup on his first expedition, and a little
+later they came in sight of Egga. The landing-place was soon reached by
+way of a bay encumbered with an immense number of large and heavy
+canoes full of merchandise, with the prows daubed with blood, and
+covered with feathers, as charms against thieves.
+
+The chief, to whom the travellers were at once conducted, was an old
+man with a long white beard, whose appearance would have been venerable
+and patriarchal had he not laughed and played in quite a childish
+manner. The natives assembled in hundreds to see the strange-looking
+visitors, and the latter had to place three men as sentinels outside
+their door to keep the curious at a distance.
+
+[Illustration: Square stool belonging to the King of Bornou.
+(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Lander says that Benin and Portuguese cloths are sold at Egga by many
+of its inhabitants, so that it would appear that some kind of
+communication is kept up between the sea-coast and this place. The
+people are very speculative and enterprising, and numbers of them
+employ all their time solely in trading up and down the Niger. They
+live entirely in their canoes, over which they have a shed, that
+answers completely every purpose for which it is intended, so that, in
+their constant peregrinations, they have no need of any other dwelling
+or shelter than that which their canoes afford them....
+
+"Their belief," says Lander, "that we possessed the power of doing
+anything we wished, was at first amusing enough, but their
+importunities went so far that they became annoying. They applied to us
+for charms to avert wars and other national calamities, to make them
+rich, to prevent the crocodiles from carrying off the people, and for
+the chief of the fishermen to catch a canoe-load of fish every day,
+each request being accompanied with some sort of present, such as
+country beer, goora-nuts, cocoa-nuts, lemons, yams, rice, &c., in
+quantity proportionate to the value of their request.
+
+"The curiosity of the people to see us is so intense, that we dare not
+stir out of doors, and therefore we are compelled to keep our door open
+all day long for the benefit of the air, and the only exercise which we
+can take is by walking round and round our hut like wild beasts in a
+cage. The people stand gazing at us with visible emotions of amazement
+and terror; we are regarded, in fact, in just the same light as the
+fiercest tigers in Europe. If we venture to approach too near the
+doorway, they rush backwards in a state of the greatest alarm and
+trepidation; but when we are at the opposite side of the hut they draw
+as near as their fears will permit them, in silence and caution.
+
+"Egga is a town of vast extent, and its population must be immense.
+Like all the towns on the banks of the Niger, it is inundated every
+year. We can but conclude that the natives have their own reasons for
+building their houses in situations which, in our eyes, are alike so
+inconvenient and unhealthy. Perhaps it may be because the soil of the
+surrounding districts consists of a black greasy mould of extraordinary
+fertility, supplying all the necessaries of life at the cost of very
+little trouble. Although the King of Egga looked more than a hundred
+years old, he was very gay and light-hearted. The chief people of the
+town met in his hut, and spent whole days in conversation. This company
+of greybeards, for they are all old, laugh so heartily at the
+sprightliness of their own wit, that it is an invariable practice, when
+any one passes by, to stop and listen outside, and they add to their
+noisy merriment so much good-will, that we hear nothing from the hut in
+which the aged group are revelling during the day but loud peals of
+laughter and shouts of applause."
+
+One day the old chief wished to show off his accomplishments of singing
+and dancing, expecting to astonish his visitors.
+
+"He frisked," says Lander, "beneath the burden of five-score, and
+shaking his hoary locks, capered over the ground to the manifest
+delight of the bystanders, whose plaudits, though confined, as they
+always are, to laughter, yet tickled the old man's fancy to that
+degree, that he was unable to keep up his dance any longer without the
+aid of a crutch. With its assistance he hobbled on a little while, but
+his strength failed him; he was constrained for the time to give over,
+and he set himself down at our side on the threshold of the hut. He
+would not acknowledge his weakness to us for the world, but endeavoured
+to pant silently, and suppress loud breathings, that we might not hear
+him. How ridiculous, yet how natural, is this vanity! He made other
+unavailing attempts to dance, and also made an attempt to sing, but
+nature would not second his efforts, and his weak piping voice was
+scarcely audible. The singers, dancers, and musicians, continued their
+noisy mirth, till we were weary of looking at and listening to them,
+and as bedtime was drawing near, we desired them to depart, to the
+infinite regret of the frivolous but merry old chief."
+
+Mallam-Dendo, however, tried to dissuade the English from continuing
+the descent of the river. Egga, he said, was the last Nouffe town, the
+power of the Fellatahs extended no further, and between it and the sea
+dwelt none but savage and barbarous races, always at war with each
+other. These rumours and the stories told by the natives to the
+Landers' people of the danger they would run of being murdered or sold
+as slaves so terrified the latter, that they refused to embark,
+declaring their intention of going back to Cape Coast Castle by the way
+that they came. Thanks to the firmness of the brothers this mutiny was
+quelled, and on the 22nd October the explorers left Egga, firing a
+parting salute of three musket-shots. A few miles further down, a
+sea-gull flew over their heads, a sure sign that they were approaching
+the sea, and with it, it appeared all but certain, the end of their
+wearisome journey.
+
+Several small and wretched villages, half under water, and a large town
+at the foot of a mountain, which looked ready to overwhelm it, the name
+of which the travellers could not learn, were passed in succession.
+They met a great number of canoes built like those on the Bonny and
+Calabar Rivers. The crews stared in astonishment at the white men whom
+they dared not address. The low marshy banks of the Niger were now
+gradually exchanged for loftier, richer, and more fertile districts.
+
+Kacunda, where the people of Egga had recommended Lander to halt, is on
+the western bank of the river. From a distance its appearance is
+singularly picturesque. The natives were at first alarmed at the
+appearance of the travellers. An old Mallam acting as Mohammedan priest
+and schoolmaster took them under his protection, and, thanks to him,
+the brothers received a warm welcome in the capital of the independent
+kingdom of Nouffé. The information collected in this town, or rather in
+this group of four villages, coincided with that obtained at Egga.
+Richard Lander therefore resolved to make the rest of the voyage by
+night and to load his four remaining guns and two pistols with balls
+and shot. To the great astonishment of the natives, who could not
+understand such contempt of danger, the explorers left Kacunda with
+three loud cheers, committing their cause to the hands of God. They
+passed several important towns, which they avoided. The river now wound
+a great deal, flowing from the south to south-east, and then to the
+south-west between lofty hills.
+
+On the 25th October, the English found themselves opposite the mouth of
+a large river. It was the Tchadda or Benuwe. At its junction with the
+Niger is an important town called Cutum Curaffi. After a narrow escape
+from being swallowed up in a whirlpool and crushed against the rocks,
+Lander having found a suitable spot showing signs of habitation,
+determined to land. That this place had been visited a little time
+previously, was proved by two burnt out fires with some broken
+calabashes, fragments of earthenware vessels, cocoa-nut shells, staves
+of powder-barrels, &c., which the travellers picked up with some
+emotion, for they proved that the natives had had dealings with
+Europeans. Some women ran away out of a village which three of Lander's
+men entered with a view to get the materials for a fire. The exhausted
+explorers were resting on mats when they were suddenly surrounded by a
+crowd of half-naked men armed with guns, bows and arrows, cutlasses,
+iron barbs, and spears. The coolness and presence of mind of the
+brothers alone averted a struggle, the issue of which could not be
+dubious. "As we approached," says Lander, "we made all the signs and
+motions we could with our arms, to deter the chief and his people from
+firing on us. His quiver was dangling at his side, his bow was bent,
+and an arrow which was pointed at our breasts already trembled on the
+string, when we were within a few yards of his person. This was a
+highly critical moment, the next might be our last. But the hand of
+Providence averted the blow; for just as the chief was about to pull
+the fatal cord, a man that was nearest him rushed forward, and stayed
+his arm. At that instant we stood before him, and immediately held
+forth our hands; all of them trembled like aspen leaves; the chief
+looked up full in our faces, kneeling on the ground; light seemed to
+flash from his dark, rolling eyes, his body was convulsed all over, as
+though he were enduring the utmost torture, and with a timorous yet
+undefinable expression of countenance, in which all the passions of our
+nature were strangely blended, he drooped his head, eagerly grasped our
+proffered hands, and burst into tears. This was a sign of friendship;
+harmony followed, and war and bloodshed were thought of no more. It was
+happy for us that our white faces and calm behaviour produced the
+effect it did on these people; in another minute our bodies would have
+been as full of arrows as a porcupine's is full of quills. 'I thought
+you were children of heaven fallen from the skies,' said the chief, in
+explanation of this sudden change."
+
+This scene took place in the famous market-town of Bocqua, of which the
+travellers had so often heard, whither the people come up from the
+coast to exchange the merchandise of the whites for slaves brought in
+large numbers from Funda, on the opposite bank.
+
+The information obtained at Bocqua was most satisfactory; the sea was
+only ten days' journey off. There was no danger in going down the
+river, the chief said, though the people on the banks were a bad lot.
+
+Following the advice of this chief, the travellers passed the fine town
+of Atta without stopping, and halted at Abbagaca, where the river
+divides into several branches, and whose chief showed insatiable greed.
+Refusing to halt at several villages, whose inhabitants begged for a
+sight of the white strangers, they were finally obliged to land at the
+village of Damuggo, where a little man wearing a waistcoat which had
+once formed part of a uniform, hailed them in English, crying out:
+"Halloa, ho! you English, come here!" He was an emissary from the King
+of Bonny come to buy slaves for the master.
+
+The chief of Damuggo, who had never before seen white men, received the
+explorers very kindly, held public rejoicings in their honour and
+detained them with constant fêtes until the 4th November. Although the
+fetich consulted by him presaged that they would meet with a thousand
+dangers before reaching the sea, this monarch supplied them with an
+extra canoe, some rowers, and a guide.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Lower Course of the Djoliba, Kouara, Quoora,
+or Niger (after Lander). Gravé par E. Morieu.]
+
+The sinister predictions of the fetich were soon fulfilled. John and
+Richard Lander were embarked in different boats. As they passed a large
+town called Kirree they were stopped by war-canoes, each containing
+forty men wearing European clothes, minus the trousers.
+
+Each canoe carried what at first sight appeared to be the Union Jack
+flying from a long bamboo cane fixed in the stern, a four or six
+pounder was lashed to each prow, and every black sailor was provided
+with a musket.
+
+The two brothers were taken to Kirree, where a palaver was held upon
+their fate. Fortunately the Mallams or Mohammedan priests interfered in
+their favour, and some of their property was restored to them, but the
+best part had gone to the bottom of the river with John Lander's canoe.
+
+"To my great satisfaction," says Lander, "I immediately recognized the
+box containing our books, and one of my brother's journals; the
+medicine-chest was by its side, but both were filled with water. A
+large carpet bag, containing all our wearing apparel, was lying cut
+open, and deprived of its contents, with the exception of a shirt, a
+pair of trousers, and a waistcoat. Many valuable articles which it had
+contained were gone. The whole of my journal, with the exception of a
+note-book with remarks from Rabba to this place, was lost. Four guns,
+one of which had been the property of the late Mr. Park, four
+cutlasses, and two pistols, were gone. Nine elephants' tusks, the
+finest I had seen in the country, which had been given us by the kings
+of Wow-wow and Boussa; a quantity of ostrich feathers, some handsome
+leopard skins, a great variety of seeds, all our buttons, cowries, and
+needles, which were necessary for us to purchase provisions with, all
+were missing, and said to have been sunk in the river."
+
+This was like going down in port. After crossing Africa from Badagry to
+Boussa, escaping all the dangers of navigating the Niger, getting free
+from the hands of so many rapacious chiefs, to be shipwrecked six day's
+journey from the sea, to be made slaves of or condemned to death just
+on the eve of making known to Europe the results of so many sufferings
+endured, so many dangers escaped, so many obstacles happily surmounted!
+To have traced the course of the Niger from Boussa, to be on the point
+of determining the exact position of its mouth and then to find
+themselves stopped by wretched pirates was really too much, and bitter
+indeed were the reflections of the brothers during the interminable
+palaver upon their fate.
+
+Although their stolen property was partially restored to them, and the
+negro who had begun the attack upon them was condemned to be beheaded,
+the brothers were none the less regarded as prisoners, and they were
+marched off to Obie, king of the country, who would decide what was to
+be done with them. It was evident that the robbers were not natives of
+the country, but had only entered it with a view to pillage. They
+probably counted on trading in two or three such market-towns as Kirree
+if they did not meet with any boats but such as were too strong to be
+plundered. For the rest, all the tribes of this part of the Niger
+seemed to be at daggers drawn with each other, and the trade in
+provisions was carried on under arms. After two days' row the canoes
+came in sight of Eboe, at a spot where the stream divides into three
+"rivers" of great width, with marshy level banks covered with
+palm-trees. An hour later one of the boatmen, a native of Eboe, cried,
+"There is my country." Here fresh difficulties awaited the travellers.
+Obie, king of Eboe, a young man with a refined and intelligent
+countenance, received the white men with cordiality. His dress, which
+reminded his visitors of that of the King of Yarriba, was adorned with
+such a quantity of coral that he might have been called the coral king.
+
+Obie seemed to be affected by the account the English gave of the
+struggle in which they had lost all their merchandise, but the aid he
+gave them was by no means proportioned to the warmth of the sentiments
+which he expressed, indeed he let them all but die of hunger.
+
+"The Eboe people," says the narrative, "like most Africans, are
+extremely indolent, and cultivate yams, Indian corn, and plantains
+only. They have abundance of goats and fowls, but few sheep are to be
+seen, and no bullocks. The city, which has no other name than the Eboe
+country, is situated on an open plain; it is immensely large, contains
+a vast population, and is the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It
+has, for a series of years, been the principal slave-mart for native
+traders from the coast, between the Bonny and Old Calabar rivers; and
+for the production of its palm-oil it has obtained equal celebrity.
+Hundreds of men from the rivers mentioned above come up for the purpose
+of trade, and numbers of them are at present residing in canoes in
+front of the town. Most of the oil purchased by Englishmen at the Bonny
+and adjacent rivers is brought from thence, as are nearly all the
+slaves which are annually exported from those places by the French,
+Spaniards, and Portuguese. It has been told us by many that the Eboe
+people are confirmed anthropophagi; and this opinion is more prevalent
+among the tribes bordering on that kingdom, than with the natives of
+more remote districts."
+
+From what the travellers could learn, it was pretty certain that Obie
+would not let them go without exacting a considerable ransom. He may
+doubtless have been driven to this by the importunity of his
+favourites, but it was more likely the result of the greed of the
+people of Bonny and Brass, who quarrelled as to which tribe should
+carry off the English to their country.
+
+A son of the Chief of Bonny, King Pepper, a native named Gun, brother
+of King Boy, and their father King Forday, who with King Jacket govern
+the whole of the Brass country, were the most eager in their demands,
+and produced as proofs of their honourable intentions the testimonials
+given to them by the European captains with whom they had business
+relations.
+
+One of these documents, signed James Dow, captain of the brig "Susan"
+of Liverpool, and dated from the most important river of the Brass
+Country, September, 1830, ran thus:--
+
+"Captain Dow states that he never met with a set of greater scoundrels
+than the natives generally, and the pilots in particular."
+
+It goes on in a similar strain heaping curses upon the natives, and
+charging them with having endeavoured to wreck Dow's vessel at the
+mouth of the river with a view to dividing his property amongst them.
+King Jacket was designated as an arrant rogue and a desperate thief.
+Boy was the only one of common honesty or trustworthiness.
+
+After an endless palaver, Obie declared that according to the laws and
+customs of the country he had a right to look upon the Landers and
+their people as his property, but that, not wishing to abuse his
+privileges, he would set them free in exchange for the value of twenty
+slaves in English merchandise. This decision, which Richard Lander
+tried in vain to shake, plunged the brothers into the depths of
+despair, a state of mind soon succeeded by an apathy and indifference
+so complete that they could not have made the faintest effort to
+recover their liberty. Add to these mental sufferings the physical
+weakness to which they were reduced by want of food, and we shall have
+some idea of their state of prostration. Without resources of any kind,
+robbed of their needles, cowries, and merchandise, they were reduced to
+the sad necessity of begging their bread. "But we might as well have
+addressed our petitions to the stones or trees," says Lander; "we might
+have spared ourselves the mortification of a refusal. We never
+experienced a more stinging sense of our own humbleness and imbecility
+than on such occasions, and never had we greater need of patience and
+lowliness of spirit. In most African towns and villages we have been
+regarded as demigods, and treated in consequence with universal
+kindness, civility, and veneration; but here, alas, what a contrast! we
+are classed with the most degraded and despicable of mankind, and are
+become slaves in a land of ignorance and barbarism, whose savage
+natives have treated us with brutality and contempt."
+
+It was Boy who finally achieved the rescue of the Landers, for he
+consented to pay to Obie the ransom he demanded for them and their
+people. Boy himself was very moderate, asking for nothing in return for
+his trouble and the risk he ran in taking the white men to Brass, but
+fifteen bars or fifteen slaves, and a barrel of rum. Although this
+demand was exorbitant, Lander did not hesitate to write an order on
+Richard Lake, captain of an English vessel at anchor in Brass river,
+for thirty-six bars.
+
+The king's canoe, on which the brothers embarked on the 12th November,
+carried sixty persons, forty of whom were rowers. It was hollowed out
+of a single tree-trunk, measured more than fifty feet long, carried a
+four-pounder in the prow, an arsenal of cutlasses and grape-shot, and
+was laden with merchandise of every kind. The vast tracts of cultivated
+land on either side of the river showed that the population was far
+more numerous than would have been supposed. The scenery was flat,
+open, and varied; and the soil, a rich black mould, produced luxuriant
+trees, and green shrubs of every shade. At seven p.m. on the 11th
+November the canoe left the chief branch of the Niger and entered the
+Brass river. An hour later, Richard Lander recognized with
+inexpressible delight tidal waves.
+
+[Illustration: "It was hollowed out of a single tree-trunk."]
+
+A little farther on Boy's canoe came up with those of Gun and Forday.
+The latter was a venerable-looking old man, in spite of his wretched
+semi-European semi-native clothing and a very strong predilection for
+rum, of which he consumed a great quantity, although his manners and
+conversation betrayed no signs of excessive drinking.
+
+That was a strange escort which accompanied the two Englishmen as far
+as the town of Brass.
+
+"The canoes," says Lander, "were following each other up the river in
+tolerable order, each of them displaying three flags. In the first was
+King Boy, standing erect and conspicuous, his headdress of feathers
+waving with the movements of his body, which had been chalked in
+various fantastic figures, rendered more distinct by its natural
+colour; his hands were resting on the barbs of two immense spears,
+which at intervals he darted violently into the bottom of the canoe, as
+if he were in the act of killing some formidable wild animal under his
+feet. In the bows of all the other canoes fetish priests were dancing,
+and performing various extraordinary antics, their persons, as well as
+those of the people with them, being chalked over in the same manner as
+that of King Boy; and, to crown the whole, Mr. Gun, the little military
+gentleman, was most actively employed, his canoe now darting before and
+now dropping behind the rest, adding not a little to the imposing
+effect of the whole scene by the repeated discharges of his cannon."
+
+Brass consists of two towns, one belonging to Forday, the other to King
+Jacket. The priests performed some curious ceremonies before
+disembarking, evidently having reference to the whites. Was the result
+of the consultation of the fetish of the town favourable or not to the
+visitors? The way the natives treated them would answer that question.
+Before he set foot on land Richard Lander, to his great delight,
+recognized a white man on the banks. He was the captain of a Spanish
+schooner at anchor in the river. The narrative goes on to say:--
+
+"Of all the wretched, filthy, and contemptible places in this world of
+ours none can present to the eye of a stranger so miserable an
+appearance, or can offer such disgusting and loathsome sights, as this
+abominable Brass Town. Dogs, goats, and other animals run about the
+dirty streets half-starved, whose hungry looks can only be exceeded by
+the famishing appearance of the men, women, and children, which
+bespeaks the penury and wretchedness to which they are reduced; whilst
+the persons of many of them are covered with odious boils, and their
+huts are falling to the ground from neglect and decay."
+
+Another place, called Pilot Town by the Europeans, on account of the
+number of pilots living in it, is situated at the mouth of the river
+Nun, seventy miles from Brass. King Forday demanded four bars before
+the Landers left the town, saying it was customary for every white man
+who came to Brass by the river to make that payment. It was impossible
+to evade compliance, and Lander drew another bill on Captain Lake. At
+this price Richard Lander obtained permission to go down in Boy's royal
+canoe to the English brig stationed at the mouth of the river. His
+brother and his servants were not to be set free until the return of
+the king. On his arrival on the brig, Lander's astonishment and shame
+was extreme when he found that Lake refused to give him any help
+whatever. The instructions given to the brothers from the ministry were
+read, to prove that he was not an impostor; but the captain answered,--
+
+"If you think that you have a ---- fool to deal with, you are mistaken;
+I'll not give a ---- flint for your bill. I would not give a ---- for
+it."
+
+Overwhelmed with grief at such unexpected behaviour from a
+fellow-countryman, Richard Lander returned to Boy's canoe, not knowing
+to whom to apply, and asked his escort to take him to Bonny, where
+there were a number of English vessels. The king refused to do this,
+and the explorer was obliged to try once more to move the captain,
+begging him to give him at least ten muskets, which might possibly
+satisfy Forday.
+
+"I have told you already," answered Lake, "that I will not let you have
+even a flint, so bother me no more."
+
+"But I have a brother and eight people at Brass Town," rejoined Lander,
+"and if you do not intend to pay King Boy, at least persuade him to
+bring them here, or else he will poison or starve my brother before I
+can get any assistance from a man-of-war, and sell all my people."
+
+"If you can get them on board," replied the captain, "I will take them
+away; but as I have told you before, you do not get a flint from me."
+
+At last Lander persuaded Boy to go back and fetch his brother and his
+people. The king at first declined to do so without receiving some
+payment on account, and it was only with difficulty that he was induced
+to forego this demand. When Lake found out that Lander's servants were
+able-bodied men, who could replace the sailors he had lost by death or
+who were down with fever, he relented a little. This yielding mood did
+not, however, last long, for he declared that if John and his people
+did not come in three days he would start without them. In vain did
+Richard prove to him beyond a doubt that if he did so the white men
+would be sold as slaves. The captain would not listen to him, only
+answering, "I can't help it; I shall wait no longer." Such inhumanity
+as this is fortunately very rare; and a wretch who could thus insult
+those not merely his equals, but so much his superiors, ought to be
+pilloried. At last, on the 24th November, after weathering a strong
+breeze which made the passage of the bar very rough and all but
+impossible, John Lander arrived on board. He had had to bear a good
+many reproaches from Boy, for whom, it must be confessed, there was
+some excuse; for had he not at his own cost rescued the brothers and
+their people from slavery, brought them down in his own canoe, and fed
+them, although very badly, all on the strength of their promise to pay
+him with as much beef and rum as he could consume? whereas he was,
+after all, roughly received by Lake, told that his advances would never
+be refunded, and treated as a thief. Certainly he had cause to complain
+and any one else would have made his prisoners pay dearly for the
+disappointment of so many hopes, and the loss of so much money.
+
+For all this, however, Boy brought John Lander safely to the brig.
+Captain Lake received the traveller pretty cordially, but declared his
+intention of making the king go back without so much as an obolus. Poor
+Boy was full of the most gloomy forebodings. His haughty manner was
+exchanged for an air of deprecating humility. An abundant meal was
+placed before him, but he scarcely touched it. Richard Lander,
+disgusted with the stinginess and bad faith of Lake, and unable to keep
+his promises, ransacked all his possessions; and finding, at last, five
+silver bracelets and a sabre of native manufacture, which he had
+brought from Yarriba, he offered these to Boy, who accepted them.
+Finally, the king screwed up courage enough to make his demand to the
+captain, who, in a voice of thunder which it was difficult to believe
+could have come from such a feeble body, declined to accede to it,
+enforcing his refusal with a shower of oaths and threats, such as made
+Boy, who saw, moreover, that the vessel was ready to sail, beat a hasty
+retreat, and hurry off to his canoe.
+
+Thus ended the vicissitudes of the Brothers Lander's journey. They were
+in some danger in crossing the bar, but that was their last. They
+reached Fernando Po, and then the Calabar River where they embarked on
+the _Carnarvon_ for Rio Janeiro, at which port Admiral Baker, then
+commanding the station, got them a passage on board a transport-ship.
+
+On the 9th June they disembarked at Portsmouth. Their first care, after
+sending an account of their journey to Lord Goderich, then Colonial
+Secretary, was to inform that official of the conduct of Captain Lake,
+conduct which was of a nature to compromise the credit of the English
+Government. Orders were at once given by the minister for the payment
+of the sums agreed upon, which were perfectly just and reasonable.
+
+Thus was completely and finally solved the geographical problem which
+had for so many centuries occupied the attention of the civilized
+world, and been the subject of so many different conjectures. The
+Niger, or as the natives call it, the Joliba, or Quorra, is not
+connected with the Nile, and does not lose itself in the desert sands
+or in the waters of Lake Tchad; it flows in a number of different
+branches into the ocean on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, at the
+point known as Cape Formosa. The entire glory of this discovery,
+foreseen though it was by scientific men, belongs to the Brothers
+Lander. The vast extent of country traversed by the Niger between
+Yaoorie and the sea was completely unknown before their journey.
+
+So soon as the discoveries made by Lander became known in England,
+several merchants formed themselves into a company for developing the
+resources of the new districts. In July, 1832, they equipped two
+steamers, the _Quorra_ and _Alburka_, which, under the command of
+Messrs. Laird, Oldfield, and Richard Lander, appended the Niger as far
+as Bocqua. The results of this commercial expedition were deplorable.
+Not only was there absolutely no trade to be carried on with the
+natives, but the crews of the vessels were decimated by fever. Finally,
+Richard Lander, who had so often gone up and down the river, was
+mortally wounded by the natives, on the 27th January, 1834, and died on
+the morning of 5th February, at Fernando Po.
+
+To complete our account of the exploration of Africa during the period
+under review, we have still to speak of the various surveys of the
+valley of the Nile, the most important of which were those by
+Cailliaud, Russegger, and Rüppell.
+
+Frederic Cailliaud was born at Nantes in 1787, and arrived in Egypt in
+1815, having previously visited Holland, Italy, Sicily, part of Greece,
+and European or Asiatic Turkey, where he traded in precious stones. His
+knowledge of geology and mineralogy won for him a cordial reception
+from Mehemet Ali, who immediately on his arrival commissioned him to
+explore the course of the Nile and the desert.
+
+This first trip resulted in the discovery of emerald mines at Labarah,
+mentioned by Arab authors, which had been abandoned for centuries. In
+the excavations in the mountain Cailliaud found the lamps, crowbars,
+ropes, and tools used in working these mines by men in the employ of
+Ptolemy. Near the quarries the traveller discovered the ruins of a
+little town, which was probably inhabited by the ancient miners. To
+prove the reality of his valuable discovery he took back ten pounds'
+weight of emeralds to Mehemet Ali.
+
+Another result of this journey was the discovery by the French explorer
+of the old road from Coptos to Berenice for the trade of India.
+
+From September, 1819, to the end of 1832, Cailliaud, accompanied by a
+former midshipman named Letorzec, was occupied in exploring all the
+known oases east of Egypt, and in tracing the Nile to 10 degrees N.
+lat. On his first journey he reached Wady Halfa, and for his second
+trip he made that place his starting-point. A fortunate accident did
+much to aid his researches. This was the appointment of Ismail Pacha,
+son of Mehemet Ali, to the command of an expedition to Nubia. To this
+expedition Cailliaud attached himself.
+
+Leaving Daraou in November, 1820, Cailliaud arrived, on the 5th January
+in the ensuing year, at Dongola, and reached Mount Barka in the Chaguy
+country, where are a vast number of ruins of temples, pyramids, and
+other monuments. The fact of this district bearing the name of Merawe
+had given rise to an opinion that in it was situated the ancient
+capital of Ethiopia. Cailliaud was enabled to show this to be
+erroneous.
+
+[Illustration: View of a Merawe temple. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+The French explorer, accompanying Ismail Pacha in the character of a
+mineralogist beyond Berber, on a quest for gold-mines, arrived at
+Shendy. He then went with Letorzec to determine the position of the
+junction of the Atbara with the Nile; and at Assour, not far from 17
+degrees N. lat., he discovered the ruins of an extensive ancient town.
+It was Meroë. Pressing on in a southerly direction between the 15th and
+16th degrees of N. lat., Cailliaud next identified the mouth of the
+Bahr-el-Abiad, or White Nile, visited the ruins of Saba, the mouth of
+the Rahad, the ancient Astosaba, Sennaar, the river Gologo, the Fazoele
+country, and the Toumat, a tributary of the Nile, finally reaching the
+Singue country between the two branches of the river. Cailliaud was the
+first explorer to penetrate from the north so near to the equator;
+Browne had turned back at 16 degrees 10 minutes, Bruce at 11 degrees.
+To Cailliaud and Letorzec we owe many observations on latitude and
+longitude, some valuable remarks on the variation of the magnetic
+needle, and details of the climate, temperature, and nature of the
+soil, together with a most interesting collection of animals and
+botanical specimens. Lastly, the travellers made plans of all the
+monuments beyond the second cataract.
+
+[Illustration: The Second Cataract of the Nile.]
+
+The two Frenchmen had preluded their discoveries by an excursion to the
+oasis of Siwâh. At the end of 1819 they left Fayum with a few
+companions, and entered the Libyan desert. In fifteen days, and after a
+brush with the Arabs, they reached Siwâh, having on their way taken
+measurements of every part of the temple of Jupiter Ammon, and
+determined, as Browne had done, its exact geographical position. A
+little later a military expedition was sent to this same oasis, in
+which Drovetti collected new and very valuable documents supplementing
+those obtained by Cailliaud and Letorzec. They afterwards visited
+successively the oasis of Falafre, never before explored by a European,
+that of Dakel, and Khargh, the chief place of the Theban oasis. The
+documents collected on this journey were sent to France, to the care of
+M. Jomard, who founded on them his work called "Voyage à l'Oasis de
+Siouah."
+
+[Illustration: Temple of Jupiter Ammon.]
+
+A few years later Edward Rüppell devoted seven or eight years to the
+exploration of Nubia, Sennaar, Kordofan, and Abyssinia in 1824, he
+ascended the White Nile for more than sixty leagues above its mouth.
+
+Lastly, in 1836 to 1838, Joseph Russegger, superintendent of the
+Austrian mines, visited the lower portion of the course of the
+Bahr-el-Abiad. This official journey was followed by the important and
+successful surveys afterwards made by order of Mehemet Ali in the same
+regions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+THE ORIENTAL SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT AND AMERICAN DISCOVERIES.
+
+The decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions, and the study of Assyrian
+remains up to 1840--Ancient Iran and the Avesta--The survey of India
+and the study of Hindustani--The exploration and measurement of the
+Himalaya mountains--The Arabian Peninsula--Syria and Palestine--Central
+Asia and Alexander von Humboldt--Pike at the sources of the
+Mississippi, Arkansas, and Red River--Major Long's two expeditions--
+General Cass--Schoolcraft at the sources of the Mississippi--The
+exploration of New Mexico--Archæological expeditions in Central
+America--Scientific expeditions in Brazil--Spix and Martin--Prince
+Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied--D'Orbigny and American man.
+
+
+Although the discoveries which we are now to relate are not strictly
+speaking geographical, they nevertheless throw such a new light on
+several early civilizations, and have done so much to extend the domain
+of history and ideas, that we are compelled to dedicate a few words to
+them.
+
+The reading of cuneiform inscriptions, and the decipherment of
+hieroglyphics are events so important in their results, they reveal to
+us so vast a number of facts hitherto unknown, or distorted in the more
+or less marvellous narratives of the ancient historians Diodorus,
+Ctesias, and Herodotus, that it is impossible to pass over scientific
+discoveries of such value in silence.
+
+Thanks to them, we form an intimate acquaintance with a whole world,
+with an extremely advanced civilization, with manners, habits, and
+customs differing essentially from our own. How strange it seems to
+hold in our hands the accounts of the steward of some great lord or
+governor of a province, or to read such romances as those of _Setna_
+and the _Two Brothers_, or stories such as that of the _Predestined
+Prince_.
+
+Those buildings of vast proportions, those superb temples, magnificent
+hypogæa, and sculptured obelisks, were once nothing more to us than
+sumptuous monuments, but now that the inscriptions upon them have been
+read, they relate to us the life of the kings who built them, and the
+circumstances of their erection.
+
+How many names of races not mentioned by Greek historians, how many
+towns now lost, how many of the smallest details of the religion, art,
+and daily life, as well as of the political and military events of the
+past, are revealed to us by the hieroglyphic and cuneiform
+inscriptions.
+
+Not only do we now see into the daily life of these ancient peoples, of
+whom we had formerly but a very superficial knowledge, but we get an
+idea even of their literature. The day is perhaps not far distant when
+we shall know as much of the life of the Egyptians in the eighteenth
+century before Christ as that of our forefathers in the seventeenth and
+eighteenth centuries of our own era.
+
+Carsten Niebuhr was the first to make and bring to Europe an exact and
+complete copy of inscriptions at Persepolis in an unknown character.
+Many attempts had been made to explain them, but all had been vain,
+until in 1802 Grotefend, the learned Hanoverian philologist, succeeded,
+by an inspiration of genius, in solving the mystery in which they were
+enveloped.
+
+Truly these cuneiform characters were strange and difficult to
+decipher! Imagine a collection of nails variously arranged, and forming
+groups horizontally placed. What did these groups signify? Did they
+represent sounds and articulations, or, like the letters of our
+alphabet, complete words? Had they the ideographic value of Chinese
+written characters? What was the language hidden in them? These were
+the problems to be solved! It appeared probable that the inscriptions
+brought from Persepolis were written in the language of the ancient
+Persians, but Rask, Bopp, and Lassen had not yet studied the Iranian
+idioms and proved their affinity with Sanskrit.
+
+It would be beyond our province to give an account of the ingenious
+deductions, the skilful guesses, and the patient groping through which
+Grotefend finally achieved the recognition of an alphabetic system of
+writing, and succeeded in separating from certain groups of words what
+he believed to be the names of Darius and Xerxes, thus attaining a
+knowledge of several letters, by means of which he made out other
+words. It is enough for us to say that the key was found by him, and to
+others was left the task of completing and perfecting his work.
+
+More than thirty years passed by, however, before any notable progress
+was made in these studies. It was our learned fellow-countryman Eugène
+Burnouf who gave them a decided impulse. Turning to account his
+knowledge of Sanskrit and Zend, he found that the language of the
+inscriptions of Persepolis was but a Zend dialect used in Bactriana,
+which was still spoken in the sixth century B.C., and in which the
+books of Zoroaster were written. Burnouf's pamphlet bears date 1836. At
+the same period Lassen, a German scholar of Bonn, came to the same
+conclusion on the same grounds.
+
+The inscriptions already discovered were soon all deciphered; and with
+the exception of a few signs, on the meaning of which scholars were not
+quite agreed, the entire alphabet became known. But the foundations
+alone were laid; the building was still far from finished. The
+Persepolitan inscriptions appeared to be repeated in three parallel
+columns. Might not this be a triple version of the same inscription in
+the three chief languages of the Achæmenian Empire, namely, the
+Persian, Median, and Assyrian or Babylonian. This guess proved correct;
+and owing to the decipherment of one of the inscriptions, a test was
+obtained, and the same plan was followed as that of Champollion with
+regard to the Rosetta stone, on which was the tri-lingual inscription
+in Greek, Demotic or Enchorial, and hieroglyphic characters.
+
+In the second and third inscriptions were recognized Syro-Chaldee,
+which, like Hebrew, Himyaric, and Arabic, belong to the Semitic group,
+and a third idiom, to which the name of Medic was given, resembling the
+dialects of the Turks and Tartars. But it would be presumptuous of us
+to enlarge upon these researches. That was to be the task of the Danish
+scholar Westergaard, of the Frenchmen De Saulcy and Oppert, and of the
+Englishmen Morris and Rawlinson, not to mention others less celebrated.
+We shall have to return to this subject later.
+
+The knowledge of Sanskrit, and the investigation of Brahmanic
+literature, had inaugurated a scientific movement which has gone on
+ever since with increasing energy.
+
+Long before Nineveh and Babylon were known as nations, a vast country,
+called Iran by orientalists, which included Persia, Afghanistan, and
+Beloochistan, was the scene of an advanced civilization, with which is
+connected the name of Zoroaster, who was at once a conqueror, a
+law-giver, and the founder of a religion. The disciples of Zoroaster,
+persecuted at the time of the Mohammedan conquest, and driven from
+their ancient home, where their mode of worship was still preserved,
+took refuge, under the name of Parsees, in the north-west of India.
+
+At the end of the last century, the Frenchman Aquetil Duperron brought
+to Europe an exact copy of the religious books of the Parsees, written
+in the language of Zoroaster. He translated them, and for sixty years
+all the _savants_ had found in them the source of all their religious
+and philological notions of Iran. These books are known under the name
+of the Zend-Avesta, a word which comprises the name of the language,
+_Zend_, and the title of the book, _Avesta_.
+
+As the knowledge of Sanskrit increased, however, that branch of science
+required to be studied afresh by the light of the new method. In 1826
+the Danish philologist Rask, and later Eugène Burnouf, with his
+profound knowledge of Sanskrit, and by the help of a translation in
+that language recently discovered in India, turned once more to the
+study of the Zend. In 1834 Burnouf published a masterly treatise on the
+Yacna, which marked an epoch. From the resemblance between the archaic
+Sanskrit and the Zend came the recognition of the common origin of the
+two languages, and the relationship, or rather, the identity, of the
+races who speak them. Originally the names of the deities, the
+traditions, the generic appellation, that of Aryan, of the two peoples,
+are the same, to say nothing of the similarity of their customs. But it
+is needless to dwell on the importance of this discovery, which has
+thrown an entirely new light on the infancy of the human race, of which
+for so many centuries nothing was known.
+
+From the close of the eighteenth century, that is to say from the time
+when the English first obtained a secure footing in India, the physical
+study of the country was vigorously carried on, outstripping of course
+for a time that of the ethnology and kindred subjects, which require
+for their prosecution a more settled country and less exciting times.
+It must be owned, however, that knowledge of the races of the country
+to be controlled is as essential to the government as it is to
+commercial enterprise; and in 1801 Lord Wellesley, as Governor for the
+Company, recognizing the importance of securing a good map of the
+English territories, commissioned Brigadier William Lambton, to
+connect, by means of a trigonometrical survey, the eastern and western
+banks of the Indus with the observatory of Madras. Lambton was not
+content with the mere accomplishment of this task. He laid down with
+precision one arc of the meridian from Cape Comorin to the village of
+Takoor-Kera, fifteen miles south-east of Ellichpoor. The amplitude of
+this arc exceeded twelve degrees. With the aid of competent officers,
+amongst whom we must mention Colonel Everest, the Government of India
+would have hailed the completion of the task of its engineers long
+before 1840, if the successive annexation of new territories had not
+constantly added to the extent of ground to be covered.
+
+At about the same time with this progress in our knowledge of the
+geography of India an impulse was given to the study of the literature
+of India.
+
+In 1776 an extract from the most important native codes, then for the
+first time translated under the title of the Code of the Gentoos[1] was
+published in London. Nine years later the Asiatic Society was founded
+in Calcutta by Sir William Jones, the first who thoroughly mastered the
+Sanskrit language. In "Asiatic Researches," published by this society,
+were collected the results of all scientific investigations relating to
+India. In 1789, Jones published his translation of the drama of
+S'akuntala, that charming specimen of Hindu literature, so full of
+feeling and refinement. Sanskrit grammars and dictionaries were now
+multiplied, and a regular rivalry was set on foot in British India,
+which would undoubtedly soon have spread to Europe, had not the
+continental blockade prevented the introduction of works published
+abroad. At this time an Englishman named Hamilton, a prisoner of war in
+Paris, studied the Oriental MSS. in the library of the French capital,
+and taught Frederick Schlegel the rudiments of Sanskrit, which it was
+no longer necessary to go to India to learn.
+
+[Footnote 1: Gentoo was the name given by old English writers to the
+natives of Hindustan, and is now obsolete, having been superseded by
+that of Hindoo.--_Trans._]
+
+Lassen was Schlegel's pupil, and together they studied the literature
+and antiquities of India, examining, translating, and publishing the
+original texts; whilst at the same time Franz Bopp devoted himself to
+the study of the language, making his grammars accessible to all, and
+coming to the conclusion which was then startling, although it is now
+generally accepted, of the common origin of the Indo-European
+languages.
+
+It was proved that the Vedas, that collection of sacred writings held
+in too universal veneration to be tampered with, were written in a very
+ancient and very pure idiom which had not been revived, and whose close
+resemblance with the Zend, put back the date of the composition of the
+books beyond the time of the separation of the Aryan family into two
+branches. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana, dating from the Brahminical
+or the period succeeding that of the Vedas, were next studied, together
+with the Puranas. Owing to a profounder knowledge of the language and a
+more intimate acquaintance with the mythology of the Hindus, scholars
+were able to fix approximately the date of the composition of these
+poems, to ascertain the numberless interpolations, and to extract
+everything of actual historical or geographical value from those
+marvellous allegories.
+
+The result of these patient and minute investigations was a conviction
+that the Celtic, Greek, Latin, Germanic, Slave, and Persian languages
+had one common parent, and that parent none other than Sanskrit. If,
+then, their language was the same, it followed as a matter of course
+that the people had been also identical. The differences now existing
+between these various idioms are accounted for by the successive
+breakings up of the primitive people, approximate dates enable us to
+realize the greater or less affinity of those languages with the
+Sanskrit, and the nature of the words which they have borrowed from it,
+words corresponding by their nature to the different degrees of advance
+in civilization.
+
+Moreover a very clear and definite notion was obtained of the kind of
+life led by the founders of the Indo-European race, and the changes
+brought about in it by the progress of civilization. The Vedas give us
+a picture of the Aryan race before it migrated to India, and occupied
+the Punjab and Cabulistan. By the aid of these poems we can look on at
+struggles against the primitive races of Hindustan; whose resistance
+was all the more desperate in that the conqueror, of their caste
+divisions, left them only the lowest and most degraded. Thanks to the
+Vedas we can realize every detail of the pastoral and patriarchal life
+of the Aryans, a life so domestic and unruffled, that we mentally ask
+ourselves whether the eager strife of the modern peoples is not a poor
+exchange for the peaceful existence which their few wants secured to
+their forefathers.
+
+We cannot dwell longer on this subject, but the little that we have
+said will be enough to show the reader the importance to history,
+ethnography, and philology, of the study of Sanskrit. For further
+details we refer him to the special works of Orientalists and to the
+excellent historical manuals of Robiou, Lenormant, and Maspero. All the
+scientific results of whatever kind obtained up to 1820 are also
+skilfully and impartially summed up in Walter Hamilton's large work, "A
+Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Description of Hindustan, and
+the neighbouring Countries." This is a book which, by recording the
+various stages of scientific progress, marks with accuracy the point
+reached at any given epoch.
+
+After this brief review of the labours of scholars in reference to the
+intellectual and social life of the Hindus, we must turn to those
+studies whose aim was a knowledge of the physical character of the
+country.
+
+One of the most surprising results obtained by the travels of Webb and
+Moorcroft was the extraordinary height attributed by them to the
+Himalaya mountains. According to them their elevation exceeded that of
+the loftiest summits of the Andes. Colonel Colebrook had estimated the
+average height of the chain at 22,000 feet, and even this would appear
+to be less than the reality. Webb measured Yamunavatri, one of the most
+remarkable peaks of the chain, and estimated its height above the level
+of the plateau from which it rises as 20,000 feet, whilst the plateau
+in its turn is 5000 feet above the plain. Not satisfied, however, with
+what he looked upon as too perfunctory an estimate, he measured, with
+all possible mathematical accuracy, the Dewalagiri or White Mountain,
+and ascertained its height to be no less than 27,500 feet.
+
+The most remarkable feature of the Himalaya chain is the succession of
+these mountains, the ranges of heights rising one above the other. This
+gives a far more vivid impression of their loftiness than would one
+isolated peak rising from a plain and with its head lost among the
+clouds.
+
+The calculations of Webb and Colebrook, were soon verified by the
+mathematical observations of Colonel Crawford, who measured eight of
+the highest peaks of the Himalayas. According to him the loftiest of
+all was Chumulari, situated near the frontiers of Bhoutan and Thibet,
+which attains to a height of 30,000 feet above the sea-level.
+
+Results such as these, confirmed by the agreement of so many observers,
+who could not surely all be wrong, took the scientific world by
+surprise. The chief objection urged was the fact that the snow-line
+must in these districts be something like 30,000 feet above the
+sea-level. It appeared, therefore, impossible to believe the assertion
+of all the explorers, that the Himalayas were covered with forests of
+gigantic pines. Finally, however, actual personal observation upset
+theory. In a second journey, Webb climbed the Niti-Ghaut, the loftiest
+peak in the world, the height of which he fixed at 16,814 feet, and not
+only did he find no snow, but even the rocks rising 300 feet above it
+were quite free from snow in summer. Moreover, the steep sides, where
+breathing was difficult, were clothed with magnificent forests of
+tapering pines, and firs, and wide-spreading cypress and cedar-trees.
+
+"The high limits of perpetual snow on the Himalaya mountains," says
+Desborough Cooley, "are justly ascribed by Mr. Webb to the great
+elevation of the table-land or terrace from which these mountain peaks
+spring. As the heat of our atmosphere is derived chiefly from the
+radiation of the earth's surface, it follows that the temperature of
+any elevated point must be modified in a very important degree by the
+proximity and extent of the surrounding plains. These observations seem
+satisfactorily to refute the objections made by certain savants
+respecting the great height of the Himalaya mountains, which may be,
+therefore, safely pronounced to be the loftiest mountain chain on the
+surface of the globe."
+
+We must now refer briefly to an expedition in the latitudes already
+visited by Webb and Moorcroft. The traveller Fraser, with neither the
+necessary instruments nor knowledge for measuring the lofty peaks he
+ascended, was endowed with a great power of observation, and his
+account of his journey is full of interest, and here and there very
+amusing. He visited the source of the Jumna, and, at a height of more
+than 25,000 feet, he found numerous villages picturesquely perched on
+slopes carpetted with snow. He then made his way to Gangoutri, in spite
+of the opposition of his guides, who represented the road thither as
+extremely dangerous, declaring that it was swept by a pestilential wind
+which would deprive any traveller, who ventured to expose himself to
+it, of his senses. The explorer, however, was more than rewarded for
+all his dangers and fatigues by the enjoyment he derived from the
+grandeur and magnificence of the views he obtained.
+
+[Illustration: "Villages picturesquely perched."]
+
+"There is that," says Desborough Cooley in reference to Fraser's
+journey, "in the appearance of the Himalaya range, which every person
+who has seen them will allow to be peculiarly their own. No other
+mountains that I have ever seen bear any resemblance to their
+character; their summits shoot in the most fantastic and spiring peaks
+to a height that astonishes, and, when viewed from an elevated
+situation, almost induce the belief of an ocular deception."
+
+We must now leave the peninsula of the Ganges for that of Arabia, where
+we have to record the result of several interesting journeys. That of
+Captain Sadler of the Indian army, claims the first rank. Sent by the
+Governor of Bombay in 1819, on an embassy to Ibrahim Pacha, who was
+then at war with the Wahabees, that officer crossed the entire
+peninsula from Port El Katif on the Persian Gulf to Yambo on the Red
+Sea.
+
+Unfortunately the interesting account of this crossing of Arabia, never
+before accomplished by a European, has not been separately published,
+but is buried in a book which it is almost impossible to obtain, "The
+Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay."
+
+At about the same time, 1821-1826, the English Government commissioned
+Captains Moresby and Haines, of the naval service, to make
+hydrographical surveys with a view to obtaining a complete chart of the
+coasts of Arabia. These surveys were to be the foundation of the first
+trustworthy map of the Arabian peninsula.
+
+We have now only to mention the two expeditions of the French
+naturalists, Aucher Eloy in the country of Oman, and Emile Botta in
+Yemen, and to refer to the labours in reference to the idioms and
+antiquities of Arabia of the French consul at Djedda, Fulgence Fresnel.
+He was the first, in his letters on the history of the Arabs before
+Islamism, published in 1836, to explain the Himyarite or Homeric
+language and to recognize that it resembles rather the early Hebrew and
+Syriac dialects, than the Arabic of the present day.
+
+At the beginning of this volume we spoke of the explorations and
+archæological and historical researches of Seetzen and Burckhardt in
+Syria and Palestine. We have still to say a few words on an expedition
+the results of which were entirely geographical. We refer to the
+journey of the Bavarian naturalist Heinrich Schubert.
+
+Schubert was a devout Catholic and an enthusiastic student, and the
+melancholy scenery of the Holy Land with its wonderful legends, and the
+lovely banks of the mysterious Nile with its historic memories, had for
+him an extraordinary fascination. In his account of his journey we find
+the deep impressions of the believer combined with the scientific
+observations of the naturalist.
+
+In 1837, Schubert, having crossed Lower Egypt and the peninsula of
+Sinai, entered the Holy Land. The learned Bavarian pilgrim was
+accompanied by two friends, Dr. Erdl and Martin Bernatz, a painter.
+
+The travellers landed at El Akabah on the Red Sea, and went with a
+small Arab caravan to El Khalil, the ancient Hebron. The route they
+followed had never before been trodden by a European. It led through a
+wide, flat valley terminating at the Dead Sea; a valley through which
+the waters of the Dead Sea were supposed at one time to have flowed
+towards the Red Sea. This hypothesis was shared by Burckhardt and many
+others who had only seen the district from a distance, and who
+attributed the cessation of the drainage to an upheaval of the soil.
+The heights, as taken by the travellers, showed this hypothesis to be
+altogether erroneous.
+
+In fact from the lower end of the Persian Gulf the country presents a
+continuous ascent for two or three days' march to the point called by
+the Arabs the Saddle, from thence it begins to sink and slopes down
+towards the Dead Sea. The Saddle is about 2100 feet above the
+sea-level, at least that was the estimate given a year later by Count
+Bertou, a Frenchman, who visited those localities at that time.
+
+On their way down to the Bituminous Lake, Schubert and his companions
+took some other barometrical observations, and were very much surprised
+to find their instrument marking ninety-one feet _below_ the Red Sea,
+the levels gradually decreasing in height as they advanced. At first
+they thought there must be some mistake, but finally, the evidence was
+too strong for them, and it became proved beyond a doubt that the Dead
+Sea could never have emptied its waters into the Red Sea for the very
+excellent reason that the level of the former is very much lower than
+that of the latter.
+
+The depression of the Dead Sea is very much more noticeable when
+Jericho is approached from Jerusalem. In that case the way lies through
+a long valley with a very rapid slope, all the more remarkable as the
+hilly plains of Judea, Peræ, and El Harran are very lofty, the latter
+rising to a height of nearly 3000 feet above the sea-level.
+
+The appearance of the country and the testimony of the instruments were
+in such contradiction to the prevalent belief, that Messrs. Erdl and
+Schubert were very unwilling to accept the results obtained, which they
+attributed to their barometer being out of order and to a sudden
+disturbance of the atmosphere. But on their way back to Jerusalem the
+barometer returned to the mean height it had registered before they
+started for Jericho. There was nothing for it then but to admit,
+whether they liked it or not, that the Dead Sea was at least 600 feet
+below the level of the Mediterranean, an estimate, as later researches
+showed, which fell one-half short of the truth.
+
+This, it will be admitted, was a fortunate rectification, which would
+have considerable influence, by calling the attention of _savants_ to a
+phenomenon which was soon to be verified by other explorers.
+
+At the same time, the survey of the basin of the Dead Sea was completed
+and rectified. In 1838, two American Missionaries, Edward Robinson and
+Eli Smith, gave quite a new impulse to Biblical geography. They were
+the forerunners of that phalanx of naturalists, historians,
+archæologists, and engineers, who, under the patronage or in
+conjunction with the English Exploration Society, were soon to explore
+the land of the patriarchs from end to end, making maps of it, and
+achieving discoveries which threw a new light on the history of the
+ancient peoples who, by turns, were possessors of this corner of the
+Mediterranean basin.
+
+But it was not only the Holy Land, so interesting on account of the
+many associations it has for every Christian, which was the scene of
+the researches of scholars and explorers; Asia Minor was also soon to
+yield up her treasures to the curiosity of the learned world. That
+country was visited by travellers in every direction. Parrot visited
+Armenia; Dubois de Monpereux traversed the Caucasus in 1839. In 1825
+and 1826, Eichwald explored the shores of the Caspian Sea; and lastly,
+Alexander von Humboldt at the expense of the generous Nicholas, Emperor
+of Russia, supplemented his intrepid work as a discoverer in the New
+World by an exploration of Western Asia and the Ural Mountains.
+Accompanied by the mineralogist Gustave Rose, the naturalist Ehrenberg,
+well known for his travels in Upper Egypt and Nubia, and Baron von
+Helmersen, an officer of engineers, Humboldt travelled through Siberia,
+visited the gold and platinum mines of the Ural Mountains, and explored
+the Caspian steppes and the Altai chain to the frontiers of China.
+These learned men divided the work, Humboldt taking astronomical,
+magnetic, and physical observations, and examining the flora and fauna
+of the country, while Rose kept the journal of the expedition, which he
+published in German between 1837 and 1842.
+
+Although the explorers travelled very rapidly, at the rate of no less
+than 11,500 miles in nine months, the scientific results of their
+journey were considerable. In a first publication which appeared in
+Paris in 1838, Humboldt treated only the climatology and geology of
+Asia, but this fragmentary account was succeeded in 1843 by his great
+work called "Central Asia." "In this," says La Roquette, "he has laid
+down and systematized the principal scientific results of his
+expedition in Asia, and has recorded some ingenious speculation as to
+the shape of the continents and the configuration of the mountains of
+Tartary, giving special attention to the vast depression which
+stretches from the north of Europe to the centre of Asia beyond the
+Caspian Sea and the Ural River."
+
+We must now leave Asia and pass in review the various expeditions in
+the New World, which have been sent out in succession since the
+beginning of the present century. In 1807, when Lewis and Clarke were
+crossing North America from the United States to the Pacific Ocean, the
+Government commissioned a young officer, Lieutenant Zabulon Montgomery
+Pike, to examine the sources of the Mississippi. He was at the same
+time to endeavour to open friendly relations with any Indians he might
+meet.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Missouri.]
+
+Pike was well received by the Chief of the powerful Sioux nation and
+presented with the pipe of peace, a talisman which secured to him the
+protection of the allied tribes; he ascended the Mississippi, passing
+the mouths of the Chippeway and St. Peter, important tributaries of
+that great river. But beyond the confluence of the St. Peter with the
+Mississippi as far as the Falls of St. Anthony, the course of the main
+river is impeded by an uninterrupted series of falls and rapids. A
+little below the 45th parallel of North latitude, Pike and his
+companions had to leave their canoes and continue their journey in
+sledges. To the severity of a bitter winter were soon added the
+tortures of hunger. Nothing, however, checked the intrepid explorers,
+who continued to follow the Mississippi, now dwindled down to a stream
+only 300 roods wide, and arrived in February at Leech Lake, where they
+were received with enthusiasm at the camp of some trappers and fur
+hunters from Montreal.
+
+[Illustration: Circassians. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+After visiting Red Cedar Lake, Pike returned to St. Louis. His arduous
+and perilous journey had extended over no less than nine months; and
+although he had not attained its main object, it was not without
+scientific results. The skill, presence of mind, and courage of Pike
+were recognized, and the government soon afterwards conferred on him
+the rank of major, and appointed him to the command of a fresh
+expedition. This time he was to explore the vast tract of country
+between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, and to discover the
+sources of the Arkansas and Red River. With twenty-three companions
+Pike ascended the Arkansas, a fine river navigable to the mountains in
+which it rises, that is to say for a distance of 2000 miles, except in
+the summer, when its bed is encumbered with sand-banks. On this long
+voyage, winter, from which Pike had suffered so much on his previous
+trip, set in with redoubled vigour. Game was so scarce that for four
+days the explorers were without food. The feet of several men were
+frostbitten, and this misfortune added to the fatigue of the others.
+The major, after reaching the source of the Arkansas, pursued a
+southerly direction and soon came to a fine stream which he took for
+the Red River.
+
+This was the Rio del Norte, which rises in Colorado, then a Spanish
+province, and flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
+
+From what has been already said of the difficulties which Humboldt
+encountered before he obtained permission to enter the Spanish
+possessions in America, we may judge with what jealous suspicion the
+arrival of strangers in Colorado was regarded. Pike was surrounded by a
+detachment of Spanish soldiers, made prisoner with all his men, and
+taken to Santa Fé. Their ragged garments, emaciated forms, and
+generally miserable appearance did not speak much in their favour, and
+the Spaniards at first took the Americans for savages. However, when
+the mistake was recognized, they were escorted across the inland
+provinces to Louisiana, arriving at Natchitoches on the 1st July, 1807.
+
+The unfortunate end of this expedition cooled the zeal of the
+government, but not that of private persons, merchants, and hunters,
+whose numbers were continually on the increase. Many even completely
+crossed the American continent from Canada to the Pacific. Amongst
+these travellers we must mention Daniel William Harmon, a member of the
+North-West Company, who visited Lakes Huron and Superior, Rainy Lake,
+the Lake of the Woods, Manitoba, Winnipeg, Athabasca, and the Great
+Bear Lake, all between N. lat. 47 degrees and 58 degrees, and reached
+the shores of the Pacific. The fur company established at Astoria at
+the mouth of the Columbia also did much towards the exploration of the
+Rocky Mountains.
+
+Four associates of that company, leaving Astoria in June, 1812,
+ascended the Columbia, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and following an
+east-south-east direction, reached one of the sources of the Platte,
+descended it to its junction with the Missouri, crossed a district
+never before explored, and arrived at St. Louis on the 30th May, 1813.
+
+In 1811, another expedition composed of sixty men, started from St.
+Louis and ascended the Missouri as far as the settlements of the Ricara
+Indians, whence they made their way to Astoria, arriving there at the
+beginning of 1812, after the loss of several men and great suffering
+from fatigue and want of food.
+
+These journeys resulted not only in the increase of our knowledge of
+the topography of the districts traversed, but they also brought about
+quite unexpected discoveries. In the Ohio valley between Illinois and
+Mexico for instance, were found ruins, fortifications, and
+entrenchments, with ditches and a kind of bastion, many of them
+covering five or six acres of ground. What people can have constructed
+works such as these, which denote a civilization greatly in advance of
+that of the Indians, is a difficult problem of which no solution has
+yet been found.
+
+Philologists and historians were already regretting the dying out of
+the Indian tribes, who, until then, had been only superficially
+observed, and lamenting their extinction before their languages had
+been studied. A knowledge of these languages and their comparison with
+those of the old world, might have thrown some unexpected light upon
+the origin of the wandering tribes.[2]
+
+[Footnote 2: The author has evidently not seen Bancroft's "Native Races
+of the Pacific," an exhaustive work in five volumes, published at New
+York and San Francisco a few years ago, and which embodies the
+researches of a number of gentlemen, who collected their information on
+the spot, and whose contributions to our knowledge of the past and
+present life of the Indians should certainly not be ignored.--_Trans._]
+
+Simultaneously with the discovery of the ruins the flora and geology of
+the country began to be studied, and in the latter science great
+surprises were in store for future explorers. It was so important for
+the American government to proceed rapidly to reconnoitre the vast
+territories between the United States and the Pacific, that another
+expedition was speedily sent out.
+
+In 1819, the military authorities commissioned Major Long to explore
+the districts between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, to trace
+the course of the Missouri and of its principal tributaries, to fix the
+latitude and longitude of the chief places, to study the ways of the
+Indian tribes, in fact to describe everything interesting either in the
+aspect of the country or in its animal, vegetable, and mineral
+productions.
+
+Leaving Pittsburgh on the 5th March, 1819, on board the steamship
+_Western Engineer_, the expedition arrived in May of the following year
+at the junction of the Ohio with the Mississippi, and ascended the
+latter river as far as St. Louis. On the 29th June, the mouth of the
+Missouri was reached. During the month of July, Mr. Say, who was
+charged with the zoological observations, made his way by land to Fort
+Osage, where he was joined by the steamer. Major Long turned his stay
+at Fort Osage to account by sending a party to examine the districts
+between the Kansas and the Platte, but this party was attacked, robbed,
+and compelled to turn back after losing all their horses. After
+obtaining at Cow Island a reinforcement of fifteen soldiers, the
+expedition reached Fort Lisa, near Council Bluff, on the 19th
+September. There it was decided to winter. The Americans suffered
+greatly from scurvy, and having no medicines to check the terrible
+disorder, they lost 100 men, nearly a third of the whole party. Major
+Long, who had meanwhile reached Washington in a canoe, brought back
+orders for the discontinuation of the voyage up the Missouri, and for a
+journey overland to the sources of the Platte, whence the Mississippi
+was to be reached by way of the Arkansas and Red River. On the 6th
+June, the explorers left Engineer's Fort, as they called their winter
+quarters, and ascended the Platte Valley for more than a hundred miles,
+its grassy plains, frequented by vast herds of bisons and deer,
+supplying them with plenty of provisions.
+
+Those boundless prairies, whose monotony is unbroken by a single
+hillock, were succeeded by a sandy desert gradually sloping up, for a
+distance of nearly four hundred miles, to the Rocky Mountains. This
+desert, broken by precipitous ravines, _cañons_, and gorges, at the
+bottom of which gurgles some insignificant stream, its banks clothed
+with stunted and meagre vegetation, produces nothing but cacti with
+sharp and formidable prickles.
+
+On the 6th July, the expedition reached the foot of the Rocky
+Mountains. Dr. James scaled one of the peaks, to which he gave his own
+name, and which rises to a height of 11,500 feet above the sea level.
+
+"From the summit of the peak," says the botanist, "the view towards the
+north, west, and south-west, is diversified with innumerable mountains
+all white with snow, and on some of the more distant it appears to
+extend down to their bases. Immediately under our feet on the west, lay
+the narrow valley of the Arkansas; which we could trace running towards
+the north-west, probably more than sixty miles. On the north side of
+the peak was an immense mass of snow and ice.... To the east lay the
+great plain, rising as it receded, until, in the distant horizon, it
+appeared to mingle with the sky."
+
+Here the expedition was divided into two parties, one, under the
+command of Major Long, to make its way to the sources of the Red River,
+the other, under Captain Bell, to go down the Arkansas as far as Port
+Smith. The two detachments separated on the 24th July. The former,
+misled by the statements of the Kaskaia Indians and the inaccuracy of
+the maps, took the Canadian for the Red River, and did not discover
+their mistake until they reached its junction with the Arkansas. The
+Kaskaias were the most miserable of savages, but intrepid horsemen,
+excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs which are descendants of the
+horses imported into Mexico by the Spanish conquerors. The second
+detachment was deserted by four soldiers, who carried off the journals
+of Say and Lieutenant Swift with a number of other valuable effects.
+Both parties also suffered from want of provisions in the sandy
+deserts, whose streams yield nothing but brackish and muddy water. The
+expedition brought to Washington sixty skins of wild animals, several
+thousands of insects, including five hundred new species, four or five
+hundred specimens of hitherto unknown plants, numerous views of the
+scenery, and the materials for a map of the districts traversed.
+
+[Illustration: "Excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs."]
+
+The command of another expedition was given in 1828 to Major Long,
+whose services were thoroughly appreciated. Leaving Philadelphia in
+April, he embarked on the Ohio, and crossed the state of the same name,
+and those of Indiana and Illinois. Having reached the Mississippi, he
+ascended that river to the mouth of the St. Peter, formerly visited by
+Carver, and later by Baron La Hontan. Long followed the St. Peter to
+its source, passing Crooked Lake and reaching Lake Winnipeg, whence he
+explored the river of the same name, obtained a sight of the Lake of
+the Woods and Rainy Lake, and arrived at the plateau which separates
+the Hudson's Bay valley from that of the St. Lawrence. Lastly, he went
+to Lake Superior by way of Cold Water Lake and Dog River.
+
+Although all these districts had been constantly traversed by Canadian
+pathfinders, trappers, and hunters for many years previously, it was
+the first time an official expedition had visited them with a view to
+the laying down of a map. The explorers were struck with the beauty of
+the neighbourhood watered by the Winnipeg. That river, whose course is
+frequently broken by picturesque rapids and waterfalls, flows between
+two perpendicular granite walls crowned with verdure. The beauty of the
+scenery, succeeding as it did to the monotony of the plains and
+savannahs they had previously traversed, filled the explorers with
+admiration.
+
+The exploration of the Mississippi, which had been neglected since
+Pike's expedition, was resumed in 1820 by General Cass, Governor of
+Michigan. Leaving Detroit at the end of May with twenty men trained to
+the work of pathfinders, he reached the Upper Mississippi, after
+visiting Lakes Huron, Superior, and Sandy. His exhausted escort halted
+to rest whilst he continued the examination of the river in a canoe.
+For 150 miles the course of the Mississippi is rapid and uninterrupted,
+but beyond that distance begins a series of rapids extending over
+twelve miles to the Peckgama Falls.
+
+Above this cataract the stream, now far less rapid, winds through vast
+savannahs to Leech Lake. Having reached Lake Winnipeg, Cass arrived on
+the 21st July at a new lake, to which he gave his own name, but he did
+not care to push on further with his small party of men and inadequate
+supply of provisions and ammunition.
+
+The source of the Mississippi had been approached, but not reached. The
+general opinion was that the river took its rise in a small sheet of
+water known as Deer Lake, sixty miles from Cass Lake. Not until 1832,
+however, when General Cass was Secretary of State for war, was this
+important problem solved.
+
+The command of an expedition was then given to a traveller named
+Schoolcraft, who had in the previous year explored the Chippeway
+country, north-west of Lake Superior. His party consisted of six
+soldiers, an officer qualified to conduct hydrographic surveys, a
+surgeon, a geologist, an interpreter, and a missionary.
+
+Schoolcraft left St. Marie on the 7th June, 1832, visited the tribes
+living about Lake Superior, and was soon on the St. Louis river. He was
+then 150 miles from the Mississippi, and was told that it would take
+him no less than ten days to reach the great river, on account of the
+rapids and shallows. On the 3rd July, the expedition reached the
+factory of a trader named Aitkin, on the banks of the river, and there
+celebrated on the following day the anniversary of the independence of
+the United States.
+
+Two days later Schoolcraft found himself opposite the Peckgama Falls,
+and encamped at Oak Point. Here the river winds a great deal amongst
+savannahs, but guides led the party by paths which greatly shortened
+the distance. Lake Winnipeg was then crossed, and on the 10th July,
+Schoolcraft arrived at Lake Cass, the furthest point reached by his
+predecessors.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the sources of the Mississippi, 1836.]
+
+A party of Chippeway Indians led the explorers to their settlement on
+an island in the river. The friendliness of the natives led Cass to
+leave part of his escort with them, and, accompanied by Lieutenant
+Allen, the surgeon Houghton, a missionary, and several Indians, he
+started in a canoe.
+
+Lakes Tasodiac and Crooked were visited in turn. A little beyond the
+latter, the Mississippi divides into two branches or forks. The guide
+took Schoolcraft up the eastern, and after crossing Lakes Marquette, La
+Salle, and Kubbakanna, he came to the mouth of the Naiwa, the chief
+tributary of this branch of the Mississippi. Finally, after passing the
+little lake called Usawa, the expedition reached Lake Itasca, whence
+issues the Itascan, or western branch of the Mississippi.
+
+Lake Itasca, or Deer Lake, as the French call it, is only seven or
+eight miles in extent, and is surrounded by hills clothed with dark
+pine woods. According to Schoolcraft it is some 1500 feet above the sea
+level; but we must not attach too much importance to this estimate, as
+the leader of the expedition had no instruments.
+
+On their way back to Lake Cass, the party followed the western branch,
+identifying its chief tributaries. Schoolcraft then studied the ways of
+the Indians frequenting these districts, and made treaties with them.
+
+To sum up, the aim of the government was achieved, and the Mississippi
+had been explored from its mouth to its source. The expedition had
+collected a vast number of interesting details on the manners, customs,
+history, and language of the people, as well as numerous new or little
+known species of flora and fauna.
+
+The people of the United States were not content with these official
+expeditions, and numbers of trappers threw themselves into the new
+districts. Most of them being however absolutely illiterate, they could
+not turn their discoveries to scientific account. But this was not the
+case with James Pattie, who has published an account of his romantic
+adventures and perilous trips in the district between New Mexico and
+New California.
+
+On his way down the River Gila to its mouth, Pattie visited races then
+all but unknown, including the Yotans, Eiotaws, Papawans, Mokees,
+Umeas, Mohawas, and Nabahoes, with whom but very little intercourse had
+yet been held. On the banks of the Rio Eiotario he discovered ruins of
+ancient monuments, stone walls, moats, and potteries, and in the
+neighbouring mountains he found copper, lead, and silver mines.
+
+We owe a curious travelling journal also to Doctor Willard, who, during
+a stay of three years in Mexico, explored the Rio del Norte from its
+source to its mouth.
+
+Lastly, in 1831 Captain Wyeth and his brother explored Oregon, and the
+neighbouring districts of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+After Humboldt's journey in Mexico, one explorer succeeded another in
+Central America. In 1787, Bernasconi discovered the now famous ruins of
+Palenque. In 1822, Antonio del Rio gave a detailed description of them,
+illustrated with drawings by Frederick Waldeck, the future explorer of
+Palenque, that city of the dead.
+
+Between 1805 and 1807, three journeys were successively taken in the
+province of Chiapa and to Palenque by Captain William Dupaix and the
+draughtsman Castañeda, and the result of their researches appeared in
+1830 in the form of a magnificent work, with illustrations by Augustine
+Aglio, executed at the expense of Lord Kingsborough.
+
+Lastly, Waldeck spent the years 1832 and 1833 at Palenque, searching
+the ruins, making plans, sections, and elevations of the monuments,
+trying to decipher the hitherto unexplained hieroglyphics with which
+they are covered, and collecting a vast amount of quite new information
+alike on the natural history of the country and the manners and customs
+of the inhabitants.
+
+We must also name Don Juan Galindo, a Spanish colonel, who explored
+Palenque, Utatlan, Copan, and other cities buried in the heart of
+tropical forests.
+
+[Illustration: View of the Pyramid of Xochicalco. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+After the long stay made by Humboldt in equinoctial America, the
+impulse his explorations would doubtless otherwise have given to
+geographical science was strangely checked by the struggle of the
+Spanish colonies with the mother country. As soon, however, as the
+native governments attained to at least a semblance of stability,
+intrepid explorers rushed to examine this world, so new in the truest
+sense, for the jealousy of the Spanish had hitherto kept it closed to
+the investigations of scientific men.
+
+Many naturalists and engineers now travelled or settled in South
+America. Soon indeed, that is in 1817-1820, the Austrian and Bavarian
+Governments sent out a scientific expedition, to the command of which
+they appointed Doctors Spix and Martins, who collected a great deal of
+information on the botany, ethnography, and geography of these hitherto
+little known districts--Martins publishing, at the expense of the
+Austrian and Bavarian governments, a most important work on the flora
+of the country, which may be looked upon as a model of its kind.
+
+At the same time the editors of special publications, such as Malte
+Brun's _Annales des Voyages_ and the _Bulletin de la Société de
+Géographie_, cordially accepted and published all the communications
+addressed to them, including many on Brazil and the province of Minas
+Geraës.
+
+About this period too a Prussian Major-General, the Prince of
+Wied-Neuwied, who had been at leisure since the peace of 1815, devoted
+himself to the study of natural science, geography, and history,
+undertaking moreover, in company with the naturalists Freirciss and
+Sellow, an exploring expedition in the interior of Brazil, having
+special reference to its flora and fauna.
+
+A few years later, i.e. in 1836, the French naturalist Alcide
+d'Orbigny, who had won celebrity at a very early age, was appointed by
+the governing body of the Museum to the command of an expedition to
+South America, the special object of which was the study of the natural
+history of the country. For eight consecutive years D'Orbigny wandered
+about Brazil, Uruguay, the Argentine Republic, Patagonia, Chili,
+Bolivia, and Peru.
+
+"Such a journey," says Dumour in his funeral oration on D'Orbigny, "in
+countries so different in their productions, climate, the character of
+their soil, and the manners and customs of their inhabitants, was
+necessarily full of ever fresh perils. D'Orbigny, endowed with a strong
+constitution and untiring energy, overcame obstacles which would have
+daunted most travellers. On his arrival in the cold regions of
+Patagonia, amongst savage races constantly at war with each other, he
+found himself compelled to take part, and to fight in the ranks of a
+tribe which had received him hospitably. Fortunately for the intrepid
+student his side was victorious, and he was left free to proceed on his
+journey."
+
+It took thirteen years of the hardest work to put together the results
+of D'Orbigny's extensive researches. His book, which embraces nearly
+every branch of science, leaves far behind it all that had ever before
+been published on South America. History, archæology, zoology, and
+botany all hold honoured positions in it; but the most important part
+of this encyclopædic work is that relating to American man. In it the
+author embodies all the documents he himself collected, and analyzes
+and criticizes those which came to him at second hand, on physiological
+types, and on the manners, languages, and religions of South America. A
+work of such value ought to immortalize the name of the French scholar,
+and reflect the greatest honour on the nation which gave him birth.
+
+
+END OF THE FIRST PART.
+
+
+
+
+PART II.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD, AND POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
+
+The Russian fur trade--Kruzenstern appointed to the command of an
+expedition--Noukha-Hiva--Nangasaki--Reconnaisance of the coast of
+Japan--Yezo--The Ainos--Saghalien--Return to Europe--Otto von
+Kotzebue--Stay at Easter Island--Penrhyn--The Radak Archipelago--Return
+to Russia--Changes at Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands--Beechey's
+Voyage--Easter Island--Pitcairn and the mutineers of the _Bounty_--The
+Paumoto Islands--Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands--The Bonin
+Islands--Lütke--The Quebradas of Valparaiso--Holy week in Chili--New
+Archangel--The Kaloches--Ounalashka--The Caroline Archipelago--The
+canoes of the Caroline Islanders--Guam, a desert island--Beauty and
+happy situation of the Bonin Islands--The Tchouktchees: their manners
+and their conjurors--Return to Russia.
+
+
+At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Russians for the first
+time took part in voyages round the world, Until that time their
+explorations had been almost entirely confined to Asia, and their only
+mariners of note were Behring, Tchirikoff, Spangberg, Laxman,
+Krenitzin, and Saryscheff. The last-named took an important part in the
+voyage of the Englishman Billings, a voyage by the way which was far
+from achieving all that might have been fairly expected from the ten
+years it occupied and the vast sums it cost.
+
+Adam John von Kruzenstern was the first Russian to whom is due the
+honour of having made a voyage round the world under government
+auspices and with a scientific purpose.
+
+Born in 1770, Kruzenstern entered the English navy in 1793. After six
+years' training in the stern school which then numbered amongst its
+leaders the most skilful sailors of the world, he returned to his
+native land with a profound knowledge of his profession, and with his
+ideas of the part Russia might play in Eastern Asia very considerably
+widened.
+
+During a stay of two years at Canton, in 1798 and 1799, Kruzenstern had
+been witness of the extraordinary results achieved by some English fur
+traders, who brought their merchandise from the northwest coasts of
+Russian America. This trade had not come into existence until after
+Cook's third voyage, and the English had already realized immense sums,
+at the cost of the Russians, who had hitherto sent their furs to the
+Chinese markets overland.
+
+In 1785, however, a Russian named Chelikoff founded a fur-trading
+colony on Kodiak Island, at about an equal distance from Kamtchatka and
+the Aleutian Islands, which rapidly became a flourishing community. The
+Russian government now recognized the resources of districts it had
+hitherto considered barren, and reinforcements, provisions, and stores
+were sent to Kamtchatka via Siberia.
+
+Kruzenstern quickly realized how inadequate to the new state of things
+was help such as this, the ignorance of the pilots and the errors in
+the maps leading to the loss of several vessels every year, not to
+speak of the injury to trade involved in a two years' voyage for the
+transport of furs, first to Okhotsk, and thence to Kiakhta.
+
+As the best plans are always the simplest they are sure to be the last
+to be thought of, and Kruzenstern was the first to point out the
+imperative necessity of going direct by sea from the Aleutian Islands
+to Canton, the most frequented market.
+
+On his return to Russia, Kruzenstern tried to win over to his views
+Count Kuscheleff, the Minister of Marine, but the answer he received
+destroyed all hope. Not until the accession of Alexander I., when
+Admiral Mordinoff became head of the naval department, did he receive
+any encouragement.
+
+Acting on Count Romanoff's advice, the Russian Emperor soon
+commissioned Kruzenstern to carry out the plan he had himself proposed;
+and on the 7th August, 1802, he was appointed to the command of two
+vessels for the exploration of the north-west coast of America.
+
+Although the leader of the expedition was named, the officers and
+seamen were still to be selected, and the vessels to be manned were not
+to be had in either the Russian empire or at Hamburg. In London alone
+were Lisianskoï, afterwards second in command to Kruzenstern, and the
+builder Kasoumoff, able to obtain two vessels at all suitable to the
+service in which they were to be employed. These two vessels received
+the names of the _Nadiejeda_ and the _Neva_.
+
+In the meantime, the Russian government decided to avail itself of this
+opportunity to send M. de Besanoff to Japan as ambassador, with a
+numerous suite, and magnificent presents for the sovereign of the
+country.
+
+On the 4th August, 1803, the two vessels, completely equipped, and
+carrying 134 persons, left the roadstead of Cronstadt. Flying visits
+were paid to Copenhagen and Falmouth, with a view to replacing some of
+the salt provisions bought at Hamburg, and to caulk the _Nadiejeda_,
+the seams of which had started in a violent storm encountered in the
+North Sea.
+
+After a short stay at the Canary Islands, Kruzenstern hunted in vain,
+as La Pérouse had done before him, for the Island of Ascension, as to
+the existence of which opinion had been divided for some three hundred
+years. He then rounded Cape Frio, the position of which he was unable
+exactly to determine although he was most anxious to do so, the
+accounts of earlier travellers and the maps hitherto laid down varying
+from 23 degrees 6 minutes to 22 degrees 34 minutes. A reconnaissance of
+the coast of Brazil was succeeded by a sail through the passage between
+the islands of Gal and Alvaredo, unjustly characterized as dangerous by
+La Pérouse, and on the 21st December, 1803, St. Catherine was reached.
+
+The necessity for replacing the main and mizzen masts of the _Neva_
+detained Kruzenstern for five weeks on this island, where he was most
+cordially received by the Portuguese authorities.
+
+On the 4th February, the two vessels were able to resume their voyage,
+prepared to face all the dangers of the South Sea, and to double Cape
+Horn, that bugbear of all navigators. As far as Staten Island the
+weather was uniformly fine, but beyond it the explorers had to contend
+with extremely violent gales, storms of hail and snow, dense fogs, huge
+waves, and a swell in which the vessels laboured heavily. On the 24th
+March, the ships lost sight of each other in a dense fog a little above
+the western entrance to the Straits of Magellan. They did not meet
+again until both reached Noukha-Hiva.
+
+Kruzenstern having given up all idea of touching at Easter Island, now
+made for the Marquesas, or Mendoza Archipelago, and determined the
+position of Fatongou and Udhugu Islands, called Washington by the
+American Captain Ingraham, who discovered them in 1791, a few weeks
+before Captain Marchand, who named them Revolution Islands. Kruzenstern
+also saw Hiva-Hoa, the Dominica of Mendaña, and at Noukha-Hiva met an
+Englishman named Roberts, and a Frenchman named Cabritt, whose
+knowledge of the language was of great service to him.
+
+The incidents of the stay in the Marquesas Archipelago are of little
+interest, they were much the same as those related in Cook's Voyages.
+The total, but at the same time utterly unconscious immodesty of the
+women, the extensive agricultural knowledge of the natives, and their
+greed of iron instruments, are commented upon in both narratives.
+
+Nothing is noticed in the later which is not to be found in the earlier
+narrative, if we except some remarks on the existence of numerous
+societies of which the king or his relations, priests, or celebrated
+warriors, are the chiefs, and the aim of which is the providing of the
+people with food in times of scarcity. In our opinion these societies
+resemble the clans of Scotland or the Indian tribes of America.
+Kruzenstern, however, does not agree with us, as the following
+quotation will show.
+
+"The members of these clubs are distinguished by different tattooed
+marks upon their bodies; those of the king's club, consisting of
+twenty-six members, have a square one on their breasts about six inches
+long and four wide, and to this company Roberts belonged. The
+companions of the Frenchman, Joseph Cabritt, were marked with a
+tattooed eye, &c. Roberts assured me that he never would have entered
+this association, had he not been driven to it by extreme hunger. There
+was an apparent want of consistency in this dislike, as the members of
+these companies are not only relieved from all care as to their
+subsistence, but, even by his own account, the admittance into them is
+a distinction that many seek to obtain. I am therefore inclined to
+believe that it must be attended with the loss of some part of
+liberty."
+
+A reconnaissance of the neighbourhood of Anna Maria led to the
+discovery of Port Tchitchagoff, which, though the entrance is
+difficult, is so shut in by land that its waters are unruffled by the
+most violent storm.
+
+At the time of Kruzenstern's visit to Noukha-Hiva, cannibalism was
+still largely practised, but the traveller had no tangible proof of the
+prevalence of the custom. In fact Kruzenstern was very affably received
+by the king of the cannibals, who appeared to exercise but little
+authority over his people, a race addicted to the most revolting vices,
+and our hero owns that but for the intelligent and disinterested
+testimony of the two Europeans mentioned above he should have carried
+away a very favourable opinion of the natives.
+
+"In their intercourse with us," he says, "they always showed the best
+possible disposition, and in bartering an extraordinary degree of
+honesty, always delivering their cocoa-nuts before they received the
+piece of iron that was to be paid for them. At all times they appeared
+ready to assist in cutting wood and filling water; and the help they
+afforded us in the performance of these laborious tasks was by no means
+trifling. Theft, the crime so common to all the islanders of this
+ocean, we very seldom met with among them; they always appeared
+cheerful and happy, and the greatest good humour was depicted in their
+countenances.... The two Europeans whom we found here, and who had both
+resided with them several years, agreed in their assertions that the
+natives of Nukahiva were a cruel, intractable people, and, without even
+the exceptions of the female sex, very much addicted to cannibalism;
+that the appearance of content and good-humour, with which they had so
+much deceived us, was not their true character; and that nothing but
+the fear of punishment and the hopes of reward, deterred them from
+giving a loose to their savage passions. These Europeans described, as
+eye-witnesses, the barbarous scenes that are acted, particularly in
+times of war--the desperate rage with which they fall upon their
+victims, immediately tear off their head, and sip their blood out of
+the skull,[1] with the most disgusting readiness, completing in this
+manner their horrible repast. For a long time I would not give credit
+to these accounts, considering them as exaggerated; but they rest upon
+the authority of two different persons, who had not only been witnesses
+for several years to these atrocities, but had also borne a share in
+them: of two persons who lived in a state of mortal enmity, and took
+particular pains by their mutual recriminations to obtain with us
+credit for themselves, but yet on this point never contradicted each
+other. The very fact of Roberts doing his enemy the justice to allow,
+that he never devoured his prey, but always exchanged it for hogs,
+gives the circumstance a great degree of probability, and these reports
+concur with several appearances we remarked during our stay here,
+skulls being brought to us every day for sale. Their weapons are
+invariably adorned with human hair, and human bones are used as
+ornaments in almost all their household furniture; they also often gave
+us to understand by pantomimic gestures that human flesh was regarded
+by them as a delicacy."
+
+[Footnote 1: "All the skulls which we purchased of them," says
+Kruzenstern, "had a hole perforated through one end of them for this
+purpose."]
+
+There are grounds for looking upon this account as exaggerated. The
+truth, probably, lies between the dogmatic assertions of Cook and
+Forster and those of the two Europeans of Kruzenstern's time, one of
+whom at least was not much to be relied upon, as he was a deserter.
+
+And we must remember that we ourselves did not attain to the high state
+of civilization we now enjoy without climbing up from the bottom of the
+ladder. In the stone age our manners were probably not superior to
+those of the natives of Oceania.
+
+We must not, therefore, blame these representatives of humanity for not
+having risen higher. They have never been a nation. Scattered as their
+homes are on the wide ocean, and divided as they are into small tribes,
+without agricultural or mineral resources, without connexions, and with
+a climate which makes them strangers to want, they could but remain
+stationary or cultivate none but the most rudimentary arts and
+industries. Yet in spite of all this, how often have their instruments,
+their canoes, and their nets, excited the admiration of travellers.
+
+On the 18th May, 1804, the _Nadiejeda_ and the _Neva_ left Noukha-Hiva
+for the Sandwich Islands, where Kruzenstern had decided to stop and lay
+in a store of fresh provisions, which he had been unable to do at his
+last anchorage, where seven pigs were all he could get.
+
+This plan fell through, however. The natives of Owhyhee, or Hawaii,
+brought but a very few provisions to the vessels lying off their
+south-west coast, and even these they would only exchange for cloth,
+which Kruzenstern could not give them. He therefore set sail for
+Kamtchatka and Japan, leaving the _Neva_ off the island of Karakakoua,
+where Captain Lisianskoï relied upon being able to revictual.
+
+[Illustration: New Zealanders. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+On the 11th July, the _Nadiejeda_ arrived off Petropaulovski, the
+capital of Kamtchatka, where the crew obtained the rest and fresh
+provisions they had so well earned. On the 30th August, the Russians
+put to sea again.
+
+Overtaken by thick fogs and violent storms, Kruzenstern now hunted in
+vain for some islands marked on a map found on a Spanish gallion
+captured by Anson, and the existence of which had been alternately
+accepted and rejected by different cartographers, though they appear in
+La Billardière's map of his voyage.
+
+The navigator now passed between the large island of Kiushiu and
+Tanega-Sima, by way of Van Diemen Strait, till then very inaccurately
+defined, rectified the position of the Liu-Kiu archipelago, which the
+English had placed north of the strait, and the French too far south,
+and sailed down, surveyed and named the coast of the province of
+Satsuma.
+
+"This part of Satsuma," says Kruzenstern, "is particularly beautiful:
+and as we sailed along at a very trifling distance from the land, we
+had a distinct and perfect view of the various picturesque situations
+that rapidly succeed each other. The whole country consists of high
+pointed hills, at one time appearing in the form of pyramids, at others
+of a globular or conical form, and seeming as it were under the
+protection of some neighbouring mountain, such as Peak Homer, or
+another lying north-by-west of it, and even a third farther inland.
+Liberal as nature has been in the adornment of these parts, the
+industry of the Japanese seems not a little to have contributed to
+their beauty; for nothing indeed can equal the extraordinary degree of
+cultivation everywhere apparent. That all the valleys upon this coast
+should be most carefully cultivated would not so much have surprised
+us, as in the countries of Europe, where agriculture is not despised,
+it is seldom that any piece of land is left neglected; but we here saw
+not only the mountains even to their summits, but the very tops of the
+rocks which skirted the edge of the coast, adorned with the most
+beautiful fields and plantations, forming a striking as well as
+singular contrast, by the opposition of their dark grey and blue colour
+to that of the most lively verdure. Another object that excited our
+astonishment was an alley of high trees, stretching over hill and dale
+along the coast, as far as the eye could reach, with arbours at certain
+distances, probably for the weary traveller--for whom these alleys must
+have been constructed,--to rest himself in, an attention which cannot
+well be exceeded. These alleys are not uncommon in Japan, for we saw a
+similar one in the vicinity of Nangasaky, and another in the island of
+Meac-Sima."
+
+[Illustration: Coast of Japan.]
+
+The _Nadiejeda_ had hardly anchored at the entrance to Nagasaki harbour
+before Kruzenstern saw several _daïmios_ climb on board, who had come
+to forbid him to advance further.
+
+Now, although the Russians were aware of the policy of isolation
+practised by the Japanese government, they had hoped that their
+reception would have been less forbidding, as they had on board an
+ambassador from the powerful neighbouring state of Russia. They had
+relied on enjoying comparative liberty, of which they would have
+availed themselves to collect information on a country hitherto so
+little known and about which the only people admitted to it had taken a
+vow of silence.
+
+They were, however, disappointed in their expectations. Instead of
+enjoying the same latitude as the Dutch, they were throughout their
+stay harassed by a perpetual surveillance, as unceasing as it was
+annoying. In a word, they were little better than prisoners.
+
+Although the ambassador did obtain permission to land with his escort
+"under arms," a favour never before accorded to any one, the sailors
+were not allowed to get out of their boat, or when they did land the
+restricted place where they were permitted to walk was surrounded by a
+lofty palisading, and guarded by two companies of soldiers.
+
+It was forbidden to write to Europe by way of Batavia, it was forbidden
+to talk to the Dutch captains, the ambassador was forbidden to leave
+his house--the word forbidden may be said to sum up the anything but
+cordial reception given to their visitors by the Japanese.
+
+Kruzenstern turned his long stay here to account by completely
+overhauling and repairing his vessel. He had nearly finished this
+operation when the approach was announced of an envoy from the Emperor,
+of dignity so exalted that, in the words of the interpreter, "he dared
+to look at the feet of his Imperial Majesty."
+
+This personage began by refusing the Czar's presents, under pretence
+that if they were accepted the Emperor would have to send back others
+with an embassy, which would be contrary to the customs of the country;
+and he then went on to speak of the law against the entry of any
+vessels into the ports of Japan, and absolutely forbade the Russians to
+buy anything, adding, however, at the same time, that the materials
+already supplied for the refitting and revictualling the vessel would
+be paid for out of the treasury of the Emperor of Japan. He further
+inquired whether the repairs of the _Nadiejeda_ would soon be finished.
+Kruzenstern understood what was meant as soon as his visitor began to
+speak, and hurried on the preparations for his own departure.
+
+Truly he had not much reason to congratulate himself on having waited
+from October to April for such an answer as this. So little were the
+chief results hoped for by his government achieved, that no Russian
+vessel could ever again enter a Japanese port. A short-sighted, jealous
+policy, resulting in the putting back for half a century the progress
+of Japan.
+
+On the 17th April the _Nadiejeda_ weighed anchor, and began a
+hydrographic survey, which had the best results. La Pérouse had been
+the only navigator to traverse before Kruzenstern the seas between
+Japan and the continent. The Russian explorer was therefore anxious to
+connect his work with that of his predecessor, and to fill up the gaps
+the latter had been compelled for want of time to leave in his charts
+of these parts.
+
+"To explore the north-west and south-west coasts of Japan," says
+Kruzenstern, "to ascertain the situation of the Straits of Sangar, the
+width of which in the best charts--Arrowsmith's 'South Sea Pilot' for
+instance, and the atlas subjoined to La Pérouse's Voyage--is laid down
+as more than a hundred miles, while the Japanese merely estimated it to
+be a Dutch mile; to examine the west coast of Yezo; to find out the
+island of Karafuto, which in some new charts, compiled after a Japanese
+one, is placed between Yezo and Sachalin, and the existence of which
+appeared to me very probable; to explore this new strait and take an
+accurate plan of the island of Sachalin, from Cape Crillon to the
+north-west coast, from whence, if a good harbour were to be found
+there, I could send out my long boat to examine the supposed passage
+which divides Tartary from Sachalin; and, finally, to attempt a return
+through a new passage between the Kuriles, north of the Canal de la
+Boussole; all this came into my plan, and I have had the good fortune
+to execute part of it."
+
+Kruzenstern was destined almost entirely to carry out this detailed
+plan, only the survey of the western coast of Japan and of the Strait
+of Sangar, with that of the channel closing the Farakaï Strait, could
+not be accomplished by the Russian navigator, who had, sorely against
+his will, to leave the completion of this important task to his
+successors.
+
+Kruzenstern now entered the Corea Channel, and determined the longitude
+of Tsusima, obtaining a difference of thirty-six minutes from the
+position assigned to that island by La Pérouse. This difference was
+subsequently confirmed by Dagelet, who can be fully relied upon.
+
+The Russian explorer noticed, as La Pérouse had done before him, that
+the deviation of the magnetic needle is but little noticeable in these
+latitudes.
+
+The position of Sangar Strait, between Yezo and Niphon, being very
+uncertain, Kruzenstern resolved to determine it. The mouth, situated
+between Cape Sangar (N. lat. 41 degrees 16 minutes 30 seconds and W.
+long. 219 degrees 46 minutes) and Cape Nadiejeda (N. lat. 41 degrees 25
+minutes 10 seconds, W. long. 219 degrees 50 minutes 30 seconds), is
+only nine miles wide; whereas La Pérouse, who had relied, not upon
+personal observation but upon the map of the Dutchman Vries, speaks of
+it as ten miles across. Kruzenstern's was therefore an important
+rectification.
+
+Kruzenstern did not actually enter this strait. He was anxious to
+verify the existence of a certain island, Karafonto, Tchoka, or Chicha
+by name, set down as between Yezo and Saghalien in a map which appeared
+at St. Petersburg in 1802, and was based on one brought to Russia by
+the Japanese Koday. He then surveyed a small portion of the coast of
+Yezo, naming the chief irregularities, and cast anchor near the
+southernmost promontory of the island, at the entrance to the Straits
+of La Pérouse.
+
+Here he learnt from the Japanese that Saghalien and Karafonto were one
+and the same island.
+
+On the 10th May, 1805, Kruzenstern landed at Yezo, and was surprised to
+find the season but little advanced. The trees were not yet in leaf,
+the snow still lay thick here and there, and the explorer had supposed
+that it was only at Archangel that the temperature would be so severe
+at this time of year. This phenomenon was to be explained later, when
+more was known as to the direction taken by the polar current, which,
+issuing from Behring Strait, washes the shores of Kamtchatka, the
+Kurile Islands, and Yezo.
+
+During his short stay here and at Saghalien, Kruzenstern was able to
+make some observations on the Ainos, a race which probably occupied the
+whole of Yezo before the advent of the Japanese, from whom--at least
+from those who have been influenced by intercourse with China--they
+differ entirely.
+
+[Illustration: Typical Ainos. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+"Their figure," says Kruzenstern, "dress, appearance, and their
+language, prove that they are the same people, as those of Saghalien;
+and the captain of the _Castricum_, when he missed the Straits of La
+Pérouse, might imagine, as well in Aniwa as in Alkys, that he was but
+in one island.... The Ainos are rather below the middle stature, being
+at the most five feet two or four inches high, of a dark, nearly black
+complexion, with a thick bushy beard, black rough hair, hanging
+straight down; and excepting in the beard they have the appearance of
+the Kamtschadales, only that their countenance is much more regular.
+The women are sufficiently ugly; their colour, which is equally dark,
+their coal black hair combed over their faces, blue painted lips, and
+tattooed hands, added to no remarkable cleanliness in their clothing,
+do not give them any great pretensions to loveliness.... However, I
+must do them the justice to say, that they are modest in the highest
+degree, and in this point form the completest contrast with the women
+of Nukahiva and of Otaheite.... The characteristic quality of an Aino
+is goodness of heart, which is expressed in the strongest manner in his
+countenance; and so far as we were enabled to observe their actions,
+they fully answered this expression.... The dress of the Ainos consists
+chiefly of the skins of tame dogs and seals; but I have seen some in a
+very different attire, which resembled the _Parkis_ of the
+Kamtschadales, and is, properly speaking a white shirt worn over their
+other clothes. In Aniwa Bay they were all clad in furs; their boots
+were made of seal-skins, and in these likewise the women were
+invariably clothed."
+
+After passing through the Straits of La Pérouse, Kruzenstern cast
+anchor in Aniwa Bay, off the island of Saghalien. Here fish was then so
+plentiful, that two Japanese firms alone employed 400 Ainos to catch
+and dry it. It is never taken in nets, but buckets are used at
+ebb-tide.
+
+After having surveyed Patience Gulf, which had only been partially
+examined by the Dutchman Vries, and at the bottom of which flows a
+stream now named the Neva, Kruzenstern broke off his examination of
+Saghalien to determine the position of the Kurile Islands, never yet
+accurately laid down; and on the 5th June, 1805 he returned to
+Petropaulovski, where he put on shore the ambassador and his suite.
+
+In July, after crossing Nadiejeda Strait, between Matona and Rachona,
+two of the Kurile Islands, Kruzenstern surveyed the eastern coast of
+Saghalien, in the neighbourhood of Cape Patience, which presented a
+very picturesque appearance, with the hills clothed with grass and
+stunted trees and the shores with bushes. The scenery of the interior,
+however, was somewhat monotonous, with its unbroken line of lofty
+mountains.
+
+The navigator skirted along the whole of this deserted and harbourless
+coast to Capes Maria and Elizabeth, between which is a deep bay, with a
+little village of thirty-seven houses nestling at the end, the only one
+the Russians had seen since they left Providence Bay. It was not
+inhabited by Ainos, but by Tartars, of which very decided proof was
+obtained a few days later.
+
+Kruzenstern next entered the channel separating Saghalien from Tartary,
+but he was hardly six miles from the middle of the passage when his
+soundings gave six fathoms only. It was useless to hope to penetrate
+further. Orders were given to "'bout ship," whilst a boat was sent to
+trace the coast-line on either side, and to explore the middle of the
+strait until the soundings should give three fathoms only. A very
+strong current had to be contended with, rendering this row very
+difficult, and this current was rightly supposed to be due to the River
+Amoor, the mouth of which was not far distant.
+
+The advice given to Kruzenstern by the Governor of Kamtchatka, not to
+approach the coast of Chinese Tartary, lest the jealous suspicions of
+the Celestial Government should be aroused, prevented the explorer from
+further prosecuting the work of surveying; and once more passing the
+Kurile group, the _Nadiejeda_ returned to Petropaulovsky.
+
+The Commander availed himself of his stay in this port to make some
+necessary repairs in his vessel, and to confirm the statements of
+Captain Clerke, who had succeeded Cook in the command of his last
+expedition, and those of Delisle de la Croyère, the French astronomer,
+who had been Behring's companion in 1741.
+
+During this last sojourn at Petropaulovsky, Kruzenstern received an
+autograph letter from the Emperor of Russia, enclosing the order of St.
+Anne as a proof of his Majesty's satisfaction with the work done.
+
+On the 4th October, 1805, the _Nadiejeda_ set sail for Europe;
+exploring _en route_ the latitudes in which, according to the maps of
+the day, were situated the islands of Rica-de-Plata, Guadalupas,
+Malabrigos, St. Sebastian de Lobos, and San Juan.
+
+Kruzenstern next identified the Farellon Islands of Anson's map, now
+known as St. Alexander, St. Augustine, and Volcanos, and situated south
+of the Bonin-Sima group. Then crossing the Formosa Channel, he arrived
+at Macao on the 21st November.
+
+He was a good deal surprised not to find the _Neva_ there, as he had
+given instructions for it to bring a cargo of furs, the price of which
+he proposed expending on Chinese merchandise. He decided to wait for
+the arrival of the _Neva_.
+
+Macao seemed to him to be falling rapidly into decay.
+
+"Many fine buildings," he says, "are ranged in large squares,
+surrounded by courtyards and gardens; but most of them uninhabited, the
+number of Portuguese residents there having greatly decreased. The
+chief private houses belong to the members of the Dutch and English
+factories.... Twelve or fifteen thousand is said to be the number of
+the inhabitants of Macao, most of whom, however, are Chinese, who have
+so completely taken possession of the town, that it is rare to meet any
+European in the streets, with the exception of priests and nuns. One of
+the inhabitants said to me, 'We have more priests here than soldiers;'
+a piece of raillery that was literally true, the number of soldiers
+amounting only to 150, not one of whom is a European, the whole being
+mulattos of Macao and Goa. Even the officers are not all Europeans.
+With so small a garrison it is difficult to defend four large
+fortresses; and the natural insolence of the Chinese finds a sufficient
+motive in the weakness of the military, to heap insult upon insult."
+
+Just as the _Nadiejeda_ was about to weigh anchor, the _Neva_ at last
+appeared. It was now the 3rd November, and Kruzenstern went up the
+coast in the newly arrived vessel as far as Whampoa, where he sold to
+advantage his cargo of furs, after many prolonged discussions which his
+firm but conciliating attitude, together with the intervention of
+English merchants, brought to a successful issue.
+
+On the 9th February, the two vessels once more together weighed anchor,
+and resumed their voyage by way of the Sunda Isles. Beyond Christmas
+Island they were again separated in cloudy weather, and did not meet
+until the end of the trip. On the 4th May, the _Nadiejeda_ cast anchor
+in St. Helena Bay, sixty days' voyage from the Sunda Isles and
+seventy-nine from Macao.
+
+"I know of no better place," says Kruzenstern, "to get supplies after a
+long voyage than St. Helena. The road is perfectly safe, and at all
+times more convenient than Table Bay or Simon's Bay, at the Cape. The
+entrance, with the precaution of first getting near the land, is
+perfectly easy; and on quitting the island nothing more is necessary
+than to weigh anchor and stand out to sea. Every kind of provision may
+be obtained here, particularly the best kinds of garden stuffs, and in
+two or three days a ship may be provided with everything."
+
+On the 21st April, Kruzenstern passed between the Shetland and Orkney
+Islands, in order to avoid the English Channel, where he might have met
+some French pirates, and after a good voyage he arrived at Cronstadt on
+the 7th August, 1806.
+
+Without taking first rank, like the expedition of Cook or that of La
+Pérouse, Kruzenstern's trip was not without interest. We owe no great
+discovery to the Russian explorer, but he verified and rectified the
+work of his predecessors. This was in fact what most of the navigators
+of the nineteenth century had to do, the progress of science enabling
+them to complete what had been begun by others.
+
+Kruzenstern had taken with him in his voyage round the world the son of
+the well-known dramatic author Kotzebue. The young Otto Kotzebue, who
+was then a cadet, soon gained his promotion, and he was a naval
+lieutenant when, in 1815 the command was given to him of the _Rurik_, a
+new brig, with two guns, and a crew of no more than twenty-seven men,
+equipped at the expense of Count Romantzoff. His task was to explore
+the less-known parts of Oceania, and to cut a passage for his vessel
+across the Frozen Ocean. Kotzebue left the port of Cronstadt on the
+15th July, 1815, put in first at Copenhagen and Plymouth, and after a
+very trying trip doubled Cape Horn, and entered the Pacific Ocean on
+the 22nd January, 1816. After a halt at Talcahuano, on the coast of
+Chili, he resumed his voyage; sighted the desert island of Salas of
+Gomez, on the 26th March, and steered towards Easter Island, where he
+hoped to meet with the same friendly reception as Cook and Pérouse had
+done before him.
+
+The Russians had, however, hardly disembarked before they were
+surrounded by a crowd eager to offer them fruit and roots, by whom they
+were so shamelessly robbed that they were compelled to use their arms
+in self-defence, and to re-embark as quickly as possible to avoid the
+shower of stones flung at them by the natives.
+
+The only observation they had time to make during this short visit, was
+the overthrow of the numerous huge stone statues described, measured,
+and drawn, by Cook and La Pérouse.
+
+On the 16th April, the Russian captain arrived at the Dog Island of
+Schouten, which he called Doubtful Island, to mark the difference in
+his estimate of its position and that attributed to it by earlier
+navigators. Kotzebue gives it S. lat. 44 degrees 50 minutes and W.
+long. 138 degrees 47 minutes.
+
+During the ensuing days were discovered the desert island of
+Romantzoff, so named in honour of the promoter of the expedition;
+Spiridoff Island, with a lagoon in the centre; the Island Oura of the
+Pomautou group, the Vliegen chain of islets, and the no less extended
+group of the Kruzenstern Islands.
+
+On the 28th April, the _Rurik_ was near the supposed site of Bauman's
+Islands, but not a sign of them could be seen, and it appeared probable
+that the group had in fact been one of those already visited.
+
+As soon as he was safely out of the dangerous Pomautou archipelago
+Kotzebue steered towards the group of islands sighted in 1788 by Sever,
+who, without touching at them, gave them the name of Penrhyn. The
+Russian explorer determined the position of the central group of islets
+as S. lat. 9 degrees 1 minute 35 seconds and W. long. 157 degrees 44
+minutes 32 seconds, characterizing them as very low, like those of the
+Pomautou group, but inhabited for all that.
+
+At the sight of the vessel a considerable fleet of canoes put off from
+the shore, and the natives, palm branches in their hands, advanced with
+the rhythmic sound of the paddles serving as a kind of solemn and
+melancholy accompaniment to numerous singers. To guard against
+surprise, Kotzebue made all the canoes draw up on one side of the
+vessel, and bartering was done with a rope as the means of
+communication. The natives had nothing to trade with but bits of iron
+and fish-hooks made of mother-of-pearl. They were well made and
+martial-looking, but wore no clothes beyond a kind of apron.
+
+At first only noisy and very lively, the natives soon became
+threatening. They thieved openly, and answered remonstrances with
+undisguised taunts. Brandishing their spears above their heads, they
+seemed to be urging each other on to an attack.
+
+When Kotzebue felt that the moment had come to put an end to these
+hostile demonstrations, he had one gun fired. In the twinkling of an
+eye the canoes were empty, their terrified crews unpremeditatingly
+flinging themselves into the water with one accord. Presently the heads
+of the divers reappeared, and, a little calmed down by the warning
+received, the natives returned to their canoes and their bartering.
+Nails and pieces of iron were much sought after by these people, whom
+Kotzebue likens to the natives of Noukha-Hiva. They do not exactly
+tatoo themselves, but cover their bodies with large scars.
+
+[Illustration: "In the twinkling of an eye the canoes were empty."]
+
+A curious fashion not before noticed amongst the islanders of Oceania
+prevails amongst them. Most of them wear the nails very long, and those
+of the chief men in the canoes extended three inches beyond the end of
+the finger.
+
+Thirty-six boats, manned by 360 men, now surrounded the vessel, and
+Kotzebue, judging that with his feeble resources and the small crew of
+the _Rurik_ any attempt to land would be imprudent, set sail again
+without being able to collect any more information on these wild and
+warlike islanders.
+
+Continuing his voyage towards Kamtchatka, the navigator sighted on the
+21st May two groups of islands connected by a chain of coral reefs. He
+named them Kutusoff and Suwaroff, determined their position, and made
+up his mind to come back and examine them again. The natives in fleet
+canoes approached the _Rurik_, but, in spite of the pressing invitation
+of the Russians, would not trust themselves on board. They gazed at the
+vessel in astonishment, talked to each other with a vivacity which
+showed their intelligence, and flung on deck the fruit of the
+pandanus-tree and cocoa-nuts.
+
+Their lank black hair, with flowers fastened in it here and there, the
+ornaments hung round their necks, their clothing of "two
+curiously-woven coloured mats tied to the waist" and reaching below the
+knee, but above all their frank and friendly countenances,
+distinguished the natives of the Marshall archipelago from those of
+Penrhyn.
+
+On the 19th June the _Rurik_ put in at New Archangel, and for
+twenty-eight days her crew were occupied in repairing her.
+
+On the 15th July Kotzebue set sail again, and five days later
+disembarked on Behring Island, the southern promontory of which he laid
+down in N. lat. 55 degrees 17 minutes 18 seconds and W. long. 194
+degrees 6 minutes 37 seconds.
+
+The natives Kotzebue met with on this island, like those of the North
+American coast, wore clothes made of seal-skin and the intestines of
+the walrus. The lances used by them were pointed with the teeth of
+these amphibious animals. Their food consisted of the flesh of whales
+and seals, which they store in deep cellars dug in the earth. Their
+boats were made of leather, and they had sledges drawn by dogs.
+
+Their mode of salutation is strange enough, they first rub each other's
+noses and then pass their hands over their own stomachs as if rejoicing
+over the swallowing of some tid-bit. Lastly, when they want to be very
+friendly indeed, they spit in their own palms and rub their friends'
+faces with the spittle.
+
+The captain, still keeping his northerly course along the American
+coast, discovered Schichmareff Bay, Saritschiff Island, and lastly, an
+extensive gulf, the existence of which was not previously known. At the
+end of this gulf Kotzebue hoped to find a channel through which he
+could reach the Arctic Ocean, but he was disappointed. He gave his own
+name to the gulf, and that of Kruzenstern to the cape at the entrance.
+
+Driven back by bad weather, the _Rurik_ reached Ounalashka on the 6th
+September, halted for a few days at San Francisco, and reached the
+Sandwich Islands, where some important surveys were made and some very
+curious information collected.
+
+On leaving the Sandwich Islands, Kotzebue steered for Suwaroff and
+Kutusoff Islands, which he had discovered a few months before. On the
+1st January, 1817, he sighted Miadi Island, to which he gave the name
+of New Year's Island. Four days later he discovered a chain of little
+low wooded islands set in a framework of reefs, through which the
+vessel could scarcely make its way.
+
+Just at first the natives ran away at the sight of Lieutenant
+Schischmaroff, but they soon came back with branches in their hands,
+shouting out the word _aidara_ (friend). The officer repeated this word
+and gave them a few nails in return, for which the Russians received
+the collars and flowers worn as neck-ornaments by the natives.
+
+This exchange of courtesies emboldened the rest of the islanders to
+appear, and throughout the stay of the Russians in this archipelago
+these friendly demonstrations and enthusiastic but guarded greetings
+were continued. One native, Rarik by name, was particularly cordial to
+the Russians, whom he informed that the name of his island and of the
+chain of islets and _attolls_[2] connected with it was Otdia. In
+acknowledgment of the cordial reception of the natives, Kotzebue left
+with them a cock and hen, and planted in a garden laid out under his
+orders a quantity of seeds, in the hope that they would thrive; but in
+this he did not make allowance for the number of rats which swarmed
+upon these islands and wrought havoc in his plantations.
+
+[Footnote 2: Attolls are coral islands like circular belts surrounding
+a smooth lagoon.--_Trans._]
+
+On the 6th February, after ascertaining from what he was told by a
+chief named Languediak, that these sparsely populated islands were of
+recent formation, Kotzebue put to sea again, having first christened
+the archipelago Romantzoff.
+
+The next day a group of islets, on which only three inhabitants were
+found, had its name of Eregup changed to that of Tchitschakoff, and
+then an enthusiastic reception was given to Kotzebue on the Kawen
+Islands by the tamon or chief. Every native here fêted the new-comers,
+some by their silence--like the queen forbidden by etiquette to answer
+the speeches made to her--some by their dances, cries, and songs, in
+which the name of Totabou (Kotzebue) was constantly repeated. The chief
+himself came to fetch Kotzebue in a canoe, and carried him on his
+shoulders through the breakers to the beach.
+
+In the Aur group the navigator noticed amongst a crowd of natives who
+climbed on to the vessel, two natives whose faces and tattooing seemed
+to mark them as of alien race. One of them, Kadu by name, especially
+pleased the commander, who gave him some bits of iron, and Kotzebue was
+surprised that he did not receive them with the same pleasure as his
+companions. This was explained the same evening. When all the natives
+were leaving the vessel, Kadu earnestly begged to be allowed to remain
+on the _Rurik_, and never again to leave it. The commander only yielded
+to his wishes after a great deal of persuasion.
+
+"Kadu," says Kotzebue, "had scarcely obtained permission, when he
+turned quickly to his comrades, who were waiting for him, declared to
+them his intention of remaining on board the ship, and distributed his
+iron among the chiefs. The astonishment in the boats was beyond
+description: they tried in vain to shake his resolution; he was
+immovable. At last his friend Edock came back, spoke long and seriously
+to him, and when he found that his persuasion was of no avail, he
+attempted to drag him by force; but Kadu now used the right of the
+strongest, he pushed his friend from him, and the boats sailed off. His
+resolution being inexplicable to me, I conceived a notion that he
+perhaps intended to steal during the night, and privately to leave the
+ship, and therefore had the night-watch doubled, and his bed made up
+close to mine on the deck, where I slept, on account of the heat. Kadu
+felt greatly honoured to sleep close to the tamon of the ship."
+
+Born at Ulle, one of the Caroline Islands, more than 300 miles from the
+group where he was now living, Kadu, with Edok and two other
+fellow-countrymen, had been overtaken, when fishing, by a violent
+storm. For eight months the poor fellows were at the mercy of the winds
+and currents on a sea now smooth, now rough. They had never throughout
+this time been without fish, but they had suffered the cruelest
+tortures from thirst. When their stock of rain-water, which they had
+used very sparingly, was exhausted, there was nothing left to them to
+do but to fling themselves into the sea and try to obtain at the bottom
+of the ocean some water less impregnated with salt, which they brought
+to the surface in cocoa-nut shells pierced with a small opening. When
+they reached the Aur Islands, even the sight of land and the immediate
+prospect of safety did not rouse them from the state of prostration
+into which they had sunk.
+
+The sight of the iron instruments in the canoe of the strangers led the
+people of Aur to decide on their massacre for the sake of their
+treasures; but the tamon, Tigedien by name, took them under his
+protection.
+
+Three years had passed since this event, and the men from the Caroline
+Islands, thanks to their more extended knowledge, soon acquired a
+certain ascendancy over their hosts.
+
+When the _Rurik_ appeared, Kadu was in the woods a long way from the
+coast. He was sent for at once, as he was looked upon as a great
+traveller, and he might perhaps be able to say what the great monster
+approaching the island was. Now Kadu had more than once seen European
+vessels, and he persuaded his friends to go and meet the strangers, and
+to receive them kindly.
+
+Such had been Kadu's adventures. He now remained on the _Rurik_,
+identified the other islands of the Archipelago, and lost no time in
+facilitating intercourse between the Russians and the natives. Dressed
+in a yellow mantle, and wearing a red cap like a convict, Kadu looked
+down upon his old friends, and seemed not to recognize them. When a
+fine old man with a flowing beard, named Tigedien, came on board, Kadu
+undertook to explain to him and his companions the working of the
+vessel and the use of everything about the ship. Like many Europeans,
+he made up for his ignorance by imperturbable assurance, and had an
+answer ready for every question.
+
+Interrogated on the subject of a little box from which a sailor took a
+black powder and applied it to his nostrils, Kadu glibly told some most
+extraordinary stories, and wound up with a practical illustration by
+putting the box against his own nose. He then flung it from him,
+sneezing violently and screaming so loud that his terrified friends
+fled away on every side; but when the crisis was over he managed to
+turn the incident to his own advantage.
+
+Kadu gave Kotzebue some general information about the group of islands
+then under examination, and the Russians spent a month in taking
+surveys, &c. All these islands, which the natives call Radack, were
+under the control of one tamon, a man named Lamary. A few years later
+Dumont d'Urville gave the name of Marshall to the group. According to
+Kadu, another chain of islets, attolls, and reefs was situated some
+little distance off on the west.
+
+Kotzebue had not time to identify them, and steering in a northerly
+direction he reached Ounalashka on the 24th April, where he had to
+repair the serious damage sustained by the _Rurik_ in two violent
+storms. This done, he took on board some baidares (boats cased in skins
+to make them water-tight), with fifteen natives of the Aleutian
+Islands, who were used to the navigation of the Polar seas, and resumed
+his exploration of Behring Strait.
+
+Kotzebue had suffered very much from pain in his chest ever since when,
+doubling Cape Horn, he had been knocked down by a huge wave and flung
+overboard, an accident which would have cost him his life had he not
+clung to some rope. The consequences were so serious to his health that
+when, on the 10th July, he landed on the island of St. Lawrence, he was
+obliged to give up the further prosecution of his researches.
+
+On the 1st October the _Rurik_ made a second short halt at the Sandwich
+Islands where seeds and animals were landed, and at the end of the
+month the explorers landed at Otdia in the midst of the enthusiastic
+acclamations of the natives. The cats brought by the visitors were
+welcomed with special enthusiasm, for the island was infested with
+immense numbers of rats, who worked havoc on the plantations. Great
+also was the rejoicing over the return of Kadu, with whom the Russians
+left an assortment of tools and weapons, which made their owner the
+wealthiest inhabitant of the archipelago.
+
+[Illustration: Interior of a house at Radak. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+On the 4th November the _Rurik_ left the Radak Islands, after
+identifying the Legiep group, and cast anchor off Guam, one of the
+Marianne islands, where she remained until the end of the month. A halt
+of some weeks at Manilla enabled the commander to collect some curious
+information about the Philippine Islands, to which he would have to
+return later.
+
+After escaping from the violent storms encountered in doubling the Cape
+of Good Hope, the _Rurik_ cast anchor on the 3rd August, 1818, in the
+Neva, opposite Count Romantzoff's palace.
+
+These three years of absence had been turned to good account by the
+hardy navigators. In spite of the smallness of their number and the
+poverty of their equipments, they had not been afraid to face the
+terrors of the deep, to venture amongst all but unknown archipelagoes,
+or to brave the rigours of the Arctic and Torrid zones. Important as
+were their actual discoveries, their rectification of the errors of
+their predecessors were of yet greater value. Two thousand five hundred
+species of plants, one third of which were quite new, with numerous
+details respecting the language, ethnography, religion, and customs of
+the tribes visited, formed a rich harvest attesting the zeal, skill,
+and knowledge of the captain as well as the intrepidity and endurance
+of his crew.
+
+When, therefore, the Russian government decided, in 1823, to send
+reinforcements to Kamtchatka to put an end to the contraband trade
+carried on in Russian America, the command of the expedition was given
+to Kotzebue. A frigate called the _Predpriatie_ was placed at his
+disposal, and he was left free to choose his own route both going and
+returning.
+
+Kotzebue had gone round the world as a midshipman with Kruzenstern, and
+that explorer now entrusted to him his eldest son, as did also Möller,
+the Minister of Marine, a proof of the great confidence both fathers
+placed in him.
+
+The expedition left Cronstadt on the 15th August, 1823, reached Rio
+Janeiro in safety, doubled Cape Horn on the 15th January, 1824, and
+steered for the Pomautou Archipelago, where Predpriatie Island was
+discovered and the islands of Araktschejews, Romantzoff, Carlshoff, and
+Palliser were identified. On the 14th March anchor was cast in the
+harbour of Matavar, Otaheite.
+
+[Illustration: View of Otaheite.]
+
+Since Cook's stay in this archipelago a complete transformation had
+taken place in the manners and customs of the inhabitants.
+
+In 1799 some missionaries settled in Otaheite, where they remained for
+ten years, unfortunately without making a single conversion, and we add
+with regret without even winning the esteem or respect of the natives.
+Compelled at the end of these ten years, in consequence of the
+revolutions which convulsed Otaheite, to take refuge at Eimeo and other
+islands of the same group, their efforts were there crowned with more
+success. In 1817, Pomaré, king of Otaheite, recalled the missionaries,
+made them a grant of land, and declared himself a convert to
+Christianity. His example was soon followed by a considerable number of
+natives.
+
+Kotzebue had heard of this change, but he was not prepared to find
+European customs generally adopted.
+
+At the sound of the discharge announcing the arrival of the Russians, a
+boat, bearing the Otaheitian flag, put off from shore, bringing a pilot
+to guide the _Predpriatie_ to its anchorage.
+
+The next day, which happened to be Sunday, the Russians were surprised
+at the religious silence which prevailed throughout the island when
+they landed. This silence was only broken by the sound of canticles and
+psalms sung by the natives in their huts.
+
+The church, a plain, clean building of rectangular form, roofed with
+reeds and approached by a long avenue of palms, was well filled with an
+attentive, orderly congregation, the men sitting on one side, the women
+on the other, all with prayer-books in their hands. The voices of the
+neophytes often joined in the chant of the missionaries, unfortunately
+with better will than correctness or appropriateness.
+
+If the piety of the islanders was edifying, the costumes worn by these
+strange converts were such as somewhat to distract the attention of the
+visitors. A black coat or the waistcoat of an English uniform was the
+only garment worn by some, whilst others contented themselves with a
+jacket, a shirt, or a pair of trousers. The most fortunate were wrapped
+in cloth mantles, and rich and poor alike dispensed with shoes and
+stockings.
+
+The women were no less grotesquely clad. Some wore men's shirts, white
+or striped as the case might be, others a mere piece of cloth; but all
+had European hats. The wives of the Areois[3] wore coloured robes, a
+piece of great extravagance, but with them the dress formed the whole
+costume.
+
+[Footnote 3: The Areois are a curious vagrant set of people, who have
+been found in these regions, who practise the singular and fatal custom
+of killing their children at birth, because of a traditional law
+binding them to do so.--_Trans._]
+
+On the Monday a most imposing ceremony took place. This was the visit
+to Kotzebue of the queen-mother and the royal family. These great
+people were preceded by a master of ceremonies, who was a sort of court
+fool wearing nothing but a red waistcoat, and with his legs tattooed to
+represent striped trousers, whilst on the lower portion of his back was
+described a quadrant divided into minute sections. He performed his
+absurd capers, contortions, and grimaces with a gravity infinitely
+amusing.
+
+The queen regent carried the little king Pomaré III. in her arms, and
+beside her walked his sister, a pretty child of ten years old. The
+royal infant was dressed in European style, like his subjects, and like
+them, he wore nothing on his feet. At the request of the ministers and
+great people of Otaheite, Kotzebue had a pair of boots made for him,
+which he was to wear on the day of his coronation.
+
+Great were the shouts of joy, the gestures of delight, and the envious
+exclamations over the trifles distributed amongst the ladies of the
+court, and fierce were the struggles for the smallest shreds of the
+imitation gold lace given away.
+
+What important matter could have brought so many men on to the deck of
+the frigate, bearing with them quantities of fruits and figs? These
+eager messengers were the husbands of the disappointed ladies of
+Otaheite who had not been present at the division of the gold lace more
+valuable in their eyes than rivers of diamonds in those of Europeans.
+
+At the end of ten days, Kotzebue decided to leave this strange country,
+where civilization and barbarism flourished side by side in a manner so
+fraternal, and steered for the Samoa Archipelago, notorious for the
+massacre of the companions of La Pérouse.
+
+How great was the difference between the Samoans and the Otaheitians!
+Wild and fierce, suspicious and threatening, the natives of Rose Island
+could scarcely be kept off the deck of the _Predpriatie_, and one of
+them at the sight of the bare arm of a sailor made a savage and
+eloquent gesture showing with what pleasure he could devour the firm
+and doubtless savoury flesh displayed to view.
+
+The insolence of the natives increased with the arrival of more canoes
+from the shore, and they had to be beaten back with boathooks before
+the _Predpriatie_ could get away from amongst the frail boats of the
+ferocious islanders.
+
+Upolu or Oyalava, Platte and Pola or Savai Islands, which with Rose
+Island form part of the Navigator or Samoan group, were passed almost
+as soon as they were sighted; and Kotzebue steered for the Radak
+Islands, where he had been so kindly received on his first voyage. This
+time, however, the natives were terrified at sight of the huge vessel,
+and piled up their canoes or fled into the interior, whilst on the
+beach a procession was formed, a number of islanders with palm branches
+in their hands advancing to meet the intruders and beg for peace.
+
+At this sight, Kotzebue flung himself into a boat with the surgeon
+Eschscholtz, and rowing rapidly towards the shore, shouted: "Totabou
+aïdara" (Kotzebue, friend). An immediate change was the result; the
+petitions the natives were going to address to the Russians were
+converted into shouts and enthusiastic demonstrations of delight, some
+rushing forwards to welcome their friend, others running over to
+announce his arrival to their fellow-countrymen.
+
+The commander was very pleased to find that Kadu was still living at
+Aur, under the protection of Lamary, whose countenance he had secured
+at the price of half his wealth.
+
+Of all the animals left here by Kotzebue, the cats, now become wild
+alone, had survived, and thus far they had not destroyed the legions of
+rats with which the island was overrun.
+
+The explorer remained several days with his friends, whom he
+entertained with dramatic representations; and on the 6th May he made
+for the Legiep group, the examination of which he had left uncompleted
+on his last voyage. After surveying it, he intended to resume his
+exploration of the Radak Islands, but bad weather prevented this, and
+he had to set sail for Kamtchatka.
+
+The crew here enjoyed the rest so fully earned, from the 7th June to
+the 20th July, when Kotzebue set sail for New Archangel on the American
+coast, where he cast anchor on the 7th August.
+
+The frigate, which was here to take the place of the _Predpriatie_, was
+not however ready for sea until the 1st March of the following year,
+and Kotzebue turned the delay to account by visiting the Sandwich
+Islands, where he cast anchor off Waihou in December, 1824.
+
+The harbour of Hono-kourou or Honolulu is the safest of the
+archipelago; a good many vessels therefore put in there even at this
+early date, and the island of Waihou bid fair to become the most
+important of the group, supplanting Hawaii or Owhyee. The appearance of
+the town was already semi-European, stone houses replaced the primitive
+native huts, regular streets with shops, café, public-houses, much
+patronized by the sailors of whalers and fur-traders, together with a
+fortress provided with cannon, were the most noteworthy signs of the
+rapid transformation of the manners and customs of the natives.
+
+Fifty years had now elapsed since the discovery of most of the islands
+of Oceania, and everywhere changes had taken place as sudden as those
+in the Sandwich Islands.
+
+"The fur trade," says Desborough Cooley, carried on with the north-west
+coast of America, "has effected a wonderful revolution in the Sandwich
+Islands, which from their situation offered an advantageous shelter for
+ships engaged in it. Among these islands the fur-traders wintered,
+refitted their vessels, and replenished their stock of fresh
+provisions; and, as summer approached, returned to complete their cargo
+on the coast of America. Iron tools and, above all, guns were eagerly
+sought for by the islanders in exchange for their provisions; and the
+mercenery traders, regardless of consequences, readily gratified their
+desires. Fire-arms and ammunition being the most profitable stock to
+traffic with were supplied them in abundance. Hence the Sandwich
+islanders soon became formidable to their visitors; they seized on
+several small vessels, and displayed an energy tinctured at first with
+barbarity, but indicating great capabilities of social improvement. At
+this period, one of those extraordinary characters which seldom fail to
+come forth when fate is charged with great events, completed the
+revolution, which had its origin in the impulse of Europeans.
+Tame-tame-hah, a chief, who had made himself conspicuous during the
+last and unfortunate visit of Cook to those islands, usurped the
+authority of king, subdued the neighbouring islands with an army of
+16,000 men, and made his conquests subservient to his grand schemes of
+improvement. He knew the superiority of Europeans, and was proud to
+imitate them. Already, in 1796, when Captain Broughton visited those
+islands, the usurper sent to ask him whether he should salute him with
+great guns. He always kept Englishmen about him as ministers and
+advisers. In 1817, he is said to have had an army of 7000 men, armed
+with muskets, among whom were at least fifty Europeans. Tame-tame-hah,
+who began his career in blood and usurpation, lived to gain the sincere
+love and admiration of his subjects, who regarded him as more than
+human, and mourned his death with tears of warmer affection than often
+bedew the ashes of royalty."
+
+[Illustration: One of the guard of the King of the Sandwich Islands.
+(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Such was the state of things when the Russian expedition put in at
+Waihou. The young king Rio-Rio was in England with his wife, and the
+government of the archipelago was in the hands of the queen-mother,
+Kaahou Manou.
+
+Kotzebue took advantage of the latter and of the first minister both
+being absent on a neighbouring island, to pay a visit to another wife
+of Kamea-Mea.
+
+"The apartment," says the traveller, "was furnished in the European
+fashion, with chairs, tables, and looking-glasses. In one corner stood
+an immensely large bed with silk curtains; the floor was covered with
+fine mats, and on these, in the middle of the room, lay Nomahanna,
+extended on her stomach, her head turned towards the door, and her arms
+supported on a silk pillow.... Nomahanna, who appeared at the utmost
+not more than forty years old, was exactly six feet two inches high,
+and rather more than two ells in circumference.... Her coal-black hair
+was neatly plaited, at the top of a head as round as a ball; her flat
+nose and thick projecting lips were certainly not very handsome, yet
+was her countenance on the whole prepossessing and agreeable."
+
+The "good lady" remembered having seen Kotzebue ten years before. She,
+therefore, received him graciously, but she could not speak of her
+husband without tears in her eyes, and her grief did not appear to be
+assumed. In order that the date of his death should be ever-present to
+her mind she had had the inscription 6th May, 1819, branded on her arm.
+
+A zealous Christian, like most of the population, the queen took
+Kotzebue to the church, a vast but simple building, not nearly so
+crowded as that at Otaheite. Nomahanna seemed to be very intelligent,
+she knew how to read and was specially enthusiastic about writing, that
+art which connects us with the absent. Being anxious to give the
+commander a proof alike of her affection and of her acquirements she
+sent him a letter by hand which it had taken her several weeks to
+concoct.
+
+The other ladies did not like to be outdone, and Kotzebue found himself
+overwhelmed with documents. The only means to check this epistolatory
+inundation was to weigh anchor, which the captain did without loss of
+time.
+
+Before his departure he received queen Nomahanna on board. Her Majesty
+appeared in her robes of ceremony, consisting of a magnificent
+peach-coloured silk dress embroidered with black, evidently originally
+made for a European, and consequently too tight and too short for its
+wearer. People could, therefore, see not only the feet, beside which
+those of Charlemagne would have looked like a Chinaman's, and which
+were cased in huge men's boots, but also a pair of fat, brown, naked
+legs resembling the balustrades of a terrace. A collar of red and
+yellow feathers, a garland of natural flowers, serving as a gorget, and
+a hat of Leghorn straw, trimmed with artificial flowers, completed this
+fine but absurd costume.
+
+Nomahanna went over the ship, asking questions about everything, and at
+last, worn out with seeing so many wonders, betook herself to the
+captain's cabin, where a good collation was spread for her. The queen
+flung herself upon a couch, but the fragile article of furniture was
+unable to sustain so much majesty, and gave way beneath the weight of a
+princess, whose _embonpoint_ had doubtless had a good deal to do with
+her elevation to such high rank.
+
+After this halt Kotzebue returned to New Archangel, where he remained
+until the 30th July, 1825. He then paid another visit to the Sandwich
+Islands a short time after Admiral Byron had brought back the remains
+of the king and queen. The archipelago was then at peace, its
+prosperity was continually on the increase, the influence of the
+missionaries was confirmed, and the education of the young monarch was
+in the hands of Missionary Bingham. The inhabitants were deeply touched
+by the honours accorded by the English to the remains of their
+sovereigns, and the day seemed to be not far distant when European
+customs would completely supersede those of the natives.
+
+Some provisions having been embarked at Waihou, the explorer made for
+Radak Islands, identified the Pescadores, forming the southern
+extremity of that chain, discovered the Eschscholtz group, a short
+distance off, and touched at Guam on the 15th October. On the 23rd
+January, 1826, he left Manilla after a stay of some months, during
+which constant intercourse with the natives had enabled him to add
+greatly to our knowledge of the geography and natural history of the
+Philippine islands. A new Spanish governor had arrived with a large
+reinforcement of troops, and had so completely crushed all agitation
+that the colonists had quite given up their scheme of separating
+themselves from Spain.
+
+On the 10th July, 1826, the _Predpriatie_ returned to Cronstadt, after
+a voyage extending over three years, during which she had visited the
+north-west coast of America, the Aleutian Islands, Kamtchatka, and the
+Sea of Oktoksh; surveyed minutely a great part of the Radak Islands,
+and obtained fresh information on the changes through which the people
+of Oceania were passing. Thanks to the ardour of Chamisso and Professor
+Eschscholtz, many specimens of natural history had been collected, and
+the latter published a description of more than 2000 animals, as well
+as some curious details on the mode of formation of the Coral islands
+in the South Seas.
+
+The English government had now resumed with eagerness the study of the
+tantalizing problem, the solution of which had been sought so long in
+vain. We allude to the finding of the north-west passage. When Parry by
+sea and Franklin by land were trying to reach Behring Strait, Captain
+Frederick William Beechey received instructions to penetrate as far
+north as possible by way of the same strait so as to meet the other
+explorers, who would doubtless arrive in a state of exhaustion from
+fatigue and privation.
+
+The _Blossom_, Captain Beechey commander, set sail from Spithead on the
+19th May, 1825, and after doubling Cape Horn on the 26th December,
+entered the Pacific Ocean. After a short stay off the coast of Chili,
+Beechey visited Easter Island, where the same incidents which had
+marked Kotzebue's visit were repeated. The same eager reception on the
+part of the natives, who swam to the _Blossom_ or brought their paltry
+merchandise to it in canoes, and the same shower of stones and blows
+from clubs when the English landed, repulsed, as in the Russian
+explorer's time, with a rapid discharge of shot.
+
+On the 4th December, Captain Beechey sighted an island completely
+overgrown with vegetation. This was the spot famous for the discovery
+on it of the descendants of the mutineers of the _Bounty_, who landed
+on it after the enactment of a tragedy, which at the end of last
+century had excited intense public interest in England.
+
+In 1781 Lieutenant Bligh, one of the officers who had distinguished
+himself under Cook, was appointed to the command of the _Bounty_, and
+received orders to go to Otaheite, there to obtain specimens of the
+breadfruit-tree and other of its vegetable productions for
+transportation to the Antilles, then generally known amongst the
+English as the Western Indies. After doubling Cape Horn, Bligh cast
+anchor in the Bay of Matavai, where he shipped a cargo of
+breadfruit-trees, proceeding thence to Ramouka, one of the Tonga Isles,
+for more of the same valuable growth. Thus far no special incident
+marked the course of the voyage, which seemed likely to end happily.
+But the haughty character and stern, despotic manners of the commander
+had alienated from him the affections of nearly the whole of his crew.
+A plot was formed against him which was carried out before sunrise on
+the 28th April, off Tofona.
+
+Surprised by the mutineers whilst still in bed, Bligh was bound and
+gagged before he could defend himself, and dragged on deck in his
+night-shirt, and after a mock trial, presided over by Lieutenant
+Christian Fletcher, he, with eighteen men who remained faithful to him,
+was lowered into a boat containing a few provisions, and abandoned in
+the open sea.
+
+After enduring agonies of hunger and thirst, and escaping from terrible
+storms and from the teeth of the savage natives of Tofona, Bligh
+succeeded in reaching Timor Island, where he received an enthusiastic
+welcome.
+
+"I now desired my people to come on shore," says Bligh, "which was as
+much as some of them could do, being scarce able to walk; they,
+however, were helped to the house, and found tea with bread and butter
+provided for their breakfast.... Our bodies were nothing but skin and
+bones, our limbs were full of sores, and we were clothed in rags; in
+this condition, with the tears of joy and gratitude flowing down our
+cheeks, the people of Timor beheld us with a mixture of horror,
+surprise, and pity.... Thus, through the assistance of Divine
+Providence, we surmounted the difficulties and distresses of a most
+perilous voyage."
+
+Perilous, indeed, for it had lasted no less than forty-one days in
+latitudes but little known, in an open boat, with insufficient food,
+want and exposure causing infinite suffering. Yet in this voyage of
+more than 1500 leagues but one man was lost, a sailor who fell a victim
+at the beginning of the journey to the natives of Tofona.
+
+The fate of the mutineers was strange, and more than one lesson may be
+learnt from it.
+
+They made for Otaheite, where provisions were obtained, and those who
+had been least active in the mutiny were abandoned, and thence
+Christian set sail with eight sailors, who elected to remain with him,
+and some twenty-two natives, men and women from Otaheite and Toubonai.
+Nothing more was heard of them!
+
+As for those who remained at Otaheite, they were taken prisoners in
+1791 by Captain Edwards of the _Pandora_, sent out by the English
+Government in search of them and the other mutineers, with orders to
+bring them to England. Of the ten who were brought home by the
+_Pandora_, only three were condemned to death.
+
+Twenty years passed by before the slightest light was thrown on the
+fate of Christian and those he took with him.
+
+In 1808 an American trading-vessel touched at Pitcairn, there to
+complete her cargo of seal-skins. The captain imagined the island to be
+uninhabited, but to his very great surprise a canoe presently
+approached his ship manned by three young men of colour, who spoke
+English very well. Greatly astonished, the commander questioned them,
+and learnt that their father had served under Bligh.
+
+The fate of the latter was now known to the whole world, and its
+discussion had lightened the tedious hours in the forecastles of
+vessels of every nationality, and the American captain, reminded by the
+singular incident related above of the disappearance of so many of the
+mutineers of the _Bounty_, landed on the island, where he met an
+Englishman named Smith, who had belonged to the crew of that vessel,
+and who made the following confession.
+
+When he left Otaheite, Christian made direct for Pitcairn, attracted to
+it by its lonely situation, south of the Pomautou Islands, and out of
+the general track of vessels. After landing the provisions of the
+_Bounty_ and taking away all the fittings which could be of any use,
+the mutineers burnt the vessel not only with a view to removing all
+trace of their whereabouts, but also to prevent the escape of any of
+their number.
+
+From the first the sight of the extensive marshes led them to believe
+the island to be uninhabited, and they were soon convinced of the
+justice of this opinion. Huts were built and land was cleared; but the
+English charitably assigned to the natives, whom they had carried off
+or who had elected to join them, the position of slaves. Two years
+passed by without any serious dissensions arising, but at the end of
+that time the natives laid a plot against the whites, of which,
+however, the latter were informed by an Otaheitan woman, and the two
+leaders paid for their abortive attempt with their lives.
+
+Two more years of peace and tranquillity ensued, and then another plot
+was laid, this time resulting in the massacre of Christian and five of
+his comrades. The murder, however, was avenged by the native women, who
+mourned for their English lovers and killed the surviving men of
+Otaheite.
+
+A little later the discovery of a plant, from which a kind of brandy
+could be made, caused the death of one of the four Englishmen still
+remaining, another was murdered by his companions, a third died a
+natural death, and the last one, Smith, took the name of Adams and
+lived on at the head of a community, consisting of ten women and
+nineteen children, the eldest of whom were but seven or eight years
+old.
+
+This man, who had reflected on his errors and repented of them, now led
+a new life, fulfilling the duties of father, priest, and sovereign, his
+combined firmness and justice acquiring for him an all-powerful
+influence over his motley subjects.
+
+This strange teacher of morality, who in his youth had set all laws at
+defiance, and to whom no obligation was sacred, now preached pity,
+love, and sympathy, arranged regular marriages between the children of
+different parents, his little community thriving lustily under the mild
+yet firm control of one who had but lately turned from his own evil
+ways.
+
+Such at the time of Beechey's arrival was the state of the colony at
+Pitcairn. The navigator, well received by the inhabitants, whose
+virtuous conduct recalled the golden age, remained amongst them
+eighteen days. The village consisted of clean, well-built huts,
+surrounded by pandanus and cocoa-palms; the fields were well
+cultivated, and under Adams' tuition the young people had made
+implements of agriculture of really extraordinary excellence. The faces
+of these half breeds were good-looking and pleasant in expression, and
+their figures were well-proportioned, showing unusual muscular
+development.
+
+[Illustration: "The village consisted of clean, well-built huts."]
+
+After leaving Pitcairn, Beechey visited Crescent, Gambier, Hood,
+Clermont, Tonnerre, Serles, Whitsunday, Queen-Charlotte, Tehaï, and the
+Lancer Islands, all in the Pomautou group, and an islet to which he
+gave the name of Byam-Martin.
+
+Here the explorer met a native named Ton-Wari, who had been shipwrecked
+in a storm. Having left Anaa with 500 fellow-countrymen in three canoes
+to render homage to Pomaré III., who had just ascended the throne,
+Ton-Wari had been driven out of his course by westerly winds. These
+were succeeded by variable breezes, and provisions were soon so
+completely exhausted that the survivors had to feed on the bodies of
+those who were the first to succumb. Finally Ton-Wari arrived at Barrow
+Island in the centre of the Dangerous Archipelago, where he obtained a
+small stock of provisions, and after a long delay, his canoe having
+been stove in off Byam-Martin, once more put to sea.
+
+Beechey yielded under considerable persuasion to Ton-Wari's entreaty to
+be received on board with his wife and children and taken to Otaheite.
+The next day, by one of those strange chances seldom occurring except
+in fiction, Beechey stopped at Heïon, where Ton-Wari met his brother,
+who had supposed him to be long since dead. After the first transports
+of delight and surprise the two natives sat down side by side, and
+holding each others hands related their several adventures.
+
+Beechey left Heïon on the 10th February, sighted Melville and Croker
+Islands, and cast anchor on the 18th off Otaheite, where he had some
+difficulty in obtaining provisions. The natives now demanded good
+Chilian dollars and European clothing, both of which were altogether
+wanting on the _Blossom_.
+
+After receiving a visit from the queen-mother, Beechey was invited to a
+_soirée_ given in his honour in the palace at Papeïti. When the English
+arrived, however, they found everybody sound asleep, the hostess having
+forgotten all about her invitation, and gone to bed earlier than usual.
+She received her guests none the less cordially however, and organized
+a little dance in spite of the remonstrances of the missionaries; only
+the _fête_ had to be conducted so to speak in silence, that the noise
+might not reach the ears of the police on duty on the beach. From this
+incident we can guess the amount of liberty the missionary Pritchard
+allowed to the most exalted personages of Otaheite. What must the
+discipline then have been for the common herd of the natives!
+
+On the 3rd April the young king paid a visit to Beechey, who gave him,
+on behalf of the Admiralty, a fine fowling-piece. Very friendly was the
+intercourse which ensued, and the good influence the English
+missionaries had obtained was strengthened by the cordiality and tact
+of the ship's officers.
+
+Leaving Otaheite on the 26th April, Beechey reached the Sandwich
+Islands, where he remained some ten days, and then set sail for Behring
+Strait and the Arctic Ocean. His instructions were to skirt along the
+North American coast as far as the state of the ice would permit. The
+_Blossom_ made a halt in Kotzebue Bay, a desolate, forbidding, and
+inhospitable spot, where the English had several interviews with the
+natives without obtaining any information about Franklin and his
+people. At last Beechey sent forward one of the ship's boats, under
+command of Lieutenant Elson, to seek the intrepid explorer. Elson was,
+however, unable to pass Point Barrow (N. lat. 71 degrees 23 minutes)
+and was compelled to return to the _Blossom_, which in her turn was
+driven back to the entrance of the strait by the ice on the 13th
+October, the weather being clear and the frost of extreme severity.
+
+In order to turn to account the winter season, Beechey visited San
+Francisco and cast anchor yet again off Honolulu in the Sandwich
+Islands. Thanks to the liberal and enlightened policy of the
+government, this archipelago was now rapidly growing in prosperity. The
+number of houses had increased, the town was gradually acquiring a
+European appearance, the harbour was frequented by numerous English and
+American vessels, and a national navy numbering five brigs and eight
+schooners had sprung into being. Agriculture was in a flourishing
+condition; coffee, tea, spices, were cultivated in extensive
+plantations, and efforts were being made to utilize the luxuriant
+sugar-cane forests native to the archipelago.
+
+After a stay in April at the mouth of the Canton River, the explorers
+surveyed the Liu-Kiu archipelago, a chain of islands connecting Japan
+with Formosa, and the Bonin-Sima group, districts in which no animals
+were seen but big green turtles.
+
+This exploration over, the _Blossom_ resumed her northerly course, but
+the atmospheric conditions were less favourable than before, and it was
+impossible this time to penetrate further than N. lat. 70 degrees 40
+minutes. Beechey left provisions, clothes, and instructions on the
+coast in this neighbourhood in case Parry or Franklin should get as
+far. The explorer then cruised about until the 6th October, when he
+decided with the greatest regret to return to England. He touched at
+Monterey, San Francisco, San-Blas, and Valparaiso, doubled Cape Horn,
+cast anchor at Rio de Janeiro, and finally arrived off Spithead on the
+21st October.
+
+[Illustration: A Morai at Kayakakoua. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+We must now give an account of the expedition of the Russian Captain
+Lütke, which was fruitful of most important results. The explorer's own
+relation of his adventures is written in a most amusing and spirited
+style, and from it we shall therefore quote largely.
+
+The _Seniavine_ and the _Möller_ were two transport ships built in
+Russia, both of which were good sea-going boats. The latter, however,
+was a very slow sailer, which unfortunately kept the two vessels apart
+for the greater part of the voyage. Lütke commanded the _Seniavine_,
+and Stanioukowitch the _Möller_.
+
+The two vessels set sail from Cronstadt on the 1st September, 1828, and
+touched at Copenhagen and Plymouth, where scientific instruments were
+purchased. Hardly had they left the Channel before they were separated.
+The _Seniavine_, whose movements we shall most particularly follow,
+touched at Teneriffe, where Lütke hoped to meet his consort.
+
+From the 4th to the 8th November, Teneriffe had been devastated by a
+terrific storm such as had not been seen since the Conquest. Three
+vessels had perished in the very roadstead of Santa Cruz, and two
+others thrown upon the coast had gone to pieces. Torrents swollen by a
+tremendous downpour had destroyed gardens, walls, and buildings, laid
+waste plantations, all but demolished one fort, swept down a number of
+houses in the town, and rendered several streets impassable. Three or
+four hundred persons had met their deaths in this convulsion of nature,
+and the damage done was estimated at several millions of piastres.
+
+In January the two vessels met again at Rio de Janeiro, and kept
+together as far as Cape Horn, where they encountered the usual storms
+and fogs, and were again separated. The _Seniavine_ then made for
+Conception.
+
+"On the 15th May," says Lütke, "we were not more than eight miles from
+the nearest coast, but a dense fog hid it from us. In the night this
+fog lifted, and at daybreak a scene of indescribable grandeur and
+magnificence met our eyes. The serrated chain of the Andes, with its
+pointed peaks, stood out against an azure blue sky lit up by the first
+rays of the morning sun. I will not add to the number of those who have
+exhausted themselves in vain efforts to transmit to others their own
+sensations at the first sight of such scenes. They are as indescribable
+as the majesty of the scene itself. The variety of the colours, the
+light, which as the sun rose gradually spread over the sky, and the
+clouds were alike of inimitable beauty. To our great regret this
+spectacle, like everything most sublime in nature, did not last long.
+As the atmosphere became flooded with light the huge masses of clouds
+seemed with one accord to plunge into the deep, and the sun, appearing
+above the horizon, removed every trace of them."
+
+Lütke's opinion of Conception does not agree with that of some of his
+predecessors. He had not yet forgotten the exuberant richness of the
+vegetation of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, so that he found this new
+coast poor. As far as he could judge, during a very short stay, the
+inhabitants were more affable and civilized than the people of the same
+class in many other countries.
+
+When he reached Valparaiso, Lütke met the _Möller_ setting sail for
+Kamtchatka. The crews bid each other good-bye, and thenceforth the two
+vessels took different directions.
+
+The first excursion of the officers and naturalists of Lütke's party
+was to the celebrated "quebradas."
+
+"These," says the explorer, "are ravines in the mountains, crowded so
+to speak with the little huts containing the greater part of the people
+of Valparaiso. The most densely populated of these 'quebradas' is that
+rising at the south-west corner of the town. The granite, which is
+there laid bare, serves as a strong foundation for the buildings, and
+protects them from the destructive effects of earthquakes.
+Communication between the town and the different houses is carried on
+by means of narrow paths without supports or steps, which are carried
+along the slopes of the rocks, and on which the children play and run
+about like chamois. The few houses here belong to foreigners. Little
+paths lead up to them, and some have steps, which the Chilians look
+upon as a superfluous and altogether useless luxury. A staircase of
+tiled or palm-branch roofs below and above an amphitheatre of gates and
+gardens present a curious spectacle. At first I kept up with the
+naturalists, but they presently brought me to a place where I could not
+advance or retire a step, which decided me to return with one of my
+officers, and to leave them there with a hearty wish that they might
+bring their heads back safely to our lodgings. As for myself I expected
+to lose mine a thousand times before I got down again."
+
+On their return from an arduous excursion, a few leagues from
+Valparaiso, the marines were astonished at being arrested as they rode
+into the town, by a patrol, who in spite of their remonstrances
+compelled them to dismount.
+
+"It was Holy Thursday," says Lütke, "and from that day to Holy Saturday
+no one is here permitted under pain of a severe penalty either to ride,
+sing, dance, play on any instrument, or wear a hat. All business, work,
+and amusement are strictly forbidden during that time. The hill in the
+centre of the town with the theatre upon it is converted for the time
+being into a Golgotha. In the centre of a railed-in space rises a
+crucifix with numerous tapers and flowers about it and female figures
+kneeling on either side representing the witnesses of the Passion of
+our Lord. Pious souls come here to obtain absolution from their sins by
+loud prayers. I saw none but female penitents, not a single man was
+there amongst them. Most of them were doubtless very certain of
+obtaining the divine favour, for they came up playing and laughing,
+only assuming a contrite air when close to the object of their
+devotion, before which they knelt for a few minutes, resuming their
+pranks and laughter again directly they turned away."
+
+The intolerance and superstition met with by the visitors at every turn
+made the explorer reflect deeply. He regretted seeing so much force and
+so many resources which might have promoted the intellectual progress
+and material prosperity of the country wasted on perpetual revolutions.
+
+To Lütke nothing less resembled a valley of Paradise than Valparaiso
+and its environs: rugged mountains, broken by deep _quebradas_, a sandy
+plain, in the centre of which rises the town, with the lofty heights of
+the Andes in the background, do not, strictly speaking, form an Eden.
+
+The traces of the terrible earthquake of 1823 were not yet entirely
+effaced, and here and there large spaces covered with ruins were still
+to be seen.
+
+On the 15th April, the _Seniavine_ set sail for New Archangel, where
+she arrived on the 24th June, after a voyage unmarked by any special
+incident. The necessity for repairing the effects of the wear and tear
+of a voyage of ten months, and of disembarking the provisions for the
+company of which the _Seniavine_ was the bearer, detained Captain Lütke
+in the Bay of Sitka for five weeks.
+
+This part of the coast of North America presents a wild but picturesque
+appearance. Lofty mountains clothed to their very peaks with dense and
+gloomy forests form the background of the picture. At the entrance of
+the bay rises Mount Edgecumbe, an extinct volcano 2800 feet above the
+sea-level. On entering the bay the visitor finds himself in a labyrinth
+of islands, behind which rise the fortress, towers, and church of New
+Archangel, which consists of but one row of houses with gardens, a
+hospital, a timber-yard, and outside the palisades a large village of
+Kaloche Indians. At this time the population consisted of a mixture of
+Russians, Creoles, and Aleutians, numbering some 800 altogether, of
+whom three-eighths were in the service of the company. This population,
+however, fluctuates very much according to the season. In the summer
+almost every one is away at the chase, and no sooner does autumn bring
+the people before they are all off again fishing.
+
+New Archangel does not offer too many attractions in the way of
+amusements. Truth to tell, it is one of the dullest places imaginable,
+inexpressibly gloomy, where autumn seems to reign all through the year
+except for three months, when snow falls continuously. All this,
+however, does not of course affect the passing visitor, and for the
+resident there is nothing to keep up his spirits but a good stock of
+philosophy or a stern determination not to die of hunger. There is a
+good deal of remunerative trade with California, the natives, and
+foreign vessels.
+
+The chief furs obtained by Aleutians who hunt for the Company are those
+of the otter, the beaver, the fox, and the _souslic_. The natives also
+hunt the walrus, seal, and whale, not to speak of the herring, the cod,
+salmon, turbot, lote, perch, and tsouklis, a shell fish found in Queen
+Charlotte's Islands, used by the Company as a medium of exchange with
+the Americans.
+
+As for these Americans they seem to be all of one race between the 46th
+and 60th degrees of N. lat., such at least is the conclusion to which
+we are led by the study of their manners, customs, and languages.
+
+The Kaloches of Sitka claim a man of the name of Elkh as the founder of
+their race, favoured by the protection of the raven, first cause of all
+things.[4] Strange to say, this bird also plays an important part
+amongst the Kadiaks, who are Esquimaux. According to Lütke, the
+Kaloches have a tradition of a deluge and some fables which recall
+those of the Greek mythology.
+
+[Footnote 4: The raven was regarded by these races with superstitious
+dread, as having the power of healing diseases, &c.--_Trans._]
+
+Their religion is nothing more than a kind of Chamanism or belief in
+the power of the Chamans or magicians to ward off diseases, &c. They do
+not recognize a supreme God, but they believe in evil spirits, and in
+sorcerers who foretell the future, heal the sick, and transmit their
+office from father to son.
+
+They believe the soul to be immortal, and that the spirits of their
+chieftains do not mix with those of the common people. Slaves are
+slaves still after death; the far from consolatory nature of this creed
+is obvious. The government is patriarchal; the natives are divided into
+tribes, the members of which have the figures of animals as signs,
+after which they are also sometimes named. We meet for instance with
+the wolf, the raven, the bear, the eagle, &c.
+
+The slaves of the Kaloches are prisoners taken in war, and very
+miserable is their lot. Their masters hold the power of life and death
+over them. In some ceremonies, that on the death of a chief, for
+instance, the slaves who are no longer of use are sacrificed, or else
+their liberty is given to them.[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: The aim being to give up the slaves as property, it was a
+matter of indifference whether they were killed or set at
+liberty.--_Trans._]
+
+Suspicious and crafty, cruel and vindictive, the Kaloches are neither
+better nor worse than the neighbouring tribes. Hardened to fatigue,
+brave but idle, they leave all the housework to their wives, of whom
+they have many, polygamy being an institution amongst them.
+
+On leaving Sitka, Lütke made for Ounalashka. Ilioluk is the chief
+trading establishment on that island, but it only contains some twelve
+Russians and ten Aleutians of both sexes.
+
+This island has a good many productions which tend to make life pass
+pleasantly. It is rich in good pastures, and cattle-breeding is largely
+carried on, but it is almost entirely wanting in timber, the
+inhabitants being obliged to pick up the _débris_ flung up by the sea,
+which sometimes includes whole trunks of cypress, camphor-trees, and a
+kind of wood which smells like roses.
+
+At the time of Lütke's visit the people of the Fox Islands had adopted
+to a great extent Russian manners and costumes. They were all
+Christians. The Aleutians are a hardy, kind-hearted, agile race, almost
+living on the sea.
+
+Since 1826 several eruptions of lava have caused terrible devastation
+in these islands. In May, 1827, the Shishaldin volcano opened a new
+crater, and vomited forth flames.
+
+Lütke's instructions obliged him to explore St. Matthew's Island, which
+Cook had called Gore Island. The hydrographical survey was successful
+beyond the highest expectations, but the Russians could do nothing
+towards learning anything of the natural history of the island, for
+they were not allowed to land at all.
+
+In the meantime the winter with its usual storms and fogs was rapidly
+drawing on. It was of no use hoping to get to Behring Strait, and Lütke
+therefore made for Kamtchatka after touching at Behring Island. He
+remained three weeks at Petropaulovsky, which he employed in landing
+his cargo and preparing for his winter campaign.
+
+Lütke's instructions were now to spend the winter in the exploration of
+the Caroline Islands. He decided to go first to Ualan Island, which had
+been discovered by the French navigator Duperrey. Here a safe harbour
+enabled him to make some experiments with the pendulum.
+
+On his way Lütke sought in vain for Colonnas Island in N. lat. 26
+degrees 9 minutes, W. long. 128 degrees. He was equally unsuccessful in
+his search for Dexter and St. Bartholomew Islands, though he identified
+the Brown coral group discovered by Butler in 1794 and arrived safely
+off Ualan on the 4th December.
+
+From the first the relations between the natives of this island and the
+Russians were extremely satisfactory. Many of the former came on board,
+and showed so much confidence in their visitors as to remain all night,
+though the vessel was still in motion.
+
+It was only with great difficulty that the _Seniavine_ entered Coquille
+harbour. Following the example of Duperrey, who had set up his
+observatory on the islet of Matanial, Lütke landed there and took his
+observations, whilst his people traded with the natives, who were,
+throughout his stay, peaceful, friendly, and civil. To check their
+thieving propensities, however, a chief was kept as a hostage for a
+couple of days, and one canoe was burnt, these new measures being
+completely successful.
+
+"We are glad to be able to declare in the face of the world," says
+Lütke, "that our stay of three weeks at Ualan cost not a drop of human
+blood, but that we were able to leave these friendly islanders without
+enlightening them further on the use of our fire-arms, which they
+looked upon as suitable only for the killing of birds. I don't think
+there is another instance of the kind in the records of any previous
+voyages in the South Seas."
+
+[Illustration: Native of Ualan. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+After leaving Ualan, Lütke had a vain search for the Musgrave Islands,
+marked on Kruzenstern's map, and soon discovered a large island,
+surrounded by a coral reef, which had escaped the notice of Duperrey,
+and is known as Puinipet, or Pornabi. Some very large and fine canoes,
+each manned by fourteen men, and some smaller ones, worked by two
+natives only, soon surrounded the vessel. Their inmates, with fierce
+faces and blood-shot eyes, were noisy and blustering, and did a good
+deal of shouting, gesticulating, and dancing before they could make up
+their minds to trust themselves on board the _Seniavine_.
+
+It would have been impossible to land, except by force, as the native
+canoes completely surrounded the vessel, and when an attempt at
+disembarkation was made, the savages surrounded the ship's boat, only
+retiring before the warlike attitude of the sailors and a volley from
+the guns of the _Seniavine_.
+
+Lütke had not time to examine thoroughly his discovery, to which he
+gave the name of the Seniavine Archipelago. The information he
+collected on the people of the Puinipet Islands is, therefore, not very
+trustworthy. According to him they do not belong to the same race as
+those of Ualan, but resemble rather the Papuans, the nearest of whom
+are those of New Ireland, seven hundred miles away.
+
+After another vain search, this time for Saint Augustine's Island, he
+sighted the Cora of Los Vaherites, also called Seven, or Raven Island,
+discovered in 1773 by the Spaniard Felipe Tompson.
+
+The navigator next saw the Mortlock Archipelago, the old Lugunor group,
+known to Torrés as the Lugullos, the people of which resemble those of
+Ualan. He landed on the principal of these islands, which he found to
+be one huge garden of cocoa palms and breadfruit-trees.
+
+The natives enjoy a centre degree of civilization. They weave and dye
+the fibres of the banana and cocoa-nut palms, as do those of Ualan and
+Puinipet. Their fishing-tackle does credit to their inventive
+faculties, especially a sort of case constructed of small sticks and
+split bamboo-canes, which the fish cannot get out of when once in. They
+also use nets of the shape of large wallets, lines, and harpoons.
+
+Their canoes, in which they spend more than half their lives, are
+wonderfully adapted to their requirements. The large ones, which are a
+very great trouble to build, and which are kept in sheds constructed
+specially for them, are twenty-six feet long, two and a half wide, and
+four deep. They are furnished with gimbals, the cross-pieces being
+connected by a rafter. On the other side there is a small platform,
+four feet square, and furnished with a roof, under which they are
+accustomed to keep their provisions. These pirogues have a triangular
+sail, which is made of matting woven from bandanus leaves, and is
+attached to two yards. In tacking about they drop the sail, and turn
+the mast towards the other end of the canoe, to which, at the same
+time, they have passed the fastening of the sail, so that the pirogue
+moves forward by its other extremity.
+
+Lütke next sighted the Namuluk group, the inhabitants of which do not
+differ at all from the people of Lugunor, and he proved the identity of
+Hogolu Island--already described by Duperrey--with Quirosa. He then
+visited the Namnuïto group, the first stratum of a number of islands,
+or of one large island which will some day exist in this part of the
+world.
+
+Lütke, who was in want of biscuits and other articles, which he hoped
+to obtain at Guam, or from vessels at anchor in that port, now set sail
+for the Marianne Islands, where he counted upon being able to repeat
+some new experiments with the pendulum, in which Freycinet had found an
+important anomaly of gravitation.[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: "From numerous experiments," says Freycinet, "with the
+pendulum, collected at our observatory at Agagna, in lat. 13 degrees 27
+minutes 511 seconds 5 N. ... at the level of the sea, and with the
+thermometer at +20 degrees centig., we were shown that the pendulum
+which, in the same circumstances, would make at Paris 86,400
+oscillations in 24 mean solar hours would here make 86,295 ^osc .013 in
+the same time."--_Trans._]
+
+Great, however, was his surprise when he arrived to find not a sign of
+life at Guam. No flags waved above the two ports, the silence of death
+reigned everywhere, and but for the presence of a schooner at anchor in
+the inner harbour, it might have been a desert island. There was hardly
+anybody about on shore, and the few people there were were half savage,
+from whom it was all but impossible to obtain the slightest
+information. Fortunately, an English deserter came and offered his
+services to Lütke, who sent him to the governor with a letter, which
+elicited a satisfactory reply.
+
+The governor was the same Medinella whose hospitality had been lauded
+by Kotzebue and Freycinet. There was, therefore, no difficulty in
+obtaining permission to set up an observatory, and to take to it the
+necessary provisions. The stay at Guam was, however, saddened by an
+accident to Lütke, who wounded himself severely in the thumb with his
+own gun when hunting.
+
+The repairing and refitting of the _Seniavine_, with the taking in of
+wood and water, delayed the explorer at Guam until the 19th March.
+During this time Lütke was able to verify the information collected ten
+years ago by Freycinet in his stay of two months in the Governor's own
+house. Things had not changed at all since the French traveller's
+visit.
+
+As it was not yet time to go north, Lütke made for the Caroline
+Islands, _viâ_ the Swedes Islands. The inhabitants seemed to him to be
+better made than their neighbours on the west, from whom, however, they
+differ in no other particulars. The Faraulep, Ulie, Ifuluk, and Euripeg
+Islands were successively examined, and on the 27th April the explorer
+started for the Bonin Islands, where he learnt that his exploration of
+that group had been anticipated by Beechey. He, therefore, took no
+hydrographical surveys. Two of the crew of a whaling-vessel, which had
+been shipwrecked on the coast, were still living at Bonin Sima.
+
+Since the rise of the great fisheries, this Archipelago has been
+frequented by numerous whalemen, who here find a safe port at all
+seasons, plenty of wood and water, turtles for six months of the year,
+fish, and immense quantities of anti-scorbutic plants, including the
+delicious savoy cabbage.
+
+"The majestic height and the vigour of the trees," says Lütke, "the
+productions of the tropical and temperate zones, alternating with each
+other, bear witness at once to the fertility of the soil and the
+salubrity of the climate. Most of our vegetables and pot-herbs,
+perhaps, indeed, all of them would certainly flourish well, as would
+also wheat, rice, and maize, nor could a better climate be desired for
+the cultivation of the vine. Domestic animals of every kind and bees
+would multiply rapidly. In a word, a small and industrious colony would
+shortly convert this little group into a fertile and flourishing
+settlement."
+
+On the 9th June, after a week's delay for want of wind, the _Seniavine_
+entered Petropaulovsky, where it was retained taking in provisions
+until the 26th. A whole series of surveys were taken during this
+interval, of the coasts of Kamtchatka, and of the Kodiak and Tchouktchi
+districts, interrupted, however, by visits to Karaghinsk Island, the
+bay of St. Lawrence, and the gulf of Santa Cruz.
+
+During one of these visits, the captain met with a strange adventure.
+He had been for several days on a friendly footing with the
+Tchouktchis, whose knowledge of the people and customs of Russia he
+endeavoured to increase.
+
+"These natives," he says, "were friendly and polite, and endeavoured to
+pay back our jokes and tricks in our own coin. I softly patted the
+cheek of a sturdy Tchouktchi as a sign of kindly feeling, and suddenly
+received in return a box on the ear which knocked me down. Recovered
+from my astonishment, there I saw my Tchouktchi with a laughing face,
+looking like a man who has just given proof of his politeness and tact.
+He too had meant to give me merely a gentle tap, but it was with a hand
+only accustomed to deal with reindeer."
+
+The travellers were also witnesses of some proofs of the skill of a
+Tchouktchi conjurer, or chaman, who went behind a curtain, from which
+his audience soon heard a voice like the howl of a wild beast,
+accompanied by blows on a tambourine with a whale-bone. The curtain
+then rose, revealing the sorcerer balancing himself, and accompanying
+his own voice with blows on his drum, which he held close to his ear.
+Presently he flung off his jacket, leaving himself naked to the waist,
+took a polished stone, which he gave to Lütke to hold, took it away
+again, and as he passed one hand over the other the stone disappeared.
+Then showing a tumour on his shoulder, he pretended that the stone was
+in it; turned over the tumour, extracted the stone from it, and
+prophesied a favourable issue of the journey of the Russians.
+
+The conjuror was congratulated on his skill, and a knife was given to
+him as a token of gratitude. Taking this knife in his hand, he put out
+his tongue, and began to cut it. His mouth became full of blood, and he
+finally cut a piece of his tongue off, and held the piece out in his
+hand. Here the curtain fell, probably because the skill of the
+professor of legerdemain could go no further.
+
+The people inhabiting the north-east corner of Asia are known under the
+general name of Tchouktchis. This includes two races, one nomad, like
+the Samoyedes, called the Reindeer Tchouktchis; the other, living in
+fixed habitations, called the sedentary Tchouktchis. The mode of life,
+the physiognomy, and the very language of these two races differ. The
+idiom spoken by the sedentary Tchouktchis has great affinity with that
+of the Esquimaux, whom they also resemble in their mode of building
+their huts and leather boats, and in the instruments they use.
+
+[Illustration: Sedentary Tchouktchis.]
+
+Lütke did not see many Reindeer Tchouktchis, so that he could add
+nothing to the information obtained by his predecessors. He was of
+opinion, however, that they had been painted in unfairly gloomy
+colours, and that their turbulence and wildness had been grossly
+exaggerated.
+
+The sedentary Tchouktchis, generally called Namollos, spend the winter
+in sheds, and the summer in huts covered with skins. The latter usually
+each serve for several families.
+
+"The sons and their wives, the daughters and their husbands," says the
+narrative, "live together with their parents, and _vice versâ_. Each
+family occupies one division of the back part of the hut, curtained off
+from the others. The curtains are made of reindeer-skins, sewn into the
+shape of a bell. They are fastened to the beams of the ceiling, and
+reach to the ground. With the aid of the grease they burn in cold
+weather, two, three, and sometimes more persons so warm the air with
+their breath in these hermetically sealed positions that all clothing
+is superfluous, even with the severest frost, but only Tchouktchi lungs
+are fitted to respire in such an atmosphere. In the outer part of the
+hut cooking-utensils, pottery, baskets, seal-skin trunks, &c., are
+kept. Here too is the hearth, if we can so call the spot where burn a
+few sticks of brushwood, painfully collected in the marsh, or when they
+are not to be obtained, whale-bones floating in grease. Round about the
+hut on wooden dryers, black and disgusting looking pieces of seal's
+flesh are exposed to view." These people lead a miserable life. They
+feed upon the half-raw flesh of seals and walruses hunted by
+themselves, or on that of whales flung up by the waves on the beach.
+The dog is the only domestic animal they possess, and they treat it
+badly enough, although the poor creatures are very affectionate and
+render them great services, now towing along their canoes, now dragging
+their sledges over the snow.
+
+After a second stay of five weeks at Petropaulovski, the _Seniavine_
+left Kamtchatka, on the 10th of November, on its way back to Europe.
+Before reaching Manilla, Lütke made a cruise in the northern part of
+the Caroline Archipelago, which he had not had time to visit during the
+preceding winter. He saw in succession the islands of Marileu, Falulu,
+Faïu, Namuniuto, Magur, Faraulep, Eap, Mogmog, and found at Manilla the
+sloop, the _Möller_ which was waiting his arrival.
+
+The Caroline Archipelago embraces an immense space, and the Marianne
+Islands, as well as the Radak group, might fitly be included in it, as
+containing a population perfectly identical in race. For a long time
+the old geographers had had for their guidance only the charts of
+missionaries who, lacking alike the education and the appliances
+necessary to estimate accurately the size, position, and relative
+distance of all these archipelagoes, had attached notable importance to
+them, and often fixed at a considerable number of degrees the extent of
+a group which covered only a few miles.
+
+Thus navigators accepted their guidance with wise caution. Freycinet
+was the first to infuse a little order into this chaos, and, thanks to
+his meeting with Kadu and Don Louis Torrès, he was able to identify
+later with earlier discoveries. Lütke did his part--and that not a
+small part--in the settling of an accurate and scientific chart of an
+archipelago which had long been the terror of navigators.
+
+The learned Russian explorer is not of the same opinion as Lesson, one
+of his predecessors, who connected all the inhabitants of the Caroline
+group with the Mongolian race, under the name of the "Mongolo-Pelagian"
+branch. He rather sees in them, as did Chamisso and Balbi, a branch of
+the Malay family, which has peopled Eastern Polynesia. Whilst Lesson
+compares the people of the Carolines with the Chinese and Japanese,
+Lütke, on the other hand, finds in their great, projecting eyes, thick
+lips, and _retroussé_ nose, a family likeness to the people of the
+Sandwich and Tonga Islands. The language does not suggest the slightest
+comparison with Japanese, whilst it shows a great resemblance to that
+of the Tonga Islands.
+
+Lütke spent the time of his sojourn at Manilla in laying in stores, and
+repairing the sloop, and, on the 30th of January, he left that Spanish
+possession for Russia, which he reached on the 6th of September, 1829,
+casting anchor in the roads of Cronstadt.
+
+It remains now to tell how it had fared with the sloop, the _Möller_,
+after the separation at Valparaiso. Arriving at Kamtchatka from
+Otaheite, she had left part of her cargo at Petropaulovski, and
+thereafter--in August, 1827--had set sail for Ounalashka, where she had
+remained for a month. After an examination of the west coast of
+America, which was cut short by unfavourable weather, and a stay at
+Honolulu, which extended to February, 1828, she had discovered the
+island Möller, noted the Necker, Gardner, and Lisiansky Islands, and
+marked, at a distance of six miles southwards, a very dangerous reef.
+
+The sloop had then coasted the island of Curè, the French Frigate Shoal
+the reef Maro, Pearl Island, and the Isle of Hermes; and, after having
+made search for several islands marked upon Arrowsmith's charts, had at
+length reached Kamtchatka. At the end of April, she had set sail for
+Ounalashka and taken observations of the north coast of the Alaska
+peninsula. In September the _Möller_ rejoined the _Seniavine_, and,
+from that period until their return to Russia, they were no more
+separated, save for brief intervals.
+
+As one may judge from the sufficiently detailed account which has just
+been given, this expedition did not fail to bring about results of
+importance to geographical science. We must add that the different
+branches of natural history, physics, and astronomy, owe to it equally
+numerous and important additions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+FRENCH CIRCUMNAVIGATORS.
+
+The journey of Freycinet--Rio de Janeiro and its gipsy inhabitants--The
+Cape and its wines--The Bay of Sharks--Stay at Timor--Ombay Island and
+its cannibal inhabitants--The Papuan Islands--The pile dwellings of the
+Alfoers--A dinner with the Governor of Guam--Description of the
+Marianne Islands and their inhabitants--Particulars concerning the
+Sandwich Islands--Port Jackson and New South Wales--Shipwreck in
+Berkeley Sound--The Falkland Islands--Return to France--The voyage of
+the _Coquille_ under the command of Duperrey--Martin-Vaz and Trinidad--
+The Island of St. Catharine--The independence of Brazil--Berkeley Sound
+and the remains of the _Uranie_--Stay at Conception--The civil war in
+Chili--The Araucanians--Discoveries in the Dangerous Archipelago--Stay
+at Otaheite and New Ireland--The Papuans--Stay at Ualan--The Caroline
+Islands and their inhabitants--Scientific results of the expeditions.
+
+
+The expedition under the command of Louis Claude de Saulces de
+Freycinet was the result of the leisure which the Peace of 1815 brought
+to the French navy. The idea was started by one of its most adventurous
+officers, the same who had accompanied Baudin in his survey of the
+Australian coasts, and to him was entrusted the task of carrying it
+out. It was the first voyage which had not hydrography alone for its
+object. Its chief aim was to survey the shape of the land in the
+southern hemisphere, and to make observations in terrestrial magnetism,
+without, at the same time, omitting to give attention to all natural
+phenomena, and to the manners, customs, and languages of indigenous
+races. Purely geographical inquiries, though not altogether omitted
+from the programme, had the least prominent place in it.
+
+Among the medical officers of the navy, Freycinet found MM. Quoy,
+Gaimard, and Gaudichaud, whose attainments in natural history qualified
+them for being valuable coadjutors; and he also chose to accompany him
+several distinguished officers who had risen to high rank in the navy,
+the best known being Duperrey, Lamarche, Berard, and Odet-Pellion, who
+subsequently became, one a member of the Institute, the others superior
+officers or admirals.
+
+No less care was exercised by Freycinet in composing his crew chiefly
+of sailors who were also skilled in some trade; so that out of the 120
+men who manned the corvette _Uranie_, no less than fifty could serve on
+occasion as carpenters, ropemakers, sailmakers, blacksmiths, or other
+mechanics.
+
+The _Uranie_, amply supplied with stores for two years, and provided
+with all sorts of apparatus of proved utility, iron cisterns for fresh
+water, machines for distilling salt water, preserved provisions,
+remedies for scurvy, &c. At last, on the 17th of September, 1817, she
+set sail from Toulon. On board, disguised as a sailor, was the
+commander's wife, who was not to be deterred from joining her husband
+by the dangers and hardships of so protracted a voyage.
+
+Together with all these provisions for bodily comfort, Freycinet took
+with him a stock of the best scientific instruments, together with
+minute instructions from the Institute intended to direct his
+researches, and to suggest the experiments best adapted to promote the
+progress of science.
+
+The _Uranie_ reached Rio de Janeiro on the 6th of December, having put
+in at Gibraltar, and made a short stay at Teneriffe, one of the
+Canaries, which, as Freycinet wittily observes, were not Fortunate
+Islands for his crew, all communication with the land being forbidden
+by the governors.
+
+During their stay at Rio de Janeiro the officers took a great many
+magnetical observations and made experiments with the pendulum, whilst
+the naturalists scoured the country for new specimens and curiosities,
+making large and important collections.
+
+The original records of the voyage contain a long narrative of the
+discovery and colonization of Brazil, and detailed information on the
+customs and manners of the people, on the temperature and the climate,
+as well as a minute description of the principal buildings and the
+suburbs of Rio de Janeiro itself. The most curious part of this account
+is that which touches upon the gipsies, who, at that time, were to be
+met with at Rio de Janeiro.
+
+"Worthy descendants of the Pariahs of India, whence these gipsies
+without doubt originally came," says Freycinet, "they are noted like
+their ancestors for every vicious practice and criminal propensity.
+Most of them, possessing immense wealth, make a great display in dress
+and in horses, especially at their weddings, which are celebrated with
+much expense; and they find their chief pleasure either in riotous
+debauchery or in sheer idleness. Knaves and liars, they cheat as much
+as they can in trade, and are also clever smugglers. Here, as
+elsewhere, these detestable people intermarry only among their own
+race. They speak a jargon of their own with a peculiar accent. The
+government most unaccountably tolerates the nuisance of their presence,
+and goes so far as to appropriate to their exclusive use two streets in
+the neighbourhood of the Campo de Santa Anna."
+
+A little further on the traveller remarks,--
+
+"Any one who saw Rio de Janeiro only by day would come to the
+conclusion that the population consisted entirely of negroes. The
+respectable classes never go out except in the evening, unless
+compelled by some pressing circumstance or for the performance of
+religious duties; and it is in the evening that the ladies especially
+show themselves. During the day all remain indoors, and pass the time
+between their couches and their looking-glasses. The only places where
+a man can enjoy the society of the ladies are the theatres and the
+churches."
+
+During the sail from Brazil to the Cape of Good Hope nothing occurred
+deserving special mention. On the 7th March the _Uranie_ anchored in
+Table Bay. After a quarantine of three days, the travellers obtained
+permission to land, and were received with a hearty welcome by Governor
+Somerset. As soon as a place suitable for their reception had been
+found, the scientific instruments were brought on shore, and the usual
+experiments were made with the pendulum, and the variations of the
+magnetic needle observed.
+
+MM. Quoy and Gaimard, the naturalists, in company with several officers
+of the staff, made scientific excursions to Table Mountain and to the
+famous vineyards of Constantia. M. Gaimard observes, "The vines that we
+rode amongst are in the midst of alleys of oak and of pine; and the
+vine-stems, planted at the distance of four feet from one another, are
+not supported by props. Every year the vines are pruned, and the earth
+about them, which is of a sandy nature, is turned up. We noticed here
+and there plenty of peaches, apricots, apples, pears, citrons, as well
+as small plots cultivated as kitchen-gardens. On our return, M. Colyn
+insisted on our tasting the several sorts of wine which he
+produces,--Constantia properly so-called, both red and white, Pontac,
+Pierre, and Frontignac. The wine produced in other localities, which is
+called _Cape wine par excellence_, is manufactured from a muscatel
+grape of a dark straw colour, which seemed to me in flavour preferable
+to the grape of Provence. We have just said that there are two sorts of
+Constantia, the red and the white; they are both produced from muscatel
+grapes of different colours. People at the Cape generally prefer
+Frontignac to all the other wines produced from the vintages of
+Constantia."
+
+Exactly a month after quitting the southern extremity of Africa, the
+_Uranie_ cast anchor off Port Louis in the Isle of France, which, since
+the Treaties of 1815, has been in the hands of the English. The
+necessity for careening the ship, that it might be thoroughly examined,
+and the copper sheathing repaired, led to a much longer stay in this
+port than Freycinet had calculated upon; but our travellers found no
+cause to regret the delay, for the society of Port Louis fully
+sustained its old reputation for generous hospitality. The time passed
+quickly in excursions, receptions, dinners, balls, horse-races, and all
+sorts of festivities. It was, therefore, not without some regret that
+the French guests bade adieu to a place where they had been received
+with so much kindness both by their old compatriots and by those who
+had so lately been their bitter enemies.
+
+The stay of the _Uranie_ at the Isle of France had not, however, been
+sufficiently long to allow Freycinet to investigate many subjects of
+much interest, but this omission was remedied by the polite readiness
+shown by some of the leading residents in supplying him with valuable
+papers on the agriculture of the island, its commerce, its financial
+position, the industrial pursuits, and the social condition of the
+people, the correct appreciation of which demanded a more careful and
+minute examination than a mere passing traveller could possibly give to
+them. Since the island had come under English administration, it
+appeared that a number of new roads had been planned out, and a policy
+of reform had supplanted a benumbing system of routine fatal to all
+activity and progress.
+
+Bourbon was the next place touched at by the _Uranie_, where the
+supplies of which the travellers stood in need were to be procured from
+the government stores. She cast anchor off St. Denis on the 19th July,
+1818, remaining in the roadstead of St. Paul until the 2nd August, when
+she set sail for the Bay of Sharks, on the western shores of Australia.
+There is little of interest to be noted in connexion with the stay at
+Bourbon beyond the steady increase of the population and of trade which
+had taken place during the century preceding the arrival of the French
+expedition in 1717. According to Gentil de Barbinais, there were living
+in the island only 900 free people, amongst whom were no more than six
+white families, and 1100 slaves. At the last census taken in 1817,
+these numbers had risen to 14,790 whites, 4342 free blacks, 49,759
+slaves, making a total of 68,898 inhabitants. This large and rapid
+increase must be attributed partly to the salubrity of the climate, but
+chiefly to the freedom of trade, of which the island had for some time
+enjoyed the advantage.
+
+After a fortunate voyage of forty days, the _Uranie_ cast anchor at the
+entrance of the Bay of Sharks on the 12th September. A party was at
+once despatched to Dirk Hartog, in order to determine the latitude and
+longitude of Cape Levaillant, and to bring on board the corvette a
+certain metal plate which had been left there by the Dutch at a remote
+period, and had been seen by Freycinet in 1801. Whilst this party were
+away, the two alembics were set to work to distil sea-water, which was
+effected so successfully that as long as the vessel stayed there, no
+other water was drunk but that obtained by this process, and all on
+board were satisfied with it.
+
+On landing, the party sent to Dirk Hartog, got a view of the natives,
+who were armed with javelins and clubs, but had not a vestige of
+clothing. They, however, refused to have any close communications with
+the white strangers, keeping themselves at a respectful distance, and
+not handling any of the presents offered them without a previous
+careful inspection.
+
+Although the Bay of Sharks had been minutely explored at the time of
+the expedition under Baudin, there still remained a hydrographical gap
+to be filled up on the eastern side of Hamelin Bay. Accordingly
+Duperrey proceeded there to complete the survey of that part of the
+coast. At the same time Gaimard, the naturalist, not disposed to rest
+satisfied with the interviews which as yet he had been able to obtain
+with the natives of the country, whom the sound of the fire-arms had
+summarily dispersed, decided upon penetrating into the interior, to
+gain some information respecting their mode of life. His companion and
+himself lost their way, as also did Riche in 1792 upon Nuyt's Land,
+where for three days they underwent severe sufferings from thirst, not
+being able to find a single rivulet or spring in the country.
+
+The Expedition were well pleased when the inhospitable shores of
+Endracht disappeared from view. They had a pleasant passage in lovely
+weather, and over an unruffled sea, to the island of Timor, where on
+the 9th October the _Uranie_ cast anchor in the roadstead of Coupang,
+and the travellers met with a cordial reception from the Portuguese
+authorities. But they found that the prosperity which had made the
+colony an object of wonder and admiration to the French travellers who
+had visited it with Baudin, had passed away. The Rajah of Amanoubang,
+the district where the sandal-tree grows in such abundance, who was
+formerly a tributary prince, was carrying on war to gain independence.
+The hostilities which were proceeding were not only detrimental to the
+interests of the colony, but also made it very difficult for Freycinet
+to purchase the commodities of which he stood in need. Some of the
+staff set off to pay a visit to the Rajah Peters de Banacassi, whose
+residence was not more than three-quarters of a league from Coupang.
+Peters, then eighty years of age, must have been a remarkably fine man.
+He gave them an audience surrounded by his attendants, who treated him
+with profound respect, and among whom were conspicuous several warriors
+of gigantic stature. The dwelling that served for the royal palace was
+rudely constructed, yet the French travellers saw with lively surprise
+that articles of luxury were plentiful, and they observed also some
+muskets of good manufacture and great value.
+
+Notwithstanding the excessive heat of the climate, the thermometer
+rising in the open air to 45 degrees, and in the shade to 33 degrees,
+and even to 35 degrees, the commander and his officers carried on with
+unremitting zeal the observations and surveys which it was the object
+of the Expedition to make. A few fell victims to their own imprudence,
+for in defiance of the earnest warnings of Freycinet, some of the young
+officers and the seamen chose to sally forth in the middle of the day,
+and with the view of fortifying themselves against the injurious
+effects of their dangerous freak, drank and ate plentifully of cold
+water and sour fruits. The result was that in a short time five of the
+most imprudent were confined to their hammocks with dysentery. This
+necessitated a departure from Timor; so the _Uranie_ weighed anchor and
+set sail on the 23rd October.
+
+At first the corvette sailed rapidly along the north coast of Timor,
+for the purpose of making a survey, but when she had reached the
+narrowest part of the Channel of Ombay, she encountered such violent
+currents that--the winds being slight and contrary--it was only with
+great difficulty she was able to regain the course which she had lost
+during the calm. No less than nineteen days were wasted in this trying
+situation; though certain of the officers took advantage of the delay
+to land on the nearest point of the island of Ombay, where the coast
+had a very inviting appearance. They went on shore near a village
+called Bitouka, and advanced to meet a body of the natives, armed with
+shields and cuirasses made of buffalo-skin, and carrying bows, arrows,
+and daggers. Savages though they were, they had quite the air of
+warriors, and were not at all afraid of fire-arms; on the contrary,
+they argued that the loading of the gun caused loss of time, for while
+that operation was going on, they could fire off a great number of
+arrows.
+
+Gaimard writes, "The points of the arrows were of hard wood, or of
+bone, and some of iron. The arrows themselves, displayed fan-wise, were
+fastened on the left side of the warrior to the belt of his sword or
+dagger. Most of these people wore bundles of palm-leaves, slit so as to
+allow red or black coloured strips of the same to be passed through to
+hold them together, which were attached to the belt or the right thigh.
+The rustling sound produced with every movement of the wearers of this
+singular ornament, increased by knocking against the cuirass or the
+buckler, with the addition of the tinkling of little bells, which also
+formed part of the warrior's equipment, altogether made such a jumble
+of discordant sounds that we could not refrain from laughing. Far from
+taking offence, our Ombayan friends joined heartily in our merriment.
+M. Arago[1] greatly excited their astonishment by performing some
+sleight-of-hand tricks. We then took our way straight to the village of
+Bitouka, which was situated on a rising ground. In passing one of their
+cottages we happened to see about a score of human jawbones suspended
+from the roof, and anxious to get possession of one or two, I offered
+the most valuable articles I had about me in exchange. The answer was,
+'palami,' they are sacred. We ascertained afterwards that these were
+the jawbones of their enemies, preserved as trophies of victory."
+
+[Footnote 1: Jacques Arago, brother of the illustrious astronomer.]
+
+[Illustration: Warriors of Ombay and Guebeh. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+This excursion derived greater interest from the circumstance of the
+island of Ombay having been up to that time rarely visited by
+Europeans; and the few vessels that had effected any landing brought
+mournful accounts of the warlike and ferocious temper of the natives,
+and even in some instances of their cannibal propensities. Thus in 1802
+the merchant-ship _Rose_ had her small boat carried off, and the crew
+were detained as prisoners by the savages. Ten years later, the captain
+of the ship _Inacho_, who landed by himself, received several arrow
+wounds. Again, in 1817, an English frigate sent the cutter ashore for
+the purpose of getting wood, when a scrimmage took place between the
+crew and the natives, which ended in the former being killed and eaten.
+The day after, an armed sloop was despatched in quest of the missing
+crew; but nothing was found save some fragments of the cutter and the
+bloody remains of the unfortunate men.
+
+In view of these facts the French travellers must be congratulated on
+having escaped being entrapped by the savage cannibals, which would
+undoubtedly have been attempted had the _Uranie_ stayed long enough at
+Ombay.
+
+On the 17th of November the anchor was let go at Dili.
+
+After the customary interchange of compliments with the Portuguese
+governor, Freycinet made known the requirements of the expedition, and
+received a friendly assurance that the necessary provisions should be
+instantly forthcoming. The reception given to all the members of the
+expedition was both hearty and liberal, and when Freycinet took his
+leave, the governor, wishing that he should carry away some souvenir of
+his visit, presented him with two boys and two girls, of the ages of
+six and seven, natives of Failacor, a kingdom in the interior of Timor.
+To insure the acceptance of this present, the governor, D. José Pinto
+Alcofarado d'Azevado e Souza, stated that the race to which the
+children belonged was quite unknown in Europe. In spite of all the
+strong and conclusive reasons that Freycinet gave to explain why he
+felt compelled to decline the present, he was obliged to take charge of
+one of the little boys, who subsequently received the name of Joseph
+Antonio in baptism, but when sixteen years old died of some scrofulous
+disease at Paris.
+
+On a first examination it would appear that the population of Timor
+belonged altogether to the Asiatic race; but so far as any reliance can
+be placed upon somewhat extended researches, there is reason to think
+that in the unfrequented mountains in the centre of the island there
+exists a race of negroes with woolly hair, and savage manners, of the
+type of the indigenous races of New Guinea and New Ireland, whom one is
+led to consider the primitive population. This line of research,
+commenced at the close of the eighteenth century by an Englishman of
+the name of Crawford, has been in our time carried forward with
+striking results by the labours of the learned Doctors Broca and E.
+Hamy, to the latter of whom the reading public are indebted for the
+pleasing and instructive papers on primitive populations which have
+appeared in _Nature_ and in the journals of the Royal Geographical
+Society.
+
+After leaving Timor the _Uranie_ proceeded towards the Strait of
+Bourou, and in passing between the islands of Wetter and Roma got sight
+of the picturesque island of Gasses, clothed in the brightest and
+thickest verdure imaginable. The corvette was then drifted by currents
+almost as far as the island of Pisang, near which she fell in with
+three dhows, manned by natives of the island of Gueby. These people
+have an olive complexion, broad flat noses, and thick lips; some are
+strong, looking robust and athletic, others are slender and weakly in
+appearance; and others, again, thickset and repulsive-looking. The only
+clothing worn by the majority at this time was a pair of drawers
+fastened with a handkerchief round the waist.
+
+A landing was effected on the little island of Pisang. It was found to
+be of volcanic origin, and the soil, formed from the decomposition of
+trachytic lava, was evidently very fertile. From Pisang the corvette
+made her way among islands, till then scarcely known, to Rawak, where
+she cast anchor at noon on the 16th of December. This island, though
+small, is inhabited; but though our navigators were often visited by
+the natives of Waigiou, opportunities for studying this species of the
+human family have been rare. Moreover, it ought to be mentioned that
+through ignorance of the language of the indigenous tribes, and the
+difficulty of making them understand through the medium of Malayan, of
+which they know only a few words, even those few opportunities have not
+been turned to much account. As soon as a suitable position was found,
+the instruments were set up, and the usual physical and astronomical
+observations were made in conjunction with geographical researches.
+
+[Illustration: Rawak hut on piles. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The islands which Freycinet calls the islands of the Papuans are Rawak,
+Boni, Waigiou, and Manouran, which are situated almost immediately
+below the equator. The largest of these, Waigiou, is not less than
+seventy-two miles from one side to the other; the low shorage consists
+mainly of swamp and morass, while the banks, which run up steeply, are
+surrounded by coral reefs, and are full of small caves hollowed out by
+the waves. All the islets are clothed with vegetation of surprising
+beauty. They abound with magnificent trees, amongst which the
+"Barringtonia" may be recognized, with its voluminous trunk always
+leaning towards the sea, allowing the tips of the branches to touch the
+water; the "scoevola lobelia," fig-trees, mangroves, the casuarinæ,
+with their straight and slender stems shooting up to the height of
+forty feet, the rima, the takanahaka, with its trunk more than twenty
+feet in circumference; the cynometer, belonging to the family of
+leguminous plants, bright from its topmost to its lowest branches with
+pale red flowers and golden fruits; and besides these rarer trees,
+palms, nutmeg-trees, roseapple-trees, banana-trees, flourish in the low
+and moist ground.
+
+[Illustration: The luxuriant vegetation of the Papuan Islands.]
+
+The fauna, however, has not attained to the same exceptionally fine
+development as the flora. At Rawak the phalanger and the sheepdog in a
+wild state were the only quadrupeds met with. In Waigiou, the boar
+called barberossa, and a diminutive of the same race were found. But as
+to the feathered tribe, they were not so numerous as one might have
+supposed; the plants yielding grain necessary for the sustenance of
+birds not being able to thrive in the dense shade of the forests.
+Hornbills are here met with, whose wings, furnished with long feathers
+separated at the tips, make a very loud noise when they fly; great
+quantities of parrots, kingfishers, turtle-doves, piping-crows, brown
+hawks, crested pigeons, and possibly also birds of paradise, though the
+travellers did not see any specimens.
+
+The Papuans themselves are positively repulsively ugly. To quote the
+words of Odet-Pellion, "a flat skull, a facial angle of 75 degrees, a
+large mouth, eyes small and sunken, a thick nose, flat at the end and
+pressed down on the upper lip, a scanty beard, a peculiarity of the
+people of those regions already noticed, shoulders of a moderate size,
+a prominent belly, and slight lower limbs; these are the chief
+characteristics of the Papuans. Their hair both in its nature and mode
+of arrangement varies a good deal. Most commonly it is dressed with
+great pains into a matted structure not less than eight inches in
+height; composed of a mass of soft downy hair curling naturally; or it
+is frizzed up, till it positively bristles, and with the assistance of
+a coating of grease, is plastered round the skull in the shape of a
+globe. A long wooden comb of six or seven teeth is also often stuck in,
+not so much to aid in keeping the mass together as to give a finishing
+touch of ornament."
+
+These unfortunate people are afflicted with the terrible scourge of
+leprosy, which is so prevalent that at least a tenth part of the
+population are infested with the disease. The cause of this dreadful
+malady must be sought in the insalubrity of the climate, the miasma
+from the marshes, which are overflowed with sea-water every flood tide,
+the neighbourhood of the burial-places, which are badly kept, and
+perhaps also to the consumption of shell-fish which these natives
+devour greedily.
+
+All the houses, whether inland or on the coast, are built on piles.
+Many of these dwellings are erected in places extremely difficult of
+access. They are made by thrusting stakes into the earth, to which
+transverse beams are fastened with ropes made of fibre, and on these a
+flooring is laid of palm-leaves, trimmed and strongly intertwined one
+with another. These leaves, made to lap over in an artistic fashion,
+are also used for the roof of the house, which has only one door.
+Should the dwellings be built over the water, communication is carried
+on between them and the shore by means of a kind of bridge resting upon
+trestles, the movable flooring of which can be quickly taken up. Every
+house is also surrounded by a kind of balcony furnished with a
+balustrade.
+
+The travellers could not obtain any information as to the friendly
+disposition of these natives. Whether the whole tribe consists of large
+communities united under one chief or several, whether each community
+obeys only its own proper head, whether the population is numerous or
+not, are all points which could not be ascertained. The name by which
+they call themselves is Alfourous. They appeared to talk in several
+distinct dialects, which differ remarkably from Papuan or Malay.
+
+The inhabitants of this group seem to be a very industrious race. They
+manufacture all sorts of fishing apparatus very cleverly; they are
+expert in finding their way through the forests; they know how to
+prepare the pith of the sago-plant, and to make ovens for the cooking
+of the sago; they can turn pottery ware, weave mats, carpets, baskets,
+and can also carve idols and figures. In the harbour of Boni on the
+coast of Waigiou, MM. Quoy and Gaimard noticed a statue moulded in
+white clay, under a sort of canopy close to a tomb. It represented a
+man standing upright, of the natural height, with his hands raised
+towards heaven. The head was of wood, with the cheeks and eyes inlaid
+with small pieces of white shell.
+
+[Illustration: Map of Australia.]
+
+On the 6th of January, 1819, having taken in supplies at Rawak, the
+_Uranie_ proceeded on her voyage, and soon came in sight of the Ayou
+islands, mere sand-banks surrounded by breakers, of which few
+geographical details had been known up to that time. There was much to
+be done in the way of accurate survey, but unfortunately the
+hydrographers were sorely hindered in their work by the fever which
+they and some forty of the crew had contracted at Rawak. Sailing on,
+the Anchoret Islands came in sight on the 12th of February, and on the
+day following the Amirantes, but the _Uranie_ did not attempt to make
+for the land. Shortly after passing the Amirantes, the corvette sighted
+St. Bartholomew, which the inhabitants call Poulousouk. It belongs to
+the Caroline archipelago. A busy trade, always attended with much
+uproar, was soon set on foot with the indigenous people, who resisted
+all persuasion to come on board, conducting all their transactions,
+nevertheless, with admirable good faith, in no instance showing any
+dishonest tendencies. One after another Poulouhat, Alet, Tamatam,
+Allap, Tanadik, all islands belonging to this archipelago, passed
+before the admiring gaze of the French navigators. At length, on the
+17th of March, 1819, just eighteen months from the time of quitting
+France, Freycinet got sight of the Marianne Islands, and cast anchor in
+the roads of Umata on the coast of Guam. Just as the officers of the
+expedition were ready to go on shore, the governor of the island, D.
+Medinilla y Pineda, accompanied by his lieutenant, Major D. Luis de
+Torrès, came on board to bid them welcome. These gentlemen showed a
+polite anxiety to learn what the explorers stood in need of, and
+engaged that all their wants should be supplied with the least possible
+delay.
+
+No time was lost in looking for a place suited for conversion into a
+temporary hospital, and one being found, the sick on board, to the
+number of twenty, were removed to it for treatment the very next day.
+
+A dinner to the staff of the expedition was given by the governor, and
+all the officers assembled in his house at the appointed hour. They
+found a table covered with light cakes and fruits, in the midst of
+which were two bowls of hot punch. Some surprise escaped the guests, in
+private remarks to one another, at this singular kind of banquet. Could
+it be a fast-day? Why did no one sit down? But as there was no
+interpreter to clear up these points, and as it would have been
+unbecoming to ask for an explanation, they kept their difficulties for
+solution among themselves, and paid attention to the good things before
+them. Soon a fresh surprise came; the table was cleared and covered
+with various sorts of prepared dishes--in short, a substantial and
+sumptuous dinner was served. The collation which had been taken at the
+commencement, called in the language of the country "Refresco," had
+been intended only to whet the appetites of the guests for what was to
+follow.
+
+After this, luxurious dinners became quite the rage at Guam. Two days
+subsequent to the governor's banquet, the officers found themselves at
+a dinner-party of fifty guests, where no less than forty-four separate
+dishes were served at each of the three courses of which the dinner
+consisted. Freycinet, from information he had received, relates that
+"this dinner cost the lives of two oxen and three fat pigs, to say
+nothing of poultry, game, and fish. Such a slaughter, I should think,
+has not been known since the marriage-feast of Gamache. No doubt our
+host considered that persons who had undergone so many privations
+during a protracted voyage ought to be compensated with an unusually
+profuse entertainment. The dessert showed no falling off either in
+abundance or in variety; it was succeeded by tea, coffee, creams,
+liqueurs of every description; and as the 'Refresco' had been served as
+usual an hour previous to dinner, it will be admitted without question
+that at Guam the most intrepid gourmand could find no other cause for
+disappointment but the limited capacity of the human stomach."
+
+However, the objects of the mission were not interfered with by all
+this dining and festivity. Natural history excursions, magnetical
+observations, the geographical survey of the island of Guam, entrusted
+to Duperrey, were all being pushed forward simultaneously. But in the
+meantime the corvette had got to moorings in the deep water off the
+port of St. Louis, while the chief of the Staff, as well as the sick,
+were housed at Agagna, the capital of the island and the seat of
+government. At that place, in honour of the French visitors,
+cock-fights took place, a kind of sport very popular in all the Spanish
+possessions in Oceania; dances also were given, the figures in which,
+it was said, contained allusions to events in the history of Mexico.
+The dancers, students of the Agagna college, were dressed in rich
+silks, imported a long time previously by the Jesuits from New Spain.
+Then came combats with sticks in which the Carolins took part; which
+again were succeeded, almost uninterruptedly by other amusements. But
+what Freycinet considered of most value was the mass of information
+concerning the customs and manners of the former inhabitants of the
+islands, which he obtained through Major D. Luis Torrès; who, himself
+born in the country, had made a constant study of this subject. Of this
+interesting information use will be made when the subject is presently
+resumed, but first some notice must be taken of an excursion to the
+islands Rota and Tinian, the latter of which had already become known
+to us through the narratives of former travellers.
+
+[Illustration: A performer of the dances of Montezuma. (Fac-simile of
+early engraving.)]
+
+On the 22nd April a small fleet of eight proas conveyed MM. Berard,
+Gaudichaud, and Jacques Arago to Rota, where their arrival occasioned
+great surprise and alarm, explained by the fact that a report had
+gained currency in the island that the corvette was manned with rebels
+from America.
+
+Beyond Rota the proas reached Tinian, where the arid plains recalled to
+the travellers the desolate coasts of the land of Endracht, testifying
+to the considerable changes that must have taken place there since the
+time when Lord Anson described the place as a terrestrial Paradise.
+
+The Marianne archipelago was discovered by Magellan on the 6th March,
+1521, and at first received the name of _Islas de las velas latinas_,
+the Isles of the lateen sails, but subsequently that of the _Ladrones_,
+or the Robbers. If one may trust Pigafetta, the illustrious admiral saw
+no islands but Tinian, Saypan, and Agoignan. Five years later they were
+visited by the Spaniard Loyasa, whose cordial reception was quite a
+contrast to that of Magellan; and in 1565 the islands were declared to
+be Spanish territory by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. It was not, however,
+until 1669 that they were colonized and evangelized by Father
+Sanvitores. It will be understood that we should not follow Freycinet's
+narrative of past events in the history of this archipelago, were it
+not that the manuscripts and works of every kind which he was permitted
+to consult enabled him to treat the subject _de novo_, and throw upon
+it the light of real knowledge.
+
+The admiration, still lingering in the minds of the travellers, which
+had been aroused by the incredible fertility of the Papuan Islands and
+the Moluccas was no doubt calculated to weaken the impression produced
+by any of the Marianne Islands. The forests of Guam, though well
+stocked, did not present the gigantic appearance common to forest
+scenery in the tropics. They extended over a large part of the island,
+yet there were also immense spaces devoted to pasturage, where not a
+breadfruit-tree nor a cocoa-nut palm was to be seen. In the depths of
+the forests, moreover, the conquerors of the islands had created
+artificial glades, in order that the herds of horned cattle which they
+had introduced might find food and also enjoy shelter from the sun.
+
+Agoignan, an island with a very rocky coast, presented from a distance
+an arid and barren appearance, but is in reality thickly clothed with
+trees even to the summit of its highest mountains.
+
+Rota is a regular jungle, an almost impenetrable mass of brushwood,
+above which rise thickets of rimas, tamarind, fig, and palm trees.
+Tinian, too, presents anything but an agreeable appearance. The French
+explorers altogether missed the charming scenes described in such
+glowing colours by their predecessors, but the appearance of the soil,
+and the immense number of dead trees, led them to the conclusion that
+old accounts were not altogether exaggerated, especially as the
+southern portion of the island is now rendered quite inaccessible by
+its dense forests.
+
+At the time of Freycinet's visit the population of these islands was of
+a very mixed character, the aborigines being quite in the minority. The
+more highly born of the natives were formerly bigger, stronger, and
+better made than Europeans, but the race is degenerating, and the
+primitive type in its purity is now only to be met with in Rota.
+
+Capital swimmers and divers, able to walk immense distances without
+fatigue, every man of them had to prove his proficiency in these
+exercises on his marriage; but although this proficiency has been in
+some measure kept up, the leading characteristic of the people of the
+Marianne group is idleness, or perhaps to be more strictly accurate,
+indifference.
+
+Marriages are contracted at a very early age, the bridegroom being
+generally between fifteen and eighteen, the bride between twelve and
+fifteen. A numerous progeny is the result of these unions; instances
+being on record of twenty-two children born of one mother.
+
+Not only do the people of Guam suffer from many diseases, such as lung
+complaints, smallpox, &c., introduced by Europeans; but also from some
+which seem to be endemic, or in any case to have assumed a type
+peculiar to the place and altogether abnormal. Such are elephantiasis
+and leprosy, three varieties of which are met with at Guam, differing
+from each other alike in their symptoms and their effects.
+
+Before the conquest, the people of the Mariannes lived on the fruit of
+the rima or bread-tree, rice, sago, and other farinaceous plants. Their
+mode of cooking these articles was extremely simple, though not so much
+so as their style of dress, for they went about in a state of nature,
+unrelieved even by the traditional fig-leaf.
+
+At the present time children still wear no clothing till they are about
+ten years old. Alluding to this peculiar custom, Captain Pages, writing
+at the close of last century, says, "I found myself near a house, in
+front of which an Indian girl, about eleven years old, was squatted on
+her heels in the full blaze of the sun, without a vestige of clothing
+on. Her chemise lay folded on the ground in front of her. When she saw
+me approaching, she got up quickly and put it on again. Although still
+far from decently clothed, for only her shoulders were covered by it,
+she now considered herself properly dressed, and stood before me quite
+unembarrassed."
+
+Judging from the remains nearly everywhere to be met with, such as the
+ruins of dwellings originally supported by masonry pillars, it is plain
+that the population was formerly considerable. The earliest traveller
+who has made any reference to this subject is Lord Anson. He has given
+a somewhat fanciful description, which, however, the explorers in the
+_Uranie_ were able to corroborate, as will be seen from the following
+extract.
+
+"The description found in the narrative of Lord Anson's voyage is
+correct; but the ruins and the branches of the trees that have in some
+way twined themselves about the masonry pillars, wear now a very
+different aspect from what they did in his time. The sharp edges of the
+pillars have got rubbed away, and the half-globes that surmounted them
+have no longer their former roundness."
+
+[Illustration: Ruins of ancient pillars at Tinian. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+Of the structures of more recent date only a sixth part are of stone.
+At Agagna may be counted several buildings possessing some interest on
+account of their size, if not on that of their elegance, grandeur, or
+the fineness of their proportions. These are the College of St. John
+Lateran, the church, the clergy-house, the governor's palace, and the
+taverns.
+
+Before the Spaniards established their sway in these islands, the
+natives were divided into three classes, the nobility, the inferior
+nobility, and the commonalty. These last, the Pariahs of the country,
+Freycinet remarks, though without citing his authority, were of a more
+diminutive stature than the other inhabitants. This difference of
+height is, however, scarcely a sufficient reason for pronouncing them
+to be of a different race from the other two classes; is it not more
+reasonable to conclude it to be the result of the degrading servitude
+to which they have been subjected? These plebeians could under no
+circumstances raise themselves to a higher class; and a seafaring life
+was forbidden to them. Each of the three castes had its own sorceresses
+and priestesses, or medicine-women, who each devoted her attention to
+the treatment of some one disorder; only no reason, however, for
+crediting them with any special skill in its cure.
+
+The business of canoe-building was monopolized by the nobles; who,
+however, allowed the inferior nobles to assist in their construction.
+The making of canoes was to them a work of the utmost importance, and
+the nobles maintained it as one of their most valuable privileges. The
+language spoken in the Philippine group, though it has some affinity
+with the Malay and Tagala dialects, has all the same a distinctive
+character of its own. Freycinet's narrative also contains much
+information on the extremely singular customs of the former population
+of the Mariannes, which are beyond our province, though well worthy of
+the attention of the philosopher and historian.
+
+The _Uranie_ had been now more than two months at anchor. It was full
+time to resume the work of exploration. Freycinet and his staff,
+therefore, devoted the few remaining days of their stay to the task of
+paying farewell visits and expressing their gratitude for the hearty
+kindness which had been so profusely shown to them. The governor,
+however, not only declined to admit his claim to thanks from the French
+travellers for the hospitable attentions heaped upon them for upwards
+of two months; but also refused to accept any payment for the supplies
+which had been furnished for the refitting of the corvette. He even
+went so far as to write a letter of apology for the scantiness of the
+provisions, the result of the drought which had desolated Guam for the
+previous six months, and which had prevented him from doing things as
+he could have wished. The final farewell took place off Agagna. "It was
+impossible," says Freycinet, "to take leave of the amiable man, who had
+loaded us with so many proofs of his friendly disposition, without
+being deeply affected. I was too much moved to be able to find
+expression for the feelings with which my heart was filled; but the
+tears which filled my eyes must have been to him a surer evidence than
+any words could have been of my gratitude and my regret."
+
+From the 5th to the 16th June the _Uranie_ occupied in an exploring
+cruise round the north of the Marianne Islands, in the course of which
+were made the observations of which the substance has been given above.
+The commander, wishing to make a quick passage to the Sandwich Islands,
+then took advantage of a breeze to gain a higher latitude, where he
+hoped to meet with favourable winds. But as the explorers penetrated
+further and further into this part of the Pacific Ocean, cold and dense
+fogs wrapped them round, permeating the whole vessel with damp, equally
+unpleasant and injurious to health. However, the crew suffered no worse
+inconvenience than slight colds; in fact, the change had rather a
+bracing effect than otherwise on men now for some time accustomed to
+the enervating heat of the tropics.
+
+On the 6th August the south point of Hawaï was doubled, and Freycinet
+made for the western side of the island, where he hoped to find a safe
+and convenient anchorage. A dead calm prevailing, the first and second
+days were spent in opening relations with the natives. The women came
+off in crowds immediately on the arrival of the ship, with the view of
+carrying on their usual trade, but the commander laid an interdict on
+their coming on board.
+
+The first piece of news given to the captain by one of the Areois[2]
+was that King Kamahamaha was dead, and that his young son Rio Rio had
+succeeded him. Taking advantage of a change of wind the _Uranie_ sailed
+on to the Bay of Karakakoa, and Freycinet was about to send an officer
+in advance to take soundings, when a canoe put off from the shore,
+having on board the governor of the island, Prince Kouakini, otherwise
+John Adams,[3] who promised the captain that he would find boats
+suitable for the taking of the necessary supplies to the corvette. This
+young man, about nine and twenty years of age, almost a giant in
+stature, but well proportioned, surprised Freycinet by the extent of
+his information. On being informed that the corvette was on a voyage of
+discovery, he inquired, "Have you doubled Cape Horn or did you come
+round the Cape of Good Hope?" He then asked for the latest information
+about Napoleon, and wished to know whether it was true that the island
+of St. Helena had been swallowed up with all its inhabitants! A story
+he had evidently heard from some facetious whalemen, but had not
+entirely believed.
+
+[Footnote 2: See Part II, Chapter 1, footnote 3 on the Areois.]
+
+[Footnote 3: It was the custom for the chiefs in these parts to assume
+new names, often for the most trifling reasons.--_Trans._]
+
+Kouakini next apprised Freycinet that though actual disturbances had
+not broken out on the death of Kamahamaha, yet that some of the chiefs
+having asserted claims to independence, the stability of the monarchy
+was in some danger. As a result the political situation was strained
+and the government was in some perplexity, a state of things which
+probably would soon terminate, especially if the commandant would
+consent to make some declaration in favour of the youthful sovereign.
+Freycinet landed with the prince, to pay him a return visit; and, on
+entering his house, was introduced to his wife, a very corpulent woman,
+who was lying on a European bedstead covered with matting. After this
+visit, the captain and his host went to visit the widows of Kamahamaha,
+the prince's sisters, but not being able to see them, they proceeded to
+the yards and workshops of the deceased king. Here were four sheds
+sacred to the building of large war-canoes, and others containing
+European boats. Farther on were seen wood for building purposes, bars
+of copper, quantities of fishing-nets, a forge, a cooper's workshop,
+and lastly, some cases belonging to the prime minister, Kraimokou,
+filled with all necessary appliances for navigation, such as compasses,
+sextants, thermometers, watches, and even a chronometer. Strangers were
+not allowed to inspect two other magazines in which were stored powder
+and other war-materials, strong liquors, iron, &c. All these places
+were for the present abandoned by the new sovereign, who held his court
+at Koaihai Bay.
+
+Freycinet, on receiving an invitation from the king, made ready to
+visit him there, under the guidance of a native pilot who showed
+himself most attentive, and was very skilful in forecasting the
+weather. "The monarch," writes Freycinet, "was waiting for me on the
+beach, dressed in the full uniform of an English captain, and
+surrounded by the whole of his suite. In spite of the terrible
+barrenness of this side of the island, the spectacle of the grotesque
+assemblage of men and women was not without grandeur and beauty. The
+king himself stood in front with his principal officers a little
+distance behind him; some wearing splendid mantles made of red or
+yellow feathers, or of scarlet cloth; others in short tippets of the
+same kind, but in which the two glaring colours were relieved with
+black; a few had helmets on their heads. This striking picture was
+further diversified by a number of soldiers grouped here and there, and
+clad in various and strange costumes."
+
+The sovereign now under notice was the same, who, with his young and
+charming wife, undertook at a later period a voyage to England, where
+they both died. Their remains were brought back to Hawaï by Captain
+Byron in the frigate _La Blonde_.
+
+Freycinet seized this opportunity to repeat his request for supplies of
+fresh provisions, and the king promised that two days should not pass
+before his wishes should be fully complied with. However, although the
+good faith of the young monarch was above suspicion, the commander soon
+discovered that most of the chiefs had no intention of obeying their
+sovereign's orders.
+
+Some little time after this, the principal officers of the staff went
+to pay a visit to the widows of Kamahamaha. The following amusing
+description of their lively reception is given by M. Quoy:--"A strange
+spectacle," he says, "met our view on our entrance into an apartment of
+narrow dimensions, where eight lumps of half naked humanity lay on the
+ground with their faces downwards. It was not an easy task to find
+space to lay ourselves down according to custom in the same manner. The
+attendants were constantly on the move, some carrying fans made of
+feathers to whisk away the flies; another a lighted pipe, which was
+passed from one prostrate figure to another, each taking a whiff or
+two, while the rest were engaged in shampooing the royal personages....
+Conversation, it may readily be imagined, was not well maintained under
+these trying circumstances, and had it not been for some excellent
+watermelons which were handed to us, the tedium of the interview would
+have been insupportable."
+
+Freycinet next went to pay a visit to the famous John Young, who had
+been for so long a time the faithful friend and sagacious adviser of
+King Kamahamaha. Although he was then old and in bad health, he was not
+the less able to supply Freycinet with some valuable information about
+the Sandwich Islands, where he had lived for thirty years, and in the
+history of which he had played a prominent part.
+
+Kraimokou, the minister, during a visit which he was paying on board
+the _Uranie_, had caught sight of the Abbé de Quelen, the chaplain,
+whose costume puzzled him a good deal. As soon as he had learned that
+the strangely dressed person was a priest, he expressed to the
+commandant a desire to receive baptism. His mother, he said, had been
+admitted to that sacrament upon her deathbed, and she had obtained from
+him a promise to submit himself to the same ceremony as soon as he met
+with a convenient opportunity. Freycinet gave his consent, and
+endeavoured to make the proceeding as solemn as possible, all the more
+because Rio Rio requested permission to be present at it with all his
+suite. Every one behaved with the utmost decorum and reverence while
+the ceremony was taking place; but immediately on its close there was a
+general rush to the collation which the commandant had ordered to be
+prepared. It was wonderful to see how rapidly the bottles of wine and
+the flasks of rum and of brandy were emptied, and to witness the speedy
+disappearance of the viands with which the table had been covered.
+Fortunately the day was coming to a close, or Rio Rio and the majority
+of his officers and courtiers would not have been in a condition to
+reach the shore. In spite of this, however, it was necessary to comply
+with his request for two additional bottles of brandy, that he might,
+as he said, drink the health of the commander and success to his
+voyage, a request which all his attendants felt bound in politeness to
+make likewise.
+
+"It is not an over-statement," observes Freycinet, "to say that in the
+short space of two hours our distinguished guests drank and carried
+away what would have been sufficient to supply the wants of ten
+ordinary persons for three months." Several presents had been exchanged
+between the royal pair and the commander. Among those made by the young
+queen was a cloak of feathers, a kind of garment which had become
+exceedingly scarce in the Sandwich Islands.
+
+Freycinet was about to set sail again, when he learnt from an American
+captain that a merchant-vessel was lying off the island of Miow, having
+a large quantity of biscuit and rice on board, which there was no doubt
+might be purchased. This information determined Freycinet to anchor
+first off Raheina, among other reasons, because it was there that
+Kraimokou had undertaken to deliver a number of pigs, which were
+required for the use of the crew. But the minister displayed signal bad
+faith in the transaction; he tendered miserably poor pigs, and demanded
+an extravagantly high price; so that it was necessary to have recourse
+to threats before the business could be satisfactorily arranged. In
+this matter Kraimokou was under the misguidance of an English runaway
+convict from Port Jackson, and most probably had the native been left
+to obey the promptings of his own nature he would have acted on this
+occasion with the good faith and the sense of honour which were his
+usual characteristics.
+
+On reaching the island of Waihou, Freycinet dropped anchor off
+Honolulu. The hearty welcome he received from the European residents
+made him regret that he had not come here direct to begin with; for he
+was able without any delay to procure all the supplies which he had
+found so much difficulty in getting together at the two other islands.
+Boki, the governor of Waihou, received baptism from the chaplain of the
+_Uranie_. He was prompted apparently by no other motive than a wish to
+do as his brother had done, who had previously received this sacrament.
+He was far from having the air of intelligence common to the other
+natives of the various islands of the Sandwich group hitherto visited.
+
+Many observations on these natives are made in the narrative of the
+expedition, which are too interesting to be passed over without a brief
+summary here. All navigators are agreed in considering that the class
+of chiefs belong to a race excelling the other inhabitants, both in
+intelligence and in stature. It is very unusual to find one who is less
+than six feet in height. Obesity is very common, but chiefly among the
+women, who while still quite young often become enormously corpulent.
+The Sandwich type is strongly marked and distinct. Pretty women are
+numerous; but the blessing of length of days is seldom enjoyed. An old
+man of seventy is a rare phenomenon. This early decline and premature
+death must be ascribed to the persistent dissipation in which the
+people pass their lives.
+
+On leaving the Sandwich Islands, Freycinet found it necessary to notice
+carefully the curves of the magnetic equator in low latitudes.[4]
+Accordingly, he crowded all sail in an easterly direction. On the 7th
+October the _Uranie_ entered the southern hemisphere, and on the 19th
+of the same month the Dangerous Islands came in sight. To the eastward
+of the Navigators' archipelago, an island was discovered, not marked on
+the charts, which was named "Rose," after Madame Freycinet. This was
+the only actual discovery of the voyage.
+
+[Footnote 4: This refers to the line made up of the succession of
+points at which the magnetic needle ceases to indicate.--_Trans._]
+
+The position of the islands of Pylstaart and Howe was next rectified,
+and on the 13th November the lights of Port Jackson, or Sydney, were at
+last sighted.
+
+Freycinet had fully expected to find the town enlarged during the
+sixteen years that had passed since his last visit; but his
+astonishment was great indeed at the sight of a large and prosperous
+European city, set down in the midst of scenery which might almost be
+called wild. But as the travellers made excursions in various
+directions, fresh signs of the progress which the colony had made were
+forced on their attention. Fine roads carefully kept, bordered with the
+eucalyptus, styled by Pérou "the giant of the Australian forests," well
+constructed bridges, distances marked by milestones, proved the
+existence of a well organized local administration; whilst the charming
+cottages, the numerous herds of cattle, and the carefully cultivated
+fields, bore testimony to the industry and perseverance of the new
+colonists.
+
+Governor Macquarie, and the principal authorities of the province vied
+with each other in showing attention to the French travellers, who,
+however, persisted in declining all but a single invitation, lest the
+work of the mission should not receive its fair share of attention. The
+entertainment given by the governor took place at his country house at
+Paramatta, whither the officers of the expedition proceeded by water,
+accompanied by a military band. Several of them also visited the little
+town of Liverpool, built in a pleasant situation on the banks of the
+river George. Excursions too were made to the little villages of
+Richmond and Windsor, which were growing up near Hawkesbury river. At
+the same time a party of the staff joined in a kangaroo hunt, and
+crossing the Blue Mountains penetrated the Bathurst settlement.
+
+Through the friendly relations which Freycinet had established with the
+residents during his two visits, he was able to collect numerous
+interesting details respecting the Australian colony. Therefore the
+chapter that he devotes to New South Wales, recording the marvellous
+and rapid advance of this effort at colonization, excited a lively
+interest in France, where the development and growing prosperity of
+Australia were very imperfectly known. Freycinet's narrative was there
+quite a new revelation, well calculated to excite inquiry, and which
+had, moreover, the advantage of showing the exact condition of the
+colony so late as the year 1825.
+
+The chain of mountains at some distance from the coast, known by the
+name of the Australian Alps, separates New South Wales from the
+interior of the Australian continent. For twenty-five years this chain
+formed a barrier against all communication with the country beyond; but
+now, thanks to the energy of Governor Macquarie, the barrier has been
+removed. A zigzag road has been cut in the rock, thus opening the way
+to the colonization of wide spreading plains watered by important
+rivers. The loftiest summits of this chain, nearly 10,000 feet in
+height, are covered with snow even in the middle of summer. Whilst the
+elevation of the principal peaks, Mount Exmouth, Mount Cunningham, and
+others was being taken, it was discovered that so far from Australia
+possessing only one large watercourse, the Swan River, it had several,
+the chief being Hawkesbury River, formed by the confluence of the
+Nepean, the Grose, and the Brisbane; the river Murray not being yet
+known. At the period under notice a commencement had been made in the
+working of coal-mines, slate quarries, layers of solid carbonate of
+iron, sandstone, chalk, porphyry and jasper; but the presence of gold,
+the metal that was to effect so rapid a development of the young
+colony, had not as yet been established.
+
+The nature of the soil varies. On the sea-coast it is barren, able only
+to support the growth of a few stunted trees; but inland the traveller
+meets with fields clothed with a rich vegetation, vast pasturages in
+which here and there rise a few tall shrubs, and forests where giant
+trees entwined with an inextricable growth of underwood, defy all
+attempts to penetrate to their recesses.
+
+[Illustration: An Australian farm near the Blue Mountains. (Fac-simile
+of early engraving.)]
+
+One circumstance which much surprised travellers was the apparent
+homogeneity of race throughout the whole of this immense continent.
+Take the aborigines at the Bay of Sharks, or in the land of Endracht,
+or by the Swan River, or at Port Jackson, and the same complexion, and
+the same kind of hair, the same features, the same physique, all prove
+indisputably that they have sprung from one common origin. Those
+dwelling by the rivers or on the sea coast subsist chiefly on shell or
+other fish, but those living in the interior trust to hunting for their
+food, and will eat indiscriminately the flesh of the opossum or the
+kangaroo, not rejecting even lizards, snakes, worms, or ants, the last
+named of which they manufacture into a sort of paste with the addition
+of their eggs and the roots of ferns. All over the continent the
+practice of the aborigines is to go completely naked; though they have
+no objection to put on any articles of European clothing that they can
+get possession of. It is said that in 1820 at Port Jackson there was a
+laughable caricature of the European style of dress to be seen in the
+person of an ancient negress who went about clothed in some pieces of
+an old woollen blanket, wearing on her head a bonnet of green silk. A
+few of the aborigines, however, make themselves cloaks of opossum or
+kangaroo skin, stitching the pieces together with the nerve-fibres of
+the cassowary; but this kind of garment is of rare occurrence.
+
+Though their hair is smooth, they plaster it with grease and arrange it
+in curls. Then inserting in the middle a tuft of grass, they raise a
+strange and comical superstructure, surmounted by a few cockatoo
+feathers; or failing these, they fasten on, with the aid of a resinous
+gum, a few human teeth, or some bits of bone, a dog's tail, or one or
+two fish bones. Although the practice of tattooing is not much in
+favour among the natives of New Holland, some are occasionally to be
+seen who have succeeded by means of sharp shells in cutting symmetrical
+figures upon their skins. A more general custom is that of painting on
+their bodies monstrous designs in red and white colours which, on their
+dark skins, give them an almost diabolical aspect.
+
+These savages formerly believed that after death they would take the
+form of children, and be transported to the clouds or to the summits of
+lofty trees, where, in a sort of aërial paradise, they would be regaled
+with plentiful repasts. But since the arrival of the Europeans their
+faith on this point has undergone some change, their present belief
+being, that metamorphosed into whites they will go to inhabit some
+far-off land. It is also an article of their creed that the whites
+themselves are no other than their own ancestors, who, having been
+killed in battle, have assumed the form of Europeans.
+
+[Illustration: Native Australians.]
+
+The census of 1819--one of the strictest hitherto instituted--gives the
+number of the colonists at 25,425; this return, it must be understood,
+does not take in the soldiers. The women being very much in the
+minority, the mother-country had made efforts to remedy the
+inconvenience resulting from this great disparity of the sexes, by
+promoting the immigration of young women, who soon married and founded
+families of a higher tone of morality than that of the convicts.
+
+Freycinet devotes a very long chapter in his narrative to all matters
+connected with political economy. The various soils and the crops
+suited to them; industrial pursuits; the breeding of cattle; farming
+economy; manufactures; foreign trade; means of communication;
+government;--all these subjects are treated comprehensively on the
+authority of documents then newly compiled, and with an ability that
+could scarcely have been expected from a man who had not given special
+attention to questions of this nature. He has, moreover, added a close
+inquiry into the regimen which the convicts were subjected to from the
+time of their arrival in the colony, the punishments they had to
+undergo, as also the encouragements and rewards which were readily
+granted to them, when earned by good behaviour. The chapter concludes
+with reflections full of learning and sound judgment on the probable
+development and future prosperity of the Australian colony.
+
+After this long and fruitful stay in New Holland, the _Uranie_ put to
+sea on the 25th December, 1819, and steered so as to pass to the south
+of New Zealand and Campbell Island, with the view of doubling Cape
+Horn. A few days afterwards ten fugitive convicts were discovered on
+board; but the corvette had left the shores of Australia too far behind
+to allow of their restoration. The coast of Tierra del Fuego was
+reached without anything worthy of special notice having occurred
+during a very prosperous voyage, with a prevailing west wind. On the
+5th February, Cape Desolation was sighted. Having doubled Cape Horn
+without any difficulty, the _Uranie_ let go her anchor in the Bay of
+Good Success, where the shores, lined with grand forest-trees and
+echoing to the sound of waterfalls, presented a scene totally different
+from the sterile desolation generally characterizing this quarter of
+the globe. No long stay was, however, made there; the corvette resuming
+her voyage, lost no time in entering the Strait of Le Maire,
+notwithstanding a dense haze. Here she met with a heavy swell, a strong
+gale, and a mist so thick that land, sea, and sky were confounded in
+one general obscurity. The rain and the heavy spray raised by the
+storm, and the coming on of night, made it necessary to put the
+_Uranie_ under a close-reefed topsail and jib, under which pressure of
+sail she behaved splendidly. The only available course was to run
+before the wind, and the travellers had just begun to feel thankful for
+their good fortune in being driven by the storm far away from the land,
+when the cry was heard, "Land close ahead!"
+
+All hearts sunk with despair; shipwreck and death seemed inevitable.
+Freycinet alone, after a brief instant of hesitation, recovered his
+self-command. It was impossible that land could be ahead. He,
+therefore, kept on his northerly course, bearing a little east, and the
+correctness of his calculations was soon verified. On the next day but
+one the weather grew calmer; observations were taken, and as they
+proved the vessel to have run a great distance from the Bay of Good
+Success, the commander had to choose between a detention off the coast
+of South America, or off the Falkland Islands. The island of Conti, the
+Bay of Marville, and Cape Duras, were successively observed through the
+haze, whilst a favourable breeze speeded the corvette on her course to
+Berkeley Sound, fixed on as the best place for the next halt.
+
+Mutual congratulations were already being exchanged on the happy
+termination of the dangerous struggle, and on the fortunate escape from
+any serious accident during so hazardous a trip. The sailors all
+rejoiced, to use the words of Byron, that--
+
+  "The worst was over, and the rest seemed sure."
+
+But a severe trial was still in store for them!
+
+On entering Berkeley Sound, every man was at his post, ready to let go
+the anchor. The look-outs were on the watch, men were stationed in the
+main-shrouds to heave the lead. Then first at twenty, after at eighteen
+fathoms, the presence of rocks was reported. The ship was now about
+half a league off shore, and Freycinet thought it prudent to put her
+off about two points. This precaution proved fatal, for the corvette
+suddenly struck violently on a hidden rock. As she struck, the
+soundings gave fifteen fathoms to starboard, and twelve to larboard.
+The reef against which the corvette had run, was, therefore, not so
+wide as the vessel itself; in fact, it was but the pointed summit of a
+rock.
+
+The immediate rising of pieces of wood to the surface of the water at
+once gave reason for fears that the injury was serious. There was a
+rush to the pumps. Water was pouring into the hold. Freycinet had sent
+for a sail, and had it passed under the vessel in such a manner that
+the pressure of the water forcing it into the leak in a measure stopped
+it up. But it was of no avail. Although the whole ship's company,
+officers and sailors alike, worked at the pumps, no more could be done
+than just keep the water from gaining on the vessel. There was nothing
+for it but to run her ashore. This decision, painful as it was, had to
+be carried out, and it was indeed no easy task. On every side the land
+was girded with rocks, and only at the very bottom of the bay was there
+a strip of sandy beach favourable for running the ship aground.
+Meanwhile the wind had become contrary, night was approaching, the
+vessel was already half full of water. The distress of the commander
+can be imagined. But there was no alternative, so the vessel was
+stranded on Penguin Island.
+
+"This effected," to quote Freycinet, "the men were so exhausted that it
+was necessary to cease further work of every kind, and to allow the
+crew an interval of rest, all the more indispensable on account of the
+hardships and dangers which our present disastrous situation must
+entail upon all. As for myself, repose was out of the question.
+Tormented by a thousand harassing reflections, I could scarcely credit
+my own existence. The sudden transition from a position where all
+things seemed to smile on me, to that in which I found myself at that
+moment, weighed on my spirits like a horrible nightmare. It was
+difficult to regain the composure necessary to face fairly the painful
+trial. All my companions had done their duty in the frightful accident,
+which had all but lost us our lives, and I am glad to be able to do
+justice to their admirable conduct.
+
+"As soon as daylight revealed the nature of the country, a mournful
+gloomy look settled upon every countenance. Not a tree, not so much as
+a blade of grass was to be seen, not a sound was to be heard, and the
+silent desolation around reminded us of the Bay of Sharks."
+
+[Illustration: Berkeley Sound, in the Falkland Islands.]
+
+But there was no time to be lost in vain lamentations. Was the sea to
+be allowed to swallow up the journals and observations, the precious
+results of so much labour and so many hardships?
+
+All the papers were saved. The same good fortune did not,
+unfortunately, attend the collections. Several cases of specimens which
+were at the bottom of the hold were entirely lost; others were damaged
+by the sea water. The collections that sustained the chief injury were
+those of natural history, and the herbarium that had been put together
+with infinite trouble by Gaudichaud. The merino sheep, generously
+presented to the expedition by Mr. MacArthur, of Sydney, which it was
+hoped could be acclimatized in France, were brought on shore, as also
+were all the animals still alive.
+
+A few tents were pitched, first for the sick, happily not very
+numerous, and then for the officers and the crew. The provisions and
+ammunition taken out of the ship were carefully deposited in a place
+where they would be sheltered from the inclemency of the weather. The
+alcoholic liquors were allowed to remain on board until the time
+arrived for quitting the scene of the shipwreck, and during the three
+months of the expedition's stay here, not a single theft of rum or of
+brandy came to light, although no one had anything to drink but pure
+water.
+
+The efforts of the whole of the expedition were steadily applied to the
+task of trying to repair the main injuries sustained by the _Uranie_,
+with the exception of a few sailors told off to provide, by hunting and
+fishing, for the subsistence of the community. The lakes were
+frequented by numbers of sea-lions, geese, ducks, teal, and snipe, but
+it was no easy matter to procure, at one time, a sufficient quantity of
+these animals to serve for the food of the entire crew; at the same
+time, the expenditure of powder was necessarily considerable. As good
+luck would have it, gulls abounded in sufficient numbers to furnish a
+hundred and twenty men with food for four or five months, and these
+creatures were so stupid as to allow themselves to be knocked on the
+head with a stick. A few horses were also killed which had relapsed
+into a wild state since the departure of the colony founded by
+Bougainville.
+
+By the 28th February the painful conclusion was come to, that with the
+slender resources available, it was impracticable to repair the damage
+done to the _Uranie_, especially as the original injury had been
+aggravated by the repeated shocks occasioned by thumping on the beach.
+"What was to be done?" Should the explorers calmly wait until some
+vessel chanced to put in at Berkeley Sound? This would be to leave the
+sailors with nothing to do, and this enforced idleness would open the
+door to disorder and insubordination. Would it not be better to build a
+small vessel out of the wreckage of the _Uranie_? As it happened, there
+was a large sloop belonging to the ship; if the sides were raised, and
+a deck added, it might be possible to reach Monte Video, and there
+obtain the assistance of a vessel capable of bringing off in safety the
+members of the expedition and all the cargo worth preserving. This
+latter plan met with the approval of Freycinet, and a decision once
+come to, not a moment was wasted.
+
+The sailors, animated with fresh energy, rapidly pushed on the work.
+Now was proved the sound judgment of the commander when manning the
+corvette at Toulon, in selecting sailors who were also skilled in some
+mechanical employment. Blacksmiths, sail-makers, rope-makers, sawyers,
+all worked with zeal at the different tasks assigned to them.
+
+No doubts were entertained of the success of the voyage before them.
+Monte Video was separated from the Falkland Islands by but three
+hundred and fifty nautical miles, and with the winds prevailing in
+these latitudes at this time of year, this distance could be traversed
+in a few days by the _Esperance_--for so the transformed sloop was
+named. To provide, at the same time, against the possible contingency
+of the frail vessel failing to reach the Rio de la Plata, Freycinet
+determined to commence the construction of a schooner of a hundred
+tons, as soon as the sloop had taken her departure. Notwithstanding the
+incessant demands on the energies of all made by the arduous and varied
+tasks involved in reconstruction and refitting of the new vessel, the
+usual astronomical and physical observations, the natural history
+researches and the hydrographical surveys, were not neglected. No one
+could have imagined that the stay in Berkeley Sound was anything more
+than an ordinary halt for exploring purposes.
+
+At last the sloop was finished and safely launched. The instructions
+for Captain Duperrey, appointed to take command, were all drawn up; the
+crew was selected; the provisions were on board; in two days the
+adventurers were to sail, when on the 19th March, 1820, the cry was
+raised, "A sail! a sail!" A sloop under full sail was seen entering the
+bay.
+
+A cannon was fired several times to attract attention, and in a short
+time the master of the new arrival was on shore. In a few words
+Freycinet explained to him the misadventure which had led to the
+residence of the explorers upon this desolate coast. The master stated
+in reply that he was under the orders of the captain of an American
+ship, the _General Knox_, engaged in the seal-fishery at West Island,
+to the west of the Falklands. An officer was at once deputed to go and
+ascertain from the captain what succour he could render to the French
+travellers. The result of the interview was a demand for 135,750 francs
+for the conveyance of the shipwrecked strangers to Rio--an unworthy
+advantage to take of the necessities of the unfortunate. To such a
+bargain the French officer was unwilling to agree without the consent
+of his commander; so he begged the American captain to sail for
+Berkeley Sound. While these negotiations were going on, however,
+another ship, the _Mercury_, under command of Captain Galvin, had made
+its appearance in the bay. The _Mercury_ was bound from Buenos Ayres to
+Valparaiso with cannon, but just before doubling Cape Horn she had
+sprung a leak, and was compelled to put in at the Falkland Islands to
+make the necessary repairs. It was a fortunate incident for the
+Frenchmen, who knew they could turn to account the competition which
+must result from the arrival of two ships.
+
+[Illustration: The _Mercury_ at anchor in Berkeley Sound.]
+
+Freycinet at once made an offer to Captain Galvin to repair the damage
+the _Mercury_ had sustained, with the materials and the labour at his
+command, asking in return for this service a free passage for himself
+and his companions to Rio de Janeiro.
+
+At the end of fifteen days the repairs of the _Mercury_ were completed.
+While they were going on, the negotiation with the _General Knox_ was
+terminated by a positive refusal on the part of Freycinet to agree to
+the extravagant terms proposed by the American captain. It took several
+days to come to a settlement with Captain Galvin, who finally made the
+following agreement.
+
+1. Captain Galvin engaged to convey to Rio the wrecked persons, their
+papers, collections, and instruments, as well as all the cargo saved
+out of the _Uranie_ that could be got on board.
+
+2. Freycinet and his people were during the passage to subsist entirely
+on the provisions set apart for them.
+
+3. That the captain was to receive the sum of 97,740 francs within ten
+days of their arrival at Rio. By the acceptance of these truly
+extortionate conditions a bargain, which had cost much dispute, was
+finally settled.
+
+Before leaving the Falklands, however, the naturalist, Gaudichaud,
+planted its destitute shores with several sorts of vegetables, which he
+thought likely to be of service to future voyagers who might be
+detained there.
+
+A few particulars regarding this archipelago will not be without
+interest. The group, lying between 50 degrees 57 minutes, and 52
+degrees 45 minutes S. latitude, and 60 degrees 4 minutes, 63 degrees 48
+minutes west of the meridian of Paris, consists of several islets and
+two principal islands, named Conti and Maidenland. Berkeley Sound,
+situated in the extreme east of the Conti Island, is a wide opening,
+rather deep than extensive, with a shelving rocky coast. The
+temperature of the islands is milder than one would expect from the
+high latitude. Snow does not fall in any great quantity, and does not
+remain even on the summits of the highest hills longer than for about
+two months. The streams are never frozen, and the lakes and marshes are
+never covered with ice hard enough to bear the weight of a man, for
+more than twenty-four hours consecutively. From the observations of
+Weddell, who visited these parts between 1822 and 1824, the temperature
+must have risen considerably during the last forty years in consequence
+of a change in the direction taken by the icebergs which melt away in
+the mid-Atlantic. M. Quoy, the naturalist, judging from the shallowness
+of the sea between the Falkland Islands and South America, as well as
+the resemblance of their grassy plains to the pampas of Buenos Ayres,
+is of opinion that they once formed part of the continent. These plains
+are low, marshy, covered with tall grass and shrubs, and are inundated
+in the winter. Peat is abundant and makes excellent fuel. The character
+of the soil has proved an obstacle to the growth of the trees which
+Bougainville endeavoured to acclimatize, of which scarce a vestige
+remained at the time of Freycinet's visit. The plant which reaches the
+greatest height and grows most plentifully is a species of sword-grass,
+excellent food for cattle, and serving also as a place of shelter to
+numbers of seals and multitudes of gulls. It is this high grass which
+sailors have taken from a distance for bushes. The only vegetables
+growing on these islands of any use to man are celery, scurvy-grass,
+watercress, dandelion, raspberries, sorrel, and pimpernel.
+
+Both French and Spanish colonists had at different times imported into
+these islands oxen, horses, and pigs, which had multiplied to a
+singular extent in the island of Conti; but the persistent hunting of
+them by the crews of the whaling ships must tend to considerably reduce
+their numbers. The only quadruped indigenous to the Falkland Islands is
+the Antarctic dog, the muzzle of which strikingly resembles that of the
+fox. It has therefore had the name dog-fox, or wolf-fox, given to it by
+whalers. These animals are so fierce that they rushed into the water to
+attack Byron's sailors. They, however, find rabbits enough, whose
+reproductive powers are limitless, to satisfy them; but the seals,
+which the dogs attack without any fear, manage to escape from them.
+
+The _Mercury_ set sail on the 28th of April, 1821, to convey Freycinet
+and his crew to the port of Rio de Janeiro. But one point Captain
+Galvin had failed to take into his reckoning,--his ship, equipped under
+the flag of the Independent State of Buenos Ayres, then at war with the
+Portuguese, would be seized on entering the harbour of Rio, and he
+himself with all his crew would be made prisoners. On this he
+endeavoured to make Freycinet cancel the engagement between them,
+hoping to prevail on him to land at Monte Video. But as Freycinet would
+not agree to this proposal on any ground, a new contract had to be
+substituted for the original one. According to the latter arrangement
+Freycinet became proprietor of the _Mercury_ on behalf of the French
+navy by payment of the sum stipulated under the first contract. The
+ship was renamed the _Physicienne_, and reached Monte Video on the 8th
+of May, where the command was taken over by Freycinet. The stay at
+Monte Video was made use of for arming the vessel, arranging its trim,
+repairing the rigging, taking on board the supply of water and
+provisions requisite for the trip to Rio de Janeiro; before reaching
+which port, however, several serious defects in the ship had been
+discovered. The appearance of the _Physicienne_ was so distinctly
+mercantile that on entering the port of Rio, though the flag of a
+man-of-war was flying at the masthead, the customs officers were
+deceived and proposed to inspect her as a merchant-vessel. Extensive
+repairs were absolutely necessary, and the making of them compelled
+Freycinet to remain at Rio until the 18th of September. He was then
+able to take his departure direct for France; and on the 13th of
+November, 1820, he cast anchor in the port of Havre, after an absence
+of three years and two months, during which time he had sailed over
+18,862 nautical miles.
+
+A few days after his return, Freycinet proceeded to Paris, suffering
+from a severe illness, and forwarded to the secretary of the Academy of
+Sciences the scientific records of the voyage, which made no less than
+thirty-one quarto volumes. At the same time, the naturalists attached
+to the expedition, MM. Quoy, Gaimard, and Gaudichaud, submitted the
+specimens which they had collected. Among these were four previously
+unknown species of mammiferous animals, forty-five of fishes, thirty of
+reptiles, besides rare kinds of molluscs, polypes, annelides, &c., &c.
+
+The rules of the French service required that Freycinet should be
+summoned before a council of war to answer for the loss of his ship.
+The trial terminated in a unanimous verdict of acquittal from all
+blame, the council expressing at the same time their hearty
+acknowledgment of the energy and ability displayed by the commander,
+approving, moreover, the skilful and careful measures he had taken to
+remedy the disastrous results of his shipwreck. A few days after, being
+received by the king, Louis XVIII., his Majesty, accompanying him to
+the door, said, "You entered here the captain of a frigate, you depart
+the captain of a ship of the line. Offer me no thanks; reply in the
+words used by Jean Bart to Louis XIV., 'Sire, you have done well!'"
+
+From that time Freycinet devoted himself entirely to the task of
+publishing the notes of his travels. The meagre account which has been
+given here will serve to show how extensive these notes were. But the
+extreme conscientiousness of the explorer prevented him from publishing
+anything which was not complete, and he was bent on placing his work in
+advance of the recognized boundaries of knowledge at that date. Even
+the mere classification of the vast quantity of material which he had
+collected during his voyage demanded a large expenditure of time. Thus
+it was that when surprised by death on the 18th of August, 1842, he had
+not put the last finishing touch to one of the most curious and novel
+divisions of his work, that relating to the languages of Oceania with
+special reference to that of the Marianne Islands.
+
+At the close of the year 1821 the Marquis de Clermont Tonnerre, then
+Minister of Marine, received the scheme of a new voyage from two young
+officers, MM. Duperrey and Dumont d'Urville. The former, second in
+command to Freycinet on board the _Uranie_, after having rendered
+valuable assistance to the expedition by his scientific researches and
+surveys, had within the year returned to France; the other, the
+colleague of Captain Garnier, had brought himself into notice during
+the hydrographical cruises in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, which
+it had fallen to Captain Garnier to complete. He had a fine taste for
+botany and art, and had been one of the first to draw attention to the
+artistic value of the Venus of Milos which had just been discovered.
+These two young _savants_ proposed in the plan submitted by them to
+make special researches into three departments of natural
+science--magnetism, meteorology, and the configuration of the globe.
+"In the geographical department," said Duperrey, "we would propose to
+verify or to rectify, either by direct, or by chronometrical
+observations, the position of a great number of points in different
+parts of the globe, especially among the numerous island groups of the
+Pacific Ocean, notorious for shipwrecks, and so remarkable for the
+character and the form of the shoals, sandbanks, and reefs, of which
+they in part consist; also to trace new routes through the Dangerous
+Archipelago and the Society Islands, side by side with those taken by
+Quiros, Wallis, Bougainville, and Cook; to carry on hydrographical
+surveys in continuation of those made in the voyages of D'Entrecasteaux
+and of Freycinet in Polynesia, New Holland, and the Molucca Islands;
+and particularly to visit the Caroline Islands, discovered by Magellan,
+about which, with the exception of the eastern side, examined in our
+own time by Captain Kotzebue, we have only very vague information,
+communicated by the missionaries, and by them learnt from stories told
+by savages who had lost their way and were driven in their canoes upon
+the Marianne Islands. The languages, character, and customs of these
+islanders must also receive special and careful attention."
+
+The naval doctors, Garnon and Lesson, were placed in charge of the
+natural history department, whilst the staff was composed of officers
+most remarkable for their scientific attainments, among whom may be
+mentioned MM. Lesage, Jacquinot, Bérard, Lottin, De Blois, and De
+Blosseville.
+
+The Academy of Sciences took up the plan of research submitted by the
+originators of this expedition with much enthusiasm, and furnished them
+with minute instructions, in which were set forth with care the points
+on which accurate scientific information was especially desirable. At
+the same time the instruments supplied to the explorers were the most
+finished and complete of their kind.
+
+The vessel chosen for the expedition was the _Coquille_, a small ship,
+not drawing more than from twelve to thirteen feet of water, which was
+lying in ordinary at Toulon. The time spent in refitting, stowing the
+cargo, arming the ship, prevented the expedition from starting earlier
+than the 11th of August, 1822. The island of Teneriffe was reached on
+the 28th of the same month, and there the officers hoped to be able to
+make a few gleanings after the rich harvest of knowledge which their
+predecessors had reaped; but the Council of Health in the island,
+having received information of an outbreak of yellow fever on the
+shores of the Mediterranean, imposed on the _Coquille_ a quarantine of
+fifteen days. It happened, however, that at that period political
+opinion was in a state of fervid excitement at Teneriffe, and party
+spirit ran so high in society that the inhabitants found it hard to
+come together without also coming to blows. Under these circumstances
+it is easy to imagine that the French officers did not indulge in
+violent regrets over the privations which they had to sustain. The
+eight days during which their stay at Teneriffe lasted were given up
+exclusively to the revictualling of the ship, and to magnetic and
+astronomical observations.
+
+Towards the end of September anchor was weighed, and on the 6th of
+October the work of surveying the islands of Martin-Vaz and of Trinidad
+was commenced. The former are nothing more than bare rocks rising out
+of the sea, of a most forbidding aspect. The island of Trinidad is high
+land, rugged and barren, with a few trees crowning the southern point.
+This island is none other than the famous Ascençao--now called
+Ascension--which for three centuries had been the object of exploring
+research. In 1700 it was taken possession of by the celebrated Halley
+in the name of the English Government, but it had to be ceded to the
+Portuguese, who formed a settlement there. La Pérouse found it still in
+existence at the same place in 1785. The settlement, which turned out
+expensive and useless, was abandoned a short time after the visit just
+referred to, and the island was left in the occupation of the dogs,
+pigs, and goats, whose progenitors had entered the island in company
+with the early colonists.
+
+When he left the island of Trinidad, Duperrey purposed to steer a
+direct course for the Falkland Islands; but an accidental damage, in
+the repair of which no time was to be lost, compelled him to alter his
+course for the island of St. Catherine, where only he could obtain
+without any delay the wood required for new yards and masts, as well as
+provisions, which from their abundance could there be bought very
+cheap. As he drew near to the island he was delighted with the grand
+and picturesque scene presented by its dense forests, where
+laurel-trees, sassafras, cedars, orange-trees, and mangroves
+intermingled with banana and other palms, with their feathery foliage
+waving gracefully in the breeze. Just four days before the corvette
+anchored off St. Catherine, Brazil had cast off the authority of the
+mother-country, and declared its independence by the proclamation of
+Prince Don Pedro d'Alcantara as Emperor. This led the commander to
+despatch a mission consisting of MM. d'Urville, de Blosseville, Gabert,
+and Garnot to the capital of the island, Nossa-Senhora-del-Desterro, to
+make inquiries about the political change, and learn how far it might
+modify the friendly relations of the country with France. It appeared
+that the administration of the province was in the hands of a Junto,
+but orders were at once given to allow the French travellers to cut
+what wood they might stand in need of, and the Governor of the Fort of
+Santa Cruz was requested to further the scientific inquiries of the
+Expedition by all the means at his command. As to provisions, however,
+there was considerable difficulty, for the merchants had transferred
+their funds to Rio, in apprehension of what the political change might
+result in. It is probable that this circumstance accounts for the
+commander of the _Coquille_ finding the course of business not run
+smooth in a port which had received the warm recommendations of
+Captains Kruzenstern and Kotzebue.
+
+The narrative of the travellers states that "the inhabitants were
+living in expectation of the island being shortly attacked with the
+view to recolonization, which they considered would be tantamount to
+their enslavement. The decree issued on the 1st August, 1822, calling
+on all Brazilians to arm themselves for the defence of their shores and
+proclaiming under all circumstances a war of partisans had given rise
+to these fears. The measures which Prince Don Pedro propounded were
+equally generous and vigorous, and had created a favourable opinion of
+his character and of his desire to promote freedom. Full of confidence
+in his purposes, the strong party in favour of independence were filled
+with enthusiasm expressing itself all the more boisterously as for so
+long a time their fervid aspirations had been kept under restraint.
+They now gave open demonstration of their joy by making the towns of
+Nossa-Senhora-del-Desterro, Laguna, and San Francisco one blaze of
+light with their illuminations, and marching through the streets
+singing verses in honour of Don Pedro."
+
+But the excitement which had been thus strikingly manifested in the
+towns was not shared by the quiet peace-loving dwellers in the rural
+districts, to whose breasts political passion was an entire stranger.
+And there cannot be a doubt that, if Portugal had been in a position to
+enforce her decrees by the despatch of a fleet, the province would have
+been easily reconquered.
+
+The _Coquille_ set sail again on the 30th October. When to the east of
+Rio de la Plata she was caught in one of those formidable gales, there
+called _pampero_, but had the good fortune to weather it without
+sustaining any damage.
+
+While in this part of the ocean Duperrey made some interesting
+observations on the current of the Plate River. Freycinet had already
+established the fact of its flowing at the rate of two miles and a half
+an hour, at a distance of a hundred leagues to the east of Monte Video.
+It was reserved to the commander of the _Coquille_ to ascertain that
+the current is sensibly felt at a much greater distance; he proved
+moreover that the water of the river resisted by that of the ocean is
+forcibly divided into two branches running in the direction of the two
+banks of the river at its mouth; and finally he accounts for the
+comparative shallowness of the sea down to the shores of the Magellan
+Strait by the immense residuum of earth held in suspension by the
+waters of the La Plata and deposited daily along the coast of South
+America.
+
+Before entering Berkeley Sound the _Coquille_, driven by a favourable
+breeze, passed immense shoals of whales and dolphins, flocks of gulls
+and numerous flying fish, the ordinary tenants of those tempestuous
+regions. The Falkland Isles were reached, and Duperrey with a few of
+his fellow-travellers felt a lively pleasure at revisiting the land
+which had been to them a place of refuge for three months after their
+shipwreck in the _Uranie_. They paid a visit to the spot where the camp
+had been pitched. The remains of the corvette were almost entirely
+imbedded in sand, and what was visible of it bore marks of the
+appropriations which had been made by the whalers who had followed them
+in that place. On all sides were scattered miscellaneous fragments,
+carronades with the knobs broken off, pieces of the rigging, tattered
+clothes, shreds of sails, unrecognizable rags, mingled with the bones
+of the animals which the castaways had killed for food. "This scene of
+our recent calamity," Duperrey observes, "wore an aspect of desolation
+which was rendered still gloomier by the barrenness of the land and the
+dark rainy weather prevailing at the time of our visit. Nevertheless,
+it had for us an inexplicable sort of attraction and left a melancholy
+impression on our minds, which was not effaced till long after we had
+left the Falkland Islands well behind us."
+
+[Illustration: The wreck of the _Uranie_.]
+
+The stay of Duperrey at the Falklands was prolonged to the 17th
+December. He took up his residence in the midst of the ruins of the
+settlement founded by Bougainville, in order to execute certain repairs
+which the condition of his vessel required. The crew provided
+themselves by fishing and hunting with an ample supply of food;
+everything necessary was found in abundance, except fruit and
+vegetables; and having laid in abundant stores, all prepared to
+confront the dangers of the passage round Cape Horn.
+
+At first the _Coquille_ had to struggle against strong winds from the
+south-west and violent currents; these were succeeded by squalls and
+hazy weather until the island of Mocha was reached on the 19th January,
+1823. Of this island a brief mention has already been made. Duperrey
+places it in 38 degrees 20 minutes 30 seconds S. lat., and 76 degrees
+21 minutes 55 seconds W. long., and reckons it to be about twenty-four
+miles in circumference. Consisting of a chain of mountains of moderate
+elevation, sloping down towards the sea, it was the rendezvous of the
+early explorers of the Pacific. It furnished the ships touching there,
+now a merchantman, now a pirate, with horses and with wild pigs, the
+flesh of which had a well-known reputation for delicacy of flavour.
+Here was also a good supply of pure fresh water, as well as of some
+European fruits, such as apples, peaches, and cherries, the growth of
+trees planted here by those who first took possession of the island. In
+1823, however, these resources had all but disappeared, through the
+wasteful practices of improvident whalers. At no great distance might
+be seen the two round eminences which mark the mouth of the river
+Bio-Bio, the small island of Quebra-Ollas, and that of Quiriquina, and,
+these passed, the Bay of Conception opened to view, where was a
+solitary English whaler about to double the Cape, to which was
+entrusted the correspondence for home, as well as the notes of the work
+that had already been accomplished.
+
+On the day after the arrival of the _Coquille_, as soon as the morning
+sun had lit up the bay, the melancholy and desolate appearance of the
+place, which had taken every one by surprise on the previous evening,
+became still more depressing. The name of the town was Talcahuano; and
+the picture it presented was one of houses in ruins and silent streets.
+A few wretched canoes, ready to fall to pieces, were on the beach; near
+them loitered a few poorly clad fishermen; while in front of the
+tumble-down cottages and roofless huts sat women in rags employed in
+combing one another's hair. In contrast with this human squalor, the
+surrounding hills and woods, the gardens and the orchards, were clothed
+in the most splendid foliage; on every side flowers displayed their
+gorgeous colours, and fruits proclaimed their ripeness in tints of
+gold.
+
+Overhead a glowing sun, a sky without a cloud, completed the bitter
+irony of the spectacle. All this ruin, desolation, and wretchedness
+were the outward and visible signs of a series of revolutions. At St.
+Catherine the French travellers had been witnesses of the declaration
+of Brazilian independence; on the opposite side of the continent they
+were spectators of the downfall of Director O'Higgins. This official
+had evaded the summons of the Congress, had sacrificed the interests of
+the agricultural community to those of the traders and merchants, by
+the imposition of direct taxes and the lowering of customs duties; was
+openly accused, as well as his ministers, of peculation; and as the
+result of all this malversation the greater part of the population had
+risen in revolt. The movement against O'Higgins was led by a General D.
+Ramon Freire y Serrano, who gave formal assurances to the explorers
+that the political disturbance should be no impediment to the
+revictualling of the _Coquille_.
+
+On the 26th January two corvettes arrived at Conception. They brought a
+regiment under the command of a French official, Colonel Beauchef, who
+came to assist General Freire. The regiment, which had been organized
+by the exertions of Colonel Beauchef, was in point of steadiness,
+discipline, and knowledge of drill, one of the smartest in the Chilian
+army.
+
+On the 2nd February the officers of the _Coquille_ proceeded to
+Conception, to pay a visit to General Freire. The nearer they
+approached the city the more fields were lying waste, the more ruined
+houses were seen, the fewer people were visible, while their clothing
+had almost reached the vanishing-point. At the entrance of the town
+itself stood a mast, with the head of a notorious bandit affixed to the
+top, one Benavidez, a ferocious savage, more wild beast than man, whose
+name was long execrated in Chili for the horrible atrocities he had
+committed.
+
+The interior of the town was found as desolate in appearance as the
+approach to it. Having been set fire to by each party that had
+successively been victorious, Conception was nothing more than a heap
+of ruins, amongst which loitered a little remnant of scantily clothed
+inhabitants, the wretched residuum of a once flourishing population.
+Grass was growing in the streets, the bishop's palace and the cathedral
+were the only buildings still standing, and these, roofless and gutted,
+would not be able much longer to resist the dilapidating influence of
+the climate.
+
+General Freire, before placing himself in opposition to O'Higgins, had
+arranged a peace with the Araucanians, an indigenous tribe
+distinguished for their bravery, who had not only maintained their own
+independence but were always ready, when opportunity offered, to
+encroach on the Spanish territory. Some of these natives were employed
+as auxiliary troops in the Chilian army. Duperrey saw them, and, having
+obtained from General Freire and Colonel Beauchef trustworthy
+information, has given a not very flattering description of them, of
+which the substance shall be here given.
+
+The Araucanians are of an ordinary stature, in complexion
+copper-coloured, with small, black, vivacious eyes, a rather flat nose,
+and thick lips; the result of which is an expression of brutal
+ferocity. Divided into tribes, each one jealous of another, all
+animated by an unbridled lust of plunder, and ever on the move, their
+lives are spent in perpetual warfare. The mounted Araucanian is armed
+with a long lance, a long cutlass, sabre-shaped, called a
+"_Machete_,"[5] and the lasso, in the use of which they are extremely
+expert, while the horse he rides is usually swift.
+
+[Footnote 5: This is a weapon shorter than a sword and longer than a
+dagger.--_Trans._]
+
+"Sometimes they are known," says Duperrey, "to receive under their
+protection vanquished enemies and become their defenders; but the
+motive prompting them to this seemingly generous conduct is always one
+of special vindictiveness; the fact being that their real object is the
+total extermination of some tribe allied with the opposite party. Among
+themselves hatred is the ruling passion; it is the only enduring bond
+of fidelity. All display undoubted courage, spirit, recklessness,
+implacability towards their enemies, whom they massacre with a shocking
+insensibility. Haughty in manner and revengeful in disposition, they
+treat all strangers with unqualified suspicion, but they are hospitable
+and generous to all whom they take as friends. All their passions are
+easily excited, but they are inordinately sensitive with regard to
+their liberty and their rights, which they are ever ready to defend
+sword in hand. Never forgetting an injury, they know not how to
+forgive; nothing less than the life-blood of their enemies can quench
+their thirst for vengeance."
+
+Duperrey pledges himself to the truth of the picture which he has here
+drawn of these savage children of the Andes, who at least deserve the
+credit of having from the sixteenth century to the present day managed
+to preserve their independence against the attacks of all invaders.
+
+After the departure of General Freire, and the troops he led away with
+him, Duperrey took advantage of the opportunity to get his vessel
+provisioned as quickly as possible. The water and the biscuits were
+soon on board; but longer time was necessary to procure supplies of
+coal, which, however, was to be got without any other expense save that
+of paying the muleteers, who transported it to the beach from a mine
+scarcely beneath the level of the earth, where it was to be picked up
+for nothing.
+
+Although the events happening at Conception during the detention there
+of the _Coquille_ were far from being cheerful, the prevailing
+depression could not hold out against the traditional festivities of
+the Carnival. Dinners, receptions, and balls recommenced, and the
+departure of the troops made itself felt only in the paucity of
+cavaliers. The French officers, in acknowledgment of the hospitable
+welcome offered to them, gave two balls at Talcahuano, and several
+families came from Conception for the sole purpose of being present at
+them.
+
+Unfortunately, Duperrey's narrative breaks off at the date of his
+quitting Chili, and there is no longer any official record from which
+to gather the details of a voyage so interesting and successful. Far
+from being able to trace step by step from original documents the
+course of the expedition, as has been done in the case of other
+travellers, we are obliged in our turn to epitomize other epitomes now
+lying before us. It is an unpleasing task; as little agreeable to the
+reader as it is difficult for the writer, who, while bound to respect
+facts, is no longer able to enliven his narrative with personal
+observations, and the generally lively stories of the travellers
+themselves. However, some few of the letters of the navigator to the
+Minister of Marine have been published, from which have been extracted
+the following details.
+
+On the 15th February, 1823, the _Coquille_ set sail from Conception for
+Payta, the place where, in 1595, Alvarez de Mendana and Fernandez de
+Quiros took ship on the voyage of discovery that has made their names
+famous; but after a fortnight's sail the corvette was becalmed in the
+vicinity of the island of Laurenzo, and Duperrey resolved to put in at
+Callao to obtain fresh provisions. It need not be said that Callao is
+the port of Lima; so the officers could not lose the opportunity of
+paying a visit to the capital of Peru. They were not fortunate in the
+time of their visit. The ladies were away for sea-bathing at
+Miraflores, and the men of most distinction in the place had gone with
+them. The travellers were thus compelled to rest content with an
+inspection of the chief residences and public buildings of the city,
+returning to Callao on the 4th March. On the 9th of the same month the
+_Coquille_ anchored at Payta.
+
+The situation of this place between the terrestrial and magnetic
+equators was most favourable for conducting observations on the
+variations of the magnetic needle. The naturalists also made excursions
+to the desert of Pierra, where they collected specimens of petrified
+shells imbedded in a tertiary stratum precisely similar to that in the
+suburbs of Paris. As soon as all the sources of scientific interest at
+Payta had been exhausted the _Coquille_ resumed her voyage, setting
+sail for Otaheite. During the sail thither a circumstance occurred
+which might have materially delayed the progress of the expedition, if
+not have led to its total destruction. On the night of the 22nd April,
+the _Coquille_ being in the waters of the Dangerous Archipelago, the
+officer of the watch all at once heard the sound of breakers dashing
+over reefs. He immediately made the ship lie to, and at daybreak the
+peril which had been escaped became manifest. At the distance of barely
+a mile and a half from the corvette lay a low island, well wooded, and
+fringed with rocks along its entire extent. A few people lived on it,
+some of whom approached the vessel in a canoe, but none of them would
+venture on board. Duperrey had to give up all thoughts of visiting the
+island, which received the name of Clermont-Tonnerre. On all sides the
+waves broke violently on the rocks, and he could do no more than coast
+it from end to end at a little distance.
+
+The next and following days some small islands of no note were
+discovered, to which were given the names of Augier, Freycinet, and
+Lostanges.
+
+At length, as the sun rose on the 3rd May, the verdant shores and woody
+mountains of Otaheite came in sight. Duperrey, like preceding visitors,
+could not help noticing the thorough change which had been effected in
+the manners and practices of the natives. Not a canoe came alongside
+the _Coquille_. It was the hour of Divine worship when the corvette
+entered the Bay of Matavai, and the missionaries had collected the
+whole population of the island, to the number of seven thousand, inside
+the principal church of Papahoa to discuss the articles of a new code
+of laws. The Otaheitan orators, it seems, would not yield the palm to
+those of Europe. There were not a few of them gifted with the valuable
+talent of being able to talk for several hours without saying anything,
+and to make an end of the most promising undertakings with the flowers
+of their rhetoric. A description of one of these meetings is given by
+D'Urville.
+
+"M. Lejeune, the draughtsman of the expedition, went by himself to be
+present at the meeting held the next day, when certain political
+questions were submitted to the popular assembly. It lasted for several
+hours, during which the chiefs took it in turn to speak. The most
+brilliant speaker of the gathering was a chief called Tati. The chief
+point of discussion was the imposition of an annual poll-tax at the
+rate of five measures of oil per man. Then came a question as to the
+taxes which were to be levied, whether they should be on behalf of the
+king, or on behalf of the missionaries. After some time, we arrived at
+the conclusion that the first question had been answered in the
+affirmative; but that the second, the one relating to the missionaries,
+had been postponed by themselves from a forecast of its probable
+failure. About four thousand persons were present at this kind of
+national congress."
+
+Two months before, Otaheite had renounced the English flag, in order to
+adopt one of its own, but that pacific revolution in no wise diminished
+the confidence which the people placed in their missionaries. The
+latter received the French travellers in a friendly manner, and
+supplied them at the usual prices with the stores of which they stood
+in need.
+
+But what seemed especially curious in the reforms effected by the
+missionaries was the total change in the behaviour of the women. From
+being, according to the statements of Cook, Bougainville, and
+contemporary explorers, compliant to an unheard of degree, they had
+become most modest, reserved, and decently conducted; so that the whole
+island wore the air of a convent, a revolution as amusing as it was
+unnatural.
+
+From Otaheite the _Coquille_ proceeded to the adjacent island of
+Borabora, belonging to the same group, where European customs had been
+adopted to the same extent; and on the 9th June, steering a westerly
+course, made a survey in turn of the islands Salvage, Coa, Santa Cruz,
+Bougainville, and Bouka; finally coming to an anchor in the harbour of
+Praslin, on the coast of New Ireland, famous for its beautiful
+waterfall. "The friendly relations which were established with the
+natives there were the means of extending our knowledge of the human
+race by the observation of some peculiarities which had not fallen
+under the notice of preceding travellers." The sentence just quoted
+from an abridged account appearing in the "Annals of Voyages," which
+merely excites curiosity without satisfying it, causes us here to
+express our regret that the original narrative of the voyage has not
+been published in its entirety.
+
+[Illustration: The waterfall of Port Praslin. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+The student Porel de Blossville--the same who afterwards lost his life
+with the _Lilloise_ in the Polar regions--undertook a journey to the
+village of Praslin, in spite of all the means adopted by the savages to
+deter him. When there he was shown a kind of temple, where several
+ill-shaped, grotesque idols had been set up on a platform surrounded by
+walls.
+
+Great pains were taken to prepare a chart of St. George's Channel,
+after which Duperrey paid a visit to the islands previously surveyed by
+Schouten to the north-east of New Guinea. Three days--the 26th, 27th,
+and 28th--were devoted to a survey of them. The explorer, after this,
+searched ineffectually for the islands Stephen and De Carteret, and
+after comparing his own route with that taken by D'Entrecasteaux in
+1792, he came to the conclusion that this group must be identical with
+that of Providence, discovered long since by Dampier.
+
+On the 3rd of September the north cape of New Guinea was recognized.
+Three days later the _Coquille_ entered the narrow and rocky harbour of
+Offak on the north-west coast of Waigiou, one of the Papuan islands.
+The only navigator who has mentioned this harbour is Forest. Duperrey
+therefore felt unusual satisfaction at having explored a corner of the
+earth all but untrodden by the foot of the European. It was also an
+interesting fact for geographers that the existence of a southern bay,
+separated from Offak by a very narrow isthmus, was established.
+
+Two officers, MM. d'Urville and de Blossville, were employed in this
+work, which MM. Berard, Lottin, and de Blois de la Calande connected
+with that accomplished by Duperrey on the coast during the cruise of
+the _Uranie_. This land was found to be particularly rich in vegetable
+products, and D'Urville was able there to form the nucleus of a
+collection as valuable for the novelty as the beauty of its specimens.
+
+D'Urville and Lesson, full of curiosity to study the inhabitants, who
+belonged to the Papuan race, started for the shore immediately after
+the corvette arrived at the island in a boat manned with seven sailors.
+They had already walked some distance in a deluge of rain, when all at
+once they found themselves opposite a cottage built upon piles, and
+covered over with leaves of the plane-tree.
+
+Cowering amongst the bushes, at a little distance, was a young female
+savage, who seemed to be watching them. A few paces nearer was a heap
+of about a dozen cocoa-nuts freshly gathered, placed well in sight,
+apparently intended for the refreshment of the visitors. The Frenchmen
+came to understand that this was a present offered by the youthful
+savage of whom they had caught a glimpse, and proceeded to feast on the
+fruits so opportunely placed at their disposal. The native girl, soon
+gathering confidence from the quiet behaviour of the strangers, came
+forward, crying, "_Bongous!_" (good!), making signs to show that the
+cocoa-nuts had been presented by herself. Her delicate attention was
+rewarded by the gift of a necklace and earrings.
+
+When D'Urville regained the boat he found a dozen Papuans playing,
+eating, and seeming on the best possible terms with the boatmen. "In a
+short time," he says, "they had surrounded me, repeating, '_Captain,
+bongous_,' and offering various tokens of good will. These people are,
+in general, of diminutive stature, their constitution is slight and
+feeble; leprosy is a common disease among them; their voice is soft,
+their behaviour grave, polite, and even marked with a certain air of
+melancholy that is habitually characteristic of them."
+
+[Illustration: Natives of New Guinea. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Among the antique statues of which the Louvre is full, there is one of
+Polyhymnia, which is celebrated above the rest for an expression of
+melancholy pensiveness not usually found among the ancients. It is a
+singular circumstance that D'Urville should have observed among the
+Papuans the very expression of countenance distinguishing this antique
+statue. On board the corvette another company of natives were
+conducting themselves with a calmness and reserve, offering a marked
+contrast to the usual manner of the greater part of the inhabitants of
+the lands of Oceania.
+
+The same impression was made on the French travellers during a visit
+paid to the rajah of the island, as also during his return visit on
+board the _Coquille_. In one of the villages on this southern bay was
+observed a kind of temple, in which were to be seen several rudely
+carved statues, painted over with various colours, and ornamented with
+feathers and matting. It was quite impossible to obtain the slightest
+information on the subject of the worship which the natives paid to
+these idols.
+
+The _Coquille_ set sail again on the 16th September, coasting along the
+north side of the islands lying between Een and Yang, and after a brief
+stay at Cayeli reached Amboyna, where the remarkably kind reception
+given by M. Merkus, the governor of the Molucca Island, afforded the
+staff an interval of rest from the continual labours of this
+troublesome voyage. The 27th October saw the corvette again on its
+course, steering towards Timor and westward of the Turtle and Lucepara
+Islands. Duperrey next determined the position of the island of Vulcan;
+sighted the islands of Wetter, Baba, Dog, Cambing, and finally,
+entering the channel of Ombay, surveyed a large number of points in the
+chain of islands stretching from Pantee and Ombay in the direction of
+Java. After having made a chart of Java, and an ineffectual search for
+the Trial Islands in the place usually assigned to them, Duperrey
+steered for New Holland, but through contrary winds was not able to
+sail along the western coast of the island. On the 10th January he at
+length rounded Van Diemen's Island, and six days after that sighted the
+lights of Port Jackson, coming to an anchor off Sydney the following
+day.
+
+The governor, Sir Thomas Brisbane, who had received previous intimation
+of the arrival of the Expedition, gave the officers a cordial welcome,
+forwarded with all the means at his command the revictualling of the
+corvette, and rendered friendly assistance in the repairs which the
+somewhat shattered condition of the ship rendered necessary. He also
+provided means to enable MM. d'Urville and Lesson to make an excursion,
+full of interest, beyond the Blue Mountains into the plain of Bathurst,
+the resources of which were as yet but imperfectly known to Europeans.
+
+Duperrey did not leave Australia until the 20th of March. On this
+occasion he directed his course towards New Zealand, which had been
+rather overlooked in former voyages. The vessel came to an anchor in
+the Bay of Manawa, forming the southern part of the grand Bay of
+Islands. Here the officers occupied their leisure in scientific and
+geographical observations, and in making researches in natural history.
+At the same time, the frequent intercourse of the explorers with the
+natives threw quite a new light upon their manners, their religious
+notions, their language, and on their attitude of hostility up to that
+time to the teaching of the missionaries. What these savages most
+appreciated in European civilization was well-finished weapons--of
+which at that time they possessed a great quantity--for by their help
+they were the better able to indulge their sanguinary instincts.
+
+The stay of the _Coquille_ at New Zealand terminated on the 17th of
+April, when a _détour_ was made northwards as far as Rotuma,
+discovered, but not visited, by Captain Wilson in 1797. The
+inhabitants, gentle and hospitable, took great pains to furnish the
+navigators with the provisions they required. But it was not long
+before the Frenchmen discovered that these gentle islanders, taking
+advantage of the confidence which they had known how to create, had
+carried off a number of articles that it afterwards cost much trouble
+to make them restore. Stringent orders were given, and all thieves
+caught in the act were flogged in the presence of their
+fellow-countrymen, who, however, as well as the culprits themselves,
+treated the affair only as a joke.
+
+Among these savages four Europeans were observed, who had a long time
+before deserted from the whale-ship _Rochester_. They were no better
+clothed than the natives, and were tatooed and smeared with a yellow
+powder after the native fashion; so that it would have been hard to
+recognize them but for their white skins and more intelligent looks.
+They were quite content with their lot, having married wives and reared
+families at Rotuma, where, escaping the cares, the troubles, and the
+difficulties of civilized life, they reckoned on ending their days in
+comfort. One among them asked to be allowed to remain on board the
+_Coquille_, a favour which Duperrey was ready to grant, but the chief
+of the island was unwilling, until he learned that two convicts from
+Port Jackson asked permission to stay on shore.
+
+Although these people, hitherto little known, offered a most
+interesting subject of study to the naturalists, it was necessary to
+depart, so the _Coquille_ proceeded to survey the Coral Isles and St.
+Augustin, discovered by Maurelle in 1781. Then came Drummond Island,
+where the inhabitants, dark complexioned, with slight limbs, and
+unintelligent faces, offered to exchange some triangular shells,
+commonly called holy water cups, for knives and fishhooks; next the
+islands of Sydenham and Henderville, where the inhabitants go entirely
+naked; after them, Woolde, Hupper, Hall, Knox, Charlotte, Mathews,
+which form the Gilbert Archipelago; and finally the Marshall and
+Mulgrave groups.
+
+On the 3rd of June Duperrey came in sight of the island of Ualan, which
+had been discovered in 1804 by an American, Captain Croser. As it was
+not marked upon any chart, the commander decided upon making an exact
+and particular survey of it. No sooner had the anchor touched the
+bottom than Duperrey, accompanied by some of his officers, made for the
+shore. The inhabitants turned out to be a mild and obliging race, who
+made their visitors presents of cocoa-nuts and the fruit of the
+bread-tree, conducting them through most picturesque scenery to the
+dwelling of their principal chief, or "Uross-ton," as he was called.
+Dumont d'Urville has given the following sketch of the country through
+which the travellers passed on their way to the residence of the chief.
+
+"We glided calmly across a magnificent basin girdled in by a
+well-wooded shore, the foliage a bright green. Behind us rose the lofty
+hill-tops, carpeted with verdure, from which shot up the light and
+graceful stems of the cocoa palms. Out of the sea to the front rose the
+little island of Leilei, covered with the pretty cottages of the
+islanders, and crowned with a verdant mound. If this pleasant prospect
+be further brightened by a magnificent day, in a delicious climate,
+some notion may be formed of the sensations we experienced as we
+proceeded in a sort of triumphal procession, surrounded by a crowd of
+simple, gentle, kind attendants."
+
+The number of persons accompanying the boats D'Urville estimated at
+about 800. On arriving before a neat and charming village, with well
+paved streets, they divided themselves, the men standing on one side,
+the women on the other, maintaining an impressive silence. Two chiefs
+advanced, and taking the travellers by the hand, conducted them to the
+dwelling of the "Uross-ton." The crowd, still silent, remained outside
+while the Frenchmen entered the chief's house. The "Uross-ton" shortly
+made his appearance, a pale and shrivelled old man, bowed down under
+the weight of fourscore years. The Frenchmen politely rose on his
+entering the room, but they were apprised by a whisper of disapproval
+from those standing about that this was a violation of the local
+etiquette. The crowd in front prostrated themselves on the ground. The
+chiefs themselves could not withhold that mark of respect. The old man,
+recovering from a momentary surprise at the boldness of the strangers,
+called upon his subjects to keep silence, then seated himself near the
+travellers. In return for the trifling presents which were made to him
+and his wife, he vouchsafed marks of goodwill in the shape of slight
+pats on the cheek, the shoulder, or the thigh. But the gratitude of
+these sovereigns was expressed only by the gift of seven so-called
+"_tots_"--probably pieces of cloth--four of which were of very fine
+tissue.
+
+[Illustration: Meeting with the Chief of Ualan.]
+
+After the audience was over the travellers proceeded to look round the
+village, where they were astonished to find two immense walls made of
+coral, some blocks of which were of immense size and weight.
+
+Notwithstanding a few acts of petty theft committed by the chiefs, the
+ten days during which the expedition remained at the island passed
+without disturbance; the good understanding on which the intercourse
+between the Frenchmen and the Ualanese was based never suffered a
+moment's interruption. Duperrey remarks that "it is easy to predict
+that this island of Ualan will one day become of considerable
+importance. It is situated in the midst of the Caroline group, in the
+course of ships sailing from New Holland to China, and presents good
+ports for careening vessels, ample supplies of water, and provisions of
+various kinds. The inhabitants are generous and peaceably disposed, and
+they will soon be in a position to supply a kind of food most essential
+to sailors, from the progeny of the sows that we left with them, a gift
+which excited a very lively gratitude."
+
+Subsequent events, however, have not verified the forecast made by
+Duperrey. Although a route from Europe to China, by the south of Van
+Diemen's Island, passes near the coast of Ualan, the island is of
+little more value now than it was fifty years ago. Steam has completely
+revolutionized the conditions of navigation. Sailors at the
+commencement of the century could not possibly foresee the radical
+changes which the introduction of this agent would produce.
+
+The _Coquille_ had not gone more than two days' sail from Ualan, when
+on the 17th, 18th, and 23rd June were discovered several new islands,
+which by the native inhabitants were called Pelelap, Takai, Aoura,
+Ougai, and Mongoul. These are the groups usually called Mac-Askyll and
+Duperrey, the people resembling those of Ualan, who, as well as those
+of the Radak Islands, give to their chiefs the title of "Tamon."
+
+On the 24th of the same month the _Coquille_ found herself in the
+middle of the Hogoleu group, which Kotzebue had looked for in too high
+a latitude, the commander recognizing their bearings by means of
+certain names given by the natives, which were found entered in the
+chart of Father Cantova. The hydrographical survey of this group,
+contained within a circumference of at least thirty leagues, was
+executed by M. Blois from the 24th to the 27th June. The islands are
+for the most part high, terminating in volcanic peaks; but some are of
+opinion, judging from the arrangement of the lagoon, that they are of
+madreporic formation. They are tenanted by a race of diminutive,
+badly-shaped people, subject moreover to repulsive complaints. If ever
+the converse of the phrase _mens sana in corpore sano_ can find a just
+application, it must be here, for these natives are low in the scale of
+intelligence, and inferior by many degrees to the people of Ualan. Even
+at that time foreign styles of dress appeared to have found their way
+into the islands. Some of the people were wearing conical-shaped hats,
+after the Chinese fashion; others had on garments of plaited straw,
+with a hole in the middle to allow the head to pass through, reminding
+one of the "Poncho" of the South American; but they held in contempt
+such trumpery as looking-glasses, necklaces, or bells, asking rather
+for axes and steel weapons, evidences of frequent intercourse with
+Europeans.
+
+The islands of Tamatan, Fanendik, and Ollap, called "The Martyrs" on
+old maps, were next surveyed; afterwards an ineffectual search was made
+for the islands of Namoureck and Ifelouk about the position assigned to
+them by Arrowsmith and Malaspina; and then, by way of continuing the
+exploration of the north side of New Guinea, the _Coquille_ put in at
+the port of Doreï, on the south-east coast of the island, where a stay
+was made until the 9th August.
+
+Whether estimated by the addition made to natural history, or to
+geography, or to astronomy, or to science in general, no more
+profitable a sojourn could have been made than this. The indigenous
+inhabitants of New Guinea belong to the purest race of Papuans. Their
+dwellings are huts built upon piles, the entrance to them being made by
+means of a piece of wood with notches cut in it to serve for steps;
+this is drawn up into the interior every night. The natives dwelling on
+the coast are always at war with those in the interior, the Harfous or
+Arfakis negroes.
+
+Guided by a young Papuan, D'Urville succeeded in making his way to the
+place where these last-mentioned dwelt. He found them gentle,
+hospitable, courteous creatures, not in the least like the portrait
+drawn of them by their enemies.
+
+After the stay at New Guinea, the _Coquille_ again sailed through the
+Moluccas, put in for a short time at Sourabaya, upon the coast of Java,
+and on the 30th October reached the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius.
+At length, having on the way stopped at St. Helena, where the officers
+paid a visit to the tomb of Napoleon, and at Ascension, where an
+English colony had been established since 1815, the corvette entered
+Marseilles on the 24th April, 1825, concluding a voyage that had
+occupied thirty-one months and three days, over 24,894 nautical miles,
+without the loss of a single life, or any cases of sickness, and
+without any damage being sustained by the ship. A success in every way
+so distinguished covered with glory the young commander of the
+expedition and all its officers, who had manifested such untiring
+energy in the prosecution of scientific inquiries, yielding a rich
+harvest of valuable results.
+
+Fifty-two charts and plans carefully drawn up; collections of natural
+specimens of all kinds, both numerous and curious; copious
+vocabularies, by the help of which it may be possible to throw new
+light on the migrations of the Oceanic peoples; interesting
+intelligence regarding the productions of the places visited; the
+condition of commerce and industrial pursuits; observations relating to
+the shape of the globe; magnetical, meteorological, and botanical
+researches; such formed the bulk of the valuable freight of knowledge
+brought home by the _Coquille_. The scientific world waited eagerly for
+the time when this store of information should be thrown open to the
+public.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Expedition of Baron de Bougainville--Stay at Pondicherry--The "White
+Town" and the "Black Town"--"Right-hand" and "Left-hand"--Malacca--
+Singapore and its prosperity--Stay at Manilla--Touron Bay--The monkeys
+and the people--The marble rocks of Faifoh--Cochin-Chinese diplomacy--
+The Anambas--The Sultan of Madura--The straits of Madura and Allas--
+Cloates and the Triad Islands--Tasmania--Botany Bay and New South
+Wales--Santiago and Valparaiso--Return _viâ_ Cape Horn--Expedition of
+Dumont d'Urville in the _Astrolabe_--The Peak of Teneriffe--Australia--
+Stay at New Zealand--Tonga-Tabu--Skirmishes--New Britain and New
+Guinea--First news of the fate of La Pérouse--Vanikoro and its
+inhabitants--Stay at Guam--Amboyna and Menado--Results of the
+expedition.
+
+
+The expedition, the command of which was entrusted to Baron de
+Bougainville, was, strictly speaking, neither a scientific voyage nor a
+campaign of discovery. Its chief purpose was to unfurl the French flag
+in the extreme East, and to impress upon the governments of that region
+the intention of France to protect her nationalities and her interests,
+everywhere and at all times. The chief instructions given to the
+commander were that he was to convey to the sovereign of Cochin-China a
+letter from the king, together with some presents, to be placed on
+board the frigate _Thetis_.
+
+M. de Bougainville was also, whenever possible, without such delays as
+would prejudice the main object of the expedition, to take hydrographic
+surveys, and to collect information upon the commerce, productions, and
+means of exchange, of the countries visited.
+
+Two vessels were placed under the orders of M. de Bougainville. One,
+the _Thetis_, was an entirely new frigate, carrying forty-four cannons
+and three hundred sailors, no French frigate of this strength, except
+the _Boudeuse_, having ever before accomplished the voyage round the
+world; the other, the sloop _Espérance_, had twenty carronades upon the
+deck, and carried a hundred and twenty seamen.
+
+The first of these vessels was under the direct orders of Baron de
+Bougainville, and his staff consisted of picked officers, amongst whom
+we may mention Longueville, Lapierre, and Baudin, afterwards captain,
+vice-admiral, and rear-admiral. The _Espérance_ was commanded by
+Frigate-Captain De Nourquer du Camper, who, as second in command of the
+frigate _Cleopatra_, had already explored a great part of the course of
+the new expedition. It numbered among its officers, Turpin, afterwards
+vice-admiral, deputy, and aide-de-camp of Louis Philippe; Eugène
+Penaud, afterwards general officer, and Médéric Malavois, the future
+governor of Senegal.
+
+Not one notable scientific man, such as those who had been billeted in
+such numbers on the _Naturalist_ and other circumnavigating vessels,
+had embarked upon those of Baron de Bougainville, to whom it was a
+constant matter of regret, a regret intensified by the fact that the
+medical officers, with so many under their care, could not be long
+absent from the vessels when in port. M. de Bougainville's journal of
+the voyage opens with this judicious remark:--
+
+"It was not many years ago a dangerous enterprise to make a voyage
+round the world, and scarce half a century has elapsed since the time
+when an expedition of this kind would have sufficed to reflect glory
+upon the man who directed it. This was 'the good old time,' the golden
+age of the circumnavigator, and the dangers and privations against
+which he had to struggle were repaid a hundredfold, when, rich in
+valuable discoveries, he hailed on his return the shores of his native
+land. But this is all over now; the _prestige_ has gone, and we make
+our tour of the globe nowadays as we should then have made that of
+France."
+
+What would Baron Yves-Hyacinth Potentien de Bougainville, the son of
+the vice-admiral, senator, and member of the _Institut_, say to-day to
+our admirable steamships of perfect form, and charts of such minute
+exactitude that distant voyages appear a mere joke.
+
+On the 2nd March, 1824, the _Thetis_ quitted the roads at Brest to take
+up at Bourbon her companion, the _Espérance_, which, having started
+some time before, had set sail for Rio de Janeiro. A short stay at
+Teneriffe, where the _Thetis_ was only able to purchase some poor wine
+and a very small quantity of the provisions needed; a view of the Cape
+Verd Islands and the Cape of Good Hope in the distance, and a hunt for
+the fabulous island of Saxemberg, and some rocks no less fictitious,
+were the only incidents of the voyage to Bourbon, where the _Espérance_
+had already arrived.
+
+Bourbon was at this time so familiar a point with the navigators that
+there was little to be said about it, when its two open roads of St.
+Denis and St. Paul had been mentioned. St. Denis, the capital, situated
+on the north of Bourbon, and at the extremity of a sloping table-land,
+was, properly speaking, merely a large town, without enclosure or
+walls, and each house in it was surrounded by a garden. There were no
+public buildings or places of interest worth mentioning except the
+governor's palace, situated in such a position as to command a view of
+the whole road; the botanic garden and the "Jardin de Naturalisation,"
+which dates from 1817. The former, which is in the centre of the town,
+contains some beautiful walks, unfortunately but little frequented, and
+it is admirably kept. The eucalyptus, the giant of the Australian
+forests, the _Phormium tenax_, the New Zealand hemp-plant, the
+casuarina (the pine of Madagascar), the baobab, with its trunk of
+prodigious size, the carambolas, the sapota, the vanilla, combined to
+beautify this garden, which was refreshed by streams of sparkling
+water. The second, upon the brow of a hill, formed of terraces rising
+one above the other, to which several brooklets give life and
+fertility, was specially devoted to the acclimatisation of European
+trees and plants. The apple, peach, apricot, cherry, and pear-trees,
+which have thriven well, have already supplied the colony with valuable
+shoots. The vine was also grown in this garden, together with the
+tea-plant, and several rarer species, amongst which Bougainville noted
+with delight the "Laurea argentea," with its bright leaves.
+
+On the 9th June the two vessels left the roads of St. Denis. After
+having doubled the shoals of La Fortune and Saya de Malha, and passed
+off the Seychelles, whilst among the atolls to the south of the Maldive
+Islands, which are level with the surface of the water and covered with
+bushy trees ending in a cluster of cocoas, they sighted the island of
+Ceylon and the Coromandel coast, and cast anchor before Pondicherry.
+
+[Illustration: Natives of Pondicherry.]
+
+[Illustration: Ancient idols near Pondicherry. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+This part of India is far from answering to the "enchantress" idea
+which the dithyrambic descriptions of writers who have celebrated its
+marvels have led Europeans to form. The number of public buildings and
+monuments at Pondicherry will scarcely bear counting, and when one has
+visited the more curious of the pagodas, and the "boilers," whose only
+recommendation is their utility, there is nothing very interesting,
+except the novelty of the scenes met with at every turn. The town is
+divided into two well-defined quarters. The one called the "white
+town," dull and deserted in spite of its coquettish-looking buildings,
+and the far more interesting "black town," with its bazaars, its
+jugglers, its massive pagodas, and the attractive dances of the
+bayadères.
+
+"The Indian population upon the coast of Coromandel," says the
+narrative, "is divided into two classes,--the 'right-hand' and the
+'left.' This division originated under the government of a nabob
+against whom the people revolted; those who remained faithful to the
+prince being distinguished by the designation of 'right-hand,' and the
+rest by that of 'left-hand.' These two great tribes, which divide
+between them almost equally the entire population, are in a chronic
+state of hostility against the holders of the ranks and prerogatives
+obtained by the friends of the prince. The latter, however, retain the
+offices in the gift of the government, whilst the others are engaged in
+commerce. To maintain peace amongst them it was necessary to allow them
+to retain their ancient processions and ceremonies.... The 'right-hand'
+and 'left-hand' are subdivided into eighteen castes or guilds, full of
+pretensions and prejudices, not diminished even by the constant
+intercourse with Europeans which has now for centuries been maintained.
+Hence have arisen feelings of rivalry and contempt, which would be the
+source of sanguinary wars, were it not that the Hindus have a horror of
+bloodshed, and that their temperament renders them averse to conflict.
+These two facts, i.e. the gentleness of the native disposition and the
+constant presence of an element of discord amongst the various tribes,
+must ever be borne in mind if we would understand the political
+phenomenon of more than fifty millions of men submitting to the yoke of
+some five and twenty or thirty thousand foreigners."
+
+The _Thetis_ and the _Espérance_ quitted the roadstead of Pondicherry
+on the 30th July, crossed the Sea of Bengal, sighted the islands of
+Nicobar and Pulo-Penang, with its free port capable of holding 300
+ships at a time. They then entered the Straits of Malacca, and remained
+in the Dutch port of that name from the 24th to the 26th July, to
+repair damages sustained by the _Espérance_, so that she might hold out
+as far as Manilla. The intercourse of the explorers with the Resident
+and the inhabitants generally were all the more pleasant that it was
+confirmed by banquets given on land and on board the _Thetis_ in honour
+of the kings of France and the Netherlands. The Dutch were expecting
+soon to cede this station to the English, and this cession took place
+shortly afterwards. It must be added, with regard to Malacca, that in
+point of fertility of soil, pleasantness of situation and facilities
+for obtaining all really necessary supplies, it was superior to its
+rivals.
+
+Bougainville set out again on August 26th, and was tossed about by
+head-winds, and troubled alike by calms and storms during the remainder
+of his passage through the straits. As these latitudes were more
+frequented than any others by Malay pirates, the commandant placed
+sentries on the watch and took all precautions against surprise,
+although his force was strong enough to be above fearing any enemy. It
+was no uncommon thing to see fly-boats manned by a hundred seamen, and
+more than one merchant-ship had recently fallen a prey to these
+unmolested and incorrigible corsairs. The squadron, however, saw
+nothing to awake any suspicions, and continued its course to Singapore.
+
+The population of this town is a curious mixture of races, and our
+travellers met with Europeans engaged in the chief branches of
+commerce; Armenian and Arabian merchants, and Chinese; some planters,
+others following the various trades demanded by the requirements of the
+population. The Malays, who seemed out of place in an advancing
+civilization, either led a life of servitude, or slept away their time
+in indolence and misery whilst the Hindus, expelled from their country
+for crime, practised the indescribable trades which in all great cities
+alone save the scum from dying of starvation. It was only in 1819 that
+the English procured from the Malayan sultan of Johore the right to
+settle in the town of Singapore; and the little village in which they
+established themselves then numbered but 150 inhabitants, although,
+thanks to Sir Stamford Raffles, a town soon rose on the site of the
+unpretending cabins of the natives. By a wise stroke of policy all
+customs-duties were abolished; and the natural advantages of the new
+city, with its extensive and secure port, were supplemented and
+perfected by the hand of man.
+
+The garrison numbered only 300 sepoys and thirty gunners; there were as
+yet no fortifications, and the artillery equipment consisted merely of
+one battery of twenty cannons, and as many bronze field-pieces. Indeed,
+Singapore was simply one large warehouse, to which Madras sent cotton
+cloth; Calcutta, opium; Sumatra, pepper; Java, arrack and spices;
+Manilla, sugar and arrack; all forthwith despatched to Europe, China,
+Siam, &c. Of public buildings there appeared to be none. There were no
+stores, no careening-wharves, no building-yards, no barracks, and the
+visitors noticed but one small church for native converts.
+
+The squadron resumed its voyage on the 2nd September, and reached the
+harbour of Cavité without any mishap. Meanwhile, M. du Camper,
+commander of the _Espérance_ who had, during a residence of some years,
+become acquainted with the principal inhabitants, was ordered to go to
+Manilla, that he might inform the Governor-General of the Philippines
+of the arrival of the frigates, the reasons of their visit, &c., and at
+the same time gauge his feelings towards them, and form some idea of
+the reception the French might expect. The recent intervention of
+France in the affairs of Spain placed them indeed in a very delicate
+position with the then governor, Don Juan Antonio Martinez, who had
+been nominated to his post by the very Cortés which had just been
+overthrown by their government. The fears of the commandant, however,
+were not confirmed, for he met with the warmest kindness and most
+cordial co-operation from the Spanish authorities.
+
+Cavité Bay, where the vessels cast anchor, was constantly encumbered
+with mud, but it was the chief port in the Philippine Islands, and
+there the Spaniards owned a very well supplied arsenal in which worked
+Indians from the surrounding districts, who though skilful and
+intelligent were excessively lazy. Whilst the _Thetis_ was being
+sheathed, and the extensive repairs necessary to the _Espérance_ were
+being carried out, the clerks and officers were at Manilla, seeing
+about the supply of provisions and cordage. The latter, which was made
+of "abaca," the fibre of a banana, vulgarly called "Manilla hemp,"
+although recommended on account of its great elasticity, was not of
+much use on board ship. The delay at Manilla was rendered very
+disagreeable by earthquakes and typhoons, which are always of constant
+occurrence there. On October 24th there was an earthquake of such
+violence that the governor, troops, and a portion of the people were
+compelled hastily to leave the town, and the loss was estimated at
+120,000_l_. Many houses were thrown down, eight people were buried in
+the ruins, and many others injured. Scarcely had the inhabitants begun
+to breathe freely again, when a frightful typhoon came to complete the
+panic. It lasted only part of the night of the 31st October, and the
+next day, when the sun rose, it might have been looked upon as a mere
+nightmare had not the melancholy sight of fields laid waste, and of the
+harbour with six ships lying on their sides, and all the others at
+anchor, almost entirely disabled, testified to the reality of the
+disaster. All around the town the country was devastated, the crops
+were ruined, the trees--even the largest of them--violently shaken, the
+village destroyed. It was a heart-rending spectacle! The _Espérance_
+had its main-mast and mizen-mast lifted several feet above deck, and
+its barricadings were carried off; the _Thetis_, more fortunate than
+its companion, escaped almost uninjured in the dreadful tempest.
+
+The laziness of the workpeople, and the great number of holidays in
+which they indulge, early decided Bougainville to part for a time from
+his convoy, and on December 12th he set sail for Cochin-China. Before
+following the French to the little-frequented shores of that country,
+however, we must survey with them Manilla and its environs. The Bay of
+Manilla is one of the most extensive and beautiful in the world;
+numerous fleets might find anchorage in it; and its two channels were
+not yet closed to foreign vessels, and in 1798 two English frigates had
+been allowed to pass through them and carry off numerous vessels under
+the very guns of the town. The horizon is shut in by a barrier of
+mountains, ending on the south of the Taal, a volcano now almost
+extinct, but the eruptions of which have often caused frightful
+calamities. In the plains, framed in rice plantations, several hamlets
+and solitary houses give animation to the scene. Opposite to the mouth
+of the bay rises the town, containing 60,000 inhabitants, with its
+lighthouse and far-extending suburbs. It is watered by the Passig, a
+river issuing from Bay Lake, and its exceptionally good situation
+secures to it advantages which more than one capital might envy. The
+garrison, without including the militia, consisted at that time of 2200
+soldiers; and, in addition to the military navy, always represented by
+some vessel at anchor, a marine service had been organized for the
+exclusive use of the colony, to which the name of "sutil" had been
+given, either on account of the small size, or the fleetness of the
+vessels employed. This service, all appointments in which are in the
+gift of the governor-general, is composed of schooners and gun-sloops,
+intended to protect the coasts and the trading-vessels against the
+pirates of Sulu. But it cannot be said that the organization, imposing
+as it is, has achieved any great results. Of this Bougainville gives
+the following curious illustration:--In 1828 the Suluans seized 3000 of
+the inhabitants upon the coast of Luzon, and an expedition sent against
+them cost 140,000 piastres, and resulted in the killing of six men!
+
+[Illustration: Near the Bay of Manilla. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+Great uneasiness prevailed in the Philippines at the time of the visit
+of the _Thetis_ and the _Espérance_, and a political reaction which had
+steeped the metropolis in blood had thrown a gloom over every one. On
+December 20th, 1820, a massacre of the whites by the Indians; in 1824,
+the mutiny of a regiment, and the assassination of an ex-governor,
+Senor de Folgueras, had been the first horrors which had endangered the
+supremacy of the Spanish.
+
+The Creoles, who, with the Tagalas, were alike the richest and most
+industrious classes of the true native population, at this time gave
+just cause for uneasiness to the government, because they were known to
+desire the expulsion of all who were not natives of the Philippines;
+and when it is borne in mind that they commanded the native regiments,
+and held the greater part of the public offices, it is easy to see how
+great must have been their influence. Well might people ask whether
+they were not on the eve of one of those revolutions which lost to
+Spain her fairest colonies.
+
+Until the _Thetis_ reached Macao, she was much harassed by squalls,
+gales, heavy showers, and an intensity of cold, felt all the more
+keenly by the navigators after their experience for several months of a
+temperature of 75-3/4 degrees Fahrenheit. Scarcely was anchor cast in
+the Canton river before a great number of native vessels came to
+examine the frigate, offering for sale vegetables, fish, oranges, and a
+multitude of trifles, once so rare, now so common, but always costly.
+
+"The town of Macao," says the narrative, "shut in between bare hills,
+can be seen from afar; the whiteness of its buildings rendering it very
+conspicuous. It partly faces the coast, and the houses, which are
+elegantly built, line the beach, following the natural contour of the
+shore. The parade is also the finest part of the town, and is much
+frequented by foreigners; behind it, the ground rises abruptly, and the
+façades of the buildings, such as convents, noticeable for their size
+and peculiar architecture, rise, so to speak, from the second stage;
+the whole being crowned by the embattled walls of the forts, over which
+floated the white flag of Portugal.
+
+"At the northern and southern extremities of the town, facing the sea,
+are batteries built in three stages; and near the first, but a little
+further inland, rises a church with a very effective portico and fine
+external decorations. Numerous _sampangs_, junks, and fishing-boats
+anchored close in shore, give animation to the scene, the setting of
+which would be much brightened if the heights overlooking the town were
+not so totally wanting in verdure."
+
+Situated as it is in the high road, between China and the rest of the
+world, Macao, once one of the chief relics of Portuguese colonial
+prosperity, long enjoyed exceptional privileges, all of which were,
+however, gone by 1825, when its one industry was a contraband trade in
+opium.
+
+The _Thetis_ only touched at Macao to leave some missionaries, and to
+hoist the French flag, and Bougainville set sail again on January 8th.
+
+Nothing worthy of notice occurred on the voyage from Macao to Touron
+Bay. Arrived there, Bougainville learned that the French agent, M.
+Chaigneu, had left Hué for Saigon, with the intention of there
+chartering a barque for Singapore, and in the absence of the only
+person who could further his schemes he did not know with whom to open
+relations. Fearing failure as an inevitable result of this
+_contretemps_ he at once despatched a letter to Hué, explaining the
+object of his mission, and expressing a wish to go with some of his
+officers to Saigon. The time which necessarily elapsed before an answer
+was received was turned to account by the French, who minutely surveyed
+the bay and its surroundings, together with the famous marble rocks,
+the objects of the curious interest of all travellers. Touron Bay has
+been described by various authors, notably by Horsburgh, as one of the
+most beautiful and vast in the universe; but such is not the opinion of
+Bougainville, who thinks these statements are to be taken with a great
+deal of reservation. The village of Touron is situated upon the
+sea-coast, at the entrance of the channel of Faifoh, from the right
+bank of which rises a fort with glacis, bastions, and a dry moat, built
+by French engineers.
+
+The French being looked upon as old allies were always received with
+kindness and without suspicion. It had not, apparently, been so with
+the English, who had not been permitted to land, whilst the sailors on
+board the _Thetis_ were at once allowed to fish and hunt, and to go and
+come as they chose, every facility for obtaining fresh provisions being
+also accorded to them. Thanks to this latitude, the officers were able
+to scour the country and make interesting observations. One of them, M.
+de la Touanne, gives the following description of the natives:--"They
+are rather under than over middle height, and in this respect they
+closely resemble the Chinese of Macao. Their skin is of a
+yellowish-brown, and their heads are flat and round; their faces are
+without expression, their eyes are as melancholy, but their eyebrows
+are not so strongly marked as those of the Chinese. They have flat
+noses and large mouths, and their lips bulge out in a way rendered the
+more disagreeable as they are always black and dirty from the habit
+indulged in, by men and women alike, of chewing areca nut mixed with
+betel and lime. The women, who are almost as tall as the men, have not
+a more pleasant appearance; and the repulsive filthiness, common to
+both sexes, is enough without anything else to deprive them of all
+attractiveness."
+
+[Illustration: Women of Touron Bay.]
+
+What strikes one most is the wretchedness of the inhabitants as
+compared with the fertility of the soil, and this shocking contrast
+betrays alike the selfishness and carelessness of the government and
+the insatiable greed of the mandarins. The plains produce maize, yams,
+manioc, tobacco, and rice, the flourishing appearance of which
+testifies to the care bestowed upon them; the sea yields large
+quantities of delicious fish, and the forests give shelter to numerous
+birds, as well as tigers, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and elephants, and
+troops of monkeys are to be met with everywhere, some of them four feet
+high, with bodies of a pearl-grey colour, black thighs, and red legs.
+They wear red collars and white girdles, which make them look just as
+if they were clothed. Their muscular strength is extraordinary, and
+they clear enormous distances in leaping from branch to branch. Nothing
+can be odder than to see some dozen of these creatures upon one tree
+indulging in the most fantastic grimaces and contortions. "One day,"
+says Bougainville, "when I was at the edge of the forest, I wounded a
+monkey who had ventured forth for a stroll in the sunshine. He hid his
+face in his hands and sent forth such piteous groans that more than
+thirty of his tribe were about him in a moment. I lost no time in
+reloading my gun not knowing what I might have to expect, for some
+monkeys are not afraid of attacking men; but the troop only took up
+their wounded comrade, and once more plunged into the wood."
+
+Another excursion was made to the marble rocks of the Faifoh River,
+where are several curious caves, one containing an enormous pillar
+suspended from the roof and ending abruptly some distance from the
+ground; stalactites were seen, but the sound of a water-fall was heard
+from the further end. The French also visited the ruins of an ancient
+building near a grotto, containing an idol, and with a passage opening
+out of one corner. This passage Bougainville followed. It led him into
+an "immense rotunda lighted from the top, and ending in an arched
+vault, at least sixty feet high. Imagine the effect of a series of
+marble pillars of various colours, some from their greenish colour, the
+result of old age and damp, looking as if cast in bronze, whilst from
+the roof hung down creepers, now in festoons, now in bunches, looking
+for all the world like candelabra without the lights. Above our heads
+were groups of stalactites resembling great organ-pipes, altars,
+mutilated statues, hideous monsters carved in stone, and even a
+complete pagoda, which, however, occupied but a very small space in the
+vast enclosure. Fancy such a scene in an appropriate setting, the whole
+lit up with a dim and wavering light, and you can perhaps form some
+idea how it struck me when it first burst upon me."
+
+On the 20th of January, 1825, the _Espérance_ at last rejoined the
+frigate; and, two days later, two envoys arrived from the court at Hué,
+with orders to ask Bougainville for the letter of which he was the
+bearer. But, as the latter had received orders to deliver it to the
+Emperor in person, this request involved a long series of puerile
+negotiations. The formalities by which the Cochin-Chinese envoys were,
+so to speak, hemmed in, reminded Bougainville of the anecdote of the
+envoy and the governor of Java, who, rivalling each other in their
+gravity and diplomatic prudence, remained together for twenty-four
+hours without exchanging a word. The commander was not the man to
+endure such trial of patience as this, but he could not obtain the
+necessary authorization of his explorations, and the negotiations ended
+in an exchange of presents, securing nothing in fact but an assurance
+from the Emperor that he would receive with pleasure a visit of the
+French vessels to his ports, if their captain and officers would
+conform to the laws of the Empire. Since 1817 the French had been
+pretty well the only people who had done any satisfactory business with
+the people of Cochin-China, a state of things resulting from the
+presence of French residents at the court of Hué, on whom alone of
+course depended the maintenance of the exceptionally cordial relations
+so long established between them and the government to which they were
+accredited.
+
+The two ships left Touron Bay on the 17th February for the Anambas
+Archipelago, which had not as yet been explored; and, on the 3rd of
+March, they came in sight of it, and found it to bear no resemblance
+whatever to the islands of the same name, marked upon the English map
+of the China Sea. Bougainville was agreeably surprised to see a large
+number of islands and islets, the bays, &c., of which were sure to
+afford excellent anchorage during the monsoons. The explorers
+penetrated to the very heart of the archipelago, and made a
+hydrographic survey of it. Whilst the small boats were engaged upon
+this task, two prettily built canoes approached, from one of which a
+man of about fifty came on board the _Thetis_, whose breast was seamed
+with scars, and from whose right-hand two fingers were missing. The
+sight of the rows of guns and ammunition, however, so terrified him
+that he beat a hasty retreat to his canoe, though he had already got as
+far as the orlop-deck. Next day two more canoes approached, manned by
+fierce-looking Malays, bringing bananas, cocoa-nuts, and pineapples,
+which they bartered for biscuits, a handkerchief, and two small axes.
+Several other interviews took place with islanders, armed with the
+kriss, and short two-edged iron pikes, who were very evidently pirates
+by profession.
+
+Although the French explored but a part of the Anamba group, the
+information they collected was extremely interesting on account of its
+novelty. The first requisite of a large population is plenty of fresh
+water, and there is apparently very little of it in the Anambas.
+Moreover, the cultivable soil is not very deep, and the mountains are
+separated by narrow ravines, not by plains, so that agriculture is all
+but out of the question. Even the native trees, with the exception of
+the cocoa-palm, are very stunted. The population was estimated by a
+native at not more than 2000, but Bougainville thought even that too
+high a figure. The fortunate position of the Anambas--they are passed
+by all vessels trading with China, whichever route may be taken--long
+since brought them to the notice of navigators; and we must attribute
+to their lack of resources the neglect to which they have been
+abandoned. The small amount of cordiality and confidence met with by
+Bougainville from the inhabitants, the high price of provisions, and
+the destructive nature of the monsoons in the Sunda waters, determined
+him to cut short his survey and to make with all speed for Java, where
+his instructions compelled him to touch. The 8th of March was fixed for
+the departure of the two vessels, which sighted Victory, Barren,
+Saddle, and Camel Islands, passed through the Gasper Straits--the
+passage of which did not occupy more than two hours, although it often
+takes several days with an unfavourable wind--and cast anchor at
+Surabaya, where the explorers were met with the news of the death of
+Louis XVIII. and the accession of Charles X. As the cholera, which had
+claimed 300,000 victims in Java in 1822, was still raging, Bougainville
+took the precaution of keeping his crew on board under shelter from the
+sun, and expressly forbade any intercourse with vessels laden with
+fruit, the use of which is so dangerous to Europeans, especially during
+the rainy season then setting in. In spite of these wise orders,
+however, dysentery attacked the crew of the _Thetis_, and too many fell
+victims to it.
+
+The town of Surabaya is situated one league from the mouth of the
+river, and it can only be reached by towing up the stream. Its
+approaches are lively, and everything bears witness to the presence of
+an active commercial population. An expedition to the island of Celebes
+having exhausted the resources of the government and the magazines
+being empty, Bougainville had to deal direct with the Chinese
+merchants, who are the most bare-faced robbers on the face of the
+globe, and now resorted to all manner of cunning and knavery to get the
+better of their visitors. The stay at Surabaya, therefore, left a very
+disagreeable impression on all. It was quite different, however, with
+regard to the reception met with from the chief personages of the
+colony, for there was every reason to be satisfied with the conduct of
+all connected with the government.
+
+To go to Surabaya without paying a visit to the Sultan of Madura, whose
+reputation for hospitality had crossed the seas, would have been as
+impossible as it is to visit Paris without going to see Versailles and
+Trianon. After a comfortable lunch on shore, therefore, the staff of
+the two vessels set out in open carriages and four; but the roads were
+so bad and the horses so worn out that they would many a time have
+stuck in the mud if men stationed at the dangerous places had not
+energetically shoved at the wheels. At last they arrived at Bankalan,
+and the carriages drew up in the third court of the palace at the foot
+of a staircase, at the top of which the hereditary prince and the prime
+minister awaited the arrival of the travellers. Prince Adden Engrate
+belonged to the most illustrious family of the Indian Archipelago. He
+wore the undress uniform of a Java chief, consisting of a long flowered
+petticoat of Indian make, scarcely allowing the Chinese slippers to be
+seen, a white vest with gold buttons, and a small skirted waistcoat of
+brown cloth, with diamond buttons. A handkerchief was tied about his
+head, on which he wore a visor-cap, his ease and dignity of bearing
+alone saving him from looking like the grotesque figure of a carnival
+amazon. The palace or "kraton" consisted of a series of buildings with
+galleries, kept delightfully cool by awnings and curtains, whilst
+lustres, tasty European furniture, pretty hangings, glass and crystal
+ornaments decorated the vast halls and rooms. A suite of private
+apartments, with no opening to the court, but with a view of the
+gardens, is reserved for the "Ratu" (sovereign) and the harem.
+
+The reception was cordial, and the repast, served in European style,
+was delicious. "The conversation," says Bougainville, "was conducted in
+English, and many toasts were proposed, the prince drinking our healths
+in tea poured from a bottle, and to which he helped himself as if it
+had been Madeira. Being head of the church as well as of the state, he
+strictly obeys the precepts of the Koran, never drinking wine, and
+spending a great part of his time at the mosque; but he is not the less
+sociable, and his talk bears no trace of the austerity to be expected
+in that of one who leads so regular a life. This life is not, however,
+all spent in prayer, and the scenes witnessed by us would give a very
+false impression if we did not know that great latitude is allowed on
+this point to the followers of the prophet."
+
+In the afternoon the Frenchmen visited several coach-houses, containing
+very handsome carriages, some of which, built on the island, were so
+well-made that it was absolutely impossible to distinguish them from
+those which had been imported. Some archery was then witnessed, and
+joined in, after which, on the return to the palace, the visitors were
+welcomed by the sound of melancholy music, speedily interrupted,
+however, by the barking and fantastical dancing of the prince's fool,
+who showed wonderful agility and suppleness. To this dance, or rather
+to these postures of a bayadère, succeeded the excitement of
+vingt-et-un, followed by well-earned repose. Next day there were new
+entertainments and new exercises; beginning with wrestling-matches for
+grown men and for youths, and proceeding with quail-fights, and feats
+performed by a camel and an elephant. After lunch Bougainville and his
+party had a drive and some archery, and witnessed sack-races,
+basket-balancing, &c. In this way, they were told, the sultan passed
+all his time. Most striking is the respect and submission shown by all
+to this sovereign. No one ever stands upright before him, but all
+prostrate themselves before addressing him. All his subjects do but
+"wait at his feet," and even his own little child of four years clasps
+his tiny hands when he speaks to his father.
+
+While at Surabaya, Bougainville took the opportunity of visiting the
+volcano of Brumo, in the Tengger Mountains; and this excursion, in
+which he explored the island for a hundred miles, from east to west,
+was one of the most interesting undertaken by him. Surabaya contains
+some curious buildings and monuments, most of them the work of a former
+governor, General Daendels; such are the "Builder's Workshop," the
+"Hôtel de la Monnaie" (the only establishment of the kind in Java), and
+the hospital, which is built on a well-chosen site, and contains 400
+beds. The island of Madura, opposite to Surabaya, is at least 100 miles
+in length, by fifteen or twenty in breadth, and does not yield produce
+sufficient to maintain the population, sparse as it is. The sovereignty
+of this island is divided between the sultans of Bankalan and Sumanap,
+who furnish annually six hundred recruits to the Dutch, without
+counting extraordinary levies.
+
+On the 20th April, symptoms of dysentery showed themselves amongst the
+crews. Two days later therefore the vessel set sail, and it took seven
+good days to get beyond the straits of Madura. They returned along the
+north coast of Lombok, and passed through the Allas Straits, between
+Lombok and Sumbawa. The first of these islands, from the foot of the
+mountains to the sea, presents the appearance of a green carpet,
+adorned with groups of trees of elegant appearance, and upon its coast
+there is no lack of good anchorage, whilst fresh water and wood are
+plentiful. On the other side, however, there are numerous peaks of
+barren aspect, rising from a lofty table-land, the approach to which is
+barred by a series of rugged and inaccessible islands, known as Lombok,
+the coral-beds and treacherous currents about which must be carefully
+avoided. Two stoppages at the villages of Baly and Peejow, with a view
+to taking in fresh provisions, enabled the officers to make a
+hydrographical chart of this part of the coast of Lombok. Upon leaving
+the strait, Bougainville made an unsuccessful search for Cloates
+Island. That he did not find it is not very wonderful, as during the
+last eight years many ships have passed over the spot assigned to it
+upon the maps. The "Triads," on the other hand, i.e. the rocks seen in
+1777 by the _Freudensberg Castle_, are, in Captain King's opinion, the
+Montepello Islands, which correspond perfectly with the description of
+the Danes.
+
+Bougainville had instructions to survey the neighbourhood of the Swan
+River, where the French Government hoped to find a place suitable for
+the reception of the wretches then huddled together in their
+convict-prisons; but the flag of England had just been unfurled on the
+shores of Nuyts and Leuwin, in King George's Sound, Géographe Bay, the
+little Leschenault inlet, and on the Swan River, so that there was no
+longer any reason for a new exploration. Everything in fact had
+combined to prevent it; the delays to which the expedition had been
+subjected had indeed been so serious that instead of arriving in these
+latitudes in April, they did not reach them until the middle of May,
+there the very heart of winter. Moreover, the coast offers no shelter,
+for so soon as the wind begins to blow, the waves swell tremendously,
+and the memory of the trials which the _Géographe_ had undergone at the
+same season of the year was still fresh in the minds of the French. The
+_Thetis_ and the _Espérance_ were pursued by the bad weather as far as
+Hobart Town, the chief English station upon the coast of Tasmania,
+where the commander was very anxious to put in. He was, however, driven
+back by storms to Port Jackson, which is marked by a very handsome
+lighthouse, a granite tower seventy-six feet high, with a lantern lit
+by gas, visible at a distance of nine leagues.
+
+[Illustration: Entrance to Sydney Bay.]
+
+Sir Thomas Brisbane, the governor, gave a cordial reception to the
+expedition, and at once took the necessary steps to furnish it with
+provisions. This was done by contract at low prices, and the greatest
+good faith was shown in carrying out all bargains. The sloop had to be
+run ashore to have its sheathing repaired, but this, with some work of
+less importance necessary to the _Thetis_, did not take long. The delay
+was also turned to account by the whole staff, who were greatly
+interested in the marvellous progress of this penal colony. While
+Bougainville was eagerly reading all the works which had as yet
+appeared upon New South Wales, the officers wandered about the town,
+and were struck dumb with amazement at the numberless public buildings
+erected by Governor Macquarie, such as the barracks, hospital, market,
+orphanages, almshouses for the aged and infirm, the prison, the fort,
+the churches, government-house, the fountains, the town gates, and last
+but not least, the government-stables, which are always at first sight
+taken for the palace itself. There was, however, a dark side to the
+picture. The main thoroughfares, though well-planned, were neither
+paved nor lighted, and were so unsafe at night, that several people had
+been seized and robbed in the very middle of George Street, the best
+quarter of Sydney. If the streets in the town were unsafe, those in the
+suburbs were still more so. Vagrant convicts overran the country in the
+form of bands of "bushrangers," who had become so formidable that the
+government had recently organized a company of fifty dragoons for the
+express purpose of hunting them down. All this did not, however, hinder
+the officers from making many interesting excursions, such as those to
+Paramatta, on the banks of the Nepean, a river very deeply embanked,
+where they visited the Regent Ville district; and to the "plains of
+Emu," a government agricultural-station, and a sort of model farm. They
+went to the theatre, where a grand performance was given in their
+honour. The delight sailors take in riding is proverbial, and it was on
+horseback that the French crossed the Emu plains. The noble animals,
+imported from England, had not degenerated in New South Wales; they
+were still full of spirit as one of the young officers found to his
+cost, when, as he was saying in English to Sir John Cox, acting as
+cicerone to the party, "I do love this riding exercise," he was
+suddenly thrown over his horse's head and deposited on the grass before
+he knew where he was. The laugh against him was all the more hearty as
+the skilful horseman was not injured.
+
+Beyond Sir John Cox's plantations extends the unbroken "open forest,"
+as the English call it, which can be crossed on horseback, and consists
+chiefly of the eucalyptus, acacias of various kinds, and the
+dark-leaved casuarinas. The next day, an excursion was made up the
+river Nepean, a tributary of the Hawkesbury, on which trip many
+valuable facts of natural history were obtained, Bougainville enriching
+his collection with canaries, waterfowl, and a very pretty species of
+kingfisher and cockatoos. In the neighbouring woods was heard the
+unpleasant cry of the lyre-pheasant and of two other birds, which
+feebly imitate the tinkling of a hand-bell and the jarring noise of the
+saw. These are not, however, the only feathered fowl remarkable for the
+peculiarity of their notes; we must also mention the "whistling-bird,"
+the "knife-grinder," the "mocking-bird," the "coachman," which mimics
+the crack of the whip, and the "laughing jackass," with its continual
+bursts of laughter, which have a strange effect upon the nerves. Sir
+John Cox presented the commander with two specimens of the water-mole,
+also called the ornithorhynchus, a curious amphibious creature, the
+habits of which are still little known to European naturalists, many
+museums not possessing a single specimen.
+
+Another excursion was made in the Blue Mountains, where the famous
+"King's Table-land" was visited, from which a magnificent view was
+obtained. The explorers gained with great difficulty the top of an
+eminence, and an abyss of 1600 feet at once opened beneath them; a vast
+green carpet stretching away to a distance of some twenty miles, whilst
+on the right and left were the distorted sides of the mountain, which
+had been rudely rent asunder by some earthquake, the irregularities
+corresponding exactly with each other. Close at hand foams a roaring,
+rushing torrent, flinging itself in a series of cascades into the
+valley beneath, the whole passing under the name of "Apsley's
+Waterfall." This trip was succeeded by a kangaroo hunt in the
+cow-pastures with Mr. Macarthur, one of the chief promoters of the
+prosperity of New South Wales. Bougainville also turned his stay at
+Sydney to account by laying the foundation-stone of a monument to the
+memory of La Pérouse. This cenotaph was erected in Botany Bay, upon the
+spot where the navigator had pitched his camp.
+
+[Illustration: "Apsley's Waterfall."]
+
+On September 21st the _Thetis_ and the _Espérance_ at last set sail;
+passing off Pitcairn Island, Easter Island, and Juan Fernandez, now a
+convict settlement for criminals from Chili, after having been occupied
+for a half-century by Spanish vine-growers.
+
+On the 23rd November the _Thetis_, which had been separated from the
+_Espérance_ during a heavy storm, anchored off Valparaiso, where it met
+Admiral de Rosamel's division. Great excitement prevailed in the
+roadstead, for an expedition against the island of Chiloë, which still
+belonged to Spain, was being organized by the chief director, General
+Ramon Freire y Serrano, of whom we have already spoken.
+
+Bougainville, like the Russian navigator Lütke, is of opinion that the
+position of Valparaiso does not justify its reputation. The streets are
+dirty and narrow, and so steep that walking in them is very fatiguing.
+The only pleasant part is the suburb of Almendral, which, with its
+gardens and orchards, would be still more agreeable but for the
+sand-storms prevalent throughout nearly the whole of the year. In 1811,
+Valparaiso numbered only from four to five thousand inhabitants; but in
+1825 the population had already tripled itself, and the increase showed
+no sign of ceasing. When the _Thetis_ touched at Valparaiso, the
+English frigate, the _Blonde_, commanded by Lord Byron, grandson of the
+explorer of the same name, whose discoveries are narrated above, was
+also at anchor there. By a singular coincidence Byron had raised a
+monument to the memory of Cook in the island of Hawaii, at the very
+time when Bougainville, the son of the circumnavigator, met by Byron in
+the Straits of Magellan, was laying the foundation-stone of the
+monument to the memory of La Pérouse in New South Wales.
+
+Bougainville turned the delay necessary for the revictualling of his
+division to account by paying a visit to Santiago, the capital of
+Chili, thirty-three leagues inland. The environs of Chili are terribly
+bare, without houses or any signs of cultivation. Its steeples alone
+mark the approach to it, and one may fancy oneself still in the
+outskirts when the heart of the city is reached. There is, however, no
+lack of public buildings, such as the Hôtel de la Monnaie, the
+university, the archbishop's palace, the cathedral, the church of the
+Jesuits, the palace, and the theatre, the last of which is so badly
+lighted that it is impossible to distinguish the faces of the audience.
+The promenade, known as La Cañada, has now supplanted that of L'Alameda
+on the banks of the river Mapocha, once the evening rendezvous. The
+objects of interest in the town exhausted, the Frenchmen examined those
+in the neighbourhood, visiting the Salto de Agua, a waterfall of 1200
+feet in height, the ascent to which is rather arduous, and the Cerito
+de Santa-Lucia, from which rises a fortress, the sole defence of the
+town.
+
+The season was now advancing, and no time was to be lost if the
+explorers wished to take advantage of the best season for doubling Cape
+Horn. On the 8th January, 1826, therefore, the two vessels once more
+put to sea, and rounded the Cape without any mishap, though landing at
+the Falklands was rendered impossible by fog and contrary winds. Anchor
+was cast on the 28th March in the roadstead of Rio Janeiro, and, as it
+turned out, at a time most favourable for the French to form an
+accurate opinion alike on the city and the court.
+
+"The emperor," says Bougainville, "was upon a journey at the time of
+our arrival, and his return was the occasion of fêtes and receptions
+which roused the population to activity, and broke for a time the
+monotony of ordinary life in Rio, that dullest and dreariest of towns
+to the foreigner. Its environs, however, are charming; nature has in
+them been lavish of her riches; and the vast harbour, the Atlantic,
+rendezvous of the commercial world, presents a most animated scene.
+Innumerable ships, either standing in or getting under weigh, small
+craft cruising about, a ceaseless roar of cannon from the forts and
+men-of-war, exchanging signals on the occasion of some anniversary or
+the celebration of some festival of the church, whilst visits were
+constantly being exchanged between the officers of the various foreign
+vessels and the diplomatic agents of foreign powers at the court of
+Rio."
+
+The division set sail again on the 11th April, and arrived at Brest on
+the 24th June, 1826, without having put into port since it left Rio
+Janeiro. We must remember that if Bougainville did not make any
+discoveries on this voyage, he had no formal instructions to do so, his
+mission being merely to unfurl the flag of France where it had as yet
+been rarely seen. None the less do we owe to this general officer some
+very interesting, and in some cases new information on the countries
+visited by him. Some of the surveys made by his expedition may be of
+service to navigators, and it must be owned that the hydrographical
+researches which alone could be undertaken in the absence of scientific
+men were carefully made, and resulted in the obtaining of numerous and
+accurate data. We can but sympathize with the commander of the
+_Thetis_, in his expression of regret, in the preface to his journal,
+that neither the Government nor the _Académie des Sciences_ had seen
+fit to turn his expedition to account to obtain new results
+supplementary of the rich harvest gleaned by his predecessors.
+
+The expedition next sent out under the command of Captain Dumont
+d'Urville was merely intended by the minister to supplement and
+consolidate the mass of scientific data collected by Captain Duperrey
+in his voyage from 1822 to 1824. As second in command to Duperrey, and
+the originator and organizer of the new exploring expedition, D'Urville
+had the very first claim to be appointed to its command. The portions
+of Oceania he proposed to visit were New Zealand, the Fiji Islands, the
+Loyalty Islands, New Britain, and New Guinea, all of which he
+considered urgently to demand the consideration alike of the geographer
+and the traveller. What he effected in this direction we shall
+ascertain by following him step by step. An interest of another
+character also attaches to this trip, but it will be well to quote on
+this point the instructions given to the navigator.
+
+"An American captain," writes the Minister of Marine, "said that he saw
+in the hands of the natives of an isle situated between New Caledonia
+and the Louisiade Archipelago a cross of St. Louis and some medals,
+which he imagined to be relics of the wrecked vessel of the celebrated
+La Pérouse, whose loss is so deeply and justly regretted. This is, of
+course, but a feeble reason for hoping that some of the victims of the
+disaster still survive; but you, sir, will give great satisfaction to
+his Majesty, if you are the means of restoring any one of the poor
+shipwrecked mariners to their native land after so many years of misery
+and exile."
+
+The aims of the expedition were therefore manifold, and by the greatest
+chance it was able to achieve them nearly all. D'Urville received his
+appointment in December, 1825, and was permitted himself to choose all
+who were to accompany him. He named as second in command Lieutenant
+Jacquinot, and as scientific colloborateurs Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard,
+who had been on board the _Uranie_, and as surgeon Primevère Lesson.
+The _Coquille_, the excellent qualities of which were well known to
+D'Urville, was the vessel selected; and the commander having named her
+the _Astrolabe_ in memory of La Pérouse, embarked in her a crew of
+twenty-four men. Anchor was weighed on the 25th April, and the
+mountains of Toulon with the coast of France were soon out of sight.
+
+After touching at Gibraltar, the _Astrolabe_ stopped at Teneriffe to
+take in fresh provisions before crossing the Atlantic, and D'Urville
+took advantage of this delay to ascend the peak, accompanied by Messrs.
+Quoy, Gaimard, and several officers, a bad road, very arduous for
+pedestrians, leading the first part of the way over fields of scoria,
+though as Laguna is approached the scenery improves. This town, of a
+considerable size, contains but a small, indolent, and miserable
+population.
+
+Between Matunza and Orotara the vegetation is magnificent, and the
+luxuriant foliage of the vine enhances the beauty of the view. Orotara
+is a small seaboard town, with a port affording but little shelter. It
+is well-built and laid out, and would be comfortable enough if the
+streets were not so steep as to make traffic all but impossible. After
+three-quarters of an hour's climb through well-cultivated fields, the
+Frenchmen reached the chestnut-tree region, beyond which begin the
+clouds, taking the form of a thick moist fog, very disagreeable to the
+traveller. Further on comes the furze region, beyond which the
+atmosphere again becomes clear, vegetation disappears, the ground
+becomes poorer and more barren. Here are met with decomposed lava,
+scoria, and pumice-stones in great abundance, whilst below stretches
+away the boundless sea of clouds.
+
+Thus far hidden by clouds or by the lofty mountains surrounding it, the
+peak at last stands forth distinctly, the incline becomes less steep,
+and those vast plains of intensely melancholy appearance, called
+Cañadas by the Spanish, on account of their bareness, are crossed. A
+halt is made for lunch at the Pine grotto before climbing the huge
+blocks of basalt ranged in a circle about the crater, now filled in
+with ashes from the peak, and forming its enceinte. The peak itself is
+next attached, the ascent of which is broken one-third of the way up by
+a sort of esplanade called the Estancia de los Ingleses. Here our
+travellers passed the night, not perhaps quite so comfortably as they
+would have done in their berths, but without suffering too much from
+the feeling of suffocation experienced by other explorers. The fleas,
+however, were very troublesome, and their unremitting attacks kept the
+commander awake all night.
+
+At four a.m. the ascent was resumed, and a second esplanade, called the
+Alta Vista, was soon reached, beyond which all trace of a path
+disappears, the rest of the ascent being over rough lava as far as the
+Chahorra Cone, with here and there, in the shade, patches of unmelted
+snow. The peak itself is very steep, and its ascent is rendered yet
+more arduous by the pumice-stone which rolls away beneath the feet.
+
+"At thirty-five minutes past six," says M. Dumont d'Urville, "we
+arrived at the summit of the Chahorra, which is evidently a
+half-extinct crater. Its sides are thin and sloping, it is from sixty
+to eighty feet deep, and the whole surface is strewn with fragments of
+obsidian, pumice-stones, and lava. Sulphureous vapour, forming a kind
+of crown of smoke, is emitted from it, whilst the atmosphere at the
+bottom is perfectly cool. At the summit of the peak the thermometer
+marked 11 degrees, but in my opinion it was affected by the presence of
+the fumerolles, for when at the bottom of the crater it fell rapidly
+from 19 degrees in the sun to 9 degrees 5' in the shade."
+
+The descent was accomplished without accident by another route,
+enabling our travellers to examine the Cueva de la Nieve, and to visit
+the forest of Aqua Garcia, watered by a limpid stream, and in which
+D'Urville made a rich collection of botanical specimens.
+
+In Major Megliorini's rooms at Santa Cruz the commander was shown,
+together with a number of weapons, shells, animals, fish, &c., a
+complete mummy of a Guanche, said to be that of a woman. The corpse was
+sewn up in skins, and seemed to be that of a woman five feet four high,
+with regular features and large hands. The sepulchral caves of the
+Guanches also contained earthenware, wooden vases, triangular seals of
+baked clay, and a great number of small discs of the same material,
+strung together like chaplets, which may have been used by this extinct
+race for the same purposes as the "quipos" of the Peruvians.
+
+On the 21st June the _Astrolabe_ once more set sail and touched at La
+Praya, and at the Cape Verd Islands, where D'Urville had hoped to meet
+Captain King, who would have been able to give him some valuable hints
+on the navigation of the coast of New Guinea. King, however, had left
+La Praya thirty-six hours previously, and the _Astrolabe_ therefore
+resumed her voyage the next day, i.e. on the 30th June.
+
+On the last day of July the rocks of Martin-Vaz and Trinity Island were
+sighted, and the latter appearing perfectly barren, a little dried-up
+grass and a few groups of stunted trees, dotted about amongst the
+rocks, being the only signs of vegetation.
+
+D'Urville had been very anxious to make some botanical researches on
+this desert island, but the surf was so rough that he was afraid to
+risk a boat in it.
+
+On the 4th August the _Astrolabe_ sailed over the spot laid down as
+"Saxembourg" Island, which ought to be finally erased from French as it
+has been from English charts; and after a succession of squalls, which
+tried her sorely, she arrived off St. Paul and Amsterdam Islands,
+finally anchoring on the 7th October in King George's Sound, on the
+coast of Australia. In spite of the roughness of the sea, and constant
+bad weather throughout his voyage of 108 days, D'Urville had carried on
+all his usual observations on the height of the waves, which he
+estimated at 80 and occasionally as much as 100 feet, off Needle Bank;
+the temperature of the sea at various depths, &c.
+
+Captain Jacquinot having found a capital supply of fresh water on the
+right bank of Princess Royal Harbour, and at a little distance a site
+suitable for the erection of an observatory, the tents were soon
+pitched by the sailors, and several officers made a complete tour of
+the bay, whilst others opened relations with the aborigines, one of
+whom was induced to go on board, though it was only with the greatest
+difficulty that he was persuaded to throw away his _Banksia_, a cone
+used to retain heat, and to keep the stomach and the front part of the
+body warm. He remained quietly enough on board for two days, however,
+eating and drinking in front of the kitchen fire. In the meantime his
+fellow-countrymen on land were peaceable and well-disposed, even
+bringing three of their children into the camp.
+
+During this halt a boat arrived manned by eight Englishmen, who asked
+to be taken on board as passengers, and told such a very improbable
+story of having been deserted by their captain, that D'Urville
+suspected them of being escaped convicts; a suspicion which became a
+conviction, when he saw the wry faces they made at his proposal to send
+them back to Port Jackson. The next day, however, one took a berth as
+sailor, and two were received as passengers; whilst the other five
+decided to remain on land and drag out a miserable existence amongst
+the natives.
+
+All this time hydrographical and astronomical observations were being
+made, and the hunters and naturalists were trying to obtain specimens
+of new varieties of fauna and flora. The delays extending to October
+24th enabled the explorers to regain their strength, after their trying
+voyage, to make the necessary repairs, take in wood and water, draw up
+a map of the whole neighbourhood, and to collect numerous botanical and
+zoological specimens. His observations of various kinds made D'Urville
+wonder that the English had not yet founded a colony on King George's
+Sound, admirably situated as it is, not only for vessels coming direct
+from Europe, but for those trading between the Cape and China, or bound
+for the Sunda Islands, and delayed by the monsoons. The coast was
+explored as far as West Port, preferred by D'Urville to Port Dalrymple,
+the latter being a harbour always difficult and often dangerous either
+to enter or to leave. West Port moreover, was as yet only known from
+the reports of Baudin and Flinders, and it was therefore better worth
+exploring than a more frequented district. The observations made in
+King George's Sound were therefore repeated at West Port, resulting in
+the following conclusions:--
+
+"It affords," says D'Urville, "an anchorage alike easy to reach and to
+leave, the bottom is firm, and wood is abundant and easily procurable.
+In a word, when a good supply of fresh water is found, and that will
+probably be soon, West Port will rise to a position of great importance
+in a channel such as Bass's Straits, when the winds often blow strongly
+from one quarter for several days together, the currents at the same
+time rendering navigation difficult."
+
+From November 19th to December 2nd the _Astrolabe_ cruised along the
+coast, touching only at Jervis Bay, remarkable for its magnificent
+eucalyptus forests.
+
+[Illustration: Eucalyptus forest of Jervis Bay.]
+
+The reception given to the French at Port Jackson, by Governor Darling
+and the colonial authorities, was none the less cordial for the fact
+that the visits made by D'Urville to various parts of New Holland had
+greatly amazed the English Government.
+
+During the last three years Port Jackson had increased greatly in size
+and improved in appearance; though the population of the whole colony
+only amounted to 50,000, and that in spite of the constant foundation
+of new English settlements. The commander took advantage of his stay in
+Sydney to forward his despatches to France, together with several cases
+of natural history specimens. This done and a fresh stock of provisions
+having been laid in, he resumed his voyage.
+
+[Illustration: New Guinea hut on piles. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+It would be useless to linger with Dumont d'Urville at New South Wales,
+to the history of which, and its condition in 1826, he devotes a whole
+volume of his narrative. We have already given a detailed account of
+it, and it will be better to leave Sydney with our traveller, on the
+19th December, and follow him to Tasman Bay, through calms, head-winds,
+currents, and tempests, which prevented his reaching New Zealand before
+the 14th January, 1827. Tasman Bay, first seen by Cook on his second
+voyage, had never yet been explored by any expedition, and on the
+arrival of the _Astrolabe_ a number of canoes, containing some score of
+natives, most of them chiefs, approached. These natives were not afraid
+to climb on board, some remaining several days, whilst later arrivals
+drew up within reach, and a brisk trade was opened. Meanwhile several
+officers climbed through the thick furze clothing the hills overlooking
+the bay, and the following is D'Urville's verdict on the desolate scene
+which met their view.
+
+"Not a bird, not an insect, not even a reptile to be seen, the solemn,
+melancholy silence is unbroken by the voice of any living creature."
+From the summit of these hills the commander saw New Bay, that known as
+Admiralty, which communicates by a current with that in which the
+_Astrolabe_ was anchored; and he was anxious to explore it, as it
+seemed safer than that of Tasman, but the currents several times
+brought his vessel to the very verge of destruction; and had the
+_Astrolabe_ been driven upon the rocky coast, the whole crew would have
+perished, and not so much as a trace of the wreck would have been left.
+At last, however, D'Urville succeeded in clearing the passage with no
+further loss than that of a few bits of the ship's keel.
+
+"To celebrate," says the narrative, "the memory of the passage of the
+_Astrolabe_, I conferred upon this dangerous strait the name of the
+'Passe des Français'" (French Pass), "but, unless in a case of great
+necessity, I should not advise any one else to attempt it. We could now
+look calmly at the beautiful basin in which we found ourselves; and
+which certainly deserves all the praise given to it by Cook. I would
+specially recommend a fine little harbour, some miles to the south of
+the place, where the captain cast anchor. Our navigation of the 'Passe
+des Français' had definitively settled the insular character of the
+whole of the district terminating in the 'Cape Stephens' of Cook. It is
+divided from the mainland of Te-Wahi-Punamub[1] by the Current Basin.
+The comparison of our chart with that of the strait as laid down by
+Cook will suffice to show how much he left to be done."
+
+[Footnote 1: Now "South Island."--_Trans._]
+
+The _Astrolabe_ soon entered Cook's Strait, and sailing outside Queen
+Charlotte's Bay, doubled Cape Palliser, a headland formed of some low
+hills. D'Urville was greatly surprised to find that a good many
+inaccuracies had crept into the work of the great English navigator,
+and in that part of the account of his voyage which relates to
+hydrography, he quotes instances of errors of a fourth, or even third
+of a degree.
+
+The commander then resolved to make a survey of the eastern side of the
+northern island Ika-Na-Mawi. On this island pigs were to be found, but
+no "_pounamon_" the green jade which the New Zealanders use in the
+manufacture of their most valuable tools; strange to say, however, jade
+is to be found on the southern island, but there are no pigs.
+
+Two natives of the island, who had expressed a wish to remain on board
+the corvette, became quite low-spirited as they watched the coast of
+the district where they lived disappear below the horizon. They then
+began to repent, but too late, the intrepidity which had prompted them
+to leave their native shores; for intrepid they justly deserve to be
+called, seeing that again and again they asked the French sailors if
+they were not to be eaten, and it took several days of kind treatment
+to dispel this fear from their minds.
+
+[Illustration: New Zealanders. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+D'Urville continued to sail northward up the coast until the capes,
+named by Cook Turn-again and Kidnappers, had been doubled, and Sterile
+Island with its "Ipah" came in sight. In the Bay of Tolaga, as Cook
+called it, the natives brought alongside the corvette pigs and
+potatoes, which they readily exchanged for articles of little value. On
+other canoes approaching, the New Zealanders who were on board the
+vessel urged the commander to fire upon and kill their
+fellow-countrymen in the boats; but as soon as the latter climbed up to
+the deck, the first arrivals advanced to greet them with earnest
+assurances of friendship. Conduct so strangely inconsistent is the
+outcome of the compound of hatred and jealousy mutually entertained for
+each other by these tribes. "They all desire to appropriate to
+themselves exclusively whatever advantage may be obtained from the
+visits of foreigners, and they are distressed at the prospect of their
+neighbours getting any share." Proof was soon afforded that this
+explanation is the right key to their behaviour.
+
+Upon the _Astrolabe_ were several New Zealanders, but among them was a
+certain "_Shaki_" who was recognized as a chief by his tall stature,
+his elaborate tattooing, and the respectful manner in which he was
+addressed by his fellow-islanders. Seeing a canoe manned by not more
+than seven or eight men approaching the corvette, this "_Shaki_" and
+the rest came to entreat D'Urville most earnestly to kill the new
+arrivals, going so far as to ask for muskets that they might themselves
+fire upon them. However, no sooner had the last comers arrived on board
+than all those who were there already overwhelmed them with courtesies,
+while the "_Shaki_" himself, although he had been one of the most
+sanguinary, completely changed his tone and made them a present of some
+axes he had just obtained. After the chief men of a warlike and fierce
+appearance, with faces tattooed all over, had been a few minutes on
+board, D'Urville was preparing to ask them some questions, with the aid
+of a vocabulary published by the missionaries, when all at once they
+turned away from him, leaped into their canoes and pushed out into the
+open sea. This sudden move was brought about by their countrymen, who,
+for the purpose of getting rid of them, slily hinted that their lives
+were in danger, as the Frenchmen had formed a plot to kill them.
+
+It was in the Bay of Tolaga, the right name of which is Houa-Houa, that
+D'Urville found the first opportunity of gaining some information about
+the "kiwi," by means of a mat decorated with the feathers of that bird,
+such mats being articles of luxury among these islanders. The "kiwi" is
+about the size of a small turkey, and, like the ostrich, has not the
+power of flying. It is hunted at night by the light of torches and with
+the assistance of dogs. It is this bird which is also known under the
+name of the "apteryx." What the natives told D'Urville about it was in
+the main accurate. The apteryx, with the tail of a fowl and a plumage
+of a reddish-brown, has an affinity to the ostrich; it inhabits damp
+and gloomy woods, and never comes out even in search of food except in
+the evening. The incessant hunting of the natives has considerably
+diminished the numbers of this curious species, and it is now very
+rare.
+
+D'Urville made no pause in the hydrographical survey of the northern
+island of New Zealand, keeping up daily communication with the natives,
+who brought him supplies of pigs and potatoes. According to their own
+statements, the tribes were perpetually at war with one another, and
+this was the true cause of the decrease in the population of these
+islands. Their constant demand was for fire-arms; failing to obtain
+these, they were satisfied if they could get powder in exchange for
+their own commodities.
+
+On the 10th February, when not far from Cape Runaway, the corvette was
+caught in a violent storm, which lasted for thirty-six hours, and she
+was more than once on the point of foundering. After this, she made her
+way into the Bay of Plenty, at the bottom of which rises Mount
+Edgecumbe; then keeping along the coast, the islands of Haute and Major
+were sighted; but during this exploration of the bay, the weather was
+so severe that the chart of it then laid down cannot be considered very
+trustworthy. After leaving this bay, the corvette reached the Bay of
+Mercury; surveyed Barrier Island, entered Shouraki or Hauraki Bay,
+identified the Hen and Chickens and the Poor Knights Islands, finally
+arriving at the Bay of Islands. The native tribes met with by D'Urville
+in this part of the island were busy with an expedition against those
+of Shouraki and Waikato Bays. For the purpose of exploring the former
+bay, which had been imperfectly surveyed by Cook, D'Urville sailed back
+to it, and discovered that that part of New Zealand is indented with a
+number of harbours and gulfs of great depth, each one being safer, if
+possible, than the other. Having been informed that by following the
+direction of the Wai Magoia, a place would be reached distant only a
+very short journey from the large port of Manukau, he despatched some
+of his officers by that route, and they verified the correctness of the
+information he had received. This discovery, observes Dumont d'Urville,
+may become of great value to future settlements of Shouraki Bay; and
+this value will be still farther increased should the new surveys prove
+that the port of Manukau is accessible to vessels of a certain size,
+for such a settlement would command two seas, one on the east and the
+other on the west.
+
+One of the "Rangatiras," as the chiefs of that quarter of the island
+are called, Rangui by name, had again and again begged the commander to
+give him some lead to make bullets with; a request which was always
+refused. Just before setting sail, D'Urville was informed that the
+deep-sea lead had been carried off; and he at once reproached Rangui in
+severe terms, telling him that such petty larcenies were unworthy of a
+man in a respectable position. The chief appeared to be deeply moved by
+the reproach, and excused himself by saying that he had no knowledge of
+the theft, which must have been committed by some stranger. "A short
+time afterwards," the narrative goes on to say, "my attention was drawn
+to the side of the ship by the sound of blows given with great force,
+and piteous cries proceeding from the canoe of Rangui. There I saw
+Rangui and Tawiti striking blow after blow with their paddles upon an
+object resembling the figure of a man covered with a cloak. It was easy
+to perceive that the two wily chiefs were simply beating one of the
+benches of the canoe. After this farce had been played for some little
+time, Rangui's paddle broke in his hands. The sham man was made to
+appear to fall down, when Rangui, addressing me, said that he had just
+killed the thief, and wished to know whether that would satisfy me. I
+assured him that it would, laughing to myself at the artifice of these
+savages; an artifice, for that matter, such as is often to be met with
+among people more advanced in civilization."
+
+D'Urville next surveyed the lovely island of Wai-hiki, and thus
+terminated the survey of the Astrolabe Channel and Hauraki Bay. He then
+resumed his voyage in a northerly direction towards the Bay of Islands,
+sailing as far as Cape Maria Van Diemen, the most northerly point of
+New Zealand, where, say the Waïdonas, "the souls of the departed gather
+from all parts of Ika-Na-Mawi, to take their final flight to the realms
+of light or to those of eternal darkness."
+
+The Bay of Islands, at the time when the _Coquille_ put in there, was
+alive with a pretty considerable population, with whom the visitors
+soon became on friendly terms. Now, however, the animation of former
+days had given place to the silence of desolation. The Ipah, or rather
+the Pah of Kahou Wera, once the abode of an energetic tribe, was
+deserted, war had done its customary destructive work in the place. The
+Songhui tribe had stolen the possessions, and dispersed the members of
+the tribe of Paroa.
+
+The Bay of Islands was the place chosen for their field of effort by
+the English missionaries, who, notwithstanding their devotion to their
+work had not made any progress among the natives. The unproductiveness
+of their labours was only too apparent.
+
+The survey of the eastern side of New Zealand, a hydrographical work of
+the utmost importance, terminated at this point. Since the days of Cook
+no exploration of anything like such a vast extent of the coast of this
+country had been conducted in so careful a manner, in the face of so
+many perils. The sciences of geography and navigation were both
+signally benefited by the skilful and detailed work of D'Urville, who
+had to give proof of exceptional qualities in the midst of sudden and
+terrible dangers. However, on his return to France, no notice was taken
+of the hardships he had undergone, or the devotion to duty he had
+shown; he was left without recognition, and duties were assigned to
+him, the performance of which could bring no distinction, for they
+could have been equally well discharged by any ordinary ship's captain.
+
+Leaving New Zealand on the 18th of March, 1827, D'Urville steered for
+Tonga Tabou, identified to begin with the islands Curtis, Macaulay, and
+Sunday; endeavoured, but without success, to find the island of Vasquez
+de Mauzelle, and arrived off Namouka on the 16th of April. Two days
+later he made out Eoa; but before reaching Tonga Tabou he encountered a
+terrible storm which all but proved fatal to the _Astrolabe_. At Tonga
+Tabou he found some Europeans, who had been for many years settled on
+the island; from them he received much help in getting to understand
+the character of the natives. The government was in the hands of three
+chiefs, called _Equis_, who had shared all authority between them since
+the banishment of the _Tonï Tonga_, or spiritual chief, who had enjoyed
+immense influence. A Wesleyan mission was in existence at Tonga; but it
+could be seen at a glance that the Methodist clergy had not succeeded
+in acquiring any influence over the natives. Such converts as had been
+made were held in general contempt for their apostasy.
+
+When the _Astrolabe_ had reached the anchorage, after her fortunate
+escape from the perils from contrary winds, currents, and rocks, which
+had beset her course, she was at once positively overwhelmed with the
+offer of an incredible quantity of stores, fruits, vegetables, fowls,
+and pigs, which the natives were ready to dispose of for next to
+nothing. For equally low prices D'Urville was able to purchase, for the
+museum, specimens of the arms and native productions of the savages.
+Amongst them were some clubs, most of them made of casuarina wood,
+skilfully carved, or embossed in an artistic manner with
+mother-of-pearl or with whalebone. The custom of amputating a joint or
+two of the fingers or toes, to propitiate the Deity, was still
+observed, in the case of a near relative being dangerously ill.
+
+From the 28th of April the natives had manifested none but the most
+friendly feelings; no single disturbance had occurred; but on the 9th
+of May, while D'Urville, with almost all his officers, went to pay a
+visit to one of the leading chiefs, named Palou, the reception accorded
+to them was marked by a most unusual reserve, altogether inconsistent
+with the noisy and enthusiastic demonstrations of the preceding days.
+The distrust evinced by the islanders aroused that of D'Urville, who,
+remembering how few were the men left on board the _Astrolabe_, felt
+considerable uneasiness. However, nothing unusual happened during his
+absence from the ship. But it was only the cowardice of Palou which had
+caused the failure of a conspiracy, aiming at nothing less than the
+massacre, at one blow, of the whole of the staff, after which there
+would have been no difficulty in prevailing over the crew, who were
+already more than half-disposed to adopt the easy mode of life of the
+islanders. Such at least was the conclusion the commander came to, and
+subsequent events showed that he was right.
+
+These apprehensions determined D'Urville to leave Tonga Tabou as
+quickly as possible, and on the 13th every preparation was made to set
+sail on the following day. The apprentice Dudemaine was walking about
+on the large island, whilst the apprentice Faraquet, with nine men, was
+engaged on the small island, Pangaï Modou, in getting fresh water, or
+studying the tide, when Tahofa, one of the chiefs, with several other
+islanders, then on board the _Astrolabe_, gave a signal. The canoes
+pushed off at once and made for the shore. On trying to discover the
+cause of this sudden retreat, it was observed that the sailors on the
+island Pangaï Modou were being forcibly dragged off by the natives.
+D'Urville was about to fire off a cannon, when he decided that it would
+be safer to send a boat to shore. This boat took off the two sailors
+and the apprentice Dudemaine, but was fired upon when despatched
+shortly afterwards to set fire to the huts, and to try to capture some
+natives as hostages. One native was killed and several others were
+wounded, whilst a corporal of the marines received such severe bayonet
+wounds, that he died two hours later.
+
+[Illustration: Attack from the natives of Tonga Tabou.]
+
+D'Urville's anxiety about the fate of his sailors, and of Faraquet, who
+was in command of them, knew no bounds. Nothing was left for him to do
+but to make an attack upon the sacred village of Mafanga, containing
+the tombs of several of the principal families. But on the following
+day a crowd of natives so skilfully surrounded the place with
+embankments and palisades, that it was impossible to hope to carry it
+by an attack. The corvette then drew nearer to the shore, and began to
+cannonade the village, without, however, doing any other damage than
+killing one of the natives. At length the difficulty of obtaining
+provisions, the rain, and the continual alarm in which the firing of
+the Frenchmen kept them, induced the islanders to offer terms of peace.
+They gave up the sailors, who had all been very well treated, made a
+present of pigs and bananas; and on the 24th of May the _Astrolabe_
+took her final departure from the Friendly Islands.
+
+It was quite time indeed that this was done, for D'Urville's situation
+was untenable, and in a conversation with his boatswain he ascertained
+that not more than half a dozen of the sailors could be relied on; all
+the others were ready to go over to the side of the savages.
+
+Tonga Tabou is of madreporic formation, with a thick covering of
+vegetable soil, favourable to an abundant growth of shrubs and trees.
+The cocoa-tree, the stem of which is slenderer than elsewhere, and the
+banana-tree here shoot up with wonderful rapidity and vigour. The
+aspect of the land is flat and monotonous, so that a journey of one or
+two miles will give as fair an impression of the country as a complete
+tour of the island. The number of the population who have the true
+Polynesian cast of countenance may be put down at about 7000. D'Urville
+says "they combine the most opposite qualities. They are generous,
+courteous, and hospitable, yet avaricious, insolent, and always
+thoroughly insincere. The most profuse demonstration of kindness and
+friendship may at any moment be interrupted by an act of outrage or
+robbery, should their cupidity or their self-respect be ever so
+slightly roused."
+
+In intelligence the natives of Tonga are clearly far superior to those
+of Otaheite. The French travellers could not sufficiently admire the
+astonishing order in which the plantations of yams and bananas were
+kept, the excessive neatness of their dwellings, and the beauty of the
+garden-plots. They even knew something of the art of fortification, as
+D'Urville ascertained by an inspection of the fortified village of
+Hifo, defended with stout palisades, and surrounded by a trench between
+fifteen and twenty feet wide, and half filled with water.
+
+On the 25th of May, D'Urville began the exploration of the Viti or Fiji
+Archipelago. At the outset he was so fortunate as to fall in with a
+native of Tonga who was living on the Fiji Islands for purposes of
+trade, and had previously visited Otaheite, New Zealand, and Australia.
+This man, as well as a Guam islander, proved most useful to the
+commander in furnishing him with the names of more than 200 islands
+belonging to this group, and in acquainting him beforehand with their
+position, and that of the reefs in their neighbourhood. At the same
+time, Gressier, the hydrographer, collected all the materials requisite
+for preparing a chart of the Fiji Islands.
+
+At this station a sloop was put under orders to proceed to the island
+of Laguemba, where was an anchor which D'Urville would have been well
+pleased to obtain, as he had lost two of his own while at Tonga. On
+arrival at the island, Lottin, who was in command of the sloop,
+observed on the shore none but women and children; armed men, however,
+soon came running up, made the women leave the place, and were
+preparing to seize the sloop and make the sailors prisoners. Their
+intentions were too plain to leave room for any doubt on the subject,
+so Lottin at once gave orders to draw up the grapnel, and got away into
+the open sea before there was time for an encounter to take place.
+
+During eighteen consecutive days, in the face of bad weather and a
+rough sea, the _Astrolabe_ cruised through the Fiji Archipelago,
+surveyed the islands of Laguemba, Kandabou, Viti-Levou, Oumbenga Vatou
+Lele, Ounong Lebou, Malolo, and many others, giving special attention
+to the southern islands of the group, which up to that period had
+remained almost entirely unknown.
+
+The population of this group, if we accept D'Urville's account, form a
+kind of transition between the copper-coloured, or the Polynesian, and
+the black or Melanesian races. Their strength and vigour are in
+proportion to their tall figures, and they make no secret of their
+cannibal propensities.
+
+On the 11th of June the corvette set sail for the harbour of Carteret;
+surveyed one by one the islands of Erronan and Annatom, the Loyalty
+Islands, of which group D'Urville discovered the Chabrol and Halgan
+Islands, the little group of the Beaupie Islands, the Astrolabe reefs,
+all the more dangerous as they are thirty miles distant from the
+Beaupie Islands, and sixty from New Caledonia. The island of Huon, and
+the chain of reefs to the north of New Caledonia, were subsequently
+surveyed. From this point D'Urville reached the Louisiade Archipelago
+in six days, but the stormy weather there encountered determined him to
+abandon the course he had planned out, and not to pass through Torres
+Straits. He thought that an early examination of the southern coast of
+New Britain, and of the northern coast of New Guinea, would be the most
+conducive to the interests of science.
+
+Rossel Island and Cape Deliverance were next sighted; and the vessel
+was steered for New Ireland, with a view to obtaining fresh supplies of
+wood and water. Arriving there on the 5th of July in such gloomy, rainy
+weather, that it was with no small difficulty that the entrance of the
+harbour of Carteret, where D'Entrecasteaux made a stay of eight days,
+was made out; whilst there the travellers received several visits from
+the score of natives, who seem to make up the total population of the
+place. They were creatures possessed of scarcely any intelligence, and
+quite destitute of curiosity about objects that they had not seen
+before. Neither did their appearance lead to the slightest
+prepossession in their favour. They wore no vestige of clothing; their
+skin was black and their hair woolly; and the partition of the nostrils
+had a sharp bone thrust through by way of ornament. The only object
+that they showed any eagerness to possess was iron, but they could not
+be made to understand that it was only to be given in exchange for
+fruits or pigs. Their expression was one of sullen defiance, and they
+refused to guide any one whatever to their village. During the
+unprofitable stay of the corvette in this harbour, D'Urville had a
+serious attack of enteritis, from which he suffered much for several
+days.
+
+On the 19th July the _Astrolabe_ went to sea again and coasted the
+northern side of New Britain, the object of this cruise was frustrated
+by rainy and hazy weather. Continual squalls and heavy showers
+compelled the vessel to put off again as soon as it had succeeded in
+nearing the land. His experience on this coast D'Urville thus
+describes:--"One who has not had, as we have, a practical acquaintance
+with these seas, is unable to form any adequate conception of these
+incredible rains. Moreover, to obtain a just estimate of the cares and
+anxieties which a voyage like ours entails, there must be a liability
+to the call of duties similar to those which we had to discharge. It
+was very seldom that our horizon lay much beyond the distance of 200
+yards, and our observations could not possibly be other than uncertain,
+when our own true position was doubtful. Altogether, the whole of our
+work upon New Britain, in spite of the unheard of hardships that fell
+to our lot and the risks which the _Astrolabe_ had to run, cannot be
+put in comparison for a moment, as respects accuracy, with the other
+surveys of the expedition."
+
+As it was impracticable to fall back upon the route by the St. George's
+Channel, D'Urville had to pass through Dampier's Strait, the southern
+entrance to which is all but entirely closed by a chain of reefs, which
+were grazed more than once by the _Astrolabe_.
+
+The charming prospect of the western coast of New Britain excited
+intense admiration both in Dampier and D'Entrecasteaux; an enthusiasm
+fully shared by D'Urville. A safe roadstead enclosed by land forming a
+semicircle, forests whose dark foliage contrasted with the golden
+colour of the ripening fields, the whole surmounted by the lofty peaks
+of Mount Gloucester, and this variety still further enhanced by the
+undulating outlines of Rook Island, are the chief features of the
+picture here presented by the coast of New Britain.
+
+[Illustration: Lofty mountains clothed with dense and gloomy forests.]
+
+On issuing from the strait the mountains of New Guinea rose grandly in
+the distance; and on a nearer approach they were seen to form a sort of
+half-circle shutting in the arm of the sea known as the Bay of
+Astrolabe. The Schouten Islands, the Creek of the Attack (the place
+where D'Urville had to withstand an onset of savages), Humboldt Bay,
+Geelwinck Bay, the Traitor Islands, Tobie and Mysory, the Arfak
+Mountains, were one after another recognized and passed, when the
+_Astrolabe_ at length came to an anchor in Port Dorei, in order to
+connect her operations with those accomplished by the _Coquille_.
+
+Friendly intercourse was at once established with the Papuans of that
+place, who brought on board a number of birds of paradise, but not much
+in the shape of provisions. These natives, are of so gentle and timid a
+disposition, that only with great reluctance will they risk going into
+the woods through fear of the Arfakis, who dwell on the mountains, and
+are their sworn enemies.
+
+One of the sailors engaged in getting fresh water was wounded with an
+arrow shot by one of these savages, whom it was impossible to punish
+for a dastardly outrage prompted by no motive whatever.
+
+The land here is everywhere so fertile that it requires no more than
+turning over and weeding, in order to yield the most abundant harvests;
+yet the Papuans are so lazy and understand so little of the art of
+agriculture, that the growth of food plants is often allowed to be
+choked with weeds. The inhabitants belong to several races. D'Urville
+divides them into three principal varieties: the Papuans, a mixed
+breed, belonging more or less to the Malay or Polynesian race; and the
+Harfous or Alfourous, who resemble the common type of Australians; New
+Caledonians and the ordinary black Oceanic populations. These latter
+would appear to be the true indigenous people of the country.
+
+On the 6th September the _Astrolabe_ again put to sea, and after an
+uninteresting stay at New Guinea, in the course of which scarcely any
+specimens of natural history were obtained, except a few mollusca, and
+still less exact information regarding the customs, religion, or
+language of its diversified population, steered for Amboyna, which was
+reached without any accident on the 24th September. The governor, M.
+Merkus, happened to be on circuit; but his absence was no obstacle to
+the supply of all the stores needed by the commander. The reception
+given by the authorities and the society of the place was of a very
+cordial kind, and everything was done to compensate the French
+explorers for the hardships undergone in their long and troublesome
+voyage.
+
+From Amboyna D'Urville proceeded to Hobart Town in Tasmania, a place
+not visited by any French vessel since the time of Baudin, arriving on
+the 27th December, 1827. Thirty-five years previously D'Entrecasteaux
+had met on the shores of this island only a few wretched savages; and
+ten years later Baudin found it quite deserted. The first piece of news
+that Dumont d'Urville learnt on entering the river Derwent, before even
+casting anchor at Hobart Town, was that Captain Dillon, an Englishman,
+had received certain information, when at Tucopia, of the shipwreck of
+La Pérouse at Vanikoro; and that he had brought away the hilt of a
+sword which he believed to have belonged to that navigator. On his
+arrival at Calcutta Dillon communicated his information to the
+governor, who without delay despatched him with instructions to rescue
+such of the shipwrecked crew as might still be alive, and collect
+whatever relics could be found of the vessels. To D'Urville this
+intelligence was of the highest interest, seeing that he had been
+specially instructed to search for whatever might be calculated to
+throw any light upon the fate of the unfortunate navigator, and he had
+while at Namouka obtained proof of the residence for a time of La
+Pérouse at the Friendly Islands.
+
+In the English colony itself there was some difference of opinion as to
+the credit which Captain Dillon's story was entitled to receive; but
+the report which that officer had made to the Governor-General of
+India, quite removed any doubt from the mind of D'Urville. Abandoning,
+therefore, all further plans with reference to New Zealand, he decided
+upon proceeding at once in the _Astrolabe_, in the track of Dillon, to
+Vanikoro, which he then knew only by the name of Mallicolo.
+
+[Illustration: Natives of Vanikoro. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The following is the statement of the circumstances as made by Dillon.
+
+During a stay made by the ship _Hunter_ at the Fiji Islands, three
+persons, a Prussian named Martin Bushart, his wife, and a Lascar,
+called Achowlia, were received on board, endeavouring to escape from
+the horrible fate awaiting them, which had already befallen the other
+European deserters settled in that archipelago, that of being devoured
+by the savages; this unhappy trio merely begged to be put on shore at
+the first inhabited island which the _Hunter_ might touch at.
+Accordingly, they were left on one of the Charlotte Islands, Tucopia,
+in 12 degrees 15 minutes S. lat, and 169 degrees W. long. In the month
+of May, 1836, Dillon, who had been one of the crew of the ship
+_Hunter_, paid a visit to the island of Tucopia, with a view of
+ascertaining what had become of the people put on shore in 1813. There
+he found the Lascar and the Prussian; the former of whom sold him a
+silver sword-hilt. As might have been expected, Dillon was curious to
+know how the natives of that island had come into possession of such an
+article. The Prussian then related that on his arrival at Tucopia he
+had found many articles of iron, such as bolts, axes, knives, spoons,
+and other things, which he was told had come from Mallicolo, a group of
+islands situated about two days canoe sail to the east of Tucopia. By
+further interrogatories, Dillon learnt that two vessels had been thrown
+upon the coasts many years previously, one of which had perished
+entirely with all on board, whilst the crew of the second had
+constructed out of the wreck of their ship a little boat, in which they
+had put to sea, leaving some of their number at Mallicolo. The Lascar
+said he had seen two of these men, who had acquired a well-merited
+influence through services rendered to chiefs.
+
+Dillon tried in vain to persuade his informant to take him to
+Mallicolo, but was more successful with the Prussian, who took him
+within sight of the island, called Research by D'Entrecasteaux, on
+which, however, Dillon was unable to land on account of the dead calm
+and his want of provisions.
+
+On hearing his account, on his arrival at Pondicherry, the governor
+entrusted him with the command of a boat specially constructed for
+exploring purposes. This was in 1827. Dillon now touched at Tucopia,
+where he obtained interpreters and a pilot, and thence went to
+Mallicolo, where he learnt from the natives that the strangers had
+stayed there five months to build their vessel, and that they had been
+looked upon as supernatural visitors, an idea not a little confirmed by
+their singular behaviour. They had been seen, for instance, to talk to
+the moon and stars through a long stick, their noses were immense, and
+some of them always remained standing, holding bars of iron in their
+hands. Such was the impression left on the minds of the natives by the
+astronomical observations, cocked hats, and sentinels of the French.
+
+Dillon obtained from the natives a good many relics of the expedition,
+and he also saw at the bottom of the sea, on the coral reef on which
+the vessel had struck, some bronze cannons, a bell, and all kinds of
+rubbish, which he reverently collected and carried to Paris, arriving
+there in 1828, and receiving from the king a pension of 4000 francs as
+a reward for his exertions. All doubt was dispelled when the Comte de
+Lesseps, who had landed at Kamtchatka from La Pérouse's party,
+identified the cannons and the carved stern of the _Boussole_, and the
+armorial bearings of Colignon, the botanist, were made out on a silver
+candlestick. All these interesting and curious facts, however,
+D'Urville did not know until later; at present he had only heard
+Dillon's first report. By chance, or perhaps because he was afraid of
+being forestalled, the captain had not laid down the position of
+Vanikoro or the route he followed on the way from Tucopia, which island
+D'Urville supposed to belong to the Banks or Santa Cruz group, each as
+little known as the other.
+
+Before following D'Urville, however, we must pause with him for awhile
+at Hobart Town, which he looked upon even then as a place of remarkable
+importance. "Its houses," he says, "are very spacious, consisting only
+of one story and the ground-floor, though their cleanness and
+regularity give them a very pleasant appearance. Walking in the
+streets, which are unpaved, though some have curb stones, is very
+tiring; and the dust always rising in clouds is very trying to the
+eyes. The Government house is pleasantly situated on the shores of the
+bay, and will be greatly improved in a few years if the young trees
+planted about it thrive. Native timber is quite unsuitable for
+ornamental purposes."
+
+The stay at Hobart Town was turned to account to complete the stock of
+provisions, anchors, and other very requisite articles, and also to
+repair the vessel and the rigging, the latter being sorely dilapidated.
+
+On the 5th January the _Astrolabe_ once more put to sea, surveyed
+Norfolk Island on the 20th, Matthew Volcano six days later, Erronan on
+the 28th, and the little Mitre Island on the 8th February, arriving the
+next day off Tucopia, a small island three or four miles in
+circumference with one rather pointed peak covered with vegetation. The
+eastern side of Tucopia is apparently inaccessible from the violence of
+the breakers continually dashing on to its beach. The eagerness of all
+was now great, and was becoming unbounded when three boats, one
+containing a European, were seen approaching. This European turned out
+to be the Prussian calling himself Bushart, who had lately gone with
+Dillon to Mallicolo, where the latter remained a whole month, and where
+he really obtained the relics of the expedition as D'Urville had heard
+at Hobart Town. Not a single Frenchman now remained on the island; the
+last had died the previous year. Bushart at first consented, but
+declined at the last moment, to go with D'Urville or to remain on the
+_Astrolabe_.
+
+Vanikoro is surrounded by reefs, through which, not without danger, the
+_Astrolabe_ found a passage, casting anchor in the same place as Dillon
+had done, namely in Ocili Bay. The scene of the shipwreck was on the
+other side of the bay. It was not easy to get information from the
+natives, who were avaricious, untrustworthy, insolent, and deceitful.
+An old man, however, was finally induced to confess that the whites who
+had landed on the beach at Vanon had been received with a shower of
+arrows, and that a fight ensued in which a good many natives had
+fallen; as for the _maras_ (sailors) they had all been killed, and
+their skulls buried at Vanon. The rest of the bones had been used to
+tip the arrows of the natives.
+
+A canoe was now sent to the village of Nama, and after considerable
+hesitation the natives were induced by a promise of some red cloth to
+take the Frenchmen to the scene of the shipwreck about a mile off, near
+Païon and opposite Ambi, where amongst the breakers at the bottom of a
+sort of shelving beach anchors, cannons, and cannonballs, and many
+other things were made out, leaving no doubt as to the facts in the
+minds of the officers of the _Astrolabe_. It was evident to all that
+the vessel had endeavoured to get inside the reefs by a kind of pass,
+and that she had run aground and been unable to get off. The crew may
+then have saved themselves at Païon, and according to the account of
+some natives they built a little boat there, whilst the other vessel,
+which had struck on the reef further out, had been lost with all on
+board.
+
+Chief Moembe had heard it said that the inhabitants of Vanon had
+approached the vessel to pillage it, but had been driven back by the
+whites, losing twenty men and three chiefs. The savages in their turn
+had massacred all the French who landed, except two, who lived on the
+island for the space of three months.
+
+Another chief, Valiko by name, said that one of the boats had struck
+outside the reef opposite Tanema after a very windy night, and that
+nearly all its crew had perished before they could land. Many of the
+sailors of the second vessel had got to land, and built at Païon a
+little boat out of the pieces of the large ship wrecked. During their
+stay at Païon quarrels arose, and two sailors with five natives of
+Vanon and one from Tanema were killed. At the end of five months the
+Frenchmen left the island.
+
+Lastly, a third old man told how some thirty sailors belonging to the
+first vessel had joined the crew of the second, and that they had all
+left at the end of six or seven months. All these facts, which had so
+to speak to be extracted by force, varied in their details; the last,
+however, seemed most nearly to approach the truth. Amongst the objects
+picked up by the _Astrolabe_ were an anchor weighing about 1800 pounds,
+a cast-iron cannon, a bronze swivel, a copper blunderbuss, some pig
+lead, and several other considerably damaged articles of little
+interest. These relics, with those collected by Dillon, are now in the
+Naval Museum at the Louvre.
+
+D'Urville did not leave Vanikoro without erecting a monument to the
+memory of his unfortunate fellow-countrymen. This humble memorial was
+placed in a mangrove grove off the reef itself. It consists of a
+quadrangular prism, made of coral slabs six feet high, surmounted by a
+pyramid of Koudi wood of the same height, bearing on a little plate of
+lead the following inscription,--
+
+  A la Mémoire
+  DE LA PÉROUSE,
+  ET DE SES COMPAGNONS
+  L'ASTROLABE
+  14 _Mars_, 1828.
+
+As soon as this task was accomplished, D'Urville prepared to set sail
+again, as it was time he did, for the damp resulting from the torrents
+of rain had engendered serious fevers, prostrating no less than
+twenty-five of the party. The commander would have to make haste if he
+wished to keep a crew fit to execute the arduous manoeuvres necessary
+to the exit of the vessel from a narrow pass strewn with rocks.
+
+The last day passed by the _Astrolabe_ at Vanikoro would have shown the
+truth to D'Urville had he needed any enlightening as to the true
+disposition of the natives. The following is his account of the last
+incidents of this dangerous halt.
+
+"At eight o'clock, I was a good deal surprised to see half a dozen
+canoes approaching from Tevaï, the more so, that two or three natives
+from Manevaï who were on board showed no uneasiness, although they had
+told me a few days before that the people of Tevaï were their mortal
+enemies. I expressed my surprise to the Manevaians, who merely said,
+with an evident air of equivocation, that they had made their peace
+with the Tevaians, who were only bringing some cocoa-nuts. I soon saw,
+however, that the new comers were carrying nothing but bows and arrows
+in first rate condition. Two or three of them climbed on board, and in
+a determined manner came up to the main watch to look down into the
+orlop-deck to find out how many men were disabled, whilst a malignant
+joy lit up their diabolical features. At this moment some of the crew
+told me that two or three of the Manevaï men on board had done the same
+thing during the last three or four days, and M. Gressien, who had been
+watching their movements since the morning, thought he had seen the
+warriors of the two tribes meet on the beach and have a long conference
+together. Such behaviour gave proof of the most treacherous intentions,
+and I felt the danger to be imminent. I at once ordered the natives to
+leave the vessel and return to the canoes, but they had the audacity to
+look at me with a proud and threatening expression, as if to defy me to
+put my order into execution. I merely had the armoury, generally kept
+jealously closed, opened, and with a severe look I pointed to it with
+one hand, whilst with the other I motioned the savages to the canoes.
+The sudden apparition of twenty shining muskets, the powers of which
+they understood, made them tremble, and relieved us of their ominous
+presence."
+
+[Illustration: "I merely had the armoury opened."]
+
+Before leaving the scene of this melancholy story, we will glean a few
+details from D'Urville's account of it. The Vanikoro, Mallicolo, or, as
+Dillon calls it, the La Pérouse group, consists of two islands,
+Research and Tevaï. The former is no less than thirty miles in
+circumference, whilst the latter is only nine miles round. Both are
+lofty, clothed with impenetrable forests almost to the beach, and
+surrounded by a barrier of reefs thirty-six miles in circumference,
+with here and there a narrow strait between them. The inhabitants, who
+are lazy, slovenly, stupid, fierce, cowardly, and avaricious, do not
+exceed twelve or fifteen hundred in number. It was unfortunate for La
+Pérouse to be shipwrecked amongst such people, when he would have
+received a reception so different on any other island of Polynesia. The
+women are naturally ugly, and the hard work they have to do, with their
+general mode of life, render their appearance yet more displeasing. The
+men are rather less ill-favoured, though they are stunted and lean, and
+covered with ulcers and leprosy scars. Arrows and bows are their only
+weapons, and, according to themselves, the former, with their very fine
+bone tips, soldered on with extremely tenacious gum, inflict mortal
+wounds. They therefore value them greatly, and the visitors had great
+trouble to obtain any.
+
+[Illustration: Reefs off Vanikoro.]
+
+On the 17th March the _Astrolabe_ at length issued from amongst the
+terrible reefs encircling Vanikoro. D'Urville had intended to survey
+Tamnako, Kennedy, Nitendi, and the Solomon Islands, where he hoped to
+meet with traces of the survivors from the shipwreck of the _Boussole_
+and the _Astrolabe_. But the melancholy condition of the crew, pulled
+down as they were by fever, and the illness of most of the officers,
+with the absence of any safe anchorage in this part of Oceania, decided
+him to make for Guam, where he thought a little rest might possibly be
+obtained. This was a very grave dereliction from the instructions which
+ordered him to survey Torres Straits, but the fact of forty sailors
+being _hors de combat_ and on the sick-list, will suffice to prove how
+foolish it would have been to make so perilous an attempt.
+
+Not until the 26th April was Hogoley Archipelago sighted, where
+D'Urville bridged over the gaps left by Duperrey in his exploration,
+and only on the 2nd May did the coasts of Guam come in sight. Anchor
+was cast at Umata, where a supply of fresh water was easily found, and
+the climate much milder than at Agagna. On the 29th May, however, when
+the expedition set sail again, the men were not by any means all
+restored to health, which D'Urville attributed to the excesses in the
+way of eating indulged in by the sick, and the impossibility of getting
+them to keep to a suitable diet.
+
+The good Medinilla, of whom Freycinet had such reason to speak
+favourably, was still governor of Guam. He did not this time, it is
+true, show so many kind attentions to the present expedition, but that
+was because a terrible drought had just devastated the colony, and a
+rumour had got afloat that the illness the crew of the _Astrolabe_ was
+suffering from was contagious. Umata too was a good distance from
+Agagna, so that D'Urville could not visit the governor in his own home.
+Medinilla, however, sent the expedition fresh provisions and fruits in
+such quantities as to prove he had lost none of his old generosity.
+
+After leaving Guam D'Urville surveyed, under sail, the Elivi, the
+Uluthii of Lütke, Guapgolo and the Pelew group of the Caroline
+Archipelago, was driven by contrary winds past Waigiou, Aiou, Asia, and
+Guebek, and finally entered Bouron Straits and cast anchor off Amboine,
+where he was cordially received by the Dutch authorities, and obtained
+news from France to the effect that the Minister of Marine had taken no
+notice of all the work, fatigue, and perils of the expedition, for not
+one officer had received advancement.
+
+The receipt of this news caused considerable disappointment and
+discouragement, which the commander at once tried to remove. From
+Amboine the _Astrolabe_ steered, _viâ_ Banka Strait, for Uanado, with
+its well-armed and equipped fort, forming a pleasant residence.
+Governor Merkus obtained for D'Urville's natural history collections
+some fine _barberosas_, a _sapioutang_--the latter a little animal of
+the size of a calf, with the same kind of muzzle, paws, and turned-back
+horns--serpents, birds, fishes, and plants.
+
+According to D'Urville the people of the Celebes resemble in externals
+the Polynesians rather than the Malays. They reminded him of the
+natives of Otaheite, Tonga Tabou, and New Zealand, much more than of
+the Papuans of Darei Harbour, the Harfous of Bouron, or the Malays,
+with their square bony faces. Near Manado are some mines of auriferous
+quartz, of which the commander was able to obtain a specimen, and in
+the interior is the lake of Manado, said to be of immense depth, and
+which is the source of the torrent of the same name that dashes in the
+form of a magnificent waterfall over a basalt rock eighty feet high,
+barring its progress to the sea. D'Urville, accompanied by the governor
+and the naturalists of the expedition, explored this beautiful lake,
+shut in by volcanic mountains, with here and there a few fumerolles
+still issuing from them, and ascertained the depth of the water to be
+no more than twelve or thirteen fathoms, so that in the event of its
+ever drying up, its basin would form a perfectly level plain.
+
+On the 4th August anchor was weighed at Manado, where the sufferers
+from fever and dysentery had not got much better, and on the 29th of
+the same month the expedition arrived at Batavia where it only remained
+three days. The rest of the voyage of the _Astrolabe_ was in well-known
+waters. Mauritius was reached in due course, and there D'Urville met
+Commander Le Goarant, who had made a trip to Vanikoro in the corvette
+_La Bayonnaise_, and who told D'Urville that he had not attempted to
+enter the reef, but had only sent in some boats to reconnoitre. The
+natives had respected the monument to the memory of La Pérouse, and had
+been reluctant even to allow the sailors of the _Bayonnaise_ to nail a
+copper plate upon it.
+
+On the 18th November the corvette left Mauritius, and after touching at
+the Cape, St. Helena, and Ascension, arrived on the 25th March, 1829,
+at Marseilles, exactly thirty-five months after her departure from that
+port. To hydrographical science, if to nothing else, the results of the
+expedition were remarkable, and no less than forty-five new charts were
+produced by the indefatigable Messrs. Gressien and Paris. Nothing will
+better bring before us the richness of harvest of natural history
+specimens than the following quotation from Cuvier's report:--
+
+"They (the species brought home by Quoy and Gaimard) amount to
+thousands in the catalogues, and no better proof can be given of the
+activity of our naturalists than the fact that the directors of the
+Jardin du Roi do not know where to store the results of the expedition,
+especially those now under notice. They have had to be stowed away on
+the ground-floor, almost in the cellars, and the very warehouses are
+now so crowded--no other word would do as well--that we have had to
+divide them by partitions to make more stowage."
+
+The geological collections were no less numerous; one hundred and
+eighty-seven species or varieties of rock attest the zeal of Messrs.
+Quoy and Gaimard, while M. Lesson, junior, collected fifteen or sixteen
+hundred plants; Captain Jacquinot made a number of astronomical
+observations; M. Lottin studied magnetism, and the commander, without
+neglecting his duties as a sailor and leader of the expedition, made
+experiments on submarine temperature and meteorology, and collected an
+immense mass of information on philology and ethnography.
+
+We cannot better conclude our account of this expedition than with the
+following quotation from Dumont d'Urville's memoirs, given in his
+biography by Didot:--
+
+"This adventurous expedition surpassed all previous ones, alike in the
+number and gravity of the dangers incurred, and the extent of the
+results of every kind obtained. An iron will prevented me from ever
+yielding to any obstacle. My mind once made up to die or to succeed, I
+was free from any hesitation or uncertainty. Twenty times I saw the
+_Astrolabe_ on the eve of destruction without once losing hope of her
+salvation. A thousand times did I risk the very lives of my companions
+in order to achieve the object of my instructions, and I can assert
+that for two consecutive years we daily incurred more real perils than
+we should have done in the longest ordinary voyage. My brave and
+honourable officers were not blind to the dangers to which I daily
+exposed them, but they kept silence, and nobly fulfilled their duty."
+
+From this admirable harmony of purpose and devotion resulted a mass of
+discoveries and observations in every branch of human knowledge, of all
+of which an exact account was given by Rossel, Cuvier, Geoffrey St.
+Hilaire, Desfontaines, and others, all competent and disinterested
+judges.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
+
+Bellinghausen, yet another Russian explorer--Discovery of the islands
+of Traversay, Peter I., and Alexander I.--The whaler, Weddell--The
+Southern Orkneys--New Shetland--The people of Tierra del Fuego--John
+Biscoe and the districts of Enderby and Graham--Charles Wilkes and the
+Antarctic Continent--Captain Balleny--Dumont d'Urville's expedition in
+the _Astrolabe_ and the _Zelée_--Coupvent Desbois and the Peak of
+Teneriffe--The Straits of Magellan--A new post-office shut in by ice--
+Louis Philippe's Land--Across Oceania--Adélie and Clarie Lands--New
+Guinea and Torres Strait--Return to France--James Clark Rosset--
+Victoria.
+
+
+We have already had occasion to speak of the Antarctic regions, and the
+explorations made there in the seventeenth, and at the end of the
+eighteenth century, by various navigators, nearly all Frenchmen,
+amongst whom we must specially note La Roche, discoverer of New
+Georgia, in 1675, Bouvet, Kerguelen, Marion, and Crozet. The name of
+Antarctic is given to all the islands scattered about the ocean which
+are called after navigators, as well as those of Prince Edward, the
+Sandwich group, New Georgia, &c.
+
+It was in these latitudes that William Smith, commander of the brig
+_William_, trading between Monte Video and Valparaiso, discovered, in
+1818, the Southern Shetland Islands, arid and barren districts covered
+with snow, on which, however, collected vast herds of seals, animals of
+which the skins are used as furs, and which had not before been met
+with in the Southern Seas. The news of this discovery led to a rush of
+whaling-vessels to the new hunting-grounds, and between 1821 and 1822
+the number of seals captured in this archipelago is estimated at
+32,000, whilst the quantity of sea-elephant oil obtained during the
+same time may be put down at 940 tons. As males and females were
+indiscriminately slaughtered, however, the new fields were soon
+exhausted. The survey of the twelve principal islands, and of the
+innumerable and all but barren rocks, making up this archipelago,
+occupied but a short time.
+
+[Illustration: Hunting sea-elephants.]
+
+Two years later Botwell discovered the Southern Orkneys, and then
+Palmer and other whalemen sighted, or thought they sighted, districts
+to which they gave the names of Palmer and Trinity.
+
+More important discoveries were, however, to be made in these
+hyberborean regions, and the hypothesis of Dalrymple, Buffon, and other
+scholars of the eighteenth century, as to the existence of a southern
+continent, forming, so to speak, a counterpoise to the North Pole, was
+to be unexpectedly confirmed by the work of these intrepid explorers.
+
+The navy of Russia had now for some years been rapidly gaining in
+importance, and had played no insignificant part in scientific
+research. We have related the interesting voyages of most Russian
+circumnavigators; but we have still to speak of Bellinghausen's voyage
+round the world, which occupies a prominent place in the history of the
+exploration of the Antarctic seas.
+
+The _Vostok_, Captain Bellinghausen, and the _Mirni_, commanded by
+Lieutenant Lazarew, left Cronstadt on the 3rd July, 1819, _en route_
+for the Antarctic Ocean. On the 15th December Southern Georgia was
+sighted, and seven days later an island was discovered in the
+south-east, to which the name of Traversay was given, and the position
+of which was fixed at 52 degrees 15 minutes S. lat., and 27 degrees 21
+minutes W. long., reckoning from the Paris meridian.
+
+Continuing their easterly course in S. lat. 60 degrees for 400 miles as
+far as W. long. 187 degrees, the explorers then bore south to S. lat.
+70 degrees, where their further progress was arrested by a barrier of
+ice.
+
+Bellinghausen, nothing daunted, tried to cut his way eastwards into the
+heart of the Polar Circle, but at 44 degrees E. long, he was compelled
+to return northwards. After a voyage of forty miles a large country
+hove in sight, which a whaler was to discover twelve years later when
+the ice had broken up.
+
+Back again in S. lat. 62 degrees, Bellinghausen once more steered
+eastwards without encountering any obstacles, and on the 5th March,
+1820, he made for Port Jackson to repair his vessels.
+
+The whole summer was given up by the Russian navigator to a cruise
+about Oceania, when he discovered no less than seventeen new islands,
+and on the 31st October he left Port Jackson on a new expedition. The
+first places sighted on this trip were the Macquarie Islands; then
+cutting across the 60th parallel, S. lat. in E. long. 160 degrees, the
+explorers bore east between S. lat. 64 degrees and 68 degrees as far as
+W. long. 95 degrees. On the 9th January, Bellinghausen reached 70
+degrees S. lat., and the next day discovered, in S. lat. 69 degrees 30
+minutes, W. long. 92 degrees 20 minutes, an island, to which he gave
+the name of Peter I., the most southerly land hitherto visited. Then
+fifteen degrees further east, and in all but the same latitude, he
+sighted some more land which he called Alexander I.'s Land. Scarcely
+200 miles distant from Graham's Land, it appeared likely to be
+connected with it, for the sea between the two districts was constantly
+discoloured, and many other facts pointed to the same conclusion.
+
+From Alexander I.'s Land the two vessels, bearing due north, and
+passing Graham's Land, made for New Georgia, arriving there in
+February. Thence they returned to Cronstadt, the port of which they
+entered in July 1821, exactly two years after they left it, having lost
+only three men out of a crew of 200.
+
+We would gladly have given further details of this interesting
+expedition, but we have not been able to obtain a sight of the original
+account published in Russian at St. Petersburg, and we have had to be
+content with the _résumé_ brought out in one of the journals of the
+Geographical Society in 1839.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Antarctic Regions, showing the routes taken
+by the navigators of the 19th Century. _Engraved by E. Morieu._]
+
+At the same period a master in the Royal Navy, James Weddell by name,
+was appointed by an Edinburgh firm to the command of an expedition, to
+obtain seal-skins in the southern seas, where two years were to be
+spent. This expedition consisted of the brig _Jane_, 160 tons, Captain
+Weddell, and the cutter _Beaufort_, sixty-five tons, Matthew Brisbane
+commander.
+
+The two vessels left England on the 17th September, 1822, touched at
+Bonavista, one of the Cape Verd Islands, and cast anchor in the
+following December in the port of St. Helena, on the eastern coast of
+Patagonia, where some valuable observations were taken on the position
+of that town.
+
+Weddell put to sea again on the 27th December, and steering in a
+south-easterly direction, came in sight, on the 12th January, of an
+archipelago to which he gave the name of the Southern Orkneys. These
+islands are situated in S. lat. 60 degrees 45 minutes, and W. long. 45
+degrees.
+
+According to the navigator, this little group presents an even more
+forbidding appearance than New Shetland. On every side rise the sharp
+points of rocks, bare of vegetation, round which surge the restless
+waves, and against which dash enormous floating icebergs, with a noise
+like thunder. Vessels are in perpetual danger in these latitudes, and
+the eleven days passed under sail by Weddell in surveying minutely the
+islands, islets, and rocks of this archipelago, were a time of
+ceaseless exertion for the crew, who were throughout in constant danger
+of their lives.
+
+Specimens of the principal strata of these islands were collected, and
+on the return home put into the hands of Professor Jameson, of
+Edinburgh, who identified them as belonging to primary and volcanic
+rocks.
+
+Weddell now made for the south, crossed the Antarctic Circle in W.
+long. 30 degrees, and soon came in sight of numerous ice islands.
+Beyond S. lat. 70 degrees, these floes decreased in number, and finally
+disappeared; the weather moderated, innumerable flocks of birds hovered
+above the ships, whilst large schools of whales played in its wake.
+This strange and unexpected change in the temperature surprised every
+one, especially as it became more marked as the South Pole was more
+nearly approached. Everything pointed to the existence of a continent
+not far off. Nothing was, however, discovered.
+
+On the 20th February the vessels were in S. lat. 74 degrees 15 minutes
+and W. long. 34 degrees 16 minutes 45 seconds.
+
+"I would willingly," says Weddell, "have explored the south-west
+quarter, but taking into consideration the lateness of the season, and
+that we had to pass homeward through 1000 miles of sea strewed with ice
+islands, with long nights, and probably attended with fogs, I could not
+determine otherwise than to take advantage of this favourable wind for
+returning."
+
+Having seen no sign of land in this direction, and a strong southerly
+wind blowing at the time, Weddell retraced his course as far as S. lat.
+58 degrees, and steered in an easterly direction to within 100 miles of
+the Sandwich Islands. On the 7th February he once more doubled the
+southern cape, sailed by a sheet of ice fifty miles wide, and on the
+20th February reached S. lat. 74 degrees 15 minutes. From the top of
+the masts nothing was to be seen but an open sea with a few floating
+ice-islands.
+
+Unexpected results had ensued from these trips in a southerly
+direction. Weddell had penetrated 240 miles nearer the Pole than any of
+his predecessors, including Cook. He gave the name of George IV. to
+that part of the Antarctic Ocean which he had explored. Strange and
+significant was the fact that the ice had decreased in quantity as the
+South Pole was approached, whilst fogs and storms were incessant, and
+the atmosphere was always heavily charged with moisture, and the
+temperature of surprising mildness.
+
+Another valuable observation made, was that the vibrations of the
+compass were as slow in these southern latitudes as Parry had noted
+them to be in the Arctic regions.
+
+Weddell's two vessels, separated in a storm, met again in New Georgia
+after a perilous voyage of 1200 miles amongst the ice. New Georgia,
+discovered by La Roche in 1675, and visited in 1756 by the _Lion_, was
+really little known until after Captain Cook's exploration of it, but
+his account of the number of seals and walruses frequenting it had led
+to being much favoured by whalers, chiefly English and American, who
+took the skins of their victims to China and sold them at a guinea or
+thirty shillings each.
+
+"The island," says Weddell, speaking of South Georgia, "is about
+ninety-six miles long, and its mean breadth about ten. It is so
+indented with bays, that in several places, where they are on opposite
+sides, they are so deep as to make the distance from one side to the
+other very small. The tops of the mountains are lofty, and perpetually
+covered with snow; but in the valleys, during the summer season,
+vegetation is rather abundant. Almost the only natural production of
+the soil is a strong-bladed grass, the length of which is in general
+about two feet; it grows in tufts on mounds three or four feet from the
+ground. No land quadrupeds are found here; birds and amphibious animals
+are the only inhabitants."
+
+Here congregate numerous flocks of penguins, which stalk about on the
+beach, head in air. To quote an early navigator, Sir John Nasborough,
+they look like children in white aprons. Numerous albatrosses are also
+met with here, some of them measuring seventeen feet from tip to tip of
+their wings. When these birds are stripped of their plumage their
+weight is reduced one-half.
+
+[Illustration: "Here congregate flocks of penguins."]
+
+Weddell also visited New Shetland, and ascertained that Bridgeman
+Island, in that group, is an active volcano. He could not land, as all
+the harbours were blocked up with ice, and he was obliged to make for
+Tierra del Fuego.
+
+During a stay of two months here, Weddell collected some valuable
+information on the advantages of this coast to navigators, and obtained
+some accurate data as to the character of the inhabitants. In the
+interior of Tierra del Fuego rose a few mountains, always covered with
+snow, the loftiest of which were not more than 3000 feet high. Weddell
+was unable to identify the volcano noticed by other travellers,
+including Basil Hall in 1822, but he picked up a good deal of lava
+which had probably come from it. There was, moreover, no doubt of its
+existence, for the explorer under notice had seen on his previous
+voyage signs of a volcanic eruption in the extreme redness of the sky
+above Tierra del Fuego.
+
+Hitherto there had been a good deal of divergence in the opinion of
+explorers as to the temperature of Tierra del Fuego. Weddell attributes
+this to the different seasons of their visits, and the variability of
+the winds. When he was there and the wind was in the south the
+thermometer was never more than two or three degrees above zero,
+whereas when the wind came from the north it was as hot as July in
+England. According to Weddell dogs and otters are the only quadrupeds
+of the country.
+
+The relations with the natives were cordial throughout the explorer's
+stay amongst them. At first they gathered about the ship without
+venturing to climb on to it, and the scenes enacted on the passage of
+the first European vessel through the states were repeated in spite of
+the long period which had since elapsed. Of the bread, madeira, and
+beef offered to them, the natives would taste nothing but the meat; and
+of the many objects shown to them, they liked pieces of iron and
+looking-glasses best, amusing themselves with making grimaces in the
+latter of such absurdity as to keep the crew in fits of laughter. Their
+general appearance, too, was very provocative of mirth. Their jet black
+complexions, blue feathers, and faces streaked with parallel red and
+white lines, like tick, made up a whole of the greatest absurdity, and
+many were the hearty laughs the English enjoyed at their expense.
+Presently disgusted at receiving nothing more than the iron hoops of
+casks from people possessed of such wealth, they proceeded to annex all
+they could lay hands on. These thefts were soon detected and put a stop
+to, but they gave rise to many an amusing scene, and proved the
+wonderful imitative powers of the natives.
+
+"A sailor had given a Fuegan," says Weddell, "a tin-pot full of coffee,
+which he drank, and was using all his art to steal the pot. The sailor,
+however, recollecting after awhile that the pot had not been returned,
+applied for it, but whatever words he made use of were always repeated
+in imitation by the Fuegan. At length he became enraged at hearing his
+requests reiterated, and, placing himself in a threatening attitude, in
+an angry tone, he said, 'You copper-coloured rascal, where is my
+tin-pot?' The Fuegan, assuming the same attitude, with his eyes fixed
+on the sailor, called out, 'You copper-coloured rascal, where is my
+tin-pot?' The imitation was so perfect that every one laughed, except
+the sailor, who proceeded to search him, and under his arm he found the
+article missing."
+
+The sterile mountainous districts in this rigorous climate of Tierra
+del Fuego furnish no animal fit for food, and without proper clothing
+or nourishment the people are reduced to a state of complete barbarism.
+Hunting yields them hardly any game, fishing is almost equally
+unproductive of results; they are obliged to depend upon the storms
+which now and then fling some huge cetacean on their shores, and upon
+such salvage they fall tooth and nail, not even taking the trouble to
+cook the flesh.
+
+In 1828 Henry Foster, commanding the _Chanticleer_, received
+instructions to make observations on the pendulum, with a view to
+determining the figure of the earth. This expedition extended over
+three years, and was then--i.e. in 1831--brought to an end by his
+violent death by drowning in the river Chagres. We allude to this trip
+because it resulted, on the 5th January, 1829, in the identification
+and exploration of the Southern Shetlands. The commander himself
+succeeded in landing, though with great difficulty, on one of these
+islands, where he collected some specimens of the syenite of which the
+soil is composed, and a small quantity of red snow, in every respect
+similar to that found by explorers in the Arctic regions.
+
+Of far greater interest, however, was the survey made in 1830 by the
+whaler John Biscoe. The brig _Tula_, 140 tons, and the cutter _Lively_,
+left London under his orders on the 14th July, 1830. These two vessels,
+the property of Messrs. Enderby, were fitted up for whale-fishing, and
+were in every respect well qualified for the long and arduous task
+before them, which, according to Biscoe's instructions, was to combine
+discovery in the Antarctic seas with whaling.
+
+After touching at the Falklands, the ships started on the 27th November
+on a vain search for the Aurora Islands, after which they made for the
+Sandwich group, doubling its most southerly cape on the 1st January,
+1831.
+
+In 59 degrees S. lat. masses of ice were encountered, compelling the
+explorers to give up the south-western route, in which direction they
+had noted signs of the existence of land. It was therefore necessary to
+bear east, skirting along the ice as far as W. long. 9 degrees 34
+minutes. It was only on the 16th January that Biscoe was able to cross
+the 60th parallel of S. lat. In 1775 Cook had here come to a space of
+open sea 250 miles in extent, yet now an insurmountable barrier of ice
+checked Biscoe's advance.
+
+Continuing his south-westerly course as far as 68 degrees 51 minutes
+and 10 degrees E. long., the explorer was struck by the discoloration
+of the water, the presence of several eaglets and cape-pigeons, and the
+fact that the wind now blew from the south-south-west, all sure tokens
+of a large continent being near. Ice, however, again barred his
+progress southwards, and he had to go on in an easterly direction
+approaching nearer and nearer to the Antarctic Circle.
+
+"At length, on the 27th February," says Desborough Cooley, "in S. lat.
+65 degrees 57 minutes and E. long. 47 degrees 20 minutes land was
+distinctly seen." This land was of considerable extent, mountainous and
+covered with snow. Biscoe named it Enderby, and made the most strenuous
+efforts to reach it, but it was so completely surrounded with ice that
+he could not succeed. Whilst these attempts were being made a gale of
+wind separated the two vessels and drove them in a south-easterly
+direction, the land remaining in sight, and stretching away from east
+to west for an extent of more than 200 miles. Bad weather, and the
+deplorable state of the health of the crew, compelled Biscoe to make
+for Van Diemen's Land, where he was not rejoined by the _Lively_ until
+some months later.
+
+The explorers had several opportunities of observing the aurora
+australis, to quote from Biscoe's narrative, or rather the account of
+his trip drawn up from his log-book, and published in the journal of
+the Royal Geographical Society. "Extraordinarily vivid coruscations of
+aurora australis (were seen), at times rolling," says Captain Biscoe,
+"as it were, over our heads in the form of beautiful columns, then as
+suddenly changing like the fringe of a curtain, and again shooting
+across the hemisphere like a serpent; frequently appearing not many
+yards above our heads, and decidedly within our atmosphere."
+
+Leaving Van Diemen's Land on the 11th January, 1832, Biscoe and his two
+vessels resumed their voyage in a south-easterly direction. The
+constant presence of floating sea-weed, and the number of birds of a
+kind which never venture far from land, with the gathering of low and
+heavy clouds made Biscoe think he was on the eve of some discovery, but
+storms prevented the completion of his explorations. At last, on the
+12th February, in S. lat. 64 degrees 10 minutes albatrosses, penguins,
+and whales were seen in large quantities; and on the 15th land was seen
+in the south a long distance off. The next day this land was
+ascertained to be a large island, to which the name of Adelaide was
+given, in honour of the Queen of England. On this island were a number
+of mountains of conical form with the base very large.
+
+In the ensuing days it was ascertained that this was no solitary
+island, but one of a chain of islets forming so to speak the outworks
+of a lofty continent. This continent, stretching away for 250 miles in
+an E.N.E. and W.S.W. direction, was called Graham, whilst the name of
+Biscoe was given to the islets in honour of their discoverer. There was
+no trace either of plants or animals in this country.
+
+To make quite sure of the nature of his discovery, Biscoe landed on the
+21st February, on Graham's Land, and determined the position of a lofty
+mountain, to which he gave the name of William, in S. lat. 64 degrees
+45 minutes and W. long. 66 degrees 11 minutes, reckoning from the Paris
+meridian.
+
+To quote from the journal of the Royal Geographical Society,--"The
+place was in a deep bay, in which the water was so still that could any
+seals have been found the vessels could have been easily loaded, as
+they might have been laid alongside the rocks for the purpose. The
+depth of the water was also considerable, no bottom being found with
+twenty fathoms of line almost close to the beach; and the sun was so
+warm that the snow was melted off all the rocks along the water-line,
+which made it more extraordinary that they should be so utterly
+deserted."
+
+From Graham's Land, Biscoe made for the Southern Shetlands, with which
+it seemed possible the former might be connected, and after touching at
+the Falkland Islands, where he lost sight of the _Lively_, he returned
+to England.
+
+As a reward for all he had done, and as an encouragement for the
+future, Biscoe received medals both from the English and French
+Geographical Societies.
+
+Very animated were the discussions which now took place as to the
+existence of a southern continent, and the possibility of penetrating
+beyond the barrier of ice shutting in the adjacent islands. Three
+powers simultaneously resolved to send out an expedition. France
+entrusted the command of hers to Dumont d'Urville; England chose James
+Ross; and the United States, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes.
+
+The last named found himself at the head of a small fleet, consisting
+of the _Porpoise_, two sloops, the _Vincennes_ and the _Peacock_; two
+schooners, the _Sea-Gull_ and the _Flying-Fish_; and a transport ship,
+the _Relief_, which was sent on in advance to Rio with a reserve of
+provisions, whilst the others touched at Madeira, and the Cape Verd
+Islands.
+
+From the 24th November, 1838, to the 6th January, 1839, the squadron
+remained in the bay of Rio de Janeiro, whence it sailed to the Rio
+Negro, not arriving at Port Orange, Tierra del Fuego, until the 19th
+February, 1839.
+
+There the expedition divided, the _Peacock_ and _Flying-Fish_ making
+for the point were Cook crossed S. lat. 60 degrees, and the _Relief_,
+with the naturalists on board, penetrating into the Straits of
+Magellan, by one of the passages south-east of Tierra del Fuego; whilst
+the _Vincennes_ remained at Port Orange; and the _Sea-Gull_ and
+_Porpoise_ started on the 24th February for the Southern Seas. Wilkes
+surveyed Palmer's Land for a distance of thirty miles to the point
+where it turns in a S.S.E. direction, which he called Cape Hope; he
+then visited the Shetlands and verified the position of several of the
+islands in that group.
+
+After passing thirty-six days in these inhospitable regions the two
+vessels steered northwards. A voyage marked by few incidents worthy of
+record brought Wilkes to Callao, but he had lost sight of the
+_Sea-Gull_. The commander now visited the Paumatou group, Otaheite, the
+Society and Navigator's Islands, and cast anchor off Sydney on the 28th
+November.
+
+On the 29th December, 1839, the expedition once more put to sea, and
+steered for the south, with a view to reaching the most southerly
+latitude between E. long 160 degrees and 145 degrees (reckoning from
+Greenwich), bearing east by west. The vessels were at liberty to follow
+out separate courses, a rendezvous being fixed in case of their losing
+sight of each other. Up to January 22nd numerous signs of land were
+seen, and some officers even thought they had actually caught sight of
+it, but it turned out, when the various accounts were compared at the
+trial Wilkes had to undergo on his return, that it was merely through
+the accidental deviation before the 22nd January of the _Vincennes_, in
+a northerly direction, that the English explorers ascertained the
+existence of land. Not until he reached Sydney did Wilkes, hearing that
+D'Urville had discovered land on the 19th January, pretend to have seen
+it on the same day.
+
+[Illustration: Dumont d'Urville.]
+
+These facts are established in a very conclusive article published by
+the hydrographer Daussy in the _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_.
+Further on we shall see that d'Urville actually landed on the new
+continent, so that the honour of being the first to discover it is
+undoubtedly his.
+
+The _Peacock_ and _Flying-Fish_, either because they had sustained
+damages or because of the dangers from the roughness of the sea and
+floating ice, had steered in a northerly direction from the 24th
+January to the 5th February, The _Vincennes_ and _Porpoise_ alone
+continued the arduous voyage as far as E. long. 97 degrees, having land
+in sight for two or three miles, which they approached whenever the ice
+allowed them to do so.
+
+"On the 29th of January," says Wilkes, in his report to the National
+Institution of Washington, "we entered what I have called Piners Bay,
+the only place where we could have landed on the naked rocks. We were
+driven out of it by one of the sudden gales usual in those seas. We got
+soundings in thirty fathoms. The gale lasted thirty-six hours, and
+after many narrow escapes, I found myself some sixty miles W. to
+leeward of this bay. It now became probable that this land which we had
+discovered was of great extent, and I deemed it of more importance to
+follow its trend than to return to Piners Bay to land, not doubting I
+should have an opportunity of landing on some portion of it still more
+accessible; this, however, I was disappointed in, the icy barrier
+preventing our approach, and rendering it impossible to effect.
+
+"Great quantities of ice, covered with mud, rock, and stone, presented
+themselves at the edge of the barrier, in close proximity of the land;
+from these our specimens were obtained, and were quite as numerous as
+could have been gathered from the rocks themselves. The land, covered
+with snow, was distinctly seen in many places, and between them such
+appearances as to leave little or no doubt in my mind of it being a
+continuous line of coast, and deserving the name bestowed upon it of
+the _Antarctic Continent_, lying as it does under that circle. Many
+phenomena were observed here, and observations made, which will be
+found under their appropriate head in the sequel.
+
+"On reaching 97 degrees east, we found the ice trending to the
+northward and continuing to follow it close, we reached to within a few
+miles of the position where Cook was stopped by the barrier in 1773."
+
+Piners Bay, where Wilkes landed, is situated in E. long. 140 degrees
+(reckoning from Paris), that is to say it is identical with the place
+visited by D'Urville on the 21st January. On the 30th January the
+_Porpoise_ had come in sight of D'Urville's two vessels, and approached
+to within speaking distance of them, but they put on all sail and
+appeared anxious to avoid any communication.
+
+On his arrival at Sydney, Wilkes found the _Peacock_ in a state of
+repair and with that vessel he visited New Zealand, Tonga Tabou, and
+the Fiji Islands, where two of the junior officers of the expedition
+were massacred by the natives. The Friendly, Navigator, and Sandwich
+Islands, Admiralty Straits, Puget Sound, Vancouver's Island, the
+Ladrones, Manilla, Sooloo, Singapore, the Sunda Islands, St. Helena,
+and Rio de Janeiro, were the halting places on the return voyage, which
+terminated on the 9th June, 1842, at New York, the explorers having
+been absent three years and ten months altogether.
+
+The results to every branch of science were considerable, and the young
+republic of the United States was to be congratulated on a début so
+triumphant in the career of discovery. In spite, however, of the
+interest attaching to the account of this expedition, and to the
+special treatises by Dana, Gould, Pickering, Gray, Cassin, and
+Brackenbridge, we are obliged to refrain from dwelling on the work done
+in countries already known. The success of these publications beyond
+the Atlantic was, as might be expected in a country boasting of so few
+explorers, immense.
+
+Whilst Wilkes was engaged in his explorations, i.e. in 1839, Balleny,
+captain of the _Elizabeth Scott_, was adding his quota to the survey of
+the Antarctic regions. Starting from Campbell Island, on the south of
+New Zealand, he arrived on the 7th February in S. lat. 67 degrees 7
+minutes, and W. long. 164 degrees 25 minutes, reckoning from the Paris
+meridian. Then bearing west and noting many indications of the
+neighbourhood of land, he discovered two days later a black band in the
+south-west which, at six o'clock in the evening, he ascertained beyond
+a doubt to be land. This land turned out to be three islands of
+considerable size, and Balleny gave them his own name. As may be
+imagined the captain tried to land, but a barrier of ice prevented his
+doing so. All he could manage was the determination of the position of
+the central isle, which he fixed at S. lat. 66 degrees 44 minutes and
+W. long. 162 degrees 25 minutes.
+
+On the 14th February a lofty land, covered with snow, was sighted in
+the W.S.W. The next day there were but ten miles between the vessel and
+the land. It was approached as nearly as possible, and then a boat was
+put off, but a beach of only three or four feet wide with vertical and
+inaccessible cliffs rising beyond it rendered landing impossible, and
+only by getting wet up to their waists were the sailors able to obtain
+a few specimens of the lava characteristic of this volcanic district.
+
+[Illustration: "Only by getting wet up to their waists."]
+
+Yet once more, on the 2nd March in S. lat. 65 degrees and about W.
+long. 120 degrees 24 minutes, land was seen from the deck of the
+_Elizabeth Scott_. The vessel was brought to for the night, and the
+next day an attempt was made to steer in a south-west direction, but it
+was impossible to get through the ice barrier. Naming the new discovery
+Sabrina, Balleny resumed his northerly route without being able further
+to verify his discoveries.
+
+In 1837, just as Wilkes had started on his expedition, Captain Dumont
+d'Urville proposed to the Minister of Marine a new scheme for a voyage
+round the world. The services rendered by him in 1819-21 in a
+hydrographic expedition, in 1822 and 1825 on the _Coquille_, under
+Captain Duperrey, and lastly in 1826-29 on the _Astrolabe_, had given
+him an amount of experience which justified him in submitting his
+peculiar views to the government, and to supplement so to speak the
+mass of information collected by himself and others in these little
+known latitudes.
+
+The minister at once accepted D'Urville's offer, and exerted himself to
+find for him enlightened and trustworthy fellow-workers. Two corvettes,
+the _Astrolabe_ and the _Zelée_, fitted up with everything which French
+experience had proved to be necessary, were placed at his disposal, and
+amongst his colleagues were many who were subsequently to rise to the
+rank of general officers, including Jacquinot, commander of the
+_Zelée_, Coupvent Desbois, Du Bouzet, Tardy de Montravel, and Perigot,
+all well-known names to those interested in the history of the French
+navy.
+
+The instructions given by Vice-Admiral Rosamel to D'Urville differed
+from those of his predecessors chiefly in his being ordered to
+penetrate as near as the ice would permit to the South Pole. He was
+also ordered to complete the great work he had begun in 1827 on the
+Viti Islands, to survey the Salomon archipelago, to visit the Swan
+river of Australia, New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, that part of the
+Caroline group surveyed by Lütke, Mindanao, Borneo, and Batavia, whence
+he was to return to France _viâ_ the Cape of Good Hope.
+
+These instructions concluded in terms proving the exalted ideas of the
+government. "His Majesty," said Admiral de Rosamel, "not only
+contemplates the progress of hydrography and natural science; but his
+royal solicitude for the interests of French commerce and the
+development of the French navy is such as to lead him greatly to extend
+the terms of your commission and to hope for great results from it. You
+will visit numerous places, the resources of which you must study with
+a view to the interests of our whaling-ships, collecting all
+information likely to be of service to them alike in facilitating their
+voyages and rendering those voyages as remunerative as possible. You
+will touch at those ports where commercial relations with us are
+already opened, and where the visit of a state vessel will have
+salutary effects, and at others hitherto closed to our produce and
+about which you may on your return give us some valuable details."
+
+In addition to the personal good wishes of Louis Philippe, D'Urville
+received many marks of the most lively interest taken in his work by
+the _Académie des Sciences morales_ and the Geographical Society, but
+not unfortunately from the _Académie des Sciences_, although he had for
+twenty years been working hard to increase the riches of the Museum of
+Natural History.
+
+"Whether from prejudice or from whatever cause," says D'Urville, "they
+(the members of the _Académie des Sciences_) showed very little
+enthusiasm for the contemplated expedition and their instructions to me
+were as formal as they would have been to a complete stranger."
+
+It is matter of regret that the celebrated Arago, the declared enemy of
+Polar researches, was one of the bitterest opponents of the new
+expedition. This was not, however, the case with various scholars of
+other nationalities, such as Humboldt and Kruzenstern, who wrote to
+congratulate D'Urville on his approaching voyage and on the important
+results to science which might be hoped for.
+
+After numerous delays, resulting from the fitting up of two vessels
+which were to take the Prince de Joinville to Brazil, the _Astrolabe_
+and _Zelée_ at last left Toulon on the 7th September, 1837. The last
+day of the same month they cast anchor off Santa Cruz de Teneriffe
+which D'Urville chose as a halting-place in preference to one of the
+Cape Verd Islands, in the hope of laying in a stock of wine and also of
+being able to take some magnetic observations which he had been blamed
+for neglecting in 1826, although it was well known that he was not then
+in a fit state to attend to such things.
+
+In spite of the eagerness of the young officers to go and enjoy
+themselves on shore they had to submit to a quarantine of four days, on
+account of rumours of cases of plague having occurred in the lazaretto
+of Marseilles. Without pausing to relate the details of Messrs. Du
+Bouzet, Coupvent, and Dumoulin's ascent of the Peak, we will merely
+quote a few enthusiastic remarks of Coupvent Desbois:--
+
+"Arrived," says that officer, "at the foot of the peak, we spent the
+last hour of the ascent in crossing cinders and broken stones, arriving
+at last at the longed-for goal, the loftiest point of this huge
+volcano. The smoking crater presented the appearance of a hollow
+sulphurous semi-circle about 1200 feet wide and 300 feet deep, covered
+with the débris of pumice and other stones. The thermometer, which had
+marked five degrees at ten a.m., got broken through being placed on the
+ground where there was an escape of sulphuric vapour. There are upon
+the sides and in the crater numerous fumerolles which send forth the
+native sulphur, which forms the base of the peak. The rush of the
+vapour is so rapid as to sound like shots from a cannon.
+
+"The heat of the ground is so great in some parts that it is impossible
+to stand on it for a minute at a time. Look around you and see if these
+three mountains piled one upon the other do not resemble a staircase
+built up by giants, on which to climb to heaven. Gaze upon the vast
+streams of lava, all issuing from one point which form the crater, and
+which a few centuries back you could not have trodden upon with
+impunity. See the Canaries in the distance, look down, ye pigmies, on
+the sea, with its breakers dashing against the shores of the island, of
+which you for the moment form the summit!... See for once, as God sees,
+and be rewarded for your exertions, ye travellers, whose enthusiasm for
+the grand scenes of nature has brought you some 12,182 feet above the
+level of the ocean."
+
+We must add that the explorers testified to the brilliancy of the
+stars, as seen from the summit of the peak, the clearness of all
+sounds, and also to the giddiness and headache known as mountain
+sickness. Whilst part of the staff were engaged in this scientific
+excursion, several other officers visited the town, where they noticed
+nothing special except a narrow walk called the Alameda, and the church
+of the Franciscans. The neighbourhood, however, is interesting enough
+on account of the curious aqueducts for supplying the town with water,
+and the Mercede forest which, in D'Urville's opinion, might more justly
+be called a coppice, for it contains nothing but shrubs and ferns. The
+population seemed happy, but extremely lazy; economical, but horribly
+dirty; and the less said about their morals the better.
+
+On the 12th October the two vessels put to sea again, intending to
+reach the Polar regions as soon as possible. Motives of humanity,
+however, determined D'Urville to change his plans and touch at Rio, the
+state of an apprentice with disease of the lungs becoming so rapidly
+worse that a stay in the Arctic regions would probably have been fatal.
+
+The vessels cast anchor in the roadstead, not the Bay of Rio, on the
+13th November, but they only remained there one day, that is to say,
+just long enough to land young Dupare, and to lay in a stock of
+provisions. The southerly route was then resumed.
+
+For a long time D'Urville had wished to explore the Strait of Magellan,
+not with a view to further hydrographical surveys, for the careful
+explorations of Captain King, begun in 1826, had been finished in 1834
+by Fitzroy, leaving little to be done in that direction, but to gather
+the rich and still unappropriated harvest of facts relating to natural
+history. How intensely interesting it was, too, to note how real had
+been the dangers encountered by early navigators, such as the sudden
+veering of the wind, &c. What a good thing it would be to obtain
+further and more detailed information about the famous Patagonians, the
+subject of so many fables and controversies. Yet another motive led
+D'Urville to anchor off Port Famine, rather than off Staten Island. His
+perusal of the accounts of the work of explorers who had penetrated
+into the Southern Seas convinced him that the end of January and the
+whole of February were the best times for visiting these regions, for
+then only are the effects of the annual thaw over, and with them the
+risk of over-fatigue to the crews.
+
+[Illustration: Anchorage off Port Famine.]
+
+This resolution once taken, D'Urville communicated it to Captain
+Jacquinot, and set sail for the strait. On the 12th December Cape
+Virgin was sighted, and Dumoulin, seconded by the young officers, began
+a grand series of hydrographical surveys. In the intricate navigation
+of the strait, D'Urville, we are told, showed equal courage and
+calmness, skill and presence of mind, completely winning over to his
+side many of the sailors, who, when they had seen him going along at
+Toulon when suffering with the gout, had exclaimed, "Oh, that old
+fellow won't take us far!" Now, when his constant vigilance had brought
+the vessels safely out of the strait, the cry was, "The ---- man is
+mad! He's made us scrape against rocks, reefs, and land, as if he had
+never taken a voyage before! And we used to think him as useless as a
+rotten keel!"
+
+We must now say a few words on the stay at Port Famine.
+
+Landing is easy, and there is a good spring and plenty of wood; on the
+rocks are found quantities of mussels, limpets, and whelks, whilst
+inland grows celery, and a kind of herb resembling the dandelion.
+Another fruitful source of wealth in this bay is fish, and whilst the
+vessels were at anchor, drag-nets, trammels, and lines captured enough
+mullet, gudgeon, and roaches to feed the whole crew.
+
+"As I was about to re-embark," says D'Urville, "a little barrel was
+brought to me which had been found hung on a tree on the beach, near a
+post on which was written _Post Office_. Having ascertained that this
+barrel contained papers, I took it on board and examined them. They
+consisted of notes of captains who had passed through the Straits of
+Magellan, stating the time of their visits, the incidents of their
+passage, with advice to those who should come after them, and letters
+for Europe or the United States. It seemed that an American captain,
+Cunningham by name, had been the originator of this open-air
+post-office. He had merely, in April, 1833, hung a bottle on a tree,
+and his fellow-countryman, Waterhouse, had supplemented it by the post
+with its inscription. Lastly, Captain Carrick of the schooner _Mary
+Ann_, from Liverpool, passed through the strait in March 1837, on his
+way to San Blas, California, going through it again a second time on
+his way back on the 29th November, 1837, that is to say, sixteen days
+before our own visit, and he it was who had substituted the barrel for
+the bottle, adding an invitation to all who should succeed him to use
+it as the receptacle of letters for different destinations. I mean to
+improve this ingenious and useful contrivance by forming an actual
+post-office on the highest point of the peninsula with an inscription
+in letters of a size so gigantic as to compel the attention of
+navigators who would not otherwise have touched at Port Famine.
+Curiosity will then probably lead them to send a canoe to examine the
+box, which will be fastened to the post. It seems likely that we shall
+ourselves reap the first fruits of this arrangement, and our families
+will be agreeably surprised to receive news from us from this wild and
+lonely district, just before our plunge into the ice of the Polar
+regions."
+
+At low tide the mouth of the Sedger river, which flows into Famine Bay,
+is encumbered with sand-banks; some 1000 feet further on the plain is
+transformed into a vast marsh, from which rise the trunks of immense
+trees, and huge bones, bleached by the action of time, which have been
+brought down by the heavy rainfall, swelling the course of the stream.
+
+Skirting this marsh is a fine forest, the entrance to which is
+protected by prickly shrubs. The commonest trees are the beech, with
+trunks between eighty and ninety feet high, and three or four in
+diameter; Winteria aromatica, a kind of bark which has long since
+replaced the cinnamon, and a species of Barbary. The largest beeches
+seen by D'Urville measured fifteen feet in diameter, and were about 150
+feet high.
+
+Unfortunately, no mammiferous animals or reptiles, or fresh or salt
+water shell-fish are found on these coasts; and one or two different
+kinds of birds with a few lichens and mosses were all the naturalist
+was able to obtain.
+
+Several officers went up the Sedger in a yawl till they were stopped by
+the shallowness of the water. They were then seven and a half miles
+from the mouth, and they noted the width of the river where it flows
+into the sea to be between ninety and a hundred feet.
+
+"It would be difficult," says M. de Montravel, "to imagine a more
+picturesque scene than was spread out before us at every turn.
+Everywhere was that indescribable wildness which cannot be imitated, a
+confused mass of trees, broken branches, trunks covered with moss,
+which seemed literally to grow before our eyes."
+
+To resume, the stay at Port Famine was most successful; wood and water
+were easily obtained, repairs, &c., were made, horary, physical,
+meteorological, tidal, and hydrographical observations were taken, and,
+lastly, numerous objects of natural history were collected, the more
+interesting as the museums of France hitherto contained nothing
+whatever from these unknown regions beyond "a few plants collected by
+Commerson and preserved in the Herbarium of M. de Jussieu."
+
+On the 28th December, 1837, anchor was weighed without a single
+Patagonian having been seen, although the officers and crew had been so
+eager to make acquaintance with the natives.
+
+The difficulties attending navigation compelled the two corvettes to
+cast anchor a little further on, off Port Galant, the shores of which,
+bordered by fine trees, are cut by torrents resembling a little
+distance off magnificent cascades from fifty to sixty feet high. This
+compulsory halt was not wasted, for a large number of new plants were
+collected, and the port with the neighbouring bays were surveyed. The
+commander, however, finding the season already so far advanced, gave up
+his idea of going out at the westerly end of the strait, and went back
+the way he came, hoping thus to get an interview with the Patagonians
+before going to the Polar regions.
+
+St. Nicholas Bay, called by Bougainville the _Baie des Français_, where
+the explorers passed New Year's Day, 1838, is a much pleasanter looking
+spot than Port Galant. The usual hydrographical surveys were there
+brought to a satisfactory issue by the officers under the direction of
+Dumoulin. A boat was despatched to Cape Remarkable, where Bougainville
+said he had seen fossil shells, which, however, turned out to be
+nothing but little pebbles imbedded in a calcareous gangue.
+
+Interesting experiments were made with the thermometrograph, or marine
+thermometer, at 290 fathoms, without reaching the bottom, at less than
+two miles from land. Whereas the temperature was nine degrees on the
+surface, it was but two at the above-named depth, and as it is scarcely
+likely that currents convey the waters of the two oceans so far down,
+one is driven to the belief that this is the usual temperature of such
+depths.
+
+The vessels now made for Tierra del Fuego, where Dumoulin resumed his
+surveys. Low exposed, and strewn with rocks which serve as landmarks,
+there were but few dangers to be encountered here. Magdalena Island,
+Gente Grande Bay, Elizabeth Island, and Oazy Harbour, where the camp of
+a large party of Patagonians was made out with the telescope, and
+Peckett Harbour, where the _Astrolabe_ struck in three fathoms, were
+successively passed.
+
+"As we struck," says D'Urville, "there were signs of astonishment and
+even of excitement amongst the crew, and some grumbling was already
+audible, when in a firm voice I ordered silence, and without appearing
+at all put out by what had happened, I cried, 'This is nothing at all,
+and we shall have plenty more of the same kind of thing.' Later these
+words often recurred to the memory of our sailors. It is more difficult
+than one would suppose for a captain to maintain perfect calmness and
+impassiveness in the midst of the worst dangers, even those he has
+reason to imagine likely to be fatal."
+
+Peckett Harbour was alive with Patagonians, and officers and men were
+alike eager to land. A crowd of natives on horseback were waiting for
+them at the place of disembarkation.
+
+Gentle and peaceable they readily replied to the questions put to them,
+and looked quietly at everything shown to them, expressing no special
+desire for anything offered to them. They did not seem either to be at
+all addicted to thieving, and when on board the French vessels they
+made no attempt to carry anything off.
+
+Their usual height is from four and a half to five feet, but some are a
+good deal shorter. Their limbs are large and plump without being
+muscular, and their extremities are of extraordinary smallness. Their
+most noteworthy characteristic is the breadth of the lower part of the
+face as compared to the forehead, which is low and retreating. Long
+narrow eyes, high cheek-bones, and a flat nose, give them something of
+a resemblance to the Mongolian type.
+
+They are evidently extremely languid and indolent, and wanting in
+strength and agility. Looking at them squatting down, standing or
+walking, with their long hair flowing down their backs, one would take
+them for the women of a harem rather than savages used to enduring the
+inclemency of the weather and to struggle for existence. Stretched upon
+skins with their dogs and horses about them, their chief amusement is
+to catch the vermin with which they swarm. They hate walking so much
+that they mount horses just to go down and pick up shells on the beach
+a few yards off.
+
+A white man was living amongst these Patagonians; a miserable,
+decrepit-looking fellow, who said he came from the United States, but
+he spoke English very imperfectly, and the explorers took him to be a
+German-Swiss. Niederhauser, so he called himself, had gone to seek his
+fortune in the United States, and that fortune being long on the road,
+he had given ear to the wonderful proposals of a certain whaleman, who
+wanted to complete his crew. By this whaleman he was left with seven
+others and some provisions on a desert island off Tierra del Fuego to
+hunt seals and dress their skins. Four months later the schooner
+returned laden with skins, left the seal-hunters fresh provisions, went
+off again, and never came back! Whether it had been shipwrecked, or
+whether the captain had abandoned his sailors, it was impossible to
+ascertain. When the poor fellows found themselves deserted and their
+provisions exhausted, they embarked in their canoe and rowed up the
+Straits of Magellan, soon meeting with some Patagonians, with whom
+Niederhauser remained, whilst his companions went on. Well received by
+the natives, he lived their life with them, faring well when food was
+plentiful, drawing in his belt and living on roots when food was
+scarce.
+
+Weary, however, of this miserable existence, Niederhauser entreated
+D'Urville to take him on board, urging that another month of the life
+he was leading would kill him. The captain consented, and received him
+as a passenger.
+
+During his three months' residence amongst them, Niederhauser had
+learnt something of the language of the Patagonians, and with his aid
+D'Urville drew up a comparative vocabulary of a great many words in
+Patagonian, French, and German.
+
+The war costume of the Fuegans includes a helmet of tanned leather
+protected by steel-plates and surmounted by a crest of cock's feathers,
+a tunic of ox-hide dyed red with yellow stripes, and a kind of
+double-bladed scimitar. The chief of Peckett Harbour allowed his
+visitors to take his portrait in full martial costume, thereby showing
+his superiority to his subjects, who would not do the same for fear of
+witchcraft.
+
+On the 8th January anchor was finally weighed, and the second entrance
+to the strait was slowly navigated against the tide. The Straits of
+Magellan having now been crossed from end to end, and a survey made of
+the whole of the eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego, thus bridging
+over an important gulf in hydrographic knowledge, no detailed map of
+this coast having previously been made, the vessels steered for the
+Polar regions, doubling Staten Island without difficulty, and on the
+15th January coming in sight of the first ice, an event causing no
+little emotion, for now was to begin the really hard work of the
+voyage.
+
+Floating ice was not the only danger to be encountered in these
+latitudes: a dense fog, which the keenest sight could not penetrate,
+soon gathered about the vessels, paralyzing their movements, and though
+they were under a foresail only, rendering a collision with the
+ice-masses imminent. The temperature fell rapidly, and the
+thermometrograph marked only two degrees on the surface of the sea,
+whilst the deep water was below zero. Half-melted snow now began to
+fall, and everything bore witness that the Antarctic regions were
+indeed entered.
+
+Clarence, New South Orkney Islands, could not be identified. Every
+one's attention had to be concentrated on avoiding blocks of ice. At
+midday on the 20th January the vessels were in S. lat. 62 degrees 3
+minutes and W. long. 49 degrees 56 minutes, not far from the place were
+Powell encountered compact ice-fields, and an immense ice-island was
+soon sighted, some 6000 feet in extent and 300 in height, with
+perpendicular sides greatly resembling land under certain conditions of
+the light. Numerous whales and penguins were now seen swimming about
+the vessels, whilst white petrels continually flew across them. On the
+21st observations gave S. lat. 62 degrees 53 minutes, and D'Urville was
+expecting soon to reach the 65th parallel, when at three a.m. he was
+told that further progress was arrested by an iceberg, across which it
+did not seem possible to cut a passage. The vessels were at once put
+about and slowly steered in an easterly direction, the wind having
+fallen.
+
+"We were thus enabled," says D'Urville, "to gaze at our leisure upon
+the wonderful spectacle spread out before our eyes. Severe and grand
+beyond expression it not only excited the imagination but filled the
+heart with involuntary terror, nowhere else is man's powerlessness more
+forcibly brought before him.... A new world displays itself to him, but
+it is a motionless, gloomy, and silent world, where everything
+threatens the annihilation of human faculties. Should he have the
+misfortune to be left here alone, no help, no consolation, no spark of
+hope, would soothe his last moments. One is involuntarily reminded of
+the famous inscription on the gate of the Inferno of Dante--
+
+  "'Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch' entrate.'"
+
+D'Urville now set to work on a very strange task, which, as compared
+with others of a similar kind, was likely to be of considerable value.
+He had an exact measurement taken of the outlines of the iceberg. Had
+other navigators done the same we should have had some precise
+information as to the direction taken by icebergs, their movements,
+&c., in the southern Polar regions, a subject still wrapped in the
+greatest obscurity.
+
+On the 22nd, after doubling a point, it was ascertained that the
+iceberg was bearing S.S.W. by W. A lofty and broken piece of land was
+sighted in these latitudes. Dumoulin had begun to survey it, and
+D'Urville was about, as he thought, to identify it with the New South
+Greenland of Morrell, when its outlines became dim and it sunk beneath
+the horizon. On the 24th the two corvettes crossed a series of floating
+islets, and entered a plain where the ice was melting. The passage,
+however, became narrower and narrower, and they were obliged to veer
+round, to save themselves from being blocked in.
+
+Everything pointed to the conclusion that the edge of the ice was
+melting, the ice-islands fell apart with loud reports, the ice running
+off in little rivulets: there was undoubtedly a thaw, and Fanning had
+been right in saying that these latitudes should not be visited before
+February.
+
+D'Urville now decided to steer for the north, and try to reach the
+islands of New South Orkney, the map of which had not yet been
+accurately laid down. The commander was anxious to survey that
+archipelago thoroughly, and to spend several days there before resuming
+his southerly course, so as to be in the Antarctic regions at the same
+time of year as Weddell.
+
+For three days the explorer coasted along the southern shores of New
+South Orkney without being able to land; he then once more turned
+southwards, and came in sight of the ice again in S. lat. 62 degrees 20
+minutes and W. long. 39 degrees 28 minutes.
+
+A few minutes before midday a kind of opening was discovered, through
+which the vessels were forced at all risks. This bold manoeuvre was
+successful, and in spite of the heavy snow, the explorers penetrated
+into a small basin scarcely two miles in extent and hemmed in on every
+side by lofty walls of ice. It was decided to make fast to the ice, and
+when the order to cast anchor was given a young middy on board the
+_Zelée_ cried naively, "Is there a port here? I shouldn't have thought
+there were people living on the ice."
+
+Great indeed was now the joyful enthusiasm on both vessels. Some of the
+young officers of the _Zelée_ had come to empty a bowl of punch with
+their comrades of the _Astrolabe_, and the commander could hear their
+shouts of delight from his bed. He himself did not, however, look upon
+the situation in quite the same favourable light. He felt that he had
+done a very imprudent thing. Shut into a _cul-de-sac_, he could only go
+out as he had come, and that he could not do until he had the wind
+right aft. At eleven o'clock D'Urville was awoke by a violent shock,
+accompanied by a noise of breaking, as if the vessel had struck on some
+rocks. He got up, and saw that the _Astrolabe_, having drifted, had
+struck violently against the ice, where she remained exposed to
+collision with the masses of ice which the current was sweeping along
+more rapidly than it did the vessel herself.
+
+When day dawned the adventurers found themselves surrounded by ice, but
+in the north a blackish blue line seemed to betray the existence of an
+open sea. This direction was at once taken, but a thick fog immediately
+and completely enveloped both ships, and when it cleared off they found
+themselves face to face with a compact ice barrier, beyond which
+stretched away as far as the eye could reach AN OPEN SEA!
+
+D'Urville now resolved to cut himself a passage, and began operations
+by dashing the _Astrolabe_ with all possible speed against the
+obstacle. The vessel penetrated two or three lengths into the ice, and
+then remained motionless. The crew climbed out of her on to the ice
+armed with pickaxes, pincers, mattocks, and saws, and merrily
+endeavoured to cut a passage. The fragment of ice was already nearly
+crossed when the wind changed, and the motion of the waves in the
+offing began to be felt, causing the officers to agree in urging a
+retreat into the shelter of the ice-walls, for there was some danger if
+the wind freshened of the vessel being embayed against the ice and
+beaten to pieces by the waves and floating _débris_.
+
+The corvettes had traversed twelve or fifteen miles for nothing, when
+an officer, perched in the shrouds, sighted a passage in the E.N.E.
+That direction was at once taken, but again it was found impossible to
+cut a passage, and when night came the crew had to make the ship fast
+to a huge block of ice. The loud cracking noises which had awoke the
+commander the night before now began with such violence that it really
+seemed impossible for the vessel to live till daylight.
+
+After an interview with the captain of the _Zelée_, however, D'Urville
+made for the north, but the day passed without any change being
+effected in the position of the vessels, and the next day during a
+storm of sleet the swell of the sea became so powerful as completely to
+raise the ice plain in which they were imprisoned.
+
+More careful watch than ever had now to be kept, to guard against the
+pieces of ice flung long distances by this motion, and the rudder had
+to be protected from them by a kind of wooden hut.
+
+[Illustration: "The rudder had to be protected."]
+
+With the exception of a few cases of ophthalmia, resulting from the
+continual glare of the snow, the health of the crews was satisfactory,
+and this was no little satisfaction to the leaders of the expedition,
+compelled as they were to be continually on the _qui-vive_. Not until
+the 9th February were the vessels, favoured by a strong breeze, able to
+get off, and once more enter a really open sea. The ice had been
+coasted for a distance of 225 leagues. The vessels had actually
+sustained no further damage than the loss of a few spars and a
+considerable portion of the copper sheathing, involving no further
+leakage than there had been before.
+
+The next day the sun came out, and observations could be taken, giving
+the latitude as 62 degrees 9 minutes S., and the longitude 39 degrees
+22 minutes W.
+
+Snow continued to fall, the cold was intense, and the wind very violent
+for the three succeeding days. This continuance of bad weather,
+together with the increasing length of the nights, warned D'Urville of
+the necessity of giving up all idea of going further. When, therefore,
+he found himself in S. lat. 62 degrees and W. long. 33 degrees 11
+minutes, in other words in that part of the ocean where Weddell had
+been able to sail freely in 1823, and the new explorer had met with
+nothing but impassable ice, he steered for New South Orkney. A whole
+month passed amongst the ice and fogs of the Antarctic Ocean had told
+upon the health of the crews, and nothing could be gained for science
+by a continuance of the cruise.
+
+On the 20th the archipelago was again sighted, and D'Urville was once
+more driven out of his course in a northerly direction by the ice, but
+he was able to put off with two boats, the crews of which collected on
+Weddell Island a large number of geological specimens, lichens, &c.,
+and some twenty penguins and chionis.
+
+On the 25th February Clarence Island was seen, forming the eastern
+extremity of the New South Shetland Archipelago, a very steep and
+rugged district covered with snow except on the beach, and thence the
+explorers steered towards Elephant Island, resembling Clarence Island
+in every respect, except that it is strewn with peaks rising up black
+against the plains of snow and ice. The islets of Narrow, Biggs,
+O'Brien, and Aspland were successively identified, but covered as they
+are with snow they are perfectly inaccessible to man. The little
+volcano of Bridgeman was also seen, and the naturalists tried in vain
+to land upon it from two boats.
+
+"The general colour of the soil," says the narrative, "is red, like
+that of burnt brick with particles of grey, suggestive of the presence
+of pumice-stone, or of calcined cinders. Here and there on the beach
+are seen great blackish-looking blocks, which are probably lava. This
+islet has, however, only one true crater, although thick columns of
+smoke are emitted from it, nearly all of them issuing from the base on
+the western side, whilst in the north are two other fumerolles, thirty
+or forty feet along the water. There are none on the eastern or
+northern side, or at the top, which is smooth and round. The bulk
+appears recently to have undergone some considerable modification, as
+indeed it must have done, or it could not now resemble so little the
+description given by Powell in December, 1822."
+
+D'Urville soon resumed his southerly route, and on the 27th February
+sighted a considerable belt of land in the south-east on which he was
+prevented from landing by the fog and the continuous fall of very fine
+snow. He was now in the latitude of Hope Island--i.e. in S. lat. 62
+degrees 57 minutes. He approached it very closely, and sighted before
+reaching it a low-lying land, to which he gave the name of Joinville.
+Then further on in the south-west he came to an extensive district
+which he named Louis Philippe, and between the two in a kind of
+channel, encumbered with ice, an island he called Rosamel.
+
+"Now," says D'Urville, "the horizon was so light that we could trace
+all the irregularities of Louis Philippe's Land. We could see it
+stretching away from Mount Bransfield in the north (62 degrees W.
+long.) to the S.S.W., where it faded away on the horizon. From Mount
+Bransfield to the south it is lofty, and of fairly uniform surface,
+resembling a vast, unbroken ice-field. In the south, however, it rises
+in the form of a fine peak (Mount Jacquinot), which is equal perhaps,
+indeed superior, to Bransfield; but beyond this peak it stretches away
+in the form of a mountain chain, ending in the south-west in a peak
+loftier than any of the others. For the rest, the effect of the snow
+and ice, together with the absence of any objects with which they can
+be compared, aid in exaggerating the height of all irregularities, and,
+as a matter of fact, the results of the measurements taken by M.
+Dumoulin showed all these mountains, which then appeared to us gigantic
+and equal to the Alps and Pyrenees at least, to be after all of very
+medium size. Mount Bransfield, for instance, was not more than about
+2068 feet high, Mount Jacquinot 2121 feet, and Mount d'Urville, the
+loftiest of them all, about 3047 feet. Except for the islets grouped
+about the mainland, and a few peaks rising above the snow, the whole
+country is one long series of compact blocks of ice, and it is
+impossible to do more than trace the outlines of this ice-crust, those
+of the land itself being quite indistinguishable."
+
+On the 1st March soundings gave only eighty fathoms with a bottom of
+rock and gravel. The temperature is 1 degree 9 on the surface, and 0
+degree 2 at the bottom of the sea. On the 2nd of March, off Louis
+Philippe's Land, an island was sighted which was named Astrolabe, and
+the day after a large bay, or rather strait, to which the name of
+Orleans Channel was given was surveyed between Louis Philippe's Land,
+and a lofty, rocky belt, which D'Urville took for the beginning of
+Trinity Land, hitherto very inaccurately laid down.
+
+From the 26th February then to the 5th March D'Urville remained in
+sight of the coast, skirting along it a little distance off, but unable
+entirely to regulate his course on account of the incessant fogs and
+rain. Everything bore witness to the setting in of a very decided thaw;
+the temperature rising at midday to five degrees above zero, whilst the
+ice was everywhere melting and running off in little streams of water,
+or falling with a formidable crush into the sea in the form of blocks,
+the wind meanwhile blowing strongly from the west.
+
+All this decided D'Urville against the further prosecution of this
+voyage. The sea was heavy, the rain and fog incessant. It was therefore
+necessary to leave this dangerous coast, and make for the north, where
+on the following day he surveyed the most westerly islands of the New
+Shetland group.
+
+D'Urville next steered for Conception, and very arduous was the voyage
+there, for, in spite of every precaution, the crews of both corvettes,
+especially that of the _Zelée_, were attacked with scurvy. It was now
+that D'Urville measured the heights of some of the waves, with a view
+to the disproving of the charge of exaggeration which had been brought
+against him when he had estimated those he had seen break over Needle
+Bank at a height of between eighty and a hundred feet.
+
+With the help of some of his officers, that there might be no doubt as
+to his accuracy, D'Urville measured some waves of which the vertical
+height was thirty-five feet, and which measured not less than 196-1/2
+feet from the crest to the lowest point, making a total length of 393
+feet for a single wave. These measurements were an answer to the
+ironical assertion of Arago, who, settling the matter in his own study,
+would not allow that a wave could exceed from five to six feet in
+height. One need not hesitate a single moment to accept, as against the
+eminent but impulsive physicist, the measurements of the navigators who
+had made observations upon the spot.
+
+On the 7th April, 1838, the expedition cast anchor in Talcahuano Bay,
+where the rest so sorely needed by the forty scrofulous patients of the
+_Zelée_ was obtained. Thence D'Urville made for Valparaiso, after
+which, having entirely crossed Oceania, he cast anchor on the 1st
+January, 1839, off Guam, arrived at Batina in October, and went thence
+to Hobart's Town, whence, on the 1st January, 1840, he started on a new
+trip in the Antarctic regions.
+
+At this time D'Urville knew nothing either of Balleny's voyage, or of
+the discovery of Sabrina's Land. He merely intended to go round the
+southern extremity of Tasmania with a view to ascertaining beneath
+which parallel he would meet with ice. He was under the impression that
+the space between 120 degrees and 160 degrees E. long. had not yet been
+explored, so that there was still a discovery to be made.
+
+At first navigation was beset with the greatest difficulties. The swell
+was very strong, the currents bore in an easterly direction, the
+sanitary condition of the crews was far from satisfactory, and 58
+degrees S. lat. had not yet been reached when the presence of ice was
+ascertained.
+
+The cold soon became very intense, the wind veered round to the W.N.W.,
+and the sea became calm, a sure indication of the neighbourhood of land
+or of ice. The former was the more generally received hypothesis, for
+the ice-islands passed were too large to have been formed in the open
+ocean. On the 18th January, S. lat. 64 degrees was reached, and great
+perpendicular blocks of ice were met with, the height of which varied
+from ninety to 100 feet, whilst the breadth exceeded 3000.
+
+The next day, January 19th, 1840, a new land was sighted, to which the
+name of Adélie was given. The sun was now burning hot, and the ice all
+seemed to be melting, immense streams running down from the summits of
+the rocks into the sea. The appearance of the land was monotonous,
+covered as it was with snow. It ran from west to east, and seemed to
+slope gradually down to the sea. On the 21st the wind allowed the
+vessels to approach the beach, and deep ravines were soon made out,
+evidently the result of the action of melted snow.
+
+[Illustration: View of Adélie Land. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+[Illustration: Reduced Map of D'Urville's discoveries in the Antarctic
+regions.]
+
+As the ships advanced navigation became more and more perilous, for the
+ice-islands were so numerous that there was hardly a large enough
+channel between them for any manoeuvring.
+
+"Their straight walls," says D'Urville, "rose far above our masts,
+glowering down upon our vessels, which appeared of absurdly small
+dimensions, as compared with their huge masses. The spectacle spread
+out before us was alike grand and terrible. One might have fancied
+oneself in the narrow streets of a city of giants."
+
+[Illustration: "Their straight walls rose far above our masts."]
+
+The corvettes soon entered a huge basin, formed by the coast and the
+ice-islands which had just been passed. The land stretched away in the
+south-east and north-west as far as the eye could reach. It was between
+three and four thousand feet high, but nowhere presented any very
+salient features. In the centre of the vast snow plain rose a few
+rocks. The two captains at once sent off boats with orders to bring
+back specimens which should testify to the discovery made. We quote
+from the account of Du Bouzet, one of the officers told off on this
+important survey.
+
+"It was nearly nine o'clock when to our great delight we landed on the
+western side of the most westerly and loftiest islet. The _Astrolabe_
+boat had arrived one moment before ours, and its crew were already
+clambering up the steep sides of the rock, flinging down the penguins
+as they went, the birds showing no small surprise at being thus
+summarily dispossessed of the island, of which they had been hitherto
+the only inhabitants. I at once sent one of our sailors to unfurl a
+tricolour flag on these territories, which no human creature had seen
+or trod before ourselves. According to the old custom--to which the
+English have clung tenaciously--we took possession of them in the name
+of France, together with the neighbouring coast, which we were
+prevented from visiting by the ice. The only representatives of the
+animal kingdom were the penguins, for in spite of all our researches we
+did not find a single shell. The rocks were quite bare, without so much
+as the slightest sign of a lichen. We had to fall back on the mineral
+kingdom. We each took a hammer and began chipping at the rock, but, it
+being of granite, was so extremely hard that we could only obtain very
+small bits. Fortunately in climbing to the summit of the island the
+sailors found some big pieces of rock broken off by the frost, and
+these they embarked in their boats. Looking closely at them, I noticed
+an exact resemblance between these rocks and the little bits of gneiss
+which we had found in the stomach of a penguin we had killed the day
+before. The little islet on which we landed is part of a group of eight
+or ten of similar character and form; they are between five hundred and
+six hundred yards from the nearest coast. We also noticed on the beach
+several peaks and a cape quite free from snow. These islets, close as
+they are to each other, seem to form a continuous chain parallel with
+the coast, and stretching away from east to west."
+
+On the 22nd and 23rd the survey of this coast was continued; but on the
+second day an iceberg soldered to the coast compelled the vessels to
+turn back towards the north, whilst at the same time a sudden and
+violent snow-storm overtook and separated them. The _Zelée_ especially
+sustained considerable damage, but was able to rejoin her consort the
+next day.
+
+Throughout it all, however, sight of the land had not, so to speak,
+been lost, but on the 29th the wind blew so strongly and persistently
+from the east, that D'Urville had to abandon the survey of Adélie Land.
+It was on this same day that he sighted the vessels of Lieutenant
+Wilkes. D'Urville complains of the discourtesy of the latter, and says
+that his own manoeuvres intended to open communications with them had
+been misunderstood by the Americans.
+
+"We are no longer," he says, "in the days when navigators in the
+interests of commerce thought it necessary carefully to conceal their
+route and their discoveries, to avoid the competition of rival nations.
+I should, on the contrary, have been glad to point out to our emulators
+the result of our researches, in the hope that such information might
+be of use to them and increase our geographical knowledge."
+
+On the 30th January a huge wall of ice was sighted, as to the nature of
+which opinions were divided. Some said it was a compact and isolated
+mass, others--and this was D'Urville's opinion--thought these lofty
+mountains had a base of earth or of rocks, or that they might even be
+the bulwarks of a huge extent of land which they called Clarie. It is
+situated in 128 degrees E. long.
+
+The officers had collected sufficient information in these latitudes to
+determine the position of the southern magnetic pole, but the results
+obtained by them did not accord with those given by Duperrey, Wilkes,
+and Ross.
+
+On the 17th February the two corvettes once more cast anchor off
+Hobart's Town, and on the 25th set sail again for New Zealand, where
+they completed the hydrographical surveys of the _Uranie_. They then
+made for New Guinea, ascertained that it was not separated by a strait
+from the Louisiade Archipelago, surveyed Torres Strait with the
+greatest care, in spite of dangers from currents, coral reefs, &c.;
+arrived at Timor on the 20th, and returned to Toulon on the 8th
+November, after touching at Bourbon and St. Helena.
+
+When the news of the grand discoveries made by the United States
+reached England, a spirit of emulation was aroused, and the learned
+societies decided on sending an expedition to the regions in which
+Weddell and Biscoe had been the only explorers since the time of Cook.
+
+Captain James Clark Ross, who was appointed to the command of this
+expedition, was the nephew of the famous John Ross, explorer of
+Baffin's Bay. Born in 1800, James Ross was a sailor from the age of
+twelve. He accompanied his uncle in 1818 in his first Arctic
+expedition, had taken part under Parry in four expeditions to the same
+latitudes, and from 1829-1833 he had been his uncle's constant and
+faithful companion. Entrusted with the taking of scientific
+observations, he had discovered the north magnetic pole, and he had
+also made a good many excursions across the ice on foot and in sledges.
+He was, therefore, now one of the most experienced of British naval
+officers in Polar expeditions.
+
+[Illustration: Captain John Ross.]
+
+Two vessels, the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_, were entrusted to him, and
+his second in command was an accomplished sailor, Captain Francis
+Rowdon Crozier, companion of Parry in 1824; of Ross in 1835 in Baffin's
+Bay; and the future companion of Franklin in the _Terror_, in his
+search for the north-west passage. It would have been impossible to
+find a braver or more experienced sailor.
+
+The instructions given to James Ross by the Admiralty differed
+essentially from those received by Wilkes and Dumont d'Urville. For the
+latter the exploration of the Antarctic regions was but one incident of
+their voyage round the world, whereas it was the very _raison d'être_
+of Ross's journey. Of the three years he would be away from Europe, the
+greater part was to be spent in the Antarctic regions, and he would
+only leave the ice to repair the damages to his vessels or recruit the
+health of his crew, worn out as they would probably be by fatigue and
+sickness.
+
+The vessels had been equally judiciously chosen, stronger than those of
+D'Urville, they were better fitted to resist the repeated assaults of
+the ice, and their seasoned crews had been chosen from sailors familiar
+with polar navigation.
+
+The _Erebus_ and _Terror_, under the command of Ross and Crozier, left
+England on the 29th September, 1839, and touched successively at
+Madeira, the Cape Verd Islands, St. Helena, and the Cape of Good Hope,
+where numerous magnetic observations were taken.
+
+On the 12th April Ross reached Kerguelen's Island, and there landed his
+instruments. The scientific harvest was abundant. Some fossil trees
+were extracted from the lava of which this island is formed, and some
+rich layers of coal were discovered, which have not yet been worked.
+The 29th was fixed for simultaneous magnetic observations in different
+parts of the globe, and by a singular coincidence some magnetic storms
+such as had already visited Europe, were on this very day observed in
+these latitudes. The instrument registered the same phenomena as at
+Toronto, Canada, proving the vast extent of these meteoric
+disturbances, and the incredible rapidity with which they spread.
+
+On his arrival at Hobart Town, where his old friend John Franklin was
+now governor, Ross heard of the discovery of Adélie and of Clarie Lands
+by the French, and the simultaneous survey of them by Wilkes, who had
+even left a sketch of his map of the coasts.
+
+Ross, however, decided to make for E. long. 170 degrees, because it was
+in that direction that Balleny had found an open sea extending to S.
+lat. 69 degrees. He duly reached first the Auckland and then the
+Campbell Islands, and after having, like his predecessors, tacked about
+a great deal in a sea strewn with ice-islands, he came beyond the
+sixty-third degree to the edge of the stationary ice, and on the 1st
+January, 1841, crossed the Antarctic Circle.
+
+The floating ice did not in any respect resemble that of the Arctic
+regions, as James Ross very soon discovered. It consisted of huge
+blocks, with regular and vertical walls, whilst the ice-fields, less
+compact than those of the north, move about in chaotic confusion,
+looking, to quote Wilkes' imaginative simile, like a heaving land, as
+they alternately break away from each other and reunite.
+
+To Ross the ice barrier did not present so formidable an appearance as
+it had done to the French and Americans. He did not at first venture
+upon it, however, being kept in the offing by storms. Not until the 5th
+January was he able to penetrate to S. lat. 66 degrees 45 minutes, and
+E. long. 174 degrees 16 minutes. Circumstances could not have been more
+favourable, for the sea and wind were both acting upon and loosening
+the ice, and thanks to the strength of his vessels, Ross was able to
+cut a passage. As he advanced further and further southward, the fog
+became denser and the constant snow-storms added to the already serious
+dangers of navigation. Encouraged, however, by the reflection in the
+sky of an open sea, a phenomenon which turned out to be trustworthy, he
+pushed on, and on the 9th January, after crossing 200 miles of ice he
+actually entered that open sea!
+
+On the 11th January land was sighted 100 miles ahead in S. lat. 70
+degrees 47 minutes and E. long. 172 degrees 36 minutes. This, the most
+southern land ever yet discovered, consisted of snow-clad peaks with
+glaciers sloping down to the sea, the peaks rising to a height of from
+nine to twelve thousand feet. This estimate, judging from D'Urville's
+remarks on Graham's Land, may, however, possibly be an exaggerated one.
+Here, there, and everywhere, black rocks rose up from the snow, but the
+coast was so shut in with ice that landing was impossible. This curious
+series of huge peaks received the name of Admiralty chain, and the
+country itself that of Victoria.
+
+[Illustration: Map of Victoria, discovered by James Ross. _Engraved by
+E. Morieu._]
+
+A few little islands were made out in the south-east before the vessels
+left this coast, and on the 12th January the two captains, with some of
+their officers, disembarked on one of the volcanic islets, and took
+possession of it in the name of England. Not the slightest trace of
+vegetation was found upon it.
+
+Ross soon ascertained that the eastern side of this vast land sloped
+towards the south, whilst the northern stretched away to the
+north-west. He, therefore, skirted along the eastern beach, forcing a
+passage in a southerly direction beyond the magnetic pole, which he
+places near S. lat. 76 degrees, and then returning by the west, thus
+entirely circumnavigating his new discovery, which he looked upon as a
+very large island. The mountain chain extends all along the coast. Ross
+gave to the principal peaks the names of Herschell, Whewell,
+Wheatstone, Murchison, and Melbourne. He was unable, however, on
+account of the ever-increasing quantity of ice about the coast, to make
+out the details of its outlines. On the 23rd January the seventy-fourth
+degree, the most southerly latitude ever reached, was passed.
+
+The vessels were now considerably hampered by fogs, southerly gales,
+and violent snow-storms, but they managed to continue their cruise
+along the coast, and on the 27th January the English disembarked on a
+little volcanic island in S. lat. 76 degrees 8 minutes and E. long. 168
+degrees 12 minutes, to which they gave the name of Franklin.
+
+The next day a huge mountain was seen, which rose abruptly to a height
+of 12,000 feet above a far-stretching land. The summit, of regular
+form, and completely covered with snow, was every now and then wrapped
+in a thick cloud of smoke, no less than 300 feet in diameter. Taking
+this diameter as a standard of measure, the height of the cloud, in
+shape like an inverted cone, would be about one-half of it. When this
+cloud of smoke dispersed, a bare crater was discovered, lit up by a
+bright red glow, visible even in broad daylight. The sides of the
+mountain were covered with snow up to the very crater, and it was
+impossible to make out any signs of a flow of lava.
+
+A volcano is always a magnificent spectacle, and the sight of this one
+rising up from amongst the Antarctic ice, and excelling Etna and
+Teneriffe in its marvellous activity, could not fail to make a vivid
+impression upon the minds of the explorers. The name of Erebus was
+given to it, and that of Terror to an extinct crater on the east of it,
+both titles being admirably appropriate.
+
+The two vessels continued their cruise along the northern coast of
+Victoria, until their further passage was barred by a huge mass of ice
+towering 505 feet above their masts. Behind this barrier rose another
+mountain chain, which sunk out of sight in the S.S.E., and to which the
+name of Parry was given. Ross skirted along the ice barrier in an
+easterly direction until the 2nd February, when he reached S. lat. 78
+degrees 4 minutes, the most southerly point attained on this trip,
+during which he had followed the shores of the land he had discovered
+for more than 300 miles. He left it in E. long. 191 degrees 23 minutes.
+
+But for the strong favourable winds which now blew, it seems probable
+that the vessels would never have issued in safety from amongst the
+formidable ice masses through which they finally worked their way at
+the cost of incredible exertions and fatigues, and in face of incessant
+danger.
+
+On the 15th February yet another attempt was made in S. lat. 76 degrees
+to reach the magnetic pole; but further progress was barred by land in
+S. lat. 76 degrees 12 minutes and E. long. 164 degrees, i.e. sixty-five
+ordinary miles from the position assigned to it (the magnetic pole) by
+Ross, and the appearance of this land was forbidding and the sea so
+rough that the explorer gave up all idea of continuing his researches
+on shore.
+
+After identifying the islands discovered in 1839 by Balleny, Ross found
+himself on the 6th March amongst the mountains alluded to by Wilkes.
+
+"On the 4th March," says Ross's narrative, "they recrossed the
+Antarctic Circle, and being necessarily close by the eastern extreme of
+those _patches of land_ which Lieut. Wilkes has called 'the Antarctic
+Continent,' and having reached the latitude on the 5th, they steered
+directly for them; and at noon on the 6th, the ship being exactly over
+the centre of this mountain range, they could obtain no soundings with
+600 fathoms of line; and having traversed a space of eighty miles in
+every direction from this spot, during beautiful clear weather, which
+extended their vision widely around, were obliged to confess that this
+position, at least, of the pseudo-antarctic continent, and the nearly
+200 miles of barrier represented to extend from it, have no real
+existence."[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The Editor of the _Literary Gazette_ adds the following
+note. "Lieutenant Wilkes may have mistaken some clouds or fog-banks,
+which in these regions are very likely to assume the appearance of land
+to inexperienced eyes, for this continent and range of lofty mountains.
+If so, the error is to be regretted, as it must tend to throw discredit
+on other portions of his discoveries, which have a more substantial
+foundation."--_Trans._]
+
+The expedition got back to Tasmania without having a single case of
+sickness on board or sustaining the slightest damage. The vessels were
+here refitted, and the instruments regulated before starting on a
+second trip, on which Sydney and Island's Bay, New Zealand, and
+Chatham, were the first stations touched at by Ross to make magnetic
+observations. On the 18th December, in S. lat. 62 degrees 40 minutes
+and E. long, 146 degrees, ice was encountered 300 miles further north
+than in the preceding year. The vessels had arrived too early, but
+Ross, nevertheless, endeavoured to break through this formidable
+barrier. After penetrating for 300 miles he was stopped by masses so
+compact that it was impossible to go further, and he did not cross the
+Antarctic Circle until the 1st January, 1842. On the 19th of the same
+month the two vessels encountered the most violent storm just as they
+were entering an open sea; the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ lost their helms,
+floating ice washed over them, and for twenty-six hours they were in
+danger of going down.
+
+The detention of the expedition amongst the ice lasted no less than
+forty-six days, and not until the 22nd did Ross reach the great barrier
+of stationary ice, which was considerably lower beyond Erebus, where it
+was no less than 200 feet high. When Ross came to it this year it was
+only 107 feet high, and it was 150 miles further east than it had been
+on the previous expedition. The acquisition of this piece of
+geographical information was the only result of this arduous campaign,
+extending over 136 days, and greatly excelling in dramatic interest the
+preceding expedition.
+
+The vessels now made for Cape Horn, and sailed up the coast as far as
+Rio de Janeiro, where they found everything of which they stood in
+need. As soon as they had laid in a stock of provisions they again put
+to sea and reached the Falkland Islands, whence, on the 17th December,
+1842, they started on their third trip.
+
+The first ice was this time met with near Clarence Island, and on the
+25th December Ross found his further progress barred by it. He then
+made for the New Shetland Islands, completed the survey of Louis
+Philippe and Joinville Lands, discovered by Dumont d'Urville, named
+Mts. Haddington and Parry, ascertained that Louis Philippe's Land is
+only a large island, and visited Bransfield Strait, separating it from
+Shetland. Such were the marvellous results obtained by James Ross in
+his three expeditions.
+
+To assign to the three explorers, whose work in the Antarctic regions
+we have been reviewing, his just meed of praise, we may say that
+D'Urville first discovered the Antarctic continent; Wilkes traced its
+shores for a considerable distance, for we cannot fail to recognize the
+resemblance between his map and that of the French navigator; and that
+James Ross visited the most southerly and most interesting part.
+
+But is there such a continent after all? D'Urville was not quite sure
+about it, and Ross did not believe in it. We must leave the decision of
+this great question to the later explorers who were to follow in the
+footsteps of the intrepid sailors whose voyages and discoveries we have
+related.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+THE NORTH POLE.
+
+Anjou and Wrangell--The "polynia"--John Ross's first expedition--
+Baffin's Bay closed--Edward Parry's discoveries on his first voyage--
+The survey of Hudson's Bay, and the discovery of Fury and Hecla
+Straits--Parry's third voyage--Fourth voyage--On the ice in sledges in
+the open sea--Franklin's first trip--Incredible sufferings of the
+explorers--Second expedition--John Ross--Four winters amongst the ice--
+Dease and Simpson's expedition.
+
+
+We have more than once alluded to the great impulse given to
+geographical science by Peter I. One of the earliest results of this
+impulse was the discovery by Behring of the straits separating Asia
+from America, and the most important was the survey thirty years later
+of the Liakhov Archipelago, or New Siberia.
+
+In 1770 a merchant named Liakhov noticed a large herd of reindeer
+coming across the ice from the north, and he reflected that they could
+only have come from a country where there were pastures enough to
+support them. A month later he started in a sledge, and after a journey
+of fifty miles he discovered between the mouths of the Lena and
+Indighirka three large islands, the vast deposits of fossil ivory on
+which have since become celebrated all over the world.
+
+In 1809 Hedenstroem received instructions to make a map of this new
+discovery. He made several attempts to cross the frozen ocean on a
+sledge, but was always turned back by ice which would not bear him. He
+came to the conclusion that there must be an open sea beyond, and he
+founded this opinion on the immense quantity of warm water which flows
+into the Arctic Ocean from the great rivers of Asia.
+
+In March, 1821, Lieutenant (afterwards Admiral) Anjou crossed the ice
+to within forty-two miles of the north of the island of Kotelnoï, and
+in N. lat. 76 degrees 38 minutes saw a vapour which led him to believe
+in the existence of an open sea. In a second trip he actually saw this
+sea with its drifting ice, and came back convinced of the impossibility
+of going further in a sledge on account of the thinness of the ice.
+
+Whilst Anjou was thus employed, another naval officer, Lieutenant
+Wrangell, collected some important traditions about the existence of
+land the other side of Cape Yakan.
+
+From a Tchouktchi chief he learnt that in fine weather--though never in
+the winter--from the coast and some reefs at the mouth of a river
+mountains covered with snow could be seen far away in the north; and
+that in former days when the sea was frozen over reindeer used to come
+from there. The chief had himself once seen a herd of reindeer on their
+way back to the north by this route and he had followed them in a
+sledge for a whole day until the state of the ice compelled him to give
+up the experiment.
+
+His father had told him, too, that a Tchouktchi had once gone there
+with a few companions in a skin boat, but he did not know what they had
+discovered or what had become of them. He was sure that the land in the
+north was inhabited, because a dead whale had once been washed on to
+Aratane Island with spears tipped with slate in its flesh, and the
+Tchouktchis never used such weapons.
+
+These facts were very curious, and they increased Wrangell's desire to
+penetrate to the unknown northern districts; but the truth of all the
+rumours was not verified until our own day.
+
+Between 1820 and 1824 Wrangell made four expeditions in sledges from
+the mouth of the Kolyma, which he made his headquarters, first
+exploring the coast to Cape Tchelagskoi, and enduring thirty-five
+degrees of cold; and in his second trip trying how far he could go
+across the ice, an experiment resulting in a journey of 400 miles from
+the land. In the third year (1822), Wrangell started in March with a
+view to verifying the report of a native who said he had seen land in
+the offing. He now came to an icefield, on which he advanced safely for
+a long distance, when it began to be less compact and was soon not
+solid enough to bear many sledges, so two small ones were selected, on
+which were packed a wherry, some planks, and some tools. The explorer
+then ventured on some melting ice which broke under his feet.
+
+[Illustration: "Two small sledges were selected."]
+
+"At the outset," says Wrangell, "I had to make way for seven wersts
+across a bed of brine; further on appeared a surface furrowed with
+great _crevasses_, which we could only succeed in clearing by the help
+of our planks. I noticed in this part several small mounds of ice in
+such a liquefying condition that the slightest touch would suffice to
+break it and convert the mound into a round slough. The ice upon which
+we were travelling was without consistency, was but a foot in
+thickness, and--what was more--was riddled with holes.... I could only
+compare the appearance of the sea, at this stage, to an immense morass;
+and indeed the muddy water which issued from these thousands of
+crevasses, opening up in every direction, the melting snow mixed with
+earth and sand, those little mounds whence numerous streamlets were
+issuing,--all these combined to make the illusion perfect."
+
+Wrangell had advanced some 140 miles, and it was the open sea or the
+_polynia_--as he calls vast expanses of water--north of Siberia, the
+outskirts of which he had reached, the same in fact as that already
+sighted by Leontjew in 1764, and Hedenstroem in 1810.
+
+On his fourth voyage Wrangell and his small party of followers started
+from Cape Yakan, the nearest point to the Arctic regions, and, after
+passing Cape Tchelagskoi, made for the north; but a violent storm broke
+up the ice, there only three feet thick, and involved the explorers in
+the greatest danger. Now dragged across some large unbroken slab, now
+wet to the waist on a moving plank, sometimes above and sometimes under
+water, or moored to a block serving as a ferryboat, which the swimming
+dogs dragged along, they at last succeeded in crossing the shifting
+reverberating ice and regaining the land, owing their life to the
+strength and agility of their teams of dogs alone. Thus closed the last
+attempt made to reach the districts north of Siberia.
+
+The Arctic calotte[1] was meanwhile being attacked from the other side
+with equal energy and yet more perseverance. It will be remembered with
+what untiring enthusiasm the famous north-west passage had been sought.
+No sooner had the peace of 1815 necessitated the disarmament of
+numerous English vessels and set free their officers on half-pay, than
+the Admiralty, unwilling to let experienced seamen rust in idleness,
+sought for them some employment. It was under these circumstances that
+the search for the north-west passage was resumed.
+
+[Footnote 1: The word _calotte_ here used by Verne is untranslateable.
+It signifies, literally, a particular kind of cap, frequently a monk's
+cap or cowl.--_Trans._]
+
+The _Alexander_, 252 tons, and the _Isabel_, 385, under command of the
+experienced officers, John Ross and Lieutenant Parry, with James Ross,
+Back, and Belcher, who were to win honour in Arctic explorations
+amongst their subordinates, were sent by the Government to explore
+Baffin's Bay and set sail on the 18th April. After touching at the
+Shetland Islands, and seeking in vain for the submerged land seen by
+Bass in N. lat. 57 degrees 28 minutes, the explorers came on the 26th
+May to the first ice, and on the 2nd June surveyed the western coast of
+Greenland, hitherto very imperfectly laid down in maps, finding it
+greatly encumbered by ice. Indeed the governor of the Dutch settlement
+of Whale Island told them that the severity of the winter months had
+been steadily increasing during the eleven years of his residence in
+the country.
+
+Hitherto it had been supposed that the country was uninhabited beyond
+75 degrees N. lat., and the travellers were therefore greatly surprised
+to see a whole tribe of Esquimaux arrive by way of the ice. They knew
+nothing of any race but their own, and stared at the English without
+daring to touch them, one of them even addressing to the vessels in a
+grave and solemn voice the inquiries, Who are you? Whence do you come?
+From the sun or from the moon?
+
+[Illustration: Esquimaux family. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Although in many respects far inferior to the Esquimaux who had become
+to some extent civilized by long intercourse with Europeans, the
+new-comers understood the use of iron, of which a few of them had even
+succeeded in making knives. This iron as far as the English could
+gather was dug out of a mountain. It was probably of meteoric origin.
+
+As public opinion in England subsequently confirmed, Ross, in spite of
+qualities as a naval officer of the highest order, showed extraordinary
+apathy and levity on this voyage, appearing not to trouble himself in
+the least about the geographical problems for the solution of which the
+expedition was organized. He passed Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds and
+Smith's Strait, opening out of Baffin's Bay, without examining them,
+the last named at so great a distance that he did not even recognize
+it. Still worse than that was his conduct later. Cruising down the
+western shores of Baffin's Bay a long deep gulf no less than fifty
+miles across gradually came in sight of the eager explorers, yet when
+on the 29th August the two vessels had sailed up it for thirty miles
+only Ross gave orders to tack about, on the ground that he distinctly
+saw at the further end a chain of lofty mountains to which he gave the
+name of Croker. His officers did not share his opinion; they could not
+see so much as the slightest sign of a hill, for the very excellent
+reason that the gulf they had entered was really Lancaster Sound, so
+named by Baffin, and connecting his bay with the western Arctic Ocean.
+
+The same sort of thing occurred again and again in the voyage along
+this deeply indented coast, the vessels keeping so far off shore that
+not a detail could be made out. Thus it came about that Cumberland Bay
+was passed on the 1st October without any survey of that most important
+feature of Davis Strait, and Ross returned to England, having literally
+turned his back on the glory awaiting him.
+
+When accused of apathy and neglect of duty, Ross replied with supreme
+indifference, "I trust, as I believe myself, that the objects of the
+voyage have been in every important point accomplished; that I have
+proved the existence of a bay, from Disco to Cumberland Strait, and set
+at rest for ever the question of a north-west passage in this
+direction."
+
+It would have been impossible to make a more complete mistake. But
+fortunately the failure of this expedition did not in the least
+discourage other explorers. Some saw in it a brilliant confirmation of
+the venerable Baffin's discovery, others looked upon the innumerable
+inlets, with their deep waters and strong currents, as something more
+than mere bays. They were straits, and all hope of the discovery of the
+north-west passage was not yet lost.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Arctic Regions. _Engraved by E. Morieu._]
+
+These suggestions so far weighed with the English Admiralty as to lead
+to the equipment of two small vessels, the bomb-vessel _Hecla_ and the
+brigantine _Griper_, which left the Thames on the 5th May, 1819, under
+command of Lieutenant William Parry, whose opinion as to the existence
+of the north-west passage had not coincided with that of his chief. The
+vessels reached Lancaster Sound without meeting with any special
+adventures, and after a delay of seven days amongst the ice which
+encumbered the sea for a distance of eighty miles, they entered the
+supposed Bay "shut in by a mountain chain" of John Ross, to find not
+only that this mountain chain did not exist, but that the bay was a
+strait more than 310 fathoms deep, where the influence of the tide
+could be felt. The temperature of the water rose some ten degrees, and
+in the course of a single day no less than eighty full-grown whales
+were seen.
+
+On the 31st July the explorers landed on the shores of Possession Bay,
+visited by them the previous year, and found there their own
+footprints, a sign of the small quantity of snow and hoar frost which
+had fallen during the winter. All hearts beat high when with a
+favourable wind and all sails set the two vessels entered Lancaster
+Sound.
+
+"It is more easy," says Parry, "to imagine than to describe the almost
+breathless anxiety which was now visible in every countenance, while,
+as the breeze continued to a fresh gale, we ran quickly up the sound.
+The mast-heads were crowded by the officers and men during the whole
+afternoon; and an unconcerned observer, if any could have been
+unconcerned on such an occasion, would have been amused by the
+eagerness with which the various reports from the crow's-nest were
+received; all, however, hitherto favourable to our most sanguine
+hopes."
+
+The two coasts extended in a parallel line as far as the eye could
+reach, that is to say for a distance exceeding fifty miles, and the
+height of the waves together with the absence of ice combined to
+convince the English that they had reached the open sea by way of the
+long sought passage, when an island framed in masses of ice checked
+their further progress.
+
+An arm of the sea, however, some twelve leagues wide, opened on the
+south, and by it the explorers hoped to find a passage less encumbered
+with ice. Strange to say, as they had advanced in a westerly direction
+through Lancaster Sound, the vibrations of the pendulum had increased,
+whilst now it appeared to have lost all motion, and "we now therefore
+witnessed for the first time the curious phenomenon of the directive
+power of the needle becoming so weak as to be completely overcome by
+the attraction of the ship; so that the needle might now be properly
+said to point to the north pole of the ship."
+
+The arm of the sea widened as the vessels advanced in a westerly
+direction, and the shores seemed to bend sensibly towards the
+south-west, but after making some 120 miles further progress was again
+barred by ice. The explorers therefore returned to Barrow's Strait, of
+which Lancaster Sound is but the entry, and once more entered the sea,
+now free from the ice, by which it had been encumbered a few days
+previously.
+
+In W. long. 92 degrees 1 minute 4 seconds was discovered an inlet
+called Wellington Channel, about eight leagues wide, entirely free from
+ice and apparently not bounded by any land. The existence of these
+numerous straits led the explorers to the conclusion that they were in
+the midst of a vast archipelago, an opinion daily receiving fresh
+confirmation. The dense fogs, however, made navigation difficult, and
+the number of little islands and shallows increased whilst the ice
+became more compact. Parry, however, was not to be deterred from
+pressing on towards the west, and presently his sailors found, on a
+large island, to which the name of Bathurst was given, the remains of
+some Esquimaux huts and traces of the former presence of reindeer.
+Magnetic observations were now taken, pointing to the conclusion that
+the magnetic pole had been passed on the north.
+
+Another large island, that of Melville, soon came in sight, and in
+spite of the fogs and ice the expedition succeeded in passing W. long.
+110 degrees, thus earning the reward of 100_l_. sterling promised by
+the English Government. A promontory near Melville Island was named
+Cape Munificence, whilst a good harbour close by was called Hecla and
+Griper Bay. It was in Winter Harbour at the end of this bay that the
+vessels passed the winter. "Dismantled for the most part," says Parry,
+"the yards however being laid for walls and roofed in with thick
+wadding tilts, they were sheltered from the snow, whilst stoves and
+ovens were fixed inside." Hunting was useless, and resulted in nothing
+but the frost-biting of the limbs of some of the hunters, as Melville
+Island was deserted at the end of October by all animals except wolves
+and foxes. To get through the long winter without dying of ennui was no
+easy matter, but the officers hit upon the plan of setting up a
+theatre, the first representation in which was given on the 6th
+November, the day of the disappearance of the sun for three months. A
+special piece was given on Christmas day, in which allusion was made to
+the situation of the vessels, and a weekly paper was started called the
+_North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle_, which with Sabine, as
+editor, run into twenty-one numbers, all printed on the return to
+Europe of the expedition.
+
+In January scrofula broke out, and with such virulence as to cause
+considerable alarm, but the evil was soon checked by skilful treatment
+and the daily distribution of mustard and cress, which Parry had
+managed to grow in boxes round his stove.
+
+On the 7th February the sun reappeared, and although many months must
+elapse before it would be possible to leave Melville Island,
+preparations for a start were at once begun. On the 30th April the
+thermometer rose to zero, and the sailors taking this low temperature
+for summer wanted to leave off their winter clothes. The first
+ptarmigan appeared on the 12th May, and on the following day were seen
+traces of reindeer and of musk goats on their way to the north; but
+what caused the greatest delight and surprise to the crews was the fall
+of rain on the 24th May.
+
+"We had been so unaccustomed to see water naturally in a fluid state at
+all, and much less to see it fall from the heavens, that such an
+occurrence became a matter of considerable curiosity, and I believe
+every person on board hastened on deck to witness so interesting as
+well as novel a phenomenon."
+
+[Illustration: Rain as a novel phenomenon.]
+
+During the first fortnight in June, Parry, accompanied by some of his
+officers, made an excursion to the most northerly part of Melville
+Island. On his return, vegetation was everywhere to be seen, the ice
+was beginning to melt, and it was evident that a start could soon be
+made. The vessels began to move on the 1st August, but the ice had not
+yet broken up in the offing, and they got no further than the eastern
+extremity of Melville Island, of which the furthest point reached by
+Parry was in N. lat. 113 degrees 46 minutes 13 seconds and W. long. 113
+degrees 46 minutes 43 seconds. The voyage back was unmarked by any
+special incident, and the expedition got back to England towards the
+middle of November.
+
+The results of this voyage were numerous and important. Not only had a
+vast extent of the Arctic regions been surveyed; but physical and
+magnetic observations had been taken, and many new details collected on
+their climate and animal and vegetable life. In fact in a single trip
+Parry did more than was accomplished in thirty years by all who
+followed in his steps.
+
+Satisfied with the important results obtained by him, the Admiralty
+appointed Parry to the command in 1821 of the _Hecla_ and the _Fury_,
+the latter built on the model of the former. On this new trip the
+explorer surveyed with the greatest care the shores of Hudson's Bay and
+the coast of the peninsula of Melville, not to be confounded with the
+island of the same name. The winter was passed on Winter Island on the
+eastern coast of this peninsula, and the same amusements were resorted
+to which had succeeded so well on the previous expedition, supplemented
+most effectively by the arrival on the 1st February of a party of
+Esquimaux from across the ice. Their huts, which had not been
+discovered by the English, were built on the beach; and numerous visits
+paid to them during the eighteen months passed on Winter Island gave a
+better notion than had ever before been obtained of the manners,
+customs, character, &c., of this singular people.
+
+The thorough survey of the Straits of Fury and Hecla, separating the
+peninsula of Melville from Cockburn Island, involved the passing of a
+second winter in the Arctic regions, and though the quarters were now
+more comfortable, time dragged heavily, for the officers and men were
+dreadfully disappointed at having to turn back just as they had thought
+to start for Behring's Strait. On the 12th August the ice broke up, and
+Parry wanted to send his men to Europe, and himself complete by land
+the exploration of the districts he had discovered, but Captain Lyon
+dissuaded him from a plan so desperate. The vessels therefore returned
+to England with all hands after an absence of twenty-seven months,
+having lost but five men, although two consecutive winters had been
+spent in the Arctic regions.
+
+Although the results of the second voyage were not equal to those of
+the first, some of them were beyond price. It was now known that the
+American coast did not extend beyond the 70 degrees N. lat., and that
+the Atlantic was connected with the Arctic Ocean by an immense number
+of straits and channels, most of them--the Fury, Hecla, and Fox, for
+instance--obstructed with ice brought down by the currents. Whilst the
+ice barrier on the south-east of Melville Peninsula appeared permanent,
+that at Regent's Inlet was evidently the reverse. It might, therefore,
+be possible to penetrate through it to the Polar basin, and it was with
+this end in view that the _Fury_ and _Hecla_ were once more equipped,
+and placed under the orders of Parry.
+
+This voyage was the least fortunate of any undertaken by this skilful
+seaman, not on account of any falling off in his work, but because he
+was the victim of unlucky accidents and unfavourable circumstances.
+Meeting, for instance, with an unusual quantity of ice in Baffin's Bay,
+he had the greatest trouble to reach Prince Regent's inlet. Had he
+arrived three weeks earlier he would probably have been able to land on
+the American coast, but as it was he was obliged to make immediate
+preparations for going into winter-quarters.
+
+It was no very formidable matter to this experienced officer to spend a
+winter under the Polar circle. He knew what precautions to take to
+preserve the health of his crews, to keep himself well, and what
+occupations and amusements would best relieve the tedium of a three
+months' night. Races between the officers, masquerades and theatrical
+entertainments, with the temperature maintained at 50 degrees
+Fahrenheit kept all the men healthy and happy until the thaw, which set
+in on the 20th July, 1825, enabled Parry to resume exploring
+operations.
+
+He now skirted along the eastern coast of Prince Regent's Inlet, but
+the floating ice gathered about the vessels and drove them on shore.
+The _Fury_ was so much damaged that though four pumps were constantly
+at work she could hardly be kept afloat, and Parry was trying to get
+her repaired under shelter of a huge block of ice when a tempest came
+on, broke in pieces the extemporary dock and flung the vessel again
+upon the shore, where she had to be abandoned. Her crew were received
+on the _Hecla_, which, after such an accident as this, was of course
+obliged to return to England.
+
+Parry's tempered spirit was not broken even by this last disaster. If
+the Arctic Ocean could not be reached from Baffin's Bay, were there not
+other routes still to be attempted? The vast tract of ocean between
+Greenland and Spitsbergen, for instance, might turn out less dangerous,
+freer as it of necessity would be from the huge icebergs which gather
+about the Arctic coasts. The earliest expeditions in these latitudes of
+which we have any record are those of Scoresby, who long cruised about
+them in search of whales. In 1806 he penetrated in E. long. 16 degrees
+(reckoning from Paris), beyond Spitzbergen, i.e. to N. lat. 81 degrees
+30 minutes, where he saw ice stretching away in the E.N.E., whilst
+between that and the S.E. the sea was open for a distance of thirty
+miles. There was no land within 100 miles. It seems a matter of regret
+that the whaler did not take advantage of the favourable state of the
+sea to have advanced yet further north, when he might have made some
+important discovery, perhaps even have reached the Pole itself.
+
+Parry now resolved to do what the exigencies of his profession had
+rendered impossible to Scoresby, and leaving London on the _Hecla_ on
+the 27th March, 1827, he reached Lapland in safety, and having at
+Hammerfest embarked dogs, reindeer, and canoes, he proceeded on his way
+to Spitzbergen. Port Snweerenburg, where he wished to touch, was still
+shut in with ice; and against this barrier the _Hecla_ struggled until
+the 24th May, when Parry left her in Hinlopen Strait, and advanced
+northwards with Ross, Crozier, a dozen men, and provisions for
+seventy-two days in a couple of canoes. After leaving a depôt of
+provisions at Seven Islands he packed his food and boats on sledges
+specially constructed for the occasion, hoping to cross in them the
+barrier of solid ice, and to find beyond a navigable if not an entirely
+open sea. The ice did not, however, as Parry expected, turn out to form
+a homogeneous mass. There were here and there vast gaps to be forded or
+steep hills to be climbed, and in four days the explorers only advanced
+about eight miles in a northerly direction. On the 2nd July, in a dense
+fog, the thermometer marked 1 degree 9' above zero in the shade, and 8
+degrees 3' in the sun; and as may be imagined the march across the
+broken surface, gaping everywhere with fissures, was terribly arduous,
+whilst the difficulties were aggravated by the continual glare from the
+snow and ice. In spite, however, of all obstacles the party pressed
+bravely on, and on the 20th July found they had got no further than N.
+lat. 82 degrees 37 minutes, i.e. only about five miles beyond the point
+reached three days previously. Now, as they had undoubtedly made at
+least about fourteen miles in the interval, it was evident that the ice
+on which they were was being drifted southwards by a strong current.
+
+Parry at first concealed this most discouraging fact from his men; but
+it soon became evident to every one that no progress was being made,
+but the slight difference between their own speed as they struggled
+over the many obstacles in their path and that of the current bearing
+the ice-field in the opposite direction. Moreover, the expedition now
+came to a place where the half-broken ice was not fit to bear the
+weight of the men or of the sledges. It was in fact nothing more than
+an immense accumulation of blocks of ice, which, tossed about by the
+waves, made a deafening noise as they crashed against each other;
+provisions too were running short, the men were discouraged, Ross was
+hurt, Parry was suffering from inflammation of the eyes, and the wind
+had veered into a contrary direction, driving the explorers southwards.
+There was nothing for it but to turn back.
+
+This venturesome trip, throughout which the thermometer had not sunk
+beneath 2 degrees 2, might have succeeded had it been undertaken a
+little earlier in the season, for then the explorers could have
+penetrated beyond 82 degrees 4 minutes. In any case they would
+certainly not have had to turn back on account of rain, snow, and damp,
+all signs of the summer thaw.
+
+When Parry got back to the _Hecla_, he found that she had been in the
+greatest danger. Driven before a violent gale, her chains had been
+broken by the ice, and she had been flung upon the beach, and run
+aground. When got off, she had been taken to Waygat Strait. All dangers
+past, however, the explorers got back safely in the rescued vessel to
+the Orkneys, where they landed, and whence they returned to London,
+arriving there on the 30th September.
+
+Whilst Parry was seeking a passage to the Pacific, by way of Baffin's
+or Hudson's Bay, several expeditions were organized to complete the
+discoveries of Mackenzie, and survey the North American coast. These
+expeditions were not fraught with any great danger, and the results
+might be of the most vital importance alike to geographical and
+nautical science. The command of the first was entrusted to Franklin
+afterwards so justly celebrated, with whom were associated Dr.
+Richardson, George Back, then a midshipman in the royal navy, and two
+common seamen.
+
+The explorers arrived on the 30th August at York Factory on the shores
+of Hudson's Bay, and having obtained from the fur-hunters all the
+information necessary to their success, they started again on the 9th
+September, reaching Cumberland House, 690 miles further, on the 22nd
+October. The season was now nearly at an end, but Franklin and Back
+nevertheless succeeded in penetrating to Fort Chippeway on the western
+side of Lake Athabasca, where they proposed making preparations for the
+expedition of the ensuing summer. This trip of 857 miles was
+accomplished in the depth of winter with the thermometer at between 40
+degrees and 50 degrees below zero.
+
+Early in spring, Dr. Richardson joined the rest of the party at Fort
+Chippeway, and all started together on the 18th July, 1820, in the hope
+of reaching comfortable quarters at the mouth of the Coppermine before
+the bad season set in; Franklin and his people did not, however, make
+sufficient allowance for the difficulties of the route or for the
+obstacles resulting from the severity of the weather, and it took them
+till the 20th August to cross the waterfalls, shallows, lakes, rivers,
+and portages which impeded their progress. Game too was scarce. At the
+first appearance of ice on the ponds the Canadian guides began to
+complain; and when flocks of wild geese were seen flying southwards
+they refused to go any further. Annoyed as he was at this absence of
+good will in the people in his service, Franklin was compelled to give
+up his schemes, and when 550 miles from Fort Chippeway, in N. lat. 64
+degrees 28 minutes, W. long. 118 degrees 6 minutes, he built on the
+banks of Winter River a wooden house, which he called Fort Enterprise.
+
+Here the explorers collected as much food as they could, manufacturing
+with reindeer flesh what is known throughout North America as
+_pemmican_. At first the number of reindeer seen was considerable; no
+less than 2000 were once sighted in a single day, but this was only a
+proof that they were migrating to more clement latitudes. The
+_pemmican_ prepared from eighty reindeer and the fish obtained in
+Winter River both run short before the expedition was able to proceed.
+Whole tribes of Indians, on hearing of the arrival of the whites,
+collected about the camp, greatly harassing the explorers by their
+begging, and soon exhausted the supply of blankets, tobacco, &c., which
+had been brought as means of barter.
+
+Disappointed at the non-arrival of reinforcements with provisions,
+Franklin sent Back with an escort of Canadians to Fort Chippeway on the
+18th October.
+
+"I had the pleasure," says Back, writing after his return, "of meeting
+my friends all in good health, after an absence of nearly five months,
+during which I travelled 1104 miles in snow-shoes, and had no other
+covering at night in the woods than a blanket and deerskin, with the
+thermometer frequently at 40 degrees, and once at 57 degrees below
+zero, and sometimes passing two or three days without tasting food."
+
+Those who remained at the fort also suffered terribly from cold, the
+thermometer sinking three degrees lower than it had done when Parry was
+at Melville Island, nine degrees nearer the pole. Not only did the men
+suffer from the extreme severity of the cold, but the trees were frozen
+to the pith, and axes broke against them without making so much as a
+notch.
+
+Two interpreters from Hudson's Bay had accompanied Back to Fort
+Enterprise, one of whom had a daughter said to be the loveliest
+creature ever seen, and who, though only sixteen, had already been
+married twice. One of the English officers took her portrait, to the
+terrible distress of her mother, who feared that if the "great chief of
+England" saw the inanimate representation he would fall in love with
+the original.
+
+On the 14th June the Coppermine River was sufficiently free from ice to
+be navigable, and although their provisions were all but exhausted, the
+explorers embarked upon it. As it fortunately turned out, however, game
+was very plentiful on the green banks of the river, and enough musk
+oxen were killed to feed the whole party.
+
+The mouth of the Coppermine was reached on the 18th July, when the
+Indians, afraid of meeting their enemies, the Esquimaux, at once
+returned to Fort Enterprise, whilst the Canadians scarcely dared to
+launch their frail boats on the angry sea. Franklin at last succeeded
+in persuading them to run the risk; but he could not get them to go
+further than Cape Turn-again in N. lat. 68 degrees 30 minutes, a
+promontory at the opening of a deep gulf dotted with islands, to which
+the leader of the expedition gave the name of Coronation, in memory of
+the accession of George IV.
+
+Franklin had begun to ascend Hood River, when he was stopped by a
+cataract 250 feet high, compelling him to make his way overland across
+a barren, unknown district, and through snow more than two feet deep.
+The fatigue and suffering involved in this return journey can be more
+easily imagined than described; suffice it to say that the party
+arrived on the 11th October in a state of complete exhaustion--having
+eaten nothing for five days--at Fort Enterprise, which they found
+utterly deserted. Ill and without food, there seemed to be nothing left
+for Franklin to do but to die. The next day, however, he set to work to
+look for the Indians, and those of his party who had started before
+him, but the snow was so thick he had to return without accomplishing
+anything. For the next eighteen days life was supported by a kind of
+bouilli made from the bones and the skin of the game killed the
+previous year, and at last, on the 29th October, Dr. Richardson arrived
+with John Hepburn, only looking thin and worn, and scarcely able to
+speak above a whisper. It seemed as if they were doomed! We quote the
+following from Desborough Cooley:--
+
+"Dr. Richardson had now a melancholy tale to relate. For the first two
+days his party had nothing whatever to eat. On the third day, Michel
+arrived with a hare and partridge, which afforded each a small morsel.
+Then another day passed without food. On the 11th, Michel offered them
+some flesh, which he said was part of a wolf; but they afterwards
+became convinced that it was the flesh of one of the unfortunate men
+who had left Captain Franklin's party to return to Dr. Richardson.
+Michel was daily growing more insolent and shy, and it was strongly
+suspected that he had a hidden supply of meat for his own use. On the
+20th, while Hepburn was cutting wood near the tent, he heard the report
+of a gun, and looking towards the spot saw Michel dart into the tent.
+Mr. Hood was found dead; a ball had entered the back part of his head,
+and there could be no doubt but that Michel was the murderer. He now
+became more mistrustful and outrageous than before; and as his strength
+was superior to that of the English who survived, and he was well
+armed, they became satisfied that there was no safety for them but in
+his death. 'I determined,' says Dr. Richardson, 'as I was thoroughly
+convinced of the necessity of such a dreadful act, to take the whole
+responsibility upon myself; and, upon Michel coming up, I put an end to
+his life by shooting him through the head!'"
+
+Many of the Indians who had accompanied Richardson and Hepburn had died
+of hunger, and the two leaders were on the brink of the grave when, on
+the 7th November, three Indians, sent by Back, brought them help. As
+soon as they felt a little stronger, the two Englishmen made for the
+Company's settlement, where they found Back, to whom they had twice
+owed their lives on this one expedition.
+
+The results of this journey, in which 5500 miles had been traversed,
+were of the greatest importance to geographical, magnetic, and
+meteorological science, and the coast of America had been surveyed as
+far as Cape Turn-again.
+
+In spite of all the fatigue and suffering so bravely borne, the
+explorers were quite ready to make yet another attempt to reach the
+shores of the Polar Sea, and at the end of 1823 Franklin received
+instructions to survey the coast west of Mackenzie River, all the
+agents of the Company being ordered to supply his party with
+provisions, boats, guides, and everything else they might require.
+
+After a hearty reception at New York, Franklin went to Albany, by way
+of the Hudson, ascended the Niagara from Lewiston to the famous Falls,
+made his way thence to Fort St. George on the Ontario, crossed the
+lake, landed at York, the capital of Upper Canada (_sic_), passed Lakes
+Siamese, Huron, and Superior, where he was joined by twenty-four
+Canadians, and on the 29th June, 1825, came to Lake Methye, then alive
+with boats.
+
+Whilst Dr. Richardson was surveying the eastern coast of Great Bear
+Lake, and Back was superintending the preparations for the winter,
+Franklin reached the mouth of the Mackenzie, the navigation of which
+was very easy, no obstacles being met with, except in the Delta. The
+sea was free from ice, and black and white whales and seals were
+playing about at the top of the water. Franklin landed on the small
+island of Garry, the position of which he determined as N. lat. 69
+degrees 2 minutes, W. long. 135 degrees 41 minutes, a valuable fact,
+proving as it did, how much confidence was to be placed in the
+observations of Mackenzie.
+
+The return journey was made without difficulty, and on the 5th
+September the explorers arrived at the fort to which Dr. Richardson had
+given the name of Franklin. The winter was passed in festivities, such
+as balls, &c., in which Canadians, English, Scotch, French, Esquimaux,
+and Indians of various tribes took part.
+
+On the 22nd June a fresh start was made, and on the 4th July the fort
+was reached where the Mackenzie divides into two branches. There the
+expedition separated into two parties, one going to the east and the
+other to the west, to explore the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Franklin
+and his companions had hardly left the river when he met near a large
+bay a numerous party of Esquimaux, who at first testified great delight
+at the rencontre, but soon became obstreperous, and tried to carry off
+the boat. Only by the exercise of wonderful patience and tact were the
+English able to avert bloodshed on this emergency.
+
+Franklin now surveyed and gave the name of Clarence to the river
+separating the English from the Russian territories, and a little
+further on was discovered another stream, which he called the Canning.
+On the 16th April, finding he had only made half of the distance
+between Mackenzie River and Icy Cape, though the winter was rapidly
+approaching, Franklin turned back and embarked on the beautiful Peel
+River, which he mistook for that of Mackenzie, not discovering his
+error till he came in sight of a chain of mountains on the east. On the
+21st September he got back to the fort, after having in the course of
+three months traversed 2048 miles, and surveyed 372 miles of the
+American coast.
+
+Richardson meanwhile had advanced into much deeper water with far less
+floating ice, and had met with a great many Esquimaux of mild and
+hospitable manners. He surveyed Liverpool and Franklin Bays, and
+discovered opposite the mouth of the Coppermine a tract of land
+separated from the continent by a channel not more than twenty miles
+wide, to which he gave the name of Wollaston. His boats arrived at
+Coronation Gulf, explored on the previous trip, on the 7th August; and
+on the 1st September they got back to Fort Franklin, without having
+sustained any damage.
+
+In dwelling on Parry's voyages, we have, for the time, turned aside
+from those made at the same time by Ross, whose extraordinary
+exploration of Baffin's Bay had brought upon him the censure of the
+Admiralty, and who was anxious to regain his reputation for skill and
+courage. Though the Government had lost confidence in him, he won the
+esteem of a rich ship-owner, who did not hesitate to entrust to him the
+command of the steamship _Victory_, on which he started for Baffin's
+Bay on the 25th May, 1830.
+
+For four years nothing was heard of the courageous navigator, but on
+his return, at the end of that time, it turned out that his voyage had
+been as rich in discoveries as had been Parry's first trip. Ross,
+entering Prince Regent's Inlet, by way of Barrow and Lancaster Sounds,
+had revisited the spot where the _Fury_ had been abandoned four years
+previously; and continuing his voyage in a southerly direction, he
+wintered in Felix Harbour--so named after the equipper of the
+expedition--ascertaining whilst there that the lands he had passed
+formed a large peninsula attached on the south to the northern coast of
+America.
+
+In April, 1830, James Ross, nephew of the leader of the party, set out
+in a canoe to examine the shores of this peninsula, and those of King
+William's Land; and in November of the same year all had once more to
+go into winter-quarters in Sherif Harbour, it being impossible to get
+the vessel more than a few miles further north. The cold was intense,
+and it was agreed by the sailors of the _Victory_ that this was the
+very severest winter ever spent by them in the Arctic regions.
+
+The summer of 1831 was devoted to various surveys, which proved that
+there was no connexion between the two seas. All that was accomplished
+this season was to bring the _Victory_ as far as Discovery Harbour, a
+very little further north than that of Sherif. The ensuing winter was
+so intensely severe, that the vessel could not be extricated from her
+ice prison, and but for the fortunate discovery of the provisions left
+by the _Fury_, the English would have died of hunger. As it was, they
+endured daily greater and greater privations and sufferings before the
+summer of 1833 at last enabled them finally to leave their
+winter-quarters and go by land to Prince Regent's and Barrow Straits.
+They had just reached the shores of Baffin's Bay when a vessel
+appeared, which turned out to be the _Isabel_, once commanded by Ross
+himself, and which now received the refugees from the _Victory_.
+
+But England had not all this time been forgetful of her children, and
+had sent an expedition in search of them every year. In 1833 Back,
+Franklin's companion, was the leader, and he starting from Fort
+Revolution, on the shore of Slave Lake, made his way northwards,
+discovered Thloni-Tcho-Deseth River, and settled down in
+winter-quarters, with the intention of reaching the next year the Polar
+Sea, where he supposed Ross to be held prisoner, when he heard of his
+incredible return journey overland. Back, therefore, gave up the next
+season to the survey of the fine Fish River, discovered the previous
+year, and sighted the Queen Adelaide Mts., with Capes Booth and Ross.
+
+1836 found him at the head of a new expedition, which was to attempt to
+connect by sea the discoveries of Ross and Franklin. It failed, and the
+accomplishment of the task assigned to it was reserved to Peter
+Williams, Dease, and Thomas Simpson, all officers in the service of the
+Hudson's Bay Company, who, leaving Fort Chippeway on the 1st June,
+1837, went down the Mackenzie, arriving on the sea-coast on the 9th
+July, and making their way along it to N. lat. 71 degrees 3 minutes and
+W. long. 156 degrees 46 minutes, i.e. to a cape they named Simpson,
+after the governor of their company.
+
+Thomas Simpson now made his way overland with five men to Port Barrow,
+already sighted in the direction of Behring Strait by one of Beechey's
+officers, so that the whole of the North American coast from Cape
+Turn-again to Behring's Strait was now complete, and there was nothing
+left to do but to explore the space between the former and Point Ogle,
+a task accomplished by the explorers in a later expedition.
+
+Leaving the Coppermine in 1838, they followed the eastern coast,
+arriving on the 9th August at Cape Turn-again, which was too much
+encumbered with ice to be rounded. Thomas Simpson therefore remained
+near it for the winter, discovered Victoria Land, and on the 12th
+August, 1839, arrived at Back River. The rest of the month he devoted
+to the exploration of Boothia.
+
+[Illustration: Discovery of Victoria Land.]
+
+The whole of the coast-line of North America was now accurately laid
+down, but at the cost of what struggles, devotion, privations, and
+sufferings? What, however, is human life when weighed in the balance
+with the progress of science? and with what disinterestedness and
+enthusiasm must be embued the savants, sailors, and explorers, who give
+up all the joys of existence to contribute to the best of their power
+to the progress of knowledge and to the moral and intellectual
+development of humanity.
+
+With the voyages last recorded the discovery of the earth was
+completed, and with our account of them our work, which began with the
+first attempts of the earliest explorers, also closes. The shape of the
+earth is now known, the task of explorers, is done. The land on which
+man lives is henceforth familiar to him, and he has now only to turn to
+account the vast resources of the countries to which access has
+recently become easy, or of which he can without difficulty possess
+himself.
+
+How rich in lessons of every kind is this history of twenty centuries
+of exploration. Let us cast a glance behind us and enumerate the main
+features of the progress made in this long series of years. If we take
+the map of the world of Hecatæus, who lived 500 years before the
+Christian era, what do we see? When it was published the known world
+did not extend beyond the basin of the Mediterranean, and the whole,
+with a terribly distorted outline, is represented only by a very small
+portion of southern Europe, the interior of Asia, and part of North
+Africa; whilst encircling them all is a river without beginning or end,
+to which is given the name of Ocean.
+
+Side by side with this map, ancient monument as it is of antique
+science, let us place a planisphere representing the world as known in
+1840, and on this vast surface we shall find the portion known, and
+that but imperfectly to Hecatæus, occupying but an infinitesimal space.
+
+Taking these two typical maps as our starting-point, we shall be able
+to judge of the magnitude of the discoveries of modern times. Imagine
+for a moment all that is involved in thorough knowledge of the whole
+world, and you will marvel at the results achieved by the efforts of so
+many explorers and martyrs, you will grasp the importance of their
+discoveries and the intimate relations between geography and all the
+other sciences. This is the point of view from which can best be seen
+all the philosophic bearings of a work to which so many generations
+have devoted themselves.
+
+Doubtless the motives actuating these various explorers differ greatly.
+First, we have the natural curiosity of the owner anxious to know
+thoroughly every part of the domain belonging to him, so that he may
+estimate the extent of the habitable districts, and determine the
+boundaries of the seas, &c.; and secondly, we have the natural outcome
+of a trade, which, though still in its infancy, introduced even in
+remote Norway the products of Central Asian industry. In the time of
+Herodotus the aim of explorers was loftier: they wished to learn the
+history, manners, customs, and religion of foreign races; and later,
+the Crusades, which, whatever else they accomplished, certainly
+vulgarized oriental studies, inspired some few with a fervent desire to
+wrest from infidels the scene of our Lord's Passion, but the greater
+number with a lust of pillage and a yearning to explore the unknown.
+
+Columbus, seeking a new route to the Indies, came across America on the
+way, and his successors were only anxious to make rapid fortunes,
+differing greatly indeed from the noble Portuguese who sacrificed their
+private interests to the glory and colonial prosperity of their
+country, and were the poorer for the offices conferred on them with a
+view to doing them honour.
+
+In the sixteenth century religious persecution and civil war drove to
+the New World the Huguenots and Puritans, who, whilst laying for
+England the foundations of colonial prosperity, were to bring about a
+radical change in America. The next century was essentially one of
+colonization. In America the French, in India the English, and in
+Oceania the Dutch established counting-houses and offices, whilst
+missionaries endeavoured to win over to the Christian faith and modern
+ideas the unchangeable "Empire of the Mean."
+
+The eighteenth century, ushering in our own, rectified received errors,
+and surveyed minutely alike continents and archipelagoes; in a word
+brought to perfection the work of its predecessors. The same task has
+occupied modern explorers, who pride themselves on not passing over in
+their surveys the smallest corner of the earth, or the tiniest islet.
+With a similar enthusiasm are imbued the intrepid navigators who
+penetrate the ice-bound solitudes of the two poles, and tear away the
+last fragments of the veil which has so long hidden from us the
+extremities of the globe.
+
+All then is now known, classed, catalogued, and labelled! Will the
+results of so much toil be buried in some carefully laid down atlas, to
+be sought only by professional _savants_? No! it is reserved to our
+use, and to develope the resources of the globe, conquered for us by
+our fathers at the cost of so much danger and fatigue. Our heritage is
+too grand to be relinquished. We have at our command all the facilities
+of modern science for surveying, clearing, and working our property. No
+more lands lying fallow, no more impassable deserts, no more useless
+streams, no more unfathomable seas, no more inaccessible mountains!
+
+We suppress the obstacles nature throws in our way. The isthmuses of
+Panama and Suez are in our way; we cut through them! The Sahara
+interferes with the connexion of Algeria and Senegal; we will throw a
+railway across it. The Pas de Calais prevents two nations so well
+fitted for cordial friendship from shaking each other by the hand; we
+will pierce it with a railway!
+
+This is our task and that of our contemporaries. Is it less grand than
+that of our predecessors, that it has not yet succeeded in inspiring
+any great writer of fiction? To dwell upon it ourselves would be to
+exceed the limits we laid down for our work. We meant to write the
+History of the Discovery of the World, and we have written it. Our task
+therefore is complete.
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+LONDON: GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Celebrated Travels and Travellers, by Jules Verne
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+
+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+
+<html>
+<head>
+	<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
+	<title>The Project Gutenberg e-Book of The great explorers of the nineteenth century, by Jules Verne</title>
+	<style type="text/css">
+		<!--
+		body {margin:10%; text-align:justify}
+		h1   {text-align:center}
+		h2   {text-align:center}
+		h3   {text-align:center}
+		h4   {text-align:center}		-->
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+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Celebrated Travels and Travellers, by Jules Verne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Celebrated Travels and Travellers
+       Part III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century
+
+Author: Jules Verne
+
+Illustrator: Léon Benett
+
+Translator: N. D'Anvers
+
+Release Date: September 19, 2008 [EBook #26658]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ron Swanson. (This file was produced from
+images generously made available by The Internet
+Archive/Canadian Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Front Cover">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="798">
+			<img src="images/001.jpg" alt="Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h3>CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.</h3>
+<center><hr width="20%"></center>
+<h1>THE GREAT EXPLORERS</h1>
+<center>OF THE</center>
+<h1>NINETEENTH CENTURY.</h1>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center><small>LONDON:<br>
+GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,<br>
+ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.</small></center><br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<a name="ill2"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Frontispiece">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="1221">
+			<img src="images/002.jpg" alt="Map of the work to be done">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="1221" align="left">
+			<small><small><i>Gravé par E. Morieu 23, r. de Bréa Paris.</i></small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="1221" align="center">
+			Map of the work which had to be done in the 19th Century.
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h3>CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.</h3>
+<center><hr width="20%"></center>
+<h1>THE GREAT EXPLORERS</h1>
+<center>OF THE</center>
+<h1>NINETEENTH CENTURY.</h1>
+<br>
+<h3>B<small>Y</small> JULES VERNE</h3>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center>TRANSLATED BY</center>
+<h3>N. D'ANVERS,</h3>
+<center><small><small>AUTHOR OF "HEROES OF NORTH AFRICAN DISCOVERY," "HEROES OF SOUTH AFRICAN
+DISCOVERY," ETC.</small></small></center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center>WITH 51 ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY LÉON BENETT, AND 57 FAC-SIMILES FROM<br>
+EARLY MSS. AND MAPS BY MATTHIS AND MORIEU.</center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Title Page">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="528">
+			<img src="images/003.jpg" alt="Ship sailing near icebergs">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center>London:<br>
+SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, &amp; RIVINGTON,<br>
+CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.<br>
+<br>
+1881.<br>
+[<i>All rights reserved</i>.]</center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center>TO</center>
+<h3>DR. G. G. GARDINER,</h3>
+<h4><i>I Dedicate this Translation</i></h4>
+<h4>WITH SINCERE AND GRATEFUL ESTEEM.</h4>
+<br>
+<div align="right"><big>N. D'ANVERS.</big>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
+<small>H<small>ENDON</small>, <i>Christmas, 1880</i>.</small><br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h3>TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.</h3>
+<center><hr width="20%"></center>
+
+<br>
+<p>In offering the present volume to the English public, the Translator
+wishes to thank the Rev. Andrew Carter for the very great assistance
+given by him in tracing all quotations from English, German, and other
+authors to the original sources, and for his untiring aid in the
+verification of disputed spellings, &amp;c.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center>THE</center>
+<h2>GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE 19<small>TH</small> CENTURY.</h2>
+<center><hr width="20%"></center>
+
+<h3>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS</h3>
+
+<center>REPRODUCED IN FAC-SIMILE FROM THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS, GIVING THE
+SOURCES WHENCE THEY ARE DERIVED.</center><br>
+<center><hr width="20%"></center>
+
+
+<h4>PART THE FIRST.</h4>
+
+<p><a href="#ill2">Map of the work which had to be done in the 19th Century</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill5">Jerusalem</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill6">Map of Egypt, Nubia, and part of Arabia</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill7">Portrait of Burckhardt</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill8">"Here is thy grave"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill9">Merchant of Jeddah</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill10">Shores and boats of the Red Sea</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill11">Map of English India and part of Persia</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill12">Bridge of rope</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill13">"They were seated according to age"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill14">Beluchistan warriors</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill15">"A troop of bayadères came in"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill16">Afghan costumes</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill17">Persian costumes</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill18">"Two soldiers held me"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill19">"Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill20">"He beheld the Missouri"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill21">Warrior of Java</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill22">A kafila of slaves</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill23">Member of the body-guard of the Sheikh of Bornou</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill24">Reception of the Mission</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill25">Lancer of the army of the Sultan of Begharmi</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill26">Map of Denham and Clapperton's journey</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill27">Portrait of Clapperton</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill28">"The caravan met a messenger"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill29">"Travelling at a slow pace"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill30">View on the banks of the Congo</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill31">Ashantee warrior</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill32">Réné Caillié</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill33">"He decamped with all his followers"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill34">Caillié crossing the Tankisso</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill35">View of part of Timbuctoo</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill36">Map of Réné Caillié's journey</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill37">"Laing saw Mount Loma"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill38">Lower Course of the Niger (after Lander)</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill39">Mount Kesa</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill40">"They were all but upset"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill41">Square stool belonging to the King of Bornou</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill42">Map of the Lower Course of the Djoliba, Kouara, Quoora, or Niger (after Lander)</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill43">"It was hollowed out of a single tree-trunk"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill44">View of a Merawe temple</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill45">The Second Cataract of the Nile</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill46">Temple of Jupiter Ammon</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill47">"Villages picturesquely perched"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill48">Map of the Missouri</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill49">Circassians</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill50">"Excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill51">Map of the Sources of the Mississippi, 1834</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill52">View of the Pyramid of Xochicalco</a></p>
+<br>
+<h4>PART THE SECOND.</h4>
+
+<p><a href="#ill53">New Zealanders</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill54">Coast of Japan</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill55">Typical Ainos</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill56">"In the twinkling of an eye the canoes were empty"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill57">Interior of a house at Radak</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill58">View of Otaheite</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill59">One of the guard of the King of the Sandwich Islands</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill60">"The village consisted of clean, well-built huts"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill61">A Morai at Kayakakoua</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill62">Native of Ualan</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill63">Sedentary Tchouktchis</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill64">Warriors of Ombay and Guebeh</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill65">Rawak hut on piles</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill66">The luxuriant vegetation of the Papuan Islands</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill67">Map of Australia</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill68">A performer of the dances of Montezuma</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill69">Ruins of ancient pillars at Tinian</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill70">An Australian farm near the Blue Mountains</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill71">Native Australians</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill72">Berkeley Sound, in the Falkland Islands</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill73">The <i>Mercury</i> at anchor in Berkeley Sound</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill74">The wreck of the <i>Uranie</i></a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill75">The waterfall of Port Praslin</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill76">Natives of New Guinea</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill77">Meeting with the Chief of Ualan</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill78">Natives of Pondicherry</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill79">Ancient idols near Pondicherry</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill80">Near the Bay of Manilla</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill81">Women of Touron Bay</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill82">Entrance to Sydney Bay</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill83">"Apsley's Waterfall"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill84">Eucalyptus forest of Jervis Bay</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill85">New Guinea hut on piles</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill86">New Zealanders</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill87">Attack from the natives of Tonga Tabou</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill88">Lofty mountains clothed with dense and gloomy forests</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill89">Natives of Vanikoro</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill91">"I merely had the armoury opened"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill92">Reefs off Vanikoro</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill93">Hunting sea-elephants</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill94">Map of the Antarctic Regions, showing the routes taken by the
+     navigators of the 19th Century</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill95">"Here congregate flocks of penguins"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill96">Dumont d'Urville</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill97">"Only by getting wet up to their waists"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill98">Anchorage off Port Famine</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill99">"The rudder had to be protected"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill100">View of Adélie Land</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill101">Reduced Map of D'Urville's discoveries in the Antarctic Regions</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill102">"Their straight walls rose far above our masts"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill103">Captain John Ross</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill104">Map of Victoria, discovered by James Ross</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill105">"Two small sledges were selected"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill106">Esquimaux family</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill107">Map of the Arctic Regions</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill108">Rain as a novel phenomenon</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#ill109">Discovery of Victoria Land</a></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h3>TABLE OF CONTENTS.</h3>
+<center><hr width="20%"></center>
+
+
+<h4><a href="#part1">FIRST PART.</a></h4>
+<br>
+
+<center><big><a href="#chap1">CHAPTER I.</a></big><br>
+THE DAWN OF A CENTURY OF DISCOVERY.</center>
+<br>
+<p>Slackness of discovery during the struggles of the Republic and
+Empire&mdash;Seetzen's voyages in Syria and Palestine&mdash;Hauran and the
+circumnavigation of the Dead Sea&mdash;Decapolis&mdash;Journey in Arabia&mdash;Burckhardt
+in Syria&mdash;Expeditions in Nubia upon the two branches of
+the Nile&mdash;Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina&mdash;The English in India&mdash;Webb
+at the Source of the Ganges&mdash;Narrative of a journey in the Punjab&mdash;Christie
+and Pottinger in Scinde&mdash;The same explorers cross
+Beluchistan into Persia&mdash;Elphinstone in Afghanistan&mdash;Persia
+according to Gardane, A. Dupré, Morier, Macdonald-Kinneir, Price,
+and Ouseley&mdash;Guldenstædt and Klaproth in the Caucasus&mdash;Lewis and
+Clarke in the Rocky Mountains&mdash;Raffles in Sumatra and Java</p>
+<br>
+
+<center><big><a href="#chap2">CHAPTER II.</a></big><br>
+THE EXPLORATION AND COLONIZATION OF AFRICA.<br>
+<br>
+<a href="#chap21">I.</a></center>
+<p>Peddie and Campbell in the Soudan&mdash;Ritchie and Lyon in Fezzan&mdash;Denham,
+Oudney, and Clapperton in Fezzan, and in the Tibboo
+country&mdash;Lake Tchad and its tributaries&mdash;Kouka and the chief
+villages of Bornou&mdash;Mandara&mdash;A razzia, or raid, in the Fellatah
+country&mdash;Defeat of the Arabs and death of Boo-Khaloum&mdash;Loggan&mdash;Death
+of Toole&mdash;En route for Kano&mdash;Death of Oudney&mdash;Kano&mdash;Sackatoo&mdash;Sultan
+Bello&mdash;Return to Europe</p>
+
+<center><a href="#chap22">II.</a></center>
+<p>Clapperton's second journey&mdash;Arrival at Badagry&mdash;Yariba and its
+capital Katunga&mdash;Boussa&mdash;Attempts to get at the truth about Mungo
+Park's fate&mdash;"Nyffé," Yaourie, and Zegzeg&mdash;Arrival at
+Kano&mdash;Disappointments&mdash;Death of Clapperton&mdash;Return of Lander to the
+coast&mdash;Tuckey on the Congo&mdash;Bowditch in Ashantee&mdash;Mollien at the
+sources of the Senegal and Gambia&mdash;Major Grey&mdash;Caillié at
+Timbuctoo&mdash;Laing at the sources of the Niger&mdash;Richard and John
+Lander at the mouth of the Niger&mdash;Cailliaud and Letorzec in Egypt,
+Nubia, and the oasis of Siwâh</p>
+<br>
+
+<center><big><a href="#chap3">CHAPTER III.</a></big><br>
+THE ORIENTAL SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT AND AMERICAN DISCOVERIES.</center>
+<br>
+<p>The decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions, and the study of
+Assyrian remains up to 1840&mdash;Ancient Iran and the Avesta&mdash;The
+survey of India and the study of Hindustani&mdash;The exploration and
+measurement of the Himalaya mountains&mdash;The Arabian Peninsula&mdash;Syria
+and Palestine&mdash;Central Asia and Alexander von Humboldt&mdash;Pike
+at the sources of the Mississippi, Arkansas, and Red River&mdash;Major
+Long's two expeditions&mdash;General Cass&mdash;Schoolcraft at the sources
+of the Mississippi&mdash;The exploration of New Mexico&mdash;Archæological
+expeditions in Central America&mdash;Scientific expeditions in Brazil&mdash;Spix
+and Martin&mdash;Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied&mdash;D'Orbigny and
+American Man</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h4><a href="#part2">SECOND PART.</a></h4>
+<br>
+
+<center><big><a href="#chap4">CHAPTER I.</a></big><br>
+VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD, AND POLAR EXPEDITIONS.</center>
+<br>
+<p>The Russian fur trade&mdash;Kruzenstern appointed to the command of an
+expedition&mdash;Noukha-Hiva&mdash;Nangasaki&mdash;Reconnaisance of the coast of
+Japan&mdash;Yezo&mdash;The Ainos&mdash;Saghalien&mdash;Return to Europe&mdash;Otto von
+Kotzebue&mdash;Stay at Easter Island&mdash;Penrhyn&mdash;The Radak Archipelago&mdash;Return
+to Russia&mdash;Changes at Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands&mdash;Beechey's
+Voyage&mdash;Easter Island&mdash;Pitcairn and the mutineers of the
+<i>Bounty</i>&mdash;The Paumoto Islands&mdash;Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands&mdash;The
+Bonin Islands&mdash;Lütke&mdash;The Quebradas of Valparaiso&mdash;Holy week
+in Chili&mdash;New Archangel&mdash;The Kaloches&mdash;Ounalashka&mdash;The Caroline
+Archipelago&mdash;The canoes of the Caroline Islanders&mdash;Guam, a desert
+island&mdash;Beauty and happy situation of the Bonin Islands&mdash;The
+Tchouktchees: their manners and their conjurors&mdash;Return to Russia</p>
+<br>
+
+<center><big><a href="#chap5">CHAPTER II.</a></big><br>
+FRENCH CIRCUMNAVIGATORS.</center>
+<br>
+<p>The journey of Freycinet&mdash;Rio de Janeiro and its gipsy
+inhabitants&mdash;The Cape and its wines&mdash;The Bay of Sharks&mdash;Stay at
+Timor&mdash;Ombay Island and its cannibal inhabitants&mdash;The Papuan
+Islands&mdash;The pile dwellings of the Alfoers&mdash;A dinner with the
+Governor of Guam&mdash;Description of the Marianne Islands and their
+inhabitants&mdash;Particulars concerning the Sandwich Islands&mdash;Port
+Jackson and New South Wales&mdash;Shipwreck in Berkeley Sound&mdash;The
+Falkland Islands&mdash;Return to France&mdash;The voyage of the <i>Coquille</i>
+under the command of Duperrey&mdash;Martin-Vaz and Trinidad&mdash;The Island
+of St. Catherine&mdash;The independence of Brazil&mdash;Berkeley Sound and
+the remains of the <i>Uranie</i>&mdash;Stay at Conception&mdash;The civil war in
+Chili&mdash;The Araucanians&mdash;Discoveries in the Dangerous Archipelago&mdash;Stay
+at Otaheite and New Ireland&mdash;The Papuans&mdash;Stay at Ualan&mdash;The
+Caroline Islands and their inhabitants&mdash;Scientific results of the
+expeditions</p>
+
+<center><a href="#chap52">II.</a></center>
+<p>Expedition of Baron de Bougainville&mdash;Stay at Pondicherry&mdash;The
+"White Town" and the "Black Town"&mdash;"Right-hand" and
+"Left-hand"&mdash;Malacca&mdash;Singapore and its prosperity&mdash;Stay at Manilla&mdash;Touron
+Bay&mdash;The monkeys and the people&mdash;The marble rocks of Faifoh&mdash;Cochin-Chinese
+diplomacy&mdash;The Anambas&mdash;The Sultan of Madura&mdash;The
+straits of Madura and Allas&mdash;Cloates and the Triad Islands&mdash;Tasmania&mdash;Botany
+Bay and New South Wales&mdash;Santiago and
+Valparaiso&mdash;Return <i>viâ</i> Cape Horn&mdash;Expedition of Dumont d'Urville
+in the <i>Astrolabe</i>&mdash;The Peak of Teneriffe&mdash;Australia&mdash;Stay at New
+Zealand&mdash;Tonga-Tabu&mdash;Skirmishes&mdash;New Britain and New Guinea&mdash;First
+news of the fate of La Pérouse&mdash;Vanikoro and its inhabitants&mdash;Stay
+at Guam&mdash;Amboyna and Menado&mdash;Results of the expedition</p>
+<br>
+
+<center><big><a href="#chap6">CHAPTER III.</a></big><br>
+POLAR EXPEDITIONS.</center>
+
+<p>Bellinghausen, yet another Russian Explorer&mdash;Discovery of the
+islands of Traversay, Peter I., and Alexander I.&mdash;The Whaler,
+Weddell&mdash;The Southern Orkneys&mdash;New Shetland&mdash;The people of Tierra
+del Fuego&mdash;John Biscoe and the districts of Enderby and Graham&mdash;Charles
+Wilkes and the Antarctic Continent&mdash;Captain Balleny&mdash;
+Dumont d'Urville's expedition in the <i>Astrolabe</i> and the <i>Zelée</i>&mdash;Coupvent
+Desbois and the Peak of Teneriffe&mdash;The Straits of
+Magellan&mdash;A new post-office shut in by ice&mdash;Louis Philippe's
+Land&mdash;Across Oceania&mdash;Adélie and Clarie Lands&mdash;New Guinea and
+Torres Strait&mdash;Return to France&mdash;James Clark Rosset&mdash;Victoria</p>
+
+<center><a href="#chap62">II.</a><br>
+THE NORTH POLE.</center>
+
+<p>Anjou and Wrangell&mdash;The "polynia"&mdash;John Ross's first expedition&mdash;Baffin's
+Bay closed&mdash;Edward Parry's discoveries on his first
+voyage&mdash;The survey of Hudson's Bay, and the discovery of Fury and
+Hecla Straits&mdash;Parry's third voyage&mdash;Fourth voyage&mdash;On the ice in
+sledges in the open sea&mdash;Franklin's first trip&mdash;Incredible
+sufferings of the explorers&mdash;Second expedition&mdash;John Ross&mdash;Four
+winters amongst the ice&mdash;Dease and Simpson's expedition</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>THE GREAT EXPLORERS</h2>
+<center>OF THE</center>
+<h2>NINETEENTH CENTURY.</h2>
+<br><br><a name="part1"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Frontispiece to Part 1">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="716">
+			<img src="images/004.jpg" alt="The Sphinx">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap1"></a>
+<h3>CHAPTER I.</h3>
+<center>THE DAWN OF A CENTURY OF DISCOVERY.</center>
+
+<blockquote>Slackness of discovery during the struggles of the Republic and
+Empire&mdash;Seetzen's voyages in Syria and Palestine&mdash;Hauran and the
+circumnavigation of the Dead Sea&mdash;Decapolis&mdash;Journey in Arabia&mdash;Burckhardt
+in Syria&mdash;Expeditions in Nubia upon the two branches of the
+Nile&mdash;Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina&mdash;The English in India&mdash;Webb at the
+Source of the Ganges&mdash;Narrative of a journey in the Punjab&mdash;Christie
+and Pottinger in Scinde&mdash;The same explorers cross Beluchistan into
+Persia&mdash;Elphinstone in Afghanistan&mdash;Persia according to Gardane, A.
+Dupré, Morier, Macdonald-Kinneir, Price, and Ouseley&mdash;Guldenstædt and
+Klaproth in the Caucasus&mdash;Lewis and Clarke in the Rocky
+Mountains&mdash;Raffles in Sumatra and Java.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>A sensible diminution in geographical discovery marks the close of the
+eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries.</p>
+
+<p>We have already noticed the organization of the Expedition sent in
+search of La Pérouse by the French Republic, and also Captain Baudin's
+important cruise along the Australian coasts. These are the only
+instances in which the unrestrained passions and fratricidal struggles
+of the French nation allowed the government to exhibit interest in
+geography, a science which is especially favoured by the French.</p>
+
+<p>At a later period, Bonaparte consulted several savants and
+distinguished artists, and the materials for that grand undertaking
+which first gave an idea (incomplete though it was) of the ancient
+civilization of the land of the Pharaohs, were collected together. But
+when Bonaparte had completely given place to Napoleon, the egotistical
+monarch, sacrificing all else to his ruling passion for war, would no
+longer listen to explorations, voyages, or possible discoveries. They
+represented money and men stolen from him; and his expenditure of those
+materials was far too great to allow of such futile waste. This was
+clearly shown, when he ceded the last remnants of French colonial rule
+in America to the United States for a few millions.</p>
+
+<p>Happily other nations were not oppressed by the same iron hand.
+Absorbed although they might be in their struggle with France, they
+could still find volunteers to extend the range of geographical
+science, to establish archæology upon scientific bases, and to
+prosecute linguistic and ethnographical enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>The learned geographer Malte-Brun, in an article published by him in
+the "Nouvelles Annales des Voyages" in 1817, gives a minute account of
+the condition of French geographical knowledge at the beginning of the
+nineteenth century, and of the many desiderata of that science. He
+reviews the progress already made in navigation, astronomy, and
+languages. The India Company, far from concealing its discoveries, as
+jealousy had induced the Hudson Bay Company to do, founded academies,
+published memoirs, and encouraged travellers.</p>
+
+<p>War itself was utilized, for the French army gathered a store of
+precious material in Egypt. We shall shortly see how emulation spread
+among the various nations.</p>
+
+<p>From the commencement of the century, one country has taken the lead in
+great discoveries. German explorers have worked so earnestly, and have
+proved themselves possessed of will so strong and instinct so sure,
+that they have left little for their successors to do beyond verifying
+and completing their discoveries.</p>
+
+<p>The first in order of time was Ulric Jasper Seetzen, born in 1767 in
+East Friesland; he completed his education at Göttingen, and published
+some essays upon statistics and the natural sciences, for which he had
+a natural inclination. These publications attracted the attention of
+the government, and he was appointed Aulic Councillor in the province
+of Tever.</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen's ambition, like that of Burckhardt subsequently, was an
+expedition to Central Africa, but he wished previously to make an
+exploration of Palestine and Syria, to which countries attention was
+shortly to be directed by the "Palestine Association," founded in
+London in 1805.</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen did not wait for this period, but in 1802 set out for
+Constantinople, furnished with suitable introductions.</p>
+
+<p>Although many pilgrims and travellers had successively visited the Holy
+Land and Syria, the vaguest notions about these countries prevailed.
+Their physical geography was not determined, details were wanting, and
+certain regions, as for example, the Lebanon and the Dead Sea had never
+been explored.</p>
+
+<p>Comparative geography did not exist. It has taken the unwearied efforts
+of the English Association and the science of travellers in connexion
+with it to erect that study into a science. Seetzen, whose studies had
+been various, found himself admirably prepared to explore a country
+which, often visited, was still in reality new.</p>
+
+<p>Having travelled through Anatolia, Seetzen reached Aleppo in May, 1802.
+He remained there a year, devoting himself to the practical study of
+the Arabic tongue, making extracts from Eastern historians and
+geographers, verifying the astronomical position of Aleppo, prosecuting
+his investigations into natural history, collecting manuscripts, and
+translating many of those popular songs and legends which are such
+valuable aids to the knowledge of a nation.</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen left Aleppo in 1805 for Damascus. His first expedition led him
+across the provinces of Hauran and Jaulan, situated to the S.E. of that
+town. No traveller had as yet visited these two provinces, which in the
+days of Roman dominion had played an important part in the history of
+the Jews, under the names of Auranitis and Gaulonitis. Seetzen was the
+first to give an idea of their geography.</p>
+
+<p>The enterprising traveller explored the Lebanon and Baalbek. He
+prosecuted his discoveries south of Damascus, and entered Judea,
+exploring the eastern portion of Hermon, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea.
+This was the dwelling-place of those races well known to us in Jewish
+history; the Ammonites, Moabites, and Gileadites. At the time of the
+Roman conquest, the western portion of this country was known as Perea,
+and was the centre of the celebrated Decapolis or confederacy of ten
+cities. No modern traveller had visited these regions, a fact
+sufficient to induce Seetzen to begin his exploration with them.</p>
+
+<p>His friends at Damascus had tried to dissuade him from the journey, by
+picturing the difficulties and danger of a route frequented by
+Bedouins; but nothing could stay him. Before visiting the Decapolis
+region and investigating the condition of its ruins, Seetzen traversed
+a small district, named Ladscha, which bore a bad reputation at
+Damascus on account of the Bedouins who occupied it, but which was said
+to contain remarkable antiquities.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Damascus on the 12th of December, 1805, with an Armenian guide
+who misled him from the first, Seetzen, having prudently provided
+himself with a passport from the Pasha, proceeded from village to
+village escorted by an armed attendant.</p>
+
+<p>In a narrative published in the earlier "Annales des Voyages," says the
+traveller,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"That portion of Ladscha which I have seen is, like Hauran, entirely
+formed of basalt, often very porous, and in many districts forming vast
+stony deserts. The villages, which are mostly in ruins, are built on
+the sides of the rocks. The black colour of the basalt, the ruined
+houses, the churches and towers fallen into decay, with the total
+dearth of trees and verdure, combine to give a sombre aspect to this
+country, which strikes one almost with dread. In almost every village
+are either Grecian inscriptions, columns, or other remnants of
+antiquity; amongst others I copied an inscription of the Emperor Marcus
+Aurelius. Here, as in Hauran, the doors were of basalt."</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen had scarcely arrived at the village of Gerasa and enjoyed a
+brief rest, before he was surrounded by half a score of mounted men,
+who said they had come by order of the vice-governor of Hauran to
+arrest him. Their master, Omar Aga, having learned that the traveller
+had been seen in the country the preceding year, and imagining his
+passports to be forgeries, had sent them to bring him before him.</p>
+
+<p>Resistance was useless. Without allowing himself to be disconcerted by
+an incident which he regarded as a simple contretemps, Seetzen
+proceeded in the direction of Hauran, where after a day and a half's
+journey he met Omar Aga, travelling with the Mecca caravan. The
+travellers having received a hearty welcome, departed on the morrow,
+but meeting upon his way with many troops of Arabs, upon whom his
+demeanour imposed respect, he came to the conclusion that it had been
+Omar Aga's intention to have him robbed.</p>
+
+<p>Returning to Damascus, Seetzen had great trouble in finding a guide who
+would accompany him in his expedition along the eastern shore of the
+Jordan, and around the Dead Sea. At last, a certain Yusuf-al-Milky, a
+member of the Greek church, who, for some thirty years, had carried on
+traffic with the Arab tribes, and travelled in the provinces which
+Seetzen desired to visit, agreed to bear him company.</p>
+
+<p>The two travellers left Damascus on the 19th of January, 1806.
+Seetzen's entire baggage consisted of a few clothes, some indispensable
+books, paper for drying plants, and an assortment of drugs, necessary
+to sustain his assumed character as a physician. He wore the dress of a
+sheik of secondary rank.</p>
+
+<p>The districts of Rasheiya and Hasbeiya, at the foot of Mount
+Hermon&mdash;whose summit at the time was hidden by snow&mdash;were the first
+explored by Seetzen, for the reason that they were the least known in
+Syria.</p>
+
+<p>He then visited Achha, a village inhabited by the Druses, upon the
+opposite side of the mountain; Rasheiya, the residence of the Emir; and
+Hasbeiya, where he paid a visit to the Greek Bishop of Szur or Szeida,
+to whom he carried letters of recommendation. The object which chiefly
+attracted his attention in this mountainous district, was an
+asphalt-mine, whose produce is there used to protect the vines from
+insects.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Hasbeiya, Seetzen proceeded to Bâniâs, the ancient Casaræa
+Philippi, which is now a mere collection of huts. Even if traces of its
+fortifications were discoverable, not the smallest remains could be
+found of the splendid temple erected by Herod in honour of Augustus.</p>
+
+<p>Ancient authorities hold that the river of Bâniâs is the source of the
+Jordan, but in reality that title belongs to the river Hasbany, which
+forms the larger branch of the Jordan. Seetzen recognized it, as he
+also did the Lake of Merom, or the ancient Samachonitis.</p>
+
+<p>Here he was deserted by his muleteers, whom nothing could induce to
+accompany him so far as the bridge of Jisr-Benat-Yakûb, and also by his
+guide Yusuf, whom he was forced to send by the open road to await his
+arrival at Tiberias, while he himself proceeded on foot towards the
+celebrated bridge, accompanied by a single Arab attendant.</p>
+
+<p>He, however, found no one at Jisr-Benat-Yakûb who was willing to
+accompany him along the eastern shore of the Jordan, until a native,
+believing him to be a doctor, begged him to go and see his sheik, who
+was suffering from ophthalmia, and who lived upon the eastern bank of
+the Lake of Tiberias.</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen gladly availed himself of this opportunity; and it was well he
+did so, for he was thus enabled to study the Lake of Tiberias and also
+the Wady Zemmâk at his leisure, not, however, without risk of being
+robbed and murdered by his guide. Finally he reached Tiberias, called
+by the Arabs Tabaria, where he found Yusuf, who had been waiting for
+him for several days.</p>
+
+<p>"The town of Tiberias," says Seetzen, "is situated upon the lake of the
+same name. Upon the land side it is surrounded by a good wall of cut
+basalt rock, but nevertheless, it scarcely deserves to be called a
+town. No trace of its earlier splendour remains, but the ruins of the
+more ancient city, which extended to the Thermæ, a league to the
+eastward, are recognizable.</p>
+
+<p>"The famous Djezar-Pasha caused a bath to be erected above the
+principal spring. If these baths were in Europe, they would rival all
+those now existing. The valley in which the lake is situated, is so
+sheltered, and so warm, that dates, lemon-trees, oranges, and indigo,
+flourish there, whilst on the high ground surrounding it, the products
+of more temperate climates might be grown."</p>
+
+<p>South-west of the lake are the remains of the ancient city of Tarichæa.
+There, between two mountain chains, lies the beautiful plain of El
+Ghor, poorly cultivated, and overrun by Arab hordes. No incident of
+moment marked Seetzen's journey to Decapolis, during which he was
+obliged to dress as a mendicant, to escape the rapacity of the native
+tribes.</p>
+
+<p>"Over my shirt" he relates, "I wore an old kambas, or dressing-gown,
+and above that a woman's ragged chemise; my head was covered with rags,
+and my feet with old sandals. I was protected from cold and wet by an
+old ragged 'abbaje,' which I wore across my shoulders, and a stick cut
+from a tree served me as a staff; my guide, who was a Greek Christian,
+was dressed much in the same style; and together we scoured the country
+for some ten days, often hindered in our journey by chilling rains,
+which wetted us to the skin. For my part, I travelled an entire day in
+the mud with bare feet, because I could not wear my sandals upon sodden
+ground."</p>
+
+<p>Draa which he reached a little farther on, presented but a mass of
+desert ruins; and no trace of the monuments which rendered it famous in
+earlier days, were visible. El-Botthin, the next district, contains
+hundreds of caverns, hewn in the rocks, which were occupied by the
+ancient inhabitants. It was much the same at Seetzen's visit. That Mkês
+was formerly a rich and important city, is proved by its many ruined
+tombs and monuments. Seetzen identified it with Gadara, one of the
+minor towns of the Decapolis. Some leagues beyond are the ruins of Abil
+or Abila. Seetzen's guide, Aoser, refused to go there, being afraid of
+the Arabs. The traveller was, therefore, obliged to go alone.</p>
+
+<p>"This town," he says, "is entirely in ruins and abandoned. Not a single
+building remains; but its ancient splendour is sufficiently proved by
+ruins. Traces of the old fortifications remain, and also many pillars
+and arches of marble, basalt, and granite. Beyond the walls, I found a
+great number of pillars; two of them were of an extraordinary size.
+Hence I concluded that a large temple had formerly existed there."</p>
+
+<p>On leaving El-Botthin, Seetzen entered the district of Edschlun, and
+speedily discovered the important ruins of Dscherrasch, which may be
+compared with those of Palmyra and Baalbek.</p>
+
+<p>"It is difficult to conjecture," says Seetzen, "how this town, which
+was formerly so celebrated, has hitherto escaped the attention of
+antiquarians. It is situated in an open plain, which is fertile, and
+watered by a river. Several tombs, with fine bas-reliefs arrested my
+attention before I entered it; upon one of them, I remarked a Greek
+inscription. The walls, which were of cut marble, are entirely crumbled
+away, but their length over three quarters of a league, is still
+discernible. No private house has been preserved, but I remarked
+several public buildings of fine architectural design. I found two
+magnificent amphitheatres constructed of solid marble, the columns,
+niches, &amp;c., in good condition, a few palaces, and three temples; one
+of the latter having a peristyle of twelve large Corinthian pillars, of
+which eleven were still erect. In one of these temples I found a fallen
+column of the finest polished Egyptian granite. Beside these, I found
+one of the city gates, formed of three arches, and ornamented with
+pilasters, in good preservation. The finest of the remains is a street
+adorned throughout its length with Corinthian columns on either side,
+and terminating in a semicircle, which was surrounded by sixty Ionic
+columns, all of the choicest marble. This street was crossed by
+another, and at the junction of the two, large pedestals of wrought
+stone occupied each angle, probably in former times these bore statues.
+Much of the pavement was constructed of hewn stone. Altogether I
+counted nearly two hundred columns, still in a fair state of
+preservation; but the number of these is far exceeded by those which
+have fallen into decay, for I saw only half the extent of the town, and
+in all probability the other half beyond this was also rich in
+remarkable relics."</p>
+
+<p>From Seetzen's description, Dscherrasch would appear to be identical
+with the ancient Gerasa, a town which up to that time had been
+erroneously placed on the maps.</p>
+
+<p>The traveller crossed Gerka&mdash;the Jabok of Jewish history&mdash;which forms
+the northern boundary of the country of the Ammonites, and penetrated
+into the district of El-Belka, formerly a flourishing country, but
+which he found uncultivated and barren, with but one small town, Szalt,
+formerly known as Amathus. Afterwards Seetzen visited Amman, a town
+which, under the name of Philadelphia, is renowned among the
+decapolitan cities, and where many antiquities are to be found, Eleal,
+an ancient city of the Amorites, Madaba, called Madba in the time of
+Moses, Mount Nebo, Diban, Karrak, the country of the Moabites, and the
+ruins of Robba, (Rabbath) anciently the royal residence. After much
+fatigue, he reached the region situated at the southern extremity of
+the Dead Sea, named Gor-es-Sophia.</p>
+
+<p>The heat was extreme, and great salt-plains, where no watercourses
+exist, had to be crossed. Upon the 6th of April, Seetzen arrived in
+Bethlehem, and soon afterwards at Jerusalem, having suffered greatly
+from thirst, but having passed through most interesting countries,
+hitherto unvisited by any modern traveller.</p>
+<a name="ill5"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration005">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580">
+			<img src="images/005.jpg" alt="Jerusalem">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580" align="center">
+			<small>Jerusalem.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+<br><br><a name="ill6"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration006">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="758">
+			<img src="images/006.jpg" alt="Map of Egypt, Nubia, and part of Arabia">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>He had also collected much valuable information respecting the nature
+of the waters of the Dead Sea, refuted many false notions, corrected
+mistakes upon the most carefully constructed maps, identified several
+sites of the ancient Peræa, and established the existence of numberless
+ruins, which bore witness to the prosperity of all this region under
+the sway of the Roman Empire. Upon the 25th of June, 1806, Seetzen left
+Jerusalem, and returned to St. Jean d'Acre by sea.</p>
+
+<p>In an article in the <i>Revùe Germanique</i> for 1858, M. Vinen speaks of
+his expedition as a veritable journey of discovery. Seetzen, however,
+was unwilling to leave his discoveries incomplete. Ten months later, he
+again visited the Dead Sea, and added largely to his observations. From
+thence he proceeded to Cairo, where he remained for two years, and
+bought a large portion of the oriental manuscripts which now enrich the
+library of Gotha. He collected many facts about the interior of the
+country, choosing instinctively those only which could be amply
+substantiated.</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen, with his insatiable thirst for discovery, could not remain
+long in repose, far removed from idleness though it was. In April,
+1809, he finally left the capital of Egypt, and directed his course
+towards Suez and the peninsula of Sinai, which he resolved to explore
+before proceeding to Arabia. At this time Arabia was a little-known
+country, frequented only by merchants trading in Mocha coffee-beans.
+Before Niebuhr's time no scientific expedition for the study of the
+geography of the country or the manners and customs of the inhabitants
+had been organized.</p>
+
+<p>This expedition owed its formation to Professor Michälis, who was
+anxious to obtain information which would throw light on certain
+passages in the Bible, and its expenses were defrayed by the generosity
+of King Frederick V. of Denmark. It comprised Von Hannen, the
+mathematician, Forskaal, the naturalist, a physician named Cramer,
+Braurenfeind, the painter, and Niebuhr, the engineer, a company of
+learned and scientific men, who thoroughly fulfilled all expectations
+founded upon their reputations.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of two years, from 1762 to 1764, they visited Egypt,
+Mount Sinai, Jeddah, landed at Loheia, and advancing into Arabia Felix,
+explored the country in accordance with the speciality of each man. But
+the enterprising travellers succumbed to illness and fatigue, and
+Niebuhr alone survived to utilize the observations made by himself and
+his companions. His work on the subject is an inexhaustible treasury,
+which may be drawn upon in our own day with advantage.</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen, therefore, had much to achieve to eclipse the fame of his
+predecessor. He omitted no means of doing so. After publicly professing
+the faith of Islam, he embarked at Suez for Mecca, and hoped to enter
+that city disguised as a pilgrim. Tor and Jeddah were the places
+visited by him before he travelled to the holy city of Mecca. He was
+much impressed by the wealth of the faithful and the peculiar
+characteristics of that city, which lives for and by the Mahometan
+cultus. "I was seized," says the traveller, "with an emotion which I
+have never experienced elsewhere."</p>
+
+<p>It is alike unnecessary to dwell upon this portion of the voyage and
+upon that relating to the excursion to Medina. Burckhardt's narrative
+gives a precise and trustworthy account of those holy places, and
+besides, there remain of Seetzen's works only the extracts published in
+"Les Annales des Voyages," and in the Correspondence of the Baron de
+Zach. The Journal of Seetzen's travels was published in German, and in
+a very incomplete manner, only in 1858.</p>
+
+<p>The traveller returned from Medina to Mecca, and devoted himself to a
+secret study of the town, with its religious ceremonies, and to taking
+astronomical observations, which determined the position of the capital
+of Islam.</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen returned to Jeddah on the 23rd March, 1810. He then
+re-embarked, with the Arab who had been his guide to Mecca, for
+Hodeidah, which is one of the principal ports of Yemen. Passing the
+mountainous district of Beith-el-Fakih, where coffee is cultivated,
+after a month's delay at Doran on account of illness, Seetzen entered
+Sana, the capital of Yemen, which he calls the most beautiful city of
+the East, on the 2nd of June. Upon the 22nd of July he reached Aden,
+and in November he was at Mecca, whence the last letters received from
+him are dated. Upon re-entering Yemen, he, like Niebuhr, was robbed of
+his collections and baggage, upon the pretext that he collected
+animals, in order to compose a philtre, with the intention of poisoning
+the springs.</p>
+
+<p>Seetzen, however, would not quietly submit to be robbed. He started at
+once for Sana, intending to lay a complaint before the Iman. This was
+in December, 1811. A few days later news of his sudden death arrived at
+Taes, and the tidings soon reached the ears of the Europeans who
+frequented the Arabian ports.</p>
+
+<p>It is little to the purpose now to inquire upon whom the responsibility
+of this death rests&mdash;whether upon the Iman or upon those who had
+plundered the traveller&mdash;but we may well regret that so thorough an
+explorer, already familiar with the habits and customs of the Arabs,
+was unable to continue his explorations, and that the greater portion
+of his diaries and observations have been entirely lost.</p>
+
+<p>"Seetzen," says M. Vivien de Saint Martin, "was the first traveller
+since Ludovico Barthema (1503) who visited Mecca, and before his time
+no European had even seen the holy city of Medina, consecrated by the
+tomb of the Prophet."</p>
+
+<p>From these remarks we gather how invaluable the trustworthy narrative
+of this disinterested and well-informed traveller would have been.</p>
+
+<p>Just as an untimely death ended Seetzen's self-imposed mission,
+Burckhardt set out upon a similar enterprise, and like him commenced
+his long and minute exploration of Arabia by preliminary travel through
+Syria.</p>
+
+<p>"It is seldom in the history of science," says M. Vivien de Saint
+Martin, "that we see two men of such merit succeed each other in the
+same career or rather continue it; for in reality Burckhardt followed
+up the traces Seetzen had opened out, and, seconded for a considerable
+time by favourable circumstances which enabled him to prosecute his
+explorations, he was enabled to add very considerably to the known
+discoveries of his predecessor."</p>
+
+<p>Although John Lewis Burckhardt was not English, for he was a native of
+Lausanne, he must none the less be classed among the travellers of
+Great Britain. It was owing to his relations with Sir Joseph Banks, the
+naturalist who had accompanied Cook, and Hamilton, the secretary of the
+African Association, who gave him ready and valuable support, that
+Burckhardt was enabled to accomplish what he did.</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt was a deeply learned man. He had passed through the
+universities of Leipzic, and Göttingen, where he attended Blumenbach's
+lectures, and afterwards through Cambridge, where he studied Arabic. He
+started for the East in 1809. To inure himself to the hardships of a
+traveller's life, he imposed long fasts upon himself, accustomed
+himself to endure thirst, and chose the pavements of London or dusty
+roads for a resting-place. But how trifling were these experiences in
+comparison with those involved in an apostolate of science!</p>
+
+<p>Leaving London for Syria, where he hoped to perfect his knowledge of
+Arabic, Burckhardt intended to proceed to Cairo and to reach Fezzan by
+the route formerly opened up by Hornemann. Once arrived in that
+country, circumstances must determine his future course.</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt, having taken the name of Ibrahim-Ibn-Abdallah, intended to
+pass as an Indian Mussulman. In order to carry out this disguise, he
+had recourse to many expedients. In an obituary notice of him in the
+"Annales des Voyages," it is related that when unexpectedly called upon
+to speak the Indian language, he immediately had recourse to German. An
+Italian dragoman, suspecting him of being a giaour, pulled him by his
+beard, thereby offering him the greatest insult possible in his
+character of Mussulman. But Burckhardt had so thoroughly entered into
+the spirit of his rôle, that he responded by a vigorous blow, which
+sending the unfortunate dragoman spinning to a distance, turned the
+laugh against him, and thoroughly convinced the bystanders of the
+sincerity of the traveller.</p>
+<a name="ill7"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration007">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589">
+			<img src="images/007.jpg" alt="Portrait of Burckhardt">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589" align="center">
+			<small>Portrait of Burckhardt.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Burckhardt remained at Aleppo from September, 1809, to February, 1812,
+pursuing his studies of Syrian manners and customs, and of the language
+of the country, with but one interruption, a six months' excursion to
+Damascus, Palmyra, and the Hauran, a country which had hitherto been
+visited by Seetzen only.</p>
+
+<p>It is related that, during an excursion into Gor, a district north of
+Aleppo, upon the shores of the Euphrates, the traveller was robbed of
+his baggage and stripped of his clothes by a band of robbers. When
+nothing remained to him but his trousers, the wife of a chief, who had
+not received her share of the spoil, wished to relieve him even of
+those indispensable garments!</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Revue Germanique</i> says:&mdash;"We owe a great deal of information to
+these excursions, respecting a country of which we had only crude
+notions, gained from Seetzen's incomplete communications. Burckhardt's
+power of close observation detected a number of interesting facts, even
+in well-known districts, which had escaped the notice of other
+travellers. These materials were published by Colonel Martin William
+Leake, himself a geographer, a man of learning, and a distinguished
+traveller."</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt had seen Palmyra and Baalbek, the slopes of Lebanon and the
+valley of the Orontes, Lake Huleh, and the sources of the Jordan; he
+had discovered many ancient sites; and his observations had led
+especially to the discovery of the site of the far-famed Apamoea,
+although both he and his publisher were mistaken in their application
+of the data obtained. His excursions in the Auranitis were equally
+rich, even though coming after Seetzen's, in those geographical and
+archæological details which represent the actual condition of a
+country, and throw a light upon the comparative geography of every age.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Damascus in 1813, Burckhardt visited the Dead Sea, the valley
+of Akâba, and the ancient port of Azcongater, districts which in our
+own day are traversed by parties of English, with their <i>Murray</i>,
+<i>Cook</i>, or <i>Bædeker</i> in their hands; but which then were only to be
+visited at the risk of life. In a lateral valley, the traveller came
+upon the ruins of Petra, the ancient capital of Arabia Petræa.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the year Burckhardt was at Cairo. Judging it best not to
+join the caravan which was just starting for Fezzan, he felt a great
+inclination to visit Nubia, a country rich in attractions for the
+historian, geographer, and archæologist. Nubia, the cradle of Egyptian
+civilization, had only been visited, since the days of the Portuguese
+Alvares, by Poncet and Lenoir Duroule, both Frenchmen, at the close of
+the seventeenth century, at the opening of the eighteenth by Bruce,
+whose narrative had so often been doubted, and by Norden, who had not
+penetrated beyond Derr.</p>
+
+<p>In 1813 Burckhardt explored Nubia proper, including Mahass and
+Kemijour. This expedition cost him only forty-two francs, a very paltry
+sum in comparison with the price involved in the smallest attempt at an
+African journey in our own day; but we must not forget that Burckhardt
+was content to live upon millet-seed, and that his entire <i>cortége</i>
+consisted of two dromedaries.</p>
+
+<p>Two Englishmen, Mr. Legh and Mr. Smelt, were travelling in the country
+at the same time, scattering gold and presents as they passed, and thus
+rendering the visits of their successors costly.</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt crossed the cataracts of the Nile. "A little farther on,"
+says the narrative, "near a place called Djebel-Lamoule, the Arab
+guides practise a curious extortion." This is their plan of proceeding.
+They halt, descend from their camels, and arrange a little heap of sand
+and pebbles, in imitation of a Nubian tomb. This they, call "<i>preparing
+the grave for the traveller</i>" and follow up the demonstration by an
+imperious demand for money. Burckhardt having watched his guide
+commence this operation, began quietly to imitate him, and then said,
+"Here is thy grave; as we are brothers, it is but fair that we should
+be buried together." The Arab could not help laughing, both graves were
+simultaneously destroyed, and remounting the camels, the cavalcade
+proceeded, better friends than before. The Arab quoted a saying from
+the Koran: "No human being knows in what spot of the earth he will find
+his grave."</p>
+<a name="ill8"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration008">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="582">
+			<img src="images/008.jpg" alt="Here is thy grave">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="582" align="center">
+			<small>"Here is thy grave."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Burckhardt had hoped to get as far as Dingola, but was obliged to rest
+satisfied with collecting information about the country and the
+Mamelukes, who had taken refuge there after the massacre of their army
+by order of the viceroy of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>The attention of the traveller was frequently directed to the ruins of
+temples and ancient cities, than which none are more curious than those
+of Isambul.</p>
+
+<p>"The temple on the banks of the Nile is approached by an avenue flanked
+by six colossal figures, which measure six feet and a half from the
+ground to the knees. They are representations of Isis and Osiris, in
+various attitudes. The sides and capitals of the pillars are covered
+with paintings or hieroglyphic carvings, in which Burckhardt thought a
+very ancient style was to be traced. All these are hewn out of the
+rock, and the faces appear to have been painted yellow, with black
+hair. Two hundred yards from this temple are the ruins of a still
+larger monument, consisting of four enormous figures, so deeply buried
+in the sand that it is impossible to say whether they are in a standing
+or sitting posture."</p>
+
+<p>These descriptions of antiquities, which in our own day are accurately
+known by drawings and photographs, have, however, little value for us;
+and are merely interesting as indicating the state of the ruins when
+Burckhardt visited them, and enabling us to judge how far the
+depredations of the Arabs have since changed them.</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt's first excursion was limited to the borders of the Nile, a
+narrow space made up of little valleys, which debouched into the river.
+The traveller estimated the population of the country at 100,000,
+distributed over a surface of fertile land 450 miles in length, by a
+quarter of a mile in width.</p>
+
+<p>"The men," says the narrative, "are, as a rule, muscular, rather
+shorter than the Egyptians, having little beard or moustache, usually
+merely a pointed beard under the chin. They have a pleasant expression,
+are superior to the Egyptians in courage and intelligence, and
+naturally inquisitive. They are not thieves. They occasionally pick up
+a fortune by dint of hard work, but they have little enterprise. Women
+share the same physical advantages, are pretty as a rule, and well
+made; their appearance is gentle and pleasing, and they are modest in
+behaviour. M. Denon has underrated the Nubians, but it must not be
+forgotten that their physique varies in different districts. Where
+there is much land to cultivate, they are well developed; but in
+districts where arable land is a mere strip, the people diminish in
+vigour, and are sometimes walking skeletons."</p>
+
+<p>The whole country groaned under the yoke of the Kashefs, who were
+descendants of the commander of the Bosniacs, and paid only a small
+annual tribute to Egypt, which, however, was sufficient to serve as a
+pretext for oppressing the unfortunate fellaheen. Burckhardt cites a
+curious example of the insolence with which the Kashefs behaved.</p>
+
+<p>"Hassan Kashef," he says, was in need of barley for his horses.
+Accompanied by his slaves, he walked into the fields, and there met the
+owner of a fine plot of barley. "How badly you cultivate your land,"
+said he. "Here you plant barley in a field where you might have reaped
+an excellent crop of water-melons of double the value. See, here are
+some melon-seeds (offering a handful to the peasant proprietor); sow
+your field with these; and you, slaves, tear up this bad barley and
+bring it to me."</p>
+
+<p>In March, 1814, after a short rest, Burckhardt undertook a fresh
+exploration, not this time of the banks of the Nile, but of the Nubian
+desert. Justly conceiving poverty to be his surest safe guard, he
+dismissed his servant, sold his camel, and contenting himself with one
+ass, joined a caravan of poor traders. The caravan started from Daraou,
+a village inhabited partly by fellahs and partly by Ababdéh Arabs. The
+traveller had good reason to complain of the former, not because they
+recognized him as a European, but because they imagined him to be a
+Syrian Turk, come to share the commerce in slaves of which they had the
+monopoly.</p>
+
+<p>It would be useless to enumerate the names of the bridges, hills, and
+valleys in this desert. We will rather summarize the traveller's report
+of the physical aspect of the country.</p>
+
+<p>Bruce, who had explored it, paints it in too gloomy colours, and
+exaggerates the difficulties of the route. If Burckhardt is to be
+credited, the country is less barren than that between Aleppo and
+Bagdad, or Damascus and Medina. The Nubian desert is not merely a plain
+of sand, where nothing interrupts the dreary monotony. It is
+interspersed with rocks, some not less than 300 feet in height, and
+shaded by thickets of acacias or date-trees. The shelter of these trees
+is, however, unavailing against the vertical rays of the sun, which
+explains an Arabic proverb, "Rely upon the favour of the great and the
+shade of an acacia."</p>
+
+<p>At Ankheyre, or Wady-Berber, the caravan reached the Nile, after
+passing Shigre, one of the best mountain springs. One danger only is to
+be feared in crossing the desert; that of finding the wells at Nedjeym
+dry; and, unless the traveller should lose his way, which, however,
+with trustworthy guides, is little likely to happen, no serious
+obstacle arises.</p>
+
+<p>It would appear, therefore, that the sufferings experienced by Bruce
+must have been greatly exaggerated, although the narrative of the
+Scotch traveller is generally trustworthy. The natives of the province
+of Berber appear to be identical with the Barbarins of Bruce, the
+Barabas mentioned by D'Anville, and the Barauras spoken of by Poncet.
+They are a well-made race, and different in feature from the negroes.
+They maintain their purity of descent by marrying only with the women
+of their own or of kindred tribes. Curious as is the picture Burckhardt
+draws of the character and manners of this tribe, it is not at all
+edifying. It would be difficult to convey an idea of the corruption and
+degradation of the Berbers. The little town of Wady-Berber, a
+commercial centre, the rendezvous for caravans, and a depôt for slaves,
+is a regular resort of banditti.</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt, who had trusted to the protection of the merchants of
+Daraou, found that he had made a great mistake in so doing. They sought
+every means of plundering him, chased him out of their company, and
+forced him to seek refuge with the guides and donkey-drivers, who
+cordially welcomed him.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 10th of April a fine was levied upon the caravan by the Mek of
+Damer, which lies a little south of the tributary Mogren (called Mareb
+by Bruce). This is a well-kept and cleanly Fakir village, which
+contrasts agreeably with the ruins and filth of Berber. The Fakirs give
+themselves up to the practices of sorcery, magic, and charlatanism. One
+of them, it is said, could even make a lamb bleat in the stomach of the
+man who had stolen and eaten it! These ignorant people have entire
+faith in such fables, and it must be reluctantly admitted that the fact
+contributes not a little to the peace of the town and the prosperity of
+the country.</p>
+
+<p>From Damer, Burckhardt proceeded to Shendy, where he passed a month,
+during which time no one suspected him to be an infidel. Shendy had
+grown in importance since Bruce's visit, and now consisted of about a
+thousand houses. Considerable trade was carried on&mdash;grass, slaves, and
+cattle taking the place of specie. The principal marketable commodities
+were gum, ivory, gold, and ostrich feathers.</p>
+
+<p>According to Burckhardt, the number of slaves sold yearly at Shendy
+amounts to 5000; 2500 of these are for Arabia, 400 for Egypt, 1000 for
+Dongola and the districts of the Red Sea.</p>
+
+<p>The traveller employed his time during his stay at Sennaar in
+collecting information about that kingdom. Amongst other curious
+things, he was told that the king having one day invited the ambassador
+of Mehemet Ali to a cavalry review, which he considered rather
+formidable, the envoy in his turn begged the king to witness part of
+the Turkish artillery exercises. But at the outset of the
+performance&mdash;at the discharge of two small mounted guns&mdash;cavalry,
+infantry, spectators, courtiers, and the king himself, fled in terror.</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt sold his wares, and then, worn out by the persecutions of
+the Egyptian merchants who were his companions, he joined the caravan
+at Suakin, intending to traverse the unknown district between that town
+and Shendy. From Suakin he meant to set out for Mecca, hoping to find
+the Hadji useful to him in the realization of his projects.</p>
+
+<p>"The Hadji," he says, "form one powerful body, and every member is
+protected, because if one is attacked the whole number take up arms."
+The caravan which Burckhardt now joined consisted of 150 merchants and
+300 slaves. Two hundred camels were employed to convey heavy bales of
+"danmour," a stuff manufactured in Sennaar, and cargoes of tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>The first object of interest to the travellers was the Atbara, a
+tributary of the Nile, whose banks, with their verdant trees, were
+grateful to the eye after the sandy desert. The course of the river was
+followed as far as the fertile district of Taka. During the journey the
+white skin of the pretended sheik Ibrahim (it will be remembered that
+this was the name assumed by Burckhardt) attracted much attention from
+the female population, who were little accustomed to the sight of
+Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>"One day," relates the traveller, "a girl of the country, of whom I had
+been buying onions, offered to give me an extra quantity if I would
+remove my turban, and show her my head. I demanded eight more onions,
+which she immediately produced. As I removed my turban, and exposed my
+white and close-shaven head to view, she sprang back in horror and
+dismay. I asked her jokingly if she would not like a husband with a
+similar head, to which she replied with much energy, and many
+expressions of disgust, that she would prefer the ugliest slave ever
+brought from Darfur."</p>
+
+<p>Just before Goz Radjeh was reached, Burckhardt's attention was
+attracted to a building, which he was told was either a church or
+temple, the same word having the two meanings. He at once proceeded in
+that direction, hoping to examine it, but his companions stopped him,
+saying, "It is surrounded by bands of robbers; you cannot go a hundred
+steps without danger of attack."</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt was unable to decide whether it was an Egyptian temple, or a
+monument of the empire of Axum.</p>
+
+<p>At last the caravan entered the fertile district of Tak or El Gasch, a
+wide watered plain, whose soil is wonderfully fertile, but which for
+two months in the year is uninhabited. Grain is plentiful and is sold
+in Jeddah for twenty per cent. more than the best Egyptian millet.</p>
+
+<p>The inhabitants, who are called Hadendoa, are treacherous, dishonest,
+and bloodthirsty; and their women are almost as degraded as those of
+Shendy and Berber.</p>
+
+<p>Upon leaving Taka, the road to Suakin and the shores of the Red Sea lay
+over a chain of chalk hills. At Schenterab granite is found. The hills
+presented few difficulties, and the caravan reached Suakin in safety
+upon the 26th May. But Burckhardt's troubles were not yet at an end.
+The Emir and Aga combined to plunder him, and treated him as the lowest
+of slaves, until he produced the firman which he had received from
+Mehemet Ali and Ibrahim Pasha. This changed the face of affairs.
+Instead of being thrown into prison the traveller was invited to the
+Aga's, who offered him a present of a young slave. M. Vivien de Saint
+Martin writes of this expedition, "This journey of from twenty to
+twenty-five days, between the Nile and the Red Sea, was the first ever
+undertaken by a European. The observations collected, as to the settled
+or nomad tribes of these districts are invaluable for Europe.
+Burckhardt's narrative is of increasing interest, and few can compare
+with it for instruction and interest."</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 7th of July Burckhardt succeeded in embarking in a boat, and
+eleven days later he reached Jeddah, which serves as a harbour to
+Mecca. Jeddah is built upon the sea-shore, and is surrounded by a wall,
+which, insufficient as it would be against artillery, protects it
+perfectly from the attacks of the Wahabees, who have been nicknamed the
+"Puritans of Islamism." These people are a distinct sect, who claim to
+restore Mahomedanism to its primitive simplicity.</p>
+
+<p>"The entrance to the town, upon the side nearest the sea," says
+Burckhardt, "is protected by a battery which overlooks the entire fort,
+and is surmounted by one enormous piece of artillery capable of
+discharging a five-hundred pound shot, which is so renowned throughout
+the Arabian Gulf, that its reputation alone is enough to protect
+Jeddah."</p>
+
+<p>The greatest drawback to this city is its want of fresh water, which is
+brought from small wells two miles distant. Without gardens,
+vegetables, or date-trees, Jeddah, in spite of its population of twelve
+or fifteen thousand (a number which is doubled in the pilgrimage
+season) presents a strange appearance. The population is the reverse of
+autochthonous; it is composed of natives of Hadramaut and Yemen,
+Indians from Surat and Bombay, and Malays who come as pilgrims and
+settle in the town. Burckhardt introduces many anecdotes of interest
+into his account of the manners, mode of living, price of commodities,
+and number of traders in the place.</p>
+<a name="ill9"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration009">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586">
+			<img src="images/009.jpg" alt="Merchant of Jeddah">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586" align="center">
+			<small>Merchant of Jeddah.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Speaking of the singular customs of the natives of Jeddah, he
+says:&mdash;"It is the almost universal custom for everybody to swallow a
+cup full of ghee or melted butter in the morning. After this they take
+coffee, which they regard as a strong tonic; and they are so accustomed
+to this habit from their earliest years, that they feel greatly
+inconvenienced if they discontinue it. The higher classes are satisfied
+with drinking the cup of butter, but the lower classes add another half
+cup, which they draw up through the nostrils, imagining that they thus
+prevent bad air entering the body by those apertures."</p>
+
+<p>The traveller left Jeddah for Tayf on the 24th of August. The road
+winds over mountains and across valleys of romantic beauty and
+luxuriant verdure. Burckhardt was taken for an English spy at Tayf,
+and, although he was well received by the Pasha, he had no liberty, and
+could not carry on his observations.</p>
+
+<p>Tayf, it appears, is famous for the beauty of its gardens; roses and
+grapes are sent from it into all the districts of Hedjaz. This town had
+a considerable trade, and was very prosperous before it was plundered
+by the Wahabees.</p>
+<a name="ill10"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration010">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577">
+			<img src="images/010.jpg" alt="Shores and boats of the Red Sea">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577" align="center">
+			<small>Shores and boats of the Red Sea.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The surveillance to which he was subjected hastened Burckhardt's
+departure, and upon the 7th of September he started for Mecca. Well
+versed in the study of the Koran, and acquainted with all the practices
+of Islamism, he was prepared to act the part of a pilgrim. His first
+care was to dress himself in accordance with the law prescribed for the
+faithful who enter Mecca&mdash;in the "ihram," or pieces of cloth without
+seam, one covering the loins, the other thrown over the neck and
+shoulders. The pilgrim's first duty is to proceed to the temple,
+without waiting even to procure a lodging. This Burckhardt did not fail
+to do, observing at the same time the rites and ceremonies prescribed
+in such cases, of which he gives many interesting particulars; we
+cannot, however, dwell upon them here.</p>
+
+<p>"Mecca," says Burckhardt, "may be called a pretty town. As a rule, the
+streets are wider than in most Eastern cities. The houses are lofty and
+built of stone; and its numerous windows, opening upon the street, give
+it a more cheerful and European aspect than the cities of Egypt or
+Syria, whose dwellings generally have few windows on the outside. Every
+house has a terrace built of stone, and sloping in such a way as to
+allow water to run down the gutters into the street. Low walls with
+parapets conceal these terraces; for, as everywhere else in the East,
+it is not thought right for a man to appear there; he would be accused
+of spying upon the women, who spend much of their time upon the terrace
+of the house, engaged in domestic work, drying corn, hanging out linen,
+&amp;c."</p>
+
+<p>The only public place in the city is the large court of the Grand
+Mosque. Trees are rare; not a garden enlivens the view, and the scene
+depends for animation upon the well-stocked shops which abound during
+the pilgrimage. With the exception of four or five large houses
+belonging to the administration, two colleges, which have since been
+converted into warehouses for corn, and the mosque with the few
+buildings and colleges connected with it, Mecca can boast of no public
+buildings, and cannot compete in this respect with other cities in the
+East of the same size.</p>
+
+<p>The streets are unpaved; and as drains are unknown, water collects in
+puddles, and the accumulation of mud is inconceivable. For a water
+supply the natives trust to heaven, catching the rain in cisterns, for
+that obtained from the wells is so foul that it is impossible to drink
+it.</p>
+
+<p>In the centre of the town, where the valley widens a little, the mosque
+known as Beithóu'llah, or El Haram, is situated. This edifice owes its
+fame to the Kaaba which is enclosed in it, for other Eastern towns can
+boast of mosques equally large and more beautiful. El Haram is situated
+in an oblong space, surrounded on the eastern side by a quadruple
+colonnade, and by a triple one on the other. The columns are connected
+by pointed arches, upon each four stand little domes constructed of
+mortar and whitened outside. Some of these columns are of white marble,
+granite, or porphyry, but the greater part are of the common stone
+found among the mountains of Mecca.</p>
+
+<p>The Kaaba has been so often ruined and restored that no trace of a
+remote antiquity remains. It was in existence before this mosque was
+built.</p>
+
+<p>The traveller says, "The Kaaba is placed upon an inclined base some two
+feet high, and its roof being flat, it presents the appearance at a
+little distance of a perfect cube. The only door by which it can be
+entered, and which is opened two or three times a year, is on the north
+side, about seven feet above the ground, for which reason one cannot
+enter except by means of a wooden staircase. The famous 'black stone'
+is enshrined at the north-eastern corner of the Kaaba, near the door,
+and forms one of the angles of the building four or five feet above the
+floor of the court. It is difficult to ascertain the exact nature of
+this stone, as its surface has been completely worn and reduced to its
+present condition by the kisses and worshipping touches bestowed upon
+it by countless millions of pilgrims. The Kaaba is entirely covered
+with black silk, which envelopes its sides, leaving the roof exposed.
+This veil or curtain is called 'the Kesoua,' and is renewed yearly
+during the pilgrimage. It is brought from Cairo, where it is
+manufactured at the expense of the Viceroy."</p>
+
+<p>Up to the time of Burckhardt no such detailed account of Mecca and her
+sanctuary had been given to the world. For this reason we shall insert
+extracts from the original narrative; extracts which might indeed be
+multiplied, for they include circumstantial accounts of the sacred
+well, called Zemzem, water from which is considered as an infallible
+remedy for every complaint. The traveller speaks also of the "Gate of
+Salvation," of the Makam Ibrahim, a monument containing the stone upon
+which Abraham sat when he was engaged in building the Kaaba, and where
+the marks of his knees may still be seen, and of all the buildings
+enclosed within the temple precincts.</p>
+
+<p>Judging from Burckhardt's minute and complete description, these spots
+still retain their former physiognomy. The same number of pilgrims
+chant the same songs; the men only are no longer the same. His accounts
+of the feast of the pilgrimage and the holy enthusiasm of the faithful,
+are followed by a picture which brings before us, in the most sombre
+colours, the effects of this great gathering of men, attracted from
+every part of the world.</p>
+
+<p>"The termination of the pilgrimage," he says, "lends a very different
+aspect to the mosque. Illness and death, consequent upon the great
+fatigues undergone during the voyage, are accelerated by the scanty
+covering afforded by the Ihram, the unhealthy dwellings of Mecca, the
+bad food, and frequent absolute dearth of provisions. The temple is
+filled with corpses brought thither to receive the prayers of the Iman,
+or with sick persons who insist upon being carried, as their last hours
+approach, to the colonnade, hoping to be saved by the sight of the
+Kaaba, or in any case to have the consolation of expiring within the
+sacred precincts. One sees poor pilgrims, sinking under illness and
+hunger, dragging their weary bodies along the colonnade; and when they
+no longer have the strength to stretch out a hand to the passer-by,
+they place a little jar beside the mat upon which they are laid, to
+receive what charity may bestow upon them. As they feel the last moment
+approach, they cover themselves with their ragged clothes, and very
+often a day passes before it is ascertained that they are dead."</p>
+
+<p>We will conclude our extracts from Burckhardt's account of Mecca with
+his opinion of the inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>"Although the natives of Mecca possess grand qualities, although they
+are pleasant, hospitable, cheerful and proud, they openly transgress
+the Koran by drinking, gambling, and smoking. Deceit and perjury are no
+longer looked upon as crimes by them; they do not ignore the scandal
+such vices bring upon them; but while each individually exclaims
+against the corruption of manners, none reform themselves."</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 15th of January, 1815, Burckhardt left Mecca with a caravan of
+pilgrims on their way to visit the tomb of the prophet. The journey to
+Medina, like that between Mecca and Jeddah, was accomplished at night,
+and afforded little opportunity for observation. In the winter
+night-travelling is less comfortable than travelling by day. A valley
+called Wady-Fatme, but generally known as El-Wadi, was crossed; it
+abounded in shrubs and date-trees, and was well cultivated in the
+eastern portion. A little beyond it lies the valley of Es-Ssafra, the
+market of the neighbouring tribes and celebrated for its plantations of
+dates.</p>
+
+<p>The traveller relates that "The groves of date-trees extend for nearly
+four miles, and belong to the natives of Ssafra as well as to the
+Bedouins of the neighbourhood, who employ labourers to water the
+ground, and come themselves to reap the harvest. The date-trees pass
+from one person to another in the course of trade; they are sold
+separately. A father often receives three date-trees as the price of
+the daughter he gives in marriage. They are all planted in deep sand
+brought from the middle of the valley, and piled up over their roots;
+they ought to be renewed every year, and they are generally swept away
+by the torrents. Each little plot is surrounded by a wall of mud or
+stone, and the cultivators live in hamlets or isolated cabins among the
+trees. The principal stream flows through a grove near the market;
+beside it rises a little mosque, shaded by large chestnuts. I had seen
+none before in the Hedjaz."</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt was thirteen days in reaching Medina. But this rather long
+journey was not lost time to him; he collected much information about
+the Arabs and the Wahabees. At Medina, as at Mecca, the pilgrim's first
+duty is to visit the tomb and mosque of Mahomet; but the ceremonies
+attending the visit are much easier and shorter, and the traveller
+performed them in a quarter of an hour.</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt's stay at Mecca had already been prejudicial to him. At
+Medina he was attacked by intermittent fever, which increased in
+violence, and was accompanied by violent sickness. This soon so reduced
+him, that he could no longer rise from his carpet without the
+assistance of his slave, "a poor fellow who by nature and habit was
+more fit to tend camels than to take care of his worn-out and enfeebled
+master."</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt being detained at Medina for more than three months by a
+fever, due to bad climate, the detestable quality of the water, and the
+prevalence of infectious illnesses, was forced to relinquish his
+project of crossing the desert to Akabah, in order to reach Yanibo as
+quickly as possible, and from thence embark for Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>"Next to Aleppo," he says, "Medina is the best-built town I have seen
+in the East. It is entirely of stone, the houses being generally three
+stories high, with flat tops. As they are not whitewashed, and the
+stone is brown in colour, the streets, which are very narrow, have
+usually a sombre appearance. They are often only two or three paces
+wide. At the present time Medina looks desolate enough; the houses are
+falling into ruins. Their owners, who formerly derived a considerable
+profit from the inroad of pilgrims, find their revenues diminishing, as
+the Wahabees forbid visitors to the tomb of the prophet, alleging that
+he was but a mere mortal. The possession which places Medina on a par
+with Mecca is the Grand Mosque, containing the tomb of Mahomet. This is
+smaller than that at Mecca, but is built upon the same plan, in a large
+square courtyard, surrounded on all sides by covered galleries, and
+having a small building in the centre. The famous tomb, surrounded by
+an iron railing painted green, is near the eastern corner. It is of
+good workmanship, in imitation of filagree, and interlaced with
+inscriptions in copper. Four doors, of which three lead into this
+enclosure, are kept constantly shut. Permission to enter is freely
+accorded to persons of rank, and others can purchase permission of the
+principal eunuchs for about fifteen piasters. In the interior are
+hangings which surround the tomb, and are only a few feet from it."
+According to the historian of Medina, these hangings cover a square
+edifice, built of black stones, and supported upon two columns, in the
+interior of which are the sepulchres of Mahomet and his two eldest
+disciples, Abou-Bekr and Omar. He also states that these sepulchres are
+deep holes, and that the coffin which contains the ashes of Mahomet is
+covered with silver, and surmounted by a marble slab with the
+inscription, "In the name of God, give him thy pity." The fables which
+were spread throughout Europe as to the tomb of the prophet being
+suspended in mid air, are unknown in the Hedjaz. The mosque was robbed
+of a great part of its treasures by the Wahabees, but there is some
+ground for believing that they had been forestalled by the successive
+guardians of the tomb.</p>
+
+<p>Many other interesting details of Medina, and its inhabitants,
+surroundings, and the haunts of pilgrims, are to be found in
+Burckhardt's narrative. But we have given sufficient extracts to induce
+the reader who desires further information respecting the manners and
+customs of the Arabs, which have not changed, to refer to the book
+itself.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 21st of April, 1815, Burckhardt joined a caravan which
+conducted him to Yembo, where the plague was raging. The traveller at
+once fell ill and became so weak that it was impossible for him to
+resort to a country place. To embark was equally impossible; all the
+vessels which were ready to start were crowded with soldiers. He was
+compelled to remain eighteen days in the unhealthy little town, before
+he could obtain a passage in a small vessel which took him to Cosseir,
+and thence to Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>Upon his return to Cairo Burckhardt heard of his father's death. The
+traveller's constitution had been sorely tried by illness, and he was
+unable to attempt the ascent of Mount Sinai until 1816. The study of
+natural history, the publication of his diary, and his correspondence,
+occupied him until 1817, at which time he expected to go with a caravan
+to Fezzan. Unfortunately he succumbed to a sudden attack of fever, his
+last words being, "Write and tell my mother that my last thought was of
+her."</p>
+
+<p>Burckhardt was an accomplished traveller; well-informed, exact to
+minuteness, patient, courageous, and endowed with an upright and
+energetic character. His writings are of great value; the narrative of
+his voyage in Arabia&mdash;of which he unfortunately could not explore the
+interior&mdash;is so complete and precise, that owing to it that country was
+then better known than many in Europe.</p>
+
+<p>In writing to his father from Cairo on the 13th of March, 1817, he
+says, "I have never said a word about what I have seen and met with
+that my conscience did not entirely justify; I did not expose myself to
+so much danger in order to write a romance!"</p>
+
+<p>The explorers who have succeeded him in the same countries unanimously
+testify to his exactness, and agree in praising his fidelity,
+knowledge, and sagacity.</p>
+
+<p>"Few travellers," says the <i>Revue Germanique</i>, "have enjoyed in a like
+degree the faculty of observation. That is a rare gift of nature, like
+all eminent qualities. He possessed a sort of intuition which discerned
+the truth, apart from his own observations, and thus information given
+by him from hearsay has a value that seldom attaches to statements of
+that nature. His mind, early ripened by reflection and study (he was
+but in his thirty-third year at the time of his death), invariably went
+straight to the point. His narrative, always sober, is filled&mdash;one may
+say&mdash;rather with things than words; yet his narratives possess infinite
+charm; one admires the man in them as much as the savant and observer."</p>
+
+<p>While the Biblical countries occupied the attention of Seetzen and
+Burckhardt, India, the birthplace of most of the European languages,
+was about to command the attention of students of language, literature,
+and religion, as well as of geography. For the present our concern is
+with those problems of physical geography, which the conquests and
+studies of the India Company were about to solve by degrees.</p>
+
+<p>In a preceding volume we have related how the Portuguese rule was
+established in India. The union of Portugal with Spain, in 1599, led to
+the fall of the Portuguese colonies, which came into the possession of
+the English and Dutch. England soon afterwards granted a monopoly of
+the commerce of India to a Company which was destined to play an
+important part in history.</p>
+
+<p>At this time Akbar, the great Mogul emperor, the seventh descendant of
+Timour Leng, had established a vast empire in Hindustan and Bengal,
+upon the ruins of the Rajpoot kingdoms. Owing to the personal qualities
+of Akbar, which had gained for him the surname of the Benefactor of
+Man, that empire was at the height of its glory. The same brilliant
+course was pursued by Shah Jehan; but Akbar's grandson, Aurung Zeb,
+inspired by an insatiable ambition, assassinated his brothers,
+imprisoned his father, and seized the reins of government. While the
+Mogul Empire was in the enjoyment of profound peace, a clever
+adventurer laid the foundations of the Mahratta Empire. The religious
+intolerance of Aurung Zeb, and his crafty policy, led to the
+insurrection of the Rajpoots, and a struggle, which by draining the
+resources of the empire, shook his power. The death of the great
+usurper was followed by the decadence of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>Up to this period the India Company had been unable to add to the
+narrow strip of territory which they possessed at the ports, but it was
+now to benefit by the conflict between the nabobs and rajahs of
+Hindustan. It was not, however, until after the taking of Madras, in
+1746, by La Bourdonnais, and the struggle against Dupleix, that the
+influence and dominion of the English Company was materially increased.</p>
+
+<p>The crafty policy of Clive and Hastings, the English Governors, who
+successively employed force, stratagem, and bribery, to attain their
+ends, laid the foundation of British greatness in India, and, at the
+close of the last century, the Company were possessors of an immense
+extent of country, with no less than sixty millions of inhabitants.
+Their territory included Bengal, Behar, the provinces of Benares,
+Madras, and the Sircars. Tippoo Saib alone, the Sultan of Mysore,
+struggled against the English encroachments, but he was unable to hold
+out against the coalition formed against him by the skill of Colonel
+Wellesley. When rid of their formidable enemies, the Company overcame
+such opposition as remained by pensions; and, under the pretext of
+protection, imposed upon the rajahs an English garrison which was
+maintained at their expense.</p>
+
+<p>One would imagine from all this that the English rule was detested; but
+that is not the case. The Company, recognizing the rights of
+individuals, did not attempt to change the religion, laws, or customs
+of their subjects. Neither is it surprising that travellers, even when
+they ventured into districts which, properly speaking, did not belong
+to Great Britain, incurred but little danger. In fact, so soon as the
+East India Company was free from political embarrassments, it
+encouraged explorers throughout its vast domains. At the same time
+travellers were despatched to the neighbouring territories to collect
+observations, and we propose rapidly to review those expeditions.</p>
+<a name="ill11"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Illustration011">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="1262">
+			<img src="images/011.jpg" alt="Map of English India and part of Persia">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="1262" align="left">
+			<small><small>Gravé par E. Morieu.</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>One of the first and most curious was that of Webb to the sources of
+the Ganges, a river concerning which uncertain and contradictory
+opinions prevailed. The Government of Bengal, recognizing the great
+importance of the Ganges in the interests of commerce, organized an
+expedition, of which Messrs. Webb, Roper, and Hearsay, formed part.
+They were to be accompanied by Sepoys, native servants, and
+interpreters.</p>
+
+<p>The expedition reached Herdouar, a small village on the left of the
+river, upon the 1st of April, 1808. The situation of this village, at
+the entrance of the fertile plains of Hindustan, had caused it to be
+much frequented by pilgrims, and it was at this spot that purifications
+in the waters of the holy river took place during the hot season.</p>
+
+<p>As every pilgrimage implies the sale of relics, Herdouar was the centre
+of an important market, where horses, camels, antimony, asafoetida,
+dried fruits, shawls, arrows, muslins, cotton and woollen goods from
+the Punjab, Cabulistan, and Cashmere, were to be had. Slaves, too, were
+to be bought there from three to thirty years of age, at prices varying
+from 10 to 150 rupees. This fair, where such different races,
+languages, and costumes were to be met with, presented a curious
+spectacle.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 12th of April the English expedition set out for Gangautri,
+following a road planted with white mulberries and figs, as far as
+Gourondar. A little farther on water-mills of simple construction were
+at work, upon the banks of streams shaded with willows and
+raspberry-trees. The soil was fertile, but the tyranny of the
+Government prevented the natives from making the best of it.</p>
+
+<p>The route soon became mountainous, but peach, apricot, nut, and other
+European trees abounded, and at length the expedition found themselves
+in the midst of a chain of mountains, which appeared to belong to the
+Himalaya range.</p>
+
+<p>The Baghirati, which is known further on as the Ganges, was met with at
+the end of a pass. To the left, the river is bounded by high, almost
+barren mountains; to the right stretches a fertile valley. At the
+village of Tchiavli, the poppy is largely cultivated for the
+preparation of opium; here, owing probably, to the bad quality of the
+water, all the peasants suffer from wens.</p>
+
+<p>At Djosvara the travellers had to cross a bridge of rope, called a
+"djorila." This was a strange and perilous structure.</p>
+
+<p>"On either side of the river," says Webb, "two strong poles are driven
+in, at a distance of two feet from each other, and across them is
+placed another piece of wood. To this is attached a dozen or more thick
+ropes, which are held down upon the ground by large heaps of wood. They
+are divided into two packets, about a foot apart; Blow hangs a ladder
+of rope knotted to one of these, which answers instead of a parapet.
+The flooring of the bridge is composed of small branches of trees,
+placed at intervals of two and a half, or three feet from each other.
+As these are generally slender, they seem as if they were on the point
+of breaking every moment, which naturally induces the traveller to
+depend upon the support of the ropes which form the parapet, and to
+keep them constantly under their arms. The first step taken upon so
+shaky a structure is sufficient to cause giddiness, for the action of
+walking makes it swing to either side, and the noise of the torrent
+over which it is suspended is not reassuring. Moreover the bridge is so
+narrow, that if two persons meet upon it, one must draw completely to
+the side to make room for the other."</p>
+<a name="ill12"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration012">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580">
+			<img src="images/012.jpg" alt="Bridge of rope">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580" align="center">
+			<small>Bridge of rope.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The expedition afterwards passed through the town of Baharat, where but
+few of the houses have been rebuilt since the earthquake of 1803. This
+locality has always enjoyed a certain importance from the fact that a
+market is held there, and also on account of the difficulty of
+obtaining provisions in the towns higher up, as well as from its
+central position. The routes to Jemauhi, Kedar, Nath, and Sirinagur all
+meet there.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond Batheri the road became so bad that the travellers were obliged
+to abandon their baggage. There was a mere path-track by the edge of
+precipices, amid débris of stones and rocks; and the attempt to proceed
+was soon relinquished.</p>
+
+<p>Devaprayaga is situated at the junction of the Baghirati, and the
+Aluknanda. The first, coming from the north, hurries along with noise
+and impetuosity; the second, broader, deeper, and more tranquil, rises
+no less than forty-six feet above its ordinary level in the rainy
+season. The junction of these two rivers forms the Ganges, and is a
+sacred spot from which the Brahmins draw considerable profit, as they
+have arranged pools there, where for a certain price pilgrims can
+perform their ablutions without danger of being carried away by the
+current.</p>
+
+<p>The Aluknanda was crossed by means of a running bridge, or "Dindla,"
+which is thus described:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"This bridge consists of three or four large ropes fixed upon either
+bank, and upon these a small seat some eighteen inches square is slung
+by means of hoops at either end. Upon this seat the traveller takes his
+place, and is drawn from one side of the river to the other by a rope
+pulled by the man upon the opposite bank."</p>
+
+<p>The expedition reached Sirinagur upon the 13th of May. The curiosity of
+the inhabitants had been so much excited that the magistrates sent a
+message to the English begging them to march through the town.</p>
+
+<p>Sirinagur, which had been visited by Colonel Hardwick in 1796, had been
+almost completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1803, and had in the
+same year been conquered by the Gorkhalis. Here Webb was joined by the
+emissaries whom he had sent to Gangautri by the route which he himself
+had been unable to follow, and who had visited the source of the
+Ganges.</p>
+
+<p>"A large rock," he says, "on either side of which water flows, and
+which is very shallow, roughly resembles the body and mouth of a cow. A
+cavity at one end of its surface gave rise to its name of Gaoumokhi,
+the mouth of the cow, who, by its fancied resemblance, is popularly
+supposed to vomit the water of the sacred river. A little farther on,
+advance is impossible, a mountain as steep as a wall rises in front;
+the Ganges appeared to issue from the snow, which lay at its feet; the
+valley terminated here. No one has ever gone any farther."</p>
+
+<p>The expedition returned by a different route. It met with the
+tributaries of the Ganges, and of the Keli Ganga, or Mandacni, rivers
+rising in the Mountains of Kerdar. Immense flocks of goats and sheep
+laden with grain were met with, numbers of defiles crossed, and after
+passing the towns of Badrinath and Manah the expedition finally reached
+the cascade of Barson, in the midst of heavy snow and intense cold.</p>
+
+<p>"This," says Webb's narrative, "is the goal of the devotions of the
+pilgrims. Some of them come here to be sprinkled by the sacred spray of
+the cascade. At this spot the course of the Aluknanda may be traced as
+far as the south-western extremity of the valley, but its source is
+hidden under heaps of snow, which have probably been accumulating for
+centuries."</p>
+
+<p>Webb furnishes some details respecting the women of Manah. They wore
+necklaces, earrings, and gold and silver ornaments, which were scarcely
+in keeping with their coarse attire. Some of the children wore
+necklaces and bracelets of silver to the value of six hundred rupees.</p>
+
+<p>In winter, this town, which does a great trade with Thibet, is
+completely buried in snow, and the natives take refuge in neighbouring
+towns.</p>
+
+<p>The expedition visited the temple at Badrinath, which is far-famed for
+its sanctity. Neither its internal nor external structure or appearance
+give any idea of the immense sums which are expended upon it. It is one
+of the oldest and most venerated sanctuaries of India. Ablutions are
+performed there in reservoirs fed with very warm sulphureous water.</p>
+
+<p>"There are," says the narrative, "a great number of hot springs, each
+having their special name and virtue, and from all of them doubtless
+the Brahmins derive profit. For this reason, the poor pilgrim, as he
+gets through the requisite ablutions, finds his purse diminish with the
+number of his sins, and the many tolls exacted from him upon the road
+to paradise might induce him to consider the narrow way by no means the
+least expensive one. This temple possesses seven hundred villages,
+which have either been ceded to it by government, given as security for
+loans, or bought by private individuals and given as offerings."</p>
+
+<p>The expedition reached Djosimah on the 1st of June. There the Brahmin
+who acted as guide received orders from the government of Nepaul, to
+conduct the travellers back immediately to the territories of the
+Company. The government had discovered, a little late it must be
+admitted, that the English explorations had a political as well as a
+geographical significance. A month afterwards, Webb and his companions
+entered Delhi, having definitely settled the course of the Ganges, and
+ascertained the sources of the Baghirati and Aluknanda; in fact, having
+attained the object which the Company had had in view.</p>
+
+<p>In 1808, the English government decided upon sending a new mission to
+the Punjab, then under the dominion of Runjeet Sing. The anonymous
+narrative of this expedition published in the "Annales des Voyages"
+offers some particulars of interest, from which we will extract a few.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 6th of April, 1808, an English officer, in charge of the
+expedition, reached Herdonai, which he represents as the rendezvous of
+a million individuals at the time of the yearly fair. At Boria, which
+is situated between the Jumna and the Sutlej, the traveller was an
+object of much curiosity to the women, who begged permission to come
+and see him.</p>
+
+<p>"Their looks and gestures," says the narrative, "sufficiently expressed
+their surprise. They approached me laughing heartily, the colour of my
+face amused them extremely. They addressed many questions to me, asking
+me whether I never wore a hat, whether I exposed my face to the sun,
+whether I remained continually shut up, or only walked out under
+shelter, and whether I slept upon the table placed in my tent, although
+my bed occupied one side of it; the curtains were, however, closed.
+They then examined it in detail, together with the lining of my tent
+and everything belonging to it. These women were all good-looking, with
+mild and regular features, their complexion was olive, and contrasted
+agreeably with their white and even teeth, which are a distinguishing
+feature of all the inhabitants of the Punjab."</p>
+
+<p>Mustafabad, Mulana, and Umballa were visited in succession by the
+British officer. The country through which he passed was inhabited by
+Sikhs, a race remarkable for benevolence, hospitality, and
+truthfulness. The author of the narrative is of opinion that they are
+the finest race of men in India. Puttiala, Makeonara, Fegonara,
+Oudamitta, which Lord Lake entered in 1805 in his pursuit of a Mahratta
+chief, and finally Amritsur were stages easily passed.</p>
+
+<p>Amritsur is better built than the generality of towns in Hindustan. It
+is the largest depôt of shawls and saffron as well as other articles of
+Deccan merchandise. The traveller says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Upon the 14th, having put white shoes on my feet, I paid a visit to
+the Amritsur or reservoir of the elixir of immortality from whence the
+city derives its name. It is a reservoir of about 135 feet square,
+built of brick, and in the centre is a pretty temple dedicated to
+Gourogovind Sing. A footpath leads to it; it is decorated both within
+and without, and the rajah often adds to its stores by gifts of
+ornaments. In this sacred receptacle, the book of the laws, written by
+Gouron in the 'gourou moukhtis' character, is placed. This temple is
+called Hermendel, or the Dwelling of God. Some 600 priests are attached
+to its service, and comfortable dwellings are provided for them out of
+the voluntary contributions of the devotees who visit the temple.
+Although the priests are regarded with infinite respect, they are not
+absolutely free from vice. When they have money, they spend it as
+freely as they have gained it. The number of pretty women who daily
+repair to the temple is very great. They far excel the women of the
+inferior classes in Hindustan in the elegance of their manners, their
+fine proportions, and handsome features."</p>
+
+<p>Lahore was next visited by the officer. It is interesting to know what
+remained of that fine city at the commencement of the present century.
+The narrative says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Its very high walls are ornamented externally with all the profusion
+of Eastern taste, but they are falling into ruins, as are also the
+mosques and houses inside the town. Time has laid its destructive hand
+upon this city, as upon Delhi and Agra. The ruins of Lahore are already
+as extensive as those of that ancient capital."</p>
+
+<p>Three days after his arrival the traveller was received with great
+politeness by Runjeet Sing, who conversed with him, principally upon
+military topics. The rajah was then twenty-seven years of age. His
+countenance would have been pleasant, had not the small-pox deprived
+him of one eye; his manners were simple, affable, and yet kingly. After
+paying visits to the tomb of Shah Jehan, to the Schalamar, and other
+monuments at Lahore, the officer returned to Delhi and the possessions
+of the Company. To his visit was due that better knowledge of the
+country which could not fail to tempt the ambition of the English
+Government.</p>
+
+<p>The following year (1809), an embassy, consisting of Messrs. Nicholas
+Hankey Smith, Henry Ellis, Robert Taylor, and Henry Pottinger, was sent
+to the Emirs of Scinde. The escort was commanded by Captain Charles
+Christie.</p>
+
+<p>The mission was transported to Keratchy by boat. The governor of that
+fort refused to allow the embassy to disembark, without instructions
+from the emirs. An interchange of correspondence ensued, as a result of
+which the envoy, Smith, drew attention to certain improprieties
+relating to the title and respective rank of the Governor-General and
+the emirs. The governor excused himself upon the ground of his
+ignorance of the Persian language, and said, that not wishing a cause
+of misunderstanding to exist, he was quite ready to kill or put out the
+eyes (as the envoy pleased) of the person who had written the letter.
+This declaration appeared sufficient to the English, who deprecated the
+execution of the guilty person.</p>
+
+<p>In their letters the emirs affected a tone of contemptuous superiority;
+at the same time they brought a body of 8000 men within reach, and put
+every possible difficulty in the way of the English efforts to procure
+information. After tedious negotiations, in the course of which British
+pride was humbled more than once, the embassy received permission to
+start for Hyderabad.</p>
+
+<p>Above Keratchy, which is the principal export harbour of Scinde, a vast
+plain without trees or vegetation extends along the coast. Five days
+are necessary to cross this, and reach Tatah, the ancient capital of
+Scinde, then ruined and deserted. Formerly it was brought into
+communication by means of canals, with the Sind, an immense river,
+which is, at its mouth, in reality an arm of the sea. Pottinger
+collected the most precise, complete, and useful details respecting the
+Sind, which were then known.</p>
+
+<p>It had been arranged beforehand that the embassy should find a
+plausible excuse for separating and reaching Hyderabad by two different
+routes, in order to obtain geographical information on the country. The
+city was soon reached, and the same difficult negotiations about the
+reception of the embassy, who refused to submit to the humiliating
+exactions of the emirs, had to be gone through. Pottinger thus
+describes the arrival at Hyderabad. "The precipice upon which the
+eastern façade of the fortress of Hyderabad is situated, the roofs of
+the houses, and even the fortifications, were thronged by a multitude
+of both sexes, who testified friendly feeling towards us by acclamation
+and applause. Upon reaching the palace, where they were to dismount,
+the English were met by Ouli Mahommed Khan and other eminent officers,
+who walked before us towards a covered platform, at the extremity of
+which the emirs were seated. This platform being covered with the
+richest Persian carpet, we took off our shoes. From the moment the
+envoy took the first step towards the princes, they all three rose, and
+remained standing until he reached the place pointed out to him&mdash;an
+embroidered cloth, which distinguished him from the rest of the
+embassy. The princes addressed to each of us polite questions
+respecting our health. As it was a purely ceremonial reception,
+everything went off well, with compliments and polite expressions.</p>
+
+<p>"The emirs wore a great number of precious stones, in addition to those
+which ornamented the hilts and scabbards of their swords and daggers,
+and emeralds and rubies of extraordinary size shone at their girdles.
+They were seated according to age, the eldest in the centre, the second
+to his right, the youngest on the left. A carpet of light felt covered
+the entire circle, and over this was a mattress of silk about an inch
+thick, exactly large enough to accommodate the three princes."</p>
+<a name="ill13"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration013">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577">
+			<img src="images/013.jpg" alt="They were seated according to age">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577" align="center">
+			<small>"They were seated according to age."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The narrative concludes with a description of Hyderabad, a fortress
+which would have scarcely been able to offer any resistance to a
+European enemy, and with various reflections upon the nature of the
+embassy, which had amongst other aims the closing of the entrance of
+Scinde against the French. The treaty concluded, the English returned
+to Bombay.</p>
+
+<p>By this expedition the East India Company gained a better knowledge of
+one of the neighbouring kingdoms, and collected precious documents
+relating to the resources and productions of a country traversed by an
+immense river, the Indus of the ancients, which rises in the Himalayas,
+and might readily serve to transport the products of an immense
+territory. The end gained was perhaps rather political than
+geographical; but science profited, once more, by political needs.</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto the little knowledge that had been gained of the regions lying
+between Cabulistan, India, and Persia, had been as incomplete as it was
+defective.</p>
+
+<p>The Company, thoroughly satisfied with the manner in which Captain
+Christie and Lieutenant Pottinger had accomplished their embassy,
+resolved to confide to them a delicate and difficult mission. They were
+to rejoin General Malcolm, ambassador to Persia, by crossing
+Beluchistan, and in so doing to collect more accurate and precise
+details of that vast extent of country than had hitherto been acquired.</p>
+
+<p>It was useless to think of crossing Beluchistan, with its fanatic
+population, in European dress. Christie and Pottinger, therefore, had
+recourse to a Hindu merchant, who provided horses on behalf of the
+Governments of Madras and Bombay, and accredited them as his agents to
+Kelat, the capital of Beluchistan.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 2nd of January, 1810, the two officers embarked at Bombay for
+Someany, the sole sea-port of the province of Lhossa, which they
+reached after a stay at Poorbunder, on the coast of Guzerat.</p>
+
+<p>The entire country traversed by the travellers before they arrived at
+Bela was a morass, interspersed with jungle. The "Djam," or governor of
+that town, was an intelligent man. He put numerous questions to the
+English, by which he showed a desire to learn, and then confided the
+task of conducting the travellers to Kelat, to the chief of the tribe
+of Bezendjos, who are Belutchis.</p>
+<a name="ill14"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration014">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586">
+			<img src="images/014.jpg" alt="Beluchistan warriors">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586" align="center">
+			<small>Beluchistan warriors.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The climate had changed since they left Bombay, and in the mountains,
+Pottinger and Christie experienced cold sufficiently keen to freeze the
+water in the leather bottles.</p>
+
+<p>"Kelat," says Pottinger, "the capital of the whole of Beluchistan,
+whence it derives its name, Kelat, or <i>the city</i>, is situated upon a
+height to the west of a well-cultivated plain or valley, eight miles
+long and three wide. The greater portion of this is laid out in
+gardens. The town forms a square. It is surrounded on three sides by a
+mud wall about twenty feet high, flanked, at distances of 250 feet, by
+bastions, which, like the walls, are pierced with a large number of
+barbicans for musketry. I had no opportunity of visiting the interior
+of the palace, but it consists merely of a confused mass of mud
+buildings with flat roofs like terraces; the whole is defended by low
+walls, furnished with parapets and pierced with barbicans. There are
+about 2500 houses in the town, and nearly half as many in the suburbs.
+They are built of half-baked bricks and wood, the whole smeared over
+with mud. The streets, as a rule, are larger than those in towns
+inhabited by Asiatics. They usually have a raised footway on either
+side for pedestrians, in the centre an open stream, which is rendered
+very unpleasant by the filth and rubbish thrown into it, and by the
+stagnant rainwater which collects, for there is no regulation insisting
+upon it being cleaned. Another obstacle to the cleanliness and comfort
+of the town exists in the projection of the upper stories of the
+houses, which makes the under buildings damp and dark. The bazaar of
+Kelat is very large, and well stocked with every kind of merchandize.
+Every day it is supplied with provisions, vegetables, and all kinds of
+food, which are cheap."</p>
+
+<p>According to Pottinger's account, the population is divided into two
+distinct classes&mdash;the Belutchis and the Brahouis, and each of these is
+subdivided into a number of tribes. The first is related to the modern
+Persian, both in appearance and speech; the Brahoui, on the contrary,
+retains a great number of Hindu words. Intermarriage between the two
+has given rise to a third.</p>
+
+<p>The Belutchis, coming from the mountains of Mekram, are "Tunnites,"
+that is to say, they consider the first four Imans as the legitimate
+successors of Mahomet.</p>
+
+<p>They are a pastoral people, and have the faults and virtues of their
+class. If they are hospitable, they are also indolent, and pass their
+time in gambling and smoking. As a rule, they content themselves with
+one or two wives, and are less jealous of their being seen by strangers
+than are other Mussulmen. They have a large number of slaves of both
+sexes, whom they treat humanely. They are excellent marksmen, and
+passionately fond of hunting. Brave under all circumstances, they take
+pleasure in "razzias," which they call "tchépaos." As a rule, these
+expeditions are undertaken by the Nherouis, the wildest and most
+thievish of the Belutchis.</p>
+
+<p>The Brahouis carry their wandering habits still farther. Few men are
+more active and strong; they endure the glacial cold of the mountains
+equally with the burning heat of the plains. They are of small stature,
+but as brave, as skilful in shooting, as faithful to their promises, as
+the Belutchis, and have not so pronounced a taste for plunder.</p>
+
+<p>Pottinger says, "I have seen no Asiatic people whom they resemble, for
+a large number have brown hair and beards."</p>
+
+<p>After a short stay at Kelat, the two travellers, who still passed as
+horse-dealers, resolved to continue their journey, but instead of
+following the high road to Kandahar, they crossed a dreary and barren
+country, ill-populated, watered by the Caisser, a river which dries up
+during the summer; and they reached a little town, called Noschky or
+Nouchky, on the frontier of Afghanistan.</p>
+
+<p>At this place, the Belutchis, who appeared friendly, represented to
+them the great difficulty of reaching Khorassan and its capital, Herat,
+by way of Sedjistan. They advised the travellers to try to reach Kerman
+by way of Kedje and Benpor, or by Serhed, a village on the western
+frontier of Beluchistan, and from thence to enter Nermanchir. At the
+same moment the idea of following two distinct routes presented itself
+to both Christie and Pottinger. This course was contrary to their
+instructions; "but," said Pottinger, "we found a ready excuse in the
+unquestionable advantage which would result from our procuring more
+extensive geographical and statistical knowledge of the country we were
+sent to explore than we could hope to do by travelling together."</p>
+
+<p>Christie set out first, by way of Douchak. We shall follow his fortunes
+hereafter.</p>
+
+<p>A few days later, while still at Noutch, Pottinger received letters
+from his correspondent at Kelat, telling him that the emirs of Scinde
+were searching for them, as they had been recognized, and that his best
+plan for safety was to set out immediately.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 25th of March Pottinger started for Serawan, a very small town
+near the Afghan frontier. Upon his way thither Pottinger met with some
+singular altars, or tombs, the construction of which was attributed to
+the Ghebers, or fire-worshippers, who are known in our day as Parsees.</p>
+
+<p>Serawan is six miles from the Serawani mountains, in a sterile and bare
+district. This town owes its existence to the constant supply of water
+it derives from the Beli, an inestimable advantage in a country
+constantly exposed to drought, scarcity, and famine.</p>
+
+<p>Pottinger afterwards visited the Kharan, celebrated for the strength
+and activity of its camels, and crossed the desert which forms the
+southern extremity of Afghanistan. The sand of this desert is so fine
+that its particles are almost impalpable, and the action of the wind
+causes it to accumulate into heaps ten or twenty feet high, divided by
+deep valleys. Even in calm weather a great number of particles float in
+the air, giving rise to a mirage of a peculiar kind, and getting into
+the traveller's eyes, mouth, and nostrils, cause an excessive
+irritation, with an insatiable thirst.</p>
+
+<p>In all this territory, Pottinger personated a "pyrzadeh," or holy man,
+for the natives are of a very thievish disposition, and in the
+character of a merchant he might have been involved in unpleasant
+adventures. After leaving the village of Goul, in the district of
+Daizouk, the traveller passed through the ruined towns of Asmanabad,
+Hefter, and Pourah, where Pottinger was forced to admit that he was a
+"Feringhi," to the great scandal of the guide, who during the two
+months they had been together had never doubted him, and to whom he had
+given many proofs of sanctity.</p>
+
+<p>At last, worn out by fatigue, and at the end of his resources,
+Pottinger reached Benpor, a locality which had been visited in 1808 by
+Mr. Grant, a captain in the Bengal Sepoy Infantry. Encouraged by the
+excellent account given by that officer, Pottinger presented himself to
+the Serdar. But instead of affording him the necessary help for the
+prosecution of his journey, that functionary, discontented with the
+small present Pottinger offered him, found means to extort from him a
+pair of pistols, which would have been of great use to him.</p>
+
+<p>Basman is the last inhabited town of Beluchistan. At this spot there is
+a hot sulphureous spring, which the Belutchis consider a certain cure
+for cutaneous diseases.</p>
+
+<p>The frontiers of Persia are far from "scientific," hence a large tract
+of country remains not neutral, but a subject of dispute, and is the
+scene of sanguinary contests.</p>
+
+<p>The little town of Regan, in Nermanchir, is very pretty. It is a fort,
+or rather a fortified village, surrounded by high walls, in good
+repair, and furnished with bastions.</p>
+
+<p>Further on, in Persia proper, lies Benn, a town which was formerly of
+importance, as the ruins which surround it sufficiently prove. Here
+Pottinger was cordially received by the governor.</p>
+
+<p>"On approaching," says Pottinger, "he turned to one of his suite and
+asked where the 'Feringhi' was. I was pointed out to him. Making me a
+sign to follow him, his fixed look at me, which took me in from head to
+foot, proclaimed his astonishment at my costume, which in truth was
+strange enough to serve as an excuse for the impoliteness of his
+staring. I was wearing the long shirt of a Belutchi, and a pair of
+trousers which had once been white, but which in the six weeks I had
+worn them had become brown, and were all but in rags; in addition to
+this I had on a blue turban, a piece of rope served me as a girdle, and
+I carried in my hand a thick stick, which had assisted me greatly in my
+walking, and protected me from dogs."</p>
+
+<p>In spite of the dilapidated appearance of the tatterdemalion who thus
+presented himself before him, the governor received Pottinger with as
+much cordiality as was to be expected from a Mussulman, and provided
+him with a guide to Kerman. The traveller reached that town upon the
+3rd of May, feeling that he had accomplished the most difficult portion
+of his journey, and was almost in safety.</p>
+
+<p>Kerman is the capital of ancient Karamania. Under the Afghan rule it
+was a flourishing town, and manufactured shawls which rivalled those of
+Cashmere.</p>
+
+<p>Here Pottinger witnessed one of those spectacles which, common enough
+to countries where human life is of little value, always fill Europeans
+with horror and disgust. The governor of this town was both son-in-law
+and nephew of the shah, and also the son of the Shah's wife. "Upon the
+15th of May," says Pottinger, "the prince himself judged certain
+persons who were accused of killing one of their servants. It is
+difficult to estimate the state of restlessness and alarm which
+prevailed in the village during the entire day. The gates of the town
+were shut, that no one might pass out. The government officials did not
+transact any business. People were cited as witnesses, without previous
+notice. I saw two or three taken to the palace in a state of agitation
+which could scarcely have been greater had they been going to the
+scaffold. About three in the afternoon the prince passed sentence upon
+those who had been convicted. Some had their eyes put out, some the
+tongue split. Some had the ears, nose, and lips cut off; others were
+deprived of their hands, fingers, or toes. I learned that whilst these
+horrible punishments were inflicted, the prince remained seated at the
+window where I had seen him, and gave his orders without the least sign
+of compassion or of horror at the scene which took place before him."</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Kerman, Pottinger reached Cheré Bebig, which is equally distant
+from Yezd, Shiraz, and Kerman, and thence proceeded to Ispahan, where
+he had the pleasure of finding his companion Christie. At Meragha he
+met General Malcolm. It was now seven months since they had left
+Bombay. Christie had traversed 2250 miles, and Pottinger 2412.
+Meanwhile Christie had accomplished his perilous journey much better
+than he had anticipated.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Noutch upon the 22nd of March, he crossed the Vachouty
+mountains and some uncultivated country, to the banks of the Helmend, a
+river which flows into Lake Hamoun.</p>
+
+<p>Christie in his report to the Company says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The Helmend, after passing near Kandahar, flows south-west and west,
+and enters Sedjestan some four days march from Douchak; making a détour
+around the mountains, it finally forms a lake. At Peldalek, which we
+visited, it is about 1200 feet in width, and very deep; the water is
+very good. The country is cultivated by irrigation for half a mile on
+either side; then the desert begins, and rises in perpendicular cliffs.
+The banks of the river abound in tamarind-trees and provide pasturage
+for cattle."</p>
+
+<p>Sedjestan, which is watered by this river, comprises only 500 square
+miles. The portions of this district which are inhabited are those upon
+the river Helmend, whose bed deepens every year.</p>
+
+<p>At Elemdar Christie sent for a Hindu, to whom he had an introduction.
+This man advised him to dismiss his Belutchi attendants and to
+personate a pilgrim. A few days later he penetrated to Douchak, now
+known as Jellalabad. He says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The ruins of the ancient city cover quite as large a space of ground
+as Ispahan. It was built, like all the towns of Sedjistan, of
+half-burned bricks, the houses being two stories high, with vaulted
+roofs. The modern town of Jellalabad is clean, pretty, and growing; it
+contains nearly 2000 houses and a fair bazaar." The road from Douchak
+to Herat was easy. Christie's sole difficulty was in carrying out his
+personation of a pilgrim. Herat lies in a valley, surrounded by high
+mountains and watered by a river, to which it is due that gardens and
+orchards abound. The town covers an area of about four square miles; it
+is surrounded by a wall flanked with towers, and a moat full of water.
+Large bazaars, containing numerous shops, and the Mechedé Djouna, or
+Mosque of Friday, are its chief ornaments.</p>
+
+<p>No town has less waste land or a denser population. Christie estimates
+it at 100,000. Herat is the most commercial of all Asiatic towns under
+the dominion of native princes. It is the depôt for all the traffic
+between Cabul, Candahar, Hindustan, Cashmere, and Persia, and itself
+produces choice merchandize, silks, saffron, horses, and asafoetida.</p>
+
+<p>"This plant," says Christie, "grows to a height of two or three feet,
+the stalk is two inches thick; it finishes off in an umbel which at
+maturity is yellow, and not unlike a cauliflower. It is much relished
+by Hindus and Belutchis. They prepare it for eating by cooking the
+stalks in ashes, and boiling the head like other vegetables; but it
+always retains its pungent smell and taste." Herat, like so many other
+Eastern towns, possesses beautiful public gardens, but they are only
+cultivated for the sake of the produce, which is sold in the bazaar.
+After a stay of a month at Herat, disguised as a horse-dealer,
+Christie, announcing that he would return after a pilgrimage to Meshid,
+which he contemplated, left the town. He directed his course to Yezd,
+across a country ravaged by the Osbeks, who had destroyed the tanks
+intended to receive the rain-water.</p>
+
+<p>Yezd is a large and populous town on the skirts of a desert of sand. It
+is called "Dar-oul-Ehabet" or "The Seat of Adoration." It is celebrated
+for the security to be enjoyed there, which contributes largely to the
+development of its trade with Hindustan, Khorassan, Persia, and Bagdad.
+Christie describes the bazaar as large and well stocked. The town
+contains 20,000 houses, apart from those belonging to the Ghebers, who
+are estimated at 4000. They are an active and laborious people,
+although cruelly oppressed. From Yezd to Ispahan, where he alighted at
+the palace of the Emir Oud-Daoulé, Christie had travelled a distance of
+170 miles upon a good road.</p>
+
+<p>At Yezd, as we have seen, he met his companion, Pottinger. The two
+friends could but exchange mutual congratulations at the accomplishment
+of their mission, and their escape from the dangers of a fanatical
+country.</p>
+
+<p>Pottinger's narrative, as may perhaps be gathered from the sketch we
+have given, was very curious. More exact than most of his predecessors,
+he had collected and offered to the public a mass of most interesting
+historical facts, anecdotes, and geographical descriptions.</p>
+
+<p>Cabulistan had been, from the middle of the eighteenth century, the
+scene of a succession of ruinous civil wars. Competitors, with more or
+less right to the throne, had carried fire and sword everywhere, and
+converted that rich and fertile province into a desert, where the
+remains of ruined cities alone bore witness to former prosperity.</p>
+
+<p>About the year 1808 the throne of Cabul was occupied by
+Soojah-Oul-Moulk. England, uneasy at the projects formed by Napoleon
+with a view of attacking her possessions in India, and at the offers of
+alliance made by him through General Gardane to the Shah of Persia,
+resolved to send an embassy to the court of Cabul, hoping to gain the
+king over to the interests of the East India Company.</p>
+
+<p>Mountstuart Elphinstone was selected as envoy, and has left an
+interesting account of his mission. He collected much novel information
+concerning this region and the tribes by which it is peopled. His book
+acquires a new interest in our own day, and we turn with pleasure to
+pages devoted to the Khyberis and other mountain tribes, amid the
+events which are now taking place.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Delhi in October, 1808, Elphinstone reached Kanun, where the
+desert commences, and then the Shekhawuttée, a district inhabited by
+Rajpoots. At the end of October the embassy arrived at Singuana, a
+pretty town, the rajah of which was an inveterate opium-smoker. He is
+described as a small man, with large eyes, much inflamed by the use of
+opium. His beard, which was curled up to his ears on each side, gave
+him a ferocious appearance.</p>
+
+<p>Djounjounka, whose gardens give freshness in the midst of these desert
+regions, is not now a dependency of the Rajah of Bekaneer, whose
+revenues do not exceed 1,250,000 francs. How is it possible for that
+prince to collect such revenues from a desert and uncultivated
+territory, overrun by myriads of rats, flocks of gazelles, and herds of
+wild asses?</p>
+
+<p>The path across the sand-hills was so narrow that two camels abreast
+could scarcely pass it. At the least deviation from the path those
+animals would sink in the sand as if it had been snow, so that the
+smallest difficulty with the head of the column delayed the entire
+caravan. Those in front could not advance if those in the rear were
+delayed; and lest they should lose sight of the guides, trumpets and
+drums were employed as signals to prevent separation.</p>
+
+<p>One could almost fancy it the march of an army. The warlike sounds, the
+brilliant uniforms and arms, were scarcely calculated to convey the
+idea of a peaceful embassy. The envoy speaks of the want of water, and
+the bad quality of that which was procurable was unbearable to the
+soldiers and servants. Although they quenched their thirst with the
+abundant water-melons, they could not do so without ill results to
+their health. Most of the natives of India who accompanied the embassy
+suffered from low fever and dysentery. Forty persons died during the
+first week's stay at Bekaneer. La Fontaine's description of the
+floating sticks might be aptly applied to Bekaneer. "From afar off it
+is something, near at hand it is nought." The external appearance of
+the town is pleasant, but it is a mere disorderly collection of cabins
+enclosed by mud walls.</p>
+
+<p>At that time the country was invaded by five armies, and the
+belligerents sent a succession of envoys to the English ambassador,
+hoping to obtain, if not substantial assistance, at least moral
+support. Elphinstone was received by the Rajah of Bekaneer. "This
+court," he says, "was different from all I had seen elsewhere in India.
+The men were whiter than the Hindus, resembled Jews in feature, and
+wore magnificent turbans. The rajah and his relatives wore caps of
+various colours, adorned with precious stones.</p>
+
+<p>"The rajah leant upon a steel buckler, the centre of which was raised,
+and the border encrusted with diamonds and rubies. Shortly after our
+entrance the rajah proposed that we should retire from the heat and
+importunity of the crowd. We took our seats on the ground, according to
+Indian custom, and the rajah delivered a discourse, in which he said he
+was the vassal of the sovereign of Delhi, and that as Delhi was in the
+possession of the British, he honoured the sovereignty of my government
+in my person.</p>
+
+<p>"He caused the keys of the fort to be brought to him and handed them to
+me, but having received no instructions regarding such an event, I
+refused them. After much persuasion the rajah consented to keep his
+keys. Shortly afterwards a troop of bayadères came in, and dancing and
+singing continued until we took our leave."</p>
+<a name="ill15"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration015">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="571">
+			<img src="images/015.jpg" alt="A troop of bayadères came in">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="571" align="center">
+			<small>"A troop of bayadères came in."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Upon leaving Bekaneer the travellers entered a desert, in the middle of
+which stand the cities of Monyghur and Bahawulpore, where a compact
+crowd awaited the embassy. The Hyphases, upon which Alexander's fleet
+sailed, scarcely answered to the idea such a reminiscence inspires.
+Upon the morrow Bahaweel-Khan, governor of one of the eastern provinces
+of Cabul, arrived, bringing magnificent presents for the English
+ambassador, whom he conducted by the river Hyphases as far as Moultan,
+a town famous for its silk manufactures. The governor of the town had
+been terror-struck at hearing of the approach of the English, and there
+had been a discussion as to the attitude it was to assume, and whether
+the latter intended to take the town by stratagem, or to demand its
+surrender. When these fears were allayed, a cordial welcome followed.</p>
+
+<p>Elphinstone's description, if somewhat exaggerated, is not the less
+curious. After describing how the governor saluted Mr. Strachey, the
+secretary to the embassy, after the Persian custom, he adds,&mdash;"They
+took their way together towards the tent, and the disorder increased.
+Some were wrestling, others on horseback mixed with the pedestrians.
+Mr. Strachey's horse was nearly thrown to the ground, and the secretary
+regained his equilibrium with difficulty. The khan and his suite
+mistook the road in approaching the tent, and threw themselves upon the
+cavalry with such impetuosity that the latter had scarcely time to face
+about and let them pass. The disordered troops fell back upon the tent,
+the servants of the khan fled, the barriers were torn up and trampled
+under foot; even the ropes of the tent broke, and the cloth covering
+very nearly fell on our heads. The tents were crowded immediately, and
+all was in darkness. The governor and six of his suite seated
+themselves, the others stood at arms. The visit was of short duration;
+the governor took refuge in repeating his rosary with great fervour,
+and in saying to me, in agitated tones, 'You are welcome! you are
+welcome!' Then on the pretext that the crowd inconvenienced me, he
+retired."</p>
+
+<p>The account is amusing, but are all its details accurate? That,
+however, is of little moment. On the 31st December the embassy passed
+the Indus, and entered a country cultivated with a care and method
+unlike anything to be seen in Hindustan. The natives of this country
+had never heard of the English, and took them for Moguls, Afghans, or
+Hindus. The strangest reports were current among these lovers of the
+marvellous.</p>
+
+<p>It was necessary to remain a month at Déra, to await the arrival of a
+"Mehnandar," a functionary whose duty it was to introduce ambassadors.
+Two persons attached to the embassy availed themselves of that
+opportunity to ascend the peak of Tukhte Soleiman, or the Crown of
+Solomon, upon which, according to the legend, the ark of Noah rested
+after the deluge.</p>
+
+<p>The departure from Déra took place upon the 7th of February, and after
+travelling through delightful countries, the embassy arrived at
+Peshawur. The king had come to meet them, for Peshawur was not the
+usual residence of the court. The narrative says,&mdash;"Upon the day of our
+arrival our dinner was furnished from the royal kitchen. The dishes
+were excellent. Afterwards we had the meat prepared in our own way; but
+the king continued to provide us with breakfast, dinner, and supper,
+more than sufficient for 2000 persons, 200 horses, and a large number
+of elephants. Our suite was large, and much of this was needed; still I
+had great trouble at the end of a month in persuading his majesty to
+allow some retrenchment of this useless profusion."</p>
+
+<p>As might have been expected, the negotiations preceding presentation at
+court were long and difficult. Finally, however, all was arranged, and
+the reception was as cordial as diplomatic customs permitted. The king
+was loaded with diamonds and precious stones; he wore a magnificent
+crown, and the Koh-i-noor sparkled upon one of his bracelets. This is
+the largest diamond in existence; a drawing of it may be seen in
+Tavernier's Travels.<small><small><sup>1</sup></small></small></p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>1</sup></small> The Koh-i-noor is now in the possession of the Queen of
+England.</small></blockquote>
+
+<p>Elphinstone, after describing the ceremonies, says,&mdash;"I must admit that
+if certain things, especially the extraordinary richness of the royal
+costume, excited my astonishment, there was also much that fell below
+my expectations. Taking it as a whole, one saw less indication of the
+prosperity of a powerful state than symptoms of the decay of a monarchy
+which had formerly been flourishing."</p>
+
+<p>The ambassador goes on to speak of the rapacity with which the king's
+suite quarrelled about the presents offered by the English, and gives
+other details which struck him unpleasantly.</p>
+
+<p>Elphinstone was more agreeably impressed with the king at his second
+interview. He says,&mdash;"It is difficult to believe that an Eastern
+monarch can possess such a good manner, and so perfectly preserve his
+dignity while trying to please."</p>
+
+<p>The plain of Peshawur, which is surrounded on all but the eastern side
+by high mountains, is watered by three branches of the Cabul river,
+which meet here, and by many smaller rivers. Hence it is singularly
+fertile. Plums, peaches, pears, quinces, pomegranates, dates, grow in
+profusion. The population, so sparsely sprinkled throughout the arid
+countries which the ambassador had come through, were collected here,
+and Lieut. Macartney counted no less than thirty-two villages.</p>
+
+<p>At Peshawur there are 100,000 inhabitants, living in brick houses three
+stories high. Various mosques, not in any way remarkable for
+architecture, a fine caravanserai, and the fortified castle in which
+the king received the embassy, are the only buildings of importance.
+The varieties of races, with different costumes, present a constantly
+changing picture, a human kaleidoscope, which appears made especially
+for the astonishment of a stranger. Persians, Afghans, Kyberis,
+Hazaurehs, Douranis, &amp;c., with horses, dromedaries, and Bactrian
+camels, afford the naturalist much both to observe and to describe
+respecting bipeds and quadrupeds. But the charm of this town, as of
+every other throughout India, is to be found in its gardens, with their
+abundant and fragrant flowers, especially roses.</p>
+<a name="ill16"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration016">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589">
+			<img src="images/016.jpg" alt="Afghan costumes">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589" align="center">
+			<small>Afghan costumes.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The king's situation at this time was far from pleasant. His brother,
+whom he had dethroned after a popular insurrection, had now taken arms
+and just seized Cabul. A longer stay was impossible for the embassy.
+They had to return to India by way of Attock and the valley of Hussoun
+Abdoul, which is celebrated for its beauty. There Elphinstone was to
+await the result of the struggle between the brothers, which would
+decide the fate of the throne of Cabul, but he had received letters of
+recall. Moreover, fate was against Soojah, who, after being completely
+worsted, had been forced to seek safety in flight.</p>
+
+<p>The embassy proceeded on its way, and crossed the country of the
+Sikhs&mdash;a rude mountain race, half-naked and semi-barbarous.</p>
+
+<p>"The Sikhs, who a few years later were to make themselves terribly
+famous," says Elphinstone, "are tall, thin men, and very strong. Their
+garments consist of trousers which reach only half way down the thigh.
+They wear cloaks of skins which hang negligently from the shoulder.
+Their turbans are not large, but are very high and flattened in front.
+No scissors ever touch either hair or beard. Their arms are bows and
+arrows or muskets. Men of rank have very handsome bows, and never pay a
+visit without being armed with them. Almost the whole Punjab belongs to
+Runjeet Sing, who in 1805 was only one among many chiefs in the
+country. At the time of our expedition, he had acquired the sovereignty
+of the whole country occupied by the Sikhs, and had taken the title of
+king."</p>
+
+<p>No incident of any moment marked the return of the embassy to Delhi. In
+addition to the narrative of events which had taken place before their
+eyes, its members brought back invaluable documents concerning the
+geography of Afghanistan and Cabulistan, the climate, animals, and
+vegetable and mineral productions of that vast country.</p>
+
+<p>Elphinstone devotes several chapters of his narrative to the origin,
+history, government, legislation, condition of the women, language, and
+commerce of these countries; facts that were largely appropriated by
+the best informed newspapers when the recent English expedition to
+Afghanistan was undertaken.</p>
+
+<p>His work ends with an exhaustive treatise upon the tribes who form the
+population of Afghanistan, and a summary of invaluable information
+respecting the neighbouring countries.</p>
+
+<p>Elphinstone's narrative is curious, interesting, and valuable for many
+reasons, and may be consulted in our own day with advantage.</p>
+<a name="ill17"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration017">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="591">
+			<img src="images/017.jpg" alt="Persian costumes">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="591" align="center">
+			<small>Persian costumes.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The zeal of the East India Company was indefatigable. One expedition
+had no sooner returned than another was started, with different
+instructions. It was highly important to be thoroughly <i>au fait</i> of the
+ever-changing Asiatic policy, and to prevent coalition between the
+various native tribes against the conquerors of the soil. In 1812, a
+new idea, and a more peaceful one, gave rise to the journey of
+Moorcroft and Captain Hearsay to Lake Manasarowar, in the province of
+the Un-dés, which is a portion of Little Thibet.</p>
+
+<p>This time the object was to bring back a flock of Cashmere goats, whose
+long silk hair is used in the manufacture of the world-famed shawls. In
+addition, it was proposed to disprove the assertion of the Hindus that
+the source of the Ganges is beyond the Himalayas, in Lake Manasarowar.
+A difficult and perilous task! It was first of all necessary to
+penetrate into Nepaul, whilst the government of that country made such
+an attempt very difficult, and thence to enter a region from which the
+natives of Nepaul are excluded, and with still greater reason the
+English.</p>
+
+<p>The explorers disguised themselves as Hindu pilgrims. Their suite
+consisted of twenty-five persons, one of whom pledged himself to walk
+in strides of four feet! This was certainly a rough method of
+ascertaining the distance traversed!</p>
+
+<p>Messrs. Moorcroft and Hearsay passed through Bareilly, and followed
+Webb's route as far as Djosimath, which place they left on the 26th of
+May, 1812. They soon had to cross the last chain of the Himalayas, with
+increasing difficulties, owing to the rarity of the villages, which
+caused a scarcity of provisions and service, and the bad roads, at so
+great a height above the level of the sea.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless they saw Daba, where there is an important lamasery,
+Gortope, Maisar; and, a quarter of a mile from Tirthapuri, curious hot
+springs.</p>
+
+<p>The original narrative, which appeared in the "Annales des Voyages,"
+speaks of this water as flowing from two openings six inches in
+diameter in a calcareous plain some three miles in extent, and which is
+raised in almost every direction from ten to twelve feet above the
+surrounding country. It is formed of the earthy deposits left by the
+water in cooling. The water rises four inches above the level of the
+plain. It is clear, and so warm that one cannot keep a hand in it
+longer than a few minutes. It is surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke.
+The water, flowing over a horizontal surface, hollows out basins of
+various shapes, which as they receive the earthy deposits contract
+again. When they are filled up, the flow of the water again hollows out
+a new reservoir, which in its turn becomes full. Flowing thus from one
+to the other, it finally reaches the plain below. The deposit left by
+the water is as white as the purest stucco close to the opening, a
+little further it becomes pale yellow, and further still
+saffron-coloured. At the other spring it is first rose-coloured, and
+then dark red. These different colours are to be found in the
+calcareous plain, and are no doubt the work of centuries.</p>
+
+<p>Tirthapuri, the residence of a lama, is of great antiquity, and is a
+favourite rendezvous for the faithful, as a wall more than 400 feet
+long and four wide, formed of stones upon which prayers are inscribed,
+sufficiently testifies.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the 1st of August the travellers left this place, hoping to reach
+Lake Manasarowar, and leaving on the right Lake Rawan-rhad, which is
+supposed to be the source of the largest branch of the Sutlej.</p>
+
+<p>Lake Manasarowar lies at the foot of immense sloping prairies, to the
+south of the gigantic mountains. This is the most venerated of all the
+sacred places of the Hindus, which is no doubt owing to its distance
+from Hindustan, the dangers and fatigues of the journey, and the
+necessity of pilgrims providing themselves with money and provisions.
+Hindu geographers regard this lake as the source of the Ganges, the
+Sutlej, and the Kali rivers. Moorcroft had no doubt as to the error of
+this assertion as regards the Ganges. Desiring to ascertain the truth
+as to the other rivers, he explored the steep banks of the lake, and
+found a number of streams which flowed into it, but none flowing out of
+it. It is possible that before the earthquake which destroyed Srinagar,
+the lake had an outlet, but Moorcroft found no trace of it. The lake is
+situated between the Himalayas and the Cailas chain, and is of
+irregular oblong shape, five leagues long by four wide.</p>
+
+<p>The end of the expedition was attained. Moorcroft and Hearsay returned
+towards India, passed by Kangri, and saw Rawan-rhad; but Moorcroft was
+too weak, and could not continue the tour; he regained Tirthapuri and
+Daba, and suffered a great deal in crossing the ghat which separates
+Hindustan from Thibet.</p>
+
+<p>The narrative describes the wind which comes from the snow-covered
+mountains of Bhutan as cold and piercing, and the ascent of the
+mountain as long and painful, its descent slippery and steep, making
+precautions necessary. "We suffered greatly," says the writer; "our
+goats escaped by the negligence of their drivers, and climbed up to the
+edge of a precipice some hundred feet in height. A mountaineer
+disturbing them from their perilous position, they began the descent,
+running down a very steep incline. The hinder ones kicked up the
+stones, which, falling with violence, threatened to strike the
+foremost. It was curious to note how cleverly they managed to run, and
+avoid the falling stones."</p>
+
+<p>Very soon the Gorkhalis, who had hitherto been content to place
+obstacles in the way of the travellers, approached them with intent to
+stop them. For some time the firmness displayed by the English kept
+them at bay; but at last, gaining courage from their numbers, they
+began an attack.</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty men," says Moorcroft, "threw themselves upon me. One seized me
+by my neck, and, pressing his knees against me, tried to strangle me by
+tightening my cravat; another passed a cord round my legs and pulled me
+from behind. I was on the point of fainting. My gun, upon which I was
+leaning, escaped my hold; I fell; they dragged me up by my feet until I
+was nearly garotted. When at last I rose, nothing could exceed the
+expression of fierce delight on the faces of my conquerors. Fearing
+that I should attempt to escape, two soldiers held me by a rope and
+gave me a blow from time to time, no doubt to remind me of my position.
+Mr. Hearsay had not supposed that he should be attacked so soon; he was
+rinsing out his mouth when the hubbub began, and did not hear my cries
+for help. Our men could not find the few arms we possessed; some
+escaped, I know not how; the others were seized, amongst them Mr.
+Hearsay. He was not bound as I was; they contented themselves with
+holding his arms."</p>
+<a name="ill18"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration018">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="573">
+			<img src="images/018.jpg" alt="Two soldiers held me">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="573" align="center">
+			<small>"Two soldiers held me."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The chief of this band of savages informed the two Englishmen that they
+had been recognized, and were arrested for having travelled in the
+country in the disguise of Hindu pilgrims. A fakir, whom Moorcroft had
+engaged as a goat-herd, succeeded in escaping, and took two letters to
+the English authorities. Aid was sent, and on the 1st of November the
+prisoners were released. Not only were excuses offered for their
+treatment, but what had been taken from them was returned, and the
+Rajah of Nepaul gave them permission to leave his dominions. All's well
+that ends well!</p>
+
+<p>To complete our sketch, we must give an account of Mr. Fraser's
+expedition to the Himalayas, and Hodgson's exploration to the source of
+the Ganges, in 1817.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Webb, as we have seen, had traced the course of that river past
+the valley of Dhoun, to Cadjani, near Reital. Leaving this spot upon
+the 28th of May, 1817, Captain Hodgson reached the source of the Ganges
+in three days, and proceeded to Gangautri. He found that the river
+issues from a low arch in the midst of an enormous mass of frozen snow,
+more than 300 feet high. The stream was already of considerable size,
+being no less than twenty-seven feet wide and eighteen inches deep. In
+all probability the Ganges first emerged into the light at this spot.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Hodgson wished to solve various questions; for example:&mdash;What
+was the length of the river under the frozen snow? Is it the product of
+the melting of these snows? or did it spring from the ground? But,
+wishing to explore further upwards than his guides advised, the
+traveller sank into the snow up to his neck, and had to retrace his
+steps with great difficulty. The spot from which the Ganges issues is
+situated 12,914 feet above the level of the sea, in the Himalayas.</p>
+
+<p>Hodgson also explored the source of the Jumna. At Djemautri the mass of
+snow from which the river makes its escape is no less than 180 feet
+wide and more than forty feet deep, between two perpendicular walls of
+granite. This source is situated on the south-east slope of the
+Himalayas.</p>
+
+<p>The extension of the British power in India was necessarily attended by
+considerable danger. The various native States, many of which could
+boast of a glorious past, had only yielded in obedience to the
+well-known political principle "divide and govern," ascribed to
+Machiavelli. But the day might come when they would merge their
+rivalries and enmities, to make common cause against the invader.</p>
+
+<p>This was anything but a cheering prospect for the Company, whose policy
+it was to maintain the system that had hitherto worked so well. Certain
+neighbouring States, still powerful enough to regard the growth of the
+British power with jealousy, might serve as harbours of refuge to the
+discontented, and become the centres of dangerous intrigues. Of all
+these neighbouring States that which demanded the strictest
+surveillance was Persia, not only on account of its contiguity to
+Russia, but because Napoleon was known to have designs in connexion
+with it which nothing but his European wars prevented him from putting
+into execution.</p>
+
+<p>In February, 1807, General Gardane, who had gained his promotion in the
+wars of the Republic, and had distinguished himself at Austerlitz,
+Jena, and Eylau, was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, with
+instructions to ally himself with Shah Feth-Ali against England and
+Russia. The selection was fortunate, for the grandfather of General
+Gardane had held a similar post at the court of the shah. Gardane
+crossed Hungary, and reached Constantinople and Asia Minor; but when he
+entered Persia, Abbas Mirza had succeeded his father Feth-Ali.</p>
+
+<p>The new shah received the French ambassador with respect, loaded him
+with presents, and granted certain privileges to Catholics and French
+merchants. These were, however, the only results of the mission, which
+was thwarted by the English General Malcolm, whose influence was then
+paramount; and Gardane, disheartened by finding all his efforts
+frustrated, and recognizing that success was hopeless, returned to
+France the following year.</p>
+
+<p>His brother Ange de Gardane, who had acted as his secretary, published
+a brief narrative of the journey, containing several curious details
+respecting the antiquities of Persia, which have been, however, largely
+supplemented by works brought out by Englishmen.</p>
+
+<p>The French Consul, Adrien Dupré, attached to Gardane's mission, also
+published a work, under the title of "Voyage en Perse, fait dans les
+années 1807 à 1809, en traversant l'Anatolie, la Mésopotamie, depuis
+Constantinople jusqu'à l'extremité du golfe Persique et de là à Irwan,
+suivi de détails sur les moeurs, les usages et le commerce des Persans,
+sur la cour de Téhéran et d'une notice des tribus de la Perse." The
+book bears out the assertions of its title, and is a valuable
+contribution to the geography and ethnography of Persia.</p>
+
+<p>The English, who made a much longer stay in the country than the
+French, were better able to collect the abundant materials at hand, and
+to make a judicious selection from them.</p>
+
+<p>Two works were long held to be the chief authorities on the subject.
+One of these was by James Morier, who availed himself of the leisure he
+enjoyed as secretary to the embassy to acquaint himself with every
+detail of Persian manners, and on his return to England published
+several Oriental romances, which obtained a signal success, owing to
+the variety and novelty of the scenes described, and the fidelity to
+nature of every feature, however minute.</p>
+
+<p>The second of the two volumes alluded to above was the large quarto
+work by John Macdonald Kinneir, on the geography of Persia. This book,
+which made its mark, and left far behind it everything previously
+published on the subject, not only gives, as its title implies, very
+valuable information on the boundaries of the country, its mountains,
+rivers, and climate, but also contains interesting and trustworthy
+details respecting its government, constitution, army, commerce,
+animal, vegetable, and mineral productions, population, and revenue.</p>
+
+<p>After giving an exhaustive and brilliant picture of the material and
+moral resources of the Persian Empire, Kinneir goes on to describe its
+different provinces, quoting from the mass of valuable documents
+accumulated by himself, thus making his work the most complete and
+impartial yet issued.</p>
+
+<p>Kinneir passed the years 1808 to 1814 in travelling about Asia Minor,
+Armenia, and Kurdistan; and the different posts held by him during that
+period were such as to give him exceptional opportunities for making
+observations and comparing their results. In his several capacities as
+captain in the service of the Company, political agent to the Nawab of
+the Carnatic, or private traveller, his critical acumen was never at
+fault; and his wide knowledge of Oriental character and Oriental
+manners, enabled him to recognize the true significance of many an
+event and many a revolution which would have escaped the notice of less
+experienced observers.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time, William Price, also a captain in the East India
+Company's service, who had been attached as interpreter and secretary
+to Sir William Gore Ouseley's embassy to Persia in 1810, devoted
+himself to the study of the cuneiform character. Many had previously
+attempted to decipher it, with results as various as they were
+ridiculous; and, like those of his predecessors and contemporaries,
+Price's opinions were mere guess-work; but he succeeded in interesting
+a certain class of students in this obscure branch of research, and may
+be said to have perpetuated the theories of Niebuhr and other
+Orientalists.</p>
+
+<p>To Price we owe an account of the journey of the English embassy to the
+Persian court, after which he published two essays on the antiquities
+of Persepolis and Babylon.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Ouseley, who had accompanied his brother Sir William as secretary,
+availed himself of his sojourn at the Court of Teheran to study
+Persian. His works do not, however, bear upon geography or political
+economy, but treat only of inscriptions, coins, manuscripts, and
+literature&mdash;in a word, of everything connected with the intellectual
+and material history of the country. To him we owe an edition of
+Firdusi, and many other volumes, which came out at just the right time
+to supplement the knowledge already acquired of the country of the
+Shah.</p>
+
+<p>Another semi-Asiatic semi-European country was also now becoming known.
+This was the mountainous district of the Caucasus. As early as the
+second half of the eighteenth century, John Anthony Guldenstædt, a
+Russian doctor, had visited Astrakhan, and Kisliar on the Terek, at the
+most remote boundary of the Russian possessions, entered Georgia, where
+the Czar Heraclius received him with great respect, and penetrated to
+Tiflis and the country of the Truchmenes, finally arriving at Imeritia.
+The next year, 1773, he visited the great Kabardia, the Oriental
+Kumania, examined the ruins of Madjary, visited Tscherkask and Asov,
+discovered the mouth of the Don, and was about to extend his researches
+to the Crimea when he was recalled to St. Petersburg.</p>
+
+<p>Guldenstædt's travels have not been translated into French. Their
+author's career was cut short by death before he had completed their
+revision for the press, and they were edited at St. Petersburg by Henry
+Julius von Klaproth, a young Prussian, who afterwards explored the same
+countries.</p>
+
+<p>Klaproth, who was born at Berlin on the 11th October, 1783, gave proof
+at a very early age of a special aptitude for the study of Oriental
+languages. At fifteen years old he taught himself Chinese; and he had
+scarcely finished his studies at the Universities of Halle and Dresden,
+when he began the publication of his "Asiatic Magazine." Invited to
+Russia by Count Potoki, he was at once named Professor of Oriental
+Languages at the Academy of St. Petersburg.</p>
+
+<p>Klaproth did not belong to the worthy race of book-worms who shut
+themselves up in their own studies. He took a wider view of the nature
+of true knowledge, feeling that the surest way to attain a thorough
+acquaintance with the languages of Asia and of Oriental manners and
+customs was to study them on the spot. He therefore asked permission to
+accompany the ambassador Golowkin, who was going to China overland; and
+the necessary credentials obtained, he started alone for Siberia,
+making acquaintance with the Samoyèdes, the Tongouses, Bashkirs,
+Yakontes, Kirghizes, and other of the Finnic and Tartar hordes which
+frequent these vast steppes, finally arriving at Yakutsk, where he was
+soon joined by Golowkin. After a halt at Kiakta, the embassy crossed
+the Chinese frontier on the 1st January, 1806.</p>
+
+<p>The Viceroy of Mongolia, however, insisted upon the observance by the
+ambassador of certain ceremonies which were considered by the latter
+degrading to his dignity; and neither being disposed to yield, Golowkin
+set out with his suite to return to St. Petersburg. Klaproth, not
+caring to retrace his steps, preferred to visit hordes still unknown to
+him, and he therefore crossed the southern districts of Siberia, and
+collected during a journey extending over twenty months, a large number
+of Chinese, Mandchoorian, Thibetan, and Mongolian books, which were of
+service to him in his great work "Asia Polyglotta."</p>
+
+<p>On his return to St. Petersburg he was invested with all the honours of
+the Academy; and a little later, at the suggestion of Count Potoki, he
+was appointed to the command of an historical, archæological, and
+geographical expedition to the Caucasus. Klaproth now passed a whole
+year in journeys, often full of peril, amongst thievish tribes, through
+rugged districts, and penetrated to the country traversed by
+Guldenstædt at the end of the previous century.</p>
+
+<p>Klaproth's description of Tiflis is curious as compared with that of
+contemporary authors. "Tiflis," he says, "so called on account of its
+mineral springs, is divided into three parts: Tiflis properly so
+called, or the ancient town; Kala, or the citadel; and the suburb of
+Issni. This town is built on the Kur, and the greater part of its outer
+walls is now in ruins. Its streets are so narrow, that 'arbas,' as the
+lofty carriages so characteristic of Oriental places are called, could
+only pass with difficulty down the widest, whilst in the others a
+horseman would barely find room to ride. The houses, badly built of
+flints and bricks cemented with mud, never last longer than about
+fifteen years." In Klaproth's time Tiflis boasted of two markets, but
+everything was extremely dear, shawls and silk scarves manufactured in
+the neighbouring Asiatic countries bringing higher prices than in St.
+Petersburg.</p>
+
+<p>Tiflis must not be dismissed without a few words concerning its hot
+springs. Klaproth tells us that the famous hot baths were formerly
+magnificent, but they are falling into ruins, although some few remain;
+the floors of which are cased in marble. The waters contain very little
+sulphur and are most salutary in their effects. The natives, especially
+the women, use them to excess, the latter remaining in them several
+days, and even taking their meals in the bath.</p>
+
+<p>The chief food of the people of Tiflis, at least in the mountainous
+districts, is the bhouri, a kind of hard bread with a very disagreeable
+taste, prepared in a way repugnant to our sybarite notions.</p>
+
+<p>When the dough is sufficiently kneaded a bright clear fire of dry wood
+is made, in earthen vessels four feet high by two wide, which are sunk
+in the ground. When the fire is burning fiercely, the Georgians shake
+into it the vermin by which their shirts and red-silk breeches are
+infested. Not until this ceremony has been performed do they throw the
+dough, which is divided into pieces of the size of two clenched fists,
+into the pots. The dough once in, the vessels are covered with lids,
+over which rags are placed, to make sure of all the heat being kept in
+and the bread being thoroughly baked. It is, however, always badly
+done, and very difficult of digestion.</p>
+
+<p>Having thus assisted at the preparation of the food of the poor
+mountaineer, let us join Klaproth at the table of a prince. A long
+striped cloth, about a yard and a half wide and very dirty, was spread
+for his party; on this was placed for each guest an oval-shaped wheaten
+cake, three spans long by two wide, and scarcely as thick as a finger.
+A number of little brass bowls, filled with mutton and boiled rice,
+roast fowls, and cheese cut in slices, were then brought in. As it was
+a fast day, smoked salmon with uncooked green vegetables was served to
+the prince and his subjects. Spoons, forks, and knives are unknown in
+Georgia; soup is eaten from the bowl, meat is taken in the hands, and
+torn with the fingers into pieces the size of a mouthful. To throw a
+tid-bit to another guest is a mark of great friendship. The repast
+over, grapes and dried fruits are eaten. During the meal a good red
+native wine, called traktir by the Tartars, and ghwino by the
+Georgians, is very freely circulated. It is drunk from flat silver
+bowls greatly resembling saucers.</p>
+
+<p>Klaproth's account of the different incidents of his journey is no less
+interesting and vivid than this description of the manners of the
+people. Take, for instance, what he says of his trip to the sources of
+the Terek, the site of which had been pretty accurately indicated by
+Guldenstædt, although he had not visited them.</p>
+
+<p>"I left the village of Utzfars-Kan on the 17th March, on a bright but
+cold morning. Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me. After half an hour's
+march, we began to climb the steep and rugged ascent leading to the
+junction of the Utzfars-Don with the Terek. This was succeeded by a
+still worse road, running for a league alongside of the river, which is
+scarcely ten paces wide here, although it was then swollen by the
+melting of the snow. This part of the river banks is inhabited. We
+continued to ascend, and reached the foot of the Khoki, also called
+Istir-Khoki, finally arriving at a spot where an accumulation of large
+stones in the bed of the river rendered it possible to cross over to
+the village of Tsiwratté-Kan, where we breakfasted. Here the small
+streams forming the Terek meet. I was so glad to have reached the end
+of my journey, that I poured a glass of Hungarian wine into the river,
+and made a second libation to the genius of the mountain in which the
+Terek rises. The Ossetes, who thought I was performing a religious
+ceremony, observed me gravely. On the smooth sides of an enormous block
+of schist I engraved in red the date of my journey, together with my
+name and those of my companions, after which I climbed up to the
+village of Ressi."</p>
+<a name="ill19"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration019">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="578">
+			<img src="images/019.jpg" alt="Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="578" align="center">
+			<small>"Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>After this account of his journey, from which we might multiply
+extracts, Klaproth sums up all the information he has collected on the
+tribes of the Caucasus, dwelling specially on the marked resemblances
+which exist between the different Georgian dialects and those of the
+Finns and Lapps. This was a new and useful suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>Speaking of the Lesghians, who occupy the eastern Caucasus, known as
+Daghestan, or Lezghistan, Klaproth says their name is a misnomer, just
+as Scythian or Tartar was used to indicate the natives of Northern
+Asia; adding, that they do not form one nation, as is proved by the
+number of dialects in use, which, however, would seem to have been
+derived from a common source, though time has greatly modified them.
+This is a contradiction in terms, implying either that the Lesghians,
+speaking one language, form one nation, or that forming one nation the
+Lesghians speak various dialects derived from the same source.</p>
+
+<p>According to Klaproth, Lesghian words have a considerable affinity with
+the other languages of the Caucasus, and with those of Western Asia,
+especially the dialects of the Samoyedes and Siberian Finns.</p>
+
+<p>West and north-west of the Lesghians dwell the Metzdjeghis, or
+Tchetchentses, who are probably the most ancient inhabitants of the
+Caucasus. This is not, however, the opinion of Pallas, who looks upon
+them as a separate tribe of the Alain family. The Tchetchentse language
+greatly resembles the Samoyede and other Siberian dialects, as well as
+those of the Slavs.</p>
+
+<p>The Tcherkesses, or Circassians, are the Sykhes of the Greeks. They
+formerly inhabited the eastern Caucasus and the Crimea. Their language
+differs much from other Caucasian idioms, although the Tcherkesses
+proceed, with the Wogouls and the Ostiakes&mdash;we have just seen that the
+Lesghian and Tchetchentse dialects resemble the Siberian&mdash;from one
+common stock, which at some remote date separated into several
+branches, of which the Huns probably formed one. The Tcherkesse dialect
+is one of the most difficult to pronounce, some of the consonants being
+produced in a manner so loud and guttural that no European has yet been
+able to acquire it.</p>
+
+<p>In the Caucasus also dwell the Abazes&mdash;who have never left the shores
+of the Black Sea, where they have been settled from time
+immemorial&mdash;and the Ossetes, or As, who belong to the Indo-Germanic
+stock. They call their country Ironistan, and themselves the Irons.
+Klaproth takes them to be Sarmatic Medes, not only on account of their
+name, which resembles Iran, but because of the structure of their
+language, which proves more satisfactorily than historical documents,
+and in a most conclusive manner, that they spring from the same stock
+as the Medes and Persians. This opinion, however, appears to us mere
+conjecture, as in the time of Klaproth the interpretation of cuneiform
+inscriptions had not been accomplished, and too little was known of the
+language of the Medes for any one to judge of its resemblance to the
+Ossete idiom.</p>
+
+<p>"However," continues Klaproth, "after meeting again the Sarmatic Medes
+of the ancients in this people, it is still more surprising also to
+recognize the Alains, who occupied the districts north of the
+Caucasus."</p>
+
+<p>He adds: "It follows from all we have said, that the Ossetes, who call
+themselves Irons, are the Medes, who assumed the name of Irans, and
+whom Herodotus styles the Arioi. They are, moreover, the Sarmatic Medes
+of the ancients, and belong to the Median colony founded in the
+Caucasus by the Scythians. They are the As or Alains of the middle
+ages. And lastly, they are the Iasses of Russian chronicles, from whom
+some of the Caucasus range took their name of the Iassic Mountains."
+This is not the place to discuss identifications belonging to the realm
+of criticism. We will content ourselves with adding to these remarks of
+Klaproth on the Ossete language, that its pronunciation resembles that
+of the Low-German and Slavonic dialects.</p>
+
+<p>The Georgians differ essentially from the neighbouring nations, alike
+in their language and in their physical and moral qualities. They are
+divided into four principal tribes&mdash;the Karthalinians, Mingrelians, and
+Shvans (or Swanians), inhabiting the southern range of the Caucasus,
+and the Lazes, a wild robber tribe.</p>
+
+<p>As we have seen, the facts collected by Klaproth are very curious, and
+throw an unexpected light on the migration of ancient races. The
+penetration and sagacity of the traveller were marvellous, and his
+memory was extraordinary. The scholar of Berlin rendered signal
+services to the science of philology. It is to be regretted that his
+qualities as a man, his principles, and his temper, were not on a level
+with his knowledge and acumen as a professor.</p>
+
+<p>We must now leave the Old World for the New, and give an account of the
+explorations of the young republic of the United States. So soon as the
+Federal Government was free from the anxieties of war, and its position
+was alike established and recognized, public attention was directed to
+the "fur country," which had in turn attracted the English, the
+Spanish, and the French. Nootka Sound and the neighbouring coasts,
+discovered by the great Cook and the talented Quadra, Vancouver, and
+Marchand, were American. Moreover, the Monroe doctrine, destined later
+to excite so much discussion, already existed in embryo in the minds of
+the statesmen of the day.</p>
+
+<p>In accordance with an Act of Congress, Captain Merryweather Lewis and
+Lieutenant William Clarke, were commissioned to trace the Missouri,
+from its junction with the Mississippi to its source, and to cross the
+Rocky Mountains by the easiest and shortest route, thus opening up
+communication between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The
+officers were also to trade with any Indian tribes they might meet.</p>
+
+<p>The expedition was composed of regular troops and volunteers, numbering
+altogether, including the leaders, forty-three men; one boat and two
+canoes completed the equipment.</p>
+
+<p>On the 14th May, 1804, the Americans left Wood River, which flows into
+the Mississippi, and embarked on the Missouri. From what Cass had said
+in his journal, the explorers expected to have to contend with natural
+dangers of a very formidable description, and also to fight their way
+amongst natives of gigantic stature, whose hostility to the white man
+was invincible.</p>
+
+<p>During the first days of this long canoe voyage, only to be compared to
+those of Orellana and Condamine on the Amazon, the Americans were
+fortunate enough to meet with some Sioux Indians, an old Frenchman, a
+Canadian <i>coureur des bois</i>, or trapper, who spoke the languages of
+most of the Missouri tribes, and consented to accompany the expedition
+as interpreter.</p>
+
+<p>They passed the mouths of the Osage, Kansas, Platte or Nebraska, and
+White River, all tributaries of the Missouri, successively, and met
+various parties of Osage and Sioux, or Maha Indians, who all appeared
+to be in a state of utter degradation. One tribe of Sioux had suffered
+so much from smallpox, that the male survivors, in a fit of rage and
+misery, had killed the women and children spared by the terrible
+malady, and fled from the infected neighbourhood.</p>
+
+<p>A little farther north dwelt the Ricaris, or Recs, at first supposed to
+be the cleanest, most polite, and most industrious of the tribes the
+expedition met with; but a few thefts soon modified that favourable
+judgment. It is curious that these people do not depend entirely on
+hunting, but cultivate corn, peas, and tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>This is not, however, the case with the Mandans, who are a more robust
+race. A custom obtains among them, also characteristic of
+Polynesia&mdash;they do not bury their dead, but expose them on a scaffold.</p>
+
+<p>Clarke's narrative gives us a few details relating to this strange
+tribe. The Mandans look upon the Supreme Being only as an embodiment of
+the power of healing. As a result they worship two gods, whom they call
+the Great Medicine or the Physician, and the Great Spirit. It would
+seem that life is so precious to them that they are impelled to worship
+all that can prolong it!</p>
+
+<p>Their origin is strange. They originally lived in a large subterranean
+village hollowed out under the ground on the borders of a lake. A vine,
+however, struck its roots so deeply in the earth as to reach their
+habitations, and some of them ascended to the surface by the aid of
+this impromptu ladder. The descriptions given by them on their return
+of the vast hunting-grounds, rich in game and fruit, which they had
+seen, led the rest of the tribe to resolve to reach so favoured a land.
+Half of them had gained the surface, when the vine, bending beneath the
+weight of a fat woman, gave way, and rendered the ascent of the rest
+impossible. After death the Mandans expect to return to their
+subterranean home, but only those who die with a clear conscience can
+reach it; the guilty will be flung into a lake.</p>
+
+<p>The explorers took up their quarters for the winter amongst the
+Mandans, on the 1st of November. They built huts, as comfortable as
+possible with the materials at their command; and in spite of the
+extreme cold, gave themselves up to the pleasures of hunting, which
+soon became a positive necessity of their existence.</p>
+
+<p>When the ice should break up on the Missouri, the explorers hoped to
+continue their voyage; but on their sending the boat down to St. Louis,
+laden with the skins and furs already obtained, only thirty men were
+found willing to carry the expedition through to the end.</p>
+
+<p>The travellers soon passed the mouth of the Yellowstone River, with a
+current nearly as strong as that of the Missouri, flowing through
+districts abounding in game.</p>
+
+<p>Cruel was their perplexity when they arrived at a fork where the
+Missouri divided into two rivers of nearly equal volume, for which was
+the main stream? Captain Lewis with a party of scouts ascended the
+southern branch, and soon came in sight of the Rocky Mountains,
+completely covered with snow. Guided to the spot by a terrific uproar,
+he beheld the Missouri fling itself in one broad sheet of water over a
+rocky precipice, beyond which it formed a broken series of rapids,
+extending for several miles.</p>
+<a name="ill20"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration020">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="575">
+			<img src="images/020.jpg" alt="He beheld the Missouri">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="575" align="center">
+			<small>"He beheld the Missouri."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The detachment now followed this branch, which led them into the heart
+of the mountains, and for three or four miles dashed along between two
+perpendicular walls of rock, finally dividing itself into three parts,
+to which were given the names of Jefferson, Madison, and Galatin, after
+celebrated American statesmen.</p>
+
+<p>The last heights were soon crossed, and then the expedition descended
+the slopes overlooking the Pacific. The Americans had brought with them
+a Soshone woman, who had been protected as a girl by the Indians of the
+east, and not only did she serve the explorers faithfully as an
+interpreter, but also, through her recognition of a brother in the
+chief of a tribe disposed to be hostile, she from that moment secured
+cordial treatment for the white men. Unfortunately the country was
+poor, the people living entirely on wild berries, bark, and the little
+game they were able to obtain.</p>
+
+<p>The Americans, little accustomed to this frugal fare, had to eke it out
+by eating their horses, which had grown very thin, and buying all the
+dogs the natives would consent to sell. Hence they obtained the
+nickname of Dog-eaters.</p>
+
+<p>As the temperature became milder, so did the character of the natives,
+whilst food grew more abundant; and as they came down the Oregon, also
+known as the Columbia, the salmon formed a seasonable addition to the
+bill of fare. When the Columbia, which is dangerous for navigation,
+approaches the sea, it forms a vast estuary, where the waves from the
+offing meet the current of the river. The Americans more than once
+incurred considerable risk of being swallowed up, with their frail
+canoe, before they reached the shores of the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>Glad to have accomplished the aim of their expedition, the explorers
+wintered at the mouth of the river, and when the fine weather set in
+they made their way back to St. Louis, arriving there in May, 1806,
+after an absence of two years, four months, and ten days. They had in
+that time, according to their own estimate, traversed less than 1378
+leagues.</p>
+
+<p>The impulse was now given, and reconnoitring expeditions in the
+interior of the new continent rapidly succeeded each other, assuming, a
+little later, a scientific character which gives them a position of
+their own in the history of discovery.</p>
+
+<p>A few years later, one of the greatest colonizers of whom England can
+boast, Sir Stamford Raffles, organizer of the expedition which took
+possession of the Dutch colonies, was appointed Military Governor of
+Java. During an administration extending over five years, Raffles
+brought about numerous reforms, and abolished slavery. Absorbing as was
+this work, however, it did not prevent him from publishing two huge
+quarto volumes, which are as interesting as they are curious. They
+contain, in addition to the history of Java, a vast number of details
+about the natives of the interior, until then little known, together
+with much circumstantial information respecting the geology and natural
+history of the country. It is no wonder, therefore, that in honour of
+the man who did so much to make Java known, the name of Rafflesia
+should have been given to an immense flower native to it, and of which
+some specimens measure over three feet in diameter, and weigh some ten
+pounds.</p>
+<a name="ill21"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration021">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587">
+			<img src="images/021.jpg" alt="Warrior of Java">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587" align="center">
+			<small>Warrior of Java.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Raffles was also the first to penetrate to the interior of Sumatra, of
+which the coast only was previously known. He visited the districts
+occupied by the Passoumahs, sturdy tillers of the soil, the northern
+provinces, with Memang-Kabou, the celebrated Malayan capital, and
+crossed the southern half of the island, from Bencoulen to Palimbang.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Stamford Raffles' fame, however rests principally upon his having
+drawn the attention of the Indian Government to the exceptionally
+favourable position of Singapore, which was converted by him into an
+open port, and grew rapidly into a prosperous settlement.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap2"></a>
+<h3>CHAPTER II.</h3>
+<center>THE EXPLORATION AND COLONIZATION OF AFRICA.<br>
+<br><a name="chap21"></a>
+I.</center>
+<blockquote>Peddie and Campbell in the Soudan&mdash;Ritchie and Lyon in Fezzan&mdash;Denham,
+Oudney, and Clapperton in Fezzan, and in the Tibboo country&mdash;Lake Tchad
+and its tributaries&mdash;Kouka and the chief villages of Bornou&mdash;Mandara&mdash;A
+razzia, or raid, in the Fellatah country&mdash;Defeat of the Arabs and death
+of Boo-Khaloum&mdash;Loggan&mdash;Death of Toole&mdash;En route for Kano&mdash;Death of
+Oudney&mdash;Kano&mdash;Sackatoo&mdash;Sultan Bello&mdash;Return to Europe.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>The power of Napoleon, and with it the supremacy of France, was
+scarcely overthrown&mdash;the Titanic contests, to gratify the ambition of
+one man at the expense of the intellectual progress of humanity, were
+scarcely at an end, before an honourable rivalry awoke once more, and
+new scientific and commercial expeditions were set on foot. A new era
+had commenced.</p>
+
+<p>Foremost in the ranks of the governments which organized and encouraged
+exploring expeditions we find as usual that of England. It was in
+Central Africa, the vast riches of which had been hinted at in the
+accounts given of their travels by Hornemann and Burckhardt, that the
+attention of the English was now concentrated.</p>
+
+<p>As early as 1816 Major Peddie, starting from Senegal, reached Kakondy,
+on the River Nuñez, succumbing, however, to the fatigue of the journey
+and unhealthiness of the climate soon after his arrival in that town.
+Major Campbell succeeded him in the command of the expedition, and
+crossed the lofty mountains of Foota-Djalion, losing in a few days
+several men and part of the baggage animals.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at the headquarters of the Almamy, as most of the kings of this
+part of Africa are called, the expedition was detained for a long time,
+and only obtained permission to depart on payment of a large sum.</p>
+
+<p>Most disastrous was the return journey, for the explorers had not only
+to recross the streams they had before forded with such difficulty, but
+they were subjected to so many insults, annoyances, and exactions, that
+to put an end to them Campbell was obliged to burn his merchandize,
+break his guns, and sink his powder.</p>
+
+<p>Against so much fatigue and mortification, added to the complete
+failure of his expedition, Major Campbell failed to bear up, and he
+died, with several of his officers, in the very place where Major
+Peddie had closed his career. The few survivors of the party reached
+Sierra Leone after an arduous march.</p>
+
+<p>A little later, Ritchie and Captain George Francis Lyon, availing
+themselves of the prestige which the siege of Algiers had brought to
+the British flag, and of the cordial relations which the English consul
+at Tripoli had succeeded in establishing with the principal Moorish
+authorities, determined to follow Hornemann's route, and penetrate to
+the very heart of Africa.</p>
+
+<p>On the 25th March, 1819, the travellers left Tripoli with Mahommed el
+Moukni, Bey of Fezzan, who is called sultan by his subjects. Protected
+by this escort, Ritchie and Lyon reached Murzuk without molestation,
+but there the former died on the 2nd November, worn out by the fatigue
+and privations of the journey across the desert. Lyon, who was ill for
+some time from the same causes, recovered soon enough to foil the
+designs of the sultan, who counting on his death, had already begun to
+take possession of his property, and also of Ritchie's. The captain
+could not penetrate beyond the southern boundaries of Fezzan, but he
+had time to collect a good deal of valuable information about the chief
+towns of that province and the language of its inhabitants. To him we
+likewise owe the first authentic details of the religion, customs,
+language, and extraordinary costumes of the Tuarick Arabs, a wild tribe
+inhabiting the Great Sahara desert.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Lyon's narrative also contains a good deal of interesting
+information collected by himself on Bornou, Wadai, and the Soudan,
+although he was unable to visit those places in person.</p>
+
+<p>The results obtained did not by any means satisfy the English
+Government, which was most eager to open up the riches of the interior
+to its merchants. Consequently the authorities received favourably the
+proposals made by Dr. Walter Oudney, a Scotchman, whose enthusiasm had
+been aroused by the travels of Mungo Park. This Dr. Oudney was a friend
+of Hugh Clapperton, a lieutenant in the Navy, three years his senior,
+who had distinguished himself in Canada and elsewhere, but had been
+thrown out of employment and reduced to half-pay by the peace of 1815.</p>
+
+<p>Hearing of Oudney's scheme, Clapperton at once determined to join him
+in it, and Oudney begged the minister to allow him the aid of that
+enterprising officer, whose special knowledge would be of great
+assistance. Lord Bathurst made no objection, and the two friends, after
+receiving minute instructions, embarked for Tripoli, where they
+ascertained that Major Denham was to take the command of their
+expedition.</p>
+
+<p>Denham was born in London on the 31st December, 1783, and began life as
+an articled pupil to a country lawyer. As an attorney's clerk he found
+his duties so irksome and so little suited to his daring spirit that
+his longing for adventure soon led him to enlist in a regiment bound
+for Spain. Until 1815 he remained with the army, but after the peace he
+employed his leisure in visiting France and Italy.</p>
+
+<p>Denham, eager to obtain distinction, had chosen the career which would
+best enable him to achieve it, even at the risk of his life, and he now
+resolved to become an explorer. With him to think was to act. He had
+asked the minister to commission him to go to Timbuctoo by the route
+Laing afterwards took when he heard of the expedition under Clapperton
+and Oudney; and he now begged to be allowed to join them.</p>
+
+<p>Without any delay Denham obtained the necessary equipment, and
+accompanied by a carpenter named William Hillman, he embarked for
+Malta, joining his future travelling companions at Tripoli on the 21st
+November, 1821. The English at this time enjoyed very great prestige,
+not only in the States of Barbary, on account of the bombardment of
+Algiers, but also because the British consul at Tripoli had by his
+clever diplomacy established friendly relations with the government to
+which he was accredited.</p>
+
+<p>This prestige extended beyond the narrow range of the northern states.
+The nationality of certain travellers, the protection accorded by
+England to the Porte, the British victories in India had all been
+vaguely rumoured even in the heart of Africa, and the name of
+Englishman, was familiar without any particular meaning being attached
+to it. According to the English consul, the route from Tripoli to
+Bornou was as safe as that from London to Edinburgh. This was,
+therefore, the moment to seize opportunities which might not occur
+again.</p>
+
+<p>The three travellers, after a cordial reception from the bey, who
+placed all his resources at their disposal, lost no time in leaving
+Tripoli, and with an escort provided by the Moorish governor, they
+reached Murzuk, the capital of Fezzan, on the 8th April, 1822, without
+difficulty, having indeed been received with great enthusiasm in some
+of the places through which they passed.</p>
+
+<p>At Sockna, Denham tells us, the governor came out to meet them,
+accompanied by the principal inhabitants and hundreds of the country
+people, who crowded round their horses, kissing their hands with every
+appearance of cordiality and delight, and shouting <i>Inglesi</i>,
+<i>Inglesi</i>, as the visitors entered the town. This welcome was the more
+gratifying from the fact that the travellers were the first Europeans
+to penetrate into Africa without wearing a disguise. Denham adds that
+he feels sure their reception would have been far less cordial had they
+stooped to play the part of impostors by attempting to pass for
+Mahommedans.</p>
+
+<p>At Murzuk they were harassed by annoyances similar to those which had
+paralyzed Hornemann; in their case, however, circumstances and
+character were alike different, and without allowing themselves to be
+blinded by the compliments paid them by the sultan, the English, who
+were thoroughly in earnest, demanded the necessary escort for the
+journey to Bornou.</p>
+
+<p>It was impossible, they were told, to start before the following
+spring, on account of the difficulty of collecting a kafila or caravan,
+and the troops necessary for its escort across the desert.</p>
+
+<p>A rich merchant, however, Boo-Bucker-Boo-Khaloum by name, a great
+friend of the pacha, gave the explorers a hint that if he received
+certain presents he would smooth away all difficulties. He even offered
+to escort them himself to Bornou, for which province he was bound if he
+could obtain the necessary permission from the Pacha of Tripoli.</p>
+
+<p>Denham, believing Boo-Khaloum to be acting honestly, went off to
+Tripoli to obtain the governor's sanction, but on his arrival there he
+obtained only evasive answers, and finally threatened to embark for
+England, where he said he would report the obstacles thrown in his way
+by the pacha, in the carrying out of the objects of the exploring
+expedition.</p>
+
+<p>These menaces produced no effect, and Denham actually set sail, and was
+about to land at Marseilles when he received a satisfactory message
+from the bey, begging him to return, and authorizing Boo-Khaloum to
+accompany him and his companions.</p>
+
+<p>On the 30th October Denham rejoined Oudney and Clapperton at Murzuk,
+finding them considerably weakened by fever and the effects of the
+climate.</p>
+
+<p>Denham, convinced that change of air would restore them to health,
+persuaded them to start and begin the journey by easy stages. He
+himself set out on the 20th of November with a caravan of merchants
+from Mesurata, Tripoli, Sockna, and Murzuk, escorted by 210 Arab
+warriors chosen from the most intelligent and docile of the tribes, and
+commanded by Boo-Khaloum.</p>
+
+<p>The expedition took the route followed by Lyon and soon reached
+Tegerry, which is the most southerly town of Fezzan, and the last
+before the traveller enters the desert of Bilma.</p>
+
+<p>Denham made a sketch of the castle of Tegerry from the southern bank of
+a salt lake near the town. Tegerry is entered by a low narrow vaulted
+passage leading to a gate in a second rampart. The wall is pierced with
+apertures which render the entrance by the narrow passage very
+difficult. Above the second gate there is also an aperture through
+which darts, and fire-brands may be hurled upon the besiegers, a mode
+of warfare once largely indulged in by the Arabs. Inside the town there
+are wells of fairly good water. Denham is of opinion that Tegerry
+restored, well-garrisoned and provisioned, could sustain a long siege.
+Its situation is delightful. It is surrounded by date-trees, and the
+water in the neighbourhood is excellent. A chain of low hills stretches
+away to the east. Snipes, ducks, and wild geese frequent the salt lakes
+near the town.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Tegerry, the travellers entered a sandy desert, across which it
+would not have been easy to find the way, had it not been marked out by
+the skeletons of men and animals strewn along it, especially about the
+wells.</p>
+
+<p>"One of the skeletons we saw to-day," says Denham, "still looked quite
+fresh. The beard was on the chin, the features could be recognized. 'It
+is my slave,' exclaimed one of the merchants of the kafila. 'I left him
+near here four months ago.' 'Make haste and take him to the market!'
+cried a facetious slave merchant, 'lest some one else should claim
+him.'"</p>
+<a name="ill22"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration022">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="585">
+			<img src="images/022.jpg" alt="A kafila of slaves">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="585" align="center">
+			<small>A kafila of slaves.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Here and there in the desert are oases containing towns of greater or
+less importance, at which the caravans halt. Kishi is one of the most
+frequented of these places, and there the money for the right of
+crossing the desert is paid. The Sultan of Kishi, the ruler of a good
+many of these petty principalities, and who takes the title of
+Commander of the Faithful, was remarkable for a complete disregard of
+cleanliness, a peculiarity in which, according to Denham, his court
+fully equalled him.</p>
+
+<p>This sultan paid Boo-Khaloum a visit in his tent, accompanied by half a
+dozen Tibboos, some of whom were positively hideous. Their teeth were
+of a dark yellow colour, the result of chewing tobacco, of which they
+are so fond that they use it as snuff as well as to chew. Their noses
+looked like little round bits of flesh stuck on to their faces with
+nostrils so wide that they could push their fingers right up them.
+Denham's watch, compass, and musical snuffbox astonished them not a
+little. He defines these people as brutes with human faces.</p>
+
+<p>A little further on the travellers reached the town of Kirby, situated
+in a wâdy near a low range of hills of which the highest are not more
+than 400 feet above the sea level, and between two salt lakes, produced
+by the excavations made for building. From the centre of these lakes
+rise islets consisting of masses of muriate and carbonate of soda. The
+salt produced by these wâdys, or depressions of the soil, form an
+important article of commerce with Bornou and the whole of the Soudan.</p>
+
+<p>It would be impossible to imagine a more wretched place than Kirby. Its
+houses are empty, containing not so much as a mat. How could it be
+otherwise with a place liable to incessant raids from the Tuaricks?</p>
+
+<p>The caravan now crossed the Tibboo country, inhabited by a peaceful,
+hospitable people to whom, as keepers of the wells and reservoirs of
+the desert, the leaders of caravans pay passage-money. The Tibboos are
+a strong, active race, and when mounted on their nimble steeds they
+display marvellous skill in throwing the lance, which the most vigorous
+of their warriors can hurl to a distance of 145 yards. Bilma is their
+chief city, and the residence of their sultan.</p>
+
+<p>On the arrival of the travellers at Bilma, the sultan, escorted by a
+number of men and women, came out to meet the strangers. The women were
+much better-looking than those in the smaller towns; some of them had
+indeed very pleasant faces, their white, regular teeth contrasting
+admirably with their shining black skins, and the three "triangular
+flaps of hair, streaming with oil." Coral ornaments in their noses, and
+large amber necklaces round their throats, gave them what Denham calls
+a "seductive appearance." Some of them carried fans made of grass or
+hair, with which to keep off the flies; others were provided with
+branches of trees; all, in fact, carried something in their hands,
+which they waved above their heads. Their costume consisted of a loose
+piece of Soudan cloth, fastened on the left shoulder, and leaving the
+right uncovered, with a smaller piece wound about the head, and falling
+on the shoulders or flung back. In spite of this paucity of clothing,
+there was not the least immodesty in their bearing.</p>
+
+<p>A mile from Bilma, and beyond a limpid spring, which appears to have
+been placed there by nature to afford a supply of water to travellers,
+lies a desert, which it takes no less than ten days to cross. This was
+probably once a huge salt lake.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th February, 1823, the caravan reached Lari, a town on the
+northern boundary of Bornou, in lat. 14&deg; 40' N. The
+inhabitants, astonished at the size of the "kafila," fled in terror at
+its approach.</p>
+
+<p>"Beyond, however," says Denham, "was an object full of interest to us,
+and the sight of it produced a sensation so gratifying and inspiring,
+that it would be difficult for language to convey an idea of its force
+or pleasure. The great Lake Tchad, glowing with the golden rays of the
+sun in its strength, appeared to be within a mile of the spot on which
+we stood."</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Lari, the appearance of the country changed completely. The
+sandy desert was succeeded by a clay soil, clothed with grass and
+dotted with acacias and other trees of various species, amongst which
+grazed herds of antelopes, whilst Guinea fowls and the turtle-doves of
+Barbary flew hither and thither above them. Towns took the place of
+villages, with huts of the shape of bells, thatched with durra straw.</p>
+
+<p>The travellers continued their journey southwards, rounding Lake Tchad,
+which they had first touched at its most northerly point.</p>
+
+<p>The districts bordering on this sheet of water were of a black, firm,
+but muddy soil. The waters rise to a considerable height in winter, and
+sink in proportion in the summer. The lake is of fresh water, rich in
+fish, and frequented by hippopotami and aquatic birds. Near its centre,
+on the south-east, are the islands inhabited by the Biddomahs, a race
+who live by pillaging the people of the mainland.</p>
+
+<p>The explorers had sent a messenger to Sheikh El Khanemy, to ask
+permission to enter his capital, and an envoy speedily arrived to
+invite Boo-Khaloum and his companions to Kouka.</p>
+
+<p>On their way thither, the travellers passed through Burwha, a fortified
+town which had thus far resisted the inroads of the Tuaricks, and
+crossed the Yeou, a large river, in some parts more than 500 feet in
+width, which, rising in the Soudan, flows into Lake Tchad.</p>
+
+<p>On the southern shores of this river rises a little town of the same
+name, about half the size of Burwha.</p>
+
+<p>The caravan soon reached the gates of Kouka, where, after a journey
+extending over two months and a half, they were received by a body of
+cavalry 4000 strong, under perfect discipline. Amongst these troops was
+a corps of blacks forming the body-guard of the sheikh, whose
+equipments resembled those of ancient chivalry.</p>
+<a name="ill23"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration023">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594">
+			<img src="images/023.jpg" alt="Member of the body-guard of the Sheikh of Bornou">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594" align="center">
+			<small>Member of the body-guard of the Sheikh of Bornou.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>They wore, Denham tells us, suits of chain armour covering the neck and
+shoulders. These were fastened above the head, and fell in two
+portions, one in front and one behind, so as to protect the flanks of
+the horse and the thighs of the rider. A sort of casque or iron coif,
+kept in its place by red, white or yellow turbans, tied under the chin,
+completed the costume. The horses' heads were also guarded by iron
+plates. Their saddles were small and light, and their steel stirrups
+held only the point of the feet, which were clad in leather shoes,
+ornamented with crocodile skin. The horsemen managed their steeds
+admirably, as, advancing at full gallop, brandishing their spears, they
+wheeled right and left of their guests, shouting "Barca! Barca!"
+(Blessing! Blessing!).</p>
+
+<p>Surrounded by this brilliant and fantastic escort, the English and
+Arabs entered the town, where a similar military display had been
+prepared in their honour.</p>
+
+<p>They were presently admitted to the presence of Sheikh El-Khanemy, who
+appeared to be about forty-five years old, and whose face was
+prepossessing, with a happy, intelligent, and benevolent expression.</p>
+
+<p>The English presented the letters of the pacha, and when the sheikh had
+read them, he asked Denham what had brought him and his companions to
+Bornou.</p>
+
+<p>"We came merely to see the country," replied Denham, "to study the
+character of its people, its scenery, and its productions."</p>
+
+<p>"You are welcome," was the reply; "it will be a pleasure to me to show
+you everything. I have ordered huts to be built for you in the town;
+you may go and see them, accompanied by one of my people, and when you
+are recovered from the fatigue of your long journey, I shall be happy
+to see you."</p>
+<a name="ill24"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration024">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590">
+			<img src="images/024.jpg" alt="Reception of the Mission">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590" align="center">
+			<small>Reception of the Mission.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The travellers soon afterwards obtained permission to make collections
+of such animals and plants as appeared to them curious, and to make
+notes of all their observations. They were thus enabled to collect a
+good deal of information about the towns near Kouka.</p>
+
+<p>Kouka, then the capital of Bornou, boasted of a market for the sale of
+slaves, sheep, oxen, cheese, rice, earth-nuts, beans, indigo, and other
+productions of the country. There 100,000 people might sometimes be
+seen haggling about the price of fish, poultry, meat&mdash;the last sold
+both raw and cooked&mdash;or that of brass, copper, amber and coral. Linen
+was so cheap in these parts, that some of the men wore shirts and
+trousers made of it.</p>
+
+<p>Beggars have a peculiar mode of exciting compassion; they station
+themselves at the entrance to the market, and, holding up the rags of
+an old pair of trousers, they whine out to the passers-by, "See! I have
+no pantaloons!" The novelty of this mode of proceeding, and the request
+for a garment, which seemed to them even more necessary than food, made
+our travellers laugh heartily until they became accustomed to it.</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto the English had had nothing to do with any one but the sheikh,
+who, content with wielding all real power, left the nominal sovereignty
+to the sultan, an eccentric monarch, who never showed himself except
+through the bars of a wicker cage near the gate of his garden, as if he
+were some rare wild beast. Curious indeed were some of the customs of
+this court, not the least so the fancy for obesity: no one was
+considered elegant unless he had attained to a bulk generally looked
+upon as very inconvenient.</p>
+
+<p>Some exquisites had stomachs so distended and prominent that they
+seemed literally to hang over the pommel of the saddle; and in addition
+to this, fashion prescribed a turban of such length and weight that its
+wearer had to carry his head on one side.</p>
+
+<p>These uncouth peculiarities rivalled those of the Turks of a masked
+ball, and the travellers had often hard work to preserve their gravity.
+To compensate, however, for the grotesque solemnity of the various
+receptions, a new field for observation was open, and much valuable
+information might now be acquired.</p>
+
+<p>Denham wished to proceed to the south at once, but the sheikh was
+unwilling to risk the lives of the travellers entrusted to him by the
+Bey of Tripoli. On their entry into Bornou, the responsibility of
+Boo-Khaloum for their safety was transferred to him.</p>
+
+<p>So earnest, however, were the entreaties of Denham, that El-Khanemy at
+last sanctioned his accompanying Boo-Khaloum in a "ghrazzie," or
+plundering expedition against the Kaffirs or infidels.</p>
+
+<p>The sheikh's army and the Arab troops passed in succession Yeddie, a
+large walled city twenty miles from Angoumou, Badagry, and several
+other towns built on an alluvial soil which has a dark clay-like
+appearance.</p>
+
+<p>They entered Mandara, at the frontier town of Delow, beyond which the
+sultan of the province, with five hundred horsemen, met his guests.</p>
+
+<p>Denham describes Mahommed Becker as a man of short stature, about fifty
+years old, wearing a beard, painted of a most delicate azure blue. The
+presentations over, the sultan at once turned to Denham, and asked who
+he was, whence he came, what he wanted, and lastly if he were a
+Mahommedan. On Boo-Khaloum's hesitating to reply, the sultan turned
+away his head, with the words, "So the pacha numbers infidels amongst
+his friends!"</p>
+
+<p>This incident had a very bad effect, and Denham was not again admitted
+to the presence of the sultan.</p>
+<a name="ill25"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration025">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594">
+			<img src="images/025.jpg" alt="Lancer of the army of the Sultan of Begharmi">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594" align="center">
+			<small>Lancer of the army of the Sultan of Begharmi.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The enemies of the Pacha of Bornou and the Sultan of Mandara, were
+called Fellatahs. Their vast settlements extended far beyond Timbuctoo.
+They are a handsome set of men, with skins of a dark bronze colour,
+which shows them to be of a race quite distinct from the negroes. They
+are professors of Mahommedanism, and mix but little with the blacks. We
+shall presently have to speak more particularly of the Fellatahs,
+Foulahs, or Fans, as they are called throughout the Soudan.</p>
+
+<p>South of the town of Mora rises a chain of mountains, of which the
+loftiest peaks are not more than 2500 feet high, but which, according
+to the natives, extend for more than "two months' journey."</p>
+
+<p>The most salient point noticed by Denham in his description of the
+country, is a vast and apparently interminable chain of mountains,
+shutting in the view on every side; this, though in his opinion,
+inferior to the Alps, Apennines, Jura, and Sierra Morena in rugged
+magnificence and gigantic grandeur, are yet equal to them in
+picturesque effect. The lofty peaks of Valhmy, Savah, Djoggiday,
+Munday, &amp;c., with clustering villages on their stony sides, rise on the
+east and west, while Horza, exceeding any of them in height and beauty,
+rises on the south with its ravines and precipices.</p>
+
+<p>Derkulla, one of the chief Fellatah towns, was reduced to ashes by the
+invaders, who lost no time in pressing on to Musfeia, a position which,
+naturally very strong, was further defended by palisades manned by a
+numerous body of archers. The English traveller had to take part in the
+assault. The first onslaught of the Arabs appeared to carry all before
+it; the noise of the fire-arms, with the reputation for bravery and
+cruelty enjoyed by Boo-Khaloum and his men, threw the Fellatahs into
+momentary confusion, and if the men of Mandara and Bornou had followed
+up their advantage and stormed the hill, the town would probably have
+fallen.</p>
+
+<p>The besieged, however, noticing the hesitation of their assailants, in
+their turn assumed the defensive, and rallying their archers discharged
+a shower of poisoned arrows, to which many an Arab fell a victim, and
+before which the forces of Bornou and Mandara gave way.</p>
+
+<p>Barca, the Bornou general, had three horses killed under him.
+Boo-Khaloum and his steed were both wounded, and Denham was in a
+similar plight, with the skin of his face grazed by one arrow and two
+others lodged in his burnoos.</p>
+
+<p>The retreat soon became a rout. Denham's horse fell under him, and the
+major had hardly regained his feet when he was surrounded by Fellatahs.
+Two fled on the presentation of the Englishman's pistols, a third
+received the charge in his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>Denham thought he was safe, when his horse fell a second time, flinging
+his master violently against a tree. This time when the major rose he
+found himself with neither horse nor weapons; and the next moment he
+was surrounded by enemies, who stripped him and wounded him in both
+hands and the right side, leaving him half dead at last to fight over
+his clothes, which seemed to them of great value.</p>
+
+<p>Availing himself of this lucky quarrel, Denham slipped under a horse
+standing by, and disappeared in the thicket. Naked, bleeding, wild with
+pain, he reached the edge of a ravine with a mountain stream flowing
+through it. His strength was all but gone, and he was clutching at a
+bough of a tree overhanging the water with a view to dropping himself
+into it as the banks were very steep, and the branches were actually
+bending beneath his weight, when from beneath his hand a gigantic
+liffa, the most venomous kind of serpent in the country, rose from its
+coil in the very act of striking. Horror-struck, Denham let slip the
+branch, and tumbled headlong into the water, but fortunately the shock
+revived him, he struck out almost unconsciously, swam to the opposite
+bank, and climbing it, found himself safe from his pursuers.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately the fugitive soon saw a group of horsemen amongst the
+trees, and in spite of the noise of the pursuit, he managed to shout
+loud enough to make them hear him. They turned out to be Barca Gana and
+Boo-Khaloum, with some Arabs. Mounted on a sorry steed, with no other
+clothing than an old blanket swarming with vermin, Denham travelled
+thirty-seven miles. The pain of his wounds was greatly aggravated by
+the heat, the thermometer being at 32&deg;.</p>
+
+<p>The only results of the expedition, which was to have brought in such
+quantities of booty and numerous slaves, were the deaths of Boo-Khaloum
+and thirty-six of his Arabs, the wounding of nearly all the rest, and
+the loss or destruction of all the horses.</p>
+
+<p>The eighty miles between Mora and Kouka were traversed in six days.
+Denham was kindly received in the latter town by the sultan, who sent
+him a native garment to replace his lost wardrobe. The major had hardly
+recovered from his wounds and fatigue, before he took part in a new
+expedition, sent to Munga, a province on the west of Bornou, by the
+sheikh, whose authority had never been fully recognized there, and
+whose claim for tribute had been refused by the inhabitants.</p>
+<a name="ill26"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Illustration026">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="1229">
+			<img src="images/026.jpg" alt="Map of Denham and Clapperton's Journey">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="1229" align="left">
+			<small><small>Gravé par E. Morieu.</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Denham and Oudney left Kouka on the 22nd May, and crossed the Yeou,
+then nearly dried up, but an important stream in the rainy season, and
+visited Birnie, with the ruins of the capital of the same name, which
+was capable of containing two hundred thousand inhabitants. The
+travellers also passed through the ruins of Gambarou with its
+magnificent buildings, the favourite residence of the former sultan,
+destroyed by the Fellatahs, Kabshary, Bassecour, Bately, and many other
+towns or villages, whose numerous populations submitted without a
+struggle to the Sultan of Bornou.</p>
+
+<p>The rainy season was disastrous to the members of the expedition,
+Clapperton fell dangerously ill of fever, and Oudney, whose chest was
+delicate even before he left England, grew weaker every day. Denham
+alone kept up. On the 14th of December, when the rainy season was
+drawing to a close, Clapperton and Oudney started for Kano. We shall
+presently relate the particulars of this interesting part of their
+expedition.</p>
+
+<p>Seven days later, an ensign, named Toole, arrived at Kouka, after a
+journey from Tripoli, which had occupied only three months and fourteen
+days.</p>
+
+<p>In February, 1824, Denham and Toole made a trip into Luggun, on the
+south of Lake Tchad. All the districts near the lake and its tributary,
+the Shari, are marshy, and flooded during the rainy season. The
+unhealthiness of the climate was fatal to young Toole, who died at
+Angala, on the 26th of February, at the early age of twenty-two.
+Persevering, enterprising, bright and obliging, with plenty of pluck
+and prudence, Toole was a model explorer.</p>
+
+<p>Luggun was then very little known, its capital Kernok, contained no
+less than 15,000 inhabitants. The people of Luggun, especially the
+women&mdash;who are very industrious, and manufacture the finest linens, and
+fabrics of the closest texture&mdash;are handsomer and more intelligent than
+those of Bornou.</p>
+
+<p>The necessary interview with the sultan ended, after an exchange of
+complimentary speeches and handsome presents, in this strange proposal
+from his majesty to the travellers: "If you have come to buy female
+slaves, you need not be at the trouble to go further, as I will sell
+them to you as cheap as possible." Denham had great trouble in
+convincing the merchant prince that such traffic was not the aim of his
+journey, but that the love of science alone had brought him to Luggun.</p>
+
+<p>On the 2nd of March, Denham returned to Kouka, and on the 20th of May,
+he was witness to the arrival of Lieutenant Tyrwhitt, who had come to
+take up his residence as consul at the court of Bornou, bearing costly
+presents for the sultan.</p>
+<a name="ill27"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration027">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590">
+			<img src="images/027.jpg" alt="Portrait of Clapperton">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590" align="center">
+			<small>Portrait of Clapperton.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>After a final excursion in the direction of Manou, the capital of
+Kanem, and a visit to the Dogganah, who formerly occupied all the
+districts about Lake Fitri, the major joined Clapperton in his return
+journey to Tripoli, starting on the 16th of April, and arriving there
+in safety at the close of a long and arduous journey, whose
+geographical results, important in any case, had been greatly enhanced
+by the labours of Clapperton. To the adventures and discoveries of the
+latter we must now turn. Clapperton and Oudney started for Kano, a
+large Fellatah town on the west of Lake Tchad, on the 14th of December,
+1823, followed the Yeou as far as Damasak, and visited the ruins of
+Birnie, and those of Bera, on the shores of a lake formed by the
+overflowing of the Yeou, Dogamou and Bekidarfi, all towns of Houssa.
+The people of this province, who were very numerous before the invasion
+of the Fellatahs, are armed with bows and arrows, and trade in tobacco,
+nuts, gouro, antimony, tanned hares' skins, and cotton stuffs in the
+piece and made into clothes.</p>
+
+<p>The caravan soon left the banks of the Yeou or Gambarou, and entered a
+wooded country, which was evidently under water in the rainy season.</p>
+
+<p>The travellers then entered the province of Katagoum, where the
+governor received them with great cordiality, assuring them that their
+arrival was quite an event to him, as it would be to the Sultan of the
+Fellatahs, who, like himself, had never before seen an Englishman. He
+also assured them that they would find all they required in his
+district, just as at Kouka.</p>
+
+<p>The only thing which seemed to surprise him much, was the fact that his
+visitors wanted neither slaves, horses, nor silver, and that the sole
+proof of his friendship they required was permission to collect flowers
+and plants, and to travel in his country.</p>
+
+<p>According to Clapperton's observations, Katagoum is situated in lat. 12&deg;
+17' 11" N., and about 12&deg; E. long. Before
+the Fellatahs were conquered, it was on the borders of the province of
+Bornou. It can send into the field 4000 cavalry, and 2000 foot
+soldiers, armed with bows and arrows, swords and lances. Wheat, and
+oxen, with slaves, are its chief articles of commerce. The citadel is
+the strongest the English had seen, except that of Tripoli. Entered by
+gates which are shut at night, it is defended by two parallel walls,
+and three dry moats, one inside, one out, and the third between the two
+walls which are twenty feet high, and ten feet wide at the base. A
+ruined mosque is the only other object of interest in the town, which
+consists of mud houses, and contains some seven or eight hundred
+inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>There the English for the first time saw cowries used as money.
+Hitherto native cloth had been the sole medium of exchange.</p>
+
+<p>South of Katagoum is the Yacoba country, called Mouchy by the
+Mahommedans. According to accounts received by Clapperton, the people
+of Yacoba, which is shut in by limestone mountains, are cannibals. The
+Mahommedans, however, who have an intense horror of the "Kaffirs," give
+no other proof of this accusation than the statement that they have
+seen human heads and limbs hanging against the walls of the houses.</p>
+
+<p>In Yacoba rises the Yeou, a river which dries up completely in the
+summer; but, according to the people who live on its banks, rises and
+falls regularly every week throughout the rainy season.</p>
+
+<p>On the 11th of January, the journey was resumed; but a halt had to be
+made at Murmur at noon of the same day, as Oudney showed signs of such
+extreme weakness and exhaustion, that Clapperton feared he could not
+last through another day. He had been gradually failing ever since they
+left the mountains of Obarri in Fezzan, where he had inflammation of
+the throat from sitting in a draught when over-heated.</p>
+
+<p>On the 12th of January, Oudney took a cup of coffee at daybreak, and at
+his request Clapperton changed camels with him. He then helped him to
+dress, and leaning on his servant, the doctor left the tent. He was
+about to attempt to mount his camel, when Clapperton saw death in his
+face. He supported him back to the tent, where to his intense grief, he
+expired at once, without a groan or any sign of suffering. Clapperton
+lost no time in asking the governor's permission to bury his comrade;
+and this being obtained, he dug a grave for him himself under an old
+mimosa-tree near one of the gates of the town. After the body had been
+washed according to the custom of the country, it was wrapped in some
+of the turban shawls which were to have served as presents on the
+further journey; the servants carried it to its last resting-place, and
+Clapperton read the English burial service at the grave. When the
+ceremony was over, he surrounded the modest resting-place with a wall
+of earth, to keep off beasts of prey, and had two sheep killed, which
+he divided amongst the poor.</p>
+
+<p>Thus closed the career of the young naturalist and ship's doctor,
+Oudney. His terrible malady, whose germs he had brought with him from
+England, had prevented him from rendering so much service to the
+expedition as the Government had expected from him, although he never
+spared himself, declaring that he felt better on the march, than when
+resting. Knowing that his weakened constitution would not admit of any
+sustained exertion on his part, he would never damp the ardour of his
+companions.</p>
+
+<p>After this sad event, Clapperton resumed his journey to Kano, halting
+successively at Digou, situated in a well-cultivated district, rich in
+flocks; Katoungora, beyond the province of Katagoum; Zangeia,
+once&mdash;judging from its extent and the ruined walls still standing&mdash;an
+important place, near the end of the Douchi chain of hills; Girkoua,
+with a finer market-place than that of Tripoli; and Souchwa, surrounded
+by an imposing earthwork.</p>
+
+<p>Kano, the Chana of Edrisi and other Arab geographers, and the great
+emporium of the kingdom of Houssa, was reached on the 20th January.</p>
+
+<p>Clapperton tells us that he had hardly entered the gates before his
+expectations were disappointed; after the brilliant description of the
+Arabs, he had expected to see a town of vast extent. The houses were a
+quarter of a mile from the walls, and stood here and there in little
+groups, separated by large pools of stagnant water. "I might have
+dispensed with the care I had bestowed on my dress," (he had donned his
+naval uniform), "for the inhabitants, absorbed in their own affairs,
+let me pass without remark and never so much as looked at me."</p>
+
+<p>Kano, the capital of the province of that name and one of the chief
+towns of the Soudan, is situated in N. lat. 12&deg; 0' 19",
+and E. long. 9&deg; 20'. It contains between thirty
+and forty thousand inhabitants, of whom the greater number are slaves.</p>
+
+<p>The market, bounded on the east and west by vast reedy swamps, is the
+haunt of numerous flocks of ducks, storks, and vultures, which act as
+scavengers to the town. In this market, stocked with all the provisions
+in use in Africa, beef, mutton, goats' and sometimes even camels'
+flesh, are sold.</p>
+
+<p>Writing paper of French manufacture, scissors and knives, antimony,
+tin, red silk, copper bracelets, glass beads, coral, amber, steel
+rings, silver ornaments, turban shawls, cotton cloths, calico, Moorish
+habiliments, and many other articles, are exposed for sale in large
+quantities in the market-place of Kano.</p>
+
+<p>There Clapperton bought for three piastres, an English cotton umbrella
+from Ghadames. He also visited the slave-market, where the unfortunate
+human chattels are as carefully examined as volunteers for the navy are
+by our own inspectors.</p>
+
+<p>The town is very unhealthy, the swamps cutting it in two, and the holes
+produced by the removal of the earth for building, produce permanent
+malaria.</p>
+
+<p>It is the fashion at Kano to stain the teeth and limbs with the juice
+of a plant called <i>gourgi</i>, and with tobacco, which produces a bright
+red colour. Gouro nuts are chewed, and sometimes even swallowed when
+mixed with <i>trona</i>, a habit not peculiar to Houssa, for it extends to
+Bornou, where it is strictly forbidden to women. The people of Houssa
+smoke a native tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>On the 23rd of February, Clapperton started for Sackatoo. He crossed a
+picturesque well-cultivated country, whose wooded hills gave it the
+appearance of an English park. Herds of beautiful white or dun-coloured
+oxen gave animation to the scenery.</p>
+
+<p>The most important places passed en route by Clapperton were Gadania, a
+densely populated town, the inhabitants of which had been sold as
+slaves by the Fellatahs, Doncami, Zirmia, the capital of Gambra,
+Kagaria, Kouari, and the wells of Kamoun, where he met an escort sent
+by the sultan.</p>
+
+<p>Sackatoo was the most thickly populated city that the explorer had seen
+in Africa. Its well-built houses form regular streets, instead of
+clustering in groups as in the other towns of Houssa. It is surrounded
+by a wall between twenty and thirty feet high, pierced by twelve gates,
+which are closed every evening at sunset, and it boasts of two mosques,
+with a market and a large square opposite to the sultan's residence.</p>
+
+<p>The inhabitants, most of whom are Fellatahs, own many slaves; and the
+latter, those at least who are not in domestic service, work at some
+trade for their masters' profit. They are weavers, masons, blacksmiths,
+shoemakers, or husbandmen.</p>
+
+<p>To do honour to his host, and also to give him an exalted notion of the
+power and wealth of England, Clapperton assumed a dazzling costume when
+he paid his first visit to Sultan Bello. He covered his uniform with
+gold lace, donned white trousers and silk stockings, and completed this
+holiday attire by a Turkish turban and slippers. Bello received him,
+seated on a cushion in a thatched hut like an English cottage. The
+sultan, a handsome man, about forty-five years old, wore a blue cotton
+<i>tobe</i> and a white cotton turban, one end of which fell over his nose
+and mouth in Turkish fashion.</p>
+
+<p>Bello accepted the traveller's presents with childish glee. The watch,
+telescope, and thermometer, which he naively called a "heat watch,"
+especially delighted him; but he wondered more at his visitor than at
+any of his gifts. He was unwearied in his questions as to the manners,
+customs, and trade of England; and after receiving several replies, he
+expressed a wish to open commercial relations with that power. He would
+like an English consul and a doctor to reside in a port he called Raka,
+and finally he requested that certain articles of English manufacture
+should be sent to Funda, a very thriving sea-port of his. After a good
+many talks on the different religions of Europe, Bello gave back to
+Clapperton the books, journals, and clothes which had been taken from
+Denham, at the time of the unfortunate excursion in which Boo-Khaloum
+lost his life.</p>
+
+<p>On the 3rd May, Clapperton took leave of the sultan. This time there
+was a good deal of delay before he was admitted to an audience. Bello
+was alone, and gave the traveller a letter for the King of England,
+with many expressions of friendship towards the country of his visitor,
+reiterating his wish to open commercial relations with it and begging
+him to let him have a letter to say when the English expedition
+promised by Clapperton would arrive on the coast of Africa.</p>
+
+<p>Clapperton returned by the route by which he had come, arriving on the
+8th of July at Kouka, where he rejoined Denham. He had brought with him
+an Arab manuscript containing a geographical and historical picture of
+the kingdom of Takrour, governed by Mahommed Bello of Houssa, author of
+the manuscript. He himself had not only collected much valuable
+information on the geology and botany of Bornou and Houssa, but also
+drawn up a vocabulary of the languages of Begharmi, Mandara, Bornou,
+Houssa, and Timbuctoo.</p>
+
+<p>The results of the expedition were therefore considerable. The
+Fellatahs had been heard of for the first time, and their identity with
+the Fans had been ascertained by Clapperton in his second journey. It
+had been proved that these Fellatahs had created a vast empire in the
+north and west of Africa, and also that beyond a doubt they did not
+belong to the negro race. The study of their language, and its
+resemblance to certain idioms not of African origin, will some day
+throw a light on the migration of races. Lastly, Lake Tchad had been
+discovered, and though not entirely examined, the greater part of its
+shores had been explored. It had been ascertained to have two
+tributaries: the Yeou, part of whose course had been traced, whilst its
+source had been pointed out by the natives, and the Shari, the mouth
+and lower portion of which had been carefully examined by Denham. With
+regard to the Niger, the information collected by Clapperton from the
+natives was still very contradictory, but the balance of evidence was
+in favour of its flowing into the Gulf of Benin. However, Clapperton
+intended, after a short rest in England, to return to Africa, and
+landing on the western coast make his way up the Kouara or Djoliba as
+the natives call the Niger; to set at rest once for all the dispute as
+to whether that river was or was not identical with the Nile; to
+connect his new discoveries with those of Denham, and lastly to cross
+Africa, taking a diagonal course from Tripoli to the Gulf of Benin.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap22"></a>
+<center>II.</center>
+
+<blockquote>Clapperton's second journey&mdash;Arrival at Badagry&mdash;Yariba and its capital
+Katunga&mdash;Boussa&mdash;Attempts to get at the truth about Mungo Park's
+fate&mdash;"Nyffé," Yaourie, and Zegzeg&mdash;Arrival at Kano&mdash;Disappointments&mdash;Death
+of Clapperton&mdash;Return of Lander to the coast&mdash;Tuckey on the
+Congo&mdash;Bowditch in Ashantee&mdash;Mollien at the sources of the Senegal and
+Gambia&mdash;Major Grey&mdash;Caillié at Timbuctoo&mdash;Laing at the sources of the
+Niger&mdash;Richard and John Lander at the mouth of the Niger&mdash;Cailliaud and
+Letorzec in Egypt, Nubia, and the oasis of Siwâh.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>So soon as Clapperton arrived in England, he submitted to Lord Bathurst
+his scheme for going to Kouka <i>viâ</i> the Bight of Benin&mdash;in other words
+by the shortest way, a route not attempted by his predecessors&mdash;and
+ascending the Niger from its mouth to Timbuctoo.</p>
+
+<p>In this expedition three others were associated with Clapperton, who
+took the command. These three were a surgeon named Dickson, Pearce, a
+ship's captain, and Dr. Morrison, also in the merchant service; the
+last-named well up in every branch of natural history.</p>
+
+<p>On the 26th November, 1825, the expedition arrived in the Bight of
+Benin. For some reason unexplained, Dickson had asked permission to
+make his way to Sockatoo alone and he landed for that purpose at
+Whydah. A Portuguese named Songa, and Colombus, Denham's servant,
+accompanied him as far as Dahomey. Seventeen days after he left that
+town, Dickson reached Char, and a little later Yaourie, beyond which
+place he was never traced.<small><small><sup>1</sup></small></small></p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>1</sup></small> Dickson quarrelled with a native chief, and was murdered
+by his followers. See Clapperton's "Last Journey in Africa."&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>The other explorers sailed up the Bight of Benin, and were warned by an
+English merchant named Houtson, not to attempt the ascent of the
+Quorra, as the king of the districts watered by it had conceived an
+intense hatred of the English, on account of their interference with
+the slave-trade, the most remunerative branch of his commerce.</p>
+
+<p>It would be much better, urged Houtson, to go to Badagry, no great
+distance from Sackatoo, the chief of which, well-disposed as he was to
+travellers, would doubtless give them an escort as far as the frontiers
+of Yariba. Houtson had lived in the country many years, and was well
+acquainted with the language and habits of its people. Clapperton,
+therefore, thought it desirable to attach him to the expedition as far
+as Katunga, the capital of Yariba.</p>
+
+<p>The expedition disembarked at Badagry, on the 29th November, 1825,
+ascended an arm of the Lagos, and then, for a distance of two miles,
+the Gazie creek, which traverses part of Dahomey. Descending the left
+bank, the explorers began their march into the interior of the country,
+through districts consisting partly of swamps and partly of yam
+plantations. Everything indicated fertility. The negroes were very
+averse to work, and it would be impossible to relate the numerous
+"palavers" and negotiations which had to be gone through, and the
+exactions which were submitted to, before porters could be obtained.</p>
+
+<p>The explorers succeeded, in spite of these difficulties, in reaching
+Jenneh, sixty miles from the coast. Here Clapperton tells us he saw
+several looms at work, as many as eight or nine in one house, a regular
+manufactory in fact. The people of Jenneh also make earthenware, but
+they prefer that which they get from Europe, often putting the foreign
+produce to uses for which it was never intended.</p>
+
+<p>At Jenneh the travellers were all attacked with fever, the result of
+the great heat and the unhealthiness of the climate. Pearce and
+Morrison both died on the 27th December, the former soon after he left
+Jenneh with Clapperton, the latter at that town, to which he had
+returned to rest.</p>
+
+<p>At Assondo, a town of no less than 10,000 inhabitants; Daffou,
+containing some 5000, and other places visited by Clapperton on his way
+through the country, he found that an extraordinary rumour had preceded
+him, to the effect that he had come to restore peace to the districts
+distracted by war, and to do good to the lands he explored.</p>
+
+<p>At Tchow the caravan met a messenger with a numerous escort, sent by
+the King of Yariba to meet the explorers, and shortly afterwards
+Katunga was entered. This town is built round the base of a rugged
+granite mountain. It is about three miles in extent, and is both framed
+in and planted with bushy trees presenting a most picturesque
+appearance.</p>
+<a name="ill28"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration028">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="575">
+			<img src="images/028.jpg" alt="The caravan met a messenger">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="575" align="center">
+			<small>"The caravan met a messenger."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Clapperton remained at Katunga from the 24th January to the 7th March,
+1826. He was entertained there with great hospitality by the sultan,
+who, however, refused to give him permission to go to Houssa and Bornou
+by way of Nyffé or Toppa, urging as reasons that Nyffé was distracted
+by civil war, and one of the pretenders to the throne had called in the
+aid of the Fellatahs. It would be more prudent to go through Yaourie.
+Whether these excuses were true or not, Clapperton had to submit.</p>
+
+<p>The explorer availed himself of his detention at Katunga to make
+several interesting observations. This town contains no less than seven
+markets, in which are exposed for sale yams, cereals, bananas, figs,
+the seeds of gourds, hares, poultry, sheep, lambs, linen cloth, and
+various implements of husbandry.</p>
+
+<p>The houses of the king and those of his wives are situated in two large
+parks. The doors and the pillars of the verandahs are adorned with
+fairly well executed carvings, representing such scenes as a boa
+killing an antelope, or a pig, or a group of warriors and drummers.</p>
+
+<p>According to Clapperton the people of Yariba have fewer of the
+characteristics of the negro race than any natives of Africa with whom
+he was brought in contact. Their lips are not so thick and their noses
+are of a more aquiline shape. The men are well made, and carry
+themselves with an ease which cannot fail to be remarked. The women are
+less refined-looking than the men, the result, probably, of exposure to
+the sun and the fatigue they endure, compelled as they are to do all
+the work of the fields.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after leaving Katunga, Clapperton crossed the Mousa, a tributary
+of the Quorra and entered Kiama, one of the halting-places of the
+caravans trading between Houssa and Borghoo, and Gandja, on the
+frontiers of Ashantee. Kiama contains no less than 13,000 inhabitants,
+who are considered the greatest thieves in Africa. To say a man is from
+Borghoo is to brand him as a blackguard at once.</p>
+
+<p>Outside Kiama the traveller met the Houssa caravan. Some thousands of
+men and women, oxen, asses, and horses, marching in single file, formed
+an interminable line presenting a singular and grotesque appearance. A
+motley assemblage truly: naked girls alternating with men bending
+beneath their loads, or with Gandja merchants in the most outlandish
+and ridiculous costumes, mounted on bony steeds which stumbled at every
+step.</p>
+
+<p>Clapperton now made for Boussa on the Niger, where Mungo Park was
+drowned. Before reaching it he had to cross the Oli, a tributary of the
+Quorra, and to pass through Wow-wow, a district of Borghoo, the capital
+of which, also called Wow-wow, contained some 18,000 inhabitants. It
+was one of the cleanest and best built towns the traveller had entered
+since he left Badagry. The streets are wide and well kept, and the
+houses are round, with conical thatched roofs. Drunkenness is a
+prevalent vice in Wow-wow: governor, priests, laymen, men and women,
+indulge to excess in palm wine, in rum brought from the coast, and in
+"bouza." The latter beverage is a mixture made of dhurra, honey,
+cayenne pepper, and the root of a coarse grass eaten by cattle, with
+the addition of a certain quantity of water.</p>
+
+<p>Clapperton tells us that the people of Wow-wow are famous for their
+cleanliness; they are cheerful, benevolent, and hospitable. No other
+people whom he had met with had been so ready to give him information
+about their country; and, more extraordinary still, did not meet with a
+single beggar. The natives say they are not aborigines of Borghoo, but
+that they are descendants of the natives of Houssa and Nyffé. They
+speak a Yariba dialect, but the Wow-wow women are pretty, which those
+of Yariba are not. The men are muscular and well-made, but have a
+dissipated look. Their religion is a lax kind of Mahommedanism
+tinctured with paganism.</p>
+
+<p>Since leaving the coast Clapperton had met tribes of unconverted
+Fellatahs speaking the same language, and resembling in feature and
+complexion others who had adopted Mahommedanism. A significant fact
+which points to their belonging to one race.</p>
+
+<p>Boussa, which the traveller reached at last, is not a regular town, but
+consists of groups of scattered houses on an island of the Quorra,
+situated in lat. 10&deg; 14' N., and long. 6&deg; 11'
+E. The province of which it is the capital is the most densely
+populated of Borghoo. The inhabitants are all Pagans, even the sultan,
+although his name is Mahommed. They live upon monkeys, dogs, cats,
+rats, beef, and mutton.</p>
+
+<p>Breakfast was served to the sultan whilst he was giving audience to
+Clapperton, whom he invited to join him. The meal consisted of a large
+water-rat grilled without skinning, a dish of fine boiled rice, some
+dried fish stewed in palm oil, fried alligators' eggs, washed down with
+fresh water from the Quorra. Clapperton took some stewed fish and rice,
+but was much laughed at because he would eat neither the rat nor the
+alligators' eggs.</p>
+
+<p>The sultan received him very courteously, and told him that the Sultan
+of Yaourie had had boats ready to take him to that town for the last
+seven days. Clapperton replied that as the war had prevented all exit
+from Bornou and Yaourie, he should prefer going by way of Coulfo and
+Nyffé. "You are right," answered the sultan; "you did well to come and
+see me, and you can take which ever route you prefer."</p>
+
+<p>At a later audience Clapperton made inquiries about the Englishmen who
+had perished in the Quorra twenty years before. This subject evidently
+made the sultan feel very ill at ease, and he evaded the questions put
+to him, by saying he was too young at the time to remember what
+happened.</p>
+
+<p>Clapperton explained that he only wanted to recover their books and
+papers, and to visit the scene of their death; and the sultan in reply
+denied having anything belonging to them, adding a warning against his
+guest's going to the place where they died, for it was a "very bad
+place."</p>
+
+<p>"But I understood," urged Clapperton, "that part of the boat they were
+in could still be seen."</p>
+
+<p>"No, it was a false report," replied the sultan, "the boat had long
+since been carried down by the stream; it was somewhere amongst the
+rocks, he didn't know where."</p>
+
+<p>To a fresh demand for Park's papers and journals the sultan replied
+that he had none of them; they were in the hands of some learned men;
+but as Clapperton seemed to set such store by them, he would have them
+looked for. Thanking him for this promise, Clapperton begged permission
+to question the old men of the place, some of whom must have witnessed
+the catastrophe. No answer whatever was returned to this appeal, by
+which the sultan was evidently much embarrassed. It was useless to
+press him further.</p>
+
+<p>This was a check to Clapperton's further inquiries. On every side he
+was met with embarrassed silence or such replies as, "The affair
+happened so long ago, I can't remember it," or, "I was not witness to
+it." The place where the boat had been stopped and its crew drowned was
+pointed out to him, but even that was done cautiously. A few days
+later, Clapperton found out that the former Imaun, who was a Fellatah,
+had had Mungo Park's books and papers in his possession. Unfortunately,
+however, this Imaun had long since left Boussa. Finally, when at
+Coulfo, the explorer ascertained beyond a doubt that Mungo Park had
+been murdered.</p>
+
+<p>Before leaving Borghoo, Clapperton recorded his conviction of the
+baselessness of the bad reputation of the inhabitants, who had been
+branded everywhere as thieves and robbers. He had completely explored
+their country, travelled and hunted amongst them alone, and never had
+the slightest reason to complain.</p>
+
+<p>The traveller now endeavoured to reach Kano by way of Zouari and
+Zegzeg, first crossing the Quorra. He soon arrived at Fabra, on the
+Mayarrow, the residence of the queen-mother of Nyffé, and then went to
+visit the king, in camp at a short distance from the town. This king,
+Clapperton tells us, was the most insolent rogue imaginable, asking for
+everything he saw, and quite unabashed by any refusal. His ambition and
+his calling in of the Fellatahs, who would throw him over as soon as he
+had answered their purpose, had been the ruin of his country. Thanks
+indeed to him, nearly the whole of the industrial population of Nyffé
+had been killed, sold into slavery, or had fled the country.</p>
+
+<p>Clapperton was detained by illness much longer than he had intended to
+remain at Coulfo, a commercial town on the northern banks of the
+Mayarrow containing from twelve to fifteen thousand inhabitants.
+Exposed for the last twenty years to the raids of the Fellatahs, Coulfo
+had been burnt twice in six years. Clapperton was witness when there of
+the Feast of the New Moon. On that festival every one exchanged visits.
+The women wear their woolly hair plaited and stained with indigo. Their
+eyebrows are dyed the same colour. Their eyelids are painted with kohl,
+their lips are stained yellow, their teeth red, and their hands and
+feet are coloured with henna. On the day of the Feast of the Moon they
+don their gayest garments, with their glass beads, bracelets, copper,
+silver, steel, or brass. They also turn the occasion to account by
+drinking as much bouza as the men, joining in all their songs and
+dances.</p>
+
+<p>After passing through Katunga, Clapperton entered the province of
+Gouari, the people of which though conquered with the rest of Houssa by
+the Fellatahs, had rebelled against them on the death of Bello I., and
+since then maintained their independence in spite of all the efforts of
+their invaders. Gouari, capital of the province of the same name, is
+situated in lat. 10&deg; 54' N., and long. 8&deg; 1' E.</p>
+
+<p>At Fatika Clapperton entered Zegzeg, subject to the Fellatahs, after
+which he visited Zariyah, a singular-looking town laid out with
+plantations of millet, woods of bushy trees, vegetable gardens, &amp;c.,
+alternating with marshes, lawns, and houses. The population was very
+numerous, exceeding even that of Kano, being estimated indeed at some
+forty or fifty thousand, nearly all Fellatahs.</p>
+
+<p>On the 19th September, after a long and weary journey, Clapperton at
+last entered Kano. He at once discovered that he would have been more
+welcome if he had come from the east, for the war with Bornou had
+broken off all communication with Fezzan and Tripoli. Leaving his
+luggage under the care of his servant Lander, Clapperton almost
+immediately started in quest of Sultan Bello, who they said was near
+Sackatoo. This was an extremely arduous journey, and on it Clapperton
+lost his camels and horses, and was compelled to put up with a
+miserable ox; to carry part of his baggage, he and his servants
+dividing the rest amongst them.</p>
+
+<p>Bello received Clapperton kindly and sent him camels and provisions,
+but as he was then engaged in subjugating the rebellious province of
+Gouber, he could not at once give the explorer the personal audience so
+important to the many interests entrusted by the English Government to
+Clapperton.</p>
+
+<p>Bello advanced to the attack of Counia, the capital of Gouber, at the
+head of an army of 60,000 soldiers, nine-tenths of whom were on foot
+and wore padded armour. The struggle was contemptible in the extreme,
+and this abortive attempt closed the war. Clapperton, whose health was
+completely broken up, managed to make his way from Sackatoo to Magaria,
+where he saw the sultan.</p>
+
+<p>After he had received the presents brought for him, Bello became less
+friendly. He presently pretended to have received a letter from Sheikh
+El Khanemy warning him against the traveller, whom his correspondent
+characterized as a spy, and urging him to defy the English, who meant,
+after finding out all about the country, to settle in it, raise up
+sedition and profit by the disturbances they should create to take
+possession of Houssa, as they had done of India.</p>
+
+<p>The most patent of all the motives of Bello in creating difficulties
+for Clapperton was his wish to appropriate the presents intended for
+the Sultan of Bornou. A pretext being necessary, he spread a rumour
+that the traveller was taking cannons and ammunition to Kouka. It was
+out of all reason Bello should allow a stranger to cross his dominions
+with a view to enabling his implacable enemy to make war upon him.
+Finally, Bello made an effort to induce Clapperton to read to him the
+letter of Lord Bathurst to the Sultan of Bornou.</p>
+
+<p>Clapperton told him he could take it if he liked, but that he would not
+give it to him, adding that everything was of course possible to him,
+as he had force on his side, but that he would bring dishonour upon
+himself by using it. "To open the letter myself," said Clapperton, "is
+more than my head is worth." He had come, he urged, bringing Bello a
+letter and presents from the King of England, relying upon the
+confidence inspired by the sultan's letter of the previous year, and he
+hoped his host would not forfeit that confidence by tampering with
+another person's letter.</p>
+
+<p>On this the sultan made a gesture of dismissal, and Clapperton retired.</p>
+
+<p>This was not, however, the last attempt of a similar kind, and things
+grew much worse later. A few days afterwards another messenger was sent
+to demand the presents reserved for El Khanemy, and on Clapperton's
+refusing to give them up, they were taken from him.</p>
+
+<p>"I told the Gadado," says Clapperton, "that they were acting like
+robbers towards me, in defiance of all good faith: that no people in
+the world would act the same, and they had far better have cut my head
+off than done such an act; but I suppose they would do that also when
+they had taken everything from me."</p>
+
+<p>An attempt was now made to obtain his arms and ammunition, but this he
+resisted sturdily. His terrified servants ran away, but soon returned
+to share the dangers of their master, for whom they entertained the
+warmest affection.</p>
+
+<p>At this critical moment, the entries in Clapperton's journal ceased. He
+had now been six months in Sackatoo, without being able to undertake
+any explorations or to bring to a satisfactory conclusion the mission
+which had brought him from the coast. Sick at heart, weary, and ill, he
+could take no rest, and his illness suddenly increased upon him to an
+alarming degree. His servant, Richard Lander, who had now joined him,
+tried in vain to be all things at once. On the 12th March, 1827,
+Clapperton was seized with dysentery. Nothing could check the progress
+of the malady, and he sank rapidly. It being the time of the feast of
+the Rhamadan, Lander could get no help, not even servants. Fever soon
+set in, and after twenty days of great suffering, Clapperton, feeling
+his end approaching, gave his last instructions to Lander, and died in
+that faithful servant's arms, on the 11th of April.</p>
+
+<p>"I put a large clean mat," says Lander, "over the whole [the corpse],
+and sent a messenger to Sultan Bello, to acquaint him with the mournful
+event, and ask his permission to bury the body after the manner of my
+own country, and also to know in what particular place his remains were
+to be interred. The messenger soon returned with the sultan's consent
+to the former part of my request; and about twelve o'clock at noon of
+the same day a person came into my hut, accompanied by four slaves,
+sent by Bello to dig the grave. I was desired to follow them with the
+corpse. Accordingly I saddled my camel, and putting the body on its
+back, and throwing a union jack over it, I bade them proceed.
+Travelling at a slow pace, we halted at Jungavie, a small village,
+built on a rising ground, about five miles to the south-east of
+Sackatoo. The body was then taken from the camel's back, and placed in
+a shed, whilst the slaves were digging the grave; which being quickly
+done, it was conveyed close to it. I then opened a prayer-book, and,
+amid showers of tears, read the funeral service over the remains of my
+valued master. Not a single person listened to this peculiarly
+distressing ceremony, the slaves being at some distance, quarrelling
+and making a most indecent noise the whole time it lasted. This being
+done, the union jack was then taken off, and the body was slowly
+lowered into the earth, and I wept bitterly as I gazed for the last
+time upon all that remained of my generous and intrepid master."</p>
+<a name="ill29"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration029">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="584">
+			<img src="images/029.jpg" alt="Travelling at a slow pace">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="584" align="center">
+			<small>"Travelling at a slow pace."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Overcome by heat, fatigue, and grief, poor Lander himself now broke
+down, and for more than ten days was unable to leave his hut.</p>
+
+<p>Bello sent several times to inquire after the unfortunate servant's
+health, but he was not deceived by these demonstrations of interest,
+for he knew they were only dictated by a wish to get possession of the
+traveller's baggage, which was supposed to be full of gold and silver.
+The sultan's astonishment may therefore be imagined when it came out
+that Lander had not even money enough to defray the expenses of his
+journey to the coast. He never found out that the servant had taken the
+precaution of hiding his own gold watch and those of Pearce and
+Clapperton about his person.</p>
+
+<p>Lander saw that he must at any cost get back to the coast as quickly as
+possible. By dint of the judicious distribution of a few presents he
+won over some of the sultan's advisers, who represented to their master
+that should Lander die he would be accused of having murdered him as
+well as Clapperton. Although Clapperton had advised Lander to join an
+Arab caravan for Fezzan, the latter, fearing that his papers and
+journals might be taken from him, resolved to go back to the coast.</p>
+
+<p>On the 3rd May Lander at last left Sackatoo en route for Kano. During
+the first part of this journey, he nearly died of thirst, but he
+suffered less in the second half, as the King of Djacoba, who had
+joined him, was very kind to him, and begged him to visit his country.
+This king told him that the Niam-Niams were his neighbours; that they
+had once joined him against the Sultan of Bornou, and that after the
+battle they had roasted and eaten the corpses of the slain. This, I
+believe, is the first mention, since the publication of Hornemann's
+Travels, of this cannibal race, who were to become the subjects of so
+many absurd fables.</p>
+
+<p>Lander entered Kano on the 25th May, and after a short stay there
+started for Funda, on the Niger, whose course he proposed following to
+Benin. This route had much to recommend it, being not only safe but
+new, so that Lander was enabled to supplement the discoveries of his
+master.</p>
+
+<p>Kanfoo, Carifo, Gowgie, and Gatas, were visited in turns by Lander, who
+says that the people of these towns belong to the Houssa race, and pay
+tribute to the Fellatahs. He also saw Damoy, Drammalik, and Coudonia,
+passed a wide river flowing towards the Quorra, and visited Kottop, a
+huge slave and cattle market, Coudgi and Dunrora, with a long chain of
+lofty mountains running in an easterly direction beyond.</p>
+
+<p>At Dunrora, just as Lander was superintending the loading of his beasts
+of burden, four horsemen, their steeds covered with foam, dashed up to
+the chief, and with his aid forced Lander to retrace his steps to visit
+the King of Zegzeg, who, they said, was very anxious to see him. This
+was by no means agreeable to Lander, who wanted to get to the Niger,
+from which he was not very far distant, and down it to the sea; he was,
+however, obliged to yield to force. His guides did not follow exactly
+the same route as he had taken on his way to Dunrora, and thus he had
+an opportunity of seeing the village of Eggebi, governed by one of the
+chief of the warriors of the sovereign of Zegzeg. He paid his respects
+as required, excusing the small value of the presents he had to give on
+the ground of his merchandise having been stolen, and soon obtained
+permission to leave the place.</p>
+
+<p>Yaourie, Womba, Coulfo, Boussa, and Wow-wow were the halting-places on
+Lander's return journey to Badagry, where he arrived on the 22nd
+November, 1827. Two months later he embarked for England.</p>
+
+<p>Although the commercial project, which had been the chief aim of
+Clapperton's journey, had fallen through, owing to the jealousy of the
+Arabs, who opposed it in their fear that the opening of a new route
+might ruin their trade, a good deal of scientific information had
+rewarded the efforts of the English explorer.</p>
+
+<p>In his "History of Maritime and Inland Discovery," Desborough Cooley
+thus sums up the results obtained by the travellers whose work we have
+just described:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The additions to our geographical knowledge of the interior of Africa
+which we owe to Captain Clapperton far exceed in extent and importance
+those made by any preceding traveller. The limit of Captain Lyon's
+journey southward across the desert was in lat. 24&deg;, while Major
+Denham, in his expedition to Mandara, reached lat. 9&deg; 15',
+thus adding 14&frac34; degrees, or 900 miles, to the extent
+explored by Europeans. Hornemann, it is true, had previously crossed
+the desert, and had proceeded as far southwards as Niffé, in lat. 10&deg;
+30'. But no account was ever received of his journey.
+Park in his first expedition reached Silla, in long. 1&deg; 34'
+west, a distance of 1100 miles from the mouth of the Gambia.
+Denham and Clapperton, on the other hand, from the east side of Lake
+Tchad, in long. 17&deg;, to Sackatoo, in long. 5&deg; 30',
+explored a distance of 700 miles from east to west in the heart of
+Africa; a line of only 400 miles remaining unknown between Silla and
+Sackatoo. The second journey of Captain Clapperton added ten-fold value
+to these discoveries; for he had the good fortune to detect the
+shortest and most easy road to the populous countries of the interior;
+and he could boast of being the first who had completed an itinerary
+across the continent of Africa from Tripoli to Benin."</p>
+
+<p>We need add but little to so skilful and sensible a summary of the work
+done. The information given by Arab geographers, especially by Leo
+Africanus, had been verified, and much had been learnt about a large
+portion of the Soudan. Although the course of the Niger had not yet
+been actually traced&mdash;that was reserved for the expeditions of which we
+are now to write&mdash;it had been pretty fairly guessed at. It had been
+finally ascertained that the Quorra, or Djoliba, or Niger&mdash;or whatever
+else the great river of North-West Africa might be called&mdash;and the Nile
+were totally different rivers, with totally different sources. In a
+word, a great step had been gained.</p>
+
+<p>In 1816 it was still an open question whether the Congo was not
+identical with the Niger. To ascertain the truth on this point, an
+expedition was sent out under Captain Tuckey, an English naval officer
+who had given proof of intelligence and courage. James Kingston Tuckey
+was made prisoner in 1805, and was not exchanged until 1814. When he
+heard that an expedition was to be organized for the exploration of the
+Zaire, he begged to be allowed to join it, and was appointed to the
+command. Two able officers and some scientific men were associated with
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Tuckey left England on the 19th March, 1816, with two vessels, the
+<i>Congo</i> and the <i>Dorothea</i>, a transport vessel, under his orders. On
+the 20th June he cast anchor off Malembé, on the shores of the Congo,
+in lat. 4&deg; 39' S. The king of that country was much
+annoyed when he found that the English had not come to buy slaves, and
+spread all manner of injurious reports against the Europeans who had
+come to ruin his trade.</p>
+
+<p>On the 18th July, Tuckey entered the vast estuary formed by the mouths
+of the Zaire, on board the <i>Congo</i>; but when the height of the
+river-banks rendered it impossible to sail farther, he embarked with
+some of his people in his boats. On the 10th August he decided, on
+account of the rapidity of the current and the huge rocks bordering the
+stream, to make his way partly by land and partly by water. Ten days
+later the boats were brought to a final stand by an impassable fall.
+The explorers therefore landed, and continued their journey on foot;
+but the difficulties increased every day, the Europeans falling ill,
+and the negroes refusing to carry the baggage. At last, when he was
+some 280 miles from the sea, Tuckey was compelled to retrace his steps.
+The rainy season had set in, the number of sick increased, and the
+commander, miserable at the lamentable result of the trip, himself
+succumbed to fever, and only got back to his vessel to die on the 4th
+October, 1816.</p>
+<a name="ill30"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration030">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589">
+			<img src="images/030.jpg" alt="View on the banks of the Congo">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589" align="center">
+			<small>View on the banks of the Congo.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>An exact survey of the mouth of the Congo, and the rectification of the
+coast-line, in which there had previously been a considerable error,
+were the only results of this unlucky expedition.</p>
+
+<p>In 1807, not far from the scene of Clapperton's landing a few years
+later, a brave but fierce people appeared on the Gold Coast. The
+Ashantees, coming none knew exactly whence, flung themselves upon the
+Fantees, and, after horrible massacres, in 1811 and 1816, established
+themselves in the whole of the country between the Kong mountains and
+the sea.</p>
+<a name="ill31"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration031">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590">
+			<img src="images/031.jpg" alt="Ashantee warrior">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590" align="center">
+			<small>Ashantee warrior.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>As a necessary result, this led to a disturbance in the relations
+between the Fantees and the English, who owned some factories and
+counting-houses on the coast.</p>
+
+<p>In 1816 the Ashantee king ravaged the Fantee territories in which the
+English had settled, reducing the latter to famine. The Governor of
+Cape Coast Castle therefore sent a petition home for aid against the
+fierce and savage conqueror. The bearer of the governor's despatches
+was Thomas Edward Bowditch, a young man who, actuated by a passion for
+travelling, had left the parental roof, thrown up his business, and
+having married against the wishes of his family, had finally accepted a
+humble post at Cape Coast Castle, where his uncle was second in
+command.</p>
+
+<p>The English minister at once acceded to the governor's request, and
+sent Bowditch back in command of an expedition; but the authorities at
+Cape Coast considered him too young for the post, and superseded him by
+a man whose long experience and thorough knowledge of the country and
+its people seemed to fit him for the important task to be accomplished.
+The result showed that this was an error. Bowditch was attached to the
+mission as scientific observer, his chief duty being to take the
+latitude and longitude of the different places visited.</p>
+
+<p>Frederick James and Bowditch left the English settlement on the 22nd
+August, 1817, and arrived at Coomassie, the Ashantee capital, without
+meeting with any other obstacle than the insubordination of the
+bearers. The negotiations with a view to the conclusion of a treaty of
+commerce, and the opening of a road between Coomassie and the coast,
+were brought to something of a successful issue by Bowditch, but James
+proved himself altogether wanting in either the power of making or
+enforcing suggestions. The wisdom of Bowditch's conduct was fully
+recognized, and James was recalled.</p>
+
+<p>It would seem that geographical science had little to expect from a
+diplomatic mission to a country already visited by Bosman, Loyer, Des
+Marchais, and many others, and on which Meredith and Dalzel had
+written; but Bowditch turned to account his stay of five months at
+Coomassie, which is but ten days' march from the Atlantic, to study the
+country, manners, customs, and institutions of one of the most
+interesting races of Africa.</p>
+
+<p>We will now briefly describe the pompous entry of the English mission
+into Coomassie. The whole population turned out on the occasion, and
+all the troops, whose numbers Bowditch estimated at 30,000 at least,
+were under arms.</p>
+
+<p>Before they were admitted to the presence of the king, the English
+witnessed a scene well calculated to impress upon them the cruelty and
+barbarity of the Ashantees. A man with his hands tied behind him, his
+cheeks pierced with wire, one ear cut off, the other hanging by a bit
+of skin, his shoulders bleeding from cuts and slashes, and a knife run
+through the skin above each shoulder-blade, was dragged, by a cord
+fastened to his nose, through the town to the music of bamboos. He was
+on his way to be sacrificed in honour of the white men!</p>
+
+<p>"Our observations <i>en passant</i>," says Bowditch, "had taught us to
+conceive a spectacle far exceeding our original expectations; but they
+had not prepared us for the extent and display of the scene which here
+burst upon us. An area of nearly a mile in circumference was crowded
+with magnificence and novelty. The king, his tributaries and captains,
+were resplendent in the distance, surrounded by attendants of every
+description, fronted by a mass of warriors which seemed to make our
+approach impervious. The sun was reflected, with a glare scarcely more
+supportable than the heat, from the massive gold ornaments which
+glistened in every direction. More than a hundred bands burst at once
+on our arrival, into the peculiar airs of their several chiefs; the
+horns flourished their defiances, with the beating of innumerable drums
+and metal instruments, and then yielded for a while to the soft
+harmonious breathings of their long flutes, with which a pleasing
+instrument, like a bagpipe without the drone, was happily blended. At
+least a hundred large umbrellas or canopies, which could shelter thirty
+persons, were sprung up and down by the bearers with brilliant effect,
+being made of scarlet, yellow, and the most showy cloths and silks, and
+crowned on the top with crescents, pelicans, elephants, barrels, and
+arms, and swords of gold.</p>
+
+<p>"The king's messengers, with gold breastplates, made way for us, and we
+commenced our round, preceded by the canes and the English flag. We
+stopped to take the hand of every caboceer, (which, as their household
+suites occupied several spaces in advance, delayed us long enough to
+distinguish some of the ornaments in the general blaze of splendour and
+ostentation). The caboceers, as did their superior captains and
+attendants, wore Ashantee cloths of extravagant price, from the costly
+foreign silks which had been unravelled to weave them, in all the
+varieties of colour as well as pattern; they were of an incredible size
+and weight, and thrown over the shoulder exactly like the Roman toga; a
+small silk fillet generally encircled their temples, and massy gold
+necklaces, intricately wrought, suspended Moorish charms, inclosed in
+small square cases of gold, silver, and curious embroidery. Some wore
+necklaces reaching to the navel, entirely of aggry beads; a band of
+gold and beads encircled the knee, from which several strings of the
+same depended; small circles of gold, like guineas, rings, and casts of
+animals, were strung round their ancles; their sandals were of green,
+red, and delicate white leather; manillas, and rude lumps of rock gold,
+hung from their left wrists, which were so heavily laden as to be
+supported on the head of one of their handsomest boys. Gold and silver
+pipes, and canes, dazzled the eye in every direction. Wolves' and rams'
+heads, as large as life, cast in gold, were suspended from their
+gold-handled swords, which were held around them in great numbers; the
+blades were shaped like round bills, and rusted in blood; the sheaths
+were of leopard skin, or the shell of a fish like shagreen. The large
+drums, supported on the head of one man, and beaten by two others, were
+braced around with the thigh-bones of their enemies, and ornamented
+with their skulls. The kettle-drums, resting on the ground, were
+scraped with wet fingers, and covered with leopard skin. The wrists of
+the drummers were hung with bells and curiously-shaped pieces of iron,
+which jingled loudly as they were beating. The smaller drums were
+suspended from the neck by scarves of red cloth; the horns (the teeth
+of young elephants) were ornamented at the mouth-piece with gold, and
+the jaw-bones of human victims. The war-caps of eagles' feathers nodded
+in the rear, and large fans, of the wing feathers of the ostrich,
+played around the dignitaries; immediately behind their chairs (which
+were of a black wood, almost covered by inlays of ivory and gold
+embossment) stood their handsomest youths, with corslets of leopard's
+skin, covered with gold cockle-shells, and stuck full of small knives,
+sheathed in gold and silver and the handles of blue agate;
+cartouch-boxes of elephant's hide hung below, ornamented in the same
+manner; a large gold-handled sword was fixed behind the left shoulder,
+and silk scarves and horses' tails (generally white), streamed from the
+arms and waist cloth; their long Danish muskets had broad rims of gold
+at small distances, and the stocks were ornamented with shells.
+Finely-grown girls stood behind the chairs of some, with silver basins.
+Their stools (of the most laborious carved work, and generally with two
+large bells attached to them) were conspicuously placed on the heads of
+favourites; and crowds of small boys were seated around, flourishing
+elephants' tails curiously mounted. The warriors sat on the ground
+close to these, and so thickly as not to admit of our passing without
+treading on their feet, to which they were perfectly indifferent; their
+caps were of the skin of the pangolin and leopard, the tails hanging
+down behind; their cartouch-belts (composed of small gourds which hold
+the charges, and covered with leopard's or pig's skin) were embossed
+with red shells, and small brass bells thickly hung to them; on their
+hips and shoulders was a cluster of knives; iron chains and collars
+dignified the most daring, who were prouder of them than of gold; their
+muskets had rests affixed of leopard's skin, and the locks a covering
+of the same; the sides of their faces were curiously painted in long
+white streaks, and their arms also striped, having the appearance of
+armour.</p>
+
+<p>"We were suddenly surprised by the sight of Moors, who afforded the
+first general diversity of dress. There were seventeen superiors,
+arrayed in large cloaks of white satin, richly trimmed with spangled
+embroidery; their shirts and trousers were of silk; and a very large
+turban of white muslin was studded with a border of different coloured
+stones; their attendants wore red caps and turbans, and long white
+shirts, which hung over their trousers; those of the inferiors were of
+dark blue cloth. They slowly raised their eyes from the ground as we
+passed, and with a most malignant scowl.</p>
+
+<p>"The prolonged flourishes of the horns, a deafening tumult of drums,
+and the fuller concert at the intervals, announced that we were
+approaching the king. We were already passing the principal officers of
+his household. The chamberlain, the gold horn blower, the captain of
+the messengers, the captain for royal executions, the captain of the
+market, the keeper of the royal burying-ground, and the master of the
+bands, sat surrounded by a retinue and splendour which bespoke the
+dignity and importance of their offices. The cook had a number of small
+services, covered with leopard's skin, held behind him, and a large
+quantity of massy silver plate was displayed before him&mdash;punch-bowls,
+waiters, coffee-pots, tankards, and a very large vessel with heavy
+handles and clawed feet, which seemed to have been made to hold
+incense. I observed a Portuguese inscription on one piece, and they
+seemed generally of that manufacture. The executioner, a man of immense
+size, wore a massy gold hatchet on his breast; and the execution stool
+was held before him, clotted in blood, and partly covered with a cawl
+of fat. The king's four linguists were encircled by a splendour
+inferior to none, and their peculiar insignia, gold canes, were
+elevated in all directions, tied in bundles like fasces. The keeper of
+the treasury added to his own magnificence by the ostentatious display
+of his service; the blow pan, boxes, scales and weights, were of solid
+gold.</p>
+
+<p>"A delay of some minutes whilst we severally approached to receive the
+king's hand, afforded us a thorough view of him. His deportment first
+excited my attention; native dignity in princes we are pleased to call
+barbarous was a curious spectacle; his manners were majestic, yet
+courteous, and he did not allow his surprise to beguile him for a
+moment of the composure of the monarch. He appeared to be about
+thirty-eight years of age, inclined to corpulence, and of a benevolent
+countenance."</p>
+
+<p>This account is followed by a description, extending over several
+pages, of the costume of the king, the filing past of the chiefs and
+troops, the dispersing of the crowd, and the ceremonies of reception,
+which lasted far on into the night.</p>
+
+<p>Reading Bowditch's extraordinary narrative, we are tempted to ask if it
+be not the outcome of the traveller's imagination, for we can scarcely
+credit what he says of the wonderful luxury of this barbarous court,
+the sacrifice of thousands of persons at certain seasons of the year,
+the curious customs of this warlike and cruel people, this mixture of
+barbarism and civilization hitherto unknown in Africa. We could not
+acquit Bowditch of great exaggeration, had not later travellers as well
+as contemporary explorers confirmed his statements. We can therefore
+only express our astonishment that such a government, founded on terror
+alone, could have endured so long.</p>
+
+<p>It is a pleasure to us Frenchmen when we can quote the name of a
+fellow-countryman amongst the many travellers who have risked their
+lives in the cause of geographical science. Without abating our
+critical acumen, we feel our pulse quicken when we read of the dangers
+and struggles of such travellers as Mollien, Caillié, De Cailliaud, and
+Letorzec.</p>
+
+<p>Gaspar Mollien was nephew to Napoleon's Minister of the Treasury. He
+was on board the <i>Medusa</i>, but was fortunate enough to escape when that
+vessel was shipwrecked, and to reach the coast of the Sahara in a boat,
+whence he made his way to Senegal.</p>
+
+<p>The dangers from which Mollien had just escaped would have destroyed
+the love of adventure and exploration in a less ardent spirit. They had
+no such effect upon him. He left St. Louis as soon as ever he obtained
+the assent of the Governor, Fleuriau, to his proposal to explore the
+sources of the great rivers of Senegambia, and especially those of the
+Djoliba.</p>
+
+<p>Mollien started from Djeddeh on the 29th January, 1818, and taking an
+easterly course between the 15th and 16th parallels of north latitude,
+crossed the kingdom of Domel, and entered the districts peopled by the
+Yaloofs. Unable to go by way of Woolli, he decided in favour of the
+Fouta Toro route, and in spite of the jealousy of the natives and their
+love of pillage, he reached Bondou without accident. It took him three
+days to traverse the desert between Bondou and the districts beyond the
+Gambia, after which he penetrated into Niokolo, a mountainous country,
+inhabited by the all but wild Peuls and Djallons.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Bandeia, Mollien entered Fouta Djallon, and reached the sources
+of the Gambia and the Rio Grande, which are in close proximity. A few
+days later he came to those of the Falemé; and, in spite of the
+repugnance and fear of his guide, he made his way into Timbo, the
+capital of Fouta. The absence of the king and most of the inhabitants
+probably spared him from a long captivity abbreviated only by torture.
+Fouta is a fortified town, the king owns houses, with mud walls between
+three and four feet thick and fifteen high.</p>
+
+<p>At a short distance from Timbo, Mollien discovered the sources of the
+Senegal&mdash;at least what were pointed out to him as such by the blacks;
+but it was impossible for him to take astronomical observations.</p>
+
+<p>The explorer did not, however, look upon his work as done. He had ever
+before him the still more important discovery of the sources of the
+Niger; but the feeble state of his health, the setting in of the rainy
+season, the swelling of the rivers, the fears of his guides, who
+refused to accompany him into Kooranko and Soolimano, though he offered
+them guns, amber beads, and even his horse, compelled him to give up
+the idea of crossing the Kong mountains, and to return to St. Louis.
+Mollien had, however, opened several new lines in a part of Senegambia
+not before visited by any European.</p>
+
+<p>"It is to be regretted," says M. de la Renaudière, "that worn out with
+fatigue, scarcely able to drag himself along, in a state of positive
+destitution, Mollien was unable to cross the lofty mountains separating
+the basin of the Senegal from that of the Djoliba, and that he was
+compelled to rely upon native information respecting the most important
+objects of his expedition. It is on the faith of the assertions of the
+natives that he claims to have visited the sources of the Rio Grande,
+Falemé, Gambia, and Senegal. If he had been able to follow the course
+of those rivers to their fountainhead his discoveries would have
+acquired certainty, which is, unfortunately, now wanting to them.
+However, when we compare the accounts of other travellers with what he
+says of the position of the source of the Ba-Fing, or Senegal, which
+cannot be that of any other great stream, we are convinced of the
+reality of this discovery at least. It also seems certain that the two
+last springs are higher up than was supposed, and that the Djoliba
+rises in a yet loftier locality. The country rises gradually to the
+south and south-east in parallel terraces. These mountain chains
+increase in height towards the east, attaining their greatest elevation
+between lat. 8&deg; and 10&deg; N."</p>
+
+<p>Such were the results of Mollien's interesting journey in the French
+colony of Senegal. The same country was the starting-point of another
+explorer, Réné Caillié.</p>
+
+<p>Caillié, who was born in 1800, in the department of the Seine et Oise,
+had only an elementary education; but reading Robinson Crusoe had fired
+his youthful imagination with a zeal for adventure, and he never rested
+until, in spite of his scanty resources, he had obtained maps and books
+of travel. In 1816, when only sixteen years old, he embarked for
+Senegal, in the transport-ship <i>La Loire</i>.</p>
+
+<p>At this time the English Government was organizing an inland exploring
+expedition, under the command of Major Gray. To avoid the terrible
+almamy of Timbo, who had been so fatal to Peddie, the English made for
+the mouth of the Gambia by sea. Woolli and the Gaboon were crossed, and
+the explorers penetrated into Bondou, which Mollien was to visit a few
+years later, a district inhabited by a people as fanatic and fierce as
+those of Fouta Djallon. The extortions of the almamy were such that
+under pretext of there being an old debt left unpaid by the English
+Government, Major Gray was mulcted of nearly all his baggage, and had
+to send an officer to the Senegal for a fresh supply.</p>
+
+<p>Caillié knowing nothing of this disastrous beginning, and aware that
+Gray was glad to receive new recruits, left St. Louis with two negroes,
+and reached Goree. But there some people, who took an interest in him,
+persuaded him not to take service with Gray, and got him an appointment
+at Guadaloupe. He remained, however, but six months in that island, and
+then returned to Bordeaux, whence he started for the Senegal once more.</p>
+
+<p>Partarieu, one of Gray's officers, was just going back to his chief
+with the merchandise he had procured, and Caillié asked and obtained
+leave to accompany him, without either pay or a fixed engagement.</p>
+<a name="ill32"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration032">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="584">
+			<img src="images/032.jpg" alt="Réné Caillié">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="584" align="center">
+			<small>Réné Caillié.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The caravan consisted of seventy persons, black and white, and
+thirty-two richly-laden camels. It left Gandiolle, in Cayor, on the 5th
+February, 1819, and before entering Jaloof a desert was crossed, where
+great suffering was endured from thirst. The leader, in order to carry
+more merchandise, had neglected to take a sufficient supply of water.</p>
+
+<p>At Boolibaba, a village inhabited by Foulah shepherds, the travellers
+were enabled to recruit, and to fill their leathern bottles for a
+journey across a second desert.</p>
+
+<p>Avoiding Fouta Toro, whose inhabitants are fanatics and thieves,
+Partarieu entered Bondou. He would gladly have evaded visiting
+Boulibané, the capital and residence of the almamy, but was compelled
+to do so, owing to the refusal of the people to supply grain or water
+to the caravan, and also in obedience to the strict orders of Major
+Gray, who thought the almamy would let the travellers pass after paying
+tribute.</p>
+
+<p>The terrible almamy began by extorting a great number of presents, and
+then refused to allow the English to visit Bakel on the Senegal. They
+might, he said, go through his states, those of Kaarta, to Clego, or
+they might take the Fouta Toro route. Both these alternatives were
+equally impossible, as in either case the caravan would have to travel
+among fanatic tribes. The explorers believed the almamy's object was to
+have them robbed and murdered, without incurring the personal
+responsibility.</p>
+
+<p>They resolved to force their way. Preparations were scarcely begun for
+a start, when the caravan was surrounded by a multitude of soldiers,
+who, taking possession of the wells, rendered it impossible for the
+travellers to carry out their intentions. At the same time the war-drum
+was beaten on every side. To fight was impossible; a palaver had to be
+held. In a word, the English had to own their powerlessness. The almamy
+dictated the conditions of peace, mulcted the whites of a few more
+presents, and ordered them to withdraw by way of Fouta Toro.</p>
+
+<p>Yet more&mdash;and this was a flagrant insult to British pride&mdash;the English
+found themselves escorted by a guard, which prevented their taking any
+other route. When night fell they revenged themselves by setting fire
+to all their merchandise in the very sight of the Foulahs, who had
+intended to get possession of them. The crossing of Fouta Toro among
+hostile natives was terribly arduous. The slightest pretext was seized
+for a dispute, and again and again violence seemed inevitable. Food and
+water were only to be obtained at exorbitant prices.</p>
+
+<p>At last, one night, Partarieu, to disarm the suspicion of the natives,
+gave out that he could not carry all his baggage at once, and having
+first filled his coffers and bags with stones, he decamped with all his
+followers for the Senegal, leaving his tents pitched and his fires
+alight. His path was strewn with bales, arms, and animals. Thanks to
+this subterfuge, and the rapidity of their march, the English reached
+Bakel in safety, where the French welcomed the remnant of the
+expedition with enthusiasm.</p>
+<a name="ill33"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration033">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577">
+			<img src="images/033.jpg" alt="He decamped with all his followers">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577" align="center">
+			<small>"He decamped with all his followers."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Caillié, attacked by a fever which nearly proved fatal, returned to St.
+Louis; but not recovering his health there, he was obliged to go back
+to France. Not until 1824 was he able to return to Senegal, which was
+then governed by Baron Roger, a friend to progress, who was anxious
+<i>pari passu</i>, to extend our geographical knowledge with our commercial
+relations. Roger supplied Caillié with means to go and live amongst the
+Bracknas, there to study Arabic and the Mussulman religion.</p>
+
+<p>Life amongst the suspicious and fanatic Moorish shepherds was by no
+means easy. The traveller, who had great difficulty in keeping his
+daily journal, was obliged to resort to all manner of subterfuges to
+obtain permission to explore the neighbourhood of his house. He gives
+us some curious details of the life of the Bracknas&mdash;of their diet,
+which consists almost entirely of milk; of their habitations, which are
+nothing more than tents unfitted for the vicissitudes of the climate;
+of their "<i>guéhués</i>" or itinerant minstrels; their mode of producing
+the excessive <i>embonpoint</i> which they consider the height of female
+beauty; the aspect of the country; the fertility and productions of the
+soil, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>The most remarkable of all the facts collected by Caillié are those
+relating to the five distinct classes into which the Moorish Bracknas
+are divided. These are the <i>Hassanes</i>, or warriors, whose idleness,
+slovenliness, and pride exceed belief; the <i>Marabouts</i>, or priests; the
+<i>Zénagues</i>, tributary to the Hassanes; the <i>Laratines</i>; and the slaves.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Zénagues</i> are a miserable class, despised by all the others, but
+especially by the <i>Hassanes</i>, to whom they pay a tribute, which is of
+variable amount, and is never considered enough. They do all the work,
+both industrial and agricultural, and rear all the cattle.</p>
+
+<p>"In spite of my efforts," says Caillié, "I could find out nothing about
+the origin of this people, or ascertain how they came to be reduced to
+pay tribute to other Moors. When I asked them any questions about this,
+they said it was God's will. Can they be a remnant of a conquered
+tribe? and if so, how is it that no tradition on the subject is
+retained amongst them. I do not think they can be, for the Moors, proud
+as they are of their origin, never forget the names of those who have
+brought credit to their families; and were such the case, the Zénagues,
+who form the majority of the population, and are skilful warriors,
+would rise under the leadership of one of their chiefs, and fling off
+the yoke of servitude."</p>
+
+<p>Laratine is the name given to the offspring of a Moor and a negro
+slave. Although they are slaves, the Laratines are never sold, but
+while living in separate camps, are treated very much like the
+Zénagues. Those who are the sons of Hassanes are warriors, whilst the
+children of Marabouts are brought up to the profession of their father.</p>
+
+<p>The actual slaves are all negroes. Ill-treated, badly fed, and flogged
+on the slightest pretext, there is no suffering which they are not
+called upon to endure.</p>
+
+<p>In May, 1825, Caillié returned to St. Louis. Baron Roger was absent,
+and his representative was by no means friendly. The explorer had to
+content himself with the pay of a common soldier until the return of
+his protector, to whom he sent the notes he had made when amongst the
+Bracknas, but all his offers of service were rejected. He was promised
+a certain sum on his return from Timbuctoo; but how was he even to
+start without private resources?</p>
+
+<p>The intrepid Caillié was not, however, to be discouraged. As he
+obtained neither encouragement nor help from the colonial government,
+he went to Sierra Leone, where the governor, who did not wish to
+deprive Major Laing of the credit of being the first to arrive at
+Timbuctoo, rejected his proposals.</p>
+
+<p>In the management of an indigo factory, Caillié soon saved money to the
+extent of two thousand francs, a sum which appeared to him sufficient
+to carry him to the end of the world. He lost no time in purchasing the
+necessary merchandise, and joined some Mandingoes and "seracolets," or
+wandering African merchants. He told them, under the seal of secrecy,
+that he had been born in Egypt of Arab parents, taken to France at an
+early age, and sent to Senegal to look after the business of his
+master, who, satisfied with his services, had given him his freedom. He
+added, that his chief desire was to get back to Egypt, and resume the
+Mohammedan religion.</p>
+
+<p>On the 22nd March, 1827, Caillié left Freetown for Kakondy, a village
+on the Rio Nuñez, where he employed his leisure in collecting
+information respecting the Landamas and the Nalous, both subject to the
+Foulahs of Fouta Djallon, but not Mohammedans, and, as a necessary
+result, both much given to spirituous liquors. They dwell in the
+districts watered by the Rio Nuñez, side by side with the Bagos, an
+idolatrous race who dwell at its mouth. The Bagos are light-hearted,
+industrious, and skilful tillers of the soil; they make large profits
+out of the sale of their rice and salt. They have no king, no religion
+but a barbarous idolatry, and are governed by the oldest man in their
+village, an arrangement which answers very well.</p>
+
+<p>On the 19th April, 1827, Caillié with but one bearer and a guide, at
+last started for Timbuctoo. He speaks favourably of the Foulahs and the
+people of Fouta Djallon, whose rich and fertile country he crossed. The
+Ba-Fing, the chief affluent of the Senegal, was not more than a hundred
+paces across, and a foot and a half deep where he passed it; but the
+force of the current, and the huge granite rocks encumbering its bed,
+render it very difficult and dangerous to cross the river. After a halt
+of nineteen days in the village of Cambaya, the home of the guide who
+had accompanied him thus far, Caillié entered Kankan, crossing a
+district intersected by rivers and large streams, which were then
+beginning to inundate the whole land.</p>
+
+<p>On the 30th May the explorer crossed the Tankisso, a large river with a
+rocky bed belonging to the system of the Niger, and reached the latter
+on the 11th June, at Couronassa.</p>
+<a name="ill34"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration034">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="569">
+			<img src="images/034.jpg" alt="Caillié crossing the Tankisso">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="569" align="center">
+			<small>Caillié crossing the Tankisso.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>"Even here," says Caillié, "so near to its source, the Niger is 900
+feet wide, with a current of two miles and a half."</p>
+
+<p>Before we enter Kankan with the French explorer, it will be well to sum
+up what he says of the Foulahs of Fouta. They are mostly tall,
+well-made men, with chestnut-brown complexions, curly hair, lofty
+foreheads, aquiline noses, features in fact very like those of
+Europeans. They are bigoted Mohammedans, and hate Christians. Unlike
+the Mandingoes, they do not travel, but love their home; they are good
+agriculturists and clever traders, warlike and patriotic, and they
+leave none but their old men and women in their villages when they go
+to war.</p>
+
+<p>The town of Kankan stands in a plain surrounded by lofty mountains. The
+bombax, baobab, and butter-tree, also called "cé" the "shea" of Mungo
+Park, are plentiful. Caillié was delayed in Kankan for twenty-eight
+days before he could get on to Sambatikala; and during that time he was
+shamefully robbed by his host, and could not obtain from the chief of
+the village restitution of the goods which had been stolen.</p>
+
+<p>"Kankan," says the traveller, "is a small town near the left bank of
+the Milo, a pretty river, which comes from the south, and waters the
+Kissi district, where it takes its rise, flowing thence in a
+north-westerly direction to empty itself into the Niger, two or three
+days' journey from Kankan. Surrounded by a thick quick-set hedge, this
+town, which does not contain more than 6000 inhabitants, is situated in
+an extensive and very fertile plain of grey sand. On every side are
+pretty little villages, called <i>Worondes</i>, where the slaves live. These
+habitations give interest to the scene, and are surrounded by very fine
+plantations; yams, rice, onions, pistachio nuts, &amp;c., are exported in
+large quantities."</p>
+
+<p>Between Kankan and Wassolo the road led through well cultivated, and,
+at this time of year, nearly submerged districts. The inhabitants
+struck Caillié as being of a mild, cheerful, and inquiring disposition.
+They gave him a cordial welcome.</p>
+
+<p>Several tributaries of the Niger, including the Sarano, were passed
+before a halt was made at Sigala, the residence of Baranusa, the chief
+of Wassolo. He was of slovenly habits, like his subjects, and used
+tobacco both as snuff and for smoking. He was said to be very rich in
+gold and slaves. His subjects paid him a tribute in cattle; he had a
+great many wives, each of whom owned a hut of her own, their houses
+forming a little village, with well cultivated environs. Here Caillié
+for the first time saw the Rhamnus Lotus mentioned by Park.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Wossolo, Caillié entered Foulou, whose inhabitants, like
+those of the former district, are idolaters, of slovenly habits. They
+speak the Mandingo tongue. At Sambatikala the traveller paid a visit to
+the almamy.</p>
+
+<p>"We entered," he says, "a place which served him as a bedroom for
+himself and a stable for his horse. The prince's bed was at the further
+end. It consisted of a little platform raised six inches from the
+ground, on which was stretched an ox hide, with a dirty mosquito
+curtain, to keep off the insects. There was no other furniture in this
+royal abode. Two saddles hung from stakes driven into the wall; a large
+straw hat, a drum only used in war-time, a few lances, a bow, a quiver,
+and some arrows, were the only ornaments. A lamp made of a piece of
+flat iron set on a stand of the same metal, stood on the ground. This
+lamp was fed by a kind of vegetable matter, not thick enough to be made
+into candles."</p>
+
+<p>The almamy soon informed Caillié of an opportunity for him to go to
+Timeh, whence a caravan was about to start for Jenneh. The traveller
+then entered the province of Bambarra, and quickly arrived at the
+pretty little village of Timeh, inhabited by Mohammedan Mandingoes, and
+bounded on the east by a chain of mountains about 350 fathoms high.</p>
+
+<p>When he entered this village, at the end of July, Caillié little dreamt
+of the long stay he would be compelled to make in it. He had hurt his
+foot, and the wound became very much inflamed by walking in wet grass.
+He therefore decided to let the caravan for Jenneh go on without him,
+and remain at Timeh until his foot should be completely healed. It
+would have been too great a risk for him in his state to travel through
+Bambarra, where the idolatrous inhabitants of the country would be
+pretty sure to rob him.</p>
+
+<p>"The Bambarras," he says, "have few slaves, go almost naked, and are
+always armed with bows and arrows. They are governed by a number of
+petty independent chiefs, who are often at war with one another. They
+are in fact rude and wild creatures as compared with the tribes who
+have embraced Mohammedanism."</p>
+
+<p>Caillié was detained at Timeh by the still unhealed wound in his foot,
+until the 10th November. At that date he proposed starting for Jenneh,
+but, to quote his own words, "I was now seized with violent pains in
+the jaws, warning me that I was attacked with scurvy, a terrible
+malady, all the horrors of which I was to realize. My palate was
+completely skinned, part of the bone came away, my teeth seemed ready
+to fall out of the gums, my sufferings were terrible. I feared that my
+brain might be affected by the agony of pain in my head. I was more
+than a fortnight without an instant's sleep."</p>
+
+<p>To make matters worse, the wound broke out afresh; and he would have
+been cured neither of it nor of the scurvy had it not been for the
+energetic treatment of an old negress, who was accustomed to doctor the
+scorbutic affections, so common in that country.</p>
+
+<p>On the 9th January, 1828, Caillié left Timeh, and reached Kimba, a
+little village where the caravan for Jenneh was assembled. Near to this
+village rises the chain erroneously called Kong, which is the general
+name for mountain amongst the Mandingoes.</p>
+
+<p>The names of the villages entered by the travellers, and the incidents
+of the journey through Bambarra, are of no special interest. The
+inhabitants are accounted great thieves by the Mandingoes, but are
+probably not more dishonest than their critics.</p>
+
+<p>The Bambarra women all wear a thin slip of wood imbedded in the lower
+lip, a strange fashion exactly similar to that noticed by Cook amongst
+the natives of the north-western coast of America. The Bambarras speak
+Mandingo, though they have a dialect of their own called <i>Kissour</i>,
+about which the traveller could obtain no trustworthy written
+information.</p>
+
+<p>Jenneh was formerly called "the golden land." The precious metal is
+not, however, found there, but a good deal is imported by the Boureh
+merchants and the Mandingoes of Kong.</p>
+
+<p>Jenneh, two miles and a half in circumference, is surrounded by a mud
+wall ten feet high. The houses, built of bricks baked in the sun, are
+as large as those of European peasants. They have all terraces, but no
+outer windows. Numbers of foreigners frequent Jenneh. The inhabitants,
+as many as eight or ten thousand, are very industrious and intelligent.
+They hire out their slaves, and also employ them in various
+handicrafts.</p>
+
+<p>The Moors, however, monopolize the more important commerce. Not a day
+passes that they do not despatch huge boats laden with rice, millet,
+cotton, honey, vegetable butter, and other native products.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of this great commercial movement, the prosperity of Jenneh
+was threatened. Sego Ahmadou, chief of the country, impelled by bigoted
+zeal, made fierce war upon the Bambarras of Sego, whom he wished to
+rally round the standard of the Prophet. This struggle did a great deal
+of harm to the trade of Jenneh, for it interrupted intercourse with
+Yamina, Sansanding, Bamakou, and Boureh, which were the chief marts for
+its produce.</p>
+
+<p>The women of Jenneh would not be true to their sex if they did not show
+some marks of coquetry. Those who aim at fashion pass a ring or a glass
+ornament through the nostrils, whilst their poorer sisters content
+themselves with a bit of pink silk.</p>
+
+<p>During Caillié's long stay at Jenneh, he was loaded with kindness and
+attentions by the Moors, to whom he had told the fabulous tale about
+his birth in Egypt, and abduction by the army of occupation.</p>
+
+<p>On the 23rd March, the traveller embarked on the Niger for Timbuctoo,
+on which the sheriff, won over by the gift of an umbrella, had obtained
+a passage for him. He carried with him letters of introduction to the
+chief persons in Timbuctoo.</p>
+
+<p>Caillié now passed in succession the pretty villages of Kera, Taguetia,
+Sankha-Guibila, Diebeh, and Isaca, near to which the river is joined by
+an important branch, which makes a great bend beyond Sego, catching
+sight also of Wandacora, Wanga, Corocoïla, and Cona, finally reaching,
+on the 2nd of April, the mouth of the important Lake Debo.</p>
+
+<p>"Land," says Caillié, "is visible on every side of this lake except on
+the west, where it widens out like a vast inland sea. Following its
+northern coast in a west-north-west direction for a distance of fifteen
+miles, you leave on the left a tongue of level ground, which runs
+several miles to the south, seeming to bar the passage of the lake, and
+form a kind of strait. Beyond this barrier the lake stretches away out
+of sight in the west. The barrier I have just described cuts Lake Debo
+into two parts, the upper and lower. That navigable to boats contains
+three islands, and is very wide; it stretches away a short distance on
+the east, and is supplemented by an immense number of huge marshes."</p>
+
+<p>One after the other, Caillié now passed the fishing village of Gabibi;
+Tongoon in the Diriman country, a district stretching far away on the
+east; Codosa, an important commercial town; Barconga, Leleb, Garfolo,
+Baracondieh, Tircy, Talbocoïla, Salacoïla, Cora, Coratou, where the
+Tuaricks exact a toll from passing boats, and finally reached Cabra,
+built on a height out of reach of the overflowing of the Niger, and
+serving as the port of Timbuctoo.</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th, Caillié disembarked, and started for that city, which he
+entered at sundown.</p>
+
+<p>"I, at last," cries our hero, "saw the capital of the Soudan, which had
+so long been the goal of my desires. As I entered that mysterious town,
+an object of curiosity to the civilized nations of Europe, I was filled
+with indescribable exultation. I never experienced anything like it,
+and my delight knew no bounds. But I had to moderate my transports, and
+it was to God alone I confided them. With what earnestness I thanked
+Him for the success which had crowned my enterprise and the signal
+protection He had accorded me in so many apparently insurmountable
+difficulties and perils. My first emotions having subsided, I found
+that the scene before me by no means came up to my expectations. I had
+conceived a very different idea of the grandeur and wealth of this
+town. At first sight it appeared nothing more than a mass of
+badly-built houses, whilst on every side stretched vast plains of arid,
+yellowish, shifting sands. The sky was of a dull red colour on the
+horizon; all nature seemed melancholy; profound silence prevailed, not
+so much as the song of a bird was heard. And yet there was something
+indescribably imposing in the sight of a large town rising up in the
+midst of the sandy desert, and the beholder cannot but admire the
+indomitable energy of its founders. I fancy the river formerly passed
+nearer the town of Timbuctoo; it is now eight miles north of it and
+five of Cabra."</p>
+<a name="ill35"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration035">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="617">
+			<img src="images/035.jpg" alt="View of part of Timbuctoo">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="617" align="center">
+			<small>View of part of Timbuctoo.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Timbuctoo, which is neither so large nor so well populated as Caillié
+expected, is altogether wanting in animation. There are no large
+caravans constantly arriving in it, as at Jenneh; nor are there so many
+strangers there as in the latter town; whilst the market, held at three
+o'clock in the morning on account of the heat, appears deserted.</p>
+
+<p>Timbuctoo is inhabited by Kissour negroes, who seem of mild
+dispositions, and are employed in trade. There is no government, and
+strictly speaking no central authority; each town and village has its
+own chief. The mode of life is patriarchal. A great many Moorish
+merchants are settled in the town, and rapidly make fortunes there.
+They receive consignments of merchandise from Adrar, Tafilet, Ghât,
+Ghâdames, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.</p>
+
+<p>To Timbuctoo is brought all the salt of the mines of Toudeyni, packed
+on camels. It is imported in slabs, bound together by ropes, made from
+grass in the neighbourhood of Tandayeh.</p>
+
+<p>Timbuctoo is built in the form of a triangle, and measures about three
+miles in circumference. The houses are large but not lofty, and are
+built of round bricks. The streets are wide and clean. There are seven
+mosques, each surmounted by a square tower, from which the muezzin
+calls the faithful to prayer. Counting the floating population, the
+capital of the Soudan does not contain more than from ten to twelve
+thousand inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>Timbuctoo, situated in the midst of a vast plain of shifting white
+sand, trades in salt only, the soil being quite unsuitable to any sort
+of cultivation. The town is always full of people, who come to exact
+what they call presents, but what might with more justice be styled
+forced contributions. It is a public calamity when a Tuarick chief
+arrives. He remains in the town a couple of months, living with his
+numerous followers at the expense of the inhabitants, until he has
+wrung costly presents from them. Terror has extended the domination of
+these wandering tribes over all the neighbouring peoples, whom they rob
+and pillage without mercy.</p>
+
+<p>The Tuarick costume is the same as that of the Arabs, with the
+exception of the head-dress. Day and night they wear a cotton band
+which covers the eyes and comes down over the nose, so that they are
+obliged to raise the head in order to see. The same band goes once or
+twice round the head and hides the mouth, coming down below the chin,
+so that the tip of the nose is all that is visible.</p>
+
+<p>The Tuaricks are perfect riders, and mounted on first-rate horses or on
+fleet camels; each man is armed with a spear, a shield, and a dagger.
+They are the pirates of the desert, and innumerable are the caravans
+they have robbed, or blackmailed.</p>
+<a name="ill36"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration036">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="745">
+			<img src="images/036.jpg" alt="Map of Réné Caillié's Journey">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Four days after Caillié's arrival at Timbuctoo, he heard that a caravan
+was about to start for Talifet; and as he knew that another would not
+go for three months, fearing detection, he resolved to join this one.
+It consisted of a large number of merchants, and 600 camels. Starting
+on the 4th of May, 1828, he arrived, after terrible sufferings from the
+heat, and a sand-storm in which he was caught, at El Arawan, a town of
+no private resources, but important as the emporium for the Toudeyni
+salt, exported at Sansanding, on the banks of the Niger, and also as
+the halting-place of caravans from Tafilet, Mogadore, Ghât, Drat, and
+Tripoli, the merchants here exchanging European wares for ivory, gold,
+slaves, wax, honey, and Soudan stuffs. On the 19th May, the caravan
+left El Arawan for Morocco, by way of the Sahara. To the traveller's
+usual sufferings from heat, thirst, and privations of all kinds, was
+now added the pain of a wound incurred in a fall from his camel. He was
+also taunted by the Moors, and even by their slaves, who ridiculed his
+habits and his awkwardness, and even sometimes threw stones at him when
+his back was turned towards them.</p>
+
+<p>"Often," says Caillié, "one of the Moors would say to me in a
+contemptuous tone: 'You see that slave? Well I prefer him to you, so
+you may guess in what esteem I hold you.' This insult would be
+accompanied with roars of laughter."</p>
+
+<p>Under these miserable circumstances Caillié passed the wells of
+Trarzas, in whose vicinity salt is found, also those of Amul Gamil,
+Amul Taf, El Ekreif, surrounded by date-trees, wood, willows, and
+rushes, and reached Marabouty and El Harib, districts whose inhabitants
+are disgustingly dirty in their habits.</p>
+
+<p>El Harib lies between two chains of low hills, dividing it from
+Morocco, to which it is tributary. Its inhabitants, divided into
+several nomad tribes, employ themselves chiefly in the breeding of
+camels. They would be rich and contented, but for the ceaseless
+exactions of the Berber Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>On the 12th July the caravan left El Harib, and eleven days later
+entered the province of Talifet, famous for its majestic date-trees. At
+Ghourland, Caillié was welcomed with some kindness by the Moors, though
+he was not admitted to their houses, lest the women, who are visible
+only to the men of their own families, should be seen by the irreverent
+eyes of a stranger.</p>
+
+<p>Caillié visited the market, which is held three times a week near a
+little village called Boheim, three miles from Ghourland, and was
+surprised at the variety of articles exposed for sale in it:
+vegetables, native fruits, fodder for cattle, poultry, sheep, &amp;c. &amp;c.,
+all in large quantities. Water in leather bottles was carried about for
+sale to all who cared to drink in the exhausting heat, by men who
+announced their approach by ringing a small hand-bell. Moorish and
+Spanish coins alone passed current. The province of Tafilet contains
+several large villages and small towns. Ghourland, El Ekseba, Sosso,
+Boheim, and Ressant, which our traveller visited, contained some twelve
+hundred inhabitants each, all merchants and owners of property.</p>
+
+<p>The soil is very productive: corn, vegetables, dates, European fruits,
+and tobacco, are cultivated in large quantities. Among the sources of
+wealth in Tafilet we may name very fine sheep, whose beautifully white
+wool makes very pretty coverlets, oxen, first-rate horses, donkeys, and
+mules.</p>
+
+<p>As at El-Drah, a good many Jews live in the villages together with
+Mohammedans. They lead a miserable life, go about half naked, and are
+constantly struck and insulted. Whether brokers, shoemakers,
+blacksmiths, porters, or whatever their ostensible occupation, they all
+lend money to the Moors.</p>
+
+<p>On the 2nd August the caravan resumed its march, and after passing
+A-Fileh, Tanneyara, Marca, Dayara, Rahaba, El Eyarac, Tamaroc,
+Ain-Zeland, El Guim, Guigo, and Soporo, Caillié arrived at Fez, where
+he made a short stay, and then pressed on to Rabat, the ancient Saléh.
+Exhausted by his long march, with nothing to eat but a few dates,
+obliged to depend on the charity of the Mussulmans, who as often as not
+declined to give him anything, and finding at Fez no representative of
+France but an old Jew named Ismail, who acted as Consular Agent, and
+who, being afraid of compromising himself, would not let Caillié embark
+on a Portuguese brig bound for Gibraltar,&mdash;the traveller eagerly
+availed himself of a fortunate chance for going to Tangiers. There he
+was kindly received by the Vice-Consul, M. Delaporte, who wrote at once
+to the commandant of the French station at Cadiz, and sent him off
+bound for that port, disguised as a sailor, in a corvette.</p>
+
+<p>The landing at Toulon of the young Frenchman fresh from Timbuctoo, was
+a very unexpected event in the scientific world. With nothing to aid
+him but his own invincible courage and patience, he had brought to a
+satisfactory conclusion an exploit for which the French and English
+Geographical Societies had offered large rewards. Alone, without any
+resources to speak of, without the aid of government or of any
+scientific society, by sheer force of will, he had succeeded in
+throwing a flood of new light on an immense tract of Africa.</p>
+
+<p>Caillié was not indeed the first European who had visited Timbuctoo. In
+the preceding year, Major Laing had penetrated into that mysterious
+city, but he had paid for his expedition with his life, and we shall
+presently relate the touching details of his fatal trip.</p>
+
+<p>Caillié had returned to Europe, and brought back with him the curious
+journal from which our narrative is taken. It is true his profession of
+the Mohammedan faith had prevented him from taking astronomical
+observations, and from making sketches and notes freely, but only at
+the price of his seeming apostasy could he have passed through the
+region where the very name of a Christian is held in abhorrence.</p>
+
+<p>How many strange observations, how many fresh and exact details, did
+Caillié add to our knowledge of North-West Africa! It had cost
+Clapperton two journeys to traverse Africa from Tripoli to Benin;
+Caillié had crossed from Senegal to Morocco in one&mdash;but at what a
+price! How much fatigue, how much suffering, how many privations, had
+the Frenchman endured! Timbuctoo was known at last, as well as the new
+caravan route across the Sahara by way of the oases of Tafilet and El
+Harib.</p>
+
+<p>Was Caillié compensated for his physical and mental sufferings by the
+aid which the Geographical Society sent to him at once, by the prize of
+10,000 francs adjudged to him, by the Cross of the Legion of Honour and
+the fame and glory attached to his name? We suppose he was. He says
+more than once in his narrative that nothing but his wish to add by his
+discoveries to the glory of France, his native country, could have
+sustained him under the trying circumstances and insults to which he
+was constantly subjected. All honour then to the patient traveller, the
+sincere patriot, the great discoverer.</p>
+
+<p>We have still to speak of the expedition which cost Alexander Gordon
+Laing his life; but before giving our necessarily brief account, for
+his journals were all lost, we must say a few words about his early
+life and an interesting excursion made by him to Timmannee, Kouran and
+Soolimana, when he discovered the sources of the Niger.</p>
+
+<p>Laing was born in Edinburgh in 1794, entered the English army at the
+age of sixteen, and soon distinguished himself. In 1820 he had gained
+the rank of Lieutenant, and was serving as aide-de-camp to Sir Charles
+Maccarthy, then Governor General of Western Africa. At this time war
+was raging between Amara, the Mandingo almamy, and Sannassi, one of
+his principal chiefs. Trade had never been very flourishing in Sierra
+Leone, and this state of things dealt it its death-blow. Maccarthy,
+anxious to put matters on a better footing, determined to interfere and
+bring about a reconciliation between the rival chiefs. He decided on
+sending an embassy to Kambia, on the borders of the Scarcies, and from
+thence to Malacoury and the Mandingo camp. The enterprising character,
+intelligence, and courage of Laing led to his being chosen by the
+governor as his envoy, and on the 7th January, 1822, he received
+instructions to report on the manufactures and topography of the
+provinces mentioned, and to ascertain the feeling of the inhabitants on
+the abolition of slavery.</p>
+
+<p>A first interview with Yareddi, leader of the Soolimana troops
+accompanying the almamy, proved that the negroes of the districts under
+notice had only the vaguest ideas on European civilization, and that
+they had had but little intercourse with the whites.</p>
+
+<p>"Every article of our dress," says Laing, "was a subject of admiration;
+observing me pull off my gloves, Yareddi stared, covered his
+widely-opened mouth with his hands, and at length exclaimed, 'Alla
+Akbar!' 'he has pulled the skin off his hands!' By degrees, and as he
+became more familiar, he alternately rubbed down Dr. Mackie's hair and
+mine, then indulging himself in a loud laugh, he would exclaim, 'They
+are not men, they are not men!' He repeatedly asked my interpreter if
+we had bones?"</p>
+
+<p>These preliminary excursions, during which Laing ascertained that many
+Soolimanas owned a good deal of gold and ivory, led to his asking the
+governor's sanction to explore the districts to the east of the colony,
+with a view to increasing the trade of Sierra Leone by admitting their
+productions.</p>
+
+<p>Maccarthy liked Laing's proposal and submitted it to the council. It
+was decided that Laing should be authorized to penetrate into Soolimana
+by the most convenient route for future communications.</p>
+
+<p>Laing left Sierra Leone on the 16th April, 1824, and rowed up the
+Rokelle river to Rokon, the chief town of Timmannee. His interview with
+the King of Rokon was extremely amusing. To do him honour Laing had a
+salvo of ten charges fired as he came into the court in which the
+reception was to be held. At the noise the king stopped, drew back,
+darted a furious look at his visitor, and ran away. It was with great
+difficulty that the cowardly monarch was induced to return. At last he
+came back, and seating himself with great dignity in his chair of state
+he questioned the major:</p>
+
+<p>"He wished to know," says Laing, "why he had been fired at, and was,
+with some difficulty, persuaded that it had been done out of honour to
+him. 'Why did you point your guns to the ground?' 'That you might see
+our intention was to show you respect.' 'But the pebbles flew in my
+face; why did you not point in the air?' 'Because we feared to burn the
+thatch on your houses.' 'Well, then, give me some rum.'"</p>
+
+<p>Needless to add that the interview became more cordial after the major
+had complied with this request!</p>
+
+<p>The portrait of the Timmannee monarch deserves a place in our volume
+for more than one reason. It is a case of <i>ab uno disce omnes</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Ba-Simera," to quote Laing again, "the principal chief or king of this
+part of the Timmannee country, is about ninety years of age, with a
+mottled, shrivelled-up skin, resembling in colour that of an alligator
+more than that of a human being, with dim, greenish eyes, far sunk in
+his head, and a bleached, twisted beard, hanging down about two feet
+from his chin; like the king of the opposite district he wore a
+necklace of coral and leopard's teeth, but his mantle was brown and
+dirty as his skin. His swollen legs, like those of an elephant, were to
+be observed from under his trousers of baft, which might have been
+originally white, but, from the wear of several years, had assumed a
+greenish appearance."</p>
+
+<p>Like his predecessors in Africa, Laing had to go through many
+discussions about the right of passage through the country and bearers'
+wages, but thanks to his firmness he managed to escape the extortions
+of the negro kings. The chief halting-places on the route taken by the
+major were: Toma, where a white man had never before been seen;
+Balandeko, Roketchnick, which he ascertained to be situated in N. lat.
+8&deg; 30', and W. long. 12&deg; 11'; Mabimg,
+beyond a very broad stream flowing north of the Rokelle; and Ma-Yosso,
+the chief frontier town of Timmannee. In Timmannee Laing made
+acquaintance with a singular institution, a kind of free-masonry, known
+as "Purrah," the existence of which on the borders of the Rio Nuñez had
+been already ascertained by Caillié.</p>
+
+<p>"Their power" [that of the "Purrah"], says Laing, "supersedes even that
+of the headmen of the districts, and their deeds of secrecy and
+darkness are as little called in question, or inquired into, as those
+of the Inquisition were in Europe, in former years. I have endeavoured
+in vain to trace the origin, or cause of formation of this
+extraordinary association, and have reason to suppose, that it is now
+unknown to the generality of the Timmannees, and may possibly be even
+so to the Purrah themselves, in a country where no traditionary records
+are extant, either in writing or in song."</p>
+
+<p>So far as Laing could ascertain Timmannee is divided into three
+districts. The chief of each arrogates to himself the title of king.
+The soil is fairly productive, and rice, yams, guavas, earth-nuts, and
+bananas might be grown in plenty, but for the lazy, vicious, and
+avaricious character of the inhabitants who vie with each other in
+roguery.</p>
+
+<p>"I think," says Laing, "that a few hoes, flails, rakes, shovels, &amp;c.,
+would be very acceptable to them, when their respective uses were
+practically explained; and that they would prove more beneficial both
+to their interest and ours, than the guns, cocked hats, and mountebank
+coats, with which they are at present supplied." In spite of our
+traveller's philanthropic wish, things have not changed since his time.
+The negroes are just as fond of intoxicating drinks, and their petty
+kings still go about wearing on grand occasions hats the shape of an
+accordion, and blue coats with copper buttons, with no shirts
+underneath. The maternal sentiment did not seem to Laing to be very
+fully developed amongst the people of Timmannee, for he was twice
+roundly abused by women for refusing to buy their children of them. A
+few days later there was a great tumult raised against Laing, the white
+man who had inflicted a fatal blow on the prosperity of the country by
+checking its trade. The first town entered in Kouranko was Maboum, and
+it is interesting to note <i>en passant</i> what Laing says of the activity
+of the inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>"I entered the town about sunset, and received a first impression
+highly favourable to its inhabitants, who were returning from their
+respective labours of the day, every individual bearing about him
+proofs of his industrious occupation. Some had been engaged in
+preparing the fields for the crops, which the approaching rains were to
+mature; others were penning up cattle, whose sleek sides and good
+condition denoted the richness of their pasturages; the last clink of
+the blacksmith's hammer was sounding, the weaver was measuring the
+quantity of cloth he had woven during the day, and the gaurange, or
+worker in leather, was tying up his neatly-stained pouches, shoes,
+knife-scabbards, &amp;c. (the work of his handicraft) in a large kotakoo or
+bag; while the crier at the mosque, with the melancholy call of 'Alla
+Akbar,' uttered at measured intervals, summoned the dévôts Moslems to
+their evening devotions."</p>
+
+<p>Had a Marilhat or a Henri Regnault transferred to canvas a scene like
+this, when the dazzling light of the sun is beginning to die away in
+green and rose tints, might he not aptly name his painting the <i>Retour
+des Champs</i>, a title so often given to landscapes in our misty climate.</p>
+
+<p>"This scene," adds Laing, "both by its nature and the sentiment which
+it inspired, formed an agreeable contrast with the noise, confusion,
+and the dissipation which pervaded a Timmannee town at the same hour;
+but one must not trust too much to appearances, and I regret to add,
+that the subsequent conduct of the Kouranko natives did not confirm the
+good opinion which I had formed of them."</p>
+
+<p>The traveller now passed through Koufoula, where he was very kindly
+received, crossed a pleasant undulating district shut in by the
+Kouranko hills and halted at Simera, where the chief ordered his
+"guiriot" to celebrate in song the arrival of his guest, a welcome
+neutralized by the fact that the house assigned to Laing let in the
+rain through its leaky roof and would not let out the smoke, so that,
+to use his own words, he was more "like a chimney-sweeper" than the
+white guest of the King of Simera.</p>
+
+<p>Laing afterwards visited the source of the Tongolelle, a tributary of
+the Rokelle, and then left Kooranko to enter Soolimana. Kooranko, into
+which our traveller did not penetrate beyond the frontier, is of vast
+extent and divided into a great number of small states. The inhabitants
+resemble the Mandingoes in language and costume, but they are neither
+so well looking nor so intelligent. They do not profess Mohammedanism
+and have implicit confidence in their "grigris." They are fairly
+industrious, they know how to sew and weave. Their chief object of
+commerce is rosewood or "cam," which they send to the coast. The
+products of the country are much the same as those of Timmannee.</p>
+
+<p>Komia, N. lat. 9&deg; 22', is the first town in Soolimana.
+Laing then visited Semba, a wealthy and populous city, where he was
+received by a band of musicians, who welcomed him with a deafening if
+not harmonious flourish of trumpets, and he finally reached Falaba, the
+capital of the country.</p>
+
+<p>The king received Laing with special marks of esteem. He had assembled
+a large body of troops whom he passed in review, making them execute
+various manoeuvres accompanied by the blowing of trumpets, beating of
+tambourines, and the playing of violins and other native instruments.
+This "fantasia" almost deafened the visitor. Then came a number of
+<i>guiriots</i>, who sang of the greatness of the king, the happy arrival of
+the major, with the fortunate results which were to ensue from his
+visit for the prosperity of the country and the development of
+commerce.</p>
+
+<p>Laing profited by the king's friendliness to ask his permission to
+visit the sources of the Niger, but was answered by all manner of
+objections on the score of the danger of the expedition. At last,
+however, his majesty yielded to the persuasions of his visitor, telling
+him that "as his heart panted after the water, he might go to it."</p>
+
+<p>The major had not, however, left Falaba two hours before the permission
+was rescinded, and he had to give up an enterprise which had justly
+appeared to him of great importance.</p>
+
+<p>A few days later he obtained leave to visit the source of the Rokelle
+or Sale Kongo, a river of which nothing was known before his time
+beyond Rokon. From the summit of a lofty rock, Laing saw Mount Loma,
+the highest of the chain of which it forms part. "The point," says the
+traveller, "from which the Niger issues, was now shown to me, and
+appeared to be at the same level on which I stood, viz., 1600 feet
+above the level of the Atlantic; the source of the Rokelle, which I had
+already measured, being 1470 feet. The view from this hill amply
+compensated for my lacerated feet.... Having ascertained correctly the
+situation of Konkodoogore, and that of the hill upon which I was at
+this time, the first by observation, and the second by account, and
+having taken the bearings of Loma from both, I cannot err much in
+laying down its position in 9&deg; 25' N. and 9&deg; 45' W."</p>
+<a name="ill37"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration037">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="579">
+			<img src="images/037.jpg" alt="Laing saw Mount Loma">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="579" align="center">
+			<small>"Laing saw Mount Loma."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Laing had now spent three months in Soolimana, and had made many
+excursions. It is a very picturesque country, in which alternate hills,
+valleys, and fertile plains, bordered by woods and adorned with
+thickets of luxuriant trees.</p>
+
+<p>The soil is fertile and requires very little cultivation; the harvests
+are abundant and rice grows well. Oxen, sheep, goats, and a small
+species of poultry, with a few horses, are the chief domestic animals
+of the people of Soolimana. The wild beasts, of which there are a good
+many, are elephants, buffaloes, a kind of antelope, monkeys, and
+leopards.</p>
+
+<p>Falaba, which takes its name from the Fala-ba river, on which it is
+situated, is about a mile and a half long by one broad. The houses are
+closer together than in most African towns, and it contains some six
+thousand inhabitants. Its position as a fortified town is well-chosen.
+Built on an eminence in the centre of a plain which is under water in
+the rainy season, it is surrounded by a very strong wooden palisade,
+proof against every engine of war except artillery.</p>
+
+<p>Strange to say in Soolimana the occupations of men and women seem to be
+reversed; the latter work in the fields except at seed time and
+harvest, build the houses, act as masons, barbers, and surgeons, whilst
+the men attend to the dairy, milk the cows, sew, and wash the linen.</p>
+
+<p>On the 17th September, Laing started on his return journey to Sierra
+Leone bearing presents from the king, and escorted for several miles by
+a vast crowd. He finally reached the English colony in safety.</p>
+
+<p>Laing's trip through Timmannee, Kooranko, and Soolimana was not without
+importance. It opened up districts hitherto unknown to Europeans, and
+introduced us to the manners, occupations, and trade of the people, as
+well as to the products of the country. At the same time the course was
+traced and the source discovered of the Rokelle, whilst for the first
+time definite information was obtained as to the sources of the Niger,
+for although our traveller had not actually visited them, he had gone
+near enough to determine their position approximately.</p>
+
+<p>The results obtained by Laing on this journey, only fired his ambition
+for further discoveries. He, therefore, determined to make his way to
+Timbuctoo.</p>
+
+<p>On the 17th June, 1825, he embarked at Malta for Tripoli, where he
+joined a caravan with which Hateeta, the Tuarick chief, who had made
+such friends with Lyon, was also travelling as far as Ghât. After two
+months' halt at Ghadames, Laing again started in October and reached
+Insalah, which he places a good deal further west than his predecessors
+had done. Here he remained from November, 1825, to January 1826, and
+then made his way to the Wâdy Ghât, intending to go from thence at once
+to Timbuctoo, making a tour of Lake Jenneh or Debbie, visiting the
+Melli country, and tracing the Niger to its mouth. He would then have
+retraced his steps as far as Sackatoo, visited Lake Tchad and attempted
+to reach the hill.</p>
+
+<p>Outside Ghât the caravan with which Laing was travelling was attacked,
+some say by Tuaricks, others by Berber Arabs, a tribe living near the
+Niger.</p>
+
+<p>"Laing," says Caillié, who got his information at Timbuctoo, "was
+recognized as a Christian and horribly ill-treated. He was beaten with
+a stick until he was left for dead. I suppose that the other Christian
+whom they told me was beaten to death, was one of the major's servants.
+The Moors of Laing's caravan picked him up, and succeeded by dint of
+great care in recalling him to life. So soon as he regained
+consciousness he was placed on his camel, to which he had to be tied,
+he was too weak to be able to sit up. The robbers had left him nothing,
+the greater part of his baggage had been rifled."</p>
+
+<p>Laing arrived at Timbuctoo on the 18th August, 1826, and recovered from
+his wounds. His convalescence was slow, but he was fortunately spared
+the extortions of the natives, owing to the letters of introduction he
+had brought with him from Tripoli and to the sedulous care of his host,
+a native of that city.</p>
+
+<p>According to Caillié, who quotes this remarkable fact from an old
+native, Laing retained his European costume, and gave out that he had
+been sent by his master, the king of England, to visit Timbuctoo and
+describe the wonders it contained.</p>
+
+<p>"It appears," adds the French traveller, "that Laing drew the plan of
+the city in public, for the same Moor told me in his naive and
+expressive language, that he had 'written the town and everything in
+it.'"</p>
+
+<p>After a careful examination of Timbuctoo, Laing, who had good reason to
+fear the Tuaricks, paid a visit by night to Cabra, and looked down on
+the waters of the Niger. Instead of returning to Europe by way of the
+Great Desert, he was very anxious to go past Jenneh and Sego to the
+French settlements in Senegal, but at the first hint of his purpose to
+the Foulahs who crowded to stare at him, he was told that a Nazarene
+could not possibly be allowed to set foot in their country, and that if
+he dared attempt it they would make him repent it.</p>
+
+<p>Laing was, therefore, driven to go by way of El Arawan, where he hoped
+to join a caravan of Moorish merchants taking salt to Sansanding. But
+five days after he left Timbuctoo, his caravan was joined by a fanatic
+sheikh, named Hamed-ould-Habib, chief of the Zawat tribe, and Laing was
+at once arrested under pretence of his having entered their country
+without authorization. The major being urged to profess Mohammedanism
+refused, preferring death to apostasy. A discussion then took place
+between the sheikh and his hired assassins as to how the victim should
+be put to death, and finally Laing was strangled by two slaves. His
+body was left unburied in the desert.</p>
+
+<p>This was all Caillié was able to find out when he visited Timbuctoo but
+one year after Major Laing's death. We have supplemented his accounts
+by a few details gathered from the reports of the Royal Geographical
+Society, for the traveller's journal and the notes he took are alike
+lost to us.</p>
+
+<p>We have already told how Laing managed to fix pretty accurately the
+position of the sources of the Niger. We have also described the
+efforts made by Mungo Park and Clapperton to trace the middle portion
+of the course of that river. We have now to narrate the journeys made
+in order to examine its mouth and the lower part of its course. The
+earliest and most successful was that of Richard Lander, formerly
+Clapperton's servant.</p>
+
+<p>Richard Lander and his brother John proposed to the English Government,
+that they should be sent to explore the Niger to its mouth. Their offer
+was accepted, and they embarked on a government vessel for Badagry,
+where they arrived on the 19th March, 1830.</p>
+
+<p>The king of the country, Adooley, of whom Richard Lander retained a
+friendly remembrance, was in low spirits. His town had just been burnt,
+his generals and his best soldiers had perished in a battle with the
+people of Lagos, and he himself had had a narrow escape when his house
+and all his treasures were destroyed by fire.</p>
+
+<p>He determined to retrieve his losses, and to do so at the expense of
+the travellers, who could not get permission to penetrate into the
+interior of the country until they had been robbed of their most
+valuable merchandise, and compelled to sign drafts in payment for a
+gun-boat with a hundred men, for two puncheons of rum, twenty barrels
+of powder, and a large quantity of merchandise, which they knew
+perfectly well would never be delivered by this monarch, who was as
+greedy of gain as he was drunken. As a matter of course the natives
+followed the example of their chief, vied with him in selfishness,
+greed, and meanness, regarded the English as fair spoil, and fleeced
+them on every opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>At last, on the 31st March, Richard and John Lander succeeded in
+getting away from Badagry; and preceded by an escort sent in advance by
+the king, arrived at Katunga on the 13th May, having halted by the way
+at Wow-wow, a good-sized town, Bidjie, where Pearce and Morrison had
+been taken ill, Jenneh, Chow, Egga, all towns visited by Clapperton,
+Engua, where Pearce died, Asinara, the first walled city they saw,
+Bohou, formerly capital of Yariba, Jaguta, Leoguadda, and Itcho, where
+there is a famous market.</p>
+<a name="ill38"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration038">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="595">
+			<img src="images/038.jpg" alt="Lower Course of the Niger">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="595" align="center">
+			<small>Lower Course of the Niger (after Lander).</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>At Katunga, according to custom, the travellers halted under a tree
+before they were received by the king. But being tired of waiting, they
+presently went to the residence of Ebo, the chief eunuch, and the most
+influential man about the person of the sovereign. A diabolical noise
+of cymbals, trumpets, and drums, all played together, announced the
+approach of the white men, and Mansolah, the king, gave them a most
+hearty welcome, ordering Ebo to behead every one who should molest
+them.</p>
+
+<p>The Landers, fearful of being detained by Mansolah until the rainy
+season, acted on Ebo's advice, and said nothing about the Niger, but
+merely spoke of the death of their fellow-countryman at Boussa twenty
+years before, adding that the King of England had sent them to the
+sultan of Yaourie to recover his papers.</p>
+
+<p>Although Mansolah did not treat the brothers Lander quite as graciously
+as he had treated Clapperton, he allowed them to go eight days after
+their arrival.</p>
+
+<p>Of the many details given in the original account of the Landers'
+journey, of Katunga and the province of Yariba, we will only quote the
+following:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Katunga has by no means answered the expectations we had been led to
+form of it, either as regards its prosperity, or the number of its
+inhabitants. The vast plain on which it stands, although exceedingly
+fine, yields in verdure and fertility, and simple beauty of appearance,
+to the delightful country surrounding the less celebrated city of
+Bohoo. Its market is tolerably well supplied with provisions, which
+are, however, exceedingly dear; insomuch that, with the exception of
+disgusting insects, reptiles, and vermin, the lower classes of the
+people are almost unacquainted with the taste of animal food."</p>
+
+<p>Mansolah's carelessness and the imbecile cowardice of his subjects had
+enabled the Fellatahs to establish themselves in Yarriba, to entrench
+themselves in its fortified towns, and to obtain the recognition of
+their independence, until they became sufficiently strong to assume an
+absolute sovereignty over the whole country.</p>
+
+<p>From Katunga the Landers travelled to Borghoo, by way of Atoupa,
+Bumbum&mdash;a town much frequented by the merchants of Houssa, Borghoo, and
+other provinces trading with Gonja&mdash;Kishi, on the frontiers of Yarriba,
+and Moussa, on the river of the same name, beyond which they were met
+by an escort sent to join them by the Sultan of Borghoo. Sultan Yarro
+received them with many expressions of pleasure and kindness, showing
+special delight at seeing Richard Lander again. Although he was a
+convert to Mohammedanism, Yarro evidently put more faith in the
+superstitions of his forefathers than in his new creed. Fetiches and
+gri-gris were hung over his door, and in one of his huts there was a
+square stool, supported on two sides by four little wooden effigies of
+men. The character, manners, and costumes of the people of Borghoo
+differ essentially from those of the natives of Yarriba.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps no two people in the universe residing so near each other,"
+says the narrative, "differ more widely ... than the natives of Yarriba
+and Borghoo. The former are perpetually engaged in trading with each
+other from town to town, the latter never quit their towns except in
+case of war, or when engaged in predatory excursions; the former are
+pusillanimous and cowardly, the latter are bold and courageous, full of
+spirit and energy, and never seem happier than when engaged in martial
+exercises; the former are generally mild, unassuming, humble and
+honest, but cold and passionless. The latter are proud and haughty, too
+vain to be civil, and too shrewd to be honest; yet they appear to
+understand somewhat of the nature of love and the social affections,
+are warm in their attachments, and keen in their resentments."</p>
+
+<p>On the 17th June our travellers at last came in sight of the city of
+Boussa. Great was their surprise at finding that town on the mainland,
+and not, as Clapperton had said, on an island in the Niger. They
+entered Boussa by the western gate, and were almost immediately
+introduced to the presence of the king and of the midiki or queen, who
+told them that they had both that very morning shed tears over the fate
+of Clapperton.</p>
+
+<p>The Niger or Quorra, which flows below the city, was the first object
+of interest visited by the brothers.</p>
+
+<p>"This morning," writes the traveller, "we visited the far-famed <i>Niger</i>
+or <i>Quorra</i>, which flows by the city about a mile from our residence,
+and were greatly disappointed at the appearance of this celebrated
+river. Bleak, rugged rocks rose abruptly from the centre of the stream,
+causing strong ripples and eddies on its surface. It is said that, a
+few miles above Boussa, the river is divided into three branches by two
+small, fertile islands, and that it flows from hence in one continued
+stream to Funda. The Niger here, in its widest part, is not more than a
+stone's-throw across at present. The rock on which we sat overlooks the
+spot where Mr. Park and his associates met their unhappy fate."</p>
+
+<p>Richard Lander made his preliminary inquiries respecting the books and
+papers belonging to Mungo Park's expedition with great caution. But
+presently, reassured by the sultan's kindness, he determined to
+question him as to the fate of the explorer. Yarro was, however, too
+young at the time of the catastrophe to be able to remember what had
+occurred. It had taken place two reigns back; but he promised to have a
+search instituted for relics of the illustrious traveller.</p>
+
+<p>"In the afternoon," says Richard Lander, "the king came to see us,
+followed by a man with a book under his arm, which was said to have
+been picked up in the Niger after the loss of our countryman. It was
+enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and our hearts beat high with
+expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it, for, by its size, we
+guessed it to be Mr. Park's Journal; but our disappointment and chagrin
+were great when, on opening the book, we discovered it to be an old
+nautical publication of the last century."</p>
+
+<p>There was then no further hope of recovering Park's journal.</p>
+
+<p>On the 23rd June the Landers left Boussa, filled with gratitude to the
+king, who had given them valuable presents, and warned them to accept
+no food, lest it should be poisoned, from any but the governors of the
+places they should pass through. They travelled alongside of the Niger
+as far as Kagogie, where they embarked in a wretched native canoe,
+whilst their horses were sent on by land to Yaoorie.</p>
+
+<p>"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards," says Richard Lander, "when
+the river gradually widened to two miles, and continued as far as the
+eye could reach. It looked very much like an artificial canal, the
+steep banks confining the water like low walls, with vegetation beyond.
+In most places the water was extremely shallow, but in others it was
+deep enough to float a frigate. During the first two hours of the day
+the scenery was as interesting and picturesque as can be imagined. The
+banks were literally covered with hamlets and villages; fine trees,
+bending under the weight of their dark and impenetrable foliage,
+everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of the sun's rays, and,
+contrasted with the lively verdure of the little hills and plains,
+produced the most pleasing effect. All of a sudden came a total change
+of scene. To the banks of dark earth, clay, or sand, succeeded black,
+rugged rocks; and that wide mirror which reflected the skies, was
+divided into a thousand little channels by great sand-banks."</p>
+
+<p>A little further on the stream was barred by a wall of black rocks,
+with a single narrow opening, through which its waters rushed furiously
+down. At this place there is a portage, above which the Niger flows on,
+restored to its former breadth, repose, and grandeur.</p>
+
+<p>After three days' navigation, the Landers reached a village, where they
+found horses and men waiting for them, and whence they quickly made
+their way, through a continuously hilly country, to the town of
+Yaoorie, where they were welcomed by the sultan, a stout, dirty,
+slovenly man, who received them in a kind of farm-yard cleanly kept.
+The sultan, who was disappointed that Clapperton had not visited him,
+and that Richard Lander had omitted to pay his respects on his return
+journey, was very exacting to his present guests. He would give them
+none of the provisions they wanted, and did all he could to detain them
+as long as possible.</p>
+
+<p>We may add that food was very dear at Yaoorie, and that Richard Lander
+had no merchandise for barter except a quantity of "Whitechapel sharps,
+warranted not to cut in the eye," for the very good reason, he tells
+us, that most of them had no eyes at all, so that they were all but
+worthless.</p>
+
+<p>They were able, however, to turn to account some empty tins which had
+contained soups; the labels, although dirty and tarnished, were much
+admired by the natives, one of whom strutted proudly about for some
+days wearing an empty tin on his head, bearing four labels of
+"concentrated essence of meat."</p>
+
+<p>The Sultan would not permit the Englishmen to enter Nyffé or Bornou,
+and told them there was nothing for them but to go back to Boussa.
+Richard Lander at once wrote to the king of that town, asking
+permission to buy a canoe in which to go to Funda, as the road by land
+was infested by plundering Fellatahs.</p>
+
+<p>At last, on the 26th July, a messenger arrived from the King of Boussa
+to inquire into the strange conduct of the Sultan of Yaoorie, and the
+cause of his detention of the white men. After an imprisonment of five
+weeks the Landers were at last allowed to leave Yaoorie, which was now
+almost entirely inundated.</p>
+
+<p>The explorers now ascended the Niger to the confluence of the Cubbie,
+and then went down it again to Boussa, where the king, who was glad to
+see them again, received them with the utmost cordiality. They were,
+however, detained longer than they liked by the necessity of paying a
+visit to the King of Wow-wow, as well as by the difficulty of getting a
+boat. Moreover, there was some delay in the return of the messengers
+who had been sent by the King of Boussa to the different chiefs on the
+banks of the river, and lastly, Beken Rouah (the Dark Water) had to be
+consulted in order to ensure the safety of the travellers in their
+journey to the sea.</p>
+
+<p>On taking leave of the king, the brothers were at a loss to express
+their gratitude for his kindness and hospitality, his zeal in their
+cause, and the protection he was ever ready to extend during their stay
+of nearly two months in his capital. The natives showed great regret at
+losing their visitors, and knelt in the path of the brothers, praying
+with uplifted hands to their gods on their behalf.</p>
+
+<p>Now began the descent of the Niger. A halt had to be made at the island
+of Melalie, whose chief begged the white men to accept a very fine kid.
+We may be sure they were too polite to refuse it. The Landers next
+passed the large town of Congi, the Songa of Clapperton, and then
+Inguazilligie, the rendezvous of merchants travelling between Nouffe
+and the districts north-east of Borghoo. Below Inguazilligie they
+halted at Patashie, a large fertile island of great beauty, planted
+with palm groves and magnificent trees.</p>
+
+<p>As this place was not far from Wow-wow, Richard Lander sent a message
+to the king of that town, who, however, declined to deliver the canoe
+which had been purchased of him. The messenger failing in his purpose,
+the brothers were compelled themselves to visit the king, but as they
+expected, they got only evasive answers. They had now no choice, if
+they wished to continue their journey, but to make off with the canoes
+which had been lent them at Patashie. On the 4th October, after further
+delays, they resumed their course, and being carried down by the
+current, were soon out of sight of Lever, or Layaba, and its wretched
+inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>The first town the brothers came to was Bajiebo, a large and spacious
+city, which for dirt, noise, and confusion, could not be surpassed.
+Next came Leechee, inhabited by Nouffe people, and the island of Madje,
+where the Niger divides into three parts. Just beyond, the travellers
+suddenly found themselves opposite a remarkable rock, two hundred and
+eighty feet high, called Mount Kesa, which rises perpendicularly from
+the centre of the stream. This rock is greatly venerated by the
+natives, who believe it to be the favourite home of a beneficent
+genius.</p>
+<a name="ill39"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration039">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="596">
+			<img src="images/039.jpg" alt="Mount Kesa">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="596" align="center">
+			<small>Mount Kesa.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>At Belee, a little above Rabba, the brothers received a visit from the
+"King of the Dark Waters," chief of the island of Zagoshi, who appeared
+in a canoe of great length and unusual cleanliness, decked with scarlet
+cloth and gold lace. On the same day they reached the town of Zagoshi,
+opposite Rabba, and the second Fellatah town beyond Sackatoo.</p>
+
+<p>Mallam Dendo, chief of Zagoshi, was a cousin of Bello. He was a blind
+and very feeble old man in very bad health, who knew he had but a few
+years longer to reign, and his one thought was how best to secure the
+throne to his son.</p>
+
+<p>Although he had received very costly presents, Mallam Dendo was
+anything but satisfied, and declared that if the travellers did not
+make him other and more valuable gifts, he would require their guns,
+pistols, and powder, before he allowed them to leave Zagoshi.</p>
+
+<p>Richard Lander did not know what to do, when the gift of the tobé (or
+robe) of Mungo Park, which had been restored by the King of Boussa,
+threw Mallam Dendo into such ecstasies of joy that he declared himself
+the protector of the Europeans, promised to do all he could to help
+them to reach the sea, made them a present of several richly-coloured
+plaited mats, two bags of rice, and a bunch of bananas. These stores
+came just in time, for the whole stock of cloth, looking-glasses,
+razors, and pipes was exhausted, and the English had nothing left but a
+few needles and some silver bracelets as presents for the chiefs on the
+banks of the Niger.</p>
+
+<p>"Rabba," says Lander, "... seen from Zagoshi, appears to be a large,
+compact, clean, and well-built town, though it is unwalled, and is not
+otherwise fenced. It is irregularly built on the slope of a
+gently-rising hill, at the foot of which runs the Niger; and in point
+of rank, population, and wealth, it is the second city in the Fellatah
+dominions, Sackatoo alone being considered as its superior. It is
+inhabited by a mixed population of Fellatahs, Nyffeans, and emigrants
+and slaves from various countries, and is governed by a ruler who
+exercises sovereign authority over Rabba and its dependencies, and is
+styled sultan or king.... Rabba is famous for milk, oil, and honey. The
+market, when our messengers were there, appeared to be well supplied
+with bullocks, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, and abundance of
+poultry. Rice, and various sorts of corn, cotton cloth, indigo, saddles
+and bridles made of red and yellow leather, besides shoes, boots, and
+sandals, were offered for sale in great plenty. Although we observed
+about two hundred slaves for sale, none had been disposed of when we
+left the market in the evening.... Rabba is not very famous for the
+number or variety of its artificers, and yet in the manufacture of mats
+and sandals it is unrivalled. However, in all other handicrafts, Rabba
+yields to Zagoshi."</p>
+
+<p>The industry and love of labour displayed by the people of the latter
+town were an agreeable surprise in this lazy country. Its inhabitants,
+who are hospitable and obliging, are protected by the situation of
+their island against the Fellatahs. They are independent too, and
+recognize no authority but that of the "King of the Dark Waters," whom
+they obey because it is to their interest to do so.</p>
+
+<p>On the 16th October, the Landers at last started in a wretched canoe,
+for which the king had made them pay a high price, with paddles they
+had stolen, because no one would sell them any. This was the first time
+they had been able to embark on the Niger without help from the
+natives. They went down the river, whose width varies greatly, avoiding
+large towns as much as possible, for they had no means of satisfying
+the extortions of the chiefs. No incident of note occurred before Egga
+was reached, if we except a terrible storm which overtook the
+travellers when, unable to land in the marshes bordering the river,
+they had allowed their boat to drift with the current, and during which
+they were all but upset by the hippopotami playing about on the surface
+of the water. All this time the Niger flowed in an E.S.E. direction,
+now eight, now only two miles in width. The current was so rapid that
+the boat went at the rate of four or five miles an hour.</p>
+<a name="ill40"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration040">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="579">
+			<img src="images/040.jpg" alt="They were all but upset">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="579" align="center">
+			<small>"They were all but upset."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>On the 19th October the Landers passed the mouth of the Coudonia, which
+Richard had crossed near Cuttup on his first expedition, and a little
+later they came in sight of Egga. The landing-place was soon reached by
+way of a bay encumbered with an immense number of large and heavy
+canoes full of merchandise, with the prows daubed with blood, and
+covered with feathers, as charms against thieves.</p>
+
+<p>The chief, to whom the travellers were at once conducted, was an old
+man with a long white beard, whose appearance would have been venerable
+and patriarchal had he not laughed and played in quite a childish
+manner. The natives assembled in hundreds to see the strange-looking
+visitors, and the latter had to place three men as sentinels outside
+their door to keep the curious at a distance.</p>
+<a name="ill41"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration041">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="595">
+			<img src="images/041.jpg" alt="Square stool belonging to the King of Bornou">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="595" align="center">
+			<small>Square stool belonging to the King of Bornou.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Lander says that Benin and Portuguese cloths are sold at Egga by many
+of its inhabitants, so that it would appear that some kind of
+communication is kept up between the sea-coast and this place. The
+people are very speculative and enterprising, and numbers of them
+employ all their time solely in trading up and down the Niger. They
+live entirely in their canoes, over which they have a shed, that
+answers completely every purpose for which it is intended, so that, in
+their constant peregrinations, they have no need of any other dwelling
+or shelter than that which their canoes afford them....</p>
+
+<p>"Their belief," says Lander, "that we possessed the power of doing
+anything we wished, was at first amusing enough, but their
+importunities went so far that they became annoying. They applied to us
+for charms to avert wars and other national calamities, to make them
+rich, to prevent the crocodiles from carrying off the people, and for
+the chief of the fishermen to catch a canoe-load of fish every day,
+each request being accompanied with some sort of present, such as
+country beer, goora-nuts, cocoa-nuts, lemons, yams, rice, &amp;c., in
+quantity proportionate to the value of their request.</p>
+
+<p>"The curiosity of the people to see us is so intense, that we dare not
+stir out of doors, and therefore we are compelled to keep our door open
+all day long for the benefit of the air, and the only exercise which we
+can take is by walking round and round our hut like wild beasts in a
+cage. The people stand gazing at us with visible emotions of amazement
+and terror; we are regarded, in fact, in just the same light as the
+fiercest tigers in Europe. If we venture to approach too near the
+doorway, they rush backwards in a state of the greatest alarm and
+trepidation; but when we are at the opposite side of the hut they draw
+as near as their fears will permit them, in silence and caution.</p>
+
+<p>"Egga is a town of vast extent, and its population must be immense.
+Like all the towns on the banks of the Niger, it is inundated every
+year. We can but conclude that the natives have their own reasons for
+building their houses in situations which, in our eyes, are alike so
+inconvenient and unhealthy. Perhaps it may be because the soil of the
+surrounding districts consists of a black greasy mould of extraordinary
+fertility, supplying all the necessaries of life at the cost of very
+little trouble. Although the King of Egga looked more than a hundred
+years old, he was very gay and light-hearted. The chief people of the
+town met in his hut, and spent whole days in conversation. This company
+of greybeards, for they are all old, laugh so heartily at the
+sprightliness of their own wit, that it is an invariable practice, when
+any one passes by, to stop and listen outside, and they add to their
+noisy merriment so much good-will, that we hear nothing from the hut in
+which the aged group are revelling during the day but loud peals of
+laughter and shouts of applause."</p>
+
+<p>One day the old chief wished to show off his accomplishments of singing
+and dancing, expecting to astonish his visitors.</p>
+
+<p>"He frisked," says Lander, "beneath the burden of five-score, and
+shaking his hoary locks, capered over the ground to the manifest
+delight of the bystanders, whose plaudits, though confined, as they
+always are, to laughter, yet tickled the old man's fancy to that
+degree, that he was unable to keep up his dance any longer without the
+aid of a crutch. With its assistance he hobbled on a little while, but
+his strength failed him; he was constrained for the time to give over,
+and he set himself down at our side on the threshold of the hut. He
+would not acknowledge his weakness to us for the world, but endeavoured
+to pant silently, and suppress loud breathings, that we might not hear
+him. How ridiculous, yet how natural, is this vanity! He made other
+unavailing attempts to dance, and also made an attempt to sing, but
+nature would not second his efforts, and his weak piping voice was
+scarcely audible. The singers, dancers, and musicians, continued their
+noisy mirth, till we were weary of looking at and listening to them,
+and as bedtime was drawing near, we desired them to depart, to the
+infinite regret of the frivolous but merry old chief."</p>
+
+<p>Mallam-Dendo, however, tried to dissuade the English from continuing
+the descent of the river. Egga, he said, was the last Nouffe town, the
+power of the Fellatahs extended no further, and between it and the sea
+dwelt none but savage and barbarous races, always at war with each
+other. These rumours and the stories told by the natives to the
+Landers' people of the danger they would run of being murdered or sold
+as slaves so terrified the latter, that they refused to embark,
+declaring their intention of going back to Cape Coast Castle by the way
+that they came. Thanks to the firmness of the brothers this mutiny was
+quelled, and on the 22nd October the explorers left Egga, firing a
+parting salute of three musket-shots. A few miles further down, a
+sea-gull flew over their heads, a sure sign that they were approaching
+the sea, and with it, it appeared all but certain, the end of their
+wearisome journey.</p>
+
+<p>Several small and wretched villages, half under water, and a large town
+at the foot of a mountain, which looked ready to overwhelm it, the name
+of which the travellers could not learn, were passed in succession.
+They met a great number of canoes built like those on the Bonny and
+Calabar Rivers. The crews stared in astonishment at the white men whom
+they dared not address. The low marshy banks of the Niger were now
+gradually exchanged for loftier, richer, and more fertile districts.</p>
+
+<p>Kacunda, where the people of Egga had recommended Lander to halt, is on
+the western bank of the river. From a distance its appearance is
+singularly picturesque. The natives were at first alarmed at the
+appearance of the travellers. An old Mallam acting as Mohammedan priest
+and schoolmaster took them under his protection, and, thanks to him,
+the brothers received a warm welcome in the capital of the independent
+kingdom of Nouffé. The information collected in this town, or rather in
+this group of four villages, coincided with that obtained at Egga.
+Richard Lander therefore resolved to make the rest of the voyage by
+night and to load his four remaining guns and two pistols with balls
+and shot. To the great astonishment of the natives, who could not
+understand such contempt of danger, the explorers left Kacunda with
+three loud cheers, committing their cause to the hands of God. They
+passed several important towns, which they avoided. The river now wound
+a great deal, flowing from the south to south-east, and then to the
+south-west between lofty hills.</p>
+
+<p>On the 25th October, the English found themselves opposite the mouth of
+a large river. It was the Tchadda or Benuwe. At its junction with the
+Niger is an important town called Cutum Curaffi. After a narrow escape
+from being swallowed up in a whirlpool and crushed against the rocks,
+Lander having found a suitable spot showing signs of habitation,
+determined to land. That this place had been visited a little time
+previously, was proved by two burnt out fires with some broken
+calabashes, fragments of earthenware vessels, cocoa-nut shells, staves
+of powder-barrels, &amp;c., which the travellers picked up with some
+emotion, for they proved that the natives had had dealings with
+Europeans. Some women ran away out of a village which three of Lander's
+men entered with a view to get the materials for a fire. The exhausted
+explorers were resting on mats when they were suddenly surrounded by a
+crowd of half-naked men armed with guns, bows and arrows, cutlasses,
+iron barbs, and spears. The coolness and presence of mind of the
+brothers alone averted a struggle, the issue of which could not be
+dubious. "As we approached," says Lander, "we made all the signs and
+motions we could with our arms, to deter the chief and his people from
+firing on us. His quiver was dangling at his side, his bow was bent,
+and an arrow which was pointed at our breasts already trembled on the
+string, when we were within a few yards of his person. This was a
+highly critical moment, the next might be our last. But the hand of
+Providence averted the blow; for just as the chief was about to pull
+the fatal cord, a man that was nearest him rushed forward, and stayed
+his arm. At that instant we stood before him, and immediately held
+forth our hands; all of them trembled like aspen leaves; the chief
+looked up full in our faces, kneeling on the ground; light seemed to
+flash from his dark, rolling eyes, his body was convulsed all over, as
+though he were enduring the utmost torture, and with a timorous yet
+undefinable expression of countenance, in which all the passions of our
+nature were strangely blended, he drooped his head, eagerly grasped our
+proffered hands, and burst into tears. This was a sign of friendship;
+harmony followed, and war and bloodshed were thought of no more. It was
+happy for us that our white faces and calm behaviour produced the
+effect it did on these people; in another minute our bodies would have
+been as full of arrows as a porcupine's is full of quills. 'I thought
+you were children of heaven fallen from the skies,' said the chief, in
+explanation of this sudden change."</p>
+
+<p>This scene took place in the famous market-town of Bocqua, of which the
+travellers had so often heard, whither the people come up from the
+coast to exchange the merchandise of the whites for slaves brought in
+large numbers from Funda, on the opposite bank.</p>
+
+<p>The information obtained at Bocqua was most satisfactory; the sea was
+only ten days' journey off. There was no danger in going down the
+river, the chief said, though the people on the banks were a bad lot.</p>
+
+<p>Following the advice of this chief, the travellers passed the fine town
+of Atta without stopping, and halted at Abbagaca, where the river
+divides into several branches, and whose chief showed insatiable greed.
+Refusing to halt at several villages, whose inhabitants begged for a
+sight of the white strangers, they were finally obliged to land at the
+village of Damuggo, where a little man wearing a waistcoat which had
+once formed part of a uniform, hailed them in English, crying out:
+"Halloa, ho! you English, come here!" He was an emissary from the King
+of Bonny come to buy slaves for the master.</p>
+
+<p>The chief of Damuggo, who had never before seen white men, received the
+explorers very kindly, held public rejoicings in their honour and
+detained them with constant fêtes until the 4th November. Although the
+fetich consulted by him presaged that they would meet with a thousand
+dangers before reaching the sea, this monarch supplied them with an
+extra canoe, some rowers, and a guide.</p>
+<a name="ill42"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Illustration042">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="746">
+			<img src="images/042.jpg" alt="Map of the Lower Course of the Djoliba, Kouara, Quoora, or Niger">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="746" align="left">
+			<small><small>Gravé par E. Morieu.</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The sinister predictions of the fetich were soon fulfilled. John and
+Richard Lander were embarked in different boats. As they passed a large
+town called Kirree they were stopped by war-canoes, each containing
+forty men wearing European clothes, minus the trousers.</p>
+
+<p>Each canoe carried what at first sight appeared to be the Union Jack
+flying from a long bamboo cane fixed in the stern, a four or six
+pounder was lashed to each prow, and every black sailor was provided
+with a musket.</p>
+
+<p>The two brothers were taken to Kirree, where a palaver was held upon
+their fate. Fortunately the Mallams or Mohammedan priests interfered in
+their favour, and some of their property was restored to them, but the
+best part had gone to the bottom of the river with John Lander's canoe.</p>
+
+<p>"To my great satisfaction," says Lander, "I immediately recognized the
+box containing our books, and one of my brother's journals; the
+medicine-chest was by its side, but both were filled with water. A
+large carpet bag, containing all our wearing apparel, was lying cut
+open, and deprived of its contents, with the exception of a shirt, a
+pair of trousers, and a waistcoat. Many valuable articles which it had
+contained were gone. The whole of my journal, with the exception of a
+note-book with remarks from Rabba to this place, was lost. Four guns,
+one of which had been the property of the late Mr. Park, four
+cutlasses, and two pistols, were gone. Nine elephants' tusks, the
+finest I had seen in the country, which had been given us by the kings
+of Wow-wow and Boussa; a quantity of ostrich feathers, some handsome
+leopard skins, a great variety of seeds, all our buttons, cowries, and
+needles, which were necessary for us to purchase provisions with, all
+were missing, and said to have been sunk in the river."</p>
+
+<p>This was like going down in port. After crossing Africa from Badagry to
+Boussa, escaping all the dangers of navigating the Niger, getting free
+from the hands of so many rapacious chiefs, to be shipwrecked six day's
+journey from the sea, to be made slaves of or condemned to death just
+on the eve of making known to Europe the results of so many sufferings
+endured, so many dangers escaped, so many obstacles happily surmounted!
+To have traced the course of the Niger from Boussa, to be on the point
+of determining the exact position of its mouth and then to find
+themselves stopped by wretched pirates was really too much, and bitter
+indeed were the reflections of the brothers during the interminable
+palaver upon their fate.</p>
+
+<p>Although their stolen property was partially restored to them, and the
+negro who had begun the attack upon them was condemned to be beheaded,
+the brothers were none the less regarded as prisoners, and they were
+marched off to Obie, king of the country, who would decide what was to
+be done with them. It was evident that the robbers were not natives of
+the country, but had only entered it with a view to pillage. They
+probably counted on trading in two or three such market-towns as Kirree
+if they did not meet with any boats but such as were too strong to be
+plundered. For the rest, all the tribes of this part of the Niger
+seemed to be at daggers drawn with each other, and the trade in
+provisions was carried on under arms. After two days' row the canoes
+came in sight of Eboe, at a spot where the stream divides into three
+"rivers" of great width, with marshy level banks covered with
+palm-trees. An hour later one of the boatmen, a native of Eboe, cried,
+"There is my country." Here fresh difficulties awaited the travellers.
+Obie, king of Eboe, a young man with a refined and intelligent
+countenance, received the white men with cordiality. His dress, which
+reminded his visitors of that of the King of Yarriba, was adorned with
+such a quantity of coral that he might have been called the coral king.</p>
+
+<p>Obie seemed to be affected by the account the English gave of the
+struggle in which they had lost all their merchandise, but the aid he
+gave them was by no means proportioned to the warmth of the sentiments
+which he expressed, indeed he let them all but die of hunger.</p>
+
+<p>"The Eboe people," says the narrative, "like most Africans, are
+extremely indolent, and cultivate yams, Indian corn, and plantains
+only. They have abundance of goats and fowls, but few sheep are to be
+seen, and no bullocks. The city, which has no other name than the Eboe
+country, is situated on an open plain; it is immensely large, contains
+a vast population, and is the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It
+has, for a series of years, been the principal slave-mart for native
+traders from the coast, between the Bonny and Old Calabar rivers; and
+for the production of its palm-oil it has obtained equal celebrity.
+Hundreds of men from the rivers mentioned above come up for the purpose
+of trade, and numbers of them are at present residing in canoes in
+front of the town. Most of the oil purchased by Englishmen at the Bonny
+and adjacent rivers is brought from thence, as are nearly all the
+slaves which are annually exported from those places by the French,
+Spaniards, and Portuguese. It has been told us by many that the Eboe
+people are confirmed anthropophagi; and this opinion is more prevalent
+among the tribes bordering on that kingdom, than with the natives of
+more remote districts."</p>
+
+<p>From what the travellers could learn, it was pretty certain that Obie
+would not let them go without exacting a considerable ransom. He may
+doubtless have been driven to this by the importunity of his
+favourites, but it was more likely the result of the greed of the
+people of Bonny and Brass, who quarrelled as to which tribe should
+carry off the English to their country.</p>
+
+<p>A son of the Chief of Bonny, King Pepper, a native named Gun, brother
+of King Boy, and their father King Forday, who with King Jacket govern
+the whole of the Brass country, were the most eager in their demands,
+and produced as proofs of their honourable intentions the testimonials
+given to them by the European captains with whom they had business
+relations.</p>
+
+<p>One of these documents, signed James Dow, captain of the brig "Susan"
+of Liverpool, and dated from the most important river of the Brass
+Country, September, 1830, ran thus:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Dow states that he never met with a set of greater scoundrels
+than the natives generally, and the pilots in particular."</p>
+
+<p>It goes on in a similar strain heaping curses upon the natives, and
+charging them with having endeavoured to wreck Dow's vessel at the
+mouth of the river with a view to dividing his property amongst them.
+King Jacket was designated as an arrant rogue and a desperate thief.
+Boy was the only one of common honesty or trustworthiness.</p>
+
+<p>After an endless palaver, Obie declared that according to the laws and
+customs of the country he had a right to look upon the Landers and
+their people as his property, but that, not wishing to abuse his
+privileges, he would set them free in exchange for the value of twenty
+slaves in English merchandise. This decision, which Richard Lander
+tried in vain to shake, plunged the brothers into the depths of
+despair, a state of mind soon succeeded by an apathy and indifference
+so complete that they could not have made the faintest effort to
+recover their liberty. Add to these mental sufferings the physical
+weakness to which they were reduced by want of food, and we shall have
+some idea of their state of prostration. Without resources of any kind,
+robbed of their needles, cowries, and merchandise, they were reduced to
+the sad necessity of begging their bread. "But we might as well have
+addressed our petitions to the stones or trees," says Lander; "we might
+have spared ourselves the mortification of a refusal. We never
+experienced a more stinging sense of our own humbleness and imbecility
+than on such occasions, and never had we greater need of patience and
+lowliness of spirit. In most African towns and villages we have been
+regarded as demigods, and treated in consequence with universal
+kindness, civility, and veneration; but here, alas, what a contrast! we
+are classed with the most degraded and despicable of mankind, and are
+become slaves in a land of ignorance and barbarism, whose savage
+natives have treated us with brutality and contempt."</p>
+
+<p>It was Boy who finally achieved the rescue of the Landers, for he
+consented to pay to Obie the ransom he demanded for them and their
+people. Boy himself was very moderate, asking for nothing in return for
+his trouble and the risk he ran in taking the white men to Brass, but
+fifteen bars or fifteen slaves, and a barrel of rum. Although this
+demand was exorbitant, Lander did not hesitate to write an order on
+Richard Lake, captain of an English vessel at anchor in Brass river,
+for thirty-six bars.</p>
+
+<p>The king's canoe, on which the brothers embarked on the 12th November,
+carried sixty persons, forty of whom were rowers. It was hollowed out
+of a single tree-trunk, measured more than fifty feet long, carried a
+four-pounder in the prow, an arsenal of cutlasses and grape-shot, and
+was laden with merchandise of every kind. The vast tracts of cultivated
+land on either side of the river showed that the population was far
+more numerous than would have been supposed. The scenery was flat,
+open, and varied; and the soil, a rich black mould, produced luxuriant
+trees, and green shrubs of every shade. At seven p.m. on the 11th
+November the canoe left the chief branch of the Niger and entered the
+Brass river. An hour later, Richard Lander recognized with
+inexpressible delight tidal waves.</p>
+<a name="ill43"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration043">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="581">
+			<img src="images/043.jpg" alt="It was hollowed out of a single tree-trunk">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="581" align="center">
+			<small>"It was hollowed out of a single tree-trunk."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>A little farther on Boy's canoe came up with those of Gun and Forday.
+The latter was a venerable-looking old man, in spite of his wretched
+semi-European semi-native clothing and a very strong predilection for
+rum, of which he consumed a great quantity, although his manners and
+conversation betrayed no signs of excessive drinking.</p>
+
+<p>That was a strange escort which accompanied the two Englishmen as far
+as the town of Brass.</p>
+
+<p>"The canoes," says Lander, "were following each other up the river in
+tolerable order, each of them displaying three flags. In the first was
+King Boy, standing erect and conspicuous, his headdress of feathers
+waving with the movements of his body, which had been chalked in
+various fantastic figures, rendered more distinct by its natural
+colour; his hands were resting on the barbs of two immense spears,
+which at intervals he darted violently into the bottom of the canoe, as
+if he were in the act of killing some formidable wild animal under his
+feet. In the bows of all the other canoes fetish priests were dancing,
+and performing various extraordinary antics, their persons, as well as
+those of the people with them, being chalked over in the same manner as
+that of King Boy; and, to crown the whole, Mr. Gun, the little military
+gentleman, was most actively employed, his canoe now darting before and
+now dropping behind the rest, adding not a little to the imposing
+effect of the whole scene by the repeated discharges of his cannon."</p>
+
+<p>Brass consists of two towns, one belonging to Forday, the other to King
+Jacket. The priests performed some curious ceremonies before
+disembarking, evidently having reference to the whites. Was the result
+of the consultation of the fetish of the town favourable or not to the
+visitors? The way the natives treated them would answer that question.
+Before he set foot on land Richard Lander, to his great delight,
+recognized a white man on the banks. He was the captain of a Spanish
+schooner at anchor in the river. The narrative goes on to say:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Of all the wretched, filthy, and contemptible places in this world of
+ours none can present to the eye of a stranger so miserable an
+appearance, or can offer such disgusting and loathsome sights, as this
+abominable Brass Town. Dogs, goats, and other animals run about the
+dirty streets half-starved, whose hungry looks can only be exceeded by
+the famishing appearance of the men, women, and children, which
+bespeaks the penury and wretchedness to which they are reduced; whilst
+the persons of many of them are covered with odious boils, and their
+huts are falling to the ground from neglect and decay."</p>
+
+<p>Another place, called Pilot Town by the Europeans, on account of the
+number of pilots living in it, is situated at the mouth of the river
+Nun, seventy miles from Brass. King Forday demanded four bars before
+the Landers left the town, saying it was customary for every white man
+who came to Brass by the river to make that payment. It was impossible
+to evade compliance, and Lander drew another bill on Captain Lake. At
+this price Richard Lander obtained permission to go down in Boy's royal
+canoe to the English brig stationed at the mouth of the river. His
+brother and his servants were not to be set free until the return of
+the king. On his arrival on the brig, Lander's astonishment and shame
+was extreme when he found that Lake refused to give him any help
+whatever. The instructions given to the brothers from the ministry were
+read, to prove that he was not an impostor; but the captain answered,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"If you think that you have a &mdash;&mdash; fool to deal with, you are mistaken;
+I'll not give a &mdash;&mdash; flint for your bill. I would not give a &mdash;&mdash; for
+it."</p>
+
+<p>Overwhelmed with grief at such unexpected behaviour from a
+fellow-countryman, Richard Lander returned to Boy's canoe, not knowing
+to whom to apply, and asked his escort to take him to Bonny, where
+there were a number of English vessels. The king refused to do this,
+and the explorer was obliged to try once more to move the captain,
+begging him to give him at least ten muskets, which might possibly
+satisfy Forday.</p>
+
+<p>"I have told you already," answered Lake, "that I will not let you have
+even a flint, so bother me no more."</p>
+
+<p>"But I have a brother and eight people at Brass Town," rejoined Lander,
+"and if you do not intend to pay King Boy, at least persuade him to
+bring them here, or else he will poison or starve my brother before I
+can get any assistance from a man-of-war, and sell all my people."</p>
+
+<p>"If you can get them on board," replied the captain, "I will take them
+away; but as I have told you before, you do not get a flint from me."</p>
+
+<p>At last Lander persuaded Boy to go back and fetch his brother and his
+people. The king at first declined to do so without receiving some
+payment on account, and it was only with difficulty that he was induced
+to forego this demand. When Lake found out that Lander's servants were
+able-bodied men, who could replace the sailors he had lost by death or
+who were down with fever, he relented a little. This yielding mood did
+not, however, last long, for he declared that if John and his people
+did not come in three days he would start without them. In vain did
+Richard prove to him beyond a doubt that if he did so the white men
+would be sold as slaves. The captain would not listen to him, only
+answering, "I can't help it; I shall wait no longer." Such inhumanity
+as this is fortunately very rare; and a wretch who could thus insult
+those not merely his equals, but so much his superiors, ought to be
+pilloried. At last, on the 24th November, after weathering a strong
+breeze which made the passage of the bar very rough and all but
+impossible, John Lander arrived on board. He had had to bear a good
+many reproaches from Boy, for whom, it must be confessed, there was
+some excuse; for had he not at his own cost rescued the brothers and
+their people from slavery, brought them down in his own canoe, and fed
+them, although very badly, all on the strength of their promise to pay
+him with as much beef and rum as he could consume? whereas he was,
+after all, roughly received by Lake, told that his advances would never
+be refunded, and treated as a thief. Certainly he had cause to complain
+and any one else would have made his prisoners pay dearly for the
+disappointment of so many hopes, and the loss of so much money.</p>
+
+<p>For all this, however, Boy brought John Lander safely to the brig.
+Captain Lake received the traveller pretty cordially, but declared his
+intention of making the king go back without so much as an obolus. Poor
+Boy was full of the most gloomy forebodings. His haughty manner was
+exchanged for an air of deprecating humility. An abundant meal was
+placed before him, but he scarcely touched it. Richard Lander,
+disgusted with the stinginess and bad faith of Lake, and unable to keep
+his promises, ransacked all his possessions; and finding, at last, five
+silver bracelets and a sabre of native manufacture, which he had
+brought from Yarriba, he offered these to Boy, who accepted them.
+Finally, the king screwed up courage enough to make his demand to the
+captain, who, in a voice of thunder which it was difficult to believe
+could have come from such a feeble body, declined to accede to it,
+enforcing his refusal with a shower of oaths and threats, such as made
+Boy, who saw, moreover, that the vessel was ready to sail, beat a hasty
+retreat, and hurry off to his canoe.</p>
+
+<p>Thus ended the vicissitudes of the Brothers Lander's journey. They were
+in some danger in crossing the bar, but that was their last. They
+reached Fernando Po, and then the Calabar River where they embarked on
+the <i>Carnarvon</i> for Rio Janeiro, at which port Admiral Baker, then
+commanding the station, got them a passage on board a transport-ship.</p>
+
+<p>On the 9th June they disembarked at Portsmouth. Their first care, after
+sending an account of their journey to Lord Goderich, then Colonial
+Secretary, was to inform that official of the conduct of Captain Lake,
+conduct which was of a nature to compromise the credit of the English
+Government. Orders were at once given by the minister for the payment
+of the sums agreed upon, which were perfectly just and reasonable.</p>
+
+<p>Thus was completely and finally solved the geographical problem which
+had for so many centuries occupied the attention of the civilized
+world, and been the subject of so many different conjectures. The
+Niger, or as the natives call it, the Joliba, or Quorra, is not
+connected with the Nile, and does not lose itself in the desert sands
+or in the waters of Lake Tchad; it flows in a number of different
+branches into the ocean on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, at the
+point known as Cape Formosa. The entire glory of this discovery,
+foreseen though it was by scientific men, belongs to the Brothers
+Lander. The vast extent of country traversed by the Niger between
+Yaoorie and the sea was completely unknown before their journey.</p>
+
+<p>So soon as the discoveries made by Lander became known in England,
+several merchants formed themselves into a company for developing the
+resources of the new districts. In July, 1832, they equipped two
+steamers, the <i>Quorra</i> and <i>Alburka</i>, which, under the command of
+Messrs. Laird, Oldfield, and Richard Lander, appended the Niger as far
+as Bocqua. The results of this commercial expedition were deplorable.
+Not only was there absolutely no trade to be carried on with the
+natives, but the crews of the vessels were decimated by fever. Finally,
+Richard Lander, who had so often gone up and down the river, was
+mortally wounded by the natives, on the 27th January, 1834, and died on
+the morning of 5th February, at Fernando Po.</p>
+
+<p>To complete our account of the exploration of Africa during the period
+under review, we have still to speak of the various surveys of the
+valley of the Nile, the most important of which were those by
+Cailliaud, Russegger, and Rüppell.</p>
+
+<p>Frederic Cailliaud was born at Nantes in 1787, and arrived in Egypt in
+1815, having previously visited Holland, Italy, Sicily, part of Greece,
+and European or Asiatic Turkey, where he traded in precious stones. His
+knowledge of geology and mineralogy won for him a cordial reception
+from Mehemet Ali, who immediately on his arrival commissioned him to
+explore the course of the Nile and the desert.</p>
+
+<p>This first trip resulted in the discovery of emerald mines at Labarah,
+mentioned by Arab authors, which had been abandoned for centuries. In
+the excavations in the mountain Cailliaud found the lamps, crowbars,
+ropes, and tools used in working these mines by men in the employ of
+Ptolemy. Near the quarries the traveller discovered the ruins of a
+little town, which was probably inhabited by the ancient miners. To
+prove the reality of his valuable discovery he took back ten pounds'
+weight of emeralds to Mehemet Ali.</p>
+
+<p>Another result of this journey was the discovery by the French explorer
+of the old road from Coptos to Berenice for the trade of India.</p>
+
+<p>From September, 1819, to the end of 1832, Cailliaud, accompanied by a
+former midshipman named Letorzec, was occupied in exploring all the
+known oases east of Egypt, and in tracing the Nile to 10&deg; N.
+lat. On his first journey he reached Wady Halfa, and for his second
+trip he made that place his starting-point. A fortunate accident did
+much to aid his researches. This was the appointment of Ismail Pacha,
+son of Mehemet Ali, to the command of an expedition to Nubia. To this
+expedition Cailliaud attached himself.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Daraou in November, 1820, Cailliaud arrived, on the 5th January
+in the ensuing year, at Dongola, and reached Mount Barka in the Chaguy
+country, where are a vast number of ruins of temples, pyramids, and
+other monuments. The fact of this district bearing the name of Merawe
+had given rise to an opinion that in it was situated the ancient
+capital of Ethiopia. Cailliaud was enabled to show this to be
+erroneous.</p>
+<a name="ill44"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration044">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="583">
+			<img src="images/044.jpg" alt="View of a Merawe temple">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="583" align="center">
+			<small>View of a Merawe temple.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The French explorer, accompanying Ismail Pacha in the character of a
+mineralogist beyond Berber, on a quest for gold-mines, arrived at
+Shendy. He then went with Letorzec to determine the position of the
+junction of the Atbara with the Nile; and at Assour, not far from 17&deg;
+N. lat., he discovered the ruins of an extensive ancient town.
+It was Meroë. Pressing on in a southerly direction between the 15th and
+16th degrees of N. lat., Cailliaud next identified the mouth of the
+Bahr-el-Abiad, or White Nile, visited the ruins of Saba, the mouth of
+the Rahad, the ancient Astosaba, Sennaar, the river Gologo, the Fazoele
+country, and the Toumat, a tributary of the Nile, finally reaching the
+Singue country between the two branches of the river. Cailliaud was the
+first explorer to penetrate from the north so near to the equator;
+Browne had turned back at 16&deg; 10', Bruce at 11&deg;.
+To Cailliaud and Letorzec we owe many observations on latitude and
+longitude, some valuable remarks on the variation of the magnetic
+needle, and details of the climate, temperature, and nature of the
+soil, together with a most interesting collection of animals and
+botanical specimens. Lastly, the travellers made plans of all the
+monuments beyond the second cataract.</p>
+<a name="ill45"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration045">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587">
+			<img src="images/045.jpg" alt="The Second Cataract of the Nile">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587" align="center">
+			<small>The Second Cataract of the Nile.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The two Frenchmen had preluded their discoveries by an excursion to the
+oasis of Siwâh. At the end of 1819 they left Fayum with a few
+companions, and entered the Libyan desert. In fifteen days, and after a
+brush with the Arabs, they reached Siwâh, having on their way taken
+measurements of every part of the temple of Jupiter Ammon, and
+determined, as Browne had done, its exact geographical position. A
+little later a military expedition was sent to this same oasis, in
+which Drovetti collected new and very valuable documents supplementing
+those obtained by Cailliaud and Letorzec. They afterwards visited
+successively the oasis of Falafre, never before explored by a European,
+that of Dakel, and Khargh, the chief place of the Theban oasis. The
+documents collected on this journey were sent to France, to the care of
+M. Jomard, who founded on them his work called "Voyage à l'Oasis de
+Siouah."</p>
+<a name="ill46"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration046">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="585">
+			<img src="images/046.jpg" alt="Temple of Jupiter Ammon">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="585" align="center">
+			<small>Temple of Jupiter Ammon.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>A few years later Edward Rüppell devoted seven or eight years to the
+exploration of Nubia, Sennaar, Kordofan, and Abyssinia in 1824, he
+ascended the White Nile for more than sixty leagues above its mouth.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, in 1836 to 1838, Joseph Russegger, superintendent of the
+Austrian mines, visited the lower portion of the course of the
+Bahr-el-Abiad. This official journey was followed by the important and
+successful surveys afterwards made by order of Mehemet Ali in the same
+regions.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap3"></a>
+<h3>CHAPTER III.</h3>
+<center>THE ORIENTAL SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT AND AMERICAN DISCOVERIES.</center>
+
+<blockquote>The decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions, and the study of Assyrian
+remains up to 1840&mdash;Ancient Iran and the Avesta&mdash;The survey of India
+and the study of Hindustani&mdash;The exploration and measurement of the
+Himalaya mountains&mdash;The Arabian Peninsula&mdash;Syria and Palestine&mdash;Central
+Asia and Alexander von Humboldt&mdash;Pike at the sources of the
+Mississippi, Arkansas, and Red River&mdash;Major Long's two
+expeditions&mdash;General Cass&mdash;Schoolcraft at the sources of the
+Mississippi&mdash;The exploration of New Mexico&mdash;Archæological expeditions
+in Central America&mdash;Scientific expeditions in Brazil&mdash;Spix and
+Martin&mdash;Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied&mdash;D'Orbigny and American man.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>Although the discoveries which we are now to relate are not strictly
+speaking geographical, they nevertheless throw such a new light on
+several early civilizations, and have done so much to extend the domain
+of history and ideas, that we are compelled to dedicate a few words to
+them.</p>
+
+<p>The reading of cuneiform inscriptions, and the decipherment of
+hieroglyphics are events so important in their results, they reveal to
+us so vast a number of facts hitherto unknown, or distorted in the more
+or less marvellous narratives of the ancient historians Diodorus,
+Ctesias, and Herodotus, that it is impossible to pass over scientific
+discoveries of such value in silence.</p>
+
+<p>Thanks to them, we form an intimate acquaintance with a whole world,
+with an extremely advanced civilization, with manners, habits, and
+customs differing essentially from our own. How strange it seems to
+hold in our hands the accounts of the steward of some great lord or
+governor of a province, or to read such romances as those of <i>Setna</i>
+and the <i>Two Brothers</i>, or stories such as that of the <i>Predestined
+Prince</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Those buildings of vast proportions, those superb temples, magnificent
+hypogæa, and sculptured obelisks, were once nothing more to us than
+sumptuous monuments, but now that the inscriptions upon them have been
+read, they relate to us the life of the kings who built them, and the
+circumstances of their erection.</p>
+
+<p>How many names of races not mentioned by Greek historians, how many
+towns now lost, how many of the smallest details of the religion, art,
+and daily life, as well as of the political and military events of the
+past, are revealed to us by the hieroglyphic and cuneiform
+inscriptions.</p>
+
+<p>Not only do we now see into the daily life of these ancient peoples, of
+whom we had formerly but a very superficial knowledge, but we get an
+idea even of their literature. The day is perhaps not far distant when
+we shall know as much of the life of the Egyptians in the eighteenth
+century before Christ as that of our forefathers in the seventeenth and
+eighteenth centuries of our own era.</p>
+
+<p>Carsten Niebuhr was the first to make and bring to Europe an exact and
+complete copy of inscriptions at Persepolis in an unknown character.
+Many attempts had been made to explain them, but all had been vain,
+until in 1802 Grotefend, the learned Hanoverian philologist, succeeded,
+by an inspiration of genius, in solving the mystery in which they were
+enveloped.</p>
+
+<p>Truly these cuneiform characters were strange and difficult to
+decipher! Imagine a collection of nails variously arranged, and forming
+groups horizontally placed. What did these groups signify? Did they
+represent sounds and articulations, or, like the letters of our
+alphabet, complete words? Had they the ideographic value of Chinese
+written characters? What was the language hidden in them? These were
+the problems to be solved! It appeared probable that the inscriptions
+brought from Persepolis were written in the language of the ancient
+Persians, but Rask, Bopp, and Lassen had not yet studied the Iranian
+idioms and proved their affinity with Sanskrit.</p>
+
+<p>It would be beyond our province to give an account of the ingenious
+deductions, the skilful guesses, and the patient groping through which
+Grotefend finally achieved the recognition of an alphabetic system of
+writing, and succeeded in separating from certain groups of words what
+he believed to be the names of Darius and Xerxes, thus attaining a
+knowledge of several letters, by means of which he made out other
+words. It is enough for us to say that the key was found by him, and to
+others was left the task of completing and perfecting his work.</p>
+
+<p>More than thirty years passed by, however, before any notable progress
+was made in these studies. It was our learned fellow-countryman Eugène
+Burnouf who gave them a decided impulse. Turning to account his
+knowledge of Sanskrit and Zend, he found that the language of the
+inscriptions of Persepolis was but a Zend dialect used in Bactriana,
+which was still spoken in the sixth century <small>B.C.</small>, and in which the
+books of Zoroaster were written. Burnouf's pamphlet bears date 1836. At
+the same period Lassen, a German scholar of Bonn, came to the same
+conclusion on the same grounds.</p>
+
+<p>The inscriptions already discovered were soon all deciphered; and with
+the exception of a few signs, on the meaning of which scholars were not
+quite agreed, the entire alphabet became known. But the foundations
+alone were laid; the building was still far from finished. The
+Persepolitan inscriptions appeared to be repeated in three parallel
+columns. Might not this be a triple version of the same inscription in
+the three chief languages of the Achæmenian Empire, namely, the
+Persian, Median, and Assyrian or Babylonian. This guess proved correct;
+and owing to the decipherment of one of the inscriptions, a test was
+obtained, and the same plan was followed as that of Champollion with
+regard to the Rosetta stone, on which was the tri-lingual inscription
+in Greek, Demotic or Enchorial, and hieroglyphic characters.</p>
+
+<p>In the second and third inscriptions were recognized Syro-Chaldee,
+which, like Hebrew, Himyaric, and Arabic, belong to the Semitic group,
+and a third idiom, to which the name of Medic was given, resembling the
+dialects of the Turks and Tartars. But it would be presumptuous of us
+to enlarge upon these researches. That was to be the task of the Danish
+scholar Westergaard, of the Frenchmen De Saulcy and Oppert, and of the
+Englishmen Morris and Rawlinson, not to mention others less celebrated.
+We shall have to return to this subject later.</p>
+
+<p>The knowledge of Sanskrit, and the investigation of Brahmanic
+literature, had inaugurated a scientific movement which has gone on
+ever since with increasing energy.</p>
+
+<p>Long before Nineveh and Babylon were known as nations, a vast country,
+called Iran by orientalists, which included Persia, Afghanistan, and
+Beloochistan, was the scene of an advanced civilization, with which is
+connected the name of Zoroaster, who was at once a conqueror, a
+law-giver, and the founder of a religion. The disciples of Zoroaster,
+persecuted at the time of the Mohammedan conquest, and driven from
+their ancient home, where their mode of worship was still preserved,
+took refuge, under the name of Parsees, in the north-west of India.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the last century, the Frenchman Aquetil Duperron brought
+to Europe an exact copy of the religious books of the Parsees, written
+in the language of Zoroaster. He translated them, and for sixty years
+all the <i>savants</i> had found in them the source of all their religious
+and philological notions of Iran. These books are known under the name
+of the Zend-Avesta, a word which comprises the name of the language,
+<i>Zend</i>, and the title of the book, <i>Avesta</i>.</p>
+
+<p>As the knowledge of Sanskrit increased, however, that branch of science
+required to be studied afresh by the light of the new method. In 1826
+the Danish philologist Rask, and later Eugène Burnouf, with his
+profound knowledge of Sanskrit, and by the help of a translation in
+that language recently discovered in India, turned once more to the
+study of the Zend. In 1834 Burnouf published a masterly treatise on the
+Yacna, which marked an epoch. From the resemblance between the archaic
+Sanskrit and the Zend came the recognition of the common origin of the
+two languages, and the relationship, or rather, the identity, of the
+races who speak them. Originally the names of the deities, the
+traditions, the generic appellation, that of Aryan, of the two peoples,
+are the same, to say nothing of the similarity of their customs. But it
+is needless to dwell on the importance of this discovery, which has
+thrown an entirely new light on the infancy of the human race, of which
+for so many centuries nothing was known.</p>
+
+<p>From the close of the eighteenth century, that is to say from the time
+when the English first obtained a secure footing in India, the physical
+study of the country was vigorously carried on, outstripping of course
+for a time that of the ethnology and kindred subjects, which require
+for their prosecution a more settled country and less exciting times.
+It must be owned, however, that knowledge of the races of the country
+to be controlled is as essential to the government as it is to
+commercial enterprise; and in 1801 Lord Wellesley, as Governor for the
+Company, recognizing the importance of securing a good map of the
+English territories, commissioned Brigadier William Lambton, to
+connect, by means of a trigonometrical survey, the eastern and western
+banks of the Indus with the observatory of Madras. Lambton was not
+content with the mere accomplishment of this task. He laid down with
+precision one arc of the meridian from Cape Comorin to the village of
+Takoor-Kera, fifteen miles south-east of Ellichpoor. The amplitude of
+this arc exceeded twelve degrees. With the aid of competent officers,
+amongst whom we must mention Colonel Everest, the Government of India
+would have hailed the completion of the task of its engineers long
+before 1840, if the successive annexation of new territories had not
+constantly added to the extent of ground to be covered.</p>
+
+<p>At about the same time with this progress in our knowledge of the
+geography of India an impulse was given to the study of the literature
+of India.</p>
+
+<p>In 1776 an extract from the most important native codes, then for the
+first time translated under the title of the Code of the Gentoos<small><small><sup>1</sup></small></small> was
+published in London. Nine years later the Asiatic Society was founded
+in Calcutta by Sir William Jones, the first who thoroughly mastered the
+Sanskrit language. In "Asiatic Researches," published by this society,
+were collected the results of all scientific investigations relating to
+India. In 1789, Jones published his translation of the drama of
+S'akuntala, that charming specimen of Hindu literature, so full of
+feeling and refinement. Sanskrit grammars and dictionaries were now
+multiplied, and a regular rivalry was set on foot in British India,
+which would undoubtedly soon have spread to Europe, had not the
+continental blockade prevented the introduction of works published
+abroad. At this time an Englishman named Hamilton, a prisoner of war in
+Paris, studied the Oriental MSS. in the library of the French capital,
+and taught Frederick Schlegel the rudiments of Sanskrit, which it was
+no longer necessary to go to India to learn.</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>1</sup></small> Gentoo was the name given by old English writers to the
+natives of Hindustan, and is now obsolete, having been superseded by
+that of Hindoo.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>Lassen was Schlegel's pupil, and together they studied the literature
+and antiquities of India, examining, translating, and publishing the
+original texts; whilst at the same time Franz Bopp devoted himself to
+the study of the language, making his grammars accessible to all, and
+coming to the conclusion which was then startling, although it is now
+generally accepted, of the common origin of the Indo-European
+languages.</p>
+
+<p>It was proved that the Vedas, that collection of sacred writings held
+in too universal veneration to be tampered with, were written in a very
+ancient and very pure idiom which had not been revived, and whose close
+resemblance with the Zend, put back the date of the composition of the
+books beyond the time of the separation of the Aryan family into two
+branches. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana, dating from the Brahminical
+or the period succeeding that of the Vedas, were next studied, together
+with the Puranas. Owing to a profounder knowledge of the language and a
+more intimate acquaintance with the mythology of the Hindus, scholars
+were able to fix approximately the date of the composition of these
+poems, to ascertain the numberless interpolations, and to extract
+everything of actual historical or geographical value from those
+marvellous allegories.</p>
+
+<p>The result of these patient and minute investigations was a conviction
+that the Celtic, Greek, Latin, Germanic, Slave, and Persian languages
+had one common parent, and that parent none other than Sanskrit. If,
+then, their language was the same, it followed as a matter of course
+that the people had been also identical. The differences now existing
+between these various idioms are accounted for by the successive
+breakings up of the primitive people, approximate dates enable us to
+realize the greater or less affinity of those languages with the
+Sanskrit, and the nature of the words which they have borrowed from it,
+words corresponding by their nature to the different degrees of advance
+in civilization.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover a very clear and definite notion was obtained of the kind of
+life led by the founders of the Indo-European race, and the changes
+brought about in it by the progress of civilization. The Vedas give us
+a picture of the Aryan race before it migrated to India, and occupied
+the Punjab and Cabulistan. By the aid of these poems we can look on at
+struggles against the primitive races of Hindustan; whose resistance
+was all the more desperate in that the conqueror, of their caste
+divisions, left them only the lowest and most degraded. Thanks to the
+Vedas we can realize every detail of the pastoral and patriarchal life
+of the Aryans, a life so domestic and unruffled, that we mentally ask
+ourselves whether the eager strife of the modern peoples is not a poor
+exchange for the peaceful existence which their few wants secured to
+their forefathers.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot dwell longer on this subject, but the little that we have
+said will be enough to show the reader the importance to history,
+ethnography, and philology, of the study of Sanskrit. For further
+details we refer him to the special works of Orientalists and to the
+excellent historical manuals of Robiou, Lenormant, and Maspero. All the
+scientific results of whatever kind obtained up to 1820 are also
+skilfully and impartially summed up in Walter Hamilton's large work, "A
+Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Description of Hindustan, and
+the neighbouring Countries." This is a book which, by recording the
+various stages of scientific progress, marks with accuracy the point
+reached at any given epoch.</p>
+
+<p>After this brief review of the labours of scholars in reference to the
+intellectual and social life of the Hindus, we must turn to those
+studies whose aim was a knowledge of the physical character of the
+country.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most surprising results obtained by the travels of Webb and
+Moorcroft was the extraordinary height attributed by them to the
+Himalaya mountains. According to them their elevation exceeded that of
+the loftiest summits of the Andes. Colonel Colebrook had estimated the
+average height of the chain at 22,000 feet, and even this would appear
+to be less than the reality. Webb measured Yamunavatri, one of the most
+remarkable peaks of the chain, and estimated its height above the level
+of the plateau from which it rises as 20,000 feet, whilst the plateau
+in its turn is 5000 feet above the plain. Not satisfied, however, with
+what he looked upon as too perfunctory an estimate, he measured, with
+all possible mathematical accuracy, the Dewalagiri or White Mountain,
+and ascertained its height to be no less than 27,500 feet.</p>
+
+<p>The most remarkable feature of the Himalaya chain is the succession of
+these mountains, the ranges of heights rising one above the other. This
+gives a far more vivid impression of their loftiness than would one
+isolated peak rising from a plain and with its head lost among the
+clouds.</p>
+
+<p>The calculations of Webb and Colebrook, were soon verified by the
+mathematical observations of Colonel Crawford, who measured eight of
+the highest peaks of the Himalayas. According to him the loftiest of
+all was Chumulari, situated near the frontiers of Bhoutan and Thibet,
+which attains to a height of 30,000 feet above the sea-level.</p>
+
+<p>Results such as these, confirmed by the agreement of so many observers,
+who could not surely all be wrong, took the scientific world by
+surprise. The chief objection urged was the fact that the snow-line
+must in these districts be something like 30,000 feet above the
+sea-level. It appeared, therefore, impossible to believe the assertion
+of all the explorers, that the Himalayas were covered with forests of
+gigantic pines. Finally, however, actual personal observation upset
+theory. In a second journey, Webb climbed the Niti-Ghaut, the loftiest
+peak in the world, the height of which he fixed at 16,814 feet, and not
+only did he find no snow, but even the rocks rising 300 feet above it
+were quite free from snow in summer. Moreover, the steep sides, where
+breathing was difficult, were clothed with magnificent forests of
+tapering pines, and firs, and wide-spreading cypress and cedar-trees.</p>
+
+<p>"The high limits of perpetual snow on the Himalaya mountains," says
+Desborough Cooley, "are justly ascribed by Mr. Webb to the great
+elevation of the table-land or terrace from which these mountain peaks
+spring. As the heat of our atmosphere is derived chiefly from the
+radiation of the earth's surface, it follows that the temperature of
+any elevated point must be modified in a very important degree by the
+proximity and extent of the surrounding plains. These observations seem
+satisfactorily to refute the objections made by certain savants
+respecting the great height of the Himalaya mountains, which may be,
+therefore, safely pronounced to be the loftiest mountain chain on the
+surface of the globe."</p>
+
+<p>We must now refer briefly to an expedition in the latitudes already
+visited by Webb and Moorcroft. The traveller Fraser, with neither the
+necessary instruments nor knowledge for measuring the lofty peaks he
+ascended, was endowed with a great power of observation, and his
+account of his journey is full of interest, and here and there very
+amusing. He visited the source of the Jumna, and, at a height of more
+than 25,000 feet, he found numerous villages picturesquely perched on
+slopes carpetted with snow. He then made his way to Gangoutri, in spite
+of the opposition of his guides, who represented the road thither as
+extremely dangerous, declaring that it was swept by a pestilential wind
+which would deprive any traveller, who ventured to expose himself to
+it, of his senses. The explorer, however, was more than rewarded for
+all his dangers and fatigues by the enjoyment he derived from the
+grandeur and magnificence of the views he obtained.</p>
+<a name="ill47"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration047">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="583">
+			<img src="images/047.jpg" alt="Villages picturesquely perched">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="583" align="center">
+			<small>"Villages picturesquely perched."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>"There is that," says Desborough Cooley in reference to Fraser's
+journey, "in the appearance of the Himalaya range, which every person
+who has seen them will allow to be peculiarly their own. No other
+mountains that I have ever seen bear any resemblance to their
+character; their summits shoot in the most fantastic and spiring peaks
+to a height that astonishes, and, when viewed from an elevated
+situation, almost induce the belief of an ocular deception."</p>
+
+<p>We must now leave the peninsula of the Ganges for that of Arabia, where
+we have to record the result of several interesting journeys. That of
+Captain Sadler of the Indian army, claims the first rank. Sent by the
+Governor of Bombay in 1819, on an embassy to Ibrahim Pacha, who was
+then at war with the Wahabees, that officer crossed the entire
+peninsula from Port El Katif on the Persian Gulf to Yambo on the Red
+Sea.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately the interesting account of this crossing of Arabia, never
+before accomplished by a European, has not been separately published,
+but is buried in a book which it is almost impossible to obtain, "The
+Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay."</p>
+
+<p>At about the same time, 1821-1826, the English Government commissioned
+Captains Moresby and Haines, of the naval service, to make
+hydrographical surveys with a view to obtaining a complete chart of the
+coasts of Arabia. These surveys were to be the foundation of the first
+trustworthy map of the Arabian peninsula.</p>
+
+<p>We have now only to mention the two expeditions of the French
+naturalists, Aucher Eloy in the country of Oman, and Emile Botta in
+Yemen, and to refer to the labours in reference to the idioms and
+antiquities of Arabia of the French consul at Djedda, Fulgence Fresnel.
+He was the first, in his letters on the history of the Arabs before
+Islamism, published in 1836, to explain the Himyarite or Homeric
+language and to recognize that it resembles rather the early Hebrew and
+Syriac dialects, than the Arabic of the present day.</p>
+
+<p>At the beginning of this volume we spoke of the explorations and
+archæological and historical researches of Seetzen and Burckhardt in
+Syria and Palestine. We have still to say a few words on an expedition
+the results of which were entirely geographical. We refer to the
+journey of the Bavarian naturalist Heinrich Schubert.</p>
+
+<p>Schubert was a devout Catholic and an enthusiastic student, and the
+melancholy scenery of the Holy Land with its wonderful legends, and the
+lovely banks of the mysterious Nile with its historic memories, had for
+him an extraordinary fascination. In his account of his journey we find
+the deep impressions of the believer combined with the scientific
+observations of the naturalist.</p>
+
+<p>In 1837, Schubert, having crossed Lower Egypt and the peninsula of
+Sinai, entered the Holy Land. The learned Bavarian pilgrim was
+accompanied by two friends, Dr. Erdl and Martin Bernatz, a painter.</p>
+
+<p>The travellers landed at El Akabah on the Red Sea, and went with a
+small Arab caravan to El Khalil, the ancient Hebron. The route they
+followed had never before been trodden by a European. It led through a
+wide, flat valley terminating at the Dead Sea; a valley through which
+the waters of the Dead Sea were supposed at one time to have flowed
+towards the Red Sea. This hypothesis was shared by Burckhardt and many
+others who had only seen the district from a distance, and who
+attributed the cessation of the drainage to an upheaval of the soil.
+The heights, as taken by the travellers, showed this hypothesis to be
+altogether erroneous.</p>
+
+<p>In fact from the lower end of the Persian Gulf the country presents a
+continuous ascent for two or three days' march to the point called by
+the Arabs the Saddle, from thence it begins to sink and slopes down
+towards the Dead Sea. The Saddle is about 2100 feet above the
+sea-level, at least that was the estimate given a year later by Count
+Bertou, a Frenchman, who visited those localities at that time.</p>
+
+<p>On their way down to the Bituminous Lake, Schubert and his companions
+took some other barometrical observations, and were very much surprised
+to find their instrument marking ninety-one feet <i>below</i> the Red Sea,
+the levels gradually decreasing in height as they advanced. At first
+they thought there must be some mistake, but finally, the evidence was
+too strong for them, and it became proved beyond a doubt that the Dead
+Sea could never have emptied its waters into the Red Sea for the very
+excellent reason that the level of the former is very much lower than
+that of the latter.</p>
+
+<p>The depression of the Dead Sea is very much more noticeable when
+Jericho is approached from Jerusalem. In that case the way lies through
+a long valley with a very rapid slope, all the more remarkable as the
+hilly plains of Judea, Peræ, and El Harran are very lofty, the latter
+rising to a height of nearly 3000 feet above the sea-level.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of the country and the testimony of the instruments were
+in such contradiction to the prevalent belief, that Messrs. Erdl and
+Schubert were very unwilling to accept the results obtained, which they
+attributed to their barometer being out of order and to a sudden
+disturbance of the atmosphere. But on their way back to Jerusalem the
+barometer returned to the mean height it had registered before they
+started for Jericho. There was nothing for it then but to admit,
+whether they liked it or not, that the Dead Sea was at least 600 feet
+below the level of the Mediterranean, an estimate, as later researches
+showed, which fell one-half short of the truth.</p>
+
+<p>This, it will be admitted, was a fortunate rectification, which would
+have considerable influence, by calling the attention of <i>savants</i> to a
+phenomenon which was soon to be verified by other explorers.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time, the survey of the basin of the Dead Sea was completed
+and rectified. In 1838, two American Missionaries, Edward Robinson and
+Eli Smith, gave quite a new impulse to Biblical geography. They were
+the forerunners of that phalanx of naturalists, historians,
+archæologists, and engineers, who, under the patronage or in
+conjunction with the English Exploration Society, were soon to explore
+the land of the patriarchs from end to end, making maps of it, and
+achieving discoveries which threw a new light on the history of the
+ancient peoples who, by turns, were possessors of this corner of the
+Mediterranean basin.</p>
+
+<p>But it was not only the Holy Land, so interesting on account of the
+many associations it has for every Christian, which was the scene of
+the researches of scholars and explorers; Asia Minor was also soon to
+yield up her treasures to the curiosity of the learned world. That
+country was visited by travellers in every direction. Parrot visited
+Armenia; Dubois de Monpereux traversed the Caucasus in 1839. In 1825
+and 1826, Eichwald explored the shores of the Caspian Sea; and lastly,
+Alexander von Humboldt at the expense of the generous Nicholas, Emperor
+of Russia, supplemented his intrepid work as a discoverer in the New
+World by an exploration of Western Asia and the Ural Mountains.
+Accompanied by the mineralogist Gustave Rose, the naturalist Ehrenberg,
+well known for his travels in Upper Egypt and Nubia, and Baron von
+Helmersen, an officer of engineers, Humboldt travelled through Siberia,
+visited the gold and platinum mines of the Ural Mountains, and explored
+the Caspian steppes and the Altai chain to the frontiers of China.
+These learned men divided the work, Humboldt taking astronomical,
+magnetic, and physical observations, and examining the flora and fauna
+of the country, while Rose kept the journal of the expedition, which he
+published in German between 1837 and 1842.</p>
+
+<p>Although the explorers travelled very rapidly, at the rate of no less
+than 11,500 miles in nine months, the scientific results of their
+journey were considerable. In a first publication which appeared in
+Paris in 1838, Humboldt treated only the climatology and geology of
+Asia, but this fragmentary account was succeeded in 1843 by his great
+work called "Central Asia." "In this," says La Roquette, "he has laid
+down and systematized the principal scientific results of his
+expedition in Asia, and has recorded some ingenious speculation as to
+the shape of the continents and the configuration of the mountains of
+Tartary, giving special attention to the vast depression which
+stretches from the north of Europe to the centre of Asia beyond the
+Caspian Sea and the Ural River."</p>
+
+<p>We must now leave Asia and pass in review the various expeditions in
+the New World, which have been sent out in succession since the
+beginning of the present century. In 1807, when Lewis and Clarke were
+crossing North America from the United States to the Pacific Ocean, the
+Government commissioned a young officer, Lieutenant Zabulon Montgomery
+Pike, to examine the sources of the Mississippi. He was at the same
+time to endeavour to open friendly relations with any Indians he might
+meet.</p>
+<a name="ill48"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration048">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586">
+			<img src="images/048.jpg" alt="Map of the Missouri">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586" align="center">
+			<small>Map of the Missouri.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Pike was well received by the Chief of the powerful Sioux nation and
+presented with the pipe of peace, a talisman which secured to him the
+protection of the allied tribes; he ascended the Mississippi, passing
+the mouths of the Chippeway and St. Peter, important tributaries of
+that great river. But beyond the confluence of the St. Peter with the
+Mississippi as far as the Falls of St. Anthony, the course of the main
+river is impeded by an uninterrupted series of falls and rapids. A
+little below the 45th parallel of North latitude, Pike and his
+companions had to leave their canoes and continue their journey in
+sledges. To the severity of a bitter winter were soon added the
+tortures of hunger. Nothing, however, checked the intrepid explorers,
+who continued to follow the Mississippi, now dwindled down to a stream
+only 300 roods wide, and arrived in February at Leech Lake, where they
+were received with enthusiasm at the camp of some trappers and fur
+hunters from Montreal.</p>
+<a name="ill49"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration049">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586">
+			<img src="images/049.jpg" alt="Circassians">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586" align="center">
+			<small>Circassians.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>After visiting Red Cedar Lake, Pike returned to St. Louis. His arduous
+and perilous journey had extended over no less than nine months; and
+although he had not attained its main object, it was not without
+scientific results. The skill, presence of mind, and courage of Pike
+were recognized, and the government soon afterwards conferred on him
+the rank of major, and appointed him to the command of a fresh
+expedition. This time he was to explore the vast tract of country
+between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, and to discover the
+sources of the Arkansas and Red River. With twenty-three companions
+Pike ascended the Arkansas, a fine river navigable to the mountains in
+which it rises, that is to say for a distance of 2000 miles, except in
+the summer, when its bed is encumbered with sand-banks. On this long
+voyage, winter, from which Pike had suffered so much on his previous
+trip, set in with redoubled vigour. Game was so scarce that for four
+days the explorers were without food. The feet of several men were
+frostbitten, and this misfortune added to the fatigue of the others.
+The major, after reaching the source of the Arkansas, pursued a
+southerly direction and soon came to a fine stream which he took for
+the Red River.</p>
+
+<p>This was the Rio del Norte, which rises in Colorado, then a Spanish
+province, and flows into the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>From what has been already said of the difficulties which Humboldt
+encountered before he obtained permission to enter the Spanish
+possessions in America, we may judge with what jealous suspicion the
+arrival of strangers in Colorado was regarded. Pike was surrounded by a
+detachment of Spanish soldiers, made prisoner with all his men, and
+taken to Santa Fé. Their ragged garments, emaciated forms, and
+generally miserable appearance did not speak much in their favour, and
+the Spaniards at first took the Americans for savages. However, when
+the mistake was recognized, they were escorted across the inland
+provinces to Louisiana, arriving at Natchitoches on the 1st July, 1807.</p>
+
+<p>The unfortunate end of this expedition cooled the zeal of the
+government, but not that of private persons, merchants, and hunters,
+whose numbers were continually on the increase. Many even completely
+crossed the American continent from Canada to the Pacific. Amongst
+these travellers we must mention Daniel William Harmon, a member of the
+North-West Company, who visited Lakes Huron and Superior, Rainy Lake,
+the Lake of the Woods, Manitoba, Winnipeg, Athabasca, and the Great
+Bear Lake, all between N. lat. 47&deg; and 58&deg;, and reached
+the shores of the Pacific. The fur company established at Astoria at
+the mouth of the Columbia also did much towards the exploration of the
+Rocky Mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Four associates of that company, leaving Astoria in June, 1812,
+ascended the Columbia, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and following an
+east-south-east direction, reached one of the sources of the Platte,
+descended it to its junction with the Missouri, crossed a district
+never before explored, and arrived at St. Louis on the 30th May, 1813.</p>
+
+<p>In 1811, another expedition composed of sixty men, started from St.
+Louis and ascended the Missouri as far as the settlements of the Ricara
+Indians, whence they made their way to Astoria, arriving there at the
+beginning of 1812, after the loss of several men and great suffering
+from fatigue and want of food.</p>
+
+<p>These journeys resulted not only in the increase of our knowledge of
+the topography of the districts traversed, but they also brought about
+quite unexpected discoveries. In the Ohio valley between Illinois and
+Mexico for instance, were found ruins, fortifications, and
+entrenchments, with ditches and a kind of bastion, many of them
+covering five or six acres of ground. What people can have constructed
+works such as these, which denote a civilization greatly in advance of
+that of the Indians, is a difficult problem of which no solution has
+yet been found.</p>
+
+<p>Philologists and historians were already regretting the dying out of
+the Indian tribes, who, until then, had been only superficially
+observed, and lamenting their extinction before their languages had
+been studied. A knowledge of these languages and their comparison with
+those of the old world, might have thrown some unexpected light upon
+the origin of the wandering tribes.<small><small><sup>2</sup></small></small></p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>2</sup></small> The author has evidently not seen Bancroft's "Native Races
+of the Pacific," an exhaustive work in five volumes, published at New
+York and San Francisco a few years ago, and which embodies the
+researches of a number of gentlemen, who collected their information on
+the spot, and whose contributions to our knowledge of the past and
+present life of the Indians should certainly not be ignored.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>Simultaneously with the discovery of the ruins the flora and geology of
+the country began to be studied, and in the latter science great
+surprises were in store for future explorers. It was so important for
+the American government to proceed rapidly to reconnoitre the vast
+territories between the United States and the Pacific, that another
+expedition was speedily sent out.</p>
+
+<p>In 1819, the military authorities commissioned Major Long to explore
+the districts between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, to trace
+the course of the Missouri and of its principal tributaries, to fix the
+latitude and longitude of the chief places, to study the ways of the
+Indian tribes, in fact to describe everything interesting either in the
+aspect of the country or in its animal, vegetable, and mineral
+productions.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Pittsburgh on the 5th March, 1819, on board the steamship
+<i>Western Engineer</i>, the expedition arrived in May of the following year
+at the junction of the Ohio with the Mississippi, and ascended the
+latter river as far as St. Louis. On the 29th June, the mouth of the
+Missouri was reached. During the month of July, Mr. Say, who was
+charged with the zoological observations, made his way by land to Fort
+Osage, where he was joined by the steamer. Major Long turned his stay
+at Fort Osage to account by sending a party to examine the districts
+between the Kansas and the Platte, but this party was attacked, robbed,
+and compelled to turn back after losing all their horses. After
+obtaining at Cow Island a reinforcement of fifteen soldiers, the
+expedition reached Fort Lisa, near Council Bluff, on the 19th
+September. There it was decided to winter. The Americans suffered
+greatly from scurvy, and having no medicines to check the terrible
+disorder, they lost 100 men, nearly a third of the whole party. Major
+Long, who had meanwhile reached Washington in a canoe, brought back
+orders for the discontinuation of the voyage up the Missouri, and for a
+journey overland to the sources of the Platte, whence the Mississippi
+was to be reached by way of the Arkansas and Red River. On the 6th
+June, the explorers left Engineer's Fort, as they called their winter
+quarters, and ascended the Platte Valley for more than a hundred miles,
+its grassy plains, frequented by vast herds of bisons and deer,
+supplying them with plenty of provisions.</p>
+
+<p>Those boundless prairies, whose monotony is unbroken by a single
+hillock, were succeeded by a sandy desert gradually sloping up, for a
+distance of nearly four hundred miles, to the Rocky Mountains. This
+desert, broken by precipitous ravines, <i>cañons</i>, and gorges, at the
+bottom of which gurgles some insignificant stream, its banks clothed
+with stunted and meagre vegetation, produces nothing but cacti with
+sharp and formidable prickles.</p>
+
+<p>On the 6th July, the expedition reached the foot of the Rocky
+Mountains. Dr. James scaled one of the peaks, to which he gave his own
+name, and which rises to a height of 11,500 feet above the sea level.</p>
+
+<p>"From the summit of the peak," says the botanist, "the view towards the
+north, west, and south-west, is diversified with innumerable mountains
+all white with snow, and on some of the more distant it appears to
+extend down to their bases. Immediately under our feet on the west, lay
+the narrow valley of the Arkansas; which we could trace running towards
+the north-west, probably more than sixty miles. On the north side of
+the peak was an immense mass of snow and ice.... To the east lay the
+great plain, rising as it receded, until, in the distant horizon, it
+appeared to mingle with the sky."</p>
+
+<p>Here the expedition was divided into two parties, one, under the
+command of Major Long, to make its way to the sources of the Red River,
+the other, under Captain Bell, to go down the Arkansas as far as Port
+Smith. The two detachments separated on the 24th July. The former,
+misled by the statements of the Kaskaia Indians and the inaccuracy of
+the maps, took the Canadian for the Red River, and did not discover
+their mistake until they reached its junction with the Arkansas. The
+Kaskaias were the most miserable of savages, but intrepid horsemen,
+excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs which are descendants of the
+horses imported into Mexico by the Spanish conquerors. The second
+detachment was deserted by four soldiers, who carried off the journals
+of Say and Lieutenant Swift with a number of other valuable effects.
+Both parties also suffered from want of provisions in the sandy
+deserts, whose streams yield nothing but brackish and muddy water. The
+expedition brought to Washington sixty skins of wild animals, several
+thousands of insects, including five hundred new species, four or five
+hundred specimens of hitherto unknown plants, numerous views of the
+scenery, and the materials for a map of the districts traversed.</p>
+<a name="ill50"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration050">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577">
+			<img src="images/050.jpg" alt="Excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577" align="center">
+			<small>"Excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The command of another expedition was given in 1828 to Major Long,
+whose services were thoroughly appreciated. Leaving Philadelphia in
+April, he embarked on the Ohio, and crossed the state of the same name,
+and those of Indiana and Illinois. Having reached the Mississippi, he
+ascended that river to the mouth of the St. Peter, formerly visited by
+Carver, and later by Baron La Hontan. Long followed the St. Peter to
+its source, passing Crooked Lake and reaching Lake Winnipeg, whence he
+explored the river of the same name, obtained a sight of the Lake of
+the Woods and Rainy Lake, and arrived at the plateau which separates
+the Hudson's Bay valley from that of the St. Lawrence. Lastly, he went
+to Lake Superior by way of Cold Water Lake and Dog River.</p>
+
+<p>Although all these districts had been constantly traversed by Canadian
+pathfinders, trappers, and hunters for many years previously, it was
+the first time an official expedition had visited them with a view to
+the laying down of a map. The explorers were struck with the beauty of
+the neighbourhood watered by the Winnipeg. That river, whose course is
+frequently broken by picturesque rapids and waterfalls, flows between
+two perpendicular granite walls crowned with verdure. The beauty of the
+scenery, succeeding as it did to the monotony of the plains and
+savannahs they had previously traversed, filled the explorers with
+admiration.</p>
+
+<p>The exploration of the Mississippi, which had been neglected since
+Pike's expedition, was resumed in 1820 by General Cass, Governor of
+Michigan. Leaving Detroit at the end of May with twenty men trained to
+the work of pathfinders, he reached the Upper Mississippi, after
+visiting Lakes Huron, Superior, and Sandy. His exhausted escort halted
+to rest whilst he continued the examination of the river in a canoe.
+For 150 miles the course of the Mississippi is rapid and uninterrupted,
+but beyond that distance begins a series of rapids extending over
+twelve miles to the Peckgama Falls.</p>
+
+<p>Above this cataract the stream, now far less rapid, winds through vast
+savannahs to Leech Lake. Having reached Lake Winnipeg, Cass arrived on
+the 21st July at a new lake, to which he gave his own name, but he did
+not care to push on further with his small party of men and inadequate
+supply of provisions and ammunition.</p>
+
+<p>The source of the Mississippi had been approached, but not reached. The
+general opinion was that the river took its rise in a small sheet of
+water known as Deer Lake, sixty miles from Cass Lake. Not until 1832,
+however, when General Cass was Secretary of State for war, was this
+important problem solved.</p>
+
+<p>The command of an expedition was then given to a traveller named
+Schoolcraft, who had in the previous year explored the Chippeway
+country, north-west of Lake Superior. His party consisted of six
+soldiers, an officer qualified to conduct hydrographic surveys, a
+surgeon, a geologist, an interpreter, and a missionary.</p>
+
+<p>Schoolcraft left St. Marie on the 7th June, 1832, visited the tribes
+living about Lake Superior, and was soon on the St. Louis river. He was
+then 150 miles from the Mississippi, and was told that it would take
+him no less than ten days to reach the great river, on account of the
+rapids and shallows. On the 3rd July, the expedition reached the
+factory of a trader named Aitkin, on the banks of the river, and there
+celebrated on the following day the anniversary of the independence of
+the United States.</p>
+
+<p>Two days later Schoolcraft found himself opposite the Peckgama Falls,
+and encamped at Oak Point. Here the river winds a great deal amongst
+savannahs, but guides led the party by paths which greatly shortened
+the distance. Lake Winnipeg was then crossed, and on the 10th July,
+Schoolcraft arrived at Lake Cass, the furthest point reached by his
+predecessors.</p>
+<a name="ill51"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration051">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577">
+			<img src="images/051.jpg" alt="Map of the sources of the Mississippi, 1836">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>A party of Chippeway Indians led the explorers to their settlement on
+an island in the river. The friendliness of the natives led Cass to
+leave part of his escort with them, and, accompanied by Lieutenant
+Allen, the surgeon Houghton, a missionary, and several Indians, he
+started in a canoe.</p>
+
+<p>Lakes Tasodiac and Crooked were visited in turn. A little beyond the
+latter, the Mississippi divides into two branches or forks. The guide
+took Schoolcraft up the eastern, and after crossing Lakes Marquette, La
+Salle, and Kubbakanna, he came to the mouth of the Naiwa, the chief
+tributary of this branch of the Mississippi. Finally, after passing the
+little lake called Usawa, the expedition reached Lake Itasca, whence
+issues the Itascan, or western branch of the Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>Lake Itasca, or Deer Lake, as the French call it, is only seven or
+eight miles in extent, and is surrounded by hills clothed with dark
+pine woods. According to Schoolcraft it is some 1500 feet above the sea
+level; but we must not attach too much importance to this estimate, as
+the leader of the expedition had no instruments.</p>
+
+<p>On their way back to Lake Cass, the party followed the western branch,
+identifying its chief tributaries. Schoolcraft then studied the ways of
+the Indians frequenting these districts, and made treaties with them.</p>
+
+<p>To sum up, the aim of the government was achieved, and the Mississippi
+had been explored from its mouth to its source. The expedition had
+collected a vast number of interesting details on the manners, customs,
+history, and language of the people, as well as numerous new or little
+known species of flora and fauna.</p>
+
+<p>The people of the United States were not content with these official
+expeditions, and numbers of trappers threw themselves into the new
+districts. Most of them being however absolutely illiterate, they could
+not turn their discoveries to scientific account. But this was not the
+case with James Pattie, who has published an account of his romantic
+adventures and perilous trips in the district between New Mexico and
+New California.</p>
+
+<p>On his way down the River Gila to its mouth, Pattie visited races then
+all but unknown, including the Yotans, Eiotaws, Papawans, Mokees,
+Umeas, Mohawas, and Nabahoes, with whom but very little intercourse had
+yet been held. On the banks of the Rio Eiotario he discovered ruins of
+ancient monuments, stone walls, moats, and potteries, and in the
+neighbouring mountains he found copper, lead, and silver mines.</p>
+
+<p>We owe a curious travelling journal also to Doctor Willard, who, during
+a stay of three years in Mexico, explored the Rio del Norte from its
+source to its mouth.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, in 1831 Captain Wyeth and his brother explored Oregon, and the
+neighbouring districts of the Rocky Mountains.</p>
+
+<p>After Humboldt's journey in Mexico, one explorer succeeded another in
+Central America. In 1787, Bernasconi discovered the now famous ruins of
+Palenque. In 1822, Antonio del Rio gave a detailed description of them,
+illustrated with drawings by Frederick Waldeck, the future explorer of
+Palenque, that city of the dead.</p>
+
+<p>Between 1805 and 1807, three journeys were successively taken in the
+province of Chiapa and to Palenque by Captain William Dupaix and the
+draughtsman Castañeda, and the result of their researches appeared in
+1830 in the form of a magnificent work, with illustrations by Augustine
+Aglio, executed at the expense of Lord Kingsborough.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, Waldeck spent the years 1832 and 1833 at Palenque, searching
+the ruins, making plans, sections, and elevations of the monuments,
+trying to decipher the hitherto unexplained hieroglyphics with which
+they are covered, and collecting a vast amount of quite new information
+alike on the natural history of the country and the manners and customs
+of the inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>We must also name Don Juan Galindo, a Spanish colonel, who explored
+Palenque, Utatlan, Copan, and other cities buried in the heart of
+tropical forests.</p>
+<a name="ill52"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration052">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594">
+			<img src="images/052.jpg" alt="View of the Pyramid of Xochicalco">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594" align="center">
+			<small>View of the Pyramid of Xochicalco.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>After the long stay made by Humboldt in equinoctial America, the
+impulse his explorations would doubtless otherwise have given to
+geographical science was strangely checked by the struggle of the
+Spanish colonies with the mother country. As soon, however, as the
+native governments attained to at least a semblance of stability,
+intrepid explorers rushed to examine this world, so new in the truest
+sense, for the jealousy of the Spanish had hitherto kept it closed to
+the investigations of scientific men.</p>
+
+<p>Many naturalists and engineers now travelled or settled in South
+America. Soon indeed, that is in 1817-1820, the Austrian and Bavarian
+Governments sent out a scientific expedition, to the command of which
+they appointed Doctors Spix and Martins, who collected a great deal of
+information on the botany, ethnography, and geography of these hitherto
+little known districts&mdash;Martins publishing, at the expense of the
+Austrian and Bavarian governments, a most important work on the flora
+of the country, which may be looked upon as a model of its kind.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time the editors of special publications, such as Malte
+Brun's <i>Annales des Voyages</i> and the <i>Bulletin de la Société de
+Géographie</i>, cordially accepted and published all the communications
+addressed to them, including many on Brazil and the province of Minas
+Geraës.</p>
+
+<p>About this period too a Prussian Major-General, the Prince of
+Wied-Neuwied, who had been at leisure since the peace of 1815, devoted
+himself to the study of natural science, geography, and history,
+undertaking moreover, in company with the naturalists Freirciss and
+Sellow, an exploring expedition in the interior of Brazil, having
+special reference to its flora and fauna.</p>
+
+<p>A few years later, i.e. in 1836, the French naturalist Alcide
+d'Orbigny, who had won celebrity at a very early age, was appointed by
+the governing body of the Museum to the command of an expedition to
+South America, the special object of which was the study of the natural
+history of the country. For eight consecutive years D'Orbigny wandered
+about Brazil, Uruguay, the Argentine Republic, Patagonia, Chili,
+Bolivia, and Peru.</p>
+
+<p>"Such a journey," says Dumour in his funeral oration on D'Orbigny, "in
+countries so different in their productions, climate, the character of
+their soil, and the manners and customs of their inhabitants, was
+necessarily full of ever fresh perils. D'Orbigny, endowed with a strong
+constitution and untiring energy, overcame obstacles which would have
+daunted most travellers. On his arrival in the cold regions of
+Patagonia, amongst savage races constantly at war with each other, he
+found himself compelled to take part, and to fight in the ranks of a
+tribe which had received him hospitably. Fortunately for the intrepid
+student his side was victorious, and he was left free to proceed on his
+journey."</p>
+
+<p>It took thirteen years of the hardest work to put together the results
+of D'Orbigny's extensive researches. His book, which embraces nearly
+every branch of science, leaves far behind it all that had ever before
+been published on South America. History, archæology, zoology, and
+botany all hold honoured positions in it; but the most important part
+of this encyclopædic work is that relating to American man. In it the
+author embodies all the documents he himself collected, and analyzes
+and criticizes those which came to him at second hand, on physiological
+types, and on the manners, languages, and religions of South America. A
+work of such value ought to immortalize the name of the French scholar,
+and reflect the greatest honour on the nation which gave him birth.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center>END OF THE FIRST PART.</center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="part2"></a>
+<h2>PART II.</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap4"></a>
+<h3>CHAPTER I.</h3>
+<center>VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD, AND POLAR EXPEDITIONS.</center>
+
+<blockquote>The Russian fur trade&mdash;Kruzenstern appointed to the command of an
+expedition&mdash;Noukha-Hiva&mdash;Nangasaki&mdash;Reconnaisance of the coast of
+Japan&mdash;Yezo&mdash;The Ainos&mdash;Saghalien&mdash;Return to Europe&mdash;Otto von
+Kotzebue&mdash;Stay at Easter Island&mdash;Penrhyn&mdash;The Radak Archipelago&mdash;Return
+to Russia&mdash;Changes at Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands&mdash;Beechey's
+Voyage&mdash;Easter Island&mdash;Pitcairn and the mutineers of the <i>Bounty</i>&mdash;The
+Paumoto Islands&mdash;Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands&mdash;The Bonin
+Islands&mdash;Lütke&mdash;The Quebradas of Valparaiso&mdash;Holy week in Chili&mdash;New
+Archangel&mdash;The Kaloches&mdash;Ounalashka&mdash;The Caroline Archipelago&mdash;The
+canoes of the Caroline Islanders&mdash;Guam, a desert island&mdash;Beauty and
+happy situation of the Bonin Islands&mdash;The Tchouktchees: their manners and
+their conjurors&mdash;Return to Russia.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Russians for the first
+time took part in voyages round the world, Until that time their
+explorations had been almost entirely confined to Asia, and their only
+mariners of note were Behring, Tchirikoff, Spangberg, Laxman,
+Krenitzin, and Saryscheff. The last-named took an important part in the
+voyage of the Englishman Billings, a voyage by the way which was far
+from achieving all that might have been fairly expected from the ten
+years it occupied and the vast sums it cost.</p>
+
+<p>Adam John von Kruzenstern was the first Russian to whom is due the
+honour of having made a voyage round the world under government
+auspices and with a scientific purpose.</p>
+
+<p>Born in 1770, Kruzenstern entered the English navy in 1793. After six
+years' training in the stern school which then numbered amongst its
+leaders the most skilful sailors of the world, he returned to his
+native land with a profound knowledge of his profession, and with his
+ideas of the part Russia might play in Eastern Asia very considerably
+widened.</p>
+
+<p>During a stay of two years at Canton, in 1798 and 1799, Kruzenstern had
+been witness of the extraordinary results achieved by some English fur
+traders, who brought their merchandise from the northwest coasts of
+Russian America. This trade had not come into existence until after
+Cook's third voyage, and the English had already realized immense sums,
+at the cost of the Russians, who had hitherto sent their furs to the
+Chinese markets overland.</p>
+
+<p>In 1785, however, a Russian named Chelikoff founded a fur-trading
+colony on Kodiak Island, at about an equal distance from Kamtchatka and
+the Aleutian Islands, which rapidly became a flourishing community. The
+Russian government now recognized the resources of districts it had
+hitherto considered barren, and reinforcements, provisions, and stores
+were sent to Kamtchatka via Siberia.</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern quickly realized how inadequate to the new state of things
+was help such as this, the ignorance of the pilots and the errors in
+the maps leading to the loss of several vessels every year, not to
+speak of the injury to trade involved in a two years' voyage for the
+transport of furs, first to Okhotsk, and thence to Kiakhta.</p>
+
+<p>As the best plans are always the simplest they are sure to be the last
+to be thought of, and Kruzenstern was the first to point out the
+imperative necessity of going direct by sea from the Aleutian Islands
+to Canton, the most frequented market.</p>
+
+<p>On his return to Russia, Kruzenstern tried to win over to his views
+Count Kuscheleff, the Minister of Marine, but the answer he received
+destroyed all hope. Not until the accession of Alexander I., when
+Admiral Mordinoff became head of the naval department, did he receive
+any encouragement.</p>
+
+<p>Acting on Count Romanoff's advice, the Russian Emperor soon
+commissioned Kruzenstern to carry out the plan he had himself proposed;
+and on the 7th August, 1802, he was appointed to the command of two
+vessels for the exploration of the north-west coast of America.</p>
+
+<p>Although the leader of the expedition was named, the officers and
+seamen were still to be selected, and the vessels to be manned were not
+to be had in either the Russian empire or at Hamburg. In London alone
+were Lisianskoï, afterwards second in command to Kruzenstern, and the
+builder Kasoumoff, able to obtain two vessels at all suitable to the
+service in which they were to be employed. These two vessels received
+the names of the <i>Nadiejeda</i> and the <i>Neva</i>.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, the Russian government decided to avail itself of this
+opportunity to send M. de Besanoff to Japan as ambassador, with a
+numerous suite, and magnificent presents for the sovereign of the
+country.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th August, 1803, the two vessels, completely equipped, and
+carrying 134 persons, left the roadstead of Cronstadt. Flying visits
+were paid to Copenhagen and Falmouth, with a view to replacing some of
+the salt provisions bought at Hamburg, and to caulk the <i>Nadiejeda</i>,
+the seams of which had started in a violent storm encountered in the
+North Sea.</p>
+
+<p>After a short stay at the Canary Islands, Kruzenstern hunted in vain,
+as La Pérouse had done before him, for the Island of Ascension, as to
+the existence of which opinion had been divided for some three hundred
+years. He then rounded Cape Frio, the position of which he was unable
+exactly to determine although he was most anxious to do so, the
+accounts of earlier travellers and the maps hitherto laid down varying
+from 23&deg; 6' to 22&deg; 34'. A reconnaissance of
+the coast of Brazil was succeeded by a sail through the passage between
+the islands of Gal and Alvaredo, unjustly characterized as dangerous by
+La Pérouse, and on the 21st December, 1803, St. Catherine was reached.</p>
+
+<p>The necessity for replacing the main and mizzen masts of the <i>Neva</i>
+detained Kruzenstern for five weeks on this island, where he was most
+cordially received by the Portuguese authorities.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th February, the two vessels were able to resume their voyage,
+prepared to face all the dangers of the South Sea, and to double Cape
+Horn, that bugbear of all navigators. As far as Staten Island the
+weather was uniformly fine, but beyond it the explorers had to contend
+with extremely violent gales, storms of hail and snow, dense fogs, huge
+waves, and a swell in which the vessels laboured heavily. On the 24th
+March, the ships lost sight of each other in a dense fog a little above
+the western entrance to the Straits of Magellan. They did not meet
+again until both reached Noukha-Hiva.</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern having given up all idea of touching at Easter Island, now
+made for the Marquesas, or Mendoza Archipelago, and determined the
+position of Fatongou and Udhugu Islands, called Washington by the
+American Captain Ingraham, who discovered them in 1791, a few weeks
+before Captain Marchand, who named them Revolution Islands. Kruzenstern
+also saw Hiva-Hoa, the Dominica of Mendaña, and at Noukha-Hiva met an
+Englishman named Roberts, and a Frenchman named Cabritt, whose
+knowledge of the language was of great service to him.</p>
+
+<p>The incidents of the stay in the Marquesas Archipelago are of little
+interest, they were much the same as those related in Cook's Voyages.
+The total, but at the same time utterly unconscious immodesty of the
+women, the extensive agricultural knowledge of the natives, and their
+greed of iron instruments, are commented upon in both narratives.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing is noticed in the later which is not to be found in the earlier
+narrative, if we except some remarks on the existence of numerous
+societies of which the king or his relations, priests, or celebrated
+warriors, are the chiefs, and the aim of which is the providing of the
+people with food in times of scarcity. In our opinion these societies
+resemble the clans of Scotland or the Indian tribes of America.
+Kruzenstern, however, does not agree with us, as the following
+quotation will show.</p>
+
+<p>"The members of these clubs are distinguished by different tattooed
+marks upon their bodies; those of the king's club, consisting of
+twenty-six members, have a square one on their breasts about six inches
+long and four wide, and to this company Roberts belonged. The
+companions of the Frenchman, Joseph Cabritt, were marked with a
+tattooed eye, &amp;c. Roberts assured me that he never would have entered
+this association, had he not been driven to it by extreme hunger. There
+was an apparent want of consistency in this dislike, as the members of
+these companies are not only relieved from all care as to their
+subsistence, but, even by his own account, the admittance into them is
+a distinction that many seek to obtain. I am therefore inclined to
+believe that it must be attended with the loss of some part of
+liberty."</p>
+
+<p>A reconnaissance of the neighbourhood of Anna Maria led to the
+discovery of Port Tchitchagoff, which, though the entrance is
+difficult, is so shut in by land that its waters are unruffled by the
+most violent storm.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of Kruzenstern's visit to Noukha-Hiva, cannibalism was
+still largely practised, but the traveller had no tangible proof of the
+prevalence of the custom. In fact Kruzenstern was very affably received
+by the king of the cannibals, who appeared to exercise but little
+authority over his people, a race addicted to the most revolting vices,
+and our hero owns that but for the intelligent and disinterested
+testimony of the two Europeans mentioned above he should have carried
+away a very favourable opinion of the natives.</p>
+
+<p>"In their intercourse with us," he says, "they always showed the best
+possible disposition, and in bartering an extraordinary degree of
+honesty, always delivering their cocoa-nuts before they received the
+piece of iron that was to be paid for them. At all times they appeared
+ready to assist in cutting wood and filling water; and the help they
+afforded us in the performance of these laborious tasks was by no means
+trifling. Theft, the crime so common to all the islanders of this
+ocean, we very seldom met with among them; they always appeared
+cheerful and happy, and the greatest good humour was depicted in their
+countenances.... The two Europeans whom we found here, and who had both
+resided with them several years, agreed in their assertions that the
+natives of Nukahiva were a cruel, intractable people, and, without even
+the exceptions of the female sex, very much addicted to cannibalism;
+that the appearance of content and good-humour, with which they had so
+much deceived us, was not their true character; and that nothing but
+the fear of punishment and the hopes of reward, deterred them from
+giving a loose to their savage passions. These Europeans described, as
+eye-witnesses, the barbarous scenes that are acted, particularly in
+times of war&mdash;the desperate rage with which they fall upon their
+victims, immediately tear off their head, and sip their blood out of
+the skull,<small><small><sup>1</sup></small></small> with the most disgusting readiness, completing in this
+manner their horrible repast. For a long time I would not give credit
+to these accounts, considering them as exaggerated; but they rest upon
+the authority of two different persons, who had not only been witnesses
+for several years to these atrocities, but had also borne a share in
+them: of two persons who lived in a state of mortal enmity, and took
+particular pains by their mutual recriminations to obtain with us
+credit for themselves, but yet on this point never contradicted each
+other. The very fact of Roberts doing his enemy the justice to allow,
+that he never devoured his prey, but always exchanged it for hogs,
+gives the circumstance a great degree of probability, and these reports
+concur with several appearances we remarked during our stay here,
+skulls being brought to us every day for sale. Their weapons are
+invariably adorned with human hair, and human bones are used as
+ornaments in almost all their household furniture; they also often gave
+us to understand by pantomimic gestures that human flesh was regarded
+by them as a delicacy."</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>1</sup></small> "All the skulls which we purchased of them," says
+Kruzenstern, "had a hole perforated through one end of them for this
+purpose."</small></blockquote>
+
+<p>There are grounds for looking upon this account as exaggerated. The
+truth, probably, lies between the dogmatic assertions of Cook and
+Forster and those of the two Europeans of Kruzenstern's time, one of
+whom at least was not much to be relied upon, as he was a deserter.</p>
+
+<p>And we must remember that we ourselves did not attain to the high state
+of civilization we now enjoy without climbing up from the bottom of the
+ladder. In the stone age our manners were probably not superior to
+those of the natives of Oceania.</p>
+
+<p>We must not, therefore, blame these representatives of humanity for not
+having risen higher. They have never been a nation. Scattered as their
+homes are on the wide ocean, and divided as they are into small tribes,
+without agricultural or mineral resources, without connexions, and with
+a climate which makes them strangers to want, they could but remain
+stationary or cultivate none but the most rudimentary arts and
+industries. Yet in spite of all this, how often have their instruments,
+their canoes, and their nets, excited the admiration of travellers.</p>
+
+<p>On the 18th May, 1804, the <i>Nadiejeda</i> and the <i>Neva</i> left Noukha-Hiva
+for the Sandwich Islands, where Kruzenstern had decided to stop and lay
+in a store of fresh provisions, which he had been unable to do at his
+last anchorage, where seven pigs were all he could get.</p>
+
+<p>This plan fell through, however. The natives of Owhyhee, or Hawaii,
+brought but a very few provisions to the vessels lying off their
+south-west coast, and even these they would only exchange for cloth,
+which Kruzenstern could not give them. He therefore set sail for
+Kamtchatka and Japan, leaving the <i>Neva</i> off the island of Karakakoua,
+where Captain Lisianskoï relied upon being able to revictual.</p>
+<a name="ill53"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration053">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="588">
+			<img src="images/053.jpg" alt="New Zealanders">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="588" align="center">
+			<small>New Zealanders.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>On the 11th July, the <i>Nadiejeda</i> arrived off Petropaulovski, the
+capital of Kamtchatka, where the crew obtained the rest and fresh
+provisions they had so well earned. On the 30th August, the Russians
+put to sea again.</p>
+
+<p>Overtaken by thick fogs and violent storms, Kruzenstern now hunted in
+vain for some islands marked on a map found on a Spanish gallion
+captured by Anson, and the existence of which had been alternately
+accepted and rejected by different cartographers, though they appear in
+La Billardière's map of his voyage.</p>
+
+<p>The navigator now passed between the large island of Kiushiu and
+Tanega-Sima, by way of Van Diemen Strait, till then very inaccurately
+defined, rectified the position of the Liu-Kiu archipelago, which the
+English had placed north of the strait, and the French too far south,
+and sailed down, surveyed and named the coast of the province of
+Satsuma.</p>
+
+<p>"This part of Satsuma," says Kruzenstern, "is particularly beautiful:
+and as we sailed along at a very trifling distance from the land, we
+had a distinct and perfect view of the various picturesque situations
+that rapidly succeed each other. The whole country consists of high
+pointed hills, at one time appearing in the form of pyramids, at others
+of a globular or conical form, and seeming as it were under the
+protection of some neighbouring mountain, such as Peak Homer, or
+another lying north-by-west of it, and even a third farther inland.
+Liberal as nature has been in the adornment of these parts, the
+industry of the Japanese seems not a little to have contributed to
+their beauty; for nothing indeed can equal the extraordinary degree of
+cultivation everywhere apparent. That all the valleys upon this coast
+should be most carefully cultivated would not so much have surprised
+us, as in the countries of Europe, where agriculture is not despised,
+it is seldom that any piece of land is left neglected; but we here saw
+not only the mountains even to their summits, but the very tops of the
+rocks which skirted the edge of the coast, adorned with the most
+beautiful fields and plantations, forming a striking as well as
+singular contrast, by the opposition of their dark grey and blue colour
+to that of the most lively verdure. Another object that excited our
+astonishment was an alley of high trees, stretching over hill and dale
+along the coast, as far as the eye could reach, with arbours at certain
+distances, probably for the weary traveller&mdash;for whom these alleys must
+have been constructed,&mdash;to rest himself in, an attention which cannot
+well be exceeded. These alleys are not uncommon in Japan, for we saw a
+similar one in the vicinity of Nangasaky, and another in the island of
+Meac-Sima."</p>
+<a name="ill54"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration054">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590">
+			<img src="images/054.jpg" alt="Coast of Japan">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590" align="center">
+			<small>Coast of Japan.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The <i>Nadiejeda</i> had hardly anchored at the entrance to Nagasaki harbour
+before Kruzenstern saw several <i>daïmios</i> climb on board, who had come
+to forbid him to advance further.</p>
+
+<p>Now, although the Russians were aware of the policy of isolation
+practised by the Japanese government, they had hoped that their
+reception would have been less forbidding, as they had on board an
+ambassador from the powerful neighbouring state of Russia. They had
+relied on enjoying comparative liberty, of which they would have
+availed themselves to collect information on a country hitherto so
+little known and about which the only people admitted to it had taken a
+vow of silence.</p>
+
+<p>They were, however, disappointed in their expectations. Instead of
+enjoying the same latitude as the Dutch, they were throughout their
+stay harassed by a perpetual surveillance, as unceasing as it was
+annoying. In a word, they were little better than prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>Although the ambassador did obtain permission to land with his escort
+"under arms," a favour never before accorded to any one, the sailors
+were not allowed to get out of their boat, or when they did land the
+restricted place where they were permitted to walk was surrounded by a
+lofty palisading, and guarded by two companies of soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>It was forbidden to write to Europe by way of Batavia, it was forbidden
+to talk to the Dutch captains, the ambassador was forbidden to leave
+his house&mdash;the word forbidden may be said to sum up the anything but
+cordial reception given to their visitors by the Japanese.</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern turned his long stay here to account by completely
+overhauling and repairing his vessel. He had nearly finished this
+operation when the approach was announced of an envoy from the Emperor,
+of dignity so exalted that, in the words of the interpreter, "he dared
+to look at the feet of his Imperial Majesty."</p>
+
+<p>This personage began by refusing the Czar's presents, under pretence
+that if they were accepted the Emperor would have to send back others
+with an embassy, which would be contrary to the customs of the country;
+and he then went on to speak of the law against the entry of any
+vessels into the ports of Japan, and absolutely forbade the Russians to
+buy anything, adding, however, at the same time, that the materials
+already supplied for the refitting and revictualling the vessel would
+be paid for out of the treasury of the Emperor of Japan. He further
+inquired whether the repairs of the <i>Nadiejeda</i> would soon be finished.
+Kruzenstern understood what was meant as soon as his visitor began to
+speak, and hurried on the preparations for his own departure.</p>
+
+<p>Truly he had not much reason to congratulate himself on having waited
+from October to April for such an answer as this. So little were the
+chief results hoped for by his government achieved, that no Russian
+vessel could ever again enter a Japanese port. A short-sighted, jealous
+policy, resulting in the putting back for half a century the progress
+of Japan.</p>
+
+<p>On the 17th April the <i>Nadiejeda</i> weighed anchor, and began a
+hydrographic survey, which had the best results. La Pérouse had been
+the only navigator to traverse before Kruzenstern the seas between
+Japan and the continent. The Russian explorer was therefore anxious to
+connect his work with that of his predecessor, and to fill up the gaps
+the latter had been compelled for want of time to leave in his charts
+of these parts.</p>
+
+<p>"To explore the north-west and south-west coasts of Japan," says
+Kruzenstern, "to ascertain the situation of the Straits of Sangar, the
+width of which in the best charts&mdash;Arrowsmith's 'South Sea Pilot' for
+instance, and the atlas subjoined to La Pérouse's Voyage&mdash;is laid down
+as more than a hundred miles, while the Japanese merely estimated it to
+be a Dutch mile; to examine the west coast of Yezo; to find out the
+island of Karafuto, which in some new charts, compiled after a Japanese
+one, is placed between Yezo and Sachalin, and the existence of which
+appeared to me very probable; to explore this new strait and take an
+accurate plan of the island of Sachalin, from Cape Crillon to the
+north-west coast, from whence, if a good harbour were to be found
+there, I could send out my long boat to examine the supposed passage
+which divides Tartary from Sachalin; and, finally, to attempt a return
+through a new passage between the Kuriles, north of the Canal de la
+Boussole; all this came into my plan, and I have had the good fortune
+to execute part of it."</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern was destined almost entirely to carry out this detailed
+plan, only the survey of the western coast of Japan and of the Strait
+of Sangar, with that of the channel closing the Farakaï Strait, could
+not be accomplished by the Russian navigator, who had, sorely against
+his will, to leave the completion of this important task to his
+successors.</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern now entered the Corea Channel, and determined the longitude
+of Tsusima, obtaining a difference of thirty-six minutes from the
+position assigned to that island by La Pérouse. This difference was
+subsequently confirmed by Dagelet, who can be fully relied upon.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian explorer noticed, as La Pérouse had done before him, that
+the deviation of the magnetic needle is but little noticeable in these
+latitudes.</p>
+
+<p>The position of Sangar Strait, between Yezo and Niphon, being very
+uncertain, Kruzenstern resolved to determine it. The mouth, situated
+between Cape Sangar (N. lat. 41&deg; 16' 30" and W.
+long. 219&deg; 46') and Cape Nadiejeda (N. lat. 41&deg; 25'
+10", W. long. 219&deg; 50' 30"), is
+only nine miles wide; whereas La Pérouse, who had relied, not upon
+personal observation but upon the map of the Dutchman Vries, speaks of
+it as ten miles across. Kruzenstern's was therefore an important
+rectification.</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern did not actually enter this strait. He was anxious to
+verify the existence of a certain island, Karafonto, Tchoka, or Chicha
+by name, set down as between Yezo and Saghalien in a map which appeared
+at St. Petersburg in 1802, and was based on one brought to Russia by
+the Japanese Koday. He then surveyed a small portion of the coast of
+Yezo, naming the chief irregularities, and cast anchor near the
+southernmost promontory of the island, at the entrance to the Straits
+of La Pérouse.</p>
+
+<p>Here he learnt from the Japanese that Saghalien and Karafonto were one
+and the same island.</p>
+
+<p>On the 10th May, 1805, Kruzenstern landed at Yezo, and was surprised to
+find the season but little advanced. The trees were not yet in leaf,
+the snow still lay thick here and there, and the explorer had supposed
+that it was only at Archangel that the temperature would be so severe
+at this time of year. This phenomenon was to be explained later, when
+more was known as to the direction taken by the polar current, which,
+issuing from Behring Strait, washes the shores of Kamtchatka, the
+Kurile Islands, and Yezo.</p>
+
+<p>During his short stay here and at Saghalien, Kruzenstern was able to
+make some observations on the Ainos, a race which probably occupied the
+whole of Yezo before the advent of the Japanese, from whom&mdash;at least
+from those who have been influenced by intercourse with China&mdash;they
+differ entirely.</p>
+<a name="ill55"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration055">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594">
+			<img src="images/055.jpg" alt="Typical Ainos">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594" align="center">
+			<small>Typical Ainos.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>"Their figure," says Kruzenstern, "dress, appearance, and their
+language, prove that they are the same people, as those of Saghalien;
+and the captain of the <i>Castricum</i>, when he missed the Straits of La
+Pérouse, might imagine, as well in Aniwa as in Alkys, that he was but
+in one island.... The Ainos are rather below the middle stature, being
+at the most five feet two or four inches high, of a dark, nearly black
+complexion, with a thick bushy beard, black rough hair, hanging
+straight down; and excepting in the beard they have the appearance of
+the Kamtschadales, only that their countenance is much more regular.
+The women are sufficiently ugly; their colour, which is equally dark,
+their coal black hair combed over their faces, blue painted lips, and
+tattooed hands, added to no remarkable cleanliness in their clothing,
+do not give them any great pretensions to loveliness.... However, I
+must do them the justice to say, that they are modest in the highest
+degree, and in this point form the completest contrast with the women
+of Nukahiva and of Otaheite.... The characteristic quality of an Aino
+is goodness of heart, which is expressed in the strongest manner in his
+countenance; and so far as we were enabled to observe their actions,
+they fully answered this expression.... The dress of the Ainos consists
+chiefly of the skins of tame dogs and seals; but I have seen some in a
+very different attire, which resembled the <i>Parkis</i> of the
+Kamtschadales, and is, properly speaking a white shirt worn over their
+other clothes. In Aniwa Bay they were all clad in furs; their boots
+were made of seal-skins, and in these likewise the women were
+invariably clothed."</p>
+
+<p>After passing through the Straits of La Pérouse, Kruzenstern cast
+anchor in Aniwa Bay, off the island of Saghalien. Here fish was then so
+plentiful, that two Japanese firms alone employed 400 Ainos to catch
+and dry it. It is never taken in nets, but buckets are used at
+ebb-tide.</p>
+
+<p>After having surveyed Patience Gulf, which had only been partially
+examined by the Dutchman Vries, and at the bottom of which flows a
+stream now named the Neva, Kruzenstern broke off his examination of
+Saghalien to determine the position of the Kurile Islands, never yet
+accurately laid down; and on the 5th June, 1805 he returned to
+Petropaulovski, where he put on shore the ambassador and his suite.</p>
+
+<p>In July, after crossing Nadiejeda Strait, between Matona and Rachona,
+two of the Kurile Islands, Kruzenstern surveyed the eastern coast of
+Saghalien, in the neighbourhood of Cape Patience, which presented a
+very picturesque appearance, with the hills clothed with grass and
+stunted trees and the shores with bushes. The scenery of the interior,
+however, was somewhat monotonous, with its unbroken line of lofty
+mountains.</p>
+
+<p>The navigator skirted along the whole of this deserted and harbourless
+coast to Capes Maria and Elizabeth, between which is a deep bay, with a
+little village of thirty-seven houses nestling at the end, the only one
+the Russians had seen since they left Providence Bay. It was not
+inhabited by Ainos, but by Tartars, of which very decided proof was
+obtained a few days later.</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern next entered the channel separating Saghalien from Tartary,
+but he was hardly six miles from the middle of the passage when his
+soundings gave six fathoms only. It was useless to hope to penetrate
+further. Orders were given to "'bout ship," whilst a boat was sent to
+trace the coast-line on either side, and to explore the middle of the
+strait until the soundings should give three fathoms only. A very
+strong current had to be contended with, rendering this row very
+difficult, and this current was rightly supposed to be due to the River
+Amoor, the mouth of which was not far distant.</p>
+
+<p>The advice given to Kruzenstern by the Governor of Kamtchatka, not to
+approach the coast of Chinese Tartary, lest the jealous suspicions of
+the Celestial Government should be aroused, prevented the explorer from
+further prosecuting the work of surveying; and once more passing the
+Kurile group, the <i>Nadiejeda</i> returned to Petropaulovsky.</p>
+
+<p>The Commander availed himself of his stay in this port to make some
+necessary repairs in his vessel, and to confirm the statements of
+Captain Clerke, who had succeeded Cook in the command of his last
+expedition, and those of Delisle de la Croyère, the French astronomer,
+who had been Behring's companion in 1741.</p>
+
+<p>During this last sojourn at Petropaulovsky, Kruzenstern received an
+autograph letter from the Emperor of Russia, enclosing the order of St.
+Anne as a proof of his Majesty's satisfaction with the work done.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th October, 1805, the <i>Nadiejeda</i> set sail for Europe;
+exploring <i>en route</i> the latitudes in which, according to the maps of
+the day, were situated the islands of Rica-de-Plata, Guadalupas,
+Malabrigos, St. Sebastian de Lobos, and San Juan.</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern next identified the Farellon Islands of Anson's map, now
+known as St. Alexander, St. Augustine, and Volcanos, and situated south
+of the Bonin-Sima group. Then crossing the Formosa Channel, he arrived
+at Macao on the 21st November.</p>
+
+<p>He was a good deal surprised not to find the <i>Neva</i> there, as he had
+given instructions for it to bring a cargo of furs, the price of which
+he proposed expending on Chinese merchandise. He decided to wait for
+the arrival of the <i>Neva</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Macao seemed to him to be falling rapidly into decay.</p>
+
+<p>"Many fine buildings," he says, "are ranged in large squares,
+surrounded by courtyards and gardens; but most of them uninhabited, the
+number of Portuguese residents there having greatly decreased. The
+chief private houses belong to the members of the Dutch and English
+factories.... Twelve or fifteen thousand is said to be the number of
+the inhabitants of Macao, most of whom, however, are Chinese, who have
+so completely taken possession of the town, that it is rare to meet any
+European in the streets, with the exception of priests and nuns. One of
+the inhabitants said to me, 'We have more priests here than soldiers;'
+a piece of raillery that was literally true, the number of soldiers
+amounting only to 150, not one of whom is a European, the whole being
+mulattos of Macao and Goa. Even the officers are not all Europeans.
+With so small a garrison it is difficult to defend four large
+fortresses; and the natural insolence of the Chinese finds a sufficient
+motive in the weakness of the military, to heap insult upon insult."</p>
+
+<p>Just as the <i>Nadiejeda</i> was about to weigh anchor, the <i>Neva</i> at last
+appeared. It was now the 3rd November, and Kruzenstern went up the
+coast in the newly arrived vessel as far as Whampoa, where he sold to
+advantage his cargo of furs, after many prolonged discussions which his
+firm but conciliating attitude, together with the intervention of
+English merchants, brought to a successful issue.</p>
+
+<p>On the 9th February, the two vessels once more together weighed anchor,
+and resumed their voyage by way of the Sunda Isles. Beyond Christmas
+Island they were again separated in cloudy weather, and did not meet
+until the end of the trip. On the 4th May, the <i>Nadiejeda</i> cast anchor
+in St. Helena Bay, sixty days' voyage from the Sunda Isles and
+seventy-nine from Macao.</p>
+
+<p>"I know of no better place," says Kruzenstern, "to get supplies after a
+long voyage than St. Helena. The road is perfectly safe, and at all
+times more convenient than Table Bay or Simon's Bay, at the Cape. The
+entrance, with the precaution of first getting near the land, is
+perfectly easy; and on quitting the island nothing more is necessary
+than to weigh anchor and stand out to sea. Every kind of provision may
+be obtained here, particularly the best kinds of garden stuffs, and in
+two or three days a ship may be provided with everything."</p>
+
+<p>On the 21st April, Kruzenstern passed between the Shetland and Orkney
+Islands, in order to avoid the English Channel, where he might have met
+some French pirates, and after a good voyage he arrived at Cronstadt on
+the 7th August, 1806.</p>
+
+<p>Without taking first rank, like the expedition of Cook or that of La
+Pérouse, Kruzenstern's trip was not without interest. We owe no great
+discovery to the Russian explorer, but he verified and rectified the
+work of his predecessors. This was in fact what most of the navigators
+of the nineteenth century had to do, the progress of science enabling
+them to complete what had been begun by others.</p>
+
+<p>Kruzenstern had taken with him in his voyage round the world the son of
+the well-known dramatic author Kotzebue. The young Otto Kotzebue, who
+was then a cadet, soon gained his promotion, and he was a naval
+lieutenant when, in 1815 the command was given to him of the <i>Rurik</i>, a
+new brig, with two guns, and a crew of no more than twenty-seven men,
+equipped at the expense of Count Romantzoff. His task was to explore
+the less-known parts of Oceania, and to cut a passage for his vessel
+across the Frozen Ocean. Kotzebue left the port of Cronstadt on the
+15th July, 1815, put in first at Copenhagen and Plymouth, and after a
+very trying trip doubled Cape Horn, and entered the Pacific Ocean on
+the 22nd January, 1816. After a halt at Talcahuano, on the coast of
+Chili, he resumed his voyage; sighted the desert island of Salas of
+Gomez, on the 26th March, and steered towards Easter Island, where he
+hoped to meet with the same friendly reception as Cook and Pérouse had
+done before him.</p>
+
+<p>The Russians had, however, hardly disembarked before they were
+surrounded by a crowd eager to offer them fruit and roots, by whom they
+were so shamelessly robbed that they were compelled to use their arms
+in self-defence, and to re-embark as quickly as possible to avoid the
+shower of stones flung at them by the natives.</p>
+
+<p>The only observation they had time to make during this short visit, was
+the overthrow of the numerous huge stone statues described, measured,
+and drawn, by Cook and La Pérouse.</p>
+
+<p>On the 16th April, the Russian captain arrived at the Dog Island of
+Schouten, which he called Doubtful Island, to mark the difference in
+his estimate of its position and that attributed to it by earlier
+navigators. Kotzebue gives it S. lat. 44&deg; 50' and W.
+long. 138&deg; 47'.</p>
+
+<p>During the ensuing days were discovered the desert island of
+Romantzoff, so named in honour of the promoter of the expedition;
+Spiridoff Island, with a lagoon in the centre; the Island Oura of the
+Pomautou group, the Vliegen chain of islets, and the no less extended
+group of the Kruzenstern Islands.</p>
+
+<p>On the 28th April, the <i>Rurik</i> was near the supposed site of Bauman's
+Islands, but not a sign of them could be seen, and it appeared probable
+that the group had in fact been one of those already visited.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as he was safely out of the dangerous Pomautou archipelago
+Kotzebue steered towards the group of islands sighted in 1788 by Sever,
+who, without touching at them, gave them the name of Penrhyn. The
+Russian explorer determined the position of the central group of islets
+as S. lat. 9&deg; 1' 35" and W. long. 157&deg; 44' 32", characterizing
+them as very low, like those of the
+Pomautou group, but inhabited for all that.</p>
+
+<p>At the sight of the vessel a considerable fleet of canoes put off from
+the shore, and the natives, palm branches in their hands, advanced with
+the rhythmic sound of the paddles serving as a kind of solemn and
+melancholy accompaniment to numerous singers. To guard against
+surprise, Kotzebue made all the canoes draw up on one side of the
+vessel, and bartering was done with a rope as the means of
+communication. The natives had nothing to trade with but bits of iron
+and fish-hooks made of mother-of-pearl. They were well made and
+martial-looking, but wore no clothes beyond a kind of apron.</p>
+
+<p>At first only noisy and very lively, the natives soon became
+threatening. They thieved openly, and answered remonstrances with
+undisguised taunts. Brandishing their spears above their heads, they
+seemed to be urging each other on to an attack.</p>
+
+<p>When Kotzebue felt that the moment had come to put an end to these
+hostile demonstrations, he had one gun fired. In the twinkling of an
+eye the canoes were empty, their terrified crews unpremeditatingly
+flinging themselves into the water with one accord. Presently the heads
+of the divers reappeared, and, a little calmed down by the warning
+received, the natives returned to their canoes and their bartering.
+Nails and pieces of iron were much sought after by these people, whom
+Kotzebue likens to the natives of Noukha-Hiva. They do not exactly
+tatoo themselves, but cover their bodies with large scars.</p>
+<a name="ill56"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration056">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577">
+			<img src="images/056.jpg" alt="In the twinkling of an eye the canoes were empty">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577" align="center">
+			<small>"In the twinkling of an eye the canoes were empty."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>A curious fashion not before noticed amongst the islanders of Oceania
+prevails amongst them. Most of them wear the nails very long, and those
+of the chief men in the canoes extended three inches beyond the end of
+the finger.</p>
+
+<p>Thirty-six boats, manned by 360 men, now surrounded the vessel, and
+Kotzebue, judging that with his feeble resources and the small crew of
+the <i>Rurik</i> any attempt to land would be imprudent, set sail again
+without being able to collect any more information on these wild and
+warlike islanders.</p>
+
+<p>Continuing his voyage towards Kamtchatka, the navigator sighted on the
+21st May two groups of islands connected by a chain of coral reefs. He
+named them Kutusoff and Suwaroff, determined their position, and made
+up his mind to come back and examine them again. The natives in fleet
+canoes approached the <i>Rurik</i>, but, in spite of the pressing invitation
+of the Russians, would not trust themselves on board. They gazed at the
+vessel in astonishment, talked to each other with a vivacity which
+showed their intelligence, and flung on deck the fruit of the
+pandanus-tree and cocoa-nuts.</p>
+
+<p>Their lank black hair, with flowers fastened in it here and there, the
+ornaments hung round their necks, their clothing of "two
+curiously-woven coloured mats tied to the waist" and reaching below the
+knee, but above all their frank and friendly countenances,
+distinguished the natives of the Marshall archipelago from those of
+Penrhyn.</p>
+
+<p>On the 19th June the <i>Rurik</i> put in at New Archangel, and for
+twenty-eight days her crew were occupied in repairing her.</p>
+
+<p>On the 15th July Kotzebue set sail again, and five days later
+disembarked on Behring Island, the southern promontory of which he laid
+down in N. lat. 55&deg; 17' 18" and W. long. 194&deg; 6' 37".</p>
+
+<p>The natives Kotzebue met with on this island, like those of the North
+American coast, wore clothes made of seal-skin and the intestines of
+the walrus. The lances used by them were pointed with the teeth of
+these amphibious animals. Their food consisted of the flesh of whales
+and seals, which they store in deep cellars dug in the earth. Their
+boats were made of leather, and they had sledges drawn by dogs.</p>
+
+<p>Their mode of salutation is strange enough, they first rub each other's
+noses and then pass their hands over their own stomachs as if rejoicing
+over the swallowing of some tid-bit. Lastly, when they want to be very
+friendly indeed, they spit in their own palms and rub their friends'
+faces with the spittle.</p>
+
+<p>The captain, still keeping his northerly course along the American
+coast, discovered Schichmareff Bay, Saritschiff Island, and lastly, an
+extensive gulf, the existence of which was not previously known. At the
+end of this gulf Kotzebue hoped to find a channel through which he
+could reach the Arctic Ocean, but he was disappointed. He gave his own
+name to the gulf, and that of Kruzenstern to the cape at the entrance.</p>
+
+<p>Driven back by bad weather, the <i>Rurik</i> reached Ounalashka on the 6th
+September, halted for a few days at San Francisco, and reached the
+Sandwich Islands, where some important surveys were made and some very
+curious information collected.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving the Sandwich Islands, Kotzebue steered for Suwaroff and
+Kutusoff Islands, which he had discovered a few months before. On the
+1st January, 1817, he sighted Miadi Island, to which he gave the name
+of New Year's Island. Four days later he discovered a chain of little
+low wooded islands set in a framework of reefs, through which the
+vessel could scarcely make its way.</p>
+
+<p>Just at first the natives ran away at the sight of Lieutenant
+Schischmaroff, but they soon came back with branches in their hands,
+shouting out the word <i>aidara</i> (friend). The officer repeated this word
+and gave them a few nails in return, for which the Russians received
+the collars and flowers worn as neck-ornaments by the natives.</p>
+
+<p>This exchange of courtesies emboldened the rest of the islanders to
+appear, and throughout the stay of the Russians in this archipelago
+these friendly demonstrations and enthusiastic but guarded greetings
+were continued. One native, Rarik by name, was particularly cordial to
+the Russians, whom he informed that the name of his island and of the
+chain of islets and <i>attolls</i><small><small><sup>2</sup></small></small> connected with it was Otdia. In
+acknowledgment of the cordial reception of the natives, Kotzebue left
+with them a cock and hen, and planted in a garden laid out under his
+orders a quantity of seeds, in the hope that they would thrive; but in
+this he did not make allowance for the number of rats which swarmed
+upon these islands and wrought havoc in his plantations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>2</sup></small> Attolls are coral islands like circular belts surrounding
+a smooth lagoon.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>On the 6th February, after ascertaining from what he was told by a
+chief named Languediak, that these sparsely populated islands were of
+recent formation, Kotzebue put to sea again, having first christened
+the archipelago Romantzoff.</p>
+
+<p>The next day a group of islets, on which only three inhabitants were
+found, had its name of Eregup changed to that of Tchitschakoff, and
+then an enthusiastic reception was given to Kotzebue on the Kawen
+Islands by the tamon or chief. Every native here fêted the new-comers,
+some by their silence&mdash;like the queen forbidden by etiquette to answer
+the speeches made to her&mdash;some by their dances, cries, and songs, in
+which the name of Totabou (Kotzebue) was constantly repeated. The chief
+himself came to fetch Kotzebue in a canoe, and carried him on his
+shoulders through the breakers to the beach.</p>
+
+<p>In the Aur group the navigator noticed amongst a crowd of natives who
+climbed on to the vessel, two natives whose faces and tattooing seemed
+to mark them as of alien race. One of them, Kadu by name, especially
+pleased the commander, who gave him some bits of iron, and Kotzebue was
+surprised that he did not receive them with the same pleasure as his
+companions. This was explained the same evening. When all the natives
+were leaving the vessel, Kadu earnestly begged to be allowed to remain
+on the <i>Rurik</i>, and never again to leave it. The commander only yielded
+to his wishes after a great deal of persuasion.</p>
+
+<p>"Kadu," says Kotzebue, "had scarcely obtained permission, when he
+turned quickly to his comrades, who were waiting for him, declared to
+them his intention of remaining on board the ship, and distributed his
+iron among the chiefs. The astonishment in the boats was beyond
+description: they tried in vain to shake his resolution; he was
+immovable. At last his friend Edock came back, spoke long and seriously
+to him, and when he found that his persuasion was of no avail, he
+attempted to drag him by force; but Kadu now used the right of the
+strongest, he pushed his friend from him, and the boats sailed off. His
+resolution being inexplicable to me, I conceived a notion that he
+perhaps intended to steal during the night, and privately to leave the
+ship, and therefore had the night-watch doubled, and his bed made up
+close to mine on the deck, where I slept, on account of the heat. Kadu
+felt greatly honoured to sleep close to the tamon of the ship."</p>
+
+<p>Born at Ulle, one of the Caroline Islands, more than 300 miles from the
+group where he was now living, Kadu, with Edok and two other
+fellow-countrymen, had been overtaken, when fishing, by a violent
+storm. For eight months the poor fellows were at the mercy of the winds
+and currents on a sea now smooth, now rough. They had never throughout
+this time been without fish, but they had suffered the cruelest
+tortures from thirst. When their stock of rain-water, which they had
+used very sparingly, was exhausted, there was nothing left to them to
+do but to fling themselves into the sea and try to obtain at the bottom
+of the ocean some water less impregnated with salt, which they brought
+to the surface in cocoa-nut shells pierced with a small opening. When
+they reached the Aur Islands, even the sight of land and the immediate
+prospect of safety did not rouse them from the state of prostration
+into which they had sunk.</p>
+
+<p>The sight of the iron instruments in the canoe of the strangers led the
+people of Aur to decide on their massacre for the sake of their
+treasures; but the tamon, Tigedien by name, took them under his
+protection.</p>
+
+<p>Three years had passed since this event, and the men from the Caroline
+Islands, thanks to their more extended knowledge, soon acquired a
+certain ascendancy over their hosts.</p>
+
+<p>When the <i>Rurik</i> appeared, Kadu was in the woods a long way from the
+coast. He was sent for at once, as he was looked upon as a great
+traveller, and he might perhaps be able to say what the great monster
+approaching the island was. Now Kadu had more than once seen European
+vessels, and he persuaded his friends to go and meet the strangers, and
+to receive them kindly.</p>
+
+<p>Such had been Kadu's adventures. He now remained on the <i>Rurik</i>,
+identified the other islands of the Archipelago, and lost no time in
+facilitating intercourse between the Russians and the natives. Dressed
+in a yellow mantle, and wearing a red cap like a convict, Kadu looked
+down upon his old friends, and seemed not to recognize them. When a
+fine old man with a flowing beard, named Tigedien, came on board, Kadu
+undertook to explain to him and his companions the working of the
+vessel and the use of everything about the ship. Like many Europeans,
+he made up for his ignorance by imperturbable assurance, and had an
+answer ready for every question.</p>
+
+<p>Interrogated on the subject of a little box from which a sailor took a
+black powder and applied it to his nostrils, Kadu glibly told some most
+extraordinary stories, and wound up with a practical illustration by
+putting the box against his own nose. He then flung it from him,
+sneezing violently and screaming so loud that his terrified friends
+fled away on every side; but when the crisis was over he managed to
+turn the incident to his own advantage.</p>
+
+<p>Kadu gave Kotzebue some general information about the group of islands
+then under examination, and the Russians spent a month in taking
+surveys, &amp;c. All these islands, which the natives call Radack, were
+under the control of one tamon, a man named Lamary. A few years later
+Dumont d'Urville gave the name of Marshall to the group. According to
+Kadu, another chain of islets, attolls, and reefs was situated some
+little distance off on the west.</p>
+
+<p>Kotzebue had not time to identify them, and steering in a northerly
+direction he reached Ounalashka on the 24th April, where he had to
+repair the serious damage sustained by the <i>Rurik</i> in two violent
+storms. This done, he took on board some baidares (boats cased in skins
+to make them water-tight), with fifteen natives of the Aleutian
+Islands, who were used to the navigation of the Polar seas, and resumed
+his exploration of Behring Strait.</p>
+
+<p>Kotzebue had suffered very much from pain in his chest ever since when,
+doubling Cape Horn, he had been knocked down by a huge wave and flung
+overboard, an accident which would have cost him his life had he not
+clung to some rope. The consequences were so serious to his health that
+when, on the 10th July, he landed on the island of St. Lawrence, he was
+obliged to give up the further prosecution of his researches.</p>
+
+<p>On the 1st October the <i>Rurik</i> made a second short halt at the Sandwich
+Islands where seeds and animals were landed, and at the end of the
+month the explorers landed at Otdia in the midst of the enthusiastic
+acclamations of the natives. The cats brought by the visitors were
+welcomed with special enthusiasm, for the island was infested with
+immense numbers of rats, who worked havoc on the plantations. Great
+also was the rejoicing over the return of Kadu, with whom the Russians
+left an assortment of tools and weapons, which made their owner the
+wealthiest inhabitant of the archipelago.</p>
+<a name="ill57"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration057">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="598">
+			<img src="images/057.jpg" alt="Interior of a house at Radak">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="598" align="center">
+			<small>Interior of a house at Radak.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>On the 4th November the <i>Rurik</i> left the Radak Islands, after
+identifying the Legiep group, and cast anchor off Guam, one of the
+Marianne islands, where she remained until the end of the month. A halt
+of some weeks at Manilla enabled the commander to collect some curious
+information about the Philippine Islands, to which he would have to
+return later.</p>
+
+<p>After escaping from the violent storms encountered in doubling the Cape
+of Good Hope, the <i>Rurik</i> cast anchor on the 3rd August, 1818, in the
+Neva, opposite Count Romantzoff's palace.</p>
+
+<p>These three years of absence had been turned to good account by the
+hardy navigators. In spite of the smallness of their number and the
+poverty of their equipments, they had not been afraid to face the
+terrors of the deep, to venture amongst all but unknown archipelagoes,
+or to brave the rigours of the Arctic and Torrid zones. Important as
+were their actual discoveries, their rectification of the errors of
+their predecessors were of yet greater value. Two thousand five hundred
+species of plants, one third of which were quite new, with numerous
+details respecting the language, ethnography, religion, and customs of
+the tribes visited, formed a rich harvest attesting the zeal, skill,
+and knowledge of the captain as well as the intrepidity and endurance
+of his crew.</p>
+
+<p>When, therefore, the Russian government decided, in 1823, to send
+reinforcements to Kamtchatka to put an end to the contraband trade
+carried on in Russian America, the command of the expedition was given
+to Kotzebue. A frigate called the <i>Predpriatie</i> was placed at his
+disposal, and he was left free to choose his own route both going and
+returning.</p>
+
+<p>Kotzebue had gone round the world as a midshipman with Kruzenstern, and
+that explorer now entrusted to him his eldest son, as did also Möller,
+the Minister of Marine, a proof of the great confidence both fathers
+placed in him.</p>
+
+<p>The expedition left Cronstadt on the 15th August, 1823, reached Rio
+Janeiro in safety, doubled Cape Horn on the 15th January, 1824, and
+steered for the Pomautou Archipelago, where Predpriatie Island was
+discovered and the islands of Araktschejews, Romantzoff, Carlshoff, and
+Palliser were identified. On the 14th March anchor was cast in the
+harbour of Matavar, Otaheite.</p>
+<a name="ill58"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration058">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592">
+			<img src="images/058.jpg" alt="View of Otaheite">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592" align="center">
+			<small>View of Otaheite.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Since Cook's stay in this archipelago a complete transformation had
+taken place in the manners and customs of the inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>In 1799 some missionaries settled in Otaheite, where they remained for
+ten years, unfortunately without making a single conversion, and we add
+with regret without even winning the esteem or respect of the natives.
+Compelled at the end of these ten years, in consequence of the
+revolutions which convulsed Otaheite, to take refuge at Eimeo and other
+islands of the same group, their efforts were there crowned with more
+success. In 1817, Pomaré, king of Otaheite, recalled the missionaries,
+made them a grant of land, and declared himself a convert to
+Christianity. His example was soon followed by a considerable number of
+natives.</p>
+
+<p>Kotzebue had heard of this change, but he was not prepared to find
+European customs generally adopted.</p>
+
+<p>At the sound of the discharge announcing the arrival of the Russians, a
+boat, bearing the Otaheitian flag, put off from shore, bringing a pilot
+to guide the <i>Predpriatie</i> to its anchorage.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, which happened to be Sunday, the Russians were surprised
+at the religious silence which prevailed throughout the island when
+they landed. This silence was only broken by the sound of canticles and
+psalms sung by the natives in their huts.</p>
+
+<p>The church, a plain, clean building of rectangular form, roofed with
+reeds and approached by a long avenue of palms, was well filled with an
+attentive, orderly congregation, the men sitting on one side, the women
+on the other, all with prayer-books in their hands. The voices of the
+neophytes often joined in the chant of the missionaries, unfortunately
+with better will than correctness or appropriateness.</p>
+
+<p>If the piety of the islanders was edifying, the costumes worn by these
+strange converts were such as somewhat to distract the attention of the
+visitors. A black coat or the waistcoat of an English uniform was the
+only garment worn by some, whilst others contented themselves with a
+jacket, a shirt, or a pair of trousers. The most fortunate were wrapped
+in cloth mantles, and rich and poor alike dispensed with shoes and
+stockings.</p>
+<a name="foot"></a>
+<p>The women were no less grotesquely clad. Some wore men's shirts, white
+or striped as the case might be, others a mere piece of cloth; but all
+had European hats. The wives of the Areois<small><small><sup>3</sup></small></small> wore coloured robes, a
+piece of great extravagance, but with them the dress formed the whole
+costume.</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>3</sup></small> The Areois are a curious vagrant set of people, who have
+been found in these regions, who practise the singular and fatal custom of
+killing their children at birth, because of a traditional law binding
+them to do so.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>On the Monday a most imposing ceremony took place. This was the visit
+to Kotzebue of the queen-mother and the royal family. These great
+people were preceded by a master of ceremonies, who was a sort of court
+fool wearing nothing but a red waistcoat, and with his legs tattooed to
+represent striped trousers, whilst on the lower portion of his back was
+described a quadrant divided into minute sections. He performed his
+absurd capers, contortions, and grimaces with a gravity infinitely
+amusing.</p>
+
+<p>The queen regent carried the little king Pomaré III. in her arms, and
+beside her walked his sister, a pretty child of ten years old. The
+royal infant was dressed in European style, like his subjects, and like
+them, he wore nothing on his feet. At the request of the ministers and
+great people of Otaheite, Kotzebue had a pair of boots made for him,
+which he was to wear on the day of his coronation.</p>
+
+<p>Great were the shouts of joy, the gestures of delight, and the envious
+exclamations over the trifles distributed amongst the ladies of the
+court, and fierce were the struggles for the smallest shreds of the
+imitation gold lace given away.</p>
+
+<p>What important matter could have brought so many men on to the deck of
+the frigate, bearing with them quantities of fruits and figs? These
+eager messengers were the husbands of the disappointed ladies of
+Otaheite who had not been present at the division of the gold lace more
+valuable in their eyes than rivers of diamonds in those of Europeans.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of ten days, Kotzebue decided to leave this strange country,
+where civilization and barbarism flourished side by side in a manner so
+fraternal, and steered for the Samoa Archipelago, notorious for the
+massacre of the companions of La Pérouse.</p>
+
+<p>How great was the difference between the Samoans and the Otaheitians!
+Wild and fierce, suspicious and threatening, the natives of Rose Island
+could scarcely be kept off the deck of the <i>Predpriatie</i>, and one of
+them at the sight of the bare arm of a sailor made a savage and
+eloquent gesture showing with what pleasure he could devour the firm
+and doubtless savoury flesh displayed to view.</p>
+
+<p>The insolence of the natives increased with the arrival of more canoes
+from the shore, and they had to be beaten back with boathooks before
+the <i>Predpriatie</i> could get away from amongst the frail boats of the
+ferocious islanders.</p>
+
+<p>Upolu or Oyalava, Platte and Pola or Savai Islands, which with Rose
+Island form part of the Navigator or Samoan group, were passed almost
+as soon as they were sighted; and Kotzebue steered for the Radak
+Islands, where he had been so kindly received on his first voyage. This
+time, however, the natives were terrified at sight of the huge vessel,
+and piled up their canoes or fled into the interior, whilst on the
+beach a procession was formed, a number of islanders with palm branches
+in their hands advancing to meet the intruders and beg for peace.</p>
+
+<p>At this sight, Kotzebue flung himself into a boat with the surgeon
+Eschscholtz, and rowing rapidly towards the shore, shouted: "Totabou
+aïdara" (Kotzebue, friend). An immediate change was the result; the
+petitions the natives were going to address to the Russians were
+converted into shouts and enthusiastic demonstrations of delight, some
+rushing forwards to welcome their friend, others running over to
+announce his arrival to their fellow-countrymen.</p>
+
+<p>The commander was very pleased to find that Kadu was still living at
+Aur, under the protection of Lamary, whose countenance he had secured
+at the price of half his wealth.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the animals left here by Kotzebue, the cats, now become wild
+alone, had survived, and thus far they had not destroyed the legions of
+rats with which the island was overrun.</p>
+
+<p>The explorer remained several days with his friends, whom he
+entertained with dramatic representations; and on the 6th May he made
+for the Legiep group, the examination of which he had left uncompleted
+on his last voyage. After surveying it, he intended to resume his
+exploration of the Radak Islands, but bad weather prevented this, and
+he had to set sail for Kamtchatka.</p>
+
+<p>The crew here enjoyed the rest so fully earned, from the 7th June to
+the 20th July, when Kotzebue set sail for New Archangel on the American
+coast, where he cast anchor on the 7th August.</p>
+
+<p>The frigate, which was here to take the place of the <i>Predpriatie</i>, was
+not however ready for sea until the 1st March of the following year,
+and Kotzebue turned the delay to account by visiting the Sandwich
+Islands, where he cast anchor off Waihou in December, 1824.</p>
+
+<p>The harbour of Hono-kourou or Honolulu is the safest of the
+archipelago; a good many vessels therefore put in there even at this
+early date, and the island of Waihou bid fair to become the most
+important of the group, supplanting Hawaii or Owhyee. The appearance of
+the town was already semi-European, stone houses replaced the primitive
+native huts, regular streets with shops, café, public-houses, much
+patronized by the sailors of whalers and fur-traders, together with a
+fortress provided with cannon, were the most noteworthy signs of the
+rapid transformation of the manners and customs of the natives.</p>
+
+<p>Fifty years had now elapsed since the discovery of most of the islands
+of Oceania, and everywhere changes had taken place as sudden as those
+in the Sandwich Islands.</p>
+
+<p>"The fur trade," says Desborough Cooley, carried on with the
+north-west coast of America, "has effected a wonderful revolution in the
+Sandwich Islands, which from their situation offered an advantageous
+shelter for ships engaged in it. Among these islands the fur-traders
+wintered, refitted their vessels, and replenished their stock of fresh
+provisions; and, as summer approached, returned to complete their cargo
+on the coast of America. Iron tools and, above all, guns were eagerly
+sought for by the islanders in exchange for their provisions; and the
+mercenery traders, regardless of consequences, readily gratified their
+desires. Fire-arms and ammunition being the most profitable stock to
+traffic with were supplied them in abundance. Hence the Sandwich
+islanders soon became formidable to their visitors; they seized on
+several small vessels, and displayed an energy tinctured at first with
+barbarity, but indicating great capabilities of social improvement. At
+this period, one of those extraordinary characters which seldom fail to
+come forth when fate is charged with great events, completed the
+revolution, which had its origin in the impulse of Europeans.
+Tame-tame-hah, a chief, who had made himself conspicuous during the
+last and unfortunate visit of Cook to those islands, usurped the
+authority of king, subdued the neighbouring islands with an army of
+16,000 men, and made his conquests subservient to his grand schemes of
+improvement. He knew the superiority of Europeans, and was proud to
+imitate them. Already, in 1796, when Captain Broughton visited those
+islands, the usurper sent to ask him whether he should salute him with
+great guns. He always kept Englishmen about him as ministers and
+advisers. In 1817, he is said to have had an army of 7000 men, armed
+with muskets, among whom were at least fifty Europeans. Tame-tame-hah,
+who began his career in blood and usurpation, lived to gain the sincere
+love and admiration of his subjects, who regarded him as more than
+human, and mourned his death with tears of warmer affection than often
+bedew the ashes of royalty."</p>
+<a name="ill59"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration059">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="605">
+			<img src="images/059.jpg" alt="One of the guard of the King of the Sandwich Islands">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="605" align="center">
+			<small>One of the guard of the King of the Sandwich Islands.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Such was the state of things when the Russian expedition put in at
+Waihou. The young king Rio-Rio was in England with his wife, and the
+government of the archipelago was in the hands of the queen-mother,
+Kaahou Manou.</p>
+
+<p>Kotzebue took advantage of the latter and of the first minister both
+being absent on a neighbouring island, to pay a visit to another wife
+of Kamea-Mea.</p>
+
+<p>"The apartment," says the traveller, "was furnished in the European
+fashion, with chairs, tables, and looking-glasses. In one corner stood
+an immensely large bed with silk curtains; the floor was covered with
+fine mats, and on these, in the middle of the room, lay Nomahanna,
+extended on her stomach, her head turned towards the door, and her arms
+supported on a silk pillow.... Nomahanna, who appeared at the utmost
+not more than forty years old, was exactly six feet two inches high,
+and rather more than two ells in circumference.... Her coal-black hair
+was neatly plaited, at the top of a head as round as a ball; her flat
+nose and thick projecting lips were certainly not very handsome, yet
+was her countenance on the whole prepossessing and agreeable."</p>
+
+<p>The "good lady" remembered having seen Kotzebue ten years before. She,
+therefore, received him graciously, but she could not speak of her
+husband without tears in her eyes, and her grief did not appear to be
+assumed. In order that the date of his death should be ever-present to
+her mind she had had the inscription 6th May, 1819, branded on her arm.</p>
+
+<p>A zealous Christian, like most of the population, the queen took
+Kotzebue to the church, a vast but simple building, not nearly so
+crowded as that at Otaheite. Nomahanna seemed to be very intelligent,
+she knew how to read and was specially enthusiastic about writing, that
+art which connects us with the absent. Being anxious to give the
+commander a proof alike of her affection and of her acquirements she
+sent him a letter by hand which it had taken her several weeks to
+concoct.</p>
+
+<p>The other ladies did not like to be outdone, and Kotzebue found himself
+overwhelmed with documents. The only means to check this epistolatory
+inundation was to weigh anchor, which the captain did without loss of
+time.</p>
+
+<p>Before his departure he received queen Nomahanna on board. Her Majesty
+appeared in her robes of ceremony, consisting of a magnificent
+peach-coloured silk dress embroidered with black, evidently originally
+made for a European, and consequently too tight and too short for its
+wearer. People could, therefore, see not only the feet, beside which
+those of Charlemagne would have looked like a Chinaman's, and which
+were cased in huge men's boots, but also a pair of fat, brown, naked
+legs resembling the balustrades of a terrace. A collar of red and
+yellow feathers, a garland of natural flowers, serving as a gorget, and
+a hat of Leghorn straw, trimmed with artificial flowers, completed this
+fine but absurd costume.</p>
+
+<p>Nomahanna went over the ship, asking questions about everything, and at
+last, worn out with seeing so many wonders, betook herself to the
+captain's cabin, where a good collation was spread for her. The queen
+flung herself upon a couch, but the fragile article of furniture was
+unable to sustain so much majesty, and gave way beneath the weight of a
+princess, whose <i>embonpoint</i> had doubtless had a good deal to do with
+her elevation to such high rank.</p>
+
+<p>After this halt Kotzebue returned to New Archangel, where he remained
+until the 30th July, 1825. He then paid another visit to the Sandwich
+Islands a short time after Admiral Byron had brought back the remains
+of the king and queen. The archipelago was then at peace, its
+prosperity was continually on the increase, the influence of the
+missionaries was confirmed, and the education of the young monarch was
+in the hands of Missionary Bingham. The inhabitants were deeply touched
+by the honours accorded by the English to the remains of their
+sovereigns, and the day seemed to be not far distant when European
+customs would completely supersede those of the natives.</p>
+
+<p>Some provisions having been embarked at Waihou, the explorer made for
+Radak Islands, identified the Pescadores, forming the southern
+extremity of that chain, discovered the Eschscholtz group, a short
+distance off, and touched at Guam on the 15th October. On the 23rd
+January, 1826, he left Manilla after a stay of some months, during
+which constant intercourse with the natives had enabled him to add
+greatly to our knowledge of the geography and natural history of the
+Philippine islands. A new Spanish governor had arrived with a large
+reinforcement of troops, and had so completely crushed all agitation
+that the colonists had quite given up their scheme of separating
+themselves from Spain.</p>
+
+<p>On the 10th July, 1826, the <i>Predpriatie</i> returned to Cronstadt, after
+a voyage extending over three years, during which she had visited the
+north-west coast of America, the Aleutian Islands, Kamtchatka, and the
+Sea of Oktoksh; surveyed minutely a great part of the Radak Islands,
+and obtained fresh information on the changes through which the people
+of Oceania were passing. Thanks to the ardour of Chamisso and Professor
+Eschscholtz, many specimens of natural history had been collected, and
+the latter published a description of more than 2000 animals, as well
+as some curious details on the mode of formation of the Coral islands
+in the South Seas.</p>
+
+<p>The English government had now resumed with eagerness the study of the
+tantalizing problem, the solution of which had been sought so long in
+vain. We allude to the finding of the north-west passage. When Parry by
+sea and Franklin by land were trying to reach Behring Strait, Captain
+Frederick William Beechey received instructions to penetrate as far
+north as possible by way of the same strait so as to meet the other
+explorers, who would doubtless arrive in a state of exhaustion from
+fatigue and privation.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Blossom</i>, Captain Beechey commander, set sail from Spithead on the
+19th May, 1825, and after doubling Cape Horn on the 26th December,
+entered the Pacific Ocean. After a short stay off the coast of Chili,
+Beechey visited Easter Island, where the same incidents which had
+marked Kotzebue's visit were repeated. The same eager reception on the
+part of the natives, who swam to the <i>Blossom</i> or brought their paltry
+merchandise to it in canoes, and the same shower of stones and blows
+from clubs when the English landed, repulsed, as in the Russian
+explorer's time, with a rapid discharge of shot.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th December, Captain Beechey sighted an island completely
+overgrown with vegetation. This was the spot famous for the discovery
+on it of the descendants of the mutineers of the <i>Bounty</i>, who landed
+on it after the enactment of a tragedy, which at the end of last
+century had excited intense public interest in England.</p>
+
+<p>In 1781 Lieutenant Bligh, one of the officers who had distinguished
+himself under Cook, was appointed to the command of the <i>Bounty</i>, and
+received orders to go to Otaheite, there to obtain specimens of the
+breadfruit-tree and other of its vegetable productions for
+transportation to the Antilles, then generally known amongst the
+English as the Western Indies. After doubling Cape Horn, Bligh cast
+anchor in the Bay of Matavai, where he shipped a cargo of
+breadfruit-trees, proceeding thence to Ramouka, one of the Tonga Isles,
+for more of the same valuable growth. Thus far no special incident
+marked the course of the voyage, which seemed likely to end happily.
+But the haughty character and stern, despotic manners of the commander
+had alienated from him the affections of nearly the whole of his crew.
+A plot was formed against him which was carried out before sunrise on
+the 28th April, off Tofona.</p>
+
+<p>Surprised by the mutineers whilst still in bed, Bligh was bound and
+gagged before he could defend himself, and dragged on deck in his
+night-shirt, and after a mock trial, presided over by Lieutenant
+Christian Fletcher, he, with eighteen men who remained faithful to him,
+was lowered into a boat containing a few provisions, and abandoned in
+the open sea.</p>
+
+<p>After enduring agonies of hunger and thirst, and escaping from terrible
+storms and from the teeth of the savage natives of Tofona, Bligh
+succeeded in reaching Timor Island, where he received an enthusiastic
+welcome.</p>
+
+<p>"I now desired my people to come on shore," says Bligh, "which was as
+much as some of them could do, being scarce able to walk; they,
+however, were helped to the house, and found tea with bread and butter
+provided for their breakfast.... Our bodies were nothing but skin and
+bones, our limbs were full of sores, and we were clothed in rags; in
+this condition, with the tears of joy and gratitude flowing down our
+cheeks, the people of Timor beheld us with a mixture of horror,
+surprise, and pity.... Thus, through the assistance of Divine
+Providence, we surmounted the difficulties and distresses of a most
+perilous voyage."</p>
+
+<p>Perilous, indeed, for it had lasted no less than forty-one days in
+latitudes but little known, in an open boat, with insufficient food,
+want and exposure causing infinite suffering. Yet in this voyage of
+more than 1500 leagues but one man was lost, a sailor who fell a victim
+at the beginning of the journey to the natives of Tofona.</p>
+
+<p>The fate of the mutineers was strange, and more than one lesson may be
+learnt from it.</p>
+
+<p>They made for Otaheite, where provisions were obtained, and those who
+had been least active in the mutiny were abandoned, and thence
+Christian set sail with eight sailors, who elected to remain with him,
+and some twenty-two natives, men and women from Otaheite and Toubonai.
+Nothing more was heard of them!</p>
+
+<p>As for those who remained at Otaheite, they were taken prisoners in
+1791 by Captain Edwards of the <i>Pandora</i>, sent out by the English
+Government in search of them and the other mutineers, with orders to
+bring them to England. Of the ten who were brought home by the
+<i>Pandora</i>, only three were condemned to death.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty years passed by before the slightest light was thrown on the
+fate of Christian and those he took with him.</p>
+
+<p>In 1808 an American trading-vessel touched at Pitcairn, there to
+complete her cargo of seal-skins. The captain imagined the island to be
+uninhabited, but to his very great surprise a canoe presently
+approached his ship manned by three young men of colour, who spoke
+English very well. Greatly astonished, the commander questioned them,
+and learnt that their father had served under Bligh.</p>
+
+<p>The fate of the latter was now known to the whole world, and its
+discussion had lightened the tedious hours in the forecastles of
+vessels of every nationality, and the American captain, reminded by the
+singular incident related above of the disappearance of so many of the
+mutineers of the <i>Bounty</i>, landed on the island, where he met an
+Englishman named Smith, who had belonged to the crew of that vessel,
+and who made the following confession.</p>
+
+<p>When he left Otaheite, Christian made direct for Pitcairn, attracted to
+it by its lonely situation, south of the Pomautou Islands, and out of
+the general track of vessels. After landing the provisions of the
+<i>Bounty</i> and taking away all the fittings which could be of any use,
+the mutineers burnt the vessel not only with a view to removing all
+trace of their whereabouts, but also to prevent the escape of any of
+their number.</p>
+
+<p>From the first the sight of the extensive marshes led them to believe
+the island to be uninhabited, and they were soon convinced of the
+justice of this opinion. Huts were built and land was cleared; but the
+English charitably assigned to the natives, whom they had carried off
+or who had elected to join them, the position of slaves. Two years
+passed by without any serious dissensions arising, but at the end of
+that time the natives laid a plot against the whites, of which,
+however, the latter were informed by an Otaheitan woman, and the two
+leaders paid for their abortive attempt with their lives.</p>
+
+<p>Two more years of peace and tranquillity ensued, and then another plot
+was laid, this time resulting in the massacre of Christian and five of
+his comrades. The murder, however, was avenged by the native women, who
+mourned for their English lovers and killed the surviving men of
+Otaheite.</p>
+
+<p>A little later the discovery of a plant, from which a kind of brandy
+could be made, caused the death of one of the four Englishmen still
+remaining, another was murdered by his companions, a third died a
+natural death, and the last one, Smith, took the name of Adams and
+lived on at the head of a community, consisting of ten women and
+nineteen children, the eldest of whom were but seven or eight years
+old.</p>
+
+<p>This man, who had reflected on his errors and repented of them, now led
+a new life, fulfilling the duties of father, priest, and sovereign, his
+combined firmness and justice acquiring for him an all-powerful
+influence over his motley subjects.</p>
+
+<p>This strange teacher of morality, who in his youth had set all laws at
+defiance, and to whom no obligation was sacred, now preached pity,
+love, and sympathy, arranged regular marriages between the children of
+different parents, his little community thriving lustily under the mild
+yet firm control of one who had but lately turned from his own evil
+ways.</p>
+
+<p>Such at the time of Beechey's arrival was the state of the colony at
+Pitcairn. The navigator, well received by the inhabitants, whose
+virtuous conduct recalled the golden age, remained amongst them
+eighteen days. The village consisted of clean, well-built huts,
+surrounded by pandanus and cocoa-palms; the fields were well
+cultivated, and under Adams' tuition the young people had made
+implements of agriculture of really extraordinary excellence. The faces
+of these half breeds were good-looking and pleasant in expression, and
+their figures were well-proportioned, showing unusual muscular
+development.</p>
+<a name="ill60"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration060">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586">
+			<img src="images/060.jpg" alt="The village consisted of clean, well-built huts">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586" align="center">
+			<small>"The village consisted of clean, well-built huts."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>After leaving Pitcairn, Beechey visited Crescent, Gambier, Hood,
+Clermont, Tonnerre, Serles, Whitsunday, Queen-Charlotte, Tehaï, and the
+Lancer Islands, all in the Pomautou group, and an islet to which he
+gave the name of Byam-Martin.</p>
+
+<p>Here the explorer met a native named Ton-Wari, who had been shipwrecked
+in a storm. Having left Anaa with 500 fellow-countrymen in three canoes
+to render homage to Pomaré III., who had just ascended the throne,
+Ton-Wari had been driven out of his course by westerly winds. These
+were succeeded by variable breezes, and provisions were soon so
+completely exhausted that the survivors had to feed on the bodies of
+those who were the first to succumb. Finally Ton-Wari arrived at Barrow
+Island in the centre of the Dangerous Archipelago, where he obtained a
+small stock of provisions, and after a long delay, his canoe having
+been stove in off Byam-Martin, once more put to sea.</p>
+
+<p>Beechey yielded under considerable persuasion to Ton-Wari's entreaty to
+be received on board with his wife and children and taken to Otaheite.
+The next day, by one of those strange chances seldom occurring except
+in fiction, Beechey stopped at Heïon, where Ton-Wari met his brother,
+who had supposed him to be long since dead. After the first transports
+of delight and surprise the two natives sat down side by side, and
+holding each others hands related their several adventures.</p>
+
+<p>Beechey left Heïon on the 10th February, sighted Melville and Croker
+Islands, and cast anchor on the 18th off Otaheite, where he had some
+difficulty in obtaining provisions. The natives now demanded good
+Chilian dollars and European clothing, both of which were altogether
+wanting on the <i>Blossom</i>.</p>
+
+<p>After receiving a visit from the queen-mother, Beechey was invited to a
+<i>soirée</i> given in his honour in the palace at Papeïti. When the English
+arrived, however, they found everybody sound asleep, the hostess having
+forgotten all about her invitation, and gone to bed earlier than usual.
+She received her guests none the less cordially however, and organized
+a little dance in spite of the remonstrances of the missionaries; only
+the <i>fête</i> had to be conducted so to speak in silence, that the noise
+might not reach the ears of the police on duty on the beach. From this
+incident we can guess the amount of liberty the missionary Pritchard
+allowed to the most exalted personages of Otaheite. What must the
+discipline then have been for the common herd of the natives!</p>
+
+<p>On the 3rd April the young king paid a visit to Beechey, who gave him,
+on behalf of the Admiralty, a fine fowling-piece. Very friendly was the
+intercourse which ensued, and the good influence the English
+missionaries had obtained was strengthened by the cordiality and tact
+of the ship's officers.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Otaheite on the 26th April, Beechey reached the Sandwich
+Islands, where he remained some ten days, and then set sail for Behring
+Strait and the Arctic Ocean. His instructions were to skirt along the
+North American coast as far as the state of the ice would permit. The
+<i>Blossom</i> made a halt in Kotzebue Bay, a desolate, forbidding, and
+inhospitable spot, where the English had several interviews with the
+natives without obtaining any information about Franklin and his
+people. At last Beechey sent forward one of the ship's boats, under
+command of Lieutenant Elson, to seek the intrepid explorer. Elson was,
+however, unable to pass Point Barrow (N. lat. 71&deg; 23')
+and was compelled to return to the <i>Blossom</i>, which in her turn was
+driven back to the entrance of the strait by the ice on the 13th
+October, the weather being clear and the frost of extreme severity.</p>
+
+<p>In order to turn to account the winter season, Beechey visited San
+Francisco and cast anchor yet again off Honolulu in the Sandwich
+Islands. Thanks to the liberal and enlightened policy of the
+government, this archipelago was now rapidly growing in prosperity. The
+number of houses had increased, the town was gradually acquiring a
+European appearance, the harbour was frequented by numerous English and
+American vessels, and a national navy numbering five brigs and eight
+schooners had sprung into being. Agriculture was in a flourishing
+condition; coffee, tea, spices, were cultivated in extensive
+plantations, and efforts were being made to utilize the luxuriant
+sugar-cane forests native to the archipelago.</p>
+
+<p>After a stay in April at the mouth of the Canton River, the explorers
+surveyed the Liu-Kiu archipelago, a chain of islands connecting Japan
+with Formosa, and the Bonin-Sima group, districts in which no animals
+were seen but big green turtles.</p>
+
+<p>This exploration over, the <i>Blossom</i> resumed her northerly course, but
+the atmospheric conditions were less favourable than before, and it was
+impossible this time to penetrate further than N. lat. 70&deg; 40'.
+Beechey left provisions, clothes, and instructions on the
+coast in this neighbourhood in case Parry or Franklin should get as
+far. The explorer then cruised about until the 6th October, when he
+decided with the greatest regret to return to England. He touched at
+Monterey, San Francisco, San-Blas, and Valparaiso, doubled Cape Horn,
+cast anchor at Rio de Janeiro, and finally arrived off Spithead on the
+21st October.</p>
+<a name="ill61"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration061">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="581">
+			<img src="images/061.jpg" alt="A Morai at Kayakakoua">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="581" align="center">
+			<small>A Morai at Kayakakoua.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>We must now give an account of the expedition of the Russian Captain
+Lütke, which was fruitful of most important results. The explorer's own
+relation of his adventures is written in a most amusing and spirited
+style, and from it we shall therefore quote largely.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Seniavine</i> and the <i>Möller</i> were two transport ships built in
+Russia, both of which were good sea-going boats. The latter, however,
+was a very slow sailer, which unfortunately kept the two vessels apart
+for the greater part of the voyage. Lütke commanded the <i>Seniavine</i>,
+and Stanioukowitch the <i>Möller</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The two vessels set sail from Cronstadt on the 1st September, 1828, and
+touched at Copenhagen and Plymouth, where scientific instruments were
+purchased. Hardly had they left the Channel before they were separated.
+The <i>Seniavine</i>, whose movements we shall most particularly follow,
+touched at Teneriffe, where Lütke hoped to meet his consort.</p>
+
+<p>From the 4th to the 8th November, Teneriffe had been devastated by a
+terrific storm such as had not been seen since the Conquest. Three
+vessels had perished in the very roadstead of Santa Cruz, and two
+others thrown upon the coast had gone to pieces. Torrents swollen by a
+tremendous downpour had destroyed gardens, walls, and buildings, laid
+waste plantations, all but demolished one fort, swept down a number of
+houses in the town, and rendered several streets impassable. Three or
+four hundred persons had met their deaths in this convulsion of nature,
+and the damage done was estimated at several millions of piastres.</p>
+
+<p>In January the two vessels met again at Rio de Janeiro, and kept
+together as far as Cape Horn, where they encountered the usual storms
+and fogs, and were again separated. The <i>Seniavine</i> then made for
+Conception.</p>
+
+<p>"On the 15th May," says Lütke, "we were not more than eight miles from
+the nearest coast, but a dense fog hid it from us. In the night this
+fog lifted, and at daybreak a scene of indescribable grandeur and
+magnificence met our eyes. The serrated chain of the Andes, with its
+pointed peaks, stood out against an azure blue sky lit up by the first
+rays of the morning sun. I will not add to the number of those who have
+exhausted themselves in vain efforts to transmit to others their own
+sensations at the first sight of such scenes. They are as indescribable
+as the majesty of the scene itself. The variety of the colours, the
+light, which as the sun rose gradually spread over the sky, and the
+clouds were alike of inimitable beauty. To our great regret this
+spectacle, like everything most sublime in nature, did not last long.
+As the atmosphere became flooded with light the huge masses of clouds
+seemed with one accord to plunge into the deep, and the sun, appearing
+above the horizon, removed every trace of them."</p>
+
+<p>Lütke's opinion of Conception does not agree with that of some of his
+predecessors. He had not yet forgotten the exuberant richness of the
+vegetation of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, so that he found this new
+coast poor. As far as he could judge, during a very short stay, the
+inhabitants were more affable and civilized than the people of the same
+class in many other countries.</p>
+
+<p>When he reached Valparaiso, Lütke met the <i>Möller</i> setting sail for
+Kamtchatka. The crews bid each other good-bye, and thenceforth the two
+vessels took different directions.</p>
+
+<p>The first excursion of the officers and naturalists of Lütke's party
+was to the celebrated "quebradas."</p>
+
+<p>"These," says the explorer, "are ravines in the mountains, crowded so
+to speak with the little huts containing the greater part of the people
+of Valparaiso. The most densely populated of these 'quebradas' is that
+rising at the south-west corner of the town. The granite, which is
+there laid bare, serves as a strong foundation for the buildings, and
+protects them from the destructive effects of earthquakes.
+Communication between the town and the different houses is carried on
+by means of narrow paths without supports or steps, which are carried
+along the slopes of the rocks, and on which the children play and run
+about like chamois. The few houses here belong to foreigners. Little
+paths lead up to them, and some have steps, which the Chilians look
+upon as a superfluous and altogether useless luxury. A staircase of
+tiled or palm-branch roofs below and above an amphitheatre of gates and
+gardens present a curious spectacle. At first I kept up with the
+naturalists, but they presently brought me to a place where I could not
+advance or retire a step, which decided me to return with one of my
+officers, and to leave them there with a hearty wish that they might
+bring their heads back safely to our lodgings. As for myself I expected
+to lose mine a thousand times before I got down again."</p>
+
+<p>On their return from an arduous excursion, a few leagues from
+Valparaiso, the marines were astonished at being arrested as they rode
+into the town, by a patrol, who in spite of their remonstrances
+compelled them to dismount.</p>
+
+<p>"It was Holy Thursday," says Lütke, "and from that day to Holy Saturday
+no one is here permitted under pain of a severe penalty either to ride,
+sing, dance, play on any instrument, or wear a hat. All business, work,
+and amusement are strictly forbidden during that time. The hill in the
+centre of the town with the theatre upon it is converted for the time
+being into a Golgotha. In the centre of a railed-in space rises a
+crucifix with numerous tapers and flowers about it and female figures
+kneeling on either side representing the witnesses of the Passion of
+our Lord. Pious souls come here to obtain absolution from their sins by
+loud prayers. I saw none but female penitents, not a single man was
+there amongst them. Most of them were doubtless very certain of
+obtaining the divine favour, for they came up playing and laughing,
+only assuming a contrite air when close to the object of their
+devotion, before which they knelt for a few minutes, resuming their
+pranks and laughter again directly they turned away."</p>
+
+<p>The intolerance and superstition met with by the visitors at every turn
+made the explorer reflect deeply. He regretted seeing so much force and
+so many resources which might have promoted the intellectual progress
+and material prosperity of the country wasted on perpetual revolutions.</p>
+
+<p>To Lütke nothing less resembled a valley of Paradise than Valparaiso
+and its environs: rugged mountains, broken by deep <i>quebradas</i>, a sandy
+plain, in the centre of which rises the town, with the lofty heights of
+the Andes in the background, do not, strictly speaking, form an Eden.</p>
+
+<p>The traces of the terrible earthquake of 1823 were not yet entirely
+effaced, and here and there large spaces covered with ruins were still
+to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>On the 15th April, the <i>Seniavine</i> set sail for New Archangel, where
+she arrived on the 24th June, after a voyage unmarked by any special
+incident. The necessity for repairing the effects of the wear and tear
+of a voyage of ten months, and of disembarking the provisions for the
+company of which the <i>Seniavine</i> was the bearer, detained Captain Lütke
+in the Bay of Sitka for five weeks.</p>
+
+<p>This part of the coast of North America presents a wild but picturesque
+appearance. Lofty mountains clothed to their very peaks with dense and
+gloomy forests form the background of the picture. At the entrance of
+the bay rises Mount Edgecumbe, an extinct volcano 2800 feet above the
+sea-level. On entering the bay the visitor finds himself in a labyrinth
+of islands, behind which rise the fortress, towers, and church of New
+Archangel, which consists of but one row of houses with gardens, a
+hospital, a timber-yard, and outside the palisades a large village of
+Kaloche Indians. At this time the population consisted of a mixture of
+Russians, Creoles, and Aleutians, numbering some 800 altogether, of
+whom three-eighths were in the service of the company. This population,
+however, fluctuates very much according to the season. In the summer
+almost every one is away at the chase, and no sooner does autumn bring
+the people before they are all off again fishing.</p>
+
+<p>New Archangel does not offer too many attractions in the way of
+amusements. Truth to tell, it is one of the dullest places imaginable,
+inexpressibly gloomy, where autumn seems to reign all through the year
+except for three months, when snow falls continuously. All this,
+however, does not of course affect the passing visitor, and for the
+resident there is nothing to keep up his spirits but a good stock of
+philosophy or a stern determination not to die of hunger. There is a
+good deal of remunerative trade with California, the natives, and
+foreign vessels.</p>
+
+<p>The chief furs obtained by Aleutians who hunt for the Company are those
+of the otter, the beaver, the fox, and the <i>souslic</i>. The natives also
+hunt the walrus, seal, and whale, not to speak of the herring, the cod,
+salmon, turbot, lote, perch, and tsouklis, a shell fish found in Queen
+Charlotte's Islands, used by the Company as a medium of exchange with
+the Americans.</p>
+
+<p>As for these Americans they seem to be all of one race between the 46th
+and 60th degrees of N. lat., such at least is the conclusion to which
+we are led by the study of their manners, customs, and languages.</p>
+
+<p>The Kaloches of Sitka claim a man of the name of Elkh as the founder of
+their race, favoured by the protection of the raven, first cause of all
+things.<small><small><sup>4</sup></small></small> Strange to say, this bird also plays an important part
+amongst the Kadiaks, who are Esquimaux. According to Lütke, the
+Kaloches have a tradition of a deluge and some fables which recall
+those of the Greek mythology.</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>4</sup></small> The raven was regarded by these races with superstitious
+dread, as having the power of healing diseases, &amp;c.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>Their religion is nothing more than a kind of Chamanism or belief in
+the power of the Chamans or magicians to ward off diseases, &amp;c. They do
+not recognize a supreme God, but they believe in evil spirits, and in
+sorcerers who foretell the future, heal the sick, and transmit their
+office from father to son.</p>
+
+<p>They believe the soul to be immortal, and that the spirits of their
+chieftains do not mix with those of the common people. Slaves are
+slaves still after death; the far from consolatory nature of this creed
+is obvious. The government is patriarchal; the natives are divided into
+tribes, the members of which have the figures of animals as signs,
+after which they are also sometimes named. We meet for instance with
+the wolf, the raven, the bear, the eagle, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>The slaves of the Kaloches are prisoners taken in war, and very
+miserable is their lot. Their masters hold the power of life and death
+over them. In some ceremonies, that on the death of a chief, for
+instance, the slaves who are no longer of use are sacrificed, or else
+their liberty is given to them.<small><small><sup>5</sup></small></small></p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>5</sup></small> The aim being to give up the slaves as property, it was a
+matter of indifference whether they were killed or set at
+liberty.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>Suspicious and crafty, cruel and vindictive, the Kaloches are neither
+better nor worse than the neighbouring tribes. Hardened to fatigue,
+brave but idle, they leave all the housework to their wives, of whom
+they have many, polygamy being an institution amongst them.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Sitka, Lütke made for Ounalashka. Ilioluk is the chief
+trading establishment on that island, but it only contains some twelve
+Russians and ten Aleutians of both sexes.</p>
+
+<p>This island has a good many productions which tend to make life pass
+pleasantly. It is rich in good pastures, and cattle-breeding is largely
+carried on, but it is almost entirely wanting in timber, the
+inhabitants being obliged to pick up the <i>débris</i> flung up by the sea,
+which sometimes includes whole trunks of cypress, camphor-trees, and a
+kind of wood which smells like roses.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of Lütke's visit the people of the Fox Islands had adopted
+to a great extent Russian manners and costumes. They were all
+Christians. The Aleutians are a hardy, kind-hearted, agile race, almost
+living on the sea.</p>
+
+<p>Since 1826 several eruptions of lava have caused terrible devastation
+in these islands. In May, 1827, the Shishaldin volcano opened a new
+crater, and vomited forth flames.</p>
+
+<p>Lütke's instructions obliged him to explore St. Matthew's Island, which
+Cook had called Gore Island. The hydrographical survey was successful
+beyond the highest expectations, but the Russians could do nothing
+towards learning anything of the natural history of the island, for
+they were not allowed to land at all.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime the winter with its usual storms and fogs was rapidly
+drawing on. It was of no use hoping to get to Behring Strait, and Lütke
+therefore made for Kamtchatka after touching at Behring Island. He
+remained three weeks at Petropaulovsky, which he employed in landing
+his cargo and preparing for his winter campaign.</p>
+
+<p>Lütke's instructions were now to spend the winter in the exploration of
+the Caroline Islands. He decided to go first to Ualan Island, which had
+been discovered by the French navigator Duperrey. Here a safe harbour
+enabled him to make some experiments with the pendulum.</p>
+
+<p>On his way Lütke sought in vain for Colonnas Island in N. lat. 26&deg;
+9', W. long. 128&deg;. He was equally unsuccessful in
+his search for Dexter and St. Bartholomew Islands, though he identified
+the Brown coral group discovered by Butler in 1794 and arrived safely
+off Ualan on the 4th December.</p>
+
+<p>From the first the relations between the natives of this island and the
+Russians were extremely satisfactory. Many of the former came on board,
+and showed so much confidence in their visitors as to remain all night,
+though the vessel was still in motion.</p>
+
+<p>It was only with great difficulty that the <i>Seniavine</i> entered Coquille
+harbour. Following the example of Duperrey, who had set up his
+observatory on the islet of Matanial, Lütke landed there and took his
+observations, whilst his people traded with the natives, who were,
+throughout his stay, peaceful, friendly, and civil. To check their
+thieving propensities, however, a chief was kept as a hostage for a
+couple of days, and one canoe was burnt, these new measures being
+completely successful.</p>
+
+<p>"We are glad to be able to declare in the face of the world," says
+Lütke, "that our stay of three weeks at Ualan cost not a drop of human
+blood, but that we were able to leave these friendly islanders without
+enlightening them further on the use of our fire-arms, which they
+looked upon as suitable only for the killing of birds. I don't think
+there is another instance of the kind in the records of any previous
+voyages in the South Seas."</p>
+<a name="ill62"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration062">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="598">
+			<img src="images/062.jpg" alt="Native of Ualan">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="598" align="center">
+			<small>Native of Ualan.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>After leaving Ualan, Lütke had a vain search for the Musgrave Islands,
+marked on Kruzenstern's map, and soon discovered a large island,
+surrounded by a coral reef, which had escaped the notice of Duperrey,
+and is known as Puinipet, or Pornabi. Some very large and fine canoes,
+each manned by fourteen men, and some smaller ones, worked by two
+natives only, soon surrounded the vessel. Their inmates, with fierce
+faces and blood-shot eyes, were noisy and blustering, and did a good
+deal of shouting, gesticulating, and dancing before they could make up
+their minds to trust themselves on board the <i>Seniavine</i>.</p>
+
+<p>It would have been impossible to land, except by force, as the native
+canoes completely surrounded the vessel, and when an attempt at
+disembarkation was made, the savages surrounded the ship's boat, only
+retiring before the warlike attitude of the sailors and a volley from
+the guns of the <i>Seniavine</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Lütke had not time to examine thoroughly his discovery, to which he
+gave the name of the Seniavine Archipelago. The information he
+collected on the people of the Puinipet Islands is, therefore, not very
+trustworthy. According to him they do not belong to the same race as
+those of Ualan, but resemble rather the Papuans, the nearest of whom
+are those of New Ireland, seven hundred miles away.</p>
+
+<p>After another vain search, this time for Saint Augustine's Island, he
+sighted the Cora of Los Vaherites, also called Seven, or Raven Island,
+discovered in 1773 by the Spaniard Felipe Tompson.</p>
+
+<p>The navigator next saw the Mortlock Archipelago, the old Lugunor group,
+known to Torrés as the Lugullos, the people of which resemble those of
+Ualan. He landed on the principal of these islands, which he found to
+be one huge garden of cocoa palms and breadfruit-trees.</p>
+
+<p>The natives enjoy a centre degree of civilization. They weave and dye
+the fibres of the banana and cocoa-nut palms, as do those of Ualan and
+Puinipet. Their fishing-tackle does credit to their inventive
+faculties, especially a sort of case constructed of small sticks and
+split bamboo-canes, which the fish cannot get out of when once in. They
+also use nets of the shape of large wallets, lines, and harpoons.</p>
+
+<p>Their canoes, in which they spend more than half their lives, are
+wonderfully adapted to their requirements. The large ones, which are a
+very great trouble to build, and which are kept in sheds constructed
+specially for them, are twenty-six feet long, two and a half wide, and
+four deep. They are furnished with gimbals, the cross-pieces being
+connected by a rafter. On the other side there is a small platform,
+four feet square, and furnished with a roof, under which they are
+accustomed to keep their provisions. These pirogues have a triangular
+sail, which is made of matting woven from bandanus leaves, and is
+attached to two yards. In tacking about they drop the sail, and turn
+the mast towards the other end of the canoe, to which, at the same
+time, they have passed the fastening of the sail, so that the pirogue
+moves forward by its other extremity.</p>
+
+<p>Lütke next sighted the Namuluk group, the inhabitants of which do not
+differ at all from the people of Lugunor, and he proved the identity of
+Hogolu Island&mdash;already described by Duperrey&mdash;with Quirosa. He then
+visited the Namnuïto group, the first stratum of a number of islands,
+or of one large island which will some day exist in this part of the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>Lütke, who was in want of biscuits and other articles, which he hoped
+to obtain at Guam, or from vessels at anchor in that port, now set sail
+for the Marianne Islands, where he counted upon being able to repeat
+some new experiments with the pendulum, in which Freycinet had found an
+important anomaly of gravitation.<small><small><sup>6</sup></small></small></p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>6</sup></small> "From numerous experiments," says Freycinet, "with the
+pendulum, collected at our observatory at Agagna, in lat. 13&deg; 27'
+511" 5 N. ... at the level of the sea, and with the
+thermometer at +20&deg; centig., we were shown that the pendulum
+which, in the same circumstances, would make at Paris 86,400
+oscillations in 24 mean solar hours would here make 86,295 <sup>osc</sup>.013
+in the same time."&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>Great, however, was his surprise when he arrived to find not a sign of
+life at Guam. No flags waved above the two ports, the silence of death
+reigned everywhere, and but for the presence of a schooner at anchor in
+the inner harbour, it might have been a desert island. There was hardly
+anybody about on shore, and the few people there were were half savage,
+from whom it was all but impossible to obtain the slightest
+information. Fortunately, an English deserter came and offered his
+services to Lütke, who sent him to the governor with a letter, which
+elicited a satisfactory reply.</p>
+
+<p>The governor was the same Medinella whose hospitality had been lauded
+by Kotzebue and Freycinet. There was, therefore, no difficulty in
+obtaining permission to set up an observatory, and to take to it the
+necessary provisions. The stay at Guam was, however, saddened by an
+accident to Lütke, who wounded himself severely in the thumb with his
+own gun when hunting.</p>
+
+<p>The repairing and refitting of the <i>Seniavine</i>, with the taking in of
+wood and water, delayed the explorer at Guam until the 19th March.
+During this time Lütke was able to verify the information collected ten
+years ago by Freycinet in his stay of two months in the Governor's own
+house. Things had not changed at all since the French traveller's
+visit.</p>
+
+<p>As it was not yet time to go north, Lütke made for the Caroline
+Islands, <i>viâ</i> the Swedes Islands. The inhabitants seemed to him to be
+better made than their neighbours on the west, from whom, however, they
+differ in no other particulars. The Faraulep, Ulie, Ifuluk, and Euripeg
+Islands were successively examined, and on the 27th April the explorer
+started for the Bonin Islands, where he learnt that his exploration of
+that group had been anticipated by Beechey. He, therefore, took no
+hydrographical surveys. Two of the crew of a whaling-vessel, which had
+been shipwrecked on the coast, were still living at Bonin Sima.</p>
+
+<p>Since the rise of the great fisheries, this Archipelago has been
+frequented by numerous whalemen, who here find a safe port at all
+seasons, plenty of wood and water, turtles for six months of the year,
+fish, and immense quantities of anti-scorbutic plants, including the
+delicious savoy cabbage.</p>
+
+<p>"The majestic height and the vigour of the trees," says Lütke, "the
+productions of the tropical and temperate zones, alternating with each
+other, bear witness at once to the fertility of the soil and the
+salubrity of the climate. Most of our vegetables and pot-herbs,
+perhaps, indeed, all of them would certainly flourish well, as would
+also wheat, rice, and maize, nor could a better climate be desired for
+the cultivation of the vine. Domestic animals of every kind and bees
+would multiply rapidly. In a word, a small and industrious colony would
+shortly convert this little group into a fertile and flourishing
+settlement."</p>
+
+<p>On the 9th June, after a week's delay for want of wind, the <i>Seniavine</i>
+entered Petropaulovsky, where it was retained taking in provisions
+until the 26th. A whole series of surveys were taken during this
+interval, of the coasts of Kamtchatka, and of the Kodiak and Tchouktchi
+districts, interrupted, however, by visits to Karaghinsk Island, the
+bay of St. Lawrence, and the gulf of Santa Cruz.</p>
+
+<p>During one of these visits, the captain met with a strange adventure.
+He had been for several days on a friendly footing with the
+Tchouktchis, whose knowledge of the people and customs of Russia he
+endeavoured to increase.</p>
+
+<p>"These natives," he says, "were friendly and polite, and endeavoured to
+pay back our jokes and tricks in our own coin. I softly patted the
+cheek of a sturdy Tchouktchi as a sign of kindly feeling, and suddenly
+received in return a box on the ear which knocked me down. Recovered
+from my astonishment, there I saw my Tchouktchi with a laughing face,
+looking like a man who has just given proof of his politeness and tact.
+He too had meant to give me merely a gentle tap, but it was with a hand
+only accustomed to deal with reindeer."</p>
+
+<p>The travellers were also witnesses of some proofs of the skill of a
+Tchouktchi conjurer, or chaman, who went behind a curtain, from which
+his audience soon heard a voice like the howl of a wild beast,
+accompanied by blows on a tambourine with a whale-bone. The curtain
+then rose, revealing the sorcerer balancing himself, and accompanying
+his own voice with blows on his drum, which he held close to his ear.
+Presently he flung off his jacket, leaving himself naked to the waist,
+took a polished stone, which he gave to Lütke to hold, took it away
+again, and as he passed one hand over the other the stone disappeared.
+Then showing a tumour on his shoulder, he pretended that the stone was
+in it; turned over the tumour, extracted the stone from it, and
+prophesied a favourable issue of the journey of the Russians.</p>
+
+<p>The conjuror was congratulated on his skill, and a knife was given to
+him as a token of gratitude. Taking this knife in his hand, he put out
+his tongue, and began to cut it. His mouth became full of blood, and he
+finally cut a piece of his tongue off, and held the piece out in his
+hand. Here the curtain fell, probably because the skill of the
+professor of legerdemain could go no further.</p>
+
+<p>The people inhabiting the north-east corner of Asia are known under the
+general name of Tchouktchis. This includes two races, one nomad, like
+the Samoyedes, called the Reindeer Tchouktchis; the other, living in
+fixed habitations, called the sedentary Tchouktchis. The mode of life,
+the physiognomy, and the very language of these two races differ. The
+idiom spoken by the sedentary Tchouktchis has great affinity with that
+of the Esquimaux, whom they also resemble in their mode of building
+their huts and leather boats, and in the instruments they use.</p>
+<a name="ill63"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration063">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="585">
+			<img src="images/063.jpg" alt="Sedentary Tchouktchis">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="585" align="center">
+			<small>Sedentary Tchouktchis.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Lütke did not see many Reindeer Tchouktchis, so that he could add
+nothing to the information obtained by his predecessors. He was of
+opinion, however, that they had been painted in unfairly gloomy
+colours, and that their turbulence and wildness had been grossly
+exaggerated.</p>
+
+<p>The sedentary Tchouktchis, generally called Namollos, spend the winter
+in sheds, and the summer in huts covered with skins. The latter usually
+each serve for several families.</p>
+
+<p>"The sons and their wives, the daughters and their husbands," says the
+narrative, "live together with their parents, and <i>vice versâ</i>. Each
+family occupies one division of the back part of the hut, curtained off
+from the others. The curtains are made of reindeer-skins, sewn into the
+shape of a bell. They are fastened to the beams of the ceiling, and
+reach to the ground. With the aid of the grease they burn in cold
+weather, two, three, and sometimes more persons so warm the air with
+their breath in these hermetically sealed positions that all clothing
+is superfluous, even with the severest frost, but only Tchouktchi lungs
+are fitted to respire in such an atmosphere. In the outer part of the
+hut cooking-utensils, pottery, baskets, seal-skin trunks, &amp;c., are
+kept. Here too is the hearth, if we can so call the spot where burn a
+few sticks of brushwood, painfully collected in the marsh, or when they
+are not to be obtained, whale-bones floating in grease. Round about the
+hut on wooden dryers, black and disgusting looking pieces of seal's
+flesh are exposed to view." These people lead a miserable life. They
+feed upon the half-raw flesh of seals and walruses hunted by
+themselves, or on that of whales flung up by the waves on the beach.
+The dog is the only domestic animal they possess, and they treat it
+badly enough, although the poor creatures are very affectionate and
+render them great services, now towing along their canoes, now dragging
+their sledges over the snow.</p>
+
+<p>After a second stay of five weeks at Petropaulovski, the <i>Seniavine</i>
+left Kamtchatka, on the 10th of November, on its way back to Europe.
+Before reaching Manilla, Lütke made a cruise in the northern part of
+the Caroline Archipelago, which he had not had time to visit during the
+preceding winter. He saw in succession the islands of Marileu, Falulu,
+Faïu, Namuniuto, Magur, Faraulep, Eap, Mogmog, and found at Manilla the
+sloop, the <i>Möller</i> which was waiting his arrival.</p>
+
+<p>The Caroline Archipelago embraces an immense space, and the Marianne
+Islands, as well as the Radak group, might fitly be included in it, as
+containing a population perfectly identical in race. For a long time
+the old geographers had had for their guidance only the charts of
+missionaries who, lacking alike the education and the appliances
+necessary to estimate accurately the size, position, and relative
+distance of all these archipelagoes, had attached notable importance to
+them, and often fixed at a considerable number of degrees the extent of
+a group which covered only a few miles.</p>
+
+<p>Thus navigators accepted their guidance with wise caution. Freycinet
+was the first to infuse a little order into this chaos, and, thanks to
+his meeting with Kadu and Don Louis Torrès, he was able to identify
+later with earlier discoveries. Lütke did his part&mdash;and that not a
+small part&mdash;in the settling of an accurate and scientific chart of an
+archipelago which had long been the terror of navigators.</p>
+
+<p>The learned Russian explorer is not of the same opinion as Lesson, one
+of his predecessors, who connected all the inhabitants of the Caroline
+group with the Mongolian race, under the name of the "Mongolo-Pelagian"
+branch. He rather sees in them, as did Chamisso and Balbi, a branch of
+the Malay family, which has peopled Eastern Polynesia. Whilst Lesson
+compares the people of the Carolines with the Chinese and Japanese,
+Lütke, on the other hand, finds in their great, projecting eyes, thick
+lips, and <i>retroussé</i> nose, a family likeness to the people of the
+Sandwich and Tonga Islands. The language does not suggest the slightest
+comparison with Japanese, whilst it shows a great resemblance to that
+of the Tonga Islands.</p>
+
+<p>Lütke spent the time of his sojourn at Manilla in laying in stores, and
+repairing the sloop, and, on the 30th of January, he left that Spanish
+possession for Russia, which he reached on the 6th of September, 1829,
+casting anchor in the roads of Cronstadt.</p>
+
+<p>It remains now to tell how it had fared with the sloop, the <i>Möller</i>,
+after the separation at Valparaiso. Arriving at Kamtchatka from
+Otaheite, she had left part of her cargo at Petropaulovski, and
+thereafter&mdash;in August, 1827&mdash;had set sail for Ounalashka, where she had
+remained for a month. After an examination of the west coast of
+America, which was cut short by unfavourable weather, and a stay at
+Honolulu, which extended to February, 1828, she had discovered the
+island Möller, noted the Necker, Gardner, and Lisiansky Islands, and
+marked, at a distance of six miles southwards, a very dangerous reef.</p>
+
+<p>The sloop had then coasted the island of Curè, the French Frigate Shoal
+the reef Maro, Pearl Island, and the Isle of Hermes; and, after having
+made search for several islands marked upon Arrowsmith's charts, had at
+length reached Kamtchatka. At the end of April, she had set sail for
+Ounalashka and taken observations of the north coast of the Alaska
+peninsula. In September the <i>Möller</i> rejoined the <i>Seniavine</i>, and,
+from that period until their return to Russia, they were no more
+separated, save for brief intervals.</p>
+
+<p>As one may judge from the sufficiently detailed account which has just
+been given, this expedition did not fail to bring about results of
+importance to geographical science. We must add that the different
+branches of natural history, physics, and astronomy, owe to it equally
+numerous and important additions.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap5"></a>
+<h3>CHAPTER II.</h3>
+<center>FRENCH CIRCUMNAVIGATORS.</center>
+
+<blockquote>The journey of Freycinet&mdash;Rio de Janeiro and its gipsy inhabitants&mdash;The
+Cape and its wines&mdash;The Bay of Sharks&mdash;Stay at Timor&mdash;Ombay Island and
+its cannibal inhabitants&mdash;The Papuan Islands&mdash;The pile dwellings of the
+Alfoers&mdash;A dinner with the Governor of Guam&mdash;Description of the
+Marianne Islands and their inhabitants&mdash;Particulars concerning the
+Sandwich Islands&mdash;Port Jackson and New South Wales&mdash;Shipwreck in
+Berkeley Sound&mdash;The Falkland Islands&mdash;Return to France&mdash;The voyage of
+the <i>Coquille</i> under the command of Duperrey&mdash;Martin-Vaz and
+Trinidad&mdash;The Island of St. Catharine&mdash;The independence of
+Brazil&mdash;Berkeley Sound and the remains of the <i>Uranie</i>&mdash;Stay at
+Conception&mdash;The civil war in Chili&mdash;The Araucanians&mdash;Discoveries in the
+Dangerous Archipelago&mdash;Stay at Otaheite and New Ireland&mdash;The
+Papuans&mdash;Stay at Ualan&mdash;The Caroline Islands and their
+inhabitants&mdash;Scientific results of the expeditions.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>The expedition under the command of Louis Claude de Saulces de
+Freycinet was the result of the leisure which the Peace of 1815 brought
+to the French navy. The idea was started by one of its most adventurous
+officers, the same who had accompanied Baudin in his survey of the
+Australian coasts, and to him was entrusted the task of carrying it
+out. It was the first voyage which had not hydrography alone for its
+object. Its chief aim was to survey the shape of the land in the
+southern hemisphere, and to make observations in terrestrial magnetism,
+without, at the same time, omitting to give attention to all natural
+phenomena, and to the manners, customs, and languages of indigenous
+races. Purely geographical inquiries, though not altogether omitted
+from the programme, had the least prominent place in it.</p>
+
+<p>Among the medical officers of the navy, Freycinet found MM. Quoy,
+Gaimard, and Gaudichaud, whose attainments in natural history qualified
+them for being valuable coadjutors; and he also chose to accompany him
+several distinguished officers who had risen to high rank in the navy,
+the best known being Duperrey, Lamarche, Berard, and Odet-Pellion, who
+subsequently became, one a member of the Institute, the others superior
+officers or admirals.</p>
+
+<p>No less care was exercised by Freycinet in composing his crew chiefly
+of sailors who were also skilled in some trade; so that out of the 120
+men who manned the corvette <i>Uranie</i>, no less than fifty could serve on
+occasion as carpenters, ropemakers, sailmakers, blacksmiths, or other
+mechanics.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Uranie</i>, amply supplied with stores for two years, and provided
+with all sorts of apparatus of proved utility, iron cisterns for fresh
+water, machines for distilling salt water, preserved provisions,
+remedies for scurvy, &amp;c. At last, on the 17th of September, 1817, she
+set sail from Toulon. On board, disguised as a sailor, was the
+commander's wife, who was not to be deterred from joining her husband
+by the dangers and hardships of so protracted a voyage.</p>
+
+<p>Together with all these provisions for bodily comfort, Freycinet took
+with him a stock of the best scientific instruments, together with
+minute instructions from the Institute intended to direct his
+researches, and to suggest the experiments best adapted to promote the
+progress of science.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Uranie</i> reached Rio de Janeiro on the 6th of December, having put
+in at Gibraltar, and made a short stay at Teneriffe, one of the
+Canaries, which, as Freycinet wittily observes, were not Fortunate
+Islands for his crew, all communication with the land being forbidden
+by the governors.</p>
+
+<p>During their stay at Rio de Janeiro the officers took a great many
+magnetical observations and made experiments with the pendulum, whilst
+the naturalists scoured the country for new specimens and curiosities,
+making large and important collections.</p>
+
+<p>The original records of the voyage contain a long narrative of the
+discovery and colonization of Brazil, and detailed information on the
+customs and manners of the people, on the temperature and the climate,
+as well as a minute description of the principal buildings and the
+suburbs of Rio de Janeiro itself. The most curious part of this account
+is that which touches upon the gipsies, who, at that time, were to be
+met with at Rio de Janeiro.</p>
+
+<p>"Worthy descendants of the Pariahs of India, whence these gipsies
+without doubt originally came," says Freycinet, "they are noted like
+their ancestors for every vicious practice and criminal propensity.
+Most of them, possessing immense wealth, make a great display in dress
+and in horses, especially at their weddings, which are celebrated with
+much expense; and they find their chief pleasure either in riotous
+debauchery or in sheer idleness. Knaves and liars, they cheat as much
+as they can in trade, and are also clever smugglers. Here, as
+elsewhere, these detestable people intermarry only among their own
+race. They speak a jargon of their own with a peculiar accent. The
+government most unaccountably tolerates the nuisance of their presence,
+and goes so far as to appropriate to their exclusive use two streets in
+the neighbourhood of the Campo de Santa Anna."</p>
+
+<p>A little further on the traveller remarks,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Any one who saw Rio de Janeiro only by day would come to the
+conclusion that the population consisted entirely of negroes. The
+respectable classes never go out except in the evening, unless
+compelled by some pressing circumstance or for the performance of
+religious duties; and it is in the evening that the ladies especially
+show themselves. During the day all remain indoors, and pass the time
+between their couches and their looking-glasses. The only places where
+a man can enjoy the society of the ladies are the theatres and the
+churches."</p>
+
+<p>During the sail from Brazil to the Cape of Good Hope nothing occurred
+deserving special mention. On the 7th March the <i>Uranie</i> anchored in
+Table Bay. After a quarantine of three days, the travellers obtained
+permission to land, and were received with a hearty welcome by Governor
+Somerset. As soon as a place suitable for their reception had been
+found, the scientific instruments were brought on shore, and the usual
+experiments were made with the pendulum, and the variations of the
+magnetic needle observed.</p>
+
+<p>MM. Quoy and Gaimard, the naturalists, in company with several officers
+of the staff, made scientific excursions to Table Mountain and to the
+famous vineyards of Constantia. M. Gaimard observes, "The vines that we
+rode amongst are in the midst of alleys of oak and of pine; and the
+vine-stems, planted at the distance of four feet from one another, are
+not supported by props. Every year the vines are pruned, and the earth
+about them, which is of a sandy nature, is turned up. We noticed here
+and there plenty of peaches, apricots, apples, pears, citrons, as well
+as small plots cultivated as kitchen-gardens. On our return, M. Colyn
+insisted on our tasting the several sorts of wine which he
+produces,&mdash;Constantia properly so-called, both red and white, Pontac,
+Pierre, and Frontignac. The wine produced in other localities, which is
+called <i>Cape wine par excellence</i>, is manufactured from a muscatel
+grape of a dark straw colour, which seemed to me in flavour preferable
+to the grape of Provence. We have just said that there are two sorts of
+Constantia, the red and the white; they are both produced from muscatel
+grapes of different colours. People at the Cape generally prefer
+Frontignac to all the other wines produced from the vintages of
+Constantia."</p>
+
+<p>Exactly a month after quitting the southern extremity of Africa, the
+<i>Uranie</i> cast anchor off Port Louis in the Isle of France, which, since
+the Treaties of 1815, has been in the hands of the English. The
+necessity for careening the ship, that it might be thoroughly examined,
+and the copper sheathing repaired, led to a much longer stay in this
+port than Freycinet had calculated upon; but our travellers found no
+cause to regret the delay, for the society of Port Louis fully
+sustained its old reputation for generous hospitality. The time passed
+quickly in excursions, receptions, dinners, balls, horse-races, and all
+sorts of festivities. It was, therefore, not without some regret that
+the French guests bade adieu to a place where they had been received
+with so much kindness both by their old compatriots and by those who
+had so lately been their bitter enemies.</p>
+
+<p>The stay of the <i>Uranie</i> at the Isle of France had not, however, been
+sufficiently long to allow Freycinet to investigate many subjects of
+much interest, but this omission was remedied by the polite readiness
+shown by some of the leading residents in supplying him with valuable
+papers on the agriculture of the island, its commerce, its financial
+position, the industrial pursuits, and the social condition of the
+people, the correct appreciation of which demanded a more careful and
+minute examination than a mere passing traveller could possibly give to
+them. Since the island had come under English administration, it
+appeared that a number of new roads had been planned out, and a policy
+of reform had supplanted a benumbing system of routine fatal to all
+activity and progress.</p>
+
+<p>Bourbon was the next place touched at by the <i>Uranie</i>, where the
+supplies of which the travellers stood in need were to be procured from
+the government stores. She cast anchor off St. Denis on the 19th July,
+1818, remaining in the roadstead of St. Paul until the 2nd August, when
+she set sail for the Bay of Sharks, on the western shores of Australia.
+There is little of interest to be noted in connexion with the stay at
+Bourbon beyond the steady increase of the population and of trade which
+had taken place during the century preceding the arrival of the French
+expedition in 1717. According to Gentil de Barbinais, there were living
+in the island only 900 free people, amongst whom were no more than six
+white families, and 1100 slaves. At the last census taken in 1817,
+these numbers had risen to 14,790 whites, 4342 free blacks, 49,759
+slaves, making a total of 68,898 inhabitants. This large and rapid
+increase must be attributed partly to the salubrity of the climate, but
+chiefly to the freedom of trade, of which the island had for some time
+enjoyed the advantage.</p>
+
+<p>After a fortunate voyage of forty days, the <i>Uranie</i> cast anchor at the
+entrance of the Bay of Sharks on the 12th September. A party was at
+once despatched to Dirk Hartog, in order to determine the latitude and
+longitude of Cape Levaillant, and to bring on board the corvette a
+certain metal plate which had been left there by the Dutch at a remote
+period, and had been seen by Freycinet in 1801. Whilst this party were
+away, the two alembics were set to work to distil sea-water, which was
+effected so successfully that as long as the vessel stayed there, no
+other water was drunk but that obtained by this process, and all on
+board were satisfied with it.</p>
+
+<p>On landing, the party sent to Dirk Hartog, got a view of the natives,
+who were armed with javelins and clubs, but had not a vestige of
+clothing. They, however, refused to have any close communications with
+the white strangers, keeping themselves at a respectful distance, and
+not handling any of the presents offered them without a previous
+careful inspection.</p>
+
+<p>Although the Bay of Sharks had been minutely explored at the time of
+the expedition under Baudin, there still remained a hydrographical gap
+to be filled up on the eastern side of Hamelin Bay. Accordingly
+Duperrey proceeded there to complete the survey of that part of the
+coast. At the same time Gaimard, the naturalist, not disposed to rest
+satisfied with the interviews which as yet he had been able to obtain
+with the natives of the country, whom the sound of the fire-arms had
+summarily dispersed, decided upon penetrating into the interior, to
+gain some information respecting their mode of life. His companion and
+himself lost their way, as also did Riche in 1792 upon Nuyt's Land,
+where for three days they underwent severe sufferings from thirst, not
+being able to find a single rivulet or spring in the country.</p>
+
+<p>The Expedition were well pleased when the inhospitable shores of
+Endracht disappeared from view. They had a pleasant passage in lovely
+weather, and over an unruffled sea, to the island of Timor, where on
+the 9th October the <i>Uranie</i> cast anchor in the roadstead of Coupang,
+and the travellers met with a cordial reception from the Portuguese
+authorities. But they found that the prosperity which had made the
+colony an object of wonder and admiration to the French travellers who
+had visited it with Baudin, had passed away. The Rajah of Amanoubang,
+the district where the sandal-tree grows in such abundance, who was
+formerly a tributary prince, was carrying on war to gain independence.
+The hostilities which were proceeding were not only detrimental to the
+interests of the colony, but also made it very difficult for Freycinet
+to purchase the commodities of which he stood in need. Some of the
+staff set off to pay a visit to the Rajah Peters de Banacassi, whose
+residence was not more than three-quarters of a league from Coupang.
+Peters, then eighty years of age, must have been a remarkably fine man.
+He gave them an audience surrounded by his attendants, who treated him
+with profound respect, and among whom were conspicuous several warriors
+of gigantic stature. The dwelling that served for the royal palace was
+rudely constructed, yet the French travellers saw with lively surprise
+that articles of luxury were plentiful, and they observed also some
+muskets of good manufacture and great value.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the excessive heat of the climate, the thermometer
+rising in the open air to 45&deg;, and in the shade to 33&deg;,
+and even to 35&deg;, the commander and his officers carried on with
+unremitting zeal the observations and surveys which it was the object
+of the Expedition to make. A few fell victims to their own imprudence,
+for in defiance of the earnest warnings of Freycinet, some of the young
+officers and the seamen chose to sally forth in the middle of the day,
+and with the view of fortifying themselves against the injurious
+effects of their dangerous freak, drank and ate plentifully of cold
+water and sour fruits. The result was that in a short time five of the
+most imprudent were confined to their hammocks with dysentery. This
+necessitated a departure from Timor; so the <i>Uranie</i> weighed anchor and
+set sail on the 23rd October.</p>
+
+<p>At first the corvette sailed rapidly along the north coast of Timor,
+for the purpose of making a survey, but when she had reached the
+narrowest part of the Channel of Ombay, she encountered such violent
+currents that&mdash;the winds being slight and contrary&mdash;it was only with
+great difficulty she was able to regain the course which she had lost
+during the calm. No less than nineteen days were wasted in this trying
+situation; though certain of the officers took advantage of the delay
+to land on the nearest point of the island of Ombay, where the coast
+had a very inviting appearance. They went on shore near a village
+called Bitouka, and advanced to meet a body of the natives, armed with
+shields and cuirasses made of buffalo-skin, and carrying bows, arrows,
+and daggers. Savages though they were, they had quite the air of
+warriors, and were not at all afraid of fire-arms; on the contrary,
+they argued that the loading of the gun caused loss of time, for while
+that operation was going on, they could fire off a great number of
+arrows.</p>
+
+<p>Gaimard writes, "The points of the arrows were of hard wood, or of
+bone, and some of iron. The arrows themselves, displayed fan-wise, were
+fastened on the left side of the warrior to the belt of his sword or
+dagger. Most of these people wore bundles of palm-leaves, slit so as to
+allow red or black coloured strips of the same to be passed through to
+hold them together, which were attached to the belt or the right thigh.
+The rustling sound produced with every movement of the wearers of this
+singular ornament, increased by knocking against the cuirass or the
+buckler, with the addition of the tinkling of little bells, which also
+formed part of the warrior's equipment, altogether made such a jumble
+of discordant sounds that we could not refrain from laughing. Far from
+taking offence, our Ombayan friends joined heartily in our merriment.
+M. Arago<small><small><sup>1</sup></small></small> greatly excited their astonishment by performing some
+sleight-of-hand tricks. We then took our way straight to the village of
+Bitouka, which was situated on a rising ground. In passing one of their
+cottages we happened to see about a score of human jawbones suspended
+from the roof, and anxious to get possession of one or two, I offered
+the most valuable articles I had about me in exchange. The answer was,
+'palami,' they are sacred. We ascertained afterwards that these were
+the jawbones of their enemies, preserved as trophies of victory."</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>1</sup></small> Jacques Arago, brother of the illustrious astronomer.</small></blockquote>
+<a name="ill64"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration064">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="603">
+			<img src="images/064.jpg" alt="Warriors of Ombay and Guebeh">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="603" align="center">
+			<small>Warriors of Ombay and Guebeh.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>This excursion derived greater interest from the circumstance of the
+island of Ombay having been up to that time rarely visited by
+Europeans; and the few vessels that had effected any landing brought
+mournful accounts of the warlike and ferocious temper of the natives,
+and even in some instances of their cannibal propensities. Thus in 1802
+the merchant-ship <i>Rose</i> had her small boat carried off, and the crew
+were detained as prisoners by the savages. Ten years later, the captain
+of the ship <i>Inacho</i>, who landed by himself, received several arrow
+wounds. Again, in 1817, an English frigate sent the cutter ashore for
+the purpose of getting wood, when a scrimmage took place between the
+crew and the natives, which ended in the former being killed and eaten.
+The day after, an armed sloop was despatched in quest of the missing
+crew; but nothing was found save some fragments of the cutter and the
+bloody remains of the unfortunate men.</p>
+
+<p>In view of these facts the French travellers must be congratulated on
+having escaped being entrapped by the savage cannibals, which would
+undoubtedly have been attempted had the <i>Uranie</i> stayed long enough at
+Ombay.</p>
+
+<p>On the 17th of November the anchor was let go at Dili.</p>
+
+<p>After the customary interchange of compliments with the Portuguese
+governor, Freycinet made known the requirements of the expedition, and
+received a friendly assurance that the necessary provisions should be
+instantly forthcoming. The reception given to all the members of the
+expedition was both hearty and liberal, and when Freycinet took his
+leave, the governor, wishing that he should carry away some souvenir of
+his visit, presented him with two boys and two girls, of the ages of
+six and seven, natives of Failacor, a kingdom in the interior of Timor.
+To insure the acceptance of this present, the governor, D. José Pinto
+Alcofarado d'Azevado e Souza, stated that the race to which the
+children belonged was quite unknown in Europe. In spite of all the
+strong and conclusive reasons that Freycinet gave to explain why he
+felt compelled to decline the present, he was obliged to take charge of
+one of the little boys, who subsequently received the name of Joseph
+Antonio in baptism, but when sixteen years old died of some scrofulous
+disease at Paris.</p>
+
+<p>On a first examination it would appear that the population of Timor
+belonged altogether to the Asiatic race; but so far as any reliance can
+be placed upon somewhat extended researches, there is reason to think
+that in the unfrequented mountains in the centre of the island there
+exists a race of negroes with woolly hair, and savage manners, of the
+type of the indigenous races of New Guinea and New Ireland, whom one is
+led to consider the primitive population. This line of research,
+commenced at the close of the eighteenth century by an Englishman of
+the name of Crawford, has been in our time carried forward with
+striking results by the labours of the learned Doctors Broca and E.
+Hamy, to the latter of whom the reading public are indebted for the
+pleasing and instructive papers on primitive populations which have
+appeared in <i>Nature</i> and in the journals of the Royal Geographical
+Society.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving Timor the <i>Uranie</i> proceeded towards the Strait of
+Bourou, and in passing between the islands of Wetter and Roma got sight
+of the picturesque island of Gasses, clothed in the brightest and
+thickest verdure imaginable. The corvette was then drifted by currents
+almost as far as the island of Pisang, near which she fell in with
+three dhows, manned by natives of the island of Gueby. These people
+have an olive complexion, broad flat noses, and thick lips; some are
+strong, looking robust and athletic, others are slender and weakly in
+appearance; and others, again, thickset and repulsive-looking. The only
+clothing worn by the majority at this time was a pair of drawers
+fastened with a handkerchief round the waist.</p>
+
+<p>A landing was effected on the little island of Pisang. It was found to
+be of volcanic origin, and the soil, formed from the decomposition of
+trachytic lava, was evidently very fertile. From Pisang the corvette
+made her way among islands, till then scarcely known, to Rawak, where
+she cast anchor at noon on the 16th of December. This island, though
+small, is inhabited; but though our navigators were often visited by
+the natives of Waigiou, opportunities for studying this species of the
+human family have been rare. Moreover, it ought to be mentioned that
+through ignorance of the language of the indigenous tribes, and the
+difficulty of making them understand through the medium of Malayan, of
+which they know only a few words, even those few opportunities have not
+been turned to much account. As soon as a suitable position was found,
+the instruments were set up, and the usual physical and astronomical
+observations were made in conjunction with geographical researches.</p>
+<a name="ill65"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration065">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="596">
+			<img src="images/065.jpg" alt="Rawak hut on piles">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="596" align="center">
+			<small>Rawak hut on piles.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The islands which Freycinet calls the islands of the Papuans are Rawak,
+Boni, Waigiou, and Manouran, which are situated almost immediately
+below the equator. The largest of these, Waigiou, is not less than
+seventy-two miles from one side to the other; the low shorage consists
+mainly of swamp and morass, while the banks, which run up steeply, are
+surrounded by coral reefs, and are full of small caves hollowed out by
+the waves. All the islets are clothed with vegetation of surprising
+beauty. They abound with magnificent trees, amongst which the
+"Barringtonia" may be recognized, with its voluminous trunk always
+leaning towards the sea, allowing the tips of the branches to touch the
+water; the "scoevola lobelia," fig-trees, mangroves, the casuarinæ,
+with their straight and slender stems shooting up to the height of
+forty feet, the rima, the takanahaka, with its trunk more than twenty
+feet in circumference; the cynometer, belonging to the family of
+leguminous plants, bright from its topmost to its lowest branches with
+pale red flowers and golden fruits; and besides these rarer trees,
+palms, nutmeg-trees, roseapple-trees, banana-trees, flourish in the low
+and moist ground.</p>
+<a name="ill66"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration066">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="584">
+			<img src="images/066.jpg" alt="The luxuriant vegetation of the Papuan Islands">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="584" align="center">
+			<small>The luxuriant vegetation of the Papuan Islands.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The fauna, however, has not attained to the same exceptionally fine
+development as the flora. At Rawak the phalanger and the sheepdog in a
+wild state were the only quadrupeds met with. In Waigiou, the boar
+called barberossa, and a diminutive of the same race were found. But as
+to the feathered tribe, they were not so numerous as one might have
+supposed; the plants yielding grain necessary for the sustenance of
+birds not being able to thrive in the dense shade of the forests.
+Hornbills are here met with, whose wings, furnished with long feathers
+separated at the tips, make a very loud noise when they fly; great
+quantities of parrots, kingfishers, turtle-doves, piping-crows, brown
+hawks, crested pigeons, and possibly also birds of paradise, though the
+travellers did not see any specimens.</p>
+
+<p>The Papuans themselves are positively repulsively ugly. To quote the
+words of Odet-Pellion, "a flat skull, a facial angle of 75&deg;, a
+large mouth, eyes small and sunken, a thick nose, flat at the end and
+pressed down on the upper lip, a scanty beard, a peculiarity of the
+people of those regions already noticed, shoulders of a moderate size,
+a prominent belly, and slight lower limbs; these are the chief
+characteristics of the Papuans. Their hair both in its nature and mode
+of arrangement varies a good deal. Most commonly it is dressed with
+great pains into a matted structure not less than eight inches in
+height; composed of a mass of soft downy hair curling naturally; or it
+is frizzed up, till it positively bristles, and with the assistance of
+a coating of grease, is plastered round the skull in the shape of a
+globe. A long wooden comb of six or seven teeth is also often stuck in,
+not so much to aid in keeping the mass together as to give a finishing
+touch of ornament."</p>
+
+<p>These unfortunate people are afflicted with the terrible scourge of
+leprosy, which is so prevalent that at least a tenth part of the
+population are infested with the disease. The cause of this dreadful
+malady must be sought in the insalubrity of the climate, the miasma
+from the marshes, which are overflowed with sea-water every flood tide,
+the neighbourhood of the burial-places, which are badly kept, and
+perhaps also to the consumption of shell-fish which these natives
+devour greedily.</p>
+
+<p>All the houses, whether inland or on the coast, are built on piles.
+Many of these dwellings are erected in places extremely difficult of
+access. They are made by thrusting stakes into the earth, to which
+transverse beams are fastened with ropes made of fibre, and on these a
+flooring is laid of palm-leaves, trimmed and strongly intertwined one
+with another. These leaves, made to lap over in an artistic fashion,
+are also used for the roof of the house, which has only one door.
+Should the dwellings be built over the water, communication is carried
+on between them and the shore by means of a kind of bridge resting upon
+trestles, the movable flooring of which can be quickly taken up. Every
+house is also surrounded by a kind of balcony furnished with a
+balustrade.</p>
+
+<p>The travellers could not obtain any information as to the friendly
+disposition of these natives. Whether the whole tribe consists of large
+communities united under one chief or several, whether each community
+obeys only its own proper head, whether the population is numerous or
+not, are all points which could not be ascertained. The name by which
+they call themselves is Alfourous. They appeared to talk in several
+distinct dialects, which differ remarkably from Papuan or Malay.</p>
+
+<p>The inhabitants of this group seem to be a very industrious race. They
+manufacture all sorts of fishing apparatus very cleverly; they are
+expert in finding their way through the forests; they know how to
+prepare the pith of the sago-plant, and to make ovens for the cooking
+of the sago; they can turn pottery ware, weave mats, carpets, baskets,
+and can also carve idols and figures. In the harbour of Boni on the
+coast of Waigiou, MM. Quoy and Gaimard noticed a statue moulded in
+white clay, under a sort of canopy close to a tomb. It represented a
+man standing upright, of the natural height, with his hands raised
+towards heaven. The head was of wood, with the cheeks and eyes inlaid
+with small pieces of white shell.</p>
+<a name="ill67"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration067">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="579">
+			<img src="images/067.jpg" alt="Map of Australia">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>On the 6th of January, 1819, having taken in supplies at Rawak, the
+<i>Uranie</i> proceeded on her voyage, and soon came in sight of the Ayou
+islands, mere sand-banks surrounded by breakers, of which few
+geographical details had been known up to that time. There was much to
+be done in the way of accurate survey, but unfortunately the
+hydrographers were sorely hindered in their work by the fever which
+they and some forty of the crew had contracted at Rawak. Sailing on,
+the Anchoret Islands came in sight on the 12th of February, and on the
+day following the Amirantes, but the <i>Uranie</i> did not attempt to make
+for the land. Shortly after passing the Amirantes, the corvette sighted
+St. Bartholomew, which the inhabitants call Poulousouk. It belongs to
+the Caroline archipelago. A busy trade, always attended with much
+uproar, was soon set on foot with the indigenous people, who resisted
+all persuasion to come on board, conducting all their transactions,
+nevertheless, with admirable good faith, in no instance showing any
+dishonest tendencies. One after another Poulouhat, Alet, Tamatam,
+Allap, Tanadik, all islands belonging to this archipelago, passed
+before the admiring gaze of the French navigators. At length, on the
+17th of March, 1819, just eighteen months from the time of quitting
+France, Freycinet got sight of the Marianne Islands, and cast anchor in
+the roads of Umata on the coast of Guam. Just as the officers of the
+expedition were ready to go on shore, the governor of the island, D.
+Medinilla y Pineda, accompanied by his lieutenant, Major D. Luis de
+Torrès, came on board to bid them welcome. These gentlemen showed a
+polite anxiety to learn what the explorers stood in need of, and
+engaged that all their wants should be supplied with the least possible
+delay.</p>
+
+<p>No time was lost in looking for a place suited for conversion into a
+temporary hospital, and one being found, the sick on board, to the
+number of twenty, were removed to it for treatment the very next day.</p>
+
+<p>A dinner to the staff of the expedition was given by the governor, and
+all the officers assembled in his house at the appointed hour. They
+found a table covered with light cakes and fruits, in the midst of
+which were two bowls of hot punch. Some surprise escaped the guests, in
+private remarks to one another, at this singular kind of banquet. Could
+it be a fast-day? Why did no one sit down? But as there was no
+interpreter to clear up these points, and as it would have been
+unbecoming to ask for an explanation, they kept their difficulties for
+solution among themselves, and paid attention to the good things before
+them. Soon a fresh surprise came; the table was cleared and covered
+with various sorts of prepared dishes&mdash;in short, a substantial and
+sumptuous dinner was served. The collation which had been taken at the
+commencement, called in the language of the country "Refresco," had
+been intended only to whet the appetites of the guests for what was to
+follow.</p>
+
+<p>After this, luxurious dinners became quite the rage at Guam. Two days
+subsequent to the governor's banquet, the officers found themselves at
+a dinner-party of fifty guests, where no less than forty-four separate
+dishes were served at each of the three courses of which the dinner
+consisted. Freycinet, from information he had received, relates that
+"this dinner cost the lives of two oxen and three fat pigs, to say
+nothing of poultry, game, and fish. Such a slaughter, I should think,
+has not been known since the marriage-feast of Gamache. No doubt our
+host considered that persons who had undergone so many privations
+during a protracted voyage ought to be compensated with an unusually
+profuse entertainment. The dessert showed no falling off either in
+abundance or in variety; it was succeeded by tea, coffee, creams,
+liqueurs of every description; and as the 'Refresco' had been served as
+usual an hour previous to dinner, it will be admitted without question
+that at Guam the most intrepid gourmand could find no other cause for
+disappointment but the limited capacity of the human stomach."</p>
+
+<p>However, the objects of the mission were not interfered with by all
+this dining and festivity. Natural history excursions, magnetical
+observations, the geographical survey of the island of Guam, entrusted
+to Duperrey, were all being pushed forward simultaneously. But in the
+meantime the corvette had got to moorings in the deep water off the
+port of St. Louis, while the chief of the Staff, as well as the sick,
+were housed at Agagna, the capital of the island and the seat of
+government. At that place, in honour of the French visitors,
+cock-fights took place, a kind of sport very popular in all the Spanish
+possessions in Oceania; dances also were given, the figures in which,
+it was said, contained allusions to events in the history of Mexico.
+The dancers, students of the Agagna college, were dressed in rich
+silks, imported a long time previously by the Jesuits from New Spain.
+Then came combats with sticks in which the Carolins took part; which
+again were succeeded, almost uninterruptedly by other amusements. But
+what Freycinet considered of most value was the mass of information
+concerning the customs and manners of the former inhabitants of the
+islands, which he obtained through Major D. Luis Torrès; who, himself
+born in the country, had made a constant study of this subject. Of this
+interesting information use will be made when the subject is presently
+resumed, but first some notice must be taken of an excursion to the
+islands Rota and Tinian, the latter of which had already become known
+to us through the narratives of former travellers.</p>
+<a name="ill68"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration068">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="621">
+			<img src="images/068.jpg" alt="A performer of the dances of Montezuma">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="621" align="center">
+			<small>A performer of the dances of Montezuma.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>On the 22nd April a small fleet of eight proas conveyed MM. Berard,
+Gaudichaud, and Jacques Arago to Rota, where their arrival occasioned
+great surprise and alarm, explained by the fact that a report had
+gained currency in the island that the corvette was manned with rebels
+from America.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond Rota the proas reached Tinian, where the arid plains recalled to
+the travellers the desolate coasts of the land of Endracht, testifying
+to the considerable changes that must have taken place there since the
+time when Lord Anson described the place as a terrestrial Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>The Marianne archipelago was discovered by Magellan on the 6th March,
+1521, and at first received the name of <i>Islas de las velas latinas</i>,
+the Isles of the lateen sails, but subsequently that of the <i>Ladrones</i>,
+or the Robbers. If one may trust Pigafetta, the illustrious admiral saw
+no islands but Tinian, Saypan, and Agoignan. Five years later they were
+visited by the Spaniard Loyasa, whose cordial reception was quite a
+contrast to that of Magellan; and in 1565 the islands were declared to
+be Spanish territory by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. It was not, however,
+until 1669 that they were colonized and evangelized by Father
+Sanvitores. It will be understood that we should not follow Freycinet's
+narrative of past events in the history of this archipelago, were it
+not that the manuscripts and works of every kind which he was permitted
+to consult enabled him to treat the subject <i>de novo</i>, and throw upon
+it the light of real knowledge.</p>
+
+<p>The admiration, still lingering in the minds of the travellers, which
+had been aroused by the incredible fertility of the Papuan Islands and
+the Moluccas was no doubt calculated to weaken the impression produced
+by any of the Marianne Islands. The forests of Guam, though well
+stocked, did not present the gigantic appearance common to forest
+scenery in the tropics. They extended over a large part of the island,
+yet there were also immense spaces devoted to pasturage, where not a
+breadfruit-tree nor a cocoa-nut palm was to be seen. In the depths of
+the forests, moreover, the conquerors of the islands had created
+artificial glades, in order that the herds of horned cattle which they
+had introduced might find food and also enjoy shelter from the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Agoignan, an island with a very rocky coast, presented from a distance
+an arid and barren appearance, but is in reality thickly clothed with
+trees even to the summit of its highest mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Rota is a regular jungle, an almost impenetrable mass of brushwood,
+above which rise thickets of rimas, tamarind, fig, and palm trees.
+Tinian, too, presents anything but an agreeable appearance. The French
+explorers altogether missed the charming scenes described in such
+glowing colours by their predecessors, but the appearance of the soil,
+and the immense number of dead trees, led them to the conclusion that
+old accounts were not altogether exaggerated, especially as the
+southern portion of the island is now rendered quite inaccessible by
+its dense forests.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of Freycinet's visit the population of these islands was of
+a very mixed character, the aborigines being quite in the minority. The
+more highly born of the natives were formerly bigger, stronger, and
+better made than Europeans, but the race is degenerating, and the
+primitive type in its purity is now only to be met with in Rota.</p>
+
+<p>Capital swimmers and divers, able to walk immense distances without
+fatigue, every man of them had to prove his proficiency in these
+exercises on his marriage; but although this proficiency has been in
+some measure kept up, the leading characteristic of the people of the
+Marianne group is idleness, or perhaps to be more strictly accurate,
+indifference.</p>
+
+<p>Marriages are contracted at a very early age, the bridegroom being
+generally between fifteen and eighteen, the bride between twelve and
+fifteen. A numerous progeny is the result of these unions; instances
+being on record of twenty-two children born of one mother.</p>
+
+<p>Not only do the people of Guam suffer from many diseases, such as lung
+complaints, smallpox, &amp;c., introduced by Europeans; but also from some
+which seem to be endemic, or in any case to have assumed a type
+peculiar to the place and altogether abnormal. Such are elephantiasis
+and leprosy, three varieties of which are met with at Guam, differing
+from each other alike in their symptoms and their effects.</p>
+
+<p>Before the conquest, the people of the Mariannes lived on the fruit of
+the rima or bread-tree, rice, sago, and other farinaceous plants. Their
+mode of cooking these articles was extremely simple, though not so much
+so as their style of dress, for they went about in a state of nature,
+unrelieved even by the traditional fig-leaf.</p>
+
+<p>At the present time children still wear no clothing till they are about
+ten years old. Alluding to this peculiar custom, Captain Pages, writing
+at the close of last century, says, "I found myself near a house, in
+front of which an Indian girl, about eleven years old, was squatted on
+her heels in the full blaze of the sun, without a vestige of clothing
+on. Her chemise lay folded on the ground in front of her. When she saw
+me approaching, she got up quickly and put it on again. Although still
+far from decently clothed, for only her shoulders were covered by it,
+she now considered herself properly dressed, and stood before me quite
+unembarrassed."</p>
+
+<p>Judging from the remains nearly everywhere to be met with, such as the
+ruins of dwellings originally supported by masonry pillars, it is plain
+that the population was formerly considerable. The earliest traveller
+who has made any reference to this subject is Lord Anson. He has given
+a somewhat fanciful description, which, however, the explorers in the
+<i>Uranie</i> were able to corroborate, as will be seen from the following
+extract.</p>
+
+<p>"The description found in the narrative of Lord Anson's voyage is
+correct; but the ruins and the branches of the trees that have in some
+way twined themselves about the masonry pillars, wear now a very
+different aspect from what they did in his time. The sharp edges of the
+pillars have got rubbed away, and the half-globes that surmounted them
+have no longer their former roundness."</p>
+<a name="ill69"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration069">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="591">
+			<img src="images/069.jpg" alt="Ruins of ancient pillars at Tinian">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="591" align="center">
+			<small>Ruins of ancient pillars at Tinian.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Of the structures of more recent date only a sixth part are of stone.
+At Agagna may be counted several buildings possessing some interest on
+account of their size, if not on that of their elegance, grandeur, or
+the fineness of their proportions. These are the College of St. John
+Lateran, the church, the clergy-house, the governor's palace, and the
+taverns.</p>
+
+<p>Before the Spaniards established their sway in these islands, the
+natives were divided into three classes, the nobility, the inferior
+nobility, and the commonalty. These last, the Pariahs of the country,
+Freycinet remarks, though without citing his authority, were of a more
+diminutive stature than the other inhabitants. This difference of
+height is, however, scarcely a sufficient reason for pronouncing them
+to be of a different race from the other two classes; is it not more
+reasonable to conclude it to be the result of the degrading servitude
+to which they have been subjected? These plebeians could under no
+circumstances raise themselves to a higher class; and a seafaring life
+was forbidden to them. Each of the three castes had its own sorceresses
+and priestesses, or medicine-women, who each devoted her attention to
+the treatment of some one disorder; only no reason, however, for
+crediting them with any special skill in its cure.</p>
+
+<p>The business of canoe-building was monopolized by the nobles; who,
+however, allowed the inferior nobles to assist in their construction.
+The making of canoes was to them a work of the utmost importance, and
+the nobles maintained it as one of their most valuable privileges. The
+language spoken in the Philippine group, though it has some affinity
+with the Malay and Tagala dialects, has all the same a distinctive
+character of its own. Freycinet's narrative also contains much
+information on the extremely singular customs of the former population
+of the Mariannes, which are beyond our province, though well worthy of
+the attention of the philosopher and historian.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Uranie</i> had been now more than two months at anchor. It was full
+time to resume the work of exploration. Freycinet and his staff,
+therefore, devoted the few remaining days of their stay to the task of
+paying farewell visits and expressing their gratitude for the hearty
+kindness which had been so profusely shown to them. The governor,
+however, not only declined to admit his claim to thanks from the French
+travellers for the hospitable attentions heaped upon them for upwards
+of two months; but also refused to accept any payment for the supplies
+which had been furnished for the refitting of the corvette. He even
+went so far as to write a letter of apology for the scantiness of the
+provisions, the result of the drought which had desolated Guam for the
+previous six months, and which had prevented him from doing things as
+he could have wished. The final farewell took place off Agagna. "It was
+impossible," says Freycinet, "to take leave of the amiable man, who had
+loaded us with so many proofs of his friendly disposition, without
+being deeply affected. I was too much moved to be able to find
+expression for the feelings with which my heart was filled; but the
+tears which filled my eyes must have been to him a surer evidence than
+any words could have been of my gratitude and my regret."</p>
+
+<p>From the 5th to the 16th June the <i>Uranie</i> occupied in an exploring
+cruise round the north of the Marianne Islands, in the course of which
+were made the observations of which the substance has been given above.
+The commander, wishing to make a quick passage to the Sandwich Islands,
+then took advantage of a breeze to gain a higher latitude, where he
+hoped to meet with favourable winds. But as the explorers penetrated
+further and further into this part of the Pacific Ocean, cold and dense
+fogs wrapped them round, permeating the whole vessel with damp, equally
+unpleasant and injurious to health. However, the crew suffered no worse
+inconvenience than slight colds; in fact, the change had rather a
+bracing effect than otherwise on men now for some time accustomed to
+the enervating heat of the tropics.</p>
+
+<p>On the 6th August the south point of Hawaï was doubled, and Freycinet
+made for the western side of the island, where he hoped to find a safe
+and convenient anchorage. A dead calm prevailing, the first and second
+days were spent in opening relations with the natives. The women came
+off in crowds immediately on the arrival of the ship, with the view of
+carrying on their usual trade, but the commander laid an interdict on
+their coming on board.</p>
+
+<p>The first piece of news given to the captain by one of the Areois<small><small><sup>2</sup></small></small>
+was that King Kamahamaha was dead, and that his young son Rio Rio had
+succeeded him. Taking advantage of a change of wind the <i>Uranie</i> sailed
+on to the Bay of Karakakoa, and Freycinet was about to send an officer
+in advance to take soundings, when a canoe put off from the shore,
+having on board the governor of the island, Prince Kouakini, otherwise
+John Adams,<small><small><sup>3</sup></small></small> who promised the captain that he would find boats
+suitable for the taking of the necessary supplies to the corvette. This
+young man, about nine and twenty years of age, almost a giant in
+stature, but well proportioned, surprised Freycinet by the extent of
+his information. On being informed that the corvette was on a voyage of
+discovery, he inquired, "Have you doubled Cape Horn or did you come
+round the Cape of Good Hope?" He then asked for the latest information
+about Napoleon, and wished to know whether it was true that the island
+of St. Helena had been swallowed up with all its inhabitants! A story
+he had evidently heard from some facetious whalemen, but had not
+entirely believed.</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>2</sup></small> See <a href="#foot">previous footnote</a>.</small></blockquote>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>3</sup></small> It was the custom for the chiefs in these parts to assume
+new names, often for the most trifling reasons.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>Kouakini next apprised Freycinet that though actual disturbances had
+not broken out on the death of Kamahamaha, yet that some of the chiefs
+having asserted claims to independence, the stability of the monarchy
+was in some danger. As a result the political situation was strained
+and the government was in some perplexity, a state of things which
+probably would soon terminate, especially if the commandant would
+consent to make some declaration in favour of the youthful sovereign.
+Freycinet landed with the prince, to pay him a return visit; and, on
+entering his house, was introduced to his wife, a very corpulent woman,
+who was lying on a European bedstead covered with matting. After this
+visit, the captain and his host went to visit the widows of Kamahamaha,
+the prince's sisters, but not being able to see them, they proceeded to
+the yards and workshops of the deceased king. Here were four sheds
+sacred to the building of large war-canoes, and others containing
+European boats. Farther on were seen wood for building purposes, bars
+of copper, quantities of fishing-nets, a forge, a cooper's workshop,
+and lastly, some cases belonging to the prime minister, Kraimokou,
+filled with all necessary appliances for navigation, such as compasses,
+sextants, thermometers, watches, and even a chronometer. Strangers were
+not allowed to inspect two other magazines in which were stored powder
+and other war-materials, strong liquors, iron, &amp;c. All these places
+were for the present abandoned by the new sovereign, who held his court
+at Koaihai Bay.</p>
+
+<p>Freycinet, on receiving an invitation from the king, made ready to
+visit him there, under the guidance of a native pilot who showed
+himself most attentive, and was very skilful in forecasting the
+weather. "The monarch," writes Freycinet, "was waiting for me on the
+beach, dressed in the full uniform of an English captain, and
+surrounded by the whole of his suite. In spite of the terrible
+barrenness of this side of the island, the spectacle of the grotesque
+assemblage of men and women was not without grandeur and beauty. The
+king himself stood in front with his principal officers a little
+distance behind him; some wearing splendid mantles made of red or
+yellow feathers, or of scarlet cloth; others in short tippets of the
+same kind, but in which the two glaring colours were relieved with
+black; a few had helmets on their heads. This striking picture was
+further diversified by a number of soldiers grouped here and there, and
+clad in various and strange costumes."</p>
+
+<p>The sovereign now under notice was the same, who, with his young and
+charming wife, undertook at a later period a voyage to England, where
+they both died. Their remains were brought back to Hawaï by Captain
+Byron in the frigate <i>La Blonde</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Freycinet seized this opportunity to repeat his request for supplies of
+fresh provisions, and the king promised that two days should not pass
+before his wishes should be fully complied with. However, although the
+good faith of the young monarch was above suspicion, the commander soon
+discovered that most of the chiefs had no intention of obeying their
+sovereign's orders.</p>
+
+<p>Some little time after this, the principal officers of the staff went
+to pay a visit to the widows of Kamahamaha. The following amusing
+description of their lively reception is given by M. Quoy:&mdash;"A strange
+spectacle," he says, "met our view on our entrance into an apartment of
+narrow dimensions, where eight lumps of half naked humanity lay on the
+ground with their faces downwards. It was not an easy task to find
+space to lay ourselves down according to custom in the same manner. The
+attendants were constantly on the move, some carrying fans made of
+feathers to whisk away the flies; another a lighted pipe, which was
+passed from one prostrate figure to another, each taking a whiff or
+two, while the rest were engaged in shampooing the royal personages....
+Conversation, it may readily be imagined, was not well maintained under
+these trying circumstances, and had it not been for some excellent
+watermelons which were handed to us, the tedium of the interview would
+have been insupportable."</p>
+
+<p>Freycinet next went to pay a visit to the famous John Young, who had
+been for so long a time the faithful friend and sagacious adviser of
+King Kamahamaha. Although he was then old and in bad health, he was not
+the less able to supply Freycinet with some valuable information about
+the Sandwich Islands, where he had lived for thirty years, and in the
+history of which he had played a prominent part.</p>
+
+<p>Kraimokou, the minister, during a visit which he was paying on board
+the <i>Uranie</i>, had caught sight of the Abbé de Quelen, the chaplain,
+whose costume puzzled him a good deal. As soon as he had learned that
+the strangely dressed person was a priest, he expressed to the
+commandant a desire to receive baptism. His mother, he said, had been
+admitted to that sacrament upon her deathbed, and she had obtained from
+him a promise to submit himself to the same ceremony as soon as he met
+with a convenient opportunity. Freycinet gave his consent, and
+endeavoured to make the proceeding as solemn as possible, all the more
+because Rio Rio requested permission to be present at it with all his
+suite. Every one behaved with the utmost decorum and reverence while
+the ceremony was taking place; but immediately on its close there was a
+general rush to the collation which the commandant had ordered to be
+prepared. It was wonderful to see how rapidly the bottles of wine and
+the flasks of rum and of brandy were emptied, and to witness the speedy
+disappearance of the viands with which the table had been covered.
+Fortunately the day was coming to a close, or Rio Rio and the majority
+of his officers and courtiers would not have been in a condition to
+reach the shore. In spite of this, however, it was necessary to comply
+with his request for two additional bottles of brandy, that he might,
+as he said, drink the health of the commander and success to his
+voyage, a request which all his attendants felt bound in politeness to
+make likewise.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not an over-statement," observes Freycinet, "to say that in the
+short space of two hours our distinguished guests drank and carried
+away what would have been sufficient to supply the wants of ten
+ordinary persons for three months." Several presents had been exchanged
+between the royal pair and the commander. Among those made by the young
+queen was a cloak of feathers, a kind of garment which had become
+exceedingly scarce in the Sandwich Islands.</p>
+
+<p>Freycinet was about to set sail again, when he learnt from an American
+captain that a merchant-vessel was lying off the island of Miow, having
+a large quantity of biscuit and rice on board, which there was no doubt
+might be purchased. This information determined Freycinet to anchor
+first off Raheina, among other reasons, because it was there that
+Kraimokou had undertaken to deliver a number of pigs, which were
+required for the use of the crew. But the minister displayed signal bad
+faith in the transaction; he tendered miserably poor pigs, and demanded
+an extravagantly high price; so that it was necessary to have recourse
+to threats before the business could be satisfactorily arranged. In
+this matter Kraimokou was under the misguidance of an English runaway
+convict from Port Jackson, and most probably had the native been left
+to obey the promptings of his own nature he would have acted on this
+occasion with the good faith and the sense of honour which were his
+usual characteristics.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the island of Waihou, Freycinet dropped anchor off
+Honolulu. The hearty welcome he received from the European residents
+made him regret that he had not come here direct to begin with; for he
+was able without any delay to procure all the supplies which he had
+found so much difficulty in getting together at the two other islands.
+Boki, the governor of Waihou, received baptism from the chaplain of the
+<i>Uranie</i>. He was prompted apparently by no other motive than a wish to
+do as his brother had done, who had previously received this sacrament.
+He was far from having the air of intelligence common to the other
+natives of the various islands of the Sandwich group hitherto visited.</p>
+
+<p>Many observations on these natives are made in the narrative of the
+expedition, which are too interesting to be passed over without a brief
+summary here. All navigators are agreed in considering that the class
+of chiefs belong to a race excelling the other inhabitants, both in
+intelligence and in stature. It is very unusual to find one who is less
+than six feet in height. Obesity is very common, but chiefly among the
+women, who while still quite young often become enormously corpulent.
+The Sandwich type is strongly marked and distinct. Pretty women are
+numerous; but the blessing of length of days is seldom enjoyed. An old
+man of seventy is a rare phenomenon. This early decline and premature
+death must be ascribed to the persistent dissipation in which the
+people pass their lives.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving the Sandwich Islands, Freycinet found it necessary to notice
+carefully the curves of the magnetic equator in low latitudes.<small><small><sup>4</sup></small></small>
+Accordingly, he crowded all sail in an easterly direction. On the 7th
+October the <i>Uranie</i> entered the southern hemisphere, and on the 19th
+of the same month the Dangerous Islands came in sight. To the eastward
+of the Navigators' archipelago, an island was discovered, not marked on
+the charts, which was named "Rose," after Madame Freycinet. This was
+the only actual discovery of the voyage.</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>4</sup></small> This refers to the line made up of the succession of
+points at which the magnetic needle ceases to indicate.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>The position of the islands of Pylstaart and Howe was next rectified,
+and on the 13th November the lights of Port Jackson, or Sydney, were at
+last sighted.</p>
+
+<p>Freycinet had fully expected to find the town enlarged during the
+sixteen years that had passed since his last visit; but his
+astonishment was great indeed at the sight of a large and prosperous
+European city, set down in the midst of scenery which might almost be
+called wild. But as the travellers made excursions in various
+directions, fresh signs of the progress which the colony had made were
+forced on their attention. Fine roads carefully kept, bordered with the
+eucalyptus, styled by Pérou "the giant of the Australian forests," well
+constructed bridges, distances marked by milestones, proved the
+existence of a well organized local administration; whilst the charming
+cottages, the numerous herds of cattle, and the carefully cultivated
+fields, bore testimony to the industry and perseverance of the new
+colonists.</p>
+
+<p>Governor Macquarie, and the principal authorities of the province vied
+with each other in showing attention to the French travellers, who,
+however, persisted in declining all but a single invitation, lest the
+work of the mission should not receive its fair share of attention. The
+entertainment given by the governor took place at his country house at
+Paramatta, whither the officers of the expedition proceeded by water,
+accompanied by a military band. Several of them also visited the little
+town of Liverpool, built in a pleasant situation on the banks of the
+river George. Excursions too were made to the little villages of
+Richmond and Windsor, which were growing up near Hawkesbury river. At
+the same time a party of the staff joined in a kangaroo hunt, and
+crossing the Blue Mountains penetrated the Bathurst settlement.</p>
+
+<p>Through the friendly relations which Freycinet had established with the
+residents during his two visits, he was able to collect numerous
+interesting details respecting the Australian colony. Therefore the
+chapter that he devotes to New South Wales, recording the marvellous
+and rapid advance of this effort at colonization, excited a lively
+interest in France, where the development and growing prosperity of
+Australia were very imperfectly known. Freycinet's narrative was there
+quite a new revelation, well calculated to excite inquiry, and which
+had, moreover, the advantage of showing the exact condition of the
+colony so late as the year 1825.</p>
+
+<p>The chain of mountains at some distance from the coast, known by the
+name of the Australian Alps, separates New South Wales from the
+interior of the Australian continent. For twenty-five years this chain
+formed a barrier against all communication with the country beyond; but
+now, thanks to the energy of Governor Macquarie, the barrier has been
+removed. A zigzag road has been cut in the rock, thus opening the way
+to the colonization of wide spreading plains watered by important
+rivers. The loftiest summits of this chain, nearly 10,000 feet in
+height, are covered with snow even in the middle of summer. Whilst the
+elevation of the principal peaks, Mount Exmouth, Mount Cunningham, and
+others was being taken, it was discovered that so far from Australia
+possessing only one large watercourse, the Swan River, it had several,
+the chief being Hawkesbury River, formed by the confluence of the
+Nepean, the Grose, and the Brisbane; the river Murray not being yet
+known. At the period under notice a commencement had been made in the
+working of coal-mines, slate quarries, layers of solid carbonate of
+iron, sandstone, chalk, porphyry and jasper; but the presence of gold,
+the metal that was to effect so rapid a development of the young
+colony, had not as yet been established.</p>
+
+<p>The nature of the soil varies. On the sea-coast it is barren, able only
+to support the growth of a few stunted trees; but inland the traveller
+meets with fields clothed with a rich vegetation, vast pasturages in
+which here and there rise a few tall shrubs, and forests where giant
+trees entwined with an inextricable growth of underwood, defy all
+attempts to penetrate to their recesses.</p>
+<a name="ill70"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration070">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587">
+			<img src="images/070.jpg" alt="An Australian farm near the Blue Mountains">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587" align="center">
+			<small>An Australian farm near the Blue Mountains.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>One circumstance which much surprised travellers was the apparent
+homogeneity of race throughout the whole of this immense continent.
+Take the aborigines at the Bay of Sharks, or in the land of Endracht,
+or by the Swan River, or at Port Jackson, and the same complexion, and
+the same kind of hair, the same features, the same physique, all prove
+indisputably that they have sprung from one common origin. Those
+dwelling by the rivers or on the sea coast subsist chiefly on shell or
+other fish, but those living in the interior trust to hunting for their
+food, and will eat indiscriminately the flesh of the opossum or the
+kangaroo, not rejecting even lizards, snakes, worms, or ants, the last
+named of which they manufacture into a sort of paste with the addition
+of their eggs and the roots of ferns. All over the continent the
+practice of the aborigines is to go completely naked; though they have
+no objection to put on any articles of European clothing that they can
+get possession of. It is said that in 1820 at Port Jackson there was a
+laughable caricature of the European style of dress to be seen in the
+person of an ancient negress who went about clothed in some pieces of
+an old woollen blanket, wearing on her head a bonnet of green silk. A
+few of the aborigines, however, make themselves cloaks of opossum or
+kangaroo skin, stitching the pieces together with the nerve-fibres of
+the cassowary; but this kind of garment is of rare occurrence.</p>
+
+<p>Though their hair is smooth, they plaster it with grease and arrange it
+in curls. Then inserting in the middle a tuft of grass, they raise a
+strange and comical superstructure, surmounted by a few cockatoo
+feathers; or failing these, they fasten on, with the aid of a resinous
+gum, a few human teeth, or some bits of bone, a dog's tail, or one or
+two fish bones. Although the practice of tattooing is not much in
+favour among the natives of New Holland, some are occasionally to be
+seen who have succeeded by means of sharp shells in cutting symmetrical
+figures upon their skins. A more general custom is that of painting on
+their bodies monstrous designs in red and white colours which, on their
+dark skins, give them an almost diabolical aspect.</p>
+
+<p>These savages formerly believed that after death they would take the
+form of children, and be transported to the clouds or to the summits of
+lofty trees, where, in a sort of aërial paradise, they would be regaled
+with plentiful repasts. But since the arrival of the Europeans their
+faith on this point has undergone some change, their present belief
+being, that metamorphosed into whites they will go to inhabit some
+far-off land. It is also an article of their creed that the whites
+themselves are no other than their own ancestors, who, having been
+killed in battle, have assumed the form of Europeans.</p>
+<a name="ill71"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration071">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="585">
+			<img src="images/071.jpg" alt="Native Australians">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="585" align="center">
+			<small>Native Australians.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The census of 1819&mdash;one of the strictest hitherto instituted&mdash;gives the
+number of the colonists at 25,425; this return, it must be understood,
+does not take in the soldiers. The women being very much in the
+minority, the mother-country had made efforts to remedy the
+inconvenience resulting from this great disparity of the sexes, by
+promoting the immigration of young women, who soon married and founded
+families of a higher tone of morality than that of the convicts.</p>
+
+<p>Freycinet devotes a very long chapter in his narrative to all matters
+connected with political economy. The various soils and the crops
+suited to them; industrial pursuits; the breeding of cattle; farming
+economy; manufactures; foreign trade; means of communication;
+government;&mdash;all these subjects are treated comprehensively on the
+authority of documents then newly compiled, and with an ability that
+could scarcely have been expected from a man who had not given special
+attention to questions of this nature. He has, moreover, added a close
+inquiry into the regimen which the convicts were subjected to from the
+time of their arrival in the colony, the punishments they had to
+undergo, as also the encouragements and rewards which were readily
+granted to them, when earned by good behaviour. The chapter concludes
+with reflections full of learning and sound judgment on the probable
+development and future prosperity of the Australian colony.</p>
+
+<p>After this long and fruitful stay in New Holland, the <i>Uranie</i> put to
+sea on the 25th December, 1819, and steered so as to pass to the south
+of New Zealand and Campbell Island, with the view of doubling Cape
+Horn. A few days afterwards ten fugitive convicts were discovered on
+board; but the corvette had left the shores of Australia too far behind
+to allow of their restoration. The coast of Tierra del Fuego was
+reached without anything worthy of special notice having occurred
+during a very prosperous voyage, with a prevailing west wind. On the
+5th February, Cape Desolation was sighted. Having doubled Cape Horn
+without any difficulty, the <i>Uranie</i> let go her anchor in the Bay of
+Good Success, where the shores, lined with grand forest-trees and
+echoing to the sound of waterfalls, presented a scene totally different
+from the sterile desolation generally characterizing this quarter of
+the globe. No long stay was, however, made there; the corvette resuming
+her voyage, lost no time in entering the Strait of Le Maire,
+notwithstanding a dense haze. Here she met with a heavy swell, a strong
+gale, and a mist so thick that land, sea, and sky were confounded in
+one general obscurity. The rain and the heavy spray raised by the
+storm, and the coming on of night, made it necessary to put the
+<i>Uranie</i> under a close-reefed topsail and jib, under which pressure of
+sail she behaved splendidly. The only available course was to run
+before the wind, and the travellers had just begun to feel thankful for
+their good fortune in being driven by the storm far away from the land,
+when the cry was heard, "Land close ahead!"</p>
+
+<p>All hearts sunk with despair; shipwreck and death seemed inevitable.
+Freycinet alone, after a brief instant of hesitation, recovered his
+self-command. It was impossible that land could be ahead. He,
+therefore, kept on his northerly course, bearing a little east, and the
+correctness of his calculations was soon verified. On the next day but
+one the weather grew calmer; observations were taken, and as they
+proved the vessel to have run a great distance from the Bay of Good
+Success, the commander had to choose between a detention off the coast
+of South America, or off the Falkland Islands. The island of Conti, the
+Bay of Marville, and Cape Duras, were successively observed through the
+haze, whilst a favourable breeze speeded the corvette on her course to
+Berkeley Sound, fixed on as the best place for the next halt.</p>
+
+<p>Mutual congratulations were already being exchanged on the happy
+termination of the dangerous struggle, and on the fortunate escape from
+any serious accident during so hazardous a trip. The sailors all
+rejoiced, to use the words of Byron, that&mdash;</p>
+
+<center><small>"The worst was over, and the rest seemed sure."</small></center>
+
+<p>But a severe trial was still in store for them!</p>
+
+<p>On entering Berkeley Sound, every man was at his post, ready to let go
+the anchor. The look-outs were on the watch, men were stationed in the
+main-shrouds to heave the lead. Then first at twenty, after at eighteen
+fathoms, the presence of rocks was reported. The ship was now about
+half a league off shore, and Freycinet thought it prudent to put her
+off about two points. This precaution proved fatal, for the corvette
+suddenly struck violently on a hidden rock. As she struck, the
+soundings gave fifteen fathoms to starboard, and twelve to larboard.
+The reef against which the corvette had run, was, therefore, not so
+wide as the vessel itself; in fact, it was but the pointed summit of a
+rock.</p>
+
+<p>The immediate rising of pieces of wood to the surface of the water at
+once gave reason for fears that the injury was serious. There was a
+rush to the pumps. Water was pouring into the hold. Freycinet had sent
+for a sail, and had it passed under the vessel in such a manner that
+the pressure of the water forcing it into the leak in a measure stopped
+it up. But it was of no avail. Although the whole ship's company,
+officers and sailors alike, worked at the pumps, no more could be done
+than just keep the water from gaining on the vessel. There was nothing
+for it but to run her ashore. This decision, painful as it was, had to
+be carried out, and it was indeed no easy task. On every side the land
+was girded with rocks, and only at the very bottom of the bay was there
+a strip of sandy beach favourable for running the ship aground.
+Meanwhile the wind had become contrary, night was approaching, the
+vessel was already half full of water. The distress of the commander
+can be imagined. But there was no alternative, so the vessel was
+stranded on Penguin Island.</p>
+
+<p>"This effected," to quote Freycinet, "the men were so exhausted that it
+was necessary to cease further work of every kind, and to allow the
+crew an interval of rest, all the more indispensable on account of the
+hardships and dangers which our present disastrous situation must
+entail upon all. As for myself, repose was out of the question.
+Tormented by a thousand harassing reflections, I could scarcely credit
+my own existence. The sudden transition from a position where all
+things seemed to smile on me, to that in which I found myself at that
+moment, weighed on my spirits like a horrible nightmare. It was
+difficult to regain the composure necessary to face fairly the painful
+trial. All my companions had done their duty in the frightful accident,
+which had all but lost us our lives, and I am glad to be able to do
+justice to their admirable conduct.</p>
+
+<p>"As soon as daylight revealed the nature of the country, a mournful
+gloomy look settled upon every countenance. Not a tree, not so much as
+a blade of grass was to be seen, not a sound was to be heard, and the
+silent desolation around reminded us of the Bay of Sharks."</p>
+<a name="ill72"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration072">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="601">
+			<img src="images/072.jpg" alt="Berkeley Sound, in the Falkland Islands">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="601" align="center">
+			<small>Berkeley Sound, in the Falkland Islands.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>But there was no time to be lost in vain lamentations. Was the sea to
+be allowed to swallow up the journals and observations, the precious
+results of so much labour and so many hardships?</p>
+
+<p>All the papers were saved. The same good fortune did not,
+unfortunately, attend the collections. Several cases of specimens which
+were at the bottom of the hold were entirely lost; others were damaged
+by the sea water. The collections that sustained the chief injury were
+those of natural history, and the herbarium that had been put together
+with infinite trouble by Gaudichaud. The merino sheep, generously
+presented to the expedition by Mr. MacArthur, of Sydney, which it was
+hoped could be acclimatized in France, were brought on shore, as also
+were all the animals still alive.</p>
+
+<p>A few tents were pitched, first for the sick, happily not very
+numerous, and then for the officers and the crew. The provisions and
+ammunition taken out of the ship were carefully deposited in a place
+where they would be sheltered from the inclemency of the weather. The
+alcoholic liquors were allowed to remain on board until the time
+arrived for quitting the scene of the shipwreck, and during the three
+months of the expedition's stay here, not a single theft of rum or of
+brandy came to light, although no one had anything to drink but pure
+water.</p>
+
+<p>The efforts of the whole of the expedition were steadily applied to the
+task of trying to repair the main injuries sustained by the <i>Uranie</i>,
+with the exception of a few sailors told off to provide, by hunting and
+fishing, for the subsistence of the community. The lakes were
+frequented by numbers of sea-lions, geese, ducks, teal, and snipe, but
+it was no easy matter to procure, at one time, a sufficient quantity of
+these animals to serve for the food of the entire crew; at the same
+time, the expenditure of powder was necessarily considerable. As good
+luck would have it, gulls abounded in sufficient numbers to furnish a
+hundred and twenty men with food for four or five months, and these
+creatures were so stupid as to allow themselves to be knocked on the
+head with a stick. A few horses were also killed which had relapsed
+into a wild state since the departure of the colony founded by
+Bougainville.</p>
+
+<p>By the 28th February the painful conclusion was come to, that with the
+slender resources available, it was impracticable to repair the damage
+done to the <i>Uranie</i>, especially as the original injury had been
+aggravated by the repeated shocks occasioned by thumping on the beach.
+"What was to be done?" Should the explorers calmly wait until some
+vessel chanced to put in at Berkeley Sound? This would be to leave the
+sailors with nothing to do, and this enforced idleness would open the
+door to disorder and insubordination. Would it not be better to build a
+small vessel out of the wreckage of the <i>Uranie</i>? As it happened, there
+was a large sloop belonging to the ship; if the sides were raised, and
+a deck added, it might be possible to reach Monte Video, and there
+obtain the assistance of a vessel capable of bringing off in safety the
+members of the expedition and all the cargo worth preserving. This
+latter plan met with the approval of Freycinet, and a decision once
+come to, not a moment was wasted.</p>
+
+<p>The sailors, animated with fresh energy, rapidly pushed on the work.
+Now was proved the sound judgment of the commander when manning the
+corvette at Toulon, in selecting sailors who were also skilled in some
+mechanical employment. Blacksmiths, sail-makers, rope-makers, sawyers,
+all worked with zeal at the different tasks assigned to them.</p>
+
+<p>No doubts were entertained of the success of the voyage before them.
+Monte Video was separated from the Falkland Islands by but three
+hundred and fifty nautical miles, and with the winds prevailing in
+these latitudes at this time of year, this distance could be traversed
+in a few days by the <i>Esperance</i>&mdash;for so the transformed sloop was
+named. To provide, at the same time, against the possible contingency
+of the frail vessel failing to reach the Rio de la Plata, Freycinet
+determined to commence the construction of a schooner of a hundred
+tons, as soon as the sloop had taken her departure. Notwithstanding the
+incessant demands on the energies of all made by the arduous and varied
+tasks involved in reconstruction and refitting of the new vessel, the
+usual astronomical and physical observations, the natural history
+researches and the hydrographical surveys, were not neglected. No one
+could have imagined that the stay in Berkeley Sound was anything more
+than an ordinary halt for exploring purposes.</p>
+
+<p>At last the sloop was finished and safely launched. The instructions
+for Captain Duperrey, appointed to take command, were all drawn up; the
+crew was selected; the provisions were on board; in two days the
+adventurers were to sail, when on the 19th March, 1820, the cry was
+raised, "A sail! a sail!" A sloop under full sail was seen entering the
+bay.</p>
+
+<p>A cannon was fired several times to attract attention, and in a short
+time the master of the new arrival was on shore. In a few words
+Freycinet explained to him the misadventure which had led to the
+residence of the explorers upon this desolate coast. The master stated
+in reply that he was under the orders of the captain of an American
+ship, the <i>General Knox</i>, engaged in the seal-fishery at West Island,
+to the west of the Falklands. An officer was at once deputed to go and
+ascertain from the captain what succour he could render to the French
+travellers. The result of the interview was a demand for 135,750 francs
+for the conveyance of the shipwrecked strangers to Rio&mdash;an unworthy
+advantage to take of the necessities of the unfortunate. To such a
+bargain the French officer was unwilling to agree without the consent
+of his commander; so he begged the American captain to sail for
+Berkeley Sound. While these negotiations were going on, however,
+another ship, the <i>Mercury</i>, under command of Captain Galvin, had made
+its appearance in the bay. The <i>Mercury</i> was bound from Buenos Ayres to
+Valparaiso with cannon, but just before doubling Cape Horn she had
+sprung a leak, and was compelled to put in at the Falkland Islands to
+make the necessary repairs. It was a fortunate incident for the
+Frenchmen, who knew they could turn to account the competition which
+must result from the arrival of two ships.</p>
+<a name="ill73"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration073">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="591">
+			<img src="images/073.jpg" alt="The Mercury at anchor in Berkeley Sound">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="591" align="center">
+			<small>The <i>Mercury</i> at anchor in Berkeley Sound.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Freycinet at once made an offer to Captain Galvin to repair the damage
+the <i>Mercury</i> had sustained, with the materials and the labour at his
+command, asking in return for this service a free passage for himself
+and his companions to Rio de Janeiro.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of fifteen days the repairs of the <i>Mercury</i> were completed.
+While they were going on, the negotiation with the <i>General Knox</i> was
+terminated by a positive refusal on the part of Freycinet to agree to
+the extravagant terms proposed by the American captain. It took several
+days to come to a settlement with Captain Galvin, who finally made the
+following agreement.</p>
+
+<p>1. Captain Galvin engaged to convey to Rio the wrecked persons, their
+papers, collections, and instruments, as well as all the cargo saved
+out of the <i>Uranie</i> that could be got on board.</p>
+
+<p>2. Freycinet and his people were during the passage to subsist entirely
+on the provisions set apart for them.</p>
+
+<p>3. That the captain was to receive the sum of 97,740 francs within ten
+days of their arrival at Rio. By the acceptance of these truly
+extortionate conditions a bargain, which had cost much dispute, was
+finally settled.</p>
+
+<p>Before leaving the Falklands, however, the naturalist, Gaudichaud,
+planted its destitute shores with several sorts of vegetables, which he
+thought likely to be of service to future voyagers who might be
+detained there.</p>
+
+<p>A few particulars regarding this archipelago will not be without
+interest. The group, lying between 50&deg; 57', and 52&deg; 45' S.
+latitude, and 60&deg; 4', 63&deg; 48' west of the meridian of Paris,
+consists of several islets and
+two principal islands, named Conti and Maidenland. Berkeley Sound,
+situated in the extreme east of the Conti Island, is a wide opening,
+rather deep than extensive, with a shelving rocky coast. The
+temperature of the islands is milder than one would expect from the
+high latitude. Snow does not fall in any great quantity, and does not
+remain even on the summits of the highest hills longer than for about
+two months. The streams are never frozen, and the lakes and marshes are
+never covered with ice hard enough to bear the weight of a man, for
+more than twenty-four hours consecutively. From the observations of
+Weddell, who visited these parts between 1822 and 1824, the temperature
+must have risen considerably during the last forty years in consequence
+of a change in the direction taken by the icebergs which melt away in
+the mid-Atlantic. M. Quoy, the naturalist, judging from the shallowness
+of the sea between the Falkland Islands and South America, as well as
+the resemblance of their grassy plains to the pampas of Buenos Ayres,
+is of opinion that they once formed part of the continent. These plains
+are low, marshy, covered with tall grass and shrubs, and are inundated
+in the winter. Peat is abundant and makes excellent fuel. The character
+of the soil has proved an obstacle to the growth of the trees which
+Bougainville endeavoured to acclimatize, of which scarce a vestige
+remained at the time of Freycinet's visit. The plant which reaches the
+greatest height and grows most plentifully is a species of sword-grass,
+excellent food for cattle, and serving also as a place of shelter to
+numbers of seals and multitudes of gulls. It is this high grass which
+sailors have taken from a distance for bushes. The only vegetables
+growing on these islands of any use to man are celery, scurvy-grass,
+watercress, dandelion, raspberries, sorrel, and pimpernel.</p>
+
+<p>Both French and Spanish colonists had at different times imported into
+these islands oxen, horses, and pigs, which had multiplied to a
+singular extent in the island of Conti; but the persistent hunting of
+them by the crews of the whaling ships must tend to considerably reduce
+their numbers. The only quadruped indigenous to the Falkland Islands is
+the Antarctic dog, the muzzle of which strikingly resembles that of the
+fox. It has therefore had the name dog-fox, or wolf-fox, given to it by
+whalers. These animals are so fierce that they rushed into the water to
+attack Byron's sailors. They, however, find rabbits enough, whose
+reproductive powers are limitless, to satisfy them; but the seals,
+which the dogs attack without any fear, manage to escape from them.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Mercury</i> set sail on the 28th of April, 1821, to convey Freycinet
+and his crew to the port of Rio de Janeiro. But one point Captain
+Galvin had failed to take into his reckoning,&mdash;his ship, equipped under
+the flag of the Independent State of Buenos Ayres, then at war with the
+Portuguese, would be seized on entering the harbour of Rio, and he
+himself with all his crew would be made prisoners. On this he
+endeavoured to make Freycinet cancel the engagement between them,
+hoping to prevail on him to land at Monte Video. But as Freycinet would
+not agree to this proposal on any ground, a new contract had to be
+substituted for the original one. According to the latter arrangement
+Freycinet became proprietor of the <i>Mercury</i> on behalf of the French
+navy by payment of the sum stipulated under the first contract. The
+ship was renamed the <i>Physicienne</i>, and reached Monte Video on the 8th
+of May, where the command was taken over by Freycinet. The stay at
+Monte Video was made use of for arming the vessel, arranging its trim,
+repairing the rigging, taking on board the supply of water and
+provisions requisite for the trip to Rio de Janeiro; before reaching
+which port, however, several serious defects in the ship had been
+discovered. The appearance of the <i>Physicienne</i> was so distinctly
+mercantile that on entering the port of Rio, though the flag of a
+man-of-war was flying at the masthead, the customs officers were
+deceived and proposed to inspect her as a merchant-vessel. Extensive
+repairs were absolutely necessary, and the making of them compelled
+Freycinet to remain at Rio until the 18th of September. He was then
+able to take his departure direct for France; and on the 13th of
+November, 1820, he cast anchor in the port of Havre, after an absence
+of three years and two months, during which time he had sailed over
+18,862 nautical miles.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after his return, Freycinet proceeded to Paris, suffering
+from a severe illness, and forwarded to the secretary of the Academy of
+Sciences the scientific records of the voyage, which made no less than
+thirty-one quarto volumes. At the same time, the naturalists attached
+to the expedition, MM. Quoy, Gaimard, and Gaudichaud, submitted the
+specimens which they had collected. Among these were four previously
+unknown species of mammiferous animals, forty-five of fishes, thirty of
+reptiles, besides rare kinds of molluscs, polypes, annelides, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>The rules of the French service required that Freycinet should be
+summoned before a council of war to answer for the loss of his ship.
+The trial terminated in a unanimous verdict of acquittal from all
+blame, the council expressing at the same time their hearty
+acknowledgment of the energy and ability displayed by the commander,
+approving, moreover, the skilful and careful measures he had taken to
+remedy the disastrous results of his shipwreck. A few days after, being
+received by the king, Louis XVIII., his Majesty, accompanying him to
+the door, said, "You entered here the captain of a frigate, you depart
+the captain of a ship of the line. Offer me no thanks; reply in the
+words used by Jean Bart to Louis XIV., 'Sire, you have done well!'"</p>
+
+<p>From that time Freycinet devoted himself entirely to the task of
+publishing the notes of his travels. The meagre account which has been
+given here will serve to show how extensive these notes were. But the
+extreme conscientiousness of the explorer prevented him from publishing
+anything which was not complete, and he was bent on placing his work in
+advance of the recognized boundaries of knowledge at that date. Even
+the mere classification of the vast quantity of material which he had
+collected during his voyage demanded a large expenditure of time. Thus
+it was that when surprised by death on the 18th of August, 1842, he had
+not put the last finishing touch to one of the most curious and novel
+divisions of his work, that relating to the languages of Oceania with
+special reference to that of the Marianne Islands.</p>
+
+<p>At the close of the year 1821 the Marquis de Clermont Tonnerre, then
+Minister of Marine, received the scheme of a new voyage from two young
+officers, MM. Duperrey and Dumont d'Urville. The former, second in
+command to Freycinet on board the <i>Uranie</i>, after having rendered
+valuable assistance to the expedition by his scientific researches and
+surveys, had within the year returned to France; the other, the
+colleague of Captain Garnier, had brought himself into notice during
+the hydrographical cruises in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, which
+it had fallen to Captain Garnier to complete. He had a fine taste for
+botany and art, and had been one of the first to draw attention to the
+artistic value of the Venus of Milos which had just been discovered.
+These two young <i>savants</i> proposed in the plan submitted by them to
+make special researches into three departments of natural
+science&mdash;magnetism, meteorology, and the configuration of the globe.
+"In the geographical department," said Duperrey, "we would propose to
+verify or to rectify, either by direct, or by chronometrical
+observations, the position of a great number of points in different
+parts of the globe, especially among the numerous island groups of the
+Pacific Ocean, notorious for shipwrecks, and so remarkable for the
+character and the form of the shoals, sandbanks, and reefs, of which
+they in part consist; also to trace new routes through the Dangerous
+Archipelago and the Society Islands, side by side with those taken by
+Quiros, Wallis, Bougainville, and Cook; to carry on hydrographical
+surveys in continuation of those made in the voyages of D'Entrecasteaux
+and of Freycinet in Polynesia, New Holland, and the Molucca Islands;
+and particularly to visit the Caroline Islands, discovered by Magellan,
+about which, with the exception of the eastern side, examined in our
+own time by Captain Kotzebue, we have only very vague information,
+communicated by the missionaries, and by them learnt from stories told
+by savages who had lost their way and were driven in their canoes upon
+the Marianne Islands. The languages, character, and customs of these
+islanders must also receive special and careful attention."</p>
+
+<p>The naval doctors, Garnon and Lesson, were placed in charge of the
+natural history department, whilst the staff was composed of officers
+most remarkable for their scientific attainments, among whom may be
+mentioned MM. Lesage, Jacquinot, Bérard, Lottin, De Blois, and De
+Blosseville.</p>
+
+<p>The Academy of Sciences took up the plan of research submitted by the
+originators of this expedition with much enthusiasm, and furnished them
+with minute instructions, in which were set forth with care the points
+on which accurate scientific information was especially desirable. At
+the same time the instruments supplied to the explorers were the most
+finished and complete of their kind.</p>
+
+<p>The vessel chosen for the expedition was the <i>Coquille</i>, a small ship,
+not drawing more than from twelve to thirteen feet of water, which was
+lying in ordinary at Toulon. The time spent in refitting, stowing the
+cargo, arming the ship, prevented the expedition from starting earlier
+than the 11th of August, 1822. The island of Teneriffe was reached on
+the 28th of the same month, and there the officers hoped to be able to
+make a few gleanings after the rich harvest of knowledge which their
+predecessors had reaped; but the Council of Health in the island,
+having received information of an outbreak of yellow fever on the
+shores of the Mediterranean, imposed on the <i>Coquille</i> a quarantine of
+fifteen days. It happened, however, that at that period political
+opinion was in a state of fervid excitement at Teneriffe, and party
+spirit ran so high in society that the inhabitants found it hard to
+come together without also coming to blows. Under these circumstances
+it is easy to imagine that the French officers did not indulge in
+violent regrets over the privations which they had to sustain. The
+eight days during which their stay at Teneriffe lasted were given up
+exclusively to the revictualling of the ship, and to magnetic and
+astronomical observations.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the end of September anchor was weighed, and on the 6th of
+October the work of surveying the islands of Martin-Vaz and of Trinidad
+was commenced. The former are nothing more than bare rocks rising out
+of the sea, of a most forbidding aspect. The island of Trinidad is high
+land, rugged and barren, with a few trees crowning the southern point.
+This island is none other than the famous Ascençao&mdash;now called
+Ascension&mdash;which for three centuries had been the object of exploring
+research. In 1700 it was taken possession of by the celebrated Halley
+in the name of the English Government, but it had to be ceded to the
+Portuguese, who formed a settlement there. La Pérouse found it still in
+existence at the same place in 1785. The settlement, which turned out
+expensive and useless, was abandoned a short time after the visit just
+referred to, and the island was left in the occupation of the dogs,
+pigs, and goats, whose progenitors had entered the island in company
+with the early colonists.</p>
+
+<p>When he left the island of Trinidad, Duperrey purposed to steer a
+direct course for the Falkland Islands; but an accidental damage, in
+the repair of which no time was to be lost, compelled him to alter his
+course for the island of St. Catherine, where only he could obtain
+without any delay the wood required for new yards and masts, as well as
+provisions, which from their abundance could there be bought very
+cheap. As he drew near to the island he was delighted with the grand
+and picturesque scene presented by its dense forests, where
+laurel-trees, sassafras, cedars, orange-trees, and mangroves
+intermingled with banana and other palms, with their feathery foliage
+waving gracefully in the breeze. Just four days before the corvette
+anchored off St. Catherine, Brazil had cast off the authority of the
+mother-country, and declared its independence by the proclamation of
+Prince Don Pedro d'Alcantara as Emperor. This led the commander to
+despatch a mission consisting of MM. d'Urville, de Blosseville, Gabert,
+and Garnot to the capital of the island, Nossa-Senhora-del-Desterro, to
+make inquiries about the political change, and learn how far it might
+modify the friendly relations of the country with France. It appeared
+that the administration of the province was in the hands of a Junto,
+but orders were at once given to allow the French travellers to cut
+what wood they might stand in need of, and the Governor of the Fort of
+Santa Cruz was requested to further the scientific inquiries of the
+Expedition by all the means at his command. As to provisions, however,
+there was considerable difficulty, for the merchants had transferred
+their funds to Rio, in apprehension of what the political change might
+result in. It is probable that this circumstance accounts for the
+commander of the <i>Coquille</i> finding the course of business not run
+smooth in a port which had received the warm recommendations of
+Captains Kruzenstern and Kotzebue.</p>
+
+<p>The narrative of the travellers states that "the inhabitants were
+living in expectation of the island being shortly attacked with the
+view to recolonization, which they considered would be tantamount to
+their enslavement. The decree issued on the 1st August, 1822, calling
+on all Brazilians to arm themselves for the defence of their shores and
+proclaiming under all circumstances a war of partisans had given rise
+to these fears. The measures which Prince Don Pedro propounded were
+equally generous and vigorous, and had created a favourable opinion of
+his character and of his desire to promote freedom. Full of confidence
+in his purposes, the strong party in favour of independence were filled
+with enthusiasm expressing itself all the more boisterously as for so
+long a time their fervid aspirations had been kept under restraint.
+They now gave open demonstration of their joy by making the towns of
+Nossa-Senhora-del-Desterro, Laguna, and San Francisco one blaze of
+light with their illuminations, and marching through the streets
+singing verses in honour of Don Pedro."</p>
+
+<p>But the excitement which had been thus strikingly manifested in the
+towns was not shared by the quiet peace-loving dwellers in the rural
+districts, to whose breasts political passion was an entire stranger.
+And there cannot be a doubt that, if Portugal had been in a position to
+enforce her decrees by the despatch of a fleet, the province would have
+been easily reconquered.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Coquille</i> set sail again on the 30th October. When to the east of
+Rio de la Plata she was caught in one of those formidable gales, there
+called <i>pampero</i>, but had the good fortune to weather it without
+sustaining any damage.</p>
+
+<p>While in this part of the ocean Duperrey made some interesting
+observations on the current of the Plate River. Freycinet had already
+established the fact of its flowing at the rate of two miles and a half
+an hour, at a distance of a hundred leagues to the east of Monte Video.
+It was reserved to the commander of the <i>Coquille</i> to ascertain that
+the current is sensibly felt at a much greater distance; he proved
+moreover that the water of the river resisted by that of the ocean is
+forcibly divided into two branches running in the direction of the two
+banks of the river at its mouth; and finally he accounts for the
+comparative shallowness of the sea down to the shores of the Magellan
+Strait by the immense residuum of earth held in suspension by the
+waters of the La Plata and deposited daily along the coast of South
+America.</p>
+
+<p>Before entering Berkeley Sound the <i>Coquille</i>, driven by a favourable
+breeze, passed immense shoals of whales and dolphins, flocks of gulls
+and numerous flying fish, the ordinary tenants of those tempestuous
+regions. The Falkland Isles were reached, and Duperrey with a few of
+his fellow-travellers felt a lively pleasure at revisiting the land
+which had been to them a place of refuge for three months after their
+shipwreck in the <i>Uranie</i>. They paid a visit to the spot where the camp
+had been pitched. The remains of the corvette were almost entirely
+imbedded in sand, and what was visible of it bore marks of the
+appropriations which had been made by the whalers who had followed them
+in that place. On all sides were scattered miscellaneous fragments,
+carronades with the knobs broken off, pieces of the rigging, tattered
+clothes, shreds of sails, unrecognizable rags, mingled with the bones
+of the animals which the castaways had killed for food. "This scene of
+our recent calamity," Duperrey observes, "wore an aspect of desolation
+which was rendered still gloomier by the barrenness of the land and the
+dark rainy weather prevailing at the time of our visit. Nevertheless,
+it had for us an inexplicable sort of attraction and left a melancholy
+impression on our minds, which was not effaced till long after we had
+left the Falkland Islands well behind us."</p>
+<a name="ill74"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration074">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="581">
+			<img src="images/074.jpg" alt="The wreck of the Uranie">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="581" align="center">
+			<small>The wreck of the <i>Uranie</i>.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The stay of Duperrey at the Falklands was prolonged to the 17th
+December. He took up his residence in the midst of the ruins of the
+settlement founded by Bougainville, in order to execute certain repairs
+which the condition of his vessel required. The crew provided
+themselves by fishing and hunting with an ample supply of food;
+everything necessary was found in abundance, except fruit and
+vegetables; and having laid in abundant stores, all prepared to
+confront the dangers of the passage round Cape Horn.</p>
+
+<p>At first the <i>Coquille</i> had to struggle against strong winds from the
+south-west and violent currents; these were succeeded by squalls and
+hazy weather until the island of Mocha was reached on the 19th January,
+1823. Of this island a brief mention has already been made. Duperrey
+places it in 38&deg; 20' 30" S. lat., and 76&deg;
+21' 55" W. long., and reckons it to be about twenty-four
+miles in circumference. Consisting of a chain of mountains of moderate
+elevation, sloping down towards the sea, it was the rendezvous of the
+early explorers of the Pacific. It furnished the ships touching there,
+now a merchantman, now a pirate, with horses and with wild pigs, the
+flesh of which had a well-known reputation for delicacy of flavour.
+Here was also a good supply of pure fresh water, as well as of some
+European fruits, such as apples, peaches, and cherries, the growth of
+trees planted here by those who first took possession of the island. In
+1823, however, these resources had all but disappeared, through the
+wasteful practices of improvident whalers. At no great distance might
+be seen the two round eminences which mark the mouth of the river
+Bio-Bio, the small island of Quebra-Ollas, and that of Quiriquina, and,
+these passed, the Bay of Conception opened to view, where was a
+solitary English whaler about to double the Cape, to which was
+entrusted the correspondence for home, as well as the notes of the work
+that had already been accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>On the day after the arrival of the <i>Coquille</i>, as soon as the morning
+sun had lit up the bay, the melancholy and desolate appearance of the
+place, which had taken every one by surprise on the previous evening,
+became still more depressing. The name of the town was Talcahuano; and
+the picture it presented was one of houses in ruins and silent streets.
+A few wretched canoes, ready to fall to pieces, were on the beach; near
+them loitered a few poorly clad fishermen; while in front of the
+tumble-down cottages and roofless huts sat women in rags employed in
+combing one another's hair. In contrast with this human squalor, the
+surrounding hills and woods, the gardens and the orchards, were clothed
+in the most splendid foliage; on every side flowers displayed their
+gorgeous colours, and fruits proclaimed their ripeness in tints of
+gold.</p>
+
+<p>Overhead a glowing sun, a sky without a cloud, completed the bitter
+irony of the spectacle. All this ruin, desolation, and wretchedness
+were the outward and visible signs of a series of revolutions. At St.
+Catherine the French travellers had been witnesses of the declaration
+of Brazilian independence; on the opposite side of the continent they
+were spectators of the downfall of Director O'Higgins. This official
+had evaded the summons of the Congress, had sacrificed the interests of
+the agricultural community to those of the traders and merchants, by
+the imposition of direct taxes and the lowering of customs duties; was
+openly accused, as well as his ministers, of peculation; and as the
+result of all this malversation the greater part of the population had
+risen in revolt. The movement against O'Higgins was led by a General D.
+Ramon Freire y Serrano, who gave formal assurances to the explorers
+that the political disturbance should be no impediment to the
+revictualling of the <i>Coquille</i>.</p>
+
+<p>On the 26th January two corvettes arrived at Conception. They brought a
+regiment under the command of a French official, Colonel Beauchef, who
+came to assist General Freire. The regiment, which had been organized
+by the exertions of Colonel Beauchef, was in point of steadiness,
+discipline, and knowledge of drill, one of the smartest in the Chilian
+army.</p>
+
+<p>On the 2nd February the officers of the <i>Coquille</i> proceeded to
+Conception, to pay a visit to General Freire. The nearer they
+approached the city the more fields were lying waste, the more ruined
+houses were seen, the fewer people were visible, while their clothing
+had almost reached the vanishing-point. At the entrance of the town
+itself stood a mast, with the head of a notorious bandit affixed to the
+top, one Benavidez, a ferocious savage, more wild beast than man, whose
+name was long execrated in Chili for the horrible atrocities he had
+committed.</p>
+
+<p>The interior of the town was found as desolate in appearance as the
+approach to it. Having been set fire to by each party that had
+successively been victorious, Conception was nothing more than a heap
+of ruins, amongst which loitered a little remnant of scantily clothed
+inhabitants, the wretched residuum of a once flourishing population.
+Grass was growing in the streets, the bishop's palace and the cathedral
+were the only buildings still standing, and these, roofless and gutted,
+would not be able much longer to resist the dilapidating influence of
+the climate.</p>
+
+<p>General Freire, before placing himself in opposition to O'Higgins, had
+arranged a peace with the Araucanians, an indigenous tribe
+distinguished for their bravery, who had not only maintained their own
+independence but were always ready, when opportunity offered, to
+encroach on the Spanish territory. Some of these natives were employed
+as auxiliary troops in the Chilian army. Duperrey saw them, and, having
+obtained from General Freire and Colonel Beauchef trustworthy
+information, has given a not very flattering description of them, of
+which the substance shall be here given.</p>
+
+<p>The Araucanians are of an ordinary stature, in complexion
+copper-coloured, with small, black, vivacious eyes, a rather flat nose,
+and thick lips; the result of which is an expression of brutal
+ferocity. Divided into tribes, each one jealous of another, all
+animated by an unbridled lust of plunder, and ever on the move, their
+lives are spent in perpetual warfare. The mounted Araucanian is armed
+with a long lance, a long cutlass, sabre-shaped, called a
+"<i>Machete</i>,"<small><small><sup>5</sup></small></small> and the lasso, in the use of which they are extremely
+expert, while the horse he rides is usually swift.</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>5</sup></small> This is a weapon shorter than a sword and longer than a
+dagger.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>"Sometimes they are known," says Duperrey, "to receive under their
+protection vanquished enemies and become their defenders; but the
+motive prompting them to this seemingly generous conduct is always one
+of special vindictiveness; the fact being that their real object is the
+total extermination of some tribe allied with the opposite party. Among
+themselves hatred is the ruling passion; it is the only enduring bond
+of fidelity. All display undoubted courage, spirit, recklessness,
+implacability towards their enemies, whom they massacre with a shocking
+insensibility. Haughty in manner and revengeful in disposition, they
+treat all strangers with unqualified suspicion, but they are hospitable
+and generous to all whom they take as friends. All their passions are
+easily excited, but they are inordinately sensitive with regard to
+their liberty and their rights, which they are ever ready to defend
+sword in hand. Never forgetting an injury, they know not how to
+forgive; nothing less than the life-blood of their enemies can quench
+their thirst for vengeance."</p>
+
+<p>Duperrey pledges himself to the truth of the picture which he has here
+drawn of these savage children of the Andes, who at least deserve the
+credit of having from the sixteenth century to the present day managed
+to preserve their independence against the attacks of all invaders.</p>
+
+<p>After the departure of General Freire, and the troops he led away with
+him, Duperrey took advantage of the opportunity to get his vessel
+provisioned as quickly as possible. The water and the biscuits were
+soon on board; but longer time was necessary to procure supplies of
+coal, which, however, was to be got without any other expense save that
+of paying the muleteers, who transported it to the beach from a mine
+scarcely beneath the level of the earth, where it was to be picked up
+for nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Although the events happening at Conception during the detention there
+of the <i>Coquille</i> were far from being cheerful, the prevailing
+depression could not hold out against the traditional festivities of
+the Carnival. Dinners, receptions, and balls recommenced, and the
+departure of the troops made itself felt only in the paucity of
+cavaliers. The French officers, in acknowledgment of the hospitable
+welcome offered to them, gave two balls at Talcahuano, and several
+families came from Conception for the sole purpose of being present at
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately, Duperrey's narrative breaks off at the date of his
+quitting Chili, and there is no longer any official record from which
+to gather the details of a voyage so interesting and successful. Far
+from being able to trace step by step from original documents the
+course of the expedition, as has been done in the case of other
+travellers, we are obliged in our turn to epitomize other epitomes now
+lying before us. It is an unpleasing task; as little agreeable to the
+reader as it is difficult for the writer, who, while bound to respect
+facts, is no longer able to enliven his narrative with personal
+observations, and the generally lively stories of the travellers
+themselves. However, some few of the letters of the navigator to the
+Minister of Marine have been published, from which have been extracted
+the following details.</p>
+
+<p>On the 15th February, 1823, the <i>Coquille</i> set sail from Conception for
+Payta, the place where, in 1595, Alvarez de Mendana and Fernandez de
+Quiros took ship on the voyage of discovery that has made their names
+famous; but after a fortnight's sail the corvette was becalmed in the
+vicinity of the island of Laurenzo, and Duperrey resolved to put in at
+Callao to obtain fresh provisions. It need not be said that Callao is
+the port of Lima; so the officers could not lose the opportunity of
+paying a visit to the capital of Peru. They were not fortunate in the
+time of their visit. The ladies were away for sea-bathing at
+Miraflores, and the men of most distinction in the place had gone with
+them. The travellers were thus compelled to rest content with an
+inspection of the chief residences and public buildings of the city,
+returning to Callao on the 4th March. On the 9th of the same month the
+<i>Coquille</i> anchored at Payta.</p>
+
+<p>The situation of this place between the terrestrial and magnetic
+equators was most favourable for conducting observations on the
+variations of the magnetic needle. The naturalists also made excursions
+to the desert of Pierra, where they collected specimens of petrified
+shells imbedded in a tertiary stratum precisely similar to that in the
+suburbs of Paris. As soon as all the sources of scientific interest at
+Payta had been exhausted the <i>Coquille</i> resumed her voyage, setting
+sail for Otaheite. During the sail thither a circumstance occurred
+which might have materially delayed the progress of the expedition, if
+not have led to its total destruction. On the night of the 22nd April,
+the <i>Coquille</i> being in the waters of the Dangerous Archipelago, the
+officer of the watch all at once heard the sound of breakers dashing
+over reefs. He immediately made the ship lie to, and at daybreak the
+peril which had been escaped became manifest. At the distance of barely
+a mile and a half from the corvette lay a low island, well wooded, and
+fringed with rocks along its entire extent. A few people lived on it,
+some of whom approached the vessel in a canoe, but none of them would
+venture on board. Duperrey had to give up all thoughts of visiting the
+island, which received the name of Clermont-Tonnerre. On all sides the
+waves broke violently on the rocks, and he could do no more than coast
+it from end to end at a little distance.</p>
+
+<p>The next and following days some small islands of no note were
+discovered, to which were given the names of Augier, Freycinet, and
+Lostanges.</p>
+
+<p>At length, as the sun rose on the 3rd May, the verdant shores and woody
+mountains of Otaheite came in sight. Duperrey, like preceding visitors,
+could not help noticing the thorough change which had been effected in
+the manners and practices of the natives. Not a canoe came alongside
+the <i>Coquille</i>. It was the hour of Divine worship when the corvette
+entered the Bay of Matavai, and the missionaries had collected the
+whole population of the island, to the number of seven thousand, inside
+the principal church of Papahoa to discuss the articles of a new code
+of laws. The Otaheitan orators, it seems, would not yield the palm to
+those of Europe. There were not a few of them gifted with the valuable
+talent of being able to talk for several hours without saying anything,
+and to make an end of the most promising undertakings with the flowers
+of their rhetoric. A description of one of these meetings is given by
+D'Urville.</p>
+
+<p>"M. Lejeune, the draughtsman of the expedition, went by himself to be
+present at the meeting held the next day, when certain political
+questions were submitted to the popular assembly. It lasted for several
+hours, during which the chiefs took it in turn to speak. The most
+brilliant speaker of the gathering was a chief called Tati. The chief
+point of discussion was the imposition of an annual poll-tax at the
+rate of five measures of oil per man. Then came a question as to the
+taxes which were to be levied, whether they should be on behalf of the
+king, or on behalf of the missionaries. After some time, we arrived at
+the conclusion that the first question had been answered in the
+affirmative; but that the second, the one relating to the missionaries,
+had been postponed by themselves from a forecast of its probable
+failure. About four thousand persons were present at this kind of
+national congress."</p>
+
+<p>Two months before, Otaheite had renounced the English flag, in order to
+adopt one of its own, but that pacific revolution in no wise diminished
+the confidence which the people placed in their missionaries. The
+latter received the French travellers in a friendly manner, and
+supplied them at the usual prices with the stores of which they stood
+in need.</p>
+
+<p>But what seemed especially curious in the reforms effected by the
+missionaries was the total change in the behaviour of the women. From
+being, according to the statements of Cook, Bougainville, and
+contemporary explorers, compliant to an unheard of degree, they had
+become most modest, reserved, and decently conducted; so that the whole
+island wore the air of a convent, a revolution as amusing as it was
+unnatural.</p>
+
+<p>From Otaheite the <i>Coquille</i> proceeded to the adjacent island of
+Borabora, belonging to the same group, where European customs had been
+adopted to the same extent; and on the 9th June, steering a westerly
+course, made a survey in turn of the islands Salvage, Coa, Santa Cruz,
+Bougainville, and Bouka; finally coming to an anchor in the harbour of
+Praslin, on the coast of New Ireland, famous for its beautiful
+waterfall. "The friendly relations which were established with the
+natives there were the means of extending our knowledge of the human
+race by the observation of some peculiarities which had not fallen
+under the notice of preceding travellers." The sentence just quoted
+from an abridged account appearing in the "Annals of Voyages," which
+merely excites curiosity without satisfying it, causes us here to
+express our regret that the original narrative of the voyage has not
+been published in its entirety.</p>
+<a name="ill75"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration075">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="597">
+			<img src="images/075.jpg" alt="The waterfall of Port Praslin">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="597" align="center">
+			<small>The waterfall of Port Praslin.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The student Porel de Blossville&mdash;the same who afterwards lost his life
+with the <i>Lilloise</i> in the Polar regions&mdash;undertook a journey to the
+village of Praslin, in spite of all the means adopted by the savages to
+deter him. When there he was shown a kind of temple, where several
+ill-shaped, grotesque idols had been set up on a platform surrounded by
+walls.</p>
+
+<p>Great pains were taken to prepare a chart of St. George's Channel,
+after which Duperrey paid a visit to the islands previously surveyed by
+Schouten to the north-east of New Guinea. Three days&mdash;the 26th, 27th,
+and 28th&mdash;were devoted to a survey of them. The explorer, after this,
+searched ineffectually for the islands Stephen and De Carteret, and
+after comparing his own route with that taken by D'Entrecasteaux in
+1792, he came to the conclusion that this group must be identical with
+that of Providence, discovered long since by Dampier.</p>
+
+<p>On the 3rd of September the north cape of New Guinea was recognized.
+Three days later the <i>Coquille</i> entered the narrow and rocky harbour of
+Offak on the north-west coast of Waigiou, one of the Papuan islands.
+The only navigator who has mentioned this harbour is Forest. Duperrey
+therefore felt unusual satisfaction at having explored a corner of the
+earth all but untrodden by the foot of the European. It was also an
+interesting fact for geographers that the existence of a southern bay,
+separated from Offak by a very narrow isthmus, was established.</p>
+
+<p>Two officers, MM. d'Urville and de Blossville, were employed in this
+work, which MM. Berard, Lottin, and de Blois de la Calande connected
+with that accomplished by Duperrey on the coast during the cruise of
+the <i>Uranie</i>. This land was found to be particularly rich in vegetable
+products, and D'Urville was able there to form the nucleus of a
+collection as valuable for the novelty as the beauty of its specimens.</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville and Lesson, full of curiosity to study the inhabitants, who
+belonged to the Papuan race, started for the shore immediately after
+the corvette arrived at the island in a boat manned with seven sailors.
+They had already walked some distance in a deluge of rain, when all at
+once they found themselves opposite a cottage built upon piles, and
+covered over with leaves of the plane-tree.</p>
+
+<p>Cowering amongst the bushes, at a little distance, was a young female
+savage, who seemed to be watching them. A few paces nearer was a heap
+of about a dozen cocoa-nuts freshly gathered, placed well in sight,
+apparently intended for the refreshment of the visitors. The Frenchmen
+came to understand that this was a present offered by the youthful
+savage of whom they had caught a glimpse, and proceeded to feast on the
+fruits so opportunely placed at their disposal. The native girl, soon
+gathering confidence from the quiet behaviour of the strangers, came
+forward, crying, "<i>Bongous!</i>" (good!), making signs to show that the
+cocoa-nuts had been presented by herself. Her delicate attention was
+rewarded by the gift of a necklace and earrings.</p>
+
+<p>When D'Urville regained the boat he found a dozen Papuans playing,
+eating, and seeming on the best possible terms with the boatmen. "In a
+short time," he says, "they had surrounded me, repeating, '<i>Captain,
+bongous</i>,' and offering various tokens of good will. These people are,
+in general, of diminutive stature, their constitution is slight and
+feeble; leprosy is a common disease among them; their voice is soft,
+their behaviour grave, polite, and even marked with a certain air of
+melancholy that is habitually characteristic of them."</p>
+<a name="ill76"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration076">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594">
+			<img src="images/076.jpg" alt="Natives of New Guinea">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594" align="center">
+			<small>Natives of New Guinea.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Among the antique statues of which the Louvre is full, there is one of
+Polyhymnia, which is celebrated above the rest for an expression of
+melancholy pensiveness not usually found among the ancients. It is a
+singular circumstance that D'Urville should have observed among the
+Papuans the very expression of countenance distinguishing this antique
+statue. On board the corvette another company of natives were
+conducting themselves with a calmness and reserve, offering a marked
+contrast to the usual manner of the greater part of the inhabitants of
+the lands of Oceania.</p>
+
+<p>The same impression was made on the French travellers during a visit
+paid to the rajah of the island, as also during his return visit on
+board the <i>Coquille</i>. In one of the villages on this southern bay was
+observed a kind of temple, in which were to be seen several rudely
+carved statues, painted over with various colours, and ornamented with
+feathers and matting. It was quite impossible to obtain the slightest
+information on the subject of the worship which the natives paid to
+these idols.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Coquille</i> set sail again on the 16th September, coasting along the
+north side of the islands lying between Een and Yang, and after a brief
+stay at Cayeli reached Amboyna, where the remarkably kind reception
+given by M. Merkus, the governor of the Molucca Island, afforded the
+staff an interval of rest from the continual labours of this
+troublesome voyage. The 27th October saw the corvette again on its
+course, steering towards Timor and westward of the Turtle and Lucepara
+Islands. Duperrey next determined the position of the island of Vulcan;
+sighted the islands of Wetter, Baba, Dog, Cambing, and finally,
+entering the channel of Ombay, surveyed a large number of points in the
+chain of islands stretching from Pantee and Ombay in the direction of
+Java. After having made a chart of Java, and an ineffectual search for
+the Trial Islands in the place usually assigned to them, Duperrey
+steered for New Holland, but through contrary winds was not able to
+sail along the western coast of the island. On the 10th January he at
+length rounded Van Diemen's Island, and six days after that sighted the
+lights of Port Jackson, coming to an anchor off Sydney the following
+day.</p>
+
+<p>The governor, Sir Thomas Brisbane, who had received previous intimation
+of the arrival of the Expedition, gave the officers a cordial welcome,
+forwarded with all the means at his command the revictualling of the
+corvette, and rendered friendly assistance in the repairs which the
+somewhat shattered condition of the ship rendered necessary. He also
+provided means to enable MM. d'Urville and Lesson to make an excursion,
+full of interest, beyond the Blue Mountains into the plain of Bathurst,
+the resources of which were as yet but imperfectly known to Europeans.</p>
+
+<p>Duperrey did not leave Australia until the 20th of March. On this
+occasion he directed his course towards New Zealand, which had been
+rather overlooked in former voyages. The vessel came to an anchor in
+the Bay of Manawa, forming the southern part of the grand Bay of
+Islands. Here the officers occupied their leisure in scientific and
+geographical observations, and in making researches in natural history.
+At the same time, the frequent intercourse of the explorers with the
+natives threw quite a new light upon their manners, their religious
+notions, their language, and on their attitude of hostility up to that
+time to the teaching of the missionaries. What these savages most
+appreciated in European civilization was well-finished weapons&mdash;of
+which at that time they possessed a great quantity&mdash;for by their help
+they were the better able to indulge their sanguinary instincts.</p>
+
+<p>The stay of the <i>Coquille</i> at New Zealand terminated on the 17th of
+April, when a <i>détour</i> was made northwards as far as Rotuma,
+discovered, but not visited, by Captain Wilson in 1797. The
+inhabitants, gentle and hospitable, took great pains to furnish the
+navigators with the provisions they required. But it was not long
+before the Frenchmen discovered that these gentle islanders, taking
+advantage of the confidence which they had known how to create, had
+carried off a number of articles that it afterwards cost much trouble
+to make them restore. Stringent orders were given, and all thieves
+caught in the act were flogged in the presence of their
+fellow-countrymen, who, however, as well as the culprits themselves,
+treated the affair only as a joke.</p>
+
+<p>Among these savages four Europeans were observed, who had a long time
+before deserted from the whale-ship <i>Rochester</i>. They were no better
+clothed than the natives, and were tatooed and smeared with a yellow
+powder after the native fashion; so that it would have been hard to
+recognize them but for their white skins and more intelligent looks.
+They were quite content with their lot, having married wives and reared
+families at Rotuma, where, escaping the cares, the troubles, and the
+difficulties of civilized life, they reckoned on ending their days in
+comfort. One among them asked to be allowed to remain on board the
+<i>Coquille</i>, a favour which Duperrey was ready to grant, but the chief
+of the island was unwilling, until he learned that two convicts from
+Port Jackson asked permission to stay on shore.</p>
+
+<p>Although these people, hitherto little known, offered a most
+interesting subject of study to the naturalists, it was necessary to
+depart, so the <i>Coquille</i> proceeded to survey the Coral Isles and St.
+Augustin, discovered by Maurelle in 1781. Then came Drummond Island,
+where the inhabitants, dark complexioned, with slight limbs, and
+unintelligent faces, offered to exchange some triangular shells,
+commonly called holy water cups, for knives and fishhooks; next the
+islands of Sydenham and Henderville, where the inhabitants go entirely
+naked; after them, Woolde, Hupper, Hall, Knox, Charlotte, Mathews,
+which form the Gilbert Archipelago; and finally the Marshall and
+Mulgrave groups.</p>
+
+<p>On the 3rd of June Duperrey came in sight of the island of Ualan, which
+had been discovered in 1804 by an American, Captain Croser. As it was
+not marked upon any chart, the commander decided upon making an exact
+and particular survey of it. No sooner had the anchor touched the
+bottom than Duperrey, accompanied by some of his officers, made for the
+shore. The inhabitants turned out to be a mild and obliging race, who
+made their visitors presents of cocoa-nuts and the fruit of the
+bread-tree, conducting them through most picturesque scenery to the
+dwelling of their principal chief, or "Uross-ton," as he was called.
+Dumont d'Urville has given the following sketch of the country through
+which the travellers passed on their way to the residence of the chief.</p>
+
+<p>"We glided calmly across a magnificent basin girdled in by a
+well-wooded shore, the foliage a bright green. Behind us rose the lofty
+hill-tops, carpeted with verdure, from which shot up the light and
+graceful stems of the cocoa palms. Out of the sea to the front rose the
+little island of Leilei, covered with the pretty cottages of the
+islanders, and crowned with a verdant mound. If this pleasant prospect
+be further brightened by a magnificent day, in a delicious climate,
+some notion may be formed of the sensations we experienced as we
+proceeded in a sort of triumphal procession, surrounded by a crowd of
+simple, gentle, kind attendants."</p>
+
+<p>The number of persons accompanying the boats D'Urville estimated at
+about 800. On arriving before a neat and charming village, with well
+paved streets, they divided themselves, the men standing on one side,
+the women on the other, maintaining an impressive silence. Two chiefs
+advanced, and taking the travellers by the hand, conducted them to the
+dwelling of the "Uross-ton." The crowd, still silent, remained outside
+while the Frenchmen entered the chief's house. The "Uross-ton" shortly
+made his appearance, a pale and shrivelled old man, bowed down under
+the weight of fourscore years. The Frenchmen politely rose on his
+entering the room, but they were apprised by a whisper of disapproval
+from those standing about that this was a violation of the local
+etiquette. The crowd in front prostrated themselves on the ground. The
+chiefs themselves could not withhold that mark of respect. The old man,
+recovering from a momentary surprise at the boldness of the strangers,
+called upon his subjects to keep silence, then seated himself near the
+travellers. In return for the trifling presents which were made to him
+and his wife, he vouchsafed marks of goodwill in the shape of slight
+pats on the cheek, the shoulder, or the thigh. But the gratitude of
+these sovereigns was expressed only by the gift of seven so-called
+"<i>tots</i>"&mdash;probably pieces of cloth&mdash;four of which were of very fine
+tissue.</p>
+<a name="ill77"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration077">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587">
+			<img src="images/077.jpg" alt="Meeting with the Chief of Ualan">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587" align="center">
+			<small>Meeting with the Chief of Ualan.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>After the audience was over the travellers proceeded to look round the
+village, where they were astonished to find two immense walls made of
+coral, some blocks of which were of immense size and weight.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding a few acts of petty theft committed by the chiefs, the
+ten days during which the expedition remained at the island passed
+without disturbance; the good understanding on which the intercourse
+between the Frenchmen and the Ualanese was based never suffered a
+moment's interruption. Duperrey remarks that "it is easy to predict
+that this island of Ualan will one day become of considerable
+importance. It is situated in the midst of the Caroline group, in the
+course of ships sailing from New Holland to China, and presents good
+ports for careening vessels, ample supplies of water, and provisions of
+various kinds. The inhabitants are generous and peaceably disposed, and
+they will soon be in a position to supply a kind of food most essential
+to sailors, from the progeny of the sows that we left with them, a gift
+which excited a very lively gratitude."</p>
+
+<p>Subsequent events, however, have not verified the forecast made by
+Duperrey. Although a route from Europe to China, by the south of Van
+Diemen's Island, passes near the coast of Ualan, the island is of
+little more value now than it was fifty years ago. Steam has completely
+revolutionized the conditions of navigation. Sailors at the
+commencement of the century could not possibly foresee the radical
+changes which the introduction of this agent would produce.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Coquille</i> had not gone more than two days' sail from Ualan, when
+on the 17th, 18th, and 23rd June were discovered several new islands,
+which by the native inhabitants were called Pelelap, Takai, Aoura,
+Ougai, and Mongoul. These are the groups usually called Mac-Askyll and
+Duperrey, the people resembling those of Ualan, who, as well as those
+of the Radak Islands, give to their chiefs the title of "Tamon."</p>
+
+<p>On the 24th of the same month the <i>Coquille</i> found herself in the
+middle of the Hogoleu group, which Kotzebue had looked for in too high
+a latitude, the commander recognizing their bearings by means of
+certain names given by the natives, which were found entered in the
+chart of Father Cantova. The hydrographical survey of this group,
+contained within a circumference of at least thirty leagues, was
+executed by M. Blois from the 24th to the 27th June. The islands are
+for the most part high, terminating in volcanic peaks; but some are of
+opinion, judging from the arrangement of the lagoon, that they are of
+madreporic formation. They are tenanted by a race of diminutive,
+badly-shaped people, subject moreover to repulsive complaints. If ever
+the converse of the phrase <i>mens sana in corpore sano</i> can find a just
+application, it must be here, for these natives are low in the scale of
+intelligence, and inferior by many degrees to the people of Ualan. Even
+at that time foreign styles of dress appeared to have found their way
+into the islands. Some of the people were wearing conical-shaped hats,
+after the Chinese fashion; others had on garments of plaited straw,
+with a hole in the middle to allow the head to pass through, reminding
+one of the "Poncho" of the South American; but they held in contempt
+such trumpery as looking-glasses, necklaces, or bells, asking rather
+for axes and steel weapons, evidences of frequent intercourse with
+Europeans.</p>
+
+<p>The islands of Tamatan, Fanendik, and Ollap, called "The Martyrs" on
+old maps, were next surveyed; afterwards an ineffectual search was made
+for the islands of Namoureck and Ifelouk about the position assigned to
+them by Arrowsmith and Malaspina; and then, by way of continuing the
+exploration of the north side of New Guinea, the <i>Coquille</i> put in at
+the port of Doreï, on the south-east coast of the island, where a stay
+was made until the 9th August.</p>
+
+<p>Whether estimated by the addition made to natural history, or to
+geography, or to astronomy, or to science in general, no more
+profitable a sojourn could have been made than this. The indigenous
+inhabitants of New Guinea belong to the purest race of Papuans. Their
+dwellings are huts built upon piles, the entrance to them being made by
+means of a piece of wood with notches cut in it to serve for steps;
+this is drawn up into the interior every night. The natives dwelling on
+the coast are always at war with those in the interior, the Harfous or
+Arfakis negroes.</p>
+
+<p>Guided by a young Papuan, D'Urville succeeded in making his way to the
+place where these last-mentioned dwelt. He found them gentle,
+hospitable, courteous creatures, not in the least like the portrait
+drawn of them by their enemies.</p>
+
+<p>After the stay at New Guinea, the <i>Coquille</i> again sailed through the
+Moluccas, put in for a short time at Sourabaya, upon the coast of Java,
+and on the 30th October reached the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius.
+At length, having on the way stopped at St. Helena, where the officers
+paid a visit to the tomb of Napoleon, and at Ascension, where an
+English colony had been established since 1815, the corvette entered
+Marseilles on the 24th April, 1825, concluding a voyage that had
+occupied thirty-one months and three days, over 24,894 nautical miles,
+without the loss of a single life, or any cases of sickness, and
+without any damage being sustained by the ship. A success in every way
+so distinguished covered with glory the young commander of the
+expedition and all its officers, who had manifested such untiring
+energy in the prosecution of scientific inquiries, yielding a rich
+harvest of valuable results.</p>
+
+<p>Fifty-two charts and plans carefully drawn up; collections of natural
+specimens of all kinds, both numerous and curious; copious
+vocabularies, by the help of which it may be possible to throw new
+light on the migrations of the Oceanic peoples; interesting
+intelligence regarding the productions of the places visited; the
+condition of commerce and industrial pursuits; observations relating to
+the shape of the globe; magnetical, meteorological, and botanical
+researches; such formed the bulk of the valuable freight of knowledge
+brought home by the <i>Coquille</i>. The scientific world waited eagerly for
+the time when this store of information should be thrown open to the
+public.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap52"></a>
+<h3>II.</h3>
+
+<blockquote>Expedition of Baron de Bougainville&mdash;Stay at Pondicherry&mdash;The "White
+Town" and the "Black Town"&mdash;"Right-hand" and "Left-hand"&mdash;Malacca&mdash;Singapore
+and its prosperity&mdash;Stay at Manilla&mdash;Touron Bay&mdash;The monkeys
+and the people&mdash;The marble rocks of Faifoh&mdash;Cochin-Chinese diplomacy&mdash;The
+Anambas&mdash;The Sultan of Madura&mdash;The straits of Madura and Allas&mdash;Cloates
+and the Triad Islands&mdash;Tasmania&mdash;Botany Bay and New South
+Wales&mdash;Santiago and Valparaiso&mdash;Return <i>viâ</i> Cape Horn&mdash;Expedition of
+Dumont d'Urville in the <i>Astrolabe</i>&mdash;The Peak of Teneriffe&mdash;Australia&mdash;Stay
+at New Zealand&mdash;Tonga-Tabu&mdash;Skirmishes&mdash;New Britain and New
+Guinea&mdash;First news of the fate of La Pérouse&mdash;Vanikoro and its
+inhabitants&mdash;Stay at Guam&mdash;Amboyna and Menado&mdash;Results of the
+expedition.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>The expedition, the command of which was entrusted to Baron de
+Bougainville, was, strictly speaking, neither a scientific voyage nor a
+campaign of discovery. Its chief purpose was to unfurl the French flag
+in the extreme East, and to impress upon the governments of that region
+the intention of France to protect her nationalities and her interests,
+everywhere and at all times. The chief instructions given to the
+commander were that he was to convey to the sovereign of Cochin-China a
+letter from the king, together with some presents, to be placed on
+board the frigate <i>Thetis</i>.</p>
+
+<p>M. de Bougainville was also, whenever possible, without such delays as
+would prejudice the main object of the expedition, to take hydrographic
+surveys, and to collect information upon the commerce, productions, and
+means of exchange, of the countries visited.</p>
+
+<p>Two vessels were placed under the orders of M. de Bougainville. One,
+the <i>Thetis</i>, was an entirely new frigate, carrying forty-four cannons
+and three hundred sailors, no French frigate of this strength, except
+the <i>Boudeuse</i>, having ever before accomplished the voyage round the
+world; the other, the sloop <i>Espérance</i>, had twenty carronades upon the
+deck, and carried a hundred and twenty seamen.</p>
+
+<p>The first of these vessels was under the direct orders of Baron de
+Bougainville, and his staff consisted of picked officers, amongst whom
+we may mention Longueville, Lapierre, and Baudin, afterwards captain,
+vice-admiral, and rear-admiral. The <i>Espérance</i> was commanded by
+Frigate-Captain De Nourquer du Camper, who, as second in command of the
+frigate <i>Cleopatra</i>, had already explored a great part of the course of
+the new expedition. It numbered among its officers, Turpin, afterwards
+vice-admiral, deputy, and aide-de-camp of Louis Philippe; Eugène
+Penaud, afterwards general officer, and Médéric Malavois, the future
+governor of Senegal.</p>
+
+<p>Not one notable scientific man, such as those who had been billeted in
+such numbers on the <i>Naturalist</i> and other circumnavigating vessels,
+had embarked upon those of Baron de Bougainville, to whom it was a
+constant matter of regret, a regret intensified by the fact that the
+medical officers, with so many under their care, could not be long
+absent from the vessels when in port. M. de Bougainville's journal of
+the voyage opens with this judicious remark:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It was not many years ago a dangerous enterprise to make a voyage
+round the world, and scarce half a century has elapsed since the time
+when an expedition of this kind would have sufficed to reflect glory
+upon the man who directed it. This was 'the good old time,' the golden
+age of the circumnavigator, and the dangers and privations against
+which he had to struggle were repaid a hundredfold, when, rich in
+valuable discoveries, he hailed on his return the shores of his native
+land. But this is all over now; the <i>prestige</i> has gone, and we make
+our tour of the globe nowadays as we should then have made that of
+France."</p>
+
+<p>What would Baron Yves-Hyacinth Potentien de Bougainville, the son of
+the vice-admiral, senator, and member of the <i>Institut</i>, say to-day to
+our admirable steamships of perfect form, and charts of such minute
+exactitude that distant voyages appear a mere joke.</p>
+
+<p>On the 2nd March, 1824, the <i>Thetis</i> quitted the roads at Brest to take
+up at Bourbon her companion, the <i>Espérance</i>, which, having started
+some time before, had set sail for Rio de Janeiro. A short stay at
+Teneriffe, where the <i>Thetis</i> was only able to purchase some poor wine
+and a very small quantity of the provisions needed; a view of the Cape
+Verd Islands and the Cape of Good Hope in the distance, and a hunt for
+the fabulous island of Saxemberg, and some rocks no less fictitious,
+were the only incidents of the voyage to Bourbon, where the <i>Espérance</i>
+had already arrived.</p>
+
+<p>Bourbon was at this time so familiar a point with the navigators that
+there was little to be said about it, when its two open roads of St.
+Denis and St. Paul had been mentioned. St. Denis, the capital, situated
+on the north of Bourbon, and at the extremity of a sloping table-land,
+was, properly speaking, merely a large town, without enclosure or
+walls, and each house in it was surrounded by a garden. There were no
+public buildings or places of interest worth mentioning except the
+governor's palace, situated in such a position as to command a view of
+the whole road; the botanic garden and the "Jardin de Naturalisation,"
+which dates from 1817. The former, which is in the centre of the town,
+contains some beautiful walks, unfortunately but little frequented, and
+it is admirably kept. The eucalyptus, the giant of the Australian
+forests, the <i>Phormium tenax</i>, the New Zealand hemp-plant, the
+casuarina (the pine of Madagascar), the baobab, with its trunk of
+prodigious size, the carambolas, the sapota, the vanilla, combined to
+beautify this garden, which was refreshed by streams of sparkling
+water. The second, upon the brow of a hill, formed of terraces rising
+one above the other, to which several brooklets give life and
+fertility, was specially devoted to the acclimatisation of European
+trees and plants. The apple, peach, apricot, cherry, and pear-trees,
+which have thriven well, have already supplied the colony with valuable
+shoots. The vine was also grown in this garden, together with the
+tea-plant, and several rarer species, amongst which Bougainville noted
+with delight the "Laurea argentea," with its bright leaves.</p>
+
+<p>On the 9th June the two vessels left the roads of St. Denis. After
+having doubled the shoals of La Fortune and Saya de Malha, and passed
+off the Seychelles, whilst among the atolls to the south of the Maldive
+Islands, which are level with the surface of the water and covered with
+bushy trees ending in a cluster of cocoas, they sighted the island of
+Ceylon and the Coromandel coast, and cast anchor before Pondicherry.</p>
+<a name="ill78"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration078">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586">
+			<img src="images/078.jpg" alt="Natives of Pondicherry">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586" align="center">
+			<small>Natives of Pondicherry.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+<br><br><a name="ill79"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration079">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589">
+			<img src="images/079.jpg" alt="Ancient idols near Pondicherry">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589" align="center">
+			<small>Ancient idols near Pondicherry.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>This part of India is far from answering to the "enchantress" idea
+which the dithyrambic descriptions of writers who have celebrated its
+marvels have led Europeans to form. The number of public buildings and
+monuments at Pondicherry will scarcely bear counting, and when one has
+visited the more curious of the pagodas, and the "boilers," whose only
+recommendation is their utility, there is nothing very interesting,
+except the novelty of the scenes met with at every turn. The town is
+divided into two well-defined quarters. The one called the "white
+town," dull and deserted in spite of its coquettish-looking buildings,
+and the far more interesting "black town," with its bazaars, its
+jugglers, its massive pagodas, and the attractive dances of the
+bayadères.</p>
+
+<p>"The Indian population upon the coast of Coromandel," says the
+narrative, "is divided into two classes,&mdash;the 'right-hand' and the
+'left.' This division originated under the government of a nabob
+against whom the people revolted; those who remained faithful to the
+prince being distinguished by the designation of 'right-hand,' and the
+rest by that of 'left-hand.' These two great tribes, which divide
+between them almost equally the entire population, are in a chronic
+state of hostility against the holders of the ranks and prerogatives
+obtained by the friends of the prince. The latter, however, retain the
+offices in the gift of the government, whilst the others are engaged in
+commerce. To maintain peace amongst them it was necessary to allow them
+to retain their ancient processions and ceremonies.... The 'right-hand'
+and 'left-hand' are subdivided into eighteen castes or guilds, full of
+pretensions and prejudices, not diminished even by the constant
+intercourse with Europeans which has now for centuries been maintained.
+Hence have arisen feelings of rivalry and contempt, which would be the
+source of sanguinary wars, were it not that the Hindus have a horror of
+bloodshed, and that their temperament renders them averse to conflict.
+These two facts, i.e. the gentleness of the native disposition and the
+constant presence of an element of discord amongst the various tribes,
+must ever be borne in mind if we would understand the political
+phenomenon of more than fifty millions of men submitting to the yoke of
+some five and twenty or thirty thousand foreigners."</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Thetis</i> and the <i>Espérance</i> quitted the roadstead of Pondicherry
+on the 30th July, crossed the Sea of Bengal, sighted the islands of
+Nicobar and Pulo-Penang, with its free port capable of holding 300
+ships at a time. They then entered the Straits of Malacca, and remained
+in the Dutch port of that name from the 24th to the 26th July, to
+repair damages sustained by the <i>Espérance</i>, so that she might hold out
+as far as Manilla. The intercourse of the explorers with the Resident
+and the inhabitants generally were all the more pleasant that it was
+confirmed by banquets given on land and on board the <i>Thetis</i> in honour
+of the kings of France and the Netherlands. The Dutch were expecting
+soon to cede this station to the English, and this cession took place
+shortly afterwards. It must be added, with regard to Malacca, that in
+point of fertility of soil, pleasantness of situation and facilities
+for obtaining all really necessary supplies, it was superior to its
+rivals.</p>
+
+<p>Bougainville set out again on August 26th, and was tossed about by
+head-winds, and troubled alike by calms and storms during the remainder
+of his passage through the straits. As these latitudes were more
+frequented than any others by Malay pirates, the commandant placed
+sentries on the watch and took all precautions against surprise,
+although his force was strong enough to be above fearing any enemy. It
+was no uncommon thing to see fly-boats manned by a hundred seamen, and
+more than one merchant-ship had recently fallen a prey to these
+unmolested and incorrigible corsairs. The squadron, however, saw
+nothing to awake any suspicions, and continued its course to Singapore.</p>
+
+<p>The population of this town is a curious mixture of races, and our
+travellers met with Europeans engaged in the chief branches of
+commerce; Armenian and Arabian merchants, and Chinese; some planters,
+others following the various trades demanded by the requirements of the
+population. The Malays, who seemed out of place in an advancing
+civilization, either led a life of servitude, or slept away their time
+in indolence and misery whilst the Hindus, expelled from their country
+for crime, practised the indescribable trades which in all great cities
+alone save the scum from dying of starvation. It was only in 1819 that
+the English procured from the Malayan sultan of Johore the right to
+settle in the town of Singapore; and the little village in which they
+established themselves then numbered but 150 inhabitants, although,
+thanks to Sir Stamford Raffles, a town soon rose on the site of the
+unpretending cabins of the natives. By a wise stroke of policy all
+customs-duties were abolished; and the natural advantages of the new
+city, with its extensive and secure port, were supplemented and
+perfected by the hand of man.</p>
+
+<p>The garrison numbered only 300 sepoys and thirty gunners; there were as
+yet no fortifications, and the artillery equipment consisted merely of
+one battery of twenty cannons, and as many bronze field-pieces. Indeed,
+Singapore was simply one large warehouse, to which Madras sent cotton
+cloth; Calcutta, opium; Sumatra, pepper; Java, arrack and spices;
+Manilla, sugar and arrack; all forthwith despatched to Europe, China,
+Siam, &amp;c. Of public buildings there appeared to be none. There were no
+stores, no careening-wharves, no building-yards, no barracks, and the
+visitors noticed but one small church for native converts.</p>
+
+<p>The squadron resumed its voyage on the 2nd September, and reached the
+harbour of Cavité without any mishap. Meanwhile, M. du Camper,
+commander of the <i>Espérance</i> who had, during a residence of some years,
+become acquainted with the principal inhabitants, was ordered to go to
+Manilla, that he might inform the Governor-General of the Philippines
+of the arrival of the frigates, the reasons of their visit, &amp;c., and at
+the same time gauge his feelings towards them, and form some idea of
+the reception the French might expect. The recent intervention of
+France in the affairs of Spain placed them indeed in a very delicate
+position with the then governor, Don Juan Antonio Martinez, who had
+been nominated to his post by the very Cortés which had just been
+overthrown by their government. The fears of the commandant, however,
+were not confirmed, for he met with the warmest kindness and most
+cordial co-operation from the Spanish authorities.</p>
+
+<p>Cavité Bay, where the vessels cast anchor, was constantly encumbered
+with mud, but it was the chief port in the Philippine Islands, and
+there the Spaniards owned a very well supplied arsenal in which worked
+Indians from the surrounding districts, who though skilful and
+intelligent were excessively lazy. Whilst the <i>Thetis</i> was being
+sheathed, and the extensive repairs necessary to the <i>Espérance</i> were
+being carried out, the clerks and officers were at Manilla, seeing
+about the supply of provisions and cordage. The latter, which was made
+of "abaca," the fibre of a banana, vulgarly called "Manilla hemp,"
+although recommended on account of its great elasticity, was not of
+much use on board ship. The delay at Manilla was rendered very
+disagreeable by earthquakes and typhoons, which are always of constant
+occurrence there. On October 24th there was an earthquake of such
+violence that the governor, troops, and a portion of the people were
+compelled hastily to leave the town, and the loss was estimated at
+120,000<i>l</i>. Many houses were thrown down, eight people were buried in
+the ruins, and many others injured. Scarcely had the inhabitants begun
+to breathe freely again, when a frightful typhoon came to complete the
+panic. It lasted only part of the night of the 31st October, and the
+next day, when the sun rose, it might have been looked upon as a mere
+nightmare had not the melancholy sight of fields laid waste, and of the
+harbour with six ships lying on their sides, and all the others at
+anchor, almost entirely disabled, testified to the reality of the
+disaster. All around the town the country was devastated, the crops
+were ruined, the trees&mdash;even the largest of them&mdash;violently shaken, the
+village destroyed. It was a heart-rending spectacle! The <i>Espérance</i>
+had its main-mast and mizen-mast lifted several feet above deck, and
+its barricadings were carried off; the <i>Thetis</i>, more fortunate than
+its companion, escaped almost uninjured in the dreadful tempest.</p>
+
+<p>The laziness of the workpeople, and the great number of holidays in
+which they indulge, early decided Bougainville to part for a time from
+his convoy, and on December 12th he set sail for Cochin-China. Before
+following the French to the little-frequented shores of that country,
+however, we must survey with them Manilla and its environs. The Bay of
+Manilla is one of the most extensive and beautiful in the world;
+numerous fleets might find anchorage in it; and its two channels were
+not yet closed to foreign vessels, and in 1798 two English frigates had
+been allowed to pass through them and carry off numerous vessels under
+the very guns of the town. The horizon is shut in by a barrier of
+mountains, ending on the south of the Taal, a volcano now almost
+extinct, but the eruptions of which have often caused frightful
+calamities. In the plains, framed in rice plantations, several hamlets
+and solitary houses give animation to the scene. Opposite to the mouth
+of the bay rises the town, containing 60,000 inhabitants, with its
+lighthouse and far-extending suburbs. It is watered by the Passig, a
+river issuing from Bay Lake, and its exceptionally good situation
+secures to it advantages which more than one capital might envy. The
+garrison, without including the militia, consisted at that time of 2200
+soldiers; and, in addition to the military navy, always represented by
+some vessel at anchor, a marine service had been organized for the
+exclusive use of the colony, to which the name of "sutil" had been
+given, either on account of the small size, or the fleetness of the
+vessels employed. This service, all appointments in which are in the
+gift of the governor-general, is composed of schooners and gun-sloops,
+intended to protect the coasts and the trading-vessels against the
+pirates of Sulu. But it cannot be said that the organization, imposing
+as it is, has achieved any great results. Of this Bougainville gives
+the following curious illustration:&mdash;In 1828 the Suluans seized 3000 of
+the inhabitants upon the coast of Luzon, and an expedition sent against
+them cost 140,000 piastres, and resulted in the killing of six men!</p>
+<a name="ill80"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration080">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587">
+			<img src="images/080.jpg" alt="Near the Bay of Manilla">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="587" align="center">
+			<small>Near the Bay of Manilla.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Great uneasiness prevailed in the Philippines at the time of the visit
+of the <i>Thetis</i> and the <i>Espérance</i>, and a political reaction which had
+steeped the metropolis in blood had thrown a gloom over every one. On
+December 20th, 1820, a massacre of the whites by the Indians; in 1824,
+the mutiny of a regiment, and the assassination of an ex-governor,
+Senor de Folgueras, had been the first horrors which had endangered the
+supremacy of the Spanish.</p>
+
+<p>The Creoles, who, with the Tagalas, were alike the richest and most
+industrious classes of the true native population, at this time gave
+just cause for uneasiness to the government, because they were known to
+desire the expulsion of all who were not natives of the Philippines;
+and when it is borne in mind that they commanded the native regiments,
+and held the greater part of the public offices, it is easy to see how
+great must have been their influence. Well might people ask whether
+they were not on the eve of one of those revolutions which lost to
+Spain her fairest colonies.</p>
+
+<p>Until the <i>Thetis</i> reached Macao, she was much harassed by squalls,
+gales, heavy showers, and an intensity of cold, felt all the more
+keenly by the navigators after their experience for several months of a
+temperature of 75&frac34;&deg; Fahrenheit. Scarcely was anchor cast in
+the Canton river before a great number of native vessels came to
+examine the frigate, offering for sale vegetables, fish, oranges, and a
+multitude of trifles, once so rare, now so common, but always costly.</p>
+
+<p>"The town of Macao," says the narrative, "shut in between bare hills,
+can be seen from afar; the whiteness of its buildings rendering it very
+conspicuous. It partly faces the coast, and the houses, which are
+elegantly built, line the beach, following the natural contour of the
+shore. The parade is also the finest part of the town, and is much
+frequented by foreigners; behind it, the ground rises abruptly, and the
+façades of the buildings, such as convents, noticeable for their size
+and peculiar architecture, rise, so to speak, from the second stage;
+the whole being crowned by the embattled walls of the forts, over which
+floated the white flag of Portugal.</p>
+
+<p>"At the northern and southern extremities of the town, facing the sea,
+are batteries built in three stages; and near the first, but a little
+further inland, rises a church with a very effective portico and fine
+external decorations. Numerous <i>sampangs</i>, junks, and fishing-boats
+anchored close in shore, give animation to the scene, the setting of
+which would be much brightened if the heights overlooking the town were
+not so totally wanting in verdure."</p>
+
+<p>Situated as it is in the high road, between China and the rest of the
+world, Macao, once one of the chief relics of Portuguese colonial
+prosperity, long enjoyed exceptional privileges, all of which were,
+however, gone by 1825, when its one industry was a contraband trade in
+opium.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Thetis</i> only touched at Macao to leave some missionaries, and to
+hoist the French flag, and Bougainville set sail again on January 8th.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing worthy of notice occurred on the voyage from Macao to Touron
+Bay. Arrived there, Bougainville learned that the French agent, M.
+Chaigneu, had left Hué for Saigon, with the intention of there
+chartering a barque for Singapore, and in the absence of the only
+person who could further his schemes he did not know with whom to open
+relations. Fearing failure as an inevitable result of this
+<i>contretemps</i> he at once despatched a letter to Hué, explaining the
+object of his mission, and expressing a wish to go with some of his
+officers to Saigon. The time which necessarily elapsed before an answer
+was received was turned to account by the French, who minutely surveyed
+the bay and its surroundings, together with the famous marble rocks,
+the objects of the curious interest of all travellers. Touron Bay has
+been described by various authors, notably by Horsburgh, as one of the
+most beautiful and vast in the universe; but such is not the opinion of
+Bougainville, who thinks these statements are to be taken with a great
+deal of reservation. The village of Touron is situated upon the
+sea-coast, at the entrance of the channel of Faifoh, from the right
+bank of which rises a fort with glacis, bastions, and a dry moat, built
+by French engineers.</p>
+
+<p>The French being looked upon as old allies were always received with
+kindness and without suspicion. It had not, apparently, been so with
+the English, who had not been permitted to land, whilst the sailors on
+board the <i>Thetis</i> were at once allowed to fish and hunt, and to go and
+come as they chose, every facility for obtaining fresh provisions being
+also accorded to them. Thanks to this latitude, the officers were able
+to scour the country and make interesting observations. One of them, M.
+de la Touanne, gives the following description of the natives:&mdash;"They
+are rather under than over middle height, and in this respect they
+closely resemble the Chinese of Macao. Their skin is of a
+yellowish-brown, and their heads are flat and round; their faces are
+without expression, their eyes are as melancholy, but their eyebrows
+are not so strongly marked as those of the Chinese. They have flat
+noses and large mouths, and their lips bulge out in a way rendered the
+more disagreeable as they are always black and dirty from the habit
+indulged in, by men and women alike, of chewing areca nut mixed with
+betel and lime. The women, who are almost as tall as the men, have not
+a more pleasant appearance; and the repulsive filthiness, common to
+both sexes, is enough without anything else to deprive them of all
+attractiveness."</p>
+<a name="ill81"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration081">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592">
+			<img src="images/081.jpg" alt="Women of Touron Bay">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592" align="center">
+			<small>Women of Touron Bay.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>What strikes one most is the wretchedness of the inhabitants as
+compared with the fertility of the soil, and this shocking contrast
+betrays alike the selfishness and carelessness of the government and
+the insatiable greed of the mandarins. The plains produce maize, yams,
+manioc, tobacco, and rice, the flourishing appearance of which
+testifies to the care bestowed upon them; the sea yields large
+quantities of delicious fish, and the forests give shelter to numerous
+birds, as well as tigers, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and elephants, and
+troops of monkeys are to be met with everywhere, some of them four feet
+high, with bodies of a pearl-grey colour, black thighs, and red legs.
+They wear red collars and white girdles, which make them look just as
+if they were clothed. Their muscular strength is extraordinary, and
+they clear enormous distances in leaping from branch to branch. Nothing
+can be odder than to see some dozen of these creatures upon one tree
+indulging in the most fantastic grimaces and contortions. "One day,"
+says Bougainville, "when I was at the edge of the forest, I wounded a
+monkey who had ventured forth for a stroll in the sunshine. He hid his
+face in his hands and sent forth such piteous groans that more than
+thirty of his tribe were about him in a moment. I lost no time in
+reloading my gun not knowing what I might have to expect, for some
+monkeys are not afraid of attacking men; but the troop only took up
+their wounded comrade, and once more plunged into the wood."</p>
+
+<p>Another excursion was made to the marble rocks of the Faifoh River,
+where are several curious caves, one containing an enormous pillar
+suspended from the roof and ending abruptly some distance from the
+ground; stalactites were seen, but the sound of a water-fall was heard
+from the further end. The French also visited the ruins of an ancient
+building near a grotto, containing an idol, and with a passage opening
+out of one corner. This passage Bougainville followed. It led him into
+an "immense rotunda lighted from the top, and ending in an arched
+vault, at least sixty feet high. Imagine the effect of a series of
+marble pillars of various colours, some from their greenish colour, the
+result of old age and damp, looking as if cast in bronze, whilst from
+the roof hung down creepers, now in festoons, now in bunches, looking
+for all the world like candelabra without the lights. Above our heads
+were groups of stalactites resembling great organ-pipes, altars,
+mutilated statues, hideous monsters carved in stone, and even a
+complete pagoda, which, however, occupied but a very small space in the
+vast enclosure. Fancy such a scene in an appropriate setting, the whole
+lit up with a dim and wavering light, and you can perhaps form some
+idea how it struck me when it first burst upon me."</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th of January, 1825, the <i>Espérance</i> at last rejoined the
+frigate; and, two days later, two envoys arrived from the court at Hué,
+with orders to ask Bougainville for the letter of which he was the
+bearer. But, as the latter had received orders to deliver it to the
+Emperor in person, this request involved a long series of puerile
+negotiations. The formalities by which the Cochin-Chinese envoys were,
+so to speak, hemmed in, reminded Bougainville of the anecdote of the
+envoy and the governor of Java, who, rivalling each other in their
+gravity and diplomatic prudence, remained together for twenty-four
+hours without exchanging a word. The commander was not the man to
+endure such trial of patience as this, but he could not obtain the
+necessary authorization of his explorations, and the negotiations ended
+in an exchange of presents, securing nothing in fact but an assurance
+from the Emperor that he would receive with pleasure a visit of the
+French vessels to his ports, if their captain and officers would
+conform to the laws of the Empire. Since 1817 the French had been
+pretty well the only people who had done any satisfactory business with
+the people of Cochin-China, a state of things resulting from the
+presence of French residents at the court of Hué, on whom alone of
+course depended the maintenance of the exceptionally cordial relations
+so long established between them and the government to which they were
+accredited.</p>
+
+<p>The two ships left Touron Bay on the 17th February for the Anambas
+Archipelago, which had not as yet been explored; and, on the 3rd of
+March, they came in sight of it, and found it to bear no resemblance
+whatever to the islands of the same name, marked upon the English map
+of the China Sea. Bougainville was agreeably surprised to see a large
+number of islands and islets, the bays, &amp;c., of which were sure to
+afford excellent anchorage during the monsoons. The explorers
+penetrated to the very heart of the archipelago, and made a
+hydrographic survey of it. Whilst the small boats were engaged upon
+this task, two prettily built canoes approached, from one of which a
+man of about fifty came on board the <i>Thetis</i>, whose breast was seamed
+with scars, and from whose right-hand two fingers were missing. The
+sight of the rows of guns and ammunition, however, so terrified him
+that he beat a hasty retreat to his canoe, though he had already got as
+far as the orlop-deck. Next day two more canoes approached, manned by
+fierce-looking Malays, bringing bananas, cocoa-nuts, and pineapples,
+which they bartered for biscuits, a handkerchief, and two small axes.
+Several other interviews took place with islanders, armed with the
+kriss, and short two-edged iron pikes, who were very evidently pirates
+by profession.</p>
+
+<p>Although the French explored but a part of the Anamba group, the
+information they collected was extremely interesting on account of its
+novelty. The first requisite of a large population is plenty of fresh
+water, and there is apparently very little of it in the Anambas.
+Moreover, the cultivable soil is not very deep, and the mountains are
+separated by narrow ravines, not by plains, so that agriculture is all
+but out of the question. Even the native trees, with the exception of
+the cocoa-palm, are very stunted. The population was estimated by a
+native at not more than 2000, but Bougainville thought even that too
+high a figure. The fortunate position of the Anambas&mdash;they are passed
+by all vessels trading with China, whichever route may be taken&mdash;long
+since brought them to the notice of navigators; and we must attribute
+to their lack of resources the neglect to which they have been
+abandoned. The small amount of cordiality and confidence met with by
+Bougainville from the inhabitants, the high price of provisions, and
+the destructive nature of the monsoons in the Sunda waters, determined
+him to cut short his survey and to make with all speed for Java, where
+his instructions compelled him to touch. The 8th of March was fixed for
+the departure of the two vessels, which sighted Victory, Barren,
+Saddle, and Camel Islands, passed through the Gasper Straits&mdash;the
+passage of which did not occupy more than two hours, although it often
+takes several days with an unfavourable wind&mdash;and cast anchor at
+Surabaya, where the explorers were met with the news of the death of
+Louis XVIII. and the accession of Charles X. As the cholera, which had
+claimed 300,000 victims in Java in 1822, was still raging, Bougainville
+took the precaution of keeping his crew on board under shelter from the
+sun, and expressly forbade any intercourse with vessels laden with
+fruit, the use of which is so dangerous to Europeans, especially during
+the rainy season then setting in. In spite of these wise orders,
+however, dysentery attacked the crew of the <i>Thetis</i>, and too many fell
+victims to it.</p>
+
+<p>The town of Surabaya is situated one league from the mouth of the
+river, and it can only be reached by towing up the stream. Its
+approaches are lively, and everything bears witness to the presence of
+an active commercial population. An expedition to the island of Celebes
+having exhausted the resources of the government and the magazines
+being empty, Bougainville had to deal direct with the Chinese
+merchants, who are the most bare-faced robbers on the face of the
+globe, and now resorted to all manner of cunning and knavery to get the
+better of their visitors. The stay at Surabaya, therefore, left a very
+disagreeable impression on all. It was quite different, however, with
+regard to the reception met with from the chief personages of the
+colony, for there was every reason to be satisfied with the conduct of
+all connected with the government.</p>
+
+<p>To go to Surabaya without paying a visit to the Sultan of Madura, whose
+reputation for hospitality had crossed the seas, would have been as
+impossible as it is to visit Paris without going to see Versailles and
+Trianon. After a comfortable lunch on shore, therefore, the staff of
+the two vessels set out in open carriages and four; but the roads were
+so bad and the horses so worn out that they would many a time have
+stuck in the mud if men stationed at the dangerous places had not
+energetically shoved at the wheels. At last they arrived at Bankalan,
+and the carriages drew up in the third court of the palace at the foot
+of a staircase, at the top of which the hereditary prince and the prime
+minister awaited the arrival of the travellers. Prince Adden Engrate
+belonged to the most illustrious family of the Indian Archipelago. He
+wore the undress uniform of a Java chief, consisting of a long flowered
+petticoat of Indian make, scarcely allowing the Chinese slippers to be
+seen, a white vest with gold buttons, and a small skirted waistcoat of
+brown cloth, with diamond buttons. A handkerchief was tied about his
+head, on which he wore a visor-cap, his ease and dignity of bearing
+alone saving him from looking like the grotesque figure of a carnival
+amazon. The palace or "kraton" consisted of a series of buildings with
+galleries, kept delightfully cool by awnings and curtains, whilst
+lustres, tasty European furniture, pretty hangings, glass and crystal
+ornaments decorated the vast halls and rooms. A suite of private
+apartments, with no opening to the court, but with a view of the
+gardens, is reserved for the "Ratu" (sovereign) and the harem.</p>
+
+<p>The reception was cordial, and the repast, served in European style,
+was delicious. "The conversation," says Bougainville, "was conducted in
+English, and many toasts were proposed, the prince drinking our healths
+in tea poured from a bottle, and to which he helped himself as if it
+had been Madeira. Being head of the church as well as of the state, he
+strictly obeys the precepts of the Koran, never drinking wine, and
+spending a great part of his time at the mosque; but he is not the less
+sociable, and his talk bears no trace of the austerity to be expected
+in that of one who leads so regular a life. This life is not, however,
+all spent in prayer, and the scenes witnessed by us would give a very
+false impression if we did not know that great latitude is allowed on
+this point to the followers of the prophet."</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon the Frenchmen visited several coach-houses, containing
+very handsome carriages, some of which, built on the island, were so
+well-made that it was absolutely impossible to distinguish them from
+those which had been imported. Some archery was then witnessed, and
+joined in, after which, on the return to the palace, the visitors were
+welcomed by the sound of melancholy music, speedily interrupted,
+however, by the barking and fantastical dancing of the prince's fool,
+who showed wonderful agility and suppleness. To this dance, or rather
+to these postures of a bayadère, succeeded the excitement of
+vingt-et-un, followed by well-earned repose. Next day there were new
+entertainments and new exercises; beginning with wrestling-matches for
+grown men and for youths, and proceeding with quail-fights, and feats
+performed by a camel and an elephant. After lunch Bougainville and his
+party had a drive and some archery, and witnessed sack-races,
+basket-balancing, &amp;c. In this way, they were told, the sultan passed
+all his time. Most striking is the respect and submission shown by all
+to this sovereign. No one ever stands upright before him, but all
+prostrate themselves before addressing him. All his subjects do but
+"wait at his feet," and even his own little child of four years clasps
+his tiny hands when he speaks to his father.</p>
+
+<p>While at Surabaya, Bougainville took the opportunity of visiting the
+volcano of Brumo, in the Tengger Mountains; and this excursion, in
+which he explored the island for a hundred miles, from east to west,
+was one of the most interesting undertaken by him. Surabaya contains
+some curious buildings and monuments, most of them the work of a former
+governor, General Daendels; such are the "Builder's Workshop," the
+"Hôtel de la Monnaie" (the only establishment of the kind in Java), and
+the hospital, which is built on a well-chosen site, and contains 400
+beds. The island of Madura, opposite to Surabaya, is at least 100 miles
+in length, by fifteen or twenty in breadth, and does not yield produce
+sufficient to maintain the population, sparse as it is. The sovereignty
+of this island is divided between the sultans of Bankalan and Sumanap,
+who furnish annually six hundred recruits to the Dutch, without
+counting extraordinary levies.</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th April, symptoms of dysentery showed themselves amongst the
+crews. Two days later therefore the vessel set sail, and it took seven
+good days to get beyond the straits of Madura. They returned along the
+north coast of Lombok, and passed through the Allas Straits, between
+Lombok and Sumbawa. The first of these islands, from the foot of the
+mountains to the sea, presents the appearance of a green carpet,
+adorned with groups of trees of elegant appearance, and upon its coast
+there is no lack of good anchorage, whilst fresh water and wood are
+plentiful. On the other side, however, there are numerous peaks of
+barren aspect, rising from a lofty table-land, the approach to which is
+barred by a series of rugged and inaccessible islands, known as Lombok,
+the coral-beds and treacherous currents about which must be carefully
+avoided. Two stoppages at the villages of Baly and Peejow, with a view
+to taking in fresh provisions, enabled the officers to make a
+hydrographical chart of this part of the coast of Lombok. Upon leaving
+the strait, Bougainville made an unsuccessful search for Cloates
+Island. That he did not find it is not very wonderful, as during the
+last eight years many ships have passed over the spot assigned to it
+upon the maps. The "Triads," on the other hand, i.e. the rocks seen in
+1777 by the <i>Freudensberg Castle</i>, are, in Captain King's opinion, the
+Montepello Islands, which correspond perfectly with the description of
+the Danes.</p>
+
+<p>Bougainville had instructions to survey the neighbourhood of the Swan
+River, where the French Government hoped to find a place suitable for
+the reception of the wretches then huddled together in their
+convict-prisons; but the flag of England had just been unfurled on the
+shores of Nuyts and Leuwin, in King George's Sound, Géographe Bay, the
+little Leschenault inlet, and on the Swan River, so that there was no
+longer any reason for a new exploration. Everything in fact had
+combined to prevent it; the delays to which the expedition had been
+subjected had indeed been so serious that instead of arriving in these
+latitudes in April, they did not reach them until the middle of May,
+there the very heart of winter. Moreover, the coast offers no shelter,
+for so soon as the wind begins to blow, the waves swell tremendously,
+and the memory of the trials which the <i>Géographe</i> had undergone at the
+same season of the year was still fresh in the minds of the French. The
+<i>Thetis</i> and the <i>Espérance</i> were pursued by the bad weather as far as
+Hobart Town, the chief English station upon the coast of Tasmania,
+where the commander was very anxious to put in. He was, however, driven
+back by storms to Port Jackson, which is marked by a very handsome
+lighthouse, a granite tower seventy-six feet high, with a lantern lit
+by gas, visible at a distance of nine leagues.</p>
+<a name="ill82"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration082">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580">
+			<img src="images/082.jpg" alt="Entrance to Sydney Bay">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580" align="center">
+			<small>Entrance to Sydney Bay.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Sir Thomas Brisbane, the governor, gave a cordial reception to the
+expedition, and at once took the necessary steps to furnish it with
+provisions. This was done by contract at low prices, and the greatest
+good faith was shown in carrying out all bargains. The sloop had to be
+run ashore to have its sheathing repaired, but this, with some work of
+less importance necessary to the <i>Thetis</i>, did not take long. The delay
+was also turned to account by the whole staff, who were greatly
+interested in the marvellous progress of this penal colony. While
+Bougainville was eagerly reading all the works which had as yet
+appeared upon New South Wales, the officers wandered about the town,
+and were struck dumb with amazement at the numberless public buildings
+erected by Governor Macquarie, such as the barracks, hospital, market,
+orphanages, almshouses for the aged and infirm, the prison, the fort,
+the churches, government-house, the fountains, the town gates, and last
+but not least, the government-stables, which are always at first sight
+taken for the palace itself. There was, however, a dark side to the
+picture. The main thoroughfares, though well-planned, were neither
+paved nor lighted, and were so unsafe at night, that several people had
+been seized and robbed in the very middle of George Street, the best
+quarter of Sydney. If the streets in the town were unsafe, those in the
+suburbs were still more so. Vagrant convicts overran the country in the
+form of bands of "bushrangers," who had become so formidable that the
+government had recently organized a company of fifty dragoons for the
+express purpose of hunting them down. All this did not, however, hinder
+the officers from making many interesting excursions, such as those to
+Paramatta, on the banks of the Nepean, a river very deeply embanked,
+where they visited the Regent Ville district; and to the "plains of
+Emu," a government agricultural-station, and a sort of model farm. They
+went to the theatre, where a grand performance was given in their
+honour. The delight sailors take in riding is proverbial, and it was on
+horseback that the French crossed the Emu plains. The noble animals,
+imported from England, had not degenerated in New South Wales; they
+were still full of spirit as one of the young officers found to his
+cost, when, as he was saying in English to Sir John Cox, acting as
+cicerone to the party, "I do love this riding exercise," he was
+suddenly thrown over his horse's head and deposited on the grass before
+he knew where he was. The laugh against him was all the more hearty as
+the skilful horseman was not injured.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond Sir John Cox's plantations extends the unbroken "open forest,"
+as the English call it, which can be crossed on horseback, and consists
+chiefly of the eucalyptus, acacias of various kinds, and the
+dark-leaved casuarinas. The next day, an excursion was made up the
+river Nepean, a tributary of the Hawkesbury, on which trip many
+valuable facts of natural history were obtained, Bougainville enriching
+his collection with canaries, waterfowl, and a very pretty species of
+kingfisher and cockatoos. In the neighbouring woods was heard the
+unpleasant cry of the lyre-pheasant and of two other birds, which
+feebly imitate the tinkling of a hand-bell and the jarring noise of the
+saw. These are not, however, the only feathered fowl remarkable for the
+peculiarity of their notes; we must also mention the "whistling-bird,"
+the "knife-grinder," the "mocking-bird," the "coachman," which mimics
+the crack of the whip, and the "laughing jackass," with its continual
+bursts of laughter, which have a strange effect upon the nerves. Sir
+John Cox presented the commander with two specimens of the water-mole,
+also called the ornithorhynchus, a curious amphibious creature, the
+habits of which are still little known to European naturalists, many
+museums not possessing a single specimen.</p>
+
+<p>Another excursion was made in the Blue Mountains, where the famous
+"King's Table-land" was visited, from which a magnificent view was
+obtained. The explorers gained with great difficulty the top of an
+eminence, and an abyss of 1600 feet at once opened beneath them; a vast
+green carpet stretching away to a distance of some twenty miles, whilst
+on the right and left were the distorted sides of the mountain, which
+had been rudely rent asunder by some earthquake, the irregularities
+corresponding exactly with each other. Close at hand foams a roaring,
+rushing torrent, flinging itself in a series of cascades into the
+valley beneath, the whole passing under the name of "Apsley's
+Waterfall." This trip was succeeded by a kangaroo hunt in the
+cow-pastures with Mr. Macarthur, one of the chief promoters of the
+prosperity of New South Wales. Bougainville also turned his stay at
+Sydney to account by laying the foundation-stone of a monument to the
+memory of La Pérouse. This cenotaph was erected in Botany Bay, upon the
+spot where the navigator had pitched his camp.</p>
+<a name="ill83"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration083">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="581">
+			<img src="images/083.jpg" alt="Apsley's Waterfall">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="581" align="center">
+			<small>"Apsley's Waterfall."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>On September 21st the <i>Thetis</i> and the <i>Espérance</i> at last set sail;
+passing off Pitcairn Island, Easter Island, and Juan Fernandez, now a
+convict settlement for criminals from Chili, after having been occupied
+for a half-century by Spanish vine-growers.</p>
+
+<p>On the 23rd November the <i>Thetis</i>, which had been separated from the
+<i>Espérance</i> during a heavy storm, anchored off Valparaiso, where it met
+Admiral de Rosamel's division. Great excitement prevailed in the
+roadstead, for an expedition against the island of Chiloë, which still
+belonged to Spain, was being organized by the chief director, General
+Ramon Freire y Serrano, of whom we have already spoken.</p>
+
+<p>Bougainville, like the Russian navigator Lütke, is of opinion that the
+position of Valparaiso does not justify its reputation. The streets are
+dirty and narrow, and so steep that walking in them is very fatiguing.
+The only pleasant part is the suburb of Almendral, which, with its
+gardens and orchards, would be still more agreeable but for the
+sand-storms prevalent throughout nearly the whole of the year. In 1811,
+Valparaiso numbered only from four to five thousand inhabitants; but in
+1825 the population had already tripled itself, and the increase showed
+no sign of ceasing. When the <i>Thetis</i> touched at Valparaiso, the
+English frigate, the <i>Blonde</i>, commanded by Lord Byron, grandson of the
+explorer of the same name, whose discoveries are narrated above, was
+also at anchor there. By a singular coincidence Byron had raised a
+monument to the memory of Cook in the island of Hawaii, at the very
+time when Bougainville, the son of the circumnavigator, met by Byron in
+the Straits of Magellan, was laying the foundation-stone of the
+monument to the memory of La Pérouse in New South Wales.</p>
+
+<p>Bougainville turned the delay necessary for the revictualling of his
+division to account by paying a visit to Santiago, the capital of
+Chili, thirty-three leagues inland. The environs of Chili are terribly
+bare, without houses or any signs of cultivation. Its steeples alone
+mark the approach to it, and one may fancy oneself still in the
+outskirts when the heart of the city is reached. There is, however, no
+lack of public buildings, such as the Hôtel de la Monnaie, the
+university, the archbishop's palace, the cathedral, the church of the
+Jesuits, the palace, and the theatre, the last of which is so badly
+lighted that it is impossible to distinguish the faces of the audience.
+The promenade, known as La Cañada, has now supplanted that of L'Alameda
+on the banks of the river Mapocha, once the evening rendezvous. The
+objects of interest in the town exhausted, the Frenchmen examined those
+in the neighbourhood, visiting the Salto de Agua, a waterfall of 1200
+feet in height, the ascent to which is rather arduous, and the Cerito
+de Santa-Lucia, from which rises a fortress, the sole defence of the
+town.</p>
+
+<p>The season was now advancing, and no time was to be lost if the
+explorers wished to take advantage of the best season for doubling Cape
+Horn. On the 8th January, 1826, therefore, the two vessels once more
+put to sea, and rounded the Cape without any mishap, though landing at
+the Falklands was rendered impossible by fog and contrary winds. Anchor
+was cast on the 28th March in the roadstead of Rio Janeiro, and, as it
+turned out, at a time most favourable for the French to form an
+accurate opinion alike on the city and the court.</p>
+
+<p>"The emperor," says Bougainville, "was upon a journey at the time of
+our arrival, and his return was the occasion of fêtes and receptions
+which roused the population to activity, and broke for a time the
+monotony of ordinary life in Rio, that dullest and dreariest of towns
+to the foreigner. Its environs, however, are charming; nature has in
+them been lavish of her riches; and the vast harbour, the Atlantic,
+rendezvous of the commercial world, presents a most animated scene.
+Innumerable ships, either standing in or getting under weigh, small
+craft cruising about, a ceaseless roar of cannon from the forts and
+men-of-war, exchanging signals on the occasion of some anniversary or
+the celebration of some festival of the church, whilst visits were
+constantly being exchanged between the officers of the various foreign
+vessels and the diplomatic agents of foreign powers at the court of
+Rio."</p>
+
+<p>The division set sail again on the 11th April, and arrived at Brest on
+the 24th June, 1826, without having put into port since it left Rio
+Janeiro. We must remember that if Bougainville did not make any
+discoveries on this voyage, he had no formal instructions to do so, his
+mission being merely to unfurl the flag of France where it had as yet
+been rarely seen. None the less do we owe to this general officer some
+very interesting, and in some cases new information on the countries
+visited by him. Some of the surveys made by his expedition may be of
+service to navigators, and it must be owned that the hydrographical
+researches which alone could be undertaken in the absence of scientific
+men were carefully made, and resulted in the obtaining of numerous and
+accurate data. We can but sympathize with the commander of the
+<i>Thetis</i>, in his expression of regret, in the preface to his journal,
+that neither the Government nor the <i>Académie des Sciences</i> had seen
+fit to turn his expedition to account to obtain new results
+supplementary of the rich harvest gleaned by his predecessors.</p>
+
+<p>The expedition next sent out under the command of Captain Dumont
+d'Urville was merely intended by the minister to supplement and
+consolidate the mass of scientific data collected by Captain Duperrey
+in his voyage from 1822 to 1824. As second in command to Duperrey, and
+the originator and organizer of the new exploring expedition, D'Urville
+had the very first claim to be appointed to its command. The portions
+of Oceania he proposed to visit were New Zealand, the Fiji Islands, the
+Loyalty Islands, New Britain, and New Guinea, all of which he
+considered urgently to demand the consideration alike of the geographer
+and the traveller. What he effected in this direction we shall
+ascertain by following him step by step. An interest of another
+character also attaches to this trip, but it will be well to quote on
+this point the instructions given to the navigator.</p>
+
+<p>"An American captain," writes the Minister of Marine, "said that he saw
+in the hands of the natives of an isle situated between New Caledonia
+and the Louisiade Archipelago a cross of St. Louis and some medals,
+which he imagined to be relics of the wrecked vessel of the celebrated
+La Pérouse, whose loss is so deeply and justly regretted. This is, of
+course, but a feeble reason for hoping that some of the victims of the
+disaster still survive; but you, sir, will give great satisfaction to
+his Majesty, if you are the means of restoring any one of the poor
+shipwrecked mariners to their native land after so many years of misery
+and exile."</p>
+
+<p>The aims of the expedition were therefore manifold, and by the greatest
+chance it was able to achieve them nearly all. D'Urville received his
+appointment in December, 1825, and was permitted himself to choose all
+who were to accompany him. He named as second in command Lieutenant
+Jacquinot, and as scientific colloborateurs Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard,
+who had been on board the <i>Uranie</i>, and as surgeon Primevère Lesson.
+The <i>Coquille</i>, the excellent qualities of which were well known to
+D'Urville, was the vessel selected; and the commander having named her
+the <i>Astrolabe</i> in memory of La Pérouse, embarked in her a crew of
+twenty-four men. Anchor was weighed on the 25th April, and the
+mountains of Toulon with the coast of France were soon out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>After touching at Gibraltar, the <i>Astrolabe</i> stopped at Teneriffe to
+take in fresh provisions before crossing the Atlantic, and D'Urville
+took advantage of this delay to ascend the peak, accompanied by Messrs.
+Quoy, Gaimard, and several officers, a bad road, very arduous for
+pedestrians, leading the first part of the way over fields of scoria,
+though as Laguna is approached the scenery improves. This town, of a
+considerable size, contains but a small, indolent, and miserable
+population.</p>
+
+<p>Between Matunza and Orotara the vegetation is magnificent, and the
+luxuriant foliage of the vine enhances the beauty of the view. Orotara
+is a small seaboard town, with a port affording but little shelter. It
+is well-built and laid out, and would be comfortable enough if the
+streets were not so steep as to make traffic all but impossible. After
+three-quarters of an hour's climb through well-cultivated fields, the
+Frenchmen reached the chestnut-tree region, beyond which begin the
+clouds, taking the form of a thick moist fog, very disagreeable to the
+traveller. Further on comes the furze region, beyond which the
+atmosphere again becomes clear, vegetation disappears, the ground
+becomes poorer and more barren. Here are met with decomposed lava,
+scoria, and pumice-stones in great abundance, whilst below stretches
+away the boundless sea of clouds.</p>
+
+<p>Thus far hidden by clouds or by the lofty mountains surrounding it, the
+peak at last stands forth distinctly, the incline becomes less steep,
+and those vast plains of intensely melancholy appearance, called
+Cañadas by the Spanish, on account of their bareness, are crossed. A
+halt is made for lunch at the Pine grotto before climbing the huge
+blocks of basalt ranged in a circle about the crater, now filled in
+with ashes from the peak, and forming its enceinte. The peak itself is
+next attached, the ascent of which is broken one-third of the way up by
+a sort of esplanade called the Estancia de los Ingleses. Here our
+travellers passed the night, not perhaps quite so comfortably as they
+would have done in their berths, but without suffering too much from
+the feeling of suffocation experienced by other explorers. The fleas,
+however, were very troublesome, and their unremitting attacks kept the
+commander awake all night.</p>
+
+<p>At four a.m. the ascent was resumed, and a second esplanade, called the
+Alta Vista, was soon reached, beyond which all trace of a path
+disappears, the rest of the ascent being over rough lava as far as the
+Chahorra Cone, with here and there, in the shade, patches of unmelted
+snow. The peak itself is very steep, and its ascent is rendered yet
+more arduous by the pumice-stone which rolls away beneath the feet.</p>
+
+<p>"At thirty-five minutes past six," says M. Dumont d'Urville, "we
+arrived at the summit of the Chahorra, which is evidently a
+half-extinct crater. Its sides are thin and sloping, it is from sixty
+to eighty feet deep, and the whole surface is strewn with fragments of
+obsidian, pumice-stones, and lava. Sulphureous vapour, forming a kind
+of crown of smoke, is emitted from it, whilst the atmosphere at the
+bottom is perfectly cool. At the summit of the peak the thermometer
+marked 11&deg;, but in my opinion it was affected by the presence of
+the fumerolles, for when at the bottom of the crater it fell rapidly
+from 19&deg; in the sun to 9&deg; 5' in the shade."</p>
+
+<p>The descent was accomplished without accident by another route,
+enabling our travellers to examine the Cueva de la Nieve, and to visit
+the forest of Aqua Garcia, watered by a limpid stream, and in which
+D'Urville made a rich collection of botanical specimens.</p>
+
+<p>In Major Megliorini's rooms at Santa Cruz the commander was shown,
+together with a number of weapons, shells, animals, fish, &amp;c., a
+complete mummy of a Guanche, said to be that of a woman. The corpse was
+sewn up in skins, and seemed to be that of a woman five feet four high,
+with regular features and large hands. The sepulchral caves of the
+Guanches also contained earthenware, wooden vases, triangular seals of
+baked clay, and a great number of small discs of the same material,
+strung together like chaplets, which may have been used by this extinct
+race for the same purposes as the "quipos" of the Peruvians.</p>
+
+<p>On the 21st June the <i>Astrolabe</i> once more set sail and touched at La
+Praya, and at the Cape Verd Islands, where D'Urville had hoped to meet
+Captain King, who would have been able to give him some valuable hints
+on the navigation of the coast of New Guinea. King, however, had left
+La Praya thirty-six hours previously, and the <i>Astrolabe</i> therefore
+resumed her voyage the next day, i.e. on the 30th June.</p>
+
+<p>On the last day of July the rocks of Martin-Vaz and Trinity Island were
+sighted, and the latter appearing perfectly barren, a little dried-up
+grass and a few groups of stunted trees, dotted about amongst the
+rocks, being the only signs of vegetation.</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville had been very anxious to make some botanical researches on
+this desert island, but the surf was so rough that he was afraid to
+risk a boat in it.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th August the <i>Astrolabe</i> sailed over the spot laid down as
+"Saxembourg" Island, which ought to be finally erased from French as it
+has been from English charts; and after a succession of squalls, which
+tried her sorely, she arrived off St. Paul and Amsterdam Islands,
+finally anchoring on the 7th October in King George's Sound, on the
+coast of Australia. In spite of the roughness of the sea, and constant
+bad weather throughout his voyage of 108 days, D'Urville had carried on
+all his usual observations on the height of the waves, which he
+estimated at 80 and occasionally as much as 100 feet, off Needle Bank;
+the temperature of the sea at various depths, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Jacquinot having found a capital supply of fresh water on the
+right bank of Princess Royal Harbour, and at a little distance a site
+suitable for the erection of an observatory, the tents were soon
+pitched by the sailors, and several officers made a complete tour of
+the bay, whilst others opened relations with the aborigines, one of
+whom was induced to go on board, though it was only with the greatest
+difficulty that he was persuaded to throw away his <i>Banksia</i>, a cone
+used to retain heat, and to keep the stomach and the front part of the
+body warm. He remained quietly enough on board for two days, however,
+eating and drinking in front of the kitchen fire. In the meantime his
+fellow-countrymen on land were peaceable and well-disposed, even
+bringing three of their children into the camp.</p>
+
+<p>During this halt a boat arrived manned by eight Englishmen, who asked
+to be taken on board as passengers, and told such a very improbable
+story of having been deserted by their captain, that D'Urville
+suspected them of being escaped convicts; a suspicion which became a
+conviction, when he saw the wry faces they made at his proposal to send
+them back to Port Jackson. The next day, however, one took a berth as
+sailor, and two were received as passengers; whilst the other five
+decided to remain on land and drag out a miserable existence amongst
+the natives.</p>
+
+<p>All this time hydrographical and astronomical observations were being
+made, and the hunters and naturalists were trying to obtain specimens
+of new varieties of fauna and flora. The delays extending to October
+24th enabled the explorers to regain their strength, after their trying
+voyage, to make the necessary repairs, take in wood and water, draw up
+a map of the whole neighbourhood, and to collect numerous botanical and
+zoological specimens. His observations of various kinds made D'Urville
+wonder that the English had not yet founded a colony on King George's
+Sound, admirably situated as it is, not only for vessels coming direct
+from Europe, but for those trading between the Cape and China, or bound
+for the Sunda Islands, and delayed by the monsoons. The coast was
+explored as far as West Port, preferred by D'Urville to Port Dalrymple,
+the latter being a harbour always difficult and often dangerous either
+to enter or to leave. West Port moreover, was as yet only known from
+the reports of Baudin and Flinders, and it was therefore better worth
+exploring than a more frequented district. The observations made in
+King George's Sound were therefore repeated at West Port, resulting in
+the following conclusions:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It affords," says D'Urville, "an anchorage alike easy to reach and to
+leave, the bottom is firm, and wood is abundant and easily procurable.
+In a word, when a good supply of fresh water is found, and that will
+probably be soon, West Port will rise to a position of great importance
+in a channel such as Bass's Straits, when the winds often blow strongly
+from one quarter for several days together, the currents at the same
+time rendering navigation difficult."</p>
+
+<p>From November 19th to December 2nd the <i>Astrolabe</i> cruised along the
+coast, touching only at Jervis Bay, remarkable for its magnificent
+eucalyptus forests.</p>
+<a name="ill84"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration084">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580">
+			<img src="images/084.jpg" alt="Eucalyptus forest of Jervis Bay">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580" align="center">
+			<small>Eucalyptus forest of Jervis Bay.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The reception given to the French at Port Jackson, by Governor Darling
+and the colonial authorities, was none the less cordial for the fact
+that the visits made by D'Urville to various parts of New Holland had
+greatly amazed the English Government.</p>
+
+<p>During the last three years Port Jackson had increased greatly in size
+and improved in appearance; though the population of the whole colony
+only amounted to 50,000, and that in spite of the constant foundation
+of new English settlements. The commander took advantage of his stay in
+Sydney to forward his despatches to France, together with several cases
+of natural history specimens. This done and a fresh stock of provisions
+having been laid in, he resumed his voyage.</p>
+<a name="ill85"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration085">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577">
+			<img src="images/085.jpg" alt="New Guinea hut on piles">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="577" align="center">
+			<small>New Guinea hut on piles.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>It would be useless to linger with Dumont d'Urville at New South Wales,
+to the history of which, and its condition in 1826, he devotes a whole
+volume of his narrative. We have already given a detailed account of
+it, and it will be better to leave Sydney with our traveller, on the
+19th December, and follow him to Tasman Bay, through calms, head-winds,
+currents, and tempests, which prevented his reaching New Zealand before
+the 14th January, 1827. Tasman Bay, first seen by Cook on his second
+voyage, had never yet been explored by any expedition, and on the
+arrival of the <i>Astrolabe</i> a number of canoes, containing some score of
+natives, most of them chiefs, approached. These natives were not afraid
+to climb on board, some remaining several days, whilst later arrivals
+drew up within reach, and a brisk trade was opened. Meanwhile several
+officers climbed through the thick furze clothing the hills overlooking
+the bay, and the following is D'Urville's verdict on the desolate scene
+which met their view.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bird, not an insect, not even a reptile to be seen, the solemn,
+melancholy silence is unbroken by the voice of any living creature."
+From the summit of these hills the commander saw New Bay, that known as
+Admiralty, which communicates by a current with that in which the
+<i>Astrolabe</i> was anchored; and he was anxious to explore it, as it
+seemed safer than that of Tasman, but the currents several times
+brought his vessel to the very verge of destruction; and had the
+<i>Astrolabe</i> been driven upon the rocky coast, the whole crew would have
+perished, and not so much as a trace of the wreck would have been left.
+At last, however, D'Urville succeeded in clearing the passage with no
+further loss than that of a few bits of the ship's keel.</p>
+
+<p>"To celebrate," says the narrative, "the memory of the passage of the
+<i>Astrolabe</i>, I conferred upon this dangerous strait the name of the
+'Passe des Français'" (French Pass), "but, unless in a case of great
+necessity, I should not advise any one else to attempt it. We could now
+look calmly at the beautiful basin in which we found ourselves; and
+which certainly deserves all the praise given to it by Cook. I would
+specially recommend a fine little harbour, some miles to the south of
+the place, where the captain cast anchor. Our navigation of the 'Passe
+des Français' had definitively settled the insular character of the
+whole of the district terminating in the 'Cape Stephens' of Cook. It is
+divided from the mainland of Te-Wahi-Punamub<small><small><sup>1</sup></small></small> by the Current Basin.
+The comparison of our chart with that of the strait as laid down by
+Cook will suffice to show how much he left to be done."</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>1</sup></small> Now "South Island."&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>The <i>Astrolabe</i> soon entered Cook's Strait, and sailing outside Queen
+Charlotte's Bay, doubled Cape Palliser, a headland formed of some low
+hills. D'Urville was greatly surprised to find that a good many
+inaccuracies had crept into the work of the great English navigator,
+and in that part of the account of his voyage which relates to
+hydrography, he quotes instances of errors of a fourth, or even third
+of a degree.</p>
+
+<p>The commander then resolved to make a survey of the eastern side of the
+northern island Ika-Na-Mawi. On this island pigs were to be found, but
+no "<i>pounamon</i>" the green jade which the New Zealanders use in the
+manufacture of their most valuable tools; strange to say, however, jade
+is to be found on the southern island, but there are no pigs.</p>
+
+<p>Two natives of the island, who had expressed a wish to remain on board
+the corvette, became quite low-spirited as they watched the coast of
+the district where they lived disappear below the horizon. They then
+began to repent, but too late, the intrepidity which had prompted them
+to leave their native shores; for intrepid they justly deserve to be
+called, seeing that again and again they asked the French sailors if
+they were not to be eaten, and it took several days of kind treatment
+to dispel this fear from their minds.</p>
+<a name="ill86"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration086">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586">
+			<img src="images/086.jpg" alt="New Zealanders">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="586" align="center">
+			<small>New Zealanders.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>D'Urville continued to sail northward up the coast until the capes,
+named by Cook Turn-again and Kidnappers, had been doubled, and Sterile
+Island with its "Ipah" came in sight. In the Bay of Tolaga, as Cook
+called it, the natives brought alongside the corvette pigs and
+potatoes, which they readily exchanged for articles of little value. On
+other canoes approaching, the New Zealanders who were on board the
+vessel urged the commander to fire upon and kill their
+fellow-countrymen in the boats; but as soon as the latter climbed up to
+the deck, the first arrivals advanced to greet them with earnest
+assurances of friendship. Conduct so strangely inconsistent is the
+outcome of the compound of hatred and jealousy mutually entertained for
+each other by these tribes. "They all desire to appropriate to
+themselves exclusively whatever advantage may be obtained from the
+visits of foreigners, and they are distressed at the prospect of their
+neighbours getting any share." Proof was soon afforded that this
+explanation is the right key to their behaviour.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the <i>Astrolabe</i> were several New Zealanders, but among them was a
+certain "<i>Shaki</i>" who was recognized as a chief by his tall stature,
+his elaborate tattooing, and the respectful manner in which he was
+addressed by his fellow-islanders. Seeing a canoe manned by not more
+than seven or eight men approaching the corvette, this "<i>Shaki</i>" and
+the rest came to entreat D'Urville most earnestly to kill the new
+arrivals, going so far as to ask for muskets that they might themselves
+fire upon them. However, no sooner had the last comers arrived on board
+than all those who were there already overwhelmed them with courtesies,
+while the "<i>Shaki</i>" himself, although he had been one of the most
+sanguinary, completely changed his tone and made them a present of some
+axes he had just obtained. After the chief men of a warlike and fierce
+appearance, with faces tattooed all over, had been a few minutes on
+board, D'Urville was preparing to ask them some questions, with the aid
+of a vocabulary published by the missionaries, when all at once they
+turned away from him, leaped into their canoes and pushed out into the
+open sea. This sudden move was brought about by their countrymen, who,
+for the purpose of getting rid of them, slily hinted that their lives
+were in danger, as the Frenchmen had formed a plot to kill them.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the Bay of Tolaga, the right name of which is Houa-Houa, that
+D'Urville found the first opportunity of gaining some information about
+the "kiwi," by means of a mat decorated with the feathers of that bird,
+such mats being articles of luxury among these islanders. The "kiwi" is
+about the size of a small turkey, and, like the ostrich, has not the
+power of flying. It is hunted at night by the light of torches and with
+the assistance of dogs. It is this bird which is also known under the
+name of the "apteryx." What the natives told D'Urville about it was in
+the main accurate. The apteryx, with the tail of a fowl and a plumage
+of a reddish-brown, has an affinity to the ostrich; it inhabits damp
+and gloomy woods, and never comes out even in search of food except in
+the evening. The incessant hunting of the natives has considerably
+diminished the numbers of this curious species, and it is now very
+rare.</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville made no pause in the hydrographical survey of the northern
+island of New Zealand, keeping up daily communication with the natives,
+who brought him supplies of pigs and potatoes. According to their own
+statements, the tribes were perpetually at war with one another, and
+this was the true cause of the decrease in the population of these
+islands. Their constant demand was for fire-arms; failing to obtain
+these, they were satisfied if they could get powder in exchange for
+their own commodities.</p>
+
+<p>On the 10th February, when not far from Cape Runaway, the corvette was
+caught in a violent storm, which lasted for thirty-six hours, and she
+was more than once on the point of foundering. After this, she made her
+way into the Bay of Plenty, at the bottom of which rises Mount
+Edgecumbe; then keeping along the coast, the islands of Haute and Major
+were sighted; but during this exploration of the bay, the weather was
+so severe that the chart of it then laid down cannot be considered very
+trustworthy. After leaving this bay, the corvette reached the Bay of
+Mercury; surveyed Barrier Island, entered Shouraki or Hauraki Bay,
+identified the Hen and Chickens and the Poor Knights Islands, finally
+arriving at the Bay of Islands. The native tribes met with by D'Urville
+in this part of the island were busy with an expedition against those
+of Shouraki and Waikato Bays. For the purpose of exploring the former
+bay, which had been imperfectly surveyed by Cook, D'Urville sailed back
+to it, and discovered that that part of New Zealand is indented with a
+number of harbours and gulfs of great depth, each one being safer, if
+possible, than the other. Having been informed that by following the
+direction of the Wai Magoia, a place would be reached distant only a
+very short journey from the large port of Manukau, he despatched some
+of his officers by that route, and they verified the correctness of the
+information he had received. This discovery, observes Dumont d'Urville,
+may become of great value to future settlements of Shouraki Bay; and
+this value will be still farther increased should the new surveys prove
+that the port of Manukau is accessible to vessels of a certain size,
+for such a settlement would command two seas, one on the east and the
+other on the west.</p>
+
+<p>One of the "Rangatiras," as the chiefs of that quarter of the island
+are called, Rangui by name, had again and again begged the commander to
+give him some lead to make bullets with; a request which was always
+refused. Just before setting sail, D'Urville was informed that the
+deep-sea lead had been carried off; and he at once reproached Rangui in
+severe terms, telling him that such petty larcenies were unworthy of a
+man in a respectable position. The chief appeared to be deeply moved by
+the reproach, and excused himself by saying that he had no knowledge of
+the theft, which must have been committed by some stranger. "A short
+time afterwards," the narrative goes on to say, "my attention was drawn
+to the side of the ship by the sound of blows given with great force,
+and piteous cries proceeding from the canoe of Rangui. There I saw
+Rangui and Tawiti striking blow after blow with their paddles upon an
+object resembling the figure of a man covered with a cloak. It was easy
+to perceive that the two wily chiefs were simply beating one of the
+benches of the canoe. After this farce had been played for some little
+time, Rangui's paddle broke in his hands. The sham man was made to
+appear to fall down, when Rangui, addressing me, said that he had just
+killed the thief, and wished to know whether that would satisfy me. I
+assured him that it would, laughing to myself at the artifice of these
+savages; an artifice, for that matter, such as is often to be met with
+among people more advanced in civilization."</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville next surveyed the lovely island of Wai-hiki, and thus
+terminated the survey of the Astrolabe Channel and Hauraki Bay. He then
+resumed his voyage in a northerly direction towards the Bay of Islands,
+sailing as far as Cape Maria Van Diemen, the most northerly point of
+New Zealand, where, say the Waïdonas, "the souls of the departed gather
+from all parts of Ika-Na-Mawi, to take their final flight to the realms
+of light or to those of eternal darkness."</p>
+
+<p>The Bay of Islands, at the time when the <i>Coquille</i> put in there, was
+alive with a pretty considerable population, with whom the visitors
+soon became on friendly terms. Now, however, the animation of former
+days had given place to the silence of desolation. The Ipah, or rather
+the Pah of Kahou Wera, once the abode of an energetic tribe, was
+deserted, war had done its customary destructive work in the place. The
+Songhui tribe had stolen the possessions, and dispersed the members of
+the tribe of Paroa.</p>
+
+<p>The Bay of Islands was the place chosen for their field of effort by
+the English missionaries, who, notwithstanding their devotion to their
+work had not made any progress among the natives. The unproductiveness
+of their labours was only too apparent.</p>
+
+<p>The survey of the eastern side of New Zealand, a hydrographical work of
+the utmost importance, terminated at this point. Since the days of Cook
+no exploration of anything like such a vast extent of the coast of this
+country had been conducted in so careful a manner, in the face of so
+many perils. The sciences of geography and navigation were both
+signally benefited by the skilful and detailed work of D'Urville, who
+had to give proof of exceptional qualities in the midst of sudden and
+terrible dangers. However, on his return to France, no notice was taken
+of the hardships he had undergone, or the devotion to duty he had
+shown; he was left without recognition, and duties were assigned to
+him, the performance of which could bring no distinction, for they
+could have been equally well discharged by any ordinary ship's captain.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving New Zealand on the 18th of March, 1827, D'Urville steered for
+Tonga Tabou, identified to begin with the islands Curtis, Macaulay, and
+Sunday; endeavoured, but without success, to find the island of Vasquez
+de Mauzelle, and arrived off Namouka on the 16th of April. Two days
+later he made out Eoa; but before reaching Tonga Tabou he encountered a
+terrible storm which all but proved fatal to the <i>Astrolabe</i>. At Tonga
+Tabou he found some Europeans, who had been for many years settled on
+the island; from them he received much help in getting to understand
+the character of the natives. The government was in the hands of three
+chiefs, called <i>Equis</i>, who had shared all authority between them since
+the banishment of the <i>Tonï Tonga</i>, or spiritual chief, who had enjoyed
+immense influence. A Wesleyan mission was in existence at Tonga; but it
+could be seen at a glance that the Methodist clergy had not succeeded
+in acquiring any influence over the natives. Such converts as had been
+made were held in general contempt for their apostasy.</p>
+
+<p>When the <i>Astrolabe</i> had reached the anchorage, after her fortunate
+escape from the perils from contrary winds, currents, and rocks, which
+had beset her course, she was at once positively overwhelmed with the
+offer of an incredible quantity of stores, fruits, vegetables, fowls,
+and pigs, which the natives were ready to dispose of for next to
+nothing. For equally low prices D'Urville was able to purchase, for the
+museum, specimens of the arms and native productions of the savages.
+Amongst them were some clubs, most of them made of casuarina wood,
+skilfully carved, or embossed in an artistic manner with
+mother-of-pearl or with whalebone. The custom of amputating a joint or
+two of the fingers or toes, to propitiate the Deity, was still
+observed, in the case of a near relative being dangerously ill.</p>
+
+<p>From the 28th of April the natives had manifested none but the most
+friendly feelings; no single disturbance had occurred; but on the 9th
+of May, while D'Urville, with almost all his officers, went to pay a
+visit to one of the leading chiefs, named Palou, the reception accorded
+to them was marked by a most unusual reserve, altogether inconsistent
+with the noisy and enthusiastic demonstrations of the preceding days.
+The distrust evinced by the islanders aroused that of D'Urville, who,
+remembering how few were the men left on board the <i>Astrolabe</i>, felt
+considerable uneasiness. However, nothing unusual happened during his
+absence from the ship. But it was only the cowardice of Palou which had
+caused the failure of a conspiracy, aiming at nothing less than the
+massacre, at one blow, of the whole of the staff, after which there
+would have been no difficulty in prevailing over the crew, who were
+already more than half-disposed to adopt the easy mode of life of the
+islanders. Such at least was the conclusion the commander came to, and
+subsequent events showed that he was right.</p>
+
+<p>These apprehensions determined D'Urville to leave Tonga Tabou as
+quickly as possible, and on the 13th every preparation was made to set
+sail on the following day. The apprentice Dudemaine was walking about
+on the large island, whilst the apprentice Faraquet, with nine men, was
+engaged on the small island, Pangaï Modou, in getting fresh water, or
+studying the tide, when Tahofa, one of the chiefs, with several other
+islanders, then on board the <i>Astrolabe</i>, gave a signal. The canoes
+pushed off at once and made for the shore. On trying to discover the
+cause of this sudden retreat, it was observed that the sailors on the
+island Pangaï Modou were being forcibly dragged off by the natives.
+D'Urville was about to fire off a cannon, when he decided that it would
+be safer to send a boat to shore. This boat took off the two sailors
+and the apprentice Dudemaine, but was fired upon when despatched
+shortly afterwards to set fire to the huts, and to try to capture some
+natives as hostages. One native was killed and several others were
+wounded, whilst a corporal of the marines received such severe bayonet
+wounds, that he died two hours later.</p>
+<a name="ill87"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration087">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580">
+			<img src="images/087.jpg" alt="Attack from the natives of Tonga Tabou">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="580" align="center">
+			<small>Attack from the natives of Tonga Tabou.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>D'Urville's anxiety about the fate of his sailors, and of Faraquet, who
+was in command of them, knew no bounds. Nothing was left for him to do
+but to make an attack upon the sacred village of Mafanga, containing
+the tombs of several of the principal families. But on the following
+day a crowd of natives so skilfully surrounded the place with
+embankments and palisades, that it was impossible to hope to carry it
+by an attack. The corvette then drew nearer to the shore, and began to
+cannonade the village, without, however, doing any other damage than
+killing one of the natives. At length the difficulty of obtaining
+provisions, the rain, and the continual alarm in which the firing of
+the Frenchmen kept them, induced the islanders to offer terms of peace.
+They gave up the sailors, who had all been very well treated, made a
+present of pigs and bananas; and on the 24th of May the <i>Astrolabe</i>
+took her final departure from the Friendly Islands.</p>
+
+<p>It was quite time indeed that this was done, for D'Urville's situation
+was untenable, and in a conversation with his boatswain he ascertained
+that not more than half a dozen of the sailors could be relied on; all
+the others were ready to go over to the side of the savages.</p>
+
+<p>Tonga Tabou is of madreporic formation, with a thick covering of
+vegetable soil, favourable to an abundant growth of shrubs and trees.
+The cocoa-tree, the stem of which is slenderer than elsewhere, and the
+banana-tree here shoot up with wonderful rapidity and vigour. The
+aspect of the land is flat and monotonous, so that a journey of one or
+two miles will give as fair an impression of the country as a complete
+tour of the island. The number of the population who have the true
+Polynesian cast of countenance may be put down at about 7000. D'Urville
+says "they combine the most opposite qualities. They are generous,
+courteous, and hospitable, yet avaricious, insolent, and always
+thoroughly insincere. The most profuse demonstration of kindness and
+friendship may at any moment be interrupted by an act of outrage or
+robbery, should their cupidity or their self-respect be ever so
+slightly roused."</p>
+
+<p>In intelligence the natives of Tonga are clearly far superior to those
+of Otaheite. The French travellers could not sufficiently admire the
+astonishing order in which the plantations of yams and bananas were
+kept, the excessive neatness of their dwellings, and the beauty of the
+garden-plots. They even knew something of the art of fortification, as
+D'Urville ascertained by an inspection of the fortified village of
+Hifo, defended with stout palisades, and surrounded by a trench between
+fifteen and twenty feet wide, and half filled with water.</p>
+
+<p>On the 25th of May, D'Urville began the exploration of the Viti or Fiji
+Archipelago. At the outset he was so fortunate as to fall in with a
+native of Tonga who was living on the Fiji Islands for purposes of
+trade, and had previously visited Otaheite, New Zealand, and Australia.
+This man, as well as a Guam islander, proved most useful to the
+commander in furnishing him with the names of more than 200 islands
+belonging to this group, and in acquainting him beforehand with their
+position, and that of the reefs in their neighbourhood. At the same
+time, Gressier, the hydrographer, collected all the materials requisite
+for preparing a chart of the Fiji Islands.</p>
+
+<p>At this station a sloop was put under orders to proceed to the island
+of Laguemba, where was an anchor which D'Urville would have been well
+pleased to obtain, as he had lost two of his own while at Tonga. On
+arrival at the island, Lottin, who was in command of the sloop,
+observed on the shore none but women and children; armed men, however,
+soon came running up, made the women leave the place, and were
+preparing to seize the sloop and make the sailors prisoners. Their
+intentions were too plain to leave room for any doubt on the subject,
+so Lottin at once gave orders to draw up the grapnel, and got away into
+the open sea before there was time for an encounter to take place.</p>
+
+<p>During eighteen consecutive days, in the face of bad weather and a
+rough sea, the <i>Astrolabe</i> cruised through the Fiji Archipelago,
+surveyed the islands of Laguemba, Kandabou, Viti-Levou, Oumbenga Vatou
+Lele, Ounong Lebou, Malolo, and many others, giving special attention
+to the southern islands of the group, which up to that period had
+remained almost entirely unknown.</p>
+
+<p>The population of this group, if we accept D'Urville's account, form a
+kind of transition between the copper-coloured, or the Polynesian, and
+the black or Melanesian races. Their strength and vigour are in
+proportion to their tall figures, and they make no secret of their
+cannibal propensities.</p>
+
+<p>On the 11th of June the corvette set sail for the harbour of Carteret;
+surveyed one by one the islands of Erronan and Annatom, the Loyalty
+Islands, of which group D'Urville discovered the Chabrol and Halgan
+Islands, the little group of the Beaupie Islands, the Astrolabe reefs,
+all the more dangerous as they are thirty miles distant from the
+Beaupie Islands, and sixty from New Caledonia. The island of Huon, and
+the chain of reefs to the north of New Caledonia, were subsequently
+surveyed. From this point D'Urville reached the Louisiade Archipelago
+in six days, but the stormy weather there encountered determined him to
+abandon the course he had planned out, and not to pass through Torres
+Straits. He thought that an early examination of the southern coast of
+New Britain, and of the northern coast of New Guinea, would be the most
+conducive to the interests of science.</p>
+
+<p>Rossel Island and Cape Deliverance were next sighted; and the vessel
+was steered for New Ireland, with a view to obtaining fresh supplies of
+wood and water. Arriving there on the 5th of July in such gloomy, rainy
+weather, that it was with no small difficulty that the entrance of the
+harbour of Carteret, where D'Entrecasteaux made a stay of eight days,
+was made out; whilst there the travellers received several visits from
+the score of natives, who seem to make up the total population of the
+place. They were creatures possessed of scarcely any intelligence, and
+quite destitute of curiosity about objects that they had not seen
+before. Neither did their appearance lead to the slightest
+prepossession in their favour. They wore no vestige of clothing; their
+skin was black and their hair woolly; and the partition of the nostrils
+had a sharp bone thrust through by way of ornament. The only object
+that they showed any eagerness to possess was iron, but they could not
+be made to understand that it was only to be given in exchange for
+fruits or pigs. Their expression was one of sullen defiance, and they
+refused to guide any one whatever to their village. During the
+unprofitable stay of the corvette in this harbour, D'Urville had a
+serious attack of enteritis, from which he suffered much for several
+days.</p>
+
+<p>On the 19th July the <i>Astrolabe</i> went to sea again and coasted the
+northern side of New Britain, the object of this cruise was frustrated
+by rainy and hazy weather. Continual squalls and heavy showers
+compelled the vessel to put off again as soon as it had succeeded in
+nearing the land. His experience on this coast D'Urville thus
+describes:&mdash;"One who has not had, as we have, a practical acquaintance
+with these seas, is unable to form any adequate conception of these
+incredible rains. Moreover, to obtain a just estimate of the cares and
+anxieties which a voyage like ours entails, there must be a liability
+to the call of duties similar to those which we had to discharge. It
+was very seldom that our horizon lay much beyond the distance of 200
+yards, and our observations could not possibly be other than uncertain,
+when our own true position was doubtful. Altogether, the whole of our
+work upon New Britain, in spite of the unheard of hardships that fell
+to our lot and the risks which the <i>Astrolabe</i> had to run, cannot be
+put in comparison for a moment, as respects accuracy, with the other
+surveys of the expedition."</p>
+
+<p>As it was impracticable to fall back upon the route by the St. George's
+Channel, D'Urville had to pass through Dampier's Strait, the southern
+entrance to which is all but entirely closed by a chain of reefs, which
+were grazed more than once by the <i>Astrolabe</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The charming prospect of the western coast of New Britain excited
+intense admiration both in Dampier and D'Entrecasteaux; an enthusiasm
+fully shared by D'Urville. A safe roadstead enclosed by land forming a
+semicircle, forests whose dark foliage contrasted with the golden
+colour of the ripening fields, the whole surmounted by the lofty peaks
+of Mount Gloucester, and this variety still further enhanced by the
+undulating outlines of Rook Island, are the chief features of the
+picture here presented by the coast of New Britain.</p>
+<a name="ill88"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration088">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="583">
+			<img src="images/088.jpg" alt="Lofty mountains clothed with dense and gloomy forests">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="583" align="center">
+			<small>Lofty mountains clothed with dense and gloomy forests.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>On issuing from the strait the mountains of New Guinea rose grandly in
+the distance; and on a nearer approach they were seen to form a sort of
+half-circle shutting in the arm of the sea known as the Bay of
+Astrolabe. The Schouten Islands, the Creek of the Attack (the place
+where D'Urville had to withstand an onset of savages), Humboldt Bay,
+Geelwinck Bay, the Traitor Islands, Tobie and Mysory, the Arfak
+Mountains, were one after another recognized and passed, when the
+<i>Astrolabe</i> at length came to an anchor in Port Dorei, in order to
+connect her operations with those accomplished by the <i>Coquille</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Friendly intercourse was at once established with the Papuans of that
+place, who brought on board a number of birds of paradise, but not much
+in the shape of provisions. These natives, are of so gentle and timid a
+disposition, that only with great reluctance will they risk going into
+the woods through fear of the Arfakis, who dwell on the mountains, and
+are their sworn enemies.</p>
+
+<p>One of the sailors engaged in getting fresh water was wounded with an
+arrow shot by one of these savages, whom it was impossible to punish
+for a dastardly outrage prompted by no motive whatever.</p>
+
+<p>The land here is everywhere so fertile that it requires no more than
+turning over and weeding, in order to yield the most abundant harvests;
+yet the Papuans are so lazy and understand so little of the art of
+agriculture, that the growth of food plants is often allowed to be
+choked with weeds. The inhabitants belong to several races. D'Urville
+divides them into three principal varieties: the Papuans, a mixed
+breed, belonging more or less to the Malay or Polynesian race; and the
+Harfous or Alfourous, who resemble the common type of Australians; New
+Caledonians and the ordinary black Oceanic populations. These latter
+would appear to be the true indigenous people of the country.</p>
+
+<p>On the 6th September the <i>Astrolabe</i> again put to sea, and after an
+uninteresting stay at New Guinea, in the course of which scarcely any
+specimens of natural history were obtained, except a few mollusca, and
+still less exact information regarding the customs, religion, or
+language of its diversified population, steered for Amboyna, which was
+reached without any accident on the 24th September. The governor, M.
+Merkus, happened to be on circuit; but his absence was no obstacle to
+the supply of all the stores needed by the commander. The reception
+given by the authorities and the society of the place was of a very
+cordial kind, and everything was done to compensate the French
+explorers for the hardships undergone in their long and troublesome
+voyage.</p>
+
+<p>From Amboyna D'Urville proceeded to Hobart Town in Tasmania, a place
+not visited by any French vessel since the time of Baudin, arriving on
+the 27th December, 1827. Thirty-five years previously D'Entrecasteaux
+had met on the shores of this island only a few wretched savages; and
+ten years later Baudin found it quite deserted. The first piece of news
+that Dumont d'Urville learnt on entering the river Derwent, before even
+casting anchor at Hobart Town, was that Captain Dillon, an Englishman,
+had received certain information, when at Tucopia, of the shipwreck of
+La Pérouse at Vanikoro; and that he had brought away the hilt of a
+sword which he believed to have belonged to that navigator. On his
+arrival at Calcutta Dillon communicated his information to the
+governor, who without delay despatched him with instructions to rescue
+such of the shipwrecked crew as might still be alive, and collect
+whatever relics could be found of the vessels. To D'Urville this
+intelligence was of the highest interest, seeing that he had been
+specially instructed to search for whatever might be calculated to
+throw any light upon the fate of the unfortunate navigator, and he had
+while at Namouka obtained proof of the residence for a time of La
+Pérouse at the Friendly Islands.</p>
+
+<p>In the English colony itself there was some difference of opinion as to
+the credit which Captain Dillon's story was entitled to receive; but
+the report which that officer had made to the Governor-General of
+India, quite removed any doubt from the mind of D'Urville. Abandoning,
+therefore, all further plans with reference to New Zealand, he decided
+upon proceeding at once in the <i>Astrolabe</i>, in the track of Dillon, to
+Vanikoro, which he then knew only by the name of Mallicolo.</p>
+<a name="ill89"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration089">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="604">
+			<img src="images/089.jpg" alt="Natives of Vanikoro">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="604" align="center">
+			<small>Natives of Vanikoro.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The following is the statement of the circumstances as made by Dillon.</p>
+
+<p>During a stay made by the ship <i>Hunter</i> at the Fiji Islands, three
+persons, a Prussian named Martin Bushart, his wife, and a Lascar,
+called Achowlia, were received on board, endeavouring to escape from
+the horrible fate awaiting them, which had already befallen the other
+European deserters settled in that archipelago, that of being devoured
+by the savages; this unhappy trio merely begged to be put on shore at
+the first inhabited island which the <i>Hunter</i> might touch at.
+Accordingly, they were left on one of the Charlotte Islands, Tucopia,
+in 12&deg; 15' S. lat, and 169&deg; W. long. In the month
+of May, 1836, Dillon, who had been one of the crew of the ship
+<i>Hunter</i>, paid a visit to the island of Tucopia, with a view of
+ascertaining what had become of the people put on shore in 1813. There
+he found the Lascar and the Prussian; the former of whom sold him a
+silver sword-hilt. As might have been expected, Dillon was curious to
+know how the natives of that island had come into possession of such an
+article. The Prussian then related that on his arrival at Tucopia he
+had found many articles of iron, such as bolts, axes, knives, spoons,
+and other things, which he was told had come from Mallicolo, a group of
+islands situated about two days canoe sail to the east of Tucopia. By
+further interrogatories, Dillon learnt that two vessels had been thrown
+upon the coasts many years previously, one of which had perished
+entirely with all on board, whilst the crew of the second had
+constructed out of the wreck of their ship a little boat, in which they
+had put to sea, leaving some of their number at Mallicolo. The Lascar
+said he had seen two of these men, who had acquired a well-merited
+influence through services rendered to chiefs.</p>
+
+<p>Dillon tried in vain to persuade his informant to take him to
+Mallicolo, but was more successful with the Prussian, who took him
+within sight of the island, called Research by D'Entrecasteaux, on
+which, however, Dillon was unable to land on account of the dead calm
+and his want of provisions.</p>
+
+<p>On hearing his account, on his arrival at Pondicherry, the governor
+entrusted him with the command of a boat specially constructed for
+exploring purposes. This was in 1827. Dillon now touched at Tucopia,
+where he obtained interpreters and a pilot, and thence went to
+Mallicolo, where he learnt from the natives that the strangers had
+stayed there five months to build their vessel, and that they had been
+looked upon as supernatural visitors, an idea not a little confirmed by
+their singular behaviour. They had been seen, for instance, to talk to
+the moon and stars through a long stick, their noses were immense, and
+some of them always remained standing, holding bars of iron in their
+hands. Such was the impression left on the minds of the natives by the
+astronomical observations, cocked hats, and sentinels of the French.</p>
+
+<p>Dillon obtained from the natives a good many relics of the expedition,
+and he also saw at the bottom of the sea, on the coral reef on which
+the vessel had struck, some bronze cannons, a bell, and all kinds of
+rubbish, which he reverently collected and carried to Paris, arriving
+there in 1828, and receiving from the king a pension of 4000 francs as
+a reward for his exertions. All doubt was dispelled when the Comte de
+Lesseps, who had landed at Kamtchatka from La Pérouse's party,
+identified the cannons and the carved stern of the <i>Boussole</i>, and the
+armorial bearings of Colignon, the botanist, were made out on a silver
+candlestick. All these interesting and curious facts, however,
+D'Urville did not know until later; at present he had only heard
+Dillon's first report. By chance, or perhaps because he was afraid of
+being forestalled, the captain had not laid down the position of
+Vanikoro or the route he followed on the way from Tucopia, which island
+D'Urville supposed to belong to the Banks or Santa Cruz group, each as
+little known as the other.</p>
+
+<p>Before following D'Urville, however, we must pause with him for awhile
+at Hobart Town, which he looked upon even then as a place of remarkable
+importance. "Its houses," he says, "are very spacious, consisting only
+of one story and the ground-floor, though their cleanness and
+regularity give them a very pleasant appearance. Walking in the
+streets, which are unpaved, though some have curb stones, is very
+tiring; and the dust always rising in clouds is very trying to the
+eyes. The Government house is pleasantly situated on the shores of the
+bay, and will be greatly improved in a few years if the young trees
+planted about it thrive. Native timber is quite unsuitable for
+ornamental purposes."</p>
+
+<p>The stay at Hobart Town was turned to account to complete the stock of
+provisions, anchors, and other very requisite articles, and also to
+repair the vessel and the rigging, the latter being sorely dilapidated.</p>
+
+<p>On the 5th January the <i>Astrolabe</i> once more put to sea, surveyed
+Norfolk Island on the 20th, Matthew Volcano six days later, Erronan on
+the 28th, and the little Mitre Island on the 8th February, arriving the
+next day off Tucopia, a small island three or four miles in
+circumference with one rather pointed peak covered with vegetation. The
+eastern side of Tucopia is apparently inaccessible from the violence of
+the breakers continually dashing on to its beach. The eagerness of all
+was now great, and was becoming unbounded when three boats, one
+containing a European, were seen approaching. This European turned out
+to be the Prussian calling himself Bushart, who had lately gone with
+Dillon to Mallicolo, where the latter remained a whole month, and where
+he really obtained the relics of the expedition as D'Urville had heard
+at Hobart Town. Not a single Frenchman now remained on the island; the
+last had died the previous year. Bushart at first consented, but
+declined at the last moment, to go with D'Urville or to remain on the
+<i>Astrolabe</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Vanikoro is surrounded by reefs, through which, not without danger, the
+<i>Astrolabe</i> found a passage, casting anchor in the same place as Dillon
+had done, namely in Ocili Bay. The scene of the shipwreck was on the
+other side of the bay. It was not easy to get information from the
+natives, who were avaricious, untrustworthy, insolent, and deceitful.
+An old man, however, was finally induced to confess that the whites who
+had landed on the beach at Vanon had been received with a shower of
+arrows, and that a fight ensued in which a good many natives had
+fallen; as for the <i>maras</i> (sailors) they had all been killed, and
+their skulls buried at Vanon. The rest of the bones had been used to
+tip the arrows of the natives.</p>
+
+<p>A canoe was now sent to the village of Nama, and after considerable
+hesitation the natives were induced by a promise of some red cloth to
+take the Frenchmen to the scene of the shipwreck about a mile off, near
+Païon and opposite Ambi, where amongst the breakers at the bottom of a
+sort of shelving beach anchors, cannons, and cannonballs, and many
+other things were made out, leaving no doubt as to the facts in the
+minds of the officers of the <i>Astrolabe</i>. It was evident to all that
+the vessel had endeavoured to get inside the reefs by a kind of pass,
+and that she had run aground and been unable to get off. The crew may
+then have saved themselves at Païon, and according to the account of
+some natives they built a little boat there, whilst the other vessel,
+which had struck on the reef further out, had been lost with all on
+board.</p>
+
+<p>Chief Moembe had heard it said that the inhabitants of Vanon had
+approached the vessel to pillage it, but had been driven back by the
+whites, losing twenty men and three chiefs. The savages in their turn
+had massacred all the French who landed, except two, who lived on the
+island for the space of three months.</p>
+
+<p>Another chief, Valiko by name, said that one of the boats had struck
+outside the reef opposite Tanema after a very windy night, and that
+nearly all its crew had perished before they could land. Many of the
+sailors of the second vessel had got to land, and built at Païon a
+little boat out of the pieces of the large ship wrecked. During their
+stay at Païon quarrels arose, and two sailors with five natives of
+Vanon and one from Tanema were killed. At the end of five months the
+Frenchmen left the island.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, a third old man told how some thirty sailors belonging to the
+first vessel had joined the crew of the second, and that they had all
+left at the end of six or seven months. All these facts, which had so
+to speak to be extracted by force, varied in their details; the last,
+however, seemed most nearly to approach the truth. Amongst the objects
+picked up by the <i>Astrolabe</i> were an anchor weighing about 1800 pounds,
+a cast-iron cannon, a bronze swivel, a copper blunderbuss, some pig
+lead, and several other considerably damaged articles of little
+interest. These relics, with those collected by Dillon, are now in the
+Naval Museum at the Louvre.</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville did not leave Vanikoro without erecting a monument to the
+memory of his unfortunate fellow-countrymen. This humble memorial was
+placed in a mangrove grove off the reef itself. It consists of a
+quadrangular prism, made of coral slabs six feet high, surmounted by a
+pyramid of Koudi wood of the same height, bearing on a little plate of
+lead the following inscription,&mdash;</p>
+
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration090">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="500">
+			<img src="images/090.jpg" alt="To the memory of La Pérouse">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>As soon as this task was accomplished, D'Urville prepared to set sail
+again, as it was time he did, for the damp resulting from the torrents
+of rain had engendered serious fevers, prostrating no less than
+twenty-five of the party. The commander would have to make haste if he
+wished to keep a crew fit to execute the arduous manoeuvres necessary
+to the exit of the vessel from a narrow pass strewn with rocks.</p>
+
+<p>The last day passed by the <i>Astrolabe</i> at Vanikoro would have shown the
+truth to D'Urville had he needed any enlightening as to the true
+disposition of the natives. The following is his account of the last
+incidents of this dangerous halt.</p>
+
+<p>"At eight o'clock, I was a good deal surprised to see half a dozen
+canoes approaching from Tevaï, the more so, that two or three natives
+from Manevaï who were on board showed no uneasiness, although they had
+told me a few days before that the people of Tevaï were their mortal
+enemies. I expressed my surprise to the Manevaians, who merely said,
+with an evident air of equivocation, that they had made their peace
+with the Tevaians, who were only bringing some cocoa-nuts. I soon saw,
+however, that the new comers were carrying nothing but bows and arrows
+in first rate condition. Two or three of them climbed on board, and in
+a determined manner came up to the main watch to look down into the
+orlop-deck to find out how many men were disabled, whilst a malignant
+joy lit up their diabolical features. At this moment some of the crew
+told me that two or three of the Manevaï men on board had done the same
+thing during the last three or four days, and M. Gressien, who had been
+watching their movements since the morning, thought he had seen the
+warriors of the two tribes meet on the beach and have a long conference
+together. Such behaviour gave proof of the most treacherous intentions,
+and I felt the danger to be imminent. I at once ordered the natives to
+leave the vessel and return to the canoes, but they had the audacity to
+look at me with a proud and threatening expression, as if to defy me to
+put my order into execution. I merely had the armoury, generally kept
+jealously closed, opened, and with a severe look I pointed to it with
+one hand, whilst with the other I motioned the savages to the canoes.
+The sudden apparition of twenty shining muskets, the powers of which
+they understood, made them tremble, and relieved us of their ominous
+presence."</p>
+<a name="ill91"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration091">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="578">
+			<img src="images/091.jpg" alt="I merely had the armoury opened">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="578" align="center">
+			<small>"I merely had the armoury opened."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Before leaving the scene of this melancholy story, we will glean a few
+details from D'Urville's account of it. The Vanikoro, Mallicolo, or, as
+Dillon calls it, the La Pérouse group, consists of two islands,
+Research and Tevaï. The former is no less than thirty miles in
+circumference, whilst the latter is only nine miles round. Both are
+lofty, clothed with impenetrable forests almost to the beach, and
+surrounded by a barrier of reefs thirty-six miles in circumference,
+with here and there a narrow strait between them. The inhabitants, who
+are lazy, slovenly, stupid, fierce, cowardly, and avaricious, do not
+exceed twelve or fifteen hundred in number. It was unfortunate for La
+Pérouse to be shipwrecked amongst such people, when he would have
+received a reception so different on any other island of Polynesia. The
+women are naturally ugly, and the hard work they have to do, with their
+general mode of life, render their appearance yet more displeasing. The
+men are rather less ill-favoured, though they are stunted and lean, and
+covered with ulcers and leprosy scars. Arrows and bows are their only
+weapons, and, according to themselves, the former, with their very fine
+bone tips, soldered on with extremely tenacious gum, inflict mortal
+wounds. They therefore value them greatly, and the visitors had great
+trouble to obtain any.</p>
+<a name="ill92"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration092">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="593">
+			<img src="images/092.jpg" alt="Reefs off Vanikoro">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="593" align="center">
+			<small>Reefs off Vanikoro.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>On the 17th March the <i>Astrolabe</i> at length issued from amongst the
+terrible reefs encircling Vanikoro. D'Urville had intended to survey
+Tamnako, Kennedy, Nitendi, and the Solomon Islands, where he hoped to
+meet with traces of the survivors from the shipwreck of the <i>Boussole</i>
+and the <i>Astrolabe</i>. But the melancholy condition of the crew, pulled
+down as they were by fever, and the illness of most of the officers,
+with the absence of any safe anchorage in this part of Oceania, decided
+him to make for Guam, where he thought a little rest might possibly be
+obtained. This was a very grave dereliction from the instructions which
+ordered him to survey Torres Straits, but the fact of forty sailors
+being <i>hors de combat</i> and on the sick-list, will suffice to prove how
+foolish it would have been to make so perilous an attempt.</p>
+
+<p>Not until the 26th April was Hogoley Archipelago sighted, where
+D'Urville bridged over the gaps left by Duperrey in his exploration,
+and only on the 2nd May did the coasts of Guam come in sight. Anchor
+was cast at Umata, where a supply of fresh water was easily found, and
+the climate much milder than at Agagna. On the 29th May, however, when
+the expedition set sail again, the men were not by any means all
+restored to health, which D'Urville attributed to the excesses in the
+way of eating indulged in by the sick, and the impossibility of getting
+them to keep to a suitable diet.</p>
+
+<p>The good Medinilla, of whom Freycinet had such reason to speak
+favourably, was still governor of Guam. He did not this time, it is
+true, show so many kind attentions to the present expedition, but that
+was because a terrible drought had just devastated the colony, and a
+rumour had got afloat that the illness the crew of the <i>Astrolabe</i> was
+suffering from was contagious. Umata too was a good distance from
+Agagna, so that D'Urville could not visit the governor in his own home.
+Medinilla, however, sent the expedition fresh provisions and fruits in
+such quantities as to prove he had lost none of his old generosity.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving Guam D'Urville surveyed, under sail, the Elivi, the
+Uluthii of Lütke, Guapgolo and the Pelew group of the Caroline
+Archipelago, was driven by contrary winds past Waigiou, Aiou, Asia, and
+Guebek, and finally entered Bouron Straits and cast anchor off Amboine,
+where he was cordially received by the Dutch authorities, and obtained
+news from France to the effect that the Minister of Marine had taken no
+notice of all the work, fatigue, and perils of the expedition, for not
+one officer had received advancement.</p>
+
+<p>The receipt of this news caused considerable disappointment and
+discouragement, which the commander at once tried to remove. From
+Amboine the <i>Astrolabe</i> steered, <i>viâ</i> Banka Strait, for Uanado, with
+its well-armed and equipped fort, forming a pleasant residence.
+Governor Merkus obtained for D'Urville's natural history collections
+some fine <i>barberosas</i>, a <i>sapioutang</i>&mdash;the latter a little animal of
+the size of a calf, with the same kind of muzzle, paws, and turned-back
+horns&mdash;serpents, birds, fishes, and plants.</p>
+
+<p>According to D'Urville the people of the Celebes resemble in externals
+the Polynesians rather than the Malays. They reminded him of the
+natives of Otaheite, Tonga Tabou, and New Zealand, much more than of
+the Papuans of Darei Harbour, the Harfous of Bouron, or the Malays,
+with their square bony faces. Near Manado are some mines of auriferous
+quartz, of which the commander was able to obtain a specimen, and in
+the interior is the lake of Manado, said to be of immense depth, and
+which is the source of the torrent of the same name that dashes in the
+form of a magnificent waterfall over a basalt rock eighty feet high,
+barring its progress to the sea. D'Urville, accompanied by the governor
+and the naturalists of the expedition, explored this beautiful lake,
+shut in by volcanic mountains, with here and there a few fumerolles
+still issuing from them, and ascertained the depth of the water to be
+no more than twelve or thirteen fathoms, so that in the event of its
+ever drying up, its basin would form a perfectly level plain.</p>
+
+<p>On the 4th August anchor was weighed at Manado, where the sufferers
+from fever and dysentery had not got much better, and on the 29th of
+the same month the expedition arrived at Batavia where it only remained
+three days. The rest of the voyage of the <i>Astrolabe</i> was in well-known
+waters. Mauritius was reached in due course, and there D'Urville met
+Commander Le Goarant, who had made a trip to Vanikoro in the corvette
+<i>La Bayonnaise</i>, and who told D'Urville that he had not attempted to
+enter the reef, but had only sent in some boats to reconnoitre. The
+natives had respected the monument to the memory of La Pérouse, and had
+been reluctant even to allow the sailors of the <i>Bayonnaise</i> to nail a
+copper plate upon it.</p>
+
+<p>On the 18th November the corvette left Mauritius, and after touching at
+the Cape, St. Helena, and Ascension, arrived on the 25th March, 1829,
+at Marseilles, exactly thirty-five months after her departure from that
+port. To hydrographical science, if to nothing else, the results of the
+expedition were remarkable, and no less than forty-five new charts were
+produced by the indefatigable Messrs. Gressien and Paris. Nothing will
+better bring before us the richness of harvest of natural history
+specimens than the following quotation from Cuvier's report:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"They (the species brought home by Quoy and Gaimard) amount to
+thousands in the catalogues, and no better proof can be given of the
+activity of our naturalists than the fact that the directors of the
+Jardin du Roi do not know where to store the results of the expedition,
+especially those now under notice. They have had to be stowed away on
+the ground-floor, almost in the cellars, and the very warehouses are
+now so crowded&mdash;no other word would do as well&mdash;that we have had to
+divide them by partitions to make more stowage."</p>
+
+<p>The geological collections were no less numerous; one hundred and
+eighty-seven species or varieties of rock attest the zeal of Messrs.
+Quoy and Gaimard, while M. Lesson, junior, collected fifteen or sixteen
+hundred plants; Captain Jacquinot made a number of astronomical
+observations; M. Lottin studied magnetism, and the commander, without
+neglecting his duties as a sailor and leader of the expedition, made
+experiments on submarine temperature and meteorology, and collected an
+immense mass of information on philology and ethnography.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot better conclude our account of this expedition than with the
+following quotation from Dumont d'Urville's memoirs, given in his
+biography by Didot:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"This adventurous expedition surpassed all previous ones, alike in the
+number and gravity of the dangers incurred, and the extent of the
+results of every kind obtained. An iron will prevented me from ever
+yielding to any obstacle. My mind once made up to die or to succeed, I
+was free from any hesitation or uncertainty. Twenty times I saw the
+<i>Astrolabe</i> on the eve of destruction without once losing hope of her
+salvation. A thousand times did I risk the very lives of my companions
+in order to achieve the object of my instructions, and I can assert
+that for two consecutive years we daily incurred more real perils than
+we should have done in the longest ordinary voyage. My brave and
+honourable officers were not blind to the dangers to which I daily
+exposed them, but they kept silence, and nobly fulfilled their duty."</p>
+
+<p>From this admirable harmony of purpose and devotion resulted a mass of
+discoveries and observations in every branch of human knowledge, of all
+of which an exact account was given by Rossel, Cuvier, Geoffrey St.
+Hilaire, Desfontaines, and others, all competent and disinterested
+judges.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap6"></a>
+<h3>CHAPTER III.</h3>
+<center>POLAR EXPEDITIONS.</center>
+
+<blockquote>Bellinghausen, yet another Russian explorer&mdash;Discovery of the islands
+of Traversay, Peter I., and Alexander I.&mdash;The whaler, Weddell&mdash;The
+Southern Orkneys&mdash;New Shetland&mdash;The people of Tierra del Fuego&mdash;John
+Biscoe and the districts of Enderby and Graham&mdash;Charles Wilkes and the
+Antarctic Continent&mdash;Captain Balleny&mdash;Dumont d'Urville's expedition in
+the <i>Astrolabe</i> and the <i>Zelée</i>&mdash;Coupvent Desbois and the Peak of
+Teneriffe&mdash;The Straits of Magellan&mdash;A new post-office shut in by
+ice&mdash;Louis Philippe's Land&mdash;Across Oceania&mdash;Adélie and Clarie
+Lands&mdash;New Guinea and Torres Strait&mdash;Return to France&mdash;James Clark
+Rosset&mdash;Victoria.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>We have already had occasion to speak of the Antarctic regions, and the
+explorations made there in the seventeenth, and at the end of the
+eighteenth century, by various navigators, nearly all Frenchmen,
+amongst whom we must specially note La Roche, discoverer of New
+Georgia, in 1675, Bouvet, Kerguelen, Marion, and Crozet. The name of
+Antarctic is given to all the islands scattered about the ocean which
+are called after navigators, as well as those of Prince Edward, the
+Sandwich group, New Georgia, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>It was in these latitudes that William Smith, commander of the brig
+<i>William</i>, trading between Monte Video and Valparaiso, discovered, in
+1818, the Southern Shetland Islands, arid and barren districts covered
+with snow, on which, however, collected vast herds of seals, animals of
+which the skins are used as furs, and which had not before been met
+with in the Southern Seas. The news of this discovery led to a rush of
+whaling-vessels to the new hunting-grounds, and between 1821 and 1822
+the number of seals captured in this archipelago is estimated at
+32,000, whilst the quantity of sea-elephant oil obtained during the
+same time may be put down at 940 tons. As males and females were
+indiscriminately slaughtered, however, the new fields were soon
+exhausted. The survey of the twelve principal islands, and of the
+innumerable and all but barren rocks, making up this archipelago,
+occupied but a short time.</p>
+<a name="ill93"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration093">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="582">
+			<img src="images/093.jpg" alt="Hunting sea-elephants">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="582" align="center">
+			<small>Hunting sea-elephants.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Two years later Botwell discovered the Southern Orkneys, and then
+Palmer and other whalemen sighted, or thought they sighted, districts
+to which they gave the names of Palmer and Trinity.</p>
+
+<p>More important discoveries were, however, to be made in these
+hyberborean regions, and the hypothesis of Dalrymple, Buffon, and other
+scholars of the eighteenth century, as to the existence of a southern
+continent, forming, so to speak, a counterpoise to the North Pole, was
+to be unexpectedly confirmed by the work of these intrepid explorers.</p>
+
+<p>The navy of Russia had now for some years been rapidly gaining in
+importance, and had played no insignificant part in scientific
+research. We have related the interesting voyages of most Russian
+circumnavigators; but we have still to speak of Bellinghausen's voyage
+round the world, which occupies a prominent place in the history of the
+exploration of the Antarctic seas.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Vostok</i>, Captain Bellinghausen, and the <i>Mirni</i>, commanded by
+Lieutenant Lazarew, left Cronstadt on the 3rd July, 1819, <i>en route</i>
+for the Antarctic Ocean. On the 15th December Southern Georgia was
+sighted, and seven days later an island was discovered in the
+south-east, to which the name of Traversay was given, and the position
+of which was fixed at 52&deg; 15' S. lat., and 27&deg; 21'
+W. long., reckoning from the Paris meridian.</p>
+
+<p>Continuing their easterly course in S. lat. 60&deg; for 400 miles as
+far as W. long. 187&deg;, the explorers then bore south to S. lat.
+70&deg;, where their further progress was arrested by a barrier of
+ice.</p>
+
+<p>Bellinghausen, nothing daunted, tried to cut his way eastwards into the
+heart of the Polar Circle, but at 44&deg; E. long, he was compelled
+to return northwards. After a voyage of forty miles a large country
+hove in sight, which a whaler was to discover twelve years later when
+the ice had broken up.</p>
+
+<p>Back again in S. lat. 62&deg;, Bellinghausen once more steered
+eastwards without encountering any obstacles, and on the 5th March,
+1820, he made for Port Jackson to repair his vessels.</p>
+
+<p>The whole summer was given up by the Russian navigator to a cruise
+about Oceania, when he discovered no less than seventeen new islands,
+and on the 31st October he left Port Jackson on a new expedition. The
+first places sighted on this trip were the Macquarie Islands; then
+cutting across the 60th parallel, S. lat. in E. long. 160&deg;, the
+explorers bore east between S. lat. 64&deg; and 68&deg; as far as
+W. long. 95&deg;. On the 9th January, Bellinghausen reached 70&deg;
+S. lat., and the next day discovered, in S. lat. 69&deg; 30',
+W. long. 92&deg; 20', an island, to which he gave
+the name of Peter I., the most southerly land hitherto visited. Then
+fifteen degrees further east, and in all but the same latitude, he
+sighted some more land which he called Alexander I.'s Land. Scarcely
+200 miles distant from Graham's Land, it appeared likely to be
+connected with it, for the sea between the two districts was constantly
+discoloured, and many other facts pointed to the same conclusion.</p>
+
+<p>From Alexander I.'s Land the two vessels, bearing due north, and
+passing Graham's Land, made for New Georgia, arriving there in
+February. Thence they returned to Cronstadt, the port of which they
+entered in July 1821, exactly two years after they left it, having lost
+only three men out of a crew of 200.</p>
+
+<p>We would gladly have given further details of this interesting
+expedition, but we have not been able to obtain a sight of the original
+account published in Russian at St. Petersburg, and we have had to be
+content with the <i>résumé</i> brought out in one of the journals of the
+Geographical Society in 1839.</p>
+<a name="ill94"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Illustration094">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="742">
+			<img src="images/094.jpg" alt="Map of the Antarctic Regions">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="742" align="left">
+			<small><small><i>Engraved by E. Morieu.</i></small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>At the same period a master in the Royal Navy, James Weddell by name,
+was appointed by an Edinburgh firm to the command of an expedition, to
+obtain seal-skins in the southern seas, where two years were to be
+spent. This expedition consisted of the brig <i>Jane</i>, 160 tons, Captain
+Weddell, and the cutter <i>Beaufort</i>, sixty-five tons, Matthew Brisbane
+commander.</p>
+
+<p>The two vessels left England on the 17th September, 1822, touched at
+Bonavista, one of the Cape Verd Islands, and cast anchor in the
+following December in the port of St. Helena, on the eastern coast of
+Patagonia, where some valuable observations were taken on the position
+of that town.</p>
+
+<p>Weddell put to sea again on the 27th December, and steering in a
+south-easterly direction, came in sight, on the 12th January, of an
+archipelago to which he gave the name of the Southern Orkneys. These
+islands are situated in S. lat. 60&deg; 45', and W. long. 45&deg;.</p>
+
+<p>According to the navigator, this little group presents an even more
+forbidding appearance than New Shetland. On every side rise the sharp
+points of rocks, bare of vegetation, round which surge the restless
+waves, and against which dash enormous floating icebergs, with a noise
+like thunder. Vessels are in perpetual danger in these latitudes, and
+the eleven days passed under sail by Weddell in surveying minutely the
+islands, islets, and rocks of this archipelago, were a time of
+ceaseless exertion for the crew, who were throughout in constant danger
+of their lives.</p>
+
+<p>Specimens of the principal strata of these islands were collected, and
+on the return home put into the hands of Professor Jameson, of
+Edinburgh, who identified them as belonging to primary and volcanic
+rocks.</p>
+
+<p>Weddell now made for the south, crossed the Antarctic Circle in W.
+long. 30&deg;, and soon came in sight of numerous ice islands.
+Beyond S. lat. 70&deg;, these floes decreased in number, and finally
+disappeared; the weather moderated, innumerable flocks of birds hovered
+above the ships, whilst large schools of whales played in its wake.
+This strange and unexpected change in the temperature surprised every
+one, especially as it became more marked as the South Pole was more
+nearly approached. Everything pointed to the existence of a continent
+not far off. Nothing was, however, discovered.</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th February the vessels were in S. lat. 74&deg; 15'
+and W. long. 34&deg; 16' 45".</p>
+
+<p>"I would willingly," says Weddell, "have explored the south-west
+quarter, but taking into consideration the lateness of the season, and
+that we had to pass homeward through 1000 miles of sea strewed with ice
+islands, with long nights, and probably attended with fogs, I could not
+determine otherwise than to take advantage of this favourable wind for
+returning."</p>
+
+<p>Having seen no sign of land in this direction, and a strong southerly
+wind blowing at the time, Weddell retraced his course as far as S. lat.
+58&deg;, and steered in an easterly direction to within 100 miles of
+the Sandwich Islands. On the 7th February he once more doubled the
+southern cape, sailed by a sheet of ice fifty miles wide, and on the
+20th February reached S. lat. 74&deg; 15'. From the top of
+the masts nothing was to be seen but an open sea with a few floating
+ice-islands.</p>
+
+<p>Unexpected results had ensued from these trips in a southerly
+direction. Weddell had penetrated 240 miles nearer the Pole than any of
+his predecessors, including Cook. He gave the name of George IV. to
+that part of the Antarctic Ocean which he had explored. Strange and
+significant was the fact that the ice had decreased in quantity as the
+South Pole was approached, whilst fogs and storms were incessant, and
+the atmosphere was always heavily charged with moisture, and the
+temperature of surprising mildness.</p>
+
+<p>Another valuable observation made, was that the vibrations of the
+compass were as slow in these southern latitudes as Parry had noted
+them to be in the Arctic regions.</p>
+
+<p>Weddell's two vessels, separated in a storm, met again in New Georgia
+after a perilous voyage of 1200 miles amongst the ice. New Georgia,
+discovered by La Roche in 1675, and visited in 1756 by the <i>Lion</i>, was
+really little known until after Captain Cook's exploration of it, but
+his account of the number of seals and walruses frequenting it had led
+to being much favoured by whalers, chiefly English and American, who
+took the skins of their victims to China and sold them at a guinea or
+thirty shillings each.</p>
+
+<p>"The island," says Weddell, speaking of South Georgia, "is about
+ninety-six miles long, and its mean breadth about ten. It is so
+indented with bays, that in several places, where they are on opposite
+sides, they are so deep as to make the distance from one side to the
+other very small. The tops of the mountains are lofty, and perpetually
+covered with snow; but in the valleys, during the summer season,
+vegetation is rather abundant. Almost the only natural production of
+the soil is a strong-bladed grass, the length of which is in general
+about two feet; it grows in tufts on mounds three or four feet from the
+ground. No land quadrupeds are found here; birds and amphibious animals
+are the only inhabitants."</p>
+
+<p>Here congregate numerous flocks of penguins, which stalk about on the
+beach, head in air. To quote an early navigator, Sir John Nasborough,
+they look like children in white aprons. Numerous albatrosses are also
+met with here, some of them measuring seventeen feet from tip to tip of
+their wings. When these birds are stripped of their plumage their
+weight is reduced one-half.</p>
+<a name="ill95"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration095">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590">
+			<img src="images/095.jpg" alt="Here congregate flocks of penguins">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="590" align="center">
+			<small>"Here congregate flocks of penguins."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Weddell also visited New Shetland, and ascertained that Bridgeman
+Island, in that group, is an active volcano. He could not land, as all
+the harbours were blocked up with ice, and he was obliged to make for
+Tierra del Fuego.</p>
+
+<p>During a stay of two months here, Weddell collected some valuable
+information on the advantages of this coast to navigators, and obtained
+some accurate data as to the character of the inhabitants. In the
+interior of Tierra del Fuego rose a few mountains, always covered with
+snow, the loftiest of which were not more than 3000 feet high. Weddell
+was unable to identify the volcano noticed by other travellers,
+including Basil Hall in 1822, but he picked up a good deal of lava
+which had probably come from it. There was, moreover, no doubt of its
+existence, for the explorer under notice had seen on his previous
+voyage signs of a volcanic eruption in the extreme redness of the sky
+above Tierra del Fuego.</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto there had been a good deal of divergence in the opinion of
+explorers as to the temperature of Tierra del Fuego. Weddell attributes
+this to the different seasons of their visits, and the variability of
+the winds. When he was there and the wind was in the south the
+thermometer was never more than two or three degrees above zero,
+whereas when the wind came from the north it was as hot as July in
+England. According to Weddell dogs and otters are the only quadrupeds
+of the country.</p>
+
+<p>The relations with the natives were cordial throughout the explorer's
+stay amongst them. At first they gathered about the ship without
+venturing to climb on to it, and the scenes enacted on the passage of
+the first European vessel through the states were repeated in spite of
+the long period which had since elapsed. Of the bread, madeira, and
+beef offered to them, the natives would taste nothing but the meat; and
+of the many objects shown to them, they liked pieces of iron and
+looking-glasses best, amusing themselves with making grimaces in the
+latter of such absurdity as to keep the crew in fits of laughter. Their
+general appearance, too, was very provocative of mirth. Their jet black
+complexions, blue feathers, and faces streaked with parallel red and
+white lines, like tick, made up a whole of the greatest absurdity, and
+many were the hearty laughs the English enjoyed at their expense.
+Presently disgusted at receiving nothing more than the iron hoops of
+casks from people possessed of such wealth, they proceeded to annex all
+they could lay hands on. These thefts were soon detected and put a stop
+to, but they gave rise to many an amusing scene, and proved the
+wonderful imitative powers of the natives.</p>
+
+<p>"A sailor had given a Fuegan," says Weddell, "a tin-pot full of coffee,
+which he drank, and was using all his art to steal the pot. The sailor,
+however, recollecting after awhile that the pot had not been returned,
+applied for it, but whatever words he made use of were always repeated
+in imitation by the Fuegan. At length he became enraged at hearing his
+requests reiterated, and, placing himself in a threatening attitude, in
+an angry tone, he said, 'You copper-coloured rascal, where is my
+tin-pot?' The Fuegan, assuming the same attitude, with his eyes fixed
+on the sailor, called out, 'You copper-coloured rascal, where is my
+tin-pot?' The imitation was so perfect that every one laughed, except
+the sailor, who proceeded to search him, and under his arm he found the
+article missing."</p>
+
+<p>The sterile mountainous districts in this rigorous climate of Tierra
+del Fuego furnish no animal fit for food, and without proper clothing
+or nourishment the people are reduced to a state of complete barbarism.
+Hunting yields them hardly any game, fishing is almost equally
+unproductive of results; they are obliged to depend upon the storms
+which now and then fling some huge cetacean on their shores, and upon
+such salvage they fall tooth and nail, not even taking the trouble to
+cook the flesh.</p>
+
+<p>In 1828 Henry Foster, commanding the <i>Chanticleer</i>, received
+instructions to make observations on the pendulum, with a view to
+determining the figure of the earth. This expedition extended over
+three years, and was then&mdash;i.e. in 1831&mdash;brought to an end by his
+violent death by drowning in the river Chagres. We allude to this trip
+because it resulted, on the 5th January, 1829, in the identification
+and exploration of the Southern Shetlands. The commander himself
+succeeded in landing, though with great difficulty, on one of these
+islands, where he collected some specimens of the syenite of which the
+soil is composed, and a small quantity of red snow, in every respect
+similar to that found by explorers in the Arctic regions.</p>
+
+<p>Of far greater interest, however, was the survey made in 1830 by the
+whaler John Biscoe. The brig <i>Tula</i>, 140 tons, and the cutter <i>Lively</i>,
+left London under his orders on the 14th July, 1830. These two vessels,
+the property of Messrs. Enderby, were fitted up for whale-fishing, and
+were in every respect well qualified for the long and arduous task
+before them, which, according to Biscoe's instructions, was to combine
+discovery in the Antarctic seas with whaling.</p>
+
+<p>After touching at the Falklands, the ships started on the 27th November
+on a vain search for the Aurora Islands, after which they made for the
+Sandwich group, doubling its most southerly cape on the 1st January,
+1831.</p>
+
+<p>In 59&deg; S. lat. masses of ice were encountered, compelling the
+explorers to give up the south-western route, in which direction they
+had noted signs of the existence of land. It was therefore necessary to
+bear east, skirting along the ice as far as W. long. 9&deg; 34'.
+It was only on the 16th January that Biscoe was able to cross
+the 60th parallel of S. lat. In 1775 Cook had here come to a space of
+open sea 250 miles in extent, yet now an insurmountable barrier of ice
+checked Biscoe's advance.</p>
+
+<p>Continuing his south-westerly course as far as 68&deg; 51'
+and 10&deg; E. long., the explorer was struck by the discoloration
+of the water, the presence of several eaglets and cape-pigeons, and the
+fact that the wind now blew from the south-south-west, all sure tokens
+of a large continent being near. Ice, however, again barred his
+progress southwards, and he had to go on in an easterly direction
+approaching nearer and nearer to the Antarctic Circle.</p>
+
+<p>"At length, on the 27th February," says Desborough Cooley, "in S. lat.
+65&deg; 57' and E. long. 47&deg; 20' land was
+distinctly seen." This land was of considerable extent, mountainous and
+covered with snow. Biscoe named it Enderby, and made the most strenuous
+efforts to reach it, but it was so completely surrounded with ice that
+he could not succeed. Whilst these attempts were being made a gale of
+wind separated the two vessels and drove them in a south-easterly
+direction, the land remaining in sight, and stretching away from east
+to west for an extent of more than 200 miles. Bad weather, and the
+deplorable state of the health of the crew, compelled Biscoe to make
+for Van Diemen's Land, where he was not rejoined by the <i>Lively</i> until
+some months later.</p>
+
+<p>The explorers had several opportunities of observing the aurora
+australis, to quote from Biscoe's narrative, or rather the account of
+his trip drawn up from his log-book, and published in the journal of
+the Royal Geographical Society. "Extraordinarily vivid coruscations of
+aurora australis (were seen), at times rolling," says Captain Biscoe,
+"as it were, over our heads in the form of beautiful columns, then as
+suddenly changing like the fringe of a curtain, and again shooting
+across the hemisphere like a serpent; frequently appearing not many
+yards above our heads, and decidedly within our atmosphere."</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Van Diemen's Land on the 11th January, 1832, Biscoe and his two
+vessels resumed their voyage in a south-easterly direction. The
+constant presence of floating sea-weed, and the number of birds of a
+kind which never venture far from land, with the gathering of low and
+heavy clouds made Biscoe think he was on the eve of some discovery, but
+storms prevented the completion of his explorations. At last, on the
+12th February, in S. lat. 64&deg; 10' albatrosses, penguins,
+and whales were seen in large quantities; and on the 15th land was seen
+in the south a long distance off. The next day this land was
+ascertained to be a large island, to which the name of Adelaide was
+given, in honour of the Queen of England. On this island were a number
+of mountains of conical form with the base very large.</p>
+
+<p>In the ensuing days it was ascertained that this was no solitary
+island, but one of a chain of islets forming so to speak the outworks
+of a lofty continent. This continent, stretching away for 250 miles in
+an E.N.E. and W.S.W. direction, was called Graham, whilst the name of
+Biscoe was given to the islets in honour of their discoverer. There was
+no trace either of plants or animals in this country.</p>
+
+<p>To make quite sure of the nature of his discovery, Biscoe landed on the
+21st February, on Graham's Land, and determined the position of a lofty
+mountain, to which he gave the name of William, in S. lat. 64&deg;
+45' and W. long. 66&deg; 11', reckoning from the Paris
+meridian.</p>
+
+<p>To quote from the journal of the Royal Geographical Society,&mdash;"The
+place was in a deep bay, in which the water was so still that could any
+seals have been found the vessels could have been easily loaded, as
+they might have been laid alongside the rocks for the purpose. The
+depth of the water was also considerable, no bottom being found with
+twenty fathoms of line almost close to the beach; and the sun was so
+warm that the snow was melted off all the rocks along the water-line,
+which made it more extraordinary that they should be so utterly
+deserted."</p>
+
+<p>From Graham's Land, Biscoe made for the Southern Shetlands, with which
+it seemed possible the former might be connected, and after touching at
+the Falkland Islands, where he lost sight of the <i>Lively</i>, he returned
+to England.</p>
+
+<p>As a reward for all he had done, and as an encouragement for the
+future, Biscoe received medals both from the English and French
+Geographical Societies.</p>
+
+<p>Very animated were the discussions which now took place as to the
+existence of a southern continent, and the possibility of penetrating
+beyond the barrier of ice shutting in the adjacent islands. Three
+powers simultaneously resolved to send out an expedition. France
+entrusted the command of hers to Dumont d'Urville; England chose James
+Ross; and the United States, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes.</p>
+
+<p>The last named found himself at the head of a small fleet, consisting
+of the <i>Porpoise</i>, two sloops, the <i>Vincennes</i> and the <i>Peacock</i>; two
+schooners, the <i>Sea-Gull</i> and the <i>Flying-Fish</i>; and a transport ship,
+the <i>Relief</i>, which was sent on in advance to Rio with a reserve of
+provisions, whilst the others touched at Madeira, and the Cape Verd
+Islands.</p>
+
+<p>From the 24th November, 1838, to the 6th January, 1839, the squadron
+remained in the bay of Rio de Janeiro, whence it sailed to the Rio
+Negro, not arriving at Port Orange, Tierra del Fuego, until the 19th
+February, 1839.</p>
+
+<p>There the expedition divided, the <i>Peacock</i> and <i>Flying-Fish</i> making
+for the point were Cook crossed S. lat. 60&deg;, and the <i>Relief</i>,
+with the naturalists on board, penetrating into the Straits of
+Magellan, by one of the passages south-east of Tierra del Fuego; whilst
+the <i>Vincennes</i> remained at Port Orange; and the <i>Sea-Gull</i> and
+<i>Porpoise</i> started on the 24th February for the Southern Seas. Wilkes
+surveyed Palmer's Land for a distance of thirty miles to the point
+where it turns in a S.S.E. direction, which he called Cape Hope; he
+then visited the Shetlands and verified the position of several of the
+islands in that group.</p>
+
+<p>After passing thirty-six days in these inhospitable regions the two
+vessels steered northwards. A voyage marked by few incidents worthy of
+record brought Wilkes to Callao, but he had lost sight of the
+<i>Sea-Gull</i>. The commander now visited the Paumatou group, Otaheite, the
+Society and Navigator's Islands, and cast anchor off Sydney on the 28th
+November.</p>
+
+<p>On the 29th December, 1839, the expedition once more put to sea, and
+steered for the south, with a view to reaching the most southerly
+latitude between E. long 160&deg; and 145&deg; (reckoning from
+Greenwich), bearing east by west. The vessels were at liberty to follow
+out separate courses, a rendezvous being fixed in case of their losing
+sight of each other. Up to January 22nd numerous signs of land were
+seen, and some officers even thought they had actually caught sight of
+it, but it turned out, when the various accounts were compared at the
+trial Wilkes had to undergo on his return, that it was merely through
+the accidental deviation before the 22nd January of the <i>Vincennes</i>, in
+a northerly direction, that the English explorers ascertained the
+existence of land. Not until he reached Sydney did Wilkes, hearing that
+D'Urville had discovered land on the 19th January, pretend to have seen
+it on the same day.</p>
+<a name="ill96"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration096">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="588">
+			<img src="images/096.jpg" alt="Dumont d'Urville">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="588" align="center">
+			<small>Dumont d'Urville.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>These facts are established in a very conclusive article published by
+the hydrographer Daussy in the <i>Bulletin de la Société de Géographie</i>.
+Further on we shall see that d'Urville actually landed on the new
+continent, so that the honour of being the first to discover it is
+undoubtedly his.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Peacock</i> and <i>Flying-Fish</i>, either because they had sustained
+damages or because of the dangers from the roughness of the sea and
+floating ice, had steered in a northerly direction from the 24th
+January to the 5th February, The <i>Vincennes</i> and <i>Porpoise</i> alone
+continued the arduous voyage as far as E. long. 97&deg;, having land
+in sight for two or three miles, which they approached whenever the ice
+allowed them to do so.</p>
+
+<p>"On the 29th of January," says Wilkes, in his report to the National
+Institution of Washington, "we entered what I have called Piners Bay,
+the only place where we could have landed on the naked rocks. We were
+driven out of it by one of the sudden gales usual in those seas. We got
+soundings in thirty fathoms. The gale lasted thirty-six hours, and
+after many narrow escapes, I found myself some sixty miles W. to
+leeward of this bay. It now became probable that this land which we had
+discovered was of great extent, and I deemed it of more importance to
+follow its trend than to return to Piners Bay to land, not doubting I
+should have an opportunity of landing on some portion of it still more
+accessible; this, however, I was disappointed in, the icy barrier
+preventing our approach, and rendering it impossible to effect.</p>
+
+<p>"Great quantities of ice, covered with mud, rock, and stone, presented
+themselves at the edge of the barrier, in close proximity of the land;
+from these our specimens were obtained, and were quite as numerous as
+could have been gathered from the rocks themselves. The land, covered
+with snow, was distinctly seen in many places, and between them such
+appearances as to leave little or no doubt in my mind of it being a
+continuous line of coast, and deserving the name bestowed upon it of
+the <i>Antarctic Continent</i>, lying as it does under that circle. Many
+phenomena were observed here, and observations made, which will be
+found under their appropriate head in the sequel.</p>
+
+<p>"On reaching 97&deg; east, we found the ice trending to the
+northward and continuing to follow it close, we reached to within a few
+miles of the position where Cook was stopped by the barrier in 1773."</p>
+
+<p>Piners Bay, where Wilkes landed, is situated in E. long. 140&deg;
+(reckoning from Paris), that is to say it is identical with the place
+visited by D'Urville on the 21st January. On the 30th January the
+<i>Porpoise</i> had come in sight of D'Urville's two vessels, and approached
+to within speaking distance of them, but they put on all sail and
+appeared anxious to avoid any communication.</p>
+
+<p>On his arrival at Sydney, Wilkes found the <i>Peacock</i> in a state of
+repair and with that vessel he visited New Zealand, Tonga Tabou, and
+the Fiji Islands, where two of the junior officers of the expedition
+were massacred by the natives. The Friendly, Navigator, and Sandwich
+Islands, Admiralty Straits, Puget Sound, Vancouver's Island, the
+Ladrones, Manilla, Sooloo, Singapore, the Sunda Islands, St. Helena,
+and Rio de Janeiro, were the halting places on the return voyage, which
+terminated on the 9th June, 1842, at New York, the explorers having
+been absent three years and ten months altogether.</p>
+
+<p>The results to every branch of science were considerable, and the young
+republic of the United States was to be congratulated on a début so
+triumphant in the career of discovery. In spite, however, of the
+interest attaching to the account of this expedition, and to the
+special treatises by Dana, Gould, Pickering, Gray, Cassin, and
+Brackenbridge, we are obliged to refrain from dwelling on the work done
+in countries already known. The success of these publications beyond
+the Atlantic was, as might be expected in a country boasting of so few
+explorers, immense.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst Wilkes was engaged in his explorations, i.e. in 1839, Balleny,
+captain of the <i>Elizabeth Scott</i>, was adding his quota to the survey of
+the Antarctic regions. Starting from Campbell Island, on the south of
+New Zealand, he arrived on the 7th February in S. lat. 67&deg; 7',
+and W. long. 164&deg; 25', reckoning from the Paris
+meridian. Then bearing west and noting many indications of the
+neighbourhood of land, he discovered two days later a black band in the
+south-west which, at six o'clock in the evening, he ascertained beyond
+a doubt to be land. This land turned out to be three islands of
+considerable size, and Balleny gave them his own name. As may be
+imagined the captain tried to land, but a barrier of ice prevented his
+doing so. All he could manage was the determination of the position of
+the central isle, which he fixed at S. lat. 66&deg; 44' and
+W. long. 162&deg; 25'.</p>
+
+<p>On the 14th February a lofty land, covered with snow, was sighted in
+the W.S.W. The next day there were but ten miles between the vessel and
+the land. It was approached as nearly as possible, and then a boat was
+put off, but a beach of only three or four feet wide with vertical and
+inaccessible cliffs rising beyond it rendered landing impossible, and
+only by getting wet up to their waists were the sailors able to obtain
+a few specimens of the lava characteristic of this volcanic district.</p>
+<a name="ill97"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration097">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592">
+			<img src="images/097.jpg" alt="Only by getting wet up to their waists">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592" align="center">
+			<small>"Only by getting wet up to their waists."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Yet once more, on the 2nd March in S. lat. 65&deg; and about W.
+long. 120&deg; 24', land was seen from the deck of the
+<i>Elizabeth Scott</i>. The vessel was brought to for the night, and the
+next day an attempt was made to steer in a south-west direction, but it
+was impossible to get through the ice barrier. Naming the new discovery
+Sabrina, Balleny resumed his northerly route without being able further
+to verify his discoveries.</p>
+
+<p>In 1837, just as Wilkes had started on his expedition, Captain Dumont
+d'Urville proposed to the Minister of Marine a new scheme for a voyage
+round the world. The services rendered by him in 1819-21 in a
+hydrographic expedition, in 1822 and 1825 on the <i>Coquille</i>, under
+Captain Duperrey, and lastly in 1826-29 on the <i>Astrolabe</i>, had given
+him an amount of experience which justified him in submitting his
+peculiar views to the government, and to supplement so to speak the
+mass of information collected by himself and others in these little
+known latitudes.</p>
+
+<p>The minister at once accepted D'Urville's offer, and exerted himself to
+find for him enlightened and trustworthy fellow-workers. Two corvettes,
+the <i>Astrolabe</i> and the <i>Zelée</i>, fitted up with everything which French
+experience had proved to be necessary, were placed at his disposal, and
+amongst his colleagues were many who were subsequently to rise to the
+rank of general officers, including Jacquinot, commander of the
+<i>Zelée</i>, Coupvent Desbois, Du Bouzet, Tardy de Montravel, and Perigot,
+all well-known names to those interested in the history of the French
+navy.</p>
+
+<p>The instructions given by Vice-Admiral Rosamel to D'Urville differed
+from those of his predecessors chiefly in his being ordered to
+penetrate as near as the ice would permit to the South Pole. He was
+also ordered to complete the great work he had begun in 1827 on the
+Viti Islands, to survey the Salomon archipelago, to visit the Swan
+river of Australia, New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, that part of the
+Caroline group surveyed by Lütke, Mindanao, Borneo, and Batavia, whence
+he was to return to France <i>viâ</i> the Cape of Good Hope.</p>
+
+<p>These instructions concluded in terms proving the exalted ideas of the
+government. "His Majesty," said Admiral de Rosamel, "not only
+contemplates the progress of hydrography and natural science; but his
+royal solicitude for the interests of French commerce and the
+development of the French navy is such as to lead him greatly to extend
+the terms of your commission and to hope for great results from it. You
+will visit numerous places, the resources of which you must study with
+a view to the interests of our whaling-ships, collecting all
+information likely to be of service to them alike in facilitating their
+voyages and rendering those voyages as remunerative as possible. You
+will touch at those ports where commercial relations with us are
+already opened, and where the visit of a state vessel will have
+salutary effects, and at others hitherto closed to our produce and
+about which you may on your return give us some valuable details."</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the personal good wishes of Louis Philippe, D'Urville
+received many marks of the most lively interest taken in his work by
+the <i>Académie des Sciences morales</i> and the Geographical Society, but
+not unfortunately from the <i>Académie des Sciences</i>, although he had for
+twenty years been working hard to increase the riches of the Museum of
+Natural History.</p>
+
+<p>"Whether from prejudice or from whatever cause," says D'Urville, "they
+(the members of the <i>Académie des Sciences</i>) showed very little
+enthusiasm for the contemplated expedition and their instructions to me
+were as formal as they would have been to a complete stranger."</p>
+
+<p>It is matter of regret that the celebrated Arago, the declared enemy of
+Polar researches, was one of the bitterest opponents of the new
+expedition. This was not, however, the case with various scholars of
+other nationalities, such as Humboldt and Kruzenstern, who wrote to
+congratulate D'Urville on his approaching voyage and on the important
+results to science which might be hoped for.</p>
+
+<p>After numerous delays, resulting from the fitting up of two vessels
+which were to take the Prince de Joinville to Brazil, the <i>Astrolabe</i>
+and <i>Zelée</i> at last left Toulon on the 7th September, 1837. The last
+day of the same month they cast anchor off Santa Cruz de Teneriffe
+which D'Urville chose as a halting-place in preference to one of the
+Cape Verd Islands, in the hope of laying in a stock of wine and also of
+being able to take some magnetic observations which he had been blamed
+for neglecting in 1826, although it was well known that he was not then
+in a fit state to attend to such things.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of the eagerness of the young officers to go and enjoy
+themselves on shore they had to submit to a quarantine of four days, on
+account of rumours of cases of plague having occurred in the lazaretto
+of Marseilles. Without pausing to relate the details of Messrs. Du
+Bouzet, Coupvent, and Dumoulin's ascent of the Peak, we will merely
+quote a few enthusiastic remarks of Coupvent Desbois:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Arrived," says that officer, "at the foot of the peak, we spent the
+last hour of the ascent in crossing cinders and broken stones, arriving
+at last at the longed-for goal, the loftiest point of this huge
+volcano. The smoking crater presented the appearance of a hollow
+sulphurous semi-circle about 1200 feet wide and 300 feet deep, covered
+with the débris of pumice and other stones. The thermometer, which had
+marked five degrees at ten a.m., got broken through being placed on the
+ground where there was an escape of sulphuric vapour. There are upon
+the sides and in the crater numerous fumerolles which send forth the
+native sulphur, which forms the base of the peak. The rush of the
+vapour is so rapid as to sound like shots from a cannon.</p>
+
+<p>"The heat of the ground is so great in some parts that it is impossible
+to stand on it for a minute at a time. Look around you and see if these
+three mountains piled one upon the other do not resemble a staircase
+built up by giants, on which to climb to heaven. Gaze upon the vast
+streams of lava, all issuing from one point which form the crater, and
+which a few centuries back you could not have trodden upon with
+impunity. See the Canaries in the distance, look down, ye pigmies, on
+the sea, with its breakers dashing against the shores of the island, of
+which you for the moment form the summit!... See for once, as God sees,
+and be rewarded for your exertions, ye travellers, whose enthusiasm for
+the grand scenes of nature has brought you some 12,182 feet above the
+level of the ocean."</p>
+
+<p>We must add that the explorers testified to the brilliancy of the
+stars, as seen from the summit of the peak, the clearness of all
+sounds, and also to the giddiness and headache known as mountain
+sickness. Whilst part of the staff were engaged in this scientific
+excursion, several other officers visited the town, where they noticed
+nothing special except a narrow walk called the Alameda, and the church
+of the Franciscans. The neighbourhood, however, is interesting enough
+on account of the curious aqueducts for supplying the town with water,
+and the Mercede forest which, in D'Urville's opinion, might more justly
+be called a coppice, for it contains nothing but shrubs and ferns. The
+population seemed happy, but extremely lazy; economical, but horribly
+dirty; and the less said about their morals the better.</p>
+
+<p>On the 12th October the two vessels put to sea again, intending to
+reach the Polar regions as soon as possible. Motives of humanity,
+however, determined D'Urville to change his plans and touch at Rio, the
+state of an apprentice with disease of the lungs becoming so rapidly
+worse that a stay in the Arctic regions would probably have been fatal.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels cast anchor in the roadstead, not the Bay of Rio, on the
+13th November, but they only remained there one day, that is to say,
+just long enough to land young Dupare, and to lay in a stock of
+provisions. The southerly route was then resumed.</p>
+
+<p>For a long time D'Urville had wished to explore the Strait of Magellan,
+not with a view to further hydrographical surveys, for the careful
+explorations of Captain King, begun in 1826, had been finished in 1834
+by Fitzroy, leaving little to be done in that direction, but to gather
+the rich and still unappropriated harvest of facts relating to natural
+history. How intensely interesting it was, too, to note how real had
+been the dangers encountered by early navigators, such as the sudden
+veering of the wind, &amp;c. What a good thing it would be to obtain
+further and more detailed information about the famous Patagonians, the
+subject of so many fables and controversies. Yet another motive led
+D'Urville to anchor off Port Famine, rather than off Staten Island. His
+perusal of the accounts of the work of explorers who had penetrated
+into the Southern Seas convinced him that the end of January and the
+whole of February were the best times for visiting these regions, for
+then only are the effects of the annual thaw over, and with them the
+risk of over-fatigue to the crews.</p>
+<a name="ill98"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration098">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594">
+			<img src="images/098.jpg" alt="Anchorage off Port Famine">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594" align="center">
+			<small>Anchorage off Port Famine.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>This resolution once taken, D'Urville communicated it to Captain
+Jacquinot, and set sail for the strait. On the 12th December Cape
+Virgin was sighted, and Dumoulin, seconded by the young officers, began
+a grand series of hydrographical surveys. In the intricate navigation
+of the strait, D'Urville, we are told, showed equal courage and
+calmness, skill and presence of mind, completely winning over to his
+side many of the sailors, who, when they had seen him going along at
+Toulon when suffering with the gout, had exclaimed, "Oh, that old
+fellow won't take us far!" Now, when his constant vigilance had brought
+the vessels safely out of the strait, the cry was, "The &mdash;&mdash; man is
+mad! He's made us scrape against rocks, reefs, and land, as if he had
+never taken a voyage before! And we used to think him as useless as a
+rotten keel!"</p>
+
+<p>We must now say a few words on the stay at Port Famine.</p>
+
+<p>Landing is easy, and there is a good spring and plenty of wood; on the
+rocks are found quantities of mussels, limpets, and whelks, whilst
+inland grows celery, and a kind of herb resembling the dandelion.
+Another fruitful source of wealth in this bay is fish, and whilst the
+vessels were at anchor, drag-nets, trammels, and lines captured enough
+mullet, gudgeon, and roaches to feed the whole crew.</p>
+
+<p>"As I was about to re-embark," says D'Urville, "a little barrel was
+brought to me which had been found hung on a tree on the beach, near a
+post on which was written <i>Post Office</i>. Having ascertained that this
+barrel contained papers, I took it on board and examined them. They
+consisted of notes of captains who had passed through the Straits of
+Magellan, stating the time of their visits, the incidents of their
+passage, with advice to those who should come after them, and letters
+for Europe or the United States. It seemed that an American captain,
+Cunningham by name, had been the originator of this open-air
+post-office. He had merely, in April, 1833, hung a bottle on a tree,
+and his fellow-countryman, Waterhouse, had supplemented it by the post
+with its inscription. Lastly, Captain Carrick of the schooner <i>Mary
+Ann</i>, from Liverpool, passed through the strait in March 1837, on his
+way to San Blas, California, going through it again a second time on
+his way back on the 29th November, 1837, that is to say, sixteen days
+before our own visit, and he it was who had substituted the barrel for
+the bottle, adding an invitation to all who should succeed him to use
+it as the receptacle of letters for different destinations. I mean to
+improve this ingenious and useful contrivance by forming an actual
+post-office on the highest point of the peninsula with an inscription
+in letters of a size so gigantic as to compel the attention of
+navigators who would not otherwise have touched at Port Famine.
+Curiosity will then probably lead them to send a canoe to examine the
+box, which will be fastened to the post. It seems likely that we shall
+ourselves reap the first fruits of this arrangement, and our families
+will be agreeably surprised to receive news from us from this wild and
+lonely district, just before our plunge into the ice of the Polar
+regions."</p>
+
+<p>At low tide the mouth of the Sedger river, which flows into Famine Bay,
+is encumbered with sand-banks; some 1000 feet further on the plain is
+transformed into a vast marsh, from which rise the trunks of immense
+trees, and huge bones, bleached by the action of time, which have been
+brought down by the heavy rainfall, swelling the course of the stream.</p>
+
+<p>Skirting this marsh is a fine forest, the entrance to which is
+protected by prickly shrubs. The commonest trees are the beech, with
+trunks between eighty and ninety feet high, and three or four in
+diameter; Winteria aromatica, a kind of bark which has long since
+replaced the cinnamon, and a species of Barbary. The largest beeches
+seen by D'Urville measured fifteen feet in diameter, and were about 150
+feet high.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately, no mammiferous animals or reptiles, or fresh or salt
+water shell-fish are found on these coasts; and one or two different
+kinds of birds with a few lichens and mosses were all the naturalist
+was able to obtain.</p>
+
+<p>Several officers went up the Sedger in a yawl till they were stopped by
+the shallowness of the water. They were then seven and a half miles
+from the mouth, and they noted the width of the river where it flows
+into the sea to be between ninety and a hundred feet.</p>
+
+<p>"It would be difficult," says M. de Montravel, "to imagine a more
+picturesque scene than was spread out before us at every turn.
+Everywhere was that indescribable wildness which cannot be imitated, a
+confused mass of trees, broken branches, trunks covered with moss,
+which seemed literally to grow before our eyes."</p>
+
+<p>To resume, the stay at Port Famine was most successful; wood and water
+were easily obtained, repairs, &amp;c., were made, horary, physical,
+meteorological, tidal, and hydrographical observations were taken, and,
+lastly, numerous objects of natural history were collected, the more
+interesting as the museums of France hitherto contained nothing
+whatever from these unknown regions beyond "a few plants collected by
+Commerson and preserved in the Herbarium of M. de Jussieu."</p>
+
+<p>On the 28th December, 1837, anchor was weighed without a single
+Patagonian having been seen, although the officers and crew had been so
+eager to make acquaintance with the natives.</p>
+
+<p>The difficulties attending navigation compelled the two corvettes to
+cast anchor a little further on, off Port Galant, the shores of which,
+bordered by fine trees, are cut by torrents resembling a little
+distance off magnificent cascades from fifty to sixty feet high. This
+compulsory halt was not wasted, for a large number of new plants were
+collected, and the port with the neighbouring bays were surveyed. The
+commander, however, finding the season already so far advanced, gave up
+his idea of going out at the westerly end of the strait, and went back
+the way he came, hoping thus to get an interview with the Patagonians
+before going to the Polar regions.</p>
+
+<p>St. Nicholas Bay, called by Bougainville the <i>Baie des Français</i>, where
+the explorers passed New Year's Day, 1838, is a much pleasanter looking
+spot than Port Galant. The usual hydrographical surveys were there
+brought to a satisfactory issue by the officers under the direction of
+Dumoulin. A boat was despatched to Cape Remarkable, where Bougainville
+said he had seen fossil shells, which, however, turned out to be
+nothing but little pebbles imbedded in a calcareous gangue.</p>
+
+<p>Interesting experiments were made with the thermometrograph, or marine
+thermometer, at 290 fathoms, without reaching the bottom, at less than
+two miles from land. Whereas the temperature was nine degrees on the
+surface, it was but two at the above-named depth, and as it is scarcely
+likely that currents convey the waters of the two oceans so far down,
+one is driven to the belief that this is the usual temperature of such
+depths.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels now made for Tierra del Fuego, where Dumoulin resumed his
+surveys. Low exposed, and strewn with rocks which serve as landmarks,
+there were but few dangers to be encountered here. Magdalena Island,
+Gente Grande Bay, Elizabeth Island, and Oazy Harbour, where the camp of
+a large party of Patagonians was made out with the telescope, and
+Peckett Harbour, where the <i>Astrolabe</i> struck in three fathoms, were
+successively passed.</p>
+
+<p>"As we struck," says D'Urville, "there were signs of astonishment and
+even of excitement amongst the crew, and some grumbling was already
+audible, when in a firm voice I ordered silence, and without appearing
+at all put out by what had happened, I cried, 'This is nothing at all,
+and we shall have plenty more of the same kind of thing.' Later these
+words often recurred to the memory of our sailors. It is more difficult
+than one would suppose for a captain to maintain perfect calmness and
+impassiveness in the midst of the worst dangers, even those he has
+reason to imagine likely to be fatal."</p>
+
+<p>Peckett Harbour was alive with Patagonians, and officers and men were
+alike eager to land. A crowd of natives on horseback were waiting for
+them at the place of disembarkation.</p>
+
+<p>Gentle and peaceable they readily replied to the questions put to them,
+and looked quietly at everything shown to them, expressing no special
+desire for anything offered to them. They did not seem either to be at
+all addicted to thieving, and when on board the French vessels they
+made no attempt to carry anything off.</p>
+
+<p>Their usual height is from four and a half to five feet, but some are a
+good deal shorter. Their limbs are large and plump without being
+muscular, and their extremities are of extraordinary smallness. Their
+most noteworthy characteristic is the breadth of the lower part of the
+face as compared to the forehead, which is low and retreating. Long
+narrow eyes, high cheek-bones, and a flat nose, give them something of
+a resemblance to the Mongolian type.</p>
+
+<p>They are evidently extremely languid and indolent, and wanting in
+strength and agility. Looking at them squatting down, standing or
+walking, with their long hair flowing down their backs, one would take
+them for the women of a harem rather than savages used to enduring the
+inclemency of the weather and to struggle for existence. Stretched upon
+skins with their dogs and horses about them, their chief amusement is
+to catch the vermin with which they swarm. They hate walking so much
+that they mount horses just to go down and pick up shells on the beach
+a few yards off.</p>
+
+<p>A white man was living amongst these Patagonians; a miserable,
+decrepit-looking fellow, who said he came from the United States, but
+he spoke English very imperfectly, and the explorers took him to be a
+German-Swiss. Niederhauser, so he called himself, had gone to seek his
+fortune in the United States, and that fortune being long on the road,
+he had given ear to the wonderful proposals of a certain whaleman, who
+wanted to complete his crew. By this whaleman he was left with seven
+others and some provisions on a desert island off Tierra del Fuego to
+hunt seals and dress their skins. Four months later the schooner
+returned laden with skins, left the seal-hunters fresh provisions, went
+off again, and never came back! Whether it had been shipwrecked, or
+whether the captain had abandoned his sailors, it was impossible to
+ascertain. When the poor fellows found themselves deserted and their
+provisions exhausted, they embarked in their canoe and rowed up the
+Straits of Magellan, soon meeting with some Patagonians, with whom
+Niederhauser remained, whilst his companions went on. Well received by
+the natives, he lived their life with them, faring well when food was
+plentiful, drawing in his belt and living on roots when food was
+scarce.</p>
+
+<p>Weary, however, of this miserable existence, Niederhauser entreated
+D'Urville to take him on board, urging that another month of the life
+he was leading would kill him. The captain consented, and received him
+as a passenger.</p>
+
+<p>During his three months' residence amongst them, Niederhauser had
+learnt something of the language of the Patagonians, and with his aid
+D'Urville drew up a comparative vocabulary of a great many words in
+Patagonian, French, and German.</p>
+
+<p>The war costume of the Fuegans includes a helmet of tanned leather
+protected by steel-plates and surmounted by a crest of cock's feathers,
+a tunic of ox-hide dyed red with yellow stripes, and a kind of
+double-bladed scimitar. The chief of Peckett Harbour allowed his
+visitors to take his portrait in full martial costume, thereby showing
+his superiority to his subjects, who would not do the same for fear of
+witchcraft.</p>
+
+<p>On the 8th January anchor was finally weighed, and the second entrance
+to the strait was slowly navigated against the tide. The Straits of
+Magellan having now been crossed from end to end, and a survey made of
+the whole of the eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego, thus bridging
+over an important gulf in hydrographic knowledge, no detailed map of
+this coast having previously been made, the vessels steered for the
+Polar regions, doubling Staten Island without difficulty, and on the
+15th January coming in sight of the first ice, an event causing no
+little emotion, for now was to begin the really hard work of the
+voyage.</p>
+
+<p>Floating ice was not the only danger to be encountered in these
+latitudes: a dense fog, which the keenest sight could not penetrate,
+soon gathered about the vessels, paralyzing their movements, and though
+they were under a foresail only, rendering a collision with the
+ice-masses imminent. The temperature fell rapidly, and the
+thermometrograph marked only two degrees on the surface of the sea,
+whilst the deep water was below zero. Half-melted snow now began to
+fall, and everything bore witness that the Antarctic regions were
+indeed entered.</p>
+
+<p>Clarence, New South Orkney Islands, could not be identified. Every
+one's attention had to be concentrated on avoiding blocks of ice. At
+midday on the 20th January the vessels were in S. lat. 62&deg; 3'
+and W. long. 49&deg; 56', not far from the place were
+Powell encountered compact ice-fields, and an immense ice-island was
+soon sighted, some 6000 feet in extent and 300 in height, with
+perpendicular sides greatly resembling land under certain conditions of
+the light. Numerous whales and penguins were now seen swimming about
+the vessels, whilst white petrels continually flew across them. On the
+21st observations gave S. lat. 62&deg; 53', and D'Urville was
+expecting soon to reach the 65th parallel, when at three a.m. he was
+told that further progress was arrested by an iceberg, across which it
+did not seem possible to cut a passage. The vessels were at once put
+about and slowly steered in an easterly direction, the wind having
+fallen.</p>
+
+<p>"We were thus enabled," says D'Urville, "to gaze at our leisure upon
+the wonderful spectacle spread out before our eyes. Severe and grand
+beyond expression it not only excited the imagination but filled the
+heart with involuntary terror, nowhere else is man's powerlessness more
+forcibly brought before him.... A new world displays itself to him, but
+it is a motionless, gloomy, and silent world, where everything
+threatens the annihilation of human faculties. Should he have the
+misfortune to be left here alone, no help, no consolation, no spark of
+hope, would soothe his last moments. One is involuntarily reminded of
+the famous inscription on the gate of the Inferno of Dante&mdash;</p>
+
+<center><small>"'Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch' entrate.'"</small></center>
+
+<p>D'Urville now set to work on a very strange task, which, as compared
+with others of a similar kind, was likely to be of considerable value.
+He had an exact measurement taken of the outlines of the iceberg. Had
+other navigators done the same we should have had some precise
+information as to the direction taken by icebergs, their movements,
+&amp;c., in the southern Polar regions, a subject still wrapped in the
+greatest obscurity.</p>
+
+<p>On the 22nd, after doubling a point, it was ascertained that the
+iceberg was bearing S.S.W. by W. A lofty and broken piece of land was
+sighted in these latitudes. Dumoulin had begun to survey it, and
+D'Urville was about, as he thought, to identify it with the New South
+Greenland of Morrell, when its outlines became dim and it sunk beneath
+the horizon. On the 24th the two corvettes crossed a series of floating
+islets, and entered a plain where the ice was melting. The passage,
+however, became narrower and narrower, and they were obliged to veer
+round, to save themselves from being blocked in.</p>
+
+<p>Everything pointed to the conclusion that the edge of the ice was
+melting, the ice-islands fell apart with loud reports, the ice running
+off in little rivulets: there was undoubtedly a thaw, and Fanning had
+been right in saying that these latitudes should not be visited before
+February.</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville now decided to steer for the north, and try to reach the
+islands of New South Orkney, the map of which had not yet been
+accurately laid down. The commander was anxious to survey that
+archipelago thoroughly, and to spend several days there before resuming
+his southerly course, so as to be in the Antarctic regions at the same
+time of year as Weddell.</p>
+
+<p>For three days the explorer coasted along the southern shores of New
+South Orkney without being able to land; he then once more turned
+southwards, and came in sight of the ice again in S. lat. 62&deg; 20'
+and W. long. 39&deg; 28'.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes before midday a kind of opening was discovered, through
+which the vessels were forced at all risks. This bold manoeuvre was
+successful, and in spite of the heavy snow, the explorers penetrated
+into a small basin scarcely two miles in extent and hemmed in on every
+side by lofty walls of ice. It was decided to make fast to the ice, and
+when the order to cast anchor was given a young middy on board the
+<i>Zelée</i> cried naively, "Is there a port here? I shouldn't have thought
+there were people living on the ice."</p>
+
+<p>Great indeed was now the joyful enthusiasm on both vessels. Some of the
+young officers of the <i>Zelée</i> had come to empty a bowl of punch with
+their comrades of the <i>Astrolabe</i>, and the commander could hear their
+shouts of delight from his bed. He himself did not, however, look upon
+the situation in quite the same favourable light. He felt that he had
+done a very imprudent thing. Shut into a <i>cul-de-sac</i>, he could only go
+out as he had come, and that he could not do until he had the wind
+right aft. At eleven o'clock D'Urville was awoke by a violent shock,
+accompanied by a noise of breaking, as if the vessel had struck on some
+rocks. He got up, and saw that the <i>Astrolabe</i>, having drifted, had
+struck violently against the ice, where she remained exposed to
+collision with the masses of ice which the current was sweeping along
+more rapidly than it did the vessel herself.</p>
+
+<p>When day dawned the adventurers found themselves surrounded by ice, but
+in the north a blackish blue line seemed to betray the existence of an
+open sea. This direction was at once taken, but a thick fog immediately
+and completely enveloped both ships, and when it cleared off they found
+themselves face to face with a compact ice barrier, beyond which
+stretched away as far as the eye could reach <small>AN OPEN SEA</small>!</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville now resolved to cut himself a passage, and began operations
+by dashing the <i>Astrolabe</i> with all possible speed against the
+obstacle. The vessel penetrated two or three lengths into the ice, and
+then remained motionless. The crew climbed out of her on to the ice
+armed with pickaxes, pincers, mattocks, and saws, and merrily
+endeavoured to cut a passage. The fragment of ice was already nearly
+crossed when the wind changed, and the motion of the waves in the
+offing began to be felt, causing the officers to agree in urging a
+retreat into the shelter of the ice-walls, for there was some danger if
+the wind freshened of the vessel being embayed against the ice and
+beaten to pieces by the waves and floating <i>débris</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The corvettes had traversed twelve or fifteen miles for nothing, when
+an officer, perched in the shrouds, sighted a passage in the E.N.E.
+That direction was at once taken, but again it was found impossible to
+cut a passage, and when night came the crew had to make the ship fast
+to a huge block of ice. The loud cracking noises which had awoke the
+commander the night before now began with such violence that it really
+seemed impossible for the vessel to live till daylight.</p>
+
+<p>After an interview with the captain of the <i>Zelée</i>, however, D'Urville
+made for the north, but the day passed without any change being
+effected in the position of the vessels, and the next day during a
+storm of sleet the swell of the sea became so powerful as completely to
+raise the ice plain in which they were imprisoned.</p>
+
+<p>More careful watch than ever had now to be kept, to guard against the
+pieces of ice flung long distances by this motion, and the rudder had
+to be protected from them by a kind of wooden hut.</p>
+<a name="ill99"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration099">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592">
+			<img src="images/099.jpg" alt="The rudder had to be protected">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592" align="center">
+			<small>"The rudder had to be protected."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>With the exception of a few cases of ophthalmia, resulting from the
+continual glare of the snow, the health of the crews was satisfactory,
+and this was no little satisfaction to the leaders of the expedition,
+compelled as they were to be continually on the <i>qui-vive</i>. Not until
+the 9th February were the vessels, favoured by a strong breeze, able to
+get off, and once more enter a really open sea. The ice had been
+coasted for a distance of 225 leagues. The vessels had actually
+sustained no further damage than the loss of a few spars and a
+considerable portion of the copper sheathing, involving no further
+leakage than there had been before.</p>
+
+<p>The next day the sun came out, and observations could be taken, giving
+the latitude as 62&deg; 9' S., and the longitude 39&deg;
+22' W.</p>
+
+<p>Snow continued to fall, the cold was intense, and the wind very violent
+for the three succeeding days. This continuance of bad weather,
+together with the increasing length of the nights, warned D'Urville of
+the necessity of giving up all idea of going further. When, therefore,
+he found himself in S. lat. 62&deg; and W. long. 33&deg; 11',
+in other words in that part of the ocean where Weddell had
+been able to sail freely in 1823, and the new explorer had met with
+nothing but impassable ice, he steered for New South Orkney. A whole
+month passed amongst the ice and fogs of the Antarctic Ocean had told
+upon the health of the crews, and nothing could be gained for science
+by a continuance of the cruise.</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th the archipelago was again sighted, and D'Urville was once
+more driven out of his course in a northerly direction by the ice, but
+he was able to put off with two boats, the crews of which collected on
+Weddell Island a large number of geological specimens, lichens, &amp;c.,
+and some twenty penguins and chionis.</p>
+
+<p>On the 25th February Clarence Island was seen, forming the eastern
+extremity of the New South Shetland Archipelago, a very steep and
+rugged district covered with snow except on the beach, and thence the
+explorers steered towards Elephant Island, resembling Clarence Island
+in every respect, except that it is strewn with peaks rising up black
+against the plains of snow and ice. The islets of Narrow, Biggs,
+O'Brien, and Aspland were successively identified, but covered as they
+are with snow they are perfectly inaccessible to man. The little
+volcano of Bridgeman was also seen, and the naturalists tried in vain
+to land upon it from two boats.</p>
+
+<p>"The general colour of the soil," says the narrative, "is red, like
+that of burnt brick with particles of grey, suggestive of the presence
+of pumice-stone, or of calcined cinders. Here and there on the beach
+are seen great blackish-looking blocks, which are probably lava. This
+islet has, however, only one true crater, although thick columns of
+smoke are emitted from it, nearly all of them issuing from the base on
+the western side, whilst in the north are two other fumerolles, thirty
+or forty feet along the water. There are none on the eastern or
+northern side, or at the top, which is smooth and round. The bulk
+appears recently to have undergone some considerable modification, as
+indeed it must have done, or it could not now resemble so little the
+description given by Powell in December, 1822."</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville soon resumed his southerly route, and on the 27th February
+sighted a considerable belt of land in the south-east on which he was
+prevented from landing by the fog and the continuous fall of very fine
+snow. He was now in the latitude of Hope Island&mdash;i.e. in S. lat. 62&deg;
+57'. He approached it very closely, and sighted before
+reaching it a low-lying land, to which he gave the name of Joinville.
+Then further on in the south-west he came to an extensive district
+which he named Louis Philippe, and between the two in a kind of
+channel, encumbered with ice, an island he called Rosamel.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," says D'Urville, "the horizon was so light that we could trace
+all the irregularities of Louis Philippe's Land. We could see it
+stretching away from Mount Bransfield in the north (62&deg; W.
+long.) to the S.S.W., where it faded away on the horizon. From Mount
+Bransfield to the south it is lofty, and of fairly uniform surface,
+resembling a vast, unbroken ice-field. In the south, however, it rises
+in the form of a fine peak (Mount Jacquinot), which is equal perhaps,
+indeed superior, to Bransfield; but beyond this peak it stretches away
+in the form of a mountain chain, ending in the south-west in a peak
+loftier than any of the others. For the rest, the effect of the snow
+and ice, together with the absence of any objects with which they can
+be compared, aid in exaggerating the height of all irregularities, and,
+as a matter of fact, the results of the measurements taken by M.
+Dumoulin showed all these mountains, which then appeared to us gigantic
+and equal to the Alps and Pyrenees at least, to be after all of very
+medium size. Mount Bransfield, for instance, was not more than about
+2068 feet high, Mount Jacquinot 2121 feet, and Mount d'Urville, the
+loftiest of them all, about 3047 feet. Except for the islets grouped
+about the mainland, and a few peaks rising above the snow, the whole
+country is one long series of compact blocks of ice, and it is
+impossible to do more than trace the outlines of this ice-crust, those
+of the land itself being quite indistinguishable."</p>
+
+<p>On the 1st March soundings gave only eighty fathoms with a bottom of
+rock and gravel. The temperature is 1&deg;9 on the surface, and 0&deg;2
+at the bottom of the sea. On the 2nd of March, off Louis
+Philippe's Land, an island was sighted which was named Astrolabe, and
+the day after a large bay, or rather strait, to which the name of
+Orleans Channel was given was surveyed between Louis Philippe's Land,
+and a lofty, rocky belt, which D'Urville took for the beginning of
+Trinity Land, hitherto very inaccurately laid down.</p>
+
+<p>From the 26th February then to the 5th March D'Urville remained in
+sight of the coast, skirting along it a little distance off, but unable
+entirely to regulate his course on account of the incessant fogs and
+rain. Everything bore witness to the setting in of a very decided thaw;
+the temperature rising at midday to five degrees above zero, whilst the
+ice was everywhere melting and running off in little streams of water,
+or falling with a formidable crush into the sea in the form of blocks,
+the wind meanwhile blowing strongly from the west.</p>
+
+<p>All this decided D'Urville against the further prosecution of this
+voyage. The sea was heavy, the rain and fog incessant. It was therefore
+necessary to leave this dangerous coast, and make for the north, where
+on the following day he surveyed the most westerly islands of the New
+Shetland group.</p>
+
+<p>D'Urville next steered for Conception, and very arduous was the voyage
+there, for, in spite of every precaution, the crews of both corvettes,
+especially that of the <i>Zelée</i>, were attacked with scurvy. It was now
+that D'Urville measured the heights of some of the waves, with a view
+to the disproving of the charge of exaggeration which had been brought
+against him when he had estimated those he had seen break over Needle
+Bank at a height of between eighty and a hundred feet.</p>
+
+<p>With the help of some of his officers, that there might be no doubt as
+to his accuracy, D'Urville measured some waves of which the vertical
+height was thirty-five feet, and which measured not less than 196&frac12;
+feet from the crest to the lowest point, making a total length of 393
+feet for a single wave. These measurements were an answer to the
+ironical assertion of Arago, who, settling the matter in his own study,
+would not allow that a wave could exceed from five to six feet in
+height. One need not hesitate a single moment to accept, as against the
+eminent but impulsive physicist, the measurements of the navigators who
+had made observations upon the spot.</p>
+
+<p>On the 7th April, 1838, the expedition cast anchor in Talcahuano Bay,
+where the rest so sorely needed by the forty scrofulous patients of the
+<i>Zelée</i> was obtained. Thence D'Urville made for Valparaiso, after
+which, having entirely crossed Oceania, he cast anchor on the 1st
+January, 1839, off Guam, arrived at Batina in October, and went thence
+to Hobart's Town, whence, on the 1st January, 1840, he started on a new
+trip in the Antarctic regions.</p>
+
+<p>At this time D'Urville knew nothing either of Balleny's voyage, or of
+the discovery of Sabrina's Land. He merely intended to go round the
+southern extremity of Tasmania with a view to ascertaining beneath
+which parallel he would meet with ice. He was under the impression that
+the space between 120&deg; and 160&deg; E. long. had not yet been
+explored, so that there was still a discovery to be made.</p>
+
+<p>At first navigation was beset with the greatest difficulties. The swell
+was very strong, the currents bore in an easterly direction, the
+sanitary condition of the crews was far from satisfactory, and 58&deg;
+S. lat. had not yet been reached when the presence of ice was
+ascertained.</p>
+
+<p>The cold soon became very intense, the wind veered round to the W.N.W.,
+and the sea became calm, a sure indication of the neighbourhood of land
+or of ice. The former was the more generally received hypothesis, for
+the ice-islands passed were too large to have been formed in the open
+ocean. On the 18th January, S. lat. 64&deg; was reached, and great
+perpendicular blocks of ice were met with, the height of which varied
+from ninety to 100 feet, whilst the breadth exceeded 3000.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, January 19th, 1840, a new land was sighted, to which the
+name of Adélie was given. The sun was now burning hot, and the ice all
+seemed to be melting, immense streams running down from the summits of
+the rocks into the sea. The appearance of the land was monotonous,
+covered as it was with snow. It ran from west to east, and seemed to
+slope gradually down to the sea. On the 21st the wind allowed the
+vessels to approach the beach, and deep ravines were soon made out,
+evidently the result of the action of melted snow.</p>
+<a name="ill100"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration100">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="599">
+			<img src="images/100.jpg" alt="View of Adélie Land">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="599" align="center">
+			<small>View of Adélie Land.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+<br><br><a name="ill101"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration101">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592">
+			<img src="images/101.jpg" alt="Reduced Map of D'Urville's discoveries in the Antarctic regions">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="592" align="center">
+			<small>Reduced Map of D'Urville's discoveries in the Antarctic regions.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>As the ships advanced navigation became more and more perilous, for the
+ice-islands were so numerous that there was hardly a large enough
+channel between them for any manoeuvring.</p>
+
+<p>"Their straight walls," says D'Urville, "rose far above our masts,
+glowering down upon our vessels, which appeared of absurdly small
+dimensions, as compared with their huge masses. The spectacle spread
+out before us was alike grand and terrible. One might have fancied
+oneself in the narrow streets of a city of giants."</p>
+<a name="ill102"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration102">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="584">
+			<img src="images/102.jpg" alt="Their straight walls rose far above our masts">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="584" align="center">
+			<small>"Their straight walls rose far above our masts."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The corvettes soon entered a huge basin, formed by the coast and the
+ice-islands which had just been passed. The land stretched away in the
+south-east and north-west as far as the eye could reach. It was between
+three and four thousand feet high, but nowhere presented any very
+salient features. In the centre of the vast snow plain rose a few
+rocks. The two captains at once sent off boats with orders to bring
+back specimens which should testify to the discovery made. We quote
+from the account of Du Bouzet, one of the officers told off on this
+important survey.</p>
+
+<p>"It was nearly nine o'clock when to our great delight we landed on the
+western side of the most westerly and loftiest islet. The <i>Astrolabe</i>
+boat had arrived one moment before ours, and its crew were already
+clambering up the steep sides of the rock, flinging down the penguins
+as they went, the birds showing no small surprise at being thus
+summarily dispossessed of the island, of which they had been hitherto
+the only inhabitants. I at once sent one of our sailors to unfurl a
+tricolour flag on these territories, which no human creature had seen
+or trod before ourselves. According to the old custom&mdash;to which the
+English have clung tenaciously&mdash;we took possession of them in the name
+of France, together with the neighbouring coast, which we were
+prevented from visiting by the ice. The only representatives of the
+animal kingdom were the penguins, for in spite of all our researches we
+did not find a single shell. The rocks were quite bare, without so much
+as the slightest sign of a lichen. We had to fall back on the mineral
+kingdom. We each took a hammer and began chipping at the rock, but, it
+being of granite, was so extremely hard that we could only obtain very
+small bits. Fortunately in climbing to the summit of the island the
+sailors found some big pieces of rock broken off by the frost, and
+these they embarked in their boats. Looking closely at them, I noticed
+an exact resemblance between these rocks and the little bits of gneiss
+which we had found in the stomach of a penguin we had killed the day
+before. The little islet on which we landed is part of a group of eight
+or ten of similar character and form; they are between five hundred and
+six hundred yards from the nearest coast. We also noticed on the beach
+several peaks and a cape quite free from snow. These islets, close as
+they are to each other, seem to form a continuous chain parallel with
+the coast, and stretching away from east to west."</p>
+
+<p>On the 22nd and 23rd the survey of this coast was continued; but on the
+second day an iceberg soldered to the coast compelled the vessels to
+turn back towards the north, whilst at the same time a sudden and
+violent snow-storm overtook and separated them. The <i>Zelée</i> especially
+sustained considerable damage, but was able to rejoin her consort the
+next day.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout it all, however, sight of the land had not, so to speak,
+been lost, but on the 29th the wind blew so strongly and persistently
+from the east, that D'Urville had to abandon the survey of Adélie Land.
+It was on this same day that he sighted the vessels of Lieutenant
+Wilkes. D'Urville complains of the discourtesy of the latter, and says
+that his own manoeuvres intended to open communications with them had
+been misunderstood by the Americans.</p>
+
+<p>"We are no longer," he says, "in the days when navigators in the
+interests of commerce thought it necessary carefully to conceal their
+route and their discoveries, to avoid the competition of rival nations.
+I should, on the contrary, have been glad to point out to our emulators
+the result of our researches, in the hope that such information might
+be of use to them and increase our geographical knowledge."</p>
+
+<p>On the 30th January a huge wall of ice was sighted, as to the nature of
+which opinions were divided. Some said it was a compact and isolated
+mass, others&mdash;and this was D'Urville's opinion&mdash;thought these lofty
+mountains had a base of earth or of rocks, or that they might even be
+the bulwarks of a huge extent of land which they called Clarie. It is
+situated in 128&deg; E. long.</p>
+
+<p>The officers had collected sufficient information in these latitudes to
+determine the position of the southern magnetic pole, but the results
+obtained by them did not accord with those given by Duperrey, Wilkes,
+and Ross.</p>
+
+<p>On the 17th February the two corvettes once more cast anchor off
+Hobart's Town, and on the 25th set sail again for New Zealand, where
+they completed the hydrographical surveys of the <i>Uranie</i>. They then
+made for New Guinea, ascertained that it was not separated by a strait
+from the Louisiade Archipelago, surveyed Torres Strait with the
+greatest care, in spite of dangers from currents, coral reefs, &amp;c.;
+arrived at Timor on the 20th, and returned to Toulon on the 8th
+November, after touching at Bourbon and St. Helena.</p>
+
+<p>When the news of the grand discoveries made by the United States
+reached England, a spirit of emulation was aroused, and the learned
+societies decided on sending an expedition to the regions in which
+Weddell and Biscoe had been the only explorers since the time of Cook.</p>
+
+<p>Captain James Clark Ross, who was appointed to the command of this
+expedition, was the nephew of the famous John Ross, explorer of
+Baffin's Bay. Born in 1800, James Ross was a sailor from the age of
+twelve. He accompanied his uncle in 1818 in his first Arctic
+expedition, had taken part under Parry in four expeditions to the same
+latitudes, and from 1829-1833 he had been his uncle's constant and
+faithful companion. Entrusted with the taking of scientific
+observations, he had discovered the north magnetic pole, and he had
+also made a good many excursions across the ice on foot and in sledges.
+He was, therefore, now one of the most experienced of British naval
+officers in Polar expeditions.</p>
+<a name="ill103"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration103">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589">
+			<img src="images/103.jpg" alt="Captain John Ross">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="589" align="center">
+			<small>Captain John Ross.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Two vessels, the <i>Erebus</i> and the <i>Terror</i>, were entrusted to him, and
+his second in command was an accomplished sailor, Captain Francis
+Rowdon Crozier, companion of Parry in 1824; of Ross in 1835 in Baffin's
+Bay; and the future companion of Franklin in the <i>Terror</i>, in his
+search for the north-west passage. It would have been impossible to
+find a braver or more experienced sailor.</p>
+
+<p>The instructions given to James Ross by the Admiralty differed
+essentially from those received by Wilkes and Dumont d'Urville. For the
+latter the exploration of the Antarctic regions was but one incident of
+their voyage round the world, whereas it was the very <i>raison d'être</i>
+of Ross's journey. Of the three years he would be away from Europe, the
+greater part was to be spent in the Antarctic regions, and he would
+only leave the ice to repair the damages to his vessels or recruit the
+health of his crew, worn out as they would probably be by fatigue and
+sickness.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels had been equally judiciously chosen, stronger than those of
+D'Urville, they were better fitted to resist the repeated assaults of
+the ice, and their seasoned crews had been chosen from sailors familiar
+with polar navigation.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>, under the command of Ross and Crozier, left
+England on the 29th September, 1839, and touched successively at
+Madeira, the Cape Verd Islands, St. Helena, and the Cape of Good Hope,
+where numerous magnetic observations were taken.</p>
+
+<p>On the 12th April Ross reached Kerguelen's Island, and there landed his
+instruments. The scientific harvest was abundant. Some fossil trees
+were extracted from the lava of which this island is formed, and some
+rich layers of coal were discovered, which have not yet been worked.
+The 29th was fixed for simultaneous magnetic observations in different
+parts of the globe, and by a singular coincidence some magnetic storms
+such as had already visited Europe, were on this very day observed in
+these latitudes. The instrument registered the same phenomena as at
+Toronto, Canada, proving the vast extent of these meteoric
+disturbances, and the incredible rapidity with which they spread.</p>
+
+<p>On his arrival at Hobart Town, where his old friend John Franklin was
+now governor, Ross heard of the discovery of Adélie and of Clarie Lands
+by the French, and the simultaneous survey of them by Wilkes, who had
+even left a sketch of his map of the coasts.</p>
+
+<p>Ross, however, decided to make for E. long. 170&deg;, because it was
+in that direction that Balleny had found an open sea extending to S.
+lat. 69&deg;. He duly reached first the Auckland and then the
+Campbell Islands, and after having, like his predecessors, tacked about
+a great deal in a sea strewn with ice-islands, he came beyond the
+sixty-third degree to the edge of the stationary ice, and on the 1st
+January, 1841, crossed the Antarctic Circle.</p>
+
+<p>The floating ice did not in any respect resemble that of the Arctic
+regions, as James Ross very soon discovered. It consisted of huge
+blocks, with regular and vertical walls, whilst the ice-fields, less
+compact than those of the north, move about in chaotic confusion,
+looking, to quote Wilkes' imaginative simile, like a heaving land, as
+they alternately break away from each other and reunite.</p>
+
+<p>To Ross the ice barrier did not present so formidable an appearance as
+it had done to the French and Americans. He did not at first venture
+upon it, however, being kept in the offing by storms. Not until the 5th
+January was he able to penetrate to S. lat. 66&deg; 45', and
+E. long. 174&deg; 16'. Circumstances could not have been more
+favourable, for the sea and wind were both acting upon and loosening
+the ice, and thanks to the strength of his vessels, Ross was able to
+cut a passage. As he advanced further and further southward, the fog
+became denser and the constant snow-storms added to the already serious
+dangers of navigation. Encouraged, however, by the reflection in the
+sky of an open sea, a phenomenon which turned out to be trustworthy, he
+pushed on, and on the 9th January, after crossing 200 miles of ice he
+actually entered that open sea!</p>
+
+<p>On the 11th January land was sighted 100 miles ahead in S. lat. 70&deg;
+47' and E. long. 172&deg; 36'. This, the most
+southern land ever yet discovered, consisted of snow-clad peaks with
+glaciers sloping down to the sea, the peaks rising to a height of from
+nine to twelve thousand feet. This estimate, judging from D'Urville's
+remarks on Graham's Land, may, however, possibly be an exaggerated one.
+Here, there, and everywhere, black rocks rose up from the snow, but the
+coast was so shut in with ice that landing was impossible. This curious
+series of huge peaks received the name of Admiralty chain, and the
+country itself that of Victoria.</p>
+<a name="ill104"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Illustration104">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="768">
+			<img src="images/104.jpg" alt="Map of Victoria, discovered by James Ross">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="768" align="left">
+			<small><small><i>Engraved by E. Morieu.</i></small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>A few little islands were made out in the south-east before the vessels
+left this coast, and on the 12th January the two captains, with some of
+their officers, disembarked on one of the volcanic islets, and took
+possession of it in the name of England. Not the slightest trace of
+vegetation was found upon it.</p>
+
+<p>Ross soon ascertained that the eastern side of this vast land sloped
+towards the south, whilst the northern stretched away to the
+north-west. He, therefore, skirted along the eastern beach, forcing a
+passage in a southerly direction beyond the magnetic pole, which he
+places near S. lat. 76&deg;, and then returning by the west, thus
+entirely circumnavigating his new discovery, which he looked upon as a
+very large island. The mountain chain extends all along the coast. Ross
+gave to the principal peaks the names of Herschell, Whewell,
+Wheatstone, Murchison, and Melbourne. He was unable, however, on
+account of the ever-increasing quantity of ice about the coast, to make
+out the details of its outlines. On the 23rd January the seventy-fourth
+degree, the most southerly latitude ever reached, was passed.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels were now considerably hampered by fogs, southerly gales,
+and violent snow-storms, but they managed to continue their cruise
+along the coast, and on the 27th January the English disembarked on a
+little volcanic island in S. lat. 76&deg; 8' and E. long. 168&deg;
+12', to which they gave the name of Franklin.</p>
+
+<p>The next day a huge mountain was seen, which rose abruptly to a height
+of 12,000 feet above a far-stretching land. The summit, of regular
+form, and completely covered with snow, was every now and then wrapped
+in a thick cloud of smoke, no less than 300 feet in diameter. Taking
+this diameter as a standard of measure, the height of the cloud, in
+shape like an inverted cone, would be about one-half of it. When this
+cloud of smoke dispersed, a bare crater was discovered, lit up by a
+bright red glow, visible even in broad daylight. The sides of the
+mountain were covered with snow up to the very crater, and it was
+impossible to make out any signs of a flow of lava.</p>
+
+<p>A volcano is always a magnificent spectacle, and the sight of this one
+rising up from amongst the Antarctic ice, and excelling Etna and
+Teneriffe in its marvellous activity, could not fail to make a vivid
+impression upon the minds of the explorers. The name of Erebus was
+given to it, and that of Terror to an extinct crater on the east of it,
+both titles being admirably appropriate.</p>
+
+<p>The two vessels continued their cruise along the northern coast of
+Victoria, until their further passage was barred by a huge mass of ice
+towering 505 feet above their masts. Behind this barrier rose another
+mountain chain, which sunk out of sight in the S.S.E., and to which the
+name of Parry was given. Ross skirted along the ice barrier in an
+easterly direction until the 2nd February, when he reached S. lat. 78&deg;
+4', the most southerly point attained on this trip,
+during which he had followed the shores of the land he had discovered
+for more than 300 miles. He left it in E. long. 191&deg; 23'.</p>
+
+<p>But for the strong favourable winds which now blew, it seems probable
+that the vessels would never have issued in safety from amongst the
+formidable ice masses through which they finally worked their way at
+the cost of incredible exertions and fatigues, and in face of incessant
+danger.</p>
+
+<p>On the 15th February yet another attempt was made in S. lat. 76&deg;
+to reach the magnetic pole; but further progress was barred by land in
+S. lat. 76&deg; 12' and E. long. 164&deg;, i.e. sixty-five
+ordinary miles from the position assigned to it (the magnetic pole) by
+Ross, and the appearance of this land was forbidding and the sea so
+rough that the explorer gave up all idea of continuing his researches
+on shore.</p>
+
+<p>After identifying the islands discovered in 1839 by Balleny, Ross found
+himself on the 6th March amongst the mountains alluded to by Wilkes.</p>
+
+<p>"On the 4th March," says Ross's narrative, "they recrossed the
+Antarctic Circle, and being necessarily close by the eastern extreme of
+those <i>patches of land</i> which Lieut. Wilkes has called 'the Antarctic
+Continent,' and having reached the latitude on the 5th, they steered
+directly for them; and at noon on the 6th, the ship being exactly over
+the centre of this mountain range, they could obtain no soundings with
+600 fathoms of line; and having traversed a space of eighty miles in
+every direction from this spot, during beautiful clear weather, which
+extended their vision widely around, were obliged to confess that this
+position, at least, of the pseudo-antarctic continent, and the nearly
+200 miles of barrier represented to extend from it, have no real
+existence."<small><small><sup>1</sup></small></small></p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>1</sup></small> The Editor of the <i>Literary Gazette</i> adds the following
+note. "Lieutenant Wilkes may have mistaken some clouds or fog-banks,
+which in these regions are very likely to assume the appearance of land
+to inexperienced eyes, for this continent and range of lofty mountains.
+If so, the error is to be regretted, as it must tend to throw discredit
+on other portions of his discoveries, which have a more substantial
+foundation."&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>The expedition got back to Tasmania without having a single case of
+sickness on board or sustaining the slightest damage. The vessels were
+here refitted, and the instruments regulated before starting on a
+second trip, on which Sydney and Island's Bay, New Zealand, and
+Chatham, were the first stations touched at by Ross to make magnetic
+observations. On the 18th December, in S. lat. 62&deg; 40'
+and E. long, 146&deg;, ice was encountered 300 miles further north
+than in the preceding year. The vessels had arrived too early, but
+Ross, nevertheless, endeavoured to break through this formidable
+barrier. After penetrating for 300 miles he was stopped by masses so
+compact that it was impossible to go further, and he did not cross the
+Antarctic Circle until the 1st January, 1842. On the 19th of the same
+month the two vessels encountered the most violent storm just as they
+were entering an open sea; the <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i> lost their helms,
+floating ice washed over them, and for twenty-six hours they were in
+danger of going down.</p>
+
+<p>The detention of the expedition amongst the ice lasted no less than
+forty-six days, and not until the 22nd did Ross reach the great barrier
+of stationary ice, which was considerably lower beyond Erebus, where it
+was no less than 200 feet high. When Ross came to it this year it was
+only 107 feet high, and it was 150 miles further east than it had been
+on the previous expedition. The acquisition of this piece of
+geographical information was the only result of this arduous campaign,
+extending over 136 days, and greatly excelling in dramatic interest the
+preceding expedition.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels now made for Cape Horn, and sailed up the coast as far as
+Rio de Janeiro, where they found everything of which they stood in
+need. As soon as they had laid in a stock of provisions they again put
+to sea and reached the Falkland Islands, whence, on the 17th December,
+1842, they started on their third trip.</p>
+
+<p>The first ice was this time met with near Clarence Island, and on the
+25th December Ross found his further progress barred by it. He then
+made for the New Shetland Islands, completed the survey of Louis
+Philippe and Joinville Lands, discovered by Dumont d'Urville, named
+Mts. Haddington and Parry, ascertained that Louis Philippe's Land is
+only a large island, and visited Bransfield Strait, separating it from
+Shetland. Such were the marvellous results obtained by James Ross in
+his three expeditions.</p>
+
+<p>To assign to the three explorers, whose work in the Antarctic regions
+we have been reviewing, his just meed of praise, we may say that
+D'Urville first discovered the Antarctic continent; Wilkes traced its
+shores for a considerable distance, for we cannot fail to recognize the
+resemblance between his map and that of the French navigator; and that
+James Ross visited the most southerly and most interesting part.</p>
+
+<p>But is there such a continent after all? D'Urville was not quite sure
+about it, and Ross did not believe in it. We must leave the decision of
+this great question to the later explorers who were to follow in the
+footsteps of the intrepid sailors whose voyages and discoveries we have
+related.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br><a name="chap62"></a>
+<h3>II.</h3>
+<center>THE NORTH POLE.</center>
+
+<blockquote>Anjou and Wrangell&mdash;The "polynia"&mdash;John Ross's first expedition&mdash;Baffin's
+Bay closed&mdash;Edward Parry's discoveries on his first voyage&mdash;The
+survey of Hudson's Bay, and the discovery of Fury and Hecla
+Straits&mdash;Parry's third voyage&mdash;Fourth voyage&mdash;On the ice in sledges in
+the open sea&mdash;Franklin's first trip&mdash;Incredible sufferings of the
+explorers&mdash;Second expedition&mdash;John Ross&mdash;Four winters amongst the ice&mdash;Dease
+and Simpson's expedition.</blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<p>We have more than once alluded to the great impulse given to
+geographical science by Peter I. One of the earliest results of this
+impulse was the discovery by Behring of the straits separating Asia
+from America, and the most important was the survey thirty years later
+of the Liakhov Archipelago, or New Siberia.</p>
+
+<p>In 1770 a merchant named Liakhov noticed a large herd of reindeer
+coming across the ice from the north, and he reflected that they could
+only have come from a country where there were pastures enough to
+support them. A month later he started in a sledge, and after a journey
+of fifty miles he discovered between the mouths of the Lena and
+Indighirka three large islands, the vast deposits of fossil ivory on
+which have since become celebrated all over the world.</p>
+
+<p>In 1809 Hedenstroem received instructions to make a map of this new
+discovery. He made several attempts to cross the frozen ocean on a
+sledge, but was always turned back by ice which would not bear him. He
+came to the conclusion that there must be an open sea beyond, and he
+founded this opinion on the immense quantity of warm water which flows
+into the Arctic Ocean from the great rivers of Asia.</p>
+
+<p>In March, 1821, Lieutenant (afterwards Admiral) Anjou crossed the ice
+to within forty-two miles of the north of the island of Kotelnoï, and
+in N. lat. 76&deg; 38' saw a vapour which led him to believe
+in the existence of an open sea. In a second trip he actually saw this
+sea with its drifting ice, and came back convinced of the impossibility
+of going further in a sledge on account of the thinness of the ice.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst Anjou was thus employed, another naval officer, Lieutenant
+Wrangell, collected some important traditions about the existence of
+land the other side of Cape Yakan.</p>
+
+<p>From a Tchouktchi chief he learnt that in fine weather&mdash;though never in
+the winter&mdash;from the coast and some reefs at the mouth of a river
+mountains covered with snow could be seen far away in the north; and
+that in former days when the sea was frozen over reindeer used to come
+from there. The chief had himself once seen a herd of reindeer on their
+way back to the north by this route and he had followed them in a
+sledge for a whole day until the state of the ice compelled him to give
+up the experiment.</p>
+
+<p>His father had told him, too, that a Tchouktchi had once gone there
+with a few companions in a skin boat, but he did not know what they had
+discovered or what had become of them. He was sure that the land in the
+north was inhabited, because a dead whale had once been washed on to
+Aratane Island with spears tipped with slate in its flesh, and the
+Tchouktchis never used such weapons.</p>
+
+<p>These facts were very curious, and they increased Wrangell's desire to
+penetrate to the unknown northern districts; but the truth of all the
+rumours was not verified until our own day.</p>
+
+<p>Between 1820 and 1824 Wrangell made four expeditions in sledges from
+the mouth of the Kolyma, which he made his headquarters, first
+exploring the coast to Cape Tchelagskoi, and enduring thirty-five
+degrees of cold; and in his second trip trying how far he could go
+across the ice, an experiment resulting in a journey of 400 miles from
+the land. In the third year (1822), Wrangell started in March with a
+view to verifying the report of a native who said he had seen land in
+the offing. He now came to an icefield, on which he advanced safely for
+a long distance, when it began to be less compact and was soon not
+solid enough to bear many sledges, so two small ones were selected, on
+which were packed a wherry, some planks, and some tools. The explorer
+then ventured on some melting ice which broke under his feet.</p>
+<a name="ill105"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration105">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594">
+			<img src="images/105.jpg" alt="Two small sledges were selected">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="594" align="center">
+			<small>"Two small sledges were selected."</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>"At the outset," says Wrangell, "I had to make way for seven wersts
+across a bed of brine; further on appeared a surface furrowed with
+great <i>crevasses</i>, which we could only succeed in clearing by the help
+of our planks. I noticed in this part several small mounds of ice in
+such a liquefying condition that the slightest touch would suffice to
+break it and convert the mound into a round slough. The ice upon which
+we were travelling was without consistency, was but a foot in
+thickness, and&mdash;what was more&mdash;was riddled with holes.... I could only
+compare the appearance of the sea, at this stage, to an immense morass;
+and indeed the muddy water which issued from these thousands of
+crevasses, opening up in every direction, the melting snow mixed with
+earth and sand, those little mounds whence numerous streamlets were
+issuing,&mdash;all these combined to make the illusion perfect."</p>
+
+<p>Wrangell had advanced some 140 miles, and it was the open sea or the
+<i>polynia</i>&mdash;as he calls vast expanses of water&mdash;north of Siberia, the
+outskirts of which he had reached, the same in fact as that already
+sighted by Leontjew in 1764, and Hedenstroem in 1810.</p>
+
+<p>On his fourth voyage Wrangell and his small party of followers started
+from Cape Yakan, the nearest point to the Arctic regions, and, after
+passing Cape Tchelagskoi, made for the north; but a violent storm broke
+up the ice, there only three feet thick, and involved the explorers in
+the greatest danger. Now dragged across some large unbroken slab, now
+wet to the waist on a moving plank, sometimes above and sometimes under
+water, or moored to a block serving as a ferryboat, which the swimming
+dogs dragged along, they at last succeeded in crossing the shifting
+reverberating ice and regaining the land, owing their life to the
+strength and agility of their teams of dogs alone. Thus closed the last
+attempt made to reach the districts north of Siberia.</p>
+
+<p>The Arctic calotte<small><small><sup>1</sup></small></small> was meanwhile being attacked from the other side
+with equal energy and yet more perseverance. It will be remembered with
+what untiring enthusiasm the famous north-west passage had been sought.
+No sooner had the peace of 1815 necessitated the disarmament of
+numerous English vessels and set free their officers on half-pay, than
+the Admiralty, unwilling to let experienced seamen rust in idleness,
+sought for them some employment. It was under these circumstances that
+the search for the north-west passage was resumed.</p>
+
+<blockquote><small><small><sup>1</sup></small> The word <i>calotte</i> here used by Verne is untranslateable.
+It signifies, literally, a particular kind of cap, frequently a monk's
+cap or cowl.&mdash;<i>Trans.</i></small></blockquote>
+
+<p>The <i>Alexander</i>, 252 tons, and the <i>Isabel</i>, 385, under command of the
+experienced officers, John Ross and Lieutenant Parry, with James Ross,
+Back, and Belcher, who were to win honour in Arctic explorations
+amongst their subordinates, were sent by the Government to explore
+Baffin's Bay and set sail on the 18th April. After touching at the
+Shetland Islands, and seeking in vain for the submerged land seen by
+Bass in N. lat. 57&deg; 28', the explorers came on the 26th
+May to the first ice, and on the 2nd June surveyed the western coast of
+Greenland, hitherto very imperfectly laid down in maps, finding it
+greatly encumbered by ice. Indeed the governor of the Dutch settlement
+of Whale Island told them that the severity of the winter months had
+been steadily increasing during the eleven years of his residence in
+the country.</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto it had been supposed that the country was uninhabited beyond
+75&deg; N. lat., and the travellers were therefore greatly surprised
+to see a whole tribe of Esquimaux arrive by way of the ice. They knew
+nothing of any race but their own, and stared at the English without
+daring to touch them, one of them even addressing to the vessels in a
+grave and solemn voice the inquiries, Who are you? Whence do you come?
+From the sun or from the moon?</p>
+<a name="ill106"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration106">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="596">
+			<img src="images/106.jpg" alt="Esquimaux family">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="596" align="center">
+			<small>Esquimaux family.<br>
+			<small>(Fac-simile of early engraving.)</small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Although in many respects far inferior to the Esquimaux who had become
+to some extent civilized by long intercourse with Europeans, the
+new-comers understood the use of iron, of which a few of them had even
+succeeded in making knives. This iron as far as the English could
+gather was dug out of a mountain. It was probably of meteoric origin.</p>
+
+<p>As public opinion in England subsequently confirmed, Ross, in spite of
+qualities as a naval officer of the highest order, showed extraordinary
+apathy and levity on this voyage, appearing not to trouble himself in
+the least about the geographical problems for the solution of which the
+expedition was organized. He passed Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds and
+Smith's Strait, opening out of Baffin's Bay, without examining them,
+the last named at so great a distance that he did not even recognize
+it. Still worse than that was his conduct later. Cruising down the
+western shores of Baffin's Bay a long deep gulf no less than fifty
+miles across gradually came in sight of the eager explorers, yet when
+on the 29th August the two vessels had sailed up it for thirty miles
+only Ross gave orders to tack about, on the ground that he distinctly
+saw at the further end a chain of lofty mountains to which he gave the
+name of Croker. His officers did not share his opinion; they could not
+see so much as the slightest sign of a hill, for the very excellent
+reason that the gulf they had entered was really Lancaster Sound, so
+named by Baffin, and connecting his bay with the western Arctic Ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The same sort of thing occurred again and again in the voyage along
+this deeply indented coast, the vessels keeping so far off shore that
+not a detail could be made out. Thus it came about that Cumberland Bay
+was passed on the 1st October without any survey of that most important
+feature of Davis Strait, and Ross returned to England, having literally
+turned his back on the glory awaiting him.</p>
+
+<p>When accused of apathy and neglect of duty, Ross replied with supreme
+indifference, "I trust, as I believe myself, that the objects of the
+voyage have been in every important point accomplished; that I have
+proved the existence of a bay, from Disco to Cumberland Strait, and set
+at rest for ever the question of a north-west passage in this
+direction."</p>
+
+<p>It would have been impossible to make a more complete mistake. But
+fortunately the failure of this expedition did not in the least
+discourage other explorers. Some saw in it a brilliant confirmation of
+the venerable Baffin's discovery, others looked upon the innumerable
+inlets, with their deep waters and strong currents, as something more
+than mere bays. They were straits, and all hope of the discovery of the
+north-west passage was not yet lost.</p>
+<a name="ill107"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Illustration107">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="744">
+			<img src="images/107.jpg" alt="Map of the Arctic Regions">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="744" align="left">
+			<small><small><i>Engraved by E. Morieu.</i></small></small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>These suggestions so far weighed with the English Admiralty as to lead
+to the equipment of two small vessels, the bomb-vessel <i>Hecla</i> and the
+brigantine <i>Griper</i>, which left the Thames on the 5th May, 1819, under
+command of Lieutenant William Parry, whose opinion as to the existence
+of the north-west passage had not coincided with that of his chief. The
+vessels reached Lancaster Sound without meeting with any special
+adventures, and after a delay of seven days amongst the ice which
+encumbered the sea for a distance of eighty miles, they entered the
+supposed Bay "shut in by a mountain chain" of John Ross, to find not
+only that this mountain chain did not exist, but that the bay was a
+strait more than 310 fathoms deep, where the influence of the tide
+could be felt. The temperature of the water rose some ten degrees, and
+in the course of a single day no less than eighty full-grown whales
+were seen.</p>
+
+<p>On the 31st July the explorers landed on the shores of Possession Bay,
+visited by them the previous year, and found there their own
+footprints, a sign of the small quantity of snow and hoar frost which
+had fallen during the winter. All hearts beat high when with a
+favourable wind and all sails set the two vessels entered Lancaster
+Sound.</p>
+
+<p>"It is more easy," says Parry, "to imagine than to describe the almost
+breathless anxiety which was now visible in every countenance, while,
+as the breeze continued to a fresh gale, we ran quickly up the sound.
+The mast-heads were crowded by the officers and men during the whole
+afternoon; and an unconcerned observer, if any could have been
+unconcerned on such an occasion, would have been amused by the
+eagerness with which the various reports from the crow's-nest were
+received; all, however, hitherto favourable to our most sanguine
+hopes."</p>
+
+<p>The two coasts extended in a parallel line as far as the eye could
+reach, that is to say for a distance exceeding fifty miles, and the
+height of the waves together with the absence of ice combined to
+convince the English that they had reached the open sea by way of the
+long sought passage, when an island framed in masses of ice checked
+their further progress.</p>
+
+<p>An arm of the sea, however, some twelve leagues wide, opened on the
+south, and by it the explorers hoped to find a passage less encumbered
+with ice. Strange to say, as they had advanced in a westerly direction
+through Lancaster Sound, the vibrations of the pendulum had increased,
+whilst now it appeared to have lost all motion, and "we now therefore
+witnessed for the first time the curious phenomenon of the directive
+power of the needle becoming so weak as to be completely overcome by
+the attraction of the ship; so that the needle might now be properly
+said to point to the north pole of the ship."</p>
+
+<p>The arm of the sea widened as the vessels advanced in a westerly
+direction, and the shores seemed to bend sensibly towards the
+south-west, but after making some 120 miles further progress was again
+barred by ice. The explorers therefore returned to Barrow's Strait, of
+which Lancaster Sound is but the entry, and once more entered the sea,
+now free from the ice, by which it had been encumbered a few days
+previously.</p>
+
+<p>In W. long. 92&deg; 1' 4" was discovered an inlet called
+Wellington Channel, about eight leagues wide, entirely free from ice
+and apparently not bounded by any land. The existence of these numerous
+straits led the explorers to the conclusion that they were in the midst
+of a vast archipelago, an opinion daily receiving fresh confirmation.
+The dense fogs, however, made navigation difficult, and the number of
+little islands and shallows increased whilst the ice became more
+compact. Parry, however, was not to be deterred from pressing on
+towards the west, and presently his sailors found, on a large island,
+to which the name of Bathurst was given, the remains of some Esquimaux
+huts and traces of the former presence of reindeer. Magnetic
+observations were now taken, pointing to the conclusion that the
+magnetic pole had been passed on the north.</p>
+
+<p>Another large island, that of Melville, soon came in sight, and in
+spite of the fogs and ice the expedition succeeded in passing W. long.
+110&deg;, thus earning the reward of 100<i>l</i>. sterling promised by
+the English Government. A promontory near Melville Island was named
+Cape Munificence, whilst a good harbour close by was called Hecla and
+Griper Bay. It was in Winter Harbour at the end of this bay that the
+vessels passed the winter. "Dismantled for the most part," says Parry,
+"the yards however being laid for walls and roofed in with thick
+wadding tilts, they were sheltered from the snow, whilst stoves and
+ovens were fixed inside." Hunting was useless, and resulted in nothing
+but the frost-biting of the limbs of some of the hunters, as Melville
+Island was deserted at the end of October by all animals except wolves
+and foxes. To get through the long winter without dying of ennui was no
+easy matter, but the officers hit upon the plan of setting up a
+theatre, the first representation in which was given on the 6th
+November, the day of the disappearance of the sun for three months. A
+special piece was given on Christmas day, in which allusion was made to
+the situation of the vessels, and a weekly paper was started called the
+<i>North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle</i>, which with Sabine, as
+editor, run into twenty-one numbers, all printed on the return to
+Europe of the expedition.</p>
+
+<p>In January scrofula broke out, and with such virulence as to cause
+considerable alarm, but the evil was soon checked by skilful treatment
+and the daily distribution of mustard and cress, which Parry had
+managed to grow in boxes round his stove.</p>
+
+<p>On the 7th February the sun reappeared, and although many months must
+elapse before it would be possible to leave Melville Island,
+preparations for a start were at once begun. On the 30th April the
+thermometer rose to zero, and the sailors taking this low temperature
+for summer wanted to leave off their winter clothes. The first
+ptarmigan appeared on the 12th May, and on the following day were seen
+traces of reindeer and of musk goats on their way to the north; but
+what caused the greatest delight and surprise to the crews was the fall
+of rain on the 24th May.</p>
+
+<p>"We had been so unaccustomed to see water naturally in a fluid state at
+all, and much less to see it fall from the heavens, that such an
+occurrence became a matter of considerable curiosity, and I believe
+every person on board hastened on deck to witness so interesting as
+well as novel a phenomenon."</p>
+<a name="ill108"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration108">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="597">
+			<img src="images/108.jpg" alt="Rain as a novel phenomenon">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="597" align="center">
+			<small>Rain as a novel phenomenon.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>During the first fortnight in June, Parry, accompanied by some of his
+officers, made an excursion to the most northerly part of Melville
+Island. On his return, vegetation was everywhere to be seen, the ice
+was beginning to melt, and it was evident that a start could soon be
+made. The vessels began to move on the 1st August, but the ice had not
+yet broken up in the offing, and they got no further than the eastern
+extremity of Melville Island, of which the furthest point reached by
+Parry was in N. lat. 113&deg; 46' 13" and W. long. 113&deg;
+46' 43". The voyage back was unmarked by any
+special incident, and the expedition got back to England towards the
+middle of November.</p>
+
+<p>The results of this voyage were numerous and important. Not only had a
+vast extent of the Arctic regions been surveyed; but physical and
+magnetic observations had been taken, and many new details collected on
+their climate and animal and vegetable life. In fact in a single trip
+Parry did more than was accomplished in thirty years by all who
+followed in his steps.</p>
+
+<p>Satisfied with the important results obtained by him, the Admiralty
+appointed Parry to the command in 1821 of the <i>Hecla</i> and the <i>Fury</i>,
+the latter built on the model of the former. On this new trip the
+explorer surveyed with the greatest care the shores of Hudson's Bay and
+the coast of the peninsula of Melville, not to be confounded with the
+island of the same name. The winter was passed on Winter Island on the
+eastern coast of this peninsula, and the same amusements were resorted
+to which had succeeded so well on the previous expedition, supplemented
+most effectively by the arrival on the 1st February of a party of
+Esquimaux from across the ice. Their huts, which had not been
+discovered by the English, were built on the beach; and numerous visits
+paid to them during the eighteen months passed on Winter Island gave a
+better notion than had ever before been obtained of the manners,
+customs, character, &amp;c., of this singular people.</p>
+
+<p>The thorough survey of the Straits of Fury and Hecla, separating the
+peninsula of Melville from Cockburn Island, involved the passing of a
+second winter in the Arctic regions, and though the quarters were now
+more comfortable, time dragged heavily, for the officers and men were
+dreadfully disappointed at having to turn back just as they had thought
+to start for Behring's Strait. On the 12th August the ice broke up, and
+Parry wanted to send his men to Europe, and himself complete by land
+the exploration of the districts he had discovered, but Captain Lyon
+dissuaded him from a plan so desperate. The vessels therefore returned
+to England with all hands after an absence of twenty-seven months,
+having lost but five men, although two consecutive winters had been
+spent in the Arctic regions.</p>
+
+<p>Although the results of the second voyage were not equal to those of
+the first, some of them were beyond price. It was now known that the
+American coast did not extend beyond the 70&deg; N. lat., and that
+the Atlantic was connected with the Arctic Ocean by an immense number
+of straits and channels, most of them&mdash;the Fury, Hecla, and Fox, for
+instance&mdash;obstructed with ice brought down by the currents. Whilst the
+ice barrier on the south-east of Melville Peninsula appeared permanent,
+that at Regent's Inlet was evidently the reverse. It might, therefore,
+be possible to penetrate through it to the Polar basin, and it was with
+this end in view that the <i>Fury</i> and <i>Hecla</i> were once more equipped,
+and placed under the orders of Parry.</p>
+
+<p>This voyage was the least fortunate of any undertaken by this skilful
+seaman, not on account of any falling off in his work, but because he
+was the victim of unlucky accidents and unfavourable circumstances.
+Meeting, for instance, with an unusual quantity of ice in Baffin's Bay,
+he had the greatest trouble to reach Prince Regent's inlet. Had he
+arrived three weeks earlier he would probably have been able to land on
+the American coast, but as it was he was obliged to make immediate
+preparations for going into winter-quarters.</p>
+
+<p>It was no very formidable matter to this experienced officer to spend a
+winter under the Polar circle. He knew what precautions to take to
+preserve the health of his crews, to keep himself well, and what
+occupations and amusements would best relieve the tedium of a three
+months' night. Races between the officers, masquerades and theatrical
+entertainments, with the temperature maintained at 50&deg;
+Fahrenheit kept all the men healthy and happy until the thaw, which set
+in on the 20th July, 1825, enabled Parry to resume exploring
+operations.</p>
+
+<p>He now skirted along the eastern coast of Prince Regent's Inlet, but
+the floating ice gathered about the vessels and drove them on shore.
+The <i>Fury</i> was so much damaged that though four pumps were constantly
+at work she could hardly be kept afloat, and Parry was trying to get
+her repaired under shelter of a huge block of ice when a tempest came
+on, broke in pieces the extemporary dock and flung the vessel again
+upon the shore, where she had to be abandoned. Her crew were received
+on the <i>Hecla</i>, which, after such an accident as this, was of course
+obliged to return to England.</p>
+
+<p>Parry's tempered spirit was not broken even by this last disaster. If
+the Arctic Ocean could not be reached from Baffin's Bay, were there not
+other routes still to be attempted? The vast tract of ocean between
+Greenland and Spitsbergen, for instance, might turn out less dangerous,
+freer as it of necessity would be from the huge icebergs which gather
+about the Arctic coasts. The earliest expeditions in these latitudes of
+which we have any record are those of Scoresby, who long cruised about
+them in search of whales. In 1806 he penetrated in E. long. 16&deg;
+(reckoning from Paris), beyond Spitzbergen, i.e. to N. lat. 81&deg;
+30', where he saw ice stretching away in the E.N.E., whilst
+between that and the S.E. the sea was open for a distance of thirty
+miles. There was no land within 100 miles. It seems a matter of regret
+that the whaler did not take advantage of the favourable state of the
+sea to have advanced yet further north, when he might have made some
+important discovery, perhaps even have reached the Pole itself.</p>
+
+<p>Parry now resolved to do what the exigencies of his profession had
+rendered impossible to Scoresby, and leaving London on the <i>Hecla</i> on
+the 27th March, 1827, he reached Lapland in safety, and having at
+Hammerfest embarked dogs, reindeer, and canoes, he proceeded on his way
+to Spitzbergen. Port Snweerenburg, where he wished to touch, was still
+shut in with ice; and against this barrier the <i>Hecla</i> struggled until
+the 24th May, when Parry left her in Hinlopen Strait, and advanced
+northwards with Ross, Crozier, a dozen men, and provisions for
+seventy-two days in a couple of canoes. After leaving a depôt of
+provisions at Seven Islands he packed his food and boats on sledges
+specially constructed for the occasion, hoping to cross in them the
+barrier of solid ice, and to find beyond a navigable if not an entirely
+open sea. The ice did not, however, as Parry expected, turn out to form
+a homogeneous mass. There were here and there vast gaps to be forded or
+steep hills to be climbed, and in four days the explorers only advanced
+about eight miles in a northerly direction. On the 2nd July, in a dense
+fog, the thermometer marked 1&deg; 9' above zero in the shade, and 8&deg; 3'
+in the sun; and as may be imagined the march across the
+broken surface, gaping everywhere with fissures, was terribly arduous,
+whilst the difficulties were aggravated by the continual glare from the
+snow and ice. In spite, however, of all obstacles the party pressed
+bravely on, and on the 20th July found they had got no further than N.
+lat. 82&deg; 37', i.e. only about five miles beyond the point
+reached three days previously. Now, as they had undoubtedly made at
+least about fourteen miles in the interval, it was evident that the ice
+on which they were was being drifted southwards by a strong current.</p>
+
+<p>Parry at first concealed this most discouraging fact from his men; but
+it soon became evident to every one that no progress was being made,
+but the slight difference between their own speed as they struggled
+over the many obstacles in their path and that of the current bearing
+the ice-field in the opposite direction. Moreover, the expedition now
+came to a place where the half-broken ice was not fit to bear the
+weight of the men or of the sledges. It was in fact nothing more than
+an immense accumulation of blocks of ice, which, tossed about by the
+waves, made a deafening noise as they crashed against each other;
+provisions too were running short, the men were discouraged, Ross was
+hurt, Parry was suffering from inflammation of the eyes, and the wind
+had veered into a contrary direction, driving the explorers southwards.
+There was nothing for it but to turn back.</p>
+
+<p>This venturesome trip, throughout which the thermometer had not sunk
+beneath 2&deg; 2, might have succeeded had it been undertaken a
+little earlier in the season, for then the explorers could have
+penetrated beyond 82&deg; 4'. In any case they would
+certainly not have had to turn back on account of rain, snow, and damp,
+all signs of the summer thaw.</p>
+
+<p>When Parry got back to the <i>Hecla</i>, he found that she had been in the
+greatest danger. Driven before a violent gale, her chains had been
+broken by the ice, and she had been flung upon the beach, and run
+aground. When got off, she had been taken to Waygat Strait. All dangers
+past, however, the explorers got back safely in the rescued vessel to
+the Orkneys, where they landed, and whence they returned to London,
+arriving there on the 30th September.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst Parry was seeking a passage to the Pacific, by way of Baffin's
+or Hudson's Bay, several expeditions were organized to complete the
+discoveries of Mackenzie, and survey the North American coast. These
+expeditions were not fraught with any great danger, and the results
+might be of the most vital importance alike to geographical and
+nautical science. The command of the first was entrusted to Franklin
+afterwards so justly celebrated, with whom were associated Dr.
+Richardson, George Back, then a midshipman in the royal navy, and two
+common seamen.</p>
+
+<p>The explorers arrived on the 30th August at York Factory on the shores
+of Hudson's Bay, and having obtained from the fur-hunters all the
+information necessary to their success, they started again on the 9th
+September, reaching Cumberland House, 690 miles further, on the 22nd
+October. The season was now nearly at an end, but Franklin and Back
+nevertheless succeeded in penetrating to Fort Chippeway on the western
+side of Lake Athabasca, where they proposed making preparations for the
+expedition of the ensuing summer. This trip of 857 miles was
+accomplished in the depth of winter with the thermometer at between 40&deg;
+and 50&deg; below zero.</p>
+
+<p>Early in spring, Dr. Richardson joined the rest of the party at Fort
+Chippeway, and all started together on the 18th July, 1820, in the hope
+of reaching comfortable quarters at the mouth of the Coppermine before
+the bad season set in; Franklin and his people did not, however, make
+sufficient allowance for the difficulties of the route or for the
+obstacles resulting from the severity of the weather, and it took them
+till the 20th August to cross the waterfalls, shallows, lakes, rivers,
+and portages which impeded their progress. Game too was scarce. At the
+first appearance of ice on the ponds the Canadian guides began to
+complain; and when flocks of wild geese were seen flying southwards
+they refused to go any further. Annoyed as he was at this absence of
+good will in the people in his service, Franklin was compelled to give
+up his schemes, and when 550 miles from Fort Chippeway, in N. lat. 64&deg;
+28', W. long. 118&deg; 6', he built on the
+banks of Winter River a wooden house, which he called Fort Enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>Here the explorers collected as much food as they could, manufacturing
+with reindeer flesh what is known throughout North America as
+<i>pemmican</i>. At first the number of reindeer seen was considerable; no
+less than 2000 were once sighted in a single day, but this was only a
+proof that they were migrating to more clement latitudes. The
+<i>pemmican</i> prepared from eighty reindeer and the fish obtained in
+Winter River both run short before the expedition was able to proceed.
+Whole tribes of Indians, on hearing of the arrival of the whites,
+collected about the camp, greatly harassing the explorers by their
+begging, and soon exhausted the supply of blankets, tobacco, &amp;c., which
+had been brought as means of barter.</p>
+
+<p>Disappointed at the non-arrival of reinforcements with provisions,
+Franklin sent Back with an escort of Canadians to Fort Chippeway on the
+18th October.</p>
+
+<p>"I had the pleasure," says Back, writing after his return, "of meeting
+my friends all in good health, after an absence of nearly five months,
+during which I travelled 1104 miles in snow-shoes, and had no other
+covering at night in the woods than a blanket and deerskin, with the
+thermometer frequently at 40&deg;, and once at 57&deg; below
+zero, and sometimes passing two or three days without tasting food."</p>
+
+<p>Those who remained at the fort also suffered terribly from cold, the
+thermometer sinking three degrees lower than it had done when Parry was
+at Melville Island, nine degrees nearer the pole. Not only did the men
+suffer from the extreme severity of the cold, but the trees were frozen
+to the pith, and axes broke against them without making so much as a
+notch.</p>
+
+<p>Two interpreters from Hudson's Bay had accompanied Back to Fort
+Enterprise, one of whom had a daughter said to be the loveliest
+creature ever seen, and who, though only sixteen, had already been
+married twice. One of the English officers took her portrait, to the
+terrible distress of her mother, who feared that if the "great chief of
+England" saw the inanimate representation he would fall in love with
+the original.</p>
+
+<p>On the 14th June the Coppermine River was sufficiently free from ice to
+be navigable, and although their provisions were all but exhausted, the
+explorers embarked upon it. As it fortunately turned out, however, game
+was very plentiful on the green banks of the river, and enough musk
+oxen were killed to feed the whole party.</p>
+
+<p>The mouth of the Coppermine was reached on the 18th July, when the
+Indians, afraid of meeting their enemies, the Esquimaux, at once
+returned to Fort Enterprise, whilst the Canadians scarcely dared to
+launch their frail boats on the angry sea. Franklin at last succeeded
+in persuading them to run the risk; but he could not get them to go
+further than Cape Turn-again in N. lat. 68&deg; 30', a
+promontory at the opening of a deep gulf dotted with islands, to which
+the leader of the expedition gave the name of Coronation, in memory of
+the accession of George IV.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin had begun to ascend Hood River, when he was stopped by a
+cataract 250 feet high, compelling him to make his way overland across
+a barren, unknown district, and through snow more than two feet deep.
+The fatigue and suffering involved in this return journey can be more
+easily imagined than described; suffice it to say that the party
+arrived on the 11th October in a state of complete exhaustion&mdash;having
+eaten nothing for five days&mdash;at Fort Enterprise, which they found
+utterly deserted. Ill and without food, there seemed to be nothing left
+for Franklin to do but to die. The next day, however, he set to work to
+look for the Indians, and those of his party who had started before
+him, but the snow was so thick he had to return without accomplishing
+anything. For the next eighteen days life was supported by a kind of
+bouilli made from the bones and the skin of the game killed the
+previous year, and at last, on the 29th October, Dr. Richardson arrived
+with John Hepburn, only looking thin and worn, and scarcely able to
+speak above a whisper. It seemed as if they were doomed! We quote the
+following from Desborough Cooley:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Dr. Richardson had now a melancholy tale to relate. For the first two
+days his party had nothing whatever to eat. On the third day, Michel
+arrived with a hare and partridge, which afforded each a small morsel.
+Then another day passed without food. On the 11th, Michel offered them
+some flesh, which he said was part of a wolf; but they afterwards
+became convinced that it was the flesh of one of the unfortunate men
+who had left Captain Franklin's party to return to Dr. Richardson.
+Michel was daily growing more insolent and shy, and it was strongly
+suspected that he had a hidden supply of meat for his own use. On the
+20th, while Hepburn was cutting wood near the tent, he heard the report
+of a gun, and looking towards the spot saw Michel dart into the tent.
+Mr. Hood was found dead; a ball had entered the back part of his head,
+and there could be no doubt but that Michel was the murderer. He now
+became more mistrustful and outrageous than before; and as his strength
+was superior to that of the English who survived, and he was well
+armed, they became satisfied that there was no safety for them but in
+his death. 'I determined,' says Dr. Richardson, 'as I was thoroughly
+convinced of the necessity of such a dreadful act, to take the whole
+responsibility upon myself; and, upon Michel coming up, I put an end to
+his life by shooting him through the head!'"</p>
+
+<p>Many of the Indians who had accompanied Richardson and Hepburn had died
+of hunger, and the two leaders were on the brink of the grave when, on
+the 7th November, three Indians, sent by Back, brought them help. As
+soon as they felt a little stronger, the two Englishmen made for the
+Company's settlement, where they found Back, to whom they had twice
+owed their lives on this one expedition.</p>
+
+<p>The results of this journey, in which 5500 miles had been traversed,
+were of the greatest importance to geographical, magnetic, and
+meteorological science, and the coast of America had been surveyed as
+far as Cape Turn-again.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of all the fatigue and suffering so bravely borne, the
+explorers were quite ready to make yet another attempt to reach the
+shores of the Polar Sea, and at the end of 1823 Franklin received
+instructions to survey the coast west of Mackenzie River, all the
+agents of the Company being ordered to supply his party with
+provisions, boats, guides, and everything else they might require.</p>
+
+<p>After a hearty reception at New York, Franklin went to Albany, by way
+of the Hudson, ascended the Niagara from Lewiston to the famous Falls,
+made his way thence to Fort St. George on the Ontario, crossed the
+lake, landed at York, the capital of Upper Canada (<i>sic</i>), passed Lakes
+Siamese, Huron, and Superior, where he was joined by twenty-four
+Canadians, and on the 29th June, 1825, came to Lake Methye, then alive
+with boats.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst Dr. Richardson was surveying the eastern coast of Great Bear
+Lake, and Back was superintending the preparations for the winter,
+Franklin reached the mouth of the Mackenzie, the navigation of which
+was very easy, no obstacles being met with, except in the Delta. The
+sea was free from ice, and black and white whales and seals were
+playing about at the top of the water. Franklin landed on the small
+island of Garry, the position of which he determined as N. lat. 69&deg;
+2', W. long. 135&deg; 41', a valuable fact,
+proving as it did, how much confidence was to be placed in the
+observations of Mackenzie.</p>
+
+<p>The return journey was made without difficulty, and on the 5th
+September the explorers arrived at the fort to which Dr. Richardson had
+given the name of Franklin. The winter was passed in festivities, such
+as balls, &amp;c., in which Canadians, English, Scotch, French, Esquimaux,
+and Indians of various tribes took part.</p>
+
+<p>On the 22nd June a fresh start was made, and on the 4th July the fort
+was reached where the Mackenzie divides into two branches. There the
+expedition separated into two parties, one going to the east and the
+other to the west, to explore the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Franklin
+and his companions had hardly left the river when he met near a large
+bay a numerous party of Esquimaux, who at first testified great delight
+at the rencontre, but soon became obstreperous, and tried to carry off
+the boat. Only by the exercise of wonderful patience and tact were the
+English able to avert bloodshed on this emergency.</p>
+
+<p>Franklin now surveyed and gave the name of Clarence to the river
+separating the English from the Russian territories, and a little
+further on was discovered another stream, which he called the Canning.
+On the 16th April, finding he had only made half of the distance
+between Mackenzie River and Icy Cape, though the winter was rapidly
+approaching, Franklin turned back and embarked on the beautiful Peel
+River, which he mistook for that of Mackenzie, not discovering his
+error till he came in sight of a chain of mountains on the east. On the
+21st September he got back to the fort, after having in the course of
+three months traversed 2048 miles, and surveyed 372 miles of the
+American coast.</p>
+
+<p>Richardson meanwhile had advanced into much deeper water with far less
+floating ice, and had met with a great many Esquimaux of mild and
+hospitable manners. He surveyed Liverpool and Franklin Bays, and
+discovered opposite the mouth of the Coppermine a tract of land
+separated from the continent by a channel not more than twenty miles
+wide, to which he gave the name of Wollaston. His boats arrived at
+Coronation Gulf, explored on the previous trip, on the 7th August; and
+on the 1st September they got back to Fort Franklin, without having
+sustained any damage.</p>
+
+<p>In dwelling on Parry's voyages, we have, for the time, turned aside
+from those made at the same time by Ross, whose extraordinary
+exploration of Baffin's Bay had brought upon him the censure of the
+Admiralty, and who was anxious to regain his reputation for skill and
+courage. Though the Government had lost confidence in him, he won the
+esteem of a rich ship-owner, who did not hesitate to entrust to him the
+command of the steamship <i>Victory</i>, on which he started for Baffin's
+Bay on the 25th May, 1830.</p>
+
+<p>For four years nothing was heard of the courageous navigator, but on
+his return, at the end of that time, it turned out that his voyage had
+been as rich in discoveries as had been Parry's first trip. Ross,
+entering Prince Regent's Inlet, by way of Barrow and Lancaster Sounds,
+had revisited the spot where the <i>Fury</i> had been abandoned four years
+previously; and continuing his voyage in a southerly direction, he
+wintered in Felix Harbour&mdash;so named after the equipper of the
+expedition&mdash;ascertaining whilst there that the lands he had passed
+formed a large peninsula attached on the south to the northern coast of
+America.</p>
+
+<p>In April, 1830, James Ross, nephew of the leader of the party, set out
+in a canoe to examine the shores of this peninsula, and those of King
+William's Land; and in November of the same year all had once more to
+go into winter-quarters in Sherif Harbour, it being impossible to get
+the vessel more than a few miles further north. The cold was intense,
+and it was agreed by the sailors of the <i>Victory</i> that this was the
+very severest winter ever spent by them in the Arctic regions.</p>
+
+<p>The summer of 1831 was devoted to various surveys, which proved that
+there was no connexion between the two seas. All that was accomplished
+this season was to bring the <i>Victory</i> as far as Discovery Harbour, a
+very little further north than that of Sherif. The ensuing winter was
+so intensely severe, that the vessel could not be extricated from her
+ice prison, and but for the fortunate discovery of the provisions left
+by the <i>Fury</i>, the English would have died of hunger. As it was, they
+endured daily greater and greater privations and sufferings before the
+summer of 1833 at last enabled them finally to leave their
+winter-quarters and go by land to Prince Regent's and Barrow Straits.
+They had just reached the shores of Baffin's Bay when a vessel
+appeared, which turned out to be the <i>Isabel</i>, once commanded by Ross
+himself, and which now received the refugees from the <i>Victory</i>.</p>
+
+<p>But England had not all this time been forgetful of her children, and
+had sent an expedition in search of them every year. In 1833 Back,
+Franklin's companion, was the leader, and he starting from Fort
+Revolution, on the shore of Slave Lake, made his way northwards,
+discovered Thloni-Tcho-Deseth River, and settled down in
+winter-quarters, with the intention of reaching the next year the Polar
+Sea, where he supposed Ross to be held prisoner, when he heard of his
+incredible return journey overland. Back, therefore, gave up the next
+season to the survey of the fine Fish River, discovered the previous
+year, and sighted the Queen Adelaide Mts., with Capes Booth and Ross.</p>
+
+<p>1836 found him at the head of a new expedition, which was to attempt to
+connect by sea the discoveries of Ross and Franklin. It failed, and the
+accomplishment of the task assigned to it was reserved to Peter
+Williams, Dease, and Thomas Simpson, all officers in the service of the
+Hudson's Bay Company, who, leaving Fort Chippeway on the 1st June,
+1837, went down the Mackenzie, arriving on the sea-coast on the 9th
+July, and making their way along it to N. lat. 71&deg; 3' and
+W. long. 156&deg; 46', i.e. to a cape they named Simpson,
+after the governor of their company.</p>
+
+<p>Thomas Simpson now made his way overland with five men to Port Barrow,
+already sighted in the direction of Behring Strait by one of Beechey's
+officers, so that the whole of the North American coast from Cape
+Turn-again to Behring's Strait was now complete, and there was nothing
+left to do but to explore the space between the former and Point Ogle,
+a task accomplished by the explorers in a later expedition.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving the Coppermine in 1838, they followed the eastern coast,
+arriving on the 9th August at Cape Turn-again, which was too much
+encumbered with ice to be rounded. Thomas Simpson therefore remained
+near it for the winter, discovered Victoria Land, and on the 12th
+August, 1839, arrived at Back River. The rest of the month he devoted
+to the exploration of Boothia.</p>
+<a name="ill109"></a>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" summary="Illustration109">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="574">
+			<img src="images/109.jpg" alt="Discovery of Victoria Land">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td width="574" align="center">
+			<small>Discovery of Victoria Land.</small>
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The whole of the coast-line of North America was now accurately laid
+down, but at the cost of what struggles, devotion, privations, and
+sufferings? What, however, is human life when weighed in the balance
+with the progress of science? and with what disinterestedness and
+enthusiasm must be embued the savants, sailors, and explorers, who give
+up all the joys of existence to contribute to the best of their power
+to the progress of knowledge and to the moral and intellectual
+development of humanity.</p>
+
+<p>With the voyages last recorded the discovery of the earth was
+completed, and with our account of them our work, which began with the
+first attempts of the earliest explorers, also closes. The shape of the
+earth is now known, the task of explorers, is done. The land on which
+man lives is henceforth familiar to him, and he has now only to turn to
+account the vast resources of the countries to which access has
+recently become easy, or of which he can without difficulty possess
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>How rich in lessons of every kind is this history of twenty centuries
+of exploration. Let us cast a glance behind us and enumerate the main
+features of the progress made in this long series of years. If we take
+the map of the world of Hecatæus, who lived 500 years before the
+Christian era, what do we see? When it was published the known world
+did not extend beyond the basin of the Mediterranean, and the whole,
+with a terribly distorted outline, is represented only by a very small
+portion of southern Europe, the interior of Asia, and part of North
+Africa; whilst encircling them all is a river without beginning or end,
+to which is given the name of Ocean.</p>
+
+<p>Side by side with this map, ancient monument as it is of antique
+science, let us place a planisphere representing the world as known in
+1840, and on this vast surface we shall find the portion known, and
+that but imperfectly to Hecatæus, occupying but an infinitesimal space.</p>
+
+<p>Taking these two typical maps as our starting-point, we shall be able
+to judge of the magnitude of the discoveries of modern times. Imagine
+for a moment all that is involved in thorough knowledge of the whole
+world, and you will marvel at the results achieved by the efforts of so
+many explorers and martyrs, you will grasp the importance of their
+discoveries and the intimate relations between geography and all the
+other sciences. This is the point of view from which can best be seen
+all the philosophic bearings of a work to which so many generations
+have devoted themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Doubtless the motives actuating these various explorers differ greatly.
+First, we have the natural curiosity of the owner anxious to know
+thoroughly every part of the domain belonging to him, so that he may
+estimate the extent of the habitable districts, and determine the
+boundaries of the seas, &amp;c.; and secondly, we have the natural outcome
+of a trade, which, though still in its infancy, introduced even in
+remote Norway the products of Central Asian industry. In the time of
+Herodotus the aim of explorers was loftier: they wished to learn the
+history, manners, customs, and religion of foreign races; and later,
+the Crusades, which, whatever else they accomplished, certainly
+vulgarized oriental studies, inspired some few with a fervent desire to
+wrest from infidels the scene of our Lord's Passion, but the greater
+number with a lust of pillage and a yearning to explore the unknown.</p>
+
+<p>Columbus, seeking a new route to the Indies, came across America on the
+way, and his successors were only anxious to make rapid fortunes,
+differing greatly indeed from the noble Portuguese who sacrificed their
+private interests to the glory and colonial prosperity of their
+country, and were the poorer for the offices conferred on them with a
+view to doing them honour.</p>
+
+<p>In the sixteenth century religious persecution and civil war drove to
+the New World the Huguenots and Puritans, who, whilst laying for
+England the foundations of colonial prosperity, were to bring about a
+radical change in America. The next century was essentially one of
+colonization. In America the French, in India the English, and in
+Oceania the Dutch established counting-houses and offices, whilst
+missionaries endeavoured to win over to the Christian faith and modern
+ideas the unchangeable "Empire of the Mean."</p>
+
+<p>The eighteenth century, ushering in our own, rectified received errors,
+and surveyed minutely alike continents and archipelagoes; in a word
+brought to perfection the work of its predecessors. The same task has
+occupied modern explorers, who pride themselves on not passing over in
+their surveys the smallest corner of the earth, or the tiniest islet.
+With a similar enthusiasm are imbued the intrepid navigators who
+penetrate the ice-bound solitudes of the two poles, and tear away the
+last fragments of the veil which has so long hidden from us the
+extremities of the globe.</p>
+
+<p>All then is now known, classed, catalogued, and labelled! Will the
+results of so much toil be buried in some carefully laid down atlas, to
+be sought only by professional <i>savants</i>? No! it is reserved to our
+use, and to develope the resources of the globe, conquered for us by
+our fathers at the cost of so much danger and fatigue. Our heritage is
+too grand to be relinquished. We have at our command all the facilities
+of modern science for surveying, clearing, and working our property. No
+more lands lying fallow, no more impassable deserts, no more useless
+streams, no more unfathomable seas, no more inaccessible mountains!</p>
+
+<p>We suppress the obstacles nature throws in our way. The isthmuses of
+Panama and Suez are in our way; we cut through them! The Sahara
+interferes with the connexion of Algeria and Senegal; we will throw a
+railway across it. The Pas de Calais prevents two nations so well
+fitted for cordial friendship from shaking each other by the hand; we
+will pierce it with a railway!</p>
+
+<p>This is our task and that of our contemporaries. Is it less grand than
+that of our predecessors, that it has not yet succeeded in inspiring
+any great writer of fiction? To dwell upon it ourselves would be to
+exceed the limits we laid down for our work. We meant to write the
+History of the Discovery of the World, and we have written it. Our task
+therefore is complete.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center>FINIS.</center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center><small>LONDON:<br>
+GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,<br>
+ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.</small></center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="Illustration110">
+	<tr>
+		<td width="807">
+			<img src="images/110.jpg" alt="Back cover">
+		</td>
+	</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Celebrated Travels and Travellers, by Jules Verne
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@@ -0,0 +1,16360 @@
+Project Gutenberg's Celebrated Travels and Travellers, by Jules Verne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Celebrated Travels and Travellers
+       Part III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century
+
+Author: Jules Verne
+
+Illustrator: Léon Benett
+
+Translator: N. D'Anvers
+
+Release Date: September 19, 2008 [EBook #26658]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ron Swanson. (This file was produced from
+images generously made available by The Internet
+Archive/Canadian Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
+
+
+
+
+LONDON: GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: Map of the work which had to be done in the 19th
+Century. _Grave par E. Morieu 23, r. de Brea Paris._]
+
+
+
+
+CELEBRATED TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
+
+BY JULES VERNE.
+
+
+TRANSLATED BY N. D'ANVERS,
+AUTHOR OF "HEROES OF NORTH AFRICAN DISCOVERY," "HEROES OF SOUTH AFRICAN
+DISCOVERY," ETC.
+
+
+WITH 51 ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY LEON BENETT, AND 57 FAC-SIMILES FROM EARLY
+MSS. AND MAPS BY MATTHIS AND MORIEU.
+
+[Illustration: Ship sailing near icebergs.]
+
+London:
+SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
+CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
+
+1881.
+[_All rights reserved_.]
+
+
+
+
+TO
+DR. G. G. GARDINER,
+_I Dedicate this Translation_
+WITH SINCERE AND GRATEFUL ESTEEM.
+
+N. D'ANVERS.
+HENDON, _Christmas, 1880_.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.
+
+
+In offering the present volume to the English public, the Translator
+wishes to thank the Rev. Andrew Carter for the very great assistance
+given by him in tracing all quotations from English, German, and other
+authors to the original sources, and for his untiring aid in the
+verification of disputed spellings, &c.
+
+
+
+
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE 19TH CENTURY.
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
+
+REPRODUCED IN FAC-SIMILE FROM THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS, GIVING THE
+SOURCES WHENCE THEY ARE DERIVED.
+
+
+PART THE FIRST.
+                                                                   PAGE
+Map of the work which had to be done in the 19th Century _Frontispiece_
+
+Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
+
+Map of Egypt, Nubia, and part of Arabia  _To face woodcut of Jerusalem_
+
+Portrait of Burckhardt  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
+
+"Here is thy grave" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
+
+Merchant of Jeddah  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
+
+Shores and boats of the Red Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
+
+Map of English India and part of Persia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
+
+Bridge of rope  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
+
+"They were seated according to age" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
+
+Beluchistan warriors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
+
+"A troop of bayaderes came in"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
+
+Afghan costumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  48
+
+Persian costumes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
+
+"Two soldiers held me"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
+
+"Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  59
+
+"He beheld the Missouri"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  64
+
+Warrior of Java . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  65
+
+A kafila of slaves  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  70
+
+Member of the body-guard of the Sheikh of Bornou  . . . . . . . . .  73
+
+Reception of the Mission  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  74
+
+Lancer of the army of the Sultan of Begharmi  . . . . . . . . . . .  75
+
+Map of Denham and Clapperton's journey  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  78
+
+Portrait of Clapperton  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  79
+
+"The caravan met a messenger" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  86
+
+"Travelling at a slow pace" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  93
+
+View on the banks of the Congo  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  97
+
+Ashantee warrior  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  97
+
+Rene Caillie  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
+
+"He decamped with all his followers"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
+
+Caillie crossing the Tankisso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
+
+View of part of Timbuctoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
+
+Map of Rene Caillie's journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
+
+"Laing saw Mount Loma"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
+
+Lower Course of the Niger (after Lander)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
+
+Mount Kesa  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
+
+"They were all but upset" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
+
+Square stool belonging to the King of Bornou  . . . . . . . . . . . 133
+
+Map of the Lower Course of the Djoliba, Kouara, Quoora, or Niger
+     (after Lander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
+
+"It was hollowed out of a single tree-trunk"  . . . . . . . . . . . 141
+
+View of a Merawe temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
+
+The Second Cataract of the Nile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
+
+Temple of Jupiter Ammon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
+
+"Villages picturesquely perched"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
+
+Map of the Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
+
+Circassians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
+
+"Excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
+
+Map of the Sources of the Mississippi, 1834 . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
+
+View of the Pyramid of Xochicalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
+
+
+PART THE SECOND.
+
+New Zealanders  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
+
+Coast of Japan  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
+
+Typical Ainos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
+
+"In the twinkling of an eye the canoes were empty"  . . . . . . . . 188
+
+Interior of a house at Radak  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
+
+View of Otaheite  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
+
+One of the guard of the King of the Sandwich Islands  . . . . . . . 198
+
+"The village consisted of clean, well-built huts" . . . . . . . . . 204
+
+A Morai at Kayakakoua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
+
+Native of Ualan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
+
+Sedentary Tchouktchis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
+
+Warriors of Ombay and Guebeh  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
+
+Rawak hut on piles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
+
+The luxuriant vegetation of the Papuan Islands  . . . . . . . . . . 230
+
+Map of Australia  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
+
+A performer of the dances of Montezuma  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
+
+Ruins of ancient pillars at Tinian  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
+
+An Australian farm near the Blue Mountains  . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
+
+Native Australians  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
+
+Berkeley Sound, in the Falkland Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
+
+The _Mercury_ at anchor in Berkeley Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
+
+The waterfall of Port Praslin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
+
+The wreck of the _Uranie_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
+
+Natives of New Guinea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
+
+Meeting with the Chief of Ualan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
+
+Natives of Pondicherry  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
+
+Ancient idols near Pondicherry  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
+
+Near the Bay of Manilla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
+
+Women of Touron Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
+
+Entrance to Sydney Bay  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
+
+"Apsley's Waterfall"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
+
+Eucalyptus forest of Jervis Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
+
+New Guinea hut on piles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
+
+New Zealanders  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
+
+Attack from the natives of Tonga Tabou  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
+
+Lofty mountains clothed with dense and gloomy forests . . . . . . . 309
+
+Natives of Vanikoro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
+
+"I merely had the armoury opened" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
+
+Reefs off Vanikoro  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
+
+Hunting sea-elephants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
+
+Map of the Antarctic Regions, showing the routes taken by the
+     navigators of the 19th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
+
+"Here congregate flocks of penguins"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
+
+Dumont d'Urville  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
+
+"Only by getting wet up to their waists"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
+
+Anchorage off Port Famine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
+
+"The rudder had to be protected"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
+
+View of Adelie Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
+
+Reduced Map of D'Urville's discoveries in the Antarctic Regions . . 349
+
+"Their straight walls rose far above our masts" . . . . . . . . . . 350
+
+Captain John Ross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
+
+Map of Victoria, discovered by James Ross . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
+
+"Two small sledges were selected" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
+
+Esquimaux family  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
+
+Map of the Arctic Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
+
+Rain as a novel phenomenon  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
+
+Discovery of Victoria Land  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS.
+
+
+FIRST PART.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+THE DAWN OF A CENTURY OF DISCOVERY.
+                                                                   PAGE
+Slackness of discovery during the struggles of the Republic and
+Empire--Seetzen's voyages in Syria and Palestine--Hauran and the
+circumnavigation of the Dead Sea--Decapolis--Journey in Arabia--
+Burckhardt in Syria--Expeditions in Nubia upon the two branches of
+the Nile--Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina--The English in India--Webb
+at the Source of the Ganges--Narrative of a journey in the Punjab--
+Christie and Pottinger in Scinde--The same explorers cross
+Beluchistan into Persia--Elphinstone in Afghanistan--Persia
+according to Gardane, A. Dupre, Morier, Macdonald-Kinneir, Price,
+and Ouseley--Guldenstaedt and Klaproth in the Caucasus--Lewis and
+Clarke in the Rocky Mountains--Raffles in Sumatra and Java  . . . .   3
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+THE EXPLORATION AND COLONIZATION OF AFRICA.
+
+I.
+Peddie and Campbell in the Soudan--Ritchie and Lyon in Fezzan--
+Denham, Oudney, and Clapperton in Fezzan, and in the Tibboo
+country--Lake Tchad and its tributaries--Kouka and the chief
+villages of Bornou--Mandara--A razzia, or raid, in the Fellatah
+country--Defeat of the Arabs and death of Boo-Khaloum--Loggan--
+Death of Toole--En route for Kano--Death of Oudney--Kano--
+Sackatoo--Sultan Bello--Return to Europe  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  66
+
+II.
+Clapperton's second journey--Arrival at Badagry--Yariba and its
+capital Katunga--Boussa--Attempts to get at the truth about Mungo
+Park's fate--"Nyffe," Yaourie, and Zegzeg--Arrival at Kano--
+Disappointments--Death of Clapperton--Return of Lander to the
+coast--Tuckey on the Congo--Bowditch in Ashantee--Mollien at the
+sources of the Senegal and Gambia--Major Grey--Caillie at
+Timbuctoo--Laing at the sources of the Niger--Richard and John
+Lander at the mouth of the Niger--Cailliaud and Letorzec in Egypt,
+Nubia, and the oasis of Siwah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  85
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+THE ORIENTAL SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT AND AMERICAN DISCOVERIES.
+
+The decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions, and the study of
+Assyrian remains up to 1840--Ancient Iran and the Avesta--The
+survey of India and the study of Hindustani--The exploration and
+measurement of the Himalaya mountains--The Arabian Peninsula--
+Syria and Palestine--Central Asia and Alexander von Humboldt--Pike
+at the sources of the Mississippi, Arkansas, and Red River--Major
+Long's two expeditions--General Cass--Schoolcraft at the sources
+of the Mississippi--The exploration of New Mexico--Archaeological
+expeditions in Central America--Scientific expeditions in Brazil--
+Spix and Martin--Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied--D'Orbigny and
+American Man  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
+
+
+SECOND PART.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD, AND POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
+
+The Russian fur trade--Kruzenstern appointed to the command of an
+expedition--Noukha-Hiva--Nangasaki--Reconnaisance of the coast of
+Japan--Yezo--The Ainos--Saghalien--Return to Europe--Otto von
+Kotzebue--Stay at Easter Island--Penrhyn--The Radak Archipelago--
+Return to Russia--Changes at Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands--
+Beechey's Voyage--Easter Island--Pitcairn and the mutineers of the
+_Bounty_--The Paumoto Islands--Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands--
+The Bonin Islands--Lutke--The Quebradas of Valparaiso--Holy week
+in Chili--New Archangel--The Kaloches--Ounalashka--The Caroline
+Archipelago--The canoes of the Caroline Islanders--Guam, a desert
+island--Beauty and happy situation of the Bonin Islands--The
+Tchouktchees: their manners and their conjurors--Return to Russia . 173
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+FRENCH CIRCUMNAVIGATORS.
+
+The journey of Freycinet--Rio de Janeiro and its gipsy
+inhabitants--The Cape and its wines--The Bay of Sharks--Stay at
+Timor--Ombay Island and its cannibal inhabitants--The Papuan
+Islands--The pile dwellings of the Alfoers--A dinner with the
+Governor of Guam--Description of the Marianne Islands and their
+inhabitants--Particulars concerning the Sandwich Islands--Port
+Jackson and New South Wales--Shipwreck in Berkeley Sound--The
+Falkland Islands--Return to France--The voyage of the _Coquille_
+under the command of Duperrey--Martin-Vaz and Trinidad--The Island
+of St. Catherine--The independence of Brazil--Berkeley Sound and
+the remains of the _Uranie_--Stay at Conception--The civil war in
+Chili--The Araucanians--Discoveries in the Dangerous Archipelago--
+Stay at Otaheite and New Ireland--The Papuans--Stay at Ualan--The
+Caroline Islands and their inhabitants--Scientific results of the
+expeditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
+
+II.
+Expedition of Baron de Bougainville--Stay at Pondicherry--The
+"White Town" and the "Black Town"--"Right-hand" and "Left-hand"--
+Malacca--Singapore and its prosperity--Stay at Manilla--Touron
+Bay--The monkeys and the people--The marble rocks of Faifoh--
+Cochin-Chinese diplomacy--The Anambas--The Sultan of Madura--The
+straits of Madura and Allas--Cloates and the Triad Islands--
+Tasmania--Botany Bay and New South Wales--Santiago and
+Valparaiso--Return _via_ Cape Horn--Expedition of Dumont d'Urville
+in the _Astrolabe_--The Peak of Teneriffe--Australia--Stay at New
+Zealand--Tonga-Tabu--Skirmishes--New Britain and New Guinea--First
+news of the fate of La Perouse--Vanikoro and its inhabitants--Stay
+at Guam--Amboyna and Menado--Results of the expedition  . . . . . . 274
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
+
+Bellinghausen, yet another Russian Explorer--Discovery of the
+islands of Traversay, Peter I., and Alexander I.--The Whaler,
+Weddell--The Southern Orkneys--New Shetland--The people of Tierra
+del Fuego--John Biscoe and the districts of Enderby and Graham--
+Charles Wilkes and the Antarctic Continent--Captain Balleny--
+Dumont d'Urville's expedition in the _Astrolabe_ and the _Zelee_--
+Coupvent Desbois and the Peak of Teneriffe--The Straits of
+Magellan--A new post-office shut in by ice--Louis Philippe's
+Land--Across Oceania--Adelie and Clarie Lands--New Guinea and
+Torres Strait--Return to France--James Clark Rosset--Victoria . . . 321
+
+II.
+THE NORTH POLE.
+
+Anjou and Wrangell--The "polynia"--John Ross's first expedition--
+Baffin's Bay closed--Edward Parry's discoveries on his first
+voyage--The survey of Hudson's Bay, and the discovery of Fury and
+Hecla Straits--Parry's third voyage--Fourth voyage--On the ice in
+sledges in the open sea--Franklin's first trip--Incredible
+sufferings of the explorers--Second expedition--John Ross--Four
+winters amongst the ice--Dease and Simpson's expedition . . . . . . 358
+
+
+
+
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: PART I.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+THE DAWN OF A CENTURY OF DISCOVERY.
+
+Slackness of discovery during the struggles of the Republic and
+Empire--Seetzen's voyages in Syria and Palestine--Hauran and the
+circumnavigation of the Dead Sea--Decapolis--Journey in Arabia--
+Burckhardt in Syria--Expeditions in Nubia upon the two branches of the
+Nile--Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina--The English in India--Webb at the
+Source of the Ganges--Narrative of a journey in the Punjab--Christie
+and Pottinger in Scinde--The same explorers cross Beluchistan into
+Persia--Elphinstone in Afghanistan--Persia according to Gardane, A.
+Dupre, Morier, Macdonald-Kinneir, Price, and Ouseley--Guldenstaedt and
+Klaproth in the Caucasus--Lewis and Clarke in the Rocky Mountains--
+Raffles in Sumatra and Java.
+
+
+A sensible diminution in geographical discovery marks the close of the
+eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries.
+
+We have already noticed the organization of the Expedition sent in
+search of La Perouse by the French Republic, and also Captain Baudin's
+important cruise along the Australian coasts. These are the only
+instances in which the unrestrained passions and fratricidal struggles
+of the French nation allowed the government to exhibit interest in
+geography, a science which is especially favoured by the French.
+
+At a later period, Bonaparte consulted several savants and
+distinguished artists, and the materials for that grand undertaking
+which first gave an idea (incomplete though it was) of the ancient
+civilization of the land of the Pharaohs, were collected together. But
+when Bonaparte had completely given place to Napoleon, the egotistical
+monarch, sacrificing all else to his ruling passion for war, would no
+longer listen to explorations, voyages, or possible discoveries. They
+represented money and men stolen from him; and his expenditure of those
+materials was far too great to allow of such futile waste. This was
+clearly shown, when he ceded the last remnants of French colonial rule
+in America to the United States for a few millions.
+
+Happily other nations were not oppressed by the same iron hand.
+Absorbed although they might be in their struggle with France, they
+could still find volunteers to extend the range of geographical
+science, to establish archaeology upon scientific bases, and to
+prosecute linguistic and ethnographical enterprise.
+
+The learned geographer Malte-Brun, in an article published by him in
+the "Nouvelles Annales des Voyages" in 1817, gives a minute account of
+the condition of French geographical knowledge at the beginning of the
+nineteenth century, and of the many desiderata of that science. He
+reviews the progress already made in navigation, astronomy, and
+languages. The India Company, far from concealing its discoveries, as
+jealousy had induced the Hudson Bay Company to do, founded academies,
+published memoirs, and encouraged travellers.
+
+War itself was utilized, for the French army gathered a store of
+precious material in Egypt. We shall shortly see how emulation spread
+among the various nations.
+
+From the commencement of the century, one country has taken the lead in
+great discoveries. German explorers have worked so earnestly, and have
+proved themselves possessed of will so strong and instinct so sure,
+that they have left little for their successors to do beyond verifying
+and completing their discoveries.
+
+The first in order of time was Ulric Jasper Seetzen, born in 1767 in
+East Friesland; he completed his education at Gottingen, and published
+some essays upon statistics and the natural sciences, for which he had
+a natural inclination. These publications attracted the attention of
+the government, and he was appointed Aulic Councillor in the province
+of Tever.
+
+Seetzen's ambition, like that of Burckhardt subsequently, was an
+expedition to Central Africa, but he wished previously to make an
+exploration of Palestine and Syria, to which countries attention was
+shortly to be directed by the "Palestine Association," founded in
+London in 1805.
+
+Seetzen did not wait for this period, but in 1802 set out for
+Constantinople, furnished with suitable introductions.
+
+Although many pilgrims and travellers had successively visited the Holy
+Land and Syria, the vaguest notions about these countries prevailed.
+Their physical geography was not determined, details were wanting, and
+certain regions, as for example, the Lebanon and the Dead Sea had never
+been explored.
+
+Comparative geography did not exist. It has taken the unwearied efforts
+of the English Association and the science of travellers in connexion
+with it to erect that study into a science. Seetzen, whose studies had
+been various, found himself admirably prepared to explore a country
+which, often visited, was still in reality new.
+
+Having travelled through Anatolia, Seetzen reached Aleppo in May, 1802.
+He remained there a year, devoting himself to the practical study of
+the Arabic tongue, making extracts from Eastern historians and
+geographers, verifying the astronomical position of Aleppo, prosecuting
+his investigations into natural history, collecting manuscripts, and
+translating many of those popular songs and legends which are such
+valuable aids to the knowledge of a nation.
+
+Seetzen left Aleppo in 1805 for Damascus. His first expedition led him
+across the provinces of Hauran and Jaulan, situated to the S.E. of that
+town. No traveller had as yet visited these two provinces, which in the
+days of Roman dominion had played an important part in the history of
+the Jews, under the names of Auranitis and Gaulonitis. Seetzen was the
+first to give an idea of their geography.
+
+The enterprising traveller explored the Lebanon and Baalbek. He
+prosecuted his discoveries south of Damascus, and entered Judea,
+exploring the eastern portion of Hermon, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea.
+This was the dwelling-place of those races well known to us in Jewish
+history; the Ammonites, Moabites, and Gileadites. At the time of the
+Roman conquest, the western portion of this country was known as Perea,
+and was the centre of the celebrated Decapolis or confederacy of ten
+cities. No modern traveller had visited these regions, a fact
+sufficient to induce Seetzen to begin his exploration with them.
+
+His friends at Damascus had tried to dissuade him from the journey, by
+picturing the difficulties and danger of a route frequented by
+Bedouins; but nothing could stay him. Before visiting the Decapolis
+region and investigating the condition of its ruins, Seetzen traversed
+a small district, named Ladscha, which bore a bad reputation at
+Damascus on account of the Bedouins who occupied it, but which was said
+to contain remarkable antiquities.
+
+Leaving Damascus on the 12th of December, 1805, with an Armenian guide
+who misled him from the first, Seetzen, having prudently provided
+himself with a passport from the Pasha, proceeded from village to
+village escorted by an armed attendant.
+
+In a narrative published in the earlier "Annales des Voyages," says the
+traveller,--
+
+"That portion of Ladscha which I have seen is, like Hauran, entirely
+formed of basalt, often very porous, and in many districts forming vast
+stony deserts. The villages, which are mostly in ruins, are built on
+the sides of the rocks. The black colour of the basalt, the ruined
+houses, the churches and towers fallen into decay, with the total
+dearth of trees and verdure, combine to give a sombre aspect to this
+country, which strikes one almost with dread. In almost every village
+are either Grecian inscriptions, columns, or other remnants of
+antiquity; amongst others I copied an inscription of the Emperor Marcus
+Aurelius. Here, as in Hauran, the doors were of basalt."
+
+Seetzen had scarcely arrived at the village of Gerasa and enjoyed a
+brief rest, before he was surrounded by half a score of mounted men,
+who said they had come by order of the vice-governor of Hauran to
+arrest him. Their master, Omar Aga, having learned that the traveller
+had been seen in the country the preceding year, and imagining his
+passports to be forgeries, had sent them to bring him before him.
+
+Resistance was useless. Without allowing himself to be disconcerted by
+an incident which he regarded as a simple contretemps, Seetzen
+proceeded in the direction of Hauran, where after a day and a half's
+journey he met Omar Aga, travelling with the Mecca caravan. The
+travellers having received a hearty welcome, departed on the morrow,
+but meeting upon his way with many troops of Arabs, upon whom his
+demeanour imposed respect, he came to the conclusion that it had been
+Omar Aga's intention to have him robbed.
+
+Returning to Damascus, Seetzen had great trouble in finding a guide who
+would accompany him in his expedition along the eastern shore of the
+Jordan, and around the Dead Sea. At last, a certain Yusuf-al-Milky, a
+member of the Greek church, who, for some thirty years, had carried on
+traffic with the Arab tribes, and travelled in the provinces which
+Seetzen desired to visit, agreed to bear him company.
+
+The two travellers left Damascus on the 19th of January, 1806.
+Seetzen's entire baggage consisted of a few clothes, some indispensable
+books, paper for drying plants, and an assortment of drugs, necessary
+to sustain his assumed character as a physician. He wore the dress of a
+sheik of secondary rank.
+
+The districts of Rasheiya and Hasbeiya, at the foot of Mount
+Hermon--whose summit at the time was hidden by snow--were the first
+explored by Seetzen, for the reason that they were the least known in
+Syria.
+
+He then visited Achha, a village inhabited by the Druses, upon the
+opposite side of the mountain; Rasheiya, the residence of the Emir; and
+Hasbeiya, where he paid a visit to the Greek Bishop of Szur or Szeida,
+to whom he carried letters of recommendation. The object which chiefly
+attracted his attention in this mountainous district, was an
+asphalt-mine, whose produce is there used to protect the vines from
+insects.
+
+Leaving Hasbeiya, Seetzen proceeded to Banias, the ancient Casaraea
+Philippi, which is now a mere collection of huts. Even if traces of its
+fortifications were discoverable, not the smallest remains could be
+found of the splendid temple erected by Herod in honour of Augustus.
+
+Ancient authorities hold that the river of Banias is the source of the
+Jordan, but in reality that title belongs to the river Hasbany, which
+forms the larger branch of the Jordan. Seetzen recognized it, as he
+also did the Lake of Merom, or the ancient Samachonitis.
+
+Here he was deserted by his muleteers, whom nothing could induce to
+accompany him so far as the bridge of Jisr-Benat-Yakub, and also by his
+guide Yusuf, whom he was forced to send by the open road to await his
+arrival at Tiberias, while he himself proceeded on foot towards the
+celebrated bridge, accompanied by a single Arab attendant.
+
+He, however, found no one at Jisr-Benat-Yakub who was willing to
+accompany him along the eastern shore of the Jordan, until a native,
+believing him to be a doctor, begged him to go and see his sheik, who
+was suffering from ophthalmia, and who lived upon the eastern bank of
+the Lake of Tiberias.
+
+Seetzen gladly availed himself of this opportunity; and it was well he
+did so, for he was thus enabled to study the Lake of Tiberias and also
+the Wady Zemmak at his leisure, not, however, without risk of being
+robbed and murdered by his guide. Finally he reached Tiberias, called
+by the Arabs Tabaria, where he found Yusuf, who had been waiting for
+him for several days.
+
+"The town of Tiberias," says Seetzen, "is situated upon the lake of the
+same name. Upon the land side it is surrounded by a good wall of cut
+basalt rock, but nevertheless, it scarcely deserves to be called a
+town. No trace of its earlier splendour remains, but the ruins of the
+more ancient city, which extended to the Thermae, a league to the
+eastward, are recognizable.
+
+"The famous Djezar-Pasha caused a bath to be erected above the
+principal spring. If these baths were in Europe, they would rival all
+those now existing. The valley in which the lake is situated, is so
+sheltered, and so warm, that dates, lemon-trees, oranges, and indigo,
+flourish there, whilst on the high ground surrounding it, the products
+of more temperate climates might be grown."
+
+South-west of the lake are the remains of the ancient city of
+Tarichaea. There, between two mountain chains, lies the beautiful plain
+of El Ghor, poorly cultivated, and overrun by Arab hordes. No incident
+of moment marked Seetzen's journey to Decapolis, during which he was
+obliged to dress as a mendicant, to escape the rapacity of the native
+tribes.
+
+"Over my shirt" he relates, "I wore an old kambas, or dressing-gown,
+and above that a woman's ragged chemise; my head was covered with rags,
+and my feet with old sandals. I was protected from cold and wet by an
+old ragged 'abbaje,' which I wore across my shoulders, and a stick cut
+from a tree served me as a staff; my guide, who was a Greek Christian,
+was dressed much in the same style; and together we scoured the country
+for some ten days, often hindered in our journey by chilling rains,
+which wetted us to the skin. For my part, I travelled an entire day in
+the mud with bare feet, because I could not wear my sandals upon sodden
+ground."
+
+Draa which he reached a little farther on, presented but a mass of
+desert ruins; and no trace of the monuments which rendered it famous in
+earlier days, were visible. El-Botthin, the next district, contains
+hundreds of caverns, hewn in the rocks, which were occupied by the
+ancient inhabitants. It was much the same at Seetzen's visit. That Mkes
+was formerly a rich and important city, is proved by its many ruined
+tombs and monuments. Seetzen identified it with Gadara, one of the
+minor towns of the Decapolis. Some leagues beyond are the ruins of Abil
+or Abila. Seetzen's guide, Aoser, refused to go there, being afraid of
+the Arabs. The traveller was, therefore, obliged to go alone.
+
+"This town," he says, "is entirely in ruins and abandoned. Not a single
+building remains; but its ancient splendour is sufficiently proved by
+ruins. Traces of the old fortifications remain, and also many pillars
+and arches of marble, basalt, and granite. Beyond the walls, I found a
+great number of pillars; two of them were of an extraordinary size.
+Hence I concluded that a large temple had formerly existed there."
+
+On leaving El-Botthin, Seetzen entered the district of Edschlun, and
+speedily discovered the important ruins of Dscherrasch, which may be
+compared with those of Palmyra and Baalbek.
+
+"It is difficult to conjecture," says Seetzen, "how this town, which
+was formerly so celebrated, has hitherto escaped the attention of
+antiquarians. It is situated in an open plain, which is fertile, and
+watered by a river. Several tombs, with fine bas-reliefs arrested my
+attention before I entered it; upon one of them, I remarked a Greek
+inscription. The walls, which were of cut marble, are entirely crumbled
+away, but their length over three quarters of a league, is still
+discernible. No private house has been preserved, but I remarked
+several public buildings of fine architectural design. I found two
+magnificent amphitheatres constructed of solid marble, the columns,
+niches, &c., in good condition, a few palaces, and three temples; one
+of the latter having a peristyle of twelve large Corinthian pillars, of
+which eleven were still erect. In one of these temples I found a fallen
+column of the finest polished Egyptian granite. Beside these, I found
+one of the city gates, formed of three arches, and ornamented with
+pilasters, in good preservation. The finest of the remains is a street
+adorned throughout its length with Corinthian columns on either side,
+and terminating in a semicircle, which was surrounded by sixty Ionic
+columns, all of the choicest marble. This street was crossed by
+another, and at the junction of the two, large pedestals of wrought
+stone occupied each angle, probably in former times these bore statues.
+Much of the pavement was constructed of hewn stone. Altogether I
+counted nearly two hundred columns, still in a fair state of
+preservation; but the number of these is far exceeded by those which
+have fallen into decay, for I saw only half the extent of the town, and
+in all probability the other half beyond this was also rich in
+remarkable relics."
+
+From Seetzen's description, Dscherrasch would appear to be identical
+with the ancient Gerasa, a town which up to that time had been
+erroneously placed on the maps.
+
+The traveller crossed Gerka--the Jabok of Jewish history--which forms
+the northern boundary of the country of the Ammonites, and penetrated
+into the district of El-Belka, formerly a flourishing country, but
+which he found uncultivated and barren, with but one small town, Szalt,
+formerly known as Amathus. Afterwards Seetzen visited Amman, a town
+which, under the name of Philadelphia, is renowned among the
+decapolitan cities, and where many antiquities are to be found, Eleal,
+an ancient city of the Amorites, Madaba, called Madba in the time of
+Moses, Mount Nebo, Diban, Karrak, the country of the Moabites, and the
+ruins of Robba, (Rabbath) anciently the royal residence. After much
+fatigue, he reached the region situated at the southern extremity of
+the Dead Sea, named Gor-es-Sophia.
+
+The heat was extreme, and great salt-plains, where no watercourses
+exist, had to be crossed. Upon the 6th of April, Seetzen arrived in
+Bethlehem, and soon afterwards at Jerusalem, having suffered greatly
+from thirst, but having passed through most interesting countries,
+hitherto unvisited by any modern traveller.
+
+[Illustration: Jerusalem.]
+
+[Illustration: Map of Egypt, Nubia, and part of Arabia.]
+
+He had also collected much valuable information respecting the nature
+of the waters of the Dead Sea, refuted many false notions, corrected
+mistakes upon the most carefully constructed maps, identified several
+sites of the ancient Peraea, and established the existence of
+numberless ruins, which bore witness to the prosperity of all this
+region under the sway of the Roman Empire. Upon the 25th of June, 1806,
+Seetzen left Jerusalem, and returned to St. Jean d'Acre by sea.
+
+In an article in the _Revue Germanique_ for 1858, M. Vinen speaks of
+his expedition as a veritable journey of discovery. Seetzen, however,
+was unwilling to leave his discoveries incomplete. Ten months later, he
+again visited the Dead Sea, and added largely to his observations. From
+thence he proceeded to Cairo, where he remained for two years, and
+bought a large portion of the oriental manuscripts which now enrich the
+library of Gotha. He collected many facts about the interior of the
+country, choosing instinctively those only which could be amply
+substantiated.
+
+Seetzen, with his insatiable thirst for discovery, could not remain
+long in repose, far removed from idleness though it was. In April,
+1809, he finally left the capital of Egypt, and directed his course
+towards Suez and the peninsula of Sinai, which he resolved to explore
+before proceeding to Arabia. At this time Arabia was a little-known
+country, frequented only by merchants trading in Mocha coffee-beans.
+Before Niebuhr's time no scientific expedition for the study of the
+geography of the country or the manners and customs of the inhabitants
+had been organized.
+
+This expedition owed its formation to Professor Michalis, who was
+anxious to obtain information which would throw light on certain
+passages in the Bible, and its expenses were defrayed by the generosity
+of King Frederick V. of Denmark. It comprised Von Hannen, the
+mathematician, Forskaal, the naturalist, a physician named Cramer,
+Braurenfeind, the painter, and Niebuhr, the engineer, a company of
+learned and scientific men, who thoroughly fulfilled all expectations
+founded upon their reputations.
+
+In the course of two years, from 1762 to 1764, they visited Egypt,
+Mount Sinai, Jeddah, landed at Loheia, and advancing into Arabia Felix,
+explored the country in accordance with the speciality of each man. But
+the enterprising travellers succumbed to illness and fatigue, and
+Niebuhr alone survived to utilize the observations made by himself and
+his companions. His work on the subject is an inexhaustible treasury,
+which may be drawn upon in our own day with advantage.
+
+Seetzen, therefore, had much to achieve to eclipse the fame of his
+predecessor. He omitted no means of doing so. After publicly professing
+the faith of Islam, he embarked at Suez for Mecca, and hoped to enter
+that city disguised as a pilgrim. Tor and Jeddah were the places
+visited by him before he travelled to the holy city of Mecca. He was
+much impressed by the wealth of the faithful and the peculiar
+characteristics of that city, which lives for and by the Mahometan
+cultus. "I was seized," says the traveller, "with an emotion which I
+have never experienced elsewhere."
+
+It is alike unnecessary to dwell upon this portion of the voyage and
+upon that relating to the excursion to Medina. Burckhardt's narrative
+gives a precise and trustworthy account of those holy places, and
+besides, there remain of Seetzen's works only the extracts published in
+"Les Annales des Voyages," and in the Correspondence of the Baron de
+Zach. The Journal of Seetzen's travels was published in German, and in
+a very incomplete manner, only in 1858.
+
+The traveller returned from Medina to Mecca, and devoted himself to a
+secret study of the town, with its religious ceremonies, and to taking
+astronomical observations, which determined the position of the capital
+of Islam.
+
+Seetzen returned to Jeddah on the 23rd March, 1810. He then
+re-embarked, with the Arab who had been his guide to Mecca, for
+Hodeidah, which is one of the principal ports of Yemen. Passing the
+mountainous district of Beith-el-Fakih, where coffee is cultivated,
+after a month's delay at Doran on account of illness, Seetzen entered
+Sana, the capital of Yemen, which he calls the most beautiful city of
+the East, on the 2nd of June. Upon the 22nd of July he reached Aden,
+and in November he was at Mecca, whence the last letters received from
+him are dated. Upon re-entering Yemen, he, like Niebuhr, was robbed of
+his collections and baggage, upon the pretext that he collected
+animals, in order to compose a philtre, with the intention of poisoning
+the springs.
+
+Seetzen, however, would not quietly submit to be robbed. He started at
+once for Sana, intending to lay a complaint before the Iman. This was
+in December, 1811. A few days later news of his sudden death arrived at
+Taes, and the tidings soon reached the ears of the Europeans who
+frequented the Arabian ports.
+
+It is little to the purpose now to inquire upon whom the responsibility
+of this death rests--whether upon the Iman or upon those who had
+plundered the traveller--but we may well regret that so thorough an
+explorer, already familiar with the habits and customs of the Arabs,
+was unable to continue his explorations, and that the greater portion
+of his diaries and observations have been entirely lost.
+
+"Seetzen," says M. Vivien de Saint Martin, "was the first traveller
+since Ludovico Barthema (1503) who visited Mecca, and before his time
+no European had even seen the holy city of Medina, consecrated by the
+tomb of the Prophet."
+
+From these remarks we gather how invaluable the trustworthy narrative
+of this disinterested and well-informed traveller would have been.
+
+Just as an untimely death ended Seetzen's self-imposed mission,
+Burckhardt set out upon a similar enterprise, and like him commenced
+his long and minute exploration of Arabia by preliminary travel through
+Syria.
+
+"It is seldom in the history of science," says M. Vivien de Saint
+Martin, "that we see two men of such merit succeed each other in the
+same career or rather continue it; for in reality Burckhardt followed
+up the traces Seetzen had opened out, and, seconded for a considerable
+time by favourable circumstances which enabled him to prosecute his
+explorations, he was enabled to add very considerably to the known
+discoveries of his predecessor."
+
+Although John Lewis Burckhardt was not English, for he was a native of
+Lausanne, he must none the less be classed among the travellers of
+Great Britain. It was owing to his relations with Sir Joseph Banks, the
+naturalist who had accompanied Cook, and Hamilton, the secretary of the
+African Association, who gave him ready and valuable support, that
+Burckhardt was enabled to accomplish what he did.
+
+Burckhardt was a deeply learned man. He had passed through the
+universities of Leipzic, and Gottingen, where he attended Blumenbach's
+lectures, and afterwards through Cambridge, where he studied Arabic. He
+started for the East in 1809. To inure himself to the hardships of a
+traveller's life, he imposed long fasts upon himself, accustomed
+himself to endure thirst, and chose the pavements of London or dusty
+roads for a resting-place. But how trifling were these experiences in
+comparison with those involved in an apostolate of science!
+
+Leaving London for Syria, where he hoped to perfect his knowledge of
+Arabic, Burckhardt intended to proceed to Cairo and to reach Fezzan by
+the route formerly opened up by Hornemann. Once arrived in that
+country, circumstances must determine his future course.
+
+Burckhardt, having taken the name of Ibrahim-Ibn-Abdallah, intended to
+pass as an Indian Mussulman. In order to carry out this disguise, he
+had recourse to many expedients. In an obituary notice of him in the
+"Annales des Voyages," it is related that when unexpectedly called upon
+to speak the Indian language, he immediately had recourse to German. An
+Italian dragoman, suspecting him of being a giaour, pulled him by his
+beard, thereby offering him the greatest insult possible in his
+character of Mussulman. But Burckhardt had so thoroughly entered into
+the spirit of his role, that he responded by a vigorous blow, which
+sending the unfortunate dragoman spinning to a distance, turned the
+laugh against him, and thoroughly convinced the bystanders of the
+sincerity of the traveller.
+
+[Illustration: Portrait of Burckhardt. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+Burckhardt remained at Aleppo from September, 1809, to February, 1812,
+pursuing his studies of Syrian manners and customs, and of the language
+of the country, with but one interruption, a six months' excursion to
+Damascus, Palmyra, and the Hauran, a country which had hitherto been
+visited by Seetzen only.
+
+It is related that, during an excursion into Gor, a district north of
+Aleppo, upon the shores of the Euphrates, the traveller was robbed of
+his baggage and stripped of his clothes by a band of robbers. When
+nothing remained to him but his trousers, the wife of a chief, who had
+not received her share of the spoil, wished to relieve him even of
+those indispensable garments!
+
+The _Revue Germanique_ says:--"We owe a great deal of information to
+these excursions, respecting a country of which we had only crude
+notions, gained from Seetzen's incomplete communications. Burckhardt's
+power of close observation detected a number of interesting facts, even
+in well-known districts, which had escaped the notice of other
+travellers. These materials were published by Colonel Martin William
+Leake, himself a geographer, a man of learning, and a distinguished
+traveller."
+
+Burckhardt had seen Palmyra and Baalbek, the slopes of Lebanon and the
+valley of the Orontes, Lake Huleh, and the sources of the Jordan; he
+had discovered many ancient sites; and his observations had led
+especially to the discovery of the site of the far-famed Apamoea,
+although both he and his publisher were mistaken in their application
+of the data obtained. His excursions in the Auranitis were equally
+rich, even though coming after Seetzen's, in those geographical and
+archaeological details which represent the actual condition of a
+country, and throw a light upon the comparative geography of every age.
+
+Leaving Damascus in 1813, Burckhardt visited the Dead Sea, the valley
+of Akaba, and the ancient port of Azcongater, districts which in our
+own day are traversed by parties of English, with their _Murray_,
+_Cook_, or _Baedeker_ in their hands; but which then were only to be
+visited at the risk of life. In a lateral valley, the traveller came
+upon the ruins of Petra, the ancient capital of Arabia Petraea.
+
+At the end of the year Burckhardt was at Cairo. Judging it best not to
+join the caravan which was just starting for Fezzan, he felt a great
+inclination to visit Nubia, a country rich in attractions for the
+historian, geographer, and archaeologist. Nubia, the cradle of Egyptian
+civilization, had only been visited, since the days of the Portuguese
+Alvares, by Poncet and Lenoir Duroule, both Frenchmen, at the close of
+the seventeenth century, at the opening of the eighteenth by Bruce,
+whose narrative had so often been doubted, and by Norden, who had not
+penetrated beyond Derr.
+
+In 1813 Burckhardt explored Nubia proper, including Mahass and
+Kemijour. This expedition cost him only forty-two francs, a very paltry
+sum in comparison with the price involved in the smallest attempt at an
+African journey in our own day; but we must not forget that Burckhardt
+was content to live upon millet-seed, and that his entire _cortege_
+consisted of two dromedaries.
+
+Two Englishmen, Mr. Legh and Mr. Smelt, were travelling in the country
+at the same time, scattering gold and presents as they passed, and thus
+rendering the visits of their successors costly.
+
+Burckhardt crossed the cataracts of the Nile. "A little farther on,"
+says the narrative, "near a place called Djebel-Lamoule, the Arab
+guides practise a curious extortion." This is their plan of proceeding.
+They halt, descend from their camels, and arrange a little heap of sand
+and pebbles, in imitation of a Nubian tomb. This they, call "_preparing
+the grave for the traveller_" and follow up the demonstration by an
+imperious demand for money. Burckhardt having watched his guide
+commence this operation, began quietly to imitate him, and then said,
+"Here is thy grave; as we are brothers, it is but fair that we should
+be buried together." The Arab could not help laughing, both graves were
+simultaneously destroyed, and remounting the camels, the cavalcade
+proceeded, better friends than before. The Arab quoted a saying from
+the Koran: "No human being knows in what spot of the earth he will find
+his grave."
+
+[Illustration: "Here is thy grave."]
+
+Burckhardt had hoped to get as far as Dingola, but was obliged to rest
+satisfied with collecting information about the country and the
+Mamelukes, who had taken refuge there after the massacre of their army
+by order of the viceroy of Egypt.
+
+The attention of the traveller was frequently directed to the ruins of
+temples and ancient cities, than which none are more curious than those
+of Isambul.
+
+"The temple on the banks of the Nile is approached by an avenue flanked
+by six colossal figures, which measure six feet and a half from the
+ground to the knees. They are representations of Isis and Osiris, in
+various attitudes. The sides and capitals of the pillars are covered
+with paintings or hieroglyphic carvings, in which Burckhardt thought a
+very ancient style was to be traced. All these are hewn out of the
+rock, and the faces appear to have been painted yellow, with black
+hair. Two hundred yards from this temple are the ruins of a still
+larger monument, consisting of four enormous figures, so deeply buried
+in the sand that it is impossible to say whether they are in a standing
+or sitting posture."
+
+These descriptions of antiquities, which in our own day are accurately
+known by drawings and photographs, have, however, little value for us;
+and are merely interesting as indicating the state of the ruins when
+Burckhardt visited them, and enabling us to judge how far the
+depredations of the Arabs have since changed them.
+
+Burckhardt's first excursion was limited to the borders of the Nile, a
+narrow space made up of little valleys, which debouched into the river.
+The traveller estimated the population of the country at 100,000,
+distributed over a surface of fertile land 450 miles in length, by a
+quarter of a mile in width.
+
+"The men," says the narrative, "are, as a rule, muscular, rather
+shorter than the Egyptians, having little beard or moustache, usually
+merely a pointed beard under the chin. They have a pleasant expression,
+are superior to the Egyptians in courage and intelligence, and
+naturally inquisitive. They are not thieves. They occasionally pick up
+a fortune by dint of hard work, but they have little enterprise. Women
+share the same physical advantages, are pretty as a rule, and well
+made; their appearance is gentle and pleasing, and they are modest in
+behaviour. M. Denon has underrated the Nubians, but it must not be
+forgotten that their physique varies in different districts. Where
+there is much land to cultivate, they are well developed; but in
+districts where arable land is a mere strip, the people diminish in
+vigour, and are sometimes walking skeletons."
+
+The whole country groaned under the yoke of the Kashefs, who were
+descendants of the commander of the Bosniacs, and paid only a small
+annual tribute to Egypt, which, however, was sufficient to serve as a
+pretext for oppressing the unfortunate fellaheen. Burckhardt cites a
+curious example of the insolence with which the Kashefs behaved.
+
+"Hassan Kashef," he says, was in need of barley for his horses.
+Accompanied by his slaves, he walked into the fields, and there met the
+owner of a fine plot of barley. "How badly you cultivate your land,"
+said he. "Here you plant barley in a field where you might have reaped
+an excellent crop of water-melons of double the value. See, here are
+some melon-seeds (offering a handful to the peasant proprietor); sow
+your field with these; and you, slaves, tear up this bad barley and
+bring it to me."
+
+In March, 1814, after a short rest, Burckhardt undertook a fresh
+exploration, not this time of the banks of the Nile, but of the Nubian
+desert. Justly conceiving poverty to be his surest safe guard, he
+dismissed his servant, sold his camel, and contenting himself with one
+ass, joined a caravan of poor traders. The caravan started from Daraou,
+a village inhabited partly by fellahs and partly by Ababdeh Arabs. The
+traveller had good reason to complain of the former, not because they
+recognized him as a European, but because they imagined him to be a
+Syrian Turk, come to share the commerce in slaves of which they had the
+monopoly.
+
+It would be useless to enumerate the names of the bridges, hills, and
+valleys in this desert. We will rather summarize the traveller's report
+of the physical aspect of the country.
+
+Bruce, who had explored it, paints it in too gloomy colours, and
+exaggerates the difficulties of the route. If Burckhardt is to be
+credited, the country is less barren than that between Aleppo and
+Bagdad, or Damascus and Medina. The Nubian desert is not merely a plain
+of sand, where nothing interrupts the dreary monotony. It is
+interspersed with rocks, some not less than 300 feet in height, and
+shaded by thickets of acacias or date-trees. The shelter of these trees
+is, however, unavailing against the vertical rays of the sun, which
+explains an Arabic proverb, "Rely upon the favour of the great and the
+shade of an acacia."
+
+At Ankheyre, or Wady-Berber, the caravan reached the Nile, after
+passing Shigre, one of the best mountain springs. One danger only is to
+be feared in crossing the desert; that of finding the wells at Nedjeym
+dry; and, unless the traveller should lose his way, which, however,
+with trustworthy guides, is little likely to happen, no serious
+obstacle arises.
+
+It would appear, therefore, that the sufferings experienced by Bruce
+must have been greatly exaggerated, although the narrative of the
+Scotch traveller is generally trustworthy. The natives of the province
+of Berber appear to be identical with the Barbarins of Bruce, the
+Barabas mentioned by D'Anville, and the Barauras spoken of by Poncet.
+They are a well-made race, and different in feature from the negroes.
+They maintain their purity of descent by marrying only with the women
+of their own or of kindred tribes. Curious as is the picture Burckhardt
+draws of the character and manners of this tribe, it is not at all
+edifying. It would be difficult to convey an idea of the corruption and
+degradation of the Berbers. The little town of Wady-Berber, a
+commercial centre, the rendezvous for caravans, and a depot for slaves,
+is a regular resort of banditti.
+
+Burckhardt, who had trusted to the protection of the merchants of
+Daraou, found that he had made a great mistake in so doing. They sought
+every means of plundering him, chased him out of their company, and
+forced him to seek refuge with the guides and donkey-drivers, who
+cordially welcomed him.
+
+Upon the 10th of April a fine was levied upon the caravan by the Mek of
+Damer, which lies a little south of the tributary Mogren (called Mareb
+by Bruce). This is a well-kept and cleanly Fakir village, which
+contrasts agreeably with the ruins and filth of Berber. The Fakirs give
+themselves up to the practices of sorcery, magic, and charlatanism. One
+of them, it is said, could even make a lamb bleat in the stomach of the
+man who had stolen and eaten it! These ignorant people have entire
+faith in such fables, and it must be reluctantly admitted that the fact
+contributes not a little to the peace of the town and the prosperity of
+the country.
+
+From Damer, Burckhardt proceeded to Shendy, where he passed a month,
+during which time no one suspected him to be an infidel. Shendy had
+grown in importance since Bruce's visit, and now consisted of about a
+thousand houses. Considerable trade was carried on--grass, slaves, and
+cattle taking the place of specie. The principal marketable commodities
+were gum, ivory, gold, and ostrich feathers.
+
+According to Burckhardt, the number of slaves sold yearly at Shendy
+amounts to 5000; 2500 of these are for Arabia, 400 for Egypt, 1000 for
+Dongola and the districts of the Red Sea.
+
+The traveller employed his time during his stay at Sennaar in
+collecting information about that kingdom. Amongst other curious
+things, he was told that the king having one day invited the ambassador
+of Mehemet Ali to a cavalry review, which he considered rather
+formidable, the envoy in his turn begged the king to witness part of
+the Turkish artillery exercises. But at the outset of the
+performance--at the discharge of two small mounted guns--cavalry,
+infantry, spectators, courtiers, and the king himself, fled in terror.
+
+Burckhardt sold his wares, and then, worn out by the persecutions of
+the Egyptian merchants who were his companions, he joined the caravan
+at Suakin, intending to traverse the unknown district between that town
+and Shendy. From Suakin he meant to set out for Mecca, hoping to find
+the Hadji useful to him in the realization of his projects.
+
+"The Hadji," he says, "form one powerful body, and every member is
+protected, because if one is attacked the whole number take up arms."
+The caravan which Burckhardt now joined consisted of 150 merchants and
+300 slaves. Two hundred camels were employed to convey heavy bales of
+"danmour," a stuff manufactured in Sennaar, and cargoes of tobacco.
+
+The first object of interest to the travellers was the Atbara, a
+tributary of the Nile, whose banks, with their verdant trees, were
+grateful to the eye after the sandy desert. The course of the river was
+followed as far as the fertile district of Taka. During the journey the
+white skin of the pretended sheik Ibrahim (it will be remembered that
+this was the name assumed by Burckhardt) attracted much attention from
+the female population, who were little accustomed to the sight of
+Arabs.
+
+"One day," relates the traveller, "a girl of the country, of whom I had
+been buying onions, offered to give me an extra quantity if I would
+remove my turban, and show her my head. I demanded eight more onions,
+which she immediately produced. As I removed my turban, and exposed my
+white and close-shaven head to view, she sprang back in horror and
+dismay. I asked her jokingly if she would not like a husband with a
+similar head, to which she replied with much energy, and many
+expressions of disgust, that she would prefer the ugliest slave ever
+brought from Darfur."
+
+Just before Goz Radjeh was reached, Burckhardt's attention was
+attracted to a building, which he was told was either a church or
+temple, the same word having the two meanings. He at once proceeded in
+that direction, hoping to examine it, but his companions stopped him,
+saying, "It is surrounded by bands of robbers; you cannot go a hundred
+steps without danger of attack."
+
+Burckhardt was unable to decide whether it was an Egyptian temple, or a
+monument of the empire of Axum.
+
+At last the caravan entered the fertile district of Tak or El Gasch, a
+wide watered plain, whose soil is wonderfully fertile, but which for
+two months in the year is uninhabited. Grain is plentiful and is sold
+in Jeddah for twenty per cent. more than the best Egyptian millet.
+
+The inhabitants, who are called Hadendoa, are treacherous, dishonest,
+and bloodthirsty; and their women are almost as degraded as those of
+Shendy and Berber.
+
+Upon leaving Taka, the road to Suakin and the shores of the Red Sea lay
+over a chain of chalk hills. At Schenterab granite is found. The hills
+presented few difficulties, and the caravan reached Suakin in safety
+upon the 26th May. But Burckhardt's troubles were not yet at an end.
+The Emir and Aga combined to plunder him, and treated him as the lowest
+of slaves, until he produced the firman which he had received from
+Mehemet Ali and Ibrahim Pasha. This changed the face of affairs.
+Instead of being thrown into prison the traveller was invited to the
+Aga's, who offered him a present of a young slave. M. Vivien de Saint
+Martin writes of this expedition, "This journey of from twenty to
+twenty-five days, between the Nile and the Red Sea, was the first ever
+undertaken by a European. The observations collected, as to the settled
+or nomad tribes of these districts are invaluable for Europe.
+Burckhardt's narrative is of increasing interest, and few can compare
+with it for instruction and interest."
+
+Upon the 7th of July Burckhardt succeeded in embarking in a boat, and
+eleven days later he reached Jeddah, which serves as a harbour to
+Mecca. Jeddah is built upon the sea-shore, and is surrounded by a wall,
+which, insufficient as it would be against artillery, protects it
+perfectly from the attacks of the Wahabees, who have been nicknamed the
+"Puritans of Islamism." These people are a distinct sect, who claim to
+restore Mahomedanism to its primitive simplicity.
+
+"The entrance to the town, upon the side nearest the sea," says
+Burckhardt, "is protected by a battery which overlooks the entire fort,
+and is surmounted by one enormous piece of artillery capable of
+discharging a five-hundred pound shot, which is so renowned throughout
+the Arabian Gulf, that its reputation alone is enough to protect
+Jeddah."
+
+The greatest drawback to this city is its want of fresh water, which is
+brought from small wells two miles distant. Without gardens,
+vegetables, or date-trees, Jeddah, in spite of its population of twelve
+or fifteen thousand (a number which is doubled in the pilgrimage
+season) presents a strange appearance. The population is the reverse of
+autochthonous; it is composed of natives of Hadramaut and Yemen,
+Indians from Surat and Bombay, and Malays who come as pilgrims and
+settle in the town. Burckhardt introduces many anecdotes of interest
+into his account of the manners, mode of living, price of commodities,
+and number of traders in the place.
+
+[Illustration: Merchant of Jeddah. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Speaking of the singular customs of the natives of Jeddah, he
+says:--"It is the almost universal custom for everybody to swallow a
+cup full of ghee or melted butter in the morning. After this they take
+coffee, which they regard as a strong tonic; and they are so accustomed
+to this habit from their earliest years, that they feel greatly
+inconvenienced if they discontinue it. The higher classes are satisfied
+with drinking the cup of butter, but the lower classes add another half
+cup, which they draw up through the nostrils, imagining that they thus
+prevent bad air entering the body by those apertures."
+
+The traveller left Jeddah for Tayf on the 24th of August. The road
+winds over mountains and across valleys of romantic beauty and
+luxuriant verdure. Burckhardt was taken for an English spy at Tayf,
+and, although he was well received by the Pasha, he had no liberty, and
+could not carry on his observations.
+
+Tayf, it appears, is famous for the beauty of its gardens; roses and
+grapes are sent from it into all the districts of Hedjaz. This town had
+a considerable trade, and was very prosperous before it was plundered
+by the Wahabees.
+
+[Illustration: Shores and boats of the Red Sea.]
+
+The surveillance to which he was subjected hastened Burckhardt's
+departure, and upon the 7th of September he started for Mecca. Well
+versed in the study of the Koran, and acquainted with all the practices
+of Islamism, he was prepared to act the part of a pilgrim. His first
+care was to dress himself in accordance with the law prescribed for the
+faithful who enter Mecca--in the "ihram," or pieces of cloth without
+seam, one covering the loins, the other thrown over the neck and
+shoulders. The pilgrim's first duty is to proceed to the temple,
+without waiting even to procure a lodging. This Burckhardt did not fail
+to do, observing at the same time the rites and ceremonies prescribed
+in such cases, of which he gives many interesting particulars; we
+cannot, however, dwell upon them here.
+
+"Mecca," says Burckhardt, "may be called a pretty town. As a rule, the
+streets are wider than in most Eastern cities. The houses are lofty and
+built of stone; and its numerous windows, opening upon the street, give
+it a more cheerful and European aspect than the cities of Egypt or
+Syria, whose dwellings generally have few windows on the outside. Every
+house has a terrace built of stone, and sloping in such a way as to
+allow water to run down the gutters into the street. Low walls with
+parapets conceal these terraces; for, as everywhere else in the East,
+it is not thought right for a man to appear there; he would be accused
+of spying upon the women, who spend much of their time upon the terrace
+of the house, engaged in domestic work, drying corn, hanging out linen,
+&c."
+
+The only public place in the city is the large court of the Grand
+Mosque. Trees are rare; not a garden enlivens the view, and the scene
+depends for animation upon the well-stocked shops which abound during
+the pilgrimage. With the exception of four or five large houses
+belonging to the administration, two colleges, which have since been
+converted into warehouses for corn, and the mosque with the few
+buildings and colleges connected with it, Mecca can boast of no public
+buildings, and cannot compete in this respect with other cities in the
+East of the same size.
+
+The streets are unpaved; and as drains are unknown, water collects in
+puddles, and the accumulation of mud is inconceivable. For a water
+supply the natives trust to heaven, catching the rain in cisterns, for
+that obtained from the wells is so foul that it is impossible to drink
+it.
+
+In the centre of the town, where the valley widens a little, the mosque
+known as Beithou'llah, or El Haram, is situated. This edifice owes its
+fame to the Kaaba which is enclosed in it, for other Eastern towns can
+boast of mosques equally large and more beautiful. El Haram is situated
+in an oblong space, surrounded on the eastern side by a quadruple
+colonnade, and by a triple one on the other. The columns are connected
+by pointed arches, upon each four stand little domes constructed of
+mortar and whitened outside. Some of these columns are of white marble,
+granite, or porphyry, but the greater part are of the common stone
+found among the mountains of Mecca.
+
+The Kaaba has been so often ruined and restored that no trace of a
+remote antiquity remains. It was in existence before this mosque was
+built.
+
+The traveller says, "The Kaaba is placed upon an inclined base some two
+feet high, and its roof being flat, it presents the appearance at a
+little distance of a perfect cube. The only door by which it can be
+entered, and which is opened two or three times a year, is on the north
+side, about seven feet above the ground, for which reason one cannot
+enter except by means of a wooden staircase. The famous 'black stone'
+is enshrined at the north-eastern corner of the Kaaba, near the door,
+and forms one of the angles of the building four or five feet above the
+floor of the court. It is difficult to ascertain the exact nature of
+this stone, as its surface has been completely worn and reduced to its
+present condition by the kisses and worshipping touches bestowed upon
+it by countless millions of pilgrims. The Kaaba is entirely covered
+with black silk, which envelopes its sides, leaving the roof exposed.
+This veil or curtain is called 'the Kesoua,' and is renewed yearly
+during the pilgrimage. It is brought from Cairo, where it is
+manufactured at the expense of the Viceroy."
+
+Up to the time of Burckhardt no such detailed account of Mecca and her
+sanctuary had been given to the world. For this reason we shall insert
+extracts from the original narrative; extracts which might indeed be
+multiplied, for they include circumstantial accounts of the sacred
+well, called Zemzem, water from which is considered as an infallible
+remedy for every complaint. The traveller speaks also of the "Gate of
+Salvation," of the Makam Ibrahim, a monument containing the stone upon
+which Abraham sat when he was engaged in building the Kaaba, and where
+the marks of his knees may still be seen, and of all the buildings
+enclosed within the temple precincts.
+
+Judging from Burckhardt's minute and complete description, these spots
+still retain their former physiognomy. The same number of pilgrims
+chant the same songs; the men only are no longer the same. His accounts
+of the feast of the pilgrimage and the holy enthusiasm of the faithful,
+are followed by a picture which brings before us, in the most sombre
+colours, the effects of this great gathering of men, attracted from
+every part of the world.
+
+"The termination of the pilgrimage," he says, "lends a very different
+aspect to the mosque. Illness and death, consequent upon the great
+fatigues undergone during the voyage, are accelerated by the scanty
+covering afforded by the Ihram, the unhealthy dwellings of Mecca, the
+bad food, and frequent absolute dearth of provisions. The temple is
+filled with corpses brought thither to receive the prayers of the Iman,
+or with sick persons who insist upon being carried, as their last hours
+approach, to the colonnade, hoping to be saved by the sight of the
+Kaaba, or in any case to have the consolation of expiring within the
+sacred precincts. One sees poor pilgrims, sinking under illness and
+hunger, dragging their weary bodies along the colonnade; and when they
+no longer have the strength to stretch out a hand to the passer-by,
+they place a little jar beside the mat upon which they are laid, to
+receive what charity may bestow upon them. As they feel the last moment
+approach, they cover themselves with their ragged clothes, and very
+often a day passes before it is ascertained that they are dead."
+
+We will conclude our extracts from Burckhardt's account of Mecca with
+his opinion of the inhabitants.
+
+"Although the natives of Mecca possess grand qualities, although they
+are pleasant, hospitable, cheerful and proud, they openly transgress
+the Koran by drinking, gambling, and smoking. Deceit and perjury are no
+longer looked upon as crimes by them; they do not ignore the scandal
+such vices bring upon them; but while each individually exclaims
+against the corruption of manners, none reform themselves."
+
+Upon the 15th of January, 1815, Burckhardt left Mecca with a caravan of
+pilgrims on their way to visit the tomb of the prophet. The journey to
+Medina, like that between Mecca and Jeddah, was accomplished at night,
+and afforded little opportunity for observation. In the winter
+night-travelling is less comfortable than travelling by day. A valley
+called Wady-Fatme, but generally known as El-Wadi, was crossed; it
+abounded in shrubs and date-trees, and was well cultivated in the
+eastern portion. A little beyond it lies the valley of Es-Ssafra, the
+market of the neighbouring tribes and celebrated for its plantations of
+dates.
+
+The traveller relates that "The groves of date-trees extend for nearly
+four miles, and belong to the natives of Ssafra as well as to the
+Bedouins of the neighbourhood, who employ labourers to water the
+ground, and come themselves to reap the harvest. The date-trees pass
+from one person to another in the course of trade; they are sold
+separately. A father often receives three date-trees as the price of
+the daughter he gives in marriage. They are all planted in deep sand
+brought from the middle of the valley, and piled up over their roots;
+they ought to be renewed every year, and they are generally swept away
+by the torrents. Each little plot is surrounded by a wall of mud or
+stone, and the cultivators live in hamlets or isolated cabins among the
+trees. The principal stream flows through a grove near the market;
+beside it rises a little mosque, shaded by large chestnuts. I had seen
+none before in the Hedjaz."
+
+Burckhardt was thirteen days in reaching Medina. But this rather long
+journey was not lost time to him; he collected much information about
+the Arabs and the Wahabees. At Medina, as at Mecca, the pilgrim's first
+duty is to visit the tomb and mosque of Mahomet; but the ceremonies
+attending the visit are much easier and shorter, and the traveller
+performed them in a quarter of an hour.
+
+Burckhardt's stay at Mecca had already been prejudicial to him. At
+Medina he was attacked by intermittent fever, which increased in
+violence, and was accompanied by violent sickness. This soon so reduced
+him, that he could no longer rise from his carpet without the
+assistance of his slave, "a poor fellow who by nature and habit was
+more fit to tend camels than to take care of his worn-out and enfeebled
+master."
+
+Burckhardt being detained at Medina for more than three months by a
+fever, due to bad climate, the detestable quality of the water, and the
+prevalence of infectious illnesses, was forced to relinquish his
+project of crossing the desert to Akabah, in order to reach Yanibo as
+quickly as possible, and from thence embark for Egypt.
+
+"Next to Aleppo," he says, "Medina is the best-built town I have seen
+in the East. It is entirely of stone, the houses being generally three
+stories high, with flat tops. As they are not whitewashed, and the
+stone is brown in colour, the streets, which are very narrow, have
+usually a sombre appearance. They are often only two or three paces
+wide. At the present time Medina looks desolate enough; the houses are
+falling into ruins. Their owners, who formerly derived a considerable
+profit from the inroad of pilgrims, find their revenues diminishing, as
+the Wahabees forbid visitors to the tomb of the prophet, alleging that
+he was but a mere mortal. The possession which places Medina on a par
+with Mecca is the Grand Mosque, containing the tomb of Mahomet. This is
+smaller than that at Mecca, but is built upon the same plan, in a large
+square courtyard, surrounded on all sides by covered galleries, and
+having a small building in the centre. The famous tomb, surrounded by
+an iron railing painted green, is near the eastern corner. It is of
+good workmanship, in imitation of filagree, and interlaced with
+inscriptions in copper. Four doors, of which three lead into this
+enclosure, are kept constantly shut. Permission to enter is freely
+accorded to persons of rank, and others can purchase permission of the
+principal eunuchs for about fifteen piasters. In the interior are
+hangings which surround the tomb, and are only a few feet from it."
+According to the historian of Medina, these hangings cover a square
+edifice, built of black stones, and supported upon two columns, in the
+interior of which are the sepulchres of Mahomet and his two eldest
+disciples, Abou-Bekr and Omar. He also states that these sepulchres are
+deep holes, and that the coffin which contains the ashes of Mahomet is
+covered with silver, and surmounted by a marble slab with the
+inscription, "In the name of God, give him thy pity." The fables which
+were spread throughout Europe as to the tomb of the prophet being
+suspended in mid air, are unknown in the Hedjaz. The mosque was robbed
+of a great part of its treasures by the Wahabees, but there is some
+ground for believing that they had been forestalled by the successive
+guardians of the tomb.
+
+Many other interesting details of Medina, and its inhabitants,
+surroundings, and the haunts of pilgrims, are to be found in
+Burckhardt's narrative. But we have given sufficient extracts to induce
+the reader who desires further information respecting the manners and
+customs of the Arabs, which have not changed, to refer to the book
+itself.
+
+Upon the 21st of April, 1815, Burckhardt joined a caravan which
+conducted him to Yembo, where the plague was raging. The traveller at
+once fell ill and became so weak that it was impossible for him to
+resort to a country place. To embark was equally impossible; all the
+vessels which were ready to start were crowded with soldiers. He was
+compelled to remain eighteen days in the unhealthy little town, before
+he could obtain a passage in a small vessel which took him to Cosseir,
+and thence to Egypt.
+
+Upon his return to Cairo Burckhardt heard of his father's death. The
+traveller's constitution had been sorely tried by illness, and he was
+unable to attempt the ascent of Mount Sinai until 1816. The study of
+natural history, the publication of his diary, and his correspondence,
+occupied him until 1817, at which time he expected to go with a caravan
+to Fezzan. Unfortunately he succumbed to a sudden attack of fever, his
+last words being, "Write and tell my mother that my last thought was of
+her."
+
+Burckhardt was an accomplished traveller; well-informed, exact to
+minuteness, patient, courageous, and endowed with an upright and
+energetic character. His writings are of great value; the narrative of
+his voyage in Arabia--of which he unfortunately could not explore the
+interior--is so complete and precise, that owing to it that country was
+then better known than many in Europe.
+
+In writing to his father from Cairo on the 13th of March, 1817, he
+says, "I have never said a word about what I have seen and met with
+that my conscience did not entirely justify; I did not expose myself to
+so much danger in order to write a romance!"
+
+The explorers who have succeeded him in the same countries unanimously
+testify to his exactness, and agree in praising his fidelity,
+knowledge, and sagacity.
+
+"Few travellers," says the _Revue Germanique_, "have enjoyed in a like
+degree the faculty of observation. That is a rare gift of nature, like
+all eminent qualities. He possessed a sort of intuition which discerned
+the truth, apart from his own observations, and thus information given
+by him from hearsay has a value that seldom attaches to statements of
+that nature. His mind, early ripened by reflection and study (he was
+but in his thirty-third year at the time of his death), invariably went
+straight to the point. His narrative, always sober, is filled--one may
+say--rather with things than words; yet his narratives possess infinite
+charm; one admires the man in them as much as the savant and observer."
+
+While the Biblical countries occupied the attention of Seetzen and
+Burckhardt, India, the birthplace of most of the European languages,
+was about to command the attention of students of language, literature,
+and religion, as well as of geography. For the present our concern is
+with those problems of physical geography, which the conquests and
+studies of the India Company were about to solve by degrees.
+
+In a preceding volume we have related how the Portuguese rule was
+established in India. The union of Portugal with Spain, in 1599, led to
+the fall of the Portuguese colonies, which came into the possession of
+the English and Dutch. England soon afterwards granted a monopoly of
+the commerce of India to a Company which was destined to play an
+important part in history.
+
+At this time Akbar, the great Mogul emperor, the seventh descendant of
+Timour Leng, had established a vast empire in Hindustan and Bengal,
+upon the ruins of the Rajpoot kingdoms. Owing to the personal qualities
+of Akbar, which had gained for him the surname of the Benefactor of
+Man, that empire was at the height of its glory. The same brilliant
+course was pursued by Shah Jehan; but Akbar's grandson, Aurung Zeb,
+inspired by an insatiable ambition, assassinated his brothers,
+imprisoned his father, and seized the reins of government. While the
+Mogul Empire was in the enjoyment of profound peace, a clever
+adventurer laid the foundations of the Mahratta Empire. The religious
+intolerance of Aurung Zeb, and his crafty policy, led to the
+insurrection of the Rajpoots, and a struggle, which by draining the
+resources of the empire, shook his power. The death of the great
+usurper was followed by the decadence of the empire.
+
+Up to this period the India Company had been unable to add to the
+narrow strip of territory which they possessed at the ports, but it was
+now to benefit by the conflict between the nabobs and rajahs of
+Hindustan. It was not, however, until after the taking of Madras, in
+1746, by La Bourdonnais, and the struggle against Dupleix, that the
+influence and dominion of the English Company was materially increased.
+
+The crafty policy of Clive and Hastings, the English Governors, who
+successively employed force, stratagem, and bribery, to attain their
+ends, laid the foundation of British greatness in India, and, at the
+close of the last century, the Company were possessors of an immense
+extent of country, with no less than sixty millions of inhabitants.
+Their territory included Bengal, Behar, the provinces of Benares,
+Madras, and the Sircars. Tippoo Saib alone, the Sultan of Mysore,
+struggled against the English encroachments, but he was unable to hold
+out against the coalition formed against him by the skill of Colonel
+Wellesley. When rid of their formidable enemies, the Company overcame
+such opposition as remained by pensions; and, under the pretext of
+protection, imposed upon the rajahs an English garrison which was
+maintained at their expense.
+
+One would imagine from all this that the English rule was detested; but
+that is not the case. The Company, recognizing the rights of
+individuals, did not attempt to change the religion, laws, or customs
+of their subjects. Neither is it surprising that travellers, even when
+they ventured into districts which, properly speaking, did not belong
+to Great Britain, incurred but little danger. In fact, so soon as the
+East India Company was free from political embarrassments, it
+encouraged explorers throughout its vast domains. At the same time
+travellers were despatched to the neighbouring territories to collect
+observations, and we propose rapidly to review those expeditions.
+
+[Illustration: Map of English India and part of Persia. Grave par E.
+Morieu.]
+
+One of the first and most curious was that of Webb to the sources of
+the Ganges, a river concerning which uncertain and contradictory
+opinions prevailed. The Government of Bengal, recognizing the great
+importance of the Ganges in the interests of commerce, organized an
+expedition, of which Messrs. Webb, Roper, and Hearsay, formed part.
+They were to be accompanied by Sepoys, native servants, and
+interpreters.
+
+The expedition reached Herdouar, a small village on the left of the
+river, upon the 1st of April, 1808. The situation of this village, at
+the entrance of the fertile plains of Hindustan, had caused it to be
+much frequented by pilgrims, and it was at this spot that purifications
+in the waters of the holy river took place during the hot season.
+
+As every pilgrimage implies the sale of relics, Herdouar was the centre
+of an important market, where horses, camels, antimony, asafoetida,
+dried fruits, shawls, arrows, muslins, cotton and woollen goods from
+the Punjab, Cabulistan, and Cashmere, were to be had. Slaves, too, were
+to be bought there from three to thirty years of age, at prices varying
+from 10 to 150 rupees. This fair, where such different races,
+languages, and costumes were to be met with, presented a curious
+spectacle.
+
+Upon the 12th of April the English expedition set out for Gangautri,
+following a road planted with white mulberries and figs, as far as
+Gourondar. A little farther on water-mills of simple construction were
+at work, upon the banks of streams shaded with willows and
+raspberry-trees. The soil was fertile, but the tyranny of the
+Government prevented the natives from making the best of it.
+
+The route soon became mountainous, but peach, apricot, nut, and other
+European trees abounded, and at length the expedition found themselves
+in the midst of a chain of mountains, which appeared to belong to the
+Himalaya range.
+
+The Baghirati, which is known further on as the Ganges, was met with at
+the end of a pass. To the left, the river is bounded by high, almost
+barren mountains; to the right stretches a fertile valley. At the
+village of Tchiavli, the poppy is largely cultivated for the
+preparation of opium; here, owing probably, to the bad quality of the
+water, all the peasants suffer from wens.
+
+At Djosvara the travellers had to cross a bridge of rope, called a
+"djorila." This was a strange and perilous structure.
+
+"On either side of the river," says Webb, "two strong poles are driven
+in, at a distance of two feet from each other, and across them is
+placed another piece of wood. To this is attached a dozen or more thick
+ropes, which are held down upon the ground by large heaps of wood. They
+are divided into two packets, about a foot apart; Blow hangs a ladder
+of rope knotted to one of these, which answers instead of a parapet.
+The flooring of the bridge is composed of small branches of trees,
+placed at intervals of two and a half, or three feet from each other.
+As these are generally slender, they seem as if they were on the point
+of breaking every moment, which naturally induces the traveller to
+depend upon the support of the ropes which form the parapet, and to
+keep them constantly under their arms. The first step taken upon so
+shaky a structure is sufficient to cause giddiness, for the action of
+walking makes it swing to either side, and the noise of the torrent
+over which it is suspended is not reassuring. Moreover the bridge is so
+narrow, that if two persons meet upon it, one must draw completely to
+the side to make room for the other."
+
+[Illustration: Bridge of rope.]
+
+The expedition afterwards passed through the town of Baharat, where but
+few of the houses have been rebuilt since the earthquake of 1803. This
+locality has always enjoyed a certain importance from the fact that a
+market is held there, and also on account of the difficulty of
+obtaining provisions in the towns higher up, as well as from its
+central position. The routes to Jemauhi, Kedar, Nath, and Sirinagur all
+meet there.
+
+Beyond Batheri the road became so bad that the travellers were obliged
+to abandon their baggage. There was a mere path-track by the edge of
+precipices, amid debris of stones and rocks; and the attempt to proceed
+was soon relinquished.
+
+Devaprayaga is situated at the junction of the Baghirati, and the
+Aluknanda. The first, coming from the north, hurries along with noise
+and impetuosity; the second, broader, deeper, and more tranquil, rises
+no less than forty-six feet above its ordinary level in the rainy
+season. The junction of these two rivers forms the Ganges, and is a
+sacred spot from which the Brahmins draw considerable profit, as they
+have arranged pools there, where for a certain price pilgrims can
+perform their ablutions without danger of being carried away by the
+current.
+
+The Aluknanda was crossed by means of a running bridge, or "Dindla,"
+which is thus described:--
+
+"This bridge consists of three or four large ropes fixed upon either
+bank, and upon these a small seat some eighteen inches square is slung
+by means of hoops at either end. Upon this seat the traveller takes his
+place, and is drawn from one side of the river to the other by a rope
+pulled by the man upon the opposite bank."
+
+The expedition reached Sirinagur upon the 13th of May. The curiosity of
+the inhabitants had been so much excited that the magistrates sent a
+message to the English begging them to march through the town.
+
+Sirinagur, which had been visited by Colonel Hardwick in 1796, had been
+almost completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1803, and had in the
+same year been conquered by the Gorkhalis. Here Webb was joined by the
+emissaries whom he had sent to Gangautri by the route which he himself
+had been unable to follow, and who had visited the source of the
+Ganges.
+
+"A large rock," he says, "on either side of which water flows, and
+which is very shallow, roughly resembles the body and mouth of a cow. A
+cavity at one end of its surface gave rise to its name of Gaoumokhi,
+the mouth of the cow, who, by its fancied resemblance, is popularly
+supposed to vomit the water of the sacred river. A little farther on,
+advance is impossible, a mountain as steep as a wall rises in front;
+the Ganges appeared to issue from the snow, which lay at its feet; the
+valley terminated here. No one has ever gone any farther."
+
+The expedition returned by a different route. It met with the
+tributaries of the Ganges, and of the Keli Ganga, or Mandacni, rivers
+rising in the Mountains of Kerdar. Immense flocks of goats and sheep
+laden with grain were met with, numbers of defiles crossed, and after
+passing the towns of Badrinath and Manah the expedition finally reached
+the cascade of Barson, in the midst of heavy snow and intense cold.
+
+"This," says Webb's narrative, "is the goal of the devotions of the
+pilgrims. Some of them come here to be sprinkled by the sacred spray of
+the cascade. At this spot the course of the Aluknanda may be traced as
+far as the south-western extremity of the valley, but its source is
+hidden under heaps of snow, which have probably been accumulating for
+centuries."
+
+Webb furnishes some details respecting the women of Manah. They wore
+necklaces, earrings, and gold and silver ornaments, which were scarcely
+in keeping with their coarse attire. Some of the children wore
+necklaces and bracelets of silver to the value of six hundred rupees.
+
+In winter, this town, which does a great trade with Thibet, is
+completely buried in snow, and the natives take refuge in neighbouring
+towns.
+
+The expedition visited the temple at Badrinath, which is far-famed for
+its sanctity. Neither its internal nor external structure or appearance
+give any idea of the immense sums which are expended upon it. It is one
+of the oldest and most venerated sanctuaries of India. Ablutions are
+performed there in reservoirs fed with very warm sulphureous water.
+
+"There are," says the narrative, "a great number of hot springs, each
+having their special name and virtue, and from all of them doubtless
+the Brahmins derive profit. For this reason, the poor pilgrim, as he
+gets through the requisite ablutions, finds his purse diminish with the
+number of his sins, and the many tolls exacted from him upon the road
+to paradise might induce him to consider the narrow way by no means the
+least expensive one. This temple possesses seven hundred villages,
+which have either been ceded to it by government, given as security for
+loans, or bought by private individuals and given as offerings."
+
+The expedition reached Djosimah on the 1st of June. There the Brahmin
+who acted as guide received orders from the government of Nepaul, to
+conduct the travellers back immediately to the territories of the
+Company. The government had discovered, a little late it must be
+admitted, that the English explorations had a political as well as a
+geographical significance. A month afterwards, Webb and his companions
+entered Delhi, having definitely settled the course of the Ganges, and
+ascertained the sources of the Baghirati and Aluknanda; in fact, having
+attained the object which the Company had had in view.
+
+In 1808, the English government decided upon sending a new mission to
+the Punjab, then under the dominion of Runjeet Sing. The anonymous
+narrative of this expedition published in the "Annales des Voyages"
+offers some particulars of interest, from which we will extract a few.
+
+Upon the 6th of April, 1808, an English officer, in charge of the
+expedition, reached Herdonai, which he represents as the rendezvous of
+a million individuals at the time of the yearly fair. At Boria, which
+is situated between the Jumna and the Sutlej, the traveller was an
+object of much curiosity to the women, who begged permission to come
+and see him.
+
+"Their looks and gestures," says the narrative, "sufficiently expressed
+their surprise. They approached me laughing heartily, the colour of my
+face amused them extremely. They addressed many questions to me, asking
+me whether I never wore a hat, whether I exposed my face to the sun,
+whether I remained continually shut up, or only walked out under
+shelter, and whether I slept upon the table placed in my tent, although
+my bed occupied one side of it; the curtains were, however, closed.
+They then examined it in detail, together with the lining of my tent
+and everything belonging to it. These women were all good-looking, with
+mild and regular features, their complexion was olive, and contrasted
+agreeably with their white and even teeth, which are a distinguishing
+feature of all the inhabitants of the Punjab."
+
+Mustafabad, Mulana, and Umballa were visited in succession by the
+British officer. The country through which he passed was inhabited by
+Sikhs, a race remarkable for benevolence, hospitality, and
+truthfulness. The author of the narrative is of opinion that they are
+the finest race of men in India. Puttiala, Makeonara, Fegonara,
+Oudamitta, which Lord Lake entered in 1805 in his pursuit of a Mahratta
+chief, and finally Amritsur were stages easily passed.
+
+Amritsur is better built than the generality of towns in Hindustan. It
+is the largest depot of shawls and saffron as well as other articles of
+Deccan merchandise. The traveller says:--
+
+"Upon the 14th, having put white shoes on my feet, I paid a visit to
+the Amritsur or reservoir of the elixir of immortality from whence the
+city derives its name. It is a reservoir of about 135 feet square,
+built of brick, and in the centre is a pretty temple dedicated to
+Gourogovind Sing. A footpath leads to it; it is decorated both within
+and without, and the rajah often adds to its stores by gifts of
+ornaments. In this sacred receptacle, the book of the laws, written by
+Gouron in the 'gourou moukhtis' character, is placed. This temple is
+called Hermendel, or the Dwelling of God. Some 600 priests are attached
+to its service, and comfortable dwellings are provided for them out of
+the voluntary contributions of the devotees who visit the temple.
+Although the priests are regarded with infinite respect, they are not
+absolutely free from vice. When they have money, they spend it as
+freely as they have gained it. The number of pretty women who daily
+repair to the temple is very great. They far excel the women of the
+inferior classes in Hindustan in the elegance of their manners, their
+fine proportions, and handsome features."
+
+Lahore was next visited by the officer. It is interesting to know what
+remained of that fine city at the commencement of the present century.
+The narrative says:--
+
+"Its very high walls are ornamented externally with all the profusion
+of Eastern taste, but they are falling into ruins, as are also the
+mosques and houses inside the town. Time has laid its destructive hand
+upon this city, as upon Delhi and Agra. The ruins of Lahore are already
+as extensive as those of that ancient capital."
+
+Three days after his arrival the traveller was received with great
+politeness by Runjeet Sing, who conversed with him, principally upon
+military topics. The rajah was then twenty-seven years of age. His
+countenance would have been pleasant, had not the small-pox deprived
+him of one eye; his manners were simple, affable, and yet kingly. After
+paying visits to the tomb of Shah Jehan, to the Schalamar, and other
+monuments at Lahore, the officer returned to Delhi and the possessions
+of the Company. To his visit was due that better knowledge of the
+country which could not fail to tempt the ambition of the English
+Government.
+
+The following year (1809), an embassy, consisting of Messrs. Nicholas
+Hankey Smith, Henry Ellis, Robert Taylor, and Henry Pottinger, was sent
+to the Emirs of Scinde. The escort was commanded by Captain Charles
+Christie.
+
+The mission was transported to Keratchy by boat. The governor of that
+fort refused to allow the embassy to disembark, without instructions
+from the emirs. An interchange of correspondence ensued, as a result of
+which the envoy, Smith, drew attention to certain improprieties
+relating to the title and respective rank of the Governor-General and
+the emirs. The governor excused himself upon the ground of his
+ignorance of the Persian language, and said, that not wishing a cause
+of misunderstanding to exist, he was quite ready to kill or put out the
+eyes (as the envoy pleased) of the person who had written the letter.
+This declaration appeared sufficient to the English, who deprecated the
+execution of the guilty person.
+
+In their letters the emirs affected a tone of contemptuous superiority;
+at the same time they brought a body of 8000 men within reach, and put
+every possible difficulty in the way of the English efforts to procure
+information. After tedious negotiations, in the course of which British
+pride was humbled more than once, the embassy received permission to
+start for Hyderabad.
+
+Above Keratchy, which is the principal export harbour of Scinde, a vast
+plain without trees or vegetation extends along the coast. Five days
+are necessary to cross this, and reach Tatah, the ancient capital of
+Scinde, then ruined and deserted. Formerly it was brought into
+communication by means of canals, with the Sind, an immense river,
+which is, at its mouth, in reality an arm of the sea. Pottinger
+collected the most precise, complete, and useful details respecting the
+Sind, which were then known.
+
+It had been arranged beforehand that the embassy should find a
+plausible excuse for separating and reaching Hyderabad by two different
+routes, in order to obtain geographical information on the country. The
+city was soon reached, and the same difficult negotiations about the
+reception of the embassy, who refused to submit to the humiliating
+exactions of the emirs, had to be gone through. Pottinger thus
+describes the arrival at Hyderabad. "The precipice upon which the
+eastern facade of the fortress of Hyderabad is situated, the roofs of
+the houses, and even the fortifications, were thronged by a multitude
+of both sexes, who testified friendly feeling towards us by acclamation
+and applause. Upon reaching the palace, where they were to dismount,
+the English were met by Ouli Mahommed Khan and other eminent officers,
+who walked before us towards a covered platform, at the extremity of
+which the emirs were seated. This platform being covered with the
+richest Persian carpet, we took off our shoes. From the moment the
+envoy took the first step towards the princes, they all three rose, and
+remained standing until he reached the place pointed out to him--an
+embroidered cloth, which distinguished him from the rest of the
+embassy. The princes addressed to each of us polite questions
+respecting our health. As it was a purely ceremonial reception,
+everything went off well, with compliments and polite expressions.
+
+"The emirs wore a great number of precious stones, in addition to those
+which ornamented the hilts and scabbards of their swords and daggers,
+and emeralds and rubies of extraordinary size shone at their girdles.
+They were seated according to age, the eldest in the centre, the second
+to his right, the youngest on the left. A carpet of light felt covered
+the entire circle, and over this was a mattress of silk about an inch
+thick, exactly large enough to accommodate the three princes."
+
+[Illustration: "They were seated according to age."]
+
+The narrative concludes with a description of Hyderabad, a fortress
+which would have scarcely been able to offer any resistance to a
+European enemy, and with various reflections upon the nature of the
+embassy, which had amongst other aims the closing of the entrance of
+Scinde against the French. The treaty concluded, the English returned
+to Bombay.
+
+By this expedition the East India Company gained a better knowledge of
+one of the neighbouring kingdoms, and collected precious documents
+relating to the resources and productions of a country traversed by an
+immense river, the Indus of the ancients, which rises in the Himalayas,
+and might readily serve to transport the products of an immense
+territory. The end gained was perhaps rather political than
+geographical; but science profited, once more, by political needs.
+
+Hitherto the little knowledge that had been gained of the regions lying
+between Cabulistan, India, and Persia, had been as incomplete as it was
+defective.
+
+The Company, thoroughly satisfied with the manner in which Captain
+Christie and Lieutenant Pottinger had accomplished their embassy,
+resolved to confide to them a delicate and difficult mission. They were
+to rejoin General Malcolm, ambassador to Persia, by crossing
+Beluchistan, and in so doing to collect more accurate and precise
+details of that vast extent of country than had hitherto been acquired.
+
+It was useless to think of crossing Beluchistan, with its fanatic
+population, in European dress. Christie and Pottinger, therefore, had
+recourse to a Hindu merchant, who provided horses on behalf of the
+Governments of Madras and Bombay, and accredited them as his agents to
+Kelat, the capital of Beluchistan.
+
+Upon the 2nd of January, 1810, the two officers embarked at Bombay for
+Someany, the sole sea-port of the province of Lhossa, which they
+reached after a stay at Poorbunder, on the coast of Guzerat.
+
+The entire country traversed by the travellers before they arrived at
+Bela was a morass, interspersed with jungle. The "Djam," or governor of
+that town, was an intelligent man. He put numerous questions to the
+English, by which he showed a desire to learn, and then confided the
+task of conducting the travellers to Kelat, to the chief of the tribe
+of Bezendjos, who are Belutchis.
+
+[Illustration: Beluchistan warriors. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The climate had changed since they left Bombay, and in the mountains,
+Pottinger and Christie experienced cold sufficiently keen to freeze the
+water in the leather bottles.
+
+"Kelat," says Pottinger, "the capital of the whole of Beluchistan,
+whence it derives its name, Kelat, or _the city_, is situated upon a
+height to the west of a well-cultivated plain or valley, eight miles
+long and three wide. The greater portion of this is laid out in
+gardens. The town forms a square. It is surrounded on three sides by a
+mud wall about twenty feet high, flanked, at distances of 250 feet, by
+bastions, which, like the walls, are pierced with a large number of
+barbicans for musketry. I had no opportunity of visiting the interior
+of the palace, but it consists merely of a confused mass of mud
+buildings with flat roofs like terraces; the whole is defended by low
+walls, furnished with parapets and pierced with barbicans. There are
+about 2500 houses in the town, and nearly half as many in the suburbs.
+They are built of half-baked bricks and wood, the whole smeared over
+with mud. The streets, as a rule, are larger than those in towns
+inhabited by Asiatics. They usually have a raised footway on either
+side for pedestrians, in the centre an open stream, which is rendered
+very unpleasant by the filth and rubbish thrown into it, and by the
+stagnant rainwater which collects, for there is no regulation insisting
+upon it being cleaned. Another obstacle to the cleanliness and comfort
+of the town exists in the projection of the upper stories of the
+houses, which makes the under buildings damp and dark. The bazaar of
+Kelat is very large, and well stocked with every kind of merchandize.
+Every day it is supplied with provisions, vegetables, and all kinds of
+food, which are cheap."
+
+According to Pottinger's account, the population is divided into two
+distinct classes--the Belutchis and the Brahouis, and each of these is
+subdivided into a number of tribes. The first is related to the modern
+Persian, both in appearance and speech; the Brahoui, on the contrary,
+retains a great number of Hindu words. Intermarriage between the two
+has given rise to a third.
+
+The Belutchis, coming from the mountains of Mekram, are "Tunnites,"
+that is to say, they consider the first four Imans as the legitimate
+successors of Mahomet.
+
+They are a pastoral people, and have the faults and virtues of their
+class. If they are hospitable, they are also indolent, and pass their
+time in gambling and smoking. As a rule, they content themselves with
+one or two wives, and are less jealous of their being seen by strangers
+than are other Mussulmen. They have a large number of slaves of both
+sexes, whom they treat humanely. They are excellent marksmen, and
+passionately fond of hunting. Brave under all circumstances, they take
+pleasure in "razzias," which they call "tchepaos." As a rule, these
+expeditions are undertaken by the Nherouis, the wildest and most
+thievish of the Belutchis.
+
+The Brahouis carry their wandering habits still farther. Few men are
+more active and strong; they endure the glacial cold of the mountains
+equally with the burning heat of the plains. They are of small stature,
+but as brave, as skilful in shooting, as faithful to their promises, as
+the Belutchis, and have not so pronounced a taste for plunder.
+
+Pottinger says, "I have seen no Asiatic people whom they resemble, for
+a large number have brown hair and beards."
+
+After a short stay at Kelat, the two travellers, who still passed as
+horse-dealers, resolved to continue their journey, but instead of
+following the high road to Kandahar, they crossed a dreary and barren
+country, ill-populated, watered by the Caisser, a river which dries up
+during the summer; and they reached a little town, called Noschky or
+Nouchky, on the frontier of Afghanistan.
+
+At this place, the Belutchis, who appeared friendly, represented to
+them the great difficulty of reaching Khorassan and its capital, Herat,
+by way of Sedjistan. They advised the travellers to try to reach Kerman
+by way of Kedje and Benpor, or by Serhed, a village on the western
+frontier of Beluchistan, and from thence to enter Nermanchir. At the
+same moment the idea of following two distinct routes presented itself
+to both Christie and Pottinger. This course was contrary to their
+instructions; "but," said Pottinger, "we found a ready excuse in the
+unquestionable advantage which would result from our procuring more
+extensive geographical and statistical knowledge of the country we were
+sent to explore than we could hope to do by travelling together."
+
+Christie set out first, by way of Douchak. We shall follow his fortunes
+hereafter.
+
+A few days later, while still at Noutch, Pottinger received letters
+from his correspondent at Kelat, telling him that the emirs of Scinde
+were searching for them, as they had been recognized, and that his best
+plan for safety was to set out immediately.
+
+Upon the 25th of March Pottinger started for Serawan, a very small town
+near the Afghan frontier. Upon his way thither Pottinger met with some
+singular altars, or tombs, the construction of which was attributed to
+the Ghebers, or fire-worshippers, who are known in our day as Parsees.
+
+Serawan is six miles from the Serawani mountains, in a sterile and bare
+district. This town owes its existence to the constant supply of water
+it derives from the Beli, an inestimable advantage in a country
+constantly exposed to drought, scarcity, and famine.
+
+Pottinger afterwards visited the Kharan, celebrated for the strength
+and activity of its camels, and crossed the desert which forms the
+southern extremity of Afghanistan. The sand of this desert is so fine
+that its particles are almost impalpable, and the action of the wind
+causes it to accumulate into heaps ten or twenty feet high, divided by
+deep valleys. Even in calm weather a great number of particles float in
+the air, giving rise to a mirage of a peculiar kind, and getting into
+the traveller's eyes, mouth, and nostrils, cause an excessive
+irritation, with an insatiable thirst.
+
+In all this territory, Pottinger personated a "pyrzadeh," or holy man,
+for the natives are of a very thievish disposition, and in the
+character of a merchant he might have been involved in unpleasant
+adventures. After leaving the village of Goul, in the district of
+Daizouk, the traveller passed through the ruined towns of Asmanabad,
+Hefter, and Pourah, where Pottinger was forced to admit that he was a
+"Feringhi," to the great scandal of the guide, who during the two
+months they had been together had never doubted him, and to whom he had
+given many proofs of sanctity.
+
+At last, worn out by fatigue, and at the end of his resources,
+Pottinger reached Benpor, a locality which had been visited in 1808 by
+Mr. Grant, a captain in the Bengal Sepoy Infantry. Encouraged by the
+excellent account given by that officer, Pottinger presented himself to
+the Serdar. But instead of affording him the necessary help for the
+prosecution of his journey, that functionary, discontented with the
+small present Pottinger offered him, found means to extort from him a
+pair of pistols, which would have been of great use to him.
+
+Basman is the last inhabited town of Beluchistan. At this spot there is
+a hot sulphureous spring, which the Belutchis consider a certain cure
+for cutaneous diseases.
+
+The frontiers of Persia are far from "scientific," hence a large tract
+of country remains not neutral, but a subject of dispute, and is the
+scene of sanguinary contests.
+
+The little town of Regan, in Nermanchir, is very pretty. It is a fort,
+or rather a fortified village, surrounded by high walls, in good
+repair, and furnished with bastions.
+
+Further on, in Persia proper, lies Benn, a town which was formerly of
+importance, as the ruins which surround it sufficiently prove. Here
+Pottinger was cordially received by the governor.
+
+"On approaching," says Pottinger, "he turned to one of his suite and
+asked where the 'Feringhi' was. I was pointed out to him. Making me a
+sign to follow him, his fixed look at me, which took me in from head to
+foot, proclaimed his astonishment at my costume, which in truth was
+strange enough to serve as an excuse for the impoliteness of his
+staring. I was wearing the long shirt of a Belutchi, and a pair of
+trousers which had once been white, but which in the six weeks I had
+worn them had become brown, and were all but in rags; in addition to
+this I had on a blue turban, a piece of rope served me as a girdle, and
+I carried in my hand a thick stick, which had assisted me greatly in my
+walking, and protected me from dogs."
+
+In spite of the dilapidated appearance of the tatterdemalion who thus
+presented himself before him, the governor received Pottinger with as
+much cordiality as was to be expected from a Mussulman, and provided
+him with a guide to Kerman. The traveller reached that town upon the
+3rd of May, feeling that he had accomplished the most difficult portion
+of his journey, and was almost in safety.
+
+Kerman is the capital of ancient Karamania. Under the Afghan rule it
+was a flourishing town, and manufactured shawls which rivalled those of
+Cashmere.
+
+Here Pottinger witnessed one of those spectacles which, common enough
+to countries where human life is of little value, always fill Europeans
+with horror and disgust. The governor of this town was both son-in-law
+and nephew of the shah, and also the son of the Shah's wife. "Upon the
+15th of May," says Pottinger, "the prince himself judged certain
+persons who were accused of killing one of their servants. It is
+difficult to estimate the state of restlessness and alarm which
+prevailed in the village during the entire day. The gates of the town
+were shut, that no one might pass out. The government officials did not
+transact any business. People were cited as witnesses, without previous
+notice. I saw two or three taken to the palace in a state of agitation
+which could scarcely have been greater had they been going to the
+scaffold. About three in the afternoon the prince passed sentence upon
+those who had been convicted. Some had their eyes put out, some the
+tongue split. Some had the ears, nose, and lips cut off; others were
+deprived of their hands, fingers, or toes. I learned that whilst these
+horrible punishments were inflicted, the prince remained seated at the
+window where I had seen him, and gave his orders without the least sign
+of compassion or of horror at the scene which took place before him."
+
+Leaving Kerman, Pottinger reached Chere Bebig, which is equally distant
+from Yezd, Shiraz, and Kerman, and thence proceeded to Ispahan, where
+he had the pleasure of finding his companion Christie. At Meragha he
+met General Malcolm. It was now seven months since they had left
+Bombay. Christie had traversed 2250 miles, and Pottinger 2412.
+Meanwhile Christie had accomplished his perilous journey much better
+than he had anticipated.
+
+Leaving Noutch upon the 22nd of March, he crossed the Vachouty
+mountains and some uncultivated country, to the banks of the Helmend, a
+river which flows into Lake Hamoun.
+
+Christie in his report to the Company says:--
+
+"The Helmend, after passing near Kandahar, flows south-west and west,
+and enters Sedjestan some four days march from Douchak; making a detour
+around the mountains, it finally forms a lake. At Peldalek, which we
+visited, it is about 1200 feet in width, and very deep; the water is
+very good. The country is cultivated by irrigation for half a mile on
+either side; then the desert begins, and rises in perpendicular cliffs.
+The banks of the river abound in tamarind-trees and provide pasturage
+for cattle."
+
+Sedjestan, which is watered by this river, comprises only 500 square
+miles. The portions of this district which are inhabited are those upon
+the river Helmend, whose bed deepens every year.
+
+At Elemdar Christie sent for a Hindu, to whom he had an introduction.
+This man advised him to dismiss his Belutchi attendants and to
+personate a pilgrim. A few days later he penetrated to Douchak, now
+known as Jellalabad. He says:--
+
+"The ruins of the ancient city cover quite as large a space of ground
+as Ispahan. It was built, like all the towns of Sedjistan, of
+half-burned bricks, the houses being two stories high, with vaulted
+roofs. The modern town of Jellalabad is clean, pretty, and growing; it
+contains nearly 2000 houses and a fair bazaar." The road from Douchak
+to Herat was easy. Christie's sole difficulty was in carrying out his
+personation of a pilgrim. Herat lies in a valley, surrounded by high
+mountains and watered by a river, to which it is due that gardens and
+orchards abound. The town covers an area of about four square miles; it
+is surrounded by a wall flanked with towers, and a moat full of water.
+Large bazaars, containing numerous shops, and the Mechede Djouna, or
+Mosque of Friday, are its chief ornaments.
+
+No town has less waste land or a denser population. Christie estimates
+it at 100,000. Herat is the most commercial of all Asiatic towns under
+the dominion of native princes. It is the depot for all the traffic
+between Cabul, Candahar, Hindustan, Cashmere, and Persia, and itself
+produces choice merchandize, silks, saffron, horses, and asafoetida.
+
+"This plant," says Christie, "grows to a height of two or three feet,
+the stalk is two inches thick; it finishes off in an umbel which at
+maturity is yellow, and not unlike a cauliflower. It is much relished
+by Hindus and Belutchis. They prepare it for eating by cooking the
+stalks in ashes, and boiling the head like other vegetables; but it
+always retains its pungent smell and taste." Herat, like so many other
+Eastern towns, possesses beautiful public gardens, but they are only
+cultivated for the sake of the produce, which is sold in the bazaar.
+After a stay of a month at Herat, disguised as a horse-dealer,
+Christie, announcing that he would return after a pilgrimage to Meshid,
+which he contemplated, left the town. He directed his course to Yezd,
+across a country ravaged by the Osbeks, who had destroyed the tanks
+intended to receive the rain-water.
+
+Yezd is a large and populous town on the skirts of a desert of sand. It
+is called "Dar-oul-Ehabet" or "The Seat of Adoration." It is celebrated
+for the security to be enjoyed there, which contributes largely to the
+development of its trade with Hindustan, Khorassan, Persia, and Bagdad.
+Christie describes the bazaar as large and well stocked. The town
+contains 20,000 houses, apart from those belonging to the Ghebers, who
+are estimated at 4000. They are an active and laborious people,
+although cruelly oppressed. From Yezd to Ispahan, where he alighted at
+the palace of the Emir Oud-Daoule, Christie had travelled a distance of
+170 miles upon a good road.
+
+At Yezd, as we have seen, he met his companion, Pottinger. The two
+friends could but exchange mutual congratulations at the accomplishment
+of their mission, and their escape from the dangers of a fanatical
+country.
+
+Pottinger's narrative, as may perhaps be gathered from the sketch we
+have given, was very curious. More exact than most of his predecessors,
+he had collected and offered to the public a mass of most interesting
+historical facts, anecdotes, and geographical descriptions.
+
+Cabulistan had been, from the middle of the eighteenth century, the
+scene of a succession of ruinous civil wars. Competitors, with more or
+less right to the throne, had carried fire and sword everywhere, and
+converted that rich and fertile province into a desert, where the
+remains of ruined cities alone bore witness to former prosperity.
+
+About the year 1808 the throne of Cabul was occupied by
+Soojah-Oul-Moulk. England, uneasy at the projects formed by Napoleon
+with a view of attacking her possessions in India, and at the offers of
+alliance made by him through General Gardane to the Shah of Persia,
+resolved to send an embassy to the court of Cabul, hoping to gain the
+king over to the interests of the East India Company.
+
+Mountstuart Elphinstone was selected as envoy, and has left an
+interesting account of his mission. He collected much novel information
+concerning this region and the tribes by which it is peopled. His book
+acquires a new interest in our own day, and we turn with pleasure to
+pages devoted to the Khyberis and other mountain tribes, amid the
+events which are now taking place.
+
+Leaving Delhi in October, 1808, Elphinstone reached Kanun, where the
+desert commences, and then the Shekhawuttee, a district inhabited by
+Rajpoots. At the end of October the embassy arrived at Singuana, a
+pretty town, the rajah of which was an inveterate opium-smoker. He is
+described as a small man, with large eyes, much inflamed by the use of
+opium. His beard, which was curled up to his ears on each side, gave
+him a ferocious appearance.
+
+Djounjounka, whose gardens give freshness in the midst of these desert
+regions, is not now a dependency of the Rajah of Bekaneer, whose
+revenues do not exceed 1,250,000 francs. How is it possible for that
+prince to collect such revenues from a desert and uncultivated
+territory, overrun by myriads of rats, flocks of gazelles, and herds of
+wild asses?
+
+The path across the sand-hills was so narrow that two camels abreast
+could scarcely pass it. At the least deviation from the path those
+animals would sink in the sand as if it had been snow, so that the
+smallest difficulty with the head of the column delayed the entire
+caravan. Those in front could not advance if those in the rear were
+delayed; and lest they should lose sight of the guides, trumpets and
+drums were employed as signals to prevent separation.
+
+One could almost fancy it the march of an army. The warlike sounds, the
+brilliant uniforms and arms, were scarcely calculated to convey the
+idea of a peaceful embassy. The envoy speaks of the want of water, and
+the bad quality of that which was procurable was unbearable to the
+soldiers and servants. Although they quenched their thirst with the
+abundant water-melons, they could not do so without ill results to
+their health. Most of the natives of India who accompanied the embassy
+suffered from low fever and dysentery. Forty persons died during the
+first week's stay at Bekaneer. La Fontaine's description of the
+floating sticks might be aptly applied to Bekaneer. "From afar off it
+is something, near at hand it is nought." The external appearance of
+the town is pleasant, but it is a mere disorderly collection of cabins
+enclosed by mud walls.
+
+At that time the country was invaded by five armies, and the
+belligerents sent a succession of envoys to the English ambassador,
+hoping to obtain, if not substantial assistance, at least moral
+support. Elphinstone was received by the Rajah of Bekaneer. "This
+court," he says, "was different from all I had seen elsewhere in India.
+The men were whiter than the Hindus, resembled Jews in feature, and
+wore magnificent turbans. The rajah and his relatives wore caps of
+various colours, adorned with precious stones.
+
+"The rajah leant upon a steel buckler, the centre of which was raised,
+and the border encrusted with diamonds and rubies. Shortly after our
+entrance the rajah proposed that we should retire from the heat and
+importunity of the crowd. We took our seats on the ground, according to
+Indian custom, and the rajah delivered a discourse, in which he said he
+was the vassal of the sovereign of Delhi, and that as Delhi was in the
+possession of the British, he honoured the sovereignty of my government
+in my person.
+
+"He caused the keys of the fort to be brought to him and handed them to
+me, but having received no instructions regarding such an event, I
+refused them. After much persuasion the rajah consented to keep his
+keys. Shortly afterwards a troop of bayaderes came in, and dancing and
+singing continued until we took our leave."
+
+[Illustration: "A troop of bayaderes came in."]
+
+Upon leaving Bekaneer the travellers entered a desert, in the middle of
+which stand the cities of Monyghur and Bahawulpore, where a compact
+crowd awaited the embassy. The Hyphases, upon which Alexander's fleet
+sailed, scarcely answered to the idea such a reminiscence inspires.
+Upon the morrow Bahaweel-Khan, governor of one of the eastern provinces
+of Cabul, arrived, bringing magnificent presents for the English
+ambassador, whom he conducted by the river Hyphases as far as Moultan,
+a town famous for its silk manufactures. The governor of the town had
+been terror-struck at hearing of the approach of the English, and there
+had been a discussion as to the attitude it was to assume, and whether
+the latter intended to take the town by stratagem, or to demand its
+surrender. When these fears were allayed, a cordial welcome followed.
+
+Elphinstone's description, if somewhat exaggerated, is not the less
+curious. After describing how the governor saluted Mr. Strachey, the
+secretary to the embassy, after the Persian custom, he adds,--"They
+took their way together towards the tent, and the disorder increased.
+Some were wrestling, others on horseback mixed with the pedestrians.
+Mr. Strachey's horse was nearly thrown to the ground, and the secretary
+regained his equilibrium with difficulty. The khan and his suite
+mistook the road in approaching the tent, and threw themselves upon the
+cavalry with such impetuosity that the latter had scarcely time to face
+about and let them pass. The disordered troops fell back upon the tent,
+the servants of the khan fled, the barriers were torn up and trampled
+under foot; even the ropes of the tent broke, and the cloth covering
+very nearly fell on our heads. The tents were crowded immediately, and
+all was in darkness. The governor and six of his suite seated
+themselves, the others stood at arms. The visit was of short duration;
+the governor took refuge in repeating his rosary with great fervour,
+and in saying to me, in agitated tones, 'You are welcome! you are
+welcome!' Then on the pretext that the crowd inconvenienced me, he
+retired."
+
+The account is amusing, but are all its details accurate? That,
+however, is of little moment. On the 31st December the embassy passed
+the Indus, and entered a country cultivated with a care and method
+unlike anything to be seen in Hindustan. The natives of this country
+had never heard of the English, and took them for Moguls, Afghans, or
+Hindus. The strangest reports were current among these lovers of the
+marvellous.
+
+It was necessary to remain a month at Dera, to await the arrival of a
+"Mehnandar," a functionary whose duty it was to introduce ambassadors.
+Two persons attached to the embassy availed themselves of that
+opportunity to ascend the peak of Tukhte Soleiman, or the Crown of
+Solomon, upon which, according to the legend, the ark of Noah rested
+after the deluge.
+
+The departure from Dera took place upon the 7th of February, and after
+travelling through delightful countries, the embassy arrived at
+Peshawur. The king had come to meet them, for Peshawur was not the
+usual residence of the court. The narrative says,--"Upon the day of our
+arrival our dinner was furnished from the royal kitchen. The dishes
+were excellent. Afterwards we had the meat prepared in our own way; but
+the king continued to provide us with breakfast, dinner, and supper,
+more than sufficient for 2000 persons, 200 horses, and a large number
+of elephants. Our suite was large, and much of this was needed; still I
+had great trouble at the end of a month in persuading his majesty to
+allow some retrenchment of this useless profusion."
+
+As might have been expected, the negotiations preceding presentation at
+court were long and difficult. Finally, however, all was arranged, and
+the reception was as cordial as diplomatic customs permitted. The king
+was loaded with diamonds and precious stones; he wore a magnificent
+crown, and the Koh-i-noor sparkled upon one of his bracelets. This is
+the largest diamond in existence; a drawing of it may be seen in
+Tavernier's Travels.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The Koh-i-noor is now in the possession of the Queen of
+England.]
+
+Elphinstone, after describing the ceremonies, says,--"I must admit that
+if certain things, especially the extraordinary richness of the royal
+costume, excited my astonishment, there was also much that fell below
+my expectations. Taking it as a whole, one saw less indication of the
+prosperity of a powerful state than symptoms of the decay of a monarchy
+which had formerly been flourishing."
+
+The ambassador goes on to speak of the rapacity with which the king's
+suite quarrelled about the presents offered by the English, and gives
+other details which struck him unpleasantly.
+
+Elphinstone was more agreeably impressed with the king at his second
+interview. He says,--"It is difficult to believe that an Eastern
+monarch can possess such a good manner, and so perfectly preserve his
+dignity while trying to please."
+
+The plain of Peshawur, which is surrounded on all but the eastern side
+by high mountains, is watered by three branches of the Cabul river,
+which meet here, and by many smaller rivers. Hence it is singularly
+fertile. Plums, peaches, pears, quinces, pomegranates, dates, grow in
+profusion. The population, so sparsely sprinkled throughout the arid
+countries which the ambassador had come through, were collected here,
+and Lieut. Macartney counted no less than thirty-two villages.
+
+At Peshawur there are 100,000 inhabitants, living in brick houses three
+stories high. Various mosques, not in any way remarkable for
+architecture, a fine caravanserai, and the fortified castle in which
+the king received the embassy, are the only buildings of importance.
+The varieties of races, with different costumes, present a constantly
+changing picture, a human kaleidoscope, which appears made especially
+for the astonishment of a stranger. Persians, Afghans, Kyberis,
+Hazaurehs, Douranis, &c., with horses, dromedaries, and Bactrian
+camels, afford the naturalist much both to observe and to describe
+respecting bipeds and quadrupeds. But the charm of this town, as of
+every other throughout India, is to be found in its gardens, with their
+abundant and fragrant flowers, especially roses.
+
+[Illustration: Afghan costumes. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The king's situation at this time was far from pleasant. His brother,
+whom he had dethroned after a popular insurrection, had now taken arms
+and just seized Cabul. A longer stay was impossible for the embassy.
+They had to return to India by way of Attock and the valley of Hussoun
+Abdoul, which is celebrated for its beauty. There Elphinstone was to
+await the result of the struggle between the brothers, which would
+decide the fate of the throne of Cabul, but he had received letters of
+recall. Moreover, fate was against Soojah, who, after being completely
+worsted, had been forced to seek safety in flight.
+
+The embassy proceeded on its way, and crossed the country of the
+Sikhs--a rude mountain race, half-naked and semi-barbarous.
+
+"The Sikhs, who a few years later were to make themselves terribly
+famous," says Elphinstone, "are tall, thin men, and very strong. Their
+garments consist of trousers which reach only half way down the thigh.
+They wear cloaks of skins which hang negligently from the shoulder.
+Their turbans are not large, but are very high and flattened in front.
+No scissors ever touch either hair or beard. Their arms are bows and
+arrows or muskets. Men of rank have very handsome bows, and never pay a
+visit without being armed with them. Almost the whole Punjab belongs to
+Runjeet Sing, who in 1805 was only one among many chiefs in the
+country. At the time of our expedition, he had acquired the sovereignty
+of the whole country occupied by the Sikhs, and had taken the title of
+king."
+
+No incident of any moment marked the return of the embassy to Delhi. In
+addition to the narrative of events which had taken place before their
+eyes, its members brought back invaluable documents concerning the
+geography of Afghanistan and Cabulistan, the climate, animals, and
+vegetable and mineral productions of that vast country.
+
+Elphinstone devotes several chapters of his narrative to the origin,
+history, government, legislation, condition of the women, language, and
+commerce of these countries; facts that were largely appropriated by
+the best informed newspapers when the recent English expedition to
+Afghanistan was undertaken.
+
+His work ends with an exhaustive treatise upon the tribes who form the
+population of Afghanistan, and a summary of invaluable information
+respecting the neighbouring countries.
+
+Elphinstone's narrative is curious, interesting, and valuable for many
+reasons, and may be consulted in our own day with advantage.
+
+[Illustration: Persian costumes. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The zeal of the East India Company was indefatigable. One expedition
+had no sooner returned than another was started, with different
+instructions. It was highly important to be thoroughly _au fait_ of the
+ever-changing Asiatic policy, and to prevent coalition between the
+various native tribes against the conquerors of the soil. In 1812, a
+new idea, and a more peaceful one, gave rise to the journey of
+Moorcroft and Captain Hearsay to Lake Manasarowar, in the province of
+the Un-des, which is a portion of Little Thibet.
+
+This time the object was to bring back a flock of Cashmere goats, whose
+long silk hair is used in the manufacture of the world-famed shawls. In
+addition, it was proposed to disprove the assertion of the Hindus that
+the source of the Ganges is beyond the Himalayas, in Lake Manasarowar.
+A difficult and perilous task! It was first of all necessary to
+penetrate into Nepaul, whilst the government of that country made such
+an attempt very difficult, and thence to enter a region from which the
+natives of Nepaul are excluded, and with still greater reason the
+English.
+
+The explorers disguised themselves as Hindu pilgrims. Their suite
+consisted of twenty-five persons, one of whom pledged himself to walk
+in strides of four feet! This was certainly a rough method of
+ascertaining the distance traversed!
+
+Messrs. Moorcroft and Hearsay passed through Bareilly, and followed
+Webb's route as far as Djosimath, which place they left on the 26th of
+May, 1812. They soon had to cross the last chain of the Himalayas, with
+increasing difficulties, owing to the rarity of the villages, which
+caused a scarcity of provisions and service, and the bad roads, at so
+great a height above the level of the sea.
+
+Nevertheless they saw Daba, where there is an important lamasery,
+Gortope, Maisar; and, a quarter of a mile from Tirthapuri, curious hot
+springs.
+
+The original narrative, which appeared in the "Annales des Voyages,"
+speaks of this water as flowing from two openings six inches in
+diameter in a calcareous plain some three miles in extent, and which is
+raised in almost every direction from ten to twelve feet above the
+surrounding country. It is formed of the earthy deposits left by the
+water in cooling. The water rises four inches above the level of the
+plain. It is clear, and so warm that one cannot keep a hand in it
+longer than a few minutes. It is surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke.
+The water, flowing over a horizontal surface, hollows out basins of
+various shapes, which as they receive the earthy deposits contract
+again. When they are filled up, the flow of the water again hollows out
+a new reservoir, which in its turn becomes full. Flowing thus from one
+to the other, it finally reaches the plain below. The deposit left by
+the water is as white as the purest stucco close to the opening, a
+little further it becomes pale yellow, and further still
+saffron-coloured. At the other spring it is first rose-coloured, and
+then dark red. These different colours are to be found in the
+calcareous plain, and are no doubt the work of centuries.
+
+Tirthapuri, the residence of a lama, is of great antiquity, and is a
+favourite rendezvous for the faithful, as a wall more than 400 feet
+long and four wide, formed of stones upon which prayers are inscribed,
+sufficiently testifies.
+
+Upon the 1st of August the travellers left this place, hoping to reach
+Lake Manasarowar, and leaving on the right Lake Rawan-rhad, which is
+supposed to be the source of the largest branch of the Sutlej.
+
+Lake Manasarowar lies at the foot of immense sloping prairies, to the
+south of the gigantic mountains. This is the most venerated of all the
+sacred places of the Hindus, which is no doubt owing to its distance
+from Hindustan, the dangers and fatigues of the journey, and the
+necessity of pilgrims providing themselves with money and provisions.
+Hindu geographers regard this lake as the source of the Ganges, the
+Sutlej, and the Kali rivers. Moorcroft had no doubt as to the error of
+this assertion as regards the Ganges. Desiring to ascertain the truth
+as to the other rivers, he explored the steep banks of the lake, and
+found a number of streams which flowed into it, but none flowing out of
+it. It is possible that before the earthquake which destroyed Srinagar,
+the lake had an outlet, but Moorcroft found no trace of it. The lake is
+situated between the Himalayas and the Cailas chain, and is of
+irregular oblong shape, five leagues long by four wide.
+
+The end of the expedition was attained. Moorcroft and Hearsay returned
+towards India, passed by Kangri, and saw Rawan-rhad; but Moorcroft was
+too weak, and could not continue the tour; he regained Tirthapuri and
+Daba, and suffered a great deal in crossing the ghat which separates
+Hindustan from Thibet.
+
+The narrative describes the wind which comes from the snow-covered
+mountains of Bhutan as cold and piercing, and the ascent of the
+mountain as long and painful, its descent slippery and steep, making
+precautions necessary. "We suffered greatly," says the writer; "our
+goats escaped by the negligence of their drivers, and climbed up to the
+edge of a precipice some hundred feet in height. A mountaineer
+disturbing them from their perilous position, they began the descent,
+running down a very steep incline. The hinder ones kicked up the
+stones, which, falling with violence, threatened to strike the
+foremost. It was curious to note how cleverly they managed to run, and
+avoid the falling stones."
+
+Very soon the Gorkhalis, who had hitherto been content to place
+obstacles in the way of the travellers, approached them with intent to
+stop them. For some time the firmness displayed by the English kept
+them at bay; but at last, gaining courage from their numbers, they
+began an attack.
+
+"Twenty men," says Moorcroft, "threw themselves upon me. One seized me
+by my neck, and, pressing his knees against me, tried to strangle me by
+tightening my cravat; another passed a cord round my legs and pulled me
+from behind. I was on the point of fainting. My gun, upon which I was
+leaning, escaped my hold; I fell; they dragged me up by my feet until I
+was nearly garotted. When at last I rose, nothing could exceed the
+expression of fierce delight on the faces of my conquerors. Fearing
+that I should attempt to escape, two soldiers held me by a rope and
+gave me a blow from time to time, no doubt to remind me of my position.
+Mr. Hearsay had not supposed that he should be attacked so soon; he was
+rinsing out his mouth when the hubbub began, and did not hear my cries
+for help. Our men could not find the few arms we possessed; some
+escaped, I know not how; the others were seized, amongst them Mr.
+Hearsay. He was not bound as I was; they contented themselves with
+holding his arms."
+
+[Illustration: "Two soldiers held me."]
+
+The chief of this band of savages informed the two Englishmen that they
+had been recognized, and were arrested for having travelled in the
+country in the disguise of Hindu pilgrims. A fakir, whom Moorcroft had
+engaged as a goat-herd, succeeded in escaping, and took two letters to
+the English authorities. Aid was sent, and on the 1st of November the
+prisoners were released. Not only were excuses offered for their
+treatment, but what had been taken from them was returned, and the
+Rajah of Nepaul gave them permission to leave his dominions. All's well
+that ends well!
+
+To complete our sketch, we must give an account of Mr. Fraser's
+expedition to the Himalayas, and Hodgson's exploration to the source of
+the Ganges, in 1817.
+
+Captain Webb, as we have seen, had traced the course of that river past
+the valley of Dhoun, to Cadjani, near Reital. Leaving this spot upon
+the 28th of May, 1817, Captain Hodgson reached the source of the Ganges
+in three days, and proceeded to Gangautri. He found that the river
+issues from a low arch in the midst of an enormous mass of frozen snow,
+more than 300 feet high. The stream was already of considerable size,
+being no less than twenty-seven feet wide and eighteen inches deep. In
+all probability the Ganges first emerged into the light at this spot.
+
+Captain Hodgson wished to solve various questions; for example:--What
+was the length of the river under the frozen snow? Is it the product of
+the melting of these snows? or did it spring from the ground? But,
+wishing to explore further upwards than his guides advised, the
+traveller sank into the snow up to his neck, and had to retrace his
+steps with great difficulty. The spot from which the Ganges issues is
+situated 12,914 feet above the level of the sea, in the Himalayas.
+
+Hodgson also explored the source of the Jumna. At Djemautri the mass of
+snow from which the river makes its escape is no less than 180 feet
+wide and more than forty feet deep, between two perpendicular walls of
+granite. This source is situated on the south-east slope of the
+Himalayas.
+
+The extension of the British power in India was necessarily attended by
+considerable danger. The various native States, many of which could
+boast of a glorious past, had only yielded in obedience to the
+well-known political principle "divide and govern," ascribed to
+Machiavelli. But the day might come when they would merge their
+rivalries and enmities, to make common cause against the invader.
+
+This was anything but a cheering prospect for the Company, whose policy
+it was to maintain the system that had hitherto worked so well. Certain
+neighbouring States, still powerful enough to regard the growth of the
+British power with jealousy, might serve as harbours of refuge to the
+discontented, and become the centres of dangerous intrigues. Of all
+these neighbouring States that which demanded the strictest
+surveillance was Persia, not only on account of its contiguity to
+Russia, but because Napoleon was known to have designs in connexion
+with it which nothing but his European wars prevented him from putting
+into execution.
+
+In February, 1807, General Gardane, who had gained his promotion in the
+wars of the Republic, and had distinguished himself at Austerlitz,
+Jena, and Eylau, was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, with
+instructions to ally himself with Shah Feth-Ali against England and
+Russia. The selection was fortunate, for the grandfather of General
+Gardane had held a similar post at the court of the shah. Gardane
+crossed Hungary, and reached Constantinople and Asia Minor; but when he
+entered Persia, Abbas Mirza had succeeded his father Feth-Ali.
+
+The new shah received the French ambassador with respect, loaded him
+with presents, and granted certain privileges to Catholics and French
+merchants. These were, however, the only results of the mission, which
+was thwarted by the English General Malcolm, whose influence was then
+paramount; and Gardane, disheartened by finding all his efforts
+frustrated, and recognizing that success was hopeless, returned to
+France the following year.
+
+His brother Ange de Gardane, who had acted as his secretary, published
+a brief narrative of the journey, containing several curious details
+respecting the antiquities of Persia, which have been, however, largely
+supplemented by works brought out by Englishmen.
+
+The French Consul, Adrien Dupre, attached to Gardane's mission, also
+published a work, under the title of "Voyage en Perse, fait dans les
+annees 1807 a 1809, en traversant l'Anatolie, la Mesopotamie, depuis
+Constantinople jusqu'a l'extremite du golfe Persique et de la a Irwan,
+suivi de details sur les moeurs, les usages et le commerce des Persans,
+sur la cour de Teheran et d'une notice des tribus de la Perse." The
+book bears out the assertions of its title, and is a valuable
+contribution to the geography and ethnography of Persia.
+
+The English, who made a much longer stay in the country than the
+French, were better able to collect the abundant materials at hand, and
+to make a judicious selection from them.
+
+Two works were long held to be the chief authorities on the subject.
+One of these was by James Morier, who availed himself of the leisure he
+enjoyed as secretary to the embassy to acquaint himself with every
+detail of Persian manners, and on his return to England published
+several Oriental romances, which obtained a signal success, owing to
+the variety and novelty of the scenes described, and the fidelity to
+nature of every feature, however minute.
+
+The second of the two volumes alluded to above was the large quarto
+work by John Macdonald Kinneir, on the geography of Persia. This book,
+which made its mark, and left far behind it everything previously
+published on the subject, not only gives, as its title implies, very
+valuable information on the boundaries of the country, its mountains,
+rivers, and climate, but also contains interesting and trustworthy
+details respecting its government, constitution, army, commerce,
+animal, vegetable, and mineral productions, population, and revenue.
+
+After giving an exhaustive and brilliant picture of the material and
+moral resources of the Persian Empire, Kinneir goes on to describe its
+different provinces, quoting from the mass of valuable documents
+accumulated by himself, thus making his work the most complete and
+impartial yet issued.
+
+Kinneir passed the years 1808 to 1814 in travelling about Asia Minor,
+Armenia, and Kurdistan; and the different posts held by him during that
+period were such as to give him exceptional opportunities for making
+observations and comparing their results. In his several capacities as
+captain in the service of the Company, political agent to the Nawab of
+the Carnatic, or private traveller, his critical acumen was never at
+fault; and his wide knowledge of Oriental character and Oriental
+manners, enabled him to recognize the true significance of many an
+event and many a revolution which would have escaped the notice of less
+experienced observers.
+
+At the same time, William Price, also a captain in the East India
+Company's service, who had been attached as interpreter and secretary
+to Sir William Gore Ouseley's embassy to Persia in 1810, devoted
+himself to the study of the cuneiform character. Many had previously
+attempted to decipher it, with results as various as they were
+ridiculous; and, like those of his predecessors and contemporaries,
+Price's opinions were mere guess-work; but he succeeded in interesting
+a certain class of students in this obscure branch of research, and may
+be said to have perpetuated the theories of Niebuhr and other
+Orientalists.
+
+To Price we owe an account of the journey of the English embassy to the
+Persian court, after which he published two essays on the antiquities
+of Persepolis and Babylon.
+
+Mr. Ouseley, who had accompanied his brother Sir William as secretary,
+availed himself of his sojourn at the Court of Teheran to study
+Persian. His works do not, however, bear upon geography or political
+economy, but treat only of inscriptions, coins, manuscripts, and
+literature--in a word, of everything connected with the intellectual
+and material history of the country. To him we owe an edition of
+Firdusi, and many other volumes, which came out at just the right time
+to supplement the knowledge already acquired of the country of the
+Shah.
+
+Another semi-Asiatic semi-European country was also now becoming known.
+This was the mountainous district of the Caucasus. As early as the
+second half of the eighteenth century, John Anthony Guldenstaedt, a
+Russian doctor, had visited Astrakhan, and Kisliar on the Terek, at the
+most remote boundary of the Russian possessions, entered Georgia, where
+the Czar Heraclius received him with great respect, and penetrated to
+Tiflis and the country of the Truchmenes, finally arriving at Imeritia.
+The next year, 1773, he visited the great Kabardia, the Oriental
+Kumania, examined the ruins of Madjary, visited Tscherkask and Asov,
+discovered the mouth of the Don, and was about to extend his researches
+to the Crimea when he was recalled to St. Petersburg.
+
+Guldenstaedt's travels have not been translated into French. Their
+author's career was cut short by death before he had completed their
+revision for the press, and they were edited at St. Petersburg by Henry
+Julius von Klaproth, a young Prussian, who afterwards explored the same
+countries.
+
+Klaproth, who was born at Berlin on the 11th October, 1783, gave proof
+at a very early age of a special aptitude for the study of Oriental
+languages. At fifteen years old he taught himself Chinese; and he had
+scarcely finished his studies at the Universities of Halle and Dresden,
+when he began the publication of his "Asiatic Magazine." Invited to
+Russia by Count Potoki, he was at once named Professor of Oriental
+Languages at the Academy of St. Petersburg.
+
+Klaproth did not belong to the worthy race of book-worms who shut
+themselves up in their own studies. He took a wider view of the nature
+of true knowledge, feeling that the surest way to attain a thorough
+acquaintance with the languages of Asia and of Oriental manners and
+customs was to study them on the spot. He therefore asked permission to
+accompany the ambassador Golowkin, who was going to China overland; and
+the necessary credentials obtained, he started alone for Siberia,
+making acquaintance with the Samoyedes, the Tongouses, Bashkirs,
+Yakontes, Kirghizes, and other of the Finnic and Tartar hordes which
+frequent these vast steppes, finally arriving at Yakutsk, where he was
+soon joined by Golowkin. After a halt at Kiakta, the embassy crossed
+the Chinese frontier on the 1st January, 1806.
+
+The Viceroy of Mongolia, however, insisted upon the observance by the
+ambassador of certain ceremonies which were considered by the latter
+degrading to his dignity; and neither being disposed to yield, Golowkin
+set out with his suite to return to St. Petersburg. Klaproth, not
+caring to retrace his steps, preferred to visit hordes still unknown to
+him, and he therefore crossed the southern districts of Siberia, and
+collected during a journey extending over twenty months, a large number
+of Chinese, Mandchoorian, Thibetan, and Mongolian books, which were of
+service to him in his great work "Asia Polyglotta."
+
+On his return to St. Petersburg he was invested with all the honours of
+the Academy; and a little later, at the suggestion of Count Potoki, he
+was appointed to the command of an historical, archaeological, and
+geographical expedition to the Caucasus. Klaproth now passed a whole
+year in journeys, often full of peril, amongst thievish tribes, through
+rugged districts, and penetrated to the country traversed by
+Guldenstaedt at the end of the previous century.
+
+Klaproth's description of Tiflis is curious as compared with that of
+contemporary authors. "Tiflis," he says, "so called on account of its
+mineral springs, is divided into three parts: Tiflis properly so
+called, or the ancient town; Kala, or the citadel; and the suburb of
+Issni. This town is built on the Kur, and the greater part of its outer
+walls is now in ruins. Its streets are so narrow, that 'arbas,' as the
+lofty carriages so characteristic of Oriental places are called, could
+only pass with difficulty down the widest, whilst in the others a
+horseman would barely find room to ride. The houses, badly built of
+flints and bricks cemented with mud, never last longer than about
+fifteen years." In Klaproth's time Tiflis boasted of two markets, but
+everything was extremely dear, shawls and silk scarves manufactured in
+the neighbouring Asiatic countries bringing higher prices than in St.
+Petersburg.
+
+Tiflis must not be dismissed without a few words concerning its hot
+springs. Klaproth tells us that the famous hot baths were formerly
+magnificent, but they are falling into ruins, although some few remain;
+the floors of which are cased in marble. The waters contain very little
+sulphur and are most salutary in their effects. The natives, especially
+the women, use them to excess, the latter remaining in them several
+days, and even taking their meals in the bath.
+
+The chief food of the people of Tiflis, at least in the mountainous
+districts, is the bhouri, a kind of hard bread with a very disagreeable
+taste, prepared in a way repugnant to our sybarite notions.
+
+When the dough is sufficiently kneaded a bright clear fire of dry wood
+is made, in earthen vessels four feet high by two wide, which are sunk
+in the ground. When the fire is burning fiercely, the Georgians shake
+into it the vermin by which their shirts and red-silk breeches are
+infested. Not until this ceremony has been performed do they throw the
+dough, which is divided into pieces of the size of two clenched fists,
+into the pots. The dough once in, the vessels are covered with lids,
+over which rags are placed, to make sure of all the heat being kept in
+and the bread being thoroughly baked. It is, however, always badly
+done, and very difficult of digestion.
+
+Having thus assisted at the preparation of the food of the poor
+mountaineer, let us join Klaproth at the table of a prince. A long
+striped cloth, about a yard and a half wide and very dirty, was spread
+for his party; on this was placed for each guest an oval-shaped wheaten
+cake, three spans long by two wide, and scarcely as thick as a finger.
+A number of little brass bowls, filled with mutton and boiled rice,
+roast fowls, and cheese cut in slices, were then brought in. As it was
+a fast day, smoked salmon with uncooked green vegetables was served to
+the prince and his subjects. Spoons, forks, and knives are unknown in
+Georgia; soup is eaten from the bowl, meat is taken in the hands, and
+torn with the fingers into pieces the size of a mouthful. To throw a
+tid-bit to another guest is a mark of great friendship. The repast
+over, grapes and dried fruits are eaten. During the meal a good red
+native wine, called traktir by the Tartars, and ghwino by the
+Georgians, is very freely circulated. It is drunk from flat silver
+bowls greatly resembling saucers.
+
+Klaproth's account of the different incidents of his journey is no less
+interesting and vivid than this description of the manners of the
+people. Take, for instance, what he says of his trip to the sources of
+the Terek, the site of which had been pretty accurately indicated by
+Guldenstaedt, although he had not visited them.
+
+"I left the village of Utzfars-Kan on the 17th March, on a bright but
+cold morning. Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me. After half an hour's
+march, we began to climb the steep and rugged ascent leading to the
+junction of the Utzfars-Don with the Terek. This was succeeded by a
+still worse road, running for a league alongside of the river, which is
+scarcely ten paces wide here, although it was then swollen by the
+melting of the snow. This part of the river banks is inhabited. We
+continued to ascend, and reached the foot of the Khoki, also called
+Istir-Khoki, finally arriving at a spot where an accumulation of large
+stones in the bed of the river rendered it possible to cross over to
+the village of Tsiwratte-Kan, where we breakfasted. Here the small
+streams forming the Terek meet. I was so glad to have reached the end
+of my journey, that I poured a glass of Hungarian wine into the river,
+and made a second libation to the genius of the mountain in which the
+Terek rises. The Ossetes, who thought I was performing a religious
+ceremony, observed me gravely. On the smooth sides of an enormous block
+of schist I engraved in red the date of my journey, together with my
+name and those of my companions, after which I climbed up to the
+village of Ressi."
+
+[Illustration: "Fifteen Ossetes accompanied me."]
+
+After this account of his journey, from which we might multiply
+extracts, Klaproth sums up all the information he has collected on the
+tribes of the Caucasus, dwelling specially on the marked resemblances
+which exist between the different Georgian dialects and those of the
+Finns and Lapps. This was a new and useful suggestion.
+
+Speaking of the Lesghians, who occupy the eastern Caucasus, known as
+Daghestan, or Lezghistan, Klaproth says their name is a misnomer, just
+as Scythian or Tartar was used to indicate the natives of Northern
+Asia; adding, that they do not form one nation, as is proved by the
+number of dialects in use, which, however, would seem to have been
+derived from a common source, though time has greatly modified them.
+This is a contradiction in terms, implying either that the Lesghians,
+speaking one language, form one nation, or that forming one nation the
+Lesghians speak various dialects derived from the same source.
+
+According to Klaproth, Lesghian words have a considerable affinity with
+the other languages of the Caucasus, and with those of Western Asia,
+especially the dialects of the Samoyedes and Siberian Finns.
+
+West and north-west of the Lesghians dwell the Metzdjeghis, or
+Tchetchentses, who are probably the most ancient inhabitants of the
+Caucasus. This is not, however, the opinion of Pallas, who looks upon
+them as a separate tribe of the Alain family. The Tchetchentse language
+greatly resembles the Samoyede and other Siberian dialects, as well as
+those of the Slavs.
+
+The Tcherkesses, or Circassians, are the Sykhes of the Greeks. They
+formerly inhabited the eastern Caucasus and the Crimea. Their language
+differs much from other Caucasian idioms, although the Tcherkesses
+proceed, with the Wogouls and the Ostiakes--we have just seen that the
+Lesghian and Tchetchentse dialects resemble the Siberian--from one
+common stock, which at some remote date separated into several
+branches, of which the Huns probably formed one. The Tcherkesse dialect
+is one of the most difficult to pronounce, some of the consonants being
+produced in a manner so loud and guttural that no European has yet been
+able to acquire it.
+
+In the Caucasus also dwell the Abazes--who have never left the shores
+of the Black Sea, where they have been settled from time
+immemorial--and the Ossetes, or As, who belong to the Indo-Germanic
+stock. They call their country Ironistan, and themselves the Irons.
+Klaproth takes them to be Sarmatic Medes, not only on account of their
+name, which resembles Iran, but because of the structure of their
+language, which proves more satisfactorily than historical documents,
+and in a most conclusive manner, that they spring from the same stock
+as the Medes and Persians. This opinion, however, appears to us mere
+conjecture, as in the time of Klaproth the interpretation of cuneiform
+inscriptions had not been accomplished, and too little was known of the
+language of the Medes for any one to judge of its resemblance to the
+Ossete idiom.
+
+"However," continues Klaproth, "after meeting again the Sarmatic Medes
+of the ancients in this people, it is still more surprising also to
+recognize the Alains, who occupied the districts north of the
+Caucasus."
+
+He adds: "It follows from all we have said, that the Ossetes, who call
+themselves Irons, are the Medes, who assumed the name of Irans, and
+whom Herodotus styles the Arioi. They are, moreover, the Sarmatic Medes
+of the ancients, and belong to the Median colony founded in the
+Caucasus by the Scythians. They are the As or Alains of the middle
+ages. And lastly, they are the Iasses of Russian chronicles, from whom
+some of the Caucasus range took their name of the Iassic Mountains."
+This is not the place to discuss identifications belonging to the realm
+of criticism. We will content ourselves with adding to these remarks of
+Klaproth on the Ossete language, that its pronunciation resembles that
+of the Low-German and Slavonic dialects.
+
+The Georgians differ essentially from the neighbouring nations, alike
+in their language and in their physical and moral qualities. They are
+divided into four principal tribes--the Karthalinians, Mingrelians, and
+Shvans (or Swanians), inhabiting the southern range of the Caucasus,
+and the Lazes, a wild robber tribe.
+
+As we have seen, the facts collected by Klaproth are very curious, and
+throw an unexpected light on the migration of ancient races. The
+penetration and sagacity of the traveller were marvellous, and his
+memory was extraordinary. The scholar of Berlin rendered signal
+services to the science of philology. It is to be regretted that his
+qualities as a man, his principles, and his temper, were not on a level
+with his knowledge and acumen as a professor.
+
+We must now leave the Old World for the New, and give an account of the
+explorations of the young republic of the United States. So soon as the
+Federal Government was free from the anxieties of war, and its position
+was alike established and recognized, public attention was directed to
+the "fur country," which had in turn attracted the English, the
+Spanish, and the French. Nootka Sound and the neighbouring coasts,
+discovered by the great Cook and the talented Quadra, Vancouver, and
+Marchand, were American. Moreover, the Monroe doctrine, destined later
+to excite so much discussion, already existed in embryo in the minds of
+the statesmen of the day.
+
+In accordance with an Act of Congress, Captain Merryweather Lewis and
+Lieutenant William Clarke, were commissioned to trace the Missouri,
+from its junction with the Mississippi to its source, and to cross the
+Rocky Mountains by the easiest and shortest route, thus opening up
+communication between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The
+officers were also to trade with any Indian tribes they might meet.
+
+The expedition was composed of regular troops and volunteers, numbering
+altogether, including the leaders, forty-three men; one boat and two
+canoes completed the equipment.
+
+On the 14th May, 1804, the Americans left Wood River, which flows into
+the Mississippi, and embarked on the Missouri. From what Cass had said
+in his journal, the explorers expected to have to contend with natural
+dangers of a very formidable description, and also to fight their way
+amongst natives of gigantic stature, whose hostility to the white man
+was invincible.
+
+During the first days of this long canoe voyage, only to be compared to
+those of Orellana and Condamine on the Amazon, the Americans were
+fortunate enough to meet with some Sioux Indians, an old Frenchman, a
+Canadian _coureur des bois_, or trapper, who spoke the languages of
+most of the Missouri tribes, and consented to accompany the expedition
+as interpreter.
+
+They passed the mouths of the Osage, Kansas, Platte or Nebraska, and
+White River, all tributaries of the Missouri, successively, and met
+various parties of Osage and Sioux, or Maha Indians, who all appeared
+to be in a state of utter degradation. One tribe of Sioux had suffered
+so much from smallpox, that the male survivors, in a fit of rage and
+misery, had killed the women and children spared by the terrible
+malady, and fled from the infected neighbourhood.
+
+A little farther north dwelt the Ricaris, or Recs, at first supposed to
+be the cleanest, most polite, and most industrious of the tribes the
+expedition met with; but a few thefts soon modified that favourable
+judgment. It is curious that these people do not depend entirely on
+hunting, but cultivate corn, peas, and tobacco.
+
+This is not, however, the case with the Mandans, who are a more robust
+race. A custom obtains among them, also characteristic of
+Polynesia--they do not bury their dead, but expose them on a scaffold.
+
+Clarke's narrative gives us a few details relating to this strange
+tribe. The Mandans look upon the Supreme Being only as an embodiment of
+the power of healing. As a result they worship two gods, whom they call
+the Great Medicine or the Physician, and the Great Spirit. It would
+seem that life is so precious to them that they are impelled to worship
+all that can prolong it!
+
+Their origin is strange. They originally lived in a large subterranean
+village hollowed out under the ground on the borders of a lake. A vine,
+however, struck its roots so deeply in the earth as to reach their
+habitations, and some of them ascended to the surface by the aid of
+this impromptu ladder. The descriptions given by them on their return
+of the vast hunting-grounds, rich in game and fruit, which they had
+seen, led the rest of the tribe to resolve to reach so favoured a land.
+Half of them had gained the surface, when the vine, bending beneath the
+weight of a fat woman, gave way, and rendered the ascent of the rest
+impossible. After death the Mandans expect to return to their
+subterranean home, but only those who die with a clear conscience can
+reach it; the guilty will be flung into a lake.
+
+The explorers took up their quarters for the winter amongst the
+Mandans, on the 1st of November. They built huts, as comfortable as
+possible with the materials at their command; and in spite of the
+extreme cold, gave themselves up to the pleasures of hunting, which
+soon became a positive necessity of their existence.
+
+When the ice should break up on the Missouri, the explorers hoped to
+continue their voyage; but on their sending the boat down to St. Louis,
+laden with the skins and furs already obtained, only thirty men were
+found willing to carry the expedition through to the end.
+
+The travellers soon passed the mouth of the Yellowstone River, with a
+current nearly as strong as that of the Missouri, flowing through
+districts abounding in game.
+
+Cruel was their perplexity when they arrived at a fork where the
+Missouri divided into two rivers of nearly equal volume, for which was
+the main stream? Captain Lewis with a party of scouts ascended the
+southern branch, and soon came in sight of the Rocky Mountains,
+completely covered with snow. Guided to the spot by a terrific uproar,
+he beheld the Missouri fling itself in one broad sheet of water over a
+rocky precipice, beyond which it formed a broken series of rapids,
+extending for several miles.
+
+[Illustration: "He beheld the Missouri."]
+
+The detachment now followed this branch, which led them into the heart
+of the mountains, and for three or four miles dashed along between two
+perpendicular walls of rock, finally dividing itself into three parts,
+to which were given the names of Jefferson, Madison, and Galatin, after
+celebrated American statesmen.
+
+The last heights were soon crossed, and then the expedition descended
+the slopes overlooking the Pacific. The Americans had brought with them
+a Soshone woman, who had been protected as a girl by the Indians of the
+east, and not only did she serve the explorers faithfully as an
+interpreter, but also, through her recognition of a brother in the
+chief of a tribe disposed to be hostile, she from that moment secured
+cordial treatment for the white men. Unfortunately the country was
+poor, the people living entirely on wild berries, bark, and the little
+game they were able to obtain.
+
+The Americans, little accustomed to this frugal fare, had to eke it out
+by eating their horses, which had grown very thin, and buying all the
+dogs the natives would consent to sell. Hence they obtained the
+nickname of Dog-eaters.
+
+As the temperature became milder, so did the character of the natives,
+whilst food grew more abundant; and as they came down the Oregon, also
+known as the Columbia, the salmon formed a seasonable addition to the
+bill of fare. When the Columbia, which is dangerous for navigation,
+approaches the sea, it forms a vast estuary, where the waves from the
+offing meet the current of the river. The Americans more than once
+incurred considerable risk of being swallowed up, with their frail
+canoe, before they reached the shores of the ocean.
+
+Glad to have accomplished the aim of their expedition, the explorers
+wintered at the mouth of the river, and when the fine weather set in
+they made their way back to St. Louis, arriving there in May, 1806,
+after an absence of two years, four months, and ten days. They had in
+that time, according to their own estimate, traversed less than 1378
+leagues.
+
+The impulse was now given, and reconnoitring expeditions in the
+interior of the new continent rapidly succeeded each other, assuming, a
+little later, a scientific character which gives them a position of
+their own in the history of discovery.
+
+A few years later, one of the greatest colonizers of whom England can
+boast, Sir Stamford Raffles, organizer of the expedition which took
+possession of the Dutch colonies, was appointed Military Governor of
+Java. During an administration extending over five years, Raffles
+brought about numerous reforms, and abolished slavery. Absorbing as was
+this work, however, it did not prevent him from publishing two huge
+quarto volumes, which are as interesting as they are curious. They
+contain, in addition to the history of Java, a vast number of details
+about the natives of the interior, until then little known, together
+with much circumstantial information respecting the geology and natural
+history of the country. It is no wonder, therefore, that in honour of
+the man who did so much to make Java known, the name of Rafflesia
+should have been given to an immense flower native to it, and of which
+some specimens measure over three feet in diameter, and weigh some ten
+pounds.
+
+[Illustration: Warrior of Java. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Raffles was also the first to penetrate to the interior of Sumatra, of
+which the coast only was previously known. He visited the districts
+occupied by the Passoumahs, sturdy tillers of the soil, the northern
+provinces, with Memang-Kabou, the celebrated Malayan capital, and
+crossed the southern half of the island, from Bencoulen to Palimbang.
+
+Sir Stamford Raffles' fame, however rests principally upon his having
+drawn the attention of the Indian Government to the exceptionally
+favourable position of Singapore, which was converted by him into an
+open port, and grew rapidly into a prosperous settlement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+THE EXPLORATION AND COLONIZATION OF AFRICA.
+
+I.
+Peddie and Campbell in the Soudan--Ritchie and Lyon in Fezzan--Denham,
+Oudney, and Clapperton in Fezzan, and in the Tibboo country--Lake Tchad
+and its tributaries--Kouka and the chief villages of Bornou--Mandara--A
+razzia, or raid, in the Fellatah country--Defeat of the Arabs and death
+of Boo-Khaloum--Loggan--Death of Toole--En route for Kano--Death of
+Oudney--Kano--Sackatoo--Sultan Bello--Return to Europe.
+
+
+The power of Napoleon, and with it the supremacy of France, was
+scarcely overthrown--the Titanic contests, to gratify the ambition of
+one man at the expense of the intellectual progress of humanity, were
+scarcely at an end, before an honourable rivalry awoke once more, and
+new scientific and commercial expeditions were set on foot. A new era
+had commenced.
+
+Foremost in the ranks of the governments which organized and encouraged
+exploring expeditions we find as usual that of England. It was in
+Central Africa, the vast riches of which had been hinted at in the
+accounts given of their travels by Hornemann and Burckhardt, that the
+attention of the English was now concentrated.
+
+As early as 1816 Major Peddie, starting from Senegal, reached Kakondy,
+on the River Nunez, succumbing, however, to the fatigue of the journey
+and unhealthiness of the climate soon after his arrival in that town.
+Major Campbell succeeded him in the command of the expedition, and
+crossed the lofty mountains of Foota-Djalion, losing in a few days
+several men and part of the baggage animals.
+
+Arrived at the headquarters of the Almamy, as most of the kings of this
+part of Africa are called, the expedition was detained for a long time,
+and only obtained permission to depart on payment of a large sum.
+
+Most disastrous was the return journey, for the explorers had not only
+to recross the streams they had before forded with such difficulty, but
+they were subjected to so many insults, annoyances, and exactions, that
+to put an end to them Campbell was obliged to burn his merchandize,
+break his guns, and sink his powder.
+
+Against so much fatigue and mortification, added to the complete
+failure of his expedition, Major Campbell failed to bear up, and he
+died, with several of his officers, in the very place where Major
+Peddie had closed his career. The few survivors of the party reached
+Sierra Leone after an arduous march.
+
+A little later, Ritchie and Captain George Francis Lyon, availing
+themselves of the prestige which the siege of Algiers had brought to
+the British flag, and of the cordial relations which the English consul
+at Tripoli had succeeded in establishing with the principal Moorish
+authorities, determined to follow Hornemann's route, and penetrate to
+the very heart of Africa.
+
+On the 25th March, 1819, the travellers left Tripoli with Mahommed el
+Moukni, Bey of Fezzan, who is called sultan by his subjects. Protected
+by this escort, Ritchie and Lyon reached Murzuk without molestation,
+but there the former died on the 2nd November, worn out by the fatigue
+and privations of the journey across the desert. Lyon, who was ill for
+some time from the same causes, recovered soon enough to foil the
+designs of the sultan, who counting on his death, had already begun to
+take possession of his property, and also of Ritchie's. The captain
+could not penetrate beyond the southern boundaries of Fezzan, but he
+had time to collect a good deal of valuable information about the chief
+towns of that province and the language of its inhabitants. To him we
+likewise owe the first authentic details of the religion, customs,
+language, and extraordinary costumes of the Tuarick Arabs, a wild tribe
+inhabiting the Great Sahara desert.
+
+Captain Lyon's narrative also contains a good deal of interesting
+information collected by himself on Bornou, Wadai, and the Soudan,
+although he was unable to visit those places in person.
+
+The results obtained did not by any means satisfy the English
+Government, which was most eager to open up the riches of the interior
+to its merchants. Consequently the authorities received favourably the
+proposals made by Dr. Walter Oudney, a Scotchman, whose enthusiasm had
+been aroused by the travels of Mungo Park. This Dr. Oudney was a friend
+of Hugh Clapperton, a lieutenant in the Navy, three years his senior,
+who had distinguished himself in Canada and elsewhere, but had been
+thrown out of employment and reduced to half-pay by the peace of 1815.
+
+Hearing of Oudney's scheme, Clapperton at once determined to join him
+in it, and Oudney begged the minister to allow him the aid of that
+enterprising officer, whose special knowledge would be of great
+assistance. Lord Bathurst made no objection, and the two friends, after
+receiving minute instructions, embarked for Tripoli, where they
+ascertained that Major Denham was to take the command of their
+expedition.
+
+Denham was born in London on the 31st December, 1783, and began life as
+an articled pupil to a country lawyer. As an attorney's clerk he found
+his duties so irksome and so little suited to his daring spirit that
+his longing for adventure soon led him to enlist in a regiment bound
+for Spain. Until 1815 he remained with the army, but after the peace he
+employed his leisure in visiting France and Italy.
+
+Denham, eager to obtain distinction, had chosen the career which would
+best enable him to achieve it, even at the risk of his life, and he now
+resolved to become an explorer. With him to think was to act. He had
+asked the minister to commission him to go to Timbuctoo by the route
+Laing afterwards took when he heard of the expedition under Clapperton
+and Oudney; and he now begged to be allowed to join them.
+
+Without any delay Denham obtained the necessary equipment, and
+accompanied by a carpenter named William Hillman, he embarked for
+Malta, joining his future travelling companions at Tripoli on the 21st
+November, 1821. The English at this time enjoyed very great prestige,
+not only in the States of Barbary, on account of the bombardment of
+Algiers, but also because the British consul at Tripoli had by his
+clever diplomacy established friendly relations with the government to
+which he was accredited.
+
+This prestige extended beyond the narrow range of the northern states.
+The nationality of certain travellers, the protection accorded by
+England to the Porte, the British victories in India had all been
+vaguely rumoured even in the heart of Africa, and the name of
+Englishman, was familiar without any particular meaning being attached
+to it. According to the English consul, the route from Tripoli to
+Bornou was as safe as that from London to Edinburgh. This was,
+therefore, the moment to seize opportunities which might not occur
+again.
+
+The three travellers, after a cordial reception from the bey, who
+placed all his resources at their disposal, lost no time in leaving
+Tripoli, and with an escort provided by the Moorish governor, they
+reached Murzuk, the capital of Fezzan, on the 8th April, 1822, without
+difficulty, having indeed been received with great enthusiasm in some
+of the places through which they passed.
+
+At Sockna, Denham tells us, the governor came out to meet them,
+accompanied by the principal inhabitants and hundreds of the country
+people, who crowded round their horses, kissing their hands with every
+appearance of cordiality and delight, and shouting _Inglesi_,
+_Inglesi_, as the visitors entered the town. This welcome was the more
+gratifying from the fact that the travellers were the first Europeans
+to penetrate into Africa without wearing a disguise. Denham adds that
+he feels sure their reception would have been far less cordial had they
+stooped to play the part of impostors by attempting to pass for
+Mahommedans.
+
+At Murzuk they were harassed by annoyances similar to those which had
+paralyzed Hornemann; in their case, however, circumstances and
+character were alike different, and without allowing themselves to be
+blinded by the compliments paid them by the sultan, the English, who
+were thoroughly in earnest, demanded the necessary escort for the
+journey to Bornou.
+
+It was impossible, they were told, to start before the following
+spring, on account of the difficulty of collecting a kafila or caravan,
+and the troops necessary for its escort across the desert.
+
+A rich merchant, however, Boo-Bucker-Boo-Khaloum by name, a great
+friend of the pacha, gave the explorers a hint that if he received
+certain presents he would smooth away all difficulties. He even offered
+to escort them himself to Bornou, for which province he was bound if he
+could obtain the necessary permission from the Pacha of Tripoli.
+
+Denham, believing Boo-Khaloum to be acting honestly, went off to
+Tripoli to obtain the governor's sanction, but on his arrival there he
+obtained only evasive answers, and finally threatened to embark for
+England, where he said he would report the obstacles thrown in his way
+by the pacha, in the carrying out of the objects of the exploring
+expedition.
+
+These menaces produced no effect, and Denham actually set sail, and was
+about to land at Marseilles when he received a satisfactory message
+from the bey, begging him to return, and authorizing Boo-Khaloum to
+accompany him and his companions.
+
+On the 30th October Denham rejoined Oudney and Clapperton at Murzuk,
+finding them considerably weakened by fever and the effects of the
+climate.
+
+Denham, convinced that change of air would restore them to health,
+persuaded them to start and begin the journey by easy stages. He
+himself set out on the 20th of November with a caravan of merchants
+from Mesurata, Tripoli, Sockna, and Murzuk, escorted by 210 Arab
+warriors chosen from the most intelligent and docile of the tribes, and
+commanded by Boo-Khaloum.
+
+The expedition took the route followed by Lyon and soon reached
+Tegerry, which is the most southerly town of Fezzan, and the last
+before the traveller enters the desert of Bilma.
+
+Denham made a sketch of the castle of Tegerry from the southern bank of
+a salt lake near the town. Tegerry is entered by a low narrow vaulted
+passage leading to a gate in a second rampart. The wall is pierced with
+apertures which render the entrance by the narrow passage very
+difficult. Above the second gate there is also an aperture through
+which darts, and fire-brands may be hurled upon the besiegers, a mode
+of warfare once largely indulged in by the Arabs. Inside the town there
+are wells of fairly good water. Denham is of opinion that Tegerry
+restored, well-garrisoned and provisioned, could sustain a long siege.
+Its situation is delightful. It is surrounded by date-trees, and the
+water in the neighbourhood is excellent. A chain of low hills stretches
+away to the east. Snipes, ducks, and wild geese frequent the salt lakes
+near the town.
+
+Leaving Tegerry, the travellers entered a sandy desert, across which it
+would not have been easy to find the way, had it not been marked out by
+the skeletons of men and animals strewn along it, especially about the
+wells.
+
+"One of the skeletons we saw to-day," says Denham, "still looked quite
+fresh. The beard was on the chin, the features could be recognized. 'It
+is my slave,' exclaimed one of the merchants of the kafila. 'I left him
+near here four months ago.' 'Make haste and take him to the market!'
+cried a facetious slave merchant, 'lest some one else should claim
+him.'"
+
+[Illustration: A kafila of slaves. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Here and there in the desert are oases containing towns of greater or
+less importance, at which the caravans halt. Kishi is one of the most
+frequented of these places, and there the money for the right of
+crossing the desert is paid. The Sultan of Kishi, the ruler of a good
+many of these petty principalities, and who takes the title of
+Commander of the Faithful, was remarkable for a complete disregard of
+cleanliness, a peculiarity in which, according to Denham, his court
+fully equalled him.
+
+This sultan paid Boo-Khaloum a visit in his tent, accompanied by half a
+dozen Tibboos, some of whom were positively hideous. Their teeth were
+of a dark yellow colour, the result of chewing tobacco, of which they
+are so fond that they use it as snuff as well as to chew. Their noses
+looked like little round bits of flesh stuck on to their faces with
+nostrils so wide that they could push their fingers right up them.
+Denham's watch, compass, and musical snuffbox astonished them not a
+little. He defines these people as brutes with human faces.
+
+A little further on the travellers reached the town of Kirby, situated
+in a wady near a low range of hills of which the highest are not more
+than 400 feet above the sea level, and between two salt lakes, produced
+by the excavations made for building. From the centre of these lakes
+rise islets consisting of masses of muriate and carbonate of soda. The
+salt produced by these wadys, or depressions of the soil, form an
+important article of commerce with Bornou and the whole of the Soudan.
+
+It would be impossible to imagine a more wretched place than Kirby. Its
+houses are empty, containing not so much as a mat. How could it be
+otherwise with a place liable to incessant raids from the Tuaricks?
+
+The caravan now crossed the Tibboo country, inhabited by a peaceful,
+hospitable people to whom, as keepers of the wells and reservoirs of
+the desert, the leaders of caravans pay passage-money. The Tibboos are
+a strong, active race, and when mounted on their nimble steeds they
+display marvellous skill in throwing the lance, which the most vigorous
+of their warriors can hurl to a distance of 145 yards. Bilma is their
+chief city, and the residence of their sultan.
+
+On the arrival of the travellers at Bilma, the sultan, escorted by a
+number of men and women, came out to meet the strangers. The women were
+much better-looking than those in the smaller towns; some of them had
+indeed very pleasant faces, their white, regular teeth contrasting
+admirably with their shining black skins, and the three "triangular
+flaps of hair, streaming with oil." Coral ornaments in their noses, and
+large amber necklaces round their throats, gave them what Denham calls
+a "seductive appearance." Some of them carried fans made of grass or
+hair, with which to keep off the flies; others were provided with
+branches of trees; all, in fact, carried something in their hands,
+which they waved above their heads. Their costume consisted of a loose
+piece of Soudan cloth, fastened on the left shoulder, and leaving the
+right uncovered, with a smaller piece wound about the head, and falling
+on the shoulders or flung back. In spite of this paucity of clothing,
+there was not the least immodesty in their bearing.
+
+A mile from Bilma, and beyond a limpid spring, which appears to have
+been placed there by nature to afford a supply of water to travellers,
+lies a desert, which it takes no less than ten days to cross. This was
+probably once a huge salt lake.
+
+On the 4th February, 1823, the caravan reached Lari, a town on the
+northern boundary of Bornou, in lat. 14 degrees 40 minutes N. The
+inhabitants, astonished at the size of the "kafila," fled in terror at
+its approach.
+
+"Beyond, however," says Denham, "was an object full of interest to us,
+and the sight of it produced a sensation so gratifying and inspiring,
+that it would be difficult for language to convey an idea of its force
+or pleasure. The great Lake Tchad, glowing with the golden rays of the
+sun in its strength, appeared to be within a mile of the spot on which
+we stood."
+
+On leaving Lari, the appearance of the country changed completely. The
+sandy desert was succeeded by a clay soil, clothed with grass and
+dotted with acacias and other trees of various species, amongst which
+grazed herds of antelopes, whilst Guinea fowls and the turtle-doves of
+Barbary flew hither and thither above them. Towns took the place of
+villages, with huts of the shape of bells, thatched with durra straw.
+
+The travellers continued their journey southwards, rounding Lake Tchad,
+which they had first touched at its most northerly point.
+
+The districts bordering on this sheet of water were of a black, firm,
+but muddy soil. The waters rise to a considerable height in winter, and
+sink in proportion in the summer. The lake is of fresh water, rich in
+fish, and frequented by hippopotami and aquatic birds. Near its centre,
+on the south-east, are the islands inhabited by the Biddomahs, a race
+who live by pillaging the people of the mainland.
+
+The explorers had sent a messenger to Sheikh El Khanemy, to ask
+permission to enter his capital, and an envoy speedily arrived to
+invite Boo-Khaloum and his companions to Kouka.
+
+On their way thither, the travellers passed through Burwha, a fortified
+town which had thus far resisted the inroads of the Tuaricks, and
+crossed the Yeou, a large river, in some parts more than 500 feet in
+width, which, rising in the Soudan, flows into Lake Tchad.
+
+On the southern shores of this river rises a little town of the same
+name, about half the size of Burwha.
+
+The caravan soon reached the gates of Kouka, where, after a journey
+extending over two months and a half, they were received by a body of
+cavalry 4000 strong, under perfect discipline. Amongst these troops was
+a corps of blacks forming the body-guard of the sheikh, whose
+equipments resembled those of ancient chivalry.
+
+[Illustration: Member of the body-guard of the Sheikh of Bornou.
+(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+They wore, Denham tells us, suits of chain armour covering the neck and
+shoulders. These were fastened above the head, and fell in two
+portions, one in front and one behind, so as to protect the flanks of
+the horse and the thighs of the rider. A sort of casque or iron coif,
+kept in its place by red, white or yellow turbans, tied under the chin,
+completed the costume. The horses' heads were also guarded by iron
+plates. Their saddles were small and light, and their steel stirrups
+held only the point of the feet, which were clad in leather shoes,
+ornamented with crocodile skin. The horsemen managed their steeds
+admirably, as, advancing at full gallop, brandishing their spears, they
+wheeled right and left of their guests, shouting "Barca! Barca!"
+(Blessing! Blessing!).
+
+Surrounded by this brilliant and fantastic escort, the English and
+Arabs entered the town, where a similar military display had been
+prepared in their honour.
+
+They were presently admitted to the presence of Sheikh El-Khanemy, who
+appeared to be about forty-five years old, and whose face was
+prepossessing, with a happy, intelligent, and benevolent expression.
+
+The English presented the letters of the pacha, and when the sheikh had
+read them, he asked Denham what had brought him and his companions to
+Bornou.
+
+"We came merely to see the country," replied Denham, "to study the
+character of its people, its scenery, and its productions."
+
+"You are welcome," was the reply; "it will be a pleasure to me to show
+you everything. I have ordered huts to be built for you in the town;
+you may go and see them, accompanied by one of my people, and when you
+are recovered from the fatigue of your long journey, I shall be happy
+to see you."
+
+[Illustration: Reception of the Mission. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+The travellers soon afterwards obtained permission to make collections
+of such animals and plants as appeared to them curious, and to make
+notes of all their observations. They were thus enabled to collect a
+good deal of information about the towns near Kouka.
+
+Kouka, then the capital of Bornou, boasted of a market for the sale of
+slaves, sheep, oxen, cheese, rice, earth-nuts, beans, indigo, and other
+productions of the country. There 100,000 people might sometimes be
+seen haggling about the price of fish, poultry, meat--the last sold
+both raw and cooked--or that of brass, copper, amber and coral. Linen
+was so cheap in these parts, that some of the men wore shirts and
+trousers made of it.
+
+Beggars have a peculiar mode of exciting compassion; they station
+themselves at the entrance to the market, and, holding up the rags of
+an old pair of trousers, they whine out to the passers-by, "See! I have
+no pantaloons!" The novelty of this mode of proceeding, and the request
+for a garment, which seemed to them even more necessary than food, made
+our travellers laugh heartily until they became accustomed to it.
+
+Hitherto the English had had nothing to do with any one but the sheikh,
+who, content with wielding all real power, left the nominal sovereignty
+to the sultan, an eccentric monarch, who never showed himself except
+through the bars of a wicker cage near the gate of his garden, as if he
+were some rare wild beast. Curious indeed were some of the customs of
+this court, not the least so the fancy for obesity: no one was
+considered elegant unless he had attained to a bulk generally looked
+upon as very inconvenient.
+
+Some exquisites had stomachs so distended and prominent that they
+seemed literally to hang over the pommel of the saddle; and in addition
+to this, fashion prescribed a turban of such length and weight that its
+wearer had to carry his head on one side.
+
+These uncouth peculiarities rivalled those of the Turks of a masked
+ball, and the travellers had often hard work to preserve their gravity.
+To compensate, however, for the grotesque solemnity of the various
+receptions, a new field for observation was open, and much valuable
+information might now be acquired.
+
+Denham wished to proceed to the south at once, but the sheikh was
+unwilling to risk the lives of the travellers entrusted to him by the
+Bey of Tripoli. On their entry into Bornou, the responsibility of
+Boo-Khaloum for their safety was transferred to him.
+
+So earnest, however, were the entreaties of Denham, that El-Khanemy at
+last sanctioned his accompanying Boo-Khaloum in a "ghrazzie," or
+plundering expedition against the Kaffirs or infidels.
+
+The sheikh's army and the Arab troops passed in succession Yeddie, a
+large walled city twenty miles from Angoumou, Badagry, and several
+other towns built on an alluvial soil which has a dark clay-like
+appearance.
+
+They entered Mandara, at the frontier town of Delow, beyond which the
+sultan of the province, with five hundred horsemen, met his guests.
+
+Denham describes Mahommed Becker as a man of short stature, about fifty
+years old, wearing a beard, painted of a most delicate azure blue. The
+presentations over, the sultan at once turned to Denham, and asked who
+he was, whence he came, what he wanted, and lastly if he were a
+Mahommedan. On Boo-Khaloum's hesitating to reply, the sultan turned
+away his head, with the words, "So the pacha numbers infidels amongst
+his friends!"
+
+This incident had a very bad effect, and Denham was not again admitted
+to the presence of the sultan.
+
+[Illustration: Lancer of the army of the Sultan of Begharmi.
+(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The enemies of the Pacha of Bornou and the Sultan of Mandara, were
+called Fellatahs. Their vast settlements extended far beyond Timbuctoo.
+They are a handsome set of men, with skins of a dark bronze colour,
+which shows them to be of a race quite distinct from the negroes. They
+are professors of Mahommedanism, and mix but little with the blacks. We
+shall presently have to speak more particularly of the Fellatahs,
+Foulahs, or Fans, as they are called throughout the Soudan.
+
+South of the town of Mora rises a chain of mountains, of which the
+loftiest peaks are not more than 2500 feet high, but which, according
+to the natives, extend for more than "two months' journey."
+
+The most salient point noticed by Denham in his description of the
+country, is a vast and apparently interminable chain of mountains,
+shutting in the view on every side; this, though in his opinion,
+inferior to the Alps, Apennines, Jura, and Sierra Morena in rugged
+magnificence and gigantic grandeur, are yet equal to them in
+picturesque effect. The lofty peaks of Valhmy, Savah, Djoggiday,
+Munday, &c., with clustering villages on their stony sides, rise on the
+east and west, while Horza, exceeding any of them in height and beauty,
+rises on the south with its ravines and precipices.
+
+Derkulla, one of the chief Fellatah towns, was reduced to ashes by the
+invaders, who lost no time in pressing on to Musfeia, a position which,
+naturally very strong, was further defended by palisades manned by a
+numerous body of archers. The English traveller had to take part in the
+assault. The first onslaught of the Arabs appeared to carry all before
+it; the noise of the fire-arms, with the reputation for bravery and
+cruelty enjoyed by Boo-Khaloum and his men, threw the Fellatahs into
+momentary confusion, and if the men of Mandara and Bornou had followed
+up their advantage and stormed the hill, the town would probably have
+fallen.
+
+The besieged, however, noticing the hesitation of their assailants, in
+their turn assumed the defensive, and rallying their archers discharged
+a shower of poisoned arrows, to which many an Arab fell a victim, and
+before which the forces of Bornou and Mandara gave way.
+
+Barca, the Bornou general, had three horses killed under him.
+Boo-Khaloum and his steed were both wounded, and Denham was in a
+similar plight, with the skin of his face grazed by one arrow and two
+others lodged in his burnoos.
+
+The retreat soon became a rout. Denham's horse fell under him, and the
+major had hardly regained his feet when he was surrounded by Fellatahs.
+Two fled on the presentation of the Englishman's pistols, a third
+received the charge in his shoulder.
+
+Denham thought he was safe, when his horse fell a second time, flinging
+his master violently against a tree. This time when the major rose he
+found himself with neither horse nor weapons; and the next moment he
+was surrounded by enemies, who stripped him and wounded him in both
+hands and the right side, leaving him half dead at last to fight over
+his clothes, which seemed to them of great value.
+
+Availing himself of this lucky quarrel, Denham slipped under a horse
+standing by, and disappeared in the thicket. Naked, bleeding, wild with
+pain, he reached the edge of a ravine with a mountain stream flowing
+through it. His strength was all but gone, and he was clutching at a
+bough of a tree overhanging the water with a view to dropping himself
+into it as the banks were very steep, and the branches were actually
+bending beneath his weight, when from beneath his hand a gigantic
+liffa, the most venomous kind of serpent in the country, rose from its
+coil in the very act of striking. Horror-struck, Denham let slip the
+branch, and tumbled headlong into the water, but fortunately the shock
+revived him, he struck out almost unconsciously, swam to the opposite
+bank, and climbing it, found himself safe from his pursuers.
+
+Fortunately the fugitive soon saw a group of horsemen amongst the
+trees, and in spite of the noise of the pursuit, he managed to shout
+loud enough to make them hear him. They turned out to be Barca Gana and
+Boo-Khaloum, with some Arabs. Mounted on a sorry steed, with no other
+clothing than an old blanket swarming with vermin, Denham travelled
+thirty-seven miles. The pain of his wounds was greatly aggravated by
+the heat, the thermometer being at 32 degrees.
+
+The only results of the expedition, which was to have brought in such
+quantities of booty and numerous slaves, were the deaths of Boo-Khaloum
+and thirty-six of his Arabs, the wounding of nearly all the rest, and
+the loss or destruction of all the horses.
+
+The eighty miles between Mora and Kouka were traversed in six days.
+Denham was kindly received in the latter town by the sultan, who sent
+him a native garment to replace his lost wardrobe. The major had hardly
+recovered from his wounds and fatigue, before he took part in a new
+expedition, sent to Munga, a province on the west of Bornou, by the
+sheikh, whose authority had never been fully recognized there, and
+whose claim for tribute had been refused by the inhabitants.
+
+[Illustration: Map of Denham and Clapperton's Journey. Grave par E.
+Morieu.]
+
+Denham and Oudney left Kouka on the 22nd May, and crossed the Yeou,
+then nearly dried up, but an important stream in the rainy season, and
+visited Birnie, with the ruins of the capital of the same name, which
+was capable of containing two hundred thousand inhabitants. The
+travellers also passed through the ruins of Gambarou with its
+magnificent buildings, the favourite residence of the former sultan,
+destroyed by the Fellatahs, Kabshary, Bassecour, Bately, and many other
+towns or villages, whose numerous populations submitted without a
+struggle to the Sultan of Bornou.
+
+The rainy season was disastrous to the members of the expedition,
+Clapperton fell dangerously ill of fever, and Oudney, whose chest was
+delicate even before he left England, grew weaker every day. Denham
+alone kept up. On the 14th of December, when the rainy season was
+drawing to a close, Clapperton and Oudney started for Kano. We shall
+presently relate the particulars of this interesting part of their
+expedition.
+
+Seven days later, an ensign, named Toole, arrived at Kouka, after a
+journey from Tripoli, which had occupied only three months and fourteen
+days.
+
+In February, 1824, Denham and Toole made a trip into Luggun, on the
+south of Lake Tchad. All the districts near the lake and its tributary,
+the Shari, are marshy, and flooded during the rainy season. The
+unhealthiness of the climate was fatal to young Toole, who died at
+Angala, on the 26th of February, at the early age of twenty-two.
+Persevering, enterprising, bright and obliging, with plenty of pluck
+and prudence, Toole was a model explorer.
+
+Luggun was then very little known, its capital Kernok, contained no
+less than 15,000 inhabitants. The people of Luggun, especially the
+women--who are very industrious, and manufacture the finest linens, and
+fabrics of the closest texture--are handsomer and more intelligent than
+those of Bornou.
+
+The necessary interview with the sultan ended, after an exchange of
+complimentary speeches and handsome presents, in this strange proposal
+from his majesty to the travellers: "If you have come to buy female
+slaves, you need not be at the trouble to go further, as I will sell
+them to you as cheap as possible." Denham had great trouble in
+convincing the merchant prince that such traffic was not the aim of his
+journey, but that the love of science alone had brought him to Luggun.
+
+On the 2nd of March, Denham returned to Kouka, and on the 20th of May,
+he was witness to the arrival of Lieutenant Tyrwhitt, who had come to
+take up his residence as consul at the court of Bornou, bearing costly
+presents for the sultan.
+
+[Illustration: Portrait of Clapperton. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+After a final excursion in the direction of Manou, the capital of
+Kanem, and a visit to the Dogganah, who formerly occupied all the
+districts about Lake Fitri, the major joined Clapperton in his return
+journey to Tripoli, starting on the 16th of April, and arriving there
+in safety at the close of a long and arduous journey, whose
+geographical results, important in any case, had been greatly enhanced
+by the labours of Clapperton. To the adventures and discoveries of the
+latter we must now turn. Clapperton and Oudney started for Kano, a
+large Fellatah town on the west of Lake Tchad, on the 14th of December,
+1823, followed the Yeou as far as Damasak, and visited the ruins of
+Birnie, and those of Bera, on the shores of a lake formed by the
+overflowing of the Yeou, Dogamou and Bekidarfi, all towns of Houssa.
+The people of this province, who were very numerous before the invasion
+of the Fellatahs, are armed with bows and arrows, and trade in tobacco,
+nuts, gouro, antimony, tanned hares' skins, and cotton stuffs in the
+piece and made into clothes.
+
+The caravan soon left the banks of the Yeou or Gambarou, and entered a
+wooded country, which was evidently under water in the rainy season.
+
+The travellers then entered the province of Katagoum, where the
+governor received them with great cordiality, assuring them that their
+arrival was quite an event to him, as it would be to the Sultan of the
+Fellatahs, who, like himself, had never before seen an Englishman. He
+also assured them that they would find all they required in his
+district, just as at Kouka.
+
+The only thing which seemed to surprise him much, was the fact that his
+visitors wanted neither slaves, horses, nor silver, and that the sole
+proof of his friendship they required was permission to collect flowers
+and plants, and to travel in his country.
+
+According to Clapperton's observations, Katagoum is situated in lat. 12
+degrees 17 minutes 11 seconds N., and about 12 degrees E. long. Before
+the Fellatahs were conquered, it was on the borders of the province of
+Bornou. It can send into the field 4000 cavalry, and 2000 foot
+soldiers, armed with bows and arrows, swords and lances. Wheat, and
+oxen, with slaves, are its chief articles of commerce. The citadel is
+the strongest the English had seen, except that of Tripoli. Entered by
+gates which are shut at night, it is defended by two parallel walls,
+and three dry moats, one inside, one out, and the third between the two
+walls which are twenty feet high, and ten feet wide at the base. A
+ruined mosque is the only other object of interest in the town, which
+consists of mud houses, and contains some seven or eight hundred
+inhabitants.
+
+There the English for the first time saw cowries used as money.
+Hitherto native cloth had been the sole medium of exchange.
+
+South of Katagoum is the Yacoba country, called Mouchy by the
+Mahommedans. According to accounts received by Clapperton, the people
+of Yacoba, which is shut in by limestone mountains, are cannibals. The
+Mahommedans, however, who have an intense horror of the "Kaffirs," give
+no other proof of this accusation than the statement that they have
+seen human heads and limbs hanging against the walls of the houses.
+
+In Yacoba rises the Yeou, a river which dries up completely in the
+summer; but, according to the people who live on its banks, rises and
+falls regularly every week throughout the rainy season.
+
+On the 11th of January, the journey was resumed; but a halt had to be
+made at Murmur at noon of the same day, as Oudney showed signs of such
+extreme weakness and exhaustion, that Clapperton feared he could not
+last through another day. He had been gradually failing ever since they
+left the mountains of Obarri in Fezzan, where he had inflammation of
+the throat from sitting in a draught when over-heated.
+
+On the 12th of January, Oudney took a cup of coffee at daybreak, and at
+his request Clapperton changed camels with him. He then helped him to
+dress, and leaning on his servant, the doctor left the tent. He was
+about to attempt to mount his camel, when Clapperton saw death in his
+face. He supported him back to the tent, where to his intense grief, he
+expired at once, without a groan or any sign of suffering. Clapperton
+lost no time in asking the governor's permission to bury his comrade;
+and this being obtained, he dug a grave for him himself under an old
+mimosa-tree near one of the gates of the town. After the body had been
+washed according to the custom of the country, it was wrapped in some
+of the turban shawls which were to have served as presents on the
+further journey; the servants carried it to its last resting-place, and
+Clapperton read the English burial service at the grave. When the
+ceremony was over, he surrounded the modest resting-place with a wall
+of earth, to keep off beasts of prey, and had two sheep killed, which
+he divided amongst the poor.
+
+Thus closed the career of the young naturalist and ship's doctor,
+Oudney. His terrible malady, whose germs he had brought with him from
+England, had prevented him from rendering so much service to the
+expedition as the Government had expected from him, although he never
+spared himself, declaring that he felt better on the march, than when
+resting. Knowing that his weakened constitution would not admit of any
+sustained exertion on his part, he would never damp the ardour of his
+companions.
+
+After this sad event, Clapperton resumed his journey to Kano, halting
+successively at Digou, situated in a well-cultivated district, rich in
+flocks; Katoungora, beyond the province of Katagoum; Zangeia,
+once--judging from its extent and the ruined walls still standing--an
+important place, near the end of the Douchi chain of hills; Girkoua,
+with a finer market-place than that of Tripoli; and Souchwa, surrounded
+by an imposing earthwork.
+
+Kano, the Chana of Edrisi and other Arab geographers, and the great
+emporium of the kingdom of Houssa, was reached on the 20th January.
+
+Clapperton tells us that he had hardly entered the gates before his
+expectations were disappointed; after the brilliant description of the
+Arabs, he had expected to see a town of vast extent. The houses were a
+quarter of a mile from the walls, and stood here and there in little
+groups, separated by large pools of stagnant water. "I might have
+dispensed with the care I had bestowed on my dress," (he had donned his
+naval uniform), "for the inhabitants, absorbed in their own affairs,
+let me pass without remark and never so much as looked at me."
+
+Kano, the capital of the province of that name and one of the chief
+towns of the Soudan, is situated in N. lat. 12 degrees 0 minutes 19
+seconds, and E. long. 9 degrees 20 minutes. It contains between thirty
+and forty thousand inhabitants, of whom the greater number are slaves.
+
+The market, bounded on the east and west by vast reedy swamps, is the
+haunt of numerous flocks of ducks, storks, and vultures, which act as
+scavengers to the town. In this market, stocked with all the provisions
+in use in Africa, beef, mutton, goats' and sometimes even camels'
+flesh, are sold.
+
+Writing paper of French manufacture, scissors and knives, antimony,
+tin, red silk, copper bracelets, glass beads, coral, amber, steel
+rings, silver ornaments, turban shawls, cotton cloths, calico, Moorish
+habiliments, and many other articles, are exposed for sale in large
+quantities in the market-place of Kano.
+
+There Clapperton bought for three piastres, an English cotton umbrella
+from Ghadames. He also visited the slave-market, where the unfortunate
+human chattels are as carefully examined as volunteers for the navy are
+by our own inspectors.
+
+The town is very unhealthy, the swamps cutting it in two, and the holes
+produced by the removal of the earth for building, produce permanent
+malaria.
+
+It is the fashion at Kano to stain the teeth and limbs with the juice
+of a plant called _gourgi_, and with tobacco, which produces a bright
+red colour. Gouro nuts are chewed, and sometimes even swallowed when
+mixed with _trona_, a habit not peculiar to Houssa, for it extends to
+Bornou, where it is strictly forbidden to women. The people of Houssa
+smoke a native tobacco.
+
+On the 23rd of February, Clapperton started for Sackatoo. He crossed a
+picturesque well-cultivated country, whose wooded hills gave it the
+appearance of an English park. Herds of beautiful white or dun-coloured
+oxen gave animation to the scenery.
+
+The most important places passed en route by Clapperton were Gadania, a
+densely populated town, the inhabitants of which had been sold as
+slaves by the Fellatahs, Doncami, Zirmia, the capital of Gambra,
+Kagaria, Kouari, and the wells of Kamoun, where he met an escort sent
+by the sultan.
+
+Sackatoo was the most thickly populated city that the explorer had seen
+in Africa. Its well-built houses form regular streets, instead of
+clustering in groups as in the other towns of Houssa. It is surrounded
+by a wall between twenty and thirty feet high, pierced by twelve gates,
+which are closed every evening at sunset, and it boasts of two mosques,
+with a market and a large square opposite to the sultan's residence.
+
+The inhabitants, most of whom are Fellatahs, own many slaves; and the
+latter, those at least who are not in domestic service, work at some
+trade for their masters' profit. They are weavers, masons, blacksmiths,
+shoemakers, or husbandmen.
+
+To do honour to his host, and also to give him an exalted notion of the
+power and wealth of England, Clapperton assumed a dazzling costume when
+he paid his first visit to Sultan Bello. He covered his uniform with
+gold lace, donned white trousers and silk stockings, and completed this
+holiday attire by a Turkish turban and slippers. Bello received him,
+seated on a cushion in a thatched hut like an English cottage. The
+sultan, a handsome man, about forty-five years old, wore a blue cotton
+_tobe_ and a white cotton turban, one end of which fell over his nose
+and mouth in Turkish fashion.
+
+Bello accepted the traveller's presents with childish glee. The watch,
+telescope, and thermometer, which he naively called a "heat watch,"
+especially delighted him; but he wondered more at his visitor than at
+any of his gifts. He was unwearied in his questions as to the manners,
+customs, and trade of England; and after receiving several replies, he
+expressed a wish to open commercial relations with that power. He would
+like an English consul and a doctor to reside in a port he called Raka,
+and finally he requested that certain articles of English manufacture
+should be sent to Funda, a very thriving sea-port of his. After a good
+many talks on the different religions of Europe, Bello gave back to
+Clapperton the books, journals, and clothes which had been taken from
+Denham, at the time of the unfortunate excursion in which Boo-Khaloum
+lost his life.
+
+On the 3rd May, Clapperton took leave of the sultan. This time there
+was a good deal of delay before he was admitted to an audience. Bello
+was alone, and gave the traveller a letter for the King of England,
+with many expressions of friendship towards the country of his visitor,
+reiterating his wish to open commercial relations with it and begging
+him to let him have a letter to say when the English expedition
+promised by Clapperton would arrive on the coast of Africa.
+
+Clapperton returned by the route by which he had come, arriving on the
+8th of July at Kouka, where he rejoined Denham. He had brought with him
+an Arab manuscript containing a geographical and historical picture of
+the kingdom of Takrour, governed by Mahommed Bello of Houssa, author of
+the manuscript. He himself had not only collected much valuable
+information on the geology and botany of Bornou and Houssa, but also
+drawn up a vocabulary of the languages of Begharmi, Mandara, Bornou,
+Houssa, and Timbuctoo.
+
+The results of the expedition were therefore considerable. The
+Fellatahs had been heard of for the first time, and their identity with
+the Fans had been ascertained by Clapperton in his second journey. It
+had been proved that these Fellatahs had created a vast empire in the
+north and west of Africa, and also that beyond a doubt they did not
+belong to the negro race. The study of their language, and its
+resemblance to certain idioms not of African origin, will some day
+throw a light on the migration of races. Lastly, Lake Tchad had been
+discovered, and though not entirely examined, the greater part of its
+shores had been explored. It had been ascertained to have two
+tributaries: the Yeou, part of whose course had been traced, whilst its
+source had been pointed out by the natives, and the Shari, the mouth
+and lower portion of which had been carefully examined by Denham. With
+regard to the Niger, the information collected by Clapperton from the
+natives was still very contradictory, but the balance of evidence was
+in favour of its flowing into the Gulf of Benin. However, Clapperton
+intended, after a short rest in England, to return to Africa, and
+landing on the western coast make his way up the Kouara or Djoliba as
+the natives call the Niger; to set at rest once for all the dispute as
+to whether that river was or was not identical with the Nile; to
+connect his new discoveries with those of Denham, and lastly to cross
+Africa, taking a diagonal course from Tripoli to the Gulf of Benin.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Clapperton's second journey--Arrival at Badagry--Yariba and its capital
+Katunga--Boussa--Attempts to get at the truth about Mungo Park's
+fate--"Nyffe," Yaourie, and Zegzeg--Arrival at Kano--Disappointments--
+Death of Clapperton--Return of Lander to the coast--Tuckey on the
+Congo--Bowditch in Ashantee--Mollien at the sources of the Senegal and
+Gambia--Major Grey--Caillie at Timbuctoo--Laing at the sources of the
+Niger--Richard and John Lander at the mouth of the Niger--Cailliaud and
+Letorzec in Egypt, Nubia, and the oasis of Siwah.
+
+
+So soon as Clapperton arrived in England, he submitted to Lord Bathurst
+his scheme for going to Kouka _via_ the Bight of Benin--in other words
+by the shortest way, a route not attempted by his predecessors--and
+ascending the Niger from its mouth to Timbuctoo.
+
+In this expedition three others were associated with Clapperton, who
+took the command. These three were a surgeon named Dickson, Pearce, a
+ship's captain, and Dr. Morrison, also in the merchant service; the
+last-named well up in every branch of natural history.
+
+On the 26th November, 1825, the expedition arrived in the Bight of
+Benin. For some reason unexplained, Dickson had asked permission to
+make his way to Sockatoo alone and he landed for that purpose at
+Whydah. A Portuguese named Songa, and Colombus, Denham's servant,
+accompanied him as far as Dahomey. Seventeen days after he left that
+town, Dickson reached Char, and a little later Yaourie, beyond which
+place he was never traced.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: Dickson quarrelled with a native chief, and was murdered
+by his followers. See Clapperton's "Last Journey in Africa."--_Trans._]
+
+The other explorers sailed up the Bight of Benin, and were warned by an
+English merchant named Houtson, not to attempt the ascent of the
+Quorra, as the king of the districts watered by it had conceived an
+intense hatred of the English, on account of their interference with
+the slave-trade, the most remunerative branch of his commerce.
+
+It would be much better, urged Houtson, to go to Badagry, no great
+distance from Sackatoo, the chief of which, well-disposed as he was to
+travellers, would doubtless give them an escort as far as the frontiers
+of Yariba. Houtson had lived in the country many years, and was well
+acquainted with the language and habits of its people. Clapperton,
+therefore, thought it desirable to attach him to the expedition as far
+as Katunga, the capital of Yariba.
+
+The expedition disembarked at Badagry, on the 29th November, 1825,
+ascended an arm of the Lagos, and then, for a distance of two miles,
+the Gazie creek, which traverses part of Dahomey. Descending the left
+bank, the explorers began their march into the interior of the country,
+through districts consisting partly of swamps and partly of yam
+plantations. Everything indicated fertility. The negroes were very
+averse to work, and it would be impossible to relate the numerous
+"palavers" and negotiations which had to be gone through, and the
+exactions which were submitted to, before porters could be obtained.
+
+The explorers succeeded, in spite of these difficulties, in reaching
+Jenneh, sixty miles from the coast. Here Clapperton tells us he saw
+several looms at work, as many as eight or nine in one house, a regular
+manufactory in fact. The people of Jenneh also make earthenware, but
+they prefer that which they get from Europe, often putting the foreign
+produce to uses for which it was never intended.
+
+At Jenneh the travellers were all attacked with fever, the result of
+the great heat and the unhealthiness of the climate. Pearce and
+Morrison both died on the 27th December, the former soon after he left
+Jenneh with Clapperton, the latter at that town, to which he had
+returned to rest.
+
+At Assondo, a town of no less than 10,000 inhabitants; Daffou,
+containing some 5000, and other places visited by Clapperton on his way
+through the country, he found that an extraordinary rumour had preceded
+him, to the effect that he had come to restore peace to the districts
+distracted by war, and to do good to the lands he explored.
+
+At Tchow the caravan met a messenger with a numerous escort, sent by
+the King of Yariba to meet the explorers, and shortly afterwards
+Katunga was entered. This town is built round the base of a rugged
+granite mountain. It is about three miles in extent, and is both framed
+in and planted with bushy trees presenting a most picturesque
+appearance.
+
+[Illustration: "The caravan met a messenger."]
+
+Clapperton remained at Katunga from the 24th January to the 7th March,
+1826. He was entertained there with great hospitality by the sultan,
+who, however, refused to give him permission to go to Houssa and Bornou
+by way of Nyffe or Toppa, urging as reasons that Nyffe was distracted
+by civil war, and one of the pretenders to the throne had called in the
+aid of the Fellatahs. It would be more prudent to go through Yaourie.
+Whether these excuses were true or not, Clapperton had to submit.
+
+The explorer availed himself of his detention at Katunga to make
+several interesting observations. This town contains no less than seven
+markets, in which are exposed for sale yams, cereals, bananas, figs,
+the seeds of gourds, hares, poultry, sheep, lambs, linen cloth, and
+various implements of husbandry.
+
+The houses of the king and those of his wives are situated in two large
+parks. The doors and the pillars of the verandahs are adorned with
+fairly well executed carvings, representing such scenes as a boa
+killing an antelope, or a pig, or a group of warriors and drummers.
+
+According to Clapperton the people of Yariba have fewer of the
+characteristics of the negro race than any natives of Africa with whom
+he was brought in contact. Their lips are not so thick and their noses
+are of a more aquiline shape. The men are well made, and carry
+themselves with an ease which cannot fail to be remarked. The women are
+less refined-looking than the men, the result, probably, of exposure to
+the sun and the fatigue they endure, compelled as they are to do all
+the work of the fields.
+
+Soon after leaving Katunga, Clapperton crossed the Mousa, a tributary
+of the Quorra and entered Kiama, one of the halting-places of the
+caravans trading between Houssa and Borghoo, and Gandja, on the
+frontiers of Ashantee. Kiama contains no less than 13,000 inhabitants,
+who are considered the greatest thieves in Africa. To say a man is from
+Borghoo is to brand him as a blackguard at once.
+
+Outside Kiama the traveller met the Houssa caravan. Some thousands of
+men and women, oxen, asses, and horses, marching in single file, formed
+an interminable line presenting a singular and grotesque appearance. A
+motley assemblage truly: naked girls alternating with men bending
+beneath their loads, or with Gandja merchants in the most outlandish
+and ridiculous costumes, mounted on bony steeds which stumbled at every
+step.
+
+Clapperton now made for Boussa on the Niger, where Mungo Park was
+drowned. Before reaching it he had to cross the Oli, a tributary of the
+Quorra, and to pass through Wow-wow, a district of Borghoo, the capital
+of which, also called Wow-wow, contained some 18,000 inhabitants. It
+was one of the cleanest and best built towns the traveller had entered
+since he left Badagry. The streets are wide and well kept, and the
+houses are round, with conical thatched roofs. Drunkenness is a
+prevalent vice in Wow-wow: governor, priests, laymen, men and women,
+indulge to excess in palm wine, in rum brought from the coast, and in
+"bouza." The latter beverage is a mixture made of dhurra, honey,
+cayenne pepper, and the root of a coarse grass eaten by cattle, with
+the addition of a certain quantity of water.
+
+Clapperton tells us that the people of Wow-wow are famous for their
+cleanliness; they are cheerful, benevolent, and hospitable. No other
+people whom he had met with had been so ready to give him information
+about their country; and, more extraordinary still, did not meet with a
+single beggar. The natives say they are not aborigines of Borghoo, but
+that they are descendants of the natives of Houssa and Nyffe. They
+speak a Yariba dialect, but the Wow-wow women are pretty, which those
+of Yariba are not. The men are muscular and well-made, but have a
+dissipated look. Their religion is a lax kind of Mahommedanism
+tinctured with paganism.
+
+Since leaving the coast Clapperton had met tribes of unconverted
+Fellatahs speaking the same language, and resembling in feature and
+complexion others who had adopted Mahommedanism. A significant fact
+which points to their belonging to one race.
+
+Boussa, which the traveller reached at last, is not a regular town, but
+consists of groups of scattered houses on an island of the Quorra,
+situated in lat. 10 degrees 14 minutes N., and long. 6 degrees 11
+minutes E. The province of which it is the capital is the most densely
+populated of Borghoo. The inhabitants are all Pagans, even the sultan,
+although his name is Mahommed. They live upon monkeys, dogs, cats,
+rats, beef, and mutton.
+
+Breakfast was served to the sultan whilst he was giving audience to
+Clapperton, whom he invited to join him. The meal consisted of a large
+water-rat grilled without skinning, a dish of fine boiled rice, some
+dried fish stewed in palm oil, fried alligators' eggs, washed down with
+fresh water from the Quorra. Clapperton took some stewed fish and rice,
+but was much laughed at because he would eat neither the rat nor the
+alligators' eggs.
+
+The sultan received him very courteously, and told him that the Sultan
+of Yaourie had had boats ready to take him to that town for the last
+seven days. Clapperton replied that as the war had prevented all exit
+from Bornou and Yaourie, he should prefer going by way of Coulfo and
+Nyffe. "You are right," answered the sultan; "you did well to come and
+see me, and you can take which ever route you prefer."
+
+At a later audience Clapperton made inquiries about the Englishmen who
+had perished in the Quorra twenty years before. This subject evidently
+made the sultan feel very ill at ease, and he evaded the questions put
+to him, by saying he was too young at the time to remember what
+happened.
+
+Clapperton explained that he only wanted to recover their books and
+papers, and to visit the scene of their death; and the sultan in reply
+denied having anything belonging to them, adding a warning against his
+guest's going to the place where they died, for it was a "very bad
+place."
+
+"But I understood," urged Clapperton, "that part of the boat they were
+in could still be seen."
+
+"No, it was a false report," replied the sultan, "the boat had long
+since been carried down by the stream; it was somewhere amongst the
+rocks, he didn't know where."
+
+To a fresh demand for Park's papers and journals the sultan replied
+that he had none of them; they were in the hands of some learned men;
+but as Clapperton seemed to set such store by them, he would have them
+looked for. Thanking him for this promise, Clapperton begged permission
+to question the old men of the place, some of whom must have witnessed
+the catastrophe. No answer whatever was returned to this appeal, by
+which the sultan was evidently much embarrassed. It was useless to
+press him further.
+
+This was a check to Clapperton's further inquiries. On every side he
+was met with embarrassed silence or such replies as, "The affair
+happened so long ago, I can't remember it," or, "I was not witness to
+it." The place where the boat had been stopped and its crew drowned was
+pointed out to him, but even that was done cautiously. A few days
+later, Clapperton found out that the former Imaun, who was a Fellatah,
+had had Mungo Park's books and papers in his possession. Unfortunately,
+however, this Imaun had long since left Boussa. Finally, when at
+Coulfo, the explorer ascertained beyond a doubt that Mungo Park had
+been murdered.
+
+Before leaving Borghoo, Clapperton recorded his conviction of the
+baselessness of the bad reputation of the inhabitants, who had been
+branded everywhere as thieves and robbers. He had completely explored
+their country, travelled and hunted amongst them alone, and never had
+the slightest reason to complain.
+
+The traveller now endeavoured to reach Kano by way of Zouari and
+Zegzeg, first crossing the Quorra. He soon arrived at Fabra, on the
+Mayarrow, the residence of the queen-mother of Nyffe, and then went to
+visit the king, in camp at a short distance from the town. This king,
+Clapperton tells us, was the most insolent rogue imaginable, asking for
+everything he saw, and quite unabashed by any refusal. His ambition and
+his calling in of the Fellatahs, who would throw him over as soon as he
+had answered their purpose, had been the ruin of his country. Thanks
+indeed to him, nearly the whole of the industrial population of Nyffe
+had been killed, sold into slavery, or had fled the country.
+
+Clapperton was detained by illness much longer than he had intended to
+remain at Coulfo, a commercial town on the northern banks of the
+Mayarrow containing from twelve to fifteen thousand inhabitants.
+Exposed for the last twenty years to the raids of the Fellatahs, Coulfo
+had been burnt twice in six years. Clapperton was witness when there of
+the Feast of the New Moon. On that festival every one exchanged visits.
+The women wear their woolly hair plaited and stained with indigo. Their
+eyebrows are dyed the same colour. Their eyelids are painted with kohl,
+their lips are stained yellow, their teeth red, and their hands and
+feet are coloured with henna. On the day of the Feast of the Moon they
+don their gayest garments, with their glass beads, bracelets, copper,
+silver, steel, or brass. They also turn the occasion to account by
+drinking as much bouza as the men, joining in all their songs and
+dances.
+
+After passing through Katunga, Clapperton entered the province of
+Gouari, the people of which though conquered with the rest of Houssa by
+the Fellatahs, had rebelled against them on the death of Bello I., and
+since then maintained their independence in spite of all the efforts of
+their invaders. Gouari, capital of the province of the same name, is
+situated in lat. 10 degrees 54 minutes N., and long. 8 degrees 1 minute
+E.
+
+At Fatika Clapperton entered Zegzeg, subject to the Fellatahs, after
+which he visited Zariyah, a singular-looking town laid out with
+plantations of millet, woods of bushy trees, vegetable gardens, &c.,
+alternating with marshes, lawns, and houses. The population was very
+numerous, exceeding even that of Kano, being estimated indeed at some
+forty or fifty thousand, nearly all Fellatahs.
+
+On the 19th September, after a long and weary journey, Clapperton at
+last entered Kano. He at once discovered that he would have been more
+welcome if he had come from the east, for the war with Bornou had
+broken off all communication with Fezzan and Tripoli. Leaving his
+luggage under the care of his servant Lander, Clapperton almost
+immediately started in quest of Sultan Bello, who they said was near
+Sackatoo. This was an extremely arduous journey, and on it Clapperton
+lost his camels and horses, and was compelled to put up with a
+miserable ox; to carry part of his baggage, he and his servants
+dividing the rest amongst them.
+
+Bello received Clapperton kindly and sent him camels and provisions,
+but as he was then engaged in subjugating the rebellious province of
+Gouber, he could not at once give the explorer the personal audience so
+important to the many interests entrusted by the English Government to
+Clapperton.
+
+Bello advanced to the attack of Counia, the capital of Gouber, at the
+head of an army of 60,000 soldiers, nine-tenths of whom were on foot
+and wore padded armour. The struggle was contemptible in the extreme,
+and this abortive attempt closed the war. Clapperton, whose health was
+completely broken up, managed to make his way from Sackatoo to Magaria,
+where he saw the sultan.
+
+After he had received the presents brought for him, Bello became less
+friendly. He presently pretended to have received a letter from Sheikh
+El Khanemy warning him against the traveller, whom his correspondent
+characterized as a spy, and urging him to defy the English, who meant,
+after finding out all about the country, to settle in it, raise up
+sedition and profit by the disturbances they should create to take
+possession of Houssa, as they had done of India.
+
+The most patent of all the motives of Bello in creating difficulties
+for Clapperton was his wish to appropriate the presents intended for
+the Sultan of Bornou. A pretext being necessary, he spread a rumour
+that the traveller was taking cannons and ammunition to Kouka. It was
+out of all reason Bello should allow a stranger to cross his dominions
+with a view to enabling his implacable enemy to make war upon him.
+Finally, Bello made an effort to induce Clapperton to read to him the
+letter of Lord Bathurst to the Sultan of Bornou.
+
+Clapperton told him he could take it if he liked, but that he would not
+give it to him, adding that everything was of course possible to him,
+as he had force on his side, but that he would bring dishonour upon
+himself by using it. "To open the letter myself," said Clapperton, "is
+more than my head is worth." He had come, he urged, bringing Bello a
+letter and presents from the King of England, relying upon the
+confidence inspired by the sultan's letter of the previous year, and he
+hoped his host would not forfeit that confidence by tampering with
+another person's letter.
+
+On this the sultan made a gesture of dismissal, and Clapperton retired.
+
+This was not, however, the last attempt of a similar kind, and things
+grew much worse later. A few days afterwards another messenger was sent
+to demand the presents reserved for El Khanemy, and on Clapperton's
+refusing to give them up, they were taken from him.
+
+"I told the Gadado," says Clapperton, "that they were acting like
+robbers towards me, in defiance of all good faith: that no people in
+the world would act the same, and they had far better have cut my head
+off than done such an act; but I suppose they would do that also when
+they had taken everything from me."
+
+An attempt was now made to obtain his arms and ammunition, but this he
+resisted sturdily. His terrified servants ran away, but soon returned
+to share the dangers of their master, for whom they entertained the
+warmest affection.
+
+At this critical moment, the entries in Clapperton's journal ceased. He
+had now been six months in Sackatoo, without being able to undertake
+any explorations or to bring to a satisfactory conclusion the mission
+which had brought him from the coast. Sick at heart, weary, and ill, he
+could take no rest, and his illness suddenly increased upon him to an
+alarming degree. His servant, Richard Lander, who had now joined him,
+tried in vain to be all things at once. On the 12th March, 1827,
+Clapperton was seized with dysentery. Nothing could check the progress
+of the malady, and he sank rapidly. It being the time of the feast of
+the Rhamadan, Lander could get no help, not even servants. Fever soon
+set in, and after twenty days of great suffering, Clapperton, feeling
+his end approaching, gave his last instructions to Lander, and died in
+that faithful servant's arms, on the 11th of April.
+
+"I put a large clean mat," says Lander, "over the whole [the corpse],
+and sent a messenger to Sultan Bello, to acquaint him with the mournful
+event, and ask his permission to bury the body after the manner of my
+own country, and also to know in what particular place his remains were
+to be interred. The messenger soon returned with the sultan's consent
+to the former part of my request; and about twelve o'clock at noon of
+the same day a person came into my hut, accompanied by four slaves,
+sent by Bello to dig the grave. I was desired to follow them with the
+corpse. Accordingly I saddled my camel, and putting the body on its
+back, and throwing a union jack over it, I bade them proceed.
+Travelling at a slow pace, we halted at Jungavie, a small village,
+built on a rising ground, about five miles to the south-east of
+Sackatoo. The body was then taken from the camel's back, and placed in
+a shed, whilst the slaves were digging the grave; which being quickly
+done, it was conveyed close to it. I then opened a prayer-book, and,
+amid showers of tears, read the funeral service over the remains of my
+valued master. Not a single person listened to this peculiarly
+distressing ceremony, the slaves being at some distance, quarrelling
+and making a most indecent noise the whole time it lasted. This being
+done, the union jack was then taken off, and the body was slowly
+lowered into the earth, and I wept bitterly as I gazed for the last
+time upon all that remained of my generous and intrepid master."
+
+[Illustration: "Travelling at a slow pace."]
+
+Overcome by heat, fatigue, and grief, poor Lander himself now broke
+down, and for more than ten days was unable to leave his hut.
+
+Bello sent several times to inquire after the unfortunate servant's
+health, but he was not deceived by these demonstrations of interest,
+for he knew they were only dictated by a wish to get possession of the
+traveller's baggage, which was supposed to be full of gold and silver.
+The sultan's astonishment may therefore be imagined when it came out
+that Lander had not even money enough to defray the expenses of his
+journey to the coast. He never found out that the servant had taken the
+precaution of hiding his own gold watch and those of Pearce and
+Clapperton about his person.
+
+Lander saw that he must at any cost get back to the coast as quickly as
+possible. By dint of the judicious distribution of a few presents he
+won over some of the sultan's advisers, who represented to their master
+that should Lander die he would be accused of having murdered him as
+well as Clapperton. Although Clapperton had advised Lander to join an
+Arab caravan for Fezzan, the latter, fearing that his papers and
+journals might be taken from him, resolved to go back to the coast.
+
+On the 3rd May Lander at last left Sackatoo en route for Kano. During
+the first part of this journey, he nearly died of thirst, but he
+suffered less in the second half, as the King of Djacoba, who had
+joined him, was very kind to him, and begged him to visit his country.
+This king told him that the Niam-Niams were his neighbours; that they
+had once joined him against the Sultan of Bornou, and that after the
+battle they had roasted and eaten the corpses of the slain. This, I
+believe, is the first mention, since the publication of Hornemann's
+Travels, of this cannibal race, who were to become the subjects of so
+many absurd fables.
+
+Lander entered Kano on the 25th May, and after a short stay there
+started for Funda, on the Niger, whose course he proposed following to
+Benin. This route had much to recommend it, being not only safe but
+new, so that Lander was enabled to supplement the discoveries of his
+master.
+
+Kanfoo, Carifo, Gowgie, and Gatas, were visited in turns by Lander, who
+says that the people of these towns belong to the Houssa race, and pay
+tribute to the Fellatahs. He also saw Damoy, Drammalik, and Coudonia,
+passed a wide river flowing towards the Quorra, and visited Kottop, a
+huge slave and cattle market, Coudgi and Dunrora, with a long chain of
+lofty mountains running in an easterly direction beyond.
+
+At Dunrora, just as Lander was superintending the loading of his beasts
+of burden, four horsemen, their steeds covered with foam, dashed up to
+the chief, and with his aid forced Lander to retrace his steps to visit
+the King of Zegzeg, who, they said, was very anxious to see him. This
+was by no means agreeable to Lander, who wanted to get to the Niger,
+from which he was not very far distant, and down it to the sea; he was,
+however, obliged to yield to force. His guides did not follow exactly
+the same route as he had taken on his way to Dunrora, and thus he had
+an opportunity of seeing the village of Eggebi, governed by one of the
+chief of the warriors of the sovereign of Zegzeg. He paid his respects
+as required, excusing the small value of the presents he had to give on
+the ground of his merchandise having been stolen, and soon obtained
+permission to leave the place.
+
+Yaourie, Womba, Coulfo, Boussa, and Wow-wow were the halting-places on
+Lander's return journey to Badagry, where he arrived on the 22nd
+November, 1827. Two months later he embarked for England.
+
+Although the commercial project, which had been the chief aim of
+Clapperton's journey, had fallen through, owing to the jealousy of the
+Arabs, who opposed it in their fear that the opening of a new route
+might ruin their trade, a good deal of scientific information had
+rewarded the efforts of the English explorer.
+
+In his "History of Maritime and Inland Discovery," Desborough Cooley
+thus sums up the results obtained by the travellers whose work we have
+just described:--
+
+"The additions to our geographical knowledge of the interior of Africa
+which we owe to Captain Clapperton far exceed in extent and importance
+those made by any preceding traveller. The limit of Captain Lyon's
+journey southward across the desert was in lat. 24 degrees, while Major
+Denham, in his expedition to Mandara, reached lat. 9 degrees 15
+minutes, thus adding 14-3/4 degrees, or 900 miles, to the extent
+explored by Europeans. Hornemann, it is true, had previously crossed
+the desert, and had proceeded as far southwards as Niffe, in lat. 10
+degrees 30 minutes. But no account was ever received of his journey.
+Park in his first expedition reached Silla, in long. 1 degree 34
+minutes west, a distance of 1100 miles from the mouth of the Gambia.
+Denham and Clapperton, on the other hand, from the east side of Lake
+Tchad, in long. 17 degrees, to Sackatoo, in long. 5 degrees 30 minutes,
+explored a distance of 700 miles from east to west in the heart of
+Africa; a line of only 400 miles remaining unknown between Silla and
+Sackatoo. The second journey of Captain Clapperton added ten-fold value
+to these discoveries; for he had the good fortune to detect the
+shortest and most easy road to the populous countries of the interior;
+and he could boast of being the first who had completed an itinerary
+across the continent of Africa from Tripoli to Benin."
+
+We need add but little to so skilful and sensible a summary of the work
+done. The information given by Arab geographers, especially by Leo
+Africanus, had been verified, and much had been learnt about a large
+portion of the Soudan. Although the course of the Niger had not yet
+been actually traced--that was reserved for the expeditions of which we
+are now to write--it had been pretty fairly guessed at. It had been
+finally ascertained that the Quorra, or Djoliba, or Niger--or whatever
+else the great river of North-West Africa might be called--and the Nile
+were totally different rivers, with totally different sources. In a
+word, a great step had been gained.
+
+In 1816 it was still an open question whether the Congo was not
+identical with the Niger. To ascertain the truth on this point, an
+expedition was sent out under Captain Tuckey, an English naval officer
+who had given proof of intelligence and courage. James Kingston Tuckey
+was made prisoner in 1805, and was not exchanged until 1814. When he
+heard that an expedition was to be organized for the exploration of the
+Zaire, he begged to be allowed to join it, and was appointed to the
+command. Two able officers and some scientific men were associated with
+him.
+
+Tuckey left England on the 19th March, 1816, with two vessels, the
+_Congo_ and the _Dorothea_, a transport vessel, under his orders. On
+the 20th June he cast anchor off Malembe, on the shores of the Congo,
+in lat. 4 degrees 39 minutes S. The king of that country was much
+annoyed when he found that the English had not come to buy slaves, and
+spread all manner of injurious reports against the Europeans who had
+come to ruin his trade.
+
+On the 18th July, Tuckey entered the vast estuary formed by the mouths
+of the Zaire, on board the _Congo_; but when the height of the
+river-banks rendered it impossible to sail farther, he embarked with
+some of his people in his boats. On the 10th August he decided, on
+account of the rapidity of the current and the huge rocks bordering the
+stream, to make his way partly by land and partly by water. Ten days
+later the boats were brought to a final stand by an impassable fall.
+The explorers therefore landed, and continued their journey on foot;
+but the difficulties increased every day, the Europeans falling ill,
+and the negroes refusing to carry the baggage. At last, when he was
+some 280 miles from the sea, Tuckey was compelled to retrace his steps.
+The rainy season had set in, the number of sick increased, and the
+commander, miserable at the lamentable result of the trip, himself
+succumbed to fever, and only got back to his vessel to die on the 4th
+October, 1816.
+
+[Illustration: View on the banks of the Congo. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+An exact survey of the mouth of the Congo, and the rectification of the
+coast-line, in which there had previously been a considerable error,
+were the only results of this unlucky expedition.
+
+In 1807, not far from the scene of Clapperton's landing a few years
+later, a brave but fierce people appeared on the Gold Coast. The
+Ashantees, coming none knew exactly whence, flung themselves upon the
+Fantees, and, after horrible massacres, in 1811 and 1816, established
+themselves in the whole of the country between the Kong mountains and
+the sea.
+
+[Illustration: Ashantee warrior. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+As a necessary result, this led to a disturbance in the relations
+between the Fantees and the English, who owned some factories and
+counting-houses on the coast.
+
+In 1816 the Ashantee king ravaged the Fantee territories in which the
+English had settled, reducing the latter to famine. The Governor of
+Cape Coast Castle therefore sent a petition home for aid against the
+fierce and savage conqueror. The bearer of the governor's despatches
+was Thomas Edward Bowditch, a young man who, actuated by a passion for
+travelling, had left the parental roof, thrown up his business, and
+having married against the wishes of his family, had finally accepted a
+humble post at Cape Coast Castle, where his uncle was second in
+command.
+
+The English minister at once acceded to the governor's request, and
+sent Bowditch back in command of an expedition; but the authorities at
+Cape Coast considered him too young for the post, and superseded him by
+a man whose long experience and thorough knowledge of the country and
+its people seemed to fit him for the important task to be accomplished.
+The result showed that this was an error. Bowditch was attached to the
+mission as scientific observer, his chief duty being to take the
+latitude and longitude of the different places visited.
+
+Frederick James and Bowditch left the English settlement on the 22nd
+August, 1817, and arrived at Coomassie, the Ashantee capital, without
+meeting with any other obstacle than the insubordination of the
+bearers. The negotiations with a view to the conclusion of a treaty of
+commerce, and the opening of a road between Coomassie and the coast,
+were brought to something of a successful issue by Bowditch, but James
+proved himself altogether wanting in either the power of making or
+enforcing suggestions. The wisdom of Bowditch's conduct was fully
+recognized, and James was recalled.
+
+It would seem that geographical science had little to expect from a
+diplomatic mission to a country already visited by Bosman, Loyer, Des
+Marchais, and many others, and on which Meredith and Dalzel had
+written; but Bowditch turned to account his stay of five months at
+Coomassie, which is but ten days' march from the Atlantic, to study the
+country, manners, customs, and institutions of one of the most
+interesting races of Africa.
+
+We will now briefly describe the pompous entry of the English mission
+into Coomassie. The whole population turned out on the occasion, and
+all the troops, whose numbers Bowditch estimated at 30,000 at least,
+were under arms.
+
+Before they were admitted to the presence of the king, the English
+witnessed a scene well calculated to impress upon them the cruelty and
+barbarity of the Ashantees. A man with his hands tied behind him, his
+cheeks pierced with wire, one ear cut off, the other hanging by a bit
+of skin, his shoulders bleeding from cuts and slashes, and a knife run
+through the skin above each shoulder-blade, was dragged, by a cord
+fastened to his nose, through the town to the music of bamboos. He was
+on his way to be sacrificed in honour of the white men!
+
+"Our observations _en passant_," says Bowditch, "had taught us to
+conceive a spectacle far exceeding our original expectations; but they
+had not prepared us for the extent and display of the scene which here
+burst upon us. An area of nearly a mile in circumference was crowded
+with magnificence and novelty. The king, his tributaries and captains,
+were resplendent in the distance, surrounded by attendants of every
+description, fronted by a mass of warriors which seemed to make our
+approach impervious. The sun was reflected, with a glare scarcely more
+supportable than the heat, from the massive gold ornaments which
+glistened in every direction. More than a hundred bands burst at once
+on our arrival, into the peculiar airs of their several chiefs; the
+horns flourished their defiances, with the beating of innumerable drums
+and metal instruments, and then yielded for a while to the soft
+harmonious breathings of their long flutes, with which a pleasing
+instrument, like a bagpipe without the drone, was happily blended. At
+least a hundred large umbrellas or canopies, which could shelter thirty
+persons, were sprung up and down by the bearers with brilliant effect,
+being made of scarlet, yellow, and the most showy cloths and silks, and
+crowned on the top with crescents, pelicans, elephants, barrels, and
+arms, and swords of gold.
+
+"The king's messengers, with gold breastplates, made way for us, and we
+commenced our round, preceded by the canes and the English flag. We
+stopped to take the hand of every caboceer, (which, as their household
+suites occupied several spaces in advance, delayed us long enough to
+distinguish some of the ornaments in the general blaze of splendour and
+ostentation). The caboceers, as did their superior captains and
+attendants, wore Ashantee cloths of extravagant price, from the costly
+foreign silks which had been unravelled to weave them, in all the
+varieties of colour as well as pattern; they were of an incredible size
+and weight, and thrown over the shoulder exactly like the Roman toga; a
+small silk fillet generally encircled their temples, and massy gold
+necklaces, intricately wrought, suspended Moorish charms, inclosed in
+small square cases of gold, silver, and curious embroidery. Some wore
+necklaces reaching to the navel, entirely of aggry beads; a band of
+gold and beads encircled the knee, from which several strings of the
+same depended; small circles of gold, like guineas, rings, and casts of
+animals, were strung round their ancles; their sandals were of green,
+red, and delicate white leather; manillas, and rude lumps of rock gold,
+hung from their left wrists, which were so heavily laden as to be
+supported on the head of one of their handsomest boys. Gold and silver
+pipes, and canes, dazzled the eye in every direction. Wolves' and rams'
+heads, as large as life, cast in gold, were suspended from their
+gold-handled swords, which were held around them in great numbers; the
+blades were shaped like round bills, and rusted in blood; the sheaths
+were of leopard skin, or the shell of a fish like shagreen. The large
+drums, supported on the head of one man, and beaten by two others, were
+braced around with the thigh-bones of their enemies, and ornamented
+with their skulls. The kettle-drums, resting on the ground, were
+scraped with wet fingers, and covered with leopard skin. The wrists of
+the drummers were hung with bells and curiously-shaped pieces of iron,
+which jingled loudly as they were beating. The smaller drums were
+suspended from the neck by scarves of red cloth; the horns (the teeth
+of young elephants) were ornamented at the mouth-piece with gold, and
+the jaw-bones of human victims. The war-caps of eagles' feathers nodded
+in the rear, and large fans, of the wing feathers of the ostrich,
+played around the dignitaries; immediately behind their chairs (which
+were of a black wood, almost covered by inlays of ivory and gold
+embossment) stood their handsomest youths, with corslets of leopard's
+skin, covered with gold cockle-shells, and stuck full of small knives,
+sheathed in gold and silver and the handles of blue agate;
+cartouch-boxes of elephant's hide hung below, ornamented in the same
+manner; a large gold-handled sword was fixed behind the left shoulder,
+and silk scarves and horses' tails (generally white), streamed from the
+arms and waist cloth; their long Danish muskets had broad rims of gold
+at small distances, and the stocks were ornamented with shells.
+Finely-grown girls stood behind the chairs of some, with silver basins.
+Their stools (of the most laborious carved work, and generally with two
+large bells attached to them) were conspicuously placed on the heads of
+favourites; and crowds of small boys were seated around, flourishing
+elephants' tails curiously mounted. The warriors sat on the ground
+close to these, and so thickly as not to admit of our passing without
+treading on their feet, to which they were perfectly indifferent; their
+caps were of the skin of the pangolin and leopard, the tails hanging
+down behind; their cartouch-belts (composed of small gourds which hold
+the charges, and covered with leopard's or pig's skin) were embossed
+with red shells, and small brass bells thickly hung to them; on their
+hips and shoulders was a cluster of knives; iron chains and collars
+dignified the most daring, who were prouder of them than of gold; their
+muskets had rests affixed of leopard's skin, and the locks a covering
+of the same; the sides of their faces were curiously painted in long
+white streaks, and their arms also striped, having the appearance of
+armour.
+
+"We were suddenly surprised by the sight of Moors, who afforded the
+first general diversity of dress. There were seventeen superiors,
+arrayed in large cloaks of white satin, richly trimmed with spangled
+embroidery; their shirts and trousers were of silk; and a very large
+turban of white muslin was studded with a border of different coloured
+stones; their attendants wore red caps and turbans, and long white
+shirts, which hung over their trousers; those of the inferiors were of
+dark blue cloth. They slowly raised their eyes from the ground as we
+passed, and with a most malignant scowl.
+
+"The prolonged flourishes of the horns, a deafening tumult of drums,
+and the fuller concert at the intervals, announced that we were
+approaching the king. We were already passing the principal officers of
+his household. The chamberlain, the gold horn blower, the captain of
+the messengers, the captain for royal executions, the captain of the
+market, the keeper of the royal burying-ground, and the master of the
+bands, sat surrounded by a retinue and splendour which bespoke the
+dignity and importance of their offices. The cook had a number of small
+services, covered with leopard's skin, held behind him, and a large
+quantity of massy silver plate was displayed before him--punch-bowls,
+waiters, coffee-pots, tankards, and a very large vessel with heavy
+handles and clawed feet, which seemed to have been made to hold
+incense. I observed a Portuguese inscription on one piece, and they
+seemed generally of that manufacture. The executioner, a man of immense
+size, wore a massy gold hatchet on his breast; and the execution stool
+was held before him, clotted in blood, and partly covered with a cawl
+of fat. The king's four linguists were encircled by a splendour
+inferior to none, and their peculiar insignia, gold canes, were
+elevated in all directions, tied in bundles like fasces. The keeper of
+the treasury added to his own magnificence by the ostentatious display
+of his service; the blow pan, boxes, scales and weights, were of solid
+gold.
+
+"A delay of some minutes whilst we severally approached to receive the
+king's hand, afforded us a thorough view of him. His deportment first
+excited my attention; native dignity in princes we are pleased to call
+barbarous was a curious spectacle; his manners were majestic, yet
+courteous, and he did not allow his surprise to beguile him for a
+moment of the composure of the monarch. He appeared to be about
+thirty-eight years of age, inclined to corpulence, and of a benevolent
+countenance."
+
+This account is followed by a description, extending over several
+pages, of the costume of the king, the filing past of the chiefs and
+troops, the dispersing of the crowd, and the ceremonies of reception,
+which lasted far on into the night.
+
+Reading Bowditch's extraordinary narrative, we are tempted to ask if it
+be not the outcome of the traveller's imagination, for we can scarcely
+credit what he says of the wonderful luxury of this barbarous court,
+the sacrifice of thousands of persons at certain seasons of the year,
+the curious customs of this warlike and cruel people, this mixture of
+barbarism and civilization hitherto unknown in Africa. We could not
+acquit Bowditch of great exaggeration, had not later travellers as well
+as contemporary explorers confirmed his statements. We can therefore
+only express our astonishment that such a government, founded on terror
+alone, could have endured so long.
+
+It is a pleasure to us Frenchmen when we can quote the name of a
+fellow-countryman amongst the many travellers who have risked their
+lives in the cause of geographical science. Without abating our
+critical acumen, we feel our pulse quicken when we read of the dangers
+and struggles of such travellers as Mollien, Caillie, De Cailliaud, and
+Letorzec.
+
+Gaspar Mollien was nephew to Napoleon's Minister of the Treasury. He
+was on board the _Medusa_, but was fortunate enough to escape when that
+vessel was shipwrecked, and to reach the coast of the Sahara in a boat,
+whence he made his way to Senegal.
+
+The dangers from which Mollien had just escaped would have destroyed
+the love of adventure and exploration in a less ardent spirit. They had
+no such effect upon him. He left St. Louis as soon as ever he obtained
+the assent of the Governor, Fleuriau, to his proposal to explore the
+sources of the great rivers of Senegambia, and especially those of the
+Djoliba.
+
+Mollien started from Djeddeh on the 29th January, 1818, and taking an
+easterly course between the 15th and 16th parallels of north latitude,
+crossed the kingdom of Domel, and entered the districts peopled by the
+Yaloofs. Unable to go by way of Woolli, he decided in favour of the
+Fouta Toro route, and in spite of the jealousy of the natives and their
+love of pillage, he reached Bondou without accident. It took him three
+days to traverse the desert between Bondou and the districts beyond the
+Gambia, after which he penetrated into Niokolo, a mountainous country,
+inhabited by the all but wild Peuls and Djallons.
+
+Leaving Bandeia, Mollien entered Fouta Djallon, and reached the sources
+of the Gambia and the Rio Grande, which are in close proximity. A few
+days later he came to those of the Faleme; and, in spite of the
+repugnance and fear of his guide, he made his way into Timbo, the
+capital of Fouta. The absence of the king and most of the inhabitants
+probably spared him from a long captivity abbreviated only by torture.
+Fouta is a fortified town, the king owns houses, with mud walls between
+three and four feet thick and fifteen high.
+
+At a short distance from Timbo, Mollien discovered the sources of the
+Senegal--at least what were pointed out to him as such by the blacks;
+but it was impossible for him to take astronomical observations.
+
+The explorer did not, however, look upon his work as done. He had ever
+before him the still more important discovery of the sources of the
+Niger; but the feeble state of his health, the setting in of the rainy
+season, the swelling of the rivers, the fears of his guides, who
+refused to accompany him into Kooranko and Soolimano, though he offered
+them guns, amber beads, and even his horse, compelled him to give up
+the idea of crossing the Kong mountains, and to return to St. Louis.
+Mollien had, however, opened several new lines in a part of Senegambia
+not before visited by any European.
+
+"It is to be regretted," says M. de la Renaudiere, "that worn out with
+fatigue, scarcely able to drag himself along, in a state of positive
+destitution, Mollien was unable to cross the lofty mountains separating
+the basin of the Senegal from that of the Djoliba, and that he was
+compelled to rely upon native information respecting the most important
+objects of his expedition. It is on the faith of the assertions of the
+natives that he claims to have visited the sources of the Rio Grande,
+Faleme, Gambia, and Senegal. If he had been able to follow the course
+of those rivers to their fountainhead his discoveries would have
+acquired certainty, which is, unfortunately, now wanting to them.
+However, when we compare the accounts of other travellers with what he
+says of the position of the source of the Ba-Fing, or Senegal, which
+cannot be that of any other great stream, we are convinced of the
+reality of this discovery at least. It also seems certain that the two
+last springs are higher up than was supposed, and that the Djoliba
+rises in a yet loftier locality. The country rises gradually to the
+south and south-east in parallel terraces. These mountain chains
+increase in height towards the east, attaining their greatest elevation
+between lat. 8 degrees and 10 degrees N."
+
+Such were the results of Mollien's interesting journey in the French
+colony of Senegal. The same country was the starting-point of another
+explorer, Rene Caillie.
+
+Caillie, who was born in 1800, in the department of the Seine et Oise,
+had only an elementary education; but reading Robinson Crusoe had fired
+his youthful imagination with a zeal for adventure, and he never rested
+until, in spite of his scanty resources, he had obtained maps and books
+of travel. In 1816, when only sixteen years old, he embarked for
+Senegal, in the transport-ship _La Loire_.
+
+At this time the English Government was organizing an inland exploring
+expedition, under the command of Major Gray. To avoid the terrible
+almamy of Timbo, who had been so fatal to Peddie, the English made for
+the mouth of the Gambia by sea. Woolli and the Gaboon were crossed, and
+the explorers penetrated into Bondou, which Mollien was to visit a few
+years later, a district inhabited by a people as fanatic and fierce as
+those of Fouta Djallon. The extortions of the almamy were such that
+under pretext of there being an old debt left unpaid by the English
+Government, Major Gray was mulcted of nearly all his baggage, and had
+to send an officer to the Senegal for a fresh supply.
+
+Caillie knowing nothing of this disastrous beginning, and aware that
+Gray was glad to receive new recruits, left St. Louis with two negroes,
+and reached Goree. But there some people, who took an interest in him,
+persuaded him not to take service with Gray, and got him an appointment
+at Guadaloupe. He remained, however, but six months in that island, and
+then returned to Bordeaux, whence he started for the Senegal once more.
+
+Partarieu, one of Gray's officers, was just going back to his chief
+with the merchandise he had procured, and Caillie asked and obtained
+leave to accompany him, without either pay or a fixed engagement.
+
+[Illustration: Rene Caillie. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The caravan consisted of seventy persons, black and white, and
+thirty-two richly-laden camels. It left Gandiolle, in Cayor, on the 5th
+February, 1819, and before entering Jaloof a desert was crossed, where
+great suffering was endured from thirst. The leader, in order to carry
+more merchandise, had neglected to take a sufficient supply of water.
+
+At Boolibaba, a village inhabited by Foulah shepherds, the travellers
+were enabled to recruit, and to fill their leathern bottles for a
+journey across a second desert.
+
+Avoiding Fouta Toro, whose inhabitants are fanatics and thieves,
+Partarieu entered Bondou. He would gladly have evaded visiting
+Boulibane, the capital and residence of the almamy, but was compelled
+to do so, owing to the refusal of the people to supply grain or water
+to the caravan, and also in obedience to the strict orders of Major
+Gray, who thought the almamy would let the travellers pass after paying
+tribute.
+
+The terrible almamy began by extorting a great number of presents, and
+then refused to allow the English to visit Bakel on the Senegal. They
+might, he said, go through his states, those of Kaarta, to Clego, or
+they might take the Fouta Toro route. Both these alternatives were
+equally impossible, as in either case the caravan would have to travel
+among fanatic tribes. The explorers believed the almamy's object was to
+have them robbed and murdered, without incurring the personal
+responsibility.
+
+They resolved to force their way. Preparations were scarcely begun for
+a start, when the caravan was surrounded by a multitude of soldiers,
+who, taking possession of the wells, rendered it impossible for the
+travellers to carry out their intentions. At the same time the war-drum
+was beaten on every side. To fight was impossible; a palaver had to be
+held. In a word, the English had to own their powerlessness. The almamy
+dictated the conditions of peace, mulcted the whites of a few more
+presents, and ordered them to withdraw by way of Fouta Toro.
+
+Yet more--and this was a flagrant insult to British pride--the English
+found themselves escorted by a guard, which prevented their taking any
+other route. When night fell they revenged themselves by setting fire
+to all their merchandise in the very sight of the Foulahs, who had
+intended to get possession of them. The crossing of Fouta Toro among
+hostile natives was terribly arduous. The slightest pretext was seized
+for a dispute, and again and again violence seemed inevitable. Food and
+water were only to be obtained at exorbitant prices.
+
+At last, one night, Partarieu, to disarm the suspicion of the natives,
+gave out that he could not carry all his baggage at once, and having
+first filled his coffers and bags with stones, he decamped with all his
+followers for the Senegal, leaving his tents pitched and his fires
+alight. His path was strewn with bales, arms, and animals. Thanks to
+this subterfuge, and the rapidity of their march, the English reached
+Bakel in safety, where the French welcomed the remnant of the
+expedition with enthusiasm.
+
+[Illustration: "He decamped with all his followers."]
+
+Caillie, attacked by a fever which nearly proved fatal, returned to St.
+Louis; but not recovering his health there, he was obliged to go back
+to France. Not until 1824 was he able to return to Senegal, which was
+then governed by Baron Roger, a friend to progress, who was anxious
+_pari passu_, to extend our geographical knowledge with our commercial
+relations. Roger supplied Caillie with means to go and live amongst the
+Bracknas, there to study Arabic and the Mussulman religion.
+
+Life amongst the suspicious and fanatic Moorish shepherds was by no
+means easy. The traveller, who had great difficulty in keeping his
+daily journal, was obliged to resort to all manner of subterfuges to
+obtain permission to explore the neighbourhood of his house. He gives
+us some curious details of the life of the Bracknas--of their diet,
+which consists almost entirely of milk; of their habitations, which are
+nothing more than tents unfitted for the vicissitudes of the climate;
+of their "_guehues_" or itinerant minstrels; their mode of producing
+the excessive _embonpoint_ which they consider the height of female
+beauty; the aspect of the country; the fertility and productions of the
+soil, &c.
+
+The most remarkable of all the facts collected by Caillie are those
+relating to the five distinct classes into which the Moorish Bracknas
+are divided. These are the _Hassanes_, or warriors, whose idleness,
+slovenliness, and pride exceed belief; the _Marabouts_, or priests; the
+_Zenagues_, tributary to the Hassanes; the _Laratines_; and the slaves.
+
+The _Zenagues_ are a miserable class, despised by all the others, but
+especially by the _Hassanes_, to whom they pay a tribute, which is of
+variable amount, and is never considered enough. They do all the work,
+both industrial and agricultural, and rear all the cattle.
+
+"In spite of my efforts," says Caillie, "I could find out nothing about
+the origin of this people, or ascertain how they came to be reduced to
+pay tribute to other Moors. When I asked them any questions about this,
+they said it was God's will. Can they be a remnant of a conquered
+tribe? and if so, how is it that no tradition on the subject is
+retained amongst them. I do not think they can be, for the Moors, proud
+as they are of their origin, never forget the names of those who have
+brought credit to their families; and were such the case, the Zenagues,
+who form the majority of the population, and are skilful warriors,
+would rise under the leadership of one of their chiefs, and fling off
+the yoke of servitude."
+
+Laratine is the name given to the offspring of a Moor and a negro
+slave. Although they are slaves, the Laratines are never sold, but
+while living in separate camps, are treated very much like the
+Zenagues. Those who are the sons of Hassanes are warriors, whilst the
+children of Marabouts are brought up to the profession of their father.
+
+The actual slaves are all negroes. Ill-treated, badly fed, and flogged
+on the slightest pretext, there is no suffering which they are not
+called upon to endure.
+
+In May, 1825, Caillie returned to St. Louis. Baron Roger was absent,
+and his representative was by no means friendly. The explorer had to
+content himself with the pay of a common soldier until the return of
+his protector, to whom he sent the notes he had made when amongst the
+Bracknas, but all his offers of service were rejected. He was promised
+a certain sum on his return from Timbuctoo; but how was he even to
+start without private resources?
+
+The intrepid Caillie was not, however, to be discouraged. As he
+obtained neither encouragement nor help from the colonial government,
+he went to Sierra Leone, where the governor, who did not wish to
+deprive Major Laing of the credit of being the first to arrive at
+Timbuctoo, rejected his proposals.
+
+In the management of an indigo factory, Caillie soon saved money to the
+extent of two thousand francs, a sum which appeared to him sufficient
+to carry him to the end of the world. He lost no time in purchasing the
+necessary merchandise, and joined some Mandingoes and "seracolets," or
+wandering African merchants. He told them, under the seal of secrecy,
+that he had been born in Egypt of Arab parents, taken to France at an
+early age, and sent to Senegal to look after the business of his
+master, who, satisfied with his services, had given him his freedom. He
+added, that his chief desire was to get back to Egypt, and resume the
+Mohammedan religion.
+
+On the 22nd March, 1827, Caillie left Freetown for Kakondy, a village
+on the Rio Nunez, where he employed his leisure in collecting
+information respecting the Landamas and the Nalous, both subject to the
+Foulahs of Fouta Djallon, but not Mohammedans, and, as a necessary
+result, both much given to spirituous liquors. They dwell in the
+districts watered by the Rio Nunez, side by side with the Bagos, an
+idolatrous race who dwell at its mouth. The Bagos are light-hearted,
+industrious, and skilful tillers of the soil; they make large profits
+out of the sale of their rice and salt. They have no king, no religion
+but a barbarous idolatry, and are governed by the oldest man in their
+village, an arrangement which answers very well.
+
+On the 19th April, 1827, Caillie with but one bearer and a guide, at
+last started for Timbuctoo. He speaks favourably of the Foulahs and the
+people of Fouta Djallon, whose rich and fertile country he crossed. The
+Ba-Fing, the chief affluent of the Senegal, was not more than a hundred
+paces across, and a foot and a half deep where he passed it; but the
+force of the current, and the huge granite rocks encumbering its bed,
+render it very difficult and dangerous to cross the river. After a halt
+of nineteen days in the village of Cambaya, the home of the guide who
+had accompanied him thus far, Caillie entered Kankan, crossing a
+district intersected by rivers and large streams, which were then
+beginning to inundate the whole land.
+
+On the 30th May the explorer crossed the Tankisso, a large river with a
+rocky bed belonging to the system of the Niger, and reached the latter
+on the 11th June, at Couronassa.
+
+[Illustration: Caillie crossing the Tankisso.]
+
+"Even here," says Caillie, "so near to its source, the Niger is 900
+feet wide, with a current of two miles and a half."
+
+Before we enter Kankan with the French explorer, it will be well to sum
+up what he says of the Foulahs of Fouta. They are mostly tall,
+well-made men, with chestnut-brown complexions, curly hair, lofty
+foreheads, aquiline noses, features in fact very like those of
+Europeans. They are bigoted Mohammedans, and hate Christians. Unlike
+the Mandingoes, they do not travel, but love their home; they are good
+agriculturists and clever traders, warlike and patriotic, and they
+leave none but their old men and women in their villages when they go
+to war.
+
+The town of Kankan stands in a plain surrounded by lofty mountains. The
+bombax, baobab, and butter-tree, also called "ce" the "shea" of Mungo
+Park, are plentiful. Caillie was delayed in Kankan for twenty-eight
+days before he could get on to Sambatikala; and during that time he was
+shamefully robbed by his host, and could not obtain from the chief of
+the village restitution of the goods which had been stolen.
+
+"Kankan," says the traveller, "is a small town near the left bank of
+the Milo, a pretty river, which comes from the south, and waters the
+Kissi district, where it takes its rise, flowing thence in a
+north-westerly direction to empty itself into the Niger, two or three
+days' journey from Kankan. Surrounded by a thick quick-set hedge, this
+town, which does not contain more than 6000 inhabitants, is situated in
+an extensive and very fertile plain of grey sand. On every side are
+pretty little villages, called _Worondes_, where the slaves live. These
+habitations give interest to the scene, and are surrounded by very fine
+plantations; yams, rice, onions, pistachio nuts, &c., are exported in
+large quantities."
+
+Between Kankan and Wassolo the road led through well cultivated, and,
+at this time of year, nearly submerged districts. The inhabitants
+struck Caillie as being of a mild, cheerful, and inquiring disposition.
+They gave him a cordial welcome.
+
+Several tributaries of the Niger, including the Sarano, were passed
+before a halt was made at Sigala, the residence of Baranusa, the chief
+of Wassolo. He was of slovenly habits, like his subjects, and used
+tobacco both as snuff and for smoking. He was said to be very rich in
+gold and slaves. His subjects paid him a tribute in cattle; he had a
+great many wives, each of whom owned a hut of her own, their houses
+forming a little village, with well cultivated environs. Here Caillie
+for the first time saw the Rhamnus Lotus mentioned by Park.
+
+On leaving Wossolo, Caillie entered Foulou, whose inhabitants, like
+those of the former district, are idolaters, of slovenly habits. They
+speak the Mandingo tongue. At Sambatikala the traveller paid a visit to
+the almamy.
+
+"We entered," he says, "a place which served him as a bedroom for
+himself and a stable for his horse. The prince's bed was at the further
+end. It consisted of a little platform raised six inches from the
+ground, on which was stretched an ox hide, with a dirty mosquito
+curtain, to keep off the insects. There was no other furniture in this
+royal abode. Two saddles hung from stakes driven into the wall; a large
+straw hat, a drum only used in war-time, a few lances, a bow, a quiver,
+and some arrows, were the only ornaments. A lamp made of a piece of
+flat iron set on a stand of the same metal, stood on the ground. This
+lamp was fed by a kind of vegetable matter, not thick enough to be made
+into candles."
+
+The almamy soon informed Caillie of an opportunity for him to go to
+Timeh, whence a caravan was about to start for Jenneh. The traveller
+then entered the province of Bambarra, and quickly arrived at the
+pretty little village of Timeh, inhabited by Mohammedan Mandingoes, and
+bounded on the east by a chain of mountains about 350 fathoms high.
+
+When he entered this village, at the end of July, Caillie little dreamt
+of the long stay he would be compelled to make in it. He had hurt his
+foot, and the wound became very much inflamed by walking in wet grass.
+He therefore decided to let the caravan for Jenneh go on without him,
+and remain at Timeh until his foot should be completely healed. It
+would have been too great a risk for him in his state to travel through
+Bambarra, where the idolatrous inhabitants of the country would be
+pretty sure to rob him.
+
+"The Bambarras," he says, "have few slaves, go almost naked, and are
+always armed with bows and arrows. They are governed by a number of
+petty independent chiefs, who are often at war with one another. They
+are in fact rude and wild creatures as compared with the tribes who
+have embraced Mohammedanism."
+
+Caillie was detained at Timeh by the still unhealed wound in his foot,
+until the 10th November. At that date he proposed starting for Jenneh,
+but, to quote his own words, "I was now seized with violent pains in
+the jaws, warning me that I was attacked with scurvy, a terrible
+malady, all the horrors of which I was to realize. My palate was
+completely skinned, part of the bone came away, my teeth seemed ready
+to fall out of the gums, my sufferings were terrible. I feared that my
+brain might be affected by the agony of pain in my head. I was more
+than a fortnight without an instant's sleep."
+
+To make matters worse, the wound broke out afresh; and he would have
+been cured neither of it nor of the scurvy had it not been for the
+energetic treatment of an old negress, who was accustomed to doctor the
+scorbutic affections, so common in that country.
+
+On the 9th January, 1828, Caillie left Timeh, and reached Kimba, a
+little village where the caravan for Jenneh was assembled. Near to this
+village rises the chain erroneously called Kong, which is the general
+name for mountain amongst the Mandingoes.
+
+The names of the villages entered by the travellers, and the incidents
+of the journey through Bambarra, are of no special interest. The
+inhabitants are accounted great thieves by the Mandingoes, but are
+probably not more dishonest than their critics.
+
+The Bambarra women all wear a thin slip of wood imbedded in the lower
+lip, a strange fashion exactly similar to that noticed by Cook amongst
+the natives of the north-western coast of America. The Bambarras speak
+Mandingo, though they have a dialect of their own called _Kissour_,
+about which the traveller could obtain no trustworthy written
+information.
+
+Jenneh was formerly called "the golden land." The precious metal is
+not, however, found there, but a good deal is imported by the Boureh
+merchants and the Mandingoes of Kong.
+
+Jenneh, two miles and a half in circumference, is surrounded by a mud
+wall ten feet high. The houses, built of bricks baked in the sun, are
+as large as those of European peasants. They have all terraces, but no
+outer windows. Numbers of foreigners frequent Jenneh. The inhabitants,
+as many as eight or ten thousand, are very industrious and intelligent.
+They hire out their slaves, and also employ them in various
+handicrafts.
+
+The Moors, however, monopolize the more important commerce. Not a day
+passes that they do not despatch huge boats laden with rice, millet,
+cotton, honey, vegetable butter, and other native products.
+
+In spite of this great commercial movement, the prosperity of Jenneh
+was threatened. Sego Ahmadou, chief of the country, impelled by bigoted
+zeal, made fierce war upon the Bambarras of Sego, whom he wished to
+rally round the standard of the Prophet. This struggle did a great deal
+of harm to the trade of Jenneh, for it interrupted intercourse with
+Yamina, Sansanding, Bamakou, and Boureh, which were the chief marts for
+its produce.
+
+The women of Jenneh would not be true to their sex if they did not show
+some marks of coquetry. Those who aim at fashion pass a ring or a glass
+ornament through the nostrils, whilst their poorer sisters content
+themselves with a bit of pink silk.
+
+During Caillie's long stay at Jenneh, he was loaded with kindness and
+attentions by the Moors, to whom he had told the fabulous tale about
+his birth in Egypt, and abduction by the army of occupation.
+
+On the 23rd March, the traveller embarked on the Niger for Timbuctoo,
+on which the sheriff, won over by the gift of an umbrella, had obtained
+a passage for him. He carried with him letters of introduction to the
+chief persons in Timbuctoo.
+
+Caillie now passed in succession the pretty villages of Kera, Taguetia,
+Sankha-Guibila, Diebeh, and Isaca, near to which the river is joined by
+an important branch, which makes a great bend beyond Sego, catching
+sight also of Wandacora, Wanga, Corocoila, and Cona, finally reaching,
+on the 2nd of April, the mouth of the important Lake Debo.
+
+"Land," says Caillie, "is visible on every side of this lake except on
+the west, where it widens out like a vast inland sea. Following its
+northern coast in a west-north-west direction for a distance of fifteen
+miles, you leave on the left a tongue of level ground, which runs
+several miles to the south, seeming to bar the passage of the lake, and
+form a kind of strait. Beyond this barrier the lake stretches away out
+of sight in the west. The barrier I have just described cuts Lake Debo
+into two parts, the upper and lower. That navigable to boats contains
+three islands, and is very wide; it stretches away a short distance on
+the east, and is supplemented by an immense number of huge marshes."
+
+One after the other, Caillie now passed the fishing village of Gabibi;
+Tongoon in the Diriman country, a district stretching far away on the
+east; Codosa, an important commercial town; Barconga, Leleb, Garfolo,
+Baracondieh, Tircy, Talbocoila, Salacoila, Cora, Coratou, where the
+Tuaricks exact a toll from passing boats, and finally reached Cabra,
+built on a height out of reach of the overflowing of the Niger, and
+serving as the port of Timbuctoo.
+
+On the 20th, Caillie disembarked, and started for that city, which he
+entered at sundown.
+
+"I, at last," cries our hero, "saw the capital of the Soudan, which had
+so long been the goal of my desires. As I entered that mysterious town,
+an object of curiosity to the civilized nations of Europe, I was filled
+with indescribable exultation. I never experienced anything like it,
+and my delight knew no bounds. But I had to moderate my transports, and
+it was to God alone I confided them. With what earnestness I thanked
+Him for the success which had crowned my enterprise and the signal
+protection He had accorded me in so many apparently insurmountable
+difficulties and perils. My first emotions having subsided, I found
+that the scene before me by no means came up to my expectations. I had
+conceived a very different idea of the grandeur and wealth of this
+town. At first sight it appeared nothing more than a mass of
+badly-built houses, whilst on every side stretched vast plains of arid,
+yellowish, shifting sands. The sky was of a dull red colour on the
+horizon; all nature seemed melancholy; profound silence prevailed, not
+so much as the song of a bird was heard. And yet there was something
+indescribably imposing in the sight of a large town rising up in the
+midst of the sandy desert, and the beholder cannot but admire the
+indomitable energy of its founders. I fancy the river formerly passed
+nearer the town of Timbuctoo; it is now eight miles north of it and
+five of Cabra."
+
+[Illustration: View of part of Timbuctoo. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+Timbuctoo, which is neither so large nor so well populated as Caillie
+expected, is altogether wanting in animation. There are no large
+caravans constantly arriving in it, as at Jenneh; nor are there so many
+strangers there as in the latter town; whilst the market, held at three
+o'clock in the morning on account of the heat, appears deserted.
+
+Timbuctoo is inhabited by Kissour negroes, who seem of mild
+dispositions, and are employed in trade. There is no government, and
+strictly speaking no central authority; each town and village has its
+own chief. The mode of life is patriarchal. A great many Moorish
+merchants are settled in the town, and rapidly make fortunes there.
+They receive consignments of merchandise from Adrar, Tafilet, Ghat,
+Ghadames, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.
+
+To Timbuctoo is brought all the salt of the mines of Toudeyni, packed
+on camels. It is imported in slabs, bound together by ropes, made from
+grass in the neighbourhood of Tandayeh.
+
+Timbuctoo is built in the form of a triangle, and measures about three
+miles in circumference. The houses are large but not lofty, and are
+built of round bricks. The streets are wide and clean. There are seven
+mosques, each surmounted by a square tower, from which the muezzin
+calls the faithful to prayer. Counting the floating population, the
+capital of the Soudan does not contain more than from ten to twelve
+thousand inhabitants.
+
+Timbuctoo, situated in the midst of a vast plain of shifting white
+sand, trades in salt only, the soil being quite unsuitable to any sort
+of cultivation. The town is always full of people, who come to exact
+what they call presents, but what might with more justice be styled
+forced contributions. It is a public calamity when a Tuarick chief
+arrives. He remains in the town a couple of months, living with his
+numerous followers at the expense of the inhabitants, until he has
+wrung costly presents from them. Terror has extended the domination of
+these wandering tribes over all the neighbouring peoples, whom they rob
+and pillage without mercy.
+
+The Tuarick costume is the same as that of the Arabs, with the
+exception of the head-dress. Day and night they wear a cotton band
+which covers the eyes and comes down over the nose, so that they are
+obliged to raise the head in order to see. The same band goes once or
+twice round the head and hides the mouth, coming down below the chin,
+so that the tip of the nose is all that is visible.
+
+The Tuaricks are perfect riders, and mounted on first-rate horses or on
+fleet camels; each man is armed with a spear, a shield, and a dagger.
+They are the pirates of the desert, and innumerable are the caravans
+they have robbed, or blackmailed.
+
+[Illustration: Map of Rene Caillie's Journey.]
+
+Four days after Caillie's arrival at Timbuctoo, he heard that a caravan
+was about to start for Talifet; and as he knew that another would not
+go for three months, fearing detection, he resolved to join this one.
+It consisted of a large number of merchants, and 600 camels. Starting
+on the 4th of May, 1828, he arrived, after terrible sufferings from the
+heat, and a sand-storm in which he was caught, at El Arawan, a town of
+no private resources, but important as the emporium for the Toudeyni
+salt, exported at Sansanding, on the banks of the Niger, and also as
+the halting-place of caravans from Tafilet, Mogadore, Ghat, Drat, and
+Tripoli, the merchants here exchanging European wares for ivory, gold,
+slaves, wax, honey, and Soudan stuffs. On the 19th May, the caravan
+left El Arawan for Morocco, by way of the Sahara. To the traveller's
+usual sufferings from heat, thirst, and privations of all kinds, was
+now added the pain of a wound incurred in a fall from his camel. He was
+also taunted by the Moors, and even by their slaves, who ridiculed his
+habits and his awkwardness, and even sometimes threw stones at him when
+his back was turned towards them.
+
+"Often," says Caillie, "one of the Moors would say to me in a
+contemptuous tone: 'You see that slave? Well I prefer him to you, so
+you may guess in what esteem I hold you.' This insult would be
+accompanied with roars of laughter."
+
+Under these miserable circumstances Caillie passed the wells of
+Trarzas, in whose vicinity salt is found, also those of Amul Gamil,
+Amul Taf, El Ekreif, surrounded by date-trees, wood, willows, and
+rushes, and reached Marabouty and El Harib, districts whose inhabitants
+are disgustingly dirty in their habits.
+
+El Harib lies between two chains of low hills, dividing it from
+Morocco, to which it is tributary. Its inhabitants, divided into
+several nomad tribes, employ themselves chiefly in the breeding of
+camels. They would be rich and contented, but for the ceaseless
+exactions of the Berber Arabs.
+
+On the 12th July the caravan left El Harib, and eleven days later
+entered the province of Talifet, famous for its majestic date-trees. At
+Ghourland, Caillie was welcomed with some kindness by the Moors, though
+he was not admitted to their houses, lest the women, who are visible
+only to the men of their own families, should be seen by the irreverent
+eyes of a stranger.
+
+Caillie visited the market, which is held three times a week near a
+little village called Boheim, three miles from Ghourland, and was
+surprised at the variety of articles exposed for sale in it:
+vegetables, native fruits, fodder for cattle, poultry, sheep, &c. &c.,
+all in large quantities. Water in leather bottles was carried about for
+sale to all who cared to drink in the exhausting heat, by men who
+announced their approach by ringing a small hand-bell. Moorish and
+Spanish coins alone passed current. The province of Tafilet contains
+several large villages and small towns. Ghourland, El Ekseba, Sosso,
+Boheim, and Ressant, which our traveller visited, contained some twelve
+hundred inhabitants each, all merchants and owners of property.
+
+The soil is very productive: corn, vegetables, dates, European fruits,
+and tobacco, are cultivated in large quantities. Among the sources of
+wealth in Tafilet we may name very fine sheep, whose beautifully white
+wool makes very pretty coverlets, oxen, first-rate horses, donkeys, and
+mules.
+
+As at El-Drah, a good many Jews live in the villages together with
+Mohammedans. They lead a miserable life, go about half naked, and are
+constantly struck and insulted. Whether brokers, shoemakers,
+blacksmiths, porters, or whatever their ostensible occupation, they all
+lend money to the Moors.
+
+On the 2nd August the caravan resumed its march, and after passing
+A-Fileh, Tanneyara, Marca, Dayara, Rahaba, El Eyarac, Tamaroc,
+Ain-Zeland, El Guim, Guigo, and Soporo, Caillie arrived at Fez, where
+he made a short stay, and then pressed on to Rabat, the ancient Saleh.
+Exhausted by his long march, with nothing to eat but a few dates,
+obliged to depend on the charity of the Mussulmans, who as often as not
+declined to give him anything, and finding at Fez no representative of
+France but an old Jew named Ismail, who acted as Consular Agent, and
+who, being afraid of compromising himself, would not let Caillie embark
+on a Portuguese brig bound for Gibraltar,--the traveller eagerly
+availed himself of a fortunate chance for going to Tangiers. There he
+was kindly received by the Vice-Consul, M. Delaporte, who wrote at once
+to the commandant of the French station at Cadiz, and sent him off
+bound for that port, disguised as a sailor, in a corvette.
+
+The landing at Toulon of the young Frenchman fresh from Timbuctoo, was
+a very unexpected event in the scientific world. With nothing to aid
+him but his own invincible courage and patience, he had brought to a
+satisfactory conclusion an exploit for which the French and English
+Geographical Societies had offered large rewards. Alone, without any
+resources to speak of, without the aid of government or of any
+scientific society, by sheer force of will, he had succeeded in
+throwing a flood of new light on an immense tract of Africa.
+
+Caillie was not indeed the first European who had visited Timbuctoo. In
+the preceding year, Major Laing had penetrated into that mysterious
+city, but he had paid for his expedition with his life, and we shall
+presently relate the touching details of his fatal trip.
+
+Caillie had returned to Europe, and brought back with him the curious
+journal from which our narrative is taken. It is true his profession of
+the Mohammedan faith had prevented him from taking astronomical
+observations, and from making sketches and notes freely, but only at
+the price of his seeming apostasy could he have passed through the
+region where the very name of a Christian is held in abhorrence.
+
+How many strange observations, how many fresh and exact details, did
+Caillie add to our knowledge of North-West Africa! It had cost
+Clapperton two journeys to traverse Africa from Tripoli to Benin;
+Caillie had crossed from Senegal to Morocco in one--but at what a
+price! How much fatigue, how much suffering, how many privations, had
+the Frenchman endured! Timbuctoo was known at last, as well as the new
+caravan route across the Sahara by way of the oases of Tafilet and El
+Harib.
+
+Was Caillie compensated for his physical and mental sufferings by the
+aid which the Geographical Society sent to him at once, by the prize of
+10,000 francs adjudged to him, by the Cross of the Legion of Honour and
+the fame and glory attached to his name? We suppose he was. He says
+more than once in his narrative that nothing but his wish to add by his
+discoveries to the glory of France, his native country, could have
+sustained him under the trying circumstances and insults to which he
+was constantly subjected. All honour then to the patient traveller, the
+sincere patriot, the great discoverer.
+
+We have still to speak of the expedition which cost Alexander Gordon
+Laing his life; but before giving our necessarily brief account, for
+his journals were all lost, we must say a few words about his early
+life and an interesting excursion made by him to Timmannee, Kouran and
+Soolimana, when he discovered the sources of the Niger.
+
+Laing was born in Edinburgh in 1794, entered the English army at the
+age of sixteen, and soon distinguished himself. In 1820 he had gained
+the rank of Lieutenant, and was serving as aide-de-camp to Sir Charles
+Maccarthy, then Governor General of Western Africa. At this time war
+was raging between Amara, the Mandingo almamy, and Sannassi, one of his
+principal chiefs. Trade had never been very flourishing in Sierra
+Leone, and this state of things dealt it its death-blow. Maccarthy,
+anxious to put matters on a better footing, determined to interfere and
+bring about a reconciliation between the rival chiefs. He decided on
+sending an embassy to Kambia, on the borders of the Scarcies, and from
+thence to Malacoury and the Mandingo camp. The enterprising character,
+intelligence, and courage of Laing led to his being chosen by the
+governor as his envoy, and on the 7th January, 1822, he received
+instructions to report on the manufactures and topography of the
+provinces mentioned, and to ascertain the feeling of the inhabitants on
+the abolition of slavery.
+
+A first interview with Yareddi, leader of the Soolimana troops
+accompanying the almamy, proved that the negroes of the districts under
+notice had only the vaguest ideas on European civilization, and that
+they had had but little intercourse with the whites.
+
+"Every article of our dress," says Laing, "was a subject of admiration;
+observing me pull off my gloves, Yareddi stared, covered his
+widely-opened mouth with his hands, and at length exclaimed, 'Alla
+Akbar!' 'he has pulled the skin off his hands!' By degrees, and as he
+became more familiar, he alternately rubbed down Dr. Mackie's hair and
+mine, then indulging himself in a loud laugh, he would exclaim, 'They
+are not men, they are not men!' He repeatedly asked my interpreter if
+we had bones?"
+
+These preliminary excursions, during which Laing ascertained that many
+Soolimanas owned a good deal of gold and ivory, led to his asking the
+governor's sanction to explore the districts to the east of the colony,
+with a view to increasing the trade of Sierra Leone by admitting their
+productions.
+
+Maccarthy liked Laing's proposal and submitted it to the council. It
+was decided that Laing should be authorized to penetrate into Soolimana
+by the most convenient route for future communications.
+
+Laing left Sierra Leone on the 16th April, 1824, and rowed up the
+Rokelle river to Rokon, the chief town of Timmannee. His interview with
+the King of Rokon was extremely amusing. To do him honour Laing had a
+salvo of ten charges fired as he came into the court in which the
+reception was to be held. At the noise the king stopped, drew back,
+darted a furious look at his visitor, and ran away. It was with great
+difficulty that the cowardly monarch was induced to return. At last he
+came back, and seating himself with great dignity in his chair of state
+he questioned the major:
+
+"He wished to know," says Laing, "why he had been fired at, and was,
+with some difficulty, persuaded that it had been done out of honour to
+him. 'Why did you point your guns to the ground?' 'That you might see
+our intention was to show you respect.' 'But the pebbles flew in my
+face; why did you not point in the air?' 'Because we feared to burn the
+thatch on your houses.' 'Well, then, give me some rum.'"
+
+Needless to add that the interview became more cordial after the major
+had complied with this request!
+
+The portrait of the Timmannee monarch deserves a place in our volume
+for more than one reason. It is a case of _ab uno disce omnes_."
+
+"Ba-Simera," to quote Laing again, "the principal chief or king of this
+part of the Timmannee country, is about ninety years of age, with a
+mottled, shrivelled-up skin, resembling in colour that of an alligator
+more than that of a human being, with dim, greenish eyes, far sunk in
+his head, and a bleached, twisted beard, hanging down about two feet
+from his chin; like the king of the opposite district he wore a
+necklace of coral and leopard's teeth, but his mantle was brown and
+dirty as his skin. His swollen legs, like those of an elephant, were to
+be observed from under his trousers of baft, which might have been
+originally white, but, from the wear of several years, had assumed a
+greenish appearance."
+
+Like his predecessors in Africa, Laing had to go through many
+discussions about the right of passage through the country and bearers'
+wages, but thanks to his firmness he managed to escape the extortions
+of the negro kings. The chief halting-places on the route taken by the
+major were: Toma, where a white man had never before been seen;
+Balandeko, Roketchnick, which he ascertained to be situated in N. lat.
+8 degrees 30 minutes, and W. long. 12 degrees 11 minutes; Mabimg,
+beyond a very broad stream flowing north of the Rokelle; and Ma-Yosso,
+the chief frontier town of Timmannee. In Timmannee Laing made
+acquaintance with a singular institution, a kind of free-masonry, known
+as "Purrah," the existence of which on the borders of the Rio Nunez had
+been already ascertained by Caillie.
+
+"Their power" [that of the "Purrah"], says Laing, "supersedes even that
+of the headmen of the districts, and their deeds of secrecy and
+darkness are as little called in question, or inquired into, as those
+of the Inquisition were in Europe, in former years. I have endeavoured
+in vain to trace the origin, or cause of formation of this
+extraordinary association, and have reason to suppose, that it is now
+unknown to the generality of the Timmannees, and may possibly be even
+so to the Purrah themselves, in a country where no traditionary records
+are extant, either in writing or in song."
+
+So far as Laing could ascertain Timmannee is divided into three
+districts. The chief of each arrogates to himself the title of king.
+The soil is fairly productive, and rice, yams, guavas, earth-nuts, and
+bananas might be grown in plenty, but for the lazy, vicious, and
+avaricious character of the inhabitants who vie with each other in
+roguery.
+
+"I think," says Laing, "that a few hoes, flails, rakes, shovels, &c.,
+would be very acceptable to them, when their respective uses were
+practically explained; and that they would prove more beneficial both
+to their interest and ours, than the guns, cocked hats, and mountebank
+coats, with which they are at present supplied." In spite of our
+traveller's philanthropic wish, things have not changed since his time.
+The negroes are just as fond of intoxicating drinks, and their petty
+kings still go about wearing on grand occasions hats the shape of an
+accordion, and blue coats with copper buttons, with no shirts
+underneath. The maternal sentiment did not seem to Laing to be very
+fully developed amongst the people of Timmannee, for he was twice
+roundly abused by women for refusing to buy their children of them. A
+few days later there was a great tumult raised against Laing, the white
+man who had inflicted a fatal blow on the prosperity of the country by
+checking its trade. The first town entered in Kouranko was Maboum, and
+it is interesting to note _en passant_ what Laing says of the activity
+of the inhabitants.
+
+"I entered the town about sunset, and received a first impression
+highly favourable to its inhabitants, who were returning from their
+respective labours of the day, every individual bearing about him
+proofs of his industrious occupation. Some had been engaged in
+preparing the fields for the crops, which the approaching rains were to
+mature; others were penning up cattle, whose sleek sides and good
+condition denoted the richness of their pasturages; the last clink of
+the blacksmith's hammer was sounding, the weaver was measuring the
+quantity of cloth he had woven during the day, and the gaurange, or
+worker in leather, was tying up his neatly-stained pouches, shoes,
+knife-scabbards, &c. (the work of his handicraft) in a large kotakoo or
+bag; while the crier at the mosque, with the melancholy call of 'Alla
+Akbar,' uttered at measured intervals, summoned the devots Moslems to
+their evening devotions."
+
+Had a Marilhat or a Henri Regnault transferred to canvas a scene like
+this, when the dazzling light of the sun is beginning to die away in
+green and rose tints, might he not aptly name his painting the _Retour
+des Champs_, a title so often given to landscapes in our misty climate.
+
+"This scene," adds Laing, "both by its nature and the sentiment which
+it inspired, formed an agreeable contrast with the noise, confusion,
+and the dissipation which pervaded a Timmannee town at the same hour;
+but one must not trust too much to appearances, and I regret to add,
+that the subsequent conduct of the Kouranko natives did not confirm the
+good opinion which I had formed of them."
+
+The traveller now passed through Koufoula, where he was very kindly
+received, crossed a pleasant undulating district shut in by the
+Kouranko hills and halted at Simera, where the chief ordered his
+"guiriot" to celebrate in song the arrival of his guest, a welcome
+neutralized by the fact that the house assigned to Laing let in the
+rain through its leaky roof and would not let out the smoke, so that,
+to use his own words, he was more "like a chimney-sweeper" than the
+white guest of the King of Simera.
+
+Laing afterwards visited the source of the Tongolelle, a tributary of
+the Rokelle, and then left Kooranko to enter Soolimana. Kooranko, into
+which our traveller did not penetrate beyond the frontier, is of vast
+extent and divided into a great number of small states. The inhabitants
+resemble the Mandingoes in language and costume, but they are neither
+so well looking nor so intelligent. They do not profess Mohammedanism
+and have implicit confidence in their "grigris." They are fairly
+industrious, they know how to sew and weave. Their chief object of
+commerce is rosewood or "cam," which they send to the coast. The
+products of the country are much the same as those of Timmannee.
+
+Komia, N. lat. 9 degrees 22 minutes, is the first town in Soolimana.
+Laing then visited Semba, a wealthy and populous city, where he was
+received by a band of musicians, who welcomed him with a deafening if
+not harmonious flourish of trumpets, and he finally reached Falaba, the
+capital of the country.
+
+The king received Laing with special marks of esteem. He had assembled
+a large body of troops whom he passed in review, making them execute
+various manoeuvres accompanied by the blowing of trumpets, beating of
+tambourines, and the playing of violins and other native instruments.
+This "fantasia" almost deafened the visitor. Then came a number of
+_guiriots_, who sang of the greatness of the king, the happy arrival of
+the major, with the fortunate results which were to ensue from his
+visit for the prosperity of the country and the development of
+commerce.
+
+Laing profited by the king's friendliness to ask his permission to
+visit the sources of the Niger, but was answered by all manner of
+objections on the score of the danger of the expedition. At last,
+however, his majesty yielded to the persuasions of his visitor, telling
+him that "as his heart panted after the water, he might go to it."
+
+The major had not, however, left Falaba two hours before the permission
+was rescinded, and he had to give up an enterprise which had justly
+appeared to him of great importance.
+
+A few days later he obtained leave to visit the source of the Rokelle
+or Sale Kongo, a river of which nothing was known before his time
+beyond Rokon. From the summit of a lofty rock, Laing saw Mount Loma,
+the highest of the chain of which it forms part. "The point," says the
+traveller, "from which the Niger issues, was now shown to me, and
+appeared to be at the same level on which I stood, viz., 1600 feet
+above the level of the Atlantic; the source of the Rokelle, which I had
+already measured, being 1470 feet. The view from this hill amply
+compensated for my lacerated feet.... Having ascertained correctly the
+situation of Konkodoogore, and that of the hill upon which I was at
+this time, the first by observation, and the second by account, and
+having taken the bearings of Loma from both, I cannot err much in
+laying down its position in 9 degrees 25 minutes N. and 9 degrees 45
+minutes W."
+
+[Illustration: "Laing saw Mount Loma."]
+
+Laing had now spent three months in Soolimana, and had made many
+excursions. It is a very picturesque country, in which alternate hills,
+valleys, and fertile plains, bordered by woods and adorned with
+thickets of luxuriant trees.
+
+The soil is fertile and requires very little cultivation; the harvests
+are abundant and rice grows well. Oxen, sheep, goats, and a small
+species of poultry, with a few horses, are the chief domestic animals
+of the people of Soolimana. The wild beasts, of which there are a good
+many, are elephants, buffaloes, a kind of antelope, monkeys, and
+leopards.
+
+Falaba, which takes its name from the Fala-ba river, on which it is
+situated, is about a mile and a half long by one broad. The houses are
+closer together than in most African towns, and it contains some six
+thousand inhabitants. Its position as a fortified town is well-chosen.
+Built on an eminence in the centre of a plain which is under water in
+the rainy season, it is surrounded by a very strong wooden palisade,
+proof against every engine of war except artillery.
+
+Strange to say in Soolimana the occupations of men and women seem to be
+reversed; the latter work in the fields except at seed time and
+harvest, build the houses, act as masons, barbers, and surgeons, whilst
+the men attend to the dairy, milk the cows, sew, and wash the linen.
+
+On the 17th September, Laing started on his return journey to Sierra
+Leone bearing presents from the king, and escorted for several miles by
+a vast crowd. He finally reached the English colony in safety.
+
+Laing's trip through Timmannee, Kooranko, and Soolimana was not without
+importance. It opened up districts hitherto unknown to Europeans, and
+introduced us to the manners, occupations, and trade of the people, as
+well as to the products of the country. At the same time the course was
+traced and the source discovered of the Rokelle, whilst for the first
+time definite information was obtained as to the sources of the Niger,
+for although our traveller had not actually visited them, he had gone
+near enough to determine their position approximately.
+
+The results obtained by Laing on this journey, only fired his ambition
+for further discoveries. He, therefore, determined to make his way to
+Timbuctoo.
+
+On the 17th June, 1825, he embarked at Malta for Tripoli, where he
+joined a caravan with which Hateeta, the Tuarick chief, who had made
+such friends with Lyon, was also travelling as far as Ghat. After two
+months' halt at Ghadames, Laing again started in October and reached
+Insalah, which he places a good deal further west than his predecessors
+had done. Here he remained from November, 1825, to January 1826, and
+then made his way to the Wady Ghat, intending to go from thence at once
+to Timbuctoo, making a tour of Lake Jenneh or Debbie, visiting the
+Melli country, and tracing the Niger to its mouth. He would then have
+retraced his steps as far as Sackatoo, visited Lake Tchad and attempted
+to reach the hill.
+
+Outside Ghat the caravan with which Laing was travelling was attacked,
+some say by Tuaricks, others by Berber Arabs, a tribe living near the
+Niger.
+
+"Laing," says Caillie, who got his information at Timbuctoo, "was
+recognized as a Christian and horribly ill-treated. He was beaten with
+a stick until he was left for dead. I suppose that the other Christian
+whom they told me was beaten to death, was one of the major's servants.
+The Moors of Laing's caravan picked him up, and succeeded by dint of
+great care in recalling him to life. So soon as he regained
+consciousness he was placed on his camel, to which he had to be tied,
+he was too weak to be able to sit up. The robbers had left him nothing,
+the greater part of his baggage had been rifled."
+
+Laing arrived at Timbuctoo on the 18th August, 1826, and recovered from
+his wounds. His convalescence was slow, but he was fortunately spared
+the extortions of the natives, owing to the letters of introduction he
+had brought with him from Tripoli and to the sedulous care of his host,
+a native of that city.
+
+According to Caillie, who quotes this remarkable fact from an old
+native, Laing retained his European costume, and gave out that he had
+been sent by his master, the king of England, to visit Timbuctoo and
+describe the wonders it contained.
+
+"It appears," adds the French traveller, "that Laing drew the plan of
+the city in public, for the same Moor told me in his naive and
+expressive language, that he had 'written the town and everything in
+it.'"
+
+After a careful examination of Timbuctoo, Laing, who had good reason to
+fear the Tuaricks, paid a visit by night to Cabra, and looked down on
+the waters of the Niger. Instead of returning to Europe by way of the
+Great Desert, he was very anxious to go past Jenneh and Sego to the
+French settlements in Senegal, but at the first hint of his purpose to
+the Foulahs who crowded to stare at him, he was told that a Nazarene
+could not possibly be allowed to set foot in their country, and that if
+he dared attempt it they would make him repent it.
+
+Laing was, therefore, driven to go by way of El Arawan, where he hoped
+to join a caravan of Moorish merchants taking salt to Sansanding. But
+five days after he left Timbuctoo, his caravan was joined by a fanatic
+sheikh, named Hamed-ould-Habib, chief of the Zawat tribe, and Laing was
+at once arrested under pretence of his having entered their country
+without authorization. The major being urged to profess Mohammedanism
+refused, preferring death to apostasy. A discussion then took place
+between the sheikh and his hired assassins as to how the victim should
+be put to death, and finally Laing was strangled by two slaves. His
+body was left unburied in the desert.
+
+This was all Caillie was able to find out when he visited Timbuctoo but
+one year after Major Laing's death. We have supplemented his accounts
+by a few details gathered from the reports of the Royal Geographical
+Society, for the traveller's journal and the notes he took are alike
+lost to us.
+
+We have already told how Laing managed to fix pretty accurately the
+position of the sources of the Niger. We have also described the
+efforts made by Mungo Park and Clapperton to trace the middle portion
+of the course of that river. We have now to narrate the journeys made
+in order to examine its mouth and the lower part of its course. The
+earliest and most successful was that of Richard Lander, formerly
+Clapperton's servant.
+
+Richard Lander and his brother John proposed to the English Government,
+that they should be sent to explore the Niger to its mouth. Their offer
+was accepted, and they embarked on a government vessel for Badagry,
+where they arrived on the 19th March, 1830.
+
+The king of the country, Adooley, of whom Richard Lander retained a
+friendly remembrance, was in low spirits. His town had just been burnt,
+his generals and his best soldiers had perished in a battle with the
+people of Lagos, and he himself had had a narrow escape when his house
+and all his treasures were destroyed by fire.
+
+He determined to retrieve his losses, and to do so at the expense of
+the travellers, who could not get permission to penetrate into the
+interior of the country until they had been robbed of their most
+valuable merchandise, and compelled to sign drafts in payment for a
+gun-boat with a hundred men, for two puncheons of rum, twenty barrels
+of powder, and a large quantity of merchandise, which they knew
+perfectly well would never be delivered by this monarch, who was as
+greedy of gain as he was drunken. As a matter of course the natives
+followed the example of their chief, vied with him in selfishness,
+greed, and meanness, regarded the English as fair spoil, and fleeced
+them on every opportunity.
+
+At last, on the 31st March, Richard and John Lander succeeded in
+getting away from Badagry; and preceded by an escort sent in advance by
+the king, arrived at Katunga on the 13th May, having halted by the way
+at Wow-wow, a good-sized town, Bidjie, where Pearce and Morrison had
+been taken ill, Jenneh, Chow, Egga, all towns visited by Clapperton,
+Engua, where Pearce died, Asinara, the first walled city they saw,
+Bohou, formerly capital of Yariba, Jaguta, Leoguadda, and Itcho, where
+there is a famous market.
+
+[Illustration: Lower Course of the Niger (after Lander).]
+
+At Katunga, according to custom, the travellers halted under a tree
+before they were received by the king. But being tired of waiting, they
+presently went to the residence of Ebo, the chief eunuch, and the most
+influential man about the person of the sovereign. A diabolical noise
+of cymbals, trumpets, and drums, all played together, announced the
+approach of the white men, and Mansolah, the king, gave them a most
+hearty welcome, ordering Ebo to behead every one who should molest
+them.
+
+The Landers, fearful of being detained by Mansolah until the rainy
+season, acted on Ebo's advice, and said nothing about the Niger, but
+merely spoke of the death of their fellow-countryman at Boussa twenty
+years before, adding that the King of England had sent them to the
+sultan of Yaourie to recover his papers.
+
+Although Mansolah did not treat the brothers Lander quite as graciously
+as he had treated Clapperton, he allowed them to go eight days after
+their arrival.
+
+Of the many details given in the original account of the Landers'
+journey, of Katunga and the province of Yariba, we will only quote the
+following:--
+
+"Katunga has by no means answered the expectations we had been led to
+form of it, either as regards its prosperity, or the number of its
+inhabitants. The vast plain on which it stands, although exceedingly
+fine, yields in verdure and fertility, and simple beauty of appearance,
+to the delightful country surrounding the less celebrated city of
+Bohoo. Its market is tolerably well supplied with provisions, which
+are, however, exceedingly dear; insomuch that, with the exception of
+disgusting insects, reptiles, and vermin, the lower classes of the
+people are almost unacquainted with the taste of animal food."
+
+Mansolah's carelessness and the imbecile cowardice of his subjects had
+enabled the Fellatahs to establish themselves in Yarriba, to entrench
+themselves in its fortified towns, and to obtain the recognition of
+their independence, until they became sufficiently strong to assume an
+absolute sovereignty over the whole country.
+
+From Katunga the Landers travelled to Borghoo, by way of Atoupa,
+Bumbum--a town much frequented by the merchants of Houssa, Borghoo, and
+other provinces trading with Gonja--Kishi, on the frontiers of Yarriba,
+and Moussa, on the river of the same name, beyond which they were met
+by an escort sent to join them by the Sultan of Borghoo. Sultan Yarro
+received them with many expressions of pleasure and kindness, showing
+special delight at seeing Richard Lander again. Although he was a
+convert to Mohammedanism, Yarro evidently put more faith in the
+superstitions of his forefathers than in his new creed. Fetiches and
+gri-gris were hung over his door, and in one of his huts there was a
+square stool, supported on two sides by four little wooden effigies of
+men. The character, manners, and costumes of the people of Borghoo
+differ essentially from those of the natives of Yarriba.
+
+"Perhaps no two people in the universe residing so near each other,"
+says the narrative, "differ more widely ... than the natives of Yarriba
+and Borghoo. The former are perpetually engaged in trading with each
+other from town to town, the latter never quit their towns except in
+case of war, or when engaged in predatory excursions; the former are
+pusillanimous and cowardly, the latter are bold and courageous, full of
+spirit and energy, and never seem happier than when engaged in martial
+exercises; the former are generally mild, unassuming, humble and
+honest, but cold and passionless. The latter are proud and haughty, too
+vain to be civil, and too shrewd to be honest; yet they appear to
+understand somewhat of the nature of love and the social affections,
+are warm in their attachments, and keen in their resentments."
+
+On the 17th June our travellers at last came in sight of the city of
+Boussa. Great was their surprise at finding that town on the mainland,
+and not, as Clapperton had said, on an island in the Niger. They
+entered Boussa by the western gate, and were almost immediately
+introduced to the presence of the king and of the midiki or queen, who
+told them that they had both that very morning shed tears over the fate
+of Clapperton.
+
+The Niger or Quorra, which flows below the city, was the first object
+of interest visited by the brothers.
+
+"This morning," writes the traveller, "we visited the far-famed _Niger_
+or _Quorra_, which flows by the city about a mile from our residence,
+and were greatly disappointed at the appearance of this celebrated
+river. Bleak, rugged rocks rose abruptly from the centre of the stream,
+causing strong ripples and eddies on its surface. It is said that, a
+few miles above Boussa, the river is divided into three branches by two
+small, fertile islands, and that it flows from hence in one continued
+stream to Funda. The Niger here, in its widest part, is not more than a
+stone's-throw across at present. The rock on which we sat overlooks the
+spot where Mr. Park and his associates met their unhappy fate."
+
+Richard Lander made his preliminary inquiries respecting the books and
+papers belonging to Mungo Park's expedition with great caution. But
+presently, reassured by the sultan's kindness, he determined to
+question him as to the fate of the explorer. Yarro was, however, too
+young at the time of the catastrophe to be able to remember what had
+occurred. It had taken place two reigns back; but he promised to have a
+search instituted for relics of the illustrious traveller.
+
+"In the afternoon," says Richard Lander, "the king came to see us,
+followed by a man with a book under his arm, which was said to have
+been picked up in the Niger after the loss of our countryman. It was
+enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and our hearts beat high with
+expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it, for, by its size, we
+guessed it to be Mr. Park's Journal; but our disappointment and chagrin
+were great when, on opening the book, we discovered it to be an old
+nautical publication of the last century."
+
+There was then no further hope of recovering Park's journal.
+
+On the 23rd June the Landers left Boussa, filled with gratitude to the
+king, who had given them valuable presents, and warned them to accept
+no food, lest it should be poisoned, from any but the governors of the
+places they should pass through. They travelled alongside of the Niger
+as far as Kagogie, where they embarked in a wretched native canoe,
+whilst their horses were sent on by land to Yaoorie.
+
+"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards," says Richard Lander, "when
+the river gradually widened to two miles, and continued as far as the
+eye could reach. It looked very much like an artificial canal, the
+steep banks confining the water like low walls, with vegetation beyond.
+In most places the water was extremely shallow, but in others it was
+deep enough to float a frigate. During the first two hours of the day
+the scenery was as interesting and picturesque as can be imagined. The
+banks were literally covered with hamlets and villages; fine trees,
+bending under the weight of their dark and impenetrable foliage,
+everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of the sun's rays, and,
+contrasted with the lively verdure of the little hills and plains,
+produced the most pleasing effect. All of a sudden came a total change
+of scene. To the banks of dark earth, clay, or sand, succeeded black,
+rugged rocks; and that wide mirror which reflected the skies, was
+divided into a thousand little channels by great sand-banks."
+
+A little further on the stream was barred by a wall of black rocks,
+with a single narrow opening, through which its waters rushed furiously
+down. At this place there is a portage, above which the Niger flows on,
+restored to its former breadth, repose, and grandeur.
+
+After three days' navigation, the Landers reached a village, where they
+found horses and men waiting for them, and whence they quickly made
+their way, through a continuously hilly country, to the town of
+Yaoorie, where they were welcomed by the sultan, a stout, dirty,
+slovenly man, who received them in a kind of farm-yard cleanly kept.
+The sultan, who was disappointed that Clapperton had not visited him,
+and that Richard Lander had omitted to pay his respects on his return
+journey, was very exacting to his present guests. He would give them
+none of the provisions they wanted, and did all he could to detain them
+as long as possible.
+
+We may add that food was very dear at Yaoorie, and that Richard Lander
+had no merchandise for barter except a quantity of "Whitechapel sharps,
+warranted not to cut in the eye," for the very good reason, he tells
+us, that most of them had no eyes at all, so that they were all but
+worthless.
+
+They were able, however, to turn to account some empty tins which had
+contained soups; the labels, although dirty and tarnished, were much
+admired by the natives, one of whom strutted proudly about for some
+days wearing an empty tin on his head, bearing four labels of
+"concentrated essence of meat."
+
+The Sultan would not permit the Englishmen to enter Nyffe or Bornou,
+and told them there was nothing for them but to go back to Boussa.
+Richard Lander at once wrote to the king of that town, asking
+permission to buy a canoe in which to go to Funda, as the road by land
+was infested by plundering Fellatahs.
+
+At last, on the 26th July, a messenger arrived from the King of Boussa
+to inquire into the strange conduct of the Sultan of Yaoorie, and the
+cause of his detention of the white men. After an imprisonment of five
+weeks the Landers were at last allowed to leave Yaoorie, which was now
+almost entirely inundated.
+
+The explorers now ascended the Niger to the confluence of the Cubbie,
+and then went down it again to Boussa, where the king, who was glad to
+see them again, received them with the utmost cordiality. They were,
+however, detained longer than they liked by the necessity of paying a
+visit to the King of Wow-wow, as well as by the difficulty of getting a
+boat. Moreover, there was some delay in the return of the messengers
+who had been sent by the King of Boussa to the different chiefs on the
+banks of the river, and lastly, Beken Rouah (the Dark Water) had to be
+consulted in order to ensure the safety of the travellers in their
+journey to the sea.
+
+On taking leave of the king, the brothers were at a loss to express
+their gratitude for his kindness and hospitality, his zeal in their
+cause, and the protection he was ever ready to extend during their stay
+of nearly two months in his capital. The natives showed great regret at
+losing their visitors, and knelt in the path of the brothers, praying
+with uplifted hands to their gods on their behalf.
+
+Now began the descent of the Niger. A halt had to be made at the island
+of Melalie, whose chief begged the white men to accept a very fine kid.
+We may be sure they were too polite to refuse it. The Landers next
+passed the large town of Congi, the Songa of Clapperton, and then
+Inguazilligie, the rendezvous of merchants travelling between Nouffe
+and the districts north-east of Borghoo. Below Inguazilligie they
+halted at Patashie, a large fertile island of great beauty, planted
+with palm groves and magnificent trees.
+
+As this place was not far from Wow-wow, Richard Lander sent a message
+to the king of that town, who, however, declined to deliver the canoe
+which had been purchased of him. The messenger failing in his purpose,
+the brothers were compelled themselves to visit the king, but as they
+expected, they got only evasive answers. They had now no choice, if
+they wished to continue their journey, but to make off with the canoes
+which had been lent them at Patashie. On the 4th October, after further
+delays, they resumed their course, and being carried down by the
+current, were soon out of sight of Lever, or Layaba, and its wretched
+inhabitants.
+
+The first town the brothers came to was Bajiebo, a large and spacious
+city, which for dirt, noise, and confusion, could not be surpassed.
+Next came Leechee, inhabited by Nouffe people, and the island of Madje,
+where the Niger divides into three parts. Just beyond, the travellers
+suddenly found themselves opposite a remarkable rock, two hundred and
+eighty feet high, called Mount Kesa, which rises perpendicularly from
+the centre of the stream. This rock is greatly venerated by the
+natives, who believe it to be the favourite home of a beneficent
+genius.
+
+[Illustration: Mount Kesa. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+At Belee, a little above Rabba, the brothers received a visit from the
+"King of the Dark Waters," chief of the island of Zagoshi, who appeared
+in a canoe of great length and unusual cleanliness, decked with scarlet
+cloth and gold lace. On the same day they reached the town of Zagoshi,
+opposite Rabba, and the second Fellatah town beyond Sackatoo.
+
+Mallam Dendo, chief of Zagoshi, was a cousin of Bello. He was a blind
+and very feeble old man in very bad health, who knew he had but a few
+years longer to reign, and his one thought was how best to secure the
+throne to his son.
+
+Although he had received very costly presents, Mallam Dendo was
+anything but satisfied, and declared that if the travellers did not
+make him other and more valuable gifts, he would require their guns,
+pistols, and powder, before he allowed them to leave Zagoshi.
+
+Richard Lander did not know what to do, when the gift of the tobe (or
+robe) of Mungo Park, which had been restored by the King of Boussa,
+threw Mallam Dendo into such ecstasies of joy that he declared himself
+the protector of the Europeans, promised to do all he could to help
+them to reach the sea, made them a present of several richly-coloured
+plaited mats, two bags of rice, and a bunch of bananas. These stores
+came just in time, for the whole stock of cloth, looking-glasses,
+razors, and pipes was exhausted, and the English had nothing left but a
+few needles and some silver bracelets as presents for the chiefs on the
+banks of the Niger.
+
+"Rabba," says Lander, "... seen from Zagoshi, appears to be a large,
+compact, clean, and well-built town, though it is unwalled, and is not
+otherwise fenced. It is irregularly built on the slope of a
+gently-rising hill, at the foot of which runs the Niger; and in point
+of rank, population, and wealth, it is the second city in the Fellatah
+dominions, Sackatoo alone being considered as its superior. It is
+inhabited by a mixed population of Fellatahs, Nyffeans, and emigrants
+and slaves from various countries, and is governed by a ruler who
+exercises sovereign authority over Rabba and its dependencies, and is
+styled sultan or king.... Rabba is famous for milk, oil, and honey. The
+market, when our messengers were there, appeared to be well supplied
+with bullocks, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, and abundance of
+poultry. Rice, and various sorts of corn, cotton cloth, indigo, saddles
+and bridles made of red and yellow leather, besides shoes, boots, and
+sandals, were offered for sale in great plenty. Although we observed
+about two hundred slaves for sale, none had been disposed of when we
+left the market in the evening.... Rabba is not very famous for the
+number or variety of its artificers, and yet in the manufacture of mats
+and sandals it is unrivalled. However, in all other handicrafts, Rabba
+yields to Zagoshi."
+
+The industry and love of labour displayed by the people of the latter
+town were an agreeable surprise in this lazy country. Its inhabitants,
+who are hospitable and obliging, are protected by the situation of
+their island against the Fellatahs. They are independent too, and
+recognize no authority but that of the "King of the Dark Waters," whom
+they obey because it is to their interest to do so.
+
+On the 16th October, the Landers at last started in a wretched canoe,
+for which the king had made them pay a high price, with paddles they
+had stolen, because no one would sell them any. This was the first time
+they had been able to embark on the Niger without help from the
+natives. They went down the river, whose width varies greatly, avoiding
+large towns as much as possible, for they had no means of satisfying
+the extortions of the chiefs. No incident of note occurred before Egga
+was reached, if we except a terrible storm which overtook the
+travellers when, unable to land in the marshes bordering the river,
+they had allowed their boat to drift with the current, and during which
+they were all but upset by the hippopotami playing about on the surface
+of the water. All this time the Niger flowed in an E.S.E. direction,
+now eight, now only two miles in width. The current was so rapid that
+the boat went at the rate of four or five miles an hour.
+
+[Illustration: "They were all but upset."]
+
+On the 19th October the Landers passed the mouth of the Coudonia, which
+Richard had crossed near Cuttup on his first expedition, and a little
+later they came in sight of Egga. The landing-place was soon reached by
+way of a bay encumbered with an immense number of large and heavy
+canoes full of merchandise, with the prows daubed with blood, and
+covered with feathers, as charms against thieves.
+
+The chief, to whom the travellers were at once conducted, was an old
+man with a long white beard, whose appearance would have been venerable
+and patriarchal had he not laughed and played in quite a childish
+manner. The natives assembled in hundreds to see the strange-looking
+visitors, and the latter had to place three men as sentinels outside
+their door to keep the curious at a distance.
+
+[Illustration: Square stool belonging to the King of Bornou.
+(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Lander says that Benin and Portuguese cloths are sold at Egga by many
+of its inhabitants, so that it would appear that some kind of
+communication is kept up between the sea-coast and this place. The
+people are very speculative and enterprising, and numbers of them
+employ all their time solely in trading up and down the Niger. They
+live entirely in their canoes, over which they have a shed, that
+answers completely every purpose for which it is intended, so that, in
+their constant peregrinations, they have no need of any other dwelling
+or shelter than that which their canoes afford them....
+
+"Their belief," says Lander, "that we possessed the power of doing
+anything we wished, was at first amusing enough, but their
+importunities went so far that they became annoying. They applied to us
+for charms to avert wars and other national calamities, to make them
+rich, to prevent the crocodiles from carrying off the people, and for
+the chief of the fishermen to catch a canoe-load of fish every day,
+each request being accompanied with some sort of present, such as
+country beer, goora-nuts, cocoa-nuts, lemons, yams, rice, &c., in
+quantity proportionate to the value of their request.
+
+"The curiosity of the people to see us is so intense, that we dare not
+stir out of doors, and therefore we are compelled to keep our door open
+all day long for the benefit of the air, and the only exercise which we
+can take is by walking round and round our hut like wild beasts in a
+cage. The people stand gazing at us with visible emotions of amazement
+and terror; we are regarded, in fact, in just the same light as the
+fiercest tigers in Europe. If we venture to approach too near the
+doorway, they rush backwards in a state of the greatest alarm and
+trepidation; but when we are at the opposite side of the hut they draw
+as near as their fears will permit them, in silence and caution.
+
+"Egga is a town of vast extent, and its population must be immense.
+Like all the towns on the banks of the Niger, it is inundated every
+year. We can but conclude that the natives have their own reasons for
+building their houses in situations which, in our eyes, are alike so
+inconvenient and unhealthy. Perhaps it may be because the soil of the
+surrounding districts consists of a black greasy mould of extraordinary
+fertility, supplying all the necessaries of life at the cost of very
+little trouble. Although the King of Egga looked more than a hundred
+years old, he was very gay and light-hearted. The chief people of the
+town met in his hut, and spent whole days in conversation. This company
+of greybeards, for they are all old, laugh so heartily at the
+sprightliness of their own wit, that it is an invariable practice, when
+any one passes by, to stop and listen outside, and they add to their
+noisy merriment so much good-will, that we hear nothing from the hut in
+which the aged group are revelling during the day but loud peals of
+laughter and shouts of applause."
+
+One day the old chief wished to show off his accomplishments of singing
+and dancing, expecting to astonish his visitors.
+
+"He frisked," says Lander, "beneath the burden of five-score, and
+shaking his hoary locks, capered over the ground to the manifest
+delight of the bystanders, whose plaudits, though confined, as they
+always are, to laughter, yet tickled the old man's fancy to that
+degree, that he was unable to keep up his dance any longer without the
+aid of a crutch. With its assistance he hobbled on a little while, but
+his strength failed him; he was constrained for the time to give over,
+and he set himself down at our side on the threshold of the hut. He
+would not acknowledge his weakness to us for the world, but endeavoured
+to pant silently, and suppress loud breathings, that we might not hear
+him. How ridiculous, yet how natural, is this vanity! He made other
+unavailing attempts to dance, and also made an attempt to sing, but
+nature would not second his efforts, and his weak piping voice was
+scarcely audible. The singers, dancers, and musicians, continued their
+noisy mirth, till we were weary of looking at and listening to them,
+and as bedtime was drawing near, we desired them to depart, to the
+infinite regret of the frivolous but merry old chief."
+
+Mallam-Dendo, however, tried to dissuade the English from continuing
+the descent of the river. Egga, he said, was the last Nouffe town, the
+power of the Fellatahs extended no further, and between it and the sea
+dwelt none but savage and barbarous races, always at war with each
+other. These rumours and the stories told by the natives to the
+Landers' people of the danger they would run of being murdered or sold
+as slaves so terrified the latter, that they refused to embark,
+declaring their intention of going back to Cape Coast Castle by the way
+that they came. Thanks to the firmness of the brothers this mutiny was
+quelled, and on the 22nd October the explorers left Egga, firing a
+parting salute of three musket-shots. A few miles further down, a
+sea-gull flew over their heads, a sure sign that they were approaching
+the sea, and with it, it appeared all but certain, the end of their
+wearisome journey.
+
+Several small and wretched villages, half under water, and a large town
+at the foot of a mountain, which looked ready to overwhelm it, the name
+of which the travellers could not learn, were passed in succession.
+They met a great number of canoes built like those on the Bonny and
+Calabar Rivers. The crews stared in astonishment at the white men whom
+they dared not address. The low marshy banks of the Niger were now
+gradually exchanged for loftier, richer, and more fertile districts.
+
+Kacunda, where the people of Egga had recommended Lander to halt, is on
+the western bank of the river. From a distance its appearance is
+singularly picturesque. The natives were at first alarmed at the
+appearance of the travellers. An old Mallam acting as Mohammedan priest
+and schoolmaster took them under his protection, and, thanks to him,
+the brothers received a warm welcome in the capital of the independent
+kingdom of Nouffe. The information collected in this town, or rather in
+this group of four villages, coincided with that obtained at Egga.
+Richard Lander therefore resolved to make the rest of the voyage by
+night and to load his four remaining guns and two pistols with balls
+and shot. To the great astonishment of the natives, who could not
+understand such contempt of danger, the explorers left Kacunda with
+three loud cheers, committing their cause to the hands of God. They
+passed several important towns, which they avoided. The river now wound
+a great deal, flowing from the south to south-east, and then to the
+south-west between lofty hills.
+
+On the 25th October, the English found themselves opposite the mouth of
+a large river. It was the Tchadda or Benuwe. At its junction with the
+Niger is an important town called Cutum Curaffi. After a narrow escape
+from being swallowed up in a whirlpool and crushed against the rocks,
+Lander having found a suitable spot showing signs of habitation,
+determined to land. That this place had been visited a little time
+previously, was proved by two burnt out fires with some broken
+calabashes, fragments of earthenware vessels, cocoa-nut shells, staves
+of powder-barrels, &c., which the travellers picked up with some
+emotion, for they proved that the natives had had dealings with
+Europeans. Some women ran away out of a village which three of Lander's
+men entered with a view to get the materials for a fire. The exhausted
+explorers were resting on mats when they were suddenly surrounded by a
+crowd of half-naked men armed with guns, bows and arrows, cutlasses,
+iron barbs, and spears. The coolness and presence of mind of the
+brothers alone averted a struggle, the issue of which could not be
+dubious. "As we approached," says Lander, "we made all the signs and
+motions we could with our arms, to deter the chief and his people from
+firing on us. His quiver was dangling at his side, his bow was bent,
+and an arrow which was pointed at our breasts already trembled on the
+string, when we were within a few yards of his person. This was a
+highly critical moment, the next might be our last. But the hand of
+Providence averted the blow; for just as the chief was about to pull
+the fatal cord, a man that was nearest him rushed forward, and stayed
+his arm. At that instant we stood before him, and immediately held
+forth our hands; all of them trembled like aspen leaves; the chief
+looked up full in our faces, kneeling on the ground; light seemed to
+flash from his dark, rolling eyes, his body was convulsed all over, as
+though he were enduring the utmost torture, and with a timorous yet
+undefinable expression of countenance, in which all the passions of our
+nature were strangely blended, he drooped his head, eagerly grasped our
+proffered hands, and burst into tears. This was a sign of friendship;
+harmony followed, and war and bloodshed were thought of no more. It was
+happy for us that our white faces and calm behaviour produced the
+effect it did on these people; in another minute our bodies would have
+been as full of arrows as a porcupine's is full of quills. 'I thought
+you were children of heaven fallen from the skies,' said the chief, in
+explanation of this sudden change."
+
+This scene took place in the famous market-town of Bocqua, of which the
+travellers had so often heard, whither the people come up from the
+coast to exchange the merchandise of the whites for slaves brought in
+large numbers from Funda, on the opposite bank.
+
+The information obtained at Bocqua was most satisfactory; the sea was
+only ten days' journey off. There was no danger in going down the
+river, the chief said, though the people on the banks were a bad lot.
+
+Following the advice of this chief, the travellers passed the fine town
+of Atta without stopping, and halted at Abbagaca, where the river
+divides into several branches, and whose chief showed insatiable greed.
+Refusing to halt at several villages, whose inhabitants begged for a
+sight of the white strangers, they were finally obliged to land at the
+village of Damuggo, where a little man wearing a waistcoat which had
+once formed part of a uniform, hailed them in English, crying out:
+"Halloa, ho! you English, come here!" He was an emissary from the King
+of Bonny come to buy slaves for the master.
+
+The chief of Damuggo, who had never before seen white men, received the
+explorers very kindly, held public rejoicings in their honour and
+detained them with constant fetes until the 4th November. Although the
+fetich consulted by him presaged that they would meet with a thousand
+dangers before reaching the sea, this monarch supplied them with an
+extra canoe, some rowers, and a guide.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Lower Course of the Djoliba, Kouara, Quoora,
+or Niger (after Lander). Grave par E. Morieu.]
+
+The sinister predictions of the fetich were soon fulfilled. John and
+Richard Lander were embarked in different boats. As they passed a large
+town called Kirree they were stopped by war-canoes, each containing
+forty men wearing European clothes, minus the trousers.
+
+Each canoe carried what at first sight appeared to be the Union Jack
+flying from a long bamboo cane fixed in the stern, a four or six
+pounder was lashed to each prow, and every black sailor was provided
+with a musket.
+
+The two brothers were taken to Kirree, where a palaver was held upon
+their fate. Fortunately the Mallams or Mohammedan priests interfered in
+their favour, and some of their property was restored to them, but the
+best part had gone to the bottom of the river with John Lander's canoe.
+
+"To my great satisfaction," says Lander, "I immediately recognized the
+box containing our books, and one of my brother's journals; the
+medicine-chest was by its side, but both were filled with water. A
+large carpet bag, containing all our wearing apparel, was lying cut
+open, and deprived of its contents, with the exception of a shirt, a
+pair of trousers, and a waistcoat. Many valuable articles which it had
+contained were gone. The whole of my journal, with the exception of a
+note-book with remarks from Rabba to this place, was lost. Four guns,
+one of which had been the property of the late Mr. Park, four
+cutlasses, and two pistols, were gone. Nine elephants' tusks, the
+finest I had seen in the country, which had been given us by the kings
+of Wow-wow and Boussa; a quantity of ostrich feathers, some handsome
+leopard skins, a great variety of seeds, all our buttons, cowries, and
+needles, which were necessary for us to purchase provisions with, all
+were missing, and said to have been sunk in the river."
+
+This was like going down in port. After crossing Africa from Badagry to
+Boussa, escaping all the dangers of navigating the Niger, getting free
+from the hands of so many rapacious chiefs, to be shipwrecked six day's
+journey from the sea, to be made slaves of or condemned to death just
+on the eve of making known to Europe the results of so many sufferings
+endured, so many dangers escaped, so many obstacles happily surmounted!
+To have traced the course of the Niger from Boussa, to be on the point
+of determining the exact position of its mouth and then to find
+themselves stopped by wretched pirates was really too much, and bitter
+indeed were the reflections of the brothers during the interminable
+palaver upon their fate.
+
+Although their stolen property was partially restored to them, and the
+negro who had begun the attack upon them was condemned to be beheaded,
+the brothers were none the less regarded as prisoners, and they were
+marched off to Obie, king of the country, who would decide what was to
+be done with them. It was evident that the robbers were not natives of
+the country, but had only entered it with a view to pillage. They
+probably counted on trading in two or three such market-towns as Kirree
+if they did not meet with any boats but such as were too strong to be
+plundered. For the rest, all the tribes of this part of the Niger
+seemed to be at daggers drawn with each other, and the trade in
+provisions was carried on under arms. After two days' row the canoes
+came in sight of Eboe, at a spot where the stream divides into three
+"rivers" of great width, with marshy level banks covered with
+palm-trees. An hour later one of the boatmen, a native of Eboe, cried,
+"There is my country." Here fresh difficulties awaited the travellers.
+Obie, king of Eboe, a young man with a refined and intelligent
+countenance, received the white men with cordiality. His dress, which
+reminded his visitors of that of the King of Yarriba, was adorned with
+such a quantity of coral that he might have been called the coral king.
+
+Obie seemed to be affected by the account the English gave of the
+struggle in which they had lost all their merchandise, but the aid he
+gave them was by no means proportioned to the warmth of the sentiments
+which he expressed, indeed he let them all but die of hunger.
+
+"The Eboe people," says the narrative, "like most Africans, are
+extremely indolent, and cultivate yams, Indian corn, and plantains
+only. They have abundance of goats and fowls, but few sheep are to be
+seen, and no bullocks. The city, which has no other name than the Eboe
+country, is situated on an open plain; it is immensely large, contains
+a vast population, and is the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It
+has, for a series of years, been the principal slave-mart for native
+traders from the coast, between the Bonny and Old Calabar rivers; and
+for the production of its palm-oil it has obtained equal celebrity.
+Hundreds of men from the rivers mentioned above come up for the purpose
+of trade, and numbers of them are at present residing in canoes in
+front of the town. Most of the oil purchased by Englishmen at the Bonny
+and adjacent rivers is brought from thence, as are nearly all the
+slaves which are annually exported from those places by the French,
+Spaniards, and Portuguese. It has been told us by many that the Eboe
+people are confirmed anthropophagi; and this opinion is more prevalent
+among the tribes bordering on that kingdom, than with the natives of
+more remote districts."
+
+From what the travellers could learn, it was pretty certain that Obie
+would not let them go without exacting a considerable ransom. He may
+doubtless have been driven to this by the importunity of his
+favourites, but it was more likely the result of the greed of the
+people of Bonny and Brass, who quarrelled as to which tribe should
+carry off the English to their country.
+
+A son of the Chief of Bonny, King Pepper, a native named Gun, brother
+of King Boy, and their father King Forday, who with King Jacket govern
+the whole of the Brass country, were the most eager in their demands,
+and produced as proofs of their honourable intentions the testimonials
+given to them by the European captains with whom they had business
+relations.
+
+One of these documents, signed James Dow, captain of the brig "Susan"
+of Liverpool, and dated from the most important river of the Brass
+Country, September, 1830, ran thus:--
+
+"Captain Dow states that he never met with a set of greater scoundrels
+than the natives generally, and the pilots in particular."
+
+It goes on in a similar strain heaping curses upon the natives, and
+charging them with having endeavoured to wreck Dow's vessel at the
+mouth of the river with a view to dividing his property amongst them.
+King Jacket was designated as an arrant rogue and a desperate thief.
+Boy was the only one of common honesty or trustworthiness.
+
+After an endless palaver, Obie declared that according to the laws and
+customs of the country he had a right to look upon the Landers and
+their people as his property, but that, not wishing to abuse his
+privileges, he would set them free in exchange for the value of twenty
+slaves in English merchandise. This decision, which Richard Lander
+tried in vain to shake, plunged the brothers into the depths of
+despair, a state of mind soon succeeded by an apathy and indifference
+so complete that they could not have made the faintest effort to
+recover their liberty. Add to these mental sufferings the physical
+weakness to which they were reduced by want of food, and we shall have
+some idea of their state of prostration. Without resources of any kind,
+robbed of their needles, cowries, and merchandise, they were reduced to
+the sad necessity of begging their bread. "But we might as well have
+addressed our petitions to the stones or trees," says Lander; "we might
+have spared ourselves the mortification of a refusal. We never
+experienced a more stinging sense of our own humbleness and imbecility
+than on such occasions, and never had we greater need of patience and
+lowliness of spirit. In most African towns and villages we have been
+regarded as demigods, and treated in consequence with universal
+kindness, civility, and veneration; but here, alas, what a contrast! we
+are classed with the most degraded and despicable of mankind, and are
+become slaves in a land of ignorance and barbarism, whose savage
+natives have treated us with brutality and contempt."
+
+It was Boy who finally achieved the rescue of the Landers, for he
+consented to pay to Obie the ransom he demanded for them and their
+people. Boy himself was very moderate, asking for nothing in return for
+his trouble and the risk he ran in taking the white men to Brass, but
+fifteen bars or fifteen slaves, and a barrel of rum. Although this
+demand was exorbitant, Lander did not hesitate to write an order on
+Richard Lake, captain of an English vessel at anchor in Brass river,
+for thirty-six bars.
+
+The king's canoe, on which the brothers embarked on the 12th November,
+carried sixty persons, forty of whom were rowers. It was hollowed out
+of a single tree-trunk, measured more than fifty feet long, carried a
+four-pounder in the prow, an arsenal of cutlasses and grape-shot, and
+was laden with merchandise of every kind. The vast tracts of cultivated
+land on either side of the river showed that the population was far
+more numerous than would have been supposed. The scenery was flat,
+open, and varied; and the soil, a rich black mould, produced luxuriant
+trees, and green shrubs of every shade. At seven p.m. on the 11th
+November the canoe left the chief branch of the Niger and entered the
+Brass river. An hour later, Richard Lander recognized with
+inexpressible delight tidal waves.
+
+[Illustration: "It was hollowed out of a single tree-trunk."]
+
+A little farther on Boy's canoe came up with those of Gun and Forday.
+The latter was a venerable-looking old man, in spite of his wretched
+semi-European semi-native clothing and a very strong predilection for
+rum, of which he consumed a great quantity, although his manners and
+conversation betrayed no signs of excessive drinking.
+
+That was a strange escort which accompanied the two Englishmen as far
+as the town of Brass.
+
+"The canoes," says Lander, "were following each other up the river in
+tolerable order, each of them displaying three flags. In the first was
+King Boy, standing erect and conspicuous, his headdress of feathers
+waving with the movements of his body, which had been chalked in
+various fantastic figures, rendered more distinct by its natural
+colour; his hands were resting on the barbs of two immense spears,
+which at intervals he darted violently into the bottom of the canoe, as
+if he were in the act of killing some formidable wild animal under his
+feet. In the bows of all the other canoes fetish priests were dancing,
+and performing various extraordinary antics, their persons, as well as
+those of the people with them, being chalked over in the same manner as
+that of King Boy; and, to crown the whole, Mr. Gun, the little military
+gentleman, was most actively employed, his canoe now darting before and
+now dropping behind the rest, adding not a little to the imposing
+effect of the whole scene by the repeated discharges of his cannon."
+
+Brass consists of two towns, one belonging to Forday, the other to King
+Jacket. The priests performed some curious ceremonies before
+disembarking, evidently having reference to the whites. Was the result
+of the consultation of the fetish of the town favourable or not to the
+visitors? The way the natives treated them would answer that question.
+Before he set foot on land Richard Lander, to his great delight,
+recognized a white man on the banks. He was the captain of a Spanish
+schooner at anchor in the river. The narrative goes on to say:--
+
+"Of all the wretched, filthy, and contemptible places in this world of
+ours none can present to the eye of a stranger so miserable an
+appearance, or can offer such disgusting and loathsome sights, as this
+abominable Brass Town. Dogs, goats, and other animals run about the
+dirty streets half-starved, whose hungry looks can only be exceeded by
+the famishing appearance of the men, women, and children, which
+bespeaks the penury and wretchedness to which they are reduced; whilst
+the persons of many of them are covered with odious boils, and their
+huts are falling to the ground from neglect and decay."
+
+Another place, called Pilot Town by the Europeans, on account of the
+number of pilots living in it, is situated at the mouth of the river
+Nun, seventy miles from Brass. King Forday demanded four bars before
+the Landers left the town, saying it was customary for every white man
+who came to Brass by the river to make that payment. It was impossible
+to evade compliance, and Lander drew another bill on Captain Lake. At
+this price Richard Lander obtained permission to go down in Boy's royal
+canoe to the English brig stationed at the mouth of the river. His
+brother and his servants were not to be set free until the return of
+the king. On his arrival on the brig, Lander's astonishment and shame
+was extreme when he found that Lake refused to give him any help
+whatever. The instructions given to the brothers from the ministry were
+read, to prove that he was not an impostor; but the captain answered,--
+
+"If you think that you have a ---- fool to deal with, you are mistaken;
+I'll not give a ---- flint for your bill. I would not give a ---- for
+it."
+
+Overwhelmed with grief at such unexpected behaviour from a
+fellow-countryman, Richard Lander returned to Boy's canoe, not knowing
+to whom to apply, and asked his escort to take him to Bonny, where
+there were a number of English vessels. The king refused to do this,
+and the explorer was obliged to try once more to move the captain,
+begging him to give him at least ten muskets, which might possibly
+satisfy Forday.
+
+"I have told you already," answered Lake, "that I will not let you have
+even a flint, so bother me no more."
+
+"But I have a brother and eight people at Brass Town," rejoined Lander,
+"and if you do not intend to pay King Boy, at least persuade him to
+bring them here, or else he will poison or starve my brother before I
+can get any assistance from a man-of-war, and sell all my people."
+
+"If you can get them on board," replied the captain, "I will take them
+away; but as I have told you before, you do not get a flint from me."
+
+At last Lander persuaded Boy to go back and fetch his brother and his
+people. The king at first declined to do so without receiving some
+payment on account, and it was only with difficulty that he was induced
+to forego this demand. When Lake found out that Lander's servants were
+able-bodied men, who could replace the sailors he had lost by death or
+who were down with fever, he relented a little. This yielding mood did
+not, however, last long, for he declared that if John and his people
+did not come in three days he would start without them. In vain did
+Richard prove to him beyond a doubt that if he did so the white men
+would be sold as slaves. The captain would not listen to him, only
+answering, "I can't help it; I shall wait no longer." Such inhumanity
+as this is fortunately very rare; and a wretch who could thus insult
+those not merely his equals, but so much his superiors, ought to be
+pilloried. At last, on the 24th November, after weathering a strong
+breeze which made the passage of the bar very rough and all but
+impossible, John Lander arrived on board. He had had to bear a good
+many reproaches from Boy, for whom, it must be confessed, there was
+some excuse; for had he not at his own cost rescued the brothers and
+their people from slavery, brought them down in his own canoe, and fed
+them, although very badly, all on the strength of their promise to pay
+him with as much beef and rum as he could consume? whereas he was,
+after all, roughly received by Lake, told that his advances would never
+be refunded, and treated as a thief. Certainly he had cause to complain
+and any one else would have made his prisoners pay dearly for the
+disappointment of so many hopes, and the loss of so much money.
+
+For all this, however, Boy brought John Lander safely to the brig.
+Captain Lake received the traveller pretty cordially, but declared his
+intention of making the king go back without so much as an obolus. Poor
+Boy was full of the most gloomy forebodings. His haughty manner was
+exchanged for an air of deprecating humility. An abundant meal was
+placed before him, but he scarcely touched it. Richard Lander,
+disgusted with the stinginess and bad faith of Lake, and unable to keep
+his promises, ransacked all his possessions; and finding, at last, five
+silver bracelets and a sabre of native manufacture, which he had
+brought from Yarriba, he offered these to Boy, who accepted them.
+Finally, the king screwed up courage enough to make his demand to the
+captain, who, in a voice of thunder which it was difficult to believe
+could have come from such a feeble body, declined to accede to it,
+enforcing his refusal with a shower of oaths and threats, such as made
+Boy, who saw, moreover, that the vessel was ready to sail, beat a hasty
+retreat, and hurry off to his canoe.
+
+Thus ended the vicissitudes of the Brothers Lander's journey. They were
+in some danger in crossing the bar, but that was their last. They
+reached Fernando Po, and then the Calabar River where they embarked on
+the _Carnarvon_ for Rio Janeiro, at which port Admiral Baker, then
+commanding the station, got them a passage on board a transport-ship.
+
+On the 9th June they disembarked at Portsmouth. Their first care, after
+sending an account of their journey to Lord Goderich, then Colonial
+Secretary, was to inform that official of the conduct of Captain Lake,
+conduct which was of a nature to compromise the credit of the English
+Government. Orders were at once given by the minister for the payment
+of the sums agreed upon, which were perfectly just and reasonable.
+
+Thus was completely and finally solved the geographical problem which
+had for so many centuries occupied the attention of the civilized
+world, and been the subject of so many different conjectures. The
+Niger, or as the natives call it, the Joliba, or Quorra, is not
+connected with the Nile, and does not lose itself in the desert sands
+or in the waters of Lake Tchad; it flows in a number of different
+branches into the ocean on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, at the
+point known as Cape Formosa. The entire glory of this discovery,
+foreseen though it was by scientific men, belongs to the Brothers
+Lander. The vast extent of country traversed by the Niger between
+Yaoorie and the sea was completely unknown before their journey.
+
+So soon as the discoveries made by Lander became known in England,
+several merchants formed themselves into a company for developing the
+resources of the new districts. In July, 1832, they equipped two
+steamers, the _Quorra_ and _Alburka_, which, under the command of
+Messrs. Laird, Oldfield, and Richard Lander, appended the Niger as far
+as Bocqua. The results of this commercial expedition were deplorable.
+Not only was there absolutely no trade to be carried on with the
+natives, but the crews of the vessels were decimated by fever. Finally,
+Richard Lander, who had so often gone up and down the river, was
+mortally wounded by the natives, on the 27th January, 1834, and died on
+the morning of 5th February, at Fernando Po.
+
+To complete our account of the exploration of Africa during the period
+under review, we have still to speak of the various surveys of the
+valley of the Nile, the most important of which were those by
+Cailliaud, Russegger, and Ruppell.
+
+Frederic Cailliaud was born at Nantes in 1787, and arrived in Egypt in
+1815, having previously visited Holland, Italy, Sicily, part of Greece,
+and European or Asiatic Turkey, where he traded in precious stones. His
+knowledge of geology and mineralogy won for him a cordial reception
+from Mehemet Ali, who immediately on his arrival commissioned him to
+explore the course of the Nile and the desert.
+
+This first trip resulted in the discovery of emerald mines at Labarah,
+mentioned by Arab authors, which had been abandoned for centuries. In
+the excavations in the mountain Cailliaud found the lamps, crowbars,
+ropes, and tools used in working these mines by men in the employ of
+Ptolemy. Near the quarries the traveller discovered the ruins of a
+little town, which was probably inhabited by the ancient miners. To
+prove the reality of his valuable discovery he took back ten pounds'
+weight of emeralds to Mehemet Ali.
+
+Another result of this journey was the discovery by the French explorer
+of the old road from Coptos to Berenice for the trade of India.
+
+From September, 1819, to the end of 1832, Cailliaud, accompanied by a
+former midshipman named Letorzec, was occupied in exploring all the
+known oases east of Egypt, and in tracing the Nile to 10 degrees N.
+lat. On his first journey he reached Wady Halfa, and for his second
+trip he made that place his starting-point. A fortunate accident did
+much to aid his researches. This was the appointment of Ismail Pacha,
+son of Mehemet Ali, to the command of an expedition to Nubia. To this
+expedition Cailliaud attached himself.
+
+Leaving Daraou in November, 1820, Cailliaud arrived, on the 5th January
+in the ensuing year, at Dongola, and reached Mount Barka in the Chaguy
+country, where are a vast number of ruins of temples, pyramids, and
+other monuments. The fact of this district bearing the name of Merawe
+had given rise to an opinion that in it was situated the ancient
+capital of Ethiopia. Cailliaud was enabled to show this to be
+erroneous.
+
+[Illustration: View of a Merawe temple. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+The French explorer, accompanying Ismail Pacha in the character of a
+mineralogist beyond Berber, on a quest for gold-mines, arrived at
+Shendy. He then went with Letorzec to determine the position of the
+junction of the Atbara with the Nile; and at Assour, not far from 17
+degrees N. lat., he discovered the ruins of an extensive ancient town.
+It was Meroe. Pressing on in a southerly direction between the 15th and
+16th degrees of N. lat., Cailliaud next identified the mouth of the
+Bahr-el-Abiad, or White Nile, visited the ruins of Saba, the mouth of
+the Rahad, the ancient Astosaba, Sennaar, the river Gologo, the Fazoele
+country, and the Toumat, a tributary of the Nile, finally reaching the
+Singue country between the two branches of the river. Cailliaud was the
+first explorer to penetrate from the north so near to the equator;
+Browne had turned back at 16 degrees 10 minutes, Bruce at 11 degrees.
+To Cailliaud and Letorzec we owe many observations on latitude and
+longitude, some valuable remarks on the variation of the magnetic
+needle, and details of the climate, temperature, and nature of the
+soil, together with a most interesting collection of animals and
+botanical specimens. Lastly, the travellers made plans of all the
+monuments beyond the second cataract.
+
+[Illustration: The Second Cataract of the Nile.]
+
+The two Frenchmen had preluded their discoveries by an excursion to the
+oasis of Siwah. At the end of 1819 they left Fayum with a few
+companions, and entered the Libyan desert. In fifteen days, and after a
+brush with the Arabs, they reached Siwah, having on their way taken
+measurements of every part of the temple of Jupiter Ammon, and
+determined, as Browne had done, its exact geographical position. A
+little later a military expedition was sent to this same oasis, in
+which Drovetti collected new and very valuable documents supplementing
+those obtained by Cailliaud and Letorzec. They afterwards visited
+successively the oasis of Falafre, never before explored by a European,
+that of Dakel, and Khargh, the chief place of the Theban oasis. The
+documents collected on this journey were sent to France, to the care of
+M. Jomard, who founded on them his work called "Voyage a l'Oasis de
+Siouah."
+
+[Illustration: Temple of Jupiter Ammon.]
+
+A few years later Edward Ruppell devoted seven or eight years to the
+exploration of Nubia, Sennaar, Kordofan, and Abyssinia in 1824, he
+ascended the White Nile for more than sixty leagues above its mouth.
+
+Lastly, in 1836 to 1838, Joseph Russegger, superintendent of the
+Austrian mines, visited the lower portion of the course of the
+Bahr-el-Abiad. This official journey was followed by the important and
+successful surveys afterwards made by order of Mehemet Ali in the same
+regions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+THE ORIENTAL SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT AND AMERICAN DISCOVERIES.
+
+The decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions, and the study of Assyrian
+remains up to 1840--Ancient Iran and the Avesta--The survey of India
+and the study of Hindustani--The exploration and measurement of the
+Himalaya mountains--The Arabian Peninsula--Syria and Palestine--Central
+Asia and Alexander von Humboldt--Pike at the sources of the
+Mississippi, Arkansas, and Red River--Major Long's two expeditions--
+General Cass--Schoolcraft at the sources of the Mississippi--The
+exploration of New Mexico--Archaeological expeditions in Central
+America--Scientific expeditions in Brazil--Spix and Martin--Prince
+Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied--D'Orbigny and American man.
+
+
+Although the discoveries which we are now to relate are not strictly
+speaking geographical, they nevertheless throw such a new light on
+several early civilizations, and have done so much to extend the domain
+of history and ideas, that we are compelled to dedicate a few words to
+them.
+
+The reading of cuneiform inscriptions, and the decipherment of
+hieroglyphics are events so important in their results, they reveal to
+us so vast a number of facts hitherto unknown, or distorted in the more
+or less marvellous narratives of the ancient historians Diodorus,
+Ctesias, and Herodotus, that it is impossible to pass over scientific
+discoveries of such value in silence.
+
+Thanks to them, we form an intimate acquaintance with a whole world,
+with an extremely advanced civilization, with manners, habits, and
+customs differing essentially from our own. How strange it seems to
+hold in our hands the accounts of the steward of some great lord or
+governor of a province, or to read such romances as those of _Setna_
+and the _Two Brothers_, or stories such as that of the _Predestined
+Prince_.
+
+Those buildings of vast proportions, those superb temples, magnificent
+hypogaea, and sculptured obelisks, were once nothing more to us than
+sumptuous monuments, but now that the inscriptions upon them have been
+read, they relate to us the life of the kings who built them, and the
+circumstances of their erection.
+
+How many names of races not mentioned by Greek historians, how many
+towns now lost, how many of the smallest details of the religion, art,
+and daily life, as well as of the political and military events of the
+past, are revealed to us by the hieroglyphic and cuneiform
+inscriptions.
+
+Not only do we now see into the daily life of these ancient peoples, of
+whom we had formerly but a very superficial knowledge, but we get an
+idea even of their literature. The day is perhaps not far distant when
+we shall know as much of the life of the Egyptians in the eighteenth
+century before Christ as that of our forefathers in the seventeenth and
+eighteenth centuries of our own era.
+
+Carsten Niebuhr was the first to make and bring to Europe an exact and
+complete copy of inscriptions at Persepolis in an unknown character.
+Many attempts had been made to explain them, but all had been vain,
+until in 1802 Grotefend, the learned Hanoverian philologist, succeeded,
+by an inspiration of genius, in solving the mystery in which they were
+enveloped.
+
+Truly these cuneiform characters were strange and difficult to
+decipher! Imagine a collection of nails variously arranged, and forming
+groups horizontally placed. What did these groups signify? Did they
+represent sounds and articulations, or, like the letters of our
+alphabet, complete words? Had they the ideographic value of Chinese
+written characters? What was the language hidden in them? These were
+the problems to be solved! It appeared probable that the inscriptions
+brought from Persepolis were written in the language of the ancient
+Persians, but Rask, Bopp, and Lassen had not yet studied the Iranian
+idioms and proved their affinity with Sanskrit.
+
+It would be beyond our province to give an account of the ingenious
+deductions, the skilful guesses, and the patient groping through which
+Grotefend finally achieved the recognition of an alphabetic system of
+writing, and succeeded in separating from certain groups of words what
+he believed to be the names of Darius and Xerxes, thus attaining a
+knowledge of several letters, by means of which he made out other
+words. It is enough for us to say that the key was found by him, and to
+others was left the task of completing and perfecting his work.
+
+More than thirty years passed by, however, before any notable progress
+was made in these studies. It was our learned fellow-countryman Eugene
+Burnouf who gave them a decided impulse. Turning to account his
+knowledge of Sanskrit and Zend, he found that the language of the
+inscriptions of Persepolis was but a Zend dialect used in Bactriana,
+which was still spoken in the sixth century B.C., and in which the
+books of Zoroaster were written. Burnouf's pamphlet bears date 1836. At
+the same period Lassen, a German scholar of Bonn, came to the same
+conclusion on the same grounds.
+
+The inscriptions already discovered were soon all deciphered; and with
+the exception of a few signs, on the meaning of which scholars were not
+quite agreed, the entire alphabet became known. But the foundations
+alone were laid; the building was still far from finished. The
+Persepolitan inscriptions appeared to be repeated in three parallel
+columns. Might not this be a triple version of the same inscription in
+the three chief languages of the Achaemenian Empire, namely, the
+Persian, Median, and Assyrian or Babylonian. This guess proved correct;
+and owing to the decipherment of one of the inscriptions, a test was
+obtained, and the same plan was followed as that of Champollion with
+regard to the Rosetta stone, on which was the tri-lingual inscription
+in Greek, Demotic or Enchorial, and hieroglyphic characters.
+
+In the second and third inscriptions were recognized Syro-Chaldee,
+which, like Hebrew, Himyaric, and Arabic, belong to the Semitic group,
+and a third idiom, to which the name of Medic was given, resembling the
+dialects of the Turks and Tartars. But it would be presumptuous of us
+to enlarge upon these researches. That was to be the task of the Danish
+scholar Westergaard, of the Frenchmen De Saulcy and Oppert, and of the
+Englishmen Morris and Rawlinson, not to mention others less celebrated.
+We shall have to return to this subject later.
+
+The knowledge of Sanskrit, and the investigation of Brahmanic
+literature, had inaugurated a scientific movement which has gone on
+ever since with increasing energy.
+
+Long before Nineveh and Babylon were known as nations, a vast country,
+called Iran by orientalists, which included Persia, Afghanistan, and
+Beloochistan, was the scene of an advanced civilization, with which is
+connected the name of Zoroaster, who was at once a conqueror, a
+law-giver, and the founder of a religion. The disciples of Zoroaster,
+persecuted at the time of the Mohammedan conquest, and driven from
+their ancient home, where their mode of worship was still preserved,
+took refuge, under the name of Parsees, in the north-west of India.
+
+At the end of the last century, the Frenchman Aquetil Duperron brought
+to Europe an exact copy of the religious books of the Parsees, written
+in the language of Zoroaster. He translated them, and for sixty years
+all the _savants_ had found in them the source of all their religious
+and philological notions of Iran. These books are known under the name
+of the Zend-Avesta, a word which comprises the name of the language,
+_Zend_, and the title of the book, _Avesta_.
+
+As the knowledge of Sanskrit increased, however, that branch of science
+required to be studied afresh by the light of the new method. In 1826
+the Danish philologist Rask, and later Eugene Burnouf, with his
+profound knowledge of Sanskrit, and by the help of a translation in
+that language recently discovered in India, turned once more to the
+study of the Zend. In 1834 Burnouf published a masterly treatise on the
+Yacna, which marked an epoch. From the resemblance between the archaic
+Sanskrit and the Zend came the recognition of the common origin of the
+two languages, and the relationship, or rather, the identity, of the
+races who speak them. Originally the names of the deities, the
+traditions, the generic appellation, that of Aryan, of the two peoples,
+are the same, to say nothing of the similarity of their customs. But it
+is needless to dwell on the importance of this discovery, which has
+thrown an entirely new light on the infancy of the human race, of which
+for so many centuries nothing was known.
+
+From the close of the eighteenth century, that is to say from the time
+when the English first obtained a secure footing in India, the physical
+study of the country was vigorously carried on, outstripping of course
+for a time that of the ethnology and kindred subjects, which require
+for their prosecution a more settled country and less exciting times.
+It must be owned, however, that knowledge of the races of the country
+to be controlled is as essential to the government as it is to
+commercial enterprise; and in 1801 Lord Wellesley, as Governor for the
+Company, recognizing the importance of securing a good map of the
+English territories, commissioned Brigadier William Lambton, to
+connect, by means of a trigonometrical survey, the eastern and western
+banks of the Indus with the observatory of Madras. Lambton was not
+content with the mere accomplishment of this task. He laid down with
+precision one arc of the meridian from Cape Comorin to the village of
+Takoor-Kera, fifteen miles south-east of Ellichpoor. The amplitude of
+this arc exceeded twelve degrees. With the aid of competent officers,
+amongst whom we must mention Colonel Everest, the Government of India
+would have hailed the completion of the task of its engineers long
+before 1840, if the successive annexation of new territories had not
+constantly added to the extent of ground to be covered.
+
+At about the same time with this progress in our knowledge of the
+geography of India an impulse was given to the study of the literature
+of India.
+
+In 1776 an extract from the most important native codes, then for the
+first time translated under the title of the Code of the Gentoos[1] was
+published in London. Nine years later the Asiatic Society was founded
+in Calcutta by Sir William Jones, the first who thoroughly mastered the
+Sanskrit language. In "Asiatic Researches," published by this society,
+were collected the results of all scientific investigations relating to
+India. In 1789, Jones published his translation of the drama of
+S'akuntala, that charming specimen of Hindu literature, so full of
+feeling and refinement. Sanskrit grammars and dictionaries were now
+multiplied, and a regular rivalry was set on foot in British India,
+which would undoubtedly soon have spread to Europe, had not the
+continental blockade prevented the introduction of works published
+abroad. At this time an Englishman named Hamilton, a prisoner of war in
+Paris, studied the Oriental MSS. in the library of the French capital,
+and taught Frederick Schlegel the rudiments of Sanskrit, which it was
+no longer necessary to go to India to learn.
+
+[Footnote 1: Gentoo was the name given by old English writers to the
+natives of Hindustan, and is now obsolete, having been superseded by
+that of Hindoo.--_Trans._]
+
+Lassen was Schlegel's pupil, and together they studied the literature
+and antiquities of India, examining, translating, and publishing the
+original texts; whilst at the same time Franz Bopp devoted himself to
+the study of the language, making his grammars accessible to all, and
+coming to the conclusion which was then startling, although it is now
+generally accepted, of the common origin of the Indo-European
+languages.
+
+It was proved that the Vedas, that collection of sacred writings held
+in too universal veneration to be tampered with, were written in a very
+ancient and very pure idiom which had not been revived, and whose close
+resemblance with the Zend, put back the date of the composition of the
+books beyond the time of the separation of the Aryan family into two
+branches. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana, dating from the Brahminical
+or the period succeeding that of the Vedas, were next studied, together
+with the Puranas. Owing to a profounder knowledge of the language and a
+more intimate acquaintance with the mythology of the Hindus, scholars
+were able to fix approximately the date of the composition of these
+poems, to ascertain the numberless interpolations, and to extract
+everything of actual historical or geographical value from those
+marvellous allegories.
+
+The result of these patient and minute investigations was a conviction
+that the Celtic, Greek, Latin, Germanic, Slave, and Persian languages
+had one common parent, and that parent none other than Sanskrit. If,
+then, their language was the same, it followed as a matter of course
+that the people had been also identical. The differences now existing
+between these various idioms are accounted for by the successive
+breakings up of the primitive people, approximate dates enable us to
+realize the greater or less affinity of those languages with the
+Sanskrit, and the nature of the words which they have borrowed from it,
+words corresponding by their nature to the different degrees of advance
+in civilization.
+
+Moreover a very clear and definite notion was obtained of the kind of
+life led by the founders of the Indo-European race, and the changes
+brought about in it by the progress of civilization. The Vedas give us
+a picture of the Aryan race before it migrated to India, and occupied
+the Punjab and Cabulistan. By the aid of these poems we can look on at
+struggles against the primitive races of Hindustan; whose resistance
+was all the more desperate in that the conqueror, of their caste
+divisions, left them only the lowest and most degraded. Thanks to the
+Vedas we can realize every detail of the pastoral and patriarchal life
+of the Aryans, a life so domestic and unruffled, that we mentally ask
+ourselves whether the eager strife of the modern peoples is not a poor
+exchange for the peaceful existence which their few wants secured to
+their forefathers.
+
+We cannot dwell longer on this subject, but the little that we have
+said will be enough to show the reader the importance to history,
+ethnography, and philology, of the study of Sanskrit. For further
+details we refer him to the special works of Orientalists and to the
+excellent historical manuals of Robiou, Lenormant, and Maspero. All the
+scientific results of whatever kind obtained up to 1820 are also
+skilfully and impartially summed up in Walter Hamilton's large work, "A
+Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Description of Hindustan, and
+the neighbouring Countries." This is a book which, by recording the
+various stages of scientific progress, marks with accuracy the point
+reached at any given epoch.
+
+After this brief review of the labours of scholars in reference to the
+intellectual and social life of the Hindus, we must turn to those
+studies whose aim was a knowledge of the physical character of the
+country.
+
+One of the most surprising results obtained by the travels of Webb and
+Moorcroft was the extraordinary height attributed by them to the
+Himalaya mountains. According to them their elevation exceeded that of
+the loftiest summits of the Andes. Colonel Colebrook had estimated the
+average height of the chain at 22,000 feet, and even this would appear
+to be less than the reality. Webb measured Yamunavatri, one of the most
+remarkable peaks of the chain, and estimated its height above the level
+of the plateau from which it rises as 20,000 feet, whilst the plateau
+in its turn is 5000 feet above the plain. Not satisfied, however, with
+what he looked upon as too perfunctory an estimate, he measured, with
+all possible mathematical accuracy, the Dewalagiri or White Mountain,
+and ascertained its height to be no less than 27,500 feet.
+
+The most remarkable feature of the Himalaya chain is the succession of
+these mountains, the ranges of heights rising one above the other. This
+gives a far more vivid impression of their loftiness than would one
+isolated peak rising from a plain and with its head lost among the
+clouds.
+
+The calculations of Webb and Colebrook, were soon verified by the
+mathematical observations of Colonel Crawford, who measured eight of
+the highest peaks of the Himalayas. According to him the loftiest of
+all was Chumulari, situated near the frontiers of Bhoutan and Thibet,
+which attains to a height of 30,000 feet above the sea-level.
+
+Results such as these, confirmed by the agreement of so many observers,
+who could not surely all be wrong, took the scientific world by
+surprise. The chief objection urged was the fact that the snow-line
+must in these districts be something like 30,000 feet above the
+sea-level. It appeared, therefore, impossible to believe the assertion
+of all the explorers, that the Himalayas were covered with forests of
+gigantic pines. Finally, however, actual personal observation upset
+theory. In a second journey, Webb climbed the Niti-Ghaut, the loftiest
+peak in the world, the height of which he fixed at 16,814 feet, and not
+only did he find no snow, but even the rocks rising 300 feet above it
+were quite free from snow in summer. Moreover, the steep sides, where
+breathing was difficult, were clothed with magnificent forests of
+tapering pines, and firs, and wide-spreading cypress and cedar-trees.
+
+"The high limits of perpetual snow on the Himalaya mountains," says
+Desborough Cooley, "are justly ascribed by Mr. Webb to the great
+elevation of the table-land or terrace from which these mountain peaks
+spring. As the heat of our atmosphere is derived chiefly from the
+radiation of the earth's surface, it follows that the temperature of
+any elevated point must be modified in a very important degree by the
+proximity and extent of the surrounding plains. These observations seem
+satisfactorily to refute the objections made by certain savants
+respecting the great height of the Himalaya mountains, which may be,
+therefore, safely pronounced to be the loftiest mountain chain on the
+surface of the globe."
+
+We must now refer briefly to an expedition in the latitudes already
+visited by Webb and Moorcroft. The traveller Fraser, with neither the
+necessary instruments nor knowledge for measuring the lofty peaks he
+ascended, was endowed with a great power of observation, and his
+account of his journey is full of interest, and here and there very
+amusing. He visited the source of the Jumna, and, at a height of more
+than 25,000 feet, he found numerous villages picturesquely perched on
+slopes carpetted with snow. He then made his way to Gangoutri, in spite
+of the opposition of his guides, who represented the road thither as
+extremely dangerous, declaring that it was swept by a pestilential wind
+which would deprive any traveller, who ventured to expose himself to
+it, of his senses. The explorer, however, was more than rewarded for
+all his dangers and fatigues by the enjoyment he derived from the
+grandeur and magnificence of the views he obtained.
+
+[Illustration: "Villages picturesquely perched."]
+
+"There is that," says Desborough Cooley in reference to Fraser's
+journey, "in the appearance of the Himalaya range, which every person
+who has seen them will allow to be peculiarly their own. No other
+mountains that I have ever seen bear any resemblance to their
+character; their summits shoot in the most fantastic and spiring peaks
+to a height that astonishes, and, when viewed from an elevated
+situation, almost induce the belief of an ocular deception."
+
+We must now leave the peninsula of the Ganges for that of Arabia, where
+we have to record the result of several interesting journeys. That of
+Captain Sadler of the Indian army, claims the first rank. Sent by the
+Governor of Bombay in 1819, on an embassy to Ibrahim Pacha, who was
+then at war with the Wahabees, that officer crossed the entire
+peninsula from Port El Katif on the Persian Gulf to Yambo on the Red
+Sea.
+
+Unfortunately the interesting account of this crossing of Arabia, never
+before accomplished by a European, has not been separately published,
+but is buried in a book which it is almost impossible to obtain, "The
+Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay."
+
+At about the same time, 1821-1826, the English Government commissioned
+Captains Moresby and Haines, of the naval service, to make
+hydrographical surveys with a view to obtaining a complete chart of the
+coasts of Arabia. These surveys were to be the foundation of the first
+trustworthy map of the Arabian peninsula.
+
+We have now only to mention the two expeditions of the French
+naturalists, Aucher Eloy in the country of Oman, and Emile Botta in
+Yemen, and to refer to the labours in reference to the idioms and
+antiquities of Arabia of the French consul at Djedda, Fulgence Fresnel.
+He was the first, in his letters on the history of the Arabs before
+Islamism, published in 1836, to explain the Himyarite or Homeric
+language and to recognize that it resembles rather the early Hebrew and
+Syriac dialects, than the Arabic of the present day.
+
+At the beginning of this volume we spoke of the explorations and
+archaeological and historical researches of Seetzen and Burckhardt in
+Syria and Palestine. We have still to say a few words on an expedition
+the results of which were entirely geographical. We refer to the
+journey of the Bavarian naturalist Heinrich Schubert.
+
+Schubert was a devout Catholic and an enthusiastic student, and the
+melancholy scenery of the Holy Land with its wonderful legends, and the
+lovely banks of the mysterious Nile with its historic memories, had for
+him an extraordinary fascination. In his account of his journey we find
+the deep impressions of the believer combined with the scientific
+observations of the naturalist.
+
+In 1837, Schubert, having crossed Lower Egypt and the peninsula of
+Sinai, entered the Holy Land. The learned Bavarian pilgrim was
+accompanied by two friends, Dr. Erdl and Martin Bernatz, a painter.
+
+The travellers landed at El Akabah on the Red Sea, and went with a
+small Arab caravan to El Khalil, the ancient Hebron. The route they
+followed had never before been trodden by a European. It led through a
+wide, flat valley terminating at the Dead Sea; a valley through which
+the waters of the Dead Sea were supposed at one time to have flowed
+towards the Red Sea. This hypothesis was shared by Burckhardt and many
+others who had only seen the district from a distance, and who
+attributed the cessation of the drainage to an upheaval of the soil.
+The heights, as taken by the travellers, showed this hypothesis to be
+altogether erroneous.
+
+In fact from the lower end of the Persian Gulf the country presents a
+continuous ascent for two or three days' march to the point called by
+the Arabs the Saddle, from thence it begins to sink and slopes down
+towards the Dead Sea. The Saddle is about 2100 feet above the
+sea-level, at least that was the estimate given a year later by Count
+Bertou, a Frenchman, who visited those localities at that time.
+
+On their way down to the Bituminous Lake, Schubert and his companions
+took some other barometrical observations, and were very much surprised
+to find their instrument marking ninety-one feet _below_ the Red Sea,
+the levels gradually decreasing in height as they advanced. At first
+they thought there must be some mistake, but finally, the evidence was
+too strong for them, and it became proved beyond a doubt that the Dead
+Sea could never have emptied its waters into the Red Sea for the very
+excellent reason that the level of the former is very much lower than
+that of the latter.
+
+The depression of the Dead Sea is very much more noticeable when
+Jericho is approached from Jerusalem. In that case the way lies through
+a long valley with a very rapid slope, all the more remarkable as the
+hilly plains of Judea, Perae, and El Harran are very lofty, the latter
+rising to a height of nearly 3000 feet above the sea-level.
+
+The appearance of the country and the testimony of the instruments were
+in such contradiction to the prevalent belief, that Messrs. Erdl and
+Schubert were very unwilling to accept the results obtained, which they
+attributed to their barometer being out of order and to a sudden
+disturbance of the atmosphere. But on their way back to Jerusalem the
+barometer returned to the mean height it had registered before they
+started for Jericho. There was nothing for it then but to admit,
+whether they liked it or not, that the Dead Sea was at least 600 feet
+below the level of the Mediterranean, an estimate, as later researches
+showed, which fell one-half short of the truth.
+
+This, it will be admitted, was a fortunate rectification, which would
+have considerable influence, by calling the attention of _savants_ to a
+phenomenon which was soon to be verified by other explorers.
+
+At the same time, the survey of the basin of the Dead Sea was completed
+and rectified. In 1838, two American Missionaries, Edward Robinson and
+Eli Smith, gave quite a new impulse to Biblical geography. They were
+the forerunners of that phalanx of naturalists, historians,
+archaeologists, and engineers, who, under the patronage or in
+conjunction with the English Exploration Society, were soon to explore
+the land of the patriarchs from end to end, making maps of it, and
+achieving discoveries which threw a new light on the history of the
+ancient peoples who, by turns, were possessors of this corner of the
+Mediterranean basin.
+
+But it was not only the Holy Land, so interesting on account of the
+many associations it has for every Christian, which was the scene of
+the researches of scholars and explorers; Asia Minor was also soon to
+yield up her treasures to the curiosity of the learned world. That
+country was visited by travellers in every direction. Parrot visited
+Armenia; Dubois de Monpereux traversed the Caucasus in 1839. In 1825
+and 1826, Eichwald explored the shores of the Caspian Sea; and lastly,
+Alexander von Humboldt at the expense of the generous Nicholas, Emperor
+of Russia, supplemented his intrepid work as a discoverer in the New
+World by an exploration of Western Asia and the Ural Mountains.
+Accompanied by the mineralogist Gustave Rose, the naturalist Ehrenberg,
+well known for his travels in Upper Egypt and Nubia, and Baron von
+Helmersen, an officer of engineers, Humboldt travelled through Siberia,
+visited the gold and platinum mines of the Ural Mountains, and explored
+the Caspian steppes and the Altai chain to the frontiers of China.
+These learned men divided the work, Humboldt taking astronomical,
+magnetic, and physical observations, and examining the flora and fauna
+of the country, while Rose kept the journal of the expedition, which he
+published in German between 1837 and 1842.
+
+Although the explorers travelled very rapidly, at the rate of no less
+than 11,500 miles in nine months, the scientific results of their
+journey were considerable. In a first publication which appeared in
+Paris in 1838, Humboldt treated only the climatology and geology of
+Asia, but this fragmentary account was succeeded in 1843 by his great
+work called "Central Asia." "In this," says La Roquette, "he has laid
+down and systematized the principal scientific results of his
+expedition in Asia, and has recorded some ingenious speculation as to
+the shape of the continents and the configuration of the mountains of
+Tartary, giving special attention to the vast depression which
+stretches from the north of Europe to the centre of Asia beyond the
+Caspian Sea and the Ural River."
+
+We must now leave Asia and pass in review the various expeditions in
+the New World, which have been sent out in succession since the
+beginning of the present century. In 1807, when Lewis and Clarke were
+crossing North America from the United States to the Pacific Ocean, the
+Government commissioned a young officer, Lieutenant Zabulon Montgomery
+Pike, to examine the sources of the Mississippi. He was at the same
+time to endeavour to open friendly relations with any Indians he might
+meet.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Missouri.]
+
+Pike was well received by the Chief of the powerful Sioux nation and
+presented with the pipe of peace, a talisman which secured to him the
+protection of the allied tribes; he ascended the Mississippi, passing
+the mouths of the Chippeway and St. Peter, important tributaries of
+that great river. But beyond the confluence of the St. Peter with the
+Mississippi as far as the Falls of St. Anthony, the course of the main
+river is impeded by an uninterrupted series of falls and rapids. A
+little below the 45th parallel of North latitude, Pike and his
+companions had to leave their canoes and continue their journey in
+sledges. To the severity of a bitter winter were soon added the
+tortures of hunger. Nothing, however, checked the intrepid explorers,
+who continued to follow the Mississippi, now dwindled down to a stream
+only 300 roods wide, and arrived in February at Leech Lake, where they
+were received with enthusiasm at the camp of some trappers and fur
+hunters from Montreal.
+
+[Illustration: Circassians. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+After visiting Red Cedar Lake, Pike returned to St. Louis. His arduous
+and perilous journey had extended over no less than nine months; and
+although he had not attained its main object, it was not without
+scientific results. The skill, presence of mind, and courage of Pike
+were recognized, and the government soon afterwards conferred on him
+the rank of major, and appointed him to the command of a fresh
+expedition. This time he was to explore the vast tract of country
+between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, and to discover the
+sources of the Arkansas and Red River. With twenty-three companions
+Pike ascended the Arkansas, a fine river navigable to the mountains in
+which it rises, that is to say for a distance of 2000 miles, except in
+the summer, when its bed is encumbered with sand-banks. On this long
+voyage, winter, from which Pike had suffered so much on his previous
+trip, set in with redoubled vigour. Game was so scarce that for four
+days the explorers were without food. The feet of several men were
+frostbitten, and this misfortune added to the fatigue of the others.
+The major, after reaching the source of the Arkansas, pursued a
+southerly direction and soon came to a fine stream which he took for
+the Red River.
+
+This was the Rio del Norte, which rises in Colorado, then a Spanish
+province, and flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
+
+From what has been already said of the difficulties which Humboldt
+encountered before he obtained permission to enter the Spanish
+possessions in America, we may judge with what jealous suspicion the
+arrival of strangers in Colorado was regarded. Pike was surrounded by a
+detachment of Spanish soldiers, made prisoner with all his men, and
+taken to Santa Fe. Their ragged garments, emaciated forms, and
+generally miserable appearance did not speak much in their favour, and
+the Spaniards at first took the Americans for savages. However, when
+the mistake was recognized, they were escorted across the inland
+provinces to Louisiana, arriving at Natchitoches on the 1st July, 1807.
+
+The unfortunate end of this expedition cooled the zeal of the
+government, but not that of private persons, merchants, and hunters,
+whose numbers were continually on the increase. Many even completely
+crossed the American continent from Canada to the Pacific. Amongst
+these travellers we must mention Daniel William Harmon, a member of the
+North-West Company, who visited Lakes Huron and Superior, Rainy Lake,
+the Lake of the Woods, Manitoba, Winnipeg, Athabasca, and the Great
+Bear Lake, all between N. lat. 47 degrees and 58 degrees, and reached
+the shores of the Pacific. The fur company established at Astoria at
+the mouth of the Columbia also did much towards the exploration of the
+Rocky Mountains.
+
+Four associates of that company, leaving Astoria in June, 1812,
+ascended the Columbia, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and following an
+east-south-east direction, reached one of the sources of the Platte,
+descended it to its junction with the Missouri, crossed a district
+never before explored, and arrived at St. Louis on the 30th May, 1813.
+
+In 1811, another expedition composed of sixty men, started from St.
+Louis and ascended the Missouri as far as the settlements of the Ricara
+Indians, whence they made their way to Astoria, arriving there at the
+beginning of 1812, after the loss of several men and great suffering
+from fatigue and want of food.
+
+These journeys resulted not only in the increase of our knowledge of
+the topography of the districts traversed, but they also brought about
+quite unexpected discoveries. In the Ohio valley between Illinois and
+Mexico for instance, were found ruins, fortifications, and
+entrenchments, with ditches and a kind of bastion, many of them
+covering five or six acres of ground. What people can have constructed
+works such as these, which denote a civilization greatly in advance of
+that of the Indians, is a difficult problem of which no solution has
+yet been found.
+
+Philologists and historians were already regretting the dying out of
+the Indian tribes, who, until then, had been only superficially
+observed, and lamenting their extinction before their languages had
+been studied. A knowledge of these languages and their comparison with
+those of the old world, might have thrown some unexpected light upon
+the origin of the wandering tribes.[2]
+
+[Footnote 2: The author has evidently not seen Bancroft's "Native Races
+of the Pacific," an exhaustive work in five volumes, published at New
+York and San Francisco a few years ago, and which embodies the
+researches of a number of gentlemen, who collected their information on
+the spot, and whose contributions to our knowledge of the past and
+present life of the Indians should certainly not be ignored.--_Trans._]
+
+Simultaneously with the discovery of the ruins the flora and geology of
+the country began to be studied, and in the latter science great
+surprises were in store for future explorers. It was so important for
+the American government to proceed rapidly to reconnoitre the vast
+territories between the United States and the Pacific, that another
+expedition was speedily sent out.
+
+In 1819, the military authorities commissioned Major Long to explore
+the districts between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, to trace
+the course of the Missouri and of its principal tributaries, to fix the
+latitude and longitude of the chief places, to study the ways of the
+Indian tribes, in fact to describe everything interesting either in the
+aspect of the country or in its animal, vegetable, and mineral
+productions.
+
+Leaving Pittsburgh on the 5th March, 1819, on board the steamship
+_Western Engineer_, the expedition arrived in May of the following year
+at the junction of the Ohio with the Mississippi, and ascended the
+latter river as far as St. Louis. On the 29th June, the mouth of the
+Missouri was reached. During the month of July, Mr. Say, who was
+charged with the zoological observations, made his way by land to Fort
+Osage, where he was joined by the steamer. Major Long turned his stay
+at Fort Osage to account by sending a party to examine the districts
+between the Kansas and the Platte, but this party was attacked, robbed,
+and compelled to turn back after losing all their horses. After
+obtaining at Cow Island a reinforcement of fifteen soldiers, the
+expedition reached Fort Lisa, near Council Bluff, on the 19th
+September. There it was decided to winter. The Americans suffered
+greatly from scurvy, and having no medicines to check the terrible
+disorder, they lost 100 men, nearly a third of the whole party. Major
+Long, who had meanwhile reached Washington in a canoe, brought back
+orders for the discontinuation of the voyage up the Missouri, and for a
+journey overland to the sources of the Platte, whence the Mississippi
+was to be reached by way of the Arkansas and Red River. On the 6th
+June, the explorers left Engineer's Fort, as they called their winter
+quarters, and ascended the Platte Valley for more than a hundred miles,
+its grassy plains, frequented by vast herds of bisons and deer,
+supplying them with plenty of provisions.
+
+Those boundless prairies, whose monotony is unbroken by a single
+hillock, were succeeded by a sandy desert gradually sloping up, for a
+distance of nearly four hundred miles, to the Rocky Mountains. This
+desert, broken by precipitous ravines, _canons_, and gorges, at the
+bottom of which gurgles some insignificant stream, its banks clothed
+with stunted and meagre vegetation, produces nothing but cacti with
+sharp and formidable prickles.
+
+On the 6th July, the expedition reached the foot of the Rocky
+Mountains. Dr. James scaled one of the peaks, to which he gave his own
+name, and which rises to a height of 11,500 feet above the sea level.
+
+"From the summit of the peak," says the botanist, "the view towards the
+north, west, and south-west, is diversified with innumerable mountains
+all white with snow, and on some of the more distant it appears to
+extend down to their bases. Immediately under our feet on the west, lay
+the narrow valley of the Arkansas; which we could trace running towards
+the north-west, probably more than sixty miles. On the north side of
+the peak was an immense mass of snow and ice.... To the east lay the
+great plain, rising as it receded, until, in the distant horizon, it
+appeared to mingle with the sky."
+
+Here the expedition was divided into two parties, one, under the
+command of Major Long, to make its way to the sources of the Red River,
+the other, under Captain Bell, to go down the Arkansas as far as Port
+Smith. The two detachments separated on the 24th July. The former,
+misled by the statements of the Kaskaia Indians and the inaccuracy of
+the maps, took the Canadian for the Red River, and did not discover
+their mistake until they reached its junction with the Arkansas. The
+Kaskaias were the most miserable of savages, but intrepid horsemen,
+excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs which are descendants of the
+horses imported into Mexico by the Spanish conquerors. The second
+detachment was deserted by four soldiers, who carried off the journals
+of Say and Lieutenant Swift with a number of other valuable effects.
+Both parties also suffered from want of provisions in the sandy
+deserts, whose streams yield nothing but brackish and muddy water. The
+expedition brought to Washington sixty skins of wild animals, several
+thousands of insects, including five hundred new species, four or five
+hundred specimens of hitherto unknown plants, numerous views of the
+scenery, and the materials for a map of the districts traversed.
+
+[Illustration: "Excelling in lassoing the wild mustangs."]
+
+The command of another expedition was given in 1828 to Major Long,
+whose services were thoroughly appreciated. Leaving Philadelphia in
+April, he embarked on the Ohio, and crossed the state of the same name,
+and those of Indiana and Illinois. Having reached the Mississippi, he
+ascended that river to the mouth of the St. Peter, formerly visited by
+Carver, and later by Baron La Hontan. Long followed the St. Peter to
+its source, passing Crooked Lake and reaching Lake Winnipeg, whence he
+explored the river of the same name, obtained a sight of the Lake of
+the Woods and Rainy Lake, and arrived at the plateau which separates
+the Hudson's Bay valley from that of the St. Lawrence. Lastly, he went
+to Lake Superior by way of Cold Water Lake and Dog River.
+
+Although all these districts had been constantly traversed by Canadian
+pathfinders, trappers, and hunters for many years previously, it was
+the first time an official expedition had visited them with a view to
+the laying down of a map. The explorers were struck with the beauty of
+the neighbourhood watered by the Winnipeg. That river, whose course is
+frequently broken by picturesque rapids and waterfalls, flows between
+two perpendicular granite walls crowned with verdure. The beauty of the
+scenery, succeeding as it did to the monotony of the plains and
+savannahs they had previously traversed, filled the explorers with
+admiration.
+
+The exploration of the Mississippi, which had been neglected since
+Pike's expedition, was resumed in 1820 by General Cass, Governor of
+Michigan. Leaving Detroit at the end of May with twenty men trained to
+the work of pathfinders, he reached the Upper Mississippi, after
+visiting Lakes Huron, Superior, and Sandy. His exhausted escort halted
+to rest whilst he continued the examination of the river in a canoe.
+For 150 miles the course of the Mississippi is rapid and uninterrupted,
+but beyond that distance begins a series of rapids extending over
+twelve miles to the Peckgama Falls.
+
+Above this cataract the stream, now far less rapid, winds through vast
+savannahs to Leech Lake. Having reached Lake Winnipeg, Cass arrived on
+the 21st July at a new lake, to which he gave his own name, but he did
+not care to push on further with his small party of men and inadequate
+supply of provisions and ammunition.
+
+The source of the Mississippi had been approached, but not reached. The
+general opinion was that the river took its rise in a small sheet of
+water known as Deer Lake, sixty miles from Cass Lake. Not until 1832,
+however, when General Cass was Secretary of State for war, was this
+important problem solved.
+
+The command of an expedition was then given to a traveller named
+Schoolcraft, who had in the previous year explored the Chippeway
+country, north-west of Lake Superior. His party consisted of six
+soldiers, an officer qualified to conduct hydrographic surveys, a
+surgeon, a geologist, an interpreter, and a missionary.
+
+Schoolcraft left St. Marie on the 7th June, 1832, visited the tribes
+living about Lake Superior, and was soon on the St. Louis river. He was
+then 150 miles from the Mississippi, and was told that it would take
+him no less than ten days to reach the great river, on account of the
+rapids and shallows. On the 3rd July, the expedition reached the
+factory of a trader named Aitkin, on the banks of the river, and there
+celebrated on the following day the anniversary of the independence of
+the United States.
+
+Two days later Schoolcraft found himself opposite the Peckgama Falls,
+and encamped at Oak Point. Here the river winds a great deal amongst
+savannahs, but guides led the party by paths which greatly shortened
+the distance. Lake Winnipeg was then crossed, and on the 10th July,
+Schoolcraft arrived at Lake Cass, the furthest point reached by his
+predecessors.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the sources of the Mississippi, 1836.]
+
+A party of Chippeway Indians led the explorers to their settlement on
+an island in the river. The friendliness of the natives led Cass to
+leave part of his escort with them, and, accompanied by Lieutenant
+Allen, the surgeon Houghton, a missionary, and several Indians, he
+started in a canoe.
+
+Lakes Tasodiac and Crooked were visited in turn. A little beyond the
+latter, the Mississippi divides into two branches or forks. The guide
+took Schoolcraft up the eastern, and after crossing Lakes Marquette, La
+Salle, and Kubbakanna, he came to the mouth of the Naiwa, the chief
+tributary of this branch of the Mississippi. Finally, after passing the
+little lake called Usawa, the expedition reached Lake Itasca, whence
+issues the Itascan, or western branch of the Mississippi.
+
+Lake Itasca, or Deer Lake, as the French call it, is only seven or
+eight miles in extent, and is surrounded by hills clothed with dark
+pine woods. According to Schoolcraft it is some 1500 feet above the sea
+level; but we must not attach too much importance to this estimate, as
+the leader of the expedition had no instruments.
+
+On their way back to Lake Cass, the party followed the western branch,
+identifying its chief tributaries. Schoolcraft then studied the ways of
+the Indians frequenting these districts, and made treaties with them.
+
+To sum up, the aim of the government was achieved, and the Mississippi
+had been explored from its mouth to its source. The expedition had
+collected a vast number of interesting details on the manners, customs,
+history, and language of the people, as well as numerous new or little
+known species of flora and fauna.
+
+The people of the United States were not content with these official
+expeditions, and numbers of trappers threw themselves into the new
+districts. Most of them being however absolutely illiterate, they could
+not turn their discoveries to scientific account. But this was not the
+case with James Pattie, who has published an account of his romantic
+adventures and perilous trips in the district between New Mexico and
+New California.
+
+On his way down the River Gila to its mouth, Pattie visited races then
+all but unknown, including the Yotans, Eiotaws, Papawans, Mokees,
+Umeas, Mohawas, and Nabahoes, with whom but very little intercourse had
+yet been held. On the banks of the Rio Eiotario he discovered ruins of
+ancient monuments, stone walls, moats, and potteries, and in the
+neighbouring mountains he found copper, lead, and silver mines.
+
+We owe a curious travelling journal also to Doctor Willard, who, during
+a stay of three years in Mexico, explored the Rio del Norte from its
+source to its mouth.
+
+Lastly, in 1831 Captain Wyeth and his brother explored Oregon, and the
+neighbouring districts of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+After Humboldt's journey in Mexico, one explorer succeeded another in
+Central America. In 1787, Bernasconi discovered the now famous ruins of
+Palenque. In 1822, Antonio del Rio gave a detailed description of them,
+illustrated with drawings by Frederick Waldeck, the future explorer of
+Palenque, that city of the dead.
+
+Between 1805 and 1807, three journeys were successively taken in the
+province of Chiapa and to Palenque by Captain William Dupaix and the
+draughtsman Castaneda, and the result of their researches appeared in
+1830 in the form of a magnificent work, with illustrations by Augustine
+Aglio, executed at the expense of Lord Kingsborough.
+
+Lastly, Waldeck spent the years 1832 and 1833 at Palenque, searching
+the ruins, making plans, sections, and elevations of the monuments,
+trying to decipher the hitherto unexplained hieroglyphics with which
+they are covered, and collecting a vast amount of quite new information
+alike on the natural history of the country and the manners and customs
+of the inhabitants.
+
+We must also name Don Juan Galindo, a Spanish colonel, who explored
+Palenque, Utatlan, Copan, and other cities buried in the heart of
+tropical forests.
+
+[Illustration: View of the Pyramid of Xochicalco. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+After the long stay made by Humboldt in equinoctial America, the
+impulse his explorations would doubtless otherwise have given to
+geographical science was strangely checked by the struggle of the
+Spanish colonies with the mother country. As soon, however, as the
+native governments attained to at least a semblance of stability,
+intrepid explorers rushed to examine this world, so new in the truest
+sense, for the jealousy of the Spanish had hitherto kept it closed to
+the investigations of scientific men.
+
+Many naturalists and engineers now travelled or settled in South
+America. Soon indeed, that is in 1817-1820, the Austrian and Bavarian
+Governments sent out a scientific expedition, to the command of which
+they appointed Doctors Spix and Martins, who collected a great deal of
+information on the botany, ethnography, and geography of these hitherto
+little known districts--Martins publishing, at the expense of the
+Austrian and Bavarian governments, a most important work on the flora
+of the country, which may be looked upon as a model of its kind.
+
+At the same time the editors of special publications, such as Malte
+Brun's _Annales des Voyages_ and the _Bulletin de la Societe de
+Geographie_, cordially accepted and published all the communications
+addressed to them, including many on Brazil and the province of Minas
+Geraes.
+
+About this period too a Prussian Major-General, the Prince of
+Wied-Neuwied, who had been at leisure since the peace of 1815, devoted
+himself to the study of natural science, geography, and history,
+undertaking moreover, in company with the naturalists Freirciss and
+Sellow, an exploring expedition in the interior of Brazil, having
+special reference to its flora and fauna.
+
+A few years later, i.e. in 1836, the French naturalist Alcide
+d'Orbigny, who had won celebrity at a very early age, was appointed by
+the governing body of the Museum to the command of an expedition to
+South America, the special object of which was the study of the natural
+history of the country. For eight consecutive years D'Orbigny wandered
+about Brazil, Uruguay, the Argentine Republic, Patagonia, Chili,
+Bolivia, and Peru.
+
+"Such a journey," says Dumour in his funeral oration on D'Orbigny, "in
+countries so different in their productions, climate, the character of
+their soil, and the manners and customs of their inhabitants, was
+necessarily full of ever fresh perils. D'Orbigny, endowed with a strong
+constitution and untiring energy, overcame obstacles which would have
+daunted most travellers. On his arrival in the cold regions of
+Patagonia, amongst savage races constantly at war with each other, he
+found himself compelled to take part, and to fight in the ranks of a
+tribe which had received him hospitably. Fortunately for the intrepid
+student his side was victorious, and he was left free to proceed on his
+journey."
+
+It took thirteen years of the hardest work to put together the results
+of D'Orbigny's extensive researches. His book, which embraces nearly
+every branch of science, leaves far behind it all that had ever before
+been published on South America. History, archaeology, zoology, and
+botany all hold honoured positions in it; but the most important part
+of this encyclopaedic work is that relating to American man. In it the
+author embodies all the documents he himself collected, and analyzes
+and criticizes those which came to him at second hand, on physiological
+types, and on the manners, languages, and religions of South America. A
+work of such value ought to immortalize the name of the French scholar,
+and reflect the greatest honour on the nation which gave him birth.
+
+
+END OF THE FIRST PART.
+
+
+
+
+PART II.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD, AND POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
+
+The Russian fur trade--Kruzenstern appointed to the command of an
+expedition--Noukha-Hiva--Nangasaki--Reconnaisance of the coast of
+Japan--Yezo--The Ainos--Saghalien--Return to Europe--Otto von
+Kotzebue--Stay at Easter Island--Penrhyn--The Radak Archipelago--Return
+to Russia--Changes at Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands--Beechey's
+Voyage--Easter Island--Pitcairn and the mutineers of the _Bounty_--The
+Paumoto Islands--Otaheite and the Sandwich Islands--The Bonin
+Islands--Lutke--The Quebradas of Valparaiso--Holy week in Chili--New
+Archangel--The Kaloches--Ounalashka--The Caroline Archipelago--The
+canoes of the Caroline Islanders--Guam, a desert island--Beauty and
+happy situation of the Bonin Islands--The Tchouktchees: their manners
+and their conjurors--Return to Russia.
+
+
+At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Russians for the first
+time took part in voyages round the world, Until that time their
+explorations had been almost entirely confined to Asia, and their only
+mariners of note were Behring, Tchirikoff, Spangberg, Laxman,
+Krenitzin, and Saryscheff. The last-named took an important part in the
+voyage of the Englishman Billings, a voyage by the way which was far
+from achieving all that might have been fairly expected from the ten
+years it occupied and the vast sums it cost.
+
+Adam John von Kruzenstern was the first Russian to whom is due the
+honour of having made a voyage round the world under government
+auspices and with a scientific purpose.
+
+Born in 1770, Kruzenstern entered the English navy in 1793. After six
+years' training in the stern school which then numbered amongst its
+leaders the most skilful sailors of the world, he returned to his
+native land with a profound knowledge of his profession, and with his
+ideas of the part Russia might play in Eastern Asia very considerably
+widened.
+
+During a stay of two years at Canton, in 1798 and 1799, Kruzenstern had
+been witness of the extraordinary results achieved by some English fur
+traders, who brought their merchandise from the northwest coasts of
+Russian America. This trade had not come into existence until after
+Cook's third voyage, and the English had already realized immense sums,
+at the cost of the Russians, who had hitherto sent their furs to the
+Chinese markets overland.
+
+In 1785, however, a Russian named Chelikoff founded a fur-trading
+colony on Kodiak Island, at about an equal distance from Kamtchatka and
+the Aleutian Islands, which rapidly became a flourishing community. The
+Russian government now recognized the resources of districts it had
+hitherto considered barren, and reinforcements, provisions, and stores
+were sent to Kamtchatka via Siberia.
+
+Kruzenstern quickly realized how inadequate to the new state of things
+was help such as this, the ignorance of the pilots and the errors in
+the maps leading to the loss of several vessels every year, not to
+speak of the injury to trade involved in a two years' voyage for the
+transport of furs, first to Okhotsk, and thence to Kiakhta.
+
+As the best plans are always the simplest they are sure to be the last
+to be thought of, and Kruzenstern was the first to point out the
+imperative necessity of going direct by sea from the Aleutian Islands
+to Canton, the most frequented market.
+
+On his return to Russia, Kruzenstern tried to win over to his views
+Count Kuscheleff, the Minister of Marine, but the answer he received
+destroyed all hope. Not until the accession of Alexander I., when
+Admiral Mordinoff became head of the naval department, did he receive
+any encouragement.
+
+Acting on Count Romanoff's advice, the Russian Emperor soon
+commissioned Kruzenstern to carry out the plan he had himself proposed;
+and on the 7th August, 1802, he was appointed to the command of two
+vessels for the exploration of the north-west coast of America.
+
+Although the leader of the expedition was named, the officers and
+seamen were still to be selected, and the vessels to be manned were not
+to be had in either the Russian empire or at Hamburg. In London alone
+were Lisianskoi, afterwards second in command to Kruzenstern, and the
+builder Kasoumoff, able to obtain two vessels at all suitable to the
+service in which they were to be employed. These two vessels received
+the names of the _Nadiejeda_ and the _Neva_.
+
+In the meantime, the Russian government decided to avail itself of this
+opportunity to send M. de Besanoff to Japan as ambassador, with a
+numerous suite, and magnificent presents for the sovereign of the
+country.
+
+On the 4th August, 1803, the two vessels, completely equipped, and
+carrying 134 persons, left the roadstead of Cronstadt. Flying visits
+were paid to Copenhagen and Falmouth, with a view to replacing some of
+the salt provisions bought at Hamburg, and to caulk the _Nadiejeda_,
+the seams of which had started in a violent storm encountered in the
+North Sea.
+
+After a short stay at the Canary Islands, Kruzenstern hunted in vain,
+as La Perouse had done before him, for the Island of Ascension, as to
+the existence of which opinion had been divided for some three hundred
+years. He then rounded Cape Frio, the position of which he was unable
+exactly to determine although he was most anxious to do so, the
+accounts of earlier travellers and the maps hitherto laid down varying
+from 23 degrees 6 minutes to 22 degrees 34 minutes. A reconnaissance of
+the coast of Brazil was succeeded by a sail through the passage between
+the islands of Gal and Alvaredo, unjustly characterized as dangerous by
+La Perouse, and on the 21st December, 1803, St. Catherine was reached.
+
+The necessity for replacing the main and mizzen masts of the _Neva_
+detained Kruzenstern for five weeks on this island, where he was most
+cordially received by the Portuguese authorities.
+
+On the 4th February, the two vessels were able to resume their voyage,
+prepared to face all the dangers of the South Sea, and to double Cape
+Horn, that bugbear of all navigators. As far as Staten Island the
+weather was uniformly fine, but beyond it the explorers had to contend
+with extremely violent gales, storms of hail and snow, dense fogs, huge
+waves, and a swell in which the vessels laboured heavily. On the 24th
+March, the ships lost sight of each other in a dense fog a little above
+the western entrance to the Straits of Magellan. They did not meet
+again until both reached Noukha-Hiva.
+
+Kruzenstern having given up all idea of touching at Easter Island, now
+made for the Marquesas, or Mendoza Archipelago, and determined the
+position of Fatongou and Udhugu Islands, called Washington by the
+American Captain Ingraham, who discovered them in 1791, a few weeks
+before Captain Marchand, who named them Revolution Islands. Kruzenstern
+also saw Hiva-Hoa, the Dominica of Mendana, and at Noukha-Hiva met an
+Englishman named Roberts, and a Frenchman named Cabritt, whose
+knowledge of the language was of great service to him.
+
+The incidents of the stay in the Marquesas Archipelago are of little
+interest, they were much the same as those related in Cook's Voyages.
+The total, but at the same time utterly unconscious immodesty of the
+women, the extensive agricultural knowledge of the natives, and their
+greed of iron instruments, are commented upon in both narratives.
+
+Nothing is noticed in the later which is not to be found in the earlier
+narrative, if we except some remarks on the existence of numerous
+societies of which the king or his relations, priests, or celebrated
+warriors, are the chiefs, and the aim of which is the providing of the
+people with food in times of scarcity. In our opinion these societies
+resemble the clans of Scotland or the Indian tribes of America.
+Kruzenstern, however, does not agree with us, as the following
+quotation will show.
+
+"The members of these clubs are distinguished by different tattooed
+marks upon their bodies; those of the king's club, consisting of
+twenty-six members, have a square one on their breasts about six inches
+long and four wide, and to this company Roberts belonged. The
+companions of the Frenchman, Joseph Cabritt, were marked with a
+tattooed eye, &c. Roberts assured me that he never would have entered
+this association, had he not been driven to it by extreme hunger. There
+was an apparent want of consistency in this dislike, as the members of
+these companies are not only relieved from all care as to their
+subsistence, but, even by his own account, the admittance into them is
+a distinction that many seek to obtain. I am therefore inclined to
+believe that it must be attended with the loss of some part of
+liberty."
+
+A reconnaissance of the neighbourhood of Anna Maria led to the
+discovery of Port Tchitchagoff, which, though the entrance is
+difficult, is so shut in by land that its waters are unruffled by the
+most violent storm.
+
+At the time of Kruzenstern's visit to Noukha-Hiva, cannibalism was
+still largely practised, but the traveller had no tangible proof of the
+prevalence of the custom. In fact Kruzenstern was very affably received
+by the king of the cannibals, who appeared to exercise but little
+authority over his people, a race addicted to the most revolting vices,
+and our hero owns that but for the intelligent and disinterested
+testimony of the two Europeans mentioned above he should have carried
+away a very favourable opinion of the natives.
+
+"In their intercourse with us," he says, "they always showed the best
+possible disposition, and in bartering an extraordinary degree of
+honesty, always delivering their cocoa-nuts before they received the
+piece of iron that was to be paid for them. At all times they appeared
+ready to assist in cutting wood and filling water; and the help they
+afforded us in the performance of these laborious tasks was by no means
+trifling. Theft, the crime so common to all the islanders of this
+ocean, we very seldom met with among them; they always appeared
+cheerful and happy, and the greatest good humour was depicted in their
+countenances.... The two Europeans whom we found here, and who had both
+resided with them several years, agreed in their assertions that the
+natives of Nukahiva were a cruel, intractable people, and, without even
+the exceptions of the female sex, very much addicted to cannibalism;
+that the appearance of content and good-humour, with which they had so
+much deceived us, was not their true character; and that nothing but
+the fear of punishment and the hopes of reward, deterred them from
+giving a loose to their savage passions. These Europeans described, as
+eye-witnesses, the barbarous scenes that are acted, particularly in
+times of war--the desperate rage with which they fall upon their
+victims, immediately tear off their head, and sip their blood out of
+the skull,[1] with the most disgusting readiness, completing in this
+manner their horrible repast. For a long time I would not give credit
+to these accounts, considering them as exaggerated; but they rest upon
+the authority of two different persons, who had not only been witnesses
+for several years to these atrocities, but had also borne a share in
+them: of two persons who lived in a state of mortal enmity, and took
+particular pains by their mutual recriminations to obtain with us
+credit for themselves, but yet on this point never contradicted each
+other. The very fact of Roberts doing his enemy the justice to allow,
+that he never devoured his prey, but always exchanged it for hogs,
+gives the circumstance a great degree of probability, and these reports
+concur with several appearances we remarked during our stay here,
+skulls being brought to us every day for sale. Their weapons are
+invariably adorned with human hair, and human bones are used as
+ornaments in almost all their household furniture; they also often gave
+us to understand by pantomimic gestures that human flesh was regarded
+by them as a delicacy."
+
+[Footnote 1: "All the skulls which we purchased of them," says
+Kruzenstern, "had a hole perforated through one end of them for this
+purpose."]
+
+There are grounds for looking upon this account as exaggerated. The
+truth, probably, lies between the dogmatic assertions of Cook and
+Forster and those of the two Europeans of Kruzenstern's time, one of
+whom at least was not much to be relied upon, as he was a deserter.
+
+And we must remember that we ourselves did not attain to the high state
+of civilization we now enjoy without climbing up from the bottom of the
+ladder. In the stone age our manners were probably not superior to
+those of the natives of Oceania.
+
+We must not, therefore, blame these representatives of humanity for not
+having risen higher. They have never been a nation. Scattered as their
+homes are on the wide ocean, and divided as they are into small tribes,
+without agricultural or mineral resources, without connexions, and with
+a climate which makes them strangers to want, they could but remain
+stationary or cultivate none but the most rudimentary arts and
+industries. Yet in spite of all this, how often have their instruments,
+their canoes, and their nets, excited the admiration of travellers.
+
+On the 18th May, 1804, the _Nadiejeda_ and the _Neva_ left Noukha-Hiva
+for the Sandwich Islands, where Kruzenstern had decided to stop and lay
+in a store of fresh provisions, which he had been unable to do at his
+last anchorage, where seven pigs were all he could get.
+
+This plan fell through, however. The natives of Owhyhee, or Hawaii,
+brought but a very few provisions to the vessels lying off their
+south-west coast, and even these they would only exchange for cloth,
+which Kruzenstern could not give them. He therefore set sail for
+Kamtchatka and Japan, leaving the _Neva_ off the island of Karakakoua,
+where Captain Lisianskoi relied upon being able to revictual.
+
+[Illustration: New Zealanders. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+On the 11th July, the _Nadiejeda_ arrived off Petropaulovski, the
+capital of Kamtchatka, where the crew obtained the rest and fresh
+provisions they had so well earned. On the 30th August, the Russians
+put to sea again.
+
+Overtaken by thick fogs and violent storms, Kruzenstern now hunted in
+vain for some islands marked on a map found on a Spanish gallion
+captured by Anson, and the existence of which had been alternately
+accepted and rejected by different cartographers, though they appear in
+La Billardiere's map of his voyage.
+
+The navigator now passed between the large island of Kiushiu and
+Tanega-Sima, by way of Van Diemen Strait, till then very inaccurately
+defined, rectified the position of the Liu-Kiu archipelago, which the
+English had placed north of the strait, and the French too far south,
+and sailed down, surveyed and named the coast of the province of
+Satsuma.
+
+"This part of Satsuma," says Kruzenstern, "is particularly beautiful:
+and as we sailed along at a very trifling distance from the land, we
+had a distinct and perfect view of the various picturesque situations
+that rapidly succeed each other. The whole country consists of high
+pointed hills, at one time appearing in the form of pyramids, at others
+of a globular or conical form, and seeming as it were under the
+protection of some neighbouring mountain, such as Peak Homer, or
+another lying north-by-west of it, and even a third farther inland.
+Liberal as nature has been in the adornment of these parts, the
+industry of the Japanese seems not a little to have contributed to
+their beauty; for nothing indeed can equal the extraordinary degree of
+cultivation everywhere apparent. That all the valleys upon this coast
+should be most carefully cultivated would not so much have surprised
+us, as in the countries of Europe, where agriculture is not despised,
+it is seldom that any piece of land is left neglected; but we here saw
+not only the mountains even to their summits, but the very tops of the
+rocks which skirted the edge of the coast, adorned with the most
+beautiful fields and plantations, forming a striking as well as
+singular contrast, by the opposition of their dark grey and blue colour
+to that of the most lively verdure. Another object that excited our
+astonishment was an alley of high trees, stretching over hill and dale
+along the coast, as far as the eye could reach, with arbours at certain
+distances, probably for the weary traveller--for whom these alleys must
+have been constructed,--to rest himself in, an attention which cannot
+well be exceeded. These alleys are not uncommon in Japan, for we saw a
+similar one in the vicinity of Nangasaky, and another in the island of
+Meac-Sima."
+
+[Illustration: Coast of Japan.]
+
+The _Nadiejeda_ had hardly anchored at the entrance to Nagasaki harbour
+before Kruzenstern saw several _daimios_ climb on board, who had come
+to forbid him to advance further.
+
+Now, although the Russians were aware of the policy of isolation
+practised by the Japanese government, they had hoped that their
+reception would have been less forbidding, as they had on board an
+ambassador from the powerful neighbouring state of Russia. They had
+relied on enjoying comparative liberty, of which they would have
+availed themselves to collect information on a country hitherto so
+little known and about which the only people admitted to it had taken a
+vow of silence.
+
+They were, however, disappointed in their expectations. Instead of
+enjoying the same latitude as the Dutch, they were throughout their
+stay harassed by a perpetual surveillance, as unceasing as it was
+annoying. In a word, they were little better than prisoners.
+
+Although the ambassador did obtain permission to land with his escort
+"under arms," a favour never before accorded to any one, the sailors
+were not allowed to get out of their boat, or when they did land the
+restricted place where they were permitted to walk was surrounded by a
+lofty palisading, and guarded by two companies of soldiers.
+
+It was forbidden to write to Europe by way of Batavia, it was forbidden
+to talk to the Dutch captains, the ambassador was forbidden to leave
+his house--the word forbidden may be said to sum up the anything but
+cordial reception given to their visitors by the Japanese.
+
+Kruzenstern turned his long stay here to account by completely
+overhauling and repairing his vessel. He had nearly finished this
+operation when the approach was announced of an envoy from the Emperor,
+of dignity so exalted that, in the words of the interpreter, "he dared
+to look at the feet of his Imperial Majesty."
+
+This personage began by refusing the Czar's presents, under pretence
+that if they were accepted the Emperor would have to send back others
+with an embassy, which would be contrary to the customs of the country;
+and he then went on to speak of the law against the entry of any
+vessels into the ports of Japan, and absolutely forbade the Russians to
+buy anything, adding, however, at the same time, that the materials
+already supplied for the refitting and revictualling the vessel would
+be paid for out of the treasury of the Emperor of Japan. He further
+inquired whether the repairs of the _Nadiejeda_ would soon be finished.
+Kruzenstern understood what was meant as soon as his visitor began to
+speak, and hurried on the preparations for his own departure.
+
+Truly he had not much reason to congratulate himself on having waited
+from October to April for such an answer as this. So little were the
+chief results hoped for by his government achieved, that no Russian
+vessel could ever again enter a Japanese port. A short-sighted, jealous
+policy, resulting in the putting back for half a century the progress
+of Japan.
+
+On the 17th April the _Nadiejeda_ weighed anchor, and began a
+hydrographic survey, which had the best results. La Perouse had been
+the only navigator to traverse before Kruzenstern the seas between
+Japan and the continent. The Russian explorer was therefore anxious to
+connect his work with that of his predecessor, and to fill up the gaps
+the latter had been compelled for want of time to leave in his charts
+of these parts.
+
+"To explore the north-west and south-west coasts of Japan," says
+Kruzenstern, "to ascertain the situation of the Straits of Sangar, the
+width of which in the best charts--Arrowsmith's 'South Sea Pilot' for
+instance, and the atlas subjoined to La Perouse's Voyage--is laid down
+as more than a hundred miles, while the Japanese merely estimated it to
+be a Dutch mile; to examine the west coast of Yezo; to find out the
+island of Karafuto, which in some new charts, compiled after a Japanese
+one, is placed between Yezo and Sachalin, and the existence of which
+appeared to me very probable; to explore this new strait and take an
+accurate plan of the island of Sachalin, from Cape Crillon to the
+north-west coast, from whence, if a good harbour were to be found
+there, I could send out my long boat to examine the supposed passage
+which divides Tartary from Sachalin; and, finally, to attempt a return
+through a new passage between the Kuriles, north of the Canal de la
+Boussole; all this came into my plan, and I have had the good fortune
+to execute part of it."
+
+Kruzenstern was destined almost entirely to carry out this detailed
+plan, only the survey of the western coast of Japan and of the Strait
+of Sangar, with that of the channel closing the Farakai Strait, could
+not be accomplished by the Russian navigator, who had, sorely against
+his will, to leave the completion of this important task to his
+successors.
+
+Kruzenstern now entered the Corea Channel, and determined the longitude
+of Tsusima, obtaining a difference of thirty-six minutes from the
+position assigned to that island by La Perouse. This difference was
+subsequently confirmed by Dagelet, who can be fully relied upon.
+
+The Russian explorer noticed, as La Perouse had done before him, that
+the deviation of the magnetic needle is but little noticeable in these
+latitudes.
+
+The position of Sangar Strait, between Yezo and Niphon, being very
+uncertain, Kruzenstern resolved to determine it. The mouth, situated
+between Cape Sangar (N. lat. 41 degrees 16 minutes 30 seconds and W.
+long. 219 degrees 46 minutes) and Cape Nadiejeda (N. lat. 41 degrees 25
+minutes 10 seconds, W. long. 219 degrees 50 minutes 30 seconds), is
+only nine miles wide; whereas La Perouse, who had relied, not upon
+personal observation but upon the map of the Dutchman Vries, speaks of
+it as ten miles across. Kruzenstern's was therefore an important
+rectification.
+
+Kruzenstern did not actually enter this strait. He was anxious to
+verify the existence of a certain island, Karafonto, Tchoka, or Chicha
+by name, set down as between Yezo and Saghalien in a map which appeared
+at St. Petersburg in 1802, and was based on one brought to Russia by
+the Japanese Koday. He then surveyed a small portion of the coast of
+Yezo, naming the chief irregularities, and cast anchor near the
+southernmost promontory of the island, at the entrance to the Straits
+of La Perouse.
+
+Here he learnt from the Japanese that Saghalien and Karafonto were one
+and the same island.
+
+On the 10th May, 1805, Kruzenstern landed at Yezo, and was surprised to
+find the season but little advanced. The trees were not yet in leaf,
+the snow still lay thick here and there, and the explorer had supposed
+that it was only at Archangel that the temperature would be so severe
+at this time of year. This phenomenon was to be explained later, when
+more was known as to the direction taken by the polar current, which,
+issuing from Behring Strait, washes the shores of Kamtchatka, the
+Kurile Islands, and Yezo.
+
+During his short stay here and at Saghalien, Kruzenstern was able to
+make some observations on the Ainos, a race which probably occupied the
+whole of Yezo before the advent of the Japanese, from whom--at least
+from those who have been influenced by intercourse with China--they
+differ entirely.
+
+[Illustration: Typical Ainos. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+"Their figure," says Kruzenstern, "dress, appearance, and their
+language, prove that they are the same people, as those of Saghalien;
+and the captain of the _Castricum_, when he missed the Straits of La
+Perouse, might imagine, as well in Aniwa as in Alkys, that he was but
+in one island.... The Ainos are rather below the middle stature, being
+at the most five feet two or four inches high, of a dark, nearly black
+complexion, with a thick bushy beard, black rough hair, hanging
+straight down; and excepting in the beard they have the appearance of
+the Kamtschadales, only that their countenance is much more regular.
+The women are sufficiently ugly; their colour, which is equally dark,
+their coal black hair combed over their faces, blue painted lips, and
+tattooed hands, added to no remarkable cleanliness in their clothing,
+do not give them any great pretensions to loveliness.... However, I
+must do them the justice to say, that they are modest in the highest
+degree, and in this point form the completest contrast with the women
+of Nukahiva and of Otaheite.... The characteristic quality of an Aino
+is goodness of heart, which is expressed in the strongest manner in his
+countenance; and so far as we were enabled to observe their actions,
+they fully answered this expression.... The dress of the Ainos consists
+chiefly of the skins of tame dogs and seals; but I have seen some in a
+very different attire, which resembled the _Parkis_ of the
+Kamtschadales, and is, properly speaking a white shirt worn over their
+other clothes. In Aniwa Bay they were all clad in furs; their boots
+were made of seal-skins, and in these likewise the women were
+invariably clothed."
+
+After passing through the Straits of La Perouse, Kruzenstern cast
+anchor in Aniwa Bay, off the island of Saghalien. Here fish was then so
+plentiful, that two Japanese firms alone employed 400 Ainos to catch
+and dry it. It is never taken in nets, but buckets are used at
+ebb-tide.
+
+After having surveyed Patience Gulf, which had only been partially
+examined by the Dutchman Vries, and at the bottom of which flows a
+stream now named the Neva, Kruzenstern broke off his examination of
+Saghalien to determine the position of the Kurile Islands, never yet
+accurately laid down; and on the 5th June, 1805 he returned to
+Petropaulovski, where he put on shore the ambassador and his suite.
+
+In July, after crossing Nadiejeda Strait, between Matona and Rachona,
+two of the Kurile Islands, Kruzenstern surveyed the eastern coast of
+Saghalien, in the neighbourhood of Cape Patience, which presented a
+very picturesque appearance, with the hills clothed with grass and
+stunted trees and the shores with bushes. The scenery of the interior,
+however, was somewhat monotonous, with its unbroken line of lofty
+mountains.
+
+The navigator skirted along the whole of this deserted and harbourless
+coast to Capes Maria and Elizabeth, between which is a deep bay, with a
+little village of thirty-seven houses nestling at the end, the only one
+the Russians had seen since they left Providence Bay. It was not
+inhabited by Ainos, but by Tartars, of which very decided proof was
+obtained a few days later.
+
+Kruzenstern next entered the channel separating Saghalien from Tartary,
+but he was hardly six miles from the middle of the passage when his
+soundings gave six fathoms only. It was useless to hope to penetrate
+further. Orders were given to "'bout ship," whilst a boat was sent to
+trace the coast-line on either side, and to explore the middle of the
+strait until the soundings should give three fathoms only. A very
+strong current had to be contended with, rendering this row very
+difficult, and this current was rightly supposed to be due to the River
+Amoor, the mouth of which was not far distant.
+
+The advice given to Kruzenstern by the Governor of Kamtchatka, not to
+approach the coast of Chinese Tartary, lest the jealous suspicions of
+the Celestial Government should be aroused, prevented the explorer from
+further prosecuting the work of surveying; and once more passing the
+Kurile group, the _Nadiejeda_ returned to Petropaulovsky.
+
+The Commander availed himself of his stay in this port to make some
+necessary repairs in his vessel, and to confirm the statements of
+Captain Clerke, who had succeeded Cook in the command of his last
+expedition, and those of Delisle de la Croyere, the French astronomer,
+who had been Behring's companion in 1741.
+
+During this last sojourn at Petropaulovsky, Kruzenstern received an
+autograph letter from the Emperor of Russia, enclosing the order of St.
+Anne as a proof of his Majesty's satisfaction with the work done.
+
+On the 4th October, 1805, the _Nadiejeda_ set sail for Europe;
+exploring _en route_ the latitudes in which, according to the maps of
+the day, were situated the islands of Rica-de-Plata, Guadalupas,
+Malabrigos, St. Sebastian de Lobos, and San Juan.
+
+Kruzenstern next identified the Farellon Islands of Anson's map, now
+known as St. Alexander, St. Augustine, and Volcanos, and situated south
+of the Bonin-Sima group. Then crossing the Formosa Channel, he arrived
+at Macao on the 21st November.
+
+He was a good deal surprised not to find the _Neva_ there, as he had
+given instructions for it to bring a cargo of furs, the price of which
+he proposed expending on Chinese merchandise. He decided to wait for
+the arrival of the _Neva_.
+
+Macao seemed to him to be falling rapidly into decay.
+
+"Many fine buildings," he says, "are ranged in large squares,
+surrounded by courtyards and gardens; but most of them uninhabited, the
+number of Portuguese residents there having greatly decreased. The
+chief private houses belong to the members of the Dutch and English
+factories.... Twelve or fifteen thousand is said to be the number of
+the inhabitants of Macao, most of whom, however, are Chinese, who have
+so completely taken possession of the town, that it is rare to meet any
+European in the streets, with the exception of priests and nuns. One of
+the inhabitants said to me, 'We have more priests here than soldiers;'
+a piece of raillery that was literally true, the number of soldiers
+amounting only to 150, not one of whom is a European, the whole being
+mulattos of Macao and Goa. Even the officers are not all Europeans.
+With so small a garrison it is difficult to defend four large
+fortresses; and the natural insolence of the Chinese finds a sufficient
+motive in the weakness of the military, to heap insult upon insult."
+
+Just as the _Nadiejeda_ was about to weigh anchor, the _Neva_ at last
+appeared. It was now the 3rd November, and Kruzenstern went up the
+coast in the newly arrived vessel as far as Whampoa, where he sold to
+advantage his cargo of furs, after many prolonged discussions which his
+firm but conciliating attitude, together with the intervention of
+English merchants, brought to a successful issue.
+
+On the 9th February, the two vessels once more together weighed anchor,
+and resumed their voyage by way of the Sunda Isles. Beyond Christmas
+Island they were again separated in cloudy weather, and did not meet
+until the end of the trip. On the 4th May, the _Nadiejeda_ cast anchor
+in St. Helena Bay, sixty days' voyage from the Sunda Isles and
+seventy-nine from Macao.
+
+"I know of no better place," says Kruzenstern, "to get supplies after a
+long voyage than St. Helena. The road is perfectly safe, and at all
+times more convenient than Table Bay or Simon's Bay, at the Cape. The
+entrance, with the precaution of first getting near the land, is
+perfectly easy; and on quitting the island nothing more is necessary
+than to weigh anchor and stand out to sea. Every kind of provision may
+be obtained here, particularly the best kinds of garden stuffs, and in
+two or three days a ship may be provided with everything."
+
+On the 21st April, Kruzenstern passed between the Shetland and Orkney
+Islands, in order to avoid the English Channel, where he might have met
+some French pirates, and after a good voyage he arrived at Cronstadt on
+the 7th August, 1806.
+
+Without taking first rank, like the expedition of Cook or that of La
+Perouse, Kruzenstern's trip was not without interest. We owe no great
+discovery to the Russian explorer, but he verified and rectified the
+work of his predecessors. This was in fact what most of the navigators
+of the nineteenth century had to do, the progress of science enabling
+them to complete what had been begun by others.
+
+Kruzenstern had taken with him in his voyage round the world the son of
+the well-known dramatic author Kotzebue. The young Otto Kotzebue, who
+was then a cadet, soon gained his promotion, and he was a naval
+lieutenant when, in 1815 the command was given to him of the _Rurik_, a
+new brig, with two guns, and a crew of no more than twenty-seven men,
+equipped at the expense of Count Romantzoff. His task was to explore
+the less-known parts of Oceania, and to cut a passage for his vessel
+across the Frozen Ocean. Kotzebue left the port of Cronstadt on the
+15th July, 1815, put in first at Copenhagen and Plymouth, and after a
+very trying trip doubled Cape Horn, and entered the Pacific Ocean on
+the 22nd January, 1816. After a halt at Talcahuano, on the coast of
+Chili, he resumed his voyage; sighted the desert island of Salas of
+Gomez, on the 26th March, and steered towards Easter Island, where he
+hoped to meet with the same friendly reception as Cook and Perouse had
+done before him.
+
+The Russians had, however, hardly disembarked before they were
+surrounded by a crowd eager to offer them fruit and roots, by whom they
+were so shamelessly robbed that they were compelled to use their arms
+in self-defence, and to re-embark as quickly as possible to avoid the
+shower of stones flung at them by the natives.
+
+The only observation they had time to make during this short visit, was
+the overthrow of the numerous huge stone statues described, measured,
+and drawn, by Cook and La Perouse.
+
+On the 16th April, the Russian captain arrived at the Dog Island of
+Schouten, which he called Doubtful Island, to mark the difference in
+his estimate of its position and that attributed to it by earlier
+navigators. Kotzebue gives it S. lat. 44 degrees 50 minutes and W.
+long. 138 degrees 47 minutes.
+
+During the ensuing days were discovered the desert island of
+Romantzoff, so named in honour of the promoter of the expedition;
+Spiridoff Island, with a lagoon in the centre; the Island Oura of the
+Pomautou group, the Vliegen chain of islets, and the no less extended
+group of the Kruzenstern Islands.
+
+On the 28th April, the _Rurik_ was near the supposed site of Bauman's
+Islands, but not a sign of them could be seen, and it appeared probable
+that the group had in fact been one of those already visited.
+
+As soon as he was safely out of the dangerous Pomautou archipelago
+Kotzebue steered towards the group of islands sighted in 1788 by Sever,
+who, without touching at them, gave them the name of Penrhyn. The
+Russian explorer determined the position of the central group of islets
+as S. lat. 9 degrees 1 minute 35 seconds and W. long. 157 degrees 44
+minutes 32 seconds, characterizing them as very low, like those of the
+Pomautou group, but inhabited for all that.
+
+At the sight of the vessel a considerable fleet of canoes put off from
+the shore, and the natives, palm branches in their hands, advanced with
+the rhythmic sound of the paddles serving as a kind of solemn and
+melancholy accompaniment to numerous singers. To guard against
+surprise, Kotzebue made all the canoes draw up on one side of the
+vessel, and bartering was done with a rope as the means of
+communication. The natives had nothing to trade with but bits of iron
+and fish-hooks made of mother-of-pearl. They were well made and
+martial-looking, but wore no clothes beyond a kind of apron.
+
+At first only noisy and very lively, the natives soon became
+threatening. They thieved openly, and answered remonstrances with
+undisguised taunts. Brandishing their spears above their heads, they
+seemed to be urging each other on to an attack.
+
+When Kotzebue felt that the moment had come to put an end to these
+hostile demonstrations, he had one gun fired. In the twinkling of an
+eye the canoes were empty, their terrified crews unpremeditatingly
+flinging themselves into the water with one accord. Presently the heads
+of the divers reappeared, and, a little calmed down by the warning
+received, the natives returned to their canoes and their bartering.
+Nails and pieces of iron were much sought after by these people, whom
+Kotzebue likens to the natives of Noukha-Hiva. They do not exactly
+tatoo themselves, but cover their bodies with large scars.
+
+[Illustration: "In the twinkling of an eye the canoes were empty."]
+
+A curious fashion not before noticed amongst the islanders of Oceania
+prevails amongst them. Most of them wear the nails very long, and those
+of the chief men in the canoes extended three inches beyond the end of
+the finger.
+
+Thirty-six boats, manned by 360 men, now surrounded the vessel, and
+Kotzebue, judging that with his feeble resources and the small crew of
+the _Rurik_ any attempt to land would be imprudent, set sail again
+without being able to collect any more information on these wild and
+warlike islanders.
+
+Continuing his voyage towards Kamtchatka, the navigator sighted on the
+21st May two groups of islands connected by a chain of coral reefs. He
+named them Kutusoff and Suwaroff, determined their position, and made
+up his mind to come back and examine them again. The natives in fleet
+canoes approached the _Rurik_, but, in spite of the pressing invitation
+of the Russians, would not trust themselves on board. They gazed at the
+vessel in astonishment, talked to each other with a vivacity which
+showed their intelligence, and flung on deck the fruit of the
+pandanus-tree and cocoa-nuts.
+
+Their lank black hair, with flowers fastened in it here and there, the
+ornaments hung round their necks, their clothing of "two
+curiously-woven coloured mats tied to the waist" and reaching below the
+knee, but above all their frank and friendly countenances,
+distinguished the natives of the Marshall archipelago from those of
+Penrhyn.
+
+On the 19th June the _Rurik_ put in at New Archangel, and for
+twenty-eight days her crew were occupied in repairing her.
+
+On the 15th July Kotzebue set sail again, and five days later
+disembarked on Behring Island, the southern promontory of which he laid
+down in N. lat. 55 degrees 17 minutes 18 seconds and W. long. 194
+degrees 6 minutes 37 seconds.
+
+The natives Kotzebue met with on this island, like those of the North
+American coast, wore clothes made of seal-skin and the intestines of
+the walrus. The lances used by them were pointed with the teeth of
+these amphibious animals. Their food consisted of the flesh of whales
+and seals, which they store in deep cellars dug in the earth. Their
+boats were made of leather, and they had sledges drawn by dogs.
+
+Their mode of salutation is strange enough, they first rub each other's
+noses and then pass their hands over their own stomachs as if rejoicing
+over the swallowing of some tid-bit. Lastly, when they want to be very
+friendly indeed, they spit in their own palms and rub their friends'
+faces with the spittle.
+
+The captain, still keeping his northerly course along the American
+coast, discovered Schichmareff Bay, Saritschiff Island, and lastly, an
+extensive gulf, the existence of which was not previously known. At the
+end of this gulf Kotzebue hoped to find a channel through which he
+could reach the Arctic Ocean, but he was disappointed. He gave his own
+name to the gulf, and that of Kruzenstern to the cape at the entrance.
+
+Driven back by bad weather, the _Rurik_ reached Ounalashka on the 6th
+September, halted for a few days at San Francisco, and reached the
+Sandwich Islands, where some important surveys were made and some very
+curious information collected.
+
+On leaving the Sandwich Islands, Kotzebue steered for Suwaroff and
+Kutusoff Islands, which he had discovered a few months before. On the
+1st January, 1817, he sighted Miadi Island, to which he gave the name
+of New Year's Island. Four days later he discovered a chain of little
+low wooded islands set in a framework of reefs, through which the
+vessel could scarcely make its way.
+
+Just at first the natives ran away at the sight of Lieutenant
+Schischmaroff, but they soon came back with branches in their hands,
+shouting out the word _aidara_ (friend). The officer repeated this word
+and gave them a few nails in return, for which the Russians received
+the collars and flowers worn as neck-ornaments by the natives.
+
+This exchange of courtesies emboldened the rest of the islanders to
+appear, and throughout the stay of the Russians in this archipelago
+these friendly demonstrations and enthusiastic but guarded greetings
+were continued. One native, Rarik by name, was particularly cordial to
+the Russians, whom he informed that the name of his island and of the
+chain of islets and _attolls_[2] connected with it was Otdia. In
+acknowledgment of the cordial reception of the natives, Kotzebue left
+with them a cock and hen, and planted in a garden laid out under his
+orders a quantity of seeds, in the hope that they would thrive; but in
+this he did not make allowance for the number of rats which swarmed
+upon these islands and wrought havoc in his plantations.
+
+[Footnote 2: Attolls are coral islands like circular belts surrounding
+a smooth lagoon.--_Trans._]
+
+On the 6th February, after ascertaining from what he was told by a
+chief named Languediak, that these sparsely populated islands were of
+recent formation, Kotzebue put to sea again, having first christened
+the archipelago Romantzoff.
+
+The next day a group of islets, on which only three inhabitants were
+found, had its name of Eregup changed to that of Tchitschakoff, and
+then an enthusiastic reception was given to Kotzebue on the Kawen
+Islands by the tamon or chief. Every native here feted the new-comers,
+some by their silence--like the queen forbidden by etiquette to answer
+the speeches made to her--some by their dances, cries, and songs, in
+which the name of Totabou (Kotzebue) was constantly repeated. The chief
+himself came to fetch Kotzebue in a canoe, and carried him on his
+shoulders through the breakers to the beach.
+
+In the Aur group the navigator noticed amongst a crowd of natives who
+climbed on to the vessel, two natives whose faces and tattooing seemed
+to mark them as of alien race. One of them, Kadu by name, especially
+pleased the commander, who gave him some bits of iron, and Kotzebue was
+surprised that he did not receive them with the same pleasure as his
+companions. This was explained the same evening. When all the natives
+were leaving the vessel, Kadu earnestly begged to be allowed to remain
+on the _Rurik_, and never again to leave it. The commander only yielded
+to his wishes after a great deal of persuasion.
+
+"Kadu," says Kotzebue, "had scarcely obtained permission, when he
+turned quickly to his comrades, who were waiting for him, declared to
+them his intention of remaining on board the ship, and distributed his
+iron among the chiefs. The astonishment in the boats was beyond
+description: they tried in vain to shake his resolution; he was
+immovable. At last his friend Edock came back, spoke long and seriously
+to him, and when he found that his persuasion was of no avail, he
+attempted to drag him by force; but Kadu now used the right of the
+strongest, he pushed his friend from him, and the boats sailed off. His
+resolution being inexplicable to me, I conceived a notion that he
+perhaps intended to steal during the night, and privately to leave the
+ship, and therefore had the night-watch doubled, and his bed made up
+close to mine on the deck, where I slept, on account of the heat. Kadu
+felt greatly honoured to sleep close to the tamon of the ship."
+
+Born at Ulle, one of the Caroline Islands, more than 300 miles from the
+group where he was now living, Kadu, with Edok and two other
+fellow-countrymen, had been overtaken, when fishing, by a violent
+storm. For eight months the poor fellows were at the mercy of the winds
+and currents on a sea now smooth, now rough. They had never throughout
+this time been without fish, but they had suffered the cruelest
+tortures from thirst. When their stock of rain-water, which they had
+used very sparingly, was exhausted, there was nothing left to them to
+do but to fling themselves into the sea and try to obtain at the bottom
+of the ocean some water less impregnated with salt, which they brought
+to the surface in cocoa-nut shells pierced with a small opening. When
+they reached the Aur Islands, even the sight of land and the immediate
+prospect of safety did not rouse them from the state of prostration
+into which they had sunk.
+
+The sight of the iron instruments in the canoe of the strangers led the
+people of Aur to decide on their massacre for the sake of their
+treasures; but the tamon, Tigedien by name, took them under his
+protection.
+
+Three years had passed since this event, and the men from the Caroline
+Islands, thanks to their more extended knowledge, soon acquired a
+certain ascendancy over their hosts.
+
+When the _Rurik_ appeared, Kadu was in the woods a long way from the
+coast. He was sent for at once, as he was looked upon as a great
+traveller, and he might perhaps be able to say what the great monster
+approaching the island was. Now Kadu had more than once seen European
+vessels, and he persuaded his friends to go and meet the strangers, and
+to receive them kindly.
+
+Such had been Kadu's adventures. He now remained on the _Rurik_,
+identified the other islands of the Archipelago, and lost no time in
+facilitating intercourse between the Russians and the natives. Dressed
+in a yellow mantle, and wearing a red cap like a convict, Kadu looked
+down upon his old friends, and seemed not to recognize them. When a
+fine old man with a flowing beard, named Tigedien, came on board, Kadu
+undertook to explain to him and his companions the working of the
+vessel and the use of everything about the ship. Like many Europeans,
+he made up for his ignorance by imperturbable assurance, and had an
+answer ready for every question.
+
+Interrogated on the subject of a little box from which a sailor took a
+black powder and applied it to his nostrils, Kadu glibly told some most
+extraordinary stories, and wound up with a practical illustration by
+putting the box against his own nose. He then flung it from him,
+sneezing violently and screaming so loud that his terrified friends
+fled away on every side; but when the crisis was over he managed to
+turn the incident to his own advantage.
+
+Kadu gave Kotzebue some general information about the group of islands
+then under examination, and the Russians spent a month in taking
+surveys, &c. All these islands, which the natives call Radack, were
+under the control of one tamon, a man named Lamary. A few years later
+Dumont d'Urville gave the name of Marshall to the group. According to
+Kadu, another chain of islets, attolls, and reefs was situated some
+little distance off on the west.
+
+Kotzebue had not time to identify them, and steering in a northerly
+direction he reached Ounalashka on the 24th April, where he had to
+repair the serious damage sustained by the _Rurik_ in two violent
+storms. This done, he took on board some baidares (boats cased in skins
+to make them water-tight), with fifteen natives of the Aleutian
+Islands, who were used to the navigation of the Polar seas, and resumed
+his exploration of Behring Strait.
+
+Kotzebue had suffered very much from pain in his chest ever since when,
+doubling Cape Horn, he had been knocked down by a huge wave and flung
+overboard, an accident which would have cost him his life had he not
+clung to some rope. The consequences were so serious to his health that
+when, on the 10th July, he landed on the island of St. Lawrence, he was
+obliged to give up the further prosecution of his researches.
+
+On the 1st October the _Rurik_ made a second short halt at the Sandwich
+Islands where seeds and animals were landed, and at the end of the
+month the explorers landed at Otdia in the midst of the enthusiastic
+acclamations of the natives. The cats brought by the visitors were
+welcomed with special enthusiasm, for the island was infested with
+immense numbers of rats, who worked havoc on the plantations. Great
+also was the rejoicing over the return of Kadu, with whom the Russians
+left an assortment of tools and weapons, which made their owner the
+wealthiest inhabitant of the archipelago.
+
+[Illustration: Interior of a house at Radak. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+On the 4th November the _Rurik_ left the Radak Islands, after
+identifying the Legiep group, and cast anchor off Guam, one of the
+Marianne islands, where she remained until the end of the month. A halt
+of some weeks at Manilla enabled the commander to collect some curious
+information about the Philippine Islands, to which he would have to
+return later.
+
+After escaping from the violent storms encountered in doubling the Cape
+of Good Hope, the _Rurik_ cast anchor on the 3rd August, 1818, in the
+Neva, opposite Count Romantzoff's palace.
+
+These three years of absence had been turned to good account by the
+hardy navigators. In spite of the smallness of their number and the
+poverty of their equipments, they had not been afraid to face the
+terrors of the deep, to venture amongst all but unknown archipelagoes,
+or to brave the rigours of the Arctic and Torrid zones. Important as
+were their actual discoveries, their rectification of the errors of
+their predecessors were of yet greater value. Two thousand five hundred
+species of plants, one third of which were quite new, with numerous
+details respecting the language, ethnography, religion, and customs of
+the tribes visited, formed a rich harvest attesting the zeal, skill,
+and knowledge of the captain as well as the intrepidity and endurance
+of his crew.
+
+When, therefore, the Russian government decided, in 1823, to send
+reinforcements to Kamtchatka to put an end to the contraband trade
+carried on in Russian America, the command of the expedition was given
+to Kotzebue. A frigate called the _Predpriatie_ was placed at his
+disposal, and he was left free to choose his own route both going and
+returning.
+
+Kotzebue had gone round the world as a midshipman with Kruzenstern, and
+that explorer now entrusted to him his eldest son, as did also Moller,
+the Minister of Marine, a proof of the great confidence both fathers
+placed in him.
+
+The expedition left Cronstadt on the 15th August, 1823, reached Rio
+Janeiro in safety, doubled Cape Horn on the 15th January, 1824, and
+steered for the Pomautou Archipelago, where Predpriatie Island was
+discovered and the islands of Araktschejews, Romantzoff, Carlshoff, and
+Palliser were identified. On the 14th March anchor was cast in the
+harbour of Matavar, Otaheite.
+
+[Illustration: View of Otaheite.]
+
+Since Cook's stay in this archipelago a complete transformation had
+taken place in the manners and customs of the inhabitants.
+
+In 1799 some missionaries settled in Otaheite, where they remained for
+ten years, unfortunately without making a single conversion, and we add
+with regret without even winning the esteem or respect of the natives.
+Compelled at the end of these ten years, in consequence of the
+revolutions which convulsed Otaheite, to take refuge at Eimeo and other
+islands of the same group, their efforts were there crowned with more
+success. In 1817, Pomare, king of Otaheite, recalled the missionaries,
+made them a grant of land, and declared himself a convert to
+Christianity. His example was soon followed by a considerable number of
+natives.
+
+Kotzebue had heard of this change, but he was not prepared to find
+European customs generally adopted.
+
+At the sound of the discharge announcing the arrival of the Russians, a
+boat, bearing the Otaheitian flag, put off from shore, bringing a pilot
+to guide the _Predpriatie_ to its anchorage.
+
+The next day, which happened to be Sunday, the Russians were surprised
+at the religious silence which prevailed throughout the island when
+they landed. This silence was only broken by the sound of canticles and
+psalms sung by the natives in their huts.
+
+The church, a plain, clean building of rectangular form, roofed with
+reeds and approached by a long avenue of palms, was well filled with an
+attentive, orderly congregation, the men sitting on one side, the women
+on the other, all with prayer-books in their hands. The voices of the
+neophytes often joined in the chant of the missionaries, unfortunately
+with better will than correctness or appropriateness.
+
+If the piety of the islanders was edifying, the costumes worn by these
+strange converts were such as somewhat to distract the attention of the
+visitors. A black coat or the waistcoat of an English uniform was the
+only garment worn by some, whilst others contented themselves with a
+jacket, a shirt, or a pair of trousers. The most fortunate were wrapped
+in cloth mantles, and rich and poor alike dispensed with shoes and
+stockings.
+
+The women were no less grotesquely clad. Some wore men's shirts, white
+or striped as the case might be, others a mere piece of cloth; but all
+had European hats. The wives of the Areois[3] wore coloured robes, a
+piece of great extravagance, but with them the dress formed the whole
+costume.
+
+[Footnote 3: The Areois are a curious vagrant set of people, who have
+been found in these regions, who practise the singular and fatal custom
+of killing their children at birth, because of a traditional law
+binding them to do so.--_Trans._]
+
+On the Monday a most imposing ceremony took place. This was the visit
+to Kotzebue of the queen-mother and the royal family. These great
+people were preceded by a master of ceremonies, who was a sort of court
+fool wearing nothing but a red waistcoat, and with his legs tattooed to
+represent striped trousers, whilst on the lower portion of his back was
+described a quadrant divided into minute sections. He performed his
+absurd capers, contortions, and grimaces with a gravity infinitely
+amusing.
+
+The queen regent carried the little king Pomare III. in her arms, and
+beside her walked his sister, a pretty child of ten years old. The
+royal infant was dressed in European style, like his subjects, and like
+them, he wore nothing on his feet. At the request of the ministers and
+great people of Otaheite, Kotzebue had a pair of boots made for him,
+which he was to wear on the day of his coronation.
+
+Great were the shouts of joy, the gestures of delight, and the envious
+exclamations over the trifles distributed amongst the ladies of the
+court, and fierce were the struggles for the smallest shreds of the
+imitation gold lace given away.
+
+What important matter could have brought so many men on to the deck of
+the frigate, bearing with them quantities of fruits and figs? These
+eager messengers were the husbands of the disappointed ladies of
+Otaheite who had not been present at the division of the gold lace more
+valuable in their eyes than rivers of diamonds in those of Europeans.
+
+At the end of ten days, Kotzebue decided to leave this strange country,
+where civilization and barbarism flourished side by side in a manner so
+fraternal, and steered for the Samoa Archipelago, notorious for the
+massacre of the companions of La Perouse.
+
+How great was the difference between the Samoans and the Otaheitians!
+Wild and fierce, suspicious and threatening, the natives of Rose Island
+could scarcely be kept off the deck of the _Predpriatie_, and one of
+them at the sight of the bare arm of a sailor made a savage and
+eloquent gesture showing with what pleasure he could devour the firm
+and doubtless savoury flesh displayed to view.
+
+The insolence of the natives increased with the arrival of more canoes
+from the shore, and they had to be beaten back with boathooks before
+the _Predpriatie_ could get away from amongst the frail boats of the
+ferocious islanders.
+
+Upolu or Oyalava, Platte and Pola or Savai Islands, which with Rose
+Island form part of the Navigator or Samoan group, were passed almost
+as soon as they were sighted; and Kotzebue steered for the Radak
+Islands, where he had been so kindly received on his first voyage. This
+time, however, the natives were terrified at sight of the huge vessel,
+and piled up their canoes or fled into the interior, whilst on the
+beach a procession was formed, a number of islanders with palm branches
+in their hands advancing to meet the intruders and beg for peace.
+
+At this sight, Kotzebue flung himself into a boat with the surgeon
+Eschscholtz, and rowing rapidly towards the shore, shouted: "Totabou
+aidara" (Kotzebue, friend). An immediate change was the result; the
+petitions the natives were going to address to the Russians were
+converted into shouts and enthusiastic demonstrations of delight, some
+rushing forwards to welcome their friend, others running over to
+announce his arrival to their fellow-countrymen.
+
+The commander was very pleased to find that Kadu was still living at
+Aur, under the protection of Lamary, whose countenance he had secured
+at the price of half his wealth.
+
+Of all the animals left here by Kotzebue, the cats, now become wild
+alone, had survived, and thus far they had not destroyed the legions of
+rats with which the island was overrun.
+
+The explorer remained several days with his friends, whom he
+entertained with dramatic representations; and on the 6th May he made
+for the Legiep group, the examination of which he had left uncompleted
+on his last voyage. After surveying it, he intended to resume his
+exploration of the Radak Islands, but bad weather prevented this, and
+he had to set sail for Kamtchatka.
+
+The crew here enjoyed the rest so fully earned, from the 7th June to
+the 20th July, when Kotzebue set sail for New Archangel on the American
+coast, where he cast anchor on the 7th August.
+
+The frigate, which was here to take the place of the _Predpriatie_, was
+not however ready for sea until the 1st March of the following year,
+and Kotzebue turned the delay to account by visiting the Sandwich
+Islands, where he cast anchor off Waihou in December, 1824.
+
+The harbour of Hono-kourou or Honolulu is the safest of the
+archipelago; a good many vessels therefore put in there even at this
+early date, and the island of Waihou bid fair to become the most
+important of the group, supplanting Hawaii or Owhyee. The appearance of
+the town was already semi-European, stone houses replaced the primitive
+native huts, regular streets with shops, cafe, public-houses, much
+patronized by the sailors of whalers and fur-traders, together with a
+fortress provided with cannon, were the most noteworthy signs of the
+rapid transformation of the manners and customs of the natives.
+
+Fifty years had now elapsed since the discovery of most of the islands
+of Oceania, and everywhere changes had taken place as sudden as those
+in the Sandwich Islands.
+
+"The fur trade," says Desborough Cooley, carried on with the north-west
+coast of America, "has effected a wonderful revolution in the Sandwich
+Islands, which from their situation offered an advantageous shelter for
+ships engaged in it. Among these islands the fur-traders wintered,
+refitted their vessels, and replenished their stock of fresh
+provisions; and, as summer approached, returned to complete their cargo
+on the coast of America. Iron tools and, above all, guns were eagerly
+sought for by the islanders in exchange for their provisions; and the
+mercenery traders, regardless of consequences, readily gratified their
+desires. Fire-arms and ammunition being the most profitable stock to
+traffic with were supplied them in abundance. Hence the Sandwich
+islanders soon became formidable to their visitors; they seized on
+several small vessels, and displayed an energy tinctured at first with
+barbarity, but indicating great capabilities of social improvement. At
+this period, one of those extraordinary characters which seldom fail to
+come forth when fate is charged with great events, completed the
+revolution, which had its origin in the impulse of Europeans.
+Tame-tame-hah, a chief, who had made himself conspicuous during the
+last and unfortunate visit of Cook to those islands, usurped the
+authority of king, subdued the neighbouring islands with an army of
+16,000 men, and made his conquests subservient to his grand schemes of
+improvement. He knew the superiority of Europeans, and was proud to
+imitate them. Already, in 1796, when Captain Broughton visited those
+islands, the usurper sent to ask him whether he should salute him with
+great guns. He always kept Englishmen about him as ministers and
+advisers. In 1817, he is said to have had an army of 7000 men, armed
+with muskets, among whom were at least fifty Europeans. Tame-tame-hah,
+who began his career in blood and usurpation, lived to gain the sincere
+love and admiration of his subjects, who regarded him as more than
+human, and mourned his death with tears of warmer affection than often
+bedew the ashes of royalty."
+
+[Illustration: One of the guard of the King of the Sandwich Islands.
+(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Such was the state of things when the Russian expedition put in at
+Waihou. The young king Rio-Rio was in England with his wife, and the
+government of the archipelago was in the hands of the queen-mother,
+Kaahou Manou.
+
+Kotzebue took advantage of the latter and of the first minister both
+being absent on a neighbouring island, to pay a visit to another wife
+of Kamea-Mea.
+
+"The apartment," says the traveller, "was furnished in the European
+fashion, with chairs, tables, and looking-glasses. In one corner stood
+an immensely large bed with silk curtains; the floor was covered with
+fine mats, and on these, in the middle of the room, lay Nomahanna,
+extended on her stomach, her head turned towards the door, and her arms
+supported on a silk pillow.... Nomahanna, who appeared at the utmost
+not more than forty years old, was exactly six feet two inches high,
+and rather more than two ells in circumference.... Her coal-black hair
+was neatly plaited, at the top of a head as round as a ball; her flat
+nose and thick projecting lips were certainly not very handsome, yet
+was her countenance on the whole prepossessing and agreeable."
+
+The "good lady" remembered having seen Kotzebue ten years before. She,
+therefore, received him graciously, but she could not speak of her
+husband without tears in her eyes, and her grief did not appear to be
+assumed. In order that the date of his death should be ever-present to
+her mind she had had the inscription 6th May, 1819, branded on her arm.
+
+A zealous Christian, like most of the population, the queen took
+Kotzebue to the church, a vast but simple building, not nearly so
+crowded as that at Otaheite. Nomahanna seemed to be very intelligent,
+she knew how to read and was specially enthusiastic about writing, that
+art which connects us with the absent. Being anxious to give the
+commander a proof alike of her affection and of her acquirements she
+sent him a letter by hand which it had taken her several weeks to
+concoct.
+
+The other ladies did not like to be outdone, and Kotzebue found himself
+overwhelmed with documents. The only means to check this epistolatory
+inundation was to weigh anchor, which the captain did without loss of
+time.
+
+Before his departure he received queen Nomahanna on board. Her Majesty
+appeared in her robes of ceremony, consisting of a magnificent
+peach-coloured silk dress embroidered with black, evidently originally
+made for a European, and consequently too tight and too short for its
+wearer. People could, therefore, see not only the feet, beside which
+those of Charlemagne would have looked like a Chinaman's, and which
+were cased in huge men's boots, but also a pair of fat, brown, naked
+legs resembling the balustrades of a terrace. A collar of red and
+yellow feathers, a garland of natural flowers, serving as a gorget, and
+a hat of Leghorn straw, trimmed with artificial flowers, completed this
+fine but absurd costume.
+
+Nomahanna went over the ship, asking questions about everything, and at
+last, worn out with seeing so many wonders, betook herself to the
+captain's cabin, where a good collation was spread for her. The queen
+flung herself upon a couch, but the fragile article of furniture was
+unable to sustain so much majesty, and gave way beneath the weight of a
+princess, whose _embonpoint_ had doubtless had a good deal to do with
+her elevation to such high rank.
+
+After this halt Kotzebue returned to New Archangel, where he remained
+until the 30th July, 1825. He then paid another visit to the Sandwich
+Islands a short time after Admiral Byron had brought back the remains
+of the king and queen. The archipelago was then at peace, its
+prosperity was continually on the increase, the influence of the
+missionaries was confirmed, and the education of the young monarch was
+in the hands of Missionary Bingham. The inhabitants were deeply touched
+by the honours accorded by the English to the remains of their
+sovereigns, and the day seemed to be not far distant when European
+customs would completely supersede those of the natives.
+
+Some provisions having been embarked at Waihou, the explorer made for
+Radak Islands, identified the Pescadores, forming the southern
+extremity of that chain, discovered the Eschscholtz group, a short
+distance off, and touched at Guam on the 15th October. On the 23rd
+January, 1826, he left Manilla after a stay of some months, during
+which constant intercourse with the natives had enabled him to add
+greatly to our knowledge of the geography and natural history of the
+Philippine islands. A new Spanish governor had arrived with a large
+reinforcement of troops, and had so completely crushed all agitation
+that the colonists had quite given up their scheme of separating
+themselves from Spain.
+
+On the 10th July, 1826, the _Predpriatie_ returned to Cronstadt, after
+a voyage extending over three years, during which she had visited the
+north-west coast of America, the Aleutian Islands, Kamtchatka, and the
+Sea of Oktoksh; surveyed minutely a great part of the Radak Islands,
+and obtained fresh information on the changes through which the people
+of Oceania were passing. Thanks to the ardour of Chamisso and Professor
+Eschscholtz, many specimens of natural history had been collected, and
+the latter published a description of more than 2000 animals, as well
+as some curious details on the mode of formation of the Coral islands
+in the South Seas.
+
+The English government had now resumed with eagerness the study of the
+tantalizing problem, the solution of which had been sought so long in
+vain. We allude to the finding of the north-west passage. When Parry by
+sea and Franklin by land were trying to reach Behring Strait, Captain
+Frederick William Beechey received instructions to penetrate as far
+north as possible by way of the same strait so as to meet the other
+explorers, who would doubtless arrive in a state of exhaustion from
+fatigue and privation.
+
+The _Blossom_, Captain Beechey commander, set sail from Spithead on the
+19th May, 1825, and after doubling Cape Horn on the 26th December,
+entered the Pacific Ocean. After a short stay off the coast of Chili,
+Beechey visited Easter Island, where the same incidents which had
+marked Kotzebue's visit were repeated. The same eager reception on the
+part of the natives, who swam to the _Blossom_ or brought their paltry
+merchandise to it in canoes, and the same shower of stones and blows
+from clubs when the English landed, repulsed, as in the Russian
+explorer's time, with a rapid discharge of shot.
+
+On the 4th December, Captain Beechey sighted an island completely
+overgrown with vegetation. This was the spot famous for the discovery
+on it of the descendants of the mutineers of the _Bounty_, who landed
+on it after the enactment of a tragedy, which at the end of last
+century had excited intense public interest in England.
+
+In 1781 Lieutenant Bligh, one of the officers who had distinguished
+himself under Cook, was appointed to the command of the _Bounty_, and
+received orders to go to Otaheite, there to obtain specimens of the
+breadfruit-tree and other of its vegetable productions for
+transportation to the Antilles, then generally known amongst the
+English as the Western Indies. After doubling Cape Horn, Bligh cast
+anchor in the Bay of Matavai, where he shipped a cargo of
+breadfruit-trees, proceeding thence to Ramouka, one of the Tonga Isles,
+for more of the same valuable growth. Thus far no special incident
+marked the course of the voyage, which seemed likely to end happily.
+But the haughty character and stern, despotic manners of the commander
+had alienated from him the affections of nearly the whole of his crew.
+A plot was formed against him which was carried out before sunrise on
+the 28th April, off Tofona.
+
+Surprised by the mutineers whilst still in bed, Bligh was bound and
+gagged before he could defend himself, and dragged on deck in his
+night-shirt, and after a mock trial, presided over by Lieutenant
+Christian Fletcher, he, with eighteen men who remained faithful to him,
+was lowered into a boat containing a few provisions, and abandoned in
+the open sea.
+
+After enduring agonies of hunger and thirst, and escaping from terrible
+storms and from the teeth of the savage natives of Tofona, Bligh
+succeeded in reaching Timor Island, where he received an enthusiastic
+welcome.
+
+"I now desired my people to come on shore," says Bligh, "which was as
+much as some of them could do, being scarce able to walk; they,
+however, were helped to the house, and found tea with bread and butter
+provided for their breakfast.... Our bodies were nothing but skin and
+bones, our limbs were full of sores, and we were clothed in rags; in
+this condition, with the tears of joy and gratitude flowing down our
+cheeks, the people of Timor beheld us with a mixture of horror,
+surprise, and pity.... Thus, through the assistance of Divine
+Providence, we surmounted the difficulties and distresses of a most
+perilous voyage."
+
+Perilous, indeed, for it had lasted no less than forty-one days in
+latitudes but little known, in an open boat, with insufficient food,
+want and exposure causing infinite suffering. Yet in this voyage of
+more than 1500 leagues but one man was lost, a sailor who fell a victim
+at the beginning of the journey to the natives of Tofona.
+
+The fate of the mutineers was strange, and more than one lesson may be
+learnt from it.
+
+They made for Otaheite, where provisions were obtained, and those who
+had been least active in the mutiny were abandoned, and thence
+Christian set sail with eight sailors, who elected to remain with him,
+and some twenty-two natives, men and women from Otaheite and Toubonai.
+Nothing more was heard of them!
+
+As for those who remained at Otaheite, they were taken prisoners in
+1791 by Captain Edwards of the _Pandora_, sent out by the English
+Government in search of them and the other mutineers, with orders to
+bring them to England. Of the ten who were brought home by the
+_Pandora_, only three were condemned to death.
+
+Twenty years passed by before the slightest light was thrown on the
+fate of Christian and those he took with him.
+
+In 1808 an American trading-vessel touched at Pitcairn, there to
+complete her cargo of seal-skins. The captain imagined the island to be
+uninhabited, but to his very great surprise a canoe presently
+approached his ship manned by three young men of colour, who spoke
+English very well. Greatly astonished, the commander questioned them,
+and learnt that their father had served under Bligh.
+
+The fate of the latter was now known to the whole world, and its
+discussion had lightened the tedious hours in the forecastles of
+vessels of every nationality, and the American captain, reminded by the
+singular incident related above of the disappearance of so many of the
+mutineers of the _Bounty_, landed on the island, where he met an
+Englishman named Smith, who had belonged to the crew of that vessel,
+and who made the following confession.
+
+When he left Otaheite, Christian made direct for Pitcairn, attracted to
+it by its lonely situation, south of the Pomautou Islands, and out of
+the general track of vessels. After landing the provisions of the
+_Bounty_ and taking away all the fittings which could be of any use,
+the mutineers burnt the vessel not only with a view to removing all
+trace of their whereabouts, but also to prevent the escape of any of
+their number.
+
+From the first the sight of the extensive marshes led them to believe
+the island to be uninhabited, and they were soon convinced of the
+justice of this opinion. Huts were built and land was cleared; but the
+English charitably assigned to the natives, whom they had carried off
+or who had elected to join them, the position of slaves. Two years
+passed by without any serious dissensions arising, but at the end of
+that time the natives laid a plot against the whites, of which,
+however, the latter were informed by an Otaheitan woman, and the two
+leaders paid for their abortive attempt with their lives.
+
+Two more years of peace and tranquillity ensued, and then another plot
+was laid, this time resulting in the massacre of Christian and five of
+his comrades. The murder, however, was avenged by the native women, who
+mourned for their English lovers and killed the surviving men of
+Otaheite.
+
+A little later the discovery of a plant, from which a kind of brandy
+could be made, caused the death of one of the four Englishmen still
+remaining, another was murdered by his companions, a third died a
+natural death, and the last one, Smith, took the name of Adams and
+lived on at the head of a community, consisting of ten women and
+nineteen children, the eldest of whom were but seven or eight years
+old.
+
+This man, who had reflected on his errors and repented of them, now led
+a new life, fulfilling the duties of father, priest, and sovereign, his
+combined firmness and justice acquiring for him an all-powerful
+influence over his motley subjects.
+
+This strange teacher of morality, who in his youth had set all laws at
+defiance, and to whom no obligation was sacred, now preached pity,
+love, and sympathy, arranged regular marriages between the children of
+different parents, his little community thriving lustily under the mild
+yet firm control of one who had but lately turned from his own evil
+ways.
+
+Such at the time of Beechey's arrival was the state of the colony at
+Pitcairn. The navigator, well received by the inhabitants, whose
+virtuous conduct recalled the golden age, remained amongst them
+eighteen days. The village consisted of clean, well-built huts,
+surrounded by pandanus and cocoa-palms; the fields were well
+cultivated, and under Adams' tuition the young people had made
+implements of agriculture of really extraordinary excellence. The faces
+of these half breeds were good-looking and pleasant in expression, and
+their figures were well-proportioned, showing unusual muscular
+development.
+
+[Illustration: "The village consisted of clean, well-built huts."]
+
+After leaving Pitcairn, Beechey visited Crescent, Gambier, Hood,
+Clermont, Tonnerre, Serles, Whitsunday, Queen-Charlotte, Tehai, and the
+Lancer Islands, all in the Pomautou group, and an islet to which he
+gave the name of Byam-Martin.
+
+Here the explorer met a native named Ton-Wari, who had been shipwrecked
+in a storm. Having left Anaa with 500 fellow-countrymen in three canoes
+to render homage to Pomare III., who had just ascended the throne,
+Ton-Wari had been driven out of his course by westerly winds. These
+were succeeded by variable breezes, and provisions were soon so
+completely exhausted that the survivors had to feed on the bodies of
+those who were the first to succumb. Finally Ton-Wari arrived at Barrow
+Island in the centre of the Dangerous Archipelago, where he obtained a
+small stock of provisions, and after a long delay, his canoe having
+been stove in off Byam-Martin, once more put to sea.
+
+Beechey yielded under considerable persuasion to Ton-Wari's entreaty to
+be received on board with his wife and children and taken to Otaheite.
+The next day, by one of those strange chances seldom occurring except
+in fiction, Beechey stopped at Heion, where Ton-Wari met his brother,
+who had supposed him to be long since dead. After the first transports
+of delight and surprise the two natives sat down side by side, and
+holding each others hands related their several adventures.
+
+Beechey left Heion on the 10th February, sighted Melville and Croker
+Islands, and cast anchor on the 18th off Otaheite, where he had some
+difficulty in obtaining provisions. The natives now demanded good
+Chilian dollars and European clothing, both of which were altogether
+wanting on the _Blossom_.
+
+After receiving a visit from the queen-mother, Beechey was invited to a
+_soiree_ given in his honour in the palace at Papeiti. When the English
+arrived, however, they found everybody sound asleep, the hostess having
+forgotten all about her invitation, and gone to bed earlier than usual.
+She received her guests none the less cordially however, and organized
+a little dance in spite of the remonstrances of the missionaries; only
+the _fete_ had to be conducted so to speak in silence, that the noise
+might not reach the ears of the police on duty on the beach. From this
+incident we can guess the amount of liberty the missionary Pritchard
+allowed to the most exalted personages of Otaheite. What must the
+discipline then have been for the common herd of the natives!
+
+On the 3rd April the young king paid a visit to Beechey, who gave him,
+on behalf of the Admiralty, a fine fowling-piece. Very friendly was the
+intercourse which ensued, and the good influence the English
+missionaries had obtained was strengthened by the cordiality and tact
+of the ship's officers.
+
+Leaving Otaheite on the 26th April, Beechey reached the Sandwich
+Islands, where he remained some ten days, and then set sail for Behring
+Strait and the Arctic Ocean. His instructions were to skirt along the
+North American coast as far as the state of the ice would permit. The
+_Blossom_ made a halt in Kotzebue Bay, a desolate, forbidding, and
+inhospitable spot, where the English had several interviews with the
+natives without obtaining any information about Franklin and his
+people. At last Beechey sent forward one of the ship's boats, under
+command of Lieutenant Elson, to seek the intrepid explorer. Elson was,
+however, unable to pass Point Barrow (N. lat. 71 degrees 23 minutes)
+and was compelled to return to the _Blossom_, which in her turn was
+driven back to the entrance of the strait by the ice on the 13th
+October, the weather being clear and the frost of extreme severity.
+
+In order to turn to account the winter season, Beechey visited San
+Francisco and cast anchor yet again off Honolulu in the Sandwich
+Islands. Thanks to the liberal and enlightened policy of the
+government, this archipelago was now rapidly growing in prosperity. The
+number of houses had increased, the town was gradually acquiring a
+European appearance, the harbour was frequented by numerous English and
+American vessels, and a national navy numbering five brigs and eight
+schooners had sprung into being. Agriculture was in a flourishing
+condition; coffee, tea, spices, were cultivated in extensive
+plantations, and efforts were being made to utilize the luxuriant
+sugar-cane forests native to the archipelago.
+
+After a stay in April at the mouth of the Canton River, the explorers
+surveyed the Liu-Kiu archipelago, a chain of islands connecting Japan
+with Formosa, and the Bonin-Sima group, districts in which no animals
+were seen but big green turtles.
+
+This exploration over, the _Blossom_ resumed her northerly course, but
+the atmospheric conditions were less favourable than before, and it was
+impossible this time to penetrate further than N. lat. 70 degrees 40
+minutes. Beechey left provisions, clothes, and instructions on the
+coast in this neighbourhood in case Parry or Franklin should get as
+far. The explorer then cruised about until the 6th October, when he
+decided with the greatest regret to return to England. He touched at
+Monterey, San Francisco, San-Blas, and Valparaiso, doubled Cape Horn,
+cast anchor at Rio de Janeiro, and finally arrived off Spithead on the
+21st October.
+
+[Illustration: A Morai at Kayakakoua. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+We must now give an account of the expedition of the Russian Captain
+Lutke, which was fruitful of most important results. The explorer's own
+relation of his adventures is written in a most amusing and spirited
+style, and from it we shall therefore quote largely.
+
+The _Seniavine_ and the _Moller_ were two transport ships built in
+Russia, both of which were good sea-going boats. The latter, however,
+was a very slow sailer, which unfortunately kept the two vessels apart
+for the greater part of the voyage. Lutke commanded the _Seniavine_,
+and Stanioukowitch the _Moller_.
+
+The two vessels set sail from Cronstadt on the 1st September, 1828, and
+touched at Copenhagen and Plymouth, where scientific instruments were
+purchased. Hardly had they left the Channel before they were separated.
+The _Seniavine_, whose movements we shall most particularly follow,
+touched at Teneriffe, where Lutke hoped to meet his consort.
+
+From the 4th to the 8th November, Teneriffe had been devastated by a
+terrific storm such as had not been seen since the Conquest. Three
+vessels had perished in the very roadstead of Santa Cruz, and two
+others thrown upon the coast had gone to pieces. Torrents swollen by a
+tremendous downpour had destroyed gardens, walls, and buildings, laid
+waste plantations, all but demolished one fort, swept down a number of
+houses in the town, and rendered several streets impassable. Three or
+four hundred persons had met their deaths in this convulsion of nature,
+and the damage done was estimated at several millions of piastres.
+
+In January the two vessels met again at Rio de Janeiro, and kept
+together as far as Cape Horn, where they encountered the usual storms
+and fogs, and were again separated. The _Seniavine_ then made for
+Conception.
+
+"On the 15th May," says Lutke, "we were not more than eight miles from
+the nearest coast, but a dense fog hid it from us. In the night this
+fog lifted, and at daybreak a scene of indescribable grandeur and
+magnificence met our eyes. The serrated chain of the Andes, with its
+pointed peaks, stood out against an azure blue sky lit up by the first
+rays of the morning sun. I will not add to the number of those who have
+exhausted themselves in vain efforts to transmit to others their own
+sensations at the first sight of such scenes. They are as indescribable
+as the majesty of the scene itself. The variety of the colours, the
+light, which as the sun rose gradually spread over the sky, and the
+clouds were alike of inimitable beauty. To our great regret this
+spectacle, like everything most sublime in nature, did not last long.
+As the atmosphere became flooded with light the huge masses of clouds
+seemed with one accord to plunge into the deep, and the sun, appearing
+above the horizon, removed every trace of them."
+
+Lutke's opinion of Conception does not agree with that of some of his
+predecessors. He had not yet forgotten the exuberant richness of the
+vegetation of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, so that he found this new
+coast poor. As far as he could judge, during a very short stay, the
+inhabitants were more affable and civilized than the people of the same
+class in many other countries.
+
+When he reached Valparaiso, Lutke met the _Moller_ setting sail for
+Kamtchatka. The crews bid each other good-bye, and thenceforth the two
+vessels took different directions.
+
+The first excursion of the officers and naturalists of Lutke's party
+was to the celebrated "quebradas."
+
+"These," says the explorer, "are ravines in the mountains, crowded so
+to speak with the little huts containing the greater part of the people
+of Valparaiso. The most densely populated of these 'quebradas' is that
+rising at the south-west corner of the town. The granite, which is
+there laid bare, serves as a strong foundation for the buildings, and
+protects them from the destructive effects of earthquakes.
+Communication between the town and the different houses is carried on
+by means of narrow paths without supports or steps, which are carried
+along the slopes of the rocks, and on which the children play and run
+about like chamois. The few houses here belong to foreigners. Little
+paths lead up to them, and some have steps, which the Chilians look
+upon as a superfluous and altogether useless luxury. A staircase of
+tiled or palm-branch roofs below and above an amphitheatre of gates and
+gardens present a curious spectacle. At first I kept up with the
+naturalists, but they presently brought me to a place where I could not
+advance or retire a step, which decided me to return with one of my
+officers, and to leave them there with a hearty wish that they might
+bring their heads back safely to our lodgings. As for myself I expected
+to lose mine a thousand times before I got down again."
+
+On their return from an arduous excursion, a few leagues from
+Valparaiso, the marines were astonished at being arrested as they rode
+into the town, by a patrol, who in spite of their remonstrances
+compelled them to dismount.
+
+"It was Holy Thursday," says Lutke, "and from that day to Holy Saturday
+no one is here permitted under pain of a severe penalty either to ride,
+sing, dance, play on any instrument, or wear a hat. All business, work,
+and amusement are strictly forbidden during that time. The hill in the
+centre of the town with the theatre upon it is converted for the time
+being into a Golgotha. In the centre of a railed-in space rises a
+crucifix with numerous tapers and flowers about it and female figures
+kneeling on either side representing the witnesses of the Passion of
+our Lord. Pious souls come here to obtain absolution from their sins by
+loud prayers. I saw none but female penitents, not a single man was
+there amongst them. Most of them were doubtless very certain of
+obtaining the divine favour, for they came up playing and laughing,
+only assuming a contrite air when close to the object of their
+devotion, before which they knelt for a few minutes, resuming their
+pranks and laughter again directly they turned away."
+
+The intolerance and superstition met with by the visitors at every turn
+made the explorer reflect deeply. He regretted seeing so much force and
+so many resources which might have promoted the intellectual progress
+and material prosperity of the country wasted on perpetual revolutions.
+
+To Lutke nothing less resembled a valley of Paradise than Valparaiso
+and its environs: rugged mountains, broken by deep _quebradas_, a sandy
+plain, in the centre of which rises the town, with the lofty heights of
+the Andes in the background, do not, strictly speaking, form an Eden.
+
+The traces of the terrible earthquake of 1823 were not yet entirely
+effaced, and here and there large spaces covered with ruins were still
+to be seen.
+
+On the 15th April, the _Seniavine_ set sail for New Archangel, where
+she arrived on the 24th June, after a voyage unmarked by any special
+incident. The necessity for repairing the effects of the wear and tear
+of a voyage of ten months, and of disembarking the provisions for the
+company of which the _Seniavine_ was the bearer, detained Captain Lutke
+in the Bay of Sitka for five weeks.
+
+This part of the coast of North America presents a wild but picturesque
+appearance. Lofty mountains clothed to their very peaks with dense and
+gloomy forests form the background of the picture. At the entrance of
+the bay rises Mount Edgecumbe, an extinct volcano 2800 feet above the
+sea-level. On entering the bay the visitor finds himself in a labyrinth
+of islands, behind which rise the fortress, towers, and church of New
+Archangel, which consists of but one row of houses with gardens, a
+hospital, a timber-yard, and outside the palisades a large village of
+Kaloche Indians. At this time the population consisted of a mixture of
+Russians, Creoles, and Aleutians, numbering some 800 altogether, of
+whom three-eighths were in the service of the company. This population,
+however, fluctuates very much according to the season. In the summer
+almost every one is away at the chase, and no sooner does autumn bring
+the people before they are all off again fishing.
+
+New Archangel does not offer too many attractions in the way of
+amusements. Truth to tell, it is one of the dullest places imaginable,
+inexpressibly gloomy, where autumn seems to reign all through the year
+except for three months, when snow falls continuously. All this,
+however, does not of course affect the passing visitor, and for the
+resident there is nothing to keep up his spirits but a good stock of
+philosophy or a stern determination not to die of hunger. There is a
+good deal of remunerative trade with California, the natives, and
+foreign vessels.
+
+The chief furs obtained by Aleutians who hunt for the Company are those
+of the otter, the beaver, the fox, and the _souslic_. The natives also
+hunt the walrus, seal, and whale, not to speak of the herring, the cod,
+salmon, turbot, lote, perch, and tsouklis, a shell fish found in Queen
+Charlotte's Islands, used by the Company as a medium of exchange with
+the Americans.
+
+As for these Americans they seem to be all of one race between the 46th
+and 60th degrees of N. lat., such at least is the conclusion to which
+we are led by the study of their manners, customs, and languages.
+
+The Kaloches of Sitka claim a man of the name of Elkh as the founder of
+their race, favoured by the protection of the raven, first cause of all
+things.[4] Strange to say, this bird also plays an important part
+amongst the Kadiaks, who are Esquimaux. According to Lutke, the
+Kaloches have a tradition of a deluge and some fables which recall
+those of the Greek mythology.
+
+[Footnote 4: The raven was regarded by these races with superstitious
+dread, as having the power of healing diseases, &c.--_Trans._]
+
+Their religion is nothing more than a kind of Chamanism or belief in
+the power of the Chamans or magicians to ward off diseases, &c. They do
+not recognize a supreme God, but they believe in evil spirits, and in
+sorcerers who foretell the future, heal the sick, and transmit their
+office from father to son.
+
+They believe the soul to be immortal, and that the spirits of their
+chieftains do not mix with those of the common people. Slaves are
+slaves still after death; the far from consolatory nature of this creed
+is obvious. The government is patriarchal; the natives are divided into
+tribes, the members of which have the figures of animals as signs,
+after which they are also sometimes named. We meet for instance with
+the wolf, the raven, the bear, the eagle, &c.
+
+The slaves of the Kaloches are prisoners taken in war, and very
+miserable is their lot. Their masters hold the power of life and death
+over them. In some ceremonies, that on the death of a chief, for
+instance, the slaves who are no longer of use are sacrificed, or else
+their liberty is given to them.[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: The aim being to give up the slaves as property, it was a
+matter of indifference whether they were killed or set at
+liberty.--_Trans._]
+
+Suspicious and crafty, cruel and vindictive, the Kaloches are neither
+better nor worse than the neighbouring tribes. Hardened to fatigue,
+brave but idle, they leave all the housework to their wives, of whom
+they have many, polygamy being an institution amongst them.
+
+On leaving Sitka, Lutke made for Ounalashka. Ilioluk is the chief
+trading establishment on that island, but it only contains some twelve
+Russians and ten Aleutians of both sexes.
+
+This island has a good many productions which tend to make life pass
+pleasantly. It is rich in good pastures, and cattle-breeding is largely
+carried on, but it is almost entirely wanting in timber, the
+inhabitants being obliged to pick up the _debris_ flung up by the sea,
+which sometimes includes whole trunks of cypress, camphor-trees, and a
+kind of wood which smells like roses.
+
+At the time of Lutke's visit the people of the Fox Islands had adopted
+to a great extent Russian manners and costumes. They were all
+Christians. The Aleutians are a hardy, kind-hearted, agile race, almost
+living on the sea.
+
+Since 1826 several eruptions of lava have caused terrible devastation
+in these islands. In May, 1827, the Shishaldin volcano opened a new
+crater, and vomited forth flames.
+
+Lutke's instructions obliged him to explore St. Matthew's Island, which
+Cook had called Gore Island. The hydrographical survey was successful
+beyond the highest expectations, but the Russians could do nothing
+towards learning anything of the natural history of the island, for
+they were not allowed to land at all.
+
+In the meantime the winter with its usual storms and fogs was rapidly
+drawing on. It was of no use hoping to get to Behring Strait, and Lutke
+therefore made for Kamtchatka after touching at Behring Island. He
+remained three weeks at Petropaulovsky, which he employed in landing
+his cargo and preparing for his winter campaign.
+
+Lutke's instructions were now to spend the winter in the exploration of
+the Caroline Islands. He decided to go first to Ualan Island, which had
+been discovered by the French navigator Duperrey. Here a safe harbour
+enabled him to make some experiments with the pendulum.
+
+On his way Lutke sought in vain for Colonnas Island in N. lat. 26
+degrees 9 minutes, W. long. 128 degrees. He was equally unsuccessful in
+his search for Dexter and St. Bartholomew Islands, though he identified
+the Brown coral group discovered by Butler in 1794 and arrived safely
+off Ualan on the 4th December.
+
+From the first the relations between the natives of this island and the
+Russians were extremely satisfactory. Many of the former came on board,
+and showed so much confidence in their visitors as to remain all night,
+though the vessel was still in motion.
+
+It was only with great difficulty that the _Seniavine_ entered Coquille
+harbour. Following the example of Duperrey, who had set up his
+observatory on the islet of Matanial, Lutke landed there and took his
+observations, whilst his people traded with the natives, who were,
+throughout his stay, peaceful, friendly, and civil. To check their
+thieving propensities, however, a chief was kept as a hostage for a
+couple of days, and one canoe was burnt, these new measures being
+completely successful.
+
+"We are glad to be able to declare in the face of the world," says
+Lutke, "that our stay of three weeks at Ualan cost not a drop of human
+blood, but that we were able to leave these friendly islanders without
+enlightening them further on the use of our fire-arms, which they
+looked upon as suitable only for the killing of birds. I don't think
+there is another instance of the kind in the records of any previous
+voyages in the South Seas."
+
+[Illustration: Native of Ualan. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+After leaving Ualan, Lutke had a vain search for the Musgrave Islands,
+marked on Kruzenstern's map, and soon discovered a large island,
+surrounded by a coral reef, which had escaped the notice of Duperrey,
+and is known as Puinipet, or Pornabi. Some very large and fine canoes,
+each manned by fourteen men, and some smaller ones, worked by two
+natives only, soon surrounded the vessel. Their inmates, with fierce
+faces and blood-shot eyes, were noisy and blustering, and did a good
+deal of shouting, gesticulating, and dancing before they could make up
+their minds to trust themselves on board the _Seniavine_.
+
+It would have been impossible to land, except by force, as the native
+canoes completely surrounded the vessel, and when an attempt at
+disembarkation was made, the savages surrounded the ship's boat, only
+retiring before the warlike attitude of the sailors and a volley from
+the guns of the _Seniavine_.
+
+Lutke had not time to examine thoroughly his discovery, to which he
+gave the name of the Seniavine Archipelago. The information he
+collected on the people of the Puinipet Islands is, therefore, not very
+trustworthy. According to him they do not belong to the same race as
+those of Ualan, but resemble rather the Papuans, the nearest of whom
+are those of New Ireland, seven hundred miles away.
+
+After another vain search, this time for Saint Augustine's Island, he
+sighted the Cora of Los Vaherites, also called Seven, or Raven Island,
+discovered in 1773 by the Spaniard Felipe Tompson.
+
+The navigator next saw the Mortlock Archipelago, the old Lugunor group,
+known to Torres as the Lugullos, the people of which resemble those of
+Ualan. He landed on the principal of these islands, which he found to
+be one huge garden of cocoa palms and breadfruit-trees.
+
+The natives enjoy a centre degree of civilization. They weave and dye
+the fibres of the banana and cocoa-nut palms, as do those of Ualan and
+Puinipet. Their fishing-tackle does credit to their inventive
+faculties, especially a sort of case constructed of small sticks and
+split bamboo-canes, which the fish cannot get out of when once in. They
+also use nets of the shape of large wallets, lines, and harpoons.
+
+Their canoes, in which they spend more than half their lives, are
+wonderfully adapted to their requirements. The large ones, which are a
+very great trouble to build, and which are kept in sheds constructed
+specially for them, are twenty-six feet long, two and a half wide, and
+four deep. They are furnished with gimbals, the cross-pieces being
+connected by a rafter. On the other side there is a small platform,
+four feet square, and furnished with a roof, under which they are
+accustomed to keep their provisions. These pirogues have a triangular
+sail, which is made of matting woven from bandanus leaves, and is
+attached to two yards. In tacking about they drop the sail, and turn
+the mast towards the other end of the canoe, to which, at the same
+time, they have passed the fastening of the sail, so that the pirogue
+moves forward by its other extremity.
+
+Lutke next sighted the Namuluk group, the inhabitants of which do not
+differ at all from the people of Lugunor, and he proved the identity of
+Hogolu Island--already described by Duperrey--with Quirosa. He then
+visited the Namnuito group, the first stratum of a number of islands,
+or of one large island which will some day exist in this part of the
+world.
+
+Lutke, who was in want of biscuits and other articles, which he hoped
+to obtain at Guam, or from vessels at anchor in that port, now set sail
+for the Marianne Islands, where he counted upon being able to repeat
+some new experiments with the pendulum, in which Freycinet had found an
+important anomaly of gravitation.[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: "From numerous experiments," says Freycinet, "with the
+pendulum, collected at our observatory at Agagna, in lat. 13 degrees 27
+minutes 511 seconds 5 N. ... at the level of the sea, and with the
+thermometer at +20 degrees centig., we were shown that the pendulum
+which, in the same circumstances, would make at Paris 86,400
+oscillations in 24 mean solar hours would here make 86,295 ^osc .013 in
+the same time."--_Trans._]
+
+Great, however, was his surprise when he arrived to find not a sign of
+life at Guam. No flags waved above the two ports, the silence of death
+reigned everywhere, and but for the presence of a schooner at anchor in
+the inner harbour, it might have been a desert island. There was hardly
+anybody about on shore, and the few people there were were half savage,
+from whom it was all but impossible to obtain the slightest
+information. Fortunately, an English deserter came and offered his
+services to Lutke, who sent him to the governor with a letter, which
+elicited a satisfactory reply.
+
+The governor was the same Medinella whose hospitality had been lauded
+by Kotzebue and Freycinet. There was, therefore, no difficulty in
+obtaining permission to set up an observatory, and to take to it the
+necessary provisions. The stay at Guam was, however, saddened by an
+accident to Lutke, who wounded himself severely in the thumb with his
+own gun when hunting.
+
+The repairing and refitting of the _Seniavine_, with the taking in of
+wood and water, delayed the explorer at Guam until the 19th March.
+During this time Lutke was able to verify the information collected ten
+years ago by Freycinet in his stay of two months in the Governor's own
+house. Things had not changed at all since the French traveller's
+visit.
+
+As it was not yet time to go north, Lutke made for the Caroline
+Islands, _via_ the Swedes Islands. The inhabitants seemed to him to be
+better made than their neighbours on the west, from whom, however, they
+differ in no other particulars. The Faraulep, Ulie, Ifuluk, and Euripeg
+Islands were successively examined, and on the 27th April the explorer
+started for the Bonin Islands, where he learnt that his exploration of
+that group had been anticipated by Beechey. He, therefore, took no
+hydrographical surveys. Two of the crew of a whaling-vessel, which had
+been shipwrecked on the coast, were still living at Bonin Sima.
+
+Since the rise of the great fisheries, this Archipelago has been
+frequented by numerous whalemen, who here find a safe port at all
+seasons, plenty of wood and water, turtles for six months of the year,
+fish, and immense quantities of anti-scorbutic plants, including the
+delicious savoy cabbage.
+
+"The majestic height and the vigour of the trees," says Lutke, "the
+productions of the tropical and temperate zones, alternating with each
+other, bear witness at once to the fertility of the soil and the
+salubrity of the climate. Most of our vegetables and pot-herbs,
+perhaps, indeed, all of them would certainly flourish well, as would
+also wheat, rice, and maize, nor could a better climate be desired for
+the cultivation of the vine. Domestic animals of every kind and bees
+would multiply rapidly. In a word, a small and industrious colony would
+shortly convert this little group into a fertile and flourishing
+settlement."
+
+On the 9th June, after a week's delay for want of wind, the _Seniavine_
+entered Petropaulovsky, where it was retained taking in provisions
+until the 26th. A whole series of surveys were taken during this
+interval, of the coasts of Kamtchatka, and of the Kodiak and Tchouktchi
+districts, interrupted, however, by visits to Karaghinsk Island, the
+bay of St. Lawrence, and the gulf of Santa Cruz.
+
+During one of these visits, the captain met with a strange adventure.
+He had been for several days on a friendly footing with the
+Tchouktchis, whose knowledge of the people and customs of Russia he
+endeavoured to increase.
+
+"These natives," he says, "were friendly and polite, and endeavoured to
+pay back our jokes and tricks in our own coin. I softly patted the
+cheek of a sturdy Tchouktchi as a sign of kindly feeling, and suddenly
+received in return a box on the ear which knocked me down. Recovered
+from my astonishment, there I saw my Tchouktchi with a laughing face,
+looking like a man who has just given proof of his politeness and tact.
+He too had meant to give me merely a gentle tap, but it was with a hand
+only accustomed to deal with reindeer."
+
+The travellers were also witnesses of some proofs of the skill of a
+Tchouktchi conjurer, or chaman, who went behind a curtain, from which
+his audience soon heard a voice like the howl of a wild beast,
+accompanied by blows on a tambourine with a whale-bone. The curtain
+then rose, revealing the sorcerer balancing himself, and accompanying
+his own voice with blows on his drum, which he held close to his ear.
+Presently he flung off his jacket, leaving himself naked to the waist,
+took a polished stone, which he gave to Lutke to hold, took it away
+again, and as he passed one hand over the other the stone disappeared.
+Then showing a tumour on his shoulder, he pretended that the stone was
+in it; turned over the tumour, extracted the stone from it, and
+prophesied a favourable issue of the journey of the Russians.
+
+The conjuror was congratulated on his skill, and a knife was given to
+him as a token of gratitude. Taking this knife in his hand, he put out
+his tongue, and began to cut it. His mouth became full of blood, and he
+finally cut a piece of his tongue off, and held the piece out in his
+hand. Here the curtain fell, probably because the skill of the
+professor of legerdemain could go no further.
+
+The people inhabiting the north-east corner of Asia are known under the
+general name of Tchouktchis. This includes two races, one nomad, like
+the Samoyedes, called the Reindeer Tchouktchis; the other, living in
+fixed habitations, called the sedentary Tchouktchis. The mode of life,
+the physiognomy, and the very language of these two races differ. The
+idiom spoken by the sedentary Tchouktchis has great affinity with that
+of the Esquimaux, whom they also resemble in their mode of building
+their huts and leather boats, and in the instruments they use.
+
+[Illustration: Sedentary Tchouktchis.]
+
+Lutke did not see many Reindeer Tchouktchis, so that he could add
+nothing to the information obtained by his predecessors. He was of
+opinion, however, that they had been painted in unfairly gloomy
+colours, and that their turbulence and wildness had been grossly
+exaggerated.
+
+The sedentary Tchouktchis, generally called Namollos, spend the winter
+in sheds, and the summer in huts covered with skins. The latter usually
+each serve for several families.
+
+"The sons and their wives, the daughters and their husbands," says the
+narrative, "live together with their parents, and _vice versa_. Each
+family occupies one division of the back part of the hut, curtained off
+from the others. The curtains are made of reindeer-skins, sewn into the
+shape of a bell. They are fastened to the beams of the ceiling, and
+reach to the ground. With the aid of the grease they burn in cold
+weather, two, three, and sometimes more persons so warm the air with
+their breath in these hermetically sealed positions that all clothing
+is superfluous, even with the severest frost, but only Tchouktchi lungs
+are fitted to respire in such an atmosphere. In the outer part of the
+hut cooking-utensils, pottery, baskets, seal-skin trunks, &c., are
+kept. Here too is the hearth, if we can so call the spot where burn a
+few sticks of brushwood, painfully collected in the marsh, or when they
+are not to be obtained, whale-bones floating in grease. Round about the
+hut on wooden dryers, black and disgusting looking pieces of seal's
+flesh are exposed to view." These people lead a miserable life. They
+feed upon the half-raw flesh of seals and walruses hunted by
+themselves, or on that of whales flung up by the waves on the beach.
+The dog is the only domestic animal they possess, and they treat it
+badly enough, although the poor creatures are very affectionate and
+render them great services, now towing along their canoes, now dragging
+their sledges over the snow.
+
+After a second stay of five weeks at Petropaulovski, the _Seniavine_
+left Kamtchatka, on the 10th of November, on its way back to Europe.
+Before reaching Manilla, Lutke made a cruise in the northern part of
+the Caroline Archipelago, which he had not had time to visit during the
+preceding winter. He saw in succession the islands of Marileu, Falulu,
+Faiu, Namuniuto, Magur, Faraulep, Eap, Mogmog, and found at Manilla the
+sloop, the _Moller_ which was waiting his arrival.
+
+The Caroline Archipelago embraces an immense space, and the Marianne
+Islands, as well as the Radak group, might fitly be included in it, as
+containing a population perfectly identical in race. For a long time
+the old geographers had had for their guidance only the charts of
+missionaries who, lacking alike the education and the appliances
+necessary to estimate accurately the size, position, and relative
+distance of all these archipelagoes, had attached notable importance to
+them, and often fixed at a considerable number of degrees the extent of
+a group which covered only a few miles.
+
+Thus navigators accepted their guidance with wise caution. Freycinet
+was the first to infuse a little order into this chaos, and, thanks to
+his meeting with Kadu and Don Louis Torres, he was able to identify
+later with earlier discoveries. Lutke did his part--and that not a
+small part--in the settling of an accurate and scientific chart of an
+archipelago which had long been the terror of navigators.
+
+The learned Russian explorer is not of the same opinion as Lesson, one
+of his predecessors, who connected all the inhabitants of the Caroline
+group with the Mongolian race, under the name of the "Mongolo-Pelagian"
+branch. He rather sees in them, as did Chamisso and Balbi, a branch of
+the Malay family, which has peopled Eastern Polynesia. Whilst Lesson
+compares the people of the Carolines with the Chinese and Japanese,
+Lutke, on the other hand, finds in their great, projecting eyes, thick
+lips, and _retrousse_ nose, a family likeness to the people of the
+Sandwich and Tonga Islands. The language does not suggest the slightest
+comparison with Japanese, whilst it shows a great resemblance to that
+of the Tonga Islands.
+
+Lutke spent the time of his sojourn at Manilla in laying in stores, and
+repairing the sloop, and, on the 30th of January, he left that Spanish
+possession for Russia, which he reached on the 6th of September, 1829,
+casting anchor in the roads of Cronstadt.
+
+It remains now to tell how it had fared with the sloop, the _Moller_,
+after the separation at Valparaiso. Arriving at Kamtchatka from
+Otaheite, she had left part of her cargo at Petropaulovski, and
+thereafter--in August, 1827--had set sail for Ounalashka, where she had
+remained for a month. After an examination of the west coast of
+America, which was cut short by unfavourable weather, and a stay at
+Honolulu, which extended to February, 1828, she had discovered the
+island Moller, noted the Necker, Gardner, and Lisiansky Islands, and
+marked, at a distance of six miles southwards, a very dangerous reef.
+
+The sloop had then coasted the island of Cure, the French Frigate Shoal
+the reef Maro, Pearl Island, and the Isle of Hermes; and, after having
+made search for several islands marked upon Arrowsmith's charts, had at
+length reached Kamtchatka. At the end of April, she had set sail for
+Ounalashka and taken observations of the north coast of the Alaska
+peninsula. In September the _Moller_ rejoined the _Seniavine_, and,
+from that period until their return to Russia, they were no more
+separated, save for brief intervals.
+
+As one may judge from the sufficiently detailed account which has just
+been given, this expedition did not fail to bring about results of
+importance to geographical science. We must add that the different
+branches of natural history, physics, and astronomy, owe to it equally
+numerous and important additions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+FRENCH CIRCUMNAVIGATORS.
+
+The journey of Freycinet--Rio de Janeiro and its gipsy inhabitants--The
+Cape and its wines--The Bay of Sharks--Stay at Timor--Ombay Island and
+its cannibal inhabitants--The Papuan Islands--The pile dwellings of the
+Alfoers--A dinner with the Governor of Guam--Description of the
+Marianne Islands and their inhabitants--Particulars concerning the
+Sandwich Islands--Port Jackson and New South Wales--Shipwreck in
+Berkeley Sound--The Falkland Islands--Return to France--The voyage of
+the _Coquille_ under the command of Duperrey--Martin-Vaz and Trinidad--
+The Island of St. Catharine--The independence of Brazil--Berkeley Sound
+and the remains of the _Uranie_--Stay at Conception--The civil war in
+Chili--The Araucanians--Discoveries in the Dangerous Archipelago--Stay
+at Otaheite and New Ireland--The Papuans--Stay at Ualan--The Caroline
+Islands and their inhabitants--Scientific results of the expeditions.
+
+
+The expedition under the command of Louis Claude de Saulces de
+Freycinet was the result of the leisure which the Peace of 1815 brought
+to the French navy. The idea was started by one of its most adventurous
+officers, the same who had accompanied Baudin in his survey of the
+Australian coasts, and to him was entrusted the task of carrying it
+out. It was the first voyage which had not hydrography alone for its
+object. Its chief aim was to survey the shape of the land in the
+southern hemisphere, and to make observations in terrestrial magnetism,
+without, at the same time, omitting to give attention to all natural
+phenomena, and to the manners, customs, and languages of indigenous
+races. Purely geographical inquiries, though not altogether omitted
+from the programme, had the least prominent place in it.
+
+Among the medical officers of the navy, Freycinet found MM. Quoy,
+Gaimard, and Gaudichaud, whose attainments in natural history qualified
+them for being valuable coadjutors; and he also chose to accompany him
+several distinguished officers who had risen to high rank in the navy,
+the best known being Duperrey, Lamarche, Berard, and Odet-Pellion, who
+subsequently became, one a member of the Institute, the others superior
+officers or admirals.
+
+No less care was exercised by Freycinet in composing his crew chiefly
+of sailors who were also skilled in some trade; so that out of the 120
+men who manned the corvette _Uranie_, no less than fifty could serve on
+occasion as carpenters, ropemakers, sailmakers, blacksmiths, or other
+mechanics.
+
+The _Uranie_, amply supplied with stores for two years, and provided
+with all sorts of apparatus of proved utility, iron cisterns for fresh
+water, machines for distilling salt water, preserved provisions,
+remedies for scurvy, &c. At last, on the 17th of September, 1817, she
+set sail from Toulon. On board, disguised as a sailor, was the
+commander's wife, who was not to be deterred from joining her husband
+by the dangers and hardships of so protracted a voyage.
+
+Together with all these provisions for bodily comfort, Freycinet took
+with him a stock of the best scientific instruments, together with
+minute instructions from the Institute intended to direct his
+researches, and to suggest the experiments best adapted to promote the
+progress of science.
+
+The _Uranie_ reached Rio de Janeiro on the 6th of December, having put
+in at Gibraltar, and made a short stay at Teneriffe, one of the
+Canaries, which, as Freycinet wittily observes, were not Fortunate
+Islands for his crew, all communication with the land being forbidden
+by the governors.
+
+During their stay at Rio de Janeiro the officers took a great many
+magnetical observations and made experiments with the pendulum, whilst
+the naturalists scoured the country for new specimens and curiosities,
+making large and important collections.
+
+The original records of the voyage contain a long narrative of the
+discovery and colonization of Brazil, and detailed information on the
+customs and manners of the people, on the temperature and the climate,
+as well as a minute description of the principal buildings and the
+suburbs of Rio de Janeiro itself. The most curious part of this account
+is that which touches upon the gipsies, who, at that time, were to be
+met with at Rio de Janeiro.
+
+"Worthy descendants of the Pariahs of India, whence these gipsies
+without doubt originally came," says Freycinet, "they are noted like
+their ancestors for every vicious practice and criminal propensity.
+Most of them, possessing immense wealth, make a great display in dress
+and in horses, especially at their weddings, which are celebrated with
+much expense; and they find their chief pleasure either in riotous
+debauchery or in sheer idleness. Knaves and liars, they cheat as much
+as they can in trade, and are also clever smugglers. Here, as
+elsewhere, these detestable people intermarry only among their own
+race. They speak a jargon of their own with a peculiar accent. The
+government most unaccountably tolerates the nuisance of their presence,
+and goes so far as to appropriate to their exclusive use two streets in
+the neighbourhood of the Campo de Santa Anna."
+
+A little further on the traveller remarks,--
+
+"Any one who saw Rio de Janeiro only by day would come to the
+conclusion that the population consisted entirely of negroes. The
+respectable classes never go out except in the evening, unless
+compelled by some pressing circumstance or for the performance of
+religious duties; and it is in the evening that the ladies especially
+show themselves. During the day all remain indoors, and pass the time
+between their couches and their looking-glasses. The only places where
+a man can enjoy the society of the ladies are the theatres and the
+churches."
+
+During the sail from Brazil to the Cape of Good Hope nothing occurred
+deserving special mention. On the 7th March the _Uranie_ anchored in
+Table Bay. After a quarantine of three days, the travellers obtained
+permission to land, and were received with a hearty welcome by Governor
+Somerset. As soon as a place suitable for their reception had been
+found, the scientific instruments were brought on shore, and the usual
+experiments were made with the pendulum, and the variations of the
+magnetic needle observed.
+
+MM. Quoy and Gaimard, the naturalists, in company with several officers
+of the staff, made scientific excursions to Table Mountain and to the
+famous vineyards of Constantia. M. Gaimard observes, "The vines that we
+rode amongst are in the midst of alleys of oak and of pine; and the
+vine-stems, planted at the distance of four feet from one another, are
+not supported by props. Every year the vines are pruned, and the earth
+about them, which is of a sandy nature, is turned up. We noticed here
+and there plenty of peaches, apricots, apples, pears, citrons, as well
+as small plots cultivated as kitchen-gardens. On our return, M. Colyn
+insisted on our tasting the several sorts of wine which he
+produces,--Constantia properly so-called, both red and white, Pontac,
+Pierre, and Frontignac. The wine produced in other localities, which is
+called _Cape wine par excellence_, is manufactured from a muscatel
+grape of a dark straw colour, which seemed to me in flavour preferable
+to the grape of Provence. We have just said that there are two sorts of
+Constantia, the red and the white; they are both produced from muscatel
+grapes of different colours. People at the Cape generally prefer
+Frontignac to all the other wines produced from the vintages of
+Constantia."
+
+Exactly a month after quitting the southern extremity of Africa, the
+_Uranie_ cast anchor off Port Louis in the Isle of France, which, since
+the Treaties of 1815, has been in the hands of the English. The
+necessity for careening the ship, that it might be thoroughly examined,
+and the copper sheathing repaired, led to a much longer stay in this
+port than Freycinet had calculated upon; but our travellers found no
+cause to regret the delay, for the society of Port Louis fully
+sustained its old reputation for generous hospitality. The time passed
+quickly in excursions, receptions, dinners, balls, horse-races, and all
+sorts of festivities. It was, therefore, not without some regret that
+the French guests bade adieu to a place where they had been received
+with so much kindness both by their old compatriots and by those who
+had so lately been their bitter enemies.
+
+The stay of the _Uranie_ at the Isle of France had not, however, been
+sufficiently long to allow Freycinet to investigate many subjects of
+much interest, but this omission was remedied by the polite readiness
+shown by some of the leading residents in supplying him with valuable
+papers on the agriculture of the island, its commerce, its financial
+position, the industrial pursuits, and the social condition of the
+people, the correct appreciation of which demanded a more careful and
+minute examination than a mere passing traveller could possibly give to
+them. Since the island had come under English administration, it
+appeared that a number of new roads had been planned out, and a policy
+of reform had supplanted a benumbing system of routine fatal to all
+activity and progress.
+
+Bourbon was the next place touched at by the _Uranie_, where the
+supplies of which the travellers stood in need were to be procured from
+the government stores. She cast anchor off St. Denis on the 19th July,
+1818, remaining in the roadstead of St. Paul until the 2nd August, when
+she set sail for the Bay of Sharks, on the western shores of Australia.
+There is little of interest to be noted in connexion with the stay at
+Bourbon beyond the steady increase of the population and of trade which
+had taken place during the century preceding the arrival of the French
+expedition in 1717. According to Gentil de Barbinais, there were living
+in the island only 900 free people, amongst whom were no more than six
+white families, and 1100 slaves. At the last census taken in 1817,
+these numbers had risen to 14,790 whites, 4342 free blacks, 49,759
+slaves, making a total of 68,898 inhabitants. This large and rapid
+increase must be attributed partly to the salubrity of the climate, but
+chiefly to the freedom of trade, of which the island had for some time
+enjoyed the advantage.
+
+After a fortunate voyage of forty days, the _Uranie_ cast anchor at the
+entrance of the Bay of Sharks on the 12th September. A party was at
+once despatched to Dirk Hartog, in order to determine the latitude and
+longitude of Cape Levaillant, and to bring on board the corvette a
+certain metal plate which had been left there by the Dutch at a remote
+period, and had been seen by Freycinet in 1801. Whilst this party were
+away, the two alembics were set to work to distil sea-water, which was
+effected so successfully that as long as the vessel stayed there, no
+other water was drunk but that obtained by this process, and all on
+board were satisfied with it.
+
+On landing, the party sent to Dirk Hartog, got a view of the natives,
+who were armed with javelins and clubs, but had not a vestige of
+clothing. They, however, refused to have any close communications with
+the white strangers, keeping themselves at a respectful distance, and
+not handling any of the presents offered them without a previous
+careful inspection.
+
+Although the Bay of Sharks had been minutely explored at the time of
+the expedition under Baudin, there still remained a hydrographical gap
+to be filled up on the eastern side of Hamelin Bay. Accordingly
+Duperrey proceeded there to complete the survey of that part of the
+coast. At the same time Gaimard, the naturalist, not disposed to rest
+satisfied with the interviews which as yet he had been able to obtain
+with the natives of the country, whom the sound of the fire-arms had
+summarily dispersed, decided upon penetrating into the interior, to
+gain some information respecting their mode of life. His companion and
+himself lost their way, as also did Riche in 1792 upon Nuyt's Land,
+where for three days they underwent severe sufferings from thirst, not
+being able to find a single rivulet or spring in the country.
+
+The Expedition were well pleased when the inhospitable shores of
+Endracht disappeared from view. They had a pleasant passage in lovely
+weather, and over an unruffled sea, to the island of Timor, where on
+the 9th October the _Uranie_ cast anchor in the roadstead of Coupang,
+and the travellers met with a cordial reception from the Portuguese
+authorities. But they found that the prosperity which had made the
+colony an object of wonder and admiration to the French travellers who
+had visited it with Baudin, had passed away. The Rajah of Amanoubang,
+the district where the sandal-tree grows in such abundance, who was
+formerly a tributary prince, was carrying on war to gain independence.
+The hostilities which were proceeding were not only detrimental to the
+interests of the colony, but also made it very difficult for Freycinet
+to purchase the commodities of which he stood in need. Some of the
+staff set off to pay a visit to the Rajah Peters de Banacassi, whose
+residence was not more than three-quarters of a league from Coupang.
+Peters, then eighty years of age, must have been a remarkably fine man.
+He gave them an audience surrounded by his attendants, who treated him
+with profound respect, and among whom were conspicuous several warriors
+of gigantic stature. The dwelling that served for the royal palace was
+rudely constructed, yet the French travellers saw with lively surprise
+that articles of luxury were plentiful, and they observed also some
+muskets of good manufacture and great value.
+
+Notwithstanding the excessive heat of the climate, the thermometer
+rising in the open air to 45 degrees, and in the shade to 33 degrees,
+and even to 35 degrees, the commander and his officers carried on with
+unremitting zeal the observations and surveys which it was the object
+of the Expedition to make. A few fell victims to their own imprudence,
+for in defiance of the earnest warnings of Freycinet, some of the young
+officers and the seamen chose to sally forth in the middle of the day,
+and with the view of fortifying themselves against the injurious
+effects of their dangerous freak, drank and ate plentifully of cold
+water and sour fruits. The result was that in a short time five of the
+most imprudent were confined to their hammocks with dysentery. This
+necessitated a departure from Timor; so the _Uranie_ weighed anchor and
+set sail on the 23rd October.
+
+At first the corvette sailed rapidly along the north coast of Timor,
+for the purpose of making a survey, but when she had reached the
+narrowest part of the Channel of Ombay, she encountered such violent
+currents that--the winds being slight and contrary--it was only with
+great difficulty she was able to regain the course which she had lost
+during the calm. No less than nineteen days were wasted in this trying
+situation; though certain of the officers took advantage of the delay
+to land on the nearest point of the island of Ombay, where the coast
+had a very inviting appearance. They went on shore near a village
+called Bitouka, and advanced to meet a body of the natives, armed with
+shields and cuirasses made of buffalo-skin, and carrying bows, arrows,
+and daggers. Savages though they were, they had quite the air of
+warriors, and were not at all afraid of fire-arms; on the contrary,
+they argued that the loading of the gun caused loss of time, for while
+that operation was going on, they could fire off a great number of
+arrows.
+
+Gaimard writes, "The points of the arrows were of hard wood, or of
+bone, and some of iron. The arrows themselves, displayed fan-wise, were
+fastened on the left side of the warrior to the belt of his sword or
+dagger. Most of these people wore bundles of palm-leaves, slit so as to
+allow red or black coloured strips of the same to be passed through to
+hold them together, which were attached to the belt or the right thigh.
+The rustling sound produced with every movement of the wearers of this
+singular ornament, increased by knocking against the cuirass or the
+buckler, with the addition of the tinkling of little bells, which also
+formed part of the warrior's equipment, altogether made such a jumble
+of discordant sounds that we could not refrain from laughing. Far from
+taking offence, our Ombayan friends joined heartily in our merriment.
+M. Arago[1] greatly excited their astonishment by performing some
+sleight-of-hand tricks. We then took our way straight to the village of
+Bitouka, which was situated on a rising ground. In passing one of their
+cottages we happened to see about a score of human jawbones suspended
+from the roof, and anxious to get possession of one or two, I offered
+the most valuable articles I had about me in exchange. The answer was,
+'palami,' they are sacred. We ascertained afterwards that these were
+the jawbones of their enemies, preserved as trophies of victory."
+
+[Footnote 1: Jacques Arago, brother of the illustrious astronomer.]
+
+[Illustration: Warriors of Ombay and Guebeh. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+This excursion derived greater interest from the circumstance of the
+island of Ombay having been up to that time rarely visited by
+Europeans; and the few vessels that had effected any landing brought
+mournful accounts of the warlike and ferocious temper of the natives,
+and even in some instances of their cannibal propensities. Thus in 1802
+the merchant-ship _Rose_ had her small boat carried off, and the crew
+were detained as prisoners by the savages. Ten years later, the captain
+of the ship _Inacho_, who landed by himself, received several arrow
+wounds. Again, in 1817, an English frigate sent the cutter ashore for
+the purpose of getting wood, when a scrimmage took place between the
+crew and the natives, which ended in the former being killed and eaten.
+The day after, an armed sloop was despatched in quest of the missing
+crew; but nothing was found save some fragments of the cutter and the
+bloody remains of the unfortunate men.
+
+In view of these facts the French travellers must be congratulated on
+having escaped being entrapped by the savage cannibals, which would
+undoubtedly have been attempted had the _Uranie_ stayed long enough at
+Ombay.
+
+On the 17th of November the anchor was let go at Dili.
+
+After the customary interchange of compliments with the Portuguese
+governor, Freycinet made known the requirements of the expedition, and
+received a friendly assurance that the necessary provisions should be
+instantly forthcoming. The reception given to all the members of the
+expedition was both hearty and liberal, and when Freycinet took his
+leave, the governor, wishing that he should carry away some souvenir of
+his visit, presented him with two boys and two girls, of the ages of
+six and seven, natives of Failacor, a kingdom in the interior of Timor.
+To insure the acceptance of this present, the governor, D. Jose Pinto
+Alcofarado d'Azevado e Souza, stated that the race to which the
+children belonged was quite unknown in Europe. In spite of all the
+strong and conclusive reasons that Freycinet gave to explain why he
+felt compelled to decline the present, he was obliged to take charge of
+one of the little boys, who subsequently received the name of Joseph
+Antonio in baptism, but when sixteen years old died of some scrofulous
+disease at Paris.
+
+On a first examination it would appear that the population of Timor
+belonged altogether to the Asiatic race; but so far as any reliance can
+be placed upon somewhat extended researches, there is reason to think
+that in the unfrequented mountains in the centre of the island there
+exists a race of negroes with woolly hair, and savage manners, of the
+type of the indigenous races of New Guinea and New Ireland, whom one is
+led to consider the primitive population. This line of research,
+commenced at the close of the eighteenth century by an Englishman of
+the name of Crawford, has been in our time carried forward with
+striking results by the labours of the learned Doctors Broca and E.
+Hamy, to the latter of whom the reading public are indebted for the
+pleasing and instructive papers on primitive populations which have
+appeared in _Nature_ and in the journals of the Royal Geographical
+Society.
+
+After leaving Timor the _Uranie_ proceeded towards the Strait of
+Bourou, and in passing between the islands of Wetter and Roma got sight
+of the picturesque island of Gasses, clothed in the brightest and
+thickest verdure imaginable. The corvette was then drifted by currents
+almost as far as the island of Pisang, near which she fell in with
+three dhows, manned by natives of the island of Gueby. These people
+have an olive complexion, broad flat noses, and thick lips; some are
+strong, looking robust and athletic, others are slender and weakly in
+appearance; and others, again, thickset and repulsive-looking. The only
+clothing worn by the majority at this time was a pair of drawers
+fastened with a handkerchief round the waist.
+
+A landing was effected on the little island of Pisang. It was found to
+be of volcanic origin, and the soil, formed from the decomposition of
+trachytic lava, was evidently very fertile. From Pisang the corvette
+made her way among islands, till then scarcely known, to Rawak, where
+she cast anchor at noon on the 16th of December. This island, though
+small, is inhabited; but though our navigators were often visited by
+the natives of Waigiou, opportunities for studying this species of the
+human family have been rare. Moreover, it ought to be mentioned that
+through ignorance of the language of the indigenous tribes, and the
+difficulty of making them understand through the medium of Malayan, of
+which they know only a few words, even those few opportunities have not
+been turned to much account. As soon as a suitable position was found,
+the instruments were set up, and the usual physical and astronomical
+observations were made in conjunction with geographical researches.
+
+[Illustration: Rawak hut on piles. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The islands which Freycinet calls the islands of the Papuans are Rawak,
+Boni, Waigiou, and Manouran, which are situated almost immediately
+below the equator. The largest of these, Waigiou, is not less than
+seventy-two miles from one side to the other; the low shorage consists
+mainly of swamp and morass, while the banks, which run up steeply, are
+surrounded by coral reefs, and are full of small caves hollowed out by
+the waves. All the islets are clothed with vegetation of surprising
+beauty. They abound with magnificent trees, amongst which the
+"Barringtonia" may be recognized, with its voluminous trunk always
+leaning towards the sea, allowing the tips of the branches to touch the
+water; the "scoevola lobelia," fig-trees, mangroves, the casuarinae,
+with their straight and slender stems shooting up to the height of
+forty feet, the rima, the takanahaka, with its trunk more than twenty
+feet in circumference; the cynometer, belonging to the family of
+leguminous plants, bright from its topmost to its lowest branches with
+pale red flowers and golden fruits; and besides these rarer trees,
+palms, nutmeg-trees, roseapple-trees, banana-trees, flourish in the low
+and moist ground.
+
+[Illustration: The luxuriant vegetation of the Papuan Islands.]
+
+The fauna, however, has not attained to the same exceptionally fine
+development as the flora. At Rawak the phalanger and the sheepdog in a
+wild state were the only quadrupeds met with. In Waigiou, the boar
+called barberossa, and a diminutive of the same race were found. But as
+to the feathered tribe, they were not so numerous as one might have
+supposed; the plants yielding grain necessary for the sustenance of
+birds not being able to thrive in the dense shade of the forests.
+Hornbills are here met with, whose wings, furnished with long feathers
+separated at the tips, make a very loud noise when they fly; great
+quantities of parrots, kingfishers, turtle-doves, piping-crows, brown
+hawks, crested pigeons, and possibly also birds of paradise, though the
+travellers did not see any specimens.
+
+The Papuans themselves are positively repulsively ugly. To quote the
+words of Odet-Pellion, "a flat skull, a facial angle of 75 degrees, a
+large mouth, eyes small and sunken, a thick nose, flat at the end and
+pressed down on the upper lip, a scanty beard, a peculiarity of the
+people of those regions already noticed, shoulders of a moderate size,
+a prominent belly, and slight lower limbs; these are the chief
+characteristics of the Papuans. Their hair both in its nature and mode
+of arrangement varies a good deal. Most commonly it is dressed with
+great pains into a matted structure not less than eight inches in
+height; composed of a mass of soft downy hair curling naturally; or it
+is frizzed up, till it positively bristles, and with the assistance of
+a coating of grease, is plastered round the skull in the shape of a
+globe. A long wooden comb of six or seven teeth is also often stuck in,
+not so much to aid in keeping the mass together as to give a finishing
+touch of ornament."
+
+These unfortunate people are afflicted with the terrible scourge of
+leprosy, which is so prevalent that at least a tenth part of the
+population are infested with the disease. The cause of this dreadful
+malady must be sought in the insalubrity of the climate, the miasma
+from the marshes, which are overflowed with sea-water every flood tide,
+the neighbourhood of the burial-places, which are badly kept, and
+perhaps also to the consumption of shell-fish which these natives
+devour greedily.
+
+All the houses, whether inland or on the coast, are built on piles.
+Many of these dwellings are erected in places extremely difficult of
+access. They are made by thrusting stakes into the earth, to which
+transverse beams are fastened with ropes made of fibre, and on these a
+flooring is laid of palm-leaves, trimmed and strongly intertwined one
+with another. These leaves, made to lap over in an artistic fashion,
+are also used for the roof of the house, which has only one door.
+Should the dwellings be built over the water, communication is carried
+on between them and the shore by means of a kind of bridge resting upon
+trestles, the movable flooring of which can be quickly taken up. Every
+house is also surrounded by a kind of balcony furnished with a
+balustrade.
+
+The travellers could not obtain any information as to the friendly
+disposition of these natives. Whether the whole tribe consists of large
+communities united under one chief or several, whether each community
+obeys only its own proper head, whether the population is numerous or
+not, are all points which could not be ascertained. The name by which
+they call themselves is Alfourous. They appeared to talk in several
+distinct dialects, which differ remarkably from Papuan or Malay.
+
+The inhabitants of this group seem to be a very industrious race. They
+manufacture all sorts of fishing apparatus very cleverly; they are
+expert in finding their way through the forests; they know how to
+prepare the pith of the sago-plant, and to make ovens for the cooking
+of the sago; they can turn pottery ware, weave mats, carpets, baskets,
+and can also carve idols and figures. In the harbour of Boni on the
+coast of Waigiou, MM. Quoy and Gaimard noticed a statue moulded in
+white clay, under a sort of canopy close to a tomb. It represented a
+man standing upright, of the natural height, with his hands raised
+towards heaven. The head was of wood, with the cheeks and eyes inlaid
+with small pieces of white shell.
+
+[Illustration: Map of Australia.]
+
+On the 6th of January, 1819, having taken in supplies at Rawak, the
+_Uranie_ proceeded on her voyage, and soon came in sight of the Ayou
+islands, mere sand-banks surrounded by breakers, of which few
+geographical details had been known up to that time. There was much to
+be done in the way of accurate survey, but unfortunately the
+hydrographers were sorely hindered in their work by the fever which
+they and some forty of the crew had contracted at Rawak. Sailing on,
+the Anchoret Islands came in sight on the 12th of February, and on the
+day following the Amirantes, but the _Uranie_ did not attempt to make
+for the land. Shortly after passing the Amirantes, the corvette sighted
+St. Bartholomew, which the inhabitants call Poulousouk. It belongs to
+the Caroline archipelago. A busy trade, always attended with much
+uproar, was soon set on foot with the indigenous people, who resisted
+all persuasion to come on board, conducting all their transactions,
+nevertheless, with admirable good faith, in no instance showing any
+dishonest tendencies. One after another Poulouhat, Alet, Tamatam,
+Allap, Tanadik, all islands belonging to this archipelago, passed
+before the admiring gaze of the French navigators. At length, on the
+17th of March, 1819, just eighteen months from the time of quitting
+France, Freycinet got sight of the Marianne Islands, and cast anchor in
+the roads of Umata on the coast of Guam. Just as the officers of the
+expedition were ready to go on shore, the governor of the island, D.
+Medinilla y Pineda, accompanied by his lieutenant, Major D. Luis de
+Torres, came on board to bid them welcome. These gentlemen showed a
+polite anxiety to learn what the explorers stood in need of, and
+engaged that all their wants should be supplied with the least possible
+delay.
+
+No time was lost in looking for a place suited for conversion into a
+temporary hospital, and one being found, the sick on board, to the
+number of twenty, were removed to it for treatment the very next day.
+
+A dinner to the staff of the expedition was given by the governor, and
+all the officers assembled in his house at the appointed hour. They
+found a table covered with light cakes and fruits, in the midst of
+which were two bowls of hot punch. Some surprise escaped the guests, in
+private remarks to one another, at this singular kind of banquet. Could
+it be a fast-day? Why did no one sit down? But as there was no
+interpreter to clear up these points, and as it would have been
+unbecoming to ask for an explanation, they kept their difficulties for
+solution among themselves, and paid attention to the good things before
+them. Soon a fresh surprise came; the table was cleared and covered
+with various sorts of prepared dishes--in short, a substantial and
+sumptuous dinner was served. The collation which had been taken at the
+commencement, called in the language of the country "Refresco," had
+been intended only to whet the appetites of the guests for what was to
+follow.
+
+After this, luxurious dinners became quite the rage at Guam. Two days
+subsequent to the governor's banquet, the officers found themselves at
+a dinner-party of fifty guests, where no less than forty-four separate
+dishes were served at each of the three courses of which the dinner
+consisted. Freycinet, from information he had received, relates that
+"this dinner cost the lives of two oxen and three fat pigs, to say
+nothing of poultry, game, and fish. Such a slaughter, I should think,
+has not been known since the marriage-feast of Gamache. No doubt our
+host considered that persons who had undergone so many privations
+during a protracted voyage ought to be compensated with an unusually
+profuse entertainment. The dessert showed no falling off either in
+abundance or in variety; it was succeeded by tea, coffee, creams,
+liqueurs of every description; and as the 'Refresco' had been served as
+usual an hour previous to dinner, it will be admitted without question
+that at Guam the most intrepid gourmand could find no other cause for
+disappointment but the limited capacity of the human stomach."
+
+However, the objects of the mission were not interfered with by all
+this dining and festivity. Natural history excursions, magnetical
+observations, the geographical survey of the island of Guam, entrusted
+to Duperrey, were all being pushed forward simultaneously. But in the
+meantime the corvette had got to moorings in the deep water off the
+port of St. Louis, while the chief of the Staff, as well as the sick,
+were housed at Agagna, the capital of the island and the seat of
+government. At that place, in honour of the French visitors,
+cock-fights took place, a kind of sport very popular in all the Spanish
+possessions in Oceania; dances also were given, the figures in which,
+it was said, contained allusions to events in the history of Mexico.
+The dancers, students of the Agagna college, were dressed in rich
+silks, imported a long time previously by the Jesuits from New Spain.
+Then came combats with sticks in which the Carolins took part; which
+again were succeeded, almost uninterruptedly by other amusements. But
+what Freycinet considered of most value was the mass of information
+concerning the customs and manners of the former inhabitants of the
+islands, which he obtained through Major D. Luis Torres; who, himself
+born in the country, had made a constant study of this subject. Of this
+interesting information use will be made when the subject is presently
+resumed, but first some notice must be taken of an excursion to the
+islands Rota and Tinian, the latter of which had already become known
+to us through the narratives of former travellers.
+
+[Illustration: A performer of the dances of Montezuma. (Fac-simile of
+early engraving.)]
+
+On the 22nd April a small fleet of eight proas conveyed MM. Berard,
+Gaudichaud, and Jacques Arago to Rota, where their arrival occasioned
+great surprise and alarm, explained by the fact that a report had
+gained currency in the island that the corvette was manned with rebels
+from America.
+
+Beyond Rota the proas reached Tinian, where the arid plains recalled to
+the travellers the desolate coasts of the land of Endracht, testifying
+to the considerable changes that must have taken place there since the
+time when Lord Anson described the place as a terrestrial Paradise.
+
+The Marianne archipelago was discovered by Magellan on the 6th March,
+1521, and at first received the name of _Islas de las velas latinas_,
+the Isles of the lateen sails, but subsequently that of the _Ladrones_,
+or the Robbers. If one may trust Pigafetta, the illustrious admiral saw
+no islands but Tinian, Saypan, and Agoignan. Five years later they were
+visited by the Spaniard Loyasa, whose cordial reception was quite a
+contrast to that of Magellan; and in 1565 the islands were declared to
+be Spanish territory by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. It was not, however,
+until 1669 that they were colonized and evangelized by Father
+Sanvitores. It will be understood that we should not follow Freycinet's
+narrative of past events in the history of this archipelago, were it
+not that the manuscripts and works of every kind which he was permitted
+to consult enabled him to treat the subject _de novo_, and throw upon
+it the light of real knowledge.
+
+The admiration, still lingering in the minds of the travellers, which
+had been aroused by the incredible fertility of the Papuan Islands and
+the Moluccas was no doubt calculated to weaken the impression produced
+by any of the Marianne Islands. The forests of Guam, though well
+stocked, did not present the gigantic appearance common to forest
+scenery in the tropics. They extended over a large part of the island,
+yet there were also immense spaces devoted to pasturage, where not a
+breadfruit-tree nor a cocoa-nut palm was to be seen. In the depths of
+the forests, moreover, the conquerors of the islands had created
+artificial glades, in order that the herds of horned cattle which they
+had introduced might find food and also enjoy shelter from the sun.
+
+Agoignan, an island with a very rocky coast, presented from a distance
+an arid and barren appearance, but is in reality thickly clothed with
+trees even to the summit of its highest mountains.
+
+Rota is a regular jungle, an almost impenetrable mass of brushwood,
+above which rise thickets of rimas, tamarind, fig, and palm trees.
+Tinian, too, presents anything but an agreeable appearance. The French
+explorers altogether missed the charming scenes described in such
+glowing colours by their predecessors, but the appearance of the soil,
+and the immense number of dead trees, led them to the conclusion that
+old accounts were not altogether exaggerated, especially as the
+southern portion of the island is now rendered quite inaccessible by
+its dense forests.
+
+At the time of Freycinet's visit the population of these islands was of
+a very mixed character, the aborigines being quite in the minority. The
+more highly born of the natives were formerly bigger, stronger, and
+better made than Europeans, but the race is degenerating, and the
+primitive type in its purity is now only to be met with in Rota.
+
+Capital swimmers and divers, able to walk immense distances without
+fatigue, every man of them had to prove his proficiency in these
+exercises on his marriage; but although this proficiency has been in
+some measure kept up, the leading characteristic of the people of the
+Marianne group is idleness, or perhaps to be more strictly accurate,
+indifference.
+
+Marriages are contracted at a very early age, the bridegroom being
+generally between fifteen and eighteen, the bride between twelve and
+fifteen. A numerous progeny is the result of these unions; instances
+being on record of twenty-two children born of one mother.
+
+Not only do the people of Guam suffer from many diseases, such as lung
+complaints, smallpox, &c., introduced by Europeans; but also from some
+which seem to be endemic, or in any case to have assumed a type
+peculiar to the place and altogether abnormal. Such are elephantiasis
+and leprosy, three varieties of which are met with at Guam, differing
+from each other alike in their symptoms and their effects.
+
+Before the conquest, the people of the Mariannes lived on the fruit of
+the rima or bread-tree, rice, sago, and other farinaceous plants. Their
+mode of cooking these articles was extremely simple, though not so much
+so as their style of dress, for they went about in a state of nature,
+unrelieved even by the traditional fig-leaf.
+
+At the present time children still wear no clothing till they are about
+ten years old. Alluding to this peculiar custom, Captain Pages, writing
+at the close of last century, says, "I found myself near a house, in
+front of which an Indian girl, about eleven years old, was squatted on
+her heels in the full blaze of the sun, without a vestige of clothing
+on. Her chemise lay folded on the ground in front of her. When she saw
+me approaching, she got up quickly and put it on again. Although still
+far from decently clothed, for only her shoulders were covered by it,
+she now considered herself properly dressed, and stood before me quite
+unembarrassed."
+
+Judging from the remains nearly everywhere to be met with, such as the
+ruins of dwellings originally supported by masonry pillars, it is plain
+that the population was formerly considerable. The earliest traveller
+who has made any reference to this subject is Lord Anson. He has given
+a somewhat fanciful description, which, however, the explorers in the
+_Uranie_ were able to corroborate, as will be seen from the following
+extract.
+
+"The description found in the narrative of Lord Anson's voyage is
+correct; but the ruins and the branches of the trees that have in some
+way twined themselves about the masonry pillars, wear now a very
+different aspect from what they did in his time. The sharp edges of the
+pillars have got rubbed away, and the half-globes that surmounted them
+have no longer their former roundness."
+
+[Illustration: Ruins of ancient pillars at Tinian. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+Of the structures of more recent date only a sixth part are of stone.
+At Agagna may be counted several buildings possessing some interest on
+account of their size, if not on that of their elegance, grandeur, or
+the fineness of their proportions. These are the College of St. John
+Lateran, the church, the clergy-house, the governor's palace, and the
+taverns.
+
+Before the Spaniards established their sway in these islands, the
+natives were divided into three classes, the nobility, the inferior
+nobility, and the commonalty. These last, the Pariahs of the country,
+Freycinet remarks, though without citing his authority, were of a more
+diminutive stature than the other inhabitants. This difference of
+height is, however, scarcely a sufficient reason for pronouncing them
+to be of a different race from the other two classes; is it not more
+reasonable to conclude it to be the result of the degrading servitude
+to which they have been subjected? These plebeians could under no
+circumstances raise themselves to a higher class; and a seafaring life
+was forbidden to them. Each of the three castes had its own sorceresses
+and priestesses, or medicine-women, who each devoted her attention to
+the treatment of some one disorder; only no reason, however, for
+crediting them with any special skill in its cure.
+
+The business of canoe-building was monopolized by the nobles; who,
+however, allowed the inferior nobles to assist in their construction.
+The making of canoes was to them a work of the utmost importance, and
+the nobles maintained it as one of their most valuable privileges. The
+language spoken in the Philippine group, though it has some affinity
+with the Malay and Tagala dialects, has all the same a distinctive
+character of its own. Freycinet's narrative also contains much
+information on the extremely singular customs of the former population
+of the Mariannes, which are beyond our province, though well worthy of
+the attention of the philosopher and historian.
+
+The _Uranie_ had been now more than two months at anchor. It was full
+time to resume the work of exploration. Freycinet and his staff,
+therefore, devoted the few remaining days of their stay to the task of
+paying farewell visits and expressing their gratitude for the hearty
+kindness which had been so profusely shown to them. The governor,
+however, not only declined to admit his claim to thanks from the French
+travellers for the hospitable attentions heaped upon them for upwards
+of two months; but also refused to accept any payment for the supplies
+which had been furnished for the refitting of the corvette. He even
+went so far as to write a letter of apology for the scantiness of the
+provisions, the result of the drought which had desolated Guam for the
+previous six months, and which had prevented him from doing things as
+he could have wished. The final farewell took place off Agagna. "It was
+impossible," says Freycinet, "to take leave of the amiable man, who had
+loaded us with so many proofs of his friendly disposition, without
+being deeply affected. I was too much moved to be able to find
+expression for the feelings with which my heart was filled; but the
+tears which filled my eyes must have been to him a surer evidence than
+any words could have been of my gratitude and my regret."
+
+From the 5th to the 16th June the _Uranie_ occupied in an exploring
+cruise round the north of the Marianne Islands, in the course of which
+were made the observations of which the substance has been given above.
+The commander, wishing to make a quick passage to the Sandwich Islands,
+then took advantage of a breeze to gain a higher latitude, where he
+hoped to meet with favourable winds. But as the explorers penetrated
+further and further into this part of the Pacific Ocean, cold and dense
+fogs wrapped them round, permeating the whole vessel with damp, equally
+unpleasant and injurious to health. However, the crew suffered no worse
+inconvenience than slight colds; in fact, the change had rather a
+bracing effect than otherwise on men now for some time accustomed to
+the enervating heat of the tropics.
+
+On the 6th August the south point of Hawai was doubled, and Freycinet
+made for the western side of the island, where he hoped to find a safe
+and convenient anchorage. A dead calm prevailing, the first and second
+days were spent in opening relations with the natives. The women came
+off in crowds immediately on the arrival of the ship, with the view of
+carrying on their usual trade, but the commander laid an interdict on
+their coming on board.
+
+The first piece of news given to the captain by one of the Areois[2]
+was that King Kamahamaha was dead, and that his young son Rio Rio had
+succeeded him. Taking advantage of a change of wind the _Uranie_ sailed
+on to the Bay of Karakakoa, and Freycinet was about to send an officer
+in advance to take soundings, when a canoe put off from the shore,
+having on board the governor of the island, Prince Kouakini, otherwise
+John Adams,[3] who promised the captain that he would find boats
+suitable for the taking of the necessary supplies to the corvette. This
+young man, about nine and twenty years of age, almost a giant in
+stature, but well proportioned, surprised Freycinet by the extent of
+his information. On being informed that the corvette was on a voyage of
+discovery, he inquired, "Have you doubled Cape Horn or did you come
+round the Cape of Good Hope?" He then asked for the latest information
+about Napoleon, and wished to know whether it was true that the island
+of St. Helena had been swallowed up with all its inhabitants! A story
+he had evidently heard from some facetious whalemen, but had not
+entirely believed.
+
+[Footnote 2: See Part II, Chapter 1, footnote 3 on the Areois.]
+
+[Footnote 3: It was the custom for the chiefs in these parts to assume
+new names, often for the most trifling reasons.--_Trans._]
+
+Kouakini next apprised Freycinet that though actual disturbances had
+not broken out on the death of Kamahamaha, yet that some of the chiefs
+having asserted claims to independence, the stability of the monarchy
+was in some danger. As a result the political situation was strained
+and the government was in some perplexity, a state of things which
+probably would soon terminate, especially if the commandant would
+consent to make some declaration in favour of the youthful sovereign.
+Freycinet landed with the prince, to pay him a return visit; and, on
+entering his house, was introduced to his wife, a very corpulent woman,
+who was lying on a European bedstead covered with matting. After this
+visit, the captain and his host went to visit the widows of Kamahamaha,
+the prince's sisters, but not being able to see them, they proceeded to
+the yards and workshops of the deceased king. Here were four sheds
+sacred to the building of large war-canoes, and others containing
+European boats. Farther on were seen wood for building purposes, bars
+of copper, quantities of fishing-nets, a forge, a cooper's workshop,
+and lastly, some cases belonging to the prime minister, Kraimokou,
+filled with all necessary appliances for navigation, such as compasses,
+sextants, thermometers, watches, and even a chronometer. Strangers were
+not allowed to inspect two other magazines in which were stored powder
+and other war-materials, strong liquors, iron, &c. All these places
+were for the present abandoned by the new sovereign, who held his court
+at Koaihai Bay.
+
+Freycinet, on receiving an invitation from the king, made ready to
+visit him there, under the guidance of a native pilot who showed
+himself most attentive, and was very skilful in forecasting the
+weather. "The monarch," writes Freycinet, "was waiting for me on the
+beach, dressed in the full uniform of an English captain, and
+surrounded by the whole of his suite. In spite of the terrible
+barrenness of this side of the island, the spectacle of the grotesque
+assemblage of men and women was not without grandeur and beauty. The
+king himself stood in front with his principal officers a little
+distance behind him; some wearing splendid mantles made of red or
+yellow feathers, or of scarlet cloth; others in short tippets of the
+same kind, but in which the two glaring colours were relieved with
+black; a few had helmets on their heads. This striking picture was
+further diversified by a number of soldiers grouped here and there, and
+clad in various and strange costumes."
+
+The sovereign now under notice was the same, who, with his young and
+charming wife, undertook at a later period a voyage to England, where
+they both died. Their remains were brought back to Hawai by Captain
+Byron in the frigate _La Blonde_.
+
+Freycinet seized this opportunity to repeat his request for supplies of
+fresh provisions, and the king promised that two days should not pass
+before his wishes should be fully complied with. However, although the
+good faith of the young monarch was above suspicion, the commander soon
+discovered that most of the chiefs had no intention of obeying their
+sovereign's orders.
+
+Some little time after this, the principal officers of the staff went
+to pay a visit to the widows of Kamahamaha. The following amusing
+description of their lively reception is given by M. Quoy:--"A strange
+spectacle," he says, "met our view on our entrance into an apartment of
+narrow dimensions, where eight lumps of half naked humanity lay on the
+ground with their faces downwards. It was not an easy task to find
+space to lay ourselves down according to custom in the same manner. The
+attendants were constantly on the move, some carrying fans made of
+feathers to whisk away the flies; another a lighted pipe, which was
+passed from one prostrate figure to another, each taking a whiff or
+two, while the rest were engaged in shampooing the royal personages....
+Conversation, it may readily be imagined, was not well maintained under
+these trying circumstances, and had it not been for some excellent
+watermelons which were handed to us, the tedium of the interview would
+have been insupportable."
+
+Freycinet next went to pay a visit to the famous John Young, who had
+been for so long a time the faithful friend and sagacious adviser of
+King Kamahamaha. Although he was then old and in bad health, he was not
+the less able to supply Freycinet with some valuable information about
+the Sandwich Islands, where he had lived for thirty years, and in the
+history of which he had played a prominent part.
+
+Kraimokou, the minister, during a visit which he was paying on board
+the _Uranie_, had caught sight of the Abbe de Quelen, the chaplain,
+whose costume puzzled him a good deal. As soon as he had learned that
+the strangely dressed person was a priest, he expressed to the
+commandant a desire to receive baptism. His mother, he said, had been
+admitted to that sacrament upon her deathbed, and she had obtained from
+him a promise to submit himself to the same ceremony as soon as he met
+with a convenient opportunity. Freycinet gave his consent, and
+endeavoured to make the proceeding as solemn as possible, all the more
+because Rio Rio requested permission to be present at it with all his
+suite. Every one behaved with the utmost decorum and reverence while
+the ceremony was taking place; but immediately on its close there was a
+general rush to the collation which the commandant had ordered to be
+prepared. It was wonderful to see how rapidly the bottles of wine and
+the flasks of rum and of brandy were emptied, and to witness the speedy
+disappearance of the viands with which the table had been covered.
+Fortunately the day was coming to a close, or Rio Rio and the majority
+of his officers and courtiers would not have been in a condition to
+reach the shore. In spite of this, however, it was necessary to comply
+with his request for two additional bottles of brandy, that he might,
+as he said, drink the health of the commander and success to his
+voyage, a request which all his attendants felt bound in politeness to
+make likewise.
+
+"It is not an over-statement," observes Freycinet, "to say that in the
+short space of two hours our distinguished guests drank and carried
+away what would have been sufficient to supply the wants of ten
+ordinary persons for three months." Several presents had been exchanged
+between the royal pair and the commander. Among those made by the young
+queen was a cloak of feathers, a kind of garment which had become
+exceedingly scarce in the Sandwich Islands.
+
+Freycinet was about to set sail again, when he learnt from an American
+captain that a merchant-vessel was lying off the island of Miow, having
+a large quantity of biscuit and rice on board, which there was no doubt
+might be purchased. This information determined Freycinet to anchor
+first off Raheina, among other reasons, because it was there that
+Kraimokou had undertaken to deliver a number of pigs, which were
+required for the use of the crew. But the minister displayed signal bad
+faith in the transaction; he tendered miserably poor pigs, and demanded
+an extravagantly high price; so that it was necessary to have recourse
+to threats before the business could be satisfactorily arranged. In
+this matter Kraimokou was under the misguidance of an English runaway
+convict from Port Jackson, and most probably had the native been left
+to obey the promptings of his own nature he would have acted on this
+occasion with the good faith and the sense of honour which were his
+usual characteristics.
+
+On reaching the island of Waihou, Freycinet dropped anchor off
+Honolulu. The hearty welcome he received from the European residents
+made him regret that he had not come here direct to begin with; for he
+was able without any delay to procure all the supplies which he had
+found so much difficulty in getting together at the two other islands.
+Boki, the governor of Waihou, received baptism from the chaplain of the
+_Uranie_. He was prompted apparently by no other motive than a wish to
+do as his brother had done, who had previously received this sacrament.
+He was far from having the air of intelligence common to the other
+natives of the various islands of the Sandwich group hitherto visited.
+
+Many observations on these natives are made in the narrative of the
+expedition, which are too interesting to be passed over without a brief
+summary here. All navigators are agreed in considering that the class
+of chiefs belong to a race excelling the other inhabitants, both in
+intelligence and in stature. It is very unusual to find one who is less
+than six feet in height. Obesity is very common, but chiefly among the
+women, who while still quite young often become enormously corpulent.
+The Sandwich type is strongly marked and distinct. Pretty women are
+numerous; but the blessing of length of days is seldom enjoyed. An old
+man of seventy is a rare phenomenon. This early decline and premature
+death must be ascribed to the persistent dissipation in which the
+people pass their lives.
+
+On leaving the Sandwich Islands, Freycinet found it necessary to notice
+carefully the curves of the magnetic equator in low latitudes.[4]
+Accordingly, he crowded all sail in an easterly direction. On the 7th
+October the _Uranie_ entered the southern hemisphere, and on the 19th
+of the same month the Dangerous Islands came in sight. To the eastward
+of the Navigators' archipelago, an island was discovered, not marked on
+the charts, which was named "Rose," after Madame Freycinet. This was
+the only actual discovery of the voyage.
+
+[Footnote 4: This refers to the line made up of the succession of
+points at which the magnetic needle ceases to indicate.--_Trans._]
+
+The position of the islands of Pylstaart and Howe was next rectified,
+and on the 13th November the lights of Port Jackson, or Sydney, were at
+last sighted.
+
+Freycinet had fully expected to find the town enlarged during the
+sixteen years that had passed since his last visit; but his
+astonishment was great indeed at the sight of a large and prosperous
+European city, set down in the midst of scenery which might almost be
+called wild. But as the travellers made excursions in various
+directions, fresh signs of the progress which the colony had made were
+forced on their attention. Fine roads carefully kept, bordered with the
+eucalyptus, styled by Perou "the giant of the Australian forests," well
+constructed bridges, distances marked by milestones, proved the
+existence of a well organized local administration; whilst the charming
+cottages, the numerous herds of cattle, and the carefully cultivated
+fields, bore testimony to the industry and perseverance of the new
+colonists.
+
+Governor Macquarie, and the principal authorities of the province vied
+with each other in showing attention to the French travellers, who,
+however, persisted in declining all but a single invitation, lest the
+work of the mission should not receive its fair share of attention. The
+entertainment given by the governor took place at his country house at
+Paramatta, whither the officers of the expedition proceeded by water,
+accompanied by a military band. Several of them also visited the little
+town of Liverpool, built in a pleasant situation on the banks of the
+river George. Excursions too were made to the little villages of
+Richmond and Windsor, which were growing up near Hawkesbury river. At
+the same time a party of the staff joined in a kangaroo hunt, and
+crossing the Blue Mountains penetrated the Bathurst settlement.
+
+Through the friendly relations which Freycinet had established with the
+residents during his two visits, he was able to collect numerous
+interesting details respecting the Australian colony. Therefore the
+chapter that he devotes to New South Wales, recording the marvellous
+and rapid advance of this effort at colonization, excited a lively
+interest in France, where the development and growing prosperity of
+Australia were very imperfectly known. Freycinet's narrative was there
+quite a new revelation, well calculated to excite inquiry, and which
+had, moreover, the advantage of showing the exact condition of the
+colony so late as the year 1825.
+
+The chain of mountains at some distance from the coast, known by the
+name of the Australian Alps, separates New South Wales from the
+interior of the Australian continent. For twenty-five years this chain
+formed a barrier against all communication with the country beyond; but
+now, thanks to the energy of Governor Macquarie, the barrier has been
+removed. A zigzag road has been cut in the rock, thus opening the way
+to the colonization of wide spreading plains watered by important
+rivers. The loftiest summits of this chain, nearly 10,000 feet in
+height, are covered with snow even in the middle of summer. Whilst the
+elevation of the principal peaks, Mount Exmouth, Mount Cunningham, and
+others was being taken, it was discovered that so far from Australia
+possessing only one large watercourse, the Swan River, it had several,
+the chief being Hawkesbury River, formed by the confluence of the
+Nepean, the Grose, and the Brisbane; the river Murray not being yet
+known. At the period under notice a commencement had been made in the
+working of coal-mines, slate quarries, layers of solid carbonate of
+iron, sandstone, chalk, porphyry and jasper; but the presence of gold,
+the metal that was to effect so rapid a development of the young
+colony, had not as yet been established.
+
+The nature of the soil varies. On the sea-coast it is barren, able only
+to support the growth of a few stunted trees; but inland the traveller
+meets with fields clothed with a rich vegetation, vast pasturages in
+which here and there rise a few tall shrubs, and forests where giant
+trees entwined with an inextricable growth of underwood, defy all
+attempts to penetrate to their recesses.
+
+[Illustration: An Australian farm near the Blue Mountains. (Fac-simile
+of early engraving.)]
+
+One circumstance which much surprised travellers was the apparent
+homogeneity of race throughout the whole of this immense continent.
+Take the aborigines at the Bay of Sharks, or in the land of Endracht,
+or by the Swan River, or at Port Jackson, and the same complexion, and
+the same kind of hair, the same features, the same physique, all prove
+indisputably that they have sprung from one common origin. Those
+dwelling by the rivers or on the sea coast subsist chiefly on shell or
+other fish, but those living in the interior trust to hunting for their
+food, and will eat indiscriminately the flesh of the opossum or the
+kangaroo, not rejecting even lizards, snakes, worms, or ants, the last
+named of which they manufacture into a sort of paste with the addition
+of their eggs and the roots of ferns. All over the continent the
+practice of the aborigines is to go completely naked; though they have
+no objection to put on any articles of European clothing that they can
+get possession of. It is said that in 1820 at Port Jackson there was a
+laughable caricature of the European style of dress to be seen in the
+person of an ancient negress who went about clothed in some pieces of
+an old woollen blanket, wearing on her head a bonnet of green silk. A
+few of the aborigines, however, make themselves cloaks of opossum or
+kangaroo skin, stitching the pieces together with the nerve-fibres of
+the cassowary; but this kind of garment is of rare occurrence.
+
+Though their hair is smooth, they plaster it with grease and arrange it
+in curls. Then inserting in the middle a tuft of grass, they raise a
+strange and comical superstructure, surmounted by a few cockatoo
+feathers; or failing these, they fasten on, with the aid of a resinous
+gum, a few human teeth, or some bits of bone, a dog's tail, or one or
+two fish bones. Although the practice of tattooing is not much in
+favour among the natives of New Holland, some are occasionally to be
+seen who have succeeded by means of sharp shells in cutting symmetrical
+figures upon their skins. A more general custom is that of painting on
+their bodies monstrous designs in red and white colours which, on their
+dark skins, give them an almost diabolical aspect.
+
+These savages formerly believed that after death they would take the
+form of children, and be transported to the clouds or to the summits of
+lofty trees, where, in a sort of aerial paradise, they would be regaled
+with plentiful repasts. But since the arrival of the Europeans their
+faith on this point has undergone some change, their present belief
+being, that metamorphosed into whites they will go to inhabit some
+far-off land. It is also an article of their creed that the whites
+themselves are no other than their own ancestors, who, having been
+killed in battle, have assumed the form of Europeans.
+
+[Illustration: Native Australians.]
+
+The census of 1819--one of the strictest hitherto instituted--gives the
+number of the colonists at 25,425; this return, it must be understood,
+does not take in the soldiers. The women being very much in the
+minority, the mother-country had made efforts to remedy the
+inconvenience resulting from this great disparity of the sexes, by
+promoting the immigration of young women, who soon married and founded
+families of a higher tone of morality than that of the convicts.
+
+Freycinet devotes a very long chapter in his narrative to all matters
+connected with political economy. The various soils and the crops
+suited to them; industrial pursuits; the breeding of cattle; farming
+economy; manufactures; foreign trade; means of communication;
+government;--all these subjects are treated comprehensively on the
+authority of documents then newly compiled, and with an ability that
+could scarcely have been expected from a man who had not given special
+attention to questions of this nature. He has, moreover, added a close
+inquiry into the regimen which the convicts were subjected to from the
+time of their arrival in the colony, the punishments they had to
+undergo, as also the encouragements and rewards which were readily
+granted to them, when earned by good behaviour. The chapter concludes
+with reflections full of learning and sound judgment on the probable
+development and future prosperity of the Australian colony.
+
+After this long and fruitful stay in New Holland, the _Uranie_ put to
+sea on the 25th December, 1819, and steered so as to pass to the south
+of New Zealand and Campbell Island, with the view of doubling Cape
+Horn. A few days afterwards ten fugitive convicts were discovered on
+board; but the corvette had left the shores of Australia too far behind
+to allow of their restoration. The coast of Tierra del Fuego was
+reached without anything worthy of special notice having occurred
+during a very prosperous voyage, with a prevailing west wind. On the
+5th February, Cape Desolation was sighted. Having doubled Cape Horn
+without any difficulty, the _Uranie_ let go her anchor in the Bay of
+Good Success, where the shores, lined with grand forest-trees and
+echoing to the sound of waterfalls, presented a scene totally different
+from the sterile desolation generally characterizing this quarter of
+the globe. No long stay was, however, made there; the corvette resuming
+her voyage, lost no time in entering the Strait of Le Maire,
+notwithstanding a dense haze. Here she met with a heavy swell, a strong
+gale, and a mist so thick that land, sea, and sky were confounded in
+one general obscurity. The rain and the heavy spray raised by the
+storm, and the coming on of night, made it necessary to put the
+_Uranie_ under a close-reefed topsail and jib, under which pressure of
+sail she behaved splendidly. The only available course was to run
+before the wind, and the travellers had just begun to feel thankful for
+their good fortune in being driven by the storm far away from the land,
+when the cry was heard, "Land close ahead!"
+
+All hearts sunk with despair; shipwreck and death seemed inevitable.
+Freycinet alone, after a brief instant of hesitation, recovered his
+self-command. It was impossible that land could be ahead. He,
+therefore, kept on his northerly course, bearing a little east, and the
+correctness of his calculations was soon verified. On the next day but
+one the weather grew calmer; observations were taken, and as they
+proved the vessel to have run a great distance from the Bay of Good
+Success, the commander had to choose between a detention off the coast
+of South America, or off the Falkland Islands. The island of Conti, the
+Bay of Marville, and Cape Duras, were successively observed through the
+haze, whilst a favourable breeze speeded the corvette on her course to
+Berkeley Sound, fixed on as the best place for the next halt.
+
+Mutual congratulations were already being exchanged on the happy
+termination of the dangerous struggle, and on the fortunate escape from
+any serious accident during so hazardous a trip. The sailors all
+rejoiced, to use the words of Byron, that--
+
+  "The worst was over, and the rest seemed sure."
+
+But a severe trial was still in store for them!
+
+On entering Berkeley Sound, every man was at his post, ready to let go
+the anchor. The look-outs were on the watch, men were stationed in the
+main-shrouds to heave the lead. Then first at twenty, after at eighteen
+fathoms, the presence of rocks was reported. The ship was now about
+half a league off shore, and Freycinet thought it prudent to put her
+off about two points. This precaution proved fatal, for the corvette
+suddenly struck violently on a hidden rock. As she struck, the
+soundings gave fifteen fathoms to starboard, and twelve to larboard.
+The reef against which the corvette had run, was, therefore, not so
+wide as the vessel itself; in fact, it was but the pointed summit of a
+rock.
+
+The immediate rising of pieces of wood to the surface of the water at
+once gave reason for fears that the injury was serious. There was a
+rush to the pumps. Water was pouring into the hold. Freycinet had sent
+for a sail, and had it passed under the vessel in such a manner that
+the pressure of the water forcing it into the leak in a measure stopped
+it up. But it was of no avail. Although the whole ship's company,
+officers and sailors alike, worked at the pumps, no more could be done
+than just keep the water from gaining on the vessel. There was nothing
+for it but to run her ashore. This decision, painful as it was, had to
+be carried out, and it was indeed no easy task. On every side the land
+was girded with rocks, and only at the very bottom of the bay was there
+a strip of sandy beach favourable for running the ship aground.
+Meanwhile the wind had become contrary, night was approaching, the
+vessel was already half full of water. The distress of the commander
+can be imagined. But there was no alternative, so the vessel was
+stranded on Penguin Island.
+
+"This effected," to quote Freycinet, "the men were so exhausted that it
+was necessary to cease further work of every kind, and to allow the
+crew an interval of rest, all the more indispensable on account of the
+hardships and dangers which our present disastrous situation must
+entail upon all. As for myself, repose was out of the question.
+Tormented by a thousand harassing reflections, I could scarcely credit
+my own existence. The sudden transition from a position where all
+things seemed to smile on me, to that in which I found myself at that
+moment, weighed on my spirits like a horrible nightmare. It was
+difficult to regain the composure necessary to face fairly the painful
+trial. All my companions had done their duty in the frightful accident,
+which had all but lost us our lives, and I am glad to be able to do
+justice to their admirable conduct.
+
+"As soon as daylight revealed the nature of the country, a mournful
+gloomy look settled upon every countenance. Not a tree, not so much as
+a blade of grass was to be seen, not a sound was to be heard, and the
+silent desolation around reminded us of the Bay of Sharks."
+
+[Illustration: Berkeley Sound, in the Falkland Islands.]
+
+But there was no time to be lost in vain lamentations. Was the sea to
+be allowed to swallow up the journals and observations, the precious
+results of so much labour and so many hardships?
+
+All the papers were saved. The same good fortune did not,
+unfortunately, attend the collections. Several cases of specimens which
+were at the bottom of the hold were entirely lost; others were damaged
+by the sea water. The collections that sustained the chief injury were
+those of natural history, and the herbarium that had been put together
+with infinite trouble by Gaudichaud. The merino sheep, generously
+presented to the expedition by Mr. MacArthur, of Sydney, which it was
+hoped could be acclimatized in France, were brought on shore, as also
+were all the animals still alive.
+
+A few tents were pitched, first for the sick, happily not very
+numerous, and then for the officers and the crew. The provisions and
+ammunition taken out of the ship were carefully deposited in a place
+where they would be sheltered from the inclemency of the weather. The
+alcoholic liquors were allowed to remain on board until the time
+arrived for quitting the scene of the shipwreck, and during the three
+months of the expedition's stay here, not a single theft of rum or of
+brandy came to light, although no one had anything to drink but pure
+water.
+
+The efforts of the whole of the expedition were steadily applied to the
+task of trying to repair the main injuries sustained by the _Uranie_,
+with the exception of a few sailors told off to provide, by hunting and
+fishing, for the subsistence of the community. The lakes were
+frequented by numbers of sea-lions, geese, ducks, teal, and snipe, but
+it was no easy matter to procure, at one time, a sufficient quantity of
+these animals to serve for the food of the entire crew; at the same
+time, the expenditure of powder was necessarily considerable. As good
+luck would have it, gulls abounded in sufficient numbers to furnish a
+hundred and twenty men with food for four or five months, and these
+creatures were so stupid as to allow themselves to be knocked on the
+head with a stick. A few horses were also killed which had relapsed
+into a wild state since the departure of the colony founded by
+Bougainville.
+
+By the 28th February the painful conclusion was come to, that with the
+slender resources available, it was impracticable to repair the damage
+done to the _Uranie_, especially as the original injury had been
+aggravated by the repeated shocks occasioned by thumping on the beach.
+"What was to be done?" Should the explorers calmly wait until some
+vessel chanced to put in at Berkeley Sound? This would be to leave the
+sailors with nothing to do, and this enforced idleness would open the
+door to disorder and insubordination. Would it not be better to build a
+small vessel out of the wreckage of the _Uranie_? As it happened, there
+was a large sloop belonging to the ship; if the sides were raised, and
+a deck added, it might be possible to reach Monte Video, and there
+obtain the assistance of a vessel capable of bringing off in safety the
+members of the expedition and all the cargo worth preserving. This
+latter plan met with the approval of Freycinet, and a decision once
+come to, not a moment was wasted.
+
+The sailors, animated with fresh energy, rapidly pushed on the work.
+Now was proved the sound judgment of the commander when manning the
+corvette at Toulon, in selecting sailors who were also skilled in some
+mechanical employment. Blacksmiths, sail-makers, rope-makers, sawyers,
+all worked with zeal at the different tasks assigned to them.
+
+No doubts were entertained of the success of the voyage before them.
+Monte Video was separated from the Falkland Islands by but three
+hundred and fifty nautical miles, and with the winds prevailing in
+these latitudes at this time of year, this distance could be traversed
+in a few days by the _Esperance_--for so the transformed sloop was
+named. To provide, at the same time, against the possible contingency
+of the frail vessel failing to reach the Rio de la Plata, Freycinet
+determined to commence the construction of a schooner of a hundred
+tons, as soon as the sloop had taken her departure. Notwithstanding the
+incessant demands on the energies of all made by the arduous and varied
+tasks involved in reconstruction and refitting of the new vessel, the
+usual astronomical and physical observations, the natural history
+researches and the hydrographical surveys, were not neglected. No one
+could have imagined that the stay in Berkeley Sound was anything more
+than an ordinary halt for exploring purposes.
+
+At last the sloop was finished and safely launched. The instructions
+for Captain Duperrey, appointed to take command, were all drawn up; the
+crew was selected; the provisions were on board; in two days the
+adventurers were to sail, when on the 19th March, 1820, the cry was
+raised, "A sail! a sail!" A sloop under full sail was seen entering the
+bay.
+
+A cannon was fired several times to attract attention, and in a short
+time the master of the new arrival was on shore. In a few words
+Freycinet explained to him the misadventure which had led to the
+residence of the explorers upon this desolate coast. The master stated
+in reply that he was under the orders of the captain of an American
+ship, the _General Knox_, engaged in the seal-fishery at West Island,
+to the west of the Falklands. An officer was at once deputed to go and
+ascertain from the captain what succour he could render to the French
+travellers. The result of the interview was a demand for 135,750 francs
+for the conveyance of the shipwrecked strangers to Rio--an unworthy
+advantage to take of the necessities of the unfortunate. To such a
+bargain the French officer was unwilling to agree without the consent
+of his commander; so he begged the American captain to sail for
+Berkeley Sound. While these negotiations were going on, however,
+another ship, the _Mercury_, under command of Captain Galvin, had made
+its appearance in the bay. The _Mercury_ was bound from Buenos Ayres to
+Valparaiso with cannon, but just before doubling Cape Horn she had
+sprung a leak, and was compelled to put in at the Falkland Islands to
+make the necessary repairs. It was a fortunate incident for the
+Frenchmen, who knew they could turn to account the competition which
+must result from the arrival of two ships.
+
+[Illustration: The _Mercury_ at anchor in Berkeley Sound.]
+
+Freycinet at once made an offer to Captain Galvin to repair the damage
+the _Mercury_ had sustained, with the materials and the labour at his
+command, asking in return for this service a free passage for himself
+and his companions to Rio de Janeiro.
+
+At the end of fifteen days the repairs of the _Mercury_ were completed.
+While they were going on, the negotiation with the _General Knox_ was
+terminated by a positive refusal on the part of Freycinet to agree to
+the extravagant terms proposed by the American captain. It took several
+days to come to a settlement with Captain Galvin, who finally made the
+following agreement.
+
+1. Captain Galvin engaged to convey to Rio the wrecked persons, their
+papers, collections, and instruments, as well as all the cargo saved
+out of the _Uranie_ that could be got on board.
+
+2. Freycinet and his people were during the passage to subsist entirely
+on the provisions set apart for them.
+
+3. That the captain was to receive the sum of 97,740 francs within ten
+days of their arrival at Rio. By the acceptance of these truly
+extortionate conditions a bargain, which had cost much dispute, was
+finally settled.
+
+Before leaving the Falklands, however, the naturalist, Gaudichaud,
+planted its destitute shores with several sorts of vegetables, which he
+thought likely to be of service to future voyagers who might be
+detained there.
+
+A few particulars regarding this archipelago will not be without
+interest. The group, lying between 50 degrees 57 minutes, and 52
+degrees 45 minutes S. latitude, and 60 degrees 4 minutes, 63 degrees 48
+minutes west of the meridian of Paris, consists of several islets and
+two principal islands, named Conti and Maidenland. Berkeley Sound,
+situated in the extreme east of the Conti Island, is a wide opening,
+rather deep than extensive, with a shelving rocky coast. The
+temperature of the islands is milder than one would expect from the
+high latitude. Snow does not fall in any great quantity, and does not
+remain even on the summits of the highest hills longer than for about
+two months. The streams are never frozen, and the lakes and marshes are
+never covered with ice hard enough to bear the weight of a man, for
+more than twenty-four hours consecutively. From the observations of
+Weddell, who visited these parts between 1822 and 1824, the temperature
+must have risen considerably during the last forty years in consequence
+of a change in the direction taken by the icebergs which melt away in
+the mid-Atlantic. M. Quoy, the naturalist, judging from the shallowness
+of the sea between the Falkland Islands and South America, as well as
+the resemblance of their grassy plains to the pampas of Buenos Ayres,
+is of opinion that they once formed part of the continent. These plains
+are low, marshy, covered with tall grass and shrubs, and are inundated
+in the winter. Peat is abundant and makes excellent fuel. The character
+of the soil has proved an obstacle to the growth of the trees which
+Bougainville endeavoured to acclimatize, of which scarce a vestige
+remained at the time of Freycinet's visit. The plant which reaches the
+greatest height and grows most plentifully is a species of sword-grass,
+excellent food for cattle, and serving also as a place of shelter to
+numbers of seals and multitudes of gulls. It is this high grass which
+sailors have taken from a distance for bushes. The only vegetables
+growing on these islands of any use to man are celery, scurvy-grass,
+watercress, dandelion, raspberries, sorrel, and pimpernel.
+
+Both French and Spanish colonists had at different times imported into
+these islands oxen, horses, and pigs, which had multiplied to a
+singular extent in the island of Conti; but the persistent hunting of
+them by the crews of the whaling ships must tend to considerably reduce
+their numbers. The only quadruped indigenous to the Falkland Islands is
+the Antarctic dog, the muzzle of which strikingly resembles that of the
+fox. It has therefore had the name dog-fox, or wolf-fox, given to it by
+whalers. These animals are so fierce that they rushed into the water to
+attack Byron's sailors. They, however, find rabbits enough, whose
+reproductive powers are limitless, to satisfy them; but the seals,
+which the dogs attack without any fear, manage to escape from them.
+
+The _Mercury_ set sail on the 28th of April, 1821, to convey Freycinet
+and his crew to the port of Rio de Janeiro. But one point Captain
+Galvin had failed to take into his reckoning,--his ship, equipped under
+the flag of the Independent State of Buenos Ayres, then at war with the
+Portuguese, would be seized on entering the harbour of Rio, and he
+himself with all his crew would be made prisoners. On this he
+endeavoured to make Freycinet cancel the engagement between them,
+hoping to prevail on him to land at Monte Video. But as Freycinet would
+not agree to this proposal on any ground, a new contract had to be
+substituted for the original one. According to the latter arrangement
+Freycinet became proprietor of the _Mercury_ on behalf of the French
+navy by payment of the sum stipulated under the first contract. The
+ship was renamed the _Physicienne_, and reached Monte Video on the 8th
+of May, where the command was taken over by Freycinet. The stay at
+Monte Video was made use of for arming the vessel, arranging its trim,
+repairing the rigging, taking on board the supply of water and
+provisions requisite for the trip to Rio de Janeiro; before reaching
+which port, however, several serious defects in the ship had been
+discovered. The appearance of the _Physicienne_ was so distinctly
+mercantile that on entering the port of Rio, though the flag of a
+man-of-war was flying at the masthead, the customs officers were
+deceived and proposed to inspect her as a merchant-vessel. Extensive
+repairs were absolutely necessary, and the making of them compelled
+Freycinet to remain at Rio until the 18th of September. He was then
+able to take his departure direct for France; and on the 13th of
+November, 1820, he cast anchor in the port of Havre, after an absence
+of three years and two months, during which time he had sailed over
+18,862 nautical miles.
+
+A few days after his return, Freycinet proceeded to Paris, suffering
+from a severe illness, and forwarded to the secretary of the Academy of
+Sciences the scientific records of the voyage, which made no less than
+thirty-one quarto volumes. At the same time, the naturalists attached
+to the expedition, MM. Quoy, Gaimard, and Gaudichaud, submitted the
+specimens which they had collected. Among these were four previously
+unknown species of mammiferous animals, forty-five of fishes, thirty of
+reptiles, besides rare kinds of molluscs, polypes, annelides, &c., &c.
+
+The rules of the French service required that Freycinet should be
+summoned before a council of war to answer for the loss of his ship.
+The trial terminated in a unanimous verdict of acquittal from all
+blame, the council expressing at the same time their hearty
+acknowledgment of the energy and ability displayed by the commander,
+approving, moreover, the skilful and careful measures he had taken to
+remedy the disastrous results of his shipwreck. A few days after, being
+received by the king, Louis XVIII., his Majesty, accompanying him to
+the door, said, "You entered here the captain of a frigate, you depart
+the captain of a ship of the line. Offer me no thanks; reply in the
+words used by Jean Bart to Louis XIV., 'Sire, you have done well!'"
+
+From that time Freycinet devoted himself entirely to the task of
+publishing the notes of his travels. The meagre account which has been
+given here will serve to show how extensive these notes were. But the
+extreme conscientiousness of the explorer prevented him from publishing
+anything which was not complete, and he was bent on placing his work in
+advance of the recognized boundaries of knowledge at that date. Even
+the mere classification of the vast quantity of material which he had
+collected during his voyage demanded a large expenditure of time. Thus
+it was that when surprised by death on the 18th of August, 1842, he had
+not put the last finishing touch to one of the most curious and novel
+divisions of his work, that relating to the languages of Oceania with
+special reference to that of the Marianne Islands.
+
+At the close of the year 1821 the Marquis de Clermont Tonnerre, then
+Minister of Marine, received the scheme of a new voyage from two young
+officers, MM. Duperrey and Dumont d'Urville. The former, second in
+command to Freycinet on board the _Uranie_, after having rendered
+valuable assistance to the expedition by his scientific researches and
+surveys, had within the year returned to France; the other, the
+colleague of Captain Garnier, had brought himself into notice during
+the hydrographical cruises in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, which
+it had fallen to Captain Garnier to complete. He had a fine taste for
+botany and art, and had been one of the first to draw attention to the
+artistic value of the Venus of Milos which had just been discovered.
+These two young _savants_ proposed in the plan submitted by them to
+make special researches into three departments of natural
+science--magnetism, meteorology, and the configuration of the globe.
+"In the geographical department," said Duperrey, "we would propose to
+verify or to rectify, either by direct, or by chronometrical
+observations, the position of a great number of points in different
+parts of the globe, especially among the numerous island groups of the
+Pacific Ocean, notorious for shipwrecks, and so remarkable for the
+character and the form of the shoals, sandbanks, and reefs, of which
+they in part consist; also to trace new routes through the Dangerous
+Archipelago and the Society Islands, side by side with those taken by
+Quiros, Wallis, Bougainville, and Cook; to carry on hydrographical
+surveys in continuation of those made in the voyages of D'Entrecasteaux
+and of Freycinet in Polynesia, New Holland, and the Molucca Islands;
+and particularly to visit the Caroline Islands, discovered by Magellan,
+about which, with the exception of the eastern side, examined in our
+own time by Captain Kotzebue, we have only very vague information,
+communicated by the missionaries, and by them learnt from stories told
+by savages who had lost their way and were driven in their canoes upon
+the Marianne Islands. The languages, character, and customs of these
+islanders must also receive special and careful attention."
+
+The naval doctors, Garnon and Lesson, were placed in charge of the
+natural history department, whilst the staff was composed of officers
+most remarkable for their scientific attainments, among whom may be
+mentioned MM. Lesage, Jacquinot, Berard, Lottin, De Blois, and De
+Blosseville.
+
+The Academy of Sciences took up the plan of research submitted by the
+originators of this expedition with much enthusiasm, and furnished them
+with minute instructions, in which were set forth with care the points
+on which accurate scientific information was especially desirable. At
+the same time the instruments supplied to the explorers were the most
+finished and complete of their kind.
+
+The vessel chosen for the expedition was the _Coquille_, a small ship,
+not drawing more than from twelve to thirteen feet of water, which was
+lying in ordinary at Toulon. The time spent in refitting, stowing the
+cargo, arming the ship, prevented the expedition from starting earlier
+than the 11th of August, 1822. The island of Teneriffe was reached on
+the 28th of the same month, and there the officers hoped to be able to
+make a few gleanings after the rich harvest of knowledge which their
+predecessors had reaped; but the Council of Health in the island,
+having received information of an outbreak of yellow fever on the
+shores of the Mediterranean, imposed on the _Coquille_ a quarantine of
+fifteen days. It happened, however, that at that period political
+opinion was in a state of fervid excitement at Teneriffe, and party
+spirit ran so high in society that the inhabitants found it hard to
+come together without also coming to blows. Under these circumstances
+it is easy to imagine that the French officers did not indulge in
+violent regrets over the privations which they had to sustain. The
+eight days during which their stay at Teneriffe lasted were given up
+exclusively to the revictualling of the ship, and to magnetic and
+astronomical observations.
+
+Towards the end of September anchor was weighed, and on the 6th of
+October the work of surveying the islands of Martin-Vaz and of Trinidad
+was commenced. The former are nothing more than bare rocks rising out
+of the sea, of a most forbidding aspect. The island of Trinidad is high
+land, rugged and barren, with a few trees crowning the southern point.
+This island is none other than the famous Ascencao--now called
+Ascension--which for three centuries had been the object of exploring
+research. In 1700 it was taken possession of by the celebrated Halley
+in the name of the English Government, but it had to be ceded to the
+Portuguese, who formed a settlement there. La Perouse found it still in
+existence at the same place in 1785. The settlement, which turned out
+expensive and useless, was abandoned a short time after the visit just
+referred to, and the island was left in the occupation of the dogs,
+pigs, and goats, whose progenitors had entered the island in company
+with the early colonists.
+
+When he left the island of Trinidad, Duperrey purposed to steer a
+direct course for the Falkland Islands; but an accidental damage, in
+the repair of which no time was to be lost, compelled him to alter his
+course for the island of St. Catherine, where only he could obtain
+without any delay the wood required for new yards and masts, as well as
+provisions, which from their abundance could there be bought very
+cheap. As he drew near to the island he was delighted with the grand
+and picturesque scene presented by its dense forests, where
+laurel-trees, sassafras, cedars, orange-trees, and mangroves
+intermingled with banana and other palms, with their feathery foliage
+waving gracefully in the breeze. Just four days before the corvette
+anchored off St. Catherine, Brazil had cast off the authority of the
+mother-country, and declared its independence by the proclamation of
+Prince Don Pedro d'Alcantara as Emperor. This led the commander to
+despatch a mission consisting of MM. d'Urville, de Blosseville, Gabert,
+and Garnot to the capital of the island, Nossa-Senhora-del-Desterro, to
+make inquiries about the political change, and learn how far it might
+modify the friendly relations of the country with France. It appeared
+that the administration of the province was in the hands of a Junto,
+but orders were at once given to allow the French travellers to cut
+what wood they might stand in need of, and the Governor of the Fort of
+Santa Cruz was requested to further the scientific inquiries of the
+Expedition by all the means at his command. As to provisions, however,
+there was considerable difficulty, for the merchants had transferred
+their funds to Rio, in apprehension of what the political change might
+result in. It is probable that this circumstance accounts for the
+commander of the _Coquille_ finding the course of business not run
+smooth in a port which had received the warm recommendations of
+Captains Kruzenstern and Kotzebue.
+
+The narrative of the travellers states that "the inhabitants were
+living in expectation of the island being shortly attacked with the
+view to recolonization, which they considered would be tantamount to
+their enslavement. The decree issued on the 1st August, 1822, calling
+on all Brazilians to arm themselves for the defence of their shores and
+proclaiming under all circumstances a war of partisans had given rise
+to these fears. The measures which Prince Don Pedro propounded were
+equally generous and vigorous, and had created a favourable opinion of
+his character and of his desire to promote freedom. Full of confidence
+in his purposes, the strong party in favour of independence were filled
+with enthusiasm expressing itself all the more boisterously as for so
+long a time their fervid aspirations had been kept under restraint.
+They now gave open demonstration of their joy by making the towns of
+Nossa-Senhora-del-Desterro, Laguna, and San Francisco one blaze of
+light with their illuminations, and marching through the streets
+singing verses in honour of Don Pedro."
+
+But the excitement which had been thus strikingly manifested in the
+towns was not shared by the quiet peace-loving dwellers in the rural
+districts, to whose breasts political passion was an entire stranger.
+And there cannot be a doubt that, if Portugal had been in a position to
+enforce her decrees by the despatch of a fleet, the province would have
+been easily reconquered.
+
+The _Coquille_ set sail again on the 30th October. When to the east of
+Rio de la Plata she was caught in one of those formidable gales, there
+called _pampero_, but had the good fortune to weather it without
+sustaining any damage.
+
+While in this part of the ocean Duperrey made some interesting
+observations on the current of the Plate River. Freycinet had already
+established the fact of its flowing at the rate of two miles and a half
+an hour, at a distance of a hundred leagues to the east of Monte Video.
+It was reserved to the commander of the _Coquille_ to ascertain that
+the current is sensibly felt at a much greater distance; he proved
+moreover that the water of the river resisted by that of the ocean is
+forcibly divided into two branches running in the direction of the two
+banks of the river at its mouth; and finally he accounts for the
+comparative shallowness of the sea down to the shores of the Magellan
+Strait by the immense residuum of earth held in suspension by the
+waters of the La Plata and deposited daily along the coast of South
+America.
+
+Before entering Berkeley Sound the _Coquille_, driven by a favourable
+breeze, passed immense shoals of whales and dolphins, flocks of gulls
+and numerous flying fish, the ordinary tenants of those tempestuous
+regions. The Falkland Isles were reached, and Duperrey with a few of
+his fellow-travellers felt a lively pleasure at revisiting the land
+which had been to them a place of refuge for three months after their
+shipwreck in the _Uranie_. They paid a visit to the spot where the camp
+had been pitched. The remains of the corvette were almost entirely
+imbedded in sand, and what was visible of it bore marks of the
+appropriations which had been made by the whalers who had followed them
+in that place. On all sides were scattered miscellaneous fragments,
+carronades with the knobs broken off, pieces of the rigging, tattered
+clothes, shreds of sails, unrecognizable rags, mingled with the bones
+of the animals which the castaways had killed for food. "This scene of
+our recent calamity," Duperrey observes, "wore an aspect of desolation
+which was rendered still gloomier by the barrenness of the land and the
+dark rainy weather prevailing at the time of our visit. Nevertheless,
+it had for us an inexplicable sort of attraction and left a melancholy
+impression on our minds, which was not effaced till long after we had
+left the Falkland Islands well behind us."
+
+[Illustration: The wreck of the _Uranie_.]
+
+The stay of Duperrey at the Falklands was prolonged to the 17th
+December. He took up his residence in the midst of the ruins of the
+settlement founded by Bougainville, in order to execute certain repairs
+which the condition of his vessel required. The crew provided
+themselves by fishing and hunting with an ample supply of food;
+everything necessary was found in abundance, except fruit and
+vegetables; and having laid in abundant stores, all prepared to
+confront the dangers of the passage round Cape Horn.
+
+At first the _Coquille_ had to struggle against strong winds from the
+south-west and violent currents; these were succeeded by squalls and
+hazy weather until the island of Mocha was reached on the 19th January,
+1823. Of this island a brief mention has already been made. Duperrey
+places it in 38 degrees 20 minutes 30 seconds S. lat., and 76 degrees
+21 minutes 55 seconds W. long., and reckons it to be about twenty-four
+miles in circumference. Consisting of a chain of mountains of moderate
+elevation, sloping down towards the sea, it was the rendezvous of the
+early explorers of the Pacific. It furnished the ships touching there,
+now a merchantman, now a pirate, with horses and with wild pigs, the
+flesh of which had a well-known reputation for delicacy of flavour.
+Here was also a good supply of pure fresh water, as well as of some
+European fruits, such as apples, peaches, and cherries, the growth of
+trees planted here by those who first took possession of the island. In
+1823, however, these resources had all but disappeared, through the
+wasteful practices of improvident whalers. At no great distance might
+be seen the two round eminences which mark the mouth of the river
+Bio-Bio, the small island of Quebra-Ollas, and that of Quiriquina, and,
+these passed, the Bay of Conception opened to view, where was a
+solitary English whaler about to double the Cape, to which was
+entrusted the correspondence for home, as well as the notes of the work
+that had already been accomplished.
+
+On the day after the arrival of the _Coquille_, as soon as the morning
+sun had lit up the bay, the melancholy and desolate appearance of the
+place, which had taken every one by surprise on the previous evening,
+became still more depressing. The name of the town was Talcahuano; and
+the picture it presented was one of houses in ruins and silent streets.
+A few wretched canoes, ready to fall to pieces, were on the beach; near
+them loitered a few poorly clad fishermen; while in front of the
+tumble-down cottages and roofless huts sat women in rags employed in
+combing one another's hair. In contrast with this human squalor, the
+surrounding hills and woods, the gardens and the orchards, were clothed
+in the most splendid foliage; on every side flowers displayed their
+gorgeous colours, and fruits proclaimed their ripeness in tints of
+gold.
+
+Overhead a glowing sun, a sky without a cloud, completed the bitter
+irony of the spectacle. All this ruin, desolation, and wretchedness
+were the outward and visible signs of a series of revolutions. At St.
+Catherine the French travellers had been witnesses of the declaration
+of Brazilian independence; on the opposite side of the continent they
+were spectators of the downfall of Director O'Higgins. This official
+had evaded the summons of the Congress, had sacrificed the interests of
+the agricultural community to those of the traders and merchants, by
+the imposition of direct taxes and the lowering of customs duties; was
+openly accused, as well as his ministers, of peculation; and as the
+result of all this malversation the greater part of the population had
+risen in revolt. The movement against O'Higgins was led by a General D.
+Ramon Freire y Serrano, who gave formal assurances to the explorers
+that the political disturbance should be no impediment to the
+revictualling of the _Coquille_.
+
+On the 26th January two corvettes arrived at Conception. They brought a
+regiment under the command of a French official, Colonel Beauchef, who
+came to assist General Freire. The regiment, which had been organized
+by the exertions of Colonel Beauchef, was in point of steadiness,
+discipline, and knowledge of drill, one of the smartest in the Chilian
+army.
+
+On the 2nd February the officers of the _Coquille_ proceeded to
+Conception, to pay a visit to General Freire. The nearer they
+approached the city the more fields were lying waste, the more ruined
+houses were seen, the fewer people were visible, while their clothing
+had almost reached the vanishing-point. At the entrance of the town
+itself stood a mast, with the head of a notorious bandit affixed to the
+top, one Benavidez, a ferocious savage, more wild beast than man, whose
+name was long execrated in Chili for the horrible atrocities he had
+committed.
+
+The interior of the town was found as desolate in appearance as the
+approach to it. Having been set fire to by each party that had
+successively been victorious, Conception was nothing more than a heap
+of ruins, amongst which loitered a little remnant of scantily clothed
+inhabitants, the wretched residuum of a once flourishing population.
+Grass was growing in the streets, the bishop's palace and the cathedral
+were the only buildings still standing, and these, roofless and gutted,
+would not be able much longer to resist the dilapidating influence of
+the climate.
+
+General Freire, before placing himself in opposition to O'Higgins, had
+arranged a peace with the Araucanians, an indigenous tribe
+distinguished for their bravery, who had not only maintained their own
+independence but were always ready, when opportunity offered, to
+encroach on the Spanish territory. Some of these natives were employed
+as auxiliary troops in the Chilian army. Duperrey saw them, and, having
+obtained from General Freire and Colonel Beauchef trustworthy
+information, has given a not very flattering description of them, of
+which the substance shall be here given.
+
+The Araucanians are of an ordinary stature, in complexion
+copper-coloured, with small, black, vivacious eyes, a rather flat nose,
+and thick lips; the result of which is an expression of brutal
+ferocity. Divided into tribes, each one jealous of another, all
+animated by an unbridled lust of plunder, and ever on the move, their
+lives are spent in perpetual warfare. The mounted Araucanian is armed
+with a long lance, a long cutlass, sabre-shaped, called a
+"_Machete_,"[5] and the lasso, in the use of which they are extremely
+expert, while the horse he rides is usually swift.
+
+[Footnote 5: This is a weapon shorter than a sword and longer than a
+dagger.--_Trans._]
+
+"Sometimes they are known," says Duperrey, "to receive under their
+protection vanquished enemies and become their defenders; but the
+motive prompting them to this seemingly generous conduct is always one
+of special vindictiveness; the fact being that their real object is the
+total extermination of some tribe allied with the opposite party. Among
+themselves hatred is the ruling passion; it is the only enduring bond
+of fidelity. All display undoubted courage, spirit, recklessness,
+implacability towards their enemies, whom they massacre with a shocking
+insensibility. Haughty in manner and revengeful in disposition, they
+treat all strangers with unqualified suspicion, but they are hospitable
+and generous to all whom they take as friends. All their passions are
+easily excited, but they are inordinately sensitive with regard to
+their liberty and their rights, which they are ever ready to defend
+sword in hand. Never forgetting an injury, they know not how to
+forgive; nothing less than the life-blood of their enemies can quench
+their thirst for vengeance."
+
+Duperrey pledges himself to the truth of the picture which he has here
+drawn of these savage children of the Andes, who at least deserve the
+credit of having from the sixteenth century to the present day managed
+to preserve their independence against the attacks of all invaders.
+
+After the departure of General Freire, and the troops he led away with
+him, Duperrey took advantage of the opportunity to get his vessel
+provisioned as quickly as possible. The water and the biscuits were
+soon on board; but longer time was necessary to procure supplies of
+coal, which, however, was to be got without any other expense save that
+of paying the muleteers, who transported it to the beach from a mine
+scarcely beneath the level of the earth, where it was to be picked up
+for nothing.
+
+Although the events happening at Conception during the detention there
+of the _Coquille_ were far from being cheerful, the prevailing
+depression could not hold out against the traditional festivities of
+the Carnival. Dinners, receptions, and balls recommenced, and the
+departure of the troops made itself felt only in the paucity of
+cavaliers. The French officers, in acknowledgment of the hospitable
+welcome offered to them, gave two balls at Talcahuano, and several
+families came from Conception for the sole purpose of being present at
+them.
+
+Unfortunately, Duperrey's narrative breaks off at the date of his
+quitting Chili, and there is no longer any official record from which
+to gather the details of a voyage so interesting and successful. Far
+from being able to trace step by step from original documents the
+course of the expedition, as has been done in the case of other
+travellers, we are obliged in our turn to epitomize other epitomes now
+lying before us. It is an unpleasing task; as little agreeable to the
+reader as it is difficult for the writer, who, while bound to respect
+facts, is no longer able to enliven his narrative with personal
+observations, and the generally lively stories of the travellers
+themselves. However, some few of the letters of the navigator to the
+Minister of Marine have been published, from which have been extracted
+the following details.
+
+On the 15th February, 1823, the _Coquille_ set sail from Conception for
+Payta, the place where, in 1595, Alvarez de Mendana and Fernandez de
+Quiros took ship on the voyage of discovery that has made their names
+famous; but after a fortnight's sail the corvette was becalmed in the
+vicinity of the island of Laurenzo, and Duperrey resolved to put in at
+Callao to obtain fresh provisions. It need not be said that Callao is
+the port of Lima; so the officers could not lose the opportunity of
+paying a visit to the capital of Peru. They were not fortunate in the
+time of their visit. The ladies were away for sea-bathing at
+Miraflores, and the men of most distinction in the place had gone with
+them. The travellers were thus compelled to rest content with an
+inspection of the chief residences and public buildings of the city,
+returning to Callao on the 4th March. On the 9th of the same month the
+_Coquille_ anchored at Payta.
+
+The situation of this place between the terrestrial and magnetic
+equators was most favourable for conducting observations on the
+variations of the magnetic needle. The naturalists also made excursions
+to the desert of Pierra, where they collected specimens of petrified
+shells imbedded in a tertiary stratum precisely similar to that in the
+suburbs of Paris. As soon as all the sources of scientific interest at
+Payta had been exhausted the _Coquille_ resumed her voyage, setting
+sail for Otaheite. During the sail thither a circumstance occurred
+which might have materially delayed the progress of the expedition, if
+not have led to its total destruction. On the night of the 22nd April,
+the _Coquille_ being in the waters of the Dangerous Archipelago, the
+officer of the watch all at once heard the sound of breakers dashing
+over reefs. He immediately made the ship lie to, and at daybreak the
+peril which had been escaped became manifest. At the distance of barely
+a mile and a half from the corvette lay a low island, well wooded, and
+fringed with rocks along its entire extent. A few people lived on it,
+some of whom approached the vessel in a canoe, but none of them would
+venture on board. Duperrey had to give up all thoughts of visiting the
+island, which received the name of Clermont-Tonnerre. On all sides the
+waves broke violently on the rocks, and he could do no more than coast
+it from end to end at a little distance.
+
+The next and following days some small islands of no note were
+discovered, to which were given the names of Augier, Freycinet, and
+Lostanges.
+
+At length, as the sun rose on the 3rd May, the verdant shores and woody
+mountains of Otaheite came in sight. Duperrey, like preceding visitors,
+could not help noticing the thorough change which had been effected in
+the manners and practices of the natives. Not a canoe came alongside
+the _Coquille_. It was the hour of Divine worship when the corvette
+entered the Bay of Matavai, and the missionaries had collected the
+whole population of the island, to the number of seven thousand, inside
+the principal church of Papahoa to discuss the articles of a new code
+of laws. The Otaheitan orators, it seems, would not yield the palm to
+those of Europe. There were not a few of them gifted with the valuable
+talent of being able to talk for several hours without saying anything,
+and to make an end of the most promising undertakings with the flowers
+of their rhetoric. A description of one of these meetings is given by
+D'Urville.
+
+"M. Lejeune, the draughtsman of the expedition, went by himself to be
+present at the meeting held the next day, when certain political
+questions were submitted to the popular assembly. It lasted for several
+hours, during which the chiefs took it in turn to speak. The most
+brilliant speaker of the gathering was a chief called Tati. The chief
+point of discussion was the imposition of an annual poll-tax at the
+rate of five measures of oil per man. Then came a question as to the
+taxes which were to be levied, whether they should be on behalf of the
+king, or on behalf of the missionaries. After some time, we arrived at
+the conclusion that the first question had been answered in the
+affirmative; but that the second, the one relating to the missionaries,
+had been postponed by themselves from a forecast of its probable
+failure. About four thousand persons were present at this kind of
+national congress."
+
+Two months before, Otaheite had renounced the English flag, in order to
+adopt one of its own, but that pacific revolution in no wise diminished
+the confidence which the people placed in their missionaries. The
+latter received the French travellers in a friendly manner, and
+supplied them at the usual prices with the stores of which they stood
+in need.
+
+But what seemed especially curious in the reforms effected by the
+missionaries was the total change in the behaviour of the women. From
+being, according to the statements of Cook, Bougainville, and
+contemporary explorers, compliant to an unheard of degree, they had
+become most modest, reserved, and decently conducted; so that the whole
+island wore the air of a convent, a revolution as amusing as it was
+unnatural.
+
+From Otaheite the _Coquille_ proceeded to the adjacent island of
+Borabora, belonging to the same group, where European customs had been
+adopted to the same extent; and on the 9th June, steering a westerly
+course, made a survey in turn of the islands Salvage, Coa, Santa Cruz,
+Bougainville, and Bouka; finally coming to an anchor in the harbour of
+Praslin, on the coast of New Ireland, famous for its beautiful
+waterfall. "The friendly relations which were established with the
+natives there were the means of extending our knowledge of the human
+race by the observation of some peculiarities which had not fallen
+under the notice of preceding travellers." The sentence just quoted
+from an abridged account appearing in the "Annals of Voyages," which
+merely excites curiosity without satisfying it, causes us here to
+express our regret that the original narrative of the voyage has not
+been published in its entirety.
+
+[Illustration: The waterfall of Port Praslin. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+The student Porel de Blossville--the same who afterwards lost his life
+with the _Lilloise_ in the Polar regions--undertook a journey to the
+village of Praslin, in spite of all the means adopted by the savages to
+deter him. When there he was shown a kind of temple, where several
+ill-shaped, grotesque idols had been set up on a platform surrounded by
+walls.
+
+Great pains were taken to prepare a chart of St. George's Channel,
+after which Duperrey paid a visit to the islands previously surveyed by
+Schouten to the north-east of New Guinea. Three days--the 26th, 27th,
+and 28th--were devoted to a survey of them. The explorer, after this,
+searched ineffectually for the islands Stephen and De Carteret, and
+after comparing his own route with that taken by D'Entrecasteaux in
+1792, he came to the conclusion that this group must be identical with
+that of Providence, discovered long since by Dampier.
+
+On the 3rd of September the north cape of New Guinea was recognized.
+Three days later the _Coquille_ entered the narrow and rocky harbour of
+Offak on the north-west coast of Waigiou, one of the Papuan islands.
+The only navigator who has mentioned this harbour is Forest. Duperrey
+therefore felt unusual satisfaction at having explored a corner of the
+earth all but untrodden by the foot of the European. It was also an
+interesting fact for geographers that the existence of a southern bay,
+separated from Offak by a very narrow isthmus, was established.
+
+Two officers, MM. d'Urville and de Blossville, were employed in this
+work, which MM. Berard, Lottin, and de Blois de la Calande connected
+with that accomplished by Duperrey on the coast during the cruise of
+the _Uranie_. This land was found to be particularly rich in vegetable
+products, and D'Urville was able there to form the nucleus of a
+collection as valuable for the novelty as the beauty of its specimens.
+
+D'Urville and Lesson, full of curiosity to study the inhabitants, who
+belonged to the Papuan race, started for the shore immediately after
+the corvette arrived at the island in a boat manned with seven sailors.
+They had already walked some distance in a deluge of rain, when all at
+once they found themselves opposite a cottage built upon piles, and
+covered over with leaves of the plane-tree.
+
+Cowering amongst the bushes, at a little distance, was a young female
+savage, who seemed to be watching them. A few paces nearer was a heap
+of about a dozen cocoa-nuts freshly gathered, placed well in sight,
+apparently intended for the refreshment of the visitors. The Frenchmen
+came to understand that this was a present offered by the youthful
+savage of whom they had caught a glimpse, and proceeded to feast on the
+fruits so opportunely placed at their disposal. The native girl, soon
+gathering confidence from the quiet behaviour of the strangers, came
+forward, crying, "_Bongous!_" (good!), making signs to show that the
+cocoa-nuts had been presented by herself. Her delicate attention was
+rewarded by the gift of a necklace and earrings.
+
+When D'Urville regained the boat he found a dozen Papuans playing,
+eating, and seeming on the best possible terms with the boatmen. "In a
+short time," he says, "they had surrounded me, repeating, '_Captain,
+bongous_,' and offering various tokens of good will. These people are,
+in general, of diminutive stature, their constitution is slight and
+feeble; leprosy is a common disease among them; their voice is soft,
+their behaviour grave, polite, and even marked with a certain air of
+melancholy that is habitually characteristic of them."
+
+[Illustration: Natives of New Guinea. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Among the antique statues of which the Louvre is full, there is one of
+Polyhymnia, which is celebrated above the rest for an expression of
+melancholy pensiveness not usually found among the ancients. It is a
+singular circumstance that D'Urville should have observed among the
+Papuans the very expression of countenance distinguishing this antique
+statue. On board the corvette another company of natives were
+conducting themselves with a calmness and reserve, offering a marked
+contrast to the usual manner of the greater part of the inhabitants of
+the lands of Oceania.
+
+The same impression was made on the French travellers during a visit
+paid to the rajah of the island, as also during his return visit on
+board the _Coquille_. In one of the villages on this southern bay was
+observed a kind of temple, in which were to be seen several rudely
+carved statues, painted over with various colours, and ornamented with
+feathers and matting. It was quite impossible to obtain the slightest
+information on the subject of the worship which the natives paid to
+these idols.
+
+The _Coquille_ set sail again on the 16th September, coasting along the
+north side of the islands lying between Een and Yang, and after a brief
+stay at Cayeli reached Amboyna, where the remarkably kind reception
+given by M. Merkus, the governor of the Molucca Island, afforded the
+staff an interval of rest from the continual labours of this
+troublesome voyage. The 27th October saw the corvette again on its
+course, steering towards Timor and westward of the Turtle and Lucepara
+Islands. Duperrey next determined the position of the island of Vulcan;
+sighted the islands of Wetter, Baba, Dog, Cambing, and finally,
+entering the channel of Ombay, surveyed a large number of points in the
+chain of islands stretching from Pantee and Ombay in the direction of
+Java. After having made a chart of Java, and an ineffectual search for
+the Trial Islands in the place usually assigned to them, Duperrey
+steered for New Holland, but through contrary winds was not able to
+sail along the western coast of the island. On the 10th January he at
+length rounded Van Diemen's Island, and six days after that sighted the
+lights of Port Jackson, coming to an anchor off Sydney the following
+day.
+
+The governor, Sir Thomas Brisbane, who had received previous intimation
+of the arrival of the Expedition, gave the officers a cordial welcome,
+forwarded with all the means at his command the revictualling of the
+corvette, and rendered friendly assistance in the repairs which the
+somewhat shattered condition of the ship rendered necessary. He also
+provided means to enable MM. d'Urville and Lesson to make an excursion,
+full of interest, beyond the Blue Mountains into the plain of Bathurst,
+the resources of which were as yet but imperfectly known to Europeans.
+
+Duperrey did not leave Australia until the 20th of March. On this
+occasion he directed his course towards New Zealand, which had been
+rather overlooked in former voyages. The vessel came to an anchor in
+the Bay of Manawa, forming the southern part of the grand Bay of
+Islands. Here the officers occupied their leisure in scientific and
+geographical observations, and in making researches in natural history.
+At the same time, the frequent intercourse of the explorers with the
+natives threw quite a new light upon their manners, their religious
+notions, their language, and on their attitude of hostility up to that
+time to the teaching of the missionaries. What these savages most
+appreciated in European civilization was well-finished weapons--of
+which at that time they possessed a great quantity--for by their help
+they were the better able to indulge their sanguinary instincts.
+
+The stay of the _Coquille_ at New Zealand terminated on the 17th of
+April, when a _detour_ was made northwards as far as Rotuma,
+discovered, but not visited, by Captain Wilson in 1797. The
+inhabitants, gentle and hospitable, took great pains to furnish the
+navigators with the provisions they required. But it was not long
+before the Frenchmen discovered that these gentle islanders, taking
+advantage of the confidence which they had known how to create, had
+carried off a number of articles that it afterwards cost much trouble
+to make them restore. Stringent orders were given, and all thieves
+caught in the act were flogged in the presence of their
+fellow-countrymen, who, however, as well as the culprits themselves,
+treated the affair only as a joke.
+
+Among these savages four Europeans were observed, who had a long time
+before deserted from the whale-ship _Rochester_. They were no better
+clothed than the natives, and were tatooed and smeared with a yellow
+powder after the native fashion; so that it would have been hard to
+recognize them but for their white skins and more intelligent looks.
+They were quite content with their lot, having married wives and reared
+families at Rotuma, where, escaping the cares, the troubles, and the
+difficulties of civilized life, they reckoned on ending their days in
+comfort. One among them asked to be allowed to remain on board the
+_Coquille_, a favour which Duperrey was ready to grant, but the chief
+of the island was unwilling, until he learned that two convicts from
+Port Jackson asked permission to stay on shore.
+
+Although these people, hitherto little known, offered a most
+interesting subject of study to the naturalists, it was necessary to
+depart, so the _Coquille_ proceeded to survey the Coral Isles and St.
+Augustin, discovered by Maurelle in 1781. Then came Drummond Island,
+where the inhabitants, dark complexioned, with slight limbs, and
+unintelligent faces, offered to exchange some triangular shells,
+commonly called holy water cups, for knives and fishhooks; next the
+islands of Sydenham and Henderville, where the inhabitants go entirely
+naked; after them, Woolde, Hupper, Hall, Knox, Charlotte, Mathews,
+which form the Gilbert Archipelago; and finally the Marshall and
+Mulgrave groups.
+
+On the 3rd of June Duperrey came in sight of the island of Ualan, which
+had been discovered in 1804 by an American, Captain Croser. As it was
+not marked upon any chart, the commander decided upon making an exact
+and particular survey of it. No sooner had the anchor touched the
+bottom than Duperrey, accompanied by some of his officers, made for the
+shore. The inhabitants turned out to be a mild and obliging race, who
+made their visitors presents of cocoa-nuts and the fruit of the
+bread-tree, conducting them through most picturesque scenery to the
+dwelling of their principal chief, or "Uross-ton," as he was called.
+Dumont d'Urville has given the following sketch of the country through
+which the travellers passed on their way to the residence of the chief.
+
+"We glided calmly across a magnificent basin girdled in by a
+well-wooded shore, the foliage a bright green. Behind us rose the lofty
+hill-tops, carpeted with verdure, from which shot up the light and
+graceful stems of the cocoa palms. Out of the sea to the front rose the
+little island of Leilei, covered with the pretty cottages of the
+islanders, and crowned with a verdant mound. If this pleasant prospect
+be further brightened by a magnificent day, in a delicious climate,
+some notion may be formed of the sensations we experienced as we
+proceeded in a sort of triumphal procession, surrounded by a crowd of
+simple, gentle, kind attendants."
+
+The number of persons accompanying the boats D'Urville estimated at
+about 800. On arriving before a neat and charming village, with well
+paved streets, they divided themselves, the men standing on one side,
+the women on the other, maintaining an impressive silence. Two chiefs
+advanced, and taking the travellers by the hand, conducted them to the
+dwelling of the "Uross-ton." The crowd, still silent, remained outside
+while the Frenchmen entered the chief's house. The "Uross-ton" shortly
+made his appearance, a pale and shrivelled old man, bowed down under
+the weight of fourscore years. The Frenchmen politely rose on his
+entering the room, but they were apprised by a whisper of disapproval
+from those standing about that this was a violation of the local
+etiquette. The crowd in front prostrated themselves on the ground. The
+chiefs themselves could not withhold that mark of respect. The old man,
+recovering from a momentary surprise at the boldness of the strangers,
+called upon his subjects to keep silence, then seated himself near the
+travellers. In return for the trifling presents which were made to him
+and his wife, he vouchsafed marks of goodwill in the shape of slight
+pats on the cheek, the shoulder, or the thigh. But the gratitude of
+these sovereigns was expressed only by the gift of seven so-called
+"_tots_"--probably pieces of cloth--four of which were of very fine
+tissue.
+
+[Illustration: Meeting with the Chief of Ualan.]
+
+After the audience was over the travellers proceeded to look round the
+village, where they were astonished to find two immense walls made of
+coral, some blocks of which were of immense size and weight.
+
+Notwithstanding a few acts of petty theft committed by the chiefs, the
+ten days during which the expedition remained at the island passed
+without disturbance; the good understanding on which the intercourse
+between the Frenchmen and the Ualanese was based never suffered a
+moment's interruption. Duperrey remarks that "it is easy to predict
+that this island of Ualan will one day become of considerable
+importance. It is situated in the midst of the Caroline group, in the
+course of ships sailing from New Holland to China, and presents good
+ports for careening vessels, ample supplies of water, and provisions of
+various kinds. The inhabitants are generous and peaceably disposed, and
+they will soon be in a position to supply a kind of food most essential
+to sailors, from the progeny of the sows that we left with them, a gift
+which excited a very lively gratitude."
+
+Subsequent events, however, have not verified the forecast made by
+Duperrey. Although a route from Europe to China, by the south of Van
+Diemen's Island, passes near the coast of Ualan, the island is of
+little more value now than it was fifty years ago. Steam has completely
+revolutionized the conditions of navigation. Sailors at the
+commencement of the century could not possibly foresee the radical
+changes which the introduction of this agent would produce.
+
+The _Coquille_ had not gone more than two days' sail from Ualan, when
+on the 17th, 18th, and 23rd June were discovered several new islands,
+which by the native inhabitants were called Pelelap, Takai, Aoura,
+Ougai, and Mongoul. These are the groups usually called Mac-Askyll and
+Duperrey, the people resembling those of Ualan, who, as well as those
+of the Radak Islands, give to their chiefs the title of "Tamon."
+
+On the 24th of the same month the _Coquille_ found herself in the
+middle of the Hogoleu group, which Kotzebue had looked for in too high
+a latitude, the commander recognizing their bearings by means of
+certain names given by the natives, which were found entered in the
+chart of Father Cantova. The hydrographical survey of this group,
+contained within a circumference of at least thirty leagues, was
+executed by M. Blois from the 24th to the 27th June. The islands are
+for the most part high, terminating in volcanic peaks; but some are of
+opinion, judging from the arrangement of the lagoon, that they are of
+madreporic formation. They are tenanted by a race of diminutive,
+badly-shaped people, subject moreover to repulsive complaints. If ever
+the converse of the phrase _mens sana in corpore sano_ can find a just
+application, it must be here, for these natives are low in the scale of
+intelligence, and inferior by many degrees to the people of Ualan. Even
+at that time foreign styles of dress appeared to have found their way
+into the islands. Some of the people were wearing conical-shaped hats,
+after the Chinese fashion; others had on garments of plaited straw,
+with a hole in the middle to allow the head to pass through, reminding
+one of the "Poncho" of the South American; but they held in contempt
+such trumpery as looking-glasses, necklaces, or bells, asking rather
+for axes and steel weapons, evidences of frequent intercourse with
+Europeans.
+
+The islands of Tamatan, Fanendik, and Ollap, called "The Martyrs" on
+old maps, were next surveyed; afterwards an ineffectual search was made
+for the islands of Namoureck and Ifelouk about the position assigned to
+them by Arrowsmith and Malaspina; and then, by way of continuing the
+exploration of the north side of New Guinea, the _Coquille_ put in at
+the port of Dorei, on the south-east coast of the island, where a stay
+was made until the 9th August.
+
+Whether estimated by the addition made to natural history, or to
+geography, or to astronomy, or to science in general, no more
+profitable a sojourn could have been made than this. The indigenous
+inhabitants of New Guinea belong to the purest race of Papuans. Their
+dwellings are huts built upon piles, the entrance to them being made by
+means of a piece of wood with notches cut in it to serve for steps;
+this is drawn up into the interior every night. The natives dwelling on
+the coast are always at war with those in the interior, the Harfous or
+Arfakis negroes.
+
+Guided by a young Papuan, D'Urville succeeded in making his way to the
+place where these last-mentioned dwelt. He found them gentle,
+hospitable, courteous creatures, not in the least like the portrait
+drawn of them by their enemies.
+
+After the stay at New Guinea, the _Coquille_ again sailed through the
+Moluccas, put in for a short time at Sourabaya, upon the coast of Java,
+and on the 30th October reached the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius.
+At length, having on the way stopped at St. Helena, where the officers
+paid a visit to the tomb of Napoleon, and at Ascension, where an
+English colony had been established since 1815, the corvette entered
+Marseilles on the 24th April, 1825, concluding a voyage that had
+occupied thirty-one months and three days, over 24,894 nautical miles,
+without the loss of a single life, or any cases of sickness, and
+without any damage being sustained by the ship. A success in every way
+so distinguished covered with glory the young commander of the
+expedition and all its officers, who had manifested such untiring
+energy in the prosecution of scientific inquiries, yielding a rich
+harvest of valuable results.
+
+Fifty-two charts and plans carefully drawn up; collections of natural
+specimens of all kinds, both numerous and curious; copious
+vocabularies, by the help of which it may be possible to throw new
+light on the migrations of the Oceanic peoples; interesting
+intelligence regarding the productions of the places visited; the
+condition of commerce and industrial pursuits; observations relating to
+the shape of the globe; magnetical, meteorological, and botanical
+researches; such formed the bulk of the valuable freight of knowledge
+brought home by the _Coquille_. The scientific world waited eagerly for
+the time when this store of information should be thrown open to the
+public.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Expedition of Baron de Bougainville--Stay at Pondicherry--The "White
+Town" and the "Black Town"--"Right-hand" and "Left-hand"--Malacca--
+Singapore and its prosperity--Stay at Manilla--Touron Bay--The monkeys
+and the people--The marble rocks of Faifoh--Cochin-Chinese diplomacy--
+The Anambas--The Sultan of Madura--The straits of Madura and Allas--
+Cloates and the Triad Islands--Tasmania--Botany Bay and New South
+Wales--Santiago and Valparaiso--Return _via_ Cape Horn--Expedition of
+Dumont d'Urville in the _Astrolabe_--The Peak of Teneriffe--Australia--
+Stay at New Zealand--Tonga-Tabu--Skirmishes--New Britain and New
+Guinea--First news of the fate of La Perouse--Vanikoro and its
+inhabitants--Stay at Guam--Amboyna and Menado--Results of the
+expedition.
+
+
+The expedition, the command of which was entrusted to Baron de
+Bougainville, was, strictly speaking, neither a scientific voyage nor a
+campaign of discovery. Its chief purpose was to unfurl the French flag
+in the extreme East, and to impress upon the governments of that region
+the intention of France to protect her nationalities and her interests,
+everywhere and at all times. The chief instructions given to the
+commander were that he was to convey to the sovereign of Cochin-China a
+letter from the king, together with some presents, to be placed on
+board the frigate _Thetis_.
+
+M. de Bougainville was also, whenever possible, without such delays as
+would prejudice the main object of the expedition, to take hydrographic
+surveys, and to collect information upon the commerce, productions, and
+means of exchange, of the countries visited.
+
+Two vessels were placed under the orders of M. de Bougainville. One,
+the _Thetis_, was an entirely new frigate, carrying forty-four cannons
+and three hundred sailors, no French frigate of this strength, except
+the _Boudeuse_, having ever before accomplished the voyage round the
+world; the other, the sloop _Esperance_, had twenty carronades upon the
+deck, and carried a hundred and twenty seamen.
+
+The first of these vessels was under the direct orders of Baron de
+Bougainville, and his staff consisted of picked officers, amongst whom
+we may mention Longueville, Lapierre, and Baudin, afterwards captain,
+vice-admiral, and rear-admiral. The _Esperance_ was commanded by
+Frigate-Captain De Nourquer du Camper, who, as second in command of the
+frigate _Cleopatra_, had already explored a great part of the course of
+the new expedition. It numbered among its officers, Turpin, afterwards
+vice-admiral, deputy, and aide-de-camp of Louis Philippe; Eugene
+Penaud, afterwards general officer, and Mederic Malavois, the future
+governor of Senegal.
+
+Not one notable scientific man, such as those who had been billeted in
+such numbers on the _Naturalist_ and other circumnavigating vessels,
+had embarked upon those of Baron de Bougainville, to whom it was a
+constant matter of regret, a regret intensified by the fact that the
+medical officers, with so many under their care, could not be long
+absent from the vessels when in port. M. de Bougainville's journal of
+the voyage opens with this judicious remark:--
+
+"It was not many years ago a dangerous enterprise to make a voyage
+round the world, and scarce half a century has elapsed since the time
+when an expedition of this kind would have sufficed to reflect glory
+upon the man who directed it. This was 'the good old time,' the golden
+age of the circumnavigator, and the dangers and privations against
+which he had to struggle were repaid a hundredfold, when, rich in
+valuable discoveries, he hailed on his return the shores of his native
+land. But this is all over now; the _prestige_ has gone, and we make
+our tour of the globe nowadays as we should then have made that of
+France."
+
+What would Baron Yves-Hyacinth Potentien de Bougainville, the son of
+the vice-admiral, senator, and member of the _Institut_, say to-day to
+our admirable steamships of perfect form, and charts of such minute
+exactitude that distant voyages appear a mere joke.
+
+On the 2nd March, 1824, the _Thetis_ quitted the roads at Brest to take
+up at Bourbon her companion, the _Esperance_, which, having started
+some time before, had set sail for Rio de Janeiro. A short stay at
+Teneriffe, where the _Thetis_ was only able to purchase some poor wine
+and a very small quantity of the provisions needed; a view of the Cape
+Verd Islands and the Cape of Good Hope in the distance, and a hunt for
+the fabulous island of Saxemberg, and some rocks no less fictitious,
+were the only incidents of the voyage to Bourbon, where the _Esperance_
+had already arrived.
+
+Bourbon was at this time so familiar a point with the navigators that
+there was little to be said about it, when its two open roads of St.
+Denis and St. Paul had been mentioned. St. Denis, the capital, situated
+on the north of Bourbon, and at the extremity of a sloping table-land,
+was, properly speaking, merely a large town, without enclosure or
+walls, and each house in it was surrounded by a garden. There were no
+public buildings or places of interest worth mentioning except the
+governor's palace, situated in such a position as to command a view of
+the whole road; the botanic garden and the "Jardin de Naturalisation,"
+which dates from 1817. The former, which is in the centre of the town,
+contains some beautiful walks, unfortunately but little frequented, and
+it is admirably kept. The eucalyptus, the giant of the Australian
+forests, the _Phormium tenax_, the New Zealand hemp-plant, the
+casuarina (the pine of Madagascar), the baobab, with its trunk of
+prodigious size, the carambolas, the sapota, the vanilla, combined to
+beautify this garden, which was refreshed by streams of sparkling
+water. The second, upon the brow of a hill, formed of terraces rising
+one above the other, to which several brooklets give life and
+fertility, was specially devoted to the acclimatisation of European
+trees and plants. The apple, peach, apricot, cherry, and pear-trees,
+which have thriven well, have already supplied the colony with valuable
+shoots. The vine was also grown in this garden, together with the
+tea-plant, and several rarer species, amongst which Bougainville noted
+with delight the "Laurea argentea," with its bright leaves.
+
+On the 9th June the two vessels left the roads of St. Denis. After
+having doubled the shoals of La Fortune and Saya de Malha, and passed
+off the Seychelles, whilst among the atolls to the south of the Maldive
+Islands, which are level with the surface of the water and covered with
+bushy trees ending in a cluster of cocoas, they sighted the island of
+Ceylon and the Coromandel coast, and cast anchor before Pondicherry.
+
+[Illustration: Natives of Pondicherry.]
+
+[Illustration: Ancient idols near Pondicherry. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+This part of India is far from answering to the "enchantress" idea
+which the dithyrambic descriptions of writers who have celebrated its
+marvels have led Europeans to form. The number of public buildings and
+monuments at Pondicherry will scarcely bear counting, and when one has
+visited the more curious of the pagodas, and the "boilers," whose only
+recommendation is their utility, there is nothing very interesting,
+except the novelty of the scenes met with at every turn. The town is
+divided into two well-defined quarters. The one called the "white
+town," dull and deserted in spite of its coquettish-looking buildings,
+and the far more interesting "black town," with its bazaars, its
+jugglers, its massive pagodas, and the attractive dances of the
+bayaderes.
+
+"The Indian population upon the coast of Coromandel," says the
+narrative, "is divided into two classes,--the 'right-hand' and the
+'left.' This division originated under the government of a nabob
+against whom the people revolted; those who remained faithful to the
+prince being distinguished by the designation of 'right-hand,' and the
+rest by that of 'left-hand.' These two great tribes, which divide
+between them almost equally the entire population, are in a chronic
+state of hostility against the holders of the ranks and prerogatives
+obtained by the friends of the prince. The latter, however, retain the
+offices in the gift of the government, whilst the others are engaged in
+commerce. To maintain peace amongst them it was necessary to allow them
+to retain their ancient processions and ceremonies.... The 'right-hand'
+and 'left-hand' are subdivided into eighteen castes or guilds, full of
+pretensions and prejudices, not diminished even by the constant
+intercourse with Europeans which has now for centuries been maintained.
+Hence have arisen feelings of rivalry and contempt, which would be the
+source of sanguinary wars, were it not that the Hindus have a horror of
+bloodshed, and that their temperament renders them averse to conflict.
+These two facts, i.e. the gentleness of the native disposition and the
+constant presence of an element of discord amongst the various tribes,
+must ever be borne in mind if we would understand the political
+phenomenon of more than fifty millions of men submitting to the yoke of
+some five and twenty or thirty thousand foreigners."
+
+The _Thetis_ and the _Esperance_ quitted the roadstead of Pondicherry
+on the 30th July, crossed the Sea of Bengal, sighted the islands of
+Nicobar and Pulo-Penang, with its free port capable of holding 300
+ships at a time. They then entered the Straits of Malacca, and remained
+in the Dutch port of that name from the 24th to the 26th July, to
+repair damages sustained by the _Esperance_, so that she might hold out
+as far as Manilla. The intercourse of the explorers with the Resident
+and the inhabitants generally were all the more pleasant that it was
+confirmed by banquets given on land and on board the _Thetis_ in honour
+of the kings of France and the Netherlands. The Dutch were expecting
+soon to cede this station to the English, and this cession took place
+shortly afterwards. It must be added, with regard to Malacca, that in
+point of fertility of soil, pleasantness of situation and facilities
+for obtaining all really necessary supplies, it was superior to its
+rivals.
+
+Bougainville set out again on August 26th, and was tossed about by
+head-winds, and troubled alike by calms and storms during the remainder
+of his passage through the straits. As these latitudes were more
+frequented than any others by Malay pirates, the commandant placed
+sentries on the watch and took all precautions against surprise,
+although his force was strong enough to be above fearing any enemy. It
+was no uncommon thing to see fly-boats manned by a hundred seamen, and
+more than one merchant-ship had recently fallen a prey to these
+unmolested and incorrigible corsairs. The squadron, however, saw
+nothing to awake any suspicions, and continued its course to Singapore.
+
+The population of this town is a curious mixture of races, and our
+travellers met with Europeans engaged in the chief branches of
+commerce; Armenian and Arabian merchants, and Chinese; some planters,
+others following the various trades demanded by the requirements of the
+population. The Malays, who seemed out of place in an advancing
+civilization, either led a life of servitude, or slept away their time
+in indolence and misery whilst the Hindus, expelled from their country
+for crime, practised the indescribable trades which in all great cities
+alone save the scum from dying of starvation. It was only in 1819 that
+the English procured from the Malayan sultan of Johore the right to
+settle in the town of Singapore; and the little village in which they
+established themselves then numbered but 150 inhabitants, although,
+thanks to Sir Stamford Raffles, a town soon rose on the site of the
+unpretending cabins of the natives. By a wise stroke of policy all
+customs-duties were abolished; and the natural advantages of the new
+city, with its extensive and secure port, were supplemented and
+perfected by the hand of man.
+
+The garrison numbered only 300 sepoys and thirty gunners; there were as
+yet no fortifications, and the artillery equipment consisted merely of
+one battery of twenty cannons, and as many bronze field-pieces. Indeed,
+Singapore was simply one large warehouse, to which Madras sent cotton
+cloth; Calcutta, opium; Sumatra, pepper; Java, arrack and spices;
+Manilla, sugar and arrack; all forthwith despatched to Europe, China,
+Siam, &c. Of public buildings there appeared to be none. There were no
+stores, no careening-wharves, no building-yards, no barracks, and the
+visitors noticed but one small church for native converts.
+
+The squadron resumed its voyage on the 2nd September, and reached the
+harbour of Cavite without any mishap. Meanwhile, M. du Camper,
+commander of the _Esperance_ who had, during a residence of some years,
+become acquainted with the principal inhabitants, was ordered to go to
+Manilla, that he might inform the Governor-General of the Philippines
+of the arrival of the frigates, the reasons of their visit, &c., and at
+the same time gauge his feelings towards them, and form some idea of
+the reception the French might expect. The recent intervention of
+France in the affairs of Spain placed them indeed in a very delicate
+position with the then governor, Don Juan Antonio Martinez, who had
+been nominated to his post by the very Cortes which had just been
+overthrown by their government. The fears of the commandant, however,
+were not confirmed, for he met with the warmest kindness and most
+cordial co-operation from the Spanish authorities.
+
+Cavite Bay, where the vessels cast anchor, was constantly encumbered
+with mud, but it was the chief port in the Philippine Islands, and
+there the Spaniards owned a very well supplied arsenal in which worked
+Indians from the surrounding districts, who though skilful and
+intelligent were excessively lazy. Whilst the _Thetis_ was being
+sheathed, and the extensive repairs necessary to the _Esperance_ were
+being carried out, the clerks and officers were at Manilla, seeing
+about the supply of provisions and cordage. The latter, which was made
+of "abaca," the fibre of a banana, vulgarly called "Manilla hemp,"
+although recommended on account of its great elasticity, was not of
+much use on board ship. The delay at Manilla was rendered very
+disagreeable by earthquakes and typhoons, which are always of constant
+occurrence there. On October 24th there was an earthquake of such
+violence that the governor, troops, and a portion of the people were
+compelled hastily to leave the town, and the loss was estimated at
+120,000_l_. Many houses were thrown down, eight people were buried in
+the ruins, and many others injured. Scarcely had the inhabitants begun
+to breathe freely again, when a frightful typhoon came to complete the
+panic. It lasted only part of the night of the 31st October, and the
+next day, when the sun rose, it might have been looked upon as a mere
+nightmare had not the melancholy sight of fields laid waste, and of the
+harbour with six ships lying on their sides, and all the others at
+anchor, almost entirely disabled, testified to the reality of the
+disaster. All around the town the country was devastated, the crops
+were ruined, the trees--even the largest of them--violently shaken, the
+village destroyed. It was a heart-rending spectacle! The _Esperance_
+had its main-mast and mizen-mast lifted several feet above deck, and
+its barricadings were carried off; the _Thetis_, more fortunate than
+its companion, escaped almost uninjured in the dreadful tempest.
+
+The laziness of the workpeople, and the great number of holidays in
+which they indulge, early decided Bougainville to part for a time from
+his convoy, and on December 12th he set sail for Cochin-China. Before
+following the French to the little-frequented shores of that country,
+however, we must survey with them Manilla and its environs. The Bay of
+Manilla is one of the most extensive and beautiful in the world;
+numerous fleets might find anchorage in it; and its two channels were
+not yet closed to foreign vessels, and in 1798 two English frigates had
+been allowed to pass through them and carry off numerous vessels under
+the very guns of the town. The horizon is shut in by a barrier of
+mountains, ending on the south of the Taal, a volcano now almost
+extinct, but the eruptions of which have often caused frightful
+calamities. In the plains, framed in rice plantations, several hamlets
+and solitary houses give animation to the scene. Opposite to the mouth
+of the bay rises the town, containing 60,000 inhabitants, with its
+lighthouse and far-extending suburbs. It is watered by the Passig, a
+river issuing from Bay Lake, and its exceptionally good situation
+secures to it advantages which more than one capital might envy. The
+garrison, without including the militia, consisted at that time of 2200
+soldiers; and, in addition to the military navy, always represented by
+some vessel at anchor, a marine service had been organized for the
+exclusive use of the colony, to which the name of "sutil" had been
+given, either on account of the small size, or the fleetness of the
+vessels employed. This service, all appointments in which are in the
+gift of the governor-general, is composed of schooners and gun-sloops,
+intended to protect the coasts and the trading-vessels against the
+pirates of Sulu. But it cannot be said that the organization, imposing
+as it is, has achieved any great results. Of this Bougainville gives
+the following curious illustration:--In 1828 the Suluans seized 3000 of
+the inhabitants upon the coast of Luzon, and an expedition sent against
+them cost 140,000 piastres, and resulted in the killing of six men!
+
+[Illustration: Near the Bay of Manilla. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+Great uneasiness prevailed in the Philippines at the time of the visit
+of the _Thetis_ and the _Esperance_, and a political reaction which had
+steeped the metropolis in blood had thrown a gloom over every one. On
+December 20th, 1820, a massacre of the whites by the Indians; in 1824,
+the mutiny of a regiment, and the assassination of an ex-governor,
+Senor de Folgueras, had been the first horrors which had endangered the
+supremacy of the Spanish.
+
+The Creoles, who, with the Tagalas, were alike the richest and most
+industrious classes of the true native population, at this time gave
+just cause for uneasiness to the government, because they were known to
+desire the expulsion of all who were not natives of the Philippines;
+and when it is borne in mind that they commanded the native regiments,
+and held the greater part of the public offices, it is easy to see how
+great must have been their influence. Well might people ask whether
+they were not on the eve of one of those revolutions which lost to
+Spain her fairest colonies.
+
+Until the _Thetis_ reached Macao, she was much harassed by squalls,
+gales, heavy showers, and an intensity of cold, felt all the more
+keenly by the navigators after their experience for several months of a
+temperature of 75-3/4 degrees Fahrenheit. Scarcely was anchor cast in
+the Canton river before a great number of native vessels came to
+examine the frigate, offering for sale vegetables, fish, oranges, and a
+multitude of trifles, once so rare, now so common, but always costly.
+
+"The town of Macao," says the narrative, "shut in between bare hills,
+can be seen from afar; the whiteness of its buildings rendering it very
+conspicuous. It partly faces the coast, and the houses, which are
+elegantly built, line the beach, following the natural contour of the
+shore. The parade is also the finest part of the town, and is much
+frequented by foreigners; behind it, the ground rises abruptly, and the
+facades of the buildings, such as convents, noticeable for their size
+and peculiar architecture, rise, so to speak, from the second stage;
+the whole being crowned by the embattled walls of the forts, over which
+floated the white flag of Portugal.
+
+"At the northern and southern extremities of the town, facing the sea,
+are batteries built in three stages; and near the first, but a little
+further inland, rises a church with a very effective portico and fine
+external decorations. Numerous _sampangs_, junks, and fishing-boats
+anchored close in shore, give animation to the scene, the setting of
+which would be much brightened if the heights overlooking the town were
+not so totally wanting in verdure."
+
+Situated as it is in the high road, between China and the rest of the
+world, Macao, once one of the chief relics of Portuguese colonial
+prosperity, long enjoyed exceptional privileges, all of which were,
+however, gone by 1825, when its one industry was a contraband trade in
+opium.
+
+The _Thetis_ only touched at Macao to leave some missionaries, and to
+hoist the French flag, and Bougainville set sail again on January 8th.
+
+Nothing worthy of notice occurred on the voyage from Macao to Touron
+Bay. Arrived there, Bougainville learned that the French agent, M.
+Chaigneu, had left Hue for Saigon, with the intention of there
+chartering a barque for Singapore, and in the absence of the only
+person who could further his schemes he did not know with whom to open
+relations. Fearing failure as an inevitable result of this
+_contretemps_ he at once despatched a letter to Hue, explaining the
+object of his mission, and expressing a wish to go with some of his
+officers to Saigon. The time which necessarily elapsed before an answer
+was received was turned to account by the French, who minutely surveyed
+the bay and its surroundings, together with the famous marble rocks,
+the objects of the curious interest of all travellers. Touron Bay has
+been described by various authors, notably by Horsburgh, as one of the
+most beautiful and vast in the universe; but such is not the opinion of
+Bougainville, who thinks these statements are to be taken with a great
+deal of reservation. The village of Touron is situated upon the
+sea-coast, at the entrance of the channel of Faifoh, from the right
+bank of which rises a fort with glacis, bastions, and a dry moat, built
+by French engineers.
+
+The French being looked upon as old allies were always received with
+kindness and without suspicion. It had not, apparently, been so with
+the English, who had not been permitted to land, whilst the sailors on
+board the _Thetis_ were at once allowed to fish and hunt, and to go and
+come as they chose, every facility for obtaining fresh provisions being
+also accorded to them. Thanks to this latitude, the officers were able
+to scour the country and make interesting observations. One of them, M.
+de la Touanne, gives the following description of the natives:--"They
+are rather under than over middle height, and in this respect they
+closely resemble the Chinese of Macao. Their skin is of a
+yellowish-brown, and their heads are flat and round; their faces are
+without expression, their eyes are as melancholy, but their eyebrows
+are not so strongly marked as those of the Chinese. They have flat
+noses and large mouths, and their lips bulge out in a way rendered the
+more disagreeable as they are always black and dirty from the habit
+indulged in, by men and women alike, of chewing areca nut mixed with
+betel and lime. The women, who are almost as tall as the men, have not
+a more pleasant appearance; and the repulsive filthiness, common to
+both sexes, is enough without anything else to deprive them of all
+attractiveness."
+
+[Illustration: Women of Touron Bay.]
+
+What strikes one most is the wretchedness of the inhabitants as
+compared with the fertility of the soil, and this shocking contrast
+betrays alike the selfishness and carelessness of the government and
+the insatiable greed of the mandarins. The plains produce maize, yams,
+manioc, tobacco, and rice, the flourishing appearance of which
+testifies to the care bestowed upon them; the sea yields large
+quantities of delicious fish, and the forests give shelter to numerous
+birds, as well as tigers, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and elephants, and
+troops of monkeys are to be met with everywhere, some of them four feet
+high, with bodies of a pearl-grey colour, black thighs, and red legs.
+They wear red collars and white girdles, which make them look just as
+if they were clothed. Their muscular strength is extraordinary, and
+they clear enormous distances in leaping from branch to branch. Nothing
+can be odder than to see some dozen of these creatures upon one tree
+indulging in the most fantastic grimaces and contortions. "One day,"
+says Bougainville, "when I was at the edge of the forest, I wounded a
+monkey who had ventured forth for a stroll in the sunshine. He hid his
+face in his hands and sent forth such piteous groans that more than
+thirty of his tribe were about him in a moment. I lost no time in
+reloading my gun not knowing what I might have to expect, for some
+monkeys are not afraid of attacking men; but the troop only took up
+their wounded comrade, and once more plunged into the wood."
+
+Another excursion was made to the marble rocks of the Faifoh River,
+where are several curious caves, one containing an enormous pillar
+suspended from the roof and ending abruptly some distance from the
+ground; stalactites were seen, but the sound of a water-fall was heard
+from the further end. The French also visited the ruins of an ancient
+building near a grotto, containing an idol, and with a passage opening
+out of one corner. This passage Bougainville followed. It led him into
+an "immense rotunda lighted from the top, and ending in an arched
+vault, at least sixty feet high. Imagine the effect of a series of
+marble pillars of various colours, some from their greenish colour, the
+result of old age and damp, looking as if cast in bronze, whilst from
+the roof hung down creepers, now in festoons, now in bunches, looking
+for all the world like candelabra without the lights. Above our heads
+were groups of stalactites resembling great organ-pipes, altars,
+mutilated statues, hideous monsters carved in stone, and even a
+complete pagoda, which, however, occupied but a very small space in the
+vast enclosure. Fancy such a scene in an appropriate setting, the whole
+lit up with a dim and wavering light, and you can perhaps form some
+idea how it struck me when it first burst upon me."
+
+On the 20th of January, 1825, the _Esperance_ at last rejoined the
+frigate; and, two days later, two envoys arrived from the court at Hue,
+with orders to ask Bougainville for the letter of which he was the
+bearer. But, as the latter had received orders to deliver it to the
+Emperor in person, this request involved a long series of puerile
+negotiations. The formalities by which the Cochin-Chinese envoys were,
+so to speak, hemmed in, reminded Bougainville of the anecdote of the
+envoy and the governor of Java, who, rivalling each other in their
+gravity and diplomatic prudence, remained together for twenty-four
+hours without exchanging a word. The commander was not the man to
+endure such trial of patience as this, but he could not obtain the
+necessary authorization of his explorations, and the negotiations ended
+in an exchange of presents, securing nothing in fact but an assurance
+from the Emperor that he would receive with pleasure a visit of the
+French vessels to his ports, if their captain and officers would
+conform to the laws of the Empire. Since 1817 the French had been
+pretty well the only people who had done any satisfactory business with
+the people of Cochin-China, a state of things resulting from the
+presence of French residents at the court of Hue, on whom alone of
+course depended the maintenance of the exceptionally cordial relations
+so long established between them and the government to which they were
+accredited.
+
+The two ships left Touron Bay on the 17th February for the Anambas
+Archipelago, which had not as yet been explored; and, on the 3rd of
+March, they came in sight of it, and found it to bear no resemblance
+whatever to the islands of the same name, marked upon the English map
+of the China Sea. Bougainville was agreeably surprised to see a large
+number of islands and islets, the bays, &c., of which were sure to
+afford excellent anchorage during the monsoons. The explorers
+penetrated to the very heart of the archipelago, and made a
+hydrographic survey of it. Whilst the small boats were engaged upon
+this task, two prettily built canoes approached, from one of which a
+man of about fifty came on board the _Thetis_, whose breast was seamed
+with scars, and from whose right-hand two fingers were missing. The
+sight of the rows of guns and ammunition, however, so terrified him
+that he beat a hasty retreat to his canoe, though he had already got as
+far as the orlop-deck. Next day two more canoes approached, manned by
+fierce-looking Malays, bringing bananas, cocoa-nuts, and pineapples,
+which they bartered for biscuits, a handkerchief, and two small axes.
+Several other interviews took place with islanders, armed with the
+kriss, and short two-edged iron pikes, who were very evidently pirates
+by profession.
+
+Although the French explored but a part of the Anamba group, the
+information they collected was extremely interesting on account of its
+novelty. The first requisite of a large population is plenty of fresh
+water, and there is apparently very little of it in the Anambas.
+Moreover, the cultivable soil is not very deep, and the mountains are
+separated by narrow ravines, not by plains, so that agriculture is all
+but out of the question. Even the native trees, with the exception of
+the cocoa-palm, are very stunted. The population was estimated by a
+native at not more than 2000, but Bougainville thought even that too
+high a figure. The fortunate position of the Anambas--they are passed
+by all vessels trading with China, whichever route may be taken--long
+since brought them to the notice of navigators; and we must attribute
+to their lack of resources the neglect to which they have been
+abandoned. The small amount of cordiality and confidence met with by
+Bougainville from the inhabitants, the high price of provisions, and
+the destructive nature of the monsoons in the Sunda waters, determined
+him to cut short his survey and to make with all speed for Java, where
+his instructions compelled him to touch. The 8th of March was fixed for
+the departure of the two vessels, which sighted Victory, Barren,
+Saddle, and Camel Islands, passed through the Gasper Straits--the
+passage of which did not occupy more than two hours, although it often
+takes several days with an unfavourable wind--and cast anchor at
+Surabaya, where the explorers were met with the news of the death of
+Louis XVIII. and the accession of Charles X. As the cholera, which had
+claimed 300,000 victims in Java in 1822, was still raging, Bougainville
+took the precaution of keeping his crew on board under shelter from the
+sun, and expressly forbade any intercourse with vessels laden with
+fruit, the use of which is so dangerous to Europeans, especially during
+the rainy season then setting in. In spite of these wise orders,
+however, dysentery attacked the crew of the _Thetis_, and too many fell
+victims to it.
+
+The town of Surabaya is situated one league from the mouth of the
+river, and it can only be reached by towing up the stream. Its
+approaches are lively, and everything bears witness to the presence of
+an active commercial population. An expedition to the island of Celebes
+having exhausted the resources of the government and the magazines
+being empty, Bougainville had to deal direct with the Chinese
+merchants, who are the most bare-faced robbers on the face of the
+globe, and now resorted to all manner of cunning and knavery to get the
+better of their visitors. The stay at Surabaya, therefore, left a very
+disagreeable impression on all. It was quite different, however, with
+regard to the reception met with from the chief personages of the
+colony, for there was every reason to be satisfied with the conduct of
+all connected with the government.
+
+To go to Surabaya without paying a visit to the Sultan of Madura, whose
+reputation for hospitality had crossed the seas, would have been as
+impossible as it is to visit Paris without going to see Versailles and
+Trianon. After a comfortable lunch on shore, therefore, the staff of
+the two vessels set out in open carriages and four; but the roads were
+so bad and the horses so worn out that they would many a time have
+stuck in the mud if men stationed at the dangerous places had not
+energetically shoved at the wheels. At last they arrived at Bankalan,
+and the carriages drew up in the third court of the palace at the foot
+of a staircase, at the top of which the hereditary prince and the prime
+minister awaited the arrival of the travellers. Prince Adden Engrate
+belonged to the most illustrious family of the Indian Archipelago. He
+wore the undress uniform of a Java chief, consisting of a long flowered
+petticoat of Indian make, scarcely allowing the Chinese slippers to be
+seen, a white vest with gold buttons, and a small skirted waistcoat of
+brown cloth, with diamond buttons. A handkerchief was tied about his
+head, on which he wore a visor-cap, his ease and dignity of bearing
+alone saving him from looking like the grotesque figure of a carnival
+amazon. The palace or "kraton" consisted of a series of buildings with
+galleries, kept delightfully cool by awnings and curtains, whilst
+lustres, tasty European furniture, pretty hangings, glass and crystal
+ornaments decorated the vast halls and rooms. A suite of private
+apartments, with no opening to the court, but with a view of the
+gardens, is reserved for the "Ratu" (sovereign) and the harem.
+
+The reception was cordial, and the repast, served in European style,
+was delicious. "The conversation," says Bougainville, "was conducted in
+English, and many toasts were proposed, the prince drinking our healths
+in tea poured from a bottle, and to which he helped himself as if it
+had been Madeira. Being head of the church as well as of the state, he
+strictly obeys the precepts of the Koran, never drinking wine, and
+spending a great part of his time at the mosque; but he is not the less
+sociable, and his talk bears no trace of the austerity to be expected
+in that of one who leads so regular a life. This life is not, however,
+all spent in prayer, and the scenes witnessed by us would give a very
+false impression if we did not know that great latitude is allowed on
+this point to the followers of the prophet."
+
+In the afternoon the Frenchmen visited several coach-houses, containing
+very handsome carriages, some of which, built on the island, were so
+well-made that it was absolutely impossible to distinguish them from
+those which had been imported. Some archery was then witnessed, and
+joined in, after which, on the return to the palace, the visitors were
+welcomed by the sound of melancholy music, speedily interrupted,
+however, by the barking and fantastical dancing of the prince's fool,
+who showed wonderful agility and suppleness. To this dance, or rather
+to these postures of a bayadere, succeeded the excitement of
+vingt-et-un, followed by well-earned repose. Next day there were new
+entertainments and new exercises; beginning with wrestling-matches for
+grown men and for youths, and proceeding with quail-fights, and feats
+performed by a camel and an elephant. After lunch Bougainville and his
+party had a drive and some archery, and witnessed sack-races,
+basket-balancing, &c. In this way, they were told, the sultan passed
+all his time. Most striking is the respect and submission shown by all
+to this sovereign. No one ever stands upright before him, but all
+prostrate themselves before addressing him. All his subjects do but
+"wait at his feet," and even his own little child of four years clasps
+his tiny hands when he speaks to his father.
+
+While at Surabaya, Bougainville took the opportunity of visiting the
+volcano of Brumo, in the Tengger Mountains; and this excursion, in
+which he explored the island for a hundred miles, from east to west,
+was one of the most interesting undertaken by him. Surabaya contains
+some curious buildings and monuments, most of them the work of a former
+governor, General Daendels; such are the "Builder's Workshop," the
+"Hotel de la Monnaie" (the only establishment of the kind in Java), and
+the hospital, which is built on a well-chosen site, and contains 400
+beds. The island of Madura, opposite to Surabaya, is at least 100 miles
+in length, by fifteen or twenty in breadth, and does not yield produce
+sufficient to maintain the population, sparse as it is. The sovereignty
+of this island is divided between the sultans of Bankalan and Sumanap,
+who furnish annually six hundred recruits to the Dutch, without
+counting extraordinary levies.
+
+On the 20th April, symptoms of dysentery showed themselves amongst the
+crews. Two days later therefore the vessel set sail, and it took seven
+good days to get beyond the straits of Madura. They returned along the
+north coast of Lombok, and passed through the Allas Straits, between
+Lombok and Sumbawa. The first of these islands, from the foot of the
+mountains to the sea, presents the appearance of a green carpet,
+adorned with groups of trees of elegant appearance, and upon its coast
+there is no lack of good anchorage, whilst fresh water and wood are
+plentiful. On the other side, however, there are numerous peaks of
+barren aspect, rising from a lofty table-land, the approach to which is
+barred by a series of rugged and inaccessible islands, known as Lombok,
+the coral-beds and treacherous currents about which must be carefully
+avoided. Two stoppages at the villages of Baly and Peejow, with a view
+to taking in fresh provisions, enabled the officers to make a
+hydrographical chart of this part of the coast of Lombok. Upon leaving
+the strait, Bougainville made an unsuccessful search for Cloates
+Island. That he did not find it is not very wonderful, as during the
+last eight years many ships have passed over the spot assigned to it
+upon the maps. The "Triads," on the other hand, i.e. the rocks seen in
+1777 by the _Freudensberg Castle_, are, in Captain King's opinion, the
+Montepello Islands, which correspond perfectly with the description of
+the Danes.
+
+Bougainville had instructions to survey the neighbourhood of the Swan
+River, where the French Government hoped to find a place suitable for
+the reception of the wretches then huddled together in their
+convict-prisons; but the flag of England had just been unfurled on the
+shores of Nuyts and Leuwin, in King George's Sound, Geographe Bay, the
+little Leschenault inlet, and on the Swan River, so that there was no
+longer any reason for a new exploration. Everything in fact had
+combined to prevent it; the delays to which the expedition had been
+subjected had indeed been so serious that instead of arriving in these
+latitudes in April, they did not reach them until the middle of May,
+there the very heart of winter. Moreover, the coast offers no shelter,
+for so soon as the wind begins to blow, the waves swell tremendously,
+and the memory of the trials which the _Geographe_ had undergone at the
+same season of the year was still fresh in the minds of the French. The
+_Thetis_ and the _Esperance_ were pursued by the bad weather as far as
+Hobart Town, the chief English station upon the coast of Tasmania,
+where the commander was very anxious to put in. He was, however, driven
+back by storms to Port Jackson, which is marked by a very handsome
+lighthouse, a granite tower seventy-six feet high, with a lantern lit
+by gas, visible at a distance of nine leagues.
+
+[Illustration: Entrance to Sydney Bay.]
+
+Sir Thomas Brisbane, the governor, gave a cordial reception to the
+expedition, and at once took the necessary steps to furnish it with
+provisions. This was done by contract at low prices, and the greatest
+good faith was shown in carrying out all bargains. The sloop had to be
+run ashore to have its sheathing repaired, but this, with some work of
+less importance necessary to the _Thetis_, did not take long. The delay
+was also turned to account by the whole staff, who were greatly
+interested in the marvellous progress of this penal colony. While
+Bougainville was eagerly reading all the works which had as yet
+appeared upon New South Wales, the officers wandered about the town,
+and were struck dumb with amazement at the numberless public buildings
+erected by Governor Macquarie, such as the barracks, hospital, market,
+orphanages, almshouses for the aged and infirm, the prison, the fort,
+the churches, government-house, the fountains, the town gates, and last
+but not least, the government-stables, which are always at first sight
+taken for the palace itself. There was, however, a dark side to the
+picture. The main thoroughfares, though well-planned, were neither
+paved nor lighted, and were so unsafe at night, that several people had
+been seized and robbed in the very middle of George Street, the best
+quarter of Sydney. If the streets in the town were unsafe, those in the
+suburbs were still more so. Vagrant convicts overran the country in the
+form of bands of "bushrangers," who had become so formidable that the
+government had recently organized a company of fifty dragoons for the
+express purpose of hunting them down. All this did not, however, hinder
+the officers from making many interesting excursions, such as those to
+Paramatta, on the banks of the Nepean, a river very deeply embanked,
+where they visited the Regent Ville district; and to the "plains of
+Emu," a government agricultural-station, and a sort of model farm. They
+went to the theatre, where a grand performance was given in their
+honour. The delight sailors take in riding is proverbial, and it was on
+horseback that the French crossed the Emu plains. The noble animals,
+imported from England, had not degenerated in New South Wales; they
+were still full of spirit as one of the young officers found to his
+cost, when, as he was saying in English to Sir John Cox, acting as
+cicerone to the party, "I do love this riding exercise," he was
+suddenly thrown over his horse's head and deposited on the grass before
+he knew where he was. The laugh against him was all the more hearty as
+the skilful horseman was not injured.
+
+Beyond Sir John Cox's plantations extends the unbroken "open forest,"
+as the English call it, which can be crossed on horseback, and consists
+chiefly of the eucalyptus, acacias of various kinds, and the
+dark-leaved casuarinas. The next day, an excursion was made up the
+river Nepean, a tributary of the Hawkesbury, on which trip many
+valuable facts of natural history were obtained, Bougainville enriching
+his collection with canaries, waterfowl, and a very pretty species of
+kingfisher and cockatoos. In the neighbouring woods was heard the
+unpleasant cry of the lyre-pheasant and of two other birds, which
+feebly imitate the tinkling of a hand-bell and the jarring noise of the
+saw. These are not, however, the only feathered fowl remarkable for the
+peculiarity of their notes; we must also mention the "whistling-bird,"
+the "knife-grinder," the "mocking-bird," the "coachman," which mimics
+the crack of the whip, and the "laughing jackass," with its continual
+bursts of laughter, which have a strange effect upon the nerves. Sir
+John Cox presented the commander with two specimens of the water-mole,
+also called the ornithorhynchus, a curious amphibious creature, the
+habits of which are still little known to European naturalists, many
+museums not possessing a single specimen.
+
+Another excursion was made in the Blue Mountains, where the famous
+"King's Table-land" was visited, from which a magnificent view was
+obtained. The explorers gained with great difficulty the top of an
+eminence, and an abyss of 1600 feet at once opened beneath them; a vast
+green carpet stretching away to a distance of some twenty miles, whilst
+on the right and left were the distorted sides of the mountain, which
+had been rudely rent asunder by some earthquake, the irregularities
+corresponding exactly with each other. Close at hand foams a roaring,
+rushing torrent, flinging itself in a series of cascades into the
+valley beneath, the whole passing under the name of "Apsley's
+Waterfall." This trip was succeeded by a kangaroo hunt in the
+cow-pastures with Mr. Macarthur, one of the chief promoters of the
+prosperity of New South Wales. Bougainville also turned his stay at
+Sydney to account by laying the foundation-stone of a monument to the
+memory of La Perouse. This cenotaph was erected in Botany Bay, upon the
+spot where the navigator had pitched his camp.
+
+[Illustration: "Apsley's Waterfall."]
+
+On September 21st the _Thetis_ and the _Esperance_ at last set sail;
+passing off Pitcairn Island, Easter Island, and Juan Fernandez, now a
+convict settlement for criminals from Chili, after having been occupied
+for a half-century by Spanish vine-growers.
+
+On the 23rd November the _Thetis_, which had been separated from the
+_Esperance_ during a heavy storm, anchored off Valparaiso, where it met
+Admiral de Rosamel's division. Great excitement prevailed in the
+roadstead, for an expedition against the island of Chiloe, which still
+belonged to Spain, was being organized by the chief director, General
+Ramon Freire y Serrano, of whom we have already spoken.
+
+Bougainville, like the Russian navigator Lutke, is of opinion that the
+position of Valparaiso does not justify its reputation. The streets are
+dirty and narrow, and so steep that walking in them is very fatiguing.
+The only pleasant part is the suburb of Almendral, which, with its
+gardens and orchards, would be still more agreeable but for the
+sand-storms prevalent throughout nearly the whole of the year. In 1811,
+Valparaiso numbered only from four to five thousand inhabitants; but in
+1825 the population had already tripled itself, and the increase showed
+no sign of ceasing. When the _Thetis_ touched at Valparaiso, the
+English frigate, the _Blonde_, commanded by Lord Byron, grandson of the
+explorer of the same name, whose discoveries are narrated above, was
+also at anchor there. By a singular coincidence Byron had raised a
+monument to the memory of Cook in the island of Hawaii, at the very
+time when Bougainville, the son of the circumnavigator, met by Byron in
+the Straits of Magellan, was laying the foundation-stone of the
+monument to the memory of La Perouse in New South Wales.
+
+Bougainville turned the delay necessary for the revictualling of his
+division to account by paying a visit to Santiago, the capital of
+Chili, thirty-three leagues inland. The environs of Chili are terribly
+bare, without houses or any signs of cultivation. Its steeples alone
+mark the approach to it, and one may fancy oneself still in the
+outskirts when the heart of the city is reached. There is, however, no
+lack of public buildings, such as the Hotel de la Monnaie, the
+university, the archbishop's palace, the cathedral, the church of the
+Jesuits, the palace, and the theatre, the last of which is so badly
+lighted that it is impossible to distinguish the faces of the audience.
+The promenade, known as La Canada, has now supplanted that of L'Alameda
+on the banks of the river Mapocha, once the evening rendezvous. The
+objects of interest in the town exhausted, the Frenchmen examined those
+in the neighbourhood, visiting the Salto de Agua, a waterfall of 1200
+feet in height, the ascent to which is rather arduous, and the Cerito
+de Santa-Lucia, from which rises a fortress, the sole defence of the
+town.
+
+The season was now advancing, and no time was to be lost if the
+explorers wished to take advantage of the best season for doubling Cape
+Horn. On the 8th January, 1826, therefore, the two vessels once more
+put to sea, and rounded the Cape without any mishap, though landing at
+the Falklands was rendered impossible by fog and contrary winds. Anchor
+was cast on the 28th March in the roadstead of Rio Janeiro, and, as it
+turned out, at a time most favourable for the French to form an
+accurate opinion alike on the city and the court.
+
+"The emperor," says Bougainville, "was upon a journey at the time of
+our arrival, and his return was the occasion of fetes and receptions
+which roused the population to activity, and broke for a time the
+monotony of ordinary life in Rio, that dullest and dreariest of towns
+to the foreigner. Its environs, however, are charming; nature has in
+them been lavish of her riches; and the vast harbour, the Atlantic,
+rendezvous of the commercial world, presents a most animated scene.
+Innumerable ships, either standing in or getting under weigh, small
+craft cruising about, a ceaseless roar of cannon from the forts and
+men-of-war, exchanging signals on the occasion of some anniversary or
+the celebration of some festival of the church, whilst visits were
+constantly being exchanged between the officers of the various foreign
+vessels and the diplomatic agents of foreign powers at the court of
+Rio."
+
+The division set sail again on the 11th April, and arrived at Brest on
+the 24th June, 1826, without having put into port since it left Rio
+Janeiro. We must remember that if Bougainville did not make any
+discoveries on this voyage, he had no formal instructions to do so, his
+mission being merely to unfurl the flag of France where it had as yet
+been rarely seen. None the less do we owe to this general officer some
+very interesting, and in some cases new information on the countries
+visited by him. Some of the surveys made by his expedition may be of
+service to navigators, and it must be owned that the hydrographical
+researches which alone could be undertaken in the absence of scientific
+men were carefully made, and resulted in the obtaining of numerous and
+accurate data. We can but sympathize with the commander of the
+_Thetis_, in his expression of regret, in the preface to his journal,
+that neither the Government nor the _Academie des Sciences_ had seen
+fit to turn his expedition to account to obtain new results
+supplementary of the rich harvest gleaned by his predecessors.
+
+The expedition next sent out under the command of Captain Dumont
+d'Urville was merely intended by the minister to supplement and
+consolidate the mass of scientific data collected by Captain Duperrey
+in his voyage from 1822 to 1824. As second in command to Duperrey, and
+the originator and organizer of the new exploring expedition, D'Urville
+had the very first claim to be appointed to its command. The portions
+of Oceania he proposed to visit were New Zealand, the Fiji Islands, the
+Loyalty Islands, New Britain, and New Guinea, all of which he
+considered urgently to demand the consideration alike of the geographer
+and the traveller. What he effected in this direction we shall
+ascertain by following him step by step. An interest of another
+character also attaches to this trip, but it will be well to quote on
+this point the instructions given to the navigator.
+
+"An American captain," writes the Minister of Marine, "said that he saw
+in the hands of the natives of an isle situated between New Caledonia
+and the Louisiade Archipelago a cross of St. Louis and some medals,
+which he imagined to be relics of the wrecked vessel of the celebrated
+La Perouse, whose loss is so deeply and justly regretted. This is, of
+course, but a feeble reason for hoping that some of the victims of the
+disaster still survive; but you, sir, will give great satisfaction to
+his Majesty, if you are the means of restoring any one of the poor
+shipwrecked mariners to their native land after so many years of misery
+and exile."
+
+The aims of the expedition were therefore manifold, and by the greatest
+chance it was able to achieve them nearly all. D'Urville received his
+appointment in December, 1825, and was permitted himself to choose all
+who were to accompany him. He named as second in command Lieutenant
+Jacquinot, and as scientific colloborateurs Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard,
+who had been on board the _Uranie_, and as surgeon Primevere Lesson.
+The _Coquille_, the excellent qualities of which were well known to
+D'Urville, was the vessel selected; and the commander having named her
+the _Astrolabe_ in memory of La Perouse, embarked in her a crew of
+twenty-four men. Anchor was weighed on the 25th April, and the
+mountains of Toulon with the coast of France were soon out of sight.
+
+After touching at Gibraltar, the _Astrolabe_ stopped at Teneriffe to
+take in fresh provisions before crossing the Atlantic, and D'Urville
+took advantage of this delay to ascend the peak, accompanied by Messrs.
+Quoy, Gaimard, and several officers, a bad road, very arduous for
+pedestrians, leading the first part of the way over fields of scoria,
+though as Laguna is approached the scenery improves. This town, of a
+considerable size, contains but a small, indolent, and miserable
+population.
+
+Between Matunza and Orotara the vegetation is magnificent, and the
+luxuriant foliage of the vine enhances the beauty of the view. Orotara
+is a small seaboard town, with a port affording but little shelter. It
+is well-built and laid out, and would be comfortable enough if the
+streets were not so steep as to make traffic all but impossible. After
+three-quarters of an hour's climb through well-cultivated fields, the
+Frenchmen reached the chestnut-tree region, beyond which begin the
+clouds, taking the form of a thick moist fog, very disagreeable to the
+traveller. Further on comes the furze region, beyond which the
+atmosphere again becomes clear, vegetation disappears, the ground
+becomes poorer and more barren. Here are met with decomposed lava,
+scoria, and pumice-stones in great abundance, whilst below stretches
+away the boundless sea of clouds.
+
+Thus far hidden by clouds or by the lofty mountains surrounding it, the
+peak at last stands forth distinctly, the incline becomes less steep,
+and those vast plains of intensely melancholy appearance, called
+Canadas by the Spanish, on account of their bareness, are crossed. A
+halt is made for lunch at the Pine grotto before climbing the huge
+blocks of basalt ranged in a circle about the crater, now filled in
+with ashes from the peak, and forming its enceinte. The peak itself is
+next attached, the ascent of which is broken one-third of the way up by
+a sort of esplanade called the Estancia de los Ingleses. Here our
+travellers passed the night, not perhaps quite so comfortably as they
+would have done in their berths, but without suffering too much from
+the feeling of suffocation experienced by other explorers. The fleas,
+however, were very troublesome, and their unremitting attacks kept the
+commander awake all night.
+
+At four a.m. the ascent was resumed, and a second esplanade, called the
+Alta Vista, was soon reached, beyond which all trace of a path
+disappears, the rest of the ascent being over rough lava as far as the
+Chahorra Cone, with here and there, in the shade, patches of unmelted
+snow. The peak itself is very steep, and its ascent is rendered yet
+more arduous by the pumice-stone which rolls away beneath the feet.
+
+"At thirty-five minutes past six," says M. Dumont d'Urville, "we
+arrived at the summit of the Chahorra, which is evidently a
+half-extinct crater. Its sides are thin and sloping, it is from sixty
+to eighty feet deep, and the whole surface is strewn with fragments of
+obsidian, pumice-stones, and lava. Sulphureous vapour, forming a kind
+of crown of smoke, is emitted from it, whilst the atmosphere at the
+bottom is perfectly cool. At the summit of the peak the thermometer
+marked 11 degrees, but in my opinion it was affected by the presence of
+the fumerolles, for when at the bottom of the crater it fell rapidly
+from 19 degrees in the sun to 9 degrees 5' in the shade."
+
+The descent was accomplished without accident by another route,
+enabling our travellers to examine the Cueva de la Nieve, and to visit
+the forest of Aqua Garcia, watered by a limpid stream, and in which
+D'Urville made a rich collection of botanical specimens.
+
+In Major Megliorini's rooms at Santa Cruz the commander was shown,
+together with a number of weapons, shells, animals, fish, &c., a
+complete mummy of a Guanche, said to be that of a woman. The corpse was
+sewn up in skins, and seemed to be that of a woman five feet four high,
+with regular features and large hands. The sepulchral caves of the
+Guanches also contained earthenware, wooden vases, triangular seals of
+baked clay, and a great number of small discs of the same material,
+strung together like chaplets, which may have been used by this extinct
+race for the same purposes as the "quipos" of the Peruvians.
+
+On the 21st June the _Astrolabe_ once more set sail and touched at La
+Praya, and at the Cape Verd Islands, where D'Urville had hoped to meet
+Captain King, who would have been able to give him some valuable hints
+on the navigation of the coast of New Guinea. King, however, had left
+La Praya thirty-six hours previously, and the _Astrolabe_ therefore
+resumed her voyage the next day, i.e. on the 30th June.
+
+On the last day of July the rocks of Martin-Vaz and Trinity Island were
+sighted, and the latter appearing perfectly barren, a little dried-up
+grass and a few groups of stunted trees, dotted about amongst the
+rocks, being the only signs of vegetation.
+
+D'Urville had been very anxious to make some botanical researches on
+this desert island, but the surf was so rough that he was afraid to
+risk a boat in it.
+
+On the 4th August the _Astrolabe_ sailed over the spot laid down as
+"Saxembourg" Island, which ought to be finally erased from French as it
+has been from English charts; and after a succession of squalls, which
+tried her sorely, she arrived off St. Paul and Amsterdam Islands,
+finally anchoring on the 7th October in King George's Sound, on the
+coast of Australia. In spite of the roughness of the sea, and constant
+bad weather throughout his voyage of 108 days, D'Urville had carried on
+all his usual observations on the height of the waves, which he
+estimated at 80 and occasionally as much as 100 feet, off Needle Bank;
+the temperature of the sea at various depths, &c.
+
+Captain Jacquinot having found a capital supply of fresh water on the
+right bank of Princess Royal Harbour, and at a little distance a site
+suitable for the erection of an observatory, the tents were soon
+pitched by the sailors, and several officers made a complete tour of
+the bay, whilst others opened relations with the aborigines, one of
+whom was induced to go on board, though it was only with the greatest
+difficulty that he was persuaded to throw away his _Banksia_, a cone
+used to retain heat, and to keep the stomach and the front part of the
+body warm. He remained quietly enough on board for two days, however,
+eating and drinking in front of the kitchen fire. In the meantime his
+fellow-countrymen on land were peaceable and well-disposed, even
+bringing three of their children into the camp.
+
+During this halt a boat arrived manned by eight Englishmen, who asked
+to be taken on board as passengers, and told such a very improbable
+story of having been deserted by their captain, that D'Urville
+suspected them of being escaped convicts; a suspicion which became a
+conviction, when he saw the wry faces they made at his proposal to send
+them back to Port Jackson. The next day, however, one took a berth as
+sailor, and two were received as passengers; whilst the other five
+decided to remain on land and drag out a miserable existence amongst
+the natives.
+
+All this time hydrographical and astronomical observations were being
+made, and the hunters and naturalists were trying to obtain specimens
+of new varieties of fauna and flora. The delays extending to October
+24th enabled the explorers to regain their strength, after their trying
+voyage, to make the necessary repairs, take in wood and water, draw up
+a map of the whole neighbourhood, and to collect numerous botanical and
+zoological specimens. His observations of various kinds made D'Urville
+wonder that the English had not yet founded a colony on King George's
+Sound, admirably situated as it is, not only for vessels coming direct
+from Europe, but for those trading between the Cape and China, or bound
+for the Sunda Islands, and delayed by the monsoons. The coast was
+explored as far as West Port, preferred by D'Urville to Port Dalrymple,
+the latter being a harbour always difficult and often dangerous either
+to enter or to leave. West Port moreover, was as yet only known from
+the reports of Baudin and Flinders, and it was therefore better worth
+exploring than a more frequented district. The observations made in
+King George's Sound were therefore repeated at West Port, resulting in
+the following conclusions:--
+
+"It affords," says D'Urville, "an anchorage alike easy to reach and to
+leave, the bottom is firm, and wood is abundant and easily procurable.
+In a word, when a good supply of fresh water is found, and that will
+probably be soon, West Port will rise to a position of great importance
+in a channel such as Bass's Straits, when the winds often blow strongly
+from one quarter for several days together, the currents at the same
+time rendering navigation difficult."
+
+From November 19th to December 2nd the _Astrolabe_ cruised along the
+coast, touching only at Jervis Bay, remarkable for its magnificent
+eucalyptus forests.
+
+[Illustration: Eucalyptus forest of Jervis Bay.]
+
+The reception given to the French at Port Jackson, by Governor Darling
+and the colonial authorities, was none the less cordial for the fact
+that the visits made by D'Urville to various parts of New Holland had
+greatly amazed the English Government.
+
+During the last three years Port Jackson had increased greatly in size
+and improved in appearance; though the population of the whole colony
+only amounted to 50,000, and that in spite of the constant foundation
+of new English settlements. The commander took advantage of his stay in
+Sydney to forward his despatches to France, together with several cases
+of natural history specimens. This done and a fresh stock of provisions
+having been laid in, he resumed his voyage.
+
+[Illustration: New Guinea hut on piles. (Fac-simile of early
+engraving.)]
+
+It would be useless to linger with Dumont d'Urville at New South Wales,
+to the history of which, and its condition in 1826, he devotes a whole
+volume of his narrative. We have already given a detailed account of
+it, and it will be better to leave Sydney with our traveller, on the
+19th December, and follow him to Tasman Bay, through calms, head-winds,
+currents, and tempests, which prevented his reaching New Zealand before
+the 14th January, 1827. Tasman Bay, first seen by Cook on his second
+voyage, had never yet been explored by any expedition, and on the
+arrival of the _Astrolabe_ a number of canoes, containing some score of
+natives, most of them chiefs, approached. These natives were not afraid
+to climb on board, some remaining several days, whilst later arrivals
+drew up within reach, and a brisk trade was opened. Meanwhile several
+officers climbed through the thick furze clothing the hills overlooking
+the bay, and the following is D'Urville's verdict on the desolate scene
+which met their view.
+
+"Not a bird, not an insect, not even a reptile to be seen, the solemn,
+melancholy silence is unbroken by the voice of any living creature."
+From the summit of these hills the commander saw New Bay, that known as
+Admiralty, which communicates by a current with that in which the
+_Astrolabe_ was anchored; and he was anxious to explore it, as it
+seemed safer than that of Tasman, but the currents several times
+brought his vessel to the very verge of destruction; and had the
+_Astrolabe_ been driven upon the rocky coast, the whole crew would have
+perished, and not so much as a trace of the wreck would have been left.
+At last, however, D'Urville succeeded in clearing the passage with no
+further loss than that of a few bits of the ship's keel.
+
+"To celebrate," says the narrative, "the memory of the passage of the
+_Astrolabe_, I conferred upon this dangerous strait the name of the
+'Passe des Francais'" (French Pass), "but, unless in a case of great
+necessity, I should not advise any one else to attempt it. We could now
+look calmly at the beautiful basin in which we found ourselves; and
+which certainly deserves all the praise given to it by Cook. I would
+specially recommend a fine little harbour, some miles to the south of
+the place, where the captain cast anchor. Our navigation of the 'Passe
+des Francais' had definitively settled the insular character of the
+whole of the district terminating in the 'Cape Stephens' of Cook. It is
+divided from the mainland of Te-Wahi-Punamub[1] by the Current Basin.
+The comparison of our chart with that of the strait as laid down by
+Cook will suffice to show how much he left to be done."
+
+[Footnote 1: Now "South Island."--_Trans._]
+
+The _Astrolabe_ soon entered Cook's Strait, and sailing outside Queen
+Charlotte's Bay, doubled Cape Palliser, a headland formed of some low
+hills. D'Urville was greatly surprised to find that a good many
+inaccuracies had crept into the work of the great English navigator,
+and in that part of the account of his voyage which relates to
+hydrography, he quotes instances of errors of a fourth, or even third
+of a degree.
+
+The commander then resolved to make a survey of the eastern side of the
+northern island Ika-Na-Mawi. On this island pigs were to be found, but
+no "_pounamon_" the green jade which the New Zealanders use in the
+manufacture of their most valuable tools; strange to say, however, jade
+is to be found on the southern island, but there are no pigs.
+
+Two natives of the island, who had expressed a wish to remain on board
+the corvette, became quite low-spirited as they watched the coast of
+the district where they lived disappear below the horizon. They then
+began to repent, but too late, the intrepidity which had prompted them
+to leave their native shores; for intrepid they justly deserve to be
+called, seeing that again and again they asked the French sailors if
+they were not to be eaten, and it took several days of kind treatment
+to dispel this fear from their minds.
+
+[Illustration: New Zealanders. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+D'Urville continued to sail northward up the coast until the capes,
+named by Cook Turn-again and Kidnappers, had been doubled, and Sterile
+Island with its "Ipah" came in sight. In the Bay of Tolaga, as Cook
+called it, the natives brought alongside the corvette pigs and
+potatoes, which they readily exchanged for articles of little value. On
+other canoes approaching, the New Zealanders who were on board the
+vessel urged the commander to fire upon and kill their
+fellow-countrymen in the boats; but as soon as the latter climbed up to
+the deck, the first arrivals advanced to greet them with earnest
+assurances of friendship. Conduct so strangely inconsistent is the
+outcome of the compound of hatred and jealousy mutually entertained for
+each other by these tribes. "They all desire to appropriate to
+themselves exclusively whatever advantage may be obtained from the
+visits of foreigners, and they are distressed at the prospect of their
+neighbours getting any share." Proof was soon afforded that this
+explanation is the right key to their behaviour.
+
+Upon the _Astrolabe_ were several New Zealanders, but among them was a
+certain "_Shaki_" who was recognized as a chief by his tall stature,
+his elaborate tattooing, and the respectful manner in which he was
+addressed by his fellow-islanders. Seeing a canoe manned by not more
+than seven or eight men approaching the corvette, this "_Shaki_" and
+the rest came to entreat D'Urville most earnestly to kill the new
+arrivals, going so far as to ask for muskets that they might themselves
+fire upon them. However, no sooner had the last comers arrived on board
+than all those who were there already overwhelmed them with courtesies,
+while the "_Shaki_" himself, although he had been one of the most
+sanguinary, completely changed his tone and made them a present of some
+axes he had just obtained. After the chief men of a warlike and fierce
+appearance, with faces tattooed all over, had been a few minutes on
+board, D'Urville was preparing to ask them some questions, with the aid
+of a vocabulary published by the missionaries, when all at once they
+turned away from him, leaped into their canoes and pushed out into the
+open sea. This sudden move was brought about by their countrymen, who,
+for the purpose of getting rid of them, slily hinted that their lives
+were in danger, as the Frenchmen had formed a plot to kill them.
+
+It was in the Bay of Tolaga, the right name of which is Houa-Houa, that
+D'Urville found the first opportunity of gaining some information about
+the "kiwi," by means of a mat decorated with the feathers of that bird,
+such mats being articles of luxury among these islanders. The "kiwi" is
+about the size of a small turkey, and, like the ostrich, has not the
+power of flying. It is hunted at night by the light of torches and with
+the assistance of dogs. It is this bird which is also known under the
+name of the "apteryx." What the natives told D'Urville about it was in
+the main accurate. The apteryx, with the tail of a fowl and a plumage
+of a reddish-brown, has an affinity to the ostrich; it inhabits damp
+and gloomy woods, and never comes out even in search of food except in
+the evening. The incessant hunting of the natives has considerably
+diminished the numbers of this curious species, and it is now very
+rare.
+
+D'Urville made no pause in the hydrographical survey of the northern
+island of New Zealand, keeping up daily communication with the natives,
+who brought him supplies of pigs and potatoes. According to their own
+statements, the tribes were perpetually at war with one another, and
+this was the true cause of the decrease in the population of these
+islands. Their constant demand was for fire-arms; failing to obtain
+these, they were satisfied if they could get powder in exchange for
+their own commodities.
+
+On the 10th February, when not far from Cape Runaway, the corvette was
+caught in a violent storm, which lasted for thirty-six hours, and she
+was more than once on the point of foundering. After this, she made her
+way into the Bay of Plenty, at the bottom of which rises Mount
+Edgecumbe; then keeping along the coast, the islands of Haute and Major
+were sighted; but during this exploration of the bay, the weather was
+so severe that the chart of it then laid down cannot be considered very
+trustworthy. After leaving this bay, the corvette reached the Bay of
+Mercury; surveyed Barrier Island, entered Shouraki or Hauraki Bay,
+identified the Hen and Chickens and the Poor Knights Islands, finally
+arriving at the Bay of Islands. The native tribes met with by D'Urville
+in this part of the island were busy with an expedition against those
+of Shouraki and Waikato Bays. For the purpose of exploring the former
+bay, which had been imperfectly surveyed by Cook, D'Urville sailed back
+to it, and discovered that that part of New Zealand is indented with a
+number of harbours and gulfs of great depth, each one being safer, if
+possible, than the other. Having been informed that by following the
+direction of the Wai Magoia, a place would be reached distant only a
+very short journey from the large port of Manukau, he despatched some
+of his officers by that route, and they verified the correctness of the
+information he had received. This discovery, observes Dumont d'Urville,
+may become of great value to future settlements of Shouraki Bay; and
+this value will be still farther increased should the new surveys prove
+that the port of Manukau is accessible to vessels of a certain size,
+for such a settlement would command two seas, one on the east and the
+other on the west.
+
+One of the "Rangatiras," as the chiefs of that quarter of the island
+are called, Rangui by name, had again and again begged the commander to
+give him some lead to make bullets with; a request which was always
+refused. Just before setting sail, D'Urville was informed that the
+deep-sea lead had been carried off; and he at once reproached Rangui in
+severe terms, telling him that such petty larcenies were unworthy of a
+man in a respectable position. The chief appeared to be deeply moved by
+the reproach, and excused himself by saying that he had no knowledge of
+the theft, which must have been committed by some stranger. "A short
+time afterwards," the narrative goes on to say, "my attention was drawn
+to the side of the ship by the sound of blows given with great force,
+and piteous cries proceeding from the canoe of Rangui. There I saw
+Rangui and Tawiti striking blow after blow with their paddles upon an
+object resembling the figure of a man covered with a cloak. It was easy
+to perceive that the two wily chiefs were simply beating one of the
+benches of the canoe. After this farce had been played for some little
+time, Rangui's paddle broke in his hands. The sham man was made to
+appear to fall down, when Rangui, addressing me, said that he had just
+killed the thief, and wished to know whether that would satisfy me. I
+assured him that it would, laughing to myself at the artifice of these
+savages; an artifice, for that matter, such as is often to be met with
+among people more advanced in civilization."
+
+D'Urville next surveyed the lovely island of Wai-hiki, and thus
+terminated the survey of the Astrolabe Channel and Hauraki Bay. He then
+resumed his voyage in a northerly direction towards the Bay of Islands,
+sailing as far as Cape Maria Van Diemen, the most northerly point of
+New Zealand, where, say the Waidonas, "the souls of the departed gather
+from all parts of Ika-Na-Mawi, to take their final flight to the realms
+of light or to those of eternal darkness."
+
+The Bay of Islands, at the time when the _Coquille_ put in there, was
+alive with a pretty considerable population, with whom the visitors
+soon became on friendly terms. Now, however, the animation of former
+days had given place to the silence of desolation. The Ipah, or rather
+the Pah of Kahou Wera, once the abode of an energetic tribe, was
+deserted, war had done its customary destructive work in the place. The
+Songhui tribe had stolen the possessions, and dispersed the members of
+the tribe of Paroa.
+
+The Bay of Islands was the place chosen for their field of effort by
+the English missionaries, who, notwithstanding their devotion to their
+work had not made any progress among the natives. The unproductiveness
+of their labours was only too apparent.
+
+The survey of the eastern side of New Zealand, a hydrographical work of
+the utmost importance, terminated at this point. Since the days of Cook
+no exploration of anything like such a vast extent of the coast of this
+country had been conducted in so careful a manner, in the face of so
+many perils. The sciences of geography and navigation were both
+signally benefited by the skilful and detailed work of D'Urville, who
+had to give proof of exceptional qualities in the midst of sudden and
+terrible dangers. However, on his return to France, no notice was taken
+of the hardships he had undergone, or the devotion to duty he had
+shown; he was left without recognition, and duties were assigned to
+him, the performance of which could bring no distinction, for they
+could have been equally well discharged by any ordinary ship's captain.
+
+Leaving New Zealand on the 18th of March, 1827, D'Urville steered for
+Tonga Tabou, identified to begin with the islands Curtis, Macaulay, and
+Sunday; endeavoured, but without success, to find the island of Vasquez
+de Mauzelle, and arrived off Namouka on the 16th of April. Two days
+later he made out Eoa; but before reaching Tonga Tabou he encountered a
+terrible storm which all but proved fatal to the _Astrolabe_. At Tonga
+Tabou he found some Europeans, who had been for many years settled on
+the island; from them he received much help in getting to understand
+the character of the natives. The government was in the hands of three
+chiefs, called _Equis_, who had shared all authority between them since
+the banishment of the _Toni Tonga_, or spiritual chief, who had enjoyed
+immense influence. A Wesleyan mission was in existence at Tonga; but it
+could be seen at a glance that the Methodist clergy had not succeeded
+in acquiring any influence over the natives. Such converts as had been
+made were held in general contempt for their apostasy.
+
+When the _Astrolabe_ had reached the anchorage, after her fortunate
+escape from the perils from contrary winds, currents, and rocks, which
+had beset her course, she was at once positively overwhelmed with the
+offer of an incredible quantity of stores, fruits, vegetables, fowls,
+and pigs, which the natives were ready to dispose of for next to
+nothing. For equally low prices D'Urville was able to purchase, for the
+museum, specimens of the arms and native productions of the savages.
+Amongst them were some clubs, most of them made of casuarina wood,
+skilfully carved, or embossed in an artistic manner with
+mother-of-pearl or with whalebone. The custom of amputating a joint or
+two of the fingers or toes, to propitiate the Deity, was still
+observed, in the case of a near relative being dangerously ill.
+
+From the 28th of April the natives had manifested none but the most
+friendly feelings; no single disturbance had occurred; but on the 9th
+of May, while D'Urville, with almost all his officers, went to pay a
+visit to one of the leading chiefs, named Palou, the reception accorded
+to them was marked by a most unusual reserve, altogether inconsistent
+with the noisy and enthusiastic demonstrations of the preceding days.
+The distrust evinced by the islanders aroused that of D'Urville, who,
+remembering how few were the men left on board the _Astrolabe_, felt
+considerable uneasiness. However, nothing unusual happened during his
+absence from the ship. But it was only the cowardice of Palou which had
+caused the failure of a conspiracy, aiming at nothing less than the
+massacre, at one blow, of the whole of the staff, after which there
+would have been no difficulty in prevailing over the crew, who were
+already more than half-disposed to adopt the easy mode of life of the
+islanders. Such at least was the conclusion the commander came to, and
+subsequent events showed that he was right.
+
+These apprehensions determined D'Urville to leave Tonga Tabou as
+quickly as possible, and on the 13th every preparation was made to set
+sail on the following day. The apprentice Dudemaine was walking about
+on the large island, whilst the apprentice Faraquet, with nine men, was
+engaged on the small island, Pangai Modou, in getting fresh water, or
+studying the tide, when Tahofa, one of the chiefs, with several other
+islanders, then on board the _Astrolabe_, gave a signal. The canoes
+pushed off at once and made for the shore. On trying to discover the
+cause of this sudden retreat, it was observed that the sailors on the
+island Pangai Modou were being forcibly dragged off by the natives.
+D'Urville was about to fire off a cannon, when he decided that it would
+be safer to send a boat to shore. This boat took off the two sailors
+and the apprentice Dudemaine, but was fired upon when despatched
+shortly afterwards to set fire to the huts, and to try to capture some
+natives as hostages. One native was killed and several others were
+wounded, whilst a corporal of the marines received such severe bayonet
+wounds, that he died two hours later.
+
+[Illustration: Attack from the natives of Tonga Tabou.]
+
+D'Urville's anxiety about the fate of his sailors, and of Faraquet, who
+was in command of them, knew no bounds. Nothing was left for him to do
+but to make an attack upon the sacred village of Mafanga, containing
+the tombs of several of the principal families. But on the following
+day a crowd of natives so skilfully surrounded the place with
+embankments and palisades, that it was impossible to hope to carry it
+by an attack. The corvette then drew nearer to the shore, and began to
+cannonade the village, without, however, doing any other damage than
+killing one of the natives. At length the difficulty of obtaining
+provisions, the rain, and the continual alarm in which the firing of
+the Frenchmen kept them, induced the islanders to offer terms of peace.
+They gave up the sailors, who had all been very well treated, made a
+present of pigs and bananas; and on the 24th of May the _Astrolabe_
+took her final departure from the Friendly Islands.
+
+It was quite time indeed that this was done, for D'Urville's situation
+was untenable, and in a conversation with his boatswain he ascertained
+that not more than half a dozen of the sailors could be relied on; all
+the others were ready to go over to the side of the savages.
+
+Tonga Tabou is of madreporic formation, with a thick covering of
+vegetable soil, favourable to an abundant growth of shrubs and trees.
+The cocoa-tree, the stem of which is slenderer than elsewhere, and the
+banana-tree here shoot up with wonderful rapidity and vigour. The
+aspect of the land is flat and monotonous, so that a journey of one or
+two miles will give as fair an impression of the country as a complete
+tour of the island. The number of the population who have the true
+Polynesian cast of countenance may be put down at about 7000. D'Urville
+says "they combine the most opposite qualities. They are generous,
+courteous, and hospitable, yet avaricious, insolent, and always
+thoroughly insincere. The most profuse demonstration of kindness and
+friendship may at any moment be interrupted by an act of outrage or
+robbery, should their cupidity or their self-respect be ever so
+slightly roused."
+
+In intelligence the natives of Tonga are clearly far superior to those
+of Otaheite. The French travellers could not sufficiently admire the
+astonishing order in which the plantations of yams and bananas were
+kept, the excessive neatness of their dwellings, and the beauty of the
+garden-plots. They even knew something of the art of fortification, as
+D'Urville ascertained by an inspection of the fortified village of
+Hifo, defended with stout palisades, and surrounded by a trench between
+fifteen and twenty feet wide, and half filled with water.
+
+On the 25th of May, D'Urville began the exploration of the Viti or Fiji
+Archipelago. At the outset he was so fortunate as to fall in with a
+native of Tonga who was living on the Fiji Islands for purposes of
+trade, and had previously visited Otaheite, New Zealand, and Australia.
+This man, as well as a Guam islander, proved most useful to the
+commander in furnishing him with the names of more than 200 islands
+belonging to this group, and in acquainting him beforehand with their
+position, and that of the reefs in their neighbourhood. At the same
+time, Gressier, the hydrographer, collected all the materials requisite
+for preparing a chart of the Fiji Islands.
+
+At this station a sloop was put under orders to proceed to the island
+of Laguemba, where was an anchor which D'Urville would have been well
+pleased to obtain, as he had lost two of his own while at Tonga. On
+arrival at the island, Lottin, who was in command of the sloop,
+observed on the shore none but women and children; armed men, however,
+soon came running up, made the women leave the place, and were
+preparing to seize the sloop and make the sailors prisoners. Their
+intentions were too plain to leave room for any doubt on the subject,
+so Lottin at once gave orders to draw up the grapnel, and got away into
+the open sea before there was time for an encounter to take place.
+
+During eighteen consecutive days, in the face of bad weather and a
+rough sea, the _Astrolabe_ cruised through the Fiji Archipelago,
+surveyed the islands of Laguemba, Kandabou, Viti-Levou, Oumbenga Vatou
+Lele, Ounong Lebou, Malolo, and many others, giving special attention
+to the southern islands of the group, which up to that period had
+remained almost entirely unknown.
+
+The population of this group, if we accept D'Urville's account, form a
+kind of transition between the copper-coloured, or the Polynesian, and
+the black or Melanesian races. Their strength and vigour are in
+proportion to their tall figures, and they make no secret of their
+cannibal propensities.
+
+On the 11th of June the corvette set sail for the harbour of Carteret;
+surveyed one by one the islands of Erronan and Annatom, the Loyalty
+Islands, of which group D'Urville discovered the Chabrol and Halgan
+Islands, the little group of the Beaupie Islands, the Astrolabe reefs,
+all the more dangerous as they are thirty miles distant from the
+Beaupie Islands, and sixty from New Caledonia. The island of Huon, and
+the chain of reefs to the north of New Caledonia, were subsequently
+surveyed. From this point D'Urville reached the Louisiade Archipelago
+in six days, but the stormy weather there encountered determined him to
+abandon the course he had planned out, and not to pass through Torres
+Straits. He thought that an early examination of the southern coast of
+New Britain, and of the northern coast of New Guinea, would be the most
+conducive to the interests of science.
+
+Rossel Island and Cape Deliverance were next sighted; and the vessel
+was steered for New Ireland, with a view to obtaining fresh supplies of
+wood and water. Arriving there on the 5th of July in such gloomy, rainy
+weather, that it was with no small difficulty that the entrance of the
+harbour of Carteret, where D'Entrecasteaux made a stay of eight days,
+was made out; whilst there the travellers received several visits from
+the score of natives, who seem to make up the total population of the
+place. They were creatures possessed of scarcely any intelligence, and
+quite destitute of curiosity about objects that they had not seen
+before. Neither did their appearance lead to the slightest
+prepossession in their favour. They wore no vestige of clothing; their
+skin was black and their hair woolly; and the partition of the nostrils
+had a sharp bone thrust through by way of ornament. The only object
+that they showed any eagerness to possess was iron, but they could not
+be made to understand that it was only to be given in exchange for
+fruits or pigs. Their expression was one of sullen defiance, and they
+refused to guide any one whatever to their village. During the
+unprofitable stay of the corvette in this harbour, D'Urville had a
+serious attack of enteritis, from which he suffered much for several
+days.
+
+On the 19th July the _Astrolabe_ went to sea again and coasted the
+northern side of New Britain, the object of this cruise was frustrated
+by rainy and hazy weather. Continual squalls and heavy showers
+compelled the vessel to put off again as soon as it had succeeded in
+nearing the land. His experience on this coast D'Urville thus
+describes:--"One who has not had, as we have, a practical acquaintance
+with these seas, is unable to form any adequate conception of these
+incredible rains. Moreover, to obtain a just estimate of the cares and
+anxieties which a voyage like ours entails, there must be a liability
+to the call of duties similar to those which we had to discharge. It
+was very seldom that our horizon lay much beyond the distance of 200
+yards, and our observations could not possibly be other than uncertain,
+when our own true position was doubtful. Altogether, the whole of our
+work upon New Britain, in spite of the unheard of hardships that fell
+to our lot and the risks which the _Astrolabe_ had to run, cannot be
+put in comparison for a moment, as respects accuracy, with the other
+surveys of the expedition."
+
+As it was impracticable to fall back upon the route by the St. George's
+Channel, D'Urville had to pass through Dampier's Strait, the southern
+entrance to which is all but entirely closed by a chain of reefs, which
+were grazed more than once by the _Astrolabe_.
+
+The charming prospect of the western coast of New Britain excited
+intense admiration both in Dampier and D'Entrecasteaux; an enthusiasm
+fully shared by D'Urville. A safe roadstead enclosed by land forming a
+semicircle, forests whose dark foliage contrasted with the golden
+colour of the ripening fields, the whole surmounted by the lofty peaks
+of Mount Gloucester, and this variety still further enhanced by the
+undulating outlines of Rook Island, are the chief features of the
+picture here presented by the coast of New Britain.
+
+[Illustration: Lofty mountains clothed with dense and gloomy forests.]
+
+On issuing from the strait the mountains of New Guinea rose grandly in
+the distance; and on a nearer approach they were seen to form a sort of
+half-circle shutting in the arm of the sea known as the Bay of
+Astrolabe. The Schouten Islands, the Creek of the Attack (the place
+where D'Urville had to withstand an onset of savages), Humboldt Bay,
+Geelwinck Bay, the Traitor Islands, Tobie and Mysory, the Arfak
+Mountains, were one after another recognized and passed, when the
+_Astrolabe_ at length came to an anchor in Port Dorei, in order to
+connect her operations with those accomplished by the _Coquille_.
+
+Friendly intercourse was at once established with the Papuans of that
+place, who brought on board a number of birds of paradise, but not much
+in the shape of provisions. These natives, are of so gentle and timid a
+disposition, that only with great reluctance will they risk going into
+the woods through fear of the Arfakis, who dwell on the mountains, and
+are their sworn enemies.
+
+One of the sailors engaged in getting fresh water was wounded with an
+arrow shot by one of these savages, whom it was impossible to punish
+for a dastardly outrage prompted by no motive whatever.
+
+The land here is everywhere so fertile that it requires no more than
+turning over and weeding, in order to yield the most abundant harvests;
+yet the Papuans are so lazy and understand so little of the art of
+agriculture, that the growth of food plants is often allowed to be
+choked with weeds. The inhabitants belong to several races. D'Urville
+divides them into three principal varieties: the Papuans, a mixed
+breed, belonging more or less to the Malay or Polynesian race; and the
+Harfous or Alfourous, who resemble the common type of Australians; New
+Caledonians and the ordinary black Oceanic populations. These latter
+would appear to be the true indigenous people of the country.
+
+On the 6th September the _Astrolabe_ again put to sea, and after an
+uninteresting stay at New Guinea, in the course of which scarcely any
+specimens of natural history were obtained, except a few mollusca, and
+still less exact information regarding the customs, religion, or
+language of its diversified population, steered for Amboyna, which was
+reached without any accident on the 24th September. The governor, M.
+Merkus, happened to be on circuit; but his absence was no obstacle to
+the supply of all the stores needed by the commander. The reception
+given by the authorities and the society of the place was of a very
+cordial kind, and everything was done to compensate the French
+explorers for the hardships undergone in their long and troublesome
+voyage.
+
+From Amboyna D'Urville proceeded to Hobart Town in Tasmania, a place
+not visited by any French vessel since the time of Baudin, arriving on
+the 27th December, 1827. Thirty-five years previously D'Entrecasteaux
+had met on the shores of this island only a few wretched savages; and
+ten years later Baudin found it quite deserted. The first piece of news
+that Dumont d'Urville learnt on entering the river Derwent, before even
+casting anchor at Hobart Town, was that Captain Dillon, an Englishman,
+had received certain information, when at Tucopia, of the shipwreck of
+La Perouse at Vanikoro; and that he had brought away the hilt of a
+sword which he believed to have belonged to that navigator. On his
+arrival at Calcutta Dillon communicated his information to the
+governor, who without delay despatched him with instructions to rescue
+such of the shipwrecked crew as might still be alive, and collect
+whatever relics could be found of the vessels. To D'Urville this
+intelligence was of the highest interest, seeing that he had been
+specially instructed to search for whatever might be calculated to
+throw any light upon the fate of the unfortunate navigator, and he had
+while at Namouka obtained proof of the residence for a time of La
+Perouse at the Friendly Islands.
+
+In the English colony itself there was some difference of opinion as to
+the credit which Captain Dillon's story was entitled to receive; but
+the report which that officer had made to the Governor-General of
+India, quite removed any doubt from the mind of D'Urville. Abandoning,
+therefore, all further plans with reference to New Zealand, he decided
+upon proceeding at once in the _Astrolabe_, in the track of Dillon, to
+Vanikoro, which he then knew only by the name of Mallicolo.
+
+[Illustration: Natives of Vanikoro. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+The following is the statement of the circumstances as made by Dillon.
+
+During a stay made by the ship _Hunter_ at the Fiji Islands, three
+persons, a Prussian named Martin Bushart, his wife, and a Lascar,
+called Achowlia, were received on board, endeavouring to escape from
+the horrible fate awaiting them, which had already befallen the other
+European deserters settled in that archipelago, that of being devoured
+by the savages; this unhappy trio merely begged to be put on shore at
+the first inhabited island which the _Hunter_ might touch at.
+Accordingly, they were left on one of the Charlotte Islands, Tucopia,
+in 12 degrees 15 minutes S. lat, and 169 degrees W. long. In the month
+of May, 1836, Dillon, who had been one of the crew of the ship
+_Hunter_, paid a visit to the island of Tucopia, with a view of
+ascertaining what had become of the people put on shore in 1813. There
+he found the Lascar and the Prussian; the former of whom sold him a
+silver sword-hilt. As might have been expected, Dillon was curious to
+know how the natives of that island had come into possession of such an
+article. The Prussian then related that on his arrival at Tucopia he
+had found many articles of iron, such as bolts, axes, knives, spoons,
+and other things, which he was told had come from Mallicolo, a group of
+islands situated about two days canoe sail to the east of Tucopia. By
+further interrogatories, Dillon learnt that two vessels had been thrown
+upon the coasts many years previously, one of which had perished
+entirely with all on board, whilst the crew of the second had
+constructed out of the wreck of their ship a little boat, in which they
+had put to sea, leaving some of their number at Mallicolo. The Lascar
+said he had seen two of these men, who had acquired a well-merited
+influence through services rendered to chiefs.
+
+Dillon tried in vain to persuade his informant to take him to
+Mallicolo, but was more successful with the Prussian, who took him
+within sight of the island, called Research by D'Entrecasteaux, on
+which, however, Dillon was unable to land on account of the dead calm
+and his want of provisions.
+
+On hearing his account, on his arrival at Pondicherry, the governor
+entrusted him with the command of a boat specially constructed for
+exploring purposes. This was in 1827. Dillon now touched at Tucopia,
+where he obtained interpreters and a pilot, and thence went to
+Mallicolo, where he learnt from the natives that the strangers had
+stayed there five months to build their vessel, and that they had been
+looked upon as supernatural visitors, an idea not a little confirmed by
+their singular behaviour. They had been seen, for instance, to talk to
+the moon and stars through a long stick, their noses were immense, and
+some of them always remained standing, holding bars of iron in their
+hands. Such was the impression left on the minds of the natives by the
+astronomical observations, cocked hats, and sentinels of the French.
+
+Dillon obtained from the natives a good many relics of the expedition,
+and he also saw at the bottom of the sea, on the coral reef on which
+the vessel had struck, some bronze cannons, a bell, and all kinds of
+rubbish, which he reverently collected and carried to Paris, arriving
+there in 1828, and receiving from the king a pension of 4000 francs as
+a reward for his exertions. All doubt was dispelled when the Comte de
+Lesseps, who had landed at Kamtchatka from La Perouse's party,
+identified the cannons and the carved stern of the _Boussole_, and the
+armorial bearings of Colignon, the botanist, were made out on a silver
+candlestick. All these interesting and curious facts, however,
+D'Urville did not know until later; at present he had only heard
+Dillon's first report. By chance, or perhaps because he was afraid of
+being forestalled, the captain had not laid down the position of
+Vanikoro or the route he followed on the way from Tucopia, which island
+D'Urville supposed to belong to the Banks or Santa Cruz group, each as
+little known as the other.
+
+Before following D'Urville, however, we must pause with him for awhile
+at Hobart Town, which he looked upon even then as a place of remarkable
+importance. "Its houses," he says, "are very spacious, consisting only
+of one story and the ground-floor, though their cleanness and
+regularity give them a very pleasant appearance. Walking in the
+streets, which are unpaved, though some have curb stones, is very
+tiring; and the dust always rising in clouds is very trying to the
+eyes. The Government house is pleasantly situated on the shores of the
+bay, and will be greatly improved in a few years if the young trees
+planted about it thrive. Native timber is quite unsuitable for
+ornamental purposes."
+
+The stay at Hobart Town was turned to account to complete the stock of
+provisions, anchors, and other very requisite articles, and also to
+repair the vessel and the rigging, the latter being sorely dilapidated.
+
+On the 5th January the _Astrolabe_ once more put to sea, surveyed
+Norfolk Island on the 20th, Matthew Volcano six days later, Erronan on
+the 28th, and the little Mitre Island on the 8th February, arriving the
+next day off Tucopia, a small island three or four miles in
+circumference with one rather pointed peak covered with vegetation. The
+eastern side of Tucopia is apparently inaccessible from the violence of
+the breakers continually dashing on to its beach. The eagerness of all
+was now great, and was becoming unbounded when three boats, one
+containing a European, were seen approaching. This European turned out
+to be the Prussian calling himself Bushart, who had lately gone with
+Dillon to Mallicolo, where the latter remained a whole month, and where
+he really obtained the relics of the expedition as D'Urville had heard
+at Hobart Town. Not a single Frenchman now remained on the island; the
+last had died the previous year. Bushart at first consented, but
+declined at the last moment, to go with D'Urville or to remain on the
+_Astrolabe_.
+
+Vanikoro is surrounded by reefs, through which, not without danger, the
+_Astrolabe_ found a passage, casting anchor in the same place as Dillon
+had done, namely in Ocili Bay. The scene of the shipwreck was on the
+other side of the bay. It was not easy to get information from the
+natives, who were avaricious, untrustworthy, insolent, and deceitful.
+An old man, however, was finally induced to confess that the whites who
+had landed on the beach at Vanon had been received with a shower of
+arrows, and that a fight ensued in which a good many natives had
+fallen; as for the _maras_ (sailors) they had all been killed, and
+their skulls buried at Vanon. The rest of the bones had been used to
+tip the arrows of the natives.
+
+A canoe was now sent to the village of Nama, and after considerable
+hesitation the natives were induced by a promise of some red cloth to
+take the Frenchmen to the scene of the shipwreck about a mile off, near
+Paion and opposite Ambi, where amongst the breakers at the bottom of a
+sort of shelving beach anchors, cannons, and cannonballs, and many
+other things were made out, leaving no doubt as to the facts in the
+minds of the officers of the _Astrolabe_. It was evident to all that
+the vessel had endeavoured to get inside the reefs by a kind of pass,
+and that she had run aground and been unable to get off. The crew may
+then have saved themselves at Paion, and according to the account of
+some natives they built a little boat there, whilst the other vessel,
+which had struck on the reef further out, had been lost with all on
+board.
+
+Chief Moembe had heard it said that the inhabitants of Vanon had
+approached the vessel to pillage it, but had been driven back by the
+whites, losing twenty men and three chiefs. The savages in their turn
+had massacred all the French who landed, except two, who lived on the
+island for the space of three months.
+
+Another chief, Valiko by name, said that one of the boats had struck
+outside the reef opposite Tanema after a very windy night, and that
+nearly all its crew had perished before they could land. Many of the
+sailors of the second vessel had got to land, and built at Paion a
+little boat out of the pieces of the large ship wrecked. During their
+stay at Paion quarrels arose, and two sailors with five natives of
+Vanon and one from Tanema were killed. At the end of five months the
+Frenchmen left the island.
+
+Lastly, a third old man told how some thirty sailors belonging to the
+first vessel had joined the crew of the second, and that they had all
+left at the end of six or seven months. All these facts, which had so
+to speak to be extracted by force, varied in their details; the last,
+however, seemed most nearly to approach the truth. Amongst the objects
+picked up by the _Astrolabe_ were an anchor weighing about 1800 pounds,
+a cast-iron cannon, a bronze swivel, a copper blunderbuss, some pig
+lead, and several other considerably damaged articles of little
+interest. These relics, with those collected by Dillon, are now in the
+Naval Museum at the Louvre.
+
+D'Urville did not leave Vanikoro without erecting a monument to the
+memory of his unfortunate fellow-countrymen. This humble memorial was
+placed in a mangrove grove off the reef itself. It consists of a
+quadrangular prism, made of coral slabs six feet high, surmounted by a
+pyramid of Koudi wood of the same height, bearing on a little plate of
+lead the following inscription,--
+
+  A la Memoire
+  DE LA PEROUSE,
+  ET DE SES COMPAGNONS
+  L'ASTROLABE
+  14 _Mars_, 1828.
+
+As soon as this task was accomplished, D'Urville prepared to set sail
+again, as it was time he did, for the damp resulting from the torrents
+of rain had engendered serious fevers, prostrating no less than
+twenty-five of the party. The commander would have to make haste if he
+wished to keep a crew fit to execute the arduous manoeuvres necessary
+to the exit of the vessel from a narrow pass strewn with rocks.
+
+The last day passed by the _Astrolabe_ at Vanikoro would have shown the
+truth to D'Urville had he needed any enlightening as to the true
+disposition of the natives. The following is his account of the last
+incidents of this dangerous halt.
+
+"At eight o'clock, I was a good deal surprised to see half a dozen
+canoes approaching from Tevai, the more so, that two or three natives
+from Manevai who were on board showed no uneasiness, although they had
+told me a few days before that the people of Tevai were their mortal
+enemies. I expressed my surprise to the Manevaians, who merely said,
+with an evident air of equivocation, that they had made their peace
+with the Tevaians, who were only bringing some cocoa-nuts. I soon saw,
+however, that the new comers were carrying nothing but bows and arrows
+in first rate condition. Two or three of them climbed on board, and in
+a determined manner came up to the main watch to look down into the
+orlop-deck to find out how many men were disabled, whilst a malignant
+joy lit up their diabolical features. At this moment some of the crew
+told me that two or three of the Manevai men on board had done the same
+thing during the last three or four days, and M. Gressien, who had been
+watching their movements since the morning, thought he had seen the
+warriors of the two tribes meet on the beach and have a long conference
+together. Such behaviour gave proof of the most treacherous intentions,
+and I felt the danger to be imminent. I at once ordered the natives to
+leave the vessel and return to the canoes, but they had the audacity to
+look at me with a proud and threatening expression, as if to defy me to
+put my order into execution. I merely had the armoury, generally kept
+jealously closed, opened, and with a severe look I pointed to it with
+one hand, whilst with the other I motioned the savages to the canoes.
+The sudden apparition of twenty shining muskets, the powers of which
+they understood, made them tremble, and relieved us of their ominous
+presence."
+
+[Illustration: "I merely had the armoury opened."]
+
+Before leaving the scene of this melancholy story, we will glean a few
+details from D'Urville's account of it. The Vanikoro, Mallicolo, or, as
+Dillon calls it, the La Perouse group, consists of two islands,
+Research and Tevai. The former is no less than thirty miles in
+circumference, whilst the latter is only nine miles round. Both are
+lofty, clothed with impenetrable forests almost to the beach, and
+surrounded by a barrier of reefs thirty-six miles in circumference,
+with here and there a narrow strait between them. The inhabitants, who
+are lazy, slovenly, stupid, fierce, cowardly, and avaricious, do not
+exceed twelve or fifteen hundred in number. It was unfortunate for La
+Perouse to be shipwrecked amongst such people, when he would have
+received a reception so different on any other island of Polynesia. The
+women are naturally ugly, and the hard work they have to do, with their
+general mode of life, render their appearance yet more displeasing. The
+men are rather less ill-favoured, though they are stunted and lean, and
+covered with ulcers and leprosy scars. Arrows and bows are their only
+weapons, and, according to themselves, the former, with their very fine
+bone tips, soldered on with extremely tenacious gum, inflict mortal
+wounds. They therefore value them greatly, and the visitors had great
+trouble to obtain any.
+
+[Illustration: Reefs off Vanikoro.]
+
+On the 17th March the _Astrolabe_ at length issued from amongst the
+terrible reefs encircling Vanikoro. D'Urville had intended to survey
+Tamnako, Kennedy, Nitendi, and the Solomon Islands, where he hoped to
+meet with traces of the survivors from the shipwreck of the _Boussole_
+and the _Astrolabe_. But the melancholy condition of the crew, pulled
+down as they were by fever, and the illness of most of the officers,
+with the absence of any safe anchorage in this part of Oceania, decided
+him to make for Guam, where he thought a little rest might possibly be
+obtained. This was a very grave dereliction from the instructions which
+ordered him to survey Torres Straits, but the fact of forty sailors
+being _hors de combat_ and on the sick-list, will suffice to prove how
+foolish it would have been to make so perilous an attempt.
+
+Not until the 26th April was Hogoley Archipelago sighted, where
+D'Urville bridged over the gaps left by Duperrey in his exploration,
+and only on the 2nd May did the coasts of Guam come in sight. Anchor
+was cast at Umata, where a supply of fresh water was easily found, and
+the climate much milder than at Agagna. On the 29th May, however, when
+the expedition set sail again, the men were not by any means all
+restored to health, which D'Urville attributed to the excesses in the
+way of eating indulged in by the sick, and the impossibility of getting
+them to keep to a suitable diet.
+
+The good Medinilla, of whom Freycinet had such reason to speak
+favourably, was still governor of Guam. He did not this time, it is
+true, show so many kind attentions to the present expedition, but that
+was because a terrible drought had just devastated the colony, and a
+rumour had got afloat that the illness the crew of the _Astrolabe_ was
+suffering from was contagious. Umata too was a good distance from
+Agagna, so that D'Urville could not visit the governor in his own home.
+Medinilla, however, sent the expedition fresh provisions and fruits in
+such quantities as to prove he had lost none of his old generosity.
+
+After leaving Guam D'Urville surveyed, under sail, the Elivi, the
+Uluthii of Lutke, Guapgolo and the Pelew group of the Caroline
+Archipelago, was driven by contrary winds past Waigiou, Aiou, Asia, and
+Guebek, and finally entered Bouron Straits and cast anchor off Amboine,
+where he was cordially received by the Dutch authorities, and obtained
+news from France to the effect that the Minister of Marine had taken no
+notice of all the work, fatigue, and perils of the expedition, for not
+one officer had received advancement.
+
+The receipt of this news caused considerable disappointment and
+discouragement, which the commander at once tried to remove. From
+Amboine the _Astrolabe_ steered, _via_ Banka Strait, for Uanado, with
+its well-armed and equipped fort, forming a pleasant residence.
+Governor Merkus obtained for D'Urville's natural history collections
+some fine _barberosas_, a _sapioutang_--the latter a little animal of
+the size of a calf, with the same kind of muzzle, paws, and turned-back
+horns--serpents, birds, fishes, and plants.
+
+According to D'Urville the people of the Celebes resemble in externals
+the Polynesians rather than the Malays. They reminded him of the
+natives of Otaheite, Tonga Tabou, and New Zealand, much more than of
+the Papuans of Darei Harbour, the Harfous of Bouron, or the Malays,
+with their square bony faces. Near Manado are some mines of auriferous
+quartz, of which the commander was able to obtain a specimen, and in
+the interior is the lake of Manado, said to be of immense depth, and
+which is the source of the torrent of the same name that dashes in the
+form of a magnificent waterfall over a basalt rock eighty feet high,
+barring its progress to the sea. D'Urville, accompanied by the governor
+and the naturalists of the expedition, explored this beautiful lake,
+shut in by volcanic mountains, with here and there a few fumerolles
+still issuing from them, and ascertained the depth of the water to be
+no more than twelve or thirteen fathoms, so that in the event of its
+ever drying up, its basin would form a perfectly level plain.
+
+On the 4th August anchor was weighed at Manado, where the sufferers
+from fever and dysentery had not got much better, and on the 29th of
+the same month the expedition arrived at Batavia where it only remained
+three days. The rest of the voyage of the _Astrolabe_ was in well-known
+waters. Mauritius was reached in due course, and there D'Urville met
+Commander Le Goarant, who had made a trip to Vanikoro in the corvette
+_La Bayonnaise_, and who told D'Urville that he had not attempted to
+enter the reef, but had only sent in some boats to reconnoitre. The
+natives had respected the monument to the memory of La Perouse, and had
+been reluctant even to allow the sailors of the _Bayonnaise_ to nail a
+copper plate upon it.
+
+On the 18th November the corvette left Mauritius, and after touching at
+the Cape, St. Helena, and Ascension, arrived on the 25th March, 1829,
+at Marseilles, exactly thirty-five months after her departure from that
+port. To hydrographical science, if to nothing else, the results of the
+expedition were remarkable, and no less than forty-five new charts were
+produced by the indefatigable Messrs. Gressien and Paris. Nothing will
+better bring before us the richness of harvest of natural history
+specimens than the following quotation from Cuvier's report:--
+
+"They (the species brought home by Quoy and Gaimard) amount to
+thousands in the catalogues, and no better proof can be given of the
+activity of our naturalists than the fact that the directors of the
+Jardin du Roi do not know where to store the results of the expedition,
+especially those now under notice. They have had to be stowed away on
+the ground-floor, almost in the cellars, and the very warehouses are
+now so crowded--no other word would do as well--that we have had to
+divide them by partitions to make more stowage."
+
+The geological collections were no less numerous; one hundred and
+eighty-seven species or varieties of rock attest the zeal of Messrs.
+Quoy and Gaimard, while M. Lesson, junior, collected fifteen or sixteen
+hundred plants; Captain Jacquinot made a number of astronomical
+observations; M. Lottin studied magnetism, and the commander, without
+neglecting his duties as a sailor and leader of the expedition, made
+experiments on submarine temperature and meteorology, and collected an
+immense mass of information on philology and ethnography.
+
+We cannot better conclude our account of this expedition than with the
+following quotation from Dumont d'Urville's memoirs, given in his
+biography by Didot:--
+
+"This adventurous expedition surpassed all previous ones, alike in the
+number and gravity of the dangers incurred, and the extent of the
+results of every kind obtained. An iron will prevented me from ever
+yielding to any obstacle. My mind once made up to die or to succeed, I
+was free from any hesitation or uncertainty. Twenty times I saw the
+_Astrolabe_ on the eve of destruction without once losing hope of her
+salvation. A thousand times did I risk the very lives of my companions
+in order to achieve the object of my instructions, and I can assert
+that for two consecutive years we daily incurred more real perils than
+we should have done in the longest ordinary voyage. My brave and
+honourable officers were not blind to the dangers to which I daily
+exposed them, but they kept silence, and nobly fulfilled their duty."
+
+From this admirable harmony of purpose and devotion resulted a mass of
+discoveries and observations in every branch of human knowledge, of all
+of which an exact account was given by Rossel, Cuvier, Geoffrey St.
+Hilaire, Desfontaines, and others, all competent and disinterested
+judges.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
+
+Bellinghausen, yet another Russian explorer--Discovery of the islands
+of Traversay, Peter I., and Alexander I.--The whaler, Weddell--The
+Southern Orkneys--New Shetland--The people of Tierra del Fuego--John
+Biscoe and the districts of Enderby and Graham--Charles Wilkes and the
+Antarctic Continent--Captain Balleny--Dumont d'Urville's expedition in
+the _Astrolabe_ and the _Zelee_--Coupvent Desbois and the Peak of
+Teneriffe--The Straits of Magellan--A new post-office shut in by ice--
+Louis Philippe's Land--Across Oceania--Adelie and Clarie Lands--New
+Guinea and Torres Strait--Return to France--James Clark Rosset--
+Victoria.
+
+
+We have already had occasion to speak of the Antarctic regions, and the
+explorations made there in the seventeenth, and at the end of the
+eighteenth century, by various navigators, nearly all Frenchmen,
+amongst whom we must specially note La Roche, discoverer of New
+Georgia, in 1675, Bouvet, Kerguelen, Marion, and Crozet. The name of
+Antarctic is given to all the islands scattered about the ocean which
+are called after navigators, as well as those of Prince Edward, the
+Sandwich group, New Georgia, &c.
+
+It was in these latitudes that William Smith, commander of the brig
+_William_, trading between Monte Video and Valparaiso, discovered, in
+1818, the Southern Shetland Islands, arid and barren districts covered
+with snow, on which, however, collected vast herds of seals, animals of
+which the skins are used as furs, and which had not before been met
+with in the Southern Seas. The news of this discovery led to a rush of
+whaling-vessels to the new hunting-grounds, and between 1821 and 1822
+the number of seals captured in this archipelago is estimated at
+32,000, whilst the quantity of sea-elephant oil obtained during the
+same time may be put down at 940 tons. As males and females were
+indiscriminately slaughtered, however, the new fields were soon
+exhausted. The survey of the twelve principal islands, and of the
+innumerable and all but barren rocks, making up this archipelago,
+occupied but a short time.
+
+[Illustration: Hunting sea-elephants.]
+
+Two years later Botwell discovered the Southern Orkneys, and then
+Palmer and other whalemen sighted, or thought they sighted, districts
+to which they gave the names of Palmer and Trinity.
+
+More important discoveries were, however, to be made in these
+hyberborean regions, and the hypothesis of Dalrymple, Buffon, and other
+scholars of the eighteenth century, as to the existence of a southern
+continent, forming, so to speak, a counterpoise to the North Pole, was
+to be unexpectedly confirmed by the work of these intrepid explorers.
+
+The navy of Russia had now for some years been rapidly gaining in
+importance, and had played no insignificant part in scientific
+research. We have related the interesting voyages of most Russian
+circumnavigators; but we have still to speak of Bellinghausen's voyage
+round the world, which occupies a prominent place in the history of the
+exploration of the Antarctic seas.
+
+The _Vostok_, Captain Bellinghausen, and the _Mirni_, commanded by
+Lieutenant Lazarew, left Cronstadt on the 3rd July, 1819, _en route_
+for the Antarctic Ocean. On the 15th December Southern Georgia was
+sighted, and seven days later an island was discovered in the
+south-east, to which the name of Traversay was given, and the position
+of which was fixed at 52 degrees 15 minutes S. lat., and 27 degrees 21
+minutes W. long., reckoning from the Paris meridian.
+
+Continuing their easterly course in S. lat. 60 degrees for 400 miles as
+far as W. long. 187 degrees, the explorers then bore south to S. lat.
+70 degrees, where their further progress was arrested by a barrier of
+ice.
+
+Bellinghausen, nothing daunted, tried to cut his way eastwards into the
+heart of the Polar Circle, but at 44 degrees E. long, he was compelled
+to return northwards. After a voyage of forty miles a large country
+hove in sight, which a whaler was to discover twelve years later when
+the ice had broken up.
+
+Back again in S. lat. 62 degrees, Bellinghausen once more steered
+eastwards without encountering any obstacles, and on the 5th March,
+1820, he made for Port Jackson to repair his vessels.
+
+The whole summer was given up by the Russian navigator to a cruise
+about Oceania, when he discovered no less than seventeen new islands,
+and on the 31st October he left Port Jackson on a new expedition. The
+first places sighted on this trip were the Macquarie Islands; then
+cutting across the 60th parallel, S. lat. in E. long. 160 degrees, the
+explorers bore east between S. lat. 64 degrees and 68 degrees as far as
+W. long. 95 degrees. On the 9th January, Bellinghausen reached 70
+degrees S. lat., and the next day discovered, in S. lat. 69 degrees 30
+minutes, W. long. 92 degrees 20 minutes, an island, to which he gave
+the name of Peter I., the most southerly land hitherto visited. Then
+fifteen degrees further east, and in all but the same latitude, he
+sighted some more land which he called Alexander I.'s Land. Scarcely
+200 miles distant from Graham's Land, it appeared likely to be
+connected with it, for the sea between the two districts was constantly
+discoloured, and many other facts pointed to the same conclusion.
+
+From Alexander I.'s Land the two vessels, bearing due north, and
+passing Graham's Land, made for New Georgia, arriving there in
+February. Thence they returned to Cronstadt, the port of which they
+entered in July 1821, exactly two years after they left it, having lost
+only three men out of a crew of 200.
+
+We would gladly have given further details of this interesting
+expedition, but we have not been able to obtain a sight of the original
+account published in Russian at St. Petersburg, and we have had to be
+content with the _resume_ brought out in one of the journals of the
+Geographical Society in 1839.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Antarctic Regions, showing the routes taken
+by the navigators of the 19th Century. _Engraved by E. Morieu._]
+
+At the same period a master in the Royal Navy, James Weddell by name,
+was appointed by an Edinburgh firm to the command of an expedition, to
+obtain seal-skins in the southern seas, where two years were to be
+spent. This expedition consisted of the brig _Jane_, 160 tons, Captain
+Weddell, and the cutter _Beaufort_, sixty-five tons, Matthew Brisbane
+commander.
+
+The two vessels left England on the 17th September, 1822, touched at
+Bonavista, one of the Cape Verd Islands, and cast anchor in the
+following December in the port of St. Helena, on the eastern coast of
+Patagonia, where some valuable observations were taken on the position
+of that town.
+
+Weddell put to sea again on the 27th December, and steering in a
+south-easterly direction, came in sight, on the 12th January, of an
+archipelago to which he gave the name of the Southern Orkneys. These
+islands are situated in S. lat. 60 degrees 45 minutes, and W. long. 45
+degrees.
+
+According to the navigator, this little group presents an even more
+forbidding appearance than New Shetland. On every side rise the sharp
+points of rocks, bare of vegetation, round which surge the restless
+waves, and against which dash enormous floating icebergs, with a noise
+like thunder. Vessels are in perpetual danger in these latitudes, and
+the eleven days passed under sail by Weddell in surveying minutely the
+islands, islets, and rocks of this archipelago, were a time of
+ceaseless exertion for the crew, who were throughout in constant danger
+of their lives.
+
+Specimens of the principal strata of these islands were collected, and
+on the return home put into the hands of Professor Jameson, of
+Edinburgh, who identified them as belonging to primary and volcanic
+rocks.
+
+Weddell now made for the south, crossed the Antarctic Circle in W.
+long. 30 degrees, and soon came in sight of numerous ice islands.
+Beyond S. lat. 70 degrees, these floes decreased in number, and finally
+disappeared; the weather moderated, innumerable flocks of birds hovered
+above the ships, whilst large schools of whales played in its wake.
+This strange and unexpected change in the temperature surprised every
+one, especially as it became more marked as the South Pole was more
+nearly approached. Everything pointed to the existence of a continent
+not far off. Nothing was, however, discovered.
+
+On the 20th February the vessels were in S. lat. 74 degrees 15 minutes
+and W. long. 34 degrees 16 minutes 45 seconds.
+
+"I would willingly," says Weddell, "have explored the south-west
+quarter, but taking into consideration the lateness of the season, and
+that we had to pass homeward through 1000 miles of sea strewed with ice
+islands, with long nights, and probably attended with fogs, I could not
+determine otherwise than to take advantage of this favourable wind for
+returning."
+
+Having seen no sign of land in this direction, and a strong southerly
+wind blowing at the time, Weddell retraced his course as far as S. lat.
+58 degrees, and steered in an easterly direction to within 100 miles of
+the Sandwich Islands. On the 7th February he once more doubled the
+southern cape, sailed by a sheet of ice fifty miles wide, and on the
+20th February reached S. lat. 74 degrees 15 minutes. From the top of
+the masts nothing was to be seen but an open sea with a few floating
+ice-islands.
+
+Unexpected results had ensued from these trips in a southerly
+direction. Weddell had penetrated 240 miles nearer the Pole than any of
+his predecessors, including Cook. He gave the name of George IV. to
+that part of the Antarctic Ocean which he had explored. Strange and
+significant was the fact that the ice had decreased in quantity as the
+South Pole was approached, whilst fogs and storms were incessant, and
+the atmosphere was always heavily charged with moisture, and the
+temperature of surprising mildness.
+
+Another valuable observation made, was that the vibrations of the
+compass were as slow in these southern latitudes as Parry had noted
+them to be in the Arctic regions.
+
+Weddell's two vessels, separated in a storm, met again in New Georgia
+after a perilous voyage of 1200 miles amongst the ice. New Georgia,
+discovered by La Roche in 1675, and visited in 1756 by the _Lion_, was
+really little known until after Captain Cook's exploration of it, but
+his account of the number of seals and walruses frequenting it had led
+to being much favoured by whalers, chiefly English and American, who
+took the skins of their victims to China and sold them at a guinea or
+thirty shillings each.
+
+"The island," says Weddell, speaking of South Georgia, "is about
+ninety-six miles long, and its mean breadth about ten. It is so
+indented with bays, that in several places, where they are on opposite
+sides, they are so deep as to make the distance from one side to the
+other very small. The tops of the mountains are lofty, and perpetually
+covered with snow; but in the valleys, during the summer season,
+vegetation is rather abundant. Almost the only natural production of
+the soil is a strong-bladed grass, the length of which is in general
+about two feet; it grows in tufts on mounds three or four feet from the
+ground. No land quadrupeds are found here; birds and amphibious animals
+are the only inhabitants."
+
+Here congregate numerous flocks of penguins, which stalk about on the
+beach, head in air. To quote an early navigator, Sir John Nasborough,
+they look like children in white aprons. Numerous albatrosses are also
+met with here, some of them measuring seventeen feet from tip to tip of
+their wings. When these birds are stripped of their plumage their
+weight is reduced one-half.
+
+[Illustration: "Here congregate flocks of penguins."]
+
+Weddell also visited New Shetland, and ascertained that Bridgeman
+Island, in that group, is an active volcano. He could not land, as all
+the harbours were blocked up with ice, and he was obliged to make for
+Tierra del Fuego.
+
+During a stay of two months here, Weddell collected some valuable
+information on the advantages of this coast to navigators, and obtained
+some accurate data as to the character of the inhabitants. In the
+interior of Tierra del Fuego rose a few mountains, always covered with
+snow, the loftiest of which were not more than 3000 feet high. Weddell
+was unable to identify the volcano noticed by other travellers,
+including Basil Hall in 1822, but he picked up a good deal of lava
+which had probably come from it. There was, moreover, no doubt of its
+existence, for the explorer under notice had seen on his previous
+voyage signs of a volcanic eruption in the extreme redness of the sky
+above Tierra del Fuego.
+
+Hitherto there had been a good deal of divergence in the opinion of
+explorers as to the temperature of Tierra del Fuego. Weddell attributes
+this to the different seasons of their visits, and the variability of
+the winds. When he was there and the wind was in the south the
+thermometer was never more than two or three degrees above zero,
+whereas when the wind came from the north it was as hot as July in
+England. According to Weddell dogs and otters are the only quadrupeds
+of the country.
+
+The relations with the natives were cordial throughout the explorer's
+stay amongst them. At first they gathered about the ship without
+venturing to climb on to it, and the scenes enacted on the passage of
+the first European vessel through the states were repeated in spite of
+the long period which had since elapsed. Of the bread, madeira, and
+beef offered to them, the natives would taste nothing but the meat; and
+of the many objects shown to them, they liked pieces of iron and
+looking-glasses best, amusing themselves with making grimaces in the
+latter of such absurdity as to keep the crew in fits of laughter. Their
+general appearance, too, was very provocative of mirth. Their jet black
+complexions, blue feathers, and faces streaked with parallel red and
+white lines, like tick, made up a whole of the greatest absurdity, and
+many were the hearty laughs the English enjoyed at their expense.
+Presently disgusted at receiving nothing more than the iron hoops of
+casks from people possessed of such wealth, they proceeded to annex all
+they could lay hands on. These thefts were soon detected and put a stop
+to, but they gave rise to many an amusing scene, and proved the
+wonderful imitative powers of the natives.
+
+"A sailor had given a Fuegan," says Weddell, "a tin-pot full of coffee,
+which he drank, and was using all his art to steal the pot. The sailor,
+however, recollecting after awhile that the pot had not been returned,
+applied for it, but whatever words he made use of were always repeated
+in imitation by the Fuegan. At length he became enraged at hearing his
+requests reiterated, and, placing himself in a threatening attitude, in
+an angry tone, he said, 'You copper-coloured rascal, where is my
+tin-pot?' The Fuegan, assuming the same attitude, with his eyes fixed
+on the sailor, called out, 'You copper-coloured rascal, where is my
+tin-pot?' The imitation was so perfect that every one laughed, except
+the sailor, who proceeded to search him, and under his arm he found the
+article missing."
+
+The sterile mountainous districts in this rigorous climate of Tierra
+del Fuego furnish no animal fit for food, and without proper clothing
+or nourishment the people are reduced to a state of complete barbarism.
+Hunting yields them hardly any game, fishing is almost equally
+unproductive of results; they are obliged to depend upon the storms
+which now and then fling some huge cetacean on their shores, and upon
+such salvage they fall tooth and nail, not even taking the trouble to
+cook the flesh.
+
+In 1828 Henry Foster, commanding the _Chanticleer_, received
+instructions to make observations on the pendulum, with a view to
+determining the figure of the earth. This expedition extended over
+three years, and was then--i.e. in 1831--brought to an end by his
+violent death by drowning in the river Chagres. We allude to this trip
+because it resulted, on the 5th January, 1829, in the identification
+and exploration of the Southern Shetlands. The commander himself
+succeeded in landing, though with great difficulty, on one of these
+islands, where he collected some specimens of the syenite of which the
+soil is composed, and a small quantity of red snow, in every respect
+similar to that found by explorers in the Arctic regions.
+
+Of far greater interest, however, was the survey made in 1830 by the
+whaler John Biscoe. The brig _Tula_, 140 tons, and the cutter _Lively_,
+left London under his orders on the 14th July, 1830. These two vessels,
+the property of Messrs. Enderby, were fitted up for whale-fishing, and
+were in every respect well qualified for the long and arduous task
+before them, which, according to Biscoe's instructions, was to combine
+discovery in the Antarctic seas with whaling.
+
+After touching at the Falklands, the ships started on the 27th November
+on a vain search for the Aurora Islands, after which they made for the
+Sandwich group, doubling its most southerly cape on the 1st January,
+1831.
+
+In 59 degrees S. lat. masses of ice were encountered, compelling the
+explorers to give up the south-western route, in which direction they
+had noted signs of the existence of land. It was therefore necessary to
+bear east, skirting along the ice as far as W. long. 9 degrees 34
+minutes. It was only on the 16th January that Biscoe was able to cross
+the 60th parallel of S. lat. In 1775 Cook had here come to a space of
+open sea 250 miles in extent, yet now an insurmountable barrier of ice
+checked Biscoe's advance.
+
+Continuing his south-westerly course as far as 68 degrees 51 minutes
+and 10 degrees E. long., the explorer was struck by the discoloration
+of the water, the presence of several eaglets and cape-pigeons, and the
+fact that the wind now blew from the south-south-west, all sure tokens
+of a large continent being near. Ice, however, again barred his
+progress southwards, and he had to go on in an easterly direction
+approaching nearer and nearer to the Antarctic Circle.
+
+"At length, on the 27th February," says Desborough Cooley, "in S. lat.
+65 degrees 57 minutes and E. long. 47 degrees 20 minutes land was
+distinctly seen." This land was of considerable extent, mountainous and
+covered with snow. Biscoe named it Enderby, and made the most strenuous
+efforts to reach it, but it was so completely surrounded with ice that
+he could not succeed. Whilst these attempts were being made a gale of
+wind separated the two vessels and drove them in a south-easterly
+direction, the land remaining in sight, and stretching away from east
+to west for an extent of more than 200 miles. Bad weather, and the
+deplorable state of the health of the crew, compelled Biscoe to make
+for Van Diemen's Land, where he was not rejoined by the _Lively_ until
+some months later.
+
+The explorers had several opportunities of observing the aurora
+australis, to quote from Biscoe's narrative, or rather the account of
+his trip drawn up from his log-book, and published in the journal of
+the Royal Geographical Society. "Extraordinarily vivid coruscations of
+aurora australis (were seen), at times rolling," says Captain Biscoe,
+"as it were, over our heads in the form of beautiful columns, then as
+suddenly changing like the fringe of a curtain, and again shooting
+across the hemisphere like a serpent; frequently appearing not many
+yards above our heads, and decidedly within our atmosphere."
+
+Leaving Van Diemen's Land on the 11th January, 1832, Biscoe and his two
+vessels resumed their voyage in a south-easterly direction. The
+constant presence of floating sea-weed, and the number of birds of a
+kind which never venture far from land, with the gathering of low and
+heavy clouds made Biscoe think he was on the eve of some discovery, but
+storms prevented the completion of his explorations. At last, on the
+12th February, in S. lat. 64 degrees 10 minutes albatrosses, penguins,
+and whales were seen in large quantities; and on the 15th land was seen
+in the south a long distance off. The next day this land was
+ascertained to be a large island, to which the name of Adelaide was
+given, in honour of the Queen of England. On this island were a number
+of mountains of conical form with the base very large.
+
+In the ensuing days it was ascertained that this was no solitary
+island, but one of a chain of islets forming so to speak the outworks
+of a lofty continent. This continent, stretching away for 250 miles in
+an E.N.E. and W.S.W. direction, was called Graham, whilst the name of
+Biscoe was given to the islets in honour of their discoverer. There was
+no trace either of plants or animals in this country.
+
+To make quite sure of the nature of his discovery, Biscoe landed on the
+21st February, on Graham's Land, and determined the position of a lofty
+mountain, to which he gave the name of William, in S. lat. 64 degrees
+45 minutes and W. long. 66 degrees 11 minutes, reckoning from the Paris
+meridian.
+
+To quote from the journal of the Royal Geographical Society,--"The
+place was in a deep bay, in which the water was so still that could any
+seals have been found the vessels could have been easily loaded, as
+they might have been laid alongside the rocks for the purpose. The
+depth of the water was also considerable, no bottom being found with
+twenty fathoms of line almost close to the beach; and the sun was so
+warm that the snow was melted off all the rocks along the water-line,
+which made it more extraordinary that they should be so utterly
+deserted."
+
+From Graham's Land, Biscoe made for the Southern Shetlands, with which
+it seemed possible the former might be connected, and after touching at
+the Falkland Islands, where he lost sight of the _Lively_, he returned
+to England.
+
+As a reward for all he had done, and as an encouragement for the
+future, Biscoe received medals both from the English and French
+Geographical Societies.
+
+Very animated were the discussions which now took place as to the
+existence of a southern continent, and the possibility of penetrating
+beyond the barrier of ice shutting in the adjacent islands. Three
+powers simultaneously resolved to send out an expedition. France
+entrusted the command of hers to Dumont d'Urville; England chose James
+Ross; and the United States, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes.
+
+The last named found himself at the head of a small fleet, consisting
+of the _Porpoise_, two sloops, the _Vincennes_ and the _Peacock_; two
+schooners, the _Sea-Gull_ and the _Flying-Fish_; and a transport ship,
+the _Relief_, which was sent on in advance to Rio with a reserve of
+provisions, whilst the others touched at Madeira, and the Cape Verd
+Islands.
+
+From the 24th November, 1838, to the 6th January, 1839, the squadron
+remained in the bay of Rio de Janeiro, whence it sailed to the Rio
+Negro, not arriving at Port Orange, Tierra del Fuego, until the 19th
+February, 1839.
+
+There the expedition divided, the _Peacock_ and _Flying-Fish_ making
+for the point were Cook crossed S. lat. 60 degrees, and the _Relief_,
+with the naturalists on board, penetrating into the Straits of
+Magellan, by one of the passages south-east of Tierra del Fuego; whilst
+the _Vincennes_ remained at Port Orange; and the _Sea-Gull_ and
+_Porpoise_ started on the 24th February for the Southern Seas. Wilkes
+surveyed Palmer's Land for a distance of thirty miles to the point
+where it turns in a S.S.E. direction, which he called Cape Hope; he
+then visited the Shetlands and verified the position of several of the
+islands in that group.
+
+After passing thirty-six days in these inhospitable regions the two
+vessels steered northwards. A voyage marked by few incidents worthy of
+record brought Wilkes to Callao, but he had lost sight of the
+_Sea-Gull_. The commander now visited the Paumatou group, Otaheite, the
+Society and Navigator's Islands, and cast anchor off Sydney on the 28th
+November.
+
+On the 29th December, 1839, the expedition once more put to sea, and
+steered for the south, with a view to reaching the most southerly
+latitude between E. long 160 degrees and 145 degrees (reckoning from
+Greenwich), bearing east by west. The vessels were at liberty to follow
+out separate courses, a rendezvous being fixed in case of their losing
+sight of each other. Up to January 22nd numerous signs of land were
+seen, and some officers even thought they had actually caught sight of
+it, but it turned out, when the various accounts were compared at the
+trial Wilkes had to undergo on his return, that it was merely through
+the accidental deviation before the 22nd January of the _Vincennes_, in
+a northerly direction, that the English explorers ascertained the
+existence of land. Not until he reached Sydney did Wilkes, hearing that
+D'Urville had discovered land on the 19th January, pretend to have seen
+it on the same day.
+
+[Illustration: Dumont d'Urville.]
+
+These facts are established in a very conclusive article published by
+the hydrographer Daussy in the _Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie_.
+Further on we shall see that d'Urville actually landed on the new
+continent, so that the honour of being the first to discover it is
+undoubtedly his.
+
+The _Peacock_ and _Flying-Fish_, either because they had sustained
+damages or because of the dangers from the roughness of the sea and
+floating ice, had steered in a northerly direction from the 24th
+January to the 5th February, The _Vincennes_ and _Porpoise_ alone
+continued the arduous voyage as far as E. long. 97 degrees, having land
+in sight for two or three miles, which they approached whenever the ice
+allowed them to do so.
+
+"On the 29th of January," says Wilkes, in his report to the National
+Institution of Washington, "we entered what I have called Piners Bay,
+the only place where we could have landed on the naked rocks. We were
+driven out of it by one of the sudden gales usual in those seas. We got
+soundings in thirty fathoms. The gale lasted thirty-six hours, and
+after many narrow escapes, I found myself some sixty miles W. to
+leeward of this bay. It now became probable that this land which we had
+discovered was of great extent, and I deemed it of more importance to
+follow its trend than to return to Piners Bay to land, not doubting I
+should have an opportunity of landing on some portion of it still more
+accessible; this, however, I was disappointed in, the icy barrier
+preventing our approach, and rendering it impossible to effect.
+
+"Great quantities of ice, covered with mud, rock, and stone, presented
+themselves at the edge of the barrier, in close proximity of the land;
+from these our specimens were obtained, and were quite as numerous as
+could have been gathered from the rocks themselves. The land, covered
+with snow, was distinctly seen in many places, and between them such
+appearances as to leave little or no doubt in my mind of it being a
+continuous line of coast, and deserving the name bestowed upon it of
+the _Antarctic Continent_, lying as it does under that circle. Many
+phenomena were observed here, and observations made, which will be
+found under their appropriate head in the sequel.
+
+"On reaching 97 degrees east, we found the ice trending to the
+northward and continuing to follow it close, we reached to within a few
+miles of the position where Cook was stopped by the barrier in 1773."
+
+Piners Bay, where Wilkes landed, is situated in E. long. 140 degrees
+(reckoning from Paris), that is to say it is identical with the place
+visited by D'Urville on the 21st January. On the 30th January the
+_Porpoise_ had come in sight of D'Urville's two vessels, and approached
+to within speaking distance of them, but they put on all sail and
+appeared anxious to avoid any communication.
+
+On his arrival at Sydney, Wilkes found the _Peacock_ in a state of
+repair and with that vessel he visited New Zealand, Tonga Tabou, and
+the Fiji Islands, where two of the junior officers of the expedition
+were massacred by the natives. The Friendly, Navigator, and Sandwich
+Islands, Admiralty Straits, Puget Sound, Vancouver's Island, the
+Ladrones, Manilla, Sooloo, Singapore, the Sunda Islands, St. Helena,
+and Rio de Janeiro, were the halting places on the return voyage, which
+terminated on the 9th June, 1842, at New York, the explorers having
+been absent three years and ten months altogether.
+
+The results to every branch of science were considerable, and the young
+republic of the United States was to be congratulated on a debut so
+triumphant in the career of discovery. In spite, however, of the
+interest attaching to the account of this expedition, and to the
+special treatises by Dana, Gould, Pickering, Gray, Cassin, and
+Brackenbridge, we are obliged to refrain from dwelling on the work done
+in countries already known. The success of these publications beyond
+the Atlantic was, as might be expected in a country boasting of so few
+explorers, immense.
+
+Whilst Wilkes was engaged in his explorations, i.e. in 1839, Balleny,
+captain of the _Elizabeth Scott_, was adding his quota to the survey of
+the Antarctic regions. Starting from Campbell Island, on the south of
+New Zealand, he arrived on the 7th February in S. lat. 67 degrees 7
+minutes, and W. long. 164 degrees 25 minutes, reckoning from the Paris
+meridian. Then bearing west and noting many indications of the
+neighbourhood of land, he discovered two days later a black band in the
+south-west which, at six o'clock in the evening, he ascertained beyond
+a doubt to be land. This land turned out to be three islands of
+considerable size, and Balleny gave them his own name. As may be
+imagined the captain tried to land, but a barrier of ice prevented his
+doing so. All he could manage was the determination of the position of
+the central isle, which he fixed at S. lat. 66 degrees 44 minutes and
+W. long. 162 degrees 25 minutes.
+
+On the 14th February a lofty land, covered with snow, was sighted in
+the W.S.W. The next day there were but ten miles between the vessel and
+the land. It was approached as nearly as possible, and then a boat was
+put off, but a beach of only three or four feet wide with vertical and
+inaccessible cliffs rising beyond it rendered landing impossible, and
+only by getting wet up to their waists were the sailors able to obtain
+a few specimens of the lava characteristic of this volcanic district.
+
+[Illustration: "Only by getting wet up to their waists."]
+
+Yet once more, on the 2nd March in S. lat. 65 degrees and about W.
+long. 120 degrees 24 minutes, land was seen from the deck of the
+_Elizabeth Scott_. The vessel was brought to for the night, and the
+next day an attempt was made to steer in a south-west direction, but it
+was impossible to get through the ice barrier. Naming the new discovery
+Sabrina, Balleny resumed his northerly route without being able further
+to verify his discoveries.
+
+In 1837, just as Wilkes had started on his expedition, Captain Dumont
+d'Urville proposed to the Minister of Marine a new scheme for a voyage
+round the world. The services rendered by him in 1819-21 in a
+hydrographic expedition, in 1822 and 1825 on the _Coquille_, under
+Captain Duperrey, and lastly in 1826-29 on the _Astrolabe_, had given
+him an amount of experience which justified him in submitting his
+peculiar views to the government, and to supplement so to speak the
+mass of information collected by himself and others in these little
+known latitudes.
+
+The minister at once accepted D'Urville's offer, and exerted himself to
+find for him enlightened and trustworthy fellow-workers. Two corvettes,
+the _Astrolabe_ and the _Zelee_, fitted up with everything which French
+experience had proved to be necessary, were placed at his disposal, and
+amongst his colleagues were many who were subsequently to rise to the
+rank of general officers, including Jacquinot, commander of the
+_Zelee_, Coupvent Desbois, Du Bouzet, Tardy de Montravel, and Perigot,
+all well-known names to those interested in the history of the French
+navy.
+
+The instructions given by Vice-Admiral Rosamel to D'Urville differed
+from those of his predecessors chiefly in his being ordered to
+penetrate as near as the ice would permit to the South Pole. He was
+also ordered to complete the great work he had begun in 1827 on the
+Viti Islands, to survey the Salomon archipelago, to visit the Swan
+river of Australia, New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, that part of the
+Caroline group surveyed by Lutke, Mindanao, Borneo, and Batavia, whence
+he was to return to France _via_ the Cape of Good Hope.
+
+These instructions concluded in terms proving the exalted ideas of the
+government. "His Majesty," said Admiral de Rosamel, "not only
+contemplates the progress of hydrography and natural science; but his
+royal solicitude for the interests of French commerce and the
+development of the French navy is such as to lead him greatly to extend
+the terms of your commission and to hope for great results from it. You
+will visit numerous places, the resources of which you must study with
+a view to the interests of our whaling-ships, collecting all
+information likely to be of service to them alike in facilitating their
+voyages and rendering those voyages as remunerative as possible. You
+will touch at those ports where commercial relations with us are
+already opened, and where the visit of a state vessel will have
+salutary effects, and at others hitherto closed to our produce and
+about which you may on your return give us some valuable details."
+
+In addition to the personal good wishes of Louis Philippe, D'Urville
+received many marks of the most lively interest taken in his work by
+the _Academie des Sciences morales_ and the Geographical Society, but
+not unfortunately from the _Academie des Sciences_, although he had for
+twenty years been working hard to increase the riches of the Museum of
+Natural History.
+
+"Whether from prejudice or from whatever cause," says D'Urville, "they
+(the members of the _Academie des Sciences_) showed very little
+enthusiasm for the contemplated expedition and their instructions to me
+were as formal as they would have been to a complete stranger."
+
+It is matter of regret that the celebrated Arago, the declared enemy of
+Polar researches, was one of the bitterest opponents of the new
+expedition. This was not, however, the case with various scholars of
+other nationalities, such as Humboldt and Kruzenstern, who wrote to
+congratulate D'Urville on his approaching voyage and on the important
+results to science which might be hoped for.
+
+After numerous delays, resulting from the fitting up of two vessels
+which were to take the Prince de Joinville to Brazil, the _Astrolabe_
+and _Zelee_ at last left Toulon on the 7th September, 1837. The last
+day of the same month they cast anchor off Santa Cruz de Teneriffe
+which D'Urville chose as a halting-place in preference to one of the
+Cape Verd Islands, in the hope of laying in a stock of wine and also of
+being able to take some magnetic observations which he had been blamed
+for neglecting in 1826, although it was well known that he was not then
+in a fit state to attend to such things.
+
+In spite of the eagerness of the young officers to go and enjoy
+themselves on shore they had to submit to a quarantine of four days, on
+account of rumours of cases of plague having occurred in the lazaretto
+of Marseilles. Without pausing to relate the details of Messrs. Du
+Bouzet, Coupvent, and Dumoulin's ascent of the Peak, we will merely
+quote a few enthusiastic remarks of Coupvent Desbois:--
+
+"Arrived," says that officer, "at the foot of the peak, we spent the
+last hour of the ascent in crossing cinders and broken stones, arriving
+at last at the longed-for goal, the loftiest point of this huge
+volcano. The smoking crater presented the appearance of a hollow
+sulphurous semi-circle about 1200 feet wide and 300 feet deep, covered
+with the debris of pumice and other stones. The thermometer, which had
+marked five degrees at ten a.m., got broken through being placed on the
+ground where there was an escape of sulphuric vapour. There are upon
+the sides and in the crater numerous fumerolles which send forth the
+native sulphur, which forms the base of the peak. The rush of the
+vapour is so rapid as to sound like shots from a cannon.
+
+"The heat of the ground is so great in some parts that it is impossible
+to stand on it for a minute at a time. Look around you and see if these
+three mountains piled one upon the other do not resemble a staircase
+built up by giants, on which to climb to heaven. Gaze upon the vast
+streams of lava, all issuing from one point which form the crater, and
+which a few centuries back you could not have trodden upon with
+impunity. See the Canaries in the distance, look down, ye pigmies, on
+the sea, with its breakers dashing against the shores of the island, of
+which you for the moment form the summit!... See for once, as God sees,
+and be rewarded for your exertions, ye travellers, whose enthusiasm for
+the grand scenes of nature has brought you some 12,182 feet above the
+level of the ocean."
+
+We must add that the explorers testified to the brilliancy of the
+stars, as seen from the summit of the peak, the clearness of all
+sounds, and also to the giddiness and headache known as mountain
+sickness. Whilst part of the staff were engaged in this scientific
+excursion, several other officers visited the town, where they noticed
+nothing special except a narrow walk called the Alameda, and the church
+of the Franciscans. The neighbourhood, however, is interesting enough
+on account of the curious aqueducts for supplying the town with water,
+and the Mercede forest which, in D'Urville's opinion, might more justly
+be called a coppice, for it contains nothing but shrubs and ferns. The
+population seemed happy, but extremely lazy; economical, but horribly
+dirty; and the less said about their morals the better.
+
+On the 12th October the two vessels put to sea again, intending to
+reach the Polar regions as soon as possible. Motives of humanity,
+however, determined D'Urville to change his plans and touch at Rio, the
+state of an apprentice with disease of the lungs becoming so rapidly
+worse that a stay in the Arctic regions would probably have been fatal.
+
+The vessels cast anchor in the roadstead, not the Bay of Rio, on the
+13th November, but they only remained there one day, that is to say,
+just long enough to land young Dupare, and to lay in a stock of
+provisions. The southerly route was then resumed.
+
+For a long time D'Urville had wished to explore the Strait of Magellan,
+not with a view to further hydrographical surveys, for the careful
+explorations of Captain King, begun in 1826, had been finished in 1834
+by Fitzroy, leaving little to be done in that direction, but to gather
+the rich and still unappropriated harvest of facts relating to natural
+history. How intensely interesting it was, too, to note how real had
+been the dangers encountered by early navigators, such as the sudden
+veering of the wind, &c. What a good thing it would be to obtain
+further and more detailed information about the famous Patagonians, the
+subject of so many fables and controversies. Yet another motive led
+D'Urville to anchor off Port Famine, rather than off Staten Island. His
+perusal of the accounts of the work of explorers who had penetrated
+into the Southern Seas convinced him that the end of January and the
+whole of February were the best times for visiting these regions, for
+then only are the effects of the annual thaw over, and with them the
+risk of over-fatigue to the crews.
+
+[Illustration: Anchorage off Port Famine.]
+
+This resolution once taken, D'Urville communicated it to Captain
+Jacquinot, and set sail for the strait. On the 12th December Cape
+Virgin was sighted, and Dumoulin, seconded by the young officers, began
+a grand series of hydrographical surveys. In the intricate navigation
+of the strait, D'Urville, we are told, showed equal courage and
+calmness, skill and presence of mind, completely winning over to his
+side many of the sailors, who, when they had seen him going along at
+Toulon when suffering with the gout, had exclaimed, "Oh, that old
+fellow won't take us far!" Now, when his constant vigilance had brought
+the vessels safely out of the strait, the cry was, "The ---- man is
+mad! He's made us scrape against rocks, reefs, and land, as if he had
+never taken a voyage before! And we used to think him as useless as a
+rotten keel!"
+
+We must now say a few words on the stay at Port Famine.
+
+Landing is easy, and there is a good spring and plenty of wood; on the
+rocks are found quantities of mussels, limpets, and whelks, whilst
+inland grows celery, and a kind of herb resembling the dandelion.
+Another fruitful source of wealth in this bay is fish, and whilst the
+vessels were at anchor, drag-nets, trammels, and lines captured enough
+mullet, gudgeon, and roaches to feed the whole crew.
+
+"As I was about to re-embark," says D'Urville, "a little barrel was
+brought to me which had been found hung on a tree on the beach, near a
+post on which was written _Post Office_. Having ascertained that this
+barrel contained papers, I took it on board and examined them. They
+consisted of notes of captains who had passed through the Straits of
+Magellan, stating the time of their visits, the incidents of their
+passage, with advice to those who should come after them, and letters
+for Europe or the United States. It seemed that an American captain,
+Cunningham by name, had been the originator of this open-air
+post-office. He had merely, in April, 1833, hung a bottle on a tree,
+and his fellow-countryman, Waterhouse, had supplemented it by the post
+with its inscription. Lastly, Captain Carrick of the schooner _Mary
+Ann_, from Liverpool, passed through the strait in March 1837, on his
+way to San Blas, California, going through it again a second time on
+his way back on the 29th November, 1837, that is to say, sixteen days
+before our own visit, and he it was who had substituted the barrel for
+the bottle, adding an invitation to all who should succeed him to use
+it as the receptacle of letters for different destinations. I mean to
+improve this ingenious and useful contrivance by forming an actual
+post-office on the highest point of the peninsula with an inscription
+in letters of a size so gigantic as to compel the attention of
+navigators who would not otherwise have touched at Port Famine.
+Curiosity will then probably lead them to send a canoe to examine the
+box, which will be fastened to the post. It seems likely that we shall
+ourselves reap the first fruits of this arrangement, and our families
+will be agreeably surprised to receive news from us from this wild and
+lonely district, just before our plunge into the ice of the Polar
+regions."
+
+At low tide the mouth of the Sedger river, which flows into Famine Bay,
+is encumbered with sand-banks; some 1000 feet further on the plain is
+transformed into a vast marsh, from which rise the trunks of immense
+trees, and huge bones, bleached by the action of time, which have been
+brought down by the heavy rainfall, swelling the course of the stream.
+
+Skirting this marsh is a fine forest, the entrance to which is
+protected by prickly shrubs. The commonest trees are the beech, with
+trunks between eighty and ninety feet high, and three or four in
+diameter; Winteria aromatica, a kind of bark which has long since
+replaced the cinnamon, and a species of Barbary. The largest beeches
+seen by D'Urville measured fifteen feet in diameter, and were about 150
+feet high.
+
+Unfortunately, no mammiferous animals or reptiles, or fresh or salt
+water shell-fish are found on these coasts; and one or two different
+kinds of birds with a few lichens and mosses were all the naturalist
+was able to obtain.
+
+Several officers went up the Sedger in a yawl till they were stopped by
+the shallowness of the water. They were then seven and a half miles
+from the mouth, and they noted the width of the river where it flows
+into the sea to be between ninety and a hundred feet.
+
+"It would be difficult," says M. de Montravel, "to imagine a more
+picturesque scene than was spread out before us at every turn.
+Everywhere was that indescribable wildness which cannot be imitated, a
+confused mass of trees, broken branches, trunks covered with moss,
+which seemed literally to grow before our eyes."
+
+To resume, the stay at Port Famine was most successful; wood and water
+were easily obtained, repairs, &c., were made, horary, physical,
+meteorological, tidal, and hydrographical observations were taken, and,
+lastly, numerous objects of natural history were collected, the more
+interesting as the museums of France hitherto contained nothing
+whatever from these unknown regions beyond "a few plants collected by
+Commerson and preserved in the Herbarium of M. de Jussieu."
+
+On the 28th December, 1837, anchor was weighed without a single
+Patagonian having been seen, although the officers and crew had been so
+eager to make acquaintance with the natives.
+
+The difficulties attending navigation compelled the two corvettes to
+cast anchor a little further on, off Port Galant, the shores of which,
+bordered by fine trees, are cut by torrents resembling a little
+distance off magnificent cascades from fifty to sixty feet high. This
+compulsory halt was not wasted, for a large number of new plants were
+collected, and the port with the neighbouring bays were surveyed. The
+commander, however, finding the season already so far advanced, gave up
+his idea of going out at the westerly end of the strait, and went back
+the way he came, hoping thus to get an interview with the Patagonians
+before going to the Polar regions.
+
+St. Nicholas Bay, called by Bougainville the _Baie des Francais_, where
+the explorers passed New Year's Day, 1838, is a much pleasanter looking
+spot than Port Galant. The usual hydrographical surveys were there
+brought to a satisfactory issue by the officers under the direction of
+Dumoulin. A boat was despatched to Cape Remarkable, where Bougainville
+said he had seen fossil shells, which, however, turned out to be
+nothing but little pebbles imbedded in a calcareous gangue.
+
+Interesting experiments were made with the thermometrograph, or marine
+thermometer, at 290 fathoms, without reaching the bottom, at less than
+two miles from land. Whereas the temperature was nine degrees on the
+surface, it was but two at the above-named depth, and as it is scarcely
+likely that currents convey the waters of the two oceans so far down,
+one is driven to the belief that this is the usual temperature of such
+depths.
+
+The vessels now made for Tierra del Fuego, where Dumoulin resumed his
+surveys. Low exposed, and strewn with rocks which serve as landmarks,
+there were but few dangers to be encountered here. Magdalena Island,
+Gente Grande Bay, Elizabeth Island, and Oazy Harbour, where the camp of
+a large party of Patagonians was made out with the telescope, and
+Peckett Harbour, where the _Astrolabe_ struck in three fathoms, were
+successively passed.
+
+"As we struck," says D'Urville, "there were signs of astonishment and
+even of excitement amongst the crew, and some grumbling was already
+audible, when in a firm voice I ordered silence, and without appearing
+at all put out by what had happened, I cried, 'This is nothing at all,
+and we shall have plenty more of the same kind of thing.' Later these
+words often recurred to the memory of our sailors. It is more difficult
+than one would suppose for a captain to maintain perfect calmness and
+impassiveness in the midst of the worst dangers, even those he has
+reason to imagine likely to be fatal."
+
+Peckett Harbour was alive with Patagonians, and officers and men were
+alike eager to land. A crowd of natives on horseback were waiting for
+them at the place of disembarkation.
+
+Gentle and peaceable they readily replied to the questions put to them,
+and looked quietly at everything shown to them, expressing no special
+desire for anything offered to them. They did not seem either to be at
+all addicted to thieving, and when on board the French vessels they
+made no attempt to carry anything off.
+
+Their usual height is from four and a half to five feet, but some are a
+good deal shorter. Their limbs are large and plump without being
+muscular, and their extremities are of extraordinary smallness. Their
+most noteworthy characteristic is the breadth of the lower part of the
+face as compared to the forehead, which is low and retreating. Long
+narrow eyes, high cheek-bones, and a flat nose, give them something of
+a resemblance to the Mongolian type.
+
+They are evidently extremely languid and indolent, and wanting in
+strength and agility. Looking at them squatting down, standing or
+walking, with their long hair flowing down their backs, one would take
+them for the women of a harem rather than savages used to enduring the
+inclemency of the weather and to struggle for existence. Stretched upon
+skins with their dogs and horses about them, their chief amusement is
+to catch the vermin with which they swarm. They hate walking so much
+that they mount horses just to go down and pick up shells on the beach
+a few yards off.
+
+A white man was living amongst these Patagonians; a miserable,
+decrepit-looking fellow, who said he came from the United States, but
+he spoke English very imperfectly, and the explorers took him to be a
+German-Swiss. Niederhauser, so he called himself, had gone to seek his
+fortune in the United States, and that fortune being long on the road,
+he had given ear to the wonderful proposals of a certain whaleman, who
+wanted to complete his crew. By this whaleman he was left with seven
+others and some provisions on a desert island off Tierra del Fuego to
+hunt seals and dress their skins. Four months later the schooner
+returned laden with skins, left the seal-hunters fresh provisions, went
+off again, and never came back! Whether it had been shipwrecked, or
+whether the captain had abandoned his sailors, it was impossible to
+ascertain. When the poor fellows found themselves deserted and their
+provisions exhausted, they embarked in their canoe and rowed up the
+Straits of Magellan, soon meeting with some Patagonians, with whom
+Niederhauser remained, whilst his companions went on. Well received by
+the natives, he lived their life with them, faring well when food was
+plentiful, drawing in his belt and living on roots when food was
+scarce.
+
+Weary, however, of this miserable existence, Niederhauser entreated
+D'Urville to take him on board, urging that another month of the life
+he was leading would kill him. The captain consented, and received him
+as a passenger.
+
+During his three months' residence amongst them, Niederhauser had
+learnt something of the language of the Patagonians, and with his aid
+D'Urville drew up a comparative vocabulary of a great many words in
+Patagonian, French, and German.
+
+The war costume of the Fuegans includes a helmet of tanned leather
+protected by steel-plates and surmounted by a crest of cock's feathers,
+a tunic of ox-hide dyed red with yellow stripes, and a kind of
+double-bladed scimitar. The chief of Peckett Harbour allowed his
+visitors to take his portrait in full martial costume, thereby showing
+his superiority to his subjects, who would not do the same for fear of
+witchcraft.
+
+On the 8th January anchor was finally weighed, and the second entrance
+to the strait was slowly navigated against the tide. The Straits of
+Magellan having now been crossed from end to end, and a survey made of
+the whole of the eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego, thus bridging
+over an important gulf in hydrographic knowledge, no detailed map of
+this coast having previously been made, the vessels steered for the
+Polar regions, doubling Staten Island without difficulty, and on the
+15th January coming in sight of the first ice, an event causing no
+little emotion, for now was to begin the really hard work of the
+voyage.
+
+Floating ice was not the only danger to be encountered in these
+latitudes: a dense fog, which the keenest sight could not penetrate,
+soon gathered about the vessels, paralyzing their movements, and though
+they were under a foresail only, rendering a collision with the
+ice-masses imminent. The temperature fell rapidly, and the
+thermometrograph marked only two degrees on the surface of the sea,
+whilst the deep water was below zero. Half-melted snow now began to
+fall, and everything bore witness that the Antarctic regions were
+indeed entered.
+
+Clarence, New South Orkney Islands, could not be identified. Every
+one's attention had to be concentrated on avoiding blocks of ice. At
+midday on the 20th January the vessels were in S. lat. 62 degrees 3
+minutes and W. long. 49 degrees 56 minutes, not far from the place were
+Powell encountered compact ice-fields, and an immense ice-island was
+soon sighted, some 6000 feet in extent and 300 in height, with
+perpendicular sides greatly resembling land under certain conditions of
+the light. Numerous whales and penguins were now seen swimming about
+the vessels, whilst white petrels continually flew across them. On the
+21st observations gave S. lat. 62 degrees 53 minutes, and D'Urville was
+expecting soon to reach the 65th parallel, when at three a.m. he was
+told that further progress was arrested by an iceberg, across which it
+did not seem possible to cut a passage. The vessels were at once put
+about and slowly steered in an easterly direction, the wind having
+fallen.
+
+"We were thus enabled," says D'Urville, "to gaze at our leisure upon
+the wonderful spectacle spread out before our eyes. Severe and grand
+beyond expression it not only excited the imagination but filled the
+heart with involuntary terror, nowhere else is man's powerlessness more
+forcibly brought before him.... A new world displays itself to him, but
+it is a motionless, gloomy, and silent world, where everything
+threatens the annihilation of human faculties. Should he have the
+misfortune to be left here alone, no help, no consolation, no spark of
+hope, would soothe his last moments. One is involuntarily reminded of
+the famous inscription on the gate of the Inferno of Dante--
+
+  "'Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch' entrate.'"
+
+D'Urville now set to work on a very strange task, which, as compared
+with others of a similar kind, was likely to be of considerable value.
+He had an exact measurement taken of the outlines of the iceberg. Had
+other navigators done the same we should have had some precise
+information as to the direction taken by icebergs, their movements,
+&c., in the southern Polar regions, a subject still wrapped in the
+greatest obscurity.
+
+On the 22nd, after doubling a point, it was ascertained that the
+iceberg was bearing S.S.W. by W. A lofty and broken piece of land was
+sighted in these latitudes. Dumoulin had begun to survey it, and
+D'Urville was about, as he thought, to identify it with the New South
+Greenland of Morrell, when its outlines became dim and it sunk beneath
+the horizon. On the 24th the two corvettes crossed a series of floating
+islets, and entered a plain where the ice was melting. The passage,
+however, became narrower and narrower, and they were obliged to veer
+round, to save themselves from being blocked in.
+
+Everything pointed to the conclusion that the edge of the ice was
+melting, the ice-islands fell apart with loud reports, the ice running
+off in little rivulets: there was undoubtedly a thaw, and Fanning had
+been right in saying that these latitudes should not be visited before
+February.
+
+D'Urville now decided to steer for the north, and try to reach the
+islands of New South Orkney, the map of which had not yet been
+accurately laid down. The commander was anxious to survey that
+archipelago thoroughly, and to spend several days there before resuming
+his southerly course, so as to be in the Antarctic regions at the same
+time of year as Weddell.
+
+For three days the explorer coasted along the southern shores of New
+South Orkney without being able to land; he then once more turned
+southwards, and came in sight of the ice again in S. lat. 62 degrees 20
+minutes and W. long. 39 degrees 28 minutes.
+
+A few minutes before midday a kind of opening was discovered, through
+which the vessels were forced at all risks. This bold manoeuvre was
+successful, and in spite of the heavy snow, the explorers penetrated
+into a small basin scarcely two miles in extent and hemmed in on every
+side by lofty walls of ice. It was decided to make fast to the ice, and
+when the order to cast anchor was given a young middy on board the
+_Zelee_ cried naively, "Is there a port here? I shouldn't have thought
+there were people living on the ice."
+
+Great indeed was now the joyful enthusiasm on both vessels. Some of the
+young officers of the _Zelee_ had come to empty a bowl of punch with
+their comrades of the _Astrolabe_, and the commander could hear their
+shouts of delight from his bed. He himself did not, however, look upon
+the situation in quite the same favourable light. He felt that he had
+done a very imprudent thing. Shut into a _cul-de-sac_, he could only go
+out as he had come, and that he could not do until he had the wind
+right aft. At eleven o'clock D'Urville was awoke by a violent shock,
+accompanied by a noise of breaking, as if the vessel had struck on some
+rocks. He got up, and saw that the _Astrolabe_, having drifted, had
+struck violently against the ice, where she remained exposed to
+collision with the masses of ice which the current was sweeping along
+more rapidly than it did the vessel herself.
+
+When day dawned the adventurers found themselves surrounded by ice, but
+in the north a blackish blue line seemed to betray the existence of an
+open sea. This direction was at once taken, but a thick fog immediately
+and completely enveloped both ships, and when it cleared off they found
+themselves face to face with a compact ice barrier, beyond which
+stretched away as far as the eye could reach AN OPEN SEA!
+
+D'Urville now resolved to cut himself a passage, and began operations
+by dashing the _Astrolabe_ with all possible speed against the
+obstacle. The vessel penetrated two or three lengths into the ice, and
+then remained motionless. The crew climbed out of her on to the ice
+armed with pickaxes, pincers, mattocks, and saws, and merrily
+endeavoured to cut a passage. The fragment of ice was already nearly
+crossed when the wind changed, and the motion of the waves in the
+offing began to be felt, causing the officers to agree in urging a
+retreat into the shelter of the ice-walls, for there was some danger if
+the wind freshened of the vessel being embayed against the ice and
+beaten to pieces by the waves and floating _debris_.
+
+The corvettes had traversed twelve or fifteen miles for nothing, when
+an officer, perched in the shrouds, sighted a passage in the E.N.E.
+That direction was at once taken, but again it was found impossible to
+cut a passage, and when night came the crew had to make the ship fast
+to a huge block of ice. The loud cracking noises which had awoke the
+commander the night before now began with such violence that it really
+seemed impossible for the vessel to live till daylight.
+
+After an interview with the captain of the _Zelee_, however, D'Urville
+made for the north, but the day passed without any change being
+effected in the position of the vessels, and the next day during a
+storm of sleet the swell of the sea became so powerful as completely to
+raise the ice plain in which they were imprisoned.
+
+More careful watch than ever had now to be kept, to guard against the
+pieces of ice flung long distances by this motion, and the rudder had
+to be protected from them by a kind of wooden hut.
+
+[Illustration: "The rudder had to be protected."]
+
+With the exception of a few cases of ophthalmia, resulting from the
+continual glare of the snow, the health of the crews was satisfactory,
+and this was no little satisfaction to the leaders of the expedition,
+compelled as they were to be continually on the _qui-vive_. Not until
+the 9th February were the vessels, favoured by a strong breeze, able to
+get off, and once more enter a really open sea. The ice had been
+coasted for a distance of 225 leagues. The vessels had actually
+sustained no further damage than the loss of a few spars and a
+considerable portion of the copper sheathing, involving no further
+leakage than there had been before.
+
+The next day the sun came out, and observations could be taken, giving
+the latitude as 62 degrees 9 minutes S., and the longitude 39 degrees
+22 minutes W.
+
+Snow continued to fall, the cold was intense, and the wind very violent
+for the three succeeding days. This continuance of bad weather,
+together with the increasing length of the nights, warned D'Urville of
+the necessity of giving up all idea of going further. When, therefore,
+he found himself in S. lat. 62 degrees and W. long. 33 degrees 11
+minutes, in other words in that part of the ocean where Weddell had
+been able to sail freely in 1823, and the new explorer had met with
+nothing but impassable ice, he steered for New South Orkney. A whole
+month passed amongst the ice and fogs of the Antarctic Ocean had told
+upon the health of the crews, and nothing could be gained for science
+by a continuance of the cruise.
+
+On the 20th the archipelago was again sighted, and D'Urville was once
+more driven out of his course in a northerly direction by the ice, but
+he was able to put off with two boats, the crews of which collected on
+Weddell Island a large number of geological specimens, lichens, &c.,
+and some twenty penguins and chionis.
+
+On the 25th February Clarence Island was seen, forming the eastern
+extremity of the New South Shetland Archipelago, a very steep and
+rugged district covered with snow except on the beach, and thence the
+explorers steered towards Elephant Island, resembling Clarence Island
+in every respect, except that it is strewn with peaks rising up black
+against the plains of snow and ice. The islets of Narrow, Biggs,
+O'Brien, and Aspland were successively identified, but covered as they
+are with snow they are perfectly inaccessible to man. The little
+volcano of Bridgeman was also seen, and the naturalists tried in vain
+to land upon it from two boats.
+
+"The general colour of the soil," says the narrative, "is red, like
+that of burnt brick with particles of grey, suggestive of the presence
+of pumice-stone, or of calcined cinders. Here and there on the beach
+are seen great blackish-looking blocks, which are probably lava. This
+islet has, however, only one true crater, although thick columns of
+smoke are emitted from it, nearly all of them issuing from the base on
+the western side, whilst in the north are two other fumerolles, thirty
+or forty feet along the water. There are none on the eastern or
+northern side, or at the top, which is smooth and round. The bulk
+appears recently to have undergone some considerable modification, as
+indeed it must have done, or it could not now resemble so little the
+description given by Powell in December, 1822."
+
+D'Urville soon resumed his southerly route, and on the 27th February
+sighted a considerable belt of land in the south-east on which he was
+prevented from landing by the fog and the continuous fall of very fine
+snow. He was now in the latitude of Hope Island--i.e. in S. lat. 62
+degrees 57 minutes. He approached it very closely, and sighted before
+reaching it a low-lying land, to which he gave the name of Joinville.
+Then further on in the south-west he came to an extensive district
+which he named Louis Philippe, and between the two in a kind of
+channel, encumbered with ice, an island he called Rosamel.
+
+"Now," says D'Urville, "the horizon was so light that we could trace
+all the irregularities of Louis Philippe's Land. We could see it
+stretching away from Mount Bransfield in the north (62 degrees W.
+long.) to the S.S.W., where it faded away on the horizon. From Mount
+Bransfield to the south it is lofty, and of fairly uniform surface,
+resembling a vast, unbroken ice-field. In the south, however, it rises
+in the form of a fine peak (Mount Jacquinot), which is equal perhaps,
+indeed superior, to Bransfield; but beyond this peak it stretches away
+in the form of a mountain chain, ending in the south-west in a peak
+loftier than any of the others. For the rest, the effect of the snow
+and ice, together with the absence of any objects with which they can
+be compared, aid in exaggerating the height of all irregularities, and,
+as a matter of fact, the results of the measurements taken by M.
+Dumoulin showed all these mountains, which then appeared to us gigantic
+and equal to the Alps and Pyrenees at least, to be after all of very
+medium size. Mount Bransfield, for instance, was not more than about
+2068 feet high, Mount Jacquinot 2121 feet, and Mount d'Urville, the
+loftiest of them all, about 3047 feet. Except for the islets grouped
+about the mainland, and a few peaks rising above the snow, the whole
+country is one long series of compact blocks of ice, and it is
+impossible to do more than trace the outlines of this ice-crust, those
+of the land itself being quite indistinguishable."
+
+On the 1st March soundings gave only eighty fathoms with a bottom of
+rock and gravel. The temperature is 1 degree 9 on the surface, and 0
+degree 2 at the bottom of the sea. On the 2nd of March, off Louis
+Philippe's Land, an island was sighted which was named Astrolabe, and
+the day after a large bay, or rather strait, to which the name of
+Orleans Channel was given was surveyed between Louis Philippe's Land,
+and a lofty, rocky belt, which D'Urville took for the beginning of
+Trinity Land, hitherto very inaccurately laid down.
+
+From the 26th February then to the 5th March D'Urville remained in
+sight of the coast, skirting along it a little distance off, but unable
+entirely to regulate his course on account of the incessant fogs and
+rain. Everything bore witness to the setting in of a very decided thaw;
+the temperature rising at midday to five degrees above zero, whilst the
+ice was everywhere melting and running off in little streams of water,
+or falling with a formidable crush into the sea in the form of blocks,
+the wind meanwhile blowing strongly from the west.
+
+All this decided D'Urville against the further prosecution of this
+voyage. The sea was heavy, the rain and fog incessant. It was therefore
+necessary to leave this dangerous coast, and make for the north, where
+on the following day he surveyed the most westerly islands of the New
+Shetland group.
+
+D'Urville next steered for Conception, and very arduous was the voyage
+there, for, in spite of every precaution, the crews of both corvettes,
+especially that of the _Zelee_, were attacked with scurvy. It was now
+that D'Urville measured the heights of some of the waves, with a view
+to the disproving of the charge of exaggeration which had been brought
+against him when he had estimated those he had seen break over Needle
+Bank at a height of between eighty and a hundred feet.
+
+With the help of some of his officers, that there might be no doubt as
+to his accuracy, D'Urville measured some waves of which the vertical
+height was thirty-five feet, and which measured not less than 196-1/2
+feet from the crest to the lowest point, making a total length of 393
+feet for a single wave. These measurements were an answer to the
+ironical assertion of Arago, who, settling the matter in his own study,
+would not allow that a wave could exceed from five to six feet in
+height. One need not hesitate a single moment to accept, as against the
+eminent but impulsive physicist, the measurements of the navigators who
+had made observations upon the spot.
+
+On the 7th April, 1838, the expedition cast anchor in Talcahuano Bay,
+where the rest so sorely needed by the forty scrofulous patients of the
+_Zelee_ was obtained. Thence D'Urville made for Valparaiso, after
+which, having entirely crossed Oceania, he cast anchor on the 1st
+January, 1839, off Guam, arrived at Batina in October, and went thence
+to Hobart's Town, whence, on the 1st January, 1840, he started on a new
+trip in the Antarctic regions.
+
+At this time D'Urville knew nothing either of Balleny's voyage, or of
+the discovery of Sabrina's Land. He merely intended to go round the
+southern extremity of Tasmania with a view to ascertaining beneath
+which parallel he would meet with ice. He was under the impression that
+the space between 120 degrees and 160 degrees E. long. had not yet been
+explored, so that there was still a discovery to be made.
+
+At first navigation was beset with the greatest difficulties. The swell
+was very strong, the currents bore in an easterly direction, the
+sanitary condition of the crews was far from satisfactory, and 58
+degrees S. lat. had not yet been reached when the presence of ice was
+ascertained.
+
+The cold soon became very intense, the wind veered round to the W.N.W.,
+and the sea became calm, a sure indication of the neighbourhood of land
+or of ice. The former was the more generally received hypothesis, for
+the ice-islands passed were too large to have been formed in the open
+ocean. On the 18th January, S. lat. 64 degrees was reached, and great
+perpendicular blocks of ice were met with, the height of which varied
+from ninety to 100 feet, whilst the breadth exceeded 3000.
+
+The next day, January 19th, 1840, a new land was sighted, to which the
+name of Adelie was given. The sun was now burning hot, and the ice all
+seemed to be melting, immense streams running down from the summits of
+the rocks into the sea. The appearance of the land was monotonous,
+covered as it was with snow. It ran from west to east, and seemed to
+slope gradually down to the sea. On the 21st the wind allowed the
+vessels to approach the beach, and deep ravines were soon made out,
+evidently the result of the action of melted snow.
+
+[Illustration: View of Adelie Land. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+[Illustration: Reduced Map of D'Urville's discoveries in the Antarctic
+regions.]
+
+As the ships advanced navigation became more and more perilous, for the
+ice-islands were so numerous that there was hardly a large enough
+channel between them for any manoeuvring.
+
+"Their straight walls," says D'Urville, "rose far above our masts,
+glowering down upon our vessels, which appeared of absurdly small
+dimensions, as compared with their huge masses. The spectacle spread
+out before us was alike grand and terrible. One might have fancied
+oneself in the narrow streets of a city of giants."
+
+[Illustration: "Their straight walls rose far above our masts."]
+
+The corvettes soon entered a huge basin, formed by the coast and the
+ice-islands which had just been passed. The land stretched away in the
+south-east and north-west as far as the eye could reach. It was between
+three and four thousand feet high, but nowhere presented any very
+salient features. In the centre of the vast snow plain rose a few
+rocks. The two captains at once sent off boats with orders to bring
+back specimens which should testify to the discovery made. We quote
+from the account of Du Bouzet, one of the officers told off on this
+important survey.
+
+"It was nearly nine o'clock when to our great delight we landed on the
+western side of the most westerly and loftiest islet. The _Astrolabe_
+boat had arrived one moment before ours, and its crew were already
+clambering up the steep sides of the rock, flinging down the penguins
+as they went, the birds showing no small surprise at being thus
+summarily dispossessed of the island, of which they had been hitherto
+the only inhabitants. I at once sent one of our sailors to unfurl a
+tricolour flag on these territories, which no human creature had seen
+or trod before ourselves. According to the old custom--to which the
+English have clung tenaciously--we took possession of them in the name
+of France, together with the neighbouring coast, which we were
+prevented from visiting by the ice. The only representatives of the
+animal kingdom were the penguins, for in spite of all our researches we
+did not find a single shell. The rocks were quite bare, without so much
+as the slightest sign of a lichen. We had to fall back on the mineral
+kingdom. We each took a hammer and began chipping at the rock, but, it
+being of granite, was so extremely hard that we could only obtain very
+small bits. Fortunately in climbing to the summit of the island the
+sailors found some big pieces of rock broken off by the frost, and
+these they embarked in their boats. Looking closely at them, I noticed
+an exact resemblance between these rocks and the little bits of gneiss
+which we had found in the stomach of a penguin we had killed the day
+before. The little islet on which we landed is part of a group of eight
+or ten of similar character and form; they are between five hundred and
+six hundred yards from the nearest coast. We also noticed on the beach
+several peaks and a cape quite free from snow. These islets, close as
+they are to each other, seem to form a continuous chain parallel with
+the coast, and stretching away from east to west."
+
+On the 22nd and 23rd the survey of this coast was continued; but on the
+second day an iceberg soldered to the coast compelled the vessels to
+turn back towards the north, whilst at the same time a sudden and
+violent snow-storm overtook and separated them. The _Zelee_ especially
+sustained considerable damage, but was able to rejoin her consort the
+next day.
+
+Throughout it all, however, sight of the land had not, so to speak,
+been lost, but on the 29th the wind blew so strongly and persistently
+from the east, that D'Urville had to abandon the survey of Adelie Land.
+It was on this same day that he sighted the vessels of Lieutenant
+Wilkes. D'Urville complains of the discourtesy of the latter, and says
+that his own manoeuvres intended to open communications with them had
+been misunderstood by the Americans.
+
+"We are no longer," he says, "in the days when navigators in the
+interests of commerce thought it necessary carefully to conceal their
+route and their discoveries, to avoid the competition of rival nations.
+I should, on the contrary, have been glad to point out to our emulators
+the result of our researches, in the hope that such information might
+be of use to them and increase our geographical knowledge."
+
+On the 30th January a huge wall of ice was sighted, as to the nature of
+which opinions were divided. Some said it was a compact and isolated
+mass, others--and this was D'Urville's opinion--thought these lofty
+mountains had a base of earth or of rocks, or that they might even be
+the bulwarks of a huge extent of land which they called Clarie. It is
+situated in 128 degrees E. long.
+
+The officers had collected sufficient information in these latitudes to
+determine the position of the southern magnetic pole, but the results
+obtained by them did not accord with those given by Duperrey, Wilkes,
+and Ross.
+
+On the 17th February the two corvettes once more cast anchor off
+Hobart's Town, and on the 25th set sail again for New Zealand, where
+they completed the hydrographical surveys of the _Uranie_. They then
+made for New Guinea, ascertained that it was not separated by a strait
+from the Louisiade Archipelago, surveyed Torres Strait with the
+greatest care, in spite of dangers from currents, coral reefs, &c.;
+arrived at Timor on the 20th, and returned to Toulon on the 8th
+November, after touching at Bourbon and St. Helena.
+
+When the news of the grand discoveries made by the United States
+reached England, a spirit of emulation was aroused, and the learned
+societies decided on sending an expedition to the regions in which
+Weddell and Biscoe had been the only explorers since the time of Cook.
+
+Captain James Clark Ross, who was appointed to the command of this
+expedition, was the nephew of the famous John Ross, explorer of
+Baffin's Bay. Born in 1800, James Ross was a sailor from the age of
+twelve. He accompanied his uncle in 1818 in his first Arctic
+expedition, had taken part under Parry in four expeditions to the same
+latitudes, and from 1829-1833 he had been his uncle's constant and
+faithful companion. Entrusted with the taking of scientific
+observations, he had discovered the north magnetic pole, and he had
+also made a good many excursions across the ice on foot and in sledges.
+He was, therefore, now one of the most experienced of British naval
+officers in Polar expeditions.
+
+[Illustration: Captain John Ross.]
+
+Two vessels, the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_, were entrusted to him, and
+his second in command was an accomplished sailor, Captain Francis
+Rowdon Crozier, companion of Parry in 1824; of Ross in 1835 in Baffin's
+Bay; and the future companion of Franklin in the _Terror_, in his
+search for the north-west passage. It would have been impossible to
+find a braver or more experienced sailor.
+
+The instructions given to James Ross by the Admiralty differed
+essentially from those received by Wilkes and Dumont d'Urville. For the
+latter the exploration of the Antarctic regions was but one incident of
+their voyage round the world, whereas it was the very _raison d'etre_
+of Ross's journey. Of the three years he would be away from Europe, the
+greater part was to be spent in the Antarctic regions, and he would
+only leave the ice to repair the damages to his vessels or recruit the
+health of his crew, worn out as they would probably be by fatigue and
+sickness.
+
+The vessels had been equally judiciously chosen, stronger than those of
+D'Urville, they were better fitted to resist the repeated assaults of
+the ice, and their seasoned crews had been chosen from sailors familiar
+with polar navigation.
+
+The _Erebus_ and _Terror_, under the command of Ross and Crozier, left
+England on the 29th September, 1839, and touched successively at
+Madeira, the Cape Verd Islands, St. Helena, and the Cape of Good Hope,
+where numerous magnetic observations were taken.
+
+On the 12th April Ross reached Kerguelen's Island, and there landed his
+instruments. The scientific harvest was abundant. Some fossil trees
+were extracted from the lava of which this island is formed, and some
+rich layers of coal were discovered, which have not yet been worked.
+The 29th was fixed for simultaneous magnetic observations in different
+parts of the globe, and by a singular coincidence some magnetic storms
+such as had already visited Europe, were on this very day observed in
+these latitudes. The instrument registered the same phenomena as at
+Toronto, Canada, proving the vast extent of these meteoric
+disturbances, and the incredible rapidity with which they spread.
+
+On his arrival at Hobart Town, where his old friend John Franklin was
+now governor, Ross heard of the discovery of Adelie and of Clarie Lands
+by the French, and the simultaneous survey of them by Wilkes, who had
+even left a sketch of his map of the coasts.
+
+Ross, however, decided to make for E. long. 170 degrees, because it was
+in that direction that Balleny had found an open sea extending to S.
+lat. 69 degrees. He duly reached first the Auckland and then the
+Campbell Islands, and after having, like his predecessors, tacked about
+a great deal in a sea strewn with ice-islands, he came beyond the
+sixty-third degree to the edge of the stationary ice, and on the 1st
+January, 1841, crossed the Antarctic Circle.
+
+The floating ice did not in any respect resemble that of the Arctic
+regions, as James Ross very soon discovered. It consisted of huge
+blocks, with regular and vertical walls, whilst the ice-fields, less
+compact than those of the north, move about in chaotic confusion,
+looking, to quote Wilkes' imaginative simile, like a heaving land, as
+they alternately break away from each other and reunite.
+
+To Ross the ice barrier did not present so formidable an appearance as
+it had done to the French and Americans. He did not at first venture
+upon it, however, being kept in the offing by storms. Not until the 5th
+January was he able to penetrate to S. lat. 66 degrees 45 minutes, and
+E. long. 174 degrees 16 minutes. Circumstances could not have been more
+favourable, for the sea and wind were both acting upon and loosening
+the ice, and thanks to the strength of his vessels, Ross was able to
+cut a passage. As he advanced further and further southward, the fog
+became denser and the constant snow-storms added to the already serious
+dangers of navigation. Encouraged, however, by the reflection in the
+sky of an open sea, a phenomenon which turned out to be trustworthy, he
+pushed on, and on the 9th January, after crossing 200 miles of ice he
+actually entered that open sea!
+
+On the 11th January land was sighted 100 miles ahead in S. lat. 70
+degrees 47 minutes and E. long. 172 degrees 36 minutes. This, the most
+southern land ever yet discovered, consisted of snow-clad peaks with
+glaciers sloping down to the sea, the peaks rising to a height of from
+nine to twelve thousand feet. This estimate, judging from D'Urville's
+remarks on Graham's Land, may, however, possibly be an exaggerated one.
+Here, there, and everywhere, black rocks rose up from the snow, but the
+coast was so shut in with ice that landing was impossible. This curious
+series of huge peaks received the name of Admiralty chain, and the
+country itself that of Victoria.
+
+[Illustration: Map of Victoria, discovered by James Ross. _Engraved by
+E. Morieu._]
+
+A few little islands were made out in the south-east before the vessels
+left this coast, and on the 12th January the two captains, with some of
+their officers, disembarked on one of the volcanic islets, and took
+possession of it in the name of England. Not the slightest trace of
+vegetation was found upon it.
+
+Ross soon ascertained that the eastern side of this vast land sloped
+towards the south, whilst the northern stretched away to the
+north-west. He, therefore, skirted along the eastern beach, forcing a
+passage in a southerly direction beyond the magnetic pole, which he
+places near S. lat. 76 degrees, and then returning by the west, thus
+entirely circumnavigating his new discovery, which he looked upon as a
+very large island. The mountain chain extends all along the coast. Ross
+gave to the principal peaks the names of Herschell, Whewell,
+Wheatstone, Murchison, and Melbourne. He was unable, however, on
+account of the ever-increasing quantity of ice about the coast, to make
+out the details of its outlines. On the 23rd January the seventy-fourth
+degree, the most southerly latitude ever reached, was passed.
+
+The vessels were now considerably hampered by fogs, southerly gales,
+and violent snow-storms, but they managed to continue their cruise
+along the coast, and on the 27th January the English disembarked on a
+little volcanic island in S. lat. 76 degrees 8 minutes and E. long. 168
+degrees 12 minutes, to which they gave the name of Franklin.
+
+The next day a huge mountain was seen, which rose abruptly to a height
+of 12,000 feet above a far-stretching land. The summit, of regular
+form, and completely covered with snow, was every now and then wrapped
+in a thick cloud of smoke, no less than 300 feet in diameter. Taking
+this diameter as a standard of measure, the height of the cloud, in
+shape like an inverted cone, would be about one-half of it. When this
+cloud of smoke dispersed, a bare crater was discovered, lit up by a
+bright red glow, visible even in broad daylight. The sides of the
+mountain were covered with snow up to the very crater, and it was
+impossible to make out any signs of a flow of lava.
+
+A volcano is always a magnificent spectacle, and the sight of this one
+rising up from amongst the Antarctic ice, and excelling Etna and
+Teneriffe in its marvellous activity, could not fail to make a vivid
+impression upon the minds of the explorers. The name of Erebus was
+given to it, and that of Terror to an extinct crater on the east of it,
+both titles being admirably appropriate.
+
+The two vessels continued their cruise along the northern coast of
+Victoria, until their further passage was barred by a huge mass of ice
+towering 505 feet above their masts. Behind this barrier rose another
+mountain chain, which sunk out of sight in the S.S.E., and to which the
+name of Parry was given. Ross skirted along the ice barrier in an
+easterly direction until the 2nd February, when he reached S. lat. 78
+degrees 4 minutes, the most southerly point attained on this trip,
+during which he had followed the shores of the land he had discovered
+for more than 300 miles. He left it in E. long. 191 degrees 23 minutes.
+
+But for the strong favourable winds which now blew, it seems probable
+that the vessels would never have issued in safety from amongst the
+formidable ice masses through which they finally worked their way at
+the cost of incredible exertions and fatigues, and in face of incessant
+danger.
+
+On the 15th February yet another attempt was made in S. lat. 76 degrees
+to reach the magnetic pole; but further progress was barred by land in
+S. lat. 76 degrees 12 minutes and E. long. 164 degrees, i.e. sixty-five
+ordinary miles from the position assigned to it (the magnetic pole) by
+Ross, and the appearance of this land was forbidding and the sea so
+rough that the explorer gave up all idea of continuing his researches
+on shore.
+
+After identifying the islands discovered in 1839 by Balleny, Ross found
+himself on the 6th March amongst the mountains alluded to by Wilkes.
+
+"On the 4th March," says Ross's narrative, "they recrossed the
+Antarctic Circle, and being necessarily close by the eastern extreme of
+those _patches of land_ which Lieut. Wilkes has called 'the Antarctic
+Continent,' and having reached the latitude on the 5th, they steered
+directly for them; and at noon on the 6th, the ship being exactly over
+the centre of this mountain range, they could obtain no soundings with
+600 fathoms of line; and having traversed a space of eighty miles in
+every direction from this spot, during beautiful clear weather, which
+extended their vision widely around, were obliged to confess that this
+position, at least, of the pseudo-antarctic continent, and the nearly
+200 miles of barrier represented to extend from it, have no real
+existence."[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The Editor of the _Literary Gazette_ adds the following
+note. "Lieutenant Wilkes may have mistaken some clouds or fog-banks,
+which in these regions are very likely to assume the appearance of land
+to inexperienced eyes, for this continent and range of lofty mountains.
+If so, the error is to be regretted, as it must tend to throw discredit
+on other portions of his discoveries, which have a more substantial
+foundation."--_Trans._]
+
+The expedition got back to Tasmania without having a single case of
+sickness on board or sustaining the slightest damage. The vessels were
+here refitted, and the instruments regulated before starting on a
+second trip, on which Sydney and Island's Bay, New Zealand, and
+Chatham, were the first stations touched at by Ross to make magnetic
+observations. On the 18th December, in S. lat. 62 degrees 40 minutes
+and E. long, 146 degrees, ice was encountered 300 miles further north
+than in the preceding year. The vessels had arrived too early, but
+Ross, nevertheless, endeavoured to break through this formidable
+barrier. After penetrating for 300 miles he was stopped by masses so
+compact that it was impossible to go further, and he did not cross the
+Antarctic Circle until the 1st January, 1842. On the 19th of the same
+month the two vessels encountered the most violent storm just as they
+were entering an open sea; the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ lost their helms,
+floating ice washed over them, and for twenty-six hours they were in
+danger of going down.
+
+The detention of the expedition amongst the ice lasted no less than
+forty-six days, and not until the 22nd did Ross reach the great barrier
+of stationary ice, which was considerably lower beyond Erebus, where it
+was no less than 200 feet high. When Ross came to it this year it was
+only 107 feet high, and it was 150 miles further east than it had been
+on the previous expedition. The acquisition of this piece of
+geographical information was the only result of this arduous campaign,
+extending over 136 days, and greatly excelling in dramatic interest the
+preceding expedition.
+
+The vessels now made for Cape Horn, and sailed up the coast as far as
+Rio de Janeiro, where they found everything of which they stood in
+need. As soon as they had laid in a stock of provisions they again put
+to sea and reached the Falkland Islands, whence, on the 17th December,
+1842, they started on their third trip.
+
+The first ice was this time met with near Clarence Island, and on the
+25th December Ross found his further progress barred by it. He then
+made for the New Shetland Islands, completed the survey of Louis
+Philippe and Joinville Lands, discovered by Dumont d'Urville, named
+Mts. Haddington and Parry, ascertained that Louis Philippe's Land is
+only a large island, and visited Bransfield Strait, separating it from
+Shetland. Such were the marvellous results obtained by James Ross in
+his three expeditions.
+
+To assign to the three explorers, whose work in the Antarctic regions
+we have been reviewing, his just meed of praise, we may say that
+D'Urville first discovered the Antarctic continent; Wilkes traced its
+shores for a considerable distance, for we cannot fail to recognize the
+resemblance between his map and that of the French navigator; and that
+James Ross visited the most southerly and most interesting part.
+
+But is there such a continent after all? D'Urville was not quite sure
+about it, and Ross did not believe in it. We must leave the decision of
+this great question to the later explorers who were to follow in the
+footsteps of the intrepid sailors whose voyages and discoveries we have
+related.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+THE NORTH POLE.
+
+Anjou and Wrangell--The "polynia"--John Ross's first expedition--
+Baffin's Bay closed--Edward Parry's discoveries on his first voyage--
+The survey of Hudson's Bay, and the discovery of Fury and Hecla
+Straits--Parry's third voyage--Fourth voyage--On the ice in sledges in
+the open sea--Franklin's first trip--Incredible sufferings of the
+explorers--Second expedition--John Ross--Four winters amongst the ice--
+Dease and Simpson's expedition.
+
+
+We have more than once alluded to the great impulse given to
+geographical science by Peter I. One of the earliest results of this
+impulse was the discovery by Behring of the straits separating Asia
+from America, and the most important was the survey thirty years later
+of the Liakhov Archipelago, or New Siberia.
+
+In 1770 a merchant named Liakhov noticed a large herd of reindeer
+coming across the ice from the north, and he reflected that they could
+only have come from a country where there were pastures enough to
+support them. A month later he started in a sledge, and after a journey
+of fifty miles he discovered between the mouths of the Lena and
+Indighirka three large islands, the vast deposits of fossil ivory on
+which have since become celebrated all over the world.
+
+In 1809 Hedenstroem received instructions to make a map of this new
+discovery. He made several attempts to cross the frozen ocean on a
+sledge, but was always turned back by ice which would not bear him. He
+came to the conclusion that there must be an open sea beyond, and he
+founded this opinion on the immense quantity of warm water which flows
+into the Arctic Ocean from the great rivers of Asia.
+
+In March, 1821, Lieutenant (afterwards Admiral) Anjou crossed the ice
+to within forty-two miles of the north of the island of Kotelnoi, and
+in N. lat. 76 degrees 38 minutes saw a vapour which led him to believe
+in the existence of an open sea. In a second trip he actually saw this
+sea with its drifting ice, and came back convinced of the impossibility
+of going further in a sledge on account of the thinness of the ice.
+
+Whilst Anjou was thus employed, another naval officer, Lieutenant
+Wrangell, collected some important traditions about the existence of
+land the other side of Cape Yakan.
+
+From a Tchouktchi chief he learnt that in fine weather--though never in
+the winter--from the coast and some reefs at the mouth of a river
+mountains covered with snow could be seen far away in the north; and
+that in former days when the sea was frozen over reindeer used to come
+from there. The chief had himself once seen a herd of reindeer on their
+way back to the north by this route and he had followed them in a
+sledge for a whole day until the state of the ice compelled him to give
+up the experiment.
+
+His father had told him, too, that a Tchouktchi had once gone there
+with a few companions in a skin boat, but he did not know what they had
+discovered or what had become of them. He was sure that the land in the
+north was inhabited, because a dead whale had once been washed on to
+Aratane Island with spears tipped with slate in its flesh, and the
+Tchouktchis never used such weapons.
+
+These facts were very curious, and they increased Wrangell's desire to
+penetrate to the unknown northern districts; but the truth of all the
+rumours was not verified until our own day.
+
+Between 1820 and 1824 Wrangell made four expeditions in sledges from
+the mouth of the Kolyma, which he made his headquarters, first
+exploring the coast to Cape Tchelagskoi, and enduring thirty-five
+degrees of cold; and in his second trip trying how far he could go
+across the ice, an experiment resulting in a journey of 400 miles from
+the land. In the third year (1822), Wrangell started in March with a
+view to verifying the report of a native who said he had seen land in
+the offing. He now came to an icefield, on which he advanced safely for
+a long distance, when it began to be less compact and was soon not
+solid enough to bear many sledges, so two small ones were selected, on
+which were packed a wherry, some planks, and some tools. The explorer
+then ventured on some melting ice which broke under his feet.
+
+[Illustration: "Two small sledges were selected."]
+
+"At the outset," says Wrangell, "I had to make way for seven wersts
+across a bed of brine; further on appeared a surface furrowed with
+great _crevasses_, which we could only succeed in clearing by the help
+of our planks. I noticed in this part several small mounds of ice in
+such a liquefying condition that the slightest touch would suffice to
+break it and convert the mound into a round slough. The ice upon which
+we were travelling was without consistency, was but a foot in
+thickness, and--what was more--was riddled with holes.... I could only
+compare the appearance of the sea, at this stage, to an immense morass;
+and indeed the muddy water which issued from these thousands of
+crevasses, opening up in every direction, the melting snow mixed with
+earth and sand, those little mounds whence numerous streamlets were
+issuing,--all these combined to make the illusion perfect."
+
+Wrangell had advanced some 140 miles, and it was the open sea or the
+_polynia_--as he calls vast expanses of water--north of Siberia, the
+outskirts of which he had reached, the same in fact as that already
+sighted by Leontjew in 1764, and Hedenstroem in 1810.
+
+On his fourth voyage Wrangell and his small party of followers started
+from Cape Yakan, the nearest point to the Arctic regions, and, after
+passing Cape Tchelagskoi, made for the north; but a violent storm broke
+up the ice, there only three feet thick, and involved the explorers in
+the greatest danger. Now dragged across some large unbroken slab, now
+wet to the waist on a moving plank, sometimes above and sometimes under
+water, or moored to a block serving as a ferryboat, which the swimming
+dogs dragged along, they at last succeeded in crossing the shifting
+reverberating ice and regaining the land, owing their life to the
+strength and agility of their teams of dogs alone. Thus closed the last
+attempt made to reach the districts north of Siberia.
+
+The Arctic calotte[1] was meanwhile being attacked from the other side
+with equal energy and yet more perseverance. It will be remembered with
+what untiring enthusiasm the famous north-west passage had been sought.
+No sooner had the peace of 1815 necessitated the disarmament of
+numerous English vessels and set free their officers on half-pay, than
+the Admiralty, unwilling to let experienced seamen rust in idleness,
+sought for them some employment. It was under these circumstances that
+the search for the north-west passage was resumed.
+
+[Footnote 1: The word _calotte_ here used by Verne is untranslateable.
+It signifies, literally, a particular kind of cap, frequently a monk's
+cap or cowl.--_Trans._]
+
+The _Alexander_, 252 tons, and the _Isabel_, 385, under command of the
+experienced officers, John Ross and Lieutenant Parry, with James Ross,
+Back, and Belcher, who were to win honour in Arctic explorations
+amongst their subordinates, were sent by the Government to explore
+Baffin's Bay and set sail on the 18th April. After touching at the
+Shetland Islands, and seeking in vain for the submerged land seen by
+Bass in N. lat. 57 degrees 28 minutes, the explorers came on the 26th
+May to the first ice, and on the 2nd June surveyed the western coast of
+Greenland, hitherto very imperfectly laid down in maps, finding it
+greatly encumbered by ice. Indeed the governor of the Dutch settlement
+of Whale Island told them that the severity of the winter months had
+been steadily increasing during the eleven years of his residence in
+the country.
+
+Hitherto it had been supposed that the country was uninhabited beyond
+75 degrees N. lat., and the travellers were therefore greatly surprised
+to see a whole tribe of Esquimaux arrive by way of the ice. They knew
+nothing of any race but their own, and stared at the English without
+daring to touch them, one of them even addressing to the vessels in a
+grave and solemn voice the inquiries, Who are you? Whence do you come?
+From the sun or from the moon?
+
+[Illustration: Esquimaux family. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
+
+Although in many respects far inferior to the Esquimaux who had become
+to some extent civilized by long intercourse with Europeans, the
+new-comers understood the use of iron, of which a few of them had even
+succeeded in making knives. This iron as far as the English could
+gather was dug out of a mountain. It was probably of meteoric origin.
+
+As public opinion in England subsequently confirmed, Ross, in spite of
+qualities as a naval officer of the highest order, showed extraordinary
+apathy and levity on this voyage, appearing not to trouble himself in
+the least about the geographical problems for the solution of which the
+expedition was organized. He passed Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds and
+Smith's Strait, opening out of Baffin's Bay, without examining them,
+the last named at so great a distance that he did not even recognize
+it. Still worse than that was his conduct later. Cruising down the
+western shores of Baffin's Bay a long deep gulf no less than fifty
+miles across gradually came in sight of the eager explorers, yet when
+on the 29th August the two vessels had sailed up it for thirty miles
+only Ross gave orders to tack about, on the ground that he distinctly
+saw at the further end a chain of lofty mountains to which he gave the
+name of Croker. His officers did not share his opinion; they could not
+see so much as the slightest sign of a hill, for the very excellent
+reason that the gulf they had entered was really Lancaster Sound, so
+named by Baffin, and connecting his bay with the western Arctic Ocean.
+
+The same sort of thing occurred again and again in the voyage along
+this deeply indented coast, the vessels keeping so far off shore that
+not a detail could be made out. Thus it came about that Cumberland Bay
+was passed on the 1st October without any survey of that most important
+feature of Davis Strait, and Ross returned to England, having literally
+turned his back on the glory awaiting him.
+
+When accused of apathy and neglect of duty, Ross replied with supreme
+indifference, "I trust, as I believe myself, that the objects of the
+voyage have been in every important point accomplished; that I have
+proved the existence of a bay, from Disco to Cumberland Strait, and set
+at rest for ever the question of a north-west passage in this
+direction."
+
+It would have been impossible to make a more complete mistake. But
+fortunately the failure of this expedition did not in the least
+discourage other explorers. Some saw in it a brilliant confirmation of
+the venerable Baffin's discovery, others looked upon the innumerable
+inlets, with their deep waters and strong currents, as something more
+than mere bays. They were straits, and all hope of the discovery of the
+north-west passage was not yet lost.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Arctic Regions. _Engraved by E. Morieu._]
+
+These suggestions so far weighed with the English Admiralty as to lead
+to the equipment of two small vessels, the bomb-vessel _Hecla_ and the
+brigantine _Griper_, which left the Thames on the 5th May, 1819, under
+command of Lieutenant William Parry, whose opinion as to the existence
+of the north-west passage had not coincided with that of his chief. The
+vessels reached Lancaster Sound without meeting with any special
+adventures, and after a delay of seven days amongst the ice which
+encumbered the sea for a distance of eighty miles, they entered the
+supposed Bay "shut in by a mountain chain" of John Ross, to find not
+only that this mountain chain did not exist, but that the bay was a
+strait more than 310 fathoms deep, where the influence of the tide
+could be felt. The temperature of the water rose some ten degrees, and
+in the course of a single day no less than eighty full-grown whales
+were seen.
+
+On the 31st July the explorers landed on the shores of Possession Bay,
+visited by them the previous year, and found there their own
+footprints, a sign of the small quantity of snow and hoar frost which
+had fallen during the winter. All hearts beat high when with a
+favourable wind and all sails set the two vessels entered Lancaster
+Sound.
+
+"It is more easy," says Parry, "to imagine than to describe the almost
+breathless anxiety which was now visible in every countenance, while,
+as the breeze continued to a fresh gale, we ran quickly up the sound.
+The mast-heads were crowded by the officers and men during the whole
+afternoon; and an unconcerned observer, if any could have been
+unconcerned on such an occasion, would have been amused by the
+eagerness with which the various reports from the crow's-nest were
+received; all, however, hitherto favourable to our most sanguine
+hopes."
+
+The two coasts extended in a parallel line as far as the eye could
+reach, that is to say for a distance exceeding fifty miles, and the
+height of the waves together with the absence of ice combined to
+convince the English that they had reached the open sea by way of the
+long sought passage, when an island framed in masses of ice checked
+their further progress.
+
+An arm of the sea, however, some twelve leagues wide, opened on the
+south, and by it the explorers hoped to find a passage less encumbered
+with ice. Strange to say, as they had advanced in a westerly direction
+through Lancaster Sound, the vibrations of the pendulum had increased,
+whilst now it appeared to have lost all motion, and "we now therefore
+witnessed for the first time the curious phenomenon of the directive
+power of the needle becoming so weak as to be completely overcome by
+the attraction of the ship; so that the needle might now be properly
+said to point to the north pole of the ship."
+
+The arm of the sea widened as the vessels advanced in a westerly
+direction, and the shores seemed to bend sensibly towards the
+south-west, but after making some 120 miles further progress was again
+barred by ice. The explorers therefore returned to Barrow's Strait, of
+which Lancaster Sound is but the entry, and once more entered the sea,
+now free from the ice, by which it had been encumbered a few days
+previously.
+
+In W. long. 92 degrees 1 minute 4 seconds was discovered an inlet
+called Wellington Channel, about eight leagues wide, entirely free from
+ice and apparently not bounded by any land. The existence of these
+numerous straits led the explorers to the conclusion that they were in
+the midst of a vast archipelago, an opinion daily receiving fresh
+confirmation. The dense fogs, however, made navigation difficult, and
+the number of little islands and shallows increased whilst the ice
+became more compact. Parry, however, was not to be deterred from
+pressing on towards the west, and presently his sailors found, on a
+large island, to which the name of Bathurst was given, the remains of
+some Esquimaux huts and traces of the former presence of reindeer.
+Magnetic observations were now taken, pointing to the conclusion that
+the magnetic pole had been passed on the north.
+
+Another large island, that of Melville, soon came in sight, and in
+spite of the fogs and ice the expedition succeeded in passing W. long.
+110 degrees, thus earning the reward of 100_l_. sterling promised by
+the English Government. A promontory near Melville Island was named
+Cape Munificence, whilst a good harbour close by was called Hecla and
+Griper Bay. It was in Winter Harbour at the end of this bay that the
+vessels passed the winter. "Dismantled for the most part," says Parry,
+"the yards however being laid for walls and roofed in with thick
+wadding tilts, they were sheltered from the snow, whilst stoves and
+ovens were fixed inside." Hunting was useless, and resulted in nothing
+but the frost-biting of the limbs of some of the hunters, as Melville
+Island was deserted at the end of October by all animals except wolves
+and foxes. To get through the long winter without dying of ennui was no
+easy matter, but the officers hit upon the plan of setting up a
+theatre, the first representation in which was given on the 6th
+November, the day of the disappearance of the sun for three months. A
+special piece was given on Christmas day, in which allusion was made to
+the situation of the vessels, and a weekly paper was started called the
+_North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle_, which with Sabine, as
+editor, run into twenty-one numbers, all printed on the return to
+Europe of the expedition.
+
+In January scrofula broke out, and with such virulence as to cause
+considerable alarm, but the evil was soon checked by skilful treatment
+and the daily distribution of mustard and cress, which Parry had
+managed to grow in boxes round his stove.
+
+On the 7th February the sun reappeared, and although many months must
+elapse before it would be possible to leave Melville Island,
+preparations for a start were at once begun. On the 30th April the
+thermometer rose to zero, and the sailors taking this low temperature
+for summer wanted to leave off their winter clothes. The first
+ptarmigan appeared on the 12th May, and on the following day were seen
+traces of reindeer and of musk goats on their way to the north; but
+what caused the greatest delight and surprise to the crews was the fall
+of rain on the 24th May.
+
+"We had been so unaccustomed to see water naturally in a fluid state at
+all, and much less to see it fall from the heavens, that such an
+occurrence became a matter of considerable curiosity, and I believe
+every person on board hastened on deck to witness so interesting as
+well as novel a phenomenon."
+
+[Illustration: Rain as a novel phenomenon.]
+
+During the first fortnight in June, Parry, accompanied by some of his
+officers, made an excursion to the most northerly part of Melville
+Island. On his return, vegetation was everywhere to be seen, the ice
+was beginning to melt, and it was evident that a start could soon be
+made. The vessels began to move on the 1st August, but the ice had not
+yet broken up in the offing, and they got no further than the eastern
+extremity of Melville Island, of which the furthest point reached by
+Parry was in N. lat. 113 degrees 46 minutes 13 seconds and W. long. 113
+degrees 46 minutes 43 seconds. The voyage back was unmarked by any
+special incident, and the expedition got back to England towards the
+middle of November.
+
+The results of this voyage were numerous and important. Not only had a
+vast extent of the Arctic regions been surveyed; but physical and
+magnetic observations had been taken, and many new details collected on
+their climate and animal and vegetable life. In fact in a single trip
+Parry did more than was accomplished in thirty years by all who
+followed in his steps.
+
+Satisfied with the important results obtained by him, the Admiralty
+appointed Parry to the command in 1821 of the _Hecla_ and the _Fury_,
+the latter built on the model of the former. On this new trip the
+explorer surveyed with the greatest care the shores of Hudson's Bay and
+the coast of the peninsula of Melville, not to be confounded with the
+island of the same name. The winter was passed on Winter Island on the
+eastern coast of this peninsula, and the same amusements were resorted
+to which had succeeded so well on the previous expedition, supplemented
+most effectively by the arrival on the 1st February of a party of
+Esquimaux from across the ice. Their huts, which had not been
+discovered by the English, were built on the beach; and numerous visits
+paid to them during the eighteen months passed on Winter Island gave a
+better notion than had ever before been obtained of the manners,
+customs, character, &c., of this singular people.
+
+The thorough survey of the Straits of Fury and Hecla, separating the
+peninsula of Melville from Cockburn Island, involved the passing of a
+second winter in the Arctic regions, and though the quarters were now
+more comfortable, time dragged heavily, for the officers and men were
+dreadfully disappointed at having to turn back just as they had thought
+to start for Behring's Strait. On the 12th August the ice broke up, and
+Parry wanted to send his men to Europe, and himself complete by land
+the exploration of the districts he had discovered, but Captain Lyon
+dissuaded him from a plan so desperate. The vessels therefore returned
+to England with all hands after an absence of twenty-seven months,
+having lost but five men, although two consecutive winters had been
+spent in the Arctic regions.
+
+Although the results of the second voyage were not equal to those of
+the first, some of them were beyond price. It was now known that the
+American coast did not extend beyond the 70 degrees N. lat., and that
+the Atlantic was connected with the Arctic Ocean by an immense number
+of straits and channels, most of them--the Fury, Hecla, and Fox, for
+instance--obstructed with ice brought down by the currents. Whilst the
+ice barrier on the south-east of Melville Peninsula appeared permanent,
+that at Regent's Inlet was evidently the reverse. It might, therefore,
+be possible to penetrate through it to the Polar basin, and it was with
+this end in view that the _Fury_ and _Hecla_ were once more equipped,
+and placed under the orders of Parry.
+
+This voyage was the least fortunate of any undertaken by this skilful
+seaman, not on account of any falling off in his work, but because he
+was the victim of unlucky accidents and unfavourable circumstances.
+Meeting, for instance, with an unusual quantity of ice in Baffin's Bay,
+he had the greatest trouble to reach Prince Regent's inlet. Had he
+arrived three weeks earlier he would probably have been able to land on
+the American coast, but as it was he was obliged to make immediate
+preparations for going into winter-quarters.
+
+It was no very formidable matter to this experienced officer to spend a
+winter under the Polar circle. He knew what precautions to take to
+preserve the health of his crews, to keep himself well, and what
+occupations and amusements would best relieve the tedium of a three
+months' night. Races between the officers, masquerades and theatrical
+entertainments, with the temperature maintained at 50 degrees
+Fahrenheit kept all the men healthy and happy until the thaw, which set
+in on the 20th July, 1825, enabled Parry to resume exploring
+operations.
+
+He now skirted along the eastern coast of Prince Regent's Inlet, but
+the floating ice gathered about the vessels and drove them on shore.
+The _Fury_ was so much damaged that though four pumps were constantly
+at work she could hardly be kept afloat, and Parry was trying to get
+her repaired under shelter of a huge block of ice when a tempest came
+on, broke in pieces the extemporary dock and flung the vessel again
+upon the shore, where she had to be abandoned. Her crew were received
+on the _Hecla_, which, after such an accident as this, was of course
+obliged to return to England.
+
+Parry's tempered spirit was not broken even by this last disaster. If
+the Arctic Ocean could not be reached from Baffin's Bay, were there not
+other routes still to be attempted? The vast tract of ocean between
+Greenland and Spitsbergen, for instance, might turn out less dangerous,
+freer as it of necessity would be from the huge icebergs which gather
+about the Arctic coasts. The earliest expeditions in these latitudes of
+which we have any record are those of Scoresby, who long cruised about
+them in search of whales. In 1806 he penetrated in E. long. 16 degrees
+(reckoning from Paris), beyond Spitzbergen, i.e. to N. lat. 81 degrees
+30 minutes, where he saw ice stretching away in the E.N.E., whilst
+between that and the S.E. the sea was open for a distance of thirty
+miles. There was no land within 100 miles. It seems a matter of regret
+that the whaler did not take advantage of the favourable state of the
+sea to have advanced yet further north, when he might have made some
+important discovery, perhaps even have reached the Pole itself.
+
+Parry now resolved to do what the exigencies of his profession had
+rendered impossible to Scoresby, and leaving London on the _Hecla_ on
+the 27th March, 1827, he reached Lapland in safety, and having at
+Hammerfest embarked dogs, reindeer, and canoes, he proceeded on his way
+to Spitzbergen. Port Snweerenburg, where he wished to touch, was still
+shut in with ice; and against this barrier the _Hecla_ struggled until
+the 24th May, when Parry left her in Hinlopen Strait, and advanced
+northwards with Ross, Crozier, a dozen men, and provisions for
+seventy-two days in a couple of canoes. After leaving a depot of
+provisions at Seven Islands he packed his food and boats on sledges
+specially constructed for the occasion, hoping to cross in them the
+barrier of solid ice, and to find beyond a navigable if not an entirely
+open sea. The ice did not, however, as Parry expected, turn out to form
+a homogeneous mass. There were here and there vast gaps to be forded or
+steep hills to be climbed, and in four days the explorers only advanced
+about eight miles in a northerly direction. On the 2nd July, in a dense
+fog, the thermometer marked 1 degree 9' above zero in the shade, and 8
+degrees 3' in the sun; and as may be imagined the march across the
+broken surface, gaping everywhere with fissures, was terribly arduous,
+whilst the difficulties were aggravated by the continual glare from the
+snow and ice. In spite, however, of all obstacles the party pressed
+bravely on, and on the 20th July found they had got no further than N.
+lat. 82 degrees 37 minutes, i.e. only about five miles beyond the point
+reached three days previously. Now, as they had undoubtedly made at
+least about fourteen miles in the interval, it was evident that the ice
+on which they were was being drifted southwards by a strong current.
+
+Parry at first concealed this most discouraging fact from his men; but
+it soon became evident to every one that no progress was being made,
+but the slight difference between their own speed as they struggled
+over the many obstacles in their path and that of the current bearing
+the ice-field in the opposite direction. Moreover, the expedition now
+came to a place where the half-broken ice was not fit to bear the
+weight of the men or of the sledges. It was in fact nothing more than
+an immense accumulation of blocks of ice, which, tossed about by the
+waves, made a deafening noise as they crashed against each other;
+provisions too were running short, the men were discouraged, Ross was
+hurt, Parry was suffering from inflammation of the eyes, and the wind
+had veered into a contrary direction, driving the explorers southwards.
+There was nothing for it but to turn back.
+
+This venturesome trip, throughout which the thermometer had not sunk
+beneath 2 degrees 2, might have succeeded had it been undertaken a
+little earlier in the season, for then the explorers could have
+penetrated beyond 82 degrees 4 minutes. In any case they would
+certainly not have had to turn back on account of rain, snow, and damp,
+all signs of the summer thaw.
+
+When Parry got back to the _Hecla_, he found that she had been in the
+greatest danger. Driven before a violent gale, her chains had been
+broken by the ice, and she had been flung upon the beach, and run
+aground. When got off, she had been taken to Waygat Strait. All dangers
+past, however, the explorers got back safely in the rescued vessel to
+the Orkneys, where they landed, and whence they returned to London,
+arriving there on the 30th September.
+
+Whilst Parry was seeking a passage to the Pacific, by way of Baffin's
+or Hudson's Bay, several expeditions were organized to complete the
+discoveries of Mackenzie, and survey the North American coast. These
+expeditions were not fraught with any great danger, and the results
+might be of the most vital importance alike to geographical and
+nautical science. The command of the first was entrusted to Franklin
+afterwards so justly celebrated, with whom were associated Dr.
+Richardson, George Back, then a midshipman in the royal navy, and two
+common seamen.
+
+The explorers arrived on the 30th August at York Factory on the shores
+of Hudson's Bay, and having obtained from the fur-hunters all the
+information necessary to their success, they started again on the 9th
+September, reaching Cumberland House, 690 miles further, on the 22nd
+October. The season was now nearly at an end, but Franklin and Back
+nevertheless succeeded in penetrating to Fort Chippeway on the western
+side of Lake Athabasca, where they proposed making preparations for the
+expedition of the ensuing summer. This trip of 857 miles was
+accomplished in the depth of winter with the thermometer at between 40
+degrees and 50 degrees below zero.
+
+Early in spring, Dr. Richardson joined the rest of the party at Fort
+Chippeway, and all started together on the 18th July, 1820, in the hope
+of reaching comfortable quarters at the mouth of the Coppermine before
+the bad season set in; Franklin and his people did not, however, make
+sufficient allowance for the difficulties of the route or for the
+obstacles resulting from the severity of the weather, and it took them
+till the 20th August to cross the waterfalls, shallows, lakes, rivers,
+and portages which impeded their progress. Game too was scarce. At the
+first appearance of ice on the ponds the Canadian guides began to
+complain; and when flocks of wild geese were seen flying southwards
+they refused to go any further. Annoyed as he was at this absence of
+good will in the people in his service, Franklin was compelled to give
+up his schemes, and when 550 miles from Fort Chippeway, in N. lat. 64
+degrees 28 minutes, W. long. 118 degrees 6 minutes, he built on the
+banks of Winter River a wooden house, which he called Fort Enterprise.
+
+Here the explorers collected as much food as they could, manufacturing
+with reindeer flesh what is known throughout North America as
+_pemmican_. At first the number of reindeer seen was considerable; no
+less than 2000 were once sighted in a single day, but this was only a
+proof that they were migrating to more clement latitudes. The
+_pemmican_ prepared from eighty reindeer and the fish obtained in
+Winter River both run short before the expedition was able to proceed.
+Whole tribes of Indians, on hearing of the arrival of the whites,
+collected about the camp, greatly harassing the explorers by their
+begging, and soon exhausted the supply of blankets, tobacco, &c., which
+had been brought as means of barter.
+
+Disappointed at the non-arrival of reinforcements with provisions,
+Franklin sent Back with an escort of Canadians to Fort Chippeway on the
+18th October.
+
+"I had the pleasure," says Back, writing after his return, "of meeting
+my friends all in good health, after an absence of nearly five months,
+during which I travelled 1104 miles in snow-shoes, and had no other
+covering at night in the woods than a blanket and deerskin, with the
+thermometer frequently at 40 degrees, and once at 57 degrees below
+zero, and sometimes passing two or three days without tasting food."
+
+Those who remained at the fort also suffered terribly from cold, the
+thermometer sinking three degrees lower than it had done when Parry was
+at Melville Island, nine degrees nearer the pole. Not only did the men
+suffer from the extreme severity of the cold, but the trees were frozen
+to the pith, and axes broke against them without making so much as a
+notch.
+
+Two interpreters from Hudson's Bay had accompanied Back to Fort
+Enterprise, one of whom had a daughter said to be the loveliest
+creature ever seen, and who, though only sixteen, had already been
+married twice. One of the English officers took her portrait, to the
+terrible distress of her mother, who feared that if the "great chief of
+England" saw the inanimate representation he would fall in love with
+the original.
+
+On the 14th June the Coppermine River was sufficiently free from ice to
+be navigable, and although their provisions were all but exhausted, the
+explorers embarked upon it. As it fortunately turned out, however, game
+was very plentiful on the green banks of the river, and enough musk
+oxen were killed to feed the whole party.
+
+The mouth of the Coppermine was reached on the 18th July, when the
+Indians, afraid of meeting their enemies, the Esquimaux, at once
+returned to Fort Enterprise, whilst the Canadians scarcely dared to
+launch their frail boats on the angry sea. Franklin at last succeeded
+in persuading them to run the risk; but he could not get them to go
+further than Cape Turn-again in N. lat. 68 degrees 30 minutes, a
+promontory at the opening of a deep gulf dotted with islands, to which
+the leader of the expedition gave the name of Coronation, in memory of
+the accession of George IV.
+
+Franklin had begun to ascend Hood River, when he was stopped by a
+cataract 250 feet high, compelling him to make his way overland across
+a barren, unknown district, and through snow more than two feet deep.
+The fatigue and suffering involved in this return journey can be more
+easily imagined than described; suffice it to say that the party
+arrived on the 11th October in a state of complete exhaustion--having
+eaten nothing for five days--at Fort Enterprise, which they found
+utterly deserted. Ill and without food, there seemed to be nothing left
+for Franklin to do but to die. The next day, however, he set to work to
+look for the Indians, and those of his party who had started before
+him, but the snow was so thick he had to return without accomplishing
+anything. For the next eighteen days life was supported by a kind of
+bouilli made from the bones and the skin of the game killed the
+previous year, and at last, on the 29th October, Dr. Richardson arrived
+with John Hepburn, only looking thin and worn, and scarcely able to
+speak above a whisper. It seemed as if they were doomed! We quote the
+following from Desborough Cooley:--
+
+"Dr. Richardson had now a melancholy tale to relate. For the first two
+days his party had nothing whatever to eat. On the third day, Michel
+arrived with a hare and partridge, which afforded each a small morsel.
+Then another day passed without food. On the 11th, Michel offered them
+some flesh, which he said was part of a wolf; but they afterwards
+became convinced that it was the flesh of one of the unfortunate men
+who had left Captain Franklin's party to return to Dr. Richardson.
+Michel was daily growing more insolent and shy, and it was strongly
+suspected that he had a hidden supply of meat for his own use. On the
+20th, while Hepburn was cutting wood near the tent, he heard the report
+of a gun, and looking towards the spot saw Michel dart into the tent.
+Mr. Hood was found dead; a ball had entered the back part of his head,
+and there could be no doubt but that Michel was the murderer. He now
+became more mistrustful and outrageous than before; and as his strength
+was superior to that of the English who survived, and he was well
+armed, they became satisfied that there was no safety for them but in
+his death. 'I determined,' says Dr. Richardson, 'as I was thoroughly
+convinced of the necessity of such a dreadful act, to take the whole
+responsibility upon myself; and, upon Michel coming up, I put an end to
+his life by shooting him through the head!'"
+
+Many of the Indians who had accompanied Richardson and Hepburn had died
+of hunger, and the two leaders were on the brink of the grave when, on
+the 7th November, three Indians, sent by Back, brought them help. As
+soon as they felt a little stronger, the two Englishmen made for the
+Company's settlement, where they found Back, to whom they had twice
+owed their lives on this one expedition.
+
+The results of this journey, in which 5500 miles had been traversed,
+were of the greatest importance to geographical, magnetic, and
+meteorological science, and the coast of America had been surveyed as
+far as Cape Turn-again.
+
+In spite of all the fatigue and suffering so bravely borne, the
+explorers were quite ready to make yet another attempt to reach the
+shores of the Polar Sea, and at the end of 1823 Franklin received
+instructions to survey the coast west of Mackenzie River, all the
+agents of the Company being ordered to supply his party with
+provisions, boats, guides, and everything else they might require.
+
+After a hearty reception at New York, Franklin went to Albany, by way
+of the Hudson, ascended the Niagara from Lewiston to the famous Falls,
+made his way thence to Fort St. George on the Ontario, crossed the
+lake, landed at York, the capital of Upper Canada (_sic_), passed Lakes
+Siamese, Huron, and Superior, where he was joined by twenty-four
+Canadians, and on the 29th June, 1825, came to Lake Methye, then alive
+with boats.
+
+Whilst Dr. Richardson was surveying the eastern coast of Great Bear
+Lake, and Back was superintending the preparations for the winter,
+Franklin reached the mouth of the Mackenzie, the navigation of which
+was very easy, no obstacles being met with, except in the Delta. The
+sea was free from ice, and black and white whales and seals were
+playing about at the top of the water. Franklin landed on the small
+island of Garry, the position of which he determined as N. lat. 69
+degrees 2 minutes, W. long. 135 degrees 41 minutes, a valuable fact,
+proving as it did, how much confidence was to be placed in the
+observations of Mackenzie.
+
+The return journey was made without difficulty, and on the 5th
+September the explorers arrived at the fort to which Dr. Richardson had
+given the name of Franklin. The winter was passed in festivities, such
+as balls, &c., in which Canadians, English, Scotch, French, Esquimaux,
+and Indians of various tribes took part.
+
+On the 22nd June a fresh start was made, and on the 4th July the fort
+was reached where the Mackenzie divides into two branches. There the
+expedition separated into two parties, one going to the east and the
+other to the west, to explore the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Franklin
+and his companions had hardly left the river when he met near a large
+bay a numerous party of Esquimaux, who at first testified great delight
+at the rencontre, but soon became obstreperous, and tried to carry off
+the boat. Only by the exercise of wonderful patience and tact were the
+English able to avert bloodshed on this emergency.
+
+Franklin now surveyed and gave the name of Clarence to the river
+separating the English from the Russian territories, and a little
+further on was discovered another stream, which he called the Canning.
+On the 16th April, finding he had only made half of the distance
+between Mackenzie River and Icy Cape, though the winter was rapidly
+approaching, Franklin turned back and embarked on the beautiful Peel
+River, which he mistook for that of Mackenzie, not discovering his
+error till he came in sight of a chain of mountains on the east. On the
+21st September he got back to the fort, after having in the course of
+three months traversed 2048 miles, and surveyed 372 miles of the
+American coast.
+
+Richardson meanwhile had advanced into much deeper water with far less
+floating ice, and had met with a great many Esquimaux of mild and
+hospitable manners. He surveyed Liverpool and Franklin Bays, and
+discovered opposite the mouth of the Coppermine a tract of land
+separated from the continent by a channel not more than twenty miles
+wide, to which he gave the name of Wollaston. His boats arrived at
+Coronation Gulf, explored on the previous trip, on the 7th August; and
+on the 1st September they got back to Fort Franklin, without having
+sustained any damage.
+
+In dwelling on Parry's voyages, we have, for the time, turned aside
+from those made at the same time by Ross, whose extraordinary
+exploration of Baffin's Bay had brought upon him the censure of the
+Admiralty, and who was anxious to regain his reputation for skill and
+courage. Though the Government had lost confidence in him, he won the
+esteem of a rich ship-owner, who did not hesitate to entrust to him the
+command of the steamship _Victory_, on which he started for Baffin's
+Bay on the 25th May, 1830.
+
+For four years nothing was heard of the courageous navigator, but on
+his return, at the end of that time, it turned out that his voyage had
+been as rich in discoveries as had been Parry's first trip. Ross,
+entering Prince Regent's Inlet, by way of Barrow and Lancaster Sounds,
+had revisited the spot where the _Fury_ had been abandoned four years
+previously; and continuing his voyage in a southerly direction, he
+wintered in Felix Harbour--so named after the equipper of the
+expedition--ascertaining whilst there that the lands he had passed
+formed a large peninsula attached on the south to the northern coast of
+America.
+
+In April, 1830, James Ross, nephew of the leader of the party, set out
+in a canoe to examine the shores of this peninsula, and those of King
+William's Land; and in November of the same year all had once more to
+go into winter-quarters in Sherif Harbour, it being impossible to get
+the vessel more than a few miles further north. The cold was intense,
+and it was agreed by the sailors of the _Victory_ that this was the
+very severest winter ever spent by them in the Arctic regions.
+
+The summer of 1831 was devoted to various surveys, which proved that
+there was no connexion between the two seas. All that was accomplished
+this season was to bring the _Victory_ as far as Discovery Harbour, a
+very little further north than that of Sherif. The ensuing winter was
+so intensely severe, that the vessel could not be extricated from her
+ice prison, and but for the fortunate discovery of the provisions left
+by the _Fury_, the English would have died of hunger. As it was, they
+endured daily greater and greater privations and sufferings before the
+summer of 1833 at last enabled them finally to leave their
+winter-quarters and go by land to Prince Regent's and Barrow Straits.
+They had just reached the shores of Baffin's Bay when a vessel
+appeared, which turned out to be the _Isabel_, once commanded by Ross
+himself, and which now received the refugees from the _Victory_.
+
+But England had not all this time been forgetful of her children, and
+had sent an expedition in search of them every year. In 1833 Back,
+Franklin's companion, was the leader, and he starting from Fort
+Revolution, on the shore of Slave Lake, made his way northwards,
+discovered Thloni-Tcho-Deseth River, and settled down in
+winter-quarters, with the intention of reaching the next year the Polar
+Sea, where he supposed Ross to be held prisoner, when he heard of his
+incredible return journey overland. Back, therefore, gave up the next
+season to the survey of the fine Fish River, discovered the previous
+year, and sighted the Queen Adelaide Mts., with Capes Booth and Ross.
+
+1836 found him at the head of a new expedition, which was to attempt to
+connect by sea the discoveries of Ross and Franklin. It failed, and the
+accomplishment of the task assigned to it was reserved to Peter
+Williams, Dease, and Thomas Simpson, all officers in the service of the
+Hudson's Bay Company, who, leaving Fort Chippeway on the 1st June,
+1837, went down the Mackenzie, arriving on the sea-coast on the 9th
+July, and making their way along it to N. lat. 71 degrees 3 minutes and
+W. long. 156 degrees 46 minutes, i.e. to a cape they named Simpson,
+after the governor of their company.
+
+Thomas Simpson now made his way overland with five men to Port Barrow,
+already sighted in the direction of Behring Strait by one of Beechey's
+officers, so that the whole of the North American coast from Cape
+Turn-again to Behring's Strait was now complete, and there was nothing
+left to do but to explore the space between the former and Point Ogle,
+a task accomplished by the explorers in a later expedition.
+
+Leaving the Coppermine in 1838, they followed the eastern coast,
+arriving on the 9th August at Cape Turn-again, which was too much
+encumbered with ice to be rounded. Thomas Simpson therefore remained
+near it for the winter, discovered Victoria Land, and on the 12th
+August, 1839, arrived at Back River. The rest of the month he devoted
+to the exploration of Boothia.
+
+[Illustration: Discovery of Victoria Land.]
+
+The whole of the coast-line of North America was now accurately laid
+down, but at the cost of what struggles, devotion, privations, and
+sufferings? What, however, is human life when weighed in the balance
+with the progress of science? and with what disinterestedness and
+enthusiasm must be embued the savants, sailors, and explorers, who give
+up all the joys of existence to contribute to the best of their power
+to the progress of knowledge and to the moral and intellectual
+development of humanity.
+
+With the voyages last recorded the discovery of the earth was
+completed, and with our account of them our work, which began with the
+first attempts of the earliest explorers, also closes. The shape of the
+earth is now known, the task of explorers, is done. The land on which
+man lives is henceforth familiar to him, and he has now only to turn to
+account the vast resources of the countries to which access has
+recently become easy, or of which he can without difficulty possess
+himself.
+
+How rich in lessons of every kind is this history of twenty centuries
+of exploration. Let us cast a glance behind us and enumerate the main
+features of the progress made in this long series of years. If we take
+the map of the world of Hecataeus, who lived 500 years before the
+Christian era, what do we see? When it was published the known world
+did not extend beyond the basin of the Mediterranean, and the whole,
+with a terribly distorted outline, is represented only by a very small
+portion of southern Europe, the interior of Asia, and part of North
+Africa; whilst encircling them all is a river without beginning or end,
+to which is given the name of Ocean.
+
+Side by side with this map, ancient monument as it is of antique
+science, let us place a planisphere representing the world as known in
+1840, and on this vast surface we shall find the portion known, and
+that but imperfectly to Hecataeus, occupying but an infinitesimal
+space.
+
+Taking these two typical maps as our starting-point, we shall be able
+to judge of the magnitude of the discoveries of modern times. Imagine
+for a moment all that is involved in thorough knowledge of the whole
+world, and you will marvel at the results achieved by the efforts of so
+many explorers and martyrs, you will grasp the importance of their
+discoveries and the intimate relations between geography and all the
+other sciences. This is the point of view from which can best be seen
+all the philosophic bearings of a work to which so many generations
+have devoted themselves.
+
+Doubtless the motives actuating these various explorers differ greatly.
+First, we have the natural curiosity of the owner anxious to know
+thoroughly every part of the domain belonging to him, so that he may
+estimate the extent of the habitable districts, and determine the
+boundaries of the seas, &c.; and secondly, we have the natural outcome
+of a trade, which, though still in its infancy, introduced even in
+remote Norway the products of Central Asian industry. In the time of
+Herodotus the aim of explorers was loftier: they wished to learn the
+history, manners, customs, and religion of foreign races; and later,
+the Crusades, which, whatever else they accomplished, certainly
+vulgarized oriental studies, inspired some few with a fervent desire to
+wrest from infidels the scene of our Lord's Passion, but the greater
+number with a lust of pillage and a yearning to explore the unknown.
+
+Columbus, seeking a new route to the Indies, came across America on the
+way, and his successors were only anxious to make rapid fortunes,
+differing greatly indeed from the noble Portuguese who sacrificed their
+private interests to the glory and colonial prosperity of their
+country, and were the poorer for the offices conferred on them with a
+view to doing them honour.
+
+In the sixteenth century religious persecution and civil war drove to
+the New World the Huguenots and Puritans, who, whilst laying for
+England the foundations of colonial prosperity, were to bring about a
+radical change in America. The next century was essentially one of
+colonization. In America the French, in India the English, and in
+Oceania the Dutch established counting-houses and offices, whilst
+missionaries endeavoured to win over to the Christian faith and modern
+ideas the unchangeable "Empire of the Mean."
+
+The eighteenth century, ushering in our own, rectified received errors,
+and surveyed minutely alike continents and archipelagoes; in a word
+brought to perfection the work of its predecessors. The same task has
+occupied modern explorers, who pride themselves on not passing over in
+their surveys the smallest corner of the earth, or the tiniest islet.
+With a similar enthusiasm are imbued the intrepid navigators who
+penetrate the ice-bound solitudes of the two poles, and tear away the
+last fragments of the veil which has so long hidden from us the
+extremities of the globe.
+
+All then is now known, classed, catalogued, and labelled! Will the
+results of so much toil be buried in some carefully laid down atlas, to
+be sought only by professional _savants_? No! it is reserved to our
+use, and to develope the resources of the globe, conquered for us by
+our fathers at the cost of so much danger and fatigue. Our heritage is
+too grand to be relinquished. We have at our command all the facilities
+of modern science for surveying, clearing, and working our property. No
+more lands lying fallow, no more impassable deserts, no more useless
+streams, no more unfathomable seas, no more inaccessible mountains!
+
+We suppress the obstacles nature throws in our way. The isthmuses of
+Panama and Suez are in our way; we cut through them! The Sahara
+interferes with the connexion of Algeria and Senegal; we will throw a
+railway across it. The Pas de Calais prevents two nations so well
+fitted for cordial friendship from shaking each other by the hand; we
+will pierce it with a railway!
+
+This is our task and that of our contemporaries. Is it less grand than
+that of our predecessors, that it has not yet succeeded in inspiring
+any great writer of fiction? To dwell upon it ourselves would be to
+exceed the limits we laid down for our work. We meant to write the
+History of the Discovery of the World, and we have written it. Our task
+therefore is complete.
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+LONDON: GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Celebrated Travels and Travellers, by Jules Verne
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