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beautiful fertile valley, about twenty miles high, and fringed with mountains of great beauty, well wooded to the top. Mora M. Vala we ascended, and found it 400 feet high. (This, by mistake, is placed on the wrong side of the Shire, in my map.) It was well cultivated on the top, and had several fine little fountains, the waters of which were slightly chalybeate; they have a hot sulphurous fountain at the base, (temperature 174° Fahrenheit). The people had many sweet potatoes, holcus sorghum, and other grains, and pine apples, lemon and orange trees. They were very hospitable, and independent. The vegetation is very different from the plains, and so is the climate; yet with all these disadvantages, no use has been made of it as a sanitorium by the Portuguese, and as far as we can ascertain, this river has never been explored by Europeans before. One part of the luxuriant valley of the Shire is marshy, and abounded in lagoons, in which grow great quantities of the lotus plant. The people were busy collecting the tubers, which, when boiled or roasted, resemble chestnuts. They are thus Lotophagi, such as are mentioned by Herodotus. Another part of the valley abounds in elephants. My companions estimated the numbers we saw at eight hundred. Herd upon herd appeared as far as the eye could reach; and noble animals they were. We sometimes chased them in our little steamer, for the shore branches off occasionally and forms islands. The upper part of the valley is well peopled, and many of the hills are cultivated high up. But never having seen Europeans before, they looked on us with great suspicion. They watched us constantly, well armed with bows and poisoned arrows, ready to repel any attack, but no incivility was offered when we landed, nor were our wooding party molested. We obtained what may be considered reliable information that the Shire actually does flow out of Lake Nyanga. We were brought up by a cataract, but five days beyond this point the water is smooth again, and Arabs come down in canoes from Nyanga thither. Seeing the suspicions we had aroused, we deemed it unsafe to leave the vessel and go overland. But no collision took place. The greatest coward fires first, so, thinking we had as much pluck as they, we did not lift a gun, though we were ready to fire, or rather shoot. We did nothing to make us ashamed to return, and mean to do so next month; and if we have their confidence we may go farther. They had abundance of provisions, and sold them at a cheap rate. Also cotton of two kinds-one indigenous, short in the staple but very strong, and woolly to the feeling; the other very fine, and long in the staple. We brought a number of specimens of their spindles and yarn, and it was quite equal to American uplands; did not offer them any American seed. The cotton plant is met with everywhere, and though burned down annually springs up again as fresh and strong as

ever. They grow sugar cane too, bananas, &c. The men are said by the Portuguese to be very intelligent, but very mild. The women wear the lip ornament, round one of which I put my pen. The slit is made in the upper lip, at first, by a ring in childhood. The ends are gradually pressed closer together, and cause absorption till a hole is made. This is enlarged by bits of reed, until in a lady of fashion a ring, either hollow or cup shaped, is inserted, and the edge of the lip protrudes beyond the perpendicular of the nose at least an inch. I am thus particular in case our own ladies, who show a noble perseverance when fashion dictates, may wish to adopt lip ornaments.

Above this we have a rapid, called Kebra, or rather Kaorabasa. When the water is low it shows a deep grove, with perpendicular sides. When steaming up this the man at the lead kept calling "no bottom" at ten fathoms, and the top of the walls of the grove towered from 50 to 80 feet above our deck. It is from 60 to 80 yards wide, but at this season is comparatively smooth. There were some cataracts in it which high water obliterates. This steamer is too weak to ascend. She being only ten horse power, and her plates 1th of an inch thick, we dare not try her in the rapids. We shall work down here some time yet. I long to lead back my faithful Mackalolo, who are still at Telle, though thirty of them died of the small pox, and six were killed by a neighboring chief.

I shall refer to one point more before concluding. We were warned by the fate of the Niger expedition not to delay among the mangrove swamps of the Delta-the very hot beds of the fever. We accordingly made all haste to get away, and we took daily a quantity of quinine. The period of the year I selected, though not the most favorable for navigation, was the most so for health; and, thank God, our precautions were successful.

The Kroomen from Sierra Leone have had more of it than we, until a short time ago, when, it being the most unhealthy season of the year, and even to the natives, three of us have had touches of the complaint, but are all now quite well. I have never had a day's illness since my return. We find, too, that so far from Europeans being unable to work in a hot climate, it is the want of work that kills them. The Portuguese all know that so long as they are moving about they enjoy good health, but let them settle down and smoke all day, and drink brandy, then-not a word about brandy in the fever that follows-the blame is all put on the climate. I am, &c. DAVID LIVINGSTONE.

KRAPF'S RESIDENCE AND TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA.Messrs. Trübner & Co. of London announce as nearly ready for publication a work which is likely to rival in interest the recent volume of Dr. Livingstone. We refer to the narrative of a Missionary Residence in Abyssinia by Dr. J. L. Krapf-one of

the agents of the Church Missionary Society of London. It will be recalled by our readers that it was by him and his comrade Rebmann that intelligence was first given to the civilized world of the possible existence of snow-covered mountains near the equator-the famous Kilimandjaro. The observations. of these missionaries have given rise to many warm discussions, and the correctness of their opinion has been earnestly disputed. In the forthcoming volume we may anticipate that this controverted point will be examined with thoroughness and detail. Aside from this discussion, the work of Dr. Krapf will abound in interesting comments upon his missionary life. His land journeys, which were mostly upon foot, extended 9000 miles. We quote the following from the prospectus of this work.

"Two things may be said of Dr. Krapf which can be affirmed of no other modern African traveler. He has traversed Abys sinia from north to south and from east to west; and further, he has explored the whole coast of Eastern Africa, from Suez to the 10th degree of south latitude, and inspected every place of importance to be found on it. Such journeys and voyages would alone bestow a high value on a volume like the present one, which communicates their most important results. But more than this, the large and interesting country which stretches from the Equator to the 5th degree of south latitude was, from the eastern coast inwards, all but a terra incognita, until it was traversed, on foot, by Dr. Krapf, and by his colleague and fellow-worker, the Missionary Rebmann, whose experiences are also included in this work. From the Mission-station at Rabbia Mpia, on the coast, these brave and fearless men prosecuted journeys for at least three hundred miles into the interior, exposed to every possible peril and privation. These journeys were repeated by different routes-the dangers incurred on one seeming only to stimulate to self-exposure to greater dangers on another. Řebmann's three journeys to Dschagga, Krapf's two journeys to Usambara, and two more to Ukambani, in the course of which they explored regions and visited-Bible in hand and Gospel on lip-populations never before seen by European, have rarely been exceeded in interest-religious, adventurous, and geographical. The story of Dr. Krapf's abandonment and wanderings in the wilderness, during his second journey to Ukambani, carries the reader back to the old days of adventurous travel. Scarcely in the whole annals of modern missionary effort has there been anything equal to the spectacle displayed in this section of the volume, of two individuals, each isolated, pursuing again and again, on foot, without external encouragement of any kind, and in the face of every possible obstacle, journeys among ignorant and savage heathen, far away from help, or the hope of help, and confiding solely in the guidance and support of Providence. The

SECOND SERIES, Vol. XXIX, No. 86.-MARCH, 1860.

splendid geographical and ethnological results which were among the rewards of these daring pilgrimages will be found fully chronicled for the first time in the present volume."

SPEKE'S EXPLORATIONS IN EASTERN AFRICA.-At a recent meeting of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Capt. Burton and Capt. Speke both gave a narrative of their explorations in Eastern Africa, which are of particular importance, as our readers are well aware, in connection with the long disputed problem of the sources of the Nile. So much interest has been manifested everywhere in this expedition that we regret that our limits will not permit us to reprint entire the discussion to which these two papers gave rise in that learned association. Sir R. I. Murchison, Col. Sykes, Mr. Macqueen, Mr. Galton, and other well known gentlemen presented their views upon this important topic, a report of which will be found in the Society's Proceedings, vol. iii, No. 6. From the same source we extract the following statement of the remarks of Capt. Speke.

"The region traversed by Captain Burton and myself is divisible into five bands. They all run parallel to the coast, and each of them is characterised by special geographical features. The first is low land between the coast range and the sea. Its breadth is about 120 miles, and its average slope not more than 2 feet per mile. Forests of gigantic trees, and tall grasses, cover its surface. The second band is the coast range of mountains. These are hills in lines and in masses, intersected by valleys, through which the rivers of the east coast find their way. This range is easily crossed, and nowhere exceeded 6000 feet, adjacent to the line of road taken by our travelers. It is capable of cultivation, though neglected, because the slaving forays to which it is subjected drive away the inhabitants. The third band reaches to Unyanyembe. It is a dry plateau, with a slight inclination toward the interior, and ranging in height between 3000 and 4400 feet. Tributary streams, running southwards to the Ruaha, intersect it. The fourth zone is a continuation of the above, but it is better watered, and is studded with granite hills. Here is the water-parting between the streams that run eastward to the Indian Ocean, and westward to the Tanganyika Lake. The Nyanza Lake is situated in this band. The fifth band is a remarkable slope, that inclines to the shores of the Tanganyika. It sinks no less than 1800 feet in 45 miles; it is exceedingly fertile, but harrassed by marauders of the Watuta tribe.

On arriving at Ujija, the party found that the only boats to be had were wretched canoes; while the troubled state of the country rendered it unsafe to explore the lake unaccompanied by a large escort. There was, however, a small sailing craft belonging to an Arab, on the other side of the lake, which would be large enough to contain the entire party; and Captain Speke started

to hire her, with seventeen savages, as a crew, and four of his own men. He first coasted to Kabogo, a bold promontory usually selected as the starting point, when the lake has to be crossed, and reached it in five days. He describes the shore as wild and beautiful, affording many convenient harbors, and requiring but a little art to make it quite a fairy abode. There were no inhabitants, but an abundance of game,-hippopotami, buffaloes, elephants, antelopes, and crocodiles. The passage across the lake, distance of 26 miles, was made rapidly and safely, and Captain Speke was cordially welcomed by the Sultan of the country on the opposite side. The owner of the sailing boat was there also, and was ready to afford every assistance; but he himself was on the point of starting on an ivory expedition 100 miles into the interior, and the crew of his sailing boat were, at the same time, his armed escort: he could not therefore spare them, What made the disappointment doubly vexatious, was that this Arab desired Captain Speke's companionship in his intended journey, and he promised the boat on his return. Had Captain Speke been unfettered by time, this would have been an excellent opportunity of farther travel. As it was, he was obliged to go back to Ujiji without the sailing boat, and proceeded with Captain Burton to a more extended exploration of the Tanganyika Lake, which lasted a whole month. The mapping of its southern portion depends on information given by this Arab.

On returning to Unyanyembe, Captain Burton's continued illness again made it necessary for Captain Speke to proceed alone to the northward to explore the Lake Nyanza. He went with thirty-three men, through a line of populous country, less visited by strangers than that which he had hitherto traveled on. There were numerous petty sovereigns who were hospitable enough but very troublesome. The view of Lake Nyanza, with its numerous islands, reminded Captain Speke of the Greek archipelago. The islands were precisely like the tops of the same hills that studded the plains he had just traveled over. In fact, the lake had the features of a flooded country rather than those of a sheet of permanent water, with well marked banks. Its water is sweet and good: those who live near it drink no other.

Captain Speke's explorations did not extend beyond its southern shores. The more northern part of his map is based on native information, especially on that of a very intelligent Arab, whom he has previously met with in Unyanyembe, and whose data, so far as the shores of the lake, were found by Captain Speke to be remarkably correct. This Arab had traveled far along its western shores. In thirty-five long marches he reached the Kitangura river, and in twenty more marches, Kibuga, the capital of a native despot. Between these two places he crossed

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