F. GEOGRAPHY. 183 



by three thousand tombs of beautiful carved sandstone. At 

 Nachitschewan he. found stone hammers of diorite, and oval 

 stones of the same material, with round holes in the centre, 

 used probably as weights to fish nets. 



He also ascended the summit of the Lesser Ararat, 5263 

 meters high, to the top of which the Tartars are in the habit 

 of carrying their dead bodies, in order to have them buried 

 at a sacred altitude. 12 A, October 31, 1872, 52. 



NICARAGUA SHIP CANAL EXPEDITION. 



The expedition, under Commander Edward P. Little, Unit- 

 ed States Navy, intended to renew the surveys for an inter- 

 oceanic canal through Nicaragua, is in an advanced state of 

 forwardness, and soon leaves for Greytown. At that point 

 it will disembark, and proceed up the San Juan River to the 

 lake, and afterward Captain Little will divide his force into 

 two parties of about twenty-five men each, for the further 

 prosecution of his labors. Dr. J. F. Bransford will accom- 

 pany the expedition in the capacity of surgeon and natural- 

 ist, and will, it is understood, pay particular attention to col- 

 lecting zoological specimens. The other officers of the ex- 

 pedition will be Lieutenant-Commander Schultz and Lieuten- 

 ant Jefferson P. Moser, both of whom have seen service in 

 the Darien expedition. 



SURVEY OF THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN ALASKA AND THE 



BRITISH POSSESSIONS. 



General Banks has introduced a bill into Congress to pro- 

 vide for the determination of the boundary line between the 

 British possessions on the Pacific coast and the Territory of 

 Alaska. It contemplates the appointment of a commissioner, 

 a chief astronomer, and a surveyor, to act with officers to be 

 named by Great Britain, together with an assistant astron- 

 omer and surveyor, a secretary to the commissioner, and a 

 clerk to the chief astronomer and surveyor, to be appointed 

 by the President. For the purpose of aiding in the demarka- 

 tion of said line, the President is authorized to direct the em- 

 ployment of the Coast Survey and its officers and vessels so 

 far as he may deem necessary or useful, and he may detail 

 officers of the regular army of the United States for the pur- 

 poses of the expedition. Bill^IIouse of Representatives, 3254. 



