THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 93 



ria, organized under the flag of the United States ; and that the whites 

 should ride out the fever at Monrovia, on account of the existence of 

 suitable accommodations there. The proper rendezvous for the inland 

 march he considers to be Millsburg, at the head of navigation of the St. 

 Paul's, whence the route should extend via Boporah, an important native 

 town, to the range separating the tributaries of the Niger from those 

 which flow into the Atlantic. That range attained, it is to be fol- 

 l(Aved to the parallel of Cape Palmas, and thence to the sea. A full 

 report of the exploration of Commander L3mch is presented in the an- 

 nual report of the Secretary of the Navy for the first session of the 

 thirty-third Congress. 



Darien Ship Canal Expedition. 



A survey of the Isthmus of Darien, in reference to the project of unit- 

 ing the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific by a ship canal, was under- 

 taken under the joint auspices of the English, French, and American 

 governments. 



The English expedition sailed for the Isthmus on the 17th of Decem- 

 ber, 1853, and arrived at Caledonia bay on the 19th of January. It 

 consisted of the brig Espiegle and the survey schooner Scorpion, the 

 former having on board Mr. Gisborne, Dr. Cullen, and Messrs. Forde 

 and Bennett, with four assistant engineers, on the part of the Atlantic 

 and Pacific Junction company, and of Lieutenant Singer, R. E., and 

 staff", in behalf of the British government. The French steamer Chi- 

 mere joined them, at the same time, with a scientific corps. The Uni- 

 ted States sloop-of-war Cyane, under Captain Hollins, had reached 

 Caledonia bay on the 8th of January ; and, after some preparation, a 

 party under command of Lieutenant Strain, of the United States navy, 

 started out to make the transit. Losing their way, and suffering greatly 

 for want of proper food and water, a number perished, and it was only 

 through the aid of an English party from the Virago that Lieutenant 

 Strain and a few of his men were saved from destruction. The British 

 steamer Virago, Captain Preevorst, attempted the transit from the Pa- 

 cific side, and reached a point commanding a view of the Atlantic. 

 From the facts gathered by the different parties, it appears conclu- 

 sively that a canal is impracticable in the region where that survey 

 was made. 



Exj)loraiion of the Valley of the Amazon. 



Messrs. Herndon and Gibbon, of the United States navy, after com- 

 pleting the survey of the valley of the Amazon, returned some time 

 ago, and have published 1 heir general report. This contains much that 

 is entertaining and novel, and several large editions have already been 

 called for by Congress. 



Exploration hy Mr. Scrope. 



In December, 1852, Mr. Thomas H. Scrope, an enterprising young 

 gentleman of New York, left Para in a steamer for the townof Loretto, 



