182J..J Report on the Materia 



For the Monthly Mayazine. 

 REPORT on the MATERIALS collected htj 

 M. CAILLIAUU, in his last travels in 



ETHIOI'lA, III a CO.MMITTKE of the 

 NATIONAL INSllTUTE. 



1 A FTER a niiniite pxamiiiiition of 

 ;Xm. the various iiiticlcs cmtained in 

 iVl. Cailliiiiiil's collectioii, and obtaiii- 

 iiijj information from personal coti- 

 feroiices vvitli him, the Kcporlers add, 

 tliat llie circumstruices which per- 

 mitted M. Cailliaiid to ascend the iNile 

 I'urth.r than any preceding traveller, 

 Mere jiecuiiar, and such as may not 

 recur fur a king time. Under favour 

 of tlie expedition of Ismael Facha, son 

 of the Governor of Egypt, in Nubia, in 

 1821, M. Cailliaud, whose skill and 

 knowledge were relied on for the dis- 

 covery of any valuable mines, was 

 autiiuiised to aitend tlie army, and 

 proceed with it to the point where 

 llieir marches terminated. He was 

 furnished with all the means for making 

 astronomical ohservatious, for marking 

 Ihe direction of roads, keeping account 

 of distances, taking views and designs 

 of monuments, constructing plans, and 

 copying inscriptions ; and, as he had 

 prepared himself by previous Bludits 

 lor this second journey, the results 

 which he has deduced mu.st prove of 

 important use to geography, the arts, 

 and the knowledge of antiquity. 



The better to appreciate the impor- 

 tance of his geographical materials, it 

 siiould be observed, that M. Gau, 

 whose work on the anticpiities of Nubia 

 lias contributed so many novel facts to 

 those before accpiired by our expedi- 

 tion to Eg}pt, advanced no farther on 

 the Nile than to Ouadi Haifa, that is, 

 at the distance of t!ie second cataract ; 

 tliat Kobbe, in the Darfour, at 14'' north 

 latitude, is the most southern point at 

 wliich the English voyager Brown 

 arrived in 1793 ; and that Bruce, set- 

 ting out from Sennaar, and crossing 

 the desert to reach the Ked Sea, 

 ascended no higher than to the 13tli 

 degree, Hut M. Cailliaud penetrated 

 to the tenth, 130 leagues further than 

 Sennaar, and in llic direction of the 

 principal branch of the Nile. He w as 

 ihcreby enabled to procure correct 

 information on many points that have 

 long been the desiderata of geogra- 

 phers. One part of his route, thcre- 

 jbre, is entirely novel ; and.lliroughont 

 tJie whole of it, he has neglected no 

 opportiniilies of seeking for infelli- 

 gA;;He that would be gratifying to the 



WoNTHLY Mag. No, 31)3. 



h collected in Ethiopia. i05 



Jearned. In every stage of bis jour- 

 neys he ke|)t an exact journal of his 

 progress, carefully attending to its 

 direction by the compass, and keeping 

 an account of tl.e declination. He 

 w as no less mindful of computing the 

 distances, and in c'istingnisliing the 

 difference of travelling by nicn, horses, 

 and camels. Exclusive of this ample 

 iliiier;uy, nioio than fifty points liave 

 been fixed, astronomically, either by 

 M. Cailliaud or by his companion, M. 

 Let:irzec ; these will connect the ditfer- 

 enl parts of the route, and serve as a 

 rule to verify the distances. The 

 Committee are of opinion, that the 

 papers containing the journal, and the 

 astronomical observations, on being 

 submitted to further calculation, and 

 found correct, may compose the ele- 

 ments of a good chart. The chart, 

 also, will derive additional value from 

 the precaution of M. Cailliaud, after 

 collecting the names of the places 

 which he visited, or had knowledge of, 

 having tliem written in Arabic by the 

 native inhabitants of the conntry. 

 The list of these names will prevent 

 mistakes and doubts that might arise 

 from the relations of travellers passing 

 through regions so little known. 'I'he 

 event of Ismael Pacha's expedition, 

 the massacre of a part of his guard by 

 the natives, the revolt of all the bar- 

 barous tribes of Upper Ethiopia, with 

 other disastrous circumstances, will 

 oppose insui)erable obstacles to any 

 Europeans that would i>cnetratc further 

 south. 



The interest of M. Cailliaud's narra- 

 tive is further enhanced by niineralo- 

 gical observations, marking the state 

 of the thermometer thrice a-day. The 

 Tables whicii he has thus drawn up, 

 compared with others of a similar kind, 

 interspersed through his work, will 

 give a just idea of the climate, which 

 iippcars to dillet considerably from 

 that of those more to the north. The 

 collection includes, also, a number of 

 pliints, animals, and minerals, which 

 must tend to improve the [ihysical 

 description of the said countries. 



Hut the objects more particularly 

 deserving of attention are the nnmu- 

 luents f\ru\ ruins of ancient edifices, 

 such as tcin|)Ies, pyramids, colossi, 

 bas-reliefs, Greek ami hicroglyphical 

 inscriptions, &c. The progress of 

 <Iis(!overic.s has successively extended 

 the limits of those coiaitrie.t wherein 

 the vestiges of antiijuity were su[)posei| 

 to be found. IJut we cannot expc<:l 

 I* t|ju< 



