GEOGRAPHICAL I'KOGKKSS AN'D DISCOVKIIY. 



309 



from the frontiers of Afghanistan to the Caspian, 

 the Volga, and the Baltic, was published in IS!):! 

 by Gen. Glukhoosky. The seheiue has been revived 

 lately in consequence of the destruction by the in- 

 habitants of the khanate of Khiva of a dam that 

 directed the river to the Aral Sea. The waters of 

 the Amu-daria began to flow partly into the U/boi, 

 and they tilled in part the Sari-Kamish dcpn 

 southwest of the Aral. The Ministers of War and 

 Communication have sent an expedition to examine 

 and report upon the feasibility of turning the river 

 into its old channel. 



Several expeditions have been journeying in cen- 

 tral Asia this year, and some have returned. Mr. 

 and Mrs. Littledale were obliged to turn back after 

 reaching a point 65 kilometres from Lhassa nearer 

 than their predecessors had gone. The Pamir 

 Boundary Commission under Col. Holdich collected 

 a good deal of accurate topographical information. 

 Dr. Sven Hedin continued his explorations in 

 Turkestan. Prince Henry of Orleans crossed the 

 Indo-Chinese frontier and journeyed to the source 

 of the Irrawaddy. This was discovered at 28^- 

 north latitude and between 98 and 99 east longi- 

 tude. The principal stream forming the Irrawaddy 

 is the Towrorg. The prince found that the river 

 does not rise in Tibet, and that it is not identical 

 with the Lu-Kiang, as some travelers have supposed. 

 The journey was accomplished without any resist- 

 ance from the natives. 



M. Bonin. French vice-resident in Tongking, 

 lately explored the region between the upper 

 Yang-tse-Kiangand its tributary the Yalung-Kiang. 

 The London " Geographical Journal " says he dis- 

 covered that below the sharp angle made by the 

 Kin-Sha near the town of Li-Kiang the river makes a 

 wide sweep to the north, joining the Yalung in 

 about 28 north latitude, instead of 26 35', as 

 heretofore supposed. The stream that has been 

 considered the upper Yang-tse-Kiang turns out to 

 be merely a tributary. The current delineation of 

 the river has been taken from D'Auville's map, and 

 that was based upon vague reports only, as the 

 Jesuits were not able to visit the upper waters. 

 M. Bonin was the first European to visit the town 

 of Li-Kiang. Ascending the sti'eam for several 

 days, he reached the plateau of Tsong-Tien by a 

 snow-covered pass 14.500 feet high, and by a rugged 

 and difficult path arrived at Yunning-Tu-Fu. about 

 which very little has been known. It is peopled by 

 a mixture, of Chinese from Yunnan. Kutsongs, 

 Mosos. and Si fans. North of this town M. Bonin 

 traversed the Tibetan kingdom of Meli. into which 

 the Chinese even have never penetrated. It is en- 

 tirely in the hands of yellow lamas, to whom the 

 king himself belongs : on this account it is known 

 to the Chinese as "Huang-lama" (yellow lamas). 

 The lamasery (on rhe side of a mountain) was com- 

 posed of three-storied houses with white walls, bal- 

 conies, and verandas, recalling towns of southern 

 Europe. 



The island of Celebes has been thoroughly ex- 

 plored by two cousins, P. and F. Sarasin. Two 

 lakes hitherto known only by name were measured 

 and mapped Lake Towuti. which is the largest lake 

 in Celebes, and Lake Matana. On the latter, which 

 is about 3(5 miles long and 9 miles broad, is a 

 lenient of people who busy themselves with 

 pottery and bronze work. Towuti lake is shal- 

 lower than the other, and has in it a mountainous 

 island. The race of the Toradjas. who inhabit 

 the southeastern peninsula and who are often at 

 war with the lowlanders, are pure Malays. The 

 Sarasins explored Lake Posso. The discovery of 

 this lake has been credited to a Dutch missionary, 

 Uev. A. C. Kruijt. in 1893. but Dr. Wichmann thinks 

 it proved that it was first visited by Jonkherr J. C. 



W. D. A. van der Wijck. a Dutch official, in IMil, 

 although his map and reports have been lost. 



Africa. Interest in Africa this year has been 

 centered on military and political movements, but 

 there had been some activity among exp]. 

 without great results, it is true, but tending to fill 

 up the topography of districts little known hitherto 

 and settle some doubtful points. Journeys have 

 been made in northern Africa by explorers Foureau 

 and Cowper. The Rev. C. II. Robinson traversed 

 the Soudan over an unusual route. Another expe- 

 dition in the Soudan giving especially good results 

 was that of French surveyors, who made accurate 

 maps of the series of lakes recently discovered in 

 the vicinity of Timbuctoo. Lake Faguibine, the 

 largest, is 68 miles long. An expedition by 2 offi- 

 cers of the Congo State. MM. Xilis and" De la 

 Kethullc. in 1S94. was cut short by the presence of 

 bands of Mahdists, rendering it dangerous to pro- 

 ceed. Their route was from the Welle to Darfur. 

 Further exploration in the same region has been 

 since made by Lieuts. Hanolet and Van Calster, 

 who traveled to the watershed between the Schari 

 and the Kotto, a tributary of the Ubangi, and 

 went as far as Alambengleben, not far east of El 

 Kouti, where Paul Cram pel was murdered in 1891 

 when trying to open the way for communication 

 between the Congo and Lake Tchad. 



In consequence of the expedition of Clozel. which' 

 crossed the watershed between the Sanghi and the 

 Schari and reached the Worn, the upper course of 

 the Logone, the administrator Yentil was intrusted 

 with the transportation of a steamer to this river 

 in the expectation that, according to the conditions 

 discovered, there would be no difficulty in reaching 

 Lake Tchad. He took the little steamer "Leon 

 Blot " in sections from Loango to Brazzaville, 

 where he put it together and went up the Congo on 

 some alteration of the original plan. He has chosen 

 the Ubangi or one of its northern tributaries as the 

 point from which he will take the steamer to the 

 Nana, which flows into the Gribingi. one of the up- 

 per tributaries of the Schari discovered by Maistre, 

 whence he will reach the main stream. 



In eastern Africa noteworthy journeys have been 

 made in Somaliland and in the regions about Kili- 

 manjaro and the large lakes. Capt. V. Bottego is 

 on his second journey in southern Somaliland. 

 From Lugh, the most important Somali town on 

 the Juba. he wrote that the Bardua district is more 

 thickly peopled than the most densely settled por- 

 tions of the valley of the Po. apart from the large 

 cities. He founded a station on the upper Juba or 

 Ganana. at 3 48' 20" north and 42 50' 40" east. 

 Salt is found throughout the whole district beyond 

 Lugh and along the Dana in large deposits east of 

 the Web river, where there is a mine near the ruins 

 of an ancient city. He heard of a river Sagan 

 flowing into a lake, which he thinks not identical 

 with the Omo. 



Other interesting researches in this region have 

 been made by an American traveler. Dr. Donaldson 

 Smith. He describes a series of beautiful 

 that have been excavated by the Web river, having 

 columns, arches, and formations like altars appar- 

 ently of white marble. lie named them the Caves 

 of Wyndlawn. Plis intended explorations in the 

 upper valley of the river were interfered with 

 by a predatory excursion of Abyssinians into the 

 country of the Arusa-Galla. He turned to the 

 southeast and crossed the steppe to the Juba. reach- 

 ing it near the mouth of the Dana, and after fol- 

 lowing up the river in Bottego's route for some dis- 

 tance, then turned westward to Lake Rudolph, 

 which he reached at the mouth of the Xianam after 

 turning aside to visit Lakes Ahaya and Stephanie, 

 which are connected by the outlet of the former, 



