GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS. 



431 



employment among the citizens, or in connec- 

 tion with the army, and others cultivate the 

 lands around their carnps. Those at Arling- 



ton are engaged in the cultivation of the Ar- 

 lington estate, formerly the property of the 

 Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. 



Gr 



GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS. Al- 

 though it may be said that the year 1863, ex- 

 cept its one grand discovery of the sources of 

 the White Nile (which was actually made in 

 1862, though not published till 1863), has not 

 been so fruitful in new explorations as some of 

 the years which preceded it, yet the grand ag- 

 gregate of progress in geographical knowledge 

 is nevertheless large, and indicates the con- 

 stantly increasing interest felt in the promotion 

 of this interesting science. 



Commencing with our own Continent, we 

 find that the researches of the American trav- 

 eller Hall, in Greenland and in the arctic re- 

 gions of the continent in the year 1862, not 

 only decided some geographical problems of 

 interest, as stated in the ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA 

 for 1862, p. 482, but have thrown considerable 

 light on the character and capabilities for im- 

 provement of the Esquimaux tribes. Their 

 susceptibility to education and their fondness 

 for science seem to be greater than those of 

 the Indian tribes. In these respects they re- 

 semble the Lapps and Finns, and thus corrob- 

 orate the generally received theory of their 

 common origin. Mr. Hall found them inva- 

 riably amiable and gentle in their nature, skil- 

 ful in mechanism, and intelligent far beyond 

 what could have been expected from their 

 mode of life. At Godthaob, in Greenland, a 

 monthly illustrated journal, the Atuagagliutil, 

 is published, which is edited and printed by an 

 Esquimaux, Lars Holler, and the illustrations 

 drawn and engraved by another Esquimaux 

 named Aaron. The subjects of some of its 

 articles indicate very fully the intelligence of 

 the writers and readers ; they are such as 

 these: "The Electric Telegraph; The Great 

 Eastern ; Extracts from late Narratives of Voy- 

 ages to the Arctic regions, so far as they relate 

 to the Esquimaux ; Combustibles in Green- 

 land ; The Ancient Scandinavians and their 

 Voyages." Lars Moller has also published 

 three volumes of indigenous traditions, com- 

 municated by the people of the country, with 

 the Esquimaux text and a Danish translation 

 in parallel columns, and illustrated with litho- 

 graphic plates. 



Iceland, which, though belonging to Den- 

 mark, is usually reckoned an American island, 

 \vas, in 1862, the scene of extraordinary vol- 

 canic eruptions, not this time from Skaptur 

 Jokul, or Hecla, but from Trcella dynge (the 

 Mountain of the Giants), a volcano which had 

 been quiet since 1510. This mountain is in the 

 south part of the island, and about 2,600 feet 

 high. The eruption took place in July, 1862, 

 and has made some changes in the harbors and 



coast of the island. Several narratives of it 

 have been published in 1863. 



Returning to the American Continent, we 

 notice the publication by Prof. Hind of his ex- 

 plorations, undertaken, in 1861, of the Labrador 

 Peninsula. Mr. Hind and his party entered 

 the plateau or table-land of Labrador, by its 

 main artery the Moise river, the source of 

 which at Lake Clare they reached after an ad- 

 venturous voyage. The river abounds in rap- 

 ids and portages, and fairly swarms with salm- 

 on. The Indian tribes on the southern slope 

 of this table-land, are the Montagnais and the 

 Nesquapies, numbering from 2,500 to 3,000 

 souls each. He regards them as offshoots of 

 the great Algonquin race, but as not having a 

 common origin with the Micmacs of the South, 

 between whom and themselves there has been 

 a traditional feud for many generations. Prof. 

 Hind found the mirage very common on the 

 elevated table-land, and the displays of the 

 Aurora Borealis were surpassingly beautiful. 



In Canada, the geological surveys have been 

 continued, and have resulted in the discovery 

 of gold deposits supposed to be of considerable 

 value, in Lower Canada, and of new reservoirs 

 of petroleum oil in Canada West. The year 

 has been prolific in books of travel relative to 

 British Columbia and Vancouver's Island. The 

 extensive gold deposits on the Frazer river and 

 in other sections of British Columbia are at- 

 tracting an extensive emigration to that region. 

 A grant has been made by the authorities of 

 British Columbia of the right of way for a tele- 

 graph line from San Francisco and Washing- 

 ton Territory, through that colony to Russian 

 America, where a line is already being con- 

 structed to connect with the Russian line 

 through Siberia by way of the Aleutian Isl- 

 ands, thus communicating with Europe through 

 Asia. 



In the United States the war has led to very 

 many topographical surveys of great accuracy, 

 and the explorations relative to ship canals to 

 connect the Mississippi and the Hudson with 

 the great lakes, and to determine the best 

 route for the Pacific Railway now organized, 

 have also thrown much light upon several 

 geographical points. It has been ascertained 

 that Lake Michigan has a medium breadth 

 of only 84 miles instead of 109, as has been 

 generally believed, and that it has a regular 

 periodical tide, raising and depressing its wa- 

 ters from two to four feet. The route of the 

 Pacific Railway through Colorado Territory is 

 not yet fully settled, and it begins to be more 

 evident, as the new territories of Idaho and 

 Arizona develop their mineral wealth, that 



