GEOdliAl'llICAI. KXPI.nlLVIIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN 1807: 



tli;it liitli.Ttoiiiikuowii re-ion, :iml con>idcral>le 



!i American territory ha\e, 



1 for tin- lir-'t time by scientific men. 



The mountains of the Sierra NYv:ul:iund Rocky 



Mountain chains have been niea-iircd with 



uracy, am! the route for a railroad 



Pacific, near our northern boundary, 



sly rcMirveyed. Central America and 



tin- \\Ot Indies have had more than their 



usual share of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, 



and hurricane*. 



In South Aim r'n a we have had a very full 

 account -of Kcuador from the United States 

 minister, Mr. F. Ilaaurek, who had spent four 

 there; two valuable works on Brazil, one 

 liy Professor and Mrs. Agas-i/, giving a popu- 

 lar account of their expedition, the other by 

 in -John Codman, mainly descriptive of 

 Ki-> .laneiro and the coast region below. Mr. 

 W. (handle^, an Kn.irlish scientific explorer, 

 has traced the Purus and the Aquiry, two afflu- 

 ents of the Amazonas, nearly to their source; 

 Don Kaimondy has done the same thing \vith 

 the San Gavan and the Ayapata, and Senhor 

 de Coutinho has explored the delta of the 

 Amazonas with great thoroughness. Several 

 other aUluents of the mighty river have also 

 been traversed and their courses laid down. 

 Our own citizen, Mr. E. G. Squier, has re- 

 turned from Peru with a mass of rich archoeo- 

 d discoveries. The war between Para- 

 guay and the allied powers (Brazil, Uruguay, 

 and the Argentine Confederation), though in 

 most respects disastrous, is making us more 

 familiar with the geography and resources of 

 the brave and gallant little republic of Para- 

 guay. 



In the Pacific Ocean a new island of some 

 size and importance has been discovered by 

 American vessels and named Brooks Island. 

 In the beginning of 1867, the scientific world 

 were agitated and distressed by a report, appar- 

 ently well authenticated, that Dr. Livingstone, 

 the veteran explorer, best known and beloved 

 of all who have attempted to penetrate into the 

 interior of Africa, had been murdered by the 

 natives in the vicinity of Lake Tanganyika. 

 Subsequent facts oast some doubt on the credi- 

 bility of the alleged witnesses of his death, and 

 these doubts were increased by still further in- 

 quiries. An expedition was sent out to make 

 investigation, and, though unable to reach him, 

 they became satisfied that he had not been mur- 

 dered as reported. On the 8th of April, 1868, the 

 question was settled by a letter received by the 

 president of the Royal Geographical Society of 

 London from Dr. Livingstone himself, announ- 

 cing his good health and his speedy return to 

 England. 



Turning now to our usual geographical sur- 

 vey of the countries of the world, we begin, 

 retofore, with the AMERICAN CONTINENT. 



1. The Polar Itegions. Neither of the ex- 

 peditions to the North Pole projected in 1866 

 reached the Arctic regions. That of Captain 

 Sherrard Osborne, which was intending to fol- 



low tin- old riH .ne, and Frank- 



lin, through SmithV Strait and Sound, \vunde- 

 la\i d partly by a want of unanimity in < 

 In the route on the part of the !: 

 ical Society, but -till more l.y the 

 fusal of the Admiralty to favor it in an; 

 either by furnishing ships, men, or mean*. AH 

 tin- Mini required was not very lar^e, it might 

 have yet been undertaken had tin- wealthy 

 patrons of -cieiiee been satisfied that the route 

 proposed was to be preferred to that by way 

 of Spit/bcrgcn. There is a possibility that it 

 may be undertaken in 1868. 



The German project, sustained by Dr. August 

 Potermann, the learned geographer of Got ha, 

 succeeded in obtaining a small steamer, and 

 started on the voyage, but was so much injured 

 by an accident at the passes of the Elbe, that 

 the commission, not having the funds to make 

 the necessary repairs, were compelled to relin- 

 quish the expedition. During the autumn of 

 1867, however, M. Rosenthal, a wealthy ship- 

 builder of Bremen, placed at the disposal of 

 Dr. Petermann the steamship Albert, for this 

 enterprise, and it is probable that the expedition 

 will take its departure during the early sum- 

 mer of 1868. It will attempt to penetrate to 

 the open Polar Sea, in which Dr. Petermann 

 strongly believes, through the ice-floes north 

 of Spitsbergen, a difficult but perhaps not an 

 impossible route. 



Meantime, Gustavo Lambert, an officer of the 

 French marine, an accomplished seaman, and 

 at the same time one of the best mathemati- 

 cians and astronomers of the time, proposes an 

 expedition by an entirely different route, to the 

 Polar regions. Doubling Cape Horn, and 

 making his rendezvous at the Sandwich Inlands, 

 he'proposes to sail thence, at the suitable time, 

 and, passing through Behring's Straits, reach, 

 and plant the French flag upon, the polar 



oint. The expedition will be a costly one. 

 he snm of 600,000 francs ($120,000 in gold) 

 is required for it, but M. Lambert's enthusiasm 

 has roused the French people to such an extent 

 that it is thought the money will be raised, in 

 season for his departure in the autumn of 1868. 

 But these are as yet only projected enter- 

 prises. We turn to one now in progress of ac- 

 complishment, that of our countryman, Captain 

 C. F. Hall. He left the coast of the United 

 States in the autumn of 1866, and wintered on 

 Kepulse Bay,. at the head of Hudson Bay. 

 During the winter lie made a journey of six 

 weeks on sledges toward the northwest, to ob- 

 tain dogs to draw his sledges the next season. 

 He was accompanied by five white men from 

 the whale-ships in the bay, two natives, and a 

 train of thirty dogs. He "found a small tribe 

 of natives that were quite hostile, but at length 

 succeeded in purchasing forty dogs, giving in 

 exchange for them some old knives and tin 

 pans. The cold was very intense, and they 

 suffered a good deal of hardship, but returned 

 all well. Captain Hall had adopted the native 

 mode of dress and diet, and found himself able 





