378 



GEOGRAPHICAL PROGRESS AND DISCOVERY. 



down that river lies the city of Ssi-gn-ssjau, 

 surrounded by sharp -pointed and lofty mount- 

 ain-peaks. Potanin began his return June 25, 

 from the city of Gaotai in the north of the 

 Koko-Nor, and crossed the Gobi Desert by a 

 hitherto unknown route from south to north. 

 He observed that the southeastern continua- 

 tion of the Altai range consists of four parallel 

 chains, of which one was explored in 1878-79 

 by Pjewzow ; the others have not been visit- 

 ed. Potanin reports that the expedition ar- 

 rived at the Koko-Nor April 22, followed the 

 course of the Chargi river upward, and in its 

 upper basin crossed the route taken by Pre- 

 jevalski in 1872. On the way through the 

 mountain-region separating the system of the 

 Yellow river from the plain of southern Mon- 

 golia, the mountain system of the Nan-Shan 

 was seen to be more complicated than that 

 part in the meridian of Lyantshero. The lat- 

 ter consists of two mountain-chains, between 

 which lies the valley of the Daitung-che river ; 

 while the former consists of three chains sepa- 

 rated by two lengths of valley. In one the 

 Daitung-che takes its course eastward, in the 

 other the Jedsiii flows westward and the Bar- 

 dun eastward ; they unite at the cloister Pabor- 

 tassy in the meridian of Hantshen. The passes 

 of the three chains were of nearly equal ele- 

 vation, something more than 3,900 metres. 

 The valleys are about 3,000 metres high, ex- 

 cepting two short stretches where they fall a 

 little below that height. From the valley of 

 the Daitung-che, inhabited by Tungutes of the 

 Arig race, the route leads to the pass of Rdons- 

 sug, the highest of the three, and then down 

 to the sources of the Little Rdonssug, a tribu- 

 tary of the Jedsin from the left. The upper 

 course of the last-named river is bordered on 

 both sides by a high plateau, beyond which in 

 the north is the high range of Pabas Shan. At 

 the little cloister of Pabor-tassy, situated at an 

 elevation of 2,400 metres, on the Jedsin, the 

 settlements of the Arig end, and a little far- 

 ther westward begin those of the Shira-jegu- 

 ren. From Pabor-tassy two roads lead to 

 Hantshen; the one northeastward over the 

 mountains and by way of the little town Nan- 

 gotohen, the other up the stream to the Bar- 

 dun. The explorers took the latter but were 

 obliged by the exhaustion of the camels to turn 

 to the pass Galdsin-daban, which they reached 

 May 22. Passing down the Tashity, they 

 reached a plain and thence up the Lagi to the 

 pass of Dagen-dabau, on the northern side of 

 which are the sources of the Charar-gol. 

 From the upper reaches of this river extends a 

 lofty plateau, furrowed by the deep valleys of 

 brooks tributary to the Donssyr, which flows 

 into the Jedsin. From this plateau, the way 

 leads through the dry valley of the Bajan-gol 

 to the Donssyr, which it reaches nine kilome- 

 tres above the mountain town of Li-juan-in. 

 Twenty-two kilometres distant is Shachi, in 

 the plain on the great road from Hantshen to 

 Ssutshen. The Jeguren are a people first 



known in Europe through the reports of Pota- 

 nin. They occupy the northern slopes of the 

 mountain-range on the left of the Bardun. 

 Their pastures begin on the left bank of the 

 Jedsin below Pabor-tassy, and extend to the 

 town of Karne south of Ssutshen, being limi- 

 ted, therefore, to the northern valleys of the 

 Nanshan between the meridians of Hantshen 

 and Ssutshen. Surveys and astronomical ob- 

 servations were made by the travelers. 



On Feb. 1, 1886, a new province was divided 

 from the central province in Ceylon. It is 

 called Uva, and includes the southern part of 

 the old province. The capital is Badulla. A 

 railroad is to be built to Haputale, and after- 

 ward extended to Badulla. 



Capt. Reveillere having succeeded in passing 

 the rapids of the Mekong at Prea-Patang with 

 a small steamer, giving promise of the exten- 

 sion of navigation up the Mekong, the Colonial 

 Council of Cochin-China has appropriated 8,000 

 piasters for a special examination of the rapids 

 by Lieut. Fesigny, with a view to obviating the 

 obstruction they offer to navigation. 



On January 27 appeared in the "Journal 

 Officiel," the decree of organization of the 

 protectorate of Annam and Tonquin. This 

 protectorate is looked upon as a distinct and 

 independent service, having its own laws, its 

 own budget, its own customs. It will not 

 maintain any connection with the Govern- 

 ment of the capital, except such as result from 

 the nomination of the Resident- General and 

 other high officials, and the allowance of a sub- 

 sidy. 



Europe. The old project of the Yolga-Don 

 Canal, originally started by Peter the Great, 

 has again been revived. The city of Rostov, 

 on the lower Don, which, would be greatly 

 benefited in its trade by a water-way uniting 

 its river and the Black Sea with the Volga and 

 the region of the Caspian, has taken steps to 

 have the route surveyed. 



The project for a canal connecting the North 

 and Baltic Seas bids fair at last to be carried 

 out. It will start from the Elbe above Bruns- 

 buttel, and end at the bay of Kiel. The cost 

 of the canal is estimated at 156,000,000 marks, 

 and the time required for constructing it at 

 seven years. In order to make the canal use- 

 ful for ships of war, it is proposed to make it 

 26 metres broad at the bottom, GO metres on 

 the surface, and 8*5 metres in depth. Its 

 length will be about 93 kilometres. 



Another undertaking, which has long been 

 in contemplation, seems to have advanced a 

 step toward completion by the formation of a 

 society in Amsterdam for considering plans for 

 draining the Zuyder Zee. A recent proposal 

 which finds considerable favor is to connect 

 the islands of Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, 

 and Ameland by dams, as Ameland is now 

 connected with the mainland, and then to cut 

 off the Zuyder from the North Sea by a dam 

 with a sluice between Texel and Helder. By 

 this means it is hoped to turn the sea into a 



