GEOGRAPHICAL PROGRESS AND DISCOVERY. 



309 



we found that, with the exception of the Wady Adim, 

 all the valley heads we visited were nearly or uni- 

 form height with the main valley, and had a wall of 

 rock approaching 1,000 feet in height, eaten away, as 

 it were, out of the plateau. We were therefore led 

 to suppose that these valleys had originally been 

 formed by the action of the sea, and that the Hadra- 

 mut had* once been a large fiord, or arm of the sea, 

 which, as the waters of the ocean receded, formed an 

 outlet for the scanty water supply of the southern 

 Arabian highlands. These valleys have, in the course 

 of ages, been silted up by sand to a considerable height, 

 below which water is always found ; and the only 

 means of obtaining water in the Hadramut for drink- 

 ing, as well as for cultivation, is by sinking wells. 



Prof. Skaukowskig, of St. Petersburg, de- 

 scribes the ruins of the ancient towns of Merv, 

 on the Transcaspian Railway, about 16| miles 

 from the present town of the name. They rep- 

 resent 3 distinct towns of different epochs, fol- 

 lowing in succession from northeast to south- 

 west. Each was in the form of a fortress, whose 

 walls can still be traced. The oldest, Gyaur- 

 Kala, was the Merv of the Sassanids and Arabs. 

 In this, as in the other two, are the remains of a 

 citadel. The only space within the walls is filled 

 with mounds covered with broken tiles, the re- 

 mains of former houses. The second fortress, 

 Sultan-Kala, is that of the Persian Seljuks, 

 whose capital it was. In the center is the mau- 

 soleum of the most popular of these, Sultan 

 Sandschara, showing traces of elegant architec- 

 ture and rich ornamentation. Some of the frag- 

 ments of tiles among the ruins have a blue glaze. 

 A semicircular wall joins the northern and 

 southern walls of Sultan-Kala, inclosing a space 

 known as Tskender-Kala. This is popularly at- 

 tributed to Alexander the Great, but so far no 

 proof exists that it has a different origin from 

 Sultan-Kala. The third fortress, Bairam-ali- 

 Khan-Kala, was destroyed little more than a 

 hundred years ago by Murad-Bi, of Bokhara, who 

 removed many of the inhabitants by force. The 

 walls and buildings, which include the palace, 

 mosque, baths, and an aqueduct, are naturally 

 in better preservation than in the older towns. 

 Outside the walls for some miles are ruins of 

 houses built of clay or unburned brick, mostly 

 with courtyards surrounded by walls, traces of 

 vineyards and mulberry groves still remaining 

 in places. 



Oceanica. New Mecklenburg, formerly New 

 Ireland, now under German rule, is described by 

 Count Pfeil. Little was known of the island 

 before his expedition, in 1888. It has but one 

 harbor, in the southeast, but the explorers man- 

 aged to land on the southwest coast, and climbed 

 to the central ridge, whence the sea could be 

 seen. Few streamlets and but one or two vil- 

 lages were passed on the way. The villages on 

 the eastern side were neat, and the people friend- 

 ly, though shy. An attempt was made to ex- 

 plore the southern part of the island, but the 

 natives quarreled with the count's men, and he 

 was forced to turn back, two of his party having 

 been killed. The island is well wooded and fer- 

 tile. The original inhabitants have been driven 

 to the north and south of the islands by invad- 

 ers who settled in the center. These people 

 build neat houses, and are cleanly, but have a 

 marked odor. The men are usually naked. Their 

 weapons are axes arid spears, some all of hard- 



wood, others of bamboo with a hard-wood 

 point. They have no shields, but use two sorts 

 of drums. Their ornaments are primitive 

 of shell and bamboo. Some excellent wood carv- 

 ing is found, especially on the posts of the 

 " tambu " house, on dance masks, and on the 

 commemorative sticks, whose significance is not 

 quite understood, though it is supposed to be 

 historical. The women cook the human flesh, 

 but are not allowed to partake of it beyond lick- 

 ing their fingers. The natives are great traders, 

 sailing in their canoes, which are made of a hol- 

 lowed tree with an outrigger, in the west, but of 

 separate planks fastened together and calked, 

 and without any outrigger, in the south and 

 east. Their money consists of different colored 

 mussel shells red, white, and black ; each kind 

 is strung separately, and each has a definite 

 value. The dead are burned, or buried at sea 

 with a stone fastened to the feet and a bush in the 

 hand, to keep the body upright and to frighten 

 away from the corpse the fish they hope to catch. 

 They believe in a perpetual continuation of life, 

 the souls of the dead going to a neighoring 

 island, and in an invisible god and his wife, who 

 is the mother of all men, and who communicate 

 with them through the priests and profoundly 

 influence their lives. 



The highest point of the Snowy mountains, or 

 Australian Alps, has been supposed to be Muel- 

 ler's peak ; but from observations made by Joseph 

 Brooks, of the NPW South Wales Trigonometrical 

 Survey. Mount Kosciusko was found to be the 

 highest, its altitude being 7,336 feet, while that 

 of Mueller's peak is 7,268. 



A survey of the New Georgia group of the 

 Solomon Islands is in progress. This group is 

 said to be inhabited by the most treacherous and 

 murderous tribes in the western Pacific. The 

 shores are a maze of bays, reefs, islets, and chan- 

 nels, of which very little is known. The officer 

 in command found means to establish peaceable 

 relations with the natives. He visited a com- 

 manding mountain in the interior, but was 

 warned not to ascend to the summit, which is 

 held sacred and said to be guarded by a huge 

 fish and a gigantic clam. The tree trunks and 

 rocks are covered with a remarkable luminous 

 lichen, which fills the forests with a dim light, 

 and serves for torches when torn off and tied on 

 sticks. 



From a report on the survey of New Zealand 

 it is learned that a considerable area in West- 

 land was surveyed in connection with the ex- 

 ploration of the head waters of the Copeland 

 and other rivers, to ascertain if a practicable 

 route could be obtained across the southern 

 Alps from that river to the hotel at the base of 

 Mount Cook. It was found that the proposed 

 route from the valley up the Strauchon glacier 

 and by way of Baker's Saddle into the Hooker 

 valley was impracticable, which is to be regretted, 

 as some of the finest scenery around Mount 

 Cook is cut off from the tourist. The thermal 

 springs, which are found in both the north and 

 south islands, are acquiring a high reputation 

 as sanatoria for the Australian colonies. The 

 want of agricultural land is greatly felt. The 

 whole forest area of the colony is 20,578,000 

 acres, of which 1,136,467 acres are the property 

 of the Government. 



