Nov. 7, 1878J 



NATURE 



15 



Several members of the group as Dike, Medusa, and 

 others with better determined orbits remain to be virtually 

 rediscovered, and the most interesting of all, from its 

 long period and near approach to the orbit of Jupiter 

 {Hilda), was not found at its last opposition, Atalanta 

 and Felicitas are now nearer the earth than is usual with 

 the minor planets, both being within the mean distance 

 of the earth from the sun ; they have the brightness of 

 stars of the tenth magnitude. The following positions 

 are for I2h. M.T. at Berlin, or about iih. G.M.T. :— 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



We regret to learn that the Earl of Dufterin will be 

 unable to open the session of the Royal Geographical 

 Society on Monday next, as he has received Her Majesty's 

 commands to attend at Balmoral on that day, but it is 

 hoped that he will be able to preside at the meeting on 

 December 9. 



Prof. F. V. Haydex, in charge of the Geological Sur- 

 vey of the U.S. Territories, has crossed the Rocky Moun- 

 tain Divide ten times during the past season. He has 

 explored some of the most noted passes, and among them 

 the celebrated Two-ocean Pass, of which he made a care- 

 ful chart ; an account of this we hope soon to be able to 

 give. We hope also to receive from Prof. Hayden an 

 account of the discovery of recent glaciers in the Wind 

 River Mountains of Wyoming Territory, the first known 

 to exist in the United States east of the Pacific Coast. A 

 fine glacier was observed on the east side of Wind River 

 Peak, and two grand ones on the east side of Fremont's 

 Peak. The latter Dr. Hayden named Upper and Lower 

 Fremont Glaciers. Dr. Hayden took great pleasure in 

 traversing much of the same ground passed over by him 

 in i860, eighteen years and three months before. 



A Reuter's telegram states that Gen. SevertsofT, 

 the explorer of the Pamir plateau, has returned to St. 

 Petersburg, having visited the unknown districts of Lake 

 Rang-Kul and the Sariz Pamir and Alitchur Pamir 

 plateaux. He reports having found a continuous valley 

 extending from Lake Kara-Kul to the Aksu River. Gen. 

 Sjeyertsoff has considerably altered the map of these 

 regions and thrown much light on the geography of the 

 Pamir plateau. 



We are sorry to state that no news from the Florence 

 has reached Washington from September 13, the date of 

 the last telegram which Capt. Tyson sent to New York 

 when leaving St. John's, Newfoundland. It is feared 

 that the ship was sunk by the recent heavy gales which 

 raged in this part of the Northern Atlantic a few days 

 after its setting out. 



The London Missionary- Society have received intelli- 

 gence of the arrival of their Tanganyika expedition at 

 Urambo, in Unyamweii, on July 27 ; they were to leave 

 that place early in August, and hoped to reach Ujiji by 

 the beginning of September. Mr. Hore in his letter 

 divides his geographical description of the country 

 between Kirasa, forty-five miles east of Mpwapwa, and 

 the capital of Unyamwesi into four sections, each of 

 which furnishes interesting details respecting the region 

 traversed by the party. From Kirasa in S. lat. 6^ 42' 30", 

 elevation 2,700 .feet, to Mpwapwa, lat. 6" 22', 3,200 

 feet, they were still in the coast region, the country' 

 gradually rising to Mpwapwa along an inclosed plain. 



As it is approached, the mountains of that range bound 

 the view westward, forming the distinct boundary-line of 

 the maritime region. The waters of the Limbo and of 

 the Mpwapwa stream appear to be mere tricklings left 

 by an immense and irregular flow of water during the 

 rains, which, Mr. Hore susi)ects, will alter the whole face 

 of the country and reconcile the conflicting accounts we 

 have had about the Gombo Lake. The Chunyo Pass is 

 the back door of the maritime region ; a slight descent 

 leads to the plain of the Marenga Mhali, which extends 

 through Ugogo, unless the break of elevated forest and 

 ridge between Kididimo and Nyambwa may be said to 

 divide it into two portions. Assuming this, the first por- 

 tion, consisting of the Marenga Mhali and Eastern 

 Ugogo, exhibits a similar character throughout, that is, 

 a gently undulating plain, with harsh, thorny, scrubby 

 vegetation and small trees, its monotony bro<cen by small 

 irregular and rugged granite hills. A slightly elevated 

 ridge, with a reaUy beautiful forest, divides the first from 

 the second section of the journey. Descending from 

 the first ridge, the party entered the second section, a flat 

 plain, crusted with a salt deposit, in which tall palm-trees 

 form a new feature. At Mizanga the second section 

 terminated abruptly at a precipitous wall 800 feet high. 

 This wall, or "step," extends north and south, but north 

 of Mizanga it trends away to north-west and west-north- 

 west, which bend the expedition followed, and mounted 

 into the third section or stage of the journey a little 

 beyond Makondoku, the westernmost town of Ugogo. 

 This third section was the vast and elevated forest plateau 

 of Uyanzi and Unyamwesi, extending almost unbroken to 

 nearly the meridian of Unyanyembe. The party here 

 found a comparatively bracing atmosphere, and also 

 reached their highest elevation, 4^4.00 feet, in the meridian 

 of Jewe-la-Singa. At Uyui (lat. 4'^ 53', altitude, 3924 

 feet) the fourth section was entered, the hills and dales of 

 Unyamwesi, and the country maintained the same cha- 

 racter as far as Urambo (lat. 4° T,f 30", altitude, 3,815 

 feet), from which place Mr. Hore wTOte that the hills, often 

 little elevated ridges, trend generally north and south, 

 and many of their shoulders had to be crossed. This is 

 the region of the Gombe Nullah. " To the passing tra- 

 veller," Mr. Hore says, "the driftwood and grass in the 

 trees overhead speak to him of some vast inundation 

 rather than of a stream. The Gombe Nullah is the 

 lowest drain of a vast body of water, whose general direc- 

 tion towards the Malagarasi is indicated by it. . . . 

 This fourth stage has brought us on to the water-shed of 

 the Tanganyika." 



The proceedings of the party which last spring went 

 to New Guinea in the Colonist from Australia, have 

 hitherto been shrouded in mystery, though rumours have 

 occasionally reached this country as to their want of suc- 

 cess. Recently, however, a leading member of the party 

 has been obliged to go to Cooktown, Queensland, through 

 ill-health, and his report of their proceedings has been 

 furnished to the Brisbane Courier. Almost all that has 

 previously been heard of them is that they had formed a 

 camp on the Laloki River. Starting north from this 

 point we learn that they proceeded through open country 

 for eight miles, and struck the Goldie River, where they 

 found the first coloiu"s of gold. Twelve miles up this 

 river they crossed and proceeded for two miles in a 

 northerly direction, when they recrossed on finding that 

 the river trended to the east. They then took a north- 

 easterly direction for thirteen miles, partly through dense 

 scrub, and reached what they named the Top Camp, 

 thirty-five miles from the Laloki. They made two 

 journeys up the Goldie, one party going a distance of 

 fifty miles, but found no indications of gold. =They saw 

 many villages, some numbering 1,000 inhabitants, and all 

 the natives were friendly. Afterwards the party moved 

 further down the river, and camped near the junction of 

 the Mawmika and the Goldie, the former of which flows 



