158 



NATURE 



\ytine 12, 1879 



is stated to have a length of 600 miles. It says much for 

 the enthusiasm, if not for the knowledge, of the Daily 

 News correspondent that he places Major Pinto in the 

 " first rank of African explorers." 



The International African Association have received 

 letters from MM. Cambier and Dutrieux down to March 

 16. They state their intention of remaining at Tabora 

 till the end of the masika, or rainy season, which com- 

 monly ceases at the beginning of May. M. Cambier says 

 that he has established friendly relations with the Arabs, 

 and that he has ample resources for the next year 

 without further supplies being sent. He also advises 

 having forwarded an entomological collection made by 

 Dr. Dutrieux. Though intelligence respecting this un- 

 fortunate expedition is remarkably vague, it may be hoped 

 that we shall before long hear of their having done some 

 real work, as they are now well advanced into the interior, 

 have ample supplies, and the proper travelling season 

 before them. The Association's second expedition will 

 probably not be long before they start for the interior, as 

 MM. Popelin and Van den Heuvel were to arrive on May 



29 at Zanzibar, whither they have been preceded by M. 

 Dutalis, who has already been engaged in a preliminary 

 examination of the River Wami. 



M. DE ViLLiERS, the new Governor- General of French 

 Cochin China, was Director of the Interior in Algiers 

 under General Chanzy. He is the author of a dictionary 

 of all the Algerian tribes and sub-divisions^of tribes. This 

 valuable work was published some years" ago at the ex- 

 pense of the French Government. 



The current number of Les Missions Caiholiqnes con- 

 tains an account by Pfere Schmitt of a journey to Loango, 

 in Western Africa. 



The new number of the Annales de V Extreme Orient 

 contains the first instalment of Dr. J. Harmand's " Notes 

 de Voyage en Indo-Chine," illustrated by a map and 

 copies of Khmer inscriptions. This is followed by part 

 of a paper on New Guinea, in which is embodied much 

 information respecting the Karons, the Kebars, and the 

 Amberbaks. There are also some remarks by R. Friede- 

 rich on the archaeology and iconography of Java. 



THE ERUPTION OF ETNA 



ON the night of Sunday, May 25, loud bellowings were 

 heard by the dwellers on the northern slopes of 

 Etna. Towards the morning of the 26th these increased, 

 and about midday a dense cloud of smoke was seen to 

 'issue from the side of the mountain below the great 

 crater, apparently half way between Randazzo and Lin- 

 guaglossa. This cloud increased, and on the 27th the 

 mountain was rendered invisible, and an effect like that 

 of an eclipse resulted. A rain of fine black ash, " like 



powdered emery," fell for miles around, and was so thick 

 that Capo di Schiso could not be seen from Taormina, a 

 distance of two miles. This black rain continued all day, 

 accompanied by thundering noises from the mountain. 

 No exact information could be procured concerning the 

 position of the centre of disturbance, because no one 

 could approach the new craters. During the night of the 

 27th the ashes continued to fall, and " huge fires could be 

 seen looming through the black clouds" — no doubt the 

 reflection of the molten lava on the smoke above it. It 

 was reported in Piedemonte, a village on the north- 



N 



.tera 



Castighone 





% 



AM/: '''-'»• -, .... M.'NeTo 



^^!^ ppS^&reat Crater 



east flanks of Etna, that three craters about a mile apart 

 had opened at the points of a triangle, about six miles 

 above Passo Pisciaro, a posting station nearly midway 

 between Randazzo and Linguaglossa. Lava was said to 

 be flowing in a valley to the north of the Val del Bove. 

 On the 28th a great stream of lava was seen from Taor- 

 mina to be descending the mountain in the direction of 

 Randazzo, " while from the new craters great balls of fire 

 were thrown high in the air, and burst into showers of 

 fire like gigantic rockets, accompanied by thundering ex- 

 plosions."' On May 29 the lava was still flowing, but the 



shower of ash was diminished. The facts, as above stated, 

 were witnessed by an Englishman living in Taormina, 

 800 feet aljove the sea, at the north-eastern termination 

 of the flanks of Etna, about fifteen geographical miles 

 from the new craters. 



Daily bulletins in the newspapers have given us the 

 history of the eruption since May 29. It is to be regretted 

 that these have not been more concordant. Many times 

 has the lava stream reached the bed of the river Alcantara, 

 according to the telegrams, and often the next day has it 

 been a kilometre distance. A telegram from Rome dated 



