214 Letters, Notes, Extracts, fife. 



liking to learn something for myself about what I have 

 collected. I hope when I return to be able to shew you 

 some interesting specimens. Another ten months should 

 see the Expedition finished, if all goes well. 



My Portuguese collector has been most useful. What 

 with the transport and the various collections, he has had 

 his hands full. Birgimi is a poor country ; the villages on 

 this fine river are few and far between. There is no native 

 traffic of any kind. The Sultan of Wadai has again been 

 giving trouble, and this makes any entrance into his dominions 

 impossible. On this account we have had to give up our 

 journey to Lake Fittsi. 



Yours &c, 

 Irene, Boyd Alexander. 



Near R. Ba-miocrui, 

 August 8th, 1905. 



[We are informed that Irene, or Irena, is in about 8° N. lat. 

 and 18° E. long., on the Shari, of which the Ba-mingui is 

 one of the principal tributaries. — Edd.] 



Sirs, — I am writing a line to tell you that we have arrived 

 at Las Palmas, where we coal. As we shall only be here a 

 day or two, I shall not be able to do much in the way of 

 collecting. We go on to St. Paul's Rocks, then to Bahia 

 (to coal), and thence to South Trinidad, where I hope to 

 get some good Petrels. After that we proceed to Tristan 

 d*Acunha, Inaccessible Island, and Gough Island, and from 

 the last island to Cape Town, where we get our first mail. 

 I have seen only the usual sea-birds at present. Two days 

 out from England a Willow-Wren and a Robin came on 

 board, and the following day a Stock-Dove. I will write 

 again from Bahia. 



Yours &c, 



• Valhalla/ R.Y.S., Michael J. Nicoll. 



November 12th, 1905, 

 Las Palmas. 



