164 REPORT 1860. 



Jaczwings remained. A more moderate notice simply says that the name of the Jacz- 

 wings was very rare and known to few. Conjointly with the special details of the 

 Jaczwings themselves, those of the populations with which they came in contact 

 should be studied — those of Russia and Poland, cut up into duchies; of Gallicia, a 

 powerful principality ; of Lithuania, a kingdom under Mindov, vacillating both in 

 creed and politics; of North-Eastern Germany under the Knights of the Teutonic 

 order; and, finally, of Volhynia occupied byComanian Turks, and partly overrun by 

 Mongols. Details, however, of this kind are beyond the pale of the present notice, 

 which is chiefly made for the sake of drawing attention to the history of a nation — 

 the pre-eminently Pagan nation of Europe — once powerful, but now fragmentary, 

 the blood of which must still be found in more than one district where the language 

 is German, Lithuanic, Polish, or Russian. 



On the latest Discoveries in South-Central Africa. 

 By Dr. D. Livingstone. 



The following letter from Dr. Livingstone was read to the Section : — 



River Shire, Nov. 4, 1859. 



The River Shire has its source in the green waters of the great Lake Nyassa (lat. 

 14° 23' S., long. 35° 30' E.). It flows serenely on in a southerly direction, a fine 

 navigable stream, from 80 to 120 yards in breadth, expanding some 12 or 15 miles 

 from Nyassa into a beautiful lakelet, with a well-defined water horizon, and perhaps 

 5 or 6 miles wide ; then narrowing again, it moves quietly on about 40 miles, till it 

 reaches Murchison's Cataracts. After a turbulent course of 30 miles, it emerges 

 from the cataracts a peaceful river capable of carrying a large steamer through the 

 remaining 112 miles of its deep channel, and joins the Zambesi in lat. 17° 47' S., 

 100 miles from the confluence of that river with the sea. The valley through which 

 the Shire flows is from 10 to 12 miles broad at the southern extremity of Lake 

 Nyassa, but soon stretches out to 20 or 30 miles, and is bounded all the way on 

 both sides by ranges of hills, the eastern range being remarkably lofty. At Chihisas 

 (lat. 16° 2' 3'' S., 35° 1' E.), a few miles below the cataracts, the range of hills on the 

 left bank of the Shire is not above 3 miles from the river, while the other range has 

 receded out of sight. If from Chihisas we proceed in a north- easterly path, a three 

 hours' march places us on an elevation of upwards of 1000 feet. This is not far 

 from the level of the Upper Shire valley (1200 feet), and appears to be its prolonga- 

 tion. Four hours' additional travel, and we reach another plateau, 1000 feet higher, 

 and in a few hours more the highest plateau, 3000 feet above the level of the sea, is 

 attained, arid we are on an extensive table-laud, which, in these three distinct divi- 

 sions, extends to Zomba (lat. of southern end 15° 21' S.). It is then broken ; and 

 natives report that, north of Zomba, which is 20 miles in length from north to south, 

 there is but a narrow partition between Lakes Nyassa and Tamandua (Shirwa). 

 Three islands were visible on the west side of what we could see of Nyassa from its 

 southern end. The two ranges of hills stretch along its shores, and we could see 

 looming through the haze caused by burning grass all over the country the dim out- 

 lines of some lofty mountains behind the eastern hills. On the table-land are 

 numerous hills anil some mountains, as Chicadgura, perhaps 5000 feet high, and 

 Zomba (which was ascended), from 7000 to 8000 feet in altitude. From this table- 

 land we can see, on the east of Lake Tamandua, the Milanje Mountains, apparently 

 hio-her than Zomba and Mount Clarendon, not unworthy of the noble name it bears. 

 All this iegion is remarkably well- watered ; wonderfully numerous are the streams 

 and mountain rills of clear, cool, gushing water. Once we passed eight of them 

 and a strong spring in a single hour, and we were then at the end of the dry season. 

 Even Zomba has a river about 20 yards wide, flowing through a rich valley near its 

 summit. The hill is well wooded also; trees, admirable for their height and the 

 amount of timber in them, abound along the banks of the streams. '* Is this country 

 good for cattle?" the head man of the Mr>kololo, whose business had been the 

 charge of cattle, was asked. " Truly," replied he ; " don't you see the abundance of 

 such" and such grasses, which cattle love, and on which they grow fat?" And yet 

 the people have only a few goats, and still fewer sheep. There are no wild animals 

 in the highlands, and but few birds ; and with the exception of one place, where we 



