178 KEPORT— 1871. 



that no such inlet existed, and thus that what had been called Bennet Island, was 

 only a hilly promontoiy. Payer and himself afterwards resolved to ascend Cape 

 Franklin, and from its summit saw about sixteen new islands, and upwards of 170 

 icebergs of from 100 to 200 feet in height. 'Towards the S.W., at a distance of 

 60 nautical miles, lay a chain of moimtains of 6000 or 7000 feet high — most pro- 

 bably the "Werner Mountains of Scoresby. About eleven o'clock they started for 

 the 'western or higher end of Cape Franklin, whose height they assumed to be 

 4000 or 4500 feet. There they found that the bay or fiord bent round towards 

 the N.AV., sending branches in a westerly direction, while to the north it seemed 

 to expand into magnificent proportions. It was resolved to take the ship round 

 into the hitherto imvisited waters. On the north shore of the entrance, the green 

 slopes which formed tlie foregroimd of the rugged heights of Cape Franklin were 

 dotted with the small, burrow-like, forsaken winter dwellings of the inhabitants, 

 whom some strange mutation of the climate had driven away, and afforded pas- 

 ture to numerous herds of reindeer. From this point they steamed about 90 milea 

 into the interior of Greenland ; and had not the defective state of their boiler and 

 the positive character of their instructions prevented them from risking a deten- 

 tion during a second vrinter, they might have easily advanced much further. 

 From the summit of a peak (Mount Payer) 7200 feet in height, situated in 2(P 18' 

 west long., a view wa.s obtained of a mountain-chain lying about one third of the 

 breadth of Greenland from the east coast, the loftiest' peak of which must have 

 been nearly 13,000 feet in height. No traces of a complete glaciation of the inte- 

 rior were visible. The usual magnetical, astronomical, zoological, and botanical 

 excureions were here made. On the 17th of August, the expedition left the coast, 

 and arrived at Bremerhaven on the 11th of September, 1870. During the whole 

 voyage they determined the density of the sea-water, which was found to increase 

 with the depth, especially amongst the ice. In regard to the ' Hansa,' from which 

 they had been parted, notwithstanding the heroic efforts of her captain to reach 

 the coast, she was nipped in the ice, and went down on the 23rd of October, 1869, 

 leaving her crew to make an almost miraculous voyage of 800 miles on a con- 

 stantly decreasing ice-floe, exposed to all the rigours of an Arctic winter. They 

 wei-e fortimately able, after at length leaving the ice-raft in their boats, to reach 

 Friedrichsthal with the most incredible exertions. 



On the Limpopo Kvpedition. By Captain F. Elton. 

 The lower course of the Limpopo was explored a few vears ago by Mr. St. Vin- 

 cent Erskine, the son of the Colonial Secretary of Xatal ;' and Capt.'Elton's object 

 was to trace its higher waters, in order to see whether a more convenient route 

 and water communication could be opened up from the settlement on the Tati 

 river to the sea-coast, a distance of nearly 1000 miles. The difficulties, both 

 natural and artificial, with which Capt. Elton had to contend were often very 

 great ; but the physical obstacles to his journey, and the hostility or cupidity of 

 the natives, were successfully overcome; and lie accomplished a'vovage of con- 

 siderably over 000 miles. lie has also shown, as he believes, the practicabilitv of 

 the route he has opened up, and it is scarcely too much to expect that by so doing 

 he has rendered essential service to commerce and civilization. 



On a Self-replenishing Artificial Horizon. 



Invented and described hj CHRisiopnER George, R.K, F.B.A.S. 



_ This instrument consists of a pair of circular disk-like re.?eiToirs about 2^ in. in 



diameter and f in. in depth, made of iron, at the same casting : one contains the 



mercury, and the other is the trough for observing. 



The disks are connected at their circumferenc^es by a narrow neck, in which is 

 drilled a hole to allow the mercuiy to pass from one reservoir to the other; the 

 communication between the two reservoirs is opened or closed by a stopcock, on 

 the cone principle, so that the mercury can be passed from one disk to the other 

 without removing the glass cover or th'e risk of losing any of the mercury. There 

 are two screw .stoppers attached to the mercurial reservoir for admitting air into 



