164 REPORT — 1870. 



wlio has recently returned from an exploration undertaken under the auspices of 

 the Royal Geographical Society, and at the cost of an enlightened merchant, 

 Mr. Andrew Swanzy, will communicate to the Section an account of his hazardous 

 journey to the Upper Waters of the Niger and to the Bour6 country. Mr. Reade 

 explored a portion of the Niger not previously visited by any European traveller, 

 and opened up a tract of populous coimtry, in which is situated the town of Fara- 

 hana, containing 10,000 inhabitants, previously unknown to geographers. 



In respect to those portions of Central America with which many readers have 

 become acquainted through the descriptions of Stephens and Squier, I may inform 

 you that you will be interested in a communication from Captain J. Carmichael 

 upon countries occupied by the Indians of British Honduras and Yucatan. Ascribing 

 an Eastern and probably an Egyptian origin to the earlier buildings and temples 

 of the aboriginal American Indians and their idols, the author, who has explored 

 the region he describes, and speaks their language, endeavours to throw additional 

 light on the subject. He confesses, however, that in these mysterious monuments 

 he finds as much difficulty in assigning them definitely to any race of men as 

 British and other authors have had in fixing the origin of our own most ancient 

 monuments at home, such as Stonehenge and other Druidical remains. He differs 

 from Stephens and Squier and those authors who do not assign a great antiquity 

 to these reliquiae, and shows tliat when the Spaniards took possession of the 

 countiy several of the colossal buildings and temples had even then a very antique 

 appearance. 



Captain Carmichael discusses with spirit the question of the former use of the 

 huge and lofty tumuli which abound, and suggests the probability that many of 

 the well-chiselled and beautifully formed stone buildings and ornaments were 

 fashioned into their present shapes by stone implements only, all the arrow- and 

 spear-heads which he found being made of obsidian. The Indian king of these 

 parts had a palace at Quiche which, according to Torquemada, rivalled that of 

 Montezuma in Mexico. The enthusiasm with which Captain Carmichael describes 

 these old ruins will, I hope, secure the attention of the Section. 



Two of our Secretaries, Mr. Clements Markliam and Mr. IMajor, will communicate 

 papers, — the first being an outline of an elaborate work he is preparing on the history 

 and progress of all the surveys in India ; the latter on the long debated question of 

 the so-called Landfall of Columbus. 



Governor William Gilpin, of Colorado, who has recently reached our shores 

 from that grand central region of North America, will, I trust, favour us with a 

 sketch of that rich, metalliferous, mountainous country, which ten years ago he 

 thoroughly described, when he energetically advocated the execution of that 

 gigantic railroad which now happily connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans*. 



Geo(jrapliical Education. — A strong desire on the part of the Coimcil of the 

 Royal Geographical Society to induce the heads of our public schools to promote 

 the study of geographj', on a plan prepared by Mr. Francis Galtou, led us to offer 

 annually two medals, to be competed for in an examination directed by the Society. 

 It gratifies me to aimounco in this town that in the two years during which these 

 honom's have been distributed, the medals adjudicated each year have been won 

 by young men in the public schools of Lancashire, viz. Liverpool College, and 

 liossall School, near Fleetwood. 



WJien we consider that all the leading schools of the United Kingdom were 

 invited to compete for these honours (and several of them did so compete), the ftict 

 which I have just mentioned does great honour to this prosperous mercantile 

 county, which among its rising generation doubtless contains many a young 

 aspirant to win the fame of Raleigh. 



I may conclude this Address by dwelling for a few moments on the topics 

 which, of all others, most interest myself, and I doubt not, the great majority of 

 my countrymen — the explorations of inner Equatorial Afiica by Sir Samuel Baker, 

 and of Southern Africa by Dr. Livingstone. 



Sir Samuel, being thoroughly well supported with those appliances which the 



* See 'The Central Gold Region of North America; with sorae new views of its Phy- 

 Bical Geography, and Observations on the Pacific Eaik-oad.' By Colonel William Gilpin. 

 Philadelphia and St. Louis, I860, 



