TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. Ill 



But even wlieu these facilities are absent, there is one great quality that, if life 

 remains, may overcome all difficulties, a quality for -^vhich, I trust, Great Britain 

 •will ever be' renowned — " deter mination.'' "When we met Speke and Grant (the 

 Englishman and the Scotchman) at Gondokoro, they had nothing except guns, 

 ammunition, beds, and quinine ; and still they Jiad overcome all difficulties. 

 When my wife and I returned two years later to the same spot, we had had 

 no quinine for eighteen months, our steel boat had been our large sponging- 

 batli, our india-rubber floats had been infated goafsJn'ns ; and nevertheless we 

 are here now, thanks to the guidance of a Divine Providence ! 



But, next to Providence, there is a support to which an English traveller clings 

 when far, far away from civilization, in countries unkno-^^ni and trackless. He may 

 be in misery and "helpless, he may have lost all hope of return, and sickness may 

 have stricken him to the margin of his grave ; but as his last thoughts wander 

 towards all those left behind, and he weighs the fatal end against the residts of his 

 mission, of one thing he feels certain : — His Government may ignore him, friends 

 may forget him, but the Royal Geographical Society, with Murchison at the head, 

 will never forsake him ; if dead, he will be sought for ; and should he retiu-n alive, 

 their approbation of his labours will be his great reward. 



Confident in this support, the hardy pioneers of Great Britain will floclf to the 

 thinned ranlcs of the explorers. Speke lies buried in his native village-church ; 

 Li^-ingstone, we fear, lies far away ; but the monument we raise to these brave 

 men will be the starting-]3oint for others, who may equal their great deeds. And 

 should the traveller fall in the noble task, and die in a lonely and distant land, if 

 no friendh' voice be near to bid farewell, he still will have a consolation : in the 

 last hour, a spirit will whisper these words of comfort to his soid, *' England 

 expects that every man will do his duty ! " 



Notes of a Hecomiatssance of some Portions of Palestine ynade in 1865-66 /or 

 the Palestine Exploration Fund. By Lieut. Andeesok, R.E. 

 The reconnaissance survey commenced at Baneas, near the source of the most 

 important tributary of the Jordan. The Latitude was carefully fixed, the position 

 of the junction of the Jordan and Baneas streams determined, and the places con- 

 nected by compass-bearings. A base was thus obtained on which to frame the 

 triangulation to the mountains on both sides of the valley. From Baneas an azi- 

 muth line was observed to a prominent peak about ten miles distant on the west 

 side of the valley, and the latitvide of the survey camp at the village of Hunin, 

 near the peak, determined. From Hunin the watershed was followed, which for 

 topographical reconnaissance afforded great facilities, as a clear view was always 

 obtained to great distances east and west, and all impoi-tant places visible within 

 eight or ten miles were fixed by triangulation. The next camp was fixed at Kedes, 

 and connected with that of Hunin by an azimuth line. The suney then removed 

 to the village of ^ilma, overlooking the lake of Huleh, eighteen miles distant 

 from Baneas, and the line of azimuths connected hence with the watershed of 

 Kefr Birim. Explorations were made to the north, twelve or fifteen miles, and all 

 mountain-tops and villages vs-ithin access visited and surveyed. To the south of 

 Kefr Birim the culminating highlands of Upper Galilee, which had never been 

 previously examined, were thoroughly explored. From Jebel Jurmuk, about 4000 

 feet above the sea-level. Cape Carmel could be distinctly seen. The next camp 

 was pitched at Safed. Safed Castle has a most extensive view in eveiy direction, 

 except nortli-east, where a hill 200 feet higher intervenes. A triangidation and 

 siuTcy of the whole of the Sea of Galilee and adjoiningmountains was ne.xtmade. 

 The reconnaissance was extended about eight miles to the westward to the village 

 of Ailahoon, and proceeding southward, embraced tlie country over which the 

 Crusaders made their disastrous march from Sepphoris to Kurn Hattin. From 

 Nazareth Wely a ■\-iew was obtained over the beautiful plain of Esdraelon, and ob- 

 servations made to many points, including others to Mount Ebal, thirty-five miles 

 further south. As far south as Jeuin the watershed was explored and mapped out 

 to the bend of the Leontes, about sixty miles distant in a straight line. The 

 watershed to the eastward of Nablus had not yet been explored by any traveller. 



