126 REPORT — 1867. 



mini, — which is an affair of winds and currents. Panama has the advantage in 

 shortness of land transit ; Nicaragua in winds, terminal ports, and climate. As a 

 rule, the prevailing winds, in the belt of ocean between 35° N. and 35° S., are from 

 the eastward, except the belt of equatorial calms, which extends across the Pa- 

 cific. Looking westward, therefore, towards Australia or Eastern Asia, Panama 

 is to windward ; the commercial routes from thence westward are thus to leeward, 

 whilst the return voyages are to windward. By making a detour, the return 

 voyage would not be so difficult, but other physical difficulties stand in the way of 

 navigation. Panama lies in the equatorial belt of calm, which is greatly widened 

 on the Pacific coast, and sailing-vessels are often detained for weeks by it. 

 II.M.S. 'Herald'was once obliged to be towed by a steamer for 700 miles outof this 

 calm-belt before she could find a breeze. Vessels, therefore, to get clear of the 

 calms in the season in which they prevail, even when their destination is south- 

 ward, are obliged to move up the coast towards Costa Rica, and then get north- 

 ward until they reach the N.E. trade-winds, on which they depend for getting out 

 to sea, clear of the calms. This peculiar feature decides the question of the most 

 desirable route across the Isthmus, which would be in a latitude where the calms 

 would not suiTOund the port of the Pacific terminus, and so cause no obstacle to 

 the approach and departure of sailing-vessels throughout the year. Several routes 

 have been proposed across the northern portions of the Isthmus, lying out of the 

 reoion of calms. On an examination of the physical conditions of each, and espe- 

 cially the winds at the ports of each terminus, the author gives the preference to 

 a route which would cross Nicaragua near to the north-west end of the Lake of 

 Nicaragua, and terminate at the Port of Realejo. Healejo is on the northern 

 verge of the tedious calms of Panama, and the point where they neaily cease to be 

 vexatious to the navigator at any season. 



International Pre-historic and Anthropological Conf/ress. 

 By Sir R. I. Muechison, Bart., K.C.B., F.R.S. 

 Sir R. I. Murchison read a letter from M. Lartet announcing that at the sitting 

 of the International Congress of Pre-historic Ai'chseology and Anthropology, held 

 at Paris on the 29th of August, it was resolved to hold the Meeting of 1868 in 

 England, and that Sir R. I. Murchison had been elected President thereof Upon 

 this, Sir Roderick explained to the Section that he had replied to M. Lartet, stat- 

 ing that he was under the necessity of declining the honourable post assigned to 

 him, as he had already made arrangements, on account of the state of his health, 

 to be absent from England during the ensuing summer. He therefore suggested 

 that Sir Charles Lyell, Sir J. Lubbock, Prof. Busk, Mr. J. Evans, Mr. Prestwich, 

 and Mr. A. Franks should he a Committee, with which he would gladly cooperate 

 to organize the arrangements and fix the place and date of meeting*. 



Observations on the Livhigstone Search Expedition now in progress. 

 Bg Sir R. I. Murchison, Bart., K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S. 

 Sir R. Mm-ehisou explained at some length the various reasons which had led 

 him to disbelieve the story of Dr. Livingstone's death, as narrated to the Consul 

 at Zanzibar and T)r. Kirk by Moussa, tlie Johana man, the sole witness of the 

 catastrophe. Having given several proofs of the mendacity of this Moussa, he 

 specially dwelt upon his gi-oss prevarication in having given to one of the sepoys 

 of the expedition an account of the death of Li^dngstone entii-ely differing from 

 that which he gave to the Consul at Zanzibar. Under these circimistances 

 Sir R. Mm-chison had felt it to be his duty as President of the Royal Geographical 

 Society, to induce the Coimcil of that body to appeal to Her Majesty's Govern- 

 ment to fit out, at small cost, a searching-boat expedition, which, to their gi-eat 

 credit, the Admiralty had efi'ectively carried out. He described the pieced struc- 

 ture of the steel boat which had reached the Cape of Good Hope, to be thence 

 ti-ansmitted to the mouth of the Zambesi river. He then explained how it was to 



* It has subsequently been arranged that Sir John Lubbock is to be the President, and 

 that this Congress will assemble at Norwich in August 1868, during the Meeting of the 

 British Association. — February 1868, 



