TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 137 
cradle-land of Great Bulgaria and Great Hungary, and were essentially the same 
race under different names. This southward extension of the Ugrian race (the 
underlying race of all the European area) at so recent a period is an important fact, 
and seems to offer a key to the unlocking of that Pre-Aryan period of European 
history known as Pre-histoiric. 
Rivers and Territories of the Rio de la Plata. By T. J. Hurcwrnson, 
HLM, Consul at Rosario. 
On the Pehuelche Indians of Patagonia. By T. J. Hurcurysoy, 
HM, Consul at Rosario. 
Topography of Vesuvius, with an account of the vecent eruption. 
By J. Logan Losier, GS. 
The topography of Vesuvius was described in detail in this paper, which was 
accompanied by a map showing the points of interest on and around the volcano, 
as well as the courses taken by the lava streams emitted during the eruption of 1631 
and the succeeding eruptions of the last and present centuries. The portion of the 
surface of the mountain covered by the lava of the late eruption up to the time of 
the author’s ascent, was also indicated on this map. The author then pointed out that 
the mountain previous to the first of the historical eruptions, that of a.p. 79, was 
a simple widely-spreading cone haying a single great crater, and that it then had 
every appearance of being an extinct volcano. Besides overwhelming Herculaneum, 
Pompeii, and Stabiz, the eruption of 79 left another great memorial of its occur- 
rence in the destruction of half of the enclosing wall of the great and ancient cra- 
ter, and in the formation of that which has gradually grown, by the accumulation 
of the ejectamenta of successive eruptions, to be the present great cone of Vesuvius. 
It was thus that this memorable catastrophe changed Vesuvius from a simple trun- 
cated cone to the double-peaked and picturesque mountain of modern times, to a por- 
tion of which the Italians give the name of Monte Somma, and to the remainder 
Vesuvio. This part of the paper was illustrated by a series of diagrams showing 
the changes which have successively taken place in the form of the volcano. 
The succeeding portion of the paper described the author’s ascent to the crater 
during the eruption of 1868, and gaye particulars of the phenomena displayed by 
the volcano and observed during the month of March in that year. The inclina- 
tion of the sides of the great cone was found to be 40°, and the lava was flowing 
in many small streams near the Hermitage at the rate of 300 yards per hour. 
The Gold-field of South Africa. By Dr. Mann, Superintendent of Education 
and Special Commissioner of the Natal Government. 
Tn this paper Dr. Mann described Carl Mauch’s discovery of old workings for 
old on the high ground between the Limpopo and Zambesi rivers. Herr Mauch 
as been for some time bent on making his way through the African continent 
from south to north. Hestarted from Natal some four years since, and in 1864 was 
in the Transvaal territory. In that year he accompanied an old, well-known ele- 
phant hunter, Mr. Hartley, on one of his expeditions beyond the Limpopo. The 
trip led them from the neighbourhood of Pretoria across the Limpopo, and along its 
west side, until the river entered upon its eastward bend, when the hunter climbed 
_ a high granitic table-land forming the water-shed between the Limpopo and 
Zambesi rivers in Mosilikatze’s territory, about the 28th meridian of longitude. In 
this region, on the 27th day of July, Mr. Hartley directed his companion’s attention 
to some curious holes that he had stumbled upon, obviously made artificially in 
masses of quartz rock. Herr Mauch found in the situation indicated a vein of 
quartz rock about 4 feet thick, penetrated in one place by a pit 10 feet in diameter, 
and containing at the bottom fragments of quartz, slag, coal, ashes, and broken 
blast-pipes made of clay, On commencing his search he lit upon a considerable 
