NATURE 



[Jan. i, 1880 



into which the geologists of the Eastern States have been 

 thrown. We hear of the scheme being stigmatised as 

 another example of the infringement of State rights, of 

 the illeoal assumption of State responsibilities, and of 

 the danger to private interests as well as public morality 

 to be apprehended from the temptations which such a 

 vastly extended supervision would put in the way of the 

 central authority. 



The area in the West yet to be explored is so vast, the 

 problems offered by it so numerous and so tempting, the 

 field so free from "vested interests" of any previous 

 explorers, that we cannot for a moment imagine that Mr. 

 Clarence King and his associates, who, having already 

 cleared a way for themselves through that wide West, 

 know better than any other men its infinite variety and 

 attractiveness, will trouble themselves with the geology of 

 the East, where for generations past the labourers have 

 been so many, and where, comparatively speaking, the 

 field is so small and already so well tilled. With the 

 humour of their countrymen they may have made use of 

 the rather indefinite language of a congressional resolution 

 to scare their less adventurous brethren in the Eastern 

 cities. We would, therefore, counsel the geologists of the 

 East to treat the matter as a joke. They have nothing to 

 fear. It would be as absurd to give the Director of the 

 United States Geological Survey control over the geology 

 of all the States, as to make the Chief Constable of 

 New York comptroller of morals for the whole of the 

 Union. A. G. 



SAHARA AND SUDAN 

 Sahara nnd Sudan Ergcbnissc sechsjdhriger Rciscn in 

 Africa. Von Dr. Gustav Nachtigal. Erster Theil, 

 mit 49 Holzschnitten und 2 Karten. (Berlin, 1879.) 



DR. N ACHTIGAL'S wanderings came to an end more 

 than six years ago. Most of his results have been 

 brought at various times before learned societies and other- 

 wise published, and the most important parts of his route 

 are laid down in published atlases. The present work 

 contains a detailed account of his entire travels and 

 observations. The book now under consideration is only 

 an instalment extending over his journey up to the end of 

 the year 1870 ; a second is to follow. The volume is a 

 large octavo of 750 closely printed pages with an appendix 

 containing meteorological observations. 



Dr. Nachtigal undertook the duty of conveying to the 

 Sultan of Bornu, the country surrounding Lake Tsad, a 

 present sent by the Emperor of Germany in acknowledg- 

 ment of the hospitality and assistance afforded by the 

 Sultan to the German travellers, Earth and Overvveg, 

 Yogel, von Bcurman, and Rohlfs. In his journey from 

 Tripolis to Bornu the author passed along the caravan 

 route traversed before by Dcnham and Clapperton in 

 1822-23-24, and by Barth and Vogel in 1849-55, and also 

 by Rohlfs. During all this portion of his journey he was 

 therefore on ground comparatively well-known from the 

 writings of the above travellers. He made however three 

 long excursions to the eastward, one into Tibesti or Tu, 

 another to Borku, and a third into Bagirmi to the south 

 of Lake Tsad ; finally he made his way eastward from 

 Lake Tsad across Wadai and Darfor, to Chartum. 



Of the present volume more than two-thirds is occupied 



with the account of the journey along the direct route 

 between Tripolis and Bornu, and an account of Fezzan, 

 and of Bornu and its capital, Kuka. The remaining 

 third of the book relates to the journey into the unexplored 

 region of Tibesti and is thus the most interesting and im- 

 portant portion of the work. 



Lake Tsad lies almost due south of Tripolis and the 

 caravan route follows an almost straight line between the 

 two points. Dr. Nachtigal left Tripolis on February 18, 

 1 869, and after his wanderings in Tibesti and many mis- 

 haps reached Kuka in June 1870. At Tripolis, and also 

 in Murzuq he frequently met with the well-known travel- 

 ler, Miss Tinne, of whose history and deplorable murder 

 by the Tuaric he gives a full account. Miss Tinne or 

 " the King's Daughter," as she was called by the inhabit- 

 ants of the country, excited the greatest curiosity and was 

 believed to possess supernatural powers. One story 

 circulated about her at Murzuq was to the effect that her 

 large pet dog which travelled with her was a bewitched 

 man and changed into the human form from time to 

 time. 



The fourth chapter deals with the natural character- 

 istics of the district of Fezzan. So scarce and dear are 

 mutton and goats' flesh in Fezzan that recourse is had to 

 minute Crustacea and the larva; of diptera from lakes of 

 brackish water as food. The Bahar-el-Dud, or " worm 

 lake," is so full of the larva; and of the Crustacea, the 

 cosmopolitan inhabitant of salt water lakes, Artemia, that 

 the inhabitants collect these animals in masses and knead 

 them up with dates and an alga which also grows in the 

 lake to form a repast which is highly esteemed. An 

 Artemia occurs in the Great Salt Lake in Utah ; the 

 species in the present case is A. Oudneyi, 



A long chapter on the olimate and diseases of Fezzan 

 follows, in which the maladies are described with an 

 amount and character of detail which, though highly 

 valuable, is perhaps more befitting a strictly medical pub- 

 lication than a general book on travel with a more or 

 less popular aim. Similar medical details are given 

 throughout the book and sometimes seem very much out 

 of place. The native notions of medical treatment are 

 curious and primitive. Thus patients suffering from 

 cancer of the breast must most carefully abstain from all 

 food derived from animals provided with tails, even such 

 as milk and butter. To promote fruitfulness in women 

 young suckling hares are prescribed. No one in Fezzan 

 doubts that it is possible for a child ]to remain dormant 

 within the mother for years or even for ever and this 

 theory is most conveniently made use of when mishap 

 necessitates it by wives whose husbands have been absent 

 on very long journeys. As an aphrodisiac the fat of a 

 Manatee, Manatus Vogellii, is used. The drug is sold at a 

 high price being brought from the River Biniie a tributary 

 of the Kowara in which the animal is abundant. Diseases 

 are believed to be caused either by evil spirits or by the 

 action of the evil eye. 



During his exploration of Tibesti Dr. Nacht; 

 experienced many dangers and difficulties, losing his way, 

 and suffering from want of water and forced night 

 marches. A very interesting account is given of the 

 ceremonials observed by the Tubu people in greeting one 

 another. A most elaborate performance is gone through 

 when two strangers meet in this wild country. Each of 



