Geographic Literature 



443 



pheric effects of Alaska ; Dr. Merriatn 

 describes ' ' Bogoslof , our newest Vol- 

 cano," and Dr. Grinnell and M. L,. 

 Washburn, respectively, summarize the 

 salmon industry and the fox farming of 

 our remote commonwealth— and more 

 strictly literary features attest the in- 

 spiration of a trip in which the prosaic 

 and the poetic were so happily blent. 

 Naturall}', in view of the eminent au- 

 thorship, the several chapters are notably 

 authentic and trustworthy ; and the 

 whole must long serve as the standard 

 source of general information concern- 

 ing the vast territory just entering on 

 a promising career of industrial, com- 

 mercial, and social development. Nor 

 are these two volumes all ; for addi- 

 tional chapters, prepared through the 

 cooperation of the Washington Academy 

 of Sciences, are to follow so soon as the 

 material is elaborated 



The work is a notable one in plan and 

 scope, and in the combination of utility 

 and beauty displayed by the volumes — 

 indeed, such are its excellencies that 

 the chief imperfections readily detected 

 are merely (i) insufficient recognition 

 of the editorial labors, and (2) the ab- 

 sence of a trenchant title — for, despite 

 an acceptable title-page caption the full 

 titles are unlike, and the name on the 

 back is that of the expedition and not 

 that of the book. 



W J M. 



^Twixt Sadan and Menelik. By Capt. 

 M. S. Wellby, with many illustra- 

 tions and two maps. New York : 

 Harper & Bros. 1901. 

 There is an art of travel in wild coun- 

 tries ; an art made up of all sorts of 

 applied knowledge — physiolog}^, medi- 

 cine, engineering, cooking, shooting, 

 and human sympath}^ Of this art Cap- 

 tain Wellby was a master, and a greater 

 master, I think, than would be suggested 

 b)^ his book, save to those who have had 

 some experience similar to his own. 

 There is no systematic attempt to teach 



his art, nor is there indeed any system- 

 atic presentation of the results of a 

 very notable journey through unknown 

 regions. The author explains that prep- 

 aration for service in South Africa 

 followed fast upon his return from the 

 Sudan. There was thus but little time 

 for the sifting and arrangement of the 

 very large mass of material which must 

 have been obtained by a traveler of such 

 experience and intelligence. 



Yet all who are interested in African 

 exploration must rejoice that fate per- 

 mitted the making of this straightfor- 

 ward story before carrying its author 

 to an heroic death on the veldt. In the 

 book one finds something of that over- 

 supply of detail which mars nine-tenths 

 of all the books of travel. Yet happily 

 Captain Wellby had an instinctive elect- 

 ive faculty which gives to the greater 

 part of even the trivial recitals a value 

 either for the stay-at-home or for other 

 wanderers. Indeed, for the traveler, 

 some hints may be taken from almost 

 every page. And the chief lesson is 

 perhaps this : that kindness of heart 

 and sweet charity are not thrown away 

 when shown toward black Africans. 

 Nay, not more than if shown to your 

 own friends. A less sympathetic man, 

 a man less truly brave than Captain 

 Wellby, might have recounted more of 

 startling adventure and less of instruc- 

 tion. 



The most valuable portion of the book 

 is, of course, that dealing with the jour- 

 ney from Addis Abeba to the White 

 Nile, since the route from Zeila to Addis 

 Abeba is already well known. Captain 

 Wellby 's narrative has much importance 

 as bearing upon the country and peoples 

 met as one travels southwestwardly from 

 Menelik' s capital. Intertribal feuds and 

 Abyssinian raids may seriously change 

 the locus, the numbers, even the views, 

 of several small tribes whose present hab- 

 itat had never, before Captain Wellby 's 

 appearance,known the white man's pres- 

 ence. This first record is therefore of spe- 



