598 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 39. 



the Niger the line of stations which should establish 

 our claims. He advanced straight to his object: the 

 difficulties of detail discouraged him no more than 

 the unforeseen disconcerted him, or than danger 

 frightened him. Thus supported by officers worthy 

 of their leader, and by soldiers full of devotion, he 

 has accomplished his whole task. The little phalanx 

 re-embarked on the Senegal, ragged, worn out, ema- 

 ciated, and reduced more than a third; but they had 

 nobly and simply performed a grand deed. 



Before leaving the Senegal, I would not forget to 

 mention the efforts of Dr. Bayol to contribute to the 

 geographical knowledge of these countries. Tou may 

 already see, on the map of Africa, very carefully 

 prepared by Capt. Lannoix for the geographical ser- 

 vice of the army, the line of travel which, in his pre- 

 ceding journey, Dr. Bayol followed between Timbo 

 and Medina, in a country still unknown. At present 

 he has just traversed more than three hundred and 

 sixty kilometres in a country, also left blank, or nearly 

 so, on the maps. Lieut. Quiquandon, his companion, 

 gives us a survey of the line of march, which, retreat- 

 ing from the Niger, will join the line of march of 

 the Austrian traveller, Lenz, on his return from Tim- 

 buctoo. This is an important paper for geography. 

 Mr. Bayol has arranged so that, up to S^gala, the 

 states through which he has passed have accepted 

 the protectorate of France. Besides the treaties to 

 this effect, he brings back collections which will con- 

 tribute largely to the geological and zoological de- 

 scription of this zone of the African continent. 



If, now, we turn farther south, as it were symmet- 

 rically with the Senegal and the Niger, we shall come 

 to the Ogowe and the Kongo. Here, too, we find a 

 man firmly resolved to secure for France a country 

 worthy of her on the banks of the Kongo. Here 

 Mr. de Brazza (for you all have recognized to whom 

 I refer) is at work. As I speak to you now, he must 

 be en route for the great river, the inhabitants of 

 whose banks will, without doubt, gladly welcome 

 back an explorer who was always full of justice and 

 humanity toward them. It is said that difficulties 

 exist between Mr. de Brazza and Mr. Stanley. The 

 situation has, I think, been much exaggerated. Let 

 us not forget that the origin of the enterprise to 

 whicli Mr. Stanley devotes his energy is due to his 

 Majesty the king of Belgium, and was formed for the 

 purpose of sparing the travellers of all nations a part 

 of the dangers of their enterprises. The generous 

 founder of the International African association will 

 certainly do all in liis power to establish kindly rela- 

 tions between two of the most illustrious pioneers of 

 civilization and of science. Besides, Mr. de Brazza 

 would not falsify by bis acts tlie words which he 

 uttered at the last banquet of the Societe' de geo- 

 graphic, when he received from the hands of his 

 fellow-explorers the Frencli colors: "There, where 

 I shall be commissioned," he said, "to carry the 

 colors you present to me, they will be a sign of peace, 

 of liberty, of science, and of commerce; they will be 

 kind and compassionate with the weak and courteous, 

 but firm with the strong." Let us, then, be patient. 

 Let us not expect, that, under the present circum- 



stances in equatorial Africa, evolution and progress 

 can be very rapid. Let us also not forget that we 

 owe all respect to the claims of our friends the Portu- 

 guese to certain regions bordering the Kongo. 



I would not neglect to invoke your sympathies for 

 the calm courage with which, in western Africa, on the 

 route of the great lakes, Mr. Bloyet accomplished 

 the mission placed upon him by the French commit- 

 tee of the International association. The travellers 

 of several nations could tell us what protection they 

 have received, what support, what counsels, they have 

 obtained, from Mr. Bloyet. It is his courage which 

 assists in the noble task of making the French name 

 loved and respected by the natives of these hostilely 

 inclined countries. Still nearer the lakes are our 

 Catholic missionaries, some of wliom have already 

 given to geography useful data of the countries in 

 which they are engaged. The same is being done, 

 also, by French evangelical missionaries farther south, 

 in the region of the Lessooto. One of them, Mr. 

 Kurger, is busily at work, perfecting a map of the 

 country. We hear little from Mr. Victor Giraud, 

 wlio is proceeding in the direction of the great Lake 

 Banguelo, south of which Livingstone died. Our 

 best wishes accompany the young explorer, whose 

 character, knowledge, and equipment warrant us in 

 expecting much of him. 



Before leaving Africa, I wish to mention one who 

 has already proved himself a distinguished traveller. 

 I refer to Mr. Georges Rexoil. He is engaged at the 

 south in the large peninsula of the Comalis, which 

 he has explored at the north with so great success. 

 If he succeeds in penetrating into this unknown and 

 formidable region, lie will certainly garner a new 

 scientific harvest not less rich than the preceding. 



Allow me to approach America, and briefly speak 

 to you of the cutting of the American isthmus be- 

 tween Colon and Panama. Two years have been 

 spent in preparing the field of battle. The entire line 

 is occupied by our workmen and machines. The 

 director, Mr. Dingier, engineer-in-chief, wlio has just 

 set to work our corps, has returned to Paris to report 

 both his plans and his preparations to inaugurate the 

 canal in 1888. In the course of tliis year, till July 

 of the year following, he will each month remove 

 from tlie cut a million cubic metres of debris, and 

 from that date two million cubic metres a month, 

 making twenty-four million a year. The enterprise 

 will be finished during the following four years. I 

 intend to visit this magnificent work early in 1884, 

 and I hope that delegates from our geographical so- 

 cieties will accompany me. I must not leave Central 

 America without respectfully referring to the suc- 

 cessful perseverance with which one of the most de- 

 voted missionaries sent out by the minister of public 

 instruction, Mr. Desird Charnay, has explored the ruins 

 of Yucatan. His researches and discoveries, together 

 with his inferences, certainly throw unexpected light 

 on the former obscurity of the American civilizations. 



The feeling of sadness wliich we all experienced, 

 on learning the terrible ending of the expedition of 

 Dr. Crevaux, is still with us. Since then, only 

 vague rumors have reached Europe in regard to this 



