132 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., No. 5. 



summer, and the first year's observations are 

 already' in the computer's hands ; while the 

 simultaneous observations bj' self-registering 

 instruments under the direction of Mr. Marcus 

 Baker of the U. S. eoast-survej-, at Los An- 

 geles, Cal., are progressing favorablj^, and will 

 be steadilj' maintained. Of the proposed sub- 

 ordinate stations at York Factory and in Lab- 

 rador, no recent information is at hand, though 

 Dr. Koch, charged with organizing the latter, 

 is stated to have reached Labrador in August. 



In the antarctic, parties are believed to be 

 already at work on South Georgia and the 

 Falkland Islands ; but details in regard to 

 these stations are not j-et received. The French 

 station at Orange Bay, Tierra delFuego, made 

 a successful beginning of operations Sept. 6. 



Alaska. — Little was doing in Alaska at 

 latest advices. A prospector named Bennett, 

 with a small well-armed part}' provisioned for 

 fifteen months, had entered the vallej' of the 

 Atna or Copper river to search for minerals. 

 Edward Schieff'elin, with his partj' and steam- 

 launch, reached the junction of the Yukon and 

 Tananah rivers during the summer, and were 

 reported in good condition and spirits, intend- 

 ing to ascend the Tananah and search for gold. 

 After the ordinary means of communication 

 were closed for the season, it appears that 

 discoveries of such importance were made that 

 it justified the expedition of a special courier 

 overland to carr}' the news to others interested 

 in the venture. The route and details of the 

 journej- are not stated ; but a letter, apparently 

 authentic, and stated to have been so sent, has 

 been published in the Californian papers, indi- 

 cating that the}' had found very rich placers. 



The U. S. eoast-survej' steamer Hassler has 

 arrived in San Francisco, after six months' 

 work in Alaska, having made important sur- 

 vey's, and is expected to return to the field in 

 Ap)ril. Valuable collections were made for the 

 national museum during the voyage. Miners 

 whose movements are not made public are 

 pushing private exploitations in many parts of 

 the territor}-. From the small mining-camp 

 of Juneau, the express companies note the re- 

 ceipt of $240,000 in gold-dust in 1882, against 

 $13,000 in 1881. Capital, which alone can 

 test the permanent value of these discoveries, 

 patiently waits for the long-deferred extension 

 of law and authority over the country by 

 Congress. 



South America. — The interior of British 

 Guiana has lately been visited by II. Whitely, 

 who passed near the celebrated mountain Ro- 

 raima ; and by M. jMcTurk, who travelled up 

 the Cuyuni river toward the Venezuelan fron- 



tier. In the valley of the Amazon, R. Pajer, 

 brother of the Arctic explorer, was last re- 

 ported on the Rio Negro, aiming for the Ori- 

 noco. J. B. Miuchin has executed surveys of 

 the Andean tableland sontli of Lake Titicaca 

 for the Bolivian go^-ernment, of which some 

 account has been published ; and J. Ball has 

 followed Whymper in visiting the Andes for 

 mountaineering. Dr. Crevaux, who left Bue- 

 nos Aires Nov. 20, 1881, to ascend the Rio 

 Pilcomayo, was killed there by the Indians in 

 April of last year ; but little has been learned 

 of his expedition, and Fontana left Buenos 

 Aires July 4, to search for the remains of the 

 unfortunate party. It is reported that Lieut. 

 Guierre, of the French marine, has undertaken 

 a similar expedition. R. Lista, already suc- 

 cessful in Patagonian exploration, is engaged 

 on a journey from Bahia Blanca westward to 

 the Andes, thence southward to Punta Arenas 

 on the Straits of Magellan ; and a government 

 commission is occupied with the survej' of 

 northern Patagonia, to parcel the land for sale 

 to colonists. Lieut. Bove of the Italian an- 

 tarctic expedition was wrecked on Tierra del 

 Fuego May 31 ; his vessel was lost, but the 

 members of the part}- were rescued b}' an Eng- 

 lish vessel. The German south polar expedi- 

 tion was safel}' left on South Georgia Sept. 3 ; 

 and the French expedition arrived at Tierra 

 del Fuego on Sept. 6. The several astronomi- 

 cal parties sent to southern South America to 

 observe the transit of Venus will probablj' 

 return with new geographic observations as 

 well ; Steinmaun, of one of the German par- 

 ties, intends making an extended tour through 

 Chili and Bolivia before coming back. 



Asia. — The Russians continue an active 

 exploration of their vast dominions. Besides 

 extended surveys in the better-known parts 

 of their countrj-, ElisseieflT has been examining 

 Russian Lapland, Ivanitzky has been sent to 

 the Petchora, MalakofiT to the Ui;al, and Walter 

 to Eastern Russia ; Poliakoff has recentl}' re- 

 turned from the island Sakhalin, and Regel is 

 still in the Pamir ; surveys are carried on in 

 Caucasia, and along the Persian boundarj', 

 where Lessar's recent studies have received 

 much attention. It is proposed to send Preie- 

 valski, who has so successfully jDenetrated cen- 

 tral Asia, back to the Tian Shan in March, to 

 study its reported volcanic districts. Capus 

 and Bonvalot, leaders of a French scientific 

 part}-, have returned from Bokhara ; and 

 O'Donovan, an English correspondent, has 

 come safel}- out of Merv with an interesting 

 experience. Exploration in Asia Minor is 

 largelv archeological, and engages Humann, 



