1855.] 



NOVEL ARRANGEMENT OF PICTURE GALLERIES. 



H5b 



meeting of Di*« BartU and Dr* Vo2rel.=^ 



On the 1st of December, 1854, it fell to tie sliare of Dr. Bartli — be 

 ■who had already been believed dead — to meet in " very good health 

 and spirits" Dr. Vogel: — to see once more the face of a European 

 and grasp the hand of a countryman who bad been sentto joiu him. 



Dr. Vogel had left Kuka in the latter end of November, to proceed 

 in a westerly direction en route for Zinder, the ncrth-western frontier 

 town of the Empire of Bornu, — being anxious to extend bis astronojni- 

 cal and other observations to that place. Happily in the beginning of 

 the journey, he received a letter from Dr. Bartb, dated Kauo, the '2-lth 

 of October ; and this was the first direct news be bad received from 

 him. According to this letter. Dr. Bartb bad left Kano en route for 

 Kuka, about the same time that Dr. Vogel bad departed from the latter 

 place to proceed westward, on the verj' road which the former had 

 chosen. Thus, both travellers had started to meet without knowing it 

 themselves. Dr. Vogel, keeping on the Kano road, and leaving Zinder 

 on the right bad the happiness to fall in with Dr. Bartb at Bundi, a, 

 small town situated about 110 geographical miles north-east from 

 Kano, and nearly 200 geographical ;miles due west from Kuka. As 

 only a few preliminary hasty lines from Dr. Vogel, written in pencil, 

 have come to band, the particulars of this event have not yet trans- 

 pired ; but it may easily be conceived wb,at it must have been to Dr. 

 Bartb. It was exactly sis years since he left Europe, in company 

 with Mr. Richardson and Dr. Overweg ; and since the decease of the 

 latter, on the 27th of September, 1852, not only had his communica- 

 tions with Europe been all but entirely cut oiF, but he bad indeed been 

 isolated from the civilized world, and left to battle with manifold 

 hardships and dangers. 



Dr. Vogel writes, that Dr. Bartb had moved on to Kuka, whence he 

 intended to proceed, without further delay, home, via JIurzuk and 

 Tripoli. As to himself, he continued bis journey to Zinder; whence 

 he despatched a letter with the above news, dated the /'th of December 

 last, and which took nearly four months to reach Tripoli by way of 

 Ghadamis. 



Since the above was written, letters from Dr. Bartb himself have 

 come to my hands, which, though written before his meeting with Dr. 

 Vogel, are of great interest, as they contain the first news respecting 

 his journey from Timbuktu back to Sudan, and the first positive infor- 

 mation ever received from a European traveller of the River Kowara 

 between that place and its lower course 



It appears that Dr. Barth had been detained at or near Timbuktu 

 several months beyond the date of his last letters despatched from that 

 region, namely, the 23rd of Mai-cb, 18.54, between which date and the 

 time of bis arrival at Kano, which took place on the 17th of October 

 last, nearly seven months intervene. Dr. Barth himself says: — "After 

 a. protracted stay of nearli/ a year at Timbuktu — the " Queen of the 

 Desert," as it is justly called by the natives — I retraced my steps 

 eastwards along the shores of that magnificent river, which the 

 undaunted Scotchman [Mungo Park] descended about fifty years 

 since, fighting big way through numerous fleets manned by Tuaricks 

 and Sudans — lost labor to science, his journal having perished with 

 him ; - -while I went along reconciling and befriending those very 

 people, and obtaining full security from their chiefs for any English 

 visiting their territories, whether by land or by water." Thus, Dr. 

 Barth has been able to realize bis great wish, namely, to trace this 

 river between Timbuktu and Say ; which latter place is situated in 

 about 13° 10' north lat. and S° east long., Greenwich. This, its 

 middle course, seems everywhere navigable and enlivened with large 

 lleets, its shores densely inhabited by people, who received and treated 

 Dr. Barth most kindly, andimploi-ed him to stay with them altogether, 

 or to return soon in an English ship. They learned from him with 

 astonishment as to whence the river — which forms the basis of their 

 existence and wealth — comes from, and where it terminates. 



Dr. Barth alludes to a large map of the river drawn by him, which 

 lio had sent to the Foreign Office. lie has also transmitted with the 

 present letters some of a former date, which has been despatched by 

 him while on his way to Timbuktu, but which, as he found on his 

 return to Sudan, had not been forwarded, probably, because their 

 envelopes and addresses bad been lost. These letters are dated " Dore, 

 in Libtako, IGtb July, 1853," which is about midway between Sokoto 

 and Timbuktu (see map in my ' Geographische Mittheilungen,' part 

 I.), or in lat. 14° 30' north, and close upon the meridian of Greenwich, 

 and they contain a full account respecting that region, which was 

 entirely unknown before. 



* Athenmum. 



Libtako forms a portion of the very extensive Fellata dominions, 

 and is a very important commercial point. The principal article of 

 trade is the salt of Taodenni, which is brought thither by the Arabs of 

 Timbuktu, while the Tuaricks bring corn and butter, the people of 

 Mosi their celebrated donkeys and their famous cotton manufactures, 

 cheap black shirts and a large peculiar kind of guro nuts. The inha- 

 bitants of the country supply sweet and sour milk, and their manufac- 

 tures consist chiefly of very handsome and cheap shawls made of cotton 

 and wool, and of various colours. The market at Dore, the chief place 

 of Libtako, is held every day. Cowries are almost the sole medium of 

 interchange. 



Libtako occupies an elevated, dreary plain, devoid of trees and 

 shrubs, and suffering from the want of rain. Granite protrudes in 

 many places out of the soil. Dr. Bartb made many enquiries respecting 

 the town of Adafudia, reached by Mr. Duncan, and which, according 

 to the position assigned to it by that traveller, ought to be within 100 

 geographical miles from Libtako — but in vain ; be could hear nothing 

 whatever of it. Though the country was in a state of anarchy when 

 Dr. Barth passed through it, he did not suffer on that account, but 

 rather from the too exalted manner in which he was received every- 

 where, the inhabitants flocking from all quarters to receive his 

 blessing. The Arabs looked upon him as no common Christian, owing 

 to the information be possessed of topics specially interesting to them- 

 selves, and to the fact of his coming from the East The Tillahas had 

 christened him " Modibo," by which name he was universally known 

 in those countries. 



It was near Libtako where Barth was so fortunate as to make the 

 acquaintance of one of the followers of the Sheikh el Bakay — the I'ope 

 of Timbuktu, — who subsequently became bis best friend and greatest 

 benefactor. This person exercises his influence over a very extensive 

 region, nearly as far as Sokoto in the east ; and he may be said to 

 have created of Timbuktu a kind of African Rome, — the centre of the 

 power of Islam. 



The I'egion between Libtako in the west and the river Kowara (here 

 called Tsa, Say or Mayo) in the east is occupied by territories belong- 

 ing to the large country of Gurraa, only the northern part of which 

 belongs to the Fellatas. The language of Gurma, has a few words in 

 common with that of Benin. Within Gurma are various rivers, all 

 tributaries of the Kowara, the largest being the Sirba, which Barth 

 found twelve feet deep in the beginning of July, and which be had to 

 cross by means of immense bundles of reeds fastened together, as 

 boats are entirely wanting. The valley of the Sirba is very ill-famed 

 as being most destructive to all kinds of cattle and horses. The soil 

 along the course of the river swarms with black worms. 



Dr. Earth's letters contain interesting extracts from the " Tarikh el 

 Sudan," an important work on the history of Sudan, hitherto unknown. 



On bis arrival at Kano, in October last, Dr. Barth, instead of finding 

 letters and supplies fropi home, received information of the rumour of 

 his death having been spread in Sudan, and even reached Eirrope, 

 about which, not knowing exactly the origin and circumstances con- 

 nected with it, he felt very sore and indignant, while the absence of 

 all needful supplies put him to great straits and inconrenience. 

 Happily these, as we know, he subsequently got over. His longing to 

 reach Europe knew no bounds, as he declares that the being exposed 

 to another rainj- season (the sixth), or to remain much longer without 

 the refreshing influence of European atmosphere and proper food, 

 would be bis certain death. Yet in the same sentence he speaks of 

 ultimately returning to the field of his labours, and trying to penetrate 

 into the interior of Africa from the coast of Zanzibar, after having 

 strengthened his health! 



The only cause of joy which awaited him in Kano Avas the news of 

 the success of the Chadda Expedition, of which be seemed to have 

 learnt all the particulars from the natives. Among others, he met an 

 old acquaintance, the Governor of Ilamarrua, a country situated on the 

 shores of the upper course of the Chadda. This person told him that 

 the exploring steamer Pleiad had also reached bis country-, that he had 

 received the Expedition very fricudly, and had made the commander a 

 present of six oxen. 



Augustus Petehmaxn. 



Novel Arraugcnient of Picture Galleries* 



After the late M. Rothmann had acquired a great reputation as a 

 landscape painter. King Louis of Bavaria sent him to Greece, where 

 that artist produced works highly spoken of by the German press. 

 Some consider them tho nc plus ultra of landscape delineation, each 

 painting being a poem, representing in the perfect concordance of 



