388 



MISCELLANEA. 



[1855 



for London, to present himself to the Foreign OfBce. He intends to 

 remain in London till about the 20th instant, and then to hasten on to 

 Hamburgh, his native town, where his aged father and sister reside. 



It may not be uninteresting to recapitulate, on the very successful 

 and happy termination of this most arduous and hazardous undertak- 

 ing of Dr. Barth, a few of the principal dates of his journeys. 



It was on the 8th of December, 1849, that he left Marseilles for 

 North Africa, In company with the late Dr. Overweg. Having arrived 

 at Tripoli, the two travellers explored the Gharian mountain, during 

 the month of February, 1850, after which they started for Lake Tsad, 

 together with the late Mr. Richardson, on the 23rd of March. Travel- 

 ling by way of the Oases of Ilessi and Shiati, Murzuk and Jerdalus, 

 they arrived at the Kasar Janoon, or Palace of the Demons, in the 

 vicinity of Ghat, on the 15th of July. In exploring this celebrated 

 group of hills Dr. Barth nearly perished, for he lost his way in the 

 desert, was twenty-eight hours without water, and suffered the most 

 horrible tortures from thirst, having drunk his own blood. Passing 

 by Ghat, Talesseles, and Aison, the travellers entered the kingdom of 

 Air, or Asben, on the 21st of August. Here Dr. Barth, by his firm 

 and resolute bearing against an attacking body of Tuaricks, saved the 

 Expedition from an ignominious retreat back to the north. After- 

 wards, while his companions remained at Tlntellust, he vmdertook, 

 alone, a journey to Agadez, the capital (4th Oct. to 6th Nov.), by 

 which he greatly added to the store of oiir knowlege of Northern 

 Africa. 



Tha Expedition entered Sudan on the 1st of January, 1851, and 

 arrived at Tagelal on the 11th, where the travellers separated, — Dr. 

 Barth taking the route to Kashna and Kano. In this place he collected 

 a great deal of information. "While on his march to Knka, he received 

 the sad news of Mr. Poichardson's death, which took place at Ungurutua 

 on the 4th of March. With praiseworthy energy he hastened on to 

 that place in order to fulfil the last duty to his travelling companion. 

 He secured all his papers and transmitted them to London, where 

 they were shortly afterwards published. 



Arriving at Kuka on the 2nd of April, he found the whole Expedi- 

 tion disorganized and in a very disheartening condition, from being 

 ■without provisions and means, their funds being entirely exhausted. 

 But he succeeded in borrowing a sum of money from the Vizier of 

 Bornu, paid the debts incurred by Mi-. Richardson, and thus saved 

 the Expedition a second time from failure by his well-timed energy 

 and perseverance. 



On the 29th of March, 1851, Dr. Barth undertook his memorable 

 journey to Adamawa, in which he discovered the River Binue, by 

 means of which, the long-hidden and hitherto inaccessible regions of 

 Central Africa have been thrown open to English enterprise. 



Dr. Barth, having returned to Kuka from Adamawa on the 22nd of 

 July, explored Kanem from September to November, in company with 

 Dr. Overweg, and then penetrated in a direction of SSE. from Kuka, 

 as far as Muego .and beyond, from the 25th of November to the 1st of 

 February, 1852. 



Dr. Barth, once more single-handed, undertook another journey, 

 from the end of March to the 20th of August, in which he pushed his 

 way eastwards across the river Shary into Bagirmi and as far as its 

 capital, Maseiia, by which journey he added considerable to our know- 

 ledge of the countries east and south-east from Lake Tsad, as far as 

 tlje basin of the Nile. 



On the 27th of September, 1852, Dr. Barth lost his only companion 

 and friend, Dr. Overweg, who died on the borders of Lake Tsad ; but 

 his own health being unimpaired, he determined, with true heroism, 

 to continue his researches alone, and undertook his bold journey to 

 Timbuktu. He left Kuka on the 25th of November, 1852, reached 

 Kashna in February, 1853, Sakatu in the beginning of April, and 

 entered Timbuktu on the 7th of September. After a protracted stay 

 of nearly a year at this famous place, he made his w.ay back to Kano, 

 which he reached on the 17th of October, 1854; and on the 1st of 

 December last met Dr. Vogel between that place and Kuka. Thence 

 he re-crossed the Sahara to Tripoli, and thus finally reached Mar- 

 seilles. 



In his unparalleled journey to Timbuktu, Dr. Barth discovered two 

 large empires, Gando and Hamd-Allahi, of which not even the names 

 were known previously, — he gained a complete insight into the history 

 and present state of Timbuktu, its people, and all the surrounding 

 countries, — and, for the first time, made a minute survey of the River 

 Kowara in its middle course, — and altogether created a new era in the 

 history of African discovery and regeneration. 



A letter from Dr. Barth, dated Murzuk, July 20, and received after 

 (.he despatch, contains also new.s of Dr. Vogel's progress antl intended 



movements. This youthful explorer had reached the great and cele- 

 brated Fellata town, Yakoba, which Lander, Overweg, Barth, the 

 Chadda Expedition, and others had previously been anxious to visit, 

 without, however, succeeding ; Dr. Vogel was the first European who 

 reached Yakoba. The position of this very important point is, accord- 

 ing to Dr. Vogel's astronomical observations — 

 10° 17' 30'' north latitude, 

 9° 28' 0" east longitude Greenwich ; 

 which is considerably different from all positions hitherto assumed, 

 namely, much more to the north-west. Fi-om I'akoba Dr. Vogel in- 

 tended to push his way to the south, across the Binue into Adamawa, 

 to ascend the great mountain Alantika, situated south-east of Yola, 

 and to penetrate as far as Tabati and Baya (see Dr. Earth's map pub- 

 lished by me last year). Thence he intended to retrace his steps north- 

 eastwards, in order to attempt the exploration of /Waday. 



AuGSius Peteemann. 

 Gotha, September 8th. 



Singular iloriality amongst the Swallow Tribe, by Mr. E. J. Lowe. — 

 There has seldom been recorded a more singular circumstance than the 

 mortality amongst the swallow tribe, which occurred on the 30th and 

 31st of M.ay in the present year.(Eng.) The unusually cold weather for 

 this advanced season appears to have operated in producing the destruc- 

 tion of the greater number of this useful tribe of migratory birds. The 

 severity of the weather causing a sarcity of insects (the ordinary food 

 of the swallow), and rendering the birds too weak to enable them to 

 search for food. On the 30th of May the swallows became so tame 

 that they flew about the legs of persons, and could be caught without 

 difliculty, on the following morning most of them lay dead upon the 

 ground or in their own nests. In this neighborhood (near Nottingham) 

 the greatest mortality was occasioned amongst the house swallow 

 (Ilirundo rnstica), yet solely because this bird predominates. Near the 

 Red Tunnel at Trumpton there are great numbers of sand-martins 

 (Ilirundo raparia), and there, in a saw-pit on the banks of the river 

 Soar, hundreds congregated and died. At Borrowash, near the 

 Derwent river, there are very many white mjirtins {Hirundo urbica) ; 

 they also congregated and died, lying ten and twenty deep on the difi^e- 

 rent window-sills. Several persons opened their windows, and the 

 birds were very willing to take shelter in the rooms, exhibiting no 

 disposition to depart. Many were kept alive in the different houses 

 by being fed with the aphis of the rose-tree, the only procurable insect. 

 At Bulwell, WoUaton. Long Eaton, Gawley, and many other places, 

 the same fearful mortality occurred. Farmers opened their barn-door.s 

 to admit the birds. To show the extent of the deaths, it may be men- 

 tioned that atone place where previously there were fifty nests occupied 

 only six pair survived to take possession of them. The manner 

 in which they congregated was a curious feature in the occurrence. A 

 swallow would fly round a heap of dead and dying companions, and 

 then suddenly dart down and bury itself amongst them. On the same 

 days, in the vale of Belvoir, and parts of Nottinghamshire and Lincoln- 

 shire, several hundred newly shorn sheep perished. 



On the Species of Meriones and Arvicolai found in Nova Scotia, by Mr. 

 J. H. D.iwsoN. — There appears to be two species of Meriones in Nova 

 Scotia: — one of them is identical with 31. Labradorius of Sir J. 

 Richardson, differing only in some trifling cliaracters ; the second 

 species is smaller, darker coloured, and has coarser hair. The average 

 dimensions of three adult specimens are : — length of head and body, 3 

 inches 6 lines ; tail, 4 inches 8 lines ; tarsus and foot, 1 inch 4 

 lines. The author had not found any description of this last 

 species ; but would not desire to name it as a new species until he had 

 made further inquiry. Should it prove to be new, he would claim for 

 it the name M. Acadicus. This species inhabits grain fields. It 

 does not burrow, but prepares forms in sheltered places, lying very 

 close ; and, when disturbed, escaping by a few rapid leaps or bounds. 

 It feeds by day, and does not appear to prepare any store of food for 

 winter. It is usually stated that these leaping mice are adapted to 

 level and open countries; it therefore appears singular that in a country 

 originally densely wooded two species should exist. Their natural 

 habitat may have been those places from which the woods have been 

 removed by fire, and replaced by herbaceous plants and shrubs. The 

 most common Arvicola in Nova Scotia is the A. Pennsylvanica, which 

 in form and habits closely resembles the European A. vulgaris. Its 

 burrows, forming aneat nest, have two entrances, each with a sort of 

 ante-chamber to enable the animal to turn itself. It excavates 

 galleries under the snow in winter, devouring grass roots, bark of 

 trees, &c.; and at the same season it often resorts to barns and out- 

 houses. — British Assoriatio7i at Glasgow. 



