90 
GEOGRAPHIC NOTES 
On the upper Orinoco, during the struggle of Venezuela for independ- 
ence, occurred the only naval battle that was ever fought on horseback. 
Bolivar, at the liead of his army, had been trying to cross for several 
weeks, but was prevented b}' several Spanish gunijoats that moved up and 
down the stream as he did. Becoming exasperated. General Paez one 
niglit spurred his horse into the stream, followed by three thousand 
llaueros, or cowboys, whose horses had been taught to swim as well as to 
gallop. Tlie Sj)anish fleet was taken entirely unawares. The llaneros 
clambered from their saddles to the decks of the vessels and let their 
houses swim back to shore alone. Thus, after cutting off their own re- 
treat, it was a question of win or die, and so desperately did they fight 
that every vessel was captured. 
The Ceiba railroad, in Venezuela, originally 80 miles long, has been ex- 
tended from i\[endoza eastward a distance of 82 miles, to connect with 
the branch from Valera, 15 miles long. Another line is under construc- 
tion from Encoutrados to La Fria, 62 miles. It is intended to extend 
the road 25 miles farther to San Cristobal, the commercial center of a 
great agricultural section. Contracts have been made also for railroad 
lines from iNIaracaibo to Perijaaud from Lake Maracaibo to Carora. The 
former is to be bnilt within two years and the latter within five. 
ASIA 
SvKr.v. The first railway was oi:>ened August 8, 1895, under French 
management. It extends from Beirut to Damascus, a distance of 91 miles. 
China. M. Berthelot, French Foreign Minister, says that the Franco- 
Chinese treaty opens to French trade a region containing 100,000,000 
inhabitants. Its capital is Chung-king. 
Persia. Concessions have been granted to Herr Moral to construct a 
carriage road from Teheran to Bagdad, and a steam or electric railway 
from Teheran to villages 10 miles north. A Russian company has been 
granted a concession to construct a harbor at Enzeli. 
Japan. The sum of §18,000,000 has been voted for a double-track rail- 
way to be built between Tokyo and Kobe, 876 miles, passing through 
Yokohama, Kyoto, and Osaka. Previously 29 concessions had been 
grauteil, covering 2, 193 miles, of which 1,549 miles have been opened. 
Of state railways, 580 miles have been completed and 398 miles are in 
course of construction. 
India. The efforts of Mr A. F. iMummery and three others, in August, 
1895, to explore the Naiiga Parbat region of the Himalaya mountains 
ended in the death of the leader and two Gurkha soldiers. Mummery 
was turned back, by the illness of a Gurkha, at the height of 20,000 feet 
on the main peak of Nanga Parbat. Later, Mummery and the two 
soldiers were lost while exploring a side glacier, being presumably buried 
under an avalanche. 
The ^Mekong. The French are raj^idly developing the region lately 
ceded by Siam. A telegraph line is to be constructed from Attopeu, the 
center of the Nam-Kong gold district, and post-ofiices are also being es- 
