88 Geographical Notices. 



ence of a snow peak was declared bj excellent authority to be 

 highly improbable ; the story of the natives was laughed at, and 

 the missionaries were said to have mistaken white stones and rock 

 for snow. Dr. Petermann however and some others defended 

 the probability that the missionaries were right, but on both 

 sides there has been a desire to have the question settled. 



At last we have a satisfactory confirmation that there is such 

 a snow-covered mountain, twenty thousand feet high, more or 

 less, lying almost exactly on the equator. Baron von der Decken, 

 who had expected to follow up Dr. Boscher's explorations of the 

 Southern central lakes, being frustrated in this plan, went north 

 with the English geologist who had left Dr. Livingstone's party, 

 and together they have visited Kilimanjaro, or Mount Ndjaro. 

 Von der Decken has written Dr. Earth an account of their ob- 

 servations, (see Berlin Zeitscrift, Dec. 1861,) and Thornton has 

 written to London. We append the letter of the latter, as we 

 find it, — his geological observations having not yet been made 

 public. The reading of the letter at the meeting of the Koyal 

 Geographical Society called forth some strong expressions of 

 satisfaction from several distinguished geographers. Mr. W. D- 

 Cooley still disputes (in the London Athenaeum) the truth of 

 the reports. 



" Our route lay from Mombas to the southwest over the Shimba, thence 

 northwest to the Kadiaro, then southwest to the Pare, then nortli to the 

 Lake Yipe, thence through Dafeta to Kilema, where we made one attempt 

 to ascend the Kilimanjaro, but had to turn back at about 8000 feet. We 

 then went round by the foot of the mountain to Madjami ; tlience we 

 returned by Dafeta,' Lake Yipe, Pare, and the north foot of Usambara, to 

 Wanga on the coast, which we reached on the 101st day from Morabas. 

 AVe have made a tolerable map of our journey, the country through 

 which we passed being very favorable for triangulation ; though, froin 

 not being allowed to ascend the mountains of Pare and Usambara, ana 

 the want of two or three stations which circumstances prevented our 

 taking, the map is not nearly so complete as T could wish it to be. The 

 triangulation is checked by several latitudes and a lunar distance at Kilpnia. 

 I have not yet plotted out the whole of the map, but I hope to C' '. 

 and send it shortly. 



Our journey, on the whole, has been tolerably successful. 

 not succeed in reaching to top of Kilimanjaro ; but I have its 

 from six different stations, connected by tolerable triangles, at .1 - 

 varving from 15 to 50 miles. From these I believe the height ot tl •- 

 Kilimanjaro to be about 20,000 feet. Its shape varies much, as seen 

 from different points of view ; but, from all places we have seen it, it« 

 base rises very gradually from a great plane. The oudine of the top, as 

 seen from Madjami, is a great dome (but this face is nearly flat) : as seen 

 from the east, it is conical, with the apex cut off, forming a little plane, 

 eloping a little to the north. The southern slope of this cone is much 

 steeper than the northern. Several miles to the northeast of the top > 

 great conical peak rises to about 17,000 feet; and about 50 miles to the 



