316 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



PERSONALIA. 



Lieutenant Boyd Alexander. — We have at last heard definite 

 news of the way in which Lieutenant Boyd Alexander met his death. 

 The communication, which has come from Lieutenant Childers 

 Thompson, can only increase our sorrow at the general loss to our 

 country, and our sympathy with Lieutenant Boyd Alexander's family. 

 There must be many who will be glad to know that a memorial to 

 the brothers Boyd and Claud Alexander, both of whom lost their 

 lives while engaged in exploration in Central Africa, will be erected 

 in their ancient parish church at Cranbrook, in Kent. Amongst the 

 subscribers to the fund are the Eoyal Geographical Society, the 

 Eifle Brigade, and the Scots Guards. As Boyd Alexander was a 

 contributor to ' The Zoologist,' some of your readers may be glad of 

 an opportunity of making a contribution to the Fund. Subscriptions 

 may be paid to the Alexander Memorial Fund, London County and 

 Westminster Bank, Cranbrook, Kent, or to myself. — Wm. Bell 

 (Cranbrook Vicarage, Kent). 



The ' Bulletin of the Societe Geographique de Paris ' pub- 

 lishes the following comments on the murder of Lieutenant Boyd 

 Alexander : — 



" On April 2nd last the English explorer, Boyd Alexander, well 

 known for his important expeditions to Africa, was assassinated at 

 Nieri, about seventy miles to the north of Abeshir. No "responsi- 

 bility devolves upon the French authorities for this tragic accident ; 

 not only did they warn Lieutenant Boyd Alexander of the dangers 

 he was running in trying to continue his journey towards the East, 

 but also formally begged him not to leave our stations. Being per- 

 suaded of the futility of these fears, the English traveller set out, so 

 to speak, surreptitiously. Some hours afterwards he was attacked 

 and killed. The unfortunate explorer was the victim of the disturbed 

 state of things created on our territory by natives under British 

 jurisdiction. Darfur, which belongs to England, is the last strong- 

 hold of the slave-raiders ; accordingly, finding their shameful traffic 

 menaced by the occupation of Wadai, which henceforth shuts off their 

 access to vast territories of our colonial empire, whence they used 

 to come to draw their supplies of human cattle, the men of Darfur 

 did not hesitate to proceed to attack our troops, and to raise the 

 people of Dar Guimer and Dar Tama against us. Documents seized 

 at Abeshir leave no doubt as to their having practised such inter- 

 vention. 



