1879. | Geography and Travels. 593 
influence the rulers of the country and enable the expedition to 
proceed to Kufra, the next oasis in their j journey to Wadai. 
Mr. Donald Mackenzie. has established a station at Cape Juby 
on the north-west coast of the continent, and made a treaty with 
a powerful native chief, ‘by means of which it is hoped a large 
and important trade with North-central Africa will be opened up. 
e Semellé has now returned to France, and states that he 
followed the course of the Niger from Omtcha as far as Boussa, 
a distance of 300 miles, and the Benué as far as Oku (?). He 
has collected much information on the products of the country, 
and concerning the history and traditions of the people. Daily 
meterological observations were taken. 
M. Soleillet has also returned home, and ina recent address 
speaks highly of the intelligence and euieeabsts character of the 
Sultan and population of Sego. The Niger at Sego, 2000 miles 
from s mouth, is 300 yards wide. 
ev. S. 1. Co mber, of the Baptist Missionary Society 
(English), has left England to found a station at San Salvador, 
situated about 100 miles south of the Congo and 200 from the 
coast. He hopes trim to reach Stanley Pool above the falls 
of the Congo, and launch there a small steamer which is to be 
taken up in renal "The Royal Geographical Society has sup- 
Pea 9 with instruments. 
Buchner, one of the German African Society explorers, has 
hag ‘detained by the rainy season at Cassange, on the Quango, 
before going on to the capital of Muata Yanvo’s kingdom 
echow, another member of this expedition, will attempt 
to descend the Quan o river from Cassange until it joins the 
ongo, where Stanley identifies it with the Ibari Nkutu. 
aj. Serpa Pinto, on his arrival in Lisbon, delivered a lecture 
on his recent journey from Benguela to Natal. This address has 
been fully reported in the daily press of England and America, 
but being unfortunately very vague and rambling in character, 
Wwe are glad to quote from the London Atheneum uly 19, 1879) 
the following notice of his work as explained by him very recently 
to a company gathered at the house of the president of the 
R. G. S., in London: “The new ground traversed by Maj. Pinto 
is comprised between Bihé, in the interior of er anda 
place called Lialué, in the ‘ Barotse yo passed by Living- 
one on his journey northward along t mbesi towards St. 
Paulo de Loanda. Thus defined, the new eae which the Portu- 
_ guese explorer has opened up, is about five hundred miles broad 
from north-west to south-east. The blank space is traversed on 
Livingstone’s map by a number of rivers set down from native 
report, and the names have turned out generally to be correct, 
although the courses of the rivers are wrongly given. - The great 
merit of Maj. Pinto’s exploration lies in the accurate ‘definition of 
these rivers, and the fixi ing of all important points by astronomi- 
