376 General Notes. [June, 
from General Stone, the chief of the Egyptian staff, a map of the Nile 
between Dafli and the Albert Nyanza, based upon a reconnaissance 
made by Gordon Pasha in July, 1876. The map differs from that pub- 
lished previously in several respects. There is no indication now of an 
arm of the river flowing towards the northwest. 
The Portuguese appear to exhibit an unwonted activity in connection 
with their African settlement. On the west coast they claim the ex- 
clusive navigation of the Congo and are charged with the design of 
desiring to appropriate Ambrizette, Landama, and Bandana. 
At a late meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris, Mr. D. H. T. 
Mosse, of San Francisco, in criticising Captain Rondaire’s scheme of 
creating an inland lake to the south of Algeria, said that the displace- 
ment of the water required to fill this lake of 6250 square miles would 
result in a shifting of the earth’s axis! Captain Cameron gave in French 
at the meeting of the same society January 26th an account of his ex- 
plorations. He was frequently interrupted by applause, and before sep- 
arating the president announced that the gold medal of the society had 
been awarded to the intrepid explorer. On the 27th he was entertained 
at a dinner, where the bill of fare included fillet of venison à la Kas- 
songo, and lobsters à l Africaine. 
ta recent meeting of the Geographical Society of Lyons, M. 
Dufonchel explained his scheme of a Saharan railway, which was to 
connect Algeria with Timbuktu. The Sudan had no less than fifty 
millions of inhabitants and a climate equal to that of Bengal or Brazil. 
The sands of the Sahara, it was said, would overwhelm the proposed rail- 
way, but the same thing had been said about the Suez canal, and this 
difficulty could be overcome by engineers. Artesian wells would furnish 
an ample supply of water. 
At the meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris, M. Violet 
d’Aoust read a paper on the mountain systems of Central America and 
the dust whirlwinds observed by him on the plains of Mexico. 
A resolution has been adopted by Congress requesting the Secretary 
of the Navy to transmit to the Senate the narrative of the second expe- 
dition of Captain Hall to the Arctic regions, to be compiled from notes 
of the expedition made by Captain Hall and purchased from his widow. 
Luptow’s Reconnaissance IN Monrana— The route traveled 
by Captain Ludlow’s party was an interesting one, and the account of 
the brief trip through the Yellowstone National Park, accompanied as 
it is by a map, will be valuable and authoritative to intending tourists. 
Mr. George B. Grinnell contributes a report on the mammals and birds, 
while a geological report by Edward S. Dana and Mr. Grinnell includes 
1 Report of a Reconnaissance from Carroll, Montana Territory, on the Upper Missouri, 
to the Yellowstone National Park and Return, made in the Summer of 1875. By 
Wittram Luprow, Capt. Engineers U. $. A! Washington, 1876. 4to, pp- 
With three maps and two plates. 
155. 
