342 General Notes. [April, 



for the first forty miles of his march from the coast at Mokambo 

 Bay thinly timbered with thick undergrowth, including quantities of 

 the India-rubber vine, fairly cultivated and populous. The country 

 then becomes rocky and broken with hills and peaks of bold shapes 

 and precipitous sides from 200 to 1000 feet in height. At the 

 one hundred and forty-second mile of his march he speaks of 

 coming into view of the exceedingly beautiful Shalawe plain, 

 which, dotted with villages, stretches away for many miles to the 

 west and south where the vista terminates in a range of splendid 

 hills 2*000 to 4000 feet high. Mr. O'Neill made a successful 

 journey of 600 miles, returning at the end of November last, and 

 we hope shortly to give some details of his explorations. 



Mr. Joseph Thomson, who was sent by' the Sultan of Zan- 

 zibar to examine some so-called coal beds on the Lujende river 

 near its junction with the Rovuma, passed through the northern 

 portion of this region and has sent an interesting account of his 

 journey to the Royal Geographical Society. The " coal " turned 

 out to be some irregular layers of bituminous shale of no practi- 

 cal use. Mr. Thomson's report so much displeased the Sultan 

 that he at once broke the engagement he had made for a period 

 of two years with Mr. Thomson, who has returned to England. 



One of the members of the Universities Mission, the Rev. W. 

 P. Johnson has also recently visited a lake ; the source of the 

 Lujende branch of the Rovuma. On reaching the banks of the 

 lake he could see it stretching away to the south-east, the lofty 

 hill Mangoche, near Nyassa, east of Mponda, being visible at the 

 same time to the north-west. He supposes the lake to be the Lake 

 Shirwa of Livingstone, the northern part of which has never be- 

 fore been visited. 



Mr. Schuver's Expedition to Central Africa.— -Pctcnnanris 

 Mittkeilungen has received an account of the progress of Mr. J. 

 M. Schuver on his journey from the Nile to Central Africa. He 

 reached Fadassi on June 12, 1881. The source of the Termat 

 affluent of the Blue Nile is in the Sori mountains west of Fasu- 

 der. Another stream of the same name near Belletafa is an affluent 

 of the Jaboos river. He left Fadassi, on July 30th, on atrip of thirty- 

 eight days to the south, during which he reached the country of the 

 Legha Gallas near the source of the Jaboos. He also explored the 

 Amam country which is watered by two affluents of the Jaboos. The 

 water- shed between the two Niles was defined as far as the eighth 

 parallel. He saw far away to the south-west the great lake and 

 river Baro flowing towards the west and situated a degree further 

 south than as shown on Petermann's map. The Wallel moun- 

 tain rises to the east to the height of 1 1, OOO feet. 



The Legha Gallas are a powerful tribe numbering 20,000 war- 

 riors, and inhabit a country far to the westward of the Galla coun- 

 try proper. Mr. Schuver proposed to leave Fadassi on January 

 1st, to explore the unknown regions down to the equator. 



