Geography and Travel. 1009 
and from the mingling of the latter with the Mongols arose the 
Dravidas or Tamals. The defiles of Afghanistan first let in the 
Turks, who spread over the Indus valleys, and afterwards the 
Aryans, who extended their rule to the Vindya Mountains, and 
further south became mingled with the older peoples, forming the 
Bheel, Dhang, and other tribes. In the eleventh century the 
various Mussulman peoples added to the ethnographical confusion. 
THE Amur VALLEY.—M. Venukoff contributes to the Sep- 
tember number of the Revue de Géographie an account of the region 
of the Amur, which he characterizes as fit for colonization. The 
vast country watered by the Amur and its affluents, the Zeya, 
Bureya, Tunguska, etc., flowing from the Stanovoy mountains, 
consists of fertile plains and rolling or rugged surfaces in about 
ual proportions. The fertile part comprises an area equal to a 
third of that of France. This plain country consists chiefly of five 
separate portions, two of which, that in the basin of Lake Evoron 
and that upon the lower Amur, have a fresh and humid climate, 
while the other three, higher up the Amur, and reaching to the 
base of the Touine, Wanda, and Little Khingan mountains, offer 
all that is necessary for the existence of European agriculturists. 
The population of these plains does not at present exceed 85,000 
Russians, Chinese, Coreans, and Tungusians all told. 
Arrica.—Tur FRENCH IN SenEGAMBIA.—The progress of 
French rule in the Senegambian region since 1881 has been very 
considerable. At that date Colonel Borgnis Desbordes left St. 
Louis, imposed contributions on several rebellious chiefs and entered 
Kita early in 1882. Though he had only 220 fighting men and 
could expect no help from the timid indigenes, he entered into a 
campaign against Samory. The latter was defeated, and the town 
of Keniéra fell into the hands of the French. Those who doubt 
the propriety of European interference in Africa, would do well to 
read M. Pietri’s description of the sight which met the conquerors 
on entering the town. “In the plains around the village were 
corpses and their detached heads; a little farther rose heaps of 
cinders yet burning and mingled with the blackened bones of the 
prophet’s victims, and the wells of the village were also full of 
toe * * * * * * Our soldiers found some unfortunates 
still alive, suffering from ugly wounds, the executioners not having 
ad time to finish them. Even these horrors were less harrowing 
than the sight of the families of the victims, naked, fleshless, living 
statues of hunger who stretched out their arms to our soldiers praying 
for food.” In 1882 the same Colonel attacked and took Murgala 
and Daba, thus breaking the power of the Toucouleurs and also of 
the Bambaras, who bravely defended the latter town. Bamaku, on 
