812 General Notes. [ August, 
Mr. Godwin Austen, of the British expedition, are doubted by 
the Germans. 
The true Socotrans of the interior of the island are by Dr. 
Schweinfurth believed to resemble most closely the Mahra and 
Qara tribes of middle South Arabia. This is borne out by the 
resemblance of their language to that of the Mahras. e peo- 
ple are ten to twelve thousand in number, and there seem to be 
two races, one dark with curly hair, the other lighter with straight 
hair. 
Tue Arcric—Mr. Edward Whymper states that the height of 
the glacier-clad interior of Greenland in lat. 70°-71° considera- 
bly exceeds 10,000 feet. He describes it as presenting, every- 
where between 68° 30’ and 71° 15’, a high level ridge, so ab 
lutely covered by snow and ice that not a crag breaks the line. 
Many of the highest mountains are strewn with drifted rocks to 
‘their summits. 
Dr. Thoroddsen has recently explored the peninsula of Reyk- 
janes, Iceland. This little-known region is almost covered with 
lava, and perforated in every place with craters, sulphur vents, 
and hot springs. The interior is formed of a large plateau yi 
hillocks, crossed by valleys, and totally devoid of vegetation 
water. r. Thoroddsen has discovered thirty volcanoes, ar 
and small. Only two, Thurrarhraun and Trédlladyngia, were pre 
viously known. Five of these volcanoes at léast have been of 
_. eruption in historical times. The eastern and ‘southern Leger 
the peninsula is chiefly built of palagonite breccia, pay 
northern is covered with doleritic pre-glacial lava-stigarot a ee 
were previously supposed to exist only at Ok and ie? a 
javik.. In some places new lava overlays these materia. Be 
Thoroddsen examined also the geological conditions of sare 
jardarsysla and its hot springs, traveled across the great i 
table-land of Iceland to the Langjökul, and explored the vo we 
Skjaldbreidur, which is 3400 feet high, and has a crater 90 
across. skjold 
The eastern coast of Greenland has by Baron No shal- 
been proved to be separated by a comparatively narrow ea 
low cold current from a warm current coming from the es Ae 
Lieutenant Holm, chief of the Danish Expedition to ae pe 
coast of Greenland, states that the natives of that rg "gl 
come to the western coast to exchange their bear, fox a d 
skins for European merchandise, cannot support te s These 
that coast, but fall victims to disease, especially so oe of 
eastern Greenlanders are more like the Eskimo than isi é 
western coast. The men are tall and bearded, wage western 
good looking, and the women better looking than t summer if 
compatriots. They live a nomadic life, wandering 7 a several 
search of hunting and fishing grounds, while 1n a 
