742 
been felt where these are bare or thinly covered with 
newer rocks; whereas, through the thick and softer 
secondary and tertiary rocks, the wave might travel a 
shorter distance. Possibly, also, this section may sug- 
gest an explanation of the double shock which was 
sometimes recorded: the first would be that travelling 
quickly through the hard paleozoic rocks; the second, 
that propagated more slowly through the softer over- 
lying newer rocks. 
— The Niger expedition, sent out by Dr. Emil 
Riebeck of Halle, is to devote itself especially to lin- 
guistic and ethnographical exploration; and the first 
report of its work has just appeared, under the title 
‘Hin beitrag zur kenntniss der fulischen sprache 
in Africa, von Gottlob Adolf Krause,’’ — an octavo 
pamphlet of a hundred and eight pages, with a map 
of the region explored, published by Brockhaus, 
Leipzig. The name of the people whose language Mr. 
Krause has studied is variously spelled. They call 
themselves in the singular, Pul; inthe plural, Ful (the 
change of the initial consonant is in accordance with 
a euphonic law of the language); the French usually 
write the name Poul, and this form has been adopted 
by some English writers; but the Arabs and other 
neighbors more commonly employ the other: and it 
therefore seems better to call the people Fuls, and 
their language the Fulic. This people, spread over a 
large part of western and middle Sudan, with a ter- 
ritory about one-fourth as large as Europe, has been 
long recognized as one of the most interesting on the 
continent of Africa. They are clearly distinguish- 
able, in physical and mental characteristics, from the 
negroes south and west of them, and are perhaps 
allied in degree of culture, and in language, to the 
Cushite tribes who dwell in and near Abyssinia. 
There are found among them both the brown-red type 
and the black. ‘They are not massed in one com- 
munity, but are settled in groups, with various oc- 
cupations, — some peaceful and industrious, others 
warlike and predatory. Whence and when they came 
to their present abode is not known: their traditions 
are either not clear, or are evidently affected by their 
contact with the Arabs and other Mohammedans. 
But, from the few historical accounts which have 
been collected by European travellers, we learn that 
the Fuls have been a conquering people for centuries. 
The first reliable mention of them occurs in the thir- 
teenth century of our era, at which time they had 
already established a kingdom. At the present time 
two Ful kingdoms are in existence, — that of Sokoto, 
and that of Gando; and their conquering career still 
continues. They have long since embraced Islam, 
are zealous students of the Kuran, and have begun to 
create a national literature. One of the most in- 
teresting facts in the history of the North-African 
peoples is the readiness and intelligence with which 
they have accepted Islam; and there is no doubt that 
they have been greatly benefited by its literary and 
ethical culture. The Fulic language has no distinc- 
tion of genders (according to Gen. Faidherbe, it dis- 
tinguishes human beings from the lower animals in 
its noun-termination), and no declension of nouns; 
but, on the other hand, it has a very elaborate devel- 
ah ee a ee oe ee ee ee ee 
SCIENCE. 
[Vou. III., No. 71. 
opment of the verb. In this latter point, and in its 
pronominal forms, it seems to approach the Galla 
and other Cushic tongues, and even the Semitic. 
But these comparisons must be conducted very cau- 
tiously. The differences between the groups of 
languages in question are greater than their resem- 
blances; and, if Semiticand Hamitic (that is, Egyp- 
tian, Libyan, and Cushic) ever formed one family, 
it was so long ago that the demonstration of their 
unity must be next to impossible. Mr. Krause com- 
pares some of the forms of these groups, and reaches 
the conclusion that the Fulic is to be regarded as 
proto-Hamitic; that is, as representing the original 
linguistic type from which Egyptian, Libyan (Berber), 
and Cushic have sprung: but this conclusion is not 
justified by the facts. Mr. Krause has done his work 
of exploration well; and it is to be hoped that he will 
be able to continue his investigations, and clear up 
some points in the Fulic language and history which 
are still obscure. . 
— Nature, May 29, states, that last autumn the ex- 
pedition under Lieut. Holm for exploring the east 
coast of Greenland, and which is again to start north- 
wards this spring, met a party of about sixty East- 
Greenlanders — men, women, and children — south 
of the island of Aluk, on the east coast. They were 
on the way to the west coast to sell bear, fox, and seal 
skins. Every attempt was made by the Danish ex- 
plorer to induce some of them to return, and act as 
guides on his journey northwards; but the prospect 
of a visit to a Danish settlement proved too great. A 
considerable number of East-Greenlanders die on 
their way to the west coast. The East-Greenlanders 
are reported to differ much from the West-Greenland- 
ers in stature and appearance; the men being often 
tall, with black beards and European cast of face. 
This seems to be particularly the case with those liv- 
ing farnorth. Both Eastand West Greenlanders have 
small hands and feet. During the year 1883, four boats 
with heathen East-Greenlanders arrived at Julians- 
haab. Three of these came from the distant Ang- 
masalik; and in them there were also, for the first 
time, natives from Kelalualik, which is five days’ 
journey farther north. The latter stated, that in the 
winter they were in the habit, when journeying on 
sleighs, of meeting with people living much farther 
north. Kelalualik being situated, it is believed, be- 
tween latitude 67° and 68° north, it may be assumed 
that the whole line of coast from latitude 65° to 70° 
is to some degree populated. 
—A note from Mr. Jurgens of the Lena inter- 
national meteorological station says that the work 
there will terminate about the middle of June. The 
party will then proceed in boats to Yakutsk, where 
they hope to arrive in August. This letter, dated 
Nov. 18, says, that, during the summer of 1883, four 
hundred and fifty versts of routes in the Lena delta 
had been surveyed, and magnetic observations made 
at five different localities. The mean temperature 
of June, July, and August, was about 36° F. The 
Lena was closed by ice Sept. 19. During the sum- 
mer the sky was constantly cloudy, with light winds 
accompanied by fog. 
