INTRODUCTION. 



ix 



Charles Fellows, had excited interest in the 

 public mind. 



These plans were doomed to be sadly defeated. 

 The materials were brought together; but not 

 before the member of the party, on whom the 

 chief part of the duty of working them out 

 was to devolve, had perished through disease con- 

 tracted in their pursuit. The occupations of 

 his companions have been such as to prevent 

 them, even if they had been qualified, from 

 endeavouring to fulfil the original intentions. 

 Unwilling, however, that the fruits of a journey 

 undertaken in earnestness and good faith should 

 be buried, they send forth this imperfect nar- 

 rative — a poor substitute for the work pro- 

 jected ; but still, they trust, containing many 

 not unwelcome contributions to ancient and 

 modern geography, and to natural history. The 

 following unpolished chapters have not been 

 written for the sake of making up a book, but 

 because their Authors believed they had new 

 information to communicate. 



Although the journey was commenced with 

 sanguine expectations of success, the results ex- 

 ceeded the hopes entertained by the travellers ; 

 for no fewer than eighteen ancient cities, the 

 sites of which had been unknown to geographers, 

 were explored and determined, besides many 



