536 Heath’s Bolivian Explorations . [September, 
observance than as hitherto in the breach ; and let us all, both 
Englishmen and Americans, besides noting his original phy- 
sical ideas, note also his original human motives ; for if we 
do so we shall assuredly find that his wish was not so much 
to protect the property of well-to-do Church bodies, of 
wealthy Manufacturers, or of Government establishments, 
as to defend the lives of the poor and the uneducated cot- 
tagers from the ravages made by thunderbolts in rural 
districts. Is it generally known that (as recorded by official 
returns) the number of persons killed by thunderbolts in 
Russia (not including Poland and Finland), in the five years 
from 1870 to 1874, was 2270, of whom no less than 2161 
were dwellers in the country ; and that during this period, 
in the same area, 4192 fires were occasioned by thunder- 
bolts, 4099 of them being in the country ? 
Let educated men, interested in measures of defence from 
thunderbolts, obtain (as they easily can by reading) an 
elementary knowledge of the known laws of electricity, espe- 
cially in regard to the actions of condensers, points, and 
metals ; let them reflect on what they read ; and let them 
think for themselves in regard to any steps they may deem it 
desirable to take for the defence of their own lives and pro- 
perty, or as a rampart for the lives and property of their 
dependents. Above all, let them follow the original inten- 
tions of Benjamin Franklin rather than the guidance of the 
“ electricians ” of the present day. 
IV. HEATH’S BOLIVIAN EXPLORATIONS. 
By Rev. J. D. Parker. 
(Concluded from page 451.) 
N September 28th, 1880, Dr. Heath commenced his 
final voyage down the river. As he pushed his frail 
barque out upon the water, all the people gathered 
around and bade him adieu, firmly believing that he and his 
two Indian companions would be eaten by the cannibals 
supposed to be living along the Lower Beni. On October 
7th, at meridian, he arrived at the lowest point reached on 
