318 
SIR RODERICK I. MURCHISON’S ADDRESS. [May 24, 1858. 
violence, and forming immense breakers and dangerous whirlpools, 
such as no vessel could possibly live through. Commander Moresby 
considers that a steamer of light draught would have no diffi- 
culty in ascending up to this point, which must, I suggest, prove 
to be of high interest to the geological explorer, who will probably 
meet near the cataracts of Yallila with the same hard and crystal- 
line axis of the country as occurs in a more northern parallel at 
Boussa, on the Niger or Quorra. 
A short journey has been made by Dr. Bastian in the province 
of Congo, preparatory, it is believed, to a future and a more ex- 
tended exploration. Many valuable facts relating to the tribes of 
the interior are said to have been collected by him. 
On consulting with our African Medallist and one of our Hon. 
Secretaries, Mr. Francis Galton, I find his opinion to be that there 
is no direction in which an explorer could travel by which he 
might add more to our knowledge of Africa than by starting from 
one of the seabord towns of its south-west coast, such as Loando, 
and journeying thence in a north-easterly direction as far as cir- 
cumstances would permit, and as near as possible to the eastern 
countries now being explored by Captain Burton. Every step in 
such an expedition would, I admit, be a distinct gain, and serve in 
a remarkable manner to lay bare the vast remaining tracts of the 
terra incognita of Africa. 
Central Africa -. — The preceding observations, and those which 
I offered to you at the last Anniversary in reference to the great 
difficulties which Dr. Barth had surmounted, naturally lead me 
to speak of the two concluding volumes of the work of this great 
African traveller, which are just issuing to the public. These 
volumes narrate his proceedings subsequent to the death of Dr. 
Overweg, on the borders of Lake Chad, and include the most inter- 
esting part of his entire journey and his sojourn at Timbuctu. In 
addition to his 4 Travels,’ Dr. Barth has delivered lectures before 
the British Association (at Dublin) on the Hydrography of the Niger, 
before the Asiatic Society on the Ethnology of the Berber (Tuarick) 
race, and at the last meeting of this Society he gave us an epitome 
of the physical and social geography of Northern Africa, in the con- 
struction of which he made ample use of the labours of African geo- 
graphers, in a sound knowledge of whose works there are few who 
rival him. 
It will be obvious, from the nature of Dr, Barth’s investigations, 
that it is perfectly impossible for me to condense his results into a 
