Letters , Extracts, and Notes. 
18 7 
circumstances Capt. Cecil Godfrey Bawling, C.I.E., F.R.G.S., 
who went out as Surveyor to the party, has been instructed 
by the Committee to take the command, the duties of which, 
we are sure, he will execute with his well-known energy and 
ability. It appears that shortly after Mr. Goodfellow^s 
return to Wakatimi in June last there were heavy floods on 
the River Mimeka, and the whole camp and surrounding 
country became covered with water. He and his companions 
were constantly obliged to walk about in water up to 
their knees, and much damage was done to the stores. 
When the flood subsided the whole camp became a bog, 
and it is no wonder that there were many cases of sickness. 
The headquarters have now been removed to a new camp on 
the Waitakwa River where it leaves the mountains, three 
days further up. But in order to get at the snowy peak of 
Carstenz it will probably be necessary to cross the Waitakwa, 
and to try another river further east, probably the Letakwa, 
where the waters are said to come down straight from the 
snow. 
Boyd Alexander’s Collection of Birds ,—From c The Times ’ 
of December the 23rd we learn that the extensive collection of 
bird-skins formed by the late Mr. Boyd Alexander is to be 
presented to the Trustees of the British Museum, and will 
form part of the great National Collection at South 
Kensington. Of course no other more appropriate destina¬ 
tion could be found for it. The specimens, which are from 
various parts of Africa, are about 4,000 in number. 
Alexander made his first African Collection in the Cape Yerd 
Islands, which he visited in 1897. After a second visit to 
the Cape Yerd Islands in the same year, he joined in an 
expedition up the Zambesi and its tributary the Kafue, and 
formed a series of nearly 1,000 skins. 
In 1900 Alexander, who then held a commission in a West 
India Regiment, took part in the expedition for the relief of 
Kumassi, in which he was accompanied by Jose Lopez, his 
Collector. As the relief column advanced Jose followed 
slowly behind and formed an excellent collection. 
