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ENTKANCE TO TllK 'OWER UK LAS INKANTAS, IN IIIK AI.IIAMIIUA.

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS:

A RliCORD OI''

Discovery^ Geography^ and Adventure.

KDrrKD jjv

H. W. BATES,

ASSISTANT. SECRETARY OF THE RUYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY,

WITH

ENGRAVINGS FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS

BY CELEBRATED ARTISTS.

LONDON:

CASSEI.L, PETTER. AND GALPIN:

AND 596, BROADWAY, NEW YORK.

'^.1

l.oMioN :
PRINTKn nv CASSE1.I, rETTKR, AM) CAM IN, liEI.I.l, SAUVAGE WORKS, LVDGATE lill.I., E.C.

CONTENTS

AnvssiNiAN Plateau, The Country East of

Africa, South, Gold Fields of

Alaska (forjcerlv Russian America), A Journey in. i>^ Frederick. Whvmper

Amdor River, A Summer Trip up the. By Ronald Dridgett

Arizona and Nkw Mexico

Arizona, .Southern, Ten Days' Journey in. By \V. A. Bell, B.A., M.B., F.R.G.S

Balearic Islands, Seven Months in the. By E. G. Bartholomew, C.E., M.S.E

California and its Prospects. By Frederick Whymper

California, Lower

Camargue, A Few Days IN. By D. T. Ansted, M.A., F.R.S., F.R.G.S

Cambodia to the Yang-tsze-Kiang, French Expedition from

Easter Island

Forest Trees in South America, Height of

Gaboon, The. From the French of Dr. Griffon Du Bellay, Surgeon in the French N.ivy

Himalayas, Exploration of the

Himalaya, Route Across the

Hvrcanian Desert, and the Principal Roads Across it. By Professor Arminius Vamb6ry

Indo-China, French Exploring Expedition in

Japan, A European Sojourn in. From the French of M. Aim6 Humbert

Jebel Nakus, the Bell-Sounding Mountain

kuriyan muriyan islands

Limpopo River, Discovery of the Mouth of

Livingstone, Progress of

Madagascar, A Bird's-eye View of. From the French of M. D. Charnay

Manchuria

Mandalay, English Mission to, and Treaty with Burmah. By Henry Woodward Crofton, M. A.

.. 192

.. 30

.. 46

.. 245

.. 256

.. 142

266,312,

538, 368

.. 103

.. 64

.. 160

.. 128

.. 320

289,

3='- 353

.. 30

.. 117

.. 263

.. 288

136, 184, 216, 233, 277, 305, 344, 371

256
160
96

32
.. 22,49,81

178, 212, 234

Mesopota.mia, JouRNEYiNGS l.v. By Licut. C. R. Low (l.ite Indian Navy)

Nile Expedition, Sir Samuel Baker's

North Polar Discovery. By J. E. Davis, Staff Commander R.N., F.R.G.S

Orinoco, A Journey up the. By C. Le Neve Foster, B.A., D.Sc, F.G.S

Overland Route to the Pacific through British America

Paraguay, A Visit to, during the War. By Thomas J. Hutchinson, F.R.G.S

Passage OF the Great Canon of the Colorado. By Major A. R. Calhoun

Report of another Great Lake in Equatorial Africa

Ri^uNioN, Island of

Shir6 River, Captain Faulkner's Expedition up the

Siberia, Northern, New Russian Expedition to the Coast of

Soudan and Western Abyssinia, A Journey through. By Licut. W. F. Prideaux, F.R.G.S. i, 57. 8

South Polar Lands and the Transit of Venus

Spain, Notes on

Survey of Sinai

Vancouver Island, The First Journey of Exploration Across. By Robert Brown, F.R.G.S. .

161, 205, 239, 268, 316, 341, 366

224

149, 168, 199

... 257, 297, 335, 376

134

41,71,97

352

320

192

10, 152,171,193,248,282

128

■ •• 15,33,65, 120, 129

... 254,274,302,349

'i.'^T.ea-

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

AllVSSINIA, A JdURSEV THROUGH—
Samuar Tkasam at a Wki.i

UKKVISII AM) I'KASANr WoMAN

Manukoves nkar Uiikrar

VoiMi Ukdaween GlKI. ...

Ukni-'a.mir Arab

You.Nii UlRLS OF Taka

Kassala

Takrooree Soldier

Wii.MA.N or Kassala carrvi.no Water

KlVER ClASU IN THE KaINV SEASON

SiMiiNi; THE War So.ng

RovAL Palace at Gondar

View near Ti.'UELga, Ahyssinian Tlateau

Oul'M I'ALM, OF THE SoUDAN

Ahyssinian Fisileer

View on the Krantee

Junction ok the Kiliee with the Brantee

Ahyssinian Wild Flowers ..

Meihonica Superiia

View on the Kiver Aiiai

Army of Theodore overtaken iiy a Flood

River Berhan, Ahyssinian 1'i.ateau

View on the liASiiiLo

rVMSHEI) HY ORDER OF THE KiNG

AK Ahyssinian Horseman

Ahyssinian Warfare

Ahyssinian Tailor

UoAT OF UULLOCk's-HIPE ON I.AKE TSANA

Falls of Davezout, Ahyssinian Plateau

Arizona, .Southerm, Tkn Uavs' Journey in—
Fort Howie, Arizjna; Scene of the .Vpache Attack...

California and its Prospects—

The Grand Cascade of Vose.mite

The Father of the Forest ...

Colorado, Passa(;e of the Great Canon of the—
The Exultant Indians .Mutilate Tiit Dead Body
The Raft Pkecii'Itated over a Cataract

Gauoon, The—
Bird's-eye View of the Gauoon Settlement

Charcoal Stores at the Gadoon

Kino Uenij of the Gaboon, and his Principal Wife ...

The Uac -.htkrs of King Louis

English Trading Setilement on the Gahoon

Mission House of the Catholics at the Gaboon

Akkra, a Young Girl of the Gauoon

The Chief Kringer, and his Family

A Village on the Gahuon

Trunk of the Ovounchua, a Species of Ficus

Bakalai Wo.man and Children

Village on the Gaboon

Pahouin Warriors

The Sacred Isles of Lake Jonanga

The Young Fetichist of Lake Jonanga

Pahouin Village

Fetiche Bana.na Trees ..

Hvrcanian Desert, and TIM. Principal Koads across

A Turkoman

Well in the Hvrcanian Ulsekt

Japan, A European .Sojourn in-

A Japanese Governor

Japanese Grooms (Beio^)

To, M. Humuert's Valkt-de-Chamurk

UciNZKs Praying

Japanese Wome.n going on a Visit

A Japanese School

Japanese Citizen in Winter Cosiume

Iapanf;se Peasant in Winter Costume

KicE Cultivation

Japanese in the Rice Field

Tori, or Holy Gate

ZiNMU ,',

Civil and Military Officials returning from Duty...

Buddhist Temple at Nagasaki

Birds of Japan

Entrance into the Harbour of Kanasawa ... ..'.

Japanese Pilgrims

Actors and Dallet-Girls of the Mikado's Court

Mendicant Pkiesp

Kanasawa : the Tea. house and the Sacred Isle

Webster and Sivosima Islands

Temple of Hatchi.man, at Kamakuba

91
92
93

112

llj
116

'53
15b

'57
"59

172

'73
176

'77
'93
196

'97
248
249
252

253

285

'45

105
109

9
«3

289
292

293
296

321
324
325
328
329
332
333
353
356
357
360
361
365
n—
264
265

'36
'37
140
141
184

"*§
1 88

189

•91
191
216
217
220
221
223
225
228
229
232
233
277
280

Japan, A EuRorF.AN Sojourn in— C(»«/»««;v/.

Japanese Warriors of the Tiiirteenih Century
usiYama, the Sacred Mountain of Japan

liuDiiiiisT High Priesp and his Suiiordinates

Panorama of Bknten

Refkctorv of a Buddhist Monastery

Funeral Ceremonies

Cemeiery of Nagasaki

Faxiua, afterwards Fide-Y'osi

Laying out the Dead

Reception by the Mikado, in former times

Visit of the Tycoon to the Mikado, ai Kioto

Maids of Court Ladies ap kioio ..

Madagascar, I!ird's-eye View of —

Travelling in Madagascar— The Tacon

Ravknal Trees

A Maiiegasse Widow

The Vacoa, or Screw-pine of Madagascar

Rice Pounding

A Madegasse Woman and her Children

Madagascar Dwarf Palms

Governor OF 'Iamatave

Nossi-UE, Madagascar

Tree-Fern, Madagascar

yuEEN OF MoHII.LA, AND HER AlTENDANIS

Spies of the Queen of Madagascar

Mandalav, English Mission to—
TiiAPiNvu Pagoda, at Pagan

Mesopotamia, Journeyings in—

Persians of Bussorah

Kelek, or Raft of Inflated Skins, on the Tigris

Mov.woman and Arabs crossing the Tigris

Jew of Bussobah

Jewess of Bussorah

Arabs bringing Skins to .market

Girl of Baghdad

Kara Fatima, the Kurdish Princess, and her Suite...

Lady of Baghdad

Jews of Mesopotamia ..

Tauk Kesra

View on the Shores of the Tigris

The Tigris, near Hamrin

View on the 'Iigris, near Djeiiar

ORINOCO, a Journey up the, to the Caratai, (Ioi.d Kiel
View in the Delta of the Orinoco

Jaguar Fishing on the Hanks of the Orinoco

Map of Lower Orii:oco

Steamboat Travelling on the Orinoco

First Steamboat on the Orinoco

Paraguay, a Visit during the War-
Indian Girl, Paraguay

Market People— on the Parana

Indians of the Gran Chaco

Indian of Paraguay

Sergeant Gonzales, Paraguayan Soldier

Naval Warfare in Paraguay— Destruction of a Bra-
zilian I'lUNUOAT BY A ToRPEDO

Details of Jesuit Architecture in Paraguay

Paraguayan Sentinel— " No Tengo Ordinfs"

Ruins of a Jesuit Mission Church in Paraguay

Polar, N.jrth, Uiscoverv-

Map of the North Polar Regions

Spain, Notes on—

A Diligence on the Road to Granada

Postillions

Interior of Third Class Railway Carriage in Spain...

La Ramula— at Barcelona

Peasant of Orihuei.a

Toilet of Gipsy Girl at Diezma

At Alicante

Beggars in Cathedral of Barcelona

Duel with the Navaja

The Navaja

How A Spaniard Drinks

Company in a Spanish Inn

The Espada

Boys Playing at Bull Fighting

The Banderii.lero in the Chair

The Bi'll Leaping the Barrier

The (Jate of the Alhambra

Alicante '

Palm Groves of Elche, near Alicante

281
3^

io)

3"
344
34?
348
349
372
373
375

25
28
29
49
52
53

81
84
85
87

iSi

161

104
105
205
208
201J
240

2,<I
244
269
272
273

3>6
3'7

US-

257

260

261
300

337

44
45
72
73

76
97
100
101

"7
20
21
33
36
37
31
40

67
68
69
120
121
124
'25
12^

'3*
'33

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

A RIXOKD OK

2S1

30S
309
31"

344
34?
348
349
37a
373
375

28
29
49
52
53
16
81
84
85
87

iSi

161

104

'"5
205
208
209
240

2.<l
244
269
272
273
3'6
3'7

EI.US—

257
260
261
300
337

42
44
45
72

97
100

lOI

"7
20
21
33
36
37
31
40

120

121

124

12s

129

13a

■33

DISCOVERY, GEOGRAPHY, AND ADVENTURE.

SAMIIAR I'liAS.VM' AT A WtLU

A yonrney thyough the Soudan and IVestcrn Abyssinia, ivith Reminiscences

of Captivity.

BV I.IEUTEMANT W. F. PRIDKAUX, F.R.G.S., BO.MnAV STAKK CORPS.

I. Ini'roductory.
Thf. Story of the late Abyssinian expedition, and of the cvcr's
which led to it, fulfils, in its thorough completeness, all the
conditions of the ancient Greek epos. Moreover, around the
country itself there was a kind of romantic halo, which was
heightened, rather than dispelled, by the few accounts we had
had of it from modern travellers. At the beginning of the
present century people looked upon the narrative of Bruce as
if it had been composed of pages torn out of Sinbad the Sailor
or Gulliver ; and yet there is scarcely a statement in his work
which cannot be corroborated by the evidence of later writers.
The best and most trustworthy of these, such as Riippell and
Lefebvre, in conseciucnce of no translation having been made
vol.. I. •

of their works, are scarcely known in Kngland. Had they
been, there would certainly not have been shown the amount
of ignorance concerning the country that was exhibited when
the subject of the expedition was first seriously mooted.
Whatever twaddle, however, may have been talked in the
newspapers, it is due to the War Office authorities to allow
that by the evidence of their published report on the routes
in Abyssinia, they had thoroughly silted tni, subject, and from
varying and often contradictory statements were able to arrive
at just conclusions, or, at all events, to afford the Commander-
in-Chief the opportunity of doing so. There is no doubt that
the route taken by the army under Lord Napier was not merely
the most practicable, but the only one which could have

ILLUSTRATKU IRAVia.S.

been followed with a view to a successful issue. All aviiiiable
scientific means have been taken to niaj) this route correctly,
and thus a great stej) has been made in the pro^'.ress of Abys-
sinian gcograi)hy, though it is n.uch to be regretted that owing
to iiolitical reasons, it was ini]iassible to pursue the investiga-
tions into the western i)art of the country, and make some
attempt at determining that geographical desideratum, the
shape and area of the 'I'sana Sea, and at the exploration of the
beautifid and fertile districts surrounding it.

'I'he route which was followed by Mr. Kassain and his party,
and of which an attempt at dcM ription w ill be made in the fol-
lowing pages, is still less known to the ordinary reader. The
desolate wastes of the .Sanihar, the cxisis of the Arseba, the
plains of Bdraka anil 'laka, and the savannas which stretch for
many a league around Kedaref are little else than lerne iiiiVi;iiittr.
'I'he same may be said of all the country to the westward of
T.sana, of which Bruce has given the most grai)hic, if not the
only description. Since Buri khardt's time these regions have
been visited but by few. Among the travellers in the I'.gyptian
Soudan have been Didier, I.ejean, and Mun/.inger, all men of
talent. The narrative of the former is almost as readable as

The causes which led to the dispatch of Mr. Rassam's
mission are so well known that it is almost needless to recapitu-
late them here. The barbarous monarch of a far-distant country
had ventured to ill-treat and imprison a Consul, and, in the
jjerson of her representative, to insult the (Jueen of Kngland.
So much was certain, but the course which Her Majesty's
Government had to ])ursuc under these embarrassing circum-
stances was not equally clear. A line in a .short note, which
the Consul contrived to send to Massdwa, aftirmed, by implica-
tion, that it was on account of the non-anival of an answer to a
letter which King Theodore had, some fifteen months before,
forwarded to the Queen, that the present coiijrctcnif's had
occurred. The line ran, " No release till civil answer to King's
letter comes." Acting on this hint, after due <leliberation, the
Foreign Office determined to dispatch an accretlited envoy to
the court of King Theodore, with an autograiih letter from Her
Majesty, and for this duty they selected Mr. Rassam.

Mr. Hormuzd Rassam is a native of Mosul, in Mesopo-
tamia, where he was born about the year 1826. His brother,
Mr. Christian Rassam, had filled the post of inler|)reter to
Colonel Chesney during the Euphrates expedition, and, in re-
ward for his valuable services, had lieen appointed British Vice-
Consul at his native town. During Mr. Layard's explorations
in the neighbouring ruins of Nineveh, he found the services of
Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, then C)uite a young man, so useful that
on his return to England he had no hesitation in recommending
him to the authorities at the British Museum as entirely fit to
take charge of the works during his absence. Mr. Rassam
subsequendy visited England, and through the influence of Sir
James Outram and Captain W. J. Eastwick, of the Board of
Directors, he was appointed interpreter at Aden, where, in the
course of a few years, he had shown such zeal and ability in
various negotiations, and had so far gained the confidence of his
superiors, that at the beginning of 1863 he had risen to the post
of First Assistant to the Political Resident.

Mr. Rassam, accompanied by Dr. Blanc, of the Bombay
Medical Service, arrived at Massdwa in July, 1864. He lost
ho time in dispatching a messenger to King Theodore, who
was then at Gondar, with a note in which he requested per-

mission to enter the country and present to His Majesty the
letter of which he was the bearer. 'J'lie two months which wire
considered suflicient time for the receipt of the note and it.i
acknowledgment elapsed, and yet no answer arrived. The
same result attended the dispatch of another letter, which
was forwarded some time later. At length l''»ui Russell, who
attributed Mr. Kassam's ill success to the mission not being
on a sufficient stale, directed that a military offuer should bo
associated with the envoy, and the present writer was selected
by Colonel Merewether, the Political Resident at Aden, for
this duty.

I arrived at Massilwa on the evening of the 2()th of Marc h,
i86j, and immediately jiroceeded to Monkullii, wliere Mr.
Rassam was then staying. Monkiillii, or more correctly,
'M-kiillii, "the mother of all," is a hamlet about four miles to
the N.W. of Mass.iwa, and is apparently the mother village
of a cluster of krasls which lie within an nrea of about one
scpiare mile. The other hamlets are called Hailiimhi and
Zgga ; the houses are simply built of dried grass bound with
withs, and are generally of a bee-hive shape, scpiare houses
being very rare, and the possession of one an evidence of great
respectability. I only saw one stone-built house on shore.
The house in which Mr. Rassam had tak,.n up his cpiarters was
built by Consul Plowden as a kind of country residence, and
being in jiossession of a well of tolerable water, he had been
able to plant a grove of trees around it, which gave it cpiite
a rural ai)])earaiii e in the surrounding expanse of land, in
whic h merely a few mimosa: and cacti had a bare strtiggle for
existence. 'I'he inhabitants of these villages are half-reclaimed
Bedaween from the interior, and differ little, physically, from
the " Oulad Bazd," or inhabitants of the island. The men
are tall, wiry fellows, inofl'cnsive and harmless in dis|)osition,
and gain a scanty livelihood by acting as camel-drivers or
liorters. Their dress consists merely of a ragged cloth thrown
loosely about their persons. The women, like all Africans,
in old age are hideous, but the young girls are often extremely
pretty, with an expression of great softness in their brow n eyes,
and with beautiful figures, until age and toil have destroyed
their rounded contours. 'I'liey are especially careful about their
hair, which is dressed in an infinite number of small iilaits, with
tiny ringlets hanging round their faces; and every one adheres to
the singular custom of i)iercing the right nostril, and inserting a
plug of wood, ordearerjirize still, a mother-' o-pearl shirt-button ;
amongst the married women of the better class this is usually
replaced by a silver stud. A white cotton petticoat or " fota,"
and a checked cloth thrown over the head like a veil when out
of doors, complete their costume. Although iinso])histicated as
the gazelles which share the desert w ith them, they are rarely or
never immodest in their behaviour and the open and degraded
licentiousness in which their Chrii;tian sisters of Abyssinia
indulge is quite unheard of here.

\ suppose that, considering its size and importance, scarcely
an island in the world has been so often described as Massdwa.
It is simply a low level rock, two-thirds covered with houses,
those of the better sort built of stone or madrepore coral, while
the humbler classes are content to dwell in huts of bent-grass ;
consequently fires occur often enough, and as the inhabitants
jjossess no means of putting them out beyond pulling down a
few of the adjacent houses, they usually commit great depreda-
tions. Happily, the actual loss of property is small, and, in
a hygienic point of view, doubtless these conflagrations act a

A JOL'RNEY THROUGH THK SOL' DAM.

i.ighly desirable part. The northern portion of the island is
used as a < cinelery, and amongst the tombs are found various
( isterns whi< h serve as reteptai les for the rain which so seldom
fails in these arid spots. As a rule, Mass.-iwa is usually sujiplied
with water either by the girls of Monkiillii ami Ilaitiinihi, who
daily convey it in "girbas" or leathern skins, or by boat from
Harkeeko, at the other end of the bay ; that of the latter pl.K e
is brai kish, and proportionately (heap. At the extreme end
of the island stands, or stood, a small <lilapi<lated fort, with a
few rusty honeycombed guns, whi( h look as if they were war-
rarted to burst at the first discharge, and the Roman Catholic
Ciiapel and mission-house, at that time presided over by I'ather
Deimonte, a I,a/.arist priest, who had for many years resided
at Massdwa and its vie inity. This gentleman, and M. Werner
Mun/.inger, since so favoural)ly known in connection with his
services during the late campaign, but who was then acting as
agent to an l':^:yptian mercantile house, and endeavouring to
extend commerce amongst the tribes of the Soudan, were the
only Kuropean inhabitants of the place.

The Government of Ma-ssdwa and the neighbouring main-
land has been, since the days of Sultan Selim, in the hands of
the Turks, with the exception of a few years, during which the
late Mohammed Ali, of Kgypt, ruled over the Pashalic of the
Hedjaz, of which Massawa, w ith, theoretically, all Abyssinia, is
a dependency. I?ut their rule was for centuries passive rather
than active, and the real |)ower lay in the hands of the Naibs
of Harkeeko, a family of Tigre origin, whose tyrannical exac-
tions, which used to place such obstacles in the way of travellers
to Abyssinia, must be fresh in the memory of every reader of
Bruce and Salt But those days are long since past, and they
are now a \ery harmless and easy-going set of jjcople, whose
, principal function ajipears to be the collection of tribute from
the surroimding Bedaween. Harkeeko, or Dohono, as the
Abyssinians call it, is a village some few miles tov/ards the
southern extremity of the bay, and bears al! the appearances
of having once seen better days. The Naib's house is the
only decent one in the place, and as the landing is so !)ad
that, to avoid getting wet, it is necessary to be carried at lea.'t
a hundred yards from the boat to the shore, it seems destined
to be blotted out altogether from the map in a few years, espe-
cially as the Egyptians, who have again taken over the govern-
ment of Massawa, are likely to restrict the powers of the Naib
more than ever.

Shortly after my arrival. Dr. Blanc, who was suffering much
from ophthalmia, was obliged to return to Aden for a short
time, and, as the therrjometer began to average between 95°
and 100° Fahr. at two l>.^t., in the shadiest and coolest part
of the house, Mr. Rassam and I determined to try what a trip
a few miles inland might effect for us. Mr. Rassam had had
time to strike up an ac()uaintance with most of the neighbouring
chiefs, which was fortunate, as it is always necessary to have
their assistance and co-operation on occasions like this. The
two principal were the Xaib and the Mudeer. The former was
at this time engaged in collecting taxes through his nominal
territories, but the latter, who governs the lowland country
between Harkeeko and the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, was at
Massjiwa. The reason of his visit was to convey to the Kaim-
Makim, or Turkish governor, a rebel Daakali chief, who had
been committing great atrocities in the neighbourhood of Zulla,
especially in torturing and mutilating both men and women.
This chief, whose arrival at Massiwa was welcomed with a

salute, so anxious had the Turks Iwen to get hold of him, was
kept in durance in the open air, in the hirge sc|uare before the
Kaun-.Makiim's house, and was fastened to the ground by a
very heavy chain round his neck, just like a wild beast. It was
< onsidered (|uite en r^f^/t for every man, woman, or chiUl who
passed that way to spit on the wrttrheil (ajilive. 1 do not
know what became of him, as the final orders regarding his
disposal had to come from Djidcia, and must have arrived
after our departure, but he fully deserved everything he was
likely to get.

We starte<l on our very pleasant litde journey on the ist of
May, intending to make our first halt at Assous, a village about
thirty miles to the westwanl. Our baggage had gone on an
hour before we started. Kvery one knows what travelling in
these regions is, and we found we could not manage with less
than eight camels, ar. 1 as we had w ith us three Turkish Irregular
soldiers, who were natives of the country, and a lot of servants,
we formed ([uite a large party. Our mules soon overtook the
camels, and we journeyed on for five hours, from four in the
afternoon till nine, when we arrived at a small watering-])lace
cilled Gabza, where we dttermined to wait until our baggage
should come up. The country over which we had passed for
twenty miles did not vary much from that in the neighbourhood
of Monkiillii. There w.-is, perhaps, a little more sand, a little
more scrub, and a good deal more stone. Oabza, however, is
situated in a wadi, or water-course, on each side of which are
precipitous cliffs. We had not been there long before we dis-
covered that we had not the right of prior occupation, and by
the shadowy light of the new moon we could discern that the
sides of the rock were covered with countless baboons,* and
judging from those whic h stood in relief against the sky, they
must have been from four to five feet in height. They evi-
dently regarded us as intruders, and kept up a ceaseless jab-
bering, till I fired off a barrel of my revolver, when the fear
and anger they felt was expressed by every note they were
capable of giving vent to, from the deep roar of the patriarch
of the herd, down to the tiny squeak of tl e baby in nrn.'s.
However, with the exception of a few, they all scampered oft)
evidently considering us dangerous characters. Shortly after-
wards, the camels came up, and as both they and their drivers
were weary, we determined to go on a little furil-.er, to a spot
called Altiigemdt, where the water was rather better, and there
])ass the night. After a cup of tea, we turned in sub diro. We
had scarcely slept a couple of hours, when we were awakened
by a great hubbub, and found that a leopard had had the pre-
sumption to walk into the midst of us, and was quietly feeding
off one of the sheep, which for security we had placed in the
centre of the circle we formed. Although driven off, he came
again and again, until at last we were thoroughly roused up by
his springing over a couple of our men who were lying nearest
to the jungle, and then, frightened by the noise all the natives
made, he dashed over the foot of my bed and got safely off.
In the darkness it was impossible to send a bullet after him.
It was then neariy three o'clock, and in another haff-hour we
resumed our march. We were now at the foot of the first
range of hills, of which there are three to cross before arriving
at the highland country of Abyssinia. Crossing this one was
no joke. We were soon obliged to dismount from our mules,
sure-footed as they are, and to pick our way on foot over the
immense masses of stpne and debris brought down by successive

• Cynocephalm II«maHr)'«.

IM.rSTRATF.l) 'Ik VM.I.S.

laiiis, and llli^ in ilic uncertain liglit was very dillicult. After
a still more toilsome desieiit, we arrived at the ))lain of Assoiis,
wlieii we were alile to remount our mules. Siriili and sand
formed tlie (;ener.\l i liara( tcrisiii s of tliis )ilain also. Imt a
iliimi) of trees liere and there liLtoKened that we were
ai)|iroaihing a more favoured disiri( t.

A coujile of hours ride brought us to tlie village of Assous,
but we preferred turning off to the well which sujiiilies the
hamlet, and whidi is three miles distant. It is a eurious eha-

till we relurueil lo .Xssous. Ilo is a t.ill, gaunt fellow, not b.id-
looking, tat iturn in dis|iosition, and a s(rii|iulous Mussulman,
but so dirty in his habits that a dose intimacy with him \*
anythii^g but desirable. We had, however, lo spend that and
many succ e^'cling clays with him. We th.iught ourselves for-
tunate in fmdiiig a grove of trees under which we could pitih
our tents, but by noon the heat exceeded that of Monkiilhi.
Assous is a prea; plaee for wild boars* ; one magnificent fellow,
with tushes about two feet long, walked up coolly to within a

I'lKVlsU .\MI I'KA.SAM WnMA.N.

racteristic of these desert-folk that they almost invariably erect
their villages at some distance from water, but whether they
have soine really good rea.son for it, or whether through natural
perversity, I cannot s.ay. Our ride over the i)lain was very
pleasant ; it was deliciously cool, the thermometer only showing
08', and though vegetation was not abunclant, still there was a
little, while a herd of agijztn antelopes* always hovering in
the distance gave animation to the scene.

We arrived at Abhan, the place at which the well is situated,
at six A.M., and were received by Abd-td-Kerecm, the brother
of the Xaib of Harkeeko, who was to be our fellow-traveller

* Tliu K<ii»lou of Squall .Africi.

hundred yards of our tents; but although attempts were made
against his life, he got ciif scot-free. A little later, iny < om-
l)anion was firing into a herd of five, by which he was sur-
rounded, and mistook the direction in which the tents were
situated, as they were concealed by a cltmi|) of trees ; I was
within mine, when I was disagreeably roused from my cjuiet by
the whiz of a bullet close to my right ear. 'I'he night was again
very cool, ni.d we were able to start again before (Kaybreak,
quite refreshed. .M)d-ul-Kereem had with him his nephew,
eight or nine more Irregulars, and some servants, so we now
formed cpiite an imposing cavalcade. ( )ur road took a soutli-

• I'li.icnchcL'i'iis Africimis.

u
3

ILLUSTRATED TRAVKLS.

westerly direction, and on getting out of the plain we entered
a dense jungle, comiwsed, as is usually the case in Abyssinia,
of the most thorny plants in existence. 'I'hese rather retarded
our progress, but at length we emerged into a water-course, and
at about eight a.m. arrived at Dagree, our halting-place for the
day. This presented <iuite a dift'erent aspect from our cami)ing-
ground of the previous day; the sand and scrub had disappeared,
and in their ^tead were green turf, and magnificent sycamores
and other forest trees. It was delicious to throw oneself down
under the shade of a splendid acacia, and listen to the murmur
of a little spring, which bubbled from the icuh/i close at hand.
We found, however, by mid-day that there was no coolness to
be found even here. It was even hotter than at Assous, 109"
being the register of the thermometer in the shade ; but the
coolness of the night and early morning counterbalances this
disadvantage, and one awakes invigorated and prepared to bear
the heat of the day. We did not start again till the afternoon
of the following day, when we shaped our course to the north-
east, and after a twelve miles' journey, and after crossing
another range of hills, eipially precipitous as the first, we
arrived at Sheesharoo.

Sheesharoo jiossesses greater natural advantages than
D.igree. It is situated beside a running stream, and is sur-
rounded by fine trees. Hills, clothed to the summit with
thick foliage, look down on it from every side, and are infested
with baboons of the same species as those of Gabza. I was, to
my great regret, jirevented from exploring the neighbourhood,
having severely sprained my ankle in climbing the last range of
mountains. Political reasons decitled us not to extend our
rambles further, and cross over the next range of hills into
Hamasen, as we were ignorant how Hailu, sumamed the One-
eyed, the Dedj-azmatch of that province, and a devoteil adhe-
rent of King Theodore, might be inclined to treat us. We
therefore turned back, and crossing the mountains by a diti'erent
route, arrived at Assous late on the e\ening of the 6th. The
following day we regained our home at Monkiillii.

The district through which we had beeri travelling is called
Mensa, and is almost entirely inhabited by a nomad population
of Bedaween, who in their general characteristics much resemble
the Hibab, of whom I shall have occasion to sjieak hereafter.
Assous was the only ])lace we saw deserving the name of a
settlement ; it is simply composed of grass-built huts, but
unlike those further inland, of a S(|uare or oblong shape. W'u
often fell in with parties of the liedaween. travelling like the
Bnnjdris of India, and driving heavily-laden bullocks before them.
While, however, the cattle of the Hrinjaris cairy grain from one
part of the country to another, those of the Hedaneen are
burdened witli their masters' houses. These are merely roughly
tanned hides, fastened on sticks, and when a convenient place
is reached, they are stretched until they assume a semi-
spheroidal ai)pearancc, like large beehives. Roth sexes are
eiiually dirty in dress and person, and ap|iear to have retained
all the ancient prejudices of their Christian ancestors against
the use of water. Indeed, they a])pear to be but Muslims in
name, for so recent is their conversion, that the old Sheykh,
who was the principal instnmient in l.)ringing it about, is said to
be still alive, an object of superstitious veneration to all the
neighlKTuring tribes. While the churches, which were on<:e
numerous in these parts, have all fallen into ruins, and vestiges
of them are becoming rarer every day, not a single mosque
has been erected in their place, and I am doubtful whether

one Moolla can be found between Massawa and Himiasen.

j The diet of these siinjile jiastoral races consists chiefly of milk

and its prei)arations ; now and then a cow may be slaughtered

j with the orthodox liismillah ; but farinaceous food is seldom

j seen at their feasts, if such they may be called, an occasional

cake of juari, a kind of millet (//o/a/s sorf^/iuiii,) being the only

luxury they can indulge in of this description.

Dr. I51anc returned to ALissiiwa towards the end of May,
and as it began to grow unbearably hot at Monkiillii, we took
up our ijuarten) in tents at Djerar, or Gherdr, as the Uedaween
temi it. This was on the brink of the sea, just opposite to the
town of Massdwa, and close to the bunder, or landing-place.
The natives told us that we should find it so hot in tents during
the summer, that it would be imiios-sible to remain in them ;
but the event falsified their prediction, as they formed our only
residence during the rest of our stay on the coast. It is tnie we
were often much put out by sand storms, which would some-
times sweep like a tornado over the ])lain, and render the air
so dark that it was impossible to see more than a yard in front
of one, but the sea-breeze, which usually set in about 10 a.m.,
made up for .thi.s, and, added to a little i)hilosophy, enabled
us to endure our monotonous existence with tolerable resigna-
tion. In the middle of June we took a trip to sea in the
steamer Vidoria, for the benefit of our health, and determined
to have a look at all the remains of Adulis, which had been
unvisited for several centuries, the expedition sent thither by
Air. Salt in i8io being unable to reach the ruins. Nor were
we much more successful. As intimation had Ijeen sent by
the K.iim-Makam of Massdwa to the Sheykh of Zulla, the
modern village, on landing we found a couple of mules awaiting
our arrival, and the same number of wild-looking Shiho in
attentlance. We had scarcely gone a cou[)le of miles, when
we made the discovery that, through some oversight, we had
only brought aboui a quart of water with us. The day was
terribly hot, and the sand ntrociou.sly heavy, but although
our enthusiasm was considerably slackened, we still tramjied
on with great determination. We could not all ride, as our
party was about a dozen in number, including some sailors
and I^iscars. t)ur antiquarian ardour had almost evaporated
when we arrived at the ruins, where we could only see a few
plinths of columns, composed of a black volcanic stone, and
after a very brief inspection, we directed all our energies to-
wards getting back to the ship. Little did we think, as we
trudged over that burning ])lain, that in scarcely two years and
a half aftenN'ards more than two hundred vessels would be
riding at anchor in that harbour, and a busy colony have
sprung up on that arid shore, with a railway stretching fifteen
miles into the desert. We steamcrl to the eastern side of the
bay on the following morning, in order to obtain some live-
stock, which we found no difficulty in purch.^ 'ng from the
savage Danakil of the coast, and towards evening shaped our
course again to the south-west, an<l landed in order to examine
a hot spring, called Asfat, about half a mile from the shore.
It bubbles into a small circular pool, with a bottom of black
mud, but its exact depth we were unable to ascertain. The
temperature of the water is only 112*" Fahr., and as we had no
means of making an analysis of it on the sjxjt, some of it was
sent to Bombay for that purpose. Myriads of wild birds flock
to this spring to quench their thirst, and all around it were
unmistakable signs of elephants, but, greatly to our regret, they
would not "show" while we were thcie. This country formed

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUUAN,

the stronghold of the robber-chief I liave spoken of above, and
within a stone's throw of Adulis we came across a village whii h
had been lately sacked by him, and in which there is now not
a single living soul.

We left the bay with some hopes of being able to pay a
visit to Dlialak, the largest island in the Red Sea, but unfortu-
nately, on approaching it, could find no anchorage. 'I'liere is,
however, I believe, nothing of any interest to be seen there.

return to the evening of my first arrival at Monkiillii. I then
found Mr. Rassam in conversation with a Shiho called Ibra-
heem, whose only claim to consideration apjjeared to consist
in the fact that he was a cousin of Ayto Samuel, a jjcrson
who was then attached to the King's Court as Chief Steward,*
and was naturally sujiposed to have much influence with his
Majesty. Mr. Rassani, therefore, considered himself fortunate
in being able to secure the services of his relative, who, on his

YOUNG BEDAWKEN GIUL.

Wild goats and antelopes form the majority of its inhabitants,
and beyond these there are but a few fishermen, who speak
no known language. On the following day we returned to
Massa\v;i, having much enjoyed our trip, in spite of the great
heat of the weather. In a trij) which we shortly afterwards
made to Af-Abad, in the Ad-Temariam country, we covered
so much of the ground passed over in our subsequent
journey, that I shall reserve my description of it till the
following chapter.

It was, however, on the 8th of August, on our way back
to Massfiwa, that an event occurred which considerably influ-
enced our future fortunes—' mean the receipt of a letter from
King Theodore. In order to be fully understood, I must

part, volunteered to convey another letter to Theodore, and
pledged himself to bring back an answer. His terms were
acceded to, and after an interval of four months, a reply
reached us, conveyed by Ibraheem, who so far had played his
brief part in the drama well, and by another of the same family,
named Mohammed. The letter was couched in anything but
courteous terms ; it l>ore no seal, that necessary evidence of
authenticity in the East ; and after a very brief preamble,
directed Mr. Rassam to enter the countr)' by way of Matemma,
should he still wish to visit the Royal Court. To supplement

• Ayto Saniuel's principal duty consisted in dispensing the bread and
Mj, or mend, tu the Kind's iiouschold, and in superintending the pages and
personal servants of bis Majesty.

ILLUSTRATED I'RAN'ELS.

tliis Mohammccl, the Shilio iiifornicil us, witli every appearance
of truth, that Consul t'ameron had been released from his
fetters, and was a |>risoner at large, but that there was no
doubt that when Mr. J^assam saw the king, all the captives,
excepting, i)erhai)s, the missionaries, would be freed, and all
would go on their \\a,\' rejoicing.

■\Vhile this news was (|uite fresh, the / 'I'lioni! arrived from
Aden. She brought intelligence that Mr. ^V. (1. l'algra\e, iht'
Arabian traveller, had been ( omniissioned by (iovernment to
proceed to Abyssinia, and endeavour to effect the release of
the iirisoners. 'J'his news made Rassam eager to proceed to
I'igypt at onie, as were the two missions to clash, disagreeable
results might ha\e been apprehentled. AVe accordingly left
M.issawa on the J5th of Augast, and after having been obliged,
t!irough scarcity of coal, to run into that mo.st Oriental of all
Oriental cities, Djidda, arrived at Suez on the 5th of the fol-
lowing month. 'J'elegraphic instructions were received at
Alexandria, to tiie effect that Mr. Ras.sam should proceed at
once; and after '"ing in a stock of provisions, and |)urchasing
several articles as jjresents on the part of Her Majesty to the
King of Abyssinia, «e returned to Aden, to ( oini)lete our
preparations and outfit.

On arrival there, we found that we had been most egre-
giously duped by our doubtless well-meaning friend, Mo-
lianiined. It ai)peared from Cameron's letter, which had
reached Colonel Merewether during our absence, that so far
from Icing released, he was more a ])risoner than before,
having been chained by the hands in addition to the feet.
He begged us earnestly to come up, as the only chance of
saving their li\es. It has never been ascertained who were
t'le persons actually at the bottom of this deception, but there
is strong presumption that his Abyssinian Majesty, aided by

Samuel, the relative of Mohammed, had a hand in it. At all
events, it had the effect of bringing us into the country, to
add to the list of Theodore's victims.

AVe returned to Massawa on the Sth of October, and
passed a week in collecting camels, packing up baggage, and
the like. In order not to be dependent on the produce of
the country, we had taken care to jirovide ourselves with a
very large (juanlity — si.v months' su])ply, at the very least — of
jireserveil meats and \egetables, and what are usually termed
in India " Europe stores."' As a hint to travellers, I may say
that good li\ ing, a tolerable amount of brandy and beer, and a
daily dose of iiuinine, ought to see any one safely through the
mo.st deadly countries. Many a night did we bivouac in spots
which were the most f;tvoured haunts of malaria, and, thanks
to our precautions, passed onwards unscathed.

On the 15th we began our journey, a journey whose limits
have been defined by Milton, our starting-place being close to
that " utmost ])ort, Krcoco," * and, unforeseen then by us,
never entling imtil we had reached the sjjot

" Wliere Ab.as.siii kinys their issue'gimrd,
Mmiiit .\mara." t

And we began it in buoyant sj)irits, and in high ho[)es that ere
the lapse of many months we should be retracing our steps
in company with our countrymen, before in jmson, now in
freedom. ZVs alita- visum. lint, at all events, misgi\ing':-
shadow but very slightly obscured our way, as we commenced
our wanderings over the rarely-trodden paths of the desert.

\To be coHtinuai.)
* Ilarkccko. iirar M.i^siiHa. — J'linn/i.v t.osl, \\. 397.
t MiltiMi {J\iiaii:se l.iiil, iv. 2S0) iifuis tu Amla Ljcblicn, in the Am-
li.vr.T country, when, aflcr the restoration of tile line of Solomon, it vv.is
the eustom to inimmc debceiulaiUb of the royal family. It is aUiUt six
lioiiis' journey from Mngilala.

Passnge of the Great Canon of tlic Colorado.

IIV MAJOR A.

When we consider the country through which flows the
river Colorado, to the west of the Rocky Mountains in North
America, we are not surjirised that so little is known of its
course, its wonderful cai'ions or jirecipitous chasms, and the
300,000 sipiare miles of desert table-land which it drains. Yet
when we read the marvellous accounts of the early S|)anish
explorers, who \isitcd the Colorado a few years after the
conquest of Mexico, we are astonished that the interest thus
early excited has not resulted in a thorough exjiloration of this,
the most wonderful river of which we lui\e any knowledge.

The Rio Colorado of the west rises in Idaho territory,
near the centre of the North American continent, and Hows,
with an irregular course, towards the .scith, finally iliscliarging
itself in the Oulf of California. It drains the great elevated
jil.tteau basin lying between the Rocky Motintains and the
Sierra Nevada, south of latitude 40". The mountain ranges
east and west of the plains interceiit all the moisture ilrifted
towards them from the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, so
that the peak-covered iilateau is comparatively arid, save where
the snow-fed streams cleave their way through it. As they
cross this elevated region, tlie beds of the various rivers gra-
dually ileepen, and the water flows through cations, or narrow

K. (JAl.HOU.V.

ravines, till they join that stupendous chasm, the \'alley of
the Colorado, where the river, for 600 miles, flows in a bed
depressed on an average 3,000 feet below the general surface of
the country. The plains stretching on either hanil from the sur-
foce of the chasms show decided indications of erosion, leading
to the belief that the waters of the Colorado and its tributaries
once flowed, as most other rivers do, over the surface of the
country, fertilising the now dry expanse, and that they have
gr,-ylually worn their way down to the depth at jvliich they
ITOVV run. The Great Cai'ion of this river is a narrow winding
part of the chasm, where the waters seem to disappear in the
bowels of the earth, for a distance of more than 300 miles.

After leaving the Oreat Cai'ion, the Colorado flows south
for nearly 600 miles, to the gulf, receiving during that distance
but two small tributaries, the "Dili Williams "and die ('■''■.
Occasionally the gravelly "mesas," or iierpendicular w .-
worn walls of rock, devoid of vegetation, infringe on the river,
leaving no bottom land ; but for die greater part of the dis-
. tance above staled, the alluvial bottom spreads out into
viflleys, varying from fotir to twenty miles in width, bordered by
these lirecipices. These \alleys are named after the tribes of
Indii.ns living in them, as the f.iOJaves(Mohavees),theCheine-

PASSAGE OF THE GREAT CANON OF THE COLORADO.

TUP, EXI'LTANT INTfANS Ml'TTI.ATE THE nr.AD BODY.—/. II.

iiiicvi,'!, and Yiimas. In tlic month of May the valleys are
inmidated to a depth of two foot or more, after which the
Indians pUvU mai/.e, wheat, melons, beans, and onions, all of
which grow well in the rich alluvial soil. The bed of the river,
where not confined by rocky banks, is continually shifting, thus '
rendering navigation difficult, and frequently washing over, or
through, the best portions of the valleys. The water, as the |
name "Colorado" indicates, is red, owing to the large quantities |
of protoxide of iron which it holds in solution. The immense
amount oi debris carried down annually to the Gulf of California, ■
and deposited in the delta of the ri'.er, is having a perceptible
cftect in silting tip the head of the gulf; indeed, there can be no I
doubt that at no very distant day the gulf extended to Kort
Yuma, thirty miles inland. North of Fort Yuma the valley on I
either side of the river is botmded by serrated hills and moun-

VOL. I.

tains, of the most fantastic shapes, devoid of vegetation, save
an occasional cactus. The whole landscape has a wild, weird
appearance, heightened by the clear, dry atmosphere, through
which objects that would not be perceptible at such a <lis-
tance in nioister climates, here stand out with a wonderful
distinctness.

Although so remote, and to a great extent barren, yet the
valley of the Colorado was visited by the Spaniards before De
Soto discovered the Mississippi, and long prior to the first
English colonies on the Atlantic coast. Don Joseph de
Itasconzeles, early in the spring of 1526, crossed Central
Arizona towards the Great Canon ; this was ninety-four years
before the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in New England, and
but thirty-four years after the shores of St. Salvador greeted the
eyes of Columbus. The adventurous Spaniard and his fol-

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

• ' »

lowers were no doubt in search of an El Dorado, but they never
returned to tell of the mysterious land. They were slain by
some of the fierce tribes that still infest that country, or, equally
sad, may have perished amidst the labyrinth of chasms to the
north, across which nought living but the bird can successfully
pass. In 1 539 the Viceroy of New Spain sent a priest, Father
Marco de Ne<j-a, into the region now known as Arizona, to
examine the country, and see what could be done to convert
the natives. Father Ne^a has left a curious narrative of his
expedition, and a highly-coloured picture of the country he
traversed. His comiianions were Friar Honoratus, a negro
named Stephen, and a few Indians from the province of
Culiacan. This strange party passed up the Gila, and relate
wonderful stories of the wealth and liberality of the "king-
doms " they travelled through. Friar Honoratus went west as
far as the Colorado Chiijuito, and Father Ne(^a went to the
Indian settlements of Zufii, 200 miles to the east. The good
father beat a hasty retreat from what he termed " the chief city
in the kingdom of Cebola." He says, quaintly, " I left it with
more fear than victuals, though it be a good city, and the
houses builded in order, ami the people somewhat white, all of
whom do lie in beds. Tin ir weapons are bows. They have
emeralds and other jewels. Their apparel is of cotton and
ox-hides, and they have vessels of gold and silver." The
Sjianiards liked to Christianise peoiile who had "jewels"
and " silver .ind gold." So excited were they by the wonderful
stories of the priest, that the Captain-General of New Si)ain
sent to Arizona, in the following year, 1 540, Francisco Vasquez
de Coronado. He visited Zufii and the Colorado Chi(juito
(little Colorrdo), but was, of course, disappointed. He had a
light with the Indians, in which he was twice wounded, and
afterwards returned to New Spain.

While Coronado went to Zufii, two of his captains, Diaz
and Cardinas, each with twenty-five men, separated, and accord-
ing to the orders they had received, travelled, the first due
west, the other north-west. Diaz discovered the Great Colo-
rado and followed it to 'its mouth, and his description would
be applicable to the river in the present day. Cardinas
reached the pueblas or hill-villages of the Moquis Indians, and
obtaining guides he marched for many days across a desert
furrowed by deep chasms, finally reaching a river, the banks
of which were so high, that " they seemed to be three or four
leagues in the air." Some of the party attemj)ted to descend to
the water, but after a day spent in clambering <lown the rocks
they returned, saying that "great difliculties stopped them."
Tiiis was the first, and, for three hundred years, nearly all the
information we had about the great Cailon of the Colorado.

After the purchase and annexation of Arizona and New-
Mexico by the L^nited States, and the subsequent discovery of
gold in California, a wagon-road was opened up through
southern Arizona, hundreds of miles below the Cafion country,
Lieutenants Wliipple and Sitgreaves, of the Topographical
Engineers, who commanded expeditions sent out by the Govern-
ment in 1851 and 1854 to examine the region between the
Mississippi and Pacific, on certain. latitudes, threw much light
on this country. Subsequently, in 1857, Lieutenant Ives made
a careful examination of the Colorado below the Cafion, in a small
steamer, and since then light-draught boats have been success-
fully navigating its lower portion. The upper sc'..icfc of the
river and its trilwtaries were also carefully examined, still there
was a tfrra incognita of hundreds of miles, about which we could

only surmise. The Great Cafion remained a myth ; its actual
length, the character of the stream, the nature of its banks, and
the depth of its vertical walls were subjects for speculation, and
afforded a fine field for exaggerated description, in which writers
called on their imaginations to supply natural bridges, cavernous
tunnels, and fearful cataracts, as the prominent and natural
adjuncts of this mysterious region.

In 1867-8 the present writer was a member of an exploring
expedition sent by the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company to
sur>-ey a feasible route from the Missouri River to the Pacific
Ocean, along the 3Sth parallel. His connection with this expe-
dition afforded him many opportunities for acquiring geo-
graphical knowledge of the unexplored regions of the far West,
from original sources not accessible to ordinary map-compilers.

Twenty years ago the trapper ajid the hunter were the
romantic characters of the far West. They still figure in fiction,
and there is a fascination about their daring deeds whicii, in
America, makes " Boone" a household name, and throws an
air of chivalry around the exploits of such men as Carson,
Crockett, and Williams. Nor is the admiration for these hardy
men undeserved ; they have trapped on every western stream
and hunted on every mountain side, despite the opjjosition of
the Indian and the barrier of winter snows. They have
formed the skirmish line of the great army of occupation
which is daily pushing westward, and they have taught the
savage to respect the white man's courage and to fear the
white man's iwwer.

Wliile the field for the trapper and hunter has been gradually
growing less, another class of adventurers has come into exist-
ence — the "prospectors" in search of precious metals. Within
the last nineteen years these men have traversed every mountain
slope, from the rugged peaks of British Columbia to the rich
plateaus of O'.J Mexico, and have searched the sands of every
stream from the Mississippi to the shores of the Pacific, stimu-
lated by the same hope of reward that led the early Spaniards
to explore inhospitable wilds in their search for an " El
Dorau> " Could the varied and advcntr • experience of
these searchers for gold be written, we should nave a record of
daring and peril that no fiction could approach, and the very
sig!it of gold would suggest to our minds some story of hair-
breadth escape. Could we but gather and set down in proper
form the geographical knowledge possessed by these men, we
should know as much of the Western wilds, as we now do of
the long-settled portions of the American continent.

It has fallen to the lot of one of these " prospectors" to be
the hero of an adventure more thrilling than any heretofore
recorded, while at the same time he has solved a geographical
problem which has long attracted the attention of the learned
at home and abroad, who could but theorise, before his journey,
as to the length and nature of the stupendous chasms or cafions
through which the Colorado cleaves its central course. \Vhile
on the survey before referred to, and while stopping for a few
days at Fort Mojave, Dr. W, A. Bell, Dr. C. C. Parry, and
myself, nu t this man, whose name is James White, and from
his lips, the only living man who had actually traversed its
formidable depths, we learned the story of the Great Cafton.

James White now lives at Callville, Arizona territory, the
present head of navigation on the Colorado River. He is
thirty-two years of age, and in person is a good type of the
Saxon, being of medium height and heavy build, with light
hair and blue eyes. He is a man of average intelligence,

PASSAGE OF THE GREAT CANON OF THE COLORADO.

simple and unassuming in his manner and address, and with-
out any of the swagger or bravado peculiar to the majority of
frontier men. Like thousands of our young men, well enough
off at home, he grew weary of the slow but certain method of
earning his bread by regular employment at a stated salary.
He had heird of men lea])ing into wealth at a single bound in
the Western gold fields, and for years he yearned to go to the
land where Fortune was so lavish of her favours. He readily
consented then to be one of a party from his neighbourhood
who, in the spring of 1867, started for the plains and the gold
fields beyond. When they left Fort Dodger, on the Arkansas
River, April 13th, 1867, the party consisted of four men, of
whom Captain Baker, an old miner and ex-officer in the Con-
federate army, was the acknowledged leader. The destination
of this little party was the San Juan Valley, west of the Rocky
Mountains, about the gold fields of which prospectors spoke in
the most extravagant terms, stating that they were deterred
from working the rich placers of the San Juan only by fear
of the Indians. Baker and his comjianions reached Colorado
" city," at the foot of Pike's Peak, in safety. This place was,
and is still, the depot for supplying the miners who work the
diggings scattered through the South Park, and is the more
impottant from being situated at the entrance to the Ute Pass,
through which there is a wagon-road crossing the Rocky
Mountains, and descending to the plateau beyond. The people
of Colorado "city" tried to dissuade Baker from what they
considered a rash project, but he was determined to carry out
his original plan. These representations, however, affected one
of the party so much that he left, and the others, Captain
Baker, James White, and iHenry Strole, completed their outfit
for the prospecting tour.

The journey was undertaken on foot, with two pack mules
to carry the provisions, mining tools, and the blankets they
considered necessary for the expedition. On the 2Sth of
May they left Colorado city, and crossing the Rocky Moun-
tains, through the Ute pass, entered South Park, being still on
the Atlantic slope of the continent. After travelling ninety
miles across the Park they reached the Upper Arkansas,
near the Twin Lakes. They then crossed the Snowy Range,
or Sierra Madre, and descended towards the west Turn-
ing southerly, they passed around the head waters of the
Rio Grande del Norte, and after a journey of 400 miles from
Colorado " city," they reached the " Animas " branch of the
Son Juan River, which flows into the Great Colorado from
the east.

They were now in the land where their hopes centred,
and to reach which they had crossed plains and mountains,
and forded rapid streams, leaving the nearest abodes Of the
white man hundreds of miles to the east. Their work of
prospecting for gold began in the Animas, and though they
were partially successful, the result did not by any means
answer their expectations. They therefore moved still furthei
to the west, crossing the Dolores branch of Grand River
to the Mancos branch of the San Juan. Following the
Mancos to its mouth, they crossed to the left bank of the
San Juan, and began their search in the sands. There
was gold there, but not in the quantity they expected;
so they gradually moved west, along the beautiful valley
for 200 miles, when they found the San Juan disappeared
between the lofty walls of a deep and gloomy caflon. To
avoid this, they again forded the river to the right bank, and

struck across a rough, timbered country, directing their course
towards the Great Colorado. Having travelled through this
rough country for a distance estimated at fifty miles, they
reached Grand River, being still above the junction of Green
River, the united waters of which two streams form the
Colorado proper. At the point where they struck the river,
the banks were masses of perpendicular rock, down which
they could gaze at the coveted w.icer, dashing and foaming
like an agitated white band, 2,000 feet below. Men and
animals were now suffering for water ; so they ])ushed up the
stream, along the uneven edge of the chasm, hoping to find
a place where they could descend to the river. After a day
spent in clambering over and around the huge rocks that
impeded their advance, they came upon a side canon, where a
tributary joined the main stream, to which they succeeded in
descending with their animals, and thus obtained the water of
which all stood so much in need.

The night of the 23rd of August they encamped at the
bottom of the cafion, where they found plenty of fui;I, and grass
in abundance for their animals. So they sat around the camp
fire, lamenting their failure in the San Juan country, and Strole
began to regret that they had undertaken the expedition.
But Baker, who was a brave, sanguine fellow, spoke of placers
up the river about which he had heard, and promised his
companions that all their hopes should be realised, a-id that
they would return to their homes to enjoy the gains > nd laugh
at the trials of their trip. So glowingly did he picture the
future, that his companions even speculated as to how they
should spend their princely fortunes when they returned to the
" States." Baker Sang songs of home and hope, and the others
lent their voices to the chorus, till far in the night, when,
unguarded, they sank to sleep, to dream of coming opulence
and to rise refreshed for the morrow's journey.

Early next morning t^iey breakfasted, and began the ascent
of the side caiion, up the bank opposite to that by which
they had entered it. Baker was in advance, with his rifle
slung at his back, gaily springing up the rocks, towards the
table land above. Behind him came White, and Strole with
the mules brought up the rear. Nothing disturbed the stillness
of the beautiful summer morning, but the tramping of the
mules, and the short, heavy breathing of the climbers. They
had ascended about half the distance to the top, when stopping
for a moment to rest, suddenly the war-whoop of a band of
savages rang out, sounding as if every rock had a demon's
voice. Simultaneously, with the first whoop, a shower of
arrows and bullets was poured into the little party. With
the first fire Baker fell against a rock, but, rallying for a moment,
he unslung his rifle and fired at the Indians, who now began
to show themselves in large numbers, and then, with the blood
flowing from his mouth, he fell to the ground. White, firing
at the Indians as he advanced, and followed by Strole, hurried
to the aid of his wounded leader. Baker, with an effort,
turned to his comrades, and in a voice still strong, said,
" Back, boys, back ! save yourselves, I am dying." Td the
credit of White and Strole, be it said, they faced the savages
and fought, till the last tremor of the powerful frame told that
the gallant Baker was dead. Then slowly they began to
retreat, followed by the exultant Indians, who stopping to
strip and mutilate the dead body in their path, gave the white
men a chance to secure their animals, and retrace, their steps
into the side cafion, beyond the immediate reach of the

II.LUSTRATKI) TRAVEI5.

IP '

Indians' arrows. Here they held a hurried consultation as to
the best covrse they couhl pursue. 'I'o the east lor three
I- ndred miles stretihed an uninhabited country, over whii h,
I. they attenijited escape in that dip'ction, the Indians, like
bloodhounds, would follow their traik. North, south, and
west w.is the Colora<lo, with its tributaries, all flowing at the
bottom of deep chasms, across Hhi( h it woulil be impossible for
men or animals to travel. Their deliberations were necessarily
shirt, and rerulted in their deciilinj; to abandon their animals,
fir.t securing their arms and a small stock of provisions, and
the ropes of the mules. Through the side c.inon they travelled,
due west, for four hours, and emerged at last on a low strip of
bottom land on (irand River, above which, for 2,000 feet
on either bank, the cold, grey walls rose to bloi k their path,
leaving to them but one avenue for escape — the foaming
current of the river, flowing along the dark channel through
unknown dangers.

They found considerable quantities of drift wood along the
banks, from which they collected enough to er..able them to
constnict a raft capable of floating themselves, with their arms
and provisions. The raft, when finished, coni^'sted of three
sticks of cotton-wood, about ten feet in length and eight inches
in diameter, lashed firmly together with the mule ropes. Pro-
curing two stout poles with which to guide the raft, and
fastening the bag of provisions to the logs, they waited for mid-
night and the waning moon, so as to drift off ttnnoticed by
the Indians. They did not consider that even the sun looked
down into that chasm for but one short hour in the twenty-
fo ;r, leaving it for the rest of the day to the angry waters and
bla( kening shadows, and that the faint moonlight reaching the
bottom of the canon would hardly serve to reveal the horror
of their situation. Midnight came, according to their calcu-
lation of the dark, dreary hours ; and then, seizing the poles,
they untied the rope that held the raft, which, tossed about
by the current, rushed through the yawning canon, on the ad-
venturous voyage to an unknown landing. Through the long
night they clung to the raft, as it dashed against half-concealed
rocks, or whirled .ibout like a plaything in some eddy, whose
white foam was i)erceptible even in the intense darkness.

They prayed for the daylight, which came at last, and with
it a smoother current and less rugged banks, though the canon
walls ajipeared to have increased in height. Karly in the
morning (.Xugust 2Sth) they found a spot where they could
make a landing, and went ashore. After eating a little of their
water-soaked provisions, they returned, and strengthened their
raft by the addition of some light pieces of cedar, whi< h had
been lodged in clefts of the rock by recent floods. White
estimates the width of the !ver where they landed at 200
yards, and the current at three miles per hour. After a short
stay at this pKice they again embarked, and during the rest of
the day they had no difficulty in avoiding the rot ks and whirl-
pools that met them at every bend of the river.

In the afternoon, and after having floated over a distance
estimated at thirty miles from the jwint of starting, they reached
the mouth of Green River, or rather where the Creen and the
C'.rand unite to form the Colorado jiroper. Here tne ( ahfms
of both streams combined into one of but little greater width,
but far surpassing either in the height and grandeur of its wmIIs.
At the junction the walls were estimated at 4.000 feet in
height, but detached pinnat les rose a thousand feet higher,
from amidst huge masses cf rock confusedly piled, like grand

monuments to commemorate this meeting of the waters. The
fugitives felt the sublimity of the scene, and in contemplating
its stupendous and unearthly grandeur, they forgot for the tir. e
their own sorrows.

The night of the day upon «hich they entered the great
canon, and indeed on nearly all the sidisequent nights ol the
voyage, the raft was fast-.-ned to a loose rock, or hauled up on
some n.Trow strip of bea< h, where they rested till the daylight
cf next moniing.

As they floated down the cafion, the grey sandstone walls
increased in height, the lower sec tion being smooth frcmi the
action of floods, and the rugged ])erpendicular walls rising
towards the far off sky, whic h seemed to rest on the nigged
glistening summits. Here and there a stunted cedar clung
to the (lifl-side, 2,000 feet overhead, far beyond which the
narrow blue streak of sky was percejitible. No living thing
was in sight, for even the wing of bird which could pass
the chasms above never flmned the dark air in those sub-
terranean depths. Nought to gaze on but their own pale
faces, and the cold grey walls that hemmed them in and
mocked at their escape. Here and there the raft shot jiast
side canons, blac k and forbidding, like cells set in the walls of
a mighty prison, liaker had informed his comrades as to the
geography of the country, and while floating down they remem-
bered that Callville was at the mouth of the canon, which
could not be far off— "such wonderful walls could not con-
tinue much further." Then Hojie came, with the prospect of
deliverance from their frightful jjosition. A few days would
take them to Callville ; their |)rovisions could be made to last
five clays. So these two inen, thus shut in from the world,
buried as it were in the very bowels of the earth, in the midst
of great unknown deserts, began to console themselves, and
even to jest at their situation.

Forty miles below their entrance into the great cafion, they
reached the mouth of the San Juan River. They attempted
to enter it, but its swift current cast them back. The peqien-
dicular walls, high as those of the Colorado, with the water
flowing from bank to bank, forbade their abandoning their raft
to attempt escape in that direction. So they floated away. At
every bend of the river it seemed as if they were descending
deeper into the earth ; the walls came c loser together above
them, thic kening the black shadows and redoubling the echoes
that went uj) from the foaming waters.

Four days had elapsed since they embarked on the frail
raft ; it was now August 28th. So far they had been constantly
wet, but the water was comparatively warm, and the current
more regular than they could have expec ted. Strole had taken
upon himself to steer the raft, and, against the advic-e of White,
he often set one end of the pole against the bank, or some
ojiposing roc k, and then leaned, with the other end against his
shoulder, to push the raft away, As yet they had seen no
natural bridge spanning the c hasm above them, nor had fall or
catarac t prevented tlteir safe advance. Hut about three o'clock
on the afternoon of the 28th, they hearci the deep roar, as of
a waterfall in front. They felt the raft agitated, then whirled
along with frightful rapidity towards a wall that seemed to bar
all further progress. As they approached the cliff, the river
made a sharp bend, around which the raft swept, disclosing to
them, in a long vista, the water lashed into foam, as it poured
through a narrow precipitous gorge, caused by huge masses oi
rock detached from the main wall. There was no time to

THK RAFT PRECIPITATED OVF.R A CATARACT IN THF, GREAT CANON.

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

h'.

1 1 *
1

think. The logs strained as if they would break their fasten-
ings. The waves dashed arounil the men, and the raft was
buried in the seetliing waters. White clung to the logs with
the grip of death. His comrade stood up for an instant with
the pole in his hands, as if to guide tlie raft from the rocks
against which it was plunging ; but he had scarcely straightened
himself, before the raft seemed to leap down a chasm, and
wnid the horrible sounds White heard a shriek that thrilled
him. Turning his head, he saw through the mist and spray
the form of his comrade tossed for an instant on the water,
then sinking out of siglit in the whirlpool.

White still clung to the logs, and it was only when the raft
teemed to be floating smoothly, and the sound of the rapids was
behind, that he dared to look up ; then it was to find himself
alone, the provisions lost, and the shadows of the black cauon
warning him of the approaching night A feeling of despair
seized him, and clasping his hands he prayed for the death he
was fleeing from. He was made cognisant of more immediate
danger by the shaking of his raft — the logs were separating ;
then he worked, and succeeded in effecting a landing near some
flat rocks, where he made his raft fast for the night. After this
he sat down, to spend the long gloomy hours in contemplating
the horror of his situation, and the small chance of completing
the adventurous voyage he had undertaken. He blamed him-
self for not having fought the Indians till he had fallen by
the side of Baker. He might have escaped through the San
Juan valley, and the mountains beyond, to the settlements.
Had he done so, he would have returned to his home, and
rested satisfied with his experience as a prospector. But when
he thought of " home," it called up the strongest inducements
for life, and he resolved " to die hard, and like a man."

Gradually the dawn, long perceptible in the upper world,
began to creep down into the depths of the chasm, and gave
him light to strengthen his raft and launch it again into the
treacherous river. As he floated down he remembered the sad
fate of Strole, and took the precaution to lash himself firmly to
the raft, so as to preclude the possibility of his being separated
from it This forethought subsequently saved his life. His
course through the canon was now down a succession of rapids
blocked up by masses of rock, over which his frail raft thumped
and whirled, at times wholly submerged in the foaming water.
At one of these rapids, in the distance of about a hundred yards
he thinks, the river must have fallen between thirty and forty
feet In going over this place the logs composing the raft
became separated at the ujjper end, and, spreading out like a
fan, White was thrown into the water. He struggled to the
side by means of his rope, and with a desperate strength held
the logs together till they floated into calmer water, when he suc-
ceeded in re-fastening them.

White's trials were not yet at an end, and in relating the
following incident he showed the only sign of emotic .; exhibited
during his long narrative. About four miles below where
the raft separated he reached the mouth of a large stream,
which he has since learned was the Colorado Chitjuito. The
caiion, through which it enters the main river, is very much like
that of the San Juan, and though it does not discharge so large
■a body of water, the current is much more rapid and sweeps
across the great Colorado, causing, in a deep indentation on the
opposite bank, a large and dangerous whirlpool. White saw
this and tried to avoid it, but he was too weak for the task, llis
raft, borne by the current of the Colorat'o proper, rushed down

with such force, that aided by his paddle he hoped to pass the
waters that appeared to sweep at right angles across his course
from the Chicjuito. When he reached the mouth of the latter
stream the raft «ud<ienly stopped, and swinging round for an
instant as if balanced on a point, it yielded to the current of
the Chiiiuito, and was swept into the whirlpool. White felt now
that all further exertion was useless, and dropping his paddle,
he clasped his hands and fell upon the raft He heard the
gurgling waters around him, and every moment he felt that he
must be plunged into the boiling vortex. He waited, he thinks,
for some minutes, when feeling a strange swinging sensation, he
look ' p to find that he was circling round the whirlpool,
soir es close to the vortex and again thrown back by some
invi. 1 : cause to the outer edge, only to whirl again towards the
centre. Thus borne by the circling waters, he looked up, up,
up through the mighty chasm that seemed bending over him
as if about to fall in. He saw in the blue belt of sky that hung
above him like an ethereal river, the red-tinged clouds floating,
and he knew the sun was setting in the upper world. Still
around the whirlpool the raft swung like a circular pendulum,
measuring the long moments before expected death. He felt a
dizzy sensation, and thinks he must have fainted ; he knows he
was unconscious for a time, for when again he looked up the
walls, whose rugged summits towered 3,000 feet above him,
the red clouds had changed to black, and the heavy
shadows of night had crept down the caiion. Then, for the
first time, he remembered that there was a strength greater than
that of man, a power that " holds the ocean in the hollow of
His hand." "I fell on my knees," he said, "and as the raft
swept round in the current, I asked God to aid me. I spoke
as if from my very soul, and said, ' O God ! if there is a way
out of this fearful place, guide me to it' " Here White's voice
became husky, as he narrated the circumstance, and his some-
what heavy features quivered, as he related that he presently
felt a different movement in the raft, and turning to look at
the whirlpool, s.iw it was some distance behind, and that he
was floating down the smoothest current he had yet seen in
the cafion.

Below the mouth of the Colorado Chiquito the current was
very slow, and White felt what he subsequently found to be
the case — viz., that the rapids were passed, though he was not
equally fortunate in guessing his proximity to Callville. The
course of the river below this he de.scribes as exceedingly
" crooked, with short sharp turns," the view on every side being
shut in by flat precipitous walls of " white sand-rock." These
walls presented smooth perpendicular surfaces as far as the
high-water level, which left a distinct mark about forty feet
above the stage of the month of August The highest part
of the cafion. White thinks, is between the San Juan and the
Colorado Chiquito, where he thinks the wall is more than
5,000 feet in perpendicular height, and at a few points far
exceeding this. Dr. Newberry, the geologist of Lieutenant
Ives' expedition, thinks that for a long distance the altitude is
near 7,000 feet. Correct altitudes, however, can only be
obtained by a careful instrumental examination.

The current bore White from the Colorado Chiquito slowly
down the main river. One, two, three, four days had slowly
passed since he tasted food, and still the current bore him
through the towering walls of the CaBon. Hunger maddened
him. His thoughts were of food, food, food ; and his sleeping
moments were filled with Tantalus-like dreams. Once he

NOTES ON SPAIN.

«S

raised bis ann to open some vein and draw nutriment from his
own blood, but its shrivelled, blistered condition frightened
him. For hours, as he floated down, he would sit looking into
the water, yet lacking courage to make the contemplated
plunge that would rid him of all earthly pain. 1'hc morning
of the fifth day since he had tasted food he saw a flat strip of
shore with bushes growing on it, and by a superhuman cftbrt
he succeeded in reaching it with his raft He devoured
the few green pods and the leaves of the bushes, but
they only increased his desire for more. The journey was
resumed, and he remembers two more days of unbroker
cafion wall.

On the afternoon of the eleventh day of his extraordinary
voyage he was roused by hearing the sound of human voices,
and, looking towards the shore, he saw men beckoning to him.
A momentary strength came to his arms, and, gra.sping the
paddle, he urged the raft to the bank. On reaching it he
found himself surrounded by a band of Yampais Indians, who
for many years have lived on a low strip of alluvial land along
the bottom of the cafion, and the trail to which from the
summit of the plateau is only known to themselves. One of
the Indians made fast the raft, while another seized White
roughly and dragged him up the bank. He could not re-
monstrate ; his tongue refused to give a sound, so he pointed
to his mouth and made signs for food. The fiend that pulled
him up the bank, tore from his blistered shoulders the shreds
that had once been a shirt, and was proceeding to strip him

entirely, when, to the credit of the savage be it said, one of the
Indians interfered, and pushed back his comiianicn. He gave
White some meat, and roasted mezciuite beans to cat, which
the famished man devoured, and after a little rest he made
signs that he wanted to go to the nearest dwellings of the
white men. 'I'he Indians told him he could reach them in
"two suns" in his raft. I-^arly the next morning he tottered
I to the bank, and again pushed into the current. Three more
long days of hope and dread passed slowly by, and still no
sign of friends. Reason tottered, and White stretched himself
on the raft, all his energies exhausted ; life and death were to
him alike indifferent.

Late in the evening of the third day after lea\'ing the
Indians, and fourteen days from the time of starting on this
perilous voyage. White again heard voices, accompanied by the
rapid dash of oars. He understood the words, but could make
no reply. He felt a strong arm thrown around him, and he
was lifted into a boat, to see manly bearded faces looking
down upon him with pity.

In short, Callville was reached at last. The people of
this Mormon settlement had warm, generous hearts, and, like
good Samaritans, lavishly bestowed every care on the un-
fortunate man so miraculously thrown into their midst from
the bowels of the unknown carton. His constitution, naturally
strong, soon recovered its terrible shock, and he told his new-
found friends his wonderful storj', the first recital of wliich led
them to doubt his sanity.

Notes on Spain. — /.

IAS ESPANAS — INFLUENCE OF FRENCH CUSTOMS IN SPAIN— MODERN CHANGES OP NATIONAL COSTUME— RAILWAYS— HICHWAVS AND CROSS-
ROADS-SPANISH VEHICLES — THE DILIGENCIA — EFFECTS OF RAILWAYS ON SPANISH LIFE AND HABITS— THIRD-CLASS PASSENGERS.

The first scrap of Spanish that usually meets the eye of the
traveller bound for Spain is very significant of the country with
which he is about to form an acquaintance. As he changes his
money, or receives his change after his first pecuniary transac-
tion on Spanish soil, he naturally inspects the coinage in which
his future payments are to be made, and on it he reads— and
for some time, no doubt, will read — " Isabel II. por la gracia
de Dios y la Const. Reina de las EspaHas." In the last three
words he has a hint which he will do well to perpend. The
country he is in is not Spain ; it is "the Spains ;" and the fact
is one which should be always borne in mind. Historically and
politically there is a deep significance in the phrase " I^s
Espaftas," and perhaps at no period of Spanish history or
politics was it more significant than just now. What amount
of cohesion does it imply, and how long will that cohesion bear
the strain now thrown upon it ? Will Castile and Andalusia
accommodate their paces to one another ? Will Catalan repub-
licanism effect a compromise with Biscayan legitimism ? These,
and a few more of the same sort, are in the very front rank of
that formidable army of questions which those sorely-perplexed
men, the Spanish statesmen of 1868, have now to face. But,
apart from politics, the title " Las Espaftas" is very instructive
to the traveller. It suggests, or ought to suggest, that here, rolled
into one, are several countries differing widely in climate, cha-
racter, productions, ethnology, and even language, and that he

is not to say in his haste that all men are liars because he cannot
recognise in Arragon any one of the features usually attributed
to Andalusia. Besides this, from another point of view, there
is a plurality of Spains. Probably no two travellers ever enter
the country with precisely tlie same preconceived notions, or
with their attention fixed on precisely the same set of objects.
Spain is a land fertile in its claims on the interest of the pilgrim.
To one it will be the " renowned, romantic land," the Spain of
the ballads, the Cid, and the Moors. To another it will have
that kind of alf-melancholy interest which attaches to a richly-
chased and rust-eaten suit of knightly armour hanging up among
the implements of modem warfare. Then there is picturesque
Spain ; artistic Spain ; architectural Spain ; hidalgo Spain, and
gitano Spain ; the Spain of Don Quixote, and the Spain of
George Borrow; old Spain, "viejo y rancio ;" young Spain,
somewhat French-polished ; primitive and uneuropeanised Spain;
cigarette-smoking, guitar-twanging, lounging Spain ; religious
and irreligious Spain ; Spain "with its vast internal resources:"
— these and their sub-divisions are some of the " Espanas "
which, under the general head of Spain, are before the traveller
as he crosses the frontier, and which, jointly and severally, rnay
present themselves to him as he proceeds, and as he uses his
powers of observation.

It is true that the mosaic character — as it may be called —
of Spain is not, at the outset, very apparent to the traveller of

U 1

■' *

IM.USTRATKD TRAVF.I.S.

»>-

!! h

these l.itcr days, ami if porrcived nt all it is proliaMy only
dimly pcrccivcil by the nuTC tourist who follows in the wake of
other tourists— halting where they halt, rushing where they
rash, and in all things ( onforniing to the strii t letter of tourist
ladition. I'o su< h a traveller there will naturally appear Init
little change in passing from one end of ."spain to the other,
I'rotn the railway <arriage window he may, indeed, remark ]iincs
in one part and palms in another ; an<l he may observe, per-
ha])s, that whereas the children in I'astile, who persecuted him
with the monotonous diant of " Vn < uarlito, senorito," wore
rigs, more or less abumlant, the small brown iin bins of Cadiz
treipiently transact that business of life, in entire comfort to
I'lemselves, with nothing but a string round their loins, l^ut
with the exception of a few dilVerences of that sort, he will not
see miah to distinguish north from south. Nay. more than
this, at the end of his month in the Peninsula he may possibly
be heard to complain that really, after all, in spite of all the
fuss that has been made about it, Spain, on the whole, is won-
ilerfully like oilier (ountries. and that it is doubtful \. Iiether it
is worth while going so far to see so little that is new, or strik-
ing, or that cannot be seen just as well elsewhere. .Xnd it is
\ery likely he /ins had no experiences that at all tally with his
expectations. All through, perhaps, he has been steadily dis-
appointed. At Irun, being then a coiiule of liimdred yards
dee]) in the country, he proceeds to make his first experiment
in Spanish cookery, the .Spanish larguage, .Spanish ways —
Sjianish life, in fat t — at the Fonda (as he is jileased to observe
It is called) at the railway station. He has vague visions
liefore him of ollas, guisados, gazpacho, and other things he
has read of in " Ford." liringing into actual service one of the
phrases he has liccn studying all the w.ay down from Bordeaux,
he asks of a waiter — who is by no means as like a Spaniard as
he <()uld have wished — "Que hay jiara comer?" and the
waiter promptly replies, '• Pardon, m'sieu', vot' chapcau : il y a
(lU " and then treats him to a burst of unpunctuated gas-
tronomy ipiite in the style of the Palais Royal. .At Uiirgos,
where, according to routine, he makes his next halt, things
look rather better, though, as far as his inn is concerned, they
are much cleaner, and more comfortable and commonplate,
than is consistent with his idea of Spain, lint it is something
to perceive that the people do not understand Frenc h- for that
matter they don't appear always to understand his Spanish, but
that, probably, is their proviniialism— and certainly the town
and its inh.abitants are, in many respects, unlike anything; in
Italy, Germany, or France. Put Madrid is a sad blow. There,
for one object, sight, or sound to remind him he is in Spain,
there arc ten to make him fancy himself baik in France:
French costumes in the streets, I'rendi goods in the shops,
French books— not many, to be sure- in the windows, and the
Hotel de Paris lording it over the Piierta del Sol, the very
heart of modern Spain, and stronghold of Spanish ojiinion. It
is perhaps some hours before he comes across a fan or a man-
tilla, ami he leaves w ithout having seen a capa. To be sure, he
does sec some things peculiar to Spain. Following his instruc-
tions, he religiously " does " his bull-fight at Madrid or .Seville,
according as he spends his Sabbath in one or other of those
cities, and thereby qualifies himself to lay down the law on all
occasions about the character and taste of the nation, and the
tardy progress of civilisation in a country which can tolerate,
nay, enjoy, &c. &c. ; and at Seville or Granada he has, for a
consideration, the good fortune to sec those samples of the

gipsy race that arc kept on view for the improvement of
strangers. Put in respec t of other rosas dc F.spafia whii h
cannot so easily be got at through the medium of the hotel com-
missionaire, he has been curiously unhu ky. He has never seen
a genuine m.njo got up in tliat style in which jiainters and other
fortunate people see him, nor has he ever cn( onntcrcd that well-
known group of the young Andalusian peasant with his qiicrida
behiml him, trotting into town on an exceedingly ])lunip horse,
though it must be a pretty common one, for they have it
modelled in coloured lerra-< otta in every second sho]iwindow
in the C'alle de las Sierpes at Seville. Prigands he hardly
counted on, but contrabandistas seem to be much more scarce,
or more undistingiiishable from the rest of the jiopulation, than
he hail been led to believe. The only one he has seen, to
know him, was the waiter of his hotel, who offered him a rare
chance of gmiiine Gibraltar cigars at two reals a-jiiece. And,
above all, though he has been constantly on the lookout for it,
he has never once seen an instance of the original use of the
cue hillo or navaja, or observed that national weapon employed
for any piirjiove excejit slitting up melons, or slicing bread
and sausages ; and therefore he feels he has been, to soinc
extent, t.iken in liy the hawker who induced him to buy one of
those knives when the train stopped at .Mbacete.

'I'his kind of clisaijpointment may be easily accounted for.
The fact is, Spain is now in a transition state. We do not, of
course, allude to the events whic h have recently made Spanish
news one of our regular items of daily intelligence, though there
is a c lose connec tion between those c vents and the transition in
question. Put that c hange whic h Ford foresaw, and over whic h
he used to f row half pathetic at times as he foresaw it, has already
commenced. The old si.ying that .Africa began at the I'yrenees
is no longer tnie, except in a phytic o-gcograjihicai sense. Spain
is becoming F.uropcanised, and, all things considered, the
process is going on with remarkable rajiidiiy. The national
peculiarities and characteristics are every clay losing their shr.qv
ncss of clefiniticm .and outline; and "cspafiolismo" of every
sort is growing less dec ided and pronounced. As straws will
show whic h way the w ind sets, so a matter as trifling as co>tume
may serve to indicate the direction of a movement of this kind.
The disappearance of the mr.ntilla has been of late freciuently
de|)lored by writers of travels in Spain, but the mantilla is an
article of dress, the preservation of which depends on a portion
of the community, in dress matters always the reverse of con-
servative, the women— that is to say, the ladies— of the middle
.and upper classes. It would ere this have disappeared /// Mi>, to
make way for bonnets of the newest Paris mc'ide, but for Church
protcc tion, whic h made it an essential part of the "go-to-mcetin's"
of decorous Spanish dairies, helped, it may be, in some degree
by an instinctive feeling that it was rather becoming. A fairer
case is that of the original sombrero, the black velvet hat with
the tumcdup brim, of which our once fashionable "pork-iiic"
was a feeb'a and cockney imitation — the hat which, with
certain variations of crown and brim, was the ordinary hat of
central and southern Spain. It is everywhere rapidly giving
way to the cosmopolitan felt wide-awake. Even within the last
twelve months any one studying the heads of the people might
have remarked a decided change in this respect. Not long ago,
at a fair in a remote village of .\ndalusia, we noticed the booth
of an itinerant sombrerero. For one of the old-fashioned hats
he seemed to have at least two of the wide-awake species iii
stock. The wide-awake is found to be far cheaper, more

A DILIGENCE ON THE ROAD TO GRANADA.

VOL. I.

Il.LUSTRATKl) TRAVKI..S.

\-<i

durable, and probably more comrortable, ami lo— alail for
the picturesque — it lakes the plate of the distinctive national
heacUlress.

It would be diffuult to overrate railways as agents in effect-
ing changes of this sort Their action is illustrated in this case
of the wide-awake ; not only do they introtluce the new article
itself, but they introduce also the wearers of it, practical illus-
trations of its use, and, by familiarising the eye with the new
fashion, sap the prcjmlice in favour of the old. 'I'he traveller,
therefore, who follows the railway lines in (juest of the Spain he
has so often read of, seen painted, antl heard described, does
very much the same thing as one who wanted to see forest
sc enery and followed in the track of a tornado. The storm
has smoothed the way for him admirably ; thanks to it, he gets
on much more tjuickly and ea.sily than he otherwise could have
<lone ; but the worst of it is, it has swept away the very things
he came to see. In no country of Kurope could the operation
of railways in this way be more decisive and unmistakable
than in Spain. It is not merely that they have, in effect, done
away with the Pyrenees : for now there is some truth in the saying,
" II n'y a plus de Pyrenees." Spain is seamed all over with
internal chains of Pyrenees, natural and artificial, and these the
ruthless railway is tunnelling and levelling in every direction,
with its usual disregard of the picturesque and the a:sthetic, of
sentiment and artistic feeling. A glance at the conditions
under which traffic and locomotion flourished in Spain before
railways came into operation, may help to convey some idea of
the revolution which must necessarily be effected by them. In
the first place, as to the roads. Of these there are several
grades in Spain, beginning with the Caminos Keales, or great
arterial highways, which, for the most part, branch from Madrid
as from a centre. These, as far as they go, are generally excel-
lent roads ; no ex|>ense has been spared upon them, in con-
struction at least, for they are well engineered and well made,
and wherever they fail it is from parsimony in the matter of
repairs. But though they go far in one sense, they are so few
in number that they go a very little way towards op>ening up so
vast a country as Spain. The cross-roads are generally in-
famous. Most of them are what may be called self-made roads,
whose only merit is that they present no insuperable obstacle
to the passage of a stoutly-made country cart. Of late years,
in the south especially, a few good cross-roads have been laid
down, and some finished in as good style as the Caminos Reales,
but many a one that begins fairly ends foully, and, formosa
suprme, tails off somewhat in the manner described by the poet
These are the roads proper, distinguished by the Spaniards by
the general title of carrelcra, a track that may, can, or might be
fc'lowed by things on wheels. For the rest, and by a good
deal the larger portion of the surface of the Peninsula, mere
mule-paths are the connecting links between point and point,
and when a Spanish peasant, in answer to a question about the
way, says there is a camino, "fero no ccuretira" the traveller of
any experience in the ways of Spain knows that, in all proba-
bility, it will tax his eyesight to distinguish his road from the
bare plain or the rough mountain-side which it crosses. The
vehicles, of course, are governed by the roads. In pre-loco-
motive Spain, the greater part of the transport of person and
property was done on horse or mule-back, as a considerable
part still is, particularly in the south, for the arriero has not yet
gone the way of the stage-coachman and waggoner, and he,
and his long gun, and his string of mules, with towering packs

that make them look like camels in the twilight, arc still common
objects on the byways of Andalusia. Un the carret^ra there is
the cano, a clumsy country cart, with a tilt of reeds, which
conveys goo<ls of all kinds, and frctpiently a traveller or two of
the |)oorer sort For the better cla.ss of travellers, where the
demand is sufficient, there are galeras and gondolas, vehicles
which are generally something like a cross-breed between an
omnibus and a waggon, the features of one parent o, the other
predominating, according to circumstances, and which in some
instances ply regularly, in others, start, " (}od willing," like the
Hawes Fly in "The Anti(|uary," or as soon as a sufficient
load of passengers has turned up. These prevail rather in
Antlalusia and the south generally. In Estremadura, I. con,
and Gallicia, their place is supplied by public conveyances of
various builds, vaguely called "coches;" but coches, gondolas,
or galeras all agree in going at the slowest rate that can be calle<l
a pace, and doing all that in them lies to keep those people at
home who are not forced to travel by inexorable necessity.

But the vehicle, far txcellmce, of S|)ain is the Diligencia, which
answers to our stage coach and the French diligcnie. Answered,
we ought to say, for, like its prototypes, it is n< ill but extinct
It lingers, indeed, in all its old form on some uw roads, as, for
instance, on the road between Oviedo and Leon, on the great
north-western road between Astorga and Lugo and Conifia, and
(somewhat modified and Clallirised) on the road between Gerona
and Per])ignan But the railway is following hard upon its
wheels, and it \\ ill have become a thing of the past long before
the song of the arriero has died out among the hills of Spain.
Peace go with it when it does go ; of all public vehicles
that ran upon wheels, it was the one that gave least peace to
those who entrusted their persons to its conveyance. In build
it is on the same principle as the French diligence, with a differ-
ence, however. The P'rench diligence is not a carriage remark-
able for comfort, but in all the particulars in which the French
diligence makes an attempt in that direction, the Spanish is
wholly inactive, besides being fertile in discomforts which are
all its own. The windows either will not let down, or cannot
be persuaded to stay up; wherever it is possible to insert a
bolt, nut, screw, or other metal projection, in such a manner
that it shall on every opportunity, at every jolt, and every time
the passenger gets in or out, catch him on some tender portion
of his frame, kneecap, shin, or elbow, and inflict sharp anguish,
or, at least, tear his clothes — there the coachbuilder has unerr-
ingly inserted it Where the human anatomy requires depres-
sions there are knobs, and hollows where support is needed.
The berlina, the coup^ of the French diligence, has places for
three, and is just endurable for two passengers, and the coup^,
which corresponds to the banquette, and is the only place
affording a chance of a view, fresh air, and freedom from dust,
requires a special education to climb to, and get in or out of it
The apron in front is almost always a rigid and immovable
structure, and the roof descends so low that the traveller has to
slip himself in horizontally and edgeways, as if he were posting
himself in a letier-box. When in, he can neither stretch out his
legs nor yet bend them at any angle corsistent with what is
usually considered to be a sitting position, and his faculties are
absorbed in the struggle to keep his skull itom being dashed
against the frame of the folding window, which hatigs within
about an inch of his forehead. It is under such circumstances
that the scenery of Spain has been contemplated, in transitu,
by many English travellers. As to the other compartrar 'ts.

i 1

NOTKS ON SPAIN.

»»

the rotonda and interior, travelling in tliem is simply a process
of slow cookery, wherein you ire baked, slewed, nnd plentifully
dusted, as if for the tabic of iome fanciful ogre. Ik-ing the
popular portions, they are usually packeil to the extreme ''mit
of lacking, and indeed, as a general rule, the load of a Spanish
diligence is like an honest measure of periwinkle:^, just as many
as can be got into it and heaped on it without falling olf. This,
though it may seem disagreeable with the thermometer verg-
ing on ninety degrees, is really an advantage, as it counteracts
the bumps, jolts, and bounds of the vehicle : especially when an
incident happens which is not altogether uncommon in S|Rtin.
Among the many wise proverbs which Spaniards repeat, but do
not always act upon, is one learly equivalent to our " Stitch in
time" saw : " Quien no adoba gotera adoba casa entera" — " He
who won't repair the gutter vill have to repair the whole house."
Now and then, for the want of a little timely repair, ruts deepen
into holes, and holes spread into quags, and the road becomes
so hopelessly bad aid impracticable that the diligence is forced
to leave it altogethe>', and make to itself a provisional road at
one side, along which it jogs as best it may, trusting to its
strength of constitution and materials to escape being sh.tken
to pieces. It will be observed that this kind of casualty is not
confined to roads and diligences.

The Spanish diligence is on the whole a queer, wild, un-
couth sort of conveyance, but not without certain elements of
the picturesque about it The team consists of from eight to
a dozen horses and mules mixed, the latter generally pre-
dominating, with, perhaps, in the case of a steep ascent or
stiff mountain pass, a yoke or so of oxen added on. The
direction is in the hands of a mayoral, who sits on the box and
holds the ribbons, which are in fact ropes, and of a postillion,
the " adelantero," which title may be translated, and, in one
sense, cannot be better translated than by "goer-ahead," for
he does indeed go ahead. He is generally a boy, an imp of
imps, and he has the faculty of eating, drinking, smoking,
sleeping (if, indeed, he ever does sleep) in the saddle, at a
hand-gallop, and all the while keeping up a steady flow of bad
language. In the best-regulated diligences these two officers
are assisted by a third, who is of the diligence rather than on
it, and performs nine -tenths of the journey on foot His
business is to race alongside of the team and encourage, by
oaths and blows, those animals whose middle position
protects them from the whip of the adelantero at one end,
and of the mayoral at the other. His qualifications are
speed, wind, endurance, and agility, the last especially, for
all diligence mules make a point of la,shing out at his head
the moment they catch sight of him ; and he is called " el
Jiagal," an Arabic term meaning "the active youth." When
the administration is not able to afford the salary of this
supernumerary, the mayoral has nothing for it but at every
halt to form a small geological . museum of broken stona,
which he keeps on the foot-board, and out of which he deals,
with unerring aim, stimulants at the heads and quarters of those
animals that seem to requiie them. But these are not the only
stimulants he relies on. From the time he takes his seat till
he quits it he is never, not even for a second, silent An un-
ceasing stream of exhortation flows from his lips, and from
those of his subordinates. Every horse or mule has a name,
and by that name each is .ippMletl to, from time to time by
each of the officials, in tones that range from mild remonstrance
upwards, interspersed with eJacuUttioiis mote or less intel-

ligible. Thus, f^om morning till night or from night till
morning — for much of the Ijpanish (liligcme-travclling is done
by night— there goes on a continual <ry, witiioiit stops or
p.iuses, of " (jranadina Orun.idina (Irana-tlecna amhi aiula
anda an-dua idda idda idda idda," with a good deal nuirc wliich
cannot be imitated, reproduced, or translated. For diligcm c
language deals freely with the more recondite ^.xplctivcs of
Spanish, and is in this respect only inferior to the language of
the ordinary Spanish peasant which, even in the bosom of his
family, is often so curiously and grotcs(|Ucly filthy, that it is
but charitable to suppose that the real meaning has become
obliterated by constant use, like the inscription on an old coin.
Such is— or, alas I we may now almost say was — the dili-
gencia of Spain: to the lover of things wild, picturesnuc,
biz;irre, and semi-barbarous, a most charming vehicle, as it
speeds along in its mad career over mountain and plain, now
spinning giddily down the zigzags of the wild sierra road, nov
sending a gleam from its one lamp over the bare, lr..'.'less,
houseless steppes; now lighting up the sharp spears of the aloes
and fantastic forms of the cactuses on the roadside, and pre-
senting uncouth bandits to the imaginations of timid travellers ;
now tearing up the narrow street of the little town, with
apparently not more than six inches to spare on each side,
on to the plaza and the parador, where, with much con-
gratulatory whinnying, the smoking team hurries in through
the archway, and the drowsy muleteers, wrapped in their
mantas, shake themselves together, and grumble something
about the coche being in early to-night

But to persons devoid of a strong feeling for the pic-
turesque, or an indomitable passion for travelling — and your
Spaniard is of all men the least liable to these weaknesses —
the diligencia is undeniably a conveyance that holds out slight
inducements to gadding about ; and when it is considered that
until late years this was the best, most comfortable, and most
civilised means of locomotion open to the inhabitants of the
Peninsula, it is not difficult to understand why they saw but
little of one another or of the rest of the world.

, In any country the stride from road to rail is necessarily
great, but from such a system as that we have been endeavour-
ing to describe, to a railway system even as defective as that
of Spain, it is immense. The Spanish railway system does
not, indeed, make a very splendid show compared with those
of England, France, Germany, or Belgium, but it is extensive,
considering the disadvantages under which it labours, and it
has made remarkable progress towards completeness within
the last four or five years. Of all the towns of the first
importance, Granada is now the only one which has not an
unbroken railway communication with the capital and with
Europe ; and this it probably would have had, but for the
ill-judged . partiality of Narva z,. who. supported the imprac-
ticable scheme of a line to pass through his native town of
Loja, in preference to the natural and direct one through Jaen.
Salamanca will soon be joined with the Great Northern line at
Medina del Campo. Oviedo, cut off by t.iie vast barriers of
the Vsturian Pyrenees, whose 'iwest passes are about 6,000
feet in height, may have to wait .some years. But the railroad
has already reached the foot of the western .spurs that separate
Leon from Gallicia, and before long Lugo, Vigo, Pontevedra,
and Corufla, at present about the most out-of-the-way places
in Europe, will be on the great high road to anywhere, and
perhaps the most fertile, thickly populated, and industrious

.«

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEI^

part of Spain will be thoroughly opened up, to its own advan-
tage and that of the rest of the Peninsula.

It is notorious that, so far, Spanish railways are fiiilures
commercially, and, indeed, it would Le strange if they were
successes. What we have already said about the roads and
means of communication in Spain will account for one of the
difficulties with which they have to contend. They are starved
for the want of feeders. This alone would be enough to

time is as little doubtful as that there are in the country
the forces to make them pay. How long it may be before
these forces are brought to bear i.: .■'.mother matter. For the
present the Spanish railway shareholder must content him-
self with the consolatory axiom of " Live horse and you'll get
grass."

But here we have to do not so much with the prospects of
railways in Spain as commercial speculations, as with theii

POSTILLIONS.

explain the fact that they do not pay; but to this must be
added a number of other considerations, such as the unsettled
state of the country ; the want of confidence ; the slackness of
business ; the very novelty of such things as railways, and the
want of preparation for them ; so that, on the whole, it is
wonderful, not that they cannot produce dividends, but that
they can maintain an existence. Fortunately, however, for the
interests of the travelling public, owners of railway property
are like men on the treadmill — they niust keep the thing
going ; and it is — for the present, at least— to this necessity
that Spain is indebted for the keeping up of a tolerably
effective railway system. That Spanish railways will pay in

effects on Spanish life, Spanish ways and habits. That these
effects are already marked has been shown above ; that they
are not even more so is due to the causes to which we have
just referred. Few of the lines can afford to run more than
two trains daily each way, except on short lengths, such as
between Madrid and Aranjuez, Barcelona and Martorell, or
Valencia and Jaliva. The small country stations in many
places have already a semi-ruinous look, and the service is
frequently on starvation allowance in way of an adequate staff
of officials. The trains are, however,,!!! general, tolerably
regular ; the pace, all thmgs considered, reasonably good ; and
the carriages, though sometimes a trifle out of repair, are for

NOTES ON SPAIN.

the most quite as comfortable as those on any continental
railway, and, of course, twice as comfortable as Knglish car-
riages. But, in truth, England always excepted, railways are
much the same everywhere; and railway travellers partake
in a considerable degree of the sameness of the conveyance.
First class is simply first class all the world over, nor do the
seconds of one country differ much from the seconds of another.
In Spain, it is not till we come to the third class that there
is anything very peculiar to be observed in the composition of
the cargo o*" passengers carried by a railway train. The first
thing that will strike the stranger is the large proportion, far
larger than in any other country, of third class passengers.
This is perhaps natural in a country of small incomes, but still
it is remarkable that the Spanish peasant should, in so short

given to horse-play and making a row. Then, some of the
third class ways are not conducive to comfort. The Spanish
third class traveller always has the strongest possible objection
to entrusting to the luggage-van any impedimenta he may
carry, and may be seen sometimes, regardless of a frantic
public beliind him, trying to squeeze through the door
of the carriage a bale which looks suspiciously like a
bed. Thus, a (luantity of miscellaneous property, and a
number of incongruous articles, which form most undesirable
travelling companions, find their way into a third class com-
partment. Then, whether to save time or to kill it, the third
class, no matter how short the journey may be, treats it as a
favourable opportunity for making a meal. No sooner is the
train off than out comes the fiambrera — the round tin box

^5s^

.■'■^ '-.f'S

INTKklOR OF THIRD CLASS RAILWAY CARRIAGE IN SPAIV.

a time, have taken so kindly to the railway, and adapted
himself so thoroughly to its ways. He has even caught up its
peculiar language. He talks quite naturally now of " el misto,"
" el express," " el descendente," " el cinco cuarenta-cinco," &c.,
precisely in the style of an Iberian Bradshaw. This may,
perhaps, argue an advance in the direction of cosmopolitanism,
but the Spanish third class is still sufficiently Spanish and racy
of the soil to make it worth the occasional study of the
traveller. No tourist in Spain who wants to see the people
should omit making a third class journey or two; that is,
unless he has an insuperable objection to noise and crowding,
for on these he may safely calculate. In Andalusia two o' i
of every three of his travelling companions will be provided
with guitars, and all will be addicted to singing, or rather
droning the monotonous chant which passes for singing with
the Spaniard of the south. There will be — no one ever saw
a Spanish third claro without it — a batch of soldiers on furiough;
merry, good-tempered young fellows, no doubt, but very much

without which no Spanish peasant ever travels — and, with the
courteous invitation of " gustan ustedes " to the company, an
odour of stockfish, oil, and garlic is let out, so strong, that a
score of cigarettes, all going together, can make no impression
on it. These may be drawbacks, but still the experiment is
worth making. To the tourist doing the beaten round of
Spain — living in hotels, dining at table-d'hotes, and taking his
walks abroad under the guidance of a commissionaire — it is
about the only chance he has of seeing the people pur et
simple, and it will probably serve to correct some of his
preconceived notions about them. One it will be pretty sure
to modify. He has probably been told that the Spaniard
is habitually staid and dignified, solemn and taciturn. The
chances are that he will hear more merriment, more chattel",
more jokes — sc.iie a trifle coarse, it may be — and, altogether,
more noise in a Spanish third class railway carriage in half an
hour, than he would have heard in a week's travelling on the
other side of the Pyrenees.

H^ — l.i_. .

I II

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

TRAVELLING IN MADAGASCAR i THE TACON.

^ BlrcTs-eye View of Madagascar.

FROM THE FRENCH OF M. D. CHARNAY.

CHAPTER L

MADAGASCAR — TAMATAVE — HOVAS AND MADEUASSES — HISTORICAL
RETROSPECT — RAMAR AND RASOLO — JULIETTE FICHE — WAIK
THROUGH TAMAIAVE— MARMITES — MADAGASCAR HOUSES.

The traveller who has passed along the beautiful shores of
Mauritius and Bourbon, shadowed by the basaltic rocks
of the Peter-Botte mountain and the lofty summits of the
Sallazes, is but slightly impressed by the aspect of Mada-
gascar at Tamatave. Seen from a distance, the coast
presents the appearance of a flat expanse of white sand,
dotted here and there with the peculiar vegetation of the
■Pandani, or screw pines. Driven by the cast wi ids, the
sea breaks with loud roar on the beach, and the blue
Jine of the Tananarivo mountains is scarcely visible on the
horizon.

On a nearer approach the panorama opens out ; Uie tops
.of palm trees waving in the breeze and the roofs of the taller
houses emerge into view, and at last the numerous cottages
which compose the city of Tamatave stand out clearly before
the gaze of the traveller.

Situated to the south-east of the continent of Africa, from
which it is separated by the Mozambicjue Channel, Mada-
gascar stretches from the lath to the aCili degrees of south
latitude, and from the 44t!i to the 51st degrees of cast

longitude, extending about 900 miles in length, with a
maximum breadth of a8o miles. Its superficial area is at
least equal to that of France, while its population appears,
from recent computations, not to exceed 3,000,000 — it is,
in fact, almost a desert.

The history • of the island may be dismissed in a few
words. Madagascar was discovered by the Portuguese in
{ 1506, but immediately abandoned. Subsequently the French
j visited it, and since the time when Louis XIII. granted a
I charter to the Indian company, the great African island has
j been the object of many French expeditions. Attempts
' were made under successive monarchs to colonise it ; the
Republic pursued Ae same course ; the First Empire was
equally interested in this project ; during the Restoration,
and in the reign of Louis-PhiTppe, governors, soldiers, and
sailors were sent out ; there was, in short a continual occu-
pation by the French, which seems to leave no doubt in
their minds as to their right of possession. Madagascar,
however, never entirely passed under French domin m ; and
though the names of Saint Ijiurent, Dauphine, and F.astem
France were successively bestowed u]x>n the island, it has
finally resumed that of Madagascar. Its first explorers de-
scribed its inhabitants as a gay and happy people, delighting
in games and dances, and every village resounding with rongs
and laughter. The native was Ihm free; he rejoiced in the

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF MADAGASCAR.

«3

fact of existence, and in the simple and easy condition of
life in which he was placed. Even now, in spite of forty
years of oppression, he endeavours to smile — he still sings and
dances in his brief intervals of respite from the persecution of
the conquering race, the Hovas.

We must devote a few lines to an account of these con-
querors. Madagascar is peopled by two distinct races, the
Madegasses or natives, and the Hovas. The former, whether
Sakalave, Betsimsaraka, or Antankara, are black, more or less
mn Jified by mixture with Caffres, the natives of the Mozam-
bique, and the immigrant Arabs. Tall, strong, and savage,
they have been able in the south and south-east to preserve
their independence. On the east coast the Betsimsaraka,
gentler, more devoted to pleasure, and slighter in form, were
the first to lose their liberty. In the north the Antankara,
robust, strongly built, and more resembling the natives of
Mozambique, still continue the stn'g^ie for liberty, and seek
in inaccessible parts of the interior, or in the islands on the
coast, a refuge from the tyranny of the Hovas. The latter,
who are of Malay origin, arrived on the eastern coast of the
island at a very early period, and having been driven into
the interior by the natives, established themselves on the
central plateau of Emerina. The fate of this colony was re-
markable. At first, regarded by the Madegasses as an out-
cast race, everything they touched was considered impure,
and the cottage which a Hova had slept in was burned.
Isolated in their wild retreat, the outcasts transformed the
magnificent plain of Emerina into a desert, fired the forests
which might otlierwise have afforded concealment to an
enemy, and to be secure from surprise, erected their villages
on hillocks in the plam. Subsequently, however, as an
overture to a peace which they so much required, and as
a tribute to the Madegasses, whom they acknowledged as
masters, the Hovas brought rice, maize, and other products
of their industry to the boundary of the forests, whither the
others came to receive them. These years of oppression hau
an injurious effect upon the character of the Hova; he became
sullen, suspicious, cunning, cruel, and treacherous, and when,
towards the end of the last century, a man named Andrianam-
ponine invited them to shake off the yoke, he found it only
necessary to collect the various tribes into an army. The
desire of power and thirst for revenge had made them already
soldiers in heart. It is now thirty years since the Hovas
became masters of a portion of Madagascar. During these
thirty years they have decimated the unfortunate natives,
and exercised without pity the rights of conquest Tamatave
is the chief seat of their power on the east coast ; there they
exercise unlimited authority over the black population, but
are less overbearing towards the whites with whom they
come in contact.

Immediately on our arrival a canoe paddled by blacks
came alongside our vessel, containing the official visitors,
namely, Ramar, the chief of police, accompanied by two subor-
dinates. This personage presented a most absurd appear-
ance ; his costume was composed of an old fireman's coat,
surmou'ited by a pair of enormous naval epaulettes, dark-
coloured pantaloons with gold stripes, and on his head a
general's plumed hat From the fit of the garmenU we
easily perceived that they had been purchased at some
second-hand dealer's in Tamatave. The Hova chief carried,
moreover, in one hgnd an old curved jabre, and in the

other flourished a rather dirty checked handkerchief, evi-
dently intended rather for ornament than use. His aides-
de-camp were distinguished by immense gold epaulettes and
caps which had belonged to officers in the English navy.
The visit was of short duration. Ramar, left alone on deck,
became quite furious at the laughter excited by his extra-
ordinary appearance, and hastily re-embarked in his canoe.
Rasolo, aide-de-camp of the governor of Tamatave, also paid
us a visit dressed in similar grotesque costume.

On the afternoon of the same day, August 2nd, 1863, we
landed, and went to pay our respects to Juliette Fiche, a Made-
gasse by birth, and lately become a Hova princess. She was
then about fifty years of age, tall, and proportionally stout, with
intelligent and expressive eyes, and a pleasing smile, which
disclosed a set of teeth of pearly whiteness. Regarded as the
special patroness of the French at Tamatave, her benevolence
and charity obtained her the honour of a medal frcm the •
French Emperor. She received us in her cottage with much
kindness. It is the nearest house to the shore, and is visited
by all new comers. Her conversation is even more striking
than her appearance, and it is truly surprising to meet, so far
from all literary circles, with a coloured lady capable of con-
versing with ease and intelligence, in remarkably correct
language, on literary as well as political subjects.

Tamatave has the appearance of a large village, and con-
sisting merely of an agglomeration of huts, is quite unworthy to
be called a town. We commenced by exploring the principal
street, which is a long and narrow avenue, bordered with slight
wooden stakes, forming enclosures round the houses scattered
along each side. We were sheltered at intervals from the heat
of the sun by the large leaves of the palm tree, or by mjlberry
trees laden with ripe fruit On the. right the English flag
waves over the Consulate, and a little further, on the same
side, we come to a high wooden building, the residence of the
Madegasse Rothschild, the agent of the Hovas for the sale
of cattle. Passing several eating houses, we arrived at the
Madegasse quarter, where the style of the houses is quite
difierent from that of the rest of the town. The buildings,
which all appear neat and clean, are entirely constructed of the
bark and leaves of the Ravenal ( Urania spcciosa). A number
of pretty girls were smiling and showing their beautiful teeth,
while the men uttered cries of " Marmites, marmites," which
means in English, "Do you want a porter?" Now and then
p. Hova, passing with uncertain steps, oidelong glance, and
sinister smile, wished us a good morning. The heterogeneous
contents of the modest shops were displayed upon the
thresholds. They consisted of large baskets of dried locusts,
empty bottles, a few English printed cottons, some diminutive
fish, blue-headed parrots, black, white, and ringtailed lemur
monkeys, large black parroquets, immense bundles of leaves
used as table-cloths, fruits, sweet potatoes, yams and bananas,
mats, and finally the eternal casks of kisabetza, which is a
liquor made of the fermented juice of the sugar-cane, mixed
with bitter herbs. We thought it detestable, but the Madegasses
consider it delicious. The increasing animation of the streets
showed us that we were gradually approaching the market or
bazaar.

A hideous Chinaman, addressing us in barbarous French,
enticed us into his shop, which was a perfect chaos, and of
which the owner himself was the most remarkable object
He was much astonished at our not purchasing any of his

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

. '

wares ; we exchanged, however, several piastres for small silver
pieces. The only coins of the country are small jiortions of
tive-franc pieces, which they weigh with extraordinary accuracy.
We then went on to the bazaar, where, under sheds of a
very dirty appearance and only a few feet raised from the
ground, were collected the aristocratic shoi)s of the conquerors
— in fact nearly all the shojjkeepers were Hovas. They sit
cross-legged, like Turks, and conduct the sale of the various
articles spread out before them, weights and scales, salt,
stuff's, old cutlery, meat, &c. The atmosphere is tainted by
the carcases of animals slaughtered upon the spot, which,
becoming jjutretied by the heat, attract clouds of flies. We
continued our way along the street which opened into the
country, passing the modest establishment of the Jesuit
fathers, which on this side marks the boundary of Tama-
tave. Opposite is the battery or fortress, with its flagstaff,
from which floats the white pennant of the reigning monarch,
bearing the inscription, " Rasuaherina, panjaka ny Mada-
gascar" (Rasuaherina, Queen of Madagascar). Below it is
the residence of the commandant, his Excellency Andrian-
Mandrosso, formerly cowherd, and now a Hova prince.

The country around seems a perfect desert, interspersed
witli swamps, and even in the centre of the town there are
large pools of stagnant- water, which spread a poisonous
.liasma through the neighbourhood. We now thought it time
to return, and turning to the left, traversed the entire town,
passing along a sort of suburb in which the houses were
s-.ialler and meaner in appearance than those we had
liitherto seen, and so placed as to form a labyrinth, from
w-hich we had some difiiculty in extricating ourselves. We
were anxious to leave this quarter as quickly as possible, on
account of the eiiuivocal appearance of its inhabitants, and at
about three o'clock we reached the residence of one of our
new friends.

The house inhabited by Mr. B. is one of the most elegant
in Tamatave. Built in the Madegasse style, of which it is
an excellent sjjecimen, it is situated in the middle of a court
covered with fine santi, and shaded by evergreen mangoes,
and a number of orange trees fill the air with their delightful
perfume. Around the enclosure there are some smaller cottages
for the use of friends, besities the kitchen and sleeping-rooms
for the servants and slaves. The house itself is built on
posts, which raise it about twelve inches from the ground;
the walls are composed of bamboos lashed together, the floor
and roof of planks of ra/a tree, and the latter is covered
with a light thatch of ravenal leaves. The interior, like most
Madegasse houses, is divided into two compartments, each
of which is hung with leaves for tapestry, while the floor
is covered with rush mats, always clean and fresh. It is
altogether a charming retreat, and we fully enjoyed the rest
it afforded us after our long and fatiguing walk.

CHAPTER IL

TME TACO.N— THE DAY OR VVONDKOl' — THE SEA COAST— A STdHM —
THE FORESTS — VISIT TO CLEMENT I.ABOIIDE — A MAIJEOASSE
IIREAKFAST— API'EARA.NCE OI" THE COUNTRY— NATIVE DANCES.

The following day we were to visit M. Clement Laborde,
whose house is situated on a range of hills running along the
coast, about eight miles from Tamatave. Rising at an early
hour, we found the sky black with clouds ; the rain was falling

in torrents, and the hut shook under the gusts of ,vind. In
spite of these obstacles, we determined to set out, and dis-
tributed our luggage amongst the marmites (porters) who were
to convey it. There is only one vehicle, called a /<w«, used
in Madagascar. It consists of a chair placeil on a litter, and
is so light that four men can easily carry it on their shoulders,
unless the traveller be unusually heavy. As there are no
roads in Madagascar, it would be impossible for a carriage to
penetrate into the interior — in fact, the Madegasses have no
quadrupeds except oxen, and look on a horse as a curiosity.
For a long journey one requires quite an army of porters.
Twelve are allowed to each tacon, and twenty-five or thirty
more to carry the traveller's luggage and provisions, so that a
party of ten would have at least four hundred natives in their
train. Our excursion being a short one, we had only eight
men each.

We set out, wrapped in mackintosh cloaks, and with our hats
drawn down over our eyes, to keep out the blinding rain. Our
porters trotted along without minding it in the least, beating
time with their steps, and at intervals uttering strange cries,
which were answered by the others. We soon came on the
shore of the little bay of Yvondrou. Here the wind re-
doubled its violence, and the sea was magnificent, rolling in
mountain-high, breaking furiously on the coral rocks of
Point Hastie, and finally spending itself in white foam. Its
fearful roar drowned our voices, while our bearers were covered
with spray and sand, Leaving with regret this splendid sight,
which made us forget for a moment the discomforts of our
position, we turned to the right, and went towards the interior,
passing over downs covered with the curious vegetation of the
vacoas {Paniianus tililis), a i)lant belonging to the ])alm family,
and known by the English term of " screw-pine." Its appear-
ance is peculiar. The trunk, which is covered with a smooth
bark, generally divides into three branches at a height of
about six to seven feet, and each branch dividing again near
the top forms a large head, from which hangs, like dis-
hevelled hair, huge fleshy leaves split down the middle.
These leaves supply a strong thread, and are used, wi.en
split, for making bags. The vacoa does not exceed thirty
feet in height.

The storm now ceased, the rain cleared oft', and «as
succeeded by bright sunshine, and we excm))lified tlic tnith
of the fable of "the sun and the wind," by raising our
battered hats, throwing off our heavy cloaks, and enjoying
the genial warmth of the sun. Nature awoke fresh and
beautiful, the grass and shrubs threw off the wet which
weighed down their leaves, numberless flowers opened their
petals to the sun, and the lemon trees .shed a tleliglitfiil
perfume around our path.

An undulating plain spread out before us, intersected by
streams and marshes, through which our bearers waded, splash
ing the water and uttering wild cries. They scarcely seemed
to feel the weight of our light tacons, and hastened along at a
rapid pace in ho])es of receiving a reward in the sha])e of rum
or betza-betza. We soon reachi^ the commencement of the
woods through which our path lay, and had some difliculty in
forcing our way through the luxuriant vegetation. The vacoa
raises its conical head above the dwarf palms ; the mahogany-
coloured NtUh mingles its branches with those of the white-
barked copal-tree and the red-wooded Indrameiia. The jilain-
tivc note of a species of cuckoo was the only sound which

idle,
vi.en

was
initli

our
oying

and
■liiLh
tlic-ir
'litful

RAVENAI. TRKLS.

VOL, I.

Ml ^

■I

»'.

■

ILLUSTRATKI) TRAVELS,

disturbed the silence. Presently we emerged again upon the
plain, which in this jiart is covered with long thick grass that
nearly covered our bwrers. As we advanced, the swamps
became wider and deeper, and we felt far from (omfortable
on our imsti-ady scats, which were sometimes raised above
the heads of our bearers, as they sank up to tiie shoulders in
the muddy licjuid, and it was only by great care and skilful-
ness that they succeeded in bringing us safely through. We
reached at last the conimencenuMit of the hills, and about 12
o'clock we came to M. l.aborde's house, which is on a
plateau commanding an extensive view of the country. In
front was a wide belt of forest, beyond which lay the sandy
plain of 'I'amatave, with the sea in the disUnce. Towards
the interior a succession of hills and mounds, not unlike
monstrous beaver-huts, sejjarated from each other by ponds
or marshes, gradually rire till they join the central chain. A
few blackened tnmks, Avhich have escaped the conflagra-
tions, give a melancholy air to the country. We noticed the
same appearance of silence and desolation in every part of the
island under the rule of the Hovas. Near the house, however,
all was life and movement ; slaves were pounding and
winnowing rice, bright fires were burning in the kitchen, and a
number of pretty ser\ant-girls in gay-coloured dresses were
running about laughing a.ui shouting while they prepared the
dishes.

Our host conducted us into the principal room in the
house, where breakfast was jirepared in the Madagascar fa.shion.
I«irge round leaves of a bright green were arranged in the
sha|)e of a sipiarc, round which we seated ourselves. In the
middle of the table, on a plateau also covered with ravenal
leaves, there was a smoking pyramicl of snow-white rice, which
the Madegasses use as bread. We had stpiare pieces of leaves
for plates, and other leaves did duty for forks and glasses. It
would be difficult to explain how a leaf can be a])i)lied to so
many different purposes, but the natives make use 01' them in
these and many other ways besides.

The Ravenal, or "traveller's tree," is one of the most valu-
able veget>able jiroductions of Madagascar. Its leaves, as we
have just observed, are used for table-cloths on which to serve
the rice, for spoons to eat it with, and for cups to contain
liciuids ; in addition to which they also use them for scoops
to bale out their canoes. When split, the leaves make an
excellent thatch, the walls of the huts .ire composed of the
bark, and the trunk of die tree furnishes the posts which sujipnrt
the building. The name of " traveller's tree " is given to it on
the .supposition that it is an invaluable resource to the thirsty
wayfarer ; but as it generally grows close to the water, where
the traveller can find an ample supi)ly to quench his thir.st,
this epithet appears to me somewhat misplaced. l!ut to return
to the breakfast, the second course was served in European
fashion, and we exchanged our primitive cups and plates for
Knglish china and cham|)agne gla.sses, which our native cup-
bearer filled with the sparkling beverage of Moet.

There was a general holiday in honour of our arrival. An
allowance of rum was distributed amongst the slaves, domestics,
and bearers, v'.io impatiently awaited the signal to commence
their dances, strlting the bamboo instruments which they car-
ried in their hands. At a sign from their master, they entered
the hall where we were seated, and scjuatted do\;n in a circle,
leaving a space clear for the dancers. First came a woman,
neither fair nor pretty, but her black eyes sparkled with joyous

animation, and a broad smile covered her face with dimples
and displayed a row of pearly teeth. Her robust but not in-
elegant figure was well displayed by her costume, which con-
sisted of a blue bodice and a full white skirt with showy yellow
flowers ; between the two a strij) of her bron<;e skin was visible.
The Madegasses began by singing in chorus ; some accom-
|)anied themselves on bamboos, and others beat time with their
hands, and the dancer commenced a " bird dance." She first
advanced with her body bent forward and her arms extended
like an ancient sibyl, and striking the ground with her feet.
Then she waved her arms backwards and forwards, u\> and
down, and seemed to make an attempt to fly. The accom-
l)animent now became louder, the voices rose, and the hands
were beaten more vigorously. The dancer recloubled her
efibrts, her body remained ([uiet while she waved her arms like
wings ; then, a])parently in a fit of im|)atience, she ran |)anting
round the circle, stamping violently, and her arms, hands, and
fingers seeming to twist convulsively. At last she stopped,
overcome, amid our loud apjilause. A male perfonner now
rose to exhibit the rice dance, but as this required more space,
we enlarged the circle. 'I'he dancer was almost naked ; a long
strip of white calico artistically wound round his loins was his
only clothing. He was a handsome, vigorous-looking man,
with an elegant anil muscular frame, full of natural grace. He
was .iccompanied in the same primitive manner by the hands
and voices of his companions.

We must remind our readers that in Madagascar, as
well as in some parts of America, tlie natives burn down
the forests in order to plant rice or maize, which they do
not scatter, but drop into holes in the ground, and there
leave them till harvest.

In Madagascar they finish the seed-sowing by an invo-
cation, which we will now describe. In the middle of the
piec e of groimd which has been sown they [)lace a portion of
< ooked meat on a round leaf, also a little money, ami some
bamboos filled with betza-betza. The head of the family, sui-
roundec' '^.y his relations, then advances and invokes, one by
one, tl.e si)irits of their deceased relatives (who have died a
natural death), often to the number of five or six hundred, and
finishes his prayer in these words: "If I have made any
onii.ssion, I pray those whom I have forgotten to pardon me,
and I beg them to come and partake of the offering which I
have made to the gocKl .-pirits, for I call only on them ; and
I trust in the support of Zanahar-be (the great spirit) to assist
me and mine, for he only is our master."

The danc er commenced his performance by representing
the cutting down of the woods — the crash of the hatchet and
the falling of the trees— in a |iantomime which we understood
])erfectly. Next came the burning of the fallen forest — the
crackling of the wood, the roaring of the flame, while the
dancer kept time with the music. He then proceeded to the
planting of the rice, running round the circle with regular
bfunds, equal to the distance which the .sower leaves between
each hole, He afterwards appeared to bury the grain, and
(over it up, and, returning to the middle of the circle, addressed
his invocation to the sjiirits. The performer was applauded
during the progress of the dance, and at its conclusion there
was another distribution of rum, and M. Clement Laborde
brought the day's entertainment to a close by a fiat seul o( his
own, which he had performed at Tananai'ivo before poor
Radama II.

A BIRDS-EYE VIEW OE MADAGASCAR.

CHAPTER III.

VVONDROU- FERDINAND HCHE— TIIK BETSIMiARAKAS AND IIKTANI-
MENUS — THE LAKES— AM IIAVARANO— THE KAUAR — MAUAUASCAR
MOSPITAMTV— THE YOUNG (ilRI.S.

Our second expedition was to Yvonc'roii, a vilKige which was |
formerly of some importance, situated about ten miles soutli
of Tamatave, and on the river of the same name. It was the j
ancient residence of a Madagascar prince, and commands the
entrance of the lakes, which extend upwards of 200 miles to
the south, as well as the road to the capital, Tananarivo, on ■
which it forms the first stage. Our host and guide, Ferdinand \
Fiche, is the son of Prince Fiche and Juliette, of whom we |
have already spoken. He was educated at Paris, and is, un- i
doubtedly, the best educated man in Madagascar. His manner
is rather sombre, and it is necessary to know him in order to j
appreciate the amiability of his character. Mme. Ida Pfeifler ,
has represented him as an ill-bred bear, l)ut she did not under- '
stand the peculiarities of his disposition, nor make allowance
for the sufferings endured by a man of education humiliated by
the vile tyranny of the Hovas. In fact, the only fault I found
in Ferdinand Fiche, was the very rare one of too great
modesty, which made him appear to disadvantage before
strangers, often much his inferiors.

Our tacons had brought us to the edge of the little bay
on which the village stands, and having breakfasted there,
we embarked in canoes, whicli Ferdinaml had placed at our
disposal, intending to explore the lakes, and, if time per-
mitted, to push on as far as Andevorande. Our three beautiful
canoes had each sixteen paddlers, and were supplied in
princely style with every requisite for a voyage of several
days. We had all kinds of provisions, champagne, French
wines, English beer, &c. We were also provided with guns,
and the canoes were covered with awnings, in case of bad
weather. Our departure was very gay, and we set out de-
lighted with the appearance of the country and the kindness
of our host's reception, and hoping at every step to gain
information about this strange and interesting country, almost
new to the eyes of European travellers. It requires a certain
amount of skill to navigate a canoe. It is so light that it is
necessary for every one to be careful in maintaining an equili-
briuni, and at first we felt a little uneasy as the wind agitated
the surface of the water ; but our rowers moved in perfect
imison, and wc flew along like the wind. We soon reached
the middle of the river, where Ferdinand pointed out to us a
tongue of reddish earth, which had been the scene of one of
the little dramas of their modern history. " You know," said
he, " that the inhabitants of Madagascar bear the general name
of S-ikalaves ; as to the appellation of Betsimsaraka, which
belongs to us who live on the coast, it is a compound word,
signifying a vast union of tribes, ie meaning much, /si, not,
msarak, divided. The natives who live in the country and
till the ground, we call Ambanvoulas, and we have, besides,
the Betanimenes, a revolted tribe, who gained this epithet from
a disgraceful defeat upon this tongue of land which we have
just passed. The word Betanimene is derived from be, much ;
tani, earth ; mine, red. For this tribe having been driven to
this promontory, were pelted by their enemies with balls of red
earth, and made objects of derision." This little anecdote
explained to me why so many call themselves Betsimsarakas,
and so few Betanimenes.

Wc now left the river Yvondrou, and entered the canal wliich
joins it to the lak<;s. The vegetation of these marshy regions
consists of the ravenal and rafia palm trees, and a species of
gigantic salvia, which forms a line of dark verdure along the
shore. On our right rose an elevated plain covered with mag-
nificent forests. A number of ducks of all colours rose before
our canoes, alarmed by the songs of the rowers ; water-hens
glided among the reeds ; and noisy black parrots flew jjust in
couples towards the forests. The scenery, however, is niuch
less striking than that of the American lakes. There is nothing
majestic about it, bi.t the novelty of the peculiar vegetation,
almost entirely herbaceous, excites a certain degree of ad-
miration. The gay songs of our rowers, the sound of the canoe
rustling through masses of nenufar (water-lilies), the large white
and yellow flowers which enamelled the surface of the water,
the joyful note of the vorontsaranony (a kind of king-fisher
al^out the size of a humming bird, and of the same beautiful
emerald and sai)phire hues), all united to throw a veil of poetry
over the scene.

When we were near Ambavarano, a little village built on a
hill at the entrance of the lake Nos.si-be (the lake of the islands),
we sent onward one of the canoes to make preparations for
us. On our arrival we found the place in a state of excitement,
and one ot the houses was being hastily cleared out for our re-
ception. As soon as we were installed in it the chief men of
the village came to welcome us, accompanied by several women,
each carrying heaps of snow-white rice on ravenal leaves, and
some dozens of fish. As they all seated themselves the little
cottage was soon full, and we took part for the first time in a
"kabar" (every kind of assembly is called a kabar, whether for
the purposes of conversation or deliberation, or merely a recep-
tion, and nothing is done in Madagascar without this preliminary
m<:eting). When all were arranged there was a minute's pause,
and then the chief, mixing the rice and fish which the women
had placed before him, addressed us in the following words : —
" O Vasas (white men), you are welcome to our village. The
cottage which shelters you is yours, and we are at your disposal.
W.. are poor, O Vasas, but our offerings are from the heart ;
accept then, willingly, this rice which we have planted, and,
these fishes, which come from our lakes, they are all we have to
ofier." Ferdinand, who had interpreted this little harangue,
translated our answer also. He told them that we were much
gratified by their generous hospitality, and presenting them with
a dollar, some fish-hooks, and a few other trifles on a ravenal
leaf, he added that we did not intend them as a return for their
offerings, but begged them to accept these trifles in remembrance
of our visit. We also gave them some glasses of arrack, in
which they drank our health. Then recovering their gravity,
I one of them said — " We thank the noble strangers for their
I courtesy and for these presents they have made us. We are not
I accustomed to see cither our masters, the Hovas, or the Vasa
I travellers treat us with so much kindness. We thank them,
i therefore, with all our hearts. When they leave the cottage
which they have consecrated by their presence we will show
, their munificent gifts to our wives and children. Their kindness
will never be forgotten by us, and tradition will hand down the
remembrance of it to our descendants." We were really touched
by the kindner.s and amiability of these poor people. The
Hovas must have had easy work in subduing such a docile
population, and the ferocity which they display on the slightest
suspicion of rebellion can only be attributed to pure barbarity.

■f\

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEI^.

While Ferdinanil's slaves wore preparing supper we scpa- hy immense parasitical plants, many of which are exceedingly

rated, some of our party going to explore the wockIs, while the beautiful in form and colour. On our way back to the village

others beat the reed-brakes on the shores of the lakes in search we joined a party of young girls returning from the foimtain.

of ducks. We were not very successful, however. We found They were laden with enormous bamboos which contained a

that the pintado, which we had heard was very common, is supply of fresh pure water; but the manner in which they

A MADEOASSF. WIIliiw.

Only to be found in the more remote forests, and we brought
back nothing but some black parrots about the size of a fowl,
which make an excellent stew, a few thrushes, and plenty of
small paroquets about the size of sparrows. As to the makis
(or lemur monkeys), we could not find one. There are Y'm few
large trees in these woods, the arboreal vegetation being choked

carried them was very ungraceful. All in vain did we try to
imagine a resemblance between the charming picture which
anticiuity presents to us of Rebecca and her companions with
their graceful pitchers, and these Madegasse damsels carrying
these reeds on their shoulders like a slave's burden. These
women were dressed in coarse cloth, and looked poor and

A BIRU'S-KVK VIEW OF MADAGASCAR.

miserable. This is to be attributed to the freciiient visits which fertility ; nor does it, on the other h.nmi, merit the terrible
the Hovas pay this village, whi( h is on the high road to ' surname of the Kiiropeans' tomb, with whic h timid tnivellers
Tananarive. The inhabitants are kept in constant fear of have stigmatised it. The climate is damp and rainy, ami,
being |)Umdered by their masters, and are subject to all kinds by turns, cold and burning hot. As to the dreadful fever.
of exactions. If they buihl pretty huts they are burned down, ' represented as a pitiless minotaur devouring the enterprising

THE V-\COA, OR SCRF.W-nXK, OF MADAGASCAR.

and their stores of clothing and provisions taken from them, I colonist or tourist, we must confess that in our frequent
so that at last they have given themselves up to a gloomy excursions, alternately exposed to the sun and rain, and
despair, and no longer attempt to provide themselves with often wet to the skin, none of us ever experienced the
anything beyond the necessaries of life. least s}Tnptom of it. Even at Tamative, where there are

The climate of the coast of Madagascar near Tamatave is upwards of three hundred European inhabitants, we were
by no means pleasant. The country does not deserve the assured there had not been a single fatal case within the

eulogiums which have^ been lavished on its temperature and

last two years.

It I

t'l L

ILI.US'IRATKl) TRAVKLS.

i ,»

Gold- Fields of South Africa.

The discovery, or rather the rediscovery, of gold-diggint's in
the interior of Soutiiern Africa is likely to |)ro(luce the effect
of adding greatly to our knowledge of a part of the continent
hitherto very little known. Already ninnerous parties have
left England — adventurous young men, anxious to try their
fortune, and ready to battle with the enormous difficulties of a
long march, over mountain and desert, to the remote spot
where the precious metal has been seen for miles glittering in
the quartz rock. 'l"he locality of the gold is the interior
region lying between the Z.imbesi, west of Tete, and the
middle course of the Limpopo River ; the disi.m c of the
nearest point, by road from Natal, being about 700 miles,
and from the Portuguese settlement of Sofala about 350 miles.
Port I'lli/.abeth, in Cape Colony, is spoken of also as a good
starting-i)oint, but the distance from this place is about 900
miles, and the road lies through desert tracts scantily supplied
with grass and water.

The discovery of gold was made on the 27th July, 1866,
by Mr. Hartley, an elephant hunter, and Mr. Carl Mauch,
a Oerman scientific traveller, who was journeying in company
with Mr. Hartley, and under his protection. These gentlemen,
when hunting elephants a little beyond the north-western bend
of the Limpopo, accidentally came upon a number of holes
artificially excavated in a mass of quartz rock, and containing
broken implements of a nide description, used by former un-
known miners. Belts of glistening white quartz rock extended
over the desolate table-land, and Miuch, with his geological
hammer, detached pieces of stone from the mass, impregnated
with the precious metal. The sandy margins of rivulets flow-
ing through the region were also found to contain particles of
gold. The journey was aftenvards extended, in a north-
easterly direction, to a point about 160 miles di.stant from the
Portuguese settlement of Tete on the Zambesi, gold-bearing
quartz being occasionally found cropping up from the surface
along their line of march. The travellers then returned to
Potchefstrom, in the territory of the Trans- Vaal Republic ; and
Mauch subsequently proceeded to Natal and exhibited his
specimens.

The country in which the gold is found is an elevated
table-land, rising in its highest part to the height of 7,000 feet
above the sea-level ; and is chiefly occupied by the Matabele
section of the Caffres, a warlike tribe, governed by the
redoubtable chief Mosilikatse ; but the most southern gold-
field lies out of his territory, and very near to the north-western
frontier of the Trans- Vaal Republic. The high land of the
interior in south-eastern Africa ends for the most part ab-
ruptly, at a short distance from the shores of the Indian
Ocean, leaving a tract of lower land clothed with rank vegeta-
tion, and having a humid climate. On this account it is
doubtful if Sofala (the nearest point on the coast) can he made
available as a starting-point to the gold-fields, owing to the iin-
healthiness of the coast-land and the difficulties of land-travel.
Some eminent authorities believe that the Ophir of Solomon
has been at length found in the country of these re-discovered
gold-mines ; and the opinion is confirmed by accounts given
by the natives of the unexplored tract along the lower Lim-
popo, of the ruins of an ancient city still existing near the
banks of this river, with colossal stone walls, columns, and
sphinxes. A tradition of a great city existed on the coast

when first visited by the Portuguese at the end of the fifteenth
century.

It seems probable, however, that the mines discovered by
Hartley and Mauch were those known to the Portuguese as
long ago as the .seventeenth century, and since abandoned.
News has been lately received of the return, from the southern
field, of the first party of pioneers, with a waggon-load of gold-
bearing ([uartz.

Exploration of lite Himalayas,

A PROJECT has been set on foot in India for the establi.shment
of an association to be called the Himalayan Society, the
objects of which are the exploration of the vast mountain
chain stretching from Assam on the east, to the frontiers of
Persia on the west. The society is to be something more
than an Alpine club, for, besides the ascent of peaks, it pro-
poses to investigate the geology, zoology, botany, and
ethnology of the Himalayan region ; enlisting in its service
the hundreds of Indian officers who, with their rifles and
sketch-books, visit every summer the upper valleys and passes
of Kashmir and Thibet, bringing back their quotas of informa-
tion, which, for want of facilities of publication, at present
remain unknown to the world. The task before the society is
a prodigious one, and the field of investigation its organisers
have chosen may be said to be inexhaustible. The range of
the Himalaya, with its parallel or branching chains of the
Karakorum and the Kuen-lun, is 400 miles broad in its nar-
rowest part, and the space includes every conceivable variety
of mountain scenery — snowy peaks nearly twice the height of
Mont Blanc ; plateaus stretching for several days' journey, at
an average elevation of 15, coo feet above the sea-level; and
glaciers fifty miles in length, giving birth, from huge ice-
caverns at their extremities, to the mountain torrents which
flow through precipitous valleys on their course to the Indvj»
and the Ganges. The prospectus of the society calls atten-
tion to the discoveries that may be expected to be made in
ethnology and philology in this region, which contains,
perhaps, the key to some of the most absorbing and difficult
questions of the day. Here, in the extreme north-west of the
Himalayas, the great Aryan race, the common ancestors ol'
the nations of Western Europe, Greece, Persia, and India,
had probably its origin ; and among these valleys, where the
Katoch Rajpoots recount the succession of 470 kings, may
yet be found the remains of the primitive tongue from which
Sanskrit and its sister languages have alike descended.

Manchuria.
This remote part of Asia, the original seat of the dynasty
which at present rules the Chinese empire, has been recently
traversed, for the first time, by an English traveller, an outline
only of whose narrative has at present reached England. The
traveller is the Rev. Alexander Williamson, who is stated to be
an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and to be
still occupied in China in prosecution of his mission. His
account, which was read at a recent meeting of the Royal Geo-
graphical Society, and excited much interest, shows him to be
an intelligent observer, intent on gaining information of various
kinds, relating to the country he has had the courage and good
fortune to explore, for the benefit of the world in general.

MANCHURIA.

3«

Manchuria is described as situated, with regard to China, in
a similar way to Canada with regard to the United Slates of
America. Its climate rcscml)les that of Canada in the contrasts
of temperature offered in the different seasons : the summer
heat being almost tropical, varying from 70° to So" of Fahren-
heit, and the winter cold, generally severe, ranging from 45°
above, to 10" below, zero. The country lies to the northeast
of China Proper, between 39° and 49" of latitude ; its position,
therefore, coincides with that of the finest portions of Europe,
from Southern Italy, or the centre of Spain, to the north of
France ; but being on the eastern side of the continent, and
deprived of the moderating influence of wann currents from
the south on its coasts, the climate is much more rigorous
than its geographical position would indicate — the eastern
coasts of Asia being similarly situated in this respect to the
eastern coasts of North America, which, as is well known,
have a much severer climate than the countries of western
Europe, in corresponding latitudes. Grand mountain chains
traverse the region from south to north, jwrticularly the Shan-
Alin range on its eastern side, whose peaks rise to a height
of i»,ooo feet, and are covered with perpetual snow. The
hilly country is extremely picturesque — ever-changing views,
bounding torrents, fountains bubbling forth from the mountain-
sides, and a luxuriant vegetation delight the eyes of the
traveller. The slope of the country is towards the west and
north ; in this latter direction flow the two great navigable
rivers of the region, the Usuri and the Sungari, both tributaries
of the Amur, which latter stream forms the northern boundary
of the country, separating it from Eastern Siberia. In the
southern part there is also a tract of level country, round
the head of the Gulf of Liau-tung. Here, at the mouth of
the Liau-ho River, is a flourishing seaport where there is a
foreign settlement The rivers and ports on the coast of the
gulf, which forms the northern arm of the Gulf of Pechili,
enjoy a milder climate, and are open to vessels all the year
round. The whole country extends about 800 miles in length
NE. to S\V., and 500 miles in breadth. Notwithstanding the
coldness of the winter, its climate, according to Mr. Williamson,
is most enjoyable, especially in spring and autumn ; a glorious,
clear blue sky extends overhead ; the valleys are well cul-
tivated ; and large villages, with their clusters of trees and
busy population, everywhere enliven the scene. Under the
genial summer Sun the crops rapidly ripen, and by the end
of October every kind of produce is safely housed. The
population of the whole country is estimated at about
15,000,000.

So desirable a country, extending towards the sunny South
from the bleak domain of Siberia, has not escaped the attention
of the Russians, ever striving to extend their frontier in the
direction of more genial climes. The possession of the Amur
river, one of the great streams of the earth, having a course
of upwards of 2,000 miles through a varied region, was of
little advantage to them so long as they had no outlet to the
seas of China and Japan. For the fact of its trending north-
ward, after a long southern bend to the confines of Manchuria,
and opening to the sea in a latitude so far north that the
navigation is closed by ice for five months in the year, was
fatal to its utility as a means of communication between the
Russian empire and the outer world. The port of Nicolayevsk,
at the mouth of the Amur, has made but very little ^rogress
since its establishment, chiefly on account of the severity of

the climate — all ships having to quit the harbour before the
end of October, on pain of being frozen up until the following
April. The diiilomacy of the Russians, cxerc ised during many
years, was rewarded with success at the conclusion of the last
Chinese war, when thi./ obtained a slice of the Manchurian
coast to the south of the Amur, and entered in |)ossession
of it after tiie treaty of Tien-Tsin, in 1858. The tract of
country thus aciiuired extends just so far southward as to
include a harbour that is open to vessels all the year round.
This lies in latitude 42° 40', within a deep indentation of the
coast now called Possiette Bay. A little further uj) tiie coast,
in Victoria Bay, a second town has been built, named Vla-
divostock. Further north there are very few harbours on the
coast, and none that is not frozen up for a longer or shorter
period during the winter. The width of the strip of territory
thus gained at the expense of Manchuria, is, on the average,
a hundred and fifty miles — its western boundary being the
river Usuri, which runs from south to north. It is creditable
to the enterprise of the Russians that the electric telegra|)h
has already been extended from the Siberian settlements to
the southernmost point in their Manchurian possessions,
and that they have established steamboat navigation on the
Usuri, from the Amur to Lake Khinka — a large Iske connected
by another river, and a short portage, with the sea-port Vla-
divostock.

Mr. Williamson does not record that he met with any
obstacles either from the government or natives during his
many journeys in the country, and he appears to have freely
disseminated copies of the Scriptures and other books, trans-
lated into Chinese, among the people. His first journey was
in 1864, and his last and longest during the early part of the
present year. In his first journey he travelled all round the
shores of the Liau-tung Gulf, and along the coast as far as the
frontier of Korea. In subsequent excursions he visited the
city of Moukden, and in the present year set out on his more
important and longer journey northward, in which he reached
San-Sing, on the Sungari River, the last town of the Chinese
towards the north, and on his way passed over the western
frontier of Manchuria into Mongolia. He appears to have
found no difficulty in getting along, wherever there were
practicable roads and modes of conveyance. Most of the
large towns he describes as well-built, and wearing an air of
comfort and cleanliness which attract the traveller. Moukden,
the capital, is a fine city, with streets full of good shops, and
thronged with a well-to-do population. Fur shops, full of fine
furs, were found in great numbers in " Great East Street " and
"West Street." There were also several large booksellers'
shops, speaking well for the literary tastes of the people.
Kirin, the chief town of Central Manchuria, is most beautifully
situated on the banks of the Sungari, here flowing as a majestic
stream nearly 600 miles distant from its junction with the
Amur. The town lies at the foot of a range of picturesque
hills, forming a semicircle roi'nd it, and the river, 300 yards
broad, and placid as a lake, with waters blue as the sky above
them, sweeps past in its northerly course through the valley.
The inhabitants would appear to be not wanting in refinement
in this remote place ; Mr. Williamson says that the frontages
of the squares occupied by merchants' warehouses were taste-
fully ornamented, and in some places flowers from the south,
such as roses, geraniums, and camellias, were ranged in tiers
one above another on the sides of the houses.

3»

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

I';

The Manchus, or native inhabitants of this promising
region, dilTcr but httli; from the C'liincsc in I'latiircs, dress,
and manners. 'I'hey are liiielly devoted to agrimlliire, and
are fast losing their jieeuharities, under the inlluenee of the
Chinese immigrants, who liave of late years been eniouraged
to settle in tiie loinitry, from the northern jirovinces of Cliina,
by liberal grants of l.md. 'J'he Mane luis of jiure <!■ sient are
now in a minority. They are of a rather more robust build
than the Chinese, and their language is more guttural. But
it .seems likely that the Manihu language will soon be super-
seded altogether; boys in all the public schools now acquire
the rudiments of knowledge through Chinese books and the
Chinese written characters. Nomailic Manchus Mr. Williamson
neither saw nor heard anything of, and is inclined to think the
migratory propensity has died out.

It is satisfactory to think that this magnificent country has
a promising future before it. It is ri( h in coal antl iron — coal-
beds extending over vast districts, and being of good ((uality.
In the eastern part gold is foimd, our traveller having passed
over a district full of gold-diggings, forty miles in length by ten
in breadth. It has a vast extent of fertile country along the
valleys of its great streams, and, besides the i>roduce of
temperate countries, yields cotton, tobacco, indigo, and silk.
(lame abounds in the hilly districts, and in the meadows
familiar luiropean flowers, such as daisies, dandelions, blue-
bells, tuliiw, foxgloves, wild geraniums, the pimpernel, and
many others, jilease the eye of the wandeii.'r from the
West. Mr. \\'illiamson sums up his account of the country
in the fallowing words : — " Possessed of a good climate,
fertile soil, and mineral resources, and good harbours, with
a vast area of land as yet unoccu|)ied, who can doubt that
a great tuture is before it? One thing is evident — it is
intended to receive anil sup[)ort tht oif-rflow of the popula-
tion of the north of China for many Jtars to come; and
when it is ])roperly opened up, and ^.ttention is directed
to its minerals, it must rise into (..ni: of the most important
districts of Asia, and i)lay an ii.i|.jitant jjart in the history
of the world."

Progress oj Dr. Livingstone.

AcLOKlilNtj to a letter communicated to the public a few-
weeks ago by Sir Roderick Murchison, our great traveller has
been heard of from the Cazembe country, in the interior of
Africa, as late as the month of Decemlier, 1867. No letter
had arrived from him direct to England, but he had sent
desiiatches to Zanzibar by an Arab trader. He was in good
health and sjiirits, and intended, on the termination of a native
war in that district, to continue his journey northward to the
town of I'jiji, which is situated on the eastern shore of Lake
Tanganyika, not very far from its northern end. Thus his
( ourse is steadily northward, towards the sources of the Nile,
the settlement of which was one of the great objects of his
l)resent expedition.

Already his journey has been as long and as full of
difficulties as the first great enterjirise which rendered him
so famous, when he marched from the missionary stations
north of Cape Colony to St. Paulo de Loanda, and back
again across the continent to the mouth of the Ziunbesi.
Entering, in March, 1866, at Mikindany (on the cast coast, a
little north of Cape Delgado), he first advanced towards the

ca.stern side of I-ake Nyassa ; then, about September in the
same year, he doubled the southern end of this lake, and com-
meiued the ascent of the great interior table lands, where, in a
cool and humid climate, extensive forests cover the face of the
country, and the negro tribes, out of the reach of the slave-
trader, live in jieace and independence, building substantial
mud ilwellings to keej) out the cold. Advan< ing north-west-
wardly, and then northerly, he irave scil an entirely new
country, and reached a place called Uemba (10° lo' south
latitude), whence, at the beginning of February, 1867, he
found means to send letters to the coast. Eroin Uemba, he
appears to have marched straight to the sc>.:(hern shore of
Lake 'J'anganyika, for he arrivc;d 'here in the month of August
or September, 1867, and continued exploring the rivers and
lakes of this previously unknown region down to the end of
the year. He found here the warmest hospitality among a
party of Arab traders, who are not slavers, but carry on a
legitimate commerce with the ])owerful chiefs of this remote
part of Africa. With the help of these peojile, he anticipated
no diflicuiiy, v. hen he should be ready, in continuing his
journey northward to I'jiji, where a supply of stores, medi-
cines, books, and so forth, had been sent to meet him by
Dr. Kirk of Zanzibar.

According to a telegram from 'I"rinconialec. in Ceylon,
dated October 3rd, which appeared in the daily papers on
the 5ih of the same month, news had reached that place
from East Alrica, to the etTect that Livingstone was within
a week's march of Zanzibar, returning from Tanganyika.
Allnning for the time occupied by a steamer between Zan-
zibar and Ceylon, this would convey the intelligencx that our
traveller was approaching the coast early in September. 'I'his
would not iiave been at all impossible, if Livingstone had
settled the jtroblem of the Nile sources by navigating the
great fresh-water sea of Tanganyika to its northern end, and
discovering that it had no communication with the more
northerly Albert Nyanza and the Nile. The lake is about
300 miles in length, and the Arabs who had i>roved such
good friends to our traveller have several trading D/wivs
u|)on it. In the nine months from December, 1867, to
September, 1868. he would have been able not only to vi.sit
its northern extremity, but also to discover in which direction
it discharged its suq)Ius waters, if not to the Nile ; and thus,
having fultilled his mission, he would return to Zanzibar, a
march of about 700 miles, along the arduous trade-route
traversed twelve years ago by Captains liurton and Sjieke,
in about the time indicated by the telegram. It now ap|)ears,
however, that this news, like many others from Africa, was
false. Letters have since been received from Dr. Kirk, o(
Zanzibar, and read at a meeting of the Royal Geographical
Society, written so recently as the 14th of Oc:tober, in which
no mention whatever is made of the near ajijjroach of Living-
stone to the coast. On the contrary, he was still reported
to be in the far interior, making his way to the northward
along the great lakes. The hope that was at one time
expressed of our seeing the greatest of our African explorers
at home before Christmas, has thus not been fulfilled. It is
satisfactory, however, to know that he was in good hands,
travelling with the friendly Arab traders, who are so ijowcrful
among the interior tribes, and approaching the very core o(
the African mystery, where he cannot fail of making great
discoveries.

NOTES ON SPAIN.

LA RAMBLA, AT BARCELONA.

Nofcs on Spain. — //.

SPANISH COSTUMES-

-THE CAPA AND MANTILLA— CLEANl.INKSS— HEAD-DRESS— THE SUMIIRERO— niSTlNCT PEOPLES IN SPAIN 1\\>
THE IIASIJI'KS, AND THE GITANUS OR OIPSIKS— DEGOARS- THE BLIND WOMAN OF MANZANARES.

TO?

A COMMON source of disappointment to travellers is their
unreasonabli e.Kpectation of finding i; country peopled with
jiainters' models. Nowhere a'e they so likely to be disap-
l)ointed in this way as in Spain ; for of no country in P-urope
are tlie [)reconci'i'tions in the minds of foreigners to so great
an e.xtent based upon the labours of the artist. It is not by
any means that the legion of painters who have dealt with
things Spanish are untrue to the facts of Spain ; it is simply
because it is their hap])y privilege to deal with select facts only.
The artist's world is one chosen, arranged, and posed by him-
self. His people are a picked people, and wear their holiday
clothes, or their most picturesque garments ; his buildings
show themseb'es from their very best point of view , and even
ugliness, poverty, rags, and ruins are so ordered, as to be
charming in his pleasant dominions. He is bound by no
necessity to admit anything mean, commonplace, uninteresting,
or vulgar ; whereas the traveller has to take the world as he
finds it, and while he enjoys its beauties and varieties, he has
to endure a certain amount of dead levels and monotonies,
which the more fortunate painter turns his back upon. Even
in central China there is no doubt many a tract of very ordi-
nary landscape where there are no perpendicular lakes, hanging
islands, steep bridges, curly-tailed birds making love in mid-
air, trees with a foliage of Dutch cheeses, or any other features
to remind the tourist that he is in the land of the willow-
pattern plate. Go where we may there is always a certain
proportion of commonplace to dilute the elements of interest ;
and in Spain the percentage is by no means inconsiderable.

VOL. 1.

Next to Switzerland, Spain is the i ii nnHinfainoiis of
European countries; but it is also, nej to Ru.ssi.i. ; >:thap!:
the country which has the greatest ex, • • of dreary, eye-
\Yearylng flats; and as it is with the scenery, -^o it is wiih most
other things. The apricot cheek and glossy uiut .an,

the pencilled eyebrow and delicately pert nose, the thousand
and one chtirms that have made the world hi lOve with
Phillips' pictures, are indeed to be seen in Spain, but they are
no more the prevailing accompaniments of every mantilla,
than the scenery of the Pyrenees or Sierra Nevada is the pre-
vaihng scenery of the Peninsula. It is the same v.ith costume.
The picturesque, characteristic, and distin'''ive, are not
wanting, but a commonplace nondescript cosmopolitanism is
the rule.

The preservation of costume in a country generally depends
on isolation, or on some conservative sentiment in the in-
habitants, or on some special adaptation to circumstances,
The costumes of the Swiss cantons are illustrations of the
second cause ; those of the Tyrol of all three perhaps, but
certainly of the last. It would be impossible to invent a
better garb for a mountaineer than the loose jacket and
belt, and short breeches leaving the knee entirely free a'-d
unconfined. In Spain these causes operate bi'* 'eebly. Spain,
as we have already said, is no longer the remote, outlying
region it used to be, with but little communication internally,
and, if possible, still less with the rest of the world. The
upper and middle classes, so far from having at'iy conser-
vatism in matters of this sort, are remarkable for a positive

ILLUSTR.\TED TRAVELS.

i'l

r ' ■

I •

li ':

■ k'

! (
I

ij>'

shyness of all things distinctively Spanish ; rud, as a sentiment,
the feeling has no existence among the peasantry ; while as to
the third cause, but few of the peculiarities of Spanish dress
depend upon it The two most peculiar garments of the
Peninsula are, indeed, in some degree the creatures of
climate. The climate of Spain, except along the seaboard,
is not, like ours, variable, but, owing to the elevation of the
surface and the dryness of the atmosphere, it is one of great
extremes, passing, in the course of twenty-four hours, from a
burning heat, almost tropical in its intensity, to a searching
cold that pierces in to the very bone. In England conversa-
tion is barometrical ; in Spain it is the thermometer that gives
the cue. " Que frio / que calor /" are the most frequently
uttered exclamations. In such a climate a " wrap" of some
sort — something that can be closely folded round the body,
or quickly thrown aside, as the occasion demands — is an
absolute necessity ; and of this there are two forms in vogue,
in Spain, the capa and the -nanta. The capa is essentially
Castilian. It is the envelope of the Castiles, Leon, Estrema-
dura — all that region, in fact, which is, and always has been
the very core of Spain ; and there is a certain special adapta-
tion in the garment to the locality where it is the mode. It is
simply an ample cloak with a cape, made of some dark cloth,
brov.-.-. being the most common colour, and its peculiarity as a
piece of costume lies in the way in which it is worn. The
right side is brought forward and thrown over the left shoulder,
while the corresponding flap of the cape is drawn across the
moufh and lower p.'i.i of the face. It thus forms a mas.s of
drapery wiiich gives a peculiarly grave, reserved, hidalgoish air
to the figure. It is the very thing for a people who hate to be
hurried. A man so wrapped up cannot possibly commit him-
self by any undignified briskness or alertness of motion, but
must be in all things slow and deliberate. When new, and
handsomely trimmed with black velvet, as it ought to be, it
is full of sober dignity ; and be it ever so threadbare and
shabby, there is still a certain severe respectability about it.
To a gentleman in ditficulties with his tailor, and desirous of
keeping up appearances, it is an invaluable friend. It masks
all shortcomings. The highest praise Sancho could give to
sleep was to call it " the capa which covtis all human
thoughts." It is, moreover, an admirable protection against
the cutting blasts that sweep over the bleak plains of Castile ;
and, for an embodiment and personification of mystery and
chilliness combined, it would be difficult to find anything so
perfect as the caballero, muffled to the eyes in his capa, that
one encounters on a sharp autumn morning in the streets of
one of the genuine old-fashioned towns f)f central Spain, such
as Avila, Segovia, Valladolid, or Salamanca. The manta is
altogether a different kind of garment. It is plebeian rather
than aristocratic, and free and easy rather than dignified or
stately. In form and use it is something like the Scotch
plaid, the chief difference being that it is folded lengthwise
and sewn together at one end, so as to make a sort of half-
pocket, which serves on the roaa for stowing away odds and
ends, or for a hood in case of rain. The manta is the wrapper
of Celtiberian Spain, all that portion which lies to the east of
the backbone of the Pc~'nsula, comprising Arragon and the
Mediterranean provinces, C talonia, Valencia, and Murcia.
In Andalusia, which is a kind of neutral ground, both manta
and capa may be seen, but neither can be said to be in any
way a part of the costume of the country. In mountainous

stormy Arragon, the manta is a sober, substantial article, in
tint and texture closely resembling the I'laud of the Scottish
shepherd ; but towards the coast and the south, under the
influence of sunny sky and laughing sea, it grows a lighter
and brighter affair, breaking out in stripes of brilliant colour,
and tags, tassels, and fringes of all sorts, until, at Valencia, it
becomes as gay as the Huerta -tself in its summer dress. No
piece of Spanish costume shows the influence of Moorish taste
so distinctly as the manta of Valencia. The colours are the
favourite Moorish ones — red, white, and blue — and are arranged
in simple transverse bands of various breadths, relieved here
and there by narrow lines of black, and if any extra ornament
is indulged in, it is in the form of bars of some zig-zag or
diamond pattern. Nothing can be simpler, nothing more
grateful to the eye, or effective as a piece of colour, and
nothing, it need scarcely be said, in stronger contrast to an
article turned out by an English manufacturer. The texture
is generally coaree and rough, but the taste is always
irreproachable. There re none of those signs of skill
and mechanism so evident in an English piece of goods;
but on the other hand, there is none of that sort of vul-
garity which displays itself in tawdry sprawling roses an^*
dahlias, and those misplaced attempts at imitating or improving
upon nature, which Gothic taste seems to consider the highest
efforts in decorative art The contrast is one that may be
observed on t , spot, for the irrepressible cotton prints of
England have to a considerable extent found favour with the
peasant women in Spain, and may be frequently seen com-
peting with the manta in giving colour to a Valencian market-
place.

On'> use of the manta and capa there is which must not
\y, assed over here, though it is one of which the ordinary
traveller is by no means likely to see an illustration. In the
case of a difference of opinion requiring to be settled by the
knife, each disputant wraps his manta or capa round his left
arm to serve as a shield .tgainst the thrusts or slashes of his
adversary. It is to the credit of the Spaniards, however, that
such encounters — if they ever were in truth at all common —
are now at least very rare ; and the tourist who finds hintself
assisting at such a debate as that depicted by M. Dor^, must
consider himself to be travelling under the guidance of some
peculiarly quarrelsome star.

There is not much variety or singularity about the rest
of the male costume. The short jacket— the national garb of
Spain — i= still the most nsual wear, though the sensible and
comfortable, but not remarkably picturesque, Ejiglish shooting-
coat, seems to be acquiring a ( ertain degree of popularity with
the middle classes ; and the jppcr have long since taken to
themselves tails, afttr the (ashion of their kind all over
Europe. Now and theo, it is true, at Madrid or some of the
fashionable watering-places on the Biscay coast, a member of
the " upper ten thousand " may be seen got up in the true
national style — black velvet jacket ; dar;c trousers, accurately
cut, and fitting tight \ waistcoat buttoning low, so a^ to show as
much as possible of the embniidered shirt front ; black velvet
sombrero, very much turned up at the brim ; neatly-trimmed
whiskers, of that order which used to be known as the
" mutton-chop," and iiair cropped short, except at the occijiut,
where it is plaited into a most charming little pigtail, the end
of which is tucked in behind the collar of the jacket, so that
it looks rather like the handle of a small bbck teapot But

NOTES ON SPAIN.

such an exhibition of severely conservative darayism is not
very common, and excites observation even among Spaniards
themselves.

Sombre tints are the rule in Spanish costume. The
peasants' jacket and trousers, all tl^irough the central and
western provinces, are made of the pafio pardo, the " vellort "
with which Don Quixote adorned himself on week-days — a
dark, rusty-grey stuff, something like the Irish frieze. In
Andalusia a black cloth with a long curly nap is much
affected, perhaps as a cheap imitation of the dyed lambskin,
which used to be a favourite material for the zamarra or
jacket. Where trans-Pyrenean fashions have not asserted
themselves, black is the prevailing hue in genteel life.
Almost the only bits of bright colour about the ordinary
costume of Spain are the manta above mentioned and the
faja — the sash which nearly everyone wears in this land of
sudden heats and chills. Like the manta, the faja is essen-
tially Moorish. The usual colour is scarlet, with bars of
blue, yellow, and white, and it is worn swathed loosely round
the waist, so as to serve, besides its primary purpose, as a
receptacle for purse, knife, or tobacco-pouch. The prevailing
sobriety of tone of the Spaniard's dress is also somewhat
relieved by his weakness for fine linen. Even in a third-class
railway carriage the majority of the shirt-fronts are elaborately
wrought and liberally displayed. Nor is the display so ob-
jectionable as the Englishman, with his preconceived notions
about the unwashing habits of all who are not English, may
imagine. Uncleanliness, either in dress or in person, is cer-
tainly not one of the sins of the Spaniard even of the lowest
class. He does not perform his ablutions, perhaps, with
altogether the zeal of an Oriental, but he has a dec .it and
healthy appreciation of the virtues of water— when he can
get it In the interior it is far too scarce and valuable an
article to be frittered away in mere personal purification ;
but where it is abundant it is always taken advantage of,
and along the sea coast and the banks of the larger rivers
bathing goes on pretty nearly from morning till night. Fur-
ihermore, it seems to be rlways washing-day in Spain ; a large
proportion of the female population appear to be constantly
employed in getting up linen, and the first sight that meets
the eye on approaching a town or village is that which the
page in " Don Qoixote " observed at the entrance to Argama-
silla, " a bevy of women washing in a brook." This, perhaps,
may account for the very distinguished place which soap holds
among the manufactures of Spain. Even in the very poorest
posada. too, the sheets, if there are any, are snowy white, how-
ever coarse they may be. But — " nimium ne crede colori " —
ict not the traveller build his hopes of an untroubled night too
confidently upon their spotless purity.

The palters of embroidered yellow leather, made familiar
to us by painters of Spanish scenes, are peculiar to lower
Andalusia, and are almost the only relics of the handicraft
of the foiiner corUwaiiiors of Cordova. The white kilt-like
garment and the short loose iinen drawers are also purely local,
belonging to the peasants and fishermen of Murcia and Va-
lencia. The national chaussure of Spain is the alpargata, a
stout canvas shoe with a hempen sole — for a hot and dry
climate the coolest, lightest, and pleasantest covering for the
foot ever invented. It varies, however, in form ; for, while in
the south it preserves the ordinary shoe s)iape more or less, in
Catalonia and Arragon it becomes a simple sandal, a mere sole

with a toe-cap, secured by broad blue tapes across the instep
and round the ancle in classical fashion.

Of the head-dresses worn in Spain we have already alluded
to that which is the most common, the "sombrero" — pir excel-
knee, the regular Spanish hat — the general appearance of which
every exhibition-goer must know well It also varies some-
what according to circumstances. No doubt the parent form
was the hat in which Vandyke's cavaliers sat to him — a form
which, like the bars in the tail of the domestic pigeon, breaks
out occasionally in the hats of Andalusia, where shade is the
chief consideration. But on the windy plains of the Castile,;
the struggle for existence would naturally be severe to a broad
spreading brim, and frequently, we may imagine, it was found
necessary to turn it up, the better to encounter the blasts
sweeping down from the Guadarrama mountains. This is
probably the origin of the peculiar shape which the sombrero
of Spain has taken — a shape full of a kind of picturesque
sauciness, but not easy to account for on any utilitarian theory ;
unless, indeed, it be that the deep groove between brim and
crown was meant to serve, as in fact it does sometimes, for
a supplemental pocket in which light articles, such as
cigarettes, or books of cigarette paper, might be carried.
It is c 'ious that a hat of this construction could only
flourish in a dry climate. In a wet country a man might
as well carry a small tank on his head as an article so
admirably adapted for collecting rain water as the sombrero.
It is therefore confined almost exclusively to Andalusia,
the high and dry plateaus of central Spain, the Castiles, Leon,
and Estremadura. In the moist regions bordering on the
Atlantic— the Asturias and Galicia — the most common head
covering is that ugliest of caps, the montera, a clumsy, conical
affair, of dark cloth, with ear flaps, which give it a certain
resemblance to the cap worn by the Fool of the midd'e ages.
The simplest but most singular head-dress of Spain is that
of the Arragonese peasant, consisting merely of a small silk
handkerchief bound round the head like a fillet, which makes
the wearer look as if he had slipped through his neckerchief
as far as the ears. In Catalonia the lower orders wear the
gorro, a long scarlet or purple jelly bag, which, folded on tlie
top of the head, gives the Catalan a peculiarly rakish air. In
Valencia the coloured handkerchief appears again, but it is
worn in. a more rational way than in Arragon, and makes some
pretence of being a covering for the head.

Of the female costume in Spain there is not much to be said.
The only really distinctive article of dress is the mantilla, with
the appearance of which most of our readers are probably fami-
liar. In its simplest form, it is merely a black silk scarf edged
with velvet, worn hitched on to the top of the head, and falling
down over the shoulders, the ends being brought forward and
crossed over the bosom. The high tortoise-shell comb, from
which the mantilla used to depend, is now almost obsolete,
and consequently a good ileal of that peculiarly piquant air,
which was one of its charms, is now lost to the costume of
the Spanish lady. The more showy variety has a deep black-
lace border. The white mantilla is now scarcely ever seen ; in-
deed, the mantilla altogether would no doubt have been extinct
by this time — belonging, as it does, exclusively to the upper
and middle classes, who are much more given to introducing
French than to preserving Spanish fashions — were it not that it
is part of the regulation dress for church, and that church-going
is one of the principal occupations of the ladies of Spain.

■»

\'> 1

IfP

jii'
■fi.

'V llh

iN'

" , I

liL

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

Owing to tlic spread of rottons and calicoes, and cheap
shawls and handkerchiefs, a commonplace sameness has in-
fected the dress of the Spanish pea.sant women nearly every-
where. It is only in the remoter regions, such as Eslremadura,
that the native stuft's hold their own, and the peasant girls still
wear the national saya— the bright red, green, or yellow petti-
coat—which is their projier and becoming costume. For head-
dress, when any is worn, the most common is simply a gay
handkerchief, or panuelo, artfully and coqucttishly tied round
the head or twined with the hair. lionnets, of course, are to
be seen wherever French fashions have taken root ; but it is a
a mistake to suppose this
article wholly un-Spanish
and exotic ; strange varieties
of it may sometimes be ob-
served in out-of-the-way
])arts of the country. A
very curious thing in bon-
nets, for instance, prevails
about Placencia — a sruttle-
shajied structure in straw,
with a small looking-glass
attached to the front of the
crown the most naively
feminine article of apparel
it is possible to conceive.
But the true head-dress of
the women of Spain is of
Nature's providing. To tlie
Spanish woman, above all
others, her hair is a cover-
ing and a glory ; plaited,
rolled, or twisted in thick
coils, and secured by all
manner of pins and skewers,
and bodkins of barbaric
mould, it forms in most
cases her sole head-gear,
and the dressing of it is a
[lart of the business of her
life, and occupies ap])a-
rently a large portion (jf
her time. No one, pro-
bably, ever passed \\\) a
street in a Spanish ])ro-
vincial town without seeing
at least one instance of what
M. Dor^s pencil has here
sketched for us.

AVe ought, perhaps, to include the fan as an cssen'nl part, 1
if not of the dress, at least of the paraphernalia of the Spani: !:
woman. But, in truth, the wliolc virtue of the fan lies in t'.c
handling of it. Per se, it has nothing characteristic about it,
lieing for the most i)art a Brummagem, tawdry, gingerbread
article, ornamented in the lowest and most debased style of art.
No traveller who wishes to convey a favourable idea of the
taste of the Spanish ladies ought to bring home one of their
fans as a specimen.

Spain, more than any European country jierhaps, is remark-
able for the number of distinct ])coplcs to be foimd within its
limits, living ajiart, neither marrying nor mixing to any extent

with their neighbours, and preserving, in many cases, a peculiar
dialect and peculiar customs. Such are the Maragatos, the
Vaqueros of the Asturian Pyrenees, the Basques, the Gitanos,
and the Patoncs. Here one might expect to find a source of
distinctive costume. But in general it is not so. In most cases
there is little or nothing in the way of dress to distinguish these
people from their immediate neighbours. The Gitanos, com-
mon enough i>i Andalusia and in the Sierra Morena, arc only
to be recognised as such by the peculiar gipsy features and ex-
prcoion, which are fufficiently unmistakable to any one who
has seen them, or, what uniounts to the same thing, who has

read Borrow. Nor do the
Basques differ much to the
"ye from the other inhabi-
tants of the northern sea-
board of the peninsula.
The exception is that of
tlie Maragatos. Wlio or
what the Maragatos are, is
perhaps the greatest puzzle
in Spanish ethnology, an
ethnology rich in puzzles.
Whether they are the de-
scendants of " Mauri capti,"
Moors taken in battle,
according to one explana-
tion : or of Gothic Moors,
i.e., '"oths who became na-
tur jli^ ,d, or rather adopted,
Mcv'i'-'' jbiects, according
tf anolht r r— this much at

PEASANT OF ORIHUF.I.A.

li.i'!* s ^itiin that as far
as ..-y 'a-- be traced back-
i.va. ! ''' .:y <,eem to have
b'":... th- are now, a
jieople i.a.i 'ously keeping
themselves distinct from tiie
surrounding population, by
every contrivance of ex-
clusive marriage, custom,
and ceremonial. If they
have among them any tra-
dition as to their origin,
they keep it, like everything
C',';, strictly to themselves.
VLe;, nro localised in the
• '■• of As.orga in Leon,
and in its immediate neigh-
bourhood ; but, as a large
prr'ion oi" ti.e carrying business of that part of Spain is
in their I .^;:.'!;, they are to be met with almost ever)where
through {.\e north-western provinces, and even in Madrid
they may be occasionally seen about those busy, old-
fashioned streets in the neighbourhood of the Plaza Mayor.
They are obviously, on the whole, a well-to-<lo jieople. In
some instances they attain to very ( onsidemble wealth ; anil
they probably stand by one another in distress, as members
of small and distinct communities do, for no one ever saw
a Maragato in rags or begging. In appearance the Maragatos
certainly encourage the Gothic theory as to their origin.
Of all the peoples of Spain, they are the most intensely

TOILET UF GIPSY C.IKL AT DIEZMA.

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

\^.

Teutonic in form and feature. They are generally tall,
squarely and powerfully built, with broad, massive, and
rather heavy features, and an expression tliat gives an idea
of slowness, determination, and honesty. Their costume is in
keeping with their general bearing. Borrow, indeed, detects
in it many traces of Moorish influence ; but to most eyes, we
imagine, it would rather suggest ideas of northern Europe.
Indeed, w6 venture to say that most people put before a faithful
portrait of a Maragato in full costume, and called upon to
specify i' i ..atiinality of the original, would unhesitatingly
say, " Du c ' lurse." It consists of a black cloth
jacket reach'. e hips; very wide, baggy black breeches

githered in at il' i.ee; gaiters; a broad black leather belt,
sometimes curiously ornamented with silver ; and a low-crowned,
broad-brimmed hat, very much like that which appears in the
portraits of the Puritan worthies of the seventeenth century.
On the whole, however, a Maragato in full dress rese .ibles
more closely than anything else a Dutchman as he used to
be represented in caricatures and in the old-fashioned geo-
graphies.

There is in Spain one other people to be noticed before we
quit the subject of peculiar peoples and costumes. A people
which, although having its own peculiar manners and customs,
does not by any means keep aloof from or avoid the rest of
society, but, on the contrary, always endeavours to cultivate
the acquaintance of its neighbours, and is always most perse-
vering in its efforts to encourage liberality of feeling ; a people,
moreover, whose claims to the possession of a distinctive
co.stume, or indeed to any costume at all, are of the very
slightest nature, but which, nevertheless, has always had the
strongest attractions for the painter and lover of the pic-
turesque. The beggars are indeed one of the peoples of Sjjain.
Spain is perhaps the last stronghold in Europe of the regular
old traditional beggar, the typical beggar of song, tale, and
ballad ; the beggar who is a beggar pure and simple, and
stands upon unadulterated mendicancy, without a claim, pro-
spective or retrospective, to any other position in society ;
who has not been reduced by any unmerited misfortunes, who
has never had any "little all" to lose by any unforeseen
calamity, and who makes no pretence whatever of desiring
to earn his bread honestly by any other calling than that of
begging ; who begs without any explanation, cxcu.se, or apology,
but simply as one exercising his metier, and a member of an
established, recognised, and on the whole honourable frater-
nity. Hitherto this sort of beggar has abounded and flourished
in Spain. The church has always been distinctly on his side,
and, as a matter of fact, he is always to be found on the
side of the church — that side especially which is the sunniest,
and in which the most frequented entrance is situated. He
is also favoured by the climate, by the abundance of the
common necessaries of life, by the n.-itur.il kindly disposition
of the people — "El dar limosna nunra mengua la bolsa:"
"To give alms never lightens the purse," says the proverb— but,
more than all, by that peculiar species of social equality which
is the ofispring of the old-fashioned Spanish courtesy. Beggar
as he is, he is none the less a recognised member of society,
and his right to the common courtesies of life is as freely
admitted as that of the most unmistakable hidalgo. Even
railway porters, curtest and gruflfesi (when untipped) of man-
kind, do not call upon him to "get out of that." If he is
blocking up the way he is requested to gi\e place with

a " con su licencia, caballero," like any other gentle-
man. A good deal, no doubt, is owing to the Sroad and
somewhat sympathetic view which is naturally taken of his
calling. In a country like Spain, where the moral dignity of
labour, however earnestly it may be preached in the press, is
not much appreciated in practice, there is no necessary stigma
attached to the profession of mendicancy. There is no wide
gulf fixed between him and the industrial classes, as in countries
where severer principles of political economy influence public
opinion. Hence, in Spain, the regular professional beggar has
a dignity and a bearing rarely seen elsewhere. He never
whines or cringes, or condescends to such artifices as moa ing
or shivering. He simply beg.s — " Una limosnita, caballero, por
Dios" — "A little alms, for the sake of God." If you put him off
with the customary form, " Let your worship excuse me, for
God's sake," his strong sense of professional etiquette, and the
dignity of his calling, will not allow him to make a further ap-
plication. If you bestow the alms, you will observe he does
not thank you. " Dios lo te pagari" — " God will repay thee,"
is all he says. He gives you a tjuittance. You have met a
claim, and you .lave your voucher — to be acknowledge \ in the
proper ^,uarter and at the proper time.

Not that there are not in Spain plenty of the more painful
sort of beggars — the maimed, the halt, and the blind. Horrible
objects, afflicted with every sort of sore and every kind of
deformity ; cripples crawling on their knees and elbows, muti-
lated trunks that roll along the pavement, creatures with limbs
like the branches of writhen trees, swarm in every market-
place, on every church-step, at every inn-door — wherever there
is a chance of extracting a few cuartos from pity or loathing.
Blindness, too, is sadly common in Spain. The fierce heats,
the sharp winds, the dust, and the glare of a treeless, grass-
less landscape, naturally have their results in ophthalmia and
other affections of the eye. It is wonderful the number of
" tuertos" — one-eyed people — one meets in Spain ; and of the
totally blind the j)roportion certainly seems to be far in excess
of that in most other populations. Spain is not rich in blind
asylums, or industrial refuges for the blind, and all that is left
to them — the sole resource open to them—
" Is only for lo beg."

On all these poor creatures Progress, the rapid improve-
ment of the country, the development of her internal resources,
and all the other favourable phenomena observable in modem
.Spain, bear hardly. No member of the guild, probably, is so
well known in Spain and out of it as " The blind woman of
Manzanares." She is that " Manchegan prophetess" met just
thirty years ago by Borrow, who, in " The Bible in Spain,"
gives one of his own peculiarly graphic descriptions of her
appearance, and his conversation with her, first in Gitano and
then in Latin — "truly excellent I^tin." Another accom-
plishment she has, of which she does not appear to have
given him a sample, but to which Mr. Clark, the author of
" Gazpacho," and M. I'lK^ophile Gautier bear testimony. She
is an improvisatrice of no mean ability, and can carry on, on
any topic, and apparently to any length, in a strain which is
not exactly poetry perhaps, but which, with the facilities
afforded by Spanish assonance, is something better than mere
doggerel. In the old diligence days she was a well-known
character on the Great South Road. I^ Ciega de Manzanares
was an institution, and at the coach-door or in tht eating-room
of the parador, she spouted her Latin, or strung her verses,

NOTES ON SPAIN.

sure of a response in applause and reals. But the railway
came, and the diligence went, and since then, La Ciega, poor
soul, has L»cen driven from post to pillar. For some time tbp
rail stopped short at Venta de Cardenas, at the foot of the
Sierra Morena, and travellers bound to Andalusia took diligence
there for Cordova or Granada. 'lb meet their requirements
an hotel and restaurant of shingle, and of that order of archi-
teccure which seems to have prevailed ?'' Ballarat and San

through the Despefla-perrors pass was opened, and the train
took to passing Venta de Cardenas with no further recognition
than a snort, a minute's halt, and a wli'stle. The last time we
saw the blind woman of Manzanares it was on the platform at
Manzanares station. All places had become alike to her now,
as far as concerned her poor vocation, and she had come home.
The train was late, the whole station was in a fuss, and she was
in everybody's way. Hurried porters, with trucks and trunks,

left

AT ALICANTE.

Francisco in the early digging days, was erected on a bank
adjoining the railway-station. The hostelry and its accommo-
dations are mentioned in the book of the Lam..., nations of
Miss Eyre. Here, for a while, the blind woman tried to set up
her Latin and her rhymes j but the house, though friendly, was
not like the honest old coaching-house up the road, nor were the
customers altogether the same as the diligence passengers of yore,
who never were so pressed for time that they could not find a
couple of reals more for another couplet. But even this, make-
shifl as it was, did not last. In the autumn of 1866, the bridges
and tunnels being at last finished, the long-expected line

ran against her ; thirsty passengers, rushmg after refresh-
ments, jostled her ; nervous passengers, fearful of losing their
seats, ran foul of her. She might just as well have tried to
address recitations to a storming-party mounting a breach.
Her little guide — a girl of nine or ten— was just as much
stupefied by the bustle and confusion as she was. What a
mystery it must be to her— that engine, that inexplicable
enemy of hers that has come shrieking and thundering across
her life and broken it up, scattering her old friends, sweeping
away the friendly old inn and its kindly ways, and leaving all
behind it a muddle I

•1

A VISIT TO PARAGUAY DURING THE WAR.

A Visit to Paraguay during the War.

BV THOMAS J. HUTCHINSON, F.R.G.S., ETC.

CHAPTER I.

TUP, EIO DE I-A PLATA— THE PARAN.* — SEASONS AT ROSARIO —
.MOS(Ji:lTOES— SANTA FE— THE ORAN CHACO— ARRIVAL AT COR-
RIENTES.

The voyage to South America can be so easily accomplished
now-a-days on board any of the fast and commodious steamers
plying thither from many parts of Europe, that such a journey
necessarily loses much of the romance which accompanied the
explorations of our early geographers.

When Don Juan de Solis, in a.d. 1515, entered a large
basin of muddy water on the south-eastern coast of this conti-
nent, he gave to it his own name, and ordered the anchors of
his three caravels to be cast contiguous to the northern point
of what is now known as Maldonado. Down to the bank
came the Churrua Indians in thousands, no doubt surprised at
the "i^ht of his ships. The savages coaxed him ashore by
leaving their presents or the beach and returning to the woods.
To reciprocate the confidence, De Solis proceeded to land
with a single boat, and unarmed. He had not been many
minutes on the newly-discovered territory when he was fallen
upon by the Indians, in sight of his companions on board the
vessels, murdered, and, as some historians say, eaten.

Twelve years afterwards, or in a.d. 1527, came Sebastian
Cabot to the bay of fresh water discovered by De Solis. He
proceeded up the river, and met with some Guarani Indians, to
whom he administered a sound thrashing. On account of the
massive silver ornaments worn by several of these people was
given the name, which the river basin holds to the present
clay, the Rio de la Plata — river of silver, or river Plate.

It is very difficult for the stranger, who enters these waters
for the first time, to realise the idea of a river at the estuary of
\a. Plata. From the northern shore at this point, called Santa
Maria, to the southern, at San Antonio, the breadth of the
stream is 150 miles. Land is rarely visible in the usual channel
until you approach Maldonado, distant thirty miles from the
proper embouchure, the first tract of terra firma which is sighted
being the island of Lobos, at a distance of fourteen miles from
the mainland. On this island stood a lighthouse until 1849,
when it was removed to Maldonado Point by a decree of
the Government, in consequence of its being supposed to
have done material injury to a valuable seal fishery in the
neighbourhood.

In the vicinity of Lobos the pilot comes on board the in-
ward bound vessel. The channel hence to Monte Video — a
course of 100 miles — lies within sight of the Banda Oriental,
the eastern or Uruguayan shore, which stretches to the right,
as the vessel proceeds ; but in all this passage no land is to
be seen on the opposite or western side. The Oriental coast
appears as a series of bluflf headlands, alternating with large
patches of sandy beach, and this appearance it preserves as far
as Monte Video. From this city, a voyage up the river and to
the opposite side brings you, after eighty miles steaming, to
Buenos Ayres, the capital of the Argentine Republic. When
anchored in this port, the view across the river towards the
VOL. t.

Uruguayan territory is an apparently boundless expanse of
water.

Eighteen miles above Buenos Ayres, when bound for the
interior and the inland state of Paraguay, you enter the delta
of the Parand, described by Captain Page, the American naval
surveyor, as extending to an apex at Diamante, which gives a
length of 1 78 miles, and by river course 242 miles. The breadth
of its base is fifty miles. The delta is, therefore, one of the
largest in the worid, the length of the Nile delta being about
80 geographical miles, and that of the Mississippi 180.

Ascending by either of three mouths — the Parand Guazu,
Parand de las P.- : las, or the Lujan— the traveller finds himself
amid a labyrinth of islands and channels. These were all
inhabited by the (iuarani Indians in ancient times, and were
subsequently cultivated by the Jesuits. Several of the islands are
of rectnt formation — accumulations of the detritus washed down
by the great stream. To the present day the market gardeners
of Buenos Ayres, who have their establishments in these fertile
spots, make use of Guarani words to designate the plants and
animals of the neighbourhood. Not a few islands have little or
no vegetation save rushes or sedgy grass, and many of them
are overflown at high tides; but the greater ti umber, to a
distance of forty miles above Buenos Ayres, support gj-cves of
orange, pear, apple, pomegranate, and acacia trees.

Skirting along the province of Buenos AjTes, if the
steamer ascends by the Palmas channel, or keeping near the
centre of the delta, if the Guazu be chosen, there is little or
no variety noticed in the landscape. In the voyage up-
wards, past Zarate, San Pedro, Los Dos Hermanos, San
Nicholas, and Puerto de las Piedras, to the city of Rosario,
t«-o classes of scenery present themselves : One, characteristic
of the shores of the mainland, along the western channel,
where a cliff about 150 feet high extends for miles, pre-
senting an escarped face of red clay to the river ; the other
peculiar to the low islands of the delta, where alluvial
land, generally wooded, accompanies the tedious journey
along the winding channels. Approaching Rosario the trees
on the islands become scarcer, and the traveller is con-
scious of a change in the c'imate from the cooler latitude of
the La Plata estuary. The temperature indeed at Rosario
may be said to vary only from cool to warm in the winter
time, and from hot to stifling in summer. If the traveller
arrive here in the last-mentioned season, it is more than pro-
bable h' ; first acquaintance will be with the mosquitoes — the
great d iwback to the pleasure of a cruise on the Parand. The
width of the bed occupied by channels and alluvial islands
between Rosario and Entre Rios is not less than thirty miles —
a capacious nursery for these terrible pests.

Sydney Smith, in one of his essays— namely, the " Review
of Waterton's Wanderings in South America," thus writes : —
" Insects are the curse of tropical climates. The Mte rouge lays
the foundation of a tremendous ulcer. In a moment you are
covered with ticks ; chigoes bury themselves in your flesh, and
hatch a large colony of young chigoes in a few minutes.
They will not live together, but every chigoe sets up a separate

i-r^

k •

! ml

[

4«

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEIA

ulcer, and has his own private portion of pus. Flies get entry
into your mouth, into your eyes, into your nose ; you eat flies,
drink flies, and breathe flies. Lizards, cockroaches, and
snakes get into the bed ; ants eat up the books ; scorpions
stin^i; you in the foot Everything bites, stings, or bruises.
Every second of your existence you are wounded by some
piece of animal life that nobody has ever seen before, except
Swammerdam or Merian. An insect with eleven legs is
swimming in your tea-cup ; a cateriiillar, with several dozen
eyes in his belly, is hastening over your bread and butter. All
nature is alive, and seems to be gathering all her entomological
hosts to eat you up, as you are standing, out of your coat,
waistcoat, and breeches. Such are the tropics. All this recon-
ciles us to our dews, fogs, vapours, and drizzles ; to our
apothecaries rushing about
with tinctures and gargles ;
to our old British constitu-
tional coughs, sore throats,
and swelled faces."

Now, although we in
the Argentine Republic are
from eight to ten degrees
outside the Tropic of Capri-
corn, and, therefore, in a
temperate climate, we have
saiis superque of f.ch delec-
tabilities as the foregoing.
But they are all cast in the
shade by mosquitoes, of
which, by the way, the sati-
rist says nothing.

I suffered most severely
from this plague on the first
night of my voyage to the
seat of war in Paraguay, on
board the fast and commo-
dious steamer, Whiteinch, of
Glasgow, on which I em-
barked, at Rosario, on the
23rd of March, 1866. We
had before us a river voyage -
of more than 600 miles,
nearly due north, from the .

temperate towards the tropical zone, to reach the head-quarters
of the allied armies, at the junction of the Paraguay river.

At our first halting-place the steamer was anchored near
the convent of San Lorenzo, and the whole night was spent
by crew and passengers in walking to and fro on the deck ;
for sleep was impossible. A pig, which lay in a small house
forward, passed the hours grunting most piteously, from the
torture of the insatiable blood-suckers ; a young dog belonging
to the wife of the commander kept up one dismal howl the
night long ; whilst the fowls in the coojjs betrayed, by clutter-
ing and incessant fidgets, a like consciousness of their proper
roosting-time being intruded on by a remorseless enemy.

But in justice to the Parand and its pretty river scenery
I must acknowledge that mosquito monster meetings of this
kind do not take place here oftener than from about twelve to
fifteen nights during the year. From the end of April to
September — being our winter months — we have little or none
of them. j

INDIAN OIRI^— PARAGUAY,

In the course of our voyage up the river we made a short
stay at each of the two cities of Parand and Santa Fti. The
former, in the province of Entre Rios, on the left side of the
river, from which it takes its name, enjoyed the honour, from
1854 to 1861, of being the capital of the Argentine Confedera-
tion. Santa Fe is the chief town and seat of (iovemment of
the province of the same name, and is situated at a distance of
about five leagues from Parani, but on the opposite side of the
stream.

The bank of the river near Parand is formed by a line of
calcareous clifl's, composed of masses of oyster shells, along
which we sail in passing into the roadstead. From these cliflTs
lime is made for domestic purposes, and this is the only
manufacture the place boasts of. The clifis are a marine

formation of probably recent
geological age. On entering
the city the want of anima-
tion and absence of all signs
of a busy community at once
strike the observer. The road
leading up to the city is as
rugged as an Alpine pass,
being traversed by large
gullies, and encumbered with
huge paving-stones, lying all
loose in admirable disorder.
About midway on the road,
or say half a mile from the
beach, stands a great square
pile of walls, with a dome at
one end, but no roof save
the covering of a small
cupola, and vacant spaces
for about thirty large win-
dows ; the unfinished edifice
was intended at some former
period for the church of San
Pablo (St. Paul). In the
city another monument of
former greatness and present
decline is seen in the theatre,
a large edifice in which there
has been no performance for
many years past. A really elegant suite of buildings, in the
principal square, constitutes the Government house, hpving
the melancholy aspect of a deserted mansion ; a well-con-
stnicted and neatly-fitted " Camara," or Parliament Hall,
wherein the Senators and Deputies held alternate sittings
whilst the National Government was here ; a president's
palace, ojiposite the Government house, now occupied by
the bishop of the diocese ; three churches, a well-kept
cemetery in the suburbs; these constitute the principal
features of the place. I must, however, not forget that there
is a market-place, in which excellent beef and mutton can be
bf".' '.t at from three-farthings to a penny per pound. The
fe ; .jople whom one meets have on their faces a lack of
expression, and a lazy sauntering manner which betoken the
inanity of existence in this dreary place.

By law all the offices in Santa Fd, as well as shops for the
sale of merchandise, are ordered to be opened from eleven
A.M. to three p.m., yet from half-past eleven to one o'clock is,

A VISIT TO PARAGUAY DURING THE WAR.

in fact, the only time of day in which access to them is other
than problematical. If your business be with a notary
public, and nothing more than his signature is required, ten
chances to one he will gaze at you over his Mate cup, from
which he is sucking Verba tea, and tell you to call " minina"
(to-morrow). Stopping at an hotel, no surprise will be felt or
expressed at your coming in during any hour of the night, or
up to five o'clock in the morning. But if you leave your bed
between six and seven a.m., with the intention of talcing a
morning walk, you are set down as a madman. And this, too,
notwithstanding that the time of day just mentioned is the
most salutary as well as agreeable for out-of-door exercise. As
early as half-past seven o'clock the Indian and negro servants,
with the washerwomen, go to mass to the Jesuits' chapel. A
like ceremonial at nine, in the same place of worship, is
attended by the more indolent and aristocratic, chiefly the
female portion of the community. Breakfast continues from
ten to eleven a.m., or a little after, when something almost too
dreamy to be called business is begun. This is terminated at
one o'clock, when, after a " Mat^," every person takes siesta.
During this period, which lasts from one till four p.m., no one
is supposed to be out in the sun. Siesta time being over, in
summer especially, nearly half the city's population go to bathe
in a pellucid branch of the Parani, having a sandy bottom,
that flows at the distance of about 300 yards from the
principal plaza. At five o'clock comes dinner-time, and at seven
P.M. another service in the Jesuits' chapel. To this succeed
lotteries, tertulias (dancing parties), more imbibing from a
matd-ciip, cigarrita smoking, with, perhaps, a little strolling
about for visiting purposes. The dancing parties are often
kept up until daybreak, and these may be said to constitute
the chief features of Paranh liveliness. Even the clock of
the matriz (parish) church partakes of the general somnolence,
for when it comes to the meridian or midnight, from five to ten
minutes seem to the unaccustomed ear as being occupied in
striking out the hour.

Re-embar'^ing in the steamer, and ascending the river, the
appearance of San Pablo church, as viewed from the deck, is
somewhat imposing — its pillared portico and dome having quite
an attractive aspect We coast along by high cliffs, pass the
Saladero (beef-salting station) of Senor Carbo, and skirt the
mouth of Las Conchas river, which falls into the Parand at a
distance of about five leagues above our starting point this
morning. Then we pass more high cliffs, on the level ground
adjacent to which I recognise some houses of the residents in
the German colony of Villa de Urquiza.

A remarkable difference in the scenery of the river banks
is observed as we go along. In Buenos Ayres and Santa 76
provinces, where we have lofty banks, they are invariably per-
pendicular ; whereas in Entre Rios, by which we are now
passing, they are bluff, sloping, and furrowed by ravines. As
we proceed, the country, where visible behind the declivities,
is glistening with verdant plains, alternating with luxuriant
woods. But no sign of humanity, of cows, horses, sheep, or
other living thing, biped or quadruped, is present anywhere.

Ten leagues above Parand city we come to a small bight in
the river, and hence can be seen the house (a large whitewashed
one) on an estancia, called " El Cerrito (the little hill)." This
is a farm of thirty-six leagues in extent, which belonged to
some Englishman, of whose name I am ignorant, who died
a few years ago in Monte Video. The district of Antonio

Thomas is passed at eighteen leagues from Parani Plenty
of cattle are here seen on the plains ; for we are now entering
the milk and clieese districts. Washed clothes, drying on
shrubs near the few houses, give evidence of our being still
within the bounds of civilisation ; for the institution of wash-
ing is not yet appreciated by the Indian or Gaucho population
on the banks of the Parani

To-day (25th March) we met and passed one of the floating
rafts of tim'ijer, called in Spanish balsas, and in the Guarani
language aiiguda, with a family of men, women, children, and
dogs on board. These rafts consist chiefly of timber destined
for corrals, or cattle enclosures, and firewood — being sold at
Parand, Rosario, San Nicholas, and other towns lower down
the river. At three leagues south of La Paz there is a small
stream, Arroyo Seco (the dry rivulet), which at this point
debouches into the Parand. No variety of vegetation or of
landscape features can be seen as we ascend ; but autumn-
tints are everywhere.

La Paz has the appearance of a good- sized comfortable
town, as we approach. It is built on a slope, the summit
of which, in the background, is about 200 feet above the
level of the river. The first thing that attracts one's notice
here, is a large, square, walled-in cemetery. As there were
neither ships, steamers, nor boats in the roadstead when we
passed, oAe must infer that the trade of this district- is rather
limited.

, One league higher up is a small island, dotted over with
crosses, that mark the graves of many Brazilian soldiers and
sailors who died and were buried here about six months pre-
viously, when their squadron, then on its way to fight the
Paraguayans, was anchored near it Further on we pass many
sailing vessels, the majority of them aground, laden with coals
and other supplies for the allied armies at the seat of war. We
found the river here unusually low for this season of the year.

Steaming along, we pass by the Espinillo, or Guaiquiraro
river, that separates the province of Entre Rios from that of
Corrientes. At the mouth of this stream is an island named
after Garibaldi, who, some thirty years ago, had a great fight
near the spot, with the celebrated Admiral Brown. The
Admiral, although an Irishman, was at the time in the service
of Buenos Ayres. Garibaldi's schooner was aground, when he
was attacked by Brown with three vessels, and although having
but one ship against such unequal odds, he fought during the
best part of a day, cutting up his chains for shot, when this latter
was expended ; but all his ammunition becoming exhausted,
he could no longer continue the fight. As night came on,
therefore, he, with all his crew, retreated to the town of Esquina,
in Corrientes province, and about ten leagues above the
embouchure of the Guaiquiraro.

On the evening of the day that we passed Garibaldi's island,
our steamer was anchored opposite Esquina. All communica-
tion from the Parand to the town, a league distant, is made
by the river Corrientes, which here enters the main stream,
after a long course through the province from its fountain-head
in the great lake Ybera. At the lower angle of the Cor-
rientes there is a small wooden house, erected on wooden
piles, which serves as a waiting-room for passengers bound to
or from Esquina, and up or down the river by packet steamers.
Every night since we started the mosquito plague comes on
as regularly as the sun goes down. I am told by Captain
Lablache, the commander of the vessel, that up this river there

ILLUSTRA'lEU TRAVELS,

is a spcries of bat or nocturnal bird, called the mosiiuito hawk,
which often comes iii hundreds round a ship to feed on
these tormenting insects. How I should welcome a countless
army of those deliverers now ! In several of the river craft,
either at anchor or fastened to trees on the islands, I can see
the sailors sleeping for protection in extemporisetl hammocks
up in the rigging, tied by arms and legs to the cross-trees of
their vessels, for in no other way can they escape the bu/zing
serenade and torment of these incurable plagues.

From La Pa,; to Goya, a distance of 135 miles, our voyage

at us from the bank of some islet, as the sound of our paddle-
wheels disturbs his slumbers ; whilst a screaming parrot, a
<rane, or a carancha,* is the only sign of bird life that is visible.
.\nd these few manifestations of life serve but to make the
solitude more oppressive. The sun pours down its fiercest
rays on the muddy waters, unniffled, save by the sieamcr'j
motion. On several of the islands are skeleton trees, stripped
of their leaves, bark, and branches, by the fetid ejectamenta
of a bird called the bigma,t which roosts on them at night
Bunches of tall guinea-grass seem at a distance to resemble

I' >♦

1;'

I ■:

! f

MARKlil I'EOl'LE— U.N rnii I'AK.VN.t.

is continued amongst low marshy islands, on some of which,
however, lofty trees abound. Hut the silence and desolation of
these i)laces are appalling. N'o noise of bird, or beast, or
living thing ; so that the war scream of a wild Indian, or
the howl of a tiger, would be almost a relief to the oppressive
listlessness of the long day. Bright yellow and scarlet flowers
are frequently seen, glittering, ns it were, on the vivid green
network of climbing convolvuli that clothe the tree trunks.

Now and then a lazy caqiincha,* a sort of colossal amphi-
bious guinea-pig, with coarse bristly hair, casts a sleepy glance

• The rarpincha or caliiai, is the llydioclurrus (apybaia of I.inn;vus.

while houses; but as we approach and recognise what they
are, we have in the disajipointment a culmination of the dis-
tressing influences which the whole scenery is calculated to
produce.

On the night of the 27th of March our steamer anchored
opposite the lower mouth of the San CJeronimo branch of the
Parand, and close to the Yaguarate district of the Gran Chaco.

A few years ago I had occasion to travel some hundred

miles through the solitudes of this vast unreclaimed tract of

I • The vullure hawk, or Falco Ilrazilknsis,

. t This is some kind of carrion crow, or tiukcy buzzard.

A VISIT TO PARACiUAY DURING THE WAR.

Argentine territory. The Gran Chaco lies to the west of tlie
Parand and Paraguay riveii, and is nearly twice the size of
France. Its surface consists of woods, alternating with jilains
and dry riverbeds, with occasional salt lakes. The Indian in
his wild state is as yet its only human inhabitant, but so little
able is he to profit by iiis splendid domain that his numbers
have gradually decreased under the influence of wars and

the bravest cannot divest himself, that at any time in the day
or night he may licar the Indian war-whoop, and be scalped by
those merciless savages before he has time to defend himself.
Everything speaks of the savagery of the place, and tends to
scare one. The relics of toldas— Indian huts— seen here,
there, and everywhere ; the troojis of wild horses ; the frequent
flittinjj by of flocks of American ostriches {Ji/tea Americana) ;

liNDIANS OF THE GRAN CHACO,

famine, and several tribes have disappeared since the country
has been known. I was told by General Don Antonio
T^boada, that the fighting Indians of the Gran Chaco do not
now exceed 300 in number, and that these are gradually
sinking under misery and disease.

Although no striking scenes of picturesque beauty are to be
met with in the Gran Chaco, still there are associations con-
nected with my visit thereto that will make it live in my
memory. First, is the feeling of being an intruder on the
territory of wild Indians, and with it a consciousness, whereof

the screams of the parrot and the carancha ; the nocturnal
chirping of millions of insects ; the glaring appearance of its
large white plains of salt or saltpetre, deposited by water that
has evaporated under long-continued drought, or the diversion
of the river-beds ; and the absence of anything like a purling
stream — these are its chief noticeable characteristics.

One of the old Spanish writers, describing the Indians of
the Gran Chaco, gives a very curious account of the marriage
ceremonies and marriage laws observed by the Mocovi tribe,
whose head-quarters are not far from Yaguarate.

!;i

til

ILLUSTRATED TRAVKLS.

The preliminary business in the important event of a wed-
ding is very simple. The young Indian being smitten, pro-
jioses to tlie father of his tharnier- for she has no voice or
will m the matter. If he be accepted, the suitor is invited
to stop during the night succeeiling the asking at the house
of his intended bride. Next morning he is sent off to kill
or ratch alive a deer, ostrich, or wild pig, which he is to
bring to his lady love, as a jjroof that he i." expert in the chase,
and as an assurance that he is capable of providing for the l
material wants of his future household. On his return with
the game, the mother of his charmer takes the bridle and
recado (saddle) from his horse, and deposits them on the
spot where he is expected to construct his rancho (dwelling),
and the marriage settlement is concluded.

On the first night the newly-wedded pair sleep on a horse's
or mare's skin, with their heads towards the west ; and the
marriage is not considered as perfectly ratified until the sun
shines on their feet the following morning.

Cases, however, will present themselves, even in unsophisti-
cated Indian life, where the marriage tie becomes irksome.
After regrets, incompatibility of temper, and other causes, lead
to coolness and inconstancy, and the faithless husband goes
wooing elsewhere. Hence arises the necessity of a divorce
court and laws to meet the contingency. The problem is
solved by the Indian with originality and extreme simplicity.
The restoration of nuptial harmony with the original wife being
difficult, the peccant swain is admitted as a member of his new
father-in-law's family, and security is required that he abandons
his first wife altogether, to obviate the continuance of the
double bond. This proposal is looked ui)on as a declaration
of war between the families of the two ladies. A cojncil of
Caciques is summoned, but only to legalise the form of giving ,

their august sanction to a single combat between the two
women. The truant who is the cause of all stands by as
a spectator, with folded arms, and is obliged, according to
the established law, to take for his wife ever after whomso-
ever becomes the victor.

All the women amongst the Chaco Indians ride hordes
straddle-leg fashion .-xs men do, and carry behind them a large
plume of ostrich feathers, fa.stened round the loins. This
presents a curious appearance when their horses are at full
gallop over the breezy plains.

Some of the islands past which we steam on the fifth day of
our voyage (March 28th) are perfect masses of arborescence.
As we are now rapidly approaching the tropic of Capricorn
vegetation becomes more luxuriant, and palm trees are
noticeable amongst the rounded outlines of the forest. The
mosquitoes have been entirely absent for the last two nights,
but in their stead we have in abundance a species of fly with
dark green body and small black head, which settles upon
any exposed part of 's body, and if undisturbed, drives its
sucking apparatus He flesh and imbibes its fill. Their

heads are bent do^ ■ task, whilst their tails are elevated,

and they are thoroughly absorbed in their work. They have
no further resemblance to mosquitoes, and belong to the
species classed by naturalists under the genus Simiitium.

On one of the islands in this passage the trees are filled
with the nests of a species of troupial, a gregarious bird,
which resembles in its habits our familiar rooks at home.
As we sailed past I fancied myself back again amongst boy-
hood's scenes, with crows cawing and caracolling over some
old rookery. Thus, reminiscences and associations connected
with the distant northern land are unexpectedly stined up in
one's mind in the remote streams of South America !

yl yoiirney in Alaska, formerly Russian America.

BV FREDERICK WHVMPER.

T:'E rapid progress of the Pacific coasts of America is one
of the events of our time. Only the other day the United
States Government purchased from the Russians a semi-arctic
country, for which it would have been nearly impossible to
obtain a bid ten years ago. Yet " Alaska " — as Russian
America is in future to be entitled — will, in the hands of
its new and more energetic owners, add one more resource
of importance to the many which are fast building up San
Francisco as the " metropolis cf the Pacific."

Less than a hundred years ago, so little was known of
the coast of Alaska that the long peninsula (Aliaska) from
which it derives its name was laid down on published maps
as an island. Yet its history goes back earlier in some
respects than does that of the neighbouring British and
American territories. There was a Russian setdement on
Kodiak four years before there were any whites on Van-
couver Island; and Sitka, the present capital, was founded
nearly a dozen years before Astoria. Immediately after the
voyages of the unfortunate Behring and his companions —
who, by-the-by, showed no great desire to remain in Russian
America — many Russian merchants of Siberia fitted out

trading expeditions, and, in "ten years," says Coxe, their
historian, " more important discoveries were made by these
individuals, at their own private cost, than had been hitherto
effected by all the expensive efforts of the Crown." Our
naval explorers^from Cook and Vancouver to Moore, Kellet,
CoUinson, and McClure— have all done more or less towards
the exploration of its coasts ; while Zagoskin, of the Russian
Imperial navy, Lisiansky, Kotzebue, and Liitke, have all
assisted in clearing away the mists which encompassed the
country. Russia, in fact, cared litde for her colony, and
virtually gave it into the hands of the Russian American Fur
Company, who held it precisely as our Hudson's Bay Com-
pany held thtir vast territories.

The announcement of the recent transfer of Alaska to
the United States Government gave rise to almost as much
surprise among the American people as it did in Europe,
and it met with much opposition and ridicule. Still, there
is a large and growing belief in the United States that,
sooner or later, the northern continent must become one
vast republic, and the purchase eventually acquired some
favour as seen fi-om that point of view. The comic journals.

A JOURNEY IN ALASKA, FORMERLY RUSSIAN AMERICA.

and, indeed, the daily newspapers, would not for a long time
let it alone. Such illustrations as Mr. " Excelsior," with the
national banner

" .Still clinuing to his hand of ice,"

and mounting the North I'ole, a white bear waiting at the
bottom of it for that enthusiastic explorer; allusions to the
possibility of deriving some benefit from the purchase, by
towing ice-bergs to San Francisco ! mock advertisements,
purporting to come from the Secretary of State, oftering the
highest price for "waste lands and worn-out colonies," "sub-
merged and undiscovered islands," " polar bears, volcanoes,
and earthquakes— provided they shoulil not shake the con-
fidence of the State Department "—were common enough for
some time. The country was often styled " Walrus-sia—
the Fur Nor'-West" But much of this has passed away;
and the Ann - ans have already commenced to develope the
resources of me country. The fur trade, of course, falls into
their hands; and, as the purchase includes all the Aleutian
Islands, and particularly the Island of St. Paul'-s, in Behring
Sea, which, latterly, was more profitable to the Fur Company
than any other part of their possessions, they have at once
something definite for their money. Kodiak, to the south-
east of the Peninsula of Aliaska, which yields the ice used in
California and adjacent coasts, is a part of the acquisition.
The cod fishery banks off the Aleutian Isles, the salmon of
all its rivers, and the coal known to exist, arc all thrown
into the bargain.

Sitka, or New Archangel — formerly the head-quarters of
the Russian American Fur Company— is the present capital,
and in truth is the only town in the country. It is situated
on the thickly-wooded, mountainous Baranoff Island, and has
a fairly sheltered harbour. The (late) governor's house is on
a rocky height overlooking the town, and the antiquated
wooden buildings, the oriental style of the Greek church, and
the old hulks, used as magazines, propped up by the rocks
on the bay, combine to give it an original and picturesque
appearance. On an island facing Sitka is a large extinct
volcano— ^Mount Edgcumbe — a prominent landmark for the
port Sitka has a terrible climate. " Rain ceases only when
there is a good prospect of snow." But the thermometer rarely
falls below 20" Fahrenheit at this southern part of the coast.
The larger part of the territory boasts a truly arctic climate.

The grand natural highway — the main artery for the whole
of Alaska — is the Yukon River, a stream upwards of 2,000 miles
in length. If the reader will glance at any good recent map of
North America, he will observe in its north-west comer a large
river, indicated and known as the Kwichpak, which, by means
of many straggling, wide-spread mouths, falls into Behnng
Se?u Further in the interior he will find a stream marked as
the Felly, or Yukon, one which, not so very long ago, was
believed to fall into the Arctic Ocean ; and again, between ti.e
former and the latter, he will probably discover, laid down in
dotted lines, "Supposed course of the Yukon." The Russo-
American Telegraph Expedition, on which the writer recently
served, made some important explorations in that district, and
he was enabled to travel over 1,200 miles of its course, besides
visiting a part of the neighbouring territory. It is necessary
to be thus particular in indicating its locality, as some have
supposed tlie Yukon was, from its name, a Chinese river.

We were landed from our vessels on the 30th of September,
1866, at the Russian post of St. Michael's (situated on an island

of volcanic origin in Norton Sound, Bchring Sea), and imme-
diately proceeded by sea to a ^c(ond post in th<, same loialily,
and about sixty miles north i>r the former. From the latter
there is a land route direct to the Yukon. Over this we
travelled with dog-sledgcs, walking ourselves on sncw-shots,
and having much trouble with the sledges on the recently-
fallen snow. Although the temjieraturc was frequently below
zero, we managed to make ourselves fairly comfortable in our
evening camps, where, after clearing a space in the snow, we
spread a layer of fragrant fir-brush, and raised an immense
log fire. The whole of this portion of Alaska, excepting
only the coasts, is more or less wooded with spruce, birch,
or willow. On many occasions we camped in the natives'
underground houses, and were several times glad of their
shelter, in spite of their dirt, smoke, and unpleasant odours.
We reached the Yukon on the 9th of November. About
noon on that day we could see, from a slight eminence —
where we had halted to give our dogs and selves breathing-
time — a streak of blue over the forest, in advance of us.
We travelled hard to reach it, and, just as the sun was sinking
below the horizon — bathing even that frigid scene in a flood
of glory — we emerged from the woods, shot down a bank, and
found ourselves standing on an immense snow-clad field of ice
— the mighty Yukon I Hardly a patch of clear ice was to be
seen ; all was covered by a spotless wintry mantle, and only an
occasional short space of water still open showed us that it
was a river at all. Here and there fields of hummocks, forced
on the surface before the stream had become so fixedly frozen,
were strewed wildly and irregularly around. So large a river
is the Yukon that we instinctively compared it with the
Mississippi. At that moment it was a great, unbroken high-
way of ice and snow for 2,000 miles. At the point where we
first saw it it was not less than a mile wide from bank to
bank; while, as we afterwards discovered, it opens out into
lagoons four or five miles in width. Its tributaries would be
large rivers in Europe ; and there is some excuse for the
proud boast of a native of its banks, speaking of his people
— " We are not savages, we are Yukon Indians."

At Nulato, the most northern and interior of all the
Russian posts, we spent the remainder of the winter. During
our stay there the thermometer registered as low as minus
58° Fahr., or ninety degrees below freezing. Yet at that time
nature was in perfect repose ; no wind blew nor snow fell.
We did not feel the cold so much as on other occasions. The
wind, when accompanied by great cold, is man's worst enemy
in all arctic climates. The Russians at SL Michael's, once,
during the prevalence of a terrible wind storm, were horrified
at the arrival of a dead Indian sitting erect on his sledge.
Unable to stop his dogs, the poor fellow had evidently jumped
on, and had probably become frozen to death in a few minutes.
Such incidents are rare, though we met many Indians with
faces badly seared, and minus parts of their ears and noses.

An ingenious mode of fishing is adopted on the Yukon.
Fish-traps are let down under the ice, through holes in the
frozen surface of the river, kept open by frequent breaking.
It is also a common thing to see the Indians, early in the
season, seated by a sm?.!! hole on the ice, pulling up the fish
by dozens with a line and hook.

The duration of winter in Northern Alaska is about two-
thirds of the year, if one counts the period during which the
rivers are frozen up and the ground is snow-covered. Yet,

^ i

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

early in April, the th-.-rmometer rose above freezing-point,
and, of course, the t.;- i\v commenced to thaw. Later, it
again got colder. The Yukon did not break up till late in
May. Its smaller tributaries were the first to move, and
some of them ran out on the icy surface of the greater river.
On the i«)th of May the first real break-up of the Yukon
commenced, and for days aftcnvards we could see and
hear from our staHon the ice grinding and crashing on its
way ; now piling up into moimtains as it met with some
obstacle ; now breaking all bounds, carn-ing trees and banks
before it, on its passage to the sea. 'Ihe river rose some
fourteen feet above its winter level.

On the 20th of Mav, Mr. Dall — my companion for this
journey — and myself started, with some Indians, to ascend
the stream. We were accompanied, for part of the trip, by
the Russian traders of Xulato. Our crafts were two "bai-
darres," or skin canoes. The river was still full of floating
ice and logs, and we soon found that we had embarked on
a dangerous enterprise. It was specially difficult to get
round the bends and angles of the river ; great natural rafts,
o." trees, branches, ice. and debris, came whirling and sweep-
ing along at si.x or seven knots an hour, nor could we ever
reckon on their covirse. One man of our number always stood
in the bows of the canoe, armed with a pole, to push off
these floating masses. We saw large trees pass under the
Russians' canoe, and lift it momentarilj- out of the water ;
we felt the same under our own. It was not " a plank "
l)et\'een us and destruction, but simply a piece of seal-skin.
The Russians once gave in, completely beaten. We, how-
. ;r, steered through the nimbersome masses of ice and
logs, now having to piaddle for dear life, now stopping and
drilL;r<5 down, to let some floating tangle of trees, with their
long roots stickii.g up in the air, pass on their way. But,
though we had many a close shave, we were enabled to
cross the stream, where it was at least a mile wide, and get
into quieter water. Our Muscovite friends would not attempt
it that day at all.

'I'he Yukon might fairly be called the " River of a thou-
sand islands." Some of the smaller ones were at this early
season entirely submerged ; we floated over some of the
lesser tree-tops. The lower part of the river abounds in low
islands, sand-banks, and long stretches of flat countr)' ; the
upper Yukon passes through gorges with castellated crags
and rocky bluffs. There the stream is much more narrow,
is deeper, and more rapid. As soon as the water had fallen
sufficiently, we " tracked " from the banks, or even from the
shallow water, making our Indians act as tow-h<irses. Occa-
sionally we were enabled to sail, but it took a decided
breeze to give us any ad\antage against the strong downward
current. Our journey from Xulato to Fort Yukon — a distance
of 600 miles — occupied us twenty-six days, ascending the
stream. ^Ve returneil down the same ])art of the river in less
than a fourth of that time ; and our trip from Fort Yukon
down the entire length of the river to its mouths, a"d round
by the sea-coa.st to St. Michael's — a di.stance of neariy 1,300
miles — was made by us in fifteen dr.ys and a half

The Indians of the Yukon are, perhaps, the most un-
srsphisticated of any yet remaining on the globe. They paint
their faces in stripes and patterns, wear elaborately worked
bells, fire-bags, &c., and very commonly adopt a garment with
a double tail, one hanging down in front of the belly, the other

— where a tail ought to be ! Long ornaments, made of the
"hya-qua" shell, worn nmning through the nose, are fre-
quently seen. On the lower part of the river the women use
such ; on the Upper Yukon it is the men exclusively who
follow the same mode. Among the natives of the Tanana
(a tributary of the Yukon) it is very fiishionable to wear large
patches of clay covered with small fluffy feathers, at the back
of their long matted hair, and a large feather is frequently
stuck in the same. The larger part of the Yukon tribes difter
very considerably from the coast peoples of North Alaska.
The latter may be briefly described as "large Esquimaux."
" Medicine-making " is practised among the fonner tribes. At
Newicargut, an Indian village on the great river, we had an
op])ortunity of seeing it performed over a sick man. A circle
of natives surrounded the invalid, and kept up a monotonous
chorus, while the operator himself, singing a kind of weird,
imeartlily recitative, attitudinised, gesticulated, groaned, and
frothed at the mouth. Now he appeared to draw the evil
spirit from the sick man, and wrestling with it throw it
violently on a fire, which burnt on the ground in the centre of
the group ; now it had possession of him, and he ran wildly
about, as though but recently escaped from a lunatic asylum.
But he had chosen a good time for his exhibition ; it was
twilight ; the overhanging *-ees, the solemn chorus, the dim
fire, and the fantastic forms of the sa.ages thrown out into
fleep shade on one side, with the fitful reflections from the
flames on their painted animal laces on the other, m.ide a
thoroughly sensational affair of what would, othenvise, h.^ve
appeared a farce. At length the cnorus grew louder and
livelier, the performance generally assumed a gayer tinge ;
the man was supposed to be dis])ossessed, and he hobbled
from the scene.

We found by experience that night and early morning
were the best times to travel dunng the brief but very warm
summer of these latitudes. We had the thermometer ranging as
high as 80° Fahr. in the r>hade, on the Yukon, and mosquitoes —
a greater curse than the cold of winter — were out in full force ;
even the natives have to keep small fires burning in all
directions round their camps, and commonly take bowls fiill of
smouldering ashes or smol'.ing sticks in their canoes to keep
them off. There is, however, one compensating advantage. The
moose-deer, an animal abundant on the river, unable to stand
the mosquitoes' inflictions, flies from the woods, plunges into
tl.^ rivers, where it can keep little but its nose out of water —
and not always that — and becomes consequently a prey to the
first hunter who appears upon the scene. The natives often
manage to stab mfose in the water from their birch bark
canoes. We shot several. The nose of a moose, when cleaned
and gently stewed, is most delicious.

The limits of this article will not permit of any allusion
to the Russian and Hudson'.! Bay Company's posts, the fiir
trade, and many kindred stibjects. But this is of small con-
setiuence ; any account of such would only appear a repetition
of an oft-told tale. I live in hopes that the Yukon, and many
other large rivers of Russian America, may receive a complete
investigation at the hands of the United States Government.
The interior cf Russian America is a new and a fresh field for
the geographer, naturalist, and ethnologist, and on thorough
exploration it will very likely be found that the country is not
inferior to the neighbouring territory of British Columbia in
mineral wealth.

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF MADAGASCAR.

■3

■m

RICE-rOUNDING.

»&

t4 Bird's-eye View of Madagascar.

FROM THE FRENCH OF M. D. CHARNAY.

CHAPTER IV.

tAKK NOSSI-BF -WOSSI-MAI.AZA— THE VIIXAGE CHIEF AND HIS FAMILY
— A MA' i,A'-SE INTERIOR — MANNERS OF THE INHAIIITANTS.

Lake Nossi-Be, which we had now to cross, is from six to
eight miles in length, but somewhat less in breadth, so that
both sides arc in sight when traYeUing along it. The fresh
south-east wind raises a heavy sea on its surface, and the
passage in canoes is not without risk. The native often sees
his light skiff, with its cargo of rice, sink to the bottom, while
he is fortunate if he can escape the jaws of the crocodile, and
swim safely to land. The size of our boats prevented our
feeling any danger, but our journey across was most disagree-
able, and we were drenched with rain, and in a miserable
plight, when we reached the island of Nossi-Malaza (the Island
of Delight).

This island is near the southern extremity of the lake, and
at about equal distance from either bank. It is not far from
twelve hundred yards in length, and several hundred feet in
width. The village stands in the centre. To the north of it
there is a large tract of meadow land, at the end ot which lies
the burial-place of the inhabitants. The south-east part of
the island is beautifully wooded. Our reception here was
similar to that at Ambavarano, the same simple ceremohies,
the kabar, the interchange of presents, and the speeches. But

VOL. I.

the huts are larger and better, the women much handsomer
and more graceful, and the general appearance of conifort and
ease formed an agreeable contrast to the wretched picture
we had seen on the previous evening.

We will now give our readers some idea of the manners
and mode of life of the natives. The Madegasse of the coast
is of a gentle and timid disposition, faitiiful and devoted. As a
matter of course, he acknowledges the superiority of the white
man — the Vasa appears to him as a master who is entitled to
obedience. Full of admiration as they are of our knowledge
and power, we cannot but feel surprised that we have made
so little progress amongst a people so well disposed to receive
u . '"'■' Madegasse willingly accepts the yoke of servitude.
'i"he varied and light tasks of domestic life suit his tastes, and
he is very grateful for the little favours which he receives from
his Tiaster in their daily intercourse. Delighting in active
life, and indefatigable in any employment that suits him, he
will paddle a canoe the whole day, in sunshine or rain, with-
out apparent fatigue ; he particularly enjoys the motion of the
tacon, and will carry you from daybreak till evening, and then,
forgetting his fatigue, will join his companions in choruses,
when the wild music of their bamboo instruments seems to
invigorate his bronzed frame. But he cannot endure regular
labour, accustomed as he is to supply his simple wants without
forethought or difficulty. The Madegasse is gracefully and

TTT

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

', ■ }

'1 i

t ;

If :

li I

; f

almost femininely formed, his face is beardless, and he wears
his long hair in braids, like the women, and when seated
basking in the sun, clad in his lamba, it is difficult to distin-
guish him from a woman. The women, without possessing
absohite beauty, which is rare everywhere, have a pleasing
physiognomy, and are generally well-made. We give an illus-
tration on page 52 of a woman of Tamatave with her children
which may be considered a fair representation of the ladies
of the place. The Madegasse women all dress in much the
same way. The hair is divided into regular squares, and care-
fully plaited, which gives a very neat appearance to the head,
very unlike its natural condition of a great tuft of frizzled hair.
The petticoat or skirt worn by the rich is of muslin — amongst
the poorer class it is of common cloth ; the body, which is
of ditferent material, is called a caiiezou^a. native term — and
the loose drapery wrapped round the shoulders is called the
simbou, which is of cotton or silk, according to the social
position of the wearer. The older children wear trousers, in
imitation of the European custom ; the younger wear only the
lamba, a kind of cotton shawl, with a coloured fringe, wl..ch is
the usual dress of the men. When travelling, the native takes
oft' this garment, which he carries in a bundle, and wears only
the laiigoiiti, which is merely a small piece of stuff fastened
round the loins. Tlie manufactures of Madagascar are of a
very simple character. The natives weave various kinds of
stuffs from ])alm leaves ; the coirsest is used for making bags,
p.ickages, &c. ; the finest, which is really a superior material, is
worn by the women, and makes excellent hats, but it is only
to be seen in small qu.nntities. They plait mats of rushes, with
which they carpet their rooms. A few of these, ornamented
with elegant patterns, are exported as curiosities.

With regard to agriculture, the Madegasse understands
nothing but the cultivation of rice; and in spite of his laziness
and the little encouragement which he meets with, the east
coast, within a distaiiis of a hundred leagues, from Mananzari
in the south to Maranzet in the north, annually exports 4,300
tons of rice. When we come to the subject of the Hovas,
we shall describe the native produce of Madagascar adapted
to commerce.

As regards morals, the Madegasscs have really none. Being
under no civil regulations, and their religion being confined to
a few peculiar sujierstitions, we can scarcely apjily the name
of marriage to their unions, which are unauthorised by either
Church or State, and are formed and broken at pleasure. In
the north there are some traces of Arab customs, and a more
developed religious system. Amongst diese islanders plurality
of wives is a rule. Each chief has at least three — first, the
vade-be, the legitimate wife, whose children are his heirs ■
second, the vade-massaye, whom the husband repudiates when
she is past the [jrinie of her youth and beauty ; and the
vade-sindrangnon, a slave, who receives her freedom when she
becomes a mother. The younger sisters of these tiiree wives
also belong to the husband until they are themselves married.
When a woman passes to another home, she leaves her chil-
dren, who are treated by her successor with the same affection
as her own. This seems natural in a country where adojition
often takes the place of paternity. Jealousy is unknown,
and though they have not the same degree of paternal affec-
tion usual amongst u.s, still family ties are strongly felt by
them. I have scr.i a woman in violent paroxysms of grief
because her adopted daughter liad been poisoned by tan^hin

fruit, and attempt to seize some of it herself, exclaiming that
she wishec' to die with her child.

If one of the members of a family fall ill, all work for
the time is suspended. Every one busies himself— some in
seeking for herbs, others in looking into the nature and cause
of the malady, and endeavouring to eftect a cure ; and, in the
meantime, the friends occupy themselves in attending to the
household affairs. If the invalid becomes worse, the relatives
nnd friends come to condole with the family. This display
of affectionate grief extends even to the slaves, who consider
themselves as children of the house. They eat at the same
table, and are treated in every respect as members of the
family ; it is even difficult for a stranger to distinguish between
them, as in their language they call the master and mistress of
the house "father" and "mother."

Here, as in all other parts of the world, sterility in a woman
is looked upon as a reproach to her, and it apjjears to me to
be very common amongst the Madegasses, no doubt on account
of the prevalence of polygamy. If a woman wishes for children,
and is afraid of not having any, she consults sorcerers, invokes
spirits, or has recourse to the following superstition ; — She
chooses a stone of a peculiar shape, which can be easily dis-
tinguished from others, and places it on the road to the village,
in some spot favoured by the spirits. If this stone, after a
fixed time, is found in the same spot and position in which it
was placed by the inquirer, it is considered a sign that her
wishes have been favourably answered. This innocent practice
is constantly followed in Madagascar, and oue sometimes meets
with great piles of these stones.

The occasional cruel treatment of their offspring forms a
frightful contrast to the quiet and gentle manners of the
Madegasses, and, above all, to this craving after maternity.
When children are bom under a bad influence, they are aban-
doned ; or, in order to redeem their lives, as it is thought, they
must submit to such frightful ordeals as in nearly all cases
prove fatal. Circumcision is practised at Madagascar, but was
originally borrowed from the Arabs. The date of this impor-
tant ceremony is perpetuated by the Madegasses by means of a
wooden stake, surmounted by a number of ox-skulls, furnished
vith horns. Nearly every village possesses one of these monu-
ments. I^iich skull commemorates a fete. It is the custom
to kill an ox on the circumcision-<lay, and, as the people are
poor, and an ox for each ojjeration would be a heavy exi)ense,
they wait till several children have attained the necessary age,
in order to circumcise a batch of young Madegasses.

The ox is considered the animal of animals in Madagascar.
It is the most highly esteemed present amongst friends, and is
the kind of property most easily turned into money. The flesli,
at least by some persons, is considered sacred. The king and
the nobles alone have the right to eat the tail. The hump, an
eq\ially choice morsel, enjoys a proverbial reputation, and is, in
polite language, emjiloyed as one of the most earnest tokens
of friendship. A Madegasse will often say, " 1 wish you may
always have an ox-humj) in your mouth." The ox forms a
necessary part of all f&tes — on the occasion of a death as well
as of a birth in the household ; his head falls in sign of sorrow-
ing or rejoicing, and if it be mourning for a noble, the .sacrifices
become hecatombs. It is said that at the death of M. I)e-
lasteile, a French merchant in favour at the Hova C^ourt, eight
hundred oxen were slaughtered ; and at the death of one of the
kings upwards of three thousand were immolated, the ground

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF MADAGASCAR.

from the palace to the queen's tomb being literally covered
with carcasses, which it was impossible to avoid walking upon.

The worship of the dead appears to be the most characteristic
trait in the Madegasse religion. When a man dies, the women
make frightful lamencation. They shriek and tear their hair,
and roll about as in an agony of despair, while the men remain
calm. There is a funeral dance appropriate to the occasion,
and the ceremony, begun in tears, soon degenerates (thanks to
fermented liquors) into a sacrilegious orgie. The corpse, how-
ever, is carried with every sign of respect to its last home. At
Nossi Malaza, the cemetery occupies the northern portion of the
island. The sepulchre of the chiefs is separated from that of
the common people. They all consist of the bark of a tree, in
which the body of the deceased is enveloped, after which the
whole is enclosed in a trunk of hard wood, cut in the form of
a coffin. The pious affection of the survivors places before
each tomb expiatory offerings, consisting of a plate of rice, a
cup of betzabetza, chickens' feet, or the feathers of birds. It
apijears from this, that the Madegasses believe in the existence
of the soul.

However, the grief of the Madegasses, though very
violent, is not of !■ mg duration. They consider death m an
inevitable fate, an') therefore forget quickly, judging tears to
be useless since the evil is without nniody. Relations, never-
theless, i'''irmis1y go into mourning for the dead, from
which t' ^n only be released by a public ceremony. This
mourning >• . .1 month or more, according to the gri< f of
the family, it consists in letting the hair grow. Durinj; the
time of mourning, ui.ni. leither dress nor comb their hair,
while men abstain alike Irom shaving and w;> hing themselves,
lioth sexes present in this b..ite anything it an attractive
appearance.

In the north, in the district of Vohemaro. • Antin-
kir.is add to a great respect for tin' dead a lulnf in
metempsychosis. According to this ' rtnl, the souls of the
(hiefs pass into the bodies of croi mliles, while those of
ordinary mortals are transferred to bats. This superstition
e;tplains the incredible number of crocoiliU's, which certainly
multiply in the places where this belief is pre\ t. In these
localities the rivers swarm with them, iiri'i ^ ilangerous to
frequent the banks towards evening. At .,iit the inhabitants
are freipiently obliged to barricade their huts to guard against
the attacks of these monsters. Like the Betsimsarakas, they
have a mixture of revelling and lamentation at their funerals,
but they do not at once inter the corjwe. Placing it upon
a woollen bench, they preserve it by means of aromatics and
charcoal, frequently renewed. After several days of this treat-
ment, the decomposition of the flesh produces a putrescent
liquid, which they carefully gather into vases placed beneath
the bench ; and each person present, in memory of the dead,
rubs himself over with this liquid. When the body is dried
up, the relatives wnq) it round with bandages, and then carry
it to the place of sepulture. This disgusting custom engenders
terrible skin diseases, such as the itch, leprosy, and other
filthy disorders. It is with difficulty, however, that the inter-
vention of Europeans has in some measure induced them to
give up this horrible practice.

The Madegasse is clever by nature, and has very re-
markable literary instincts, or rather, I should say he had
formerly, for the Hova coniiuest, like all tyrannies, has left
nothing but debasement and desolation. The Betsimsarakas

are passionately fond of talking, dancing, and singing. Their
dances are wild, without fixed rule, and apparently guided by
the inspiration of the moment; ti. rice dance, of which I have
already spoken, being the only one of definite character. Their
music is poor, and their instruments primitive. There is first
the bamboo, which they strike with small sticks, and accom-
pany with clapi)ing of the hands. The lize-iize is an instniment
which has but a single chord, and yields a monotonous sound,
but the vaJia, in skilful hands, produces a pretty effect. The
valia is made of bamboo, the outer fibres of the hard tube
being separated from the wood, and stretched over bridges
of bark ; it is, in fact, a sort of circular guitar, ascending from
the lowest to the highest notes. As for their songs, the first
subject which enters their minds answers the purpose. Thv.y
take a word or phrase, "nd repeat it to a wearisome extent,
with an improvised chorus. Their chief delight is in chatting
together. They will talk for ever so long on the most fri-
volous subject, and at a pinch utter the purest nonsense. An
orator of any talent, however, is sure to find a delighted
audience. When tired of this, 1 ;ey ungraciously start an
enigma, or a charade. An example of one such will explain the
nature of the performance better than any description. " Three
men, one carrying white rice, another some tire-wood, and the
third a porridge-pot, all coming from diffcrLiu ilirections, meet
near a fountain in a barren spot, remote from any habitation.
It is noon, and none of them having yet eaten anything,
each is desirous of preparing ' meal, but they know not now
to accomplish it, sini e the o\m. ' of the rice is not owner of
the wood, nor could he claim tlie use of the porridge-pot.
However, they each contributed tlieir share, and the rice was
soon boiled. But, the moment tlie repast was ready, each
claimed the entire breakfast for himself Which of them had
the best right to the boiled rice ? " The Madegasse auditors
.ire undecided, each of the three appearing to have an equal
claim to the breakfast Here then is a fine theme for talk.
They c^ll these discussions or disputes faka-faka, and each
speaker has on such occasions a fair opportunity for disjilaying
his oratorical talents.

The native traditions abound with fables, tales ((///.cv"),
proverbs {fihabolani), charades and enigmas {fa mantatrd),
sonnets and love-songs {rahainiUihaIra). Their tales are
generally intermingled with songs, and each successive narrator
adds a little of his own. Children invariably commence with
the following iirologue : — " Tsikotoneniiieny, tsy zaho nametzy fa
olomhe t aloha nametzy, tanny ma' ■ ' mba filsiako kosa anao "
(" I do not wish to tell lies, but sui grown persons have told
lies to me, allow me also to tell lies to you.")

Some of these fables are connected with their religious
beliefs. The following may serve as fair examjjles of the
different kinds.

The First Man and the First Woman.

" God formed a man and a woman, and let them fall from
heaven all complete. The woman tempted the man and
brought forth a child.

" God then ai)peared to them, and said, ' Hitherto you have
been fed only upon herbs and fruits, like the wild beasts ; but,
if you will let me kill your child, I will create with his blood a
plant from which you will gain more strength.'

" The man and woman spent the night weeping and con-
sulting. The woman said to her husband, ' I would rather

111

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

A MAUEIIASSK WOMAN ANIi IIKR CIIILIIRKN.

God took my life tliaii that of my chikl.
gloomy ami absorbed, and said nothing.

" When morning came, (Jod appeared with a very sharp
knife, and asked what was tiieir decision.

The man was I heart, returned it to the mother, and, kneeling with liis breast
imcovered, said to God, ' Kill me, but let my child live.'

" riien God, to prove him, brandished the knife which he
held in his hand, and said to the man, ' You are gomg to die.

"The woman, seeing this formidable weapon, sharp as a Retlect, then, before I strike.' 'Strike,' replied the man; and
new sai^ak, and brilliant as a flash of lightning, exclaimed, I he neither murmured nor trembled while God flashed the
'Oh, God, take my child.' poniard in his eyes; but he only gave him a slight wound on

" But the man, on the contrary, pressed his child to his the neck, which drew a few drops of blood.

MADAGASCAR DWARF PALMS.

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

" God took this blood, and scattered it on the ground, which
caused rice to grow. He then told the man to weed it three
times before it arrived at maturity, to gather only the ears, and
to dry them in the sun and preserve them in granaries ; to
thresh them, in onler to shake out the grains ; to peel them,
in order to get rid of the husks ; and to eat only the grain,
and give the husks to the domestic animals. He then further
taught him how to cook and eat it.

"Then God said to the woman, 'The man shall be the
master of the child, because he preferred the life of the child
10 his own, and thou must submit to him.'

" This is the way that the father became the head of the
family, and men learned to eat rice."

We may probably recognise in this the Arab influence, and
a remembrance of the sacrifice of Abraham. The name of
Nossi-Ibrahim, or isle of Abraham, given to the little island of
Sainte-Marie, aflbrds some foundation for this hypothesis.

Here is another fable :

The Wild Boar and the Cayman.

" A wild boar was exploring the steep banks of a river,
where an enormous alligator amused himself searching for
prey. Warned by the grunting of the boar, the alligator moved
quickly towards him.

" ' Good morning,' said he to him.

" ' Finaritria ! Finaritria ! ' answered the boar.

"'Is it you of whom they speak so much on the land?'
asked the alligator.

" ' I am he,' replied the boar. 'And is it you who devastate
these peaceful shores?'

" ' It is I,' said the alligator.

" ' I should like to try your strength.'

" ' At your pleasure. Immediately, if you wish.'

" ' You will not stand long against my tusks.'

" ' Beware of my long teeth.'

" ' But, tell me,' said the alligator, ' what is it they call
you?'

" ' I call myself the father of those who strike without a
hatchet and dig without spades ; the prince of destruction.
And you, can you tell me what is your name ? '

" ' I am one who swells not in the water, eat if I am given
anything, and, if not, eat all the same.'

" ' Verj' well. But w liich of us is the elder ? '

'"I am,' sai<l the alligator, 'because I am the biggest and
the strongest."

" ' Wait ; we shall see that.' Saying these words, the boar,
with a sudden stroke of his tusks, hurled an enormous piece of
earth at the head of the alligator, wiio was stunned by the
blow.

" ' You are strong,' said he, as soon as he recovered. ' But
take that in return.' And, flinging a water-sjiout at the wild
boar, who was taken by surprise, sent him staggering far from
the river.

" ' I admit you to be my senior,' said the boar, getting up
again ; ' and I bum with impatience to measure my strength
with yours.'

" ' Come down, then,' said the alligator.

" ' Come up a little, and I will come dowm.'

" ' Ver)' well.'

" By tomnion consent, they ])roceeded to a jiromontory of
land, where there was only water enough to cover half the alli-

gator's body. The wild boar then gave a bound, turned roimd
opened his formidable jaws, ard, seizing a favourable moment,
oi)ened his enemy's belly from head to tail. The alligator,
gathering all his strength for one great eflbrt, and profiting by
the moment when the wild boar passed before his gaping mouth,
seized him by the neck, held him fast by his teeth, and strangled
him. So they both died, leaving undecided the question of
their comparative strength. It was from a bat, who was present
at the combat, that these details have been obtained."

Another story reminds one, in some degree, of
Fox and the Crow." It is entitled — '

'The

The Adder and the Frog.

" A frog was surprised in his frolics by his enemy the adder,
who seized him by the legs.

" ' Are you content ? ' asked the frog.

" ' Quite content,' replied tlie adder, closing his teeth.

" ' But when one is content, one opens the mouth, thus, and
says, " Content " ' (in Madegasse, iaj'o).

" ' Content,' cried the adder, opening his mouth,

" The frog, finding himself free, took flight."

The moral is, that by presence of mind one can escape
danger.

We have said that the village of Nossi-Malaza lies at some
distance from the road to Tananarivo, and, being farther from
the reach of the Hovas, enjoys a certain degree of prosperity.
The men have a well-to-do air which delighted me, and when
I visited the hut of the chief I was astonished at the abundance
which reigned there. The hut contained a bed, furnished with
fine mats. On one side of it were piles of clothes, and pieces
of stufls for mending them ; and, on the other, a large store of
rice for the use of the family. The hearth, and the various
cooking utensils, were all in one comer.

I remained three days with these amiable people, surrounded
by every care and attention. We were soon on the most affec-
tionate terms, and when I left they all accompanied me to the
shore. The oldest woman of the tribe, the wife of the old
chief, blessed me, and, as the rising waves threatened my ])oor
canoe, she extended her amis like a prophetess, praying Heaven
to appease the winds, and to bring '.he ivsa in safety to his
countr)' and his home. This was no got-up scene. It was an
unrehearsed farewell. The touching invocation of the old
woman, her prayers and vows, proveil that she sjjokc from her
heart ; and mine responded. The recclUction of that scene
will never be effaced from my memory.

CHAPTER V.

THE MONEV-noX OF THE GIANT ARAFIF— FERniNAND FICHE AND THE
llOVA SUPPER— A NIGHT IN THE PLANTATION — THE SLAVES.

QuiTTiNo Nossi-Malaza, we traversed several channels, so..ie of
which were so narrow that one could with difliculty pass through
them, whilst others were as broad as a river ; all were barred
by hurdles composed of reeds, fomiing fish preserves for the
sustenance of the inhabitants. We visited the islands dispersed
here and there. Some of them were covered with evergreen
mango-trees, surrounding the country-houses of the rich inhabi-
tants of 'I'amatave. In one of these islands, Ferdinand showed
us the money-box of the giant Arafif. This money-box is of a

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF MADAGASCAR.

round shape, thirty-six inches in diameter, furnished with a
small opening, and was left (the legend says) in this place by
the giant Aafif, a powerful king of the North, to whom is attri-
buted a multitude of mighty deeds. It is very old, and was
probably left on these siiores by pirates. Be that as it may, the
credulity of the natives has converted a venerable relic into an
object of sanctity, and the spot where it lies has become a
place of pilgrimage. Every jierson passing in the neighbour-
hood useil to go out of his way in order to |)lace an offering in
the sacretl money-box. The treasure thus gradually increased,
and when the fetish contained within its sides a tolerable
sum of money, the sacrilegious Hovas broke open the box
and took possesion of its contents. At the present day it
lies disembowelled, like a dried pum|)kin. The faithful still
come, however, on pilgrimage, lavishing upon their violated
fetish newer and more innocent offerings. The ground :!!
around is strewed with the feet of fowls, the horns of oxen,
little morsels of cloth, and joints of reeds full of betzabetza.
These valueless offerings are not of sufficient worth to tempt
the cupidity of unbelievers, and so lie scattered about near
the money-box, imparting to the spot an air of desolation. We
piously picked up one of these offerings, to keep as a remem-
brance of the inconstancy of man, and the frailty of their
belief

From the isle of Papay, where we found the money-box,
we passed into the river Yvondrou, which we had quitted
some days before, and which it was necessary to ascend again
in order to reach Soamandrakisai. The banks of this river are
flat, and devoid of vegetation. The heat was oppressive. A
five days' journey quite exhausted us, .and we arrived eager for
rest Soamandrakisai is a large establishment for the manu-
facture of aguardiente, originally established by M. Delastelle,
and of which Ferdinand Fiche is now the director. As by
the Hova laws, and the decree of Ranavalo, no stranger can
possess any land in Madagascar, the business was made a sort
of partnership between M. Delastelle and the Queen. The
Queen found the ground, five hundred slaves, and the mate-
rials ; M. Delastelle gp.ve his time and labour. The manu-
factory is protected by a military station, commanded by a
Hova officer styled a " twelfth honour," who keeps a watch
over the sale of the products, and the conduct of the manager.
The unfortunate Ferdinand, owing to the incessant interference
with his smallest actions, is, in fact, more a slave than any of
his own subordinates.

The estiiblishment, situated at the foot of the first range
of hills, extends from the high grounds to the banks of the
river. It is composed of a steam distillery, with large sheds
for making casks, carpenters' and locksmiths' workshops, and
a beautiful house, with numerous smaller dependencies. The
slaves inhabit a village near the distiltery, and the huts of
the Hovas are so clos: that nothing can escape their jealous
eyes. Ferdinand conducted us to the neighbouring height,
where we saw the tomb of M. Delastelle, which had been
erecteo to his memory by his friend Juliette Fiche. He
rests under the shade of orange and citron trees, on the soil of
a country which he tried to civilise, and which he endowed
with several commercial establishments and .hree prosperous
manufactories. The scenery around us was wild and bold. On
the east, the sea broke in white foam on the sands ; to the
south, the laktj shone like mirrors ; and, following with the eye
the winding course of the Yvoudrou, we could discern on the

horizon the mountains of Tananarivo, far in the interior. On
the north the hills, stripjied by fire of their natural mantle of
forests, allowed the eye to wander over an undulating country
of a bright green hue, in the midst of which appeared, here
and there a few skeletons of trees, blackened by the fire, the
last traces of the vegetation which formerly covered its surface ;
whilst at our feet extended one of those immense morasses
which are indescribably picturesque and sad.

The vegetation here is wonderfully luxuriant ; gigantic
salvias, ravenals, and dwarf palm-trees mingle their strange
foliage, and the great crowns of the Vacoa, resembling our
funereal cypress, give to the jjlace the ajjpearance of a deserted
burying-ground. These marshes are infested with serpents
and crocodiles, to the great terror of the neighbouring inhabi-
tants, who are obliged to cross the little streams of water,
•-vith which they are intersected. Domestic animals have a
very remarkable instinct in guarding against the attacks of
the crocodiles. Dogs, for instance, make use of a very suc-
cessful stratagem, so ingenious that instinct is scarcely suflicient
to explain it. When a dog wants to cross a river to look for
his master, or in search of prey, he stops on the bank of the
river, moans, barks, and howls with all his might. The reason
is very simple ; he thinks that on hearing this noise the
crocodile will hasten towards the spot from which the sound
proceeds, and that others at a great distance will leave their
retreat, and endeavour to seize the silly animal. The dog con-
tinues to bark and howl, and the comedy lasts as long as he
thinks it necessary to draw together his enemies ; then, when
they are all collected in tlie thickets close by, anticipating a
delicious morsel, the dog darts off like an arrow, passes the
river quite safely a quarter of a mile off, and goes on his way
barking with joy and defiance.

On our arrival at the house, Ferdinand had prepared a
surprise for us. He had arranged a dinner-party, to which
two Hova chiefs of the place were invited. It was not for the '
honour of their company, but for the opportunity of studying
their singular manners, that we thanked our host. The Hovas,
whatever else they may be, are very fond of eating and drink-
ing, so that our two chiefs did not require much pressing to
accept Ferdinand's invitation. They kept us waiting, however,
some time before they appeared; but this was excusable, in
consideration of their having to dress themselves in the Euro-
pean style. They would not for the world have appeared at
this dinner, to which our presence imparted in their eyes an
official character, clothed in their national costume.

The wife of the Hova Commandant was to accompany
her husband, and I suppose that there was in the household
a great discussion on the subject of fashions and all die
et-ceteras which, in Madagascar as well as in other parts of
the world, constitute the toilette of a woman.

It was eight o'clock when the company arrived. They were
preceded by his Excellency's band, consisting of a frightful
trumpet and a tambourine — and accompanied by a squad of
five privates and a corporal, the whole strength of the
garrison. They all marched in military step, with a comic
gravity which reminded one of the marching of mock soldiers
on the stage. The corporal, who was very proud of his
men, commanded in a loud voice their manceuvres ; and,
when at last they stopped, under the verandah, they all
uttered the most hideous cries, which, we were told, formed
some salutation in honour of us.

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

The Commandant and his aide-de-camp were tall, tliin
personages, but with intelligent faces. The Commandant
endeavoured to look grave, as became a man of his impor-
tance. The other, less burdened by a sense of his honours,
gave the rein to his fancy, and he and I soon became
good friends. Both of them watched us with close attention,
copying our manners and gestures, apparently in the belief
that, if they followed our example, they would quite surpass in
polite ceremonial all their ac-
quaintances. They wore full-
dress suits: black coats — rather
old-fashioned, it is true — ante-
diluvian waistcoats, and trousers
of a wonderful greyish black,
which betrayed their ancient
origin. They managed their
pocket-handkerchiefs with the
skill of a dandy, at first flourish-
ing them with a seductive grace,
and then, quite at a loss to
know what to do \vith them,
sitting down upon them, being
ignorant of the use of a pocket

Madame la Commandante,
who sat next to me, was a large
woman, of the colour of a
withered apple, and looking
awkward in her ill-fitting dress.
Her manners did not encourage
me much, for she responded to
my advances by a stupid look,
which meant nothing, and con-
tented herself with emptying her
plate methodically, which I re-
filled at each course. Ferdinand
explained that I had ofiended
against Madegasse etiquette in
helping madame first; and that
it was my other neighbour to
whom I should have first ad-
dressed myself, Madegasse polite-
ness requiring the men to be
helped first. Women are thought
nothing of, being regarded as
inferior creatures. Whereupon I
devoted myself to the "twelfth
honour," who sat on the other
side, and w;io, on his part,
spared no pains to make himself
agreeable. He copied me with
such persistence that his fork
kept time with mine ; when I ate, he ate, when I drank,
he drank, and when I stopped, he stopped. Certainly, this
man was endowed with a rare talent of imitation, and
had it not been for the gravity of the occasion, I should
have tried putting my fork to my ear, to see if he would
do the same. My neighbour drank his wine undiluted, but
he thought wine insipid, and preferred vermuth with a
very strong flavour, which he took in glassfuls, so that in a
few minutes he became on the most touchingly familiar terms
with me. On the slightest occasion, he would slap me

COVERNOR OF TAMATAVR,

on the stomach, which attention, I was assured, was highly
flattering ; he swore that he was my friend, as I well deserved
to be ; and finally plunged his hands into my plate, in the idea
that two such friends ought to have everything in common.
At this new mark of favour I coloured at first, and then took
a fit of laughing, which delighted him. I then left him the
remainder of the plateful he had touched, giving him to under-
stand that so it would be done in the best society of Europe.

The gentlemen continued their
pleasantries (which for some time
had become rather tiresome) till
a late hour. Although they bore
the wine very well, they began
to be rather incoherent in their
conversation. We ther^jfore rose,
but as no Madegasse dinner ever
terminates without toasts, we
were obliged to re-seat ourselves.
Their custom is to drink the
health of each guest, beginning
with the humblest in rank and
finishing off with the Queen.
Enthusiastic individuals drink
also to the relatives of their
hosts, their children, and grand-
children, &c. Fancy our posi-
tion ! We commenced. When it
came to the Queen, a manoeuvre
was executed under the verandah
by the garrison, the voice of the
corporal sounding like thunder.
Our guests staggered to their
feet, and, turning their faces in
the direction of Tananarive, the
capital, drained their goblets to
the incomparable glory of Rasua-
herina pangaka ny Madagascar.
When it came to our turn to
propose the health of the
Emperor, the anxiety of the
Hovas was great They gave
the signal for the manoeuvre to
be repeated outside; but, as
they did not know where Paris
lay, they hesitated as to the
point of the horizon. They
tried turning to the north; but
the difficulty increased when they
came to pronounce the name of
Napoleon IIL, and it was only
after numerous false starts that
they succeeded in drinking this last toast We then dis-
missed them, and it was quite time to do so, for it may be
well imagined that we were feeling rather the worse for drinking
so many healths.

We had a horrible night, tormented with bugs, enormous
rats, and mosquitoes. We had hardly closed our eyes, when
the sound of a cracked bell, like a death knell, made us sit
up in our beds. We were asking each other what meant these
lugubrious sounds, when a noise of chains heavily dragged
along increased our aUrnn. Were we, then, in some haunted

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

habitation? I could endure it no longer, and rushing out,
witnessed a horrible spectacle. The doleful bell was an
enormous old saucepan, which was struck with a steel bar,
to call the slaves to work. In the middle of the court was a
long column of slaves, chained in couples, their legs bound
with heavy rings, causing them to move with pain. In walking
they had to turn them, so that each step they took was only
the length of their feet. These poor creatures were covered
with hideous rags — some of them had nothing but a piece of
matting, black with filth. Their faces, brutalised by suffering,
had lost the appearance of human beings. I had often seen
slaves, but never had I witnessed a spectacle of such abject
misery and dejection. These, then, thought I, are the slaves
belonging to the Queen ! How different from the patriarchal
form of servitude which I had witnessed in other parts of the
island, in the houses of the wealthier natives ! Ferdinand ex-
plained to me that these slaves were rebels and fugitives,
and that this horrible cruelty was inflicted upon them as a
punishment Some of these wretches had been lingering in

this way for months, some of thera for several years. We
asked our host, as a favour, and as a remembrance of our
sojourn in his house, to pardon one of tliem. He granted
our request, and the poor creature, who was immediati-'ly set
at liberty, came trembling to thank us. Towards noon we
took leave of Ferdinand, and set out for Tamatave.

On our return to the coast we found a note, couched in
the highest ternis of Hova courtesy, addressed to us by tlie
governor of the province, and inviting us to be present at the
ceremony of the coronation of the new Queen, which was to
take place in the interior of the fort of Tamatave. We were to
share the honour of b-ing jjresent at the spectacle with the
whole popuhcion of the sea-port, for they had all been invited.
I cannot say that I anticipated any pleasure in taking part in
more ci these Hova festivities ; for all I had seen in Mada-
gascar had given me cause to dislike the dominant race for
their acts of oppression, their cruelty, and their empty show
of civilisation. We accepted, however, the invitation, in the
hope of learning someth' .g more of the customs of the people.

A yourney through the Soudan and Western Abyssinia, with Reminiscences

of Captivity.

BY LIEUTENANT W. F. PRIDEAUX, F.R.C.S., BOMBAY STAFF CORPSL

II. — From Massawa to Kassala.
On the 15th of October, 1865, we considered that we had
completed all our preparations for our onward march. The
farewell dinner was eaten on board the Victoria, the last adieux
were spoken, and we leapt ashore from the boat, hoping to
exchange, that night, the stifling atmosphere, the never-ceasing
chaffering and huckstering, of the Massiwa piei. for the free
and open air of the desert. Circumstances, however, de-
cided differently, for we had no sooner landed, and made
our way to the place where our camels were assembled, all
kneeling and roaring at the prospect of being loaded, through
every note of their pitiful gamut, than we discovered that the
drivers had come totally unprovided with ropes to tie the
baggage on their beasts, and we were consequently obliged
to stop at Monkiilld till the necessary gear was obtained.
Choleraat this time was raging at Massdwa and its neighbour-
hood, and the next morning one of our muleteers was attacked
with it in its severest form. Dr. Blanc used all his ssill on
behalf of the man, and although, at the time we left him, he
was hovering between life and death, we heard that he subse-
quently recovered. While waiting till the cool of the evening
will enable us to make our start, we have leisure to become
acquainted with our compagnons de voyage.

M. Michael Marcopoli deserves the first place, I think.
Sciote by birth, but cosmopolitan by tastes, he had come to
Massiwa, a few months previously, as a kind of sub-agent to
the mercantile house to which M. Munzinger was attached, and
he proved a most valuable addition to our narrow circle of
acquaintances. He boasted of Italian ancestry, and had such
a contempt for the majority of his fellow-subjects, that beyond
the epithet, " un vrai Grec" his force of vituperation could 1.0
VOL, r.

further go. He was a most pleasant and accommodating
companion, and it was with much pleasure that we acceded to
his request to be permitted to take advantage of our escort as
far as Matamma, whither he was bound on high commercial
emprise. We were fortunate in having with us two capital
interpreters, who had been with Mr. Rassam nearly the whole
of his stay at Massdwa. The eldest, Omar Ali, was but a mere
youth, but, with the natural linguistic facility of the African, he
had already acquired several languages, and had a fair know-
ledge of French, with the exception that he had never been
able to master the intricacies of gender, and, with much lack
of courtesy, invariably gave the preference to the masculine,
whatever might be the object to which his remarks referred.
As he had accompanied a French gentleman at far as Berber,
on the Nile, he had some claim to be considered a traveller.
The second lad, Dasta, was the son of a mighty hunter of
Tigrd, called Gabra Georgis, who was well known :o many
European travellers in the country, being able, unlike most of
his compatriots, to handle a rifle with considerable skill. The
boy, his son, was a marvel of pride and precocity, and & most
acute and intelligent interpreter in at least four languages.
The rest of the cavalcade was made up of our personal
servants, muleteers, and camel-drivers, while our old friend,
'Abd-ul-Kereem, with his nephew, Ahmed, and a score of
ruflianly fellows with worn-out matchlocks, considered it con-
ducive either to his own dignity or to ours to accompany us
— to what good end I cannot say.

At last everything was really ready. The camels had
ceased their roaring, and the drivers their cursing, and the cry
of " Yallah ! yallah 1" was no longer to be heard. At 4 p.m.
the long train emerged finally from the compound of the house

A 1

i'£}

I'll i

> ,

IT.l.USTRATF.n TRAVELS.

we were so yl.ul to get away from, and took a north-westerly
course, we following at our leisure. The road as far as Dissyet,
where we arrived after three hours' inarch, led us through a
country exactly siiiiil.ir to that in the vicinity of Monkiilhi,
almost a <lead level of sand, with a stunted mimosa here and
there, and occasionally a hillock of volcanic stone. Dissyet,
which, in the .Amharic language, signifies "an island," is a
narrow strip lying between two mii/is, and possesses a few
trees of larger growth than we had hitherto met with. A stony
plain lirought us to .Amba, where we arrived at half-past nine,
in capital time to have a comfortable supper and rest. The
first care of a traveller in these regions is about his water : we
were fortunate enough to find a good supjjly in a stream which
ran close to our encampment. I looked about ever)'where for
the conical, flat-topped hill f'-om which Amba should derive its
name, but, although it has been spoken of by a modern P'rench
traveller, could nowhere discover it. The wAiii does, however,
run thri igh an amphitheatre of low hills, some of which have
a castellated apjiearance ; and as "Amba" signifies any forti-
fied height, die derivation of its name may come from these.
It is a scorching place ; a hot, dry wind seems to blow from
every direction, and at this and the next station we could only
stave off its effects by keeping our heads constandy bound up
in cloths, which we continually moistened in the water of the
brook. At a (juarter past four we resumed our march, and
after passing another icAdi four miles distant, called Kamfar,
where, though water was obtainable by digging in the sandy
bottom of the dried-iii> stream, it was found to be of an in-
different description, we entered the desert of Sha'ab, which
extends as hx as 'Ain. Until it became dark, nothing but a
sea of sand w.as visible around us, without a sign of vegetation ;
and we travelled on till nightfall, when we bivouacked beneath
Mount Cihehenab, which stands like a monument to solitude
in the midst of the waste. There is nought of human interest
here. Even the roving liedaween fear this thirsty wilderness ;
and beyontl the cry of the leopard, as he prowls amidst the
brushwood at the foot of the hill, not a sound breaks the
stillness of the night. We started refreshed, at half-jiast four
the following morning, and came to a ]>lace called Noor
Habebai, where the sand gives place to volcanic ilcliris. The
country was so flat, that we had a prospect for miles around
us, and, turning round, we could see flashing, where two rocks
parted like half-o|)ened lips, the avi'unOixov yika(Ty.a (to use the
words of old ^Kschylus, for I know none better) of the far-away
Erythra;an.

Shortly after passing a large cemetery called Zara, near
which was encamped a kraal of Uedaween shepherds, we
arrived at the green and lovely valley of 'Ain, through which
the Lebka runs. It was necessary to go a short way up the
stream before a suitable halting-place could be found, as the
banks are so thickly wooded that it is hard to find an oijen
space. This is one of those oases that remain gTeen as them-
selves in the mind of the traveller long accustomed, as we had
been, to sand and sea alone. The Lebka, which waters this
beautiful vale, debouches into the Red Sea, a little above the
sixteenth degree of north latitude, and rises among the hills of
Ad-Temariam, although it appears to be connected by affluents
with the much larger river Anseba. Up to this time we had
been [)ur.suiiig a north-westerly course, but on starting the
following afternoon, we took the stream, which flows nearly
due west and east, as our road, and travelled for three liours to

tlie westward, having found the jiredictions of our guides, with
regard to the shifting nature of the sand so soon after the
rainy season, perfectly fallacious. The Le'>ka, when flooded,
is a most pictures(|ue stream. For a considerable jjart of its
course it flows between tall rocks of columnar basalt, fringed
with various shrubs, with here and there an acacia or tamarind-
tree lending a richer green to the scene. At one ])art I went
over a low hill by its side, where I found an ancient cemetery
called Moniba Arad, where two sheikhs of distinguished jiiety
repose within large stone-built tombs. At a quarter to nine in
the evening, we arrived at a si)ot called Gadarait, where the
main roatl to the Hibab country branches ofT from the Lebka.

It m.ay not be out of place here to give some notes of a
very short trip made in the previous summer to this countr)',
which is undoubtedly the seat of a most ancient Christian
community, now utterly perverted through the apathy and
indifTerence of their own proper teachers, and the proselytising
zeal of their Muslim neighbours.

Leaving the Lebka, a north-westerly route was followed
until, after crossing a low but i)reci|)itous hill, which severely
taxed the strength and sure - footedness of our camels, we
reached a valley called Maga Maiatat (Jietioeat the Waters) — a
most palpable misnomer, as water, and th,atof a bad ([uality,
is only found at one spring. We arrived here at noon on the
29th of July, and found already encamped a large clan of
Bedaween, whose sheikh soon paid us a visit, and complained
most bitterly of his Christian neighbours, who last year had
appropriated three hundred out of his herd of cattle, which
altogether only numbered five hundred head. The houses
these people were living in were wonderfiil to behold. A
cabin scarcely larger than a moderate -sized beehive, and
averaging three feet in height and ten or twelve in circum-
ference, sufliced for a wuole family. Maga MaiatAt is situated
within a gorge of portentous darkness, and has a renown for
lions. 'I'he very night we were there the whole camp was
thrown into confusion by one of these animals, who made an
onslaught, anil almost walked off with our Portuguese cook,
who had incautiously slept at too great a distance from the
fires. The next morning (30th) we started at half-|)ast fi\e,
and after crossing another hill, came to a beautiful valley
abounding in guinea-fowl and bustard. We then passed
another village called .Wde', and three hours after beginning
our march, arrived at a shady spot called Raroo, where we
halted and breakfasted, jiic-nic fashion, under a tree. Re-
suming our progress at a ([uarter-past nine, half an hour
brought us to the large village of Af- .Abad, which we had
decided on as the limit of our journey. According, however,
to the incomprehensible custom of these peo])le, no water was
to be obtained near the village, and we had to go on three
miles farther, to a watercourse called Hduzat, which we found
nearly dry. It was near eleven o'clock when wt arrived, and
we had scarcely selected a suitable place for encamping, and
begun to i)itch our tents, when down came the rain, the first
that had fallen for many days. We remained at Af-Abad, the
capital of the Ad - Teinariam district, for three days ; and
though the weather was certainly nice and cool, rain fell every
day, and made the ground surrounding our tents marshy and
malarious, and I believe it was only our daily dose of quinine
and sherry that preserved us from bad fevers. Game is far
from numerous in the neighbourhood, and consists of guinea-
fowl, another sort of fowl (very gamcy) called by the Arabs

A JOURNKY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

"the rock of the valley," gazelles (Beiii Ar.rail), antcldpes
{/io/iiir), and wild pig, but none in large numbers. Elephants
are numerous here in the cold season, but h.id at this time of
the year gone to the higher ranges of hills. 'J"he larger /f/rr of
course abound. I think only one night passed that we had
not a visit from a lion, and we lost one of our camels in this
way. Leopards and liy iias are found, of course, everj-wliere,
and the latter are especially very annoying. I forgot to nieniion
hares and bustards, which are found in small numbers. The
latter bird is a.s good as turkey, and very similar to it.

Af-Ab.i(l was found, by barometric measurement, to be
2,529 feet above the sea-level; so, in December or January,
it would doubtless be a delightful retreat, but in the summer
we found the mercury rise even higher than at MonkuUii. The
country above 'Ain is called by the natives Sihe ; it is bounded
on the south by the Lebka, and on the east by the Red Sea :
the other boundaries vary much, .as the population are chiefly
nomads. Tradition tells lis that it was first colonised by a
refugee Tigre chief, nameil Asgaddee, and that he pitched
his tent on a hill further to the northward, which is called
Asgaddee-Bakla, or "The Mule of Asgaddee," to this day.
To this patriarch were born three sons, the /wrois eponyiiii of
the Hibal) tribes. The Ad-Temariam,* within whose confines
Af-Abad is situated, inhabit the southern distri( t ; the Ad-
Tekles, the western ; and the Ad-Hibdes, the northern. In
outward appearance the three tribes are indistinguishable one
from another ; the same dress (or rather, want of it), the same
heavy turls, and the same, generally s])eaking, handsome
Kuropean features characterise them all. Like all the tribes
to the north and west of .\byssinia, they are armed with a
straight two-edged cross-handled sword — a singular contia>t to
the curved reaping-hooks of their Christian neighbours. Their
language is the Lower Tigre, a kind of mixture of Arabic and
Cleez, with a sprinkling of Amharic. I have heard that, with
the exception of the dialect of CJuaragutf, in the south of
Abyssinia, it is more like the ancient Ethiopic than any other
tongue spoken in those regions. The chief of the Ad-
Temariam, Sheikh Shookr, was at Af-Abad at the time of
our visit. I cannot give him a good character. From his
very limited knowledge of Eurojieans, he e\idently placed
us in the same category with the Turkish soldiers whom he is
accustomed to see collecting revenue, and he was extremely
averse to letting us have any sheep or provisions, exidently
distrusting either our inclination or power to pay him. The
only wealth of these people consists in their flocks and herds,
and they are pillaged on one side by the Massdwa, or Har-
keeko, authorities, under the name of revenue collections, and
on the other by the neighbouring Abyssinians. Ever since
they renounced Christianity (towards the end of last century)
they have been subject to the Nayib of Harkeeko, who is
answerable for the revenue to the Turkish Government, keeping
ten i)er cent, for himself. Sheikh Shookr pays 2,000 dollars
annually for Ad-Temariam.

Resuming the route to Kdssala, on the 20th of October,
at halfpast four in the morning, we had to follow the course
of the Lebka, and after passing a most difficult defile, in
which all the powers of our camels were put to the test, we
arrived at Mah.-iber at a quarter-past nine. The Lebka had
assumed, after the pass, quite a different appearance. Instead
of the basidtic rocks with which it had been walled in lower
• /!(/ signifies "country," or " tiibc," in Lower Tigr*.

down, we saw on each side of us extensive jilains, except in
one spot, where, on a craggy eminence, legions of baboons
seemed inclined to dispute llie way with us. The bed of the
river was nearly dry ; in fact, (jiily a pool here and there was
to be found, the rest of the road being through heavy saml.
We were obliged to sto|) three days at ^Ldlaber, in conse-
quence of finding no camels there. .Sheikh .Shookr, of the
Ad-Temariam, had, a .''ortnight before, been inlormed of our
wish for a change of cattle at this place ; but whether his
influence was not commensurate with his wishes, or what not,
we could not obtain them till after a deal of palavering. I i an
see the old fellow befi)re me now, with his bushy loc ks floating
behind liini like a wig of the Charles II. era, brandishing his
spear as he tramjjs down the road, an<l vows by his prophet
that he has not another camel to spare, and when this is found,
there is not another saddle, and so on ad nauseam. How-
ever, at length we did obtain everything we required, and at
half-past three on die afternoon of the 23rd we started, and
after a pleasant ride for three hours along the sandy course of
the Lebka, .arrived at Kelamet. This, unfortunately, we found
to be a marsh, and Dr. Hlanc and I, since we had not time
to pitch our tents, carried our bedsteads up to a neighbouring
eminence, above, as we hoped, the reach of the miasmata.
'I'hat, however, we had undesirable neighbours, was proved
shortly before daybreak, for, our fire being out, and a pipe and
a nip of brandy (to keep out the malaria) just finished, within a
hundred yards or so a lion sung out in a w.iy calculal -I 'o
alarm the strongest nerves. This was doubtless the oppor-
tunity for displ.aying their prowess for which 'Abd-ul-Kereem
and his brave soldiers had been waiting so long. Keeping at
a safe distance down below, they fired off their pieces, and
taking especial care to hit nothing, they managed to send oft'
the unwelcome visitor, whose discontented grumblings at his
extrusion from a valley of which he evidently ( onsidered himseif
sole proprietor, we heard for a long time in the distance.

At half-past seven we were off again, and passing along a
tributary of the Lebka to the south tvest, arrived at Kudbat at
ten, where we took an al fresco breakfast amongst the tangled
glades of a wood. Mounting again at four, we passed along
watercourses, still offshoots of the Lebka, and fell in with
numerous herds of large and beautiful antelopes at Kokai,
where the surrounding hills are covered with thick fi)liage to
their summits. Here we stopped for a few n.inutes, and after
three hours' most difficult marching, up hill and down dale,
arrived at a large meadow, with beautiful Inv in it averaging a
foot in height, and here we passed the night. 'The next
morning we were early up, and after a longer time than usual
passed in loading those troublesome beasts, camels, who are
only too demonstrative in telling us dieir griefs, started off at
seven.

^^'e soon came to an 'akaba, or pass, die crossing of
which occupied a good hour, and in which every moment I
dreaded a disastrous end to some of our cherished packages.
However, all crossed without an accident, except a few bottles
broken. On arriving at the foot of this pass we left Ad-
Temariam, in which we h.ad been journeying from 'Ain, and
entered the district of Anseba, or lieit-Takue, as it is marked
on some maps. For the first time in this country I saw fields of
juw.lrri,* and other signs of a higher state of civilisation ; but
the fact is that this distrii t is tributary to Ha'ilu the One-eyed,
• llvlcHS sorghum.

i ■

III *

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

Dedj-.i/iiiatch of Haniasain, and is tlKTcfore a portion of
Abyssinia. Passing the juw;irri ficiils, which are at Mas-haleet, :
wc arrived at the banks of tlie Anseixi in good time for break- '
fast, and settled ourselves under a large mulhcrry-trec. A '
heavy shower of rain in the afternoon ni.ide it rather problem-
atical if we should be able to proceed on our journey ; but, i

the wet sand, which rendered the road so heavy that the mulsa
simk fetlock deep at every step they took. It enabled us,
however, to sec that we were in hot chase of a herd of
elephants, who had passed a few hours back, but we were not
fortunate enough to fall in with them. At halfpast seven W3
arrive<l at our halting-phu e, Heboob, where we pitched our

fortunately, it cleared up, and at half-past four we were in our I camp on a commanding spot, as far removed as possible from

BrNI.'AHIR ARAB.

saddles again, and down the Anseba, a beautiful river, though
dry, or nearly so, at that time. Fringed on each side vrith
spreading trees in full foliage, with here and tliere a stretch
of greensward extending into the dark depths of the jungle
beyond, in the general features of its scenery it bore a strong
resemblance to the river Dart, in Devonshire. It is, however,
not more than an eighth of the width, and was thus, perhaps,
all the better adapted for gratifying us with those lovely peeps
into natural beauty which a break in the foliage often dis-
played.

The great drawback to unalloyed pleasure was the depth of

the vapours of the Biyan, the tributary of the Anseba, near
which we were.

Our friend, M. Marcopoli, had left us at Mahaber, to go to
Keren, in Bogos, on some business, and as our own road was
shorter, we were the first to arrive at Heboob. He returned
tlie morning following our arrival, accompanied by an Abys-
sinian chief and his suite, who had caused him much trouble
of mind by their antics on the road. From the chief we leamt
that, had we gone to Keren, as was our first intention, we
should have been received in style by the Abyssinian autho-
rities. Two hundred soldiers were to meet us, and hecatombs

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

of lii'c.es were to have been slain in our honour, while cattle
were providcil for us alonj,' the road. This, at ail events, implied
that, as guests of the king, it was the wish of his subjects
to show us respect. The cnief, after having succeeded in
selling us an excessively bad mule, received some presents on
his side, and went on his way rejoicing.

We left Hehool) at 7. jo a.m., 0.1 the 271!', our road leading
us for the first two hours through a sort of tangled brake,
through which it was at times most ditfu ult to fone our way.
At the expiration of that time we arrived at the top of the
pa.ss of Gebci Likoom, which separates the Anseba district
from that of Hdraka, or " Roi)ber I -and." The two hours and
a half which the ciimels occupied in going down were passed
by us in the disc ssion of our bre.akfast, until at noon news
was brought that the descent had been safely accomplished,
and we then beg.an it ourselves. To us who followed after,
it was matter of great wonderment that animals such as camels,
fonned by nature for travelling on soft sandy ground, should
have achieved such a feat as descending in perfect safety,
and without a single smash, such a precipitous pass as the
one in question, which, at a rough guess, measures about 1,500
feet. We had then a long ride through the sun along a succes-
sion of stony wAilis until we arrived at our halting -place,
Medjiel, on a watercourse called Sheiab. We reached this spot
at half-past four in the afternoon, having been on the marcli
more than nine hours. The shrubs, grass, and underwood
were so thick on all sides that we were obliged to pitch in
the wA.ii itself Our friends the elephants were of great
service to us here. We had often availed ourselves of their
skill in road-making, but on this occasion they saved us a great
deal of trouble by providing us with quantities of water.
Scarcity of this most necessary element is the great bane of
African travelling, and when found it is often half comiiosed
of mineral or vegetable organic matter. At 'Ain, for instance,
we placed a few grains of alum in a bottle of water, and the
precipitate that it formed took up fully half of the vessel. In
these wAdis, generally speaking, it is necessary to dig a few
feet beneath the sand for water, but here the <•' hants, by the
exercise of their own sagacity, saved us a good deal of hard
labour. By working their trunks round, in fact screwing into
the sand, they manage to burrow a hole, and at the bottom
beautifully clear water is found ; for they are the daintiest
animals alive, and will only drink of the best, spurning some
running water a little further up. Two paid us a visit that
evening, doubtless to receive our tlianks.

At Medjiel we passed a terribly hot day, the mercury rising
to 106 degrees (Fahr.) in our small tent. However, at 4 p.m.,
we were again on the move, and marched without ceasing
(so far as the camels were concerned) for more than eight
hours, till we arrived at a broad watercourse called Adertee.
We were thoroughly worn out, and too tired even to pitch our
tents. Our road, too, offered nothing to interest us. First
of all the Shelab, then an interminable plain, covered with
dry, prickly grass and thorny shrubs, and then the Adertee,
here about 1 50 yards in width. The countr)', at the time we
passed through it, was overgrown with luxuriant grass, owing
to a feud existing between the Abyssinians, the HibSb ami the
Baraka tribes, to whom ordinarily it forms a common pasture
ground. The Christians, so far as plundering is concerned, are
not a whit better than their Muslim and barbarous neighbours.
Every day we heard stories of young girls and women being

seized and sold into slavery, and the Christians seem to be

quite as expert at this game as the others. This, ofcoursc,
leads to retaliation, and the consequence is, that a <o.:mry
of the highest natural fertility is abandoned, and where there
might be peaceful homesteads and smiling fields of corn, nothing
is to be seen but a desolate jungle.

We left H.i'at, as our station on the River Adertee was
called, at a ([uarter to four on the evening of the 2gth, and
pursued a road leading through the n<iidi till we arrived at
K.ar-Obel. There was nothing interesting to note along the
road, except that we fouml ourselves gradually leaving the
hills behind us, and approat liing a more level country. We
got to Kiir-Obel at 9.10 p.m., and slept in the middle of the
watiTcoiirse, \ hith was perfectly dry, till dawn saw us again on
our road.

It was just sunrise when we emerged from the uuXdi on to
a broad and undulating savanna, covereil with short grass,
with an occasional dwarfish tree breaking the monotony
of the scene. As we proceeded, however, these increased in
si/.e and number, and in some places we passed through thick
groves, in which the doom palm formed a graceful and pro-
minent feature. Crossing another water.ourse, we found
ourselves at eight o'clock on the banks of a large sedgy lake,
or rather marsh, as the water probably tliil not in any part
exceed the ilepth of a foot or two. Surrounded with dense
underwood, and with its surface covered with large water-lilies
in full flower, this jiiece of water prerented a picturesque
appearance ; but aware as we were of iha danger of encamping
too near these beautiful but treacherous spots, we pitched our
tent.s at a considerable distance. The name of the place is
Jagee, and here we stayed till evening, passing an intensely hot
day. Five o'clock saw us on our way again, and we travelled
across country, through a plain abounding in thorny shrubs
and a terribly annoying species of barbed grass, till we came
to another wadi at 9 p.m. All these watercourses formed part
of a large river called the Bdraka or Barka, but it is the custom
to name every few miles of the stream differer.tly, thereby
perplexing travellers to no small extent. From the spot
where we entered the nullah to our halting-place was calfed
Soleeb ; we then entered on the strip called Takrureet ; here
we slept.*

We were now in the territory occupied by a very large and
powerful tribe, called the Beni 'Amir. They possess th'j
whole of Bftraka, and a considerable strip of country stretchinjj
towards Souakin. An encampment belonging to a subdivision
of the tribe, the Ali Ikikeet, was stationed close to us at
Takrureet, and during the day two of the chiefs paid us a
visit. They did not, however, seem inclined to afford us any
assistance in the way of getting camels, a fresh supply of
which we stood much in need of In other respects they were
courteous and obliging enough.

At 5.40 P.M. we started for Zaga, at the present time the
head-quarters of the tribf*. Hearing that there was a better
route across country, we left the camels to follow the course of
the nullah where the sand was too heavy for the mules, and
pursued a path which led us through a beautiful country,
very much resembling the scenery of an English park. An

• I only mention these names, which possess no interest, in case the
reader shoulil wish to follow our route upon a map. The only one which
(jives any idea of the country is by M. Werner Munzinger, in his OU-
A/ruanischi Studien : Schaffhauitn, 1864.

•I n

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

hour's ride brought us to a temporary village of the Ali Bakeet,
where wo stayed for some time, and refreshed ourselves with.
the milk that the hospitality of the sheikh provided for us.
From this place, Aher, we travelled on through extensive and
level plains covered with short grass scorched to a hay tint
by the fervid rays of the sun, but grateful to the feet after
the heavy sand of the watercourse. IJeyond five or six villages,
of a similar character to the first, we saw nothing and met
no one, though the roars which resounded around us made
an encounter with one of the lords of the forest no improbable
occurrence. We did not reach our destination till a (juarter
to four the following morning, and finding our cameis had
not yet arrived, we spread out the dressed hides, with which
we were never unprovided, on the ground, and with the growls
of a couple of lions which were drinking at a pool a sliort
distance off for our lullaby, we endeavoured to snatch Meei)
for an hour or two.

Day broke, but brought with it no signs of the camels.
Having fixed on an eligible site for our camp, on an elevated
spot within a reasonable distance from the river-bed, Blanc,
Jfarcopoli, and myself took a stroll in the direction of the
vill.ige. Passing by the well, where, by our doubtless un-
canny aspect, we were the objects of mingled interest and
alarm to several damsels who were employed in drawmg
water, we clambered over a slight eminence, and found our-
selves close to tlie metropolis. We found it very extensive,
anil occu])ied by about 50.000 cameis, but, unfortunately,
nearly all of them females and young ones. Words cannot
give an idea of the ninnber of homed cattle in possession of
this tribe, it being eutiiely a pastoral one. and. I believe, not
< ultivating an inih of the extensive temtory which belongs to
it. Nearly every house of the village was built of mats, and
in the same beehive style of architecture as those of the
Hibab, to whom these people liear a considerable resem-
blance. All the tribes in ihese ij.nrts assert that they are
descended from Arabs of the riedjaz. disclaiming any con-
nection in blood with the children of Ham ; and their
physiognomy does not belie their ])retensions. The chiefs
arid ujiper classes shave their heads, and wear a skull-cap
or turban, and generally reit)ice in a gaudily-embroi(!ere<l
silk sa,laref)\iJi, or vest, of Egyptian manufacture ; but the
common peoi)le wear only a diny rag. and delight in allow-
ing their locks to fall in thick ringlets of considerable length,
well smeared with mutton-tallow, and kept in order with a
short, ]>ointed, and often beautifully-carved stick, which is
fastened at all times to the hair, and answers the jiurposes
of a com. The females, young and old, have usually httle
beyond a kithern jjetticoat and n necklace of beads to set
oiT their dusky charms.

As we were jiassing one of the very few grass-built huis in
the jilace, a person whom we judged, from his air, to be of
some importance, came out to meet us, and invited us inside
his dwelling, wh;re Wi. were regaled with the usual coftee.
Served in very tolerable style for the desert. We aftenvards
found out that thi^ was Sheikh Ahmed, chief of the Beni
'Amir, and one of the most powerful vassals deijendent on
the Egyptian Government, as at any time he tan bring
10,000 horsemen into the field. In die course of the day
he returned our visit, with several of his rel.itives and re-
tainers. We found hint a vry ^•■'■'r!-.'::;.uiiy t'ello v, uid mure
civilised thai) any of the chiefs we had fali'.'ii in with.

Together with all his following, he took the greatest interest
in Diane's small galvanic battery, and showed much pluck in
enduring the unexpected shocks, which, of course, he .set down
to our having a most i)owerful Sheitan in our possession.
He could, however, afibrd us no assistance towards solving
the camel difficulty, and so we had to proceed as we were.

We found the day intensely hot, the thermometer showing
107 degrees at one time. The night, however, was iileasant
and cool, and our slumbers were only broken by the lions,
which insisted on thrusting their unwelcome presence every-
where. Two of the villagers had been carriec off" the previous
night, when we had been sleeping outside , und the people
here, with the hospitality of their forefathers, anxious that no
harm should happen to us during our sojourn amongst them,
wanted us all to pass the night in one tent, surrounfled by
a cordon of soldiers. This did not exactly meet our views,
although I have no doubt that we were carefully looked after
through the night.

We had iatended leaving Zaga early in the afternoon the
next day, but our camel-drivers had — purposely, as we were
all mnvinced — iillowed their charges to stray too far, and they
were not loaileil and ready to start till |)ast eight o'clock.
It was, fortunately, a lovely moonlight night, and our road lay
through a tract of country exhibiting the same park-like scenery
I have before noticed. As, with our large cavalcade, it was
impossible for us to carry sufficient water for our rei|uirements,
we were forced to jnish on until we found .some, and in doing
so tlie whole night was consumed. It was not till past sun-
rise the following morning that we reached our halting-jjlace,
on ths banks of a w.ater-course called Howashait, and here we
selected a cool spot for encamping, beneath the shade of some
fine trees. At 4 p.m. we were obliged to be oft' again, and
marched on for nearly five hours, when we thought it a(K isable
to rest for the night, men and beasts being both terribly
fatigued. The moon, however, h.id not yet sunk the follow-
ing morning when we were again on our journey, and we had
to proceed for four hours before the stage was finished. Owing
to a scarcity of water on the direct route, we had to make
rather a detour, and halt at a place called Idrees-Dar, at the
time occupied by a ])arty belonging to a large tribe called
Hadendoa. which extends from here as far as Souakin. ( >f
similar origin to the Beni 'Amir, they exhibit the same external
characteristics, and are notorious for being great freebooters ;
but being armed with swords and s])ears only, they did not
venture to molest us. Br.d water and an intensely hot sun did
not tempt us to remain Iiere long, and towards evening we
resumed our march. The country we now entered, Taka, is
of a more hilly character than Bdraka, but the general nature
of the soil and vegetation undergoes litde change. Nine hours'
marching led us into a n'Adi, at the entrance of which the
leading camels of the caravan were att.icked by lions ; but
the matchlocks of the gallant escort were suflicient to drive
oft" the invaders, who are anything but the noble, courageous
beasts romance has pictured them. We ourselves had ridden
some w.iy ahead, up a gorge, situated between two precipitous
>-iiifs, which, narrowing as we advanced, roiuhu ted us to
several wells, dug deejily in the sand. t)n arrival here, we
were saluted by the barking of hundreds of dogs, whidi
seemed to issue forth from every jiart of the rugged luights
by wlii< li wc were surriiunde<l ; but it was two oMock in
the morning, and so dark, that it was impossible to discover

A JOURNEY THROUCUl TFIK SOUDAN.

anything but a soft spot to lay our bedding on. On awaking,
we found we were between a couple of villages, which clustered
up the sides of the hills like cells in a beehive ; in fact, there
was not a projecting slab of rock which did not serve as the
ground, or rather, only floor of a tiny cabin. Although small,
the houses were of a much superior character to those we had
hitherto fallen in with. They were all circular in shape, and
built of nibble, with well-thatched roofs. As for ourselves, we
found a pleasant grove of date-trees to rest under during the
day, and in the cool of the evening climbed up to the eyries
of the inhabitants, who received us hospitably.

The name of these people and their villages is .Sabdenit,

was seized and carried to K.issala, and after a trial, sentenced
to death. Pardon could only be accorded on one condition.
The daughter must forgive the murder of her father, and
intercede for his assassin. This she refused to do, and he
was hanged. The valley was split into two rival factions ; the
descendants of murdered and murderer rule each one side,
and it is no matter of surprise if they are on something less
than speaking terms with each other.

j We left Sabderat at five o'clock in the evening, and arriving
al a convenient spot in the desert, passed the night there.

; From our last halting-place Mr. Rassam had sent on .^hmed
of Harkeeko with letters tor the Mudeer, or Governor of

YOUNG r.IRLS OF TAKA.

One hamlet is only a stonc's-throw from the other, and y^t
there is a blood feud liLtween them. It appears that some
years ago the whole valley was ruled by an ancient sheikh,
who died leaving several sons, the eldest of whom succeeded
in due course to the chiefdom. These secluded spots, it
seems, fonii no excejnion to the rest of the world, and the
worst of human passions rage as strongly in them as in '.lie
most crowded haunts of men. Jealousy entered the heart
of one of the younger brothers, who inveigled tl-e sheikh *o
a lonely place, and then stabbet'. him to the he. rt. He did
not, however, live to piofit by his treachery Ion ;. Ri'.mour,
with its thousand tongues, soon brought the news of the
assassination to the ears of the daughter of the murdered man,
who denounced her uncle to the Egyptian authorities. He

Kussala, and for M. Vanni Kotzika, a well-known Greek
merchant of the town, who had always shown much hospitality
to Europeans journeying in these remote regions. We wore
up betimes the next morning, and soon found that the autho-
rities of Kdssala were determined to do us honour. A couple
of hundred Rashi-Wazouks and a regiment of Nizam infantry
met us at the distance of a mile from the town, and we
entered the gates amid much flourish of trumpets and
beating of kettle-dmms. M, Yaiiiii was absent, but we were
received most kindly by his brother, M. Panayoti Kotzik.i,
and his partner, Achilles Kassisoglou, and beneath their
hospitable roof, in the enjoyment of a bath and a breakfast,
soon forgot the hardships attendant on our long and tedious
journey.

!
si

I'.

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

Lower California.

When the United States obtained the cession of a large shce
of North Mexican territory, after the conclusion of the
Mexican war, the boundary line was drawn about fifty miles
to the northward of the head of the Gulf of California, thus
leaving the whole of that remarkable (prolongation of land, the
Californian peninsula, or Lower California, in the hands of
its former owners. Since then. L^jjper California, as a State of
the American Union, has risen to the j osition of one of the
most prosperous countries in the world ; wliilst the contig>ious
southern territory, altliough so full of promise from its geogra-
phical position and climate, has remained in the same neglected
condition in which the whole of this magnificent region had lain
for centuries. The inhabitants of the peninsula are estimated at
present to number not more than 6,000, the initire population
of a tract of land 540 miles in length, by 50 in average
breadth. They are chiefly half-castes, in whom Indian blood
predominates. Mines of silver have long beei worked near
the southern end of the peninsula ; but w ith regard to the
resources, mineral or othenvise, of the remainder of the
country, nothing was known until very recently.

The peninsula — at least, all except its rorthern and
southern extremities — is now the jwoperty of a trading com-
pany, which has its central offices in New Yoik. It was
purchased of the republican chief, Juarez, in 1866, during the
time the Mexic.in Empire was nominally under the sway of the
unfortunate Maximilian ; and the enterprise of the Anglo-Saxon
has done more in a few months for the exjiloration of the
country than Spanish-Americans accomjjlished during the cen-
turies it was in their irossession. On the completion of the
bargain, the first step taken was the despatch of a scientific
expedition to explore the territory throughout its whole length,
to map its topographical features, and examine its gcclogiial
structure and natural productions. The exploring partv con-
sisted of Mr. J. Ross Brown, Mr. AV. M. Gabb, and Dr.
Ferdinand Loelir — all men of rei)utation on the Pacific coast
as mineralogists and geographers — and the work was com-
menced early in the year 1867.

One of the most interesting results of the investigation; of
these gentlemen, has been to modify the generally received
notion as to the physical conformation of the peninsula. Un
all mai>s, a chain of hills or mountains is represented as running
along the centre, forming, as it were, its back-bone, and ap-
pearing to be a continuation of the coast range of Upprr
California. Such a roountiiin range does not exist ; the land
gradually slopes, or for.ns a succession of plateaus, from tlii.
shores of the Pacific to within a few miles of the eastern coast,
where it terminates in abrui)t precipices, from 3.000 to .^,000
feet in height, facing the Gulf of California. This singular
conformation suggests the idea that t^e jieninsula forms only
the half of a mountain range, divided l.mgitudinally, of whi( h
the corresjwnding or eastern half has disa))peared along the
depression, where now roll the waters of ihe gulf. The narrow-
tract between the foot of the high escarpment and the shores
of the gtdf is broken into ridges and valleys, forming a kind of
" undercliff," and clothed with a luxuriant semi-tropical vegeta-
tion. A fertile soil, yielding, with but little labour, most of
the vegetable productions of warm climates, lies here at the
scrvii c of the hapjiv conunuiiitics which will soon be eslab-
lished on the shores of the harbours and streams.

The rocks which form the slope of this long mountain ridge
are of modem geological date, being of the tertiary period,
here and there overlaid by thinner strata of still more recent
formation. This is the condition of the central, and by far
the greater part of the peninsula ; the southern and northern
portions are difl'erently constituted, the slope and escarpment
disappearing, and a chain of granitic mountains taking their
place. In the south the Peak of St. Lazaro rises to an
elevation of about 6,000 feet, being the highest point. Most
of the central part is bare of trees ; the fertile districts
lying in the nanow valleys of the small rivers, which flow
deep below the general surface of the land in their course
to the Pacific. Towards the southern end of the territory
belonging to the American Company, and on the Pacific coast,
is a noble harbour, called Magdalena Bay, said to be equal
to the bay of San Francisco in its accommodation for vessels.
One half the population of the peninsula is concentrated in
the picturesque valleys of the granitic range in the south, where
the flourishing sih cr mines of Triumfo are situated. There are
here three or four small tov/ns ; but in the rest of the territory
only small scattered villages and mission stations are to be met
with.

Survey of Sinai.

The survey of the Sinaitic peninsula, which is now in opera-
tion, has been undertaken chiefly with a view to establish a
firm basis — by mapping out 'lie topography of the intricate
mountain system and labyrinth of valleys — lor setting at rent
the much debated question of the route of the Israelites and
the events of sacred history connected with it. The project was
set on foot by the Rev. Pierce Butler, wlio intended to have
accomi)anied the expedition, but died before his cherished
object was realised. At his death the subject was taken up
by Sir Henry James, Director of the Ordnance Survey, and
other gentlemen, by whose exertions the necessary funds were
obtained, the Royal Society and the Royal Cjcograjihical
Society each contributing ;^5o, on the ground of the scientific
results expected to accnie from an accurate survey. The
expenses being thus provided for, the authorities of the War
Office granted permission for the detachment on this duty
of a party of officers and men of the Royal Engineers, and
they proceeded on their mission in October last. A valuable
accession to the party was obtained in the Rev. F. W. Hol-
land, a gentleman who had already made three journeys in
Sinai, and travelled on foot over hill and valley for weeks
together, accompanied by an Arab guide, endeavouring to
clear up the difficulties of its history and tojjography. As
an example of the uncertainties atti-iching to these ])oints may
be mentioned the fact that Mr. Holland has found reason for
doubting the hitherto accepted identificatrm of Mount Siimi
I' self; he finds another mountain, called JeLel Urn Alowee,
a few miles north-east of the present Mount Sinai, to meet
the requirements of the biblical narrative much more satis-
factorily. It may be added that whilst investigating the
to])o,;raphy of the country other branches of science will not
be neglected; archaeology, geology, natural history, and me-
teorolo.^y are entered on the piogramme of the expedition.
Accordi.ig to the List accounts from Capt.iin Palmer, the
le.idcr of the p.irty, they were, on the 26*.h November, 18O8,
encamped at the foot of Jebel Musa, all in excellent healtll
and spirits, ond proceeding with their work,

'■I

NOTES ON SPAIN.

nUEt. WITH THE NAVAJA.

Notes on Spain. — ///.

SPANISH INNS— THE roSADA AND VENTA— COOKERY — rUCHERO ANU OLLA— THE NAVAJA.

Thk " ])icturesque barbarisms" which pervade tlie land have
always been a strciiiy attraction and a favourite theme with
travellers in Sjjain, and consc(iuently they are the points on
which the modern Spaniard — of the upper classes, at least — is
sorest, for his highest ambition is to be undislinguishable from
the rest of the civilised world. They are therefore assailed at
once from within and from without, by native sensitiveness
and by the importation of foreign ideas. Some there are,
however, which promise to die hard. The inns of Si)ain have
from time immemori.il served as illustrations of the primitive
simplicity which is the rule in the Peninsula, and thry serve
now equally well as illustrations of the mode in .vhich the
assimilating process works. Inns have always held a pro-
minent place in Spanish literature and books relating to
Spain. Every reader of " Don Quixote" and " Gil Bias"
knows what capital the authors make of the ways and humours,
and motley company of the road-side inn ; and from tlie days
of Wiiliam Lithgow downwards, there is hardly a trans-Pyrenean
traveller who has not had his fling at the discomforts and the
deficiencies, the shortcomings and the short commons of the
hostelries of Spain. Nor are these aspersions merely the ex-
offiiio complaints of a class which always makes the 'nost of
its sufferings abroad in order to impress friends .\t home.
ICven Ford, with all his affection for and sympathy vith every-
thing .Spanish, cannot bring himsel." to say a word in com-
mendation of the Spanish inns. He divides them into three
classes : the bad, the worse, and the worst ; the last class
being by far the largest. From what has been already said
VOL. 1.

in these pages about Spanish travelling as it used to be, it
will be seen that the wants and comforts of travellers were not
very likely to be more carefully considered off the road than
on it. But this was not all. The diligence, with all its in-
conveniences, was still an improvement introduced into and
adopted by Spain. In princii)lc and design it was French ;
in its discomforts and general uncouthness it was Spanish.
But the inn was everywhere, from foundation to chimney-pot,
an institution wholly and ""itirely Spanish, and therefore a thing
unchanged and unchanging, prescr\ing unini|)aired down to the
nineteenth centur)' the ways and habits, luxuries and comforts,
of the time of King Wamba. The old Spanish inn was a fine
example of the way in which the virtue of patience operates
in Spain. The large infusion of patience present in the
Spanish character is, indeed, the key to at least half of the
anomalies included under the term cosas ik Espai'ia. Every
one who has ever travelled ivith Spaniards must ha^'e been
stnick by the uncomplaining resignation with which the
Spaniard will endure annoyances and discomforts that would
at once raise a a])irit of revolt in any other man. It is not
that he is insensible to them, nor is it wholly from an in-
dolence which jjrevents him from taking any trouble to abate
the nuisance. It is rather, one is led to fancy, that drop of
Moorish blood which flows in Spanish vein:s asserting itself in
I true Oiiental fashion under circumstances of suffering. AVhere
: the impatient Northern would set himself to devise and en-
I force a remedy, the Spaniard (piotcs a jjroverb, and it must
I be a rare emergency which cannot be met by some apt and

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEL&

!i >■

■n

• 'I

sententious srraii of current Spanish philosophy. If there is
none sufficiently appropriate and conclusive, he rolls and
lights a cigarette, which action is in itself a practical proverb
at once philosophical and consolatory. It is this ([uality,
joined with an inborn spirit of obedience and respect for
authority, that has made the Spanish the easiest governed,
and therefore tiie worst governed, nation in Europe. As
every rider knows, it is better that the horse should bear a
little on the bridle. A too easy mouth begets a careless
hand, antl then some day there comes a rough bit of road
and a stumble, broken knees, an empty saddle, and a cracked
crown.

In the matter of inns Spain would have continued co
tolerate to the end of the nineteenth century the sort of
accommodation that prevailed in the seventeenth, had it not
been for foreign influence, and it is remarkable how the march
of improvement in this respect marks the track of the foreigner.
The first establishments deserving the names of hotels were at
the scajiorts, jjlaces like Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and
Caili/., and date f'-om the period when steamboat communica-
tion began to operate along the coast ; the inland towns for
a long time made no sign, with the exception, perhaps, of
Seville, which is, after all, a sort of seaport In 1855, in his
last editio.i of the " Hand-book for Si)ain," Ford describes the
Madrid hotels as among the worst in Europe, and only
mentions one, and that with a recommendation which reads
like a warni.ig. The rapid spread of railways since that time
has, however, made a great change ; now, not only at Madriil,
but at almost every large town, there are hotels, not, perhaps,
as well appoin ed as the best in Paris, but on the whole as
good as thase in most civilised parts of Europe, and, at any
rate, good enough to satisfy all but the extremely fastidious.
Recent tourists have, indeed, in some instances inveighed
bitterly against S|)anish hotels, but it is impossible not to
suspect that tiiese comiilaints are due, not so much to
experience, as to tourist tradition and guide-book instniction,
according to which it is a principle that all hotels in Si>ain
must be bad, and that it is the correct thing to abuse them.
The fact is, that in nine cases out of ten the hotels to which
tourists go in Spain are no more Spanish than Mivart's or
Meurice's. It is one of the peculiarities of Spanish progress
that the pro|)eliing power is generally foreign. The railways
are in l'"rench hands, the mines in Fjiglish, the literature is
worked by the (.iermans, and the hotel department has been
taken charge of by the Italians. To the Spaniard is left the
part of complacent proprietor, a part which he looks and acts
to admiration. As he does not att.ach the idea of dignity to
labour, though he is quite able to ajipreciate its effects, the
sight of foreign industry on his behalf is i)leasant to him. It
is gratifying that he should have his bondmen "of the heathen
that are round phout him," and though the labour is theirs yet
he soil they work on is his : cs siempre Espam ; it belongs to
Spain, and Spain belongs to him, and so he can regard the
result with entire selfsatisfaction.

For the real Spanish inn it is necessary to go farther afield,
to leave the beaten tracks, or on the beaten tracks to try some
nnvisited town, such as Aviia for instance, at which the
foreigner does not stop because it is not the foshion to sto|).
There the curious in such matters will find the unaiuilterated
national hostelry, whatever title it may assume for the nonce ;
foi it is to be noted that if Sjjain is above all countries

naturally poor in inn accommodation, the Spanish language is
the richest of all languages in words to express that idea.
" Hotel " has been recently naturalised, and of indigenous
terms there are " fonda," " parador," " meson," " posada,"
" hosteria," " venta," " ventorillo," " taberna ;" to which list may
be adtled "hostal," which, however, is pure Catalan, and
" casa de huespedes," and "casa de pupilos," though the last
are more strictly the equivalents of " pension " or "boarding-
house.'' This variety in nomenclature indicates, however,
distinction rather than difference. The fonda (a title which is
now adopted also by the buffets on the railways) is, or makes a
pretence of being, the sort of thing which would in other
countries be called a hotel ; but as one recedes from the great
highways the distinguishing features become fainter and fainter,
until, in the very remote districts, the name, when it does
appear, ceases to imply any superiority or difference worth
mentioning. The parador is the analogue of our old coai hing
inn ; it is the place domle para la dilis^eticia — where the dili-
gence stops — whether to dine, breakfast, sleep, or discharge its
load. It varies of course with the quantity and cpiality of the
passenger traffic on the road, in some cases boasting a iiu-sa
ndondii (table d'hptc), and an attempt at a cuisine. The
meson and the posada are both town inns, the chief differ-
ence being that the former is rather a bigger and more
bustling kind of establishment, and more property a sort of
house of call for carriers, arrieros, muleteers, and business
travellers of that description, while the ])osada is the inn,
pure and simple, of city, town, or village, the place, as the
name imi)lies, doiuk se posa — whc' _ one reposes : such, at
least, is the theory. Hosteria is a vague term, which means
anything, or very frequently noUiing. in the way of entertain-
ment for man and beast. The venta is the roadside inn, the
caravanserai, far from die haunts of man, to which the traveller
looks forward as the place where he may break the weary
journey between town and town, bait his steeds, cool his
parched clay with a deep draught from the perspiring porous
water-jar, and, if the house be one of good repute and large
business, recruit himself with more substantial refreshment.
The ventorillo is the diminutive of the venta, a half-way
house, of bothie or " shebeen " order, just capable of sujiplying
water for the mules, and fire-water — aguardiente— for their
masters. This and the taberna are the lowest depths of
Spanish entertainment. This latter is simply the wine shop
of the mountain hamlet, and has .seldom much more o offer
the wanderer who is forced to seek its shelter than black
bread, clean straw, and vino de paste — not the light dry sherry-
like wine which monopolises that name in this country, but
simply the vin ordinaire of the district The taberna is, how-
ever, almost confined tu the mountains of dallicia, Leon, and
the Asturias, where the un-Spanish practice of calling a spade
a spade prevails to some extent. In grandiloquent ("astile, or
imaginative Andalusia, a house offering the same degree of
accommodation would not have the least scruple in calling
itself a posada.

The posada and the venta are the two most typical and
characteristic of all these. They are, indeed, things of Spain,
wholly peculiar to, and in every sense redolent of S|)ain. Of
course they vary considerably ; some i)osadas there are whii h
the traveller will always hold in grateful remembrance for their
excellent, homely fare, cosy lodging, and kindly ways. Many,
most perhaps, will have a place in his mcii.ory solely from their

i \

I { A

NOTES ON SPAIN.

«7

discomforts and humours, and the semi-barbarous originality
pervading the entire establishment. To the traveller wiio,
setting forth from Madrid or Seville, or some other civilised
starting-point, i)lunges into the v.ilds of Spain, as he may do
in most cases immediately on jiassing the gates of the city, his
first posada affords nearly as conii)lete a change as coukl be
obtained by dropping from a balloon into the middle of
Chinese Tartary. However posadas may differ in internal
arrangements and comforts, they always agree in one point,
they are, externally, strictly honest ; they make no illusory
outside promises about neat wines, beds, chops and steaks,
or anything corresponding
to those luxuries. They
preserve an uncommuni-
cative, unpromising, and
even forbidding front,
without a sign to guide the
hungry pilgrim, or any in-
dication of their calling
except the name of the
hostelry, Posada of the
Sun, or of the Souls, or of
Juan the Gallego, painted
on the wall within a black
border, like a mortuary in-
scription, and, perhaps, a
withered branch — diat bush
which good wine needs
not, according to the pro-
verb — hanging over the
entrance. This last is
usually a gateway, lofty
and wide, for through it
must pass all that seek the
shelter of the house — men,
horses, mules, or wagons.
Inside will generally be
found a huge, barn -like
apartment, with, at one
end, an open hearth, or
else a raised cooking altar,
where some culinary rite
or other seems to he
alw.iys in progress. At
the other, a wooden stair-
case, or rather, a lad<ler
that has taken to a settled
life, leads to an upper re-
gion, where are certain cells called quartos, which, on de-
mand, will be furnished with a truckle-bed for the luxurious
traveller. In posada etiquette, the securing of one of these
chambers establishes beyond a question a right to the title
caballero, which, otherwise, would be .dlowed only by courtesy.
The muleteers, carriers, and general customers, unless very
flush of cash, rarely avail themselves of such a luxury ; but, I evening wears on the group in the gateway grows larger and
wrapped up in their mantas, stow themselves away under the ' larger, until the shades and chills of nif^it, aided by hunger,
carts, or in the stable, or on a sort of bench which, in well- bring about an adjournment to the hearth inside, where it
found posadas and vcntas, is built for their convenience round J re-forms, antl contemplates the simmering pan:; with a w.irm
the lower chamber. A second arclvvay — the c()unteq)art of I interest. Then sundry low tables, very straddle-legged, as
that opening on the street or road — leads to the yard, and to j having to stand on a rough paved floor, are set out, forks and
ranges of stables sufl'icient for u regiment of t^valry. This, or ' sjioons are distrdiuted, at least to any recognised c.aballeros

TIIE NAVAJA,

something of this sort, is the most common arrangement ; but
there are endless diffciences in matters of detail. The front
gateway is the regular post of "el amo," which must be trans-
lated " landlord ;" though that title, as we understand it, gi\es
but a faint idea of the character. He is by no means the man
to come out smirking and bowing to meet the guest that
descends or dismounts at his door ; his demeanour is rather
that of a prince permitting foreigners to enter his dominions.
The stranger, new to posada ways, before he resents the unde-
monstrative dignity with which he is received, will do well to
study the conduct of his fellow guests as they arrive. The

arriero, as he comes up
with his string of laden
mules, just nods *o the
amo, who, cigareiis in
mouth, sits lolling against
the door-post, and without
further ado passes in with
his beasts, takes off and
puts away the packs, and
stables the animals like
one who is quite at home
and looks for no help.
As he re-appears from the
stables the amo rises, un-
locks the store where the
fodder is kept, gives out
the necessary supplies, and
returns to his seat and
cigarette. The new-comer,
having seen his beasts at
their supper, proceeds to
see about his own at the
ujjper end, where the
womankind and cookery
reign, and ascertains when
the olla, or puchero, or
guisado, as the case may
be, will be ready. Busi-
ness being now finished,
ho m.akes a cigarette, takes
a stool, and sits down in
the gateway opiiosite the
landlord, who then, for the
first time, breaks silence
with " Que tal ?" to which
the guest rejilies with the
latest " novidades " of the
last town he has been in. This is the usual, and the best
plan. Help yourself as far as you can ; take the good
the gods i)rovidc, or in defiiult thereof, such things as the
cooks, and he who sends cooks, may have furnished, and
refrain from making idle in(iuiries as to what you can have, or
useless statements as to what you would like to have. As the

•

II.l.lrSTRATKD TRAVELS.

(as for knives, ever)' man is expected to produce liis own— some
ten or twelve inches of knife — out of iiis breeches pocket or
the folds of his faja), and the ylazcd eartlienware jians are trans-
ferred, just as they are, from the hearth to the tahle, exac tly as
Cervantes describes : " tnijo cl huesped la olla asi conio
cstaba." 15y the way, the dialogue between Sancho and the host,
in tlic beginning of that chapter of " Don Quixote" (I'art II.,

with his fork, and falling back on the use of the sjioon for the
broth and the garbanzos. The concession of a plate, however,
will always be made to the weakness i' c. caballero and a
foreigner, and a similar consideration for the imi ivilised ways
of the outer barliarian will perhaps be shown in granting him a
tumbler, or drinking glass, as his awkwardness will not pemiit
him to drink in the correct way, by shooting a 'hin stream of

I i

- ;

■

1 ,

now A SPANlARIl PRINKS.

chap, lix.) is to this day true to life, and illustrates what \vc
have already said about the uselessness of asking for or
ordering anything in a posada or ventx Now, as then, the
gravity with which a landlord, who has nothing in the house,
and no chance of getting anything outside, will ask. " Que
quiere usted?" (What would your worship like?) is amazing.
Plates are not in vnguc at a genuine posada or venta sui>i)er.
Every one works away at the common dish, liarpooning his
food with the point of his knife, or, if a man of refinement.

wine down his thro.it from the lealhcm bota which passes
j round from hand to hand, or from the porron, a squat glass
I flask, with a long curved spout like a curlew's bill.

The posada, its w.ays and scenes, company and surround-
ings, have rather a flil Ulas flavour. The venta, on the other
hand, reminds one more of Don Quixote. The venta is,
; indeed, " the inn" of Q)uixotic story, and one, at least, of those
I mentioned can be identified in the Venta de Qucsada, a
' couple of leagues north of. Manzanares, on the Madrid road.

ILLUSTRATKD TRAVKI^.

)<1 i

'I'liis is clearly the inn Cervantes had in his eye when he
described the Don's first sally, and how he was dubbed a
knight by the innkeeper. Tradition says it, and topograjjiiy
confirms it. The "great yard that lay neere unto one side of
the inne," where the hero watched his armour, and tlie " cistern
neer unto a well" on which he placed it, are still in existence,
and have a positive historic value in the eyes of the Man-
cliegans. By the way, Shelton and his successors would have
done better in translating "pili" literally by "trough," which
would have been more consistent with fact, as well as with the
spirit of incongruity which pen ades the humour of the whole
scene. There are better spetinens, however, of the Don
Quixote inn than the Ventade Quesada. On the long, straight,
dreary roads of La Mancha and Andalusia may be seen, at
intervals, the very counterpart of that famous inn, in which are
laid so many of the scenes of the first part — a bare, staring,
white-walled, red-roofed building, big enough, and self-assertive
enough, at least, to pass for a castle. For leagues there is no
other house " to mark the level waste, the rounding gray."
All the features described by the novelist are there, even to the
corral where they tossed poor Sancho in the blanket, and the
huge skins of red wine with which the Don did battle. The
company, too, is much the same as of yore. Officers of the
Holy Brotherhood, ladies in disguise, and escaped captives
from Barbary no longer travel the roads ; but the barber and
the priest, cloth-workers of Segovia and needle-makers of Cor-
dova, pedlars, arrieros, and caballeros may still be found grouped
together, by the levelling influence of venta accommodation.
Any remarks about ventas and posadas would be incom-
plete without a word on the fare and cookery of the Spanish
inn. In the civilised hotels and fondas of the large towns, the
cuisine is simjily continental — that is to say, French, or
quasi-French. Spain asserts herself at the table only in a cer-
tain leathery and pitchy twang in the wine, and in a feeble
imitation of the puchero, which is one of the courses of every
table d'hote. The parador, too, in these days very frequently
shows signs of foreign influence ; but the meson, the posada,
and the venta are true to Spanish cookery and Spanish dishes.
About these there is a good deal of misconception. The olla
and the puchero, for instance, are generally spoken of as if
they were definite works of culinary art, and (juite distinct
one from the other. Practically they are the same, olla being
the term in vogue in Andalusia and the south, puchero, in the
Castiles and the north generally ; and each meaning, like our
"dish," not the contents, but the receptacle — the brown glazed
earthenware pan or bowl in which the mass is cooked and,
generally, served. In each case the composition and ingre-
dients depend entirely on the sujjplies withi; reach. They
are, in fact, stews or messes, into which anything edible that is
at hand may enter with propriety. There are, however, certain
ingredients more or less necessary. As the proverbs say, "Olla
sin tocino, seniion sin Agustino" — an olla without bacon is
as poor an affair as a sermon without a flavouring from St.
Augustine, and as flat as a " boda sin tiimborino," a wedding
without music ; and as bacon is ab at the one thing which is
never wanting in Spain, bacon is always there to give an unctuous
mellowness to the mass ; also there should be chorizos, the
peculiar highly-spiced rusty-flavoured sausages of Spain, and
likewise scraps of beef As a bed for these more solid in-
gredients there should be ])lenty of cabbage, and garbanzos or
chick-peas, to which may be adiled any fancy vegetable the

season permits and the district produces. The same rule holds
good with respect to the meat element. The recognised
members are those mentioned above ; but mutton, fowl, goat,
or any chance game picked up on the road — hare, partridge,
(juail, nabbit, i)lover, magpie, all are admissible ; and then, as
the cookery-book would say, let the whole simmer gently over
a slow fire, for "olla que mucho hierve sabor pierde" — the
olla allowed to boil too much loses flavour. The guisado, also
an eminent posada dish, is a stew of another sort, simpler as
regards its composition, but more elaborate as regards its sauce.
In the north-west of Spain, and where the potato flourishes, the
guisado occasionally developes a family likeness to the " Irish
stew," and when really well cooked, is a dish to set before a king,
not to say a hungry traveller. Another favourite posada dish is
chicken and rice, which is something like curried fowl, witii tlie
part of curry left out, or, to be more correct, undertaken by
saffron. The tortilla and the gazpacho, sometimes alluded to in
books about Spain, are not properly posada or venta dishes;
the former, a substantial kind of pancake with slices of ])otato
embedded in it, being rather a merienda or luncheon refection,
to be eaten /// transitu ; the latter, a something between a soup
and a salad consumed by the peasants and labradors in the
fields. The true posada soup, or sopa, is simply bread saturated
into a pulp with caldo — the water in which meat has been
boiled. Condiments of various sorts are largely used in [josada
cookery. The commonest are tomato, pimientos or jieppers,
red and green, and saffron ; to which must be added those two
bugbears of the foreign traveller, oil and garlic. As to the
accusations brought against the former, a true bill must be
found in most cases. It is generally execrable, so strong
and rancid that " you shall nose it as you go up the stairs into
the lobby," but there is rather more fuss made about garlic
than it deserves. The Spanish garlic, like the Spanish onion,
is a much milder and less overpowering article than that
produced further north. Every one who has mixed much
in peasant society in Sjiain must have remarked that, although
(juite as much addicted to the use of garlic as that of the
south of P'rance, it is by no means so objectionable on the
same score. It is even possible for a Northerner to become
in time quite tolerant of garlic, but it is a terrible moment
when he first perceives that he has ceased to regard it with
that abhorrence which a person of properly constituted senses
ought to feel. He becomes the victim of a horrible self-
suspicion somewhat like that of a man thrown among can-
nibals, who found that their mode of dining was beginning
to be less revolting to him than it had been at first The
dessert of a Spanish dinner ought, considering the climate,
to be well furnished. But the Spaniards aie not, like the
Moors, skilful and careful gardeners, and fruit in Spain is
generally poor, the oranges, grapes, and, perhaps, the figs, ex-
cepted. The smaller fruits have scarcely any existence. The
strawberry is all but unknown, except in a wild state. Melons,
to be sure, are abundant, and large enough for Gargantua's
mouth, but they are rather insipid. The apples are sometimes
fair to look at, but seldom worth further attention. The pears
are very much like those stone fruits sold at bazaars for chim-
ney ornaments, and about as soft and succulent ; and as to the
peaches, they are generally nothing b-Jtter than pretentious
turnips in velvet jackets.

What has been already said about the ways of the posada will
throw some light on one of the minor barbarisms with which

A VISIT TO PARAGUAY DURING THE WAR.

7»

Spain is frequently charged. It has been urged as an ugly fact
against the nation that every male, of the lower orders at least,
should always carry about him such a murderous weapon as
the " navaja," the Spanish knife about which so much has been
written, and it is assumed that an instniment of that form can
only be retained for homicidal purposes. The navaja is,
indeed, the national weapon of the Spanish peasant, as the
long Toledo blade was that of the hidalgo, and in that capacity
it lias many a time done effective service in the guerillas of
Spain, as many a poor French picket has found to his cost.
Very likely it would come into play again should an occasion
arise ; but at present, and in these latter days, it is, appearances
notwithstanding, nearly as harmless a tool as a courtsword.
Those frightful combats and scenes of slashing and stabbing
with which Spanish life is so generally accredited, are in reality
of the very rarest occurrence, now at least, whatever they may
have been. There is not, perhaps, a less quarrelsome people
naturally than the Si>anish, nor are they by any means the
fiery, hot-tempered set, prone to shed blood on the smallest
provocation, that those who are fond of generalisation repre-
sent them to be. A fight of any sort, even in the back slums
of the great cities, is the most uncommon of sights, and there
are probably more of what are called " knife cases " in a week
in England than in Spain in a twelvemonth. Better police
regulations, too, have helped to make serious frays impossible.
The professional bully, for instance, mentioned by Ford, and
portrayed by M. Dor^, cannot well levy black-mail on the
card-players with the same impunity as in days gone by. The
navaja is carried more from force of habit than anything else.
It is the old trusty companion of the Spaniard, a weapon
abroad, a knife at board ; and, though fighting may have gone
out, dining still remains in fashion, and he clings to the old tool.
Still, however, it must be admitted, appearances are against
the navaja, and, .being so, every tourist will, of course, buy a
specimen, to serve as an illustration of the manners and
customs of Spain. With the traveller who means to put up
at ventas and posadas it is, indeed, a matter of necessity. A

knife of some sort he must have, as has been already shown,
and he had better provide himself with one of those of the
country, for if he ])roduces a more civilised implement of
foreign manufacture, he will find that its attractions as a
curiosity are so great that it will be in any hands but his own
at meal times. The Albaccte cutlery is the most esteemed ;
but Santa Cruz de Mudela, Saragossa, and one or two other
towns, turn out business-like articles. Eirbarous, indeed, in
every way is the navaja. The blade, sharp at the point as a
needle, varies from three inches to three feet in length. Knives
of the latter dimensions are not, to be sure, generally carried
in the breeches pocket, but they are to be seen in the cutlers'
windows. From eight to ten inches is a convenient length
for general society, but twelve or fourteen is not considered
ungenteel. Nothing can be nider than the ornamentation,
workmanship, and finish ; in fact, the whole affair rather looks
like the uncouth weapon of some scalping, weasandslitting,
stomach-ripping savage, than the peaceful companion of a
European Christian. Still, the elasticity of British manufai ture,
which on the one hand can surjiass the blades of Damascus
and Toletio, and on the other descend to meet the tastes of
the Malay and the Red Indian in creeses and tomahawks, is
equal to the task of producing a navaja which can compete
successfully with the native article. There is a form of knife,
bearing the name of a Sheffield firm, which is -.ow becoming
very popular in Andalusia on account of its f'.iirability, lightness,
and cheapness, and it is curious to observe how the traditions
and tastes of the country have been consulted in its construc-
tion. It is certainly, in appearance, a less bloodthirsty instru-
ment than the original navaja, and inclines rather to cutting
than to stabbing as the true province of a pocket-knife ; but
it is studiously and carefidly rough and rude in make, and,
beside a common jack-knife, which does not cost half its price,
it looks like the product of some savage workshop. This is
the small end of the wedge; it will be for some hardwire
Danvin of the future to trace the features of the old national
navaja in the improved cutlery of Spain.

A yisit to Paraguay during the War.

BY THOMAS J. HUTCHINSON, f.R.G.S.. ETC

CHAPTER II.

BATTLE OF RtACHUELO— NOISES IN SOUTH A.MKRICAN TOWNS— CITY
OF CORRIENTES— CMACO INDIANS— BONI'LAND THE BOTANIST-
MIRACLE OF THE CROSS— LAKE OK YBERA- FLOATING ISLANDS—
THE VICTORIA RECIA— THE FARANA ABOVE CORRIF.NTF.S— ITAPIRU
FORT-THE BRAZILIAN FLEET— THE PARAGUAYAN CIIATA.

March 30/^— Passing the Sombrero and Sombrerito points,
we enter the bay oi)posite the Riachuelo, where was fought
the great naval battle, already alluded to, between the Para-
guayan and Brazilian squadrons, on the nth of June, 1865.
Vessels ascending the river and entering this harbour have
to contend against a very rapid current sweeping round the
point; and the Paraguayans, availing themselves of this
advantage, erected a battery at the place to aid their fleet.
Into the centre of the river bight flows the small river
Riachuelo, and at the upper end, us the only reminder
of the battle, we sec projecting out of the water the three

masts of the large Brazilian iron steamer, the Jequitiuhonha,
which grounded on a bank during the fight. I hope to be
excused giving any details of this contest, when I state the
fact that both sides claim the victory on the occasion, and
that medals to commemorate it were stnick respectively at
Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, and at Rio de Janeiro,
the capital of Brazil.

Rounding the point of El Pelado (the treeless), and skirt-
ing along the Isla de Palomeras (the island of bleak iioints),
anchor is dropped in Corrientes roadstead at ten o'clock on
Good Friday morning.

In nearly all South American towns the first noises which
attract the attention of a stranger are the sounding of bugles
and the ringing of bells. It occurs to me that the latter prac<
tice may owe its origin to the dogmas of Frater Johannes
Drabicius, who, in his book, "De Ccelo et Coelesti Statu,"
printed at Mentz in A.D. 1718, employs 425 pages to prove

!'■'

;|!

t>'<

! ■ I

i ' ';

1 !■

T»

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEI^.

that the occupation of the blessed in the world to come will j
be the perpetual ringing of bells. Before sunrise bells
and bugles are now vibrating at Corrientes, whilst (luring
the whole tlay long the music of both is re|)eated at in-
tervals — too often, 1 regret to say, in most distressing tones of
discortlance.

I had been informed, previous to my visit to this place,
that there were some old ladies here whose notioiis of what '
Captain Maury calls the
'■ tleography of the Sea" were
so limited, that even after
steamers began to ply in
this direction they believed
the mail and passenger
vessels came out from Eng-
land in the same flishion as
the river craft etfected their
voyages from Buenos Ayres:
to Corrientes — namely, by
lying every night alongside
an island, to which their
ship was made fast by a
rope secured to a tree.

I was agreeably disap-
pointed with my first view of
Corrientes from the road-
stead. Two venerable-look-
ingchurches — the Matriz (or
jiarish chapel) and the San
Francisco — with the Moorish-
looking tower of the Cabildo
(town hall), first attracted
my attention, producing a
fdeasant Okl-W'orld appear-
ance. Then a number of
brown sloping roofs — a very
u;r,;sual thing in Spanish
South American towns, where
all the house-tops are flat —
gave an air of quaintness to
the place. On the beach,
at the southern end, arc half-
a-dozen tanneries; the leather
which is manufactured here
constituting one of the chief
articles of export, together
with dry and wet hides, tim-
ber of various kinds, and
oranges in their season.

My earliest visit on shore
was paid to His P',xcellcncy

the Governor. In the Government House are comprised
the governor's and the minister's office, as well as the
offices of the customs, the bank, and the war depart-
ment. The buililing was originally erected as a college by
the Jesuits. Its i hief front faces Tucuman Street, and over
the main iloor are the arms of the Argentine Republic.
This bl()( k of buildings covers a .si|uare (cmnf/d) of ground
(150 yards on each side), and inside the quadrangle is a
smooth greensward of the finest grass. Everywhere in the
streets of Corrientes this herbage, styled ^iwnil/a or J>aslo

INIIIAN OF I'AKAi;l!AV.

tierne, is seen growing. Between the offices and the gi.isg
a corridor runs along on each side, clinging to the pillars
of which grow scarlet and vari-coloured convolvuli, inter-
mingled with white and red roses. In two squares which
adjoin we find the commissariat's offices, busy with the troops
and stores now in daily jireparation for the camjiaign in
Paraguay.

The ground on which the city is i.uilt is undulating like that

of I'aranl In the same
street as the post-office, and
nearly o])posite to it, ' the
theatre, of which I saw
little except broken win-
dows, and obsened th.it the
light of heaven ])cnetrated
very distinctly through the
greater part of its wooden
roof. The streets in one
respect bear a resemblance
to those of the city of Cor-
dova, in being simily, which
is attended with this ad-
vantage, that in wet weather
there can be little or no
mud. Occasionally we see
blocks of basalt cro])ping up
in these sandy roads. Al-
most every house has an
orange -garden attached to
it, and the fragrant odours
of the blossoms and the
golden fniit, when in season,
make up for many defi-
ciencies in the place in
other respects. The pro-
duce in oranges is so
abimdant that, as I have
before said, they con-
stitute part of the exports of
the city.

In the principal />laz(t
are situated the two churches
of the Merced and Matriz,
whilst between them and
the river is the church of
San Francisco. This square
is very spacious, but the
town-hall, a statue of Liberty
in the centre, and a few
private houses, constitute
all its architectural features.
Opposite the Cabildo (or town-hall), and on the other side
of the square is a large, gloomy, prison-looking residence,
with a siTiall entrance-door painted a very bright green,
where resides Doctor Santiago Dercpii, who was president of
the Argentine Confederation on the fall of Urquiza. A few
palm-trees, not of very vigorous growth, are planted here ami
there. The statue of Liberty has at each corner of the base
of the column, and overto|)ping the pediment, the figure of
a human bust. One of these represents Bclgrano, another
San Martin, a third Alvear, and the fourth Liivallol — all

A VISIT TO PARACUAY DURING 'I'HH WAR.

7.5

heroes of the war of independence waged I v the Argentines
against Spain.

In the Matriz there are sonic fine paintings by the old
Spanish masters. The organ of this church was made by ,i
priest, assisted by a native Macksmith,

I mounted the tower . the Cabildo, in order to have a
view o*" the city and surrounding dumtry. This edifice,
the town-iiall of the ])lact'. was erected in 1812 by Deputy-
Ciovernor I.a/uriage, uid has always been used for offices
by the judges of crimi-
nal, of civil, and of
commercial causes, as
well IS by the Gtje Po-
litii. This last-named
functionary is, in all
Argentine towns, equiva-
lent to the mayor or
chi( f magistrate. P'roni
the summit of the tower
the eye ranges across
the lu't.'r to the illimit-
able wilds of the Gran
Chaco territory ; but the
most attr.Ktive object is
a very imposing church,
with enonnous dome,
covered with blue and
white porcelain tiles,
situated in the north-
eastern part of the city,
at a distance of about a
mile and a half from
whore we stood. This
sacred building was de-
dicated to our Lady of
Rosario ; but, although
commenced ten years
ago, it is still unfinished,
and surrounded by scaf-
foUling. Towards the
borders of the town, on
the south-east, we can
see the chapel of El
Milagro de la Cruz (The
Miracle of the Cross),
and adjoining this lies
the public cemetery,
Seen from this height,
Corrientes might be
styled the " city of

orange groves," so abundant are the orchards of this beautiful
fruit.

Descending from the Cabildo, I stroUea up to the market-
house, which is nothing but a galpon, or shed, resembling an
African palaver-house, in being open at both ends. It is about
fifty yards long. Among the articles offered for sale by the
dark-skinned market-gardeners and costermongers were heaps
of Indian com, s »gar-cane, sweet potatoes, melons, gourds,
and a curious sort of lumpy saccharine confectionery that
resembled too much the colour of the sellers to encourage me
to try its flavour. As I walked tlirough the town I was able to

VOL, I.

SERGEANT GONZALES — PARAGUAYAN SOLDIER.

notice more attentively the brown roofs of the houses, which
had so curious an appearance from the deck of our steamer.
They are constructed of the trunks of palm-trees, the cylin-
drical stems being si)lit down the middle, and -n arranged in
juxtaposition as to have their convex sides upwards. Attached
to the majority of houses with this style of roof, and facing the
street, are wide vcramlahs, beneath whi( h one can sit at any
tir.if of the il;iy, and be protcrted from the scorching sun.

Amongst the motley crowd of natives and foreigners to

be met with here at this
time, were occasional
specimens of the Mo-
covi and Guaicaru In-
dians from the Gran
Ch.ico. These people
come across from their
wild woods to sell grass
for cattle, there being
no alfalfa (South Ameri-
can clover), on which
horses are fed else-
where in this coiiiilry,
cultivated near Cor-
rientes. The Chaco
grass is extremely coarse,
being almost as thick as
wht n straw. It is, ne-
vertheless, said to be
very nutritious, and the
horses feed on it with
great avidity.

During our stay at
Corrientes the crew of
the steamer caught in
the river a large quan-
tity of fish, some of them
resembling in taste the
English salmon. Two
of the kinds taken were
the dorado and the
pekare, both excellent
eating. The latter is
said, by its presence, to
be the invariable pre-
cursor of the water
rising — a change very
much needed at the
time of my visit. The
dorado, as its name in-
dicates, is of a golden
colour; whilst both species are plump and fat These two
kinds of fish are plentiful in all parts of the river, from Monte
Video upwards.

Whilst at Corrientes I made inquiries respecting the dis-
tinguished French botanist, M, Amadde Bonpland — a man
who once enjoyed great fame as the companion and worthy
fellow-labourer of the illustrious Humboldt, in his world-
renowned journeys across the Cordilleras of the northern part
of the South American continent Bonpland died in 1858, at
his estancia, or plantation, in the territory of Missiones, near a
town called Mercedes, at the distance of about fifty leagues

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

1 ^ ,

ill

east from Corrientes city. To me it was a subject of sadden-
ing rctlL'ttion to find that the name of this celebrated saTant
was already almost forgotten in the country of his adaption.
In spite of the s|)lendid career which lay open to a man of his
great attainments in l-airope, after his travels, he left the centres
of Old-World civilisation, anil came to the banks of the I'ljta to
do what he coidd towards the spread of eiiiiyhtenment in the
New World. A grant of lami, four leagues in extent, v.as given
to him at the time that Don Juan Pujol was governor of this
province in 1854. At this last-mentioned period, being then
interested in the establishment of the agricultural colony of
Santa Anna, where he temporarily resided, Bonpland was
appointed by Governor Pujol to be director-in-chief of a
museum of the natural products of the province of Corrientes,
just created in the capital. His reply, accepting the post,
seems to be worthy of being preserved. It is dateil Santa
Anna, the 27th of October, 1854, and is addressed to the
governor in the following words : —

" I shoukl wish to be younger, as well as more worthy to
fill the situation of director-in-chief of the m\iseuni, or perma-
nent provincial exhibition, that your Excellency has deigned to
offer me. Although I am now three months beyond eighty
ye.ars of age, I accept with gratitude the honourable position
placed at my disposal ; and I pledge myself to employ all my
powers in fulfilling the numerous duties exacted by an institu-
tion calculated to be so useful to the people of Corrientes, to
whom, as well as to your Excellency, the honoured founder of
this museum, I owe numberless obligations.

"The chief riches of this province, as far as we know at
presenl, consist in its vegetable productions. In the Argen-
tine Republic, together with Paraguay and the Banda Oriental,
I have collected a herbarium of more than three thousand
species of plants, and I have studied their properties with the
mon careful attention. This work, in which I have been
employed since 18 16, will be very useful when I come to
arrange our vegetable collection ; and I hope in a short time
to place in the museum of Corrientes a herbarium that will be
as useful as your Excellency need de-sire, in encouraging
in the minds of your fellow-citizens an ambition to study the
natural products of their country.

"As to the mineral kingdom, t' ere is no doubt that with
the advance of time our mines of silver and gold will be
worked with much advantage, when we have a more numerous
population, and labour is carried on according to better rules
than those which now exist. Although quicksilver has been
discovered, many years ago, in the neighbourhood of La Cruz,
still the predecessors of your Excellency have neglected the
glory of utilising this metal, which is so useful for amalgama-
tion with gold and silver. It would seem expedient to me to
explore as soon as possible the three small hills which overtop
the town of La Cruz, for it is there that may be discovered the
chief deposit of this quicksilver. If, as I hope, we can ascer-
tain with accuracy the position of this mine, it will prove an
invaluable treasure to serve for the amalgamation of the
numerous ores of gold and silver, that are at the present
time being worked with so much zeal all through the Argentine
Republic.

"The animal kingdom is well represented in the pro-
vince, but as yet we have only a superficial knowledge of
it. Therefore much interesting information can be elicited,
as well as a good collection formed, by an assiduous study

of thid branch of knowledge. God bless your Excellency,

&c. &c.

"AMAOfclb: Uo.NPLA.'iU."

The st.itements in the foregoing letter, that the writer was
eighty ye.irs and three montlis old when he accepted the post
of director-in-chief of the Corrientes Museum, and that he had
made a collection of more than three thousand species of
pliints, made me very anxious to know something of the
result of his 'abours in this interior province. I found that
his name is remembered, and that is all. No one in Corrientes
of whom I inquired knew even where the museum had
formerly stood, although it was only twelve years since it was
established ; and of the whereabouts of Bonpland's botanical
collection they were eciually ignorant. Such is scientific fame
in South .'Vmeru a !

Young as these South American countries are, the city of
Corrientes boasts a miraculous legend concerning its founda-
tion. It is thus related by the historian. Dr. Vicente C.
Quesada : —

" In the year 1588, Don Juan Torres de Vera .and Armgon
was AdelanUulor, or Governor of Paraguay. Me sent h's
nephew, Don Aloiizo de Vena, with eighty soldiers, to found
a city in some advantageous position, lower down the river
than the capital of Asuncion. In the report of Don Alonzo
on the place which he selected, he describes it as 'a beautiful
situation, not only with a charming persi)ective, but possessing
manifest adv.antagcs for agriculture and the rearing of cattle.'
On the 3rd of A|)ril, 1588, they mounted the banks, which in
this place are not more than from ten to twelve feet above the
water, and pitched their tents in a small bramble wood, called
Arazatary. The custom of the Si)aniards in those times was,
in the first place, to make a cross, which they planted, as a
signal of their having taken possession in the name o£ the
Spanish sovereign. At this epoch the Guarani Indians in-
habited this part of the country in large multitudes, anil they
knew, from sad experience, how dreadful was the tyranny of
the white man, under whose bondage their brethren were then
suffering in Paraguay ; so that, at sight of the Spaniards, they
prepared to defena ilicir soil and their liberties against these
invaders. The new-comers, having erected the cross, con-
structed a wooden palisading, inside of which they placed
themselves for defence against six thousand Guaranis, who
came at once to attack them, and who were commanded by
three famous cacicpies, named Canindeyu, P.ayaguari, and
Aguard Coemba. The Guaranis poured in on the besieged
a shower of arrows, against which the palisading was but a
miserable defence. Previous to returning the assault with
their arquebuses, although these were charged, the Spaniards
knelt down before the cross, and offered up in loud voices the
most fervent prayers to heaven for protection. The Indians,
observing the ciirious cries and movements of those who had
Knelt down before the symbol of their faith, believed that it
contained some charm which would prevent their overcoming
sui h a handful of soldiers whilst it existed ; therefore, as the
cro s was placed at the entrance to the palisading, they piled
around it a quantity of dry branches of wood, a quantity of
scorched-up grass, and anything of a combustible nature which
they could pick up. Then they set fire to the mass, amidst
yelling and dancing, for they calculated on certain victory
when the cross should be consumed. But their surprise was
very great when, after an hour's burning, the sacred symbol

A VISIT TO PARAGUAY UUKING THK WAR.

was observed in the midst of the ashes jjcrfcctly uninjured.
With chagrin and disa]ii>oint,nKnt, they rctiirncd to a|ii)ly
fire again, when, as one of tlie Indians ajiproaihed to stir
up the smouldering embers, he was struck dead upon the
spot. Some say this was done by a flash of lightning, sent
down from heaven to punish his impiety; but others, less
credulous, believe he received his deathblow by a shot from
one of the Spanish arquebuses. The Indians, at all events,
at sound of the detonation, and on seeing the dead body of
their brother, took this as a signal mark of displeasure from
above ; then the six thousand Guaranis, with their caciciues,
women, and children, bowed thi r heads to the yoke of their
eighty Spanish conquerors."

Having ob'ained a horse through the kindness of Dr.
Newkirk, I rode out on one morning of my stay here to see
the pillar which is erected on the spot where the cross was
originally planted ; for, although a chapel was the first edifice
built in Corrientes directly upon the place where stood the
holy symbol, that chapel, with its \)r'ue(\ memorial, was recon-
stnicted on the loth of March, 1736, and again rebuilt on the
30th of March, 1808, on the site where it now stands. The
existing La Capilla de la Cruz is very near the town, whereas
the first one was more than a mile distant.

The column, which is erected about 500 yards from the
river's bank, to commemorate "La Cruz de los Milagros"
(The Cross of the Miracles), was completed, and its opening
celebrated by a grand religious festival, on the 4th of May,
1828, "as a testimony of the people's veneration for their
religious traditions." It is a simple stone pillar, plastered
over with mortar ; and at the time of my visit there was a
bird's nest on the top of it. The height does not exceed
fifteen feel, and it has about six feet square of metal railings at
the base. On two sides of its base are inscriptions in
Spanish, that nearest the river being, " The people of Corrientes
erect this monument as a testimony of their gratitude to the
sovereign Author of omens, with which His omnipotent right
hand deigned to work in favour of their Fathers on the memo-
rable 3rd of A])ril, 1588;" whilst that on the side facing the
city runs, " The pnme people of Corrientes, in homage of the
memory of their twenty-eight illustrious ancestors, on the
3rd of April, 1588."

Although the first great miracle is believed to have occurred
on the date just mentioned, its celebration was changed to the
3rd of May by the Bishop of Paraguay, Dr. Don Benito
Line, when he visited the i)lace (at thai time forming part of
his diocese) in 1805. For a considerable number of years
after this the Governor, the House of Representatives, the
civil and military bodies, were accustomed to hold a grand
festival in the neighbourhood of the column on the 3rd of
May. During the day all kinds of Gaucho games were cele-
brated, and many features of carnival times were presented,
whilst the night was passed in singing, ddncing, and playing
the guitar. But now there is little more in Corrientes than
the desolation which war brings everywhere.

The city of Corrientes was named " Taragui " by the
Guarani Indians. This word, in their languu^v., signifies a
" lizard," and they gave the appellative from the fact of the
walls, roofs, and patios (court-yards) of the houses abounding
with these reptiles, shortly after the city was founded. The
original title given by the Spanish founders was " San Juan de

las Siete Corrientes " (Saint John of the Seven Currents), from
the circumstance that, a short distance above the city, the river
Paran;l breaks on some points of rocks, wlii( h cause so many
back-waters (/>., .seven), and consecjuent eddies, each having
an opposite tendency. The coat of arms of the province
represents seven points of land, with a cross in the middle
envelo|)ed in (lames.

Corrientes province is divided into twenty departments,
including the cajjital. 'i'hesc are territorial <livisions, sonjewhat
after the style of parishes in Kngland, for each possesses so
many justices of peace, who are distributed more in |)ro|)crtion
to the position and jKipulation of a department than to its
extent of land. The boundaries of this province seem to be
very difficult to be defined, as for many centuries there have
been disputed limits between the Argentine Republic, Brazil,
and Paraguay, chiefly in reference to the district of Missiones,
which forms the north-eastern line between the Republics
and the doninions of Brazil.

The most remarkable natural feature in the jirovince is
the laguna, or lake of Ybera. According to Dean Funes,
the Indian tril)es of Caracaras, Capasalos, Mepenses, and
GaUjuilaros inhabited many of the islands in this lake. We
are told by M. De Moussy that the go'ater part of its im-
mense extent of 700 scjuare leagues is covered with wood and
aepiatic plants, and that it swarms with boa constrictors and
alligators. Its waters rise and fall with the increase and
lowering of the river Parand, although there is no visible
communication between them, except by the channels of
Corrientes, Batel, Santa Lucia, Ambro: lO, and San Lorenzo
— all which run out of the lake, flow in a south-westerly
direction, and empty themselves into the Parand. At the
opposite side, the river Mirai^ay touches it, and, following
a south-easterly course, debouches into the river Uruguay.
The last-named river divides the Brazilian province of Rio
Grande from the Rei)ublic of Banda Oriental. The Ybera
lake presents great variety throughout its vast extent, being
composed of clear waterpools, marshes, terra firma, bramble-
beds, and quagmires. The last-named have a very deceptive
ajipearance, and are sometimes difficult to be recognised,
on account of the number of aquatic plants which cover
the surface and impede the passage, the thick growth of
aquatic vegetation rendering it oftpa necessary to explore with
canoes for several days in ordrr to discover the navigable
channels. To me it appears that the title, laguna (lake), is
misapplied in the case of this basin ; for swamp or morass
would seem a more appropr.ate name. A true bog is
said by physical geographers to exist nowhere in so low a
latitude, and in so warm a r'imate, as that in which lake Ybera
lies, the rapid Hecomposition and volatilisation of vegetable
matters in a couPiry of high temperature not admitting of the
formation of bog, which this lake-swamp seems to resemble.
In parts of h there are large sheets of water traversed by float-
ing islands, often changed in their position by strong winds.
On these, a,; well as on other lakes in the province of Cor-
rientes, we find growing the colossal water-lily, the Victoria
Regia, with circular white flowers, four feet in diameter, lying
flat on the surface of the water. By the native Guarani
Indians it is called the " Irupe," which means "a large plate."

The river, in ascending from Corrientes, for a few leagues
presents a similar expanse of water, varied with thickly-wooded
islands, to that we have noticed lower down. At about four

'■

<
O

p
u

<
a.

A FEW DAYS IN THE CAMARGUE.

miles distance we pass the Tsla de la Mesa (Tahle Island), and
half a league fiirtiier on is a house on the beach, ])ointing out
the position of a French agricultural colony, that was en-
deavoured to be established in 1855 by Dr. Brougnes, and
which turned out a signal failure. 'I'he celebrated French
botanist, Bonpland, of whom I have already written, resided
here ." some time. The chief town was called Sania Anna.
It wa.s .situated on the ruins of an old village, entitled Gaacaras,
from the name of the Indian tribe who dwelt there in former
times. To its roadstead was given the long-winded epithet of
San Juan-delPuerto-de J-ianta-.Anna (Saint John of the port of
Saint Anna). Half a league further on we pass th-; Itakay, one
of the outlets of the river Paraguay, branching oH, as our pilot
tells me, about a. league and a half below the Port of Ciirai)aity.
This chiinnel of Itakay leaves between it and the Parand
a large island having the same name. Two leasees above the
Itakay outlet we reach the embouchure of the Paragiia)', known
as the Tres Bocas (Three Mouths), liccause two smill islands,
lying at the point of exit, cause its waters to be divided into
th.-ec mouths.

Wc were now arrived at the sea. of war, and the sights and
sounds of martial preparations, and din of thousands of armed
men ashore ard afloat, marred grimly the aspect of peaceful
woodlands 11. I the broad sur.acc of the placid river. The
Paraguay river coming from .he north forms an angle with the
Parand, which here flows frcm the west ; the territory enclosed
between the two rivers formin/g the republic of Paraguay, and
the river Piirand the frontier between the gallant litt'e nation
and the Argentine Republic. In the angie of land thus formed
are the Paraguayan forts and entrenched camps, and on the
opposite (southern) side of the Parand the camjis of the allied
army of Argentines and Brazilians. On the Paraguayan side of
the Parand, and about five miles upwards from the mouth of the
Paraguay, is the so-called Fort of Itapiru,* to which the allied
armies, exceeding 60,000 men, are now preparing to cross
as soon as all arrangements are completed for this important
movement. To how many will this passage be like thai over
the f;\bled waters of Styx, whereof the exile was eternal !

Itapiru has no fort, properly speaking; for it consists of a
breastwork of clay about 30 yards long, a small rancho or hut,
an open shed, two 4 J-pounders, two morLirs for throwing
shells, and a staff, op .vhich the Paraguayan flag is hoisted.
This banner resembles the Dutch in being composed of three
• This, in Guarani Indi.m, .signifies ":,inall stone."

horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue, placeil in juxtaposi-
tion ; but directly opposite of that arrangement in which they
are fixed to rei>resent the ensign of Holland. The shores of
the river between Itapiru and the Tres Bocas is clothed with a
seemingly impenetrable jungle of bushes, and trees of moderate
height. The fleet, seen from a short distance presents an im-
posing ajipearance, consisting, as it docs, of monitors, iron-
clads, gunboats, and trans|)ort steamers, of whose numerical as
well as cannonading strength I confess my ignorance. The
greater portion of them are Brazilian. One day, after my
arrival, I went on board a Paraguayan "< hata," that lay alongside
a Brazilian war steamer, in order to exanune its construction.
It had been captured in the fight at Riachuelo, and in shape
resembled (yie of our canal boats, except that it was more
tapering at the ends, at each of which it was fiirnished with a
rudder, similar to the ferry-boats on the Mersey plying between
Liverpool and Woodside. The toji of its bulwark was elevated
only fourteen inches above the water. Being flat-bottomed, it
had a very shallow draught, In the centre was a circular
depression a foot deep, in which there was a brass swivel, so
that its armament of a 4<S-pounder gim could be \eered round
to any point desired by the commrinder. The length w is only
eighteen feet ; and there being no protection for tl e crew
against the enemy's fire, they must fight on the deck till they
conquered or died.

During my stay at Paso de la Patria, one of these chatas
boldly attacked two large Brazilian monitors. It was like a
small terrier ilog charging a pair of elephants. The chata had
only ten men on board, yet they man.aged to send a 48-
])ounder shot through one of the jiort-holes of the monitor
Tamandare, killing four officers and wounding ten or twelve
men. One of the oflicers was cut right through the middle ;
in the words of my informant, the Brazilian Admiral, "as sharply
as if he h;id been severed by a knife." The destruction by this
single ball may be attributed to the fact th.at the pott-hole by
which it entered was blocked up with chains, and these, smashed
by the collision into small jjieces, acted as so much grape-sho'
in the deadly fray. The Paragu.iyans, indeed, in the e.irly
montlis of the war, displayed great counage and skill in carry-
ing on naval warfare, and caused many losses to the Brazilian
fleet. Their tofjifdoes in the bed of the river were more
etTective .against tfeir enemies' vessels th.an were those of the
Russians, planted in the approaches to Cronstadt, against the
English fleet.

A Few Days in the Camarguc.

BY B. T. ANSTED,

The road from London through Paris to Marseilles is often
and very easily tijivelled, but it is certain that few of those
who m.ake the trip think, ,is they approach the shores of
the Mediterrane-n, of the country a little removed from their
line of travel, or dream that they are leaving behind tiiem
places of the greatest historical interest, deserted merli.Tval
cities, scarcely changed from their mediiieval condition ; Roman
constructions superior in condition and e()ual in uiterest to
many of those bearing the highest reputation in Italy ;mv.untains,

M..A.. r.K.s., F.R.U.S.

\ valleys, and plateaux rarely visited, and little known ; and
large tracts of low, flat lands gained from the sea, having not
on'y special and very characteristic \jlants and animals, but
human inh.ibitants who seldom emerge from their hiding-
places, and are as unfamiliar to the people of the towns as
are the breeds of cattle runnitig almost wild in the marshes
on the coast to the (juiet herds pasturinj^ in the rich meadows
of Burgundy.

The lowci part of iJie F.lione abounds in objects and

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

places of this kind, many of them no doubt often enough
(leicril)c'd, and familiar enough to the tourist, but others
almost unknown. Below Lyons, Viennc and Valence, Orange
and Avignon, are passed but too raiiidly, and at length v/e
reach the fine old city of Aries, celebrated almost equally for
its beautiful women and its Roman antiquities. At Aries the
rail br.niches ; tl'.c main line rims southward and eastward to
Marseilles, crossing the curious gravel plains and terraces of
the Crau, and skirting the lagoons of Bene, while another
line, recently opened towards the west, skirts the northern
extremity of low plain, of some three hundred square miles in
extent, known as the Camargue.

The appearance of this land from the railway is not
attractive. The eye takes in only a monotonouj expanse of
dead level, varied here and there by a few marshes. The
part near the railway is cultivated, but there are few fences of
any kind, fewer trees, and fewest of all houses. The land is
uniformly flat. Here and there are large establishments,
where salt ir. ipanufactured on a gigantic scale. Here and
there, also, are large farms, partly grazing and partly arable.
There are few roads, but many marshes and canals. A little
above Aries the Rhone is a noble and rapid stream, at one
season moving majestically with a steady current, and at other
seasons rushing along as a torrent, carrying with it all kinds of
debris washed down from the mountains. A little below Aries
the principal part of this great river is converted into a some-
what sluggish stream, muddy and tame, the rest being dis-
tributed in other channels, partly to carry off the flood-waters
to the sea, partly to swamj) the flat lands seen at a distance
from the railway. The river has now entered its delta, its
course is checked, and it is beginning to unload and deposit
the huge cargo it has been conveying from the upper country.
'xhe delta of the Rhone is the island of the Camargue.

I had long desired to penetrate into the interior of this
rather unpromising country. I could tind no very satisfactory
account of it of recent date, and few who had even entered it
At the same time, I found that those whose occupation or
interest led them to inhabit it, accpiired for it a passion morf:
like that which is felt by mountaineers, than any mere ordinary
love of home could account for. It is unhealthy during part
of the year, but there are instances of owners of property
within the district who return to it year after year, not called
by any necessity, suffering each year from lever, but incapable of
resisting the temptation to run one more risk. I was fortunate
enough to make acquaintance with a family, consisting of a
highly intelligent and enterprising father, a devoted and
charming wife and daughters, elegant, well-informed, and ac-
complished to an unusual degree, who were pining in their
comfortable and well-appointed house at Aries, and looking
forward to the season when they should return to their
Camargue. There they could roam about on horseback,
free and independent, over the wild sandy expanse covered
with low ju'iiper-bushes, tamarisks, and other shrubby plants,
crossing at will the calm, shallow lagoons, and resting in the
forests of umbrella pine, hardly disturbing the flamingo and
the avocet in their vast solitudes, and listening to the moaning
of the sea. as it breaks'lazily on the sandy shore at a distance.

Beyond the line of the railway to the south of the branch
from Aries, by St. Gilles to Lunel, there is no town but
Aigues-Mortes in the whole of the Camargue. There are a
few farm-houses, at rather distant intervals, and a few 'louses

belonging to the managers of salines, and other manufacturing
establishments, and also a very few stations of custom-house
ofticers appointed to watch the coast. At Les Saintes Maries,
on the coast, there are a few houses. For some distance from
Aries into the interior there are carriageable roads, but these
gradually cease, and at length become mere paths on the sand.
Before long, as we advance in this direction, all traces even c f
paths disappear, and it is only possible to travel with an/
comfort on horseback. Travelling in this way is, however
easy and pleasant enough ; and during summer and autumn
there are no internqjtions from water, all the lagoons and
marshes having hard bottoms. It is only n?ar the main branch
of the Rhone, and between the river and the inner line of
dykes, that the ground is soft and un[,".easant to travel over.

I left Aries in the early morning of a fine and warm
October day, in a light carriage, with two pleasant companions,
and we soon found ourselves crc '. the fields and cultivated
farms in the northern and high c yr.r of the district Much
of this land has been recovered fri.:>. the sea at no distant
period, .i.id, after being well washed by numerous sweepings of
freshwater, it has become, like most recovered swamps, of mar-
vellous richness, and admirably adapted both for grazing and
corn crops. The corn of this part is celebrated, and fetches a
higher price than any other French grain. Except a few trees
close to the houses, the country is bare, and without hedges or
walls, or any other mark to signify tiie boundaries of proi)erty.
T'.ie larm-houses are large, low, comfortable-looking habita-
tions, and, in some cases, adjcin a larger house belonging to
the JDroprietor, who, for the most part, only appears at long
intervals. There is one small park in the heart of this wild
district, but the inhabitants generally care little about shelter,
and even less for ornament.

The first few miles of travelling in the Camargue were
unmarked by any incident. The road got gradually worse, the
country more open, the cultivation less evident But there
was nowhere any appearance of swamp, in the ordinary sense
of the word. Near Aries the whole soil is gravelly, and the
transported material brought down by the river is coarse. It
soon becomes finer, however, and before long gives way to a
fine sand, or mud, in which no pebble so large as a pea is to
be seen. When we have jjassed the farm houses and cultivated
lands, nothing so large as a pin's-head can we find of real
stone. We then enter the actual living delbi — the great broad
tongue of land creeping onwards with a strange but calculable
and almost visible motion, pushing itself info the sea, in spite
of the ceaseless attacks of the waves on its extremity, gaining,
year after year, a few yards in advance of its former position,
but always retaining the same general appearance and the
same external form.

It is a strange, weird thing, this advancing and pushing
outwards of a point of land, and this growth by slow and
imperceptible steps, causing the waters of the mighty ocean
to recede, however slightly, from a position they have once
gained. In watching it, "/e are face to face with one of those
mysterious contest.) of nature by means of v\hich the existing
surface of our globe has been produced. The Camargue is a
magnificent study for the geologist

The first thing that ..kes one, after leaving behind all
cultivation, is the smooth and even surface of the ground, and
the comparative rarity of any kind of vegetation. The nature
of the material of the soil varies, however, some of it being

A FEW DAYS IN THE CAMARGU.K.

clean white silica sand, some of it made up of innumerable
small fragments of shells, and some of it approaching in
appearance to mud. But there is no tenacious mud, and the
whole is hard and solid to walk on, either for man or horse.
At intervals there are countless groups of perfect shells, con-
sisting of small and thin-shelled cockles, mixed with a few
land and fresh-water snails. On a sudden we find ourselves
at the edge of a sheet of water, but this does not in the
least interfere with progress. We ride on in a straight line
towards the object we have in view, for there is no danger of
(]uicksands or swamps, and we may cross miles of these
sheets of water without risk, as they are all exceedingly
shallow, being nowhere more than from thirty to forty inches
deep, and often not half that depth.

These lagoons are the characteristic feature of the delta.
They vary greatly in magnitude, and slightly in depth of
water, according to the season ; but they are rarely dry, and
rarely impassable. The great central lagoon of the delta is
16,000 acres in extent, at certain times ; at others, it is reduced
to a few detached lagoons of small size.

Advancmg across the lagoons in a direct line towards the
sea, we soon perceive that the line is broken by ranges of low
sandliills, a few yards above the general level of the lagoons.
These, at first, seem to follow no fixed direction. On reaching
them, we find them to be roughly parallel to each other, and
also to the shore-line. Those further inland are often covered
with a coarse kind of vegetation, consisting of tamarisk,
juniper, and some kinds of grasses. They separate some of
the lagoons very effectively, and form them into a series
which, on the whole, are gradually more saline as they approach
the sea. The innermost lagoons are nearly or quite fresh,
although even these, when dried, present indications of salt
incrustations. The inner lagoons are, of course, those first
subject to the floods, and that receive most of the fresh
water, while the outermost lagoons are subject to be flooded
with salt water whenever, owing to storms or high winds, the
sea advances over the land. There is a gradation observable
in those which are intermediate. The outermost abound in
sea-fish, the inner contain eels ; and it is not a litde curious
to study the acclimatisation of some of the fishes, in passing
from one pool to another.

One of the most important industries of the Camargup
consists in the manufacture of salt by the evaporation of sea-
water ; and this is carried on to great advantage, owing to the
wide expinse of flat lands little above the mean level of the
sea, and ihe rapid evaporation that takes place during the
si'mmer sea on. Not only common salt, but Epsom salts are
manufacture 1 to an enormous extent, and very economically.
The 3u<-!.»ce cf water exposed in the evaporating pans of one
establishment that I visited was to the extent of 2,500 a-res
— nearly four square miles. The piles of salt were almost
alarming. Seen from 1 distarce across the level plains, these
piles rise in a ghost-like mat ner against the sky, their deitd-
white lines contrasting with t'le greyish-blue vof the atniospheie.
The length of the principal heap was nearly an English mile,
the breadth at die base being thirty feet, and the height about
fifteen feet. The total quantilj of common salt in stock at the
time of my visit consid-jtably exceeded ioo,oco tons, besides
which there was a pile of Epsom .salts measuring forty yards
long and sixteen feet wide at the bottom, the ^eight beini;
upwards of twelve feel on an average. The .salts of both kinds

(common and Epsom) are here made with great economy, and
of great purity. The Ejisom salts do not cost more than two
shillings per ton, the common salt, of course, much less.

'J'he Camargue feeds a large number of oxen and sheep.
The fonner are half wild, and are a peculiar breed. They are
hardly tended, roaming over the marshes and feetling at will.
When met with they generally disapjiear as soon as possible,
so that observations on them are not easy. There are also a
large number of horses enjoying entire liberty, and enormous
flocks of sheep, who pass the simuner in the Alps and are
pastured during winter in these salt plains.

The human inhabitants of the delta of the Rhone include
not only the farmers and other permanent residents of the jilains,
but the dwellers in the two or three small towns, one within
the delta, the rest on the edge of the low terraces overlooking
it. These are thoroughly medixval. Lunel is the least so,
though not wanting in objects of interest. St. Gilles is now a
railway station, and may improve, but for some centuries past
it has been as completely stagnant as it is well possible for a
village in an out-of-the-way part of I'Vance to be. It has had
its history, however, and retains not a few marks of its ancient
importance. Many centuries ago it was an important station
—almost a port — on a canal leading from the Mediterranean
to Beaucaire, the site of one of the chief of the great European
fairs. In those palmy days its fine old church was crowded, its
many large and excellent hou:,es occupied, and its market-place
and wide streets may have been necessary. Its architectural
remains are still sufficiently interesting to attract a few tra-
vellers, and amongst them 's one of those wonderful staircases,
complete /m/rs d( force of cjnstruction, of which one can only
say that they are possible because we see them accomplished.

But the town of Aigues-Mortes is both more perfect in its
way and less easily reached. It is within the delta, though
not strictly in what is called the island of the Camargue.
It is a perfect gem to the archa:ologist, being entirely
unchanged in its external appearance, and in the most
admirable condition. It is surrounded by a wall, in one angle
of which is a lofty and massive tower, called the Tower of
Constantine, From this tower might have been seen in the
year 1 248 a fleet of galleys moored to the rings on the seaward
wall, most of which still ,f iiain, and of these g.ilioys, or of
galleys such as these, an example found in the adjacent marshes
a few years ago may now be seen in Paris in the galleries of
the Louvre. The walls are lofty, but not very thick. They
remind one of Nuremberg, but are more perfect and less
picturesque. They were not adapted to resist any very severe
attack, and not at all defensible against modem weapons.
The tower is the most interesting part. This large and lofty
building is cylindrical and o])en in the interior to the roof.
Galleries are built all round, and eacli story is separately
defensible. All kinds of curious contrivances remain, evi-
dently intended to assist a few occupants in keeping out an
enemy, however numerous. It is now undergoing judicious
repair.

One can easily perceive that whatever the temptation m.oy
have been to occupy Aigues-Mortes as a safe place during the
middle ag^s, there is 'itde inducement now to settle there. It
leads nowhere, it h,is no business, and certainly there are no
amusements. A small fragment of populi''- 1 hangs on, how-
ever, and though half the streeU arc 1 vn with grass,
there are still a few children seen playing ui the other half.

I : ■

ILLUSTRATED rRAVKLS.

; t

i.\

I ': i

There remain also fragments of miny fine houses. In one of
them is a grand Renaissance (hiinney-jjiecu of really <'.\i client
work. There are but few public buildings, lowever, and the
chur<hes are not interesting. Aigiies Mortcs is as dead and
motionless as the waters that stagnate in the surrounding canals
and dit( hes, and one feels that nothing can galvanise it into a
fresh existence. In spite of the rich and beautiful effects of
light on the cream-coloured stone of which it is built, an air of
antifjuity hangs about the place which cannot be shaken off".
Even in the brilliant sunshine it feels chilly and damp, and the
look out on the marshes, whether from the foot of the walls,
the ramparts, or the top of the tower, is only a study of a
smaller or larger extension of the same dreary waste. The
marshes arc, however, becoming drained, and some of the
large lagoons are converted into marshes. There is from time
to time an additional breadth of land under cultivation, but
there are no additional human inhabitants, or any prospect of
im|)rovemcnt in this respect.

I have said little yet of the natural history of the Ca-
margue. It is by far the richest district in France for rare
wild fowl and other birds, yielding many that are nowhere else
found in luirope ; but these appear chiefly in winter, except,
indeed, the avocet and the flamingo, which are seen at other
seasons. In summer the heat is semi-tropical, and adapted to
the habits of many African S])ecies. In winter the large tracts
of marsh-land and swamp are attractive for a different reason.
But in autumn I found other indications of animal life, smaller
it is true, but far more prominent. The sandy hills and plains
abound at all times with insects which would yield a rich treat
to the entomologist, but I, unfortunately, reversed the con-
ditions, and proved a rich treat to the insects. At the time of
my visit the autumn rains had cc -'menced, but the weather
was still hot, and the ground had been well moistened. Up
rose from this hot-bed, steaming with moist air, myriads of gnats.
No words can express the multitude and the fury of this great
army, whose whole energies seemed devoted to the annihilation
of the victims who had unwarily come amongst them. They
covered everything. T!ie colour of one's horse, or of one's
friend's coat or hat, was alike imdistinguishable. The whole
exposed surface of skin was soon bleeding from their attacks.
They entered the nostrils and the throat ; their stings pene-
trated gloves and stockings. They were, we were told, un-
usually abundant, owing to the long drought and the heat of
the summ.r, and residents said thai they had never known
them so troublesome. They literally darkened the air in their
flight, and nothing could resist them. After crossing some
miles of water exposed to their attacks, I and my companion
terminated our excursion by taking advantage of one of the
river steamers plying between Aries and the Tour St. Louis,
and once on board, we in a great measure escaped. As we
ascended the river, some sportsmen came on buard from ono
of the stations, and we leanit that they had been fairly beaten
by another division of our enemies. These gentlemen had
gone into the Camargue to kill birds, but the insects had
checked the slaughter, at least for a time. I have often suf-
fered from giiats and mosquitoes in Spain and the West Indies.
I have C'. en been cxjiosed to the Hies that render the plain.s
of the Danube almost uninhabitable, but I certainly never
before met so numerous, so ivell disciplined, aud so uncon-
querable a host as this.

Violent storms sometimes affect the Camargue. Shordy
before my visit a water-spout had passetl over the great salt
works, doing great damage. A hut was thrown down and
some of the inhabitants killed, and half the roof of a large
shed was lifted bodily in the air and carried across a large
tank into a field.

The Camargue from the river is less interesting than its
aspect in the interior, and the accommodation on board the
sunmers does not at all remind one of the somewhat similar
journey up or down the Mississippi. The passengers are few,
and the steward's department in the highest degree primitive.
Not having breakfasted when we got on board, inasmuch as
the steamer had started a couple of hours before its regular
hour, we tried to get a meal. After a time a few very dry
crusts of stale bread were produced, about a dozen olives, a
fragment of cheese by no means attractive, one bunch of
graijcs, and three stale walnuts. We had reason to know that
this was the whole supply of the larder.

There is one other feature of the Camargue that I have not
yet noticed ; I mean the extensive pine wood, almost entirelr
of the uml'irella pine {Finns piiiea), occupying an important but
isolated position not far from \hi station of the Saintes Maries,
close to the sea. The sands are here a little above the general
level, and the forest is of considerable age. Elsewhere the
grow'.h of the pine has not been an object of attention on the
delta, although there is no doubt that it might be made
profitable. Generally, what natural vegetation is found on the
dunes consists of juniper and tamarisk. Of this there is a
great deal, but it nowhere entirely covers the ground. There
is evidence, however, on the surface of the steadiness of the
ground, and the absence of change of surface from year to
' oar, either by drifting sand, by the wash of the sea, or by the
Hoods brought down by the river, so that wherever there is
loose sand, pine-trees might be cultivated. Many of the sea-
side plants containing soda grow also very readily on the
shoi s of the lagoons near the sea, and in former times these
were used for the production of alkali.

A few days may be spent with great advantage in this
curious district, studying the very remarkable natural features
of the land, the contest going on between land and sea, and
the various works in construction to render the whole more
useful to man. But as there are no places of jniblic enter-
tainment except at Aigues-Mortes and the Tour de St. Louis,
and as no one could find his way from one point to another
without a guide, some introduction would be necessary to one
of the residents of the Camargue. All c'asses, proprietors as
well as farmers, are exceedingly hosjiitab'c, but it would need
some one with more intelligence than fahi to the lot of the
larmers of the district, to enable a stranger to become really
acquainted with it. Great '-are, however, is needed to avoid
exposure to the ni(jht-air in suniiuer. when fever is very
prevalent. I do not think, on the whole, that maay tourists
will be tempted to desert the Alps f/r the Pyr'jne..'s for these
broad, flat pliiinR; but they cieserve 'j«r*#ui exploration by the
physical geographer, aktd they are certunly highly instructive
to the geologist. Ai a contrast to the more exciting scenery
of the mountains or die richly-cultivated valleys th' y are also
exceedingly valuable to the iover of nature, axA the more so
as they possess a simple picturesque grandeur only to be
understood by actual experience.

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF MADAGASCAR.

NOSSI-BE, MADAGASCAR.

A Bird's-eye Vieio of Madagascar.

FROM THE FRENCH OF M. D. CHARNAY.

CHAPTER VI.

CELERRATION OF THE QUEEN S ACCESSION AT TAMATAVE— ANDRIAN
MANDRO< SSO— RAIIARI.A— THE ANTAYMOURS— THE HOVAS— CODE
OF L\»-S — OROANISATION AT TANANARIVO — THE KROVI.NCES —
Dtr'AKlURE FOR SAINTE MARIE.

Ok the clay of the celebration of the accession of the Queen
of Madagascar, we found the road to the fort crowded with
pedestrians of all classes and ranks, and in every variety of
costume, from the lamba of coarse cotton cloth and t'^'^ calico
simbou to the black dress coat. We recognised sever,' ' f our
new friends, and passed Juliette Fiche, resplendent in her
orange-coloured velvet, the diadem on her head, and her robust
bosom ornamented with two brilliant decorations.

" Let this fat calf pass," cried this witty woman, on seeing
us, thus anticipating the jest and laughing at her own court
dress.

When we arrived at the fort, the interior esplanade was
crowdetl, the common people occupying the surrounding
slopes. In the centre a large hut had been erected, in which
was a table, covered with all kinds of refreshments for the
use of the guests. The staff officers were groui)ed aroiuid in
attendance upon his Excellency Andrian Mandrousso, formerly
a cowherd, now a general, " fourteenth honour," &c. Every
one came to pay their rcsjiects, and to offer their congratu-
lations on the subject of the accession of his gracious mistress,
whose standard floated over the palace. But the most re-
markable person to my mind, at least as fur as his uniform was
<;on< crned, was an old French sailor named Estienne, wiiose
startling costume attracted all eyes, 'i'liis man, covered with
gold lace and finery, and bearing hi;-- honours without over
much awkwardncs.=, was simply High Admiral of the Hova
fleet. He had not, it is true, a single boat under his com-

VOL. I.

mand, and two modest canoes constituted the whole naval
force of Tamatave ; but from his martial air one saw that he
thought himself quite able to command a three-decker. As
for the e.x-cowherd, who is represented in the engraving at
page 56, he looked exactly like a stage hero at a country
fair. He wore trousers of blue velvet laced with gold, a red
coat, with facings aiid frogs of gold ; his ^sleeves were loaded
with a quantity of gold braid, and his head surmounted by
a three-cornered lull, also ornamented with gold lace : gold
evidently is not spared in Madagascar. The governor's grim,
sad countenance was in striking contrast to this mountebank
costume. He appeared equally embarrassed by his pompous
get-up, and cowed by the European crowd, who, while admiring,
lauglied at him. I suspect his excellency had not the gift of
elo(|uence, as he made no speech, and wlu— we tried to take
his portrait with our photographic camera, he trembled like a
leaf, the sight of the harmless object, pointed at his majestic
person, causing an agitation which I ( ould not succeed in
calming. He nevertheless offered us gracefully enough a glass
of champagne, which we drank — for my part, I admit — to the
fall of the newly-proclaimed queen. Of another distinguished
Hova gentleman who was present, named Raharia, there is
only this to be said, that he bears with equal ;,Tace ordinary
costume and the court <lress ; thanks to his English eduiation
and his natural good sense, he, would not be out of place in
any Euroiiean drawing-room.

In the meantime the sports began. They were preceded
by abundant liljiitions of betza-betza. The ladies seated them-
selves on the ground, with their knees to their chins, nTom-
panying, with a mournful voice and clapping of hand", tht
ungraceful movements of sonic of their companions. The
atlcntion of ths assembly was soon fixed on the Antaymours

1 1

I ■ ' 1

! ■ '.

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

• 1' 11 -

! :M

— Madegasse warriors in the service of the Ilovas — and
there was soon a crowd collected round them ; for here, as
in ail other parts of the world, an exhibition of this kind is
sure to be a favourite one v.ith the jieople.

Their savage gestures, cries, and bounds, and the ferocity
which they displayed in their nioik battle, gave us an idea
of their manner of fighting. 'J'hey shook their spears with
well-simulated fury, hurled them, recovered them, and struck
the sand with rage. They twisted their weapons round and
round, as if they were j)lunged in the wound of a fallen
enemy, and appeared to lick off the blood with the most
wonderful delight. These cannibal sports and demoniacal
contortions delighted the governor, who himself, armed with
a buckler, encouraged the combatants. The spectacle dis-
gusted me so much that I left the place, and saw no more
of the festival.

If a Hova makes a present, he expects it to be returned
with interest ; if he offers you his hand, it is that you may put
something in it ; he adores money, and it is the only supreme
good he recognises. He is deceitful, proud, cowardly, in-
solent, and dull. It may be said that I am prejudiced, and I
admit it ; because what I have seen of these men, and, above
all, what I have heard about them, has so disgusted me that I
cannot judge them coolly. As a rule they are an under-sized
and scrofulous race — I am speaking now of the Hovas of the
coast. At Tananarivo, it is said, the race is better preserved,
and some of the women are pretty. The Hovas are subtle
])oliticians, great diplomatists, and very clever. Accustomed
from their earliest youth to the discussion of public affairs,
their organisation at Tananarivo reminds one in some points
of the Roman republic. It is a pure oligarchy, and this kind
of government is always the most persistent in carrying out
its designs. This little aristocracy represents the senate of
Rome, and the prime minister — an office hereditary in a
plebeian family — would correspond with a tribune of the
people. No resolution is taken, nothing planned or executed
without " kabar," or public discussion. The first kabar is held
at the palace of the king, where the members of the noble
families meet every morning to give their advice on the affairs
of the day. The least important member of the assembly
speaks first, each of the otiiers, according to his rank, speaking
afterwaids, and the prime minister, or king, sums up the debate.

In the provincial assemblies it is the chief governor who
has the final reply in the discussion, and decides everything
on his own responsibility.

Each noble, on lea\ ing the royal abode, finds a crowd of
clients waiting for him, to whom he intimates the tenor of the
resolutions taken at the palace. At the second kabar each
one again gives his advice, and discusses, approves, or opposes.
In this kabar the clients receive from their patrons advice as
to the line of conduct which they are to pursue in order to
work out the policy of their respective chiefs. This is the
kabar of small intrigues ; party spirit comes hither to gather
strength and to receive instructions for agitating the people
and directing public opinion.

On the conclusion of the second kabar, agents disperse
and mix with the people in their huts, or in public places.
The people then discuss, in a thiril kabar, all the news of the
day. These assemblies supjily the jilace of " the press," which
they do not possess, ajid they maintain that by this means
news circulates like lightning. The Hovas have, besides these,

their public assemblies. We give some articles contained
in the Hova code of laws, which may perhaps interest our
readers :—

Art. I. — The following offences are punishable with death, and the
sale of wives ami children, and confiscation of property ; —
1st. Desertion to the enemy.

2nd. Seeking to seduce llie wives of princes and dukes.
3rd. Concealing a weapon under the clothes.
4th. Fomenting a revolution.
5th. Enticing men to leave the Hova territory.
6th. Stealing seals or forging signatures.
7lh. Discovering, working, or disclosing a mine of gold or silver.

Art. IV. — I have no enemies but famine and inundations; and, when
the dams of a rice-field are broken, if the neighbours do not suffice to
mend it, the people must lend a hand to repair it at once.

Art. VI. — Whosoever, in law-suit, corrupts, or seeks to corrupt, his
judges, loses his cause, and is condemned to a fine of fifty dollars. If he
cannot pay the fine, he is sold into sLavery.

Art. IX. — If you have bestowed upon your own children, or upon
those whom you have adopted, a portion of your goods, and at a later
period you have reason to complain of them, you are free to disinherit and
even to cast them off altogether.

Art. XVII. — If you are suffering from trouble or anxiety, whether
you be man, woman, or child, make it known to the officers and judges of
our village, in order that the knowledge of your troubles and anxieties may
reach unto myself.

Art. XVIII.— If a drunken man fights with the first person he en-
counters, insults him, or spoils anything not belonging to himself, bind him,
but loosen him when he has recovered his senses, and make him pay for
the damage he has done.

Art. XXI. — Be friends, one with another; love one another, because
I love you all equally, and do not desire to renounce tlie friendship of
any one.

Art. XXVI. — Whoso possesses medicaments which came not to him
from his .incestors, let him throw them away.

Art. XXVIII. — Whosoever refuses to obey my laws, shall be branded
on the forehead, and shall be forbidden to .vear long hair, or clean clothes,
or a hat upon his head.

Art. XXIX. — Every unmarried man is declared a minor.

Everj'thing is contained in this code of laws. The Christian
finds in them the maxims of his religion, mingled with those
of a barbarous creed ; while the last article quoted ai'ove
may furnish politicians with a subject for serious reflect on.
We may also cite the following custom, which is a law m
Madagascar :— Fathers and mothers, contrary to the European
custom, take the name of their sons, and put before it, Raini,
" father of," or Rein6ni, " mother of" It appears that the
motive of this custom is to excite emulation amongst the
youths in glorifying their parents by their acts. This is better,
at any rate, than to have worthless children crushed by the
greatness of their birth.

In Madagascar everything belongs to the king. The state
is in so much dread of the encroachments of foreigners, that
they are prohibited from building houses of stone, or even of
wood, and are only allowed to have huts made of reeds, in
order that they may always feel that they are only established
on the island for a time. 'l"he Madegasses, who are regarded
as conquered, are slaves, whom the governors of the province
treat as they like.

These governors unite the three powers — military, civil, and
judicial. They command the troops, cjuell revolts, and fix the
contingents which each family is to supply in case of war.
They levy taxes, collect them, and forv.ard the amounts to the
capital. They also regulate the employment of forced labotir.

A pent": code being unknown to the Madegasses, th': Hova

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF MADAGASCAR.

chiefs apply the law to tlicni according to their own pleasure.
They accuse, condemn, and plunder the unfortunate natives.
'I'iie governor has but one end in view, which is to enricli
himself.

The distance of the cajjital renders all complaints vain,
and the terror which these despots inspire makes the
boldest silent. The governor receives his orders from the
capital, by couriers established along the road from Tananarivo
to the chief place of his government. These couriers, who
are always Madegasses, are placed under the surveillance of
some Hova soldiers, and have to hold themselves in readiness,
by night or by day, to transmit these despatches. They have
no remuneration whatever for this service, except that they are
exempt from forced labour.

Each village has fo» its chief a direct descendant of
the ancient king of the country. To him the Hova governor
delegates certain powers. He is appointed chief judge, and
through him pass all transactions between the natives and
the governor, by means c f the chiefs of the second order.

The chief judge alone has the right of possessing in his
village the " lapa," a kind of shed, where the kabars are held,
and where justice is administered. Close at hand there is a
mast, on which is hoisted the standard of the queen when the
governor arrives, or when a ship is in sight.

The chief judge decides all disputes between the Made-
gasses, who can only appeal from his jurisdiction to that of the
Hovas ; but such an appeal would be equivalent to ruin. In
this case, the governor cites i' -? parties to his court, where he
is attended by the Hova offiicrs, and all assemble in the lapa.
As soon as tjie case is heard, judgment is executed without
delay. If the condemned objects, or if he is absent, an officer
is sent to him, with a crowd of Hovas. This officer is preceded
by a man bearing a " sagaie " with a silver blade, called " tsitia
lingua" (meaning "no jesting"). When the bearer of the sagaie
arrives before the dwelling of the person to whom he is sent,
he plants it in the ground, and the condemned is obliged to
show every respect to the executors of the sentence. He
invites them into his hut, and, to begin with, he is expected
to furnish them with provisions, and to ofier to each, as a
welcome, a piece of money, of which the value is propor-
tioned to their respective ranks. That done, they enter upon
the business. The officers first claim the costs of justice, of
Wi.ich they adjudge to themselves a large share, and if the
unfortunate man has not enough to defray the expenses, he
and all his belongings arc sold.

In addition to this form of procedure, the Hovas inflict
corporal punishments of a most barbarous kind. First, blows
with a stick when the Madegasse works carelessly at his forced
labour. Secondly, and this even in the case of a chief, exposure
to the sun during a certain number of days. The pur.ishment
in this case is most refined. The hands of the culprit are
fastened to his knees by a stalk of rush ; if by his fault the
nish is broken, the punishment is doubled, and during the time
that it la-its, the Madegasse has to remain with his head un-
covered, whatever the temperature may be, from morning till
evening, and for whatever time the pi;.nishment may last. Ad-
mirable justice ! niin or torture, the conquered caimot escape.
'I'hc governor takes care that the chief judge is always dependent
on himself He generally makes him the oppressor of his
compatriots. He is, in fact, only the tool, or the victim, of the
Hova who plunders him.

CHAPTER VII.

CONCLUSION,

SAINTE MARIE— MOUNT AMllRE— NOSSI-MITSIOU— NOSSl-BE— KISVII.I K
— PASANOAVA — liAVATcjUllE— IKIMIIKTOK— MOUII.LA— RAMANAll.kA
— THE yUEEN Of MOIin.LA— RETURN TO REUNIO.V.

We left Tamatave at five o'clock on the ist of October, for
Sainte Marie, which wc sighted the following morning at day-
break. This island lies off the east coast of Madagascar,
seventy-five miles farther north. Its greatest length is tliirty-
seven miles, and its mean breadth only about four miles. We
first doubled the He des Nattes, and two hours after passed
the He aux Baleiniers, or Whalers' Island, and cast anchor
about 200 yards from the islet of Madame. It is here tliat
the head-quarters of the government of the little French
colony are situated.

■"he view of Sainte Marie from the sea presents a charming
panorama. First comes the little island of Madame, which
shelters the bay, with the He aux Forbans, or Pirates' Island, in
the background. Exactly opposite rises the steeple of the
church, with a fino avenue of -.enerable mangoes shading the
house of the Jesuits. Along the coast to the left the houses of
the government servants are dotted about, while the view is
terminated by the Madegasse village of Amboudifoutch, and the
splendid promenade along the shore, washed by a sea which is
always smooth and tranquil. Unfortunately, this lovely view is
all outside show; the island in the interior is quite naked and
waste, and, except in a few places, barren and pestilential.
There are but few colonists, and the government officials have
nothing to do but to administer justice among them. The
governor, however, is in every way a remarkable man, and
works hard for the prosperity of his little kingdom. In no
other place had we seen so much life and energy. Dockyards,
landing wharves, jetties, &c., were in course of construction,
besides many sanitary works ; but one could hardly help ques-
tioning the object and usefulness of all these labours. Without
Madagascar, Sainte Marie is only useful as a place for coasting
vessels to touch at, and the island will probably have to be
abandoned sooner or later. With the mainland, however, the
French would find Sainte Marie the most important pomt in
the colony, becoming, as it v.'ould, a kind of general warehouse
for exports and imports, convenient for vessels to put into for
safety or repairs, and easily defended. Whether the French
wll, or will not, occupy Madagascar is an open question.

The black population of Sainte Marie amounts to 6,000 or
7,000. These people, though protected against the tyranny of
the I^ovas, do not seem hapi)y. The French wanted to civi-
lise them straight off, without caring how they outraged their
tastes or offended their prejudices. But such things cannot
be done in a day. It takes long years, centuries even, to
modify the character of a peoiile, even when helped by an
admixture of the blood of a superior rave. The predominant
feature in the character of a Madegas-iO is sensuality — he has
no religious instincts at all ; and yet, spite of this, the first
step taken in civilising him, was to tie hi>n down to the
observance of forms, the meaning of which was quite beyond
the comprehension of his limited intelligence. They wanted,
in fact, to raise him at once to the level of the white man,
instead of leading him to it by a gradual process of civ'-
lisation. The results of such a system w..re what mi|{ht
have been expected. It could only destr ly what natural

JI.LUSTRATED TRAVELS.

character he liad, and turn liini into a hypocrite. Nevertheless, ' parallel with the coast. Here a beautiful and varied panorama
the Catholic niission.aries in Madagascar deserve our respect : of the mainland unrolled itself before our eyes, from the high
for their ])L'rseveranrc among an unruly ])opuhition, as W(;ll as mountains of Angontsy to the rugged hills of Voheni.ir, and the
for their ( oniplcte disinterestedness. escarjied peaks of Mount Anibre. Near the headland the sea

We found the same festivities going on at Sainte Marie as is always so rough that we were obliged to keep furdier out.
1 1 Madagascar ; dances under the trees on the sea shore, and , The next day saw us running at full speed through a sea as

irt

H:t;i '

] REE-I'ERN— MADAGASCAl;.

games of all sorts. The poor natives enjoyed themselves
thoroughly in the absence of the governor, who does not
encourage any merrymakings. We weighed anchor at three
o'clock in the afternoon, and sailed for Nossi-Be. Two days
are generally occupied in the voyage. We coasted along
Madagascar, leaving jioint Larrey on our left, and then, steer-
ing to the north-east, we soon Inst sight of land, but in a few
hours were in view of the lofty East Cape, after which we ran

blue as azure, and as still as a mill-pond. At ten o'clock we
doubled Cape Saint Sebastian, and soon aftenvards were in
sight of Nossi-Mitsiou, the country belonging to Tsiniiar, the
last descendant of the northern kings ; by six o'clock in the
evening we were anchored midway between Nossi-Fali and
Nossi-Be. Next morning we i)assed between the island of
Nossi-Cuniba and the fc est <if I.ucube, and arrived at eleven
o'clock in the rotds of Elsville, the seat of government.

A niRD'S-KYK VIKW OF MADAGASCAR.

iioraraa

ic high

111(1 the

the sea

cr out.

sea as

QUEEN OF MOHILLA, AND HER ATTENDANTS.

Like Sainte Marie, tlie island of Nossi-Be is only a de-
pendence of Madagasi:ar, and is of no value except as a step
towards the occupation of the mainland ; it presents the same
bare appearance as the other Malgache islands, the first care
of the natives being to Inirn down the forests in order to plant
rice and form pastures for their cattle. In fact, government

has been obliged to use severe measures to ensure the preser-
vation of the forest of Lucube. The soil of the island is for
the most part volcanic, and many extinct craters are to be seen
which are now filled with water. The roadstead of Elsville
fonns a sjilendid anchorage, being protected from the north
and east winds by the island itself, and by those of Nossi-

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

■()•

i'l

i i

Fall and Nossi-Cumba ; the sea there is as smooth as a mirror.
'I'hc shore is broken up into several little bays, with two or
three native villages slieltered by pahnlrees ; farther off tiiere
is a small Arab town. All the i)opiilation seemed collected
in this one part of the island, as was the case at Saintc Marie ;
the rest is almost a desert, where one never sees a native.
Driven from their jjossessions by whiles, who have obtained
grants of land, lliey either emigrate to Madag.xscar or live in
misery in the neighbourhood of I'.Isville, as it is impossible
to induce them to apply themselves to any kind of labour.
'I'he planters employ only Cuffres and Macoa negroes, who can
stand field labour better than any other race; they obtain them
from the Arabs, who carry on the slave trade in the most open
manner. For this purpose they have settlements on the coast
of Africa, from which they make raids into the surrounding
villages. 'I'hey make use of any means to get jjossession of the
bla( ks ; they will buy them, or entice them, or kidnap them.
Sometimes, by gifts of glass beads or pieces of gay coloured
cotton, they entice young girls to a distance from their villages,
and then seize and carry them in chains to their pens. I call
them pens, because they do not even give them the shelter of a
roof; they are huddled together like cattle or wild beasts,
between high iialings, and their food is thrown to them each
day. The canoes in which their captors transport them are
only from fifty to eighty tons, very light and swift, with powerful
sails to enable them to escape any cruisers they may encounter,
and as the crew of each vessel consists of only three or four
men, they reduce their unfortunate victims to a state of helpless-
ness before embarking them. Each day they reduce their
allowance of food, and adding terror to the pangs of hunger,
they i)ersuade their prisoners that the white people to whom
tley are to be sold intend to eat them, so that the miserable
creatures wish to become thin in order to put off their death as
long as possible. As slavery is interdicted in Nossi-Be, the
negroes arc first carried to Mohilla or Anjouan, where the
trailers receive them from the Arabs, and go through the farce
of hiring them as servants. The first visit we received at
Nossi-Be was from Califan, an Arab chief, actively engaged in
the slave trade. This man, who has a fine figure, but a sly,
cunning expression, acts as a spy for the Hovas, and I have
no doubt that it was owing to him that a few days later,
at 15a\atoubc', the Amorontsanga chiefs came to forbid us
remaining in their waters.

]!efore leaving Nossi-Be, we enjoyed a magnificent pano-
ramic view from the summit of the hills near the shore. In
the foreground were the Made^asse cottages, surrounded by
mangoes, palm-trees, and bananas ; next came the little bay of
Elsville ; and then the town itself, with the government house,
surrounded by its go'dens ; on the left, the dark forest of
Lucube, and the green mountains of Nossi-Cumba ; in front of
us, a glittering sea, dotted with islands, and furrowed by canoes,
with their white sails, and twenty-five miles ofi", the faint blue
outline of Madagascar, and the needle-like summits of the Deux
Soeurs. It is so calm in these seas that the most sensitive nerves
could not be affected by the motion of the waves, and we glided
along, stopping at Kisuman, and in the delightful bay of
Pasandava, at that time surrounded by fishermen's huts. The
next place where we touched, Bavatoubf, is an irregular penin-
sula, shaped like an immense crab, and we penetrated into one
of its gigantic claws. It was here that poor M. Darvoy met
with his death, while e'.ploring a carboniferous region which

denoted the presence of coal ; he was surprised by the Hovas,

whose authority he had resisted, and assassinated by the orders
of (^ueen Ranavalona. We visited the scene of this atro( ious
crime, and saw some remains of his burnt cottage still standing.

The west coast of Madagascar is indented by a number of
gulfs and bays. The most important is that of Bombetok, at
the mouth of the river Boeni, or the river which rises near
Tananarivo ; it is the largest in the island, and forms the most
accessible approach to the capital. The toivn of Majonga, for-
merly an Arab settlement, but coniiuered by Radama I. in
1824, guards the entrance to the bay. The Hovas keep up a
garrison here, as at Tananarivo, of 1,200 men, a force more
than sulTicient to keep the native population in subjection. A
fort, mounted with several guns, is raised upon the highest
point of the shore, and the Hovas have a palisaded village on
the same elevation; the old town spreads along the low ground
near the river.

We made a very short stay at Majonga, as we ivishcd to
visit Mohilla, This island, which is, in a measure, under the
protection of France, is situated to the south of the great vol-
canic island of Comoro, the flames of which can be seen from
here at night, To the east lies the island of Anjouan, like a
blue cloud on the horizon. Mohilla is governed by a queen,
Jumbe-Souli, cousin of Radama, and daughter of Ramanateka,
the founder of this little dynasty. This man was governor of
Bombetok under Radama I. On the accession of Ranavalona,
his enemies, coveting his wealth, obtained an order to kill him.
Accordingly, he was summoned to court, on the pretext of
having some new honour bestowed upon him ; but he received
a secret warning, and succeeded in escaping with some friends
and followers to the island of Anjouan, taking with him a sum
of 40,000 or 50,000 dollars. Here he was hospitably received
by the king, and in return assisted him in his wars, and greatly
distinguished himself by his valour. But his host, after some
time, became jealous of him, and, wishing to obtain possession
of his treasure, he determined on his destruction. Forced
again to fly for his life, Ramanateka took refuge in the island
of Mohilla, which he conquered, but he was only able to main-
tain himself there by constant struggles with his neighbours and
with Ranavalona, who sent out a strong expedition, which he
destroyed to the last man. He had two daughters, Jumbe-
Souli and Jumbe-Salama. The second died, and the eldest,
the present queen, succeeded her father. Jumbe-Souli had no
competitor for the throne of her little kingdom ; the chiefs ac-
knowledged her willingly, and, as she was a minor, established
a council of regency till she came of age. During that period,
the young queen, under the tuition of a Frenchwoman, became
acquainted with the language, manners, and religion of that
nation. Two French naval officers even aspired to the hope
of a marriage with the queen, who was young, handsome, and
intelligent. However, it came to nothing, and when she came
of age the chiefs selected a young Arab, of good family, from
the coast of Zanzibar, for her husband. Having no religious
opinions of her own, the young queen willingly conformed to
her husband's faith, and became a Mahoinedan. On our
arrival in the island, we hastened to pay our respects to the
queen, who had signified her readiness to receive us. Her
palace, which stands on the left of a little battery facing the
sea, is in proportion to the size of her kingdom ; it is merely
a small, white-washed house, containing only two apart-
ments, pierced with openings of Moorish design. The first is

I if"

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF MADACASCAR.

approached through a courtyaril, in which arc displayed all the
defensive arms of the island, consisting of two or tliree little
cannons and the guns belonging to the garrison. These l.iHer
were drawn up to receive us, in full-dress uniform, and we
passed in review eighteen black soldiers, barefooted, with
English red jackets, white i)antaloons, and white leather belts.
'I'heir shakos were also red, and in shape not unlike a bishop's

had to ascend cautiously; but, fortiin.ikly, it w.is short, ,ind wt<
were i|ui(kly in the prcsen( c of lur majesty. This room w,i:i
e.\actly the same as tiie entrarK e ( li.imber, with the exception of
a curtain at the farther end, which eparateil the royal bed frmn
the part which served as a presence-chamber.

Jiunbe-.SouIi was seated on a raised chair, wiih a cusliinii
under her feet, (hi one side of her stood her old nursi', and

mitre, which gave tiieni a most absurd appearance. On our on the other a (oiifidentia! servant, or sl.ive. Her whole figure
arrival the prince consort received us in the first apartment, I was concealed by a robe of rich Turkish tissue of .silk ami jjold;

SPIES OF TTIE QUEF.N OF MADAGASCAR.

which is long and narrow, and serves as a kind of ante-room,
or guard-chamber, and presented to us the chief officers of the
crown. I felt rather scjueamish about touching the hands of
these dignitaries, several of whom ajjpcared to be afflicted with
a kind of leprosy. Oar conversation flagged, in spite of the
efforts of the interpreter, and we anxiously awaited our inter-
view with the queen, who had been informed of our arrival,
and who, I suppose, was making a little addition to her toilette.
The lord chamberlain came at last to tell us she was ready, and
her husband went before us to show the way. The staircase
leading to the royal apartment was simply a ladder, which we

only her hand, which was slight and delicate, was visible. On
her head was a sort of mask, shaped like a diadem, which
covered her head and part of her face ; but through the large
openings we could see the outline of her features, and her large,
mild eyes, full of melancholy brightness, looked at us from time
to time. Her whole expression was dejected, and she looked
like a woman whose health was ruined by the climate and the
unwholesome exhalations from the shore. Jumbe-Souli looks
older than she really is. I should have thought her thirty-five,
while, in reality, she is only twenty-eight. She has two hand-
some boys, who, I think, will not have attained their majority

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IMAGE EVALUATION
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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 145«U

(716)872-4503

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

before they will be called on to succi"'i '.heir sickly mother.
Our audience lasted for half an hour, during which refreshments
were offered us.

Mohilla appeared to me the most lieauliful of the Comoro
islands. It is the smallest, but the most verdant. Numerous
plantations of cocoa-nut palms give it the graceful appearance
of the tropical countries, and immense baobabs raise their
majestic trunks like pyramids. The island is intersected by

many little shady paths, and rivulets fall in cascades from the
hills, forming natural baths— a delightful luxury in this burn-
ing climate. Mohilla is an island in which one might jiass
one's life in peaceful silence, far from the bustle of the
world, compassed by the blue sea. I left it with regret. Hut
we had still to visit Mayotte, and to re-visit Nossi-Be, Sainte
Marie, and Tamatave, which woukl take us twelve days, before
reaching Saint Denis de la Reunion, our last stage.

rl Journey tlirough the Soudan and Western Abyssinia, ivith Reminiscences

of Captivity.

DV LIEUTENANT W. F. PRIDE.WX, F.R.G.S., BOMBAY STAFF CORPS.

III. — Kassai.a and Matf.mma.
K.ASSAI.A, after Khartoom, ranks as the most important of
the Egyptian settlements in the Soudan. It covers a con-
siderable area, and is surrounded by low mud walls. The only
buildings in it of any pretensions are the barracks, and the
jialace of the Muueer. All the other houses ,are either built
of mud or adobe (sun-dried bricks), and, in consequence of
this, it possesses none of the bright colouring or picturesque
splendour so generally characteristic of Oriental towns.
Having been only lesigned as a mart for the produce of the
Soudan, and as a military post to overawe the wild tribes in
its neighbourhood aid on the Abyssinian frontier, it possesses
in its aspect all the dry utilitarianism of its founder, the late
Pasha Moh".iiimcd Ali. In ordinary times, the population
amounts to about 15,000 souls.

We, however, saw it under very unfavourable auspices.
Two nionhs before our arrival the Nubian soldiery who gar-
risoned the place, impatient at not receiving their arrears of
pay for m; ny months, had broken out into open mutiny.
Giving full 5way to tlieir wild African passiins, they mur-
dered everylody they came across, and for .line days were
masters of the town. News of the emeute, however, had been
rapidly sent off to Khartoom, Kedaref, and even as far as
Souakin, and as.-.istance sc ).i began to arrive. Albanian troops
from those towns rapic.ly poui"d in, and thj Nubians, savage
as they were, learnt that in the Skipdar Irregular they had
found a master even more lawless and ferocious than them-
selves. Tiiey doggedly contested every inch of ground ; there
was not a street that did not bear the signs of a conflict ;
but at length the European prevailed, and, with the loss of
2,000 slain, the mutineers had to give in. When we were
there the prisons were full, and an investigation into the
causes of the outbreak was being carrial on by an Egyptian
commissioner, an aide-de-camj) of the F.isha of Khartoom,
named Ismail Bey, a man of some education, who had visited
Paris, and who to the suppleness of the Oriental added the
varnish of the Frank. Disease and famine were doing their
work, and, excluding the Bashi-B;izouks, the tow. could not
have contained more than a third of its former population. The
streets were a picture of ilesolation ; the coffee-shops were
nearly all closed ; and the gay Almehs, who formerly thronged
the pla( e, had all fled to the more congenial haunts of Khar-
toom or Esneli,

We were doomed to be the unwilling recipients of
M. Kotzika's hospitality for four days. It took that time to
collect a sufficient number of camels from the Shookeriyeh
Arabs who inhabit the country between Kiissala and Galabat.
Time naturally hung heavy on our hands, and we found little
amusement beyond a stroll to the Mudeer's menagerie, where
we could spend an hour watching the gambols of his lion-cubs,
the pets of the Albanian soldiery, or a saunter through the
deserted plaza, which was usually left quietly in possession of a
tall giraffe, who passed the day in leisurely browsing ai the
topmost leaflets of the few trees which could strike root m that
arid soil. We received an addition to our party in the person
of a renegade Greek, who, being at Djidda at the time of the
massacre of the liuropeans there, had cast off his religi jn as
the only chance, as he thought, of saving his life, and with his
new faith had assumed the name and style of Hassan Effendi.
Engaged in the capacity of superintendent of the caravan, as
might have been expected, he turned out to be of little use.
The only two accomplishments our slight acquaintance enabled
us to recognise in him were the faculty of smoking cigarettes
ad infinitum, and a knack of blowing the trumpet of his em-
ployers, the radiance of whose glory was, of course, in some
measure reflected upon himself

At length, on the loth of November, we found that we
were provided with the full complement of camels. Bidding
farewell to our kind entertainers, and to Marcopoli, who in-
tended to procc^.l to Matemma in a more leisurely manner,
and accompanied by a small escort of Turkish soldiers^ untler
the command of the doughty Hassan Agha, we started en route
for the Bahr-el-(Jash, where we had determined to encamp for
the night. This river, the Astusaspes of the ancients, the
Mareb of Abyssinia, rises in the highlands of Tigre, and
flowing in nearly a north-westerly direction, meanders round
the picturesque Djebel Kdssala, and, bathing the southern
boundary of the town, fiills into the Atbara, some miles to the
northward. The spot at which we had determined to halt was
situated just underneath the mountain, a tall, conical peak of
bare granite, some 3.000 feet in height, the only landmark for
scores of miles around. It was easy to forecast a stormy night,
from the heavy clouds overhead, and the distant rumble of
thunder; but we found it impossible to avoid encamping in
the dry bed of the river, as the banks on cither side were so
thickly overgrown with jungle. Wc had scarcely pitched our

|lH4

•;i

■

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

smallest tent, and spread a skin, which served the purposes of
l)oth table and table-cloth, when down came the rain with the
terrific violence only witnessed in the tropics. With disap-
pointed and hungry eyes we looked down upon our saturated
supper ; but regrets were of no use, and we were soon ourselves
cowering beneath the very hide upon which we had just
heaped the best of cheer, and striving to recover a little in
the way of flotsam and jetsam, before retiring to rest in our
tiny tent. But such mishaps as these, however awkward they
might be in a well-regulated family, only create a laugh in an
African desert; and we found that we slept none the less
soundly for want of a supper.

The next morning, though up betimes, we found that our
tents and baggage were so wet that it was impossible to load
the camels till the afternoon. The road to Kedaref lies nearly
south-south-west, and, being altogether of alluvial formation,
is terribly flat and monotonous. We journeyed on till nearly
nine in the evening, over wet and miry plains, in some parts
flooded to such an extent that our mules found it difficult to
keep their legs, and meeting no one save a solitary cow-herd,
whose gourd of fresh milk lives in my memory to the present
day. The night was like the previous one ; but we had had
more tii»ce for preparation, and were safely housed before
the sto.m came ujion us. The elemental disturbances were
increased by the confusion attendant on several of the mules
breaking their picket-ropes, and scampering off into the
desert. The recovery of these caused much delay the next
morning, and the camel-drivers were only too glad to take
advantage o( the excuse afforded by our soaked baggage to
put off the start till as late an hour as possible, leaving us,
while they were enjoying their " kayf " in all conceivable attitudes
around us, to crouch down beneath the thorns of a stunted
mimosa, in the vain hope of obtaining a little shade. A repeti-
tion of yesterday's march succeeded, and we woke up 'he next
morning with the full determination of placing the Atbara
bL'tween us and Kassala that day.

From Bjrber to the Mediterranean, a dist.-ince of i,20o
miles, the Nile receives no waters except those brought down
by the Tacazze from the hills of Lasta, This river, under the
name of .Xstaboras, in which the modern .\rab appellation,
Atbara, may be traced, formed the eastern boundary of that
kingdom of Meroe, in which, according to many, the germs of
the civilisation of the Pharaohs and the Ptolemies first saw the
light. When we reached it, we found it about eighty yards
broad, and running rapidly ; in fact, it required some skill to
steer safely across, and had not my Arab guide and companion
seized the bridle of my camel just as we were beginning to
drift unconsciously down-stream, there is litde doubt that I
should have afforded an evening repast to the sluggish log of
a crocodile that placidly kept us in view all the time. We
kept near the river this and the following day, at Shederab and
Hasaballa ; thence boundless savannas brought us to Harakat
on the evening of the i6th, and we were within the Kedaref
district.

For miles and miles around the capital, on every hillock,
in every hollow, may be seen little clusters of vilL-iges — I am
afraid to say how many, but I know that seventy is within the
mark. Each hamlet is surrounded by its own little plot of
cultivation, chiefly of that sweet saccharine juwfirri, the stalks
of which are so grateful to the parched traveller as he plucks
them by the wayside. These are all under the governm.eiit of

the venerable Sheikh Abu Seen, a patriarch who enjoys
amongst the Europeans who have met him the best reputation
of any Arab chief in these parts. When we entered Deep Seen,
the principal village of the district, he was absent; but we
were received by the commandant of the few Egyptian irre-
gulars who garrison the place, and regaled with coffee and the
startling news that King Theodore had been defeated and
taken prisoner by Tirsu Gobazy^, the Walkait rebel. Canards,
it will be seen, dd not only live within reach of telegraphs.
After breakfast, we received a visit from a tall, black-haired
gentleman, in European clothes, who announced himself as
Aristides, and stated that he was endeavouring to extend
commerce and civilisation amongst the rude children of the
desert The more immediate object of his visit, however, was
to know if Dr. Blanc could assist him \\\ respect to his arm,
which had been broken by a ball from an elephant rifle some
time before. As it had been set, though badly, and was now
healed, Dr. Blanc advised him to let well alone, and he shortly
afterwards took his leave. With his generally land-piratical
appearance, it is not surprising if poor Marcopoli, who
travelled that road a few days subsequently, discovered him
to be, what he termed, " un vrai Grec." Our little friend
had purchased from him a bottle of brandy for three dollars,
equivalent in English money to nearly thirteen shillings ; his
baggage was packed, his camels were laden, and he himself
was on the point of mounting, when the servant of Aristides
appeared with a message that his master could really not part
with the bottle, which was worth one dollar more. As
Marcopoli had only the alternatives left him of throwing away
his liquor, drinking it up all at once, or paying the money,
he chose the latter ; but I am afraid the occurrence did not
improve his hitherto unfavourable estimate of the character
of the subjects of King George.

As it was market day, we found no difficulty in j^rocuring
a fresh relay of camels. The head driver, El-Busheer, was a
character in his way. He was not the man to allow loitering
on ii road little blessed with water, and, tired as both mule and
his rider might be, he would urge them on unsparingly till the
well was reached. But, withal, " he was a fellow of infinite
jest," and well knew how to beguile the long hours of the
night and the weary marches over the prairie with anecdote
and song.

We left the capital of Kedaref on the evening of the 17 th,
and, after a three hours' ride, arrived at a village called Hellet-
el-Kanz, where we halted for the night We thought it better,
as our beasts and servants were very tired, to defer our de-
parture till the evening of the following day ; and in the
meantime amused ourselves with watching the people who
came from a dozen neighbouring hamlets to draw their water
from a single well, the only one within many miles. Mounted
on their fast-trotting cows, the villagers assembled from all
directions to fulfil their daily task, and the well furnished a
continual scene of animation and variety. The neare.st vil-
lages content themselves with sending their slave-girls, who
supply ever)' type of Nubian ugliness, from the dwarfish,
big-headed elf of three feet, to the strapping wench of six —
but blackness, exceeding that of night, is the universal
characteristic. The peasants in these hamlets are all Arabs
of the same stock, apparently, as the Beni 'Amir, and, with
but few dia' .'ctic differences, speak the tongue they brought
with them from the Hedjaz. The chief of Hellet-el-Kanz

f <ii

X JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

is as pure-blooded as any sheikh in Yemen, and would
as soon dream of allying his daughter to a Bedawec as of
forsaking Islam — a trait which emphatically shows his Ish-
maelitish lineage, as it is well known that city and desert
Arabs never intermarry.

The lot of these people is, however, far from fortunate.
Ground down to the earth by the exactions of the Egyi)lian
authorities, they have neither the energy ijor the will to work
more than will suffice for pro-
curing for themselves the bare
necessaries of life. Although
the soil is singularly fertile, the
only signs of cultivition I saw
in the neighbourhc d were a few
fields of doura (miilet), of which
they make their simple bread,
and one plot of ground planted
with cotton. Their wealth con-
sists in their cattle, which supply
them not only with food, but
with carriage ; and not a single
branch of industry appears to be
carried on even in the largest
villages. Their ploughing is of
the simplest description ; a sharp
stick drawn along the ground
suffices to scratch a furrow for
the reception of the seed, and
after that the fanner has only to
await at his ease the bounty of
Providence. That a single well
should serve the wants of the
inhabitants of a large district is
in itself a significant fact; and
that the principal village should
have been named after El-Kanz,
the patriotic constructor of this
well, proves the gratitude of the
people to the only man who seems
to have shown a spark of eaergy
or enterprise amongst them.

They are as eager after gain
as people so far removert from
civilisation usually are. That we
should have been mistaken for
Turks, so long as we had a
Turkish escort, was not unreason-
able, nor was it a matter of sur-
prise that the villagers should
have been chary of supplying us
with provisions so long as they

remained under that impression, as the Egyptians never pay
for a single thing they lay their hands up>on ; but we did not
imagine that, when their minds were disabused upon this point,
they would have been so determinedly set upon fleecing us.
We were obliged to put up with it. After passing Ked&ref, we
could not obtain a sheep under three dollars, exactly nine
times the price they used to cost at Massdwa ; while eggs were
sold at a piastre and a half apiece, answering to fivepence of
. our money — a charge which, I tliink, would be considered
exorbitant anywhere.

TAKROOREB SOLDIER.

At Hellet-el-Kanz we fell in with Abd-ul-Melak, a Copt,
who had represented himself to our Agent and Consul-Gencral
in Egypt as possessing a good deal of influence with tlie
Aboona or Metropolitan of Abyssinia, and as having power
to render considerable service towards the liberation of Consul
Cameron and his companions. Colonel Stanton had accord-
ingly dispatched him on a kind of mission for that purpose,
and had entrusted him with letters and presents for the bishop.

Amongst the gifts destined to
propitiate the head of a non-
smoking church were several fine
amber mouthpieces, and enough
Latakieh to stock a tobacconist's
shop in a provincial Turkish
town. It is needless to say that
the envoy had never set his foot
beyond Matemma ; and as he had
letters of recommendation to all
the Egyptian authorities in those
parts, he was continually travel-
ling between that town and Ke-
daref, and living handsomely on
the unfortunate peasantry, who
had orders to supply him with
everything he wanted. Mr.
Rassam took measures to prevent
the imposition being carried on
any longer, and, with a warning,
left the detected rogue to find his
own way back to Cairo.

We left the district of Ke-
daref at Hellet-el-Kanz, and
entered that of Rashid. The
country for many miles round
is merely one vast steppe, co-
vered with tall and sun-dried
grass, and tenanted only by the
giraffe and the ostrich. For a
long distance not a drop of
water is to be found. At one
in the morning, after marching
six hours, we halted for the night
at a place where the ravages
of fire allowed us room for our
camels and ourselves to lie down ;
but before daybreak we were
obliged to be off again. Five
hours and a half brought us to
a , village called Wed-el-Amas,
where there is a spring of tolerable
water, and one large tree, under
which we could spend the day. As the trunk was quite hollow,
I found room inside it to spread out my bedding, and was able
to take a nap in a cool and comfortable apartment, free from the
glare and heat of the sun. At half-past three in the afternoon
we were off again, and travelled for more than nine hours before
we reached our next watering-place, Medalc The road here
loses a good deal of its prairie-like character, and in parts is
very stony. Trees of a much larger growth begin to show
themselves, but the country is still very level, the only eleva-
tions -we saw being two low hills to the right, Doka and

'-Trr;

i I

III

liMi

9»

1 1.I.US TRATKD TRAVELS.

Dagak'cs. The fomicr is considered the s;inatoriimi of
Matcmma, and is an agrL-cabic retreat while tiic summer heat
rages so fiercely in that district. At Medak there are several
wells, and some fine trees, beneatii the siiade of which we
were glad to take refuge till the sun went down a little.

Five hours brought us to Uervcesh, where we left the
Rashid district and the country of the Arabs, and entered that
of Cialabat, the land of the Takroorees, as they are called by
strangers, or .Xrbab, as they style
themselves. Riding on for an-
other hour, we arrivetl at a village
called Ja'afra, where we passed
the night, and starting the next
morning at four, journeyed on
pleasantly through a dense
thicket, in which a beautiful
species of acacia with feathery
leaves was especially conspicuous.
I,ea\ing the camels behind, we
travelled on briskly, and at a
((uarter to nine reached a valley
with a tiny streamlet running
through it, called the Khor-el-
Athrub, by the side of which in-
numerable monkeys, some in
family parties, and others evi-
dently in a state of single blessed-
ness, were disporting themselves.
Here we remained till half- past
two, and an hour's ride then
brought us into Matcmma.

The chief of the district,
Sheikh Jooma, was absent at the
time, having been compelled, .ac-
cording to annual custom, to
present himself with his tribute at
the court of King Theodore, but
we were welcomed by his loaiin
kneiis, 'Izz-ud-deen, and by the
sheikh of the town. Hassan
KiTendi had ridden on previously,
and had given glowing accounts
of the wealth and magnificence
of the Prankish embassy, which
was for some time to take u|) its
f|uarters in the district, and we
found on arrival that jireparations
had already been made for our
recei)tion. A hill facing the east
and overlooking the town, and

umiuestionably the healthiest spot near it, was assigned to us.
It usually served as the summer residence of the sheikh, and
on it were erected a fine large airy shed and three small
houses, which, with our tents, amjjly sufficed for our accom- !
modation. j

Looking down from our hill, we could see the collection of \
huts, called Matcmma, '.o the fullest advantage. Altogether
there may be si.x hundred of these flimsy edifices lying over
the plain in scattered patches. Thsy are of circular form, and
built with grass walls and thatched conical roofs. The houses
of the sheikh are perhaps the best in the place, and are situated '

WOMAN OF KASSAI.A CARRYING WATER.

within a large enc! ire near tlie centre of the town. A little
further on flows the Metcharah, a streamlet from which the
majority of the inhabitants obtain their water, and which fonns
a most picturescpie feature in the lan<ls(apc, owing to the mag-
nificent willows that border ..'ach bank ; but whi'h contains
within it the seeds of all the maladies for which Matcmma has
so unenviable a repute. Crossing this stream, we find a cluster
of houses occupied by the .Abyssinian colony, and beyond this

again are the fields of doura,
from which the natives procure
their chief subsistence. 'I'hough
1 only noticed one field in the
immediate vicinity of ^L^temma,
cotton is grown to a great extent
in the outlying villages, as se-
veral hundred bales are every
week brought to the fair, and
imported into Aby.ssinia. Cucur-
bitaceous i)lants grow in abund-
ance, and the gourd has ([uite
superseded the skin as a re-
cepticle for water.

The day of our arrival (the
2i.-.t of November) was that on
which the weekly inarkct was
held, and after we had insi)ected
our new domicile, Blanc and I
strolled down to the plain below.
^\'e had not proceeded far when
we were accosted by an Abys-
sinian, who having once been as
far as Cairo, could speak a little
Arabic, and he oficred to become
our cicerone. This man, whose
name was Walda Gabriel, we al-
ways found a usefid fellow enough,
and he subsequently entered Mr.
Rassam's service as an interjjreter.
The fair diflcrs 'n few respects
from an English one. Stalls co-
vered with gilt gingerbread and
ribbons are not to be found, but
in their stead skins are spread out
on the ground covered with salt,
chilis, ginger, sesame, and the
usual products of the country.
Camel after camel arrives laden
with bales of cotton, and escorted
by Takroorees from the outlying
districts. Beneath a tree is an
armourer plying his trade, and converting old pieces of
hoop-iron into spear-heads and knives. Yonder is a group
busily em])loyed in flaying a bullock which has just been
slaughtered for the special delectation of the Abyssinians
who freijuent the fair. And perhaps the most striking scene
of all are these Abyssinians, who muster in considerable
numbers, and chiefly confine' themselves to exhibiting the
paces of their wild coursers, galloping about in a way that
shows their utter disregard for the lives and limbs of Sheikh
Jooma's lieges. Most terrible screws of course these steeds
are, it not being customary to allow serviceable horses to pass

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEIA

il'

III

1 ii < '

It .t

if '■

; tf ■ !

the custom-houses of Tchclga or Wahhnec. This scene was
repeated evt-ry Tuesday and \Ve<lnesday, anil we used to find
it an amusing diversion to lounge down to the village-green,
and " do" the market as if it were the Parle in the season, or
the Spa at Scarborough in the autumn.

In conse(iuence of the advantageous position of Matemma,
standing as it does in a kind of debateable land between Egypt
and Abyssinia, it is naturally a great mart for slaves, chiefly
from the tlalla country. The regular market was not open at
the time of our arrival, although more than once we received
surreptitious " tips " from dealers in respect to some article or
another which was supposed to display superiority of blood
and breeding.

A branch of Uishop Gobat's mission was established
here, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Eipperle and Mr. Mutschler.
Judging, however, by the number of converts around them,
these gentlemen wduld have done better if they had never
relinquished the respectable handicrafts to which they had
been brought up. A slave girl, purchased on account of her
singular aptitude for receiving Christian doctrine, since she
had never heard the name of religion before, formed the sole
member of their flock. I believe that Mrs. Eipperle, who
had been a deaconess at the hospital at Jerusalem, and was
possessed of some knowledge of the healing art, was of far
more service to the bodies of the Takroorees than ever her
husband was likely to be to their souls. In fact, the latter
had almost abdicated his spiritual functions, and was more
congenially employed in the task of setting up a large water-
wheel, for the purpose of irrigating the small plot of ground
where his beans were planted.

Two days after our arrival, the old chief. Sheikh Jooma,
returned from his visit to Abyssinia. He paid us the com-
pliment of coming to see us before he had even planted his
foot within his own door. He was attended by a retinue of
about a hundred horsemen, whose dress and equipments were
of every fantastic mode that barbaric taste could devise. One
of the most conspicuous figures was a cavalier attired in a
complete suit of chain-mail, while another, swathed up in a
thick quilted doublet and capucine, brought to mind old
pictures of Muscovite warriors. Sheikh Jooma is about sixty
years of age, perhaps a little older, wiry and strong-built, and
exhibits all the characteristics of the negro type in an ex-
aggerated form. We had heard before that he was not to be
tmsted, and his subsequent treatment of us fully confirmed
this report However, he was exceedingly courteous on this
occasion, and promised to do everything in his power to
make us comfortable. In the evening we returned his visit,
and found that the old gentleman had refreshed himself so
freely after the fatigues of his journey that he was scarcely
presentable.

The Takroorees, all of whom are under the sway of Sheikh
Jooma, are a tribe of Nigritian origin, and although the ver-
nacular of the district is Arabic, they do not appear to have
any intermixture of Arabic blood in their veins. They seem a
good-tempered, easy-going race, and, like their congeners of
Darfoor and Kordofln (from the former of which districts the
chief of Galabit is, I believe, invariably chosen), and the
neg -oes of intertropical Africa generally, they live in a per-
petual kind of lazy dream, letting each day take care of itself,
and bestowing no thought on the morrow. Every night, how-
ever, is kept alive by their tom-tomming and singing, which

goes on till sunrise at the chiers house, while the beer travels
briskly round, and doubtless many a toast is dnmk in honour
of their dusky loves, ill-favoured specimens of womankind
though they be. The mornings, of course, are spent in sleep,
and it is not till evening that the day really begins. At sunset
they may be seen swaggering and tossing their burly limbs
about, and flourishing their spears and short axes in such
wise that it is evident their potations begin the moment
they awake. To us they were civil enough, and never omitted
the usual salute, " Saldm aleikoom," and polite interrogatories
after our health. The liquor in which they indulge to so
great an extent is called " bilbil," and is brewed from doura.
It possesses a sour but not unpleasant flavour, somewhat
resembling rough Devonshire ci<ler.

The Takroorees are fearless, if not graceful, horsemen ; and
Sheikh Jooma could turn out a very respectable force of light
irregular cavalry, if he would but relinquish his whim of
organising a battalion of infantry after the Turkish model. At
the time of our stay this consisted of about a hundred men,
armed with muskets of every conceivable age and pattern.
Two or three days in the week the soldiers are reviewed on
parade. They march to the ground in Indian file, and on arrival
form line to the front, and go through their manual, which
comprises " Order arms, shoulder arms, pile arms, break ofl","
which last command is obeyed with much greater alacrity than
the others, and the soldiers betake themselves to discharging
their pieces at any unfortunate ji..j..1 birds they may spy in
their vicinity, until the command to fall in is given, when the
same manoeuvres are repeated ad lib. All this is in the
presence of a grinning and admiring crowd, who " shake the
air with their applausive noise," and warmly cheer the de-
fenders of Matemma. This lasts about an hour, and at the
expiration of that period the force returns to quarters, and the
parade is at an end. However, the real strength of the district
consists in its cavalry, as every householder possesses a horse,
and, in case of an attack, marches to the field with his gillies
behind him, like a highland chieftain of old.

The government is an elective monarchy, but every year is
signalised by a custom of some singularity. The power of the
chief lapses, and is assumed by one of the principal inhabitants,
who continues to hold it for six days, when the former sheikh
resumes the reins of power. To all intents and purposes
there is an interregnum, the reign of the new chief being appa-
rently only marked by an incessant tom-tomming, which is
kept up before his house. On the sixth day the Takroorees
from all the neighbouring villages flock in and hold their
annual festival ; cavalry and infantry are reviewed in the large
plain outside the town, and the sheikh addresses them in a
stirring speech. When we were there he made the best of his
opportunity by leading a foray into the country of Tirsu
Gobazyd, in Walkait, and returned after three days in high
glee at having made a " lift" of several thousand head of cattle.
At that period he had to pay tribute to both the Pasha of Khar-
toom and the Negoos of Abyssinia, and, consequently, spent
most of his time on the road ; but it may be confidently assumed
that the Egyptians have now taken him in hand altogether.

Although the nights and early mornings still remained
tolerably cool, the weather was growing daj by day perceptibly
hotter, and the sun was terribly powerful. We noticed once
a difference of 70° Fahr. between the temperature of the shed
in which we lived and that of the atmosphere outside.

l;-^^

iiiifijia

■

RKPORT OF ANOTHER GREAT LAKE IN EQUATORIAL Al RICA.

The Atbara flows at a distince of five or six miles from
Matemma, and one day wc made an excursion with our mis-
sionary friends to that river, for the purpose of shooting
butfaloes. We had only to cross an cxjjanse of rich alluvial
mud overgrown with tall grass. 'Izz-ud-deen and about twenty
of his followers accompanied us as beaters, but more for their
own amusement than ours it appeared, for though they pro-
mised to drive down a herd they knew of in our direction,
they failed to redeem their word, and left us in anxious ex-
pectation for the rush all through the day. Towards evening
they appeared in high triumph, displaying the spoils of three
buffaloes which had fallen victims to their spears, and we had
nothing to console ourselves with after such a barren day but
a few steaks which they generously placed at our disposal.

The 26th of December we all thought a red-letter day with
us. Mohammed the Shiho, and others of Mr. Rassam's mes-
sengers, returned to us, bearing letters from King Theodore,
and clothed in white raiment bestowed ujion them by that
monarch. The letters were couched in most friendly terms,
and the last in date bore the royal signature and seal. It
appeared from them that, though his majesty still retained
angry feelings against the captives, he was most amicably
,;: posed towards us.

Putting the letters and the testimony of the messengers
together, the following programme appeared to be sketched
out for us. Sheikh Jooma was ordered to place an escort at
our service to take us as far as Wahhnee, two days' journey
distant. We were there to be met by three Bashas, officers of
high rank, who had been specially deputed to conduct us
to the camp. We heard that they had four or five hundred
men with thera. From Wahhnee we should proceed to Tchelga,
and thence round by Lake Tsftna, to the place where we
should meet the king. He was at that time in D&mot, a
province to the north of Godj4m, but was coming with five
hundred horsemen to see us. After the interview, the mes-
sengers informed us we should be at liberty to take up our
residence on an island in the lake, or, if we preferred it, in
one of the towns near it, or finally, at Gaffat, near Debra
Tabor, where the German artizans were residing. Orders
had been given to the governors of all the towns and villages
on our route to have ready for us cattle, sheep, honey, fowls,
and eggs, and the Germans at Gaffat were ordered to prepare
everything for us in European fashion. The messengers, who
had so lately seen the king, gave it as their opinion that his
majesty would be certain to give orders for Cameron's release
as soon as he met us, but that it would be a difficult matter to
get the missionaries out So far, however, all seemed fair and
promising enough.

On the 28th, being ready to start, we went to take leave of
Sheikh Jooma, and received from him the escort he had been
ordered to provide us with. The cares of state must that day
have sat very heavily upon him, and he had been obliged to
drown them so deeply that he was scarcely aware of our
presence as we entered his dwelling. When he did perceive
us, the discourtesy he had often shown us of late developed
into absolute rudeness, and although we civilly represented to
him our need of an escort while so near to Tirsu Gobazyfi's ter-
ritory, he refused to let us have a single man. We were obliged
to put up with the bearish embrace he gave us afterwards, and
indignantly shaking the dust off our shoes at the threshold, we
quitted for ever the mansion of this negro potentate.

Report of another Great Lake in Equatorial
Africa.
An Italian traveller, named Carlo Piaggia, who has been for
some years wandering in the regions west of the White Nile,
has recently sent home a rejjurt of a long journey which he
performed during the years 1863 to 1865, into countries far
beyond the routes of any previous explorer, and in which he
affirms there exists another great sea of fresh water lying
to the west of the Albert Nyanza of Baker. V.i was not
able to reach the shores of the lake, but could not refuse to
admit the unanimous testimony of the natives as to its
approximate position. The letters of Piaggia, in which his
journeys are narrated, were addressed by him to the Manjuis
Antinori, a gentleman in whose retinue he had travelled, in
1 86 1, in the northern part of the same region, and they have
been published, with a carefully-prepared map, in the first
volume of the Journal issued by the new Geographical Society
of Italy. Ten years ago the natives on the Ghazal river had
given a vague account of a great lake farther south, to the
gentlemen who accompanied the expedition of the Dutch
ladies on that western tributary of the Nile; Mr. Petherick,
too, who went farther to the south-west of the White Nile than
any other traveller previous to Piaggia, sent home news of a
lake, but the account obtained by Piaggia seems to be more
definite than that of any other authority.

According to Dr. Petermann, the well-known German
geographer, who has re-calculated the distances and days'
marches of Piaggia, the new lake would lie about 130 miles
beyond the western shore of Albert Nyanza, a little to the
south of that part of the lake navigated by Sir Samuel Baker
and his lady. He makes it to extend for 200 miles towards
the west If this be true, we shall have four great sear of fresh
water near thi equator in Central Africa, resembling in
dimensions lakes Michigan and Huron ; and the Nile lakes (if
they really all communicate with the Nile) will almost rival the
Laurentian lake-system of North America, the largest in the
world. On comparing, however, the reported new lake with
Baker's account of his Albert Nyanza, the conclusion can
hardly be avoided that it is no other than the prolongation of
the same sheet of water, to the west and south, as mentioned
by that traveller. Sir Samuel Baker, in describing the sea-like
view which presented itself, as he stood on the lofty cliffs,
towards the south — a limitless expanse of water and sky — says
that the natives informed him that the lake, after extending far
to the south, went towards the west, and that its limits in that
direction were known to no one. Piaggia, according to the
corrected map of Dr. Petermann, when nearest to the supposed
new lake, was 450 miles distant from the spot where Baker
stood, gazing into the blue distance to the south-west of his
position ; if these distances are at all approximate to the truth,
the centre of the African continent possesses an expanse of
fresh water greater in dimensions than lake Superior, hitherto
cited as the largest on the globe. It is, besides, probable that
Lake Tanganyika, itself at least 280 miles in length, forms a
southerly arm of this inland sea ; to ascertain this is one of the
principal objects of the exploration in which Dr. Livingstone
is now engaged. Lake Nyassa, further to the south, is now
known to belong to a separate river-basin, discharging its
surplus waters into the Zambesi.

The tract of country lying to the west of the White Nile

IM.USTRATF.n TRAVELS,

!'«

W r

anil to the nortli of the lakes is ii vast wilderness, ronsisling of
extensive marshy plains and forests, with hilly rountry in its
southern portion. It is one of the most fatal countries in
the world to Kuropeans, and jirescnts almost insurmountahle
obstacles to the traveller. In the rainy season the low
districts are lloovled, and famine and pestilence brood over
the land. The only inhabitants are numerous independent
tribes of negroes, who are annually invaded and plundered
by armed bands of ivory and slave traders, who visit the
region from Khartoom, and have their stockaded stalicns at
intervals on the banks of the streams. The south-we.itern part
of the country, near the sources of the Jflr, is inhabited by
the Niam-niams, a race of people who were spoken of by
earlier travellers, Irom accounts which reached the trading
settlements on the coasts of Africa, as a nation of pigmies,
furnished with fan-shaped tails, or as having the fore ex-
tremities of men and tlie hind-quarters of dogs. Concerning
these iieople we have, in the narrative of Piaggia, who spent
more than a year in their country, reliable and most interesting
information. He says they are a handsome, iiowerfully-built
race, with skin of a dark olive-bronze colour, long hair, and
long thick beards. They are superior in mental qualities to
the neighbouring negro tribes, whom they hold in subjection,
and from whom they differ widely in ever)' respect. Although
some of their customs arc cruel, they are not cannibals, as re-
ported by some of their vilifiers ; in short, it would appear that
the wild stories propagated about these brave interior |)eople
were invented by the Arab and Turkish slave-hunters, who
must have been many a time repulseil in their attempts to
g..m access to Niam-niam territory. In travelling from north
to south, towards the country of these peo])le, Piaggia had first
to traverse the Mundo country (4°— 5" N. ial., 27 K. long.), after
which a tract of primeval forest, sixty miles in breadth, had to
be tr.. -sed before reaching the village of the Niam-niam
(hief, Tombo. The forest in many places consisted of an
impenetrable growth of mimosa, acacia, and euphorbia trees,
matted together with climbing Asikpiadcc, amidst which, here
and there, towered colossal specimens of the AJansonia
digitata and the liorassus i)alm-tree. The elephant, the two-
homed rhinoceros, the buffalo, and many species of apes,
antqlojies, and feline animals, tenant this wilderness. At night
the travellers had to kindle great fires around their encamp-
ment to ward off the hungry leopards ; and Piaggia describes
the uproar of wild beasts, which at times arose in the midst of
the stillness, as appalling. The villages of the Niam-niams
consist of groups of huts in shape forming a perfect cone,
from the ground to the apex, the huLs of the chiefs being
distinguished by having an upright circular wall, about the
height of a man, as a su])])ort to the conical thatch. The
chief, Tombo, under whose i)rotection he was able to travel in
various directions through this remote region, was a man of
middle age, of tall and slender figure, and dignified gait and
manner. His luxuriant hair was arranged in curls, and orna-
mented in a fantastic way with many-coloured feathers ; the
cloth of which his robe was made was nothing but a strip of
fibrous bark from a tree ; and when the traveller was first pre-
sented to him he held in his right hand three long lances, and
in his left a musical stringed instrument resembling a harj).
The general character of the country appears to be far superior
to that of the White Nile and the Ohazal river to the north
and west. It is varied with hills and valleys and running

streams ; luxuriant forests clothe the lower grounds, and game
of all kinds is very abundant.

The furthermost point towards the west and south reached
by Piaggia was the Niam-niam village of Kifa ; near this place
flows a river towards the north-west, |)r<)bably a tributary of
the liuri river, a large stre.im apparently far to the west of the
Nile basin, the first account of which was given by Sir Samuel
Raker, on whose original map of this region there is marked
a great river, naincd the Avoc a, flowing towards the north-
west. 'I'he Messrs. Poncet, ivory traders on the White Nile,
have lately pushed their establishments as far as tiiis mysterious
stream, which they state is as large as the White Nile, and
flows towards I ■ike Chad. A new field of great interest
appears here to lie open for the geograi)her antl the
naturalist.

Discovery of the Mouth of the Limpopo River.

The lower course of the Limjioiio, one of the larger rivers of
Southern Africa, and the ])osition of its embouchure in the
Indian Ocean, have up to the present time been a subject of
doubt, and have formed, in fact, one of those geographical
problems of which Africa furnishes so many. The river is a
fine one in its upi)er course along the plateau lands of the
South African interior, .and has been often visited and
described by our adventurous travellers anil elephant hunters ;
but all attempts to descend along its banks to the sea have
been fnistr>->ted, jjartly by reason of the unhealthiness of the
lower lands, and partly by the prevalence of the tsetse fly,
which destroys the bullock teams of the traveller. On the
most recent ma])s, it will be seen that there are no fewer than
five mouths traced with doubt as belonging to this river,
marked along 300 miles of the coast.

.Xccording to recent news from Natal, the I.impojjo has at
length been traced to the se.i, the feat having been performed
by Mr. .St. Vincent Krskine, son of the colonial secretary of
Natal, who trained himself for the task, and accomplished it
between July and September of last year. He appears to
have made Leydenburg, a small town in the northern part of
the Transvaal Republic, his starting-point, and to have
marched direct from there to the junction of the Oliphant
river with the Limpojio, the position of which he determined
by observations for latitude. He then descended the pre-
viously unknown lower course of the great stream, and reached
its mouth in triumph on the 5th of September. According
to the scanty news we at i)resent have of this adventurous
journey, Mr. Krskine appears to have found the embouchure to
coincide with the river Inhampura as marked on the maps. If
this be the case, most of our learned geographers have greatly
erred in their calculations of the direction of the river. The
river does not appear to fonn a delta, or to spread itself over
extensive marshes, as had been conjectured by some writers
and travellers. ^Vhether it is available for navigation or not,
and what is the nature of the country through which it flows
in the lower part of its course, will not be satisfactorily known
until the complete narrative and map of Mr. Krskine reaches
Kngland. As he has been throughout in correspondence with
the Royal Geographical Society of London (through Dr.
R. J. Mann), the complete account of the journey will pro-
bably shortly be communicated to that body and to the
jjublic.

il:_

A VISIT lO lAK.UiUAY UURINU IIIK WAR.

*•?? (RSI I t^'-jis- ■t'*'*'" . , , ,

DETAH.S OK JKSllT ARrHITitCTURK IN PARAnlAV.

yf l^isii to Paraguay during the PVar.

BV THOMAS J. HUTCHINSON, F.R.G.S., ETC.

CHAPTER III.

TIIK ALLIED CAMP — ITAPIRU FORT— HEAT OF THE CLIMATE — CAUSES
OF THE PARAOUAYAN WAR — INCIDENTS OF THE WAR— BATTLE
OF VATAY.

On tlie 4th cf April 1 went ashore and visited part of the
Brazilian and Argentine camps. In the Argentine quarters I
passed a short time in the tent of the commander-in-chief,
Brigadier-Cleneral Don Barto'ome Mitre, President of the Argen-
tine Republic. His Excellency spoke hopefully of the speedy
termination of the war, hoiuing an opinion in which I regretted
not to be able to agree. The President's encampment was in
a shady orange grove, perfectly impenetrable to I'.ie sun's rays,
I'"rom this I strolled to the rear of the camp, through one
of the prettiest tracts of woodland I have ever seen, where
the tinamus, or native partridge, and other birds of magnifi-
cent plumage, abounded, nothwithstanding the vicinity of the
warring hosts. The trees rose to an immense height, and a
dense undergrowth of bushes and smaller trees, of the most
varied and elegant foliage, clothed the ground. The forest
here, however, is not continuous and impenetrable, like the
virgin forests of other parts of South America, for it is
diversified with open, grassy spaces. Now and then, emerging
from the woodland pathway, I came upon a space of bright
green sward, reminding one of those opening glades of which
the poet Moore writes in the "Epicurean," as seeming "to
afford a playground for the sunshine." The camp being
partly in the woods, the officers had availed themselves of

VOL. I.

the trees to form cool tents aid bowers in the dense shrubbery

I and under ovt'rhanging branches. In many of these could be
seen, as I passed, the lounging hammock suspended from the

j boughs. Thus wen. the fiitigues of campaigning in so hot a

I climate greatly alleviaied.

Nothing can exceed the beauty of the park-like scenery in
the neighbourhood of the Paso de la Patria, on the Corrientes
side of the river. I rode tlirough it one evening, in company

I with Colonel Leopold Nelson, and would have been willing
to remain for hours enjoying its charms, only that we were
within range of the Paraguayan 48-pounders and bomb-shells,
which were likely to salute us at any minute from the oppo-
site post of Itapiru. To the north of the point there is a
snug little bay from 400 to 500 yards in length, in front of
which, on the opposite side of the river, extending to nearly
a league northwards, appears the encami)ment of the Para-
guayan army. A whitewashed house in the distance was
pointed out to me as the residence of President Lopez. On
the day after we had passed, and on the very spot where I
stopped with Colonel Nelson during a few minutes for observa-
tion, two Argentine soldiers were killed by the bursting of
a bombshell fired across from Itapini. One of them had
his head taken off, the chin and whiskers being left ; and
the other was struck by a piece of shell in the back as he
turned to escape.

April 'ifttu — The heat is almost unendurable. Little con-
solation it is to know that the sun is now at the equinox, and
is marching northwards to warm the other hemisphere, leaving

IL1,USTRATF.D TRAVEI5.

;i«

111'

these southern regions to their approaching winter. It is
pleasant, however, as evening conies on, to observe the
gathering of dark clouds above the horizon that presage a
thunder-stomi. It comes like a true tropical storm— a furious
tempest of wind preceding the hurried sweep of cold air which
accom|)anies the deluging rain. Fearful bursts of ligiitning
and tlumiler attend tlie ilown-pour. 'I'hose who know only
the cliin.itc of Kurope will scarcely believe it, but on the
succeeding morning I observed a ditlerence in the temjjcra-
ture of 33° Falirenheit, produced by the storm overnight.
The air was not only cool, but as cold as it often is in
England in the month of March.

It is not an easy matter to trace the causes which led to the
Paraguayan war, so recently and tragically brought to a termi-
nation, at least for the present. Although I have resided for
seven years, including the commencement of these hostiliiies,
in the Argentine Republic, I confess myself still unable lo find
an adeijuate explanation. Mutual antipathy, dating from an
early period, would seem to bear no small share in it. We find
in the work entitled, " An Account of the Al' 'pones of Paraguay,"
by Martin Uobrizhoffer, that, " from a letter written by the
King of Spain in 1839, it appears that in five years 300,000
Paragu.ayan Indians were carried into slavery by Brazilians."
These slave-hunting expeditions were carried on by the
" Mamclucos," who are described by Dobrizhoffer as a race
of Mestizos, inhabiting the interior of Brazil, the offspring of
European fiithers and Indian mothers, celebrated for their
skill in shooting and robbing, and ready for any daring enter-
prise. He further records of these people — " In the space of
one hundred and thirty years two millions of Indians were
slain or cairied into captivity by the Mamehicos of Brazil,
and more than one thousand leagues of country, as far as
the river Amazon, were stripped of their inhabitants." There
can be little doubt that the memory of these deeds has
rankled for generations in the minds of the people of Para-
guay, whose country suffered so much from being in close
contiguity with the interior provinces of Brazil, peopled by the
Mamehicos.

Whenever the history of this Paraguayan war comes to be
written, incidents like those which I am about to record, and
for the truth of which I can vouch, will render it remarkable
amongst the annals of military daring and patriotic self-
sacrifice.

At the retaking of Corrientes by General Paunero, the
Argentine commander, in May, 1865, and after the Para-
guayans had been driven out of it, there was one Paraguayan
soldier, a sentinel, who had been left behind, most likely
through his commanding officer forgetting to order his with-
drawal. In the melk, he found himself surrounded by more
than a dozen of the attacking party, who called on him to
surrender. This he refused to do, with the rei>ly of "No
tengo ordines" (I have no orders). But he was overpoivered
by a superior force, and slaughtered on the spot. A repre-
sentation of this faithful soldier, from a drawing I brought from
Paragiiay, is given at page 100 ; it is taken, as well as the one
on page 73, from a work I have published entitled " The
Paran.-l, with Incidents of the Paraguayan War."

At the battle of Yatay, which was fought on the 17 th
August, 1865 — with victory to the allies, of course, for they
were as three to one to the Paraguayans — a marine officer named
Robles was very severely wounded. Yatay is situated about a

league north of Restauracion, on the right bank of the river
Uruguay. In this fight the allies numbered twelve thousand
troops, and the Paraguayans only four thousand. The fonner
had thirty-eight pieces of cannon, the latter only three. Major
Duarte, who commanded the Paraguayans in this engagement,
was taken prisoner, and sent to Ri» ; but the marine officer
Robles, his second in command, who fought like a lion, was
cut down by overpowering numbers, and captured whilst in-
sensible from his wounds. As soon as he recovered conscious-
ness, and found himself in the hands of the Brazilian surgeons,
he tore the dressii.ijs off his wounds, rather than submit to their
curative manipulation, and in a short time died of haimorrhage.

A spirit similar to this is recorded by the Brazilian admir.il.
Baron de Imhauma, in his despatch to the Argentine war
mmister, Gelly y Ohes, dated "Camp in Tuyucue, March 8th,
i86rf." This relates the circumstances connected with a
daring attempt of the Paraguayans to take the Brazilian iron-
clad.s. The attack was made by a fleet composed of forty-
eight canoes , lashed together by twos, with twenty-five men in
each. A g"oup of eight canoes (four pairs) was commanded
by a captai'i, and destined to board one iron-clad, but, having
lost the order on which they were advancing (very probably
from their occupants being blinded with smoke from the firing
of the monitors), fourteen attacked, and their crews boarded, the
Lima and Barros ; twelve engaged with the Cabral, whilst
some were driven down by the current, and others were sunk
by the guns from the Si/aJo and Iferfal. During the engage-
ment on board the iron-clads, some of the canoes returned to
land, carrying their wounded am! dead. What a grand tribute
to these courageous fellows is this last paragraph in that
admiral's report ; — " The Hen'al and Silado killed a great
number in the water, who had thrown themselves overboard.
I endeavoured to save some, ordering boats to be lowered for
that purpose, but they refused any help, and fitferred to die."

The most remarkable characteristic of the Paraguayans
throughout was their devotion to Lopez, their president and
commander-in-chief — a spirit which was ridiculed by the Argen-
tines as Paraguayan stolidity, and of which I am about to
record an instance that came under my own observation.

When Her Majesty's gunboat Doterel, on returning from
Asuncion, in June, 1865, was passing by the Marques de
Olinda steamer, lying a wreck, after the battle of Riachuelo,
the commander, Lieut. Johnson, R.N., had his attention
drawn to signals of distress flying from the wrecked vessel—
a Brazilian flag overtopping the Paraguayan at the mainmast
The Doterel was stopped, and the commander sent one of his
boats to the steamer, which lay out of the channel, the river
being here a mile wide. It was found that a number of
wounded were on boaril, and that the vessel was without
engineer or ofSccr. Fifteen Paraguayans, of whom twelve
were seriously wounded, were taken therefrom, and placed on
board the British gunboat. One of these men had his skull
fractured by the falling of a mast ; a second had his leg broken
by a shot ; a third was suffering from peritonitis, caused by a
gun-shot wound in the abdomen ; and so forth. For four days
and nights they had been living on ship's biscuit and water.
The steamer had burst her boilers. Her commander. Captain
Robles, brother of the hero at Yatay, was wounded, taken
prisoner, and put on board one of the Brazilian steamers,
where he had died a few days previously. The engineer had
got away on a small raft he constructed, and by which he

A VISIT TO PARAGUAY DURING Tllli WAR.

floated himself down to an Italian schooner that was anchored
a few humlred yards below, in the river.

When the Dottrel onived at Rosario, on her way down, I
went on boanl to see these poor sufferers. Every appliance
which humanity could suggest for their comfort was put at
their disposal by the humane Commander Johnson; and the
gooil surgeon, whose name 1 regret having forgot, exerted
hinjself to the utmost to assuage their sufferings. On the morn-
ing of their arrival I went on board, to give my assistance
to the doctor, in amputating the leg of one • i the wounded
Paraguay.ans. Whilst waiting for the dottoi : get his in-
struments in order, it was distressing to he. r the piteous
groans of the man who was suffering *" mi peritonitis. The
sergeant who was in charge of the gr' advancea to his bed-
side, and 8i>okc to him in Guarani, which was translated for
me by the pilot, when I saw that the words hai' the effect of
at once stopping the plaints of tho woun-k 1 man. " Dog of
a bad Paraguayan I are you not ashamed to let your enemies
hear you complain, and give them rea:>on to lauph at you? Is
not the glory of having been wounde<l whilst fighting for your
country sufficient, without crying for sympathy in your suffer-
ings ? Do not let me hear another groan, or I shall report you
to the President"

Such was the influence of the name, that from that time
tmtil the man died, six hours afterwards, he uttered not a
single complaint

In the ye;ir 1864, previous to the outbreak of the war, it
was rumoured that Lopez was about to set aside the Paraguayan
Republic, and proclaim a monarchy in its ste.-id. Morally,
socially, and politically, Paraguay has long ceased to be a
Republic ; for it is well known that Lopez is the be-all and
end-all of the Paraguayan Government. He himself was sup
pose<l to be intended for the first Emperor.

This belief was strengthened by an act of his, which super-
vened on the first breaking out of the war in April, 1865 —
namely, the creation of an order, somewhat similar to the
English Order of the Bath, to be entitled the " National Order
of Merit" From the official paper of Paraguay, El Seminario,
of April 10, 1865, I take the bases and regulations of the
order.

It was to comprise five grades — namely, chevalier, official,
knight commander, grand official, and grand cross. Either or
any of these might be '•onferred for life ; and it was only a com-
petent tribunal that could abrogate them. The decorations of
those invested would consist of a star of silver, with a gold centre-
piece, relieved by olive and palm bra..ches, with a crown of
laurel on the top. This crown was to have " Reward of Merit"
on one side, " Honour and Glory" on the reverse. Each grade
would have a difference in the diameter of its star, as well as
in the size of the ribbon fastening it

These decorations were to be worn on the left side of the
breast Of the Grand Cross, the distinctive badge was to be a
collar ornamented with small stars, similar in their pattern to
the ordinary stir. The president of the republic was, of course,
to be Director-in-Chief of this order. It was to be conferred on
men celebrated ir diplomacy, science, judicial and statesman-
ship capacities, be they foreigners or natives. But it was
incumbent on all who might receive these grades to swear an
oath to God and the country, that they should dedicate them-
selves to the service of the nation, the preservation of its
integrity, and the defence of its laws.

CHAPTER IV.

CONCLUSION.

PATRIOTISM or TUB WOMEN Qf rARAOUAY — LADIU PirSENTINa
JKWKU TO TIIK FRKSIDINT — MYTHICAL ARMY OF AMAZUNS —
INTENTIONS Of LUI'EZ TOWARDS BRAZIL A.NU THE ARUKNTINI
KEI'UULIC— MAIN rRINCII'LH OF fEACK rKUl'UiilTIUNS— IRA21UAM
IIOSI-ITAU AT CURRIKNTES

A GLANCE at the map of South America will show what a
morsel of land, in comparison with the territorial extent of its
Brazilian and Argentine neighbours, is that denominated
Paraguay. This last-named is in the centre of a cauldron of
misunderstandings about geographical boundaries. One part
of the Gran Chaco on the western side of the river is claimed by
Brazil, another portion by Bolivia, and a third by the Argentines.
The triple alliance treaty, framed at the beginning of the existing
war in 1863, prescribes, by one of its articles, that the future
limits of Paraguay to the west shall be defined by its own
river, which washes the right side of its soil, and that it shall
have J.J claim to occupation or ownership of territory outside
that fluvi.il boundary. To the south it is bordered by the
junction of the Pamni and Paraguay rivers, whith form a con-
fluence in lat 27° 15' S. Its northern extent only reaches to lat
20' 4s' S., at the sources of the river lilanro. Ard yet Brazil
refuses to acknowledge in this direction a boundary for Paraguay
beyond lat 21° 30' S., near the sources of the river Apa.

It was a grand epoch in the hisiory of Paraguay, when the
Jesuit missionaries laboured there from a.d. 1543 to A.ii. 1775.
The chief eulogistic chroniclers of these labours are Father
Charievoix and Martin Dobrizhoffcr. The Spanish historian,
Azara, who resided in Paraguay for no inconsiderable period
after the expulsion of the order, tries in every way to disparage
them, and through his works pursues them with unrelenting
enmity in all their measures. But a Jesuit mission vill..ge,
according to unprejudiced authorities, was a model of order
and regularity. Perfect uniformity was observed in its long
comfortably-built rows of houses, and the small circuit of
the town offered every facility for preserving its domestic
tranquillity, or ensuring a ready defence against any outside
danger. The great square was the centre point, the public
resort, and general rendezvous of the people. Upon it were
erected the church, the college, the arsenal, the stores, the
workshops of carpenters, joiners, weavers, and smiths, together
with other important public buildings, all assembled under the
close and unsleeping vigilance of the Fathers.

Each mission had its body 0.' infantry and cavalry, as well
OS its military insignia. Every Monday the Corregidor reviewed
his troops — the officers being distinguishetl by their uniforms,
richly laced with gold and silver, and embroidered with the
device of the town. These weekly evolutions terminated
usually with a sham-fight, that with " the enthusiasm and im-
p>etuosity of the people," writes UUoa, " often waxed so warm
as to render necessary a forcible separation." But the Jesuits,
having qualifications of the suavitcr in modo, joined with the
fortita- in re, never failed to suppress these tribal dissen-
sions.

No doubt that training of this kind has made the Para-
guayans what they proved themselves to be in the present war.
For they, having associated less with the outer world of European
progress and civilisation, in fact, living completely isolated fur
more than half a century, may be said to represent to-day the
courage, discipline, and perseverance inculcated into them by

miiii

1 1 .1 -USl'RATED TR A V F,T ,S.

; ■■i

-m

f. ' ' 3

the religious teachers of their forefathers more than two hundred
years ago.

There was another element in this military schooling,
whereby the Paraguayans were taught to turn in the same
cheerful obedient spirit from a long and doubtful struggle to the
peaceful cultivation of tlieir fields, or again to leave the plough
and grasp the sword in
defence of the missions
— a cause as sacred in

their eyes as the rescue ' ^

of the Holy Sepulchre
from the infidel to the
crusader.

No expense of time,
labour, or money was
spared by the Jesuits
in constructing their
churches. Those at
Candelaria,* up the river
Vermejo, and on its left
bank in the Gran Chaco ;
of St. Joachim, likewise
in the Paraguayan part
of Gran Chaco, and of
Asuncion the capital,
were said to rival in
symmetr)', taste, and
splendour, the riches of
Peru.

What a curious an-
tithesis may be deduced
from the remark of Vol-
tairc.t that " the estab-
lisl ment in Paraguay of
the Spanish Jesuits
seems in some respects
to be the triumph of
humanity," and the fact,
that the chief history of
Paraguay, from the Jesuit
expulsion, is known to
us only as comprised in
the accor'-'ts of Robert-
son, and others — de-
scriptive of the bloody
tyranny under the dicta-
torships of Francia and
Lopez. It may be
needless for me to add,
that Paraguay has no
commercial annals.

Not the least re
markable among the incidents of the Paraguayan war have
been those in which the female part of the population were
the chief actors. Hostilities had barely commenced, in
May 1865, when the ladies of Asuncion, the capital of
Paraguay, waited on I'ield-Marshal I-opez, for the |)ur-
pose of making him the ofler of all their jeweller)', plate,
and trinkets for the service of their country, and to establish
a national currency of gold. Lo])ez, in reply, consented to

• l-'niimloil in A.D. i6::7, in l.il. 27" 26' 4O" S, 1 Essai Mv Ics Mccurs.

J'AK.MilAYAN SENTINKI. : "NO TF.NGO 0RDINE3."— /. 98.

receive only twenty-five per cent, of the \alue thus offered
to him.

As the war continued, and whilst busy workmen were
engaged night and day at the arsenal in Asuncion, turning out
new guns in September, 1867, the women again came forward
and offered the free contribution of their pots, pans, boilers,

an<l articles of brass and
iron to the foundries for
conversion into instru-
ments of war. About the
same time, a deputation
of two hundred ladies
waited on the vice-pre-
sident — the President
Lopez himself being
imable to leave the front
of the army — to present
him with a book, in
which their names were
mscribed, with a state-
ment of the amount in
jewellery which each fair
one was willing to offer
up for the same pur-
■ pose as that which had
been the subject of tho
first contribution —
namely, to furnish the
sinews of war. Not very
long before this time
they had sent to General
Lopez a splendid album
contauiing the records
of the different battles
in which he had fought.
The story of Lopez
having drilled some hun-
dreds of women, with a
view to form a battalion
of Amazonr, which ap-
peared in the London
papers a few months
ago, and upon which
much needless senti-
mentalism wa.' expended
by some of our public
writers, has turned out
— as all who knew Para-
guay believed it would
turn out — merely an at-
tempt to excite drawing-
room philanthropy
against a step so antagonistic to the feelings of our common
humanity. At the same time, little more than a passing
comment has been made on that touching episode of the war
recorded in the Monte Videan newspaper 7'/i/: Fatn'a, th.it
amongst the dead Paraguayans in the action of the 8th of
May, in the Gran Chaco, was found an old woman, dressed
in man's clothes, shot by the side of a young man also killed,
whose head she was holding in he. withered hands, and who
was, probably, her own son ; the latter was clutching his
musket with one ann, and the other was twined round the

a:
u

103

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEI^.

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neck of the old woman. The following are extracts from my
note-book whilst in front of Itapiru : —

" March blh. — To prove what good artillery-men there are
amongst the Paraguayans, Admiral Tamandare told me to-day
that, during the course of last week, they had fired from Itapiru
at his flag-ship, the Apa, and out of seven shots she had been
struck four times, one of these going through her above decks
from stem to stem, and breaking a large quantity of her
crockeryware. The Aj>a at the time was more than two miles
from the fort. This morning I saw the Ba/iia, one of the iron-
clads, with several holes in her chimney, the effects of Para-
guayan cannon-shot, after she had been reconnoitring too
near Itapiru.

" April iQih. — This morning a sally was made by the Para-
guayans from Itapiru on a small island in front, that liad been
garrisoned and fortified by the Brazilians, chiefly with the object
of inducing the Paraguayans to believe that at this point it was
the intention of the allies to cross over. The Paraguayans
attacking came at early dawn, or, in faci, before daybreak,
many of them swimming the distance of half a mile, others
coming in canoes, and all having, for clothing, no more than
the usual fighting costume of their people — a red shirt. Of the
number of the invaders or the killed in this bold attack, it was
impossible to obtain a correct return. The Paraguayans, how-
ever, did not succeed in holding the island.

" Captain Romero (Paraguayan), whom I saw on board the
Brazilian flag-ship, Apa, to-day, April 12th, had not been more
than four hours a prisoner till he offered to enlist as a Brazilian,
doubtless with some ulterior design. This is the man who
commanded the attack on the island a few days ago. He told
me that President Lopez was getting very fat, and that he
smoked incessantly. Romero was not more than five days on
board the Apa, when he slipped over the ship's side one night,
and escaped. The Paraguayans are almost amphibious."

Whilst the Paraguayans were here in the neighbour-
hood of Itapiru, it was well known that they were furnished
with movable electric telegraphs, similar to those which were
used in recent European campaigns, and whereby communica-
tion was kept ui>, not only with the capital at Asuncion, but
with the various tlivisions and forces all through the army.

No more palpable proof of these people having been
many years making preparations for this struggle, need be
adduced than the facts of the existence of these telegraphs, as
well as of the effectual manufacture of torpedoes, by which,
as before related, they have done much damage to the Bra-
zilian squadron.

The arrangements that might have been made on the
establisliment of peace, if Lopez had succeeded, would have
referred chiefly to the boundaries of these countries. The
most melancholy feature of South American war has been,
from time immemorial, this fighting .ibout disjwted boundaries,
and claims to territories which none of the holders or claimers
can turn to any practical account So that, until we find South
American nations — be they republics or monarchies — disposed
to listen to common sense, and turn their splendid soil and
m.ignificent climate to practical account, they must be con-
tent to remain as they are — distrusted by all mankind. It
was from feelings of pride and ambition that the Brazilians
resented the insult to national honour and dignity, which it
was said Lopez had given to the empire. The Paraguayan Presi-
dent, no doubt, considered himself equ.-illy justified to maintain

what he founded his initiative of war upon — " the equilibrium
of the Rivei Plate," disturbed by the Brazilian interference in
the Republic of Uruguay. General Mitre looked upon the
Argentine national "honour and security as outraged," and
called to their post "citizen soldiers, whose banners were
always wreathed with justice and victory." But it might have
been no harm for the belligerents, at the end of three and a half
years' 'fighting, to ask one another, " Have we not had enough
of it ? and can we not establish some equilibrium that will be
better for our mutual prosperity and comfort tiian this per-
petual fighting ?"

On my return from the Paso de la Patria to Corrientes, we
had «n board the Due de Saxe steamer, in which I came down,
from thirty to forty wounded Brazilians and Paraguayans, who
were on their way to the hospitals. As I believed the miseries
of such a war as this could be best alleviated by attentions to
such sufferers, it was a pleasure to me to comply with a
promise I had given to the Brazilian admiral, Visconde Tap
mandare, to visit the hospifls when I returned to Corrientes.

The principal Argentine hospital — there were two of these —
was presided over by Dr. Almeyra, and was situated in the houses
and square of what was formerly the Argentine College. Here
Dr. Newkirk, a very excellent Canadian medical practitioner,
was the active genius of the place. At the time of my visit
there were very few wounded patients, although a month pre-
viously there had been several hundreds. How well the sick
and wounded are cared for may be imagined, when I state that
the nurses were six French sisters of charity, whose angelic
devotion to all in need of aid and consolation is well known.

The other hospital was in an old battery near the river-side,
and close to which took place a battle, on the 25 th of May
last, when the Argentines and Brazilians drove the Paraguayans
from their temporary occupation of Corrientes city. In these
tv.o hospitals there was space for from five hundred to six
hundred patients.

About six Inmdred y.irds further to tlie north was the Bra-
zilian Marine Hospital. This consisted of tliree long wooden
houses, and was capable of accommodating more than five
hundred patients. In e.ach house the boarded floor was raised
two feet over the ground, and all the rooms were ventilated to
perfection. Every bed occupied by a patient had 'a mosquito-
curtain over it, and was supplied with a washstand and other
necessaries. The chief medical man was Dr. Lourez Pinto ;
besides him there were three other doctors. The dispensary-
room was well stocked with medicines and surgical ap-
pliances. In fact, the (ou/ ensemble appeared to me as perfect
in its arrangement as any of the hospitals I have visited in
Dublin, London, or Paris. The same may be said of the
chief military hospital, which was about half a league south
of the city. This was an immense range of buildings, and
would be able to accommodate three thousand sick and
wounded. Whilst I was visiting here, the principal surgeon
was engaged in some important operation, but I was conducted
through the wards by the director. Major Seeker y Lima.
This hospital consisted of seven long houses, similar in con-
struction to the marine hospit;d. Each bed, when occupied,
had a mosquito-curtain and the other conveniences, as in the
last-named establishment. In one of the houses there was a
considerable number of consumptive patients. Every sick
man had a j)aper fastened at the head of his bed, on which was
written his name, age, rank, cUss of constitution, diagnosis of

CALIFORNIA AND ITS PROSPECTS.

103

disease, temperament, date of entrance, and name of his birth-
place. To these were supplemented columns, on which the
attending physician or surgeon noted down every day the kind
of external or internal treatment that had been prescribed, with
the quality of the diet that was to be ordered for the invalid,
and any other general observations that he might deem
expedient to note.

Tliere was a third hospital, which was chiefly for medical
cases, with accommodation for 1.500 beds, near the ([uinta of a
Senor Abalos, and about half a mile interior to the military
one. Altogether, these hospitals were admirably fitted up for
the comfort of the sick and wounded; and no expense was
spared on the part of the Brazilian authorities to assuage the
sufferings of their sailors and soldiers. The best medical men

from Rio de Janeiro form the staff, under whose regulations
these hospitals are managed.

Connected with my memories of this cruise, there is another
thing that gave me great pleasure to note. It was the custom
which the Brazilian Government has of giving to its war
vessels the names of men who have fallen in their service.
There was a small steamer destroyed by the Paraguayans, whilst
I was at Paso de la Patriae which had been entitled the Colonel
Fidelis, after an officer of that name who was killed at the
battle of Yatay during the present warj and one of their
war steamers, called the Enrique Martinez, derives this name
from a young midshipman, so called, who was shot by the
Paraguayans when defending his flag at the naval battle of
Riachuelo.

California end its Prospects.

BY FREiyERICK WHVMPER.

A RECENT writer has told us that Califomians believe empha-
tically in a future state — that State being California I And
perhaps the inhabitants of no other country in the world have
at the present time a better right for self-congratulation. The
historians of its early days were, indeed, of a different opinion,
and described the region as having very much of the nature of
a desert — one strewed with gold, but so parched up in summer
and deluged in winter, as to be altogether unfitted for agri-
cultural pursuits. There must be few of our readers who do
not remember the first tidings which reached home from this
El Dorado of the Pacific. Conflicting as they were in regard
tQ the country, all seemed to agree that its new population
included a large proportion of rowdies, convicts from our
penal settlements — " Sydney ducks " — runaway sailors, and
loose fish generally. There was, unfortunately, a measure of
truth in all this, which gav ^o the country for a time an
unenviable reputation. But tht reign of these undesirable
settlers, never predominE^t, was soon over. Lynch law and
the " Vigilance Committee " organised by the respectable
citizens, soon settled all outstanding accounts, and banished a
still larger number of these gentry into the ouriying territories,
where, repeating the same pranks, they usually ended their
career, sooner or later, in a very sudden manner. San
Francisco, and, indeed, California generally, has now an
orderly and law-abiding as well as energetic and prosperous
people. A lady may at the present day more safely venture
out alone and unprotected in the streets of the capital than
she can in London.

When the writer first landed in San Francisco, in the
autumn of 1862, he soon fo'md that it was not the "Fr'isco"
of his imaginings and readings, nor .'hat of common belief.
He found himself in the hea'.t of a highly-civilised community,
where there were neither paupers, beggars, nor crossing-
sweepers ; where labourers smoked ten cent cigars, where
bLTvant giris still obtained wages of three to six pounds a
month, and where there were uU the evidences of general
prosperity. Numbers of particularly well-dressed citizens —
from merchants to mechanics — hurried about on their daily
avocati JUS ; numbers of ladies — ladies blooming as the rose.

and infinitely more like English mothers and sisters than
are those of the Atlantic States — were out promenading and
shopping in the principal streets, which themselves were quite
gay and Parisian in character. Although, from the universal
deference shown these dames in street, or store, or car, it was
obvious that they reigned supreme, it was equally clear that
they were not quite such rare curiosities as in those early days
when a miner would walk twenty miles to catch a glimpse of a
petticoat ; when the steamboat companies advertised " four
lady passengers to-night " as a sure bait to travellers, or when
a crowd was known to collect and dance round some relic — ■
a ribbon or a crinoline — (which was it?) which some one
had found — the nearest approach to a female they had seen
for a long time. High civilisation is not possible in the
absence of the gentler sex : lovely woman and the Vigilance
Committee did more for San Francisco in a few years than
any other power brought to bear upon it

The capital, the " Queen City of the Pacific," has now no
lack of imposing public buildings. Two cathedrals — Episcopal
and Roman Catholic — churches and chapels, to say nothing
of .synagogues and Chinese temples ; schools innumerable ;
ther.tres and other places of amusement ; government and
municipal edifices ; an immense dry dock hewn from the solid
rock, 450 feet in length by 120 feet in breadth ; other docks
in progress ; a grand sea-wall now in course of construction,
and a population of 140,000 people, are tolerable proofs that
there is a wonderful vitality in the country, and that San
Franciscans have some reason for belief in their future.
Twenty years ago all this did not exist; there was then but
an embrj'o disorderly village of shanties and tents on the
sand-hills and wastes now covered by handsome streets.

And then those San Francisco hotels ! five or six stories
high, kept d, P Americaine, fitted up with more than usual luxuri-
ance, where the table-set affords a sufficient proof of the richness
of the country. Things elsewhere luxuries on account of
their rarity — game, from wild fowl to antelope and elk ; fish :
salmon, sturgeon, and almost every other known variety; fniit :
grapes, peaches, melons, and green figs — are in the market as
cheap and plentiful as the commonest meats or fruits else-

104

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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;'!: 'i

i. y:

' 1 ; »

!!;ll

■^iri

i^^'i'

It |H

where. As the writer has shown in another place, " the ojrk
at a first-class San Francisco liotcl contains, in one harmo-
nious whole, the delicacies of London, Paris, Xew York, and
New Orleans. The verdant foreigner can, till dys[)e|)sia brings
him back to sanity and plain living, revel in waftles, buck-
wheat and flannel cakes, fried and jjoiled mush, hominj-, corn-
bread, French and Spanish omelettes, the national fish-ball,
gumbo soup, terrapin stews, clam and cod-fish chowders,
potato salad, sweet potatoes, oyster plants, green corn, elk
meat, California quails, squash pie, floating island, ice creams,
and rose candy (candies and sweetmeats often figure in the
dessert of a dinner bill of fare)."

Long before there were any gold " rushes " or excitement,
long before the acquisition of the country had added one star
more to the " spangled banner " of the United States, the
precious metal was known to exist in California, and had been
obtained by Indians and Mexicans. As early as 1842, a
thousand dollars' worth (including some twenty ounces belong-
ing to Mr. Stearns, of Los Angeles), had been dispatched for
assay to the U.S. Mint at Philadelpiiia. The priests, too, at
the old Spanish missions, of which settlements tlu were
twenty-one at the date of Beechey's visit, in 1827, were well
aware of all this, but discouraged even the Indians from
searching for the metal, knowing that a miscellaneous immi-
gration would ruin the objects of their religious zeal. It was
not till the 19th of Januar)*, 1848, when Marshall, a man
employed at the mill of Captain Sutter, an early pioneer,
found gold in the stream hard by, that attention was called to
the countr)'. Californians, indeed, always date the rise of
their state from '49, the epoch of the first great " rush " thither.

At that date the news commenced to spread all over the
globe. Ships from every port made for San Francisco, to be
deserted almost invariably, by their crews on arrival; some,
indeed, being left without their captains and officers. Pro-
visions rose to famine prices ; some of the commonest
necessaries were unattainable. The ordinary conditions of
life were reversed. Professional men yielded precedence to
labourers. " Spades were trumps.'' " Doctors hauled sand,
lawyers waited at restaurants," and the few delicately-nurtured
women there, found that they must do their own house and
laundry work. Washing was sixteen dollars (about ^3 6s. 6d.)
a dozen. A lady writing thence at the time said, " A poor
young man thinks it quite an economy to have a better half
who is a good washer," but added, "this child is not to be
caught." Servants then received 100 to 150 dollars per month,
and must, indeed, have been nearly unmanageable, for in //lese
days it is a standing joke to say in San Francisco that a
domestic "engages" her mistress. Miss Saxon's* story.
Apropos of that period, is but one version of a well-known
Californian yarn. \ well-dressed gendeman addressed a
shabby, seedy-looking man one day: —

" I will give you a couple of dollars to carry my portman-
teau as far as the Plaza."

"You .vill?" sai<l the man. " I will give you an ounce''
(of gold) " to see you take it yourself.'

The gentleman immediately shouldered his baggage, and
was rewarded according to promise, on arriwil at his destina-
tion, by the .itranger, who thought he had the best of the joke.

Miners in rags made night hideous and dangerous in their
drunken frolics, and paid a dollar (4s. 2d.) for every dram of

• "Five Years wilhin the Golden Gate."

" chain lightning " whisky that they managed to survive. So
much fine gold was carelessly dropped in the stores and
counting-houses of San Francisco, and swept into the streets,
that it led to a belief that the city itself covered a rich gold
deposit.

\Vhen the news became at length crecliicd in Europe, many
fell into the mistake, natural enough at the time, that California
was a grand gold mine, but little better. " As long as gold is
found, this country will flourish, which may be for ages, as the
metal seems to be inexhaustible," said one, writing home
during the first flush of the excitement. This was, however,
simply nonsense. But a few years elapsed, and the " placer "
mines (surface "diggings," usually in the beds of streams)
were for the most part abandoned to Chinamen. The quartz
excitement led to the erection in 1858 of nearly 300 mills,
with extensive machinery for crushing the auriferous rock, and
in 1 86 1 not over fifty of these were kept working.* California
still yields some fifty or sixty million dollars' worth per annum
of the precious metal, but she has other interests of greater
importance, and of infinite promise, to which allusion will
shortly be made.

Still it is obvious that the gold discoveries were the means
of calling attention to a valuable coast. A strip of land over
700 miles in length, having twice the area of Great Britain,
was added to the domains of the Anglo-Saxon race. It
becomes, then, an interesting question, " Who was the dis-
coverer of California ?"

One Ximenes, a Spaniard, usually gets the credit, but
somewhat unjustly, as he only reached the island of Santa
Cruz. ^Vhen Cortes had subdued Mexico, he lusted for new
concpiests, and among other expeditions sent two vessels to
the northward of Mexico, unde; the co inland of Diego Be-
zerra dj Mendoza. These vessels got separated in a storm.
Bezerra and his pilot, Ximenes, quarrelled ; the latter killed the
former when asleep, and took possession of his ship. Some
Franciscan friars on board remonstrated. Ximenes, determined
to get rid of all those disaffected towards himself, put them
ashore on the island of Santa Cruz ; but landing himself, was
killed by the natives "in view of those on board the ship."t
So much for Ximenes, who deserved his fate.

This annoyed Cortes, and he determined, in : 537, to go in
person, with a number of Spanish colonists, to the island of
Santa Cruz. This he did successfully, and remained there,
while his vessels returned to Mexico to bring olliers, with
stores and supplies. In this second voyage two of his fleet
got stranded on the neighbouring coasts, and in consequence,
Cortes and his companions were left "famishing upon this
uncultivated island. Twenty-three of the soldiers died from
absolute distress, and the rest were sinking every day, and
cursing his expeditions and discoveries." Cortes, therefore,
went (probably in some smaller vessel remaining there, but
the narrative does not explain), and after a while found two of
his vessels, got them off the rocks, and brought them to Santa
Cruz. Having served out some pro\isions to his fiuiiished
soldiers, " they eat thereof in such a manner that the half of
them died."

• See "Reroitof J. Ross Browne on tlie Mineral Resources of the
States and Territories west of the Rocky Mountains." Washington, 1868.

t "The true History of the Conquest of Mexico," by Captain Castillo,
wlio describes himself as "one of the conquerors." This old work, written
in .Spanish in 1568, was translated, and published in Ix>ndon in 1800.

r
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TK- GRAND CASCAUE OF YOSEMITE.

VOL. r.

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Cortes embarked again, and " during this voyage f':ll in with
the land of Califomix He was by this time as heartily tired
of the business as any one, but he could not bear the thoughts
of returning, after such extensive losses, without liaving effected
something." Meantime, the wife of Cortes, who wxs becoming
anxious, dispatched UUoa with two ships to search for her
husband, who, falling in with him, induced him to return to
Mexico. Cortes was undoubtedly the first discoverer of Cali-
fornia.

The discovery of San Francisco Riy, though a disputed
point, may, we think, 1- attributed to Sir Francis Drake.
The " fair and good baye " where he repaired his damaged
vessel, which had then on board five million dollars i)illaged
from the Spaniards — a richer freight than has ever since
entered or left the " Golden Gate " — could never have been
that slightly more nortliern cove, or rather open roadstead, to
which Vancouver gave the name of " Drake's Bay." Twelve
miles within the parallel of latitude named by Hakluyt would
have brought him to the entrance of San Francisco Bay. Nor
did he pretend to exact observations ; and in point of fact the
prevalent fogs of that coast would sufficiently account for the
lack of them. Drake was bent on a marauding, not on a
scientific expedition.

The topography of California may be very easily indicated.
"It is characterised by a grand simplicity. Two mountain
chains — the coast range and the Sierra Nevada — outline the
form of the state ; the one extending on the Pacific shore on
its western side, the other along its eastern border," overlook-
ing the great basin of plains and prairies which might be
properly named, if the title were not elsewhere appropriated.
Central America. Both chains interlock north and south.
Mount Shasta (14,400 feet) may be taken to be the terminating
peak of either range in the nortli. These mountains enclose
the great, broad, fertile, now much cultivated valleys of the
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and are fed by countless
tributaries, which spring mainly from the snows, or the moun-
tain tarns of the Sierras, where there are a hundred peaks of
13,000 feet in height, and one at least (Mount \Vhitney) of
15,000 feet. The coast range, averaging perhaps 3,000 or
4,000 feet, rarely rises above 6,000, and is seldom snow-tipped,
while the Sierra Nevada is an essentially Al|)ine chain. Scores
of volcanoes have in former clays blazed along the crest of the
latter, and have covered with lava an area of 20,000 square
miles. " Sometimes this lava overlies, and at others underiies,
the deposits of gold-bearing gravel wrought by the miner."*
In early days gold nuggets were often found that bore all the
marks of fusion, lying amongst scorched pebbles and other
volcanic indications.

The coast range is broken near its centre by the gap
known poetically as the " Golden Gate," the entrance to the
Bay of San Francisco. The cool afternoon wind, the " Key-
hole breeze," which, while keeping the capital healthy, renders it
a somewhn less pleasant place of residence tlian the country
generally, sweeps in by this entrance. Ten miles away, even
on the bay itself, this wind is not felt at all, and at twenty
miles from the city you may live in a steady warm climate
of almost perpetual summer.

• -Sec an nrticle by H. Avery, a wdl-known Califomian writer, in the
Oferliind Monthly (.San Francisco), Dec, 1 868. In Ireating of points
which have not come umler my own observation, I have been much in-
debted to the stores of information contained in this magazine.

These mountain ranges have their characteristic vegetation.
The coast hills and mountains, though often treeless, are cele-
brated for their red-wood cedars, from which, indee<l, some
der..'e the title of the country, Colofonia being Spanish for
" resin." However this may be, the wood is extremely valu-
able in California, which as a whole is, in general terms,
rather deficient in timber. Varieties of the oak, interspersed
with the madrona, with its waxen leaves and curling bark,
and immense stretches covered with wild oats, all distinguish
the coast range. Magnificent pines, and the famous " big
trees" (Sequoia gigantea, long known in England popularly
as Wellitigtoiiia, and in the United States as Washingtonia
gigantea) are great features in the botany of the Sierras. The
" groves " of these giants are now known not to be confined
to one or two localities merely : their range has been found
to be much more extended. Our readers will remember the
bark of one of maiiiim size, long exhibited at the Sydenham
Palace, and not long ago destroyed by fire. The " original "
grove, in Calaveras county, contains ninety of these trees, forty
to fifty feet in circumference, and ten of ninety feet round ;
while the lallen "Father of the Forest" measured no feet
round at the butt, was 200 feet upwards to the first branch,
and was estimated to have been, when standing, 450 feet in
height. Five men spent twenty-two days in 1854 cutting
down one which was ninety-two feet round and 300 feet high.
The stump of the latter has been turned into the foundation
and floor of a house in which dancing parties are sometimes
held. There is abundance of room for several quadrilles.
The place has become a great resort for holiday seekers, and
there is a good hotel there now.

In a second grove, in Mariposa county, there are six of
these trees from ninety to one hundred feet round, while one
giant has, at ninety feet from the ground, a branch six feet
in diameter. A section of that limb would be as large as a
round table of very fair average size ! The age of these trees
is a disputed point : it is questionable whether any date back
before the Christian era. They seem to have grown with our
modem civilisation.

But perhaps, after the Sierra peaks themselves, the most
interesting features of the mountains are those vast rock-girt
valleys, one of which, the Yosemite, has now a world-wide
reputation. It has been proved to be by no means unique
in California, the land of wonders. The members of the late
Geological Survey of California discovered at the sources of
the Tuolumne river, and elsewhere, magnificent valleys of the
same class.

The Yosemite (Indian for "grizzly bear") — said to have
been named after a renowned chief boasting that ominous
title — is an almost level valley, in which there are pine and
oak, willow, birch and bay woods, a wealth of fern, and flowers,
among which one may find such English favourites as the
primrose, cowslip, and violet The Merced river winds its
tortuous way through it ; now opening into silent pools, very
tempting tq the ar^lor or bather, now dashing on its way
with laughing impetuosity. The valley is eight or nine miles
long by half a mile to a mile in width, and is shut in by per-
pendicular cliffs and craggy heights which tower grandly from
3,000 to 5,000 feet above its level. The highest rock — one
rising to over a mile in height, some 6,000 feet — is in the
form of a half dome, one side of which appears to have been,
in the transition days of our planet, wrecked in massive

JBi

CALIFORNIA AND ITS PROSPECTS.

107

boulders about its base. Others, which now have a " name "
as well as a " local habitation," and bear such titles as " the
Sentinel," " the Three Brothers," and " the Cathedral Spires,"
have a more pyramidal form.

But the very greatest attraction of the valley centres in the
great Yosemite Fall. From the point from which it takes its
sudden leap to the foam and spray-dashed pool at its base, is
2,600 feet : twelve or fifteen times the height of Niagara. It
is broken by projecting ledges in the granite cliff into three
falls, but this perhaps only adds to its beauty. A second, the
" Bridal Veil " Fall, is much smaller, but even more lovely.
It derives its name from the delicate, scattered mist and spray,
which, floating and swaying in the breeze, half obscures the
falling water.

The Yosemite valley is one of nature's temples, reared to the
glory of the Creator, where man feels utterly insignificant. It
is easy to furnish measurements and hard facts ; photography
can give us the outward form, without the spirit : nothing
short of the highest poetry or noblest art can paint it truly, or
even dimly shadow forth its grandeur. It is a pleasure
for us to know that the United States government, warned
by the fate of Niagara, has decreed that this valley, as
well as the nearest grove of giant trees, is to be held and
protected for the public benefit exclusively. No settler can
desecrate it, nor shear it of half its beauties ; no one can
vulgarise it, nor turn it into a " show place" for the exaction
of petty extortions.

Probably there are but few of our readers aware that Cali-
fornia has geysers as remarkable as those in Iceland. There
is an inn hard by these, reached with ease from San Francisco
by steamer and stage, in the neighbourhood of which, in the
summer, numerous visitors ramble, ride, angle, sketch, or pic-
nic. Furthermore, there is a small house where one can
take, over a jet of vapour which issues from the ground, a
natural steam-bath, finishing off with a shower-bath from a
streamlet which trickles over a neighbouring rock; while
from beneath the earth terrible and ominous grumbling is
heard, as though Dame Nature had been scandalised by
such proceedings. There are innumerable hot and cold
springs ; indeed, California boascs a large number of sulphur
and other springs, one of which was used by the few
scattered aborigines long before the " pale faces " had dreamt
of its existence, in which a black sulphurous stream issues
side by side with one of pure water, which refuses to mingle
with it

There is one hollow, the Witches' Cauldron, filled with water
of a pitchy darkness, which boils and sputters so furiously that
it is dangerous to approach it, especially in holiday costume.
Everywhere there is the escape of steam : a cloud overhangs
the cafion in which all this is going on, only dissipated on a
very hot day by the sun's intensest rays. The "steam-boat
geyser," the largest of these jets of \-apour, issues from a hole
two or three feet in diameter, and shoots up far in the air
before it is visible at all, like steam blowing off from a boiler.
The ground is of all shades and colours, porous and rotten, and
on its surface may be gathered a complete druggist's shop of
crystals — magnesia, soda, alum, or sulphur. It is the very
laboratory of nature. When visited by a recent author, this
property, with the inn, was for sale. Who would like to invest
in an estate with so shaky a title ?

The geysers were discovered, in 1847, by W. B. Elliot, a

hunter. When riding ahead of his companions, he came sud-
denly on the north end of the gorge, known as the " Devil's
Canon." He immediately reined up, and turned his horse's
head back to his friends, to whom, pale and breathless, he ex-
claimed, " Boys, boys, I've found — the nether regions !"*

The lakes of California, even those of an alkaline nature,
would alone fiirnish subject-matter for a longer article than the
presentt Mono I^ke is so highly charged with mineral salts
that, like the Dead Sea, it is void of all life, save the " countless
larvse of a small fly." Owen's Lake is as brackish as an
inland sea. Borax Lake is named from the principal feature
of its water and bed, now extensively utilised.

Many Californians of these days — those blest with means
and leisure — make up travelling parties, and enjoy a " picnic "
of three or four months' duration among these wonders. They
invariably take horses, almost always a light wagon or two,
with tents and supplies ; and, eschewing all hotels, watering-
places, steamboats, or railways, wander " fancy led," following
the bent of their inclinations. Ladies often join such parties.
Some of course take servants ; others do all their own work,
and these are they who derive the main benefits of such a life.
He who can catch his own mountain trout, or shoot his own
game and cook it, groom and saddle his horse and make his
own camp and log fire, is likely to enjoy his whole existence.
And where, as in some cases, the members of such an expe-
dition have varied gifts — one a flautist, who can wake echoes
from the distant hills ; another a geologist or naturalist, finding
beauty and interest in all he meets ; the third a " sketchist,"
able to perpetuate the varied grandeur or loveliness through
which they pass— it is evident that such a Bohemian expedition /
might be most profitable as well as delir'.itful. A Californian,
speaking of one of these happy excursions, says : " Two or
three attempts to sing ' Sweet Home ' by the camp fire on the
first night were failures. At the time when the tears should
have started, there was a break, and a laugh which echoed far
up in the ravine. Nobody had lost a home, but five happy
mortals had found one, the roof of which was of emerald, sup-
ported by great pillars of red wood, which cast their shadows far
out in the wilderness, as the flames shot up from the camp
fire." Such an existence is possible in almost any part of that
enjoyable land for nine months of the year.

The winter in California is represented by a "rainy season,"
during which time the country roads are sometimes neariy im-
passable. The writer well remembers two visits made by him
to the Valley of Sonoma, and the contrasts the route thither
presented. In the first trip, made in winter, our steamer left
us at the embryo settlement of Lakeville, on Petaluma "Creek,"
where the banks seemed almost as fluid as the river, and where
everything appeared so damp, swampy, and rheumatic as to
recall very forcibly that "Eden" which required all the philo-
sophy of a Mark Tapley to endure. The country generally was
in one of three conditions, mud, slough, or swamp ; and our stage-
coach wheels were often up to their axletrees in slime. Logs
and planks were, at some parts of the road, laid down to render
some unusually bad place passable. Some one laughingly

• Miss Saxon's " Five Years within the Golden Gate."i
t The mountain tams and lakes were the main sources from which the
mining companies derived the water so necessary in their operations. There
are 5,300 miles of "ditches"— artificial water canals — in the State, and
after they have served their present purpose, there is no doubt that they will
be utilised to irrigate large tracts of country more or less liable to droughts.

to8

ILLLSTRAli:!) TRAVELS.

1'*

1;'

mil

V f

'1 '

51 •'.

I.I ■!

J I .;

ill

suggested that the fl.it-hottomed steamer we had just left, would
have been more appropriate than the roach, if it could only
have managed to go up-hill ! A few weeks later the writer re-
visited the same spot in early spring, when everything was bright
and sunny, and the flowers gaily blooming. All the mud had dis-
appeared — was baked perfectly hard and dry ; the roads were
dusty, but otherwise in tolerable condition ; and even " Lakeville
the lugubrious " smiled grimly. During the winter rainy season
there arc often long spells of delightful weather, and the face of
nature is never so green and fresh in California as during that
period. Sooth to say, in the summer time it has a ver)'
bumt-up look, and gives some excuse to a recent Californian
writer, who poetically compares the hills round San Francisco
to the "knobs on an overdone meat pie !"

Every variety of climate is to be found in California — from
severely temperate to semi-tropical. " Scored upon the pines
of the mountains one may see what depths of snow fall every
winter at the very time when, in the southern parts of the
State, there are not only orange blossoms, ijiiL i wealth of ripe
and perfect fruit." "The magnolia .survives the winter out
of doors, and the century [jluit blossoms in less than twenty
years," thus upsetting popular notions respecting its tardy
growth. At the e.xtreme southern borders of the State, as at
Fort Yuma, where the mean monthly temperature averages 56
degrees Fahr. in Januaty, and 92 degrees in July, the heat is
excessive, and fearful and wonderful stories are told of it. " In
that part of the countr}- — as yet very thinly settled — the
inhabitants are said, but not on the best authority, to read the
morning papers (when they get them 1) \\\i to their necks in
water — when they are lucky enough to find any. Towels are an
unnecessary luxur)-, the heat of the sun causing immediate evapo-
ration. If you hang up a string of candles, in a few hours the
grease runs off them, and there is nothing left but the wicks, and
they are always, therefore, kept in ice till required. Droughts
are common, and whisky is said to be cheaper than water,
which, if true, may account for some of the other statements!"

But the climate of the State as a whole is delightful. Warm
as it is, there is an elasticity, a steady tone in the atmosphere,
" like draughts of champagne, or subtle presence of iron. It
invites .0 labour, and makes it possible."* California has been
mentioned as an excellent home for retiring Anglo-Indians, and
it is within the possibilities that some may be induced to spend
their declining days there. It has all the advantages of a
climate enjoyed by the South of France and the Mediterranean
countries, with the addition of an Anglo-Saxon population.

The fertility of the soil is remarkable. It is easy to cite
exceptional wonders — from giant trees to pears grown in the
open air three o- four pounds in weight, and cucumbers fifty
inches long ! Tiiere is a vine in Santa Barbara county, planted
in 1765, which yields three or four tons of grapes annually.
But the following fiicts mean much more than all this : that, in
spite of slovenly farming, wheat crops in California often
average fifty to seventy bu.shels, and more occasionally, eighty
bushels to the acre. Again, one scedinf; is sufficient for tn'o
crops. The " volunteer crop " of the second year, sjiringing
up from the dropped seed of the first one, yields less in
quantity, but is nearly all profit. The long steady summer
enables the farmer to thresh on the spot, in jilace of being
obliged to cart it to his barns at a distance. Grain often
remains on the ground in sheaves, unthreshed and unharmed,
^ Bowles, "Across the Continent."

for weeks together. In early days, indeed, it was customary to
enclose a corner of a fieUl, where, after throwing in the sheaves,
a band of wild "mustangs" (Mexican horses) were turned
in, and they trampled out the grain. Now-a-days, improved
machinery is employed. There is one machine, known as a
" harvester," which reap.s, threshes, and sacks the grain in one
operation, but its use is not common. There is no romance in
a Californian harvest. " The sickle, the cradle, and the flail, the
reapers and the gleaners — Boaz and Ruth — all are gone. The
picture now is a broad hazy plain, bounded by brown hills,
which flicker and glimmer in the iv—^^e: no trees, no nmning
brooks, no green grass, but miles c • ies of grain. Far away
you descry clouds of yellow dust, . as you come nearer you
see the wagons drawn by horses coiimig in lo.aded with piles of
grain, .and returning empty ; and in the centre stands the huge
machine, driven perhaps by steam, perhaps by a score of
horses travelling in an endless circle, and fed by niiin dark as
mulattoes with the sun and dust, perhaps with mouths and
nostrils swathed to protect the lungs from the dust."

Last season (1868) California raised 20,000,000 bushels —
four times the ([uantity retpiired for her own population ; yet it
was only from the year 1859 that she commenced to have any
surplus whatever, and twelve yea's .ago she was looked upon
as one of the best customers for the farmers of the Southern
States. Now she helps to supply New York, Liverpool, her
own immediately surrounding coasts, and sends, also, more or
less to Australian and Chinese ports.

California yielded wine long before she was known to
possess gold-fields. Wilkes described it in 1841 as "miserable
stufi", which would scarcely be taken for the juice of the grape."
Now the production of the State is 3,000,000 gallons. One
firm alone, in Ne\v York, sells 250,000 dollars' worth per
annum. There is hardly a bar-room in that city or in lk>ston
where Californian burgundy, hock, port, sherrj-, champ.agne, and
wine-brandy, are not to be obtained. The lighter wines are
the better jiroductions ; some of them will com|)are with ex-
cellent French .and Rhenish wines. There is one variety of
sweet wine prettily named " Angelica." If California can only
induce her sister states to become wine instead of whisky-
drinking communities, she may be a good angel of temjierance
to them, accomi)lishing more than all the Maine liquor laws
in the world. Raisin-dr)'ing, as well as that of figs, prunes,
&c., has been commenced ; these products will some d.ay be
items of export.

But California can do more than this. 'I'he fig-tree grows
everywhere ; in the south, it yields two crops a ye.ar. Oranges,
lemons, limes, and citrons ; almonds, olives, and even dates and
b.ananas, thrive in southern Californi.a, which is also the great
stock-raising jiart of the state. There immense herds of cattle
roam, live, and die almost uncared for and untended. Woul,
and, by consequence, woollen goods, are staple productions. In
one mill at San Francisco, over 300 Chinamen are cncployed.

And now, how large a i)opulation docs the reader suppose
this country has .so far attracted to itself? Not more than
600,000 souls ! The united population of California, Oregon,
Washington, and other outlying territories, is about one-third
that of London. There is, then, an imbounded field for
emigration on these northern Pacific shores.

San Francisco will be the New York of the coast ; it is
already its commercial centre. In front of it, says Mr. Dilke,*

• "Greater Britain," Vol. I.

wmam

CALIFORNIA AND ITS PROSPECTS.

109

quoting Governor Gilpin, " are
745 millions of hungry Asiatirs,
wlio have spices lo exchange
for meat and grain," and already
the increasing trade between
California, China, and Japan
has called into existence a line
of first-class steamers. It is,
moreover, the terminus to the
great Pacific Railway. It is
possible even now to reach the
Pacific from the Atlantic, a
distance of 3,400 miles across
the continent, in twelve days.
Less than 300 miles of that
enterprise remains to be con-
structed. The company speaks
of its certain completion this
summer. With these facts in
view, and with the knowledge
that the bay of San Francisco
is the best harbour on the coast
— anywhere from Mexico to
Vancouver Island, if not, in-
deed, from Panama to Behring
Straits — it is hardly too much
to say that San Francisco has
a more promising future than
any other young city on the
globe.

And are there no drawbacks
to a residence in this other\vise
happy state? There is but
one of a serious nature : Cali-
fornia has proved herself to be
an earthquake country.

Earthquakes have been very
common ever since the first
settlement of the country : the
writer has experienced several.
But, until the late earthquake ''
(21st October, 1868), no severe
shocks had frightened the in-
habitants, and it was believed
that they would never seriously
damage the prospects of the
state. The writer, though ab-
sent from San Francisco in the
late earthquake, has received
both private (written) and
printed accounts from tho
country since the date of its
occurrence. It created a great
panic ; nay, some have left
California in consequence.

At five minutes before eight
o'clock on the morning of
the 2 1 St October, the earth-
quake shook San Francisco to its very foundations. The walls I ing of Nov
reeled as if about to bury the entire population. Helpless | to reach it
infancy and decrepid age, frantic mothers and awe-struck men, j alluding to

THE FATHER OF THE FOREST.

nished out into the streets in
crowds ; friglitencd horses
trampled their w.ny through
them hcfdicssly ; llie entire
city was affected as it had
never been before. Yet, in
summing up the dani.ige done
to life and property, we find
that not over six persons were
killed, and that no buildings
were ruined but those on the
"made ground" — />., ground
reclaimed from the bay, and
loosely filled in, the houses,
in hundreds of cases, standing
on piles. There, walls fell in
all directions ; whole houses
collapsed to their foundations ;
" floors were crumpled between
the better built walls of ad-
joining houses, like cards in
the hand of a child." No
buildings were iwich damaged
among those on the rocks and
hills on which San Francisco
is largely built ; and it is re-
markable that the same was
tnie of the great earthquake
of Lisbon, which, in the space
of a few minutes, destroyed
60,000 people. There, also,
" /wf a building ti'as injiiird
on file secondary limestone or
basalt." Without irreverence,
San Franciscans should evi-
dently remember the respective
fates of the man who " built on
the sand," and of him who
placed his dwelling "on a
rock ;" and indeed the occur-
rence has already awakened a
very intelligent discussion in
California. Anglo-Saxons will
not allow even an earthquake
to get the better of them, if,
huniui.iy speaking, the appli-
cation of common sense may
be able in any way to neu-
tralise its power.

There are important streets
in San Francisco built on
ground snatched from the bay,
over which s/ii/>s anchored
twenty years ago, and where,
as a recent Califomian wTiter
says, " they may anchor again I
Wheie the marble quay at
I>isbon stood on the first mom-
ember, 1755, a line of a hundred fathoms failed
for ever afterwards." The same writer, besides
the different results experienced on different

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVE15.

foundations, shows that some forms of building were much
more "earth(iuakc proof" than others; but the subject is
too technical for readers who, happily, have no such occur-
rences to fear.

The State archives of California record several important
shocks. "The mission of S;in Juan Bautista (between San
Jose and Monterey) was destroyed by an earthciuake in tlie
month of October, 1800." "The good fathers there were
compelled to sleej) in wagons to avoid the danger, since the
houses were not habitable, and the ground opened into deep
fissures." In 1808 and 1812 there were several severe shocks.
In the late earthquake, the old church at San Jose, which had
lasted through so many vicissitudes, was shaken down, but the

country generally was not affected severely, though the vibra-
tion seems to luve gone through tlie breadth and length of the
land.

Latest accounts show that all this is already forgotten.
Without at all glossing over the facts connected with these
convulsions of nature, there seems good reason to believe and
ho|)e that California will never experience any such earth(|uakes
as those which have desolated many parts of South America,
for the force of the earthiiuake wave seems to die out in its
northward course. But who can tell f

There is nothing perfect : there are spots on the sun.
Earthquakes are the spots on the otherwise tramjuil course of
Californian life.

^ yotirney through the Soudan and IVestern Abyssinia, with Reminiscences

of Captivity.

BY LIEUTENANT W. F. PRIDEAUX,

IV. — ^Western Abyssinia : — Tchelga and Taccosa.
The country we were .about to enter was one which, viewed from
either its religious or historical aspect, presented features of the
highest possible interest to the European traveller. As the field
in which the missionary zeal of the great Alexandrian champion
of the orthodox faith reaped its first-fruits ; the land where the
enthusiastic monachism of the fourth century, the contagion
imjiorted from the Thebaid, had produced the earliest version
of Holy Writ, after the Septuagint and Vulgate ; the scene of
those sanguinary conflicts between the followers of the old
religion and the almost invincible zeal and energy of Rome,
and in which the latter, though triumphant for a time, and
aided by all the influence of king and court, had yet to
succumb before the steadfast and unwearying adherence to
their fathers' faith which distinguished the mountaineers in the
rocky fastnesses of Lasta ; and lastly, as the one green spot in
Northern Africa where Christianity, debased and rotten though
it be, has still defied for hundreds of years the Koran and the
sword on the one hand, and on the other the temptations of a
sensual and soulless paganism ; — Ethiopia is invested with
peculiar interest, and there is much to lead us to the expecta-
tion that prophecy may yet be fulfilled in her. In its ancient
books we find fables based on history, and histories where the
personages are fabulous : the Jewish king El-Hakeem, and the
queen who came from the south with longing in her heart to
hear the words of wisdom ; her son, who fled from Jerusalem
with the ark as a trojjhy, and the greatest amongst the doctors,
and scribes, and musicians as his companions ; and after that,
Candace and the God-fearing eunuch ; and later still, the
tale of Abraha and Atsbaha, the war of the Elephant, and
the conquest of Yemen. Truth and myth mingled together,
and hardly to be sifted now. In our own days we have seen
an old man, infirm and in his dotage, and yet with a genealogy
which goes back to the era of Brute and Locrine, in the pages
of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Hats6 Yohannes, last of the de-
scendants of Solomon.

In its physical characteristics, also, Abyssinia affords much
that is interesting to the student of geography. Starting from
the low-lying shores of the Red Sea, a few miles bring us to

F.R.G.S., BOMBAY STAFF CORPS.

two or three lofty ranges of mountains which can only be
crossed by devious routes and by passes, now hanging over the
crest of a peak, now plunging into a rocky defile ; and which
form the watershed of the rivers which irrigate the plains
beyond. These once surmounted, we find there is a gradual
dip of about one in one and two-thirds to the western provinces
through which we took the journey now briefly to be sketched,
and which, while deficient in the picturesque grandeur and
sublimity which lend the highest charm to the eastern districts,
enjoy, and deservedly, a more enviable reputation for fertility
and material prosperity. The Abyssinians themselves make a
general distinction between the Dagga, or highlands, and the
KwoUa, or lowlands. The elevated plateaux of Shoa, the
Wallo Galla country, and many parts of Tigrfi, may be taken as
types of the former, while the latter are well represented by the
districts of Walkait and Waldubba on the north-west, and the
deadly and dangerous valleys of the TacazzS and the Haw^h.
Beyond these there are the snow-covered heights of Semyen,
the tchokyi of the Amhara, which possesses such fascination in
the mind of the soldier proceeding on the war-path, that, with
the gwAza, or thin tufts of grass, which offer the only semblance
of vegetation in those Alpine regions, it forms the burden to
one of his most favourite battle-songs.

The districts immediately to the westward of the Tsana Sea
cannot properly be included in any of the above divisions.
Their average altitude may be estimated at 6,000 feet above
the sea-level, and they thus possess neither the cold and bracing
climate of the da^a, nor the hot and malarious atmosphere of
the kwolla. Generally speaking, these provinces may not be
well adapted to a European constitution, but there can be no
question that the natives of both sexes are strong, robust, and
handsome, if not so long-lived as the dwellers in more elevated
districts. Herds of cattle abound in great numbers, sheep to a
much less extent, while horses are generally imported from the
higher countries of Shoa and Godjam.

But it is time now to return to our own personal experiences
and wanderings.

Soon after crossing the narrow rivulet which divides the
Galabat district from the debatable land beyond, we bade

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

Ill

farewell to the friends who had thus far accompanied us, and
proceedeti on our way alone. It was the 28th of December,
and though surrounded by scenes seldom associated with that
kindly Christmas-time, it wos impossible to prevent the mind
banishing for the moment the rugged boulders and dwarf
bamboos which fringed the path, and the crowds of dusky
foces and uncouth forms which environed us, and reverting to
pleasant retrospects of home ; and then perhaps the thought
would arise, where should we be tb^t time next year? A
question easily put ; fortunately for us then, not so easily
answered. The evening was pretty far advanced when wc
arrived at our halting-place. The local nomenclature is, as a
rule, Arabic, until the Gandwa, the boundary of Abyssinia
Proper, is crossed, and this place, only noticeable through the
possession of a little water, was called Dakn-el-Feel (the Beard of
the Elephant). Our beds were quickly spread in the open air,
and we lay down to snatch a few hours' rest, while the servants
lighted fires, and cowered around them for warmth and com-
panionship. But the extreme cold prevented us from sleeping
long, and before daybreak we arose, and joined our servants
around the cheerful embers. Abyssinians are never at a
loss for conversation; while some are eloquent, all are garrulous;
and if, with our limited knowledge of the language, we could
not chime in with the messengers, the Shiho Mohammed, or
the Tigrfi Hailu, in the anecdotes they were doubtless relating
about the caurt of the great king, we could still find something
to chat about with the interpreters, Omar Ali, Dosta, or Walda
Gabriel of Shoa, who, with his young wife, was accompanying
us from Matemma. At break of day we resumed our march,
and travelled on till breakfast-time, when we halted at Alaradib,
the Abyssinians being regaled with their favourite " brur. ■ or
raw meat, as a cow was slaughtered incontinently on our
arrival. The country is here more thickly wooded, and the
shamboko, or bamboo, has increased in size ; but there is still a
deficiency of what would be considered forest trees in England.
Rumours had reached us that Tirsu Gobaz;,'6, the insurgent
chieftain of Walkait, and the greater part of North-western
Abyssinia, was hovering in our neighbourhood with a large
gathering of his wild caterans, in the hope of intercepting the
rich booty destined for Theodore, and this made us naturally
anxious to push on as fast as possible. That night we crosseu
the Gandwa, a stream which, rising in the hills of Alafa, pursues
a north-westeriy course for about fifty miles, till it falls into the
Atbara, not far from where we forded it It was about thirty
yards wide at that season of the year, and, as I said above,
is usually considered to bound Christian Abyssinia. We
bivouacked for the night at Khor-el-Lailo, and rising betimes,
travelled over hill and dale till we reached Wahhnee, where,
seeing no preparations made to receive us, we halted beneath
the shade of a large sycamore, a little beyond the market-place,
till our servants and baggage should arrive.

Wahhnee, the first village in Abyssinia Proper, is in the
district of Tcharkwa, or Tchargo, and as it is situated on the
high road between the producing countries of Godjftm, Agow
Meder, and Dembea, and the great mart of Matemma, it is a
place which boasts a considerable trade. We arrived while the
weekly market was being held, but the real business of the day
was nearly over, and consequently the peasantry who had come
in to sell their wares, and those who had come to buy, together
with the soldiers, priests, idlers, and general population of the
place, who had no means of doing either, had plenty of time

to stare at and take stock of the new arrivals. We had ex-
pected that we should have been met here by the olVu-crs
deputed by King Theodore to escort us ; but while we were still
lying under the tree, and discussing whether it was worth
while to pitch our tents, one of their servants c.ime up in hot
haste, and informed us that in conse(iuencc of the story relating
to Tirsu Gobazyd, mentioned above, their masters felt them-
selves constrained to keep an eye on the rebel's movements,
and they accordingly advised us to proceed forthwith to a place
called Balwehft, a few miles further on, and await their arrival.
The Shoom, or he.id man of the village, who probably h.id
small desire to see us quartered on him as guests, recommended
us also to follow this course.

Then ensued a battle-royal between our Arab and Takrooree
camel drivers and the Abyssinian followers of the Shoom. I
do not wish it to be understooil that any blood was shed, or
ev.n blows exchanged, but the strife of tongues was kept up
«'ith the greatest heat for upwards of an hour. The cameleers,
who knew pretty well what the road between Wahhnee and
Balweh4 was like, and who were only engaged as far as the
former place, vowed by their Prophet and his Koran that nothing
should induce them to kill their beasts by urging them up the
rugged paths and stony defiles which lay before them, while the
Christians were equally zealous in invoking the aid of St
Michael and all the saintly host in effecting what they wished.
At length authority won the day ; the cameleers, whose animals
had been seized, came in again by driblets ; harmony was
restored, and peace ratified by the promise of an additional
bakhsheesh.

The following afternoon, on the last day of 1865, we settled
ourselves down at Balwehft, and pitched our tents on a small
plot of ground which had been cleared by nature, and was
surrounded on all sides by thickly-wooded hills. The name
Balweh4» properly belongs to a small brooklet, which rippled
close behind our encampment ; but either that appellation, or
that of Ballatcha, is used indifferently for the neighbourhood.
On arrival, we found that the Shoom, who had already received
intimation of our approach, was ready to receive us, and
although he was too poor to provide us with tedj (mead), the
rich man's drink, he had done his best to furnish us with as
much talla, or beer, as we could drink. Thirsty and tired as
'*v. .. :re, Blanc and I imagined we had discovered a treasure
when we descried the gombo or jar slung over the shoulders of
a stalwart maid-servant ; but we had scarcely moistened our
lips with the sour but not unpleasant liquor it contained, when
we discovered that we had acted quite contrary to all Abyssinian
eriquette, which dictated that the offering should have been
first laid at the feet of the chief of the party, or at any rate
at those of his azMj, or intendant — which office, in fault of a
better, Walda Gabriel had assumed. Our fault, however, in
consideration of our ignorance, was condoned, and we promised
thereafter to hearken attentively to the counsels of our Shoan
"guide, philosopher, and friend." Later in the evening the
Shoom dispatched on a visit to Mr. Rossam his better half,
who came, according to the wont of Abyssinian dames, riding
on a mule, enveloped, head and all, in the thick folds of her
shama, and attended by two black-eyed, laughing damsels.

We found our time hang rather heavily on our hands here ;
there was no game to speak of, and as the surrounding country

• Wtka in Amharic signifies " water," and is often used as a suffix to
the names of rivers, just as Mai is used as a prefix in Tigr&

!«

ll'il

iia

ILLUSTKAIEU I'RAVKLS.

was tliii kly wooded and liilly, ami the wihl reivers of 'I'irsu
Goba/ye ininlit be in any direction, it was not < onsidered safe
to stroll far beyond the precini ts of the c amp. One afternoon,
I remember, we determined on ascending an in( onsiderable,
but rather steep, eminence hard l>y ; wiien, as we were retnrning,
we found ourselves confronted by a man who only after much
parleying, and then with but scant courtesy, allowed us to pass.
We discovered that he was an officer in the employ of the
Customs authorities, and that it was only in what he considered
the disc harge of his duly that
he had stopped us, as, for
aught he knew, we might have
been smuggling merchandise
along that unfreciuented path.
lie must, however, have re-
ceived a severe rebuke from
his superiors, who were better
aware of our position than
himself, for, coming the ne.\t
day with a heavy stone upon
his neck, he prostrated himself
before Mr. Rassam, and en-
treated parilon in the abject
manner usual to Abyssinians.
This of course he received,
and with a smalt present into
the bargain he went away
happy and contented.

On the 4th of January we
were informed that the oflicers
composing our escort had ar-
rived, and we were instructed
by our Mentor, Walda (iabriel,
that if we wished to inspire
them with suitable respect
and awe for us we should re-
main seated in the tent, and
without oftering to rise, merely
regard them while they made
their obeisances with that
look of hauteur and con-
scious superiority which an
Abyssinian noble always as-
sumes before inferiors, '.'his
however we could not do. As
soon as they were ushered ir.
we felt constrained to rise, and
welcomed them with an honest
English shake of the hand.

They were three, or rather five, in number ; but the principals,
who held the rank of Basha, and had been invested with the
silken shirt of honour, were youths scarcely arrived at manhood.
Lidj* Tesanima and Lidj Sharoo were the sons of a chief who
had formerly held large fiefs under Rus Ali ; his widow — for he
had been dead some years — still resided at Wandige, a large
district on the western border of the Tsana .Sea, where his pos-
sessions had principally lain ; and the eldest brother of these
joung men, Aniiire Hailu, had been appointed by Theodore to
an important post in the government of his fortress of Magdala.

• Li<//, which me.ins literally " child " in Amharic, is used as a tiile
before ihe names of youths of good family.

SINGING THE WAR SONC

The third, I.idj IVishoo, was the son of a petty chief in the
district of Tt helga, named Wiisyu ; a Kamant in religion for-
merly, he hail changed his faith at the behest of the king, anil
had also been rewarded with a share in the administration of
the .Vinba. Wasye and .\m.iri' ll.iilu we shall meet hereafter.
Co keep these lails in order, I suppose, or at any rate to add the
weight always attaching to age and soldiership in .\byssinia,
there were associated with them, though in a iiuk h subiirdiiiate
l)osition, Walda Maryam, an old and grey-headed counsellor,

and Kflsa, a native of (lodjAm,
a man of midille age, but a
tall and hardy warrior, anil
much trusted by Theodore
for his valour and daring in
the fight.

We received them all cor-
dially, as I have mentioned ;
and they then told us that
they had been busily engaged
in collecting bearers to < onvey
our baggage, but that, as it
was Christmas-tide, there had
been necessarily some delay.
Z(v/(7/, or Christmas, fell this
year on the 6th of January.
Many a co\< was killed and
many a horn of beer was
emptied on that day, which,
next to Kaster, ranks as the
greatest festival of the Abys-
sinian Church ; and we could
scarcely e.xpect that the pea-
sants at that season would
show much alacrity in coming
forward to bear the strangers'
burdens ; but the next day
everything was declared to
be ready, and we started for
the high plateau of Tchelga.

The bearers came, ipiite as
many, perhaps, as were really
necessary, but not a ciuarter
as many as they themselves de-
clared there ought to be, and a
scene of unexampled confusion
ensued. Each man at once laid
his hands upon the lightest
and most portable articles he
could discover, and they all
' walked off, leaving the heavier articles — such as boxes,
medicine-chests, and the like — to their fate ; but at last the
chiefs implored us to ))oint out what were the articles abso-
lutely indispensable for our comfort, and these .ould be carried
\ off first, and relays would bring on the rest in a day or two.
Making a virtue of necessity, we complied, and started off, but
did not make a march of more than three or four miles; for
the road was bad, passing over the brows of several hills; and
when we arri\-ed at a stream with a beautiful pool of water in
its rocky bed, called Sankwehu, we halted and waited till all
our baggage should arrive.

Wheri a considerable number of carrier!! had been collected

VOL. I.

<
a

•7.

o
c

1 ■ ■

114

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

together, we started for the high country. This was on the
9th of January. The road was most rocky aiid precipitous,
and it was with considerable difficulty that the mules managed
to keep their footing in many places. Between the winding
path that we took and the opposite range of hills, was a deep —
indeed, almost fathomless — chasm ; but it was not so broad as
to prevent us from casting our eyes across it, and seeing the
green mountain-sides beyond, studded with picturesque little
Falasha villages, and homesteads surrounded with cultivated
fields. Ever before us rose in its giant majesty the natural
fortress of Sar Amba {Grass Fort), a landmark impregnable
to time and almost to man. Some years previously this had
been the favourite state-prison for the wretched victims whom
the revenge or caprice of Theodore had chosen to condemn to
life-long captivity. One evening, advantage was taken of the
negligence of the gaolers, who, trusting to the natural strength
of the mountain, were slumbering in fancied security, and
a determined attempt at escape was made by several of the
prisoners. Betore :iuitting the fortress, however, the fugitives
had foolishly, in their exultation, set fire to several of the
horses on the summit. An alarm was quickly raised, and
they were all re-captured ; but this so aroused the jealous
fears of Tiieodore, that he deemed it more prudent to dispatch
them all to Magdala, which, though not so well fortified by
nature, presented fewer facilities for escape, being within the
borders of the Galla country; while Sar Amba is only a few
hours' ride from the north-western frontier, and this once
crossed, no pu:uit was to be feared. There is scarcely a
district which does not possess one or more of these ambas,
and they used to form the magazines, the arsenals, and rallying-
points of ilic feudal lords of the country. From them did the
De Montforts of Abyssinia sally out, with their vagabond
retainers, to harry the fields tilled by peaceful peasantry, or to
plunder the rich caravans laden with all the coveted produce of
Enarea and Caffa. Theodore, l)y his high-handed policy — we
cannot, in his case, call it justice — put a stop to the feudalism
of Abyssinix It received its death-blow from the system
of enlisting and paying a regular soldiery instead of summoning
the barons with their followers around their suzerain, on the
outbreak of war. It was, doubdess, an advance in civilisation
to keep the barons within the strict precincts of his court,
or chained in a hill-fort, and to engage their vassals as soUdarii
by a fi.Ncd payment But the strong hand is now relaxed, and
the indomitable will is powerless, and it is highly probable
that Abyssinia will .again revert to a system which possesses
many advantages in the eyes of the secondary, if not of the
highest chiefs.

We bivouacked that night in the most level and suitable
place we could find, and early the next morning commenced
a most difficult ascent Three thousand feet brought us on
to the plateau, where we found a completely different climate
r.om any we had met with since we left Massdwa. The
air was cool and elastic, the sun's rays less scorching, whilst
the groves of dog-roses and jessamine amidst which we were
riding at once recalled to our minds the shady lanes of the
old country. We encamp>.d not far from the edge of the
plateau, near a village called Sarabo, some four or five miles
to the south-west of the town of Tchelga, the capital of the
district of the same name, which we had now entered. Close
to our camp there flowed a small brook, but we soon found
that the inhabitants of the village made the most strenuous

objections to our using any of its water. It turned out that
they were all Kamants — a singular race, half Christian anvl
half Pagan, who inhabit chiefly this district Though nominally
all converted to Christianity by the late king, they still retain
many of their old superstitions, an 1 amongst them is a strong
repugnanco to eating meat or drinking water touched by those
of other creeds. They had a like objection to our entering
a small grove hard by, which to them possessed a character
of peculia:r sanctity, and it was only through the influence of
the Shoom, and in his company, that we could do so. Per-
sonally, the Kamants rer.emble other Abyssinians, and it is
only within a few years that their females have left off the
singular custom of piercing the lobes of their ears, and hanging
to them heavy billets of wood, thereby bringing the huge flaps
at last as far down as their shoulders. They are, unlike the
Falashas or native Jews, so many of whom reside in these
districts, unskilled in any mechanical arts, and are chiefly
employed in .upplying Gondar with wood. Their language is
akin to the Falasha and Kuaragna, or that spoken by the
natives of Kuara, the westernmost province of Abyssinia, but
they generally understand the Amharic.

We were forced to remain al Sarabo for three days, for
want of a sufficient number of carriers, but at last 1,200 men
were collected together. These gradually dwindled down to
a third of the number, and by the time we reached the king's
camp, our cavalcade presented comparatively quite a sorry
appearance. The country was flat and uninteresting ; scarcely
a village was to be seen, and the mark of the plunderer's
hand was visible everywhere. We halted for half an hour
at a ruined hamlet called Les4g, and should have liked to
pay a visit to Gondar, which w.as distant about twenty miles
E.N.E.; but our guides lold us it was quite impossible to do
this, as there was no knowing whether it might not be in the
hands of the rebel Gobazy6 at that very moment About noon
we encamped beneath a large and solitary sycamore tree at
Tankal, at the south-westem extremity of the large and formerly
flourishing province of Dembea.

The province of Dembea bears the highest reputation for
fertility. Its broad and ample plains, sparsely covered ""'th
trees, and its rich black soil, arc capable of producing with
case three crops within the year. TeflT (Poa Abyssinica),
barley, and mashela {IMcus sorghum) are the favourite cereals,
and they are frequently raised in this order of rotation. In
this district is situated Gondar, a stationary camp until the
days of Hats^ Fasil, in the latter half of the seventeenth
century, and converted by that monarch, with the aid of the
Jesuit-fciught native artificers, into the capital. Dembea was
doubtless selected as the head-quarters of a large and dis-
tinguished court, on account of its extraordinary fecundity.
Until within the last few years, when, as I remarked above, it
has severely suffered from the marauding soldiers of King
Theodore, it formed the granary of Northern and Western
Abyssinix The climate, unsuitable for horses, which are said
to be attacked there by a disease analogous to glanders, is
admirably adapted to the rearing of immense herds of cattle,
which cover the wide-spread prairies, and are usually tended by
the Z.aian, a tribe of neatherds, who, with no peculiarities of race,
are yet looked upon as a distinct caste by their fellow-
countrymen. Zaldn is used as a term of reproach ; I know
not why. Mr. Isenberg asserts that they assume a descent
from Jacob, one of the companions of Menilck in his exodus

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

«'S

from Jerusalem, and states that, in his opinion, in point of
morality they are far in advance of other Abyssinians, and are
usually content with one wife at a time. I am sorry to say
that the truth of this last remark cannot be borne out by my
own personal observation. One thing is cert.iin, however : they
can handle the long stick, with which they are always pro-
vided, most deftly, and few soldiers, armed with spear and
shield, care for an encounter with one of these doughty
quarter-staff players. Their chief habitat is in the provinces
of Dembea, Foggara, and Belessa.

On the following day (January 14th) we left Tankal, and
entered the district of Taccosa.* En route, at a spot called
Amoos Gabea (Thursday market), we fell in with startling
evidences of the sanguinary disposition of the monarch under
whose protection and escort we were travelling. The ground
for several roods around the large tree, beneath whose spread-
ing branches the mirket was held, from which the place
derives its na'raa, was covered with bleached and grinning
skulls, the trophies of the great king's vengeance over some
rebels who had unfortunately succumbed to his power in that
locality. Travelling on, we soon descried the rocky pro-
montory of Gorgora, which juts out into the sea from the
north-western corner of it, and it was not long before we could
catch a glimpse of the blue still waters of Tsana, glinting
beneath the noon-day sun. We halted at WanzigS, a village
not far from the lake. The Shoom was absent with his sons
in the camp of Theodore ; but his wife, on hearing of our
arrival, imrajdiately sent a message of welcome to us. We
went to pay our respects to her, and the worthy dame, anxious
to show us all the hospitality in her power, insisted on pre-
paring for us a dish of Jitfit with her own hands. Emptying
tht contents of a gourd of curdled milk into 2 deep wooden
bisin, she added some crumbled te^ bread, and then, stripping
>ip her sleeve, she vigorously stirred the whole with her hand
for several minutes. Then, a judicious admixture of dillihh,
or capsicum-chutney, and a renewal of the stirring process
followed, and the m;ss was pronounced ready to be served.
Some amount of courage was required before we could bring
ourselves to attack a dish so unlike anything we could re-
member in a European menu, but, unwilling to cast a slur on
our hostess' hospitality, we at length boldly plunged in our
hands; and notwithstanding the strange flavour afforded by
this milange of sour milk, sourer bread, and burning pepper,
we contrived to do justice to the fare, and washed it down
with a horn or two of rough beer, compared with which a
l).;vonsliire labourer's cider would seem quite sweet We then
bowed ourselves out, glad to exchange the smoky and stifling
atmosphere of the small hut which form.-d the cMtelaine's
abode for the purer air outside.

The following morning there occurred a regularstrike amongst
oir many hundred porters. The Tchelga and Dembea men
refusiid to carry our baggage through Taccosa and the regions
beyond. But Lidj Tesamma's mother, a fine old lady, who
had joined us at Saribo, mounted her mule, and gallantly
riding forth amongst the malcontents, eloquently harangued

* This nam: should be properly spelt Takuesa, but I prefer an
orthography in un: with the pronunciation. I may mentiou here
that the letter g is always h.inl in Amharic, and that in words ending
with the filth vowel form (A) the accent is nearly alTays on the penultimate,
« in Wandi'gt, Wanii'yS, Tacai'iA, &c. Git is nasal, and should be
pronounced like a French git (champagne), or Spanish A (Se&or).

them, and, whether by appealing to their better feelings, or
by bringing before their eyes the dread prospect of King
Theodore's vengeance, or what not, reduced them at length
to submission. Eventually, however, arrangements were come
to by which a change was made ai the frontier of each district
'I'his proceeding, though involving considerable delay, was so
obviously dictated by justice that we could make no com-
plaints.

We encamped the next day at Goja, on the very borders
of the lake, and moved on the 16th to Belass. The country
was deserted, the land untilled ; and it was but rarely that we
came across a village with a single inhabitant in it. At Arrico,
a small hamlet mentioned by Bruce, we rested for half an hour
at the house of a worthy old man, a carpenter by trade, as,
indeed, were nearly all the people in the place. Belass is a
large marsh, full of teal and other wild fowl, but we did not
see any hippopotami, although the lake was said to be full of
them. Soon after passing Dengel-bar (Gate of the Virgin),
the next day, we entered the district of Wandige, the hereditary
property of Lidj Tesamma's family. On the road, we had
turned aside from our path to examine an ancient church,
dedicated to Kedoos Mikhail (St Michael). Every one knows
the style of architecture used for ecclesiastical edifices in
Abyssinia. The inner circle, or holy of holies, in which the
Tabot or Ark is deposited, and into which the priest is alone
permitted to enter ; the outer ring, in which the worship of
the laity is carried on, and the verandah beyond, which none
may overstep save those possessing inward and outward purity,
have been so repeatedly depicted by pen and pencil of late,
that it is a work of sunererogation to do more than glance at
them here. The grotesque representations of saints, angels,
and devils with which the walls are bedaubed, are never
remarkable either for beauty Oi antiquity. The exploits of
favourite princes of modern days are mingled with selections
from ancient history, sacred and legendary. Next to the
wise and valiant Sab'a Gac'.is, who is quietly transfixing with
his lance an elephant, who appears to submit to this phle-
botomising treatment with equal composure, may be seen
Pharaoh crossing the Red Sea at the head of a compact
phalanx of musketeers. In a thinly-wooded country, c church
as it crowns some eminence, and its cross-surmounted roof
peeps out from a grove of dark green cedars, may appear
picturesque and imposing enough ; but a near approach soon
dispels tlie first feelings of awe and veneration, and the only
wonder is how there can be even a pretence of devotion
amidst such gross and sacrilegiou-i semblances of all that is
usually held most holy, as look down on the worshipper from
the walls.

Such,, at least, were my impressions at the moment. Time
and experience have induced me to modify them to some
extent ; still, in the present narrative, it has chiefly been my
aim to record images just as they were stamped upon the
retina of the mind, but, if it were rt-quired to comment upon
them, to do so in the light of a more advanced knowledge
of the people. In judgirg of the religious observances of the
Abyssinians, the very complex character of the nation must
always be borne in mind. Impulsive, yet calculating ; brave,
and yet cowardly ; now a (raitor, and now ? very Abdiel : one
man will exhibit all these traits, and his conduct will be guided
accordingly by the niling passion of the moment. It was from
his perfect acquaintance with the character of his people that

111

ii6

ILLUSTRATED TROWELS.

the late king was able to keep his liold over them so long ;
and it was probably from an eciually intimate knowledge of
the Ethiopian race that Athanasiiis found it an easy task to
implant amongst them a religion that, in the midst of enemies,
has flourished, with starcely a change in its constitution, for
fifteen centuries. The warm blood of the south has always
demanded a more materialistic taith than the frigid north :
more saints, more festivals, more (jomp and bravery of

and who after a short and miserable reign, died by an
assassin's sword. But, while thus keenly affected by the
contemplation of the avenging hand of Heaven stretched
forth in wrath, the recollection does not deter the Abyssinians
from the commission of crimes eeiual ux enormity to t!'at of
the royal parricide. Many a soldier, without hesitation, and
almost without compunction, slew his father or his brother
at the bidding of King Theodore. One of our guards at

VIEW NEAR TCIIELGA, AnVSSINIAN rLATEAU.

sacerdotal attire, these ha\e been the paiiem d cinenscs
that Remans since the days of Constantine have cried for.
But the Abyssinian requires more than this. To i)lease him
effectually, virtue must be visil)ly recompensed and vice as
openly chastised. Reward and punishment, viewed as the
result of Divine intervention, touch him, and awaken his
religious sympathies. I have seen a lad almost moved to
tears as he recounted the tale of 'i'akla Haimanot Ergooni
{The Amirsfd), the hue of whose complexion, after the
murder of his father, I-Lits(J Yilsu'e, changed to a deep black,

Magdala was hotorious for having betrayed his nearest re-
latives into the merciless hands of the king. He was em-
phatically styled among us "The Murderer;" yet, after a day
spent in treachery and crime, he would offer up his prayers
with as much simi)licity and earnestness as a guileless child.
It is hard to judge these Africans by our northern canons.
Before they can be enlightened -and improved, their character
must I)e fully understood, and that can only be done by men
of wider sympathies and more catholic views than those who
have hitherto attempted the task.

ROUTES ACROSS THE HIMALAYA.

117

Routes across the Himalaya.

To the north of the broad valley of the Ganges stretches the
vast range of the Himalaya, the highest, though not the
longest, of the mountain chains of the world. A glance at the
map of Asia will show that to the north-west of Hindostan
there is a great mountain-knot, from which diverge four ranges
of mountanis : to the north the Bolor Tagh (the Cloudy Moun-
tains) to the west the Hindoo Koosh, to the south the Soli-
maun, and to the east the Himalayan, ranges. The ranges of
the Himalaya make a grand sweep of nearly eight degrees to
the south-east, and then run eastward. A line from their most
nonhem to their most southern declivities would traverse a
distance which, due north and south, would measure about
560 miles.

The Himalaya consists of no single line of peaks, but of
many parallel chains. Seen from the plains of India, these
chains seem to rise distinctly one behind another. The lower
and middle hills appear of the blue grey tinge which distant
mountains generally show, but above and beyond them rise
the snow-covered peaks of the highest summits. At great
distances — from 120 to 200 miles off — in the plains, the
highest only of these mountains can be seen, just breaking the
horizon-line. At a distance of from fifty to sixty miles from
the mountains, the three clearly-marked parallel ranges are
easily to be made out ; but, on a nearer approach, the lower of
the mountain ranges hides from sight the more elevated and
distant peaks. The apparent uniformity of outline disappears ;
spurs with their dividing valleys become distinguishable ; and
at last, when the traveller enters the hill region itself, one
valley with its bounding mountains is all that he beholds.

The average height of the Himalayas is 20,000 feet — more
than 4,000 feet greater than the height of Mont Blanc — and
the highest peak of all, Mount Everest, has an elevation of
29,002 feet above the level of the sea— a height almost as
great as if two Mont Blancs were piled one on the other.

Clothed at their feet with the perpetual verdure of the
tropic!, the Himalayas rise into increasingly colder levels of
the at! iiosphere, though the climate even of the higher valleys
is milder than is found in other countries at similar elevations.
Corn has been grown at a height of 18,000 feet; birch-trees
with tall stems are found at a height of over 14,000 feet; the
vine flourishes in some of the high valleys ; and forests of the
Deodar cedar are found almost up to the snow-line. The snow-
line occurs at elevations of from 15,500 to 18,000 feet ; and in
the upper valleys of the mountains are found some of the largest
glaciers in the world. As the northern part of the mountain
system is approached, the remarkable dryness of the atmosphere
is manifested in the fact that, even at elevations so great as
that of the Karakorum Pass (18,200 feet above the sea level), a
traveller in the month of August found only patches of snow.
There arc, however, so many lofty summits rising thousands of
feet above even the highest snow-level, that the name applied
to the range, Himalaya, " the dwelling of snow," has a striking
applicability to these mountains.

The vast extent of the Himalaya is perhaps more easily
realised by comparison with some elevations better known to
most Europeans. At their smallest breadth the Himalayan
range is 400 miles across — that is, farther than from London to
Edinburgh. The Alps would take, it is calculated, at the

outside, three days for a man to cross, and a good walker can
go from a village on one side to a village on the other in a
summer's day. But from any point in the Punjaub it takes a
man, assisted by a pony, sixty-six days to cross the mountains ;
even if a man tried his utmost, he could hardly do it under
fifty-five days. For twenty-five marches, the road is never
under an elevation of 15,000 feet; and during forty-five
marches, never descends below 9,000 feet. A native of India
who traversed the Himalaya, in the service of the Great Indian
Survey, by the Karakorum Pass, took twenty-five days to
march from the !?st village south to the first village north of
the pass.

Fistinctly defined as the ranges of the Himalaya appear to
be when the mountains art viewed from the plain, it is found
that, in traversing them, there are vast numbers of inter-
mingling spurs which join one series of heights to another.
From one valley, by means of a higli pass, the traveller reaches
another valley or small plain, higher than that which he has
left ; and thus stage after stage he rises, the elevation attained
being indicated not so much by the actual steepness of the
ascents as by the changes in the vegetation, the presence of
snow, and the greater rarity of the atmosphere. Long
branches from the Himalaya cross the table-land of Tibet and
join the Kuen-lun range ; indeed, though the Himalaya are
sometimes spoken of as the southern, and the Kuen-lun as the
northern boundary of Tibet, neither of them can be well
separated from that lofty table-land, which has an elevation of
from 15,000 to 16,000 feet above the level of the sea.
Practically, it is difficult to define where the Himalayan ranges
end, and those of the Kuen-lun begin.

Beyond the range of the Kuen-lun, however, there opens
out a wide, and in many places fertile, plain, known to
geographers as the p!:;in of Yarkand and Khotan. After
crossing the Himalaya and Kucn-Iun and arriving at Ilchi, the
capital of Khotan, the traveller feels as if he had left the hills
altogether, and as if he were in the plains of Hindostan. No
hills are to be seen in any direction, except on a clear day,
when the lower ranges of the Kuen-lun are visible. This plain
is of considerable width, and is bounded on the north by the
volcanic range of the Thian-Shan, whose singular forms have
given rise to many legends of the influence of Shaitan in
causing the contortions of the rocks. Westward stretches the
Bolor Tagh, the western edge of the great central table-land of
Asia, of which the Himalayas form the southern boundary, and
eastward the fertile Yarkand plain merges gradually into the
sandy desert of Gobi. Tlie slopes of the Kuen-lun, the Bolor
Tagh, and Thian-Shan mountains, send streams down to water
the plain. These, of which the chief are the Kashgar, Yarkand,
Khotan, and Kiria, unite to form the Tarim, which loses itself
in lyake Lop Nor, one of the numerous salt lakes which abound
on the great table-land. The soil is generally sandy, and free
from ston-j and rocks. It is very productive, and a fine dust,
which is blown by the east wind from the desert over the
fertile plain, is looked upon by the inhabitants as a kind of
manure for the soil, without which no vegetation would thrive,
Indian corn, wheat, barley of two kinds, buckwheat, and rice
all grow in great perfection ; olives, pears, apples, peaches,
apricots, mulberries, grapes, currants, and melons are produced

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of large size and delicious flavour ; cotton of valuable quality,
and raw silk abound. There are forests of poplar, willow, and
tamarisk, and abundance of good grass. Between the towns
of Khotan and Aksu there is for twelve marches a forest so
dins?, that travellers are said to have lost themselves in it
Minerals are found abundantly, especially in the Kuen-lun
mountains ; those that are known are gold, silver, iron, lead,
co[)per, antimony, salt, saltpetre, sulphur, soda, and coal ; jade
is also found in large quantities. Gold and precious stones
abound in the bods of the streams which flow from the Kuen
lun range, and it is said that more than 3,000 men are at work
on the gold-fields. Gold is abundant, and is only about half
the price in Khotan which it is in Kashmir, on the southern
slopes of the Himalaya. T'^e current coins are made of silver
and copper ; gold is not used for coin, but is sold in small
packets of varying value. The wild animals are chiefly the
Tibetian species of the goat, wolf, jackal, fox, and hare. In
the great forest before mentioned, bears, tigers, and leopards
roam at large. There are many wild birds, among them a
species of hawk, which is kept by the natives for the purpose of
hunting wolves, jackals, &c. Camels and asses are employed
as beasts of burden, horses for riding and drawing wheeled
conveyances. Most of the horses are imported. Goats are to
be met with in large flocks, and they yield the material of
which the fine shawls are ma e. Geese, ducks, and fowls are
the domestic birds, and are very abundant.

This fertile plain is not very thickly populated ; but in the
great towns considerable numbers of people are collected to-
gether. The town of Yarkand is said to have a population
of 120,000; the inhabitants of Ilchi, the modern capital of
Khotm, number 40,000 ; and there are other large cities,
of wliich Kashgar and Aksu are two. Kashgar is an ancient
city, one of those that have escaped the encroachment
which the desert has from time to time made on the inhabited
country. Not all of the towns of the plain have been so
fortunate. The province of Khotan contains several of these
buried cities, one of which is only a few miles distant from
the present capital, Ilchi. The shifting sands of the Gobi
move along in vast billows, overpowering everything, and -they
are said to have once buried 360 cities in the space of twenty-
four hours. Tiiere is probably considerable exaggeration in
this statement ; but some of the buried cities are known,
and from out of their ruins various articles are dug. In one of
them large quantities of brick tea are found, which has a ready
sale, now that trade with China is stopped. Gold coins, some
of them weighing four pounds, and various other articles, have
also been discovered ; and it would seem as if tlie cities had
been suddenly buried, so that the inhabitants had no time to
remove their property. There is something weird in this
modern utilisation of the things discovered in these old cities,
of whose name and date there remains no record known to
us, and whose position, even, is a secret carefully kept by a few.

The people are fine -looking, with a Tartar cast of
features, and are well-dressed and cleanly. They are Mahom-
medans, and are apparently very strict in the observance of
their reii: -is duties.

The • ommerce and trade of the country is carried on in
the citi s by means of bazaars held periodically in each.
Yarkand is the chief seat of what may be called the foreign
trade, and to it are brought goods from Russia and Bokhara
by means of caravans, which visit Yarkand twice a year,

employing as many as a thousand camels. British goods, up
to the present time, have also reached Yarkand and other
cities of Eastern Turkestan by means of a circuitous route,
which brought them first to Bokhara, and then, along with
other things, through the narrow passes of the Bolor Tagh,
to the cities of Kashgar, Yarkand, and the rest. Into
Yarkand are imported sugar-candy, loaf-sugar, cloth, wrought-
iron, brass, iron vessels, horses, China tea, and silks. From
China there are at present no direct imports. Ilchi is a great
manufacturing town. Silks, felts, carpets both silk and
woollen, and coarse cotton cloths, are made and sent all over
the country. The bazaar of Ilchi, which takes nlace weekly,
is frequented not only by natives, but by Kashmirees and
Cabulees ; it is held chiefly in a long street, running east and
west, which is covered in with a roof of reed matting. The
bazaar presents a very lively scene, both men and women
being anxious to buy and sell.

Up to a recent time — not much more than five years ago-
Eastern Turkestan, the fertile country which has just been
described, formed an integral part of the Chinese Empire.
But, as is well known, the Chinese government has been
unable to retain power even in provinces nearer the capital
than this, and it is therefore not surprising that the Khan of
Khotan was able, in 1863, to raise a rebellion against the
Chinese, which resulted in the massacre of many of these
people, and the expulsion of the rest from Khotan. Yarkand,
Kashgar, Aksu, and other cities, followed the example given ;
and all direct communication with China was thus ended.
This change of circumstances seems chiefly to have incon-
venienced the inhabitants of Eistern Turkestan with regard
to their supplies of tea. The readiness with which the brick
tea from the buried cities was brought up is evidence of this ;
and it is certain that, did safe routes exist from Hindostan to
Eastern Turkestan over the Himalaya and Kuen-lun ranges,
the bazaars of Ilchi, Yarkand, &c., <vould afford excellent
markets for the sale of Indian-grown teas. AH the people of
these districts are great tea-drinkers. Mr. W. H. Johnson
says that, when he was at Ilchi, " all who visited him, rich or
jioor, asked for a cup of tea, which is drunk with sugar, but
without milk." As a mark of respect, a cup of tea was pre-
sented by the Khan of Khotan himself, on Mr. Johnson's
first interview with him.

To ascertain the existence of routes across the Himalaya
and Kuen-lun fit for use in trade is a matter which, within
the last two years, has become of vast importance. Communi-
cation with China being stopped, the inhabitants of Eastern
Turkestan have become dependent for foreign supplies either
upon caravans from Russia to the west, or upon goods sent
from British India to the south. At present, goods passing
from British India to Kashgar and Yarkand — and of late years
large quantities have been sent — are forwarded up the Indus
from the port of Kurrachee, or from other places, to Dera
Ismael Khan, thence they are taken to Peshawur, and by
the Khyber Pass to Cabul. From that place they pass tq
Bokhara, and thence by Khotan to Kashgar and Yarkand,
where, even after so long and circuitous a journey, they have
competed successfully with goods from Russia. This route is
a long -established one, and there is comparatively little
difliculty in carrying on trade by it; but it has the dis-
advantage of being extremely indirect.

The direct route over th« Himalayan range leads from

ROUTES ACROSS THE HIMALAYA.

119

Umritsur, or one of the neighbouring towns in the Punjaub,
to Chumba, and other places on the lower slopes of the
Himalaya, where the living of a large class of the population
depends on this trade. From these lower regions the road
passes through various ranges of the Himalayas, rising
gradually till it reaches the plains of I/adak, and arrives at
the town of Leh, on the Indus, the capital of this province.
The plains of Ladak are elevated about 15,000 feet above the
sea-level. In itself, Leh is not an important place. It is the
chief city of a thinly-peopled district ; and its only greatness
arises from its being an entrepot of commerce between
distant countries. But towns not more promising in them-
selves have become great with even less trade than that of
which Leh is the centre ; and the crowded state of its bazaars,
and the piles of goods from Yar' , Kashmir, and the Pun-
jaub stored up in its houses ai i courtyards, show how active
is the commerce carried on there.

From Leh, the various routes over the Karakorum and
Kuen-lun ranges diverge, some being more easy to traverse
than others. One of these routes goes over the Karakorum
Pass, and presents many difficulties. Among others, travellers
have to march for six days consecutively without finding a
blade of grass for their cattle. This is the route which, up
to the present time, has been chiefly used. It is so dangerous
and difficult that traders are obliged to take three spare horses
for every one laden, and it is calculated that a fourth of the
animals die on the road. The road to this pass traverses some
of the most desolate regions of Tibet Everywhere barren
precipices, heaps of rocks, and monotonous deserts, meet the
eye. The pass itself is a rounded ridge (18.200 feet above the
level of the sea), connecting two hills, which rise somewhat
abruptly about 1,000 feet above it. There is no view to the
north, for the hills which are not snow-covered close in about
half a mile distant To the south the mountains are round-
topped and covered with snow. Vegetation is entirely wanting
at the top of the pass, and the rare atmosphere makes exertion
fatiguing, and produces a dull headache. From the Kara-
korum Pass, the road leads either north-east to Khotan (Ilchi),
or north west to Yarkand. The difficulties of the Karakorum
route have not hindered the development of trade; it has
even shown a tendency to increase, since the excessive
duties which used, to be levied by the rulers of Ladak
— and which were the real obstacles to commerce — have been
removed.

In describing the second route from Leh to Ilchi— one that
has only recently been opened for trade — it will be necessary to
name two of the smaller streams which rise in the Himalaya,
and the valleys of which will play an important part in en-
abling intercourse to be carried on between the two cities.
One of thest rivers is the Changchenmo (a name suggestive
of Chinese rather than Indian nomenclature), which rises on
the southern face of one of the outlying spurs of the Himalaya,
and, flowing westward, joins a_ tributary of the Indus. The
other stream is the Karakash, which, rising in the Kuen-lun,
flows first west and then north-east to Ilchi and the Khotan
river. This second route from Leh to Ilchi is to the east of
that by the Karakorum Pass, and is called the Changchenmo
route, from its being partly in the valley of that river. From
Leh the road runs eastward and then northward, into the
valley of the Changchenmo. On leaving that, it goes over
a pass more than 19,000 feet above the sea; but taking it as

a whole, this route is nothing more than passing over a series
of vast undulations, which present no real obstacle to enter-
prising traders. Grass, wood, and water, are found along this
line, which, passing over the head-wafers of the Karakash,
crosses the Kuen-lun, and descends ujron Ilchi. A modifi-
cation of this route has been suggested and fcllowed, which is
that, instead of crossing the Kuen-lun, the traveller should
proceed the whole way to Ilchi in the valley of the Karakash,
after having once struck the course of that river. This change
makes the road somewhat longer, but saves the ascent
of a very high pass over the Kuen-lun, and shortens the
journey by two days' march. This route has been opened
for trade by a party of Punjaub traders with horse-loads of
Kangra tea, which they were taking to Yarkand.

When Mr. Johnson, who has been before mentioned, paid
his visit to Ilchi, in 1865, he heard of an open road, which
passes from that city, going round the end of the Kuen-lun
mountains, by the Changthang plain, to the Changchenmo
valley near Leh. This road is said to be available for wheeled
carriages ; water, grass, and wood are found everywhere on the
route ; but opposition may be expected from the shepherds
who inhabit part of the Changthang plain. Though this
road would be of immense advantage, were it open and as
passable as it is reported to be, little can be said about it, as
no one has yet explored it

The British Government has recently done much for the
improvement of the road from the Punjaub to Leh, by build-
ing bridges and rendering steep ascents more easy ; and now
that the exactions of Ladak are done away with, the trade over
tiie Himalayas between Westerii India and Turkestan is likely
greatly to increase.

Another route is known to exist, which leads directly from
North-Western India to Turkestan, and which is said to be
practicable for laden carts all the way from India to Central
Asia. This road passes from Jellalabad up the valley of the
river, called the Chitral valley, to its source. From this point
it proceeds by an easy road over the Hindoo Koosh into the
valley of the Oxus. Of this route, however, we know at present
but little, except from the itinerary of a native Yarkandi merchant ;
another native report given of it states that " the trade through
Chitral is confined to certain adventurous Afghans alone, and
that natives of Yarkand seldom traverse ihis route." The road
is subject to incursions by the Kafiristan tribes. It is for this
reason, probably, that Yarkandi traders prefer either the longer
route to India by Bokhara and Afghanistan, or the more
diffiru't one over the Himalaya, through Ladak and Kashmir.
It is possible that more detailed accounts of this route may be
furnished by Mr. Hayward, a traveller who is now devoting
himself to explorations in the region between North-Western
India and the upper valley of the Oxus.

The opening of any new routes for trade is a matter not
only of interest to the merchant, but of congratulations to all
who see in the multiplication of commercial relations the
surest guarantee for the advancement of nations, not only in
material prosperity, but in civilisation, and in increased pro-
babilities of peace. Our communications with Eastern Tur-
kestan are as yet too much in their infancy for us to do more
than hope for good to result from them. It is not to be
denied that in Turkestan the advances of British commerce
will come somewhat into contact, perhaps into collision, with
those put forward by Russia. But, whilst it is not to be for-

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

gotten that Russia is ailvancing towards Eastern Turkestan,
there are few who have read the descriptions of the roacis
which lead from that country to British India, that will fear the
entrance of an army, either by the Karakorum Pass or the
valley of the Changchenmo. Tiie routes tiiat suffice for

traders would be quite impossible to be traversed by armies ;
and so long as the physical barriers of the Kuen-lun and
Himalaya remain what they are, it is not from the ilirection
of Eastern Turkestan that the approach of Russia need be
feared.

W'}

THK ESPAUA.

Nofes on Spain. — IV.

til!

THE nLLt.-FIGlIT

TItE NATIONAL SPORT OF SPAIN— LITERATURE OF THE RING — STARS OF THE PROFESSION-
BURLESQUE BULL- FIGHTS— CRUEL! y.

ROUTINE OF TIIE SPECTACLE^

In our last number we mentioned one or two of the things
usually put in evidence to support the charge of barbarism
against Sijain. But the barbarism far excclimn; the heaviest
item in the act of accusation, is, of course, the bull-fight ; and,
hackneyed as the subject may be, we must give it a place in
our notes. It is not necessary, however, to enter into any very
elaborate description of the spectacle, fcr, thanks to the per-
severance of travellers, every reader is by this time tolerably
familiar with the nature of the national pastime of S])ain.
There is, indeed, something amusing in the naivete with which
tourists generally record their experiences and impressions in
the matter of the bull-fight : in the anxiety they display to
witness it, the haste to secure places on the first available
opportunity, the gusto with which the scenes in the ring are
described, and the inevitable homily on the moral degradation
of a people who can find pleasure in witnessing so barbarous
an exhibition. If they were always conten:: with this form of
protest, it would not matter much, but the vm\ voce expression
of indignation frecjuently to be heard at Sunday iables-d' hdte
in Madrid or Seville during the bull-fighting season, must sound
at least somewhat inconsistent to Spanish ears. The French

tourist (as a general nilc, tourists in Spain are either FreiK h or
English) seldom takes up his parable against the bull-fight with
any degree of fervour. If he is not blinded by the merits of
the spectacle to the demerits of the exhibition, at least he has
too keen a sense of the ridiculous to stultify himself by de-
nouncing as disgusting, and fit only for savages, a sight which
he has taken considerable trouble to see, and sat out unflinch-
ingly to the last ; nor does he condescend to plead that most
transparent of excuses — pure philosophical desire to study
national character. We, however, do not .always display the
same discretion. British virtue is very great, and we are justly
proud of its greatness ; but it has this peculiarity, that it must
always be talking. It is by no means satisfied with a silent
existence, and the bull-fight affords it a too tempting opportunity
for declaring itself But may not Espafiolismo fairly rei)ly,
" Why, O British virtue ! if this sport of ours is so sickening
and revolting and unendurable to any but a depraveil taste, do
you lend it your countenance, as you do, upon the whole,
])retty regularly whenever you have a chance ? Every hotel-
keeper knows that in general your first question is, whether
there is a bull-fight to come off, and that, if anything will

■ its

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VOL.

132

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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induce you to stay, it is the prospect of a corrida on Sunday.
We do not want your company at it any more than we want
your lecture afterwards. You know perfectly well what it is
like, and, indeed, as we have often remarked, you describe it
with considerable vigour and circumstantiality. You cannot
say you are entrapped into assisting at an entertainment of the
nature of which you were ignorant. Why not be honest, as
well as great ? Why not admit that, lofty as you are, you have
still the human weakness of curiosity, and that you cannot resist
the tcm|)tition of a wikl, semi-barbarous spectacle, only to be
witnessed in this semi-civilised country, as you kindly call it ?
You needn't plead guilty to cruelty if you don't like, but pray
be honest, and confess to the curiosity and love of excitement
which affect us all more or less."

But, apart from the inconsistency of the proceeding, it is
scarcely courteous in a foreigner to rail in such good set terms
at a national sport, and by implication therefore at the nation
that indulges in it. For the bull-fight is unquestionably the
national sport of Spain. It is only in a rare instance here and
there among the upper classes, as in the case of Prim, that
Spaniards are sportsmen in our sense of the word. Hunting,
shooting, and fishing are undreamt-of amusements. They have
no turf, and no games, except perhaps a species of fives which
is played a good deal in the northern provinces. For all these,
and also to a certain extent for the stage and the opera, which
have no great hold on the affections of the Spanish people, the
b'lU-fight is the one substitute. It is the sole vfint for the
sporting instincts of the nation, and for that love of athletic
display, skill, dexterity, and pluck, which every nation possesses
in a greater or less degree. It is at once to the Spaniards what
the drama is to the French, a source of excitement and a field
for critir'sm, and what the turf is to us, a sport, the enjoyment
of whicn is open to all classes. There are, it is true, plenty of
Spaniards who regard the diversion with anything but favour ;
nor are these exclusively of the educated and cultivated classes,
for we have many times heard peasants denounce the bull-fight
in language as strong as any foreigner could use. But with the
great mass of the people, and with the town populations in
particular, the love of "Bull-feasts"— ;^«/(7j t/e toros — as they
used formerly to be called, is little short of an absorbing
passion. It is no exaggeration to say that they imbibe the
taste with their mother's milk. Our playbills say, " Children in
arms are not admitted," but a Spanish bull-fight bill is more
liberal. It invariably sets forth that " los nifws que no sean de
fecho nccesilan bilkte" — children not at the breast must have
tickets, but babes and sucklings are free of the plaza. We
have now before us a document which shows that, whatever
may be said of the backward state of education in Spain, the
early training of the young Spaniard in Tauromachy is by no
means neglected. It is a broadside containing some four
dozen rude but truthful woodcuts representing the various
scenes of the bull-ring, to which are appended explanatory
nursery rhymes for the better edification of the youthful mind.
It is, in fact, a compact compendium of the art of bull-fighting,
describing in proper scientific terms the various events of the
combat, and presenting with great accuracy the principal
tableaux which the spectacle affords, — the procession of the
performers, the entrance of the bull, the performances of
picador, banderillero, and espada, all in their proper order.
Nor are the possible accidents of the game omitted. One cut
is a lively representation of a wounded picador, helped out of

the ring, "« un picador lurido al hospital conducido ;" and the
whole appropriately winds up with a tribute to the memory of
that martyr to science, Pfpe Illo, who was killed in a bull-fight
at the beginning of the century, and is here depicted borne
aloft on the horns of a charging bull, while his fate is recorded
in a couplet which may be roughly translated —

" All through being caught and tossetl,
Pcpc Illo's life was lost."

It is no wonder, therefore, that playing at toro and torero should
be the favourite game of the young urchins of Spain, and that
the scene which is the subject of M. Gustave Dore's spirited
sketch, should be among the commonest of Spanish sights.
Occasionally the game is played in the mere elaborate way
described by Blanco White in his " Letters," when the boy who
acts the part of bull carries a board, to which are attached a
pair of horns and a piece of cork, so that the banderilleros
may plant their banderillas secundum artem.

For the adult mind, there are several manuals of the science
by eminent hands, such as Montes and Pepe lUo above
mentioned ; and there is— though the Times correspondent
omitted it in his amusing review of the Spanish press, some
time back — a weekly paper published at Madrid, under the
title of La Fiesta Espailola, which reviews the performances
at the capital, and inserts reports from the provinces, and even
telegrams, stating how corridas in the country are going on —
thus : " Segovia, 8-49, evening. All well and content."
This journal is severely critical, sparing neither men nor
beasts if their behaviour in the ring has been unsatisfactory.
The memory of defunct bulls who were deficient in energy is
assailed with such epithets as "blando, receloso, cobarde;"
and the human performers are sharply taken to task for
having been "wanting in flexibility and uncertain in their
lunges." There is a magnanimity about it, too, as when,
in reference to one torero who is " not quite cured of the
severe wound he received on a former occasion, and still suffers
in his leg," it says, "This circumstance relieves us from the
necessity of passing judgment upon this swordsman." It can
be also drily sarcastic, as in the comment, " It is only a
management as celebrated as ours that could entice into the
plaza a man in such a condition."

The same earnestness and gravity governs the composition
of the bills and aflfiches by which a bull-fight is announced.
" More for the sake of keeping up the credit of our plaza than
with any view to profit, the management (la empresa) has
determined," &c. &c. So provincial notices frequently begin,
and with due solemnity it is set forth that, "weather per-
mitting — si el tiempo no lo impide—axi extraordinary corrida
will verify itself on such and such a day, and that competent
authority will preside in the plaza." Then follow the names
of the principal combatants, or lidiadores; the espadas, or
"swords," for the term "matador" is never used in correct
fciuromachian language; the supernumerary espada — sobre-
saliente de espadas — for whom it is always stipulated that he
shall be "without prejudice to stick banderillas into any bulls
that may suit him ;" and the picadors, "with others in reserve
in case any should ' inutilizarse,' " render themselves useless.
The latter happy phrase is a good illustration of the elegant,
delicate, and, at the same tisne, strictly business-like tone
with which the whole of the literature of the bull-ring is
inspired. Furthermore, the public is requested to abstain
from throwing into the plaza any object which might interfere

i i

NOTES ON SPAIN.

IJ3

with the combatants or interrupt the combat, and to refrain
from insults and contemptuous rejiroaches. This last injunction
is almost always disregarded, even in the plaza of courtly
Madrid ; and should there be any joke or stigma attached to
the name of any torero, he is pretty sure to hear of it if he
shows the white feather, or is unskilful, or, what amounts to
the same thing, unfortunate. On the other hand, a popular
performer, sans peur el reproclie, is allowed some latitude. If
he kills his bull in a bungling manner (con trabajo), his
awkwardness will be passed over with what the Fiesta calls
" silencio fatal." But he must not trespass too far upon the
indulgence of a critical public ; the best of characters will not
cover repeated mistakes. Public opinion is not a power in
Spain except in the Plaza de Toros, but there it is despotic

The hand-bill of a corrida in the reguUr season at Madrid
has an additional peculiarity, which is worth notice as illus-
trating the spirit in which the aficionados (the amateurs) regard
the spectacle : the back of the bill is divided into columns,
to enable the fancy to check off the points of the game as it
proceeds. The first contains the names of the bulls— or,
rather, of the breeders of the bulls, for the time has gone by
when the animal entered the arena under his own name, like
Harpado in the ballad of " The Bull-fight of Gazul." The
second is for scoring the number of puyazos, or punctures
of the garrocha, the lance with which the picador receives the
charge ; and as this is not capable of inflicting severe injury,
but quite punishing enough to test pluck, the score furnishes
the means of forming a fair estimate of the bull's character.
The second is headed "Caidas de picadores" — falls of picadors.
Casualties to horses have two columns ; one for the killed
another for the wounded. In another, the number of pairs of
banderillas planted may be entered ; and the last act of all
has three columns — one for the number of passes of the muleta,
the red flag with which the espada entices the bull to charge,
the others for estocadas and pinchazos, the two forms in which
the death-stroke may be administered. Thus the whole, when
filled up by a scientific hand, is a complete register of the
events of each course, and at once a record of the achieve-
ments of each bull individually, and of the sport shown by the
whole number collectively.

Of course every town in Spain— it would be more correct,
perhaps, to say everything above the rank of a village — has its
Plaza de Toros, which, next to the cathedral or iglesia principal,
is the most conspicuous, if not the most imposing, of its public
buildings. By the size of the plaza, a traveller can generally
form a tolerably correct estimate of the population of the town ;
and there is very often a still closer relation to be traced. Thus,
Madrid, the largest, shabbiest, meanest, and most commonplace
of Spanish cities, has a huge plaza, with a seedy, lath-and-plaster,
mushroom air about it ; while beautiful Valencia, at once the
brightest and stateliest city in Spain, owns the handsomest
plaza in the Peninsula — a really noble building, which would
be an ornament to any town. Gloomy, grim, brick-built
Saragossa has a heavy, sullen-looking plaza, which might be
taken for a house of detention. In devout, heretic-roasting
Seville, the colossal statue of La Fe (The Faith), on the tall
tower of the Giralda, looks down upon the bull-ring, and
superintends the sport ; and the warlike little city of Ronda, as
if mindful of its rocky site, and of the part it played in the
Moorish wars, has built itself an impregnable plaza, like the
keep of a frontier fortress. But the most characteristic of all

is that of Merida. In the ancient c.npital of Lusitania, modern
Spain sits upon Roman ruins, like a moss or a mildew ; and at
Merida the Plaza de Toros is — or rather was, for Merida can no
longer aflbrd the luxury of the bull-fight— grafted upon the
ruins of a Roman theatre. The semicircular mass of masonry
on the east side of the town, known as the Sicte Sillas (the
Seven Chairs), is perhaps the best-preserved specimen of an
ancient theatre in existence, at least as regards the audience
portion, the theatre proper. The Spaniards completed the
circle after their fashion, and so it came to pass in the fulness
of time that the seats on which the Emeriti of Augustus once
took their pleasure, were occupied by the holiday-makers of
Merida, Terence being replaced by toros. But if those old
stones were capable of feeling bitterness at the degradation,
they must be comforted now. While they rest firm in their
beds, as they did sixteen centuries ago, a few heaps of rubbish,
and a few yards of crumbling wall, are all there is to show the
quality of the Spanish work.

It is commonly said that the best bull-fights in Spain take
place in Seville ; but this is not the case now. Centralisation
and money have produced their usual eftects, and Madrid
draws the talent of the kingdom, and in the regular seasons —
Spring, and from September to November — turns out the best-
found and best-appointed corridas to be seen in Spain. Seville,
however, is well supplied with brilliant local performers. Most
of the stars of the profession come from Seville or the Seville
district of Andalusia, and it yields to none in its devotion to
the sport An i.Tipressive spectacle was witnessed in that city
a couple of years ago. A veteran espada, long retired from
the arena, full of years and honours, partly in deference to the
wishes of the public, partly yielding to the impulse of the old
war-horse, was tempted to re-enter the ring and kill one more
bull before he died. The touching manner in which the good
old man performed the operation excited the greatest enthusiasm.
Many, it is said, were affected to tears.

The head of the profession, at present, by general acknow-
ledgment, is Ciichares, a portly but powerfully-built man,
with an expression of grave humour in his face, and a peculiar
twinkle of the eye, which are much more suggestive of a
farceur than of a bull-fighter. Indeed, he bears a very re-
markable likeness to the late Edward Wright of the Adelphi.
The forte of Ciichares does not lie in that lofty chivalrous
bearing which made Pepe Illo so generally beloved and deeply
lamented, or in those marvellous feats of agility which were so
much admired in Monies, but rather in the exquisite aplomb
and sariffrcid with which he does his work. Ciichares, as
he stands eyeing his bull, sword in hand, is a picture, and he
seems to throw a kind of glamour over the animal, to puzzle
and disconcert him, by his masterly coolness. He never seems
to dodge or make any exertion to get out of the way of a rush.
All that can be made out is that the bull has missed him, until
the proper moment has arrived, and then it is perceived —
how the thing was done requires a quick eye to see — that the
sword is no longer in the hand of the man, and that its little
red hilt just appears in front of the shoulder of the bull. "Capulo
tenus abdidit ensem," and he stands with a grave half-smile
upon his face, and almost winks. He would not for worlds do
so actually, but he goes as near it as his personal dignity and
the circumstances allow. He has many rivals, however, whose
style of art is by some considered even superior. There are the
great Tato, the stalwart Cayetano Sanz, El Gordito — " Fatty,"

ILLUSTRATKl) TRAVKI-S.

m\ '

as we should say — and lialf a do/on more, wlio>c firr/is may
be seen (:om|)L'tin,' siicxessfiilly with those of I'riin, Olozaga,
Esp.irtero, or SerraiU), in the jihotograpliers' or printsellers'
windows. The coinini! man we take to he I'Vastiielo, a shin,
lithe youth, whose so.il is dearly in iiis j)r()fession. He is not
at present of sulTiciently high standing to appear generally as a
primer esp.idi, a position somewhat analogous to that of a
leader in a law case, but he has a very good jiractice as a
sohresaliente, and is higlrfy thought of as an aceoMiplished ban-
derillero. 'I'lie common banderilla is at least two feet in
length, but he in his pride loves to ])lant banderillas not more
than three or four inches long. Also he has a passion for
literally taking the bull by the horns — at least, it seems to be a
point of honour with him to touch the horns of every bull he

railway system in Spain, for the provincial towns are now no
longer dependent on mere local practitioners, but can always
get down, jier rail, any amount of the highest talent from the
metropolis. The niore eminent members of the torero profes-
sion are by no means fixetl stars, bat seem to be i)erpetually on
the move, the man that api)ears on 'I'hurs lay at Saragossa
having performed perhaps at Valladolid on Tuesday, aivd being
set down for a part at Madrid on Sumhiy. Thus the provinces
get their fair share of the ability of the kingdom, and on great
and special occasions, such as the Santa Semana, at Seville, or
the Festival of the Virgcn del Pilar, in the middle of October,
at Saragossa, the corridas are, bating a slight tinge of i)rovin-
cialism, just as good as those at Madrid in the height of the
season. 'I'he usual course is for some individual, or an crapresa,

||j

f il

lUE iia.m>i;kii.i.i;ro i.n iue chair.

■t

I, .

! \'

meets in the way of business. But his wonderful agility very
soon relieves the mind of the spectator from any apprehension
as to his being really in danger. The chair feat, that of
planting banderillas while silling in a chair — a new refinement
introduced into tauromai Iiian art, of which M. IJore has given
us a sketch — is one which he performs to admiration ; and he is
frequently called upon by public acclamation to take the
office of espada, which he does in a inanncr that justifies the
o|)inion of his admirers, and presages a bright career in the
highest walks of his profession. 'I'o any of our readers about
to see a bull-fight, it is our duty, of course, to say " Don't."
But if they persist, as no doubt most of them will when they
have a chance, we should say, " Then see a good one ; " and if
Frascuelo — who, it appears, is also known in private life as Sal-
vador Sanchez — is mentioned in the bills, that opportunity will
probably be a fair one for testing how far the sight has any
redeeming features.

Even bull-fighting is favoured by the development of the

or management, to hire the Plaza de Toros, which generally is
the property of the municipality, and contract with some emi-
nent professional as primer espada, who brings down with him
his company, assistant espadas, picadors, and a competent
quadrilla of banderilleros, the empresa finding the inferior
attendants, and the bulls and the horses to be killed ; for, it
must be confessed, the death of the horses, or at least of a fair
proportion of them, is almost as much a matter of course as
that of the bulls. They are consequently the part of the
preparation upon which the least money is spent, and are
generally specimens, not of horse-flesh, but of horse-gristle or
horse-bone, such as may sometimes be seen in the shafts of a
London night cab, but rarely anywhere else. Now and again,
a battered broken-down steed, with unmistakable signs of
breeding about him, shows in the ring. We remember once
seeing a gallant old grey, horribly gored, carry his ridtr un-
flinchingly through three combats (in one of which, by the way,
he fairly beat off the bull with his heels), and drop at last in

ia6

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

t! »

the fourth course, untossed and unconquered, amid the cheers
of the arcn.i ; for at a bullfi^jht pluck is always applauded
wherever it appears, in man, bull, or horse. But in general
the horses are miserable worn-out screws, with neither spirit to
face the bull — the right eye is usually bandaged with a handker-
chief — nor strength to resist the shock of the mildest charge.

Still, with all its drawbacks, the spect.icle must be admitted
to have striking features. The first view, as you emerge from
the dark passages and galleries into the interior uf the bright
open pla/a, is even grand and imposing. The larger rings
accommodate frt)m ten to twelve thousand spectators, and the
vast space is filled with ple.asure-seekers bent on their " Roman
holiday." The sunny side, el sol, is all of a quiver with the
red and yellow fans, that m.ake it look like a tulip garden in a
gale. The central space is occupied by a lounging, chatting
crowd. These are the aficionados proper, the genuine sports-
men, somewhat akin to those who visit the Paddock at the
Derby. How they are all to find places is a mystery, for the
benches round seem already densely packed ; but somehow
they do, and the despejo, the clearing out, is effected with even
less difficulty than our boasted clearing of the course on a
Derby day. The scene, indeed, in many points, reminds one
of that great occasion. There are always individuals upon
whom the crisis comes when they are at the farthest possible
distance from their party, and who have consequently to walk
across the empty space under a brisk fire of " chaff," and to
smile as if they rather liked it, or else look as if they were
deaf. Vague persons there are too, who have no precise idea
as to where their seats are, and are repulsed from time to time,
and much flurried by the insistance of the offici.ils, to the
immense delight of a seated and settled public. But in some
unkn0'.vn manner even these outcasts get stowed away some-
where, and, sharp to the time announced (for in this matter Sp.ain,
for once, is punctual), one of the four entrances to the ring is
thrown open, and the procession enters, headed by the algua-
ciles in shoit cloaks, and hats and feathers, and mounted on
capering steeds, which have evidently been subjected recently
to some of the recognised stable processes for stimulating
action. Behind them walks the primer espada, bright as a
butterfly in gay satins of his favourite colour, gold lace, and
silk stockings, followed by the other espadas in their colours,
and the sobresaliente in his ; then come the banderilleros,
a brilliant cluster, followed by the chulos, the men whose
busine'is it is to draw off, bewilder, and distract the bull, all
with their bright-lined cloaks draped picturesquely round their
shoulders. Behind them, on their sorry steeds, ride the
picadors, glorious as to the upper man in their rakish broad-
brimmed hats and gorgeous jackets, but very clumsy below in
their buff leggings, which are padded so as to make them look
more like gout or dropsy patients than bold bull-fighters.
Behind them, gaily tricked out with worsted trappings, come
the mules, whose business it is to drag out the bodies of the
slain ; and behind them, in a well-appointed arena like that of
Madrid, come the dogs, tugging and straining at their leashes,
and, dog-fashion, trying to cultivate an acquaintance with
everybody and everything within the range of their vision.
The dogs, it should be observed, are sometimes called for to
stimulate a very slack-mettled bull, whom no sense of wrongs
can rouse to vengeance, and even banderillas de fucgo fail to
exasperate.

The procession, having made obeisance before the box of

the presiiling authority, whoever he may be, files out, all but
two picadors, who take posts at ojiposite sides of the ring, and
the chulos, who station themselves at the palisade, with one
foot on the lower ledge, ready to vault over, should the bull
prove a nimble customer. The key of the toril, where the
bidls are confined, is thrown from the president's box, and
carried across by an alguacil, and a sudden .and deep silence
and stillness fall upon the whole arena. Not a fan flickers ;
not a whisper is to be heard ; of twenty thousand eyes, there
is not one — bad cases of squint, of course, excepted — which is
not fuxed on the door at which the key was delivered. A grating
sound of bolts and hinges, a p.iusc, and a rush of a black or
dun-coloured object into the middle of the plaza. Then the
tongues are unloosed, and a buzz runs round the ring. That
is criticism : they are discussing his points, those of his horns
in particular. Meanwhile Toro, brought up suddenly by the
unexpected nature of the liberty given him, wheels and stares,
and with quick turns of the head sun'eys the crowded ring with
the air of one looking out for a friend, whose face he expected
to recognise somewhere in the mass. Poor Toro ! he has come
to the wrong place for th.at. If he quits himself like a bull of
spirit, applause he will i;et without stint ; but he will descry no
Iriendly face in all that crowd — nothing but

•' Wolfish eye«.
Waiting to see him Jie."

In truth, he is a noble object, that Spanish bull. To English
eyes, accustomed to the slow mounds of meat that here repre-
sent his family, he seems at first '..»ii and small ; but he is as
fine as an antique bronze. He is built like a lion — light and
wiry behind, massive and powerful before; with broad, deep
chest ; vast neck thickly coated with musc.e ; and small, clcan-
cuu i. road-browed head, topped by a mighty pair of horns,
cuiriag brwards and upwards, and sharp as spears — veritable
" ssias, as in correct ring language they are called. But his
iji>it lit, as he stands, h?s been already taken by a master hand.

" His eyes nri; jet. ami they arc set in crystal rings of snow;
But now tliey siare with one rcil glare of brass up m the foe.
His neck is massy, like the trunk of some old knotted lie:;.
Whereon the monster's shaggy mane, like billows curled, ye see.
His legs arc short, his hams arc thick, his hoofs are black as night.
Like a strong flail he holds his tail in fierce n-ss of his might.
Like something molten out of iron, or hewn from forth the rock,
Harpailo of Xarama stands, to bide the Alcaydc's shock."*

He does not stand long, however. Failing to find a friend,
he soon spies a foe ; and, with a fierce snort, he dashes at the
nearest picador, who receives him with his garrocha on the
shoulder, and fends him off, if he can, much as a man in a
boat with a boat-hook fends off another boat This is the
crucial test. If the bull be a thoroughly good one, the wound
received only exasperates his rage, and leads to a second
charge, so fierce and determined that the poor staggering
horse, shaken by the first assault, goes down, or it may be
up, heels over head; and then the business of the after-
noon begins, and connoisseurs and critics settle themselves
in] their places, and prepare to give their minds to the
spectacle. If, however, as rather more frequently happens, the
bull is checked by his first reception, he careers over the arena
until he comes across the other picador, at whom he goes,
in the hope that he may prove less "cunning in fence"

• "The Bull-fight of GazuL" Lockhart's Spanish Ballads.

N0Ti8 ON Sl'AIN.

1*7

tlian the first ; or else, perhaps, he makes a wild dash for
freedom, and clears the barrier between the cirrus and the
narrow corridor that separates it from the spec tators. Some-
times even, by a clever "in-and-out" jump, he will get among
the public — a feat which we have seen once or twice performed
by active bulls. But, as we said in the beginning, the incidents
of the bullfight have been too often described to justify a
minute recapitulation of all the scenes in the circle ; and indeed
it must be confessed, however strange and striking those scenes
may be, the work of description would not be always agreeable.
One feature, however, wc must refer to, as it is missed in the
spirited and otherwise accurate sketches of M. Gustave Dorf.
The routine of a bull-fight is as inflexible as the laws of the
M ;des and Persians. It is a tragedy in three acts, with dis-
tmct actors in e.ich, and therefore to represent banderilleros
and picadors, or picadors and espada in the ring together,
as M. D016 has done, is a solecism of the same sort as bring-
ing on the Grave-diggers and the Ghost in Hamlet in the same
scene. The bull is first picado, met by the picadors, then
banderilleado, stuck with banderillas, the stimulus of fuego,
bandcrillas with fireworks, being applied if he has shown a
want of mettle. Then comes the last act of all, and the most
impressive, when the espada, dressed more as if for a ballet
than for a bull-fight, with the red flag in one hand, and a thin
light sword, a mere riband of steel, in the other, stands face to
face with the fierce jwnting beast, all of a glow with rage and
pain. Even the bull, in his fury, seems impressed by the
temerity of his antagonist, and stares at him with a puzzled
kind of "what now?" expression. But even this scene, im-
posing and intensely exciting as it is, has often something of
the disagreeable in it. Often the first, and the second, and
even the third thrust fails to do its work, and the gallant brute,
with the sword half buried in his body, charges madly round
the plaza before he drops, and the cachetero can put an end to
his misery. Then the trumpets blow up, the team of mules
dashes in, a rope is hitched round the horns of the carcase, and
with a whirl of dust and jubilant music out goes poor brave
Toro, and in four-and-twenty hours he is stewing in scores of
pucheros in the back lanes of the city.

Bull-fights are not, however, always such painful spectacles.
At Madrid in the off-season, and occasionally in the larger
towns, there are corridas of a less sanguinary sort, in which toros
embolados, or bulls with knobs on the points of their horns,
figure, as well as novillos, or two-year-old bulls, which are
generally incapable of inflicting severe injury on the horses.
Sometimes, too, the public is invited to enter the ring and bait
a few novillos, just for the fun of the thing. This, however, is not
necessarily a sport to be indulged in with impunity : ir one of
these encounters we saw a youth tossed three or four times in
quick succession. The landlord of the hotel, in discussing that
bull-fight the next morning, observed that it had proved a
better one than could have been expected, five horses and a
man having been killed. But if there are tragical, there are
also comic incidents. Sometimes Don Quixote and Sancho on
Rozinante and Dapple — Rozinante, it is needless to say, look-
ing the part to the life — will engage an embolado bull ; or
burlesque picadors, mounted on donkeys, will come in to
be tossed : that is to say, the donkeys come in for that purpose,
for the men, of course, always take very good care to fall off,
and get clear at the first touch of the bull. One noble jackass
we saw on such an occasion inspired us with the liveliest admira-

tion. He had been knocked down, and then jerked up into
the air, half a lozun times — .spun aloft as a boy would spin
a halfpenny, legs, cars, and tail revolving like the spokes of a
wheel, — and as he l.iy on the ground, his long gnive face wore
a most thoughtful and resolved expression. He h.id clearly
made up his mind about this sin},'ular game. Its object
appeared to be to keep him in a recumbent position. As fast
as he got upon his legs he was knocked off them ; and so he
came to the determination that, as he was down, down he
would stay, and so save trouble lo all parties, and some per-
sonal inconvenience to hims.''". And down he did stay.
When the officials with much labour raised his fore-quarters,
his hams api)eared to be afflicted with paralysis, and when they
hauled him up by the tiil, he knelt. There was nothing to be
done with him, and at last he had to be dragged out sitting,
with his legs tucked under him, shaking his long ears, and
looking the picture of stolid determination, while the plaza
rang with apjjlause at his gallant obstinacy.

Bull-fights of this sort, however, are looked down upon
by the aficionados ; and though there are generally one or two
toros de puntas, bulls whose horns are not tiijjied, and toros
de muerte, or bulls doomed to death, the genuine sportsmen
of Spain regard them with somewhat of the same contempt
that a regular opera-goer here feels for the English opera out
of the season.

One word in conclusion as to the morality of the Spanish
national pastime. We have no intention of attempting such
a hopeless task as a defence of the bull-figi.t ; but it is,
we think, unjust to set it down, as is frequently done, as
a proof of the innate cruelty of the Spanish character. It
is unquestionably a cruel sport ; but there is cruelly, more or
less, in every sport in which animals are concerned — in hunt-
ing, shooting, fishing, coursing, even in racing. It is a question
of degree ; in the bull-fight there is more suffering to the
animals engaged ; but the object is not the production of
su5"ring any more than in any of the other cases. The object
is to test pluck, endurance, address, skill, as in any other sport.
An instance may occur of actual delight in the exiubition of
suffering, as in the case mentioned by Ford, of the old lady
who called his attention to the dying horse. But that is not
the prevailing sentiment Look round the ring at Madrid, and
you will not see in anyMace a gleam of pity ; but the excite-
ment does not flow from any idea of the infliction of pain.
The fact is, that the ordinary Spaniard's mind is on this sub-
ject a iaiu/a rasa. Its condition is what Johnson would have
called " stark insensibility " to the idea of sufiiering, especially
in his fellow- creatures of the animal world. He has never
been taught, and it has never occurred to him, that the
beetle finds as great a pang as when a giant dies. He has
never been led to bestow a thought on the subject of " corporal
sufferance." If he is cruel, it is from thoughtlessness and
ignorance, like a child, not from actual pleasure in cruelty,
like a savage. The bull-fight is not the only proof of this.
Most travellers in Spain must have been shocked many a time
at the manner in which they have seen animals of all sorts
treated, from the horses and mules of the diligence, to the
wretched poultry carried to market hung in bunches, and
flung about as if they were some tough and hardy species of
vegetable ; and perhaps the commonest toy which the parents
of Spain put into the hands of their children is a live bird, to
be taken to pieces as if it were a puzzle, or a, dissected map.

128

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEI S.

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Easicf Island.

Rapa-nui, or Easter Island, as it is more commonly called, is
a solitary island in the midst of the eastern i^art of the Pacific
Ocean, in lat. 27? 10' S. and long. 109° 26' W. It is about
iii miles long, and 5 J broad, and so far out of the ordinary
track of vessels, that but little is known of it. Cook visited
the island in 1772, remaining there a few days to examine
the colossal statues which Roggewin, the Dutch navigator,
had seen, but which no one had hitherto closely inspected. At
first sight, the island presents a barren appearance ; not a tree
is to be seen, and, save the few spots planted with sweet
potato and sugar-cane, forming green patches, all is covered
with sun-dried grass. On the western side lies Cook's Bay,
where our great navigator anchored. It is opposite this bay
that the nati\e village of Angaroa lies, just above a small sandy
beach ; close to the cea are two buildings belonging to the
mission, and beyond these are the huts of the natives, about
a hundred in number. They are built of grass and reeds, of
an oval shajje, something like a boat bottom up, and are not
more than si.x feet high, with a small square hole for an entrance.
It is only within the last three years that the missionaries
have effected a landing, whites ha\ ing always been repulsed by
the natives. The first who arrived led a life of slavery for a
year, but through his perseverance and industry all the s;ivages
have become Christianised ; lately he has been joined by two
others. The natives now number not more than s-'.v hundreil
men and three hundred women. Their dress consists, in most
cases, of a girdle round their loins, sometimes with the addition
of a piece of cloth hanging loosely over their shoulders. In
their former savage state they wore large head-dresses made
of birds' feathers ; they also had necklaces of shells strung
on a piece of thread. Their food consists of sweet potato
and sugar-cane ; the only animal food they have at [iresent
is the flesh of rats, but sheep and poultry have lately been
added to their stock, and fowls have greatly increased. Water
is very scarce, there not being a stream on the island any-
where ; the supply is obtained from i)ools of rain-water formed
in the beds of the craters, of which there are three. The
largest volcano, Teranokau, is about two miles from the
village; its circular crater is about 1,700 yards across at the
top, 1,400 yards at the bottom, and about 500 feet deep;
the bottom is perfectly tiat, covered with reeds and moss, and
containing the pools where the nati\ es get their water ; the
sides slojje evenly down to the bottom, though rather steeply,
and are covered with \egetation. The other two volcanoes
are situated at each extremity of the island. The crater
of Otoo-iti at the bottom is about 300 yards in d'ameter,
and is occupied by a i)ool of water, on one side of which
are several of the gigantic images, some stan<ling erect,
others fallen down. The features are generally well chiselled ;
the largest one measures fourteen feet from the top of the
head to the chin, nine feet across the shoulders, and eighty
feet long. Outside the crater there are also a great number
of images ; in fact, there are (piantities strewn about all over
the island, but nowhere in such numbers as at Otoo-u' It
is generally supposed that these images were constructed at
a remote period by some former inhabitants of, possibly, a
different race ; the subject offers, indeed, an interesting jiro-
blcm to the ethnologist. The soil of this remote island,
though light, is fertile, and the climate is healthy.

Soitt/i Polar Lands and the Transit of Venus.

The necessity of observing the transit of the planet Venus
over the sun in 1882, from a station in a high southern lati-
tude—nearer the pole, in fact, than 72° — is already beginning
to excite discussion and action among astronomers and
geographers. The Astronomer Royal opened the subject in
a paper read before the Astronomica". Society three months
ago, and it has been taken up by Commander Davis (a
member of Sir J. Ross's memorable expedition of 1839-43),
and discussed at a meeting of the Geographical Society on
the 22nd of February. On the accurate observation of the
time of the planet's ingress on the sun's disc and egress from
it, at stations as wide apart as possible on the surface of the
earth, depends the accuracy of the astronomer's calculation of
our distance from the sun ; and the choice of stations, of
course, is limited to those parts of the earth where the sun is
sufficiently above the horizon at the iiours of occurrerce of
the phenomenon (between 2 hrs. 5 min. and <J hrs. 2 luin.,
Greenwich mean solar time), and to areas of land having a
climate likely to ensure clear skies for the observation. Two
transits of the pianet take place in a century ; the two
occurring at an interval of eight years. The first of these now
approaching is on December 8th, 1874, and the second on

I December 6th, 1882. In the transit of 187 , the position of
the planet and sun is such liiat the method of observing it
from two widely distant stations, so as to secure the widest
difference of i)arallax, cannot be carried out, owing to the
required stations being in mid-ocean; but in 1882 it happens
that the points suitable for the observation, at either side of
the earth, are on land ; one Lie: g in the northern part of
North America, and the other on the shores of the south
polar continent. The enormous difficulty of approaching
this land of perpetual ice and snow, and the little that is
known of it, give rise to doubts in the minds of the Astrono-
mer Royal whether the observations, so ardently desired by
all men of science, will be carried out. One of the positions
suggested by him is Sabrina Land, a tract of the polar
continent discovered by Balleny, in 1839, and lying due
south of Western Australia. But our knowledge of this
jiortion of the land, and of Terre Aiielie, a little further east,
discovered by Dumont d'Urville, is of the most shado\vy
nature. They were not visited by Ross; and Commander
Davis believes the coast there to trend east and west, backed
by a range of high lands which would ii.'ercept the view of
the sun, so little elevated above the horizon at ihe time of tiie
transit, from observers on the shores. Anoth.-r desirablj
station is Possession Island, much farther south, on whidi
Ross's expedition landed. This high latitude could not l.)c
reached from Van Dieman's Land or New Zealand (one of,
which must be the starting-point) in time to erect the ob-

i servatory the same summer, so that the party of savivis
must be landed the previous summer, and pass a winter in
these desolate regions. The islands off the coast abound
in ])cnguins, but the whole region lies alm.ost beyond the
zone (il vegetable life, a few scanty lichens alone co\cring
the roiks laid l)are by the brief summer thaw. Such an
expedition, of course, must be a (iovernment imdertaking,
and whether it is to become a reality or not depends on the
expr( ssed desire of the British public that so noble an enter-
prise f)o carried out.

NOTES ON SPAIN.

139

THE GATE OF THE AI.HAMBRA.

Notet

Spain. — y.

CENf.RAI. -lEW OF

JPANISII SCkNERV — B1RI)'S-EYE VIEW OF THE PENINSULA, ITS I'lIYSlCA. GEOGRAPHY ANB STRUCTURE-
TME CITIES— CAPITALS PAST AND PRESENT— INLAND, COAST, AND MOORISH CITIES.

•MrUNTAIN CHAINS-

'I'h scenery and cities of Spain constitute too large a portion
of till.- attractions tliat entice travellers across the Pyrenees to
be passed over without a note ; tliough it must be confessed,
to judge by tli^. iiii|)ressions they seem in a majority of cases to
lia\e produced, theii title to rank high among th-^ attractions
is not, in the estimation of travellers, a very strong one. The
commonest verdict about the scenery is, that it is dreary,
savage, and monotonous ; and that about the towns is, in
effect, much to the same purpose; tliat, picturcsijue as they
are, there is a sameness in their picturesqueness, and, with
much that is in tlie highest degree noble in architecture,
a large |>roportion of what is mean and commonplace. That
there is a good deal of tnitl; in this statement of the case
cannot be denied ; but, if the result is disa])pointment, it is, as
we have before pointed out, because in the case of Spain
especially people expect to find as a general rule that which is
and must be exceptional. A slight glance at the physical
geography of the Spanish peninsula will explain how it '■omcs
that, while some speak in raptures of the grand mountain
scenery, and the richness and verdure of the plains and valleys,
others seem to have had no experience but of the " tawny
Spain" of the poet, a vast Sahara of bare, burnt-up steppes.
Looking at any tolerably well-executed map of Spain and
Portugal, and at a proper distance for generalisation, it will
be seen that the framework, or rather the skeleton, on which
the mass of the peninsula hangs, is, roughly speaking, a
T-shai)ed structure ; the horizontal part being the Pyrence-^
their continuation, the long range that under various

north-western corner, in Oalicia ; the stem, or down stroke,
being represented by an irregular mountain chain, which
branches off from the other a little beyond the point where the
Pyrenees proper end, and, with many bends, but on the whole
a due south direction, runs down to the Mediterranean. This
latter is the backbone of Spain, and the watershed of the
streams that flow into the Atlantic on one side and into the
Mediterranean on the other. It varies considerably in height, at
one part rising, according to some measurements, to almost 9,000
feet, in the Moncayo near the junction of Old Castile, Navarre,
and Arragon, while in others it is not much more than a third
of that height. It is, however, rather a central ridge than a
mountain range rising above the surface of the country, for, in
many places on the eastern side and most on the western, the
ground slopes away with a gentle declivity ; so that, if it were
possible to take a bird's-eye or balloon view of the entire
peninsula, it would be seen to resemble somewhat the roof of
a house, or an open book lying face downwards on a table.
It will be observed, also, that this range or ridge divides the
peninsula into two very unequal proportions ; that while on
the western side the Atlantic coast descends in a line parallel
with the ridge, on the eastern the Mediterranean coast-line
inclines inwards towards it, and meets it at the south-eastern
angle at the Cabo de Gata. Thus there is a square on the
left-hand side of the T, and a triangle on the right ; conse-
quently, the declivity on the right, or east, side is greater
towards the lower angle of the triangb than that on the other
side, and the warm winds and clouds coming from the Mediter-
names runs parallel to the Bay of Biscay and terminates in the ranean are soon intercepted, and as they rise to cross the
vot.. I. ly

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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barrier are robbed of their moisture, which falls back towards
the coast. Hence it is in this angle that we find the garden of
Spain, that luxuriant strip of country that extends from Murcia
up to Catalonia, in vegetation the richest and most varied tract
in Europe, where everything seems to flourish, the date-palm,
the pomegranate, the carob, the aloe, and the cactus, as well as
the plants and fruit trees more properly belonging to the
temperate zone. To this strip may be added what in reality is
its continuation- -the narrow border running westwards to
Malaga. For, though for clearness sake we have described
the stem of the T as ending at the Cabo de Gata, it in
truth bends to the left and finishes in a becoming flourish with
the lordly Sierra Nevada, the Ronda mountains, and Gibraltar.
With the other, the western side of the ridge, the case is
very different. There the winds from the Mediterranean arrive
desiccated in their ascent ; while those which come from the
Atlantic have to travel some hundred of miles up-hill, shedding
their moisture as they go. Portugal takes heavy toll of them
as they pass, and consequently Spain is left high and dry.
There is, therefore, stretching across the peninsula nearly from
north to south a broad belt of the most rainless country in
Europe, except perhaps seme parts of Russia. Nature having
done so much, man has given a helping hand. The Spaniard's
carelessness and even dislike of trees has denuded the moun-
tain side of the forests which, as we can see by the samples left
on the Guadarrama Sierra and on one or two other spots, have
once covered them more or less completely. There are no
sponges to retain, no reservoirs to catch and gradually distri-
bute such rain as does fall, and it can only roll off" the pent-
house roof by those great natural gutters, the Douro, the Tagus,
the Guadiana, and the Guadalquivir. Those rivers themselves,
••■ ; ■ . U the story plainly enough. They suggest a life alter-
ii.'.iin .• ■•<.' r'cen drought and flood ; for the most part, either
wandeni g over vast expanses of gravel, or else rolling along
; -A- .1 steep high banks, in deep troughs cut by the force of
rushing waters. So it comes that, while on the one side there
is a rich moist country teeming with vegetable life in every
form, on the other there is a country, not indeed barren, for it
yields corn, wine, and oil in abuntlance, but parched and bare
to the eye, with little vegetation except wheat, vines, and
olives, a true " Belad-el-jard," a dry and stri[)ped country. It
is scarcely an exaggeration to say that a traveller crossing
the middle of the peninsula from north to south might count
the trees he will pass between the Bidassoa and the Bay of
Cadiz ; or at least from the moment when, issuing from the
Pyrenean defiles, he leaves behind the green woody Basque
country, and enters upon the genuine tawny Spain by the plain
of Vittoria, until, approaching the sea, he comes within sight of
the hills of Jerez. Beyond Valladolid he will see some stone-
pines, with their round green heads dotting the great yellow
expanse across which the railway stretches. Turning a corner
of the Guadarrama mountains, he comes upon a few stunted
firs together with some masses of more refreshing foliage about
the Escorial, Madrid has some instances of what, for the
nonce, may pass for trees, in the Royal Park, in the Buen
Retiro, and along the line of the Prado ; but there is not one
between it and that patch of greenery at .\ranjuez, about which
the Spaniartls (and who can blame them ?) brag as if there were
no other trees and water in the universe, and in which they
revel, wallow, one may say, like the hippopotamus in his tank.
And then, except for an evergreen oak or elm or two on th ".

sides of the Sierra Morena, there arc no more all the v/ay
across La Mancha and through Andalusia, down the valley
of the Guadal<iuivir. There are, to be sure, plenty of olives
along the banks of " that sweet river," as Lord Byron called it
It is, in sober truth, about the most monotonous, muddy, and
generally ugly stream in Europe, and at Seville — where Don
Juan to lave his youthful limbs was wont — usually the reverse
of sweet But, " such tricks hath s trong imagination," that it
gives "deep blue eyes" to the pe-.^ant girls of the Rhine;
mounts the picadors at the bull-fight on "gallant stetds ;" and
sends out the corse of t'le bull " piled high " upon a " d°co-
rated car." Olives, however, cannot be allowed to < luu- is
trees; and, not countii g them, all the trees tlie ;ra/tl. .•.;)i
see on either side of he road during that jou-; ■ ' . ,;'-^ .*
750 miles might be enclosed within the limits o: ivcnsicgtoD.
Gardens without overcrcwding.

The secondary mountain chains must not, however, be
omitted in the bird's-eye view. Of these, it will be seen, the "e
are four, branching oflf from the central stem in a westerly or
rather south-westerly direction, and dividing the slope into as
many compartments. The first is the great Castilian chain
which springs from the Monrayo above-mentioned, and under
the various names of the Guadarrama, Gredos. Bejar, Gata,
and Estrella Sierras, divides Old Castile from New, the province
of Salamanca from Estremadura, and crosses Portugal to the
Atlantic. The next is the range made up of the Sierras of
Toledo and Guadalupe, separating the basin of the Tagus from
that of the Guadiana. Then comes the long line of Sierra
Morena between the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir, and
forming the northern boundary of Andalusia ; and, lastly, there
is that compound chain which, as we said before, is more pro-
perly the termination of the main ridge than a branch from it,
the Sierra Nevada, the Sierra Tejeda, and the confused moun-
tain mass of the Serrania of Ronda.

Of these, the three first are crossed iti the course of the
journey described above, but the passage aflbrds but little '..re
mountain scenery. The old road from V'^alladolid, across the
Guadarrama, by Segovia and San Ildefonso, rising in zigzags
through the great pine forest, and topping the barrier at one of
its grandest and boldest parts, had in this respect a great
advantage o\er the modem railway line, which, taking advan-
tage of the dislocations of the chain, merely winds along
slopes strewed with granite blocks, and lands the traveller in
front of the Escorial without having given him any one of the
sensrtions due to the crossing of a great mountain ran^i
The truth is that, though the positive elevation of these
mountains is very considerable — the culminating point of this
portion, the Pefialara, is said to be 8,500 feet, and is, probably,
not much less— their height rclat'vel) V' the plain or slope
out of which they vise is ■loi: Kf'-^'' ' ^^'^ *o*n o*^ Avila, a
little beyond which the ro ....-y begif-, '.:. -.scent, is already
some .^500 feet above the sea level, t<vo or tnree hundred feet
higher than Chamouni ; and tiie Eseorial on the other side,
where tlie plateau of New Castile commences, is very little
lower, so that there is here very little elevation to be got over.
Further on to the west the chain does indeed assume the
features of a lofty mountain range, where, while the plain
slopes away towards the sea, the mountains rise in height,
reaching, in the Picos de tiredos and Sierra de Bejar, to about
10,000 feet, and, though •'ot actually snow-capped, preserving
snow in considerable quantities all the year round. It is the

NOTES ON SPAIN.

13'

same with the other chains. Indeed, at the point where the high
road to Andalusia and the railroad pass it, the elevation of the
second of the four above-mentioned ranges is not even perceptible
to the eye. Far away to the right the Toledo Sierra may be
seen, but here the mountains, to use the expressive phrase
of French pliysical geography, "s'(ffaceiit feu d pen dans U
grand plateau" and there is nothing to mark the line of their
ridge but a few gentle undulations that are liot even hills. The
passage of the Sierra Morena uy the fine wild gorge of the
Despefiaperros is certainly not deficient in grandeur, but the
pass is not on such a scale as to enable the traveller to realise
the fact that he is crossing a mountain barrier some 6,000 feet
high. Even the Sierra Nevada itself, the loftiest of all the
Spanish mountains, and, next to the Alps, of all the mountains
in Europe, fails to convey a true idea of its height, for the
elevation of the Vega of Granada, from which it is usually
seen, robs it of about 2,500 feet of its stature.

It will be seen, therefore, that the traveller passing through
the heart of Spain by the ordinary beaten track will see little to
justify the eulogiums he has heard passed on Spanish scenery,
and much to confirm any previous ideas he may have had about
the bareness, bleakness, and monotony of the country. Not that
there is not a certain grim grandeur about these vast lifeless
plains. To the eye accustomed to the green rolling landscapes
of England there is even a kind of charm, for a time at least,
in the boundless, treeless, tanned expanses of Central Spain.
For varied scenery he must extend his wanderings, and pene-
trate into the nooks and corners of the peninsula ; for, though
Spain is, after Switzerland, the most mountainous country in
Europe — being, as we have already shown, properly all one
mountain — the Spanish mountains are not like the Swiss.
They do not come to meet the tourist wherever he may choose
to wander ; if he wants them he must do as Mohammed did.
The search will frequently be attended with some degree of
personal inconvenience, and perhaps it is, on the whole, a
quest in which those who have an insuperable repugnance to
what is generally understood by the phrase " roughing it," had
bc.ter abstain from engaging. But any one who can endure
occasional rough travelling and rough lodging will find abun-
dant compensation. The Sjjanish side of the Pyrenees, for
instance, is in many respects better worth the attention of the
lover of mountain scenery than the French. The differences
between the two sides are very considerable. The Spanish is
much less wooded than the French, nor have the valleys so
much of that deep ravine-like character which prevails on the
north. The " cirque " fomiation also, which in two or three
places is such a striking feature in the scenery of the P'rench
Pyrenees, is hardly at all represented on the Spanish side. On
the other hand, the mountain forms are much bolder and more
imposing, the valleys grander and more tortuous, and the views
more extensive. Besides which, it is on the Spanish side that
the highest summits of the Pyrenees are found, rising out of
spurs which project southwards from the main chain, and here
also are to be founil all the glaciers that deserve the name, that
of the Vignemale excciited.

The i)rolongation of the Pyrenees to the westward, by what
is sometimes called the Cantabrian chain, contains also some
of the finest scenery in Spain. The mountains are indeed less
elevated, approaching the height of only 10,000 feet in one or
two jjlaces, as in the Picos de Europa, between Santander and
Oviedo, and consequently have no snow or glacier beauties to

boast of. But they abound with glens and valleys of a beauty
equal to, if not surpassing, that of those belonging to the
Pyrenees proper, and their proximity to the sea has in most
parts clothed their sides with a wonderfully rich and varied
foliage. The narrow strip of country lying along the shore of
the Bay of Biscay, and made up of the Basque provinces,
Santander, the Asturias, and Galicia, is in fact in some degree
the complement of that other strip above-mentioned, stretching
along the Mediterranean coast, and the same causes have
produced the same effects, the difference being that due to the
dift'erence of latitude, and of Atlantic and Mediterranean
influences. In the one case we have date palms, pomegra-
nates, and carobs ; in the others, oak and walnuts, apples and
pears. On the one side the gardens of Damascus ; on the
other the hills of Devonshire. The passage, too, from this
coast country into the interior illustrates what has been already
said about the structure and features of Central Spain. The
high road, for instance, from Oviedo to Leon mounts up-hill for
about five and twenty miles to the Puerto de Pajares, the latter
part ascending by zig-zags, like those of the Simplon or St.
Gothai-d, and all, except the last thousand feet or so, through
a richly-wooded country. Arrived at the puerto the traveller
sees spread out before him, and almost on a level with him,
the vast plain of Leon, stretching away apparently to infinity —
a great yellow expanse without a sign of verdure, except some
lines of poplars in the far distance, which mark the site of the
city of Leon. There are a few miles of very gradual descent,
and then commences the great plateau, or rather slope, of
Central Spain. The Castilian chain, though not uniformly a
grand mountain range, has here and there its intervals of
grandeur, as above San Ildefonso, and further on in the neigh-
bourhood of Bejar and Plasencia. In the main ridge of the
Peninsula there is at least one portion affording scenery of a
high order ; that intricate knot of mountains in the Cuenca
district, about half way between Madrid and Valencia in a
straight line, where the Tagus takes it rise. But perhaps, on
the whole, the grandest and most varied mountain scenery in
Spain is in the lower part, the westerly bend formed by the
Sierra Nevada and its continuation to the Straits of Gibraltar.
Indeed, the whole of upper Andalusia, the region included by
the old Moorish kingdom of Jaen and Granada, is a rugged
highland country, a fit stronghold for a race of mocmtaineers
like the Berbers ; and in this respect it presents a strong con-
trast to the flat dreary plains of Cordova and Seville. Fine as
is the view of the Sierra Nevada from Granada, it gives no idea
of the scenery that lies hidden in its inmost recesses, among tlie
precipices overhanging the glacier source of the Genii, and in
the wild valleys of the Alpujarras, where eternal snow glitters
above, while oelow lies the blue Mediterranean, fringed with
the vegetation of the tropics. Here, and in the range that runs
on to Malaga, and in that wonderful network of mountains,
the Serrania of Ronda, is some of the fines* mountain scenery,
not only in Spain, but in Europe ; scenery, too, of a sort that
has no other example in Europe, for it is here that " Europe
and Afric on each other gaze," and there is in these mountains
a distinct reflection of the rich glow, as well as of the fierceness
and savageness of Africa.

The summary we have given will perhaps serve to show
what travellers who adhere to the beaten tracks have to expect
in the way of scenery, and also, to some extent, v.hat there is
to be seen by those who choose to diverge from them. A word

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

or two must now be devoted to the cities of Spain, considered
from the same summary or bird's-eye point of view. Madrid is,
of course, for many reasons, tlie city of S])ain of which foreigners
sec most, and from whicii they take most of their impressions
about Si)anish towns, and it is unfortunate that it should be so. It
is not merely that the capital is not a good representative S])anish
town. That may be said of Barcelona, for instance. But if
Harcelona is not strictly .S])anish in aspect, it is thoroughly
Catalan, and full of distinctive charac : whUe Madrid is
wholly characterless, being, in fiict, a kin. > 'rcl town,

very mu(h like the coat of the modern M- landy, in

which you have the French cut imitated in Sp.. . materials
by a Spanish tailor. There is nothing dignified, picturescjuc,
venerable, or even resjjectable about Madrid. From a distance.

possessing a capital as noble in site as in pedigree. The pre-
sent little city on its rocky peninsula would of course have
been insulTicient, but it would have made a magnificent cita-
del or ar.\, while half the development that has been thrown
away upon Madrid wouUl have sufficed to supplement it with
the most grandly planted city in Europe. ^Vith that bold curve
of beetling rock sweejjing round it on the south crowned with
buildings, the gorge between spanned by lofty bridges, the
glorious cathedral cleared of the incrustations that have formed
round a;id hide its base, and for a royal palace the great Alcazar
towering high above the Tagus, Toledo would have made a
capital that Spain would have gloried in and Europe envied.

The true capital, however, of the Peninsula would, of
course, have been Lisbon, had the luiion with Portugal lasted.

indeed, and from one or two jioints of view, such as that on
the north side, where the Royal Palace and Park form the fore-
ground of the picture, the city does look rather imposing. A
stranger, too, is apt to be taken at first by the famous Puerta
del Sol and the Calle de Alcalii and the Carrera de S.tn Gero-
nimo, about which there is at first sight a certain kind of state-
liness, and jjcrhaps be will think the line of the Prado, all
things considered, a ver)' fiilr imitation of the Chamjis I'.lysfces.
liut he will probably find in the end a strong flavouring of the
commoni)lace jiervading these and the other more ambitious
efforts of Madrid at metropolitan magnificence. There is, to
be sure, one portion of the ( ity whii h will find favour in the
eye of the artist, the fine old Plaza Mayor, the Calle dc Toledo,
and one or two of the olfler streets in that neighbourhood ; but,
i 1 general, the back streets of Madrid arc mean as the great
[horouglifatcs and aristo( ralii parts are conimonpkK c. Most
I eople who visit Toledo after Madrid will lament the fickleness
or wilfiilness of Charles V. that robbed Spain of the clwuue of

Toledo has the advantages of a (cntral position, prestige,
historical associations, venerable anticpiity, and a lordly site ;
but nil these wouhl scarcely have counterbalanced the com-
manding situation of Lisbon and its land-locked port, where all
the navies of the world might ride within a cable's length of the
city. A'alladolid is another of the cx-capitals of Spain, but
without any of the claims of Toledo. It is, however, im-
mensely superior to Madrid, even in situation, which is its
weakest ))oint. Valladolid is a good si)ecimen of the genuine
old Spanish city— the city of the central provinces; a city
which has everywhere about it an unmistakable air of having
seen better days, by no means melancholy, only grave, and with-
out mu< h light-hearted disjilay in the way of colour or elaborate
architectural ornamentation. Of these the old Spanish cities
arc somewhat sparing, as far as their own private adornment is
concerned, being, fi)r the most part, massive and severe rather
than light or grac eful in architecture ; but they bestow it freely
on the Church, as may be seen in the cases of Burgos, Leon,

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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Salamanca, Avila, and Segovia. Cadiz and the Mediterranean
coast cities, Malaga, Alicante, Valencia, and Barcelona, wear a
very different aspect, partly owing to the difference of climate,
partly to commerce, which has kept them free from the rust
that has settled upon the old-fashioned towns of the interior.
They are brighter and more lively, more cosmopolitan in style,
and less stately, sombre, and dignified. Another group of
cities, distinct from both of these, is that of the Moorish cities
of Andalusia, of which the best representatives are, perhaps,
the capitals of the four kingdoms, Seville, Cordova, Jaen, and
Granada. Here the prevailing tone is that of the true Oriental
city, with its narrow winding streets, adapted to the wants of
pedestrians and horsemen only, and full of contrivances to keep
out the rays of the sun and the prying eyes of humanity, with
awnings overhead stretched from roof to roof, small jealous-
looking grated windows, and narrow doors, through which, as

you pass, you catch a glimpse of the cool shady patio inside,
with its shrubs and galleries. The chief architectural ornaments
of tiiese cities are, of course, chietly Spanish. The crowning
ornament of Seville, it is true, is the beautiful minaret of the
Giralda, which now does duty as the belfry of the cathedral ;
but the Moors rarely bestowed any pains upon the outside of
their buildings. To look at the studiously unpromising ex-
terior of the great mosque at Cordova, or of the Aliiambra,
the tower of Comarcs, and the Casa Real, no one unused to
the ways of Moorish architects could suspect the existence of
the world of beauty that lies inside. A description of these,
however, does not belong to our plan. A score of books,
not to speak of the exhaustive pages of Ford, have made
every reader familiar with the relics of Moorish art scattered
through Andalusia ; and our object has been merely to give a
general view of Spain and of some of the Cosas de Espaha.

Oveylaud Route to the Pacific through British America.

The approach towards completion of the Unit( States trunk
line of railway across the continent, to connect New York with
San Francisco, naturally draws attention to the facilities for
a similar inter-oceanic route on British soil. The territories
lying between the new dominion of Canada and British
Columbia have been subjected to a succession of scientific
surveys for that purpose, and the Inter-colonial line, now in
the hands of the contractors, will form no inconsiderable
portion of such a line. The Inter-colonial (with its continua-
tion, the Grand Trunk, now running) will establish railway
communication between the Atlantic and the Great Lakes.
Thus the traveller, landing at Halifax, will find himself within
a day's distance of Ottawa, the political capital of the Cana-
dian Confederation. Arriving at Ottawa, he may now, under
present arrangements, proceed on to Chicago by Grand Trunk ;
and thence to the shores of the Pacific by the United States '
line, whose completion is promised within the present year. \
Of course, it is a question for consideration whether this '
combination of Canadian and United States lines of railway,
now or very soon to be in complete working order, would
not seem sufficient, for a period, for communication between
our Atlantic and Pacific settlements, as well as for such
through traffic across the American continent as we may need
for China, Japan, and our own Australasian colonies. How- j
ever, as the practicability of an overlanJ route, purely on '•
British soil, has been the subject of much discussion, we i
devote a i^\^ words to the geographical fcaturei of the country ;
lying between Ottawa and the British portion of the Pacific
seaboard. The general ojjinion appears to be in favour of
such a route breaking off from existing railway lines at Ottawa.
A still longer adherence to the Grand Trunk system has been
suggested, but without attaining much general concurrence.

Proceeding due west from Ottawa, we reach, at about 200
miles' distance, the boundaries of the new dominion, and
enter upon the vast territories of the Hudson's Bay Company.
These 200 miles lie through the least inviting portion of
the whole of the British Confederation. This belt of country,

knowTi under the title of the Laurentides, and which, from
its geological formation, has added a well-known name to
the science (the Laurential formation), commences with the
northern shores of the St. Lawrence, proceeds for some dis-
tance in a westerly course, and then sweeps round towards
the north, in the direction of the Polar regions, finally entering
within the Arctic Circle. It presents a rugged, infertile
surface, broken into countless watery wastes of lake, pool,
and marsh. In the great abundance of most excellent agri-
cultural and pastoral lands lying on each side of it, there is
little probability of the belt of the Laurentides being the scene
of any immediate settlement. They are rich, however, in
mineral wealth, which, as they fonn the northern shores of
Lakes Huron and Superior, now finds its way to the Atlantic
seaboard by water communication. This traffic a railway
route would, doubtless, divert into its own channel. For
their own sakes, however, the Laurentides are very unlikely
to call for railway communication, and their probability of
obtaining it must depend on other and ulterior induce-
ments. Beyond the Laurentides we are upon the chartered
territory of the Hudson's Bay Company. The boundaries
between company and colony have never been very clearly
defined. The original charter of Charles II., graiiling to
"the Company of Adventurers of England'" this portion of
the American continent, conferred upon them " all lands
watered by streams flowing into Hudson's Bay." Now
the whole of the continent to the north of the Un'ted
States boundary line forms a continuous network of streams,
lakes, and springs, more or less connecteil with and flowing
into each other. Accordingly, an extreme interpretation of the
Company's title might cause it to overlie the whole of British
teiritor)- ; and, at periods, such an interpretation was certainly
put upon the charter ; and, as practical assertion of it, the
" forts " and " houses " of the Company are still to be found in
v,arious portions of the new dominion, from whence they stretch
to the shores of the Pacific and its islands. The resumption by
the Crown, however, of such prodigious slices as Vancouver

~i,

OVERLAND ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC.

Island and British Columbia from the Company's hunting
grounds, and their erection into British colonies in 1858, have
established a precedent for Parliamentary interference. The
Company now intimates its willingness to cede the whole of
its remaining possessions for fair compensation, and the deter-
mining this compensation, with its mode of payment, is under-
stood to be the only impediment to throwing open the whole
soil of British America to colonisation.

Proceeding 500 miles north-west through the Company's
territory, the confines of Red River settlement are reached, on
which it is necessary to say a few words. After leaving the
Laurentides behind, the whole aspect of the country begins to
assume an ap])earance of fertility and attractiveness. With the
Red River settlement we enter on the great fertile belt, which
presents so marked a contrast to the regions to the north and
south of it On the south there is the arid midland desert of
the United States, on the north the tract of " strong woods,"
marsh grounds, and ice-bound morasses, which thence stretches
to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. This fertile belt consists of
a rich, deep vegetable mould, in which most beautiful prairie
country alternates with the finest English park scenery. The
chief drawback to Red River colonisation has been the labour
and expense of communication with the seaboard settlements,
under which this singular little community, originally planted in
the heart of the continent by the Earl of Selkirk, with the hardy
inhabitants of the Orkney and Shetland Isles, on territory pur-
chased from the Hudson's Bay Company, has languished now
for some half century. Canadian communication cannot be
said to exist at all, and, hitherto, dealings have been with the
United States by way of Minnesota. There are vast wheat
lands and illimitable pasture plains ; but, in the absence of
markets, the farmer has been obliged to bum his superabundant
crops, and cattle increase to very little purpose. A bush track
is now in course of construction from Canada to Red River
settlement, which will confer considerable advantages on its
inhabitants. These advantages would, of course, be increased
beyond measure by railway communication with the seaboard.

From Red River settlement the fertile belt proceeds at an
average breadth of 200 miles until it strikes the base of the
Rocky Mountain range ; throughout its progress it is readily
available for an inter-oceanic route. At its western extremity
it undergoes a further extension toward the norlh, throughout
the Lrge district drained by the Peace River and its tributaries.
Though lying in higher latitudes, this extension of the fertile
belt preserves all its chief characteristics of fertility, salubrity,
and highly picturesque appearance. Hitherto, however, its
distance from the farthest advance of settlement, in the heart of
a vast continent, has left its solitudes untouched, save by the
explorer and the servants of the Company. With the discovery
of the Cariboo gold mines in British Columbia, on the other
side of the Rocky Mountains, the capabilities of the Peace
River district for settlement to supply the Cariboo markets was
considerably discussed ; but as yet no appearance of colonisa-
tion has been the result With the Rocky Mountain range,
the termination of the Hudson's Bay Company's possessions is
reached, and we enter on British Columbia.

At the base of the Rocky Mountain range, commence in
earnest, as may be readily supposed, the real difficulties of an
inter-oceanic railway route. The range rises abruptly from the
])lain on its Canadian side, and no actual break or gap exists
in its stupendous wall, The various passes hitherto from time

to time discovered, are either mere depressions of the culmina-
ting ridge, or long, tortuous, intricate, and sunless gorges,
through which the various streams of the range, after sweep-
ing through several hundred miles of mountain valley, bend
their courses to the great chartered territory below. The
former of these two kinds, or pa.sses proper, are all more or
less steep in their own incline, several miles long, and not free
from a considerable depth of snow during six or eight months
of the year. The United States route is somewhat fortunate
in its pass, for, though attaining to a high elevation (7,000 feet
above sea level), yet the rise is so gradual as to be unperceived
by the traveller until he reaches the highest point. No such
pass has been found to exist on British territory, where, though
the elevations are generally less, the incline is more rapid.
The Peace River Pass, though the nearest to the Cariboo gold
field, is protracted and toilsome, and has long been regarded
as the most difficult of all the " portages " to be surmounted by
the servants of the Company in their f.' ."lent intercourse
between its Atlantic and Pacific hunting r;rounds. Of the
various other passes, which late explorations have brought to
light, opinion appears to be generally in favour of the Yellow
Head Pass, in lat 52° 54'. It is the most considerable gap yet
discovered in the range, rising only to the height of 3,760 feet;
and there are other considerations in its favour which we shall
endeavour to explain as briefly as possible.

Having crossed the range, the great question remains —
what portion of the Pacific coast are we to direct our steps to ?
The port of New Westminster, the capital of the colony,
might appear, at first sight, the most desirable. A slight
examination, however, of the territories on which we have
now entered, will be found not to bear out this view. British
Columbia possesses a Pacific seaboard of 500 miles long, in a
direclion nearly due north and south. The Eraser, on the
banks of which New Westminster stands, discharges its waters
at the extreme southern extremity ; the bulk of the population,
all the mining activity, and much, it would appear, of the
agricultural resources of the settlement, lie toward its northern
extremity. A route from Yellow Head Pass, or any other
neighbouring pass, to New Westminster, could not be
accomplished under 600 miles. A route from Yellow Head
Pass to the nearest Pacific port of the settlement need not
exceed 200 miles. But this is very far from all the disad-
vantages under which New Westminster labours. In the first
place, its site is fifteen miles from the mouth of the Eraser, which
at its entrance is not free from shifting banks and shoals ; and
though New Westminster could be made accessible to the
ordinary coasting trade at no very considerable expenditure of
labour and capital, yet it would always remain objectionable as
a port for the great ocean-going vessels, with which, it may be
reasonably expected, the Pacific v ' I, at no very distant period,
be amply furnished. In the se jnd place, the nature of the
country from the shores of the Pacific to the culminating ridge
of the Rocky Mountains is not favourable to such a route,
while highly suggestive of shortening all unnecessary distances.
Indeed, it is doubtful whether any very satisfactory means of
communication could be opened between New Westminster
and the interior, either for steam or horse power. Midway
between coast and range runs a secondary range, known as the
Cascade Range. The land rises abruptly from the seaboard
until the summit of the Cascade Range is reached, beyond
which there is a level and fertile plain to the foot of the Rocky

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

.\roiintains. A desirable pass through the Cascade Range
appeured even more diliieiilt of attainmeiU than a Rocky
Mountain pass ; and certainly none is known to exist as far
south as the latitude of New Westminster. The most feasible

pass hitherlo discovered is tiiat known as tile Cliilcoatin Pass, of as an ocean p(jrt

traced by .Mr. \. Waddington, now representing the interests of
British Columbia in this country. T lie Chilcoatin I'ass leads
by a level valley to the head of Bute Inlet, on the Pacific,
eighty-four miles distant. Bute Inlet is very favourably spoken

i.r.

■'■■'" r

A JArANESE GOVERNOR.

A European Sojourn in "Japan.

FROM THK FRKNCH OF .M. AIm6 HUMBERT, SWISS MINISTER IN JAPAN.

At daybreak, on the 26tli of .\i)ril, 1863, on board the Dutch ;
corvette, VUc-Admiidl Koopman, I caught sight of the six
small mountainous islands which look like outposts of the
Gulf of Yeddo. One of them, Myakesima, is remarkable for
a lofty and broad jieak covered with perpetual snow. The sun
soon rose on the horizon, and presented, through the sea fog, ]
the appearance of the crimson globe, which, depicted on a 1
white ground, forms the national arms of Japan. Its first

Yeddo. The Americans obtained permission from the Govent-
ment to form a settlement here in 1854. Subsequently the road-
stead was destroyed by an eartlujuake, and this town was not
included in the treaty of 1858. Along the coast we perceived
a number of fishing boats, and some larger vessels coming
from Nippon and the surrounding islands. This animated
picture presents a remarkable h .rony of colouring ; the sky
is of a dazzling azure, and the s. i, iio longer of that dark blue

rays lighted up the point of Cajie Idsu, on the mainland of | colour which shows a great depth of water, is of a green shade,
Nippon, on the larboard, while, on the north-east, we saw the | and possesses that peculiar limpidity which characterises the
smoke ascending from the two craters of the island of Ohosima. rocky coasts ofjipan. The islands clothed in the brilliant
The town of Sinioda, at the extremity of a little bay in the | foliage of spring, the dark brown rocks brightened by streaks
])romontory of Idsu, is the first, but least important, of the of ochre, contrasting with the white sails of the native vessels,
seats of commerce which is met in ascending the Gulf of , the snows of Myakt^sima, and the smoking crater of Ohosima,

A KUROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

combine to form a most charming picture. After passing the
volcanic island, on which we observed woodeil hills, and even
some cultivated fields and villages, we doubled Cape Saganii
and entered a narrow chan.\el called the Uraga Canal.
Uraga is the town which Commodore Perry visited with his
scjuadron in 1853. The American envoy explained the object
of his mission to the delegates of the Japanese .government,

and the western world. The recollection of this successful
mission is preserveil in the names of the various places which
we [Kissed. Above Uraga is Suscjuehanna liny ; opiiosite, on
the eastern coast, there is Cape Saratoga ; and higher up, on
the western side, Mississippi l!ay ; these three names being
those of the i)rincii)al vessels which formed the .American
S(|uadron. Perry ami Webster Islands, on the west coast,

I
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JAPANESE GROOMS (I)£toS).

and gave them a lettter for the Tycoon, with which the
President of the United States had entnisted him, informing
them at the same time that he would return for an answer the
following year. On his second visit, in 1854, he resisted the
attemi)ts of the governor of Uraga to detain him before that
port, and pressed on with his scjuadron towards Yeddo ; but
not wishing to outrage the nation.al susceptibilities, he cast
anchor eight miles to the south of the capital. Six weeks
later, on the 31st of March, 1854, he signed the treaty of
Kanagawa, which inaugurated nc ■ relations between Japan

VOL. I.

perpetuate the fame of the commodore of the expedition
and of the celebrated secretary of state who was its originator.
Opposite Cape Saratoga there is a sand bank, which has been
the cause of many disasters, and reduces the navigable channel
to six miles in width. We soon entered the Bay of Yeddo,
which gradually extends to the north-east and south-west until
it is about thirty miles in length, and terminates in a semi-
circle of twenty-two miles in diameter from east to west, on
which is situated the immense capital of Japan. It was at
Mississippi liay that we first saw the summit of Fusi-Yama,

tamxs

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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I! •'

'I 1

" the unparalleled mountain," an extinct volcano which rises
to the height of 12,450 feet above the sea. It is about fifty
nautical miles from the western coast of the bay, anil com-
pletely isolated, with the exception of the chain of hills of
Akoni at its base. It is almost impossible to describe the
effect of this enormous, solitary pyramid, covered with snow.
It gives an air of great solemnity to the landscapes of the
Riy of Yeddo, which independently of this are of a sterner
character than those of the gulf. This is caused by the
closer proximity of the two shores, the slightly muddy ap-
pearance of the water, and the nurr'r ;:■ of cedars, pines, and
other gloomy-looking trees which crest the hills along the
banks.

At last we doubled Treaty Point, a picturesque promon-
tory, where the agreement was signed between Commodore
I'erry and the Tycoon's deputies ; and then the town of
Yokohama, extending along a marshy shore, and enclosed
on the south and west by wooded hills, burst suddenly on
our sight. About twenty ships of war and merchant vessels
of various countries were riding in the harbour, nearly opposite
the Frank quarter, which we recognised by its white houses
and the flags of the various consulates. Some native junks
were anchored at a little distance from the pier head and
custom-house stores. We steamed slowly past the Japanese
city, the houses in which, with the exception of some of
the warehouses, are of wood, and appear to consist of only
one storey above the ground-floor.

When we arrived at the Benten quarter, situated at the
end of the beach, and at the mouth of a large river, our
vessel selected an anchorage near the Dutch legation, which
was at that time the only European dwelling in that part of
the native town. I disembarked the following morning, and
my kind host, M. de Polsbroek, consul-general, installed me
in the detached building which he occupied himself. The
Dutch residence in Benten was built by the Japanese govern-
ment, which took advant;ige of the opportunity to solve an
interesting international problem, namely, the suitability of
native architecture to the wants of a civilised people. The
principal building forms a long square composed of two high
walls, with gables on the east and west, and two long, low
side-fronts on ihe north and south. They are built partly
of bricks and partly of wood and clay. A spacious wooden
verandah, like those of the Swiss chalets, surrounds the north,
east, and west sides, and is intersected at each front by a
graceful portico leading to the garden. Every room in the
house opens on this verandah with glass folding-doors, which
take the place of windows. There are four of these doors
on the east side, which is entirely occupied by the sitting-
room, and eight on the north. The principal entrance is on
the west front. It opens into a wide, lofty corridor, leading
to the sitting-room, and communicating with the other apart-
ments, which are all independent of each other, having each
two doors, one opening into the corridor, and the other into
the verandah. The south side contains the kitchen, pantry,
cellar, and several bed-chambers and bath-rooms. The lofti-
ness of the ceilings, and the size of the lobby and kitchen,
secure a free circulation of air. The light is a good deal
intercepted by the verandah ; but this is remedied, to some
extent, by the number of glass doors. Such was the ground-
floor of our dwelling at Benten ; and, in fact, the whole of
it, for the rest of the immense structure consisted of a com-

plicated roof, the framework of which was quite hollow, with-
out garrets, attics, or skylights. The object of this style of
architecture, peculiar to Japan, is to enable the largest build-
ings, such as temples and palaces, to resist the .shocks of
earthquakes and the frightful hurricanes known bv the name
of typhoons. A zigzag staircase ascends the outside of the
roof on the south side, and leads to the top of the building,
on which there is a terrace. From this airy observatory
we have often watched the arrival of the packet with the
European mail. And when the jiroverbial dilatoriness of the
Japanese government has condemed us to whole months of
inaction, we have ascended there, and imagined ourselves
passengers on board a becalmec. vessel. Yet, when we cast
a glance upon the harbour, with its squadron of foreign ships,
and on the European city in cdurse of construction, we felt
that the great work of opening Japan to the world was making
a real, if slow progress.

The house which I have jjst described «'as inhabited by
four persons only, the consul-general of the Netherlands, his
chancellor, myself, and my Dutch secretary and interpreter;
but we were surrounded by a colony of domestics and officials,
located in several small houses which were scattered about
the thickets in the garden. In one of these, close to our
western portico, and which was inhabited by the constable
of the consulate, I had established our little photographic
studio, and a guard-room for the marines belonging to the
Dutch station. At a little distance behind this building,
there is a fireproof store, hermetically closed by iron doors
and shutters. The porter's lodge is by the side of the gate-
way, in the strong fence which encloses the garden on all
sides except that next the bay, where it is replaced by a
bamboQ-cane barrier, fixed horizontally above the water,
and on a level with the terrace which extends along the shore.
This gateway, which is painted black, the same as the fence,
and ornamented with copper on the top of the principal
pillars, contains three doors : a large double one in the centre,
which is only opened for the master of the house and his
guests and their visitors, and a small one on each side for
the purveyors, native shopkeepers, and domestics. These are
open all day, but closed at sunset The chief porter, a
worthy man, and the father of a family, exercises a sort of
patriarchal authority over the other servants, and even in the
neighbourhood generally. His lodge, in which tea, pipes,
and tobacco are always ready, is the rendezvous for all the
loungers and gossips in the Benten quarter. This does not
interfere with their duties being performed with an accuracy
with which we must be satisfied in the extreme East. The
functions of the porters, or monb.ans, as they are called in
Japan, are not confined to guarding, opening, and closing
the entrances confided to their care ; they have to strike the
hours, day and night, on gongs suspended at the door of
their lodge ; by which means they also announce the rank
of the person visiting the residence, one stroke being given
for a merchant or a citizen of the Frank quarter, two for an
oflicer or interpreter, three for a consul, commander of a
vessel, or Japanese governor, and four for a minister or
admiral. The distance from the entrance-gate to the house
allows time enough to prepare for the suitable reception of
the visitor. Finally, the monban has to undertake the re-
sponsibility, either in person or through his assistants, of the
night rounds, which are made twice an hour, around the

A KUROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

«39

houses and through the alleys of the enclosure. The man
who goes the round gives notice that he is passing, by
striking three blows, one long and two short, with two square
pieces of wood which he carries. In case of danger, he
must give the alarm by striking rapidly on the gong.

Along the south side of the fence there is a succession
of buildings and yards, carefully concealed behind thick
trees. We first come to the laundry, which is managed by
a Chinese laundryman ; then to the stables, opposite to
which are the houses occupied by the grooms or betos, who
are all Japanese. liach horse has his own bfito, who never
loses sight of him ; in fact, when any one goes out for a 'ide,
no matter how long, the b^to runs before him or at liS side,
so as always to be in readiness, if required, to take charge
of the animal. These hardy attendants form a regular cor-
poration, with their special jurisdiction, whose chief enjoys
the righi of wearing a sword in the exercise of his office.
These bfitos are generally of middle size, but well pro-
portioned. They pass their lives in a state of almost entire
nudity. When they accompany their masters, however, they
wear sandals and a blue jacket of slight material, and a head-
dress composed of a handkerchief of the same colour. One
of our betos was married, and every morning at daybreak,
seated beside the well, he threw pails of fresh water alternately
over his wife, his children, his horse, and himself. Next to
the stables comes the kennel, tenanted by a couple of grey-
hounds, a beagle, at watchdog, and a cur; then the poultry-
yard, stocked with cocks, hens, geese, and ducks of the
native breed. At last we come to the dwellings of the
comprador, the cooks, and the koskeis. The first is what
the Japanese call a Nankingsan — a man of Nankin, or merely,
for shortness, a Nankin — that is to say, a Chinese. Our
Nankin wore his national costume, and a plait of hair, of
which he was very proud, for it reached almost to his knees.
The functions of the comprador are similar to those of a
steward, and these duties are generally entrusted by Europeans
in the extreme East to Chinese, who have a talent for '.^
kitchen, the pantry, and the market, and, it must be l--. I
know how to take care of their perquisites. Our cooks were
natives, and, under our superintendence, practised an in-
genious culinary eclecticism, borrowed from the schools of
Europe, India, China, and Japan. We had as butlers two
Japanese called respectively Siden and Sarid-en, and a little
Chinese belonging to the sect of the Taipings, who wore his
hair long, and cut at the back of the head in the Malay
fashion. He answered to the name of Rebelle. The great
rebellion of the Taipings against the Manchu dynasty has
created a traffic (through the open ports of China) in young
boys and girls who have been carried off by the imperial
troops or their allies from the insurgent districts which were
given up to the sword and fire.

Thus it was that our little friend " Rebelle " p,assed from
the hands of the Franco-Chinese legion into the market at
Shanghai, and from thence to Japan. It happened one day
that an express messenger from the French Legation, belonging
to the African light infantry, was admitted to our dining-room
to present a despatch. Immediately on seeing him Rebelle was
seized with a fit of trembling, and quickly disappeared through
the verandah door. The poor boy retained but one recollection
of his childhood, which thrilled him with horror whenever a
chancs circumstance recalled it to his memory. It was that of

being in the midst of burning houses, when a man in red
trousers appeared, who seized him in his arms and carried
him away from his home and family.

The duties of valets-de-chambre are performed by the
koskeis, who are all natives. Each inhabitant of the resi-
dence had his own koskei ; mine was a young man of the
name of To. Like most of the Japanese, he did not know his
exact age, but it was evident that he still ranked amongst the
youths, as the front of his head was not yet shaved to the top.
To was gifted with considerable intelligence and lively humour ;
he was not inferior to our other Japanese in the silence and
quietness with which he performed his duties ; and he had the
advantage of them in a superior education and a kind and lively
disposition. It was from To that I received my first lesson in
Japanese ; he gave me the key to it in three words, and without
his being at all aware of it The method he made use of was
quite philosophic. The operations of the mind may be resolved
into three primary ones : enquiry, negation, and affirmation. As
soon as one can express these three operations, the remainder
is merely a question of vocabulary, and it only remains to store
the memory with a selection of common words to be drawn
upon when the occasion requires. We commenced with the
enquiry, and I first learnt how to express "is there?" arimaska ;
then we passed on to negation, " there is not," arimasi; and
lastly affirmation, " there is," arimas. Then we proceeded to
the words which I was most likely to require, such as Nippon,
Japan, Japanese ; tchi, fire ; tchay tea ; mi, a horse ; misu,
water ; fune, a boat or ship ; kinkwa, war, &c. ; to which he
added words which have become naturalised in the country,
such as Hollaiida, Dutch ; Jiiglish, English ; Frantz, French ;
ministro, minister ; admiral, admiral. I took every opportunity
of practising my lesson. For instance, on my return from a
walk, I ordered To to bring tea, saying, Tcha arimaskai he
replied, Arimas, and immediately placed the refreshing be-
verage on the table. Hearing an alarm sounded on the gong,
I inquired if there were a fire : Tchi arimaska / To answered,
Arimas; and a little while after, when the fire had been sub-
dued, he returned with the agreeable information, Arimasi.
In the same way I would give him orders to put the water on
the fire or to the tea ; to call the Mto, and have my horse
saddled ; and on his part he would inform me whether it was
the English mail which had just entered the harbour or a
man-of-war, or if the Japanese ministers had gone on board
the French admiral's vessel. I learned some new words every
day, and our conversations became gradually extended.

I have now complete! the list of people in our service,
with the exception of the crew belonging to the consular sloop,
which consisted of four rowers and their commander, who was
as skilful in the use of the oars as his subalterns. The com-
mander was a married man, and lived in a cottage on the
shore ; the rowers generally slept in the boat. These people
form a distinct caste, and are called Sendos. This strange
mixture of various classes and elements was not peculiar to
our establishment, but is common in British India and the
extreme east. In our age of freedom and industry we no
longer attach countries to ourselves by mere visible force ; on
the contrary, we unite them to us by the ties of self-interest,
by the interchange of commerce, or by rendering their labour
remunerative. Too often, despite the principles professed by
them, our representatives ai-e guilty of acts equally unworthy
with those permitted by the old system of slavery ; still it

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVKIA

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must be acknowlcdjjed thai avarice and I)rutality ha\-c less
sliare tlian foriiK.'rIy in the coiviuests of ( ivilis.uion, ami that
never UclDre lins there lieen so much power and intelligenic
devoted to 'lie cause of pure si ience, of social progress, and
of Christian charity. To ignore this aspect of our contcm-
poraneofs history, even in a simple narrative, would be to
exclude he most |iathetic and diarac leristie points of interest
wiii( h it presents

That jortion of the Japanese town of Yokohama called
Henten deiives its name from a sea-goddess, who is wor-
ship|)ed in an island to the north-west of the Residence.
Previous to >he luiropean settlement, this sacred locality waa
surrounded oily by a stragglinj^
village, composed of fishermen's
and labourers' huts, and separated
by a marsii from the eipi.dly
small village of Yokohama. Now,
however, cpi.iys, streets, and
modern buildings cover the en-
tire space between the foot of
the Treaty i)roniontory and the
river, from which we were sepa-
rated only by a street of barracks
and Japanese watch-hc.ise.s. The
island of IJenten alone has not un-
dergone any alteration. Situated
at the extremity of a creek, whii h
the river forms at a short dis-
tance from its opening into the
harbour, it is protected on all
sides by a facing of blocks of
granite, and communicates with
the streets on the shor- by a
bridge, which is scarcely visible
amongst the mass of shrubs,
reeds, and bamboos, which, in
that iiart, overrun the channel.
But it was at another point, in
the western direction, that \.-'-
discovered an approach worthy
of the sanctity of the place to
which it leads. Amongst the
streets connecting Benten with
the chief market -i)lace of the
Japanese town of Yokohama

there is one which appears to be shaded I y a plantation of
l)ines ; and after crossing the municipal barrier, which is closed
r.t night, we found ourselves opposite a long avenue of pines,
to which the entrance was through one of the sacred gateways
called toris. These are formed of two pillars bent towards
each other in such a way as to meet in an acute angle were
they not terminated at a certain heigh* by two cross-bars, the
upper one being stronger than the other and having its ends
slightly bent ujjwards. The tori always denotes the vicinity of
a tem])lc, a chapel, or some other sacred place. AVhat we call
natural curiosities, such as a grotto, a sjiring, a gigantic tree, a
fontastic rock, are to the Japanese the objec ts of pious veneration
or sujjerstitious terror, according as their minds are more or
less influenced by the Buddhist demonology, and the bonzes
give expression to these jjopular feelings by erecting a tori in
the neighbourhood of any of these remarkable objects. Some-

O, M. Ill'MnHRTS VAI.FT-DK-CIIAMBRF,

times they place a ninnbcr of these toris at certain intervals
along the avenue leading to a temple, thus reproducing, with
rustic siui|)li( ity, the an hitectural idea which we see embodied
in the (jreek propylieum and the colonnade of .St. Peter's at
Rome. The trees in the avenue of Benten arc very tall and
slender, and, for the most part, bent in the same direction by
the sea breezes. Long tr.mverse (loles are fastened to them,
here and there, to whili the himzii suspend garlands, inscrii)lions,
and banners, on festivals. At the end of the avenue there is a
second loii, not so high as the first, in order to add to the
ellect of the i)erspective. (_)n reaching it we were surprised to
lind thai the avenue made a bend, and extended to the right.

There the ground was covered
with tall grass, and brushwood,
and light silvery pines, with airy
branches ; on our left was a sheet
of transparent water and oppo-
site us a steep and wooden
bridge, constnictt simiile
elegance, and bej . was a
third tori, standing out against
the dark foliage of a mass of
large trees. There was an air
of mystery about the whole
scene calculated to inspire awe.
It was 'by this bridge, the pillars
of which a<e ornamented with
copper, that we at last reached
the sacred spot. The third tori,
which is decorated at the to|)
with an inscription in letters of
gold on a black ground, is built
entirely of fine white granite, as
are also the various monuments
placed along the left of the
avenue. The temple was before
us, but so much hidden by the
foliage of the cedars and pines
which surroimdcd it, that we
could scarcely i)erceive the stair-
cases on which the worshippers
kneel when performing their de-
votions before the .altar of the
goddess. If the temple is empty,
they can summon one of the at-
tendant hoinvs by ringing, with a long cloth bell-indl, a cluster
of little bells fastened to the door. The bonu immediately comes
out of his lodging, and proceeds, according a: he is recjuired, to
give advice, to distribute wax lights or amulets, or undertakes
to say low masses or musical ones accon'ing to the sum paid.
It is necessary for every Jajianese to wash and dry his face
and h.ands previous to presenting himself before the sanctuary.
For this purpose a litde chapel is placed at some distance to
the right of the temple, containing a basin of holy water for
these ablutions, and silk crape napkins hanging on a roller, like
the towels in a .sacristy. Two neighbouring chapels are used,
one to protect the big drum, which is used instead of a bell,
and the other to contain the votive offerings of the faithful.
'I'he honscs who serve the temple at Benten did not appear
rich ; their dress was generiiUy slovenly and neglected, and the
exi)ression of their countenances -stupid, sullen, and even

A EUROI'KAV SOJOURN IM JAPAN,

141

malignant to fortignors, so that wu felt inclined to remain at
a respcctliil distance. 1 never had an opportunity of seeing
ihcnj otlii iate, except once in the procession of their patron
saint. It appears that at orilinary times they confine them-
selves during tiie day to holding conference, and I have
seldom seen any one availing himself of their ministry, except
country i)eople, and fishermen's wives, and passing pilgrims.
But more than once— at sunset, and even far on in the night^
1 have heard the sound of the tambourines, which form the

nature ; and this Is the reason that, as a matter of fact, its
appearance provokes, nuiependently of the prejudic es of our
Christian education, an indescribable and instinctive feeling of
repulsion.

The indispensable accompaniments of Japanese temples
an; tea-houses, or restaurants, where they consume principally
tea, and saki, an intoxicating drink niade from fermented rice ;
but also fruit, fish, and cakes made of rice or wheat. The
passion for opium is unknown in Japan. They smoke very

HONZES I'KAVING.

entire orchestra of the temi>le of Benten. The homes keep up
an interminable beating on these monotonous instruments,
always with the same rhythm ; for instance, four loud blows
followed by four dull ones, repeated over and over again for
whole hours, jirobably during the time necessary for dispersing
malignant influences. Nothing can equal the melancholy im-
pression produced by this dull, measured sound in the silence
of night, mingled only with the sighings of the cedar trees and
the murmur of the waves breaking on the shore. One can
easily perceive that a religion which finds expression in such
customs must oppress the minds of the people, and is far from
being a natural religion. Paganism is the enemy of human

small metal pipes filled with tobacco chopped very small, but
quite free from narcotic preiiarations. These establishments are
always served by women, and generally with perfect propriety,
but most of them have, notwithstanding, a very bad reputation.
This is especially the case with regard to those of Benten, and
may, perhaps, be traced back to the period when the little island
dedicated to the patroness of the sea still attracted a concourse
of pilgrims. The shrine is now comparatively deserted, but
the entire space between the island and oui residence is
occupied by the quarters of the military, or Yakonins, as
they are called. They are the government officers employed
in the custom-house service in guarding the port and public

«4«

'LLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

I'i!!-
ii

.11!

S 1

places, keeping a watch on the outlets of the Frank 'juarter,
&c. They wear no distinguishing dress, except a lound,
pointed hat of glazed pasteboard, and two sabres on the left
side of their belts, one of them large, with a double hilt, and
the other small, for close fighting. There are several hundreds
of these men, who are generally married ; they each have a
separate lodging, and are all treated with perfect equality in
this respect. 'I'he plan which the government of the Tycoon
has adopted for the arr.-ingemcnt of these dwellings is so
characteristic of their love of exact military organisation that
it is worth describing in detail. It consists of a group of |
wooden buildings built in the shape of a long parallelogram, I
showing to the street outside merely a high planked enclosure,
with low doors at regular intervals. Each of these doors I
opens into a yard, which contains a small garden, a water-tank, j
a cooking-range, and other offices. At the bottom of the
court, and on the same level, is a spacious chamber, which
can be parted off into two or three rooms by means of sliding
partitions. This yard and chamber form the whole domestic

accommodation of a family of Yakonins. Each of these
parallelograms of which the streets of the quarter are com-
posed, contains, on an average, a dozen of these dwellings,
six in a row, and back to back. The roofs of the chambers
are all of uniform height, and are covered with grey tiles. The
Yakonin quarter is a triumph of the genius of pipe-clay and
uniformity. The streets are generally deserted, for the men
spend the greater part of the day at the custom-house or on
guard, and during their absence each family keeps inside its
own enclosure, the door of which is usually shut. This does
not arise from any jealous feelings on the part of the men,
but is rather the result of the social position which custom
gives in Japan to the head of the family. The woman looks
on him as her lord and master ; in his superior presence she
devotes herself tr domestic affairs, without being distracted by
the presence of a stranger, and during his absence she conducts
herself with a reserve which may be attributed less to modesty
than to the feeling of dependence and submission which
nunioge entails on her.

Ten Days' yourney in Southern Arizona.

riiiti .

*«

BV WILLIAM A. BELL, B.

If the reader will glance for a moment at a map of the western
portion of the United States- -, mean that which lies west of
the Rocky Mountains — the two most southerly territories will be
found to be New Mexico and Arizona. Across the southern
portion of these regions a river, called the Rio Gila, will
be seen, passing from east to west until it reaches the Rio
Colorado.

The district lyii.g between this river and the present
boundary line of old Mexico is often called the "Gadsden
ten million pu. chase," because, in 1854, it was bought from
Mexico by the United States for that number of dollars. The
boundary line at firs'- proposed, after the war of i8.t8, was to
have been, for most of the distance between the Rio Grande
del Norte on the east and the Rio Colorado on the west, the
bed of the Rio Gila. But even as far back as this, the
Americans were contemplating a trans-continental railway, and
the explorations which had then been made tended to show
that vhe only great depression in the centre of the continent,
between the lofty chains of the Rocky Mountains and the
still grander ranges of Central America, lay a little below
the Rio Gila.

It was said, and with perfect trutn, that if the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans were to rise to the height of 4,000 feet, they would
meet about the 32nd parallel of latitude in the vast plateau,
the Madre Plateau, which lies south of the Rio (Jila ; while the
greate. part of the continent to the northward, as well as the
plateaus of Mexico to the south, would form two huge islands
separated by this strait

In Colorado territory, tlie greater part of which averages
from 8,000 to 10,000 feet above the sea, the Rocky Mountains
bifurcate to the southward and gradually become less and less
in height, until, on reaching the 36th parallel, they can no
longer be said to exist. Between these forks rises the Rio

A., M.B. CANTAB., F.R.G.S.

I Grande del Norte, discovered by the Mexicans before De Soto

i saw the Mississippi, and called del Norte because it was to

them the most northern river on the continent. It crosses

! the Madre Plateau, and, in fact, separates it from ths Llano

Estacado and the ))lains of western Texas.

The Madre Plateau, then, is a vast plain, extending from
the Rio Grande on the east for three degrees westward, and
separating the Rocky Mountains from those of Mexico. In
the summer of 1867 I became a member of a very extensive
surveying party, organised by that Pacific Railway Company
which is constructing a trans-continental railway from St. Louis,
westwards through Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,
and California to San Fiaucisco, and it fell to my lot to cross
this plateau in my wanderings in the Far West.

Two surveying parties were entrusted with the survey and
examination of the districts soma of the Gila river, each con-
sisting thereabouts of the following : Twenty-five engineers,
ruade up of levellers, transit-men, topographers, draughtsmen,
axe-men, flag-men, &c. ; thirty cavalry, fumish':d by the
government as escort ; cooks, teamsters, strikers, &c. Seven
wagons carried the provisions and baggage, and three more
were re(iuired by the escort, so that in all each party mustered
about seventy men, in..luding two or three native guides, ten
wagons, sixty mules, and about forty horses ; we also found it
most desirable to drive a small herd of cattle along with us, to
enable us to kill a.i ox once or twice a week, as occasion
required. One party was under the direction of a Mr. Runk,
the other of Mr. Eicholtz, both capital fellows, and able
men in their profession as engineers. I was attached to Mr.
Eicholtz's party, and had at my disposal, in addition to a good
riding horse, a four-mule ambulance, in which I carried my
medical stores and photographic material, for I combined both
the offices of doctor and photographer.

I I III

TEN DAYS' JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA.

'43

Upon leaving the Rio Grande, and turning our course
westward, our party occupied themselves in trying to find a
practicable route as far to the north of the Madre Plateau as
possible. Several mountain spurs extend down from the north
into the plateau, and our object was to discover any short cuts
through them, while Mr. Runk's party were running a continuous
line in the more level country to the south of us. The first
obstacle we encountered on leaving the Rio Grande was
Cooke's range, and through this we discovered a fine pass ten
miles long, with easy gradients and a good supply of water ;
we then crossed a plain about forty miles wide, a continuation
northvyards of the " Great" Plateau. About half way across
this plain is a large hot spring, called Ojo Calimte, which issues
from the top of a mound some thirty feet high. It is probably
the crater of an extinct volcano.

From this point the following narrative of ten days' travel
begins. I may here add that a complete description of my
wanderings in these territories and Northern Mexico will
soon be published, and that Major Calhoun, the contributor
of the thrilling adventure, " The Passage of the Great Cafton,
of the Colorado," which appeared in the first number ot the
" Illustrated Travels," was one of my companions in this
expedition, and old not exaggerate in any respect the almost
incredible incidents there recorded.

On Friday, October 2Sth, 1867, we left Ojo Caliente, and
came, in less than three miles, to a very fine spring, which
bubbled up vigorously from the ground in a little basin sur-
rounded by lofty cotton-wood trees. The water, however, was
hot, but not so hot as that we had left. Here we camped while
a reconnaissance was made in advance to discover water and
to direct the course of the survey ; for we had followed neither
road nor trail since leaving the Rio Grande. In the evening
the little p "ty returned, and reported open country ahead, but
no water, ai least for twenty miles, the distance they had been.
It was, hovever, determined to nil up the water-kegs, eight in
number, ef ;h holding ten gallons, and to push forward to some
willows at d cotton-wood trees about eighteen miles distant,
where we hoped by digging to find a sp • g. At sunrise next
morning (Saturday) we started, travel' ig a slightly undulating
plain, covered, as far as the eye ccltl veach, with the most
magnificent pasturage. For five miles, as we followed a dry
valley or trough in the plain, our route passed through a
continuous grove of cactus plants, averaging from ten to
twenty feet in height. Here and there a Yucca plant, or
" Spanish bayonet," s.iot up its lofty stems amongst the cacti,
adding very much to the grotesqueness of this curious vege-
tation. The cactus groves were as thickly stocked with the
Gila " quail," a species of grouse, as a moor in Scotland with
its feathered game of a similar kind. Enormous coveys of
thirty or forty brace rose up on each side as we passed, and
ran along in front of our horses.

On reaching the willows, all our digging failed to produce
a drop of water ; so after trying several places, both up and
down the dry bed of a stream, we were obliged to put up with
a dry camp. The poor horses, as usual in such a plight,
looked the picture of misery after their dusty march, and
seemed to ask with their eyes, "Why are we forgotten?"
We chained up the mules with ext^ care, and let them kick
away to their heart's content, and make the night hideous with
a chorus from their sixty dry throats. Sunday, throughout
the expedition, was generally kept as a day of rest ; but this

was an anxious day to us, for, besides the mules, we had forty
horses and tive oxen, and scarcely water enough for cooking
and drinking jiurposes. I joined the wateThunters at day-
break, and, armed with spades and picks, as well as our
carbines and "six-shooters," we directed our course towards the
Burro mountains, the next obstacle to the westward. We
had, in fact, nearly crossed the plain between Cooke's range and
these mountains, and soon entered a ravine leading up to
them. After ascending for seven miles, we were gladdened
by the sight of a little water trickling over some rocks. The
first glance satisfied me that all was right, and in a few
minutes holes were dug in the dry bed, which quickly filled
with good spring water.

The water question being thus satisfactorily arranged, a
messenger was sent back for the whole party, while we con-
tinued our ride, for the purpose of exploring the mountains,
and of finding a canon* supposed to cut through them near
our point of junction. We had received very conflicting
reports about this range (the Burro Mountains). At a distance
of some twenty or thirty miles it does not appear an imposing
obstacle, for it seems to consist of three mountain masses,
united by two long low ridges; but on approaching these
ridges they turned out really to be only long undulations of the
plain, which hide from view very rough and formidable
mountains behind them. Our first surprise occurred when,
on reaching the top of the ridge, we found the real mountains
still in front of us. We pressed on, however, and after a few
more hours' riding the crest of the main range was gained,
and one of the grandest of panoramas burst into view at our
feet To the south lay numerous isolated ranges and peaks,
whose names we did not know, stretching far into old Mexico,
and rising out of the great Madre Plateau, which lay between
us and them, like lofty rock islands from a motionless sea.
To the south-east the graceful Florida mountains retained their
usual outline, while far beyond them the curious peaks of the
Oregon range, whose fluted basaltic columns justly suggest the
name, "organ mountains," were distinctly visible near the
horizon, although situated east of the Rio Grande, more than
100 miles distant from us. Due east of us lay the range we
had left, with Cooke's Peak rising nobly from its centre, and
the exit of our r?.:; (Palmer's Pass) distinctly visible. Still
following the circle towards the north, the confused mass of
the Miembres Mountains came into view ; then those of the
Santa Rita and Pimos Altos, semi-<letached portions of the
same. Quite to the north, twenty or thirty miles distant, some
very high snow-capped mountains were conspicuoi's, forming
part of that great system of mountains — the Mogollon Ranges,
north of the Rio Gila, the home of the bloodthirsty Apache —
which has never yet hcp" "xolored.

The elevation upon which we stood was, in fact, the
dividing ridge of the North American continent ; the little
watercourse at our feet was the first we had reached which
flowed down the slopes Ieac'ii..g to the Pacific ; and the broad
arid plains which lay between us and our next obstacle to the
westward gave a most extensive forecast of our future course.
Nearly forty miles of almost complete desert, with little chance
of a drop o*" water, formed the undulating plain between us
and the next westward range — the Peloncello Mountains. To
the south-east a secondary range, called from its conical peaks

• This word Is de-ived from the Sppnuh, and signifies 1 deep eorgo
with perpendiculur walls.

% i

.III

I !|^

144

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS,

1 !

i i.

Ill

the Pyramid range, filled up further south a part of the centre
of this vast tract. Our field of vision did nut even end with
the Peloncello Slountains, for Juan Arroles, our guide, pointed
out in the dim horizon, far beyond them, the rounded peak of
Mount Graham, and the two shar]) heads of the Dos Cabasas,
the most prominent landmarks in the I'ino-leno range, and the
boundaries on each side of Railroad Pass. These ranges all
lay far below us ; they evidently rose from a much lower level,
and seemed to show, c\en to the eye, that the ground sloped
rapidly down towards the west. So extensi\e a i)anorama as
that which 1 ha\'e attempted, however feebly, to describe, could
never be witnessed in Europe, or in any country where the
atmos])hcre is much impregnated with moistvire. For more
than one hundred miles, in almost every direction, nothing
seemed to limit the extent of our vision but the incapability of
our ( yes to distinguish objects which were rendered too small
from their remoteness.

Our guide knew the canon we were in search of, and
brought us next day directly to its head. It was not by any
means a gap in the range, but only a large and well-defined
gorge on the western side. We followed it down to the plain.
Two miles from the sunnnit a large spring of clear cold water
flowed from beneath a perpendicular mass of rock, and formed
a stream, which we followed until the canon, cut out by it,
became so narrow and so filled up with rocks and \egetation
that we were obliged to bear away to the right, and strike it
again lower down. The stream had disappeared in the interval,
and the cauon from this point gradually widened out, lost its
fertility, and entered the plain as a dry open valley, trending
towards the Gila, scarcely twenty miles distant. The length
of this canon, from its head above the spring to its entrance as
a Canada or valley on the jilain, is about thirteen miles. For
half its course many large and beautiful trees adoin the path,
amongst which we recognised sycamore, a very beautiful species
of evergreen oak very much resembling holly, a black walnut
(Julians Whippltaiia), rough-barked cedar {Junipcnis pacliy-
dcrmia), jjines, ])inons, acacia, cyjjress, mesijuit {Algarolna
y,ln)hliilosa), plum, and several species of cactus. An Imlian
tiMJl led through the entire length of tlie canon, including the
two miles of very narrow gorge, as well as over the hill, by
which route we avoiiled the latter; and it was evident from the
recent i>ony-tracks that the red men still used it, and were pro-
bably well acijuainted with all our movements. Other signs
were recognised by our guide, such as bunches of grass tied up,
and arranged so as to point in particular directions, and were
looked ujjon as conclusive evidence of the activity and watch-
fulness of our hidden but ever-present enemies. Game was
abund-nt; two kinds of (luail, black and white-tailed deer,
bear, beaver, scpurrels, and hares innumerable. Extensive fires
had burnt down the bushes and laid bare large tracts of land
all along the base of the mountains. While taking advantage
of the delay which the difficulties of the country necessitated
to enjoy a little deer-stalking and grouse shooting, Lieutenant
Lawson, who commanded our escort, and myself were attracted
during our rambles by a curious wall of rock which fringed,
like a traji-dyke, the summit of a rather lofty range of foot-hills.
On reaching the top we found that it consisted of a thick
stratum of marble, which had been lilted up \erlii ally to the
height of from seven to twenty feet above the ground, and that
it extended for miles both ways along the hill-tops. This wall
was beautifully variegate'' with white, grey, and red marbles,

and presented the finest, as well as the nv :>t singular, exposure
of the kind I have ever seen. In many places through the
mountains we found quartz ledges, giving good indications of
gold ; and near the marble wall a vein of galena cropped out,
of considerable width. Over this vein 1 shot a new and beautiful
species of mountain grouse. Four clays were occupied in trying
to find a good pass through the range, but our efforts were
useless. We found, after surveying to the summit of the ridge
which skirted the base of the mountains, that it was 1,208 feet
higher than Ojo Caliente, twenty-three miles ilistant, and that
the average grade lor the last three miles had exceeded lOo feet
per mile, and this, too, before the mountains themselves had
been reached. These ISurro Mountains were not, as they
appeareil to be, an ordinary range rising from the plain, but
the crowning ritlge or summit of the great continental water-
parting ; and, although they rose from a much higher base than
the ranges to the east and west of them, the slope up to their
base was not ra[)id er agh to be distinctly apixirent without
the aid of our surveyors' levels. Nothing remained for us,
therefore, but to abandon the line which we had been sur-
veying, and to i)ass arountl the southern extremity of the range,
twenty miles distant, on the great Madre Plateau, in which
level district Mr. Runk's party was then at work,

O(tokr ^\st.—X march of seventeen miles parallel to the
mountains brought us to Soldier's Farewell, a solitary ruin
which was once a station on the mail route, during the short
time it was established along the thirty-second jjarallel. Two
miserable water-holes are the great source of attraction in this
I'lace. \\'e feared they might ha\e been empty, as it was the end
of the dryest season of the year, but a shower of rain early that
morning had j)iovidentially filled them jxirtly up again. ^Vhile
we looked at the thick green puddle, full of creeping things,
slime, and all sorts of abominations, from which we had to
drink, a feeling of dread for the future involuntarily crej)! over
us.

The whole country had changed, for we had at last entered
that vast plateau ujjon the thirty-second parallel, which luad so
long been considered the only jiracticable line for a railway
route across the continent. How thoroughly I pity the lover
of the beautiful in nature who is obliged to traverse this fright-
ful plain from El Paso on the Rio Grande to Apache Pass.
Although the mountains were still close to us, the landscajie
was as dreary as could well be conceived. At the bottom of a
hollow, caused by some broken ground, lay the two putrid
water-holes or ponds, over-looked by the tumbletldown walls of
a coralle and ranche. Before us extended an endless parched-
up Waste ; some places were covereil with poor grass, others
were iierfectly bare ; and as the wind swe))t over diem clouds of
dust were driven along, or whirled uj) into the air like [jiUars
of smoke.

From Soldiers Farewell we marched westward to the next
water-hole, "Rirney Station" (twenty-one miles), also an
uninhabited ruin like that we had left, and, if anything, more
dreary. There were no mountains near it, the land looked a
dead level on every side, and not for distant towards the south
lay what the Mexicans call a huge "playa, " or dry lake. Over
such a tract you may travel fifty miles in a straight line, without
crossing a water-course. ^Vhen it rains the water collects in
whatever part of the almost mathematically level Hat happens
to be slightly depresse<l, ami it often covers many s<|uare
miles of land to the dejith of a foot or even le.s.s. In such

VOL. I.

■HSU

146

IT,LUSTRATED TRAVELS.

'iff"''

ill';

i'l

places even the scanty grass ci the desert will not grow, and
the whole earth becomes covered, as soon as the rain water
has evajjoratcd, with a hard white shining crust resembling
cracked china, thus forming a "playa." The water-hole was
here (Barney Station) even more disgusting than those we had
left, for it served to water not only the men and stock of the
"bull trains "and troops which passed through the country, but
all the wild animals dwelling within a radius of many miles.
Flocks of birdj, large and small, trooped to and fro all day
long ; it was a beautiful sight to see them all swoop down
together like a sheet of feathers, flutter for an instant over the
pool, and then flit away. At sunset might be seen at a great
distance a V shaped figure approaching from the clouds ; this
would be a flock of ducks, geese, or teal coming for their
evening bath. ''Jnhapjjy stags and herds of antelope would
stealthily approach, and not liking the look of the intruders
makeofl" again. Not so the wolves and coyotes ; those fellows
seemed to suffer frigh; fully from thirst, for after we had been
in camp for a few hours ihey would become so bold, or rather
so eager for water, that neither the whiz of our bullets about
their ears nor the crack of our rifles were able to keep them
away from the pool.

'l"he extraordinary vividness of the " Mirage " is one of the
great peculiarities of this region. We recognised it often on
the plains of Western Kansas and elsewhere, but it is not seen
to perfection until the Madre Plateau is reached. Half an hour
after sunrise is usually the ')est time tc watch for it ; then the
distant monntiins become distOited into the most grotesque
and fairj- foi Magnified to mai^y times their natural size,

they ajjpear lifted into the sky, and a e there cut up, sometimes
horizontally, sometimes vertically, bj the peculiar magical haze
which surrounds everything. Often they looked like terraced
citadels, sometimes the ph.'.ntasm takes a pillared form, and
presents '.o the eye ruinel temples like those of Greece or
Egyjit. This is not only the case with the mountains, for at
a little distance everything appears distorted; the horses are
changed into giraffes, the tents become elongated into snow-
capped ])eaks, while the tjfts of grass and the meagre scrubby
vi'getation are transform'.d into noble forests of gigantic trees ;
every little " playa " becomes a beautiful lake, from the waters
of which are seer, reflected the magical transformations
which all surroundiivg objects have undergone. So complete
is the delusion, that I have often remarked to a companion,
as we watched the honemen ahead of us dashing through the
midst of a i)hantom hike, in which wave.s, shadows, spray, and
sunlight were all port'ayed to perfection, " How is it possible
thus to disbelieve one's senses in broad daylight ? "

Barney Station is 4,211 feet above the sea, and this is about
the average height of the entire plateau. During the two days'
march fi-om our camp at the foot of the mountains we had
descended 2,000 feet. The sun was setting, and I was just
securing a striking picture of desolation— that is, a photograph
of Barney Station in ruins, when two strange objects apjieared
in sight. 'J'he one developed as it approached into a most
dilai)idated and old-fashioneil coach, the other into an ecpially
, shaky spring-cart, and both were drawn by mules ; two ladies
O'cupied the former and half a dozen armed soldiers the latter
vehicle. The gentlemen of the ])arty, four in number, rode on
each side of the coach, and completed the travelling " outfit."

Between the Rio Gila and the Mexican boundary, Arizona
boasts of ]iossessing one town, Tucson, on the Santa Cruz river.

now I believe the capital of the territory. This was the destina-
tion of one of the fair travellers, a very pretty girl of sixteen,
in whose veins the fiery blood of Spain had been softened,
but not obliterated, by union with tiiat of our own race;
she was returning with her father, an American, having just
completed her education at St. Louis. Her companion was on
her way to join her husband at Fort IJowie, and to share with
him the anxieties and solitude of a post which guards the most
dangerous pass in Arizona — Apache Pass. We shall presently
get a glimpse of what such a life is. It is easy to fancy what
extreme pleasure the presence of our fair friends gave us.
They were just entering the most dangerous part of their
journey, where defiles had to be passed through, in which half
a dozen soldiers and four civilians were a very insufiicient
escort, so that we were delighted to render them the protection
which increase of numbers afforded. On the afternoon of
November 2nd Mr. Runk's party came in sight, and com-
pleted their survey up to our camp that evening. Since parting
from us a month ago they had met with open country, and no
obstacles but Cooke's Canon, through which their route lay.
The Apaches had succeeded in driving off half their oxen, but
beyond this all had gone well with them. Altogether we
mustered a large party at Birney Station, and notwithstanding
the mud puddle, of which we thankfully drank, and the dreari-
ness of the place, we managed to make ourselves exceedingly
jolly. A little whiskey was discovered amongst " someliody's
luggage ; " the fatted calf, our best bullock, was killed and
cooked ; and many good stories and bold adventures were told
around the camp fires.

Next morning Lieutenant Lawson, commanding the escort,
started with nine of our men and some empty w.igons, to Fort
Bowie, for rations and forage ; and our new friends, with
Captain Colton, my tent mate, and myself, completed the
party by joining him also.

For twenty-one miles we traversed the level plateau, and
then entered the next range of mountains, the Peloncello range,
halting a short distance within a pass leading through it, known
as Steam's Pass. At this spot was situated tlie only sfiring to
be met with on the road. It was, however, dry on the surface,
and we had not time to deepen it. A beautiful conical moun-
tain. Steam's Peak, forms a good land-mark for this ])ass and
spring. From Steam's Peak to Fort Bowie, in Ajiache Pass,
leading through the next mountain range (the (^hi-ri-ca-hui),
the distance is thirty six miles, without a drop of water, making
in all a "jarmada" of fifty-seven miles, without one drinking
station.

We rested until sunset at Steam's Peak, in order to avoid
the heat of the sun, and then started through the grandest
part of the pass. The moon was almost al its fiill, the night
was perfectly calm, and a liquid softness pervaded everything.
These mountains were infested with Indians ; and the ladies
were rather nervous, as now and then we pas.seil through a
narrow part of the gorge, or underneath some lofty crag. To
keep them in good heart we sang songs and choruses, in which
they soon joined ; these were re-echoed again and again from
side to side. The cavalry rode in front, and the infantry
brought up the rear. Now and again the horses' hoofs would
ring out and rattle over a bed of rocks ; or the moon,
obscured behind the mountain, would suddenly throw a flood
of light over the white wagons and glistening rilles of our
party. The air had become very cool and refreshing, and

TEN DAYS' JOURNEY IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA.

147

the scenery for at least eight miles through the pass was so
grand in its rugged barrenness, that, seen at such a time,
it left an impression never to be forgotten.

A march of five hours, at the rate of four miles an hour,
brought us to the Cienega de San Simon, where, as the name
Cienega implies, there is, at some seasons of the year, a small
marsh, with a little stream running through it. We found,
as we had expected, no signs whatever of water, but plenty
of good grass ; so here we made our midnight halt.

Before daybreak next morning our fires were rekindled
and our coffee made, for we had carried wood with us from
the pass ; and before the sun had peeped over the eastern
mountains we were again on our way.

Amongst the party was the mail contractor f— this road.
Twice a week a mail carrier rides from Tucson to I ort Bowie,
106 miles; another then carries tlie mails on to Soldier's Fare-
well, 86 miles, where he meets the solitary mail carrier, who
had come from La Mesilla, 129 miles to the eastward. The
mail bags are exchanged, and each returns the way he came.
The men who thus pass unguarded backwards and forwards
through a hostile Indian country, require no small share of
reckless bravery. Their pay is high, being 200 dollars in
gold (or jC^o) a month. The contractor told me that a year
never passed without one or more of his mail carriers being
"jumped" by the Indians, under which circumstances he
always made a point of carrying the mails himself for a
fortnight, at least, over the very section of road upon which
his man had been killed ; after which he had never any
difficulty in finding some one else sufficiently reckless to risk
his life for the ordinary remuneration.

During the latter ten miles of our march most of the
route lay through thick brushwood, composed of mesquit,
grease-weed {Otiione canescciis), two species of aloe, yucca, a
very large species of prickly pear, and other cacti, besides
many kinds of thorny bushes, which formed an almost
impenetrable thicket, very well adapted for an ambuscade.
Here and there my companion pointed to spots where one
or other of his mail carriers had been killed, or where he
himself had been jumped, and related how he had escaped
at this place by the speed of his horse, or at that by good
service done by liis revolver. Many of his anecdotes were
most exciting, yet there was no apparent tendency towards
exaggeration ; while, on the other hand, he openly avowed
that the more you have to do with Indian warfare the more
you dread the Indians and try to keep out of their way.
" Men may be very brave at first, but the continual anxiety
soon takes the dash out of them — you bet I" — and this avowal
came from a man of undoubted courage.

On reaching the mountains at the entrance of Apache
Pass, he pointed to a foot liill on the right, and gave me a
little sketch of the Chi-ri-ca-hui Apaches during his residence
on the spot. Until the winter of 1861-62, the Apaches of
that range had not shown any very determined hostility to
the Americans, and the mail company, for the two years
during which they ran coaches along tiiis route, kept on good
terms with tlieni, by giving occasional presents of blankets
and food. At the breaking out of the rebellion, however,
an upstart Federal officer, named Barkett, was sent to take
charge of this part of the country, and soon after his arrival
at the entrance of Apache Pass, where he formed -his camp,
some Mexicans applied to him about a boy of theirs, whom they

suspected had been stolen by the Apaches. Barkett summoned
the chief, Cachees, and his head men to the camp. Being
on friendly terms with the troops, the Indians immediately
responded to the summon:--. Cachees and his six head men,
however, positively denied the charge of kidnapiiing the boy ;
upon which orders for their arrest were immediately given.
Cachees, in a moment, slit open tlie canvas of the tent with
his scalping-knife, and escaped ; his comiianions were all
secured. A man named Wallace, who had long li\ed on the
most amicable terms with the tribe, volunteered to go alone
and treat with them. He did so, and sent back a message
to Barkett that, in his opinion, the boy had not been stolen
by them, but added that he himself was retained as a hostage
in their hands. Barkett became fiirious, and swore that he
would hang the red men if the boy was not returned that
night ; and he kept his word. On the hill to the left, those
half-dozen savages were strung up next morning ; and, shock-
ing to relate, poor Wallace, who had trusted so implicitly to
the personal affection shown for him by the red-skins, was
immediately hanged on the summit of the hill on the opposite
side of the pass. This tragedy over, Cachees and his entire
band fled back once again to their mountain fastnesses, never
more to come in contact with the white man, unless in the
execution of their unquenchable revenge.

Fort Bowie is situated about six miles up the pass. It
consists of a small collection of adobe houses built on the
summit of a hill, which rises as a natural look-out station in the
centre of the defile, and commands the road both ways for two
or three miles of its length. The only officers at the time of
our visit were Lieutenant Carrol, Lieutenant Hubbard, and the
resident surgeon ; the only troops, one small company of forty
men. The officers insisted upon Lieutenant Lawson, Colton,
and myself, sharing their quarters ; they had not had a visitor
of any kind for months, and had almost forgotten that the
world was inhabited. After luncheon I strolled out upon a
higher hill-top to choose a good position for taking a photo-
graph of the fort and pass. The view was a very beautiful
one, for we were hemmed in on all sides by lofty mountains,
the most conspicuous of which is Helen's Dome, well shown
in the engraving. Some two miles distant in the pass the
sheep and oxen belonging to the fort were peacefiilly grazing,
when suddenly I perceived a commotion amongst the garrison.
All were hurrying to the highest part and looking towards
the cattle, from which direction I heard a few shots fired.
It appeared on inquiry that the mail carrier going west to
Tucson had only gone on his way a short distance past the
cattle, just beyond the turning in the road which hid him
from the fort, when he suddenly came upon two Indians who
were stealthily creeping up towards the stock. Shots were
exchanged, and he immediately turned back to give the alarm
to the men guarding the cattle, and to the sentinels at the fort.
The Indians showed themselves two or three times in the open
and then disappeared. It was useless for us, with our wearietl
horses, to join in the chase after a couple of naked red men, so
we remained behind.

So poorly supplied was this little fort, if such a term may be
applied to a collection of mud huts, that two horses represented
the entire stock. It was customary to keep one of them with the
herd and the other in the stable, and the favourite chestnut of
the lieutenant's, a high-mettled, splemlid creature, happened tliis
ilay to be at home. It was immediately saddled. Carrol was

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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quite young ; he had only seen eighteen summers, and looked
even younger, for his hair was very fair, and he had not the
least tinge of whisker on his smooth cheeks. I remember
watching him spring with one bound from the ground into his
saddle, wave his hand merrily to us, and then dash down the
steep winding road which led from the fort to the pass below.
Again we saw him racing as fast as the horse could gallop
along the pass after the mail carrier, who, being previously
mounted, had started off with the infantry. I went back to
my photography, for there were many views I wished to obtain,
but my friend. Lieutenant Lawson, could not remain long
inactive. He was a great character. Although very short,
quite grey with years, and not in the least like a military man,
he was the gamest little fellow I ever met. So fond of soldier-
ing did he become during the war that he could not settle
down again to business. Though one of the steadiest of men,
and a religious man — a great rarity out west — he actually left
his good wife and family comfortably settled at Cincinnati,
changed his social position from wholesale hardware merchant
and ex-colonel of volunteers to simple lieutenant in the regular
army, and started to join a western regiment. The merest
chance of a brush with the Indians was irresistible ; so he
ordered out his six men and their six jaded horses, and off
they went down the winding road, and then away out of sight
along the pass.

As the afternoon went by most of the infantry 'turned by
twos and threes, and we were just sitting down to ainner when
Lieutenant Lawson and his men rode into the fort. They had
hunted about all over the mountains and through the ravines,
but had encountered no savages, nor even caught a glimpse
of a red-skin. Carrol, to our surprise, was not with them.
We made inquiries, and found that all had reported themselves
except the lieutenant and the mail carrier. We questioned
those who had gone the farthest, and a shepherd just back
from over the hills, and these agreed that they had heard
the distant report of fire-arms, coming apparently from the
western plain. This was the direction the two red-skins had
taken. So we saddled our horses without a moment's delay,
and, with sickening forebodings in our hearts, started across
the mountains to the western plain. We scrambled up the
base of Helen's Dome, which was so steep as almost to baffle
our horses, well trained as they were to all sorts of bad
places; then, after skirting the side for some distance, we
crossed a ravine to another mountain slope, down which we
plunged, over large blocks of limestone and marble, leading
our horses by the bridles, and clambering through them as
best we could. And every moment was precious, for the sun
had almost set before we reached the plain. Then we spread
out in line, nine in number ; for there was no enemy in sight,
and our only hope was to strike the trail ; for we knew they
must have passed somewhere in this direction. Every eye was
fixed on the ground, every blade of grass was closely scanned ;
our souls were in our eyes. At last one marked " pony tracks,"
then another called out, " This way they lead," not two, three,
or four tracks, but many ; perhaps a dozen. The white men
had evidently followed too far in pursuit, and, falling into an
ambuscade, had been cut off from their comrades. Most of
the hoof-prints were naked, but two were shod. These were
certainly those of the missing horses. We could not hurry on
very rapidly without losing the trails, and yet there was not

half an hour's daylight For three miles farther we pressed
on, carefully "tracking our way." We passed a spot much
trampled down and blood-stained. Here the poor fellows had
made a stand ; had probably tried to cut their way back
through their enemies, who were driving them from the fort.
A little further, and all hope of one life was gone. The mail
carrier lay stretched upon the open plain — scalped, naked,
and mutilated — in the setting sun. This poor man wore
whiskers, and the savages produced even a more startling
effect than usual by scalping one of them. Thus half of
the face was stripped of skin, and the bleeding muscles were
laid bare.

We could not stop a moment ; but, dragging up two huge
magay plants to mark the spot, we followed the pony-tracks.
The sun sank, and it was only by the red glare thrown up
from behind the horizon, and reflected by the bare mountains
of rock to the cast of us, that we were able to track our way.
So difficult was it at last that we began to despair of ever
learning the fate of poor Carrol. We longed to see his dead
body; for the idea of being taken alive to be tortured and
roasted over a slow fire, whilst the fiends danced round him,
and exulted over his agony, was the one dread consummation
which made our blood run cold. No one spoke, for we all
knew well that such would be his fate, if that sun had not
shone upon his corpse.

As we took a last searching look over the dimly-lighted
plain in front of us, we saw an object move slightly on the
grass. We quickly rode towards it, and in half a mile further
we found that it was the faithful dog of the lieutenant. He
was guarding the stiff and lifeless body of his master. So we
wrapped the naked body in a saddle-cloth, and tied it on
a horse.

But for the moon, we should not have found the spot
where the mail carrier lay. We placed him also on another
horse, and then turned our faces towards the pass. The
wolves were already gathering round the spot, and the night
winds were blowing up cold and chill. The night before,
that same beautiful moon, which now shone peacefidly down
upon us, had lighted us through the noble gorge in the
Peloncello mountains, while we sang choruses and enjoyed
the grandeur of the scene. This night she lighted us through
another gorge, in another range of mountains — Apache Pass —
but how different were our feelings, as slowly we marched in
mournful silence over the nine miles which led up to the fort I
Thus ended the Sth of November.

Next morning we buried the poor fellows in the little

graveyard amongst the mountains. The doctor read the

burial service, and Lieutenant Hubbard, Colton, Lawson, and

myself, were the chief mourners. When the final volley had

been fired over our two poor comrades, and I turned to glance

at the tablets i.*" their companions, I read on the wooden

crosses over every gravi, bul one the same sad story of their

fate—

"Killed by the Apaches."

When Cachees' six best warriors were wantonly hanged five
years before, that bold chief vowed that for every one of his
lost comrades, a hundred white men should die by the hands
of himself and his band. Two more scalps were thus added
to the long strings of those which already hung from the belts
of the Chi-ri-ca-hui braves.

NORTil POLAR DISCOVERY.

149

North Polar Discovery.

BY J. E. DAVIS, STAFF COMMANDER R.N., F.R.G.S.

Who that has had the good fortune to travel in Polar regions
can ever forget the strange but pleasurable impressions
attendant on such a voyage ? Even if it be but a pleasure
trip to Spitzbergen, or along the coast of Labrador, there
is a peculiar charm about it which, once felt, remains for ever
afterwards amongst the most cherished memories. The eager
tumbling up in the middle of the night — broad daylight — to
see the first i'-eberg, the approach to it in the early morning
when the rising sun is converting its upper surface into frosted
silver, and its pendant icicles into brilliants of the first water ;
the indescribably beautiful and intense blue of the fissures
and caverns, which ending (in reality) at the water's edge is, if
calm, repeated by reflection in the clear water below, while the
vast mass immersed is seen until its outline vanishes, without
terminating, in the immeasurable depths of the ocean. Or
who, on a calm still night at sea, the ship rolling lazily to the
swell, has beheld the glorious Aurora Borealis without emotion,
spanning the heavens and shooting its brilliant, soft, and ever-
changing beams high towards the zenith, making the paled
stars glimmer in lessened light through them ?

These are scenes witnessed only in the Polar seas, and
the impression they produce remains uppermost in the mind of
the traveller, whatever other parts of the world he may after-
wards visit

Polar voyages have always had an unmistakable charm for
the youth of our country. The hair-breadth escape of the
ships from ice ; the bear, seal, walrus, or whale hunt ; the
discovery of lands whereon the eye or foot of civilised man
had never rested ; the long Arctic night, with the employments,
amusements, theatricals, and schools ; the preparations for the
spring ; the wearisome travel with sledges and dogs, the joyous
start, daily perils, privation, and difficulties, and the exhausted
return; all these incidents of Arctic exploration have been
recounted in many vivid narratives, and have been read by our
youth with an interest equal to the perusal of the wildest fiction,
and, let us hope, have stimulated them to deeds of enterprise
and daring.

The thundering plaudits of the undergraduates that greeted
the discoverer of the fate of Sir John Franklin, on the occasion
of his receiving the honorary title of LL.D. at Oxford, told
full well that the youth of our countiy are as alive to the charm
as their forefathers in their younger days ; but, alas I it seems
that, as far as England is concerned, our feelings and our
enthusiasm are to be expended only on bygone deeds, for with
the search for Franklin and his companions our polar voyages
have come to a close, leaving us only to record tnc proceedings
of explorers belonging to other nations.

In the present article it is intended to give some account of
expeditions to the north polar regions, undertaken during the
last few years, or since the close of the search for £'r John
Franklin, and to take a glance at the present position of north
polar discovery, and the different modes and routes proposed
for attaining the polar axis itself.

It will be necessary to preface our account with a summary
of the various arctic voyages and travels that have been under-
taken since the commencement of polar research.

The first English polar expedition of which we have any
detailed record was commanded by Sir Hugh Willoughby in
iSS3> who, after reaching Nova Zembia, as is well known,
perished.

" Froze into statues ; to the cordage glued
The sailor, and the pilot to tlie helm."— Thomson.

In 1576, Martin Frobisher, with three small vessels, visited
Greenland and Labrador ; the principal result of the voyage
was the discovery of the strait that bears his name, up which
he sailed about one hundred and fifty miles, where he met with —
" salvage psople like to T.?!??!--, with longe black haire, broad
faces, and flatte noses ;" a boat's crew of five men were here
missed, and although searched for, were never seen again.
Among the specimens of natural products brought home was a
large stone, which, being submitted to the gold-finers, was
pronounced to contain gold.

The next year Frobisher again proceeded to the same strait,
where, from an island, he collected a quantity of the ore, and
returned to England. In the third voyage the following year
fifteen vessels sailed, having on board miners, gold-finers, and
skilled men of other trades ; also the frame of a large house.
Before reaching the strait one of the vessels, having part of the
house on board, foundered, the remainder reached Countess of
Warwick's Sound, but in such a dilapidated condition that
Frobisher resolved to abandon the enterprise, and return to
England. It is needless to say that the discovery of gold
proved to be a fallacy.

Frobisher was followed by the not less celebrated John
Davis, whose name has been immortalised by its being linked
to the strait he discovered ; he made three voyages and attained
the latitude of seventy-two degrees north, on the west coast of
Greenland.

The last arctic voyages of the sixteenth century were those
of Barentz, a Dutchman, who reached the northern point of
Nova Zembia, and also discovered Bear Island and Spitzbergen ;
he died from exposure and want in an open boat, to which he
and his crew had been obliged to take, after enduring intense
sufferings when wintering in Nova Zembia.

In 1607, the well-known name of Henry Hudson appears on
the list of polar voyagers ; first, in an attempt to reach India
by crossing the pole; second, to reach the same country by
way of Nova Zembia; and third, by the north-west passage.
The means furnished him for his first voyage are little in
keeping with the outfits of the present time, and one carrot
but smile and wonder that a man could be found to undertake
so perilous a voyage with such scanty means : the small vessel
assigned to him was manned by a crew of ten men and a boy !
All he accomplished in that voyage was to reach Spitzbergen.
Hudson's second voyage was without any result, but on the
third he discovered Hudson's Strait ; believing he had found an
opening that would lead direct to India, he sailed up the strait
until v'^ .Iter overtook him, when he could neither advance nor
return ; -'' sea-son of severe trial and hardship was passed, and
when at last the ice broke up and the ship prepared to sail, the
crew mutinied, and Hudson was sent adrift in a small boat with
only one man and those who were sick. In such a clime and at

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

such a distance from any civilised country, it is not surprising
that nothing was ever heard of the gallant Henry Hudson and
his companions. There is some satisfaction in remembering
that but few of the mutineers ever reached England.

After nearly a century of inactivity in the cause of polar
discovery, an expedition, consisting of two ships, the Racehorse
and Carcass, under Captain I'hipps, was sent to attempt to
reach the pole by the most direct route, but he found, like his
predecessors, that the region north of Spitzbergen was entirely
blocked up with ice ; Phipps vainly endeavoured to encompass
the island east and west, the ships got beset, with every prospect
of remaining so for the winter, an eventuality for which they
were unprepared ; by a sudden break up of the ice the ships
were extricated, and, after refitting, sailed home. It is worth
recording that a lad served in this expedition who was destined
to become a great hero, and rise to the greatest honours in the
service to which he belonged — this was Nelson.

The pole having been repeatedly assailed on the eastern
side of the great continent of America, an attempt was made
to reach it by way of its western shores, and to accomplish this
the renowned Captain James Cook left England in 1776; he
reached Nootka Sound in the following spring, and coasting
north through Behring strait, he attained latitude 70^°, or as
far as Icy Cape, which cape was so encumbered with ice as
to prevent further progress eastward. Other minor attempts
were made in the same direction, but without greater success.

Polar discovery (as is well known) has not been entirely
prosecuted by ships ; the expeditions undertaken by land must
not be overlooked, not only from the importance of their
discoveries, but from the energy, bravery, and devotedness with
which they have been conducted — those of Mackenzie, Franklin,
Dease, Simpson, and Back, and later still, of Richardson and
Rae, will ever be remembered in connection with polar discovery.
Mackenzie started from Fort Chipuoyan, embarked on the
river that now bears his name, and descended it to the mouth.
The gallant John Franklin, from the same place, descended the
Copper-mine river to the entrance, and after a series of
sufferings which have seldom been equalled and perhaps never
surpassed, returned, but not before one of his party had been
cruelly murdered by one of the Canadian Indians who accom-
panied the party. Franklin's second journey in 1826 was in
connection with ■ other expeditions, he then explored the
coast from the Copper-mine river to nearly the 150th degree of
west longitude.

Back descended the Great Fish river, and reached Port Booth
in King William Land, and after an absence of two and a half
years returned to England.

Durirg the three years following Back's return, viz., 1837-39,
Dease and Simpson — both officers of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany — succeeded in tracing the remaining portion of the arctic
shores of the American continent, and thus virtually solved the
problem of the connection between the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans in the north.

The later journey of Richardson and those of Rae were
connected with the search for Sir John Franklin ; Dr. Rae, it
will be remembered, succeeded in obtaining several articles*
that had belonged to the missing expedition, and such informa-
tion as verified the worst apprehensions entertained as to their
fate.

• The articles brought home by Dr. R.ie are deposited in a case and
placed in the Painted Hall at Greenwich Hospital.

Returning .igain to the eastern side of the continent and the
eastern coast of Greenland we must mention the persevering
explorations of Scoresby, the captain of a whaler, who combined
rare qualities of observation and love of science with energy
and courage ; he added much to the knowledge of that coast,
and also attained a higher northern latitude than any previous
voyager.

The attempt of the Dorothea and Trent to attain the pole
failed from the accumulation of ice north of Spitzbergen ; a
gale obliged the ships to "take" (or nm into) the pack for shelter,
and in so doing they were nearly crusheil, one being rendered
almost unseaworthy ; they, however, escai)ed, and returned in
safety. Franklin was a lieuten.ant in this expedition.

After Commander John Ross's ineffectual attempt in 181 8,
in the Isabella and Alexander, to proceed west by Lancaster
Sound, Captain Parry, with the Hecla and Grifer, not only
passed through the Sound, but discovered all the land, straits,
and ciunnels to Melville Island, and, passing the iioth degree
of west longitude, returned and wintered at Melville Island ;
the following year he discovered Banks' Land, and being
unable to proceed westward on account of the ice, he returned
to England ; his second voyage was not so successful.

In 1827, Captain Parry made his memorable attempt to
reach the pole by means of boats from Spitzbergen. Leaving
the ship at that island on the 22nd of June they proceeded eighty
miles before meeting ice ; then came a struggle, for it was soon
evident that a southerly current was setting them south almost
as fast as they were travelling north ; by dint of great labour
and perseverance they reached latitude 82° 43'; then, finding
that instead of progressing they were receding, returned to the
ship.

Two years later Captain John Ross, in a private expedition,
the Victory, went down Regent inlet and discovered Boothia
Felix ; but the greatest and most important discovery of the
voyage was that made by Captain Ross's nephew, James Clark
Ross — the magnetic pole ; this in itself was sufficient to im-
mortalise the voyage, as it has the name of Sir James Clark
Ross himself. After being frozen in for two years, the Victory
was abandoned, and another winter was spent at Fury Beach.
In July, 1833, they travelled north, and were fortunately
rescued by the whaler Isabella.

The expedition under Sir John Franklin in the Erebus and
Terror, with the various expeditions sent ;n search of him, are
so fresh, and have been so repeatedly before the public, that
it is unnecessary to say more than that, by land or sea, public
and private, they were carried out with a zeal and earnestness
too well known to be commented on. Geographical science
was advanced by them, and— over the ice — the north-west
passage was made. Although from first to last nineteen
vessels were engaged in the search, only one small one — the
Advance — was lost ; five fine ships in good order and well-
provisioned were abandoned, but with what show of rea.son or
prudence posterity will decide, with calmer judgment than can
be arrived at now.

DR. HAVE.S' VOVAGE TO SMITH SOUND, 1860-61.

Dr. Isaac J. Haves had accompanied Dr. Kane in his second
Arctic expedition to Smith Sound in search of Sir John Franklin,
and distinguished himself by his celebrated boat journey from
Renssalaer Harbour, in the endeavour to reach Upernavik, a
journey of great trial and difficulty, which, although unsuccessful.

NORTH POLAR DISCOVERY.

»S'

his stamped him as a man of energy and nerve, fit to act as a
leader in any expedition. On his return to the United States,
in 1855, he immediately commenced agitating with a view to
further research in the same direction ; in this endeavour he
was ably seconded by the learned societies in the United
States, and although the success attending M'Clintock's
voyage in tlie Fox in 1858 had set at rest the fate of Sir John
Franklin and his companions, the sjiirit of discovery had
taken so firm a hold, that it was resolved to continue the
exploration and surveys of the shores of tlie Polar seas, and
also, if possible, to confirm the discoveries reported by Dr.
Kane.

A m.m with less perseverance than Dr. Hayes would have
been overcome by the difficulties he had to contend with, but
by i860 the means were forthcoming to fit out an expedition,
wliich, although assuming very modest proportions, was not
the less important from the nature of its object. The expe-
dition consisted of one small schooner, of 133 tons, which
was ])atrioticalIy re-christened The United States; the crew
numbered fourteen in all, and among them a gentleman of
much scientific ability — Mr. Augustus Soontag — who accom-
panied the expedition as astronomer, and who eventually
sacrificed his life to his ardour in the pursuit of science.

Early in July Dr. Hayes sailed from Boston, and after
being miu h baffled by fogs off the coast of Newfoundland —
which were nearly the means of bringing the little expedition
to a premature end, by running on Cape Race — got safely into
Davis Strait ; on the 30th the arctic circle was crossed, and the
event duly celebrated by hoisting bunting and firing guns.

Dr. Hayes seems to have selected the right kind of men
for his work ; for they were cheerful and contented, notwith-
standing the trials and discomforts of the passage up the Strait.

Arrived at Proven, Dr. Hayes immediately set to work to
complete his crew ; for although he had well furnished himself
with a biped one for arctic purposes, it was incomplete without
being supplemented by a quadruped one. To Dr. Hayes'
dismay, he found that there had been a pestilence among the
dogs, and there was scarcely one to be procured ; hoping for
better success at Uperno vik, on the 1 2th August he proceeded
in his vessel to that port, where he and his companions were
hospitab'y treated by the Danish authorities. Through the
kindness of Mr. Hansen, the Danish chief trader, some dogs
were obtained, Mr. Hansen generously yielding his own team ;
an addition was also made to the crew in an interpreter, two
sailors, and three dog-drivers, and the little vessel sailed.

On his way to Tessuissak, amongst the icebergs. Dr. Hayes
had many opportunities of studying the conditions of these
floating monsters, and at times his vessel was in much danger
from their sudden irruption ; on one occasion the doctor
ascended a berg to a height ot nearly 200 feet, and from it
counted no fewer than 500 bergs, when he gave up the
enumeration in despair.

On the 2 1 St, T/ie United States was off the settlement of
Tessuissak, the last outpost of the Royal Greenland Company,
and Dr. Hayes was enujled to complete the number of his
dogs to four good teams, thirty dogs in all ; their incessant
howling and fighting kept Dr. Hayes and his companions alive,
although not in the most agreeable manner. An iceberg, that
lay grounded off the settlement, was measured by Dr. Hayes,
and by his computation contained about 27,000,000,000 of
cubical feet, with a weight of about 2,000,000,000 of tons.

Leaving Tessuissak, the expedition safely crossed Melville
Bay, and ajjproaching Cai)e York a look-out was kept for natives,
Dr. Hayes hopingto meet a man who had accompanied Dr. Kane
in his expedition. A group was seen, one of whom proved to
be Hans, the man sought for; with very little persuasion he
agreed to accompany Dr. Hayes, and, with his wife and child,
was taken on board, and the little schooner again bounded on
her onward course.

With wild weather they entered Smith Sound, and were
obliged to seek protection under the land, southward of Cape
Alexander, the lofty peak of which was enveloped in a white
cloud, a sure token of wind in these regions.

It was Dr. Hayes' wish to get across to the west shore of the
Sound, but pack ice obstructed him ; and after much crushing
from the ice Dr. Hayes succeeded in getting into a snug little
harbour in Hartstene Bay, in latitude 78° 17', about twenty
miles to the southward of Rens'.alacr harbour, and eight north-
east from Cape Alexander. This harbour Hayes named Port
Foulke, in honour of one of his earliest and firmest supporters
and friends, Mr. William Parker Foulke. Ice soon closed them
in, and preparation was made for passing the winter.

Many reindeer were found in the vicinity of the harbour,
and the natives whom Dr. Hayes had shipped at Upernavik
were brought into use to hunt them, and many were secured,
and carefully added to the stock of provisions. An observatory
was erected, and the record of observations duly commenced.
The dogs were formed into teams and practised along the
smooth surface of the fiord, and great wa.s the amusement
caused by the attempts of Dr. Hayes and Mr. Soontag to
manage their canine teams ; the vigorous exercise of the whip,
arm and the constant application of the lash being absolutely
necessary to their well-being and well-doing.

Dr. Hayes visited the glacier discovered by Dr. Kane in
1855, and called by him, "my brother John's glacier." On
the 22nd, with men and sledge lightly equipped, he reached
the foot of the glacier and encamped for the night ; the next
day he succeeded in getting on the glacier ; at the sides the ice
was very rough and much broken, but free from snow ; as he
approached the centre it became more smooth. Dr. Hayes
succeeded in travelling between si.v'y and seventy miles towards
the interior, and attained an altitude of 5,000 feet above the sea ;
he was then obliged to return, from the severity of the weather.

The winter now set in in earnest, and the time was beguiled
away in the usual manner of arctic voyagers ; a school and a
newspaper were established ; but before entire darkness set in,
sledge parties explored the neighbourhood ; in one of these
expeditions Mr. Soontag and a party struck the trail of two
bears, which they followed up, and after a most exciting attack
by the dogs, the bears;— a female and her cub — were captured.

The most severe check and blow to Dr. Hayes was the
death of Mr. Soontag, already alluded to ; his loss was irre-
parable — a trusty friend and an earnest enthusiastic fellow-
labourer. Being away in January on one of his excursions, he
fell through the ice into the water, which so paralysed him,
that all efforts made by his companions to restore circulation
proved unavailing, and in a few hours he died.

With the approach of spring, when travelling to a greater
distance became possible, Dr. Hayes proceeded to Renssalaer
Harbour in search of his old ship, the Advatue, abandoned by
Dr. Kane in 1855 ; but beyond a small piece of deck plank,
lot a vestige of her was to be seen.

5'^'

■ V \

'I'!:

I 11

«s«

ILLUSTRATED TRAVKI-S.

■i 1 11'

■fi

Preparations were now made for a more extended journey ;
and on the 3rd of A\n\\ he left the vessel to nvike his way across
Smith Soimd, to continue the survey of the west shore from
the termination of his discoveries in 1854, and to carry out the
great object of his voyage — viz., to reach the shores of the open
polar sea.

'l"he incessant labour and difficulty of travelling amongst
hummocky ice, and the great severity of the weather soon
told on his crew, some of them becoming much exhausted, so
that Dr. Hayes resolved to send the greater number back to
the vessel, and proceed with only three men and his dogs ;
this was done on the 28th, and, then, with his reduced i)arty
he stmggled on, and after thirty-one days' travel reached the
opposite shore, the real distance travelled being only eighty-
one miles. Proceeding north, the shores of the Sound ana of
Kennedy Channel were examined, and remains of native huts
found as far north as the 80th degree.

Determined to press forward, and, if possible, obtain a
sight of the open sea. Dr. Hayes strained every nerve, but his
purpose was nearly frustrated by one of his companions break-
ing down by becoming lame. So near the purpose of his heart,
and to b:' foiled by an accident ! it was not to be thought of ;
and lca«mg the lame man in charge of one of his companions,
and accompanied by the other — a lad only eighteen years of
age — Dr. Hayes dashed forward, and finally reached a position
somewhat to the northward of that attained by Morton in Dr.
Kane's voyage, Dr. Hayes' latitude being 81' 35'. To his
delight and gratification the open polar sea lay before him.
Justly proud was Dr. Hayes at his success, and justly proud
was he when, from the lash of his whip, he unfurled the flag
of his country — the " star-spangled banner " — on the most
northern land the foot of civilised man had ever trod. There
lay the sea, the existence or non-existence of which had caused
so much dispute, far as the eye could reach, the bold shores
stretching about sixty miles to the north.

Time, shortness of provisions, the two men left behind, and

the rotten state of the ice, prevented Dr. Hayes from continuing
his journey northward ; and, as if parting from a first love, with
many a longing look behind, he began to retrace his steps.
Returning to his companions (the lame one being much
restored by rest), Dr. Hayes succeeded in regaining his
vessel, after an absence of sixty-one days, and without the
loss of a man.

A careful survey of his vessel convinced Dr. Hayes that she
was not strong enough to encounter the ice more than could
be possibly avoided ; he did not, however, give up all hope of
sailing his little craft in the open polar sea, and thus complete
by fact what his vision had convinced him to be ([uite possible ;
such repairs as could be extemporised were made in the vessel,
the sails were overhauled and repaired, the stores re-shipped,
and every prejiaration made for the breaking up of the ice,
pending which Dr. Hayes took every opportunity of adding to
his store of information, and the presence of some natives in
the vicinity enabled him tc learn much that was interesting and
amusing.

On the nth of July, 1861, the ice broke up, and although
the disruption had nearly caused the loss of the vessel, she
was once more free ; Dr. Hayes then made the attem])t to
proceed north, and succeeded in getting within ten miles of
Cape Isabella, but ice and prudence forbade nearer approach,
and he was obliged to make good his retreat. Crossing
Melville Bay he arrived at Upernavik on August 12th, and
having discharged his Esquimaux and the remainder of his dogs,
he made the best of his way down Davis Strait, and after
touching at Halifax for some repairs, arrived in safety at
Boston.

Dr. Hayes, while in the north, had planned an expedition
for the following year, in which to follow up his imp.'tant dis-
coveries ; but, alas ! on his return he found his beloved country
steeped in civil war, and all prospect of prosecuting further
research in the north, at least for some time to come,
was destroyed.

A yourncy through the Soudan and JVcstern Abyssinia, luith Reminiscences

of Captivity.

BY LIEUTKNANT W. K. I'RIOEAUX, F.R.G.S., BOMBAY STAFF CORPS.

v.— Western Abvssini.\— WANDic.fi— Atchafar— Agow Meder—
The Koval Camp.

No person can reside in Abyssinia beyond a month or two,
anil fail to be struck by the number of fasts and festivals
enjoined by the church of that country. Besides those days
which are held sacred throughout the whole Christian world,
there are numberless others, which to western eyes seem only
to serve as mementoes of superstition, and almost of idolatry.
The Senkesar, or calendar, contains within its i)ages legends of
saints and miracles unrivalled in any collection of our own
Acta Sanctorum. The conversion of the devil by Abba
Aragawee, the anchorite of Dabra Damo, and other similar
tales, occupy a place in the estimation of the ijeojile at large

corresponding to that in which we hold the miracle.-, recorded
in the Gospel. And the reason is obvious. On every day in
the year is commemorated at least one saint, often two or
three, and occasionally half a dozen. During the early morning
service, which begins at cock-crow, the acts of this saint, and
the wonders performed by him, are publicly read to the con-
gregation, who have no means of discriminating between the
authenticity of the Senkesar and the Bible. The Seven
Sleejjers of Antioch, or St. Samuel, who rode upon a lion,
are as real to them as St. Peter or St. Paul, But beyond
these, there are other festivals which have a more special
significance, and which are usually celebrated with a consider-
able amount of pomp and display. Of them I may mention

SOUM PALU, OF THE SOUDAK.

VOL. I.

flO

•54

ILLUSTRATFb TRAVEIA

LI' I

Ataskiil, or the Invention of the Cross by the P^mpress Helena,
on which feast a review is generally held in camp or garrison,
and the soldier has a regular gala-day. On this occasion the
sordid shama of every-day life is thrown olT, and the warrior
mounts his horse clad only in the bright silkv'n shirt, with the
thick laiml flaunting loosely over his shoulders. A gay and
inspiriting spectacle, it must be confessed. Still, these frequent
feasts, and the long abstinence of Lent and before Christmas,
together with fasts every Wednesday and Friday, are in reality
only so many incentives to idleness, and retard, amongst a
naturally indolent ])eople, all civilisation and improvement.

It was our fortune to arrive at Wandigfi on the eve
of Tcmkat, or the Epiphany, one of the most important
fcsti\als of the Abyssinian Church. We were, however, too
much occupied in pitching our tents and making ourselves
comfortable to have leisure to notice any of the cere-
monies which are observed on the day preceding the great
feast. We saw, it is true, a procession in the distance, moving
with slow and measured steps towards a small brook which
watered the base of the hill on which the village of Kanoha
was situated, and we found on inquiry that the Tabot, the
sacred symbol of the Ark of the Covenant, was being conveyed
thither, to be guarded and watched over by the priests belong-
ing to the neighbouring church, who, after a day of fasting,
would keep their vigils during the night by the margin of the
stream. In the morning the portals of the church would be
opened to receive again the Taliot, and this ceremony we were
invited to witness by the Waizero, or Lady Paramount of the
district. The pleasure of the day was marred by a sad occur-
rence. One of the porters, a mere lad, was bitten by a snake
during the night, and neglecting to give an alarm immediately,
the ready assistance of Di'. Blanc was summoned too late, and
the poor fellow, after considerable suffering, died in the course
of tlie morning. Snakes, so far as my experience goes, are not
common in Abyssinia; we rarely heard of fatal cases during our
sojourn in the country, and I believe this was the only one
which came under our personal observation, although there
is no doubt that the doctor was instrumental in saving
the lives of other persons who applied to him before
the venom had time to do its deadly work, especially in
one instance of a woman who wat bitten while we were at
Magdala.

After breakfxst we mounted our mules, and escorted by
Tesamma, Sliiroo, and Tushoo, rode off towards the church.
As we were on the direct route from the brook, we soon fell
in with the procession. A large number qf priests and deacons,
singing at the utmost pitch of their voices, surrounded the con-
secrated emblem of the Ark, and by uncouth dances and genu-
flexions strove to imitate the holy joy of David as he came
from Kirjath-jearim. It was almost impossible for a stranger
in the land, and one unused to its ways and customs, to avoid
smiling at what seemed such gross caricature ; yet I am sure
that if ever devotion fills the heart of an Abyssinian priest, it
is at moments such as these. But enthusiasm, to be respected,
must be consistent ; and to the outward world, earnestness
ceases to be such when it fails in dignity. We know the
ordinary life of the sacerdotal class in this country — with rare
exceptions, laziness, ignorance, and sensuality are its predomi-
nant characteristics. To me, as well as to many others of our
party, there was always something repulsive in the very look
and gait of a priest ; a too prononcc air of sanctity, so to speak.

in the bro.td turban and the white shama, from amidst the folds
of which would peer forth the cunning eyes and the be.irded
face, dark by nature, but appearing preternaturally so through
iis contrast with the ble;u;hed garments ; for, contrary to the
usual habits of his countrymen, it is a point of religious
honour with the priest to go forth attired in white raiment. I
will not say their lives belie their professions, for of the latter,
except in outward appearance, they make but few ; holiness
does not reside in their hear •>, which are unseen, but in their
oftice, which is visible to every one. .\ priest's hand is kissed by
an ignorant peasant, in the full confiilence that thereby absolu-
tion is accorded, simjjly because it is a priest's hand. What is
there left to strive for further ? Sermons do not form a part of
the usual service of the Abyssinian Church, but occasionally
one of the ascetics, who reside within the enclosure, will deliver
a Targoom, or Exposition, which is generally acceptable, and
often, 1 have been assured, worth hearing. Reverence, on
account of personal holiness and purity of life, is felt for thp
hermits, which woukl be withheld altogether from the ill' .crate
priests, were it not that their sensuality and ignorance art-
condoned by the habit which they wear, for few of them are
able to do more than recite from memory the Psalms, which
they cannot read. The deacons are boys between nine and
sixteen years old ; when they have attained the latter age, they
are sui)posed to fix their vocation, and should they desire to
return to the world, they are at liberty to do so. This is the
case with the majority, but brought up as they are entirely >/ the
priesthood, they exhibit intense bigotryand uitoleiaiicc a; an early
age, and the smattering of religious and doctrinal knowledge
which thus leavens the whole population, and which, while it is
sufficient for superstition, is not enough for enlightenment, is
probably the greatest bar to the establishment of a purer system
of Christianity which could exist.

In the rear of this motley throng we took our places. The
priests were clad in silken chasubles, and the deacons, if pos-
sible, were more gorgeous still. Crooks were brandished and
crosses were waved, and a show of brilliant umbrellas marked
the place where the Tabot was being carried. But the proces-
sion was not yet complete. We were told that the young
maidens of these and the neighbouring villages would also join
in the dance before the Ark. This sounded well — a " Danse
des Vierges;" there was something fascinating in the very sound,
enough to inflame the imagination of a manager of a trans-
pontine theatre to the highest jiitch. Or, perhaps, on an occa-
sion like this, they might closer resemble such a chorus as
vtschylus saw when he imagined the Choephorce, or as appeared
to Euripides when he dreamt of the graceful daughters of Phoe-
nicia or Troy. We (ould hardly believe o\)r eyes when the
damsels did appear.

Nothing but a troop of squalid children met our eyes, the
youngest of v/hom might perhaps have numbered six summers,
and the eldest thirteen or fourteen. They were merely dressed
in the usual coarse cotton shirt of the country, with a fev/
lengths of the samj material as a girdle. But was this a
fair specimen of the maidenhood of Abyssinia ? we could not
help asking ourselves. If so, when did it end, and woman-
hood begin? Or was there a tertium quid unknown in les3
happy lands ? Not so, for longer research will tell one that a giti
is a girl so long as she is a sAdoalla, and this depends upon her-
self When the hair of a little baby-girl has grown long enough
to be plaited, the crown is carefully shaved, with the exception

A JOURNEY THROUGfl THE SOUDAN.

'55

sometimes of a. small top-knot, liut one row of tr.-sseJ hair is
left to cnciri le the head. Every year the shaven portion (or
sddoolla) grows less and less, while the plaits increase like the
rings in the trunk of an oak-trc'. Now, properly speal.inj;, as
soon as the damsel arrives at nubile years she should ler.vc r>i(
shaving altogether, but in these degenerate times few can b,?
indued to do this, and a bare patch, the size of a crown-piece,
is generally left, in order to show, that if the lady is not yet
provided with a husband, it is from no lack of inclination on
her pirt. Some, even after marriage, find it difficu'.t to part
with this emblem of youth. Our little dancing friends, who
were all most fully entitled to this badge of virginity, clapped
their hands and danced in childish glee before us, but ragged
and dirty as they were, presented anything but a pleasing spec-
tacle. 'I'heir elder sisters, disdaining to take a part in the pro-
cession, followed in the rear, with the attendants of the Waizero,
and cast shy and curious glances from their dark eyes at the
stranger gue .ts of their Lady. It did not take us long to arrive
at the chi'.ch. It is situated in another village, called Ferohd,
and is dedicated to Jesus. We did not enter it while the cere-
mony of the reception of the Tabot was being conducted, and
which only lasted a few minutes, but remained outside with the
majority of the villagers. At its conclusion, the Waizero in-
vited us to a repast at her house at Kanohl, and thither we
accordingly repaired ; and after being regaled with various
wats, or made dishes, and some glasses of mead, in a manner
which displayed the strongest desire to show us all possible
hospitality, we retired to our tents.

As our porters had to be changed here, we could not
get away the next day (19th of January), but on the following
morning we were able to resume our march. We bade adieu
to the old Waizero with real regret. Her two sons were to
accompany us to the King's camp, but she preferred remaining
at her native village to encountering the fatigues attendant o:i
a longer journey. She paid a visit to Mr. Rassam the evening
before our departure, and appeared truly solicitous about our
future welfare. Her place was filled in the cortege by a hand-
some sprightly lady, whom we will call the wife of Lidj
Tcsamma, bravely clad and adorned as became an Abyssinian
dame of high degree. A finely-woven shama, or toga, was
loosely thrown over the embroidered kamees, or shirt, with its
folds nearly concealing the rich olivdtre tints of her face. Tight
trousers, embroidered with various-coloured silks so as to match
the shirt, peeped from below the shama, and allowed a glimpse
of the little feet, shaded off, as it were, by the silver fringe of the
igr-kitAbs, or anklets. A tilsain, or collection of worked silver and
leather talisman case?, alternately strung on a blue cord, and"
a diree, or necklace, composed of five or six silver chains con-
nected together by stamped or filagree plates, completed her
attire. As far as I remember, she was hardly great lady
enough to wear a " bumoos," or blue embroidered mantle of
silk or satin. Followed by a saucy black-eyed Abigail, she
ambled on gaily enough, but as demurely and circumspectly as
could be desired.

We halted at Dankora, in the district of Atchafar. The
country in the neighbourhood is flat, but we were fortunate
enough to secure an excellent camping ground on an eminence,
beneath the shade of some fine sycamore trees. The villagers,
who had heard of Dr. Blanc's fame as a Hakeem, came in
shoals to solicit his , assistance, and it was with the greatest
difficulty that the stalwart Godjamee K&sa, who acted as a

kind of chamberlain, could keep the clamorous crowd at a
distance. An old friend came to pay a visit to Mr. Rassam at
this place. His name was Walda .Seliisyo (lobazye, a men li.int
of gooil repute at Gondar, while th.it town was tlourishiiij,' as
the centre of commerce in Western Abyssinia. After it had
been destroyed by Theodore, he attached himself to the service
of the King, still retaining his business as a trader. While Mr.
Rassam ami I were staying at Massfiwa, we were favoured with
a visit from this man, ostensibly from motives of courtesy only,
but in reality, as we well knew, in the capacity of a spy from his
master. Mr. Rassam's conversation and behaviour made such
a favourable impression on him, that on his return to the royal
court, he could report nothing but gooil of the Franks he had
seen at the coast, and it is supposed tiiat this had a good deal
to do with our invitation into the country. Be that as it may,
I believe he personally both liked and admired Mr. Rassam,
and he took advantage of being in Atchafar to pay us a visit
While he was sitting in the envoy's tent, chatting away in the
friendliest manner, the stern figure of (locliamee appeared in
the doorway, and in a tone which admitted of no refusal, ordered
him off. It was in vain that Gobazy^ appealed to his old
friendship with Mr. Rassam, and pointed to the silken shirt
which he wore, the badge of court favour and distinction. The
orders of his Majesty were distinctly that we were to have no
intercourse with any natives of the upper classes, except those
specially told off as our escort ; and so the poor merchant,
very loth to leave s,o hospitable an entertainer, was forcefl to
obey.

The following morning we continued our march to Nefasa,
passing on the road a large village, called Ism&la. Nefasa,
with its pretty church, is situated on a low hill ; its houses are
nearly all in ruins, Atchafar having been one of those districts
on which the plunderer's hand i)ressed hardest. The country
through which we passed was on the whole level and unin-
teresting, with a chalky soil, varied with red marl. The next
day we crossed the Kiltee, which was a streamlet only a few
yards broad, and encamped at Timha, on the banks of another
inconsiderable river, called the Brantee. These two streams
unite a few miles further up, and fall into the Lake Tsilna at its
south-western corner. As we had now entered the province of
Agow-Meder, which had always been treated with considera-
tion by the King, signs of cultivation increased, and flourishing
villages, sequestered churches, and snug homesteads were by
no means infrequent The crack of the jerAf constantly re-
sounded in our ears, as we rode through the fallow fields, where
the ploughman was busy at his labours. This is a kind of
stock-whip, with a two-foot handle, and a lash of twisted cow-
hide three or four times that length ; when wielded by a prac-
tised hand it resounds louder than a pistol-shot In other
places, the green barley had attained a height of six or eight
inches from the ground, an.', everything betokened happiness
and contentment

Agow-Meder,* from time immemorial, has been divided into
seven districts, and has generally been governed by a Dedj-
azmatch of its own. The grass/ uplands and level plains of this
magnificent province are well adapted to pasture the immense

• That is, '• The Ajjow-Country." More property, it should be spelt
" Agi4," but, in accordance with pronunciition, I prefer to represent the
Amharic letters Alef-Waw by the English nw, as Professor Chenery, in
his valuable and scholarly translation of the Mak&mit of Al-Hartri, does
the corresponding Arabic letters.

I,
i I

•■!;ri

156

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

< ii

! I

ll I I'

herds of cattle and droves of horses that are everywhere to be seen.
For a long time past the villages have been free from molesta-
tion, and the inliabitants were the first we saw who wore any-
thing like an air of comfort and independence. This may be
in some degree owing t( their frank and martial cliaracter.
Father Jerome Lobo, writing of them at the beginning of the
seventeenth century, sjieaks of them as "numerous, fierce,
and unconquerable, inhabiting a
country full of mountains, which
are covered with woods and
hollowed by nature into vast

caverns To these

recesses the Agaus betake
themselves when they are dri'.en
out of tlie plains, where it is
almost impossible to find ihem,
and certain ruin to pursue
them."* In the old Jesuit's time
Christianity was beginning to
make some progress amongst
them, but was much interwoven
with the o'.d ."•'gan rites and
ceremonies. Bruce, a hundred
and fifty years later, mentions
these caverns in which the
Agows were accustomed to take
refiige upon any alarm of an
irruption of the Galla, but he
nevertheless bears testimony to
their warlike prowess. Krapf
also speaks of their " character
of savageness, spirit of inde-
jiendcncy, bravery in warfare,
irascibleness, revengefulness,and
rapacity," though he admits
that the Christian religion, which
they have now all embraced,
has to some extent tempered
these bad qualities. Their origin
is lost in obscurity, though there
is little doubt that the Agows
of Agow-Meder and those of
Wag and Tchera, near the
T."\izze, spring from common
ancestors. To say nothing of
the similarity in jiersona! and
moral characteristics a \'ery brief
examination of their vocabu-
laries v.ill suffice to prove this.
The derivation of the name
given by Bruce,! referring to the

Nilotic cult of the Pagan Agows, may be set aside as •. fancifiil
distortion of fact to support a theory. But, as I take it,
whether Autochthones or not, the Agows have a right to be
considered at least the "oldest inhabitants" of ilie country,
and a comparison of the different languages spoken m Abyssinia
will prove at once that they are entirely distinct in origin and
race from Amhara, (ialla, or Falasha.

• I.obo's "Voyage to Abyssinia," Johnson's Translation, p. no.
t " Ag-Olia," Shepherds of the River. — I'li/f linicc, vol. ii. p. 327, cd.
1S05, 8vo.

ABYSSINIAN FUSILEER,

Korkuera is the name of that district of Agow-Medcr
through which we had lirst to pass. A beautifully imdulating
country, with but few trees. As we rode past a large village,
named Zoogda, a husbandman ran out to meet us, and pressed
on our acceptance as a gilt a young " Mn," one of the pretty
little green monkeys whicli are so common in all parts of Abys-
sinia. They are shy at first, but soon become reconciled to

human society. Lidj Tesamma,
who had borrowed a fowling-
^,j^, ^ piece for a few minutes, soon

^^^^^~ after came back with one of

the poor little creatures in the
agonies of death. He was quite
disappointed to find that his
feat did not meet with the ap-
probation which he felt sure it
merited.

We took up our quarters for
the night (23rd January) in a
pretty rural spot on the banks
of a small stream. The fo/a is
remarkably fond of the wild
P\xaniore fig, and we found a
pleasant camping ground close
to a grove of these magnificent
trees. The road next day was
much pleasantcr, as it lay
through a succession of shady
spinnies, with a carpet of green-
sward and ivild flowers. In
the evening we reached Saha
Bandja. near whi' h some few
years before a sanguinary battle
had been fought between the
forces of King Theodore and
those of Tadla Gwalu, the in
surgent chief of Godjam. Our
friend, Godjamee Kiisa, had
been in the action, and had a
long story to tell of his deeds of
" derring-do." Seven or eight
champions had fallen victims
to his sword and spear. Of
course he had been on the right
side, that of his jirescnt master.
We encamped near a beautiful
grove of kosso-trees, which,
with their drooping i)ink blos-
soms, seemed to overshadow a
spot all too fair to be marred
by the wrath and strife of man.
And yet, years before, they had n-itnessed a still more dreadfiil
scene oi carnage. Bandja has a name in Abyssinian history
as the place where die great battle was fought in 1770 between
Waragna Fasil, the Galla chief of Godjam and Metcha and the
iVgow allies of Ras Mikhail, in which the latter were entirely
defeated, and seven of their principal chiefs killed. I never
saw the kosso attain a more luxuriant beauty and size than at
this ph"e. Bf;it!.;s its well-known anthelmintic virtues, it
rivals our mo:>L imposing forest-trees in majesty and "grandeur,
whilst its delicately-tinted clusters of blossoms, contrasting

iT-

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

»S7

with the rich green of its foliage, altogether form a picture un-
surpissed in nature.

The following day we resumed our march, which led us
over the brow of a low but precipitous hill, into a lovely plain,
thickly tenanted with guinea-fowl and antelope. The tall bare
cliff of Injabara, pointing like a sculptured obelisk to the skies,
lay on our right, and formed a conspicuous landmark for many
miles around. We had scarcely reached our camping ground,
when the overcast sky and the distant rumblings warned us to
take shelter as soon as possible from tlie approaching storm.
Our tents had not yet arrived, but on looking round, we per-
ceived a small Agow village at no great distance. Tiiither we

n.irrow doorway, wiiich is always kept closed up, an Al)yssinian
house is perfectly innocent of any aperture by which the outer
atmosphere may be admitted, and the light of day is tlius
placed under the same ban. The walls are blackened with
smoke, the roof is encrusted with the soot of generations ; and
when the traveller's eyes have become sufficiently habituated
to the murky darkness which reigns within to enable him to
distinguish between the cackling fowls and sprawling children
which encumber tlie floor, and the figures of the master and
mistress of the mansion, who are sijuatting round tlie central
fire, thinking intently on nothing at all in particular, than his
eyes, smarting as if a thousand needle-points were concentrated

Ilif:'

■:iW

VIKW ON THE BRANTKK.

repaired, and knocking at the door of the largest house, re-
quested admittance. But the inmates, who had jirobably never
seen a white face before, persistently kept the door shut, until
our escoit, growing dcsiierate at the idea of crouching beneath
the narrow eaves of the roof for perhaps another hour, almost
forrcfl their way in, and we followed after them. Uiit althougii,
judging from the g7uo/iis* of corn and jars of beer which were
snugly ensconced in the recesses of the walls, the house evi-
dently belonged to a well-to-do family, there was nothing in it
to tempt ;is to make a longer stay than necessity com|)elled us
to do, It takes some tiine to bring one's mind to the fact that
fresh air and cold water are such utterly superfluous lu.\uries as
savage man deems them. 'With the exception of the low and

* .\ /;-:i't'/.i is a (all cyiindrical vessel, scvlmi or eight Itct liigli, maile of
wicker-work, umi plastered with cow-ilung, used as a receptable for grain.

in them, force him to rush out of doors as the only means of
preserving his sight. Why, in this instance, such reluctance
to admit us should have been shown I cannot say, and can
only .attribute it to the inhospitality and distrust of strangers
whii li Abyssinians usually exhibit, and whii li stand in such
unfavourable contrast to the behaviour of the Arab, who will
plunder you in the desert and feast you in his tent with eciu.il
lionhomie, conscious that, according to his creed, he is doing a
virtuous action all the while.

We we' e now approaching the spot which King Theodore for
some time pas; had made his headquarters. Stories had been
current e- er since we were at Wandigfi that he would come
and meet us with a select body of cavalry, and we were now in
daily expectation of receiving a visit from him. In this way
we accounted for our slow progress and the frequent delays

i1-"1'!

■>'1|

■4\

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

I;!

i^'

»'S:-|I

I * ' tl'S

i I .' ',

■^ ■ !:i|

en loii'e. On the 27th we made a short niarcli to Dangwiya,
and halted in the centre of a bare and level plain. We had
hardly begun pitching our tents, when the rain came down
with terrific violence. It ceased an hour afterwards, the sun-
beams flashed through the ojiening clouds, and a magnificent
double rainbow encircled the horizon, and was unhesitatingly
hailed by our whole party as an omen of success.

The next day we were left in uncertainty as to our move-
ments till long after breakfast. Our escort then came to us,
and said they had received instructions to jjroceed to tlie
royal camp. This was indeed pleasant intelligence for us.
We were growing wearier as each day's march lirought us
nearer to our goal, and we gladly lent our aitl to strike the tents
and assort the baggage. We had proceeded a mile or two on
the road, when Lidj Tesamma advised us to discharge our fire-
arms, if they ha))])ened to be loailed, before we entered the
precincts of the camp. We acknowledged the prudence of
this course, and, halting in the open, amused ourselves and our
conductors with a little pistol practice. Then we crossed the
River Fatsam, which separates the provinces of Damot and
Agow-Meder, and empties itself into the Abai or Blue Nile.
Chief after chief now began to ride up, probably with instruc-
tions regarding our progress, with a view to " timing " us well
for the reception we were to meet. A little further on, we were
informed that it was now time we should ])ut on our uniforms,
so as to appear presentable in case the King should come to
meet us. A small Indian tent was pitched, and we were not
long in investing ourselves with these emblems— a? our friends
imagined, of the personal favour we were held in by her
gracious Majesty — and mounting agnin. A devious pathway
led us through a tangled thicket, and prevented us from seeing
far before us, when turning a corner, the curtain seemed lifted
with almost theairical suddenness, and a scene, barbarous
maybe, but still in its way grand and imposing, became visible
to our eyes.

On either side dense masses of foot-soldiers, spearmen,
and musketeers formed an avenue beyond which cantered
gaily three or four hundred of the best mounted warriors
of Habesh, all equipped in their holiday attire. Behind
each chieftain was his henchman, bearing on his left arm
the shield of his master, a round target of buffalo or rhino-
ceros hide, covered with silver stars and bosses, and in his right
hand a long and quivering lance. Two horsemen advanced to
meet our party, leading between them a caparisoned mule. To
the right was Ras Engeda, at that time owner of the finest
stud in Abyssinia next to the King, mounted on his favourite
dark bay charger, and to the left was Aito Samuel, on his pretty
grey galloway, Dalitcli. The Ras was a man of about forty
years of age, of the middle height, slender and active in make,
with an intelligent face, an expression of great pensivencss
generally characterising it. His plaited hair was drawn away
from a handsome and well-formed brow, and a very scanty
beard and moustache clothed the lower part of his face. He
was a native of Agow-Meder, and was generally said to be of a
good family, claiming kindred with Ras Ali, although his de-
tractors, who of course were pretty numerous, in virtue of his
position as court favourite, ti:;ed to aver that his origin was
much more ignoble. Walda (laliriel told us he was nothing
but a knifecleaner—a statement to be received with some
caution, inasmuch as .such an office is wholly unknown in the
domestic economy of the Abyssinians, unless indeed he meant '

us to infer that the Ras had passed his early life in attend-
ance on the feasts of his more wealthy countrymen, when
tliere is alwa\s an array of small urchins, who share with the
(logs of llie establishment the duty of effectually clearing away
all the remnants that remain in ])latter or jar. However that
may be, Theodore, then Dedjadj Kasa, took a fancy to the
youth, when he was but a struggling s/ii/td (rebel) himself, and
placeil him as a pupil in tlie monastery of Tchankar, the place
where he had received his own early education. He was soon
afterwards enrolled as a soUlicr under the banners of his master,
antl the star of the young Enge.la rose as surely, if not as
loftilv, as that of Kasa himself A.'"ter his coronation as King
of the Kings of Ethiopia, Theodore, like Napoleon, established
a court and an official hierarchy. In the first rank were the
Rases — Engeda. Hailu, and Oobye, and of these three the first
was the only one who had retained his rank and influence up to
the time I am now sjieaking of Oobye was a chained prisoner
at Magdala, Hailu was disgraced and powerless in the camp, but
Engcia was still chief minister and favourite. This was attri-
btited to the fact that he was never known to say " No ;" in
short, to his knowledge of the first arts of a courtier. Still, his
life proved his loyalty, his death his devotion, an 1 this in the
face of much subsequent ill-treatment, and a long march to
Magdala in fetters.

Aito Samuel was a personage of quite a different stamp.
The son of a jietty Moiiammeda;! chieftain of .•Vkula-Guzai, on
the frontier of Tigre, he was converted when (piite a youth to
Christianity, and was baptised at Cairo by the late Mr. Lieder.
After travels which had led him as far as Bombay, he settled in
Shoa, and his fascinating manners, his address, and his perfect
knowledge of Arabic, as well as of the Abyssinian languages,
soon brought him into high favour at the court of Sahhela
Selasyc, the king of that country. He was there at the time
of Major Harris's mission, and there was an idle story that a
lameness with which he was afflicted had been caused by an
injury received at the ban Is of a member of the embassy, and
that in conse(iuence of this, lie ': id vowed eternal vengeance
against all luiropeans. After tlie downfall of Shoa and Tigre,
and the establishment of the monarchy, he attached himself to
tiie fortunes of King Theodore, and although at the time hold-
ing quite a subordinate position, and not even a " Bal-a-
Kaniees,"* he was selected by his master to accomjiany Consul
Cameron on his journey to Massi'iwa as Ha/ii'a/dhj, or inter-
mediary agent. On his return to Condar he was invested
with the shirt, and ajjpointcd Steward of the Household, and
Superintendent of the I'ages and jiersonal servants of the King.
In ])erson he was prepossessing and almost handsome; with a
lofty but narrow foreheail, aquiline riose, and thin lips, shaded
bv a slight moustache, and a well-shaped head covered with
bushy grey hair, strongly approaching the unmistakable wool
of the .' I'ri( an. This was rather against his ]>retensions, on
which lie ])huned himself, of being a descendant of a great
.\rab family, a son of Haslicm ; his grandflither having, as he
said, emigrated from San'a many years liefore. In character
ho was timid, dissimulating, < rafty, a time-server, and a
senstialist, b\it so were all his countrymen ; and, to give him
his due, he was not without his good points, and had it not
been for his jiresence and assistance at Magdala, we should
have fared much harder than we did.

• Tlie title assunu'd liy llic wj.ircrs of the silk bliirt, or symbol of
noliilily.

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

>59

Dismounting, the two courtiers made a neat little speech of
welcome, and offered tlie mule to Mr. Rassam, as a present
from his Majesty, apologising at the s.ame time for the mean-
ness of the gift. A red tlannel tent, on a slight eminence at the
distance of a <iuarter rf a mile, was pointed out to us, and we
were informed thai we should rest there for a short time, until
the King's pleasure should be known. W'e were accordingly
conducted thither, and received a cordial welcome from tiie

were, as he said, hungry, it would be better if we saw hmi
immediately. This put us on the qui vivc; and we were not
long in getting ready for tlie interview.

The royal tent was situated higher up, and, owing to the
inequalities of the ground, was not visible from the place on
W'hich ours was pitched, but a walk of a few yards brought us
in view of it. A double line of musketeers, facing inwards,
was stationed along the patii, and as we, accompanied by Aito

Jl NCIION UF TIIL KILTKL WITH THE BRANTLK, A'JOW MtUtK.

R&s on entering it. Soon after sen-ants arrived, bearing huge
platters of the finest /,/'/" brcid, jars of (//////;// ((luitney) and
gombus of strong mead, on which we were invited to regale our-
selves. Before we had finished our repast, a note arrived for
Mr. Rassam, in which the King said he sliould not be able to
see us that day ; but he soon changed his tnind, and in the after-
noon, when we were beginning to think of throwing off our
uniforms and making ourselves ccmilortable, anoliier missive
was received, to the effect that as his Majesty was about to
leave soon in order to procure s\ipplies for his soldiers, who

Samuel, and followed b> the interpreters, ap()roached them,
they saluted us with a Jcu-dc-joie in really capital time.
When the file-l"ring had ceased, a voice cried out " Imiyet
<h/iiniti/i/iii r (riow are you?) to which, it being a breach of
etiiiuette to return a verbal answer, we respectfully bowed,
and Aito Samuel, kneeling do vn, touched the ground with his
forehead. This was repeated three times, and we having then
arrived at the entrance of the tent, an invitation to enter
was heard, and on the curtain being drawn aside, we found
ourselves face to face with King Theodore of Abyssinia.

'• "'■— r'-'T'T^-i^-T;! *^

MfaW-v

lOo

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

III

Kjiriydii Muriydn Islands.

There are many spots on the cartli's surface tlie very existence
of which we are unconscious of, until a war (of which they
may be the subject), or the marches of contending armies over
them, raises them from obscurity ; for it must be readily con-
ceded that wars greatly add to our geograpliical knowledge ;
but, fortunately, it is not to war that we are indelHed for the
additional information concerning these islands, but to the
more peaceful pursuit of science, in the establishment of sub-
marine electric telegraphs. The position of these islands
rendering them a desirable station on the great line to India
and Australia, they have lately been visited by Her Majesty's
ship Hydra, witli a view to the examination of their neigh-
bourhood.

Kooria Mooria, Kuria Muria, or Kuriyan Muriyiln as they
have been variously designated, arc a group of five islands
lying in an east and west direction off the south "ast coast of
Arabia, about twenty miles from the mainland, they are Hasiki,
Sddah, HulLini'yah, Jezirat Jibli'yah, and Kirzawet or Rodondo,
of which Hulhintyah is the largest, being > tight miles long and
four and a half broad. The whole group are barren, ill-
favoured spots, and are described as tlu' "abomination of
desolation," the only tree being the tama'isk, and all the
other visible vegetation a little grass which i truggles for exist-
ence on the east side of Hiilldni'yah. The general appearance
of the islands is that of a number of coner many having a
rugged and fantastic apjiearance They are con. nosed of granite
resting on a limestone base, the hills in HuUdniyah running to
a height of 1,500 feet, while those of Jezirat JibHyah do not
attain a greater altitude th.an between 500 and 600 feet. Deep
gorges of the wildest and most desolate appearance run from
the shore inland.

Jezfrat Jibliyah is a great guano depot. For some time past
it has been worked by an Englishman, but as the anchorage
around the island is bad, it must be a labour of considerable
risk and difficulty shipping it. The only island at present
inhabited is HuUaniyah.

The English took possession of this group in 1816 (the
Union Jack left there at that time by Captain Moresby was
hoisted on the arrival of the Hydra), but they have since been
formall)- ceded by the Imaum of Muskat for the Red Sea and
Indian telegraph cable ; and the English Government formally
installed the principal man of the inhabitants in charge, with
the munificent salary of — two dollars per annum ! which at the
time of the Hydra's visit was six years in arrear. There arc
twenty-seven inhabitants on HuUaniyah, half of whom are
Arabs and the others aborigines. They exist entirely on fish
and such other articles of food as they can obtain from
exchange with the Arabs of the neighbouring coast. Fish
literally swarm round the islands, and are caught by the
natives (who have no boats) by standing on the shore and
throwing a line and hook, as fast as they can possibly bait
the latter, into the sea ; some of the fish weighing from forty
to fifty pounds. Oysters and other shell fish also abound
on the rock.s in enormous quantities, but the natives (not
the oysters) do not consider them fit for food.

The exaniination of the sea bottom round the islands
proved unfavourable for the purpose of submarine telegraiihy,
it being rocky and uneven.

The Hydra liberally supplied the inhabitants with provi-

sions (although there is no mention of their having paid the
aiTcars of the Governor's salary), for which they were very
gratcfiil ; but tobacco and fish-hooks were the articles most
coveted.

French Expedition ffom Cambodia to the Yang-

tsze-Kians;.
The recent survey-expedition undertaken by the French from
their possessions in Cochin-China, up the Mekong river, and
across the unknown countrv between its upner waters and
those of the Yang-tsze was an extremely bold undertaking.
Hitherto public curiosity has not been gratified by the publi-
cation of a full account of the journey. Tlie expedition was an
official one, and conceived probably with a view of extending
the political influence of the French among the independent
States lying between the British possessions and the western
provinces of China ; but as several scientific gentlemen were in-
cluded in it, results interesting to the world at large must have
been obtained. The party left Saigon on the 7th of June, 1866,
underthe leadership of Captain deLagree, accompanied by eleven
Europeans and eight natives. Of the former five were chosen for
their scientific abilities, each one representing a certain branch
of knowledge ; one to take notes of the botany, another of the
geology, a third the topography, a fourth agriculture, and the
fifth trade. The other six Europeans were French sailors.
On leaving Saigon they directed their course to the Tali-sap, or
great lake of Cambodia, and spent a month in studying the
magnificent ruined temples of Ongcor and other places near
its shores. They then crossed to the main river, Mekong,
which they found obstructed with rapids at about 300 mile?
from the sea, thus limiting the usefulness of this fine river as r.ii
artery of commerce. Still advancing northward they reached
Bassack, on the frontier of Cambodia, where they had to
remain four months, waiting for passports from Peking. On
the 5th of June, 1867, the party arrived at Stien-Kong, on the
extreme borders of Laos ; the country was found to be sparsely
populated, the chief town, Luang-Trabong, containing not more
than 8,000 people. Still navigating the Mekong they reached
Muong-lin, where they had finally to leave their boats, as the
river had become too shallow, and abandoning all their b.ig-
gage, except a change of clothing, they marched on foot to
Muong-Yong. At the end of October they succeeded in
entering the Chinese province of Yunan, and having arrived,
after a long march, and amid much privation and suffering,
at Tung-chuen, the leader became too ill to proceed. He
was left there whilst th-- party pushed forward to Tali-fu, the
cajiital of the Mahommt-".m part of Yunan, which lias lately
thrown off the yoke of the Chinese emperor. They found this
remote and little-known place to be a town of 40,000 inhabi-
tants, situated on the borders of a lake about 6,000 feet above
the level of the sea. On returning to the town where they had
left their leader, they found he had died during their absence,
and exhuming the corpse they made their way, with as much
despatch as possible, to Su-cha, on the Yang-tsze, where they
embarked in a native boat, and reached the l';uropean settle-
ment at Han-kow on the 9th of June, 1868. Captain de
Lagrce was known to have been long occupied in Cambodia
in studying the ancient remains strewed so abundantly over a
large portion of the country, and it is to be lamented that he
has not lived to enjoy the fruits of his zeal and cnterpriKe.

JOURNEY INGS IN MKSOPOTAMIA.

i6i

I !■

^^^ -^-^

:')

PERSIANS OF BUSSORAIt.

youmcymgs in Mesopotamia.

liY l.ir.UTENANT C. R. LOW, LATE INDIAN NAVY.

CHAPTER I.

THE "comet"— VESSF.LS AND NAVIGATION OK THE TIGRIS—
BUSSORAH AND ITS INHABITANTS.

When I was serving on the Persian Gulf station, in oiie of the
ships of war of the late Indian navy, I received an invitation
from the Surveyor-General of Mesopotamia to accompany him
up to Baghdad in the river steamer he commanded. His
house in that city was ofifcred, at the same time, as a base of
operations for journeying into ancient Babylonia, or wherever
the spirit of travel and ad\ enture might lead me.

I gladly closed with my friend's offer, not only because I
had long been anxious to visit the historic sites of Mesopo-
tamia, but also because my friend enjoyed a wide-spread repu-
tation for free-handed hospitality. I have learnt since how
well-earned was this reputation, on reading in the works of
more than one traveller returned from those distant climes
how he, the voyager, has desired to place on record his great
obligations to Captain — — , who is too modest to desire that
his name should be brought before the ])ublic.

The vessel in which I was serving sailed up the Shatt el
Arab, or river of the Arabs, past the earthworks of Mohamrah,
situated at the mouth of the Karun, probably the ancient
Pasitigris, up which the fleet of Nearchus ascended, and which
was destined, more than two thousand years afterwards, to
vol.. I.

witness the memorable defeat of Persian arms by British
valour— a defeat that drove the hauphty Shah to sue for terms
of peace, releasing thereby, in time to take part in the Indian
mutiny, the expeditionary force, and those two brilliant soldiers,
Outram and Havelock, who led the very men that fought a!:
Kooshab and Mohamrah to achieve the greater glor'es of the
re-occupation of Cawnpore and the relief of Lucknow.

Some few miles higher up the stream than Bussorah is a
small place called Marghill, and here we cast anchor. A
British vice-consul had been stationed at Marghill since the
time the Ea^t India Company vithdrew their semi-political
semi-commercial agent from Bussc.di, and it was usual for one
of the .ships of the Indian navy to sail up to Marghill, to
which place the flat-bottomed rivor steamer that protected the
British interests in the city of Baghdad would also occasionally
proceed, for the double purpose of conveying despatches from
the consul general at B.aghdad to the vice-consul, and of
bringing back on its return voyage documents of a similar
character from the Indian government, under whose authority
the consul-general was placed.

The little Gw/c/ was a small armed steamer, constructed
with the object of navigating in safety the sh."llo'v waters of the
Tigris, and was equipped with a picked crew of British man-o'-
war's-men, who were well trained to the use of the cutlass and

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rifle, wliich were kept on deck, ranged in arm-racks, and in
condition for instant and cfTective service. The armament of
the Ci>//ui consisted of one pivot 32-pounder, and several
1 2-pounders and 3-i)ounders, with wall-pieces fixed in swivels
along the tops of the bulwarks, so that fire could be opened
upon an advancing foe from any quarter, and with over-
whelming effect. Indeed, the decks of the little steamer — with
her heavy battery of guns and her bright array of arms, from
which the sun's rays glinted as if from a mirror, not to mention
tlie round shot and shell, canister and grape, ranged in racks
round the "coamings" of the hatches, in close pro.ximity — pre-
sented the appearance of a diminutive arsenal.

Not unworthily did the Comet represent that proud navy
whose flag is seen on every sea ; and the martial and restless
tribes of .'irabs, through whose territories she passed on her
way to Baghdad, had learned to respect the British ensign, and
the oflicer whose pennant floated at her mast-head.

The word Mesopotamia, as is well-known, means " the
country between the two rivers." It was called by the He-
brews, ecpially with Babylonia, Aram-Naharaim ; while in
Egyptian monuments it is inscribed Naharaina. The Chal-
deans of Kurdistan, who, there is little reason to doubt, are
tiie descendants of the ancient Assyrians, are known in Scrip-
ture under the name of Casdim. I do not puq)0se to enter
here into the vexed question of their origin, which has been
discussed by Layard and a host of authorities, but will only
say that it is very probable they derived their name from
Chaldasus, an Assyrian king, fourteenth in succession from
Ninus, and who built Babylon near the Euphrates, and placed
the Chaldeans in it ; and which theory is greatly strengthened
by that passage from Isaiah (xxiii. 13), "Behold the land of
the Chaldeans ; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded
it for them that dwell in the wilderness : they set up the
towers thereof, tlicy raised up the palaces thereof" Abraham,
also, according to the Book of Genesis, came from Ur of
the Chalc'ees, though the use of the term Chaldean, like that
of Assyrian, appears to have been very vaguely applied ; and
the situation of Ur is purely conjectural, though Orfah is gener
rally supposed to stand on its site.

Ancient Mesopotamia extended, according to Straho, be-
tween the Tigris and Euphrates, whilst the Taurus separated it
from Armenia on the north. Pliny sjieaks of the two rivers
forming its boundaries to the east and west, with the Persian
Gulf to the south, and the Taurus to the north ; thus having a
length of 800 miles and a breadth of 360. The modern
country of the same name extends from 38" 7' E. long, to
the estuary of the old Karun in 48° 45', and from 31° 7' to
37" 31' N. lat. ; its greatest width being 170 miles, and its
extreme length 735. Mesopotamia is a vast plain, apart of its
surface between Baghdad and the Euphrates being occupied
by salt lakes and marshes. It is hard to believe, from its
])resent desert aspect, that its soil was correctly described by
Herodotus as the most fertile in the world, though those
j)ortions that in the present day have the advantage of irriga-
tional works are very productive.

While lying at Margliill we ))aid occasional visits to Bus-
sorah, which is under the authority of the Turkish Pasha in
Baghdad. The trade between the two cities is considerable,
though not so great as in the days of RauwoltT, who thus speaks
of it in his "Travels ;" "In this town there is a great depo-
sition of merchandises, by reason of its commodious situation,

which are brought here by sea as well as by land from several
parts, chiefly Natolia, Syria, Armenia, Constantinople, Alepjjo,
Damascus, &c., to carry them further into the Indies, Persia,
&c. So it happened that, during the time I was there, on the
2nd of December, 15 74, there arrived twenty-five ships with
spice and other precious drugs, which came over the sea by
the way of Ormutz to Balsora."

The city of Bussorah is enclosed within a wall eight miles
in circumference, but this would give a very deceptive idea of
its actual size, for the greater portion of this space is laid out
in gardens and plantations of date trees. Bussorah is said to
be the dirtiest town even in the Turkish dominions, but having
a lively impression of tr.e filthiness of Jeddah and Mocha, not
to mention other cities under the rule of the Sublime Porte, I
am unable to award the palm with a sense of doing justice to
all the claimants for the unenviable distinction. Suffice it to
say the town is ineffably mal-odorous, and that the olfactory
nerves are assailed at every comer, nay at every step, by fresh,
rather let us say nwel, stenches, in such numerical force as to
baffle the arithmetical calculations even of a Coleridge, who, I
believe, counted seventy distinct smells in the ancient and
picturesque city of Cologne. The authorities make no endea-
vours at sanitary improvements, and the streets, being narrow
and irregular, make the accumulation of nastinesses of all sorts
an easy matter.

Some few houses are built of kiln-burnt bricks, but the
vast majority are of mud ; from these latter project long spouts
made of the trunk of the date tree, which convey filth of every
description into the streets, there to breed cholera and other
diseases by which the population of the town has been so
often decimated. The old bazaar is extremely mean. Rafters
are laid across the top and covered with ragged mats, which
give but small protection from the sun. Under these are
numerous coffee houses, large unfurnished apartments, with
benches of masonry built round the walls about three feet
from the ground, and constructed for customers; on these mats
are placed, while at the bar are ranged numerous coffee-pots
and pipes of different descriptions.

Bussorah boasts of three large canals, which are used for
transporting goods and passengers, and for supplying the city
with water for domestic purposes. The northern and southern
ones flow along by the city walls, on the outside and close to
the fortifications, and uniting outside fonn a sort of ditch
round the city. From these large canals smaller channels
branch out in different directions, acting as irrigants to the soil
through which they pass. The central canal enters from the
river about midway between these two, and traverses the whole
length of the town, irrigating the gardens and date groves
within the walls, and carrying passengers into the heart of the
city, as well as goods to the markets. All these canals are
filled by the flood, and left dry bj- the ebb tide, twice in every
twenty-four hours, though they show symptoms of filling up,
through want of care in dredging, and perhaps at no distant
date will be impassable even for boats of light drauglit.

The chief means of locomotion for passengers are the
native boats, known as "bellems." These are canoes, having
a light awning OA'crhead and a mat in the bottom for a seat ;
they are propelled by two boatmen who stand in the head
and stern, and with long poles fitted for the purpose, push
the " bellem " along with suflficient velocity to keep up with
ordinary four-oared boats. These are the smallest vessels

JOURNEYINGS IN MESOPOTAMIA.

163

employed, and as they draw only a few inches of water, can be
used almost at any time of the tide.

Another sort of boat, and one peculiar to these rivers, is
the kufah. This is made of basket-work and covered with
bitumen, and is of circular shape, reminding one of the ancient
"coracle" in use by our naked, woad-painted ancestors, the
ancient Britons. The kufah is generally from six to eight
feet in diameter, of shallow draught, and is capable of carrying
about half-a-dozen passengers. These are used both on the
canal and on the river, and spin along with a circular motion
by means of paddles. Herodotus speaks of circular boats
made of reeds, in the form of shields, and with an external
covering of skin (which is not considered necessary to the
kufah of our day), as in use on the rivers of Babylonia upwards
of 2,000 years ago.

The species of boat employed to transport heavy burdens
is quite of another description, and is known by the name of
" donak." It presents a singular appearance, rising at each
extremity with so great a " sheer" as to resemble a crescent in
shape, and towards the waist " falls out," thus offering great
resistance to the water. The bottom or floor is quite flat, but
shaqj at the stem and stern, which are decked over and rise to
a considerable height above the water. On the platform stands
the helmsman, who steers by means of a long crooked pole,
terminating with a fan or blade ; the whole boat's surface is
covered widi a thick coating of bitumen. The donak varies in
length from thirty to forty feet, and is chiefly employed to carry
wood or other bulky cargoes ; they are tracked up the stream
by hand, but return witli tlie current

The Arab boatmen who ply on the canals are stalwart,
muscular-looking fellows, and many of them would make good
models for a Hercules. Their costume usually consists of a
loose brown shirt of very coarse texture, and does not greatly
interfere with the prosecution of their laborious avocations.

The whole of the canals are simply dug out without any
lining of masonry, and the bridges that span them are of the
meanest description. Near the entrance from the river to the
central canal is a building called " El Mekam," which signifies
the residence of the lieutenant-governor — the palace of this
official, who is known as the Mutesellim, being situated in
the city.

The other chief houses are the custom-house, the old
English Residency, and the palace just mentioned. These
three edifices, and some few of the principal mosques and
mansions of rich merchants, are the only buildings that are
constructed of kiln-dried bricks, the remainder of the city,
together with its walls, being built of sun-dried bricks ; in all,
scarce one-fourth of the entire space enclosed within the walls
of Bussorah is occupied by buildings.

There are some large caravanserais, or " khans," built for
the accommodation of travellers at the public expense. A
caravanserai, as is well-known to all who have travelled in the
East, is constructed in the form of a hollow stiuare, the sides
of which consist of ranges of apartments with arched fronts,
and a broad colonnade, within which the merchant takes up
his quarters. The centre is open, and over it are scattered
in every direction packages, matchlocks, bales of goods, Ike,
presenting an appearance of confidence in the honesty of one's
fellow-travellers that it would be well one could cultivate in
Europe. In this open space, while halting for the night, the
merchant drives his bargains, in which he is as good an adept

as his Christian brother nearer home. The largest of these
khans is in the eastern quarter of the city.

The population of Bussorah — like that of all great oriental
cities which are subject to the fluctuations induced by concjuest
or the ravages of epidemics, or to commerce making for itself
new channels — has varied very considerably at different periods
of its history. When in its most flourishing condition, the
maximum has been said to reach half a million, while a minimum
of 50,000 was attained after the direful ravages of the jjlague in
1773. Nicbuhr, while passing through the place in 1764, nine
years before the visitation referred to, estimatetl the population
scarcely to exceed 40,000 souls, at which figure I am inclined
to put the present number of its inhabitants.

The Arab inhabitants, like their Turkish masters, are of the
Sonnee sect of Mohammedans ; those of the upper classes,
who are chiefly merchants, dress in Indian muslins during the
summer months, while in winter they wear fine broadcloths of
the brightest hues, Indian stuffs, and Cashmere shawls, pre-
senting a very gay appearance. The Arabs from the sea-coast
and Nedjed universally wear the Bedouin head-dress, or hand-
kerchief called the "keffeah," which the poorer classes bind
round their heads with bands of camel's-hair thread made into
a sort of rope. This " keffeah " is the distinguisiiing mark of
the descendants of Ishmael, whether in town or country, and
no matter what the social position of the wearer. The more
wealthy wear a rich Indian shawl as a turban over it. Over the
thick shirt and loose drawers of die same material is worn, in
sumnier, the Baghdad cloak of light cloth, with alternate strijies
of reddish brown and white. The poor wear one of a similar
pattern, but thicker material, in winter ; but the rich Arab mer-
chants sport cloaks of a black colour, with a broad stripe of
gold woven into the cloth, and descent 'ing from the top of the
right shoulder down the back.

The Persians of Bussorah, like their countrymen elsewhere,
are of the Sheeah sect of Mohammedans, and form the great
bulk of what we would call the lower middle class ; some few,
indeed, are well-to-do merchants, but the greater pro|x>rtion are
writers, shopkeepers, and mechanics, for which their address
and conciliatory bearing, superior to that of the haughty Arab,
render them desirable acquisitions.

The Persian dress differs greatly from that of the Turks.
The curling hair of the men falls behind a high-pointed black
lamb-skin cap, and, instead of the anii)le flowing garments of
the Sonnee, the Sheeah is to be distinguished by a dark caba,
or coat, fitting very close to the shape as far as the waist, with
tight sleeves left open towards the wrists, a rolled shawl-girdle,
containing a short dagger or, if the wearer be a mirza, the
writing materials. The loiver part of the garment, however, is
loose as far as tlie ankles, and this, to a stranger, gives him a
feminine appearance, especially with the addition of high-
heeled green slippers, or the shoes made of ([uilted cotton or
leather, which usually form part of the walking dress. Wlien
mounted, boots replace the shoes, and a pair of loose trousers
(shulwars) are worn, which are sufficiently large not only to
enclose the skirts of the coat, but occasionally to carry some
provision for the journey. On these occasions an outer caba,
or cloak, is added, generally of sheep-skin, with the fur inside ;
a garment of the latter kind, or more fretpiently of thick, pliant
felt, thrown loosely over the shoulders, a high-pointed felt cap,
with cloth bandages round the legs, compose the usual winter
attire of the shepherd, the muleteer, and poorer peasant

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Ornamented stockings, drawers loose to the ankles, flat
small girdles rather below the waist, with a loose dress either
of rich tissue or simple stiift", and an embroidered muslin
mantle, form the usual costume of tiie superior class of women,
with the addition, however, of pearls, rings, and armlets.
Their hair, which is adorned with pearls, and gold or silver
coins, falls in thick tresses behind in a manner far more be-
coming than that of the Turkish dames. Within doors their
attire is both slight and simple. The head is enveloped in a
large kerchief, generally black, and a kind of white bed-gown,
with a pair of loose trousers, and high-heeled slipjiers, com-
pletes the dress. Out of doors the Persian female strictly
follows the ancient style of dress. Those of the middle class
wear wide trousers pressed into ample yellow boots, with
an upper garment of either white or dark cotton. This is
very loose, and is covered with a checked cloth of such

young, are strikingly beautiful, but they age early in life —
indeed, at about twenty-five, they become fat and unwieldy in
person, while all beauty lea\es them ; altogether, they form a
marked contrast to our Englisii matrons. Still, as 1 have said,
as young girls tiiey oftentimes come up to one's ideal of perfect
female loveliness, not only in face, but in figure, which offers
a striking combination of grace and dignity. I write this,
having a vivid recollection of two fair daughters of a wealthy
Armenian merchant in Baghdad, one of whom was at the
time receiving the attentions of an English officer; indeed,
numerous instances occur of our countrymen, in that and
other neighbouring cities, taking to themselves wives from
among the best Armenian families.

In dress, they confine themselves to dark colours, and
wear black, blue, or brown cashmere shawls for turbans, never
indulging in the gay colours aftected by other nationalities.

KELEK, OR RAFT OF INFI.ATEU SKINS, ON THE TIGRIS,

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dimensions that it envelops the whole person, with the ex-
ception of a small portion of the face, which may be seen
through a kind of gauze mask.

The Turks are few in number, and hold nearly all the
oflficial positions, or are attached to the Mutesellim's personal
staff. This small party of Turks, numbering scarcely more
than 500 men, maintain firm possession of the city, aided
by a soldiery consisting of some 2,000 men, who are paid by
government, but supply their own arms antl clothing ; except
among the body-guard, there is consequently no regular uni-
form, each man dressing according to his nationality. On the
whole, there can be no doubt that the Turkish rule is popular
in this part of the Sultan's dominions ; for though they may be
considered, having regard to numbers, as an alien race, yet
their system of government is mild, and does not press hardly
on either Arab or Persian, while the taxes are light.

The Armenians, though few numerically, form not an un-
important element in Bussorah society. They are a quiet,
industrious race, and are greatly resjiected for their honesty in
business transactions. In complexion they are fairer than
many European races, and some of their women, when very

Tile Jews are to be found here, as in every other part of the
world ; but they form only a small portion of the community,
and keep to themselves. They dress, like the Armenians, in
sober-coloured garments, but wear a distinctive head-dress.

The Subbees are a sect of Christians who call themselves
followers of John the Bajjtist. Little is known of their
peculiar tenets beyond that they admit the divinity of Jesus
Christ, and lay claim to the jiossession of a Gospel of their
own, written, as they say, by John the Baptist himself, and
this Gospel is their authority in all matters of faith and
doctrine. One of the chief peculiarities of their religion is
that freciuent re|)etitions of baptism are necessary ; thus,
after exery important change or event, as on a marriage,
becoming the parent of children, recovery from sickness, after
a death, and on other solemn occasions.

Tiie I'orte maintains a semblance of a navy at Bussorah,
and at other ])oints of the river ; but the ships, five or six in
number, are totally unseaworthy, and, in fact, never proceed
to sea, but lie at anchor " grounding on their beef-bones," as
we say in the navy. It was different during the time of
Suliman, Pasha of Baghdad, when the fleet of twenty well-

JOURNKYINGS IN MESOPOTAMIA.

•"5

armed and manned ships of war were strong enough to venture
into the Persian Gulf, and engage the pirates' craft that thronged
its waters. Groves of date trees grow along the banks of the
Shatt el Arab, but the country around Bussorah is a dreary
waste, and there is no verdure to relieve the monotonous
sameness of the prospect, For about six months of the year
this tract, level as the sea, is inundated from the overflowing
of the river, and is at times even so deep as to admit of the
passage of boats between Bussorah and Zobeir, a town distant
about eight miles from its walls.

CHAPTER II.

KOORNA — AN ARAB ENCAMP.MENT— CTESirHON — SELEUCIA.

After leaving Bussorah in the little Comet, on our way to
Baghdad, the first place of note we passed was Kooma, the

presents a dead level, flooded in many parts so as to be
almost impassable. Two miles above Koorna is said to be the
site of the garden of Eden, though the present sterile nature of
j the soil would seem to belie the popular belief. What a con-
1 trast does it not present to the beautiful account of its delights,
as set forth in the Scriptures ! The prophet Joel writes in the
second chapter and the third verse of his book, "The land of
Eden before us, and behind us, a desolate wildernest." The
desolate wilderness remains, but tiie swampy marshes that
meet the eye near Koorna are all that remain of Paradise.
The Arab sheikh who holds his head-quarters here levies a
species of " black mail " on all travellers up and down the
stream, notwitlistanding the unhappy voyager may have paid
handsomely to the chief of the Montafik Arabs, to whom the
great man of Koorna owes allegiance and pays tribute. Of
course the Honourable Company's Ship, Comet, paid toll to

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MILK-WOMAN AND ARABS CROSSINO TIIE TKIRIS.

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ancient Apamea, situated at the extremity of the narrow delta
of land formed by the junction of the rivers Tigris and
Euphrates. It was so called by Seleucus Nicator, in honour
of his wife Apama, the daughter of Artabazus, king of Persia,
and though now an insignificant village, its former greatness
is attested by the extensive ruins still existing on its site.

This Seleucus Nicator, according to Prideaux in his " Con-
nection of the Old and New Testament," founded thirty-five
cities in greater and lesser Asia, sixteen of which he named
Antioch, from Antiochus his father ; nine, Seleucia, from his
o^vn name ; six, Laodicea, from Laodice, his mother ; three,
Apamea, from Apama, his first wife, of which this city is the
chief ; and one, Stratonicea, from Stratonice, his last wife.

During the time of the Caiiphs, Koorna was a place of
great importance, but it has now dwindled down into a
miserable village of some thirty or forty huts, principally
occupied by a Turkish guard, who levy tribute on passing
boats.

From Kooma, the Euphrates branches off due W.S.W. by
compass ; and a little above the delta, which is covered with
plantations of date trees, all fertility ceases, and the country

no sheikh or chieftain on these inland rivers, be he never so
potent, ashore or afloat.

The Montafik Arabs are a powerful tribe of Bedouins,
possessing that part of Mesopotamia which lies between
Bussorah and Baghdad, and can bring, it is said, 70,000
warriors into the field, though this estimate includes every
male capable of bearing arms.

On losing sight of Koorna, the first object of any great
interest that we passed — except an occasional Arab encamp-
ment with its swarm of indigent occupants, who stared
wonderingly at the steamer, clad in long brown shirts, ex-
tending to the knees and confined at the waist by a girdle —
excepting these dirty, yet rather picturesque groups, we saw
nothing worth chronicling till we arrived at a tomb called
by the Arabs Ozair, and which is said by tradition to hold the
ashes of the prophet Ezra. A good sun-burnt brick wall
surrounds it, inside which is a spacious domed cloister,
enclosing a square sepulchre ; the interior is paved with sky-
blue tiles, which also cover the dome, affording a rather pretty
effect when the sun shines upon them. This tomb is an
object of great interest to the Jews of the neighbouring

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cities, who make i)ilgrimages to its shrine, and comjjlacently
undergo being waylaid and robbed by the Arabs, to whom
they never dream of offering resistame.

Occasionally, while steaming along, we would pass some
Arabs crossing the river on inllated sheej) or goat skins ; the
most primitive, one would think, of all methods of voyaging.
On these, Arabs, male and female, with their burilens commit
themselves to the perils of crossing the broad and rapid waters
of the Tigris ; the women even carrying bowls of milk this
way. The next step in the art of river navigation, is the using
of two goats' skins attached to one another by means of a hoop ;
then comes a species of raft called a " keiek," nhith can be
made of any number of goat-skins ranging 'vcween four and
two hundred. These skins are taken off with as few incisions
as possible, ami then dried and |)repared, after which the air is
forced in by the lungs, and the aperture tied up with string.
Four such skins being att;iched by means of withes of willow
or tamarisk, there is placed over them a kind of platform con-
sisting of branches in layers at right angles to one another, and
reaching from side to side. This constitutes the smallest kind
of " kelek,'' on which may be seen an Arab family moving with
the stream from one pasture ground to another, and carrying
their bags of corn and worklly effects.

For commercial purjjoses, or when proceeding long dis-
tances, a larger construction is made, as follows ; A rectangular,
or more generally a s(|uare, platform, having a sort of well or
inlet at one end, is first constructed by means of successive
layers of branches of trees, or jjojjlar beams and reeds, crossing
at right angles till the whole has become sufficiently stable,
which is usually the case when the flooring is eighteen inches
or two feet deep. On this platform there is a fire-place, or
hearth, within a little enclosure of damp clay, to prevent
accidents from fire. Rough planks are then laid over the rest
of the space, which is occupied by the boatmen and the
merchandise; inflated skins are then tied to it by osier and other
twigs. The raft is then moved to the water, and launched,
while care is taken to place the skins with their orifices
upwards, so that in case any should burst or recjuire re-filling,
they can be easily opened by the raftmen and replenished by
means of a reed pipe ; the inlet already spoken of giving access
to those not at the sides. People of wealth have small, rude
huts constructed on their keleks, while their poorer brethren
ensconce themselves, during the journey, among the bales of
goods with a most commendable patience, only carr)'ing with
them a small earthem chafing dish, containing a charcoal fire,
which serves to cook their food.

The ordinary " kelek," or raft, ranges in length from six-
teen to eighteen feet by fourteen to sixteen in diameter, and is
supported by about thirty-three skins, but the larger ones are
thirty or even forty feet in length, and have at least fifty skins,
while some require three hundred to supjjort them ; it was
with rafts of this size that Mr. Layard was enabled to float the
gigantic winged bulls he removed from the ruins of Nineveh.
When under weigh they are kept in mid-stream by means of
two rude oars made of the branches of trees, with blades of
palm branches. On the cargo reaching its destination the raft
is broken up, and the materials are sold for fire-wood, with
the exception of the ski.is, which are carried back to be used
afresh.

Chesney states that similar rafts were used by merchants
and cultivators of the soil when conveying their fruit and

wares from Jellalabad to Peshawur and the Fort of Attack. The

Portuguese traveller, Pietro della Valle also writes of rafts of
this description, while history speaks of numercjus instances in
which they were employed for military purposes ; notably when
Zenophon's army, as mentioned in the "Anabasis," crossed the
luiphrates, oi)i)osite Carmanda;, on rafts made with the skins of
their tents stuffed with rushes and tightly sewn together.

'I'here is another sort of boat built and used exclusively
upon the Euphrates, which does not reciuire particular notice,
as it is not very generally employed ; it is usually .ibout forty
feet long, and coffin shajjed.

The " kufah," or basket boat, I have already described ;
they are constructed of all sizes, from a diameter of three feet
eight inches to fifteen feet, which latter can convey a camel,
but in the present age are not made as large as is mentioned
by Herodotus. Chesney speaks of their having been eni-
])loyed by the late Duke of Wellington, for crossing the
Maljioorba river, in his Indian cam])aign of 1803, and I am
rather inclined to think that these were the vessels spoken of
as pontoons, and which gave rise to a somewhat fervid con-
troversy in the columns of the Times, between Captain Tyler
and the Chaplain General.

Three or four times during our passage to Baghdad, the
Come/ "brought to" alongside the river bank at certain sta-
tions, and took in fuel for supplies of wood that had been pre-
viously stored ready for her use. On such occasions, as we
were detained some few hours, the cajjtain with one or two of
his officers and myself, taking with us an anned escort, amused
ourselves by going ashore to shoot wild duck, or any other
game that offered itself, not to take into consideration a pro-
bability of encountering lions, which we frequently saw at the
river's brink. We were never fortunate enough to kill any of
the noble brutes, though we followed their tracks. However,
we had good sport with our fowling-pieces, and never came
into collision with the desert Arabs, whose encampments we
stumbled across oftentimes in the most unexpected manner.
The men only scowled at us at a respectful distance, while
the women and children stared with all their might, in one or
two instances mustering up sufficient courage to cry after us
for the inevitable " buck-sheesh.''

We passed an ancient building on the right bank of the
Tigris, consisting of a large square mound of sunburnt bricks,
which tradition assigns as having been built in honour of a
lady of rank in the reign of Kisra, or Cyrus, a name applied to
the kings of Parthia, much as Caesar was to the Roman
emperors, and Ptolemy to the rulers of Egypt, but which is
generally meant to denote King Chosroes Nurshirvan, sur-
named the Just, the greatest sovereign of his line.

The Tigris, under the name of Shatt el Amarah, preserves
a course of E. by N. for a distance of about twenty-eight
miles. Its greatest distance from the Euphrates is at a point
ninety-five miles from a bend in the latter river. We found
the current running very jiowerfully, owing to the recent
November rains ; but it decreases and swells at irregular
intervals, till the different feeders are, in the month of January,
bound up by the fiost and snow in the Kurdistan mountains.
This retards for a time its periodical great rise, which, like
the Euphrates, does not usually begin till the middle of March.
The river may be said to be at its greatest height between the
middle and end of May, when its velocity is 7 "33 feet per
second, or about five miles an hour. Though the length of

JOURNEYINOS IN MESOPOTAMIA.

167

the Tigris is only 1,146 miles, being little more than half
the length of the sister stream from its sources to Koorna,
yet it discharges a greater boily of water, owing to the
numerous tributaries it receives on its eastern side.

We now arrived at Koote, a vill.ige half-way between Bus-
sorah and Ikighdad, and situated opposite the canal 1 lye, which
joins together the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigri.s,
running into the former river at a ])l.icc called Sook Sheii<h,
or the Sheik's Hazaar. The canal Hye is nvn- lli.in a hun-
dred miles in length, with an avcr.nge breadth of 150 feet; it
is dry in the summer months, but in winter and during eight
months of the year is or was navig.ible, as has been proved
by Lieutenant (now Captain) l.ym h, C.H., of the Inilian navy,
who in 1828 passeil down ii entire lenglh in a steamer.

During the navigable season, the canal is preferred by the
boatmen to the p.issage along the main stream, on account of
the heavy dues exa( ted by the Heni Lam Arabs, who infest the
banks of the Euphrates. The Tigris appears to preserve its
original size, notwithstanding the iliminution of its waters in
consequence of the canal diverging from it. .■\ few miles
below Koote may be traced the ancient bed of a br-ich, now
dry, running in a direction through the ruins of ANasit, and
onwards from thence in the same course under the name of
Shatt Ibrahim, till it enters the Eu|)hrates al)out midway
between the Hye and Koorna. This appears to have been
the bed of the river described as i>assing between the two
towns of Wasit, which were in former times, accortling to
Albulfeda, the Arabian geographer, connected by a bridge of
boats ; and the state of the ruins on each side, as well as the
size of the ancient bed, confinn the opinion. The tract
about the canals is marshy, and resembles that of Lumlum,
ne.ir the Euphrates, to wli h, also, it corresponds in latitu<le.
Chesney thinks it may be a part of the celebrated Chaldean
Lake, which at the season of floods extended not only
across Mesopotamia, but also to some distance eastward of
the Tigris, so as to receive the waters not only of the Karun,
but of the Kerkhah, with which river it communicates near
Hawizah, by means of the El llnd.

The town of Koote is the head-quarters of the Montafik
Arabs, who spread themselves hence to Sook Sheikh. The
Hye canal is said to have been cut by two powerful Arab
tribes. Lions and other wild beasts haunt its banks in great
numbers. Two miles north of Koote are some extensive
ruins, which we did not, however, explore ; and, indeed, from
this spot to Baghdad, the banks of the Tigris present a constant
succession of remains of ancient cities, that make the journey
deeply interesting to every educated traveller.

Near Koote, we passed a large encampment of Arabs, who
appeared very bellicose, and expressed their impotent hate
and defiance of us unfaithful dogs of Feringhees, to adopt the
uncomplimentary and expressive phraseology which they habi-
tually employ when speaking of Christians, by following us on
horseback a long distance along the banks of the river, and
shaking their spears at the Cawe/ and her crew in a manner
intended to denote what they would only do for " each and
several" of our number could they but catch us on their
" native heath." They rode small, weedy-looking horses, but
though in appearance there was nothing striking about their
mounts, these latter were full of that wonderful blood and
stamina for which the breed has been ever famous. Before
quitting the subject of the Arab horses, it may be interesting

to ? 'ate that the generally received opinion as to the utter
usele^sness of attempting to induce an Arab to ])art with his
mare (a delusion fostered, if not engendered, by a well-known
])oem, in which a Bedouin hesitates before parting with his
"Arab steed," in e.xchange for no end of gold mohurs, and
soliloquises that dumb, but intelligent quadruped, while taking
a rapid survey oT his family, in whi<h their comparative value
is set considerably below the said steed), is, like many other
harmless bits of romance, .i fallacy, founded on a misUiken
conception of the di i-rt Arab's character.

It is true that the exportation of mares has been expressly
forbidden by a mandate from the P.i-ha of Baghdad, owing
to an iili a that it would militate agaiii%t the interests of the
stud department of the army in the event of a war ; but the
business was found to be so advantageous in a pecuniary i)oint
of view, in that a heavy duty was jiaid on every horse or mare
exported, that the carrying on of the trade was at first winked
at, and ultimately openly conceded by the authorities at
Bussorah, the chief port of einbark.ation. The s\ipply has
•ilways e(iualle<i the demand, and provided your offer is liberal
enough, you can carry off the most valuable and highly-
donvsticated mare that was ever foaled in "Araby the Blest."

'1 he country on the banks of the Tigris abounds in brush-
wood, where capital partridge and hare shooting is to be had ;
and « iook advantage of its capabilities. Shortly after jiassing
some mounds at Hoomania, the colossal remains of one of the
most famous cities of antiquity break upon the sight. Before
us, as we turn a bend of the river, is all that time has left
of Ctesi])hon, whose fortunes fill so conspicuous a place in
the works of (libbon and other historians. Although the whole
surroimding coimtry, which is almost a dead level, is covered
witli mounds, denotint; the remains of a populous city, there
is one feature of the landscape alone that rivets the eye. This
is the Tank Kesra, or arch of Kesra, or (hosroes Nushinvan.
It is a truly magnificent and unique ruin, and is compo.sed of
two wings and one large central hall, extending the entire
depth of the building. This \vonderfully-preser\ ed monument
of by-gone years is built of fine, furnace-burnt bricks, each
measuring twelve inches square by two and three-quarters
thick, and coated v ih cement made of white lime, the layers
of which are much thicker than is seen in any of the burnt
brick edifices at Babylon. The full extent of tlu front or
eastern face is 300 feet. It is divided by a high semicircular
arch supported by walls sixteen feet thick, the arch itself
making a span of eighty-six feet, and rising to the height of
103 feet. The front of the building is ornamented and sur-
mounted by four rows of small arched recesses, resembling in
form the large one. The style and execution of these are
most delicate, evincing a fertile invention and great experience
in the architectural art. From the vestibule a hall extends to
the depth of 156 feet, east and west, where a wall forms the
back of the building, a great portion of which, together with
part of the roof, is broken down.

The wings leading out on each side of the central arch are
now merely thick walls, but these had originally apartments
behind them, as may be seen from undoubted marks that
remain, as well as from the side-doors leading from thence into
the great central hall. The walls which form these wings
in the line of the front, were built on the inclined slope, being
about twenty feet thick at the base, tapering to a thickness of
ten feet at the summit.

1 68

ILLUSTRATKI) TRAVKLS.

L|i>

I'l

!!'

TliL' walls of the Rre.it hall seem also much thic ker below
than above, and Buckingham observed hollow tubes of eartiien-
ware or poUery in the masonry of the vaulted roof, bciidinR
with the arched form of the work, and also large beams of
wood, still showing their ends, in the wall near the arch of
entrance in front.

Both the wings are similar in their general design, though
not perfectly uniform ; but the groat extent of the whole
front, with the broad and lofty arch of its centre, and the
profusion of recesses anil pilasters on each side, must have
produced an imposing ajiiiearance when the edifice was perfect,
more jjarticularly if the front was once coated, as tradition
states it to have been, with white marble, a material of too
much value to remain long in its place after the desertion of the
city. The arches of the building are all of the Roman form,
and the architecture of the same style, though far from chaste.
I'lie pointed arch is nowhere seen throughout the whole of the
pile, but a pyramidal termination is given to some long narrow
arches of the front, and the pilasters aie without pedestals or
capitals.

The front of the building, although dicing immediately

towards the Tigris, lies due east by compass, thesfre.tm winding
here so exceedingly that tliis edifice, though standing on the west
of that portion of the river flowing before it, and facing the cast,
is yet on the eastern bank of the Tigris in its general course.

In the centre of the wall, or western face of the structure,
a doorw.ay, measuring twenty-four feet high by twelve wide,
leads to a contiguous hep of mounds, extending to the bank
of the river, about a ([uarter of a mile distant. The general
shape of these hillocks is elliptical, and their circumference
two miles. To the right are fragments of walls and broken
masses of brickwork ; to the left, and therefore to the south
of the arch, are the remains of vast structures, which, though
encumbered with heaps of earth, are yet suflu icntly visible
to fill the mind of the spectiitor with astonishment at the extent
of these remains of remote antitpiity.

The natives of this country assert that the niins are of the
.age of Nimrod, of whom in .Scripture it is said, " And the
beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Krech, .and Accad,
and Calneh, in the land of Shin.ir" (den. x. lo). A celebrated
French antiquary, M. de Broses, supposes that Calneh stood
on the site of Ctesiphon.

li'

¥M

North Polar DJsco^'ery.

nv J. E. DAVIS, .STAFK CO.MMANDER R.N., F.R.G.S.

\W'.\

hall's journey im search of survivors of the
fra.vklin expedition.
Notwithstanding the success attending M'Clintock's voy-
age in determining the fate of Franklin and his companions.
Captain C. F. Hall, of Cincinnati, U.S., who had previously
meditated going to the Arctic regions to join in the search, did
not relinijuish the idea, hoping still to find some of the
hundred and five individuals who, according to the record
found by Lieutenant Hobson, were alive when the ships were
abandoned ; in this idea he was supported by the well-known
philanthropist, Mr. Henry Grinnell, and others interested in the
cause of humanity.

Captain Hall's intended method of exploration was simply
this — to be conveyed with a boat and such provisions and
instruments as she could conveniently carry, to the entrance of
Frobisher Strait, .and then, accompanied by an interpreter, trust
himself for progress .and su.sten.ance to the native Esquimaux ;
thus ecjuipped he proposed passing through the strait to King
William Land, at which place his search would probably
commence.

Means were found to supply Captain Hall's modest re-
quirements, .and on the 29th May, i860, he left New London
in the bartiue George Henry, a whaler, the owners of which
afforded him and his equipments a free passage.

On the 7th of July the George Henry reached Holsteinborg,
and on the 24th crossed Davis Strait to Kowtukjua (Clark's)
Harbour, and from thence proceeded to Rescue Harbour (a
small harbour in a bay north of the entrance of Frobisher
Strait), where the ship was to winter ; this position was every-
thing that could be desired for Captain Hall, it being so near

the entrance of the strait he was about to explore, and it was
also frequented by Innuits (Esquimaux), who, with their families,
encamped in the neighbourhood, among whom he was enabled
to study their habits and language (his interpreter, a native who
had been in the States, unfortunately died on the pass.age out).
During the winter he made .acquaintance with the Innuits, and
exercised himself in many acts of self-devotior. , .-.t t'mes he
lived as they lived, and slept as they slept, coi. forming to all
their habits, even to eating and drinking ; he ate the raw flesh
of a seal and drank its blood, or dined off the skin .and krang
(flesh) of the whale, and even the entrails of the seal were par-
taken of; all of which Captain Hall pronounces excellent,
delicious, and ambrosial.

Captain Hall was fortunate in finding the Innuits in the
neighbourhood of Frobisher Strait much farther adv.anced in
civilisation than those of other parts of the Arctic regions visited
by voy.agers, and even than those of Greenland, who have
had the .idvant.age of a Christian education ; such beirg the
case it would follow that they i.^ust have improved from their
original state much more rapidly O'an other tribes. Here is a
description of their state .at the time of Frobisher's visit. He
found "both Hands and men void of dl civility; they live upon
raw flesh of wilde beasts, which they t ike by hunting ; they eat
also raw herbes, like bruit beasts. '1 heir houses .are covered
with whale skins. It is there most bitter colde. They leame
their dogs to bear the yoake, and draw upon the ice all things
necessary. Their weapons are bows and arrows and slings."
They have " great store of h;irts, and as the countrie is barren,
so are the inhabitants stupid and blockish, slow and dul, and
without any spirit or understanding ; the men are stout hunters,

N(;kl'H I'Ol.AK DISCOVKKY.

«•

ninl, al)ovc nil, (tinning foulera ; they uie a kinde of boat made

of skins, wherein onely one man can sit, wlio hath no nccil of
any oarcs Imt one ; in his right hand he hoUicth an instrimicnt
wherewith liee ^hooteth at birds."

Captain Hall found them possessing a great amount of
intelligence, jjartieularly in traditionary history, by whi( h means
he was enabled to identify a number of relics found by him as
belonging to Frobisher's expeilition ; they were able to answer
many ([uestions ; and one of the natives was so great an adcpi
at drawing that he delineated the coast as they proceeded in the
boat. This also contrasts strangely with the exi)ericncc of
others regarding such tribes as exist by the same means and
live in the same way xs those Captain Hall met. The most
intelligent Esquimaux, as a rule, will answer about two
questions correctly, but the third is not to Ue trusted implicitly,
and '.lie fourth not at all ; in like nwnncr they will, on a slate,
iielineate the coast line in their immediate vicinity with tolerable
accuracy, but as they ])roceed they get wider from the truth,
and put in islands and straits from fancy, with a desire to
please the enquirers,

t)f course, communication with whalers, who frequently
visit that part of the coast, wil! account for many of the natives
possessing mu.skets and ether things appertaining to civilised
life ; but the visits of whale ships do not generally tend to the
civilisation of savage nations and tribes ; on the contrary, it is
well known that the most strenuous efforts of the missionaries
in New Zealand were neutralised in a great measure by the
contamination of whalers.

To accustom himself to the mode of travel, and to inure
himself to the climate. Captain Hall left the ship in January,
when the temperature was thirty degrees below zero, with a
sledge and dogs and tw.) natives, for Cornelius Grinnell Bay,
and after crossing a neck of land he reached the frozen surface
of the ocean, on which he travelled, building each night, with
blocks of frozen snow, an igloo (or hut) to sleep in; at times in
these huts he was in great danger ; and on one occasion, during
a storm, he could hear the ice breaking up, and the waves lashing
near them.

On the tenth day of travel he found himself short of food,
and was obliged to subsist on black skin, krang, and seal ; the
natives he fell in with were very kind, and shared what food
diey had with the traveller. \Vhen on the verge of star-'ation
a native came in with a seal, and, according to custom, a seal
feast took place, a description of which would be rather
disgusting than othenvise ; howevef, Captain Hall enjoyed the
seal-blood soup and the raw seal entrails. After an absence
of forty-two days he reached the ship.

Previous to the above recorded trip. Captain Hall had
found on Look-out Island a large piece of what he supposed
to be iron ore, weighing nineteen pounds ; this he after-
wards ascertained to be an undoubted relic of " Frobisher's "
expedition. He now made it his object to inquire of the natives
what they knew concerning any strange objects in the vicinity,
and learnt that timber, chips, and bricks were to be found at
Countess of Wanvick's Sound. An old woman, whose age
must have been quite a hundred years, told him of two ships
having visited Countess of Warwick's Sound, and after that
three more ; she related also that Ave white men were
captured by the Innuits, and that all this happened many,
very many, years ago. Upon making independent inquiries
among the other Innuits he found the old woman's account

VOL. I,

confirmed in every respect; comparing this with Barrow's
"Chronological History of Arctic I)iscovery,"Cai)tain Hall came
to the conclusion that the chips, bricks, &c., and the tradilion,
all coin< ided with the idea he had formed, vi/., that he was
uniloubtedly on the track of that celebrated voyager Frobisher.

In the spring Cajitain Hall made short excursions from the
ship, and on the 9th of August left for a longer cruise in a
whale boat, with a crew of Innuit men and women. He first
visited Niountelik, the island in Countess of Warwick's .Sound,
where the natives had told him the various arti< les would be
found, and here he found a pile of coal, which discovery over-
whelmed him with joy, for, by comparing the old woman's
account with that of the Innuit who accompanied him, it
appcare<l lo confinn the conclusion he had come to, and con-
vinced him that the coal had lain there for centuries. On
asking what it was, he was told, " Innuit kook-um," meaning
that the natives occasionally used it for cooking.

^\'hen encamped on an island .lear Niountelik, Captain
Hall heard a noise resembling thunder, .'nd at times felt the
earth tremble, ,>hich, he relates, was caused by bergs falling
from Grirnell Olarier, about forty miles distant.

On the 29th Hall reached a position which enabled him to
determine that Frobisher Strait was in reality a bay. Here, on
a mountain summit, he raised, with all the pride of a true
American, the flag of his country.

The head of Frobisher Bay terminated in a river, near
which Hall discovered a mount of limestone, half a mile
long and over a hundred feet high, containing fossils ; this he
named Silliman's Fossil Mount. In returning down the bay
Hall wished to keep on the south-west coast, but his Innuit
attendants mutinied, and feeling that his life was in their
hands, he was obliged to yield, and cross to the north-eastern
side, returning down the bay by the route he came.

On reaching Countess of Wanvick's Sound, Hall visited a
small island called Kod-lu-naru, on which, according to native
tradition, many years ago the white men built a ship. On
examining the island he came upon a trench eighty-eight feet
long, and six deep ; this. Hall considered, was the com-
mencement of a mine dug by Frobisher. On the north side of
the island, at some distance from some niins of stone houses,
he found another trench, one hundred and ten feet long, run
niiig in an inclined plane towards the water, this was where,
according to the natives, the ship was built. He also ibund
coal, flintstone, fragments of tile, glass, and pottery, and in
digging under the ship-trench found chips of wood, Oi the
summit of the island were the ruins of a house built with stone
and cemented with lime and sand.

After an absence of fifty days. Captain Hal! ".; rived once
more on board the George Henry.

He had learnt from the natives that another large mass of
iron was to be found on the island of Oopangnewing, and from
a model they prepared for him, and by the account of another
who had been to the States, he ascertained that it was an
anvil ; this Hall also considered was ; relic of Frobisher, and,
anxious to obtain it, he made an excursion, and carefully
examined th', island, but without success in finding it.

Althougi . Captain Hall's heart beat high at the discoveries
he had made, he could not but feel disappointed at his
inability to get to King William Land to execute the great
object of his mission, viz., to ascertain if any of Franklin's
companions were yet alive, as he felt assured, from the know-
as

lyo

ILHISTRATED TRAVELS.

ill

III

!:;■

11 -i

UmIkc he had gained of the Innuits, that he would have
gathered fads relating to that ill-fated expedition which would
have astr)nished the world.

The George Henry was <letained by i( e a sec ond winter in
Rescue Harbour; at length, on the 9th of August, 1862, she
was freed, and taking leave of his Innuit conii)anions and
friends, Caiitain Hall sailed in her, and safely arrived at New
London on the ijlh of Sejileniber.

Some instances of animal sagacity communicated by the
natives to Captain Hall are so curious, that they are well
worthy of notice here.

According to the Esquimaux, the seal constructs its habita-
tion beneath the surface of the ice in such a manner that it
can enter it from the water below ; here the young seal passes
its infancy, and wlien the returning heat of summer has
destroyed its igloo, or dwelling, the young seal is old enough
to take can. of itself; but this mode of lodging its young
beneath the ice is well known to the bear, who with its keen
scent soon delects the whereabouts of the seal's nursery, and
in order to gain an entrance, the V'ear, retiring a short distance,
makes a s|)ring and comes down with all his weight on the
roof of the igloo, crushes it in, and immediately seizes the
young seal with its ])aw. Here it might be supposed the
hungry bear at once devours its prey ; but no, it ij far too
wary to do so, it knows full well that where a baby is there
must of necessity be a mother, and that she will be in
scarih of her darling, therefore the bear scrapes away the
snow from the seal hole, and holding the young seal by the
flipper allows it to flounder about, and when the mother
aiJiiroaches, the bear slyly draws the young seal towards it
until the old one is within reach, when he seizes her with the
other p.'.w, and thus captures both.

The mode in which the bear captures the seal on the ice is
very similar to that followed by the Ksipiimaux. When at
a distance from a seal, the bear throws itself down and
stealthily crawls or hitches along towards the seal, and if the
seal looks up it lies perfectly still, and makes at the same
time a noise which lulls the seal ; the bear repeats the o])era-
tion until it approaches its victim so near that escape is
impossilil.-, when it fall, a prey to Bruin's appetite.

Another mode of obtaining food by the bear, is to watch
from a i liff the movements of the walrus, who are fond of
sunninj.; themselves on the rocks, and when one of these haf.
taken ii|j a convenient position for the bear's purpf)se, the latter
lifts a large iiiece of rock, and, with astonishing accuracy, throws
it down on the animal's head. If the walrus is only stunned,
the bear rushes down, and with the rock hammers its victim on
the head until it is dead.

When attempting to capture a seal in water the bear sinks
its body beneath die surface of the sea, leaving only the head
above water, which resembles a jiicre of floating ice ; when the
seal -aises its head above the surface, liruin quietly sinks, and
swim ning under the seal, seiies it.

THE SUPPOREIl OPF.>f POLAR SKA.

Thk existence or non-existence of an open polar sea has
been a subject of much discussion among the geographers
ol our own and other countries, the inlbrmation fif some of
the arctic vovagers who liave penetrated farthest north having
led to the belief that the sea in higher latitudes is navigable
and free from ice. l!ul the reports of Morton, who s.iw water

from one side of Kennedy Channel, and those of Doctor FLayes,
who observed the same from the other side, are not sufticient
to prove that an open polar sea really exists ; nor do the
enormous masses of drift ice in Smith Sound and near Spitz-
bergen, which arc always moving southward, indicate that such
is the case ; all that can be concluded from these facts is,
that when that ice breaks up and moves south there exists a
space free frorc. ice somewhere in its rear.

Some geograj.hers are of ojiinion that the Clulf Stream
which passes along the coast of Norway sends a current of
warm water towards the pole, and exerts a great influence
on the waters surrounding it ; but the absence of a series of
thermometric observations of the sea surface renders such
an Ojiinion very (juestionable, and prevents any accurate
reasoning from analogy by isothermal lines ; but it has long
been asserted, and may lie admitted as a fact, that inasmuch
as the equator is not the belt of maximum heat, so the pole
is not the centre of extreme cold, and the known direction
of the isothermal lines of the globe tends towards that con-
clusion.

Another fact must not be overlooked in connection with
this subject, and that is, that the surface water only retains the
freezing temperature, and that the deeper the water the higher
the temperature, until it reaches forty degrees, which is con-
sidered the mean temperature of the ocean ; so that, towards
the poles, the lighter body lies below the heavier, the wanner
and therefore lighter water, in rising to the surface, is con-
tinually cooled by the temperature of the air tintil it reaches
the freezing point.

Another and an astronomical reason in favour of the
comparative warmth of the region round the Pole has been
advanced by Mr. W. V.. Hickson, who asserts that the teni-
])erature there nwst be more equable than that of any other
(juarter, because the Pole is neither the furthest ror the
nearest point to the sun at any period of the year ; but its
power of transmitting heat is, of court.-, much less than
where its rays fall directly on the |>lane of t)ie ecliptic, on
account of their striking oblitpiely on the Pole.

Witho\it deciilirig whether these argumc.'.s are sound in
themselves, they can only be considered in r.-lation to the
hypothesis of an open sea surrounding the iiole, and, in that
resjiect, they may be granted, as the (juestion will resolve itself
into one of mean temperature and tiie physical condition of
the jwle itself, rather than one of comparative temperature
between the pole and a lower latitude ; and if that mean tem-
perature is below the freezing point (which may be conceded),
it matters not whether it is zero or fifty degrees below it, as all
wati^r at a temjierature of twenty-seven degrees becomes ice ;
therefore, all the surface water surrounding the pole must
become ice. What form that ice takes we have no means of
knowing, but if we may reason from what is known of the
formation of ice near the southern pole much must dei)end
on the presence of land to form a nucleus for tlie ice, and also
on the actual depth of -ater il ut the pole.

In the antarctic regio.-, at tue seventy-eighth degree of
south latitude from the -;'"hern termination of Victoria
land, a perfect wall of ice, averaging 200 feet in height,
runs eastw.ard for a distance of about 450 miles, or one-
twelfth the circumference of the globe in that parallel.
Having been a member of Ross's Expedition, I have had
the high privilege of beholding this stupendous icy barrier ;

A JOURNEY THPOUGH THE SOUDAN.

171

no otiier land was visible except the ijoint where the ice
commenced. Against this wall .Sir J.imes Ross I'oiind, in
February, many miles of newly-formod ice, which in a few
weeks would become pack ice, and which, with a few days'
cilrn, would have frozen him in. The icy wall may be
considered everlasting (with the exception perhaps of occa-
sionally givuig off bergs), I n the newly-fro/en surface of the
contiguous sea becomes ti c ^ack of the following summer,
which on breaking up and drifting northward, leaves a clear
water space between the wall an(i the pack.

If there is the same physical formation near the North
Pole, a similar space of open water will be found between
the pack and the eternal ice ; and Dr. I'etermann's argument
that "the pack once passed an open sea will be found,"
would be correct.

The drift-wooil so frcijuently found on the east coast of
Orecnland, and tiu; total ahsciue of such in Kennedy C'h.inui 1
and Smidi Sound, indicate that the sea seen by Morton .uul
Hayes is closed, and also lessens the piobability of au open sea
to the pole.

The solution of this ipiestion is one of great interest and
importance to all physical geographers, and although we
caiuiot e.xpect to ilerive from it any material benetil, it woulil
not fail to throw light on the physical condition of a i)art of
the globe with which we are not aciiuainled, and probably
explain much that is at present obscure in its jjast history.
Whatever may be the arguments in favour of or against the
existem e of an open polar sea, the only way to solve the mystery
is to send out an expedition to (lecide the ([uestion, and tlicre
can be no doubt that sooner or later this will be done.

y4 Journey through the Soudan (ind JVestern Abyssinia, lintJi Reminiscences

of Captivity.

BY LIEUTENANT W. '. PRIDEAUX, F.R.G.S., BOMBAY STAFF CORPS.

VI.— KiMi TiiEODORF, : HIS Person and Character— M»kch with
THE Army TiiRnur.H Da.mot and Metcu.v.

We found ourselves in the presence of a man apparently
between forty-five and fifty years of age — a jteriod of life at
which, in temperate climes, the frame has perhaps attained its
maximum of physical vigour. I do not attempt to fix the
exact date of King Theodore's birth. In a country where
parish registers are unknown, and nearly all depends upon a
mother's testimony, that, of course, is impossible ; but putting '
personal appearance and historical evidence together, he must,
I think, have passed his ninth lustnim. He was a native of \
the Kwolla, or low-lying country of Kwara on the extreme j
west of Abyssinia, and in many respects exhibited the charac-
teristics which are described by that acute observer, M. Arnauld
d'Abbadie,* as peculiar to the inhabitants of those depressed
regions. He was about five feet nine inchr in lieight ; but, ;
from his erect carriage, appeared taller. His frame, hardened
by continual exposure and exercise, was lean almost to emacia- i
tion ; his extremities, and especially his hand.s, were small, \
thin, and well-shajjcd ; and as he ■■.ilked, grasping his spear in
his firm right har d, he looked every inch a king. He was well ;
fitted to be the monarch of a pe^ iple wliose highest boast was
of proficiency in deeds of amis, and in those martial sports
which are the image of war. Unrivalled for his .skill in the use
of the spear, he delighted in the national game of ^ooAv ;+ but,
even in this mimic strife, his inherent cruelty of disposition
would often lead him to inflict desperate wounds, even to the
loss of nn eye, as many a luckless tilter found to his cost.
Dismounting frc-- his horse, he would lead his followers on
foot, and outstrip the fastest runner amongst them. His wiry

• .See D'AhKidie's " Poiize Ans itans la Haute-Kllilopie," toni. i.,
chap. 3., page 97, The pa-ssayc, though I'lill of eloquence, is too long for
quotation.

t This game closely rescmliles \\.z Turkiih Djtrtcd, anil is played
with spear-bhafls ami sliielils.

and muscular frame and his marvellous powers of endurance
made this an easy task. The Amhara is seldom a good shot,
and in this respect I do not think Theodore was superior to
his countrymen ; he generally, to all appearance, aimed point-
ijlank at his object, and, of course, in four cases out of five,
would miss it ; still, to his credit it must be said, he never
seemed chagrined at his failures. I am, of course, speaking of
him on occasions when wild-fowl, and not human lives, were
concerned.

His forehead was square and open, crossed by a few fur-
rows, and well sxpo.sed by the mode in which he «ore his hair,
which was drawn back from the brow, and plaited in three broad
divisions ; not, as I take it, in a dandified way, but simply as
part of his uniform ,is a soldier, so to speak. Six or .seven
litile twisted tails hung down the nape of his neck behind. He
was careless about his hair, and had n''glected it for months
before his death. His eyes were dark and of medium size,
and were surmounted by curved brows, which, at moments of
emotion, wrinkled into a horse-shoe in the centre of his fore-
head. Their ordinary expression was mild and almost benignant,
and though they were usually bloodshot, this was probably the
result of debauchery, and not of any lad nt cruelty or ferocity.
His nose was arched, and shaped much like that of Meiihisto-
pheles in Kaulbach's pictures. His mouth, though rather large,
was not voluptuous, and, if anywhere, cruelty must have resided
in those thin .straight lips, wliii h v.ould warrant any physiogno-
mical theory of this description. J have seen a pretty smile
play on them, too, as he received a present, or listened to a
neatly-tumed com;iliment ; and he could also bow, and return
an appropriate reply, witli as much grace and sincerity, as I
have thouglit at the time, as a French mari|uis of the pre-
revohitionary er.a. A scanty moustache and be.ird, the latter
usually carefully shaved, shaded his lips and jaw ; and his chin,
whicii was rather rounded than square, hardly betokened that
detenninadon which was such a Siilieiit point of his cliaracter.

' .. {

172

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

^■"ii

To conrliiric, his voice was commonly, " low, gentle, and soft "
— an cx( client thing in kings as well as wonien — but on occa-
sions it would arise, ringing, < !ear, and nicely modulated as
the tones of a trumpet, above all the daniour of a toiling and
excited crowd.

'I'hus, to the best of my ability, have I attempted to
pourtray the outivartl presentment of the living and breathing
Theodore, as he has often stood before us. The sliange com-
plexities of his character present a problem which I shall
not try to solve. Plato tells us, in the ninth book of his
" Ri'public ," that "a man becomes strictly tyrannical when-

the estimation of his le'low men as a demi-god. The Amhdra
has a yielding, plastic, Aiisu-z/ai e kind of temperament ; this
man, with his Napoleonic force of character, could mould them
to his will like jwtter's clay ; but, iron himself, he could not
purge himself from the taint of cruelty, which was inborn in
him, and which ultimately caused' his fall. I think he some-
times strove against it, and at moments had sincere, if transitory,
fits of repentance. Still, the leaven was there ; and men who
once were almost ready to adore him, i)resently lookeil on him
with loathing and aversion. His ruin then followed, worked
by his own hands.

Ill''

li^.

UDITUS AUVSfilMCC'S.

ABYSSINIAN WII.K FI.OWERS.

ever, by nature or b)' habit, or by both together, he has fallen
under the dominion of wine, or love, or insanity."* Those few
words were written upwards of two thousand years ago, but not
all the experience of later ages can assail their trudi, and by
their light can be explained much that would othenvise be
inexplicable. The Phalaris or Dionysiiis of old is re-produced
in the Theodore of to-day. A slave to wine and unbridled
debaiif hery, the Negoos was at times indubitably in.sane, and
the worst vices of the tyrant were then de\eloped. His rise
to power, and his mastery over the minds of his countrymen,
were alike attributiible to one cause. Where the Abyssinian
is weak, he was strong ; wIktc i.olt, he was hard. An in-
domitable strength of will, which stuck at no obstacle, re-
spected no prejudice, knew no remorse, was the engine which
raised him to unexampled power, and caused him to appear in

• Davics .ind \'auKhan'< (raiibl.ation, p. jo8.

He was seated on a low a/ga, or bedstead, at the further

end of the tent, opposite the opening by which we entered.

The walls were hung with silk of different patterns, and the

ground was covered by a carpet of European manufacture.

On either side stood a few of his principal officers, their

s/ui/mu girt about their waist, and their arms folded in an

j attitude of respectful deference. Only the ujjjjer part of the

king's fiice was visible, it being the custom in .'\b;ssinia, on

I occasions when men of different ranks meet together, for the

I inferior to uncover as much of his person as is consistent with

I decency, while the superior covers up so much of his as does

not interfere with his comfort. Mr. Rassam prese d the

Queen's letter, which Theodore took, and, without ope:-ing it,

laid it by him on the .i/gn. He desired us to sit down, and

depositing our legs under us, we s(iuatted as comfortably as wc

• could on the carpet. FTe then entered into a detail of his

1 1

A JOLRNHY THROUGH lllK .S()IM).\\.

«7.5

grievances, a subject whicli he was fo-'id of airing on every
possible orcasion. It may save useless repetition if 1 briefly
enumerate them here. 'J'he first was generally against the
Aboona, or Metroiiolitan, of whom he would complain as being
an intriguing, meddling, trafticking Copt in general, and in
particular as having committed a most unjustitiable and un-
episcopal offence against his own Roya! honour. Consul j
Cameron invariably cropped up as ninnber two, inasmuch as
he hadn't brought an answer to his letter when he ought to
have done so, but had gone to play with the Turks instead,
and, in short, had grossly outraged all Ethiopian notions of

he woukl bring fonvard whenever we had an interview wuh
him. 'I"he preceding references to them are ([uile sulticient
to -'how what were the ideas ever uppermost ni the i>oor,
wandering, unsettled mind— .shattered by wine, and lust, and
irresponsible power — whenever he caught a siglit of his white
victims.

Although unarmed himself to all apjieaiance, we could
discern through an opening in the tent his trusty hem lim.in
and body-servant, Walda Gabir, standing just lieliind his
master, his girdle studded with pistols, and himself (piite ready,
to use them should occasion require. 'J'his man, a tall, fine.

METHONICA SUPERDA.

proprietj-. The missionaries, Messrs. .Stem and Rosenthal,
were usually served up as the tl. rd course. The head and
front of their offending was, that Mr. Stem had in his book
stigmatised Madame Mhe as th. \ endor of a useful anthelmintic,
universally employed in Abyssinia, whiU' Mr. Rosenthal had
placed upon record the fact that the clerks in her Majesty's
Foreign Office had been ill-behaved enough to laugh it certain
expressions contained in a letter from the king o Signer
Barroni, at Mjs:-.<-.v-;, inviting nim to pay a visit to his Court,
where they might drink and be merry together. Such, to the
best of my recollection, were the serious offences for which
the Aboona had been condemned to linger in a jail till he
died, and the remainder until they were released by the
victorious arms of a British force, after four years' imprison-
ment. I shall allude as little as pos.sible to these grievances
in tne course of my narrative; indeed, I arn not sure whether
he touched upon them all on this occasion ; but one or more

! stalwart, fellow, after leading a kind of \-agrant life in different
I parts of Abyssinia and Egypt, had settled down eventually at
I Mass;lwa, and had entered the service of the above-named
Signer Rarroni, who was an Italian merchant there, and for
.some time had filled the offue of Acting British Agent and Vice-
Consul. When Barroni aciepted the kind invitation of King
Theodore to come to him and participate in his merry-makings,
WaKla Gabir accompanied his master. The latter unfor-
tunately died on the road, and his f.iilhful attendant, shoulder-
ing a rifle, marched off to the camp of liis Majesty, whose
service he entered, and whose fortunes he .shared till death.
I may mention here that Theodore had a curious fancy for
surrounding himself with all the vagabonds he could pick up,
who had at any time been employed by Europeans. His
entoiifdge was always composed of hangdog looking fellows
most unprepossessing and uncleanly in appearance, but by
virtue of a slight smattering of French or Arabic, entitled to

,ti.i'

it':

•Of

IP'

f. !■

■nwwaw—HWW

"74

ILLUSTRATE!) TRAVKLS.

I' ,1

./in, ,

■|i

li\

frii-ndly ri.'roi;nition at our hands. Most of them had lieen in
the scTvi( of one (jf the Consuls, I'lowden or Cinieron. 1 do
not know the reason for the king's partiality for those men,
except that he may have considered they had had more
lavoiirable opportmiiti .'s for beioming skilful shots than the
rest (jf their coinUryinen. At all events, he emjiloyed tliem
as a rule to carry his most valued rilles and muskets.

Our interview lasted about half an hour, at the expiration of
which time we were dismissed with the most friendly exi)ressions
of goodwill. The favourable imjjression which Mr. Rassam
had produced was speedily known among the courtiers, and
we had scarcely reached our tents when we perceived our friend
the merchant, Walda Selasye Gobazye, and another old acquaint-
ance, running down to us, each bearing a sheep across his
shoulders, of which, with many congratulations, our acceptance
was begged. Visitors of a different description came in soon
afterwards. Aito Samuel, who had been a.\>y)o\ntcd BaMitniia
to the Mission, ushered in Alaka Engeda the King's secretary,
and Walda Gabir. They brought with them the Queen's
letter, of wliich a translation was ordered to be made. The
task occupied about two hours, and even then, I fear, it was
accomplished in anything but a satisfactory manner. One of
the clauses was garbled, and a phrase was inserted to the
effect that Mr. Rassam was empowered to do everything the
king required of him. It is needless to say that nothing of
this imjiort was contained in the original. It was the work
of Theodore himself, and formed the pretext for much of his
subsequent ill-treatment of us.

Early the following morning we were summoned to another
interview, and found his Majesty standing outside the door of
his tent, leanuig on his s|)ear, and talking to Ras Engeda. He
invited us to enter, and after we had sat down, he asked a few
questions about the interpreters, Omar Ali and Walda Gabriel,
who hail acconi|.ianied us. When he learnt that the former
was a native of Massdwa, he expressed his satisfaction with
him, saying that he had no quarrel with his country, but to
WalUa Gabriel he turned a decidedly cold shoulder, intimat-
ing that he could place no trust in any one who was born
in Shoa, which had rebelled against him. The poor man,
who had left his native country many years back, and had
since |)rincipally resided at Gondar, where he had a petty
business as a trader, looked aghast at the decision, which
might have appeared to him as an omen of worse things to
fome, but of course he could muke no reply. My own
opinion is that cur friend's birthplace had very little to do
with the matter. Alaka Zeiiab, the keeper of the archives
and royal historiographer, one of Theodore's most trusted
adherents, was also a native of Shoa, and many of the court
favourites, notably the Betljerwands, or treasurers, came from
Tigre, which was eiiually in a state of revolt. The king, wiio
was no bad iihysiognomist, probably found it easy to discover
in Omar's child-like open (m.c the real simplicity and guile-
lessness of his character, whilst in the fc-atures of the other
there resided all the craft and suppleness of the true Habeshee.
As may be imagined, it was not Theodore's object at that
time to have any people about him who might assist in
cleansing the eyes of his friends from the dust which was
thrown into them with so lavish a hand.

This important jjoint being settled, a conversation of the
usual cliaracter ensued, at the close of which the king directed
his secretary, Alaka Engeda, to read an Amharic letter, which

he proposed, to fonvard by Mr. Rassam to her Majesty, and
in which he signified that he would release all the Europeans
then held in confinement. It was written in a strain of deep
humility and self-abasement, and concluded by requesting
counsel anil advice, jiardon for his faults, and indulgence
towards his shortcomings.

Well plea.sed with ourselves, the king, and the world in
general, we returned to our tents, and began to employ our-
selves in setting out the presents which we had brought from
Alexandria and Atlen for his Majesty. Towards three p.m. it
was notified to us that the king was ready to receive them.
OtT we started, our interpreters and servants staggering up the
rugged path behind us, one laden with the telescope-rifle, two
others bearing each an immense cut-glass chandelier, while the
rest conveyed barrels of gunpowder, rich carf)ets, drinking vessels
of Bohemian glass, and other articles which we thought would
prove congenial to Ethiopic taste. Once we heard a crash,
and looking back, found to our dismay that one of the chan-
delier-bearers had tripped over a stone, and that one of the
])endants had come to grief However, the damage was not
easily discoverable to any but civilised eyes, and we trudged on
till we arrived at the spot where Theodore was sitting in a large
open space before his tent. He was alone and unattended,
except by his favourite, Ras Engeda ; and a cordon of mus-
keteers, posted at intervals of thirty or forty yards, kept guard
around him, though considerably out of earshot. We sat
down on a carpet which had been spread for us, and the
presents were then carefully deposited on the ground near
him. As each was laid down, the king inclined his head and
murmured, '' £;^ziabMr yistifih" (May God give it to you), the
usual fomiula in which a gift is acknowledged in Abyssinia.
Wnen a large oval mirror, resplendent in its gilt frame, was
produced, Mr. Rassam said that he trusted it might prove an
acceptable present to the queen, whereupon with a deep sigh,
his Majesty rejilied, that his domestic life had been very un-
happy of late, but that there was a lady whom he hoped soon
to raise to the position of his consort, and he would bestow
the gift upon her. Soon after this we were dismissed.

On rising the following morning (30th of January), and
looking around us, we soon discovered that the plain of Ashfa
wore a very different ai)pearance to that which it had presented
the preceding day. All the litde whu,- and black tents had
been struck, and nothing remained of the tiny green huts of
the common soldiers but their charred and blackcne<l skeletons.
Theodore had left early with all his soldiers, and we were to
follow him with the camp followers. We made all the haste
we could, and shortly after starting, between ten and eleven
o'clock, fell in with Ras Gabriyt!, who told us that he h,id been
deputed with his men to look after our luggage. We wx)n
came up with the ruck of the army, chiefly composed of the
families of the soldiers and servants of the chicl». This day
the road was level and open, generally sjjeaking, but now and
then we had to cross a small brookh i or jinss over the sloping
brow of a hill, and a scene of indescribable confusion »';<• sure
to ensue. As all the soldiers, except the sick a«d disabled,
were on ahead, there- w.is no one to preserve (.rder ; and
women bent double under the weight of jars of tedj or ta/la,
old men who could scarcely crawl, and children who « ouliin't
walk, were all huddled toK'>-'t'ii-T. screaming and shouting,
cursing and invoking all the saints in the calendar. Yet,
strange to say, accidents rarely or never occurred ; a fact highl)

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

'75

creditable to the temper of the thousands of led horses and
laden mules which accom|)anied the throng.

Oiir road lay pretty nearly NNE., and we were four hoins
on the journey, accomplishing a distance of about seven miles.
We encamped in the ])lain of Saccala, only a few miles from
those fountains of the Nile discovered by Paez and visited by
Bruce. The 1' tter mentions this territory as producing the
very best honey in Agow Meder, but at the time we were there
it was a perfect waste. Not a house, scarcely a tree, was to be
seen ; a sure proof, if none other were recpiired, of the presence
of the destroyer and his army. (Jn arriving at tiie camp, an
officer came to us from the king with a present of a gazelle
and a brace of partr'.dges. These are easily caught by the
soldiers on the plains, as, on being surprised by this immense
mass of men marching in line they know not whither to escape,
and are picked i;p by the hand.

We were very desirotis the next morning to be allowed to
visit the famed springs of Geesh, which were so near, but our
re(iuest to do so was met by a firm though courteous refu.sal. The
march was a short one— only five miles I think — yet the road
was so narrow and precipitous that it took us some hours to
cover the distance. We halted at Bifata, worn-out and
exhausted, and quite satisfied with the experience we had
gained whilst we " followed the camp" in Abyssinia.

But brighter days were in store for us. Early the next
morning we received an invitation from the king to take our
places amongst his retinue, as we should thereby be spared
the inconvenience and discomfort inseparable from marching
with the ruck of the anny. We were up betimes, and took
our places on the roadway by which his Majesty would ])ass.
He soon came by on foot, and, after bidding us good morning,
told us to mount and follow him. Theodore, generally pre-
ceded by a peasant who acted as a guide, invariably rode in
front of his army, followed at a distance of about twenty yards
by Ras Enged.?.,* and then by his personal attendants, gun-
bearers, and pages. A dozen or fifteen of the latter — .young
lads whose ages varied from eight to sixteen years — were
usually in attendance on iiim ; their fathers were often
powerful chiefs at a distance from the court, and the boys thus
played the part of hostages. Amongst them were also the
greatest chiefs who were in partial disgrace, and who had been
deprived of their commands. Ras Mashesha.t the king's eldest
illegitimate son, a boorish-looking young man of two or three-
and-twenty, generally rode in company with Hailu, one of
Theodore's original Rases, a handsome bearded soldier, who
had incurred the king's displeasure for some trifling fault or
other. Behind lollowcd the musketeers, in a compact mass,
headed by their ( ommandant, Ras Tisaga,'^ and the cavalry and
spearmen brought up the rear. We did not march far this
morning, halting within the confines of the same district as
the preceding day. The army had a mission to accomplish,
and we had no sooner encamped, than horse and foot were
despatched in every direction, to burn, harry, and plunder any
hamlet or cottage within a certain radius. Luckily, Theodore
had been stationed so long in the ^^cinity that the inhabitants
had had |jlenty of time to make good their escape, and the

• Literally, "a stranger,' or " foreigner."

t "A place '■' refuge."

J This chiif ii.ime was originally Negno'syL' (Afy A'ingf) ; hut after the
rebellion of A;;ow Negor.<-ye, in Ti^p-A, all who bore the insurgent's name
changed it, and this SA» •ulled him.se I 'Isftga— i.e., "grace " or "favour."

soldiers found but little to gratify their cupidity ami the
monarch his cruelty. The latter rode out with a small body
of cavalr/ in the afternoon, but returned ufter a very short
absence.

We had encamped on a ])lain on the left bank of the
.'Vbai, or Blue Nile, and the army jiassed most of the IblKming
morning in fording the river. .U was not more than ten or
twelve yards in width at this s])ot, but the extreme steepness
of the banks, and the rotten i ondition they were in alter the
recent heavy rains, made it a matter of extreme diliicidty,
both for mules and i)edestrians, to cross in security. After
the troops had passed by, Theodore still remained on the
bank, leaning on his spear, and manifesting great anxiety for
the women and children who had yet to get over this obstacle.
He addressed them all with words of encouragement, and
directed Ras Engeda and his attendants to assist in making
the road a little better. Any work of this kind he had
always to begin himself, but on the turf being cut, so to
speak, by the royal lance, every one stripped and set to
work with alacrity to improve the ])atli, and in a vcrj' brief
space of time the a.->cent was rendered comjiaratively easy.
We encamped in a beautiful valley in the district of Gootta,
which, under the name of Goutto, Bruce has so highly ex-
tolled. Not a village was now to be seen ic. this fertile and
beautiful vale. The grounil appeared to have lain fallow for
many months, and the low hills on either tiank were covered
with the greenest verdure, enamelled with the blue and white
of the many wild flowers which grow in unrestrained hixuri '.nee
in this part of Abyssinia. Mr. Rassam will, I dare say, long
remember the loss of his litirtiis siuiis, which he was able to
fill with so little pains in this district, and which was after-
wards plundered, with a good deal roore of our property,
when we fell into disgrace.

The next morning (3rd of February) we retraced our steps
a part of the way, and diverged again to the north-west, a
course which cotnpelled us to cross and re-cross the winding
Abai more than once. The king, who made us ride iiuite close
to himself, was exceedingly chatty, and ke|)t Aito Samuel inces-
santly ridiii, hackwartls and forwards as thj medium of com-
munication iKiween Mr. Rassam and himself. The Eiirojiean
artisans 'n his employ had, so far as they were able, kept
his Majesty an courant with the events which had lately taken
place in Europe and Africa ; and he put various questions
relative to the Russian War, the aftairs of Ashantee and
Dahomey, and other matters, his knowledge of which we were
somewhat puzzled to account for. His curiosity to know
the way in which defeated monarchs were treatetl by their
victorious foes was ill-disguised, and most of his questions
tended towards satisfying it. Two hours and a half brought
us to Fagitta, a plain surrounding a low hill, within the province
of Agow Meder. Readers of Bnice will recollect the great
battle which took place here on the 9th of December, 1769,
between the forces of the young king Hatse Takla Haim'mot,
commanded by Ras Mikhail, and the wild Galla hordes under
Waragna Fftsil. The defeat of the latter was said to he wholly
attributable to the panic induced by the fall of one of their
principal chiefs, who was killed by a chance bullet tired in
bravado by a drunken buflbon calle<l Walda Gabriel. 'I'he
Galla, at that time, had an almost superst'tious dread of
musket-balN. or. as they called thetn in Amharic, zabecb or
raisins ; now they ate reckoned much finisr shots than the

'•;{'

176

H.l.rsrRATKIJ Tk.WF.LS.

■i! :i

- -I

VIEW OS THK RIVER ARAt.

fcnhara. TTie terror formerly inspired by fire-arms has worn
irtr, and the genuine H'atdJihr, or soldier, much prefers the
national weapums — the st'ear and shield — to the muskets,
generally old and worn out, with which a certain pro])ortion
of the troops is armed. Tiie Fivasri^na*, or cn\alry soldier,
as lie gallops to and fro shouting out his fakAra, or defiance
to the foe, and vauntint; his prowess, has r; fine martial
appearance, -wivich is not possessed by the Nafle«na, or mus-
keteer, althoiffigh the latter has also a very characteristic war-
dance, and a song with an inspiriting chorus. The latter

• Fixrns, a " mare" in Arabic, signifies " a horse " in Amharlr. t^aft,
" a musket," is probalily derived from the Greek niifiOa. like tlie Arabic
nnffAI. nntl Tersian "(tjt, wliich denote a clcnr coml)Ustilil'" petroleuia.

brags by his weapon, whicli to our ears has somewhat a

ludicrous effect. After capering till he is tired, he shouts as

long as he has any voice, in a fine cnscendo movement, " Ya-

Galla gadai ! Ba-Tiif^h(z gSnai !" Or, as the case may be,

" Ba-7'ooik f,ii(!ai ! Ba-Ilirahcciii Btis/ia gtu/ai /" cmA so on;

all which, being interpreted, signifies, " The slayer of the

Galla ! The slayer by the English" (scil. nuLsket) ; or, "The

; .slayer by the Turkisli ! " — i.e., one of those taken from the

Turks, all of whom arc typified by t'^t doughty son of

Mohammed Ali Paslia. 'The'^c fakaras, or boastings, generally

i go on after a feast given by the commander of a re^niient to

; his men, and while the wine — represented by vast gombos of

i mend or beer — is briskly passing roun! after dinner. At

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17-

ILLUSTRATED IRAVKI-S.

reviews, or in presence of the enemy, the gallant warriors fallen by his hand, in battle or by less justifiable means, is

scream till they are hoarse, in the iiojje of encouraging them- crowed over in what we should considi.T a cowardly manner,

selves or their comrades. A cavalry man fakiirs by shouting but which is looked upon as highly laudable, and, in fact, a

out the name of his horse, a>, " AM>ii Jioolla!" ''Abba Sail- point of chivalry in a country where it is sanctioned by the

l^cryii .'" — " The master of Hayar 1 ; the master of the gelding " —
which sounds tame enough in ICnglish, but makes an Abys-
sinian's blood run like ([uicksilver. Every chief, too, who has

usage of centuries. These remarks lead one to the con-
sideration of the army in Abyssinia, a subject which I shall
pursue in the following chajjter.

English Mission to Mandalay, and Treaty ivith Biirmah.

nV IIENRV WOODWARD CROFTON, M.A., H.M. CHAPLAIN AT RANGOON.

I.—Trfatif.s with licRMAH -Mission of 1867— Vovaoe it the
Irrawaddv — Cross tiik Krontier— Arrival at Mandalay.

Since the conclusion oft . last Burmese war, in 1853, and the
annexation of that large slice of Burmese territory in which it
resulted, it has been one of the chief objects of our Govern-
ment to oblain from the King of Burniah a satisfactory treaty,
commercial and political. In the year 1853 a mission was
accordingly despatched to the Court of Bunnah, under the
ncwly-ap|iointed Commissioner of Pegu, Major, now oir Arthur
riiayre, wliose long service in our previously-acquired district
of Arracan, and intimate acquaintance with the Burmese
language, literature, and character pointed him out as,par excel-
lriiC(\ the man to whom this duty should be entrusted. The nar-
rative of this mission has been given to the public in an inte-
resting volume on Burmah, by Captain, now Colonel Yule, of
the Bengal I'aigincer.i, which we would recommend our readers
to consult. But it was unsuccessful in its object. The Bur-
mese Government, though profuse in their professions of
friendship, and cordial in their reception of the mission,
refused most obstinately to grant a treaty. In 1862 Colonel
Phayre was more successful. During the intervening period
the suspicion with which the Burmese authorities regarded us
had somewhat abated, while the value of commercial inter-
course between both countries had become more apparent to
them. Colonel Phayre had also kept up a friendly corres-
pondence with the Burmese sovereign, and thus a "personal
friendship " as the latter was wont to express himself, had
been established between them. Accordingly, on his visit
during this year to the capital of Burmah, Colonel Phayre
succeeded in inducing the king to conclude a treaty with our
Government. The chief provisions of the treaty were that
the subjects of both Governments should be free to trade,
travel, or reside in British or Burmese territories ; provision
was made for the transit of goods for the Chinese market
through Upper Burmah, at a low charge, without breaking
bulk ; and the frontier customs duties were abandoned by
th: British Government, with an agreement for prospective
reduction on the part of the Burmese.

licforc long, complaints began to be made that the provi-
sions of the treaty were almost entirely disregarded by the
Burmese officials, and it became pretty evident that there
could be no satisfactory commerce between both countries
until the king could be prevailed on to make radical changes
in his commercial system, and grant a new and greatly im-
pro\'cd treaty. Our Government were therefore on tlie watch

for a favourable opportunity of renewing their endeavours to

1 place our relations with the court of Bunnah on a better
footing.

In 1866 that opportunity seemed to present itself. A for-
midable rebellion, headed as usual by the king's own sons,
broke out in August. After some months' fighting, the king's
authority was re-established; and as there was no doubt that
the moral support and friendly feeling which the Chief Com-
missioner of British Burmah had shown to him, during the
rebellion, greatly strengthened his hands and enabled him to
put it down, it was thought a favourable moment to renew our
representations on the subject of a treaty. In the autumn of

' 1866 Colonel Phayre again presented himself before his royal
friend, with congratulations on the suppression of the rebellion,
and with a very excellent treaty which his Majesty was re-
quested to consider. But either the flush of recent victory had
unduly elated him, or, as he said himself, the country was too
impoverished and unsettled after the late troubles for the
introduction of changes, or for some other sufficient reason,
he set his face steadfastly and determinedly against the new
treaty. And so negociations were abruptly broken off.

i But a new spirit was soon to come over the king and his
advisers. It was made evident to them that they had incurred
the disfavour of their British neighbours by their pertinacious

' refusal of a treaty. Proposals had been made, which reached
their ears, of the re-imposition of the frontier duties which had
been taken off in 1862. No anns or munitions of war were
allowed to enter the Burmese territory ; and thus and in other
ways the unwelcome truth was brought home to them, how
entirely they depended on the powerful neighbour who held
all the sea-board of the coi.ntry, and through whose territories
the great highway of Burmese commerce — the noble Irrawaddy
— held its course for three hundred miles. The result was, that
by the middle of the year 1867, the Court of Mandalay pro-
fessed itself as anxious to enter into the treaty as it before had
been averse, and negociations were at once re-opened on the
subject by the new Chief Commisioner, Colonel Fytche. All

' went smoothly ; it was soon reported from Mandalay that
every article of the treaty prepared by our Government had
substantially been accepted, and that everything was ready for
another mission to go up and conclude it.

All preliminaries having been thus arranged, the mission
st.irtod for Mandalay on the morning of Friday, the 20th of
September, 1867. It was composed as follows : -Colonel
Fytche, the Chief Commissioner of British Burmah, with Mr.

KNGLISH MISSION TO MANDALAY.

'79

Kdwards, the Collector of Customs in Rangoon, and Captain
Duncan, the Inspector-General of Police, as liis interpreter
and secretary respectively. An escort of some sixty men of
H.M. 24th Regiment, now (juartered at Rangoon, and about
a doien artillerymen, with five officers, accompanied the
mission, as did also Captain Hannen, of the Artillery, on leave,
and myself Mrs. l''yt( he, and Mrs. Lloyd, wife of the
Deputy-Commissioner of Rangoon, were also bold enough to
risk the perils anil discomforts of the voyage.

The party cmbarkeil on Thursday evening on board the
Nemesis, a small sea-going Government steamer, and the
Colonel Pliayrc, a river steamer of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Com-
pany, with a flat, as it is called, attached alongsitle for the
troops. Considerable crowds of the motley population of
Rangoon assembled to witness and cheer the embarkation ol
the mission, in the success of which they all felt a lively
interest, and a salute of thirteen guns from the cantonment,
replied to by the same number from the Aemesis, announcetl
the fact at last accomplished of the envoy being actually on
board. Our voyage to the frontier was on the whole jjeaccful,
pleasant, and prosperous. The first day was one of some
anxiety lest we should have to pass the night (in river
voyaging we always anchor for the night) in the Paulang Creek,
which connects the Rangoon river with the Irrawaddy jjroper,
and which is of deserved ill fame for its musquitoes. Nothing
but experience could enable one to realise the innumerable
multitudes of these winged torments that at times invade the
unfortunate steamer that is be I'ghted there, and the exquisite
misery which they inflict. The pathetic lament of the old
Cardinal — Pallegoix by name — quoted by Sir John Bowring in
his work on Siam, is scarcely above the gravity of the subject ;
— " Oh the misery of finding the blood sucked from every part
of the body by myriads of winged insects, whose venomous
incision causes the flesh to swell with an intolerable itching!"
I have been credibly informed that in the last war two or three
European soldiers, maddened by attacks of the Paulang mus-
quitoes, jumped overboard to obtain a temporary relief, and
were unfortunately drowned. Our anxiety was, however, need-
less, for though, with all our endeavours, we could not get into
the Irrawaddy for the night, the Paulang mus(iuitoes for once
were merciful, or rather, a heavy fall of rain and a fresh breeze
prevented their coming on board, and we passed the night in
comfort. The next morning we found ourselves on the broad
and noble Irrawaddy, the fresh southerly breeze usual at this
season blowing up the river, and swelling tlie huge white sails
of the numerous boats that ply between Rangoon and Upper
Burmah. Life on board was pleasant, but after the first day
or two monotonous. Until near Prome the country is flat and
undiversified. You seem always to be passing the same
villages ; gazing over the same great plains, green with growing
rice ; watching the same boats sailing by or towards you ; the
same set of Burmese men, women, and boys coming out to
look at you steaming by, and jilaying and sporting in the water
like the half-amphibious creatures that they are. On board,
the perpetual din of the paddles, the unceasing cry of the leads-
man, " teen bam, mila naheen" (three fathoms and no bottom),
and the msh of waters around you, conduce to a dreaminess
and droivsiness that few are able to resist. After we had been
a few days on board I heard a long and animated discussion
going on among the soldiers outside my cabin, as to what day
of the week it was, and it took at least ten minutes and some

dozen speakers to settle the point. We had plenty of books
on board, but it was hard not to fall asleep over then., iiiulcr
the somnific influences that surrounded us. Two lai^e
volumes in particular, one an Encydop.edi.i, the other YuU's
narrative of the mission of 1^55, seemed cspcii.illy iiuliu ive of
slumber; and one of our jKirly was observed to l.iil .islcep so
often over one of these books, that we often wonder whether
he can do so now without a heavy volume in hi^ arms.

One of our favourite amuiements was to converse with our
friends in the other ste.imer by writing on a l.irge bl.uk liii.iiil,
when smart (luestioiis aiul lively rep.irtees were the oiilcr of
the day. The i)rogress the country had mule iiiulcr IJriti^h
rule was very evident, as we passed along, to those who
remembered it a few years since. A large embankmeiu, in
particular, was visible at v.irioiis points, the work of the last
three or four years, by which whole tracts of country have been
reclaimed from inundation, and made available for the cultiva-
tion of rice, the staple product of the country. The large
native town of Prome, in particular, which after the late w.ir
was so unhealthy to the large garrison that occu|iied it, is now
well-drained an<l laid out in wide uniform streets. Good sub-
stantial houses, with tiled or corrugated iron roofs, have replaced
the thatched huts of former day.s. A large comnioilioiis ba/aar,
where all kinds of commodities are bought and sold in coinfurl,
has been erected, and on the river banks several large piuka,
or brick buildings, strike the eye, of which two are hospitals.
At Thyetmyo, the frontier military station, the old mat barracks
that many of our military readers of the 28th, 68lh, Cotli, and
other reginvnts, inay well remember, have all disappeaie<l ;
and there are few stations where the British soldier has belter
and more spacious accommodation than in the tine new bar-
racks just finished here. We reached Moyet-Myo on the 24th
of September, the fifth day from our departure — a more rapid
passage than usual. We did not lainl here, as the cnvo)- was
anxious to get to Mandalay as soon as possible. The regulated
salute, however, of thirteen guns acknowledged the arrival of
the chief Commissioner, and was returned by the Nemesis in
better style than she had managed at Rangoon, where she took
too long between each discharge. On the evening of the same
day we passed the boundary pillars — two obelisk-like brick
structures that mark on each side the line between British and
Burmese territory. There is no kind of natural boundary
whatever, and it is hard to say why the line was drawn here, as
it was, by the late Lord Dalhousie, after the last war.

And now we realised to ourselves that we were actually on
a mission to a foreign power. We were fairly out of British
territory ; no more English stations, civil or military, to be
passed on our way ; no more telegrams to be sent and received
at each, for the telegraph-line which follows the banks of the
river up to Thyetmyo proceeds no further. We were leaving
all European civilisation and nineteenth-century a.isociations
behind, and entering a strange Asiatic land — the land of gold
umbrellas and gilded war-boats, of iterjjetual pooays and
pagodas.

Our first day in Burmese territory was unfortunate, the
boilers of the Nemesis getting out of order, so that all we could
accomplish was about twenty miles, instead of the sixty or
seventy we hail hitherto done. We anchored early in the after-
noon at the village of Tsing-ponny-Way, on the left bank of the
river. Here is the residence of the governor of the Burmese
frontier, who, however, retains his old title of Mecaday-Won,

T. \

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iM-irsTRATKi) rR.\vi;i,s.

from the fort, now (!i-,in:inilf(l, of that name in our provim c
Like most liiirinfic ii.iiiifs, the n.ime of this vill.iL;c is siynili-
cant— it mc.i.ns "clc'iihant-raft whirljwol," and is foimdcil on
an incident s.iid to have occurred on llie journey of one of the
white elejihanls, which tlie IJiirmese so lieiight to iionour, to
the royal city. 'I'he raft on whii h lie was conveyed f^ot into
trouble, near this, in one of the lar^e eddies often met with in
the Irrawaddy, and His I'ai elleiK y the white elephant was com-
pelled to land here, a ( ircumsl auce haniled dcnvn to posterity
in the name of the village. In an unchanging, monosyllabic
language like the lliuiiicse, the information contained in names
is not, as with us, hidden under tlie gradual i orrui)tion of the
original word, Names remain for many generations as signifi-
cant as when first imposed. The village itself, as the first we
had seen in lUninese territory, was an object of close scrutiny.
We were strm k, on the whole, by its inferiority in the style of
the dwellings, and in general appeanice <jf comfort and pros-
perity, to those of the same class in our own Province. 'I'he
difference was not, indeed, so api)aient here as in many others
which we saw afterwards, but yet, we thought, clearly i)er-
ceptible to an impartial eye. Not that the people seemed very
poor or miserable ; the latter the lJurme.se never are, and
generally they and their cattle are plump and well-conditioned ;
but there were not the same signs of wealth and pros|ierity as
in m.any vill.iges half its si/e in our territory.

We started the ne.\t morning, September 26tii, with the dis-
abled Neiiicsii in tow, and anchoreil off Maloon at night. This
was formerly the resilience of a governor, but is now a small
village standing on the gentle slope of a hill, which rises behind
to a peak crowned with numerous temples of various forms.
This hill was the scene of an oLstinate contest in the first Bur-
mese war of i8^6.

The scenery here, as it had been since Prome, was e.xceeilingly
picturescjue. Long ranges of hills, clothed from head to foot
in almost impenetrable forest, and with [lagodas perched here
and there on their summits, skirt the river side on the west,
leaving between their base and the river a belt of low rich
country, thickly wooded, in whicli lie numerous villages, for
the most part on or near the river banks. On liie east the
country is more of the cliaracter of a somewhat irregular
plateau, covered with thick jungle and small trees as far as the
eye can reach. This is the general character of the country as
it appears on each side of the river from Prome to Pagan.
The next morning we had our fust view of tlie Burman war-
boats, of which we had read and heard so much. The news
of our arrival at Maloon had been sent up sharp to Menhla, the
Burmese frontier station, where customs are collected, and where
certain officials, deputed by the Burmese (jovernment to receive
us, had been awaiting our arrival. Before sunrise the splash of
many oars ami the shouts of rowers were heard in the distance,
and three war-boats soon shot round the corner and came
alongside. It was, as we expected, a deputation from
Menhla to bid us welcome. We soon, however, ascertained
that the chief of the three personages, who had been deiiuted
from the capital to escort the mission up, was not on board,
and so our visitors were politely informed they would be
received at Menhla, and not here. 'I'he Burmese are
exceedingly |)articular on all jwints of eticjuette, and one of
their standing maxims, from the occuiiant of the throne to
the lowest oflicial, is to be as chary as they can of all marks
of honour and recognition to the representatives 'A foreign

jiowers. Heme the necessity of extreme vigilance on the
|).irt of the i!riti-,h envoy, to permit nothing in the mode and
manner of his reception that could possibly be intended or
construed as an omission or slight. We steamed slowly up to
Menhla, and Iwd an excellent opportunity of observing the
novel and peiailiar scene that greeted us. t)n sighting the
town, seven or eight war-boats, with a host of smaller craft,
put out to meet us. Their boats were ol various sizes and
adornings, from forty-five to sixty-six feet long, and all more or
less jirofusely gilded. Kach contained a band of from forty to
fifty rowers, sitting from stem to stern as close as they could
jiark. 'I'liey rowed round and round us, as we slowly ap-
proached our moorings, managing their boats most dexterously
in the strong current and crowded waters in which they
performed their evolutions. As they [lassed us, every boat
would raise a deafening cheer and song of welcome, led by
one or two frantic-looking individuals, who stood erect, and
gave time to the singers by the most strange and grotes(|ue
contortions of their aims and whole bodies. It was, as Yule
observed, on a similar occasion, an " Owhyhee" scene, re-
minding us strongly of the accounts of the receptions of the
first I'jiglish navigators by the South Sea Islanders. After a
short delay, the exiiected deputation came on board. All had
been in re.idiness from an early hour for their reception, which
it was thought right to make as formal and imposing as
we could. Wo all assembled in our several uniforms on the
ipiarter-deck of the IViinesis, which had been gaily decorated
with Hags, and screened off by a curtain from the forward
portion of the vessel. A guard of honour of some twent;,
men of our escort — Artillery and 2^i\\ — was drawn uj) on each
side of the deck, and at the stern a semicircular row of seats
awaited our visitors' arrival. The envoy did not himself
receive the deputies at the com|)aniond adder, their rank not
entitling them to that honour, but th'.y were courteously
haniled up by some members of the mission, and conducted
hand in hand to their respective seats. As they came on the
quarter-deck the guard presented arms, the envoy rose and
shook hands with each, and motioned them into their seats.
The officers who came on board were the Poopa-\Vondouk (or
minister of the second grade), the princii)al person.age of the
deputation from Mandalay, a venerable, well-affected gentle-
man, who bore his part with much composure and dignity ;
the Padein-Won, also from Mandalay, a young, intelligent,
shrewd-looking man, who spoke English well, having been
educated in Calcutta ; and the Ex-Won of Tsingo, an old and
pleasant-mannered officer of the court, who had frequently
been employed on like duties. He received in a similar way
the mission ot 1855 to the court of Burmah, and had accom-
panied the Burmese ambassadors to Calcutta, when they visited
Lord Dalhousie. The conversation which ensued was chielly
formal and diplomatic, consisting of repeated assurances on
their part of the great joy they felt at our arrival, of the dis-
tinguished reception their royal master intended to give the
mission, and of the instructions he had given them to let
nothing be wanting to our comfort during the passage up.

They showed, as Burmese generally do, considerable tact
and skill in making graceful, courtier-like, dignified speeches,
with an under-tone running through them all, of their own
and their sovereign's superiority to all the rest of the world.
They told us of the arrangements for the journey ; it was to
be divided into ten stages, slowness being in their eyes an

j-.N'c.i.isii MISSION ro M.wn.M AV.

l8i

• «

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1. :

rilAl'lNVU I'AUOUA, Al' l'A<:A.N. {Iiom a l'lu<ti'sr,if/i.)

■I' '

essential requisite to dignity, and (a more cogent reason with
us), tlie war-boats being unable to a('('omi>lish longer distances
with convenience. After an interview of about half an hour,
during which the heat was intense, they took their leave. The
rest of the day was spent by some of the party in shooting, by
others in strolling about the town, listening to the poody or
dramatic performance, which went on all d.ay, and inspecting
the arms, guns, and .so forth, of the first body of Burmese
warriors we had seen. After dinner, the chief commissioner
and all the party went to the pooay, which, as in more civiliseil
countries, was best and grandest at night.

'l"hc history of the next ten daj's is best given, for the
purpose of these pages, in a brief notice of the principal points
of interest, and not in the form of a diary. The ten stages, to
which, with the e.\ception of Tsagain, we adhered, were as
follows, and may be traced on any good map of Burm.ih :
Menhla, Mague, Yay-non, Khyonly-Pakham-nge, Tsile-^[)■o,
Pagan-Konyua, Tsameit-Kiyon, Kyouk-taloon, Tsagain, Man-
dalay. The average distance between each was about fifteen
miles. At each of these halting i)laces we found a large roomy
shed had been erected for our accommodai on, with a raised
bamboo floor at one end, on which to sit or recline. As many
chairs — or foreigners' seats, as the Bur.nese call them — as
could be mustered, were also provided for our use. In front of
these buildings a company of Burmese actors and musicians per-
formed, almost unintermittingly, during our stay. As the steamers
approached, the music struck up, and the actors stepped forward
and executed one of their peculiar dances in our welcome.

The triumph of skill seems to be to twist and move all parts of
the body in some peculiar way at the same instant. All
members of the body — feet, legs, arms, hands, fingers, shoulders,
and head — seem to move together and take part in the per-
formance. The Burmese pooay or play, which was provided
for our entertainment at each stopping place, has been
admirably described in Yule's narrative, and by other observers.
At first, most of us were much amused and interested by these
performances, but the loud incessant music which accomi)anied
then-, the great sameness of the plots and character, and the
inte'minable length of some of the scenes, soon made us
thir.k we had had enough of them. It is a strange and curious
fight, no doubt, to see the great crowds of Burmese, of all
ages and classes, gathered for the night to witness the perform-
ance of a play, and to observe the perfect good order and
high delight which they manifest. There was never the least
ajiproach to disorderly conduct or disturbance of any kind
amoirg the multitudes at Mandalay, sometimes two or three
tliousand, who assembled on these occasions. They seemed
altogether occupied with what they had come to see ; and,
except for the dresses of the actors and actresses, which some-
times were rich and handsome, es[)ecially at Mandalay, the
tnise-en-schie and surroundings of these plays were strangely
rude and simple. The theatre, a few mats spread on the
ground in the open air, with a green bough in the centre
fastened to a pole ; the lights, a few torches led with rock-oil,
and smoking most intolerably ; the orchestra, some half-do/en
or more of the musical instruments of the coimtry, more

J^.-^W

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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Cir-?

remarkable for noise than melody ; the drama and characters,
always the same long love story of a j.-'P:e or i)rinccss,
the same courtiers and attendants, the same clowns, fakeers,
tigers, /hifs, and M(/i>s, i.e., supernatural jiersonages of all
kinds. The chief part of these plays, a; in our oi)eras, is
sung or chanted, but the dialogue, especially where the
clottn is an interlocutor, seems decidedly the most popular
part. The hearty applause that would burst forth from the
audience, as if from one man, during this part of the per-
formance, was almost contagious. A good deal of this part of
the play is, I am told, extempore, and local and personal in
its allusions ; hence, doubtless, the force with which it tells on
the people. It is sometimes far from decent or refined, but
we had no reason to complain on this score. I am told that
there was seldom or never anything saiil at these plays that
exceeded the average license of an English stage.

Another feature of our reception at the several stages of
the journey was the furnishing of such provisions and supplies
for our use as could be procured. Shortly after our arrival, a
long train of men would come on board, bearing rice, pump-
kins, cucumbers, fish, and fruit of all kinds in great abundance,
to the great profit and delight, i)rincipally, of the native jwrtion
of our party — -our servants and shijjs' crews — to whom such
things were favourite articles of consumption. It was eijually
impossible to refuse thv.se things or to i)ay for them, thou ;h one
could not help pitying the unfortunate people, on whom these
exactions, little profitable to us, and yet felt by them, were
levied. It was the Kuig's order we were to get them, and
his order there was no disputing. I believe the King was
charged with all these supplies, but whether the jjeople were
ever paid for them or not is quite another question. A third
mark of attention that av/aited us at our halting places was the
assemblage of all the best ponies of the neighbourhood, saddled
and bridled in 'Jurmese fashion, for those of us who might fancy
a ride.

We had several pleasant excursions about the r.ountr)-,
thanks to this thoughtfulness on the part of our conductor.
There were generally more ponies than we wanted, so some
of the soldiers who accompanied us had a gallop sometimes
up and down thi- banks of the river, to tiie great delight of
themselves and tiieir comrades. The Burmese saJdle was
decidedly difficult ti manage, its stirrups being abou; half the
length of ours, and ii. tended for naked toes and no', for boots.
Several loose ponies gene ally accompanied our cavalcade,
being of a sociable disposiiion, and not wisliing to be separated
from their companions. The chief places of interest at which
we stopped were Yennankhyoung, Tsilc-.Myo, and Pagan. The
former is celebrated for its rock-oil wells, which before the late
discoveries of oil in America, were the principal sources whence
this commodity was obtained. We arrived here on Sunday
afternoon the 27 th of September. The strong smell of
petroleum which abounded everywhere, and the crowd of boats
which were taking it in, at once proclaimed the ..taple industry
of the place. We were sorry to observe here one of those rene-
gade Europeans who are to be found here and there throughout
the East, adopting the manners and customs, and sometimes
the creeds of the natives, in preference to their own. This
man, who was tattooed all over his body in Uurmese fashion, and
whose only attire was a cloth of by no means ample ilimensions
wrapped round his loins, was, we were told, a Dutchman, and
one of a party of sailors who had some time since gone up from

Rangoon to the capital. He was now, however, alone, and
was employed, we were informed, by the Burmese traders in
taking cargoes of rock-oil to dispose of at Rangoon. The
wells, which we all visited, are situated about three miles to
the east of the village, in an elevated plain of a sandy reddisli
brown soil, intersected by numerous steep ravines on which a
thin stunted vegetation grows. The wells are very deep, fully
200 feet on an average, and both dug and worked with consi-
derable difficulty. It is impossible to remain below, where a
consitlerable dejuh is reached, for more than one or two
minutes. New wells are constantly being sunk, and old ones
abandoned. They are the hereditary property of a family, or
clan, and are worked, like our mines, by a special class of
skilled labourers. The country round, as far as the eye can
reach, seems of the same character and formation as that in
which these wells are found, but we heard of none in the
neighbourhood. There arc some higher up the river on the
west side.

The view of the valley of the Irrawaddy, towards the west,
from the plateau is very fine ; the river can be seen for some
seventy or eighty miles of its course, with the fine mountains
of the Arracan range in the background, il'.aminated, when we
saw them, by the rays of the evening sun.

Tsile-Myo ij a prettily situated village on the east bank of
the river, and celebrated for the manufacture of that species of
lacquered ware commonly called " Burmese boxes ;" the best
known and most popular with Europeans of the manufactures
of this country. A large trade is done here in these articles,
both for Rangoon and the Burmese capital. Our party invested
largely in them, and, on the whole, at very moderate prices,
about half what we should have paid in Rangoon. AVe saw
them in every stage of finish, from the original frame of bamboo
basket-work to the last coating of vegetable gum and colouring
matter, with which the patterns, traced with an iron stylus, are
marked out.

Our next station to Tsile-Myo was Pagan, certainly the
most remarkable and interesting place between the frontier and
Mandalay. The architectural remains for which it is celebrated
far exceeded our expectations. We could have fancied, as we
approached, that some great city of Italy or Spain, crowded
with churches and ecclesiastical buildings of every variety and
form, was before us in the distance. But a nearer view showed
us that most were in ruins, that it was a silent forsaken city of
the past, like Palmyra or Tadmor in the desert. The remnins
extend over an area of at least eight or ten miles long, on
the east bank of the .iver, and from two to three or four miles
wide. Pagodas of every size and fonn, hollow and solid, bell-
shaped and octagonal ; broken arches, crumbling walls and
towers, mounds of rubbish, old roads and paths of brick pave-
ment, are studded thickly over the whole of this large area.
Most of the buildings were more or less in niins, and an air of
desolation and neglect pervaded the whole place. The square
enclosures that surrounded the pagodas, and the once hand-
some paved approaches that led to them, were grown over
with grass and bushes, in which hares and partridges abounded.
Cattle grazed around the sacred precincts, and rested in the
long corridors of the temples. In one temple only — the
Ananda — we found a few people worshipping, whose voices
sountletl strangely, reverberating through the long vaulted pas-
s;iges. Here, too, they were making a new image for one
of its quadruple shrines — the hu^ e figure, thirty-two feet long

ENGLISH MISSION TO MANDALAY.

183

without the pedestal, lay along the ground, while the carpenters,
in Isaiah's words, " stretched out their rules, marked it out
witli lines, and made it after the figure of a man." 'I'lie three
finest and most remarkable buildings at Pagan are unquestion-
ably the three pagodas named the Ananda or the Eternal, the
Thapinyu or the Omniscient, and the Gauda-pala or throne of
Cauda. The general plan is the same — a succession of three
or four gradually diminishing square terraces, each pierced by
two arched intersecting passages, in the four entrances of which
stand enormous images of Oaudana. From the highest of
these terraces rises a high and graceful spire with rounded
mouldings, and surmounted at the top by the gilt umbrella,
to which are affixed a multitude of little bells that tinkle per-
petually to the wind. When, our readers will naturally asTc, did
these vast and wonderful remains of former ages of Buddhist
faith and Burmese greatness rise and flourish ? Pagan was
founded, the Burmese chronicles inform us, towards the com-
mencement of the ninth century of our era. From this time
to the year 1300 it was the royal residence, and most of its
present remains probably belong to the latter portion of this
period. The chronicle relates that, " Indignant at the murder
of an ambassador by the Burmese King, the Emperor of China
sent a vast army to invade Burmah. The King, in his anxiety
to strengthen the defences of his capital, pulled down for the
sake of the materials 1,000 large arched temples, 1,000 smaller
ones, and 4,000 square temples. But under one of these
temples a prophetic inscription of ominous import was found ;
the King lost heart, left his new walls defenceless, and fled to
Bassein. The Chinese advanced, occupied the city, and con-
tinued to pursue the Burman army as far as Taroup-man or
Chinese Point, a considerable distance below Prome. This
was in 1284. Colonel Bumey has indicated that this is the
same Chinese invasion which is spoken of by Marco Polo.
Turning to that traveller (in Purchas, vol. iii., p. 93), we find
that when the great Khan n.inded to subdue the city of Mien
(the Chinese name for Burmah), he sent a valiant captain, and
an army chiefly composed of jesters, with whom his court was
always furnished. It is curious enough to contrast the con-
temptuous view of the Burmese enterprise here indicated with
the history of the same event as given by the Burmese in their
chronicle. Instead of an army of jesters, they represent the
Emperor to have sent a host of at least 6,000,000 horse, and
20,000,000 foot, to attack Pagan, and to have been obliged
to reinforce these repeatedly before they could overcome the
resolute resistance of tiie Burmese, who encountered the enemy
near the mouth of the Baom river."

We were not sorry to arrive at our eighth station, Kyouk-
taloon, on Saturday, the sth of October. This was formerly the
place where customs were collected, and is looked on as a kind
of outpost to the metropolis. Here foreign ambassadors are
wont to be met by deputations from the capital, and taken
leave of on their return. No one, however, appeared during
our stay there, which was accounted for by the fact we learnt
on arriving at Mandalay, that the letters announcing our
approach had not been received.

The next day, Sunday, we started accordingly for Tsagain,
but had not gone far before the Aemesis got aground on one of
the sand-banks that form in such abundance in this river towards
the end of the rains. Things looked very bad at first. The
Wondouk reported that the river was rapidly fa'ling, and
whether it would rise again was very doubtful so late in the

season. The whole day was spent in ineffectual efforts by the
King's steamer (which had met us at Yaynankhyony) and our
own to pull her off. However, during the night, the force of
the current removed a [ood deal of the sand round the vessel's
sides, and, to our great joy, she showed evident signs of
moving. By eight o'cloi:k she was fairly afloat again, and in a
safer channel.

At 9 A.M. Captain Sladen, the British Resident at Mandalay,
came down to meet us, and as we had lost a day by the
accident in question, it was determined to go on straight to
Mandalay, and so pass by tiie intervening station of Tsagain
without stopping.

This day's run, as we approached the capital and our
journey's end, was unusually interesting. We passed the sites
of the two former capitals, now abandoned, Ava and Amara-
poora, and beautiful and well chosen sites they seemed to be.
The Shan mountains, bold and irregular in their outline, form
an effective background to the well-wooded and well-watered
plain that stretches between them and the river on its left bank ;
while, on the right, the long conical range of the Tsagain hills,
crowned thickly with pagodas, approached by long winding
flights of whitewashed stairs, bound the river most picturesquely
for a considerable length. Yule is quite enthusiastic on the
natural beauties of this neighbourhood. Both these cities stood
on the left bank, about six miles apart, Ava the lowest. The
only remains now to be seen of them are a great number of
pagodas of all sorts and sizes, most of them in ruins. Ava
was the capital of the empire for about 400 years — from
1400 to 1783 — and is better known by name in England and
America than either of its successors, as being the scene of the
captivity and suff"erings of Judson and his associates in the
first Burmese war, and the seat of a British Residency for ten
years, from 1830 to 1840. One of the members of the mission,
Mr. Edwards, the present collector of customs in Rangoon,
had lived her.- in the confidential employ of the Resident,
Colonel Bumey, for eight years, but the very site of his former
habitation is now gone, having been washed away by the river,
which constantly plays such freaks with its banks on eitlier
side. Amarapoora, the next capital, had a much more short-
lived existence. It w.is founded in 1783 ; abandoned in 1822,
on the death of its founder ; for fifteen years then re-occupied ;
and, in all probability finally, abandoned in i860. It was,
however, /c//.v opportunitate vita, in having received the mission
of 1855, and having found so full and faithful a topographer in
Colonel Yule. In i860, the present King, induced partly by
prophecies and auguries, which always exercise an important
influence at the Court of Burmah, and partly, it is said, by the
more rational desire to place the capital beyond the reach of a
bombardment from the river, founded the present city of Man-
dalay, on an extensive plain about four miles to the north of
Amarapoora, and three from the main channel of the river.
This change of capital is of frequent occurrence in Burmese
history, and is to be ascribed in most instancer to a supersti-
tious belief rather than to personal ambition. The unfortunate
inhabitants, who have to migrate like bees with '.'.leir sovereign,
auii Luliii new habitations for themselves, their princes, and
their leligion, seem never to lift a murmuring voice, so long as
the move is in accordance with the traditions and received
opinions on the subject. At half-past two we anchored off' the
Thadan-Da, or royal wharf, lately erected by the King for the
convenience of his own and other steamers, but so high above

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ILLUS'l'RATKU TRAVELS.

the ordinary level of the river th.it it is useless except for
two or tlirce months in the year. The annual rise and fall of
the Irraw.iiMy is enornions, bein.:; seldom less than thirty, and
sometimes reai hing to forty leet and more.

Our voyaL;e thus successfully ended, we were naturally
anxious to jiroeeed to our destined residenie in the eity as

.soon as i)ossil)le ; but it was necess.-iry first that we should give
a formal reception to the liurmese prime minister and high
ofiicials on board ; and, .secondly, th.it they should arrange for
a grand public entr.mce and procession through the city lor the
mission party. How this important business was amiiged 1
will now proceed to relate.

JAI'AM si: WilMI'S

.^ Eityopcan Sojonni in yapau. — //.

KKClM IIIF. IRKNCIl OF M. AIMK IIUMIIKRI', SWISS MIMSTKR IN JAPAN.

We gradually established friendly relations between our Resi-
dence and the Yakonin i|uarter, by means of trifling presents,
such as sugar and coflee, to some sick jiersons, which were
gratefully received. One aflernoon. when I was the only
personal home, the monban came to t.ll me that a deputation
from the Yakonin (luarter wished to see me, < onsisting of
females who had been authorised by their husbands to present
their thanks, and who at tlie same time expressed a desire to
be allowed to inspect the interior of the house, as they had
never .seen any European furniture. I told him 1 should be
happy to receive them, and presently was heard the sound of
a number of wooden shoes on the walk, followed by the
appearince of a group of smiling faces at the foot of the stejjs
leading into the verandah opposite the sitting-room. Amongst

them were four married women, two grown-iip girls, and chihlren
of various ages. The first could be distinguished by the
simplii ity of their attire, the absence of bright-coloured ma-
terials or ornaments in their dresses ; their faces were not
painted, but their teeth were stained as black as ebony, ac-
cording to the Japanese idea of what is proper for a matron.
The young girls, on the contrary, heighten the natural white-
ness of their teeth by colouring their lips with carmine, and
rouging their cheeks. They wear b.right-coloured sashes, and
twist bands of scarlet crape through their hair. The children
wear variegated robes or sashes ; they have no head-dresses,
and even have th' ir he.ads shaved except a few loc ks, which,
according to their sex, .ire either fastened up or allowed to float
loosely. After the usual salutations and reverences, the spokes-

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women (for two or three always spoke at the same time) made
\.irioiis conipliinentary speeches in Japanese, to which I rcphed
in French, making signs to them to come in. I saw that they
iniflcrstood me, but were em1)arrassed about something. At
last, between words and gestures, I made out tliat they did
n )t know whether they ought to take off their shoes in the
garden, or wait until they were in the verandah. I decided
for the latter, on which they all came up the steps, took off
their clogs, and ranged them along the verandah ; the women
had on socks made of calico, with a division for the great
toe, but the children ran gaily over the carpet in their bare
feet. They first appeared struck with astonishment, followed
by universal merriment, when they saw themselves reflected
from head to foot in the long pier glasses. Whilst the cliildren
remained riveted to the spot with admiration of this new and
striking spectacle, the mothers inquired the meaning of the
various pictures sus|)ended round the room. I explained to
them that they represented thj Tycoon of Holland, with his
wife and other members of the royal family, and they bowed
respectfully before them, one girl timidly asking whether one
of them was not a likeness of his Majesty's groom ; and I had
some trouble in explaining to her that it was the custom for a
prince to have his portrait taken standing beside his horse and
holding the bridle himself. After carefully examining the easy-
chairs and sofas, they came to me to inquire whether they were
not intended for sitting on cross-legged, and when I showed
them our way of using them, they seemed to pity us very
much for being obliged to sit in such an uncomfortable atti-
tude, with our legs hanging down. My room, beiiig the next,
was soon inv.ided, and I cannot attempt to describe the nume-
rous objects which excited the curiosity of these Japanese
daughters of Eve. They seemed most tempted by some mili-
tary buttons bearing the Swiss federal cross, and I was obliged
to give them a few, though I could not imagine what use they
would make of them, as the clothes of the Japanese, both men
and women, are invariably fastened by silk cords. They were
much pleased with a present of some articles of French per-
fumery, but declined a bottle of eaii de Cologne, as cambric
handkerchiefs are unknown in Japan. It was to no purpose
that I showed them some beautifully embroidered ones, as
they assured me that the humblest person would disdain to
carry about her a piece of muslin which she had used to blow
her nose ! There is apparently no chance of our barbarous
fashion supplanting the use of the little squares of piper which
they carry in a folil of their dress, or in a pocket in their sleeves,
and throw away as soon as used. Our visitors also considered
themselves to have a decided advantage over us in the sort of
writing materials they use, consisting of a roll of mulberry
paper, a stick of Indian ink, and a pencil ; they carry the
former in their bosom, and the latter articles in a little case
suspended from their belts, along with their little tobacco-
pouch and pipe. In order to regain their admiration, I
showed them a box furnished with pins, needles, and sewing
cotton, and invited the Yakonin ladies to try them ; they
at onre allowed their superiority over their own, which are
not made by machinery ; needlework, indeed, is not much
practised by Japanese women, its place in friendly meetings
is filled by the pipe. I erded by giving the children some
prints of Swiss landscapes and costumes, and showing the
women an album of family photographs, which they examined
with touching interest. In the eyes of this people f. traveller

is an object of profo-nd pity, on account of his absence from
his friends and fam.iy — all, in fact, which makes life happy.
To this is added a feeling of religious admiration if he is per-
forming a pilgrim.ige ; but it is beyond their comprehension
that anyone should leave his home and cross the ocean for
merely worldly motives. 'I'hey, therefore, supposed me to be
the victim of political animosity, and that I was banished from
my native country, so that on my explaining to them that I
was neither an exile nor a pilgrim, they regarded me with a
mixture of astonishment and compassion.

THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE.

One of the attractions of our residence was the number
of birds with which it was surrounded. A quantity of
vegetable matter, as well as thoiisinds of fish and mollusks,
killed or stunned by the force of the waves, were daily washed
to the foot of the terrace which bounded our garden next the
sea. A crowd of birds, of various forms and plumage, assembled
here at low water, to seek food for themselves and tlieir
young, and with the return of the tide flocked back to their
places of shelter, some in the spacious roof of our house, and
others in the cedars of the garden, the sacred groves of Benten,
or the hills and marshes round Yokohama. I noticed amongst
them the cosmopolitan sparrow, carrying on a noisy warfare
against flies and other insects, and finding its reward in the
stray grains which fell from the sacks of com that were em-
barked in the neighbourhood. There was a colony of pigeons
in our roof, which had settled there no one knew how, and lived
in a most independent state. The ravens are somewhat dif-
ferent to those we are accustomed to see in Europe ; they are
smaller, and their croaking seems to form two distinct syllables
— ka-wa kawa. The crows utter a plaintive cry like the human
voice. The shrill notes of the eagle and hawk are to be heard,
mingling with the roar of the waves and the harp-like sound of
the wind sweeping through the cedars. Our feathered neigh-
bours were very tame ; the hawks often perched on the flagstiffs
or on our roof, which probably served them as a store-house
for their fish, and the crows and pigeons scarcely moved from
our path when we walked through the garden. Besides these
there were large flocks of gulls and sea-mews hovering round
the vessels in the harbour, to pick up the refuse which is thrown
overboard, and in the creeks which separated us from the
villr.ge of Kanagawa, numbers of wild geese and ducks
sheltered amongst the rushes, and at nightfall sought their
homes in the canals of the distant rice-fields. I could see them
describing geometrical figures in their flights, and perfectly
silent, except now and then two prolonged cries, which sounded
like the word of command given by a leader to rally his lagging
troops. Amongst solitary birds there is none more picturesque
than the heron, patiently watching for his prey, with his eyes
fixed on the limpid water, and his body balanced on one leg,
while the other is tucked under his wing, the dazzling whiteness
of his plumage being shown by the background of nishes, and,
perhaps, the branches of a weeping willow. The appearance
of the crane, as it slowly descends from the upper air, is so
impressive and majestic, that the Japanese associate it with
one of the demi-gods with which their mythology abounds.
They imagine this divine personage resting on the back of a
crane, or " Tsuri," and even give it the title of " Sama," by
which they address superior beings — " O, Tsurisama," his
lordship the crane! The crane shares with tlie tortoise the

A KUROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

187

honour of being the symbol of longevity and happiness. A
large projwrtion of Japanese, living on tlie shores of the bay,
exist in a manner very similar to the birds which I have just
described. While the fishermen spend whole days at a distance
from land, floating in their frail skiffs, a swarm of women and
children assemble on the shore when tlie tide begins to ebb,
they follow it as it retires, and heaj) their wicker baskets with
the abundant harvest it supplies, consisting of edible seaweeils,
oysters, mussels, and shellfish. The crabs are objects of
lively pursuit ; bamboo-sticks, furnished with iron hooks, are
used to draw them from amongst the stones in which they take
refuge ; they sometimes came up tlie steps of the terrace, and
as far as the foot of the verandah, and one evening 1 dis-
covered a very fine one under the washstand in my bedroom ;
it was no easy matter to induce him to take his road home,
namely, a trench in the garden leading to the sea. I used to
carry on friendly conversations with the people on the shore ;
the children brought me the prettiest shells, and the women
explained the culinary properties of the ugly little sea monsters
which they picked up. This friendliness is a trait common to
all the lower classes of Japanese ; often when I have been
walking in the neighbourhood of Nagasaki and Yokohama, the
country people have invited me into their enclosures, showed
me their flowers, and gathered the finest to make a boutiuet for
me ; they always refused to accept money in return, and never
allowed me to leave without offering me tea and rice-cakes in
the house. The season wliich is most agreeable on the bay of
Yeddo is spring ; from the top of one of the hills which
surrounds it there is a view, extending as far as the foot of
Fusi-yama, of wooded hills and cultivated valleys, intersected
by rivers and gulfs, which in the distance look like lakes ;
villages are seen on their banks, half hidden amongst the
trees, and farms surrounded by gardens scattered here and there
over the country. The precocity of the vegetation in the rice-
fields and on the cultivated hills, and the number of evergreen
trees on all sides give a degree of sadness to the Japanese
spring ; and yet there is nowhere a more luxuriant flora. Tufts
of flowers and brilliant leaves adorn the hedges and orchards
around the villages; camellias, grown to the height of our
apple-trees ; cherries, plums, and peaches loaded with blossoms
of two colours, red and white, sometimes on the same branch,
for the Japanese cultivate and graft these trees only with a
view to their producing a variety of flowers, and do not c£.re for
the crop of fruit. The bamboos, which are frequently used to
prop the young trees, often mingle their light foliage with thin rafts
of blossoms; but I prefer to see them growing in single groups,
like sheaves of enormous reeds. Nothing has a more picturescjue
eflfect than their long, green polished stems and tufted crowns,
surrounded by a multitude of smaller shoots and long waving
leaves. Bamboo thickets are amongst the favourite studies of
the Japanese artists, and they generally give animation to the
picture by adding some of the living forms which haunt these
leafy asylums — dragon-dies, small birds, butterflies, and, in
lonely places, squirrels, and little red-faced brown monkeys.
The roads are bordered with violets, but without any perfume,
as is the case with most of the flowers; and it is remark-
able that there are very few nightingales, larks, or other
singing-birds. Perhaps it is the want of song and perfume,
amid the luxuriance of animal and vegetable life, that prevents
one experiencing the sort of pleasure that is excited in the mind
by the sight of a beautiful landscape at this season in Europe.

The country here is almost over-cultivated ; with the exception
of the forests and plantations which Government insists
upon being maintained, every spot is occupied by agriculuirc.
As a specimen, 1 will describe the aspect of one of the valleys
near the Bay of Yeddo in the month of April. On the skirts (jf
the woods are large fields of buckwheat in full flower ; a little
further, wheat and barley, which had been soweil in Notcmber,
nearly ripe for cutting. The Japanese sow corn as we jilant
potatoes, in regular rows separated by furrows, in which they
raise a crop of beans, which shoot up when the corn is reaped.
In another direction, and looking like a fiekl of wheat in the
blade, there was a large extent of millet which would be ripe in
Sei)tember — it is p.^ferred to wheat by the natives ; they grind
and use it for cakes and porridge. On a neighbouring table-
land, a countryman was preparing the ground by means of a
small plough, drawn by a single horse, for sowing grains of
cotton, which in Se])tember or October would each produce a
plant two or three feet high bearing about twenty ripe pods.
He was followed by some storks and cranes, who gravely
plunged their long beaks into the furrow, anil pecked up the
grubs as they were turned up by the plough. The lower i)art of
the valley is devoted to rice plantations ; about a month
previous they had been put under water by opening the sluices
of the canal. When in this condition the soil is turned up by
the plough, and trampled under the feet of the buffaloes and
labourers ; the latter up to their knees in the ooze, and
breaking the obstinate clods with spades.

In rice cultivation, when the earth has been reduced to a
sort of liquid paste, men and women proceed- step by step
along the surrounding banks, throwing handsfull of grain into
the beds which are to act as nurseries, and which are then
harrowed in order to make them level, and to bury the seed.
After a time, the water is drawn off, and the young plants
which are growing in a close mass are pulled u]) by the roots,
and carefully transplanted, at regular intervals, into other beds,
where they are left to grow and ripen till the month of October,
at which time the crop is ready for the sickle

In order to protect the ripening grain from the birds who
come in flocks to devour it, different kinds of scarecrows are
placed here and there ; but they do not succeed in frightening
the birds effectually, so, in addition, a sort of network of straw
plait is stretched across the field, fastened to poles, and covered
with a number of movable tails. These are kept in motion
by a little boy, who has a cord which he pulls like a bell-rope ;
and when the bank of the rice-field is not high enough to
afford him a convenient position, he is perched on a seat
raised on four bamboos, and sheltered by a litUe roof made of
rushes.

Japan produces several kinds of rice ; the best is grown
in the plains. The irrigation of the hills involves the forma-
tion of reservoirs at the toj), and a number of canals to direct
the water to the various terraces on which the rice-fields are
formed. The Japanese have from time immemorial practised
the succession of crops. Every rice-field is sown with wheat
or millet every alternate autumn, but they never allow land to
lie fallow. The tea-shrub is not much cultivated in this district ;
it is to be seen occasionally in favourable aspects, but the real
tea district is some degrees further north. The production
of silk is not much attended to, for want of room for the
cultivation of the mulberry. To 3um up, it seemed to me that
the surrounding population, and, in fact, all the inhabitants

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188

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEIA

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of tlic southern coast of Nippon, leave the production of
the most importint articles of trade — such as tea, silk, and
cotton — to those in tlie interior, while they devote themselves
either to fishing and navigation on the one hand, or to
agriculture and horticulture on the other, united to the manu-
facture of articles made of straw, hemp, bamboos, and rushts.

Among the country popu-
lation surroiniding the Bay of
Yeddo one meets occasion-
ally some of the mount;iineers
inhabiting the mountain chain
of Akoni, at the foot of
Fusi-Yama, who have an
aii]iearance of greater vigour
and independence than the
former. They come down to
trade in charcoal and timber.
Some of them are employed
in the transport of merchan-
dise on horses, from the in-
terior to some of the seaports
on the bay, and others in
towing boats along the canals.
They supply recruits for a
portion of the Tycoon's troops
of the line, in which the use
of European arms has been
introduced. Unfortunately,
the country to which they
belong is almost inaccessible
to strangers, for if the ac-
counts given by the natives
are to be believed, we should
find among them, as in the
mining districts of California,
bridges, weirs, and aqueducts,
which, considering the im-
perfection of their tools, must
be really wonderful. Thus it
is only in agricultural pursuits
that we can see the Japanese
at work ; their dockyards,
workshops, and manufac-
tories, the most original con-
ceptions of their self-regu-
lated civilisation, are all
closed to us by the policy of
their government. Yet the
day is coming when Japan
will lay itself open to the

investigations of Western science, as well in this as in every-
thing else.

DOMESTIC LIFE.

In going from Benten to the country it is not necessary
to pass through the Japanese town, as a wide causeway has
been constructed on piles near the river, overlooking the low
sti..-*s and marshes of Yokohama, inhabited only by some
poor workpeople, and protected by a military guardhouse and
a custom-house station. Here a fine wooden bridge, raised on
pillars high enough to allow sailing-boats to pass under, crosses
the river and joins the causeway on the left bank, following

JAPANESE CITIZEN IN Wl.MER COSILME.

which towards the north-cast, we come to the great road of ICana-
gawa, and, towards the south-west, to the country loads leading
to Mississipjji Hay. We noticed many detached houses near
the main road, and even soivil' opening on the village streets,
quite open on all sides ; their inhabitants, in order to produce
a current of air, draw back the sliding frames which enclose

their dwellings, and so leave
them exposed from one end
to the other to the view of
the passers-by. Under these
circumstances, it is easy to
fonn an idea of their domestic
life. The conventional divi-
sion of classes amongst the
Japanese is not founded upon
an essential difference of race
or manner of life. From the
governor of Kanagawa's resi-
dence on the top of a hill I
have had several opportunities
of overlooking, on one side,
a block of buiklings appro-
priated to Yakonin families,
and on the other, a group of
houses and cottages belong-
ing to artisans and field
labji;'.;^, and I observed
that the same habits and
manner of living prevailed
inside the enclosed yards
which separate the military
quarters, as in the public
space in front of the plebeian
dwellings. Subsequently, on
associating with high go-
vernment functionaries, I
was confirmed in the opinion
that the same general features
pervade the domestic manners
of the whole central popula-
tion of the empire — that is
to say, of the three large
islands, Kiusiu, Sikok, and
Nippon.

The Japanese are of middle
height, much smaller than the
people of the German races,
but not unlike the inhabitants
of Spain and the south of
France in figure. There is a
greater disparity in the relative height of the men and women
than amongst the European races. According to Dr. Mohnike,
an old Dutch physician at Nagasaki, the average height of the
men is five feet one or two inches (French measurement), and
of the women, four feet two or three inches. The Japanese,
without being absolutely ill-proportioned, have generally large
heads, rather sunk between their shoulders, wide chests and hips ;
their legs are slender, and their hands and feet small, generally
well shaped. The outline of their heads, seen from the front,
often presents the geometrical figure of the trapezium rather
than the oval. I have often noticed that the cavities of the

A F.UROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

|8()

eyes being somewhat sliallow, anil the nose a hltlc flattened,
the eyes have a more staring look than those of Kuropcans.
Still, somehow, their general appearance is not of the same
type as that of the Chinese Mongolian ; the head is thicker,
and the face longer and more regular in its features. To me
they appear to resemble most the natives of the Sunda islands.
According to Dr. Mohnikc,
the head of the Japanese is
of the Turanian type. Their
hair is without exception
smooth, thick, and as black
as ebony ; that of the women
is not so long as amongst the
Europeans and Malays. The
Japanese have beards, which
they shave at least every
other day ; the colour of their
skin varies according to the
different grades of society,
from the tawny or copper-
colour of the inhabitants of
the interior of Java, to the
dull white or sun-burnt shade
of those of the south of
Europe. The prevailing
shade is an olive brown, but
never the yellow tint of the
Chinese complexion. Unlike
Europeans, their faces and
hands are generally of a
lighter shade than the rest
of their bodies. Amongst the
children of both sexes, one
sees the same rosy cheeks
which amongst ourselves are
considered the indications of
health. The women have
clearer complexions than the
men, and amongst the higher
and even the middle classes
many are perfectly white ; a
dead white is looked on as
the most aristocratic tint.
Both men and women have
black eyes and sound white
teeth, regular, and somewhat
prominent. It is the custom
for married women to blacken
them.

The variety of physiognomy
and expression that one sees

amongst the Japanese, is, I think, the result of a freer and
more spontaneous intellectual development than is to be met
with in the other Asiatic nations. The Japanese national
dress is the " kirimon," a kind of dressing-gown, made a little
longer and fuller for men than for women ; the former fasten it
across by means of a silk sash or narrow scarf, and the latter
wear a wide piece of stuff, fastened in an odd-looking knot at
the back. The Japanese bathe daily, they wear no under
linen, but the women have chemises made of red silk crepe.
In summer the peasants, fishermen, artisans, and coolies, go

JAPANESE PEASA <T IN WINTER COSTUME.

about their business almost naked, and their wives wear only a
short petticoat round the waist. In rainy sc.isons they protect
themselves by cloaks made of straw or oiled paper, and hats
of bamboo bark, the shape of bucklers, like those of the
Javanese. In winter the common men wear a close-fitting
jacket and trousers of blue cotton, under the kirimon, and the

women wadded mantles. The
dress of the various classes
differs only in the materials
of which it is romposed ; the
nobility alone have the right
to wear silk, but they only
attire themselves richly to go
to court or to pay visits
of ceremony. Government
officers wear full trousers,
and instead of the kirimon,
a short garment with wide
sleeves, and not inelegant
in shape. Every one is shod
in the same way, with sandals
of plaited straw, and socks
of cloth or cotton, or wooden
clogs fastened by a string.
When the roads are muddy
they wear a mere wooden
sole raised on two pegs, and
all on entering a house take
off their sandals or clogs
and leave them on the thres-
hold. The floors are always
covered with mats made of
rice-straw carefi ly jjlaited ;
they are all of the same size,
six feet three inches long by
three feet two inches wide
and four inches thick, and
are used as a current measure,
there is consequently no dif-
ficulty in suiting them to the
different rooms, which can
also be modified at pleasure
by means of the sliding par-
titions which the Japanese
use to divide their apart-
ments. The mat supplies the
want of other furniture ; it is
the bed on which the Japanese
passes the night, wrapped in
a large wadded covering, and
his head resting on a stuffed
wooden socket ; it serves as a table cloth on which to
spread the porcelain and lacquered vessels which he uses
at meals ; it is the carpet which his barefooted children
tread on, and the divan where, squatting on his heels, he
invites his friends to seat themselves and enjoy a piolungeu
gossip, while sipping a decoction of tea unmixed with any
other ingredient, and puffing tobacco in lilliputian pipes. In
the inns we see what is called in Java a " bali-bali," a kind of
table, raised only a foot from the ground and covered witli
mats, on it the traveller sits, eats, drinks, or takes his siesta.

III

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Il.l.rsrRATKU TRAVKI-S.

:ii

Uiii.' <l:iy I w.is |ircsciu when half a dozen little boys were
reciting their lessons, siiuatieil in a group round their teacher,
I asked the meaning of the words they were repeating in
(horus; I was told they were rei iting the " irova," a kind of
alphabet consisting of four lines, in whii h are contained, nut
the vowels and consonants, but the luiidaineiital sounds of the
Japanese language, of which there are forty-eight. These,
instead of being classed grauini.uii ,dly, are formed into a verse
of poetry, the first word " irova' giving its name to the
al[)habet ; I subjoin the verse as correctly as I was able to
catch it, premising that the consonant ;■ is in some dialects y)
and in others // aspirate ; that n' has the s;ime sound as in
Knglish, and that they cjfteii (onlouml the sounds of J and /,
and of ,«,' and /(•, as well as of s or i/s with : and /s. " Irova
nivoveto tsirinourou wo. Wagayo dare/.o tsoune naramou.
()u wi no okouyama kelou koyete. Asaki youmemisi evimo
sdzou oun." Its meaning is as follows : — " Colour and perfume
vanish away. What can there be lasting in this world ? To-
day has ilisappeared in the abyss of nothingness. It is but the
passing image in a dream, and causes only a slight trouble."
There is more of the J.ipanese character to be learned from this
national primer than from many voluminous works ; generation
after generation has repeated this popular philosoi)liy of nothing-
ness, the unsatisfying effect of which is to be traced in many
details of their domestic life.

'i"he dwelling of the Japanese is adapted every hour only
. to the needs of the hour, and retains for the time no traces of
its uses at other perioils. All that is poetical about it is owing
to its harmony with the tmter world fur the time being. Thus,
at the ap|iro.uh of niglit they cluse the windows and draw the
partitions which form tlie slee[)ing places, and light a large
lam|> in a sort of cage covered with oiled [laper, which diffuses
a subdued light like that of the he.ivenly luminaries. But with
daylight a. 'li.it forms the arrangements for repose is carried
away; the sashes are witlulrawn, and the house swept from
end to end ; the morning air circulates through it, and the
sun gilds the mats in broad streaks. During the afternoon
heat they close the house so com|)letely with hangings and
screens that it seems like a dark cavern. This way of
looking on existence as a mere succession of days, hours, and
years — of living entirely under the influence of the present —
gives a simple vivacity to all their enjoyments, a character of
fatality to their sufferings, and of triviality to death which
excludes repining. The cliildren are the greatest gainers by
this mode of life ; and those travellers who state that
Japanese children never cry, have only been guilty of a slight
exaggeration of the real fact.

The Japanese are strict monogamists ; the women marry
very young, and preserve their childish character long after,
their infants taking the place formerly occupied by their dolls.
Custom, however, does not allow tiiem to bring up their nurs-
lings too delicately, and they make them hardy by exposing
them daily to the air, and even to the mid-day su.i, bare-headed.
The countrywomen are often to be seen at work with an infant
fastened on their back, between their chemise and kirimon.
At home tiiey let them creep and roll about on the mats, as
there is no furniture for them to hurt themselves against, and
nothing that thev can overturn or break. Their companions
are domestic animals, little poodle dogs with flit round bodies
and short legs, and a species of cat, with white fur, marked
with yellow and black spots, very playful, but very bad mousers;

like those at Java, these cats have no tails. Every family that
can afford it possesses an a<|uarium, stocked with gold, silver,
and red fish ; some of the latter roun<l as a ball, others with
long and wide l.uls, or webbed lins, which act as rudders.
I'hey also make pretty i.iges of bamboo b.irk, on the model of
the most elegant dwellings, in which, on a bed of flowers, they
confine butterflies, or large grasshoppers, whose monotonous
noise |)le,ises them continually. .Such are the surroundings
amongst which the J.i|ianese ( hild grows u|>. The |)aternal
residence is little more lli.m a place of shelter ; its i)arents
do not interfere in its games or amusements ; its education
consists in shouting in chorus the " irova," and other reading
exercises, and in drawing with Indian ink, first the letters of
the alphabet, and afterwards words and phrases ; there is no
coercion used, and yet the whole adult population of both
sexes can read, write, and calculate. On the whole, the
Japanese educational system is not to be despised.

ORic.i.v OF THi: ;ai'ani;se.
When observing the habits of the Japanese, I have often
asked myself, what was the origin of this interesting people, but
I have never arrived at a satisfactory answer. Comparative
philologists alone will be able to solve the problem in some
degree, but there is a wide field of in.|uiry before them, for it
will be necessary to go back as far as the nomadic Tartars of
Turania ; perhaps it will be necessary to direct inciuiries into
the languages of the Malayan Peninsula and the Indian
.•\rchipelago, and I have no doubt the result will prove that
there is no connection between the Chinese and Japanese
races, the two languages ajipearing to me to have no relation-
ship. It is true that the supposition of the Japanese archi-
pelago having been peojiled by a Chinese emigration naturally
suggests itself to the mind, and I will even .admit that there
may have been in very ancient times relations between the
Corea, the north of Japan, the Kuriles, and even Kamschatka;
for this chain of islands, extending from the Asiatic to the
American continent, seems like the dismantled arches of a
gigantic bridge, and suggests the idea of their having been
successively jieopled. But the southern isles of Japan appear
to me rather to have been colonised by emigrants who came
from still further south. Sea currents have probably played an
imijortant jjart in the still mysterious history of emigrations ;
by this means many voyages of surprising length have been
accomplished. All the European residents in Yokohama know
the Jai)ancse inter|)reter, Joseph Hico, who once, when out
fishing with some members of his family, was driven out to sea
by a gust of wind, and caught by the great equatorial current
which w.ashesthe south and east coasts of Japan, and describes
a curve of some thousands of leagues to California. The
unfortunate fishermen were carried far into the Pacific in a
north-easterly direction, but they fortunately met an American
vessel, which rescued them, and landed them at .San Fran-
cisco. Navigation between China and Jajian is difticult and
dangerous, a counter current of cold water issuing from the
ic;y seas near the North Pole, and flowing south through the
channel which separates the two countries, whilst the great
current of warm water proceeding from the Indian Ocean
through the Straits of Malacca and Sunda, runs frotn south-
west to north-east, and spends itself, not on the Chinese coast,
but as I have already said, on the southern and eastern coasts
of Japan, and on the north-western shores of .\merica.

A KUROl'LAN St)JOlliN IN J Al AN.

101

The first Europeans ho landoil in Jajian were thrtr w.iy of siijim'stion, the whole Riilijert at iiriscnl luloii^jnj;

I'ortiiijiicse (IcstTlcrs named Anlonio <le MiUo, l'ran<is((» tn the (li)inain of conjediiie. The ii.itivis themselves, when

Zinioro, anil Antonio IVrota ; they eniliarked in a native (|iustic)neil, f;ive nothin;^ hut e\asixe iin^wers ; either fjimi

junk from one of the p-rts of Siani, were driven out to sea ignoran< e, or from repugnance to unveil to profane eje.s the

in a gale, and carried by the e(|uatorial < urrent to the southern sanctuary of llKJr national traditions. Not that these have

sliore of the island of Kiusiu, in the year 1542. i'he very remained entirely unknown, (or, on the contrary, they have

RICE C ttl TIVATIUN.

same thing happened to the famous Portuguese adventurer, heen the object of considerable research both liy Roman

Fernando Mendez I'into, with his two companions Diego Catholic missionaries and by physicians in the service of

Zeimoto and Christojiher Borello ; when leaving Macao in the Dutch Kast India Com])any. 'J'he " Archives of Nippon,"

a Chinese junk, they were cast on the Jaiwnese island of published by F. de Siebold, contain some remarkable frag-

'lanegasima in 1543. In connection with this subject, it ments of Japanese literature, devoted to cosmogony and

JAPANESE IN THE KICE-FIELU.

may not be uninteresting to recal the fact that at one time
the island of Java with its dependencies formed a powerful
empire, which carried on commercial intercourse, on one side
with Madagascar and Arabia, and on the other as far as
China and the archipelagoes in its neighbourhood. It is in
this direction, and on the region peopled by the Malay race
in general, that my thoughts involuntarily turn, whenever I
am struck by any unlooked-for analogy between the public
manners, or domestic habits, of the Jajianese and people of Java.
I confess that I can only throw out these remarks by

national history, 'i'hey were translated by the learned Dr.
Hoffmann, of Leyden, with explanatory notes which leave
nothing to be wished for. But such fraginentary gleanings,
however conscientiously they may have been obtained and put
together, are not calculated to give us the key to a civilisation
so complete in all its ramifications as that of the Japanese.
AVe will give in our ne.xt the history of the Creation, as the
Japanese receive it from their priests and annalists ; for it is
only by adi ering to their own account that an idea can be
formed of the Japanese cosmogony..

¥^'

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ILLUSTRA'I'KI) TRAVKLS.

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lilii

T/ie Coutilfy East of the Abyssinian Plateau.

TiiK numerous works which have appeared in conso(|ucnce of
the late Abyssinian war have made the British jiuMic tolerably
well aiMjuainted with the i)hysital features of the Abyssinian
hij^hlands, or, at least, the eastern side of the great plateau,
which rises abru|)tly to a height of many thousand feet from
the plains skirting the shores of the Red Sex It appears, from
a narrative recently i)rinteil as an official document in Bombay,
written by Mr. Werner Munzinger, our vice-consul at Mas-
sowa, tl:at the rei,'ion of jilains stretching from the foot of the
colossal wall which commences the interior plateau, are not
much less interesting and extraordinary than the highlands
themselves in their physical geograiihy. Mr. Munzinger was
reipiested by Oeneral Merewether, before the arrival of the
English expedition, to explore this region, commencing from
the port of Amphilla, with a view to its bearings on the
approaching campaign ; and he commenced his journey in
Jime, 1867. The coast near Amphilla is a desert sandy tract,
where there is neither tree nor shrub, and the village consists
of about twenty huts, ruled by a chief who has no influence
over the wihl tribes further inland. After a .short delay, in
obtaining a guide, the journey was commenced, the party con-
sisting, besides the guide, of Mr. Munzinger and eight well-
armed attendants, furnished with instruments for making a
rough survey of the route. They marched in a south-westerly
direction, and after crossii.g, at a distance of forty miles from
the coast, a ridge formed of gypsum, with fragments of shells
and (|uartz, they descended into a level region called the Great
Salt I'lain, which was ascertained to lie below tiie sea-level.
Part of the surface of the plain consists of clay, containing
crevices filled with powdered salt ; in other parts the ground
resembles a ploughed field frosted over ; and in others, where
the salt is thicker, it presents the appearance of a frozen lake.
In walking over the plain the hot wind was almost unendurable,
and their mouths were filled with the particles of s.ilt. This
extensive tract of low land forms a huge basin, bounded by a
high wall of gypsum with the volcanic peak of Artali to the
south, from which smoke continually issues, and to the west
the lofty, precipitous slopes of Abyssinia. The streams which
descend from the slopes, pro lucing fertility and beauty in the
narrow valleys, all lose themselves in swamps on arriving in the
plain, or are dissipated by evaporation. The region is inhabited
by a singular race of people called the Afars, who work the
salt, and prepare it for exportation to the Abyssinian highlands.
They live during the whole year close to the plain, under the
shade of palm trees or in caverns, and form a number of small
tribes known by the names of Dumhoita, Danakil, Dahimela,
and others, but all speaking the same language. Their villages
are scattered over the country, many miles of desert intervening
between them. Each tribe has a chief called Afakabcti, and,
although the rank is hereditary, it is usually the cleverest or
most energetic of the family of a deceased chief who succeeds
him. The colour of the people is generally black, varying to
light brown shades; the features are regular, except the lips,
which are large and thick, and the hair is short and straight,
the women plaiting it like the Abyssinians. The men wear a
piece of cotton as a cloak, and another piece round the loins ;
and every man has a curved sword, worn on the right side, a
long heavy spear, and a shield of buffalo-hide. The women
wear a leather apron, embroidered with cowries, round the

loins, falling to the feet, and a few car and wrist ornaments.
Their houses are usually rude mat tents, or conical huts of
palm-leaves. The Afars have camels, cow.s, goats, sheep, and
asses ; horses and mules are rare. The flocks and henls give
very little trouble ; they are in charge of the children and girl.s,
anil come of their own .accord to the wells to be watered.
Nominally the Afars are Mussulmen in religion, and subjects
of the Viceroy of Egypt ; but in reality tliey have little respect
eitlier for God or king ; they pay no tribute, and neither pray
nor fiist. In disposition the Afars are avaricious, obstinate,
f.ilse, and cruel. '» he slightest dispute jirovokes blows with
the knife, and murder is considered honourable. Like the
Gallas, they mutilate their slain enemies, and wear the spoils
as trophies. IJut they have some gooil qualities. They i)ay
great ie::pect to old age, and have a profound disgust for
stealing, wiiich is an extraordinary virtue for so avaricious a
people; yel, in the whole of Africa, there is not a race more
barbarous th.m the Afars.

Mr. Muniinger succeeded in traversing the whole region
peopled by tl ese unamiable savages, from Amjihilla to Ala, a
little settlenv;nt on one of the lower elevations of the Abys-
sinian borders, a distance, in a straight line, of about eighty
miles. He diil not return by the same route, but marched to
the north, along the base of the hills, until he struck the eastern
side of Annesley I!ay, whence he continued his journey by land,
viii Zulla, to the coast near Massowa. When about half way
between Ala and Zulla, in 14" 30' N. lat., he came upon the
river Ragolay, which, rising in the centre of AgamJ, on the
Abyssinian plateau, makes a b.>;ach in the mountains, and
jiours its abundant waters from the high country (iir into the
Salt riain. An oasis of so much fertility in the middle of the
desert, and on t!ie same level, filled him with surprise. The
soil is fertile, clothed with rich grass, and, in some parts, densely
wooded. This district Mr Munzinger believes to be well
adapted to the culture of cotton.

Neio Russian Expedition to t/ie Coast of
Nortlurn Siberia.
The Imperial Geographical Society of Russia sent, last autumn,
a scientific cxjiedition, under the command of Baron iviaydell,
to the country of the Tschuktches, situated in the extreme
north-eastern part of Asia, near Behring Strait. The Baron
was accompanied by two competent assistants — one to attend
to astronomical, magnetical, and meteorological observations,
and the other to make a survey of the country. The instruc-
tions for the expedition were prepared by the veteran philo-
sopher. Dr. Karl Ernst von Baer, and the attention ri" the
travellers was particularly directed to obtain every possible
information regarding " Kellett Land," a mysterious island, or
tract of land, in the Polar basin, lying opposite the territory of
the Tschuktches, first discovered by Captain Kellett, H.M.S.
Herald, in August, 1849, when in search of the memorable
Franklin expedition. This land was again sighted in the
summer of 1867 by the American whaler, Captain Long, who a
short time ago published additional information regarding it
It extends towards the Pole, as a I'.ne of snow-covered peaks,
north-west of Bjhring Strait, and about eighty miles distant
from the Siberian coast. With so well-ananged an expetlition
as Baron Maydell's we may soon hope to learn more of this
remote land, and, perhaps, of the nature of the Polar basin.

t M

A JOURNFY TIIROUC.ll TlIK SOUDAN,

•9.1

RIVKR IIERIIAN, ABVSSINIAN I'l.ATEAU.

A youyncy tlirough the Soudan and JVcsfcyn Abyssinia, "ivith Reminiscences

of Captivity. — I'll.

ItV LIEUTKNANT W. F. PRinEAUX. F.K.O.S., IIOMDAV STAFF CORPS.

Kl'ARATA AM) ZAGF-— GaFFAT AND DF.nRA TAIIOR.

In a previous chapter I have adverted to the fact that King
Theodore changed, in the most ndical manner jwssible, the
ancient constitution of the Abyssinian empire, by subverting
the old monarchical feudalism of the country, and substituting
in its place a military autocracy. Under the preceding
dynasty, each province was under the command of a Dedj-
nzmAtch, the literal meaning of which title is, " The Warrior
at the Door," signif)ing that, if the royal army were to encamp
within the boundaries of any particular district, the post of its
governor would be at the entrance of the king's tent. Kither
side of the pavilion was to be guarded by the KegnAzmahh and
the Geiazmatch, meaning respectively the " Warriors on the
Right and Left;" 1.,.'; the ])osition of honour and trust was
always confided to the Dedj-azmfttch, and it was on his spear
that the safety of the royal li/e 'vis felt to depend. His
position, in many resjiects, was similar to tliat of the Thegns
in England under the Saxon rule ; or, perhajis, to the carls and
palatines of the Norman dynasty. At command of his suzerain,
the Dedj-azmatch of Godjam or Dembea would collect his
vassals and rally round the royal standard, just in the same
way as the li^arl of Chester or I-ancaster would hasten with
his retainers to the rendezvous when bidden by his liege lord.
Within his own government the power of thl; Dedj-azmatch
was well-nigh uncontrolled. The symbol of his authority was
the nagareet, or kettlednim, and if his sway extended over
more than on, province, he was entitled to a drum for each.
His household was formed on the model of that at Gondar,
and even the A/aNegoos, or "King's Mouth"— an officer
who was always required to act as a medium of communication
between any suitor and the great man— was not wanting. As

VOL. 1.

in most feudalisms, the arms of the vassal were as often directed
against his suzerain as used in concert with him ; and it is
chiefly owing to this that the pages of Abyssinian history
present such a confused ])i(tuio of intestine stniggle and
anarchy, leaving the Christian people at times an easy prey
to the Moslem and the Infidel— from the sixteenth century,
when it was nothing but the stout hands and hearts of a few
Portuguese veterans that saved the country from the ruthless
Adal chief, Mohammed of the Left Hand, to our own times,
when it required all the fervid enthusiasm of religion and
patrioti'<m, as exemi^lified in the Kasa of those days, to stem
the rajjidly-advancing tide of Galla invasion.

Theodore, when his ])ower was to some extent consolidated,
saw that this state of things emphatically would not do. He
therefore devised a plan for bringing the whole military power
of the country within his own grasp. At the time of his corona-
tion he found but little difficulty in effecting thi.s. With the
exception of the King of Shoa, who was shortly afterwards
subdued, all the former governors of jirovinces — the post of
Dedj-azmi'itch had by time grown, in nearly all instances, into
an hereditary office — nad either fallen on the battle-field, were
exiles, or in prison. His first step, then, was to place on an
entirely new footing an ancient title and post, the origin of
which is lost in the mists of antiquity. From the earliest
times we read of the RAs, or " Head," an officer who cjuld
only be appointed by the descendant of Solomon himself; a
kind of alter ego, foremost in the council-chamber as in the
field, keeper of the king's conscience as well as leader of his
armies. From the days of Seela-Krestos* and Atandteos, to

• " The Picture of Christ," brother of Hats* Susncos, and the principal
leader of the Catholic party during that king's reign.

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those of Mikail, Wakla Selasye, and Gooksa, wc always find
that this office was bestowed on men of capacity and ability
(whether for good or evil). L'nder a long series of weak or
ageil sovereigns the power of these functionaries gradually
increased, until ultimately, like the Mairei du Palais under
the later Merovingians, they usurped every attribute of royalty
except the name. After the fall of Rfts Ali all that was
chingeii i»y Tiieodore. Instead of one Ras, as heretofore, he
appointed three, making the title that of a mere military office,
and gi\ing each the command of ten thousand men, wiih a
corresponding salary. The number of appointments to this
grade went on increasing, until at the time of the king's over-
throw by our troops, I suppose there were at least a dozen,
including those out of favour. Once a Ras always a Ras is
the rule of !' byssinia, and the loss of command does not
invalidate the title.

Tlie next in rank to the Ras was tlie BihcMdad.* Under
the old regime the Ras was also specially named Bitwdddad by
the king when confirmed in his rank, and the title was borne
by no one else ; but, under Theodore, it became the appellation
of officers of a subordinate grade, having command of the
wing of an army. The Dedj-azmiltch was now no longer an
official of great territorial power and influence, but held a post
somewhat analogous to that of brigadier-general. Below him
was the Ambal,\ answering as closely as possible to our
colonel. Here commenced the distinction between the horse-
soldier, who gloried in his shield and spear, and the foot-man,
who relied more on his gun for protection. The captain of
cavalry was called Yashalaka, or Shaiaka, signifying literally
the " Chief of a Thousand," although, in practice, they were
never in command of so many men. The officer of fusiliers
was always denominated Bas/ia, a title derived from the Turks,
to whom the Abyssinians were first indebted for firearms.
Bei-ond these were a crowd of Hamsalakas and Asraldkas, or
captains of fifty and captains of ten, until the humble
Watadder, or private soldier, was reached. All of these were,
in theory at least, however badly they may have fared in
practice, entitled to a fixed monthly stipend for their services,
and a standing army was thus at once established in lieu of the
old irregular feudal levies. The governments of the diffi;rent
provinces were bestowed by Theodore on favourites of his own,
with various titles, chiefly military ; but Dembea and Bagemdcr,
the two nearest to the capital, and the most productive in grain,
cattle, a-.-', sheep, were given to two brothers, with the title of
AzAzh, literally meaning " Commander," but generally signify-
ing an " Intandant," or " Steward."

The camp of Theodore was always pitched with every
attention to regularity and order, so that no one was ever at
a loss to know his proper position in it. The king's marquee
generally crowned the crest of some eminence ; around it were
the tents occupied by his women and household ; while the
surrounding plain was covered by those of the soldiers, who
were told off into regiments and lirigades. In the centre of
each regiment was the tent of the commandant, generally made
of a soft white material, like the common cloth of the countr)',
and modelled after the P^gyptian ])attem, but occasionally
difl"ering in no way from those of the common soldiers, which

* The clynioloKy of this word is iinccrt,iin. A cliicf once told ine that
it w.is .1 corruption of WtbH WaMdj, ;'.,.•., "I'Vicr.d of the [lilnR'sl House."

tl lielicvc tills is tlie same ,is ll'umiiir, or "Cliair," a title formerly
Kivcn to tlie jmlyes at Goiular.

were simply sewn out of a coarse black stuff, called mai,
woven from the thick fleece of the Galla sheep. 'J'wo uprights
supported a transverse pole, over which this stuff was thrown,
and the tent was complete ; and since there was no aperture
at either end, the occupant had always to creep in and out
I'cntre A terre whenever he wished to make his exit or his
entrance. The chief was surrounded by his followers in such
a way that from a height the ground appeared as if it were
covered with a numerous series of concentric circles. If a
stay of any length was made at a place, the soldiers used to
construct for themselves little huts of branches covered with
straw to keep the wind or rain out. From our tents at Fagitta,
which were pitched near those of the king, an admirable view
of the whole of the camp and its interior economy might be
obtained.

In character the Auyssinian soldier is patient, abstemious,
faithful, and obedient, even when only tolerably well-treated ;
but, on the other hand, vain-glorious in the extreme, and,
though seldom cruel, fond of teazing and inflicting petty acts
of tyranny. From want of discipline, though each man may
be individually brave, courage and endurance are rarely dis-
played upon tlie field of battle. The result of the first shock
generally decides the issue of the conflict. He is capable of
enduring the greatest hardships, and of making the longest
marches without a murmur ; though, when in quarters, he is as
idle and dissolute a reprobate as well can be. With regular
pay, decent food and clothing, strict discipline, and a heavy
hand always ready to enforce it, I feel no hesitation in saying
that, properly trained under British officers, they would form
as fine and trustworthy a body of irregular troops as can be
found anywhere.

While we were at Fagitta we had another interview with
the king, after which it was arranged thaf we should proceed,
Tu\ the Tsana Sea, to a large town in Bagemder, called
Kuarata, where we should reside until we were joined by the
captives, an order for whose release was to be conveyed by
an officer who was to accompany us. Accordingly, the next
morning (February 6th) we started, escorted part of the way
by a squadron of cavalry, under Ras Engeda. It took us
three days to reach the lake, close to Kanoha, where we were
to embark. The governor of the district, Balambaras Gabru,
received orders to prepare at once as many boats as would be
requirea to transport ourselves, our followers, and baggage.
But this was no very weighty task. A sufficient number of
bulrushes, which grow in abundance on the borders of the
lake, having been cut, they are bound together so i.s to form a
prow, curved up like the neck of a swan at one end, while the
other is left so as to lie level on the water. A few bundles of
stalks are laid crosswise, partly to impart a greater amount of
buoyancy to the frail craft, and partly for the rowers and pas-
sengers to sit upon, and the tankwa is complete. Although for
the most part flush with the water, and possessing a general air
of insecurity, they are perfectly safe, and only get water-logged
on the very rarest occasions. They vary in length from nine or
twelve to eighteen or twenty feet, and are propelled by bamboo
paddles, wielded sometimes by one, sometimes by two, rowers.
Three days sufficed to get off the stocks a couple of hundred
of these little canoes.

The shores of the lake are inhabited by a singular race,
c-illetl Waito, who belong to one of the heretical sects of
Mohammedanism, They are a luiet and inoffensive set of

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN.

'y5

people, much looked down upon by their Christian neighbours,
and have a great predilection for hippopotamus flesh, which is
an abomination in the sight of the Abyssinians. One morning,
while we were waiting till our fleet should be ready, news was
brought us that a large GomdrS was close in to the shore a
little way off, and was presenting an easy mark to the rifle.
Rassam and I immediately started off, and soon came upon
him, standing with his body half out of tlie water and head
on to the shore, at between twenty and thirty yards' distance.
My companion let fly, and was fortunate enough to hit him
just over the left eye, about the only vulnerable spot in his
carcase, as they all declared. Down he went like a shot, but
soon reappeared with his legs upwards, kicking and splashing
about as if he still had lots of life left in him. But he soon
sank, to the intense joy of the Waitos, who rushed into the
water, and having tied a rope round the huge trunk, towed it
ipiickly in to shore, and began immediately to cut it up. We
put in a claim for a steak or two for our own private niisine;
and I can vouch for the fact that, barring a little toughness,
the meat was as succulent and well-flavoured as any to be
found in the city of London.

We stari.-' at an early hour (February 13th), and directed
our coiise'to the island of Dek, which lies almost in the
centre of the lake. Tsana, as every one knows, is the largest
fresh-wauT sea in Abyssinia, and is of a rhomboidal shape,
about sixty miles in length by twenty-five in breadth, with a
large promontory jutting out at either end. That on the north,
which is called Gorgora, was taken possession of by the Jesuits
two centuries and a half ago, and formed the principal seat of
the Catholic patriarchate. Schools and a church were founded,
of which no vestiges now remain. The southern headland,
Zage, I shall have occasion to describe hereafter. We did not
arrive at Dek till nearly evening, and were glad to find that
some of the quicker canoes had already come to shore, and
amongst them those which had conveyed Aito Samuel and
Agafaree* Golam, the officer who had been commissioned by
the king to proceed to Magdala with the order of release.
They had made the best use of their time hy foraging amongst
the villages on the island, and had found plenty of good cheer
to regale us with, as we landed half dead with thirst, after en-
during all day the pitiless rays of the sun, reflected in the dazzling
waters of the lake. They had also another errand, of which we
knew not then. Before leaving Fagitta, Theodore had com-
manded Mr. Rassam's acceptance of ten thousand dollars — I
say commandetl, for at that time our peculiar position did not, of
course, admit of our saying nay to any wish of the tyrant. A
considerable portion of this sum, as we learnt afterwards, had
to be supplied by these poor islanders : they were compelled
to give up all their money and jewels, down to the ornaments
which decked their little children ; and as we stepped on board
our canoes next morning, we left nothing but niin and misery
behind us. Agafaree Golam was always in his element on occa-
sions like these. He possessed such an unprepossessing cast
of features, that his intimates would jestingly call him the
"Shankela," or Negro ; and the accidental loss of an eye little
tended to make up for the churlishness of nature. Still, expert

* //i'li/drw primarily signifies a " door-keeper." Two of these officers
— for there are several attached to the court— always stand before the king,
or chief, during a trial or state reception. The principal, called the
Nogurcet-AgafArec, has under him the corps of kettle-i auieni (whence
the name), as welt as all the cxecutionera.

as he was always held to be in the use of the stick and the
torturing -rope, he showed great attachment to us ; and I
remember on one occasion, when our prospects were looking
rather gloomy, he lamented, with tears in his eyes, his hard fate
at perhaps becoming the unwilling instrument in expediting our
exit from this world of troubles,

Dek is the principal of a cluster of islands almost in the
centre of Tsana. The others arc mere reefs, but D'!k is of con-
siderable size, and there are, I believe, four villages and as
many churches on it. It was formerly used as a state prison
for distinguished criminals, and, from its insular position, has
always enjoyed great immimity from those evils attendant on
civil war, which are the curse of Abyssinia. It is nominally a
dependency of the province of Bagemder, but to all intents
and purposes is under the rule of the priests, who swarm upon
it. We slept on the island, and started betimes the next
morning for Kuarata, where we arrived about noon. Theodore
had bidden two of the principal merchants of the town, Wande
and Ktlsa, to give us lodging and board on our arrival, and as
soon as we landed we found them — respectable elderly men —
waiting for us, and accompanied by all the priests of the
church, who, with their ecclesiastical paraphernalia, and amid
much religious dancing and singing, conducted us to the town.
We were allowed to ride through the steep and narrow lanes,
a privilege denied to all Abyssinians, as Kuarata is one of those
sacred cities which should never be defiled by the hoof of
horse or mule.

Although our worthy hosts had put us into their best
houses, and did everything in their power to make us com-
fortable, we were yet troubled by so many nameless incon-
veniences, that we petitioned to be allowed to pitch our tents
on the shores of the lake, and live there till our companions,
whom we expected soon to join us under the guidance of
Agafaree Golam, should arrive. Our request was acceded to,
and thither we repaired, with all our numerous followers,
including a couple of lion-cubs and a worbo,' the latest gift of
his Majesty. We could not have chosen a more beautiful spot
for our residence. A few hundred yards to our right, as we
faced the lake, was the town of Kuarata, built upon a gentle
eminence, the houses rising one above the other, but scarcely
visible, so deeply were they embosomed amongst the : 'roves of
cedars, jimiper, and olive, which abound in this favoi.;ed clime.
In front of us, at the distance of sixteen or seventeen miles,
was the tall hill of Dek ; and on some days far-away Metraha,
and still more distant Gorgora, could be seen rising bluely
above the haze. The green islet of Medhand 'Alam,t whose
sward the foot of woman has never pressed, was a stone's
throw from us. To the left stretched out the long promontory
of Zage, on which the king had lately pitched his camp, after
having destroyed the large and flourishing village of that name.

Here we lived for two months a regular and (piiet life,
unbroken except by two or three events; once when the
captives arrived from Magdala, and shortly afterwards by a
mock trial, which Mr. Rassam was ordered by the king to
hold on them, and again when the mission paid a visit to Zage,
and was received by his Majesty with condescension and
honour such as he had never before shown to living man.
Looking back, this seems all so baseless and intangible,

• This antelope very much resembles the neel-ga'e of Inilia.
t So called from the church dedicated to " The Saviour of the World,"
the only building upon the island.

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

L,.,. /:.i,,::/.j-. ..

vii;w UN riir. iiamhi.o.

althoiigli real ciioiigli to us tlicn. Lastly, ( amc the iiermission to
depart lur (jur homes, and .n reiiuest that we \void<l pay another
viiiit to receive some farewell .nifts and tokens of esteem.

Jt was on the 13th of April that we leaiied into the fiiiikmis
to make our adieiix to the monarch, of wiioni up to that day we
ourselves could say nothing but what was gooil, however he
might have behaved to our companions, who were also starting
by the land route, and who e\pe<ted us to join them at Tankal,
in 'I'acLosa. When we arrived at Zagi' we were received as
before by Riis iMigeda, and a numerous train of attendants with
caparisoned mules for us to ride. On our Ibrmer visit we had
been lodged in rich silken tents close to the king's palisade, but j

on entering it now we looked in vain for them, and supposed
that, as the heat of the weather had now much increased, we
Were to be put up in a large rectangular building towards whic h
the Ras was condui ting us. Several paces fmni the door we
dismounted, understanding that the king was within, and then
f(jllowed our escort ; but no sooner had oiu' feet crossed the
threshold than we were |)ounced upon and seizec' ' v several
sturdy ruiri.iiis (three hail been told off for each of us), our
swonls and bells torn otf, ( aps and sashes llung away, and our
persons mauled and handled sdiis drcmoiiu; \\'e couldn't for
the life of us imagine the meaning of this strange rece"tion.
An idea crossed our minds at first that by an oversight we had

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passed the king without the usual bow, and that our arrest was
simply a vindication, by the well-meaning courtiers, of Ethiopic
eticjuette ; but after we had been forced, like criminals, up to
the further end of the room, we knew at once that we were the
victims of no unintentional mistake on our part, but of as gross
a violation of good faith and honourable dealing as the brain of
a madman ever conctived. At that moment the mask fell :
African royalty showed itself in its true colours ; and fair words
were ever afterwards held by us but as the precursors of foul
treachery.

The room — a large one which had been built by Theodore
as an addcrash, or banqueting-hall — was filled by between three
and four hundred officers, all in their gala costume, as if sum-
moned to witness some holiday spectacle. At the further entl,
to which we had been dragged, were seated the Rases, and
immediately below them we were placed, our captors still
retaining a firm hold of us. Theodore himself was nowhere
to be seen ; he was, however, close by, and within earshot — as
we were afterwards informed — of all that passed. After the
German artisans in Tiieodcre's employment had entered, his
Majesty sent several messages to Mr. Rassam tl'. ugh his
foster-father, Kantiba* Hailu, and Aito Samuel. He asked why
the released captives had not come to bid him farewell. As he
had himself given them permission (by letter) to depart, he
was reminded of this ; and then he asked something else of
equal pertinence, and so on for about an hour, when we were
sent to a small tent which had been pitched close by, and left
to make ourselves as comfortable as we could there. All our
boxes had been opened, and our money and arms abstracted ;
the farmer because the royal treasury was somewhat empty at
the time, and the latter for equally obvious reasons. We were
rather uneasy at first with regard to our journals and papers,
but were relieved to find them untouched, and lost no time in
destroying them.

Our unfortunate companions had, in the meantime, been
arrested at the first stage on their homeward route, and arrived
at Zage, coupled together with heavy irons, on the isth. We
were not allowed to see them, as they were confined within a
thick hedge some distance off. The next morning we were
summoned to an interview. We found the king, surrounded
by all his officers and courtiers, standing before his throne in
the open air, and in a tolerably good humour. He told us to
sit down, and chatted away with Mr. Rassam in quite a friendly
way. Half an hour aftenvards the prisoners arrived. Captain
Cameron and Mr. Bardel were at once released, and took
their places on tiie carpet by our side. The wretched men
had then once more to go through their justifications and
excuses. A rather lame attempt — involving the summoning
of divers witnesses, including the deposed emperor, Hatse
Johannes, who declined to appear on the plea of sickness — was
made at reading the royal pedigree ; then Rassam, Blanc, and
myself had to answer for divers transgressions and offences
which we had unconsciously committed ; and, finally, we were
dismissed with Cameron as our comrade, and Bardel as the
king's. The next morning all the prisoners were sent to our
tent ; Mr. Rassam gave his i)ersonal security for their good
behaviour, and the fetters were wrenched off. We all then
went to the adderash. The king bowed his head and asked us

• Tliis is llie title of an office somewhat analogous to that of an English
mayor. The Kantilia uf a large town was vbargcd with all the police and
saiiilary regulations of it.

in the name of Christ to forgive him ; we did so, and begged
for i)ardon in return ; and all seemed to go as merry as a
marriage bell.

But, unfortunately, his Majesty had the same desire as his
ancestor, Hatse Takla Hainianot,* to introduce foreign arts
and crafts into his land. He therefore indited a letter setting
forth his wishes, and let us understand pr(!tty plainly that we
must make up our minds to remain his guests until Mr. Flad,
whom he was sending to England on this mission, should
return with whait he wanted. Meanwhile, in order to gild the
pill, he bestowed on us some of the best mules and horses in
his stables ; and shields, armlets, &c., ornamented with that
silver-gilt filigree work, of which the knowledge came into the
country over a century ago with some Greek artists who settled
at Adwa.

The camp at Zagu had been formed on a low-lying piece
of ground nearly level with the lake. The surrounding
country was hilly, especially the extreme end of the promon-
tory, the site of that formerly flourishing town which Theodore
had destroyed. It was thickly overgrown with coffee and lime
trees, and that dark-leaved shrub, the gestou, which lends the
narcotic element to the national licjuor, iedj. Picturesque and
beautiful the scene often was as we rode along the devious
l)athways down the side of the hill, but still it was the beauty
of desolation. From the top of the heatUand there was a fine
view over the lake ; but rarely was a boat, or even the smoke
of a village, to be seen ; for all the youth and manhood of
that country was either a unit in the toiling seething mass
below whicli formed Theodore's army, or had fled away from
a spot where every breath was drawn at the risk of life.

We remained here for six weeks, not with the name of
prisoners, but still far from be, ig free men, for watchful eyes
were on us wherever we went. We soon became inured to all
the miseries of that court and camp. It was considered a bad
sign with us when the king threw off all restraint, and gave
vent to his wild passions, as he did now, thus showing that he
was heedless and indifferent to the good opinion of Europeans.
The crack of the murderous jerAf was often to be heard now,
and prisoners were mutilated close to the palisading, though,
we thanked heaven, never under our very eyes. But the
tyrant felt no shame in flogging delicate women and brave
chiefs to death within the hearing of those to whom he well
knew such deeds were horror unspeakable. We never thought,
however, that we had anything personally to fear, until the
return of Mr. Flad, as we all thought, unsuccessful in his
pleadings with the British Government.

At last the cholera broke out, and the king sent to ask our
counsel as to how the scourge should be met. He was recom-
mended to remove his camp at once from the low, unhealthy
plains, full of miasmata and all uncleanness, which bordered
the lake, to the high, breezy uplands of Bagemder. For once,
under the influence of the panic which such a visitation always
inppires amongst barbarians, he yielded to good advice. On
the 8th of June we started, marciicd but a short distance, and
halted close to the lake again, in a thick, jungly district. Two
large boas were almost immediately killed by tiie soldiers, and
sent by the king to us for inspection, as he had a great idea of
our always wishing to see whatever was rare or marvellous.
They were from sixteen to eightem feet in length, and no

• See Druce for an account of the comniission which the cmjxiror gave
the Frenchman I'uncct.

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NORTH POLAR DISCOVERY.

199

wonderful curiosities, as they abounded in the regions border-
ing on Tsiina. Next day we crossed the Abai, at a point not
for from the bridge, which was built by the Portuguese artificers
of Hatse Fasilidas in the seventeenth century. Rain had fallen
recently, and the river was considerably swollen, and nearly
choked in some places by immense boulders. It was from
forty to fifty yards broad, and the opjiosite banks were very
high and precipitous, presenting much difficulty for the passage
of the mules and followers. This river forms the boundary
between the provinces of Metcha, in which Zage is situated,
and Bagemder. The following morning we resumed our
march, and, after traversing a vast plain, arrived about mid-day
at an eminence overlooking the town of Kuarata, and here the
camp was pitched. Mr. Rassam obtained leave for us to
return to our old quarters, but we did not remain there long, as
a couple of days afterwards all the troops removed to the other
side of the town, and we were obliged to go with them. The
disease increased in intensity and virulence. Hundreds were
now daily carried off, and among them our old acquaintance
Agafaree Golam. it was he who had brought the royal per-
mission to pitch our tents on the old spot ; he had cantered up
with the message, and five minutes aftenvards was rolling in
agony on the ground. Dr. Blanc took his case in hand imme-
diately, and he would probably have recovered had not his
friends foolishly moved him from Kuarata.

The town was now a perfect pest-house, and Tlieodore,
becoming more alarmed, moved his camp on the 14th, and
halted near the river Goomdra, one of the small streams which
flow into Tsana. The king, all through the march, displayed
the greatest consideration for his troops, often remaining
in the rear until the sick came up, and addressing words of
comfort and encouragement to their relatives. Next day we
crossed Ootoo, and halted near the Reb, and the following
morning arrived at Debra Tiihor. On the road we had heard
the sounds of wailing and mourning in the distance, and,
1 joking round, had seen a large funeral procession moving
towards a village to our left. It was the unfortunate Agafaree
being carried to his last resting-place, the burial-ground of his
native village. He had died of weakness and exhaustion one
stage out of Kuarata, whither his injudicious friends had
brought him. The king had already arrived at Debra Tabor,

and we had scarcely dismounted from our mules when we
received orders to get ready again, as wc were immctliatcly to
rcjjair to (laffat, the village where the homes and workshops of
the European artisans were situated. Off we went, escorted by
the king himself and a dozen cavaliers, through the heaviest
liail-storm I was ever in. 'I'he stones beat down upon our un-
protected hands until we could scarcely hold the bridles through
pain ; even Theodore himself was now and then obliged, when
the storm beat fiercest, to take shelter beneath a tree. Arrived
at Gaffat, which was about three miles off, we went, first of all,
into a large building used as a factory, until the houses of the
artisans, who were not to leave Kuarata till after us, could be
got ready for our reception. The king came in too. A large
fire was soon kindled, and we sat down round the blazing logs
warming ourselves and drying our wet clothes, while his
Majesty chatted away in the most friendly manner possible.
When the announcement was made that the houses were ready,
Theodore led the way to Mr. Waldmeier's, which was the
largest, and which he destined for Mr. Rassam. His throne —
which, by the way, was nothing but a large a/ga, or bedstead,
covered with rich silk — was placed at one end of the long room,
and carpets were laid on the floor, which Theodore, in his usual
impatience, assisted in spreading with his own hands. This
done, he wished us good-bye, and returned to Debra Tabor.

On the following Sunday, shortly after our usual morn-
ing service, we were informed the king was coming to see
us, and we accordingly went down to meet him. He was
accompanied by the artisans, and we could see from their faces
that they quite disapproved of the way we had taken posses-
sion of their houses. Theodore knew it too, and his principal
oljjcct in coming was to instal us gracefully in other abodes.
Tiie large factory was cleared out, the walls were hung with
white cloth, the floor carpeted, and the throne placed in the
centre ; so that which was formerly a dingy edifice of stone and
wood, was transformed into a comfortable dwell! .g-place. But
the king was not yet satisfied. The next morning he came
again, and having turned out the native artisans from their
houses on the hill over against GalTat, gave them to us. Mr.
Rassam's was again decorated with carpets and cloth, including
the ceiling ; but as he lodged a respectful protest against the
throne, it was removed for good and all.

North Polar Discovery. — ///.

nV J. E. DAVIS, STAFF C O M M A N D F, R R.N,, F.R.G.S.

PROPOSED R01;TES TOWAinS THF, NORTH POLE.

There are four modes or routes proposed by which attempts
to reach the pole should be made, viz. : —

1st. — By Smith Sound.

2nd. — By the east coast of Greenland.

3rd. — By the open sea between Spitzbergen and Nova
Zembla.

4th.— By Behring Strait.

First, as to the " Smith Sound route." We have no greater
enthusiast in the cause of polar discovery than Captain Shcrard
Osborn ; he maintains that the route by Smith Sound would be

the best and most nracticable to reach the pole, and it is but
right to state that t.iis opinion is shared by several who are
well competent to form one on the subject. The arguments
in favour of this route are: — ist. That the northern land of
Kennedy Channel, discovered by Morton and Hayes, is the
nearest known land to the pole. 2nd. That the Danish settle-
ments extend along the west coast of Greenland as far as
seventy-two degrees north. 3rd. That animal and vegetable
life exist further to the northward in that direction than
any other, 4th. That the distance to be travelled to reach
the pole, from points already attained, is only four hundred

1:1

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200

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

and eighty miles. And lastly, That such a distance has been
repeatedly exceeded by the sledge and boat parties of fonner
expeditions.

Captain Osborn proposes that two vessels shouhl sail early
in the year, so as to reach Cape ^'ork, at the entrance of Smith
Sound, in .\ugust ; one vessel should then be secured near Cape
Isabella, and left there with twenty-five persons in charge of
her, while the other vessel, with ninety-five souls, should press
on along the western shore of Smith Sound as far as jjossible ;
taking care not to exceed a distance of 300 miles from
her consort ; the sou'' em ship to connect herself in the
autumn by depots wila the northern one, whilst the latter would
place depots towards the pole for spring operations ; the next
two summers to be devoted to sledge and boat operations
for the attainment of the desired end, which having accom-
plished, the expedition would return, having been three
summers and two winters in the arctic regions.

The advantages to be derived from an exjiedition of this
nature, in addition to the fact of reaching the pole, are —
Geographical discovery through an unknown area of upwards
of a million of .sipiare miles ; the ascertainment or otherwise of
the existence of an open polar sea ; contributions to science
in general — for instance, botany and zoology, gaining a know-
ledge of the distribution of vegetable and animal life in the
polar basin; and, in geology, the investigation of the i)heno-
mena of the great glaciers and ice streams ; lastly, ^■aluable
observations in meteorology, of which we know but little in
the arctic regions.

It will be seen that by this scheme the shijis would proceed
at once to a latitude within a few miles of the most northern
limit ever reached by a vessel in that direction, one of them
continuing, if possible, five degrees ftirther north, from which
point the calculation of the above-mentioned distance to be
travelled is made. This distance is in a direct line, or as the
crow flies ; so that every mile short of the position to be taken
up by the northernmost ship, and ever)' sinuosity of the
coast (supposing the land to run north) would increase the
distance to be travelled by boats or sledges in a comjjound
ratio ; and if, as is possible, the region from Cape L^nion to the
pole is of a similar nature to that between Smith Sound and
the continent of America — namely, consisting of islands and
straits — the additional distance and difficulties would be con-
siderably increased. An expedition by this route, however,
in connection with another by the open sea, is greatly to be
desired.

The route to the pole by the east coast of Greenland has
found less favour in the eyes of our arctic navigators than any
other ; this, probably, arises from the fact that arctic research
has never been prosecuted in that direction, for, with the
exception of the expedition under Captain Clavering, in 1823,
who landed Captain (now General) Sabine on an island off the
east coast of Greenland for the jjurpose of pursuing his pendulum
obsep ' tions, no Government expedition has made an attem])t
to ajjproach this coast ; and for our knowledge of the part
delineated on our maps we are ])rinci|)ally indebted to that
expedition and Captain Scoresby. However, it has an advo-
cate of no mean authority, for Dr. Peterniann directed the
German expedition (of which we propose to give an accoimt),
to pursue this route in an attempt to reach the ])ole.

Captain David Gray, an intelligent navigator, has noticed
many interesting facts tending to support the evidence in favour

of an attenii)t by this route, which have been gathered from
many years' experience in the whale fishery along this coast.
He states that in the vicinity of Shannon I.sland, in latitude
sevv.Mty-five degrees, whii:h is about the northernmost known
land of East Greenl.and, loose fields of ice have frequently
been seen, with a considerable amount of open water, and a
dark water sky extending to the northward, and also that,
during the season when the so'ith-west winds iirevail, the ice
separates from the land very fast, and being generally field or
floe ice, it lea\es broad navigable channels, through which a
ship could pass by watching for a favourable opjjortunity, and,
l)y ])ushing towards the land and keeping near it, easily proceed
northward.

In considering this route much would depend on the
trend or lay of the coast towards the pole ; if it should
continue in the same direction as the 300 miles with which
Captains Clavering and Scoresby have made us acquainted,
namely, due north, Captain Gray's reasoning is decidedly
good ; but if, as we are at liberty to suppose, it should trend
to the westward, then the known fact that the current sets a
vast body of ice to the south-west, would cause such an
imi)ingement on the coast as to prevent any ship from keeping
in with the land, the main feature of the argument in favour of
this route being based on the supposition that a sufficient space
of open water exists along the eastern shores of Greenland.

There is no doubt that an exi)edition sailing from England
could reach Shannon Island much easier and in far less time
than Smith Sound ; the difference would probably be as much
as five or six weeks — an advantage of much importance in
an arctic summer. This island could be made the base of
operations, and the establishment there of a depot would
greatly contribute to the success of such an expedition. The
vessels which jnirsue this route, at any rate would not be
hampered in straits and narrow seas, through which the most
exjjerienced and persevering arctic leader might fail to make
his way, and be foiled on the very threshold of his hopes.

In the event of its being necessary to winter in those
Latitudes, there is every reason to believe that the coast has
some safe harbours, and from the accounts which have reached
us, it appears that the country ])ossesses an average amount of
such animal life as would be very acceptable for food during
the winter season.

The arguments in favour of the route by the open sea be-
tween Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla are : — ist. That Spitzber-
gen being easily accessible to vessels, an expedition, accom-
])anied by a transjjort, could start from the eightieth degree of
latitude as perfectly equipped and provisioned as from any
port in England. 2nd. Because it could be effected in ships.
3rd. That the ice, which is always moving southward, and
which baffled Captain Parry in his journey, must necessarily
leave clear water behind, and being once penetrated, the ship
would be able to proceed in clear water beyond it. 4th. That
the problem of an open polar sea could be better solved by
this route than by Smith Sound. And lastly, that if ihe ice
was penetrated, and land met far north, the remainder of the
distance to the pole could be accomplished by sledge.

The mflifus operandi of such an expedition scarcely needs
description. Two ships, accompanied by a transport, would
proceed direct to S|)it/.bergen, which would form a base of
operations ; a depot would be established there as well as
an observatory to carry on a series of observations simul-

in''

VOL. I.

MAP OF THE NORTH POLAR REGIONS.

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•imgiStlSSSm

202

ILLUSTRATED TKAVEI-S.

) I-

!',klii

taneous with those on board the ships ; these latter would
proceed along tlie margin of the ice, and, at a favourable
oijportunity, " take the pack," and force themselves through ;
if this could be done (as many believe it can), an open sea
would be found, anil the distance then to be accom|)lished
would be about six days' voyage for a sailing ship ; the ships
would then proceed until they were fmally stopped or the pole
readied, and the llag of Old England hoisted over the axis of
our earth.

The most speculative of the four iiroposed routes is de-
cidedly the one we have last to consider, namely, that by
Dehring Strait. This arises from our scanty knowledge of
the physical conditions of this part of the arctic regions ; the
little we ilo know of it is not very favourable, anil deprives it,
therefore, of the support it would otherwise merit ; but, not-
withstanding this want of information, it has its advocates,
whose judgment deserves the greatest lespect ; and it has long
been the opinion of many that, if ever a vessel should accom-
plish a passage from one ocean to the other by the north, it
would be by way of Behring Strait.

A glance at the nia]i will show that whereas the straits and
channels leading into li.itfm l!ay widen and also deepen out-
wards, the great expanse of water on the other side of America
converges at Beiiring Strait to a narrow, bottle-like entrance,
towards which the water shallows. These conditions, arctically
considered, are widely different ; the one offering facilities for
the escajie of ice which the other does not.

The only discovery since M'Clure visited these latitudes
has been made by some American whalers, and described by
Captain Long of the JVi/e, who leported the eitistence of land
towards the north-west of Behring Strait, in the same direction
where Captixin Kellet Iiad already seen it in 1849, but under cir-
cumstances that caused hira to mark its existence as doubtfuL
The land which was described to Captain Wrangell, in 1820,
by the inhabitants of the Siberian coast, as being occasionally
visible from Cape Yakan, refers probably to the same.

Captain Long describes the lower portions of the land as
being entirely free from snow ; it appeared green, as if covered
with vegetation ; one mountain, 2,840 feet high, was seen,
appearing like an extinct volcano, and lofty mountain ranges
extended in a northerly direction. Captain Long believes that
the land is inhabited, because he observed on one cape a
number of upright and prostrate columns in clusters of fifteen
or twenty each, with irt:rvals of several hundred yards
between ; but he met with no human beings. Other
American ships passed within sight of this land, and it is
considered that it may be safely mapped to 74° N. ; drift-
wood was seen, and many walrus.

Notwitiistanding the unpromising features of this route as
a means of reaching the pole, it not only meets the approval of
many, but is actually the one entertained a short time ago
by French gcograpiiers, who have had their attention drawn
to it by the indefatigable exertions of ^f. Gustave I-ambert,
and great efforts were made to raise the sum necessary for
the outfit of an expedition. Although the subscription list
was headed by the Emperor Napoleon with the liberal dona-
tion of fifty thousand francs, the requisite amount has not yet
been attained.

M. Lambert based his prospect of success on two prin-
cipal features, the first of which is, that in the months of June,
July, and August, when the temperature of the pole becomes

the s.ame as that of the sixty-sixth degree of latitude, the annual
phenomenon of the breaking up of the ice takes i)lace, and at
this favourable perioil it would be possible to penetrate towards
the pole ; and tlie second, that the ice seen by M. Lambert
north of Siberia was not of the nature of berg ice, originating
from glaciers on the land, but partook more of the nature of
field ice of moderate thickness, and being much broken, he
judged tliat a vessel could easily force a passage through it
towards the polar sex

There can be no doubt (and M. Lambert is perfectly aware
of the fact) that this route is the most hazardous of all that
have been proposed, and one 'liring the greatest amount of
I)ublic support in order to c it out, as well as the greatest
means for accomjilishing it. efore the commencement of
the real arctic work a long and tedious voyage, either round the
Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, has to be undertaken ; but,
having a due consideration to the inviting nature of the ice, in
conjunction with the physical state of the sea, as described by
various arctic navigators, he feels confident that to a bold sailor
there is every prospect of success, and he is in full hope, and
expects to achieve great results for the benefit of science in its
several departments.

Although M. Gustave Lambert has not yet been able to
accomplish the desire of his heart, he must not despair, but
take courage from the example of others, bearing in mind that
the old saying, " Rome was not built in a day," holds equally
good with arctic expeditions. Frobisher laboured hard for
thirteen years before he was furnished with ships to start on his
celebrated voyage, and it is .scarcely on record that an expedi-
tion, such as that proposed by M. Lambert, has not laboured
under much disappointment and many difficulties before it has
been matured.

Although honourably emulous not to be beaten in a field
Englishmen consider peculiarly their own, they are not un-
generous when bold deeds and the cause of science are in
question, and to no one will they hold out the right hand of
fellowship with more free will or open heart than to the
countryman of the gallant " Bellot " — Gustave Lambert.

GERMAN EXPEDITiON, 1 868.

Among the advocates of arctic exploration, the distinguished
German geographer. Dr. Augustus Petermann, stands pre-
eminent ; not only has he taken a warm interest in the
subject, and advocated the cause of polar discovery by
his writings, but his enthusiasm has led him to make great
sacrifices both of time and money in furtherance of the
cause ; in time, by creating an interest among his country-
men, and inciting them to furnish the means ; and in money,
by contributing largely himself to the formation of a German
expedition. Although the means by which the German attempt
to reach the nole last summer were ludicrously small, still the
very smallness of the means is a proof of the spirit that
animated the promoters of the undertaking, which deserved
a better success than was attained.

A vessel of eighty tons war, purchased at Bergen, and
strengthened in the bows by additional planking to enable h'.r
to do battle with the " thick-ribbed ice." She was christened
the Germania, and the command given to Captain Koldewey.
The route by which the pole was to be reached was that
already described as by the east coast of Greenland.

The Germania left Bergen on the 24th of May, and on the

■ 'W 'l W i -rmi ii ir i r^ i rni

NORTH POLAR DISCOVKRV.

aoj

i6th of June sighted the coast of Greenland from Hudson's
" Hold-with-Hope " to Sabine Island ; here they were stoi)i)cd
by the itc, amongst which they had been struggling from the
Sth ; they, however, ])ersevered in trying to get ni with the
land, but after speaking a Hremen vessel, the captain of which
reported the ice everywhere very close, they gave up the
attempt, and proceeded to the eastward, with the view of
reaching Gilles' Land, to the north-eastward of Spit/.bergen.

On July 3rd they made Spitzbergen, and after encountering
much difficulty from the ice, succeeded in reaching a harbour,
where they took in water and ballast, and again proceeded to
sea and towards the Greenland coast, but again only to be
doomed to disappointment. Most tantalising it was to have
the coast clearly in view with no possibility of getting in with
it, although for several days they remained close to the ice
for that purpose. Returning to Spitzbergen, they hoped to
reach Gilles' Land, but that object was also frustrated by ice,
although they saw the desired land from the summit of Cape
Fortell. Repulsed in the attempts to reach a higher latitude
than had yet been attained, the Germania at length was
steered towards the south, and reached Bergen on the 3rd of
October.

Although this little expedition was unsuccessful as far as
tlie great object of the voyage is concerned, it has not been
altogether unproductive, for Captain Koldewey made some
interesting hydrographical observations, on the edge of the
Gulf Stream, and on the currents and winds generally. He
attributes his want of success in getting near the Greenland
coast to an unusually unfavourable ice season. He obtained
some interesting statistics of, what may be called, the seal
fishery. The seals are found in great numbers about Jan
Mayen and Spitzbergen, and vessels make yearly voyages for
the sake of the oil and skins (three good seals yielding a
cask of oil) ; and as many as twenty-two vessels — principally
from Peterhead, Aberdeen, and Dundee — have been seen
together, all engaged in seal-killing. Some idea of their
numbers may be gathered from the fart that the crew of
one vessel killed nearly six thousand seals in seven days,
and another vessel, the Alexandra, succeeded in capturing
no fewer than three thousand four hundred in one day.

SWEDISH EXPEDITIONS TO SPITZBERGEN.

Although scarcely coming within the categoiy of polar
voyages, it will be necessary to mention here the Swedish
expeditions to Spitzbergen, by which so much has been added
to our knowledge of those far northern regions by a band of
hardy men of science, with whom arctic men may well feel
proud to be associated.

In 1858, Messrs. Otto Torell, A. Quennerstedt, and A. E.
Nordenskiiild, in the yacht Frithiof, visited the western part of
Spitzbergen, and made valuable geological and botanical
collections and observations. Such was the success attending
the expedition, that a second and more extensive one was
soon after determined on, and the Swedish Government, Prince
Oscar, the Royal Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, and
many private individuals, generously aided the promoters in
fitting out two vessels, which lefl Tromso in May, i36i, under
the leadership of M. Otto Torell.

In addition to other scientific observations, the second
expedition had "in view the measurement of an arc of the
meridian, from the north to the south of the Spitzbergen

Islands ; but this they failed to complete, although the results
of the voyage were by no means barren, and great progress
was made in ascertaining geographical ]jositiuns and rectifying
the extremely faulty maps of the country.

In 18O4, a third ex|)e(lition, under I'rofcssor Nordcnskiold,
fitted out at tiie expense of the Swedish Government, \i>.itcil
Si)itzbergen, and confined its exploration to the southern parts
and Stor Fiord, or W'ijde Jans water, which was tlelineated with
an accuracy never before attempted ; the heights of the
mountains were correctly ascertaineil, and from the summit
of one, White Mountain (.about 3,000 feet high) they saw
the distant and m. .terious Gilles' Land, far to the east.

The results of these expeditions were so important, and
brought so much credit to the country from which they
emanated, that the king of Sweden resolved to despatch
another in 1868, under the command of Professor Norden-
skiold. The mail steamer Sofia was e(iuipi)ed for the puq)ose,
and furnished with the necessary provisions from the Royal
Victualling Department. The vessel was commanded by
Captain Von Otter, and left Tromso on the 20lh July, 1868,
proceeding direct to Bear Island, the precipitous shores of
which were sighted on the evening of the 22nd. One of
the great objects of this expedition was to attempt to
.advance towards the pole, choosing the end of the summer
for the purpose.

From Bear Island the expedition sailed to Spitzbergen, and
reached Ice Fiord on the 31st July; here they met the late
Marquis of Hastings, and other English gentlemen, enjoying
the sport of reindeer-stalking. The geological specimens
obtained at Ice Fiord were most interesting ; amongst them
were fossils of the miocene period, which proved that the
island once enjoyed a more genial climate ; colossal bones
of animals belonging to the crocodile order were also
found, between the coal and the miocene deposits. The
whole of the interior of Spitzbergen, excepting a small
portion between Ice and Bel Sounds, is covered with ice,
broken here and there by rugged rocks ; but the low land
near the coast becomes free during the summer, and a scant
vegetation appears ; the line of everlasting snow being
considered to lie at an elevation of from 1,200 to 1,500
feet; the average height of the islands is about 2,000
feet, although some two or three mountains exceed 3,000,
and one, " Horn Sound Peak," reaches 4,500 feet.
There are many good harbours round the coast, and
many anchorages protected from certain winds; but the
currents are strong, although the range of tide is not
great. Considerable quantities of drift-wood are met with
on various parts of the coast, a perfect god-send to mariners
wrecked or left on the island. Along the shores large masses
of strongly magnetic rock are to be found, and, indeed, so
strongly attractive of the needle as to render the magnetical
observations useless. Many rich layers of coal are in the
mountains ; one seam was found to be about a mile long and
four feet thick.

As may be imagined, great quantities of sea-fowl find a
habitation in these arctic isles, the crevices in the cliffs being
well adapted for laying their eggs and hatching their young.
The eider fowl keeps to the low islands, which are clear from
ice early in the season, and it is believed that the same birds
return each summer to the same breeding-place. A curious
migration of birds takes place early in the spring, when great

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flocks leave the coast and fly directly towards the north ; this
fact is very suggestive, and gives rise to much speculation.
Next to the seal and walrus, to which animals the islands are
solely indebted for the jicriodical visits of numbers of vessels,
the reindeer is the most important, furnishing as it does the
|)rincipal fresh animal food of the crews ; the meal is excellent,
especially in summer, when the animals fatten. Hears are to be
found on the northern and eastern parts, but they are not
numerous. Salt-water fish are not plentiful, bi.t tine salmon
arc taken in the lakes.

In the attempt made towards the autumn to penetrate to
the north, the expedition met with little success, on account
of the ice; but the latitude of 8i° 2j' was reached, and,
like Parry, the ship was driven southward by the current.
Another attempt was made a few days afterwards, and
by dint of perseverance, and taking advantage of every
navigable i)assage between the ice, they succeeded in reach-
ing 81° 42', but were then obliged to return. Again did
they make the attempt, and getting amongst heavy ice, which
was fast becoming consolidated by the formation of new ice
over the water between the masses, they were again forced to
retreat. On the 4th of October, in a gale, they were in great
danger, and in a heavy lurch to leeward a hole was stove in
the vessel's starboard side by the ice, and it was only by great
exerlions, in which the whole scientific corps were obliged to
work at the pumps, that they succeeded in getting the ship into
a harbour to stop the leak and repair damages. No sooner was
this done, than they were warned, by the harbour beginning to
freeze over, that it was time to get away, which they did as
ijuickly as possible, taking on board a boat and a depot of
provisions which had been left by the expedition of 1861, all
of which was found in an excellent state of presentation.

Captain Von Otter is of opinion (and in this he is joined
by Professor Nordenskiold) that the only means of reaching
the north pole is by sledges over the ice, in the spring, before
the snow, with which the ice is covered, has lost its hardened
crust.

CONCLUSION.

Since the completion of the above sketch of the history of
polar discovery, considerable interest has been created on the
subject, proving that, so far from polar discoverers and travel-
lers being satisfied with resting on their laurels, they are as
enthusiastic in the cause as ever ; and although the inroads of
time have made sad havoc in the ranks, and tinged with grey
the locks even of the youngest of arctic voyagers, they still

" Khoukler tlieir cmtch, anil show how fields are won."

The circumstance of the coming transit of Venus in 1882
being obsen-able under very favourable conditions from some
points on the antarctic continent has been brought before the
scientific world by the Astronomer-Royal, and the possibility
and probability of attaining so desirable an object fully dis-
cussed before the Royal Geographical Society ; the almost
unanimous conclusion arrived at was, that if so important an
undertaking was to be entertained, it was alieolutely essential
that our race of polar men should be maintained and renewed
by f'esh expeditions to the arctic regions.

Whether the feelings of the Government will be influenced
by these considerations remains to be seen, but private
gentlemen of wealth and enterprise seem disposed to keep

uj) the national rcinitation in arctic deeds. Already has
our gallant countiyman, Mr. I^mont, sped his way north, on
"daring deeds intent;" not, as wc have been led to suppose,
to win his way to the pole itself, for Mr. Lamont assured the
author that he utterly disclaims the intention of attemptin;;
it, believing it, with his means, to be an impossibility. He
modestly called his expedition "a sporting and scientific
excursion to the polar seas." Mr. Lamont's steam-yacht, the
Diitna, of 250 tons, has been strengthened to resist the i)res-
sure of the ice, and the course intended to be taken is that
between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla, trusting that an excep-
tional .se.ison (which, undoubtedly, occasionally does occur) m.iy
open the ice more than usual, and enable him to push north.
It should be remembered that this little expedition is fitted
out entirely at the expense of Mr. Lamont, and well may wc
be proud of one who has so generously devoted his energies
and fortune to the cause of science and discovery, and who
has so modestly slipiied away from England on his grand cnter-
l)rise ; well does he deserve success. He left Greenock for the
icy north on the 20th of April last.

Nor is Mr. Lamont's the only exi)edition likely to take
the field in arctic exploration this summer. Dr. ILiyes, the
American arctic navigator, already so greatly distinguished, is
anxious to resume his labours, and exi)lorc the open polar sea
beyond Smith Sound, hoping eventually to reach the pole by
that route. For this service a patriotic fellow-countryman has
jilaced a steam-vessel at his disposal. From Bremen, a screw-
steamer, the Biencnkvrb — the i)roperty of M. Rosenthal, a
gentleman who has always taken a great interest in polar
questions— sailed on the 21st of February, with the intention
of visiting Jan Meyen for the purpose of seal-hunting, and
then to attemjjt to sail north in June or July. The Bienen-
korb is commanded by Cajitain Hagens, has a crew of fifty-five
men, and is provisioned for eight months. Dr. Dorst, a
scientific gentleman, is on board, and jirepared to make
magnetical, astronomical, and other observations.

As may be readily supposed. Dr. Augustus Petermann has
not been idle during the arctic recess, and the German Polar
Expedition this season will take the fielil far better equipped
than last. It is expected to sail about the commencement of
June. It will consist of a screw-steamer of about 120 tons
and 30 horse-power, which will take the name of Germania ;
while her consort, the little Germania of last year's expedition,
will be called the Groiiland. The route proposed to be taken
is the same as last yeur — viz., along the east coast of Greenland.
It is proposed that the Gronland shall serve as a transport to
the larger vessel, and keep up the communication with Europe,
returning about October with a report of the results obtained.
The expedition will again be under the command of Captain
Koldewey, who will be accompanied by a complete staff of
scientific gentlemen, and attempts will be made to measure an
arc of the meridian in as high a latitude as possible.

The Swedes are also jircparing ! j resume their polar
labours, under the indefatigable Professor Nordenskiold, and,
doubdess, the experience gained in so many expeditions will
enable them to take such precautions this time in the equip-
ment as to ensure a better i)rospect of success. It is, however,
with much regret we learn that the proposed F'rench expedition
to Behring Strait is at present in abeyance. With so many
expeditions afoot, we trust that the ])atriotism of the French
nation will not allow it to be given up altogether.

JOURNKVINCiS IN MlvSOI'O l .\\ll \.

S05

yonnicyings in Mcso/>o/(tiiii<t. — //.

II Y I. I 1: V I I. NAN T

k. I, (I VV, I. A I I I N li 1 A N N A \ ^ .

CHAPTER 111.

RiriNS (IK C IKSIliluN AMI SKI.KlllA— Ills InKMAI, SKKK.lt.

We now .-■i)i)roa< hcil tlic niins of the famnus Parthian city
of Ctcsiphon. All along the banks of the river, ami be-
tween it and the Tauk Kesra, lie vast moiiiul!,, compuseil
of furnace-burnt bricks as a foundation, and sun-dried liri<!;s
mixed u|) with chopped straw
for the superstructure, one
course scjiarated from another
by irregular layers of reeds.
One of these measures 750 feet,
with a height and thickness
varying from thirty to thirty-six
feet. The elevatijn of the wall
that edged from out this mound
in the margin of the river's
bank was forty feet. It then
formed an angle and stretched
away north-west for 800 yards,
when there was a breach or gap
135 feet wide, probably once
occupied by some grand gate
or entrance. The wall or ram-
part line then recommences,
and runs on the same bearings
for 750 yards more, when we
come to another break, which
Mignan supposes to be a canal,
as the channel varied from
fifteen to twenty feet in depth,
the breadth being 150 yards,
and therefore capable of ad-
mitting a large body of water.
The direction of the dry bed
of this channel was north-east,
and ajipeared to e.xtend to an
unbroken ridge of mounds
running north-west and south-
east, at a distance of eight or
nine miles. The high wall
already followed embraces an
extensive area, where no ves-
tiges of former buildings exist,
and runs to the verge of the
river. Its summit and sides
are covered with the remains
of ancient buildings ; and it

is astonishing that after the lapse of many centuries those
walls appear to have lost nothing of their regular con-
struction. The foundations of these mounds are invariably
composed of kiln-burnt bricks, while the superstructure is
formed of sun-burnt bricks. Coins of gold, silver, and copper
are dug out of these ruins in large numbers, and there is a
regular trade in Baghdad in these antiquities.

Regarding the erection of Ctesiphon, Pliny says, "The
Parthians, in order to do by Selcucia as the Greeks who built
that place had done by Babylon, built the city of Ctesiphon

JEW 01 lUSSORAIl

williin lliri'c Miilr.', (if it. in the Ir.u k 1 ,ilkd Cli.iloiiili-., 111 (irclcr
to dis pcnple and impoverish il, lli()ii;.;li it i^ iiuw tlif lie.id 1 ily
of the kiiii^dom."

l.'lesiphon is said by .\miniamis M,iv( elliiuis, the historian
and contemporary of Julian, to have been built by Vardanes, and
afterwards bcaiilified am! walled by Paronis, a I'arthian king.

In the ixpcditiiiii unilcrtaken
by 'I'raj.iM against the l\ir-
thians, as the lounlry near the
Tigris jiroduced little wood, he
conveyed ihilhcr on carriages
the materials piv|j,uv(l in the
forests near .Nisibisor Nisibeen,
for the lonsliuclioii of a fleet;
and cm readiiiig the river he
essayed to tliniw a bridge
across it. 'I'he Assyri.ms, who
were jiosted on the ojiposite
bank, prepared to pre\ent his
passage, yet this consummate
general efl'ected his purpose ;
parts of the vissel were lashed
together to form the bridge,
while others, with soldiers and
archers on board were posted, as
if to cover the operation ol
jiassing the ri\er, or to man-
a'uvre on eac h flank. Owing
to this judicious jilan of attack,
and the consternation caused
by the ai>|iearaii(e of such a
fleet in a i:oinUr_\- where, from
want of tin.ber, il could not
have been tonstruded, the
enemy fled. 'J he Romans im-
mediately crosseil the ri\er, and
subdued the whole of that
part of Assyria which is near
Nineveh ; from thence, and not
meeting with any resistance,
Trajan marched to Babylon,
The historian, Dion Cassius, says
that he descended the Tigris ;
but Chesney is of opinion that
the Roman fleet passed tlown
the Euphrates, as the name of
one river is often confounded
with that of the other by ancient writers. Trajan at first
proposed to transport his vessels from the Etiplirates to the
Tigris, and he commenced the canal now called Xahar Malka,
for this jjurpose ; ultimately, however, he abandoned the scheme,
but carried his vessels, by means of caniagcs, acro.is the inter-
vening country, and, bridging the Tigris, he caiiluied Ctesiphon.
About A,a 230, Sapor, King of Persia, son of Artaxer.\es,
and the restorer of Persian power, after the signal defeat of his
father by the Roman legions of the Emperor Alexander, in-
vaded the Latin territories at the head of a numerous army,

: I

I \

it"?r
1^' ■I;: 1

te6

ILLUSTRAIKl) IKAVKLS.

captured the cities of Nisibis and Carrhce, and overran Meso-
jjut.iiiiia ; Ills success, however, was but sbort-liveil, for (lordian
turned tlie tables upon him by boldly taking the oflellsive, and
wresteil from him the cities lie had ( onquered. Immediately
iiucceeding this, Mesopotamia was the constant scene of devas-
tation and pillage by the rival Persian and Roman armies, until
at length Odenatus captured Ctesiphon from Sapor, a.d. 26O.

After the wirs of Sapor .against the Arabs and (Ireeks, it is
stated in l)e Siuy's " Memoirs " that the I'ersian king returned
to his coimtry, and laid the foundation of a city on those of
Ctesiphon and Seleucia, which were united under the the name
of Kl Modain, the dual number of an Arabic word signifying
a city. Modain was beautified many years afterwards by Chos-
roes Nurshirwan, surnamed The Just, with numerous stately
palaces, the principal of which was the Tauk, or arch, just de-
scribed. 'ITic sack of this same palace by the Saracens, in
A.u. 637, is related in an animated style by Gibbon.

Abu Dawanici, the Khalifah, was desirous of removing the
materials of this city for the use of his [irojected capital at
Baghdad ; Sooleinian, his wazir, dissuaded him from this, saying
that he would be rejjroached by mankind for the destruction
of the city, to aid in the foundation of another, as betraying a
want of resources.

The monarch reprobated his minister's lurking tenderness
for the fame of the Kesra, and, commencing the work of de-
stmction, soon found that the expense attendant on the
■ disjunction and removal of the materials of the city would far
exceed the cost of new jireparations. He was now anxious to
desist, but was remindeil by the wa/ir that, having commenced,
he should persevere, or he would be exi)osed to the imputation
of being less powerful than the founders of the city. Sooleiman
advised, however, at the same time, that the Tauk, or arch,
should remain untouched, as a lasting evidence to mankind of
the ])rophetic character of Mohammed, on the night of whose
birth it was miraculously rent.

To the south-west, and consequently in an oblique direction
between the Tauk and the river, stand the ruins of a mosque
and two mouldering tombs, containing the ashes of Hadhaifah,
the secretary of the prophet, and thi; caliph Moostasem Billah,
who was killed by Hulakoo, a prince who established the
Mogul dynasty in Persia, and grandson of the renowned con-
queror Genghis Khan. As is usual over all the niins and
mounds in Mesopotamia, quantities of brickwork in a frag-
mentary state are mixed with loose pieces of tile and stone ;
and rubbish of this sort covers the space enclosed within the
ruined quadrangular wall surrounding the tombs.

Crossing the river froi,' Ctesiphon, one immediately finds
oneself on the site of the s';arcely less magnificent city of
Seleucia, built by Seleucus Nicator, the immediate successor of
Alexander the Great. Pliny, in the twenty-sixth chapter of
his sixth book, writes of it : — " Seleucia was built by Seleucus
Nicator, forty miles from Babylon, at a point of the confluence
of the Euphrates with the Tigris by a canal. The territory on
which it stood was called Babylonia ; but it was itself a free
state, and the people lived after the laws and manners of the
Macedonians. The form of the walls was said to resemble an
eagle spreading her wings, and the soil around it was thought
the most fertile in the East. There were 600,000 citizens here
at one time, and all the commerce and wealth of Babylon
flowed into it."

Long before Ctesiphon was thought of, Seleucia was formed

on a Greek model, and received from the founder free con-
stitution. It was built with the object of clTe< ting the ruin of
Babylon, and gradually drew to itself the population and cont-
merce of that city. The site of this ( ily was on the we.it bank
of the Tigris, in the neighbourhood of a place still more ancie-nt,
called Coxe, or Coche, at the mouth of a canal leading from
the Euphrates to the Tigris. This canal is mentioned by
Pliny, and is that alreaily s|)oken of as the Nahar M.Uka.

It is somewhat singular that Seleucia was sometimes called
Biibylon. Dr. Prideaux writes on this head : — " It must be
acknowledged that there is mention made of Babylon as of a city
standing long after the time when I have placed its desolation,
as in l,u(an, Philostratus, and others. But, in all these authors,
anil wherever else we find Babylon spoken of, as a city in being
after the time of Seleucus Nicator, it must be understood, not
of old Babylon on the Euphrates, but of Seleucia on the Tigris.
For as that succeeded to the dignity and grandeur of old
Babylon, so also did it in its name. At first it was called
Seleucia Babylonia — that is, the Babylonic Seleucia, or Seleucia
of the province of lUbylon, to distinguish it from the other
Seleucias which were elsewhere— and after that Babylonia simply,
and at length Babylon. That Lucan, by his Babylon, in the
first book of his " Pharsalia," means none other than .Seleucia,
or llie new Babylon, is ])lain ; for he there speaks of it as the
metropolis of the Parthian kingdom, where the trophies of
Crassus Acre hung up, after the vanquishing of the Romans
at CarrhiC, which can be understood oni of the Seleucian
or new Babylon, and not of the old ; for that new Babylon
only was the seat of the Parthian kings, but the old never.
And in another place, where he makes mention of this
Babylon, he describes it as surrounded by the Tigris. And as
to Philostratus, when he brings his Apollonius to the royal
seat of the Parthian king, which was at that time at Seleucia,
then called Babylon, he was led by that name into this gross
blunder, viz., to mistake it for the old Babylon ; and, therefore,
in the describing of it, he gives us the same description
which he found given of old Babylon in Herodotus, Diodorus
Siculus, Strabo, and other writers."

Selcnicia continued to flourish for several centuries, reno\vned
for such genuine Greek virtues as love of freedom and promo-
tion of arts, as well as of all the military excellences that had
made the parent state of Macedonia famous for all time. Pliny,
who flourished 500 years after its foundation, says that even in
his time it enjoyed the blessings of freedom. The walls of
the city were strong, and, had patriotism continued to inspire
her inhabitants, she would have been safe ; but a dangerous
enemy was posted at her very gates, and she did not learn the
necessity of conconl until too late. The Parthian monarchs,
like the Mogul sovereigns of Hindostan, delighted in the
pastoral life of their Scythian ancestors, and they quartered
their soldiers in the neighbouring village of Ctesiphon, in which
they also set up their court Gradually the little village in-
creased in wealth and importance, until a formidable rival
arose within three miles of the gates of Seltucia, which in its
turn was thus overtaken by a fate similar to that it had brought
on Babylon. The Romans, in the time of Marcus, a.d. 165,
penetrated as far as Ctesiphon and Seleucia. The Parthian
city fought for her existence, while the Greek colony received
the advancing legions as friends ; yet a like fate awaited both,
and Seleucia was given to the flames, while, it is said, 300,000
of her inhabitants fell beneath the Roman sword.

jOLRNKYINGS IN MESOPOTAMIA.

•07

I have already described how the twin cities were united
under the name of Modain. It is "■.• that little remains, to
attest the urandeiir of Ctcsiphon, but siili Ilss meets the eye of
the traveller who wends hi* way over the ruins of Seleu( ia.
'rime, violence, and repeated inundations, have levelled every-
thing, and one looks in vain for monuments or buildings of
.my kind ; liter.illy nothing remains but mounds covered with
rubbish, similar to the contents of a dust-heap.

The reader will be belter able to judge of the extent of the
irregular mounds and hillocks that overs|)read the sites of these
renowned cities when I tell him that it would occupy some
months to take the bearings and dimensions of each with
accuracy. The greater part of the remains of Ctcsiphon extend
in a northerly direction, whilst the masses of ru.n on the site
of Seleucia stretch aw.iy to the southwiird, and are altogether
at a greater distance from the bank of the rivi r. The (jreek
city appears to occupy a more considerable tnct of country,
although its remains are, to all appearance, uf less magnitude
than those of its Parthi.an neighbour.

Truly, never w-is desolation more complete th.in the deso-
lation which broods over this once imperial city of Seleucia.
E!very sense and every faculty appears as if overwhelmed at the
vastness of the chaos, that stretches around as far as the eye
tan see ; an intense feeling of depression overcomes the mind,
while the ear longs for some sound to break the stillness,
oppressive as that of the tomb ; and the eye looks in vain for
some living or moving object on which to dwell, and so vary
the sad monotony of mounds and bricks and tiles that strew
the surface. Hark ! a sound startles us, and it comes from a
spot quite near at hand. \Ve are wrong, then, in supposing
that no living thing exists on this God-forsaken site. We turn
round, and find that we had aroused some bitterns which
occupied a neighbouring pool of water. Immediately there
recurs to the memory that solemn passage in one c.'' the
prophets (Isa. xiv. 23), in which the anger of an offended
God is pronounced against Babylon : " I will also make it a
possession for the bittern and pools of water : and I w ill
sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord."
Curiously and reverently we regard the fetid pool, end the
bitterns, as they make their peculiar "boom" and sail away.
The thoughtful traveller turns away from a spot accursed with
the judgment of an offended Deity, full of sad musings on the
fate of cities and nations.

CHAPTER IV.

BAGHDAD — KNCLtSH POLITICAL RESIDENTS IN PAGHDAD— THE CITY ;
DEFENCES, GATES, PALACE, MOSQUES, CARAVANSARIES, BAZAARS,
BRIDGE OF BOATS, PRIVATE DWELLINGS.

From the sites of Ctesiphon and Seleucia the white minarets
of Baghdad, nineteen miles distant, can be seen at sunrise.
The Comet, passing the mouth of the Diala — a river with
steep banks, that discharges itself into the Tigris — soon
steamed over the intervening space, and we were transported
m a few hours from the contemplation of the sublime past
to a practical experience of the squalor and wretchedness of
a modem Turkish town. And yet there is very much to
interest in this city of Baghdad ; the very name arouses recol-
lections of those delightful Arabian tales that whileil away
so happily many weary hours in childhood. Without any heavy
call on the imagination, one might wander alj-out its streets at

the |)resent d.Ty, and sec the very sights and rccal the familiar
hha|)es, dressed in the costumes in vogue then .as now. There
is the identical barber's stall nuiliiplicd a hundred limes ;
diere are the merchants selling their carpets and w.ires in the
selfsame sho] •< ; there is the ba/a.ir, tlirongh Hhi(li we will
take a stroll ; there are also the narrow lanes called streets ;
and, the pariah dogs ; and, listen I there is the muezzin r.illing
the peojjle to prayer, as in the days of the good caliph, the
contemporary and rival, in the Kast, of Charlemagne in the
West. Not only, also, is the air laden with the sounds and
Oriental ejaculations of which we have re.id in that enthralling
storybook, but, as if to complete the parallel, and transport us
bodily b.ick to that picturesque medit-uval period, music is heard
in the distance, the people fall Imck, and, as we look eagerly
forward, almost exi)ecting to see the greatest of the Ahassides
heraliled with becoming Eastern pomp, we behold the Turkish
P.as!ia i)rocceding with a gorgeous retinue from his palace to
the mosque, like the procession of the caliphs eight hundred
years ago.

Baghdad is situated on the Tigiis. No rivr in the world
washes the ruins of so many famous cities as the Tigris. Its
b.anks on both sides are covered with an almost unbroken series
of remains of places that .at one time or other were the capitals
of mighty kingdoms, and the seats of government of jiowerful
dynasties. The thoughts of the traveller brood on the sjiectiicle
of fallen greatness as he floats down its broad and rapid stream.
The canals which furrow the plain of Mesopotamia, and might
still be made to irrig.ite and fertilise the countr)', rendering it
again the gardsn of the earth, are, by the shortsighted policy
of the indolent Ottoman Government, sutfered to fall into
decay. Any one having the happiness of the population at
heart must earnestly join in the prayer that some political
change may occur in the destinies of the country, seeing that
by no turn of events can worse happen to the wretched in-
habitants. Chesney states (and his words read like a corrobora-
tion of Herodotus, who has always been accused of painting
the richness of the soil in his day in too glowing colours) that
about seventeen miles from the commencement of the Dujeil
canal the country is particulariy fertile, and this is owing to the
works of irrigation being kept in a serviceable state.

Five miles below Baghdad is a canal that crosses Mesopo-
tamia, joining, during the season of floods, the waters of the
Euphrates and Tigris, and passing near Akcrkouf. The Tigris
may be considered as having an average width of tivo hundreil
yards from Mosul to Baghdad, with a current, in the flood
season, of about four and a quarter miles per hour. The
country from Mosul to Tekrit only is cultivated ; for the re-
mainder of the distance the cultivation either wholly ceases,
or is of a partial character.

Baghdad has been singularly fortunate in the gentlemen
who have filled the important post of British representative at
the court of the Turkish Pasha who governs the province.
Chief among these is the name of Mr. Rich, a diplomatist who
was immensely popular with the natives of the state to which
he was accredited, and was looked up to as the second most
powerful man in the pashalick. Mr. Rich was appointed the
East India Company's Resident at Baghdad in the year 1806.
In 1821 he quitted that city on a visit to Shiraz i^iA Bussorah
and Bushire), whence he was destined never to return, being
carried off uy an attack of cholera, after an illness of eight
hours.

lit

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I !•: \

111

;3J

.:? •

.'oS

ii.i.rs'i'RAi'i:i) iR.wi'i.s.

-■

■; i- '
II,.,.

Caiitain \\U\ Idih-^. wIid lilleil at HiNhiiL' ilif snmo pdsi ol lliat llic city was strirkcii with |ilagitc, iimil a visit to the bazaar
Tolitical Kisidciit. at tlio trvii'.L; tiiiii.' imiiiidiatcly prciccliiin and wmild di^in-l cvcfv such illusion. As the eye looks on cither
(liirinL; the ( ontinr.anco of the last Persian war, was also a man side, or upwards, one sees two hideous black walls; for windows
ol' niirk, and his surveys of Mesopotamia are of t;reat value, openini; on the thoroii(,'hfares are rarely seen, while the doors
from their perleit reliability. Then we hive Cicneral .Sir Henry
Rawlinson. K.C'.IV. and late M.I'., a man of world-wide lame
.Is a profoun,! ( )riental scholar, .inti,|Maii.in. .md histori.m. Sir
llenrv Kawlin--oii. while an

most Ivistern l.

incumbent of the Jiost, built
the h.indsome and i onvenient
Residency House, with its
billiard - rooms and other
luxurious a<ljnncts, and which
those who ha\e been in Rii;h-
dad, an<l enjoyed the hos-
pitalit) of the Resident, will
remember ,is the ino-t com-
fort.ible and home-like dwell-
ing: in the c ily. 1 (nii;ht aKo
to mention (.."apt.iin (now
('cil,incl) Sir 1 leiirv Kemball.
C li.. K.(.'..S. I., of the Bom-
Inn (now Royal) Artillery,
a ,i;enileman of whose kind-
ness and genial hospit.iliiy
I li.ive a livel) recollection.
These were all. not <iiily
able repiv>enl.itivc^ ol briiish
diplomai \'. but were al.Mi
■.pctimens of the l-'.n;.;lish
gentleman which, it w.is sali'^-
Hctory i,) see. were liilly ap-
preciated by the (piick-wilted
peojile amonci whom they
were placed.

I'he whole of the ( ountr\
lo th'.' north and e.i>t ol
Baghdad, as far as the eye
can reach, is one Hat waste,
with scarcely .i tree or a
hovel to be per( ei\ed in the
distance. The ( itv of li.iuli-
(lad stands on this level
plain, two-thir<ls lyiny on the
north-east bank of the Tigris,
whi( h is spanned by a bri<lge
of boats, anil the remaining
third on the .Mesopotaniian
-.ide of the river. The city
IS surrounded b) a high
brick par.ipet-wall, fl.mked
at intervals with bastioned towers, and surroimded bv a bv buildings. parii< tilarly in the north-eastern (juarter ; even

giving ailmission to the houses are small and mean. The
streets of Baghdad are more intricate and winding than in
wns. and were it not for some tolerably regular
lines of ba/aars. and a few-
open s(iuares, the interior of
the city would justly merit
the title it has received from
an eminent traveller, of " a
labyrinth of alleys and pas-
-ages."

There are three gates of
entrance and outlet ; one on
the south-cast, another on the
north-east, and a third on the
north-west of the city. The
last of these is the principal
one, and leads from the most
frequented road to the most
]jopuluusand bti.sy part of the
town. Near this gate is the
e.xcrcise-ground for playing
the 'Turkish game of the
"jerced." The Tali-sin gate,
also, is well worthy of ob-
servation, though it was
walled -up by the Sultan
Murad 1\'., who quitted the
lity by it, on his return to
Constantinople after having
recovered Baghdad from the
I'ersians. Some writers erro-
neously suppose that the gate
was built on the occasion of
the Sultan's triumphal entry ;
but Mignan, who is of a dif-
ferent o|)inion, observe^ "This
I iistom is only observed at
the departure of royalty, from
which time the gate is held
sacred." 'I'he 'Talisin gate is
the finest and largest in Ibgh-
dad, measuring fifty-six feet in
height by fifty-one in breadth.
A dry ditch ,of considerable
depth surrounds the entire
wall, which cndoses a vast
sp.ace of ground nnociaipied

Of llCsSUK.\U.

dit( h. When viewed from a distance, but p.irti( ularly from
the river, Baghdad presents, like many I'.astern ( llies. ,i truly
beautiful appearance, due in part to the whiteness of its build-
ings, but (hietly to the luxuriant date-groves and rich gardens
enclosed within its walls, and wlii, h ( iintr.ist agreeably with the

where edifices abound, the trees are so thickly inter-
spersed, that Baghdad looks like a city arising from amid
a grove of palms. All the buildings, both public and
private, are constructed of furnace-burnt bricks of a reddish-
yellow colour, and ai)pe.ir to be of a great age. I shall say

graceful minarets and green duines of its luiinerous mos(|ues. something now of the chief jjublic structures, though, truth to
A closer inspeition of the streets, however, discovers;! labyrinth , say, Baghdad does not possess them in so great number, or
of alleys, unpaved, and so n.iirnu that three persons can of ,as pretentious a <li;ira( ter, as one would suppose from
scarcely |)ass ; the) appear almost cmptv. and one would fancy a consideration of her world-famous history, and of the

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liberal and art-loving caliphs who have adorned lier earlier
annals.

The Serai, or Palace of the Pasha, is an extensive rather
than an imposing or handsome building, being composed of a
somewhat incongmoiis mass of buildings, constructed at dif-
ferent periods of the Turkish occupation, and with no attempt
at architectural beauty in any part. It contains within its walls
most of the public offices, also the stables of the stud depart-
ment, and the apartments for the suite. My acquaintance with
the interior of this palace owed its origin to a personal adven-
ture, which I will here narrate, and the occurrence of wliich
enabled me to witness the infliction of the bastinado, or, as
the Persians term it, " the turning up of the heels," and which,
I can vouch, is not of so severe a character as is generally
supposed.

One evening I was strolling about the town with one of my
friends, when we decided on making for a particular shop in
the bazaar, for the purpose of purchasing some handsomely-
dyed carpets we had previously seen exhibited for sale. On
our reaching the shop, we found a knot of young Persians
lounging about the entrance. As we could not pass in, my
friend civilly asked one of the obstructives to move on one
side. Instead of doing as desired, the individual to whom he
had spoken refused compliance with our request, and applied
some abusi^'e epithc*:s to Feringliees in general, which our
acquaintance with Hindostanee (a language greatly resembling
Persian) enabled us to understand. This, of course, could not
be borne. We were not going to be deterred from making our
p irchases by the insolence of such fellows, and my friend, who
was of a choleric nature, raising his walking-stick, rushed for-
ward to force an entrance ?7' cf armis. I was close at his side,
and it was fortunate I was, for just as the hot-headed Saxon
was in the act of bringing his stick down on the pate of his
opponent, I caught sight of a long knife which the treacherous
Oriental had concealed under his girdle, and which his hand
had already half-removed from its sheath. I dragged my friend
back, and saved him from the impending blow. It would never
do, howc\er, to leave the group of natives in triumphant
jjossession of the doorway. A crowd had gathered round us,
and we were deliberating \yhat course to pursue, when, to our
great relief, a strong party of Turkish soldiers came by. Forcmg
their way through the mob, they recognised who we were by
our uniforms, ; nd one of them asked what all this row was
about. On my explaining how grossly we had been insulted,
and demanding the arrest of the insolent Persians, the non-
commissioned officer in charge of the squad seized the whole
of the loungers, who looked crestfallen enough now, and
hurried them off with little ceremony to the Pasha's palace.
We, of course, followed to substantiate the charges, and the
crowd made way for us with every demonstration of respect.

On arriving at the extensive building occupied by the
Pasha, which also contained the courts of justice, the prisoners
were forthwith arraigned, and, notwithstanding the denial on
oath of any provocation by a host of witnesses, were convicted
solely on our unsupported testimony— so great is the trust
reposed in the honour and veracity of Englishmen all over the
East — of the offences of using insulting language and threaten-
ing to stab with a dagger, and were sentenced to Ije bastinadoed.
We were requested, according to custo.n, to attend on the
following day, and witness the infliction of thj castigation,
which was to be carried out in the presence of the Governor.

On the delinquents being brought forward and identified
by us, they were ordered to receive the award of their crima
I desired, on the part of my friend, that only the individual
who had directly insulted him should be punished, and the
others were accordingly released. Presently the " lictors," or
"ferroches," as they are called, made their appearance with a
long pole and a bundle of sticks. The criminal appeared to
take the matter very coolly, and looked about him with the
utmost unconcern.

Having stripped off his shoes, he placed himself flat on his
back. The ends of the pole, which is about eight feet long,
were held by two men, and the culprit raised his legs high
enough to rest his ankles on it. His feet, with the soles upper-
most, were then firmly lashed by cords. Thus prostrate, the
"ferroches," one on each side, commenced to inflict the flagel-
lation with the sticks. Directly the first stroke was adminis-
tered the wretch set up a most horrible noise, shouting and
yelling as if he was being murdered, ^^'e saw it was " put on,"
but to spare ourselves witnessing such an unjileasant scene,
and satisfied with the punishment that had been inflicted, we
interfered, and requested the Pasho to remit the remainder of
the sentence. This was at once done, and the sufferer limped
off, first "salaaming" to us, in the most contrite manner, his
thanks at our astounding clemency.

There are numerous mosques in the city, but they certainly
cannot compare in beauty or magnificence with those of Cairo.
The most ancient of them is thought to be the "Jamah el
Sookh el Gazel," so called from its standing in the market where
cotton-thread is sold, from three Arabic words — "jamah," a
mosque; "sookh," a bazaar; "gazel," cotton-thread. The
original building appears to have been destroyed by violence,
for only the minaret and a small portion of the outer wall
remain. The former is a short column terminating in a
rounded summit, and boasts no beauty eitlier of proportion or
general eflect. Its exterior surface is in parts highly ornamented
with fanciful sculptures of arabesque work, and an inscription,
of which Niebuhr took a copy, stating it to have been erected
by the Caliph Mostanser, in the year of the Hegira 633, or
123s of the Christian era, about fourteen years after the
erection of a tower not far from the central gate, which also
bears an inscription, copied by the same traveller.

The Jamah el Merjaneeah, a mosque not far distant from
this, is also worth;- of particular mention. The body of the
niostiue is modern, and its interior presents nothing remarkable,
though the door of entrance is a fine specimen of its kind.
Thi? is formed by a lofty arch of the pointed form, bordered
on eacti side by a succession of rich bands, exquisitely sculi>
tured, gong up the sides, and meeting at the top nearly in the
form of Uie arch itself The outermost of these is followed by
a large moulding, spirally fluted all the way up, and vlth minute
and elaborate sculptures, and a profusion of inscriptions on the
projecting parts of the flutings. Upon the walls is a lengthy
inscription, commencing with the usual introduction, " In the
name of God, the merciful and the beneficent," and stating it
to have been commenced by the most merciful King Merjan,
A.H. 758.

The Jamah el Kessakey, like the two former mosques, has
but a small portion of the original edifice standing. In this
-an be seen a niche, for prayer, of remarkable construction,
jwinting to its being of mixed Roman and Saracenic archi-
tecture.

JOURVEYINOS IN MESOPOTAMIA.

The Jamah el Vizier, or Vizier's Mos(iue, which is near the
Tigris, and just above the gate of the bridge, is of considerable
size, and has a lofty minaret and handsome dome, but its
interior is out of repair. The mosque of the Pasha, which is
very near the last-named, is better lighted than the others, but
in other respects it possesses no remarkable feature. The great
mosque in the scju^re of El Maidan, in the way from the north-
west gate to the palace and the British Residency, is also
a noble building. It has a handsome dome and minaret,
adorned with coloured til- s and paintings, is well-lighted, and
has the Christian (but eminently un-Oriental) merit of cleanli-
ness. The mosque of Abass el Kadar is the largest, and, on tiie
whole, perhaps the finest in Baghdad, though there is little to
admire beyond its noble domes.

The domes of these mosques are said to be in the Persian
style ; some are of a flattened form and plain surfiice, but the
principal ones are all high, and disproportionately narro'v.
They are richly ornamented with glazed tiles, the colours used
being chiefly green and white. Some of the inscrii)tions are
also e.xecuted in this fanciful manner, in bands running round
til"; foot of the dome, much after the style of triumphal arches
of welcome in England. The glitter of these colours reflected
from a polished surface gives an air of gaiety and liveliness,
rather than the majesty and magnificence which are to be found
in thi rich and stately domes of Turkey and of Egypt, or in
those of the noble fanes of St. Paul's and St. Peter's in Christen-
dom. The minarets, being ornamented in the same manner,
are open to the like objection. Both in the domes and
minarets of Raghdad the higli green rod, with a globe sur-
mounted by a crescent, as familiarly represented in pictures of
Eastern scenery, is fre({uently seen. The number of mosques
in the city is said to exceed a hundred, but of these only
some thirty boast the possession of minarets, from whence the
voice of the muezzin may be heard sonorously calling the
faithful to their devotions.

There are few practices which more strongly mark the many
striking dilTerences existing between Eastern and Western
manners and customs than this to which I have referred. The
muezzin's call to prayer, in the midst of a busy city, strikes the
tr iveller from Europe. The piety of Orientals, though osten-
tatiously displayed, is, I should say, not more real than among
ourselves ; yet there is a certain simplicity, and invariably a
regularity, in their private and public religious exercises that is
pleasing to note, after the open disregard of things spiritual
among us even in England.

The public khans, or caravansaries, amount to about thirty.
One of these is called the Khan et Oorthweh, and bears the
mark of considerable antiijuity ; it is well built, and has all the
usual ornaments of Arabic and Turkish architecture, such as
overhanging niches, &c. There is also a khan, founded in the
year of the Hegira 758, by Merjan, minister to the Sultan of
Turkey, who came to Persia, whence he solicited permission to
proceed on a pilgrimage to Mecca ; though his subsequent
conduct in seizing on the government of Baghdad proved that
this holy project was but a pretence. There is another khan, of
historical importance, on account of its having been founded
by the Caliph Mostanser, in a.d. 1227, and originally intended
as a school.

The bazaars, in which are constructed the shops — little

open rooms about eight feet in length — mostly form long,
straight, and tolerably wide avenues. The best of these are
vaulted over with brickwork, but the greater number arc merely
covered by flat beams, laid across from side to side, and sup-
porting a roof of straw, dried leaves, or branches of trees, and
grass. These bazaars are almost deserted during the day, but
at night are thronged with a multitude of idlers, all dressed in
their smartest attire, and as the outer garment in general use is
the light shalloons of Angora, of divers colours, the scene
is brilliant and pleasing to the eye ; the more so as the gloom
reigning throughout the day in these dark, brick-vaulted
passages is removeil at night by a profusion of lamps and
torches, with which the. shops and coflee-rooms are brilliantly
illuminated.

One of the peculiar features of Baghdad is the bridge of
boats, the only one that spans the broad and rapid waters of the
Tigris, which here has j. breadth of two hundred yards. These
boats, thirty-two in number, are moored with their bows
stemming the current, and form a scene of great animation, the
pedestrians being mixed with a crowd of horses and camels
crossing it in a continuous stream. At the head of the bridge
is the Medrasset el Mostanser, or " College of the Learned," so
often mentioned in Arabian story. On its walls is an inscrip-
tion, stating "this glorious college" to have been built by the
Caliph Mostanser Billah, in the year a.h. 630.

The interiors of the private houses of Baghdad, particularly
those of the wealthy classes, are comfortable in an Eastern sense,
and compare favourably with those in other cities that I have
visited. They consist of a succession of square courts, sur-
rounded by galleries, each forming a distinct habitation, giving
egress to an open space in the interior. In the outer court is
a room, or rather a recess, forming three sides of a square, and
open towards the front ; this is the oftice where the ordinary
business of the day is transacted. The second court is some-
what larger, but of similar construction, in which is also a
recess ; this is the audience chamber, or " dewan," called in
English " divan." From the galleries, in some houses, several
rooms are partitioned off, having windows opening to the
court, formed of small diamond-shaped panes of glass, of every
colour, and disposed in various fantastic shapes. The ceiling
of some of these rooms is composed of a kind of trellis-work,
describing flowers of different colours. The walls are formed
into small arched recesses, and are gilded in a gaudy manner.
The number of these courts is increased according to the size
of the house ; the innermost always comprising the harem, or
women's apartments. The few windows that look towards the
street are covered with a frame of lattice-work. During the
warm weather the inhabitants sleep on light bedsteads, called
in India " charpoys," placed on the roofs, which are flat, and
surrounded by parapets.

During the intense heat of the summer, when the tlier-
mometer for days together, in some years, ranges between
110° and 120° Fahrenheit, frequently marking 114° at day-
break, the coolest period of the twenty-four hours ; at such
times the inhabitants take refuge in underground cellars, called
" serdaubs," where they pass the days in gloom, coming out
after sundown like owls, and taking their evening meals and
night's rest on the house-top, whence they flit away again at
sunrise.

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English Mission to Mandalay, and Tfcaty toith Bityinah. — //.

r.v iii;nry woohwaki) cr )iton, m.a., h.m. chaplain at kancodn.

Visit of IUrmesf. Dignitaries— Entkanck into Maxdai.ay—
Interview with the King — Burmese Court Ceremonies.

It was decided that the visit of the Burmese prime minister
and his suite should take jilace next day, and that the
arrangements for our public entry should be then discussed
and settled. For the remainder of the ilay we were left
to ourselves. A conmany of IJurmese troops, who were on
the bank close to our vessel, afforded us considerable ."muse-
ment. Their arms and accoutrements ; their green and gold
uniforms ; thoir mode of throwing out their legs in marching ;
their sidelong looks at us ; presented a tout ensemble of a most
ludicrous character, and reminded us strongly of the stage
army in a jjurlesiiue. A walk ashore in the evening showed
us a wide iilain, covered with rice and other crops, stretching
between us and Mandalay, which was jiartly \'isible and seemed
about four miles off. Preparations commenced early the follow-
ing morning, the 8th of October, for the reception of our visitors.
The arrangements were much the same as at Menhla, only
Slightly more elaborate, as befitted the more exalted rank of
those we had now to receive. A few more flags, if that were
possible, decorated the quarter-deck of the Nemesis, our guard
of honour was slightly increased, and to the ceremonials of
the day was added the blast of a trumpet, to announce their
entrance.

As usual, our visitors were considerably after their 'ime,
punctuality being a vice rather than a virtue, according to Bur-
mese notions. At last, about 1 1 o'clock, a n.unber of hand-
somely caparisoned elephants, each carrying a white-robed official
with the inseparable golden umbrella borne aloft over their
heads, and flanked by a numerous train of followers, were seen
to emerge from the belt of trees that bordered the river on the
side next Mandalay. These were our frienils, and their rank
and designation were as follows : — The Yaynan-Khyoiing Men-
gyee, or minister of the highest rank, name, Oo-Tso, a \enerablc
old man, who had served as commander-in-chief for many years,
and been wounded in the late rebellion; his youngest son, a
boy of about fourteen, was with him. The Keng \Vondouk,
or minister of the second grade ; a much younger man, but
high— and it seemed to us, deservedly so — in the King's con-
fidence, and in general reputation for ability. Some half-dozen
secretaries and minor officials were in attendance on these
personages. They took their seats in the gilt war boats which
were in waiting, two in each boat, at the forward end, where a
certain raised i)lace, generally spread with carpets, is set apart
for persons of rank. The Burmese would never let us step on
this part of their war-boats without a protest as hearty and in-
dignant as sailors are ever wont to ciin)loy against those who
violate the sanctities of their vessels. The interview lasted
al' . .'I half a 1 hour, and the conversation was more free and
general than at the former reception. One of the ministers —
t'C Keng Wondouk — decidedly took the lead, an<l displayed
considerable conversational |)owers. The only non-Kiiropean
topics on which they touched were our ages, in which they
took particular interest, and whether we were married or not,
or if not, whether we intended to be, and a few other such

jiersonal matters. They admired the Nemesis particularly'
and seemetl much struck with all they saw on board, she
being much the most considerable vessel, in size and warlike
appearance, that had ever visited Mandalay. At their reciuest
they were taken all over her, and they took care that every-
thing was shown and explained to them.

It was arranged at this interview that our entry into the
city should take place the next day. Concerning this, and the
public and ])olitical incidents of our residence in Mandalay,
I am jjermitted by the kindness of Colonel Fytche to extract
the following account from the official narrative furnished by
him to the Government of India : —

Early on the morning of the gth the march to the Resi-
dency was commenced, the order being as follows : — First, about
fifty of the king's troops in uniform; then Mrs. Fytche in a
handsome gilded litter sent to her by the ipieen of Burinah, fol-
lowed by the I'aopa A\'ondouk on an elephant ; then the Chief
Commissioner, followed by Mrs. Lloyd, and in due order the
officers composing the suite of the envoy, all on elephants,
followed by the escort of British infantry and artillery on
foot. About a mile and a half from the river, a creek was
crossed by boats, of which a great number were collected.
At this point the i)rocession was met by the Keng Wondouk
and a number of minor oftkials, when the march was resumed,
the procession being headed by the newly-arrived officials, and
accompanied by about 500 cavalry and probably 3,000 foot
soldiers. The cavalry were generally in red jackets and
trousers, a few wearing a red jerkin o\er these, and still fewer
were dressed in the fiill uniform of the cavalry, shoulder-pieces,
gilt helmet, with ear-pieces and embroidered jerkin ; all had
the white saddle-flap and high-peaked i^ommel and cantle.
'i"hc men were armed with a spear and a sword each ; the
infiintry had only the white jacket worn by the ordinary
population : all had flint muskets. These troops accompanied
the eorte^c through the suburbs of the town to the Residency,
This suburb was that called Kalar-dan, or the foreign ciuarter.
It is traversed liy a handsome, broad, and clean street, at le.ist
half a mile in length, jjlanted with tamarind trees, of good
growth considering that the town was only commenced in
1856. The sun was hot, and the Residency was not reached
until 10 a.m. The distance altogether was not three and a
half miles, but the pace was slow and the halts frecjuent.

At the Residency, the envoy was received by the
Yaynan-Khyoung Mcngyee, or iirime minister, and a large
l)arty of officials. The whole morning's proceeiling went off
\ery well indeed.

During the loth, Captain bladen, the liritinh Political
Resident at the Burmese capital, visited the king, and his
Majesty consented to recei\e us next ilay. This early re-
cejition was considered as a mark of condescension, as it
has been the custom of the court to require a much longer
interval before receiving an embassy ; but it was important
that it should thus be granted, as the nth was the full moon,
during which day religious coiemonies jirevent all business, and
the 12th, 13th, and 14th were to be festival days, during which

ENGLISH MISSION TO MANDALAV.

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the kadaws, or royal presents, are jircsentcil to his Majesty
by his subjects. They are freiiuently called " beg-i)ar(ion
days," as the offerings are intended to propitiate his Majesty,
and to obtain forgiveness for any faults committed. It woiikl
have been unbecoming for the British envoy to have had
his audience on one of these days ; and as no business can be
transacted until after a formal reception by the king, a
considerable delay woulil have taken place had this ceremony
been put off until the festival was over.

On the morning of the nth, the envoy and suite pro-
ceeded to the palace, starting at about lo a.m. The order
of the procession was as follows ; — Leatling the way, a con-
siderable distance in front, was the Myo Won, or governor of
the city of Mandalay. He wis followed by the escort of
European infantry on foot, . the Ilritish flag was borne
aloft, carried by ship's lasers, after which came the envoy.
Colonel Fytche, attended by two golden umbrellas. He was
followed by Captain Sladen, Captain Duncan, Mr. Edwards,
the Paopa Wondouk, and the officers of the escort and some
officers on leave at Mandalay from the frontier station of
Thayetmyo. The same number of Burmese troops that
escorted the mission from the steamers to the agency, accom-
panied the cortege on this occasion, and on entering the
chief gate it was found that the road leading from it to the
palace gate was lined with men bearing arms, probably about
5,000. They hail the common white jacket, were manifestly
untrained to the use of arms, and seemed to be people called
out merely for the occasion. About one-fifth were armed with
spears, the remainder with muskets; a similar proportion, viz.,
one-fifth, were old men or joung boys, unfitted for military
duties. The i)rocession entered the city by the western gate,
and then mo\ed roun<l the palace to its eastern gate ; there
the party dismounted, and swords and umbrellas were dis-
pensed with. The palace is enclosed first by a strong wooden
stockade, then, at an interval of loo feet, by a brick wall, and
at a further interval of loo feet, by another brick wall.
Between the two walls some pieces of ordnance, with their field
carriages, were placed, lining the roatl ; and just outside the
ii.ner wall was placed the Hlwotdan, or supreme court. At the
side of the gate of the inner wall there was a wicket, through
which the embassy passed. About twenty yards intervened be-
tween this wicket and the steps of the palace, where the party
took off their shoes, and were then led through the Myaynan,
or principal hall of audience, in which is the throne. Leaving
the throne to the left, and p;issing out of the Myaynan, a
smaller chamber just behind the throne was reached ; here
it v.as that the audience was given. It was an open hall
or portico, supported by white pillars, and was about thirty
feet square; at the western side, before a golden folding-
door, was placed a low couch for his Majesty ; imme-
diately in front of this, at a distance of four or five yards,
the envoy and party sat down. At the side of the king's
couch, on the left, were four of the king's grown-up sons —
the Thouzai, Nyoungyan, Mek-ka-na, and Myeengon princes ;
behind them were several more of the royal children. Some
fifteen or twenty minutes elapsed, and then the doors were
thrown open. The king was seen approaching from a con-
siderable distance up a vista of gilded doors of various
succeeding chambers. He was preceded by two officers
carrying dhas, and accomi)anied by a little chiKl of five or six
years of age, one of his little daughters. He took off' his

shoes at the further side of the couch, and sat down reclining
on one side. Silence prevailed for some time, and then the
king opened the conversation, which ijroceedeil as follows ; —
Kiit;^. "Is the English ruler well ?"

Envoy, " The English ruler is well, your Majesty."

Kiii;^. " How many days is it since you left Rangoon ? "

Eii:\n: "Nineteen days, your Majesty."

Here the list of presents from the Viceroy to his Majesty
was read out.

A7/(j,'. " I trust you have found everything prepared in
accordance with llie friendship existing between the Govern-
ments."

Envoy. " We have received every possible attention on
our way through your royal dominions, and I beg to thank
your Majesty for the kind treatment we have exi)erienced."

No reply.

Envoy. " I have been surprised and pleased to see how
fine a city Mandalay is, seeing that it was only founded a few
years ago."

A7/(!,'. " It is not finished yet, but iie.xt time you come
it will be in a still better state. What is the age of the envoy?"

Envoy. " Eorty-four years, your Majesty,"

Here the king said something in a low voice to his sons,
and a nephew of his majesty brought to the envoy, on a golden
saber, a small packet, whidi, when opened, was founil to con-
tain a collar of the Burmese Order of the Tsahve of the first
grade. The Burmese minister, on a motion from his Majesty,
said, " invest the envoy," and Captain Sladen put it over the
en\oy's left shoulder. Colonel Eytche bowed, and thanked his
Majesty for the honour conferred on him.

Envoy. " The house which your Majesty has prepared for
us here is very handsome anil commodious, and we arc gratefid
for the trouble that has been taken in getting it ready."

A'l'ng. " It has been constructed mainly through the activity
of Sladen."

Captiun Sladen. " And also your Majesty, «ith the assist-
ance of the cfficials yc .i were pleased to direct to help me."

A7//y. "S.aden is a good man, and has done all he can to
advance the interests of both the British and the Burmese
Governments."

Envoy. " I have every confidence that he has done so."

A7//^'. " Sladen is an honest man. It is from honest men
being in such a position as his, that good friendship is preserved
between governments."

Envoy. " I am glad to learn your Majesty's good opinion
jf Captain Sladen, and I shall report to his E.xcellency the
Viceroy all that you have been pleased to say concerning him."

Qifif. S. " I feel highly honoured, your Majesty, by your
royal approbation, and I shall never forget this public expres-
sion of it."

A'ing "Sladen must visit me daily while the envoy is
here:" (addressing him) " you must come every day; come with
the Kilar Won" (Mr. Manook, the official through whom the
king communicates with all foreigners).

Having said this the king got off the couch and stood up
with his back to the audience. Tlv; doors were opened, he
passed out, and they were at once closed. During the inter-
view the king spoke in (juite a low tone. His Majesty had
an opera glass, through which he frequently looked at the
members of the embassy.

After the departure of the king considerable general con-

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ILLUSTRAIKU IKAVELS.

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versation ensued between the officers of the mission and the
numerous Burmese officials present. The audience was quite
an open one, and it wms found that all the servants of the
officers who had accompanied them to the palace had been
present, seated at tlie back. Sweetmeats and cakes in great
profusion were brought in. There were fried locusts also,
which were pressed on the visitors as delicacies. After a short
time passed in trying the various dishes, and talking the while
on sundry subjects, the envoy left. Siioes were resumed at the
foot of the palace steps. The Mengyees again greeted the
party at the steps of the Hlwotdan, and the Wondouk and
other officials accompanied them to the gates of the palace,
whence the return to the agency was quickly effected on
elephants, the troops still lining the streets as before, and
cavalry accompanying the cortege.

On the 14th, Mrs. Fytche and Mrs. Lloyd visited the
palace, having interviews with the principal queen (who is
also the king's half-sister), her mother, and the second queen,
or Alaynandaw Phara. It was arranged to-day that the
king should receive the envoy, attended by Captain Sladen,
Captain Duncan, and Mr. Edwards, on the i6th, at a private
audience, when business wouUl be commenced, the object of
the mission officially announced, and permission asked to
discuss matters with the ministers. It was hoped that the
official visits to the ministers might take place the same day.
On the isth Captain Sladen saw the king, and informed him
cf the communications which would be made to him ne.\t day,
and his M.njesty expressetl his readiness to receive them from
the envoy. On the i6th, however. Captain Sladen was so
unwell as to be unable to attend witli the envoy at the palace.
Information to this effect was conveyed to his Majesty, and
he was asked whether it would be agreeable to him to receive
the envoy and other officers without Captain Sladen, or whether
liis Majesty would prefer to wait for a day or two for Captain
SLaden's recovery. His Majesty suggested that the audience
should be postponed till the i8th, and the ministers at the same
time sent to the envoy requesting he would pay his visits to
them also on the i8th. The delay in seeing the king did not
really interfere with the transaction of business, and none could
have been gone into with the ministers until after they had been
visited.

On the 1 8th the visits were again postponed until the 19th,
when the envoy had what was called a private audience with
his Majesty. Colonel Fytche was accompanied by Captain
Sladen, Captain Duncan, and Mr. Edwards. The reception
took place in the southern garden, in a summer-house. There
were present the Keng Wondouk, the Paojia Wondouk, an
Atwen Won, and the Kalar Won (Mr. Manook). The following
conversation took place : —

A7«j. " I hope you continue well and comfortable."

Envoy. " Everything is most comfortable. I have already
had the honour of thanking your Majesty publicly for the
reception and accommodation afforded us, and I beg now
to repeat the same. It will give me much pleasure on my
approaching visit to Calcutta to inform the Viceroy and
Governor-General of India of the kindness and considera-
tion your Majesty has shown."

Pause.

Co/. Fytche. " The water in the river is now f lling fast, and
I should be glad if your Majesty would give me an oppor-
tunity of concluding the business upon which I have come."

AVat^. " Do you mean the business you have written
about, and which Sladen has conducted with me ?"

Co/. F. " Yes, your Majesty."

King. " That is arranged : nothing remains but to meet
the Wongyees and conclude matters with them."

Co/. F. " I had great pleasure, before leaving Rangoon,
in writing to inform the Viceroy of your Majesty's assent to
the several treaty propositions which were laid before you by
Captain Sladen. On my return to Rangoon it is my intention
to proceed to Calcutta to visit the Viceroy."

A'ing. " When you visit Calcutta, there is one thing I wish
you to mention to the Viceroy — viz., that he would give you
permission to visit me once a year at least."

Co/. F. " I shall do so, your Majesty."

King. " I see Mr. Edwards. (To Mr. Edwards.) Edwards,
you never get old; what is your age? (To Colonel Fytche.)
Be kind to Mr. Edwards ; he has served Government faithfully
for a number of years. (To Mr. Edwards.) Edwards, when the
British Government cease to employ you, come to me, and I
will keep you here. I shall not expect you to work, but I
shall keep you in comfort."

Pause.

Kin^. " There is no state or condition of lite which is
not made more perfect by a good friendly understanding. I
wish for sincere friendship with you. Colonel Fytche. When I
make a request, you must not think that I wish merely for my
own personal interests. I look to the interests of both coun-
tries. In return, any requests which you may have to make of
me should have reference to inutual advantages ; our friendship
will then be complete. But there are certain ways in which
friendship will be completely broken off and utterly destroyed.
No more effectual means exist than listening to the idle stories
of evil-minded men. Even the most affectionate couple, whether
as husband and wife, brother and sister, or father and son, may
soon be made to hate each other by reports from intriguers.
Lately, for instance, before you came, there were people who
told me you were a bad man, and that I might expect the
worst from your visit ; I now see how false were those words.
They also tried to make me believe that you were no friend of
Sladen's."

Co/. F. "I have every confidence in Captain Sladen.
He has been known to me for many years, and served directly
under me when I was Commissioner of Tenasserim."

King. " \ man like Sladen is rare even among foreigners.
You will do well to give him your confidence. He works for
the interests of both countries. He is as much in my confi-
dence as any of my own ministers, and I often say more to
him than I would to them. Sladen, you know the duties of a
ruler; what is the first duty?"

Caft. S. " That he should have patience (or self-restraint),
your Majesty."

King (/aughing). " Exactly ; a ruler should never lose
his temper ; he should listen to all sides of a question, but
never allow himself to be angry," and so forth.

Pause.

King. " I wish you, Colonel Fytche, to see my hospitals
for the sick and old ; they will interest you. I myself derive
much satisfaction from being able to exercise charity towards
the afflicted and the priests, besides which I thereby lay up for
myself future reward ; but I am not supposed to keep all this
to myself. There is no gift of gold and silver whirh can be

ENGLISH MISSION TO MANDALAY.

»«5

compared to the priceless one of a share in the reward or merit
of good actions. I want you, Colonel Fytche, to say you will
accept what I have of that to give you."

Col. F. " I do so, your Majesty. The tenets of the
Buddhist faith resemble those of the Christian religion in this
and in many other respects — ' He that giveth to the poor
lendeth to the Lord; what he layeth out it shall be paid him
again.' "

King. " Then I admit you to share the merit of my
charitable works. I cannot make you a greater offering than
this. I have long known you by report, and have had your
portrait for some years. Although we have known one another
personally for a short time only, you must still consider that
we have long been friends. Who is that sitting near the
envoy ?"

Col. F. " It is the Inspector-General of Police, Captain
Duncan."

King. (To Captain Duncan.) " Do you understand Bur-
mese ?"

Capt. Duncan. " I do, your Majesty."

King. "Then I hope you will remember all I have been
saying."

Col F. " Captain Sladen, under my instructions, spoke
to your Majesty a day or two ago regarding the exploring
expedition which the Viceroy proposes to send from Bhamo
to China. I wish to write on the subject to your Majesty."

King. " Do so by all means. I will sanction the expedi-
tion (literally I will give permission for the party to go) ; when
will it start? where will it go?"

Co/. F. " It will leave this in December, and proceed
from Bhumo to China."

King. " Who is to go with the party ? If you send
Sladen, I will assist him throughout to China, and send my
own people with him."

Col F. " It is my intention to send Captain Sladen, but
arrangements will have to be made for any business which may
have to be transacted here during his absence."

King. " Sladen will only be away a short time. It will be
better not to appoint any one here in his absence. I shall
order my Wongyees to communicate direct with you in Ran-
goon on business matters."

The King here pointed out to Colonel Fytche the Keng
Wondouk, and said he wished Colonel Fytche to know him
and like him : he (the King) had reared the Wondouk from
the time he was a child. Colonel Fytche replied that he had
met the Keng Wondouk once or twice since his arrival, and
had liked him from the first. His Majesty also pointed out
the Padein Won, Shwe' Beng (a young Burmese who received
an English education in Calcutta), and requested Colonel
Fytche to look upon him as his son. Colonel Fytche men-
tioned to the king that the Paopa Wondouk (who was present)
had been most attentive since the mission had entered Bur-
mese territory.

King. " I should wish to have two river steamers, one of
them to be armed. During the rebellion my country was saved
by the steamers that came up from Rangoon ; as soon as they
appeared the rebels dispersed everywhere. Colonel Phayre
advised me to have two war steamers, one between this and
Bhamo, and the other between this and the frontier. I
want your Government to supply me with these steamers ;
what would they cost ?"

Col F. " The steamers can be furnished easily enough,
but it will be necessary that your Majesty should furnish
details as to the kind of steamer you want, its length, brcadtii,
draught, horse-power, and so fortii. There are so many varieties
of steamers suitable for river navigation."

Here ensued a short discussion as to what would be
required, and it was eventually arranged that the Burmese
ministers would furnish details regan'ing the steamers, and
Colonel Fytciie would make enquiries in Calcutta as to the
cost, and so forth.

King. "I also want i,ooo rillcs. You have already
consented to my having 2,000, which I am now getting from
Ur. Williams ; and if you let me have 8,000 more, I shall have
10,000 men well armed with rifles, and they will always remain
near me at the capital."

To this Colonel Fytche replied that the rifles could be
furnished, but that the kind of rifle wanted shoukl be settletl.
A conversation ensued regarding smootii-bores, rifles, and
breech-loaders, and it was ex])lained to the King that to use
rifles or breech-loaders the men had to be well instructed, and
tiien to take great care of their arms. The King replied : " In
time, no doubt, my men would learn all that," and it was
arranged that his Majesty should decide and let Colonel
Fytche know what kind of arm he desired to have. The King
then turned to leave, and turning round on the sofa, said :
"Sladen, I am sorry you have been sick. I shall send you
something to-morrow to make you well," and with that with-
drew.

The party then adjourned to an open pavilion, where
sweetmeats and fruits were served. Subsequently, the Chief
Commissioner, Captain Duncan, and Mr. Edwards, visited the
Wongyees. The first was the Loungshay Mengyee, an officer
who h.-id been most severely wounded during the late rebellion,
and who was still disabled. During the visit there was no
business discussed, but a friendly conversation lasted for some
time. The next visit was to the Yaynan-Khyoung Mengyee,
Oo Tso, an old soldier of high repute among the Burmese.
He had been engaged in a good many campaigns, and during
the rebellion last year re-established the king's authority
in all the districts south of Mandalay to the frontier. He
received a bullet wound in one of the fights, and, indeed, the
bullet had not been extracted. The Mengyee is a man of
very quiet and afilible manners. Some of the ladies of his
family were present. He spoke on general subjects, and only
casually adverted to the fact of a treaty being in negotiation,
asking when it would be concluded. He seldom mixes in
politics, and his reputaton is entirely military. The Pakhan
Mengyee was next visited. This official may be described as
holding the position of prime minister ; he is the cleverest of
the oflTicials now in office, was a fellow-priest with the king
before he came to the throne, and has always been employed
in political matters. At his house the Keng Wondouk ( who
has already been frequently mentioned) was present. The
visit was a most agreeable one, as they are both men of
unusual intelligence. The subjects were general, and no busi-
ness was referred to. The subjects talked of were some points
of the Christian religion, the deluge, the solar system, the
duration of night and day in different portions of the globe,
and so forth, all carried on with great vivacity and good
humour. At each of the oflicials' houses refreshments were
served up in the English style, with plates, knives and forks.

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I LLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

glasses, and iiapkiiis. At llie Vaviian-Kliyomij; Mongycc's
house beer unil .slieiiy wltc on the table ; at lliose ot" tlic
others, tea was served.

On tlie 2i.st Octolier Colonel I'ytche visited the I'akhan
Mengyee for the [mrpose of discussing matters regarding the

Treaty, anil some corroclions were made in the draft making
more cle.ir the provisions of the articles. 'The 'I'rcaty
generally was fmally agreed to, leaving only one < lause in
the article, regarding the jurisdii lion of the agent, for reference
to His Majesty the Ring.

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TORI, OR HOI.V r.ATF.— AVENtlF. OF TIIF. Tl'.MPI.r AT BF-NTEN.

A Iliiyopcait Sojourn in yapan. — ///.

FROM Tin: IKKXCir OF M. AIMl': llLMnF.RT, SWISS MINISTF.R IN JAPAN.

JAPAN'F.SF, COSMnr.ONV — THE CREATION — THE GODS.

In the beginning there v.as neither heaven nor earth : the
elements of all things formed a confused liquid mass, like
the contents of an egg in which tlie white and yolk have been
mixed together. From the midst of this chaos there spr.mg
forth a god, who is called the Supreme Being, and whose throne
is in the midst of jieaven. Afterwards came Clod the Creator,
who is over all creation, and then Cod the Creator who is the
sublime spirit. F^ach of these three gods had a sejiarate exist-
ence, but they were not revealed, e.xcept in their spiritual
nature. Gradually a work of separation took place in chaos ;
the subtle atoms quickly rolled away and fomied the celestial
vault overhead. The grosser atoms agglomerated slowly into a

solid body ; an<l thus the earth was not formed till long after
the heavens. While the terrestrial matter still floated like a fish
sporting on the surface of the waters, or like the image of the
moon trembling on the limpid wave, there appeared floating
between eardi and sky something like a branch of a thorn-tree,
endowed with motion, and capable of being transfonned. It
was changed into three gods, their names being Kuni-toko-
datsi, no Mikoto ; Kuni-satsu-tsi, no Mikoto ; and Toyo-
kumu-su, no Mikoto. .After these three principal gods, there
were four couples of gods and goddesses, namely, Wu-hidsi-ni,
no Mikoto, and his companion ; Oo-to-tsi, no Mikoto, and his
companion ; Omotaru, no Mikoto, and his companion ; lastly,
Izanaghi, no Mikoto, and his companion Izanami.

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A EUROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

217

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THE LEGEND OF IZANAGHI AND IZANAMI.

One clay Izanaghi, the seventh of the celestial gods, deter-
mined to call into existence a lower world. He felt attracted
towards the new creation which he saw rising from the waves
of the ocean, and proposed to his divine comjunion, Izanami,
to descend with him to earth, The goddess willingly accepted
his invitation, and the celestial pair, leaning on the balustrade
of their ethereal dwelling, considered what jiart they would
select for their intended peregrination. Looking down on
the inner sea of Japan, they with one
accord made choice of the beautiful
isle of Awadsi, resting like a basket
of leaves and flowers on the
calm, deep water, protected on
one side by the rocks of Sikok,
and on the other by the fertile
shores of Nippon. Having reached
it, they could not sufficiently enjoy
the charms of this delightful retreat,
now wandering through fields
enamelled with flowers, now climb-
ing hills to breathe the fragrance of
myrtle and orange groves, or sitting
on the bank of a cascade, the mur-
mur of whose waters blended mth
the warbling of birds. The middle
of the island contained high moun-
tains, whose summits were crowned
with shady pines, camphor trees,
and other aromatic shrubs, and
whose sides were pierced with grot-
toes carpeted with moss and cur-
tained by waving plants. On
beholding these beauties, which
they had themselves evoked from
the elements, it seemed to them
that a terrestrial existence was not
unworthy of the gods themselves.
Days, seasons, years passed away,
and a group of gay children sported
around the divine couple, on the
threshold of their dwelling in a
smiling valley. But as they grew
up a veil of sadness clouded the vision of their parents;
they could not ignore the fact that all that is bom on earth
is subject to death, and that their children must sooner
or later submit to the inevitable law. The tender Izanami
trembled at the thought ; she could not realise the fact that she
must one day close the eyes of her children, and yet continue
to enjoy immortality herself; indeed, she would rather descend
with them into the grave. Izanaghi resolved to put an end
to a position which daily became more painful, and accord-
ingly persuaded his companion to return with him to their
celestial abode, before their happiness should be interrupted by
the sight of death, urging that, although their children could not
accompany them, he might leave them a legacy which would
enable them to hold as much intercourse with them as their
mortal nature permitted. When the time for parting had come,
he exhorted them to dry their tears, and listen to his last wishes.
He com.nenced by describing, in language more than human,
the perfect and unchanging happiness which is enjoyed by the

VOL. I.

ZiNMU. {From a yafantu raiuting).

inhabitants of heaven ; he pictured it as a star, wliich, although
far beyond their reach, appeared as though they could touch
it, from the top of a lofty mountain which bounded the
horizon. " Thus," he added, " without possessing that happi-
ness which belongs only to a higher sphere, it depends on
yourselves whether you will enjoy the contempLition and
anticipation of it by faithfully attending to my commands."
At these words he raised, in his right hand, the disc of polished
silver which had so often reflected the image of his divine
helpmate, and making his children
kneel before him, he continued in a
solemn voice : " I leave you this pre-
cious relic ; it will recal to you the
beloved features of your mother, but
it will also show you your own im-
age, which will suggest a humiliating
comparison. Do not, however, give
yourselves up to vain regrets, but
endeavour to assimilate yourselves
to the heavenly image of her whom
you will no longer see on earth.
Every morning place yourselves on
your knees before this mirror; it
will show you the wrinkles en-
graved on your foreheads by some
earthly care, or the agitation pro-
duced by some deadly passion.
When these marks are effaced, and
you are restored to serenity, offer
up your prayer to us without hypo-
crisy, for be assured that the gods
read your hearts as easily as you
read the image reflected in the
mirror. If during the day you feel
excited to emotions of anger, im-
patience, envy, or covetousness,
which you are unable to resist,
hasten to the sanctuary, and there
renew your morning ablutions,
your prayers and meditations.
Finally, when retiring to rest each
night, let your last thought be an
act of self-examination and an
aspiration towards that better world to which we have gone
before you."

THE FIRST ALTAR — THE KAMI RELIGION OF JAPAN.

Here the legend ends ; but tradition adds that, on the spot
where they received the farewells of their divine parents, the
children of Izanaghi raised an altar of cedar-wood, adorned
only by Izanami's mirror and two vases made of bamboo-trunks,
containing bouquets of her favourite flowers. A simple square
hut, thatched with rushes, protected the rustic altar; in bad
weather it was closed by sliding-shutters. There the children
of Izanaghi celebrated morning and evening the worship taught
them by their father. They lived on earth from generation to
generation for a period of from two to three million years, and
became in their turn immortal /Camis, happy spirits, worthy of
divine honours. Science confirms tradition, and proves that,
six centuries before Christ, there existed a religion in Japan
peculiar to it, and which had never been practised elsewhere,

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as is observed by K.-cmpfer, and which is preserved to the
present time, although in an altered form and in an inferior
position to other sects of later origin. It is the worship of the
Kamis, and has since received various names, borrowed from
the Chinese language, which I therefore pass over. It cannot
be regarded as the worship of the spirits of their ancestors in
general, nor of the ancestors of particular families. The spirits
worshipped under the name of Kamis belong certainly to the
myt!\ological or heroic legend wiiich reflects glory upon certain
existing families, but they are especially national genii, the
protectors of Japan and its inhabitants. Besides, who could
the primitive Kamis have been if not the fabulous persons of
the national cosmogony, and some others of secondary rank,
those genii and mythological heroes who receive divine homage
in various parts of Japan, where chapels were erected in their
honour in very remote periods? These rustic buildings are
known by the name of mias, and the most celebrated of them
are in the south-west portion of the archipelago, which appears
to have been the cradle of Japanese civilisation. Even in these
days, and especially in spring, thousands of pilgrims flock there
from all parts of the empire. The chapel dedicated to Ten-
sjoo-dai-zin, in the country of Isye, is supposed to be the most
authentic memorial of the primitive religion of the Japanese.
Kaempfer asserts that the Sintoistes (which is the Chinese
name for this sect) make a pilgrimage to Isyd once a year, or
at least once in their lives. " The temple of Isyc^," he says,
" is a low mean-looking building with a thatched roof, situated
in a wide plain. Great care is taken to preserve it in its
original condition, as a monument of the extreme poverty of
its founders, ' the first men,' as the Japanese style them. The
temple contains only a mirror of cast metal, polished in the
native fashion, and pieces of cut paper round the walls. The
mirror is placed there as an emblem of the all-seeing eye of
the Great Being they worship ; the cut white paper represents
the purity of the place, and reminds worshippers that they
must present themselves with pure hearts, and bodies cleansed
from all stain." This account, remarkable as it is, is far from
giving a perfect idea of the architectural type to which the
Kami temples belong. The temple of Isye belongs to a
period when art was in its infancy, and had not attained the
purer form whicii it took under the reign of the first Mikados.
Its essential characteristics are the following : — In the first place,
the situation of the building is a special point, a picturesque
spot being always chosen, and one where there are plenty
of full-grown trees, with a fine avenue of pines or cedars
generally leading up to it, and it is always approached by
one of the Toris which I have already described. The
mias are usually built on a hill, which is sometimes artificial,
and faced with walls of Cyclopean construction ; they are
ascended by a staircase, at the foot of which is the chapel for
ablutions, consisting merely of a roof covering a stone basin,
which is kept full of water. The actual temple is raised one
or two yards from the ground, supported by four massive
pillars, and surrounded, like most Japanese houses, by a
verandah, which is reached by several steps. It is built of
wood, closed on three sides, and open in front, although fur-
nished with movable shutters, which can be closed when
necessary. The interior of the sanctuary is, therefore, exposed
to view, and its severe simplicity is not without an elegance of
its own, the wood-work being brilliantly clean, and the mats
with which the floor is covered of the finest quality The metal

disc which decorates the altar is efiective from its simjilicity ;
and there are no hangings, statues, or images to distrac t the
attention and interfere with meditation. The roof of the chapel
is not the least original i)art of it ; it may be of thatch, slates,
or tiles, but the framework is always of the same shape— it
slopes gradually on both sides, and bends outwards towards the
base, where it projects over the verandah ; and its height is
greatly disproportioned to that of the building. It is finished
at the top of each gable by two pieces of wood in the shape of
a St. Andrew's cross, and along the point of the roof small
spindle-shaped pieces of wood are place<l at intervals, a style
of ornament of which I have .lever been able to discover the
object. Thi strips of white paper mentioned by Kxmpfer are
still in use amongst the various sects, ar.d are suspended to the
walls of the temples, the lintels of the houses, and to the straw
ropes which they hang in the neighbourhood of some of their
sacred places, and in the streets on religious festivals. Still I
am inclined to believe that the use of this consecrated paper is
an importation from Buddhism, as the priests of that religion
make use of little strips of wood surmounted by a tuft of paper-
ribbon, like a holy-water sprinkler, which they have before them
on entering the temple and approaching the altar to purify the
air from evil influences ; and this has, doubtless, led to the
custom in some of the Kami temples of placing one of these
sprinklers on a step of the altar before the sacred mirror.
Among innovations more or less recent, I may mention, first
the introduction, at the entrance of some of the mias, of two
mythological figures in bronze, representing, under fantastic
forms, a dog and a kind of unicorn, both crouching on their
hind legs, and symbolising, it is said, the two purifying elements
of fire and water ; and next, the custom of placing a wooden
coffer at the foot of the altar to receive offerings, which some-
times has a grated cover, to prevent the pieces of money which
are thrown in being taken out except by the priests, who keep
the key ; but it as often has a solid cover surrounded by a
ledge, on which the devotees throw their " szenis " (little iron
coins) wrapped in paper. Besides these, I have sometimes
noticed a gong or a bunch of little bells suspended to the front
of the temples, to enable visitors to summon the priests when
absent from the altar. The fact that these objects have been
lately introduced into the Kami worship is plainly proved by
the circumstance that their religion had originally no priest-
hood. The primitive mias were, as we have seen, memorial
chapels raised in honour of national heroes, like William Tell's
chapel on the lake of Lucerne. The chief of a country which
could boast of one of these monuments watched over its pre-
servation, but no priest served its altar, and no privileged
sect interposed between the worshipper and the object of his
adoration. The act of worship, performed before the mirror
of Izanami, was not limited to the Kami of the particular
chapel, but through him to the gods whom he represented ;
consequently the temple was free to every one, and there was
an utter absence of ceremony in the worship. This state of
things has not been preserved ; the younger members of
families were charged first with the superintendence, and
afterwards with the service of the sacred place. By degrees
processions, litanies, ofl'erings, and even miraculous images
were introduced. The priests assumed the surplice during the
performance of service, but resumed their usual dress and arms
on quitting the sacred precincts ; they did not form themselves
into a distinct caste or class, but instituted an inferior brother-

A KUROl'F.AN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

2li)

hood of a monastii character, especially devoted to the service
of pilgrims, and called Kanouses. The deviation of the Kami
worship from its original purity may he attributed to two
causes — first, to the foundation of the power of the Mikados .
and in the second place, to the introduction of Buddhism into
Japanese society.

THE FIRST SOVEREIGNS OF JAPAN — HISTORY OF ZINMU.

The history of Japan opens with the story of a conqueror,
who came from the southern isles. The annals of the empire
represent him as a native prince, lord of a small territory at
the southern extremity of Kiu-Siu. Obscure traditions
assign to him a foreign origin, the cradle whence his family,
and probably he himself sprung, being the small archipelago
of the Liu-Kiu Isles, which may be said to link together
Formosa and the southern part of China with Japan.

Six centuries before him, an expedition had set out from
Formosa or the Asiatic continent, conducted by a prince
named Taip^, or Taifak, and moving on from isle to isle,
reached at length the coast of Kiu-Siu. However, the first
historical personage whose memoirs have been preserved in
the annals of Japan, where he is called Zinmu, made his
appearance in the year 667 before Christ. Although the
youngest of four sons, his father named him his successor at
the age of fifteen, and at forty-five he ascended the throne
without opposition from his brothers. An old dependent,
whose adventures had led him to distant islands, delighted to
describe their beautiful shores, which the gods themselves had
formerly chosen as an asylum, but which were now inhabited
by barbarous tribes, at war with each other. He represented
to his chief that this people, although skilful in the use of the
lance, the bow, and the sword, would be incapable of resisting
a disciplined army, protected by iron helmets and breastplates,
since they were clothed only in coarse fabrics and the skins
of wild animals. Fired by the hope of conquest, Zinmu
collected his forces, under his elder brothers and his sons, and
taking the chief command himself, embarked with them in a
few well-equipped junks, and sailed from his native place,
which he was destined never to revisit After doubling the
south-east point of Kiu-Siu, they coasted along the eastern
side of the island, landing here and there, giving battle to the
tribes who resisted them, and forming alliances with such chiefs
as were disposed to join in their enterprise. There were
evident signs of this coast having been the scene of former
invasions, the popula n consisting of a superior class of serfs
bound to the soil. At the time of Zinmu's advent they sur-
rounded themselves with walls and palisades, the warriors
being armed with a bow and long feathered arrows, a long
sabre with a chased hilt, and a naked sword fastened in a fold
of their belts. Their most precious ornament consisted of a
chain of magatamas, or cut jewels, which they wore suspended
over the right hip. These jewels consisted of rock crystal,
agates, jasper, amethysts, topazes, &c., some egg-shaped, and
others carved into the shape of crescents and other forms. The
women wore similar chains ; and this custom of displaying all
their wealth on their persons still prevails in the islands of
Liu-Kiu and at Yeso in the north of Japan, but had dis-
appeared in central Japan, under the influence of a greater
degree of refinement.

After ten months of difficult navigation, interspersed with
brilliant feats of arms and successful negociations, Zinmu

reached the north-east extremity of Kiu-Siu. From this
point he hesitated to proceed farther; but having met with a
fisherman sailing courageously in an immense turtle-shell, he
placed himself under his guidance as pilot, and saf>;ly crossed the
strait which separates Kiu-Siu from Nijtpon. 'I'his latter ex-
tends from east to west, in the shajie of a semicircle, which forms
the northern shore of a sort of Mediterranean Sea, bounded on
the south by the large islands of Sikok and Kiu-Siu, and
interspersed with little archipelagoes. Zinmu advanced to-
wards the cast, carrying on his movements with great prudence
and caution, and leaving no place of imirortance unsecured ;
and as the native tribes opposed him vigorously, as well by
sea as by land, he fortified himself on the peninsula of Taka-
sima, and spent three years in the construction and eciuipment
of an auxiliary fleet. On resuming the campaign, he com-
pleted the conquest of the sea-coast and islands of the inland
sea, and then jienetrating into the interior of Nippon, he
established his rule over the fertile country extending from
Osaka to the Gulf of Yeddo. From this period all the culti-
vated countries and civilised tribes of ancient Japan were in
the power of Zinmu. The remainder of Nippon and the
southern islands of the archipelago consisted of vast forests,
the home of wandering tribes of natives living solely on the
produce of the chase, who had been gradually driven towards
the north by the invasions of the southern tribes. Along the
sea-coast, and in the islands of the northern part of the Pacific,
there is still to be met a race of men with squat figures
and hairy bodies, and broad, massive features, called by the
Japanese Ainos (the first men) ; and this type is even seen
amongst their own lower classes, and seems to show that the
Ainos were the original inhabitants of Japan, especially as this
name is never used as a term of reproach, " Yebis " being
their equivalent for barbarian.

Japanese civilisation seems to me the result rather of a
fusion of races than a simple importation ; this mixture, without
absorption of the native element, having produced a new type,
as it has done in the parallel case of Great Britain.

At the end of seven years Zinmu had attained the object
of his ambition, but his three brothers had perished — one in
battle, and the others victims of their devotion to his cause,
having thrown themselves into the sea, in order to appease a
tempest which threatened the destruction of the hero's junks.
Zinmu was believed to be under the special protection of the
divinity of the sun, who on one occasion sent a raven to guide
him through the dangerous and intricate passes of Yamato, a
country which occupies the centre of a large peninsula in the
south-east of Nippon. It was there Zinmu built a strong
castle, on a large hill whose summit he caused to be levelled,
which he called his " Miako," or head-quarters, and there
established his court, or " Dairi," Native ! istorians often make
use of the word Miako instead of the proper name of the city
in which the emperor resides, and that of Dairi for the title
Mikado. They say indifferently that such a thing is done by
order of the Dairi, or by order of the Mikado. Zinmu, who
had been raised to the throne by the choice of his father, made
a law that in future each Mikado should select his successor
from amongst his sons, or in default of them, from amongst
the princes of the blood royal. Zinmu had a glorious reign
of seventy-six years, and at his death (b.c. 587) was enrolled
among- the number of the Kamis, and his chapel, known by
the name of Simoyasiro, is placed on Mount Kamo, near

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II.I.USTRATF.I) TRAVF,I.S.

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Kioto, where ho is still worshipped as the f(nm<lor of the
empire. 'I'he hereditary sueix'ssion ii.is remained in iiis family
for more than 2,500 years, without beinj; interfered with liy
the new power which, imder the name of the Tycoon, now
governs the empire of J.ipan, The ancient Mikadus were a
strong and handsome race, and their wives, who sometimes
governed in the ca[)a( ity of regents, showed themselves worthy
of their ilignity. One of them, of tlie name nf Zingu, a.d. 201,
ci|ui|)ped a lleet, and embarking at the head of a picked army,
crossed the Sea of Japan and made the con(Hiest of the Corea,

tlie institution of a postal ronnnunication on horseback, the
distillation of saki, and the art of sewing, whi( h w.is taught to
the Japanese housewives by workwomen from I'etsi in the
Core;i. In the fourth century the Uairi had rice-granaries built in
dirterent parts of the empire, in order to prevent the reciirrenc e
of famines, which hail several times raged among the people.
In 543 the court of Pets! sent the Mikado " the wheel whic h
points to the south." The introduction of hydraulic timepieces
took place in 6O0, and ten years later the use of water-power
in manufactories. It was only neiir the end of the eighth

CIVIL AND MILIIARY OFFICIALS RETURNING FRO.M DUrV.

returning to her capital only in time to give birth to a future
Mikado.

EARLV INVENTIONS.

It was from the Corea that the Japanese brought the
horse, ass, and camel; but the first only of these domestic
animals has become naturalised in Japan. The formation of
ponds and canals for the irrigation of the rice-fields dates from
B.C. 36 ; the tea-plant was introduced from China ; Tatsima
Nori brought the orange-tree from " the land of eternity ;" and
the cultivation of the mulberry and the manufacture of silk
date from about the fifth century of our era. Two centuries
la'.er they became acquainted with

"Tlic cirth which bums like oil and wood,"

and discovered the silver mines of Tsu-sima. Several im-
portant inventions date from the third century: for instance,

century that the Japanese system of writing 'was invented ;
but from the third century the Chinese characters h.id been
in use at court. The mystery which surrounds their ancient
literature prevents our being able to judge the effect which
it had upon civilisation ; but it is interesting to observe the
civilising influence of the fine arts upon them. Formerly it
was the custom to sacrifice human victims at the obsequies of
the Mikado or his consort the " Kisaki," and they were
generally chosen from among their immediate attendants ; but
in the year 3 B.C., a native sculptor, by name Nomino Su-
kunJ, was daring enough, on the death of the Kisaki, to lay
some of his clay figures at the emperor's feet, and proposed to
throw them into the tomb instead of the usual funeral offerings.
The Mikado not only accepted the substitute, but gave him a
signal mark of his favour by changing his family name to that of
Fasi (artist). Their laws remain to the present day more cruel

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

than their customs. Tho pohtical administration has been
calculatcil to develop the genius of tlie nation, and to pre-
serve its strength an<l originahty. In 86 n.c, the Mikado had
a census made of the population, and orilered the erection of
dockyards. In the second century of our era, the state was
divided into eight administrative circles, and these again into
sixty-eight districts. In the fifth century a registrar was ap-
pointed in each district to collect and record the customs and
popular traditions of his department. An imperial road united
the cities, five in number, in which the Mikado held his court
in succession ; the most important of these in the seventh
century was Osaka, on the cast bank of the inland sea. The
crowning event of founding a cajjital to be the centre of the
language, literature, and general civilisation of the country, was
accomplished in the eighth century, and Kioto has been the
favourite residence of the Mikado since the twelfth century.

THE INLAND SEA OF JAPAN.

In making the voyage from Nagasaki, or the Chinese coasts,
to the bay of Yeddo, most vessels pass through Van Diemen's
Straits, south of the island of Kiu-Siu. There is, however,
another route, which will probably become the niost generally
used when the ports of Osa'--'' and Hiogo are thrown open to
the commerce of the west. It was this route that I followed
in going from Nagasaki to Yokohama. The voyage occupied
seven days ; but we passed four of the nights at anchor, the
■ first at an island in the Corean Sea, before .ve reached the
straits of Van der Capellen, the rest of them in the ports of
Nippon after passing through the channel. There are as yet
no nautical maps sufficiently accurate for the guidance of
steam vessels at night, so we were obliged to trust to the
native pilots, and stop wherever they thought proper. The
inland sea of Japan measures about fifty miles at its greatest
width, and about 250 miles in length ; it is formed into five
separate basins by the catlines of the greater islands of
Nijipon, Kiu-Siu, and Sikok, and by the charming groups of
smaller islands which are scattered in their vicinity. These
basins, called by the Japanese " Nadas," receive the name
of the jirovince whose shores they wash ; they are Suwo, in
Nippon ; lyo, in Sikok ; Bingo, Arima, and Idsumi, in
Nippon, The strait of Capellen is bordered by wooded hills,
adorned with temples and monasteries ; at the foot of the
range lies the city of Simonoseki, extending a mile and a lialf
along the shore of Nippon. Before the foundation of
Yokohama it was the principal port of the island, anil
chief ])lace of commerce in the empire, for, although Japan
was closed to foreign trade previous to 1859, it maintained
a limited intercourse with China, the Corea, and the Dutch
factory of Decima. The port of Simonoseki is well protected
from the waves of the Corean Sea by the litde island of
Hikusima, which lies across the strait, and leaves a passage
of only three miles long liy half a mile broad between itself
and Kiu-Siu. A little lower down we came to the small
town of Kokwra on the opposite bank, but we soon lost
sight of the coast, and found ourselves in the widest part of
the inland sea, the basin of Suwo, called by the natives
Suwonada, which name is also applied to the eni. Japanese
Mediterranean. A number of heavy merchant junks, fishing,
and other boats, cover these waters ; but it contains no archi-
pelagoes like the other basins, which present an unbroken
succession of islands of various sizes and degrees of cultivation,

forming a chain around the two great islands, Sikok and Nij)-
pon, and hiding all except the tops of the highest mountains.
Many of these islands are merely masses of black or brown
rocks of volcanic origin, and jiresent the ajipearance of a sugar-
loaf or some fantastic form ; others are hills of sand, whose
undulations remind one of the dunes of Holland. On some
of the islands— which, although uninhabited, are cultivated by
the neighbouring villagers — we saw large fields of rice and corn,
and hills and valleys covered with luxurious vegetation. But
in the midst of this wealth of nature the agricultural population
of Japan lives in a state bordering on want ; the produce of
their labour belongs to the daimios, or lords of the soil.
Owing to the absence of a middle class, the Japanese villages
have a wretched ajjpearance. A free civilisation would have
covered the banks of the inland sea with picturesque villages
and elegant villas ; as it is, the only important objects are the
temples, and these, at a little distance, can only be dis-
tinguished by the venerable tre s which surround them. The
manorial castles are usuu'ly at some di^'ance fro. ■ the towns
and villages, and consist of a spacious quadrangular enclosure
of high and massive walls, surrounded by a moat, and flanked
at the angles, or sunnounted at intervals all round, by square
turrets with slightly sloping'roofs. Within are the park, the
gardens, and the residence of the nobleman, comprising a
principal building and numerous office' Sometimes a separate
tower, of the same fom as the other buildings, rises several
stories higher than the level of the outer wall, each storey being
surrounded by a projecting roof in the style of the Chinese
pagodas, but generally without an accompanying galler)'. All
the masonry is rough, and joined by cement ; the wood-work
is painted red and blac!-. a'.d enriched with copper ornaments;
while the /isc (brick-work) is white-washed, and the tiles on the
roofings are slate -coloured. In these edifices the details are
less considered than the general effect produced by their
height and harmonious proportions ; and from this point of
view, some of the manorial residences of Japan are worthy to
rank aniongst the most remarkable monuments of Oriental
architecture.

The shores of the inland sea present a series of views of
infinite variety ; some of them so extensive that the sea-line
blends with the distant sandy spits bathed in sunlight, beyond
which rise the shadowy summit.5 of a mountain range ; there,
a village, buried in a forest at the extremity of a peaceful bay,
reminds one of a landscape on a lake in the Jura on a fine
June morning. Sometimes, alsc the basin narrows so that
the opposite islands seem to bar further progress, in a way
which reminds one of the Rhine near £oppart ; at d yet the
Japanese landscapes are calmer and more brilliant '.han those
romantic shores ; but one seeks in vain 'hat Fintiment of
melancholy, which seems, according to European notions, in-
dispensable to the tnie enjoyment of the picturesque. The
basin of Arima is not unlike the shores of N.agasaki bay ; it is
almost completely shut in on the east by the island of Anadsi,
thirty miles long, and which extends between Arinii.nada and
Idsuminada. This island is shaped like a triangle, of which
tlu' apex faces northward, opposite the province of Arima in
Nippon; its plains are covered with luxuriant vegetation, and
towards the south it gradually rises from little wooded hills to
a chain of mountains from 1,000 to 2,000 feet in height.
This island is said to have been formerly the habitation of
the goils, and the towers we saw on the oppoiite shore of

A EUROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN,

333

Nippon serve as monuments of the conquests made by Zinmu.
We are, in fact, looking on the very cradle of Japanese
mythology, the sacred soil of their Karais, the classic land
of the ancient empire of the Mikados.

The town of Hiogo, situated on the rising shores of the
basin of Sasumi, opposite the island of Awadsi, possesses a
commodious harbour, which has been for centuries the mari-
time centre of the Japanese empire. It is there that the
Simonoseki junks discharge the merchandise which that city
receives from China, and the isles of Liu-Kiu, Nagasaki, and
the western coast of Nippon, and even from the Corea and
Yeddo, for the consumption of the interior and east of Japan ;
and from it thousands of junks
carry the agricultural produce
and the works of art and in-
dustry of the southern pro-
vinces of Nippon to the islands
of the inland sea. In time a
double line of steamboats will
unite the port of Hiogo to
China, and then to the great
commercial services of Eng-
land and France ; and, on the
other side, through Yeddo and
Yokohama with the ocean line
to Hawaii and California.

Up to 1 80 8 this port was
closed to Western commerce,
the native navigation being
confined to coasting voyages
— the imperial laws, which re-
gu'ate even the construction
of these junks, not allowing
them to keep the open sea.
The coasting commerce, of
which Hiogo is the seat, is
almost exclusively in the
hands of the OsaKa mer-
chants. This latter large and
ancient city is only an eight
hours' journey from Hiogo ;
its position at the mouth of
a river, which divides into
several branches before fall-
ing into the sea, has afforded
the means of intersecting it

with a network of canals, from whicls it is called the Japanese
Venice. From tin years 744 to 1185 it was the residence of
the Mikados ; but the heroic period has passed when the
Mikado, lik : the Doge of the Venetian republic, used to fill
the office of admiral iii person, and, from a litter borne on
tlie shoulders of four warriors, inspect his troops, or regulate
their movements seated en tiie top of c hill, holding an iron
fan in his right hand. At Osaka, the Mikado, having reached
the summit of power and wealth, built himself a jialace in the
centre of a spacious park, which secluded him from the noise
an<l bustle of the city ; his courtiers persuaded him that it was
suitable to his dignity, as the grandson of ihe Sun, to with-
draw himself from the view of his subjects in general, and to
abandon the cares of government and the command of the
army and navy to the nobles and favourites by whom he was

BIRDS OF JAPAN. {From a native drawing.)

surrounded. The daily life of the Dairi is subjected to cere-
monials which regulate its most trilling detr.ils, and which
surround the sovereign with a barrier insurmountable except
by those who belong to his court. The imperial power throws
but a very few stray sunbeams across tiie nation's path. Tiie
citizens, disappointed in their expectations, and tired of the
arbitrary rule of favourites, raised murmurs, which penetratctl to
the ears of the monarch, who instituted offices where the
complaints of the people were registered. His courtiers
believing that the dynasty of the grandson of the Sun was
hastening to ruin, withdrew, with their emperor, to the little in-
land town of Kioto, thirty miles north of Osaka. There they

established thepermanent resi-
dence of the Mikados, and
the settled capital, or Miako.
By leaving the city, which
was the great centre of com-
merce, industry, nnd intellec-
tual activity, independent of
the Dairi, they obtained the
double advantage of cutting
off all communication betv/een
the sovereign and the people,
and of moulding the new
capital according to their own
tastes and fancies. Kioto is
situated inthecentreof afertile
plain open to the south, and
bounded on the north-east by
a chain of verdant hills, be-
hind which extends the large
lake cf Oitz. Its southern
portion is built on the bank
of the liver Idogawa, which
issues from Lake Oitz, and
divides into two branches,
which wash the east and west
walls of the cajjital, and fall
into the inner sea a few miles
below Osaka. Kioto is thus
completely surrounded by a
network of running water,
which is serviceable for the
irrigation of rice-fields, as well
as for the formation of canals
in the streets and ponds in
the imperial parks. Rice, wheat, buckwheat, the tea shrub,
cotton plant, and mulberry, are cultivated in the suburbs, as
well as an immense variety of fruits and vegetables. Groves
of bamboos, laurels, and chesnuts crown the heights. There
is an abundance of springs, and the variety of birds gives
animation to the scene. The country about Kioto is cele-
brated for the mildness of its climate, and it is less subject
to earthquakes and hurricanes than most parts of the empire.
The descendants of Zinmu could not have found a more
favourable retreat in which to enjoy the fruits of their
ancestors' labours, to deify themselves complacently on the
pedestal of the ancient traditions of their race, and to forget
the realities of human life, ;ven to the extent of letting one of
the finest sceptres in the world drop from their enfeebled
grasp.

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224

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

Sir Samuel Bakers Nile Expedition.

The great expedition of discovery and conquest, proposed by
Sir Samuel Baker, and accepted by the Viceroy of Egypt, up
the Nile to the equatorial lakes of central Africa, has already
occupied a large share of public attention in England, and will
yet create more interest when the news arrives of its being
fairly on its way, and beginning to contend with the many
difficulties which lie before it. Very little is at present known of
Sir Samuel's plans, but they appear to include the ascent of
the whole length of the river by a flotilla of steamers, in which
will be embarked an e.xploring party and a strong detachment
of Egyptian troops. On the way military posts are to be
established, to suppress the slave trade, so long carried on by
the unscrupulous ivory-traders of the White Nile ; to gain the
goodwill of the oppressed negro tribes ; and to put an end
to the petty wars which continually exist among the more
turbulent sections of the native race. One or more of the
steam vessels is, meanwhile, to be taken to the Albert
Nyanza; circumnavigate, if possible, the whole of its vast
but unknown extent, and ascertain how far the picturesque
sliores of this immense sea of fresh water can be brought
within the influence of civilisation and commerce. Three
steamers have been built for the purpose, under the direction
of Sir Samuel, and in a marvellously short space of time, by
Messrs. Samuda, of London ; one of them (paddle-wheel)
130 feet in length, 20 feet beam, and 251 tons; another, with
twin screws, 80 feet long, 17 feet beam, and 109 tons burthen;
and the third, 5° feet long and 13 feet beam. All the steamers
are of steel, and will be transported to the Nile in sections ;
they are so made in fact as to be capable of being taken to
xy ;ces and put together again, on encountering the obstacles
• navigation which are known to exist in tlie upper part of
lie White Nile. The costs of the expedition are to be
defrayed by the Egyptian Government, under whom Sir
Samuel acts as the commander-in-chief, invested with un-
limited powers, and it is to be supposed that the Viceroy
sees some hope of recompense, in the addition to his territory
of fertile provinces along the shores of the Upper Nile, as well
as in the credit which his humane intentions towards the native
tribes, and his endeavours to extend the boundaries of know-
ledge and lawful commerce, will bring him.

The present ruler of Egypt is not the first of his family who
has taken an active part in promoting the exploration of the
sources of the Nile; for the founder of his dynasty (Mohammed
Ali), between the years 1839 and 1842, despatched three expe-
ditions up the river, with the object of solving this greatest of
geographical problems, and his officers succeeded in reaching a
point much fuiiner than any that had been previously attained
— in fact, within 140 miles of the outlet of the Nile waters in the
Albert Nyanza. The annexation of the Nile banks, as a result
of the success of the present expedition, may be looked forward
to as a blessing to the inhabitants ; the whole tract, south of
the present boundaries of Egypt, having been hitherto a kind
of no man's land — a tract of country, as large as France, being
rudely parcelled out among themselves by a small number of
powerful ivory and slave-traders, who annually marched their
b... ds of armed and .lawless ruflians across the devastated
land in search of fresh fields for trade and plunder.

Khartum, a large Egyptian town at the confluence of the
niue and White Niles, will probably be the base of operations of

Sir Samuel; this place lies about 1,500 miles above Alexandria,
following the bends of the river ; and the navigation up to that
point is impeded by six cataracts, insuperable to vessels, except
during the few weeks of the year when the waters of the Nile
have reached their highest level. From the uppermost cataract
(about eighty miles below Khartum) no further obstacle exists
to the progress of either sailing or steam vessels for about 1,000
miles, when a short distance abov.,; Gondokoro — the remote
trading-station rendered famous as the lendezvous of Speke,
Grant, and Baker, in i86.t- -a succession of rapids and waterfalls
occurs, which will probably be found insurmoi>ntable by the
vessels of the expedition, and will have to be ■- rn'^o by portage,
the steamers I eing taken to pieces an*, a<;air o'-ri.^nstructed.
The White Ni e has already been nav^j^.iu-' ■ •:\merup

to the foot of the first of these falls— th- N.iwi; j..dii.'s, Mdlle.
Alexine Tinnti and the Countess Van uer Capel'en having
advanced to that point in their vessel in 1864. The falls were
not seen by Speke, Grant, nor by Baker, the route followed by
them lying along the high ground at some distance from the
river banks; and we are indebted for what we kno'v of them
to an account published by Dr. Peney, a French savant, who
visited them a few years before the journey of our countrymen.
Khartum lies rather more than half way between Alexandria
and the equatorial lakes ; but the banks of the Nile for 350
miles to the south of the town already belong to Egypt —
indeed, it would appear that the Viceroy considers the whole
valley of the Nile as far as Gondokoro to belong to him. The
narrative of Captain (now Colonel) Grant (Speke's companion)
gives a pleasing picture of the change in the condition of the
people on entering the peaceful district under the domini.i
of Egypt, immediately south of Khartum, after the jou ?xy
through the barbarous regions further south. Beyo 'L \\v
present Egyptian frontier, however, the physical as ell is
the social condition of the country seems to deterioi'a;.i\
Sir Samuel Baker, in his description of his first jourppy
speaks of the region between the Ghazal river and Gon-
dokoro as a dead flat — a world of intermi-..iijle manh over-
grown with high reeds and papyrus rush — as far as the eye
could reach all was wretchedness, with nothing but the dull
croaking of water fowl and the hoarse snort of the hippo-
potamus to entertain the traveller. This description applies to
the region as seen in the height of the rainy season, when
the surroL ding country is inundated by the overflowing of
the Nile and its tributary streams. At Gondokoro, :'■ " to the
east and west, on both sides of the river valley, r.r ■d.vsKeA,
partially wooded, and picturesque country commei.i;: , '..liih
seems to extend over neariy the whole of the rest ol 1'^" <.usi
area constituting the basin of the Upper Nile. It is evi'lcntly,
however, no part cf Sir Samuei's plans to advance into the
interior of "he country f'x a'.vn.y from the banks of the river ;
the object he h," -n view if. ■r " tliat he has cherished and
frequently exprer.cd since his .;tui.-. from his fonncr journey —
the circumnavigation o*" the great lake he then discovered, and
the settlement of its shores.

Sir .Samuel Baker left England early in May to arrange, in
Alexandria, the details of the expedition, and news has since
arrived of his commission under the Viceroy having been
definitively signed and sealed. He will leave for Khartum,
travelling with Lady Baker, jv'tJ the Red Sea, and across the
desert from So lakim to Berber, as soon as the flotilla and
forces, ascending by the river, have reached that point.

A KUROl'KAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

--5

tNIKAM i: INIn Jill. llAl.l.' H 1. '1 1,AN.\>A WA.

.^ E7tropcan Sojonni in ynpan. — 11^.

FROM THr. FRKNCil OK M. Al.MK HUMIlKUr, S^V.ISS MlNISTKl; IN JAPAN".

KIOTO, TIIF, CITY OF PRIF.STS.

The descendant of the Jaiianese Kaniis wa.s naturally i
chosen to be the head of the national religion, for this had
no priesthood. The Mikados created a hierarchy of func-
tionaries, invested with the sacerdotal character and charged
with all the details of public worship. They were the
guardians of the temples and their treasures, and arranged the
sacred and patriotic festivals, the funeral ceremonies, and j
the preservation of the cemeteries. All the high dignitaries
were chosen from among the members of the imperial family.
Everything concerning the service of the court was arranged
in the same way, and the court aciiuired an exclusively !
ckrical aspect, the chiefs of the civil and military administra-
tion being seldom admitted to it.

The capital of the empire, in conseiiuenc e of this policy,
presented the strange spectacle of a place from which every-
thing belonging to the army, navy, and public affairs was
excluded these being given up to the care of functionaries
placed in different i)arts of the country-. On the other
hand, all the religious sects which recognise the supremacy
of the Mikado, made it a point of honour to fix themselves
ii. the capital, and vie with each other in raising monuments
of their special form of religion. Thus, when Buddhism \
was imported from China, and was assured of the Mikado's
protection, on conditicm of doing him homage as spiritual
head of the empire, it quickly outdid the Kami religion ■
in sjjlendour. The Japanese Buddhists have adorned Kioto j
with the largest bell in the world, and with a temple which I
is perfectly unique in style; it is called the Tcnq)le of the i
'j hirty-three Thousand Thre" Hundred and Thirty-three, which
is the precise number of the images contained in it the j
larger statues supporting a number of smaller ones on their
he.ads, feet, and on the i)alms of their hands. The temples |
and chapels of Kioto, belongingto tho an( lent religion, ])reserve j
to some extent the cliarac ter of simplicity for which they are j
remarkable in the provinces. Some of them are dedicated to
the seven celestial dynasties of n.itive mythology, others to the
vol.. I.

spirits of earth, and otiicTs again to the divinity of the sun,
Ten-.sjoo-daizin, or his descendants, the first Mikado.s. Towards
the end of the seventeenth century there were 2,127 rnias be-
longing to the Kami religion in Kioto and its outskirts ; while
the temples, pagodas, or chapels of the various Buddhist sects
numbered no less than 3,893. These are the only noticeable
monuments in this singular capital.

The ijalaces of the Dairi are numbered among the
sacred edifices, which they resemble also in their style of
architecture ; they are situated in a large enclosure, which
occupies the north-east jjortion of the city, while lofty
trees of thick foliage appearing above the distant roofs
give an inqjression of great extent to these parks, in which
the imperial residences are sheltered from the vulgar eye.
.\s it often happens that the Mikado abdicates in favour
of the hereditary prince, in order to pass the end of his life
in still greater privacy .".nd retirement, a separate palace is
reserved for him in an enclosure south-east of the Dairi.
Xearlv in the centre of the city there is a strongly fortified
castle, which served as a place of refiige for the Mikado in
times of trouble ; it is now used as the ([uarters of the Tycoon's
garrison. The officials and employes of \arious gratles in the
ser\ice of the emperor and his numerous family may be counted
by thousands ; their exact number is not known, as the court
enjov . the privilege of exemption from the general census.

The Japanese Oovernment has always paid particular
attention to national statistics ; in the holy city every individual
is classed in the sect to which he belongs. Kxmpfer relates
that in i(n)}, the permanent population of Kioto, exclusive of
the court, consisted of 52,169 ecclesiastics, and 477.557 lay
peojjle ; but both these denominations reajipeared in the
classification of sects, of which there were about twenty, the
strongest of tliem numbering about 159,113 adherents, and the
weakest, a kind of Buddhist fraternity, only 289 members.

It must not be supposed that this enormous develop-
ment of the .sacerdotal life in the capil.il of Japan had
the effect of impressing on it a gloomy and austere

■m
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I

2. '6

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

cliaracter ; on the contran', tlie pictures and accounts we
have of Kioto in the time of its prosperity, give the idea
of its carrying on a continual carnival. Any one approach-
ing Kioto at tlie liour of sunset would be greeted with
a noise of instruments, which would suggest the vicinity of an
immense fair. On the various hills occupied by sacred groves,
temples, and convents the priests and monks celebrate their
evening devotions by beating drums, tambourines, copper gongs,
and brass bells. The suburb; ,ire lighted by paper lanterns
of brilliant colours and various :^ - the 'argest, of a cylindrical
form, adorn the columns in frot.. > mples ; the smallest,

wliich are like globes, h.ang before i* rs of inns and places

of amusement, and the close i)roximity wi these sacred edifices
and proline establishments gives the whole scene the air of a
festival in Venice. In the city itself a number of persons of
both sexes crowd the footpaths of the long streets, extending
from north to south of the city, to the boundaries of the Dairi,
and surround the shops and stalls. A large proportion of them
are priests, those belonging to the Kami religion wear a little
glazed black paper caj), surmounted by a kind of crest of the
same colour, ornamented by a narrow white cross, and with an
app mdage in the form of a stiffly starched ribbon fastened at
the b.ack of the head and falling on the nape of the neck.
This aiK'ient national head-dress is not the special peculiarity
of the priests, but is to be met with, subject to certain
modifications prescribed by the sumptuary laws, amongst the
nineteen officially appointed classes of the Kioto population.
A wiile robe, full pantaloons, and a large curved sword,
probably only for show, complete the city costume of the
attendants of the Kami temi)les. All members of the
Buddhist priesthood have their heads shaved and uncovered,
except certain orders who wear wide-brimmed hats. Grey
cassocks are the most usual costume, but black, brown,
yellow, and red are also to be seen — sometimes with the
addition of a plastron or surplice. There are even some
hermits in Kioto, who have selected the capital as a place
of retirement from the world. The grateful citizens have
converted the cells of these anchorites into storehouses of
plenty. There is one mysterious retreat hollowed out in the
face of the rock ; no one knows how or by whom it is in-
habited, but an ingeniously devised pulley crosses a pond,
which separates it from the public road, and draws up the
baskets of |)rovisions which are brought to the recluse.

liegging, regarded as a sacred profession, exhibits itself
at all hours in every street of the city. The mendicant
monks carry a crosier surmounted by metal rings, which they
jingle upon the pavement, and strike a little hammer on a bell
fastened to their belt. .Some of them recite monotonous
litanies, and others exhibit relics. On the othfr hand,
jugglers, tumblers, and street-iierformers solicit public patron-
age by a deafening noise of fifes and drums, and the sound of
music and laughter is heard from the tea-houses, theatres, and
places of amusement, which are open all night, and afford
places of rendezvous for the young nobility, where they finish
a day spent either in the retirement of the court, or divided
between the riding-school, horse-races, games of archery or
tennis, and the tea-house in tlie outskirts.

Besides the public theatre, there is one belonging to the
court, which is the oddest thing to be met with in Ja])an :
parts, costumes, ilecorations — everything, in fiict, is conven-
tional, like the classic tragedy in the reign of Louis XIV., with

"Madame" Phaidra, Agamemnon in a wig, and Achilles with
high heels ; except that in the French drama there were the
old Greek personifications of human passions under the con-
ventional mask of tragic heroes ; whereas no such signification
can be given to the jjersonages who figure on the iiniierial
stage at Kioto. What can possibly be meant, for instance, by
the old man with a crutch on which a green ])arrot is perched
■ — a bird quite unknown in the Japanese archipelago? and the
hero i>ursuing a venomous serpent, a reptile equally foreign to
Japan ? Whence come the bucklers, helmets, and swords, whose
shape is equally unlike the arms belonging to tlie demigods of
the national mythology and those worn by warriors under the
rule of the Mikados ? The musicians composing the orchestra
of the theatre wear the same head-tlress as those belonging to
the pontifical clia])el. It is shaped after the [jattern of the
ancient national helmet, which was in the form of a half globe
without a crest, but with flaps protecting the nape of the neck.
Their principal instruments are the flute, the pan-])i|)e, the
conch-shell, the kettledrum, and a gong called the kak-dai-ko,
supported on a pedestal. This 'alter is a disc, over which
a tanned skin is stretched, adorne i ivith symbolical shajies,
which probably refer to t'e worship of the sun. A sacred
character is attributed to these five instruments. It is sujiposed
that at one time the great divinity who enlightens the world,
being unable to endure the sight of human barbarity, retired
to the sea caves, and was only induced to re-ajipear by the
sound of a concert of flutes, conch-shells, kettledrums, and
gongs ; and with the invention of music darkness \aniBhed
from the face of the earth.

The musical and dramatic taste of the Japanese jieople
finds its chief nourishment in the national religious festivals.
The Kami worshiji is remarkably simple in its dogmas ; it may
be summed up in the belief that the gods who created Japan
continue to interest themselves in their work, and that the
heroes to whom the kingdom owes its jiower, dwell amongst
the divinities, and act the part of intercessors for their country.
It is indispensable that the worshijipers of the Kamis should be
in a state of purity, when visiting the places dedicated to them,
and celebrating 'estivals to their memory. There is no great
difficulty experienced in adhering to these nile.s, the diligent
cmjiloyment of the two great elements of purification — fire and
water — and the jjresentation of unblemished oflerings at the
shrine, being a',1 that is ex.acted, except in the case of those
who have contracted impurity by immoral conduct, by touching
a corpse, shedding blood, or eating the flesh of domestic animals,
or other causes. In these cases it is necessary to go through
a form of expiation of greater or less severity according to the
character of tlie offence. In the case of men it consists
generally in allowing the beard to grow, and in covering the
head with an unsighdy straw liat ; and for women, in wearing
a white handkerchief wrapjied round the head ; while in both
ca.ses they must either undertake a pilgrimage, or keep them-
selves closely confined, and abstain from certain kinds of food
and all noisy recreation. The restoration of the penitent to
his family and friends is the occasion of great rejoicings,
accompanied by a general jiurification of the dwelling by i-alt
and water, in addition to a large fire lighted in the lourlyard.

At the anniversary festivals in honour of the jirincipal
Kamis, no sacred rites are jierformed beyond the ceremonies
of |)urification; and even these were not introduced till towards
the end of the eighth century. On the eve of the great solem-

A EUROPKAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

aa7

nity the priests go in procession by torchlight to the temple
where the arms and other ••elier, of the deified hero are pre-
served in a costly shrine called mikosi. The mikosi represents
the terrestrial abode of the K.ami, b\it it must undergo a
thorough purification annur.lly. In order to accomplish tiiis,
the relics are removed fiom the shrine, which is then carried
to the river; and while a certain number of ])riests wash it
carefully, others light large fires to drive away evil spirits ;
the Kagoura, or sacred choir, by its instruments and songs,
appeasing the spirit of the Kami thus temporarily deprived
of its earthly dwelling-i)lace. He is, however, soon restored
to it, when the relics are solemnly placed again in the shrine ;
but this is not yet rcjilaced in the temple, which, in its turn, has
to be purified ; and so, during the festival, which lasts several
days, it remains in a place of shelter, constructed on purpose,
and duly protected from malignant spirits. If any of them
should venture to cross this sacred enclosure, formed of rice-
straw ropes, tliey would be received with showers of boiling
holy water, with which the abode of the Kami is sprinkled at
intervals ; and woe to any spirits which hover within reach of
the guard of honour, for the priests who compose it are skilful
archers, and discharge flights of arrows so straight in the air,
that they fall back within the enclosure, to the great admiration
of the lookers-on.

Such are the ceremonies which are considered to bestow
on the festival a religious character; but it was not to them
I referred when speaking of the influence of the Kami religion
on the dramatic taste of the Japanese nation. Besides these
trivial juggleries, there is what may be called the historical
procession, in which priests, masked and in costume, perform
scenes from the life of the hero at various stations in the open
air, accompanied by music, songs, and pantomimic dances.
Sometimes the effect is heightened by an exhibition of trophies
of arms, or groups of clay figures representing the features and
traditional costumes of the principal Kamis. They are arranged
on cars, or scaffolds of a pyramidal shape, on which they also
represent some building, bridge, or junk connected with the
cxi)loits of the hero whose memory they celebrate. When
these festivals, or matsoiiris, as they call them, were first insti-
tuted, they were confined to a few of the most ancient towns
in the empire. Only eight provinces enjoyed the distinction
of jiossessing Kamis. But from the tenth century every jjro-
vince, district, or jilace of any importance wished to have
its celestial ])atron ; so that at last the number of Kamis wor-
shipped in Japan has increased to 3,132, of whom the more
ancient, to the number of 492, are styled Great Kamis, to
distinguish them from the crowd of inferior ones. From that
period there have been matsouris held in eve'; part of Japan,
and the taste for heroic narratives and performances calculated
to promote patriotism and other manly virtues, has spread
from end to end of the empire. The national religion has
created a jieople who all of them possess the sentiment of
liatriotism — an empire which has never subniitteil to a foreign
yoke, and a government which even to the i)resent day has,
in its intercourse with the most powerful nations of the old
and new world, fully maintained its independence.

JAI'ANESE LITERATURE— A POETESS— THE GREAT LITERARY ERA.

When the illustrious Kmperor Shi-hoang-ti, who occupied
th'! throne of China from 246 to 209 n.c, had arrived at the
height of his iiower, he cast an envious eye on the isles of

Japan — not, however, with a desire for conciuest, having
already extended th" f^mtier- of the Celestial Empire to the
utmost, and dcfonded them by erecting the (Ircat Wall, whi( h
still remains as a memorial of his power. His ambition was
not satisfied with glory and happiness, he thirsted for im-
mortality ; and having heard that a plant grew on the siunmit
of one of the mountains in Nippon whose root pos.sessed the
[iroperty of prolonging life, he dispatched Sjofou, one of his
favourites, to procure him die miraculous herb. His mes-
senger visited the shores of the inner sea without success,
and on reaching the country of Ksiu, in Nippon, he esta-
blished himself and his followers there, and abandoned the
emperor to the fate which sooner or later overtakes every one.
Neither he nor any of his companions returned to their native
country ; and it was from them the Japanese acquired their
first knowledge of China. The Mikado was, however, not
content to rely on the accounts which he received from the
Ksiu colony, and he dispatched an embassy to the head of
the Celestial Empire to ask for a copy of the annals of his
court. Not only was his request granted, but some learned
men were sent to interpret the precious volumes. They soon
taught the Chinese language to the residents in the Mikado's
court, and it became the fashion to make use of Chinese
characters and quote passages from their classics, as well as
to compose poetry in the style of their lyrics. The literary
influence which China exercised on Japan may be compared,
with various reservations, to that of Greece on the nations of
the western world. When the heroine Zingu achieved the
conquest of the Corea, she brought back a number of works
belonging to Chinese literature — the books of the Buddhist
religion, treatises on the medical art, and new musical instru-
ments. These were, in the opinion of the Japanese, the most
j)recious trophies of her glorious expedition ; but their admira-
tion of the art and literature of the Celestial Empire had
not the result of raising its inhabitants eipially high in their
estimation. The chivalrous islanders of Nippon looked with
a certain disdain on the peaceful and studious inhabitants of
Nankin, and while receiving from them teachers of language,
music, philosophy, and morals, they gave their instructors a
position analogous to that held by the Greek sophists in
Roman society.

Ja|)anese literature, although developed under the influ-
ence of Cliinese models, has preserved a certain degree of
originality, but, restricted by fashion to certain conventional
forms, it has continually revolved in the same circle, and
made the perfection of style consist in a strict observance of
academic rules. Poets composed distiches to fit the shape of
dwarf trees, on ])a|ier, and gave a description of the ocean
within the limits of a sonnet. The Japanese pencil has
transmitted to us the features of the writers who excelled in
works of this kind, and their portraits are always accom-
panied by a representation of the subject of their poetic
masierpieces. Thus we see the poet of the sea reclining on
the shore ; another surrounded by flowers ; and so on. Various
])laces are pointed out which are celebrated in the annals of
Ja|)anese poetry, such as Mount Kamo, where Tsjoo-mei
composed his volume of odes, on the banks of the Cicada
stream ; another locality is the convent which served as a
place of refuge to a prince overtaken by a midnight storm,
who, on leaving, entrusted to the superior a jiieie of poetry
inspired by the occasion.

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Il.l.LSIR.VIKlJ IRAVhLS.

'I'lie Cliincsc diil not remain insensible to the jirogress
made by tlieir ])iipils in litcr.iiy taste and eluijance of man-
ners, ami an embassy was sent liy the " Son of Heaven "
to the Mikado, for the express pnrpose of jiresentin,:; him
with a collertion of ]ioetry. Tiie ciiltiire of tlie ]ioetic art
was carried to tlic liij;hest decree by a noble lady of the court
of Kioto — tlie beautiful Onono-Koniatcli. wlio is generally
represented kneehnj; beside a basin of water, and washing

directing them to the admiration of Nature. .Sometimes a
studious monk would beg the privilege of copying one of tlie
poems which the poor wanderer carried in her basket. The
Japanese still religiously preserve with veneration the memo-y
of Onono-Komatch, the inspired maiden, who in extreme age
and the most profound adversity jireserved her love of the ideal.
The great literary pi-riod in the history of Japan dates
from llie reign of Tenziten-woo, the thirty-ninth Mikado, who

l!« ! ..:

I:i :

(•' .'S

i\r\NF>F ; iicRiMi!.

out what ^he has Just written— so fa,- did she <'arry her desire
for perfection of style. .Vdmired for her talents, but exposed
to the jealousy and resentment of the fojjs whose attentions
she repulsed, she fell into disgrace, and ended her life in
miserj'. For many years slie might be seen wandering from
village to village barefooted and leaning on a jiilgrim's staff,
and carrying a basket containing a few |irovisions and some
manuscri]ils. Her white hair was covered by a large straw
hat, which shaded her worn and wrinkled features. When
she seated herself on the threshold of a temple, the children
from the neighbouring village would gather round her, attracted
by her gentle smile, and she would teach them a few verses,

lived in the latter part of the seventh century of our era.
This prince unilertook the task of imjiroving the national
idiom : and the services he rendered, both by his writings
and by the institutions he founded for public education, have
placed him at the head of the hundred i)oets of the ancient
idiom called the language of ^'amato, from the name of the
classical ])rovince of Nippon. The most memorable literary
productions of the reign of Tenziten-woo, are the Koziki, a
book of antiquities; the Foutoki, or monograph of all the
Japanese provinces ; the Nipponki, or annals of the empire ;
another collection of national legends ; the first grand collec-
tion of lyrics ; the book of court customs ; and a universal

s a
the
The
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nge
enl.
itcs
vho

A EUROPEAN SOJOURN IN' JAPAN.

--9

encyclopaedia, in imitation of the works of iliiit nature already
possessed by the Chinese. In turning over these enormous
collections, rudely illustrated with wood engravings, one can-
not avoid comparing the world as it is with what it would be
if its formation had been entrusted to the hands of Chinese
philosophers. It is not to he wondered at that they consider
themselves perfect models of sujierior beings, but the stages
through which they supposed humanity to have passed before
arriving at this type of perfection, is truly astounding. Some
of the human beings rejiresented in their sketches have but
one arm, leg, or eye, others have horses' legs, or limbs so long

The university of Kioto was founded, it is prob.ible, in
imitation of the Chinese universities.

AN EXCURSION TO KANASAWA.

The summers in Japan are rarely characterised by a succes-
sion of fme days. During the months of June and July there
are freiiuently torrents of rain alternating with the most oppres-
sive heat ; but I have not observed that stomis are of frequent
occurrence or very dangerous. Those wliich I have witnessed
seemed to gather around Fusi-Yama, and advance towards
the bay with a threatening appearance ; but after two or three

Iff

AMI HAl.LET-niRl.S OF fUK MIKAUo's COCRI.

Lra.
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ngs
ave
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the
ary
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the
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ec-
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as to allow them to gather the fruit of the highest trees, or
to catch fish in their hands from the top of a cliff. These
and other monstrosities gradually di.saiipear with the growth
of intelligence and the capability of using their resources. ]
Although the Chinese cncyclopxdists allow that there are no ,
traces remaining amongst themselves of this humiliating series I
of malformations, they think its existence is testified by the
number of monkeys, ■.legroes, and red-haired barbarians still
existing in the isles of the south and beyond the limits of
the Celesti.al Empire, as if to increase the contrast with the
favoured race which inhabits it. The Japanese have not :
arrived at quite the same conclusion, but they regard negroes
as a species of terrestrial demons. The first of them who
landed on an island near Kiu-Siu, driven by a tempest from i
some unknown region, were judged unworthy the light of the
sun, and were pitilessly massacred. I

peals of thunder they passed over in the direction of the open
sea, leaving behind the most brilliant rainbows and ultimately
an exquisitely clear blue sky. I have never encountered one
of those frightful tempests known as "typhoons" in the lati-
tudes of the extreme east.

The earthquakes to whii i Japan is so much exposed occur
in the hot season, in the proportion of at least two in every three
months, but do not cause any disastrous results. The finest
weather we had at Japan was from the end of June to the
middle of July. At Benten nothing occurred to disturb the
tranquillity we enjoyed, but I was obliged to quit this solitar)'
retreat during the few weeks of excitement which followed the
representations made by the English relative to the murder of
Richardson. One could have believed at the time that we
were on the eve of a rupture between Japan and the powcs of
the West. Having remained during this critical period some-

i-lt,

^JO

ILLUSTRATKD TRAVEI5.

times at Yeddo and sometimes at Yokohama, I returned to
Iknten witli one of the companions of my diplomatic ailvcn-
tnres, and found myself master of the house. The Consul-
General of the Netherlands was summoned temporarily to
Nagasaki, and on leaving he told me that the only thing which
prevented him from giving up the keys of the house to me,
was simply that there were no keys to give. My installation
was not difficult, since all the furniture of the legation, including
my writing-table and bamboo arm-chair, were placet! exactly as
I had left them, with the exception of my bed, which had
changetl its form. It was only composed of a mattrass extended
on the matting of the floor, and covered merely with a linen
sheet. This cool bed was now surroumted by a large mosquito-
net of white gauze, held by four high frames arranged in a
square ; a door which shut wonderfully close gave access to
this enclosure, which was so ingeniously contrived for my
comfort. Notwithstanding all this, it many times happened
that after I ha<l entered the sleeping-place with all the neces-
sary precautions, and put on the slight costume which they
wear in Inilia at night — just as I thought I was falling asleep,
I had to jump up to defend myself from some of these irre-
pressible enemies, who had gained admittance into my retreat.

The nights in the tropics, and especially those of the
hot season in Japan, are e.xcessively trying to Europeans.
Perspiration and the attacks of the mosquitoes render every
sedentary occupation quite a punishment. Walking ceases to
have any charm after dawn, and during interminable hours
sleep refuses to visit what we will persist in calling our beds.
After long struggles we often sought refuge on the terrace at
the top of our house. We used to take with us our tobacco-
box — that is, our smoking apparatus, with an ample stock of
Manilla cigars, anil a little cellaret of liipiors adapted for
making American grog. Our first impression in this elevated
retreat was a sensation of freedom and rest : the immense e.x-
tent of sky, spangled with stars ; the calmness of the harbour,
which reflected the dark outlines of the vessels ; the silence of
the streets of the Japanese town, broken at intervals by the
peculiar, uncertain step of the watchman— all disposed one for
grave contemplation ; but we were soon disturbed by various
slight incidents : the descent of a falling star ; the light from a
rocket sent up in some public garden, or the phosphoric gleam
from the fireflies which hovered about us. Moreover we were
obliged to confess that we had not entirely escaped the attacks
of the mosquitoes, and, finally, found that the damp air began
to penetrate our clothes, and sometimes great drops of dew fell
on our faces, so that we were forced at last by f.ii.igue and cold
to return to the heavy atmosphere of ovir hermetically-sealed
donnitories.

We contrived some boating parties in the consul's boat,
which we were obliged to give ui) after the first two attempts ;
for on our return the tide was so low that the heavy boat could
not be brought to lantl ; and, as we were at a considerable
<listance from the laniling-placc, we had to cross on the shoulders
of our boatmen. It was afterwards suggested to us that
the inconvenience from which we suffered could be avoided
by prolonging our excursion till sunrise. This simple hint
met with a success that we were far from exi)ecting. We dis-
cussed with some friends the idea of making a long aipiatic
excursion, proceeding by degrees towards Cape Sagami, and
even doubling it in order to reach the island of Inosima.
Our projects having arrived at this point, at once took a

serious turn : a road which crosses diagonally the peninsula
forme<l by Cape Sagami would enable us to gain Inosima
without running the risks of a long voyage. It was agreed
finally that one-half of the party should go in boats and
the other on horseback, to the village of Kanasawa, situated
ten miles south of Yokoham.i, and from thence by the road
to Ino.sima, not omitting to visit on the way the monument
of Kamakura, an ancient town, four miles south-west of
Kanasawa. The chancellor of the consulate was entrusted
with all the preparations for the maritime portiou of the
expedition.

On the evening of our departure, two of our friends, who had
decided on accompanying me on the journey to Kanasawa, met
me on the terrace of Benten just as the guardship of the
squadron, which was anchored in the harbour, was firing the
gun as a signal for putting out the fires. The trumpet-calls
and the boatswains' whistles soundeil from the men-of-war, and
then everything subsided into silence. It was nine o'clock and
not a breath of wind was stirring. We saw the moon rise over
the sea beyond the hills of the bluff, and shortly after the
chancellor came to tell us that the se/n/os were waiting for us.
Two Japanese sentries on duty on the bank of the river, each
armed with a gun, without a bayonet, saluted us as we passed
with a friendly " good-night." We replied to tliem in a manner
suited to the simplicity of their military pass-words. From all
the boats moored on the river there issued in mournful cadence
the reiterated prayer of the fishermen to the supreme intercessor
and ])atron of souls — "Aniida, have i)ity on me !" The efficacy
of this prayer is in proportion to the number of moments which
they devote to it uninterruptedly, according to the rules of the
priests. Our crew was composed of five boatmen, the chancellor,
two coskeis, and the Chinese comprador in charge of the com-
missariat. / II these people were installed on the deck, while
the cabin was reserved for our occupation. We arranged
three beds by means of some bags, chests, and coverings
which our forethought or chance brought to hand, and quite
contented with the circumstances in which we were to pass the
night, we established ourselves on the roof of our imjirovised
dormitory, and waited till sleep should compel us to ilescend.
We rowed across the whole extent of the bay occupied by the
fleet. The Japanese boatmen always stand upright in the
stern, two on each side, leaning heavily on their long oars, to
which they impart a sort of semicircular motion, like the
Venetian gondoliers. The fifth, who is generally the co.xswain
of the boat, managed the oar which took the place of a helm.
The combined action of the two first oars jjroduces the eflfect
of the working of a screw. When the work becomes more
laborious than usual the rowers mutually encourage each other
by a soft, sustained whistle.

Amongst the many noises which reached us from the
Hluropean tov/n we were particularly struck by the sound of
a clarionet, which seemed to be interpreting the melancholy
feelings wliith overflowed the heart of some young (lennan
at the end of a day sjjent at the counting-house. On ap-
proaching the Etiryr!/', the flagship of the English
squadron, we sudden! licard sounds of music from the
vessel : they were playing the national anthem, as the signal
of the termination of a fete which was being celebrated on
board. .\t the same moment, from the door of our own
cabin, a musical box, of the existence of which we were quite
ignorant, replied gaily with the air, " Ah ! quel plaisir d'etre

'V^

A KIIROI'KAN SOJOURN IN JAI'AN.

»$l

Soldat." The moon shining full on the triumphant face of
the chancellor, showeil to whom we were indebted for this
surprise. He assured us that the box was his own property
which he had bought with his earnings, and that it ])layed no
less than eight tunes, which he made us listen to one after the
other, and even went ove' them again with renewed energy.
Meanwhile, a slight breeze having got up, our boatmen quitted
their oars and hoisted the sail. We were soon s])ceding on,
losing sight of the coast and shipping, 'I'he sky by tlegrees
became covered with a whitish vapour, and the moon only gave
a very ])ale light, so we had nothing better to ilo than to retire
to our cabin and seek sleep. Alas ! to our horror, the mosqui-
toes had got there before, and we could not imagine where
they had come from. After fruitless efforts to escape from
them by covering our hands and face, and even heroically going
to sleep, we were obliged to abandon the place and return to
our former position. As a Japanese craft has always a fire-
place and the necessary utensils for doing a little cooking, we
ordered our Chinaman to prepare us some tea, and we i)assed
the latter part of the night, cowering before the flames which
blazed in the stem of the boat and were reflected in the waves.
Just as our patience and strength were almost worn out, we
found that our boat had changed its course. The boatmen
took down the sail and roweil with vigour : we were nearly at
the end of our voyrge. In the fantastic light of the moon,
wa\ cling over banks of clouds, and the dawn which commenced
to lighten the horizon, we distinguished on our right a steep,
picturesque ])romontory, covered with beautiful groups of trees,
and opposite to us the masses of foliage which crown Webster
Island. We coasted by the foot of the high wall of rocks
which faces the promontory, while sonorous echoes signalled
from either shore the noise of our passage. A moment after,
we were at the entrance of the harbour of Kanasawa. To
avoid the shoals which extend round the promontory, we
described a large curve, until we had nearly reached the other
shore, at the extremity of which the island of Sivosima stood
out like a tower. It was by tacking about in this way that we
managed to enter the channel, in which the water was so
shallow that we were obliged to [)ush the boat on with a pole.
On either bank of this canal are little cottages with small boats
moored near them, and we passed several fishing-boats
setting out noiselessly to take their morning draught of fishes.
By degrees, we discovered the winding outline of the bay : on
our left, rocks, pine-forests, and thick wootls appeared, and
beneath them groups of houses which looked like white walls.
On the other side we saw a sandy shore, a village, a long cause-
way, stretching along an arm of the sea, intersected by two
arched bridges, whose dark outlines were reflected in the calm
sheet of water over which we were slowly rowing.

At last we were in front of Kanasawa — a pretty little town,
whose white houses enlivened the background of the bay, ex-
tending to the foot of some low hills thickly covered with trees,
amongst which we perceived some buildings intendedfor worshii).
Although on first landing it appeared to be quite enclosed by a
circle of mountains, it presented some charming vistas as we
a[)proached nearer to it. Here an arm of the sea disappeared in
the rice-fields below the bridges, which connected the causeway
with the landing-place for which we were making ; while at the
other extremity of the village we c'istinguished a deep creek in
the middle of an expanse of salt-marsh. At the entrance of
the port a little tenqjle surrounded by fruit-trees occupies the

centre of a flat island, communicating with the market-place by
a jetty. A little farther, on the top of a high ma.ss of rocks, on
which was a group of sacred buildings, we perceived a tea-
house with a terrace, from which there is a panoramic view
of the bay, and even of the distant outline of the gulf of Veddo
beyond the islands of Webster and Sivosima. The Japanese
show a keen appreciation of the beauty of their country ; they
draw attention to every picturesque site by raising a chapel,
a /ori, a tea-house, a pavilion, or some kind of resting-])lace,
and the traveller is frecpiently induced to stop on the road to
refresh himself under some hospitable roof, or under the fresh
foliage, or to give himself up to the soft seductions of a
beautiful landscape — in short, to forget the flight of time and
the toils of the road. Kanasawa is ])re-eminently one of
those calm retreats where one would wish not merely to
make a hasty excursion, in the hurried way diat characterises
the recreations of young colonists, but to give oneself up to
a life of repose. It is true, however, that in these more
frequented places one does not find the simplicity of manner,
or the simple good-nature of the rustic population of Japan,
for these qualities become inevitably spoilt by contact with
strangers.

The hotel where we alighted stands near the port, not
far from the jetty, which ends at the little sacred island. The
eiiuestrians of our party arrived there towards the middle of the
liay, without any other misadventure than the inconvenience of
a horse going lame. The animal died the same evening, under
the treatment of the veterinary surgeons of the country, and in
sight of a great concourse of people, who crowded in their
curiosity into the interior of the inn. There had been
placed at our disposal a large gallery over the ground-floor,
and some planks supported on props ; two benches and some
empty casks provided us with the necessary furniture for
arranging our table in the European fashion. We breakfasted
on our own provisions, to which the hostess added some sail,
tea, rice, fried fish, and soya. She was assisted by two young
servants, well-dressed, and with their hair tastily arranged.
When we had nearly finished our repast, the children of the
house came to the top of the stairs ant' looked at us timidly.
I made a sign to the youngest f.o come to me, but he imme-
diately began to cry ; so I ajjpeased him by taking out of my
pocket some little engravings, which I always carried about
with me in my excursions. He came to me at once and asked
for them ; and afterwards they went the round of the whole
party — his mother, the maidservants of the inn, and the other
women and children. One old grandmother expressed a wish
to taste some white sugar, as they have only brown sugar
in Japan, from the Liu-Kiu Islands. This occasioned another
distribution, more abundant than the first. However, we
were at last obliged to make them understand that, in spite
of the great i)leasure we derived from their company, we felt
in want of some rest. The visitors, male and female, retired
immediately in the quietest manner possible. They improvised
a dormitory for us on the ground-floor, by partitioning off the
two large rooms into a number of small separate chambers ; but
as the partitions consisted only of paper stretched on a wooden
frame, they did not secure absolute privacy, especially as thty
had little holes in them every here and there, so that when I
lay down on the mats, my head resting on a travelling-cushion,
I frequently saw an eye shining at one of the holes in the
paper. Still, I did manage to sleep, though not for long. I

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2.^2

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

fancy that the mats of the Japanese cabins must serve as a
retreat for the hordes of those insects which 'i oepftcr designates
bj' the name of domesric kangaroos — the same tiling struck my
companions, and the resuh was that we soon fotmd ourselves
all assembled in the principal gallery. ^Ve set out for a walk
to see the curiosities of Kanasawa, which we had not visited
in the niorning ; but we were soon obliged to come back in
ronseciiience of the rain, which began to fill just as we left
a convent marked by its grove
of bamboos. On our return to
the inn we began to talk of de-
parting, but the boatmen declarj ',
that the wind would not alloi\ of
our leaving the bay ; so some of
us set the chancellor's musical
box jilaying. some drank tea,
while I sketched the gate of a
neighbouring temple. In the
incantime the hostess entered
with her attendant, carrying a
bundle of Japanese engravings
for sale ; they were views of
Kanasawa and Kamakura, and
pictures of their national gods.
Her husband oftered us some
fish ; we descended with him to
the fish-pond — a laliyrinth of
freestone communicating with
the sea, but at the same time
perfectly sheltered from the dis-
turbance of the waves. \\e had
our choice for dinner, which was
a perfect triumph of ichthyo-
phagy — fish-soup, boileil fish,
fried fish, and even thin slices
of raw fish covered with soja,
which they serve like anchovies
for a side dish. At desert I
asked if any one in the hotel
knew how to jjlay the samsin.
The hostess reminded me that
the study of the samsin is a
necessary part of female educa-
tion in Japan, adding that she
would bring us a teacher of this
instrument. Accordingly she pre-
sented to us a neighbour of a

certain age a professor from

some of the tea-houses in the

cajiital, who. on our invitation, took her place at the table i
with all the forms of extreme politeness. The chancellor's I
musical box delighted her, and it was \ery rcmark.able I
that while we found it most difficult to catch the Japanese I
melodies, this clever artiste not only was able to tune her
guitar to the European pitch, and to accompany the airs, but
she even reproduced one or two of them pretty accurately. I
We retired early to our nocturnal compartments ; mine was ;
furnished with a Japanese iTios<|uito-net — a kind of tent made
of thick green silk serge, which is suspended from the ceiling
by cords. I slept pretty well, in spite of the heavy atmosphere
1 had to breathe ; but the hostess was not able to provide

\1IM>|| AM I'KIKsr.

every one with mosquito-nets. I was surprised to hear, at an
early hour of the morning, the sound of glasses and hoarse
voices, and the metallic notes of the inevitable refrain, " ;\h !
quel ])laisir d'etre .Soldat I "

THE RF.SinFNtl, OV IIIK SI(M;iH NS.

.\s we were not able to make our intended expedition
to the island of Inosima. I did not wish to give up my visit

to Kamakura, from which we
were within three hours' walk.
I went there on foot, with two
of my companions and the
chancellor. It was four o'clock
in the morning when we set out
from the hotel ; w' crossed the
deserted streets of Kanasawa in
the direction of the south as
far as the last of the chain of
hills which rise at the back of
this little town. At this point a
building of a peculiar style an-
nounces the dwelling of some
great man — strong walls surroimd-
ing or supporting terrace gardens,
with a gate consisting of two
pillars crossed by a beam made
of oak. polished black, and
covered with copper ornaments,
opening into a large court. We
saw there a guard-house and
several other buildings, behind
which rose some fine trees, which
added to the antiiiue character of
this residence. I learned that it
was inhabited by a damiio of the
family of the Hossokawa, one of
the most illustrious in Japan,
and that this prince is lord of
Kanasawa, and of other jjlaccs
subject to the supreme sovereignty
of the Tycoon.

Farther on we passed a bridge
over a rapid river, and, going in
a westerly direction, approached
the chain of mountains which
divides the jjeninsula of .Sagami
into two parts. The ground was
( ultivated all around us ; fields
of beans had replaced the
wheat, which had been reaped in the month of June, and
the waving rice though still green, was full of grain. The
jiaths only leave room to put one foot before the other,
while even on the road we were folU)wing, two horses had
barely room to walk abreast. We came across a singular
obstacle on the road ; a good old man and his wife had chosen
this spot as an economical resting-place for the nigh*:. They
slept on two bamboo mats, which were iirobably their travelling
cloaks, while a few burning cinders showed that they had
made a fire to keep away the mosquitoes from their bed.
From the foot of the hills the road winds amongst rocks of
sandstone, sometimes f|uite peqiendicular, and frequently

A KUROI'KAN SOjdl'KN IN JAI'AN.

3.i.?

piorcL'd willi giotloLS containing link' iilols and votivo oflfcrings.
At the top ol' tlic hill tliorc is a sni.ill i aliin constructed of
planks and mats, \vitl> a wall of rocks at the hack, and con-
taining sonic bene lies, a lire-place, and some utensils for
cooking tea and ri( e. At this early hour it was ([uite deserted,
and the furniture hazarded to the honesty of the public. I
have seen something like this in the passes of the mountains of
Java. The descent is rapid. A beautiful golden jilieasant
looked at us from the outskirts of a little wood, and one of my
companions could iKjt resist the temptation of taking a .shot at ,
him. The pheasant was not touche<l, and seemed not much i

another beauty to the dim outline of the picture. The country
is cultivated in every direction, and is interspersed with
groves and sparkling waters, over whi( h are thrown light
arched bridges. Rustic cotta ,es and handsome houses,
freshly varnished and ornamented with flower gardens, are
scattered in great numbers along the road and on the slopes
of the hills, and here and there are chapels, sacred candelabra,
idols of granite, and funeral monuments. The environs of
Kaniakur.i are those of a large town, but the large town no
longer exists. A luxuriant vegetation marks here and there the
irregidarities of the ground, which was covered by rubbish and

KANASAWA: TUK TKA-MOtTSK AND THK SACRKI) ISl.F.

put out by such a trifle ; however, he thought it advisable
to perch himself on the to]) of an oak, where to my great
satisflxction he was out of reach of our arms.

We passed a village picturesiiuely situated amongst trees
and flowers on the banks of a stream, which 'hey have turned
into a canal for conducting water to th'j rice-mills. Some of
the inhabitants were occupied round their houses, and on
seeing us a woman hastened to call her children, who were
performing their morning ablutions in a (piiet nook of the
stream, and the little savages ran at full speed to the house.
By degrees the road became enlivened with pedestrians and
horses. The country around us was a succession of gentle
undulations, sloping gradually towards the sea, which formed
in front of us a blue gulf, reflecting the clifls of the island of
Inosima. and the snow-white peak of Fusi-Yama added
vou I.

overthrown walls, and intersected by canals. Antique avenues of
trees end in waste grounds overgrown with brambles ; formerly
these avenues led to some palace, of wliicli there now
exists no trace ; for in Japan even the palaces are constructed
of wood, and no ruins remain after their fall. It is in this
place that the Siogouns had established their residence, by
which name the generals-in-chief, temporal lieutenants of
the theo( ratie emperor, are known. They governed Japan,
under the supremacy of the Mikado, from the end of the twelfth
century to the beginning of the seventeenth, from the time of
Minamoto Yoritonio, who was the foimder of their power, to
that of Hitfyas sumamed Gongensania, who was the thirty-second
Siogoun. Hie'yas made Yeddo the political capital of Japan,
and created a new dynasty, the last representatives of which
have adopted, dating only from 1854, the title of Taikouns.

;. f

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I %
IP'

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234

ILLUSTRATED TRAVKLS.

The history of the transfer of the ])oliti<:al power of the court and the enterprise of Yoritomo, who was bom of a

Japanese e'lipire from the Mikailos to the at:tivc (liiefs of primely family, ami owed to the education given him liy an

Yeddo, wl'o thus became the i/e J'lulo rulers wiiliout deposin;; i'mhitious mother those (lualities which made him the ruler and

the Mi!>ado or lawful I'.mpcror, is a curious one. The fir t true chief of the empire. Mow this change was brought about

step-, were due to the hopeless corruption and sloth of the I will endeavour to explain,

English Mission to Mandalay, and Treaty li'ith Bnymali. — ///.

IIV HENRY WODDWARl) CROFTON, M.A., H.M. CHAPLAIN AP KANCiOON.

CONCt-USION OF THE TREATY— LlIE IN MaNDAUAY — TlIK KiNli's
tlARIIENS— MAliMFICENT I'AC.ODAS — TllE IIaIRY I'AMILY —

PoLiTicAi. Condition of ISlkmah— England's Mission.

On the a^rd the entire mission visited the palace on the
invitation of his majesty to see a sort of amateur ballet per-
formed by the young ladies attached to the households of the
queens. The reception took jjlace in the same building that
was the scene of the last interview. A large circular shed
had been constructed, as for a native play ; at one side was a
raised alcove .-.ith a low railing, within which was the couch
for his majesty. immediately in front of the alcove there
was a rough attempt at scenery, forming the background to a
troupe of professional actors and actresses who were in attend-
ance. To the right of the king's position sat several of his
officials and the officers of the mission. To the left wcru
seated Mrs. Fytche and Mrs. Lloyd, and the wives of the
Burmese ministers. After a short delay the king entered and
took his place on the couch. He made a few remarks to the
effect that he wished th"; English officers to visit his gardens
and any other objects of interest in the palace, and concluded
by asking whether we wished to see the ordinary play, by the
professionals, or the ballet. A preference was expressed for the
latter, when he called attention to the fact that the players on
the drums, gongs, ind clarionets were all women.

The performance cr.rmenced by the entrance of about
thirty young girls in single file, who arranged themselves in a
semicircle, and kneeling down bowed to his majesty. They
wore the ordinary famine, or Burmese petticoat, but the jacket
was more of the fashion after that worn by princes in the plays.
The tamines were all red and green, the jackets white satin,
with circular pieces of silver stitched on, so as somewhat to
resemble armour. On their heads th( girls wore peaked helmets,
such as are used by male performers in the ordinary plays.
The girls, rising, first performetl a slow graceful dance round the
theatre to the accompaniment of the band, varying the step
and i)ace from time to time, and again kneeling down ; one
of the number, taking up her position in the centre, then
sang or chanted a slow hymn ;n honour of his majesty, describ-
ing his greatness and goodness. This was acknowledged by
all of us to be one of the most effective exhibitions we had
ever witnessed in the East. The dead silence of the whole
assembly, the clear and exceedingly sweet tone of tiie girl's
voice, and the peculiar measure of the air, half-recitative, half-
melody, made i'le whole scene most striking and beautiful.
The hymn consi'-ted of three verses, at the end of each the girls,
still kneeling, bowed low to his majesty. They then resumed

the dance, which they accompanied with a low chant, and
varied it by beating time with two ornamental sticks which
they now carried. This, too, being endc' the king rose and
left. During the jierformance the Nar • Pahra, or prin-
cipal wife, entered, and seated herself his majesty on
a sofa placed for her reception. A .lable retinue of
ladies accomiianied her, but as they were seated at the back of
the alcove it was difficult to see who they were.

On the <leparture of his majesty we were served with fruit
and s.veetmeats in a kind of open arbour, and afterwards
proceeded to visit the so-called white-elephant. The animal
was a small specimen, and could only by great courtesy be
called white. He had a few light-coloured marks, and the
hair was not so coarse as in the ordinary elephant, but he
might be more truly described as brownish ; the lighter tint
being more observable by contrast with a very black female
elephant, his companion in the stable. The party then visited
the stonecutters, now busily engaged in engraving on marble
slabs the entire Pitagat, or Burmese scriptures. These are to
be placed round the king's temple in the neighbourhood of
Mandalay. After a cursory look at some of the ordnance, the
mint was visited, where the coinage of rupees was going on.
The machinery was procured from Birmingham, but, although
the engine is under the charge of an African, the actual opera-
tions of smelting and coining are performed by Burmese.
They told us they could coin about 15,000 rupees per diem,
but this seemed a large out-turn for so small a machine, there
being only one die at work.

It was arranged that the treaty should be fairly written
out next day, and signed on the 25th, when the farewell visit
was to be paid to the king. On that day the mission went in
procession to the palace, in much the same order as on the
occasion of the first visit. On trriving at the Hlwotdan, or
Supreme Court, the officers took off their shoes at the steps,
and entering the building joined the Pakhan and Yaynankh-
young Mcngyees, who were there seated ; there were also
present the Keng Wondouk, the Kalar Won, and some secre-
taries. The treaty was jirepared on large sheets of parchment,
and the two Burmese copies were read over and compared.
The P^nglish copies were read over carefully by the Padein
Won (who understands English), and all being found correct
they were signed and sealed. The mission then entered the
palace building and were conducted to the reception-room,
where the first interview was held. The same arrangements
had been made as on that occasion, but there was only one
of the king's sons present.

KNGLISH MISSION lO MANOAI.AY.

»35

)( a

and

bout

After taking his seat as usual, his majesty first observed
that the weather was very hot ; to which remark, no doubt, all
silently assented, as the heat had for some days been very
great. The king llien saiil that he wished the mission to visit
his gardens before they left, mentioning to his olficers tlie par-
ticular places to vhith they should be taken. Then followed
a short conversation regarding the return of the mission to
Rangoon.

lie then directed that the presents for each member of the
mission shoukl be brought in. In addition, two rings (a ruby
anil a sapphire) were given to Col. Tytthe.

King. " I understantl that you have an English clergyman
here?"

Col, F. " Yes, your majesty (pointing to the Rev. Mr.
Crofton), this is the chaplain of Rangoon."

King. " Is that the Inspector-General of Police sitting
near vou ?"

Col. F. " It is, your majr y."

King. " U'here is he generally stationed in the liritish
territory? In Rangoon?"

Col. F. " Yes ; his head-quarters are at Rangoon, but he
has to visit all the districts in Arracan and Tenasserim as well."

King. " I understand that you wish for some wormwood
seed, which I have procured for you." [It was here brought in.]
" Now, I think, you would like to visit the garden ;" and witii
these words his majesty rose and went olT.

The envoy and the officers of the suite then visited the
gardens inside the palace, and were served with sweetmeats,
&c. &c After this they proceeded to the house of Mr.
Manook, the Kalar Won, to lunch. This officer, who is the
official medium between the king and foreigners generally,
had been most attentive to the mission from the time of its
arrival, and all were much indebted to him for the constant
anxiety he showed to make the visit agreeable.

The 26th and 27th were passed without official business
of any interest, and on the 28th, the day fixed for our de-
parture, the ministers came to bid Col. Fytche good-bye ; their
visit was a lengthy one, and of the most friendly and agreeable
kind. His majesty sent to the envoy a small Whitworth gun
with field carriage, which had been made in his arsenal. It
carries a one-pound shot, and was made from a small Whit-
worth presented to the king, two or three years ago, by a
gentleman from England, who visited Mandalay regarding the
construction of a railway.

In the afternoon the members of the mission embarked on
board the steamers, and next day proceeded down the river.

All went smoothly, it thus appears, as to the object which
brought us hither — namely, obtaining a treaty with Burmah.
Meanwhile we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, and saw as much
of Mandalay and its sights as possible. We all lived together
in the British Residency — an enclosed space of about twelve
acres, surrounded with a high and close palisade that effectually
screens the interior from public view. Here barracks for the
soldiers and officers of the escort had been erected, which had
at least the merit of being airy, if not affording protection from
the sun and rain, to which they were decidedly exposed. For
the envoy a more commodious and weather-proof residence
had been prepared, at a cost, we were informed, of ,;^2,ooo,
Two spacious passages, which served for church on Sundays
and for dining and reception rooms in the week, ran through
the building from oidc to side, intersecting at the centre, and

thus forming four separate compartments, each of which con-
tained a cnifortable suite of rooms. It was duly surmounted
by the honorific roof before described, by which the king's
palaces and sacred edifices are distinguished. Here we
assembled every ilay to enjoy the king's hosititality, for we
and every servant and follower of the jiarty were his guests
during our stay. The arrangements for this rather trouble-
some jiart of our reception devolved upon liie Kalar Won,
or minister for foreigners, who, as I have already stated,
was so courteous an(l attentive to us, and who was by
birth an Armenian. Mandalay supplied the eatables, our
steamer the Eurojiean stores ami drinkables, and under his
management a lombination between the two was effected
that resulted in a capital table being provided. The chief
difficulty, which had been ajiparently overlooked, was a supjily
of crockery and glass sufficient for our large party. How-
ever, by dint of borrowing, a miscellaneous collection of
glasses a".id cups of various sizes and colours was got together,
that answered our purpose sufficiently well. A liberal supply
of fruits, sweetmeats, and other little delicacies, was sent every
day from the jialace, some of which were jirepared, we were
informed, by the fair fingers of the queen and other ladies of
the court. These supplies arrived every clay after breakfast,
borne in silver and gold dishes with high, conical covers, on
the heads of a long train of some thirty or forty of the palace
servants, i)receded by the chief eunuch, a man of immense
stature and fatness, who looked every inch a cook. The pro-
fusion and variety of the articles supplied were truly royal.
Walnuts, pomegranates, and a kind of hard pear from the
Shan states, chicken, and goat- mutton jjates, sugared nuts,
sweetmeats, and sjiices, with all kinds of cakes and pastry,
were the principal good things. The chief part of the spoils
fell, as may be supposed, to the share of the servants and
followers of the jiarty. Some of us tried to keep a few of the
fruits and comfits for absent friends among the young folk of
Rangoon, but except the walnuts and pears they i)roved perish-
able commodities. For entertainment, we had for the first few
days after our arrival the performances of a company of jugglers,
and gymnastic performers in the afternoons. These men were
Munnipoorians — that is, people from a border district betwcH.'n
Burmah and Hindostan, who had been deported from their
own land by their Burmese concjuerors about a century ago,
and who now form a large and most industrious portion of the
inhabitants of the capital and the adjacent distri -t, Some of
their tricks and performances, which they always conipience
with loud claps, as of Mallengo, with the hancl upon the
naked breast and thighs, were as good as could be seen any-
where. Besides this, we had, of course, the Uhfailing Pooay,
before des>.ribed, but here better got up and performed thar^
we had seen elsewhere. The king's own troupe of performers
(amongst whom we must particularise by name the Yenthan
Mah-lay, a young girl conspicuous for sweetness of voice and
gracefulness of manner) were jilaccd for the time at the disposal
of his visitors, and they were prepared to i)erform daily from
eleven to four, and at night from nine to three or four in the
morning without remonstrance. We soon dispensed, however,
with the day ])erformances — the constant noise of the instru-
ments, and the hubbub of the crowds to whom free access was
given, being rather too much of a good thing for most of us.
But the nocturnal drama was kept on, and largely patronised ;
we stopped it, however, at about eleven o'clock, out of regard to

v^;..

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vr-*^^

836

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

'•. M

:i! ;i

our own slmnbers, but, I fear, to the great disgusi of the tliroiigs
of people who came to make a night of it. In '.'le evening we
generally rode out, the king providing us with ponies, or
elephants if we wislied. In liurmah no one of consociucnce
goes out without followers, and thus some half ;. dozen or
more of us, with the same number of attendants, formed
quite a respectable cavalcade. \\'e saw most of the sights of
^[andalay and the neighbourhood in tliis way. but the absence
of decent roads out of the immediate precincts of the town,
and the effects of the late rains upon tlie thick clay soil of the
plains that surrounded Mandalay, restricted considerably the
choice and variety of our rides. Besides, the themiometer
marked .ibout 90*^ during our stay — a state of things decidedly
unfavourable to long hard rides. During tlie day. as may
be supposed, this heat kept us close prisoners. Hut vendors
of various wares were not slow to fmd us out and study our
tastes. Silk pieces woven by the aforesaid ^flmnipoorians,
marble images of daudama, erect and recumbent, artificial
flowers and shrubs in ])ots, and precious stones, chiellv rubies
and sajijihires, were the goods most in rer|uest. The latter, it
is said, were brought in si rreptitiously, the king having a right
to some dues on all sales. A new nd)y mine had recently been
discovered, much nearer Mandalay than that for which I'pper
Burmah lias long been famous, but whicli no Kuropean but
cy'ie, it is said, had ever visited. Most of us .lad to lontent
ourselves with admiring and looking at the rubies and sap-
phires, or investing in tlv smaller and less \alu.able ones.
Two magi^ifiienl sappliires were, however, secured by one of
the party on ,vliat we may call favouraljje terms.

Manilalay itself anc .. , .->ights must now have a word or two
of description. The 'own consists of two parts, mural and
extr.a-mural. Tlie number of houses in both, according to the
most ])robable estimate I could obtain, is about cS.ooo or
g,ooo. We may, perhaps, take the entire population of the
town and suburbs, which are extensive, at from 40,000 to 50,000.
The walled part is a perfect square, about 2,000 yards each
way, and surrounded by a wiile ditch, the earth from which
forms a mound about twenty feet high, which is faced on the
outside with a battlemente<l brick wall. On each side there is
a handsome gate of massive teak timber, protected by brick
buttresses, on the inside of which the road passes. The great
majority of the houses, both within and without the walls, are of
mat and bamboo; here and there only brick buildings, generally
the property of the >[ogul and Chinese settlers, arc to be found.
In tlie principal streets there is in front of the houses an
enclosure of bamboo latticework, nicely whitewashed, and
gracefully fi'stooned with creepers and (limiting plants. .V row
of trees, principally tamarind, borders the streets on both sides,
and adds greatly to the beauty of the town. The principal
street is outside the walls, the Kala-dan. as it is called, or
foreign quarter, inhabited chielly by the Moguls, Armenians,
and by the few lairoi'can residents. Here is the Roman
'Jatholic cluirch, convent, and .school, die only place of
Christian worship of which the city as yet can boast. The
Christians of this communion are chiefly the descendants of
the Portuguese and other foreigners, who were broiigli. up from
the old town of Syriam, in Pegu, on its caplure by the lhirme.se
. in 1613, and again in 1751). \"er\ few converts have been made
hitherto among the native inhabilauts. The streets themselves
are wide and symmetrical, but as yet un|ia\x'd, and hence full
of ruts, and in many plaies almost impass.ible during the rains.

The palace, and what is contained in its enclosure, is
decidedly the chief sight of Mandalay. It stands in the centre
of the walled city, in an area surrounded by a high ])alisade of
teak slabs, and with an extent of about 200 acres. The front,
which faces the east, contains the reception-rooms and halls of
audience, and over this rises the gradu.ally ascending scries of
roofs, ending in a lofty pinnacle, by which royal and religious
edifices are exclusively distinguished. At the back, towards
the west, the private aparlaienis stretch one behind the other
further than we could see. for they are shut out by trees and
intervening buildings. There is a certain grandeur and im-
pressiveness in the rooms or halls to which we were admitted.
In plan they are all the s.ame. strikingly like the body of a
church with nave and two side aisles. Magnificent teak posts,
perfectly roimded and richly gilt, support the handsomely
carved and coloured ceilings. All the more important govern-
ment offices and establishments are located within the palace
enclosure. Here is tlie mint (an institution of recent origin,
and of which the Burmese seem particularly proud), the maga-
zine and arsenal, the elei)hant stables, and the lofty belfry,
which answers for the church clock of Mandalay, in which all
the hours and quarters are struck by a soldier ot the guard,
who begins and ends his task by devout prostrations and
reverence directed towards the palace.

But to us the most interesting of the palace sights were the
private pleasure grounds or gardens, as they were called, which
occupy the western side of the enclosure. These are very in-
geniously laid out, so as to make the most of a small space.
A perfect labyrinth of paths winds in and out through a shrub-
bery, or orchard-like plantation of fruit trees of various kinds,
high enough to exclude the sun and afford i giatefiil shade.
The trees are irrigated from an ornamental piece of water that
intersects the ground in various directions, and is crossed by
numerous rustic bridges. On the water are several barges and
canoes, in which, wc may imagine, the king and his ladies pass
many agreeable hours. Here and there rise artificial hillocks,
with rocks and ferns most naturally arranged on them, and wind-
ing paths leading to their to]), and rude figures of native deer,
and otlier animals of the forest ; and stone seats at intervals
have been constructed with considerable taste. Tnese gardens
seem the king's especial hobby and favourite haunt. All the
more private and confidential interviews and conversations with
the envoy took place in these out-of door retreats. The king
seemed especially i)lease.i \>ilh a remark of Mrs. Fytche's about
liis gardens, which he told before the large assembly who were
collected to witness the remarkable perfornian< e, by the maids
of honour, which is described in the official u.nrative. Mrs.
I'Vtche, it seems, having been interrogated as to her opinion of
the gardens, had said they were pretty and peculiar, (juite
unlike any she ho'i before seen. 'I'he version of the remark
which the king gave us, and which of course so delighted him,
was that never in Lngland or elsewhere had this la<ly seen
anything to e(]ual his gardens in neatness and beauty.

Next to '.he palace, the p.agodas and religious buildings,
with their belongings and accompaniments, are the most
interesting sights of Mandalay and its environs. About four
miles to the south of the city stands the celebrated " Arracan
Pagoda," .1 pla<e of worship much frequented and highly
venerated by the Burmese. The raised brick road that leads
to it is lined for more than a mile with monastic buildings of
all kinds, on which the highest skill of die ( oiinlrv in carving

EN(iLISH ^fISSION TO AfANDALAY.

237

and gilding lias been freely lavished. The place was crowded
when I visited it. Frequent processions of worshijipcrs
in their gayest attire, and with the customary oft'er'ngs, were
coming and going, and from within the mingled sound of many
chants and the ring of gongs struck upon the ear. Outsi<le
a busy traffic was going on at tiie long line of stalls, in flowers,
tapers, flags, and other offerings, 'f'he object of all this vene-
ration is a colossal brass image of Ciaudania, said to be of
great antiquity and of miraculous origin, which was brought
from Arracan in several [jieces across the mountains, in the
year 1784. The image, which represents (jaudama in the
usual sitting posture, is twelve feet high, and is placed on the
'■ Rajah Talen," or throne-shaped seat, appro[iriated to royal
and sacred personages.

On the other side of the river, nearly opposite Mandalay,
is the unfinished but ruined commencement of the Mengoon
Pagoda, the largest ever attempted to be built by the Burmese.
The great earthquake in 1839 .shattered the fiibric from its base.
This pagoda was commenced by the great-grandfither of the
present king, and is said, as it stands, to be one of the largest
masses of brickwork in the world. It measures, according to
Yule, 460 feet at the base, and was intended to have been 500
feet high. A former envoy to the nurniese court. Captain
Hiram Cox, was here when it was building, and describes the
treasures deposited, after the Burmese custom, in the interior, to
be of immense value. Here, too, is the great Burmese bell,
next to that of Moscow the largest in the world. Its diameter
is sixteen feet, height twelve feet, and the weight is estimated
at ninety tons. Its supports were so much sh.aken by the
earthquake that it was found necessary to \wo\) it up at the
sides, which of course prevents its sounding. There is another
pagoda to the north-east of the city, in process of erection and
aiiornment by the present king, which is remarkable for the
m; b'e tablets which are being placed round it, each in a neat,
ni ;ely whitewashed shrine of its own, on which the Betagat or
pLiddhist scriptures are being successively inscribed. This
geat idea — for when it is reah> -^ it will be the largest collec-
tion of inscriptions that is kno\M — is due to the jjresent king,
who is eminently a pious nv The work is being done under
the king's own supervisior .and inside the palace premises,
where we saw the men busily employed at it. The total
number of tablets retpiired to complete the work is upw.i.rds
of 700 ; of these there were about 400 put up at the time of
our visit. I'he king's great wish is to live to .see this pious
labour comjileled.

Mandalay has another curious sight of a diflcrcnt nature,
which we must not omit to notice, in its "hairy family," now
in the third generation, and certainly one of the most extra-
ordinary freaks of n.iture with mankind. The peculiarity
consists in the fiice and most of the body being covered with
long silky hair, which gives a most strange and inhuman
expression to the features. The Burmese call them " monkey-
men," and this exactly conveys the impression jiroduccd at
first sight. There are at present three individuals in whom
this peculiarity appears — a woman named Ma-jthom, aged
about forty-fi\e years, and two of her three chiMren, a boy
eleven, and a girl eight years old. The mother and little girl
were out when I visited diem, collecting, I was told, the
revenue which the king has assigned to them, in the sha|)e
of certain duesi-n articles sold in a neighbouring bazaar. The
boy was certainly the strangest looking object in the .shape

of nun I had ever seen ; indeed, until he spoke, showing in
wlut he .said considerable intelligence, I felt sceptical as to
his humanity. The ancestor of this extraordinar)- family, and,
as far as is known, the first in whom this strange singularity
appeared, was a native of the Shan states, who was brought
to the Burmese capital in the early part of the present century,
and who was seen and describeu by the British envoy, Mr.
Crawfiird, in the year 1826. The wonderfiil boy whom I saw \tas
an infant in arms at the time of Yule's visit, and was noticed
by him as inheriting the family peculiarity. The absence of
the b.ack and eye teeth is another odd circumstance in this
family ; but whether it is in any way connected with their
hairiness I leave to physiologists to determine.

We left Mandal.iy on the 27th of October, glad to have
been thee, and glad to leave it.

Our impressions of Upper Burmah and its inhabitants were
most favourable. The natural resources of the country are
unbounded, and the people intelligent, orderly, and easily
governed. The population is doubtless thin, and lies chiefly
along the valley of the Irrawaddy, and other rivers. In spite
of this, howe\ er, the commerce of Upper Burmah would be
large and important were it blessed with really free trade and
good government. But that this is not the case a visit to
Mandalay would convince the blindest admirer of native nile
and institutions. The present king is universally allowed to
be one of the best, if not the best, that the country has ever
enjoyed. In personal character he is kind, amiable, just, and,
according to his light, religious. His reign has been remark-
able for the absence of any of those wild excesses and wanton
cruelties that most of his predecessors indulged in. As a
ruler, he is enlightened and liberal, very hard working and
accessible. In many of his conversations with the envoy and
his ofticers he showed great diplomatic skill, and a most
creditable acquaintance with affairs of state and statistics
relating to his dominions. He can make most courtier-like
speeches, as when he told the envoy that he had long known
and been favourably prepossessed with his personal appearance,
through a photograiili whi('h he had had liy him for many
years, and had carefully preserved during the late disturbances,
when manv of his possessions had been lost or mislaid ; or, as
when he said that he wished to present him with what was of
more value than gold cups and jewels — namely, a share in
the merits of his good works (a thing not impossible with the
Buddhist), especially of the hospitals and almshouses which he
had erected for the aged and infirm. But with the present
king's death it is hard to see how the country can be preserved
from anarchy and civil war. It is one of the many evil conse-
quences of |iolvgamy in a hereditary absolute sovereign like
the King of Bur.ian, il.at it raises up a vast multitude of
aspirants to the throne, so that " a man's foes are eminently
those of his own household." The palace at Mandalay, with
its many queens, a;, families, and establishments, is a vast
focus of intrigue, plot, and counterplot for the one great prize —
succession to the throne and the rewards that follow it. So
well does the king know this, that since the murder of his
brother, the heir-api)arent, in 1866, he has .abstained from
nominating a successor to the throne. To do so would be the
signal for those princes and other followers who disliked or
feared the person named, to jilot .against his life. If they did
not ilestroy him, they would say — as was saitl by the author of
the last rebellion — he will destroy us when he gets the jiowcr.

:|l

'II

UUMMa'«IMUUMllM*

-i"'

938

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

iff. ;::'

jl-A

■ 5 "■

ii ^

No occupant of the palace, from the khig himself to the
lowest of his courtiers, sits uiion a bed of roses. The mine
or counter-mine may be sprung at any moment beneath their
feet, and no one spared who .suuids in the way of it:- contriver.
It was very touching to hear that one of the nicest and most
interesting of the (jueens had lately said she wished her child
was dead, for she knew he would live on but to meet a cruel
anil violent end. It is only by the greatest vigilance on the
part of the king and his ministers that such outbreaks as
occurred in iS66 are prevented from continually taking place.

The conduct and tlemeanour of the several princes and
their followers are narrowly watched, and not without reason.
We had an instance, while we were thcie, of the insolence with
which some of these gentlemen carry themselves, and of the
dislike and jealousy with which their assumjjtions are regarded
by the government. During the signing of the treaty in the
Hlwotdan, or council chamber, one of our officers, who was
strolling outside, was rudely pushed aside by a retainer of one
of the king's sons, who was driving out of the palace at the
time. The ministers at once assured us that summary punish-
ment should overtake the oftender, that the conduct of this
particular prince and his followers had long been displeasing
to the king and to themselves, and that now an exam[)le
should be made of him. Tiieir assurances were quite correct.
The king was exceedingly angry at what had hajipened, and
sent the culprit next day to the Residency to receive whatever
punishment — death in any form included — we might like to
award him. Our justice was, however, tempered with mercy :
we let him off when he had been made duly sensible of the
gravity of his oft'ence, and of the consequences to wiiich it
might have led.

It seems, then, almost inevitable that sooner or later cir-
cumstances will arise which will compel us to annex Upper
Bunnah to our dominions in the East. lUit however this may
be, certain it is that there are few portions of our Eastern
Empire more imjiortant, and with a greater future before them,
than our i)os.sessions in Burmah. Everything tends to the
conclusion th.at before long a large and important [jortion of
the trade of China with India and Europe will pass through
Burmah, and be shijiped at Burmese ports. It has now been
established to a certainty that the western provinces of China,
which border on Burmah and its tributary states, are among
the richest and most productive of that wonderful country. A
recent traveller, Mr. Cooper, whose letters have just been
published in the jVor/A China Herald, jjlaces this fact beyond
a doubt, and predicts the future path of this commerce taking
this direction. A considerable caravan trade between China
and I'pper lUirmah has long been in existence, although
much interrupted of late years by internal disturbances in
Western Chin.a. Previous to these disturbances, the favourite,
because the shortest, route was by the town of lihamo, on the
Upper Irrawaddy, about 200 miles north of Mandalay. Here
the Chinese frontier approaches die Irrawad<ly widiin about
sixty miles in a straight line, but a difficult mountain range
intervenes, inhabited by a wild and treacherous race called
Ka-Khigens. The tem|)orary closing of this route did not,
however, put a stop to this commerce, which found other
outlets to the southward through the Shan states, viix a town
called Theinnee. In the winter of th'j year 20,000 mules
reached Mandalay by this route.

Our Clovernment has long been alive to the importance of

these northern trade routes between China and Uiiper Burmah,
and of the commerce of which tl.ey m.iy become the channel.
But nothing could be done in the way of sending a party to
explore them without the countenance and co-operation of the
Burmese Government. It was during our visit that the king
for the first time expressed his willingness to give every assist-
ance to such an expedition. In January last a jiarty left Man-
dalay under the leadership of Captain Sladen ; and though at
first they met with sundry delays and difficulties, by the last
accounts all was well, the Chinese frontier had been s.^fely
reached, and we shall soon doubtless be in possession of im-
portant and interesting information on the present state of
these routes, the possibility of their improvement, and the
I)rospects of the trade they may open up. But it is highly
probable that the future commerce of China with British Bur-
mah, and through it with the world, will not be confined to
these old and now-existing channels. Thickly-i)eopled and
fertile districts of China, and semi-Chinese countries, stretch
far <lown to n' re southerly latitudes than Bhamo, and thus
api)roach our eastern and north-eastern frontiers much more
nearly. It is believed by many who have given the subject
their best consideration, that our true commercial policy is to
ojien communications by rail or by ordinary road with these
nearer and more southerly regions. A project has been warmly
and perseveringly advocated at home of a railway from Ran-
goon to Kian-Hung, a town on the borders of South China on
the Cambodia River, a direct distance of about 450 miles from
Rangoon, passing through the po|)ulous and productive states
of the industrious and enterprising Shans. A survey of this
route was ordered by Lord Salisbury (then Lord Cranbourne)
during his too brief tenure of the Indian secretariat, and pro-
sec uted as far as our own frontier, when it was unfortunately
countermanded. From all we know of the country and people
that would be made accessible by such a line, we may con-
fidently i)redict it would be the outlet for a large and expanding
commerce. But what we do not know as )et, and what this
survey was intended to find out, is the physical character of the
country through which it must pass, particularly in the latter
half of its course from the Salween to the Cambodia River. If
no serious obstacles are found to exist, the political and com-
mercial reasons for carrying out this scheme are too weighty to
be overlooke<l.

In little more than 200 miles from Rangoon this line would
reach the Shan states, a country rich in natural resources, and
inhabited by a numerous po[)ulation, almost as industrious and
fond of trade as the Chinese. Numbers of these people come
every year during the dry season to Rangoon, Maulmein, and
other places in British Burmah, oringing ponies, cattle, precious
stones, lacquered ware, and a variety of manufactured articles,
and taking away large and miscellaneous investments of Euro-
pean goods. Another 200 miles, and the Chinese frontier is
stru< k, and no one who knows the ways and manners of this
most wonderful race can doubt that they will lloi k as eagles to
the carcass, taking their possessions with them, to the new
emporium of commerce and seat of industry thus brought
within their reach.

England's mission in this ])art of the East — the India beyond
the Ganges of our older geographers — is but commencing. In
many respects her task is easier, and her advantages greater
than in her elder trust of the other India. She has to deal
with populations less fanatical, less dissimilar, less numeroua,

JOURNEYINGS IN MESOPOTAMIA.

2.39

more simple and unprejudiced, with a milder and more tolerant
religion, free from caste, from all cruel and impious rites, from
fierce hatred and hostility to its rivals, and in its ethics almost
Christian. She has the experience of the past to guide her —
an experience often bitter and dearly purchased, but invaluable
for her future guidance. Let us hope that her career in India,
tliougli not inglorious, will be eclipsed by that in Burmah — her
success, though not inconsiderable, in civilising and evangelis-
ing the Hindoos, be surpassed by what she will achieve among
the Buddhists.

Since the above was >vritten, the expedition led by Cap-
tain Sladen has returned, having successfully accomplished
the object in view — namely, that of ascertaining if there is a
shor. practicable, and easily improv.ible trade-route between
Bhamo on the Upper Irrawaddy, and the Cliinese province
of Yunan. The furthest point reached by the expedition
was the town of Momein, where they spent two months, and
collected much vahiab'e information about the part of China
in which it is situated. Momein is described as a walled city

of about one mile square, the surrounding country being
thickly inhabited, and of great natural fertility and resources.
There is no further room for doubt but that a verv large and
important commerce with China would at once be opened up
by this route, were it not for these two obstacles i — First, that
the Burmese Government is at heart entirely against it, and
resorts to all kinds of means secretly to thwart and hinder it.
Secondly, that the part of China penetrated by this route is the
scene of a long and obstinate contest between the Panthay, or
Mussulman population, and the Chinese Imperialists. It was
thought at tiie time the expedition visited Momein, that the
Mussulman insurgents had wrested the province permanently
from the Imperial Goverimient, and established themselves
firmly in authority ; but subsequent events seem to leave the
issue of the struggle still uncertain. Let peace and order be
re-established in these provinces, and let Burmese opposition
and counter-working cease, and commercial intercourse on a
large scale would immediately ensue, by this !;!iinio route,
between the south-west of China and the cxterii .1 world, lid
Rangoon and the Irrawaddy.

.:ir

yoiirncyings in Mesopotamia. — ///.

BV LlEUlb.VANT C. R. lOW, LATE INDIAN NAVY.

CHAPTER V.

DRESS AND CONDITION OF TUE INUAIU PANTS OK IlACllDAP— I HE
CHALDEANS-THK. KCRDS— THE MILITARY CLASS AND C.OVERN-
MENr OF IIAGIIIIAD — THE TOMB OF ZOBIEUE — AKERK' ■! 1' -
SEPHARVAIM—START FOR BABYLON.

Reform among Asiatics in the matter of dress mak but
slow [irogress ; the ])resent Sultan and the Pasha of Eg) |)t,
who have both so recently visited England, dress probably
more according to European usage than any of their si'bj.c ts.
Your true Oriental is a strict conservative, and is com
encase his outer man in garments of the same cut as adi i
his forefathers.

Less gr.iceful than the flowing habiliiueiits of the Arab,
but still more becoming than our costume, is the dress of
the Turkish part of the population of Baghdad. The short
jacket, ample sash, and graceful turban still retain their
places ; the small " tarbush," with the close blue frock and
trousers of the Europeans, which, by diminishing the figuru-,
contrasts so disatlvantageously with the okl dress, is [jatronised
only by the pashas and other public functionaries. The
generality of Asiatic Turks continue to wear long beards and
flowing garments, with heads covered ; they also retain the
ancient posture in sitting adopted by all Orientals, and affect
the utmost simplicity, both in their household furniture and in
their travelling equipage.

Turbans are rarely worn by the Osmanli Turks of Baghdad,
the head being covered among them by the cloth cap, or
"kaook," of a higher and more narrow form than that used at
Constantinople, and is bound round in a peculiar way by gold-
flowered muslin at the foot. In Baghdad, as elsewhere, not-
withstanding all that is said of his tyranny in Crete and other

subject provinces, the Turk is liked for his gencr.U amiability
and laissfz aller nature. Regarding the Turkish character,
Che 'y writes: "Although k}\ a grave, phlegmatic, and even
listle.~.> c.slerior, the Turk is remarkable for his gentleness
towards children ; and he makes no difference between them
and his slaves or other servants. In addition to alms to the
widow and the orphan, his generosity is frequently exercised
in constructing khans, mos(iues, and fountains ; trees and
rial-grounds are his delight ; and horses, dogs, cats, and
lUgeons share in his consideration. Scarcely anywhere else
are birds so tame, and so much linked with mankind, as they
are in Turkey ; even children respect their nests ; and it is not
by any means uncommon to find tombstones on which, in
addition to the sculptured devices indicating the vocation,
and sometimes also the manner of the death of t'.' i' -ceased,
a little basin has been hollowed out by the worknic, i which
the smaller birds find a sui)ply of water. These tombstones are
usually beneath the shade of a cy[)re5s-tree or a rose-bush.
In summing up his character, it may here be observed that
truth, openness, and candour, contentment, and entire resig-
nation to his lot, are qualities seldom denied by any one to
the Turk. His memory is extraordinary, .and his jutlgment
generally sound ; while the safety of travellers, as well as
the attention commonly paid to them, sufficiently pro\e his
fidelity and hospitality. Religion, such as it is, being founded
u|)on the Koran, pervades almost every act of his life, and
mixes with every occupation. I'Veciuent pr.Tyer is universally
practised, whether the individual be in the bath, the field, the
coffee-house, or the mosque ; and as alms are freely bestowed,
abject poverty may be said to be scarcely known in the country.
.Amongst men of the higher class, the stranger meets with a

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n.LUsrRA'I'EI) TRAVKl-S.

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measured ami distain but a refined uianner ; and among all
a ready attention to his pcrMJUal wants. The ihief incon-
venience whicli he feels while in the cuimtry arises from the
retardation of his progress, which is ca\ised by the general
indolence and procrastinating disposition of the people."

A stranger can h:ive but little opportunity of forming a
correct estimate of the conditit)n of Turkish women, since
the custom of excluding them from the society of men, which
belongs to a period long
niitL'"eaent to the introduc-
tion of Mohammedanism, is
strictly followed, even to the
extent of excluding them
from public worship in the
mosque As they are allowed,
howe\er, to meet together
in the bal!is, the cemeteries,
and at coui/ry picnics, and
also to visit v\ich other, it
is clenr that they are not im-
mured within four \,-alls to the
extent generally supposed.
Of course this freedom does
not apiily to tlie harems of
those wealthy enough to in-
dulge in the luxury, or pay
the penalty, of it — whichever
phrase may be thought more
appropriately to define the
condition of the man who .^

may be, according to the ^^''^

late Artemus Ward, " too
much married."

Polygamy is the exception
with persons of the middle
and lower classes. As an
example of tliis, it may be '-J,

cited that the extensive city ~

of Brusa, in Asia Minor,
with a population of 70,000
souls, contained in iSjo but
one individual who boasted
the possession of more than a^,

one wife, anii tliat was ,5-- -_

the Musellim, cr Governor. ^

Turkish ladies, when " they
take their wa'ks abroad,'' are
envi'lnpcd in muslin dresses,
and have only a portion of
the face uncovered ; at home

they employ themselves in knitting, and plain needlework
or embroidery.

The dress of llie females of ISaghilad is the same as that
used by the natives of the country villages of .Mesopotamia,
the women of all classes being envelopeil in a blue checked
cloth, similar to what is worn by the lower orders in I'^gypt,
and having the face covereil by a piece of stiff black gauze.

Thecountry women, who are seen in crowds in the markets,
wear no su( h veils, but throw over their heads a che<:kered
cotton cloth of red and yellow, exjrasing their faces to view
with the e.xcejnion of the mouth. As among the Hedouins

of the Desert, these women have their lips stained blue, with
lines and other marks on different |i.irts of their faces; heavy
bracelets and anklets are also worn by them, and the nose is
either adorned by a large ring, or a solid Hat circular piece of
gold stuck in one ni.>stril.

The costume of the merchants is Arab, the fabric being
made \ip almost wholly of Indian cotton for the caftan, fine
shalloons fiir the upper garments, and worked muslins fiir the

waist and head. .Nowhere
are plain white turbans so
general as at Ikighdad ; the
very lowest of the .Moham-
medans wear them as a dis-
tinction of their faith. The
Jews and Christians dress as
elsewhere throughout Tmkey,
in dark robes, with Cashmere
shawls, or blue muslin, for
turbans. The Persians retain
the costiniie of their own
country, by which they may
be easily distinguished from
other nationalities ; while the
real ilesert Arabs are known
by their " kefTeah," or head-
dress, their " abba," or large
woollen cloak, and their curved
" yambeah," or dagger of the
Yemen shape.

Hefoie leaving the subject
of the inhabitants of .Mesopo-
tamia, 1 must say something
about the Kaldani, or Chal-
deans, and a remarkable
people called the Kurds, who
may be seen gliding among the
motley groups in the bazaars.
The Chaldeans inhabit a
mountainous tract, stretching
eastward of the district of
.Amadiyah, between Lake \'an
and the Taurus, .\ccording
to their mvn aiiount they
were converted to Chris-
tianity by St. Thomas and
two of the seventy disciples.
By means of a rigidly enforced
system of exclusion, they have
preserved their freedom as
a republic ; their religious
1 tenets and simple liturgy have also remained nearly unchangeil
since the introduction of Christianity. Almost every village
j has its priest and church of jiecndiar simplicity, in which a
little before daylight, and fasting, the Kaldani of each sect
assemble, on Sunday, for Divine worship. This is a vaulted
building, without steeple or belfry, sometimes in front of a
cave. Its interior walls are covered with printed c alico, and it
is without seats, images, pictures, or ornaments of any kind.
The whole complement of the servic e consists of manuscript
copies of the Xew Testament and liturgy, a brass cross, a
small bell, a coi)|)er chalice and paten, with an incense chaling-

;iRi. ov DAcmiiMi.

Hi! ■

KARA I'ATIMA, TIIK kUKDISII CKIMKSS, AND MKK Sll ll'..

VOL I.

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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dish. Having purifietl tlicir liands in the smoke of frankincense
issuing from tlic last-nicntioncd vessel, the priest, clothed in
white trousers, a shirt, and a cotton surplice, administers to
each individual the sacred elements of bread and wine. He
then proceeds in Chaldee with the ritual, which concludes the
service, and the people kiss the minister's hand as they retire
to their dwellings. There is, besides, another sacrament — that
of baptism. Fasts are frequently kept, and all kinds of meat
are strictly prohibited to the clergy after ordination ; but
celibacy is not enjoined on the priests, bishops, or patriarch.
The last dignity, with its temporal and spiritual power is
hereditary.

The h.irdy life of these mountaineers h.as produced in them
an open and erect bearing, so different from the sensuous,
effeminate races of the plain. The Chaldean is courageous
and revengeful abroad, tliough kind and hospitable at home.
A constant state of warflire, or of preparation to resist attacks,
has rendered him ferocious towards enemies, and even towards
peaceable strangers ; but the knowledge of Christianity, im-
perfect as it is in that country, has, notwithstanding this and
other faults, made him superior to the Asiatics of the same
class, who follow the Mohammedan creed. The women are
neither masked with clothing like other Easterns, nor secluded
from social intercourse. The diet of the people is almost
entirely vegetable ; their houses are scattered along the sides
of the mountains, amidst groups of fruit and other trees, and
arc clean and commodious.

In the interior of the Chaldean country are terraces culti-
vated with rice or other grain, with a succession of deep, dark,
wooded valleys, between high and rugged alpine ranges,
which rise to the uplands, situated beyond the backbone of
Kurdistan.

The Kurds, or more properly Kermanji, for the European
name is unknown among them, are a very remarkable people.
Nearly every male Kurd is mounted, and is armed generally
with a gun and sabre, or pistols stuck in a showy vest ; his dress
usually consists of loose robes and stout leggings, while on his
head he wears a gaudily striped turban, hanging loosely on one
side in a fanciful manner. Occasionally he is to be seen with
javelins about three feet nine inches long, which weapon he hurls
with great dexterity ; or else he is armed with a bow resembling
that of the Turkomans, nearly six feet in length, and slung at his
side ready for use, with a supply of arrows in a leather quiver
at his back. In addition to the javelin and bow, the sling
mentioned by Xenophon, in his Expedition of Cyrus, is still
used in many parts of the country. The stones selected are
rather large, and are thrown to a considerable distance from a
leather case of suitable size, open at the sides, and having
attached to it two strong cords. Of these three weapons, the
javelin continues most in use ; but even this, like the bow and
the sling, is rapidly giving way to the firearms of civilised
warflire.

The general elevation of Kurdistan, and the height of its
mountain ranges, secure the province from the scorching heat
to which the inhabitants of Mesopotamia are exposed in the
very same latitud;, whilst the valleys and long teiraces on the
sides of the mountains are clothed with the vine and other
fruit trees, and yield crops of grain in abundance. The finest
walnut trees, besides the ash, the oak, and the Oriental palm,
grow in abundance in the forests. The honey, which is found
in holes underground, or in hives made of mud, is remarkably

fine in quality and' plentiful in quantity. Besides this article
of export, the valleys produce silk, cotton, Indian com, and
other products, nut the most remarkable production of Kurd-
istan is the celebrated vegetable known here by the name of
manna, which, in Turkish, is called the Divine sweetmeat.
Chesney says it is found on the leaves of the dwarf oak, and
also, though less plentifiilly, and scarcely so good, on those of
the tamarisk, and several other plants, and appears to be
more esteemed than the tree manna. It is collected chiefly
at two periods of the year — first, in the early part of spring, and
again towards the end of autumn. In collecting manna, the
l^eople go out before sunrise, and having placed cloths under
the oak, larch, tamari.sk, and several other kinds of shrubs, the
manna is shaken down in such quantities from the branches
as to give a supply for the market. Tlie Kurds not only eat
manna in its natural state, as they do bread or dates, but their
women make it into a kind of paste ; being in this state like
honey, it is added to other ingredients used in preparing
sweetmeats, which in some shape or other are found in every
house in the East. The manna, when partially cleaned, is
carried to the market at Mosul, in goatskins, and there sold
in lumps, at the rate of 4J lbs. for about zid. But for family
consumption, or to send to a distance out of the country, it is
first thoroughly cleaned from the fragments of leaves and other
foreign matter by boiling. In the natural state, it is described
as being of a delicate white colour. It is also still, as in the
time of the Israelites, like coriander seed (Numb. xi. 7), and
of a moderate but agreeable sweetness.

The Kurdish women are allowed greater licence than
among most Eastern communities. They do not enshroud
themselves with apparel to the same extent, nor do they keep
so much to themselves as do Oriental ladies in general.
Cooking and other domestic duties devolve upon them, but
in the evening they join the guests and the rest of the family
round the large wood fire blazing on the hearth.

There are many different tribes in Kurdistan ; these are
generally ilivided into small chieftainships, forming separate
patriarchal governments, under an hereditary chief, called
Dereh Beg (Lord of the Valley). The rent-charges drawn by
the local chieftains from the people are on a moderate scale,
and the taxes paid to the Sultan do not appear to be by any
means excessive.

Kara Fatima (Fatima the Black), whose veritable portrait
we have here, is a Kurdish princess— that is to say, she is chief
of a clan of some importance in Kurdistan. She and her fol-
lowers created a great sensation in Constantinople at the time
of the Crimean war, with their gay dresses and damascened
arms, and the princess herself was the lion, or -•ather lioness,
of the day at Stamboul.

The government of Baghdad is in the hands of a Pasha of
"three tails," assisted by a council. From the first, Turkey
allowed, her comiuered provinces to retain a number of their
ancient custom.i, and the conquerors made the rulers whom
they placed over them nearly independent of one another, as
they had been imder the reigns of the ancient Persian monarchs.
This kind of gov eminent exists at the present time, the rulers
being, as in Europe during the middle ages, so many military
despots, of whom the Sultan is the chief. As regards this latter
potentate, his power, except a few restrictions imposed upon
him by the Koran, is absolute ; though within the last few years,
and notably since his visit to England in 1867, the present

tottrnp:yings in Mesopotamia.

843

ruler in Turkey has shown a laudable disposition to incline
towards the mode of government in force in constitutional
monarchies. Regarding the gradation of rulers, below the
Pasha is the Mutescllim or simple Oovernor, then the Agha,
and lastly, the Delibashi, or head of the village ; while in each
district or town there is a Kadi, v.ho administers justice in his
court, though this commodity is usually for sale to the highest
bidder, for bribery is universal in the administration of the law.
Among the Arabs, in the rural districts of Mesopotamia, the
government is conducted on the patriarchal system, the Sheikh
being supreme. The choice of the Governor of Baghdad,
though nominally in the hands of the Sultan, was for some
centuries, and until their treacherous destruction by Mehemet
Ali in 1811, in the gift of the Mamlouks, supported by the
popular voice. A Divan or Council sits in the Pasha's palace
once a week ; it consists of the great officers of state and the
heads of departments, who deliberate on affairs of general
moment, while matters of detail are conducted by the indivi-
dual members of the government. The audience hall in the
palace, to which alone strangers can gain admittance, is gaudily
decorated with crimson cushions and hangings, and the richest
carpets, while the ceiling and sides are ornamented with a
profusion of gilded and carved wood-work.

The revenue of Mesopotamia is about twelve and a half
million doll.irs, and as the inferior government establishments
at Mosul, Koornah, Hillah, and other places are chiefly main-
tained by local contributions, the disbursements are confined
almost exclusively to Baghdad itself These consist of the
expenses of the Pasha, his followers, presents, salaries of state
officers, the maintenance of about 5,000 regular troops, organ-
ised after the European fashion, and finally, the fixed revenue
paid to the Sultan. This does not include considerable sums
of money secretly distributed among the Arab Sheikhs, in order
to secure their allegiance and support in the event of trouble
arising, when, like feudal lieges, they are expected to march
their armed followers to the assistance of their suzerain. It is
understood that in this way nearly 100,000 men may be
assembled on due notice being given, provided always the
payments to the Sheikhs are not in arrear.

I made several excursions in the neighbourhood of Bagh-
dad. One day I joined a party on a visit to the tomb of
Zobeide. We left the city by the gate called the Bab e'l Jisser
and crossed the bridge of boats. Passing from thence through
a line of streets and bazaars on the west bank of the Tigris, we
came to one of the p;incip.il hospitals of Dervishes. This
presented nothing remarkable in appearance beyond the lofty
Gothic arch of the front, and an inscription on each side of
it executed in high-relief on an ornamental ground. After
passing this we soon arrived at the tomb of Zobeide. Its
appearance was somewhat disappointing, for we had been
conjuring uj) romantic associations of the Caliph Haroun el
Raschid and his lovely spouse, Zobeide, as related in those
ever delightful " Tales of the Thousand and One Nights," and
we quite ex|)ected to (■ id a casket worthy of the jewel enshrined
therein ; for my readers will remember what an amiable and
virtuous lady was tiie consort of the great Caliph. The tomb
was erected by his second son, Abdallah, about a.d. 831, and
is built in the midst of an extensive cemetery. It consists of
an octagonal base with a porch before it, the whole being
about thirty feet in diair.- 'sr. The structure is cai)ped
with a high and pointed dome, or rather cone, very much

resembling a pine-apple, and rising to an altitude of sixty or
seventy feet.

The entrance from the outer porch into the interior of the
building is through an arclied doorway, over which is an
inscription of modern date, copied by Nicbuhr, and given by
him as recording i.!:it in the year 1131 of the Hegira, Hussan
Pasha had buried by the side of the celebrated Zobeide his
deceased wife, .\yesha, the daughter of one Mustapha Pasha,
and that he had on that occasion repaired the edifice, and
built near it some accommodation for Dervishes, or [loor way-
farers of the orthodox faith. There are three tombs in the
building, erected side by side, and all in a very dilapidated
state. Opposite the door is a fragment of an old Arabic
inscription, executed in coarse enamel on tiles, many of which
have disappeared. The inner surface of the sugar-loaf dome
is covered with arched niches, which form the .Arabic frieze.
Therv^ are also two small windows facing each other near the
commencement of the dome, and which, as well as a false
doorway under the enamelled inscription, are constructed with
pointed arches, though the entrance itself has the peculiarity of
a flattened arch.

On the whole, our visit to the tomb of Zobeide was
disappointing, but we were amply repaid by a trip we made
to Akerkouf. After crossing the Tigris, we mounted some
high-metded Arab horses, and after a brisk ride across the
desert in a westerly direction, came in sight of the ancient ruin.
Though appearing to be quite close to Baghdad, from the fact
of its being situated on a level plain, this vast mass of building
was found to be a good twelve miles distant, with a compass
bearing of W. by N. J N. Extending to a considerable dis-
tance around this colossal mound, called by the Arabs .'\kari
Nimroud and Akari Babel, may be traced the ruins of a city of
which this mound, like those of Babel and Erech, was, according
to Ainsworth's "Assyria," the high altar ; the name as well as the
primitive construction of the pyramid serves, in Chesney's view,
to identify the ruins as those of Accad, Nimrod's third city, as
mentioned in the Bible. Around the ruin itself, in different
directions, but more particularly on the south and west, are
long mounds and smaller heaps, evidently amassed from the
wreck of former buildings, strewed over with burnt and un-
burnt bricks, and plain and glazed pottery. As no stone is
found in Mesopotamia, the remains of these ancient cities,
including Babylon, form merely a wilderness of bricks.
Sufficient vestiges are found in the neighbourhood of this
Tower of Nimroud, to prove that in all likelihood a verj'
extensive city once existed round its base. The word
Akerkouf may be traced to Arabic etymology, and would
signify, " The place of him who rebelled against God." This,
as applied to the popular tradition of Nimrod's rebellion
against the Almighty, and of the ruin of Akerkouf being his
place after death, would sufficiently accord with the supposi-
tion of its being a royal sepulchre. It is called by the Turks
Nimroud Tepessy, which also signifies the " mound," not tower,
as is generally supposed, of " the mighty hunter."

Akerkouf, or Nimrod's Palace, is a shapeless mass of brick-
work rising from a broad base,, now so worn away as to be a
mere heap of rubbish. The height of the whole is estimated
by Mr. Rich to be 126 English feet; the diameter of the
largest part is given as 100 leet ; the circumference of the
lower part of the brick-work, which is much above the real
base, at 300 feet.

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[[]}],

TIic bricks arc iij imlics s(|iiare \>y four deep, jilaced
with murh ivgiil.irity ; tlic layers of reeds wliieli break the
continuity of the bricks are usually iilaceil after seven rows of
the latter are pileil on one another— that is, at intervals of
about two feet four inches, or occasionally a little more ; and
the reeds furminL; these divisions are composed of three layers,
which together form a depth of about i J inches. 'J'hcse layers
are so arranged that they cross one another; the ujiper and
lower ones being in parallel
jiositions, .ind the centre one
at right angles to both.

It is impossible to form a
correct idea as to the precise
kind of edifice of which it
formed a jiart. Among tra-
vellers, conjecture has always
run wild on this point, and
it is not surprising consider-
ing the shapelessness of the
mass. It has been supposed
to be the remains of the
Tower of IJabel ; but, as
Niebiihr well observes, in
his " Voyage en Arabic," that
structure was, no doubt, in
the neighbourhood of the
Euphrates, whereas this is
not far from the banks of
the Tigris. That eminent
traveller seems himself to
have been of opinion that it
was an elevation on which
one of the early Caliphs
of Baghdad, or even one of
the Persian sovereigns, who
resided at El Modain, might
have had a country house
built, to enjoy, from such a
height, the luxury of cool and
fresh air. But this is some-
what improbable, as the
materials and style of the
building have induced most
of those who have seen it to
pronour - it of the Baby-
lonian age.

A canal once jiassed close
to tlie eastward of Akerkouf ;
but it is now lost in the neigh-
bouring swamp, presenting a

dry bed of great magnitude. It is considered to have been the
reiTiains of the canal of Isa, which is represented by Major
Rennell as connecting the Tigris with the Euphrates, at a part
where these rivers approach each other, from the old Baghdad
on the cast, over to Felugia on the west, where the battle of
Cunaxa was fought between Cyrus the Younger and Artaxcrxcs
in the year 401 before the Christian era. Mignan, however,
traced this canal, and found that it discharged it.self into the
'i'igris four miles Mojc Baghdad, a circumstance which he con-
siders refutes its identity with the canal of Isa, which flowed
i^nrth and south. This canal doubUess performed the double

i.Anv or ii,\c,Mii\n.

duty of irrigating the surrounding country, and supplying the
inhabitants with fresh water from the Tigris. It is a curious
fact that though .Akerkouf anil the Bal)yl()nian mounds are con-
structeil with bricks of a similar character, yet the former are
not marked with the well-known arrow-headed or Babylonian
inscriptions. Between Akerkouf and Baghdad is a village
containing a magnificent mosque, which we visited on our
return journey. It is that of the Imaum Moosa el Kadeen,

and presents a gay appear-
ance, with its gilded domes
and minarets sparkling in
the sunlight. The mosque
is a large building, occupying
the centre of a spacious
court, surrounded by a high
and well-built wall. Its most
striking features are the two
domes and four lofty mina-
rets, the latter highly orna-
mented with coloured tiles
covered with gold. This
mosque contains the tomb
of one of the early martyrs of
the Sheeah sect of Moham-
mc<lanism, who was executed
in A.n. 185, for entertaining
in his house the persecuted
p.artisans of Ali. It is a
great resort for the pilgrims
of the Sheeah sect (chiefly
Persians), and is considered
inferior in sanctity only to
the tombs of their leaders at
Me.sjed Hussein and Mesjed
Ali, in the desert south-west
of Hillah.

W'c encountered numbers
of devotees about the village,
nearly all of them being
pilgrims from distant cities.
After a cup of coffee at one
of the little coffee-houses, we
rode back to Baghdad, where
we arrived about sunset.

Ancient as is the building
of Akerkouf, there are some
ruins in Mesopotamia which
boast a still greater antiquity.
I speak of those of Si|)])ara,
or Sepharvaim, the " city of
the sun," distant about twenty miles from Babylon, and near
Moseyb. The site of the city is matter for conjecture, but
there is ground for believing that it originally stood on the
ruins to which I have referred, ni^w called Towaibeh, and
situated on the El Mutcn. the olil stream of the Euphrates ;
this channel, which is also called El Khoor, may be traced
with its various twists or bends towards Babel, near which
it seems to rejoin the Euphrates. Towaibeh is close to the
eastward of the road between Baghdad and Hill.ih, and forms,
with its tall, solid tower of sun dried bricks, a very striking
object to the eye of the traveller. On the niins to the north-

A SUMMKR TRIP UP THK RIVKR AMOOR.

=45

tlie

DllS

on-
are

westwarfl of the tower (the word Towailieh is derivcil from the
Turkish word 'I'abeah, meaning tower) are two round knobs,
whi< h have tlie exac t appearance of a ])orrh or entrance to the
l)iiil<iing itself There are very extensive Imt hsw ruins all
about the supposed site of the ancient Sejiharvaim ; the jilain
to the eastward is covered for miles with dibris of glass and
jjottery, in the greatest profusion.

After visiting the various jilaccs of interest in the neigh-
bourhood of Baghdad, a journey to the site of ancient Babylon
was projected, and a party was formed with that object. I had

thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Baghdad, thanks to the hospi-
tality, not only of the resident, CajUain K , but of athcr

friends, I^nglish and Armenian.

Our travelling party was composed of three members — an
ofliccr of the Comet, who was to rejoin his vessel at Marghill, a
yoinig English merchant, and myself, with two guides and our
servants, numbering in all, inclusive of baggage-animal drivers,
twelve souls. At length our preparations were completed, and
having bidden my Baghdad friends farewell (for I was not to
return to the city), we set out on our journey.

A Summer Trip up the River A moor.

HV RONAI.l) IIRIDGKIT.

Bv a treaty with China in i860 the Russian (Jovemment
obtained possession of all the country lying to the north of
the river Amoor, in Kasteni Siberia, and both immediately
before and since that time, settlements have been made along
the whole course of the stream. During the summer months,
steam communication is kept up between Stre'tensk, on the
tributar)' stream known as the Shilka, in Trans-Baikalia, and
Nicolaievsk on the Pacific, a distance o" 2,000 miles of im-
internipted n.ivigation. 'I'he ice breaks up in the month of
.April, and moves away down stream with great uproar, at the
rate of aliouf twenty miles a day. 'I'he river remains o])cn till
ice begins again to form in the middle of October, and when
sufficiently firm, a sledge track follows the course of the
stream, post stations being established at intervals of fifteen to
thirty miles; and, prouded with the custoniar)- government
order, a traveller can ordinarily obtain horses, though some-
times on the lower part of the river he has to content himself
with a Ciilyack sledge and a team of dogs. Not long since the
journey from Nicolaie\sk to St. Petersburg, was made by a go-
vernment courier in thirty days, travelling uninterruptedly ; the
winter post, however, usually occupies fifty to fifty-fi\e days in
transit. In summer the steamers ascend the river in about thirty
days, and descend in half that time, anchoring during each night.

The apiiroach to Nicolaievsk, at the mouth of the river, is
through the intricate navigation of the Leman, or head waters
of the Gulf of Tartary, and when first seen, the town, with the
shingle roofs of its houses, coloured red or green, presents a
somewhat gay a]ipearance. This is the principal ]->lace on the
river, and numbers about 5,000 inhabitants, consistii.g chiefly
of military and convicts, many of the latter being sentenced to
long terms of penal servitude for murder and other crimes.
While I was there, in August, 1867, one steamer brought a
batch of twelve women, convicted of murdering their husbands,
a crime possibly rendered more frequent in Russia, on account
of the laws of 'he Russo-Greek church not sanctioning divorce,
and there being, in consequence, no other way of getting rid
of an objectionable husband.

The houses are single-storied and built of wood, with
double windows to exclude the cold, which, during the seven
months' winter, is very severe. The streets are wide, with a
wooden plank-way on one side, raised above the road, and

present a very deserted appearance. The town can boast of
a public library and reading room, well provided with Russian
and other newspapers, also a club, where balls and amateur
concerts are held. 'J'here is also a public garden, or more
properly an enclosure overgrown with weeds, where a military
band ])erfonns in the summer cvening.s. The church, as in all
Russian towns, is a jirominent object, and on the outskirts of
the town, among the stumjis of trees left on the forest-land,
cleared for firewood, is a cemetery. 'I'he river here is about a
mile wide, and on the opposite shore rise lofty cliffs covered
with pine trees.

Nicolaievsk is a naval station ; vessels drawing less than
twelve feet of water can come up to the town, but those of
heavier burden have to discharge their cargoes into lighters at
De Castries Bay, a fine harbour 120 miles to the south; to
this place there is a telegraph wire, and thence proceeding
inland and following the course of the rivers Amoor and
Usuri, it is extended to Vladiovostock, the most southern
Russian settli-ment on the coast of Manchuria.

We quitted Nicolaievsk in the month of August, in a
steamer the size of a Thames Gravesend boat, and ascending
the stream, which here flows from the south, we passed for two
days through liilly country with woods and occasional islands,
and reached the village of Mariensk, from which a road extends
to He Castries Bay, crossing the isthmus of land which divides
the river from the coast. A few hours above MariensK is
Sofiensk. another small village, occupied by two companies of
soldiers. After shipping a supjtly of wood, and purchasing and
killing a bullock for the consumption of those on board, the
steamer jiroceeded, and next day but one reached the village
of Gorin. with a small villa-like church, with a shining globe on
the summit. Having embarked the mail, we steamed on under
wooded hills, rising from the water's edge, and next day
reached the small village of Margai, on the right bank, just
under a bold piomontorj'. Here the mountains recede from
the bank, and the river widens to some six or eight miles, and
divides into numerous channels with long low islands of an
uninteresting character, fringed with willows. Another day or
two's steaming brought lis to Khabarofka, shortly before
reaf^hing which place the river contracts, and pleasant wooded
hills rise on the right bank.

: 4-

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146

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

The Russian pcasanls occupying the villagL's on this part
of the river grow grain for their own maintenance, and
feed a few bullocks on the hay ol)tained in summer
from the water meailows on the banks of the river, but
appear far from prosperous. Tiie usual accompaniments
to village life, of barking <logs, bare-headed an<l bare-legged
children are to be seen, and — while the steamer remains
to embark fire-wood — fowls, milk, eggs, wild strawberries and
ras|)berries, potatoes, cucumbers, &:c., are brought for sale.
The houi ;s are mere log huts, ranged at e(|ual ilistances
along the river bank. In the ])rin( ipal apartment, which
ordinarily serves for bed and sitting-room, a large brick stove
fills one corner, and, the better to enjoy the warmth, the
family sleep on the top of the stove, close under the ceiling.
Besides the Russians, the only inhabitants to be seen are a few
Gilyacks and Goldi, who live by fishing and hunting.

In summer mosquitoes abound in the woods along the
river bank, and it is no exaggeration to say they may be swept
off the face and hands by the dozen. Persons engaged in
government surveying and telegraph work are sometimes
obliged to wear a kind of helmet, with gauze netting of horse-
hair, covering the face, to guard against the attacks of these
troublesome insects. There are no roads, and the river forms
the only highway. Bush fires arc very frecjuenc in summer,
and in many places the country was enveloped in dense clouds
of smoke.

Khabarofka, 614 miles from Nicolaievsk, from its situa-
tion at the junction of the river Usurf, which flows from
Manchuria in the south, is probably destined to become of
some importance as a place of trade. At present it consists
of a cluster of wooden houses on the high bank of the river,
barracks occupietl by a battalion of infantry, and a few
Russian and Manchurian store-keepers, who keep a supply
of miscellaneous articles suitable to the requirements of the
settlers on the river. On the top of the cliff and looking
down on the river is a public garden, having a very neglected
appearance.

The telegraph wire from Nicolaievsk here branches off,
and follows the course of the river Usuri to Vladiovostock,
on the Manchurian coast, and communication is also main-
tained by the line of Cossack posts on this river, which forms
part of the eastern boundary of the Chinese empire.

For some days after leaving Khabarofka the river banks
are flat, the country uninteresting, and the stream divides into
numerous channels, separated by long low islands. The
mouth of the river Sungari, flowing from the south, is passed,
and having reached the village of Ekaterin-Nicolski, consisting
of a line of log huts extending half a mile along the river bank,
occupied by Cossack soldiers, the passage of the Hinghan
mountains commences. Tlie stream is very rapid, and narrows
to about a quarter of a mile in width, and the scenery changes
its character entirely. On either hand hills, 1,000 to 1,500
feet in height, rise precipitously from the water's edge, covered
with mountain oak, birch and fir trees, while occasional valleys
open out and add to the beauty of the scene.

The passage of the Hinghan, extending for about fifty miles,
occupied two days, owing to the strength of the current, as with
a string of barges and Manchu boats in tow we could barely
make headway. The only habitation visible was a lonely post-
house until r'jaching the village of Raddi?, which is opposite to
a lofty cliff, on which some enterprising man has erected a

wooden cross. Here the high wooded banks cease, the river
wiilens, and a fine extent of •ouiitry opens, with swelling wood-
land interspersed with i)arklike patches of grass. This con-
tinues for several days, and the face of the country becomes
not unlike our English down.s.

There is considerable cultivation of grain at the Russian
villages, which occur on the left bank at every tiiirty to fifty
miles. In one of these, while anchoring during the night, some
of us "assisted" at a Cossack dance, held in a small low room,
filletl to suffocation with peasants of both sexes, whom we plied
well with refreshment. Selecting partners, we, as guests, opened
the dance to the accompaniment of the band, consisting of
three violins, and a very shrill chant in which all joined. This
was followed by several male pas siu/s, which for energy and
grotesqueness were unrivalled, and, if seen on the st.ige of
certain places of amusement in London, in the present state of
the ijublic taste, would have been rapturously applauded.

Before reaching the river Dsaya, which falls in from the
north, we passed the Manchu town of Aigun, which, with the
exception of the occasional huts of the Goldi, was the first
sign of habitation on the right or Chinese shore since quitting
Khabarofka, a distance of 570 miles. The town is of some
size, but consists almost entirely of mud huts, and presents a
wretched ai)pearance. A few joss-houses or temples were
noticeable, and there were a dozen gaily-painted junks, consti-
tuting the Chinese fleet in this part of the world, but they did
not appear to be in commission.

Fifteen miles above Aigun, at the junction of the rivei
Dsaya with the Amoor, in long. 137 degrees, is the town of
Blagovestchensk (Aiiglice, Annunciation), the residence of the
governor of the district of the Amoor, and the principal place
on the river with the exception of Nicolaievsk. It consists of
two main streets running parallel to the rive. bank, the houses
rather wide apart and built of logs. The house of the gover-
nor, the only one of any pretension, faces an open square ; at
the back, along the river bank, there is a public garden or
esplanade. A considerable number of troops are quartered
here, and for their use is an open gymnasium, in which they
can i)ractice the scaling of walls and earthworks. Tlie country
round is without a tree, but many cattle are grazed in the neigh-
bourhood during the summer, which though short, is sufficiently
warm to allow melons to ripen out of doors. We stayed here
a few days, in cjuarters allotted by the governor ; and though
only the middle of September, the weather, which had been
getting colder, became ijuite wintry, with sharp frosts.

Immediately opposite the town is the vill.age of Saghalien,
where the Manchu traders reside, as the authorities do not
allow them to remain at night on the Russian side. They
bring for sale flour, cattle, tobacco, &c., in return for European
goods, hard roubles, and Mexican dollars, which latter are sent
south to Tsitsikar, a large town 100 miles distant, and melted
into what English merchants in China call shoes of silver or
sycee. Several stores we visited contained a miscellaneous
assortment of European articles, in addition to Chinese felt
mats, pipes, crockery, fire crackers, skins, and articles of cloth-
ing. The house of one merchant was very comfortably con-
structed, and the room in which he entertained us with tea
made with the Russian urn or " somovir," although entirely
glazed on two sides, was said to be quite warm iluring the
severest winter, as along one side ran a platform about two
feet from the ground, underneath which passed the smoke from

I •'!

■^'****'

A SUMMF.R TRIP UP THE RIVKR AMOOR.

•4f

■cr
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L'S

a stove. The platform was covered with a thick carpet, and
formed the couch at night.

Along the river Dsaya, which here joins the Amoor, are
numerous settlers from Russia Proper, many of whom have left
their homes in consecpience of religious persecution. The
ground in cultivation produces rich cro])s of grain, and supplies
are being drawn by the government from this ([uarter to supply
less favoured colonies on the Amoor, which, on their first
establishment, were dejiendent on sea-borne provisions from the
Baltic, and, more recently, received suiiplies from Tran^ liaikaiia.

Quitting Blagovdstchensk in a steanier of lighter draught
of w.iter, the decks crowded with a number of time-expired
soldiers returning to their homes, and towing a boat-load of
convicts astern, we continued our onward course. For two
days we passed between hills, rising 300 anil 400 feet from the
water's edge, covered with fern, stunted oak and birch trees,
and presenting every imaginable tint of autumn, from the
brightest yellow to the richest crimson, a bold rock here
and there changing the character of the scene. A remarkable
one, near the vilKigc of K.aui.ira, was passed on the second day,
standing isolated, and with d.irk face rising (juite a thousand
feet precipitously from the water's edge. The stream is here very
tortuous, and after pursuing a course of twenty miles returns to
within h.ilf a mile of the same place, a high hill intervening.
Two hundred miles from Blagovestchensk, we pass the so-
called White Mountains, a line of chalk cliffs extending for
four miles along the river bank, and thence to Albazin. The
<:haracter of the scenery for several days is very interesting,
wooded hills rising now on one side and now on the other.

We saw immense quantities of wilil fowl, but the noise of
our steamer made them rise before they were within gun-shot.
That royal fish, the sturgeon, is caught in this part of the river,
and fresh caviare was added to our unchanging diet of beef
Ij.nrge g.ame is found in abundance, and the villagers attack the
bear single-handed on foot. At one village where we stopped
to take on board a supply of wood were some individuals of
the native tribe called Aronchonee, who w uider about this part
of the country. We entered one of their tents, which are made
of birch bark with an opening at the top to afford an outlet for
the smoke of the firt, and found it occupied by two old crones
with high cheek bones, flat noses, and eyes wide apart. The
males of their party were away in the woods hunting for sable.
In winter, these people still live in their tents of birch bark,
but cover thfm with deer skins.

Albazin is a village of some importance, and, except in the
most modern maps, is marked as ///? rnius of Albazin, The
ruins, however, consist only of a few earthworks, which formed
an ad\anced post of the Russians two centuries ago, and,
defended by only a handful of Cossacks, held out for a long
time against an army of Chinese. It was subsequently relin-
quished, and not re-occupied till General Mouravieff, on his trip
down the river in 1858, selected it as a settlement, with better
judgment th.in he displayed in other instances, as many sites
for villages were selected haphazard, and have since been
relinquished, owing to exposure to floods and other causes. In
the summer of 1867 a great influx of miners and others took
place to Albazin, owing to the discovery of gold in the neigh-
bourhood, and workings on an extensive scale were undertaken
by a rich capitalist of St. Petersburg.! In the village we noticed
a herd of reindeer, with noble antlers, grazing very quietly in
an enclosure.

Two days' steaming from Albazin brought us to the junction
of the rivers Shilka and Aij^in, whu h unite to form the Amoor ;
and, ascending the first-named stream, which is about as wide
as the Thames at London, but very shallow in places, we passed
for 120 miles through the Little Hinghan mountains. The
scenery is very grand; lofty hills, covered with dense pine
forests, rise from the water's edge, while here and there a lime-
stone clifl" (iresents an abrupt face. In general character it
reminds one much of the Danube between I'assau and Linz,
with the exception that there are no ruined castles on the
heights. The only habitations consist of seven solitary post-
houses.

Hereabouts we met some rafts taking cattle down stream ;
also one or two parties of i-migrants afloat, with all their goods
and chattels, carts, horses, &c. Many of these people come
from the southern ])rovinces of Russia, and from the borders
of the Caspian Sea, and occupy from twelve to eighteen months
on the journey.

After passing the village of Gorbitza, the mountains recede
from the river bank, and we enter the jirovince of Trans-
liaikalia. The country generally has a more settled appearance,
and the habitations are not confined to the river bank.

From Shilka to Stre'tensk rise swelling hills partly covered
with pine and white birch, and showing considerable cultivation.
Although October had commenced, the harvest was still stand-
ing in the fields, and in pl.ices only partly cut. Frosts had
commenced, and the first fall of snow would allow the peasants
to house their crops on sledges i labour-.saving process.

Although steamers can proceed higher up the river, to
Nerchinsk, and sometimes even to Chetaii. 100 miles distant,
Stretensk is considered the head of the navigation, a.s liere the
carriagerD.ul to Russia commences. Having hauled alongside
the small jetty, the captain of our steamer, being an oflicer of
the Imperial Navy, went ashore in full uniform to report himself
to the governor, while the passengers found their way to a so-
called hotel, finding there somewhat worse accommodation than
at an ordinary staging bungalow in India.

Streten.sk is on the right bank of the river, ans consists
only of a number of log-houses, with barracks for soldiers,
and a convict establishment ; the church, as usual, is the
most prominent object. Hills covered with white birch rise
gently at the back of the town, and two miles up-stream is the
" port," with dry dock, work-shops, and all needful appliances
for the constniction and repair of steamers and barges navi-
gating the river. The whole is under the superintendence of
an Englishman, who seemed reconciled to his isolated position.

The few European articles required find their way here
partly by the long land journey through Siberia, and partly by
water conveyance from the seaboard ; and as an instance of
the thereby enhanced cost, loaf-sugar was selling at an equiva-
lent of 3s. per pound, and English bottled porter at 4s. 6d. per
bottle, and other articles in proportion.

Having thus attempted a sketch of the country through
which passes the noble river Amoor, it only remains for me
to add that the enthusiastic ideas once formed of its capa-
bilities are scarcely borne out by facts. Excepting, however,
the drawbacks presented by the long winter, and the great
distance from the centres of redundant population in Europe,
there would appear to be no great reason why the country
should not offer at some future time as desirable a place for
settlement as Canada.

S ;

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ii,i.rsruAii;i) i kavki.s.

^/ yoityncy through the Soiidaii ami ll'i'stcni ^Idyssiiiia, ivitli Rcntiniscciiccs

of Captivity.— I III.

IIV I.II'.lll.NAM W. 1. rullH \l X, I.K.i;.S,, IIOMIIW SIAH' (.OKI'S,

UiifM) run MAi'.UAi \. liDur. ;iii(l ^.lid (li.it as liU Majesty was goin^ lo hold a trial

Wf, all thought that Kiny Thcotlorc intended us to remain that day, lie wished Mr. Rassam and his (onipanions, the

at dalfat during the rainy season, and liegan to furnish oiu' mnsul and the missionaries, anci any other gentlemen of our

houses as comfortably as we (oiiUI. lie paid a few visitN lo party, to i onie ai' ' he present at ii. Off we started, directly

w
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'Sii;

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AN ABYSSINIAN IIORSF.MAV.

Mr. Rassam, was always cordial and conciliatory, and seemed
to wish to render us, during our stay with him, as happy as
possible. Mashesha, the Nagareet-Agafiiree, came with a
number of his myrmidons, to build a hedge round our houses,
which is always done when a permanent stay at any |)lace
is intendetl, in order to keep otif hyainas anil beggars. Uiit
the next day a messenger arrived from the king at a very early

after breakfast, with some misgivings in our hearts, it is true,
but still not thinking there was anything very serious coming.
Our party consisted of Mr. Rassam, Dr. Blanc, and myself,
Consul Cameron, the Rev. Mr. Stern and Mr. Rosenthal
(missionaries), ami Mr. Kerans, who was the supplementary
"gentleman." On arrival, we found the large court-yard almost
deserted, and we were not .saluted by the usual inquiries after

VOL f.

«•

.»

! %

K-lf

if.:..:.,

feu ,

I', ;til

aSo

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

our health, but were ushered in silence into a large mdk tent,
where we sat down on some carpets, (|uite at a loss to guess
what our new c rime might be. Aito Samuel and the artisans,
who iiad accompanied us from GalTat, were next summoned to
tlie king, and iirescntly returned, with okl Kantiba Haihi and
an Afa-Negoos, and a string of the most wonderful charges.
Tiie principal one was, as fa^ as I remember, to the eftect
tliat the king's enemies, the Turks, were constructing a rail-
way from Massawa to Kassala, or from Kassala to Matamma,
with money borrowed from the French and English, for the
purpose of pouring troo|)s into Abyssinia. " Such being the
case," quoth the king through his moutli-pieces, "and as you
must have seen the railway when you ])assed through Kassala
a few months ago, it was your duty, as my friend, to have
informed me of it. Why did you not do so ?" ^VIlat could
one answer to this charge, and a dozen like it? (Cameron,
Stern, Rosenthal were all arraigned again for their special
crimes, and had to make the usual excuses. The upsliot of it
w" - that our arms were all seized a second time (and never
again returned), "Sin"e," said his ALijesty, "I know it is
the custom for you English to commit suicide when you are
in f nuble;" and we were moreover told, in very plain terms,
that the king could not trust us out of liis sight again, and
that we were in the future to remain close to him wherever
he went.

Dr. Blanc was presently allowed to return to CSafl'at to set
a patient of his, and remained there with the king's permission ;
Mr. Rosenthal also obtained leave, a day or two afterwards,
to reside there with his wife. The rest of us spent a weary
week in that black tent, altiiough Theodore soon relaxed his
severity, and allowed us now and then to spend the dav with
our friends at Gaffat. One evening he ordered his tame lions
to be turneil loose in the plain below, and invite<l us to come
out and watch their gambols ; and he also allowed Mi Stem
to pitch his tent separately from ours, which gave i'; a little
more room in the tent. Another day, some rebels who had
been captured on the frontiers of Bagemder were brought in.
and among them two or three women. They had forked
pieces of wood fastened round their necks, and looked miser-
able, but not in the least afraid, as their captor galloped
about, fakaring and boasting himself, " Ya-Teoikros bdrea"
(the slave of Theodore). The king asked them why thev
had revolted, and they merely replied, " .■\t the instigation
of ihe devil." The excuse not being satisf;ictory, thev were
taken away, anel shot a litt!'. way off, in sight of the armv.
'J'lie women, who had expected the same late, were graciously
spared.

The next day the king went to visit iiis factories ar ( laftUt.
On his return, Samuel brought us word thai his Majestv wished
to speak with us, just as we were, and told us to make no
change in our dress. Down we wen', .and were marshalled
into a line before the king, who was '.ittintr on a rock a little
way above us, looking not very sweet. We were surprised to
see Blanc standing up too, and shortly altcrwards Mr. Rosen-
thal was brought in by a number of sokiiers. The same old
story was gone through; in fact, I do not think any fresh
charge was made against us, but what Throdore chiefly wanted
to impress u|ion us was his right to Palestine and India, as law-
ful lies', endant of and successor to Alexander and Constantine.
He was very angry when he thought of the viaw in wiiicli he
was kept out of his rights, especially by France and England,

who.se business it was to dispossess the Mussulman of the Holy
Land, and hand it over to its lawful owner. Thus he went on,
brandishing liis spear, and s|-itting right and left, as he always
did when in a rage. At length he asked the Afli-Negoos if he
could guard us best in the tent or the ailjoining house. " In
the house," rejoined the officer, and went there to make every-
thing ready for our receiition. This did not take long, and
we v,-ere then summonc 1 to our ne.vt jirison.

This was a house which h.ad been generally used as a
magazine, and at that time contained a considerable store of
powder in u nlerground cellars. There was an inner room
and a verandah, but as there was not a single aperture to
admit light or air except the low door, it was everywhere pitch
dark. We at once christened it " The Black Hole." The
soldiers who escorted us thrust us in, and with the help of
the candles which they carried we could just discern what sort
of a place we were in. Leave was given us to have our
bedding brought, and the few other necessary articles. The
guards remained with us all the time, but did not disturb
us while we were laying out our bedding. Their chief was
Basha Abito, a tall, line-looking man. and not a bad fellow at
bottom, whom we knew very well. He pulled out a pistol
from his belt, and showed it us as the one with which he
had blown out tlie brains of the rebels the day before : not
very reassuring to us, perhaps, but we had got so accus-
tomed to such scenes that it seemed ((uite a matter of course,
and we woukl talk and jest with these ruffians in the most
familiar way.

Several messages had passed between Mr. Rassam and
the king, in which the former had tried to point out to his
Majesty the follv of the course he was now pursuing, but all
to no avail. " Whether I treat you well or ill," said Theodore,
'■ my enemies will .dways .say the worst of me, so what does
it matter?' However, he presendy sent word that he could
not sleep till he hail seen with his own eyes that we were com-
fortable, so he would come and pay us a visit, despite the
advice of his wife, who strongly counselled him not to do so.
When he came, he was accompanied by several attendants
and pages, bearing tec/J and anxkee, in which we all had to
l)ledge his .Majesty. He talked with us for a long time,
without referring much to the events of the afternoon. " I
am obliged to ito all this," said he, " because of my people,
but it is not from my heart ; you should look at that, and not
at my face." He then iliverged into a conversation about
the Roman Catholic Church, and the Pope, and so on, and
at last went away, leaving the impression that he was deci-
dedly mad. Indeed, he had said so himself " I sometimes
think," he remarked, " that I must be mad. My father died
so, you know." Still, we were not pleased to find ourselves
in his hands.

We stayed in the Black Hole for three days, without seeing
anything more of the king. But on Thursday the jth of July
we rccereeii orders to pai k up and make ready to start, as
his Majestv w.ts already on the march. I'his did not take us
long, and with lighter hearts than we had had since the terrible
op|)ression of that sunless room began to weigh on them, we
mounted of.r mules again. We were placed — of course, we
understood, as jirisoners — under the especial charge of Basha
Abiio .-.'1(1 his men, who were rough and ready, but not bad-
natur.d '.'Hows. As usual, the tis inertuc of the army was so
great, "hat we were only able to proceed a few miles that

A JOURNEY THROUGH THK SOUDAN.

«S»

morning. The bulk of the troops had been dispersed over the
outlying districts, under the command of their respective chiefs,
in order to counteract, if possible, the ravages of the cholera,
and only the <vr/}S d' elite remained with the king. Still, this in-
cluded the major portion of the followers, and most of the non-
descripts, beggars, &c., so that comfortable travelling was out of
the question. We halted at Zhan-Meda {Royal Plain), and
resumed our journey the following morning, but, being in
better marching order, were able to travel a longer distance —
as far as Kolkwaliko, about eighteen miles from Debra Tabor,
where we encamped on a small plain surrounding an eminence,
on which the king was sitting when we arrived, watching his
troojjs i)ouring in, and seemingly quite regardless of the rain,
which pelted down upon his uncovered head. We were off
again the following morning to Aibaukab, an immen.se level
plateau ; and then we halted for the Sunday, it being unusual
for Theodore to travel on that day, ^.<cept on his forays. In
the afternoon we received a message, inviting us to walk to
a small hillock hard by, from which we had a cai)ital view
of Mount Goona, with its tall crest covered with white frozen
hail.

Sunday passed quietly enough, but the next morning we
were woke up by a very early visit from Samuel, and informed
that we must prepare to start at once, with as little kit as
possible. All our heavy baggage wouhf be conveyed after us
by the soldiers ; but our equipments were to be of the very
lightest description. Several old friends came to bid farewell to
us before our departure ; among them Paulus, a good, simple
lad, who was one of the king's gun-bearers, who shed tears on
seeing those who had so recently been the friends and favourites
of royalty now reduced to this sad plight; and Tesamma Engeda,
whose grave face almost spoke the prayer of Ahsit omen,
which was evidently uppermost in his mind. This young man,
the hereditary Meselene (or royal alter ei^o) of the district of
Galiint, had, in consequence of a victory he had lately gained
over some insurgents, been presented on the [jrevious day with
a robe of honour, and dignified with the title of Dedj-azmatch.
He was an acquaintance of Cameron and the former prisoners,
and had rendered them considerable service in passing their
messengers through his territory, which lay between Debra
'I'abor and Magdala. Not long afterwards he was disgraced,
chained, and sent to the Amba, on the very charge of killing
too many of the rebels, for defeating whom his master had but
now delighted to honour him. But to return to ourselves ; we
could learn our destination from the faces of these men. We
knew at once that we were bound for Magdala.

A strong escort accompanied us, numbering between one
and two hundred men, and under the comm.and of Bitw,a(ldad
Tadla,* a morose and taciturn officer, who had had some ex-
perience in this kind of duty, having arrested Cameron and his
party on their homeward journey from Kuarata. These were
quite different from the devil-may-care Abito and his men, and
seemed to take a gloomy pleasure in making us feel the dh-
agremcm of our position as prisoners as keenly as possible.
If ever a mule lagged behind, a couple of fellows were sure to
gallop up, and would belabour the poor beast until it fell into !
a broken amble for a few yards, when it would stop again ; the ;
most annoying thing to the rider that could well be imagined.
The mildest man in the worM finds it hard to keep his temper
when he sees his horse or dog struck by a stranger, and in our
• 'J'his ii.imc siynilics " Joy '' or " Pleasure."

case, to an almost insujiportable sense of wrong and injustice,
we had the element of personal discomfort added into the
bargain. Aito Samuel also came with us, rather distrait, and
feeling not quite certain in his mind as to what his own posi-
tion would be when he arrived on the mountain, a circumstance
which prevented him rendering us such assistance as he might
otherwise have done. We breakfasted an hour or two after we
started, and then continued our journey through torrents of
rain, till four p.m., when we halted at a village called 'Arb
Gabea {Friday Market) ; and, as our tents liad not yet come \\\>,
it was arranged that one of the largest houses should be vacated
by its present occupants, and that we should take their place.
In we went, braving smoke and dirt, and chiefly intent on
satisfying our hunger after our long march.

It did not take our attendants long to kill and skin a .sheep,
and the meat having been cut up into strips, we took our seats
round a blazing fire, and commenced forthwith to convert it
into tebs. The Abyssinians are cjuite ignorant of the use of
the gridiron ; they simply hold the meat in the flame of the fire,
or allow it to rest for a minute or two in the clear embers, and
then, considering it duly broiled, they eat it wi h the addition of
a few drops of the gall of the animal, or with teff bread and
dillihh. \Ve made our supper off this dish — and a most
palatable one it was to hungry men — and, having washed it
down wit 1 a few draughts of talla, which the goodman of the
house produced from his stores, we wrapped our sltamas round
us, and, stretched on the hard and dirty floor, were soon
forgetful of all our cares.

The next morning we arose at an early hour, and found that
it was absolutely impossible for us to take on any baggage,
with the exception of Mr. Rassam, who was allowed to have
his bedstead carried. Grumbling was of no use, as the king
had given strict orders that our journey to Magdala was to be
jjerformed as quickly as possible, the flooding of the rivers Jitta
and Bashilc being daily expected. The mules which carried our
things, and the people with them, being thus left to their own
devices, of course came on only at their leisure, and we had
been five days at M,agdala before we could procure a change of
clothing, or had anything softer to lie on than a dressed hide.
Our road this day lay about E.S.E., and, after travelling about
two hours, we came to the river Anseta, which is the northern
bou'idary of the district of Giihint, Tesamma Engeda's territory.
Thii seemed bare and rugged, and almost depopulated, all
the male inhabitants bearing arms, as usual, in the royal camp.
We halted for about half an hour at a pass, which is called the
" Gate of B.igemder," After crossing the deep valley of the
Jitta, a very steep and precipitous path led to a small plateau
called Ma^at, .'".id here it was tleemed advisable to halt for the
day, as the rapid jiace was beginning to tell on the mules.
Two small tents of tlie ordinary country cloth were pitched,
one for our party, and another foi Aito Samuel and his fol-
lowers, and we jiassed the remainder of the day pretty com-
fortably, having taken care to bring some meat with us from
'Arb Ga'.jea. A soldier, who had been convicted of stealing
some on the evidence of the little interpreter, Dasta, was
soundly flogged, by order of Bitwidtlad Tadla, who, though
he winked at a little bullying, never allowed us to have any
tangible t ause of complaint, which might hereafter come to
the ears of his master. The old chief of Dawoont, Waddi
Yasoo, paid a visit to the camp in the afternoon. He was a
venerable patriarch, his age verging on a hundred years, but he

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353

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS

seemed as hale and robust as a man of sixty-five. It was said mixed Galla and Amliara Wood, had a hij;h reputation for
that he had succeeded to the goveniment of tliis province in the courage and military skill ; and tiie deep chasms of the Jitta

time of Ri'is dooksa, at the beginning of the century; and if so,
he was a remarkable instance not only of longevity, but of
good fortune also. A l^w months afterwards we heanl of his
death. A band of marauding Gallas had maile an irruption
into Dawoont, and had barbarously slain tho old man at the
threshold of his house. This cruel murder was never
avenged, as his son had great difficulty in keeping even
nominal authority in the district after his father's death. It
was at the time when Theodore's power was at the ebb, and
every one fought " for his own hand."

and the liashilo were auxiliaries which no invader could
."fiford to desjiise. After tiie murder of Waddi Yasoo, it
sutfercd severely from intestine feuds and jealousies, the
hereditary chief professing allegiance to King Theodore, while
the head men of the villages were generally in a state of
revolt; but, with the cause, the effect has doubtless passed
away, and Dawoont is probably now as prosiicrous as ever.

To cross the liashilo that evening was scarcely practicable.
We, therefore, after a short descent to the small plateau of
KwoUa Dawoont, pitched our tents there, and passed a much

We passed a wretched night. Seven or eight of us were more comfortable night than the preceding one. ^\■e had seen,

huddled up together in the
small tent, exposed to all the
discomforts of cold and wet,
without any bedding, except a
native cloth. .About midnight
the rain came down with re-
lentless fury. One of the
chiefs of the escort, solicitous
for the brightness and safety
of his silver -jilated shield,
thrust it underneath the wall
of the tent, in order, as he
thought, to keep it dry. In
the dark he settled it upon
the legs of one of our party,
wlio, suddenly waking up and
fimling a heavy body rest'ng
on his extremities, mistook
the shield for its owner, and
fancied that he was serving
as a couch for a sleepy Abys-
sinian. This was not to be
borne. Samuel was ajipealed
to ; but, anxious and tired
himself, he had no mind to
come out of his own tent to
our assistance, and we soon
afterwards disco\ered the real
character of the intruder.
Shortly afterwards several vio-
lent gusts of wind swejit down
upon us, and wrenched away
all the pegs from one side of

the tent. For half an hour we had to sit up, drendied
through and through, while we hung on to the lopes to jire-
vent the tent from being blown bodily away. At last, as
the first grey streaks of dawn appeared in the east, the rain
ceased, and we were enabled to snatch a few minutes o,"
sleep before we resumed our journey. Once up, our toilette

JSSsJ^-

AliVbSINIAN TAILOR.

too, the tall basaltic walls of
Magdala in the distance, and
were glad to think that our
toils wer3 nearly over. We
expected chains, of course,
although our escort had often
assured us that we might be
easy on that score ; still, even,
that was a state of things pre-
ferable to being driven about
like a herd of cattle, in the very
depth of the rainy season. We
therefore hailed the morrow
with thankfiilness, feeling
pretty sure that by sunset wc
should know our fate. A dense
thicket led to the verge of the
liashilo. This was a likely
spot to iiarbour roving bands
of the Walk) (iaila, always
eager to spoil the Amhara,
and especially the soldiers of
the king. Conseiiuently, arms
were looked to, and osten-
tatiously displayed ; even Aito
Samuel, emphatically a man
of peace, made a great show
of a brace pf pistols in his
belt ; and great care was taken
that the ]irisoncrs shouUl not
straggle. A\'e crossed the river
at a most difiicult place. As
this was the ai )rtest and most
direct route from Debra Tabor to Magdala, it would, of
course, have been chosen by Theodore when he made his
forced march at the end of 1.S67 ; but the dilViculties it jire-
sented were more than his engineering skill could compass,
and he had to jiroceed by the round-about ro:ul of Tchetcheo,
Wadela, and Dalanta. In some places we were stopped by

occupied but ii short time, and with a crust and a cup of ledges of roc k, over which we could scarcely force our jaded
coffee for our breakfast, we completed the little bit of ascent : mules; but, by dint of the greatest exertions, the ascent was
which remained before the jilatcau of Dawoont was reached. | at length accomplished, and we stepi)ed on to the i)lateau of

To cross this magnificent plain occupied about three j Watat, while the grim fortress seemed but a stone's throw otf.
hours. The tempestuous night had been succeeded by a lovely Wc rested imdcr a tree for a short time, while we discussed

morning, and it was jileasant to observe the many signs ' some Abyssinian fire which had been sent clown from the
of material jirosperily which the c lustering villages and low- ' Amba for liitwilddad Tadia, and in which he invited us to
ing herds clenoted. At that time, Dawoont was a virgin 1 share. We then remounted, and in about a couple of hours
district; it had ne\er been plundered; the population, of | amved at the plain of Arogyd, a .spot now memorable through

A JOURNEV THROUGH THK SOUDAN.

2S3

the fight wliich took place there on the loth cf April, 1868,
anil which decided the fate of the prisoners. Most of the
troops composing tlic garrison of the mountain were lirawn up
there to welcome the Uitwaddad on his arrival, but no notice
was taken of us until tile parade was over and the men fell
out, when several of them cantered after us and greeted those
of our party who were old acquaintances. We felt that our

floor, and everything evidently got up with a view to render us
as comfortable as possible, The chiefs merely told us that we
were to remain there for the present, and tliat our servants
would occupy the adjacent house, and then left us to our
meditations.

Shortly afterwards, a company of soldiers arrived to guard
us for the night, but did not take up their quarters in the

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ll'i.M' 111' lll'l.l OL'K SIIIDI', O.N I.AKK I.SANA.

imprisonment had already begun when we heard the frequent
wish, "£j;:i(ih/i<'r }<h/iif(ifc/i/iu" (May Goil cause you to be
released), with wliich we were accosted. When we reached
the first gate we had to stop for a short time, and then entered
through the wicket one by one, the janitors taking careful note
of our appearance as we se\erally passed through. Once on
the summit, we had to wait a still longer time, while Samuel
conferred with the chiefs and a letter regarding us was being
read, and then, all iirelimin.iries seemingly being arranged, we
were conducted to a large house, and found on entering several
uHicers assembled round a large fire, carpets spread on the

hut allotted us, contenting themselves with pitching a small
wdi tent close to the door. The building in wl-.ich we were
lodged was usually occupictl by Ras Kngeda on the visits of
Theodore to the mountain, but lud been used as a prison also
on some few occasions. Its smoke-blackened roof, windowlcss
walls, and dusty floor, teeming with unmentionable insects,
made it anydiing but an alluring abode, and it was some time
before we could find room to stretch our limbs ; but this point
once settled, we turned in, and slept as soundly as if it had
been a ])alace.

Our arrival took place on Thursday, tlie isth of July.

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ILLUSTRATED TRAVKLS.

Nothing fresli occurred (luring the next few days, and tlie
conditions of our now existence were so strange that some
little time was almost required in whicli to collect our
faculties again. But on Monday, the i6th, just as we had
finished breakfast, Samuel came in with a long face and
announced a visit from the chiefs. We felt at once that there
was to be some change in our condition, and with tlie pre-
science which misfortune gives, immediately guessed the
truth. Indeed, the clank of some chains which a sturdy fellow
in the rear was endeavouring to hide behind his back, could
not leave us long in uncertainty. After a few prefatory com-
monplaces, the head chief, Dcdjadj Kidana Maryam, informed
us that it was the custom to fetter all persons who miglit be in
confinement on the mountain, and that he could not infringe
this rule even in our case. He said tliis in the kindest
way, and evidently wished to shift the responsibility from his
master's shoulders on to his own ; but the whole thing was so
transparent that no one was taken in for a moment by it.
Kerans was the first i^erson called '"orward, and submittetl
to the operation with all the sang /roi,i he had gained from
experience.

It was a simple process after all. The foot was placed
upon a large flai stone, ami then the .ankle encircled by an
unclosed iron ring, into which the chain was inserted, after
which one extremity of the oper. ring was made to overlap the
other by repeated blows from a heavy sledge-hammer. Tlie

other foot was then treated in the .same way. A rude and
barbarous method, iloubtlcss, and probably dating from the
time of Solomon,* on whom tlie invention of gyves and
shackles is fathered by the Abyssinians. Those of us who
were novices viewed rather with dismay the mighty hammer,
which, had it but swerved a hair's breadth from the mark,
would have smashed tlie limb to iiieces ; but we soon found
that we were (juite safe in the hands of the accomplished
liractitioncr to whom this duty was always cntrustetl. As each
one staggered on his legs again after the operation, he was
greeted by the chiefs with " Egzia Wr yasfati/i/i," to which
the proper re;. I) is "Amcti." Mr. Kassam's turn came last,

1 but one of the rings snajiped, and there not being another

: one at hand, he was respited till the next day. The chiefs
then took their departure. They had but done their duty,
jioor fellows, and h.ad felt the disgrace of the morning's work

j almost as much as ourselves ; nay, had even tried to screen

^ their ungrateful master; and we felt no ill will towards them.
When they had gone we walked outside. Most of our servants

I were shedding tears. They considered it as bad an omen as
we did ourselves. We soon found that it was irksome and

I even j)ainful to move about without liandaging our ankles to
resist the jircssure of the irons, and accordingly we limped in

; to tear up an old pair of trousers for this purpose, and to think
about the future.

I * Fetlers arc often called in Abysbini.! ".Solomon's rings."

T/ie First yourncy of Exploration across Vancouver Island. — /.

BY ROBERT BROWN, K.R.C.S., ETC., CO.MMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION.

I- -ilN:

THE ST.MiT.

An' exploring expedition in the Far West, among the wooded
mountains, great lakes, and rajjid rivers of the distant shores
of the North Pacific, is a very different matter from similar
enterprises starting well-found, well-considered, and properly
equi]iped from England. In the little frontier town where we
start from, there are no philosophical instrument-makers to
supply us with the tools for our work, no Geographical .Society
to advise us, and we miss the kindly God-speed of Sir Rodenck.
Apparatus has to be extemporised, and men found at a short
notice. There is certainly no want of applicants, but though
we only want ten, upwards of a hundred besiege the doors
of our committee-room, in the city of Victoria, Vancouver
Island. Every member of that locpl board seems anxious to
select his own frien '.s, or those whom he may suppose to be
friendly to his interests ; but. as the leader has to work this
heterogeneous team, he has also to cut the Gordian knot by
selecting tliem himself, in the short week which elapses from
the day of his election until the day of starting.

. A queer-looking lot they are universally pronounced (in stage
whispers) to be, as they are mustered that bright June morning
to hear the Governor's farewell advice. Most of them have
been up all night, celebrating their departure after the approved
north-western fashion, and late hours and frequent toasts have
not improved the personal apjiearance of the first Vancouver

Exploring Flxpedition. Dark, hawk-eyed half-breeds, quick of
limb and stubborn of temper, stand side by side with niiners
from Cornwall and lumber-men from Canada, wlio jostle, in
their turn, more than one Oxford graduate who, in many a
long experience of wild north-western life, have come out
double-first in wood-craft, and, save for a more intelligent air,
would be hard to rlistinguish from their unlettered companions.
We have a clergyman who, in his younger days, was given to
Ritualism, but for many a year has hunted bear and elk,
beaver and the bkick-tailed deer, as a jjrofession ; and an artist,
very good in his way, who has for some time past been more
familiar with the gold-miner's pick than with the painter's
])alette ! They are of all ages— from one-and-twenty to one-
and-forty — and no two are exactly of one nationality ; religion
we don't dispute much about. To keep law and order over
this strange mob, and out of chaos to bring light geog.ai)hical,
I was ap|)ointed sole commander. Our duty is to explore the
unknown interior of the great island of Vancouver, then an
English colony of itself, but now united with British Columbia
in one government.

The country we must traverse for months to come is not

inviting. Only yesterday we climbed the highest hills, and

looked out on it. There it stretched, wave after wave of forest-

I clad hill and valley — the sea of giant pine only broken by a

I quiet, glassy lake, or a fiery river rushing over its rocky bed in

FIRST JOURNfKY OI>' EXPLORATIO.V ACROSS VANCOUVER ISLAND.

255

foaming cascades, or winding in tortuou:; course through the
silent glades, like a shining silver thread. It is in vain that we
ask for some tlue to that interior, so near at hand, yet, in know-
ledge, so tar oft". Trappers and hunters know nothing of it.'
Searching for bear or for beaver, these knij,ht-errants of che
West have gone into it a iitde way, trusting to hick and their
good rifle, and have come back telling strange tales. Indians
know less, for they all live on the coast, and are scared when
out of sight of their villages. In awe-controlled whispers the
elk-hunter tells of the strange sight he has seen, or which
some ccjually reliable friend of his told him, about the terrible
things which lurk in that great forest and by the banks of those
unsearched rivers. His mythology grows rich on the fruit of
such tales of wonder. Here live Indians, clad in beaver-skins,
by the shores of a nameless lake ; Smolenko's jointless fiends,
who chase the hapless hunter along the mountain-side ; Maso-
lemuch, who hunts by the shores of Kaatza, the great lake —
pans, dryads, and hamadryads, gods of the wootls, the groves,
and the running streams, are all conjured up by the supersti-
tious Indian as inhabiting that mystical, strange, untrodden
interior. We have our more prosaic misgivings regarding the
task we have sworn to attempt. The whole country is a dense,
trackless forest, thick with underbrush and long "drifts" of
fallen timber, through and among which the explorer must crawl
as best he may. Every ounce of baggage — limited indeed
as it is, to a minimunt of sine qiui nous — must be carried on
men's backs, and to a great extent we must depend for our
subsistence on the chance product of the hunt. Indians are
frightened to go far into the interior, and the rivers can only be
depended on as means to penetrate to a very limited extent,
being shallow, and full of rapids and cascades, to work canoes
around which, even to the most skilled of Indian pilots, is
far more Laborious than wearily trudging along thro\igh the
swampy forest, broken by mountains and ravines, with loads
on our backs.

Well-intentioned friends give us an abundance of advice,
plentifully distinguished by a lack of reason or experience ; and
Sir .Vrthur Kennedy, wiser and less sanguine, tells is to do our
best, and get through somehow or other. ' To add 10 our griefs,
news comes in that the Indians have fallen on Waddington's*
men up the coast, and murdered sixteen of theni, who were
making a trail some distance off Bute Inlet. Jocular acquaint-
ances, therefore, discount our chances of escape on no very
favourable terms, an'' beg us to insure cur lives in their
favour. Hudson H.iy traders stand grirming like Mepliisto-
pheles, for they like the idea of exploration little enough, as
they have a presentiment that it will lot help the fur trade
much, and give us Machiavelian ar'.vice in regard to our
treatment of the Indians, while they prophesy — honest men !
— to the bystanders that we shall never come back to claim
our pay. ' TIk kindly mob, however, which now lines the
" Hudson B.iy Wharf" at Victoria, gives us the cheap tribute
of api)Iause, the flag on the Government House is dipped,
and we arc cheered and re-cheered by our friends, who run
along the shore until our red-shirted band, on board one
of Her M.ijesty's vessels, disappears round arbutus-covered
Ogden Point.'

Captain Verney soon lands us at the mouth of die Cowichan
River, where we propose to break ground ; and as we pitch our
camp in front of the Comiaken Indians' village, a few settlers,
• Ste Joui lul 0/ t/ie Koyal Gec^rafhual Sotuty, vol. xxxviu.

who have found their way along with the priest and the peltry-
trader thus far into the outer world, drop in to wish us luck,
and to jjress upon us their little hospitalities and presents.
Things don't seem to open well, for no sooner is the gunboat-
party out of sight than an Indian, in the full-dress of a shirt-
collar and a pair of socks, is good enough to threaten to shoot
the writer, when disjjuting about the price of a canoe, for the
hire of which he has been only offered about twice the value.
Circumstances, connected with muscular action, cause him to
hurriedly change his mind. Old Locha is the chief of this
tribe, an ancient now (luite blind, but a dandy of the first
water, for his nose and ear pendants of Haliotis shell must
measure, each of them, more than an inch square ; and as we
signify to him our admiration of the purity of the nacre, he
informs us that they cost three blankets each. He condescends
to finish our supper, and is so highly pleased with the quality
of our cook, and the kindness of his friend, the "big chief" of
the white men, that he offers his youngest son — a merry-faced
lad of eighteen — for service on the expedition. Old Locha was
once a great warrior, and he and this child, years ago, played
part in a stratagem so bloody that, as a specimen of our friend,
I may relate it. The Stekins, from the far north, were the
scourge of Locha's tribe. They wjgre, and are to this day,
ruthless pirates and marauders, diihanr in their pride of
strength, who spare neither man, woman, nor child of any tribe
who may fall in their power. One day his messengers brought
to him news that a party of Stekins were on their way to
attack his village. He took a strong party of his men, and
posted them in the woods about a mile from his village, leaving
his little son — our newly-.acquired companion, Lemo — wrapped
up In a blanket in a canoe drawn up on the beach, in con-
venient proximity to the ambu':h. Suspecting nothing, the
Stekins sailed up Cowichan I3"y until they spied what they
took for an Indian girl, left in the canoe while her mother was
gathering roots and berries in the woods. They immediately
paddled in shore, anxious to secure this easily-acquired slave.
The Iitde boy had, however, received his directions. Waiting
until they were close at hand, in apparent fright he ran into the
woods. Every one of the Stekins was anxious to catch him,
.and accordingly, leaving their canoes on the beach, they ran
into the woods after him ; but the little boy was too nimble for
them. Returning to the beach, they were bonified to find
themselves unarmed and defenceless, surrounded by Locha
and his warriors. It is said that every one of them w-as either
killed or taken prisoner. " They absolutely cried, the Jogs ! "
the old man tells us, with a contemptuous flourish of his knife,
" when we commenced to cut off their heads. Ugh ! "

In the morning our very modest baggage is sent up the
river with son.e Indians in a canoe, and one of our party to
see that they forgot not the distinction between meum and
tuum, while we ourselves take to the bank, and soon lose sight
of the settlers v,-ho come out to the door to cheer r.s as we
pass. We are soon amid tall forests, where the only sound
i that breaks on the ear i.i the echo of our own voices, the
tap ! tap I of Cairdner's woodpecker {Picus GairJnm), or the
dista.'u sound of some pioneer woodman's axe. A trodden
forest path is seen : following this, we suddenly emerge in front
of a large Indian village, composed of long rows of S(iuare board
lodges on either side of the shelving river banks, and crowds
of red-skins, old and young, come out to look at the intruders
on their rightful domain.

i .

256

ILLUSTRATED TRAVEIA

li:^:

If i

Arizona and New Mexico.

TnK resources of Arizona and Now Mexico seem to be but
imperfectly understood outside of those territories. Tiiere is
a vague impression abroad that Arizona is rich in the more
vaUiable minerals, but that it is a desert country, producing
little in the way of vegetation except the various species of
cacti. The truth is, that it is one of the most fertile of the
North American territories. That portion of it lying north
of the Gila River embraces some of the finest pastoral country
in the world, and is also well adapted to the cultivation of the
hardier cereals. The explored portions of the region have
been found rich in gold and silver, and it is believed that
the unexplored districts will prove equally rich. The ores
are, however, of a very refractory nature, and the attempts
made in the vicinity of Prescott, to reduce them profitably,
have not hitherto been completely successful. The hostility
of the Apaches and their allied tribes has proved the
greatest drawback to the settlement of this portion of the
country. The danger of venturing anywhere beyond the
protection of a town or a military post renders the expenses
of mining double or treble what they should be, since a
constant guard must be ke|)t over the workmen, and over the
teams employed in hauling ore, to prevent surprises by the
Indians. Farmers are annoyed and injured by having their
horses, cattle, and mules stolen, and their corn harvested by
moonlight by the unconstionable red men. When to this it is
adtled that scarcely a week jiasses without the murder of from
one to half a dozen white men by the Indians, it is not to be
wondered at that this country does not increase in population.
South of the Gila the country is low and the climate uncom-
fortably hot ; but here excellent crops .are raised with the aid
of irrigation. Wherever the white settlers cultivate the ground
excellent crops are produced ; and although little attention has
been paid to fruit culture, it is a well -ascertained fact that
grapes, oranges, lemons, figs, olives, and all fruits which grow
in a semi-tropical climate, can be raised in abundance. Young
onions, radishes, and lettuce, are common ui)on dining-tables
at Tucson in midwinter, and green corn and peas may be
grown there in the open air at the same season.

New Mexico is supposed to be pre-eminently an agricul-
tural and pastoral country. Notwithstanding the depredations
of the hostile Apaches and the friendly Nav.ijoes, Large num-
bers of sheep of an inferior breed are still produced in the
terntory ; also some goats and donkeys, a few scrubby horses,
and still scrubbier neat cattle. The domestic beasts of New
Mexico partake of the demoralisation of the inhabitants — the
descendants of the Spanish settlers and Indian women — anil
that is something fearful to contemplate. Agriculture in New
Mexico is carried on after a most primitive fashion. The
extent of the land cultivated is limited to strips .'arying in
width from half a mile to a mile and a half, along the water-
courses, which is all that can be reached by the imperfect
system of irrigation practised. This land is divided into small
tracts of from two to twenty acres each, the smaller tracts
belonging to the poorer, and the larger to the more wealthy
classes of the natives. The jilough used in breaking this land
is a stick ibout four feet long and four inches S(iuare, pointed
and tipped with iron, and drawn by a pair of stunted bullocks
yoked by the horns. There are no fences — boys antl dogs
being employed to kcei) donkeys and goats oflf the fields.

Yet the New Mexicans manage to raise a considerable quantity
of corn and wheat for sale to the military posts and miners.
Gold and silver are now mined in numerous localities, and
new deposits and lodes are discovered almost daily. It i-.
the opinion of some experienced miners that New Mexico
will prove the richest mining territory in the United States.

Jebcl Nahts, the Bell-sounding Mountain.

AnouT midway along the western side of the peninsula of Sinai,
and near the shore of the Gulf of Suez, rises a hill of moderate
elev.ation, called by the Arabs Jebel Nakiis, or the Dell Moun-
tain, from wliich is occasionally emitted a reson.ant metallic
sound, like the distant boom of a gong, but less vibratory in its
note. The phenomenon has freijuently been mentioned by
travellers, but it has not been satisfiictorily explained until
the visit of the surveying party who were engaged — as alreatly
stated in the Illustrated Travels— during last winter and
spring in mapping the district around mounts Sinai and
Serbal.

The peculiar sounds, as previous accounts suggested, arise
from the friction of moving sand. According to the accurate
description given of it to the Rev. F. W. Holland, by Captain
Palmer of the Royal Engineers, the mount is situated about
vhree-qu.arters of a mile in a straight line from the sea-shore, and
presents a slope of drift-sand 400 feet in height, facing about
W.S.W. The sand is so extremely fine and dry, and lies at so
high an angle— about 30° to the horizon — that it is easily set in
motion from any point in the slope, or even liy scraping away
a portion at the base of the hill. When a considerable ([uantity
is thus set in movement, rolling gradually down the slope like
some viscous fluid, then the sound begins — at first a deep,
swelling, vibratory moan, gradually rising to a dull roar, loud
enough at its height to be almost startling, and then gradually
dying away as the sand ceases to roll. It is difficult to describe
the sound. Captain Palmer suggests that the very hoarsest
note of an /Eolian harp is perhaps the nearest approach to
it, or the sound produced by drawing the finger round the
wet rim of a deep-toned finger-glass, except that there is far
less musical resonance in the note produced by this rolling
sand.

The hot sand of the surface always appeared to be more
sonorous than the cooler layers underneath, and the loudest
result was obtained in the full heat of the afternoon sun, when
the surface-sand had a temperature of 103" Fahrenheit. Sand
which had long lain undisturbed seemed more sensitive than
that which had been recently in motion. Thus, the first trial
on any one part of the slope was always more satisflictory than
subsequent ones ; and the experiments made by Captain Palmer
and his companions were better on the first ilay than on the
second. There could be no doubt that the sound was super-
ficial, and due, in the first place, to friction ; indeed, it could
be produced in a fiiint degree by moving portions of the sand
rapidly forward, with a sweep of the arm. The ignorant
Arabs — who of course believe the sounds to be supernatural
— state that they can be heard only on Fridays and Sundays ;
and that they arise from the ringing of the Nakiis (a wooden
board used in place of a bell) of a monastery that was
mysteriously engulfed to save the monks from the treachery
of an Arab guest

A lOURNKY UP THH ORINOCO.

257

I
if

VIKW IN THE llEI.TA OF THE ORINOCO.

A Jouyiiey up the Oniioco to the Ca ratal Gold Fieht—Rak'glis '' El Dorado:' — /.

CHAPTER I.

.ST. NAZAIRE— COMl'.\c;XIE liKNKRAI.K TRANSATl.AXTIiJfE — MARTINUjL'E
— ST. I.l'CIA— SI'. VINCKM— ORENAD.V-TRINIDAI).

I LEFT London for Venezuela at the beginning of September
last, with a Cornish mining captain as companion; and, having
to see some peo[)le in Paris, I resohed to take the French
steamer from St. Nazaire. This town is one of the two
European stations of the " Compagnie Gonerale Transatlan-
titjiie," which corresponds to our Royal Mail Steam Packet
Company. The French Company has a fleet of more than
twenty-one steamers, of which eleven exceed 3,000 tons in
burden. One steamer every month goes to Vera Cruz, touch-
ing at St. Thomas and Havana, besides serving New Orleans,
Porto Rico, Hayti, Cuba, Jamaica, Guadaloupe, and Martinique,
by means of intercolonial boats. Another packet, leaving St.
Nazaire on the 8th of each month, takes the Panama route,

LK .NF.VE FOSTER, B..\., D.-SC, F.C..S.

I St. Nazaire, the packet station for the West Indian services,
is situated on the north side of the estuary of the Loire, about
thirty-five miles from Nantes. It has a large basin, which can
be entered at high tide by steamers of 3,000 to 4,000 tons ;
and there is some talk of making a government dockyard
here. Even now St. Nazaire can boast of good shops and
houses, and looks like a rising town.

On the afternodfi of the 8th of September I was taken out
to our steamer in one of the company's tugs, and by six p.m.
we were off. The Fhi-ide is a screw steamer of 2,000 tons
and 650 horse-power, and, conseiiiieiitly, one of the smaller
boats of the company. It has a saloon on deck, and the
cabins are much about the same as those of our own packets.
The arrangements for meals, however, are somewhat different,
and, to my mind, not so agreeable. Coffee, tea, and choco-
late, with bread and butter, are served in the saloon at seven
a m. ; and, except in cases of decided illness, you are not

touching at Martini(iue and .Santa Martha on its way to Colon j allowed to have your coffee brought into your cabin. At half-

(.Asiiinwall), whilst by changing at Martiniiiue, i)assengers are
conveyed to St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad, Denie-
rara, Surinam, and Cayenne, as well as to La Guayra and
Puerto Cabello, in Venezuela. In addition to these, a steamer
leaves Havre once a fortnight for New York.

past nine comes breakfast, a true French dejeuner a la four-
chette, followed by dessert and cafi noir. Fin oteiinaire is given
A discretion. At one o'clock there is an apology for a lunch,
a basin of bouillon, without bread or anything else, being put
on the table. Dinner at half-past four is, like the breakfast.

I have entered into these details about the " Compagnie 1 a long succession of queer dishes with still queerer names, and

(Jenc'rale Transatlantique," because it is a service little known at half-past seven or eight the passengers arc regaled with ih'e

in England, and I had the greatest difficulty last August io h la Floride—a. pale, bitter, scarcely drinkable fluid— and a

find out anything about it. I few biscuits. Lights are put out at eleven p.m. I fancy I

VOL. I. 33

)

Ir'-;

M-'i

'it

1) :-

1 .1^ J

iff

ILLUSTRAIKI) IRAVKLS.

was rallier iinhicky in my boat, as the comiilainls on boaril
were loud anil nini'erous; and my feelings cannot be put down
to mere insular prejudices, as I was brought up in France, and
am thoroughly used to French manners and customs. 1 heard
from ])eople who had often used the line that the fare was not
so good as usual, and, to jjarticularise one grievance, our stock
of ice was exhausted before we reached the tropics.

Now as to my fellow-passengers. France, Ciermany, Italy,
Sjiain, Peru, New Grenada, Venezuela, Trinidad, and tiie liiree
Guianas, were all represented on board. We hai', altogether,
about a hundred saloon jiassengers ; but it struck me that on
the whole they were not of so good a class as those one meets
with on an English packet. Among tiiem were two ])riests,
three S(Ciirs de charill; and eight or nine //•</■« ihrelicns. We
also had some monks in the steerage jiart, whose practice
certainly did not conform to the doctrine that " cleanliness
is next to godliness."

Life on board a steamer, whether English or French, even
with fine weather, is sure to be tedious ; and though we had
a favourable i)assage, I was far from sorry to learn on the
thirteenth morning after our departure that land was in sight.
Before very long we ran in between Martinique and Domi-
nique, and coasted along the western shores of the former
island. The coast scenery is lovely, olTering luxuriant vegeta-
tion down to the sea, pretty valleys with sugar-cane j)hinta-
tions, groves of cocoa-nut palms, and houses looking like
those of a toy Noah's Ark dotted about the green hills.

Early in the afternoon we were at anchor in the port of
Fort de France, with a motley crew of negroes, negresses, and
Creoles to receive us. The ship was soon surrounded by a dozen
negro boys, who swam about in the hojie of having coppers
thrown in for them to dive after. The little black imps are
quite amphibious, and seem perfectly happy and at home in
the water. The gaudy handkerchiefs which the negresses
wear as head-dresses, and their huge eanings are rather striking
to the new-comer, who is apt, also, to go into ecstasies about
the bananas, mangoes, and other West Indian fruit which is
sold on the quay.

A little delay occurred in bringing alongside of us the
intercolonial steamer which was to take us to Trinidad, and
by the time all our things were shilled and new berths secured,
the dinner-bell had sounded. A walk in the town after dark
does not ])roduce very much information about the i)lace ; I
could only see that the streets were regularly built and the
houses low; and, as far as I could learn, there is no great
inducement to make a long stay in T'ort de France. I was
not sorry, therefore, to find that our new steamer, the Giixiine,
was to start at midnight. The Guyaiie, a paddle-wheel
steamer of 700 tons and 300 horse-power, was originally a fast
blockade runner, but has now come down in the world, just as
a racer may end his days as a cab-horse. The number of
saloon passengers had dwindled down to twenty, just enough
for a family party. Eating and drinking went on in exactly
the same way as on board the Fhru/c, save that the one
o'clock bouillon was cut off, which was no very great loss.

On rising at seven on the morning after leaving ^lartinique,
I found that we were in the harbour of Castries, the chief town
of the island of St. Lucia. The \iew before us was charming
in the extreme, and no word-painting could do it justice. In
front lay Castries, the little capital, with low, red-tiled houses,
and behind it and on each side were hills rising up several

hundred feet, covered with rich vegetation ; the mass of bright
verdure which clothed the hills could not fail to imi)ress a
l)erson fresh from Iv.irope, and more c.si)ecially one who, like
myself, had not long returned from a journey in the deserts of
Arabia l'etra;a.

A stay of a coui)le of hours sufficed for landing and re-
ceiving a few passengers and a little cargo, and before break-
fast was on .he table we were steaming away for St. Vincent,
along the western coast of which we were ninning by two ]).m.
The scenery is very similar to that of St. Lucia. Hills ri.se up
from the water's edge, often entirely covered by masses of
luxuriant green forest, whilst in other i)laces, and particularly
in the lower land, i)atches of cultivated ground intervene — no
doubt sugar ])lantations, for a tall chimney was seen near each
plantation, indicating a sugar-boiling establishment. The light
green colour of the cane-fields forms a delightful contrast to
the richer and darker green of the forest, and I enjoyetl the
prospect immensely.

About four i).m. we were lying off Kingstown. To obtain
an idea of the i)lace a person must picture to himself a huge
.semi-circle of hills covered with forest and plantation;-, with
numbers of houses in the foreground, at the water's edge, and
here and there dotting the hill-sides ; add to this a large fort
on a rocky summit at one end of the semi-circle, and some
notion may be formed of the charming natural harbour of
Kingstown, the capital of the island. Here, again, we were
told that we should make about an hour's stay ; so we deter-
mined to go ashore, hiring for the ])urpose a boat which came
alongside, manned by an old negro and two negro lads. The
old man was a native of Montserrat — a black Irishman, as he
called himself — and he had aijuaint mixaire of Irish and negro
humour which kejjt us in roars of laughter all the way to the
shore. I must confess I was amused at hearing the olil man,
as black himself as the ace of spades, bawl out to his crew,

"Pull, you niggers, pull !" and then a minute aftenvards

beat the fellows with a rope's end for using language which
he considered unfit for our ears ; the lads only grinned and
showed their teeth, whereas Fairopeans would certainly have
abused their master ; or, at the very least, turned sulky. We
had time enough on shore to see a few dirty streets and test
the " bitter beer" at the Ice-house, and then walked back to
our boat, which was lying at the little jetty.

Early the following morning we arriveil at Georgetown, the
capital of the island of Grenada ; but, our stay being very short,
I did not think it worlh while landing. It seems that Grenada,
like some of the other West India Islands, is going down in the
world ; sugar estates are given \\\i ever)- year, and the plantations
soon become forest once more. The harbour is charming, and
^ies with that of Castries in beauty.

On losing the shelter of the land as we went southwards,
we got into rougher water, and the roll became very marked,
so much so that at breakfast our fellow-passengers were obligetl
to leave the table one after the other, though most of them
had been a fortnight on the ocean, ami ought to have been
.seasoned to it. At last only four of us remained at table. We
sighted Trinidad early in the afternoon, but were a long time
before we ])assed through the narrow channel between I'rinidad
and the little rocky island of Mono.s.

liy eight jj.m., however, we were lying off the town of Port
of Spain. Negro boatmen surrounded the ship in hopes of a
job ; and, through the bad management on board our vessel, a

A JOURNEY UP IHK ORINOCO.

2i9

scene of confusion arose in getting some of tiie passengers into
the l)o:Us, wiiith ended in a man, woman, and child faHinj; into
the sea and being nearly drowned. After waiting patiently,
our luggage was brought up from the hold and put into a boat,
and we were soon landed opposite the Custom House. Motels
abound at Port of Spain, and there is no dittitulty in finding
quarters.

The next day we found on inquiry that the Orinoco
steamer was not likely to sail for two or three days, so we had
a little time to look about the i)lace. Port of Spain, the capital
of the island of Trinidad, is a regularly-built town, with about
20,000 inhabitants. It is situated on a jilain, surrounded by
high hills clothed with forests. The streets, as usual in the
New World, run at right angles, cast and west, and north and
south. The roads in Port of Spain are remarkably goo<l ; and,
although I was there in the rainy season, which lasts from July
to January, I found them as hard and smooth as could be
wished. It is true, there are limestone quarries just outside
the town. The main street runs east and west, with a carriage-
road on each side, and a broad grass plat, with an avenue of
trees down the middle. On the north side are numerous
stores, well stocked with. goods. The Catholic cathedral, at
the eastern extremity of this street, is a fine building, but
somewhat out of repair. The best of the north and south
thoroughdires is called Frederick Street, and possesses some
good chemist-s' shops ; following it northwards you arrive at
the Savannah, a large, grassy ]jlain, used as a park, cricket
ground, and as grazing land for cattle. Close by is the
Colonial Hospital, where two hundred beds can be made up,
and in ihe same enclosure are the public baths and wash-
houses. Further south is the market-place — we did not happen
to reac'i the market till late in the afternoon ; and, of course,
nothing but the refuse of the day was to be seen. I was
struck, however, by the number of vultures prowling about
and picking up every bit of otfal they could see, without
taking the least notice of any one. I learnt afterwards that
there is a fine of five pounds for killing one of these public
scavengers, which perform the same useful functions as die dogs
in Cairo. It was in the market that I first noticed John
Chinaman in the New World. Chinese labourers, as well as
coolies from India, are brought over to Trinidad on condition
that they serve five years on an estate to which they are
engaged as labourers. Their work is task, or piece-work ; and
they can earn as much as a negro. They obtain a bounty of ten
dollars if they reengage at the end of the five years' service.
The importation of Asiat'c labourers into the \Vcst Indies
appears on the whole to be a success. The result is a strange
miscellaneous assemblage of races at Trinidad, where the four
continents are represented. Negroes, of course, abound, and
people of every shade of bronze between the negro and the
European ; then an Indian from the Sj)anish main may occa-
sionally be seen making purchases in the stores. Chinamen
are common, and the thin, wiry Hindoo stands out in marked
contrast to his more powerfully-built brethren of African blood.

CHAPTER II.

JOURNEY UP THE ORINOCO — CIL'DAD BOLIVAR.

After we had waited a couple of days at Port of Spain, the
Orinoco steamer came in, and was advertised to start imme-
diately for Ciudad Bolivar. We took our tickets and went

on board in the evening. Our new vessel, which trades
between Puerto Cabello, l,a ( luayra, liarcelona, Cumana,
Carupano, Port of Spain, and Ciudad liolivar, was a screw
steamer drawing about eight feet of water. She was originally
built for the grain trade of the Black Sea ; her engines are aft,
and the fore-hold has been converted into a cabin. After the
neat little state cabins of the Guyiine and the large saloon of
the I'loride, the arrangements on board the Rc^^is Irrrcos did
not seem very pleasant. A steep and break-neck ladder led
us down into what looked like a hold, and there we found a
row of bunks on each siile — roomy, it is true, but that was
their only charm— and in the middle a dirty wooden table,
with eipially rough-lnjking benches. The cabin was dimly
lighted by an apology for an oil lamj), and looked decidedly
unc omfortable. On deck there were a few ladies, sitting on a
table for want of benches ; package after package, besides
some large dogkennels for deck passengers, encumbered the
deck, and walking was impossible. We now began to under-
stand the commiserations of the people in Trinidad, who
spoke in very ])lain terms of the wretched accommodation
we might expect. To complete our discomfort, the steward
told us, when we were on board and dinnerless, we could have
nothing to eat, as the dinner hour was passed. However, we
managed at last to get some bread and cheese put on the
table, and some sort of be\erage was not wanting to c'.,
makeshift luncheon.

Within two hours after going aboard we started, much to
my surprise, as I had been told that punctuality was the last
of the virtues of the Rixiis Ferrcos. It was a lovely moon-
light night, and I lingered on deck for a long time, as we
steamed along the Gulf of Paria.

On awaking the next morning, I found more than one
hammock slung across the cabin, the occupants preferring
this native mode of sleeping to the confinement of bunks.
I have since learned that they were right. Basins of water
were distributed about the dinner table, and washing com-
menced. I could not help remarking that the Spanish Creole
•seems to think that his forefinger will do jierfectly well as a
tooth-brush. At six o'clock, coffee, tea, and bread and butter
were served, and then nothing more till dijciiiier, at ten a.m.
Here we were agreeably disapjjointed, for we found an abun-
dant supi)ly of plainly-cooked dishes, far more pleasant to the
English palate than the messy odds and ends of the French
cuisine. I should have said that on going on deck at six
a.m. we had already passed through the "Serpent's Mouth,"
the strait between Trinidad and the mainland of South
America, or the "Spanish main," and were running for the
Orinoco.

About eight o'clock we entered the Macareo branch of the
Orinoco. In ])assing the shallow waters near the mouth,
the lead was heaved continually for several hours, the
depth of water being only about nine feet. There are two
other channels of the delta used for entering the Orinoco ;
one calleti the Boca Orande, or Boca de Navios, with fifteen
feet of water on the bar, and the other, the Pedernales, having
only six feet, 'i'he mouth of the Macareo at the (ommencement
was several miles wide, and on each side nothing was to be
seen but a long belt of trees, apparently growing up from the
water, the land being but little elevated above the water-
level. This kuid of scenery cnntmiied, and the river became
gradually narrower, until at length, in the afternoon, we found

«':)■

■:i

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a6o

ILLUS'I'RATKD TRAVEI^.

111 '^

ourselves steaming along a channel only about a (iiiarter of
a mile wiile, with dense forest on eai h siile. liirds now
began to get more numerous, the commonest being a species
of kingfisher, known as chiquakti by the natives. The llame-
coloured plumage of the scarlet ibis was also seen, at the
edge of the water. Towards tiie evening travelling became
delightful, amid the tropical scenery ; and had there been a
pleasant Knglish party on board, nothing would have been
more enjoyable.

I was awoke during the night by the sudden stopjiage of
the vessel ; the stupid man at the wheel had run us into the
bank. These are slight accidents in Orinoco travelling; we

hair black and straight.* Besides the Indians, there were
among the crowd ashore several Mestizos, or half-breeils,
dressed in trousers and jackets.

Similar settlements were passed further uj), besides two
important farms or plantations, now in the hands of a I'renih-
nian. He cultivates sugar-cane, and sends his sugar and rum
to Ciudad bolivar. Of course the farm labourers, Indian'- md
Mistizt's, turned out to see the steamer pass ; and some had
adopted costumes a little less primitive than those we saw at
first. Excepting these few plantations, there was nothing to
interru|)t the serrieil masses of forest on each side of «(Im river.

'I'he \'ene/.uelan army was strongly rei)rescnted among our

JMiCAK ll^UI.M'. UN 'IMl; LANKS UT I III.

were soon off and steaming ahead again. Early on the follow-
ing morning we passed the first Indian settlement. A roof of
thatch, supported by four or si.\ upright jjoles, constitutes the
dwelling-place of the red skins ; here they sling their ham-
mocks, in which they lounge by day and sleep at night. They
cultivate a little sugar cane and a few plantains, fish as they
sit in their canoes, and "loaf" about, without any other setded
occupation. About a dozen of them came down to the shore to
see us go by. Their clothing was most scanty — nothing more
than a few square inches of calico, fastened by a string round
the waist. A yard or two of calico and a ball of string would
furnish the clothing of an entire family. 'J'heir personal ap-
pearance is not prepossessing ; the skin is of a reddish brown
colour, the cheek bones projecting, the nose aquiline, and the

fellow-passengers, for there were no less than three generals
and two or three colonels on board, to say nothing of captains.
One of the generals, a Frenchman, was doctor and general at
the same time. He had espoused the cause of the late
government, and when that was overturned he had to Iea\e
Caraccas, and was now on his way with his family to settle at
Upata as a surgeon. Thus from general to country doctor
there was but one step. In a similar manner another man
on board was at one time general, then admiral, then skijji^er
of a small coasting schooner ; what he does now I cannot
say. A happy couple on board were remarkable for their

• Kor [IcMils concerning the "Guaraunos," or Indians of the Delia of
the Orinoco, see Dr. Plassard's paper. Bulletin de la SotiM itt Gecgraphit.
Pans. June, 1868. Page 568.

a6a

ILLUSTRAIliU TRAVKLS.

■I : ■! ■

:.!:;|i

yoiitli, the luisl)an(l l]eing only nineteen, anil the wife fifteen.
'I'Ik'v hail Iilx'H married a yt-.ir. 'I'lic iloi tot's wife, tlioiigh
only nineteen, li.ul .i little ^;irl of tiireo or four years old. The
ladies on i)oard wore their buik hair braided into two long
tresses, which hung down the back to the waist like pigtails,
I cannot s.-iy I admire the fashion ; but after false < hignons
and sh im curls, one does not mind the crude reality without
artificial appenil.ines.

Shortly after noon we arrived in the main stream of the
Orinoco, which is here several miles wide, and about two p.m.
we were off Harrancas, a small town on the left bank of the
river. A huge wooden cross stands near the water's edge,
and fifty yanls behind it are ranged about a hundred houses,
amidst wliich rise a few palm trees. I could see a sentinel pacing
along, dressed in white trousers and shirt, with a straw hat
as a cool head-covering ; the uniform was at any rate suited
to the clim.ite. One of the houses seemed tn be a guard-
house, as a few muskets of une(iual length were visible piled
up against the wall. Our steamer sent off a boat with the
purser and government postal agent, who landed and had
a short talk with the authorities. We did not cast anchor,
and on the return of the boat went ahead once more. The
delta of the Orinoco was now left behind, and hills began
to appear on the southern siile of the river. As it grew dark
we passed Guayana Vieja, and at midnight slopped at Las
Tablas, which is the nearest port to the mines. \\'e lay at the
place for an hour, landing passengers and taking others on
board ; these were mostly merchants from Caratal, and miners.

The scenery along the river was not striking : low hills
bounded the view, some showing grassy slopes with a few
trees, and others covered with forest ; but the river itself is
a magnificent stream, muddy, it is true, but a mile or two
miles in width, and impressive from its magnitude, if not
from the beauty of its banks.

At length we approached the termination of our voyage,
Ciudad Boli\ar. A tall church tower w;;s the first object
that could be distinguished, but it was not for some time,
indeed until six p.m., that we were anchored off the town.

Landing and [lassing the custom-house did not take very
long, and here I was glad to have the assistance of Dr.
Plassard, who was to be our guide to the mines, and who
met us at the wharf; he also kindly showed us the way
to the only hotel of which Ciudad Bolivar can boast. I
must say I was at once impressed with the early habits of
the Venezuelans; for Dr. Pl.xssard on wishing us good night
said : " I will not come zoy early to-morrow, as you will
want some rest after your journey. I won't look you up
till between six and seven in the morning."

We arrived at Ciudad Bolivar on the evening of the 29th
of September, exactly three weeks after our departure from
St. Nazaire, and of this time three days had been spent at
Trinidad.

Before proceeding with a description of my journey inland
to the mines, I will say a few words on X'enezuela, a country
about which a great deal of ignorance prevails in luirope.
The repul;lic of Venezuela, according to the constitution of
1864, is composed of twenty independent states, which form
the "Confederation of the United -States of \'enezuela." Some
slight changes in the states have taken ])lace since then.
Venezuela occupies an area of more than 400,000 square
miles — in fact, is more than twice as large as France, and

has a population of two inillions, of which only one quarter
are white, the rest being MtUizos (of mixed Indian, African,
an<l JMirope.in blood), negroes, and Indians."

AuKjng the princi|ial towns we may notice Caraccas, the
capital, and the ports of Va Guayra, Puerto Cabello, and
Ciudad Bolivar, Maracaibo, Barinas, Valencia, Barcelona,
Cumana. .\sc.-ncion, .San I'ernando d'.\pure, and Upata, m.ay
also be nar.ied as consiilerable centres of population. The
state called Guayana is by far the l.irgest of the union, and
separated as it is from the others by the broad Orinoco, it
has man.iged to enjoy a comp.arative immunity from the
various revolutions that are the curse of the republic. Ciudad
Bolivar, or .\ngostura, the capital of Guayana, is an important
town, built on a hill on the riglit bank of the Orinoco. The
streets are at right angles to one another, paved with rough
stones, with a brick foot-path on each side. Some of the
houses are built of stone, others of brick ; they are all white-
washed and roofed with red tiles. A flat brii k, like those of
Roman walls, the mortar being as thick as the brick or tile,
is often seen used. No carts are to be seen about the streets,
of which some are excessively steep ; goods are transported by
means of men and donkey.s.

The best stores are in a ctreet lying east and west, facing
the Orinoco, and very many of the merchants are Germans.
All along the bank signs of commercial activity are seen, in
the landing of hides from /aiic/ias, or river boats, which come
down from the Apure, to be afterwards re shijiped on board
vessels going to North America and Kurope. During my
stay I saw a New Vork brig and a Bremen brigantine, each
of about 300 tons, lying at Ciudad Bolivar. They bring an
a.ssorted cargo, and take back hides, deer-skins, tonka beans,
balsam of Copaiba, and the well-known " Angostura bitters."

It is a great pity that the jjolitical and financial condition
of Vi;nezuela has been so unsatisfactory of late. Some years
ago there was a company which had three steamers trading up
the river, and at one time they were doing a capital business ;
unfortunately two of their boats were lost through the care-
lessness of the captuln or pilots, and the shell of the third
lies at Bolivar, and as things stand at jjic^ent it has not been
thought worth while to continue the service. At the time
of my visit there was no steamer trading above Ciudad Bolivar.
As the traile with the upper country has diminished so con-
siderably, the Bolivar merchants now rest their hopes on the
Caratal gold-field, and all merchandise for Nucva Providencia
has to conje up the Orinoco to this city to pass the custom-
house, and then descend again to Las Tablas — in other words,
it has to travel nearly two hundred miles more than it need do,
to say nothing of unnecessary trans-shipments. This could all
be obviated by having a regular custom-house at Las Tablas,
but as the merchants at Bolivar get their commission and
profits on the goo Is, they are not likely to press for any
alteration of the presei:t stupid arrangement.

During my stay at ti'e capital I had the honour of being
introduced to the Presiu'nt of the state of Guayana, Don Juan
Delia Costa — an able ru er, a thorough gentleman, a good
linguist (an important thi.ig for foreigners), and evidently the
right man in the right place. His brothers are large merchants,
and the family is ver)' highly respected. Under his guidance
there seems every chance that the state will be well governed ;

• " Etals unis de VmcSzu^l.i. Notice historique, et catalogue. Exposi-
tion Universcllc ilc 1S67." !*aris.

THK HVRCANIAN UKSKRT,

jC)}

and v^iiayana, as far as I can learn, is practically inilciicnilL'nt
of the rest of the rc|mblic, and troubles itself but little about
the revolutions at Caracxas.

Exceptinj; a few copper cents at Caracras and La Guayra,
there is no true Venezuelan currency. Accounts are kept in
pesos and ceiitavos. 'I'lie Venezuelan peso or dollar, diviiled into
eight reals or loo ceiitavos, is eijuivalent to about four francs,
or three shillings and twopence, and the <eiitavo, or cent, is
consecpiently equal to about threeeightiis of a penny. The
coins used in Venezuela are those of othe- South American
states, Mexico, the Uniteil States, Trance, Italy, and Kiigl.uid.
There is a i)reiTiium on gold, and the English sovereign passes
for six and a \\d\{ pesos in silver. The franc 'asses as a (piarter
peso, or two reals ; the half-franc is eijuivalent to one real, i

I'or smaller change you have the old French quarter-franc, and
the newer pieces of twenty centimes, which are actually cut
in halves, and even (piarters where vcr)' small change is re-
quired. The money is certainly puzzling at fir-.t, be(ausc
on receiving cii.inge you get loins of so many dilVerent
countries ; but after all it is not worse than that of Hamburg
and Liibeck. I may here add that iluring the time I was in
South America I never heard " that Ciudad Bolivar h.is an
evil reputation at present for yellow fever," which, according
to Mistwick,* is said to be the case. I believe that t'iuilad
iloliv.ir has never but once been visited by yellow fever, and
that in 1854.

• " VcnMucI.1 i or, Skelclic of I.ifc in ft SovUli American Ucpiihlic."
Ily ICiIwaril 11. ICaslwicli, (J.l)., K.U.S. London; iSoS. Tayc Jjo.

^■^i
i^i

The Hyycanian Desert, and the Principal Roads Across It.

BV PROFESSOR ARMINIUS VAMB^RY.

Under this name is known the large tract of land extending
from the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea to the left bank of
the Oxus, in an easterly direction, and from the Aral Sea to
Persia and Affghanistan in a southerly direction. Its greatest
length measures about 600, and its width nearly 400 English
geographical miles ; almost the whole of this enormous space
being properly termed a desert, first, in consequence of the
barren nature of its soil, and secondly, from the want of a settled
population ; so that the idea of being on such a spot of the
globe, where a man lias to travel sometimes two or three
weeks before he meets a fellow-creature or a habitation, is
really frightening. The variety of the geographical features
of the desert is commensurate with its extent. Along the
eastern shores of the Caspian, the soil is either firm clay or
stony, its flatness being only interrupted by the Great and
Little Balkan. A little further in the interior the eye meets
very often with those endless ranges of sand-hills, rising to a
height of two or three himdied feet, which form the most
formidable, and dangerous obstacle to the traveller, partly by
the unfathomable, thin sand v.hich glides under the feet of
men and camels, and makes a firm footing almost impossib'p,
partly by their continually changing in height and position.
The idea of a moving range of hills sounds rather strange,
but it is nevertheless a fact that the most experienced
traveller is unable to track a safe path across the sandy part
of the Hyrcanian Desert, as it happens very often to him to
find a long chain of hills in places where a few days ago he
saw a level plain of firm soil. Tne beginning of these much-
dreaded koumliiks (sandy places) is apparent by a slight imdu-
lation of the sandy surface ; this becomes always thicker and
thicker, and without noticing the ascent under your feet,
you find yourself on turning back at the top of an elevation.

Bewildering as the aspect of the dreary desert is to the
eye of the stranger, tlie curse of Nature would shock him
much more if vegetation, poor and unseemly like the soil
on which it grows, did not beguile the creeping minutes of
wearisome time. Here you see a long patch of grass, which
a freak of Nature produces in the middle of desolation. It

has a dark green colour, but its life is of a short duration ;
siiringing up in the middle of April, you find it almost withered
at the beginning of May. There you may discover queer-
looking ])lants forcing their way out of the crevices of the
scorched, clayey ground. Certain kinds of wild carrots and
radishes grow there ; both are eatable, but if you wish to
gather them, you must dig them up ; to try and uproot
them is always a hopeless proceeding. The s.and is not
(juite naked, as might be supposed. A great portion of it is
covered with shrubby trees, sometimes ten or fifteen I'eet in
height, with no stem ; the branches, of a considerable thick-
ness, grow out near the ground, .nnd the trees are so loose
in the soil, that they fall almost with a grasp, and the wood,
as soon as it ignites, quickly burns to ashes, with little or no
smoke.

Taken altogether, the Hyrcanian Desert cannot be com-
pared with the deserts of Northern Africa or Central A.abia.
The latter, as recently ascertained, bear the character of
desolation rather in consequence of neglect and want of
industry than of natural condition ; and j'.dging from the
descriptions of French, German, and English travellers of
this century, they are certainly more accessible and less
dangerous than the desert we are speaking' of. Apart from
the inclemencies of weather — the thermonvter rising in sum-
mer above 120° Fahr., with a winter of l.itter cold and frosty
winds which blow in wild hurricann- from the north-east — the
traveller might yet think hir.isclf safe from the terrors of
Nature if man — I mean tlK, roaming Turkoman robber, cer-
tainly more rapacious and cruel than the Nubian lion — did
not beset his way with a thousand troubles. Owing to this
circumstance no cara\ai would venture to cross any part of
the Hyrcanian if not escorted by Turkomans. This is much
like making the goat a gardener ; but then, tven, you are not
sure you may not be attacked by some tribe hostile to your
escort, there being continual feuds among them. Nor can an
encounter with a Turkoman bear any resemblance to that
with another foe. It is not death alone which is tlreaded,
it is slavery still worse than death which might follow the

; :■ '

\ -<•

364

H.LUSTRATKl) TRAVELS.

lilt.

'. r

li "i

II ^'^!

•:::f

unfortunate issue of an engagement, the greeily son of the
desert always taking particular care not to kill liis ]jrey, as a
slave promises him greater benefit than the clothes and arms
of a slain victim. 'I'his is the chief reason why travellers have
shown at all times a [ireference to struggle rather with the
various and manifold dangers which the desert puts in their
way, than to jeoparilise their lives in an eticounter v.itli the
inhabilanls of the desert; anil in order to a\oid tiiis, either

Persia and Kharezni ; now-a-days they have lost entirely their
importance, and are, except Meshed, inconsiderable places,
where the poor and miserable-looking caravans gather, to
trausjiort a few bales with scanty goods from Iran to the banks
of the Dxiis, and vice versd. Trav'ellers in the region are
of two distinct classes; i, the native of Central Asia, who is
journeying to Persia, and whose only enemy is bad weather ;
and J, the I'ersian going to Khiva, who incurs the double

.V rURKOMA.S.

the most drear)' and desolate-looking iia.t of the desert is
crossed, or such a time of the year is chosen which, less
propitious for the roaming expeditions of the robbers, is the
more sure for the hiowly-travelling merchant.

Strictly speaking, there is no permanent route across the
Hyrcanian ; it is only the starting-points, either from Persia
or from Khiva, which have not changed in the last centuries.
In Persia, Astrabad, Deregu/,, and Meshed ; in Khiva, Heza-
resp, Medeniin, and Porsu are known as starting-places. In
an< ient times these towns were emporia of trade between

danger either of being buried by a sand-storm, killed by
thirst, or being brought in fetters to the slave-market of Khiva.
The latter i..,: the ii> t reason to dread the way across the
Hyrcanian, and ; ■ doth are almost eciual in anxiety about
the necessary pre.. ■,;' ons, and l)oth are fully convinced of
the dangerous task they have to perform.

j Taking the three aforesaid .starting-points, I will begin with
the fust, and lead my reader from .Astrabad to Medemin, the
most .southern point in the Khanate of Khiva, and only two

' days' ride from the residence. Before all, the taravan nuist

lil)^

-.'■'^y^ta^^"j£«UB

'^••^;l«#

! : !

THE HYRCANIAN DKSKRT.

2f>5

secure the friendship ot some mighty and inlUicntial I'lirkonian
thief of tile Yomut trilje, who is to serve witii his clansmen as
a safeguard, surrniniding always the string of laden camels
(luring the man h, or watching over the iiiled-up b.Ues wlien
amongst a settlement of tents, the inhabitants of which may be
liis most reliable friends. It is not only the goods which are
handed over t i ,!'e escorting 'i'urkoman chief, but even the
travelling ((imiiiiidities, such as dresses anil provisions, are left
under his care. The rich merchant, in order to show poverty
and to divert the greedy looks of the nomads, must eat the
scantiest meal ; he must be wrajit in TXga. sleep on the bare
ground, whilst his paid guard makes use of hus dress, bed, u")d
food — nay, some even feign to be the servants of the Turkoman,

generally reckoned from the banks of the I'.trek to the fioiiiiers

of Kl'.iva, where artificial canals convey the pure stream of the

' Oxus, but I believe tliere are some springs of good water on

; the southern sloi)es of the Balkan, which aie kept most secretly

and watched strictly by a certain branch of the \ uniius, who,

as I am told, possess it by inheritance. There must be also,

if I am not mistaken, either a spring or some i islern on the

iiorthern slope of the aforesaiil mountain, but ajiarl from these

1 there is no drop of drinkable liijuid on the whole way, an

average length of 300 miles, and rarely travelled over under

ten or twelve days. Taking into consideration that caravans

consist mostly of several strings of heavily-laden camels, this

mode of travelling must not be called a \ery slow one.

wn.r, IN THE hvrcai'ian deskrt.

and undergo all kinds of hr.rdship, only to save their fortune
and life. This, of coure, lasts only for four or five days, tintil
the caravan has left th ■ encanii)ment, the green pastures of the
banks of the ilurgan rnd Istrek, and entered the desert proper,
where, until reaching tne lialkan, flocks or tents are but seldom
met with. On the eastern slopes of the last-named mountain
there is abundant verdure in the month of April, but in May
all is scorched and withered, and grass becomes rare as a
draught of drinkable water. This is also the main reason why
caravans can travel safely at this time of the year, the maraud-
ing T'-rkomans being unable to find food for their horses,
whilst camels can nourish on thistles, which are everywhere
plentifully met with. It may be, therefore, easily understood
that the more dreadfiil and awfiil the natural condition of the
desert, the safer it becomes against the wickedness of men.
The travellers patiently struggle with hot, feverish winds, sand-
storms, and want of water, if they are safe from a surprise of
these merciless robbers. The waterless part of this road is

VOL. I.

One day's march is generally twenty-four or twenty-six miles,
divided into three different stages -i, an hour after sunset
until dawn, which is called the longest, as the cool night and
bracing air lessen ihe hardsliip. Between dawn .and sunrise
is the time of breakfast, for men as well as for animals ; and
the sun has not yet risen when (1) the second stage begins,
which lasts until nine or ten o'clock. This stage, called the
noon repose, is the longest, but is tiresome even when rest-
ing, as the excessive heat and thirst prevent re|)Ose, No
sh.ide or tent will bring benignant sleep over the tired
eyelids ,and the traveller is longing again to exchange this
quiet position for the undulating movement of the camel in
the evening breeze. About four in the afternoon begins (3)
the last and the shortest part of the march, which is continued
until .seven or eight o'clock, leaving ])lenty of time for the
evening meal. Sleep is mostly !ak ;n whilst riding. The
Central Asiatic, who is reared up and spends the greatest
part of his life on horseback, finds such a bed quite comibrt-

366

ILLUSiRATKU IKAVKI.S.

:i ■ jf

able. Ho is firmly siatcd in the s;ul(ilc, and alllionuli liis
licail is idntiniuilly toUirinK ii;^lit aiiil left, ho is vol) bolclum
awakiiK'il liy an invohiiuary dosccnt from his beast.

On roaihing Moclomin, or the inhabiloil ])art of the
Khanato of Khiva, the route is at an end, albeit there remain
yet three or fmir days before llio capital is reac hod ; but there
are no finther fatij^iios or troubles, except through the govern-
mental es(orl, wliidi takes (are that nobody escapes the
scrutinising eye of the collector of customs.

'I'his is the main road between I'ersia and Khiva, and is
railed Einh Yohi ; the second, named Tikkc Yolii ('Iho Way
of the 'I'ekkes, as it jjasses through the last-named tribe),
begins at liujnoord, goes across the upper part of the Etrek
river, and skirting the 'I'edjend swamps eastward, runs mostly
through a region well provided with wells of drinkable water,
with suflkient grass for the cattle, and nearly a lumdred miles
shorter than the fust one. 'J'his, 1 am told, was the most
frequented road in the jiast century, and even before was for a
long time used as a highway, which is pretty v.ell ascertained
by the fact that Nadir Shah chose this road for his speedy
return to Persia, leaving there in the sand-hills two large pieces
of artillery which could not be extricated, in consequence of
the great hurry of his march. When I askcct why this road
had boon disKintinued, I was answered that the Tekke, the
sole masters of this part of the desert, make all communication
impossible, owing to the continual war they wage against the
neighbouring tribes. Nobody can trust to their amity, and it
is only the mightier and more powerful who can venture to
use this road.

The third road is called Dargiiz Yolu, which cuts the
desert in its narrowest jiart between Uereguz, a small place
in the most northern part of Persia, and Hezaresp, in Khi\a.
It is only of twelve days' journey, out of which eight days
are passed in deep sand, with three wells of bitter water, and
four days amongst cattle-breeding Turkomans. 'I'his road,
used mostly by adventurous, daring travellers, is often styled
Kiucd) Yolu (The \\"ay of Chance), and those who under- I
take it are generally such people as have lost their fortune, i
and gain their livelihood either by audacious enterprise or
by nefariour dealings witli the Turkoman rubbers, to whom i

tlu'y serve as agents in the abominable slave traffic. The
Dorogu/ way serves, therefore, as a means of communication
to the Central Asiatic trader from 'I'urkestan to Iran, but
never, or very se'i.om, to the Iranian or I'ersian trade.

These are the starting-points from Persia, jjroperly speaking,
to Turkestan, and vice versa, but tliere are other routes besides
from Khiva to Merv, which place was looked upon for a long
time as belonging to Persia, but i.s now-a-days in the liands of
the Tekkes. The first of the Merv routes, called Ortakujit
(The Middle Well) — from Khiva to Merv in fourteen days —
runs entirely acro.ss sandy tracks, and deserves well the epithet
of "frightful." 'J'he second, the Akyap 11'///, between H(;;;i-
resp and Merv, is of the same length, but less difficult, having
at intervals grass for the cattle, and every other day a >vell of
drinkable, although not good water. The third — compara-
tively the best — is called Kabakli Yolu. Its length is about
170 niile.s, easily perfonned in eight days, as c . "". hall'
is covered with sand, and the rest with firm surface, v.Iiich is
clad in the spring in a bright coat of verdure.

All that I have said m reference to the roads must be
taken to apply to the time of the year Ijotween the middle
of April and the end of September. Whilst in other regions
with the beginning of winter communication by land is ren-
dered difficult, with the Hyrcanian Desert it is just the con-
trary. As soon as the trackless sand-plains are covered with
snow, whicii remains for about four months, the great plague
of nature, viz., thirst, has ceased to bar the way. Instead of
slowly-moving camels, the speedy horse is chosen for a con-
veyance ; and instead of army-like caravans, small travelling
companies hurry from one end of the desert to the other.
The surface furnishes him with water to quench his thirst ;
the dry shrubs supply fuel to boil his tea and give warmth
to his frozen limbs. Nor must he dread the enemy ; the fear
of falling far from the well does not check him in his way ;
and the stronger the sinews of his horse, the safer his life.
In winter the Etrek road is travelled cier in eight or ten
days, the Kabakli even in five ; and in spite of frosty winds
and snow-stonns, the inhabitant of Central Asia gives not only
]ireference, but finds his delight in a winter tour across the
desert.

Seven Months in the Balearic Islands. — /.

DV !•- 0. B.\RTHOL0MEW, C.E., M..S.E.

HISTORICAL KFTCH — scFNFRV OK M.AjoRCA— cui.TivATfoN— suPE- | induccd to \m\ iuto a connectcd form the notes I had jotted
Riomrv OF ruE moorish irfigatio.n works to those of the ^q\s\\ ui)on the sijot

] 'Wx^xii apiioars to be no doubt as to the origin of the name
In the year i860, the Spanish Government determined to this group of islands bears. From the remotest records we
connect the Halearic Islands with Spain by means of a double have of them, their name has been associated with a i)eculiar
system of telegraphs, and the construction of the lines having I characteristic of their inhabitants — their skill in the use of the
been placed in my hands, I had an unusual op|)ortunity ! sling, a skill which rendered it a formidable weapon in their
presented me of becoming acquainted with these most in- , hands ; the Phtenician " liaal-jare," or the Creek /JnXXu, give
teresting localities, places possessing singular attractions, and , us the origin of the more modern wor ' H.aleares.'' The

yet less known to the English — I might almost say the
iMiropean — traveller, than any other place within the distance
of an ordinary summer tour, and for this reason I have been

sling is still freiiuently met with, but is now more peacefully
employed in collecting stray sheep,

It is believed that the Canaunites, who were driven by

SKVEN MONTHS IN THK 1!AI,KARIC ISLANDS.

:;(>:

Joshua from their native land, were tlie first inliabitanls of tiie
Balcares. We learn from I'roeopius tliat that i)eo|>le setlied on
the northern coast of Africa, and there are good reaiins for
believing they crossed over to these islands and colonised
them. Several v.riters agree on this point.

The Arabs held undisputed possession of Majorca 2,500
years ago, and in 6S0 li.c, the Malloniuines repelled a Car-
thaginian fleet which attemjjted a landing on the island.
Subsequently, however, that great rival of Rome became
mistress of nearly the whole of the Balearic group. In
120 li.c, the Ronians subdued Majorca under Metellus, who
was thence called Balearicus, and his first act was to baptise
himself and soldiers with the blood of 29,000 of the inhabi-
tants. Metellus built the towns of Palma and PoUenza, both
of which still exist.

During the reign of Augustus, Majorca and Minorca were
so infested with rabbits that the inhabitants sent to Rome to
seek assistance in destroying them. Few of these quadrupeds
can now be found in any of the islands.

The Vandals, under (ienseric, invaded the Balcares and
conquered the Romans, remaining in possession till a.i^ Soo,
when the Moors appeared. These latter fortified the coasts of
Majorca, erected towers on every prominent position, and
built fifteen large towns in the island.

Charlem.agne seized the Baleares in die early jjart of the
ninth centur)', but was e.x])elled by the Moors, who retained
possession until tiie middle of the eleventh century, when
James I. of Arragon conquered the Moors, and became the
first king of Majorca. James II. succeeded him, and the
island continued an appanage of the crown of Arragon till
1375, when it was united to Spain. With the exception of a
few years in the early part of the eighti^enth century, when it
was held by the English, it has remained a province of Spain
to the present time.

In the Cathedral of Palma there is a marble monument,
which contains the embalmed body of James II. This monu-
ment was erected by Carlos HI. in 1779, and bears the
following inscription : —

Aqui reposa el CKl.ivcr del Serenissimo S''

D"' Jaynie de Aragon, II. Key de Mallorci, que inerece la mas pia y

laudable memoria en los an.ilcs.

Fallecio en 28 de Mayo ite 131 1.

Requiescat in pace.

The body is ha'idsomely dressed, and has a crown upon
its head ; die fice a.id hands are exposed. The corpse lies in
a kind of coffin with a glass cover, whi'h has roller.i beneath
it, and when any one » .lies to look at his Majesty, the attendant
draws out the coffm from the hollow monument. Thisfrecjucnt
pulling and jiushing seemed to me to be greatly at vai iance with
the "Requiescat in pace."

Majurca, the largest of the group, 1 as a surfiice of 1,440
square miles, and is in general highly prxluctive. Upwards of
ao.ooo mule-loads of oranges have been i.xported from the island
in one season. In 1799 Majorca jiroduccd two millions of
gallons of wine, and eight millions of oil, and in that year the
value of its productions was _;^i,734,ooo, whi( h increased iu
l8oa to ;^2,309,ooo. The Mallorquines are fond of hoarding,
hence a very large amount of coin exists in the isl.-md.
Majorca contains thirty-nine jiarishes, in which stand fifty -eight
towns, many of them jiopulous and thri\iiig, and in 1834 the
entire inhabitants of die island numbered 164,000.

The scenery of Majorca is most maL;nificciuly v.iried. The
mountains are bold in the extreme, and I'orui the northern
boundary of the island, stretching from tlic loweriii.; isl.iud-
rock of Dragonera, on which stands a lighlhnuse i.iho kct
above the sea, to the equally bold lieadLind of 1'oriiuiUi.r.i,
liointing detiantly towards the sloriiiy Ciiilf of Lyons, and
embracing between these extremes an almost perpenilii ul.ir
wall of stone seventy miles long, some of the craggy peak:, of
which ri.se to a height of nearly 5,000 feet.

A few adniiralily-constructed roads cross these nioiinl.iiiis,
afliirdiiig .access to the picliiivsi[ue valleys wlii( h he embo.sonied
among them on ilieir northern slopes. One place is de-
serving of speri.al notice. 'i'he valley of Soller occupies a
basin formed by a recession of the nKuintains from the coast.
Looking down upon this spot from the abrupt summit of the
mountain, where the road irosses its brow, there lies spread out
before the eye a large expanse of orange groves dilckly dolled
with cottages. When I looked down upon this Knely s( cue.
Seller was rejoicing in plenty. The rich green of the orange
trees formed a brilliant contrast to the darker hues of the
mountain oaks in the foreground. In the distance was a
beautiful streak of bli ; water, a little creek whic h runs up a
mile into the land, whence many a l.ideii ship has departed,
bearing away the golden jiroduce of this little jiaradise. Plenty
has not always been known in Soller, Two winters before I
visited it a fall of snow — a rare )jhenonienon in this sheltered
si)Ot — had nipped the young fruit in the bud, and changed
plenty into poverty.

The road which leads from Pa 'ma *.o Soller possesses other
picturesque features, which may well cause the traveller to wish
to revisit it. For a few miles out of the town the road is
exposed and dusty, but when the rising ground is reached, all
becomes changed. The shade is increased by the abundance
of olives and oaks, and the air becomes cooler. Here and
there a mountain-stream dashes over an adjoining jirecipice,
and conveys an idea of fertilit)' which the arid plain below
does not afford. As the road ascends, the prospect behind
you widens, until some abrupt bend in the road places a bold
cr.ag between you and the distance, shutting it out from the
view, till from a still higher eminence the scene is again revealed
to yet greater advantage. Soon are discovered the country
residences of many wealthy merchants of Palma, occupying
well-chosen jiositions, where, almost liuried among the trees,
the air is cool and refreshing. Occasionally a litde hermitage
tells of its i)resence by its sweet-toned bell, the sounds lending
an indescribable charm to a scene too beautiful 10 be jiortrayed
by the ])en.

']"he women of Soller are remarkably fair-complexioued,
and by no means so jilain in their appearanc e as the majority
of the Mallorquine females. They are called the Circassians
of Majorca. Between Soller and Palma there stands an old
man.sion, the porch of which is an excellent s])ecimen of
the Moorish style of architecture. The roof is richly carved,
and still bears the remains of brilliant colouring. In fininer
years this was the entrance to the palace of a Moorish prince,
and it is a thousand pities that the supineness of the Mallor-
(piincb — their char.acteristic, in common with all southern
Spaniards — has suffered this interesting relic of :' bvgone
period to fall into decay ; soon it will be known onl ame.

Westward of Soller is ,an interesting place called Valilemosa.
I enjoyed a pic-nic in this pleasant locality with some Spanish

263

ILLUSTRATKI) TRAVFIS.

fiiciids, wlio certainly know how to enjoy themselves, :ina Iiow
to make llieir friends happy on these occasions.

'I'he road between I'ahiia and Valilemosa lies, lor nKUiy
miles of the way, through welhwalered gardens, which, at the
time I passed thein, abonnded in fruits (jf excellent quality, and
as various as excellent. On our return in the cool of the day,
we left our conveyances in charge of the drivers, and feasted to
our hearts' content on the most delicious fruits by the payment
of two pesetas.

In the valley through which this road to Valdemosa lies,
there are several mills, the water from which Hows tlirough the
gardens lower down, dillusing coolness and fertility in its [iro-
gress. Ow ing to the long droughts of summer, and the absence
of rivers in the island, the small mountain-streams arc led with
the greatest care into reservoirs, a(iueducts, &c., so that, after
irrigating the higher ground, they pass down to lower levels,
.and so on until they reach the (lat, low-lying grounds, where
the water is banked up to Hood the ricc-i)lots and melon-gardens,
conferring throughout their course an amount of benefit which
it is impossii)le to estimate in this rain-sodden country, where
the chief diffi( ully is to get rid of the superabundant moisture.

The care which has been displayed in the construction of
artificial reservoirs and watercourses is traceable to the Moors.
That industrious race were greatly in advanc :e of the S|ianiards
of the present day in many respects. 'J'hey fully appreciated
the value of water for agricultural purposes ; indeed, all the
existing a(iueducts and sluices in Spain were constructed by
the Moors. 'J'he present inhabitants, through their insuperable
listlessness and innate idleness, have allowed many important
tracts of land, once rich and fertile, to become barren wastes,
simply from their not maintaining the barriers and other .-'Mnge-
ments,made with such skill and care by the Moors, for |;re\enting
the water from jiassing an inch lower until all the land on any
one level, re(iuiring irrigation, had received the full benefit of
the stream. Near Alic ante is a large reservoir, known as the
Royal Pond. It supplies the gardens in the neighbourhood,

and so higlil) did the Moors appre( iate the value of the
endowed water, that they built around it a wall sixty feet high,
and so thick, that on its to|) three carriages can pass abreast.
The wells dug by the .Moors are very numerous and very deep.
They are either oval or double; if double, the two shafts unite
at the bottom. The mode of raising the water is ingenious.
A large, broad-rimmed, wooden wheel is mounteil on a s|)indlc
placeil across the narrow axis of the mouth of the well, or
between the shafts if double, and rests on bearings, liy means
of a second and upright wheel, working into the first, rotary
motion is given to the drum by animal iiowcr. Two endless
bands, made of strong, coarse, twisted grass, pass over the
largo drum, and descend below the water. Between these
bands, and at a distance of about two feet apart, small sun-
burnt earthen jars are firmly lashed, each having a small hole
in the bottom, their mouths being all in one direction. The
revolution of the wheel and bands, in a direction from the
bottom to the top of the jars, draws a jar out of the water
filled, but the water immediately begins to leak through the
bottom hole, passing slowly into the succeeding jar, thence
into the next, and .so on, so that long before the first jar has
reached the top, it is empty. The first dozen will, most likely,
be empty, but as they have all been emptying their contents
into the succeeding ones, there will at last arrive at the top one
which had not time to receive the leakings of those above, and
to empty itself as well ; it i.iay be half emiity, but the next,
and all succeeiling, will be fiill ; these passing over the wheel,
empty themselves into a trough, which conveys the water to a
reservoir. At first it seems absurd that the jars should be
allowed to leak, but the Moors were wise enough to know that,
as the jars enter the water mouth first, and are only a short
time in the water, there would not be suflicient time for the
jars to get emptied of air .and filled with water unless they had
this vent. The water wliich splashes around the well soon
produces rank vegetation, which api)ears often like an oasis in
the midst of surrounding barrenness.

yoitntryings in Mesopotamia. — IJ^.

II V 1. 1 r. u r i:n A .\ r c. k. i.

ciiArir.R VI.

ON TUF, ROAD FKOM DAOniiAO T.) IlAIIVI.ON--Tm'. MCJILMIIE- El.

KASR, OR THE I'ALACK— rUE IIANGINO r.ARDENS— 1 UE Ell. ;

rilRAlES — nil.I.AII— UABVLON, ITS K.VrENT ASO UkANI.El'R— '

THE JEWS OK IIAIIVLC'N AND L.WllDAlJ— lilK:; NLMROfD, OK I

luWER OK BAIIEI.. 1

The traveller finds liimself in the desert directly he passes ,
outside the walls of Baghdad. The first part of the journey i
towards Babylon is a beaten track formed by the constant \
journoyings of pilgrims to the torn!) of tlu-ir patron saint Ali.
the cousin of Mahomet, wlu) is buried to the westward of j
Babylon, at Mesjed Ali. '

Mounted on horses, with our followers and baggage on
mules, our rate of progression throtiiih the de.sert was only

>W, I. ATI'. INDIAN NAVV.

two miles an hour, and the mode of travellitw woulil have
been intolerable to any one not so well ar-customed ti. the
East as we were. Being in Mesopotamia, we accommoilated
ourselves to the ujanners and customs of the lazy children of
the desert, and crept alonj; on our horses while our «ibrk-
skinned companions trudgol stoutly at the taiisi of the bag|(m;«
animals.

After leaving B.ighdad we s.iw the tomb of Zolieii'e far on
our right ; but, as our course lay in a south-westerly direction,
it was (luickly lost .sight of. We soon pasted, distant about
seven and a hall miles from the city, a large caravanserai
called Kiahya Rhan, from its founder, Ahmed, the Ki.iiliy.i
or minister of Soleiman I'asha, whu was once governor of
JUghiUd. Q\.\ the suiremler of the c'ty to the Persians he

\\i-

370

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

lit}

H.is t:iki'n jjrisoiKT aiid < (invcycd to Sliiniz, wliore h.- rt'niaincd
until the (Icatli of Rcrim Kliaii in 1779, when lie jlTe< teil his
escape, and was reinstated I'aslia. We passed Kiahya Rhan
without st()p|)ing. Eive miles finther on we c?,me to another
liahing i)la( e, known as Assad Khan, and Imill by Omar I'asha
in A.tr. \o()2. It is a large <:aravanserai, capable of ac(()mmo-
dating five lumdred jieople, and, according to lUickiiigham, is
remarkable for the first-ratc cup of coffee you can get within
its walls — truly an excellent recominendation to a traveller in
the I'.ast, but wc did not sto[) to try the (|iialily of the fragrant
beverage.

Our course was now nearly soiuh, luilil we passed the
remains of a canal, over which we crossed by a narrow bridge.
Another hour's march brought us to the dry bed of a deep and
wide canal, supposed to be the famous Nahar Malka, which
diverged from the course of the h'.uphrates at a ])oint at the
south-western extremity of the Median wall to the Tigris, near
the citie.5 of Ctesii)hon and Selcucix This canal was navigable
as late as the age of the caliphs. Wc sighted an encamjiment
of .Arabs, among whom were merchants of the same character
as those we had remarked in liaghdad, selling the panther skins
which they brouglit from distant jilaces. Soon wc passed
another caravanserai, known to the 'i'urks as the Khan Bir
Yunus, so called from a well at which the prophet Jonas is
said to have drunk during his visits to Nineveh. All the
members of our party now began to feel fatigued, and we were
not sorry to learn, on interrogating our guides, that we were
close ujjon a very spacious caravanserai called after Alexander,
like so many 'j.'ildings and cities in the track of the victorious
march of that great coiujueror's army. We alighted, accord-
ingly, at the Khan Iskanderia, and, finding excellent accom-
modation for man and horse, we made ourselves comfortable
for the night. As the weather was cold, we slept in one of the
vaulted rooms within the buildings, while our cattle were
fastened to bars arranged round the oblong, raised jilatforms
in the centre of tlie court, which are built at such distances
from each other, and of such length and breadth, as to leave
convenient passages around and between them. These plat-
forms are used by travellers during the hot weather to sleej) on,
and are great boons when the temperature ranges as high as
117° in the middle of the dewless nights, and when the
slightest breath of air is eagerly wooed by the gasjiing way-
farer. This khan was erected during the last century at the
expense of Mohnmmed Hussein Khan, formerly Nizam-ud-
Mowlah, or home minister of Futtch Ali Shah, with a view to
the convenience of pilgrims to Mesjcd Ali and Mesjed Hussein,
two of the most celebrated (jlaccs of Persian pilgrim.agc. This
caravanserai of Iskanderia is capable of housing one thousand
liersons. and is one of the largest in Mesopotamia; it is almost
wholly constructed of ancient bricks dug up from niins on the
sfii.ii, and the ridges of earth covered with rubbish in the
neiglibourhooii attest the fact that a considerable city once
occupied its site.

Soon after daylight the next morning we were on ihe move
.•urain. and, continuing our course in a south-westerly direction,
pissed over a ilat cnuntrv-, intersected by many small, half-dry
canals. A considerable distance to our left lay the moimd of
Tel Ibrahim, by far the largest in this |)art of Mesopotamia. It
is one thousand yards in length, and about sixty feet in height.
Hyenas have b'.irroweii holes m\ this great !>ile of ruins, and the
ram has formed channels in its sidt's ; the surface is covered

with more than the usual amount of dihris of glass, pottery,
and other materials.

After a short halt at the village of Mohawil, we again pro-
ceeded on our way. Every step now was over ground rendered
for ever memorable by the historical events connected with its
site, for from this village of Mohawil the ruins of Babylon
may be said to commence ; indeed, the khan itself is, in part,
built of the large, square, kiln-dried bricks of a reddish colour
which were brought up from the kasr, or palace, at Babel.
The distance from the mounds of Mohawil to Hillah is about
eight miles, and so extensive is the site over which, accoiding
to the generally-received opinion, ancient Babylon extended,
that the liirs Nimroud lies .almost the same distance on the
other side of that town, while between the two extremities
almost every acre of ground is covered with vestiges of the
mighty city. According to Strabo, the city of Babylon was
385 furlongs in compass, and according to Diodorus Siculu.s,
360 ; but Herodotus, who belonged to an earlier age, states
that it was of the s.ame dimensions as Nineveh, that is, 480
furlongs, or .above 60 miles in comi)ass. The difference
between the two cities was that Nineveh fomicd a parallelo-
gram, whilst Babylon was an exact square, each side being
120 furlongs; so that Babylon covered much more ground,
or 14,410 square furlongs, whilst the area of Nineveh was
only 13,500.

Gre.at Babylon, " the golden city " of the ScrijJtures, its
beauty, strength, and grandeur, its walls, tcm])les, palaces, and
hanging gardens, the banks of the river, and the artificial
canals and lakes made for the drainage of that river, in the
seasons of its over-flowings, are described with such pomp and
magnificence by the heathen authors, that it is deservedly
■•eckoned one of the wonders of the ancient world. Though
seated in a low, marshy plain, it is called in Scripture " a
mountain," on account oi the great height of its walls and
towers, its palaces and tcm|)les. Its walls, according to
Herodotus, were 350 feet in height, and 87 in thickness.
The most minute and best description of ancient Babylon
is that by Diodorus Siculus, who wrote half a century before
the birth of Christ, though the city had even then long been
laid in ruins.

No striking niin presents itself till we arrive .at the Mujil-
libe, truly a vast and sublime relic of the days when men w'ere
giants, and constructed edifices by the side of which anything
in modern engineering, with all its aids of steam and science,
looks puny indeed. Between Mohawil and the Mujillibe we
passed four canal embankments, all covered with fragments of
buildings, composed of furnace-burnt bricks ; but the eye is
caught and the attention fixed by the huge mountainous ruin
known as the Mujillibe, an Arabic term, signifying overturned,
which towers above a series of intervening mounds in its
.solit.iry grandeur, and presents an imiiosing object.

On ajjproaching it we had to pass over a deep outer ditch,
which, with an inner ditch of greater de])lh and breadth,
encircles the ruin. The mound then rises in a steep .ascent,
over which we jjicked our way by the winding ])aths worn by
frequent visitors. The general form of the edifice is oblong,
though its sides have been rendered irregular by decay.
According to Mr. Rich, who wrote two valuable memoirs on
Babylon, the whole circumference of the Mujillibe is 2,110
feet, and the height of its highest angle, that of the south-east,
141 feet. It is probable that the building, whatever it might

\1(,l:

JcnRM.SlN'v.S IN MKSorol AMIA.

27 I

originally have been, was surroumleil by walls as welt as by
iliuiies. Major Reimell was of opinion tli.it it was the 'lower ot'
Ik-liis, while Mr. Rich, wlio hail xisited IJ.ibylon more than
once, ami haJ every facility aft'onleil him during his observa-
tions, always spoke of the Birs Nimroud across the river as
that f.imoiis edifice. I liiink the view of the latter gentleman is
the more correct, though it is a (piestion wiiich can never be
delniitely settled. In the e.xterior surface of the Mujillibe are
remains of walls and buildings, and its base, probably, is still a
solid building.

These features, addeil to the circumstance of its being to
all appearance surrounded by ditches, give colour to the .sup-
position of the Mujillibe having been a castellated palace, and
although the solidity of the ruin would seem to oppose this
idea, yet this was doubtless caused by the overthrow in one
ruined mass of many different buildings. Mr. Rich's elaborate
description proves the existence in the interior of ( hambers,
passages, and cellars of dil'ferent sizes. This wonderful pile
must have been, then, the seat of luxurious feastings and revel-
ries ; its halls, in the distant days when Babylon flourished a
great and powerful city, must have resoundetl with song, while
the " twinkling" of the feet of many dancers made every
heart bound with joy ; and mighty monarchs, whose ears were
filled with flattery, doubtless forgot that all this splendour would
pass away. It now stands there a heap of ruins, and on gazing
on it the sublime passage in the Prophets involuntarily occurs
to the mind, " Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the
Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when CJod overthrew Sodom
and Gomorrah. It shall never be ii diited, neither shall it
be d'velt in from generation to generation ; neither shall the
Arabian pitch tent there ; neither shall the shepherds make
their fold there."

Leaving the Mujillibe alone in its desolation, we bent our
course to the next imi)ortant ruin, distant about one mile, and
known generally as Kasr, or the Palace. On our way we came
close to the banks of the river, which is much wider here than
is the Tigris at the same distance from the sea. Its banks were
lined on both sides with groves of palm trees, and its current
flowed somewhat sluggishly along. As I stood on the banks of
the grand old river, with the fresh air from the silent groves
fanning my face, my mind reverted to the days when the cap-
tive Jews wandered about these self-same shores, and, hanging
their harps on the willows or osiers which to this day grow
on the banks, refused, when pressed by the enemies of their
race and religion, to sing the songs of Zion ; instead of notes
of joy, the breath of heaven bore away on its wings the
sounds of lamentation and woe.

The gardens on the banks of the river are watered in the
following manner. A canal of narrow dimensions is let in
from the main streair) to a distance of twenty or thirty feet ; a
frame-work is then erected over it, made of tho trunks of date
trees, two sections of a .-urk being used as posts, one as a
transverse bar, and two others, sloi)ing inwards, resting upon
this bar ; in the end of these last are pulleys, over which
traverses a cord ; Ui die one w\d of the cord is affixed a large
leather bucket, which doMends to the river with its own weight
and fills. The other end is listened to a buUork, which is
made to descend over a steep, artificial slope, at an angle of
forty-five degrees, and, thus uniting its weight with its strength,
it easily raises the water. This is then discharged from the
leather bucket, by a long pipe of the same material, into a

channel somewhat above the level of the garden itself, so that
it readily finds its way into the general rescruiir iIutc, !■ ,u h
of these bullocks has a ilriver to attend ii, Inn noiwiihsi.uiding
this, the method is as cheap and eltci ti\e .is .my that < mild lu'
contrived to be execiitcil. ainl is the s.uiic tli.it li.is been in
oper.ilion for ages, not only in .Mesopol.niii.i, bin in the rui.il
parts of India where l.iiid reiiuires artifii i.il irrigation.

Crossing over the iiitermeili.ite v.illey between the river and
i;l Kasr, or the Palace, we proc eeiled to e.\amine this noble
ruin.

This enormous pile stands on a mound ; its form is very
irregular, and measures 8 jo yards in length by 610 in breadth.
The ruins are deeply furrowed throughout by ravines of gie.il
length, depth, and width, and crossing each other in cveiy
direction. Some are full sixty feet in depth, wliii h .Mign.in
attributes to the -Xrabs, who are constantly at x>ork conveying
the brii ks to llillah and other places, as building materials.
In some of these artilicial ravines, fragments of detached wall
are still standing, compu.sed of burnt brick cemented together
with bitumen, with their faces or inscribed parts downwards.
The freshness of the inscrii)tions, on extr.icting some of these
bricks, is amazing ; one would never gather that they hail been
imprinted thousands of years ago, and formed part of shape-
less ruins even at the commencement of our era. In the fiag-
inents of building on the summit of the mound, neither
bitumen nor reeds can be traced, there bei ig but a simple
layer of mort.ar to bind the materials together. The very heart
of this pile api)jars to be built entirely of the finest fiiniace-
baked bricks, distinguishing it from other ruins, in which sun-
dried materials are employed. On the top of the mound are
the remains of square piers or buttresses, measuring from
sixteen to eighteen feet in height, and nine in thickness. The
colour of the bricks of which these buttresses are composed is
pale yellow, and so tenacious is the cement by which they are
adhered together, that it defied our utmost efforts to detai h
them.

Near to this palace, and close to the river, lay the wor.derful
so-called " hanging gardens," the work of Nebuchadnezzar.
These remains consist of two grand masses, of the elevation
of sixty feet, connected together by a broad and lofty cause-
way, and fiiced by an embankment on the edge of the stream,
the whole occuijviug in its present state a space of 2,350 yards
in length, by 1,100 in breadth, and about twenty in height.
The hanging gardens are describeil by Strabo and Curtius to be
jirecisely in this situation, near the palace, and dose to the
stream from whence they were watered. They are said by one
authority to have been fifty cubits, and by another to have
exceeded 100 feet in height, and to have occupietl five and
a half .acres in extent. Uio.lorus says they formeil a sipiare of
4C0 feet ; Curtius that they were supported by twenty walls,
eleven feet distant from each other, which spaces, together with
the thickness of the walls, will make up at least 400 feet.
They had a view over the lity w.Uls, and w\iv said to be
iiliwards of 100 feet in height. The g.ardens. Buckingham
observes, had evidently buildings in them, besides the niasoi\ry
of the lot'ty mounds on which they stool, and as they were in
themselves the most wonderful of the public structures of
Babylon, when the vast amount of labour expended in their
construction is taken into consideration, it is probable that they
were embellished with appropriate edifices, such as are to be
found in Eastern gardens. Pliny, writing of these hanging

'Iii

»7*

ll,I,r.SI'I<ATr-,I) TRAVELS.

H.inli'iis, Kays;— "'I'lif c'lstlf liad Iwonty staMia (inuil, an(l reason lio Hiiii|ii)S(Ml to lie the vcHtigi's (if lliis, tlii' must niarvi.-l-
iIk' ii>w(.Ts of it iliiiiy fcxl in the carili, ami cij^lity in liuiylit. luiis >>( tlic scvun wunikT.i of the \V(jilii, may be tlius briefly
'I'lie hanj^in^ gardens were here (onstriK ted on cohmins, an lies, described.

and walls, and i ontained terraces of earth, watered by machines The smaller of the two mounds is 700 yards in length and

from the river, {.roducing forests of large trees. lis height , breadth, its form being nearly a square ; its south-west anglo

TAUK KESRA.

was equal to that of the castle walls, and from tliu fine air ; is connected with the north-west angle of the second or l.-'.rgcr
enjoyed there, fruits of all kinds were jiroduced ; and the j mound, called Amran, by a ridge of considerable heiglit, and
sl)a<le and refreshing coolness of the jilacc were delicious in 1 nearly 100 yanls in breadth. Amran, so called by tiie natives
suih a climate. It was said that a king of Syria, who reigned after a son of .Mi, whose tomb lies to the south-west of this
in ISabylon, constructed these gardens to gratify a wife whom mound, presents the figure of a (juadrant, and is 1,100 yards in
he violently li)v<'il, and who, having a jiassion for woods and length and 800 in breadth. The height of both these mounds
forests, thus enjoyed, in the nu<lst (if a gre.". 'in.tro]icilis, the is irregular, averaging, .is I have said, i ' cty feet. These two
sylvan pleasures of a country life," What may with good | elevated masses arc connected by a causeway of proportionate

f»

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»»•• •< «0"i9. *

»74

ILI.LSIK.VIKI) TRAVKI-S.

■■

IicIkIiI i"il loo yards in hrcullli, noin^j a( ross a valk'v 550
yards in U'li^lli. Iktwuc-n tiicsc mounds and tlic river is
anullicr riMinin„' alon^ its very filyc, anil called by Mr. Rich,
who nieasiircd it, an cmliankinent. lie says, "It cotnnienies
on a line with tlie lower extremity of the grand mound Amran,
and is (here ne.irly ;{oo yards broad at its base, from the east
an^le of which a mound proi eeds, taking a sweep to the south-
east so as to be nearly parallel with, and forty yards more to
the south than, that boundary, and losing itself in the plain,
being, in fad, the most southerly of all the ruins. The em-
b.inkment is (ontinued in a right line to the north, and
diminishes in breadth, but increases in elevation, till at the
distance of 750 yards from the commencement, where it is
forty feel in per[)endicular height, and is interrupted by a break
of nearly the same breadth as the river. To this succeeds a
pici e of Hat ground, a|iparently gained from the river by a
slight change in its course, it being 110 yards in length and 250
in its greatest breadth, and along its bass are tnices of a con-
tinuation of the embankment, which is there a narrow line that
soon loses itself."

What remains of the masonry of l';l Kasr resembles the
best bri( kwork of Kuropean construction, and is in su( h a good
state of i)reservation, that Mr. Rich was for some time doiditful
whether it was a liabylonian ruin at all. On its northern front
stands a curious relii: of the past, jiresenting a weinl aspect
amidst the ilesolation by which it is surrounded — this is an
isolated tree, to which the Ar.d)s have given the name "Athleh."
It appears to be of vast anti(|uity ; the natives, who regard it
with superstitious veneration, aver that it flourished in ancient
ISabylon, and was saved by (lod from the ilestruction that
overtook that city, that it niiglit alTord .Mi a convenient place
to tie up his horse after the battle of llillah. The tree is of a
species unknown elsewhere in Mesopotamia. As it now st.ands
it presents only a bare .nnd decayed half, or longitudinal
section ; yet a few braiKhes still sprout out from its crest, and
present an ever-green front. It is the sole living rei)resentative
of a mighty past. The tree is said to be a variety of the
Tamarix Or'uiita/is, bearing flexible bou;;hs with leaves formed
of long, slender stems, with smaller branching leaves like those
of the pine and cedar, but of a lighter green.

II*

T/ic Fiyst jfoiinicy of Exploration across Vanconvey Island. — //.

BY ROBERT BROWN, K.R.G.S,, ETC., COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION.

THE INTERIOR.

The Indian village on whose (juietude we had thus intruded
had green maples and alders shading the houses, giving it a
pleasant look. Thus far Indian life — in the heyday of summer
and plenty — looked ])leasant enough. 15ut all around the
village is "an ancient and fish-like smell" — an odour of
salmon in all stages of decay — for it is also the height of
the salmon-fishing season. There is a weir of upright poles,
with oblong boxes, made of an open-work of cedar rods, with
their open mouths to the current, suspended from its base ;
while canoes dash hither and thither with the eager fishermen.
An Indian, stark naked, stands over a pool, and now and again
spears a silvery salmon, numbers of which are lying quivering
on the bank beside him. In the lodges, families are sitting
round the fires, boiling and eating " sabud" to their stomach's
content ; and greasy-looking youngsters have scarcely energy
enough to peer out of their fat-encompassed eyes at the "King
George men" who have — rare event — come on a visit to them.
I am not Icng here before certain old worthies suddenly
recollect that they knew me once b: '"ore, or that they ren-
dered some service to somebody or other — date and circum-
stance not very clear — the end of which is, of course, a plug
of tobacco or a jiipeful of paint. '

Glad to escape from the multitude of friends, we file
out of Quamichan (the " hurnp-backed country "), as from
the contour of the surrounding hills it is called, and .again
have only the tall pines and the whirring grouse for our
company. Afternoon is far advanced when we reach the
highest Indian village on the Cowichan River — called Tsamena
(" the upper place ") — and as we have here fixed our rendez-
vous, we pitch camp and make ou selves at home imtil our

river party arrives. Tsamena is a quiet place, a sort of
fishy edition of the " Deserted Village," and a few old folks loaf
about with an air of departed grandeur. Among the shady
trees behind the village we see carved figures and quaint
sculpturings on the graves, and many of the graves seem new,
and the figures betoken a taste actjuired since civilisation has
got on their borders. Sometimes a m.m is represented with
a hat on, while on other pillars, supporting a box into which
the body is doubled, the owl — emblem of the departed^is
rudely carved.

Old Kakalatza, the chief, is soon introduced to us : a quiet
o'd man, who sits in front of our little tent-door talking in a
subdued way, almost under his breath. " You had many
people once in your village?" I ask him. " Very famous were
the warriors of Tsamena in old Tsosieten's wars?" "Ah, yes !"
is the reply in the careless, off-hand way of these Indians ;
" but some are gone to Victoria, and some are hunting on the
hills, and some are gathering gamass ; * others are fishing at
the salt water, while others are gone there — when they go there
they never come back again ;" and we felt sorry for the old
man, as he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the last
resting-place of the warriors of Tsamena. Kakalatza is a great
hunter, and every year goes into the interior to hunt elk, by the
borders of the great lake out of which this river arises ; he
agrees to go with us and take his canoe along with him, to
convey our stores, so that suddenly a heavy source of anxiety
is removed from our minds.

Whilst we were sitting down to supper in the course of the
same evening, a strange-looking recruit for our expedition

* The bulbs of Gamassia escuUiilo, much used as an article of food by
the Indians.

FIRST JUIKNI-.Y C)l' r.Xri,l)U.VIluN ALKi»S.S VAXcDl Vl.U INLAND.

»75

turned lip, and in Uniken, Ri.<l- River I'ri in li. oflVntl his
services as hiinlcr to .U'sicur U Cii/<il,iim\ As he sat apart
on a log, his solitary haiul in his p(i( ket, a more inipromisin{»-
lookinj^ character < ould not well lie iiiKi^;iiK'il. lie was no less
a man than " Dne-armcd Tomo," or riiomas, ('anions among
hunters and trappers all the way from Vancouver Island to
Rupert's l«ind, and of laio years not unknown to Her
Majesty's courts of justice in a rather compromising light.
His father was an Irniuois ivvdj^a/r from Canada, his mother
a C^hinook from the Columbia River. He had for forty years
moved about over the country among Hudson Hay forts and
hunting st.ations — voyiii^ciir, fanner, hunter, trapper— possibly
worse ; speaking every Indian langu.age and most I'airoi)ean
ones, so far as he had met with anybody to teadi him ; very
often " wanted," but rarely to be found ; half Indian, half
white ; a north-western polyglot interjjreter, doing a liitle of
everything — some things very well. Under more favourable
circumstances he would have been an Admirable Criehton.
As it was, One-armed Tomo was only a roving vagabond,
to whom an expedition of this sort was just a windfall ;
and though I had been particularly warned to give a wide
berth to this same north-western genius, yet, at that time
being very much in want of his accomplishments, I risked
the engaging of him on trial for a few weeks. Among our
motley crew Tomo was not long in finding an eld acquaint-
ance, who promised to become gu.arantee for him, and before
evening was over he delighted us all by the versatility of his
accomplishments. Story after story dropped from his ready
tongue ; jokes in English, jeiix ifcsprit in French, and slow,
sonorous proverbs in Spanish, were rattled off in quick suc-
cession ; while he kept up a by-talk with the Indians, who
appeared to half fear, half admire him. *Tomo's outfit was not
extensive. He stood five feet odd in his r.agged trousers and
woollen shirt ; a grey cap was set jauntily on his head, and a
pair of wooden-soled boots, made by himself, were on his feet.
More than that he had not. He borrowed a blanket from
his friend the chief, and we supplied him with a rifle ; so he
declares with a very big oath, as he squints along the barrel,
that " he is a man once more," and in two minutes is asleep
under a tree, with the gun between his legs. During all our
long connection none of us had ever reason to regret the day
when he joined our party, and to this hour One-armed Tomo,
the swarthy vag.abond of the western forests, is only remem-
bered as a hearty fellow — prince of hunters and doctor of all
woodcraft — whose single arm was worth more than most men's
two, and without whose help the map of Vancouver \(x3uld
have been but a sorry blank yet, and the first Exploring Expe-
dition a forgotten affair.

Next morning we are astir, and off before the sleepy
villagers are about. Our river jiarty is now well organised,
though every hour the labour is getting more severe as the
current becomes more rapid. Four men, with long poles,
swing it up stream, and bard work it is. Scarcely less severe
are our labours on land. Our pathway leads through a
tangled forest, until all track d.-appears, and we steer by the
river. Sometimes we trudge pleasantly over a green fern-
covered iirairie, shut in by forest, and through which a purling
stream runs to join the river. Here our old desire for a " lodge
in some vast wilderness'' revives, and we plan out in Alnaschar-
like dreams, the day when we will leave the cares of the world
and science behind, and settle in this little western oasis, while

our surveyor — mm h more practical, if less poelicil jois down
that " Prairie .No. i c ont.iins so many acres, has stony soil, Imt
is well watered and woodeil, and might possibly yield < lops ui
the belter |)art.'' K.ire, however, are these li'lle open streli lies,
for dense pine forests seem to pre\ail everywhere. ( >Uen
drifts of limber lie athwart our path for several hundred yards,
and we either " 'coon it " along the tops of the fallen trees, or
creep on all fours through the dense underbrush iinlil we
reg.iin open ground. Cirouse are in abund.iiice, and partridges,
as lliey are c.illcd here or sometimes willow-grouse (Ai'/ziMviI
S(i/<iiiii}—i]vw up among the ferns, t.iking to trees and bushes
the moment they are Hushed. If a man is hungrv, anil in< lined
to be of a pot-hunting rather than a sportsmanlike temperament,
then it is easy enough with a revolver to clear a bush of them,
simply by commein iiig at the bottom and fmisliing off with ihe
birds in the topmost branches. This treeing of grouse is quite
cominem in Canada and some portions of the Northern States,
and in these dense forests renders jiointers (|uite useless. On
the jirairies it is not so bad, but in the wooded country, to the
west of the Cascade Mountains, any open c (iiiiitry is very
uncommon. We are not remarkably conscientious how we get
our larder filled, so long as it is filled, and accordingly before
evening not a few grouse have fallen to our jiistols. The sun
is getting low, and as we think of making for the river, to see
if our canoe is not at hand, we hear llie re|)ort of a gun,
and in a few minutes, emerging by the side of a little lake,
bright with the yellow water-lily, we find our canoe party
busy preparing siqjper. They are encamped on a litlle
.prairie, close by an old Indian lodge ; the fire is blazing away
right merrily, and while Huttle is making tea, Tomo is skinning
a deer, which he has shot, and the son of the warlike I.ocha is
boiling beans, flavoured with wild onions and grouse eggs.
Everybody is in excellent humour at the good commencement
of our first day's trip into the wilds ; and a good supper, what-
ever the record of such a materialistic aftair may be thought of
by people who never knew what it was to lie down without
such, and know that your breakfast was yet on four legs in
the woods, adds an acme to everybody's good nature. We
compare notes for the d.ay, write out our memoranda, and
protract such sketches as we may have made, arrange next
day's work, and, after smoking a last pipe, each man rolls him-
self in his red, blue, or green blanket, and before the chrono-
meter goes round another ton minutes, everybody is snoring
away under his favourite tree, on a pile of fir twigs, most fra-
grant and grateful of woodland couches.

Such was our daily routine for many weeks ; the land
party meeting the river party al night, at some bend of the
river; or, by pre-arranged signals, coming to their assistance,
to help them to carry the canoe and cargo over drifts of tree.s,
which jammed up the river in places. The river navigalion was
often very bad, and sometimes we had to dispatch assistance
to bring the canoe alongside our camp, the canoe-men being
thoroughly worn out ; though at other times the land party
would arrive after dark, even more exhausted than the river
party. Sometimes we had to push through the bushes, wet
and dripjiing with a continual down-pour of rain — the water
literally pouring down our backs — over fallen trees, the bark of
which, wet and slippery, slid from under our feet, and sending
us tumbling, blanket and "pack" on back, into some ravine,
where we might think ourselves liap|)y did no further mishap
befall us than a thorough sousintr, a trifle in our then soaked

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23 WIST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. M5E0

(716) •72-4503

876

IIJ.USTRATFn TRAVELS.

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condition. In such a case there was no use in pjtting on
a wry face, for the laugh would be against us, and liicre was
nothing but to " grin and bear it." At other times we had to
cross deep glens, through which a roaring mountain torrent
was rushing, by a frail bridge composed of a single tree thrown
over. Tlie slightest nervousness would overbalance the
traveller, and little hope could be entertained of his after
safety, so that some of our more timid companions preferred
prudently to work their way over astride of the log, after
the operation called "'cooning" it — ludicrous in name, and
still more ludicrous in reality. Sometimes the river ran
between high, rocky banks, over which we had to climb,
looking down on the river party far beneath, like toy voyagairs,
drawing a tiny canoe. Down in shady hollows we often
came on streams where the remains of old bear-traps, and the
skeleton salmon, with which they had once been baited, in
them, telling that once on a time hunters had passed that way ;
but hitherto not a human being had crossed our path. With the
exception of our companion, Kakalatza, it is now rarely that
anybody troubles these wilds, though certain signs pointed out
by the old Indian, told him that somebody had passed that way
not long before, and, profiting by past experiences, he would,
after his own fashion, write direi tions or warnings for them on
the smooth-barked trees, whic ■ would catch their eyes. There,
with a bit of red (halk whi( h he had pickeil up among the
party, he wf)uld mark a ford, where a foot traveller could cross,
by the rude skel< h of a man carrying a load above his head ;
and at a liad rapid, it would be a canoe turned upside down ; as
a sort of posts( ript, he would add the information that we had
])assed by there on or about such a time of the moon, by
chalking out a half-moon, nine figures with "chimney-pot" hats
(the universal savage sign '";;r a white man), two figures without
hats, and one withou'. an arm ; and lastly, with an internal
chuckle, a si'iiuV/iinj; by which he meant to represent a thievish,
one-eyed, stump-tailed cur, which one of our i)arty shared
his meals with, and which was kicked by everybody else.
None of the Indians on this coast — unless Kakalatza is an
exception, and really I think the knowledge on his part ivas
an invention of his owi — know anything of the sign-wri.ing
of the Eastern Americi'n Indians, and little of any sign-
language, except a few contemptuous shrugs or grimac('s,
though at Cape Flattery J saw a>no;ig the Indians therj a
family who knew how to conMinmicate their thoughts by '.neans
of signs in writing, some specuiyns of which I jiosc^ss. The
study of these has induced the author, and others better able
to judge of such matters, to believe that these were learned
from a party of Japanese seamen, who were wrecked at Cape
Flattery in 1S36, and lived for some time among these Indians ;
but the discussion of this point would lead us into matters
foreign to the nature of this article, and must be reserved for
another jilacc. Old Kakalatza was quite a study in his way.
Son.e time or other an English dandy, who had fo"nd his
way to the confines of his villoge, h.ad presented KakakUza
wiih a siiiierfine black silk hat, and a hat-box, the former
o.vner having no need for such civilised superfluities in so
westerly a longitude. In course of time the old man began
to regard this hat and hat-box in the light of his guarantees
of icspectability, and accordingly when he went with us the
liat-box was put into the canoe, either out of an idea that
the possession of it would impress us with awe, or that he was
afraid to endanger the peace of his village by caving such

a valuable piece of property unprotected in his lodge. How-
ever, on Sunday mornings he would carefully give himself the
usual weekly wash, comb out his long, raven locks (with his
fingers), paint a streak of red down the bridge of his nose, and
three others of a similar nature radiating from cither cheek,
draw his blanket about him, and finally, putting on his tall
hat (which was rather of an ancient " fashion "), he would sit
under a giant pine dignified enough for a sachem. Kakalatza
was a pious man, as Indians go (he had not killed a man,
he told us, for six months), and as he had lately joined
the Catholic Church, I had once thought of constituting
him domestic chaplain to the exjiedition ; but on consulting
the ex-clergyman of our jiarty, lie gravely assured nic that,
looking at the matter from a business point of view, he did not
consider the man worth the fifty cents a Sunday extra which
he demanded for his services, and that, moreover, if there were
any burj-ing to do — baptisms and marriages were out of the
question — he himself would be glad to do it/v /lis tobacco.

> Sunday was generally voted a day of rest, and I regret to
say was looked upon by the astronomer of the jiarty as a
favourable time for getting sights for the errors of the chrono-
meters, and by everyboily else for mending and washing clothes,
and generally bringing up leeway for the week past. It was
very jileasant on these (|uiet summer evenings as we lay around
the blazing fire, talking of the past and future^for we were all
young enough to look to a future — and all of us old enough
and experienced enough of the world to have a tale of the past
to tell. There were men round that camp fire whose lives
Were a romance, and it was only years afterwards that I
accidentally learned how weird a tale one at least could have
told ; but here, far in the interior of the unknown land, he lay
dreamily smoking, and thinking of the former days when his
name was not tmknown to fame. It was on these occasions
that old Kakalatza, through an ever-ready interpreter, would
tell his tales of war, and of love, and of the forest glade ,* tales,
some of which are now embalmed in American mythology, and
smoked and theorised over by dreamy German savaiis, who,
I fear, make much more of them than either the teller or the
recorder ever did. I'^ery dark pool suggested a story to him,
every living thing had a superstition, and hour after hour we
lay awake listening to the strange story of Kakalatza, Lord of
Tsamena.

Not a whit less backward is our one-armed hunter, whose
head is full of such lore. The men to whom all this is
novel, lie in the tent doors li'^^cning and questioning with fresh
interest ; while those who are already initiated in such matters
are equally alert to commentate and criticise. It is the only
amusement of the men, and far be it from the commander by
any act of his to discourage their mirth and good spirits, if they
choose to spend their leisure hours in this manner. Men are
only too apt to get what they call " down in the mouth," with-
out their leader by any foolish wish of his to exercise a tyran-
nical authority over their habits, adding to or inducing it. ' So
they lie talking and laughing, an<l listening and wondering,
until the fire burns low, and Tomo is preparing to get asleep
under his tree, his only preparation for that event — as indeed
with all of us — being to take off his boots. Hut fresh wood is
thrown on the embers, and as the gladsome blaze lights up the
forest and scares the owls from their roosting |>laces, the cry is
raised, "Give us another story, Tomo;" and the saga-man of
the north-west continues his tales far into the night.

A EUROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

377

^ European Sojourn in yapan. — V.

FROM THE FRENCH OF M. AIMli HUMUEKT, SWISS MINISTER IN JAPAN.

HISTORY OF THE SIOGOUNS,

Brouoht up at the court of Kioto, Yoritomo learned to know
the weak slate into wliicii tha power of the Oairi had falbn.
The Mikado, shut up in liis seragho, occui)ied himself with
nothing but the intrigues of the palace ; the courtiers aban-
doned themselves to idleness a-id d^'bauchery ; and the ancient
families, rekted by family ties or interest to the emperor,

the crown. Some of them ar -ogated to themselves an absolute
power in the government of their im|)erial fiefs, while otliers
increased their domains at the expense of their neighbours.
During a number of years, family wars, antl acts of vengeance
and retaliation, steeped in blood the rustic fortresses of the
j)rincipal dynasties of Japan, and anarchy s|)read gradually.
Ujjon tills, Yoritomo, whose family had suffered much in these

i"*

Vi I

WKIISTER AND SIVOSIMA ISLANDS, VIEWED IKOM KANASAWA.

thought only of using their court influence for selfish purposes.
They strove to open to their elder sons a career of the highest
ilignity, whilst they made the younger ones take orders As
for the daughters, rather than j)ut them into convents, they
solicited their admission to the band of fifty ladies of honour to
the Empress, who were all bound to take the vow of chastity.
The matrons of high degree had in their turn an opportunity of
exercising their ambition on the occasion of the ceremonies
which accompanied the birth of the heir presumptive, and the
nomination of his nurse, who was chosen from amongst eighty
ladies, of the old feudal nobility, who seemed the best qualified
to perfofin such an important function. While these things
were going on at Kioto, the daimios, who lived retired in their
provinces, relaxed little by little their fidelity in the acconi-
plisluucnt of llie obligations which they had contracted towards

troubles, obt.ained from the Mikado, after various vicissitudes,
a superior command and very extended power to re-establish
order in the empire

At this epoch neither the Mikado nor the armed lords
had troops to bring in the field, except the territorial
militia — the soldiers of which returned to their hearths when
an expedition was ended. Yoritomo fomied for uimself a
permanent army, jierfected the art of encampment, availing
hims If "*■ it fo' the discipline of his soldiers, and neglected
nothing w lich could make them forget the habits of their
oidiuary do.nestic life. In this reform he achieved coni])letu
success. He subdued the d.-ii'mios, who had attempted to
make themselves independent, and forced them to take the
oath of allegiance to him, in his capacity of lieutenant of the
Mikado.

a78

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

", !

Si I. ' '

'^onie of them, who refused to recognise this title, were
banished, with their famihes ; their estates were confiscated,
and freiiiientiy, when exasperated by an unexpected resistance,
he subjected his enemies to the most cruel punishments. On
the other hand, he ilid not neglect to take a part (through his
agents) in the intrigues of the Dairi. He had commenced his
career under the sixty-sixth Mikado ; he terminated it under the
eighty-third.

'I'he empr'ors who had opposed him were obliged to abdi-
cate ; one of them took the cowl, and shut himself up in a
cloister. It was only under the eighty-second Mikado that
Yoritomo was officially invested with the title of Siogoun, though
in fact he had performed the functions of that office for twenty
years. He was succeeded by his eldest son, and from that time
forth there have been two distinct courts in Japan — that of the
Mikado at Kioto, and that of the Siogoun at Kamakura. At
first the new power was not hereditary, but it sometimes
happened that the sons of the Mikado were invested with it.

The sacerdotal and literary court of Kioto, far from taking
umbrage at what was done at Kamakura, seemed quite pleased
to find in the new government a variety of subjects on which
to exercise their facttious raillery. Amongst these were the
fine airs which the wife of the Siogoun gave herself; the
bad taste displayed in the toilettes of his suite ; the vulgar
play of the actors ; the unnatural style of the dancers ; the
medley of colours in the military uniforms established by
Yoritomo ; the vulgarity of the conversation and manners of
these distinguished upstarts, who assumed the attitude of
deliverers of the empire and restorers of the pontifical
throne.

But an unforeseen event occurred, which gave a sudden
importance to the court of Kamakura, and centred on it the
observation and sympathy of the nation. In the twelfth
month of the year 1268, a Mongol embassy landed at Japan,
presenting themselves in the name of Kublai-Khan, a worthy
descendant of the conquering Tartars, who twelve years
later made himself master of China, chose Pekin as his
residence, and founded the Yuen dynasty, under whose rule
the grand canal was constructed. He was the sovereign who
retained at his court the Venetian, Marco Polo, the first
traveller who furnished Europe with any accurate ideas about
China and Japan.

It is said that his account exercised such a powerful
influence on Columbus, that we may be said to owe
to him indirectly the discovery of America. Kublai-Khan
wrote to the Kmperor of Nipjion : — " I am the chief of
a state, formerly without importance, but now so great that
the countries and towns which recognise my authority can
hardly be counted. I maintain peaceable terms with the neigh-
bouring princes. I have put an end to the hostilities of which
Kaoli was formerly the scene. The chief of this little kingdom
has come to my court to testify his gratitude, and I have
treated him as a father treats his child, and towards the princes
of Nippon I will act in the same manner. No ambassador
from you has yet had an interview with me. I fear that
they have not given you in your country a tnie account of the
state of things, so I send you this letter by delegates who will
make known to you my intentions. The wise man has said
that the world ought to make but one family ; but if we do
not keep up amicable relations with each other how can we
carry out that principle? For my part, I intend to persevere

in the accomplishment of it, even if 1 am obliged to use the
force of arms ! It is, therefore, now for the sovereign of Nippon
to see what he thinks fit to do." The Mikado expressed his
intention of giving a favourable reply to the overtures of
Kublai-Khan. The Siogoun, on the contrary, declared himself
opposed to all ideas of alliance with the tribes of the Mongol.
He convoked an assembly of the daimios at Kamakura
submitted to them his objections, and enlisted them on his
side.

The embassy was dismissed with some evasive words ; and
in the following year the Mongol chief proposed in vain to
arrange an inter\iew between the delegates of the two empires,
in the island of Tsusima in the strait of Corea. In the year
127 1 a new mission from him met with no reply. In 1273 he
sent two ambassadors to Kamakura ; the Siogoun refused to
see them.

A short time afterwards news came that two generals of
Kublai-Khan were about to attack Japan, at the head of an
expedition of 300 war junks, 300 fast sailing ships, and 300
transport ships. The Mikado ordered public prayers and
processions to the principal temples of the Kamis. The
Siogoun organised the national defence, and the Mongols were
beaten and repulsed on every part of the coast where they
attempted to make a descent. Their Khan tried in vain to
renew the negotiations.

Two ambassadors whom he sent to the Siogoun in 1275
were immediately ejected, and a third, who prestnled him-
self in 1279, was beheaded. After this (if we are to believe
the annals of Japan) the country was threatened with the
most formidable expedition that ever sailed on the waters
of the extreme East. The Mongol fleet counted 4,000
vessels, and carried an army of 240,000 men. They sailed
before the wind to Feraudo, near the entrance of the inner
se^;, when a typhoon dispersed them, and they were broken
to pieces on the coasts ; every one who did not perish in
the waves, fell beneath the weapons of the Japanese. They
only spared three jirisoners, who were sent to the other side
of the strait to carry the news. After such events it was no
longer possible to look upon the Siogouns as mere functionaries
of the crown, nor even as the protectors of the Mikado. The
entire nation were indebted to them. From this time the court
of Kioto recognised in that of Kamakura a rival destined ere
long to eclipse and supplant the old regime in the manage-
ment of the aftairs of the empire.

At the present time we find, at Kamakura as it were, the
Pantheon of the glories of Japan ; composed of a majestic
col'ection of sacred buildings, which have been respected
through all the fury of civil wars. They are placed under the
tutelage of Hatchiman, one of the great national Kamis,
belonging to the heroic times of the empire of the Mikados.
The mother of Hatchiman was the Empress Yengon, who con-
(|uered the three kingdoms of Corea ; she also is honoured as
a divinity.

Every year, on the ninth day of the ninth month, a
solemn procession took place in memory of her great deeds,
near to the tomb which is consecrated to her at Fusimi, in the
country of Yaniasiro. Yengon herself surnamed her son
Satsmau ("The eight banners"), in consequence of a sign
which appeared to her in the sky at the birth of this child.
Thanks tj the education she gave him, he became the most
skilful of generals and the bravest of soldiers. When the Empress

A EUROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

had attained the age of a liundred she transmitted to liim tlie
sceptre and crown of the Mika<los, in the year 270 of our era;
he was then seventy-one years of age. He liad a glorious reign
of forty-three years, under the name of W'oozin, and was raised,
after his death, to the ranks of the protecting sj)irits of the
empire, and he is reverenced especially as the patron of soldiers.
In the annual fi/es which they dedicate to him, they celebrate
the memories of the dead heroes of the country, and the ])ro-
cessions which they form on these occasions remind one of the
ancient funeral pomps in the worship of the Kamis. We see
there horses prepared as if for sacrifice, but instead of immo-
lating them they are suddenly set free in the race-course.
Most of the large town? of Japan possess a temple dedicated
to Hatchiman ; that o Kamakura is distinguished from all
the others by the glorious trojjhies it contains. Low, large
buildings serve for the display of these national riches ; it is
there, they say, that the spoils of the Corea and of the Mongol
invasions are accumulated, and also the articles taken from the
Portuguese colonies and the Christian cominunities of Japan,
when the Portuguese were expelled and the Japanese Christians
exterminated by order of the Siogoiins. No European has
yet had a sight of the trophies of Kamakura. Whilst the
states of Europe parade before the eyes of the whole world
the trophies of their wars, Japan tries to liide from strangers
the monuments of her military glory. They hold them
in reserve (like a family treasure) in the ancient sanctuaries
into which no profane persons can po. -dbly obtain access.
On approaching the temple of Hatchiman we could easily
perceive that our arrival had been signalled, and that the
priests were running in haste to close the shutters of the
treasure-houies.

THE TEMPLES OF KAMAKURA.

The temple of Hatchiman is approached by long avenues
of lofty cedars, which form the most noble decoration of
these Japanese places of worship. In advancing along this
avenue, which is on the side of Kanasawa, one sees numerous
oratories and commemorative stones which mark the stations
of the processions. Shortly after crossing a pretty wooden
bridge over a river, we found ourselves at the entrance of
another path, coming from the se£.-coast and forming the centre
of a large street.

This is the principal avenue ; it is intersected by three
gigantic iaris, and opens into a large square directly in front
of the terraces, walls, and buildings of the temple. Even
the interior of this sacred place is quite open to the street,
and bounded on three sides by a mass of masonry slightly
raised, surmounted by a barrier of wood painted red and
black. Two steps lead to the first terrace — one sees nothing
there but the houses of the bonzes, arranged like the scenes of
a stage, amongst trees jilanted along the boundary-wall, whilst
two large ponds of oval shape occujjy the centre of the
place, communicating with each other by a large canal, over
which are thrown two parallel bridges, each equally remarkable
in its way. That on the right is of freestone and whitish
granite, and it nearly describes a perfect semicircle, so that one
asks involuntarily for what feats of balancing it can possibly be
intended. That on the left is constructed of wood covered
with red varnish, with the tops of the balustrades and other
ornaments in old varnished copper. The pond under the stone
bridge is overgrown with magnificent white lotus flowers ; that
under the wooden bridge is resj)lendent with red lotus.

Amongst the leaves and flowers are to be seen, swimming
about in the crystal water, brightly-coloured fishes and otl'crs
with pearly fins. Black tortoises crawl from stalk to stalk,
lifting gently the large aquatic jilants, among which odd-looking
crustaceans are floating. After having enjoyed this novel
spectacle, we walked towards the second jiarvis ; it is raised
some stei)s above the first, and as it is guarded by a fence,
one cannot penetrate into it without crossing the huts of the
holy guardians of the sanctuary.

The temple of Hatchiman, which rises opposite the bridges,
shelters under its high r^of two monstrous idols, placed on each
side of the door which communicates with the centre of the
edifice. They are carved in wood, and are covered from head
to foot with a coat of vermilion, while their grinning fiices and
enormous busts are sjjottcd with innMrnerable paper pellets,
which the visitors throw at them in passing, with as little cere-
mony as would be shown by a. troop of school-boys out at
play. However, the pilgrims make vows to tl.cm, and willingly
add the offering of a pair of straw shoes, of a size proportionate
to the feet of the two giants, which they attach to the railing
surrounding the statues. These shoes are suspended by
thousands to the bars of the railings, and one can imagine
the pleasing effect which this decoration produces. One o(
the lay brothers came up to us on our arrival. His wheedling
manner betrayed interested motives, and we assured him that
his good offices should not go unrewarded if he would procure
us access to the buildings ; he shook his head to make us under-
stand that what we asked was an impossibility, but followed our
steps, nevertheless, with the mechanical punctuality of a man
executing an order.

The sight that met our eyes was truly worthy of admira-
tion. A high terrace, with a long flight of stone steps leading
up to it, looks down upon the seconii parvis. It is held up
by a wall of cyclopean constniction, and supports the principal
temple as well as the houses of the priests.

The greyish roofs of these various edifices stand out in
strong relief against a dark forest of pines and cedars. On
our left were the buildings containing the treasures, one of
them having a pyramidical roof, surmounted by a bronze spire
artistically wrought. At the foot of the great staircase was the
chapel for ablutions. On our right stood a high pagoda, con-
structed on the principle of " « Chinese pagodas ; but in style
less irregular, and moro simp.e and severe. The first floor is
square in plan, and is sujjported by i)illars, while the second
consists of a large, round gallery, which, though massive,
is so light in its form that it api)ears to rest on a single
])ivot. A pointed roof, wider at the base, and ending in
a high-pointed spire, cast in bronze and ornamented with
appendages of the same inetal, completes the effect of this
strange monument, in which it would be impossible to com-
bine greater boldness of style with a better understanding of
proportion.

In contemplating such an edifice a European can at first
hardly suppress a sentiment of aversion from what appears
to him an architectural monstrosity; but this soon gives
way to more agreeable feelings under the imposing and
harmonious impression which all true works of art pro-
duce. The ornamentation of the buildings is both tasteful
and abundant, occurring principally on the pediments of
the doors and the cornices which support the roofs. The
beautiful brown tint of the timber, which is almost the only

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IT.T.TTSTRATKn TRAVELS.

material employed in these siriuttires, is enlivened liy Komo
details of seulpUire, painted red or green, while the general
beauty of tlie |ii(tiire is enlianeed by a frame-work of venerable
trees, and tlie inroniparable brilliancy of the sky, for the atnio-
sjihere of Japan is jjrobably clearer than that of any other
country in the world. We then proceeded to exjilore further.
Below the jiagoda was a turret containing a great bell, beauti-
fully carved, and an oratory with three gulden images on the
altar, a large one in the centre, and a small one on either side,
all of them surrounded by a halo. Thus, although the temple
of Hatchiman is consecrated to a Kami, it is quite evident
that religious customs derived from India have supplanted
jiere the ancient national worship, ^^'e had a fresh proof of
this when, as we were turning lack, we were re(iuested by
the lay brother to go a little further, and were stopped under a

of religious adoration and j. .rioiic enthusiasm. Like the
tribes of Israel at the dcdiiation of the Temi)le, the ])eo|ile
of Nippon and of the ncighl)0uring islands filled these
parvises and avenues under the eyes of the chiefs of the
nation, who were grouped on the esi)i.inade of the temple,
from which a view is obtained of the blue sea beyond the
roofs, bridges, and the three wide gates in the great avenue.
(Jne can imagine a multitude surrounding these buildings,
and clustering about the jiillars, and the natural arcades
formed by the plantations of cellars ; all the space from
the great terrace to the sea forming one innnense temple,
radiant with light and colouring, under the canopy of
heaven.

Nothing could fonn a more com])lete contrast to this
I picture than another temple vhith we visited on leaving

TEMri.F. OF lIATCItlMAN, AT KAMAKURA.

tree laden with votive offerings, at the foot of which was a
mass of rock, surrounded by a barrier. He pointed out to us
an opening shai)ed like a scabbard, which he pretended to be
the work of Nature, though, I suspect, the chisel of the ])riests
had at least completed the image, of which chance had
formed a rough outline. However that may be, the good
dithers seem to have made a happy speculation in exjjosing
to the veneration of the natives this rock, which recalls the
similar invention of the Brahmins. The votive offerings alone ;
prove that it receives the homage of large numbers of pilgrims.
Thus, the Japanese, without falling into all the errors of
paganism, have not escaped the ridiculous conse(iuenccs of
a system which tends to deify all the powers of Nature. The '
people, who are the most intelligent and the most incredulous
of the extreme East, are, notwithstanding, a very superstitious
people.

We took a last view from the height of the terrace over
the whole of the sacred buildings, and could not help regretting
the time wlien an entire ])eople could unite with the niigis-
tratcs and ministers of their religion in one common act

the avenue of Hatrhiman. Although built in a most ad-
mirable situation, at the end of a ])romontory from which
there is a view of the whole bay of Kamakura, it only
produces a more disagreeable impression, in the midst of
such beautiful scenery, to come upon a (so called) sacred
place so unpleasing. The sanctuary does not at first ap-
pear to have any remarkable peculiarity — some insignificant
golden idols are placed over the high altar, and in a side
chapel there is an image of the god of riches amied with a
miner's hammer. The ])riest who received us led us behind
the high altar, and there, in a cage, which was as dark as a
prison and as high as a tower, they lighted two lanterns, and
slowly raised themselves up by a sort of \>o\e, and by the
flickering light of these two stars, lost in the darkness of the
roof, we perceived that we were face to face with an enormous
idol of gilt wood, from thirty to forty feet in height, bearing
in the right hand a sceptre, in the left a lotus, while the
forehead was adorned with a tiara composed of three rows of
beads, representing the inferior deities. This gigantic idol
belongs to the category of the auxiliary deities of tlie ISuddhist

Hii

A KlkOFKAN .SUJOL'KX IN' JAl'AN.

2Sr

u*l

•"«
■'.I.

lArANESE WARRIOKS Ml- llIK CIMI. WAKS IN IFLi; TUIRTIiKMll CENTl'RY.

mythology, the Amidas, the Kwannons, and the intercessors
who receive the prayers of n'en and pass them on to heaven.
It is by means of such religious deceptions and fiintastic scenes
that the priests fill the minds of their (locks with superstitious
terror, and keep thcni under their power in a state of perpetual
imbecility.

From thence we took tiie road to the great statue of the
Daiboudhs, which is pre-eminently the wonder of Kamakura.
This monument dedicated to the Daiboudhs, that is to say, to
the great Buddha, is perhaps considered the most perfect
specimen of Japanese genius, both in point of art and of
religious sentiment. The temple of Hatchiman has already

\ J! . I.

affoided us a remarkable exaniiile of the way in which native
art can produce, with little expense, that impression of
religious grandeur, which, in our northern climates, has
characterised the stupendous etVorts of Ciothic architecture.
The temple of the Daiboudhs was obliged to assume, in some
respects, a dilTerent aspect from the former ; instead of large
dimensions, and the unlimited space which appears to extend
from gate to gate, as far as the sea, a solitary, mysterious retreat
was necessary, in order to prepare the mind, as it were, for
some supernatural revelation. The road is away from any
dwellings, and takes the direction of the mountains, winding
amongst high arbutus h'-dges, and on the flice of the steep

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ILLUSTRATKn TRAVKl.S.

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slopes. Suililcniy one sci's at llic bolloin of llic avcmic a ;
giyantic bra/cii divinity, in a cioiu liing attiliulc witli joined
hands, and its head imlincd, in an altiludc of cuntcniiilative i
ecstaty. The involantary shock which one e.\i)erienccs at the |
app.'arance ol this gijjantic fignre soon gives way to admiration.
There is an irresistible ili.rni in tiie pose of the D.nboudhs,
in tlie harmony of the proportions of t)ie figure, the grand
siiiiplii ity of the drai)eiy, and the jiure expression of the j
features. I

Kverything around was in harmony with the repose
of the idol. A thiik hedge of hornbeam, surmounted by
some beautiful groups of trees, enclosed this consecrated
])lace, and there was nothing to disturb the solitude aiul
silence. The modest cell of the officiating jiriest was almost
liidden among the trees. The altar, upon which some incense
was burning at the foot of the divinity, was composed of a
brass table ornamented with two lotus vases in tlie same metal,
anil of very good workmansliip. The stcjis and parvis of the
altar were covered with large flags laid in regular lines. The
bright blue of the sky, the great shadow of the statue, the sombre
hue of the brass, the brightness of the flowers, and the variety
01 tints in the hedges and groves, filled this retreat willi the
richest eftects of liglit and colour. The idol of the Daiboudhs,
with the i)edestal which supports it, is about seventy feet in
height. It is not at all equal to the statue of San Carlo
Borromdo, near Arona, on the borders of Lake .Maggiore ; but the
latter leaves the spectator with the same sensation as if he had
been placed before a trigonometrical signal. The interiors of
both these colossal statues have been utilised to a certain
extent. European tourists seat themselves in the nose of
tlie holy cardinal ; the Jajianese descend by a private staircase
into the foundations of their Daiboudhs, wliere they find a
(piiet oratory, with a ray of light penetrating to the altar through
an opening concealed in the folds which form the mantle of
brass on the neck of the idol. It would be but an idle i)ursuit '
to examine to what extent the Buddha of Kamakura is the
Buddha of history, but it is well to know that it corresponds -
with the Buddha of tradition. i

The l!ud<lhists received, from the founder of their religion,
a saciamciual image of a very original kind, covered with the
minutest writing, expressed in tiiirty-two principal signs and
twenty-four secondary ones, so that they may be transmitted
to future ages in .all integrity. The Jajianese idol answers in
all essential jwints to the description of tlie great Hindoo
relbrmer.

'I'liey have scrupulously reproduced the pose, the medi-
tative attitude, the joined hands, the elongated fingers, and
thumbs placed together, the sciuatling figure, the legs bent and
crossed one over the other, and the right foot extended over
tlie left knee. One recognises in the same way the large smooth
forehead, and the hair formed of a multitude of short curls, and
can even distinguish the singular protuberance of the skull
with which the top of the head is deformed, as well as a
certain tuft of white hair between tlie eyebrows, which, in
a statue made of metal, can only be indicated by a little
round excrescence.

But all these particular signs do not constitute the face or
the characteristic expression. In this respect the Daiboudhs
of Kamakura have nothing in common with the grotesque
figures whiih are worshipped in China, and this seems to me
worthy of notice, as it is from China that Buddhism has
been introduced into Japan. In spite of some difl'erence in
style and dimensions, the noble Japanese statue is akin to
those which are to be seen in great numbers in the islands
of Java and Ceylon.

It is there that the physiognomical type of contempla-
tion is most religiously jireserved, and apjiears under the
most exquisite form in images of black marble or grey
granite, usually rather below than above the human size.
Japan has inherited some of the principal Buddhist traditions
of these two islands, and was probably visited by some
apostles from those distant quarters. On the other hand it
sufiered in the same way, to a greater degree, under the
influence of nearer neighbours. The temples of Kamakura
furnished me with more than one example in support cf
this t\. fold observation?

U i

ll'i:

^ Journey through the Soudan and IFcsfcrn Abyssinia, loith Reminiscences

of Captivity. — IX.

BY LIEUTENANT W. F. PRIDEAUX, F.R.G.S., BOMBAY STAFF CORPS.

MACDALA— CONCLUSION.

I HAVE before related how, after the hiicute amongst the

had formeriy belonged to the Wallo Gallas, in whose territory-
it is situated, and which he had wrested from them in his
prisoners on Sar Amba, Theodore deemed it advisable to place | campaign of 1855. Originally used by him as an arsenal and

treasury, it contained but a few Galla prisoners till 1865, when
it definitively became the Bastille of Abyssinia. Its merits as a
fortress are now so well known, that it is almost needless to
dwell on them here, and a very few words will suffice to pre-
sent to the reader's mind a long half-moon, of which one
limb points to the west, and is called Fala, whilst the other

them in a fortress, which, from its remote position and natural
strength, "hould present fewer facilities for escape than the
Tchlega mountain. He selected Magdala,* a stronghold which

• It would be useless iiecKintry to alter now tlie spelling of this word.
The name, however, is properly Makdala. The first a is not long, but
accentuated.

}ri

A JOURXKY THROUdll TIIK SOUDAN.

»83

strutchcs round to the soiith, and is denominated MaH<lala,
/(»/• exctllciue. From l-'ula a low saddle leads to a IiIhIi liill,
situated about the mid point of the crescent, which is tailed
Selasye, from the only building upon it, a cluirc h dedicated to the
Trinity ; whilst between this and Magdala lies a broad nei k of
land, called Islam^'O. Theodore, from want (jf malhicl, had
been compelled to leave the outlying forts to take care of them-
selves, and had concentrated all his attention upon the strongest
jioint — Magdala. Nature, however, had done so much for
him that his own art could aid her but in little. Three sides
(with the exception of a winding path, whic h, through the
Kufr-IWr, led to the >[entchura ravine ami the Tanta plateau)
were as cleanly scarped as if fresh from the blasting jjowder of
the sapper. The depth of the escarpment varied at different
points. At some places it exceeded i,ooo feet, while at others
it presented no insuperable bar to the escape of a fugitive. On
the fourth siile — that towards Islamge — a rude and i)recipitous
road led to the Kokat-liir, by which the fortress was usually
entered, and above this there was an insignificant akil/is,
which, though formiilable to the badly-armed Oallas, proved no
obstacle to our men at the time we assaulted the Amba. The
"okat-lWr, and the inner gate which led on to the plateau,
were made of tolerably stout timber, and were always well
guarded by night.

The Amba was garrisoned by about 1,400 men, about 600
of whom were musteretl as musketeers, and the renuintler as
b<\/a-i;as/ia, or shield-men. The regular prison guards were not
included in this computation, and were about seventy or eighty
in number, I believe. At night the gu.irds were told off from
the garrison, and took their turns according to a regular roster.
One of the principal chiefs, with a large body of men, always
slept at the king's house, and another at the Treasury, whilst the
European prison and the Aboona's house were guardeil by
officers of inferior rank. A large body of men always reinforced
the ordinary guard of the native gaol. This consisted of three
or four huge houses, into which the prisoners (who enjoyed
rather a larger measure of liberty during the day) were all
crammed together at night — each man's accommodation being
limited to a space about six feet in length and a foot and
a-half in width. Among them were some of the prin<-ipal
chiefi of Abyssinia, none of whom fared a whit better than
their humbler comrades. At the time of our arrival, Biru
Goshu, Dedj-azmatch of Godjam, Ali I'aris, Dedj-azmatch of
Yedjow, Ras Oobye, the first governor of the Amba, Kasa and
Guanguil, sons of Dedjailj Oobyo of Tigrc, anti brothers-in-law
of the kmg, with Wag-Shoom Teferre, one of the old Zagajan
family, and many others of inferior no*e were there, chained
hand and foot, and considerable additions were made to the
paity during our stay.

The Treasury contained most of Theodore's valuables,
including his crown, and many precious si)oils which he had
plundered from different churches. They were all deposited
in small huts covered with mdk, as a protection against fire.
A large supply of powder was also kept in the adjacent
magazine.

Our own accommodation was at first extremely limited, but
a few days after we were chained three more huts were placed
at our disposal, the largest of which was taken possession of by
Mr. Rassam, the next one was allotted to .Vito Samuel, whilst the
third, a tiny hovel, which had been hitherto used as a stable,
was destined for some of our servants. It was also arranged

that the house into whii h we had been originally put, sliould
be shared between Cameron, lilanc, and myself, whilst Messrs.
Slern, Rosenthal, Kerans, and I'ietro should be located in
the kildien. Uut HIanc and I, who h.id been friends and
(oinrailes for m my a long day, preferred compar.uive inde-
pendence even to the comfort, such as it was, of :i larger and
drier house; and besides, we hardly likeil the idea of Mr. Stern,
who, from his profession and education, was entitled to the
highest respect, being forced to sleep amongst the native
servants, several of whom, from the limited amount of space at
our disposal, must necessarily have |)assed both night and day
in the kitchen. We therefore petitioned to be allowed to make
use of the stable as our abode, and our request was granted
without dilliculty. The three extra houses being situated out-
side the enclosure, a door was made in it, and a new fence
was built up between us and the outer world. Messrs.
Cameron, Stern, and Rosenthal kept to their old quarters,
whilst Kenans and Pietro changed their:; to the kitchen.

As Mr. Rassam's inlluencc with the chiefs increased, so
did our comfort and accommodation in a corresponding ratio.
Our neighbour, liitwaddad DauKish, came in one morning with
a party of his men, helped us to pull down our cabin and a
large portion of the hedge, and soon raised up a much more
" eligible and spacious residence." The liitwaddad had fi)r a
long time been under lilanc's care. His case had been most
successfully treated, and having, I suppose, some faint notions
of gratitude, he tried to show it by making us a trifle more
comfortable. Hut he had no notion of virtue being its own
reward, and it was a long time before wa were free from his
importunities. We had been so thoroughly cleaned out by our
royal host that, beyond a very scanty supply of clothing, the
only article of luxury we could muster iq) between i was a
small folding mirror, which I had brought with me into the
coimtry. This was one day incautiously displayed during a
visit, and the result was that the Uitwaddad's longing eyes
could never be kept off it when it was visible, or his thoughts
from it whilst it was away. At last we really thought it was
best to send it off, with our most ])rofound respects, to his
wife. The Bitwdddad came, embraced us, grew quite affec-
tionate over our tc</j, antl after a few more visits, finding there
was really nothing more to be got out of us, confined his polite
attentions, to our great relief, to Mr. Rassam, the aiiiategna, or
chief of our jjarty.

The fence was afterwards enlarged, and Kerans and Pietro
were even alloweil to build small huts, in which they were per-
mitted to reside during the day, though they were obliged to
retire every evening to the kitchen to sleep. In this latter apart-
ment, as well as in that occiqiied by Cameron and the mission-
aries, guards were always posted at night, an annoyance from
which Mr. Rassam and we were fortimately free. Eventually,
Cameron and Stern were also provided with huts, in which they
could live and sleep, whilst we also received permission to have
cabins erected for our servants within the enclosure. Thirteen
huts were altogether added to the original two, exclusive of a
couple of very respectable houses, one of which Aito Samiici
used as an aMcras/i, or morning and dining-room, and the
other as an a/fiiig, or ladies' chamlier.

The fortress having been originally intended by Theodore
to overawe the surrounding country of AVorra Haimano, the
command of it had been entrusted to a favourite soldier, Riis
Oobye, who heUl it with a large number of troops until he fell

»*4

ii,LusrRATF:n travkls.

11?;," ■

\\\ *i

■ il !*

! '■ -1

!■■

I'!

into fiisgmre for refusing to divorco his wife, to whom he was
devotedly attached, and to take in her place one of the king's
protf^im. Several (hiefs siwi ceded him in the government of
the Amha, >mtil at lenglh 'I'heodore. «lio grew every year
more siispic ious of his oliicers, confided the care of the garrison, i
and the treasures they guarded, to a lio<ly of men, one of whom j
was nominally stijierior, Imt had little more real power than ,
any of the others. Mis diief |)rivilege was, I hclieve, that he
could go in and out of the gales at his own will and jileasure ; j
whereas no one else could leave the mountain without his '
permission, liut thi.s was one of those rights which .ire ■
possessed but never exercised, for wati hful eyes were always '
upon him, and as e\ery chief kept a private staff of messengers. !
who were ( niitinually on the road between Magdala and the ,
royal <amp, the Kas well knew that the slightest show of ^
indepeudeni e on his part would be instantly rei)orted to the '
ears of his niaslL-r. No matter of the least importance could be
undertaken willmut having been fir^t well ilebated in coun( il.
'This mutual jealousy preserved a due eiiuilibrium, and no
member possessed any extraordinary weight. The question
asked was never, " Is this right, or just ?" but, " Will it jilease .
the king?" and it may readily be guessed to which side their
counsels leaned. Many instances might be aihhued in proof
of this, but one will suffi<e. The .\boona, or liishop, who hail
been a prisoner since 1S65, was slowly dying of a lingering
disease. The ipiestion arose. .Should l)r. I'lanc, who was known
to be always ready to use his best skill in the task of alleviating
s\itiering, be requested to see the patient ? The poor fellows
were undou', ,edly in a dilennna. If they s.iid. " .\o." and the
bishop dieil. liiey might be ( .tiled to ac( ount lor not having
(ailed in assistance ; if they said. " Ves. let \is oliey the dictates
of humanity, and have the satisfaction of doing one generous
and manly act ." ' hy, then, the dreaded inc|uiry might come.
"Who gave you Ic.ive to allow Dr. lilanc to leave his prison-
hou.se?" ."^o the bislio|i was hjft to die; tbrtunalely for them.
to their master's complete satisfa( lion.

Such were they as a body: anil as individuals they were not
much better. At the time of our arrival they all held tlie
honorary title of Dedj-azmatch ; but a few weeks afterwards
the king was pleased, in appreciation of their faithful servi( es,
to promote the iirincipal chief to the rank of Has, and some of
the others to that of liitwaddad ; whilst to the captains cf ccim-
])anies, Haslias and Shalakas, was given the titular ilesignation of
I)edj-a/match. The Ras Kidana Mixxyixm* (Cc^iiuvit of M<vy)
belonged to an honourable family of Bagemder, and was a man
of courteous and unassuming manners, but feeble-minded, and,
some said, venal. Though he hated trouble and res])onsil)ility,
he was always anxious to render our position easier ; but his
weak and timid natun- prevented him from being of much assist-
ance. In March, 1867, he fell into disgrace, and having been
chained and dragged to the (-amp, died there in a few months
from exposure and jirivations. Me was sudeedei' by Ras
IJisawar, a connection of the king's, for whom he entertained a
superstitious love and reverence. He w.as no Sjoldier, and I
was assured by a gossiping <hief that he had been well knouted
by Theodore for cowardice on the field of battle ; but he had
a great love for the Church, and having been brought up as a

• A mine (;ivoii in .illii!<ion to \\k cnvcii.int which the Abys^hii.Tiis
holicvc w.iB inaik- al llic crcaticjii liclwcen (loil and the Virj;in for the
reclempiiim of the wnrlil tlirmit;1i her .Son. It is sometimes called KiJaiia
Mihiat, "The Covenant of Mercy."

DiTtfra, or scholar, always retained a great predilection for
members of that profession. He commanded half the mus-
keteers, the remainder of ilu'in being imder Hitwaddad Dantash,
whose hotise was c ontiguous to ours. Few of us liked this
man, as he was an importunate beggar, a cowardly bully, and
was especially offensive in his cujis, when he had .n nasty
habit of embr.K ing all those with whom he thought he could
be intimate with impimity.

The best of the bat( h was Am.ire Ilailu, the eldest brother
of Tesamma and Sharoo, who had ( ommanded our escort from
Tchelga to the royal camp. He was a civil, sensible man, and
though the ])resence of his mother and brothers in the camp
|)revented him from openly manilestiug his feelings, it was easy
to see that he had no great love fi)r his master. Hearing,
however, that Theodore's suspicions were aroused, he waited
until the troops had almost arrived at M.agdala ; then, making
all the necessary arrangements with his mother bcfiirehand, he
escaped by means of a rope-ladder over the pretipice, and
made the best of his way to the liritish camp. .According to
the latest accounts, he resinned the government of his native
district of Wandige, which a man of his courage and self-
reliance may be expected to hold against all comers. Whilst
al Magdala. his duties were principally in relation to the native
])risoners, and in these he was assisted by liitwaddad Wasye^, a
Kaniant. Wasye was nr)t nearly so popular as his colleague,
being inaccessible to love or money, bribes or cajoling— a
dcvoteil stibject and a loyal husband ; whilst Hailu, whose
high birth and insinuating manners made him a general
favourite amongst the haii .rc.w, was notorious fiir his gallant-
ries. The spearmen on the mountain were divided between
Kid.'ina Maryam (and, after his disgrace, I!isawar)and Dedjadj
("lOiljec. an imbecile old tippler ; whilst the remainder of the
superior chiefs, who held subordinate posts in the Treasury and
native prison, were mere tedj-drinking nonentities, whose ideas
of politics and theology may be summed up in their own pet
fiirnuila : "There is ,1 (lod in heaven, but a Theodore upon
earth."

.Miotit fifteen c hiefs on a regular roster imdertook the duty
of guarding us by night, when they came, each accompanied by
his cliiljra, or company, whic h consisted usually of about thirty
men. They seldom interfered with us. an occasional present
serving to keep them in good himiour. During the day-time
we were brought more intimately into contact with four men,
who from the beginning to the close of our captivity officiated
,as door-keepers and guards. Abba Falik was an old soldier of
Ras .Mi. a lank, gaunt veteran, like the figure-head of an old
seventy-fimr ; in character, emphatically a sneak, alw.ays prying
about one's house. Whether he made any b,ad use of the
knowledge he thus i)icked up, or not, I am unable to say, but
he was, at .all events, universally hated on the mountain,
liasha Bisawar was morose and jovial by turns, very protid,
and, if skilfully handled, jiretty easily managed. Abba Adam
was a harmless octogenarian ; ya-Gooksa iui/ms, " the young
warrior of Ras Gooksa," he would boast himself, going back to
memories sixty years old; fond of his glass, for which he
would do anything. The fourth, Shalaka Warkyc', we all
liked ; there was no h.arm, and as far as wc could judge, no
liarticular good, in him; still, ill-usage had had such .aii elfect
on us, that we voted everybody a kind, .amiable fellow who did
not absolutely kick us.

Such was M.agdala, its belongings and tlefenders, during

•'■' ■

KALLS OV DAVEZOUr. AliYSSIMlAN I'l.ATEAU.

J 85

II.I rSTRATKD TRAVELS.

■', i

h\h i'

m-v\

fav =

\\w IwcnlyoiiL' moiitlis (if our fircoil ri'siiloiKe tluTC. Sikk o
(liK't not .illnvv tiii; to cnti-'r on the trivial ami iiinnntotioiis
details of our daily life. The niisson^crs that wc sent ih)wn
to the roast were, to their ( redit lie it said, almost invariably
faithful and tni'-nvorthy men. With the assisia'ne of Aitu
Samiiil, they n^eil to lie smiinnled in and out of the fortress
w'lh our money and letters on their jiersons ; and so Kinj,' as
we were well supplied with the former, wc (ould live pretty
comfortalily. No restrictions were ever placed on our pur-
chasing,' whatever we likeil at the m.irket, whii h was held at
lsl,'im;ie every Saturday ; and our maid-servants would return in
the evening l.iden with fowls, honey, liutter, doth, and other
articles procured with the money with which they had been
entrusted in the morning,'. The currency, as is well known,
consists solely of Austrian dollars of the year 1780; anc', these
must be without (l.uv. and with certain marks upon them,
easily distinguishable by an .Miyssinian eye, without whicn
they will not pass. The small change is in amiilis, or coftin-
shajied blocks of rock-salt, eight indies in lengtii, and .ibout
an im h in width and thickness. Kormeriy, thirty five of these
went for a dollar. During our stay at Magdala, the price varied
from six to nine for the same coin ; and after the king's arrival
it went down to two or three. We were rather badly ofl" for
vegetables at first ; but during the summer and rainy season of
1867, through the kindne.ss of Colonel Merewether,* who sup-
jilied us with a large stoi k of seeds, we were able to raise a
good crop of peas, cabbages, tirnips, beet, and lettuce. As
our cuisine was comku ted by the Indian servants whom we
had brought from Aden, there was little to complain of on that
score.

The groat drawback was the utter want of employment.
We had but few books, and those we had could scarcely be
called light reading. M'Culloch's Commercial and Geogra-
phical Diitionaries, Smith's "Wealth of Nations," D'Aubigne's
"History of the Reformation," Cowper, Longfellow, .and last,
but far from the least, a well-thumbed copy of Hor.ace, were
all the books I can muster up in my memory, with the ex-
ce|)tion of a few grammars and dictionaries. In the evening,
Rassam would generally join HIanc and myself in a game of
"duunny" whist, with a jiack of cards which, from constant
use, would have disgraced the back parlour of a country pot-
house, and whose backs were almost as well known to us as
their faces. Eating, drinking, a good deal of sleeping, and
smoking the acrid tobacco of the Galla country, filled up the
remainder of our time. For a long period we had not nuich
even to talk about. Our letters and jiapers did not begin to
arrive at all regulariy till some months h.ad elapsed, whilst the
king, who had returned to Debra Tabor, after seeing us safe
off from Aibaukab, remained shut up there, manufacturing big
guns and mortars, and occasionally going out on a raid into
the neighbouring districts. Mr. Flad returned, at the beginning
of 1867, without the artisans, but with a letter from Her
Majesty, couched in conciliatory but peremptory terms. Some
correspondence passed between the king and Mr. Rassam on
this subject, but it soon dropped ; and seeing that Theodore
intended to adhere to his policy of contempt and insult to-
wards I'jigland, we all made up our minds that we could never
be released without war, and that as it was inevitable, the sooner
it came the better. I'"eeling that almost any fate was preferable

• Ninv Sir William l.ockyer Mcre'vcllicr, K.C.S.f., C.B., Cum-
missidiicr in Simlli. lie then had t-harge of the uperatiuiu on the coast.

to this lingering state of suspense, we wrote home, urging mosi
earnestly th.it the strongest measures should be taken for our
release, and weh oming the idea of an Knglish force landing
anil giving our g.iolers a lesson, or even though it were only
to avenge us.

Meanwhile, the atfairs of the king remained throughotit the
whole of the summer and rains of 18(17 in a most critical con-
dition. The road between Uelira Tabor and Magdala was
freipiently bloikaded by the insurgents, so that not even the
royal inc-.sengers could p.'ss, whilst on several occasions Theo-
dore was obliged to have rc<ourse to the services of a follower
of one of his imprisoned ( hiefs, who became the only medium
of communication between himself and the mountains. Still
stories reached us of fre(|iient desertions, and still more fre-
(I'.ient dec's of ( riielty. These reports were doubtless grossly
exaggerated ; ncertheless, there remains evidence enough to
show that at thii time Theodore must have been ]iosses.sed
with a mania for homicide never surpassed in history. Old
and tried <hiefs were ruthlessly butchered on the slightest sus-
picion ; large bands of soldiers were disarmed and slaughtered
like sheep ; the (leasantry of the surrounding districts were
burnt alive by thousands; while noble ladies, the wives and
daughters of deserters, after being stripped, and exposed to
the noontide glare of the sun, were tortured and executeil.
Short ])lundering expeditions were inade to Gondar, Ruanita,
and Ifag, one of the most nourishing little towns in Foggira,
a district situ.ated to the north-west of Rigemder. All these
towns were sacked, and most of the inhabitants burnt or other-
wise murdered. On another occasion, a foray was made to
Metraha, a small island at the north-eastern comer of Lake
Tsana, where there was an ancient church possessed of con-
siderable property. Moreover, the peasantry of Dembea and
the adjoining provinces, relying on the sanctity of the place,
had made it the depository of ,ill the corn and other goods which
they had contrived to save after their repeated jilunderings.
Having laniled on the island by means of rafts, which had
been constructed by some of his German workmen, the king
consigned every inhabitant of the place to the flames, with the
exception of three Gondar merchants who h-td fled thither for
security, but who reckoned without their host, for they were
robbed of everything, chained, and tortured neariy every day
for money, until they were finally seht up to Magdala. Our
old friend, Gobazye Walda Selasye, who was also there, con-
trived to escape in a canoe just before the troops landed on
the island. Similar enormities were committed daily, to re-
capitulate which would fill up more space than I have at
my disposal.

Our friends on the mountain, as the rainy season drew to its
close, became rather despondent. Whilst few of them hoped
to see their master, they all expected that he would make a
dash for the Amba as soon as the fine weather set in ; and
many were the pious wishes that the rebels of Bagemder
would be too strong for him. Still, they feared him too
much to behave as men, and make the bold resolution of
shutting the gates of the Amba on him, as they might easily
have done. At the beginning of Seiittmber, an incident
occurred which enabled them to jjrove t'^eir zeal. Amongst
our acquaintance was a young man named Afa-Negoos
Mashesha, the son of a man who was formerly a great favourite
of the king, and who had once occupied the post of governor
of the mountain. The father being dead, his son occupied an

A JOURNKY TIIROUOH TIIK SOUDAN'.

387

TT*!

undefined position on iho inoinuain, having no official rank—
for his title was |iurcly honorary — Imt nevertheless freiiuently
being called into rouneil hy the chiefs. One morning we were
Startled at breakfast by the annoiinrcmcnt that Ma.sheshu and
the head treasurer, Iledjerwand Kanfu, togetlier with some
soldiers and servants, had managed to elTec t their escape from
the Amba. Their (light being discovered, they were hotly
jnir.sucil by a party of guards, but .succeeded in rea( hing the
Oalla country, where the soldiers did not venture to follow
them. In the evening an expedition, consisiiii.' •" 200 mus-
keteers, and as many spearmen, under the .'.r.nand of
BitwAddads Damash and Ainart! Hailu, and D'dridj dodjee.
Started for the village to which the fugitive- '\id Hed, an eight
hours' journey from the .\ml)a. They t ' the inhabitants by
surprise, slaughtered several Gallas, and "lifted" a'' the cittle
and horses they could lay their hands on. Howi'ier, they
overlooked a small iiouse in whiih were I'j ' liiel of the
district, the Afa-Negoos, and the Hedjerwand, 'J'hese three
ran off and aroused the inhabitants of the neighbouring
villages ; and as the plunderers were retreating, they were
surprised to see themselves followed by several bands of Oalla
horsemen, who harassed them dreadfully, and nearly took
Damash prisoner, after he had received two slight wounds. The
Amba soldiers retreated, fighting as well as they could, and
succeeded in shooting the Galla chief, Mohammed Hamza.
At last they reached the eilge of the plain, whence a iort of
ravine led to the Amba, and whither the Gallas, being all
mounted, could not follow them. Here they were compara-
tively safe ; but the Oallas continued to annoy them by hurling
large stones at them as they retreated, one of which killed a
petty chief, 'Ali Govina, the son of a brave warrior who had
entered Ras All's service, and who boasted a descent from the
Portuguese, many of whom, it is well known, settled, after the
death of Cristobal da Gama, in the Galla country. Twelve
more were killed, and over a hundred wounded, some of whom
succumbed afterwards. In the sauirpii-/>rut flight which
followed, Damiish was unfortunate enough to lose his two
horses, liis musket, his shield, and even his leopard-skin
/aiHif, or war-pelisse, which was either thrown away by him
to lighten his load, or was snatched off his shoulders by
some purloining Galla. The mountain authorities were terribly
alarmed at this untoward result, especially as they had lost
several muskets ; but th*" king, who had other matters to
think of, seemed to have forgotten the incident when he
came to the Amba.

Shordy after this, October the nth, i"''"?, he started from
Debra Tabor, and for the next five months was occupied in
conveying the immense pieces of ordnance, which had been
mnniifactured for him by his European artisans, through valleys
infested by rebels, and over hills and precipices, constructing
a road which elicited the admiration even of our own engineers.
His greatest enemy, the Wag-shoom Gobazye', a degenerate
descendant of the saintly Lalibela, and of that pious monarch*
who, in his zeal for legitimacy, resigned his own crown, dis-
played a pusillanimity which was only equalled by the
cowardice of Theodore's other rival, Menilek of Shoa. The
latter did, indeed, on ii^e 30th of Noverfber, make his appear-
ance on the edge of the Tanta plateau with a large army, said
to consist of 30,000 horse and 2,000 musketeers, besides
8,000 auxiliaries. A salvo of artillery and musketry was,
• N.iSkwelo Laab, the last of the Zag.Tiin dynasty.

however, the only deiiion^tr.itmn he n\aile. Seeing the .\nilia
people were not inclined to pl.iy their master lalse, he moved
olV again in four d.i)>, to our great ilisgust. It was said
by every one that he was vanquished by seeing the smoke
of the king's camp-fires, three long marches olf. The news
of the landing of the I'.iig isli forces reached us cm the
i^tli of December, and frcm that d,iy to our liu.il release
our minds were in a constant state of fever, hoping, even
ag:iinst hope, that our countrymen mig';t be the first to
break the chains that for twenty-one inimihs had oppressed
us. It was a close race, and tliou.t;li Theodore cauie in
the winner, the triumph was a brief one, and w.is fnjjdwed
close by the retribution exacted on that fatal Kasier Mi.iiday
of 186S.

Wit'ii the curtain falling on this last net of the drama,
ends the task which I set myself, of brielly del.iiliiig the
principal inc idents of our long and wearisome jouriny, and
of a still more painful imprisonment. The whole story, let
it be toiii 4.5 iin|)erfectly as it may, is as complete an eiiisode
as is to be found in history, and the unseemly controversies
wliiih have arisen to mar its fair proimrlions are but
tcmjiorary, and will speedily disapiiear from recollection,
whilst the glorious memory of the result will never file. In
a letter which I wrote from Magdala two days before the
Christmas of 1867, it seems I said, "The climate and exjilora-
tion of a new country are the only attractions which the
expedition possesses ; there will be no fighting or glory, no
V.C.'s or brevets to be gained, and no jirize-money." I am
glad that most of this prediction wis unfulfilled. 'I'he peerage
granted to Lord Xapier of Magdala forms a graceful pendant
(and the only one that the Indian service can show) to that
which Clive won by his sword at Plassey, wliilst there has been
no lack of the other honours alluded to. That the cost of the
expedition, undertaken, as it was, so completely in the dark,
should detract from the merit of those engaged in it, is a
notion which should never exist for a moment in a mind of
common fairness.

Meanwhile, the tcterrima causa belli lies in his lowly grave
within the precincts of the squalid church of Magdala. As I
have said before, it is verydiflicult even after this lapse of time,
to arrive at an accurate estimate of his true character. Kxtolled
as a hero by some, and vilified as a dastardly savage by others,
it is probable that he was wholly neither the one nor the other,
but a man of strong will and ungovernable temper, whom
defective education and the intoxication of power at times
actually bereft of reason. He lived a desijot, never, so far as
I am aware, having performed a generous or noble act during
his ten years' career. He died a suicide, not because, 'ike
Brutus, he dreaded the fate which a Valerian, in more
degenerate days, could co'mly submit to, and could not
brook being dragged in triumjih at the chariot-wheels of his
conqueror ; but rather because he feared that the same
torments to which he had so often condemned others, would
be inflicted on himself — an end less heroic than that of some
poor wretch, who, to avoid the pain of starvation and the
disgrace of poverty for those dearest to him, will rather
murder himself and them, and who meets but scant pity there-
fore. Altogether, take him for good and all, surest to be
remembered through having permanently saddled the English
revenues with an annual charge of a quarter of a million of
money.

i-l

(,v

'ill
if

J-J-U-i!

2HS

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

The French Explonng Expcditioti in Indo-China.

A SHORT aixoiiiit of the Frcncli Expedition from Cambodia
to tlie Vang-ts,!c Kiang was given at page i6o of the present
voknue of the Illl'sikatld Tuavki.s, derived from informa-
tion given in Chinese ne\vs[)apers ; since then the surviving
leader of the party, Lieutenant Ciarnier, has gratified piibUc
curiosity in I'rance by i)ubhshing a iirief prel-min^Ty report of
his nonderfiil ionrney ; and it is announceu t!iat the French
(lovernment, witli its usual Hberahty in siicli imdertakings,
will contribute towards the exjjcnse of a large work on the
results of the expedition. Tiie descriptions given l)y Lieu-
tenant Ciarnier are full of iiiterest ; and the journey altogether,
in the extent of little-kr. jwn country traversed, the perseverance
and courage of the leaders, and its incidents, must be considered
one of the most remarkable in the history of travel. It api)ears
that the party set out from Saigon on the 5th of June, 1S66,
and ascending the Mekong by water whenever navigable, and
when not, on or near its banks, finally nuitted the river at
.Muang-yung (22'' W. lat.), where its elevation is 2,000 feet
above the sea level, and struck across the Chinese jtrovince of
Vunan, in a north-westerly direction, to tlie city of Vunan,
its ancient capital. This place is situated on the shores of a
lake, thirty miles in length by about eight in average widvh. and
lying in a depression in a moimtainous region 6,000 feet above
the level of the sea. The march was continued from this jilace
to Tong-chuan-foo, near the right bank of the Vung-tsze Kiang
(the "Blue River"), and here Captain de Lagree falling ill, it
was left to Lieutenant Gamier to carry out what may be con-
sidered the most important object of the journey— namely,
to visit Tali-fu, the head-quarters of the great rebellion of
Chinese Mohammedans against the Imperial Government. This
perilous mission having been successfully accomplished, Gar-
nier returned to Tong-chuan-foo to find his respected chief no
more ; he had fallen a victim to his zeal and the privations and
toils of the journey. The rest of the ])arty then made the best
of their way to Siu-cheou, the nearest port on the Vang-tsze,
and embarked for Shanghai. The whole distance travelled
from Cratieh, in Cambodia, to .Shanghai, was 5.392 miles, of
which 3,625 miles were surveyed with care, and the positions
in the unknown parts rectified by astronomical observations.

Tn his general description of the country traversed, embrac-
ing tl-.e south-wt-tern portion of China antl the northern part
of the territories of Burmah and Siam, Lieutenant Gamier
states that the region is watered by five of the great rivers of
the world— the Brahmaputra, the Irrawaddy, the Salween, the
Mekong (or Cambodia River), and the Yang-ts^e Kiang. All
these rivers take their rise in the lofty plateaux of Thibet, and
converge towards the narrow space, 240 miles broad, which inter-
venes between the great bend of the Brahmaputra and Likiang,
on tlie Vang-ts/.e ; the great Chinese river, on the east, and the
Brahmaputra, on the west, afterwards diverging, the one to flow
through the centre of China, and the other to blend its waters
with those of the Ganges, near their conuuon embouchure in
the Bay of Bengal. The three other rivers, with several others
of minor magnitude, although as large as the Rhine or
Danube, How through deep valleys lying north and south, and
water the Indo-Chinese peninsula. Thus the plateau of Thibet,
which in its central and western parts has an a\erage elevation
of 11,000 to 14,000 feet, must be greatly lowered on its south-
eastern side, where these great rivers flow from it, and the

chain of the Himalaya, at the same point, is broken up into
separate ridges, between which lie the deep valleys of the five
rivers. The whole region has a humid climate, and is [leoiiled
by a mixed race, mostly Buddhist in religion, but partaking,
in mental and physical character, of the iteculiarities both of
the Mongol-Chinese and of the Hindoos.

With regard to the Mohammedan revolt in Vunan, Lieu-
tenant Gamier says that it commenced about twelve years
previous to the visit of the French Expedition. At the com-
ir.encement, the rebels seized the metropolis of the province,
but being driven from it by the Chinese Government troops,
they retired to Tali-fu, about 120 miles W.N.W. of ihj city of
Vinian, and fortified the place. 'I'he whole country was de\as-
tated by the contending forces, and whilst the French were at
Vunan, two Mohammetlan armies again threatened to take it
from the Imperialists.

It was at the risk of their lives that Lieutenant Gamier
and his companions resolved to visit the head-cpiarters of
these bloodthirsty fanatics; but their errand would not have
been successfully accomplislied without this visit, Tali-fu, the
second city of the province, being on the direct commercial
highway between Bhamo, the head of steam na\igation on
the Irrawaddy and the great centres of Chinese population
and trade. The prosi)eits of future overland communica-
tion between the seats of trade in the Bay of Bengal and
the interior of China could only be ascertained by visiting
this important place. The dangers of the journey were well
weigheil by De Lagree as he lay ill at Tong-chuan; on the one
hand was the Vang-isze close by, offering a safe return to the
members of the exjjcdition ; on the other, was the hazardous
route through the pillagetl districts, infested by the rebel bands.
Lieutenant Gamier consented, however, to run the risk, and
he left on the 31st of January, 1868, taking a no.'herly route
to avoid the bands of marauder:;, twice crossing tliC Vang-
tsze. On the 2yth of F'ebruary he beheld from an elevation
the beautiful lake on the shores of which Taii-fu is situated ;
it formed (he says) one of the most magnilicent landscapes
that he had had the good fortune to enjoy during the whole
of his wanderings. A lofty chain of moimtains covered with
snow formed the background of die picture, and at their feet
extended the blue waters of the lake, alternating with count-
less jutting po.iits, covered with villages and gardens. After
some detention, permission was obtained from the chief, or
sultan, of the revolted district to visit him ; and Gamier and
his companions marched through the city to the ,-alace
amidst a vast concour.se of peoi)le, whose insults nearly led
to retaliation and the destr'iction of the whole party. After
a preliminary interview with a mandarin of high rank, a
sudden change came over the disposition of the rebel court,
the suspicions of the Sultan were aroused, and the object of
the French thought to be the survey of the country with a
view to conquering it. Orders were given that '.hey were
to dei)art the next day ; and the jiassions of the soldiers
and populace being excited, an anxious night was passed by
Gamier and his escort with loaded arms and listening ears.
He considered himself fortunate to escaiie with his life, and
pushed on to Tong-chuan, where, as already narrated, he
found his chief hatl died during his absence. The body of
their honoured commander was disinterred from its foreign
grave, preser\ed and carried away by l'.s companions to its
final rest in his native country.

'I'liK (;aik)()N.

289

11IKI)'.-.-|;YK VIKW UK THK C.AIlOdN SKTll.KMK.NT.

JVic C a be on. — /.

liY IIR. GRIFFON DU HEU.AY, SUROEON IN THK FRF.NCH NAVV

CHAPTER I.

SETTLEMENT OK THE FRENCH ON THE GAIIOON — EXTENT OF THEIR
POSSESSIONS — CLIMATE — THE C.REAT RAINS — SMALL CHANCE OF
SUCCESSFUL COLONISATION.

TwF-NTY-TWO years ago, three French vessels arrived a, the
Gaboon, and landed several marines, with workmen and the
materials necessary for the erection of a fortified post.

The negotiations which had been ojicned during the pre-
ceding year had already prepared the way, and Captain Mont-
l(5on took possession of the bay or estuary of the Gaboon
and the region watered by its numerous tiibutaries, in the
name of France, without any difficulty. In order to make
the country more completely French, the new comers re-named
the .nost remarkable i)laccs ; and, following a [iracticc which
well exemplifies the instability of human affairs, they changed
the native names for those of members of the then reigning
family of Orleans, an alteration which custom has not other-
wise sanctioned, and of which no traces are to be found,
except in the maps executed at that time.

A fort was constructed, and before long, when the ships
sailed away again, the little colony found itself in the most
complete state of isolation, 5,000 miles from its mother
country, and in the midst of a people almost entire ^ un-
known. There was no intention of founding an agricultural
Vuu I,

settlement. The surrounding country presented to the eye
the most luxuriant vegetation, but it was easy to see that the
natives were not disposed to ])rofit by this munificence f
nature. As for cultivating it themselves, the Europeans could
not dream of it. The sun darted its rays perpendicularly
on their heads, for they were but a dozen leagues from the
equator. In such a latitude husbandry is an occui)ation
fatal to our race.

Nor were there, moreover, any great commercial interests
to be protected. Trade was only just established there, at
the time, by the enterprise of a few houses at Bordeaux and
Marseilles. To favour its development and to provide for
the security of the traders, was certainly one, but not the
principal, mission of the new settlement. Its especial object
ajipcars to have been to secure to the French navy the safest
hartnur on that coast, and to destroy a trade which had
recently ac(iuired considerable importance, by attacking one
of its strongholds.

The great question of the suppression of the slave trade,
to us one of the distant past, was at that time in full agita-
tion, and one which, owing to the irritating question of right
of search connected with it, had occasioned in France a
political crisis, from which she had not entirely recovered.

In strict observance of the treaties concluded with

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290

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

if *

|i! .1.'
.1 (i : 1 :

England, our country maintained on the west coast of Africa
a squadron of twenty -six vessels, which incessantly traversed
the sea and scoured the bays and rivers. These ships were
small-.-brigs and schooners wiiich drew little water — and of
moderate tonnage, so that their supply of provisions was
soon exhausted. More than one which had quitted Goree
on an exploring expedition made its way with difficulty along
the coast (wliere a favourable wind is never to be relied
ujjon), and after traversing the 800 leagues which separate
Cioree from the Gaboon, it was a great boon to find a safe
harbour in which to refit, and a market at which to obtain
fresh supplies. This was the most solid advantage which
resulted from tiie establishment of this settlement. Even
now, although its commerce has become a little more ex-
tended, it is these maritime advantages which give to this
post all its importance, and it has been for several years the
central station of our squadron.

The bay where the French settled is thirty miles in cir-
cumference, and seven miles wide at its entrc""", situated in
latitude 30 minutes North, longitude 9 degrees East. It
forms the extremity of a small basin, bounded on the east
by a chain of mountains, named by the Portuguese Sierra
del Crystal, and from which flow several rivers. To the
south and east this basin is flanked by a much more impor-
tant stream, the Ogo-wai, which flows into the sea by several
mouths, enclosing a point of land well known to slavers by
the name of Cape Lopez.

Although the possession of these rivers and the region
watered by them was secured to us by treaty, our establish-
ment there was nominal rather than real. The only part
actually occupied, and of positive importance in the present
position of affairs, is the bay itself We have there the
fortified factories, the princi|)al centres of population, the
important establishment of the French mission, and the
village of Glass, where the American mission is planted, and
which has become in the hands of foreign merchants, more
especially the English, a business centre of considerable
importance.

In the deep and safe bay some ship of the squadron is
constantly stationed.

A small number of English and American trading vessels,
a still smaller number of French ships, several schooners
engaged in the coasting trade, besides the canoes manned by
the negroes, who time the movements of their paddles to a
monotonous chant, traverse the immense sheet of water, but
fail to invest it with life. The absence of movement and
animation painfully affects the Europeans, nearly all of them
public servants, whose evil star has brought them to this
country, thus rendering more sorrowful the feeling of their
own isolation.

The life of those who devote themselves to the service of
France in her distant possessions is thus full of severe trials.
It is not that the Gaboon is a melancholy place in itself; if it
is wanting in life and animation, at least nature there is
beautiful. She appears especially beautiful to those who
arrive there after a voyage along the coast. They have been
saddened by the sight of the proverbial sterility of the
African shores, for vegetation is so scanty on some jxirts
of the coast that the existence of a single tree becomes a
precious discovery to the traveller. In the l!ay of G.aboon,
on the contrary, vegetation comes down to the edge of the

sea, and the villages around appear hidden in a bower of
verdure. The general features of the country are not very
strongly marked. To the north, however, a mountain of
considerable elevation, Mount Bouet, commands the right
bank ; to th» south, several lower hills break the line of the
horizon, and have a cheering effect upon all, and serve as
landmarks for vessels.

In the middle of the bay, Point Ovendo, the islets of
Coniquet and Perrociuets rise out of the water like enormous
bouquets of verdure. At the foot of the hills, and along
their slopes, a continuous fringe of mangrove trees betrays
the presence of swampy ground. In short, everywhere vegeta-
tion is luxuriant, and rising above all the rest are huge
" fromagers " and great " spathodeas " known by the name
of Gaboon tulips, which are covered twice a year by a
plentiful crop of orange-coloured flowers. All this gives to
the bay an aspect which would be enchanting if it was more
animated ; but it is only a picture of nature — dead as it
were, or with something wanting — richly framed. In some
corners of the picture, indeed, a little life has found refuge ; at
Glass, for instance, round one or two of the factories, and
especially at the French establishment. The latter place is
the residence of the governor, who is subject to the authority
of the commander of the squadron. Around him are grouped
the offices, shops, factories, everything, in fact, that constitutes
a marine establishment on a small scale. Near to him, and
under his protection, several factories have been built, with a
school superintended by the " religieuses " of Castres ; and
Libreville, a village, was founded in the year 1849 by certain
negroes of Congo, who were rescued from a captured slaver.
A small garrison of black soldiers, supported by a battalion
of Senegal riflemen, is stationed there to maintain the
authority of the Governor. But the natives dream so little
of fighting that a garrison such as Bachaumont found in
olden times at Notre Dame de la Garde —

"A Swiss, with his halberd,
l'.iints on the castle Joor" —

would be amply sufficient to make it respected. Such is the
establishment which the French possess on this coast, and
of whose existence even the greater part of our countiymen
are ignorant. Designed to serve as a refuge for our ships
of war, and to promote commerce, in the pursuit of which
the English have been so successful, but which in our own
hands has been so timidly conducted and unfortunate, it is
not the fault of the government that it has succeeded in its
military aim only, and that our flag has had scarcely any-
thing but foreign interests to protect. The region of the
Gaboon, cut by the equatorial line, exactly corresponds to
that of the great lakes traversed by Speke and Burton on the
eastern side, and from which flow the principal sources of the
Nile. Like that region now so celebrated, it is a country of
fierce heat and heavy rains. When I arrived there at the
commencement of September, 1861, the fine season was nearly
over. The heat was not excessive, being tempered in the
evening by the sea breez.es ; the nights were fresh, without
being damp, and the state of things altogether very endurable
— even the most exacting person might accommodate himself
to it. But, unhappily, this beautiful season had lasted now
for three months, and the return of the rainy season was ex-
pected on the 15th of September. With a singular regularity,

THE GABOON.

291

which never failed during three consecutive years, it com-
menced on the day fixed. Gentle and not very abundant
showers foil at first, and lasted until the beginning of January,
and then ceased for about six weeks — a period known in the
country as the "little dry season;" and which, though no
rain actually falls, is none the less damp, oppressive, and
productive of serious illnesses.

After this period of rest, the rains recommenced, falling
in torrents, accompanied by a succession of terrible storms,
and exercising on the health the most deplorable effects.
Then the three months' drought comes, as though to pump
out this annual deluge to the very last drop.

Imagine, then, seven months of rain, for four of which
there is an actual deluge, and you have the climate of the
Gaboon. In spite of its equatori.il position, the heat there is
not excessive, but it is constant. The thermometer seldom rises
above 33° Cent. (90" 4' Fahr.), but still more rarely sinks below
23" Cent. (73° 4' Fahr.). The mean temperature is 28' Cent.
(84° 4' Fahr.), which in itself is high enough, but which the
prevailing moisture and electric tension of the air combine
to render almost insupportable. This unpleasant state of
things becomes even worse during the winter months ; then
the wearied body grows depressed, without being able to find
repose in a state of inactivity, or renewal of its strength in
sleep — the mind becomes dull and heavy, and the appetite fails.

These melancholy effects are out of all proportion to the
height of temperature, and we must look upon them as the
result of various causes, amongst which this is not always the
most active. How often have not travellers remarked this
want of harmony between the readings of the thermometer
and the sensation of heat by which they are overpowered.
It is most striking at Gaboon. This climate, in fact, with a
temperature never varying more than ten degrees, is almost
uniform, and consequently debilitating ; and this character
manifests itself in the class of diseases which prevail. Sick-
ness assumes no violent or aggravated forms ; dysentery and
sun-stroke are rare ; but malarious fevers are rife, for the
country is very marshy, and ever' '•e alike becomes sensible
of the feeling of weariness for which he can hardly account,
with its accompaniment of p,in without obvious cause, and
a sense of weakness which he cannot shake off.

A country like this has, of course, a temporary attraction
for the traveller in search of curiosities, or the naturalist who
is an ardent lover of the treasures obtained with so much
labour by science ; but the European who is not absolutely
forced to do so does not tarry long. He encamps there,
but does not settle ; nor do I believe that he has any chance
of acclimatising himself. Certain missionaries have no doubt
dwelt there for some time ; but their regular and quasi-
monastic life (although I will not deny that they have to
undergo fatigue) exposes them less to a direct struggle with
the climate than is cor>stantly supported by the sailor who
is tied to a laborious service, oi- the trader resolved by the
force of his own energy to secu'e the favours of fortune. In
any case, the European who can be acclimatised must be an
exception. The race cannot find there a permanent settle-
ment, for the climate is not fitted at all for the white woman.
Any woman who would hazard in this country the perils of
maternity, would attempt what would certainly prove fatal
to herself, and surely lead in the end to the extermination of
her race.

CHAPTER II.

FIRST CONNECTION OF KUROPEANS WITH THE C.AHOON— THE TORTU-
CUKSE ON THE COAST OF AFRICA — COMMERCE SINCE THE AIIOI.I.
TION OF THE SLAVE TRADE— THE REAL INTEREST TRESENTED DV
THE COUNTRY — THE RACES WHICH INIIAH1T IT.

Thf. French, who settled on the Gaboon in 1842, were not the
first Europeans who had attempted to establish themselves
there. About the middle of the last century the Portuguese,
allured by the hope of finding gold-mines, had taken possession
of the island of Coniquet. After a fruitless search they returned,
leaving as marks of their visit two small cannon, which may
still be seen there, and a little fort, the remains of which are
difficult to discover. But they preserved their connection with
the countr), and in the heyday of the slave trade they did a
profitab't^ business there. The Portuguese have always been
the most determined slavers on the whole coast. Times have
altered since their great colony of St. Paul dc I.oanda amassed
immense wealth from this trade, and the single order of the
Jesuits alone possessed more than 12,000 slaves. At the pre-
sent time the principal town of the province of Angola, com-
pletely deprived of its ancient splendour, is falling into ruins ;
but there may still be seen on the shore the chair of state from
which the bishop blessed, ex cathedra, at so much per head,
the slaves as they marched before him, trembling under the
whip of the trader, on their way for embarkation to an unknown
land. A strange sanction given by religion to violence — a
connection which we of the present day would deplore as some-
thing monstrous, but which was by no means repugnant to the
easy morality of the last age. The episcopal chair is now
vacant, but I would not declare on oath that in the hearts
of the Portuguese of St. Paul there do not still linger regrets
for a past so prosperous and so fruitful in easily-gotten wealth.
Be this as it may, in the minds of the natives of the Gaboon
the two ideas of Portuguese and slave-traders are firmly asso-
ciated, and the chief of a vilhige who wishes to frighten one of
his subjects, threatens to sell him to the Portuguese. This, let
me remark in passing, is not always an idle threat, for in spite
of the presence of the French flag, a certain amount of slave-
dealing is effected at times through means of schooners, or
even the little Portuguese canoes which cross over from the
neighbouring island of St. Thomas. With the exception of
these irregular communications with the Portuguese, the Gaboon
seems to have had for a long time little connection with
Europeans. It is doubtful whether it was ever visited by
Dieppe traders.

The ivory manufacture, still so flourishing at Dieppe, is a
proof of its ancient intercourse with the African coast ; but the
villages of Great and Little Dieppe, which perpetuate its name,
north of the Bight of Benin, appear to indicate that its trading
was confined to that p.art. Erdman Isert, a doctor of the
Danish factory at Cliristianburg, at the end of the last century,
speaks of a trade in dye woods carried on by the English with
the Gaboon, adding, " But the slaves there were little valued,
and at the Antilles fetched only half the ordinary price." De
Flotte, De Grandprfi, and other officers who were sent at
thisiperiod to protect the French .slaves against the Portu-
guese at Cabinda and Loango— that is to say, close to Gaboon
—speak of the place only to mention its extreme unhealthiness.

In 1803, Labarthe, in his directions to traders, warns
captains of vessels against the dangers which beset navigation in
these parts. But the chiefs of the Gaboon, who were anxious to

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draw to their country a commerce so lucrative, turned tlicm-
s^lves into pilots, and trade prosjjcred there, without, however,
attaining very extensive develoimient. [

The treaties coacludeil between tiie nations of luiroiie in
1830 and 1S34 gave the slave-trade its dealli-blow, in spite of
their not beini,' very strictly observed. It might be expected
that the nati\es who had been accustomed to receive from
Europeans all the necessaries of life, and not being able to do
v/itliout them, would turn their energy to some more lawful
trade, and take advantage of the fertility of their soil by ai)ply-
ing themselves to profitable farming of some kind ; but, either
through tlie inability of the Europeans to direct their operations
into this fruitful channel, or rather, perliaps, through their own
incurable idleness and want of enterprise, nothing ever came of
it. I'nable to obtain from the cultivation of the soil the means
of regular trade, they made but feeble efforts to recover from

.Apocyneic. It is an annual production, and consequently ought
to be a regular source of profit ; but it will soon be exhausted
by the eagerness of the dealers, who cut the creepers at
random, draw the juice from tliem recklessly, and, in order to
complete the ruin of their prospect.s, bring their produ( e
into discredit by the most annoying adulteration. We see,
then, that it is not from the resources which it offers that the
Gaboon is really interesting to us ; it is from its very excep-
tional character , by the attraction wiiic h every barbarous
community must present to the civilised nations of I'lurope.
These communities may be able to boast of an anti<iuity as
great as our own, yet they have not been able to raise them-
selves above a state of nature. Either the enervating atmos-
])here, and the circumstances which render mere existence so
easy, amidst which they have grown up, have dwarfed their
intelligence ; or their race, branded with original impotence.

mmmMm

CHARCOAL STORES AT THE GABOON. rmil a rhitoirafl.

the blow inflicted upon them by the supiiression of the slave
trade. They succeeileil in living, but never in prospering.

The interior of the country (lossesseil an abundance of the
most vahieil articles of commerce — sandal-wood, the dye woods
of which we have already spoken, ebony, and elephants' tusks.
The i)eoi)le of the Gaboon took advantage of these sources of
wealth, and acted as carriers between the Europeans and the
tribes who lived in the part where these treasures were found.
But the trade there was essentially one of destruction. The
banks of the rivers are now stripped of valuable timber. One
must go very far in order to fmd the red-wood in any quantity
— farther still to meet with ebony ; and as to elephants, their
number has also sensibly diminished. The country is becoming
exhausted, and it is not difficult to foresee the day when, for
want of knowing how to make a proper use of the resources of
the cr. untry by creating new sources of wealth, it w ill become
utterly desolate. Several years ago the French started there a
new trade— that of india-rubber. This resinous juice they
extract from three or four creepers, named N'dambo, and which
probably belong; to the genus CarpoMnus, of the family of

was condemned, in whatever place it might find itself, to

remain in a state of inferiority.

I In the basin of the tJi^.boon we get a nearer view of these

I small African tribes. Those which we find on the river Ogo-wai

' lead us to expect that we shall find more interesting f|)ecimens

on more complete exploration, for its i)eoi)le are free from Euro-

l)ean influences, and even of that Mahometan power which

has struck its roots so deeply in the north and west of the

j great African continent. The southern part of this absolutely

unknown region has been recently visited by the intrepid

hunter, M. 1*. li. du Chaillu,* a Creole of Senegal, who was,

for a time, a member of our little CJaboon colony, but who has

i • .\r. (Ill chaillu, .IS t'vcry one is aware, piiblislieil an iiileresting and lively
account ', f liis explorations. This liook met with numerous critics in

I llnHlarul, who appoarcil to discuss the writer more than the narrative. I
will not venluic to make myself a juilije in the matter, nor to affirm that
M. du C'h.iillu really penetrated as far into the interior as he related, more
especially as s )ine of the v.c^'iions which he shows as peculiar to distant
tribes are well known to belong to the adjacnt tribes of the Gaboon ; l)ut

I I can aflirm tli.U his book contains many details which are strictly correct j
and, inorL-over, that tluy are a picture of niaimeni really taken from life

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■ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

since become an American citizen, full of ardour for his new
country, and zealous in promoting its views.

In 1862, AL Serval, a lieutenant in the navy, and myself,
visited an entirely unknown portion of the river Ogo-wai. 1
shall give some account of this expedition when I have de-
scribed Gaboon properly so-called, and the peoi)lc by whom it
is inhabited.

The population of this country is divided into four groups,
each speaking a different language— viz., the M'pongwes, or
natives of Gaboon Proper, who dwell on the sea-coast at the
entrance of the rivers ; the Sheki lis, who inhabit the surround-
ing forest-lands, and to whom, /or this reason, the natives of the
Gaboon have given the name of " Boulous," which we have
adopted, and which signifies " men of the woods ; " the Baka-
lais, and last of all the Fans, or Pahouins. These four tribes
are not indigenous to the country — they come from the interior.
The Pahouins, the accounts of whose cannibalism are only too
true, are the most remarkable and least known. They made
their appearance only a few years a^^o, coming directly from
the cast, and, driving before them the Bakalais, rapidly ap-
proached our territory, where they will one day become a
most important portion of the population.

These migrations are comi.ion on the coast of Africa. It is
evidently the desire to hold direct intercourse with the Euro-
jieans which attracts these tribes toward the sea — the source
of all wealth. We are thus able to make a close acquaintance
with the different races ; but they rapidly lose their original
l)eculiarities. Obtaining, through the easy means of commercial
exchange, everything they rc(iuire, they lose their traditional
customs and characteristics, forget their ancient trades and
occupations, and even alter, by intermarriage with other races,
their former stamp.

CHAPTER in.

THE M'PONCWf.S— THEIR VILLAOKS— INTERIOR OF A HUT— THE DRESS
OF THE WOMEN — POLYGAMY— HARD CONDITION OF THE WOMEN
—CO.MI'ENSATIOXS -PRINCIPAL WIFE— THE "CONOUI6."

AVe have settled in the midst of the M'pongwes. It is not
these, however, whom the European first sees when he sets
foot on the Gaboon. If he lands at the French establishment
or at the English factories at Glass, the busy persons, of a
strongly marked negro type, whom he first meets unloading
ships or loading canoes with the produce of the country, are
not M'liongwes — they are Kroomcn, the real porters of the
African coast, and are procured 300 leagues farther north by
contracts, which are always respected, and jilaced at the
disposal of the Euroi)eans — men of vigour and honesty rarely
met with among the African people.

It is not amongst these indefatigable workers that you must
look for the Gabonese. An indolent man, without any energy,
knows very well what to reply when any serious task is pro-
JiObcd to him : " AVork for Krooman ! " or, better still, " Work
for white man." In his opinion, the good God does not wish
the M'jiongwes to work. It is, then, in his village that we
must look for him — on the shore, which is his high road ; for
in his character of a maritime trader — this is his calling when
he has one — he has his village on the water's edge ; his canoe
is his one conveyance, and the shore his chief road of commu-
nication. It is, besides, at low tide, the pleasantest promenade
in the country.

There, groups of negresscs ramble about, chattering. The
young girls walk with a free ste[), for their dress does not
embarrass their movements. A jiair of cotton ilrawers tied
round the hips, and falling to the middle of the legs, forms
the whole of their inexpensive costume. On great occasions
another piece of cloth, draped over the shoulder, falls nearly to
the ground ; they are then attired in full dress. The move-
ments of the married women are less free, they walk with a
heavier and more plodding gait ; it is not that their costume is
much more complicated, but they wear on their legs a large
number of cojiper rings, or bands placed one above the other
from the ankles to the knees, these metal boots — jierfect
clogs — which they drag after them, making their steps heavy,
pressing ui)on the ankle and jiroducing the most painful exco-
riations. Fxshion has everywhere its martyrs. Sometimes
these poor women may be met bearing heavy loads on their
backs ; they are the beasts of burden of that country ; their
husbands follow them, quickening their march, smoking their
pipes, but carrying nothing. All these people proceed leisurely;
they stop the passers-by, saluting the Europeans with a friendly
" M' bolo " — the regular form of salutation — pause at each step
to talk ; for, with excejition of the heavily-laden women, no
one is in a hurry to get on^no one has anything to do.

The tribe of the M'pongwes are good-looking enough. The
following description has been given in \.\\s /ia'iie Coloiiinle of
1856 by Dr. Lestrille : — "The M'pongwfi is, generally speak-
ing, tall and well-proportioned. His well-developed muscles
betoken great strength. The leg is better formed than is
usually the case among the blacks ; the foot is fiat, but the
instep is arched ; the hand is small and well set on ; the
shoulder too short in proportion to the fore-arm ; the eyes are
generally fine and expressive ; the nose is small and flattened ;
the mouth moderately large ; the lower lip is thick without
being pendent ; the teeth are generally fine and regular. The
prognathous form is very rare ; their colour is bronzed rather
than black (it corresponds with the colours as shown by the
numbers 41, 42, and 43 in the chromatic plate published by
the Anthropological Society of Paris). The growth of hair is
comparatively luxuriant The greater number shave a portion
of the head in various patterns, and some of them are altogether
without beard ; and, lastly, their chests are large and well
developed. The women are generally little, their feet small and
delicately made ; their hands especially are often elegantly
shaped. Men and women go naked to the waist ; the
women ornament their necks with rows of pearls, and dis-
playing much taste in the assortment of colours. To these
necklaces are fastened little charms more or less valuable ;
often, too, the principal wife, she who is the actual mistress in
her husband's hut, suspends to it the keys of his strong
box. Finally, they wear immense earrings, which are made
for them in Europe after an invariable pattern, with copper
bracelets, and rings not only on their fingers, but also on
their great toes."

Such are the kind of people that we see pass before us
when we walk along the shores of the Gaboon. There is but
little variety, for the population is sparse, and locomotion not
very active. Fortunately, one's eyes are cheered by the panorama
of Nature. The sea is always beautiful to look at on those
warm evenings characteristic of a tropical climate, especially
when the dazzled eyes can find relief from its brilliancy by
contemplating the surrounding verdure. Magnificent bind-

THE GABOON.

»9S

weeds, with their broad, soft leaves, stretch along the sand, as
if they wished to dispute the possession of it with the sea ;
others climb round the dwarf date-trees and the cape jessamine.
The " sterculias," with their red star-like fruits, mingle with
leguminous plants laden with clusters of flowers, which have
the colour and the perfume of the lilac. At distant intervals huts
appear through the breaks in the foliage. At a short distance
from the shore the Catholic Mission maybe seen, the residence
of MonseigneurBessieux, theIiishopofGallipolis,who commands
the respect of all. He is an oUl man, but time has aged him less
than the fatigues of a long apostleshij), which has been devoted
entirely to the service of the Africans. He divides his time
between the cares of the mission and the cultivation of a
large garden, and exhibits to die nation, who show but little
disposition to imitate him, the example of a life which will
remain to its last hour consecrated to works of labour and
of charity. Two years ago, Admiral Didelot, expressing the
feelings of the public, petitioned that this modest and
venerable prelate might receive the cross of the Ixgion of
Honour. He received it less as a mark of personal distinc-
tion than as a token awarded to tlie work to which he had
devoted liis whole life.

Not far from there is the village of King Louis. Two long
rows of cottages form a street, over which immense trees cast
their shadows ; at the back of the houses a vast space of
ground has been cleared by means of the axe and by fire.
Bananas, tlie manioc, and the pajiaw-tree grow there luxu-
riantly, and point out at a great distance, by their strongly-
marked colour, the situation of the village. Canoes drawn
up on the shore, nets made of the fibre of pine-apple leaves
drying in the sun, a few heajjs of red wood, and some logs of
ebony, awaiting the arrival of a vessel ; a few half-fed fowls
picking up a scanty meal in the streets — such is the picture
which the village of Louis presents, and all others are cast in
the same mould.

The M'pongwe has both a town and a country house ;
the latter, which he calls his home, is sometimes placed, and
one might say lost, in the midst of a wood, at the distance of
more than a league away. It is here that agriculture is con-
ducted on the largest scale. These villages contrast strongly
by their good order with the usual dirty condition of African
villages. The huts, built of a kind of palm-tree called enimba,
present a regular and pleasing appearance. Unfortunately,
the interior does not always correspond with the exterior.
Rich or poor, u. ,.ught into contact with civilisation or not,
the inhabitant of Gaboon is seldom clean. This is his
least fault, and the interior of his hut is in keeping with it. The
portion to which a solitary door affords access opens upon
the street, and is a room common to all. One or two large
couches, made of the branches of the palm-tree, serve at will
for seats or for beds, and testify to his importance. Chairs,
European crockery, chests, and a variety of boxes (for the
most part empty) complete the furniture of a comfortable
houfe. Upon entering this building, the master of the house
is generally to be found there, stretched upon his sofa, either
smoking or asleep. He will perhaps raise himself to pay
respect to his visitor — will even offer him his own seat with a
certain air of politeness. If, however, he is a chief, he knows
his own worth, and does not disturb himsjlf Seated in
Turkish fashion, with one of his legs bent under him, sur-
rounded by attendants, who never approach his august person

without a lowly obeisance, he offers his hand to his visitors —
the only hand that is free, for with the other he invariably
strokes the foot upon which he is seated — and at last with a
dignified gesture he invites him to place himself at his side.
This is a mark of honour on his part, and he who recognises
this royal condescension by some valuable present, will thereby
gain credit in the village. Any European article will please
his negro majesty ; a few pijies of tobacco will completely
overcome him, and for a bottle of brandy he will sell his
family. But if the master of the dwelling, or, in his absence,
his "chief wife" (the one to whom he was first married), shows
signs of friendship, these emotions are not shared by the other
inmates. Grouped in the ct;ntre of the hut, seated around the
family fire-place, they do not disturb themsebes. This hearth
is a fixture. Three or four logs of wood serve to cook the
food, fill the hut with a perpetual smoke, which helps to dear
it of mos(|uitoes ; dry some pieces of skin, which are hung in a
corner, and cure the remains of fish or flesh. ^\'hLther the
weather be cold or hot, this hearth is the centre of attraction to
the family. By his side two or three women, with pipes in
their mouths, pick bananas, clean yams, prepare manioc, or
scrape the long leaves of the pine-apple to obtain their fibres ;
others rub their copper rings and bracelets with citron-
juice ; others comb and dress the hair of some negress who
lies stretched at full-length on the ground, with her head resting
on the knees of her maid. In the centre of all these women
the negro children tumble head over heels amongst the cinders
on the hearth. Such is the picture of their home life. These
peoi)le are never disturbed by comers an'', goers, the hair-
dresser is above all immovable. It is '.ot by any means a
small matter to arrange the tall head-dress of a Gabonaise. The
greater part of the day must be devoted to the work ; but when
the towering structure has once been raised, cemented, and
sprinkled all over with a compound red powder, which contains,
amongst its many other ingredients, leaves of the vanilla, a
toilet has been accomplished which lasts for at least a fort-
night.

I omit the details of tliis part of the toilet, which are, many
of them, unfit for description.

Of two or three fashionable modes, the most remarkable
and the most common is the large and imposing-looking
structure which the reader may observe on the head of the
chief wife of King Denis. This grotesque head-dress is formed
by first dividing the hair into two parts, which are brought
together from each side on to a flat plate. This is the head-
dress worn by a married woman, and it gives to some of these
ladies an artificial height, and causes them to appear as though
equipped in a plumed helmet.

The head-dress of the daughters of King Louis, whose
portraits we also give, is quite in another style ; it consists of a
double fold, dressed more lightly, and almost rough— a style
more becoming to a young girl, and which resembles a fashion
at present adopted in France,

In our portrait gallery of M'pongwo women, there are
some who appear wearing plaits in the European style, just
so many as their hair, which is rather rebellious, will allow of
being arranged in this fashion. Thtse ladies, before allow-
ing themselves to be photographed, thought it the proper thing
to dress their hair like Frenchwomen ; but, being behind-
hand in the matter of fashion, they have given up pads just at
the time when our compatriots have invented them in their turn,

■3

■A

5"'

•^tx

tl)(>

II.LUSTRAI'KI) IRAVKLS.

little susperting that t/uy arc imitating a fashion now become
obsolete at the enuator.

All these women, huddled together in the same hut, are
the wives of the master of tiie house. an<l in some of the illus-
trations the ciiiefs may be seen surrounded by a ])erfe(t
seraglio. This custom of iK)lygamy appears to be spread
over the whoii; of the .African continent ; and there is a reason
for its e.xistence. One of the causes for it is the short time
(luring which women bear children : and this depends tipon the
fact that they marry too young. .\t (laboon a girl is sometimes
married at ten years old. is a niotlur at fourteen, and an old
woman at twenty. Moreover- and this, perhai)s, is the best
e.\cuse for polygamy — there seems to be throughout the whole
( ontinent of .Africa a considerable disparity between the number
of men and women. Here there are, in fact, five female

own sisters, whom the fithcr-in-law in turn espouses. The
inhabitants of the same village do not intermarry, on .accoimt
of the very close relation.ship which often exists between them.
It is remark.able to find so slrii t a rule as regards consan-
guineous marriages amongst peo])le who are almost savages.
Often, too, when a native of the daboon goes some distance
in search of a wife, it is a matter of pure speculation. A
father-in-law is a valuable connection, and there are few
traders of any note who fail to contract a matrimonial alliance
in every important village with whii h they have dealings.

The lot of the women is not an e ^le one. Dought by
their husband, who reg.ards their gre: mber with pride as
an indisputable proof of his wealth, i y are his slaves, or
little short of it. As long as they are young he looks upon
them as articles of luxury, and frequently as the objects of a

r?':i.

THR P.\UGHTERS or KING I.OUIS.

children born to three m.alcs ; and this is not the only jjlace '
wliere this circumstance is observed.

A marriage is a business afiair, a bargain which requires a
great deal of negotiation ; but when a husband buys his wife he
takes his time about it, and is in no hurry to settle the matter,
foi very often the young girl whom he asks for is yet a child,
ai d only enters her husband's home to be a long time under
the su[)erintendence of his head wife. If the negotiation con-
ti."'UC!j long, or if the father-in-law shows no sign of yielding,
the suitor has recourse to the chamiers, who apply themselves
to their infallible incantations. Certain philtres work wonders
on such an occasion. A ]:lant named " Odopou " has a
particular virtue for softening the heart of the father-in-law.
This is a pretty, leguminous j)lant, with red berries, and a leaf ■
having the sweet taste of licjuorice, which gives it, in .addition |
to its i)owers of conciliation, the more vulgar projjerty of
rendering the voices of singers melodious.

There is one singular clause in these matrimonial contracts,
which is, that very often the son-in-law is obliged to give his
father-in-law, in exchange for the girl he receives, one of his

traffic, in which he rigorously ex.acts his shameless profits.
When age, or the child-bearing so little desired, has deprived
them of their charms, they are reduced to a state of actual
slavery. Upon them falls the work of the house, while their
husband smokes or sleeps. When he goes away he shuts up
those who do not accompany him. Their prison-house is not
a very strong one, it is true : bamboo walls are not iirpene-
trable Ivarriers.' It is seldom, however, that the prisoners
seek to escape. B'jught up to this life of subjection,
they look upon all these hardships as natural ; in fine, in
a country where the means of transport and beasts of burden
are altogether wanting, it is upon the woman that such labour
devolves.

It is, however, useless to dwell on this miserable condition
of the women of the Gaboon. It is not peculiar to them, and it
is to be met with amongst all the African tribes. It has,
besides, its bright side. Although the husband be jealous, if
not of his wife, at least of his rights, he is obliged to tolerate
a species of cicisbeo, a " conguie." Custom protects the
conguie ; the husband is powerless. Custom also protects

1»l

A JOURNKY VV THK ORINOCO.

297

the wife under rcrtain i)r!valc and dclii ate cirtiimstanccs, and
a wife wlio is ill-treated may take refuge with her jiarents.
They, on their |)art, will imt give her iij) unless the husband
is willing to ni.ike amends, and to inirihasc indemnity by a
|>resent ; whirh is bestowed, however, not upon the outraged
wife, who ought surely to count for something in the matter,
but to his father-ill-law. 'I'he neglected wife often addresses
herself directly to the thief of tlie village, who, like the Maho-
metan cadis, has at times to take cognisance of some singular
cases.

The " jirincipal wife," whom I have mentioned, is the one
who was first es|)oused. She enjoys privileges of a siiecial
character : she has the direction of the house ; she works little,
and is seldom compelled to carry burdens. If her husband is
rich, and consecjiiently surrounded by many wives, she is an
autocrat in the women's apartments, and keeps order there, at
the risk of occasionally having to put up with the temjjer of
her niaster^a direct consequence of the authority which she
exercises. Generally it is she who directs the work at the
country establishment, while her husband is occupied in the
village. Spite of the sad position to which women are here
reduced, it is about them that everything centres in Oaboon
society. This may easily be imagined, for if the husband does
not long remain attached to his wife by the ties of affection, he
is bound to her by the powerful motives of selfinteiest. .-V
wife is a jiortion of his capital that he can employ to his
advantage. Sometimes when he has received a consignment
of goods, he gives her in jjledge — he makes use of her as a
security for the fulfilment of his promises when a settlement is
to be deferred to a distant date. Again, if he suspects that he
has been cheated in a trading transaction with other natives —
in any common transaction with his neighbours— it is this
portion of his capital that he endeavours to abstract from the
man who has robbed him, feeling very sure that the latter, on
his part, will e.\crt himself to the utmost to indemnify him if

he is unable to obtain his property either by cunning or force.

.Sgain, in e\ery lionustic (piarrel, in e\er\ i ().,.pl,iiiu brought

before a native ( hief or I'rendi authority, it is sure to be found

that in some way or another a woman is at the butloiii of the

whole matter. Either she has been stolen in her cajjai ity as

valuable merchandise ; or, willi or without re.iM)n, she has

become dissatisfied with her luisbanil, and has taken refuge in

her jiarents' house ; or, perhajjs, she has been forcibly carried

off Uod knows what |)erpetual disiussions, what endless

! disturbances, arise out of these conjugal S(|uabble.i. A case

, of seduction is the most serious, for if the husband is willing

to jiut up veritable conguie, he shows himself intrai table in

! every other instance. If the delineiucnt is convicted, he is

[ obliged to make reparation, and sometimes to submit to

corporeal chastisement. Occasionally the offender is a stranger,

and in that case he takes refuge in his own village. He

, seldom, however, goes alone, and, as a consequence, war is

lighted up.

1 saw one day, by the banks of the Dgo-wai, one of these

gallants. He was a fine fellow, with an olive complexion,

j and very soft eyes — a negro of the least-marked type ; in a

; word a very ])resentable hero of romance. Unfortunately,

j there was a slight blot, which somewhat spoilt his adventure :

he had not been satisfied with carrying olT his " Helen," but

I had carried off the husband's furniture in his canoe at the

simc time. The latter pursued him, captured him, and tied

, him to a post. There he remained for many days meditating,

j no doubt, upon the inconveniences which are sometimes con-

; nected with the pursuit of gallantry. At last, he was obliged

to iiay a very considerable ransom, with the alternative of

. being sold for a slave for the benefit of the husband. As for

• the lady, she «as e.\])iating her fault in a neighbouring hut,

! with her head sha\ed, her feet fastened to an enormous beam,

and subjected, no doubt, from time to time to jiropcr conjugal

correction.

i i

■d

yJ Journey up the Oyinoco to the Caratal Gold Fichi — Raleigh's '' El Dorado!' — //.

BV C. LK NEVE FOSTER, D.A., D.SC, K.C.S.

CHAPTER HI.

JOURNEY TO THE MINKS— THE CARONI— GURI— PASrOR.\— OCASll'Arl.

I WAS forced to stay some days at Bolivar to obtain mules for
my land journey. I preferred buying to hiring, knowing that
it would be the cheapest in the end. True to the Arab blood
which they derive from their Spanish descent, the Venezuelans
will not hurry themselves ; and day after day passed before
1 could even see any mules to choose from. An ordinary
mule costs from j[,\o to ^^15 at Bolivar, a really good riding
mule about ;^30, and very first-rate beasts fetch as much as
£,^ft. A good donkey may I e had for ^4 or ;^5.

But there is an end even to Venezuelan delays ; the mules
at length were seen, chosen, and bought, and we started one
morning for the mines. I had decided on taking the road vici

VOL. I,

Guri. Our party consisted of Dr. I'lassard, the Cornish
mine-captain, and myself, with two men, three pack-mules, and
a donkey. In travelling in Venezuela you carry your hammock
strapped on behind the saddle, and the " cobija " in front. 'I'he
" cobija " is a sort of cloak, which further serves to cover your
hammock should it rain while you are camping out. Unfortu-
nately, our men were not what they had been represented to
us ; the one who had been so strongly recommended knew
scarcely anything about loading mules, and the other was not
much better. The consequence was, that as one of our mules
was somewhat difficult to manage, and amused itself more than
once by kicking off the entire load, there were constant
delays, and we made but very little progress the first day ; the
men, in fact, could scarcely be trusted alcne. ^\"e passed over
a genUy undulating country covered ivith coarse grass — a

^1"

398

ILLUSTRATKD TRAVEI5.

s:iv,mnah district, in fact, witii niimcroiis small gnarloil ami
stiintcd-lDoking trees, foriniiiy tlic kind ul timlicr growth known
as "ciiaparro."

U was dark before we reached the "posada" of Monte
Cristo, and we coidd just make out the outline of two
houses and a "corral," or luddock for cattle. We were told on
aligliting that we could sling our hammocks in an ojien shed
which formed part of one of the houses. A fowl was all that
could be obtained for supper, and hungry as we were, it was
painful to have so many delays befoie we could get even that.
Wo had to see the fowl hunted ami caught by the light of a
torch made of i)alm leaves, and then patiently wait while it
was plucked and stewed. In the meantime we were driven
to satisfy the cravings of appetite with our own supjily of bread
and sardines. Our two men came in soon after us, but with
what a tale ! Two of our mules were said to be lame, one so
seriously that it could not walk at all. What was to be done?
Our host was asked whether he < ould supply us with mules or
donkeys, but his animals were all away loatling at Ciudad
Bolivar for Caratal, and there were no others anywhere near.
We could do nothing but wait till morning. Our long-wished-
for fowl appeared at last, and with some very salt broth from
the stew-pot, and a cup of coffee, enabled us to finish our
repast.

Our "posada" was a sort of combination of a cow-shed and
a mud hovel. It consisted of a thatched roof supported
by upright poles, having one half the space walled in, by
fi.xing small poles into the ground about a foot or eighteen
inches apart, and filling up the intervening spaces by twigs and
clay. No nails whatever are used in the construction, but the
various posts, poles, and sticks are tied together by lianas, the
natural ropes of the South American forests. The thatch is
made with the leaves of the " moriche," or great fan-leaved
Mauritia palm-tree. The division walled in formed a sleeping
apartment for some of the family, whilst we sat and had our
meals in the shed-like part, which formed coffee-room, ))arlour,
and kitchen all at once. We were in almost t0t.1l darkness ;
from time to time a sort of bad dip-candle was lighted, which
lasted about ten minutes ; and then came a long inten-al
before it was thought worth while to light another. Of course
there was just a glimmer from the kitchen-fire all the time,
which enabled me to distinguish two men, who were strumming
away monotonous airs on a sort of guitar, reminding me, by
their unceasing and unmeaning twanging, of some of that
dreadful Arab music one hears in Kgypt.

Our three hammocks had been slung in an adjoining shed,
and for the first time in my life I had to try the native couch ;
and I must say a more comfortable means of reposing cannot
be well imagined. For a warm country, a South American
hammock is a most luxurious bed ; and had it not been for a
few mosquitoes, I should never have jiassed a better night than
I did at Monte Cristo.

On getting up the next morning, I was delighted to find
that the mules had recovered ; and we had only to take a cup
of cofice and pay our bill, before we were ready to start again.
The bill amounted to seven reals, or about two shillings and
tenpence ; cheap enough, it will be granted, for the entertain-
ment and night's lodging of three jDersons, with their two
servants, besides six mules and a donkey. When, however,
it is recollected that we brought our own bread, coffee, and
sugar, carried our own beds — i.e., slung our own hammocks.

and h.ul nothing but the fowl from the people of the
"imsaila"- not even svatcr for our men, for it was feldied
from a neighbouring brook — the charge of two shillings and
tenpence will not seem so e.Mraonlinarily cheap, after all.

Leaving the forest-clad hill of Monte Cristo on our right,
and that of Tortuga on our left, we journeyed over the
" I haparro"- dotted savannah, \aricd by occasional bits of
forest. Whenever we came to a water-course, we were sure
to see the elegant Maui ilia palm-tree, which is so usefiil to
the native as fiirnishing both food and raiment. The Rio
Claro was crossed at noon, and made a convenient stopping
place for lunch. This stream is easily forded in the dry
sea.son, but is Irecpiently imp.issable for a time after heavy
rains. Karly in the afternoon we reached another stream,
the Tocomo, on the left bank of which a "rancho" has been
erected for the convenience of travellers. Here nothing was
to be had but our own jirovisions, as the [)la<e was unin-
habited. I think it reipiiies a day's work in the open air to
make one appreciate the "carne salada" which formed the
stajile of our dinner. " Came sal.ida " is the name given to
strips of beef which have been salted and dried in the sun.
To cook it you have simply to run a stick through it, ^r.d hold
it over a fire — some prefer it boiled or fried ; but at the best
it is always a tough morsel.

Our next day's journey was also a short one, and the only
point of interest that I neeti note is, that we crossed the
-Vrasiama ridge by a i)ass which is not more than 200 feet
above the surroimding country, and before long reached a
" posada " on the right bank of the Arasiaina stream, a small
tributary of the Caroni. Ample ])rovisions were to be had,
and stewed fowl with good broth, plantains and yuca (the
root of the sweet mandioca), were soon smoking on the
table. The sand and gravel in the bed of the Arasiama are
auriferous ; but miners have told Dr. Plassard that it does
not ])ay to work them. It was our proximity to the stream
that we had to thank for the mosquitoes that tormented us
during the night ; but though they bit pretty freely, I only
felt one bite after I awoke in the morning. Their mono-
tonous hum was certainly worse than their bite, It seemed
to me that the Arasiama mosejuitoes were far less venomous
than those of Cairo and .Mexandria.

We had now but six leagues to traverse before reaching
the Caroni, and the sa\annahs we crossed were similar to
those of the previous days. On our left lay a marked hill
known as .'Xrimagua, on the top of which a mortar for pound-
ing ore is said to have been found. In consequence of this,
the people in the neighbourhood consider that gold veins
probably exist, and have been worked there. Before arriving
at the Caroni, the path led us roimd a lagoon, where 1 saw-
in the distance two "soldados," the name given to a large
snow-white heron ; small water-fowl were pretty plentiful.
About eleven o'clock we came up to the Caroni, a i)lacid
stream some 500 yards wide, with the red-tiled roof of the
church of Guri pee|)ing out beyond it. The ferryman's canoe
was lying among the shrubs and trees on the opposite bank ;
but even firing a gun more than once seemed to fail to catch
his attention. Unfortunately for us, as it appeared afterwards,
the regular ferryman was u]) ?t the village drinking and
gambling, and we had to wait more than two hours before
a deputy-ferr)'man brought the canoe across for us. The river
is so very sluggish here, that there is no difficulty whatever

A JOURNFY UP THK ORINOCO.

199

in crossing it ; and, once on the opposite banl<, a walk of
about ten minutes broiiglit us into (luri. Tliis was the first
of tlic olil S|)anish missions, so numerous in Ouayana, that I
had stopi)ed at. Nearly all the present villages were originally
founded by Spanish monks. Two or three of these people
lived in each mission or village, and lorded it over a number
of Indians, to whom they taught agriculture as well as the
Gospel. At the time of the revolution the monks took the
side of the old country, and, like Spain, got the worst of it.
Some of the vill.vges have since that time been abandoned
entirely, and most of them are in a less nourishing state than
they were at the beginning of this century, (juri is, of course,
reviving somewhat, as much of the traflic between Ciutlad
Bolivar and the mines passes through it. It consists of about
a dozen houses, rniijed round a large " plaza," or square, and
a few outlying houses, in all, say about twenty. t)n the south
side is the church, built in 18O6, in place of the old one of
the Spanish mission. The scjuare is all o\ergrown, and affords
pasture for cattle. Our mules were turned out there on our
arrival.

There is no inn or "posada" in Guri, but one of the shop-
keepers took us in, gave us a large room where we could sling
our hammocks, and soon prepared an excellent dinner. Ham-
burg Lager beer can be had at Guri, so the place is far from
being beyond the bounds of civilisation,

I was glad to find that there was no dearth of beasts at
Guri, and I at once made arrangements for hiring a couple
of donkeys, one of our mules, through the carelessness and
ignorance of our men, having been badly galled.

I tliought, as the arrangements were all made over-night —
indeed, during the afternoon — that I was sure to hu die
donkeys in good time on the following morning ; but no such
thing ; we were kept waiting four hours before they were
brought in, for I did not like to leave Guri before I had seen
our baggage train fairly on its way.

We started from Guri at half-past ten a.m , and jjassed the
farm of Charapo in the afternoon, and then got on to some rising
land, more than a thousand feet above the sea level, which
forms the watershed between the basin of the Orinoco and
that of the Essequibo. It became quite dark before we reached
our destination, and wo had some difficulty in finding the path.
At last, about seven p.m., a light appeared in the distance; and,
as it continued quite steady, we knew that it could not be one
of the thousands of fire-flies that had kept up an intermittent
.sparkle in the air ever since sunset. A few minutes more
brought us to the house of a rich cattle proprietor, a friend of
Dr. Plassard's. He has here about 15,000 head of cattle, each
animal worth about four pounds ; they are exported to Trinidad
and Demerara. The house, like others of the countr)-, was a
mere shed with clay walls, and the whole farm consisted merely
of two or three such houses and a " corral."

The ride of the next day led us over dry, sandy savannahs,
with " chaparro " trees, which sometimes became so numerous
that, save for the absence of apples — which should be on the
trees in October — one would fancy oneself in an English
orchard ; here and there in the valleys were lagoons, or small
lakes, which are usefid in furnishing drmking places for the
cattle. In riding over the grassy districts, one is sure to
notice the singular bird called " garrapatero," similar to our
starling, which perches on the backs of cattle and picks out
the insects infesting them. The " garrap.itero " is continually

seen running about on the ground, ami the inhaliilants never
kill t!ieni, on account of the useful ollice lh.it they fulfil.

We rested for an hour at noon at Limones farm, lunching
off our own sardines and meat, as the people said they had
nothing that the'y could give us to eat. However, when our
meal was all but over they managed to find some cheese and
maize bread, hard as Norfolk dumplings, but made with maize
instead of wheaten flour. 'I'he.se ( akes are better than cassava,
and that is all that can be said in their favour. Cassava, I
need hardly add, is made from the root of the mandioca, and
is a most important artii le of fi)od U>r the natives — it consti-
tutes their bread, in fact ; but to me it appeared a very poor
substitute even for the commonest rye or barley bread that you
could get in Europe.

During the afternoon we crossed the Oronato, another
stre.-.iu with auriferous sand and gravel, and in the evenin;^
reached a farm-house near the (iuatapolo. This brook had
to be crossed on the following morning on our way to I'astora,
where we arrived about half-past nine a.m. The red-tiled
houses tell at once that we have to deal with an old mission,
for now, strange to say, the people have lost the art of making
tiles, and invariably use thatched roofs. Pastora was once an
important settlement, but at the ])resent time it only numbert.
about thirty houses ; of the church there is nothing remaining
but a few posts. While breakfast was jireparing we strolled
down to the Vuruari, only a few minutes' walk from the village.
Gold has been found in its sand and gravel as high up as
Pastora ; but, as the river was still swollen, it was difticult to
get any stuff to wash. It is said by people in Pastora that
there are some old shafts to be found in the hills south of
the village, which evidently point to the founer existence
of mines.

From Pastora to Guasipati is a journey of about fifteen
miles, without ariy marked feature of interest. Guasipati is
another old Spanish mission, which still preserves the large
church and monastery on its "plaza." The former is very
much out of repair, and the latter, though partly tumbled down,
still furnishes some good rooms. The owner does not keep a
regular inn, but is willing to provide for travellers, and one of
the rooms has a billiard-table, the great source of amusement
for all classes in Venezuela. The neighbouring store is well
worthy of inspection, on account of the immense variety of
articles for sale. It seemed curious to see miners' picks,
shovels, hammers, and borers, by the side of scents, cos-
metics, and patent medicines. Of course Guasipati has
profited by the mines ; all the traffic, whether coming from
Las Tablas or direct from Ciudad Bolivar, passes through
this town.

The following day saw the termination of our journey. It
is less than an hour's ride over the savannah to the Yuruari.
In October the river was far too high to be forded, so we had
to unsaddle, be ferried over in a canoe, and swim the mules
across. On the opi)osite bank the forest begins immediately,
and the rest of the journey was entirely under its shade, except-
ing in passing the clearing at Callao. We made a short stay at
Callao, and early in the afternoon arrived at Nueva Providencia,
where we found quarters in one of the stores. Our journey
from Ciudad Bolivar had been an unusually long one ; namely,
seven and a half days, it being often performed in four or five.
This was owing mainly to the incompetence of the men who
had been recommended to us.

I ■
• J

.*(

if^

If'

'. \.

'-'I

i;- i!i

A JoUkNKV iri' rill, ORINOCO,

JOf

CIIAKIKR IV.

•. -DMPRIPTroS (Pt- IIIK TnWN - ISII\illl ANI-i-
O- rHDVISIliMI -DKKSH-AMl'SKMKNH — AMKKICAN

M'KVA rKiU'llk.Ni
SIIOHH I'RICUS
I iiMI'ANV.

NiiKVA I'KiivinKiNi •) a v....i({e, or rather .1 small town, \vlii< h
has .spruDK up within the last le / years, coimtiiii;, perhaps,
between one and two ihousa.u' inhabitants, and owing its
fxisti.)re entirely to the y,vh', mines in il* vicinity, (lold was
discovered in the \ iiruari, ncai 'I'lipihinen, by Dr. Louis IMassard,
just tweniy years ago. In spile of Or. I'lassard's representa-
tions, nothing was done for several years. At last people
began to llo< k to the district, and wash for gold in the river.
.\fter a lime they sank pits in llio alluvial land by he side of
the river, and this le<l them to alluvial diggings above the
present flood level, and to the /if/ra de Jior. It ii only
within the last few years that miners have been working upon
cjuart/. lodes.

The town is situated in a clearing In the midst of the great
forest on the south of the Yi'ruari. It is about a mile and
three-quarters from the river, and stands on a slight (jleva-
tion between the valleys of the Muciipia and 'I'igre. Its
altitude above the level of the sea is between six and .seven
hundred feet. The hou.ses are all built in the same w.ny— of
poles, sticks, and clay. The roofs are in nearly all cases
thatched with the leaf of the " carata" palm, and hence the
name Caratal, which is applied to the whole district. The
church and three or four of the houses can boast of tiled
roofs, and the town naturally has its plazii. The cracks and
crevices of the clay walls of the houses harbour huge spiders
and cockro.iches, and the floors are diversified with little hills
and valleys, being formed simply of the mother earth. Board
or brick floors are a luxury unknown in Nueva Providencia ;
and you have to water your room, on account of the horrible
red dust, which is most annoying. Still, my api)etite was as
good and my sleep as sound as ever they were in England.
In spite of the common nature of the houses, the rents are f;»r
from low. The house I lodged in, with one large room and
three smaller ones, was letting at £,(ia a year.

The inhabitants r-re of all sorts and nil nations. Besides
V'enezuelans of all kinds, of pure S|)anish extraction, or with
dark blood of some kind, there are Frenchmen, Germans,
Italians, Portuguese, numbers of negroes from Trinidad and
other West Indian settlements, a few Americans from the
United States, and one Englishman. As a matter of course,
there are many more men than women, but the number of
dark-skinned beauties in Nueva Providencia is by no means
small. Among the Frenchmen, not a few are escaped convicts
from Cayenne ; however, they finfl they can get on by honest
labour, and they live at Nueva Providencia as respectably as
their neighbours.

Of stores and shops of all sorts there is no dearth ; in fact,
of late the merch.-.nts have found that they are too numerous.
-Mmost anything can be bought in the town, from a silk dress
to a nuner's pick ; and all sorts of eatables and drinkables, from
a barrel of flour to a tin of preserved lobster, or from bitter ale
to champagne.

Where all goods have to be brought on the backs of mules
or donkeys all the way from L.as Tablas or Ciudad IMivar, it
is not surprising that prices should be high ; but improved
means of communication will still further carry on tiiat reduc-
tion in price which has already begun. Of the various articles

of food, bread seems the dcirost — it msts .'-;. .1 |iound ; what
would be a "penny roll" in K.ngl.iud sdK Im ^d. in Nueva
I'roviilenci.i. I'he flour, it should bo ici oljci kd. h.is come .all
the way from the I'liited St.iles, and tlioiigli dear, is of very
excellent quality. The natives ol \'eniviul.i eat cassava,
whii h \o me did not seem tilher as pal.itable or nutritious as
bread. Meat, comparatively speaking, is not so expensive. An
ox is slaughtered every d.iy, and you lan 1mi> fresh beef .it
from 71I. to IS. per pound. Water, too, miisl lie purchased,
as it has to be brought from llic \iiniari ; it costs jil. per
gallon.

In spile of the high price of many ailii les of food, the
.\meri(an company manages to feed its men at js. per day
each. Milk is brought in to Nueva Providem ia from rupiii|iien
every morning early, a.iil there is no dilViciilty, therefore, in
having your cafe <;« /(/// at six o'clo<k. Having thus brielly
spoken of the means of satisfying the wants of the inner m.in,
let me now turn to the wants of the outer man, or dress. Were
the Caratal forest still inhabited by the (luaica Indiar s, of whom
a few m.ay o< c.asionally be seen, two wcjrds would siitlii e, viz.,
"calico" and " string," but the civiliseil gold miner requires a
little, though not much more. .V pair of trousers, a shirt, and
a felt or straw hat, constitute the entire costume of many, and
some of the Caratal swells adopt the fashion of wearing the
shirt entirely outside the trousers in fact, hanging down over
them. More luxurious persons, instead of going barefoot, will
wear the alparj^alas or Venezuelan s;iiidal, a convenient and
sensilile sort of shoe; but coats, waistcoats, and collars — except-
ing on high d.iys and holidays — are rarely seen in Caratal, aiid
with the pleasant warm climate they are not required. Nueva
Providencia must be a kind of paradise for children, as most
of them do not wear any clothes till they are five or six years
old; this must be a great sav ig for people possessed of large
families, and a great comfort, a.-- well, to the child, who can
sit down and roll in the dirty street wiJioul fear of spoiling its
clothes, and of bringing down upon it the wrath of its anxious
mother.

In the midst of a South American forest a man must not
expect all the amusements of more civili.sed places ; but, never-
theless, he can have his g.ime of billiards- he may gamble all
day long if he likes, and dancing goes on every Saturday and
Sunday evening. I did not happen to be at Nueva Providencia
at a very gay season, othenvise I am told I should have seen
much more gaiety than I did last October.

I had not been long in Nueva Providencia before I maile
the acquaintance of the ofticers of the " Falcon " Company.
This company w.is formed in the United States for the purjiose
of working some concessions in the Caratal district ; and die
manager, and several of the employe's, were living in the town.
I went to their house to spend the first evening after my
arrival ; " cocktails " were speedily compounded by the skilful
hand of one of the party, and an animated conversation
was soon commenced. Nor was the talking confineil to one
language, tor though most ^i those present could speak two
or three languages, there were but few who understood
thoroughly the four that were necessary. Besides the American
staff, we had a German engineer and surveyor, a Venezuelan
surveyor, doctor uf medicine, and schoolmaster at the same
time, to say nothing of other visitors who dropped in from
time to time to see their old friend, Dr. Plassard, and hear the
latest news from Ciudad Bolivar and Europe. It often happens

^'1
1:

3oa

to lueii meeting in oiil-or-wuy plares, even \\\un riiiiilllg rruiii
ilillereiU iR-niiaiilifirn, ili.il llii-y liinl iluv li''*e .innie a(i|iiair.t-
an< ea ill 1 iiiiliniill, even II lliey llieiilsehea IukI never l.iel lieliire ;
ami au II vvaa iii thin raae. hnnie cit the Aineiittin al.ilt knew
very well a l'iiilatiel|iliian wlni wa:> an imiinate Ineiiil nl mine
biinie ten ye.n.i auii ,il llie niininj,' I'ulleiie ill I'leibeij.;, in Saxony,
It aei'ini'il ( iniHiia iImI In llie iniiUt ul' llu- Imval nl ( alalal line
hliuiild nuei ai <|iiainlaiii ea ill u man line liail kiunvn in the
heart iittieiinany ; liiil this is lar less sirange than a i ane that
laiiie iiihlei Illy iiuiKe al Sue/ laal year, where tricmla nf mine
iiiri a iii.in nil llii' ijiiay, friini wluim they lia>l parieil si\ ur
heveii yeai.a liilnie in llie wihU ul llu- Ku> ky Muiiiilains. !

We rei eiveil a |ire.->aiiiL{ iiuiLiliun truiii iiiir liiis|iitalile I
Aiiierii an InemU tu viait their wurka, anil rmle mit with ihein i
nil llie liilliiwing murning at beven. 'I lie palh leaila out fioin
llu- eaal aiile ill' tile lii«n, ( Tui-^illii llie lillle Valley ul' ihe Tiuie, ■
wlih ll llaa llirilialieil aiillli' lli ll alluvial ill^({lll^,.i, allil till II ,
aairiiila a lillle lull, where ilie )aikil ul' llie ile|iarliiient li.ia
lieeii Hurking a lillle niiiie in liia own ganleii. Alter tiaveraing j
u ahiirt iiiei e ol loreal, ; nil iiinie ii|ion elcariiiga vvilh |ilantaiiia
ami angariane; uml liyamlliy on caeh aiile ul llie palli ymi
see lillle alter hole, aa if llie people hail lieeii trying lo illg a
low of wella aa ( liiae as lliey ruiiiil to one another. These are
the I'lanaila ilif/giiiga, woiked more than ten years ago. At u
(lepili of alioiit four yaiils the miners rume upon a lieil of
golil hearing i lay wliii h li.ul simply to lie washeil to furnish
luiggels. DnforluiKili ly, jual at llu ileplh lliey got ihe golil, j
llie niinria Were sure III lie liiiujileil |iy water; ami it was nol ;
wiiliniil ilillii iilly tha* ilii-y maiiageil lo work lliia ileposit. I'.ven
now, of (ourse, there niiist lie still a goml ileal of it nnloui lieil.
Aller (Hissing the MiKii|iia lirook, wliii li in ( )rlolier shoulil
rather be ialii_.l a suecessiuii of poiula oi walcrholes than a

ll.J.ll.srRAI'h.lt IkAVf.J.S.

hue hireain, we soon reaiheil linen Keiiro, the seat of some
III llie .\iiurii.in woik.-,. \\i apeiii aonie time in ev.iniiiiiiig
llieir saw-null, ami .auine ul ilu- Imlka uf timber wliii h hail
been rill mil shiiweil lli.il lliere wuiitil be plenly nf luilber Inr
iiiiiiiiig iiiai liuiery, ami the foieals will hirnlsh abuiiilanie of
.ivailable liiel Inr many years imonie. .\s iiaii.il, ihe Ameriians
hail been going a lieail ; all iheir iii.ii liiiu ry Inr slaniping was
nil the slint ami being pul Up. Nnl iniileni willl hnlisea built
nl I lay and rnnfs of "t'arala" palm, the .•\iiierii aiia have
liinst wisely set In wnik In make brii ks and liles, and ere lung
we may expei I in see gnnd linilses willl pi ink lloors and tiled
inula, vvliiili will be mure ci'nifurlable, lliniigh perhaps less
pirlureai|iie, than innal uf the hoiise.s in the dialrii I. The
alanipiiig mill and biiikyird lie i lose in the river Viiriiaii,
where about a do/en women may usually be seen vViialiing
ilulhesul' llie nil ks that prnjei I inin llie river.

( liir M.ilk over llie Aiueriiaii wnrka had i onsideralily
sharpened nur appeliles lor bieaklasi, and ihis (ompKied,
we iiisjieiled the assay olhi e, wlmh my Ameriian lileiids
moat kindly put al my dis|in.aal during my slay ; we next
viailed the vaiiniis trial pita uhiih have been sunk liy the
I nnipany in seaiili uf Imles. In many plai es lliey luiind huge
blinks of ipiarl/ al llie surfaie, and iiave managed In Irai e
these lo lodes ur veins imdeigruund. Aboul ii do/eii pils or
"liariaiuos" have been made, and ihe iiuarl/. oblained Irnm llum
gives un an average about one and a half ouiues of gold In the
Inn. Mm ll nf the Caratai qiiaru will give fur more than this,
and, indeed, this is proved by llie fii I that if il did not i niilain
iiinie, it would nol pay lo work il by the nieaiia used al Ihe
|iteseiu momenl. Our trip lo llie ui tii.il workings hlled up llie
rest of the day, ami we reluriied in Niicva I'roviilciii ia nun h
pleased with the kind hospiialiiy of our American umjicm.

The First yon f my of Exploration across Vancouver Islami. — ///.

IIV KnItlUl IIKilW.N, h.U.iiS., tli., i ll.MM.^Mitl* ul' lllfc !• \l'l 111 I luN.

Al Kilsa I lit lal A.Mi.
.SliH were nur lilglilly aliiuaeiueiils ill iheae aiililudes. Tomo's
voii e is rather i rai ked willi iinrilu-iu blaals and "Ifndson
Hay rum," but it ia Inml emiugli; and a luvl ! hoot! fmin the
lilam lies nf a liniiul.ia \\\ II lined bai k the notes of the wild
snugs he used lo sing, ilolli ihe Indians speak low when llie
voii e of an owl is heard in ihe sohlmle, hir, like all men who
lead lives sui ll as theirs, tliey are very supersliliniis. Aei oril-
irg lo lliciii, the owl is llu- persnnifii alion of dead men ; when
men die, llieir spirils, by tuiiisniigiatinii, pass into the owl ; and
il the >'<-eailed note of the bird is heard al liiglil, ll la a sign
thai we must have offenilLiI llie dead by s[ieakiiig alioiil iheiii.
Meiiee, un Indian will rarely mention the name nf a dead man,
but only ri'fer In him in a roundabout way. The raven iu also
a binl ul iii|M i:>tiiinn with ihe In.liiiis, us il is all the world
over. "The raven thai uoaked nii Diuii.in's balllenients" was
llnl more a bird of ill oim n lliaii llie blai k fishy lellnw vvlio
biis i'ii7ii uiwiiii; on the salmnii drying poles niiinii an Indian
vill.ige in \',ini Oliver Island. .Snnihaayers presage the weather

by hmi, and uld men will be pninled oiil wlio have foielolil
war and disasler lo iheir Iribesmeii by ihe iroaking of llie
raven. Tomo jiretends always to be able to furelell rain by its
I making, though Mr. I.eei h of our parly dei lares that he often
tail lies him lonking at the falling ol my Aneroid barometer,
wlmh possibly in hia wandeiiiig hie he has learned lo be mine
uiiuiale in ils imlii .itiniis of weather i lianges than his blai k
friend overhead.

Here are examples of other myllis. The inonii appears
behind ihe i louds -" Ah I there is the frog in the nioun I"
I ries Tomo, and as Ihe slars twinkle out one by ono, we
hear llieir names; how llu- Pleiades aie a group of lislies ;
how the lonstellalion of Uisa Major is tiiree men in u i anne,
und so on. Most of llie stars are lillle people, and we hear
the wide spread Indian tale of the two girls who were siiiriled
n|i inio the sky by t'aslor and I'nlliix, and hnw they hiially
est aped by iliggillg a hole in the vault nl heaven and h Itillg
themselves down by a rope of ledar* baik. ll ymi dmibl il.

FIRST JOUkNIA' (IK KXI'1.( tRA I loN ACROSS VAN('( )l!Vl.R ISI AND,

.10.1

is not there the rope rnileil ujiyeton Knockun II ill near Viriaria
—all in good trup rmk? I .int interested in ihia liiije tale, lor in
one (mm or anotlier it in tvnrld tvide, and in iMnnjie linilh ii^i
tonnlerpan in "Jack and ihi- liran .Slalk," A log roviTKd
wi'h the sweet-rooled fern* drilla ilown the- river at our lett.
This is the old woman who came " syverl-hearling " her grand
danglitcrn, two wanton girU who hved in a iodgi- ,ill liy ihiin
selvea, and wlio, when Uiey l(jnnd mit ihe gay g.dlani who
tame a-wooing to lie (jnly iheir old granihn<j|lirr in diagmne,
gut so enraged that they ijirew lur inui the iiver. A .splahh is
heard in the water, ll is only a mink very early out atlt-r a
breaklasl, or very late a siipper-hnnting. Iliii the naiik w.is
not always a mink. lie wa.s oni e a lioy who went so tar ott
in his lanoe that he (anie to a country where iieoplt lived on
loijiia biitlls, f sailed in ecjpper ranoes, and had their lodge
doors also of the same metal. On his way liai k liu met wid) a
mishap and got swallowed l<y a whale; whiili, however, soon
tired of its liargain ami vomiluil him up very hungry on the
shore. He saw sea eggs (iu/iiiii) at the liollnni, and dived
repeatedly for them, making a hearty meal. Now, he met
Haclae, who asked him for some, hut the boy told him that he
had better dive for some himself, so Haelsu threw watt-r in his
face, and told him that he would dive for ever. So he be-
came a mink. Ilaelse is the Hiawatha of these Indians, and
is a mirac ulous bring, to whose agency all woudeil'ul things are
ascribed, lie seems to be of the n.iture of a anpivme being,
and is foiuid inidcr sonu' name in every Indian tribe that I
know anything almut. He made the beaver, who was a boat
man on a lake, inti) its present shape, because he disobeyed
him ; but he also gave it power to make rain to hll its clams,

.Sometimes we are startled by a wild, weird like ciy which
• limes out of the mist in the swatnp on il'c other side of
the river. "Ah!" iiy both our Indians tog. the/ ; " lliat
must be I'ecpioic hem, the one-eyed giant, and his slave, the
loon, ferrying some poor hunter ac loss to his lodge." Then,
in e\planation of their nuaning, hillicws a wild tale ccf wonder.
The long tiowl cjf the Weill siiikes on cmr ear, then the gather-
ing cry, and we retreat to our teins for arms, and heap
more fuel on the fire ; a rush is heard and a splash in
the river, followed by a pack of hungiy wcihes. It is a deer
hotly pursueil. "That must be," old Kakalat/a thinks,
" Slcickeia, the wcilfnian." He w.is a hunter who was c cm-
verted into a wcilf, anci when last seen was hunting with the
pack in the mountains. Then follows a long string of tradi-
tions about hunters who were (ciinerled into animals whilst
" seeking their medic ines ;" of the lightning eye [lolentate who
once lived on the top of Salt Spring Island, and a i\aitn other
such like legends. And so the talk goes on, until the golden
sheen of the sun glitumers thrcjiigh the trees, dissipating the
fog from the river and the wiiocled hills, and, after the "grue-
BOine talk" we leave been indulging in, Icmking like a tnessetiger
from a better world. " Kt-^iiia 1" Kakalal/.a exclaims, "there is
the sun 'sfain siiikum- a gieat traveller is my lord the sun -a
very great traveller- nun h greater than you!" atid hete he
gritiily nods to a member of our parly who haci already giciwii
rather famous as a telh'r of wonderiul liavellers' tales, and with
the laugh whiili hillows this sally, those of our little camp who
are not already sniring Itislily tinder trees or in the tent, turn
in to get a few lioius of sh'ep, ami dream of medic ine-mcn
and ogres, until at six the cook rouses all hands for breakfast.
• J'olyftdiiiiimi'i^iiit. t Htulalium fiAiMum, " lliu Iiuliiui mciiiey. "

We wash in the river, clivss at random as far as we are not
already dressed, and lualil) icti>i. k the be nia LMi\ mile ut v eiii^nai
roasting at the lire, and then, loaduig llie canoe, eai h man —
cciiiuiiander, artist, astronomer, or pioneer, lor tlu-re are no
aervuiita here (thank heaven) shouldeis his "swag" ami is off
through the lonely woods, rousing up the deer from the cr lair
among the fern, sakil, and hucklelierry bushes.

The forests through which we Havel are ccanposed of
gigantic: tits, every tier ht hir the spear of a Titan, or Ihe
"mast of Some great admiral." I'tw of them are less than
2^0 feet in height, and are straight as arnnv.i, unbianc he I
lor sixty or seventy feet. We were, howcvei, Imli- im line il
hir the admiration of them, for during this |iart of our nunc h
the rain tell without intermission. Still we jogged on in
dogged slubborniiess, jiial like men who do mil care what
turns up; tilings cannot be much worae. We wire wet
enough hir two dajs' cliyiiig, and the water ran down in
litlle streams at the hint of our liciiiaeis' legs. We were
ciilcl cnitside ami inside, and the iam|i was out of meat.
Not a deer was to be seen ambling among the wet bushes, and
1 dare say our muskets were as wet as llieir owiu-is. No gtog
was ever carried on any expedition I hacI ever the control of,
nor even, had we means to convey it, would any wise man,
knowing the material of western e.^iedition, ever venture into
the woods with such c cunluislible material in his possession.
And how our c lothts were to be ilried piu<^led us. We had tents,
though we rarely erected them. The erection, however, was
c|uii k enough. While some of the men are unliiading the c anoe,
four others spring into the bush with the hate liels, and almost
cpiiiker than I have ■.■litten the words, hve iliin poles are cut,
our ridge-iMile te'it erected, ami tlie hre is likuing behire the
cami) kettle is hlleil with water lor our refreshing lea. How-
ever, Ihe wood is all soaked tonight- this fatal i3th of June,
even if the tire wcjuld light amid sue h a pour. Suddenly we hear
the rushing soiiiid of a waterfall, and e mailing ihioiigh aiming
nettles (aiii'e signs of hiunan abodes), to our delight and astoiiisli-
ineiii we land in front of a |iielly waterfall, with remains of
salmon pots and old lodges choked up with nettles on the other
side of the river. Two others in good repair are on ihis side,
and theiugh a canoe is at the landing, the lodges do not seem
to have been tenanted for long. They are, however, warm
and pleasant, though smelling strongly Indian, and we hail
them as a lucky find. Soon, with great delight, we take
poasession of the best, and have a hre bkuing in the middle
in readiness for the arrival of o ir canoe. KakalaUa soon
comes in with the air of a man at home, grins iis a wel-
come, and tells us that this is one of his regular hunting
lodges. The canoe no doubt belonged 10 some Masole-
iiiiic lis, a tiilie of Indians who on asiotially hunt on the
great lake, and once possessed the riiineel lodges on the
other side of the river. We aflerwanis found that these
Indians (of whom we hearcl wonderhil tales on the coast)
are a section of the Nittenahts, a western tribe, and that
this canoe belonged to llieir chief, who preferred to pass
this way to the east coa^., rather than risk the stormy slioiis
of |)e hue as Strait in die spring season. He is off trading
somewhere, and is not yet back. Kakalat^a, who does not
care much for our tea and boiled beans, c i;mbs up into the
lafteis of the lodge, and brings forlh a epianlily of dried
elks' meat, which he had deposited here against some such
chance. We soon strip olf our inexpressibles, and hang

1 :

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304

ILLUSl'RATED TRAVELS.

if I !

iK^i

them up to dry with our wet shirts. Our pack supplies a
Sparc shirt, and the blanket, Indian fashion, completes our
garments. In this half-savage guise our artist sketched us,
and as the picture was, I regret to say for colonial taste, much
more popular than views of fine scenery, it now ornaments
not a few far western parlours, where, possibly at the moment
I am writing, some good friends of ours are laughing at what
they were pleased to call " Brown's savages." Now it is that
Kakalatza, his heart warmed with fire and elks' meat, sweet tea
and boiled beans, relaxes into familiarity, and his wrinkled old
face beams with something like a self-satisfied smile, as he
glances round the lodge and recalls a little reminiscence con-
nected with it. We are all at our ease, reclining in our blankets,
around the roaring fire, and listen to him.

One night, just such a night as this, some years ago, he was
hunting up this river, and on entering this same lodge he was
surprised to find a woman crouching in the comer. She was a
Nuchultaw, from Suckwhanotan, the Rapid's village, in Discovery
Passage, and had been a sla\e with the Clallams, on the other
side of De Fucas Strait, for a number of years. Yearning for
home, sh, and another woman of the same tribe detemiined to
attempt their escape. They only knew that the direction of
their home was somewhere on the other side of the range 'if
mountains they saw on the Vancouver shore, and that beyond
lay a ri\er (the Cowichan) by w lich they mij''it reach the coast,
and so northward. Accordingly, one dark night they stole a
ranoe, and alone crossed the strait, took to the woods and
travelled by the sun. Probably no human being had ever
penetrated these mountains before, and how laborious the
jou..;ey must have been may be gathered from the fact that a
well-equipped party of experienced tra^■ellers, sent by me to
explore the same route, took more than a week to tra\erse it.
AVhile dcscei.ding a precipice, one of the women fell and frac-
tured her leg. Her companion could do nothing for her, so
leaving her to the certain fate which awaited her, she pursued
her perilous and laborious journey, finally arriving at the river
and travelling down it. She had sought shelter in the hut,
where our friend Kakalatza had found her.

The old fellow stopped in his narrative. " What did you
do with her?" we all eagerly inquired, impressed with the
heroism of the woman. A curious sinister smile played around
the leathern features of the chivalrous savage, as he replied,
" Went home again, and sold her to the Lummi Indians for
eighty blankets!''

On the 15th of June tlie river began to get calm and lake-
like, and to our great delight, turning a bend, \\x came in
sight of a largt and beautifiil lake, stretching away among
wooded hills in solitary grandeur. This was the source of the
river, and here for a pleasant week or more we fixed our head-
quarters, rambling all round the neighbouring country. Summer
was now come in all its Italian beauty ; the skies were sunny
and clear, and all Nature was blooming as brightly as she only
can do in a north-western summer.

The fore.iis were fragrant with the piny odour ; the large
white flowers of the dogwood ( Cornits Kiithtlii) were reflected
in the little glassy baj-s of the lake ; woodi)eckers tapped the
trees merrily ; grouse drummed in the woods ; humming-birds
(Se/asp/wriis riifus) darted like winged gems of cr,,eralds and
rubies among the flowering currant bushes ; while the lordly-
looking bald headed eagle {Haliadiis kucocephaliis) sat perched
fi'i the topmost branch of some giant lir, now and then swooping

down to draw a trout from the lake. These were halcyon days.
The woods echoed with our loud joyous laugh and song, and
the hills with the reports of the hunters' rifles ; there was
nothing to make us uneasy. One jiarty surveyed the lake,
which was twenty-two miles long, and from a mile to a mile
and a half broad ; while another under my own charge explored
the wooded mountains of the Kennedy range, overlooking the
lake, in search of minerals and mines. It was not often that we
were separated for many days, and at night the woods and the
glassy surface of the little lake bays were lit up with our camp
fires ; so large, indeed, that they generally defeated their purpose.
"Just like the white men," old Kakalatza would growl, " they
build a fire to warm themselves, and then make it so big that
they can't get round it ! Etsina I" Our savage was, however,
in his element. He was long after heard to declare that what
he called " the 'xplorin' 'xpedition was the finest thing he had
ever been on ; good pay, not o\er heavy work, and plenty to
eat — plenty, plenty !" The hills around the great lake were the
home of our friend fo'- six weeks or more every year. In the
autumn he came up with his family and squaw to hunt elk.*
Elk were so abundant that on one occasion he chased seven
into a rocky gulch, out of which they could not escape, so he
and his sons just shot them down. He then erects frames to
smoke their meat — we often saw them in the mountains during
our wanderings ; and after he has accumulated what he con-
siders enough for winter use, he makes baskets to contain it,
and commences to transport it to his canoe on the lake. This
he does slowly and by frequent journeys, until at last he sails
out of the lake, and runs the rapid river : and after many
laborious portages, arrives in glee at the Tsamena village.

At last, on the 23rd of June, to fulfil tho plan of explora-
tion which I had marked out, we separated. Lieutenant Leech
going with one-half of the men to the country south of the
lake, with orders to meet me at Port San Juan, on De Fucas
Strait ; while, with th^' rest, I proceeded to the end of the lake,
before dispatching our faithful Indian henchmen to their homes.
On our way we met two lanoes almost loaded with berries,
containing three hunters of Tsamena on their way to the
Cowi(han River. Here we paid ofl" our friends, Lemo and
Kaka'atza, as the one had to go back with his canoe, and the
former to get married to a swarthy brunette of Quamichan
village, regarding whom I had long been the repository of
many secret, sighing tales. Their joy and gratitude knew no
bounds ; and while Kakalatza only grinned with satisfaction as
he contemplated the little presents we gave them on parting,
Lemo burst out into many jjromiscs, He told me that when
he saw me in Victoria (he would know itie by my beard, he
said) he would give me some grouse, as I was his very good
friend ; and turning to one of our party, whom he sujiposed to
have cast sly glances at some black-eyed half-blood of his
acquaintance, he spoke with a vehemence that put the lover to
the blush ; " Nika wa-wa Maly copa mika ;" and turning to
another, " Spose Maly halu tikke yaka, mika wa-wa yaka
hyou copa mika!" ("I will sjieak to Mary for you," and
" Suppose Mary will not have him, I will speak jilenty to her
about you.'") We thank them both for their i)romised good
offices — ei)icurcan and matrimonial — and after watching them
sailing over the lake, whence came echoing back, as far as we
could see them, the shouts of farewell, we fire a jKirting salute,
and take to the woods with a \iew to reach the opposite coast,
* Oivus CaitnJciiiis, lirxl.

A KirP''. iv\N SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

3CS

FUSl-YAMA, THE SACKKIl MOITNtAIN OF JAPAN,

A European Sojonyn in jFapan. — yi.

KKOM THK I-RI.NCli OF M. Al.ME IIUMBERT, SWISS MINISIF.K IN JAl'AN.

ItUDDHlSM IN JAPAN.

The history of Riuldlia is a sini|)le and touching one. In the I
midst of the pleasures of the court of Kai)ilavastu, the young
Prince Siddhartha, who .vas heir to the throne, found, with !
astonishment, that the greatest things of this world, even those
whicii he possessed himself, did not yield him happiness. look-
ing around him, he was struck by the amount of sickness,
misery, and jioverly which embitter human life ; he encountered \
suffering and death amongst all creatures, and it was only in-
animate nature wliich did not present pictures of desolation I
to him. ■

M'hen he .addressed himself to the ministers of religion, he
found that their dogmas presented to him only subjects of \
terror ; even the gods, according to the Drahmins, had to i
submit to the law of transmigration of souls ; while ,is for men, !
each of them was sui)posed to have ]ire\ iously jiassed through a i
multitude of diverse existences, and according to his actions in
this world, would assume a sujierior form or descend a grade
lower.

Brahma, the universal spirit, from whence all things emanate,
was also the fated end of all existences. Hut who could tell the
length of the journey in store for each separate human being ?
And who would warn the unfortunate traveller against the snares
which are spread by demons in the path of the wisest and the
descendants of the ])urest castes? Siddhartha made a supreme
resolution : " 1 am determined," said he, " that in disappear-
ing from here below I will not any more be subject to the
vicissitudes of transmigration. I will find the way to put a
termination to birth and death, and when I have discovered it,
I will impart it to the world. I will teach the law of grace to
every one." He was then twenty -nine years of age ; he se|)arated
from his father, his wives, and his children, visited the most
vol.. I.

celebrated schools of the masters of the law of Manou, and
gave hiuiself up during six years to the study of religious
systems, as well as the ascetic exer< ises of the Brahmins.
But he arrived at the conviction that this road was not the one
to lead to perfect understanding. It was some time later, in the
midst of (juiet and solit.iiy meditation, that he felt suddenly
affirmed in the fundamental jirinc iples of his doctrine. From
that moment he believed that he was invested witii the qualities
of Buddha, and in full possession of perfect wisdom. He com-
menced his ])reachings at Benari's at the age of thirty-six,
travelled to Behar, returned to the city of Kapihnastu, and
converted to a religious life his three wives, his father, and
other members of his family. As they bore the name of .Sakya,
it was by the .surname of Sakyamuni, the recluse of the Sakyas,
that Buddlia was soon known in a:l central India.

The contests which he had to sustain against the Brahmins
imi'.eriUed his life several times, but he was alile to exercise his
mission for more than forty years without any other protection
than the austerity of liis morals and the perfection of his
knowledge. When he felt his end a))])roaching, at the age of
eighty years, the venerable man took a tender leave of his com-
))anions in labour, and sealing himself under the shade of a
grove, (juietly expired, 'leaving nothing in the world but his
mortal remains, the remembrance of his teaching, and the
eti'ects of his good example. In die year 545 before Christ,
seven days after the death of Buddha, a fiist assembly of his
votaries settled the dogmas of the master, for he himself had
not committed anything to writing. His doctrine — which he
never intended to have any other end than that of working a
moral reform in the Brahmin worshij), and substituting a reign of
duty lor that of the gods, and the juactice of good for that of
vain ceremonies — became in its turn a ilogniatic syr'em, accom-

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3o6

ILLUSTRAl'KI) TRAVKLS.

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ppnicil by a superstitious and idolatrous worship. liuddliisni is
now the |)rincipal rchgion in the islarnl of Ceylon, the Hirnian
empire, the kingdoms of Siam and Annam, 'I'onkin, Thibet,
Tartary, Mongolia, China, and Japan. It reigned for some time
in the whole of India, Java, and other islands, and exists still
in Cashmire and Nepaul, the number of its adherents exceeding
three hundred millions of souls, an amount to which no other
religion in the globe has attained.

The introduction of Buddhism into Japan dates from ii.c.
552. At this period Kin-mei, the thirteenth Mikado, received
from the King of Petsi in the Corea, a statue of Sakyamuni,
togedier with some books, banners, a canopy, and other objects
destined for use in his worship. These presents were accom-
panied by a letter tontaining the following recommendation :
" This is the best of all doctrines, come from distant India ; it
reveals to us what was a mystery to Confucius himself, and trans-
ports us to a final state of incomparable happiness. The King
of Petsi communicates it to the empire of the Mikado, in
order that it may spread, and thus accomplish what is written
in the books of Buddha — 'My doctrine will extend to the
east.'" The Mikado immediately consulted his ministers upon
the reception which he ought to give to the statue of the grand
Kami of India. "All the nations of the west," replied Inamc,
venerate Buddha ; " why should Nippon reject him ? " " But,"
objected Wokosi, " if we the., render homage to a strange
Kami, is there not danger that we may irritate the national
Kami ? " Then the Mikado in his sovereign capacity pro-
nounced this conciliatory sentence : " It is just and equitable to
grant to man that which his heart desires — let Iname revere
the image." He carried it away and built a chapel for it.
However, an epidemic arose, which they attributed to the new
worship ; the chapel was burnt, and the statue thrown into the
river. But the family of Inamfi continued to be secretly
attached to the strange doctrine. Under the reign of Bedats,
successor of Kin-mei, the minister Sogano, son of Iname, pre-
sented to the Mikado a bonze who came from Sinra, in Corea.
The holy m.m — forewarned of the difficulties which he should
meet with in the introduction of Buddhism into a country
where the national religion so closely united the people and
the sovereign — thought of a way to gain tJie fa\our of the
Mikado. As soon as he perceived at the court the grandson
of the Mikado, a youth of six years of age, about whose birth
there had been something extraordinary, he threw himself at
the feet of the child and worshipped him, announcing that he
recognised in him the incarnation of a rival of Buddha, a new
patron of the empire, a future propagator of religious light.
The Mikado allowed himself to be persuaded to devote this
child to the priesthood, and to confide his education to the
Corean bonze. The rest can be guessed ; the boy became the
initiator and the first grand priest of Buddhism in Japan. He
is still revered under the name of .Sjo-Tok-Daisi, the holy and
virtuous hereditary prince. Far fro.ii .disowning the strange
origin of the new worship, the Japanese make it their duty
to recall it by various symbols, such as the heads of elej)hants
which I ha\e already named amongst the ornaments of archi-
tecture in • Buddhist monuments; also a small species of
pa'm plant acclimatised in Japan, whiih one meets with at
the entrai;je of the temples, in remembrance of India. It
was easier for them to testify by certain outward signs their
respect for the cradle of Buddha, than to preserve without
alteration that which constituted the very essence of his religion,

that is to say, the exact tradition of his life, his personality, and
his teachings. In the Japanese legend Buddha came into the
world in a miraculous manner. Soon after his birth he placed
himself standing in the middle of the room, took seven steps in
the direction of each of the cardinal points of the comi)ass,
and pointing with his right hand to the sky and his left to the
earth, he cried, "Around, above, and below there is nothing
that can be compared to me, nor anything more worthy of
veneration." This is the position in which the infant Buddha
is represented when they celebrate his birth. On the eighth
day of the fourth month they go to the temple to sprinkle his
statue with a decoction of aromatic herbs, whid'. the bonzes
have prepared in a sort of font at the feet of the image, which
afterwards receives the adorations of the faithful ; and at the
end of their exercises the most devoted sprinkle themselves
with the decoction and drink it. From the ninth to the fifteenth
day of the second month they celebrate the remembrance of
the meditations of the Siikyamuni in the solitude of the
forests. It is a week for retirement and preaching, during which
the priests teach the people that the awakening of the
supreme knowledge in the soul of Buddha was in correlation
with the apparition of a brilliant star ; that the sage obtained
entire possession of the luminary, and announced during
thirty-seven days the first book of the law, during twelve
years the second, during thirty years the third, during eight
years the fourth, and in one day and a night the last, which
treats of the Nirwana, or final annihilation. They add that
during forty-nine years of his ministry he " turned the wheel
of the law nearly three hundred and sixty times" — by which
expression they mean the comjilete statement of his doctrine.
The seventh and last day of the fete is consecrated to the
commemoration of the death of Buddha. In each of the
jjlaces of worship which are dedicated to him they raise a
cenotaph, and the faithful go about from temiile to temple
rivalling each other in their zeal in decorating the holy tomb.
It is then that they display in the temple of Toofoukzi,
at Kioto, the celebrated picture of Nchanza*'), painted by
Toodenzu. In the centre of this great canvas Buddha is
represented extended under the sanu trees plunged in the rest of
eternal unconsciousness. The calm solemnity of his face shows
that the freedom of his intellect is consummated, that the sage
has irrevocably i)enctrated into the Nirwana. His disci[)leswho
surround him regard him with a mixed expression of regret and
admiration. The poor, the oppressed, the parias, bewail tlie
charitable friend who maintained them with the ahns which he
gathered for them, and consoled them with compassionate
words, and opened to them prospects of deliverance. The
whole creation, even the animals, were disturbed by seeing him
who always respected life in all the various forms which it
assumes in nature, reduced to the state of a corpse. The
spirits of the earth, of the water, and the air, approach him
with respect, followed by the denizens of their dominions, fishes,
birds, insects, reptiles, and quadrupeds of all sorts, even the
white elephant— the last stage of the Brahminical transmigra-
tion. This composition, extravagant as it is, does not produce
the less powerfid effect; it awakens some mysterious sympathies,
and seems even to express an idea which is not foreign to
Christianity— for instance, that of a kind of joint liability cstab-
lishe'l between man and all the beings of the terrestrial creation.
As for the principal subject of the picture, I believe that
they have not altogether succeeded in conveying to the mind

A EUROPKAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

307

what they mean to attribute to him. Do they represent the
Nirwana, the supreme end of tlie lUiddhist aspirations, as the
absori)tion of the soul of the just into the divine essence of
the universal spirit, or do tliey really make it the synonym
of annihilation ? The Buddhist doctrine is very obscure on
this point. However, the most resiiectable authorities pronounce
in favour of the latter alternative. The interpretation which M.
Bartheiemy Saint Hilaire gives, according to M. A. Burnouf, of
the Buddhist Nirwana, is summed u|) nearly word for word as
follows :— Buddha takes for the starting-point of his doctrine
an incontestable fact, the existence of sorrow, to which man
is subject in some form or other in all social conditions.
Looking into the causes of sorrow, he attributes them to
passions, desires, faults, ignorance, and even to existence. This
being the case, sorrow cannot be ■ linated except by the
cessation of existence, but it is nee .ssary that this end, in order
to be real, be annihilation, or the Nirwana. There is no
other way of getting free from the perpetual succession of new
births, or of e.scaping the law of transmigration. That com-
pound of soul and body called man cannot be really freed
without absolute annihilation, because, if the least atom of the
soul — no matter how little — remained, the soul would again
revive under one of tliose numerous semblances which nature
assumes, and its supposed liberation would only be an illusion
like the others ; the only refuge and the only reality is annihila-
tion, because there can be no returning from it.

If the opinion which I (juote really expresses the idea of
the Hindu reformer, we must acknowledge that the Buddhist
Nirwana surpasses in tragic horror everything the ancients
have imagined about the mystery of human destiny. This
conception is at once the lowest expression of despair and the
highest pitch of caprice. In proposing to abolish sorrow by
the suppression of existence, Buddhism places itself on the
verge of atheism. At the same time that it welcomes death
as the angel of deliverance, it throws him a haughty defiance.

The first result of Buddhist preachings amongst the Japanese
was to satisfy the curiosity of these islanders, who are as
inquisitive and trifling as the Hindus are taciturn and thought-
ful. Wl'.at a vast field to exjjlore for minds who were still in
their first voyage of discovery in the regions of metaphysics !
As they show no desire to plunge into the Nirwana, they
occupy themselves especially with what passes between death
and final extinction. With the help of the priests they soon
got into circul ition in the towns and country a certain number
of settled ideas on the soul, death, and life to come, widiout
prejudice, be it understood, to that which they had learned
from their fathers touching the ancient gods and the venerable
national Kamis. The soul of man, they say, is as a lengthened
floating vapour, indissoluble, having the form of a tadpole,
with a thin filament of blood wiiich reaches from the head to
the extremity of the tail. If they keep watch they can see it
escape from the house of death the moment the dying person
breathes the last sigh. In every case it is easy to perceive
the creaking of the window-frame on its departure. Where
does it go to ? They do not know, but it cannot fail to be
received by the serving spirits of the great judge of the shades
below, who take it before his tribunal, where it is made to
kneel before a mirror, which recalls to it every evil it has com-
mitted. This phenomenon is sometimes produced on earth. A
comedian of Ye'do, who was guilty of murder, could not look in
his glass without seeing the livid face of his victim. Souls

charged with crimes wander, according to the gra\ity of the
case, in one or other of the eighteen circles surrounding the
infernal regions. By way of purification, they remain in
purgatory, from wliich they are released as soon as jJOhsiljle
without danger of relapse, to continue their progressive
course. At last the souls come back to the place which they
had formerly inhabited, or where their mortal remains were
concealed.

A young woman having gone to sleep, suddenly started up
and perceived a shadow above her, inside the mosquito curtain ;
her husband, by her side, fell cowering on his knees, struck
with terror, for though he did not distinguish the app.. ition, he
heard the plaintive sounds of a well-known voice — the dying
voice of his first wife, whom he had poisoned to make place for
the young wife, who was then his mistress. In the path by the
river, in l\\i centre of the great marsh, the traveller is stopped
by seeing two pale phantoms rising up. It is a young mother
clasping her infant in her arms ; despair and misery have
induced her to commit a double crime. The passers-by say
that every evening the two victims come out of the deep water
and stand erect in accusation against the true author of dieir
death. There exist some solitary places, strewed with rubbish
and choked up with thorns and venomous plants, in which
souls in punishment, as well as hideous demons, wander. One
uniform legend is attached to these places, it is — that there
existed there the castle of a feudal tyrant, whose life was a
succession of acts of violence and cruelty ; at last he was
surprised in his haimt, and the outraged families satisfied their
vengeance by blood and flames. He returned, and recollected
how he was struck, and he remained frozen with horror,
exposed without defence to the imprecations of his victims
and to infernal mockings. Ghost stories, frightful tales, anr'
books illustrated with engravings representing hell and appari-
tions of demons, exist in Japan in such profusion that the
pojjular imagination is truly possessed by them. The patron
of this literature, according to the national mythology, is
Tengou. the god of dreams, c winged spirit. Crowned with an
extinguisher and armed with a golden bat, he conducts the
nocturnal saraband.-, of all objects, profane or sacred, which
occupy the reveries of men ; even the sanctuaries of death
must obey his brutal call. The candelabra bend their
luminous heads in time, the stone tortoises which sup])ort
the epitaphs clamp with slow s'.eps ; and the grinning
skeletons, draped in winding-sheets, join in the fantastic
round, waving round them with slow measure the paper
aspeir. ium which chases away the evil spirits.

One can hardly imagine that nearly a third of the human
race has no other religion but Buddhism, a religion widiout
God. composed of nothing, invented by despair. One would
like to persuade oneself that the multitudes under its do-
minion do not understand the doctrines which they profess,
or refuse to admit the consequences of it. The idolatrous
practices which are engrafted on the book of the law seem, in
reality, to show that it has not been able either to satisfy or to
stifle the religious sentiments innate in man, and constantly
living in the breast of the people. On the other hand, we
cannot deny the influence of the philosophy of final annihila-
tion on a great many of the traits and customs of Japanese
life. The children arc taught by the Irova in the schools
that life passes like a dream, and leaves no trace after it.
When the Japaner-e arrives at mature age, he will sacrifice

1;!

3o8

II.I.rSTRArKI) IRAVF.LS.

his own or his nci(;hhoiir's lilL' with ihc most disdainriil
iiidift'cronie- for the satisfaction of his pride, or for sonic
trifling resentment. Murders and suicides arc so fre(|iient in
Japan, that there arc few noblemen who have not had some in
their families ; ami they make it a point of iionoiir to be able
to exhibit at least one sabre which has been steeped in blood.
Buddhism, however, has an advantage in some respects over
the religions which it has supplanted. This relative siiiieriority
is owing to the justice of its starting-point, which is the ac-
knowledgment of a want of freedom, b.ised on the double tact
of the existence of evil in man, and of a universal state of

that it is not in the abstrac t and philosophical form that it
be(ame so popular; and nothing shows this more than its
present t:ondition. In Japan, as in India, there have been
some ascetics weakened by abstinence and lost in contem-
plation ; but lliey have been certainly very few, and the most
illustrious was of Hindoo origin. 'I'his was lioddhi-Dharma, the
founder of the .Sensju sect, who came to Japan in the year 613
A.iJ. He is re|)resented in a legenil as crossing the strait of
Corea, standing on one of those large leaves of the tree
called "aschi," or, what is even less probable, on a simple
reed. He jirepared himself I'or his mission by a retirement

I ■. 1;

III,,

licnnnisT iiiiiit-PRn-si' worsuii'I'kd nv his schordin.vtks.

misery and >\ifleriiig in the world. 'I'he jiromises of the Kamis
treed relato to the present life. 'I'lie rules of purification serve
to protect the faithful from the five great evils, which are, tire
from he.iven. sickness, poverty, exile, and early death. The j
I)omps of the religiour, fetes have no other end than the I
glorification of the heroes of the empire. But if patriotism
be idealised to the (|uality of a national creed, it is not the
less true that this natural sentiment, so ])recious and so
respectable, does not sufiice to fill the mind and satisfy all its
wants. The human mind is greater than the world ; it requires
a religion whic h can detach it from earth. Buddhism, in a
certain degree, responds to the aspirations of a nature till then
not recognised. This circumstance alone would explain the
success with whi( h it has been propagated in Japan and else- i
where solely by persuasion. Nevertheless, one can well believe i

of nine consecutive years, which he jiassed in the Corcan
tenii)le of .S< hao-lin. seated on a mat. with his face invariably
turned towards the wall.

THK nONZES.

BinniiA had recommended to his disciples the exercise of the
Dhyana, or contempl.ition ; and the bonzes, wishing to regulate
the iirogress of contemplation, made the Dhy'ina a sort of mystic
scale in two stages, each subdivided into four degrees. In
order to surmount the first step the ascetic ought to be free
from every other desire but that of the N'irwana. In this state
of the mind he still judges and reasons, but he is safe from the
sediKtions of evil, and the feeling that this first step opens to
him the perspective of the Nirw;lna, throws him into a state of
ecstasy which soon allows him to attain to tlie second degree.

.^f

iJ, »

;*^

'-•idMHiiiiiilii

3'°

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

i< ^ '

I' .. : I

'' S

At this second step, wliile the ])urity of tlie ascetic remains the
same, he has also put asiilc jiulgmeiit and reason, so that his
intellect, which no lon^'er occupies itself with things, but is
wholly fixed on the Nirwana, only feels the pleasure of an
inward satisfaction. witliDiit examiniiM; it, or even tnulerstanding
it. At the third degree tlie pleasure and the inward satisfaction
have disappeared, the sage falls into indifierence with regard
even to the happiness which till now remained as a i)roof of
his intelligence, and the only pleasure which remains to him is
a vague feeling of physical well-being which pervades his whole
body. Meanwhile, he has not lost the recollection of the states
through which he lias passed, and lie has still a confused con-
sciousness of liimself, in spite of the almost total indilTerence to
which he has arrived. At last, at the fourth degree, the ascetic
ceases to possess the feeling of physical well-being, even in this
limited form. He has also entirely lost all recollection, as well
as the feeling of inditTerence, and henceforth, free from all
pleasure and all pain at any object whatsoever, he has become
impassible, and as near to the Xirwana as he can be during tliis
life. The ascetic is then allowed to approach the second stage of
the Dhyiina, the foiu' transcendental regions of the world without
form. He first enters the region of infinite space, from that he
mounts a degree higher into the region of infinite intelligence,
and having reacheil this height, he attains to a third region, that
of absolute non-existence. liut as in this .abyss and darkness
one might suppose that he would still retain one idea which
would represent to him the nothingness into which he has
plunged himself, he makes a last and supreme effort, uid enters
into the fourth region of the world without form, where he has
no more ideas, not even an idea of the absence of ideas. Such
are the mystic exercises of the Buddhist contemplation, and
IJuddha-Dharma was the promoter of it in Japan. The other
apostles, his successors, walked in the steps of Uuddha in the
same way — that is to say, substituting, each in his own way,
outward practices for spontaneous piety and the action of
the intellect.

'J'he master had said to his disciples, " Go, pious men, con-
ceal your good works and show your sins." The bonzes
accordingly instituted jirocessions of iienitents. Gentleness
was one of the dominant traits in the character of Sakyamuni,
and he extended his pity to all created beings. When his
doctrine spread amongst the Japanese, they made a law for-
bidding to eat the flesh of any domestic animal, a custom which,
amongst other economical efiects, had the advant.ige of [ire-
venting the raising of the ])rice of buffaloes, which in the rice-
jilanting countries is absolutely indispensable to the poor
cultivators.

Soon after, certain Buddhist sects went so far as to proscribe
all other than vegetable nourishment, Sakyamuni counselled
the abstaining not only from falsehood and bad conversation,
but even from all i<lle words. Silence was added to the num-
ber of the monastic vows, and, in the same way, self-denial,
purity of morals, patience, and jierseverance were enjoined by
ordinances which regulated in their minutest details costimie,
foo<l, and the cm])loyment of the hours of day and night in the
various conventual communities.

As Buddha had shown himself indefatigable in soliciting
the commiseration of the rich in favour of all in adversity, they
organised the brotherhood of mendicant monks. As he had
declared that they would find him no less well disposed towards
men despised by the world than towards those who were

respected, and that he would expound the law to the ignorant
as well as to the learned, they made ignorance a '.ardinal
virtue. AVhilst, according to the Hindoo reformer, knowledge
was allied with faith, this last \ irtue, in the judgment of the
bonzes, dispensed with all the others. " With the exception
of the Sensju sect," writes a Jajianese author, "our bonzes
keep the people, and above all the common people, in pro-
found ignorance. They say that a blind faith is suflicient to
lead to iierfection. 'I'he great priest Eoudaisi, who came from
China with his two sons, Eousjoo and Eouken, invented a
mechanical process calculated to dispense with the bonzes and
to turn the wheel of the law according to the sacred direction
in the mystical language of Buddhism, at the same time
allowing them to accomplish this operation according to the
letter of the law.

" He constructed the rinsoo, a kind of movable reading-desk,
on which he jjlaced the rolls of sacred books. His adepts
received, according to the degree of their devotion, authority
to make a quarter of a turn of the rinsoo, a half turn, or three-
(piarters of a turn ; but they rarely obtain a whole turn, because
that is considered to be as meritorious an act as to have recited
all the books of the law from beginning to end. "

The Sinran, bonzes, Nitziten, and about thirty others, have
made a name as founders of sects, each one distinguished by
some i)eculiarity more or less worthy of revealing the ingenious
invention of Foudaisi. Thus a certain brotherhood has the
monopoly of the working of the great family rosary. The
Buddhist rosary can only display its virtue when told correctly.
In a large family it is impossible always to avoid mistakes in
using it, hence the w.ant of efficacy sometimes urged against it.

Instead of recriminating in such a case, the wisest thing is
to call into the house a bonze of the great rosary to set things
right. This functionary hastens to the spot bearing his instru-
ment, which is nearly the size of a boa constrictor. This he
puts into the hands of the fixmily as they kneel in a circle,
whilst he himself assumes the same position in front of the
altar of the domestic idol, and directs the ceremony by means
of a bell and a little hammer. At a given signal the whole
family — f;ither, mother, and children — begin to chant with all
their lungs the suitable prayers. The large beads and the little
beads follow each other with a pleasing regularity of sound.
As the hammer beats the circle gets animated, the cries become
excited, amis and hands obey with the precision of a machine,
till the work makes them hot and tired. At last the ceremony
is concluded, leaving every one ixinting and exhausted, but
radiant with ha|)piness because the intercessory gods may be
safely supposed to be satisfied.

Buddhism is a vcr>' flexible religion, conciliating, insinuating,
and accommodating itself to the tastes and customs of people of
the niost opposite characters. From their first entrance into
Japan the bonzes contrived to have some of the shrines and even
soine of the little chapels of Kamis entrusted to them to guard
in their sanctuaries. They took care to aild to their own
ceremonies symbols borrowed from the ancient national worship,
and at last, in order the better to blend the two religions, they
introduced into their teinples at the s.ame time some Kamis
investe<l with the tides and attributes of Hindoo divinities, and
some of the Hindoo divinities transformed into Japanese
Kamis. There was nothing inadmissible in such changes,
which were all naturally explained by the doctrine of
transmigration.

A EUROPEAN' SOJOURN IN JAPAM.

3' I

Thanks to this combination of the two forms of worship, to
which they had given the name of Kioobon Sintoo, Uuddhism
has become the dominant religion in Japan. At a superficial
glance it does not a|)pear to do more than add its sanction to
the ancient national memories, and some new objects of
veneration to those which served for the devotion of the
masses. At first they raised those colossal statues to the
Buddha of India, of which the Daiboudhs of Kanwkura
present tiie most perfect type, and later the Jajianese idea of
a supreme divinity was personified in the fantastic image of
Amida, who is represented under iiine different forms, sym-
bolising his essential perfections, one of which is expressed by
the head of a dog.

Between the two auxiliaries who served as a medium for
men in approaching the divinity, the people i)rincipally favoured
Kwannon, who possesses the most frequented temple at Yeddo,

chara< terislic attribute by which he is distinguished from the
others, such as the saint of the tortoise, of the tiger, of tile kid, of
the crane, of the era!), the dragon, the bamboo, the waterfall, the
rainbow. But this is not all ; the lUiddhisls have imagined a
([ueen of heaven and guardians of heaven, some of wliidi also
figure as guardians of the temjiles ; then, kings of the earth, kings
of hills, spirits beneficent and avenging. It has put by the side
of the ancient Japanese divinity of the sun, the gods of the
moon, the ])lanets, the signs of the zodiac, the s|)irits of rain,
wind, and thunder. Lastly, it has given celestial jjatrons to all
classes and all social professions — doctors, soldiers, grooms, and
hunters. Amongst this multitude of images, grave or fantastical,
which Buddhism displays before our eyes, it is not always easy
to distinguish those which pro])erly belong to it, some of them
without doubt having been popular in Japan before its growth.
The former, in the Chinese mythology, is overloaded with

REFECTORY OF A TII'DIIIIIST MONASTERY.

and at Kioto, in the famous temple of the 33,000,333 spirits
(pronounced in Japanese Sananan sansia sanbiak sansin santai),
this divinity reposes on a lotus flower, the left leg folded under
the body, and on the head a veil which descends to the
shoulders, and ornamented with a necklace which falls over the
breast.

The colossal idol of the Kwannon of Kioto has as many as
forty-six arms, which are filled with all kinds of attributes
symbolic of its power. The Bosats are also adored as divine
beings. They are represented as seated, like the Kwannon, on
a lotus flower, the head encircled by a ribbon which falls upon
the shoulders, and the right hand bearing a lily or a lotus.
Below them are the Arhans — who thousands of years ago had
accomplished the cycle of the metempsychosis — the Gonghens,
divinities who reappear under human forms, the Dsizoo, the
FoCltoo, and others that it is superfluous to enumerate.

The Buddhists have, moreover, deified the Rakans, the
eighteen principal disciples of Sikyamuni ; the Sennins, the
most illustriou.s aposdes of its doctrine ; and the Mioodzins,
the throng of its martyrs ; each of these individuals having r

attributes borrowed from the stag, the sparrow, and the leopard.
In Japan it possesses only one leather bottle as yEolus, but the
symbol-loving Japanese shows his superiority to the Greek by
making Futen appear suspended in the air with his hair
dishevelled and with the bottle jjoised on his shoulders. As it
has two openings, he presses the two necks, one with each of
his hands, thus making them play at his will, in an attitude and
with an expression which are not devoid of a certain picturesque
merit.

Kaiden, the god of thunder, is a grotesque demon, who is
borne upon the clouds bearing a mallet in each hand, and
beating half a dozen cymbals placed round his head. There is
a great deal of uncertainty about the origin of the numerous
fantastic animals of the Japanese mythology. I shall only
mention those to which some artistic interest is attached. The
Kirin has the head of a unicorn, the feet of a stag, and the
body of a horse. It comes like a flash of lightning, its feet
skimming the earth so that it would not crush even a worm ; it
is said that its appearance foretells the birth of one of the
beneficent spirits, such as Sakya, Dharma, or Sjotokdaisi.

\n,\

3'»

Il.l.llsrRAIKl) TRAVF.I-S.

.ScT'iV/ Months in the Balearic Islands. — //.

liv i;. (;. l!.\Ki'lli)i.().Mi:\v, i.i;., m.s.i:.

I'"

■^,\M"'V

OLD ROMAN luWN (IK All 1 I'lA— INCA— I'AI.MA lol Al, Kll.ll'sK (iF
THE SIN— VIMT tiK (JIKliN ISAIILI.I.A -l.ANcU'Ai;!-. <IK MAJiiUCA.

At the nortli-east end of Majorca tlicre is a large tract of
low land covered with reeds and swamps, called Albufera. In
the hot season the air for some distance around this lake is
most pestilential ; and an old Roman town standing near it,
called Alcudia, has hecome almost depopulated throiigli tlie
malaria which arises from it. lifforts have been and still ,
are being made to drain and cultivate the district, the land j
which has been reclaimed being of immense \alue. A Spanish ;
engineer was engaged in tlie work of drainage whilst 1 was in I
the island, and in his company 1 liaid a visit to this locality,
whi( h is possessed of the highest interest. A regular series j
of straight ditches or small canals had been cut, traversing |
the marsh at right angles in all directions. We started
from the extremity of one of these canals in a llat-botlonied
boat, a man ''punting" it along by a jiole. The ground
between the canals was rovere<l for the most ])art with tall
reeds at least twenty feet high, thus obscuring the view on
both sides. Any one unaccpiainted with the various turnings
and windings of the canals would soon be lost in the labyrinth.
For three hours we continued slowly to glide along between
the walls of reeds, until we at length reached an o|)en part of
the swamj). Throughout our entire course the water literally
swarmed with fish, whilst the more open parts al)ounded in
water-fowl of all kinds, the banks appearing alive with scorpions,
lizanls, and other interesting reptiles, and the air around us
being noisy with the unceasing hum of innumerable insects.
Certainly, if the ])lace was not conducive to the e.xi.stence
of man, it was singularly favourable to the development of
lower organisms. 'I'lie labourers employed ujion the work,
standing as they had to do constantly up to their chests
in water, were innocent of dothing. and the tanning effect
of the sun caused them very closely to resemble Mexican
Indians.

On the side of a hill near Albufera is an interesting relic of
the early Christian inhabitants of Majorca. It is a subter-
ranean chapel once beautifully carved, the whole, including the
steps leading down to it, being cut in the solid rock which
composes the mountain. The chapel is about fifty feet square
and thirty feet high. The position and remains of the altar
are still visible, and many ])ieces of carveil stone are strewn
around. The ]ilace is sup])osed to ha\e formed a retreat for
the Roman Christians when hunted and oppressed by the
Moors; it must therefore be fully a thousand years old.

The poor deserted town of Alcudia affords evident proofs
of what it once was. It was built by the Romans, and Roman
remains in great (piantities lie scattered around, far beyond the
massive walls and deep moat which encircle the town, although
these means of defence are of much more modern date. The
walls are now covered with luxuriant vegetation. There is no
difficulty in finding a ])lace for shelter in Alcudia both for m.in
and beast, for by far the greater number of houses are tenant-
less and doorless, and the traveller may walk, himself and his
horse too, if he chooses, into any one of these without being
riueslioned, and if he is jirovided with food he will be better oflf

inside four bare walls, with the dry e.ulh for his seat, than in
the filthy place known as the " I'onda."

I'o the south of Alcudia is the fine bay of the same name,
semicircidar in shape, and bounded almost everywhere by lofty
perpendicular rocks. .\ considerable (piantity of good coral is
fished from Alcutlia Hay, and costs even on the si)ot, when
obtainable, four dollars a pound ; it is not, however, easily to
be i)urchased. as the whole is bespoken. South of the bay is
a large natural ( avern, or rather a series ol caverns, approach-
able only by the sea, < ailed La Cueva de la I'.rmita. This very
beautifiil natural fiirmation abounds in ro( k crystal and im-
mense stalactites, and extends to an imexi)lored distance
inland.

Scenery of die boldest descrijition meets the view on the
eastern side of M.ajorca, varied by exiiuisitely beaiuifid valleys,
magnificent contrasts of land and water, bare crags and forest-
covered slopes ; but it is time I pass on to other i)aris of the
island, and we will proceed westward through it, choosing the
main road to Palma. On this road stand some large and
imjiortant towns. First is Inca, the second town in the island
in size and commercial importance, standing in the midst of
immense forests of olive trees, and the centre of the oil district.
Inca is distant sixteen miles from .Mcudia, and the road thence
lies for almost the whole distance through a succession of
olive groves, making it shady and jileasant.

Passing through this populous and thriving town, the well-
constructed road conducts to the outskirts of Benisalem, a
town lying off the road .about a mile to the north, and situated
on rising ground at the foot of the mountains. Adjoining the
town is the estate of some manpiis, whose name I have for-
gotten. He had recently discovered coal on his pro|)erty, and
was anxious I .should inspect " la mina," with which high-
sounding temi he had invested the rabbit burrow he had
scratched down into the earth. With great difticulty I grojied
my way down about fifty yards, InU the entire absence of venti-
lation ])roduced such an intense heat, that in the absence of
any benefit likely to arise from a further exjiloration, I was glad
to retrace my steps to daylight. I was, however, satisfied with
the (luality of the coal, and have no doubt that, ])roperly
developed, the ])it would become a valuable property. The
shaft was on a slope, the coal being brought to the surface
in baskets by children, a jjlan still adopted, 1 am informed, in
some .Scottish collieries. A company has since been formed
for working the mine, and it is, I believe, doing well.

What a busy road this is over which we have been ])assing !
Ever since we left Inca a continuous stream of carts laden
with country ])roduce has been travelling in our direction,
and continuing up to the walls of Palma, like some huge cara-
van. If we linger till night we shall meet this caravan return-
ing empty, a ceaseless train, the whole night through. The
drivers are all asleep, and trust to the sagacity of their mules
for getting safely home. These animals usually know their
])roper side, but now and then «ome dull brute persists in
keefjing to the middle, and die loudest shouts will scarcely
awake the sleepers. .Ml the roads in Majorca are constmcted
by and at the expense of the government, and are models of

SEVEN MONTHS IN THE BAF.EARIC ISLANDS.

315

road-making, no expense being spared upon them. Valleys
are britlged and rocks cut through to great depths in order
to sc<ure a fair level way, the greatest care being observed
in the drainage. 'I'hey are frecpiently |)lanted on both sides
at short intervals with trees, wiiich become a great boon
in the hot season. Wiien tmished, the road is divided into
sections, over each of which is placed an inspector ami a staff
of labourers for its maintenance. One more stage along this
busy road, and we arrive in sight of the fine old walls of I'alina,
the city itself, with the exception of a few (hurch towers,
being hitlden until tiie portals and ilrawbridge are passeil.
The gate by which we enter bears the name of St. Anthony,
the patron saint of Spain ; there are seven others, all having
different names, but by only one of these can the city be
entered. I'alma was built by Metellus the liloody, 1 20 ii.c.
Since then the Moors have altered and enlarged it, and it now
retains all the distinctive characteristics of a Moorish place.
It is entirely surroundeil by a massive wall at least twenty feet
broad at the top, which forms an agreeable promenade. There
is a well-made ditch on three sitles of the city. Tiie wall and
ditch were constructed in 1562.

Palma, in addition to twenty-two parish churches, contains
a fine cathedral, built close to the wall overlooking the sea. It
is still imfinished, though commenced in 12,50 by James I.
The nave of the cathedral is remarkably lofty, and is sujiportcd
by very slender pillars ; the windows are small, and are ])laced
so high above the pavement, that an air of gloom jjcrvades the
structure, which the scant number of worship|)ers frc(]uenting
the building docs not tend to diminish. The organ is a splen-
did instrument, and is excjuisitely handled. This cathedral
suffered from an eartlKiuake a few years since, the north end
having been greatly injured. 'I'he celebrated tomb erected by
Carlos III. to the memory of James II., which contains the
mummy of the last-named i)rince, occupies the centre of the
nave in front of the high altar.

The city of Palma contains 60,000 inhabitants, noted
for their industry, and for their skill in the manufacture
of inlaid furniture. The cafes are numerous, but only a few
are good. The best adjoin the flishionable jiromenade of " VA
Borne," although why it is fashionable I could never under-
stand, as there is a much more agreeable and shady piomenade
at another part of the town, called " La Rambla." Palma
possesses a magnificent club-house, whose books contain the
names of more than 1,000 members; strangers are freely
admitted and kindly welcomed here.

The fonilas or hotels of Palma are decidedly bad. The
"Fonda del Vapor" is the best, but b.ad is the best. The
tourist in Spain should, if possible, avoid the fondas, except
perhaps in Madrid, Harcelona, and the large cities. It is still
more necessary to do so in Palma ; and he should obtain
from the superintendent of police the name of a " casa de
hucspedes " or boarding house. Those houses are all registered
in the police books, and are highly respectable.

If I were to go twenty times to Palma I should always put
up at the " casa " kept by my old friend Paola and her aged
sister. I remained with them for several months, and have
never in all my wanderings found their equals in kindness and
attention. During Paola's daily rounds to replenish her larder
and to cater for her lodgers' tastes, she occasionally brought a
living bird, rabbit, or perhaps a hedgehog by way of a dainty,
and tying one of their legs to that of her kitchen table, she
vol.. 1.

would feed them up to cooking pitch, and then turn butcher.
I can testify to her skill in feeding and cooking. Poor old
Paola's efforts at the produi tion of a dinner li /\-t/ix/iiis( were
as unsuccessful as can well be imagined. Por the cspc< ial
benefit of some SpaniNli friends, I wished 011 one oicasion
to have a roast leg of mutton ; perhaiis the fault lay in her
instructor, at all events, in spite of her earnest desire to
do well, she signally f.iiled in bringing to table an eatable
joint ; the thing was perfectly innocent of moisture, and not all
her nervous tly-tlapping over the table wnuld make it even
passable. Stewed hedgehog was a dish she understood — the
dainty fat little joints being brought to table in admirable per-
fection. Cats are highly esteemed in Spain, but as I had most
positively forbidden my " maestra" to give me cooked puss in
any form whatever, I hope 1 have never tasted stewed cat ; of
course I cannot be certain, but the best plan to adopt upon the
Continent is to eat and ask no questions.

Palma is a bishopric, and also the seat of the local govern-
ment of the province. The "(lobernador '' here holds his
court — a petty despot, a man often dangerous to offend. At
Palma are also the head-quarters of the " C'aptain-Cieneral," a
military official possessing authority second only to the Gover-
nor. The ill-fated Ortega held this position in 1850, and at
the head of the soldiers w hom he was bound to employ for the
service of his Queen, he, with the secret connivance of the
Governor, seized the mail steamers in the harbour, and started
for the Peninsula, keeping his loyal troops in utter ignorance of
their destination, and of the object of their sudden departure until
their landing, when, at the shouts of "Viva Don Carlos" raised
by himself and the few others in the secret, he found himself
deserted, a prisoner, a felon, and finally a condemned traitor.
The Governor, who contrived to get out of the scrape for
awhile, retained his position during part of my stay in the
islands. Having occasion to see him at various times, I found
him invariably seated at a table with a large jar of tobacco
before him, and the waste-pa])er basket beside him, ])uffmg
away at cigarettes manufactured by himself from the contents
of both. His successor was a man of a \ery different stamp,
with whom business was always the first consideration. Kather
than delay me when compelled to see him at an unseemly
hour, he had me brought to his bed-side, and apologised for the
mode of reception.

My acquaintance with the islands was greatly facilitated by
the Government ])lacing at my dis])Osal a small steamer and a
sjjecial pass, which, although intended for business, was often-
times available for pleasure.

I was desirous, on one occasion, to go with all haste from
Majorca to Iriza, but, unfortunately, my steamer was under
repair, and I had to "felucca" the passage. Those who know
what it is to be becalmed in the tropics, with nothing but an
open deck to remain on, can better understand the jjleasure of
my trip in this horrible boat, which took thirty-six hours in
getting over seventy-five miles.

I had the good fortune to be in Majorca during the total
eclipse of the .sun on the i8th of July, i860. The east end
of Iriza lay in the //ireft (tntn of the belt of total obscurity,
and had it not been for the accident to the steamer, which
condemned me to a felucca on the occasion already men-
tioned, I had pur >osed finding business in that island on this
day. However, the western side of M.ijorca was well inside
the belt, and there I went, with a large party of friends and

: !

I. (■

h I

:■', I.'

;'*'l

3«4

ILLUITRATF,n TRAVELS.

l'. ••'

}M'\ '•

oiIkts, in a stcaiiKT ril.iiiicd for tlic ortasion. Myself anil
fri(.Mnls liinili'il at Amliaix Hay. \\c were proviilccl with a liiit
to |)rotc( t us from the iK'at, and anipli.' supplies of provender.
Never did the niornini< of a total eclipse open more favour-
ably ; and uri.it was the e\( ilenienl felt liy us all to behold
this niaj;Miluent spec t.ic le in an uik loudcd sky. The ellipse
did not o( ( ur till the alternoon, and the time between it and
our arrival was occupied in a ramble over the nei(ililiourhooil,
which of itself amply rejiaid our visit. It would be a ditlicult
thin;; to fix the a^e of the grand old olive trees with whit h the
locality abounds. The town of .Auilraix is a small, clean
place, and, being aware of our coming, it was on this occa-
sion decked out with flags, and exhibited other demonstra-
tions of a holiil.-w. The wretclied springless "tartana," in
whic h I risked my neck in going to the vill.ige, was discarded
on my return. I infmitely preferred "footing" it back to the
shore through gardens and groves, which are to be seen here
in ])erfection. We returned to the shade of our tent, soon
itself to be enveloped in a darker and more awful shachnv.
As the eagerly anticipated time approached, we anxiously
looked, watc h in hand, for the first indications of the eclipse.
True to its predict'd time, the first indentation of the sun's
disc nosv became visible, and was soon suRiciently increased
to enable us to feel satisfied that the line of progress would
place us in total obscurity. The slowness of progression was,
however, sue h that the eye became perfectly accustomed to
the increasing diminution of light, and thus more than three-
foarths of the sun was obscured without any very apparent
decrease in the distinctness of the landscape. Now, however,
the lessening of the sun's light became more and more
sensible, and with the increased mpidity of change our feel-
ings became more excited, and our anxiety about some clouds,
which now began to appear, increased ; and whilst I felt every
moment becoming more precious, my desire to observe every
change occurring around in things celesti.il, terrestrial, and
ac]ueous, only increased my anxiety. Very soon all that
remained visible of the sun was a curved line of light, and
even this shed more brilliancy over the scene than the moon
shining at her full. In an instant this line was broken up
into wliat resembled a chain of diamonds, caused by the pro-
tuberances on the moon's surface overlai)ping the narrow line,
and [jcrmitting the sun's disc to be seen only through the
gorges between her lofty mountains — a beautiful fact, appear-
ing thus to bring her wondrous physical geography almost
within our grasp. Now the climax arrived, and I never can
forget that precious moment when, the last sparkle of the sun
being extinguished, in an instant the moon's large blac:k orb
stood out in bold relief in the midst of the starry heavens,
she herself encircled by rays of glory which streamed and
darted out from behind her on all sides, whilst the awfully
sudden and preternatural gloom which immediately brooded
over sea and land was accompanied by a stillness perfectly
oppressive, broken only by the low murmur of admiration
arising from the lips — I might almost say the /itar/s — of the
spectators. " Mira ! mira!" " Que preciosa !" and so forth,
arose in subdued accents from my friends. Truly this was a
sight one would wish to see. No natural phenomenon equals
a total solar eclipse in sublimity. I paid special attention to
the luminous appearance encircling the moon, in consequence
of the variety of statements and opinions upon this point
formed from observations on previous eclipses, and I can

only say tli.it the mov.ible c haractci of the luminosity wan
very evident, although it appeared to be caused by the darting
out of the sun's rays in lines of different and varying length,
some being short and concentrated, others longer and fainter,
the one being rapidly c h.iiigcd iiuo the other. I am unable
to reconcile the appcar.ini e of any light whatever around the
moon's edge, when her bulk is app.irently l.irger than that of
the sun, and entirely overlapping it, with the nonexistenc e of
a lunar atmosphere. Those who witnessed the eclipse of 1706
have recorded the same opinion. V\tr sevcr.il minutes the
gloom continued, and altlioi'gh I would willingly have pro-
longed the i)eriocl for as many hours, yet ample time was
afforded for making any observations desired. Having noted
the position of many stars during the solar obscuration, I was
enabled to keep them in view for a considerable time after day
again broke. Myself and friends were singularly fortunate in
our choice of a jiosilion to view the eclipse; others, the
greater number of those who came from I'alma, selected the
summit of a neighbouring mountain for their position, and
were deprived of the entire spectacle by reason of clouds.

The poor peasantry, who turned out in groups to witness
they knew not what, were awe-struck at the gloom, calling on
the Virgin for protection, and many and strange were their
remarks as they observed the sun growing less and less. One
old woman asked us seriously if he was being devoured I

During my stay in the Iklearcs, Queen Is.ibella II. paid her
first v'sit to the province. No Spanish sovereign had been in
the islands for about 400 years previously, and this event was
therefore one which called forth ["'...t display of loyalty and
rejoicing. She brought her entire family, and was escorted by
a large body of troops, the jircsence of the latter being deemed
necessary in (onsecpience of Ortega's rec;ent escapade. To
feed i'T Majesty and her retinue, the fat of the land was
conttmnted in I'alma. Iriza .sent felucca after felucca laden
with I'le exc]uisite tVuits of that fruitful island, which literally
r.'.l-j d the prices of iiryvisions there. \Vhen at Mabon an
amusing circumstance occurred. The ex-C^ueen of Spain, as
many are aware, is very stout, and having acceiitecl an invita-
tion from her officers to a grand fete on board the Prince of the
Astiinas, she was unable, owing to her extreme corpulence, to
ascend the coinpanion ladder, and thus ended the would-be
loyal demonstration.

The inhabitants of the Balcircs are in no respect different
from the Spaniards in the treatment of their dead. Whilst
life remains no people are kinder to their sick than are the
Sp.aniarcls ; but the moment the breath has left the body, no
more respect is shown it than for a dead dog. The corpse is
laid in a rude coffin without a cover, the face being exposed,
and in this condition it is carried by torch-light to the cemetery
without ceremony, or any appearance of regret or respect.
The cemetery itself is nothing more than a small square of
ground, surrounded liy a wall and entered by an iron gate, and
resembles more than anything else I can suggest one of our
old English pounds, for shutting up stray asses, &c. In one
comer of this space is a shed ; this is the bone-house, into
which are flung the bones and skulls, when they have, by
repeated interments, accumulated on the adjoining ground.
The grave is only two feet deep, and the body is vs-ell covered
with lime when interred. The result is that whitening bones
and skulls arc profusely scattered over the ground from the
constant disturbance of the soil to construct fresh graves.

SKVKN MONTHS IN THK HALKARIC ISLANDS.

i'5

It fs somewhat foreign to the siil)JL'(:t to mtrodiicc some of
the pec iiharilics of the Roiiiiin Catholic religion, but witiiout
goiiij,' far into this subject 1 am unwiihiig aitogelher to omit
WiMitioiiing the im|iressioii made iiiiou me when I liist oiiserved
the reverence shown by all classes for the viaticum in its passage
through the streets to the house of some dying jierson. I was
in Madrid, and staying with friends, when, sitting one day with
them ■■! famille, one young lady playing, another singing, another
working, I was startled by every one suddenly leaving Iheir occ u-
pation, and dropping ujwn their knees, their faces to the window.
In the midst of the en iiing silence, I heard what my innocence
conjectured was a muflin boy's bell tinkling in the street below,
forgetting that I was not in l''.nyland. 'I'he sound of the bell
having died away, my friends lesunied their employments, and
I then asccrtainetl that the bell was the sign that a priest was
passing on his w.ay to some tlying person's house, and i arrying
the consecrated wafer. The bell, which invariably precedes
the priest upon this mission, is the signal for every one within
reach of its sound to do homage to " la niajestad." My
friends watched for the return of the bell, and again prostrated
themselves, although in their anxiety to do so a false alarm was
given before the bell was again really heard. The like prostna-
tion occurs in the street ; a regiment of soldiers on the march
halts and kneels ; the actors in a theatre stop their performance
at the magic tinkling of the little bell, players and spectators
alike falling down to do reverence.

The Exchange of Palma, called the house of " Con-
tratacion," dates from the fourteenth century. It is built of
stone, and is beautiful both externally and internally. Indeed,
the elaborate character of the interior decoration, and the
perfect symmetry of the architecture, places this building far
above all others in Palma. It unfortunately occupies a most
obscure jjosition near the wall in the lower part of the city.
The si)lendid roof rests upon the most exquisitely carved spiral
columns. At present this building is employed for holding
public entertainments. The town-hall is advantageously situ-
ated in the highest part of the town, and has over its front, and
under the shadow of its superb cornice, a remarkable clock
and sun-dial, said to have been placed in its present position
by some Dominican friars in 1385, but its constructor is
unknown. This wonderful piece of mechanism is known
throughout the islands as the "Balearic Clock." I should
be afraid to enumerate all the strange peculiarities of this
timekeeper, or half of the curious combinations and complex
indications attributed to it.

The houses of Palma are altogether Moorish in style.
They are spacious, very handsomely carved and decorated, and
constnicted with great regard to coolness and ver.tilation.
Some are built wholly of marble, and most of them are artisti-
cally decorated outside with painted fruits and flowers. To the
north of the city, and standing upon an eminence, is the
Castle of Belbez, the old residence of the Mallorquine kings,
but converted by the Spaniards into a state prison. Arago
the astronomer was confined within its dreary dungeons. He
had been sent by Napoleon, in 1 808, to assist Delarabre in the
measurement of an arc of the meridian. At this period
France and Spain were in hostility, and the Mallorquines were
especially bitter against everybody and everything French. In
spite of his scientific mission the luckless Arago was seized
and immured in Belbez. He was subsequently sent to Africa,
and escaped thence with difficulty.

The lar ';uage spoken in Majorca differs very considcralily
from Si)anis, . It is considered to be a mixture of .Arabic,
S[)anish, Creek, and Romana Rustica, the latter better known
in the south of France as the Simonsin. Mallori|uine is nuii h
more difficult of accjuirement than Castilian, there being more
words employed to convey the same signifuation. For ex-
ample, In .Spanish the defuiile article is simply /<', lei ; /0.1, ,'js;
embracing therein masculine and feminine, singular and plural ;
whilst in Mallorquine it is /t>, .u> ; /,t, sa ; los, sos ; his, stis ; and
another form also, cs, els, for the common gender. .Some
valuable works on jurisprudence have been written l)y Mallor-
quines in their own language, which is possessed of a regular
grammar and dictionary.

The money of .Majorca differs in some respects from the
Spanish coinage, coins which are current in the islands not
being received on the mainland. All the coijper coinage is
different, being very .ancient and extremely small.

The bold coasts of M.ajorca are well indicated at night by
admirably constructed lighthouses, ecjual in every respect to
those on our own coasts.

The small grou|) of islands called C.abrer.a, lying to the
south of M.ijorca, contains but little of interest. The nearest
point of Cabrera is about eight miles from the southern ex-
tremity of M.ajorca, a stormy strait running betvieen. Cabrera,
the largest of the group, is three miles long, and not one mile
in width. It is little better than a dry, barren rock, with no
signs of vegetation upon it beyond a few iu trees growing
between the rocks ; and yet in this desolate place languished
for three long years the poor Frenchmen taken prisoners by
the Spaniards in 1808. They were brought here with nothing
but the clothes in which they were captured, having no
shelter prepared for them from the burning sun, and here
were crowiled no fewer than 5,000 at the same time. Their
sufferings were intense ; there was but one spring of fresh
water upon the island, and this spring was guarded by the
Spanish sentinels, who allowed no one to approach it by d.iy,
whilst by night the whole of the prisoners had to pass it in
single file, and quench their thirst as they passed. Their food
was limited to six ounces of bread and a handful of hard
beans per day, which was brought from Palma in a vessel,
in quantities only suflicient to last until her return every
fourth day.

Once, owing to some neglect, the vessel failed to return for
several days after her appointed time, and the starving men
dragged their emaciated bodies up the rocks to look out for
her; 150 pc ished at this time from st.arvation. Soon after
their arrival 01. the island, these poor creatures constructed
huts of the boughs of fir trees, to protect them from the
scorching sun ; but when the heavy rains set in, these frail
tenements became useless, and they built more substantial
dwellings of the trunks of trees already stripped of their
branches. These huts soon became infested with rats, which,
however, were hailed with delight by the prisoners, as forming
a change of diet. Altogether, during this s.ad period, about
four thousand out of eight thousand Frenchmen perished on
this wretched spot.

The island is still a place of banishment for certain classes
of offenders, and no spot could be more appropriate to render
them weary of existence. There are many caverns around
this and the adjoining islets, once the resort of corsairs, now
only tenanted by wild fowl.

J'6

ILLUSTRATED TRAVI'.LS.

%; 1^' ^ !

younicyings in Mcsopotatnia. — V.

I! Y 1. 1 i: r r kn a \ t c. r. i
CHAPTER VH.

I1ILI.AII— AL UHEIMAR — JEWS OF MESOPOTAMIA — lilRS MMROUn —
THE TOWER OF lUBEL— PRESENT HESOI.ATION nE THE SITE OF
I'AIIYLON.

After examining Kl Kasr, we pushed on for Hilkih,
thoroughly fjtigiied by the labour attendant on our researches.
\Sc were not sorry to take \\\t our abode in one of the
niiseral)le khans in the eastern part of the town, resolving not
to cross tiie stream until we had visited some ruined mounds
which weie supposed to mark the site of the walls of Babylon.
Hillah, which was built in the year of the Hegira 495, is a
miserable Arab town, containing some 10,000 or 12,000 inhabi
tants, and surrounded by a wretchedly constnicted mud wall.
The whole of the place, which, for an Arab town, is of con-

I, A r

I Nil IAN NAVY.

interest, called .\1 Hheimar, or Hemera, distant rather more
than ten miles from Hillaii. Leaving our messmate behind —
for he was too weak to accompany us — wc mounted our horses,
and taking an easterly course, arrived at the scene of our pro-
posed research — though not before I had sustained a severe fall
from my horse, who stumbled over some rubbish with which
the whole plain is abundantly strewed. I was greatly bruised
on my right shoulder, though I considered myself lucky in not
having broken my neck. Remounting after a pull at a certain
leather flask, which had a revivifying effect, we rode on past a
ruined khan and a Sheikh's tomb, and arrived at the foot of the
hill, Al Hheimar. We found it to be a high mound of rubbish,
very steep and difficult of ascent even on foot. The hill presented
at a distance the appearance ot an irregular cone, with its

IH..

li*

i i

THE TI("RIS, NEAR IIAMHIV.

in"!'

siderable size, is constructed with bricks from the mighty city
near which it is built. Part of Hillah is situated on the
eastern and part on the western bank of the Euplirates. A
mud wall lines each side of the road leading to it, and encloses
a thick forest of date trees. That portion of the town which
lies on the eastern bank of the Euphrates consists chiefly of
one street, with sm.all alleys leading out of it. The briilge of
boats, which gives access from one side of Hillah to the other,
is kept closed at both ends by a doorwav. The chief building j
is a mosque in the gardens just without the town, called
Mesjed el Shems, or the Mos([ue of the Sun — a name given to .
it from a tradition of its being built on the spot where Ali per- ;
formed his devoiions when the sun rose a couple of hours I
later than usual, to enable the Imaum. who had overslept
himself, to worship at his usual hour. The few Turks that
reside here are officials dependent on the governor, whose |
|)alacc is in the western ^or more considerable) poriu ' of I
the town. |

After resting at Hillah for two days, during which we did
not stir out of the khan, but were employed nursing our naval
comrade who had been suddenly taken ill, we set out for ,
the purpose of inspecting some high mounds of particular I

siinunit crowned by a long and low piece of thick wall like the
battlements of a fortress. The circumference of the base at its
eastern extremity appeared from 300 to 400 feet, with a thick-
ness of from 80 to J 00 feet; its height about 70 or 80 feet.
The mass of solid wall at the summit measured, according to
Buckingham, about 30 feet in length by 12 ir 15 in thickness,
though it must have been originally of a more massive cha
racter, for it is now broken on eveiy side. The bricks used in
the construction of this pile were of the usual scjiiare form ana
size, of a dark yellowish colour, but without any appea."ancr of
inscrii)tions. The cement, which was thin and of the same colour
as the bricks, did not possess the same tenacity as distinguished
that employed at the Kasr, though it has the peculiarity of an
occasional layer of a curious white cement, which pulverises
under the touch, and greatly resembles the substance stated b<-
Herodotus as having been used in the construction of the city
walls. On gaining the summit, the Mujillibe could be seen
from hence about ten or twelve miles distant, with : compass
bearing of W. by N. { W. Turning our eyes to the eastward,
the desert stretched before us in its seeming limitless extent,
with no niins to break its desolate monotony ; looking in
the direction of Hillah, on the contruty, the whole surface of

JOURNKVINGS IN MESOPOl'AMIA.

317

the country to the banks of tlie Euphrates jnesented a vast
plain, filleil with mounds and broken niasoi'ry.

There is some reason to believe that Al Hheimar, from
which we ol)taine(l this extensive view, formed part of tiie
celebrated walls of Babylon, of which Herodotus, Strabo, and
other ancient writers have given elaborate descriptions, that
test to the utmost the bounds of our credulity. The learned
English antiquarian and geographer. Major Rennell, after
weighing the statements of all these ancient authorities, assigns
seventy-two square miles as the extent of ancient Babylon ;
while the Frenchman, D'Anville, places it at thirty-six
square miles. Herodotus, in speaking of its extent, s.ays,
" The Assyrians are masters of many capital towns, but their
place of greatest strength and fame is Babylon, which, after
the destruction of Nineveh, was the royal residence. It is
situated on a large plain, and is a jjcrfect square ; each side, by
every approach, is 120 stadia; the space therefore occupied by
the whole is 480 stadia, so extensive is the ground which
Babylon occupies. Its internal beauty and niagnifnence

anticpiity v ith exaggeration, when it is considered (and the fact
might Ik easily overlooked by the untravelled Engli- ii public)
that without doubt two-thirds of the space enclosed within the
walls of Babylon must have been laid out as gardens, or culti-
vated land, as is still the case with Bussorah and Baghdad. In-
deed, Quintus Curtius expressly says, in his 5th Book, that the
buildings do not adjoin the walls, but that considerable space
was left around, so that in the event of a siege, the inhabitants
might not be compelled to depend on supplies from without.
The population of the city would be also, from the same cause,
proportionally less when compared with its size than is the case
in modern European cities.

The colony of Jews who inhabit Mesopotamia are supposed
to be descendants of their ciimtrynien of the captivity, who
remained behind in the country of their adojjtion. It was
Seleucus Nicator who first gave to the Jews settlements in the
provinces of Asia east of the Eu])hrates, as a reward for having
been faithful and serviceable to him in his wars. Babylon was
the jilace where he laid the foundations of his power, and

VIFW nV TIIR TTr.niii, STAR njEBAR.

exceed whatever has come within my knowledge. It is sur-
rounded by a tretich \ery wide, deep, and full of water ; the
wall beyond this is 200 royal cubits high ai.d 50 wide."

The height of 200 cubits equals 300 feet, and this certainly
seems prodigious for the wall of any city; but when we consider
the pyramids of Egypt, or the gigantic remains of which we
have been speaking in Babylon itself, it is not beyond the
bounds of credibility. On the other hand, the height given to
the walls by Quintus Curtius is 150 feet, and by Strabo 75 feet
only ; so a great discrepanc) exists, though this may perhaps
be accounted for from the fact that they write at diflerent
periods, when the walls may have been reduced in height. The
same diversity in statement exists n= i" 'T.v^ilth, Herodotus
placing it at 75 feet, Curtius and Strabo at 32 ; though this
may be explained by the fact that as the wall was built on an
inclined slope, the former i omputatioii may have referred to
its base, and the others to its average thickness. This estimate
would tally with the present aspect of Al Hheimar, if we con-
clude it is |)art of the famous wall, for it measures 70 or 80
feet in heignt, and from 80 to 100 feet in thickness at the
base, this being considerably in<rcased by the rubbish (itllen
from above. We ought not hastily to charge the writers of

the Jews in thoic parts being numerous and most likely
friendly to his interests, he ever after showed them much
favour. The Je,\s are said to number 10,000 in the city of
Baghdad in the present day, and, as is their habit elsewhere, do
not intermarry with other nationalities. Benjamin of Tudela,
a traveller who visited Baghdad in the twelfth century, and gives
an interesting account of the city, was himself a Jew. He
speaks of the great consideration shown to his brethren of the
Hebrew persuasion by the reigning Caliiih, Abassidas Ahmed.
Not only was this sovereign a great friend to the Israelites, but
he understood their language, which he read and wrote per-
fectly, and was deeply learned in the law of Moses.

Our last day at Ilillah was spent in inspecting the Birs Nini-
roud, believed by some writers to be the Tower of Babel of
Scripture history. It is situated on the western bank of the
Euphrates, about six miles from Hillah. The Birs Niniroud
or Tower of Belus, which we now set out to visit, is beyond
dotdjt the grandest monument of the might of ancient
Babylon, in this carr)ing olf the palm even from Mujillibe.
Having been provided with an escort of eight horsemen fiom
the Ciovernor of Hillah, for whom we had received letters
of introduction at starting, but who did not favour us with an

t 1'

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318

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

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interview, we set out at early morning, and took a westerly
direction, keeping close to some long mounds which appeared
to have once formed the banks of a canal leading from the
Euphrates. The intervening iiiain is covered with nitre, and
is intersected at intervals by dry canal-beds and small pools of
water, with the bittern for their sole inhabitant. The Tower
was visible during the whole course of our march towards it,
looking in solitary grandeur on the dreary waste which stretches
to tiie southward as far as the eye can reach. On gaining
its foot we clambered up the western side, over a steep accli-
vity formed of broken fragments evidently fiillen from tiie
top. All around us lay the desert or morasses ; no buildings,
not even the remnant of a wall, met tiie eye. ^\'hat a history of
great events would not this silent mass recount, were it gifted
with a tongue ! Here, on the summit of this \ery building,
Alexander the Great sacrificed to the god Belus, as stated by
Justin. On Alexander's marching from Arbelit, after the de-
feat of Darius, straight to Babylon, the gates of that vast city
were thrown open, and processions of the priests and chiefs
of the people went out to meet him, offering great gifts, and
delivering tiie city, tlie Tower, and the royal treasure into
his hands. Alexander, entering the city, commanded the Baby-
lonians to rebuild the temples which Xerxes had destroyed, and
especially the tcni])le of Belus, whom the B.djylonians wor-
shipped as their chief god, and to whom he himself, by the
advice of the Chaldean priests, offered sacrifice.

Mr. Rich, in his "Second Memoir on Babylon" — a valuable
contribution to science, long out of priiit — describes the Tower,
and tliough I might do so in other language, tliere would be
no advantage gained by adopting sucli a course. He says,
" The whole height of the Birs Nimroud, above the plain, to
thp lit of the brick wall, is 235 feet. The brick wall

i:.;;i, vw . stands on the edge" of the summit, and was un-
d'),!bro<) ■ tne face of another stage, i.i thirty-seven feet high.
Ml ;■ side of the pile a little below the summit is very
clt.aly to be seen part of another brick wall, precisely resem-
bling the fragment which crowns the summit, but which still
encases and supports its part of the mound. This is clearly
indicative of another stage of greater extent. The masonry is
infinitely superior to anything of the kind I have ever seen, and
leaving out of the question any conjecture relative to the
original destination of this ruin, the impression made by a sight
of it is that it was a solid ])ile, conii)osed in the interior of
unburnt bricks, and perhaps earth or rubbish ; that it was
constructed on succeeding stages, and faced with fine burnt
bricks, having inscriptions laid on a very tiiin layer of lime
cement; and that it was reduced by violence to its present
ruinous condition. The upper stories have been forcibly
broken down, and fire l.u:) lieen employed as an instrument of
destruction, though it is not easy to say precisely how or why.
The facing of fine bricks has been partly removed and partly
covered by the falling down of the mass, which it supjiorted
and kei)t together."

The total circumference of the base of the Birs is 762
yards. The western fiice is the most destroyed, being worn
down into a deep fiirrow. The whole structure rises in stages
which may be distinctly traced, and which peculiarity forms
the distinctive feature whereby its identity widi the 'I ower of
Babel is traced. Speaking of these stages, Buckingham, who
(arefiilly surveyed this remarkable ruin, lays stress on the fa< t
that they recede one within another in a proportion of width

about equal to their respective elevations. The first or lower-
most of these discloses some of its interior work, in a spot
where a pit has been formed by the clearing away of the
rubbish ; an inspection of the bricks shows that, though large
and well made, they are sun-drietl, and covered with bitumen
or mortar, while those in the outer facing alone are furnace-
baked. The second stage, which recedes within the first, is
also composed of the same descript'on of br.cks, as is likewise
the third stage on the exterior, though the ii.ferior of the
" mountainous mass,' as Josephus calls it, is [irobabiy made of
sun-dried bricks and loose earth. Above them all rises the
Tower itself, which is a solid mass of the finest kil'i-bi"'.,t
masonr)-, with a circunference of ninety feet, ^vha; i, .- ;■":
of it forms a solid wall of brick about fifty feet in '■• i;'I,t, n'-..- .
sured from the lowest part of its base on the easte ^ side, with
a breadth of thirty feet, ind a thickness of fifteen teet, thoug'i
these last dimensions lessen gradually as the Tower assumes a
pyramidal sha|)e towards its summit. The upper edge of th.s
wall is so broken and irregular as to prove that it did not ter-
minate the pile, but that above this there were other stages,
which time and the violence of man have brought to the
ground. The wall of this ruin — for as a round tower it does
not exist — is rent by a large fissure, which extends through
nearly half its height, and has been caused doubtless by some
violent agent rather than the gradual operation of time; and
it is pierced both longitudinally and transversely with small
square apertures, running all through the building, probably
for the purpose of ventilation, and of preserving the fiibric
from the influence of damp. It is the western side of the
Tower that remains standing, though even this face is not com-
plete, as both of its edges have been broken away. On the
north and south the walls are broken down, and their material
dispersed, though the line occupied by them ran be traced ; on
the east, the fallen masses which once formetl that side of the
Tower still remain on the spot.

The bricks used in this pile are furnace-baked of the f^rai-
nary description, and resemble those at Al Hheimar, ratner than
the finer ones at the Kasr. Mr. Rich, writing of the mortar,
says, " The fire-burnt bricks, of which the ruin at the summit
of the Birs was- built, have inscriptions on them, and so admi-
rable is the cement, which appears to be lime mortar, that
though the layers are so close together that it is difficult to
discern what substance is between them, it is nearly inijios-
sible to extract one of the bricks whole." The other parts of
the summit of this hill are occupied by immense fragments uf
brickwork, of no determinate figure, tumbled together and
converted into solid vitrified masses, as if they had undergone
the action of fire or been blown uj) 'vith gunpowder, yet the
layers of the bricks are perfectly di'^' ernbli . The appearance
of these great black c .vl bnvvn nia.sef ol masonry, looking at a
distance like so many edifu. .> lorn up f'O'-. i -'.r foundations, is
very singular and weird ; i: seems as if u.e Utans had broken
loose, and in their gambols Irad be.n playing at pitch and toss
with the gigantic lumps of masonry, which are generally of an
irregular shajic, while some rest on mere pixots, like the Druidical
remains in Britain. Before examining them closely, one might
be led to conclude that they were masses of black rock ; some
of them measure, according to Captain Mignan, twelve feet in
height by twenty-four in circuiiilVrence. Their jirescut aspect
must be attributable cith.T to their having been scathed by
lightning, or subjected to the action of a fierce and continuous

JOURNEYINGS IN MESOPOTAMIA.

319

application of fire. It seems probable, therefore, that all other
means of destruction having been found ineffectual, owing to
the solidity of the brickwork, the aid of fire came into re-
quest. An effect similar to that now exhibtted in the .splitting
of one portion of the wall into a deep fissure, and the breaking
down of the other into large masses, would be produced by
that element when employed on a closed building, and well
fed with inflammable material, as naphtha. In furtherance of
this view, it may be stated that Diodorus, in a quotation, re-
lates that about 130 years before Christ, a king of Parthia, who
captured the city and removed the Babylonians into slavery,
burnt the former and some of the temples of Babylon, and de-
molished the best jwrts of the city. From the summit we could
discern some vestiges of an enclosure round the whole pile, as
noted by Mr. Rich, the general distance of which from the
base appears to be about 100 yards. In an eastern direction,
and separated from it by a clear space of about 100 )ards, lies
an immense mound, which stretches awr.y north and south to a
breadth of 450 yards, when its extreme points curve and meet
to the eastward. It occupies a space of 650 yards, and has a
height of fifty-five feet : on its summit is a Mohammedan
building or Koubbe — meaning, in Arabic, a cupola or dome —
called after Abraham, because, according to a tradition of the
Arabs, Nimrod, " the mighty hunter before the Lord," ordered
a fire to be kindled on this spot, for the purpose of imm jrtal-
ising that venerable patriarch. A little to the south stands the
ruined portion of another koubbe, regarding which the Arabs
have of course another tradition ; but as the individual treated
of does not bear the same historical importance as Father
Abraham, I will not trouble the reader with the legend.

The whole summit and sides of the Birs are furrowed by
the weather, or by human violence, into deep hollows and
channels, completely strewed with broken bricks, stamped with
from three to seven lines of writing, together w'th stones, glass
tiles, cakes of bitumen, and vitrified substances. When you
consider this venerable structure, tnily its aim and object form
a deeply interesting problem, not only to learned men, but to
every reader of history, if we are to conclude that it really is
all that remains of that Tower of Babel which, the Mosaic
account tells us, the perversity or the impiety of man reared
with the avowed object of scaling the heavens, and reaching
the presence of the Almighty. That the Birs Niniroud and
the Tower of Babel are identical may be ji'stly gathered from
the following facts enumerated by Buckingham, who agrees
with Mr. Rich in taking this view of the question : — The square
of the temple, says Herodotus, was two stadia (r, 000 feet), and
the Tower itself one stadium ; in which Strabo, who gi\es the
exact elevation of the Tower, agrees. The former adds : — " In
the midst a tower rises, of the solid depth and height of one
stadium, upon which, resting as a base, seven other turrets are
built in regular succession. The ascent is on the outside,
which, winding from the ground, is continued to the highest
tower, and in the middle of the whole structure there is a
convenient rcsting-nlace." Strabo says that the sepulchre of
Belus was a pyramid of one stadium in height, whose base
was a square of like dimensions, and that it was ruined by
Xerxes. Arrian agrees in this jiarticular, and Diodorus adds
that on tin- top was a statue of Belus, forty feet in height, in an
upright posture ; from which Major Rennell has inferred that
the tower must have been about 500 feet in height, corres-
ponding to the dimensions assigned by the other authorities.

Its destruction by Xerxes must have taken jilacc before any
of the writers, whose descriptions are cited, could have seen
it. Both Strabo and Arrian say that Alexander wished to
restore it : the former asserting that he fo'.md it too great
a labour, for it was said that 10,000 men were not able to
remove the rubbish in the course of two months ; and the
latter stating that it had beei. begun, but that the work-
men made less progress than he had expected. From this
the following facts may be gathered : — First, that the Tower
of Belus was of a pyramidal form, composed of eight separate
stages, successively rising above and retiring within each
other; secondly, that its whole dimensions were a s(|uare
of one stadium or 500 feet at its base, and its height exactly
the same ; thirdly, that it had around it a stjuare enclosure
of two stadia, or t,ooo feet for each of its sides ; and
fourthly, that attached to this was a temple, the relative posi-
tion and dimensions of which are not specified, though its ruins
were very considerable. To all these features the remains of
the Birs Nimroud perfectly corxespond.

We descended from this stupendous niin, cogitating on the
numberless generations of men who have climbed its furrowed
sides since the terrible day when it was given to the flames, and
we speculated curiously on the countless generations of men
who would yet be born to survey from its summit the dreary
and saddening landscape presented therefrom. The time of
its destruction dates from the earliest period of reliable history,
and yet these ruins stand out in the plain, proudly defying, as
it were, the vicissitudes of the elements, and scorning even to
yield to that Time which, though called the " devourer of all
things," has been unable to digest this toughest morsel of man's
handiwork. Writing of the day when it became " as Sodom
and Gomorrah," the accursed cities of the plain. Bishop
Newton, in his work on the Prophecies, says, " Babylon never
recovered its ancient splendour after it was taken by Cyrus ;
but upon the removal of the seat of empire from thence by the
Persians, it by degrees decayed, till it was at last reduced to
an utter solitude. Berosus, in Josephus, says that Cyrus
ordered the outer walls to be pidled down. The Persian kings
ever regarded Babylon with a jealous eye. Darius Hystaspes,
upon a revolt, greatly depopulated the place, lowered the walls,
and demolished the gates ; Xerxes destroyed the temples. The
buildings of Seleucia, on the Tigris, exhausted Bab)lon by its
neighbourhood, as well as by the immediate loss of inhabitants
taken away by Seleucus to jjeople his new city. A king of the
Parthians soon after carried away into slavery a great number,
and also destroyed the most beautiful parts of the city. In
more modern times St. Jerome (who lived in the fourth century)
mentions Babylon as nothing more than a (hase for wild
beasts to Ted and breed there for the King of Persia's hunting.
The place thereabouts is represented as being overrun with
seqients, scorpions, and all sorts of venomous and unclean
creatures." In this he is wrong, for no animals of the nature he
specifies are to be found in the ruins of the city. The place
is a solitude in the strictest sense of the word.

Before finally leaving the subject of Babylon, I ought to
say a few words as to ;he Babylonian bricks, and the character
of the inscriptions on them, as they form one of the most
interesting features of the remains of this most wonderfid of
all cities. A description of the.se, as well as of the " cylin-
ders," or cylindrical-shaped bricks, I reserve, however, for the
next chapter.

1 :,

\Mi <;

3 ;.,,-■

II ■:

piiif

;i '^i!Pi.

320

ILLUSTRATKD TRAVELS.

Captain Faulkner s Expedition up the S/tird River.

Bv recent accounts from the Cape of Good Hope it appears
tliat the cxpcchtion led by Captain Faulkner, which had in view
the ascent of the Shire, and the navigation of Lake Nyassa,
has met with the ill fate which has so frequently befallen
African explorers. Captain Faulkner had previously made this
journey as a volunteer under Mr. Young in the Livingstone
search expedition of 1867, and on his lorirn conceived the
project of revisiting the country, with a s; i' ■' in a steam-
launch, hoping to be able to reach the n md of the
lake, which is still imknown, and enjcy the sj ' elephant-
hunting in the prolific country along the banks of the Shire.
Among the gentlemen who volunteered to share the dangers of
such a journey were Captains Casement and Norman, and a
crew, guides, and interpreters were jiicked up at the Cape, and
at the small Portuguese settkMiients near the mouth of the
Zambesi. Unfortunately, the season for ascending the rivers
was ill chosen. \n the dry periotl of the year, from July to
December, travelling is comparatively easy ; the country is dry
and healthy ; the numerous streams passable ; and the level
lands and swamps, swarming with game, afford a firm footing
to the huntsman. It is the season, too, of abundance ; the
crops of corn ripen, and the natives in many of the villages,
especially in times of peace, have a superlluity of provisions
to dispose of to passing travellers. It was during these months
that Mr. Young accomplished his rapid and successful journey,
his previous two years' experience with Dr. Livingstone on the
Zambesi expedition having shown him that his only chance of
a successf-:! trip to Lake Nyassa and back, was to time his
movements so as to ascend the Shire before the waters were
too low at the commencement of the dry season, and return to the
ship of war waiting for him at the mouth of the Zambesi before
the rains set in. Nothing short of actual experience can give
an adequate idea of the desolation of the country during the
wet season. Many of our readers will remember the disasters
of the Universities Mission under Hishop Mackenzie in this
same region, and the descriptions given in the (jublishetl letters
and books on ihe subject. The moisture-laden winds from
the tropical part of the Indian Ocean sweep over the plains
from the east, and condense into torrents of rain on the high
lands bordering the great lake ; with the heat and moisture
diseases often decimate even the hardy negro tribes, and
Europeans have slender chance of escaping them. Lacking
this experience, the enthusiastic band of young Englishmen
advanced up the river towards the end of last year, and were
caught by the rains on the Shire. News of what befell them
was brought by one of the party, who tramped the distance
by land between the Shire an<l the Portuguese settlem.ent of
Quillimane, and returned to England viii ti.e Cape of (iood
Hope. It appears that the party succeeded in ascending, in
their steam-launch, a good distance up the Shire, with the
remainder of the fine season. The weather then changed, and
heavy rains set in, which continued with such fur)' that before
many days had jiassed the country on both sides of the river
was inundated. It soon became a m.itter of difficulty to find
a dry position for the encampment, and still worse to go any
distance in search of food. At first they had tolerable success
Ml hunting, i)Ut with the increase of the flood it was scarcely
iiossil)lo to find game of any sort, and they were reiiuced to a
iiiscrablc diet of Kafiir corn. Day after day, the floods from

the rain and the overflow of the river increased in extent, and
the weather-bound travellers prejiared for the worst. At length,
exposure to wet, cold, and hunger brought on fever ; and fever,
in some of the party, developed into virulent small-pox, which
grew gradually worse. Captains Faulkner and Casement were
more severely attacked than the others ; the latter gentleman
gradually sank under the disease and died, le.iving his com-
panion also in a dangerous condition. Captain Norman, who
sufiered the least, acted as nurse and doctor to the rest. The
bearer of the news stated finally that Captain Faulkner was in
a fair way of recovery when he left, and intended, as soon as
circumstances permitted, to proceed further up the river, with
a view to carrying out the objects of the expedition.

Height of Forest Trees in South America.
Dr. R. Spruce, a distinguished botanical traveller, has recently
given, in the " Linnean Society's Journal," some account of
the heii'ht to which trees grow in the equatorial forests of
South Americ.i, about which an erroneous impression has
hitherto prevailed. According to him, the lojtiest forest trees
of the Amazons Yalley do not exceed ioo feet in height.
The tallest tree from which he ever gathered flowers was
about 140 feet ; but he had measured a prostrate tree that was
157 feet long, without the upjjcr branches, which were broken
off, and which would have made the entire length probably
about 170 feet. Several colossal forest trees, however, were
considerably taller than this, especially the Brazil-nut tree {Ber-
iholletia excclsa), a tree of lofty and elegant form, and the silk-
cotton tree (Eriodaidion Samaiima), which rises like a cathedral
dome over all the other trees. He was never able himself to
measure a tall specimen of either of these, but had been assured
they had been cut down measuring fully 200 feet. From these
and many other instances he concluded that the real patriarchs
of the primeval forest ranged from 120 to 200 feet high. With
regard to palms, an erroneous idea prevails that in the South
\merican forests they tower up above the other trees, writers
having rashly assumed that to be a universal characteristic
which Humboldt related only of some points of his South
American journey, namely, that the crowns of (lalms stand out
so completely above the general height of the other trees as
to give the idea of "a forest above a forest." 'i'his is true
only of the low bushy woods near the coast towns, where
the cocoa-nut palms tower up above spreading mango and
inga trees that nestle at their base. If a traveller leaves
the coast, and penetrates the virgin forest beyond, he will see
that the loftiest palms do not usually exceed the exogenous
trees of average height ; it is very rarely, in fact, that palms
domineer over all other trees. The tallest palms Dr. Spruce
ever cut down for the jnirpose of getting at their flowers
measured about eighty feet. He never, however, felled the
tallest specimens, some of which, measured with the sextant,
proved to be 120 feet high. It would appear from these state-
ments that none of the trees of the equatorial .region of
America, where heat, humidity, and fertility of soil combine
to jiroduce the largest extent of ( ontinuous ibrest on the
surface of the globe, reach the height of the great conifers of
California, the Srifniva gi,s;aiifca and stmf<:, Tireiis, the former of
whii h when full-grown attains an average altitude of from 200
to ,^00 feet ; and sometimes, ac( onling to late authentic
measurements, reaches the extreme height of 3:5 feet.

1111. GAliUU.N.

3-' I

ENCI.ISII IRMllNi; ^KTTI.KMENT OV TUP. C. MIOOS,

T//(' Gaboon . — //.

IIV DR. (iUIKFON llU HKl.LAS', SURlJEClN IN IHK KRKNCH NAVV.

CHAPTER IV.

USHIXC AT KJONCO— TEXTILE PLANTS — IIE.MP— WAV IN WHICH THE
UAUONESE UNDERSTANII TRADE— SLAVERY— I'lll EFS OF VILLAGES-
KING DENIS.

Thus, sleep for the man, and the preparation of food, the
cares of dress, and intrigues, more or less open, for the woman ;
for all, the pipe and tobacco — these form the elements of
home life amongst the M'pongwes. Visits from hut to hut,
perpetual go^'-'ping, various transactions with the Europeans, a
little fishing, and as small an amount of flitigue as possible, form
a picture of village life. The cultivation of the ground on a
larger scale is carried on in the vicinity of the larger dwellings,
the collection of india-rubber takes place in the woods ; the
trade in ebony, elephants' tusks, and red-wood is carried on
in the villages of other tribes, who inhabit the region which
produces them. Fishing is now carried on with nets, but a
short time ago a method was emiiloyed, which has its counter-
part in some parts of iMirope, and which consists in [(oisoning,
or more or less intoxicating, the fish with vegetable substances,
which do not, however, render them uneatable. In Europe it
is a shell-fish found in the Levant which serves for this
purpose ; at the Gaboon, it is sometimes a creeper called
Onono, but more frequently a [iretty leguminous plant, with |
yellow flowers, which they train on their houses, and which,
without doubt, has accompanied the tribes on their migrations |
from the iiitv'rior. Nothing is easier than to fish in this '
manner. I tried the experiment one day in a large sheet of ; faced liars, these men represent themselves as the victims of
water left amongst the rocks by the receding tide. Some i our tyranny, oftering, moreover, themselves as mediators, and
handfiils of leaves were worked up for that purpose. All the | naturally make their victims pay dearly for their kind interven-
sm."'! fry to be found there came immediately to the surface { tion. Those with whom they trade, in their turn, use the same
and ^heu. A. moment after, a kind of lamprey came to tactics, to the cost of the more distant tribes. So that an
breathe thf; upper air, p.r.d allowed itself to be taken with I elephant's tusk, which has come a distance of forty leagues.
VOL. I. . 41

the greatest ease. The pool contained nothing more, and in
spite of this rapid poison tlie fish were excellent. It is easy to
perceive that this mode of proceeding is not practicable in the
sea, nor where the rivers are very rapid ; so that the Gabonese
have almost discontinued this practice since Europeans have
taught them to weight their nets with lead, and thereby made
them much more useful. These nets in general are made of
the fibre of the anana, well twisted, and edged round with a
strong cord made of the fibre of the magnificent hibiscus,
"evenone," a beautiful plant, well worthy of examination,
which grows abundantly on the sea shore, and whose sulphur-
coloured flowers call to mind those of the cotton tree.

The materials for all textile fabrics abound here, as in all
hot countries. Bromelias shoot out leaves more than six feet in
length ; the bark of the beautiful " ojono" is used in making
mats. Hemp, even, thrives veiy well : it is true that it is
not cultivated by the nati\es for manufacturing purposes, but
only for the sake of smoking the leaves. I have mentioned
the products which form the trade of the Gaboon — a trade in
which the M'pongwe is, in reality, only a medium — a carrier
between the European and the tribes inland. This inter-
mediate traffic is the bane of trade all along the (.oast. The
tribes in tl •.■ Miterior, who are the only producers, have much
difficulty ill coming into immediate contact with us, nor have
they the wish to tlo so, for the inhabitants of the coast have
inspired them with an actual dread of the European. Brazen-

>: i
If
li

322

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

HV i:

has passed from hand to liaml, not liaving been sold to each
holder, but simply entrusted— a circumstance which warrants
each one who possesses a elaun upon it to demand a commis-
sion, according to the especial doubtfulness of ins actual
jjayment at last. Merchandise, then, arrives at the coast
enhanced in value, in conse(iuence of successive dues not yet
actually paid, and which have increased its price a hundredfold.
Then the price at last jiaiil by the European to the carrier is
not in nione\', but in various commo<lities — hardware goods,
and woven fabrics. When it comes to the hands of the person
who has the first claim, it must be very much diminished
in amount, when we call to mind the several abatements it
has suffered f/i route. In short, the trade carried on by the
Ciabonese consists of cheating without shame the proilucers,
whether Pahouhins or Bakalais, and robbing not less imini-
dently the European buyer — not exactly the traders at the
factorie.'i, who can purchase at leisure, but the captains of
vessels who conduct their own business while on the move.
Many of the captains traffic systematically with these porters,
anil give them merchandise on account, under promise of
receiving the products of the country of an eciual value at a
specifieil time. Rarely are these compacts faithfully executed.
When the captain returns he finds only a i)art of his consign-
ment, the rest is still in transit, if it is red-wood or ebony.
'I'hey ask for continual delays, he loses his time and his health,
and often sues that the best thing for him to <'. is to sacrifice
what he has advanced and depart. In the part where the
French authority is exercised these frauds are held in check,
for the porter \ery well knows tliat he must answer in person
if he fails to complete his engagement ; but beyond the limits
of French jurisdiction the captain is very frequently robbed.
If he wishes to buy on account, the plan of the native of the
Gaboon is very simple. He pretends that he is short of goods,
hides, if he finds it necessarj', what he has, wearies out the
European by a delay which is fatal to his goods and to himself,
full of danger to his vessel if winter is coming on, and he
is obliged at length to purchase at whatever cost. By these
rascally proceedings the M'pongwe does not grow rich ; to
do so requires an activity which he is unable to keep up for
any length of time. It is a matter that involves no small
eflfort to go in his canoes, and often to a great distance, in
search of red-wood and ebony, and then bring them alongside
a European vessel ; so if he has made a lucky hit in trade
he soon realises the benefits of it — that is, he purchases slaves
and wives, and then takes his rest. Perhajjs some may feel
astonished that such an investment of capital should take
place in a part of the French dominions, but we must not forget
that this authority has been established through amicable
arrangement and not by right of conquest, and that we are
therefore bound to resjiect the institutions of the country,
and to be satisfied with the ])revcntion of all flagrant irre-
gularities. It must, moreover, be allowed, as, regards slavery,
that, with the exception of a few tribes who are more than
ordinarily cruel and warlike, we rarely find that this institu-
tion amongst the Africans assumes that singularly oppressive
I haracter which has been too often given to it by the pitiless
harshness of the European.

The distance which separates the slave from his master is
in this country not very wide, and the boundary line is not
impassable. One black is perhaps the slave of another black,
though never of a mulatto, without losing his standing as a

man. They have not been purchased, as the slaves of whites
have, to work in large plantations, but simijly for the purpose
of assisting their master in the not very arduous labour of his
house and trade.

These slaves are therefore seldom very harshly treated,
and, in fact, they form a part of the family. Such is their
actual condition ; but it has its ilisadvantages. The master is
su])crstitious ; he believes in poisoning and sorcery, and his
slave is often the victim whom he sacrifices to his religious
fear. French authority has done away with such frightfiil prac-
tices wherever its power is really established, but still there can
be no doubt that sometimes the distant forests liide under
their shadow the dreadful scenes of religious sacrifices. Mostly,
the slaves of the Gabonese come from the interior and from
the banks of the Ogo-wai ; some formerly came down this
stream by the river Nazareth, the northern branch of the delta
which it forms in its approach to the sea, and by this means
they reached the Portuguese and Spanish stations which long
existed at Cape Lopez. It is there the Gabonese go now to buy
them ; others are brought directly from a point higher up the
stream, amid the woody plantations which separate it from
the tributaries of the Gaboon. There were to be found
formerly amongst these both Pahouins and Itikalais, but the
near neighbourhood of their tribes rendered their escape easy,
and the M'pongwes, being unable to keep them, have been com-
pelled to give them up to the Portuguese slave-tlealers. There
is no doubt that this traffic is carried on sometimes close to the
French settlement, but few individuals are affected by it.
Owing to the vast extent of forest by which the country is
covered, as well as to the great length of sea-coast, those who
are engaged in it contrive sometimes to escape the strict
surveillance which the French authorities exercise.

Notwithstanding the really close resemblance which exists
between them, the children which are the fruit of the inter-
marriages between the M'pongwes and their slaves are never
jilaced upon terms of equality with those of the pure race.
If they wish to marry a M'pongwd woman they are but
ill received; if they wish to engage in a comme;cial transac-
tion, however active and intelligent they may be, they are
but indifferently trusted, and meet with little success. The
original taint is even transmitted to their sons ; and whatever
these may accomplish, however successful they may be in their
enterprises, they are never looked upon as belonging to the
superior class, and form, in fact, a separate caste. We Euro-
peans trouble ourselves little about obtaining an accurate
acipiaintance with the habits of the Gabonese, and can only
with difficulty understand the slight difference which serves to
establish amongst them this kind of social hierarchy. These
difierences, however, exist, and the few M'pongAvtfs who can
boast their descent from ancestors, amongst whom are to be
counted neither the Boulous nor slaves, plume themselves
with a peculiar vanity upon the aristocratic purity of their race.
There are only a few families, to whom the chief authority
has been cntnisted for a long time, who m really establish
such pretensions. It is, therefore, fortunate for them that
tradition alone is employed in transmitting the recollections
of the past.

I shall have sufficiently explained the organisation of
Gaboon society when I have said that the superior power is
vested in chiefs. I'-ach village has its own chief, who assumes
without ceremony the title of king, and who is besides, equally

THE GAUOON.

323

with the humblest of his subjects, a simple trader, formerly
a slave-dealer, and now a dealer in all kinds of commodities.
llut amongst these chiefs or kings there are only two or three
who hold a really important position. They exercise over the
others a kind of moral sovereignty, which has neither money
nor arms to support it, but which is, nevertheless, to a certain
extent held in respect.

These chiefs do not reign by hereditary right; they
are elected by the votes of their fellow citizens, and are
always chosen out of royal families. The elections used
almost always to give occasion to a certain amount of disorder,
and it appears that not unfrequently the adherents of the
several candidates came to blows. These quarrels, however, were
never of a very serious character, for the Gabonese, wlio are at
the present time distinguished by mildness of disposition,
never jjossessed great warlike instincts, even in the times
before they sought shelter under European protection. The
elections are still conducted with turbulence, but, being carried
on by common consent under the paternal superintendence of
French authority, it is seldom that they are attended with any
serious strife. When an important chief is in question, able
to secure the respect of his countrymen, it is generally the
French commandant who ni.;ninates him, and it is he who
really gives him the office. This meddling with native concerns
was not foreseen by those who framed the terms of the French
settlement in the country, but it, is the natural consequence of
the desire by which each candidate is actuated to secure French
support, and of the hope which he entertains of finding his
complaisance rewarded by some valuable present. His instal-
lation into power is not unattended with disagreeables for the
newly elected, for often on the eve of triumph his future sub-
jects cause him to suffer by blows and injuries for the obedi-
ence which, with the utmost possible sincerity, they will offer
him the next day. This singular method of imprinting upon
the memory of their chiefs a recollection of their humble origin
and of their common equality, proves that if the Gabonese is
but an indifferent courtier, he does not lack, as a kind of set-
off, a certain amount of practical philosophy.

The authority of the M'pongwo chiefs is limited to minor
affairs, now that the French authorities prevent any possi-
bility of stjuabbling between the inhabitants of the different
villages. In each of them a police force is established, and
the regulation of any little dispute which may arise amongst
the inhabitants is so much the more easy, as some of them who
are the heads of a numerous progeny supi)lement the power given
by election by their authority as patriarchs of the family — an
authority which is always treated with respect. As to the
difficulties from without, these are generally adjusted by the
French commandant, and his office as chief judge is by no
means a sinecure ; for his subordinates, who pay but little
respect to the rights of other people, are ready to cheat the
inhabitants of distant villages, reckoning upon the impunity
which is but too often assured to them by distance, and by the
want of a well-organised police force.

King Denis is the most important Gabonese chief at the
present time — an old man, held in reverence by his coiuitry-
men, and respected by the Europeans. Spe.aking more or less
perfectly, as is the case with many chiefs on the African coast,
several foreign languages — French, English, Portuguese, and a
little Spanish — he has had transactions with all the people who
trade with the Gaboon, and to all he has had an opportunity of

rendering some little service. He facilitated the establish-
ment of the French by his personal influence over his tribe,
and has always used it in their favour. 'I'he French CJovern-
ment, in return, has rewarded his zeal by granting him the
Cross of the Legion of Honour. Rome has in like manner
recognised by a decoration the assistance which he has
afforded to the Catholic Mission, to which he had en-
trusted the education of some of his children. Denis, not-
withstanding, still remains as great a devotee of fetichism
as ever, and I would not undertake to say that he does
not occasionally turn slave-tra;ler when it suits his pur-
pose. These decorations are not the only testimonials of
luiropean approval which he has received. The English
have presented him with a medal, and with several splendid
suits of uniform ; France in like manner has not forgotten to
add to his wardrobe, and few ])ersons can boast of being able
to dress themselves so magnificently. Vt ry recently, when the
question was agitated whether French a.'j'Tority might not be
extended over the inhabitants of Cape Lopez, amongst whom
he possesses great influence by reason cf his reputation for
prudence and wisdom, the task of negotiating the treaty was
entrusted to him, and on this important occasion he was able,
for nearly a fortnight, to appear before his astonished subjects
each day in a fresh dress, and each day more splendidly
attired than on the one preceding. One day he appeared as a
French general, the next as the Marquis de Moliere, and then
as an English admiral. His head was invariably ornamented
with a wig — a part of his costume which he jirized by no
means the least, for this article of attire has not yet become
amongst the native chiefs so common as military uniforms.

Such is the person whose portrait we have endea\oured to
give (page 293). The expression of las countenance is quick
and lively, combining at the same time slyness and gooil-
nature ; his deportment is marked by real dignity, such as we
do not often find amongst aged negroes, who, for the most
part, mistake for this sentiment a grotestjue exhibition of
vanity. These characteristics stamp the portrait of the
Gaboon chief with an individuality sufficiently striking. Ac-
customed for a long time to European habits, he knows
how to carry his magnificent costumes easily and without
embarrassment.

Although Denis lives generally in a most unpretending
manner, suitable to the narrowness of his income, yet he
delights in showing hospitality, entertains heartily those who
visit his humble dwelling, and knows jjerfectly well how to
distinguish the motives by which his several Ei ropean visitors
are influenced — whether they are actuated by feelings of sym-
pathy with him, or whether they have intruded themselves
upon him from simple curiosity. He lives on the left bank
of the bay, and is the most influent .1 chief there. If, through
the French preferring the other s le of the bay, King Denis
lost the benefits which the immediate neighbourhood of the
Europeans would have conferred upon him, he has assuredly
gained greater tranquillity and a more complete indepen-
dence. Perhaps this pilvilege goes far to enhance the
respect in which he is held by the natives — a respect which
he obtains by his great age, and which extends further than
one would imagine. I have been sometimes astonished to
find that his name was pronounced with the utmost respect in
many villages of the Ogo-wai, with which neither he nor his
people have much connection.

'■i I

324

IJ.LUSTRA'IEI) TRAVELS.

When I was in his village with M. Scrval, in 1862, it was
easy to perceive that the very friendly terms upon which we
lived «ith the old chief, and which were made known to the
inhabitants by our interpreters, heijjed to increase no little the
estimation in which we were held by our hosts.

By the side of Denis is the portrait of his principal wife,
who, in virtue of the privileges accorded to her position, has
the man.igement of the cultivation of the land around the
principal dwellings entirely in her own hands, anil resides there
almost constantly, .^s regards King Denis himself, he is

j moderate use of si)irituous liquors and an unbridled sensuality
! must, to a great e.\tent, account for it. Whatever it may be,
this decrease in the population of the M'Pongwes is real and
rapid. It strikes with astonishment most of the naval officers,
' who saw the Oaboon when the French first establisheil them-
selves there, when they see it now. 'J'his stale of things,
moreover, is not peculiar to the tribe in (juestion. i'he
Boulous, who are their immediate neighbours, e.xhijjit un-
mistakable marks of the same decline. I'orlunately, new
blood appears to be likely one day to restore this weakened

If .!■

In ■ :

if' ■

■;l],jj '•„ I

I'!; Si

MISSION-nOUSE OF THE CATIIOMCS AT THE GABOON.

attaohcd, from long habit, to an old ruined hul. hoping,
doubtless, that il will stand as long as he lives. He remains
there with half-a-dozen of his wives, and refuses to take
possession of any of the more comfortable huts which his
sons have built for him in the neighbourhood. Perhaps he
thinks that this half-mined house is in more complete keeping
with that double ruin which seems to threaten his fortune
and his race. In times past the slave trade made him rich ;
now he lives but poorly, though heli)ed by the Fench Go-
vernment; and he sees the M'l'ongwc' people gradually ' ing
out around him. In fact, .all primitive races seem to decay
and disappear as soon as they come in contact with the
European.

AVhat are the causes of this decay? Those which are
generally adduced appear in this instance to be insufficient.
There have been no disastrous wars with the neighbouring
tribes, no epidemic diseases, and no real misery. An im-

race. The Tahouhins. who .are advancing with rapid strides
from the interior towards the coast, will fill uj) the void places
which are continually appearing in the regions nearer the sea.

CHAPTER V.

RELIGION OF THE GAnOON NEGROES— GODS AND FF.rlCIIE HL'TS— MALE
AND FEMALE FETICIIISTS— THE SICK AND THEIR DOCTORS— GA-
liONESE KL'NKRAL— I'OISIINKKS AND SORCERERS— TRIAL OF ICAJA—
A WAR FETICHE— THE GDI) OF TlIF v/HlTES AND THE GOD OF THE
IlLACKS— THE SHARK'S COUSIN.

'I'm; Clabonese are votaries of fetii:lii.sm ; and by the Oabonese
I must be understood to mean all the tribes who live in this
part of Africa. We must not, however, take the word fttivhe
too literally, and in the restricted sense which lias been given
to it by some writers.

The simple worship of inanimate objects, witliout attri-

THK flABOON.

3>S

,. i

billing to tlicm any symbolical value, is much more rare than
one might suppose. Understood thus exclusively, fetichisni
is not the religion of the (labonese ; for they believe in evil
spirits, and hold in awe the souls of the dead. They have,
it must he allowed, but a very imjierfert conception of
superior beings ; they invest them with a material form, but it
is very doubtful whether any abstract idea of the immaterial has
ever entered their minds. Rut however vague their conce])-
tion of the supernatural may be, they entertain at least some
notions about it ; and
these are sufficient to
raise them, to a cer-
tain extent, in the
intellectual scale of
humanity.

If to the respect,
or, rather, I should
say, to the fear, with
which the wandering
souls of the de.ad in-
spire their minds — to
this belief in the exist-
ence of genii as po.s-
sessing great power
of inflicting evil, and
yet little solicitous
about conferring good
—we add an implicit
belief in the virtue of
a multitude of talis-
mans and of fetiches
which possess the
power of preserving
them from sickness
or from the accidents
of war, we seem to
have everything con-
tained in their theo-
logy. It is in the
more distant villages
that these beliefs exer-
cise a real sway. The
inhabitants of the
coast have lost, in
their intercourse with
the Europeans, at
least to a great ex-
tent, confidence in

the powers of their gods, without having rei eived as \el any
higher system of belief in exchange ; so th.xt we may look
upon them at llie present time as ])ractically without religion.
They are all more or less superstitious.

The two words fetiches and fetichists, are ever on the lii)s
of the Gabonese. With them everything is fetiche. Moondah,
the word which expresses this idea, appears to be as the "taboo"
of the Tahitians — the foundation of their language. The little
ornament of tiger's claws which the women wear round their
neck, is called moondah ; the elegant and finely-cut plate with
which fishing-tackle is carefully adomeil, is called moondah ;
the particle of the burnt ashes of a leopard's brain which
the warrior hides under his cotton drawers, and grasps at the

.Mif:RA, \ vuiNC. i;iui. or iHE c.akiion

moment of battle to give him courage, i. a'so moondah. 'I'his
is regarded as a powerful fetiche ; but there is one which they
consider as more |iowerfid still. It consists of the ashes from
the burnt flesh or bones of a white man. This is a talisman
infallible in war.

Hut the.se, after all, are only anudets ; their real gods are
representations, more or less grotes(|ue, of the human form.
Their idols are often fashioned to re|iresent the features of a
European, with aquiline nose, thin lips, and light colour. Is

this a mere freak of
fancy ? Is it a kind
of homage paid to
the superiority of the
white man ? I cannot
say; but in any case
I think that there is
no good ground for
accepting the view
exi)ressed by a tra-
veller in the la.st
century, who ha\ing
remarked the same
circumstance on the
(."ongo, and having
observed that the
course of emigration
brings the people of
the interior to the
coast, was of opinion
that the features and
colour given to their
idols pointed, per-
haps, to the exist-
ence of a white race
in the centre of the
continent.

These fetiches are
sometimes to be seen
in their dwellings, es.
pecially in those of
their chiefs, where
they are supposed to
exercise the same
tutelar)' jjower which
was assigned to the
I. ares by the ancient
heathen. But this is
not where we usually
lind them. In every village a litde hut is set apart for
their especial use— a modest temple, sometimes of .such small
dimensions that the worshippers are scarcely able to enter
without crawling; but in the larger villages its appearance'
is more imposing, more in keeping, in fact, with the importance
of the guests for whom it is designed. The inhabitants do
not readily admit Europeans into the fetiche hut. In a village
of the Ogo-wai, inhabited by a people of the same race as the
Gabonese, I wps jiermitted to enjoy this honour by a chief, in
his delight at receiving a visit from a European for the first
time.

In a hut of moderate pretensions, three fetiches, a god
and two goddesses, their faces bedaubed with red and white

326

IIXUSTRATF.D TRAVI'.LS.

■■X- I'll'' It r

paint, and their bodies unpretenflingly draped in Kurojiean
cotton, reclined on a kind of bed or altar. Articles of liifferent
kinds were suspended aroiin<l tliem^cotton drawers, for
instance, and skins of wilil beasts ; there were, however, no
scalps, no spoils taken from enemies, nothing repulsive. The
articles were votive oflerings, no doubt, but altogether of a peace-
ful kind. The fine and manly form of my entertainer seemed to
expand at the sight of these wooden gods. Was I in the
temple of a savage, or by the side of a great child smiling at
his puppets ?

I cannot say exactly what ceremonies arc practised inside
these fetiche huts ; they cannot be ve'y imposing. A few
prayers, perhaps, or invocations to the g a\ for preservation from
sickness, jirotection from the vengeance of enemies, and, above
all, a request that die suppliant may be fortunate in some contem-
plated commercial transaction. On fete days these idols are
paraded with great jiomp through the villages. On these
occasions every one daubs his body with painted figures of
the most grotescjue character, and follows the i)rocession
chanting and singing in most discordant tones. When a
village engages in a great religious ceremony of this kind, the
king himself is the leader, as holding the highest authority in
both political and religious matters. A long belt fastened to
the edge of his sleeve is the mark of his dignity. Every one
bows before this sarred symbol, and there are but few refrac-
tory ones who refuse to acknowledge its jiower.

But independently of die kings, there are those who have
the title of fetichists, many of whom have but little of the
religious character about them, and aij principally sorcerers
and doctors. These are supposed to jjossess the power of
entering into communication with the spirits at will. When
they are appealed to in order to decide some disputed
matter, they shut themselves up in a fetiche hut, or retire to
some solitary wood, and seat themselves at the foot of a tree,
which is moondah, and there, after having remained in
retirement for some hours, they pronounce jutlgment. Some-
times they are invited by husbands to interfere in domestic
quarrels. Then, strange nocturnal scenes take place, in which
ventriloquism, and other tricks of the same character, appear to
play an important part.

Once, when passing the night in a village on the banks of
the river Remboe, I was awakened by piercing shrieks, which
seemed scarcely human. Then a solemn voice re-echoed
through the silence which succeeded. Its accent was stern,
and seemed to breathe forth anathemas. I was aware that
some diabolical ceremony was being practised, and that the
cries which I had heard were only a kind of summons to
the neighbourhood. I was about to rise, in order to better
observe the proceeding, but my host, who was the king of
the country, prevented me.

" It is nothing," said he ; " it is only a neighbour who is
making fetiche about his wife."

This did not much enlighten me, and I was going out, in
spite of his entreaties, when he assured me that the face of a
white man would drive away the spirits. They had wished, he
told me, to await my departure before practising this invocation,
but the fetiche, who was only stopping there on his way to
some other place, had been paid and was in a hurry. I of
course took care not to disconcert his arrangements.

He continued for more than a quarter of an Iiour his
exhortations and reprimands, which the king explained to me

at length. All the women in the place must have been in a
terrible fright, for the subject of imiuiry was a serious case of
conjugal infidelity, and the divine voice did not point to any
culiirit in particular. At length groans and sobs were heard
close to my hut ; they proceeded from my neighbour's wife, who
was being soundly chastired by a hand at once rude and sacreil.
Divine vengeance was satisfied ; the other women might sleep
(piiedy ; for this night at least they were safe.

This religious correction has a double advantage ; it reaches
the guilty party, and at the same time it insjiires all others with
a salutary terror. It may easily be supposed that it produces a
great effect.

The old chief who explained to me this nocturnal scene,
pretended that the fetichists were on'y useful to keep up in the
minds of the women the feeling of r.'sjiect which they ought to
entertain for their lord and master. Where next will scepticism
find a resting-place for itself?

In speaking of the male fetic'iist we must not forget the
female. I have only seen one of these women, and that was
on the river Ogo-wai, where Euro] .can iiilluencc has not as yet
extended so far as to obliterate all traces of distinctive national
habits.

M. Serval, a lieutenant in the navy, and myself had just
arrived at the village of Avenga-wiri. Our ajipearance in the
midst of these people, who had never before seen any European,
did not produce its usual effect, A vast crowd, assembled
round a hut, from whence issued a most execrable din, made up
of the sounds of the " tam-tam " and shrill cries, seemed scarcely
moved at the sight of us. Evidently something important was
going on there. We entered the house, not without consider-
able diOiculty, and became eye-witnesses of a scene which was
at the same time hideous and grotes(]ue. In the middle of a
large room a young woman, with her body almost naked, and
tattooed with all kinds of figures, while her face was painted in
four different colours like a quartered escutcheon, was dancing
to the beating of the tam-tam in a state of absolute frenzy.
From time to time a youiig negro detached himself from the
circle, placed himself before her, and watching with a kind of
anxiety the wanton movements of her limbs, tried himself to
imitate them as he followed the sound of the tam-tam. As
soon as he became fatigued by this rough exercise he gave
place to another, whilst the indefatigable vixen, excited by the
deafening strains of the music, tired her second partner. In the
estimation of the spectators she was an inspired woman, " she
saw the si)irit." I have seen the tumbling and howling Dervishes
at Constantinople, the infernal sect of the Aissaouas in Algiers,
and I shall see some day, perhaps, the " Convulsionnaires,"
for they have not died out even in Europe ; but the female
fetichist of Avenga-wiri appeared to me to belong to the same
class.

We can readily imagine that persons so easily affected by
superstitious notions would not regard sickness as a natural
derangement iC a machine more complicated and consequently
more fragile th; n all others. They look upon it as the effect of
poison or sorcer)-, or the vengeance of some offended deity, and
the fetichist Is the proper person to apply to for a cure. The most
celebrated are those whom a life passed in the solitude of the
woods has surrounded with a certain prestige. Amongst these
the Boulous have the greatest reputation for skill. A wounded
Gabonese will readily apply to a European doctor ; but for any
internal malady he places implicit confidence in the fetichist.

TIIK GAUOON.

3*1

This is logical too — sickness, l)cing a kind of ilemoniacal pos-
session, must be amenable before anytliing to exorcism,

Whenever a sorcerer of reputation — that is to say an ogang i —
is called upon to practise his art, it is regarded as a most solemn
transaction. Dr. Ricard, a naval medical olVicer, gives us the
following description of the mode of proceeding when any
chronic disease requires treatment ; —

" The fetichist, before he undertakes the case, requires a
short time in which to make a perfect diagnosis of the disease.
If he is a skilful hand, he begins his oiierations as soon as the
violence of the malady a])pears at all to abate, otherwise he
temporises. As soon as the day is fixed, a large hut is erected
in the most public place,' in which, according to the lUmber of
the patients (wlio are for the most part females), one or more
beds, formed of bamboo, and provided with mosquito-nets, are
placed. This hut becomes the meeting-place for all the women in
the village ; the idle loiter about there, and occupy themselves
cither in talking or playing. The patients pass a part of the
day in having their bodies rubbed with powders of various
colours, and each day the nature of this decoration is altered.
Every morning and evening they go out attended by a retinue of
women. This promenade, which does not at first extend beyond
the precincts of the village, is afterwards prolonged to a distance
of many leagues ; in the evening they dance to the sound of the
tam-tam. From time to time the fetichist comes and inspects
them by the help of a looking-glass, to ascertain the effect
of his treatment, and these visits being continued till he has
discovered that some improvement has taken place, he is,
of course, generally successful. Often the patient has a
relapse, and then the fetichist consults the spirits again. Some-
times he declares that the prisoner must die ; at other times he
foresees so many difficulties in the case, that he demands a fee
for the cure too exorbitant to be given." — /ia'i/e Coloniale, 1855.

We have here, as M. Ricard remarks, a mode of treatment
which, by a graduated system of exercise and the profuse
perspiration which it excites, may really have an advantageous
influence upon certain chronic affections. But it cann^ ^e
applied to all diseases, and it is abundantly evident 'j .i
many difficult cases the oganga succeeds by the applicatiuu of
remedies, the nature of which he is at great pains to conceal,
I myself have never had the opportunity of carefully observing
one of these black doctors at his work, but I have more than
once marked their failure. I have also known difficult cases
which they have successfully cured.

In connection with this subject, I will describe a scene
in which I bore a part, and which is not without its value.
It was not a regular consultation. The oganga, a Boulou of
my acquaintance, had come the preceding evening ; he had
left his prescription, and the patient had followed it. The
sufferer was an aged chief, named Kringer, who appeared to be
aflTected with disease of the heart. One day, as I passed through
his village, I found him, about noon, seated in the middle of the
street in a complete state of nudity. Close by him was a large
vessel full of hot water, in which a quantity of herbs were
soaking. A kind of holy vater sprinkler was immersed in this
decoction. All the people in the village had just ranged them-
selves in a single line, and were singing some monotonous
chant. The proc2ssion was on the point of starting when I
arrived.

His "principal wife" headed the file; she took hold
of the wet broom and sprinkled the patient twice, pro-

nouncing, at the same timo, a form of exorcism against the
evil spirit ; she tiicn waited until all who were in ati.enil.uno
had repeated this formula, after which siie spat on each side of
the patient, as expressing a wish that in a like manner he
migiit cast out the evil spirit by which he was possessed,
and then solemnly passed tile instrument to her eldest son,
who followed her. This ceremony was repeated until the
whole village had filed past. It was a long and tedious
affair. The poor old chief shivered and shook, and from time to
time urged in an imperative voice the jirocession to greater
activity. When the ceremony was finished, he, in his turn,
spat twice, muttering at the same time some exorcism ; anil then,
as a finale, his wives rubbed him for a long time with i)repared
leaves. What was this preparation ? It was very complex,
and although I recognised certain elements from having seen
them in my botanical excursions, the greater part of them were
unknown to me.

However, when I saw Kringer some weeks after this occur-
rence, I cannot say whether he had succeeded in spitting
out the evil spirit, but he seemed to be very much improved in
health. Had he really disease of the heart ? I very much
doubted it then, and I regret now that I did not ascertain the
fact by examining the patient myself.

This was a great success, but fetichists do not cure all their
patients. When one of them dies, his wives put on mourning ;
they shave off dieir hair, and for a month or two leave off all
their ornaments ; they assemble with their female friends in the
hut in which the corpse lies, and where it remains exposed for
three days. The neighbouring people assemble there to re-
proach the departed for having given up his life and forsaken
his family. As there cannot be a reunion without drinking, eau-
de-vie is passed round amongst the assistants. The firing of guns
is heard outside. A coffin is made out of some of the boxes
belonging to the deceased ; in this he is deposited, with one or
two of his household utensils, not forgetting, above all, his glass
and his pipe. On the third day the corpse is carried to a
burying-ground, hidden in the woods, far away from the sight
of man, and especially from Europeans. A small retinue, con-
sisting of his parents and a few slaves, attends him to his last
resting-place. If the village is near to the sea, the inha-
bitants assemble upon the shore at the time of interment.
The exact moment when the body is committed to the earth
is marked by the firing of a gun, and, on hearing the signal,
all throw themselves into the water, taking care to fall upon
their backs, in imitation of the poor man who has just been
buried. On other occasions, if the deceased person has occu-
pied a position of importance, he is not interred without the
sacrifice of some of his slaves, to be his companions. Since,
however, they have held intercourse with Europeans, this
barbarous custom seems to have disappeared ; but, in spite
of the watchfulness of the French authorities, it probably still
exists in the more distant villages.

When this ceremony is over all is not, however, completed ;
the fetichist is there, and he stoutly maintains his own infalli-
bility. As soon as he has seen his patient pass away, he hastens
to announce that he has been poisoned or bewitched. The
next "step then is to punish those who have been guilty of the
crime, and the task of discovery devolves upon himself. This
is by no means a difficult matter to effect, for all around him
are credulous in the extreme, and he is a master in the art of
deception.

4i'

iMMIIIIlilHaMH

.?-■«

II. I. is I KAlll) I RA\ I'.ls

1.1 i ',

I'M

r,j'):ift!|^5'

i:';,iLi, |.r 'r. •f';'"' ;^:!

Tllr. CHIEF KRINGER, AND 1113 FAMILV.

I have taken from the notes of Captain Vignon, who has
been for a long time in command of the Gaboon, and who has
collected many very interesting facts, an account of a scene
descriptive of the mode in which tlie black art is practised,
and with which no European was in any way connected. If
at our factories there are any who still believe that sick men .
die by the spells of sorcerers, at least they lea\e the sorcerers
alone. !

" On the day of the funeral, as soon as night sets in, the
people of the neighbourhood meet together at the house of
the departed, which is lighted up with torches ; the fetichist
stands in the midst of them. At a given signal, all the |
assistants begin to sing to the sound of the tam-tam; the

fetichist alone dances. This part of the ceremony lasts until
near midnight ; then the fetichist orders the lights to be put
out, and when everything is enveloped in darkness, he invokes
the spirits, and entreats them to make known to him the guilty
person. These adjurations ended, the torches are re-lighted,
and the singing and tlancing resumed until day. The fetichist
then takes from undci.ieath his clothes the skin of a little
animal called ' Eninca,' walks with it round the room, and
throwing it down at the feet of the unhappy wretch whom he
has previously marked out as the victim, calls out his name,
and shouts out in a loud voice, ' Behold the poisoner.' If the
selected person is a slave (it is generally upon some one of
this class that the fatal verdict falls) he is immediately seized

' 11

vol.. I.

41- '/

330

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

Pf '■''

.^,11 I' ■ '

a* ■ I;,! I, i-:

>'1 ■

and carried off to some more distant dwelling, there to suffer
the punishment due to his crime. Sometimes he is '"d to a
tree and cut to pieces with knives, at other times he is given
up to the Boulous, who burn him alive. If he is a free man,
the sentence jiassed upon him cannot be carried into effect
upon this evidence alone ; he must submit to the ordeal."

This ordeal is the direct judgment of God upon him, and
is of a most dangerous character. The pretended so;-cerer is
compelled to drink a strong poison. If he succumbs to its
effects, his guilt is evident : if he survives the trial, he is
pronounced innocent. This poison is extracted from a shrub
called at Gaboon icaja, and at Cape Lopez m'boundou. It
seems to belong to the family which contains uVux vomi,-a and
the bean of St. Ignatius ; strychnine is its most powerful in-
gredient. I have found some specimens of it in the marshy
forests of the Gaboon. It is a shrub of about six to ten
feet in height, not very branching, with few leaves and a
long tap-root, wliich is covered by a bark of a bright red
colour. It is this bark which possesses the acti\e properties.
It has been analysed by ^L Martin, a chemist attached to the
navy, who found that it gave all the reactions characteristic of
strychnine. When wanted for use, the root is scraped until
sufficient is obtained to fill about a third of an ordinary sized
gkiss, then about half a pint of water is poured upon it, which
rapidly assumes the colour of the bark. When the infusion is
completely coloured, the poisou is fit for use.

M. du Chaillu is the only traveller who lias taken part
in the administr.;tion of m'boundou in the inland villages. In
one instance, of which he states he was himself a witness,
death ensued five minuses after ' ^ poison had been swallowed.
Blood poured from the eyes ^nd ears of the sufferer — an effect
which, to say the least of it, seei.^s very extraordinary. On
another occasion he saw an old fetichist named Olanga take
it of his own accord, in order to enhance his own credit ; for
any one who drinks this poison with impunity is supposed
infallibly to acquire the gift of divination. I give the stor)-
in the words of the traveller himself.

" The poison was prepared, but not in the presence of
Olanga. He was not allowed to take any part in its concoc-
tion, but two of his friends were deputed to watch over his
interests, and see that everything was done according to rule.
When the preparations were completed, he was called. He
drank the contents of the cup at a draught At the expiration
of five minutes, its power began to show itself. Olanga began
to stagger, his eyes became bloodshot, and his limbs were
contracted by convulsive movements. He manifested, at the
same time, one s)Tn])tom which enabled the bystanilers to
foresee that the poison would not prove fatal. This symptom
is a profuse liquid evacuation, without which a favourable
result is not to be anticipated. The movements of Olanga
resembled those of a drunken man. He spoke in the most
incoherent manner, so much so that every one imagined that
he was under the influence of inspiration, until at last he fell,
to all appearance completely intoxicated. It is said that this
old doctor was able to swallow the poison in large doses,
without feeling any effect from them, except that of profound
intoxication. This power has naturally jirocured him a great
reputation."

The description thus given i)y M. <lu Chaillu coincides
with the accot'nts given by the inhabitants themselves, when-
ever they can be induced to talk upon the subject at all, and

it reminds us of the principal effects produced by preparations
of strychnine. But it is evident that the individual who has
been accused of sorcery, and wlio ha.i been condemned to
death by anticipation, is either compelled to drink a stronger
tlose than that given to the fetichist, or else the latter is in pos-
session of some antidote, by wiiich he is able to neutralise
its fatal effects. It is supposed that if a large quantity of
lialm oil has previously been swallowed, it is sufficient to
neutralise the action of the icaja. This antidote is probably
not infallible, for when a Gabonese in good circumstances is
accused of sorcery, he does everything in his power, by means
of presents, to procure exemption from this terrible ordeal.

It must not be thought that this kind of judicial poisoning,
the natural consequence of a savage and stupid superstition,
is peculiar to this part of the country. A few degrees further
to the north, at che mouth of the Niger, the same practices
are met with, and the bean of Calabar, one of the most deadly
poisons known to us, is the agent employed. In other places
some other substance is used, and it is probable that this
terrible custom prevails more or less throughout the whole of
the African continent, for, with respect to superstition, all
negroes are about on a par. The intercourse with Europe, and
especially the authority which we arc able to exercise, mitigates
the cruelty of those who dwell in our immediate neighbniir-
hood ; but it is very doubtful whether intercourse with civilised
nations really eradicates the original credulity of their nature.
I wish it to be understood, however, that I make an exception
of those who have been really regenerated by a tliorough
European education.

The African negro believes in sorcery. Brought, as he
is, when quite an infant to our colonies, reared, or, it may be,
born amongst us, surrounded by the influences of our religion,
but without being withdrawn from the people of his own race,
he believes in the existence of " Zombis " (the name given to
ghosts at the Antilles), and he always carefully keeps about
him some fetiche to protect him. Should one of the ministers
of our religion take from him his talisman, and give him some
holy relic in exchange, you may be sure that he will fail to
understand its symbolic signification. And when he perceives
that his new medal fails to jireserve him from the e\ils from
which he dreamt that he would be exempted by his own charm,
without questioning the sincerity of the missionary, he will
return to his national fetiche, making the remark to himself that
" the missionary's fetiche is very ^ood for the white man, but it
was not intended for the poor black." At the same time, he
is not at all astonished, for he is convinced that our God, who
has given us so much power and so much wealth, cannot be
at the same time the God of the black man.

He appears to think, moreover, on the other hand, that his
gods take little interest in xi'i, and that the power of his fetiches
is not transferable to iii, and therefore he sometimes gives
them to us with but little hesitation. I bought one day, for a
few rolls of tobacco, one of those strange little figures whi( h
are to be found in every village, with a bit of glass inserted in its
breast, and a circlet made of the feathers of the touraco round
its head. The bargain was a long an<l difficult matter to arrange,
for this grotesque little god, fixed at the end of a stick, was a great
war fetiche, whose value had been proved by long service.
The warrior in whose possession it was, fixed it in the ground
by his side when he went to .sleep, and then slumbered free
from all anxiety. We can easily understand that the happy

i:l,!!l,

THE GABOON.

33 »

possessor of sucli a talisman would hesitate before he parted
witli it. He let me have it in tlie end, liiit he wouUl not have
sold it to a black man at any price. He was willing to i)art with
that which cnsurcil his own invulnerability, because it would be
of no value to the person to whom he transferred it ; but he
woMkl not have been so foolish as to give it up to any one on
whom it would confer protection, and wlio miglit, perhaps, one
day be his enemy.

This belief in the existence of different gods for the two
races both comforts the black man and feeds his vanity. The
superiority of the KuropcLin in wliat we may call the world of
material facts is overwhelmingly evident to him ; but, with
this exception, he refuses to acknowledge it. When he sees us
smile at some of the strange dreams which his superstitious
imagination has conjured uji, he gendy reproaches us with our
incredulity, and tries to make us understand (not without a
certain air of ])ride) that the God of the white man, who has
shown himself to be so generous to liim in some respects,
has, notwithstanding, concealed from him more than one
mystery, the secrets of which the black man has been able to
penetrate.

Such was die nature of the reply once made to my friend
M. Serval, ...ider rather odd circumstances, which deserve
narration. He was at that time in cjjmmand of a small despatch
boat, the Pioneer, the crew of which was composed mainly of
blacks— not Gabonese and felichists, but inhabitants of Senegal,
and Mahommedans, and consequently in all respects superior
to them. One day, one of these laptots, whilst bathing
close to the vessel, had liis legs bitten off by a shark, and died
Almost immediately. A few days after, the men had the satis-
faction of harpooning one of these dangerous creatures, and
they naturally regarded it as the murderer of their comrade.
They haci already hoisted it on deck, and felt assured that the
moment f wreaking their vengeance had arrived, when one of
their com unions, who had been busy on the lower deck, pre-
sented h mself suddenly above the hatchway, and uttered an
cxclamat on of surprise and joy. A: the same instant the
shark made a violent effort, and sucioeded in freeing itself
from the liook, and fell back into thi- i.a. To men exasperated,
and who believed that they had t'-eir enemy safe, there was
something altogether unnatural in the event. The laptot who
so inopportunely made his ajjpearance unfortunately belonged
to a tribe which was held in but little esteem, and which
was strongly suspected of sorcery. His sudden appearance,
and the cry which ho had uttered, seemed to make the
matter dear. He was evidently in league with the shark,
and, following out this idea, they presently discovered that
the master of the deep was his cousin, who had jnit on
this form for the purpose of performing his part in some terrible
piece of witchcraft. The crew, furious against their companion
for making his appearance so unseasonably, wished to throw
him overboard to keep company with his cousin, and such
would have been his lot if the gourmet had not protected
him. The gourmet is the chief who presides over every
comjjany of laptots, and who is often apjiointed at the
moment of embarkation. He is chosen from amongst the
most intelligent, is held in much esteem, and his authority
is always respected. But on this occasion his voice was
treated with contempt ; besides, he was himself but half
a.ssured of the innocence of the accused, and consequently
he di-1 not protect him very zealously, more because he felt

constraint-M i'> enforce discipline than for any other reason.
At length. .il: went to the captain to tell him of the disturb'
ance. M. .Serval, who knew him to be an intelligent man,
tried in vain to reason him out of his folly ; he would not
be convinced, and cut short every argument with this un-
answerable piece of reasoning, " White men know a great deal
— much more than black men; but there are some things which
they are (juite ignorant about, and which black men understand
perfectly." He meant, of course, the works of sorcery. What
reply could be made to this ? None. M. Serval succeeded in
keeping things (piiet for three or four days by reason of the respect
in which his men held him, but the position of the poor sorcerer
was untenable, and it was necessary to put him on shore.

Such, then, are the blacks — I mean the better sort of them.
Civilise them aa much as you will, and develop their good
qualities, but if you do not withdraw them from the influence
of their race, your real success will, I fear, be but small. They
will become little better, after all, than what many of them are
already — children of nature, gentle and good, simple minded,
endowed with moderate inventive powers, imitative to a very
great extent, capable of devoted attachment, and brave at
times ; but the old negro nature lives, and will ever live, under
the black skin, and you must not be astonished if one day he
escapes from you, and, under the influence of some dark
superstition, reveals himself in his true and natural colours —
shows himself, in fact, to be plainly, what in reality he has
never ceased to be — trustful as a child, and equally cruel.

CHAPTER VI.

THE CULTIVATION OF THE FIELDS — NATURAL PRODUCTS — OLBAOI-
NOUS AND AROMATIC PLANTS — RICHES OF THE FORESTS.

If the social and intellectual life of the blacks has always its
interesting side, we can scarcely say the same of their material
life. I have endeavoured to describe the dress and the
dwellings of the Gabonese. Their intercourse with Europeans
has given them a taste for a certain degree of comfort in this
respect ; but as regards their food they are much as they ever
were. Although nature exhibits on all sides a wonderfully
prolific power, thev have barely sufficient to supi)ly their own
wants, and absolutely nothing for foreigners. Even in the
immediate neighbourhood of their own villages we scarcely see
anything but a few beautiful tufts of bananas or manioc ; and in
their interior some sacred trees in the close vicinity of a
fetiche hut, and some ilangas — a liliaceous plant, supposed
to possess the power of keeping off lightning. The mango,
imported by the Europeans, is beginning to be found here, but
the bread-fruit tree does not succeed so well, in spite of the
vigorous efforts of the Ere icn ...!.^oionaries.

Round the country dwellings the banana, manioc, yams,
and maize, are cultivated on a larger scale, and the sugar-cane
in small quantities, with a f • aromatic |)lants. The place in
which these are grown is fretiuently changed at the expense of
the neighbouring forests. The clearing of the woods is not
effected witiiout considerable labour. The inhabitants of the
villages go out together en masse for the puqiose, and encamp
in the open fields. Tney put up rude shelters covered widi the
leaves of a tree very freciuently met with, called the ogongou.
Some of the women occupy themselves in cooking, whilst
others, with their chililren on their backs, are engaged in
assisting the men to cut up the trees which have been felled.

f ;

W>' :'

.^2

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

In the evening they dance to the sound of the tani-tani, for 1 have never met with the banana except in jilaccs which have

this is the conchision of all tlieir occiiiiatioiis. whether of work been at some period or other imder <.:iilti\ation. This tree is

or of pleasure. of immense value to the countrj-. I lia\e heard of nineteen

The fires burn brit;litly in tlie fore-.! and cast a \ivid reMei- dil'ferent kinds, and 1 have myself transmitted specimens of

tion on the energetic movements of the dancers, whilst their several varieties to the Jardiu d'Acclimatation. at .-Mgicrs. Some

skin absolutely shines with the jierspiration resulting from of these bear fruits of an enormous si/e, but none ])osscss

their violent and wanton movements. Night and day are that delicate taste jieculiar to the little banana, so well known

ml"

IP !

■iur\K 111- nil •■\'M \r iii-\, A si'i:( IK-.

■ Hi!

filled with ,uli\ity; there is an .luimaliou mid hie whiili is
unknown in tluir villages. I-',\rry one si-mis to h.ne thrown olf
his natural idleness, and to be bent upon vigorous exertions.
Rut as soon as the ground is really ( leared and the great task
( ompleled, their natural instincts at one e resume their sway —
the men go home to rejiose after their unusual fatigue, and
leave to the women the work of sowing, without assistanie, the
ground which has been cleared by united efforts. It is, in fact,
the banana and the tnauioi which .irouse them to tiiis iinwonlccl
activity. liotli of these; trees seem to he indigenous, althougli

to our ciilonies under the name cif the lig b.nian.i. I'lic manioc
lias ,1 great advantage over that of America in not being
poisonous. [t is prepared in a peculiar luaiiner, and re-
<hi( ed to a p.aste called goiinia, after a preliminary course of
maceration, which jirodiices a certain amount of fenuent.itioii
and a sharp and nausccnis tlavour, and which, notwithstanding,
is highly apprec i;ited by the natives. This, with dried fish and
the banana, baked before it comes to maturity, forms the staple
of their food. Nor .ire sauces wanting for this simple clici.
There is perhaps no country ri< her in oleaginous |.ni(|nc Is,

H\K\1AI WdMAV AND lllll DRFN

aer.s^, ' "- iSNGS

334

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

l!=''

which have never been made use of. With the almond of
Oba, which is a beautiful ma; ^ tree natural to the country,
a paste callcil dika is made, in flavour and colour very much
like chocolate ; a remarkable production, whicii M, Aubry
Ic C'omte, wlio is at [iresent manager of the Colonial Exhi-
bition, was the first to bring into notice. Two trees be-
longing to the sapota family, the djave and the noungou,
supply, the former a kind of semi-fluid oil, and the latter a
fine fatty substance, of a pure white colour. A tree which
grcws to a great height, called m'poga, produces an excellent
kind ot oil ; but it is difticult to extract, owing to the excessive
hardness of the fniit which contains it. A leguminous flower-
ing plant, the owala, bears a huge pod, the seeds of which are
oleaginous and eatable. If to this very imperfect list we add
the i)alm oil, which is not very common, and the arachide, of
which the natives think but little, because its cultivation calls
for a certain amo.'nt of labour, we may see how rich this
country is in vcgetaL'e products, and what immense resources
its inhabitants have at *heir command, if they were willing to
take the trouble to culti-'ate them. In fact, cultivation is
scarcely necessary, and they are only required to multiply and
group together the more useful kinds.

We m jt not close this account wthout speaking of the
more highly-flavoured condiments to be met with in the
Gaboon, of which, however, but little use is made. First on
the list stands the maketa, or golden ginger, excellent in
quality ; next, the yan-gue-bere, the enone, and many othsr
plants belonging to the cardamom family, whose hot and
aromatic seeds are well known as articles of commerce under
the names of lalaguette, Guinea pepper, and grains of
paradise, &c., ...d which have been sometimes used by us
both for chemical and culinary purposts. There is also a
tree called ogana, which bears pods of a somewhat strong
aroma. Nutmegs are not, I think, produced in the countr)-,
but we found there, however, nutmeg trees of two different
kinds, called the combo and the niohuc, the nut of which
is without perfume, but very cleaginous. The vanilla tree is
common, but not its aromati: pod. I have, indeed, often
seen the plant, but never the fruit. The women, who make
use of the leaf in preparations for the toilet, are altogether
unac(iuainted with its pod or its perfume ; it is therefore
probable that this plant, in its natural state, produces fruit
less frequently than those of the same species found in
Amcrii a.

The Gabonese is, lik? all Orientals, sensual in his tem-
perament, and pretends to be in the possession of remedies
for the cure of impotence Tlie aphrodisiac most in repute is
the root of the ibogp (Tabtnia vcntvicosa, belonging to the
order of Apocynfc). This is a kind of general stimulant,
taking the place of cofl"ee, and the natives make use of it
in their long canoe excursions to prevent them sleeping and to
revive their energies. The fruit of many other plants possesses
similar pro])erties ; the one held in most repute is the red
orende, another, the ombenfi (the Steniilia acuminata of
Palisot de Beauvois), is well known under the name of colat,
or gourou. Its rough, sweet taste strongly affects the papilla:
of the tongue, and renders them for the moment insensible to
disagreeable flavours : brackish water then appears fresh and
sweet, a valuable property, which causes this fruit to be much
in request in the Soudan, where it is an important article of
commerce. There is not a single person who has travelled in

this country since the time of Rend Caille, who has not spoken
of the excellent properties of this plant.

None of these products cost the Gabonese any labour ;
the forests in the midst of which their cultivated fields are
situated, supi)ly them in abundance. These forests are in
appearance as grand and majestic as we should expect to find
them in a country where the sun is so powerful, and the rain
so abundant. Around these trees, which grow sometimes
to an immense height, climbing plants of the utmost variety
entwine themselves : innumerable leguminous bindweeds of
a thousand colours, passion flowers, CombrdacM, trumpet
flowers of all sorts ; two or three kinds of vines of immense
size, whose grapes, which have a very tolerable flavour,
although rather pulpy, would no doubt be very much
improved by judicious cultivation ; Apocyuea of all kinds,
some secreting, like the infie, a dangerous poison, others, like
the n'darabo, yielding at the same time delicious fruits and
great quantities of india-rubber.

A mere list of the botanical riches of this country would be
almost endless. I must not, however, omit to mention the
ogina-gina, a tree producing a kind of gum, the okoume,
or candle-wood, a gigantic tree which secretes a kind of resin
in abundance, and out of whose trunk their largest canoes are
formed ; fig-trees producing in greater or less quantities a
species of India-rubber, which is turned to no account, and
woods used in the making of furniture, many interesting
specimens of which were sent to the Paris Exhibition.

I shall, I hope, be excused for giving these botanical
details, if my reader will only call to mind that the principal
beauty of this country consists in the rich mantle of verdure
with which it is perpetually clothed, and which affords almost
its only attraction to those Europeans who are unable
to penetrate into the interior, The fauna is much less varied
in char.icter, and presents less to attract the curious. The
natives ilit-mselves, with their habits and manners strangely
altered, though often not much for the better, by intercourse
with Europeans — with their vices, rendered no less revolting,
although to some extent excusable on account of the rough
and savage condition in which they live (I speak, of course, of
the tribes on the co.ist) — scarcely suffice to excite the curiosity
of the traveller on his first arrival amongst them. After a time
he feels nothing but indifierence.

The vegetable world alone, so different froin everything
amongst ourselves, and at each step assuming such new
features, presents a spi rtaclc so essciitialiy varied to eyes
capable of appreciating it, that it affords the weary mind an
inexhaustible and welcnme source of occupation.

For myself, I feel tli it in endeavouring to convey to others
the impression prodund upon my mind by these magnificent
forests in which I luive wandered as a novice, admiring the
beauty and riches of the vegetable kingdom here so profusely
displayed, rather than as a scientific inquirer, I only try to
discharge a debt of gratitude I owe to these scenes. The
greatest boon that a European can expect in a country so little
suited to him by its climate and social conditions, is to find so
much agreeable iTiental occupation presented bythe inexhaustible
variety of its natural productions. My rambles in the woods
daily oficred me something new to admire and investigate ; and
it is saying much, after a residence of several months in
such a region, to confess th.it I never suffered from ennui, nor
was ever depressed witii the feeling of home sickness.

A JOURNEY UP THE ORINOCO.

335

A Journey up the Orinoco to the Carat al Gold Field — Raleigh's ^* El Dorado." — III.

BY C. LE NEVE FOSTER, B.A., D.SC, F.G.S.

CHAPTER lY.—ico/tfinued).

THE MINES.

The next day was devoted to an excursion to Panama, which
is the name given to a little clearing about two miles to the
west of the town. It is reached by a path through the forest,
which brings one suddenly upon a few miserable hovels, the
abode of a few miners, who have been getting gold from loose
quartz blocks that strew the hill-side, as well as by quarrying
away the outcrop of lodes. To lessen the labo \r of breaking
the rock, the miners have called in the aid of fire, for burning
renders the quartz far more friable. The miners never work
upon any quartz which does not contain visible gold. All
quartz which shows small particles of gold is pounded up by
hand in iron morUirs ; or, if the miner is poor, he simply buys
an iron pestle, and burning out a hole in the stump of a tree,
uses that as a mortar, and rigs up a stamping apparatus by the
side of his hut. The gold is easily got from the powdered
auriferous quartz by amalgamating it in a batea. The batea
is a wooden pan, which is partly filled 'with the powdered
ore ; water and a little quicksilver being added, and the
whole kneaded up carefully, the gold unites with the quick-
silver, which is thus reunited into one mass by washing.
Squeezed through a cloth, the quicksilver leaves a solid mass
of amalgam behind, and, on heating this on a shovel, the
quicksilver is driven off, and a cake of gold left behind. It is
in this manner that all the gold ijuartz is worked. At present
the most important workings in the district aie at Callao.

On leaving Nueva Providencia by a mule-path to the
north, you pass through plantations of sugar-cane, plantains,
maize, and the cassava plant, for the distance of about a mile,
and then enter the forest, which continues for half a mile, till
the Callao clearing is reached. Here, indeed, we have a
specimen of a rough mining village. We first come upon some
fenced clearings, where the charred trunks of trees and heaps oi
white ashes show that the timber has been recently felled,
and has to be burnt to be got rid of. The path soon brings
us to the village itself Even here we see evident proofs
that what is now a scene of active industry was forest a few
years ago ; for stump after stump of the original timber remains
standing in the street, forming a number of natural posts. Stores
are numerous. Many of them are open booths, and in this
respect impart to the village the look of some of the Con-
tinental fairs. I need hardly say that at Caratal the billiard-
table is not wanting, and close by is another table covered with
a white cloth, where gambling is constantly going on. Crowd-
ing round it are negroes and Venezuelans of all classes,
satisfying their passion for the national vice, which is really
the curse of the diggings. To give some idea of how much
it prevails, I may state that one man in Nueva Providencia
does nothing else but manufacture dice. I have passed his
cottage day after day between six and seven in the morning,
and have always seen him hard at work cutting out and marking
the little ivory cubes. The large consumption of dice is in
part due to suspicions of unfair p'ay, for you may see an
unlucky gambler rush out into the street, dice in hand, and

smash them between two stones, to see whether or no they
have been loaded.

Signs of mining are apparent everywhere. Shaft after
shaft is met with, where negroes are hauling up gold ([uartz
from a depth of thirty or forty yards, and from the sheds which
cover the pits comes the clank of the pestle and mortar.
Women and children gather round the heaps of refuse, and,
thanks to the keenness of their vision, can manage to i)ick out
a good many pieces of quartz, with small specks of gold which
had escaped the eyes of the miners. This affords them the
means of easily earning a little money ; and each one pounds
the quartz himself, or even rubs it fine between two stones,
amalgamates the powder, and gets out a little cake of gold,
which he sells at one or other of the shops. The Callao miners
are working a quartz vein, or " reef," which has furnished extra-
ordinary riches ; most beautiful specimens, showing coarse
pieces of gold, are obtained every day, and masses of pure
white quartz, dotted over with lumps and streaks of virgin
gold, show how much money may be earned in some cases
even where everything is done by manual labour. Still, if the
Callao lode is to be worked much deeper, the miners must
inevitably have recourse to machiner>-. The deeper pits are
much troubled by water, which at the present time has to be
hauled out by means of buckets.

After Callao, the most flourishing diggings are at Chile,
about four miles from Nueva Providencia. As we leave the
town on the south, some of the tierra de flor workings
may be noticed. Just under the soil, a layer of red earth is
often met with, which contains nuggets of gold. The earth
is dug up, washed in a batea, and the nuggets are found
in the bottom. The largest nugget yet obtained in the
district, one of fifteen pounds weight, was found in the
tierra de flor, at a stone's throw from the town. Close
by are some old alluvial diggings, and great care is required
as you ride along, so as not to fall into one of the numerous
old pits with which the surface is riddled just like a sieve.
The path winds in and out between these open pits, and
where the clayey soil is wet and slippery, an accident might
easily happen. In crossing the Mucupia, if the dry season
is not too far advanced, you are sure to come upon miners
washing gold-bearing earth which they have dug up in the neigh-
bourhood. Seated on a stone in one of the pools to which
the brook is now reduced, and without other clothing tha.i his
drawers, the miner mixes up the auriferous dirt with water,
and by a skilfully-imparted motion, manages to wash away
the lighter particles, and leave the gold behind. The ride
through the forest offers no feature of peculiar interest till
the Aguinaldo diggings are reached, in a little valley about two
miles from the town. Here the clear and beautiful noie of
the minero, or miner-bird, is sure to greet the traveller. It is
often heard in other places, but along the Chile road you are in-
variably favoured by its song. The miners say that it is never
heard unless there is gold close by ; and in this case, at all
events, they say so with reason. The Aguinaldo diggings are
very shallow. After making a pit some six or eight feet deep
through coarse gravel, the pebbles often being as big as one's

336

Il.l.USrRAIKU TRAVKLS.

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held, the niiiHT iwiclies the ■■i':iy ihrl." from whicli the
niygets mill sm.ill j;rains niv e\tiai led liy simple vv.isliiiig i:i
a batea. The adjoiniii,:; '• reru" valley, tIr.o!iL;h whidi ilie path
loads, is also dutted over with mimeroiis ])its, and ere long we
reat'h a little cleariiii;, with a lew huts known as '•I'erii ;" anil
then, clinibMig rather a steep hill, we drop down upon t'hile.
The workings here are perhaps the most striking in the dislriet,
as there is now a great ( hasni in the hill-:^ide, r.iused by the
falling in of the workings a year or two ago; and the miners
have been forced to abandon the system of quarrying away
the "reef" <ir \ein, and now work it by means nf sliafls.
These are ])retlv numerous fur a distance of about a (|uarter
of a mile, ami a gre.it ileal of rii h gold ipiait/ has been
obtained from veins and blanches at Chile. A fortunate
Krenchman actually obtained no jiounds weight of gold.
worth between four and I'lve thousand pounds, from one [ilt
in a very short space of time.

It will be seen from tlie \arioiis statements I have maile.
that nearly all the Caratal gold is obtained from qii,;rtz veins
or "reefs." The alluvial diggings, or tierra de llor, at the
present moment are not very much worked, ami it is only in
the dry season that anything can be done in the present river
beds ; though these for a long time formed the only source
of gold that was known. The total annual production is but
small — only about ,50,000 ounces ; but it must be remenibereil
that every bit of i|iiartz has been pounded by hand, and every
particle of alluvial gold washed out in a batea.

Having visited the jirincipal workings in tlu diggings, I
began to make excursions into the forest in all directions, so
as thorouglily to explore the golibbearing region ; and here
I met with little to interest the general reader. The forest
is not usually too thick to prevent one's walking; but still a
large knife is often w.mted to cut the way through occasional
dense jiortions where the undergrowth isvery ihiik. Having
read such glowing descriptions of the fore.is of South America.
where vegetation was so hixurious, so gorgeous, and so striking,
it was not without disapi)ointment that I traversed the forests
of Caratal. There is an absence of striking trojiicnl features.
a dearth of palms, orchids, and large ferns, which I expected
to find. Von have fir.e trees, it is true, furnishing good and
useful timber: but to the general observer there is nothing
particularly tropical in their look, excepting the numerous
lianas which hang down everywhere like ropes. The chain
liana, bejuco de cadena, is said to furnish an extract with pro-
perties similar to those of sarsaparilla ; and there are many
plants to which the Indians and natives ascribe important
medicinal properties, and in'obabh not without reason.

I quite expected to have found plenty of game and animals
of all sorts in the Caratal forests ; but 1 was forgetting that so
m.any of the miners i arried guns, and had been destroying game
for the last ten years. The hunter may get deer, and have good
sport in shooting the peccary, or wild pig; but these animals
were far more abundant ten years ago. thougli they may still
be found in fair quantities in any unfrequented part. The
American tiger, or jaguar, has been killed at Caratal, and
hence the name "Tigre" given to the hill (lose to the town.
It is a rare animal in the district ; the puma and tiger-cats are

* Fur fuitliLT iiifiimi.iiiiin alinul the t^ciilojjy iiT llic ili.sUicI, and iiKide
<if working Hil; guM ck|insiis, I mii>t refer the ic.liler to my p.iper "(Ju
the C.iraml (i.iM I'iulil." re.nl lufoic llie Gc-ilofjiral Society of I.onihm,
June, i86y.

also rare. 'I'he so-called iirso, or bear of the country, is simply
the ant cater. I happened to see one in the savannah near
(liiri. The large tapir (i/iw/v) still roams through the forest ;
but I was never lucky enough to meet with one. It is far
more commimly the i-ase to hear than to see monkeys, and the
howling of the araguato {Simia itrsiiia) ol'ten startles one in
the solitude of the forest. Hirds are numerous. 'I'he large
])auji i\- curassou. the pav.i or paba (l'enelo[)e), the gruya,
and a kind of partridge, may all be shot in the Caratal forests,
and are all very good eating. I'arrots, parroquets, wood-
]ieckers. doves, toucans, orioles, and humming birds are
common ; and I have already spoken of the minero.

.Snakes are fir from being common. 1 have heard of rattle-
snakes near Ciii.isipati, but not in the neighbourhood of Xiieva
Providencia ; and though I was more than two months in the
district, and in the forest every day, I only saw four sn.ake.s.
Of tliesc. two belonged to a species of whipsnake, and one was

i the beautiful but deadly corral: this 1 was fortunate enough

! to kill.

TJKTe is but little fishing carried on in the Vuruari and
its tributaries, ih.ough fish are not uncommon. It is somewhat
curious to the I'.uropean to see crabs, large enough to be eaten,
living in fresh water — for instance, in the Mucupia brook. I
was (lis.qipninled with regard to the insects ; they do not strike
one as being numerous or attractive for si/e and beauty. I
suppose this must be accounted for by the absence of
tlowering plants. It is true 1 did meet with a few large .and
gorgeous butterllics. ami man.iged to seiure several species,
but still not so many as 1 had expected. There is one insect,
however, which is universal in the finest, and that is the
troublesome tick called garrapata by the .Spaniards. It
att;iches itself to your clothes as you walk through the forest,
and quickly finding some means of getting to your skin, there
buries its jiroboscis and fittens away at your ex|)ense. It pro-
duces only a very slight irrit.ition of the skin ; but when on
returning from a walk, and finding from one to five do/en of
these insects adhering to the skin on all jiarts of your body,
you are apt to get fidgety till you have dispatched the very
last. Another insect pest is the jigger, chigoe, nigua, or Pulc.x
/•I'lictmiis, common here as in the West Indies generally.
I did not see or hear a mosquito all the time I was at Xueva
I'roviilencia. but of cnurse a Ww are met with in the rainy
season.

The climate of Caratal during the months of Oi:tober,
November, and December is unifiirmly warm, but not o|)pres-
sivcly hot. The extremes of temperature that I noticed were
M^' Kahr. and ()2^' I''ahr. On getting up in the morning I
usually finind the thermometer at 75" Kahr., and it would rise
to S,S" or 90" in the afternoon. The diurnal range was very
small. In the forest itself you are not exposed to the direct rays
of the sun, and during the dry months these temperatures, as
might be siippo ed. are very fir from being unpleasant. In
October. November, .'.:'■' n'".vml)er the weather on the whole
was dry: from the 20th of November to the 20lh of December
there were thirteen days on which rain fell, but as a rule the
showers were verv short, and ajipcared to be very local. This
rain is called that of the Norte's, or north winds. I am told
that Janilary, February, and March are dry months, and very
pleas:iiit. The rainy se.ison begins at the end of . April or early

I in .May, and lasts till September.

I At the present time it cannot be .said that the climate of

FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE ORINOCO.

.C Ot

VOL, I.

3i^

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

Caratal is perfectly healthy. Many persons suffer from an
enlargement of the spleen, anil more still fall ill of inter-
mittent fever, which is rather troublesome than dangerous
Witli proper care it may be cured in a few days, and as far as
I know, no one died of fever whilst I was in Caratal. I knew
one man who did all he could to aggravate his illness, which,
in spite of his folly, did not carry him off. No doubt,
care and temperate living will enable a man to resist it, at
all events, for a time. I am glad to say that I never en-
joyed better health in my life than I did during my stay
in Nueva Providencia, and I may add at the same time that
I never took a grain of quinine all the time I was in the
country, though I was asked by people at least three times
a week, " H.ave you had the fever yet?" as if it were a matter
of course that I should have it.

The cause of this fever is not to be found in swamps and
marshes, for I saw none in the neighbo'.irhood. It can only be
attributeil to the decomposition of vegetable matter during
the clearing of the forest, and the want of freer ventilation.
At the present time the mining settlements are shut in
by the forest on all sides, and if miasmata arise there is no
draught to carry them off. A hot sun pouring down upon
wet, ilecaying leaves, lying on a clayey soil, is surely a
sufficient cause for the production of malarious emanations,
and if these are not speedily blown away they may be ex-
pected at any time to produce fever.

If this theory be correct, the remedy is simple ; extend the
clearing so as to let in more air, and bum the leaves and
boughs, instead of letting them rot away. Dr. Stevens, the
manager of the American Company, told me that he had
reduced the sickness among his men fourteen per cent, by

building sheds over the barrancos where they worked ; his
men were thus kept dry, and not exposed to the sun.

In procuring information about the climate, the granum salis
is all-important. One man will tell you that a place is not
fit for a dog to live in, whilst another will say he has enjoyed
perfect health there for the last twenty years ; so much depends
on the individual. I met a man one morning in one of the
Nueva Providencia stores, carefully wrapped up in blankets,
and suffering from fever, and I naturally condoled with him on
his ill luck. "Oh," said a friend of mine, to whom I was
mentioning the fact shortly aftenvards, "you don't know the
whole story ; the man had too much bitter beer last night, and
it is all his own fault." The fact is this : slight excesses, which
in Europe would simply give one a headache the next morning,
will often bring on fever in the tropics.

To show how men will lay the fault on the locality and not
on themselves, I may here relate an anecdote about a man who
happened to be in Caratal during the early part of my stay
there. He came home drunk one night, and it was some time
before he could find his hammock. At last this feat was
accomplished, and he tried to take off his big riding-boots.
This was quite beyond his powers, and after many fruitless
efforts he lay down in his hammock and soliloquised : " Well,
I have travelled all over the world ; I lived five years in
Brazil, ten in Cuba, four in Jamaica ; I have travelled
through Spain and Portugal, I have been in Africa; but I

never yet was in such a d country, where a man is

obliged to go to bed with his boots on." This story, of
course, became the joke of the place, and Venezuela was
always known as " the country where a man must go to bed
with his boots on."

!*.' :;i!;|

;ti'

•ti

Seven Months in the Balearic Islands. — ///.

BY E. O. BARTHOLOMEW, C.E., M.S.E.

MiNoRCA-DriFicLLTiF.s OF TRAVELLING— MAHoN—ivrsA, THE PEARL one time J in fact, Mahou, the largest and most important
i.F TUE MLunERRANEAN-iiisToKicAL sKETcu. ; ^^^y^^ ;„ (he island, was named after Mago, the Carthaginian

Leaving Majorca, and the small adjoining group of Cabrera, ; general who founded it. The Romans wrested Minorca fro.n
I pass now to inorca, the second in importance of the the Carthaginians, and they in their turn yielded it up to the
Balearic Islands. I shall proceed thither by way of Ciuda- ' northern barbarians, who gave way to the Moors, who were
della, because it is the nearest point to Majorca ; this island ' themselves subdued by the king of Majorca in the eleventh
will, however, receive a smaller share of notice than its ' century ; and the island continued part of the kingdom of
larger and more important neighbour, though it is iiot devoid j Arragon till 1375, when, with Majorca, it became united to
of interest in many respects. Its ancient histofy, no doubt, ' Spain.

closely resembles that of Majorca, but we are led to this belief
rather from the relics of antiquity which have frequently
been met with, than from written records. Some ancient

Minorca has played no inconsiderable part in the great
drama of events which have transpired in Europe within the
last 150 years. In 1708 it was taken from Spain by the

remains exist in the "termino" or district of Alayor, which | British, who held it till 1756, when it was captured by the
.are supposed to have been a Druidical altar. A vast number of | French. It was restored to Britain by treaty in 1763, was
coins have at different periods been dug up, amongst them ' taken by Spain in 1782, and re-taken by Britain in 1798.

Carthaginian, Celtic, Greek, Phoenician, Macedonian, and
Roman — those of the latter kind being principally of the time
of the Emperor Constantine, while in addition to these a
few silver Ar.abi.in coins have also been met with.

It is certain that the Carthaginians possessed Minorca at

During the American war Minorca was again captured by Spain,
and finally ceded to her in 18 14. The cause of the repeated
efforts made by England to retain this island has been the
facilities it afforded the government for keeping the Algerines
in restraint ; its possession induced those pirates to pay more

SEVEN MONTHS IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS.

339

deference to the English flag than to that of any other nation,
and secured a stricter observance of treaties.

Before I visited the island, I had been led to believe there
yet remained in Minorca many of the inhabitants speaking
English. In this I was disappointed. A few of the "oldest
inhabitants " remembered the occupation by the British, fifty
years before, and I was gratified at finding my countrymen
spoken very highly of, to the disparagement of the Spaniards
and their government.

The general aspect of the country bears an imfavourable
comparison with the other islands ; its scenery is much less
diversified, and the island is, for the most part, badly culti-
vated. There are a few exceptions to this, the most fertile
districts lying along the northern coast. In the centre of the
island there are also a few pretty valleys, called " barancoes ;"
but the whole of the south and west parts are low, sanily, and
unproductive. The highest hill in Minorca (1,206 feet) is
situated near the middle of the island, and is surmounted by
a convent dedicated to " Our Lady of the Bull." The island
is so barren, and so badly cultivated, as scarcely to yield
sufficient food for the inhabitants. The absence of mountains
prevents the formation of currents of cool air, and the ex-
cessive heat of the summer so relaxes the energies of the
inhabitants that, although both copper and iron exist here, the
people are too lazy to work the mines. There is a curious
subterranean lake within a cave near Cava Perella ; besides
this, there is nothing in the country districts worthy of note.

A very well-constructed road runs completely through the
island, from Ciudadella to Mahon, a distance of nearly thirty
miles. Half the battle of a journey may be said to be over-
come when the road is good ; but your enemy will gain the
victory, in spite of the road, if the conveyance and motive
power be no better than that which I had to endure in my
journey over this thirty miles of really good road. Tlie car-
riage was devoid of springs, and the two unequally-sized mules
had, without doubt, been already doing duty for many long
hours before their owner offered, for not a very small sum, to
convey me to Mahon. Ignorance of the capabilities of the
animals was in my case bliss ; so, delaying my departure till
the cool of the day, myself and my companions rested for an
hour or two ; and then, resigning ourselves to the guidance of
our driver— I was going to say our Jehu, only his mules pre-
vented his being that — and making ourselves comfortable in
the straw of the tartana, we started on our journey. In some
respects it was fortunate our animals were fagged, as high-
pressure speed would have been unbearable ; as it was, the
accommodating pace enabled me to walk nearly the whole
distance, paying, nevertheless, for the escort and the carriage
of the luggage. So well arranged was the speed, that I could
without difficulty make an advance of a mile or two, and then
rest on the bank and " wait for the wagon." Whatever desire
we might have had to accelerate matters, neither threats nor
cajolery could move the wretchod animals one step faster.
The reader may naturally remark that such conduct from
mules is only to be exr'icted ; but a Spanish mule is a very
differently constituted animal to an English mule. A Spaniard
does tiot expect stubbornness from his mule any more than we
do from a horse. A good mule is more highly valued than a
horse in Spain, and far more trouble is taken with him. The
coat — that part, at least, which is allowed to grow — is as glossy
as silk ; and it is usual for the wealthy classes in many parts

of Spain to drive mules in their carriages in preference to
horses — in fact, they are fashionaljle. But the Spanisli groom
has a ridiculous habit of shaving tiie legs and tlie lower half
of the animal's body, leaving an horizontal line between
shaved and unshaved all round him. From four p.m. till two
a.m. the next morning we continued our journey ; and expres-
sing a wish to ])ut up at an pjiglish hotel, wiiicli, I was
informed, existed in Maiion, we succeeiled in gaining admis-
sion ; and never have I more enjoyed the luxury of an un-
prepared bed than I did upon this occasion, in si)ite of
mosquitoes, which, as I felt in the morning, had enjoyed
themseh'es too.

Mahon, or more probably Port Maho";, the second town in
the Baleares in size, and in some respe.ts more important than
Palma itself, stands at the head of .-m inlet of tiie sea about
three miles long, forming a splendid harbour, reckoned the best
in the Mediterranean. In this al nost tideless port there is in
some parts seventeen fithoms of water ; at the entrance is ten
fathoms, and close to the town six. The town deri< .-s its name,
as I have stated, from Mago, the Carthaginian ; tiiat a chief of
that ancient naval power should have fixed on this locality for
the site of a town is a proof of the sagacity whicii characterised
his nation. The harbour contains a dockyard without slii|)s,
a lazaretto generally without patients, and, I migiit almost add,
fortifications without guns. This is the only quarantine station
the Spaniards possess in the Mediterranean, the other being on
the Atlantic coast at Vigo, and, being at an inconvenient
distance for vessels touching at Valencia or Alicante, it is
proposed to establish another near Cadiz. In speaking of the
lazaretto at Mahon, I am led to the mention of an inciilent
which shows the absurdity of Spanish quarantine arrangements.
During my stay at Palma, a few cholera cases occurred at
Valencia, which port was in consequence declared " infected,"
the mail steamer running between it and Palma being there at
the time. When she arrived at Palma — at which place the
authorities are rather particular, and where the unfortunate
official of " la sanidad " has to remain in an open boat near the
infected vessel to prevent communication with the shore, and,
from being unaccustomed to the undulatory movement of the
sea, is generally unable to mainta'.i a full stomach — she could
not land her passengers, nothing but the mail-bags being
permitted to leave the ship, the usual fumigation and punching
through of every letter to allow the smoke to enter and the
plague to depart being adopted. The steamer had immediately
to sail to Mahon to perform fourteen days' tpiarantine, and
then, the owners having learnt that Alicante had received no
intimation of the infected state of Valencia, or, if it had, decided
not to notice it, they sent the vessel to fulfil her engagements
at Valencia with orders to touch at Alicante for papers en
route to Palma ; the result was that she was freely admitted at
Palma, though only one day later from Valencia than if she
had come direct. As regards this same declaration of infection
at Valencia, it was thought that the governor of the province,
who was an Alicante man, had made it in order to draw the
shipping to Alicante ; and he risked his life by the act, as his
residence was mobbed, and he only escaped by the help of the
military. To return to Mahon. At each side of the mouth of
the harbour is a fort, whose cross fire would effectually com-
mand the entrance. There is often a heavy sea here, which
sets in from the (lulf of Lyons. Near the harbour's mouth, on
the south side, is the castle of St. Philip, a fort built by the

: f

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ILI-USTRATEU TRAVF.Iis.

all ;■,!

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I i

Knglish for the lodgmont uf their troops, and now a ruin.
More than ^2,000,000 was cxiicmlcd by this country upon
the harbour aiul fortification of Mahon and tlif ncigliiiourliood.
It was otV tliis luri)our tliat on tlie aotii of May, 1756, an
action bctwocn the French and KngUsh tleets occurred, when
the latter, under poor Admiral Uyng, was deleated in attempt-
ing to reinforce the garrison of St, Philip.

There is a fine open street in Maiion, in which stands the
best hotels ; these are good, and enjoy a large i)atronage from
the vessels (chiefly English and American) which put in for
water, &c, Mahon possesses a good reading-room, where a
few Mahonese, proud of their ability to speak I'inglish, assemble,
and who are gratified at introducing an Englishman. 'l"he
cathedral of A[ahon is large and imposing ; the organ was the
finest in Spain until the new one was erecteil at Valencia
in 1 86 1 at a cost of 40,000 dollars.

Leaving Mahon in a gun-boat, I returned to Palma, and
had an opportunity of examining tlie low sandy beach which
forms the entire south and west coast of the island ; and, what
is far more interesting, I was able to admire from the sea the
northern coast of Majorca — that ni.ignificent range of beetling
crags I ha\'e once before siioken of I feel drawn to these
bold eminences by unusual attraction. I once climbed to
the summit of one, but, difficult as was the ascent, the coming
down was worse. Several times I had to ascend a second time
a considerable distance, having lost my path, and meeting an
obstacle altogether barring further descent. Swinging from
the stems of mountain bushes, or sliding down with a mass of
loose stones which, disturbed by my weight, came down as fast
or faster than myself— this was the only way in which I could
descend. Whilst on a narrow ledge near the summit, resting
to enjoy the view, a splendid eagle, near whoso eyrie I suppose
I was, sailed slowly and majestically in front of me, and so
close that I could see his bright eyes fixed on me. Had he
chosen to make a trial of strength with me, I should never
have penned these lines, for my footing-place was too small
and insecure to afford me a chance of coping with his agility
in his native clement, and help was out of the question ; for
although I could hear very plainly the ascending voices of my
friends 2,000 feet below me, every effort of mine to attract
their attention failed.

Throughout Minorca are scattered great numbers of shells
and fossil debris ; among the latter is a stone known as
" serpent's tongue," and another which the Minorcans believe
is produced in the head of the toad, and called " toad-stone."
Venomous reptiles are common in the island, although, fortu-
nately, olive oil, the antidote, is generally at hand. The
beautiful " rock fish " abounds on the coasts, its colours vying
with those of the rainbow. Then there is that wonderful
moUusk the P/io/as dactylus, whose home is within the solid
rock, and whose means of subsistence is a mystery to naturalists.
It can only be found by breaking in jneces its house, the
submerged block. There is a shell yielding mother of-pearl
of very large size, and the Murcx purpura, producing the
celebrated Tyrian purple ; also a species of the genus Pinna,
said to be sometimes three feet long. This must be the Pinna
rotundata, of whose beard gloves and stockings are made.
In many of the sheltered beaches which exist around the coasts
both of Majorca and Minorca, the ground seems composed
almost entirely of sm.U and beautiful shells, of an immense
variety of form and colour; some almost as transparent as

glass, but so minute as only to be found by gathering a handful
of the surface, and seiiarating them frum the grains of sand.

I now with pleasure take leave of Minorca, for it is, in my
opinion, the least interesting of the three [jrincipal islands, and
1 am going to introduce my reader to the fairest of them all ;
the most varied in scenery, the most interesting in its inhabi-
tants and their habits, the most fruitfiil, and yet the least
known of the Haleares— Ivi/a, the Pearl of the Mediterranean.

A native poet has written of his island —

" Diriglcmlo su c.inio solo il Iviza
A Iviza, que enviiliada y no cnviilinsa,
Su oiyulla osteiUa en uiiilulosos marcs]:
Terla biillantc en su valor gozosa.
Que en hcdios mil ennoblccio sus lares ;
En i">ioilucii)nes y tlima tan liermosa,
Que es tligna la mcniorc en mis cantares."

Much of this praise is true, yet the voyager touching at the
port of Ivi/.i, as the mail-steamer usually does in passing from
Valencia to Palma, wouM form but a poor im|)ression of the
real loveliness of this island. My own notions were that the
dirty village, the real " Ciudad " of the island, was only less
uncivilised than filthy. Some ecclesiastical students I fell in
wilh have searched into the early history of Ivi/a, and, assisted
by their eflbrt.s, I give it in a condensed form.

An idea prevails that, although se|)arated from the conti-
nent by more than fifty miles of water, Iviza was once connected
with the coast of Deni.a. The adjacent land corresponds, and
the Cape of St. .Vntonio stretched out from the mainland in
the ilirection of the island. Geologists even maintain the
possibility of alt the Balearic group having been at one period
of the earth's history connected together and with Spain.

The group which is composed of Iviza, Formc^tera, and
several small islands adjoining, is marked on the maps as the
"Pityusas," anciently so called from the large quantity of
pine trees which once grew upon them. They were also
called " Gymnesias," which, according to Diodorus Siculus,
was because in his days the inhabitants went naked. Iviza,
from its nearness to Spain, as well as from its fertility, was
eagerly coveted, and its possession contested by those nations
who made the Mediterranean the arena of their struggles.
The Carthaginians, in their turn, formed a settlement here,
although they never held entire possession of the soil, or
un(lis[)uted sway over the people. I believe the original
inhabitants were never dislodged, and to the present day
the descendants of the primitive stock remain the holders
of the lanil. Nearly 700 years before our Saviour's birth
the fleets of Carthage came to Iviza to recruit after a
repulse experienced at Majorca ; but the native slingers went
to oppose their landing, and after destroying some of their
vessels, compelled the rest to return to Carthage. For nearly
150 years the lesson thus taught them was remembered ; and
then, attracted by the position of the island, the bravery
of its inhabitants, its natural wealth, and the abundance of its
salt, the restless Carthaginians determined to return and effect
lodgment at all costs, so that from thence, as a base for their
operations, they might more easily carry out their designs upon
the Peninsula. They therefore, in 539 li.c, sent a large fleet
and army to Iviza, and, effecting a landing, placed the yoke
of slavery upon the inhabitants. Grievous complaints were
made by the Ivizencas against the overbearing conduct of the
Carthaginians, and at let\gth a general was sent with instruc-

JOURNEYINGS IN MESOPO-^AMIA.

341

tions to niltiv.itc tlie friondsliip of the islanders, nn>l to roinn-
cilc tlieni to tlif nik' ol' (!arlli:i;^L'. In lliis lie siiciCL'dcd, and
even secured their assistance in reiielling Uionysiiis the l'',lder,
who attempted an invasion of the island, and, with the help
of the celebrated slingers, gained a complete victory over that
tyrant.* An outbreak ensued after this, and the islanders
cxi)elled their (piondam friends. Ilamilcar liarci^t succeeded
io regaining the lost affection of this singular people, and
married one of the islanders, having issue Hannibal the (Iri it,

• It U recorded of the Ivizencas tliit with the view of perfecting
their children in the art of slinking an.l tliiuwin^ stones, they would o:\ly
supply them with food after they hfi<l dislodge I it from a led^e on wliioh
it was placed, by the hurling of a stone.

t Said to be the founder of IJarcelon.a.

who uMs born, a(( 'niling to some, on tin' Isle of 'I'ric iiadra,
tlioiigh more probably on the Isle of llauuii)al, whiih, tngelher
with 'I'ricuadra, says Pliny, existed oppo'^ile I'ahna ; but both
have now disappeared. To him succeeded Ilasdrubal. The
friendship between Ivi/a and Carthage was now cemented, and
when S(i|)io attempted to land there en route to Tarragona,
the islanders joined llieir allies in opjiosing him. Their united
eft()rls were useless, and the Romans became part possessors
of the soil. During their occupation tlie Carthaginians built
a temple to Mercury, which stood at the foot of the range of
hills to the north of the city. This the Romans destroyed,
and fragments of its columns, stitiies, iS:c., are sonietiuit.j met
wiili. Marcus Aurelius had it rebuilt in the Ionic style.

youyncybigs in Mesopotamia. — I' I.

II V I. 1 K UT EN ANT C. R. I

CHAPTER VHI.

BADVI.ONIAN HRICKS AN'I) CVMNDKRS— JKRia.l) TUROWIN'r,— nF.PAKTURF.
FROM lllI.LAH — I.OWKR COURSK (IF TMK F.UI'IIK A ri:S~SMKaKU Pa.
SOOKH— VISIT TO AN ARAB KNCAMIMENT— FfTCRB OF .MliSOI'o-
TAMIA.

Chesney states that the Babylonian liri(ks vary in si/o from
eleven to thirteen and a half inches sipiare, their thickness
being three and a tjuarter inches; they are sometimes, how-
ever, much smaller. The cement used was common clay,
but in tin: foundations and exterior parts of the great city,
bitumen appears to have been extensively emi)loyed. One
face of each brick had on it an inscription, and sometimes
a figure, and in some instances it was also glazed ; this fare was
placed downwards, the cement being usually found adhering to
the upper surface. Another, and inferior, description of bricks
is rather larger than the kiln-dried variety, being nearly four
and a quarter inches deep, anil from eleven and a quarter to
fourteen inches square. The larger ones weigh thirty-eight
pounds eleven ounces (avoirdupois), and were formed of the
pure clay of the country, rendered more tenacious by being
mixed with a little saml and some coarse straw or fine reeds ;
these bricks, when dried in the sun, become very hard and
durable in this dry climate. The writing on the bricks from Al
Hhcimar consists of ten lines in an upright column, with many
stamped across to the angles of the brick ; while that at the
Birs Nimroud, the Mujillibe, .and the Kasr is limited to
between three and nine lines in number. The characters are
those known as cuneiform, the deciphering of which has for
so long a time bafded the learning of Oriental scholars. Exclu-
sive of the space left on the margin of the brick, and the figures
of lions and other animals which are occasionally introduced,
a face .of each brick presents a written jiage of twelve or
thirteen inches square, and so exactly do the same letters
resemble one another that, when repeated, slight flaws or
blemishes are found in all of the sanv stamp : from which
circumstance it may be gathered that movable type was used,
and that the bricks were stamped when in a soft state. This

OW, I. ATE INDIAN NAVY.

kind of printing, however, is not confined to the larger type
on the common bricks, but was cmiiloycd in the still more
curious and interesting cylindrical-sli.i|MHl bricks which are
also found in the ruined structures of liabylon. This v.ariety
is a barrel-shaped cylinder of baked clay, four and a half inches
long by two and a half inches in diameter in the broailest part,
the < entre, and oiv and a (juarter inches in di.ameter at each
extremity, and having the whole surface covered with small
arrow-headed characters. The Arabs call it a firman, and,
according to local tradition, it was baked in order that the
intended edict might not be changed. The figures and writing
engraven upon the cylinders, as well as the testimony of
Herodotus, prove that engraving upon metal and stone niuit
have been employed at Babylon previously to its destruction.
These hieroglyphi's are supposed in many cases to constitute
astronomical records, for the compilation of which the astrolo-
gers of liabyloiiia were rcrnarkaiile. Pliny mentions that in the
time of Kpigeues the records embraced a period of 720 years.
Some of these ( ylindrical bricks may be seen in the British
Museum — two of them the gift of the lamented Mr. Rich.
Cylinders of a similar character, but smaller, have also been
found in the ruins of Babylon. They are perforated through the
centre or sides, and were worn as amulets or necklets.

During our short stay at Hillah we were not favoured with
an interview by the Lieutenant-Governor, but our wishes as to
escorts, to enable us to visit the lions of Babylon, and on cmer
points relating to our creature comforts, were invariably com-
plied with. On one occasion — it was while returning from the
Birs Nimroud — we were amused by our horsemen exercising at
throwing the jereed. This instrument, which is made of any
heavy wood, is about a yard long, and the thickness of that
tiseful domestic implement, a broom — if I maybe pardoned for
couiiiaring a warlike weapon to so humlile an article. One
horseman fir; ; gallops forward, and with loud shouts and
menacing gestures challenges his comrades ; to him an oppo-
nent offers hiinsi h' in the mimic game of battle; as these
retire the new champions match themselves. The object is for

34»

ILI.USTRATi:U TRAVKI.S.

Hi; .i-

11.

one party to pursue, ami the other to fly ami try to elude a
blow from tlie jcrcetl ; this is iiianaijed by the person pursued
throwing himself completely out of the saddle at the moment
the weapon is hurled, and clinging to the pig-skin eillior by the
heel or lower part of the leg. If the jereed strikes him— it is
blunt, and ( annot do nuieh dani.ige — he is obliged to pick it
up, which he generally does, not by dismounting, but by
tlirowing himself out of the saddle as before, till his hand
touches the ground ; on tlie other hand, if the jereed misses
him, the thrower picks up his own weapon, and in turn becomes
the party pursued. I have witnesseil this manly amusement on
the plain outside the walls of Uaghdad, and nothing can be
more picturescjue than the scene presented by two parties of
horsemen when they charge at full speed into one another,
with lances ready to launch at the foe each man singles out,
much after the fashion of the tournaments of niedi.cval times
in Europe, of which we read in Scott's romances. Thellowing
dresses and turbans, and the wonderful grace and dexterity
with which these ilesert cavaliers manage their high-mettled
steeds, add greatly to the stirring character of such a scene.
Superb as was the horsemanshi]) of many of the Arab jereed-
throwcrs, I remember few among them could rival my friend,
the captain of the Coiiut, in the management of his charger,
whether in racing or in the splendid sport of hog-hunting.

One of Captain 's common feats was picking up a hand*

kerchief from off the ground while riding at full speed.

On the sixth day of our stay at Hillah we bid adieu
to the miserable town, and embarking in a boat with our
baggage, we set off down the Euphrates on our return to
Marghill.

We ga/e a "last long lingering look" at the world-famous
Birs Nimroud, and with a feeling of melancholy, induced by the
rellection that we were ga/ing for the last time probably on the
plain which once resounded to the tramp and echoed to the
voiici of myriads of the human race, turned our thoughts to
the new scenes about to be opened to us, and to the petty cares
of every-day life.

Soon after leaving Hillah, the Riiphrates begins to assume
that appearance which may have caused Herodotus to say that
it dilTors from all other great streams by becoming smaller
towards the lower than in the higher part of its course. The
numerous canals drawn from each side, at short intervals from
cacli other, in order to irrigate the fields, as well as the date
groves and pomegranate gardens near the villages here, covering
both banks, produce a change in the appearance of the country,
which, although very gradual, becomes sufficiently evident.
About seventy-five miles from the bridge of boats at Hillah,
the canal of old Lemlum is passed, and here the river is no
more than 120 yards in width, having an ordinary dcp'h of
twelve feet, with a current of about three miles; and it contains
but one island in all that distance, between the point of our
departure and the commencement of what was at one time
the Chaldean Lake. At the north-western extremity of the
plain, the Euphrates forms two branches, from which smaller
ones and numerous canals diverge. These reunite at some
rising ground near El K.iraim, which is situated on both sides
of the main trunk, and thus is produced what Chesncy calls a
delta, since the obstruction here offenea during the season of
floods causes the water to spread for thirty miles — that is, from
the north-western to the south-eastern extremity of the basin ;
the latter extending in width from ten to fourteen miles west-

ward of the main channel, and to a much greater distance on
the opposite or eastern side. On the right bank of the smaller
branch stands the town of Lemlum, consisting of about 400
houses, constructed entirely of reeds. Nearly a mile below
the se|)aration of the Lemlum br.mcli is a canal, branching off
in the opposite or western ilireclion. The ni.iin channel llows
along with a diminished volume by a number of very deep
short bends in the marshes, near the extremity of which it is
rejoined by the canal on the western side. Seven miles lower,
or forty-two miles from the bifiircation, it again receives the
eastern branch coming from Lemlum, having previously receivd
on both sides the remains of what had been by dilTerent chan-
nels conveyed from it for the i)urpose of irrigating the villages
and rice grounds. Thus reunited to its former waters, and at
the same time free from the marshes which absorbed so mr.ch
of its contents, the Euphrates reappears in its majestic propor-
tions, and sweeps grandly on between high banks covered with
jungle. About fifty miles from the Lemlum marshes it averages
200 yards in breadth, and contains nine small islands. The
greater branch has in the marshes, and during the season of
floods, a bare average breadth of about sixty yarils, with an
ordinary depth of eight feet. Like the parts of the country
adjacent to the river on both sides, the left bank is covered
with a shallow inundation, amidst which numerous villages — ■
consisting of houses formed of reeds, covered with mats of
the same material — ajipear here and there in the more
elevated spots of ground, which are all but hidden by the
water.

The course of the river is now tolerably straight, ana it flows
through a fertile country, abounding with villages, surrounded
by ilate groves. The largest of these Arab encampments is at
Al Kut, the residence of the sheikhs o'' the powerful tribe of
Mont.afik, or Montafige, and which is situated on the left bank,
eight miles above Sheikh el Sookh, or the Sheikh's market.
From Al Kut to Sheikh el Sookh, the average width of the
river is about 250 yards ; its ordinary depth is twenty feet,
with a current of two and a half miles in the season of floods,
according to Chesney, though other writers have placed it
higher. The town of Sheikh Sookh is of considerable size,
and lies on the right bank of the Euphrates ; it contains about
1,500 clay-built houses, and nearly as many of mats. Wellsted
mentions that Shei.kli Sookh was built about a century ago by
the chief of the dominant Arab tribe. It is enclosed by ii
mud wall, having flanking towers for musketry. The site is
admirably chosen, being nearly midway betwr.n the Hye
Canal and the confluence of the two river";, chus forming an
entrepot for what litde commerce the surrounding country
furnishes. Its bazaars arc pretty extensive, and present a
gay scene in the variety of costume of the natives of distant
towns, who are constantly arriving and departing. Wellsted
computes the population at 70,000, which is, however, a greatly
exaggerated estimate.

For some distance below Sheikh Sookh the river flows
through a bed iiigher than the level of the surrounding country.
Great facilities consequently exist for irrigating the land, though
this has its serious disadvantages, for in case of heavy freshes
or summer rains, the waters either flow over or burst the banks,
causing thereby great loss of life and property. On the loth
of April, 1831, a catastrophe of this nature occurred. The
water began to rise with great rapidity ; in twenty-four hours it
had gained its usual height, but the flow continuing, it burst its

M^lfrr'pW^^^*''^ ■! ■ ■ ' ■■ i r i jMj^

JOURNKYIMGS IN MF.SOrOTAMIA.

34.1

boundaries, and inundate. I the whole rountry. From its
elevated position liiissorah was saved, but the intermediate
country between it and llanlulad, a distance of over a hundred
miles, jjreseiited tiie appearance of a vast lake. Ac( ording to
the same traveller, in the latter city, which is low s.-ated,
15,000 people in one night were either drowned or killed by
the falling of their houses, the foundations of which the v aters
of the river had sa|)ped or rent away. Other i)ortions of the
country on the banks of the river became converted into bogs
and ciuagmires, in which numbers perished; while those who
with their domestics were herded together on mounds, were
compelled to witness their date trees — on which, in the failing of
their crops, they are accustomed to depend for their subsistence
— swept away in the general ruin. Similar floods are often
alluded to by the earlier writers, and a most destructive one, we
are told, happened about the time of Mohammed.

Little rain falls in Mesopotamia in ordinary seasons, and
the con itry, like Egypt, owes its fertility to its rivers. The
T-ermaiient flooding of the Euphrates is caused by the melting
of the snow in the mountains along the upper p.irt of its
course. This takes place about the beginning of March, and
increases gradually up to the time of barley harvest, or about
the last days in May, when it is usually at its greatest height ;
the river continues very high, and its course very rapid for
thirty or forty days, and then there is a daily decrease, which
becomes very small and regular towards the autumn. From
the middle of September to the middle of October the
Euphrates may be said to be at its lowest ; it then seems to
be stationary until the rains comm.Mice towards the end of
October, when there is a perceptible but variable increase,
which continues till the frost checks it in December, and
causes its waters again to subside. From tins time until
the beginning of March it i"? saijject to slight alternations of
decrease and incren',^.

On cne occasion we landed, and having received an
Invitation from an Arab sheikh, who was chief of the tribe
to whi':h one of our attendants belonged, we paid him a visit,
and were hospitably entertained. The great man received us
with every token of regard at the iloor of his tent, and returned
the usual salutation of " S.ilani Aleikoum," with the rejoinder,
in a deep-toned voice, "Aleikoum Salam." We then entered
the temporary residence of our host, where we found several
men of the tribe waiting to greet us with a like pious ejacula-
tion ; and seating ourselves at his request, were entertained
with a meal of camel's flesh and sheep's head, together with
rice saturated with butter, jars of milk and butter-milk, dates
and figs, badey cakes, and other condiments, in the profusion
so truly characteristic of Bedouin hospitality. Of course w'e
had to partake of these delicacies according to old-established
desert custom, with the instruments made and provided by
Dame Nature, that is to say, having a due regard to the old
adage, " Fingers were made before forks." We boldly plunged
our hands into the savoury mess, and bolted together the food
and ail compunctious visitings that might, and I may say did
arise, at the sight of long dirty fingers, and of nails that — bah !
but I will drop the painful reminiscence. Water was brought
for us to perform the necessary ablution, and what ought to
have been the first act on the part of our hosts, was our last.
We bathed our hands, partook of coffee, and then, at the invita-
tion of the sheikh, seated ourselves in front of his tent. We
witnessed the jereed throwing, which I have already described,

and which was very spiritedly carried on, and also a sort of
war-ilance, of which Wellsted gives a description in his "TravelH
in Arabia." A circle is formed, and within it five or six of
their number enter, and leisurely walking round for some time,
each challenges one of the s[)ectators by striking him gently
with the (lat of his srtoril. The adversary thus selected Ic.ips
forth, and a feigned combat ensues. They <lo not ]iarry,
either with the ssvord or shieKl, but avoid the blows by leaping
backwards, or springing on one side with great .igiiity. Their
swords are about three feet in length, straight, ami thin bladed.
The shield is about fourteen inches in diameter, and is gene-
rally used to parry the thrust of the spear or "jainbeer."
They also entertained us with foot-races and wrestling, and
with a camel race, which last was very entertaining. Two
swift camels were matched and ridden with nose-strings as well
as bridles ; the sport somewhat resembled that in vogue in
certain fairs in England, when donkeys are pitted against cac h
other, to the intense amusement of bystanders, and to the
manifest disgust of the quadrupeds, who seem to take the
pastime in very ill jiart. The camels at first " wouldn't go,"
and when they were iiuluced to start did not attain a very high
rate of speed. On quitting the encampment we expressed
ourselves as highly delighted with the entertainment we had
received, and made, according to Oriental custom, some little
sort of an acknowledgment in the presentation of cotton,
cloth, and navy buttons.

It is not a i)leasing reflection to think what these Bedouins
are, and what they might become with all their noble quali'i^s
physical and moral ; for though they hold human life cheap,
and have many other of the ineradicable vices of the savage,
yet are they generous, and hospitable, and brave, and much
might be made out of a race possessing these virtues. Not
only the character of its rulers, but the whole condition of the
country appears to be altered from what it was in ancient
times, for Alexander speaks, in his account of his advance
through it, of vast forests that had to be cleared in his march.
When the " Euphrates Valley Railway" scheme has passed out of
the domain of theories into that of accomplished facts, when the
capital of that high-sounding company has been all subscribed,
the line surveyed and constructed, and when the engine goes
puffing past such stations as Nineveh and Babylon, who knows
but that in those halcyon days the ancient glory and greatness
of the kingdom of the Chaldees may return ? We do know that
when the great Napoleon entertained his scheme for the con-
quest of India, he inserted in his treaty of Tilsit with the
Emperor Alexander, a secret provision, in which they under-
took to effect their object by marching their troops through
this country. Reflecting on those possibilities, one is inclined
to speculate on what Mesopotamia might be, were European
capital, that has already regenerated so many lands, to flow
into this once highly favoured country ; not only railways, but
what is a greater necessity — irrigational works, might be con-
structed, thus forming a network of veins throuj^h whii h the
life blood of commerce would flow, once again transforming this
desert into the garden of fertility and plenty of which Hero-
dotus writes. All these Utopian schemes, as they now seem,
cannot happen till the " Sick Man " of Turkey, who has sat
like a nightmare on the chest— or, rather, to use an Eastern
metaphor, has clung like Sindbad's " Old Man of the Sea,
round the neck of the good genius of Mesopotamia— has
relaxed his grip of the country.

■1;"

J44

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

Fl'NliUAL i_£1;LMi,'M1;S.

I' ^

^ European Sojoin'ii in yapan. — VII.

FROM •illl'. KUKNLII UK M. AIMK lirMIlEKT, SWISS MINISTKU IN JAPAN.

r.uniiiiisT PKn>is ami j^panksk i.riT.KATi'Ki:.

WiiKN lUiiMliism was at its height in tlic SL'vcntijcnth ami
eightociuli icntiirics, the bonzes worked with their own hamls
when they wanted to build a temple, or to ornament one with
pictures or sculpture. But if tliey have made some progress
in the arts indigenous to Japan, particularly sculpture and
architecture, we cannot say much for their literary produc-
ti'.ms. One might suppose that this ir> owing to the monastic
lucubrations in thousamls of volumes " o'l the lotus of the good
law," " the twenty-eight subdivisions of > ontemplation," " the
twelve glories of liuddha," besides the miraculous lives of
ascetics, saints, and martyrs innumerable \ The distinction of
such a literature is to be absolutely unreadable tc all the world
except that part composed (jf the population <'i uonzeries, or
the regular dependants of these establishments. }Iowever,
one title to glory may i)e claimed by the Japane-ie bonzeries ;
two or three of them were in ancient times the scene
of laborious researches and patient efforts, which, though
perhaps originally without any other motive than curiosity,
ended in making some discoveries of great .social value. At
one period, when they had only the Chinese cliaracters to
write in, a scholar of the scd of Youlo, named Kibiko.
thought of abridging the complicated forms of those large

square characters, and of reducing ihem to forty-seven simple
elements, unchanging and easy to recognise. This I'rinier,
whicii they made use of from that time lor notes, criticisms,
and explanations, they call the Katakana.

lUit the bonze Kokai, who was born in the year 755, and
was the founder of the sect of Singu-sju, went still farther in his
views on the simplification of the Chinese signs ; he also chose
forty-seven of them, as suitable for representing the Japanese
-.yllables ; he deprived them of their figurative or metaphorical
value, and adapted to them the simplest amongst the various
styles of Chinese writing, and thus composed the Primer which
thev call the Ilirakana. 'I'his is the manual which women and
the common people, and even the literati themselves, use in
writing the most ordinary things, and composing works of
light literature, such as romances, songs, and comedies. All
the Japanese women learn in their infancy the Hirakana, and
it is the only elementary book which lliey are taught. The
men also possess il, but they kani die Katakana besiiles ; the
, literati add to this the knowledge of a more or less considerable
! number of Chinese signs. The result of this wise combination
is, that the men can always reail the writings of the women,
I bill th^ wome'i cin read the writings of men only when the
latter con('.;.scend to use the Ilirakaiu I'rinicr. Of all ilic

■■1

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VOL. I.

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I'll-

iSr*'

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iif

346

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

host of Buddhist saints there is not one who is more
universally respected than good Father Kokai — and the
popular instinct is not deceived in putting above all the wonder-
workers of legends, the modest inventor of cursive writing.
From one end of the empire to the otlier, tliey render him
divine honours under the title of Kobo-daisi, " the great
master of the infinite religion."

CIVIL WARS.

TifE civil wars which caused tlie niin of Kamakura have
little interest in themselves. The emjjire of Japan presents
from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century the spectacle of
an increasing anarchy, which threatened tlie fabric of political
centralisation established by Voritomo. In the very heart of
the Dairi a domestic quarrel forced the legitimate sovereign to
abandon Kioto to his competitor, and during a period of sixty
years six Mikados, one after another, usurped the pontifical
throne, whilst the true descendants of the Sun had to submit to
hold their court at Yosino, a little town situated south of the
capital, in the province of Yam.ito. At last a family arrange-
ment put an end to this public scandal, and the hundred and first
Mikado of the south took possession of his see in the holy city,
and solemnly restored the fiction of his theocratic sovereignty.
On the other side, the power of tlie Siogouns was the object of
ardent rivalry, and in order to satisfy it tliey ravaged Kioto
and Kamakura with fire and sword, and did not even recoil
from fratricide. The feudal nobles profited by the general
confusion to make one more attempt to free themselves from
their obligations as vassals to the crown or its lieutenants, and
in the year 1573, when the vigorous Kobunaga was surprised
and massacred with all his family in his palace at Kioto, the
empire seemed shaken to its foundations.

There was at that time living in the house of a high
functionary of the Dairi a groom named Faxiba, son of a
peasant, a grave, taciturn servant, whom his ma.tcr honoured
with peculiar confidence. He was often to be seen near his
horses' stalls, seated in the manner of the people of his class,
his arms extended on his knees, absorbed in a deep reverie.
Suddenly he was called to the service of the Dairi. He entered
the military house of the Mikado, and at the end of a few-
years Faxiba became Siogoun, and commanded under the
name of Fide Yosi the troops sent into the provinces of the
grand \assals who had revolted. Two years sufliied for the
suppression of the rebellion. His return to Kioto was a
veritable triumph; the Mikado solemnly invested him with the
highest title of the D.nri, that of Quambuku, and proclaimed
him his lieutenant-general. Fidu-Yosi then transferred his
arms to another field of disorder, which was that of religious
dissension. Each of the thousand divinities of the Buddhist
mythology had obtained a place in Jajian. There were temples,
statues, and monasteries. Bonzes, monks, and nuns abounded
throughout the empire, but especially in the centre and the
south of Nippon. F.ach convent struggled with its neighbour
in procuring the richest ])atronage. By degrees, h<)we\er, the
rivalry became so ungovernable that jealousy, liilterness, and
hatred sapped the friendly relations of some of the iiowerful
and ambitious orders. From invectives they passed to blow.s.
The imiierial police interfered in the first melees of these
tonsured heads, but they were soon unable to oppose an
obstacle to the torrent. On various occasions furious bands in
frocks and cassocks, aimed with staves, pikes, and Hails, made a ,

raid during the night on the property of the fraternity who had
oflended them. They ravaged everything they could meet
with, maltreated, killed, or dispensed the victims of their
onslaught, and did not depart till they had set fire to the four
corners of the monastery. Sooner or later retaliation would
fall on the aggressors, who had to submit in their turn to the
same treatment. Six times in the course of the twelfth century
the monks of the convent on the Yeisan burned the bonzerie
of Djensjosi, and twice the monks of the latter convent reduced
to cinders the convent of \ eisan. Similar scenes were repeated
in diveis parts of Nipion. At length, in order to protect their
convents against sudden attacks the rich priors converted them
into fortresses, and their audacity increased with the incapacity
of the Government. The enemies met in anns on the borders
of the temjjles which they possessed in the capital. A part of
the Dairi was plundered in 1283, at the end of one of these
skirmishes. In 1536 a fire, lit in a temple of Kioto, spread to
the neighbouring quarters, and occasioned a terrible disaster.

The efforts of the Siogoun Nobunaga to keep an insurgent
brotherhood in order, proved unsuccessfiil against the intrtnch-
ments behind which they resisted him. Fide-Yosi resolved to
put an end once for all to the monks and their quarrels. He
surprised the most turbulent monasteries, demolished their
defences, and transporte<l to some distant island the monks
who had been guilty of attempts on the jniblic peace, and
subjected all the Japanese clergy indiscriminately to the watch
of an active, severe, and inexorable polite. He decreed that
from henceforth the bonzes should be simple occujiants of the
land, and that the Government should be the proprietors, and
should reserve to itself the free and entire disposition of it. He
commanded that the clerical dignitaries, both regular and
secular, should confine themselves strictly, with tiieir subor-
dinates, to the sphere of their religious duties. This is a law
from which the Japanese jiricsts have never since departed.
In the interior of their cha])els they officiate at the altar
under the eyes of the jieople in the .sanctuar)-, which is
separated from the crowd by a rood screen. They only address
them in preaching, and that only on fete days specially set
apart for this exercise. Processions are permitted only at
certain ])eri(ids of the year, and with the concurrence of the
officers of the Government pl.iced in charge of public shows.
As for their pastoral role, it has been confined within such
limits that I can find but one word to characterise it, that of
undertakers' inen. In short, the bonzes are restricted to the
]ierforniance of the sacramental ceremonies, and the Japanese do
not care what sect or custom accomjianies thtni in their last
moments. It is they who conduct the funeral corti'ue, and
who preside, according to the wishes of the friends of the
defunct, at the interment or burning of his remains, also at the
consecration and keeping of his tomb. But although everything
connected with the dead is given up to them without reserve,
still the police keep a strict watch upon their intercourse with
society. Most of the secular priests are married, and live in
familiar intercourse with a little circle of their neighbours ; but
the means taken to ]>revent their committing any offence are
all the more rigorous. 1 have seen, in the princi|)al market-
l)lace of Yokohama, an old bonze exposed for three consecutive
days on his knees in the heat of the sun on a wretched straw
mattress, having nothing but a little crape handkerchief, with
which he wiped the perspiration whi( h rolled from his bald
head. The cause of this was explaineil on a board, plated a

A EUROPEAN SOJOURX IN JAPAN.

347

few steps in front of him, \vlii( li informcil tlie people that this
miserable creature, having devoted himself to the secret i)ractice
of medicine, the justice of the Taikoun had con<lemned liim to
transportation for life, preceded by public exposure.

In the year 1586, soon after Eide-Yosi had delivered the
empire from Jis monastic troubles, some strange news attracted
his attention to the island of Kiusiu. Hitherto the com-
merce of Japan with the ports of the Archipelago and of the
continent of Asia had met with no hindrance. The Prince
of Hungo, about forty years before, had received the 1'or-
tuguese adventurers thrown by a tempest on ilie shores of
his provinces, had furnished them with the means of returning
to Goa, and invited them to send a siiir each year, loaded with
merchandise suited to their market. In this way the friendly
intercourse between Portugal and Japan commenced. In one
of these first voyages the I'ortuguese ship, when setting sail
for Goa, gave refuge secretly to a Japanese nobleman who
had committed a homicide. The illustrious Jesuit, Erancis
Xavier, who had recently arrived at Goa, undertook the
religious instruction of this Japanese fugitive, and baptised
him. In 1549 die first Jesuit mis.sionaries installed themselves
in the islara of Kiusiu, under the direction of Francis
Xavier hiirself, and assisted by Hansiro, the Japanese noble-
man. The missionaries were struck with surprise and terror,
when thei met in Japan a number of institutions, ceremonies, and
objects of worship, almost the same as those which they were
themselv.'s bringing. They declared, quite forgetting the greater
antiquity of Buddhism, that this religion could only be a
diabolical counterfeit of the true Church. However, they were
not long in discovering a means of drawing some profit from the
circumstanc<", in the interest of their projiaganda. There was
nothing in the doctrine of Buddhism opposed to the admission of
Jesus amongst the number of Buddhas who during a number
of centuries have appeared on the earth. There was no insur-
mountable difficulty in giving to the Virgin the precedence of
all the queens of lieaven. The ancient pantheon^in short,
the prevailing worship — oflered several advantageous points
of contact, and all kinds of pretexts for entertaining the
matter. This first mission was wonderfully successful ; and
what has occurred since then authorises us in saying that by
his zeal and powers of persuasion Francis Xavier gained in
all classes of Japanese society numerous sincere converts to
Christianity. Some of the Buddhist dignitaries, feeling uneasy
about their religion, made some humble remonstrances to the
Dairi. The Mikado asked them how many sects they esti-
mated to exist in his states. Tiiey replied instantly, "Thirty-
five." " Very well," replied I'le good-natured emperor, " this
will make thirty-six." But the Siogoun Fide-Vosi regarded the
question from cnother point of view ; he was struck by the cir-
cumstance that the missionaries not only a|)plied themselves to
spreading their doctrine among the people, but endeavoured
to gain favour with the grand vassals of the empire. While
the tendency to anarchy in the latter was nurtured by the
priests, he discovered that they were dependent on a sovereign
bearing a triple crown, who could at his i)leasure depose the
greatest princes, distribute to his favourites the kingdoms of
Europe, and dispose even of the newly-discovere<l continents.
He reflected that already the emissaries of this mighty ruli'r of
the East had created a party at the court of the Mikado, and
had built a hou.sc in the <apital ; that the ancient Siogoun
Nobunaga was ojjcnly showing himself their friend and pro-

tector ; and that in his own palace he had reason to believe
that there were dark ])lots and intrigues going on amongst the
suite of his young son, the heir-presumptive of his power.
ride-Yosi communicated his observations and his fears to an
experienced servant, to whom he had already entrustetl some
very djlicate missions. The gloomy and profound intellect of
this confidant, who became celebrated in the history of Japan
under the name of Hieyas, was applied without delay to
sound the depth of the danger. An embassy of Japanese
Cliristians, conducted by Valignani, superior of the order of
Jesuits, v.'is on their way to Rome. Hie'yas furnished his
master with proof that the princes of Bungo, of Omura,
and of Arima had written on this occasion to the spiritual
emperor of the Christians, Pope Gregory XIII., declaring that
they threw themselves at his feet, and adored him as their
supreme lord, in his capacity of sole representative of God
iqjon earth. The Siogoun restrained his exasperation, but
only in order that his vengeance should be the more striking.
He employed nearly a year in organising with his favoi' ite the
stroke which he meditated. At last, in the month of june,
1587, his troops were at their posts, distributed over all the
sus|)ccted provinces of Kiusiu and the southern coast of
Nippon, and in a state to repress all attempts at resistance.
On the same day, and from one end to the other of the
empire, an edict was published by the Siogoun, by which he
ordered — in the name and as lieutenant of the Mikado — the
suppression of Christianity in the space of six months, pre-
scribing, as measures for carrying it out, that the foreign
missionaries should be banished for life, under pain of death ;
that their schools should be immediately shut, their churches
destroyed, the cross thrown down wherever it was found, and
that the converted natives should abjure the new doctrines
before the ofticers of the government. At the same time, to
establish the harmony between the two powers, the Mikado
paid a solemn visit to his lieutenant, whilst he, in order to
recompense the services of his faithful Hie'yas, raised him to
the rank of prime minister, and appointed him governor of
eight provinces. All the measures ordained by the edict of the
Siogoun were accomplished with one exception, and that was
the one which, to the mind of the ciiievant groom of the Dairi,
ought to have caused him the least trouble. To his great
astonishment, the native Christians of every class, sex, or age,
.absolutely refused to renounce their faith — accordingly, he
seized the 1 mds of those who possessed any and enriched his
officers with the spoils. But these examples of severity did
not produce any effect. They were then threatened with death,
but they submitted their heads to the sword of the executioner
w ith a resignation hitherto unknown ; and the proofs which they
showed of their faith in many cases attracted the sympathies of
the people. A variety of punishments were tried — funeral
])iles were lighted, such as were made by the emissaries
of the Portuguese inquisition at Goa, and a great number
of victims suffered crucifixion. The Japanese martyrs recall
in the constancy of their fiiith the first confes.sors of the
Gospel. The Dutchman, Fr.mcis Caron, an eye-witness of the
last i)hares cf the persecution, said that the few exam|)les of
abjuration which came unde: his notice were owing principally
to the em|)loyment of a torture still more frightful than the
punishments of the cross or of the funeral pile. It consisted in
suspending the victim, he.ad downwards, in the interior of a
cistern, the feet remaining above the lid, which they closed with

■n

343

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

¥ «

It '1:

I 'i-' ■■■■

planks in order to make the well iiuite dark. It was generally six the towns and villages. At Nagasaki the elVect is \ery striking ;
or eight days before ileadi released the suflorer from this dreadful the town extends to the foot of a chain of mountains, the lower
torture. For three consecutive years the fury of the officers of slopes of which, being abrujit, are hewn into flights of steps, and
the Siogoun was expended in these and similar refinements of , form a vast ami)hitheatrc of funeral terraces, especially around
brutality, during which they tortured more than 20,500 victims — 1 the eastern ([uarters. There .ire, as it were, two cities in the
men, women, and children. Suddenly the persecution abated. \ i)lain, that of the living, with its long, wide streets of frail
ride-Yosi called to arms the banished feudal nobility, and sent | wooden dwellings, inhabited by a short-lived race, and that of
an army of nearly iOo,ooo combatants to the coasts of the the dead on the mountain, with its walls and monuments of
Core.i, with which country Japan was then at peace (1592). ' granite, its venerable trees, and solemn stillness. The inhabitants

His generals challenged the
Coreans to join them in
attacking the dynasty of the
Mings. The Chinese army
marched out to meet the in-
vaders, but sustained such a
decided defeat that the Em-
peror of China hastened to
offer peace to the Siogoun,
with the title of King of
Nippon, and first vassal ot
the Celestial Em])ire. Fide-
Yosi replie<l proudly, " I
am already King of Nippon
by my own making ; and
I sliall be able, if I choose,
to make the Emperor of
China my vassal." In the
year 1597 he carried out his
threat by sending a second
army of 130,000 men. But
he died before the end of
this new campaign, and the
two empires, eciually tired
by such an unjustifiable war,
became reconciled, and re-
called their armies. These
two expeditions to China,
as well as the edict of
persecution, appear to ha . ;
been premeditated acts df
Fide-Yosi, resolved on that
he might attain the double
end of his ambitious dreams

— the extinction of the feudal nobles, and the erection on
their remains of a monarchical dynasty.

FUNERAL CEREMONIES.

The aspect of China reminds one continually of a crumbling,
ruined edifice watched over by a guard of invalids. Japan, on
the contrary, exhibits no sig"s of decay, and the fresh vegeta-
tion of its evergreen isles is in keeiiing with that appearance of
perpetual youth which is transmitted from generation to gene-
ration among the inhabitants of this fortunate country. They
adorn even their last home with the attributes of eternal spring,
and their cemeteries are always gay with grass and tlowers ; the
tombs, which are merely commemorative slabs, preserve the
memory of the departed, without the addition of anything
which recalls the idea of destruction ; every family possessing
a separate enclosure, and e.ich grave being markeil by a stone

of the town must be con-
stantly reminded of the gene-
rations which have lived and
died before them, and the
departed spirits may seem to
their imagination still to be
hovering, mute but watt hfid,
over the busy city. Once a
year the whole population
holds a solenm festival —
about the end of August — to
which the si)irits of the de-
parted are invited, and
which lasts for three con-
sec utive nights. On the first
evening the toml)fi of persons
who have died during the
liast year are illuminated
with paper lanterns of
various colours, and on the
two following nights all the
tombs, without exception, are
similarly decorated, and thr:
inhabitants of Nagasaki install
themselves in cemeteries, and
indulge in copious libations
in honour of their ancestors.
Loud bursts of gaiety re-
sound from terrace to ter-
race, and rockets sent up at
intervals awaken the echoes
of the celestial vault, which
mingle with the voices of the
human crowd. The vessels
in t'le harbour arc crowded by the European inhabitants who
wish to enjoy the fair)-likc spectacle presented by the illumi-
nated hills. About two o'chjck on the morning of the third day
long processions of people, carrying lanterns, descend to the edge
of the b.iy, while the mountain gradually becomes dark and silent.
The spirits must depart before the dawn, and numbers of little
boats made of straw are launched for their accommodation»
and stored with fruits and small coins ; these frail barks arc
also loaded with ihe coloured lamps which h.id illuminated the
cemetery, and when their little sails are spread to the morning
bree/.e they are quickly dispersed, and soon catching fire, the
last trace of them has disappeared before morning. In ancient
times, wheP the worship of the Kamis was the only religion of
Japan, personages of importance were honoured with a special
place of interment distinct from the common < emeteries. For
this purpose a conical hill w.is chosen, enclosed by walls of
the roll of the dei)arte.J unfuNis its.lf from hill to hill, scattered ' immense strength, and generally surrounded by a wide ditch ; a
amongst the sacred gardens and groves as far as the outskirts of \ tori placed at the entrance of the bridge, which connects it with

KAXIliA, AITKRW.VKDS rUiK-VnSI.

M^--

FIRST JOURNEY OI'' EX .'I.ORATION ACROSS VANCOUVER ISLAND.

34Q

the ijlain, marking tlio sacrodiu'ss of tlie s])ot, wliicli received the
name of Vasiro, " fortified place." The coftin wns deposited
in a stone sepulchre, hke a cenotaph, protected by a little
wooden building, resembling a Kami chapel in aiiiearance.
The funeral procession resembled the triumph of a hero; the
ccat of mail, arms, and niosl vahialile iiossessions of the
departed, and iiis chief attendants, were interred with him, and

pictures, and amateurs especially pri/c those which ornament
thvT leaves of certain .state screens in use at the court of Veddo;
they sometimes form a part of the presents offered by the
'i'aikoun to foreign courts. This stjle of drawing does not seem
to have iieen favoured by the Mikado, while miniatures
bec.ime more and more fashionable. The miniature paintings
of Kioto arc not unlike the missals of the middle ages ; they

I.AYINC.-OUT THE nFAD.

his favourite steed was sacrificed to his manes. But these
barbarous customs were abolished in the first century of our
era; lay figures were substituted for human victims, and a
rough sketch on a plank of white wood, representing the com-
panions of his triumphs, took the place of the living horse
amongst the objects enclosed in the tomb.

Native artists displayed a degree of skill and animation in the
execution of these Vemas, or sketches of horses, which has made
them one of the artistic curiosities of Japan, 'i'hcy arc to be found
in various cliapels both in town and country iii the form of native

are done on the same sort of vellum paper, with the same
misuse of gold ground, and the same luxuriance of colouring.
Manuscripts ornamented with vignettes in the text, are rolled
on an ivory cylinder, or on a .staff of valuable wood with metal
ends. Almanacks, collections of litanies and prayers, romances
and poetry, are generally boimd up in the form of volumes, and
the fashionable wo. .-.lu'ppers make use of the most microscopic
editions of the offices in their devotions. But the ladies and
poets of Kioto use the calendar of flowers as their only
almanack.

Tlie First youruey of Exploration across Vancouver Island. — IV.

BY ROBERT BROWN, F.n.G.S., ETC., COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION.

THE RETURN TO VICTORIA.

After two days' easy travel through the usual wooded
coimtry, we reached a swift, narrow river flowing to the
southw.ard. 'I'his we concluded to be the Nittinat River,
which. a<xor(ling to the chart, must debouch into a lake.
We now set to worl; to build a raft out of the dry cedar
trees on the shore, with a view to descend it, as the banks
were high in some places, and densely wooded with huge
pines and underbrush. In one place \ measured a Menzies

spriice (Avies Mensicsu) 28 feet in circumference, and high
in proportion ; and a cedar 45 feet in circumference, or
15 feet in di.ametcr— just half of the diameter of the huge
Wellingtc.nias {Sequoia) \\\ Ciliform'a. Though the river was
swift, yet it was shallow, and at the lowest state of water now ;
so tl-.at, after we had secured our packs on it, and .aimcbed it,
frequently it stuck fast on the gravel bars of the river, and then
all hands sprang into the water up to the middle, and inished
it oft'. Gaily and with loud shouts we descended the river,

350

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

'f;

a- ,: !

ft-;

13 i

it :

I I

until we louiid that the raft was proceeding rather /oo swiftly,
and almost before we could spring ashore, we heard the roar as
of a cataract. In another minute the raft would have been
sucked into a canon of the river, and undoubtedly every one
oi us must have been drowned or dashed to pieces. We were,
however, in time, aikl drew our raft into a (juiet haven, where,
I suppose, it is still lying. We now took to the banks, and
were apparently again a])proaching human habitations, for
a trail led along the banks of the river until it ended at a little
Indian lodge, uninhabited, among bushes by the river side.
Here we found an old canoe, which we patched with old flour,
sacks and pine resin until it was floatable. Next morning Mr.
Barnston and I set off in this frail craft down the river, to settle
matters with any Indians whom we might meet, and try to
arrange about the others following, leaving them in the mean-
time to b' 'Id a raft and make the best of their way down the
rapid stream, which was now deeper than before, and broader
also. The morning was dull, but off we started with a cheer,
sweeping down the river at a fine rate, Uamston steering, while
1 knelt in the bows and staved her off rocks and logs, which
threatened every moment to destroy our frail craft. The river
was a continuous succession of ripples and rapids, with remains
of salmon weirs, and calm, deep, lake-like reaches, through
which we had to propel it with paddles. It was remarkably
clear of trees, there not being more than one or two stoppages
from that cause. On one occasion we ran over a rapid, in the
middle of which was a tree, forming a bridge, with the lower
branches depending in the water, between two of which we
ran with great rapidity. We managed, however, to do so
without touching, but it was a very close shave ; to use the
language of our steersman, it was " spitting through a keyhole
without touching the wards." The river was very winding, and
at every bend it seemed to be going to end ; but as we swept
round some wooded point, again we were disappointed. We
passed many Indian lodges on either bank, but chiefly on the
right ; but all now deserted, though in the autumn, when the
river is alive with swarms of salmon, they will be inhabited by
Nittinat salmon fishers from the coast. In all, we passed eleven
lodges, all separately situated, inhabited by many families, each
of them surrounded by more or less ojien land, or shaded
with mossy maples (Aivr inacrophyllum), and embosomed with
salmon-berry bushes* laden with their pleasant fruit, the
entrances, however, being everywhere choked with thickets of
nettles. They were backed by magnificent forests of hemlock,t
spruce, and cedar, though as a rule the timber decreased in
quality as we approached the coast, and the forest became denser,
with an undergrowth of salal {Gaultlicria sliallon) and other creep-
ing shrubs. Several well-defined hills, though all wooded to
the summit, lent variety to the scene. All day long we paddled,
with only one halt, and the sun began to set, and there seemed
no end of the river, though I calculated that we had followed
its windings for more than twenty geographical miles.

^The canoe leaked abominably. I was nearly up to my
middle in water, and we had every now and then to get out to
ease it over some shallow. If the chartography of the river is
not very perfect, any one who has ever sketched in such cir-
cumstances will readily forgive wliaj he can a|)i>reriate. We
were about giving up all hopes of seeing the end that day,
when to our delight the current decreased and a strong sea
breeze began to blo^v ; the downward current was stemmed
* Kiibus sjiataiilis. DougL f Aluti iltrttnuaiia. Liiidl,

by a slight upward one, and soon we sighted a lake-like sea,
with large trees which the spring and winter freshets had
brought down. We here drew our canoe ashore and lit a fire ;
and as night closed in we got anxious for the safety of our
companions. Just as we were rolling ourselves up in our
blankets, we were aroused by shouting on the river, and start-
ing up in fear of Indians, we could scarcely credit our eyes
when U'hymper* and Macdonald landed from a raft, all safe,
but drenched to the skin. They had built a raft, and this
being found too small for the whole party, Buttle and Lewis
had started down the river bank, and hoped that we would
send succour to them, as they had no food whatever. It was
hard to get to sleep, for Macdonald (who was an old sailor)
" yarned " until morning about the wonderful descent of the
river they had— on two boards out of the Indian lodge, tied
together with their blanket ropes, the holes being made by
firing pistol bullets through. Indeed, so wonderful was the
adventure, that we have hesitated to relate it before, in case
the discovery of the source of the Nile and the descent of the
Nittinat, all in one year, might upset the geographical world !*
We were up by early dawn, and Barnston and I started off in
our little canoe to seek Indians to go after Buttle and Lewis
and take us all to the Nittinat village. Rounding the first point,
we came right in front of an Indian village of four or five large
lodges. As our canoe was leaking badly, we drew in to see if
we could get another. The whole place was deserted ; but in
the chief's house, known by a ring of red on the outer wall, we
found a tolerably good canoe, which, after the free and easy
style of the north-west, and in the name of Her Majesty the
Queen and her faithful deputy Arthur Edward Kennedy, we
pressed into the service of the Expedition. It was rather a
high-handed act, but necessity compelled it, and, moreover, the
law of the stronger dictated it. We were not long in finding
Lewis and Buttle, sitting rather dolefully on a " sandbar," making
a meagre breakfast of salmon berries. They said they had
" had a hard old time of it," and their torn clothing and woe-
begone appearance did not belie their words. We were only
sorry that our larder — now sans meat, sans bread, sans tea,
sans ever)'thing — could scarcely supply them with anything
better, but, like Mr. Squeers' boys, we adjourned to the woods
after breakfast to supplement our meagre fare with a little
vegetable iliet in the shape of berries. Next day we spent in
patching up our canoes to face the sea, for we now perceived
that the inlet we were on was no lake, but an arm of the sea ;t
and on the 29th of the month we were up by three a.m., and
started off before the wind — as it generally blows seaward
before the sun gets fully risen, and the opposite direction
afterwards. AVe passed a village on the right, and a little
further on another, built on each side of a stream, with a
stockade in front. All were, however, deserted. We erected a
blanket for a sail on each canoe, and we went gaily along, the
artist's gorgeous railway rug, which was ofllciating for a sail
on the first canoe, giving quite a grand appearance to our tiny
fleet. At the mouth of the river the salt taste of the inlet

• Mr. Frederick Whymper, now in S,in Fr.incisco, known as the
author of "Travels in Alaska " and as a contributor to Illustrated
Travf.ls.

t In my map of Vancouver Island (Pttermanit's Geographisehe Mitthei-
hin^eii, 1869), anxious to keep up the Admiralty nomenclature, I have
called lliis inlet NiUinat Lake. The name seems to have misled the
engraver, for he has represented it as fresh, though the text expressly
describes it as salt water.

FIRST JOURNEY OF EXPLORATION ACROSS VANCOUVER ISLAND.

35'

was not perceptible, from the large quantity of fresh water which
was pouring in, but now sea-weeds began to appear, and the
inlet to narrow. The water was also thick with Mediisce, and
the rocks clustered with mussels. Indian villages, tastefully
situated, were common, but hitherto we had seen no inhabitants.
However, towards evening, we drew into the side, prepared
our arms in case of attack — for the Nittinats bear a most
infamous reputation — and after a short paddle we came to a
narrow entrance, eighteen miles from the Nittinat river mouth
where the sea ran through with great force. Outside we could
hear the glad sound of the Pacific, and all our faces brightened
at the knowletlge that we had crossed the colony through a
narrow and hard line of travel. " Eh I Captain," Lewis asks me,
" noAi«/)Ao(r^oio OaAaiTO-ijf ?" Lewis is the scholar of our party,
and we indulge him any such cheap display of pedantry. We
see a man cutting firewood, who at the sight of us darts off to
a village we see smoking on the cliff. \Vith strong paddling
we drew into a cove out of sight of the village ; but we had
scarcely drawn them up on the beach than we were sighted,
and in five minutes surrounded by a crowd of painted savages,
their faces often besmeared with blood, others blackened, but
not, I was glad to see, with the war black, and nearly all with
pieces of haliolis shells in their ears and the septum of the nose;
all professing great joy at the arrival of white men at their
village. Moqiiilla, the chief, was, as I expected, from home; but
his deputy was excessive in his friendshi]) and offers of assist-
ance. I, of course, professed to believe them all, and though
he assured me that his people were of the most virtuous and
honest description imaginable, I ordered all our stuff to be got
under cover as soon as possible, and a sharji look- out to be kept
on them ; but notwithstanding all our vigilance, we discovered
a few hours afterwards that they had managed to steal several
articles of value. Their blankets (the sole dress of most of
them) give every facility for making off with small uncon-
sidered trifles. The women mostly wore a blanket of cedar
bark, nicely woven, and a girdle of the same material, with
pendant stripes, in the form of an apron. The Indian would
not hear of his good friend King George's* great chief encamp-
ing outside his village ; and though I knew what his object was,
as I had some favours to get from him before I left, I had to
comiily with as good a grace as may be, and pitch our tents in
the village scjuare. The village was perched up on the rocks
around, and soon we were surrounded by a crowd of men,
women, and children, squatting in front of our fire, begging,
pilfering, and trading.

The Nittinats were once a powerful tribe, but the same
decadence as among other tribes is everywhere perceptible,
and they do not now number over 400 fighting men. How-
ever, their village is almost impregnable from the sea, the
waves rolling in high breakers on the beach, and the sea enter-
ing the inlet through a narrow strait, only passable at certain
stages of the tide. They are great canoe builders, and their
little craft in all stages of finish were lying about the village
It was the midst of the halibut season, and numbers of these
fish, sliced or drying, were lying about on frames. The whole
place smelt fishy and disagreeable, and we were glad when
night closed in and we got clear of some of our unwelcome
visitors. For the first time I considered it necessary to post
sentinels, as I apprehended mischief The lights burnt in the
village all night, and stones were thrown down above our watch-
* The general Western Indian name for an Englisliman.

men. It aftenvards came out that they had intended attacking
us in the dark, but were afraid of our rifles and revolvers. In
the morning they were of course all sweet and jileasant; but it
was with difficulty that I could obtain a canoe, and then only
at a very stiff price. Every objection was thrown in our way.
They could not leave ; there were no Indians where we were
going ; and the trader in whose charge our stores were ex-
pected to be was away ; but, finding that we o\erruled all
these obstacles, we finally got off, after " potlatching" (or
making ])resents to) half the vilKige, and buying dried halibut
against famine to a good extent. I never was so glad to get
(piit of an Indian village, and felt exultation as we rode
through the breakers, and raising the mat sail, scudded along
the coast, past Kloos {Klahtis "the other" [//owj-f ?]), Quamadoa,
Echwatess, Karleit, and Wawahadis, all villages of these people,
standing in little bays on .sandy beaches.

By evening we enter Port San Juan — an inlet of the sea ofT
De Fucas Strait, along which we are sailing. On the opposite
side is Washington Territory, United States, and the snow-
capped Olympian range can be seen in the distance, with
Mount Baker's white head towering to the eastward. In Port
San Juan we see no sign of vessel with stores for us, nor of our
companions, whom we had expected to meet us here. Rounding
a point, we come into a little cove, when our fears of starvation
are at least staved off by the sight of Indians, and out of a little
block-house comes a short, merry-faced fellow, who hails us
as we enter with all sorts of witticisms. This is the Indian
trader, who for many long years has lived all alone here, though
earlier in life he was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, under Sir
John Franklin. The story of this waif of civilisation is a long
one, and as we sit roimd his fire we hear bits of it, mingled
with many a wild story of the life he has led here. We pitch
our tent in front of his door, and accept his apologies for his
want of hospitality. A few days afterwards a ragged figure
comes down the San Juan river- — a mountain stream which
flows in here — which we recognise to be one of our com-
panions of a week ago. He is very hungry and very tired,
and has a long tale to tell of the rough mountains they
ha\e travelled over from the Cowichan Lake to the sex A
few days afterwards the Indians find the rest, and once more
we are all together in the rendezvous at Port San Juan. To
tell their story would be to occupy too much space. Neither
can I follow our subsequent career : how we discovered the
gold placers of Leech ; how we crossed the country by many
routes and with many fortunes — good, bad, and very in-
different ; and, finally, how, as the snows were covering the hills,
we landed once more in Victoria, there to receive the " thanks
of Parliament," and the congratulations of our friends. The
object of this article has not been to describe ^ographical
data — these I have published elsewhere — but to attempt a
little sketch, so far as our space would permit, of one of the
pleasantest of our many journeyings and explorations — some-
times alone, at other times, as in this case, with companions —
all over the wide legion West of the Rocky Mountains.
Pleasant as are the recollections of this journey, a more
agreeable feeling still remains to him who conducted it ; and
that is, that during many trials, the early friendship which
united us all has never been dissolved ; and that, scattered as
are the companions of these days through many lands, there
is none who does not look back with pleasure on his early
co-partnership in North-Western travel.

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ILLUSrRA'lED TRAVKLS.

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The Island of Reunion.

REUNION, or Bourbon, as it used to be called, is the largest of
the Mascarenc grou[) of islands in the Indian Ocean, lying just
within the southern tropic, about 400 miles east of Madagascar,
in latitude 21" S., and longitude 53" E. of Greenwich. The
Portuguese, under Pedro de Mascarenhas, discovered these
islands in the middle of the sixteenth century. At that time
(1545) the prospect to colonists proposing to settle there must
have been very discouraging. The whole island, little moie
than a rocky mountain, a terrible volcano, with inaccessib.e
peaks, and its inhospitable shores covered with huge rocks and
boulders, must have been the reverse of inviting. Althjugh
there were no human inhabitants, there certainly were birds,
including the almost fabulous solitaire {Pezophaps solilarius), sea
and water fowls, fish in abundance, turtle, and immense land
toxioxsQ?, {TcstiiJo triairimtii) ; but there were no mammals,
with the exception of the tanrcc (CaiMcs aaiulatits), a sjieries
of hetlgehog, and fl)ing foxes (Phro/'us). There was neither
grain, fruit, nor vegetable food, cxcejit the cabbage-palm. Con-
sequently, all the domestic and other animals, fruits and jtlants,
were introduced from foreign shores, and have become natu-
r.dised in what is now an earthly Paradise. I'Vom the absence
of convenient harbours, and the comparatively small extent of
its sugar plantations, the commercial importance of Reunion is
much inferior to that of Mauritius ; nevertheless, it has been a
most flourishing little colony.

Bory de St. Vincent declared "that the island of Bourbon
ajjpeared to have been created by volcanoes, and destroyed by
other volcanoes," and there ajipears to be much truth in what
he said. The island, about forty miles long by thirty broad,
and almost oval in shape, is, in fact, composed of two groups of
mountains, joined by a table-land called the Plaine de
Cafifres, at an elevation of 3,000 feet above the sea ; the
largest group of mountains (the remains of extinct volcanoes)
to the north culminates in the Piton des Neiges, 11,000 feet
abo\e the sea, and the southern group in an active volcano of
7,000 feet elevation.

Another natural division of the island is caused by the
protection afforded by the high mountains from the constant
south-cast trade winds, separating it into the windward and
leeward divisions. Each of these two last divisions is arbi-
trarily divided into four cantons, each jiossessing a chief town
with a resident justice of i^eace. The cantons, at least the larger
ones, are subdivided into communes and sous-communes, under
commissaries of police.

St. Denis is the principal town, and seat of government.
It is conveniently situated on the north of the island, has no
harbour, and a dangerous exposed roadstead. It numbers some
36,000 inhabitants. St. Pierre is the chief town on the south,
where a small harbour is in the course of formation, and, in-
cluding the adjacent commune, numbers nearly 20,000 inha-
bitants. The ])opulation of the island may be roughly
computed at upwards of 200,000 souls, of whom 135,000 are
native-born Creoles, and the remainder emigrants. Of the
Creoles born, but a small proportion are actually white, the
majority being composed of a melange of negroes, Madegasses,
CalTres, Mozambiiiues, .Vbyssinians, and Arabs ; whilst the
immigrants are chiefly Indian— either Malabars, Bengalis, or
Tamils — and Chinese, with latterly, since the Cochin-China war,
not a few Annamites. It may be here mentioned that the

resident English Consul is ex officio the protector of immigrant^
the majority of whom are from Her Majesty's Indian dominions.
These immigrants have only been importeil since the emanci-
pation of the slaves, which took ])lace in the year 1848. The
climate of Bourbon is most healthy, and it is only since the
introduction of Indian immigrants that cholera has been
known. The fever which has so disastrously afflicted the sister
island of Mauritius is r.iknown here.

A large portion of the country surrounding the still active
volcano is uninhabited and uncultivated. It forms a vast
desert of ashes and scoria, and every alternate year is traversed
more or less by streams of molten lava. This part is called the
Grand Brule. The volcanic vents are steadily changing their
place in a southern direction, and the island is visibly ex-
tending on that side. The remainder of the island, by its
varied temperature, ditferent altitudes, and alternate wc» and
ilry seasons, offers a vast field of study to the botanist. The
littoral /one may be said to contain, besides its indigenous
vegetation, the majority of its cultivated plants. Above this
we fwul the broad belt of forest vegetation up to some 3,000
feet, beyond which is the zone of tree-ferns, bamboos, and
other reeds and grasses, with tamarinds. Higher up still are
shrubs, then stunted bushes and heaths, with the beautiful
.satin-leaf plants ; whilst finally the summits on which the
snow rests in the win'-'r [ircsent blocks of lava and basalt,
sparsely covered with mosses and lichens.

On the coast the cultivation of sugar is carried on to a
great extent. Vanilla is cultivated in gardens, about thirteen
thousand pounds weight of the pods being yearly exported.
Cacao, cloves, and cotton, which used to be grown largely
in the island, have given way before the more remunerative
sugar plantations ; and in the mountains coffee and wheat are
still grown, but not to such an extent as formerly. The coffee
of St. Leu has the best reputation, and is grown chiefly for
local use.

The government of the colony of Rtfunion, according to the
terms of a decree of the senate in 1854, is administered by the
governor as re|)resentati\e of the Emperor and Minister of
Marine. This high functionary is resiionsible for the administra-
tion of the colony, and the military and naval forces are entirely
at his disposal. The chiefs of the colonial administration under
him are the Ordonnateur, the Directeur de I'lnterieur, and the
Procureur-General, besides a Controleur, who corresponds direct
with the Minister de la Marine. There is a colonial privy
council, consisting of the above heads of departments, with two
resident notables and the bishops, of which the governor is
president. Besides, there is the Conseil Gdneral, of which half
the members are named by the Government, and half elected by
the respecti) e municipalities of which the Directeur de ITntcrieur
is president, and represents the Government. The military force
at the disposal of the governor is composed of a battery of
artillery, a detachment of sappers, and a comjjany of marines.
These are regulars. There is also a militia composed of all the
white inhabitants, but it is inefficient.

T!ie agricultural interests of Reunion have suffered, of late
years, more than those of our own colony, Mauritius. 'I'hc
([uantity of sugar exported has fallen from 68,400 tons in i860,
to 36,000 in 1867 ; the value ofimports has fallen from 42 million
francs in i860, to 26 millions in 1867 ; the total imports in the
same time from 38 million francs to 20 millions, and last
year a further reduction has taken place.

THK GACUOX.

353

r'Ttr — Vii -
viiXAr.F. (IN Tin: i;.\B<inN.

TJw Gaboon. — ///.

I'.V nU. C.RIFFON' Dr ni'.I.I.AV, SlRCr.ON- l\ IHF FRKVCK N'AVV.

Cri.MTKR VH.

THK BOl'LOfS OR SIlEKIAMS—OIl. OF TERM ITF.S — THE HAKAI.AIS
-THE MANC.ROVE COL'NTRV— CONSTRL'CTION UF HIT-^ — \VI[I>
ANIMALS— SI NT.II. A R ANTS.

Thk invasion of tlie Shekianis or Bouloiis stopijcd short at the
Gaboon. This tribe was originally viry formidable, if wo may
])lace tontklence in the accounts given by the M'Pongwes,
who fear them still, although they affect to despise them. In
the estimation of these M'Pongwes — to a certain extent
refined by intercourse with the civilised world, and proud of
their connection with the white man — the Boulou, the man
of the woods, is a savage with whom they are never voluntarily
on good terms, and with whom they ne\er form any connec-
tion except as a matter of profitable speculation. In this they
show their taste. The Boulou, without being very black, is
darker than the M'Pongwe ; his skin is rough and cadaverous
in its appearance, the projection of his jaw-bone is more
marked, the expression of his face often little better th.m
brutish. Generally speaking, he is frightfully ugly. His
migratory habits have given him decidedly nomadic taste<;.
The scantiness of his personal property, and the very small
scale upon which he practises agriculture, render it very easy
VOL. I.

for him to move from place to place. He is. in fact, a
thorough vagabond. He loves marauding. He robs the
Ciabonese, who are afraid of him ; the victim does not complain,
but. like the trader he is, tries to do business with the robber,
and to indemnify himself by overreaching him.

The huts of the Boiilous are small and badly built, incon-
veniendy arranged, and, like the owner himself, very dirty. It
would be d'tTicuh to say exactly how he lives. The M'Pongwif,
though practising agriculture, docs so but to a limited extent ;
and the resources thus acquired, eked out by the produce of
his tlshing, are barely sufficient to keep him from starving. It
is, therefore, reasonable to suppose that the Boulou must at
times be in still greater difficulties. It is true that, living as
he does continually in the woods, he knows how to turn its
resources to the best account ; and he is reputed to be a
skilful hunter. His tastes, too, are by no means refined.

I have placed in the Colonial Museum at Paris a specimen
of the oil with which he prepares his food— a substance so filthy
that it could not fail to excite disgust in the least squeamish
stomachs. This oil is prepared by boiling in a large pot a
termite, with a black head and a soft, bluish-coloured body,
the appearance of which reminds one of a large dog-tick.
This oil is limpid, and of a fine op.aline colour. Its taste is

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354

Il.l.rSTRATHl) TRAVKLS.

not ilis;ii;rcL';il)lL', as 1 know Inim cxpcriciici.', for I sw.illowcil
some before I discovered its disgiis;'ng origin.

The retired and solitary life wliidi the lioulou leads, often
in the midst of woods, has surrounded all his rare with a kind
of mysterious iirestige. Like the old (harcoal-liurners in the
forests of France, he is something of a doctor and an atcom-
plishe<l sonenT. The forest has no secrets for h.im ; he knows
where to find useful herbs, and, more easily still, dangerous
poisons. He is, in a word, a great fetiehist.

It is upon the banks of the river th.U we must look for the
lUkalais or .\kal.iis, the tribe whidi, next to the iJoulous, most
frecjuents the Frenc h factories ; and a journey there is by no
means refreshing, for the traveller doe^ not pass beyond the
belt of muddy alluvial .soil where the waters of the sea mingle
with those of the rivers. This is a country of mangroves, and
nothing else but mangroves ; for the region of mud and slime
is the exclusive kingdom of this singular tree. It seems to
take possession of the ground by the thousanil roots whiih
shoot out from its trunk, by those which descend like long
hair from its branches, by its numberless fruits, which, before
falling, send forth a great root, and then, dropping into the
water by thousands, support themselves there in an U|)right
position like a brine-gauge ; and, kept steady by the weight
of their roots, are at length carried l)y the tide to t.ake posses-
sion of some bank of mud which they meet with on their
course. This aggressive tree raises on the banks of rivers an
impenetrable wall of greyish verdure, all the more gloomy
since there is nothing to diversify its wearisome monotony;
for in this part of the world all nature seems inanimate. Here
and there a beautiful kingfisher may be seen ; sometimes a
parrot or a touraco raises its hoarse and disagreeable cry ; or
perhaps a foliotocolle, perched at the top of a tree, betrays his
l)resence in the breeding season by some piercing note; but,
hidden in the midst of the foliage, we are not allowed to
admire its rich green plum.ige, nor the ex(|uisite beauty of its
metallic sheen. These signs of life, however, seldom disturb
the repose of these solitudes.

The stagnation of nature in the midst of a vegetation so
prolific, and which is altogether so contrary to what one would
naturally look for, produces a painful effect. We cannot help
but feel that a country where vegetation is so abundant, but
where at the same time animal life is so scarce, was never
intended to be the abode of man, and there is no place for him
more deadly. From time to time the half stagnant waters, so
soon as the sea retires, expose to view inaccessible mud banks ;
the half rotten roots of the mangrove appear above the water
covered with oysters and mussels, and, running about amongst
them in the most impudent manner, are a multitude of little
black crabs, which might be mistaken for sjiiders.

.Sulphurous gases, which the pressure of the water prevents
from being exh.aled, escape from this vast swamp, and, arising
continually on the surface like soap bubbles, diffuse around a
pestilential odour. During the night also, in .addition to the.se
exh.alations, which are the origin of all kinds of fever, a
])enetrating moisture prevails, which makes one .shiver, whilst
millions of mosquitoes fill the air and rush upon their ])rev.
Such a country as this was never intended to be inhabited
by Europe.-ins ; even the natives themselves are continually
subject to attacks of fever.

As we proceed further into the interior, the aspect of nature
changes; the horizon expands, and vegetation becomes more

varied. 'I'rees like the aguirigui (AvktnHia lomdilosa), vvhi( h
seems to unite in fantastic forms the mangrove and the ordinary
shapes of arboreal vegetation, conduct us gradually into a
different state of things. We meet first with the enimbas
in great profiision, a l.irge kind of palm tree, the fruit of which is
dry and i)roduces but little oil, and is therefiire of but little use
to the natives in a culinary ])oint of view, but it fiunishes thcni
instead with planks ready made for the construction of their
houses, and with shingles, which are easily prepared for the
purpose of roofing. These planks are the branches of the
enimba themselves, or, to speak more correctly, the ribs ol
its leaves, about eighteen feet in length, thi( k, narrow, level on
the side, and |)erfectly straight. All that is therefore re(|uisite
to adapt them for building purposes is to strip them from the
leaves and they are ready for use. The leaves themselves are
used in the pkice of tiles, and are ranged side by side, and
fastened together with wooden iiegs. We m.ay remark, how-
ever, by the way, that, correctly speaking, we ought not to talk
of liuildiiig a Gabonese hut ; it is, in reality, constructed bv
sewing it together, bit by bit, without the use of either nail or
hammer. 'I'he thre.id which is used for this jnirpose is a kind
of long liana, easily bent and very strong, calleil ojono, belong-
ing to the inexhaustible tribe of the i)alms. It is a species of
rotang, very disagreeable to meet with in the woods; for it is
armed with a kind of bent hook, jilaced in pairs on each side
of the stalk, like the tlukes of an anchor, and which, when
they lay hold of the p.isser-by, seem unwilling to relinquish
their jirey.

The first villages of the Bakalais are to be met with in the
midst of these enimbas, which they cultivate and sell to the
(labonese, and the tree forms, with sandal-wood and ebony,
their chief article of lonnnerce.

These peo|)le are not very numerous ; they seem to be the
advanced guard of a large tribe which dwells on the banks of
the Ogo-wai. Their onward march appears to have been arrested,
and they are now retreating continually before the advancing
Pahouins, who are gradually dispossessing them. Their loss,
however, is scarcely to be regretted, for, whilst the Bakalais are
in apjiearance as ugly as the Boulous, they share also all their
faults. They have all the tastes peculiar to a nomadic race,
and have also but little respect for the rights of others ; they
are, however, more industrious, for they weave out of vegetable
fibre, with considerable .skill, a kind of cloth, which is certainly
stronger and more durable, though less prized, than a great
deal of the I'-uroi)ean calico of which their dr.ivvers are made.
They have, besides, inore taste for music than their neighbours,
and manufac ture musical instruments, some of which resemble
the harp, others the guitar.

We must not (piit the forests of the Boulous and the
Bakalais without making some mention of the other inhabitants
who share their possession of them. These are rare, however,
and the hunter finds little game ; but the naturalist has less
reason to compKiin, espei ially if he is willing to devote himself
to the world of small creatures.

On the hill-sides, which extend from the bottom of the
bay, a wild buffalo is occasionally met with — the niare — and
more rarely the whitc-fiiced wild boar, of which animal I once
met with a tame specimen ; the vvarted snout, eyes surrounded
by long bristles, and long ears fringed with hair, like a brush, give
to this animal a singularly novel appearance. There is, more-
over, a kind of sloth — Fetaduliciis poto, called by the natives

11 IK GAliOON.

355

ckanda, also a noi tiirnal, flinibing anin\,il, tlic ynuko. These
are very curious-looking creatures, not often met with, and
seldom to be foiuxl in any European collection. 'J'lie pan-
golin, the civet cat, the pahn rat, the ant-eater, the daman,
are, with the panther and several kinds of nv'ukeys, the i hief
representatives of the family of mammalia. 1 he elejihant ind
the gorilla, the lirgc -t of all the <|uadruui.ina, are Mow raicly
seen, save 'n the distant forests where the I'ahouins live. The
panther is not nuii h more common. Arconling to the testimony
of M. Vignon, it sometimes follows the track of i)crsons who pass
through the woods, and prowls about but seldom attai ks them.
The serpents are more daii.;erous; they are more common,
and all exceedingly v< nomous, with the exception of the
great boa — the python — whose huge si/e is alone sntVicient to
render it formidable. I'ythons often come gliding about the
huts to catch stray fowls, and they will even pursue the rats
into the leaves which form the roof. The most rcnurkable is
the /ic/uW/ia Gii/wiici! . this is a large viper, with short horns
and widiout a tail, which attains a length ol about seven feet,
and whose scales, of various colours, are arrangi'd in lozenge-
shaped patterns, with singular regularity and ele^.iire of design.
In addition to these dangerous animals I must not forffct to
mention the ant, that plague ,md pest of warm countries, from
the little, familiar, ami diminutive insect, so small that a whol

accelerating the niarrh. The grotesque tlisproportion between
their heads and their bodies exactly resembles some of those
caricatures in which a head of lolossal size is represented fixed
ni)on the shoulders of a figure of microscopic jiroportions.
They possess a fonnidable pair of pincers, and disdi.irge the
ottice of policemen for the colony, and watch over its .safely.
On the tlanks of the double w.ill before iiientionecl they act as
scouts — collect fugitive >, urge on those who lag behind, and
repel the attack of every enemy. As regards the latter office,
however, they have but little to do, for there arc very few who
feel disposed to molest them. The negroes, tn whom the
lux iiy of shoes is unknown, do nut hesitate to tread upon and
crush them.

There are other reasons besides for the respect which in
])aid to these travelling ants. I was one day walking with a
(hief, when we encountered one of these voraiious aruiies
crossing the i)ath. Just as we were clearing it my companion
stopped short, proceeded to gather a leaf from the nearest tree,
placed it gently on the ground, and then passed on. I was
convinced that some my.stery l.iy hidden in this little act. I
accordingly asked what he meant by paying toll, as it were, in
;his singul ir fashion.

" .My wife," replied he, " is enceinte, and I do this to secure
Iv against any misfortune at the time of her confinement." I

tion was given me. The man was annoyed, and saiil, in .i
somewhat satirical tone, that 1 did wrong to laugh at him, lor,
after all, if we whites were not afraid of the ants, there was no
merit in that, since we never brouglit our wives to thj! ('■.iboon.
It itiust be allowed that this was an argument which it was
impossible to gain- iv.

republic might live in the crack of a table, to the huge red ant. i could scarcely keep my countenance when this droll explana
whose habitat is in the forests, and which is an object of
terror even to the largest animal.s, we meet with no less than
twenty diflerent species. Some live in iiir very midst; they
are to be found in our houses— take up their iiuarters in our
boats, and confer upon its .some slight services in return for
their incessant depredations. Like the homeless dogs of Con-
stantinople, to whom the Turkish police wisely surrendered
the olfice of scavengers — a work which they themselves
would not perform half so well — the ants dear the house which
they have selected as their home of all impurities.

These are only an annoyance. There are others who have
fangs capable of inflicting a severe wound. One of the most
singular in its appearance is a large, light-coloured ant, with a
long body, which makes its nest in the trees. It draws together,
with an immense number of threads, clusters of leaves at the
end of the branches, and out of them forms a kind of pocket,
tolerably well secured, in which it establishes its brood. On
some trees these nests are to be counted by thousands. The
intrepidity of their occui)ants is perfectly surprising; on the
slightest interference they pour out in hot haste, and without a
moment's hesitation rush head-first ujion the enemy.

CHAPTER VIII.

VISIT TO THE FANS, OR rAHOUINS— SlMrLICITV OF DRF.SS— CCRIOrS
WEAI'oNS— FOISONKI) ARROWS— WAR-UANCEb CANNIUALlbM -TUE
GORILLA — MODES UF KILLING ELEPHANTS.

Thf. \illages of the r)akalais are in close proximity to those of
the Pahouins. i iie lust which I vi-.iled, in the year 1S62, in
company with two naval oflicers, was a new settlement on
the b.inks of a winding stream, one of the aliiuents of the
river Como.

After wandering about in numberless directions in this
kind of watery flat, we at length arrived at our destination.
The single hut which we first came upon might have been
supposed to belong to some native lover of solitude, but it
Another is still more remarkable — a large red ant, which is ' |)roved to be the outpost of a village which was hidden from our

often to be seen marching through the grass or across the path
in (lose column, and observing a peculiar order of advance.
The division i)roceeds in two compact rows, with the claws so
well intertwined the one widi the other, that the whole troop
may be raised at the end of a stick in masses like balls ; they
form also two long parallel walls, two or three inches in
height, and eijually distant the one from the other. Between
these two walls — as it were between two high banks — a perfect
river of ants flows on, carrying i)rovisions or lar\-x, which
are, perhaps, the spoil of some hostili republic. In the midst
of those who are thus engaged in work, are to be seen others,
whom we may describe, on more accounts than one, as the
thick-headed males, unencumbered with any burden, and to
whom appears to have been assigned the task of directing and

view by the surrounding trees, and which had thus been placed
in an attitude of defence. We h.ad frecpiently been told diat die
Pahouins were a truly warlike tribe, always on their guard, and
not easily taken by surprise. This soon became evident to us,
for an eminence hard by was speedily covered with a host ol
warrior.s, large and small. Children even rushed to join the
throng, brandishing sag.-iycs suited to their height. In the
midst was the chief, who carried javelins and war-knives suf-
ficient to stock an arsenal. He was a man of about forty
years old, cast in a large mould, muscular and hard-featured,
with a projecting forehead, and his hair so cut as to give his
head an appearance of great width at the temi)les. He had a
well-built frame, his arms were long and lank, and his breast
was tattooed in a particularly ugly fashion. His only garment

35^5

I I.LUSTRATKI) TRAVKI.S.

ill' r

was the shaggy skin of some animal, wrai>[)t'(l round the waist, i were placed in two long parallel lines o>\ cither side of
He received us in a most freezing manner, but the eloiiucnce [ a wide (ttreet, which was barricaded at eai h end liy n guard-
(if our interpreter, and, almve all, the hnpe of obt.iining house. Its inhabit.mts were very remarkable, and of ([uile a
presents, altered his demeanour. Desides, although these peculiar type. It is impossible not to be slru( k at tlie very
people m.ay never have come into actual contact with white j outset by the I'ahouin tribe. 'J'lie ( hildrcn are cjuick, sprightly,
men, they are not ignorant of their existence, and consei|uently and intelligent, with regular features. Their heads are long,
our visit, without being expected, was, as it were, only half a , their foreheads large and prominent, and their eyes large and

TAlKiUlN W.MiKliiK.

surprise. The distribution of some tobacco-leaves to the
assembled company jnit them all in good humour. They
began to smile kindly upon us, and in doing so exhibited
formidable rows of teeth, filed and pointed, the ai)pearance of
which suited but too well the reputation for cannibalism which '
this tribe has already gained, The ice was now broken, and
we were permitted to enter this savage circle.

The village, which was close at hand, might pass, like the .
greater number of those belonging to the rahouins, for a kind
of fortress. The ioo or 300 huts of which it was formed |

soft. Jim, unfortunately, these go )d looks gradually disai)pear
as they grow older. By the tii, • they have arrived at the
age of fifteen or sixteen years — a period when their passions
ilevelo]) themselves — the tyjie of die tribe becomes marked.
Their plumimess disappears, the cheek-bones stand out, the
temjiles become hollow, and the forehe.id more and more
prominent. All these marks give to the Pahoiiins a peculiar
stamp of countenance, which prevents them ever being con-
founded with the M'|iongwes, or any other tribe of the Ciaboon.
The women have also the long head .uid projecting

THE GAUOON.

357

forehead, l)iit tlicy rarely have the hard and thin features
characteristic of the I'ahoiiiii. 'I'liey are imiiiied to eurinileiice
— too niueh 80, perhaps — but without ever hecoming obese,
a faiih ahiiost luiknown amongst the liiaik r.u es. Their hands
are often astonishingly beautiful, small in si/e, and delii alely
set on. Notwithstanding all this, however, these brawny,
scantily-elothed beauties apjiear absolutely ugly, with hardly
any exception, upon a nearer view. L'nfortunately for them,
art helps nature to look worse instead of better. It is not that
they do not eare about dress. They cover their bosoms with

turkey. If that bird were found in the country one would
naturally sujipose th.it it had served as a model to the inventor
of this strange fashion. This stout, |iliant stulf, dyed red with
an extract of sand.d-wood, is taken from the emvien, which
is none other th.in the tig-tree— that tree whith tr.ulilion h.is
lianded down to us as having jirovided garments for nur fust
parents, and whi( h supplies, even at this day, the clothing of
a people who ,ire almost as nearly in a state of nature as
they were.

Sui h were the singular people amongst whou) I found

THE SACRKI) ISI F.S OF I.AKK JONANGA.

necklaces, after the fashion of the Gabonese, and hang to their
hair numerous strings of fme white pearls, which fall upon their
shoulders and before their eyes, dangling against their faces ; an
ornament altogether unique and effective. On their arms and
leg? they wear liracelets made of copper or ])olishcd iron,
which look like long s])iral coils. The young matrons disfigure
themselves still more by sme.aring their bodies from head to
foot (I know not wiiy) with a decoction made from red -wood.
A straji, entirely covered with cowrie sliells, is passed across
their shoulders, and in its fold their infant reposes. Of
ganiiei.fs, projx'rly so called, these ladies have none, and it is
only figuratively that we can speak of their being dressed at all.
But they wear the ito, an ornament \\ hich they highly prize.
This is a little piece of plaited red bark, which is tied round
the waist, and the end spreads itself out fan-shape in the
middle of the back, like the expanded tail of a strutting

myself for the fust time ; I have visited them frequc.itly since,
but generally in the villages in tlie vicinity of rr';uch establish-
ments, where they soon begin to lose their original characteris-
tics. Hunters and w.arriors. the fir.i thing Pahouins ask
of the ICuropean are gims, then manufactured goods and
grotes(iue ornaments, which latte- always give such intense
gratification to negroes. Tn one of these villages, where the
original habits of the natives have to a certain extent been
altered by <'ontact with white men. M. IIou/c de I'.VuInoit has
sketched the illustration which we i)resent to our readers on
the ])ievious page. The chief, whose head is dressed in a
Kolbach, has the peculiar char.acteristics of his race ; but how
infinitely preferable his ridiculous costume is to the native
war-dre.ss of the primitive I'ahouin !

The weapons of this tribe are not less characteristic than
their dress. Skilful in working in iron, an art unknown to

3S8

H.lAftiRAiKl) IRAVKLS.

*. - -i' \

,1,

other triljLS, they ma', e sagaycs, great war knives witli fine
points, and of an tlct;ant sha|iL'— an instrmncnt wliich ought to
be formidable when, wielded liy a lirave man — shorter knives
made for different uses, ad/!es, and excellent hatchets of a
remarkable shape ; and lastly a very singular weapon, hatchet or
knife, whichever you like to call it, whi( h accurately re|)resents
the ])rof]le of a 'oird's head set on a very arched neck ; the latter
serving as the handle, while a groove which divides the beak
into two parts, and a hole to represent the eye, leaves no doubt
as to the intention of the designer. M. du Chaillu says that
this strange weapon is thrown from a distance at the head of an
enemy. I, on the other hand, have heard it asserted that it is j
a kind of sacrificial knife, used for the pur|)ose of immolating I
luniian victims — victims sacrificed not to the gods of a barbarous j
religion, but simply to gratify the apjjetites of the .sacrificers '
themselves. A single blow on the temple inflicts a mortal
woun(l( and the bent part serves afterwards for the work of
ilecapitalion.

All these blades are of good workmanship, and much
better than the greater part of the sabres and knives Hliich are
supplied by foreign merchants to the Africans. 'i'hey are
moreover chased with ornamental devices, and are sometimes
even inlaid with copper, in a way which bears witness to the
taste of the workmen. Their stock of tools is of the most
simple character. It consists of small portable anvils, one of
which is fi.xed in the ground, whilst the other serves as a
hammer, and they heat the iron by a wood fire, which is kept
.nlight by a pair of double bellows of a very ingenious structure.
It is a pieie of wood, several inches in height, in which
two parallel cavities are cut, of a cylindrical form, each of
which is fitted at its extremity with a tube to convey the blast.
I'.ach of these cavities is covered with a very flexible skin, to
which a wooden hanfUe is fastened, and the covering, as it
is alternately raised and lowered, draws in and gives out the
air. Thus, they form two ])unips comliined, the alternate
l)lay of which proiluccs a continual blast of air. 'I'hcse
bellows, so simple and easy in their structure, api)ear to be
known over the wliole of the African continent, for Captain
Speke mentions having fountl them in use amongst the
inhabii.mts on the east coast.

lUit the most dangerous arm of the Pahouin, and the one
most peculiar to liim, is the cross-bow, with which he shoots
small poisoned arrows of bamboo. This weapon rciiuires {;Teat
strength on the p.arl of him who uses it, for it demands the
whole power of tlie body to set it ; but as it is discharged by a
slight pressure, it can be fired from the shoulder like a gun, and
it shoots with great i)recision. The effect of the poison with
which the arrows arc steepe<l is terrible. It is always advisable
to ac'cept with some reserve tlic statements of the natives, as
well as those of travellers on such points, but a skiil'ul physio-
logist, M. IVIikan, helps me in this instance l)y a communica-
tion which lie has recently made to the Academy of Sciences,
lie has analysed this substance, a specimen of which I have
d.'posiled in the Colonial Exhibition at I'aris, and he has
r .'cognised in it one of those poisons which have a great and
violent effect upon the heart. It is the extract of a climbing
]>lant called ine'e or onaye, which belongs to the family of the
(i/'ihyifd:, or perhaps to the genus fdiitcs, and whii;h i.s very
rare, or at any rate seldom to be met «ith in our shojis.

The liow with its poisoned arrow is more used in tlie
hunting-ground than on the battle-field ; lor the necessity

of being seated in order to lotiil it, makes it awkward in a
struggle.

\Vhen we had been through the vill.ige, my companion
and I n;mmaging mi all the liiits, and at each step seeing arms
.and dill'erent objects unknown to the Gabonese, we returned
to the chief's dwelling. Tam-tams were speedily brought, as
well as other musical instruments, maile on the jmnciple of
the harmonica, and the whole village began to dance. Those
women ornamented with the ito had taken especial care to
spread out tl eir t.-iils ; it is evident that u|)on the proper
fluttering motion of this piece of ilress they rest all their hopes
of suciess. 'I'wo long rows of dancers, men and women, each
conducteil by a leader, wind about before the orchestra, follow
and retreat from one another by turns, wax more and more
animated, and at last finish by the most extravagant gambols.

A people eminently warlike, the Pahouins have a charac-
teristic dance, which I myself have never seen, but which has
been se\eral times describeil to me l)< my colleague. Dr.
Touchard, who lived for some time in their neighbourhood,
aii<l to whom I am indebted for more than one inteiesting
account. Two warriors advance one towards another. 'I'hey
are fully armed, and their heads crowned with a large tuft
made of the feathers of the touraco or the merle metallique.
Round their neck is a collar made of tiger's teeth ; from
the left shoulder a large war-knife is suspended, encased in
a sheath of serpent-skin; round their waist a skin of some
wild animal, and from it hangs a short poniard ; in the left
hand a sheaf o*" sagayes, in the right a large thick shield
made of elephant-skin. When these men, equipped with
these formidable weapons, proceed to an encounter, iheii
nostrils dilate, and they seem to sniff war. Their mouth is
h.alf open, displayin;^ their sharp-edged teeth ; and one feels
oneself to be amongst a people ol extraordinarj' energy.

Kurojieans who have lived amongst them are urunimous in
holding this tribe (notwithstanding their cannibalism; in higher
estimation than any other on the Gaboon. We can by no
means believe that this cannibalism is coaimitted simply to
gratify a degraded appetite. M. du Chaillu, -n his account of
his travels amongst die I'ahouins, or Fan , a ; he more justly
terms them, appears to me to have much exaggerated this
appetite for human flesh. According to him, the single
vill.ige which he visited was a vast charnel-house; every-
where were strewed human bones and cjuivering flesh. He
has evidently overdrawn the picture. There are French
officers accjuainted at the present time with many P.ihouin
villages, and they have seldom met with any traces of canni-
balism. In the villages adjacent, those who eat hmnan flesh
hide themselves, not from any fear of French interference —
of that they have no dread — but from a feeling of shame,
whicli prevents them indulging their hateful tastes before men
who do not share them, or even before their children. This
very remarkable reserve, which has also been obser\ed
amongst some of the tribes of the Pacific Ocean, afl"ords
furthci i)roof ih'* canniba'-'^m is essentially unnatural — th.at
it found its first excu- v m m liial famine, and ought to dis-
appear with it ; or at ; . st, that it should occur only in
exceptional cases, under the influence of religious or warlike
e.xcitement.

The Pahouins come from some distance inl.iml. Their
skill in hunting, their total inability to manage c;inoes, prove
that they have inhabited the high forest land in the interior

THE GABOON'.

350

of tlic country, and probiilily liavo oxhauslcil ils rcsoiircos
They have brought tlicnco ami pri'sfrvc still the aiitituilc lor
turning to account all that they tinil. Serpents, insects, meat
in a state of putrefactioa — nothing comes amiss to ap|ietiies
obliged to appease themselves with what we should call refuse.
Cannibalism is almost a necessary conse()uence of the scarcity
of food. But this barl 1 . 's custom, which exists also anion,'
the Bakalais, will graduui;;' die out as tliese tribes lose their
nomadic habits, and settle down in permanent establishments
round our jjosts.

In their organisation they do not ditVer css<mtially from
that of the neij^hbouring tribes. As amongst the ancient
Germans, their criminal code is based upon the pririciple of
compensation; blooil is not jiaid by blood, but by an eiiuiva-
lent satisfaction. I'olygamy does not exist amongst them to
the same extent as amongst the M'pong«es. Marriage t.ikes
place at a less early age, and morality is less lax. Their
religion apjjears to be a kind of moderate fetithism.

They devote themselves to some extent to agriculture ;
but the chase is their principal resource, and at the .sane time
their chief pleasure. Amongst the deni/.ens of the'r forests
there are two animals, now almost unknown in the reighbour ,
hood of our stations, which are well calculated to '.xci'.e their
ardour for the chase. I speak of tii ; elephant anci the gorilla.

The gorilla, or d'ginna. is a gigantic ajie, found only in this
tract of country, and which iiad never been heard of or seen
by Europeans before tlie establishment of the French settle-
ment. Several of these creatures had already been se-:*
to the collection at Brest and the Jardin des Plantes by
officers, and i)rincipally by surgeons in the navy, before
public curiosity was so highly excited several years ago by
the accounts which ^f. du Chaillu gave of his hunting ex
peditions, and by the resemblance which was pretended to
have been discovered between the gorilla and the human
race. Such a comparison cannot be received with much
comijlaisance. Here, in a few words, is a portrait of this
strange member of the ([uadrumana.

Its heiglit equals, or even surpasses, that of a man ;
its shoulders are double the size, consequently the develoj)-
ment of the chest is immense ; the head is extremely large,
sunk between the shoulders, and marked I a massive facial
expanse, while the skull is .small in prc,.v^rtion ; above this
a lofty crest serves as an attaciiment for jiowerful muscles,
em[>loycd in moving a jaw of prodigious strength ; the nose
is flat, the forehead receding, a'.d the brain small and im-
perfectly formed; the arms ax tremendously strong, and
reach down to the knees; the 'ower limbs are too short; the
hands well made ; the hinder j art of the foot is massive, but
ill developed, and unsuited for long maintaining an upright
position ; sliort black hair covers the whole body.

Such is this monster ajie, wliich the blacks fear as much as
tliey do the most ferocious beasts. It plays an important ]>art
in the superstitions of the coimtry. Like others of its species,
it is not carnivorous, and will not interfere with men unless it
is first attaekei.. It allows the hunter to appro.ach near,
happily for him, for he would assuredly lo.se his life if he
failed to kill his prey at the first fire. The huge body yields
its life easily, for those which I have seen have dieil from
wounds which woidd not have proved immediately mortal
to a man. The breadth of its cliest, and a peculiar formation
of the larynx, give to its voice a startling power; but the

moaning of the htlle gorilla resembles ihe lietlul i ■ouipl,iininL;s
of an irrit.Ued child, and were it not tli.U ils body w.is h.iiry.
it might be mist.iken at first sight lor a little negro. It h.\s
been finind imjiossible hitherto to re.ir the young ones, and
e([ually im[)ossible to capture .dive these ciealiius when fully
gn.nvn.

M the present time the rahouius are the best tr.iders in
ivory. When they made their first appearance on the C'onui,
they hunted fiir the benefit of the ll.ik.d.iis, who finiushed
them with guns, and kept f'or themselves only the llesh of
the anini.ds which were killed. Now the I'.diouiiij are armed,
ami ^an do without their neighbours. Their mode of hunting
elephants requires an intimate knowledge of their hal.'ils.
'i'hese animals usually live together in large herds in the
woods, and do not move far from their favourite hauuls. The
hcanters take advantage of their ([uasi-sedenlary h.ibits. If
they do not find a sufficient mmiber collected together, they
have a grand battue ; they disturb without frightening them,
and gradually get them concentrated on one spot. When this
is accomynisheil, they enclose them in several fences made of
bindweed — an insufficient barrier certainly for such powerfiil
creatures, but strong enough to impede their flight. When
all is thus prepareil, the surroiunling villages unite, and with
gims and spears commence a massacre, which is not without
danger for the aggressors. Often they have recourse to
poi;joned food ; sometimes also to traps. The method, most
in use is to make a hole in a thicket, through which the
stupid anitn.d will trj- to escape, and to hang above it a heavy
pointed stake, which falls on the elephant as it passes, ami
breaks its spinal 'olumn.

Such is the I'ahouin tribe, which is die most interesting
of all those which dwell on the Gaboon, ami which will .soon
be the most important, for they are advancing with great
strides towards the French settlements. They will be welcomed
there with ])leasure, for if it is possible to do anything with
that country, it must be by means of the races who are ;.uf
ticiently acclimatised. At the same time, the French must not
ileceive themselves. They will fiml them restless subjects, and
auxiliaries very difficult to manage. If they are as a rule
gende and hospitable, they are als<; suspicious and fickle, but
possessed of an industry and energy jarcly met with amongst
the black race.

CHAriER IX.

lUVER NAZAHF.ni AND Tlir. or,0-WAI — NATCRF. OF TUF. SOIL— LAKE

jo.sa;u;a— AMriicvs— FETii HE isi anus— mirai'.e.

I HAVE already said that the treaties made in 1862 with the
chief at Cape Lopez had jilaced this part under French rule. It
is situated in the delta formed by the different mouths of the
Ogo-wai, a river at that time ahnost unknown. The Nazareth,
its northern branch, became then a French possession.

Admiral Didelot, who was at that time (ommander-in-
chief on the African coast, was desirous to plant the French
flag there, and make a rapid exjiioration of the Ogo-
wai, and of the means of connnunication which might exist
between this river and the affluents of die G.iboon. He con
fided this duty to M. Seiv.d, captain of die jTw/iiiut and
myself.

On the i8th of July — that is to say, in the middle of the
dry season — we entered the river Na/^arcth. Unloii.inately for

360

II.LUSTRAIKD TKAVKI.S.

us, it li.id fall(;ii ;ili(iut six I'lcI siiK r tlif lmhI nl' tliL' niiiiy vi-iUiircil liullur lir i)ii;;hl be obliu'cil to Ic.ivc Ills vessel an

seasDii. Mild w.is siill f.dliii.n ; so that, nolwillistamling llie Sdiiie sandbank until the return of the niiiiv season.

/'ioini r drew but lilde u.iter. tlie following day she ^.'rounded It only remained for 'is to ((iiitintio our \()yaL;e in eanoes

on a sandbank about sixty nules from the entrance. 'J'he ex- — a troublesome method exi eed!nf;iy slow, and one which |jut

|)edition licfian therefore under bad auspice's. \Vc were not us at the mercy of the inhabitants, whose h.>stile feelings we

then in the .Na/areth, but indie ( ).i!o-\vai itself, which, spreading were soon to verify.

lAcr a \.is! surface, afforded us a spleiidiil view. To the, 'I'lie viUaije of namlio was, happily, well disposed tow.irds

|!^'^

,1; .ri ■ 1

P,:

IllK VOUNC. KKTlClllST OT I.AKF. .loNANll.V.

mangrove-tree had succeeded pandanus and yuccas, a great
number of oil palms and enimbas, and, in fact, all the luxu-
riant vegetation of the forests of the Gaboon.

But in the midst of this beautiful ])anorama navigation
was a dillicult matter. Islets and suiilbanks began to obstruct
the course of the river, and one on which the Pionnit-r had
run aground was only the first of tn.iny and more serious
obstacles. The next day we succeeded in reaching the village
of Dambo, about sixteen miles from the point where we first
gioundeil, and it then became evident to M. Serval that if lie

Europeans. Its chief--N'Go\va .Vkaga— received us csrdially,
paid us all the honours, and in the evening visited the
watanga, the great ship of the white men. He did not
show much astoiiishmeiit. and was reserved in his expressions
of praise, which showed great disi retion on his part, for praise
from the blacks is often a cloak for covetousness. -c placed
at our disposal one of his largest canoes, with two men of his
village, and on the morrow M. Serval and myself set out,
taking with us .icveral black sailors, 'i'he Pwimur turned
back to await our return in deeper water.

:^'

VOf.. T.

363

ILLUSTRATED 'I'RAVELS.

Ill

1 A

1 .1

I will not relate all the ini iilcnts wliidi occurred during
this falij^iiin;; voyage, wliicli, it is true, did not last moie
tiian tweiry Jays, but during that lime we had no inter\al
of rest.

We always started at an early hour in the morning,
stopping during I'le intense heat of the day at some village,
and then going on again, jiassing the night at another further
on. Our appearance caused (iiiite a conui.otion in those
jjarts. I'rged hy ( uriosity and allured by the hope of presents,
all the chiefs were determined to see us, and we soon found
that it was not prudent to disappoint them. We ha<l chanced
to pass by the important village of Aioumbe without noticing
it, and had stopped to allow our men some repose, when there
ai)pcare<l half a do/en canoes filled with armed men. 'I'hey
came to invite us to retrace our stei)S, and were jirepared
to compel us if wc made any objection. A few minutes after
there arrived from the opposite side canoes from a \illage
wliich we did not wish to visit on account of the delay it
would cause, and they had anticipated us. There then ensued
a great palaver between the two companies, and we feared
at one time that this discussion, arms in hand, might become
serious. At length they calmed down. The jicople of
.\roumbe excused our visit ".mtil our return, but they went
away in a bad humour, and it was clear thit we should be
liable to these unpleasant interruptions each day if we did not
visit all the important villages.

We visited successively Gamby, Atchanka, and Igan6, all of
which are peopled by the original inhabitants of the coast, who
have cviilently come by the southern branch; whilst those
of Dambo and Aroumbe, whom we had met with on the right
bank, were clearly related to the Gabonese, and must have
ascended the river by its northern branch, the Nazareth. A,
length we found ourselves in the midst of the Galloisc race, the
most important, perhaps, on the Ogo-wai, who believe them-
selves, and appear in reality to be, different from the others,
though speaking nearly the same language.

I took advantage of our short stoppages to explore the
environs, an<l I found everywhere the same kind of cultivition
as at the Gaboon. I abso saw several fine tobacco plants,
cultivated as an ornament, for the inhabitants do not know the
use of them. They had been brought frphi the Congo.

I could only make these observations during the brief
time we rested at the villages, and that was just the hottest
part of the day. It was still less easy for me to examine
ti.e animal kingdom, fur one could not hunt at such an hour.
It was therefore im|)ossible for me to ])rocure specimens of
several interesting animals peculiar to this part of the country,
]iarticularly one, a giant ar.t-eater, which Dr. Touchard speaks
of as a new animal.

I was al.jo unable to see much of the nature of the soil,
in a covmtry where the earth is hardly scratched even for culti-
vation, and where the rocks which ajipear above the surface
are covered by a thick mantle of vegetation. The subsidence
of the waters fortunately left the banks of the river exposed to
view, and the formation of this natural valley, which is almost
uniform for a very considerable distance, enabled us to de-
termine the structure of the country itself, or at least of its
outer crust.

Beyond the marshy flats on every siilc, llio banks present
thick beds of an argillaceous sand, more or less compact,
of an ochre colour, in which are embedded great lumps of iron-

stone, with rounded projections on the surface, hollow in-
side, and varying from the most complete friability to metallic
hardness. With these are often mixed fragments of red
P'jr[)hyry or ([uart/, and sometimes the clay changes its ap-
()ear.ince, becomes finer and whiter, and finally passes into
marl. In those places where the bank rises, the lower strata
consist of conchiferous chalk (limestone?), or btds of clay full
of ammonites. No minerals are known to the inhabitants, not
even iron. The weapons upd instruments which they possess
are either of European manufacture, und are obtained through
the medium of traders on the coast, or else they are those
made by a more distant tribe, the Ashebas, who, like the
Pahouins, are acquainted with the use of iron.

AVe ])roposed to ascend the Ogo-wai up to the point where
the two rivers Okanda and N'gounyai join. A\'e hoped that
we should there meet with new tribes, with the Enincas, who
appear to be in direct communication with the affluents of the
Gaboon, and jierhaps the Oshebas, who resemble very closely
the Ean-Pahouins. Unfortunately, the information we were
able to gather on this subject varied every moment, and this
object of our pursuit seemed to fly before us. At the same
time, the reception which we met with showed that there
was every day an increase of bad feeling towards us, and the
property which our canoe contained, or which we carried on
our persons, excited their envy more and more. At Aroumbd
a discussion took place during the night amongst the people,
and the conclusion they came to, as reported by our interpreter
who overheard it, was that, although they were not strong
enough to plunder us themselves, yet, as the large village of
IJombolie', at which we were to arrive the next day, was close
by, the best thing for them to do was to follow us in canoes,
and share the booty.

The result of such an attack, unhappily, could not be
doubtful ; if made during the day it 'would not be without its
dangers to the aggressors, but if during the night nothing could
be easier. It seemed useless for us to plunge ourselves into
serious difficulties for the purpose of prosecuting geographical
researches, the result of which was uncertain, and we therefore
fell back upon the Lake EHva, or Jonanga, which we had
passed on our right without exploring ; to tell the truth, its
inhabitants were not much more to be trusted, but it was
almost necessary to make some researches there, and we were,
moreover, likely to be amply repaid for our trouble.

Many considerations urged us to do this. The peoijle of
the Ogo-wai, especially the Galloise, had perpetually spoken
to us about the extent and beauty of this lake, and besides
everything else it was in their estimation a m)';teriouslakc, the
sanctuary of their religion Proof of thish.ul been given, they
said, by extraordinary appearances. The great ships of the
white men, which passed Cai)e Lopez (that is to say, more than
120 miles from the spot) might there be seen in the clouds;
powerful and jealous genii lived there, and if any profane
person (hired to approach the sacred islands, which they had
chosen for their home, his canoe would be capsi««! and he
would assuredly meet his death. The fact of our being
tanganis— that is to say, white men — would iiot preserve us
from this melanchnly fate ; on the contrary, we could not
possess a worse passport for such a voyage tk.n t'lC coloui of
our. skins. I hese str,iiiiA' accoimts, which we had at first
received as mere freaks of imagination, were told us by the
natives as far a;, t)ie villages on the bank:; 'jf the N'goumo, ;i

'iiiK c;.\no()N.

s^a

river by which the Lake Jonanga ciuiurs itself into the Ogo-
wai. Tliere could be no doiilit about tlie matter ; l'".liva was
most certainly an interesting spot, and in all respects well
worth a visit.

We soon crossed over the N'goirmo, a pretty stream of
water not more than a mile and a (juarter in length, ami we
pushed for vards to reach the island of Azinguiljouiri, where
we proposed to pass the night, anil from whence we could
very well ascertain the confomiation of the lake.

Infinitely varied in form, it baffles all description. At the
bottom of the different gorges nmnerous torrents carry down
the waters from the surrounding heights, but not a single river
of any importance falls into it. Its dejith varies from twelve to
nineteen feet during the dry season, and its waters are perfectly
transparent, while those of the Ogo-wai are of a singular
reddish colour. To the east the ground rises rai)idly and forms
a series of elevations culminating finally in the mountains of
Ashaukolos, which shut in the horizon, and through which the
Ogo-wai forces a passage. A luxuriant vegetation covers the
banks. The obas attain great beauty there, and the caout-
chouc grows in great abundance ; oil palms are more rarely
met with. The shores are covered with grasses ; close to the
water a very pretty dog-lily displays its \\hite flowers, but
no rushes are to be seen, nor any of those plants usually found
in stagnant waters, which at once reveal the muddy nature of
the soil, and betray at first sight the unhealthiness of a country.
The region of Lake Jonanga is therefore, I believe, a healthy
one.

The population, which is v^ry scattered, is of the Galloise
race. Further distant, behind the Ashaukolos Mountains, dwell
the Ashiras, of whom we saw two representatives. Their narrow
and receding skulls, and their heavy and prominent features
mark the inferior rank which they hold in the intellectual scale.
They appear to be industrious, however, and manufacture for
the greater part those fine and pliant mats known to the trade
as matting of Loango, or Loanda. Like the Pahouins they
have their teeth filed to a point.

We were cordially received in the village of Azinguibouiri.
The kinf,, in order to do us honour, had arrayed himself in
his best apparel. This consisted of a pair of cotton drawers,
not over clean, and a white hat of European make, which
seemed to have paid by its long service beforehand for the
present honour of covering a royal head.

The next day we took the route which leads to the famous
fetiche islands, which the natives so incessantly talked to us
about, or rather to the islanil of Aroumbu, which alone is
inhabited.

We were received on tlie shore by a dozen intelligent-
looking children, con.secrated to the service of fetichism, and
dressed .iccordingly, in a very strange costume. Their
principal garment was a pair of Bakalais drawers fastened
round the waist by a belt of while jjcarls, and ornamented with
arabesques, some witli pe.irls, others with a kimi of red chenille,
and fro'i: the sinuous and festocned bolder hung clusters of
blue jjearls and small bells. Necklaces of la.rge pearls of all
colours Ining round their necks or were ^vorn crossv/ise ; brace-
lets of red chenille ado-netl their arms and legs ; while rings of
brass on their wrists and ankles completed this unique costume.
The little feui liists are kept up to the age of seventeen or
eighteen, at which period tlicy are initiated into the mysteries
of their religion, " They see the fetiche," to use their own

expression. I'p to this time celibacy is strictly cnfiirced.
Oni e initiated, they obtain the title of ietichisl, and return to
orilin.xry life.

.\i ompanied by these "l.evites" of a new onler, wc
ascended to the village of .\rouuil"'', where we wailed, as the
kuig wished to honmir us with a visit. He required some
little time to array himself in his robe of cereniony, which
certainly was deserving of nolict. This was a unilbim — but
to what army it had at one lime belonged 1 am at a loss to
say — adorned wilh epaulettes of yellow wool and spangles,
cor|)orars braiding and buttons, upon wliich were embossed
three cannons, wilh this motto, " Ubiipie" (everywhere). Was
ever a motto more applicable? Who can say through how
many hands this corporal's uniform had passed before it
arrived at this secpiestereil lake, to serve as a < ourt dress for an
old negro king?

Yondogowiio, as this strange person.age calls himself, is in
reality the great religious chief. The person who exercises
the highest authority (the value of which it is diirKult to
estimate) lives in a village on the ( )go-'.vai, and is i\irely seen
at Aroumbc. Both these men belong to sacerdotal families,
and in order not to derogate from his noble origin, Yondo-
gowiro married a cousin of the sui)reme fetiche, who himself
married N'Gowa, a daughter of his new <:ousiii. 'I'hese two
Ladies, who happened to lie then at .Vroumbe, alVonled us
perfect specimens of the coiftures in vogue in that country —
a mode which differs from that of the (iabonese ; in one the
hair was massed up on each side of the head, in the form of
long, broail horns,

From the hut where we received the king we witnessed a
very curious scene. A group of b.ananas, jilantod in the middle
of the village, had been selected as a domicile by a little bird,
which had built its nest there .at the expense of the tree itself
The banana-leaf, as is well known, has a long mid-rib, edged
on either side by numerous fibres, which together form the
level portion — the limb of the leaf; it looks, in fact, like an
immense jilume with the feathers glued to each other. The
bird sej:, .ales these fibres one by one without detaching them
from tlie M.iik, and then plaits and felts them together. I'iach
leaf thus dealt with furnishes materials for a dozen such nests,
which hang suspended from the mid-rib. Nothing can be
more ple.ising than this winged republic, which seems as if it
would fain p.iy by a cheerful gaiety the hospitality of the
village.

Accompanied by Yondogowiro ami Queen Agueille, we
paid a visit, in the course of the afternoon, to the sacred
islands, and I must say that, in spite of sinister predictions, we
found it as pleasant a journey as could be made in a canoe at
the equator, where the temperature was about 103' Fahrenheit,
under a cloudy sky.

Let us picture to ourselves two islets, or rather two immense
patches of verdure, placed in [lerfectly limpid water, and abso-
lutely covered wilh a cloud of birds of every size and variety of
colour, freely enjoying themselves amidst the mijst ]/rofound
security. The great ibises, with their red heads, ]ierehed on
the peaks of the rocks, looked down upon us as we passed at the
distance of six or ten feet, and raised themselves to the
full height of their long Ihin legs an<l Happed tneir rose-coloured
wings, bordered so beautifully with black embroidery. Below,
a sin.eies of yellowish-white vuhiiie — large black birds, of lofty
flight — and kingfishers Hew to and fro. .\ group of ))elicans of

M>4

I LLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

a <iiiiotcr disposition hail taken up tlu'ir aboilt; in soiik' lar;^c
IrL-cs, which jiaiil dearly for tlic lionoiir of affonhiig them a
lodging. Slrippud of their k'.ivcs, and burnt Iiy the gi.ano
witli which tlK-y were covered, tliey would never be.ir leaf
.igain ; the-- were only like innneiise [lerches, from which
the pelicans watched the water, their heads half hidden
in their feathers, and their crops hanging down on their
breasts.

It is scarcely i)robal)le that these sacred islands owe their
gloomy reputation to these peaceable inhabitants. AVith them
or in them, j)erliaps, the mysterious genii live. Our Galloise
guide had prudently remained at Aroumbe. Our Laptots
themselves, notwithstanding their being .Mahometans, of
which they make such boast, thought it their duty to give
us some sage advice ; but V(;ndogowiro, the great fetichist,
was there to ai)pease the anger of the genii. It was, indeed,
a curious sight to see this little old man in liis uniform, too
high in the collar, too short in the sleeves, raise himself
in his canoe and stretch forth his hands suppli<atingly
to the (jelicans, the bird best ailapted to receive with be-
coming gravity this religious homage. With one hand he rang
a little bell— an emblem of his sacerdotal authority — with the
other he (rumbled a ([uantity of biscuit into the lake, then he
invoked the genii in the following words : — " Here are white
men, who come to visit you ; do them no harm. They bring
you presents of biscuits and alougoii. Preserve them fiom
death, and ensure their safe return to the (iaboon."

The prayer was simiile, and appeared to be sincere ; it was
only effect\ial, howeve' . in my case, for M. Serval,!ess favoured
by the gods of this Olympus, did not return without fever. 'I'he
presents mentioned had been liberally given. jXfter the di.s-
tribution of the jiieces of biscuit, Vondogowiro t'lUed his mouth
with alougou — the name given to the trade-brrndy of the
country — and disperseil it to the winds in a manner dangerous
to those near him. He did not perlbrm this ojieration without
having first swallowed part of the offering on his own account.
He deducted a tithe. At several places this ceremony was
repeated -prayers, sacrifice, and a little taste for himself
Seated before her royal husband, Agueille smoked her pipe.
As the privilege of landing on these islets belongs to the great
fetichists alone, we did not insist upon doing so ; and after
we had gone round them, we went to the entrance of the lake
which connects the extremity t)f the Lake lonanga with a
smaller one, Kliva Wizanga. It is close to the entrance of this
canal where the apparitions are seen, about which we had heard
so much. \\ e did not wait to witness them — they only appear in
the rainy season ; but we ho|ied that the mere sight of the place
would give us a key to a phenomenon, to the existence of which
we were obliged to attach some credit, since so many jjeople
had spoken to us of it without any mistake as to time or
to place, amd withoiu ever varyuig Irom one iinother as to
the details.

The account given to us by the nati\es was tliis : During
the rainy season, if they place themselves, a short time after
sunrise, at the entrance of the canal, with their eyes turned
toward tie west, they see in the clouds white forms, which
those pco]>le who have been to the sea-coast pretend to recog-
nise as >hi|)s jiassing Cape Lopez. They dec iare they .see them
tack, furl the sails, fire the cannon, and then suddenly dis-
appear. Without admitting all these details, might we not
believe that there lies some truth at the bottom, anil that, in

spite of the distance, these vessels are seen to pass here by
some powerful ell'ect of mirage ?

After this hasty and singular excursion we escorted back to
.\roumbe the great feti< he and his royal consort.

(HAl'lKR X.

ini^ UO'lol'dlAMl OF Ji.VNOO -I.AKK .\M:NUl' t— KOKKST (JT KlSIlliS —
J'lUIt.NKV riJ UC.U.WAl BY LANIJ — CONCLUSIO.N.

Olu visit to Lake Jonanga was now ended, and we took leave
of its inhabitants, not without several palavers, and followed
the course of the Ogo-wai.

A\'e heard by the way that the people of Aroumbe intended
to make us jiay a ransom on our return, and to do some harm
to our pilot, to whom they attributed our refusal to pay them a
visit on a former occasion. In order to avoid any altercation
with this (luarrelsome village, we passed it during the night.
By daybreak we were five miles beyond it, at the entrance
of the liandou, or liango, the first great branch which leaves
the left Ijank of the Ogo-wai to fall into the sea, and which
consecpiently forms the southern limit of its delta.

Some hours afterwards, we re-entered the village of our
friend N'Gowa Akaga, King of Dambo. This excellent rnan
viewed our return with imfeigned delight, for he knew of the
hostile feelings entertained by some of the chiefs against the
King of Cape Lopez, whose recent treaty with us now began
to be known, and he was aware also of their eagerness to
obtain lairopean [iroducts, so that he was not without some
anxiety on our account.

After we had rested several hours in this hospitable village,
we followed the route of the Pioniiier, which, having returned
on this side of the sandbanks, awaited our arrival near to
the village of Niondo. On the morrow we once more set out,
this time in a whaleboat, to pay a visit to Anengut', a village
described by M. du Chaillu, who assigns it an important part
in the future comtiiercial development of the country. A\'e re-
ascended the .\zin Tongo, an afiluent of the Ogo-wai, which
flows eastward ; then a narrower channel, the Ciongoni, which
brought us to the liango. We were told that this river had
several communications with the lake. We had, indeed, only
to cross in an oblitjue direction in order to find the most
important — the little river Guai-biri.

Our sudden appearance on the liango disturbed for a
moment a troop of hijjpopotaiui which were disporting them-
selves near to a sandbank. We had numbers of times met
with these huge animals on the Ogo-wai, where the banks in
every direction show traces of their footsteps ; but they had
always been in solitary couples, and in the water, so that their
heads and the higher parts of their huge hind-i|uarters were
alone visible above the surface, and they i.lisai)i)cared at the
slightest sound. A bullet fired into the midst of the herd made
them dive instantly, but we had scarcely crossed their play-ground
wIku they all reappeared. Notwithstanding the bad reputa
tion these animals have gained of attacking those who thus
venture amongst them, these ])articular ones had the good-
ness to wait in the water whilst we fired at them from a
distance.

We arrived at an early hour on tlie Guai-biri, and attempted
to enter the lake without further loss of time. Hut we had barely
got two miles, when the canal suddenly contracted, and we found
oursehes in a ditch of stinking mud. surrounded on all sides

'IHK (;A1K)0N.

.«<'S

by nislics, and without any .ipiarciit oiicniny. W'u were
oliligL'il to ixtrai c our .■^ll.•)lS.

'I'lic foUowin;,' morning; we set out in a small nati\e i anoe,
anil having reached the i)oint of obstruction, entered awindini;,
tortuous ditch, whose existence it was impossible we should
have suspected, and along wliiih we could only advance by
cutting away, as we went along, the immense rushes \vhi( h
obstructed our passage. Soon tlie water disappeared and dry
ground showed itself. But wo had jirovided for this dilliiulty ;
large cross-pieces of wood were laid down to make the ground
firmer, and our canoe, transformed into a sledge, was vigorously i
puUeil along on this kinil of ladder. \Vhi!:it the blacks
attended to the canoe, we endeavoured to make our way
through the rushes in advance of them, supporting ourselves
by their prismatic stems — which were as strong as those of
joung trees — kept from sinking by the close network which

.Al'tcr having de\olid .i d.iv In thi-. li.isly cNploratinn, ir,.ide
still more laliguing liy tlie intense he.it of a burmng sun .mil
the perfect slil'iiess of the air, we left without regret this
mclani holy mor.iss. My travelling comp.mion carried b.u k
with him a violent .illaik of fever, and 1 myself a iiil.iiii
degree of di.ieni haiilment. I r.muot, in fut, shale «uh .M. du
Ch.iillu the hope of one day seeing this muddy pl.iin tr.m^lnrmed
into ri( e fields, and st.'am-vessels ir.iveisiug w.ilers whn li iiui^t
be so extremely unhealthy. With this short expeililion ended
our voyage. I I.id it been undertaken before tlie sinking of the
waters, it would doubtless have been a most successful one ;
it h.is not, however, been wilhoul good results, and affords
landm.irks for the future.

Several months after its termination. M. Serval and I
reconnoitred the routes which ])lace one of the atiluents of the
Gaboon, the Raniboe, in direct communication wi'h the higher

TETIcnK H.\NAN'.\ TREES.

mpted
barely
found
. sides

their roots fonn on the surface of the mud, and sheltered ]
from the sun by the splendid globular umbels which crowned
their summits at the height of soine ten feet. 'I'liis beautiful
l)lant must be nearly akin to the p.ipyrus of the ancients, which
lias given its name to paper. Closely prcsseil one against
another as they are, the number of these rushes must indeed
be prodigious.

After a toilsome journey of three hours, now in the canoe,
now out of it, always in the mud, we at length came mion
Lake Ancngue. Its approach had not deceived us ; it is in
reality nothing less than the lowest jiortion of an immense
swamp, not deep, haunted by crocodiles, and which we had
probably entered on its muddiest sicK- Hills of considerable
height shut in the southern side ; and between these elevations
the moving plain formed by the tops of the rushes shows the
continuation of the sw.imp. The inhabitants of the few lillages
which crown the higher grounii. apjpear to have held for some
time communication with Europeans settled at the entrance
to the river Fcrnand-Vaz, whom they supply wiih elephant
tusks, and more especially palm-oil and india-rubber.

Ogo-wai. We crossed magnificent forests, where are to be
found more gorillas and elephants than human beings. A
distance of about twenty-five leagues had to be traversed l)y diffi-
cult ])aths ; but the jiermanent pku es of shelter which have been
])ut up along them, show th.it the route is haliitually made use
of. We had jiroved, in fact, by this that commercial intercourse
between the two rivers had been established by this chamicl, and
we felt no doubt that it would be possible to turn this to greater
account, and to make it profitable to the French settlement on
the Gaboon, Overcome by a serious illness, which I had for
some time felt coming on, I was prevented going as far .vs the
Ogo-wai, anil was held prisoner by fe\er in a Bakalai village.
My companion, however, reached it at a higher point than we
had been able to gel by canoe, about sixty-five leagues from the
sea coast. The river there was still more than half a mile in
breadth. It is, then, really an important stream of w.ater. Hut
from what soiin e does it come ? This is a question which the
future must solve.

I will end this description of the Gaboon with one (luestioii.
What use can be made of a country that has not one regular

366

ll.I.USTR.VI'KIJ TRAVELS.

jirodiK I? Its trade in cbuny, dycwoofb, and ivory is not of Perhaps, however, in sjiitc of these drawbacks, we might gain
It can only Ijc increased by the more i somethini; from the natural resources of the country, and

i, .' : >

any great irn]iortance
rapid exhaustion of its resources, since it destroys and does
not repiai e. 'I'o attenii-t to introduce some agricultural
imliistry— the cultivation if cotton, for instance — would be
to yield, I fear, to a generous illusion. Kuropeans cannot
work in su<h a tliuiate, and native labour counts for nothing.

particularly from its beamiful oleaginous plants. If we en-
courage tlie increase of thes? prec'ous trees, we shall obtain
from the nati->es the only exertion which appears to be com-
patible with their nature, that of cutting down each year that
which they have not had the trouble of cultivating.

II V

yoityiicyiiigs in Mesopotamia. — VII.

L I ]'. U r i; N A .S' T C. K. LOW, I, A r E INDIAN N A V V.

'.'ILMTKR l.X.

KOORNAII— THE SHATTl.I.ARAll— KETCKN TO TUK MOUTH OF TIIK
KlVr.K — IIOO-MU.N [ISO — CDNCI.USIDN,

After leaving Sheikh Sookh, the lUiphrates takes a bend to
the eastward, and the banks being very low, it again forms a
kiiul of delta, extending to Koornah, a distance of sixty-three
miles by water. The walled town of Koornah I have already
described ; it extemks along the right bank of tlie Tigris, and
the left of the I'aiphrates. A line of walls denoting the site of
the ancient .•\[)aniea may still be seen extending across the
peninsula formeil by the confluence of the two rivers. On
passing Koorn:'h, we sailed down the commingled waters
known lien<ef<.rth as the Shatt-el- Arab. This noble stream,
which has a breadth of half a mile. Hows in a straight course
towards the sea. After receiving a tributary called the Kerah,
the banks of the Shatt-el-Arab present a more pleasing aspect,
anil are fringed with date groves and numerous villages. In the
entire coiu-sc between liussorah anil Koornah, a distance of
forty miles, there are but two ishnds, both of them large ; the
river lias an average width of six h\mdred j'ards, with a depth
of twenty-one feet. Below the city of Bussorah, the width of
this noble stream is increased to seven hundred yards, while it
has a de|)th of thirty feet.

Near the earthworks of Mohamrah, the waters of the
Karoon How into the Shatt-il-Arab after a long course through
Shastin, ])ast .\hwaz, and other ])laces. .After this junction
the main stream inclines a little more to the south, and during
the remainder of its course jiasses many large villages, and
ahiiost a continuous belt of date groves. Between Moliamrah
and the sea, a distance of forty miles, it has an average width
of 1,200 )ards. At length we saw the tall spars of our old
ship, and it was like returning home again to find ourselves
among our .shipmates, who heartily greeted us on our return
from our wanderings in Mesopotamia.

The Cotnd had not yet .arrived with tlie despatches from
Baghdad, and as the captain's orders were to wait until he had
received them for transmission to the Bombay Government, a
further stay at Marghill was the necessary result. At this we
were not much grieved, for there was plenty of amusement to
be had in shooting ducks and other wild fowl, and, what was
still better, the swani|)s a few miles up the river were the
f^ivourite resort of the wild hog. As this sport has about it a
spice of danger, it was patronised to a much greater extent

than the former. Hog-shooting parties were formed three or
four limes a week, and the captain himself, being an ardent
sportsman, gave leave to the officers and men to indulge in
the Englishman's known predilection for slaughtering some-
thing — from an elephant or a tiger in the jungles of India and
the wilils of the country inhabited by the Hamran Arabs, to
sparrow shooting as practised by the hobbledehoys of an
iMiglisli country village. The day after my return to Marghill
I eagerly joined a party of ofVicers and men — the latter being
a ([uarter watch that had been made iij) — to enjoy a day's
hog-shooting.

All preparations were made over night ; an ainple supply of
ammunition, consisting of ball cartridge for the quadrupeds
and duck-shot for the feathered tribe, was laid in ; rifles and
fowling-pieces for the officers who were to form the party, and
muskets for the sailors, were cleaned and placed handy ; and
last, but not least, sundry hampers and suspicious-looking
bottles and flasks betokened that the inner man of " poor
Jack " was not neglected. The Metiora carried only a few
rilles, the fire-ann provided for the general service being the
old musket familiarly known as " Brown Bess." Part of the
starboard watch sailors accompanied us, all of them armed
with these weapons. It was necessary that we should have
men to act as " beaters," and as the Jacks were desirous of
taking part in the sport, they fulfilled at the same time the duty
of beating up the hogs. The start for our day's sport was
made from the ship about five o'clock in the morning, and
the shooting party, consisting of fifteen sailors and four officers,
myself among the number, "laid into" the cutter. The
oars were quickly dropped into the rowlocks, and the boat
shoved otT.

It was a lovely morning, with the sun just peeping above
the cloudless horizon. There was scarcely a "cat's-paw" on the
water, so unruffled, even by a passing breeze, was the surface of
the river; and the balmy breath of early morn, always delicious
and refreshing in the East after the sultry, breezeless nights,
had already given place to the fiery beams of the orb of day.
The strict discipline enforced among the boats' crews of a man-
of-war was on this occasion relaxed, and the men chatted and
joked as they gave way with the long ash oar. The boat was
pulled in-shore to avoid the current, and after a row of about
an hour and a half the scene of our intended sjjort was reached.
On the way we passed flocks of wild geese, flyint however, too
high in the air to be shot at ; and also saw some hysenas which

JOURNKYINdS IN MKSOIV) lAMlA.

367

had come down to tlio water's cdtje during tlic past hours of
ilarkncss, when they made " niglit liideoiis " ami nleej) impos-
sible with their melancholy, wailing cry ; Imt, at the sight of
us, these creatures, which are very shy, trotted olT at their liest
speed, and were lost sight of in tiie long jungle. We hail
brought three or lour natives to point out the best shooting
grounds, and these men also carried the provisions, and made
themselves generally useful.

\S'hen the boat was run u|) in one of the small creeks with
which the country abounds on either bank, a seaman was lel't to
take charge of her, and the rest of the jiarty, eighteen in num-
ber, struck out at once into the jungle. As we were now on the
actual spot where the wild pigs " most do congregate," wc looked
to our arms, and prepared to commence the sport without loss
of time. The modus operandi was simply as follows : — 'I"he
sailors were formed in line at right angles to the river, extend-
ing across the scene of oi>erations, and with intervals between
eacli man, while the officers established themselves along the
margin of the stream. When all had taken ii]) their stations a
signal was given, and the whole jjarly advanced in line, keep-
ing a sharp look-out for the animals. The belt of low land
which fringed the river was about 600 yards wide, and con-
sisted of soft, marshy soil, broken with deep ditches, or
nullahs as they are called, sometimes dry, but generally half-
filled with water; and was covered with a dense jungle of
tall reeds, almost six feet high. This made our jirogress very
laborious, and what with the swampy nature of the earth, into
which your feet sank over i le ankle at every footstep, and the
difficulty of making your way through the thick mass of foliage,
it was really very fatiguing work.

However, we knew before starting what to expect, and had
come with our energies nerved for the occasion, as well as our
feet and legs protected by huge boots (a pair of which I hail
had made for the purpose in Bushire) reaching to the top of
the thighs. We had not been many minutes thus making our
way with our rifles at the " ready," and all on the qui vive,
when on the extreme left was heard a shout, and then three or
four shots delivered in quick succession. Soon the cause of
this excitement became evident, in the quick movement in the
jungle ahead, but which was almost immediately lost in the
distance, as the " suer," as the natives call the wild hogs,
• .iccessfully made his escape. One of the ofiicers who had
fired averred that he planted a bullet in the hind-cjuarters
of the beast ; and this was very probable, as the tenacity
with which these animals cling to life is remarkable. I have
seen a wild boar knocked over, in whose carcase was dis-
covered, when cut up by the ship's cook, no less than seven
musket-balls.

^\'e continued the sport, without any marked success, for
two hours. Many of the animals were, indeed, stnick, but
seldom did any of us have an opportunity of inflicting a wound
in any vital part. It was no easy matter to surprise them, for
the "grunters" were gifted with a quick sense of hearing; and
then, unless you got a shot at them while in a recumbent posi-
tion, the chances were against your wounding them in the head
or heart, for they made off at a surprising jiace — now dashing
through the jungle, and then, when coming to a nullah, taking
the obstruction with a flying leap that would not have discredited
an Irish hunter at a stone fence. I had a capital shot at a
large boar while he was in the act of clearing one of these deep
nullahs, and hit him in the side ; the beast rolled o\er, but

long before we had come iqi to disp.iti h him he 1 d reg.iimd
his feel, and disappeared in the dense jungle. The tluc k lonst
'"■f reeds was al.so a serious obstriK lion to our spmi, loi ihe
'iull"ts glanced off the l.mgled m.iss of stalks, whiili at the
s.ime time effeclually com e.ded everything licMind a few yards
from us.

We were rather di^appoiiUed ,it our w.mt of success, when
at length a shot fired by a petty olfii er, who w.is n<<t to me,
drew my attention in his direc tion. I fired at the spot where
the rushes Wi're violently agitated, (or the animal was evidently
not seeking to escape by diving into the jungle, as the majority
of the others we had sighted had done, but was making fiir the
river on my right hand, This drew upon him the fire of five
of us, and, as he was headed off the stre.im, he turned b.u k.
I lould not see any of our party, fi)r we were all acting in-
dependently, but t gathered as mut h by tlie motion of the
brushwood and the shouts t'rom my right. 1 was not long in
loadinjj; again, and, having advanced a few paces, found a sjiaco
in front almost free from jungle. As I reached the s|i(]t, and
looked in the direction I had heard the last shot, I saw an
enormous boar charging back from the river, where his retreat
had been cut off, and instead of "steering ahea<l," when we
should have lost sight of him, bearing down along the line,
and regularly running the gauntlet. He had been wounded,
for blood was flowing from two or three places, and this
rendered him savage and reckless. 'I'here are few beasts nu)re
dangerous than a wild boar when hard hit and unable to
escape; in fact, there is a well-known jiroverb respecting Ihe
ferocity of a " wild boar at bay," and as this gentleman < ame
tearing along, with his head slightly lowered, like a mad bull,
and his white antl gleaming tusks churning and snapping with
fury, he presented a very formidable appearance, and clearly
meant mischief. At that moment a " maintop-iuan," an Irish-
man, a very strong, broad-set little fellow, made his appearance
to my left, rushing out with great eagerness, and having his
musket with the bayonet fixed, as he afterwards exjiressed it,
when interrogated as to his impeluosity, " liedad ! to let the
blaggiard have the baggonet." I stood still, and waited until
the animal came near me, for I felt that, if he selected me for
his victim, it would recpiire all the ounce of le.nd in my rifle to
settle him. The infuriated boar was dashing at me, when
O'Callaghan obtruded his comical visage to the front. Whether
it was that the enraged "porker" was exasperated at this
exhibition of ill-timed levity (for he doubtless considered it no
laughing matter), or for some other occult reason, is uncertain,
but directly I'addy showed himself (wildly gesticulating and
hurrahing the while) the boar, attracted by the noisy demon-
stration of welcome, swerved a little, and, passing me at a
terrific pace, singled him out.

I was perhaps a little flurried, for my aim, directed at the
head, was not very accurate ; nevertheless, w hen I fired, the
ball struck him full in the flank, Ihe force of the blow knocking
his "after-part" on one side. It slightly checked him in his
onward course, but only for 1 moment. Furiously the brute
dashed at the plucky native of Erin, who, nothing daunted,
" let him have it," or radier, didn't let him have it ; for,
although O'Callaghan's fire was delivered close enough to have
scorched the bristle of the " jiig's check," the bullet struck the
stock of a sailor's inusket in quite a contrary direction. This
wonderful performance was a great subject of merriment for
many a day among his messmates, but at the time it nearly

168

n.i.i;sTK,\ii;i) iravkls.

]:-..|

■|'

cost l[ii- ripprniry lioy his life, for almost at tlif s.iiiii: instant
that 1 hcani the ri'|ioil, I saw poor <)'('allaj;lian iiigh in ihc air,
legs uppermost, anil willi llu' miiskct tlyin^ nhoilt his head hke
a shillelagh in a taction light. 'I he hoar ^^■as upon him, and
wonlil most ( i-rtainly have made an end of the hrave fellow if
an old pelly olfuer— who had profiled hy the prai tice at a
mark at which the 1 rew had lately been exeri ised, and had re-
served his liri' had not planted a shot in tin' eye of tile sav.lgc
beast, just as he had tiirneil again and was alioiit to rip lip his
unini ky and defeni eless opjionent. It w.is done well, and not
a moment too soon ; for, allhongh wc were all running up to
the assistanc e of our shipmate, our gmis were unloaiicd, and
the pig had it all his own way. 'I'he slujt, penetrating to the !
brain, took insiant elt'ei t, and the animal dropped dead on the
sjiot. I'oor O'Callaghan was set on his legs again, and found
to be none the worse, beyond a few bruises, for his involuntary
somersault ; he had lu< kily received the charge of the [jig on |
the most convenient part of liis person, and never experienced
any ill effects from the collision. 'I'here was nothing after this !
event worth mentioning ; we had, on the whole, ])retty good
sport, and at the end of a very fatiguing day, succeeded in
killing and securing four ])ig.s. No correct estimate could
be formed of the number womided. Two out of the four .
animals slaughtered were very fme large boars, and "all

h.inds" had pork for bre.ikfast, pork for dinner, and pork
for supper, during the following week, besides the daily rations
of meat.

'I'en days after my arrival at Marghill, the Cnwi/ returned
with despati lies from the Coiisul(!eneral at liaghdad. I bade
good-bye to my kind friend and late host, the ca|itain of the
arnieil steamer, and then the old ship sailed for salt water, at
which our mess was not sorry; for we began toregaril ourselves
somewhat in the light of the fresh-water sailors of London, who,
dressed in the rig of seafaring men, are for ever iiesleting one
with offers to lake you fur a pull on the Serpentine, or the more
adventurous souls who loaf about the 'I'hames above the
bridges. Indeed, there was a grave possibility — unless we soon
had a taste of the roaring nor'-westers of the I'ersiau Gulf — of
Marghill, with its attendant good fare of wild diu ks and fresh
pork, becoming a very Capua to our jolly tars ; and so we bade
adieu to Mesopotamia. liut before taking leave of the gentle
reader, who, I fear, lias been bored at times with my dulncss,
I must express my acknowledgments to (leneral Chcsney
and Messrs. Buckingham, Wellsted, and Mignan, to whose
valuable works I have so frequently had recourse, in reviving
half-forgotten reminiscences of scenes and places witnessed
and visited during the pleasant days of my Journeyings in
Mesopotamia.

Ii'

Seven Months in the Balearic Islands. — IV.

IIV 1;. c;. ll.XRTIIOI.OMF.W, c.r.. M.S.K.

'1'' ■ \\''

1^'

ROMAN INSCRIPTIONS AT IVIZA— UlSl oRHAI, SKKTCMl —
CONCLUSION.

Ahout 100 u.c. Iviza yielded wholly to the Romans; they
sought to exterminate the aristocracy living on the island, and
to make the inhabitants tributary to their court at 'I'arragona.
I cannot relate all the skirmishes which took place Iietween
Marius and Sylla, and other well-known Roman generals, in
most of which Iviza and its biave inhaljitants bore a part ;
Iviza declared for I'ompey, and sufifered the indignation of
C;ic.sar. At this period this beautiful isle was a centre of
luxury, and f.uiied in science, art, industry, commerce, and
iigriculture. Proofs of its greatness in former times are often
met with ; coins, monuments, statues, sepulchres, and utensils
being numerous. Amongst other relics are the following : — ■
At the sides of the principal gate of the fortifications separating
the [lort from the city are two statues, believed to represent
persons of high rank ; they were deca])itated by the Vandals.
That at the right of the gate is of marble, well cut ; the
nearly obliterated characters on its pedestal are as follow ;—

CIVLIOCFGAL

TIRON'I

C'.AKTVr.ICO

QVKSTVRB

TRPI.I'RAETORI

AMICO OPTIMO

ISF.MPRflNIVSI.FOVIR

CKNFCIO.

The statue on the left hand resembles a priestess, and has the
following inscription under it : —

NONIVET

REGINAE

LOCVI.ATIVS

(JVIR REGIVS

F.T. . . EMINA. . . CF

RESirrVTA. . . R

F;T. . . I.OCVLATIVS

QVIRREGIVS

SVIS. D. S. R.

Inside the gateway is a niche holding the statue of a priest,
much mutilated, and without an inscription. At a short
distance from the city, by the roadside, is a square stone
resembling a pedestal, on which evidently a statue once stood.
The inscription is very legible, .and is as follows; —

I.. OCVI.ATIIJ

I,. F. gvik

RECTO
AEDII.I. IIVIR

FI.AMINI

I. OCVI.ATIVS

I.. F, QVIR.

RECTVS. F

PATRIINDVI.GENTIS

SI.MO POSVIT.

I copied many other ancient inscrijitions, the details of
which I need not give here.

Sepulchres are met with in many parts, and prove by their
remains and contents that the Romans occupieil nearly the

liinii

iiT, and pork
L' il.iily rations

"ovui returned

dad. I hade

aptain of the

salt water, at

l^'ard ourselves

l-ondon, who,

pestering one

c, or the more

•s above the

inlcss we soon

sian (liilf — of

rks and fresh

id so we bade

of the gentle

1 my diilness,

eral Chcsney

an, to whose

;e, in reviving

I'es witnessed

ourneyings in

, and has the

; of a priest.

At a short

square stone

■ once stood.

lie details of

ove \vj their
J nearly the

SEVEN MOMIIS IN |||i; JtAl.KAKK l>l.\Mi\

./"}

whole island, whii h they devoted to agrii iiltiire, nianiil.K tiires.
and coimiierte. They made sugar, and exported it to the
continent, drinkingvessets, &e., which obtaineil notoriety, and
manufactured cotton. Besides these works of handi< raft, lluy
explored the soil for miner.ils, and dug mines wliidi amply
rep.iid their labour. Ivi/a was oni e truly the )iri(eless pe.irl
of the Mediterranean — the envy of the surrounding naticuis
and now she has lost all but what nature has left her. I'oor
Ivi/a! beautiful even in her ruins. During the Roman o( cii-
pation of Iviza our .Saviour was born. St. I'aul prea( hed
the Cospel here in the year 60. In the fourth ( entury the
disciples of Augustine, jierhaps .St, Augustine himself (for
he was horn at 'I'hegaste, near Carthage, and educated at
Carth.ige), established monasteries in the islands of Ivi/a
and Formentera,

In 426 A.D. (ienseric took possession of the island by means
of stratagem : under cover of night he came ui)on the tm-
suspecting inhabitants, and slew great numbers of iheui. .Some
fled to Tagom.ago, a mere rock rising a few hundred feet (Jut
of the water, but being blockaded, we-e compelled to smreuder,
and those who would not embrace idolatry were iiersecuted.
(ienseric continued the terror of Iviza until his death ; his son
Huneric succeeded him. He was a strict Arian, and banished
to Carthage the bisho|)S of Iviza, I'alm.a, and Mahon ; Ililderic,
in 522, ordered their return. In 711 the Moors obtained
possession, and held the island till driven out by Charles the
(Ireat in 900. In rooo they again took it under Muguid, the
Moorish King of Majorca, Albulanazer, surnanied the King
of the Pirates, was governor in 1 1 14, At this time Poiie Pascal,
acceding to the proposal of the city of Pisa, organised a
crus.ade to deliver the Ivizencan Christians from the clutches
of the pirate wolf, Peter, Archbisho|) of Pisa, was ap|)oinled
commander of the expedition, which, consisting of 300 ship.s,
sailed from Pisa on the 6th of August, 11 14. The mmiber of
ships gradually swelled, until on arriving at Iviza it amounted
to nearly 500 sail. The m.agnitude of the armament frightened
the Moors, but their overtures of peace were rejected, and in
the ensuing contest the governor was slain, and the Christians,
after destroying the fortifications, started ofi" to the conquest
of Majorca, which they acconqjlished. They returned to Pisa
in 1 1 17, carrying with them the widow and son of the Mallor-
([uin king and King liurabe, who had come over from .Africa to
the assistance of the Moor.':. The widowed queen and her son
and Burabe became Catholics, and the young prince was
raised to the dignity of a canon.

In 1 147 Iviza again became subject to the Moors, and so
reiTi.iined till in 12 13 James I of Arragon freed the whole of
the Baleares from the yoke of Mahomed, and became King of
Majorca ; subsequently it fell under the dominion of Spain,
and has since remained a part of that kingdom. The Spanish
rule has, indeed, done little for this now neglected isle. It
contains 100 scjuare miles of surface, more than two-thirds of
which are capable of producing abundant crops, and yet not
one-tenth is brought into anything like a cultivated state ; still,
the words of the poet will apply to Iviza--

" 'Tis a goodly biglit to see
What heaven hath done for this ilelicious land,
What tVuits of fragrance blusli on every tree.
What goodly prospects o'er the hills expand I"

The next line is not applicable : it says —

" But man would mar them with an impious hand,"
vol., I,

\nd yet, as ,1 proof of how hitle is known respeiiiug l\i/,i, I

quote Irom Hugh .Murr.iy's cm ellent geogi.iphy, published in

j i«3.t, •'hi,M," he s,iys, "is a small isle of rugged siul.ue,

I whii h forms one inmien->e iimunt.iin, shooting up \\ii,, ,1 \,iiiely

of simmiits."

There arc .1 ivw vill.iges Mattered over the isl.inil, but
all insignitii.ml. " l.,i Ciud.id" (ontains about 7,000 in-
habitants, and is divhU'd into ,ui iqipei ami louer p.irt,
separated by a well c onslructed w.ill with r,imp,irts and b,istioiis,
.Most of the gooil houses are in the Ipper Town, where stands
on very ele\ated ground a small cathedral, the view from
which <.iimot be ei|U.illed. There is little to be said .ibout
the place, exie|it th.it tlie inhabitants, as well as their houses,
retain strong tr.n es of the Moorish oiciipation. One thing
is common to both di\isions of the town, lli.it is, b,\d
smells, and it is diHi(ult to say in whi( h part they most
abound. 1 would suggest the early morning as the best
time for going to the market-place, where will be seen the best
flavoured fruits whi<'h grow on the three islands, and as
cheap as good. The luil-be.iring pine grows abundantly in
Iviza. and here they will be foimd all ready shaken out of the
fir-cones in donkey-loads. The market oc< upies the centre
of an open square, an<l around it are several iilaterias, or
slio])s of workers in silver and gold, who drive a large trade in
fabricating ornaments for the coimlrywonien, with whom such
dedirations form a necessary part of their cliunli going attire.

.My duties rendered it necessary that I should remain for
some time in the country, and I wa.s thus enabled to form
a fair estimate of the character and habits of the country
people, and become acquainted with the lovely scenery with
which the island abounils, The panegyric I have (juoted and
applied to Iviza is applicable only to the lOimtry.

The population scattered throughout the isle is consider-
able ; it amounts to about 22,000, which you would hardly
credit, so dispersed are the cott.ages. The habit is for the
<liildren to remain after their marriage with their parents until
the house becomes too small to hold the increasing nmubers,
or circumstances induce them to remove. The family groups
thus collected are often highly pictures(|ue, and there is but
one drawback to the beauty of the picture, which becomes
very evident in this hot < limate, aflecting the nose rather than
the eyes — it is the utter disregard of ventilation, and the
huddling together of men, women, ( hildren, dogs, ducks,
fowls, fuel, and eatables. On my journeys I travelled as
follows :— Selecting a strong steady ,ass for my own use, I had
])iled upon his straw saddle sundry blankets, a ])illow, some-
times a mattress, and mounted myself on the soft heap. This
precaution was necessary, considering the nature of the ground
I had to traverse. My attendant, who acted in the double
capacity of groom and cook, followed with another animal for
his own use, and a third, on whose back was a confused heap
of bedding, pots, kettles, baskets, meat, and anything else
likely to prove useful in the unfretiuented districts I had to
traverse. .-Xrrived near a suitable house, Pedro would ])ass
on and solicit jiermission, on beh.alf of "el Signor Ingles," to
use the fire, and to spread the mattresses under the porch for
the coming night, I often had my bed placed on the house-
top, and if not dreaitiing of Pedro, often thought of him, I
slept more free from disturbance in the open air than if I had
ventured into the house, I cmly once attempted the latter
arrangement ; I had reason to repent of my rashness before

^>.

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IMAGE EVALUATION
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Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

33 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80

(716) 872-4503

"^'^

ffS

370

ILLUSTRATED TRAVELS.

«!"«

mi:

IM'^

11'

• -.'lis

morning. It is extremely ple.isant to sleep in the open air,
and to wake '^■itli tlie sunrise, wliilst sweet scents, "the tlew
of herbs," knuivn only to morning, are wafieil from the pine
woods before the scorching sun has dried up the moisture.
It is a little diflii iilt to arrange one's toilet under these cir-
cumstances the last thing a .Moor thinks of is to wasli himself,
and he cannot understand that others should wish to do so.
Never travel without soap in Spain ; this adage eiiually applies
to her islands. If a stream runs near you, all the better ; if
not, a bowl of water suffices. From day to tlay, and from
week's end to week's end, my dinner consisted of a mi.xture
of fowl's limbs, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, sometimes potatoes,
and always garlic ; the whole stewed with water in an earthen
pipkin; and in spite of its s,imencss, and, as some would say,
of its garlic. I can speak to its power of appeasing the keenest
appetite.

In some cott.iges wine was procurable, some of the native
wines of this island being peculiarly fine in flavour. It is tjuite
white, and can be taken with impunity in large quantities. I
once tasted home-m.ule wine of a dit'fereut character at a country
blacksmith's ; it was pressed from grai)es sun-dried almost to
the condition of raisins, and jiossessed the fullest and richest
flavour of any wine I ha\e tasted, combined with very great
strength. S|)eaking of grapes leads me to say a few words
about the vines which rather grow than are cultivated in Iviza.
Before the oidium made its appearance, every farmer cultivated
sufficient plants to supply the requirements of his family for
the ensuing ye.ir ; since then the grape has been almost
entirely neglected, for the poor peasantry have no money to buy
sulphur, and, being unwilling to root up the vines, you niayjiass
over lumilreds of acres of vine-planted land, every i)lant being
either barren or dead. I am now speaking only of the vines
in the open coimtr)-, the real vineyards ; in the woods and
sheltered spots they present a very different and an extremely
beautiful appearance. Clinging to large trees near whose roots
they have been jilaiUed, ;ney are to be seen in full strength
and fruitfulness. I have seen a large fir-tree having every one
of its wide-si)read boighs intertwined with the branches of a
vine si)ringing from a single stem, and dotted with immense
bunches of the riches, grapes ; and I remember one such tree
on a bough of which I lay and feasted without trouble upon the
cooling clusters. Clrea.ly did I regret having to cut down this
same tree to allow my telegraph wires to pass free. A stranger
is alw.iys welcome to help himself to fruit of any kind, but the
same ho .pitality is not extended to a fellow-countryman.

The algarroba-tree is very abumlant, and springs up ipon-
taneously both in Iviza and Majorca. The fruit resembles a
long, brown, flat bean, and possesses a sweetish-sour taste.
It has of late years been imported into England, and is better
known here as the fruit of the carob-tree. In the Daleares
and south of Spain it forms a large proportion of the footl of
horses and other animals. A Spanish proverb says it is certain
death to sleep uniler an algarroba-tree. I have proved the
f.dl.icy of this statement by experience. The foliage of this
tree gives out a very peculiar and unpleasant odour, and it is
so powerful, that you know of the existence of an algarroba
at a distance of at least 200 ;, irds.

The prickly fig, or higuero de Moro, called so because
first planted in Spain by the Moors, is a remarkable plant.
It resembles a gigantic cactus, and when in flower looks pretty.
After these fall, the fiuit forms. It is cool but tasteless, though

a favourite food with the Si)aniards. Another Spanish saying
is, that death is the conseciuencc of drinking spirits or wine
after eating a prickly fig. I did not venture to test the truth
of this statement. I was surprised at the ease with which this
plant is propagated. A single leaf, or even a part of a leaf, will
take root if stuck in the ground, and no locality seems too arid
or ilry to aftord nourishment for its growth. It will thrive
admirably on a stone wall, and this is the more curious since
the whole character of the i)Iant is highly succulent, from its
thick fleshy leaves to its very juicy fruit.

Of the common fig there are two kinds — the black and the
white. The former is not much valued, being smaller and not
so rich in flavour as the white, and it does not dry well. It is
seldom exported, but the islanders dry large quantities, and
stole them for winter u.sc. The white fig is a delicious fruit
when it grows in such a climate as the south of Spain, but
nowhere iloes it reach to such perfection as in Iviza. When
ripe it is like a ball of honey, and deliciously cool. This fruit
satisfies hunger better than any juicy fruit 1 know. Some of
the white fig-trees are perfect marvels of vegetable growth. T
have seen a single tree whose branches covered a circular s])ot
of ground nearly 400 feet round; the shade of such a tree
is most refreshing. The fruit is regarded as unwholesome if
gathered whilst the sun shines on it ; but perhaps this also is a
fiction. A large quantity of dried white figs are exported from
the island, wiiilst an immense quantity of the most delicious
undried fruit is given to fatten i)igs, who make a fearful mess
of the dead riiie figs by trampling them into the mud. The
fig-tree bears two distinct crops of fruit, the first of which is
not good enough for drying.

One word about the melons. Another Spanish proverb
says, "A woman and a melon are best known after trial."
I can testify to the truth of this saying as respects the melons,
perhaps some of my readers can with regard to women. It is
a singular fact that from the same stalk you may cut a dozen
melons, every one of which shall have a totally different
flavour : the shape, size, colour may be precisely similar, and
yet one may not be eatable, and of the other you can eat
almost the seeds and skin. The finest flavoured melons should
possess a taste of aguardiente, as the Spaniards call brandy,
though not brandy as we mean it, it being flavoured with anise-
seed. Aguardiente is an intolerable poison to an Englishman,
and yet, strange to say, a very similar flavour in a slight degree
gives a melon a richness which must be tasted to be appre-
ciated.

Almonds and olives are grown in large quantities in Iviza,
and the comp.iratively small quantity of oil which is made in
this island fetches a higher price in the market than any other.
The oil-presses are rough and primitive, and much oil is lost
through want of care. The crushed olives are mixed with
warm water and placed in flat bags laid one over the other,
a flat board terminating the pile, which is placed under an
immense wooden beam near its fulcrum, a screw acting upon
the outer end. The board on which the pile stands has a
groove or channel cut round it, into which the exjircssed oil
and water runs, and an oi)ening at one side carries it into a
large hollow cut in a stone. Here most of the oil separates
from the water, and floating on the surface, flows off through a
channel cut in the ?///c^ i)art of the stone basin, whilst the
redundant water jiasses away through an orifice at the bottom ;
but owing to the oil not liaving time wholly to separate itself

A KUROPEAN SOJOURN IN JAPAN.

371

Si)anish saying
spirits or wine
J tost the truth
with wiiicli this
rt of a leaf, will
seems too arid
It will thrive
-• curious since
ulent, from its

black and the
mailer and not
Iry well. It is
luantities, and
delicious fruit
of Spain, but
Iviza. When
3l. This fruit
ow. Some of
lie growth. I

circular spot
f sucli a tree
iwholesome if
> this also is a
exported from
nost delicious

fearful mess
e mud. The
it of which is

inish proverb
n after trial."
s the melons,
omen. It is
' cut a dozen
ally different
' similar, and
you can eat
lelons should
call brandy,
;d with anise-
Englishman,
slight degree
to be appre-

ties in Iviza,
I is made in
in any other.
:h oil is lost
mixed with
r the other,
:d under an
acting upon
tands has a
xpressed oil
es it into a
)il sejiarates
ff through a
, whilst the
the do//om ;
parate itself

from the water, much is wasted by passing away with it. I
collected some of the waste many yards away from the build-
ing, and proved to the owner how much he was losing. There
are not many oil-mills in the island, and those who requin;
their olives crushed pay in kind for the use of the mill, the
proprietor of which makes a good thing out of his machine.
In England we regard the olive as a hard, salt kind of berry,
indigestible though palatable, and entirely devoid of any
flavour of oil. This is the unripe fruit. When ripe and fit
for crushing, olives turn black and fall from the trees ; in this
state they form an excellent relish when eaten with bread and
salt. I have often enjoyed a lunch of this kind, finding it
wholesome, agreeable, and satisfying. In bruising the fruit
for the press, the stones and all are crushed.

But I must close my remarks on Iviza, and with it on the
Baleares generally. There are many other islands, more or
less insignificant, connected with the group, but scarcely any of

them are deserving of notice. Eormcntera, lying to the south
of Ivi/a, is the largest of tlieso satollitic isles, but it is a place
of no importance ; the only communication kept up with it
and the rest of the world being by a felucca once a week,
"weather i)ermitting," between it and Iviza ; and the passengers
usually consist of a few peasants, who exchange the produce
of their ground for clothing, anil articles not obtainable in
Formentera. The island contains a very scattered population
of 1,350 souls. Although not a large number, it is sufficient
to disprove the ridiculous assertion that rormentcra is de-
serted on account of the number of serpents upon it. It
is, however, a singular fact that, although the two islanils arc
separated by a channel only a mile and a half broad,
venomous reptiles exist on Formentera ; they are, however,
not only unknown in Iviza, but are unable even to live there,
the cause of this favoured singularity being ascribed to the
saltness of the soil.

A European Sojourn in jfapan. — l^III.

FROM THE FRENCH OF M. AlUt HUMBERT, SWISS MINISTER IN JAPAN.

JAPANESE ORNAMENTATION— THE QUEENS COURT.

The architecture of the Japanese, and all their works both
of industry and art, denote a certain pursuit of the symbolic,
added to great purity of taste in the imitation of nature.
In the framework of the roofs of temi)les and palaces, there
are ornaments sculptured in wood, representing a bank of
clouds, above which rises the pediment of the building. The
str.ie entrance of the da'iri is ornamented with a golden sun,
surrounded by the signs of the Zodiac. The iwrticoes of
the Buddhist temples are surmounted by two elephants' heads,
to denote that this religion has its origin in India. The
weight on a carpenter's plumb-line represents the sun descend-
ing to the horizon. The favourite subjects of their mosaic and
wood-sculptures are sea waves crested with foam, basaltic rocks
worn and hollowed by the sea, cranes and bats with extended
wings, and groups of trees and reeds in various combinations.
There are also many ornaments whose signification we do not
understand, such as that seen in the enclosure of the dairi, a
kind of vase of bronze, with a rough representation of a bird of
the size of a man. This is one of the most ancient monu-
ments of native art, and is called the Tori-Kame, but its
origin and use are unknown. Other vases of great antiquity,
mounted on tripods and used for burning perfumes, have
carvings of the head or scales of the crocodile, an animal quite
unknown in Japan. The tortoise and the crane, which are
frequcndy introduced on the sacred chandeliers and perfume
vases, are emblems of immortality, or at least of longevity.
The F06, the mythological bird common to China .-nd Japan,
is placed on the lintels of the dairi, a ' ■ ' 'h-. top of the
Mikado's palanquin, as an emblem of etirnal happiness.
These symbolic images, and others, which it would take
too long to pnumerate, are introduced in the designs of the
rich silks figured with gold and silver, which are the glory
of the Kioto weavers, as well as into the engravi-igs and

carvings on the plates of gold and «ilver, brass and steel,
with which the native jewellers decorate the hilts and scabbards
of swords and other articles ; they use them also in adorning
the pieces of plate and works of art in porcelain and lacquer,
which form the chief decoration of Japanese establishments.

It was once remarked to me, in a warehouse fiiU of
curiosities produced by the workshops of Kioto, that not
one of the articles displayed was of a purely rectangular form.
I examined a number of cabinets, caskets, paper boxes, and
other varnished articles, and found that none of them had
a sharp angle, all the corners being slightly rounded. This
may be nothing more than a peculiarity of taste ; but there is
another fact which has probably a symbolic significance,
namely, that all Japanese mirrors have, without exception, the
shape of a disc, which seems to confirm the opinion of Siebold,
that the mirror in the Kami temple is an emblem of the sun's
disc. It would be more difficult to divine the reason of
certain fashions in Kioto, if, indeed, there is any reason in
fashions. Ladies of the court jiluck out their eyebrows, and
replace t'.iem by two large black marks some distance higher
on the forehead ; perhaps it is that ther.e high-cheeked beauties
fancy they improve the oval of their faces by this litde feminine
artifice, which tends to raise the eyebrows, which nature has
placed rather too much in the centre of the fitce. With the
exception of a few locks jilastered with wax, and arranged in
rings on the forehead, t'^e hair is quite smooth and flat on the
head, and hangs down on the back, where it is confined in a
knot, which conceals c'-tain mysterious combinations, as all the
great ladies display a thick head of hair flowing amid the folds
of their mantles. The amplitude of this rich brocaded garment
leads one to believe that feminine happiness in K'oto is measured
by the amount of yards of material which it is possible to
display. \\c were at first puzzled to know the meaning
of the two long flaps which on each side fall below the

*i JM I ail *iiii^i

l-L_r

W: i

37'

li.l.rsi RAl'Kl) IRAVKLS.

tlowliit,' honi of tlio iikiiuIl', ainl wlun the wcariT is walkini; An oiloiir of scented woods, of fine mats, and fresh stuffs,
follow the Miolion of llie t'eet, ,nid f,'ive the imiiression that she ' niinj,'les witli tlie pme air wiiich penetrates on all sides through
is advan( in<; on her knees. Sui h. indeed, we disrovered, is : the open screens. The young girls of the palace present tea
the effect intended to be produred, as it is necessary that from Oudsji, and sweetmeats from the Kmprcss's refectory,
the ladies of the court who are admitted to the presence of the The I'lmpress, or Kisa^ki, who rules over the other twelve
Mikado, should appear to ,i|iproach his sacred majesty on their legitimate wives of the Mikado and his crowd of concubines,
knees. In the interior of the palace there is no sound to be is seated in solitary state, at the head of a flight of steps

Mill 'i

|»,

I!'

IM '

\ Ri cK.i'i i.is iiv run \fiK\iiip, IS rciuMiu inn-

,l>

heard but the rustle of silk on the s()l"t ( arpets which cover
the mats ; bamboo blinds soften the daylight, s( reens orna-
mented with wonderful jjictures, damask draperies, and velvet
curtains enriched with loops of silk cord and llaming artil"i( iai
birds, form the partitions and doors of the reception rooms.
There is no furniture, but here and there in the corners a
porcelain aciuarium, surmounted by natural flowers and shrubs
arranged with great taste, or a cabinet inlaid with mother-of-
pearl, cr shelves containing the vohnr.inons poetical anthologies
of the old empire, one of which was printed on goldi-ii leaves.

leading to a dais, which extends along the whole apartment.
Her ladies of honour and attendants squat or kneel behind
her at a respectful distance, in groups, each wearing the
costume and colours proper to their rank, and look like a
parterre of gay flowers. As to the dress of the Kmpress
herself, its folds are arranged with so much art that they en-
velop her like a corolla of gauze and brocade, and the three
spikes of gold which surmount her diadem look like the
anthers of some gorgeous flower.

On days when the Queen holds .1 reception the guests

VISIl' ()|- IMK lAlMION TO TJIK MIKADO, A I' KIOTO.

374

ILLUSTRATED TRAVKLS.

It i

>; ■ ■
'111

IJi'll

are rnngcd in concentric SL'micircIcs, opposite the sovcrci--
and at a sign from Ikt the ladies-in-waiting jirostrate them-
selves before her to receive her orders before proceeding
with the entertainment. The Kisaki's court is the chief
school for the Japanese floral games. On the third day of the
third month all the wits of the court assemble in the blossoming
orchards of the palace. Saki is handed round, and a jilayful
combat waged between nobles and ladies as to who can
produce on the classic fans of white cedar, ornamented with ivy
leaves, the most i)octic stanzas in celebration of the return of
spring. Rut the Empress's court used not to be confined to
literary entertainments. She had her orchestra, composed
entirely of stringed instruments, and also theatrical representa-
tions, in which a corps of young comedians acted or performed
dances in character, some slow and measured, requiring the
use of a mantle, with a train and long hanging sleeves, others
quick, lively, and fantastical, in some of which the eft'ect is
heightened by the dancers assuming the wings of butterllics or
of birds. The court ladies had, besides, their latticed boxes, not
only at the imperial theatre, but at the circus for wrestlers anil
boxers attached to the Mikado's court, in virtue of privileges
granted twenty-one years before the Christian era. They were
also fond of having cock fights in front of the verandahs of their
vill.as. These manners and customs still prevail at the court
of Kioto, with the exception of the literary and artistic element,
which has (juite vanished. It was the last vestige of the
civilis.ation of the ancient empire, which is now concentrated
in one place, where it remains as stationary as the tombs on
the funeral hills. However, all around the ancient Miako
a new civilisation is progressing in the towns and country
distri(ts, the Tycoon is developing a network of civil and
military institutions, and even .already the smoke of steamers
announces the advent of western civilisation. These circum-
stances lenil a kind of tragic interest to the present position
of the hereditary theocratic emperor of Jajian, the invisible
Mikado, whom there is no ojjportunity of describing, even
when speaking of his court ; but he too will eventually be
cxlricateil from the mysterious shade which envelops him,
and brought into the full light of contemporaneous history.

THE TWO EMPERORS.

During my st.iy in Japan, the extraordinary event took
place of a visit of cereMony from the Tycoon to the Mikado,
which caused a great sensation, and afibrded many subjects
for the pencils of the native artists. To foreigners this was
an excellent opportunity of studying the relative jiositions of
the two potentates, whi<h is a matter of extreme interest.

In the first place, the Mikado enjoys the superiority of an
imintermpted descent from the gods, demi-gods, heroes, and
hereditary sovereigns who have ruled in Japan since the
creation of the empire. He is the supreme head of its
religion, however varied die forms with which it is invested
by the jieople, and officiates as the sovereign jiontiff of the
am lent Kami worship. .At the summer solstice he sacrifices
to the earth, and at the winter solstice to heaven. One of
the gods is supposed to h.ave the special care of his precious
destiny, and from the temple which he inhabits at the top of
Mount Kamo, he watches over the dairi by day and night.
At the Mikado's death, his name, before being insiribed in
the temple of his ancestors, is simultaneously engraved at
Isye, in the temple of the Sun, and at Kioto, in the temple

of Hatchiman, as theocratic emperor and heredit.ary sovereign.
The Mikado, without doubt, holds his power by divine right,
but, in the present d.iy, he has few opportunities of exercising
it. Now and then he thinks fit to award pomjiotis but purely
honor.iry tides to some of the ancient nobility who have
deserved well of religion. Occasionally also he gives him-
self the satisfaction of protesting ag.ainst the actions of the
temporal authorities when they seem to clash with his own
prerogatives ; and csi)ecially in regard to the treaties con-
cluded between the Tycoon and some of the Western Powers,
which he was afterwards compelled to sanction.

On the other hand, as every one knows, the Tycoon is the
fortunate heir of low-bom usurpers. The dynasty which he
represents was founded by former subjects of the Mikado,
who actually despoiled their master of his army, navy, posses-
sions, and treasures, .as if it had been their vocation to deprive
him of all terrestrial objects of solicitude. Perhaps, indeed,
the Mikado has too readily submitted to this arranger.ent.
He has relincjuished the manly exercises of hunting, hawking,
and shooting with the bow, for the dignity of a chariot drawn
by an ox, in which he takes his daily exercise in the grounds
of his castle ; and, in order to escape the fatiguing solemnities
which obliged him to remain motionless on a dais to receive
the mute atloration of the prostrate court, he has become
entirely invisible, and, it is said, holds no communication with
the exterior world except through the women who are charged
with the care of his person. They have to dress and feed
him, preparing a new costume for each day, and serving him
in vessels fresh from the manufactory which has for centuries
enjoyeil the privilege of supplying him. His sacred feet must
never touch the ground, nor must his head be exposed to the
influences of the elements or the gaze of the vulg.ir.

The interview l.-etween the two princes could take place
only at Kioto, for the Mikado is not allowed to quit the
sacred city. His palace and the ancient temple of his family
are all that really belong to him, for the town itself is under
the ijower of the temporal sovereign, who condescends to
appropriate the revenues to the expenses of the spiritual
sovereign, and to rmintain a permanent garrison for the pro-
tection of the ])ontifical throne.

All preliminaries having been completed, a proclamation
announced the day on which the Tycoon was to leave his
capital, the large an<l populous city of YC-do — a city altogether
modern, and the centre of the political and civil administration
of the empire, the seat of the military and naval schools, of the
college of interpreters and academy of medicine and philo-
sophy. He was preceded by a body of troops, equipped in
European fashion ; and while this picked troop of infantry,
cavalry, and artillery marched to Kioto by the grand imperial
road of Tokaido, the fleet received orders to sail for the
interior sea. The temporal sovereign himself embarked in
the splendid steainer Lyermoon, which he purchased from the
house of Dent and Co. for 500,000 dollars. His escort con-
sisted of six other steamers— the Kandimarrah, celebrated for
its voyage from Ye'do to San Francisco in the service of the
Ja|)anese mission to the United States ; the corvette SoemHiig,
a gift from the King of the Netherlands ; the yacht Emperor,
]iresenled by (Jueen Victoria ; and three frigates built in
America or Holland by order of the embassies of 1859 and
1862. This squadron, exclusively manned by Japanese crews,
sailed out of the Bay of Ye'do, doubled Cape Sagaini and the

A ELR(J1'I;AN SDJOIKN IN JAl'AN.

375

jtromontory of IJsu, and, passing througli the strait of l.in-
schoten, and coasting along the eastern shores of the Isle of
Awadsi, cast anchor in the harbour of 11 logo, where the
Tycoon disembarked, amid salvos from the Meet. His |)ublic
entry into Kioto took place a few days later, without any
further military display than that affordetl by his own troops,
for the sufticient reason that the Mikado possesses neither
cannon nor troops, except a mere body-guard of arciiers,
recruited from among the families of his relatives or tiie
feudal nobility. Even on this modest footing he finds it
difficult to maintain his court, and is dependent on an allow-
ance made him by the Tycoon from his ijrivy purse, antl
also on a collection which the
begging brothers of certain
monastic orders make yearly,
from village to village, even in
the most remote parts of the
empire, for his benefit. What
most of all enables him to
maintain his dignity, is the
heroic disinterestedness of a
great number of his high
dignitaries, who serve him
without any other remunera-
tion than the gratuitous iise
of the rich regulation dresses
of the old imperial court
When they return to their
dwellings, after divesting them-
selves of their court suits, these
proud noblemen do not dis-
dain to exercise the vocation
of weavers or embroiderers ;
and many of the rich silk stuffs
to be seen in Kioto are the
work of noble artisans whose
names are inscribed in the
Calendar of the Kamis.

But these circumstances did
not prevent the Mikado from
inaugurating the day of his
interview with his royal visitor
by the spectacle of the grand
procession of the dairi. Ac-
companied by his archers, his

household, his court, and his entire pontifical suite, he issued
from his palace by the south portico, which, towards the end
of the ninth century, was decorated with the historic com-
positions of the celebrated poet and painter, Kosc Kanaoka.
He then passed along the boulevards to the suburbs, watered
by the Idogawa, and returned to his castle through the ])rin-
cipal streets of the city. At the head of the procession the
antique insignia of his power were carried in great state. These
were — the mirror of his ancestress, Izanami ; the glorious
ensigns, whose long paper streamers had waved over the
troops of the con(iuering Zinmu ; the flaming sword of the
hero of Yamato, who vanquished the eight-headed hydra to
whom virgins of princely blood were sacrificed ; the seal which
was aflixed to the primitive laws of the empire, and the cedar-
wood fan, which filled the place of sceptre, and for more than
two thousand y<;ars had descended from one Mikado to another.

MAIDS OF COURT LABIES AT KIOTO.

The largest and most picturesque band of the procession
was formed by the representatives of all the sects who acknow-
ledge the spiritual buprenuuy of the Mikado. The dignitaries
of the ancient religion of the Kamis could scan ely be dis-
tinguished by their dress from the great officers of llie cmirl ;
the liuddhist priests and monks formed iiuerininable file> of
grave inilividuals, with tonsureil or entirely .shaven heads,
sometimes bare, and sometimes covered with odd-looking (a,js
or mitres ; white cassocks, surplices, and maiules, of various
shaijcs and colours, formed their costume. After these came
the members of the Mikado's household. I'olygamy being
permitted legally only to the Mikado, his privilege was of

course displayeil on this occa-
sion, and a file of heavy
carriages, each dra«n by two
black buffaloes, led by luiges
in white tunics, coi.ained
the enqiress and the oilier
or legal wives, seated be-
liind open-work doors. The
favourite concubines, and the
fifty ladies of the empress'
suite, followed in noiimons, or
covered jjalancpiins. The Mi-
kado himself never leaves \m
castle excejit in his ponlifical
norimon. This palanquin,
which is fixed on long poles,
and borne by fifty bearers
dressed in white, ovcrloi)s the
rest of the procession.

The native artists, whose
pencils have commemorated
the interview at Kioto, have
caught its true signification ;
for instance, the return of the
Tycoon to his capital forms the
subject of a i)icture, which
imparts a triumphant aspect
to the steamer which conveyed
the head of the state. The
Lyicnwon, at full si)eeil, cleaves
its way through the waves ;
the crew are all at their posts ;
hovering above, the artist re-
presents Inari Daimiodjin, the venerable [irotector of the rice-
fields, preceded by a band of white foxes, his crafty attendants,
to ward off malignant influences from the traveller ; and on his
left, encircled by clouds, Konpira, the vigilant sentinel of the
gate of heaven. Last of all is Marisiten, the god of battle,
j mounted on a boar in fiiU career, and ready to do battle for his
new i)rotege'. It seems as if an opportunity may soon arise for
i realising this fancy of the artist. One of the most powerful
I federal lords of Japan, the Prince of Nagato, has attempted to
I restore the Mik.ido to his ancient theocratic omnipotence, and
! already the Tycoon has placed himself at the head of his
I land and sea forces, and transported them to the scene of this
i rebellion, to defend political rights against priestly domination.
I Whatever may be the duration of this present crisis, we
may well believe that its result will be the establishment of a
I pure monarchy liberated from all sacerdotal supremacy.

1 ^ ' ■

i'l '■" •.

I ■ 'i ■

§1

376

ILLUSTRATKI) I K.WKI.S.

^ Jouyncy up the Orinoco to tlic Carat al Gold lucid— Ralciglis '' El Dorado." — IV,

IIV C-. l.K NF.VK KOSTER, ll.A., D.Sc., K.C.S,

CHAPTFTl \'. I Raleigh's account of liis journey calk-d forth from the

viNnicATioN OF SIR wAi.rKR KAi Kicii's sTATF.MF.NTs AiioiT (ioi.n historian Humt'* the following severe remarks :^" On his

return, he ]>\ililislieil an account of the country (Ciuiaiia) full of

IN (iUIANA.

In this chapter 1 jiropose briefly to set forth how the fact of

the occurrence of gold in (iuiana atTecrs certain accus;uions ; to lie imposed on the cretlulity of mankind." And further

the grossest ami most jxilpahle lies that were ever attempted

which have been brought against Sir Walter Raleigh ; and 1
do so all the more readily as in a '' Life of Sir Walter Raleigh"
])ul)lished last year, I find that the author of tlie l)iogra|)hy
has not been able to throw any new light on our famous
countryman's expedition to Ciuiana.*

'■ Raleigh's account of his first voyage to (Iuiana proves him to
have been a man capable of the most extravagant credulity
or impudent imposture. .So ridii ulous are the tales which ho
tells of the Inca's < himerical empire in the midst of (Iuiana ;
the rich city of Kl Dorado or Manoa, two days' journey in

lieforc proceeding with my argument, let me recall to the , length, and shining with gold and silver; the old Peruvian
reader the main jioints of Sir Walter's history. prophecies in favour of the I'.nglish, who, he says, were

Horn in 155-,+ Raleigh devoted the early pan of his life'to | exjiressly named as the deliverers of that (oiintry long before
arms, and took jiart in expeditions to France, the Netherlan<ls, j any European h.i<l ever tou( hed there ; the Amazons or
and Ireland. Projects for the colonisation of America, even I rcp\iblic of women ; and in general, the vast and incredible
as early as 1579, occujiied his attention; and in 1584 two ; riches which he saw on_that continent, where nobody has yet
barks c(iui|)])ed by him discovered Virginia, and took posses- i found any treasures I 'f

sion of it in the name of (Jueen Klizabeth. Although he The vindication of Sir Walter Raleigh has been most ably

afterwards sent supplies to the infant settlement, and dis- undertaken by Sir Robert II. S( homburgk, in his introduction
]iatched thither a second colony, Sir Walter Raleigh wms not I to the Hakluyt Society's edition of the "Discovery of Ciuiana," +
successful as the sole proprietor of the colony, and assigned ' as well as by Cayley, in his " Life of Sir Walter Ralei;.;h,"
the right of continuing the i)lantation to a companv of gentle- to which works I must refer all who are interested in the sub-
men and men hants in London. In 1592 he commanded the ject ; but .. . 'lese were written before Dr. Plassard's discovery
expedition sent out against Pan.ama, but which ended in the ' of gold in the Vuruari.j they can be sup|)lemented on one very

capture of the rich jffi/e the Madre de Dios off the Azores.
Passing over his marriage, we al last come to the expedition
to Guiana. Raleigh left I'"-ngland in February, 1595, and on

imi)orlant head. To Cayley 's and Schomburgk's ex|)lanations
we may add the fact that there are workable gold mines iu
Ciuiana, and it can no longer be said that " nobody has yet

reaching Trinidml, seized the Sjianish governor, who, like ; found any treasures" there. If we t.ake Raleigh's narrative
Sir W.ilter, was desirous of concjuering Ciuiana, and jiossessing , itself and examine it carefully, we find th.at as far as relates to
himself of the treasures of I'.l Dor.ado. Finding nothing but | the manner in which gold occurs, there is no reason to doubt
shallow water at the mouth of the Orinoco, he left his .ships ; Sir Walter's veracity or good sense, but rather every induce-
at Trinidad, and went up the river in boats with a force of 100 ment to admire his truthfulness an<l perspicacity,
men. He entere<l into friendly relations with the various In the jireface "To th'- Reader," || Raleigh says: " liut

chieftains of Indian tribes on the banks, and endeavoured to 1 was resolued that golde must be found, either in graines
learn all he i ould about the country. The river Caroli | separate from the stone (as it is in most of al the riucrs in
(Caroni) was the farthest jioint reached by Raleigh and his Guiami), or else in a kinde of hard stone, which we call the
( ompanions. 'I'hey visited the falls on this affluent, and while Sparre, of whi( h I s.aw diners liils and in sundrie places,
found many stones, whii h they considered as giving jiromising but had neither tyme, nor men, nor instruments titte to labour,
indications of gold. F'inding that with the means then at } Neere vnto oneof the riuers I founde of the saide white Sp.arre
command he could do no more, Raleigh resolved to turn back, or flint a very great ledge or barcke, which I endeuorcd to
especially as the rainy season was at its height, and the men breake by al the meanes I coulde, because there appeared on
were beginning to complain. Descending the current of the the outside some small graines of golde. liut finding no

Orinoco, he reai heil Trinidad ; and after firing Cumana on his
homeward journey, arrived in I'.ngland "probably late in the
summer of 1595. "+

This description of the expedition is condensed from
Raleigh's own account, published in 1596. In speaking of
this narrative Cayley says, "As the enterprise is of the last
import.ince in his history, and in the end co.st him his life, it
merits the peculiar attention of the reader."§

• "Life of Sir Walter Kalciyli." l!y James Augustus Si. John.
London : iSdS. rrcfice, ji. vil.

t This sketch <i.' Sir Wallei K-ileigh's life is condensed from the
"Life of Sir Waher Ralcij^li, Knt.," by Arthur Cayley, Jun., Ksq.
London : 1806.

X "Life of Sir Walter Raleigli, Km." liy Ailliur Cayley, Jun., Ksq.
London : iSo6. Vol. I,, p. 2fi',.

§ //'/,/., Vul.L, p. 156.

meane to worke the same vppon the vpper part, seeking the
sides and circuite of the sayd rock, I found a clift in the
same, from whence with daggers and with the heade of an
ax, we gotte out some small ipiantitie thereof, of which kinde
of white stone (wherein golde is cngendred) wes.awe diners hils
in euerie i)art of Guiana wherein we trauelled."

* The "History of Kngland." By David Hume, Ksq. Vol. V., p. 377.

t //'/V., Vol. VI., p. 558.

J The Discovery of the Km]>ire of Guiana. By Sir W. Raleigh,
Knight. Reprinted from the edition of 1596. Ilakluyt .Society.
London; 1848.

§ Sehomliurgk s.iys (JNd., Introduction, )). Kii.), "It cannot lie
doubted that Guiana possesses gold ; there are various instances on record
of this metal being found, but none where it has lieen met with in sufTi-
cienl quantities to render its working proluable."

II Ihid., p. xi.

A JOURNKY UP THK ORINOCO.

377

,1,

'I'his acroiint agrees fully with the facts observed by Dr.
Plassard, myself, and others at the mines of Caratal. 'i'he
sand of all the streams between Ciiidad liolivar an<l the mines
is more or less auriferous, and I have already de.scrihed the
(luart/. lodes of which Raleigh speaks .so ])lainly. It must be
remembered that the word "spar" is still the miners' name for
<|uart/. both in Cornwall and Devon, and Raleigh, as a Devon-
shire man, would naturally know the tenn an<l apply it
properly ; and I myself have seen the outcrop of a quartz lode
or " leilge," such as Raleigh describes, where there is visible
gold at the very surface. Of course, Raleigh was never so far
south as the Ytiruari, and confined his explorations to the
banks of the Orinoco ; but it is far from improbable that he
he.ird of the Yuniari gold from the Indians. For we read in
Raleigh's narrative that 'I'opiawari, lord of Aromaia, told him,*
" that four days' journey from his own town was Macurcguarai,
and that those were the next and ne.arest of the suljjects of
Inga and of the Epuremei, and the first town of apparelled
and rich people. And that all those plates which he scattered
among the borderers, and carried to other nations far and
near, came from the said Macureguarai, and were there maile ;
but that those of the lan<l within were far finer, and were
fashioned after the image of men, beasts, birds, and fishes."
Topiawari further stated, "that most of the gold which they
made in plates and images was not severed from the stone,
but that in the lake of Manoa and a multitude of other rivers,
they gathered it in grains of perfect gold, and in pieces as big
as small stones. "t

Taking Aromaia as the country in the neighbourhood of the
present port of Las Tablas {j'itfv map at p. 261 Iixustrated
Travels), we have a wonderful coincidence with regard to the
distance of the gold region. Las Tablas is always reckoned
as Iieing from three to four days' ride from Nueva Providencia,
and a man on foot can do the journey in the same time, for
the postman who carries the mail bag from Ciudad Bolivar to
Caratal never takes more than six, days, and often less, for a
much longer distance.

Topiawari's Macureguarai may therefore have been on the
Yuruarl. It is true that no remains of towns have been found
in the district, but this could scarcely be expected, for the
houses were probably built then, as they are now, of poles,
sticks, .and mud, and a settlement once .abandoned soon
becomes forest once more. I do not mean to say that a rich,
well-built, and large town, such as Manoa was supposed to be,
ever existed on the Yuntari, but that the Caratal forests were
once inhabited is proved by fragments of pottery and stone
hatchets which have been found when digging for gold or for
agricul'.mal purposes. I was imable to obtain any of the
pottery, but Sefior RoUdent, of Nueva Providencia, kindly
presented me with a stone hatchet which he had found in his
garden. It resembles in type several hatchets from British
Gui.ana, now in the Christy collection. The miners naturally
place no value on such relics of antiquity, and they are usually
thrown away as worthless. I heard of some curious drawings
on some rocks in the Yguana valley, but was prevented by want
of time from visiting them. However, enough has been said
to prove the fact of the Caratal district having been peopled
at one time, and we can hardly fancy that any tribes should

• " The Discovery of Guiana." Reprinted in Cayley's Life of Sir
Walter Raleigh, Vol. I., p. 253.
t //'/,/., p. 25S.

vor.. r.

not know of the existence of gdid in the ntiglibnuiiug river
bed, as thfy would be sure to see it sooner or l.iti r while fishing.
fet<hing svater, or perhaps when looking fi)r sl.incs wherewith
to fabricate tools or weapons.

I think, therefore, it may be said that there are good
grounds for believing m.nny of Topiawari's statements, and
Raleigh does not deserve to be .iccused of "extravagant
credulity" for having published tliem in his n.irralive.

To complete the story, I must trace out the rest of the
hi«tory of Sir Walter Raleigh. Soon after his return, Raleigh
sent out a second expedition to Guiana, under Captain Keyniis.
This expedition found the Caroli occupied by the Spaniards,
and Captain Keymis was unable to reach the spot where the
white stones and ore were found in the former voyage ; he
returned to Kngland the same year.

A third expedition in 1596—1597 did nothing more than
explore a little. Cayley goes on to say,* " With the reign of
Kliz.abeth the good fortune of Sir Walter R.aleigh s.ink to rise
no more."

In 1616, afker .an imprisonment of more ih.an twelve years
on a ch.irge of high treason famili.ir to all students of Knglish
history, he obtained his freedom, and received a commission
from King James I. for a new voy.ige to Cuiana. Raleigh
left England in 1617, but when he reached the Spanish main,
being too ill to proceed, he sent Captain Keymis with five
small ships and between two and three hundred men up the
Orinoco, remaining himself at Trinidail with five other ships
ready to prevent any Spanish force from going up the river.
The Spaniards settled at St. Thome (Guayana vieja), attacked
the river expedition, whereupon Keymis assaulted the town
and drove out the hostile force, Raleigh's own son being
killed in the fray. Keymis did not succeed in reaching
certain gold mines ne.ir he town, and returneil without any
samples of ore. Censured for this by Raleigh, he committed
suicide. On his return to England, R.aleigh surrendered him-
self in obedience to a proclamation issue<l by the king, and
was aftenvards sacrificed by James in order to retain the favour
of Spain, the sentence of death passed fifteen years before
being at length enforced, on the plea that he had never been
])ardoned.

CHAPTER VL

JOURNEY TO LAS TABLAS— CANDELARIA—UrATA— CHRISTMAS FESTI-
VITIES — LAS TAIII.AS — CIUDAD ROI.IVAR — TRINIDAD— ST. THOMAS
—ARRIVAL IN PLV.MOUTII.

It now only remains for me to describe the journey from the
mines to Ciudad Boliv.ar, via I-is T.ablas, and my return to
EngLand.

Starting one afternoon from Nueva Providencia, Dr.
Plassard and myself reached Guasipati in a few hours, and
wera there most hospitably received by one of the American
Company's officers, at the company's house. Early on the
following morning we started for Candelaria, our party con-
sisting of four persons, besides two peons, or native servants,
and a pack-mule. We agr-ed to try an old route, which is
said to be shorter than the ordinary track. Dr. Plassard, with
another of our party and the servants, diverged from the path
without perceiving it, and were lost for some time. The rest
of us who kept the track, riding some distance behind our
• /6i<f., Vol. I., p. 351.

..*

(

/ '' tin '

*"' 1 f

f ; iB

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I .''. '.'.If-

V ;,

1,1- ,,
; I .i

I '

• 1
1. 1 -

lif

.17S

II.LUSTRATF.I) TRAVKI.S.

friends, dill not fare ninth better. We ci'.mc to a lielt of forest,
throngh wliiih no opening could be ilistovcred ; and it was
ni)t until after riding about and scouring the country in all
(lirei tions, that we met a tnan who was able to direct us. In
con)|):'.ny «illi our guide we bivouac ked on the savannah, and,
starting again in early morning, arrived atCandelaria at eleven a.m.

Late the following night one of the missing party arrived in
the town. Like us, they had camped out on the savannah ;
and, what is more, they h.id h.id an advenlure with a i.ignar,
which attai ked their camp during the ninht. an<l whii h they
fired at. It turned out, on comparing notes, tli.it we had Ixjth
camped on the banks of the same brook in the wilderneKs, and
only about a ipiarter of a mile distant from one another. Dr.
riassard and the t)tliers did not make their appearance until
alter we had left the pl.u e, and pushe<l on for I'pata.

I was aiuused at Candel.iria, a settlement which consists
of a solitary house, half farm, half posada, or inn, by th.-
nonchalance ol our host. As we rode up. he was lying in his
hammock in the outer jiart of the buihling. lie just got u|)
for a moment to wish us good-day and shake hands, and then
laid himsell down a^'ain to watch us unsaddle, never dreaming
for a moment of lending a hand. Still he was kind enough to
point to a place in the savannah where he said we should find
some good grass for our mules, and (here we tied them up.

^\'e had, however, a famous breakfast or lunch at this place,
the principal dish being stewed morrocoi. The niorroc ui is a
tortoise found on the savannahs and in the forest, and is by
no means to be despised as an article of food. The liver is a
great delicacy; indew'd, as my friend expressed it, "most
elegant eating."

Our road lay along the valley of the Carichapo, and
towards evening we came to a range of hills which form i)art
of the Imataca mountain chain.

Upata, whii h we reached at eight ]).m., is a town of about
6,000 inhabitants, surrounded by hills on all sides, except
where a little stream finds its way out towards the Orinoco.
It lies about 1,250 feet above the sea-level. The rocks seen
in the neighbourhood are gneiss, micaschist, hornblendeschist,
itabirite, and magnetic iron ore. I have heard of a little gold
being found neir the town. Some years ago .agriculture was
flourishing at Uiut.i, much colTee, sugar, and tob.acco being
grown; but at the news of the "diggings" the labouring
])opulation flocked to Caratal, and many plantations have since
been abandoned.

We were lucky in getting to Upata in time to see a litde
of the Christmas festivities, which last for an entire week.
There was a regular programme of entertainments for the week,
all of which were carried out with great zest. The list showed
considerable variety, including bull-running, amateur theatricals,
balls, and cock-fighting. L'nfortunately, as we were obliged to
leave the day after Christmas Day, we saw nothing of all these
gay doings but the bull-running and a theatrical rehearsal. A
strong fen'e was erected at each corner of the jilaza or scjuare,
which was constituted the arena for the games. A bull is
admitted, and the young men of the place ride after him and
try to seize him by the tail. This accomplished, the rider
twists the tail round his hand so as to get a firm hold, and
then, spurring his horse, actually pulls the bull off his legs and
throws him. Of course, he stands the ch.mce of being jerked out
of his saddle and tossed by the bull. I heard tli.at a man was
killed in this way at the games of the previous Christinas.

One man was exceedingly dextrous, for not only did he throw
several bulls, but he always managed to clo a just opposite a
house where a l.irge party of the admiring damsels of Upata
were assembled to witness the sports.

Among the various theatric al representations, one was to
be given by children ; and it was to the last rehears.1l of thl:^
that we obtained admittance. The jiiay represented various
events that took place at the birth of Christ, and I must
confess I could not help being amused at seeing some boys
and girls come in as shepherds and slie|)herclesses, sing a very
lively chorus, and then dan< e a wait/, in the intervals of the
singing. The idea ol the shepherds walt/ing on hearing of
the birth of our Saviour was certainly somewhat ludic rous.
The chilclren ac ted and sang remarkably well, and 1 should
have muc h liked to see the final relireseiitation.

I was .sorry to miss the opportmuty of getting .such on
insight into Venezuelan manners and customs as woukl have
been afforded by the balls, theatric als, and cock-fighting ; but
we did not like to delay, fiir fear of missing the steamer at I,as
Tablas, though, as it li.ipiiened, we had plenty of time to spare.

Just as plum-iHidding and mincepies are eaten in luigland
at Christmas, so is the Ay.aca the regulation fare in W'nczuelx
lint in spite of the imiises lavished on this dish, I nnist confess
myself unable to appreciate it. It consists of minced meat,
herbs, r.iisins, and. fi)r aught I know, other ingredients, all
made up into a thin crust compounded of Hour of the Indi.m
corn. The cake, when kneaded together, is then wrapped in
a piece of plantain leaf and boiled. Ayacas are always eaten
after mass on Christmas l^ve and during Christmas week ; but
they are not cpiite unknown, any more than plum i)udding, at
other seasons.

Vi'c left Upata on the 26th of December. The road hence
to the Orinoco has been made along the valley of the Upata
river for a very considerable distance. Near the town there
are numbers of farms, and further on there is a long ride to
accomjilish through the primeval forest, which in places shows
plenty of bamboos and palm-trees, and so assumes a more
tropical aspect than the forest of Caratal. About noon we
reached the farm of (iuacaima, where we had lunch, and
stayed till four o'clock. Starting once more, we crossed a
gently undulating savannah country, gradually falling as we
advanced northwards, and finally reached a sandy plain some
five or six miles broad, at the extremity of which lien Las
Tablas. We found that a " balendra," or ri\er-l)oat, was to
start for Ciudid Holivar that night, so we took our supper at
once, and soon after ten o'clock were sailing up the river with
a fair breeze. Unfortunately, the wind lulled in the night, and
we did not reach the cajiital till three o'clock in the afternoon.

When the steamer arrived, it brought me letters which ne-
cessitated my return to England. I left Ciiidad liolivar in the
/I'lyw ferrors on the evening of the 2ncl of January, and
reached Port-ofSpain on the morning of the 5th. The
English steainer was not due at this port for three days, so I
had time, among other things, to see the well-known Pilch
Lake of Trinidad, an interesting spot for geologists.

I finally left in the packet Tainar on the 8th, and, after
touching at Grenada, St. Vincent, and other islands, we found
ourselves in the harbour of St. Thomas on the morning of the
13th. Changing there into the Atrato, we dep.arted or\ the
following day, and after a smooth passage, landed at Plymouth
on the morning of the 28th of January.

\y (lid he throw
just oiiposili; a
unscls 1)1' L'lata

ins, one was to
rchcars.it of lhi;i
•I'scntcil various
St, and I must
ting some boys
iscs, sini,' a vory
intervals of the
; on hearing; of
what hiilicrous.
I, and 1 should

getting siuh on
i as would liavc
ck-figluing ; hut
c steamer at I»is
of time to spare,
aten in I'jigland
re in Vene/.uehu
1, 1 must confess
of minced meat,
ingredients, all
lur of the Indian
then wrapped in
are always eaten
slmas week ; but
fluin pudding, at

The road hence
lley of the Upata
r the town there

is a long ride to
1 m jilaces shows

assumes a more

About noon we

had lunch, and
re, we crossed a
illy falling as we
sandy plain some
)f which lies Las
ri\er-boat, was to
3ok our supper at
; up the river with
I in the night, and

in the afternoon.
; letters which ne-
dad Bolivar in the

of January, and
f the 5th. The
)r three days, so I

well-known Vilch

ologists.

the 8th, and, after

: islands, we found

he morning of the

; departed on the

mded at Plymouth