The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-15 00:00:00

Royal Geographical Society.

Three papers were discussed yesterday, at the
evening meeting of this society, at Burlington House
—Sir R. I. Murchison, president, in the chair. The
first was an account of a journey, performed in
1862, to Kano from the Niger Bay, by the late W.
B. Baikie. The account was derived from various
extracts from the doctor's journal, in the possession
of the Foreign Office. In Dec., 1861, Dr. Baikie
left the settlement he had formed at the confluence
of the Niger and Ilinuwe and went to Bids, the
capital of Nupe, a town of groat size, to the north
c of the Kwora, f-otn which i is distant about 16
miles. It was not tlf2 month of April that
a rangements for the journey were completed, pack
oxen bought, and the jealousy of the native traders
I overcome. On the 12th April, 1862, Dr. Baikie
set out in company with Ibrahim, a native of Zariya,
then returning with presents from King Massaba to
his chief. The first was a short march of nine miles
to Kpakpagd over level wooded country. Next day
many towns of considerable size were passed, and
the boundary of the kingdom of Nupe crossed. The
party slept at Lemu, inhabited by •Gbari, a heathen
race, who, on the arrival of the travellers, were cele-
brating a Pagan festival. On the 14th they came
to Teije, which overlooks the valley of the river
Kaduna, the country passed consisting of low undu-
lating plains with sandstone ranges, covered with
grass, bush, and forest. The meadow in front was
clothed with grass and a few large trees scattered
here and there, in which the people had placed bee-
hives made of basket-work. On the 16th they crossed
the alluvial valley and reached Gbogi, and spent
the night at a town of the Bassa people, from which
an extensive view was obtained over a fiat mono-
tonous landscape. These Bassa are part of a wild,
turbulent race, living in isolated communities. At
the foot of a sandstone ridge on which the town was
built lay a pool of water full of crocodiles, fed and
worshipped by the Pagan inhabitants of the place.
After crossing several sandstone ridges clothed with
bush and trees, among which were the fleshy eu-
phorbia, they made a steady ascent to GarouGobez.
On one of the ridges before coming to Gumna there
are several prominent peaks of semi-vitrified rock.
Gumna is built between iwo rocky hills which rise
from a well-cultivated plain. It is the chief town
of this portion of Bassa, and contained 3,000 mixed
population. Leaving Gumna they crossed a low ridge
of granite, and entered a rocky defile with perpen-
dicular faces 200 feet high, on which were native
villages, whose inhabitants aro an industrious race,
cultivating the rich lands below. Tegyina, which
they came to next, contains as many inhabitants as
Gumna, chiefly Karnuko. Although inferior in rank
to that place, it is a town of greater importance. In
the market milk and butter were cheap and plenti-
ful, as also were vegetables—but guinea worm is
very prevalent among the people. On the 21st April
they came to a detached rock named Ungwoi Ka-
rami, which rises 500 feet out of the plain. Here is
a barrier of thorns, at which toll is demanded of all
caravans at the rate of five cowries each man. Being
the King's guest this toll was not demanded, but a
present given instead. After passing the second of
these barriers the rocks retire to the west, leaving
an open-valley and a huge rock standing in front
at a small village. While huts were being prepared,
the party sat down under a baobab tree. Behind
was a perpendicular face of rock, and near it some
women were rubbing down grain into meal under
the shade of euphorbia which grew from one of the
crevices. The green valley in front, dotted with
trees, pools of water, and herds of cattle, seemed
like an English park. The chief's daughter, a lady
of mature age, brought water to drink ; she was
dressed with only a few leaves hung in front from a
cord round the waist ; the men had a leather apron
behind. Yet this independent, rude people are
kind and intelligent. From Unuwoi they pro-
ceeded successively to Kamuko and Wassaba ;
the last a walled town, built at the foot of
a conical hill of granite, from halfway up
which a general view of the country was obtained,
but Dr.Baikie was prevented ascending, its summit
being held sacred by the natives. Inside the town
walls were borassus, hyphaene, and date palms ; by
the river sides in the surrounding districts the raphea
and wild date-palms are abundant. Their path was
next through dense jungle, with open glades in which
herds of cattle were grazing.. The rhea-butter tree
attains an unusual size, and ripens its fruit in June.
The people were busy collecting fruit of the locust
tree. On passing Gideon Magaja they left Kamuko
and entered again among the Gbari, sleeping in
the town of Karsi, beautifully situated in a valley.
Many smelting furnaces were seen, and iron-ore is
abundant. At Ruku the papan tree was seen in
cultivation, and on the 28th April they entered the
country of the Zariya, and crossed a dense forest
full of wild animals on the banks of the Karsi. The
deleb palm forms a marked feature in the landscape
with its tall swollen stems. On the 30th they were
before Zariya, one of the centres of commerce in
Ilaussa, and frequented by merchants from Bornu,
Adamawa, and Nupe. The silk cotton trees which
surround the town distinguish it in the plain ;, of
these there are upwards of 1,000, varying from 50
to 70 feet high. When close to the city a small
stream is crossed, and the ground rises to the walls,
which are ten miles in circumference, and from 1G
to 18 feet high, pierced by eight gates, the
ninth having been closed after the entrance of
111allam Musa. At a former time the space in-
cluded by the wall was much greater, and included
the Kufena Hills to the north-west, 700 feet high,
and from which the only general view of the city is
to be had. The general height of the plain of Zariya
is about 200 ft above the sea. The King was absent,
engaged in war, but messengers went to inform him
of Dr. Baikie's arrival. The slave market here has
diminished of late years, not more than 300 daily
being usually found, whilst three years previously
as many as 4,000 might have been seen. The
mosque is a large building, 120 feet long, with two
domes and a square tower. Dr. Baikie joined the
King, and numerous incidents were detailed. On
July 25 he reached Kano ; returning from thence
he got back to Gumna Sept. 25, and finally reached
hiS own station on the confluence of the Kwora and
Niger in December.
The second paper, " Oa the North-east Province
of Madagascar," was by the Bishop of Mauritius ;
and a third, "A Diary of a Hill Trip in 13arma,h,"
was by Lieut. Lewin.

Til1111) EDITIof\

SUN OFFICE, 7 o'CLocK.

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT AT THE
REGENT'S-PARR THIS AFTERNOON.

TREMENDOUS LOSS OF LIFE.
It is our melancholy duty to record one of the,
most frightful and fatal accidents that has ever
taken place at the crnamen!al waters of the Re-
gent's-park. The park was crowded at the thne of
the accident with tlionar.ds of well-dressed ladies
and gentlemen who were disi,orting themselves upon.
the ice, when shortly More 4 o'clock a large r.or-
tion of it gave way, precipitating nearly 200 iii4,o
water. In fact it is impossible, at the 14.rae of
writing to form any idea of the exact -number
who were immersed. The screams of t'ae unfortu-
nate skaters were beyond all description ; but those
of their wives, daughters, and friends, who lined
the banks of the water in thousands, were of the
most heartrending description. The services of the
Royal Humane Society's men were immediately
called into requisition, and they worked with a will
which does them great eredit, as they were the
means of saving nearly 40 lives. One gentleman
saved the lives of two little girls when all hope
was nearly gone. Numbers were rescued and
carried off by their friends. It is estimated that
not less than 50 lives have been lost. At the
time of writing about 20 bodies have bee.n
recovered, and it is supposed that there are 'still
about 30 under water. The utmost excitement pre-
vails, and it is impossible for the police to keep
the large crowds in order who are gathered at the
scene of the accident, as they are getting denser
and denser every hour by the assembling of mothers
and fathers to look after their lost relatives.

THE 132,USSIAN CHA MBER, OF
DE P ("TIES.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

BERLIN, Jan. 15.
Iu to-day's sitting of the Chamber of Deputies,
Herr Twesten put a question to the Minister of
Justice relative to the arrest of Herr Sountag,
Hanoverian merchant, known to be hostile to the

Prussian annexation, who has been confined in the
fortress of Minden. The Minister of Justice replied
that Herr Sountag was the soul of the agitation
against Prussian rule in Hanover, and that an
inquiry had been ordered into his acts. The Go-
vernment, added the Minister, will continue to
apply exceptional measures in exceptional cases.
Such questions as those put by llerr Twesten have
only the effect of sustaining agitation.