The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-24 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

The whole of the reinforcements ordered to be
furnished by the Indian depots at Chatham for aug-
menting the various regiments serving in the three
presidencies have now left that garrison ; the last
of the detachments, under the command of Captain
H. L. Cafe, 94th Regiment, having embarked on
board the Balcarres for Kurrachee. The total
number of troops furnished by the several depots
was 733 non-commissioned officers and privates be-
longing to the Royal Engineers, 20th, 35th, 43d
(Light Infantry), 73d, 77th, and 94th Regiments.
The Indian depots, notwithstanding the numerous
detachments that have embarked, are still very
strong, the threq battalions at Chatham garrison
numbering upwards of 3,090 bayonets, and recruit•
ing is still actively proceeding.

DR. LInNGSiONE'S EXPEDITION.

y The follbs'wing are extracts from a` letter from
the Doctor's brother dated " Tette, January 1"
" On the 22d of November we all proceeded up
the river to explore Kebrabasa and see if there were
any cataracts. Leaving the steamer, which could
not stem the current, at the beginning of Kebra-
basa, with 12 Makololo, we started on foot with pro-
visions for eight days, a half-caste Portuguese ac-
companying us. The weather was oppressively hot
and the way terribly rough. I never was so ex-
hausted in all my life as during the first two days'
march. After that I was less and less fatigued,
though travelling much further. The second day
seemed like walking in an oven. When we halted
for the night the Makololo got grass or small
branches with leaves and spread them on the
ground, then our blankets over. The six of us slept
in a row, thus-1 111 1 1. One night, under a
huge baobab, a monstrous spider took a fancy to
run over our faces. They are the fastest runners I
ever saw—have a sort of feathery stuff over them.
At last we made a regular hunt and caught the
culprit, and sentenced him to be confined for life in
a vial of spirits. Next one of the smallest monkeys
I ever saw came among us, but, though we all made
a dart at him, he managed to escape. He was not
so large as a rat—a pretty little fellow. Two days
after eating the last of our goat flesh, which one
who had not the sense of smell might call very ten-
der, we had the good fortune to shoot. a hippopota-
mus. The day before T— knocked up, and we
left him with four men and provisions. Here we
left all the Makololo but two to cut up the hippo
and dry it, and despatching one back with some of
the meat to T—, we started off again to the foot
of a hi,411. mountain, which the doctor has named
after the young Queen of Portugal. After a toil-
some day's march we reached it. A tiger sprung
on a group of men that night in the village, and
killed one and carried l im off.
" The river all the way is deep and narrow, with
some small rapids, which a powerful steamer could
easily surmount., Climbing over the rocks is most
laborious. A good place for shoemakers,—three
pairs of boots were worn out during that march, one
quite new pair. Two months here about finishes a
pair of Hoppe's, and they are excellent. The two head
Makololo here told the doctor that some natives had
said to them there was a cataract further up, others
told the half-caste Portuguese that there was no
cataract. The doctor was rather restless that
night, and said on rising a little before five, ' I'm
determined to see this myself ; I'll go alone with
two Makololo, and go to the end of it.' K._
wished to go with him, and the two set off with
four Makololo. They had a worse march the last
of it than we had. At a native village the people
tried to dissuade them from going. There is no
path an elephant could go ; a hippo could not go,
not even an alligator could go.' At last two men
consented to go as guides. It took them half a
day to go half a mile in one place. At last even
the Makololo were knocked up, and one clever, ob-
liging fellow said to the doctor,' I can go no far-
ther ; I would willingly go with you, but my feet
are done,' and the two head men tried hard to in-
duce him to return. At last they conchided he had
gone wrong in the head, and told K— so, and
that they had better go back and leave him. At
length the two guides jumped up, saying, Let us
go.' The doctor sat still, and watched with some
interest whether they would take the backward or
forward way. They went forward, and he followed,
as did the Makololo, though with sore blistered
feet, on the burning rocks. Soon they.camo upon
a fisherman mending his net, who pointed out a
way which led them in a little while to a spot from
which they could see the cataract. It seemed about
30 feet high--a slope, not perpendicular—and the
rocks rising 1,000 feet on either side of the river.
As the river when full rises from 40 to 100 feet in
that region, there is a possibility that there is
smooth water then, and while the river remains
full, a rise of 2 feet completely did away with a
sloping fall of 5 feet ; below it was quite smooth
when the doctor returned. However, we shall go
to see next month.
" If the doctor doev. not return with the steamer
below, where he has gone for our goods, provisions,
&c., when the river rises 12 feet I am to take the
whaleboat and Mr. B , and go to see it and get
photograms and sketches. The doctor told me to
send two Makololo with supplies for him and K—
on Monday (this was on the Tuesday preceding) ;
I sent three Makololo with Mr. B—on Saturday.
They met the doctor returning, two days' journey
from the ship, out of provisions, having had no din
ner that day. I felt thankful I did not wait till
Monday. I saw plainly the reason the doctor said
Monday was, he did not like to trouble us. But
there is not a man among us who would not most
cheerfully have done far more than this for him,
and never dream of its being a trouble. The doctor
works excessively hard himself."—l am, sir, your
obedient servant, HADLEIGH :10TISE.