New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-02-01

ers ard also tend more powerfully to arouse the
inseirstior and musical taste, than the melan-
choiy nsrshy regions between the 9th sna o,n
degrees Of latitude, where the miasm1' not o'iy
stecr the blood ard stonachs. but also Tue minus
aLd dispositions OF the inhabitants.
An interesting biect OF Investigation might DO
found ia the my biology Of these ultaugh' races
Who for so many thousands OF years have Vese-
tsted uudisturbed il the splendid wildernesses o.
the tropics, without once coming IN contact WITH
the religious propsgandas Of either Europe or Asia.
sueh investigation Is difficult ia a hasty visit
Hard as it was Tor the travellers to communicate
with The Bans about ordinary subjects, owing to
complete ignorance of their language, it was with
the utmost difficulty that abstract Things could be
discussed with tbs II, or any idea OF the meaning
OF questions Of that sort conveyed to their mlods
IL seems. however, to have been made out, that
the inhabitants Of inner Africa, VINO, amid that
wondrous tropical world, are used TO behold the
conflicts ard bountes Of the elements upon the
erspdest scale. before whom the fiery tongues Of
the lightning glitter with brilliancy' IN whose
ears the thunder rolls with an awfuness of power
unknown in other cmes while the sun, moon
and planets move with incomparably greater
splendor-it seems that these people have an in'
timation, though 8 very vague and obscure one,
Of the existence of Creator Of the universe and
its organisms, of director Of the powers OF ma
ture and human destiny. Only to trees do they
manifest any special revereDce on them they
hang tslismans, around them they build fences,
and there they assemble. THIS seems tc betray
faint desire 10 worship something. Faith Ia On
individual life of the soul, and personal existence
after death, does not seem to exist among these
savsges One negro said explicitly to the Vicar,
that with the death Of q man everything was over
for him. But when the Vicar was on the summit
of the mountain, Logwek, and a rock on which ne
had sat down moved from some cause which was
not at once perceptible, and the missionary In
CURED what was the cause Of IT, the negroes re-
piled that the stone was moved by the dead.
This inclined him to think that they still believed
in z certain power Of the departed, and a sort Of
metempsy Ghosts. A very characteristic answer
was made by a negro to whom the Vicar was en-
de avorirg 70 give some idea Of the greatness and
goodness of the Almighty "Your God may be
great and good, bat he is only for you white
men. Your God doesn't tronble himself about as,
poor aud naked black men,"
Finally, a few remarks as to the scientific re
suits OF this exploration. We owe to Dr.
Knoblecher the knowledge of the course Of the
Nile beyond the 4th degree Of North latitude, il
we add to the voyag to Logwek the observations
from the summit of the mountain. Our traveller
assembled this mountain twice and made detail
cd sketch of the panorama thereto be seen. Our
maps of Africa describe the country beyond the
oh degree as terra incognita. Rusegger, whose
A
Justly excited attention q few years since, did not
even penetrate as far as lO' north latitude. This
show how the the knowledge Of "unexplored
regions advances notwithstanding all difficulties.
Knoblecher's very exact calculations Of the lati-
tude and longitude OF ali important points as well
as His meteorological obsery atoms az to the direc
ton Of the wind forms Of Clouds and state Of the
thermometer, are worthy Of grateful admiration.
The Bahr elAbiad, up to 4 north, ia con.
siderable stream, Of ESQ feet wide and to feet
deep. Such an abundance Of water IL the dry
season indicates with toerab!e certainty that the
river rises at a great distance, Ia some unknown
range Of mountains probably hey ond the Equator.
Even if We assume the origin OF the Nile to be
great lake or internal sea, rs the obscure bat IN
co1frmed tradition declares the existence OF such
lake cannot be supposed without toe vicinity OF
lofty range OF mountains, whose springs and
brooks feed il in the dry season. According to
the blacks at Logwek, the White Nile, after
wiuoipg between the mountains OF Rego and
X idi, Ia sn eastern and western direction, again
runs north and south. This statement strength
ems the assumption that the Nile originates near
the Equator, and overthrows the blunder Of Alb
badie who, from the vague information of the
natives, took the sources of an unknown river for
the true sources Of the Nile.
The further travellers have gone up this river
above G. north, the more beautiful and fruitful
appears the landscape, the more wholesome the
air the more intelligent friendly and hospitabe
the natives. 1t is to be assumed that on ascend
irg still further from the plain into the highlands,
from the monotonous savannah or HaNOs forma-
ton into the various formations of the upper
regions, richer organisms and nobler forms will
be met WITH and that the mental capacities Of the
natives will also be upon q higher scale.
Aremmkable geological phenomenon is seen
in the isolated granite hills which rise like lonely
appariIions in the elevated plains Of Africa they
resemble the mysterious Mohills in the Pontian
steppes, but are not, like them, the work Of hu-
man hands. DR.. Knoblecher reckons the hight
of Logwek at from 525 TO $50 feet Accor-
ding to bis drawings, tue African granite hills
are more like the bssalt columns and trachyte
cones than the usual form Of the granite noun
tains of Europe. Logwek like the Bythinian
Olympus, is covered with mantle OF gneiss
through which the granite makes its appearance
On the summit are blocks Of granite lying upon
each other. which look almost like the ruins Of an
artificial edifce. These singular comic forma-
tons in the midst Of plain country are not f.
vorsble to the Neptune theory Of the production