AN EXPEDITION INTO EAST AFRICA.
THE account of an expedition through Galla and Somali lands to Lake Rudolf was recently read before the Royal Geographical Society by Dr. A. D. Smith. Accompanied by Messrs. Gillett and Dodson, he started inland from Berbera, July, 1894, with 80 Somalis as a guard and 100 camels to carry stores. The route of the caravan lay west, and many adventures were met with. Some time was spent in the camp of an Abyssinian general at Ginia, Gallaland, who showed them every honor. His garrison of 450 troops was thoroughly drilled and armed with Remington and Chassepot rifles; and a braver, hardier, more energetic, tho savage lot of men than these Abyssinians would be hard to find. Ginia has 4,000 inhabitants, and the Arusi Gallas are regarded and sold as slaves. They crossed the Shebele River, February, 1895, and entered the country of the Borans, who are one great united people and not split up into innumerable tribes. Animals were brought to trade and guides furnished here. This section is very fertile—a series of well-watered valleys, lofty mountain ranges, and cool, delightful plateaux. To the west of this was a very open, undulating, grassy country, with scarcely a tree, and sloping to the south as far as Lake Stefanie. Beyond the river Dowa the altitude varied from 2,000 to 3,500 feet, with peaks rising 2,000 feet higher. South of the lake it became gradually flatter and lower, with less rainfall. There are many evidences of volcanic action. Iron ore and coarse granite abounded, and mountains of shining white quartz ammonites were also found near the Dowa. The various tribes visited were friendly with one exception, and occasional attempts at petty thieving. The valley above Stefanie12was inhabited by a large and warlike tribe called the Arbore. A tribe of dwarfs was also met, the Dume, whose average height was only five feet. They are woolly haired and very black, with flat noses and large lips, but very graceful and well formed. They live in little hamlets of about fifty small huts each, scattered amongst the mountains, and own sheep and goats; a little millet is raised by them. The rough, mountainous country presented every obstacle to progress, and the expedition was a hard one. There were no roads, and ridges 2,000 feet higher than the surrounding country, had to be crossed. However, this was the first party to reach Lake Rudolf from the east. As to the lake itself, Dr. Smith could add nothing to the accounts already furnished by Lieutenant Von Hohnel. Returning along the Nianann River, which rises 120 miles to the north of Lake Rudolf, into which it flows, they came eventually into an open valley, where the crops of rich durrha were waving to and fro, the goats nibbling at the soft green grass, and noises from a score of villages reached their ears. The natives were the most sociable and hospitable black people met with. They were of medium height and far above the average in civilization. They possessed no brass or beads, and almost fought each other to sell anything they had for a string of these.—Young People's Foreign Missionary Journal.