undefined nature.

As

The Yaos have also a belief in a God of a very to a future state or a heaven, beyond the mere idea that the spirits of dead people still exist, they do not appear to have any belief. They consider sickness and death to be caused by witchcraft exercised by a living enemy of the person bewitched, and consequently they have a poison ordeal by which the guilt of accused persons may be proved, or their innocence declared. It consists of a draught into which a poisonous bark has been put. The accused drinks the decoction, and if it causes vomiting, as it sometimes does, the person is innocent; if no vomiting occurs, the person dies, and in many cases his body is burned. The trial takes place before the people, in some place in the bush, and a great deal of excitement usually prevails.

The Machinga branch of the Yao tribe do not kill wives or slaves on the death of a chief or person of note, though their neighbours, the Mangoche Yaos, formerly did, and several others of the surrounding tribes still observe the custom. At the death of the late chief, however, one of his wives had to go down into the grave to receive her husband," which done she came up again. This of course points to a former custom by which burying a wife alive was probably part of the funeral ceremony.

In burying they double up the body, bending the legs at the thigh and again at the knee, so that the corpse is buried in a sitting posture, with the chin almost touching the knee-a favourite position of the native in life. Most of the personal effects of the deceased are buried with him, and before being put into the grave they are broken. The reason of this is not evident, and one can merely give a conjecture. One idea which readily occurs is the old one that things have spirits as well as men, so that, when the owner is dead, they too must be broken that their spirits may accompany the owner. As I have said, however, they have no happy hunting-ground, as in the case of the Red Indian, which would lend colour to this explanation.

The men fire off guns and the women wail from the time of death till the time of burial. The firing of guns is ostensibly to keep off evil spirits, but is also used as a mark of respect. They fire guns at a birth, at the return of a caravan, at a death and burial, on visiting a grave, at the installation of a chief or head-man, and at beer-drinkings. The bulk of the powder used by such tribes is burnt in this harmless way.

Their language has been reduced to writing; and a grammar, and by no means complete vocabulary, compiled by the Rev. A. Hetherwick, M.A., F.R.G.S., has been published by the British and Foreign Bible Society, while another has been published by the Rev. Chauncy Maples of the Universities' Mission. As a language it has more affinities with Swahili than with the Zambesi-Nyasa group, and its nearest relation is the language spoken by the Makonde, a small tribe lying between the Yao and the Swahili. The literature in Yao consists at present of the four Gospels, the Acts, Romans, and 1st and 2d Corinthians (British and Foreign Bible Society), translated by Mr. Hetherwick, and two schoolbooks by myself (published by the Church of Scotland), incorporating many of the native stories. There is also a grammar and Yao-English

Primer by myself, for use in the Yao-speaking schools (published by the Church of Scotland). Besides these there was Bishop Steere's collections for a handbook of the Yao language, now superseded by Mr. Hetherwick's Grammar. They have a large number of folk-lore stories, which are very similar to the Swahili tales issued by Bishop Steere, but more primitive. A collection of them is at present being formed, which may aid in showing the wide prevalence and similarity of animal stories among the Bantu peoples.

The Yao people have a traditional code of laws which, so far as they go, are excellent. Wholesale stealing, murder, and adultery are all capital crimes, but, of course, when the injured person consents, they may be atoned for by pecuniary compensation. Marriage is made legal in the way described above, but divorce is not hard to obtain. Polygamy is allowed. Land occupied or marked off is considered the property of the person who so occupies or marks it off. The judges, as already mentioned, are the head-men, the final appeal being to the chief, and freedom to plead is allowed to every man.

The men

The native is by no means necessarily a lazy person. occupy themselves in hoeing, planting, building (houses only last two or three years), hunting, fishing, journeying, trading, attending palavers, and, since Europeans have come into the country, working for pay. The women especially cannot be called lazy. They have all the cooking to do, which is a daily task, and includes pounding and grinding grain, fetching firewood and water; they also hoe and help to plant, and they work on European plantations for wages. Births, deaths, and native ceremonies take up much of the time of both men and women. They have initiation ceremonies for both boys and girls and young wives, which are of an immoral character. Circumcision is practised at the

boys' initiation ceremony.

Such is a short account of the people among whom we live and labour. It is by no means complete according to our present knowledge, which is extending every day. At no distant date it will be comparatively easy to give a tolerably exhaustive account of native life, and thus fresh light will be shed upon the development of native tribes, which will help the comparative study of the development of the human race.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.

THE Annual Business Meeting was held in the Society's Hall, Edinburgh, on Tuesday afternoon, 10th November, at four o'clock. Mr. Ralph Richardson presided.

The following Resolutions were adopted :—

1st. On the motion of Principal Grant Ogilvie, "That His Grace the Duke of Argyll be re-elected President for the current Session; and that the VicePresidents of the Society be re-elected."

2d. On the motion of Principal Grant Ogilvie, "That the Honorary OfficeBearers of the Society be re-elected for the current Session."

3d. On the motion of the Chairman, "(a) That, in room of the Ordinary Members of Council retiring at this time by rotation, the following gentlemen be requested to serve on the Council, namely:-Lord M'Laren, Mr. J. R. Findlay, Mr. R. J. Mackenzie, Mr. Hugh Miller, Mr. David Patrick, Professor Crum Brown, Dr. John Kerr, and Mr. J. B. Sutherland; and (b) that the following Members of Council retiring at this time by rotation be re-elected, namely:-Dr. George Smith, Mr. William Jolly, Dr. James Burgess, Sir Robert M. Smith, Dr. Mill, Mr. J. W. M'Crindle, Mr. W. B. Blaikie, Dr. George Merry, Dr. Dods, Dr. Turner, Mr. Grant Ogilvie, and Sir J. N. Cuthbertson."

The Secretary submitted the Annual Report of Council, which, on the motion of Principal Grant Ogilvie, was adopted. This concluded the business before

the Meeting.

The Anniversary Meeting of the Society was held on Thursday evening, the 12th November, in the Free Church Assembly Hall, Edinburgh. General Sir Robert M. Smith presided. Mrs. Bishop read a paper (which was illustrated by lime-light views) on "The Upper Karun Region and the Bakhtiari Lurs." A most cordial vote of thanks was awarded to Mrs. Bishop, on the motion of Professor Grainger Stewart.

The Glasgow Branch of the Society held its Inaugural Meeting on the following evening, 13th November. Mr. W. Renny Watson, Chairman of the Branch, presided. Mrs. Bishop repeated her address on "The Upper Karun Region and the Bakhtiari Lurs." Lime-light illustrations were given. Dr. Gairdner moved, and Dr. Muir seconded, the vote of thanks to Mrs. Bishop.

The Dundee Branch of the Society held its Opening Meeting on Tuesday evening, 17th November, in the University College. Captain Clayhills Henderson, who has succeeded to the Chairmanship of the Branch, Principal Peterson having resigned, presided over the Meeting. Dr. Hugh R. Mill delivered an address on "Regions and Races; the Foundations of Geography," which was illustrated by lime-light views. Principal Peterson moved the vote of thanks to the lecturer.

GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

BY W. A. TAYLOR, M.A. .
EUROPE.

The Aaland Islands. -Professor Cohen has visited these islands, and lectured on them before the Greifswald Geographical Society (Globus, Bd. lx. No. 10). Besides the main island there are about 3000 small islands and rocks. The area of the group is about half that of Rügen, and its inhabitants number 18,500, of whom 12,000 dwell on the large island. The waves have cut out innumerable bays and fiords in the coasts, separated by capes and promontories. Most of the islands are wooded. They are composed principally of porphyry, granite, and Rapakivi-a granite containing felspar crystals in large quantities; in the east gneiss also and slates are found. In the plain of Northern Germany, and especially in Pomerania, erratic blocks composed of rocks found in the Aaland Islands and the neighbouring parts of Scandinavia are very common. Stones and fossils from the formations of Gothland and Oeland are also to be seen in the neighbourhood of Greifswald. As these blocks were no doubt carried by ice during the glacial period, Dr. Cohen concludes that the glaciers moved from north-north-east to south-south-west.

Novaia Zemlia.-M. Nossilof, who has devoted so much time to the exploration of these islands (S.G.M. vol. iv. p. 605), spent last winter at the western entrance of Mathew Strait, in a house specially constructed after his own plans and brought from Archangel. Up to November M. Nossilof was able to make excursions into the Kara Sea, collecting birds and animals, surveying the coast, and taking soundings in the sea. The winter was unusually stormy, and the sea remained open until spring. Torrents of rain fell, so that the country was covered with a coating of ice, and the reindeer perished from hunger; hundreds of seals were frozen on the ice, and fish were thrown up in heaps on the shore. Changes of temperature occurred with great suddenness: from −31° F. the thermometer rose to +37° F. in a few hours. The spring and summer were correspondingly severe, and the temperature did not rise above 41° F. up to the end of July. Nevertheless, the scientific work of the expedition was carried on without interruption, and large zoological collections were made. This is the third winter M. Nossilof has spent in Novaia Zemlia. His next journey will be to the peninsula of Yalmal.—Globus, Bd. lx. No. 15.

ASIA.

Navigation on the Siberian Rivers. Some details given in the Compte Rendu, No. 16, of the Paris Geographical Society on this subject are worthy of notice. Sixty-four steamers and one hundred and sixty-two lighters ply between Tiumen and Tomsk during the summer months, from about May 15th to September 28th, and transport about 74,000 tons of merchandise. The course of the Yenisei is 2450 miles long, of which 1850 are navigable, from Minusinsk to the mouth. Six steamers, a tug, and a passenger boat navigate the river, the chief ports being Minusinsk, Krasnoiarsk, Yeniseisk, and Turukhansk. Of the affluents of the Yenisei the Tunguska only is navigable. The Angara, 1100 miles long, is navigable from Lake Baikal to Fort Bratski, a distance of 460 miles, and from the barriers to the mouth. The Selenga is 740 miles long, and is navigable for a distance of 200 miles from the Chinese frontier. Lake Baikal is navigable from the end of May to the end of December, the Angara from the beginning of May to December, and the Selenga from the middle of May to the middle of October. Three steamers ply on Lake Baikal, four on the Upper Angara, and three on the Selenga, besides a number of lighters. The Lena, 2880 miles long, is navigable for 2680 miles from Yigalova, and is served by nine steamers. Lastly, in the Amur basin forty-five steamers run during five months, from April 30th to September 30th, which with their lighters can transport 7100 tons. The Amur is navigable for 1720 miles, the Argun for 430, the Shilka for 300, the Ussuri for 320, the Zeya for 530, and the Bureya for 330.

Siam and the Shan States.-The Times, September 3d and 5th, contains letters from a correspondent on these States and their relations with the British Government. The small States lying to the north and north-east of Chieng-mai, or Zimme, have long been a subject of contention between the Indian Government and Siam. The question is now nearly decided, and, at any rate, is of little consequence. Kiang-tung, Kiang-kheng, and Kiang-hung are larger, and their political position is not yet clearly defined. The first of these States lies to the north of Laos, and extends from the Mékong on the east to a little beyond the Salween on the west. Kiang-hung, still further north, lies on both sides of the Mékong, and borders on Chinese territory. Its eastern boundary is undetermined, but it is probably marked by the watershed between the Nam-hu and the Mékong. The third State, Kiangkheng, lies like a wedge between the two former. Tribute has been paid by

Kiang-tung to the Indian Government, though it has not been formerly annexed. By itself, however, it would not be a desirable acquisition, projecting as it does like a long peninsula from the Burmese territory, and having a river for its eastern frontier. Kiang-hung has paid tribute at different times to all the surrounding states, but at present the only countries that can lay any claim to suzerainty over it are China and Burma. Tribute has been demanded by the India Government, but no response has yet been made to the request. Mr. Scott, however, after the completion of the Anglo-Siamese frontier delimitation, made a journey northwards, and has been warmly received in Kiang-hung. On his return further light will be thrown on the character of the country. Should these two States and Kiang-kheng, which undoubtedly belongs to Kiang-tung, be annexed, the boundary towards the French possessions would be a mountainous watershed, with no pass practicable for pack animals between Muang-sai on the south to a route lying further north than Kiang-hung. And not only would a good frontier be secured by annexing Kiang-hung, but the railway to Kiang-sen, proposed by Mr. Holt Hallett, might then be carried as far as the Chinese frontier to tap the trade of Yunnan.

Difficulties may also be expected before long to arise with regard to Siam. The Siamese are exceedingly lazy and addicted to gambling. The king and princes seem willing to remove abuses and introduce European civilisation, but the mass of the people, and even the ministers, are perfectly indifferent as to the kind of government they live under. Industry and progress are checked by the evils of serfdom, slavery, the farming of taxes, and corruption of justice. Meanwhile, Europeans are flocking into the country and introducing foreign labour. Should, then, these evils not be remedied soon, the question of annexation will be forced on those European Powers which have an interest in the country. France is advancing rapidly from the east, but will for the present be content with the Mékong as a boundary. In Siam proper there are already thousands of British subjects, and their number is increasing rapidly. It therefore behoves the Government to keep a watch on the progress of events, and be ready to interfere when the interests of British subjects are at stake.

AFRICA.

Cameroons: Lieutenant Morgen.-This traveller has given a preliminary account of his journey to Adamawa in the Mitt. aus den Deutschen Schutzgebieten, Bd. iv. Heft 3. Leaving the Kribi Station on June 20th, 1890, he proceeded to the Yaunde Station by a new route, passing through Biyoka, a village of a chief named Tunga. Here he and his party met with rather a cool reception, and in the dense forest through which they afterwards marched were shot at by the natives, without being able to retaliate, and were subjected to this annoyance until they reached the first Yaunde village, Atkatburo. On June 21st Lieutenant Morgen crossed the Nyong River, between Shumma and Msalla, here a quiet stream 100 yards broad, and on the 24th reached the Yaunde Station. At Ngila, a central point of the ivory trade, he, in conjunction with Herr Weiler, established a new station, to which the name "Kaiser Wilhelmsburg" was given. With regard to the configuration of the land-surface, Lieutenant Morgen states that the country for a distance of 50 miles from the coast is flat, and is raised only a few feet above the sea-level. Beyond the Lokunje there is a steep ascent to Tunga's village, 650 feet high, followed by a gradual slope. Eighteen miles to the west of Mabele commences the acclivity bordering the inner plateau, which has an elevation of about 2300 feet. The Elementen, a mountain near the Yaunde Station, has a height of 2950 feet; the Ngila mountain is 2900 feet high, and the Ngaundere VOL. VII.

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