so far succeeded. As there was a very strong wind the whole time, I was obliged to observe in a tent, and to have the true bearing of the mark taken with another theodolite outside, but near me, and in a line with the theodolite of the magnetometer; the tent was I believe sufficiently removed from any magnetic influence; it was a spot where there were formerly salt-pans, and had a considerable depth of alluvial deposit and clay beneath. I hope to be able at Cape Coast Castle, to practice with the horizontal force magnetometer, so that when we arrive at the field of our operations, I trust I shall be able to make good use of the instrument. We have been detained here as elsewhere longer than we expected, but as yet we have no reason to complain of the weather, which is beautiful, with an occasional tornado or squall to improve it, and we are all in good health and spirits. We have prepared a little schooner which was bought here, to assist in carrying our stores, though she will do no more than take those of the model farm. We are now on the point of sailing for Cape Coast Castle, from which place, I will do myself the pleasure of writing to you again. To Capt. Beaufort, R.N. Yours, &c., WILLIAM ALLEN. THE island of St. Vincent, on the western coast of Africa, is situated between 16° 28′ and 16° 56′ 30′′ north latitude, and 24° 39′ 23′′ and 25° 21′ 20′′ of west longitude. The general aspect of it is generally mountainous, with sharp peaks, the coast is rocky and rises abruptly, but the tide ebbing leaves a sandy beach. No doubt can be entertained that the general character of the island is volcanic; the interior is formed by ranges of hills of different heights. The surface of the country is undulating, and in the interior and loftier parts, has a tendency to table lands. With regard to the geological formation of the island, consisting of feldspathic basalt, the soil is rich, in the valleys sandy, generally as well in the plains as on the sides of the valleys, which on the south side are fertile, particularly in the rainy season, where the ground is wooded and in some places cultivated. At the depth of seven or nine feet below the surface of the valleys, the soil becomes loamy, and abundance of water may be obtained, which may render the island capable of cultivation hereafter, with sugar, indigo, cotton, bananas, oranges, sweet potatoes, &c. Springs of water might easily be found by digging, that would yield a supply not only sufficient for the inhabitants, (about 560,) but also for the different ships that may arrive. With regard to the physical divisions of the island, it is divided by a valley extending from west to east; in the southern division one range of mountains proceed from west to east; another from north to south, but both connected by a hill. The northern part of the island consists of mountain chains, lying north-east and south-west, and northwest and south-east. The general height of the mountains is 12,500 feet, but by barometrical observation, the loftiest point is 2,410 above the sea. I observed cultivated ground on a table-land at the height of 2,400 feet; it produced beans and pumpkins, the former introduced from the West Indies. The only tree growing at this height is the Euphorbia, but at the loftiest part there is vegetation. The water runs from the elevated parts to the sea coast, and loses itself in the sand, but the quantity of it is not capable to form in dry season a river; the principal valley is divided by a hill, which connected the northern and southern division. The water course running west, takes its rise 520 feet above the level of the sea; the bed is gravel covered with mud united by chalk. The coast forms a great number of little bays, in general capable of containing vessels; the chief port is named Porto Grande, situated on the west side of the island, and is a good anchorage for about 300 vessels;-water and provisions cannot be easily procured, the former defect might be remedied. The wind blows generally from the north-east, in the rainy season the south-east wind prevails, which commences in the month of July, and ends on the 15th of October. During the last years the rains have been regular in point of time, but sometimes not in quantity. Those of the inhabitants belonging to the negro race, have from their intercourse with Europeans, lost much of their original character; they live generally to a great age, for amongst a population of about 560, some have obtained the age of more than 100 years. They are a very industrious race as far as regards the means of obtaining subsistence. They are in general handsome, and obliging in manner. The inhabitants are subject to the Portuguese, whose language predominates; there is not the least trace of the native language of the island. The only articles of traffic exported from this island are skins, fruits, and fish. The chief articles of food are vegetables, beans, and Indian corn, grown in the island; bananas are brought from St. Antonio;-fish caught on the shores. Tobacco and clothes appeared to be the most acceptable. Extract from another letter. C. G. ROSCHER. "PORTO GRANDE, St. Vincent, of the Cape Verd Islands, is well adapted for refitting in, as well as acclimatizing the crews of vessels going to the African station. There is no endemic disease there as at St. Jago: the climate resembles that of Ascension, whithout being so hot, and though there is scarcely any vegetation on the island during the greater part of the year, yet a sufficient quantity of live stock, vegetables, &c., for several vessels can be always obtained there, and at the neighbouring island San Antonio. It is deficient of water, (except for daily consumption,) but this can be procured at Tarafal Bay, St. Antonio, distant twenty-three miles. "The variation in June, 1841, was 17° 17′ west, dip 49° 10'." We annex the following letter from Mr. Bartlett, on the subject of the mail steam-boats to America, as it alludes to the African expedition. SIR. The Soudan, Capt. Allen, arrived here on Saturday last. The afternoon was wet, and the captain and I talked about steam-boats. I said, alluding to the President, that I was afraid that the smashing of the boats to the United States and Halifax, would not be unfrequent, and if so, such accidents would check, and perhaps put an end to steam-boats driving to the north in winter. We then talked about the West India boats, and the plan of going all through or touching at the Azores. The Azores are nice places to look at in the map, but if they "write their annals true," they are very bad to approach in the winter, and even when arrived at, communication cannot always be had. I remarked, that it appeared to me, that in England from the desire to attain extreme rapidity of communication by steam-boats, other considerations were lost sight of.-I suspect eventually regularity of arrival, and security of the vessels will become predominant considerations in their speculations, and if so, even if the traverse should be longer, you must look out for fine weather sea, and places to stop where you may coal, and make trifling repairs. On the security and regularity plan therefore, I submit that the boats should call at Madeira, stop at Tenerife, go to Antigua, or some one of the leeward islands; from thence to start two boats, one to Jamaica and the Spanish main, the other to Puerto Rico, Havana, and Mexico. This island seems placed by nature to be the link of communication between the old and the new world. A hulk, with coals, properly moored, might lie here all winter in perfect safety; steam-boats can enter night or day without risk, and if the swell would sometimes prevent taking coals alongside, they might always be put on board with launches. Premises might easily be obtained for stores and workshops. The Spanish government are anxious to have a steam communication between this and Cadiz; if, therefore, a boat were to run between Lisbon, Cadiz, Madeira, and Tenerife, to meet the West India boats, the south of Europe, indeed the countries on both banks of the Mediterranean would be brought within a few days communication of the West Iudies and America, and no doubt a great many passengers for America would take advantage of this facility; besides, of the two or three hundred that now stay at Madeira, a great many would probably go the round with the steam-boat. Here, therefore, you have the great desideratum for steam-boats, facility, security, regularity, and passengers. As far as going from England is concerned there is no difficulty, the tug would be coming back again! May 19th, 1841.-The wind came round to the north yesterday afternoon; the Soudan and the transport got under way, and were out of sight by 7 o'clock. Santa Cruz, 18th May, 1841. Yours, &c., RICHARD BARTLETT. The following from the Soudan is also important. "We are all in the best spirits. The Soudan, an admirable sea boat, she made better weather of the gales than the Harriet. I steamed all the way from Lisbon one boiler, and working expansively six knots average with a fair wind, and four calm! My consumption one boiler,-common coal was two ton in twentyfour hours. Ditto Grant's fuel, one and one-third ditto." The above contains the latest accounts of the progress of the Niger Expedition excepting that it had reached Montserado Roads, as stated in p. 718 of our last number, and we shall look for farther intelligence concerning it with much interest. There is another subject connected with the physical welfare of our countrymen engaged in it, to which, through the attention of Sir John Barrow, this journal was the first to engage the public mind, and which has been since followed up by other periodicals: we allude to Professor Daniell's experiments on the various specimens of water from Africa along with the case of H.M.S. Triumph in 1810, especially pointed out by Sir John Barrow, in our number for January last. The subject has been fully investigated both by subsequent experiments as well as those to which we have alluded, and the following summary of a lecture delivered on it, by the professor, will form a satisfactory conclusion, while we are waiting for further accounts. At the Royal Institution, on Friday evening last, Mr. J. F. Daniell read a paper "on the spontaneous evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen in the waters on the western coast of Africa and elsewhere." He commenced by observing, that this subject was now interesting on two accounts-First, because it would recall to the members of that institution the experiments of Sir Humphery Davy on the subject, and which led him to advise the adoption of ship protectors; and, Secondly, in consequence of the Niger expedition, fitted out to visit and endeavour to introduce civilization on the western coast of Africa. The effect produced on copper sheathing by the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen in the waters on that coast, was, he premised, well known to every one informed respecting vessels visiting it, and it was a fact that a cruize of nine months on the western coast of Africa injured the copper sheathing of a vessel as much as four years' wear in any other part of the world. The lecturer showed a piece of sheathing take from the bottom of a Government frigate that had not been many months on the African station, and also a piece from the Royal George, sunk at Spithead, and which had been under water 60 years; the former was eaten through in very many places, and so thin all over that he might push his thumb through it, while the latter was tough and in excellent condition. His attention had been directed to the subject by the Lords of the Admiralty sending him 10 bottles of water, from as many different places on that coast, extending from 8 deg. north of the Equator to 8 deg. south, to analyse, and to report on the component parts thereof, and the acompanying table was the result: All the bottles were hermetically sealed, and he had no doubt the water was ENLARGED SERIES. NO. 11.-VOL. FOR 1841. 5 B in every way as good as when taken from the rivers. On drawing the cork, be was immediately struck with the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen, and adopted the general idea that it arose from animal and vegetable decomposition, but it had The gas extended since appeared to him that such was not entirely the case. a distance of 15 or 16 deg., and in some places as far as 40 miles to sea, covering therefore a space of 40,000 square miles. Now what could the origin be! He thought that it arose from the action and reaction of vegetable and animal matter brought from the interior by the rivers upon the sulphates in the sea water. With this idea he gathered last autumn some leaves from a shrubbery and put them into three jars; into one of which he poured some plain New River water, into the second some of the same water in which three ounces of common salt had been dissolved, and into the third the like water, in which some crystallized sulphate of soda was dissolved. To the covers of the jars he fixed inside some some litmus paper, and placed them in a cupboard, the temperature of which varied from 70 to 100 or 110 degrees. The effect was, that in the first the litmus paper was perfectly white, and the smell by no means unpleasant; in the second the paper was quite white, and the smell similar to that of a preserve; but in the third jar, in which a sulphate was present, the paper was nearly black, and the stench was horrible and nauseous in the extreme, as every one knew the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen gas to be. Now sea-water contained sufficient sulphates to produce this effect, under peculiar circumstances. But a more interesting part of the subject was the miasma, so injurious to life on the marshy shore of Western Africa. Some persons said that if science cannot point a remedy, it is useless to investigate the causes, but he did not so think; if science could not point out a remedy, still it could point to something as a palliation of the evil. The presence of the inju rious gas was easily tested by the roughest hand, so that places in which it abounded could be avoided; and if imperative duty rendered it absolutely necessary to go to those places, then plentiful fumigations of chlorine gas would effectually destroy the sulphuretted hydrogen. The effect of this gas was not only visible on the Western coast of Africa, but in many places elsewhere, although not to so great an extent. Might not the jungle fever of India, the periodical fevers of New York and Charleston in America, and the minor diseases on the coast of Essex, be traced to effects of this deleterious gas? It was a well-known fact that the ships in the mouth of the Medway consumed more copper than the other ships. Chlorine gas then destroyed the injurious gas, and it was easily made, and the materials very cheap; the Government had plentifully supplied the African expedition with the materials necessary for the most perfect chlorine fumigations, and he had the pleasure of believing that his report founded on the analysis of the waters submitted to him, and the precautions taken, had imparted confidence, not only to the gallant men who composed that expedition, but also to those who had interested themselves in its welfare, and who had been actuated by the most Christian spirit. He hoped its success would be commensurate to its deserts. The lecturer was continually applauded by the meeting, which was rather a full one. The treasurer was in the chair. We understand that accounts of the Expedition have been received, dated 28th of July, off Cape Coast Castle. THE FRENCH WHALE FISHERY. Substance of the report of Capt. Cecille, of the corvette Heroine. On the 24th of November, Capt. Cecille departed in the Heroine from the Croxet Islands, and on the 21st of December reached Amsterdam |
