CAPE TO CAIRO.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 725, 26 January 1910, Page 3

CAPE TO CAIRO.

Amongthe passengers.who arrived yesterday ,by. tho; Arawa from England .was Miss Mary . Hall,", a niece 'of Sir James . JPrendergast, : who ■ bas'a. distinguished re- , cord as a. traveller. Miss Ball, j about ; tivo years ago,' crossed Africa from GapeTown to Cairo,; being tho first woman to take; this vonturesome journey. -She '.did not set out-with".tho intention of making "srich-;,an expedition, but. only, to go into Central; Africa.:. -When sho.:got :thero she was ■ persuaded t'o-go on to tho sourco of the, Nilo and from - there to Cairo. The suggestion. fascinated- her and: she set out through ,a country l where no whito'iwoman bad ever been'before, with an 'escort of forty; black'carriers -and soldiers. Tho natives she found .sometimes 'timorous, sometimes, threatening,- and .'-the.'"soldiers exercised; in >, these'' cases ■ a;, salutary .'influence, and " though. she had some un-; pleasant experiences .she pushed; on without , serious mmdventuro to tho sources of; tho., Nile.';, She received''hearty; welcome. Did hospitality'from.;.the Germans whom .'.. she, • n;ot •on tha 1 way. The country.,.WM;.''-very., beautiful in. Ciany parts' 1 and' always . ; interesting, but the' fact : "that : . all; food- supplies ..had to be carried made tho journey; very expensive. "Miss Hall's achievement lias been frilly recognised by geographers, and. sho has. lecturedj.beforo/ the; Royal Geo-' graphical Society, though, as she is a woman, .she has not beeii admitted .to Membership of the society which, in view. : 'Of theimportance'of . her expedition,. strikes one as' being most unfair.■ ;

' 'Jfiss .Hall nia.y lecture in; New Zealand, but. not' tuitil. sho'-has had a long rest to' recover, from a nervous breakdown. At present she, is staying at. I'arapa'ra-; umn with Mrs.; Leonard Eeed. .