FROM NYASSALAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 66

FROM NYASSALAND.

A GEOLOGIST IN CENTRAL AFRICA. (Fsoh Oub Special Cobresfondekt.) WELLINGTON, August 27. By tbe Moana, which arrived ii-oni Sydnew on Wednesday, arrived Mr Arthur R. Andrew, of Dunedin, the young man who, a few years ago, annexed tlie 1851 Exhibition scholarship (open to the whole Of the students attending any college of the New 2ealand University). This scholarship is worth £150 a year for two years, theee to be spent in furthering study either in America or England. Mr Andrew, who has a strong turn for economic geology, elected to go to England, and has had the advantage of a couple of years under Professors Lapworth and Watts at the Birmingham University. Shortly after he completed his course he had tlie rare fortune to be selected by the Colonial Office to undertake a mineral survey of Nyasealaoid', that strip of interesting country lying to the -west of Lake Nyassa, which ie under the direct control of the Colonial Onice. The rest of this extensive tract of country is really /part of Rhodesia — a British protectorate. Mr Andrew talks in an interesting manner of tlie country which he has just ieft. " You approach Nyassa- j land," he said, '' from the Zambesi, and it will give you a fine idea of the river to know that we steamed up it for six days in a light draught paddle steamer before we were stopped by the rapids. Then a portage has to be made for some distance until the river is again fit for navigation ;*-ahd that takes you to the lake — a sheet of water between 500 and 600 miles in length. The nearest point of Nyaesalaiidi to the coast is about 500 miles, and the farthest probably 1000 miles, more or less. There used- to be a considerable traffic over the Zambesi, but that has fallen away since the Katanga copper mines sent their stuff overland to the west coast in preference to using the river way. They did that because it cut down the ocean journey to England by half, and the track across country is through ' fly proof ' country, which i*> an enormous consideration, as the are able to trek the copper to the coast with cattle and return with supplies.- " There are no horses, no cattle, and no beasts of burden at all in Nyssaland ; the t.-etse fly gees to that. There are three species of the tsetse; just as bad as one another. One is fatal to horses (as readers of Livingstone's travels will be member), another carries t*he bacilli of the dreaded sleeping 6ickrress, and yet another causes cattle fever, so that the sole means of transport is by native carriers, who, carrying a load of 501b or 601b each, are aible to cover 20 miles a day. They are not big men, but the}* are wiry, and do their work well when well managed. When a white' man wishes to travel on land he has either to walk or use the ' machilla,' a hammock slunjj on a "pole supported by two blacks. That thees carriers can make good time in an emergency was proved during my stay, when it became necessary to convey a sick man to a doctor. Twelve carriers were employed, and the 'journey of - 52 miles wa.s accomplished in 14 hour.-." For hifi particular mission Mr Andrew h?d one English a_s.-i*tant (Mr Bailey) and 120 blacks. The country gene i ally wa« of gneiss formation, ranging in elevation fiom 300 ft to 10.000 ft' above <ea, level. Fairly extensive coallield- were dibcovered,

the coal in some parts "being almost up to the best Welsh standard. There were also good prospects oi graphite and mica, 'but only traces of gold and silver were found. The survey resulted in the discovery of ' one likely alluvial proposition. On the whole, nothing was discovered that would '"boom" Nyssaland as a colony ; indeed, it was never likely to be " a colony of importance except "of the India or Ceylon type. The white population — about 500 — was centred in the southern districts, which included Chiroma, Yomba, and Blantyre They were planters of cotton, coffee, tobacco, and rubber. The climate was fairly good for a tropical country, but there was a gcod deal of malaria, black water, and dysentery. Mr Andrew was quite safckfie*L£kat - the" f utm-e of Central Africa depended <m* the medical man. Malaria was not nearly 1 the formidable disease it w«s years -aa^>owing to the quininal treatment, and the profession was making strenuous efforts to conquer blackwater fever and the sleeping sickness. The chief curse of the country was th-e tsetse fiy, but perhaps even that deadly insect would -succumb to science in the long vim.' Mr Andrew is now on his way to Dnn-ed'j-n to spend a few weeks with hk relatives and friends.

RIFLE SHOOTIW. LORD ROBERTS*,? TROPHY. WELLINGTON. August 27. The team representing the New Zealand secondary School Cadets fired to-day for Lord Roberts's Empire wrize, and made a score of 483. The individual scores - were :—: — J. C. Williamson, Wellington 65 H. C. Poison, Wellington 64 H. Gallen, Auckland 63 F. R. Coombes, Auckland 61 J. H. Williamson, Wellington 60 R. Munn, Rangiora 59 J. M'Lean, Wellington 58 S. G. M'Dougall, Otago 53