IN NYASSALAND.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 181, 4 September 1909, Page 1

IN NYASSALAND.

GEOLOGIST'S EXPERIENCES. By tie Moana, which arrived at Wellington from Sydney a few days ago, arrived Mr. Arthur &. Andrew, of Dune.Un, the young man who a few years ajju annexed the 1851 Exhibition scholarship (open -to the whole of .the students attending any college of the, New Zealand University). This scholarship is worth £l5O a year tor £wo years, these lo be spent either in America or Enirland. fa 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 Lap'vorth and Watts at the Birmingham University. Shortly after he completed his course he had tOic rare fortune to he selected by the Colonial Office to undertake a mineral survey of Nyassaluud, that strip of interesting country lying to the west of Lake Nyassa, which is under the direct control of the Colonial Office. The rest of this extensive tract of country as really part v> Khodesia—a British protectorate. Mr. Andrew talks in an interesting manner of the country which he has ;ust left. "Xou approach Nyassaland," 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, and that takes you to the lake —a sheet of water between 500 and 000 miles in length. The nearest point of Nyassaland to the coast is about 500 miles, and the farthest probably 1000 miles, more or less. There nscd to be a considerable traffic over the Zambesi but that lias 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 'ily-proof counti-y which is an enormous consideration as they are able to trek the copper to'the coast with cattle and return with suuplies. ' "There are no horses, no cattle, and no beasts of burden at all in Nyassaland; the tsetse fly 6ccs 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 remember), another carries the bacilli of the dreaded sleeping sicsness, and yet another causes cattle fever so that the sole means of transport is by native carriers, who, carrying a load of aOlb or 60 each, are able to cover "0 miles a day. They are not big men, but they are wiry; and do their work wdl when well managed. When a white man wishes to travel on land he has either to walk or use tie 'machilla,' a hammock slung on a pole supported by two Wacks. That these carriers can make good time in an emergency was proved during my stay, when it became aecossary to convey a sick man to a doctor. Twelve carriers were employed, and the journey of 32 miles was accomplished m : 14 hours." For his particular mission Mr. Andrew i had one English assistant (Mr. Bailey) and 120 blacks. The country generally was of gneiss formation, ranging in elevation from 300 ft to 10,000 ft above sealevel. Fairly extensive coalfields wore discovered, the coal in some parts bein" almost up to the best Welsh Btandaid" There were also good prospects of graphite and mica, but onlv traces oi gold and silver were found. "The surv-v resulted in the discovery of one likelv alluvial proposition. On Hie whole, nothing was discovered that would "boom" Nyassaland as a colony; indeed, it was never likely to ibe a colony of importance j except of the India or Ceylon type. The j white population about 500 —was centred in the southern districts, which included Cliiroma, 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 good deal of malaria, blackwater, and dvsentery. Mr. Andrew was quite satisfied that the future of Central Afiio.i depended on the medical man. Malaria v K s not nearly the formidable ciiso.ise it v.'i's years ago owing to Hie quinine! Irrai.mcnt, and the profession j wis mnkiii'T .sircnuous efforts to conquer lilacfcwatcr f.'.ver and the sleeping siek- I ness. The chief curse of the country •was the hobc fly, but perhaps even tint deadly insect would succumb to science in the lnm» run. Mr. Andrew is now at Dunedin spending a few necks with his relatives and 'friends.