Abstract
NOTWITHSTANDING that Herr Mohr went over ground that had been traversed previously, a considerable part of it being included in Livingstone's earlier travels, yet his book contains a great deal that is new and well worth publishing. From the time that he left Bremen in November 1868 till his departure from Africa in the beginning of 1871, the interest of his narrative never flags; the book contains frequent passages of genuine eloquence, quite free from bombast or affectation. During part of his journey, Mohr had as his companion the geologist Adolf Hübner, and their starting-point for the Victoria Fails was Durban. From this point they went almost directly to the falls, Hübner, however, leaving his companion before the Zambesi was reached, in order to visit the recently discovered South African diamond fields. Mohr, as we have indicated, tells the story of his journey and its many interesting incidents, particularly well, although, as might be expected, there were none of the dangers to be encountered which face explorers in less frequented parts of Africa. The book is full of valuable information of all kinds concerning the places touched at or visited both on the voyage out and on the journey from Durban to the Zambesi. The book must be considered as a specially valuable contribution to our knowledge of the natural history and geology, as well as to the geography of the district passed through. To the geographer the narrative will be found of very great value, as it contains a record of the carefully ascertained latitude and longitude of the principal points at which halts were made. Appended is a valuable paper by Hübner on the South African Diamond Fields. The work is illustrated by many good woodcuts and a few brilliant chromolithographs. There is also a small but clear map of South Africa, showing not only Mohr's route, but the routes of the principal travellers from Livingstone (1841) downwards. Altogether, the work must be considered a really valuable contribution to our knowledge of the region traversed, and seems to us well worth translating into English.
Nach den Victoriafällen des Zambesi.
Edouard
Mohr
Von. 2 vols. (Leipzig: Hirt und Sohn, 1875.)
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
[Book Reviews]. Nature 12, 231 (1875). https://doi.org/10.1038/012231b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/012231b0