5. Name the chief ports. Are they secure harbours, or only open bays, or roadsteads for anchoring? 6. What the depth of water, and what bottom for anchoring? 7. Is the port capable of containing many vessels? Does it offer facilities for repairs? 8. Can water, provisions, and fuel be easily procured? 9. Note the time of high-water at full and change of moon, and rise and fall of tide; and direction and velocity of stream. 8. Volcanoes and Mineral Springs, &c. 1. Are any now active? or, are there traces of extinct volcanoes? 2. Give their position-height above the sea--and native names. 3. Does tradition or history record any eruption? at what date? 4. Was the eruption of fire, lava, scoriæ, water, or mud? 5. Are earthquakes frequent? Are there records of any having occurred? 6. What were their effects? how far did they extend? any up-heaving or depression of land recorded? 7. Are many mineral springs known? Hot, tepid, or cold? (Note the temperature if possible.) Are their waters used medicinally? 8. Do they form deposits? Siliceous or calcareous ? 9. Maps, Charts, &c. 1. Do any charts of the coast, or maps of the country, or partial surveys exist? Native or otherwise? What their respective dates? 2. Are they believed to be accurate? Upon what scale? 3. Endeavour to map the country, starting, if possible, from a fixed point; if exact observations cannot be obtained, give compass bearings, and estimated heights and distances. (N.B. Heights may often be obtained by length of shadow, &c.; distance by velocity of sound, &c.) The scale of one inch to a geographical mile is recommended. 4. Take bearings of all remarkable objects in sight from any known station, as mountain-peaks, masses, gaps, towns, villages, forests, &c. &c., and transfer all to paper immediately; trust nothing to memory. 5. Preserve all original observations and documents relating to surveys; and make two or three copies of observations. 6. Obtain correct native names if possible, and keep to one standard of orthography. Mark all hearsay information with the initials of the informant. If a journey is made by night, or in foggy weather, trace it with coloured ink. 10. Astronomical Observations. 1. Are any positions astronomically determined? What reliance may be placed on them? 2. It is very important to obtain observations for the position of all capes, headlands, points, towns, villages, &c.; mountain-peaks, passes, limits of range, &c.; lakes, sources, confluence, and outlets of rivers; in short, of every remarkable object. 3. Endeavour to obtain the latitude by meridian altitude of the sun, or of a planet, or of a star, or of the moon. 4. Longitude-by eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, especially by eclipses of the third and fourth satellite, when both immersion and emersion can be observed, or by any other eclipse; by moon culminating stars; by occultations of fixed stars by the moon; by lunar distances from the sun, or a planet, or a star, always East and West when possible; by an altitude of the moon in the prime vertical; or by chronometers; state always by which method obtained, and what reliance may be placed on it. 5. Observations on the variation of the compass, and dip of the needle, are very important. Instruments. A repeating circle, or sextant of five-inch radius; a pocket sextant; an artificial horizon; Kater's compass; two mountain barometers; and two thermometers, with a good pocket chronometer; are sufficient for all common purposes. Meteorology. 1. Keep an exact register of the barometer and thermometer. 2. What are the prevalent winds? What the periodical? 3. What the average fall of rain? 4. What the amount of evaporation, &c. Natural History. 1. Note the geographical distribution of man, animals, birds, fishes, insects, plants, &c. 2. Obtain information on all branches of Natural History, bearing in mind that the useful and practical is of more importance than the merely curious. For detailed instructions, under each head, recourse should be had to the respective sources. Ethnography. 1. Obtain vocabularies of the native language-phrases rather than single words. Keep to a fixed standard of orthography in writing them down the sounds of the vowels in father-there-ravine—mole-lunar, are recommended as the most simple, and as being both English and European. : 2. Note the habits, manners, customs, and amusement of the natives. 3. What notion have they of a supreme being? what of a future life? what, if any, their religious ceremonies? 4. What their treatment of the aged, of the sick, and of children? 5. What seems to be the form of government? Is division of property recognised? Do they buy and sell land? 6. Do they trade or barter with each other, or with strangers? 7. Note the number of natives seen from day to day, distinguishing the sex, and children. 8. Are there many lunatics or idiots? 9. What the usual form of feature? the shape of the skull ? hair? colour? stature? bodily constitution? 10. Is plurality of wives common? are women without husbands frequent? 11. Have they any marriage ceremonies? how do they treat their wives? 12. Do they give proof of capacity for civilization? 13. May the natives be trusted as guides-as messengers-or to procure food? 14. What presents please them best? 15. What words or signs do they use when hostile? or when friendly? 16. What are their dwellings? What their chief articles of food? 17. What their disposition-savage or gentle; rash, hasty, or inoffensive? Are they disposed to receive instruction? 18. Are any cases of cannibalism reported? N.B. To investigate strictly under what circumstances they occurred. 19. Are the people said to be increasing or decreasing? 20. Does slavery exist? What is the condition of a slave? 21. What are their diseases? What their medical treatment? 22. Can the traveller point out the most probable mode of civilizing and benefiting the natives? 23. What traditions are current respecting the origin of the people? 24. Collect all information that can throw light on the migration of nations. N.B. The greatest forbearance and discretion are strongly recommended in all intercourse with the natives-never to allow an imaginary insult to provoke retaliation which may lead to bloodshed. It must be borne in mind their's is the right of soil—we are the aggressors. Names of Country. Boundaries. DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY. Configuration of Surface General Character; Mountains; Plains; Valleys. Names, Passes, Culminating Points, Snow-level, Altitudes, Peculiar Phenomena, Outline of Base and on given Contours, Sections, Latitudes and Longitudes, Bearings and Distances. Hydrography Rivers and Tributaries. Course and Windings, Length, Section of Fall, Navigable Extent, Tidal Lakes. Outline, Sections of Depth, Feeders, Outfall, &c. Marshes; Seas; Coasts; Harbours; Drainage Areas. Topography and Itineraries. Meteorology Winds; Rainfall; Temperature; Atmospheric Pressure; Evaporation; Zoology Species found in Country; Distribution of Animals; Useful Animal Products, Wild and Domesticated; Directions for Collecting, &c. Botany Species found in Country; Distribution of Plants, &c.; Useful Vegetable Geology Geological Formations; Mineral Products; Soils; Directions for Collecting, &c. Physical Divisions— High and Low Lands; Drainage Areas; Forests; Heaths; Barren and Cultivated Ground; Pastures; and other divisions based on Geographi cal Distribution. Cartography Examination of Existing Maps, Contributions to Cartography, Construction of New Maps, the Methods of Geodesical and Astronomical Observation. Population ETHNOLOGY AND STATISTICS. Names of Nation, Tribe, &c.; Geographical Distribution; Total Number; Number of families, &c., Males, Females, Children; Characteristic Form, dimensions, weight, colour, odour free from uncleanliness, hair, features; Unnatural modifications of form,-by pressure, mutilation, incision, &c.; Moral and Intellectual Character; Diseases, corporeal and mental; the Generation, Development, and Vitality of the Population; Classifications of Population; Condition of various classes. Habitations Distribution, Character, Number. Communications By Land and by Water. Occupations Pastoral, Agricultural, Maritime, Arts, Manufactures, Trades, Commerce, &c.; Ceremonies, Amusements, &c. Food; Costume; Utensils; Weapons and Warfare; Weights, Measures, Division of Time. Language Literature, Books, MSS., Inscriptions, Picture Writings, Songs, Tales, &c.; Vocabularies of natural objects, qualities, action, relationship, numerals, pronouns, positionals, &c.; Grammatical Variation of Words; Construction of Sentences; Dialectic Variations; Intonation and peculiar Utterances; Geographical Distribution of the Language. Music Vocal and Instrumental. Religion; Traditions. History Origin, Migrations, Increase and Decrease of Territory. Government Territorial Divisions, Laws, Functionaries. Foreign Relations. |