explorers

"Första Ängelsmännerna nästan bättre konsten, at väl steka en stek, än andra folkslag, som ock ej är underligt; emedan de fläste Ängelsmäns köks-vetenskap icke sträcker sig til stort annat, än stek och Pudding."

"Let us consider a navigator's manual, published by INSA in 1998 to throw light on "traditional" navigational methods in the Lakshadweep islands. Like so many Arabic navigation manuals, this manual too is attributed to Ibn Majid, the most famous of Arab navigators, who lived in the 15th c. However, it contains updated information found in British sailing manuals of the 19th c. CE. The natural interpretation is that the attribution to Ibn Majid is nominal and symbolic, that the manual has been propagated accretively, motivated by the navigator's life-and-death concern to have the best possible knowledge, and hence the manual has borrowed also from British sailing manuals of the 19th c. It would be laughable to assert that the manual is due to Ibn Majid who had anticipated all this knowledge which was somehow transmitted to the British sailing manuals of the late 19th c. CE."

"' Linnaeus. Mallard.—This is the predominant duck of the region, but it has only slight numerical superiority over the . Mallards were omnipresentin the waters of the entire territory, often varying only slightly in relative abundance from one lake to another. In only a few lakes were its numbers surpassed by any other species of ducks. In relation to all other ducks, its ratio varied from as low as 11 per cent to as high as 42, the average for 32 lakes being 26.3 per cent."

"The lives largely on s throughout the year. These they easily catch during the summer. In winter they dig through the snow for them or catch them as they wander on the surface. may constitute part of the diet and, rarely, the , especially the young. In winter, foxes are often very thin, thus indicating their difficulty of making a living during the season."

"The food of the chiefly consists of , especially the plentiful, widely distributed . These are caught by waiting their appearance at breathing holes in the ice, by crouching at the edges of floes, or by creeping up to the animal as it sleeps on the ice. The Eskimo assert that the polar bear also catches seals and young by seizing them in the water, from underneath, and dragging them onto an ice pan."

"After June 20, morning temperatures were between 45 and 50 degrees and slightly higher some days. The highest temperature in June was on the 27th, 60 degrees at eight in the morning. The mid-day temperatures average about 5 degrees higher. Insects were countless by latter part of June. Butterflies of several species, bumblebees, spiders, several species of gnat, flies, and mosquitoes were common. The end of June was characterized by rapidly melting snow, nesting activities of the birds, and the quick development of vegetation, Grasses, in particular, made fast headway in moist depressions. Actual bloom was not particularly noteworthy until early July. On June 28 the white heather, ', began sparingly to bloom. On June 30 the mountain avens, ', and the Arctic blueberry, ', suddenly burst into bloom. The Arctic Labrador tea, ', was just on the point of bloom on June 30. The last snowstorm of the season occurred on June 17 and the first rain the following day."

"The Grand Architect Sinan son of Abdülmennan Ağa built this noteworthy bridge in the year at the command of Sultan Süleyman. It rises into the sky like a rainbow, spanning the water from one cliff to the other, a single arch like the in Baghdad. The flows beneath it in the middle of the city of . Each end of the bridge is a fortified castle, so it is impossible to pass from one side of the city to the other without crossing this bridge."

"Now I am Tipo Tipo,'that is,'the gatherer together of wealth."

"You don't have to worry in the least, because in Belgium you will be able to enjoy all the benefits with which I will shower you, choose your replacement carefully, and appoint him only with my approval, until then then you will remain on your post my faithful cloak. May God guide and support you in the missions I entrust to you for the sake of my subjects, I wish that all your duties have already been carried out, so that when you come to Belgium so i can prove to you that I am a true friend my faithful cloak, I pray to God that he may protect you, Leopold."

"Last came the famous Hamed bin Mohammed, alias Tippu Tib, or, as it is variously pronounced by the natives, Tipo Tib, or Tibbu Tib. He was a tall, black-bearded man, of negro complexion, in the prime of life, straight and quick in his movements, a picture of energy and strength. He had a fine, intelligent face, with a nervous twitching of the eyes, and gleaming white and perfectly formed teeth. lie was attended by a large retinue of young Arabs, who looked up to him as chief, and a score of Wangwana and Wanyamwezi followers, whom he had led over thousands of miles through Africa. With the air of a well bred Arab, and almost courtier-like in his manner, ho welcomed me to Mwana Mamba*s village, and his slaves being ready at hand with mat and bolster, we reclined vis-a-vis, while a buzz of admiration of his style was perceptible from the on-lookers. After regarding him for a few minutes, I came to the conclusion that this Arab was a remarkable man — the most remarkable man I had met among Arabs, Wa-Swahili, and half-castes in Africa. He was neat in his person; his clothes were of spotless white; his fez cap brand new; his waist was incircled by a rich dowle; his dagger was splendid with silver filagree work; and his tout ensemhle was that of an Arab gentleman in very comfortable circumstances."

"The natives are quick to detect a peculiarity in a man, and to give him a name accordingly. The conquerors of a country try to forestall them by selecting one for themselves. Susi states that when Tipo Tipo stood over the spoil taken from Nsama, he gathered it closer together, and said: "Now I am Tipo Tipo,'that is,'the gatherer together of wealth.'""

"July 29, 1869. — Went two and a half hours west to village of Ponda, where a head Arab, called by the natives 'Tipo Tipo' lives; bis name is Hamid bin Mohammed bin Juma Borajib. He presented a goat, a piece of white calico, and four big bunches of beads, also a bag of holens sorghum, and apologized because it was so little."

"Have you not subdued the whole district, and could you not have taken a few hundred strong men as slaves to have carried all your superfluous stock and the small ivory, and put your one hundred guns in charge?"