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DAWN  IN  DARKEST 
AFRICA 

JOHN    H.  HARRIS 


Siffon,Praed&Co.,Ltd. 

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1 67  St.  James's  Street,  S.W. 


This  Book  is  supplied  by  MESSRS.  Smith, 
Elder  &  Co.  to  Booksellers  on  terms  which  will 
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DAWN    IN    DARKEST   AFRICA 


a 


•  •  -•  .•• 


Frontispiece. 


MUSHAMALENGI,    "  A    ROYAI,    PRINCE  "    OF    THE    BAKUBA    KINGDOM 
IN    THK    ITPER    KASAI. 


DAWN    IN    DARKEST 
AFRICA 


BY 


JOHN    H.    HARRIS 


WITH   AN   INTRODUCTION 

BY 

THE   RIGHT   HON.    THE   EARL  OF   CROMER 

O.M.,   G.C.B.,   G.C.M.G.,   K.C.S.I. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  A   MAP 


LONDON 
SMITH,   ELDER  &   CO.,    15,  WATERLOO  PLACE 

1912 

All  rights  reserved 


h- 


PRINTED    BY 

WILLIAM   CLOWES   AND   SONS,    LIMITED 

LONDON    AND    BECCLES 


INTRODUCTION 

By  the  Earl  of  Cromer 

I  HAVE  been  asked  to  write  a  short  introduction  to  this 
book,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  complying  with  the 
request. 

Although  the  high  motives  and  disinterested  devotion 
which  inspire  missionary  and  philanthropic  effort  are 
very  generally  recognized,  there  is  often  a  predisposition 
— more  frequently  felt  than  expressed — not  only  amongst 
responsible  officials  but  also  in  the  minds  of  no  incon- 
siderable portion  of  the  public  to  accept  with  some 
reserve  both  the  accuracy  of  the  facts  and  the  soundness 
of  the  conclusions  emanating  wholly  from  these  sources. 
This  scepticism,  provided  it  be  not  allowed  to  degenerate 
into  unworthy  prejudice,  is  not  merely  healthy  but 
even  commendable.  I  could  mention  cases  within  my 
own  knowledge  where  missionary  zeal  was  certainly 
allowed  to  outrun  discretion.  It  is  the  duty  of  responsible 
officials  to  be  sceptical  in  such  matters.  Whilst  sympathiz- 
ing with  humanitarians  they  should  endeavour  to  remedy 
whatever  of  quixotism  is  to  be  found  in  their  suggestions ; 
and  to  guide  those  from  whom  those  suggestions  emanate 
along  a  path  calculated  to  ensure  the  achievement  of 
their  objects  by  the  adoption  of  practical  methods  which 
will  be  consonant  with  the  moral  and  material  interests 

of  the  Empire  at  large. 

h 


274900 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

Occasional  errors,  the  result  of  unchecked  enthusiasm 
in  a  noble  cause,  cannot,  however,  for  one  moment  be 
allowed  to  outweigh  the  immense  benefits  conferred  on 
civilization  by  missionary  and  philanthropic  agencies. 
Nowhere  have  these  benefits  been  more  conspicuous  than 
in  the  case  of  the  Congo. 

The  fact  that  but  a  few  years  ago  the  administration 
of  the  Congo  was  a  disgrace  to  civilized  Europe  is  now 
so  fully  recognized,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  also — 
to  the  honour  of  the  Belgians  be  it  said — in  Belgium 
itself,  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  labour  the  point. 
One  startling  fact  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate  its 
true  character.  According  to  an  estimate  made  by 
Sir  Reginald  Wingate,*  the  population  of  the  Soudan 
under  the  Mahdi's  rule  was  reduced  from  8,525,000  to 
1,870,500  persons  ;  in  other  words  over  75  per  cent,  of 
the  inhabitants  died  from  disease  or  were  killed  in 
external  or  internal  wars.  The  civilized  European  who 
for  some  years  presided  over  the  destinies  of  the  Congo 
was  no  more  merciful,  save  as  a  matter  of  percentage, 
than  the  ignorant  and  fanatical  Dervish  at  Khartoum. 
Mr.  Harris  states  (p.  208)  that,  under  the  regime  of  King 
Leopold,  the  Congo  population  was  reduced  from  20,000,000 
to  8,000,000.  t  More  than  this.  It  is  generally  impossible 
in  the  long  run  to  pronounce  a  complete  divorce  between 
moral  and  material  interests.  It  will,  therefore,  be  no 
matter  for  surprise  that  the  Leopoldian  policy  was  as 
unsuccessful  from  an  economic  as  it  was  from  an  humani- 
tarian point  of  view.     It  is  now  clear  that  unbridled 

*  Pari.  Paper  Egypt,  No.  i  of  1904,  p.  79. 

t  Stanley  estimated  the  whole  of  the  Congo  population  at  40,000,000. 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

company-mongering  has  gone  far  to  destroy  the  sources 
of  wealth  to  which  it  owed  its  birth.  Mr.  Harris  tells  a 
piteous  tale  of  the  manner  in  which  the  rubber  vines 
have  been  handled,  and,  generally  of  the  condition  of  the 
plantations.  Neither,  having  regard  to  the  wanton 
destruction  of  elephants  (p.  213)  does  ivory  appear  to 
have  been  much  more  tenderly  treated  than  rubber. 

Even  the  most  hardened  sceptic  as  regards  the 
utility  of  missionary  enterprise  will  not,  I  think,  be 
prepared  to  deny  that  to  the  Missionaries,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Mr.  Morel,  the  main  credit  accrues  of  having 
brought  home  to  the  British  pubhc,  and  eventually  to 
the  pubhc  of  Europe,  the  iniquities  which,  but  a  short 
time  ago,  were  being  practised  under  European  sanction 
in  the  heart  of  Africa. 

Amongst  this  devoted  band,  many  of  whom  have 
paid  with  their  lives  the  heavy  toll  which  cruel  Africa 
exacts,  none  have  been  more  steadfast  in  their  determina- 
tion to  insist  on  the  reform  of  the  Congo  administration 
than  the  writer  of  this  book — Mr.  Harris.  None,  more- 
over, have  brought  a  more  evenly-balanced  mind  to 
bear  on  the  numerous  problems  which  perplex  the 
African  administrator.  Mr.  Harris  may  be  an  enthusiast, 
but  of  this  I  am  well  convinced — both  by  frequent  personal 
intercourse  and  from  a  careful  perusal  of  his  work — 
that  his  enthusiasm  is  tempered  by  reason  and  by  a 
solid  appreciation  of  the  difference  between  the  ideal 
and  the  practical.  He  wisely  (p.  35)  deprecates  undue 
Missionary  interference  with  local  customs.  He  has  even 
something  (pp.  58-60)  to  say  in  palliation  of  polygamy, 
and  if  I  rightly  understand  his  remarks  on  p.  154,  he 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

does  not  utterly  exclude  a  resort  to  forced  labour  under 
certain  conditions  and  under  certain  circumstances. 

Moreover,  in  so  far  as  my  experience  enables  me  to 
form  an  opinion,  Mr.  Harris  has  acquired  a  firm  grasp 
of  the  main  principles  which  should  guide  Europeans 
who  are  called  upon  to  rule  over  a  backward  and  primitive 
society,  and  of  the  fact  that  prolonged  neglect  of  those 
principles  must  sooner  or  later  lead  to  failure  or  even 
disaster.     He  writes   as  a  fair-minded  and  thoroughly 
well-informed  observer.     Throughout  his  pages  may  be 
found  many  acute  observations  on  the  various  problems 
which,  in  forms  more  or  less  identical,  tax  the  ingenuity 
of  the  governing  race  wherever  the  white  and  the  coloured 
man  meet  as  ruler  and  subject.     Notably  Mr.   Harris 
dwells   (p.   67)    on   the  great   influence  exerted  by  the 
example  set  by  officials  ;   this  example,  he  thinks — most 
rightly  in  my  opinion — is  more  important  than  the  issue 
of  laws  and  decrees.     Here,  he  says — and  I  quote  the 
passage  with  regret — "  is  where  the  Belgian  and  French 
Congo  officials  have  failed  so  utterly."     To  put  the  matter 
in  another,  and  somewhat  mathematical,  form,  I  have 
always  held  that  75  per  cent,  of  the  influence  of  British 
officials  for  good  depends  on  character,  and  only  25  per 
cent,  on  brains.     Mistakes  arising  from  defective  intelli- 
gence  will   generally   admit   of   being   rectified.     Those 
which  are  due  to  defects  of  character  are  more  often 
irremediable.     My   belief   is   that    the   great   and   well- 
deserved    success    which    has    attended    Sir    Reginald 
Wingate's   administration   of   the   Soudan   arises   in   no 
small  degree  from  a  recognition  of  this  commonplace, 
and  from  its  practical  application  in  the  choice  of  officials. 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

I  am  not  sure  that  its  importance  is  always  adequately 
recognized  in  London.  It  is  well  to  encourage  the 
importation  of  cocoa  and  palm  oil  into  the  London 
market.  But  it  is  better  to  acquire  the  reputation,  which 
(p.  280)  Mr.  Harris  says  has  passed  into  a  proverb  in  the 
Congo,  that  "  the  Englishman  never  lies." 

For  these  reasons  I  have  no  hesitation  in  recommending 
this  book  to  the  public.  Mr.  Harris'  facts  may  perhaps 
be  called  in  question  by  others  possessing  greater  local 
knowledge  than  any  to  which  I  can  pretend.  His  con- 
clusions— notably  those  in  his  final  chapter  in  which  he 
re-arranges  the  map  of  Africa  in  a  somewhat  daring 
spirit — manifestly  admit  of  wide  differences  of  opinion. 
But  he  speaks  with  an  unique  knowledge  of  his  subject. 
The  opportunities  which,  with  praiseworthy  zeal,  he  and 
his  devoted  companion  made  for  themselves  to  acquire  a 
real  knowledge  of  African  affairs  have  been  exceptional. 
He  has  thus  produced  a  book  in  which  the  ordinary 
reader  cannot  fail  to  be  interested  if  it  be  only  by  reason 
of  the  vivid  and  picturesque  account  it  gives  of  African 
life  and  travel,  and  in  which  those  who  have  paid  special 
attention  to  African  administration  will  find  many 
useful  indications  of  the  directions  in  which  their  efforts 
towards  reform  may  best  be  applied.  Whatever  may  be 
thought  of  some  of  Mr.  Harris'  suggestions,  it  cannot  but 
be  an  advantage,  more  especially  now  that  attention  is 
being  more  and  more  drawn  to  African  affairs,  that  the 
Government,  Parhament,  and  the  general  public  should 
learn  what  one  so  eminently  qualified  as  Mr.  Harris  to 
instruct  them  in  the  facts  of  the  case  has  to  say  on  the 
subject. 


X  INTRODUCTION 

Mr.  Harris  is  not  sparing  in  his  criticisms,  neither 
does  he  withhold  praise  when  he  considers  it  is  due. 
Whilst  strongly  condemning  the  slavery — for  such  it 
virtually  is — that  the  Government  of  Portugal  permits 
in  its  Colonies,  he  dwells  (p.  296)  on  the  "  kindly  nature  " 
of  the  Portuguese  themselves,  and  significantly  adds 
**  there  is  no  colour-bar  in  the  Portuguese  dominions."  * 
He  appears  to  find  little  to  commend  in  French  adminis- 
tration, and  much  (pp.  90  anS  91)  to  condemn  in  their 
commercial  policy.  He  does  justice  (p.  88)  to  the 
thoroughness  and  wisdom  of  the  Germans  in  all  matters 
connected  with  trade,  and  does  not,  as  I  venture  to 
think,  detract  from  the  merits  of  the  liberal  policy  which 
they  have  adopted  by  alluding  to  the  fact  that  it  is 
based  on  self-interested  motives.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
strongly  condemns  (p.  142)  the  German  treatment  of 
the  natives.  He  dwells  (p.  92)  on  the  petty  and  vexatious 
obstacles  placed  in  the  way  of  trade  by  the  Belgian 
officials  of  the  Congo,  of  which  **  even  Belgian  merchants 
complain,"  and  he  has,  of  course,  little  to  say  in  favour 
of  Belgian  administration  in  other  respects.  But  he 
has  the  fairness  to  admit  (p.  209)  that  since  the  annexation 
of  the  Congo  by  Belgium  the  death  rate  has  diminished 
and  the  birth  rate  increased — a  fact  which,  after  the 
experiences  of  the  Leopoldian  regime,  appears  to  me  to 
be  very  eloquent,   and  to  reflect  much  credit   on  the 

*  There  can,  I  can  conceive,  be  little  doubt  that  colour  prejudice  is  a 
much  greater  obstacle  to  social  intercourse  in  the  case  of  the  Teutonic — 
certainly  in  that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon — races  than  it  is  in  the  case  of  Latin 
Europeans.  Mr.  Bryce  {American  Commonwealth,  Vol.  II.,  p.  355)  says  : 
"In  Latin  America,  whoever  is  not  black  is  white;  in  Teutonic  America,, 
whoever  is  not  white  is  black." 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

Belgian  Government.  Moreover,  he  tells  us  that  "  where- 
ever  the  Belgian  reforms  have  been  most  completely 
applied,  there  the  ravages  of  sleeping  sickness  appear  to 
be  more  or  less  checked." 

These  observations  are  interesting,  as  they  enable  a 
comparison  to  be  made  with  the  results  obtained  under 
different  systems  of  government,  but  they  deal  with 
matters  for  which — save  to  a  limited  degree  in  the 
Congo,  and  also  perhaps  to  some  slight  extent  as  regards 
the  continuance  of  slavery  in  the  Portuguese  possessions 
— neither  the  British  Government  nor  the  British  nation 
are  in  any  degree  responsible.  The  internal  policy  to  be 
adopted  in  the  African  territories  possessed  by  France 
and  Germany  is  a  matter  solely  for  the  consideration  of 
Frenchmen  and  Germans.  But  Mr.  Harris  has  a  good 
deal  to  say  about  the  conduct  of  affairs  in  British  African 
possessions,  and  it  will  be  well  if  public  attention  is 
directed  to  his  remarks  in  this  connection,  lest  having 
preached  to  others  we  may  ourselves  become  castaways. 

Mr.  Harris'  position  is  so  completely  detached  that 
he  may,  without  the  least  hesitation,  be  acquitted  of 
any  desire  to  exalt  unduly  the  achievements  of  his  own 
countrymen.  The  spirit  in  which  he  writes  is  not 
national,  but  cosmopolitan.  Moreover,  he  is  manifestly 
not  greatly  enamoured  of  the  proceedings  of  some,  at 
all  events,  of  the  British  officials.  For  these  reasons  his 
testimony  is  all  the  more  valuable  when  he  speaks,  as 
is  frequently  the  case,  in  terms  of  warm  praise  of  the 
successful  results  which  have  been  attained  under  British 
administration.  He  says  it  is  not  only  the  best  in  West 
Central  Africa,  but  that  the  natives  themselves  recognize 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

that  it  is  the  best.  This  testimony  is  all  the  more 
satisfactory  because  the  excellence  of  British  rule  has  not 
been  alwa3^s  fully  recognized  in  those  circles  in  which 
Mr.  Harris  principally  moves.  "  With  inherent  instinct," 
he  says  (p.  257),  "  the  British  Government  recognizes 
that  the  real  asset  of  the  Colony  {i.e.  the  Gold  Coast 
Colony)  is  the  indigenous  inhabitant,  whose  material  and 
moral  progress  is  not  only  the  first,  but  the  truest  interest 
of  the  State."  It  is  by  proceeding  on  this  sound  principle 
that  the  natives  have  been  kept  in  possession  of  the 
land.  "  The  almost  phenomenal  success  of  the  cocoa 
industry  in  the  British  Colony  of  the  Gold  Coast,"  Mr. 
Harris  says  (p.  161),  "  is  due  entirely  to  the  fact  that 
the  natives  are  the  proprietors  of  the  cocoa  farms." 
It  is  also  by  the  adoption  of  this  principle  that  it  has 
been  possible  to  solve  the  thorny  labour  question. 
"  The  native  farmers  of  Southern  Nigeria  and  the  Gold 
Coast  employ  a  good  deal  of  native  labour  and  generally 
speaking  find  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  all  they  want  " 
(p.  262).*  Mr.  Harris  claims  (p.  264)  that  the  economic 
will  be  no  less  satisfactory  than  the  moral  results  of  the 
Hberal  policy  which  has  been  adopted  by  Great  Britain, 
and  that  "  the  indigenous  industry  of  the  British  Colonies 
working  in  its  own  interests,  unencumbered  by  the  heavy 
cost  of  European  supervision  and  the  drawbacks  of 
imported  contract  labour,  will,  under  the  guidance  of  a 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Soudan  occupation  it  was  thought  by  many 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  abohsh  slavery,  and  that  the  employment  of 
forced  labour  was  imperative.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  by  the  display  of  a 
little  patience,  and  without  the  adoption  of  any  very  heroic  or  sensational 
measures,  slavery  has  been  aboUshed,  no  forced  labour  has  been  employed, 
and  the  country  is  prospering. 


INTRODUCTION  xiu 

paternal  and  sympathetic  administration,  certainly  out- 
distance and  leave  far  behind  in  the  race  of  supremac}^ 
such  systems  as  those  which  prevail  in  San  Thome  and 
Principe."  I  trust,  and  I  also  believe,  that  Mr.  Harris 
will  prove  to  be  a  true  prophet. 

It  is,  moreover,  the  adoption  of  the  principle  to  which 
I  have  alluded  above  which  enabled  an  American  Bishop 
(p.  109)  to  characterize  as  "just  marvellous  "  the  way  in 
which  the  English  are  "  covering  the  Continent  with 
educated  natives,"  and  I  am  particularly  glad  he  was  able 
to  add  **  with  carpenters,  bricklayers,  and  engineers." 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  unstinted  praise  which  Mr. 
Harris  has  to  bestow  and  which  makes  it  clear  that, 
broadly  speaking,  we  may  legitimately  be  proud  of  what 
our  countrymen,  both  official  and  non-official,  have 
accomplished  in  Western  Africa,  he  indicates  certain 
defects  in  the  administration,  some  of  which  appear  to 
me  to  be  well  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  responsible 
authorities. 

In  the  first  place,  he  says  (p.  125)  that  "  between 
the  British  official  class  and  the  merchant  community  a 
great  gulf  is  fixed."  *  If  this  is  the  case,  there  would 
certainly  appear  to  be  something  wrong.  There  ought 
to  be  no  such  gulf.  But  as  I  presume  there  is  an  official 
side  to  the  case,  which  I  have  never  heard,  I  do  not 
presume  to  pronounce  any  opinion  on  the  merits  of  the 
point  at  issue.  Neither  is  it  altogether  pleasant  to  read 
the  episode  related  on  p.  151.  It  is  clearly  not  right  to 
march  into  a  church  whilst  service  is  going  on,  impound 
a  number  of  carriers  and  "  insist  on  a  native  clergyman 

*  See  also  pp.  94,  95. 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

carrying  a  box  containing  whisky."  One  may  charitably 
hope  that  the  facts  of  the  case  were  not  quite  accurately 
reported  to  Mr.  Harris. 

In  the  absence  of  adequate  local  knowledge  I  cannot 
pursue  the  discussion  of  this  branch  of  the  subject  any 
further,  but  there  is  one  observation  I  should  wish  to 
make.  There  cannot  be  a  greater  mistake  than  to 
employ  underpaid  officials  in  the  outlying  dominions  of 
the  Crown.  We  do  not  want  the  worst,  or  even  the 
second  best  of  our  race  to  prosecute  the  Imperial  policy 
to  which  we  are  wedded  as  a  necessity  of  our  national 
existence.  The  work  presents  so  many  difficulties  of 
various  descriptions  that  if  we  are  to  succeed  we  must 
impound  into  the  British  service  the  best  elements  which 
our  race  can  produce,  and,  as  I  am  well  aware,  even  when 
their  services  are  obtained  and  every  care  has  been 
taken,  mistakes  will  sometimes  occur  in  making  appoint- 
ments. And  if  we  want  the  best  material  we  must  pay 
the  best  price  for  it.  Men  of  the  required  type  will  not 
submit  to  all  the  privations  and  discomforts,  not  to  speak 
of  the  dangers  of  an  African  career  unless  they  are 
adequately  remunerated.  I  know  well  from  bitter 
experience  the  difficulties  attendant  on  paying  high 
salaries  out  of  an  impoverished,  and  even  out  of  a  semi- 
bankrupt  Treasury.  And  I  also  know  the  criticisms  to 
which,  notably  in  these  democratic  days,  the  payment 
of  high  salaries  is  exposed.  My  answer  to  the  first  of 
these  objections  is  that  if  the  Treasury  cannot  afford  to 
give  adequate  salaries  to  its  European  agents  it  is,  on  all 
grounds,  wiser  to  diminish  the  amount  of  European 
agency,  or  even  to  dispense  with  it  altogether.     My  own 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

experience  has  led  me  to  prefer  infinitely  the  employment 
of  two  efficient  men  on  £500  a  year  to  that  of  four  doubt- 
fully efficient  men  on  £250.  My  answer  to  the  second 
objection  is  that  those  who  plead  against  high  salaries 
are  generally  very  ill-informed  of  the  facts  with  which 
they  are  dealing,  and  that,  if  ever  there  was  a  case  when 
Government,  being  better  informed,  should  resist  a  hasty 
expression  of  public  opinion,  it  is  this. 

Are  the  British  agents  employed  in  subordinate  posi- 
tions in  Africa  adequately  paid  ?  From  all  I  have  heard  I 
have  considerable  doubts  whether  they  are  so.  In  deal- 
ing with  this  subject,  I  have  heard  it  sometimes  said  : 
"  Candidates  are  plentiful.  If  we  can  get  a  man  on  £250 
a  year  or  less,  why  should  we  give  him  £500  ?  "  I  con- 
sider this  argument  not  merely  pernicious  but  ridiculous. 
It  would  never  be  used  by  any  one  who  has  been  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  difficulties  which  have  actually  to 
be  encountered.  Its  application  in  practice  is  liable  to 
lead  to  very  serious  consequences  in  the  shape  of  loss  of 
national  credit,  and  possibly  in  other  and  even  more 
serious  directions. 

Turning  to  another  point,  I  notice  (p.  120)  that  Mr. 
Harris  states  that  coloured  men  are  practically  debarred 
from  entering  the  medical  service  in  the  West  African 
Colonies,  and  absolutely  in  the  Gold  Coast.  If  so,  I  can 
only  say  that  this  regulation  contrasts  unfavourably 
with  the  procedure  adopted  in  other  British  possessions 
of  which  the  inhabitants  are  coloured,  and  adopted, 
moreover,  without,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  production 
of  any  inconvenience.  Possibly  there  are  some  special 
reasons,   with  which  I   am  unacquainted,   which  apply 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

to  West  Africa,  but  they  must  be  very  strong  to  justify 
a  course  so  little  in  harmony  with  the  general  practice 
and  poUcy  of  the  British  Government  elsewhere. 

Mr.  Harris  deals  fully  with  the  subject  of  education, 
and  in  his  fifth  chapter  chivalrously  defends  the  cause 
of  that  much-abused  individual  the  "  educated  native," 
whose  merits  and  demerits  seem  to  present  a  striking 
identity  of  character  whether  his  residence  be  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ganges,  the  Nile,  or  the  Congo.  The  old  complaint 
with  which  Indian  administrators  are  so  familiar,  that 
the  education  afforded  is  too  purely  literary,  re-appears 
in  West  Africa.  Mr.  Harris,  however,  dwells  with  justifi- 
able pride  (p.  109)  on  the  number  of  carpenters,  brick- 
layers and  other  mechanics  turned  out  of  the  Mission 
Schools,  and  (p.  112)  he  most  rightly  insists  on  the 
importance  of  extending  *'  that  largely  neglected  branch 
of  education — practical  agriculture."  He  suggests  that 
a  Commission  should  be  appointed  "  to  study  the  whole 
question  of  the  education  of  the  African  peoples  in 
British  Equatorial  possessions,  with  the  object  of 
ascertaining  how  far  the  Government  may  be  able  to 
secure  a  more  even  balance  between  the  literary  and 
technical  training  of  natives,  and  how  far  it  may  be 
possible  to  so  re-adjust  existing  systems  as  to  avoid 
denationalization. ' ' 

My  confidence  in  the  results  obtained  by  appointing 
Royal  Commissions  is  limited,  but  they  afford  a  useful 
machinery  for  classifying  facts  and  sifting  evidence,  and 
thus  provide  some  safeguard  against  the  risk,  which  is 
nowhere  more  conspicuous  than  in  dealing  with  educa- 
tional subjects,  of  generalizing  from  imperfect  or  incorrect 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

data.  Mr.  Harris'  suggestion  on  this  point  will,  I  trust, 
receive  due  consideration. 

Mr.  Harris  also  dwells  (pp.  113,  114)  on  the  results 
which  ensue  when  young  Africans  are  sent  to  England 
to  obtain  legal  or  medical  education.  "  No  strong  and 
friendly  hand  is  outstretched  to  help  them,  no  responsible 
person  comes  forward  to  take  them  by  the  hand  and  bring 
them  in  touch  with  the  better  elements  of  our  national 
life.  .  .  .  Who  can  be  surprised  if  the  only  seeds  they 
carry  back  to  the  Colonies  are  those  evil  ones  which 
produce  a  crop  of  tares  to  the  embarrassment  of 
Governments  ?  " 

If  the  Colonial  Office  and  the  Missionary  Societies, 
acting  either  independently  or  in  unison  with  each  other, 
can  devise  any  satisfactory  solution  of  this  very  important 
and  also  extremely  difficult  problem,  they  will  earn  the 
gratitude  of  all  who  are  interested  in  the  well-being  of 
our  Asiatic  and  African  dominions.  Palliatives  for  the 
evils  which  most  assuredly  arise  under  the  existing 
system  have  been  tried  by  the  Governments  of  India  and 
Egypt,  but  so  far  as  I  know  the  success  of  these  efforts 
has  not  been  very  marked.  T  may  mention  that,  so 
convinced  was  I  that  the  harm  done  by  sending  young 
Egyptians  to  England  for  purposes  of  education  more 
than  counterbalanced  the  advantages  which  were  obtained 
that  at  the  cost  of  a  good  deal  of  misrepresentation — 
which  was  quite  natural  under  the  circumstances — I 
persistently  discouraged  the  practice,  and  urged  that  a 
preferable  system  was  so  to  improve  higher  and  technical 
education  on  the  spot  as  to  render  the  despatch  of  students 
to  Europe  no  longer  necessary.       I  fear,  however,  my 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

efforts  in  this  respect  were  not  altogether  successful,  for 
although  higher  education  in  Egypt  has  unquestionably 
been  much  improved,  the  idea  that  European  attainments 
can  best  be  cultivated  in  Europe  itself  has  taken  so  strong 
a  hold  both  on  Egyptian  parents  and  on  the  Egyptian 
governing  classes,  that  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to 
eradicate  it. 

By  far,  however,  the  most  interesting  and  also  the  most 
important  part  of  Mr.  Harris'  work  is  that  in  which  he 
deals  with  the  future  of  the  African  possessions  of  Belgium 
and  Portugal  respectively.  Even  if  I  had  at  my  disposal 
all  the  information  necessary  to  a  thorough  treatment 
of  these  questions,  it  would  not  be  possible  to  deal  ade- 
quately with  the  grave  issues  raised  by  Mr.  Harris  within 
the  limits  of  the  present  introduction.  I  confine  myself, 
therefore,  to  a  very  few  observations. 

As  regards  the  Congo,  if  I  understand  Mr.  Harris' 
view  correctly,  the  situation,  broadly  speaking,  is  some- 
what as  follows.  Reforms  have  been  executed,  and  a 
serious  effort,  the  sincerity  of  which  he  does  not  call  in 
question,  has  been  made  to  rectify  abuses  for  which 
neither  the  Belgian  Parhament  nor  the  Belgian  nation 
are  in  any  degree  responsible.  But  although  abuses  have 
been  checked,  the  main  cause  from  which  they  originally 
sprung  has  not  yet  been  entirely  removed.  That  cause 
is  that  the  Government,  whose  functions  should  be  mainly 
confined  to  administration,  is  still  largely  interested  in 
commercial  enterprises.  The  State  has  not  yet  com- 
pletely divorced  itself  from  the  production  of  rubber  for 
sale  in  the  European  markets.  Moreover,  the  old  officials, 
who  are    tainted  with    Leopoldian    practices,   are    still 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

employed.  Mr.  Harris  even  goes  so  far  (p.  221)  as  to 
state  that  their  presence  acts  as  a  deterrent  to  the  employ- 
ment of  Belgian  officials  of  a  higher  type.*  Mr.  Harris 
thinks — and,  for  my  own  part,  I  do  not  doubt  rightly 
thinks — that  so  long  as  this  defective  system  f  exists, 
radical  reform  of  the  Congo  administration  will  remain  in- 
complete. But  radical  reform  can  only  be  carried  out  at 
a  very  heavy  cost,  which  the  Belgian  taxpayers,  more 
especially  after  the  assurances  which  have  been  given  to 
them,  will  be  unwiUing  to  bear,  and  possibly  incapable 
of  bearing.  Mr.  Harris,  therefore,  thinks  that  the  Belgian 
people  will  be  unable  to  perform  the  heavy  task  which, 
from  no  fault  of  their  own,  has  been  thrust  upon  them. 
*'  There  are  reasons,"  he  says  (p.  298),  "  for  believing  that 
the  extensive  Congo  territories  are  too  heavy  a  responsi- 
bility for  Belgium." 

It  is  very  possible  that  Mr.  Harris'  diagnosis  is  correct. 
But  what  is  to  be  the  remedy  ?  The  remedy  which  he 
suggests  is  that  Germany  should  take  over  the  greater 
part  of  the  Belgian  and  a  portion  of  the  French  Congo, 
and  (p.  302)  should  concede  "  an  adequate  quid  pro  quo  " 
to  France.  I  will  not  attempt  to  discuss  fully  this  sugges- 
tion which,  to  the  diplomatic  mind,  is  somewhat  startling. 

*  A  good  deal,  I  conceive,  depends  on  the  number  of  old  officials  whose 
services  are  retained,  and  on  the  degree  of  influence  they  are  allowed  to 
exert.  I  speak  under  correction,  but  I  can  well  imagine  that  the  abrupt 
dismissal  of  all  the  experienced  administrators,  however  unsatisfactory  they 
may  be  in  some  respects,  and  the  wholesale  substitution  of  well-intentioned, 
but  wholly  inexperienced  men  in  their  place,  might  produce  inconveniences 
even  more  serious  than  a  certain  prolongation  of  abuses  in  a  mitigated  and 
diminished  form. 

t  That  this  is  the  main  defect  of  the  Congo  system  has  been  frequently 
pointed  out  both  by  myself— in  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  February 
24,  1908 — and  others. 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

I  will  only  say  that  I  very  greatly  doubt  the  feasibility 
of  arranging  any  such  "  adequate  quid  pro  quo  "  for 
France  as  Mr.  Harris  seems  to  contemplate.  The  British 
attitude  in  connection  with  any  transfer  of  the  Congo 
State  from  its  present  rulers  to  Germany  appears  to  me, 
however,  to  be  abundantly  clear.  If  any  amicable 
arrangement  could  be  made  by  which  Germany  should 
enter  into  possession  of  the  Congo,  we  may  regard  it, 
from  the  point  of  view  of  British  interests,  without  the 
least  shadow  of  disfavour  or  jealousy,  but — and  this 
point  appears  to  me  to  be  essential — it  must  be  of  such  a 
nature  as  will  not  in  any  degree  impair  the  very  friendly 
relations  which  now  fortunately  exist  between  our  own 
country  and  France.  The  well-being  of  the  Congo 
State,  however  deserving  of  consideration,  must  be  rated 
second  in  importance  to  the  steadfast  maintenance  of 
an  arrangement  fraught  with  the  utmost  benefit  not  merely 
to  France  and  England,  but  to  the  world  in  general. 

Failing  any  such  rather  heroic  measures  as  those  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Harris,  the  only  alternative  would  appear 
to  be  to  rely  on  Belgian  action,  and  to  exercise  continuous 
but  steady  and  very  friendly  pressure  in  the  direction  of 
crowning  the  work  of  the  Congo  reformers.  It  would  be 
unjust  not  to  recognize  the  great  difficulties  which  a 
series  of  untoward  events  has  created  for  Belgium.  It 
may  well  be  that  if  this  course  is  adopted  the  progress 
of  reform  will  be  relatively  slow,  and  that  in  the  end  it 
will  be  less  effective  than  that  which  would  be  secured 
by  an  immediate  and  radical  change  of  system.  But  I 
rise  from  a  perusal  of  Mr.  Harris'  pages  with  a  feeling  that 
Congo  reformers  have  no  cause  for  despair,  albeit  their 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 

ideals  may  be  impossible  of  realization  in  the  immediate 
future. 

The  case  of  Portugal  is,  from  the  British  point  of  view, 
if  not  less  difficult,  certainly  far  more  simple  than  that  of 
the  Congo.  If  one-half  of  what  Mr.  Harris  says  is  correct 
— and  I  see  no  reason  whatever  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of 
his  facts— two  points  are  abundantly  clear.  The  first  is 
that  however  it  may  be  disguised  by  an  euphemistic 
nomenclature,  slavery  virtually  exists  in  the  African  pos- 
sessions of  Portugal.  The  second  is  that  the  methods 
adopted  in  the  repatriation  of  the  slaves  are  open  to  very 
strong  and  very  legitimate  criticism.  The  process  of 
dumping  down  a  number  of  starving  blacks  on  the  coast 
of  the  mainland  and  leaving  them  to  find  their  own  way 
to  their  distant  homes  in  Central  Africa  can  scarcely  be 
justified. 

Portugal  is  justly  proud  of  her  historical  connection 
with  Africa  and  wishes  to  retain  her  African  possessions. 
We  may  heartily  sympathize  with  this  honourable  wish. 
I  know  of  no  adequate  reasons  for  supposing  that  the 
present  political  status  of  those  possessions  is  threatened. 
But,  I  venture  to  think,  it  would  be  a  mistaken  kindness 
to  leave  the  Portuguese  under  any  delusion  on  one  point. 
There  are  some  things  which  no  British  Government, 
however  powerful  otherwise,  can  undertake  to  perform. 
First  and  foremost  amongst  those  things  is  the  use  of 
the  warlike  strength  of  the  British  Empire  to  maintain 
a  slave  State.  In  spite  of  the  long-standing  friendship 
between  the  two  countries,  in  spite  of  historical  associa- 
tions which  are  endeared  to  all  Englishmen,  and  in  spite  of 
the  apparently  unequivocal  nature  of  treaty  engagements. 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

it  would,  I  feel  assured,  be  quite  impossible,  should  the 
African  possessions  of  Portugal  be  seriously  menaced, 
for  British  arms  to  be  employed  in  order  to  retain  them 
under  the  uncontrolled  possession  of  Portugal,  so  long 
as  slavery  is  permitted.  It  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that, 
before  any  such  contingency  can  arise,  the  Portuguese 
Government  will  have  removed  the  barrier  which  now 
exists  by  totally  abolishing  a  system  which  is  worthy  of 
condemnation  alike  on  economic  and  on  moral  grounds. 

One  further  incident  in  connection  with  the  general 
question  is  worthy  of  notice.  Mr.  Harris  says  (p.  200) 
that  a  small  number  of  the  slaves  now  employed  at  San 
Thom6  are  British  subjects.  There  ought  surely  to  be 
no  great  difficulty  in  dealing  with  this  class.  African 
experts  would  probably  be  able  to  say  whether  the  claim 
to  British  nationality  was  justified  or  the  reverse.  If 
justified,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  British  Government 
should  send  a  ship  to  San  Thome,  embark  the  men,  and, 
after  having  landed  them  at  the  most  convenient  ports 
on  the  mainland,  make  suitable  arrangements  for  despatch- 
ing them  to  their  respective  homes. 

CROMER. 

36,  WiMPoi,E  Street, 

October,  1912. 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 

It  has  become  the  custom  in  recent  years  for  writers, 
particularly  those  recording  their  travels  in  semi-civilized 
regions,  to  disclaim  in  advance  any  title  to  literary  merit. 
I  do  not  propose  to  make  any  exception  to  this  rule  and 
would  plead  in  lieu  of  literary  style  a  sincerity  of 
purpose,  which  I  beg  my  literary  critics  and  superiors 
to  accept.  If  they  feel  that  the  facts  and  incidents  set 
forth  suffer  from  any  lack  of  literary  abihty,  I  can  only 
hope  that  they  will  take  the  information  supplied  upon 
some  of  the  existing  problems  of  West  Africa  and  use  it 
in  their  own  skilful  way  with  the  object  of  helping 
forward  the  march  of  progress  in  West  Central  Africa. 

The  information  contained  in  this  book  is  drawn 
from  an  experience  of  West  Africa  dating  back  to  the 
year  1898  and  in  particular  during  a  recent  journey  of 
something  like  5000  miles  through  the  western  Equatorial 
regions.  The  principal  questions  under  review,  are  those 
which  affect  in  the  main  the  conventional  basin  of  the 
Congo  and  the  Colonies  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea. 

It  has  always  been  my  endeavour  to  get  to  know  the 
mind  of  natives  and  merchants  outside  the  circle  of 
"  the  authorities,"  a  habit  which  I  feel  has  sometimes 
entailed  the  appearance  of  discourtesy,  but  I  know  how 
reticent  are  the  merchant  communities,  no  less  than  the 


xxiv  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

native  tribes,  even  the  most  untutored  of  them,  if  they 
see  a  man  or  woman  holding  friendly  relations  with  the 
powers  that  be.  This  method  of  investigation  I  have 
always  pursued,  with  the  result  that  information  of  the 
utmost  value  has  frequently  been  supplied.  Whilst, 
however,  I  have  felt  this  to  be  the  best  course  to  follow 
I  have,  at  the  same  time,  tried  to  place  myself  in  the 
position  of  a  responsible  minister  of  the  Crown,  a  governor, 
an  official  and  even  a  planter,  in  order  that  so  far  as 
possible  I  may  look  at  things  from  their  standpoint. 

The  question  may  be  raised  by  some  of  my  readers 
how  a  man  who  has  spent  so  many  years  of  his  life  in 
distinctly  religious  work  can  presume  to  write  upon 
commercial  and  political  problems.  I  would  make  no 
excuse  for  so  doing,  but  in  justification  would  say  that 
prior  to  preparation  for  missionary  work,  it  is  well-known 
by  many  of  my  friends  that  I  held  a  responsible  position 
in  one  of  the  leading  commercial  houses  of  the  city  of 
London,  which,  amongst  other  advantages,  gave  me  a  large 
insight  into  foreign  and  colonial  questions.  My  experi- 
ence of  the  Congo  and  cognate  questions  early  brought 
me  into  touch  with  eminent  statesmen  and  well-known 
public  men,  including  President  Roosevelt,  Lord  Cromer, 
Sir  Edward  Grey,  Lord  Fitzmaurice,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  Sir  Francis  Hyde  VilHers, 
Sir  Arthur  Hardinge,  Sir  Harry  Johnston,  Sir  Valentine 
Chirol,  Mr.  St.  Loe  Strachey,  Dr.  Thomas  Hodgkin,  and 
my  friends  Travers  Buxton,  E.  D.  Morel  and  Harold 
Spender.  It  is  impossible  to  enjoy  frequent  discussions 
with  men  of  such  breadth  of  knowledge,  wide  experience 
and  high  ideals,  without  considerable  profit,  and  at  least 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  xxv 

some  qualification  for  a  responsible  position.  If  there 
is  one  to  whom  I  am  more  deeply  indebted  than  another, 
it  is  to  Lord  Fitzmaurice,  whose  friendship  and  counsel 
I  have  been  privileged  to  enjoy  in  an  increasing  measure 
for  nearly  twelve  years. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  the  Editors  of  The  Times,  The 
Manchester  Guardian,  The  Nation,  The  Daily  Chronicle, 
The  Daily  News  and  Leader,  and  the  Contemporary 
Review  for  permission  to  use  material  which  has  already 
appeared  in  their  columns.  To  Mr.  Hamel  Smith,  the 
Editor  of  Tropical  Life,  the  Liverpool  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  Messrs.  John  Holt,  F.  A.  Swanzy  and  Elder 
Dempster,  for  the  information  and  help  they  have  so 
kindly  supplied  to  me,  and  also  to  my  wife  for  the 
assistance  rendered  to  me  in  the  preparation  of  the 
manuscript. 

October,  191 2, 


TO 

MY   DEVOTED   COMPANION 

WHO    HAS    SO    PATIENTLY    BORNE    THE    HARDSHIPS 

OF   TRAVEL   AND   THE   LONG   STRAIN   OF   OUR 

LABOURS    FOR   THE   NATIVE   RACES 

THESE   PAGES   ARE 

DEDICATED 


CONTENTS 


PAGB 

Introduction  by  the  Earl  of  Cromer v 

Author's  Preface xxiii 

Foreword ^ xxxiii 


PART   I 

I.    The  African  "Porter" 3 

II.    The  Paddler  and  his  Canoe lo 

III.  The  African  Forest 17 

IV.  A  Medley  of  Customs 23 

(a)  Cicatrization 26 

(d)  Personal  Adornment 31 

(c)  The  Angel  of  Death 36 

{(f)  Peace  and  Arbitration 40 

V.    The  Native  as  a  Money  Maker 45 

VI.    The  African  Woman 52 


PART   II 

CIVILIZATION  AND   THE  AFRICAN 

I.    The  White  Man's  Burden 75 

II.    Lightening  the  White  Man's  Burden 81 

III.    Governments  and  Commerce 87 

IV.    The  Liquor  Traffic 98 

V.    The  Educated  Native 106 

VI.    Justice  and  the  African 116 

VII.    Race  Prejudice 122 


XXX  CONTENTS 

PART   III 

PAGB 

I.    Labour— Supply  and  Demand 131 

II.    Land  and  its  Relation  to  Labour i57 

III.  Portuguese  Slavery 168 

IV.  The  Future  of  Belgian  Congo 203 

PART   IV 

MORAL  AND  MATERIAL  PROGRESS 

I.    The  Products  of  the  Oil  Palm 225 

II.    The  Production  of  Rubber 235 

III.  The  Production  of  Cocoa 246 

IV.  The  Progress  of  Christian  Missions 265 

PART   V 

I.    The  Map  of  Africa  re-arranged 393 

Index 3°$ 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

MUSHAMALENGI,    "A    ROYAL    PRINCE "    OF    THE    BAKUBA    KINGDOM 

IN  THE  Upper  Kasai Frontispiece 

FACING   PAGE 

A  Light-hearted  Carrier 4 

The  Canoe  Singer 4 

The  Vines  of  the  Tropical  Forest 8 

Mrs.  Harris  Canoeing  on  the  Aruwimi,  Upper  Congo        .       .  12 

A  Rickety  Dug-Out 12 

Wild  Forest  Fruit 18 

The  "Elephant  Ear"  in  the  Wet  Season 20 

Wild  Forest  Fruit 20 

The  "Healing"  Fetish 24 

The  Baketi  Memorial  Ground.     Trees  uprooted  and  planted 

branches  downwards  in  Memory  of  the  Dead       ...  24 

The  Swastika  Cicatrice 26 

The  Oyster  Shell  Cicatrice 26 

Cicatriced  Women  of  Equatorville 28 

The  Bangalla  "Rasp"  Cicatrice 28 

Bangalla  Chief  with  Head  tightly  bound  from  birth      .       .  32 

Bangalla  Babe  with  Head  tightly  bound 32 

A  Five-Foot  Beard 34 

Styles  of  Aruwimi  Head-Dress 34 

The  Witch 38 

Slave  Graveyard  on  the  Island  of  San  Thome    ....  38 

The  Witch  Doctor  with  his  Charms  for  Every  III  ...  40 
A    Native   Planter  in   his   Funtumia  Plantation,  Southern 

Nigeria 50 

Rubber  Collectors,  Kasai  River,  Upper  Congo     ....  50 

Women  pounding  Oil  Palm  Nuts 54 

Grinding  Corn  on  the  Kasai,  Upper  Congo 56 

A  Christian  Couple  returning  from  the  Gardens  towards 

Sunset 58 

Weaving  Cloth  in  the  Kasai,  Upper  Congo 58 

"Twin  Pots"  hoisted  on  Forked  Sticks  either  side  of  Path- 
way IN  honour  of  newly  born  Twins,  Bangalla,  Congo     .  70 


xxxii  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING    PAGE 

Wild  Flowers  growing  on  Trunk  of  Forest  Tree     ...  78 

'The  Story  the  Graveyards  Tell" 78 

Cataract  Region  eelow  Stanley  Pool,  Belgian  Congo  .  .  94 
Dr.  Sapara  of  Lagos,  a  Medical  Man  in  the  Service  of  the 

British  Government no 

Cocoa  Farm,  Belgian  Congo 134 

A   Congo    Chief   with    some    of   his   Wives   and    "Basamba" 

Concubines 144 

A  Hunter's  "Lucky"  Fetish 146 

Prince  Eleko  and  Council,  Southern  Nigeria  .  .  .  .168 
Land  Formation,  Loanda,  Portuguese  Angola  .  .  .  .170 
Chancel  and  North  Wall  of  disused  Dutch  Church,  Loanda 

(see  page  171) 172 

Cocoa  Carrying,  Belgian  Congo 174 

Entrance  to  Cocoa  Roca,  Principe  Island  (Portuguese)    .       .  174 

Slaves  on  San  Thome 180 

Disused  Slave  Compound  in  rear  of  House,  Catumbella  .       .180 

Slaves  on  Cocoa  Roca,  Principe  Island 184 

The  End  of  the  Slave.     Two  Slaves  carrying  Dead  Comrade 

IN  Sack  to  Burial 184 

Gum  Copal  for  Sale,  Upper  Congo 214 

Government  Ivory  and  Rubber,  Upper  Congo       ....  214 

An  Avenue  of  Oil  Palms:  Ten  Years'  Growth  ....  226 
"Walking"  up  to  gather  Fruit.    Weaver  Birds'  Nests  on  the 

Palm  Fronds 230 

Heads  of  Oil  Palm  Fruit 230 

The  Oil  Palm  in  the  Grip  of  its  Parasitic  Enemy  :— 

The  Creeper  at  an  Early  Stage 232 

Root  and  Branch  in  Deadly  Grip 232 

Fine  Heads  of  Oil  Palm  Fruit 234 

Carrying  Rubber  Vines  to  Village 240 

Extracting  Rubber,  Kasai  River,  Upper  Congo  ....  240 
Cocoa  on  San  Thome.     Termite  Track  visible  on  the  Trunk 

OF  Tree 246 

Cocoa  Drying  in  Sun 256 

The  Crucifix  in  African  Fetish  Hut  on  the  Island  of  San 

Thome 272. 

Ruin  of  once  imposing  Church  on  the  Island  of  Principe  .  272 
Interior  of  Missionaries'  House.    Basel  Industrial  Mission. 

Furniture  made  by  Gold  Coast  Industrial  Scholars  .       .  284 


Map  of  Central  and  South  African  Colonies  with  "Mother 
Countries"  drawn  to  same  Scale       ....    at cftd 0/ icxt 


FOREWORD 

WEST^AFRICA 

West  Africa,  as  some  of  us  have  known  her,  is  rapidly 
changing.  Within  the  memory  of  most  men,  there 
were  deserts  microssed,  forests  unexplored,  tribes  of 
people  unknown.  To-day  every  desert  has  been  tra- 
versed ;  to-day  we  know  not  only  the  forests,  but  nearly 
every  species  of  tree  they  contain  ;  we  know,  and  can 
locate,  almost  every  African  tribe,  and  almost  every  foot 
of  territory  has  passed  under  the  control,  for  the  time 
being  at  least,  of  some  alien  Power. 

At  the  present  moment  political  boundaries  are  more 
or  less  fixed,  but  for  how  long  ?  In  Europe  certain 
Powers  are,  for  one  reason  or  another,  seeking  oppor- 
tunities somewhere  for  colonial  expansion,  and  the 
moment  seems  opportune  for  a  reshuffle  of  colonial 
possessions,  but  where,  and  how  ? 

Looking  into  the  Far  East,  the  statesman  sees  nothing 
but  trouble  ahead  in  the  Celestial  Empire,  to  say  nothing 
of  Japan  standing  sentinel  over  the  Orient.  South 
America,  with  its  vast  resources  and  possibilities,  might 
fall  an  easy  prey  to  an  energetic  Power,  but  over  every 
Republic,  Monroe  casts  his  protective  declaration  which, 
with  the  march  of  time,  fastens  itself  ever  more  firmly 
upon  the  vitals  of  the  body  politic  of  the  Republican 
States  of  South  America. 


xxxiv  FOREWORD 

Back  to  Africa,  the  searching  eye  of  the  statesman 
returns  and  rests  to-day.  There  in  the  Dark  Continent 
are  great  territories  awaiting  development,  there  weak 
administrations  are  "  muddUng  along  "  doing  themselves 
no  good,  and  their  neighbours  irreparable  harm.  For 
those  Powers  the  hand-writing  is  on  the  wall ;  they  must 
either  "  get  on,  or  get  out,"  otherwise  "  like  a  whirl- 
wind "  some  other  Power  will  come  and  without  ceremony 
bundle  them  out  of  the  path  of  progress. 

In  fifty  years  the  map  of  Africa  will  bear  little 
resemblance  to  that  of  to-day,  but  what  of  the  natives  ? 
Are  they  to  have  no  voice  in  their  destiny  ?  One 
listens  with  impatience  to  the  cool  and  calculating  dis- 
cussions for  a  re-arrangement  of  the  map  of  Africa,  which 
are  being  carried  on  without  any  reference  to  the  native 
tribes,  without  any  reference  to  treaty  obligations,  and 
with  little  respect  for  the  fundamental  obligations  of 
Christianity,  the  teaching  of  which  the  European  Powers 
claim  as  their  special  monopoly. 

Commerce,  too,  is  changing  ;  the  kind-hearted  mer- 
chant of  West  Africa  going  forth  at  his  own  charges, 
trudging  from  village  to  village  founding  branches, 
paddling  up  and  down  the  rivers  and  planting  factories, 
is  disappearing,  and  the  soulless  corporation  with  direc- 
tors who  are  mere  machines  for  registering  dividends,  are 
taking  his  place.  Commerce  in  West  Africa  is  rapidly 
losing  all  the  humanity  which  was  once  its  driving  force. 

The  natives  are  abandoning  the  old  forms  of  warfare. 
Denied  the  weapons  which  would  give  them  equal  chances 
in  mortal  gage,  they  are  astute  enough  to  refuse  to  accept 
mere  butchery.     They  are  learning  that  there  are  powers 


FOREWORD  XXXV 

mightier  than  the  sword ;  education  is  advancing  by 
leaps  and  bounds,  and  the  more  virile  colonies  are  pro- 
ducing strong  men  who  will  make  themselves  felt  before 
many  years  have  passed  over  our  heads.  The  African 
is  shaking  himself  free  from  the  shackles  he  has  worn  for 
so  long  and  is  at  last  beginning  to  realize  his  strength. 
At  present  Britain,  with  all  her  shortcomings,  leads  the 
way  in  giving  the  native  the  fullest  scope  for  his  abilities. 
In  British  and  Portuguese  Colonies  alone  in  West  Africa 
has  the  free  native  the  chance  of  attaining  the  full  stature 
of  a  man.  In  German  and  French  tropical  territories, 
the  native  is  there,  not  as  a  citizen,  but  merely  as  a 
necessary  adjunct  to  the  production  of  wealth  for  the 
white  man.  How  long  he  will  be  content  with  this 
position  is  a  question,  and  evidences  of  a  coming 
change  are  everywhere  apparent. 

Soon  the  Africa  we  have  known — yea,  and  loved — 
will  have  been  hustled  away.  Its  forests,  rivers  and 
tribes  will  possess  no  more  secrets  ;  gone  will  be  the 
simple  old  chief ;  gone  the  primitive  village  untouched 
by  European  ;  gone  the  old  witch  doctor,  and  gone 
too,  perhaps,  that  beautiful  faith  and  trust  in  the 
goodness  and  honesty  of  the  white  man — the  pity  of 
it  all ! 

Before  these  changes  come,  it  behoves  us  to  examine 
closely  the  great  problems  before  us — the  problems  of 
future  pohtical  divisions,  problems  of  labour,  and  of 
education  in  the  largest  and  fullest  sense — and  so  to 
readjust  our  conceptions  and  laws  with  an  understanding 
of  the  natives  as  save  ourselves  from  repeating  the 
blunders  of  the  past ;    blunders  which  have  cost  Africa 


xxxvi  FOREWORD 

millions  of  useful  lives  ;  blunders  which  have  indelibly 
stained  for  time  and  eternity  the  escutcheon  of  Christian 
Europe  ;  blunders  for  which  recompense  can  never  be 
adequately  made,  but  which  at  least  should  serve  as  a 
warning  for  the  future. 


PART    1 

I. — ^The  African  "  Porter." 

II. — The  Paddler  and  his  Canoe. 

III. — The  African  Forest. 

IV. — A  Medley  of  Customs  : — 
(a)  Cicatrization. 
(6)  Personal  Adornment. 

(c)  "  The  Angel  of  Death." 

(d)  Peace  and  Arbitration. 

V. — The  Native  as  a  Money  Maker. 
VI. — The  African  Woman. 


THE  AFRICAN   "PORTER" 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  part  which  the 
African  "  porter  "  or  carrier,  plays  in  the  history  of  the 
Dark  Continent.     The  hinterland   of  the   vast  tropical 
regions — a  death-trap  to  every  beast  of  burden — has  been 
opened  up  by  the  carrier  together  with  his  brother  trans- 
port   worker — the    paddler.     The    heavier    burden   has, 
beyond   question,   been  borne   by   the   former,   by   the 
countless  thousands  of  hard  woolly  heads  which  have 
sweated   under    the   weight   of   innumerable   bales   and 
cases  too  often  receiving  as   a  reward  of  their  labour 
an  endless  stream   of  abuse.     It  seemed  justifiable  to 
murmur  when  crossing  those  swamps  and  fighting  one's 
way  through  impenetrable  forest,  but  at  a  distance,  and 
with  time  for  calm  reflection,  there  can  surely  be  no  other 
thought  in  the  mind  of  any  African  traveller  than  that 
of  admiration,  as  he  pictures  those  sons  of  Africa  with 
heavy  and  cumbersome  loads  upon  their  heads,  flounder- 
ing through  swamps,  or  toiling  up  steep  hills  and  along 
stony  paths,  cutting  and  blistering  the  feet,  while  the 
fierce  rays  of  the  tropical  sun  scorch  every  living  thing. 
Yet  on  that  carrier  goes,   footsore,   often  foodless,  yet 
ever  ready  to  renew  the  march  of  to-morrow. 

Railways   and   bridges,   steamboats   and   bungalows, 

B2 


4  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

engines  of  war,  machinery  for  drilling  into  the  bowels  of 
the  earth,  lofty  windmills,  telegraph  wires  and  poles — 
these  and  other  European  conquerors  of  African  air,  land 
and  water  have  by  the  thousands  of  tons  found  themselves 
hundreds  of  miles  in  the  interior  of  Africa  owing  to  the 
infinite  endurance  of  the  African  carrier.  Abuse  him 
who  will,  but  be  sure  of  one  thing,  history  will  yet  give 
him  his  due. 

The  railways,  bridges  and  steamboats,  would,  so  we 
were  told,  lessen  the  need  for  carriers.  That  they  have 
shortened  distances  we  grant,  but  so  far  from  the  need 
of  the  carrier  being  lessened,  economic  expansion  has 
increased  the  demand.  The  opening  up  of  the  country 
has  brought  an  insatiable  civilization  into  close  touch 
with  vast  uncultivated  tracts  of  land,  with  the  result 
that  a  great  impetus  has  everywhere  been  given  to 
agricultural  development,  which  in  turns  calls  for  an 
unceasing  stream  of  carriers  to  feed  the  railways  and 
steam  craft. 

Thirty  years  ago  the  British  colony  of  the  Gold  Coast 
possessed  no  railways,  nor  was  there  any  export  of  cocoa. 
To-day  she  exports  annually  over  a  million  pounds'  worth 
of  cocoa-beans,  requiring  in  the  season  over  100,000 
carriers  to  convey  the  cocoa  harvests  to  the  railways. 
True  statesmanship  must  always  aim  at  releasing  labour 
from  the  unproductive  task  of  transport,  in  order  that 
it  may  till  the  soil,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  African 
carrier  will  ever  completely  disappear. 

Their  long  procession  is  never  without  interest ;  every 
man  has  some  distinguishing  mark  upon  which  the  white 
traveller  may  meditate  as  he  trudges  along,  now  in  front, 


THE   CARRIER   ON   THE   MARCH  5 

now  in  the  centre,  now  again  in  the  rear  of  a  caravan. 
What  a  medley  yonder  man  carries  upon  his  head  ! 
There  is  the  traveller's  "  chop  "  box  or  his  bmidle  of 
bedding,  to  which  perhaps  is  lashed  by  means  of  a 
piece  of  forest  vine,  the  sundry  goods  and  chattels  of 
that  simple-hearted  carrier — an  old  salmon  tin  filled 
with  odd  little  packages  of  salt,  chili  peppers,  bits  of 
string,  possibly  a  piece  of  soap,  an  old  knife  and  the  end 
of  a  native  candle.  There  is  also  the  "  Sunday  best," 
whose  owner,  while  looking  happy  enough  in  that  strip 
of  loin  cloth  held  in  place  by  a  cheap  European  strap, 
yet  strides  the  firmer  and  prouder  because  of  that  old 
cotton  shirt  and  the  patched  white  trousers  so  carefully 
protected  by  a  bundle  of  forest  leaves.  Provisions,  too, 
are  there,  carefully  pounded,  cooked  and  flavoured  by 
the  good  wife  at  home.  Those  unsavoury  manioca 
puddings  for  "  her  man  "  are  generously  accompanied 
by  her  catches  of  fish,  smoked  and  set  aside  that  he 
might  each  day  have  an  appetizing  morsel  for  his  meal. 

Other  carriers  are  distinguished  by  the  wounds  and 
bruises  of  their  calling — one  limps  along  with  a  sore  foot, 
but  on  he  goes  until  the  journey's  end  ;  others  there 
are  with  sore  skin  or  nasty  wounds,  caused  by  forest 
thorns  or  rough  stones,  others  whose  chafed  shoulders  of 
yesterday  now  gape  and  become  a  resting-place  for  the 
torment  of  flies  ;  yet,  with  it  all,  the  impatient  traveller 
too  frequently  falls  to  scolding  and  even  cursing  them 
for  their  **  laziness  "  ! 

No  white  man  should  be  allowed  to  travel  beyond  a 
day's  journey  with  a  caravan  unless  he  has  a  few  medical 
aids  for  such  bruised  and  wounded  helpers,  and  it  will 


6  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

repay  him  if  human  gratitude  can  be  called  a  reward. 
Cuts  and  wounds  are  both  the  inevitable  price  of  African 
travel,  and  it  is  a  necessity  and  a  duty  to  carry  a  few 
spare  bandages  and  healing  ointments.  There  is  satis- 
faction too  in  gathering  the  sick  men  round  in  the  evening 
and  giving  them  a  soothing  plaster,  ointment  or  a  bandage. 
A  little  human  kindness  of  this  nature  helps  to  make  the 
journey  a  happier  one  for  all,  but  alas  too  often  what 
the  Germans  call  tropenkoller  has  no  conception  of 
a  remedy  for  complaints  beyond  the  whip  or  the  boot. 

The  carrier  is  no  more  an  angel  than  other  human 
beings,  no  matter  whether  pink  or  black  ;  he  has  all  the 
imperfections  and  the  love  of  self-preservation  of  the 
brother  who  calls  himself  white.  I  remember  once  having 
all  the  loads  laid  out  ready  for  the  start  and  then  giving 
the  order  for  each  man  to  choose  his  load.  It  was  evident 
the  carriers  had  mentally  marked  the  load  each  would 
like  to  seize,  for  a  dash  was  made  for  a  small  box  only 
about  i8  inches  square  and  having  the  appearance  of  a 
20  lb.  load — but  it  was  a  case  of  cartridges  weighing 
80  lbs  !  How  promptly  they  all  discarded  that  box  and 
dashed  away  for  the  larger  but  lighter  loads  ! 

Strangely  enough  the  carrier  seldom  "  pilfers  "  on  a 
journey.  The  white  man's  goods  may  suffer  depreda- 
tions on  the  steamer  or  on  the  train,  but  on  the  march 
there  seems  to  be  a  sacred  community  of  interest  which 
safeguards  the  goods  of  most  white  men  as  effectively  as 
if  protected  by  the  spirit-haunted  herbs  and  parrot 
feathers  of  the  witch  doctor,  but  when  civilization,  in  the 
shape  of  steamers  and  railway  trains,  enters  barbarous 
regions  away  goes  the  eighth  commandment. 


THE  CARRIER  AND  NATURE  7 

There  is  one  respect  in  which  every  African  traveller 
invariably  suffers — hungry  at  the  midday  hour,  he  calls 
for  "  chop  "  ;  thirsty,  he  asks  for  filtered  water  ;  or  at 
night,  dead  tired,  he  looks  for  his  folding  bed  ;  he  may 
call  in  vain,  for  either  from  set  purpose  with  some 
definite  object  in  view,  or  from  stupidity,  these  essentials 
to  the  white  man  are  generally  "  miles  behind." 

Probably  the  carrier  is  at  his  best  when  travelling 
through  the  vast  forests,  where,  shielded  from  the  sun  by 
the  interlacing  trees  overhead,  it  is  delightfully  cool  and 
the  layers  of  dried  leaves  render  the  path  as  soft  and 
springy  as  the  richest  carpet.  Carriers  and  traveller  are  in 
high  mood  and  as  conversation  flows  freely  the  traveller 
realizes  what  great  students  of  nature  these  sons  of 
Africa  are.  As  they  walk  along,  they  will  name  every 
tree  and  almost  every  plant ;  they  will  tell  how  many 
moons  elapse  before  the  trees  begin  to  bear  ;  they  will 
give  descriptions  of  edible  fruits,  the  birds  and  animals 
which  each  kind  of  fruit  attracts,  varying  these  running 
comments  by  periodic  dashes  through  the  undergrowth 
in  search  of  fruits  to  illustrate  the  conversation. 

How  closely,  too,  they  watch  the  path  for  the  foot- 
prints of  animal  Ufe,  never  at  a  fault  to  identify  the 
prints  with  their  owners,  or  accurately  gauge  the  time 
when  the  creature  passed  by,  begging,  if  the  traces  are 
recent,  to  be  allowed  to  track  the  "  meat."  As  time 
does  not  concern  the  hunter,  it  is  generally  wise,  if  there 
is  any  reasonable  chance  of  obtaining  food  for  the  caravan, 
to  camp  for  the  night.  This  knowledge  of  forest  hfe 
stands  the  natives  in  good  stead,  for  not  infrequently 
provisions  run  out  on  the  long  marches  and  in  the  absence 


8  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

of  human  habitations,  the  question  of  feeding  the  caravan 
becomes  a  serious  matter. 

At  one  time  we  had  marched  for  days  without  any 
opportunity  of  obtaining  a  supply  of  food  and  the  carriers 
were  all  suffering  from  hunger  ;  in  a  whole  day  we  seldom 
found  more  than  a  small  handful  of  edible  fruit.     At 
last  it  became  almost  impossible  to  push  on  with  the 
caravan  so  tired  and  hungry  :    I  called  together  a  few  of 
the  men  and  asked  what  we  should  do,  whereupon  one 
made  the  novel  suggestion  of  "  calling  the  meat."     The 
proposal  was  readily  taken  up  and  three  of  us  pushed  on 
ahead  with  guns.     Arriving  at  a  quiet  spot,  one  of  the 
men — a  very  son  of  the  forest — fell  on  his  knees,  and, 
placing  the  tips  of  two  fingers  in  his  nostrils,  emitted  a 
series  of  calls  which  made  that  forest  glen  echo  with, 
as  it  were,  the  joyous  cries  of  a  troop  of  monkeys  !     How 
anxiously  the  tops  of  trees  were  watched  !     After  re- 
peating these  tactics  in  several  places  in  the  immediate 
vicinity    for   about  half-an-hour,    a   man    close    to   me 
whispered  excitedly  "  here  they  come  "  !    In  the  distance 
we  could  see  the  tree  tops  moving,  and  in  a  short  time  a 
score  of  monkeys  could  be  seen  skipping  from  tree  to 
tree  towards  the  inimitable  monkey  cries  of  our  carrier. 
New  life  was  infused  into  the  whole  caravan  when  they 
saw  the  gun  bring  down  four  monkeys  for  the  evening 
meal ;   lowering  countenances  were  wreathed  with  smiles, 
grumblings  and  cursings  gave  place  to  joyous  songs  in 
which  even  the  sick  and  lame  gladly  joined.     At  dinner 
that  night  the  men  were  so  famished  that  they  could  not 
stop  to  cook  the  meat,  but  contented  themselves  with 
merely  singeing  off  the  skin  and  eating  the  uncooked  flesh. 


THE    VINES    Uf    THE     Ikul'KAE    i-ukJ':ST. 


THE   CARRIER'S   FRIENDS  9 

To  emerge  from  the  forest  is  generally  to  enter  once 
more  into  habitable  country,  and  there  the  carriers,  no 
matter  how  far  from  home,  generally  discover  a  relative 
— a  brother  or  a  sister,  a  father  or  a  mother.  Their 
relationships  are  strangely  elastic,  many  an  African 
laying  claim  to  as  many  mothers  as  wives,  in  point  of 
fact  the  father's  brothers  and  the  mother's  sisters  all 
rank  as  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  children.  The 
roving  British  tar  may  have  a  wife  in  every  port,  but 
he  is  surpassed  by  the  African  carrier  who  may  have  not 
only  a  wife  but  a  mother  and  sometimes  a  father  too  in 
every  village ! 


II 

THE  PADDLER  AND  HIS   CANOE 

Central  Africa,  the  unexplored  land  of  our  childhood, 
is  vested  with  a  charm  that  never  ceases  to  allure,  and 
reveals  her  deepest  secrets  only  to  those  who  dig  deep 
and  risk  much  to  discover  them.  The  rivers  with  their 
shifting  sandbanks,  their  treacherous  rapids  and  whirl- 
pools, entice  again  and  again  those  whom  the  miasma 
has  threatened  to  slay,  as  the  rushing  current  threatens 
the  unwary  navigator.  The  native  alone  is  in  any 
degree  immune  to  the  former,  and  it  is  he  who,  with  his 
simple  knowledge  of  the  shoals  and  currents,  may  venture 
with  his  inimitable  dug-out  where  scientific  navigation 
is  baffled.  Inseparable  from  the  African  river  is  the 
dug-out,  unthinkable  are  the  thousands  of  miles  of 
navigable  waterway  without  this  primitive,  though 
astonishingly  effective,  craft. 

Canoeing  in  Central  Africa  may  be  not  unpleasant, 
providing  both  canoe  and  paddlers  are  amiably  inclined. 
The  number  of  canoes  available  is  so  restricted  that 
there  is  little  choice,  and  comfort  aside  it  is  wise  always 
to  sacrifice  size  to  reputation,  for  a  canoe  with  a  bad 
name  will  dispirit  the  paddlers.  The  trimmest  and 
most  seasoned  craft,  capable  of  holding  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  paddlers,  is  the  traveller's  ideal,  but  the  equipment 


THE  PADDLER  AND  MUSIC  ii 

is  incomplete  without  a  small  pilot  boat  for  surplus 
baggage,  manned  with  four  or  five  paddlers,  who  will 
keep  ahead,  but  always  in  sight,  forewarning  of  rocks, 
snags,  or  sandbanks,  and  generally  discharging  the 
functions  of  a  scout.  No  less  important  is  the  selection 
of  the  crew,  and  these  to  complete  a  harmonious  group 
should  be  volunteers — the  best  plan  being  that  of  getting 
three  or  four  cheery  spirits  to  select  the  remainder  from 
amongst  their  friends. 

The  African  paddler  readily  responds  to  an  appeal 
for  a  co-operative  canoe  journey,  but  he  dislikes  any 
such  undertaking  as  a  mere  hired  paddler.  Make  him 
part  and  parcel  of  the  journey  and  a  host  of  potential 
difficulties  vanish.  Erect  in  the  bows  of  the  canoe  a 
tiny  rush  shelter  with  a  bamboo  bed  for  the  white  man, 
and  only  the  two  final  though  most  important  elements 
remain — music  and  provisions — the  absence  of  either 
being  equally  fatal.  For  the  latter,  an  ample  supply  of 
dried  fish  and  cassava  can  be  stored  in  the  canoe,  while 
a  currency  in  the  shape  of  beads,  salt,  cloth,  pins  and 
needles  will  do  the  rest.  Without  music  the  African  can 
neither  live  nor  die,  nor  yet  be  buried  ;  walking,  riding, 
eating,  digging,  paddling  or  dancing,  he  must  have  the 
rhythm  of  his  music,  devoid  of  charm  it  may  be  to  the 
European,  but  vital  to  the  good  spirits  of  the  African. 
To  the  accompaniment  of  an  old  biscuit  tin  or  a  couple 
of  sticks,  the  gunwale  of  the  canoe,  or  the  leaves  of  the 
forest,  any  or  all  of  which  can  be  made  to  give  forth  a 
sufficiency  of  barbaric  sounds  to  set  in  rhythmic  motion 
the  voices  and  bodies  of  all  within  range. 

With  canoe  packed,  paddlers  in  position  with  their 


12  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

long  spear-shaped  paddles  and  musicians  with  their 
instruments,  provisions  piled  high  and  carefully  covered, 
the  start  is  made.  Farewells  are  shouted,  and  blessings 
pronounced  which  if  measured  by  their  volume  should 
preserve  the  traveller  for  all  time  from  hippos  and  snags, 
storms  and  mosquitos,  sickness,  accident  and  even 
death. 

One  sees  in  the  African  canoe  characteristics  as 
distinct  as  those  of  the  paddlers,  for  with  a  limited  com- 
panionship comes  a  close  acquaintance  wdth  nature  and 
things  inanimate.  There  is  the  leviathan  among  native 
craft  shaped  by  the  chief  and  his  followers  from  a  forest 
giant  and  bearing  herself  with  the  proud  consciousness 
of  regal  ownership.  In  such  a  craft  the  passengers  need 
have  no  fear  for  she  rides  majestically  with  her  bows 
reared  high,  breasting  the  waves  of  the  tornado-lashed 
river  or  lake,  unmoved  by  the  raging  of  the  elements. 
She  is  seen  at  her  best  as  she  glides  down  stream  under 
the  combined  influence  of  the  current  and  the  swinging 
impetus  of  her  thirty  stout  paddlers.  There  is  the 
rickety  old  canoe  with  broken  stern  and  crippled  sides, 
and  her  leaking  bottom  stuffed  with  clay,  but  there  is 
life  in  her  yet.  She  ships  water  fore  and  aft,  and  amid- 
ships too,  soaking  the  traveller's  blankets  and  provisions, 
but  her  long  experience  gives  her  an  ease  in  travel  which 
her  younger  though  stouter  relatives  cannot  rival. 
Then  there  is  the  lumbering  ungainly  dug-out,  with 
crooked  nose  and  knotty  sides,  unreliable  and  ill-balanced, 
possessing  an  affinity  for  every  submerged  snag.  "  Hard 
on  "  she  frequently  goes  and  every  effort  to  free  her 
threatens  to  drown  the  occupants.     Sandbanks  she  seeks 


MRS.    HARRIS    CANOEING    ON    THE    ARUWIMI,    UPPER    CONGO. 


i'         »-" 


A    RICKETY    DUG-OUT. 


CANOE  CHARACTERISTICS  13 

out  too  and  obstinately  refuses  to  "  jump  "  them.  The 
paddlers  will  haul  her  off  and  curse  her  roundly  for  her 
crooked  ways, — but  as  she  was  hewn  so  she  will  remain. 
At  the  other  end  of  the  scale  is  the  tiny  fishing  dug-out 
of  the  Niger  and  the  Congo,  and  their  still  smaller  sister 
of  Batanga  in  Spanish  Guinea,  the  latter  so  small  that 
the  owner  may  with  ease  carry  on  his  shoulder  both 
canoe  and  fishing  tackle,  and  whilst  baiting  hooks  and 
catching  fish  he  skilfully  sits  astride  her  and  paddles 
with  his  feet. 

Inseparable  again  from  the  dug-out  is  the  paddler. 
Who  that  travelled  with  him  can  forget  him  ?  Humorous 
as  the  London  Jehu  of  the  twentieth  century,  dexterous 
as  his  civilized  confreres  of  the  ocean,  as  adaptable  to  his 
surroundings  as  the  clay  to  the  potter's  art  ;  at  home 
everywhere  and  in  all  conditions  in  his  native  land, 
swimming  or  standing,  sitting  or  lying,  squatting  or 
reclining,  sleeping  as  soundly  on  the  nose  of  the  canoe  or 
the  river  bank  as  we  in  our  downiest  of  feather  beds. 
He  is  ready  and  alert  with  the  earliest  peep  of  dawn,  as 
the  mists  rise  from  the  surface  of  the  river,  presenting 
the  appearance  of  a  huge  boiling  cauldron.  Peeping 
from  beneath  your  mosquito  net  you  see  his  figure  outlined 
against  the  dawning  light  as  he  keeps  a  sharp  look-out 
for  the  hidden  snag,  and  shivers  with  the  clinging  chilly 
mist.  His  powers  of  endurance  are  unequalled,  as  the 
rising  sun  dispels  the  mists  and  mounting  higher  in  the 
heavens  becomes  increasingly  fierce.  He  still  swings 
his  paddle  with  steady  persistence  till  his  body  steams 
with  the  effort ;  then  after  a  little  halt  and  refreshment 
in  the  friendly  shade  of  the  riverside  forest,  he  will  go  on 


14  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

until  the  sun  is  sinking,  and  if  need  be,  still  on  in  the 
moonlight,  singing  his  monotonous  boat  song,  occasionally 
varied  by  a  running  commentary  from  the  leader  on  the 
incidents  of  the  journey,  the  peculiarities  of  a  certain 
paddler,  or  the  ways  of  the  white  occupants  of  the  canoe. 

During  the  whole  day  long  the  paddler  will  pursue 
his  task,  I  see  him  now  almost  unconsciously  bending 
his  body  with  each  dip  of  the  paddle,  till  a  sudden  slowing 
down  followed  by  a  profound  stillness  arrests  the  atten- 
tion. I  can  again  hear  those  whispered  voices  as  the 
gentle  lapping  of  the  water  against  the  canoe  side  ceases, 
and  the  boat  is  still.  A  monkey  has  perhaps  been  seen 
overhead  springing  from  bough  to  bough,  or  sitting 
nibbling  the  fruit  of  some  forest  tree,  or  it  may  be  an 
edible  bird  with  flesh  as  tough  as  its  plumage  is  gorgeous, 
that  watches  us  till  the  gun  booms  out  and  the  creature 
is  brought  down.  For  a  moment  it  struggles  in  the  river, 
then  with  a  sudden  splash,  a  man  is  swimming  with 
powerful  strokes  towards  the  prey  which  he  a  moment 
later  lands  in  the  canoe,  while  the  rest  look  approvingly 
on  at  their  prospective  meal.  With  spirits  heartened, 
on  they  go,  singing  of  their  capture  and  the  feast  which 
is  to  follow,  till  turning  a  bend  in  the  river  the  desti- 
nation is  at  last  in  sight. 

And  how  they  love  a  race  !  Let  them  but  see  a 
competitor  ahead  bound  for  the  same  goal,  and  despite 
their  long  day's  paddle  they  will  redouble  their  strokes. 
Caution  is  thrown  to  the  winds  and  the  canoe  springs 
in  a  mad  gallop,  rocking  to  and  fro,  pitching  and  tossing 
against  the  current  until  the  rival  ahead,  scenting  a  race, 
enters  the  competition  with  keen  zest.     At  such  times  I 


A  CANOE   RACE  15 

have  found  all  warnings  are  in  vain.  With  a  rapid 
girding  up  of  the  loin  cloths  as  the  boats  proceed,  a  re- 
arranging of  the  cargo,  children,  dogs,  fowls,  baggage 
and  all — the  race  begins  in  real  earnest.  With  much 
shouting  and  good-natured  banter  the  one  or  the  other 
will  take  advantage  of  every  prospect  of  an  up-current ; 
now  out  again  in  midstream  to  avoid  a  snag  ;  a  paddle 
breaks  in  the  effort,  but  is  quickly  discarded  and  another 
seized  without  lessening  the  speed — and  on  they  go,  each 
determined  to  win  or  sink  their  rival.  The  boats  ship 
water,  but  are  made  to  right  themselves  with  marvellous 
ingenuity  and  then  both  stop  to  bale  out,  while  the 
paddlers  exchange  good-humoured  threats,  gibes,  curses 
and  defiance. 

On  again  they  go  with  little  advantage  to  either  side, 
and  the  word  is  passed  for  the  "  master  stroke."  Madder 
than  ever  is  the  race  ;  the  white  man  may  shout  but 
they  pay  no  heed,  for  young  manhood  has  lost  all  sense 
of  danger.  At  last  the  opportunity  occurs  for  the  final 
advantage  for  the  river  must  be  crossed  at  yonder  point. 
Often  have  I  tried  to  avoid  this  danger,  proceeding  first 
to  command,  then  to  plead,  but  in  vain.  I  might  as 
effectively  have  tried  to  control  a  hurricane  with  a 
feather  !  To  clear  the  point  with  its  snags,  one  canoe 
must  fall  behind  or  cross  the  rival's  bows — ^to  give  up 
and  fall  back  is  impossible.  The  attempt  is  generally 
made  by  the  smaller  boat  to  cross  the  bows  of  her  more 
powerful  rival  and  though  occasionally  successful  she  is 
more  often  struck  amidships  and  disappears  completely — 
canoe,  paddlers  and  all ! 

A   great  shout  goes  up  and  the  victors  splash  in  to 


i6  DAWTSF   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

the  rescue,  seizing  the  mats,  baskets,  provisions  and 
sundries,  which  float  off  in  every  direction.  The  crew, 
as  much  at  home  in  the  water  as  on  land,  come  up  one 
by  one  and  others  dive  to  seize  the  stern  of  the  sunken 
canoe.  With  vigorous  pulHng  and  pushing,  the  water  is 
swished  out  till  she  floats  again,  and  in  the  vanquished 
spring,  again  baling  out  the  remaining  water  with  their 
feet,  till  it  is  once  more  fit  for  occupation,  and  every  one 
is  prepared  for  the  last  lap  of  the  journey.  The  men 
take  their  beating  well,  enjoying  the  laugh  against  them- 
selves. That  night  all  sleep  together  in  a  friendly  fishing 
encampment,  while  the  white  man  curls  up  in  his  canoe, 
and  listens  to  the  merry  paddlers  as  they  recount  with 
evident  enjoyment  the  story  of  their  five-mile  race. 

Who  that  has  found  a  home  and  nightly  shelter  in  an 
African  canoe  will  not,  as  he  quits  it  after  many  days, 
feel  that  he  is  leaving  an  old  acquaintance  behind  him. 
Through  the  twenty-four  hours  of  sleeping  and  waking, 
the  canoe  and  the  traveller  have  adapted  themselves  to 
each  other's  limitations,  and  the  recently  vacated  canoe 
speaks  as  eloquently  of  emptiness  as  the  vacant  chair. 


Ill 

THE  AFRICAN  FOREST 

There  can  hardly  be  any  experience  more  exquisitely 
luxurious  than  that  of  wandering  on  through  the  primeval 
forests  of  Central  Africa.  The  traveller  whose  daily 
round  confines  him  to  the  great  cities  of  a  hustling 
civilization  finds  himself  in  perfect  solitude,  perhaps  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life.  Every  step  he  takes  brings 
before  him  some  new  wonder  in  nature's  garden  ;  every 
hour  in  the  day  is  alive  with  fresh  experiences. 

Surely  there  is  no  language  which  aptly  befits  the 
transcendent  beauty  of  nature  awaking  to  greet  the  new- 
born day.  During  the  night,  giant  forms  have  roamed 
at  will  through  the  silent  glades  and  recesses  of  the 
forests,  but  with  the  peep  of  day  they  have  retired  to 
their  lair.  Those  feathered  sentinels,  whose  hoarse  cry 
rings  through  the  night  hours,  have  perforce  veiled  their 
eyes  at  the  awakening  of  their  comrades  who  strike  the 
sweeter  chords  befitting  the  glad  hours  of  day.  Through- 
out the  night  the  trees  made  monotonous  music  by  the 
incessant  drip  drip  of  their  tears,  but  with  the  morning, 
the  warm  sun  has  bidden  those  tearsi^begone. 

When  dayhght  breaks  through  the  tree  tops,  the 
boughs  sway  here  and  there  as  the  monkeys,  springing 
from  tree  to  tree,  gambol  with  their  fellows,  only  ceasing 

c 


i8  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

for  a  momentary  peep  at  the  strange  intruders  of  their 
sylvan  preserve,  as  the  undergrowth  crackles  beneath 
the  travellers'  feet  and  the  squirrels  dart  across  the 
pathway  seeking  a  safer  retreat.  The  sight  of  the  white 
clad  figure,  moving  rapidly  through  the  mass  of  under- 
growth, startles  the  mother  bird  from  her  nest,  and  off 
she  goes  shrieking  for  her  mate  and  warning  her  fellows. 
Yet  over  all,  a  silence  broods  and  the  traveller  falls  to 
constant  musing  as  he  wends  his  way. 

For  miles  the  dense  forests  will  shut  out  the  sun,  and 
then  perhaps  where  a  lofty  giant  tree  has  fallen  in  decay, 
a  slanting  ray  of  sun  will  gleam  through  the  leafy  roof 
turning  the  pathway  into  a  smiling  track  of  iridescent 
moss  and  fern.  A  few  yards  further  and  the  path 
descends  abruptly  into  a  woodland  stream,  bridged  by 
rustic  logs,  only  possible  of  fording  in  mid-current  by 
creeping  warily  along  the  trunk  of  a  tree  which  some 
thoughtful  passer-by  has  felled.  The  logs  and  trees 
which  lie  rotting  in  all  directions  are  the  home  of  shimmer- 
ing mosses  and  tiny  fern.  Beside  the  slippery  and 
tottering  causeway  there  shines  many  a  filigree  globe  of 
purest  opal  and  cunning  design  like  a  fairy's  incandescent 
light  guiding  the  steps  of  the  unwary  traveller.  They 
are  but  insects'  nests,  as  fragile  as  dehghtsome,  crumbling 
at  the  touch. 

The  traveller  can  never  proceed  many  miles  on  his 
journey  without  meeting  the  dark  lines  of  driver  ants. 
At  a  distance  of  fifty  yards,  all  one  sees  is  a  uniform 
brown  line,  sometimes  two  inches  wide,  sometimes  as 
many  feet.  Drawing  nearer  they  are  seen  to  be  well- 
ordered  regiments,  thousands  strong,  with  scouts,  baggage 


WILD    FOREST    FRUIT. 


THE  BUSY  ANTS  19 

bearers,  captains  and  field-marshals.  Their  enemies 
have  fled  at  their  approach  and  they  are  masters  of  the 
field.  On  they  will  march,  in  faultless  array,  their 
countless  thousands  obediently  passing  at  a  double  their 
immovable  field-marshals,  and  as  they  proceed  every 
living  thing  flees  before  them.  Now  perhaps  they  dis- 
appear through  some  subterranean  passage,  tunnelled  out 
by  their  indomitable  energy,  to  reappear  on  the  surface 
when  it  suits  their  plan.  You  may  scatter  them  if  you 
dare,  but  you  can  daunt  them  never.  Sweep  them  into 
heaps,  kill  them  by  the  hundred,  burn  them  by  the 
thousand,  and  tens  of  thousands  surge  forward,  to  fill  up 
the  ranks,  and  remove  the  dead.  Then  the  regiments  will 
grimly  move  once  more  on  their  way — an  incentive  to 
higher  organisms. 

The  African  forests  teem  with  life,  for  the  most  part 
silent ;  even  the  great  beasts  glide  along  in  perfect 
quietude — not  till  you  are  upon  them  do  you  realize 
the  proximity  of  the  elephants ;  then,  unless  the 
traveller  be  a  Nimrod,  his  greatest  concern  is  to  avoid  a 
possible  encounter.  They  love  most  a  quiet  glen  near 
the  forest  stream,  where  they  will  plough  the  earth  in  all 
directions  and  everywhere  leave  the  impress  of  their 
giant  limbs  stretched  in  gymnastics  all  their  own  ;  here 
and  there  scattered  over  their  playground  lie  scores  of 
trees  athwart  each  other,  evidence  of  no  woodman's  axe, 
but  of  the  entwining  grip  of  the  monster's  trunk,  who  in 
his  unrivalled  strength  delights  thus  to  shew  his  power 
in  his  own  domain.  Everywhere,  too,  the  great  forest 
apples  lie  idle  after  their  sport,  and  the  natives  tell  how 
they  spend  hours  hurling  these  great  balls  at  their  fellows. 


20  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

The  rivers  which  everywhere  feed  the  African  forest, 
coupled  with  the  tropical  sun,  give  luxuriance  to  all 
nature.  Vines  are  there  as  much  as  three  feet  in  circum- 
ference, moss-grown  and  gnarled  with  age,  born  perhaps 
when  the  parent  acorns  of  our  oldest  oaks  were  yet  un- 
formed. Sometimes  like  huge  serpents  they  coil  them- 
selves in  a  tortuous  grip  round  two  or  three  trees,  each 
of  which  may  be  ten  times  their  own  size. 

There  is  beauty  too  in  these  silent  forests,  when 
at  intervals  on  the  march  the  traveller,  almost  uncon- 
sciously at  first,  begins  to  inhale  the  fragrant  odour  of 
some  delicious  perfume  sent  forth  by  modest  blooms  that 
shun  the  gaze  of  man.  A  little  searching  beneath  the 
undergrowth,  or  in  the  tree  tops  overhead,  reveals  a 
bloom  upon  which  the  eye  gladly  lingers — trails  of 
waxen  jasmine  hanging  from  the  bush  in  exquisite 
profusion. 

There  is  beauty,  too,  in  the  forest  decay,  in  the  fallen 
tree  trunk,  whose  rotting  bark  and  ugly  torn  stump  are 
transformed  by  tufts  of  gracefully  drooping  fern,  while 
tiny  rootlets  smile  from  out  every  crevice.  There  is 
beauty,  too,  in  the  fungus  growths,  tinted  and  white,  or 
the  perfection  of  coral,  or  blooms  whose  purple  depths 
suggest  some  cherished  hot-house  flower. 

The  experienced  traveller  is  quick  to  note  signs  of 
a  change  ;  the  pathway  leads  uphill  and  the  absence  of 
giant  tree  trunks  denotes  that  he  is  treading  a  once  cleared 
and  populated  region.  That  hill,  whose  summit  is  capped 
with  foliage,  was  once  a  village  landmark,  beneath  it, 
myriad  termites  live  and  pursue  their  daily  toils  through 
tunnels  and  chambers  that  they  have  shaped  by  their 


BEAUTY   IN   DECAY  21 

countless  thousands.  Were  man's  three-score  years  and 
ten  twice  told  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  ways  and 
purposes  of  the  unheeded  occupants  of  our  earth,  he  had 
but  then  begun  to  learn  the  alphabet  of  nature's  infinite 
resources. 

Close  to  the  termite  hills  the  half-buried  foundations 
of  primitive  dwellings  speak  of  departed  life,  and  in  the 
Congo,  hundreds,  yea  thousands,  of  these  mark  the  spot 
where  once  the  children  of  nature  lived  out  their  simple 
life,  till  civilization  strode  through  the  land  treading 
ruthlessly  down  the  souls  of  men.  They  have  gone  and 
their  haunts  lie  deserted,  but  their  monuments  remain. 
The  discarded  kernels  of  the  housewives'  palm  nuts  have 
taken  root  and  now  rear  their  graceful  fronds  on  fault- 
less trunks  like  capitals  of  Corinthian  pillars  in  some 
cathedral  aisle.  As  if  by  design  they  ranged  them- 
selves thus.  In  these  silent  groves  the  traveller  treads 
reverently  upon  the  grassy  floor  ;  no  monk  is  here  ; 
there  is  no  echo  of  the  choristers'  song,  but  nature  has 
reared  her  temple  where  myriad  voices  rejoice  and  sing 
their  song  of  praise,  unfettered  by  the  forms  and  creeds 
of  man. 

The  long  day's  tramp  is  now  over  ;  the  sun  is  setting 
and  the  birds  are  carolling  their  evening  song,  as  the 
traveller  emerges  into  the  open  space  beside  the  gleaming 
river,  flowing  swiftly  onwards  with  its  errand  to  the  sea. 
The  glow  of  the  departing  sun  tints  the  clouds  with  purple 
and  gold  outshining  in  glory  the  loveliness  of  the  morning. 
Surely  the  heavenly  regions  are  not  far  beyond,  and  this 
is  a  glimpse  behind  the  veil.  The  afterglow  has  departed 
and  the  world  of  man  falls  asleep  till  the  twittering  of 


22  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

the  birds  heralds  the  approach  of  another  day  with 
another  march  through  the  inexhaustible  forests  of 
tropical  Africa,  where  verily 

"  Earth  is  crammed  with  Heaven 
And  every  common  bush  ablaze  with  God." 


IV 

A   MEDLEY  OF  CUSTOMS 

A  LIFETIME  spent  amongst  a  single  African  tribe  would 
scarcely  exhaust  its  folklore  and  customs.  Awaiting 
scientific  investigation  there  is  throughout  the  African 
continent  a  wealth  of  lore  and  superstition. 

To  him  who  would  discover  the  hidden  life  of  the 
African  infinite  patience  is  essential.  It  is  useless  to 
force  information  ;  the  best  plan  is  to  wait  until  the 
"  spirit  moves  "  the  old  woman  or  chief  to  tell  you 
something  of  the  inner  life  of  the  tribe.  Perhaps  the 
time  and  conditions  which  most  contribute  to  a  flow  of 
talk  are  a  moonlight  evening  around  the  log  fires  and 
cooking  pots. 

I  see  them  now — these  simple  Africans,  seated  around 
the  great  earthenware  pot  awaiting  the  meal  of  boiled 
cassava,  pounded  leaves  or  steamed  Indian  corn.  I  hear 
that  grey-headed  old  chief,  with  low  musical  voice, 
passing  on  the  traditions  of  past  generations,  so  "  that 
the  boys  may  know  something  of  the  early  history  of 
their  race."  All  the  old  stories  familiar  to  civilization 
are  there.  They  all  know  that  "  man  first  went  wrong 
through  woman  gathering  fruit  in  the  forest,"  the  only 
variation  is  that  the  kind  of  fruit  differs  in  different 
parts  of   West   Africa,  but  it  is  always  a  forest  fruit. 


24  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

always  the  woman  tempted  the  man ;  always  man 
succumbed  !  Then  the  old  chief  will  turn  to  the  oft-told 
story — the  sacrificial  efficacy  of  the  young  kid.  It  is 
remarkable  how  closely  this  custom  resembles  even  to-day 
that  institution  of  the  Pentateuch.  The  young  kid  must 
be  free  from  all  disease,  a  perfect  animal  in  every  respect. 
When  killed  the  blood  is  carefully  sprinkled  on  the  lintel 
and  on  each  door-post.  Other  familiar  sacred  institu- 
tions are  passed  under  review.  Then  the  animal  kingdom 
comes  under  discussion,  and  the  whole  series  of  Uncle 
Remus,  with  but  slight  variations,  secures  the  rapt 
attention  of  the  listeners.  It  is  at  such  times  as  these 
that  the  student  gets  beneath  the  surface  of  polygamy, 
burial  and  marriage  dances,  cicatrization  and  the  more 
serious  subjects  of  land  tenure,  tribal  laws,  social  ties  and 
domestic  slavery. 

Not  all  tribes  are  equally  interesting,  probably  the 
Baketi  tribes  on  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Kasai  river 
provide  the  greatest  wealth  of  interesting  customs  and 
folklore.  Their  grotesque  images,  carved  in  wood,  grin 
at  the  traveller  from  the  door-posts  of  the  houses,  and 
passing  through  the  villages  one  has  to  be  extremely 
careful  not  to  tread  upon  one  of  the  fetishes  which  are 
scattered  along  the  walks  in  great  profusion.  One  day 
I  saw  three  separate  fetishes  within  a  single  square  yard, 
and  these,  the  father  explained  to  us  in  his  simple  way,  he 
had  purchased  at,  to  him,  a  heavy  cost,  hoping  thereby 
to  restore  to  health  his  only  daughter.  Not  only  does 
the  Baketi  fill  his  town  with  fetishes  and  wooden  images, 
but  in  the  forests  which  separate  village  from  village, 
almost  every  tree  along  the  pathway  has  rudely  carved 


'AiJLX>^3M^  f.^ 


iHK    "  HEALING         FETISH. 


THE    BAKETI    MEMORIAL    GROIND.  TREES    UPROOTED    AND    PLANTED 

BRANCHES    DOWNWARDS    IN    MEMORY    OF    THE    DEAD. 


THE  BAKETI  FETISH  25 

on  its  trunk  the  grinning  face  of  some  impossible  human 
being. 

The  Baketi,  too,  is  probably  unique  in  his  memorial 
grounds.     Most  African  tribes  bury  the  dead  in  the  heart 
of  the  forest,  but  at  the  same  time  near  the  village  a 
memorial  ground  is  set  apart  on  which  are  erected  tiny 
memorial  huts,  which  the  restless  spirits  of  the  departed 
may  inhabit  if  they  so  choose.     There,  when  the  spirit 
pays  such  visits — as  all  good  spirits  do  nightly — he  finds 
his  loin  cloth  ready,  the  spoon  with  which  he  ate  his 
food,  the  bottle  from  which  he  drank,  his  battle  axe  and 
cross  bow  which  played  havoc  in  many  an  affray  ;   there 
is  generally  too  a  spread  of  Indian  corn  or  other  food, 
which  the  thoughtful  and  sorrowing  wives  have  placed 
in  readiness  for  his  return  visit  to  earth.     How  safe  these 
memorial  tombs  are  from  desecration  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  very  frequently  considerable  sums  of 
native  currency  are  strewn  upon  the  floor.     These  little 
tombs  are  also  surrounded  with  numerous  carved  images 
erected  on  poles.     The  Baketi  have  another  custom  which 
is,  I  believe,  quite  unique  in  West  Central  Africa.     Out- 
side every  village  are  large  forest  clearings  covered  with 
grass,  and  dotted  over  these  meadow-like  lands  may  be 
seen  the  strange  sight  of  trees  rooted  up  and  planted 
upside  down — the  branches  having  been  lopped  off  or 
the  tree  trunk  cut  through  the  middle  and  planted  with 
the  roots  in  the  air.     The  sight  of  these  clearings,  in- 
volving a  considerable  expenditure  of  labour,   covered 
with    scores — sometimes    hundreds — of    these    symbolic 
monuments,  is  most  impressive. 

The  Baketi  have  elaborate  ceremonials  at  births  and 


26  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

marriages.  A  special  house  is  always  built  for  the  birth 
of  a  child,  the  mother  being  conveyed  to  the  dwelling  an 
hour  or  so  before  the  expected  time,  as  is  likewise  the 
case  with  a  dying  person.  Another  curious  custom  which 
prevails  amongst  these  people,  and  strangely  enough  we 
found  precisely  the  same  custom  a  thousand  miles  north 
amongst  the  Ngombe  tribes  of  Bopoto,  yet  nowhere  in 
the  intervening  territories,  forbids  any  young  woman  to 
definitely  enter  into  marriage  relations  until  one  end  of 
the  interior  of  her  house  is  closely  packed  with  neatly 
cut  logs  of  firewood  !  This  usually  means  about  three 
hundred  logs,  measuring  eighteen  inches  in  length  and 
two  feet  in  circumference.  The  idea  appears  to  be  that 
of  demonstrating  the  domestic  capacity  of  the  bride- 
elect. 

With  every  West  African  tribe  there  are  customs 
peculiar  to  the  individual  community,  but  they  are 
generally  trivial,  or  variations  of  customs  prevailing 
amongst  the  surrounding  tribes.  Amongst  Congo  tribes 
only  the  Baketi  apparently  possess  customs  so  com- 
pletely unique. 

(a)  Cicatrization 

Cicatrizing  is  practised  more  or  less  over  the  whole 
of  West  Central  Africa.  In  some  parts  like  the  Bangalla 
and  Equatorial  regions  of  the  Congo,  the  patterns  are 
extremely  elaborate  and  involve  much  patient  labour  on 
the  part  of  the  artist  and  prolonged  suffering  by  the 
individual. 

Cicatrizing  is  often  confounded  with  tattooing,  but 
the  latter  process  is  entirely  different,  and  is  of  course 


%■■.. 


h 


CICATRIZATION  27 

most  largely  in  vogue  amongst  the  Maoris  and  seafaring 
men.  The  word  cicatrization  is  derived  from  the  French 
medical  term  which  designates  the  scars  left  by  a  healed 
wound  and  implies  a  raised  portion  of  the  flesh,  whereas 
tattooing  is  an  indentation  coupled  with  the  insertion  of 
indelible  dyes.  Strangely  enough  the  Baluba  tribes  south 
of  the  Congo  tattoo  themselves,  and  in  this  respect  are 
unique  in  West  Africa.  Both  men  and  women  readily 
subject  themselves  to  the  cicatrizing  knife,  but  generally 
speaking  women  are  more  liberally  marked  than  men. 
In  the  Bangalla  regions  of  the  Congo,  the  facial 
markings  resemble  the  surface  of  a  coarse  rasp,  whilst 
the  women  content  themselves  with  large  shell  patterns 
on  the  lower  part  of  the  stomach.  Along  the  main  Congo 
and  some  of  the  tributaries,  the  marking  which  finds 
most  favour  is  the  "  coxcomb  "  in  the  centre  of  the 
forehead ;  this  is  sometimes  cut  quite  deeply.  The 
hinterland  tribes  of  the  Equatorial  rivers  almost  without 
exception  adopt  the  oyster  shell  pattern  just  below  the 
temple,  but  the  women,  in  addition,  are  prodigally 
marked  with  "  knobs,"  small  **  oyster  shells  "  and  "  bead 
strings  "  all  over  the  body,  particularly  on  the  thighs. 
Amongst  the  Batetela,  the  forearm  is  usually  covered 
.with  a  pattern  identical  with  the  Cornish  "  one  and  all  " 
motto,  often  also  with  a  sunflower  pattern  running  from 
the  navel  up  to  the  shoulder,  sometimes  to  the  right,  but 
more  often  to  the  left.  In  the  Kasai  territories  there  is 
first  the  one  general  cicatrice  imposed  on  the  people  by 
the  historic  northern  conqueror  Wuta,  a  "  white  "  chief- 
tain of  prodigious  valour  and  energy,  who,  apparently 
more  than  five  hundred  years  ago,  swept  through  the 


28  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

whole  region  founding  new  dynasties  and  placing  the 
tribes  under  tribute  of  soldiers  and  money.  This  hustling 
personage,  it  is  said,  reached  what  is  now  Rhodesia,  but 
so  great  was,  and  is,  the  fear  of  his  spirit  that  everyone 
to-day  bears  his  cicatrice.  The  Bakuba,  Bashilele,  Ba- 
keti,  Bushongos  and  Lulua,  all  bear  their  distinctive 
marks,  many  of  the  women  having  the  whole  thigh 
covered  with  a  "  herring  bone,"  and  the  men  carrying  a 
mark  similar  to  the  Grecian  "  key  "  pattern.  In  the 
Portuguese  Enclave  and  the  Mayumbe  territory  of  the 
Congo,  the  whole  of  the  back  is  frequently  covered  by  a 
single  pattern  and  on  the  back  of  one  woman  we  found  a 
marking  which  is  clearly  the  Swastika. 

The  operation  is,  of  course,  distinctly  painful.  The 
subject  sits  on  the  ground  or  on  a  log  of  wood,  whilst  the 
operator  cuts  deeply  into  the  flesh  with  the  knife  held  at 
such  an  angle  that  a  considerable  wound  will  result. 
Think  of  sitting  still  whilst  this  crude  hand-made  piece 
of  native  steel  is  dug  into  the  flesh  something  like  twenty 
or  thirty  times  within  half  an  hour  !  Once  I  was  able 
to  watch  the  process ;  the  woman  desired  a  "  lace 
pattern  "  made  from  the  shoulder  blades  to  the  waist, 
involving  altogether  four  lines,  which  meant  nearly  two 
hundred  cuts.  She  sat  outside  her  hut,  and  bending 
down  slightly  to  stretch  the  skin,  the  intended  pattern 
was  marked  in  chalk,  and  then  the  operator,  taking  his 
small  cicatrizing  knife  in  his  right  hand,  proceeded  to 
grasp  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  left 
successive  small  portions  of  flesh,  gashing  each  till  the 
blood  flowed  freely.  Then  he  started  the  other  side  of 
the  body,  returning  again  to   cut   the   third  line,   and 


/XXs_/\_^C        XXCLCX  V  V^vJ 


■  ,,^J 


after  the  incisions  have  been  made  the  wounds  swe 
suppurate,  greatly  to  the  deUght  of  the  hosts  c 
ct  hfe  which  swarm  everywhere  in  Central  Africa  : 
j;-se  surround  the  wounded  body  of  the  native  and  onl;  I 
0  continuous  flicking  of  grass  or  twig  brushes  can  thi  \ 
ering  victim  obtain  even  comparative  freedom  fror  \ 
tortures  which  every  movement  of  the  body  imposes  ; 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  pattern  originallj/j 
[  in  the  body  stands  out  firm  and  clear.     In  those- 
es  where  still  more  emphatic  designs  are  desired,  thej 
vtrice  will  be  re-opened  and  raised  higher  still  unti'  | 
prominence  is  quite  pronounced,  in  others,  after  i 
pse  of  a  few  months,   still   more  Imo.s  and  still  mo^ 


i 


.ch  an  angle  tnat  a  consiaeraoie  wouna  win  its 
aink  of  sitting  still  whilst  this  crude  hand-made  pi 
.'  native  steel  is  dug  into  the  flesh  something  like  twe: 
:  thirty  times  within  half  an  hour  !     Once  I  was  a 
)   watch   the   process ;     the   woman   desired   a    "1 
attern  "  made  from  the  shoulder  blades  to  the  wi 
ivolving  altogether  four  hues,  which  meant  nearly  ' 
mndred  cuts.     She  sat  outside  her  hut,   and  bene 
iown  slightly  to  stretch  the  skin,  the  intended  patt 
A^as  marked  in  chalk,  and  then  the  operator,  taking 
»mall  cicatrizing  knife  in  his  right  hand,  proceeded 
^rasp   between   the   thumb   and   forefinger   of    the 
accessive  small  portions  of  flesh,  gashing  each  till 

•"-J  -^1  ->  oihpr  side 


THE   ARTIST   IN   BLOOD  29 

back  to  the  second  to  link  the  pattern  up  with  the 
fourth. 

I  watched  the  woman  closely,  and  as  the  knife  dipped 
into  the  flesh  she  made  a  grimace,  but  between  the  cuts, 
laughingly  and  with  considerable  spirit  replied  to  my 
comments.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  operation,  she 
calmly  walked  to  the  nearest  tree  and  gathered  a  few 
leaves  to  wipe  up  the  blood  which  by  this  time  was  stream- 
ing down  her  body.  The  operator,  according  to  custom, 
threw  over  the  wounds  a  handful  of  powdered  camwood 
which,  however,  has  less  antiseptic  than  drying  properties. 

It  is  not  easy  to  light  upon  such  operations,  which  are 
generally  carried  out  more  or  less  privately,  and  in  all 
my  years  of  residence  in  Africa,  this  was  the  only  occasion 
on  which  I  have  been  able  to  watch  throughout  an 
elaborate  cicatrization.  It  is,  however,  a  familiar  sight 
to  meet  natives  with  their  bodies  newly  cut.  On  the 
day  after  the  incisions  have  been  made  the  wounds  swell 
and  suppurate,  greatly  to  the  delight  of  the  hosts  of 
insect  life  which  swarm  everywhere  in  Central  Africa. 
These  surround  the  wounded  body  of  the  native  and  only 
by  a  continuous  flicking  of  grass  or  twig  brushes  can  the 
suffering  victim  obtain  even  comparative  freedom  from 
the  tortures  which  every  movement  of  the  body  imposes, 
but  in  the  course  of  a  few  months  the  pattern  originally 
cut  in  the  body  stands  out  firm  and  clear.  In  those 
cases  where  still  more  emphatic  designs  are  desired,  the 
cicatrice  will  be  re-opened  and  raised  higher  still  until 
the  prominence  is  quite  pronounced,  in  others,  after  a 
lapse  of  a  few  months,  still  more  lines  and  still  more 
"  knobs  "  will  be  added  until  the  age  of  twenty  to  thirty. 


30  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

After  this  the  desire  for  adornment  ceases  and  the  body 
rests  from  its  tortures. 

What  is  it  that  attracts  ?  WTiat  power  is  it  which 
buoys  up  the  spirit  under  these  painful  operations  ? 
What  is  the  secret  which  gives  this  insatiable  desire  for 
fleshy  adornment  ? — a  desire  firmly  rooted  in  the  breast 
of  every  section  of  the  community  and  shared  by  young 
and  old  alike.  I  well  remember  an  orphan  child,  of 
about  three  summers,  standing  in  the  roadway  crying 
bitterly,  and  upon  my  asking  the  cause,  she  told  me  that 
being  an  orphan  no  one  had  enough  interest  in  her  to 
cut  a  "  coxcomb  "  on  her  forehead.  Secreting  a  small 
bottle  of  red  ink,  I  told  her  to  sit  on  the  table,  and  by  a 
series  of  pinchings  and  finger-nail  marks  on  her  forehead, 
coupled  with  a  smearing  of  red  ink  over  my  white  hands, 
calmed  the  little  mite  into  the  belief  that  her  heart's 
desire  was  being  gratified.  After  about  ten  minutes  she 
was  supremely  happy  in  the  thought  that  she  too  possessed 
a  "  coxcomb."  Her  dehght  was  unbounded,  until  the 
little  mischief  caught  sight  of  her  natural  forehead  in  a 
mirror  ! 

No  doubt  the  principal  motive  for  this  passion  is  the 
love  of  personal  adornment,  of  which  the  African  assuredly 
does  not  retain  a  monopoly.  Hitherto  the  hinterland 
tribes  have  had  no  access  to  those  artificial  aids  to  personal 
adornment,  which  are  laid  so  temptingly  before  the  youth 
of  civilization.  They  will  tell  you  they  have  had  no 
alternative  but  to  "  adorn  "  their  only  garb — nature's 
dusky  skin,  and  none  would  deny,  that  there  is  a  certain 
beauty  even  in  these  barbarous  forms  of  embellishment. 
The  critic  may  observe  that  the  beauty  of  womanhood  is 


MARRIAGE  AND  TRIBAL  MARKINGS        31 

obviously  not  enhanced  by  the  bold  use  of  the  cicatrizing 
knife,  but  I  would  remind  that  critic  that  the  wife  without 
a  body  fairly  well  covered  with  cicatrization  finds  but 
scant  favour  with  the  other  sex.  In  Africa  the  European 
youths  of  fashion  have  their  counterpart,  and  in  the 
direction  of  the  most  daintily  cicatrized  maiden,  are  cast 
the  most  amorous  glances,  and  offers  of  handsome  dowries 
to  the  admiring  parents  for  the  hand  of  their  captivating 
daughter. 

Other  reasons  doubtless  play  a  part,  among  them  the 
question  of  tribal  ownership  of  wives,  and  the  necessity 
of  placing  a  distinctive  and  indelible  mark  upon  the 
body.  Constant  internecine  warfare,  too,  demanded  a 
mark  which  would  make  easy  the  task  of  discriminating 
the  warriors  of  the  respective  combatants. 

Patriotism,  relationship  and  love  of  adornment,  com- 
bine in  giving  to  the  African  the  extraordinary  fortitude 
which  this  prolonged  operation  demands,  but  the  dis- 
appearance of  internal  warfare,  the  increasing  importa- 
tion of  cheap  jewellery  and  gaudy  clothing,  and  the 
advance  of  Christian  civilization,  is  robbing  this  custom 
of  its  raison  d'etre,  and  in  another  generation  the  little 
African  boys  and  girls  will  only  learn  from  books  of  this 
curious  custom  of  their  grandfathers  and  grandmothers, 
for  cicatrization,  as  practised  to-day,  will  have  perished 
within  another  twenty-five  years. 

(b)  Personal  Adornment 

Left  to  nature,  the  African,  dissatisfied  with  his  personal 
charms,  looks  about  him  for  some  means  for  adding 
adornment  to  his  body.     In  the  absence  of  finely  woven 


32  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

cloths  and  silks,  he  covers  his  person  with  ornamental 
markings,  and  his  woolly  hair  he  makes  to  take  the  place 
of  head-gear.  In  two  respects  only  his  tastes  accord 
with  those  of  the  European — metal  ornaments  and 
rouge  powder. 

Most  African  tribes  wear  some  cloth.  The  wild 
Ngombe  on  the  southern  banks  of  the  main  Congo,  skilled 
in  ironwork  but  ignorant  of  weaving,  wear  a  vegetable 
cloth  which  they  strip  from  the  inner  side  of  the  coarse 
bark  of  a  forest  tree.  Many  of  their  women  content 
themselves  with  only  a  few  cicatrized  patterns,  and  this  is 
most  noticeable  in  the  hinterland  of  Bangalla,  north  of 
the  Congo.  A  peculiar  feature,  however,  is  that  all  these 
women,  though  completely  nude,  wear  a  thin  piece  of 
string  round  the  loins.  When  photographing  a  group, 
I  suggested  the  removal  of  these  strings,  because  they 
seemed  to  imply  that  normally  a  cloth  or  leaf  was  thereby 
suspended  ;  but  the  women,  at  this,  to  me,  most  innocent 
suggestion,  all  became  exceedingly  angry  and  threatened 
to  run  away.  Finally,  I  managed  to  restore  good  relations, 
and  we  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  excellent  photograph. 
It  was  evident  that  some  deep  significance  attached  to 
wearing  this  almost  invisible  cord,  but  what  that  signi- 
ficance was  I  could  not  discover. 

Hairdressing  ranks  almost  equal  in  importance  with 
cicatrization,  and  practically  any  day  the  traveller 
passing  through  the  villages  may  see  some  native  stretched 
lazily  upon  a  mat  on  the  ground,  the  head  resting  on  the 
lap  of  the  hairdresser — generally  one  of  the  opposite  sex. 
In  Spanish  Guinea,  and  on  the  islands  off  Batanga,  the 
style  of  hairdressing  is  that  of  long  plaits,  sometimes  a 


HAIRDRESSING  33 

dozen  in  number,  running  out  in  all  directions  from  the 
top  of  the  head.  In  French  and  Belgian  Congo  the 
style  most  favoured  is  the  helmet  and  in  some  cases  the 
mitre  form  ;  in  these  the  hair  is  braided  up  until  it  adds 
apparently  about  five  or  six  inches  to  the  stature.  In 
many  parts  of  the  Cameroons,  as  well  as  in  French  and 
Belgian  Congo,  the  hair  thus  built  up  is  covered  with  a 
mixture  of  oil  and  camwood  powder,  and  thus  offers  a 
solid  protection  against  the  fierce  rays  of  the  tropical 
sun. 

Amongst  the  Boela  people  of  Bangalla,  the  custom 
prevails  of  binding  the  crown  of  an  infant's  head  with 
tough  cord  soon  after  birth,  and  this  head-binding  is 
maintained  throughout  life.  The  effect  is  that  of  an 
elongated  or  sugar-loaf  skull  which  is  greatly  emphasized 
when  the  hair  is  prominently  braided  around  it.  We 
observed  men  of  all  ages  with  their  heads  bound  in  this 
manner,  but  they  did  not  appear  to  suffer  any  discomfort, 
and  the  mental  powers  of  the  tribe  were  in  no  sense  below 
the  average. 

Rouge  finds  great  favour  in  the  personal  adornment 
of  the  African.  The  powder  is  obtained  from  the  cam- 
wood tree,  and  in  almost  every  well-regulated  household 
in  the  forest  regions  may  be  seen  let  into  the  ground  a 
log  of  wood  some  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  while  a 
piece  of  smaller  dimensions  lies  near  at  hand.  The 
housewife,  in  order  to  obtain  the  colouring,  rubs — or 
more  correctly  grinds — one  piece  on  the  other,  which, 
with  the  aid  of  either  water  or  oil,  causes  a  thick  red  paste 
to  exude,  which  is  then  made  into  cones  and  placed  in 
the  sun.     \\nhen  thoroughly  dry,  it  is  either  pressed  into 

D 


34  DAW^   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

a  powder  and  sprinkled  over  the  body,  or  the  person  is 
anointed  with  a  mixture  of  the  powder  and  palm  oil  ; 
in  either  case  imparting  a  bright  red  appearance. 

In  war  times,  at  festivals,  and  on  feast  days,  an 
enormous  amount  of  rouge  is  used,  and  the  red  bodies 
of  the  tribes  are  rendered  extremely  grotesque  by  the 
addition  of  white  clay  markings  which  stand  out  very 
clearly  on  the  red  background. 

For  the  most  part  the  West  African  tribes  extract  all 
the  hair  from  the  body  with  the  exception  of  the  head, 
the  beard  and  moustache.  The  task  is  almost  a  daily 
one,  and  in  the  case  of  a  man  is  generally  undertaken  by 
one  or  more  of  his  wives.  Little  boys  and  girls  submit 
willingly  to  the  removal  of  their  eyebrows  and  eyelashes. 

Brass  anklets  and  necklaces  are  much  prized  by  the 
natives  throughout  West  Africa.  The  Mongo  tribes  of 
the  Congo  wear  anklets  weighing  sometimes  lo  pounds 
on  each  ankle,  and  the  whole  set  of  ornaments,  including 
the  collar,  will  turn  the  scale  at  35  pounds.  In  the 
Leopoldian  regime  these  valuable  ornaments  were  a  con- 
tributory cause  to  the  atrocities,  for  the  rubber  soldiery 
would  always  seek  out  the  women  in  possession  of  such 
anklets  and  collars,  and,  as  they  were  welded  on  the  bodj-, 
would  not  hesitate  to  chop  off  the  foot,  the  hand,  or 
even  the  head  in  order  to  obtain  the  ornaments. 

I  once  heard  a  neat  retort  from  an  African  woman. 
The  questioner  was  a  white  lady  who  had  been  pointing 
out  the  pain  caused  by  wearing  these  heavy  articles  of 
adornment.     The  dialogue  ran  as  follows  : — 

White  Woman :  Why  do  you  wear  anklets  which  cause 
you  so  much  pain  ? 


A    FIVE    FOOT    BEARD. 


STYLES    OF    ARUWIMI    HEAD-DRESS. 


THE   PRICE   OF  ADORNMENT  35 

African  Woman :  Beauty  is  worth  pain. 

White  Woman :  Surely  you  do  not  suffer  such  torture 
in  order  to  appear  beautiful  ? 

African  Woman :  Tell  me  then,  white  woman,  why  do 
you  suffer  pain  by  tying  yourself  so  tightly  in  the  waist, 
like  a  woman  suffering  the  pangs  of  hunger  ? 

How  far  these  simple  customs  should  be  checked 
has  always  seemed  to  me  a  matter  of  doubt,  but  in  the 
internal  government  of  missions  they  cause  serious 
dissensions  among  the  staff.  Not  a  few  missionaries, 
and  some  government  officials,  seem  to  feel  called  upon 
to  place  these  old-time  customs  almost  on  the  level  of 
criminal  offences. 

In  one  mission  no  natives  may  sit  down  to  Holy 
Communion  with  their  hair  braided  and  oiled,  nor  may 
they  enjoy  the  full  privileges  of  Church  membership  if 
they  use  camwood  powder  on  their  bodies  ;  this  is  the 
more  outrageous  when,  within  a  few  days'  canoe  journey, 
there  is  another  Christian  mission  where  one  lady 
missionary  at  least  is  evidently  well  acquainted  with  the 
use  of  delicately  scented  rouge.  In  another  mission, 
cicatrizing,  the  extraction  of  the  eyelashes,  men  dressing 
the  hair  of  women  or  vice  versa,  are  sufficient  to  warrant 
suspension  from  Church  membership. 

In  all  conscience  there  is  enough  that  is  evil  in 
humanity,  both  white  and  coloured,  to  make  the  decalogue 
sufficiently  hard  of  attainment,  without  human  agencies 
arbitrarily  introducing  non-essentials  which  make  it 
grievous  to  be  borne. 


36  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

(c)  "  The  Angel  of  Death  " 

The  wildness  of  the  African  hinterland,  the  frequency 
of  bloody  feuds,  the  ever  present  unhealthiness,  almost 
daily  materializes  the  hand  of  death.  From  the  moment 
the  traveller  touches  the  coast  of  Sierra  Leone,  he  is 
never  far  from  the  tragedy  of  early  and  violent  deaths, 
accounts  of  which  reach  him  at  every  port. 

The  native's  fear  of  death  is  immortalized  in  his 
many  boat  songs,  his  legends  and  traditions,  as  well  as  in 
those  elaborate  systems  of  fetishism  which  are  used  to 
ward  off  the  imaginary  proximity  of  Death's  angel. 

This  was  the  feature  of  African  life  which  so  impressed 
Du  Chaillu  on  his  first  visit  to  West  Africa.  "  Are  you 
ready  for  death?"  he  sometimes  asked  the  natives. 
"  No,"  would  be  the  hasty  reply,  "  never  speak  of  that," 
and  then,  says  Du  Chaillu,  "  a  dark  cloud  settled  on  the 
poor  fellow's  face ;  in  his  sleep  that  night  he  had 
horrid  dreams,  and  for  a  few  days  he  was  suspicious 
of  all  about  him,  fearing  for  his  poor  life  lest  it  should 
be  attacked  by  a  wizard." 

Cursing  in  West  Africa,  which  almost  invariably 
takes  the  form  of  invoking  death  upon  some  relative, 
is  one  of  the  most  frequent  causes  of  trouble.  A  curse 
hurled  at  himself,  the  African  merely  resents,  and  returns 
the  compliment,  but  let  a  man  invoke  death  upon 
another's  mother  or  sister,  and  the  dagger  leaps  instantly 
from  its  scabbard,  or  the  spear  goes  hurtling  through  the 
air  with  deadly  precision. 

"  May  you  die  "  is  the  most  common  form  of  cursing, 
which  brings  the  sharp  retort,   "  And  you  also."     The 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  AFRICAN     37 

curses,  **  May  the  leopard  catch  your  mother,"  "  May 
the  crocodile  eat  your  sister,"  call  forth  instant  battle. 
The  explanation  of  this  strong  resentment  and  intensity  of 
feeling  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  African  firmly  believes 
that  when  a  curse  is  pronounced  the  unfortunate  person 
is  thereby  accursed. 

No  man  ever  goes  on  a  journey,  no  matter  how  short, 
without  a  string  of  charms  about  his  neck,  to  ward  off 
the  grim  form  of  death,  which  he  believes  lurks  in  every 
forest,  along  every  river,  in  every  home.  There  is  one 
charm  to  protect  from  violent  death  through  wild  animals, 
there  is  one  to  protect  from  death  at  the  hands  of 
strangers,  but  chiefest  of  all  is  that  little  charm  stuffed 
away  in  the  ram's  horn,  which  is  a  perfect  safeguard 
against  the  death  curse  of  strangers  whom  the  traveller 
may  meet  when  on  his  way  from  village  to  village. 

The  traveller  cannot  escape  the  sorrow  and  despair 
of  death  which  surely  is  nowhere  so  marked  as  at  the 
death  of  the  African.  For  days,  maybe,  the  sufferer 
has  lain  without  any  perceptible  change,  either  for  better 
or  worse  ;  then,  perhaps,  the  watcher  observes  a  sign 
which  shews  that  the  end  is  not  far  off,  and  the  word  goes 
round  the  village  that  Bomolo  cannot  live  long. 

Silently,  one  after  another,  the  relatives  creep  into 
the  hut  and  sit  upon  cooking  pots,  mats,  stools  and 
logs  of  wood,  until  the  hut  is  filled  with  men  and  women 
knit  together  with  a  common  sorrow.  The  strong  man 
they  have  remembered  in  the  sylvan  chase,  the  keen 
fisherman,  or  possibly  the  courageous  warrior  they  have 
known  and  admired,  and  in  their  beautiful  simplicity 
loved,  is  stretched  upon  the  hard  bamboo  bed  which  his 


38  DAWN    IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

busy  hands  had  made.  The  watchers  can  see  that  it  is 
only  a  matter  of  hours  and  the  general  weeping  is  at  first 
silent,  occasionally  ceasing  when  the  sick  one  speaks 
or  calls  for  something.  The  nearer  relatives  rub  and 
bathe  the  limbs  which  begin  to  chill  ;  one  or  two 
affectionately  hold  a  foot,  a  hand,  or  a  finger ;  the 
favourite  wife,  as  her  right  and  duty,  tenderly  nurses 
the  head. 

In  proportion  as  the  weakness  increases,  the  crying 
becomes  more  audible  ;  then  louder  still  the  women  cry, 
invoking  all  the  spirits  of  the  other  world  to  surrender 
their  grip  and  restore  to  life  and  vigour  their  beloved 
tribesman.  Some  momentarily  cease  crying  and  call  to 
Bomolo  to  "  speak  words  of  farewell,"  and  the  fact  that 
the  dying  man  is  unable  to  reply  is  a  signal  for  louder 
wailing  still.  At  last  comes  the  dreadful  moment  when 
their  friend  ceases  to  breathe.  For  the  space  of  a  few 
seconds,  a  breathless  and  awful  silence  prevails,  whilst 
brother  and  wife  listen  to  the  heart  beat ;  then,  with  a 
terrible  shriek  which  rends  the  air,  the  wife  cries,  "  He 
is  gone  !  " 

Words  fail  to  describe  this  scene  !  How  can  the  pen 
adequately  portray  the  bursting  of  the  pent-up  misery  of 
these  scores  of  relatives  as,  in  their  agony,  they  twist 
and  writhe  in  the  dust.  Wildly  despairing,  they  grasp 
in  frenzy  the  corpse  or  the  bed,  and  then  releasing  their 
hold,  they  throw  up  their  arms  and  again  roll  in  the  dust, 
not  infrequently  into  the  log  fire  which  smoulders  on  the 
floor  of  the  hut,  scattering  the  embers  amongst  the 
tumbling  and  twisting  mass  of  wailing  humanity.  What 
matter  those  burning  scars  ? — the  frenzy  of  a  terrible 


THE    WITCH. 


PA 


f 


SLAVE    GRAVEYARD    ON    THE    ISLAND    OF    SAN    THO.ML. 


THE   DEATH   OF   THE   AFRICAN  39 

sorrow  consumes  reason  and  chases  into  oblivion  the 
pains  of  cut,  bruised,  scalded  and  burnt  bodies. 

An  hour  later,  the  storm  having  spent  its  fury,  the 
body  is  washed  and  prepared  for  the  grave,  but  the 
wailing  still  goes  on  rising  and  falling  in  a  monotonous 
cadence  like  the  moan  of  a  dying  gale  at  sea.  There  is 
no  escape  from  that  never-ceasing  death  wail  until  the 
body  is  buried,  which,  in  most  villages,  is  generally 
within  forty-eight  hours.  Then  the  tide  of  weeping 
turns.  A  reaction  sets  in  and  the  weird  dancing  to  drive 
away  the  evil  spirits  continues  throughout  the  night, 
until  mourners  and  relatives  revive  sufficiently  for  the 
task  of  partitioning  the  wives  and  other  worldly  goods  of 
the  deceased. 

The  death  customs  differ  with  almost  every  tribe. 
In  the  watershed  of  the  Lopori,  Aruwimi  and  Maringa 
rivers  of  the  Congo  towards  the  Egyptian  and  Uganda 
borders,  the  corpse  is  frequently  hung  for  weeks  over  a 
fire  and  thoroughly  smoke  dried.  A  similar  custom 
prevails  in  certain  parts  of  the  middle  and  lower  Congo. 
The  corpse,  however,  is  dressed  in  the  best  clothes  and 
placed  for  a  day  or  two  in  a  life-like  sitting  posture — a 
gruesome  and  unnerving  sight  for  the  passing  European. 
A  hut  in  which  a  traveller  was  resting  on  his  journey  was 
seen  to  have  suspended  from  the  roof  a  deep  wicker  basket, 
from  which  a  dark  round  object  protruded.  This,  on 
inquiry,  he  found  to  be  the  head  of  a  child  whose  body, 
after  being  smoke-dried,  was  hung  there  by  the  mother 
that  she  might  look  upon  the  features  of  her  cherished 
infant.  Amongst  the  Bakwala  tribe,  the  custom  pre- 
vails of  smoking  the  body  of  a  deceased  wife  who  may  be 


40  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

the  daughter  of  a  distant  tribe,  in  order  that  she  may  be 
sent  home  and  find  burial  amongst  her  own  people. 

Some  of  the  Bakuba  tribes  on  the  Kasai,  before  life 
is  actually  extinct,  seize  the  body,  bundle  it  uncere- 
moniously out  of  the  hut,  and  then  raising  it  shoulder 
high  rush  off  to  a  distant  and  unoccupied  hut  that  the 
spirit  may  there  take  flight,  and  not  from  the  home  which 
they  believe  the  spirit  would  henceforward  haunt.  It  is 
there  prepared  for  burial,  the  whole  village  meanwhile 
gathering  at  the  house  of  the  deceased  to  take  part  in 
the  general  wailing. 

(d)  Peace  and  Arbitration 

Most  African  tribes  set  the  civilized  world  an  example  in 
their  unwritten  methods  of  preventing  war,  or,  after  war 
has  been  declared,  of  bringing  it  to  an  earl}^  termination. 
If  it  were  possible  to  exile  the  Foreign  Ministers  of  the 
Great  Powers  of  Europe  to  the  hinterland  of  their  respec- 
tive colonies — Sir  Edward  Grey  to  remote  Barotseland, 
Baron  von  Kilderlen  Waechter  to  the  Sanga  in  German 
Cameroons,  and  Monsieur  De  Selves  to  the  Ubangi — where 
they  could  divide  their  time  between  fishing  and  study- 
ing the  peace  principles  of  barbarous  tribes,  I  have  little 
doubt  they  would  return  to  civilization  with  more  practical 
ideas  upon  peace  than  they  will  ever  learn  in  the  despatch 
encrusted  offices  of  London,  Berlin  and  Paris. 

The  African  detests  war  and  will  make  great  sacrifices 
to  prevent  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  .  The  two  principal 
causes  of  war  are  (i)  land  ;  (2)  wives.  Slave  raiding 
does  not  belong  to  the  African  ;  the  Arab  imported  it. 
Before  war  breaks  out  there  is  first  the  "  palaver,"  which 


B*^ 


THE    WITCH    DOCTOR    WITH    HIS    CHARMS    FOR    EVERY    ILL. 


THE   "PALAVER"  41 

may  last  many  days  or  weeks.  In  palaver  the  debates 
differ  but  little  from  the  parliaments  of  the  world,  except 
perhaps  that  custom  keeps  womanhood  out  of  general 
debates,  although  where  the  particular  interests  of  women 
are  concerned,  I  have  seen  them  throw  themselves  into 
the  debates  in  a  manner  no  whit  less  collected  and 
impressive  than  the  men. 

The  African  revels  in  debate,  and  possibly  this 
accounts  to  some  extent  for  the  admitted  passion  for 
litigation  which  now  animates  the  civilized  centres  of  the 
African  colonies.  The  orators  of  the  primitive  tribes 
are  no  less  masters  of  the  art  than  their  eloquent  compeers 
at  Lagos  and  Freetown.  I  was  once  asked  to  visit  a 
first-class  palaver  and  found  a  huge  semi-circle  of  people 
closely  massed  together.  Soon  after  my  arrival  the 
chief  took  his  seat  and  one  could  almost  hear  the  police- 
men of  St.  Stephen's  calling  out,  "  Speaker  in  the  chair  !  " 
for  a  similar  signal  was  given  for  the  palaver  to 
commence. 

The  chief,  surrounded  by  his  advisers,  called  upon  the 
speakers  in  turn  ;  first  to  the  right,  then  to  the  left,  so 
that  all  sides  might  be  heard.  The  "  palaver "  had 
commenced  about  nine  o'clock,  and  at  mid-day  sun  only 
four  speakers  had  been  heard.  The  fifth,  who  was  an 
orator  of  some  repute,  rose  from  his  stool  where  he  had 
been  reclining,  drank  from  the  calabash  of  water  handed 
him  by  his  wife,  and  then  adjusting  his  loin  cloth  and 
picking  up  his  notes — a  bundle  of  twigs  as  remembrancers 
of  the  various  points — he  stepped  forward.  With  an 
air  of  complete  mastery  of  his  facts,  he  sped  on  quietly 
for  the  first  quarter  of  an  hour  ;    at  the  close  of  every 


42  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

period  he  turned  to  his  supporters  for  approving  applause, 
which  was  given  in  a  chorus  of  assenting  "  Oh's."  From 
calm  and  reasoned  recital  of  facts,  he  then  passed  on  to 
his  deductions,  and  for  another  quarter  of  an  hour  he 
drove  his  points  home  amid  the  now  increasing  interest 
and  applause  of  his  own  side  and  the  derisive  laughter  of 
the  opposition. 

At  the  end  of  half  an  hour,  excitement  was  beginning 
to  run  high.  The  orator  now  threw  himself  into  a  final 
effort ;  gathering  up  his  facts  and  deductions,  he  charged 
the  other  side  with  every  species  of  deception  and  fraud, 
and  as  he  did  so  he  danced  to  and  fro  with  his  body 
bathed  in  perspiration.  Every  sentence  now  was  punctu- 
ated by  the  almost  frenzied  applause  of  his  supporters. 
In  his  concluding  sentences  he  made  a  fervid  appeal  for 
justice,  all  the  while  moving  backward  towards  his 
expectant  friends  and  wives.  He  uttered  his  concluding 
sentence  with  arms  waving  aloft  and  then  swooned  into 
the  arms  of  half  a  dozen  wives  who  emptied  their  cala- 
bashes over  that  quivering  perspiring  body.  This  man 
had  never  read  the  trial  of  Warren  Hastings,  but  I  could 
not  help  recalling  Sheridan  as  the  African  orator  lay  there 
apparently  in  a  dead  swoon — I  knew  of  course  that  he 
was  inwardly  rejoicing  in  his  great  feat  and  in  the  applause 
which  awoke  the  echo  and  re-echo  in  the  great  forests 
immediately  behind  us. 

If  this  "  full  dress  "  palaver  fails  to  secure  an  amicable 
settlement,  the  tribes  in  the  Congo  basin  do  not  abandon 
their  efforts.  They  surround  the  villages  with  sentinels 
and  adopt  various  defensive  measures,  but  before  hostilities 
actually  begin,  they  select  a  sort  of  "  daysman,"  who,  to 


PEACE   CONFERENCE  43 

act  in  this  capacity,  must  be  of  peculiar  relationship 
to  both  tribes  ;  that  is  to  say  he  must  be  able  to  claim 
parentage  in  both  dissentient  communities. 

The  daysman  goes  forth  wearing  a  fringed  and  par- 
tially dried  plantain  leaf  sash  thrown  over  the  shoulder 
so  that  the  sentinels  of  both  tribes  immediately  recognize 
him  and  his  sacred  office.  It  is  very  seldom  this  arbi- 
trator fails  to  secure  a  peaceful  termination  of  the  dispute. 
If  he  does  fail  and  hostilities  break  out  causing  loss  of 
life,  he  immediately  renews  his  efforts  ;  indeed  he  never 
ceases  that  constant  passing  to  and  fro  on  his  errand  of 
peace  and  goodwill. 

The  proposal  to  sheathe  the  sword,  or,  more  accurately, 
to  unstring  the  bows  and  cleanse  the  poisoned  arrow 
heads,  is  followed  by  another  palaver.  It  was  once  my 
good  fortune  to  be  invited  to  act  as  arbitrator  at  one  of 
these  interesting  proceedings. 

The  drums  in  all  the  surrounding  country  were  beaten 
at  cockcrow  and  immediately  the  two  tribes,  under  their 
respective  chiefs  and  headmen,  began  marching  towards 
the  rendezvous — a  clearing  in  the  forest  outside  the  village 
at  which  we  were  staying. 

I  was  rather  alarmed  at  the  fact  that  though  this 
was  a  peace  conference,  every  member  of  that  great 
concourse  carried  not  only  spears,  but  bows  and  arrows, 
and  I  knew  that  the  slightest  indiscretion  would  precipi- 
tate a  bloody  fight. 

All  the  old  history  was  retailed  again  through  that 
long  and  burning  hot  day.  Once  or  twice  a  speaker 
raised  the  devil  in  his  opponents  ;  spears  were  gripped 
and  arrows  snatched  from  their  quivers,  but  at  last  better 


44  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

counsels  prevailed  and  terms  were  agreed  upon.  The 
question  at  issue  was  a  boundary  dispute,  but  lives  had 
been  lost  and  prisoners  taken  on  both  sides.  The 
boundary  was  readjusted  to  the  apparent  satisfaction 
of  both  parties,  prisoners  exchanged  and  compensation 
paid  for  the  killed  on  either  side — this  latter  surely  an 
advance  on  **  civilized  "  terms  of  peace  by  the  way  ! 

The  ceremony  of  "  signing  the  peace  "  is  not  the 
least  interesting  part.  First  a  strip  of  leopard  skin  was 
secured  and  then  a  bunch  of  palm  nuts.  The  skin  was 
pinned  to  the  ground  by  a  dagger,  and  each  chief  and 
headman  followed  me  in  driving  the  dagger  deeper  into 
the  earth.  When  it  was  firmly  fixed  the  leopard  skin 
was  drawn  first  one  way,  then  the  other,  until  it  had  been 
completely  severed.  A  half  was  given  to  a  young  chief- 
tain of  each  tribe,  and  they  were  instructed  to  "  haste 
to  the  river,  young  men,  throw  the  separated  skins  upon 
the  waters  that  all  men  may  know  the  quarrel  is  now 
cut  in  pieces  {i.e.,  is  destroyed)."  This  done,  the  bunch 
of  palm  nuts  was  taken  and  a  spear  from  each  party 
driven  into  the  head  of  nuts.  Two  more  men  were 
selected,  again  from  each  tribe,  and  instructed  to  "  Carry 
that  head  of  nuts  carefully,  young  men,  throw  them  into 
the  river  that  all  men  may  know  that  our  spear  heads 
are  buried,  that  fighting  is  over  and  peace  made  for  ever 
and  for  ever." 

In  this  exceptional  case  the  "  for  ever  and  for  ever  " 
only  lasted  three  months  !  but  in  the  great  majority  of 
such  cases  peace  though  threatened  is  maintained  for 
many  a  year. 


V 

THE  NATIVE  AS  A  MONEY  MAKER 

If  the  African  woman  is  a  prudent  banker,  the  man  is  the 
money  maker.  The  range  of  remmieration  they  receive  for 
their  labour  is  no  less  divergent  than  one  finds  in  Europe. 
The  Sierra  Leone  native  will  obligingly  row  you  ashore 
to  Freetown  in  fifteen  minutes  *'  for  two  bob,  Sah  "  ;  but 
his  brother  paddler  on  the  Chiloango,  or  the  Congo,  will 
paddle  for  you  throughout  a  week  for  5^.  a  day,  coupled 
with  a  plump  bat  or  the  leg  of  a  monkey  by  way  of  rations. 

There  is  one  form  of  money  making  which  is  fastening 
its  fell  grip  ever  more  firmly  upon  the  middle-class  African 
— money  lending.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  deal  with 
this  question  in  West  Africa  by  legislation,  but  a  good  deal 
can  be  accomplished  in  various  directions  by  a  watchful 
administration.  One  case  brought  to  my  notice  was  that 
of  a  cook  who  was  compelled  to  pay  £2  los.  interest  on  a 
loan  of  £4  for  six  months.  Another  one  was  that  of  a 
teacher  who  required  a  loan  of  £6,  for  which  he  had  to 
pay  I2S.  per  month  interest.  I  was  also  assured  that 
frequently  los.  a  month  interest  is  exacted  for  small  loans 
of  £1.  In  some  parts  of  the  Gold  Coast  borrowers  find 
themselves  in  such  straits  that  they  are  often  compelled  to 
pawn  their  children. 

The  wages  of  agricultural  labourers  vary  very  con- 
siderably.    In  Southern  Nigeria  labourers  working  for 


46  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

native  employers  receive  from  15s.  to  20s.  per  month. 
The  contracted  labourers  on  the  islands  of  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea — ^that  is  Fernando  Po,  San  Thome  and  Principe — 
are  all  "  contracted  "  at  paper  wages,  varying  from  los. 
to  15s.  per  month,  but  neither  under  the  Spanish  or 
Portuguese  Administrations  do  they  receive  more  than 
half  their  pay  when  it  is  due,  the  other  half  being  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Curador.  In  German  Cameroons 
the  wage  is  seldom  more  than  los.  a  month,  and  more 
often  the  labourers  only  receive  8s.  In  the  hinterland 
of  Belgian  and  French  Congo,  the  unskilled  labourer 
receives  from  6s.  to  8s.  per  month.  All  these  wages  are 
exclusive  of  board  and  lodging,  but  generally  a  certain 
amount  of  clothing  is  supplied  freely.  In  many  parts 
of  the  various  colonies,  however,  stores  are  opened  by  the 
plantation  owners  to  tempt  the  labourer  into  purchasing 
goods  which  usually  carry  a  respectable  profit. 

The  hardest  work  and  the  poorest  pay  falls  to  the 
carrier  ;  that  patient  burden  bearer  rarely  gets,  in  any 
part  of  Africa,  more  than  about  gd.  per  day  for  his  heavy 
task.  The  Upper  Congo  was  thrown  open  to  the  advance 
forces  of  civilization  by  a  continuous  stream  of  carriers, 
who  occupied  from  a  fortnight  to  three  weeks  reaching 
Stanley  Pool  from  Matadi,  a  journey  for  which  they 
seldom  received  more  than  a  sovereign  a  load.  "  Big 
money,"  however,  is  earned  by  the  cocoa  carriers  of  the 
Gold  Coast,  but  the  conditions  are  entirely  abnormal. 
The  cocoa  carrying  enterprise  as  at  present  organized 
cannot  be  other  than  a  temporary  expedient  and  the 
general  army  of  African  carriers  will  have  to  be  content 
with  a  wage  varying  from  4s.  6d.  to  ys.  a  week. 


WAGES  AND   WIVES  47 

The  African  is  by  nature  a  trader,  and  no  more 
honest  than  many  Europeans  in  his  business  transactions, 
and  on  the  whole  I  am  afraid  less  honest  than  the  reput- 
able business  houses  of  West  Africa.  It  is  only  fair  to 
say  that  the  native  merchants  trained  under  the  rigid 
standard  of  European  firms — particularly  the  Basel 
Mission  of  the  Gold  Coast — maintain  a  standard  of 
honest  trading  which  does  credit  to  the  firms  under  which 
they  received  their  commercial  education. 

The  ambition  of  most  young  men  on  the  Upper  Congo 
is  focussed  upon  wives.  Without  earthly  possessions, 
their  only  hope  of  matrimonial  bliss  is  in  the  death  of  a 
relative  from  whom  they  may  "  inherit  "  a  partner,  if 
there  is  a  disparity  in  age  an  "  exchange  "  is  always 
possible,  subject,  of  course,  to  an  additional  dowry. 
But  this  chance  is  remote  and  the  waiting  time  is  always 
long,  tedious,  and  full  of  social  complications.  One  day 
a  young  man  in  the  Congo  endowed  with  more  than  the 
usual  share  of  courage  and  trading  instinct,  hit  upon  a 
plan  which  has  for  years  found  increasing  favour.  The 
captains  of  steamers  could  only  with  difficulty  work  their 
boats  up  and  down  that  2000  miles  of  waterway  between 
Stanley  Pool  and  the  great  tributaries  of  the  Upper 
Congo,  for  lack  of  wood  fuel  from  the  forests.  Here,  then, 
was  the  chance  for  the  enterprising  native.  He  bargained 
with  the  white  man  upon  the  following  basis.  To  travel 
with  him  to  Stanley  Pool  and  back  again,  a  journey 
occupying  four  weeks,  to  cut  a  square  yard  of  wood  every 
night  on  the  journey,  and  to  be  allowed  to  sleep  during 
the  day.  The  wages  for  this  enterprise  to  be  ten  francs 
payable  at  Stanley  Pool,  and  the  free  transport  back 


48  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

again  of  one  bag  of  salt  and  one  box  of  sundries.  This 
suggestion,  sound  in  its  common-sense,  giving  the  white 
man  fuel  without  trouble,  was  promptly  agreed  upon, 
and  with  ten  others  on  the  same  terms  the  contract  was 
confirmed.  The  white  man  went  to  his  bunk  that  night, 
happy  in  the  thought  that  for  one  journey  at  least  he 
would  be  saved  the  eternal  *'  wooding  palaver."  The 
native  youths,  too,  went  to  sleep,  and  possibly  dreamed 
of  the  wedded  bliss  which  was  now  so  unexpectedly 
within  sight. 

Four  weeks  later  the  "  Stern  Wheeler  "  returned  and 
put  the  respective  wood  cutters  ashore  at  their  different 
villages,  each  with  a  bag  of  salt  and  a  few  sundries  pur- 
chased at  Stanley  Pool  with  the  lo  francs.  The  eyes  of 
certain  comely  young  African  women  shone  brightly  that 
night  as  they  heard  of  the  brilliant  enterprise  of  their 
prospective  mates.  A  few  days  later  two  or  three 
parties  in  small  canoes  pushed  away  from  the  banks  and 
started  on  a  ten  days'  journey  up  one  of  the  small 
tributaries  which  abound  everywhere  on  the  Upper  Congo. 
In  each  canoe  were  precious  bags  of  salt  and  a  tiny  spoon 
for  retailing  the  "  white  powder  "  to  distant  tribes.  A 
fortnight  later  family  palavers  were  held  and  a  sufficient 
dowry  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  damsel's  father.  The 
nightly  wood-chopping  enterprise  had  produced  lo 
francs  which  had  in  turn  obtained  a  bag  of  salt,  a  hundred 
common  safety  pins  and  a  cheap  mirror.  The  salt  and 
pins  had  disappeared  and  there  lay  on  the  ground  in  their 
place  the  coveted  dowry  of  £2  sterling  in  native  money 
for  the  father,  and  a  mirror  for  the  mother  of  the 
native  bride   who   now   gladly  joined  her  husband   for 


AGRICULTURAL  WAGES  49 

better    or    for  worse.     There    is    your   African    trading 
instinct ! 

Since  that  day  many  a  young  man  has  followed  that 
example,  but  with  competition  dowries  have  risen  and  the 
value  of  European  produce  fallen.  Nevertheless,  to-day, 
many  a  native  on  the  Congo  waterways  is  cutting  firewood 
to  and  from  the  ports  in  the  hope  of  raising  the  where- 
withal to  obtain  his  heart's  desire. 

It  is  said  of  the  Indian  coolie  that  anywhere  he  will 
make  two  blades  grow  to  the  one  blade  the  white  man  can 
produce.  In  this  respect  the  African  follows  hard  on  the 
heels  of  his  Indian  rival.  The  white  man  will  often 
select  what  seems  a  most  promising  piece  of  land,  but  for 
some  reason  his  crops  fail.  The  native  will  choose  a 
little  out-of-the-way  patch  and  cultivate  it  in  a  style 
which  calls  forth  a  pitying,  almost  contemptuous  smile 
from  the  white,  but  somehow  that  native  has  struck 
fertiUty  and  his  crops  flourish  amazingly. 

In  Southern  Nigeria  I  met  several  successful  native 
farmers,  who  seem  in  some  respects  to  outdo  their  friends 
in  the  neighbouring  colony  of  the  Gold  Coast.  One  of 
these  had  some  years  ago  bought  200  acres  of  land  at  4s. 
per  acre,  and  soon  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  obtained 
a  very  fertile  patch  and  he  was  offered  no  less  than  £5 
an  acre  and  his  crops  at  valuation,  but  Mr.  X.  has  a  keen 
business  head  upon  his  shoulders  and  finds  it  more  profit- 
able to  cultivate  cocoa,  palm  nuts  and  rubber  than  to 
sell  his  land  even  at  an  enhanced  price.  Every  time  he 
makes  a  few  pounds  he  extends  his  plantation,  "pulls 
down  his  barns  and  builds  greater."  This  man  has  now 
a  turnover  of  nearly  £20,000  a  year. 

E 


50  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

There  are  scattered  all  down  the  coast  in  British 
colonies  native  traders  pressing  on  to  positions  of  dominat- 
ing influence.  These  men  can  handle  cargoes  of  four  figures 
and  pay  at  an  hour's  notice.  They  receive  regular  cable 
information  of  the  prices  of  different  commodities  on  the 
European  market,  and  several  of  them  have ,  branches 
which  connect  by  telephone.  Most  of  them  conduct 
their  business  on  modern  principles  with  typists,  cashiers, 
messenger  boys  and  so  forth.  Not  a  few  of  them  are 
frequently  in  a  financial  position  to  strike  a  bargain  and 
settle  a  transaction  before  the  European  firm  can  get  a 
cable  reply  from  the  home  directors.  They  are  up-to- 
date  traders  in  being  able  to  supply  anything  which  may 
be  demanded  of  them,  or  if  not  in  stock  they  will  promise 
it — and  keep  the  promise — on  a  given  day.  If  an  order 
is  specially  urgent  and  has  to  come  from  Europe,  a 
messenger  will  meet  the  ship,  take  off  the  package  and 
deliver  it  to  the  client  within  an  hour  or  two  of  the  ship's 
arrival.  One  of  the  most  interesting  transactions  I 
know  of  occurred  in  a  certain  British  colony.  A  chief, 
for  some  reason,  was  in  great  need  of  a  large  elephant's 
tusk,  and  after  fruitless  endeavours  to  obtain  one,  a  native 
trader  relieved  the  old  man's  anxiety  by  offering  to  deliver 
a  tusk  the  required  size,  to  cost  about  £80,  within  a 
month.  Promptly  to  time  the  tusk  was  delivered — 
the  cute  trader  had  cabled  to  Europe  for  it  !  "  Holts," 
"  Millers,"  and  other  all-wise  competitors  in  that  town 
knew  how  imperative  it  was  that  this  old  chief  should 
have  a  big  tusk,  and  I  was  told  they  tried  their  "  up 
country  "  stores,  but  it  never  occurred  to  them  to 
order  from  Europe.     There  again  is  the  African  trading 


A    NATIVE    PLANTER    IN    HIS    FL'NTUMIA    PLANTATION. 
SOUTHERN    NIGERIA. 


RUBBER    COLLECTORS,    KASAI    RIVER,    UPPER    CONGO. 


THE   KEEN   TRADER  51 

instinct,  which  put  a  clear  £10  note  in  the  trader's 
pocket  ! 

The  legal  profession  is  beyond  question  the  most 
lucrative  in  West  Africa,  but  this  does  not  obtain  in 
Africa  alone.  The  mass  of  the  people  have  not  yet 
learned  to  settle  their  troubles  without  the  aid  of  the 
legal  community.  The  fees  paid  to  the  coast  barristers 
are  surprising.  I  was  informed  that  in  one  colony  more 
than  one  native  barrister  has  an  income  of  close  on  five 
figures.  I  had  no  reliable  evidence  upon  this  and  should 
think  it  an  exaggeration,  but  the  style  in  which  the 
coast  barrister  lives  and  moves  must  certainly  require  a 
substantial  income.  Certain  it  is  too  that  none  are  more 
generous  with  their  money. 

Unlike  the  medical  profession,  no  colour  bar  stands 
between  the  barrister  and  the  free  exercise  of  his  ability. 
Surely  the  position  of  these  medical  men  calls  loudly  for 
redress,  the  profession  which,  above  all  others,  is  needed 
in  the  fever-haunted  colonies  of  Africa,  yet  between  the 
increase  of  these  men  and  the  countless  sufferers  there 
is  firmly  fixed  the  detestable  colour  bar  of  prejudice. 

Though  the  native  has  not  yet  become  convinced  of 
the  safety  of  banking,  the  sums  placed  by  them  on  deposit 
in  the  three  British  colonies — Sierra  Leone,  the  Gold 
Coast  and  Nigeria,  are  nearly  £80,000. 

When  we  reflect  upon  these  natives  rising  to  positions 
of  greater  power  and  influence  in  British  colonies,  and 
when  we  are  prone  to  criticize  British  administrations,  it 
will  not  hurt  any  of  us,  either  native  or  European,  to 
remember  that  less  than  a  century  ago  these  centres  were 
amongst  the  principal  slave  markets  of  the  world. 


VI 

THE  AFRICAN  WOMAN 

There  is  assuredly  no  country  whose  women  are  more 
interesting  than  those  of  Central  Africa,  Certainly 
there  can  be  no  place  on  the  habitable  globe  where  women 
are  so  continuously  industrious.  Amongst  African 
women  there  are  no  unemployed  and  no  unemployables. 
In  all  the  hinterland,  the  women  are  the  agriculturists. 
In  the  early  morning,  often  before  sunrise,  they  file 
out  of  the  village  to  their  plots,  perhaps  a  mile  away 
from  the  town,  where  there  is  always  something  to  do  ; 
weeding  and  planting  being  almost  an  integral  part  of 
the  daily  routine.  When  the  gardens  have  received 
attention,  meals  must  be  considered  and  the  woman 
proceeds  to  dig  up  the  manioca  tubers,  but  only  to  bury 
them  beneath  the  water  in  some  forest  stream  or  pool  to 
extract  the  injurious  element.  In  a  few  days  hence  the 
load  of  sodden  tubers  will  be  ready  for  the  native  culinary 
art. 

Ten  minutes  in  the  forest  and  the  woman  has  gathered 
the  fuel  required  for  her  cooking ;  then  loading  her  basket 
with  the  manioca  left  to  soak  six  days  before,  she  places 
a  layer  of  leaves  between  it  and  the  firewood,  and  shoulders 
her  burden.  She  steps  out  brightly  for  home,  in  company 
with  perhaps  another  twenty  matrons. 


DAILY   BREAD  53 

It  is  not  every  day  that  she  is  able  to  finish  by 
noon,  for  in  the  planting  season  the  gardens  demand  her 
labour  for  whole  days  at  a  stretch.  Some  weeks  before 
the  husband  has  perhaps  started  a  new  field  by  cutting 
down  at  immense  labour  hundreds  of  trees,  which  lie 
there  scattered  in  all  directions  till  the  tropical  sun 
dries  up  the  leaves  and  smaller  branches.  Then  a  torch 
at  one  end  of  the  clearing  starts  the  whole  area  in  a 
blaze. 

It  is  at  this  stage  that  the  wife  comes  along  with  her 
seeds  and  cuttings,  digging  little  mounds  all  over  the 
area  and  raising  the  soil  by  heaping  upon  it  the  cinders, 
dead  leaves  and  ash,  which  provide  the  only  manure 
these  primitive  folk  possess.  Between  the  rows  of 
manioca  she  may  plant  gourds,  Indian  corn  and  ground 
nuts,  and  thus  secure  a  general  crop  all  over  her  culti- 
vated field. 

From  Sierra  Leone  right  away  to  the  north  bank  of 
the  Kasai,  these  domestic  crops  vary  but  little,  but  on 
arriving  at  the  southern  bank  of  the  Kasai,  the  change 
becomes  very  marked,  for  the  extensive  fields  of  manioca 
and  cassava  give  way  to  mealies  as  the  staple  food. 

The  field  is  the  first  charge,  so  to  speak,  upon  the 
time  of  the  African  woman,  but  to  her  belongs  also  the 
major  responsibility  for  providing  the  daily  meals.  The 
primitive  African  is  almost  a  vegetarian,  though  he 
dearly  loves  meat.  Trapping  edible  fish  is  by  no  means 
frequent,  and  the  wife,  knowing  with  her  civilized  sister 
how  important  it  is  to  feed  the  man,  will  often  snatch  an 
hour  or  two  from  her  busy  life  and  run  to  the  nearest 
stream   and   catch   some    "  small   fr}^"    with   which    to 


54  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

make  savoury  the  evening  meal  of  cassava  and  pottage. 
In  season  she  will  hunt  through  the  forests  for  the  cater- 
pillars which  abound  on  certain  trees  and  which  by 
some  tribes  are  regarded  as  great  delicacies,  particularly 
those  tribes  inhabiting  French  and  Belgian  Congo  and 
the  Cameroons.  The  Gold  Coast  people  substitute  large 
snails,  of  which  they  appear  inordinately  fond. 

There  are  four  principal  dishes  which,  with  slight 
variations,  prevail  throughout  Western  Africa  : — 

1.  There  is  the  staple  food  of  manioca,  which  is 
sometimes  boiled  and  pounded  into  puddings,  resembling 
a  lump  of  glazier's  putty.  Cassava  or  sweet  manioca  is 
never  soaked,  but  cooked  fresh  from  the  ground  and  is 
much  liked  by  Europeans. 

2.  The  plantain,  which  is  prepared  in  many  forms  by 
roasting,  baking,  frying  and  boiling. 

3.  There  is  pottage,  the  body  of  which  is  composed  of 
pounded  leaves  from  the  manioca  plant,  closely  resem- 
bling spinach.  In  most  parts  of  the  tropics,  green 
Indian  corn  is  introduced  freely  into  this  dish. 

4.  There  is  the  palm  oil  chop,  which,  as  I  have  shewn 
in  another  part  of  this  book,  is  not  a  "  chop  "  at  all,  but 
anything  from  a  caterpillar  or  a  beetle  to  the  leg  of  a 
dog  or  buffalo. 

Perhaps  next  in  importance  to  the  position  of  agri- 
culturist is  that  of  cook.  Give  the  African  woman  a 
clay  pot,  a  pestle  and  mortar  and  a  few  leaves,  and  she 
will  produce  in  quick  time  a  meal  which  even  a  European 
can  relish.  She  is  a  trifle  too  fond  of  chili  peppers  and 
palm  oil  for  a  sensitive  palate  and  fully  believes  that  a 
fair  proportion  of  earth  and  other  etceteras  add  to  the 


^r 


^i 


'-.-.  ■'!"/ 


^.r^. 


i^*f 


Q 


THE  WOMAN   IN   THE   HOME  55 

flavour  and  digestibility.  Her  husband,  with  a  natural 
weakness  for  chili  peppers  and  oil,  and  himself  not  averse 
to  "  foreign  bodies  "  in  his  food,  readily  consumes  nearly 
two  pounds  of  prepared  manioca  and  pottage  at  a  single 
meal. 

With  cockcrow,  the  woman  rises,  steps  outside  the 
hut  and  in  lieu  of  washing  herself,  yawns  two  or.  three 
times,  then  stretches  herself  in  several  directions,  and  is 
ready  for  the  day's  work.  She  will  first  sweep  her  hut, 
open  the  chicken-house,  pluck  a  few  dew-covered  leaves 
to  wipe  over  the  faces  of  the  children,  and  then  pick  up 
her  basket  and  set  out  for  the  gardens.  Returning,  she 
will  pull  the  fire  logs  together  and  again  shoulder  her 
basket  and  go  off  to  catch  fish,  or  to  hunt  caterpillars. 
Some  of  the  older  wives  may  stay  in  the  village  to  fashion 
clay  cooking-pots,  weave  baskets  and  mats,  or  crack 
palm  kernels. 

About  four  o'clock,  "  when  the  monkeys  in  the  forest 
begin  to  chatter,"  the  women  return  to  their  huts  and 
commence  preparing  for  the  principal  meal  of  the  day. 
Above  the  hum  of  conversation,  the  passing  jest,  or  the 
humorous  repartee,  the  clear  ringing  thud,  thud,  of  pestle 
and  mortar  is  distinctly  heard.  Most  dishes  at  some 
stage  or  the  other  are  pounded.  The  boiled  manioca, 
the  pottage  leaves,  the  palm  nuts,  the  plantains,  all  find 
their  way  to  the  mortar,  and  no  doubt  the  muscular 
physique  of  many  of  the  women  is  largely  the  result  of 
the  perpetual  wielding  of  the  heavy  wooden  pestle. 

The  African  woman  is  at  home  with  any  industry, 
hardly  anything  comes  strange  to  those  deft  fingers  and 
muscular  arms.     The  husband  may  go  on  a  journey  by 


56  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

canoe,  and  his  wife,  or  wives,  will  be  there  paddling 
amidships  and  cooking  the  meals  at  intervals.  The 
husband,  however,  always  takes  the  post  of  danger, 
which  may  be  bow  or  stern,  according  to  the  weather, 
the  current,  or  the  district  through  which  they  may  be 
passing. 

Much  has  been  written,  backed  by  little  knowledge, 
about  the  brutality  of  man  in  making  the  woman  carry 
the  loads  when  on  an  overland  journey.  To  the  un- 
initiated European,  it  may  seem  callous  for  a  strong  able- 
bodied  man  to  walk  in  front  of  a  line  of  women  every  one 
of  whom  is  struggling  along  with  a  50-pound  load  on  her 
back.  But  make  them  change  positions,  force  the  man 
to  take  the  load,  tell  the  women  to  walk  in  front,  and 
before  you  have  gone  many  yards  the  women  will  all 
have  bolted  into  the  bush,  for  the  "  Lord  Protector  " 
under  a  load  is  no  longer  ready  to  shield  them  from  the 
danger  which  lurks  behind  every  tree  and  beneath  almost 
every  leaf  in  the  African  forests.  The  African  knows  his 
business  when  on  a  journey,  and  his  first  duty,  from 
which  no  matter  what  the  odds,  he  never  shrinks,  is  that 
of  protecting  his  family  from  the  ravages  of  wild  animals 
no  less  than  the  violence  of  hostile  tribes.  But  to  do 
this  he  must  be  unencumbered  and  alert. 

The  women  of  West  Africa,  by  reason  of  their  thrifty 
natures,  are  frequently  the  bankers.  To  them  the 
husband  entrusts  the  keeping  of  his  worldly  goods,  and 
right  sacredly  they  guard  anything  placed  in  their  keeping. 
Not  only  are  the  women  trustworthy  bankers,  but  as 
moneymakers  they  are  extremely  keen.  The  finest 
business  woman  it  has  been  my  lot  to  meet  was  a  farmer 


WOMAN   A   MONEYMAKER  57 

woman  of  Abeokuta.  This  old  lady  could  tell  at  sight, 
almost  to  a  penny,  the  value  of  a  pile  of  kernels  without 
weighing  them.  I  fell  to  discussing  with  her  so  technical 
a  question  as  the  possibility  of  cotton  in  Southern  Nigeria, 
and  she  was  adamant  in  her  opinion  upon  this  :  "  Unless 
they  can  guarantee  me  nd.  per  pound  for  unginned  cotton 
and  /\\d.  per  pound  for  the  ginned,  I  would  even  prefer  to 
grow  yams."  I  gathered  that  on  the  whole  she  was  not 
likely  to  become  a  shareholder  in  any  cotton  producing 
company. 

In  the  mart  the  women  excel.  It  may  be  in  the 
streets  of  Accra,  Abeokuta,  Freetown,  or  in  that  finest 
of  all  marts  in  West  Africa — Loanda,  or  again  in  some 
wayside  market  of  a  tributary  river  in  the  far  distant 
hinterland.  Wherever  you  find  the  market,  the  women 
are  in  control  and  right  merrily  goes  the  auction.  The 
din  amounts  to  a  pandemonium,  the  tricks  of  the  trade 
are  to  be  looked  for  in  every  basket  of  fruit  or  pile  of 
vegetables.  The  eggs  are  probably  old  ones,  carefully 
washed  and  possibly  doctored  ;  that  fowl  tied  by  the 
legs  could  not  walk  from  sickness  if  it  were  free.  Billings- 
gate, Smithfield,  Covent  Garden,  rolled  into  one  could 
not  be  at  once  more  entertaining,  more  noisy  and  more 
novel  than  those  African  markets  where  you  may  buy 
almost  everything  you  want,  and  receive  a  great  deal 
gratis  that  is  not  welcome. 

The  African  Wife 
Is  there  any  feature,  social,  political  or  religious  so 
important  in  West  Africa  as  the  wife  and  mother  ?     No 
"  teeming   millions  "    are   to   be   found   in   the   African 


58  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

tropics  and  every  colony  is  crying  out  for  more  native 
workers  as  the  development  of  her  industries  gets  beyond 
the  fringe.  As  a  wife  the  African  woman  is  generally 
but  one  of  a  number.  In  most  coast  towns  to-day  the 
stress  of  modern  competition  has  forced  up  the  cost  of 
living,  which  together  with  the  absorption  of  civilized 
ideas  has  made  monogamy — oftentimes,  alas,  only  surface 
monogamy — the  passport  into  respectable  society.  But 
away  from  the  coast  towns,  though  it  be  only  a  few  miles 
away,  polygamy  is  prevalent  almost  throughout  West 
Africa. 

Christian  converts  profess  an  abhorrence,  and  in 
many  cases  I  am  satisfied  a  sincere  abhorrence,  of  poly- 
gamy, but  the  fact  remains  that  this  causes  more  trouble 
in  the  Christian  Churches  in  West  Africa  than  all  other 
evils  put  together.  In  the  purely  pagan  areas  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  woman  regards  polygamy  as  a  desirable 
condition  ;  she  argues  that  the  position  of  the  husband 
is  gauged  by  his  many  possessions — wives  and  cattle,  and 
that  she  prefers  being  the  wife  of  a  great  man  to  that  of 
some  insignificant  fellow  who  can  afford  to  keep  but 
one  !  Again  she  will  point  out,  and  with  obvious  truth, 
that  if  a  man  possesses  several  wives,  the  burden  of 
agriculture,  of  fishing,  of  kernel-cracking,  and  the  domestic 
duties  spread  over  four,  five  or  more  persons  is  pro- 
portionately lighter  upon  each  individual. 

Into  the  sentiment  of  polygamy  there  is  also  the 
practical  consideration  of  offspring.  No  matter  how 
plain  the  daughters,  no  matter  how  shghtly  cicatrized 
they  may  be,  no  matter  what  imperfections  the  boys 
may  have,  if  they  are  the  children  of  a  much  married  man 


A    CI1KI;-I1AN     luri'Ll'.     RETURNING    FROM    THE 
GARDENS    TOWARDS    SUNSET. 


WEAVING    CLOTH    IN    THE    KASAl,    UPPER    CONGO. 


INHERITED   WIVES  59 

they  are  certain  to  make  "  good  matches,"  The  sons 
may  be  certain  of  securing  the  daughters  of  chiefs  no  less 
famous  than  their  father  ;  if  a  girl,  her  dowry  will  not 
be  her  intrinsic  worth,  but  will  be  gauged  likewise  by 
the  position  and  possessions  of  her  father. 

It  does  not  seem  to  be  generally  recognized  that  there 
is  both  voluntary  polygamy  and  in  a  very  real  sense 
obligatory  polygamy.  A  man  inherits  wives  from  his 
father  or  uncle,  just  as  he  inherits  other  possessions.  In 
most  cases  of  course  he  gladly  accepts  his  inheritance. 
This,  I  know,  is  a  revolting  custom  to  the  European, 
but  to  the  African  not  merely  desirable  but  the 
only  honourable  future  for  his  father's  wives.  His  own 
mother  reigns  as  a  sort  of  dowager  Queen  in  the  house- 
hold and  keeps  order  in  the  harem  of  her  son.  I  have 
often  discussed  this  feature  with  the  women  themselves 
and  find  that  invariably  they  regard  any  other  course 
with  the  utmost  repugnance.  Why,  they  say,  should 
they  suffer  the  disgrace  of  being  passed  on  to  other 
husbands  ;  what  evil  have  they  done  that  their  rightful 
husband  should  disown  them  and  refuse  to  accept  them 
as  his  wives  ?  his  father  loved  and  cherished  them,  and 
why  should  the  son  disgrace  his  father's  name  by  refusing 
to  follow  in  his  steps  ! 

In  one  or  two  cases  Christian  men  have  actually 
put  away  wives  whom  they  have  inherited  in  this  manner, 
but  the  women  concerned  have  always  felt  that  the 
shadow  of  disgrace  has  fallen  upon  them  and  that  they 
are  outcasts  from  the  social  life  of  the  tribe. 

This  custom,  like  most  extreme  polygamous  con- 
comitants,  finds   its   fullest   development   in   the   upper 


6o  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

reaches  of  the  Congo  river,  but  it  is  also  found  practically 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  Congo  basin. 

The  general  attitude  adopted  by  missionaries  in  West 
Africa  is  that  of  rigidly  excluding  the  husband  of  more 
than  one  wife  from  Church  membership,  and  this  no 
doubt  accounts  for  the  apparent  lack  of  success  which 
statistics  seem  at  first  sight  to  demonstrate.  Almost 
every  missionary,  however,  will  point  out  to  the  traveller, 
man  after  man  who,  though  not  a  member  of  his  church 
is,  he  declares,  with  a  regretful  sigh,  "  more  of  a  Christian 
than  the  majority  of  our  members."  The  German  Basel 
Mission  in  the  Cameroons  excludes  all  polygamists  from 
Church  membership  and  they  have  been  fortunate  in 
obtaining  King  Bell  as  a  monogamist  member.  In  the 
"  oil  rivers  "  of  the  Niger,  the  same  rigorous  position  is 
taken  up  by  the  missionaries. 

In  not  a  few  churches  in  Southern  Nigeria,  poly- 
gamists are  certainly  admitted  to  membership  of  the 
churches.  These  men  if  not  openly  polygamous  are 
notoriously  so  in  private  life. 

The  Christian  Church  has,  in  polygamy,  a  problem 
which  at  present  defies  solution  ;  the  custom  is  so  much 
an  integral  part  of  African  life  that  a  conversion  to 
Christianity  involves  an  abrupt  termination  of  the 
convert's  former  habits,  the  effects  of  which  reach  far 
beyond  the  individual  most  intimately  concerned.  One 
of  the  greatest  difficulties  is  that  of  the  outcast  wives. 
In  one  Mission  in  Southern  Nigeria  if  a  man  becomes  a 
Christian  convert  he  is  asked  to  call  his  wives  together 
and  explain  his  position,  then  to  select  one,  put  the 
others  away  and  provide  for  their  maintenance.     But 


CHRISTIANITY   AND   POLYGAMY  6i 

even  this  involves  a  sense  of  injustice  and  is,  I  am  told, 
fruitful  in  many  cases  of  deplorable  results.  The  women 
thus  set  aside  regard  themselves  not  unnaturally  as 
outcasts,  as  they  have  lost  the  affection  of  their  husbands 
and  are  therefore  in  disgrace.  In  many  cases,  I  am  told, 
these  women  become  either  temporarily  or  permanently 
the  mistresses  of  other  men  who  do  not  hesitate  to  taunt 
them  with  the  fact  that  they  are  outcasts  from  ordinary 
native  society. 

No  doubt  there  are  exceptional  cases  where  women 
so  put  away  find  mates  amongst  the  bachelor  members 
of  the  Christian  community,  but  even  these  young 
fellows — and  more  particularly  their  parents — are  not 
always  over  anxious  to  accept  as  a  wife  for  their  son 
the  woman  whom  another  man  has  set  aside. 

The  Honourable  Sapara  Williams,  one  of  the  ablest 
men  in  West  Africa,  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  is 
imperative  the  Christian  Church  should  find  some  other 
solution  than  exists  to-day  for  this  difficulty  if  it  is  to 
maintain  and  increase  its  hold  upon  the  native  tribes 
of  tropical  Africa.  We  see  already  a  native  Christian 
Community  in  Southern  Nigeria  known  as  the  African 
Church  existing  avowedly  upon  a  polygamous  basis  and 
growing  rapidly  in  membership  and  influence.  This 
Church  is  entirely  self-supporting  and  is  becoming  more 
and  more  propagandist.  In  the  course  of  time  it  may 
easily  produce  what  will  be  called  an  "  African  Wesley," 
or  an  "  African  Spurgeon,"  and  the  result  we  can  foresee. 
The  African  en  masse  is  inflammable  material  and  in- 
tensely patriotic  ;  let  such  a  man  emerge  from  their  ranks 
and  the  doctrines  he  preaches  will  spread  like  wildfire. 


62  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

It  is  universally  recognized  that  in  case  of  any  modifica- 
tion of  the  attitude  now  adopted  by  the  European 
government  of  Christian  Churches,  thousands  of  ad- 
herents would  be  secured  in  every  colony.  The  heroic 
attitude  hitherto  adopted  surrenders  to  Mohammedanism 
a  potent  factor  in  the  propagation  of  its  beliefs,  hence  the 
extraordinary  advance  made  by  the  apostles  of  the  prophet. 

There  is  evidence  that  the  position  maintained  by 
the  Christian  Churches  as  a  whole  upon  this  aspect  of 
its  work  leads  to  widespread  immorality  amongst  Church 
members,  but  wherever  it  becomes  too  notorious,  the 
delinquents  are,  with  certain  exceptions,  excluded  from 
membership.  It  will  be  readily  seen  therefore  that 
should  any  single  Christian  denomination  once  lower 
its  standard  in  this  respect,  converts  would  flock  to  it  in 
thousands.  The  African  Church  does  this,  and  springing 
from  the  people  themselves,  meets  the  situation.  Its 
members  probably  represent  the  Christian  natives  of  the 
near  future  in  Southern  Nigeria,  men  for  the  most  part 
commercially  successful,  boldly  solving  their  own  pro- 
blems, living  an  easy-going  and  comfortable  life,  their 
religious  standard  lowered  to  their  own  desires.  Can  we 
criticize  them  ?  If  we  do,  we  must  beware,  for  they  will 
tell  us  that  it  is  more  honest  to  live  open  polygamous 
lives  than  the  fraudulent  lives  of  professing  Christians — 
white  and  black — whose  hypocritical  attitude,  particularly 
on  sex  questions,  is  a  by-word  on  the  West  Coast  of 
Africa.  I  fear  there  is  too  much  truth  in  this  retort. 
White  men,  at  least,  must  hold  their  peace,  and  there 
lies  the  greatest  danger  ! 

It  is  generally  accepted  that  polygamy  is  productive 


POLYGAMY  AND   THE  BIRTH   RATE        63 

of  a  high  birth  rate,  and  Sir  Wilham  Muir  has  given  this 
as  one  reason  for  the  almost  miraculous  advance  of 
Mohammedanism.  It  may  have  been,  and  may  still  be 
true  to-day  of  Mohammedanism  that  polygamy  produces 
a  high  birth  rate,  but  that  existing  polygamists  in  tropical 
Africa  to-day  produce  a  greater  number  of  births  than 
monogamists  is,  I  am  satisfied,  open  to  serious  question. 
At  the  same  time  I  think  it  is  clear  that  prior  to  European 
occupation,  polygamist  Africa  maintained  a  higher  birth 
rate  than  is  possible  under  modern  conditions. 

The  reason  for  this  is  not  far  to  seek,  for  the  chiefs, 
possessing  as  they  did  unrestricted  power  over  the 
community,  could  terrorize  into  complete  submission 
every  unit  of  the  tribe.  Wherever  polygamy  existed 
the  wife  was  kept  faithful  to  the  one  husband  by  the 
knowledge  that  unchastity  was  forthwith  rewarded  by 
instant  death.  The  young  men  also  knew  that  a  liaison 
meant  either  that  they  were  sold  into  slavery,  involving 
in  all  probability  ultimate  sacrifice,  or  they  would  be 
hanged  on  the  nearest  tree. 

This  is  so  even  to-day  amongst  those  tribes  beyond 
the  reach  of  white  men.  One  day,  when  crossing  towards 
the  main  Congo  river,  I  suddenly  heard  wild  shrieks 
from  a  person  evidently  in  great  danger.  Rushing  to 
the  spot,  I  found  a  woman  bound  hand  and  foot,  and 
standing  over  her  was  a  burly  young  chief  with  an 
executioner's  knife  raised  aloft.  In  a  moment  more 
that  woman's  head  would  have  been  hacked  off  had  I 
not  promptly  gripped  the  man's  arm.  With  a  terrible 
oath  he  attempted  to  spring  upon  me,  but  the  head-men 
of  the  village,  who  had  also  hurried  to  the  scene,  fell 


64  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

upon  him  and  wrenched  the  knife  from  his  hand.  For  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  nothing  would  stay  the  man's  fury  ; 
it  took  six  of  us  to  hold  him.  Ultimately,  however,  he 
calmed  down  and  explained  to  me  that  his  wife  had  been 
unfaithful  and  that  she  merited  the  death  penalty.  I 
gave  him  some  presents  to  appease  him  further  and  he 
agreed  to  forgive  the  woman  if  I  would  "  reward  him." 
As  the  gift  he  asked  was  to  me  a  trivial  matter,  and  the 
only  chance  of  saving  the  woman's  life,  I  gave  it  to  him. 
The  woman  herself,  in  gratitude,  at  once  wrenched 
from  off  her  wrists  a  bracelet  which  she  presented  to  me 
as  a  keepsake.  I  fear,  however,  that  after  I  left  the 
village,  she  suffered  a  cruel  death  for  her  unfaithfulness. 
It  will  be  readily  seen  that  these  conditions  are  only 
possible  in  regions  where  there  is  no  restraining  hand. 

The  question  of  the  birth  rate  under  monogamist 
and  polygamist  marriages  in  West  Africa  has  always 
been  of  absorbing  interest  to  me  and  my  diaries  are  full 
of  jottings  bearing  upon  the  subject,  but  very  few  are 
worth  a  permanent  record.  Amongst  the  Christians  of 
Accra  many  monogamists  have  considerable  families 
and  from  personal  observation  twins  appeared  to  be 
fairly  frequent.  In  the  hinterland,  we  w^re  informed, 
that  the  "  baku  " — or  tenth  child — is  by  no  means  rare 
amongst  the  "  Twi "  people.  The  largest  family  we 
found  amongst  the  monogamists  of  the  Bangalla  region 
of  the  Congo  was  five  children,  the  average  appearing 
to  be  three.  But  West  Africa  is  very  weak  in  reliable 
statistics. 

In  our  recent  journeys,  I  selected  four  areas  and 
obtained  with  some  accuracy  the  composition  of  several 


POLYGAMY  AND  THE  BIRTH  RATE         65 

groups  of  villages.  It  was  impossible  to  accept  the 
figures  from  some  districts  because  the  people,  fearing 
there  was  some  subtle  move  behind  our  requests,  either 
gave  evasive  replies  or  figures  which  were  obviously 
inaccurate. 

The  following  six  groups,  however,  are  reliable. 
They  were  gathered  from  areas  hundreds,  and  in  one 
case  over  a  thousand  miles  apart  : — 

Five  Hinterland  Villages  of  the  Kasai. 


14 

15 

29 

1115 

0-644 

5 

4 

9 

0-222 

0166 

10 

6 

16 

I 

0-380 

Men.        Women. 

A    .         .241         316        1-315        70        81         151         0-626        0-477 
(201  monogamists) 

River-side  Villages  on  the  Upper  Congo. 
B    .  .26  45         1-875 

C    .  .41  54         i"3i7 

D    .         .16  42        2625 

Hinterland  Village,   Upper  Congo. 

E    .         .31  69        2-225        23        20  43         1-387        0-623 

Remote  Hinterland  Village,   Upper  Congo. 

F    .  .     196         319         1-627       171       148         319         1-627         I 

In  group  "  C,"  the  principal  polygamist  possessed 
fifteen  wives,  but  only  two  children.  Sixteen  mono- 
gamists had  no  children. 

Group  **  A  "  is  taken  from  the  Kasai,  where  mono- 
gamy most  widely  prevails,  but  of  the  two  hundred  and 
one  monogamists,  one  hundred  and  three  had  no  children. 
The  principal  polygamists  possessed  six,  eight  and 
thirteen    wives    respectively.     The    two    first    had    no 

F 


66 


DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 


children  at  all  and  the  chief  with  thirteen  wives  had  two 
boys  and  three  girls. 

From  these  figures  no  deduction  is  possible  as  to 
the  advantage  of  either  polygamy  or  monogamy  upon 
the  question  of  birth  rate.     One  deduction  only  is  clear. 

The  birth  rates  in  the  following  order  are  with  esti- 
mated distance  from  effective  civilized  Government : — 


Average  birth-rate 
per  woman. 

Distance  from  effective 
civilized  Government. 

Group  C     . 

.       0166 

10  minutes'  walk 

„       D     . 

0-380 

30 

„       A     . 

•     0'477 

I  hour's          ,, 

„       E     . 

.     0623 

I 

„       B     . 

0-644 

li    .. 

,.       F     . 

I 

2  days' 

The  birth  rate  figures  are  lamentably  low,  and  being 
selected  from  areas  so  widely  apart  give  anything  but 
an  encouraging  indication  for  the  future  of  the  Congo. 
The  deductions  from  these  figures  is  unmistakable  and 
only  confirms  what  one  hears  everywhere,  not  only  in 
the  Congo  but  all  over  the  West  Coast  of  the  utter 
demoralization  which  is  flooding  these  territories. 

The  Congo  is  by  far  the  worst.  Europe  was  staggered 
at  the  Leopoldian  atrocities  and  they  were  terrible 
indeed,  but  what  we,  who  were  behind  the  scenes,  felt 
most  keenly  was  the  fact  that  the  real  catastrophe  in 
the  Congo  was  desolation  and  murder  in  the  larger  sense. 
The  invasion  of  family  life,  the  ruthless  destruction  of 
every  social  barrier,  the  shattering  of  every  tribal  law, 
the  introduction  of  criminal  practices  which  struck  the 
chiefs  of  the  people  dumb  with  horror — in  a  word,  a 
veritable  avalanche  of  filth  and  immorality  overwhelmed 
the  Congo  tribes. 


THE   ONLY   HOPE  67 

To-day  one  sees  the  havoc  which  King  Leopold 
created  when  he  let  loose  upon  the  Congo  tribes  the 
scum  of  Europe.  None  have  escaped  the  infection  ; 
girls  of  tender  years  and  even  boys  not  yet  in  their 
teens  delight  in  practices  of  which  in  the  old  days  the 
chiefs  would  have  kept  them  in  complete  ignorance  for 
another  five  years.  Upon  the  women  the  results  have 
been  by  far  the  most  revolting,  for  in  the  Congo  the 
majority  of  women  have  lost  their  womanhood  and  have 
fallen  into  a  daily  condition  from  which  even  the  beasts 
of  the  forest  refrain. 

The  truth  is  that  in  the  greater  part  of  West  Africa 
neither  monogamy  nor  polygamy  is  the  prevailing  re- 
lationship between  man  and  woman.  Doctors,  ad- 
ministrators and  missionaries  all  know  it,  and  are  all 
powerless  at  present  to  bring  the  situation  under  control. 
It  is  useless  for  the  administration  to  make  laws  for 
practices  beneath  the  surface,  the  only  thing  the  officials 
can  do,  and  should  do  without  delay,  is  to  see  to  it  that 
an  ever  higher  example  is  set  to  the  natives.  This  is 
where  the  Belgian  and  French  Congo  officials  have  failed 
so  utterly. 

The  Christian  missionary  alone  touches  the  evil,  and 
though  he  is  defeated  again  and  again,  he  plods  steadily 
on  preaching  a  perfect  chastity — too  loft}^  a  standard 
for  most  natives  at  present — but  without  doubt  gathering 
round  him  an  ever  increasing  number  not  only  of  men 
but  of  women  who,  apart  from  occasional  lapses,  set  a 
bright  example  to  the  whole  countryside. 

The  birth  of  children  is  in  primitive  Africa  rarely 
attended  by  anything  abnormal.     If  a  native  nurse  is 


68  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

confronted  with  complications,  she  immediately  throws 
up  the  case  in  despair  and  appeals  to  the  witch  doctor, 
but  normally  the  birth  of  children  is  taken  as  quite  an 
ordinary  part  of  the  daily  life.  One  day  we  were  passing 
through  a  native  village,  and  there,  lying  on  a  plantain 
leaf,  were  two  chubby  little  twin  girls  but  half-an-hour 
old  ;  the  mother  was  sitting  close  by  "  resting."  This 
picture  was  so  beautifully  simple  that  my  wife  went 
with  a  boy  to  bring  up  the  camera  and  plates,  but  on 
arriving  at  the  spot  in  about  twenty  minutes  the  woman 
had  picked  up  her  twins  and  carried  them  home  !  That 
is  primitive  Africa,  but  in  the  coast  towns  where  African 
womanhood  delights  in  corsets  and  other  European 
follies,  the  suffering  at  childbirth  is  in  many  cases  almost 
as  acute  as  that  amongst  the  European  community. 
With  several  Congo  tribes,  the  belief  is  firmly  rooted 
and  put  into  practice  that  in  order  to  change  the  colos- 
trum flow  to  that  of  milk,  co-habitation  is  essential. 

With  many  tribes  throughout  West  Africa,  the  period 
of  lactation  is  prolonged  ;  frequently  the  mother  nurses 
the  child  until  it  is  two,  three,  and  even  four,  years  old. 
A  case  of  adultery  was  brought  before  the  District  Com- 
missioner's Court  at  Ikorodu  in  Southern  Nigeria  in  April 
last  year,  and  in  the  evidence  it  came  out  that  the  accused 
woman  was  suckling  a  child  four  years  of  age.  The  Dis- 
trict Commissioner  ordered  her  to  cease  nursing  the  child 
within  three  months. 

The  death  rate  amongst  the  young  children  in  West 
Africa  is  very  high  and  no  doubt  arises  from  the  de- 
plorable manner  in  which  they  are  brought  up.  There 
is  practically  no  attention  given  to  diet  or  cleanliness, 


MOTHERHOOD  69 

with  the  result  that  any  disease  which  attacks  a  family 
quickly  spreads  through  the  community. 

Amongst  the  Dagomba  of  the  Northern  territories  of 
the  Gold  Coast  colony,  the  woman  who  has  given  birth 
to  a  child  leaves  her  husband's  compound  and  goes  to 
that  of  the  father-in-law,  taking  the  child  with  her, 
where  they  stay  for  a  year.  At  the  end  of  this  period 
the  wife  and  child  return  to  the  home  of  the  husband 
and  father. 

Twins 

It  is  a  mistake  to  assume,  as  some  writers  do,  that 
the  taboo  on  twins  is  a  prevailing  custom  amongst 
West  African  tribes.  The  distribution  of  the  taboo  is 
extremely  erratic.  Twins  are  unwelcome  in  the  Northern 
territories  of  the  Gold  Coast,  yet  the  reverse  is  the  case 
amongst  the  Egbas  of  Nigeria.  In  the  Congo  territories, 
twins  cause  the  greatest  joy  to  a  tribe  and  the  mother  is 
lauded  wherever  she  goes,  whilst  amongst  the  tribes  of 
the  oil  rivers  of  Nigeria,  the  birth  of  twins  is  regarded 
as  the  most  fearful  calamity  which  can  fall  upon  the 
community. 

In  the  Upper  Congo  regions,  the  traveller  may  fre- 
quently see  two  earthenware  pots  hoisted  on  forked 
stakes  which  have  been  driven  in  the  ground,  one  on 
either  side  of  the  path,  and  these  are  in  honour  of  twins 
born  in  the  nearest  compound.  Every  person  passing 
by  those  pots  will  religiously  pluck  two  leaves  and  throw 
one  at  the  foot  of  each  forked  pole  as  a  votive  offering 
to  "  Bokecu "  and  **  Mboyo,"  as  all  good  twins  are 
named. 


70  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

The  tragedy  of  the  oil  rivers  is  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tressing in  West  Africa.  Throughout  the  Eastern,  and 
to  a  considerable  extent  of  the  Central  Province,  the 
cruel  custom  prevails  of  putting  to  death  one,  sometimes 
both  twins.  The  British  Government  spares  no  pains 
in  the  effort  to  combat  and  overcome  these  practices, 
but  though  much  good  has  resulted,  the  custom  still 
holds  its  own. 

Not  only  are  the  children  killed,  but  the  mother  is 
immediately  driven  from  home  for  she  is  no  longer  re- 
garded as  a  chaste  woman  and  rapidly  becomes  an 
outcast  from  Society,  living  upon  the  proceeds  of  pros- 
titution. In  some  districts,  however,  this  custom  is 
less  rigorous,  and  the  mothers  of  twins  are  allowed  to 
form  isolated  villages  and  to  engage  in  trade.  Some 
tribes,  again,  whilst  driving  them  from  the  homes  of 
their  husbands,  permit  them  to  engage  in  agricultural 
pursuits  upon  the  husband's  lands. 

The  missionaries  are  doing  much  towards  weaning 
the  tribes  from  this  murderous  practice.  One  missionary 
society  working  amongst  the  Ibunos,  a  tribe  of  five 
thousand  people,  claims  that  through  the  conversion  to 
Christianity  of  a  large  section  of  this  tribe,  the  horrible 
practice  of  murdering  the  twins  and  making  the  women 
outcasts  has  ceased.  It  is  of  course  difficult  to  control 
absolutely  a  statement  of  that  kind,  but  it  is  only  the 
Christian  missionary  who  can  hope  to  deal  effectively 
and  permanently  with  a  subterranean  evil  like  twin 
murder. 

An  interesting  custom  which  survives  in  the  Upper 
Congo  is  that  a  man  may  never  see  or  speak  to  his  mother- 


TWIN    POTS        HOISTED    ON    FORKED    STICKS    EITHER    SIDE    OF    PATHWAY, 
IN    HONOUR    OF    NEWLY    BORN    TWINS,    BANGALLA.    CONGO. 


TWINS  7^ 

in-law,  and  should  he  by  accident  turn  a  corner  in  the 
village  compound  and  meet  her  face  to  face,  he  must  at 
once  send  a  propitiatory  offering.  If  she  should  come 
into  the  house  where  he  is  sitting,  he  will  promptly  raise 
a  mat  and  hold  it  between  them,  so  that  they  may  not 
see  each  other. 

On  the  whole  the  lot  of  the  African  woman  is  a  hard 
one.  She  has  her  occasional-  pleasures  it  is  true,  but 
from  childhood  hers  is  a  lifelong  drudgery  with,  how- 
ever, the  one  sure  recompense,  that  in  old  age  it  is 
the  joy  and  the  privilege  of  the  younger  generation  to 
support  her. 


PART  II 


CIVILIZATION   AND   THE  AFRICAN 

I. — The  White  Man's  Burden. 

II. — Lightening  the  White  Man's  Burden. 
III. — Governments  and  Commerce. 
IV. — The  Liquor  Traffic. 

V. — The  Educated  Native. 
VI. — Justice  and  the  African. 
VII. — Race  Prejudice. 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  BURDEN 

There  is  a  type  of  African  traveller  who,  hurrying  to 
the  coast  and  back  again,  returns  with  all  the  assurance 
of  a  long  experienced  person  to  pontifically  declare  that 
the  unhealthiness  of  West  Africa  is  all  moonshine,  that 
if  a  man  dies  it  is  due  to  his  excesses  rather  than  to  the 
climate.  There  is,  of  course,  a  grain  of  truth  in  this 
assertion  ;  cocktails,  midnight  oil  and  habits  of  a  worse 
type,  undermine  the  constitution  in  a  manner  which 
leave  little  resistance  to  the  climatic  diseases.  Yet 
after  all,  tropical  Africa  is  a  death-trap. 

Some  of  these  assertive  and  incredulous  persons 
have  themselves  been  badly  punished  for  their  advertised 
temerity.  The  story  goes  of  one  lady  who,  after  having 
published  much  nonsense  on  this  subject,  was  bundled 
off  home  in  an  ice  pack  !  I  know  one  man  who,  after  a 
year  or  two  of  good  health,  gave  rein  to  his  opinion  in 
the  columns  of  the  Times  ;  this  good  man  was  no  believer 
in  short  and  effective  service,  followed  by  a  well-earned 
period  of  leave  ;  he  advocated  long  terms  of  residence 
as  the  certain  road  to  immunity  ;  that  man  spent  a  single 
term  in  Africa,  towards  the  close  of  which  the  climate 
made  such  inroads  upon  his  constitution,  that  he  was 
never  allowed  to  return. 


76  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

Those  who  feel  incUned  to  trifle  with  and  ridicule 
the  dangers  attendant  upon  life  in  Africa  should  spend 
a  solid  year  in  some  lonely  post  directing  a  staff  not 
always  amenable  to  discipline ;  should  live  in  that 
comfortless  bungalow  ;  should  endeavour  to  tempt  the 
appetite  day  after  day  with  something  from  a  tin  which, 
no  matter  what  it  is  called,  invariably  has  the  same 
taste.  Then  probably  a  fever  intervenes  and  the  lonely 
resident  goes  to  bed  with  limbs  racked  with  pain  and  a 
head  throbbing  like  the  puffing  of  an  express  train.  By 
this  time  the  supercilious  writer  would  be  brought  to 
know  that  after  all,  the  climate  of  West  Africa  is  not  that 
of  the  Swiss  lakes  or  the  Austrian  Tyrol. 

It  may  be  a  melancholy  undertaking,  but  all  whites 
going  to  West  Africa  should  brace  themselves  to  the 
duty  of  visiting  the  cemeteries.  What  a  story  the 
graveyards  of  West  Africa  tell !  The  fair  young  lives 
laid  down  for  the  comfort  of  posterity.  Men  of  all 
walks  in  life  are  there — the  official  and  the  trader,  pitiably 
aloof  in  daily  life,  now  lying  side  by  side  ;  they  are 
there  from  every  profession  and  trade,  the  engineer  and 
the  miner,  the  planter  and  the  doctor,  the  young  wife 
and  perhaps  the  new-born  infant.  Africa — always  cruel 
— has  taken  them  in  the  very  flower  of  their  manhood 
and  womanhood. 

On  the  Gold  Coast  I  one  day  walked  into  the  cemetery 
and  standing  in  one  spot  recorded  the  ages  inscribed  on 
twenty-seven  of  the  surrounding  tombstones  ;  the  oldest 
amongst  the  deceased  was  only  forty-six  years,  and 
amongst  the  youngest,  two  had  succumbed  at  the  early 
age  of  twenty-two.     The  average  was  exactly  thirty-two 


THE  STORY  THE  GRAVEYARDS  TELL      77 

years.  Not  a  few  had  inscribed  upon  the  tombs  such 
information  as,  "  After  two  days'  illness."  "  After 
only  three  weeks  in  the  colony."  "  After  three  days' 
illness."  "  Died  on  the  way  to  the  coast,"  and  so 
forth. 

One  interesting  feature  about  this  cemetery  is  that 
it  is  enclosed  with  a  stone  wall,  about  four  feet  high, 
and  all  white  men  may  be  buried  within  the  compound, 
as  also  respectable  natives — respectability,  so  my  native 
guide  informed  me,  being  determined  by  church-going. 
Natives,  therefore,  who  were  not  attendants  at  church, 
were  buried  "  outside  the  wall."  Looking  over  I  could 
see  some  scores  of  graves  of  natives  who,  not  having 
attended  church  in  life,  were  divided  in  death  from  the 
church-goers  by  a  foot  of  stone  wall. 

Merchants  and  missionaries  would  do  well  to  watch 
more  closely  the  mortality  returns  of  Government 
publications,  for  there  alone  may  be  seen  recorded  the 
effect  of  furloughs  on  the  health  of  Europeans.  In  the 
slow  moving  times  of  twenty  years  ago,  men  went  to  the 
coast  for  long  periods,  and  many  a  missionary  and 
merchant  stayed  until  he  died.  Government  officials, 
too,  were  kept  at  their  posts  until  death  carried  them 
off,  or  they  were  invalided  beyond  the  possibility  of  a 
return.  It  is  instructive  to  note  that  mortality  is  much 
lower  among  Government  officials,  arising  beyond  ques- 
tion from  the  fact  that  they  serve  short  periods,  generally 
of  one  year  only,  and  then  take  a  furlough  in  Europe. 
For  many  reasons  the  figures  for  the  years  1901  and  1910 
may  be  regarded  as  average  records.  The  death-rates 
among  the  whites  in  the  two  colonies  of  the  Gold  Coast 


78  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

and  Southern  Nigeria,  showing  a  remarkable  improve- 
ment, are  as  follows  : — 


Southern  Nigeria. 
Death  Rate. 

Gold  Coast. 
Death  Rate. 

I90I. 

— Officials 

.     24     per  1000 

34-96  per  1000 

Non  Officials 

.     47-1     .. 

56-30   .. 

I9I0. 

— Officials 

.       6 

ii"4i     ., 

Non-Officials 

(not  available) 

16-52    „ 

Most  merchants  argue  that  they  cannot  afford  to 
bring  their  men  to  Europe  for  short  furloughs  every 
year,  but  one  or  two  good  houses  are  making  the  experi- 
ment with  not  a  little  satisfaction  to  themselves  in  more 
than  one  direction.  In  the  first  place  a  better  type  of 
man  offers  for  a  short  agreement,  and  then  there  is  the 
consideration  that  by  preserving  the  lives  of  those  they 
have  trained,  merchants  thus  avoid  the  constant  re- 
equipment  of  new  men,  the  cost  of  which  is  very  con- 
siderable. Nor  is  the  financial  aspect  the  only  feature 
which  is  proving  satisfactory.  These  merchants  find 
that  they  reap  great  commercial  advantages  over  their 
competitors  by  being  able  to  hold  more  frequent  con- 
sultations with  their  men.  After  all,  the  incidence 
of  cost  in  connection  with  passages  to  and  fro  is 
comparatively  insignificant  on  the  whole  expenditure 
of  the  far-reaching  commercial  enterprises  of  West 
Africa. 

To  preserve  the  white  man's  life  in  Africa,  other 
elements  are  equally  essential.  The  dwelling-house, 
recreation  and  provisions  are  features  sadly  neglected 
by  the  majority  of  whites. 

There  is  so  much  monotony,  so  much  to  irritate  and 
to  depress  in  West  Africa,  that  everything  Governments 


WILD    FLOWERS    GROWING    ON    TRUNK    OF    FOREST    TREE. 


THE    STORY    THE    GRAVEYARDS     lELL. 


AN   AFRICAN   HOME  79 

and  merchants  can  do  to  brighten  the  Hves  of  their 
employes  should  be  done.  The  prettiest  and  happiest 
of  homes  are  without  doubt  in  German  and  Portuguese 
colonies.  In  both  cases  it  is  due,  to  a  very  large  extent,  to 
the  fact  that  these  nations  give  every  encouragement  to 
the  taking  out  of  white  women,  whose  very  presence, 
flitting  to  and  fro  in  the  essentially  light  garments  of 
the  tropics,  give  more  than  a  touch  of  poetry  to  surround- 
ings already  anything  but  prosaic. 

The  Portuguese  love  of  a  garden  adds  to  the  attrac- 
tion of  their  homes  ;  grape  vines  are  tastefully  grown 
where  the  Englishman  would  throw  sardine  tins  ;  there 
is  a  fernery  in  one  corner  of  the  garden,  a  rose  bower  in 
another,  luscious  fruits  and  tempting  vegetables  grow 
everywhere  in  exquisite  profusion. 

The  Germans  in  Cameroons  set  aside  a  colonial  fund 
called  the  "  Widows  and  Orphans  Fund,"  and  I  am  told 
it  is  from  this  capital  account  that  men  draw  subsidies 
with  which  to  take  their  wives  to  West  Africa  ! 

One  of  the  prettiest  incidents  I  ever  saw  in  West 
Africa  was  at  Victoria  in  the  German  Cameroons.  The 
planter  came  galloping  home  from  the  plantation,  and 
giving  a  whistle  to  announce  his  return,  a  daintily  dressed 
little  matron  skipped  out  lightly  to  meet  him,  and  arm 
in  arm  they  walked  into  a  charming  little  bungalow  gay 
with  fern  and  flower.  A  few  minutes  later  I  passed  by 
the  open  door  and  caught  a  vision  of  a  snowy  table 
cloth,  bright  with  polished  silver  and  glass.  I  could  not 
help  contrasting  this  with  the  British  factories  with 
their  more  or  less  dilapidated  dwelling-houses,  most  of 
them  very  dirty,  and  the  general  atmosphere  in  keeping 


8o  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

with  the  slatternly  black  woman  leaning  against  the 
cook-house  door. 

Recreation  in  some  more  healthy  form  than  cocktails 
and  billiards  is  of  no  less  importance  than  the  well- 
ordered  house.  In  many  colonies  now  there  are  golf 
and  cricket  clubs,  but  these  are  only  possible  in  the 
more  civiUzed  towns  where  there  is  a  considerable  con- 
gregation of  whites.  The  man  who  suffers  most  from 
fever  and  despondency  is  the  one  stationed  at  some 
isolated  post  of  the  hinterland.  Happy,  indeed,  is  the 
man  with  a  knowledge  of,  and  love  for,  a  garden  ;  it 
will  keep  his  mind  calm,  provide  him  with  healthy 
exercise,  and  a  supply  of  fruits  and  vegetables  which  will 
keep  him  in  good  form  for  his  daily  routine. 

Given  a  good  home,  sound  mental  and  physical 
recreation,  short  periods  of  service  with  proportionately 
shortened  furloughs  to  Europe,  the  white  man's  burden 
in  Africa,  to  which  so  many  succumb  to-day,  would  be 
materially  lightened,  and  both  white  men  and  women 
could  go  forth  with  a  fearlessness  which,  tempered  with 
care,  would  largely  remove  from  West  Africa  the  stigma 
of  "  the  white  man's  grave." 


'  II 

LIGHTENING  THE  WHITE   MAN'S  BURDEN 

Thanks  to  Mr.  Chamberlain,  a  great  stimulus  was  given 
to  the  work  of  rendering  the  burden  of  West  Africa 
somewhat  lighter.  At  his  inspiration  men  began  to 
study  more  seriously  the  question  of  dwelling  houses, 
the  use  of  medicines,  and  the  supply  of  fresh  food. 

Sir  Alfred  Jones,  Messrs.  John  Holt  and  Messrs. 
Burroughs  &  Wellcome,  have  each  in  their  respective 
spheres  spent  large  sums  of  money  experimenting  in 
various  directions,  in  the  hope  that  science  applied  to 
the  practical  side  of  daily  life  and  travel  would  ameliorate, 
if  it  did  not  remove,  the  distressing  effects  of  malaria. 

The  trader  of  twenty  years  ago  lived — but  more 
frequently  died — in  a  wattle  and  daub  house.  These  I 
know  from  experience  can  be  made  comfortable,  but 
more  often  than  not  they  are  so  damp  and  insanitary 
that  fever  may  be  looked  for  every  few  months.  Inside 
two  and  a  half  years,  I  experienced  no  less  than  seventeen 
fevers,  the  majority  of  which  were  I  am  convinced  entirely 
due  to  the  wretched  habitation  in  which  we  lived. 

To-day  few  men  live  on  ground  floors,  for  the  mud  or 
bamboo  house  has  given  place  to  the  airy  bungalow 
fashioned  on  brick  piles,  permitting  a  current  of  air  to 
pass  beneath  which  keeps  the  house  dry  and  sanitary. 

G 


82  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

It  also  has  the  not  inconsiderable  advantage  that  snakes 
and  other  reptiles  which  abound  in  the  tropics  do  not  so 
readily  find  a  lodging  as  in  the  mud  and  sun-dried  brick 
houses  of  the  earlier  days.  Another  improvement  which 
is  yearly  growing  in  favour  is  that  of  gauze  doors  and 
windows  which  give  some  protection  from  the  torment 
of  mosquitos  and  tsetse  flies. 

On  the  island  of  Principe,  the  doors  and  windows  of 
almost  every  house  are  fitted  with  gauze,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  prevent  the  spread  of  sleeping  sickness  which 
has  of  recent  years  overwhelmed  that  island.  The 
germ-impregnated  fly  is  nowhere  in  Africa  so  numerous 
and  vicious  as  upon  that  wretched  Portuguese  island, 
where  few  of  a  ship's  passengers  care  to  land,  for  the 
risk  of  becoming  inoculated  with  sleeping  sickness  is  a 
very  real  one.  Whilst  on  that  island  we  had  to  keep 
an  extremely  vigilant  watch  upon  the  terrible  tsetse  flies 
which  gave  us  no  peace,  so  anxious  were  they  to  taste 
our  blood.  The  fly,  which  is  found  in  most  parts  of  West 
Africa,  is  most  prevalent  in  the  Bangalla  region  of  the 
Congo  and  on  Principe  Island.  In  the  latter  place  they 
literally  swarm.  There  is  no  buzz  to  warn  of  their 
approach,  and  usually  the  first  intimation  the  traveller 
has  of  their  presence  is  the  sharp  stab,  followed  by  acute 
irritation  and  swelling.  In  spite  of  the  precautions  taken 
on  Principe,  there  seems  very  little  hope  that  the  popu- 
lation can  be  saved  from  this  terrible  scourge.  In  one 
month  (June,  1910),  out  of  a  population  of  4000  souls, 
no  less  than  fifty-six  perished  from  sleeping  sickness ;  that 
is  at  the  rate  of  168  per  1000  per  annum.  No  wonder  the 
Portuguese  population  is  leaving  the  doomed  island. 


MOSQUITO-PROOF  SHIPS  83 

An  experiment  which  is  being  watched  with  keen 
interest  is  that  recently  made  by  Messrs.  John  Holt  & 
Company.  The  directors  of  this  enterprising  firm  have 
recently  placed  two  insect  proof  ships  on  the  West 
African  sea  and  river  journeys.  The  first  of  these,  the 
"  Jonathan  Holt,"  was  launched  in  July,  1910.  This  vessel 
was  constructed  largely  under  the  advice  of  the  Liverpool 
School  of  Tropical  Medicine,  and  the  object  was  that  of 
rendering  the  passengers  and  crew  immune  from  the 
germ  carrying  mosquito.  The  "  Jonathan  Holt,"  the  first 
of  the  type  ever  built,  is  about  2500  tons  and  with  a  dead 
weight  capacity  of  2350  tons.  She  draws  only  17  feet 
6  inches  of  water,  which  permits  navigation  on  the 
river  Niger  and  also  allows  her  to  reach  Dualla,  the 
capital  of  German  Cameroons. 

The  doorways,  portholes,  windows,  skylights,  venti- 
lators and  passages  are  all  protected  with  mosquito 
gauze  frames  easily  adjustable.  Double  awnings  are 
provided  and  everything  which  human  forethought  can 
do  to  render  the  ship  proof  against  the  mosquito  has 
been  done. 

To  Messrs  Burroughs,  Wellcome  and  Co.,  every 
African  traveller  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude.  The  excel- 
lence and  portability  of  their  tabloid  preparations  have 
gone  a  long  way  to  minimize  the  dangers  of  tropical 
adventure.  During  our  travels  of  over  5000  miles 
we  carried  with  us  a  medical  outfit  which  left  nothing 
wanting,  either  for  ourselves  or  for  our  paddlers  and 
carriers.  For  fever,  for  cuts  or  bruises,  or  other  in- 
evitable ailments  of  the  tropics  everything  was  at  hand  ; 
nothing  was  lacking  for  the  whole  caravan  and  yet  the 


84  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

total  outfit  weighed  less  than  twenty  pounds  !  How 
great  a  difference  a  Burroughs,  Wellcome  portable  outfit 
would  have  made  to  Livingstone's  hard  life.  We  carried 
another  case  of  **  tabloid  "  photographic  materials,  and 
with  these  developed  nearly  a  thousand  plates.  The 
whole  outfit,  both  medical  and  photographic,  was  easily 
carried  by  one  boy. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  the  European  that  African 
travellers  and  writers  lay  so  much  stress  upon  the  question 
of  food  supply.  West  Africa  for  years  exacted  a  terrible 
toll  from  her  white  residents,  which  might  have  been  to 
a  great  extent  minimized  had  they  been  able  to  provide 
themselves  with  palatable  fare.  The  late  Sir  Alfred  Jones 
determined  to  do  something  to  make  the  life  of  the  African 
merchants  and  officials  more  comfortable  in  this  respect. 
He  fitted  out  a  few  ships  with  refrigerators  and  began 
in  a  small  way  to  send  some  of  our  staple  articles  of  diet 
to  the  leading  ports  of  the  coast.  Men  and  women  too, 
sick  almost  unto  death,  unable  to  eat  the  coarse  bread, 
the  tasteless  fish,  or  the  tinned  mixtures,  were  then 
cheered  and  in  numberless  cases  restored  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  an  Elder  Dempster  boat  with  sterilized  fresh 
milk,  eggs,  chicken  and  mutton. 

Only  too  well  do  we  remember  those  days,  fifteen 
years  ago,  when  once  on  board  the  ship  at  Liverpool, 
the  travellers  said  good-bye  to  European  diet.  How 
different  the  case  now  !  Directly  the  ship  casts  anchor, 
coloured  messenger  boys,  and  more  often  the  white  men, 
come  on  with  orders  for  beef  and  mutton,  eggs  and  milk, 
chicken  and  sausages,  even  game  and  fruit.  It  is  a  great 
day    when    Elder    Dempster's    boats    steam    into    port, 


FISH,   FLESH,   AND   FOWL  85 

hurried  invitations  go  out  for  dinner  and  luncheon 
parties,  and  once  a  month  at  least  the  pale-faced  com- 
mercial agent  or  the  anaemic  government  official  is  able 
to  enjoy  a  meal  or  two  which  puts  new  life  into  his  tired 
body. 

Over  and  above  the  provisions  for  the  passengers  on 
the  steamer,  each  ship  will  now  carry  for  sale — beef, 
lamb,  mutton  and  kidneys  ;  pheasants  and  other  game  ; 
eggs,  sausages,  fresh  butter  and  sterilized  milk  ;  potatoes, 
carrots  and  onions ;  kippers,  bloaters  and  salmon  ; 
grapes,  pears  and  apples — a  veritable  combination  of 
shops,  butcher,  dairy,  greengrocer,  fishmonger  and 
fruiterer  ! 

Usually  each  ship  will  carry  for  sale  from  1000  to 
2000  lbs.  of  beef,  a  couple  of  thousand  eggs,  three  or  four 
hundred  pounds  of  butter,  five  hundred  blocks  of  ice  and 
three  hundred  pints  of  milk.  Festive  seasons,  too,  are 
not  forgotten  and  Christmas  boats  carry  a  large  stock  of 
turkeys  and  geese. 

Think  for  a  moment  what  a  blessing  the  monthly 
visit  of  a  ship  like  this  is  to  such  foodless  places  as  Boma 
and  Matadi  in  the  Congo,  the  island  of  Fernando  Po, 
the  isolated  merchant  houses  of  Rio  del  Rey,  or  the  ports 
of  Spanish  Guinea  ; — the  drawn  and  sickly  faces  of  the 
men  who  come  off  for  provisions  tell  their  own  tale. 
They  can  not  only  buy  all  they  want,  but  at  a  reasonable 
price.  The  Belgian  in  the  Congo  buys  beef  cheaper 
than  he  can  in  Antwerp,  i.e.,  lod.  a  pound.  Lamb  and 
steak  he  can  get  at  is.  per  pound.  The  Scotch  engineer 
running  his  steamer  up  and  down  the  Ogowe  can  get  a 
whole  box  of  Aberdeen  baddies  for  5s.,  or  salmon  at  2s. 


86  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

a  pound.     Ice  can  be  purchased  at  2s.  6d.  a  half-hundred- 
weight block.     Potatoes  and  onions  at  gs.  a  case. 

This  enterprise  of  Sir  Alfred  Jones  has  already 
developed  into  the  creation  of  cold  storage  companies 
at  ports  like  Lagos,  Calabar  and  Seccondee,  and  the 
firm  of  Elder  Dempster  has  now  built  chambers  on  some 
of  their  ships  capable  of  carrjdng  twenty  tons  of  European 
provisions  every  week  to  Seccondee  alone.  The  health 
of  West  Africa,  bad  though  it  is,  has  greatly  improved 
within  recent  years,  and  though,  of  course,  the  medical 
profession  has  so  largely  contributed  to  the  change,  the 
house-builder,  the  merchant  and  the  ship-owner  have 
loyally  co-operated  in  an  endeavour  to  lighten  the 
burden  of  the  white  man  in  West  Africa. 


Ill 

GOVERNMENTS  AND  COMMERCE 

Nothing  in  West  Africa  is  more  striking  than  the  attitude 
adopted  by  the  several  colonizing  Powers  towards  com- 
merce. At  present,  Germany  is  easily  in  the  front  rank  ; 
her  policy  towards  business  men  is  the  most  enlightened 
of  any  Power,  and  it  is  therefore  to  be  the  more  regretted 
that  her  treatment  of  the  natives  is  not  equally  far- 
sighted.  Were  it  so,  all  students  of  African  questions 
could  view  with  equanimity  her  gradual  absorption  of 
the  whole  of  Equatorial  Africa. 

The  British  merchant  knows  with  absolute  certainty 
that  he  may  rely  on  receiving  a  warm  welcome  and  every 
assistance  in  German  colonies.  He  knows,  too,  that 
none  will  be  given  a  preference  before  him.  He  knows 
that  if  "  public  good  " — the  stick  which  governors  so 
frequently  wield — demands  the  removal  of  his  factory, 
or  that  a  road  must  be  driven  through  his  ground,  the 
German  Government  will  not  quibble  over  doubtful 
legal  points,  but  will  look  at  the  question  on  broad  lines 
of  common-sense  policy. 

Steam  into  a  German  port,  and  before  you  cast 
anchor  you  may  see  the  customs  and  health-officers  with 
their  launches  racing  across  the  intervening  stretch  of 
sea.     Promptly   and   smartly   the   doctor   steps   up   the 


88  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

companion-way,  and  you  begin  unloading  your  cargo 
without  further  formaUties.  Your  cargo  finished,  there 
is  no  delay  about  papers,  no  irritating  objections  about 
the  closing  time  of  the  customs,  or  the  doctor  being  at 
dinner  or  more  likely,  tennis.  Contrast  this  with  a  visit 
to  a  French  or  Portuguese  port — you  may  wait  an  hour 
before  the  health-officer  comes  on  board.  His  visit  over, 
the  ship's  officers  and  native  crew  slave  throughout  the 
day  to  unload  the  cargo,  so  that  they  may  have  the 
valuable  night  watches  for  steaming  to  the  next  port, 
but  if  the  Frenchman  can  by  any  quibble  keep  you 
tossing  at  anchor,  you  may  rely  upon  his  doing  so. 

The  German  neither  likes  nor  dislikes  the  British 
merchant  :  he  is  concerned  with  one  thing  only — that 
British  capital  and  British  brains  are  good  for  his  colony  ; 
therefore,  without  any  sentimental  nonsense,  he  gives 
the  Britisher  a  warm  welcome,  and  sees  to  it  that  no 
preference  is  given  to  the  German  merchant,  which 
might  make  the  British  firm  hesitate  to  invest  further 
capital  in  a  German  colony. 

Of  course  the  regulations  in  German  colonies  are 
numerous  and  enforced  with  military  precision  and 
sternness.  The  native,  centuries  behind  the  white  man, 
does  not  bear  the  strain  very  well.  The  Britisher,  after 
a  time,  learns  that  such  regulations  are  for  his  good  and 
accepts  them.  No  merchant  at  first  takes  kindly  to 
keeping  his  back-yard  free  from  refuse  ;  if  he  is  in 
Togoland  he  resents  the  first  instance  upon  which 
he  is  fined  twenty  marks  for  leaving  old  tins,  half- 
filled  up  with  rain  water,  lying  about  the  rear  of  his 
store,  but  when  in  the  process  of  time  he  is  still  without 


MODEL  TRANSPORT  89 

fever,  he  sees  the  advantage  of  this  anti-mosquito 
regulation. 

In  Lome  the  Germans  have  an  extremely  interesting 
and  unique  system  of  transport  enterprise.  The  surf, 
as  in  many  parts  of  West  Africa,  is  extremely  bad,  and 
for  years  constituted  a  source  of  perpetual  loss,  not  only 
of  valuable  cargoes,  but  of  human  life.  With  charac- 
teristic thoroughness  the  German,  at  great  cost,  ran  a 
pier  out  to  sea,  built  a  railway  line  on  it  and  extended 
this  line  along  the  front  of  the  merchant  houses — a 
distance  of  about  i  J  to  2  miles.  On  the  pier  the  Govern- 
ment erected  seven  powerful  steam  cranes.  Having  laid 
down  this  plant,  they  took  the  next  truly  Teutonic  step 
and  compelled  all  the  merchants  to  accept  Government 
transport. 

An  outward-bound  steamer  is  sighted  at  sea,  cranes 
are  prepared,  the  health-officer  leaves  before  the  ship 
comes  to  anchor,  papers  are  examined,  cargo  is  rapidly 
placed  in  the  surf  boats  which  are  towed  across  to  the 
pier  where,  in  an  almost  incredibly  short  space  of  time, 
fifty  tons  of  cargo  are  hauled  up  on  to  the  pier,  put  on 
the  train  and  delivered  at  the  merchants'  doors.  A 
similar  method  is  adopted  with  a  steamer  from  the 
south — homeward  bound.  The  moment  the  look-out 
ascertains  her  name  and  destination,  he  signals  or  tele- 
phones to  the  merchants,  and  shortly  afterwards  trains 
are  in  motion  collecting  the  cargo  already  prepared  for 
the  expected  vessel.  When  she  comes  to  anchor,  her 
surf  boats  are  despatched  to  the  pier,  where  they  are 
promptly  loaded  and  sent  back  to  the  ship. 

There  is  a  scientific  air  about  the  whole  transaction  ; 


90  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

an  absence  of  fuss  ;  an  attention  to  business  quite  re- 
freshing in  tropical  Africa,  and  above  all,  there  is  a  sort 
of  "  hey  presto  "  promptness  in  the  way  these  tons  of 
pots  and  pans,  bales  of  cotton,  barrels  of  oil  and  bags 
of  corn  are  handled. 

All  merchants,  of  whatever  nationality,  must  accept 
this  transport  and  pay  a  fixed  rate  of  lis.  a  ton,  which 
covers  all  costs  and  insurance  against  every  risk.  In 
return  they  are  saved  the  expense  and  trouble  which 
attaches  to  the  up-keep  of  boats,  boat-boys  and  a  large 
staff  of  men  for  handling  cargo.  I  was  assured  by  the 
merchants  that  the  system  works  extremely  well,  saves 
them  much  annoyance,  and,  on  the  whole,  does  not  work 
out  at  much  greater  expense  than  the  rough-and-ready 
methods  of  other  colonial  ports. 

The  administration  of  German  colonies  is  decidedly 
autocratic,  although  not  more  so  than  in  British  Crown 
colonies.  In  German  Cameroons,  however,  all  interests 
are  consulted  in  a  manner  which  demonstrates  the 
eagerness  of  the  German  Government  to  keep  on  good 
terms  with  the  merchant.  Twice,  sometimes  three  times 
a  year,  the  Governor  holds  an  enlarged  "  Colonial 
Council,"  to  the  deliberations  of  which  he  invites  not 
only  the  principal  merchants,  but  the  leading  missionaries. 
I  was  informed  that  at  these  meetings  the  Governor 
welcomed  criticism  of  existing  or  projected  enactments, 
no  matter  from  what  quarter  they  came,  and  that  the 
result  was  that  everyone  felt  himself  to  be  an  integral 
part  of  the  colony. 

How  different  the  French  Administration !  The 
Entejite  Cordiale  may  be  all  right  in  the  Banqueting  Hall, 


THE   FRENCH  ATTITUDE  91 

and  as  a  pin-prick  for  Germany,  but  it  is  time  the  British 
people  questioned  its  value  in  things  that  count.  The 
truth  is  that  in  French  colonies,  merchants  of  other 
nationality  are  not  wanted.  Wherever  you  go  in  French 
West  Africa,  the  merchant  is  full  of  grievances  with  regard 
to  the  petty  annoyances  of  the  Government  and  the 
officials.  Nor  does  this  apply  to  West  Africa  alone  ; 
the  same  story  is  told  in  Madagascar  and  the  New 
Hebrides,  in  both  of  which  places,  not  only  is  the  merchant 
entirely  de  trop,  but  the  Entente  Cordiale  has  not  even 
secured  decent  treatment  for  the  devoted  missionaries. 
The  Entente  Cordiale  was  not  brought  about  for  selfish 
ends  by  Great  Britain,  and  considering  the  much  ad- 
vertised generosity  of  our  partner,  we  have  a  right  to 
expect  at  least  ordinary  civilities  in  her  colonies.  The 
French  are  so  absorbed  in  themselves  that  they  would 
have  none  but  Frenchmen  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
As  Napoleon  failed  to  accomplish  this  end,  the  present- 
day  Frenchman  will  not,  if  he  can  help  it,  have  any  but 
his  own  nationality  in  French  colonies. 

The  Portuguese  want  British  capital,  but  they  don't 
want  British  merchants ;  they  kill  the  commerce  of 
British  firms  by  every  form  of  preferential  treatment. 
Their  right  to  do  so  is,  of  course,  equal  to  that  of  a  man 
to  cut  his  own  throat.  The  only  British  enterprises  in 
Portuguese  West  Africa  are  the  Lobito-Katanga  Railway, 
the  Angola  Coaling  Company  and  some  electrical  works 
at  Catumbella.  The  first  named  is  the  well-known 
Robert  Williams'  project  for  reaching  the  Katanga  and 
Northern  Rhodesia  from  the  West  Coast.  The  local 
Portuguese  would  probably  like  to  strangle  this  valuable 


92  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

undertaking  in  its  infancy,  but  they  see  already  how 
much  capital  is  finding  its  way  into  Angola.  When 
Robert  Williams  gets  his  railway  through  to  Katanga, 
the  Angola  colony  will  become  an  asset  of  considerable 
value  to  the  Republic. 

The  attitude  of  the  Belgian  Government  towards 
commerce  is  again  different  from  that  of  any  other 
colonial  administration.  Theoretically,  the  Belgians  are 
anxious  to  persuade  capital  to  enter  the  colony,  but  the 
principles  of  King  Leopold's  rule  have  taken  such  firm 
root  that  in  practice  the  presence  of  any  commercial 
agents,  particularly  those  of  any  other  nationality,  is 
gall  and  wormwood  to  the  local  Belgians.  Nothing,  for 
example,  irritates  them  so  much  as  a  reminder  that  by 
the  Berlin  Act  they  are  bound  to  keep  the  country  open 
to  the  free  commerce  of  the  world. 

Even  Belgian  merchants  complain  of  the  treatment 
they  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  officials  of  the  adminis- 
tration. Recently,  when  calling  at  Stanley  Pool  on 
board  a  merchant  steamer,  we  had  to  pass  the  customs 
official.  We  put  our  anchor  ashore  in  front  of  the  customs 
house,  ■  where  the  official  himself  was  standing  on  the 
beach  smoking  a  cigar,  and,  as  we  thought,  waiting  to 
examine  our  papers.  He  knew  the  captain  (a  Belgian) 
was  pressed  for  time,  yet  he  deliberately  kept  the  ship 
at  anchor  for  twenty  minutes  whilst  he  finished  his 
cigar  !  No  doubt  this  conduct  was  meant  to — and,  of 
course,  did — impress  the  crew,  but,  as  the  captain  re- 
marked, the  reason  at  the  back  of  such  action  is  the 
desire  of  Belgian  officialdom  to  monopolize  transport, 
and  their  hatred  of  any  form  of  free  commerce. 


THE  BELGIAN  ATTITUDE  93 

I  was  present  on  another  occasion  which  instanced 
Belgian  desire  to  secure  trade  in  principle,  whilst  un- 
willing to  put  their  advertised  desires  into  practice  by 
exhibiting  a  readiness  to  render  real  assistance.  There 
came  into  Boma  a  British  ship,  whose  captain  was  of 
higher  rank  than  those  usually  visiting  this  port ;  it 
was  in  fact  the  first  time  this  officer  had  called  at  a  port 
so  insignificant  as  Boma.  He  ran  his  ship  alongside  the 
pier,  but  was  amazed  to  find  none  of  the  ordinary  pre- 
parations for  unloading  cargo.  Instead  of  sending  a 
ship's  officer  for  an  explanation,  he  went  himself  to  see 
the  quasi-Government  Railway  Company. 

'*  Where,"  he  asked,  **  are  the  railway  trucks  for  un- 
loading cargo  ?  " 

"  There  they  are,"  laconically  replied  the  official. 
"  But  I  want  them  at  the  ship,"  said  the  captain. 
"  Well,"  answered  the  official,  with  genuine  courtesy, 
"  you  can  take  them,  I  don't  object." 

That  it  was  in  any  sense  the  man's  responsibility  to 
send  these  trucks  along  did  not  occur  to  him,  and  upon 
the  captain  asking  how  he  was  to  get  them  over  the 
intervening  half  mile  of  line  to  the  pier,  he  was  told, 
again  with  every  courtesy,  "  send  your  crew  to  push 
them  !  " 

Then  might  be  seen  the  spectacle  of  a  ship's  officer  and 
a  gang  of  Kroo  boys  spending  hours  under  a  tropical  sun 
straining  and  tugging  at  these  unwieldy  railway  trucks, 
all  of  which  could  have  been  shunted  in  a  few  minutes 
with  ease  by  any  one  of  the  idle  engines  in  the  sheds. 
That  a  ship  of  5000  tons  was  delayed  for  twenty-four 
hours  by  this  stupidity  was  immaterial  to  the  Belgian 


94  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

official.  How  differently  the  German  would  have  acted  ! 
The  empty  trucks  would  have  been  ready  on  the  pier, 
a  shunting  engine  with  steam  up  standing  by  directly 
the  steamer  began  making  her  way  alongside,  but  the 
Belgian  is  not  cast  in  that  mould. 

In  British  West  African  colonies  the  relations  between 
Government  and  Commerce  are  unique.  Alone  among 
the  Powers  she  has  developed  a  caste  attitude,  until 
to-day  the  distinction  is  not  a  little  embarrassing.  The 
British  official  is  quite  a  good  fellow  when  you  get  him 
alone,  but,  as  a  class,  they  form  a  distinctly  objectionable 
"set."  This  is  apparent  the  first  day  on  board  ship, 
when  the  "  sorting  out  "  commences,  and  if  the  weather 
is  good  this  process  provides  not  a  little  amusement  to  an 
observant  passenger.  Usually  there  are  but  three  groups 
of  travellers  on  a  "  coast  "  steamer — the  official,  the 
merchant  and  the  missionary.  As  we  have  travelled 
a  good  deal  in  these  ships,  many  occasions  have  pre- 
sented themselves  for  watching  the  arranging  and  re- 
arranging of  this  little  floating  town.  The  last  time  we 
set  out  from  Liverpool  was  the  most  entertaining  of  any. 
Running  down  the  channel,  a  youth,  who  had  apparently 
never  travelled  before,  wished  me  "  Good  day,"  with  the 
apparent  intention  of  pacing  the  deck,  but  upon  his  dis- 
covering that  I  was  neither  an  official,  nor  a  missionary, 
he  inwardly  argued  "  a  trader,"  and  promptly  made  off! 

Another  and  yet  another  pursued  the  same  tactics, 
until  by  a  process  of  elimination  they  "  discovered  "  the 
officials.  "  Steward  "was  then  called  and  all  the  "official 
chairs  "  were  placed  in  a  semi-circle  in  the  best  part 
of  the  deck.     That  this  monopolized  the  only  comfortable 


THE  BRITISH  ATTITUDE  95 

section  of  the  upper  deck  did  not  appear  to  concern 
these  gentlemanly  youths. 

In  the  dining-saloon  the  chief  steward  had  placed  us 
at  one  of  the  lower  tables,  but  learning  from  the  captain 
of  certain  instructions  given  him  by  one  of  the  Directors, 
with  whom  I  was  on  friendly  terms,  this  man  came 
forward  and  with  profuse  apologies  asked  me  to  accept 
an  entirely  different  place  in  the  saloon,  saying  that  he 
"  thought  I  was  a  trader  !  " 

Once  I  met  a  young  Sierra  Leone  merchant,  who 
told  me  that  a  certain  official  in  the  Protectorate  had 
been  taken  ill  with  a  bad  fever  at  his  factory  ;  that  he 
had  nursed  him  through  it  with  all  the  care  of  a  relative  ; 
that  this  official,  when  he  was  at  last  able  to  leave, 
appeared  deeply  grateful  for  all  that  had  been  done  for 
him,  and  the  merchant  believed  he  had  made  a  lifelong 
friend.  A  few  months  afterwards  business  called  him  to 
Freetown,  and  passing  along  one  of  the  streets,  he  met 
two  or  three  officials,  one  of  whom  was  the  friend  whom 
he  had  so  carefully  nursed.  To  his  amazement,  he  only 
received  a  curt  nod  and  a  plain  intimation  that  further 
intercourse  was  undesirable.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  such 
conduct  is  rare,  but  the  general  attitude  of  the  younger 
British  officials  is  becoming  almost  intolerable. 

This  treatment  of  the  merchant  class  finds  no  place 
in  any  other  colony  of  West  Africa.  It  is  of  quite  recent 
growth  and  monstrously  unjust  to  the  merchants,  for  it 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  it  is  almost  entirely  to 
the  merchant  and  missionary  communities  that  Great 
Britain  primarily  owes  her  presence  in  West  Africa. 
There    is    another    fact  our  officials  would  do  well  to 


96  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

remember,  namely,  that  the  natives  and  the  merchants 
together  pay  their  salaries  and  pensions. 

The  younger  officials  make  themselves  far  more 
objectionable  than  the  older  men,  but  probably  this  is 
due  to  their  inexperience.  It  is,  however,  regrettable 
that  the  older  officials  do  not  set  a  more  pronounced 
example  in  the  other  direction.  Within  recent  years, 
the  British  Colonial  Office  has  been  sending  out,  in  the 
capacity  of  Assistant  District  Commissioners,  many 
youths  of  necessarily  immature  judgment  and  totally 
lacking  in  experience.  These  lads  are  by  far  the  worst 
specimens  in  their  attitude  towards  the  native  and 
merchant  communities.  Recently,  this  feature  has  been 
impressing  itself  upon  travellers  in  East  as  well  as  in 
West  Africa.  Mr.  E.  N.  Bennet,  in  his  book  on  the 
Turks  in  Tripoli,  says  : — 

"  Amongst  our  fellow  passengers  to  Marseilles 
were  eight  young  men  who  were  on  their  way  to 
Uganda.  Few,  if  any  of  them,  had  ever  crossed 
the  Channel  before  ;  they  wore  school  colours  and 
did  not  know  an  olive  tree  when  they  saw  one. 
Nevertheless,  they  held,  and  expressed,  very 
decided  views — the  ideas  of  the  College  Debating 
Society  and  the  London  Club — that  the  '  man  on 
the  spot '  must  be  the  sole  arbiter  on  matters 
colonial  and  that  kindness  was  absolutely  wasted 
on  black  men  ;  the  one  ethical  quality  necessary 
in  a  representative  of  Great  Britain  was  firmness. 
.  .  .  They  also  viewed  with  disfavour  the  deporta- 
tion of  Mr.  Galbraith  Cole.  One  could  only  hope 
that  when  these  inexperienced  youths  grew  older 


THE   BRITISH  ATTITUDE  97 

"  they   would   grow   wiser.     As   it   is,    an   immense 

"  amount  of  harm  is  done  all  over  our  vast  Empire 

"  by  some  of  our  younger  soldiers  and  civil  servants, 

"  who,  utterly  devoid  of  cosmopolitanisme  gracieux, 

"  treat    their    non-English    fellow    subjects    with    a 

"  contempt  which  would  be  ridiculous  if  it  were  not 

"  dangerous." 

The  merchant  seeking  a  new  field  for  commerce  in 

West  Africa  will  find  the  warmest  welcome  and  the  fairest 

treatment  in  German  colonies,  and  next  to  Germany,  in 

this  respect,  the  British  colonies  ;  there  is  not  much  to 

choose  between  the  Belgian  and  the  Portuguese.     None 

but   Frenchmen  should  go  to  the  colonies  of  "  Liberty, 

Equality   and   Fraternity,"   for   there   is   little   Liberty, 

less  Equality  and  no  Fraternity  in  the  French  colonies 

for  white  or  black. 


H 


IV 

THE  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC 

It  is  useless  to  close  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  an  evil  of 
fearful  potentiality  is  being  introduced  and  fostered  all 
down  the  West  Coast  of  Africa.  I  have  not  always 
found  it  possible  to  agree  with  the  much-criticized  Native 
Races  and  Liquor  Traffic  United  Committee,  but  it  must 
not  be  overlooked  that  some  of  their  critics  have  made 
errors,  in  judgment  at  least,  not  one  whit  less  extra- 
ordinary than  those  which  have  been  brought  against 
that  Committee  of  highminded  and  unselfish  men. 

The  greatest  mistake  made  by  people  in  Europe 
upon  this  question  is  that  of  comparing  it  with  the 
European  consumption  of  alcohol.  The  African  is  not 
a  drunkard  in  his  primitive  state  and  he  detests  our 
ardent  spirits  ;  once  in  an  extremity  I  gave  a  young 
man  a  sip  of  brandy  in  water  from  my  medicine  case, 
and  he  literally  howled  over  it  and  set  his  teeth  firmly 
against  my  trying  to  give  him  another  dose  ! 

The  error  to  which  most  people  cling  so  tenaciously 
is  that  of  the  "  scoundrelly  merchant  "  theory.  They 
cannot  understand — because  they  do  not  know  Africa — 
why  a  merchant  should  pour  gin  into  West  Africa,  unless 
he  is  making  a  fortune  out  of  it.  As  a  plain  matter  of 
fact  the  merchant  makes  less  out  of  the  sale  of  alcohol 


THE  MERCHANT  AND  THE  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC  99 

than  he  would  out  of  almost  any  other  article  of  com- 
merce. In  a  village  store  on  the  Gold  Coast  hinterland, 
I  found  rum  costing  6s.  gd.  a  gallon  being  retailed  at 
75.  3^.— a  profit  of  only  6d.  per  gallon.  In  another  store 
I  visited,  the  native  merchant  was  retailing  gin  at  gd.  a 
bottle,  for  which  he  was  paying  8s.  i^d.  per  dozen,  and 
4d.  a  case  for  transport  to  his  store.  A  West  African 
merchant  once  remarked  to  me,  "  If  you  could  stop  the 
demand  for  intoxicating  liquor  it  would  pay  me  to  give 
you  twenty  thousand  pounds."  The  merchant  was 
quite  right,  because,  whilst  he  could  get  fifteen  and 
twenty  per  cent,  on  the  sale  of  Manchester  cotton  goods, 
he  was  only  making  a  few  pence  a  case  on  the  gin  he  was 
shipping  to  Lagos  !  The  sale  of  alcohol  does  not  pay 
the  merchant,  but  we  cannot  escape  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  a  good  revenue  producer. 

There  seems  to  be  a  general  impression  that  the 
British  administrations  are  the  worst  in  this  respect,  and 
that  their  record  is  not  without  fault  few  would  deny, 
but  I  am  confident  that  the  moral  sentiment  of  the 
British  Government  and  people  will  save  them  from  falUng 
so  low  as  the  French  administration — an  easy  first  in 
almost  all  that  is  retrograde  in  Equatorial  Africa.  France 
to-day  recognizes  the  terrible  evils  which  follow  in  the 
train  of  Absinthe-drinking  in  the  homeland,  yet  she 
can  calmly  look  on  whilst  natives  stream  into  the  little 
drink  stores  of  French  Congo  with  their  25  cent  pieces 
to  purchase  "  nips "  of  what  I  was  assured  by  the 
vendor  was  the  worst  form  of  drink  in  the  whole  of  the 
African  continent.  When  we  were  at  Gaboon,  an 
official    informed    me    that    quite    recently    two    young 


100  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

Europeans  had  taken  to  drinking  trade  Absinthe,  and 
in  each  case  had  died  in  a  manner  which  called  for  a  post- 
mortem examination,  the  results  of  which  horrified  the 
examining  doctors. 

The  Portuguese  have  long  been  regarded  as  by  far 
the  worst  sinners,  but  it  is  the  fashion  in  West  Africa 
to  place  every  sin  at  the  door  of  that  not  unkindly  nation, 
yet  however  deeply  they  may  have  sinned  in  the  past, 
there  are  happily  signs  of  repentance  and  reform.  In 
Angola  the  Government  has  recently  decreed  the  aboli- 
tion of  distilleries  throughout  the  colony,  providing,  out 
of  their  extreme  poverty,  considerable  sums  as  com- 
pensation for  the  manufacturers. 

The  Belgians  lead  the  way  among  the  colonizing 
nations  in  West  Africa,  for  in  their  colony  they  are 
bringing  the  prohibition  line  ever  nearer  the  coast  and  it 
is  now  impossible  even  in  the  "  open  "  areas  for  a  native 
to  purchase  any  intoxicating  liquor  between  Friday 
night  and  Monday  morning. 

If  the  natives  as  a  rule  dislike  alcohol,  if  the  natives 
of  West  Africa  are  less  drunken  than  Europeans,  what 
happens  to  this  ceaseless  and  increasing  flow  of  spirits 
into  the  West  African  colonies  ?  "  Over  one  million 
cases  of  Hamburg  spirit  are  retailed  to  the  natives  here 
by  a  single  firm  within  a  year."  Such  was  the  remark 
passed  by  a  dispassionate  Government  official  to  me 
when  in  Southern  Nigeria.  There  are  twenty  or  thirty 
big  merchants  in  Lagos  alone,  who  handle  huge  con- 
signments of  this  spirit  by  every  steamer.  Sitting  on 
the  banks  of  the  Lagoon,  one  sees  an  endless  stream  of 
small  craft  passing  to  and  fro  with  their  loads  of  gin. 


"  BANKING  "   SPIRITS  loi 

going  to  a  hundred  different  centres,  some  with  only  six 
cases,  others  with  fifty  and  even  one  hundred.  I  visited 
a  farmer  up  country,  who  admitted  to  me  that  he  retailed 
over  £1000  worth  of  gin  and  rum  every  year.  The 
same  story  met  us  at  Abeokuta,  where  something  like 
thirty-three  per  cent,  of  the  imports  are  spirituous 
liquors,  and  the  returns  published  show  that  in  the  month 
of  January,  1911,  out  of  a  customs  revenue  of  £2644,  no 
less  than  £2450  came  from  duty  on  spirits. 

None  deny,  because  they  cannot,  this  prodigious 
importation  of  spirits  into  the  Gold  Coast  and  Southern 
Nigerian  territories  ;  but  one  thing  baffles  every  observer 
— where  does  it  go  ?  The  Egba  and  Yoruba  people  of 
Southern  Nigeria  are  not  drunken.  We  could  find  very 
few  white  people  who  had  seen  any  appreciable  degree 
of  drunkenness  ;  generally  it  was  suggested  that  drinking 
took  place  at  night.  In  order  to  test  this  theory,  I  went 
several  times,  at  a  late  hour,  quietly  through  the  lowest 
parts  of  Lagos  town.  I  saw  many  things,  some  of  an 
appalling  nature,  but  no  single  drunken  man  or  woman 
could  I  find,  and  the  statistics  for  convictions  barely 
show  one  per  thousand  of  the  population. 

Yet  we  cannot  escape  from  the  official  figures.  Over 
six  and  a  half  million  gallons  of  spirituous  liquor  of 
European  manufacture  were  imported  last  year  into  the 
British  colonies  of  Sierra  Leone,  Nigeria  and  the  Gold 
Coast. 

What  happens  to  this  increasing  stream  of  spirits  ? 
No  one  has  ever  been  able  to  give  a  satisfactory  answer 
to  the  question.  Some  say  that  being  a  currenc}^ 
millions  of  bottles  of  gin  are   "  banked,"   i.e.,   stored  ; 


102  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

some  say  that  large  quantities  are  consumed  at  festivals  ; 
others  assert  that  it  disappears  in  secret  drinking.  I  am 
inclined  to  think,  however,  from  visits  paid  at  all  hours 
to  the  people's  homes,  that  spirit  drinking  is  spread  over 
a  much  wider  area  than  has  hitherto  been  thought ;  that 
is  to  say,  moderate  drinking  prevails  widely,  but  that 
at  present  few  of  the  natives  drink  to  excess.  If  the 
moderate  drinking  of  to-day  is  leading  the  people  to 
drunkenness  to-morrow,  then  a  catastrophe  of  first 
magnitude  will  fall  upon  West  Africa.  Drunkenness  is 
admittedly  on  the  increase  in  the  Gold  Coast,  and  this  is 
so  obvious  that  three  years  ago  the  Governor  sounded  a 
warning  by  saying  that  he  recognized  drunkenness  was 
becoming  one  of  the  most  dangerous  enemies  to 
Christianit}^ 

What  is  to  be  done  ?  Everyone  admits  that  the 
sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  to  natives  (many  would  also 
add — and  to  whites)  in  Africa  is  an  evil ;  all  are  agreed 
that  the  danger  is  potential  rather  than  actual.  But 
very  few  seem  to  have  any  other  remedy  than — repres- 
sion, prohibition,  high  licenses,  heavy  duties  ;  these  are 
the  methods  which  find  greatest  favour  to-day. 

Prohibition  is  an  extremely  difficult  proposition  for 
any  African  colony,  and  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  where 
the  French  and  German  boundary  lines  march  with 
that  of  another  colony.  If,  for  example.  Great  Britain 
proclaimed  prohibition  for  the  Gold  Coast,  what  guarantee 
have  we  that  German  native  traders  would  not  smuggle 
spirits  across  the  Volt  a  into  the  Gold  Coast,  or  the  French 
traders  carry  it  over  the  Dahomean  border  into  Southern 
Nigeria  ? 


HIGH   LICENSES  AND   DUTIES  103 

High  license  and  import  duties  have  both  been  tried, 
and  both  failed  to  check  the  growth  of  imports.  In 
some  places,  it  would  seem  that  these  very  restrictions 
make  matters  worse.  I  was  informed  by  a  white  doctor 
on  the  Gold  Coast  that  chiefs  in  the  hinterland  will  take 
out  a  license  sometimes  of  £50,  or  even  higher  value, 
but  will  impose  a  tax  of  5s.,  or  more,  per  head,  on  the 
entire  community  to  pay  for  it.  My  medical  friend, 
who  was  a  man  of  long  experience  and  wide  knowledge, 
further  said  that  many  of  the  people  resented  this  tax 
because  they  were  abstainers,  and  on  that  ground  com- 
plained to  the  District  Commissioner,  but  the  only  re- 
dress they  obtained  was,  "  Call  it  a  loyalty  tax  then, 
and  pay  it  !  " 

It  would  be  interesting  to  see  what  would  happen  if 
the  duty  as  a  prohibitive  measure  were  temporarily 
removed.  I  do  not  think  it  is  altogether  clear  that  it 
would  tend  to  increase  the  consumption  ;  one  thing  is 
certain,  it  would  cause  something  like  a  financial  panic 
amongst  those  natives  who,  holding  large  stores,  hope 
that  the  agitation  in  Europe  will  enhance  the  local  price 
and  thus  make  possible  extremely  profitable  sales  of 
stocks. 

There  are  two  spheres  of  action  entirely  untouched 
to-day.  West  Africa  is  a  very  "  dry  "  place  indeed,  and 
the  thirsty  inhabitants  must  have  some  beverage  other 
than  water.  Palm  wine  used  to  be  the  national  beverage, 
but  the  demand  by  Europe  for  the  products  of  the  oil 
palm  is  so  great  that  the  whole  strength  of  the  tree  is 
required  for  producing  vegetable  oil. 

The  other  sphere  of  operation  is  beyond  question  the 


104  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

most  effective — an  internal  movement  against  the  con- 
sumption of,  and  trade  in,  spirits.  Repressive  measures 
by  Governments  are  all  very  well  in  their  place,  but 
without  the  goodwill  of  the  people  those  measures  cannot 
be  wholly  effective.  An  agitation  locally  kept  up  with 
the  vigour  that  characterizes  the  campaign  in  England, 
would  do  an  enormous  amount  of  good. 

For  generations  past  we  have  been  telling  the  native 
that  he,  in  his  primitive  state,  is  everything  that  is  bad. 
Certainly  the  African,  modelled  upon  a  combination  of 
the  reports  of  travellers,  officials  and  missionaries,  is  a 
creature  the  devil  himself  would  disown.  Unfortunately, 
the  native  has,  to  some  extent,  come  to  believe  this,  and, 
abandoning  his  native  role,  has  struggled  to  imitate  the 
whites  who,  he  has  been  taught  to  believe,  are  the  highest 
type  of  civilization.  When,  therefore,  the  white  man 
ships  his  gin  to  the  African,  he  considers  it  the  "  correct 
form  "  of  the  higher  civilization  to  purchase  it,  and  copy 
the  European  to  the  extent  of  drinking  "  gin  and  bitters," 
"  gin  and  water,"  "  whisky  and  soda,"  "  cocktails  "  and 
other  liver  petrifying  abominations,  forsaking  his  simple 
draught  of  water  and  his  kola  nuts  for  the  drinks  that 
help  him  up  to  the  standard  of  his  inexorable  critics  and 
overlords. 

The  Governor  and  his  officials  can,  if  they  like,  do 
more  to  stop  spirit-drinking  than  all  the  prohibitions, 
taxations  and  high  licenses  that  the  wit  of  man  could 
impose.  Is  it  impossible  for  one  colon}^  to  set  an 
example  ?  I  think  not,  for  I  believe  the  British  officials, 
as  a  whole,  in  spite  of  their  shortcomings,  are  capable  of 
making  any  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  colonies.     If  a 


THE   FORCE   OF   EXAMPLE  105 

governor  would  "  set  the  fashion  "  and  by  his  example 
inspire  his  subordinate  officers  with  a  determination  to 
refuse  to  drink  any  intoxicating  liquors  in  public,  at 
any  function  or  ceremony  whatever,  for  a  period  of 
three  years,  and  thereby  set  the  fashion  against  spirit- 
drinking,  I  venture  to  predict  that  within  those  three 
years  the  import  of  spirits  would  decrease  by  at  least 
one  half.  The  natives,  rightly  led  by  the  Press,  and 
the  movement  supported  by  the  officials  and  by  the 
ministers  of  the  native  churches,  would  take  fire,  so  to 
speak,  until  the  drinking  of  spirits  would  become  "  in- 
correct form." 

In  the  hands  of  the  Government  officials  is  the 
power  to  turn  the  natives  by  example  against  the  con- 
sumption of  ardent  European  spirituous  liquors.  Will 
they  seize  the  opportunity  ? 


THE  EDUCATED  NATIVE 

The  man  who  would  understand  the  African  must  get 
beneath  the  surface,  otherwise  he  will  never  know  the 
real  sentiments  of  the  native  races.  By  confining  himself 
to  the  hospitality  of  the  whites,  he  will  learn  a  great  deal 
about  the  natives,  and  will  also  learn  to  appreciate  the 
position  of  the  merchant  and  the  administrator,  but  if 
he  would  probe  the  mind  and  thought  of  the  African,  he 
will  find  no  better  way  than  that  of  living  with  him. 

It  is  of  course  more  congenial — to  many  essential — 
to  accept  the  hospitality  of  trader  or  official,  for  there 
are  little  things  a  native  host  and  hostess  will  inevitably 
forget ;  but  the  compensations !  What  a  wealth  of 
affection,  courtesy  and  native  lore  is  poured  at  the  feet 
of  the  visitor. 

Driven  by  fierce  tornadoes,  wet,  cold  and  utterly 
miserable,  I  have  sought  the  simple  hut  of  the  forest 
hunter,  or  the  fishing-shed  on  the  banks  of  an  African 
river.  How  warm  the  welcome  !  How  quickly  the  good 
wife  will  bring  forward  native  refreshment  !  Let  a  drop 
of  rain  find  its  way  through  the  roof  into  the  hut  and 
on  to  the  white  guest,  and  nothing  will  stop  the  impetuous 
host  from  dashing  outside  in  the  foulest  of  weather  to 
stop  the  leakage.     Readily,  too,  he  gives  up  his  rough 


NATIVE   HOSPITALITY  107 

bed  and  will  curl  up  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree,  or  beneath 
its  branches,  joyfully  enduring  any  discomfort  so  long 
as  the  white  man  may  be  made  comfortable. 

It  is  the  same  at  the  other  end  of  the  scale.  Those 
who  discover  that  terrible  disease — negrophobia — creeping 
over  them,  often  in  spite  of  the  better  self,  will  find  an 
infallible  cure  by  staying  for  a  few  days  with  some 
leading  educated  native.  Their  view-point  will  almost 
unconsciously  change  under  the  genial  and  enlightened 
conversation  of  the  dinner-table  ;  their  hostility  will 
melt  away  under  the  influence  of  the  natural  courtesy 
of  the  warmhearted  host.  They  will  begin  to  marvel 
that  some  things  should  never  have  occurred  to  them 
before,  and,  unless  race  prejudice  closes  the  observant 
mind  to  all  reason,  the  guest  will  forget  that  his  host  is 
an  "  accursed  educated  African." 

The  "  educated  negro  "  is  to  many  only  a  worse  evil 
than  the  primitive  savage,  but  what  has  the  educated 
native  done  ?  What  terrible  crime  has  he  committed  ? 
I  admit  he  has  imbibed  the  education  European  civiliza- 
tion provides,  but  is  that  a  crime  ?  I  admit  that  he  is 
probably  a  greater  consumer  of  spirituous  liquor  than  the 
illiterate  native,  but  if  it  is  wrong  for  the  native  to  follow 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  white  exemplars,  why  does  the 
white  man  import  it  ?  I  admit  that  he  is  often  over- 
dressed in  too  demonstrative  European  clothes,  but 
again,  if  it  is  wrong  for  him  to  wear  these  things,  why  does 
European  compete  with  European  in  producing  the 
liveliest  patterns  in  clothes  and  the  most  outrageous 
collars  and  boots  ?  If  these  are  the  things  which  make 
the  educated  native  unfit  to  live,  why  send  them  to  him  ? 


io8  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

I  am  not  here  concerned  in  condemning  the  sale  of 
European  outfits,  importation  of  spirits,  least  of  all 
European  education,  but  in  fairness  to  the  African,  let 
us  brush  aside  unreasoning  and  unreasonable  prejudice 
and  put  ourselves  in  his  place  for  a  moment.  Let  us 
at  least  recognize  for  example  that  if  grave  faults 
exist  in  the  educational  systems  we  provide  for  Africa, 
it  is  upon  us,  rather  than  upon  the  African,  that  the 
responsibility  rests. 

We  all  agree  that  the  educated  African  has  his  weak- 
nesses, and  pretty  bad  ones  too,  but  though  I  have  met 
hundreds  of  them,  though  I  have  read  volumes  of 
material  they  have  written,  I  have  never  met  one  who 
claims  the  perfection  in  life  and  conduct  that  not  a  few 
of  his  critics  assume.  It  seems  to  be  mainly  in  British 
colonies  that  the  educated  native  is  such  a  bugbear,  and 
if  our  educational  system  produces  such  evils,  it  is  done 
after  all  under  an  autocratic  and  not  a  representative 
Government.  Surely,  therefore,  we  should  lose  no  time 
in  abolishing,  root  and  branch,  the  cause  of  the  mischief. 

But  is  it  a  failure  ?  If  so,  wherein  has  the  African 
failed  ?  Take  first  the  elementary  curriculum  of  mission 
and  Government  schools.  Where  would  Africa  be  to-day 
without  its  thousands  of  coloured  clerks  and  Government 
officials  ?  In  Southern  Nigeria  alone  there  are  5000 
natives  in  the  British  Government  service,  all  of  them 
more  or  less  educated.  In  every  colony,  too,  you  meet 
cultured  natives  trained  at  these  schools  who  are  now 
devoting  their  lives  to  the  education  of  the  rising 
generation. 

We  are  told  that  the  education  of  the  African  has 


EDUCATION   AND   THE   AFRICAN  109 

been  too  largely  concentrated  on  a  purely  literary  and 
spiritual  curriculum.  Beyond  question  there  is  some 
force  in  this  criticism,  but  the  Missions  and  Governments 
are  surely  more  responsible  for  this  than  the  natives 
themselves.  The  Government  particularly  so,  for 
missionary  committees  are  after  all  only  trustees  for  the 
funds  placed  at  their  disposal,  and  such  are  almost  entirely 
given  for  purely  missionary  propaganda.  But  even  this 
criticism  is  unjust  in  ignoring  the  existence  all  over 
West  Central  Africa  of  the  educated  native  carpenters, 
bricklayers,  engineers  on  steamers,  engine  drivers  and 
guards  on  railway  trains. 

Crossing  the  Kasai  territory  I  met  an  American 
Bishop,  who  had  also  travelled  not  a  few  thousand  miles 
in  Central  Africa,  and  this  charming  old  Divine  could 
not  cease  exclaiming,  "  Well,  the  way  you  English 
are  covering  this  continent  with  educated  native 
carpenters,  bricklayers  and  engineers  is  just  marvellous." 
Go  where  you  will,  you  meet  these  men.  In  the  upland 
cocoa  rogas  of  San  Thome,  in  the  workshops  of  German 
Cameroons,  in  the  trading  factories  of  almost  every  island, 
you  will  always  find  the  Accra  or  Sierra  Leone  trader 
and  mechanic  who  has  received  a  fairly  liberal  general 
education  at  the  mission  schools.  A  thousand  miles 
north  in  the  Congo,  away  south  towards  Rhodesia,  you 
will  hear  frequently  the  welcome  salutation,  "  How  do 
you  do,  sir!  "  Welcome  then  indeed  is  the  claim  to  one 
Throne  one  Empire  ;  more  welcome  still  is  the  kindly 
assistance  with  baggage,  the  clean  hut,  the  generous 
gifts  of  fruit  and  provisions. 

"  May  I  pay  you  for  your  kindness  ?  " 


no  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

"  No,  sir,  I  am  too  glad  to  see  you.  God  bless  you, 
sir.     Goodbye." 

The  traveller  thus  refreshed  goes  on  his  way  and  vows 
that  when  he  gets  home  he  will  send  a  subscription  to 
those  missionary  societies  who  are  sending  forth  this 
stream  of  men  to  the  distant  parts  of  the  dark 
continent. 

The  principal  openings  for  the  sons  of  native  chiefs 
are  the  medical  and  legal  professions.  First  let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  enlightened  chiefs  fortunately 
saw  that  by  giving  the  flower  of  the  race  scientific  Euro- 
pean education  the  power  of  the  witch  doctor,  who, 
throughout  African  history  has  been  both  medical  and 
legal  quack,  would  be  broken.  Not  only  so,  but  the  sick 
and  afflicted  among  the  race  would  receive  the  best 
alleviation  that  science  could  provide. 

Has  the  coloured  barrister  failed  ?  If  so  where  ? 
Certainly  not  in  British  examinations  where  brains  and 
energy  provide  the  only  standard.  I  shall  probably 
be  told  by  the  critic  that  he  has  failed  in  practice.  If 
this  be  so,  how  is  it  that  whenever  a  Crown  case  comes 
along  the  British  Government  promptly  briefs  leading 
native  barristers  ? 

Has  the  doctor  failed  ?  Again,  where  ?  Not  in  the 
English  and  Scotch  hospitals,  for  he  has  frequently 
carried  a  higher  degree  than  he  finds  amongst  his  Euro- 
pean colleagues  when  he  returns  to  the  coast.  That  he 
is  excluded  from  Government  service  proves  nothing, 
except  perhaps  prejudice.  It  may  be  asked  why  in  the 
Gold  Coast  colony  the  African  medical  man  is  allowed 
no  place  in  Government  service.     We  are  told  in  reply. 


DR.    SAPARA    OF    LAGOS,    A    MEDICAL    MAN    IN    THE    SERVICE    OF    THE 
BRITISH    GOVERNMENT. 

(Dr.  Sapara  is  endeavouring  to  persuade  the  natives  to  adopt  attire  more  suited  to  Tropical  Africa 
than  the  frock  coat  and  silk  hat  of  the  European.) 


THE  NATIVE  DOCTOR  iii 

because  white  men,  and  more  particularly  their  wives, 
would  refuse  to  receive  treatment  at  the  hands  of  coloured 
medical  men.  This  argument  fails  entirely  when  we 
remember  that  the  majority  of  the  hospital  patients  are 
not  white,  but  coloured,  and  at  present  can  only  receive 
treatment  from  white  doctors.  Moreover,  do  we  not 
know  of  white  men,  who,  fearful  of  that  rising  tempera- 
ture, that  throbbing  pulse,  unable  any  longer  to  bear 
the  suspense,  have  sent  for  a  native  medical  attendant, 
and  under  his  kindly  treatment  have  recovered,  in  some 
cases  to  remember  gladly  the  skill  exhibited,  but  in 
others,  alas,  too  easily  to  forget  that  they  owe  their  lives 
to  such  tender  ministrations. 

Then,  too,  are  there  not  to-day  many  white  men  on 
the  coast  who  prefer  native  doctors — whose  names  I 
could  mention — ^to  the  services  of  European  medical 
men  ?  Have  we  not  heard  and  known  of  something 
still  more  eloquent — the  calling  in  of  native  medical  men 
to  white  women  ?  Many  a  white  merchant  and  Govern- 
ment official  has  taken  out  a  delicate  and  highly-strung 
wife  to  assist  him  in  his  work,  and  almost  every 
"  coaster  "  knows  how  one  of  these  heroic  women  was 
stretched  upon,  apparently,  the  last  bed  of  sickness  ; 
the  distracted  husband  had  tried  everything,  had  implored 
the  white  doctor  to  try  something — it  hardly  mattered 
what — to  give  back  health  to  the  sufferer.  Suddenly 
a  thought  occurred  to  him  !  The  native  doctor,  fully 
qualified,  was  sent  for  and  visited  the  patient,  and  then 
in  consultation  with  his  white  colleague,  other  treatment 
was  tried.  Slowly  the  sick  one  fought  her  way  back  to 
life  and  health,  and  to  this  day  the  husband  remembers 


112  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

to  whom  he  owes  the  restoration  of  one  who  to  him  was 
everything — and  this  is  no  isolated  case. 

When  death's  angel  looks  in  at  the  window,  which 
is  pretty  often  in  West  Africa,  race  prejudice  shame- 
facedly slinks  out  through  the  nearest  doorway. 

The  administrator,  the  missionary,  and  the  native, 
however,  realize  that  the  educational  facilities  at  present 
at  the  disposal  of  the  natives  are  not  ideal ;  the  march 
of  progress  has  shown  defects,  and  these  must  be  remedied. 
If  there  is  one  administrative  problem  in  British  colonies 
important  above  another,  surely  it  is  that  of  education. 
In  all  things  colonial.  Great  Britain  has  hitherto  given  a 
lead  ;  let  her  maintain  that  proud  tradition  by  appointing 
a  commission  to  study  the  whole  question  of  the  educa- 
tion of  the  African  peoples  in  her  Equatorial  possessions, 
with  the  object  of  ascertaining  how  far  the  Government 
may  be  able  to  secure  a  more  even  balance  between  the 
literary  and  technical  training  of  the  natives  ;  how  far 
it  may  be  possible  to  so  re-adjust  existing  systems  as  to 
avoid  denationalization  ;  how  far  it  may  be  possible  to 
extend  that  supremely  important  but  largely  neglected 
branch  of  education — ^practical  agriculture. 

Then  there  is  the  question  of  Government  grants. 
Can  anyone  defend  the  antiquated  system  which  prevails 
in  many  colonies  of  giving  lump  sums  of  revenue  to 
missions  ?  An  excellent  departure  from  this  rule  has 
been  commenced  in  the  Gold  Coast,  whereby  the  missions 
receive  a  grant  per  capita  for  the  finished  product,  i.e. 
when  a  scholar  reaches  a  given  standard  in  literary  and 
technical  knowledge,  the  Government  makes  a  definite 
grant  of  from  20s.  to  27s.  6d.  for  each  scholar  attaining 


EDUCATIONAL   GRANTS  113 

to  that  standard.  This  experiment,  already  fruitful  of 
so  much  good,  might  provide  a  model  for  other  parts 
of  the  African  continent.  A  commission  could  study 
how  far  this  should  be  extended  and  whether  it  might 
be  wise  to  lead  on  to  scholarships  for  an  extension  of  the 
education  by  providing  grants  for  the  study  of  agriculture 
in  the  botanical  gardens  and  plantations  of  the  tropical 
world.  For  example,  if  facilities  were  provided  certain 
natives  from  the  Gold  Coast  would  derive  great  benefit 
from  a  study  of  cocoa  plantations  in  different  parts  of  the 
British  Empire. 

If  race  prejudice  were  too  strong  to  admit  of  this 
procedure  within  the  Empire,  then  such  natives  would 
undoubtedly  benefit  by  a  visit  to  the  plantations  of  other 
Powers,  in  particular  those  of  the  Portuguese  on  San 
Thome,  where,  although  there  is  predial  slavery,  no  race 
prejudice  exists  which  would  prevent  a  close  study  of 
one  of  the  finest  systems  of  cocoa  production  in  the  world 
— certainly  second  to  none  in  West  Africa. 

Another  problem  which  knocks  loudly  at  the  door  of 
the  British  Colonial  Office  for  consideration  is  that  of 
Africans  seeking  a  legal  and  medical  education  in  the 
Mother  Country.  We  cannot,  and  have  no  right  to  object 
to  their  doing  so  ;  on  the  contrary,  we  ought  to  welcome 
the  idea,  to  be  proud  of  the  fact  that  our  Administrations 
are  so  progressive  that  they  help  this  movement  forward. 
But  we  are  not ;  we  do  not  like  some  of  the  results  which 
at  present  attend  this  practice.  Again,  I  ask,  are  we  not 
responsible  ?  These  young  men  at  a  most  receptive  age 
come  in  all  their  enthusiasm  to  the  Motherland  of  their 
dreams ;     they   expect   to   find   a   civilization,    but   one 

I 


114  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

remove  from  the  realms  of  eternal  purity  and  bliss, 
and  what  do  they  find  ?  No  strong  and  friendly  hand  is 
outstretched  to  help  them,  no  responsible  person  comes 
forward  to  take  them  by  the  hand  and  bring  them  in 
touch  with  the  better  elements  of  our  national  life.  Alone 
in  London  or  Edinburgh  they  drift  into  the  worst  channels 
and  imbibe  the  most  pernicious  ideas  and  practices  that 
float  around  the  parks  and  parade  themselves  in  the 
streets  of  our  great  cities.  What  wonder  that  their 
lives  are  fouled  ?  Who  can  be  surprised  if  the  only 
seeds  they  carry  back  to  the  colonies  are  those  evil  ones 
which  produce  a  crop  of  tares  to  the  embarrassment  of 
the  Government  ? 

Philanthropy  can  do  much  to  turn  the  thoughts  of 
these  young  men  into  loftier  channels,  but  philanthropy 
should  not  be  left  to  do  this  work  alone.     Surely  the 
Colonial  Office,  if  it  has  no  duty  in  the  matter,  at  least 
for  its  own  sake  could  render  some  assistance  in  giving 
these  young  students  a  closer  knowledge  of  the  men, 
the  aims  and  the  desires  that  inspire  British  Adminis- 
tration.    In   the   whole   world   there   is   collectively   no 
finer    group    of  officials  than  those  in    the   service    of 
Downing  Street  ;   some  seem  to  think  they  too  closely 
resemble  highly-specialized  machinery  ;   some  of  us  know 
otherwise  ;  some  of  us  know  that  behind  the  official  mask 
there   are   men   whose   hearts   and   consciences   pulsate 
with  lofty  principle  and  humanitarian  sentiment.     Yet 
between  this  wealth  of  goodwill  and  experience,  and  the 
African  youth  amongst  us,  a  great  gulf  is  fixed  ;    there 
is  no  medium  of  friendly  intercourse  between  these  noble- 
minded  officials  and  ex-officials  of  the  Government  and 


THE  AFRICAN   ALONE   IN   LONDON       115 

the  young  Africans  who  are  being  trained  to  mould  the 
character  of  their  compatriots  and  of  public  opinion  in 
Britain  across  the  seas. 

John  Bull  must  wake  up  to  the  existence  and  the  needs 
of  these  children,  must  realize  that  their  education, 
whether  in  the  colony  or  in  the  Mother  Country,  is  of 
supreme  importance,  and  that  the  friendly  and  wise 
oversight  of  their  education  is  an  Imperial  responsibility 
of  the  highest  order.  It  is  more,  for  all  nations  have 
looked  to  us  in  the  past  for  the  solution  of  these  problems, 
and  upon  such  facts — rather  than  upon  a  colossal  navy — 
rests  the  real  strength  of  Great  Britain. 


VI 

JUSTICE  AND  THE  AFRICAN 

The  Powers  of  Europe — and  Great  Britain  in  particular — 
boast  of  the  "  justice  "  with  which  they  treat  native  races. 
Happily  the  native  tribes,  as  a  whole,  fully  share  this 
complacent  belief  in  European  rule,  and  this  no  doubt 
arises  from  the  fact  that  before  the  Powers  of  Europe 
divided  Central  Africa  between  them,  justice,  as  compared 
with  might,  had  but  a  small  place. 

This  beUef,  however,  is  perceptibly  passing  away, 
and  in  many  of  the  West  African  colonies  the  natives 
are  not  now  prepared  to  accept,  without  question,  the 
acts  of  European  administration.  To  such  an  extent 
has  this  feeling  grown  within  recent  years  that  adminis- 
trative action  sincerely  taken  in  the  best  interests  of  the 
natives  is  frequently  assailed. 

No  one  would  deny  that  blunders  are  but  human  ; 
few  would  deny  that  the  finest  Colonial  Office  in  the 
world — that  of  Great  Britain — has  made  mistakes  which 
subsequent  history  condemns.  The  natives  have  enough 
common-sense  to  make  every  allowance  for  such  mistakes, 
but  what  they  do  not  understand — and  in  this  they  are  by 
no  means  alone — is,  why  recognition  of  the  mistake  is 
not  made  promptly,  and  some  reparation  made  for  the 
error.     The  plain  man  asks  why  there  should  be  some 


BRITISH   JUSTICE  117 

Medo-Persian  law  which  forbids  the  admission  of  error 
and  the  consequent  refusal  of  reparation.  This  attitude 
is  accountable  for  much  harm  to  the  prestige  of  the 
European  in  West  Africa. 

In  Government  despatches,  in  speeches,  in  our  schools 
and  from  our  pulpits,  we  are  never  tired  of  preaching 
upon  those  articles  of  British  political  faith  which  know 
no  party.  We  pride  ourselves  upon  our  love  of  justice 
and  freedom,  and  yet  we  do  things  which  we  know  to 
be  utterly  indefensible,  which  we  know  to  be  in  entire 
contradiction  to  our  belauded  principles.  We  have  made 
the  blunder  and  we  know  it,  but  we  invariably  crown  it 
with  the  further  blunder  of  refusing  to  admit  it. 

We  know  perfectly  well  that  it  is  indefensible  to  arrest 
a  man  and  arbitrarily  punish  him  without  trial,  but  it 
is  done,  nevertheless.  During  our  journeys  in  Central 
Africa,  we  visited  a  grey-haired  old  chieftain  living  in  a 
hut  on  the  Gold  Coast.  The  old  man  was  reclining  in  a 
cheap  deck-chair,  he  was  totally  blind  and  unable  to  stand. 
What  was  his  story  ? 

Some  thirteen  years  ago  he  heard  rumours  of  a 
rebellion  against  the  British  Government  in  Sierra  Leone, 
and  immediately  Bai  Sherboro  sent  a  message  to  the 
District  Commissioner  that  the  war  boys  were  bent  on 
attacking  Bonthe.  This  timely  information  permitted 
of  measures  being  taken  to  protect  Bonthe.  One  day 
a  messenger  called  upon  Bai  Sherboro  and  told  him  the 
Governor  wished  to  see  him.  Trustingly  the  old  man 
picked  up  his  staff  and  went  to  the  British  authorities, 
when,  without  trial — and  he  asserts  without  being  even 
informed    of    the    charges    made    against    him — he    was 


ii8  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

forthwith  exiled  to  a  lonely  spot  on  the  shores  of  the 
distant  British  colony,  the  Gold  Coast.  In  Sierra  Leone 
the  old  man  had  a  son,  who,  refusing  to  allow  his  father 
to  go  forth  alone,  sold  all  he  had  and  joined  him  in 
solitary  exile,  and  who  to  this  day  shares  his  loneli- 
ness and  sorrow. 

The  British  Government  does  not  deny  the  facts, 
but,  apparently  acting  upon  the  advice  of  the  "  man  on 
the  spot,"  who  has  probably  never  seen  any  other  person 
than  the  old  chief's  interested  accuser,  takes  up  the 
position  that  the  return  of  this  blind  and  decrepit  old  man 
to  his  native  home,  would  be  dangerous,  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  believed  to  be  implicated  in  a  rebellion  ! 
The  Government  has  all  along  refused  to  give  the  old  man 
a  trial,  so  that  he  might  face  his  accusers  and  meet  the 
charges,  with  the  result  that  he  must  die  in  exile.  There 
is  something  very  un-English  about  such  an  incident. 
Strangely  enough  the  old  man  still  holds  firmly,  after  all 
these  years,  to  his  admiration  of  British  rule,  and  faith  in 
British  justice.  Again  and  again  he  reiterated  to  us  the 
words,  "  If  only  the  King  of  England  knew  !  "  "  If 
only  the  King  of  England  knew  !  " 

This  is  a  passionate  loyalty  which  surely  we  are  unwise 
to  trifle  with,  unwise  to  immolate  upon  the  altar  of 
theoretic  administrative  infalUbility.  It  is  folly  to  bury 
our  heads  in  the  sand  so  that  we  may  not  see  these  things, 
for  if  we  fail  to  look  these  facts  squarely  in  the  face, 
others  are  regarding  them — our  friends  with  deep 
concern,  our  enemies  with  the  keen  relish  of  an  insati- 
able hatred. 

Will   it   be   argued   that   this   is   only   an   incident  ? 


THE   PATERNAL   DREAM  119 

Possibly,  but  who  knows  ?  This  case  was  unknown  to 
the  outside  pubhc  until  the  old  man's  hair  had  whitened 
and  until  he  had  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs  during 
ten  years'  exile.  Two  years  of  persistent  knocking 
at  the  door  of  the  Colonial  Office  has  even  failed  to 
secure  permission  for  the  old  man  to  return  to  die  in  his 
own  country. 

Many  chiefs  and  native  merchants  in  British  West 
Africa  have  but  one  ideal  for  their  offspring — to  send 
them  to  England  for  an  education  either  for  the  bar  or 
for  the  medical  service.  They  are  pathetic  stories  which 
some  of  these  men  tell  you  of  how  they  deny  themselves 
and  their  families  so  that  they  may  save  enough  to  send 
"  my  eldest  "  to  England.  They  themselves  have  only 
heard  of  the  glories  of  England,  they  can  never  hope  to 
see  them,  but  their  determination  is  that  the  boy  shall. 
The  latter  comes  and  spends  his  four  or  five  years  here  in 
England,  possibly  more,  and  during  that  period  the  old 
man  is  slaving  away  on  his  farm,  or  trading  early  and 
late  in  his  store,  has  watched  his  savings  trickle  away 
until  often  he  has  but  little  left.  At  last  the  glad  day 
of  home-coming  arrives.  The  lad  steps  ashore  from  the 
boat,  a  fully  fledged  "  medico,"  carrying  "  no  end  of  big 
degrees."  How  proud  the  father  is !  How  amply 
repaid  he  feels  for  all  his  efforts  and  struggles,  as  his  full- 
grown  son  explains  to  him  the  degrees  he  has  obtained 
are  higher  than  those  of  Dr.  Smith,  the  white  medical 
officer  at  the  hospital. 

The  young  medical  man  hopefully  sends  in  his  request 
for  an  appointment  in  the  Government  service — an 
appointment  which  must  be  paid  largely  from  native 


120  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

taxation.  At  a  later  date  he  receives  an  official  envelope, 
which  he  greedily  tears  open  in  the  presence  of  the 
expectant  and  admiring  family.  It  is  the  official  form, 
intimating  that  his  services  are  not  wanted  ! 

We  all  know  the  reason,  wh}^  wrap  it  up  in  gentle 
phraseology,  the  hideous  fact  is  there — the  medical 
service  is  the  monopoly  of  the  whites.  Of  what  avail 
are  degrees  of  the  highest  order  ?  What  use  is  it  to  argue 
that  native  medical  officers  would  be  less  costly  ?  The 
colour-bar  is  thrown  across  the  threshold  of  opportunity 
in  the  Gold  Coast.  The  young  man  himself  understands, 
possibly  he  may  even  come  to  hate  the  Administration 
which  appears  to  hate  him,  and  can  we  be  altogether 
surprised  ?  The  old  father  does  not  understand  it,  he 
is  bewildered — the  blow  that  has  fallen  upon  his  hopes 
is  a  heavy  one,  and  in  spite  of  himself  he  wonders  what 
is  amiss  with  British  justice. 

The  island  of  Lagos,  measuring  less  than  600  square 
miles,  with  a  population  of  nearly  80,000,  was  always 
congested,  but  never  so  badly  as  it  is  to-day.  By  day, 
and  also  by  night,  I  have  traversed  the  native  quarters 
and  found  overcrowding  which  before  long  must  produce 
a  grave  condition  in  that  hub  of  West  Coast  commercial 
activity.  Lagos  is  always  hot,  always  humid,  always 
malodorous  to  epidemic  point,  but  Lagos,  overcrowded 
though  it  was,  has  within  recent  years  seriously  added  to 
its  congestion  by  the  forcible  expropriation  of  some 
hundreds  of  people  from  the  lands  they  occupied.  No 
doubt  a  nicely-laid-out  race-course  is  more  pleasing  to 
the  eye  of  many  British  officials  :  the  brightness  and 
neatness  of  this  fenced  park  is  cheering  to  those  who  now 


EXPROPRIATION  121 

have  a  monopoly  of  this  vicinity,  but  the  price  paid  for 
such  expropriation  is  a  further  aUenation  of  native 
loyalty  and  goodwill.  Somehow  the  native  does  not  hke 
being  driven  from  his  home,  even  though  "  Hobson's  " 
compensation  is  provided. 


VII 

RACE   PREJUDICE 

The  most  lamentable  feature  which  confronts  the  traveller 
in  British  West  African  colonies  to-day  is  that  with  the 
growth  of  commerce  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  the  spread 
of   Christian   thought   on   the   other,   race   prejudice   is 
rapidly  increasing  its  hold  not   only  through  an  ever 
widening  area,  but  in  an  intensity  which  must  before 
many  years  have  passed  precipitate  a  grave  condition 
in  the  relationship  of  the  two  races.     The  decks  of  West 
African  liners  provide  an  incomparable  mirror  for  reflect- 
ing white  opinion  upon  the  shortcomings  of  the  black  man. 
On  shore   each  man   is  busy  with   his  own  affairs  and 
usually  meets  only  men  of  his  own  circle,  but  on  board 
ship  one  meets  every  class  ;   moreover,  the  conditions  of 
travel  tend  to  facilitate  a  flow  of  conversation.     One  sees 
stretched  upon  the  deck,  in  every  conceivable  attitude 
of  comfort  and  discomfort,  all  classes  of  the  coast  com- 
munity :    the  dapper  little  colonel ;    the  young  district 
commissioner  ;    the  army  doctor  ;    dealers  in  oil,  ebony 
and  rubber  ;  the  Nimrod  going  out  in  search  of  big  game, 
and  the  missionary  going  forth  in  quest  of  human  souls. 
These  varied  interests  cooped  up  on  the  decks  under  the 
enervating  influence  of  the  tropical  sun  will  with  some 
exceptions  share  httle  in  common,  but  that  of  an  indefinable 


RACE  PREJUDICE  AFLOAT      123 

dislike  and  contempt  for  that  black  man  they  come  out  to 
govern  or  exploit.  To  the  student  of  human  affairs,  the 
conversation  is  of  absorbing  interest,  revealing  as  it  does 
every  type  of  thought  and  superficiality.  The  loquacious 
trader,  with  the  experience  of  but  one  term,  opines  with 
a  lofty  air  that  the  "  nigger  "  is  the  very  embodiment 
of  Satan.  The  '*  gentle  "  wife  of  Britain's  representative 
suggests  that  the  sum  of  all  evils— the  native  we  have  half- 
educated,  should  be  curbed  by  measures  dear  to  the  heart 
of  the  short-sighted  statesmen  of  Russia.  The  sympa- 
thetic doctor,  with  ten  years'  practice,  looks  on  and  holds 
his  peace,  a  silent  but  eloquent  censure.  The  missionary, 
with  longer  experience  still,  likewise  says  nothing,  but 
listens  with  pained  interest.  The  deck  below  is  filled  with 
the  usual  crowd  of  natives  :  the  tall  Fulani  trader  ;  the 
squat  Gold  Coaster  ;  the  Christian  servant  from  Freetown  ; 
the  devout  Mohammedan  merchant  going  up  to  Kano, 
possibly  on  to  Mecca.  The  mammies,  too,  are  there, 
dressed  in  skirts  of  brilliant  Manchester  print  and  gaily 
coloured  blouses,  outrageous  in  fit  and  style.  The  picca- 
ninnies play  their  little  games  and  romp  round  their 
admiring  mammies.  Not  infrequently  a  child  stands 
sadly  apart,  maybe  a  girl  possessing  but  little  in  common 
with  the  other  children,  her  little  head  with  its  pale  face 
is  covered  with  something  half -wool,  half -hair  ;  she  has 
a  father  somewhere,  possibly  amongst  that  group  on  the 
upper  deck,  but  between  upper  and  lower  deck  a  ladder 
is  fixed,  down  which  the  white  man  may  go  whenever 
desire  prompts  him,  but  up  which  neither  coloured  nor 
quadroon  may  climb. 

But  what  are  these  exceptional  sins  of  the  coloured 


124  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

man  ?  What  are  these  terrible  shortcomings  of  which 
he  has  the  absolute  monopoly  and  which  call  forth  bursts 
of  passionate  denunciation  from  the  great  men  of  the 
earth  ?  "  An  incurable  kleptomaniac  " — "  unspeakably 
immoral  " — "  grossly  impudent  " — "  incorrigibly  lazy  " — 
are  but  a  few  of  the  sweeping  indictments  hurled  pell- 
mell  at  the  reputation  of  the  absent  and  mainly  defence- 
less "  prisoner  in  the  dock."  Civilization,  which  has 
never  robbed  the  African  of  his  land  or  its  fruits,  never 
bought  and  sold  him,  never  violated  his  daughters,  but 
has  ever  protected  him,  has  ever  set  before  him  a  perfect 
standard  of  Christian  practice,  should  examine  these 
whirling  charges  in  the  light  of  established  facts.  It 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  African  frequently  breaks  the 
eighth  commandment,  but  there  is  some  evidence  that  the 
Almighty  had  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  in  view  rather  than 
the  African  when  He  gave  Moses  the  ten  commandments 
on  Sinai's  mountain. 

The  following  incident  will  show  the  prejudice  to  which 
the  African  is  subjected :  Our  vessel  was  pitching, 
tossing  and  rolling  her  way  down  the  West  Coast,  most  of 
her  passengers  too  sea-sick  to  stir  far  from  the  upper 
deck.  A  steward  shuffled  his  way  along  endeavouring 
to  balance  cups  of  chicken-broth  to  tempt  the  appetite. 
One  of  the  passengers  helping  himself,  called  attention  to 
the  lack  of  spoons.  The  steward  replied  :  "  We  are  not 
allowed  to  bring  them,  sir  ;  you  see  there's  niggers  aboard 
this  ship  !  "  Though  knowing  perfectly  well  that  the  Kroo 
boy  may  not  intrude  himself  upon  the  upper  deck,  even 
the  steward  seeks  to  make  him  responsible  for  losses  more 
properly  attributable  to  the  members  of  his  own  staff. 


NATIVE   OFFICIALS  125 

The  Post  Office  clerks  at  Sierra  Leone,  and  Custom 
House  officials  at  Lagos,  are  cited  as  paragons  of  im- 
pudence and  "  swelled  head."     It  must  be  admitted  that 
these  men  fully  realize  that  they  are  servants  of  the 
British   Crown   and  maintain  a   dignity  not   altogether 
appreciated  by  the  white  community.     If  they  can  be 
accused  of  "  swelled  head,"  may  it  not  be  that  white 
example  has  led  them  to  regard  such  an   attitude  as 
"  correct   form  "   for   Government   officials  ?     Examples 
of  this  may  too  often  be  seen  in  British  Crown  colonies, 
for  between  the  British  official  class  and  the  merchant 
community  a  great  gulf  is  fixed,  across  which  many  officials 
gaze  with  unbecoming  contempt.     Let  the  subordinate 
native  but  ape  this  attitude,  and,  in  him,  it  becomes  a  sin. 
With  bated  breath  and  eloquent  gesture,  the  frightful 
immorality  of  the  native  is  a  morsel  of  scandal  dear  to  the 
heart  of  many  superior  whites.     This  is  a  matter,  however, 
upon  which  students  of  African  social  life  have  some 
differences  of  opinion,  but  none  have  any  such  differences 
of  opinion  upon   the  necessity  of   "  Form  B,"  which  so 
many  white  officials  are  prone  to  forget.     An  exposure 
of  African  immorality  cannot,  it  is  true,  be  long  delayed  ; 
sooner  than  most  people  think  that  day  is  coming.    Locked 
in  the  breasts  of  governors,   doctors,   missionaries  and 
educated    natives    are    strange    stories    and    appalling 
statistics  ;    their  volume  is  daily  increasing  ;    facts  are 
being  labelled  and  classified  and  these  only  await  the 
opportunity    which    an    increasing    virulence    of    attack 
upon    native    immorality— ignoring   that    of   the    white 
race  which  obtains  in  every  African  town — will  precipitate. 
The  chief  indictment  against  the  African  is  that  of 


126  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

being  incurably  lazy  .Prejudice  has  so  blinded  the  eyes  of 
critics  that  they  do  not  see  the  fleets  of  sail  and  steam  craft 
which  the  horny  black  hands  send  to  and  from  the  West 
Coast  laden  with  produce.  Look  over  a  single  ship  ; 
there  are  boat -boys,  deck-boys,  boys  for  cleaning  brass, 
washing  plates  and  dishes,  splicing  ropes,  hauling  rigging 
and  painting  ironwork.  "  Boys "  for  loading  barrels 
of  oil,  for  towing  and  loading  floats  of  giant  timbers,  all 
of  whom,  more  or  less,  keep  the  doctor  busy  bandaging 
their  crushed  fingers  and  toes  or  sometimes  their  broken 
heads.  "  Boys,"  too,  for  delivering  cargo  ashore,  through 
the  wild  surf  in  which  many  lose  their  lives  every  year. 

Those  who  have  a  leaning  towards  the  "  lazy  nigger  " 
theory  would  do  well  to  stand  for  a  single  hour  at  the 
Liverpool  docks  and  watch  that  unbroken  stream  of  drays 
heavily  laden  with  tons  upon  tons  of  mahogany  for  our 
tables  ;  cocoa  beans  for  our  chocolates  ;  rubber  for  our 
motor  cars ;  palm  oil  for  our  soap ;  kernels  which  presently 
will  find  their  oil  labelled  "  fine  salad  oil,"  or  "  rich 
margarine."  The  sundries,  too,  are  there  by  the  waggon 
load  ;  hemp  and  cotton,  ground-nuts  and  skins,  ebony 
and  ivory,  a  veritable  river  of  produce  flowing  into  the 
heart  of  the  British  Empire  without  intermission. 
Nothing  can  check  that  flow,  nothing  can  stop  its  increase, 
for  it  springs  to-day  from  lands  overflowing  with  forest 
wealth  ;  lands  where  natives  are  inured  to  the  hardships 
of  labour,  natives  of  infinite  patience  and  withal  the 
world's  keenest  traders.  There  is  but  one  danger  to  this 
increasing  flow — race  prejudice — which  may,  unless 
checked,  give  birth  to  actions  which  will  utterly  shatter 
African  confidence  in  the  British  race. 


THE  DAY  OF   RECKONING  OR  REFORMS     127 

The  critics  of  the  African  all  agree  that  he  has  one 
good  point — "  he  takes  his  gruel  like  a  man  " — "  flog 
him  when  he  is  in  the  wrong  and  he  won't  resent  it  ; 
flog  him  thoroughly  whilst  you  are  at  it,  and  he  will 
even  thank  you  for  it."     If  this  doctrine  should  ever 
firmly  possess  the  minds  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to 
administer  West  African  colonies,  the  Governments  will 
be  faced  with  a  danger  impossible  to  exaggerate.     To 
make  this  opinion  an  article  of  administrative  faith  is 
to  provide  the  white  with  a  salve  for  every  act  of  injustice 
which  irritating  circumstances  and  climate  so  constantly 
generate.     In  every  colony  in  West  Africa  there  are  some 
few  white  men  who  are  wholly  trusted  by  the  natives, 
and  their  homes  and  hospitality  are  at  their  disposal  day 
and  night.     Naturally  these  are  the  experienced  men  of 
the  coast,  or  those  of  repute  amongst  the  natives ;    the 
easy  grace  with  which  they  move  in  and  out  amongst  the 
people  at  all  hours,  and  in  all  circumstances,  is  demon- 
strative ^  of    the    confidence    they    enjoy.     Discuss    the 
natives  and  the  problems  of  administration  with  such 
men  and  the  furrowed  brow  wrinkles  still  more,  and  they 
tell  you  a  change  must  come  soon,  or — "  Certain  white 
men  would  be  wise  to  clear."     It  is  for  statesmen  at 
home  to  recognize  the  danger  in  time  and  choose  between 
a  day  of  reform  or  a  day  of  reckoning. 


PART    III 


I. — Labour — Supply  and  Demand. 
II. — Land  and  its  Relation  to  Labour. 
Ill- — Portuguese  Slavery. 
IV. — The  Future  of  Belgian  Congo. 


LABOUR— SUPPLY  AND  DEMAND 

Everywhere  in  West  Africa  the  cry  goes  up,  "  Give  us 
more  labour."  The  British,  German,  Portuguese  and 
French  merchants  all  declare  that  if  only  they  could 
get  the  labour,  they  might  put  a  different  face  on  the 
whole  of  the  problems  of  production  in  West  Africa. 
The  principal  reason  for  this  shortage  is  unquestionably 
the  fact  that  West  Africa  is  sparsely  populated,  but 
this  one  fact  does  not,  by  any  means,  explain  the 
situation.  In  Liberia  alone  does  there  appear  to  be  any 
appreciable  quantity  of  surplus  labour,  and  upon  its 
resources  considerable  demands  are  made  by  other 
colonies.  This  surplus  obviously  arises  from  the  fact 
that  Liberia  is  completely  undeveloped,  but  if  in  the 
near  future  some  energetic  power  should  take  charge  of 
that  territory,  a  period  would  certainly  be  put  to  in- 
discriminate recruiting  amongst  the  native  tribes. 

It  is  true  that  in  some  territories  in  West  Africa  there 
is  an  increase  in  the  population,  but  taking  the  whole 
areas  into  review,  the  labour  force  has  seriously  decreased 
within  recent  years.  Statistics,  though  at  present  httle 
more  than  estimates,  go  to  prove  that  in  several  colonies 
this  falling  off  is  becoming  a  grave  question.  Recently 
the  religious  denominations  in  Lagos  have  been  holding 

K  2 


132  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

"  intercessions "    with    reference    to    the    high    rate    of 
mortaht}^     If  this  intercession  should  lead  the  natives 
from  faith  to  works,  we  may  still  hope  to  see  the  abandon- 
ment of  those  European  customs  which  are  doing  untold 
harm  to  the  physique  of  the  native  women  and  children. 
The  causes  of  decrease  in  the  population,  generally 
speaking,  are    beyond   human  ken   and   one    can   only 
express    opinions    which    someone    else    will    promptly 
contradict.     For  example,  almost  every  traveller  wrecks 
his  reputation  on  that  old-time  rock   of  controversy — 
polygamy.     Sir  Harry  Johnston  mentions  in  one  of  his 
books  the  case  of  a  polygamist  with  700  children,  but  the 
greatest  polygamist  I  have  ever  met  in  Africa  possessed 
1000  wives,  yet  he  had  no  children  !     Argument  based 
upon   two   such   instances,   however,   is  profoundly   un- 
satisfactory, because  with  so  large  a  company  of  wives 
in  one  case,  and  children  in  the  other,  it  is  obvious  that 
many  other  considerations  repose  beneath  the  surface. 
There  is    one    outstanding  fact  which  everyone    knows, 
but  few  speak  about  except  in  whispers  ;  human  nature 
is  pretty  positive  in  West  Africa,   no  matter  of  what 
hue  the  skin,   and  scientists  may  argue  until  eternity 
upon  the  relative  effects  of  polygamy  and  monogamy 
on  the  birth  rate,  but  all  their  deductions  are  wide  of 
the  mark  whilst  they  have  so  little  actual  monogamy 
anywhere  in  West  Africa. 

Sleeping  sickness  has  made  the  most  terrible  ravages 
wherever  it  has  established  a  firm  hold  on  the  tribes, 
but  this  scourge  would  seem  to  be  spending  its  force. 
Seven  years  ago  Uganda  recorded  over  8000  deaths  from 
sleeping  sickness  within  twelve  months,  and  the  latest 


SLEEPING   SICKNESS   AND   LABOUR       133 

Government  report  shows  that  there  has  been  a  gradual 
reduction  until  in  the  year  1910  there  were  only  1546. 
Happily  this  encouraging  feature  is  present  on  the  West 
Coast  also.  The  Congo  suffered  more  than  any  other 
colony,  due,  probably  to  a  large  extent,  to  the  systematic 
oppression  under  which  the  population  groaned  during 
the  Leopoldian  regime.  Now,  however,  the  absence  of 
the  scourge  in  many  of  the  old  districts  is  quite  noticeable. 
Villages  that  we  knew  to  be  swept  by  this  plague  ten  years 
ago  are  once  more  flourishing,  and  in  some  cases  where 
the  birth  rate  was  almost  nil  the  villages  are  again  joyous 
with  the  laughter  of  little  children. 

The  worst  sleeping  sickness  areas  remaining  in  West 
Africa  appeared  to  me  to  be  the  Bangalla  region  of  the 
Congo  and  the  Portuguese  island  of  Principe.  In  the 
latter  it  has  reached  such  proportions  that  the  whites  are 
leaving  the  island.  The  Portuguese  still  keep  a  consider- 
able number  of  slaves  on  the  cocoa  farms,  all  of  them 
either  infected  or  exposed  to  the  disease.  As  one  passes 
from  roga  to  roga,  these  slaves,  stricken  with  disease, 
with  emaciated  bodies  and  gaunt  features,  stare  piteously 
at  the  passer-by  from  eyes  that  seem  to  stand  out  from 
their  heads,  mutely  appealing  for  the  freedom  of  their 
distant  village  homes  on  the  mainland.  Looking  at 
the  matter  from  the  materialistic  standpoint  of  labour- 
supply,  but  makes  this  ruinous  conduct  on  the  part  of 
the  Portuguese  appear  doubly  reprehensible. 

"  Civilization,"  too,  has  contributed  to  a  decrease 
in  the  working  population,  but  in  a  varying  degree.  All 
the  Powers  have  sinned  in  this  respect.  I  never  read  of 
punitive  expeditions  with  "  many  natives  killed  "  without 


134  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

inwardly  fuming  at  the  folly  of  the  administration  which 
should  know  how  precious  from  an  economic  standpoint 
alone,  is  the  life  of  every  single  native.  Yet  in  some 
places  the  tribes  are  hustled,  tormented  and  even 
butchered  in  a  manner  little  realized  as  yet  by  the  Euro- 
pean public.  Think  of  the  loss  of  life  by  violent  death 
in  both  Belgian  and  French  Congo,  and  in  German  West 
Africa  !  Think  of  the  countless  thousands  of  bleaching 
bones  scattered  over  the  highwaj/s  through  Portuguese 
Angola ! 

Within  the  last  twenty-five  years  well  over  60,000 
slaves  have  been  shipped  to  San  Thome  alone  ;  add  to 
this  the  thousands  sold  and  still  in  slavery  on  the  main- 
land, and  you  probably  have  a  total  of  over  100,000 
slaves  passing  into  the  possession  of  the  whites  in  Portu- 
guese West  Africa.  That  stream  of  human  merchandize 
involved  a  wastage  of  another  100,000  lives,  for  a  Portu- 
guese slave-trader  once  admitted  that  if  he  got  half  his 
total  gang  to  the  coast,  he  was  lucky,  but  that  generally 
he  could  not  deliver  more  than  three  out  of  ten  ! 

It  is  a  haunting  thought  that  since  the  "  85  "  scramble 
for  Africa,  the  civilized  Powers  who  rearranged  the  map 
of  the  African  continent,  ostensibly  in  the  interests  and 
for  the  well-being  of  the  natives,  have  passively  allowed 
the  premature  destruction  of  not  less  than  ten  millions  of 
people.  Now  these  Powers  complain  bitterly  that  they 
are  short  of  labour  and  jump  at  any  expedient  which 
presents  itself  to  obtain  labour  for  their  hustling  develop- 
ments. 

The  sins  of  King  Leopold  are  visiting  themselves 
upon  his  successors  in  every  part  of  the  Congo  basin. 


WHAT  GERMANY   LACKS  135 

The  prospective  gold  mines,  the  cocoa  farms,  the  pubUc 
departments,  all  of  them  are  handicapped  owing  to  lack 
of  an  adequate  labour  force.  If  only  the  Belgians  could 
restore  to  life  an  odd  million  of  the  able-bodied  men  and 
women  done  to  death  under  the  regime  of  their  late 
sovereign,  what  a  different  outlook  their  colony  would 
possess  ! 

The  Belgians  now  propose  bringing  Chinese  for  the 
Katanga  Mines,  but  seeing  that  their  former  experience 
of  Chinese  coolies  was  not  a  happy  one,  and  considering 
other  drawbacks,  I  very  much  doubt  whether  they  will 
ultimately  launch  the  experiment  of  bringing  thousands  of 
Chinese  across  Africa.  The  original  idea  of  the  Belgian 
Government  was  that  of  bringing  the  coolies  into  the 
Congo  under  a  regulation  which  would  secure  their  re- 
patriation at  the  termination  of  the  contracts,  coupling  that 
regulation  with  others  similar  to  those  adopted  by  Great 
Britain  in  South  Africa.  Mr.  R.  C.  Hawkin,  *  whose 
knowledge  of  South  African  politics  is  not  only  wide,  but 
intimate,  at  once  pointed  out  that  the  Belgian  Adminis- 
tration was  restricted  by  the  Berlin  and  Brussels  Acts. 
This  opened  up  a  situation  so  obviously  awkward  that 
nothing  more  has  been  heard  about  the  introduction  of 
Chinese  labour  into  the  Congo,  at  least  for  the  present. 

Germany,  like  Belgium,  differs  from  France  and 
England  in  that  she  has  no  other  colonies  from  which  to 
draw  a  labour  force.  Quite  recently  her  colonists,  at 
their  wit's  end  for  labour,  passed  a  resolution  agreeing  to 
import  1000  Indian  coolies  for  labour  in  the  mines.  It 
had  not  occurred  to  them  that  the  British  India  Office 

*  Secretary  of  the  Eighty  Club. 


136  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

might  object.  How  much  trouble,  to  say  nothing  of 
expense,  they  would  have  saved  themselves  if  only  they 
had  asked  the  office-boy  in  Downing  Street  ! — they  need 
have  gone  no  higher. 

This  is  another  instance  of  the  strange  features  which 
now  and  again  attend  German  colonization,  good  as  well 
as  bad.  Their  authorities  had  apparently  entirely  for- 
gotten the  regrettable  Wilhelmsthal  affair,  but  probably 
the  real  reason  was  that  this  incident  (which  many 
Englishmen  will  not  readily  forget)  was  regarded  by  them 
as  altogether  too  trivial  to  be  noticed.  This  unfortunate 
affair — though  in  some  respects  comparatively  un- 
important, yet  in  reality  a  grave  matter — certainly 
merits  a  permanent  record  in  some  form,  because  it  is 
just  one  of  those  blundering  incidents  which  bring  in 
their  train  a  whole  crop  of  labour  difficulties. 

A  German  Railway  Construction  Company  had  been 
allowed  to  recruit  British  Kaffir  subjects  from  South 
Africa.  In  the  autumn  of  1910  trouble  arose  because 
deductions  were  made  from  the  labourers'  wages,  and  they 
further  complained  of  bad  food  and  housing.  The 
Railway  authorities  seem  to  have  then  embittered  the 
situation  by  refusing  to  allow  the  men  food  and  water. 
This  conduct  in  a  tropical  country  was  little,  if  at  all, 
short  of  inhuman,  and  the  labourers  naturally  struck 
work  and  apparently  assumed  a  somewhat  threatening 
attitude.  The  situation  was  then  handled  in  a  style 
characteristically  German.  The  Company  itself,  ignoring 
the  civil  authorities,  called  in  the  troops,  who  shot  seven 
of  these  British  subjects  in  cold  blood  and  wounded 
several  others.     How  one-sided  the  whole  affair  was   is 


AN  ANGLO-GERMAN  INCIDENT  137 

demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  not  a  single  German  soldier 
was  even  injured.  This  incident,  from  every  point  of  view 
an  outrage,  was  regarded  as  so  trivial  that  no  one  appears 
to  have  been  punished,  nor  so  far  as  we  know  has  any 
compensation  been  paid  to  the  wounded  or  to  the  relatives 
of  the  murdered  Kaffirs. 

German  colonial  knowledge  of  British  public  opinion 
cannot  be  of  a  very  far-reaching  nature  when  it  ignores 
this  incident  in  asking  for  British  labour  to  develop  its 
colonies.  To  Englishmen  it  cannot  be  a  matter  of 
surprise  that  the  India  Office  has  not  yet  granted  per- 
mission to  recruit  labour  from  the  Indian  Empire. 

Germany  and  Belgium  are  the  only  two  Powers  in 
West  Africa  which  do  not  possess  colonies  in  other  parts 
of  the  world  from  which  to  recruit  labour,  hence  they 
are  dependent  upon  other  Powers.  To  the  proud  German 
Empire,  this  situation  is  irritating,  while  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  also  Portugal,  to  a  limited  extent,  can  each 
of  them  augment  the  labour  force  of  any  given  colony  by 
recruiting  from  their  other  colonial  possessions. 

The  Portuguese  colonies  of  Angola,  San  Thome  and 
Principe,  which  comprise  the  major  portion  of  Portu- 
guese West  Africa,  experience  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
obtaining  labour.  It  is  perfectly  true  that  during  the 
last  half-century,  close  on  a  hundred  thousand  labourers 
have  left  the  shores  of  Angola  for  the  cocoa  islands  and 
other  places,  but  these  it  must  be  remembered  were  almost 
exclusively  slaves  which  had  been  bought  or  captured 
in  the  remoter  regions  of  Angola,  Rhodesia,  Barotse- 
land,  and,  more  especially,  the  Congo  Free  State.  The 
Portuguese  colonists  of  Angola  are  so  pressed  for  labour 


138  DA\VN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

that  they  started  some  years  ago  an  "  anti-slavery  " 
movement  against  the  Portuguese  planters  of  the  islands. 
No  doubt  there  was  an  honest  element  in  this  movement, 
but  it  is  equally  beyond  question  that  the  mainspring 
of  the  movement  was  local  anxiety  to  keep  all  the  slaves 
in  the  Angola  colony,  which  is  to  this  moment  rotten  with 
slavery.  If  Angola,  a  territory  more  than  twice  the  size 
of  France,  were  properly  developed,  it  would  require 
first  of  all  a  complete  abolition  of  slavery,  and  then  an 
immense  augmentation  of  the  labour  supply.  When  we 
were  at  Lobito,  the  Robert  Williams  Railway  Company 
and  the  Electrical  Syndicate  between  them  were  at 
their  wit's  end  for  two  thousand  more  men,  but  these 
could  not  be  obtained. 

The  two  colonies  of  San  Thome  and  Principe  are  by 
far  the  most  serious  problem.  The  area  of  the  two 
islands  is  not  large — only  400  square  miles  together — 
but  they  are  extraordinarily  fertile  ;  the  very  air  seems  to 
intoxicate  with  abounding  fertility  ;  everything  flourishes, 
cocoa,  sisal  and  rubber ;  everything  multiplies  and 
replenishes  on  the  earth,  but  man  ;  for  some  reason 
there  appears  to  be  a  curse  upon  those  islands,  they 
are  almost  without  an  indigenous  population  and  the 
wretched  slaves  imported  to  fill  the  ranks  die  off  like 
flies.  The  future  of  the  Portuguese  cocoa  colonies  is 
doubtful  because  it  is  obvious  that  they  cannot  be  run 
permanently  by  a  temporary  solution  of  the  labour 
question. 

Both  France  and  England  at  present  manage  their 
labour  difficulties  with  greater  ease  than  any  of  the  other 
Powers,  and  this  because  both  have  a  floating  supply  in 


THE   BRITISH   DEMAND  139 

their  colonies,  which,  owing  to  the  high  standard  of 
colonial  development  as  expressed  in  railways  and 
steamers,  motors  and  good  roads,  is  readily  transferred 
to  the  more  needy  districts.  At  the  same  time  every 
now  and  then  we  hear  laments  that  expansion  is  rendered 
impossible  owing  to  the  lack  of  men. 

When  Lord  Sanderson's  Commission  took  up  the 
study  of  contract  coolie  labour,  the  areas  appealing  for 
labour  included  the  Gold  Coast  colony,  and  the  Govern- 
ment Secretary  of  the  mines,  Mr.  Cogill,  put  in  a  plea 
that  the  colony  should  be  allowed  to  recruit  labour  for 
its  mines  from  India.  In  this  plea  he  was  supported  by 
Sir  John  Rodger  and  the  Acting-Governor,  Major  Bryan. 
This  application  is  not  easy  to  understand,  for  everyone 
knows,  or  should  know,  that  Indian  labour  generally 
is  unsuited  to  mining  work.  There  is,  however,  some 
reason  to  believe  that  the  inspiration  of  this  plea  came 
from  sources  requiring  indentured  labour  from  other 
parts  of  the  world,  and  that  the  demand  for  Indian  coolie 
labour  was  put  forth  in  the  hope  of  establishing  necessity 
and  thereby  paving  the  way  for  a  less  acceptable  demand. 

The  bulk  of  labour  in  West  Africa  is  employed  under 
indenture  or  contract,  the  majority  of  the  latter  being 
for  three  years,  but  a  great  deal  of  unskilled  labour  is 
employed  on  a  yearly,  or  in  some  colonies — particularly 
the  Portuguese — a  five  years'  contract.  The  latter  are 
paper  contracts,  and  in  practice  may  mean  anything  or 
nothing  at  all.  Very  few  unskilled  labourers  in  Africa 
are  prepared  to  accept  willingly  a  single  contract  of  longer 
duration  than  one  or  at  the  most  two  years,  and  if  a  con- 
tract system   exists   whereby   labourers   are   bound  for 


140  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

longer  periods  at  a  single  service,  it  may  be  generally 
assumed  that  some  form  of  pressure  or  intrigue  has  been 
at  work. 

Now  that  public  attention  is  being  focussed  upon 
labour  conditions,  it  becomes  increasingly  imperative 
that  Governments  should  lay  down  the  broad  lines  upon 
which  they  are  prepared  to  allow  contract  labour.  Nor 
must  the  labourer  only  be  considered,  the  employer  has 
the  right  to  be  heard  in  framing  such  conditions.  In 
spite  of  much  evidence  to  the  contrary,  I  am  still  inclined 
to  the  belief  that,  as  a  class,  the  employers  of  labour 
everywhere  in  Africa  detest  as  much  as  anyone  labour 
conditions  which  are  unfair.  Even  the  Portuguese 
planters  of  San  Thome  hate  the  slavery  they  practice, 
but  by  a  long  series  of  blunders  they  have  been  led  into 
their  present  position. 

The  greatest  care  requires  to  be  exercised  if  contract 
labour  is  to  be  kept  free  from  the  taint  of  slavery.  The 
Indian  authorities,  in  spite  of  every  precaution,  frequently 
find  that  the  most  reprehensible  practices  attach  to  the 
recruitment  of  labour  for  the  East  and  West  Indies.  In 
the  African  continent,  where  domestic  slavery  is  so  widely 
prevalent,  the  need  for  watchfulness  is  a  hundredfold 
greater. 

The  conditions  which  govern  the  immigration  of 
indentured  labour  should  differ  but  little  from  those 
which  cover  local  contracts,  with  the  one  exception  that 
local  labour  contracts  should  always  be  of  short 
duration — never  longer  than  a  year.  Contracts  for 
over-sea  labour  must  be  longer  to  cover  the  cost  of  trans- 
port,  but  even  these  are  seldom  satisfactory  to  either 


RECRUITING  141 

employer  or  employee  for  a  period  longer  than  three 
years.  The  Jamaican  and  Fiji  indenture,  which  in  practice 
involves  a  contract  of  ten  years,  is  for  many  reasons 
highly  objectionable. 

The  chief  danger  is  beyond  question  with  the  recruiters. 
In  India  these  men  according  to  Mr.  Broun, — an  Indian 
Civil  servant  of  large  experience — "  are  the  worst  kind 
of  men  they  could  possibly  have.  They  are  generally 
very  low  class  men."  They  seem  to  bribe,  deceive  and 
bully  by  turns,  anything  indeed  to  bring  the  Indian 
coohe  into  their  toils.  In  Portuguese  West  Africa  the 
recruiter  has  for  years  been  a  slave-trader  pure  and 
simple,  purchasing  slaves  from  the  Congo  rebels,  and  also 
from  the  chiefs  in  the  Rhodesian  borderland.  The 
Portuguese  Government  has  now  issued  a  regulation  that 
all  such  recruiters  must  be  duly  licensed.  In  Belgian, 
German  and  French  colonies,  recruiting  is  undertaken 
very  largely  by  Government  officials. 

Recruiting — whether  by  the  irresponsible  recruiter, 
the  licensed  agent,  or  by  the  Government  official — 
calls  for  the  closest  attention  of  the  Administration. 
The  official  will  demand  from  a  chief,  the  unofficial 
recruiter  will  bribe  him  for  a  given  number  of  labourers  ; 
in  the  former  case  the  chief  fears  to  refuse,  in  the  latter 
he  becomes  a  party  to  a  form  of  slavery. 

The  German  official  carries  this  operation  through 
with  the  least  amount  of  sentiment.  I  asked  a  planter 
in  the  Cameroons  whether  he  obtained  all  the  labour  he 
wanted  with  a  fair  amount  of  ease.  He  looked  at  me  in 
astonishment,  and  replied,  "  With  ease,  of  course.  I 
only  notify  the  Government  that  I  want  labour  and  they 


142  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

bring  it  to  me  !  "  On  another  occasion,  when  I  was 
discussing  Portuguese  administration  with  a  French 
cotton  planter  from  the  Cunene,  he  began  roundly  abusing 
the  Portuguese  Government,  and  upon  my  inquiring 
wherein  they  differed  from  the  German  administration 
across  the  river,  he  replied,  "  The  Germans  stand  no 
nonsense  over  labour.  If  the  native  villages  are  small 
and  distant  from  the  planters,  they  just  burn  down  the 
villages  and  drive  the  natives  nearer  the  planters.  The 
Government  can  then  quite  easily  make  a  list  of  the 
able-bodied  men  and  supply  them  as  they  are  required." 
How  far  this  may  be  a  general  characteristic  of  German 
treatment  of  native  races,  I  cannot  say,  but  what  I  have 
seen  of  German  colonial  methods  does  not  impress  me  that 
their  occupation  is  far  removed  from  a  sort  of  mihtary 
despotism.  In  the  matter  of  official  recruitment  of 
labour,  the  Germans  are  by  far  the  most  vigorous  of  any 
of  the  West  African  Powers.  In  this  official  recruitment 
the  individual  labourer  concerned  has  very  little  say 
indeed;  that  he  should  desire  to  enjoy  his  freedom  is 
apparently  no  concern  of  anyone,  all  he  knows  is  that 
he  has  to  work  for  the  white  man  for  a  given  period, 
and  in  German  South  West  Africa  the  "  contract  "  must 
be  made  "  as  long  as  possible." 

The  hardships  of  contract  labour  are  greatly  increased 
by  the  prevalence  of  domestic  slavery.  We  are  some- 
times told  that  domestic  slavery  is  inseparable  from 
native  social  life,  and  that  from  time  immemorial  it  has 
been  an  integral  part  of  African  law  and  custom.  For 
that  matter  so  has  cannibalism !  There  are  many 
apologists   for   domestic   slavery,   including   students   of 


DOMESTIC   SLAVERY  143 

such  eminence  as  Mr.  R.  E.  Dennett  and  the  Editor  of 
the  African  Mail ;  the  latter  considers  it  would  be 
foolish  to  abolish  the  House  Rule  Ordinance — or  in  other 
words  the  legalization  of  domestic  slavery  in  Southern 
Nigeria.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  a  man  with 
Mr.  Dennett's  experience  could  possibly  write  the  paper 
on  this  question  which  was  reprinted  in  a  journal  of 
the  Royal  Colonial  Institute.  Mr.  Dennett  knows,  or 
should  know,  that  the  horrors  of  early  history  in  the 
middle  Congo,  the  blood-curdhng  stories  of  Kumasi,  the 
present-day  slavery  of  the  Portuguese  colonies  and  a 
thousand  other  labour  scandals  rested  and  still  rest  in 
the  ultimate  resort  upon  domestic  slavery.  The  cheap 
sneers  at  the  sentimentalist,  the  innuendo  that  they  are 
mere  stay-at-home  critics  is  entirely  misplaced  and  no 
one  knows  this  better  than  Mr.  R.  E.  Dennett. 

Domestic  slavery  is  slavery  pure  and  simple,  although 
I  agree  that  under  the  African  chiefs  it  may  not  be  so  bad 
as  under  the  old  planter  systems.  Front  rank  statesmen 
with  large  administrative  experience  have  recorded  the 
lamentable  results  attaching  to  domestic  slavery,  and  so 
recently  as  1906  Africa's  greatest  constructive  Adminis- 
trator— the  Earl  of  Cromer — penned  the  following  signi- 
ficant passage  : — 

"  If  the  utility  of  the  Soudan,  considered  on  its 
"  own  productive  and  economic  merits,  is  not  already 
"  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  world — if  it  is 
"  not  already  clear  that  the  reoccupation  of  the 
"  country  has  inflicted,  more  perhaps  than  any  other 
"  event  of  modern  times,  a  deadly  blow  to  the 
"  abominable  traffic  in  slaves,  and  to  the  institution 


144  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

"  of  domestic  slavery,  which  is  only  one  degree  less  hate- 
"  fid  than  that  traffic — it  may  confidently  be  asserted 
"  that  we  are  on  the  threshold  of  convincing  proof."* 
The  broad  lines  of  domestic  slavery  are  common 
throughout  West  Central  Africa.  The  slave  becomes  the 
property  of  the  head  of  the  house  or  chief,  who  can 
"  contract  "  him  to  third  parties  without  reference  to 
the  one  primarily  concerned,  that  is  to  say  the  slave 
himself,  who  in  turn  cannot  hire  out  his  labour  without 
the  consent  of  his  master,  and  he  may  also  be  transferred 
in  payment  of  debt.  Upon  the  death  of  the  owner,  the 
slaves  with  their  families — who  are  the  property  of  the 
chief — are  divided  amongst  the  heirs  with  other  goods 
and  chattels  of  the  deceased.  The  domestic  slave  can 
by  native  law  everywhere,  and  by  European  law  in  some 
parts,  be  recaptured  if  he  runs  away.  According  to 
British  law  the  slave  becomes  the  property  of  the  master 
in  Southern  Nigeria  '*  by  birth  or  in  any  other  manner." 
This  only  legalizes  native  law,  it  is  true,  but  **  in  any 
other  manner  "  throws  the  door  widely  open  to  a  transfer 
of  human  beings  in  a  way  highly  repugnant  to  British 
sentiment. 

In  the  middle  Congo  a  system  is  rapidly  extending 
which  violates  every  moral  code  in  that  it  is  none  other 
than  a  wholesale  prostitution.  Under  this  custom, 
known  locally  as  that  of  the  "  Basamba,"  a  man  hires 
out  a  proportion  of  his  wives  on  a  monthly  or  yearly 
agreement.  The  basis  is  the  principle  of  absolute  owner- 
ship ;  a  weekly  or  a  monthly  "  hire  "  in  cash,  or  its 
equivalent,  is  paid,  and  all  the  offspring  handed  over 

*  Italics  mine. — J.  H.  H. 


A   REVOLTING   CUSTOM  145 

to  the  husband  and  owner.  Thus  the  owner,  or  husband, 
obtains  first  a  financial  return  for  the  hire  of  his  surplus 
wives,  and  secondly  he  claims  the  offspring.  In  the  event 
of  males,  they  become  domestic  slaves,  with  which  the 
chief  may  satisfy  administrative  and  other  demands  for 
labour  ;  while  in  the  case  of  girls  the  chief  possesses  a 
further  source  of  revenue  either  by  hiring  them  out  to 
"  temporary  husbands,"  or  by  purchasing  other  and 
older  women  for  the  same  purpose.  This  method  of 
increasing  the  number  of  wives  and  slaves  is  by  no  means 
limited  to  the  middle  Congo,  but  in  no  other  part  of 
West  Africa  were  we  able  to  find  it  carried  on  so  exten- 
sively. In  those  regions  it  is  quite  common  to  find  men 
with  ten  wives  hired  out  in  the  different  villages,  and  a 
few  cases  exist  of  men  who  now  carry  on  their  trade  with 
no  less  than  fifty,  and  even  one  hundred,  such  surplus 
wives  ! 

There  are  other  means  of  obtaining  domestic  slaves. 
Many  of  them  are,  of  course,  "  inherited,"  and  not  a  few 
are  passed  over  as  part  dowry  with  a  wife  ;  others  are 
taken  for  debt  and  some  are  captured  in  tribal  warfare. 

The  relation  between  contract  labour  and  domestic 
slavery  is  more  intimate  than  appears  on  the  surface. 
In  West  African  practice  an  employer  desiring  a  given 
number  of  labourers  invites  or  "  calls  "  the  chief  whom 
he  informs  of  his  requirements ;  if  a  merchant,  he  generally 
accompanies  his  request  for  boys  with  a  gift  ;  if  a  Govern- 
ment official,  the  demand  more  often  than  not  is  accom- 
panied by  a  threat.  At  a  later  date  the  chief  returns 
with  the  required  number  of  labourers.  If  asked  whether 
they  are  willing  to  work,  they  generally  assent,  for  they 


146  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

fear  to  oppose  their  chief  who,  even  if  European  prestige 
were  not  behind  him,  still  possesses  all  the  power  of  native 
law  and  customs — to  say  nothing  of  the  awe-inspiring 
fetish. 

Admittedly,  however,  normal  domestic  slavery  in 
Africa  is  widely  removed  from  predial  slavery  with  which 
our  school  books  made  us  familiar.  Eliminating  from 
domestic  slavery  the  sacrifices  for  which  slaves  were 
always,  and  in  some  places  are  still,  reserved  ;  eliminating 
also  European  demands  for  labour,  the  system  is  not 
everything  that  is  bad,  nor  are  the  chiefs  invariably 
cruel  and  despotic  towards  their  slaves.  It  is  never- 
theless equally  true  that  the  frequency  of  "  palavers  " 
which  deal  with  escaping  slaves  is  an  evidence  that  the 
yoke  of  slavery  is  often  intolerable,  and  that  in  spite  of 
native  law,  in  spite  of  European  law  and  practice,  and  still 
more  in  spite  of  the  fetish,  the  slaves  attempt,  and  some- 
times make  good  their  escape. 

Over  large  areas  in  the  British  colony  of  Southern 
Nigeria  the  police  can,  and  do,  recapture  and  restore 
such  slaves  to  their  owners,  and  two  years  ago  it  came 
as  a  shock  to  many  that  an  escaping  slave  seeking  refuge 
on  the  deck  of  a  British  Government  ship  could  be  forcibly 
recaptured  and  restored  to  his  master  ;  not  only  so,  but 
he  was  actually  flogged  by  British  police  for  running 
away!  It  is,  however,  not  altogether  an  easy  matter  to 
secure  recapture  of  runaway  slaves  under  British  law, 
and  therefore  to  the  charge  of  "  running  away  "  is  some- 
times added  larceny — the  theft  of  a  canoe  or  a  cloth  ; 
the  canoe,  of  course,  being  the  boat  by  which  the  wretched 
slave  made  good  his  escape,  and  the  cloth  that  which  he 


A    IIL'.N  I1:.K  ^    ■•LUCKY         l-'LXI.sH. 


V  :.v 


SLAVE  CAPTURE  147 

uses  to  cover  his  nakedness.  The  following  is  a  fair 
specimen  of  the  warrants  issued  for  the  recapture  of 
slaves  in  Southern  Nigeria  : — 

COPY.  No.  1881 


74 
Warrant  to  Arrest  Accused. 
Form  2. 

In  the  Native  Council  of  Warri,  Southern  Nigeria. 
To Officer  of  Court. 

Whereas  Joe  of  Lagos  is  accused  of  the  offence  of  (i) 
running  away  from  the  Head  of  his  House  two  years 
ago  ;  (2)  Larceny  of  cloth  value  i6s.,  two  handkerchiefs, 
and  a  canoe.  You  are  hereby  commanded  to  arrest  the 
said  Joe  of  Lagos  and  to  bring  him  before  this  Court  to 
answer  the  said  charge. 

Issued  at  Warri,  the  28th  day  of  November,  1910. 

(Signed)  :    PERCY  GORDON, 

Senior  Member  of  Court. 

The  British  Government  alone  amongst  the  Powers 
in  West  Africa  really  dislikes  this  system  and  shows  some 
inclination  to  secure  its  abolition.  The  Portuguese  like 
it,  and  in  the  main  descend  to  the  level  of  it,  manipulating 
the  system  to  suit,  so  far  as  possible,  their  labour  require- 
ments. The  Belgians  cannot  recognize  it  without  violat- 
ing the  Berlin  and  Brussels  Acts,  so  they  leave  it  alone  to 
bring  forth  a  whole  crop  of  abuses. 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  of  French  Guinea  has 
recently  taken  a  strong  line  upon  the  question  of  domestic 


148  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

slavery,  which  other  Governments  might  emulate.  He 
has  issued  instructions  to  all  his  subordinate  officials  in 
which  he  says  : — 

"  We  cannot  allow  the  system  of  captivity  to 
continue  any  longer  ;  it  is  a  matter  of  duty  as 
well  as  of  dignity  to  put  an  end  to  the  present 
situation.  .  .  .  You  are  to  profit  by  every  occasion 
which  offers  for  making  the  captives  understand 
that  it  is  immoral  for  one  man  to  possess  another. 
.  .  .  Whenever  you  or  3^our  colleagues  make  a 
journey  you  are  to  gather  the  natives  together 
and  explain  to  them  our  wish.  ...  In  all  cases 
which  are  brought  before  you,  you  are  resolutely 
to  refuse  to  examine  those  which  relate  to  master 
and  slave  ;  make  them  understand  that  for  us 
there  are  no  slaves,  and  that  in  justice  and  law  we 
only  admit  the  relations  of  employer  and  employee. 
You  are  to  follow  up  with  the  utmost  rigour  all 
crimes  committed  against  human  liberty,  and  to 
employ  all  the  severity  of  the  laws  against  barbarous 
masters  or  slave-traders  who  are  still  too  numerous 
on  the  frontiers  of  neighbouring  colonies.  .  .  . 
Every  captive  who  appeals  to  your  authority  is 
to  be  welcomed  by  you  and  protected  against 
every  abuse  of  force.  You  will  disregard  every 
stipulation  which  in  civil  contracts,  wills,  etc., 
would  postulate  the  condition  of  family  captivity. 
.  .  .  There  are  no  longer  any  captives  in  Guinea — 
such  is  the  formula  which  must  rule  your  conduct." 

If  transfer   to   French   Congo   is   a   promotion,   the 


FORCED   LABOUR  149 

quicker  the  French  Government  promotes  this  enlightened 
official  to  that  sphere,  the  better  for  French  reputation  in 
that  unhappy  region. 

In  Africa  forced  labour,  like  contract  labour,  rests 
very  largely  upon  domestic  slavery.  What  is  generally 
understood  by  forced  labour  is  indistinguishable  from  the 
corvee  of  Germany,  or  from  that  which  obtained  in 
earlier  times  in  Prussia  and  France.  It  is  simply  a 
communal  undertaking  upon  works  of  general  welfare, 
mainly  roads  from  town  to  town,  although  the  word 
corvee  was  also  applied  to  all  feudal  demands,  but  in  those 
cases  some  wages  were  given  in  return  for  the  labour. 

The  old  African  communities  exacted,  and  in  many 
cases  still  exact,  labour  from  their  domestic  and  agri- 
cultural slaves  for  which  they  were  and  are  paid,  according 
to  the  whim  or  the  benevolence  of  the  chief.  This  labour 
was,  and  is,  devoted  to  the  clearing  of  paths,  keeping 
bridges  in  repair,  gathering  harvests,  porterage,  canoeing, 
boat-building,  and  indeed  any  undertaking  which  involves 
a  considerable  labour  force.  These  exactions,  however, 
are  always  made  at  a  time  which  avoids  interference  with 
agricultural  necessities  ;  moreover,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  the  labour  was  never  used  very  far  from  the  village. 

European  administrations  have  stepped  into  West 
Africa,  and  have  taken  the  place  of  the  chiefs,  and  in  so 
doing  have  adopted  corvee  under  the  plea  of  works  of 
pubhc  utility — a  blessed  phrase  which  covers  a  multitude 
of  questionable  "  necessities." 

In  the  Gambia  every  able-bodied  male  is  compelled 
under  the  penalty  of  a  fine,  or  six  months'  imprisonment, 
to  give  labour  for  the  construction  of  roads,  bridges,  wells 


150  DA\\n>T   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

and  clearings  round  the  villages  in  his  own  district.  They 
must  also  provide  carriers  when  required.  Apparently 
the  Governor  is  the  only  arbiter  of  the  time  to  be  given  to 
such  works  and  whether  or  not  any  remuneration  may 
be  made.  In  Southern  Nigeria  the  Governor  may  call 
up  all  able-bodied  males  between  15  and  50,  and  all  able- 
bodied  women  between  15  and  40,  to  give  labour  upon 
road-making  and  creek-clearing  for  a  period  of  six  days 
each  quarter.  Refusal  to  obey  involves  a  fine  of  £1  or 
imprisonment  not  exceeding  one  month.  Similar  regula- 
tions prevail  in  Northern  Nigeria. 

In  German  Togoland  the  natives  must  give  twelve  days 
a  year,  or  commute  this  by  paying  six  marks  ;  but  the 
labour  can  only  be  used  upon  roads  and  bridges  in  the 
district  in  which  the  labourers  reside.  Almost  identical 
regulations  prevail  in  the  French  and  Portuguese  Congo. 
These  regulations — qua  regulations — are  unobjectionable 
and,  after  all,  only  assume  powers  exercised  for  genera- 
tions by  the  chiefs.  In  practice,  however,  under  the  term 
works  of  "  public  utility,"  frequent  and  irregular  demands 
are  constantly  being  made  to  the  irritation  of  the  people. 
Think  of  what  a  single  punitive  expedition  involves — 
no  matter  on  how  small  a  scale.  Modern  weapons  of 
warfare,  ammunition,  tent  kits,  provisions  and  the 
thousand  and  one  odds  and  ends  of  the  modern  para- 
phernalia of  war,  all  this  is  carried  in  the  main  by  forced 
labour.  I  shall  doubtless  be  reminded  that  the  chiefs 
always  exacted  labour  for  war.  That  I  admit,  but 
"  civilized  warfare  "  is  so  infinitely  more  elaborate  than 
the  simple  native  spear  and  arrow  warfare,  that  they  are 
not  to  be  put  in  the  same  category. 


FORCED   LABOUR  151 

Carriers  too  are  demanded  in  numbers  and  for 
distances  which  violate  every  native  restriction.  It  is 
but  two  years  ago  that  a  British  official  in  Southern 
Nigeria  decided  to  start  off  upon  a  journey  on  Sunday 
morning,  and  because  the  carriers  did  not  come  quickly 
enough,  he  marched  into  the  two  nearest  churches  and 
seized  the  congregations,  including  the  native  minister, 
and  to  demonstrate  further  his  petty  authority  and 
repugnance  of  loftier  ideals,  insisted  on  this  native  clergy- 
man carrying  a  box  containing  his  whisky.  At  this 
distance  it  is  the  ludicrous  which  probably  strikes  the 
imagination,  but  it  is  an  entirely  different  matter  locally. 
The  missionaries  of  Southern  Nigeria,  no  matter  what 
their  denomination,  are  of  a  very  devout  and  noble- 
minded  order  ;  they  have  instilled  into  the  minds  of  the 
natives  a  deep  reverence  of  all  things  pertaining  to 
worship,  and  nothing  will  ever  efface  from  the  native  mind 
that — ^to  say  the  least — irreverent  conduct  of  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Christian  Government  of  Great  Britain. 

It  is  difficult  sometimes  to  discriminate  between 
contract  labour,  forced  labour  and  slavery,  the  boundary 
lines  having  been  obliterated  by  vigorous  administrations 
demanding  labour  for  this  and  that  work  of  public  utility, 
which  in  reality  bear  little  relation  to  an  enterprise  for 
the  general  welfare.  In  Belgian  Congo  this  is  carried 
further  than  in  any  other  West  African  colony.  The 
Belgians  insist  that  there  is  no  forced  labour  in  the  Congo, 
and  this  is  perfectly  true  from  the  legal  point  of  view, 
but  nevertheless  almost  the  whole  administrative 
machinery  and  Government  undertakings  are  maintained 
by  forced  labour.     To  roads  and  bridges  Belgium  has 


152  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

added  telegraphs,  mines,  plantations,  and  recruitment 
for  the  army  ;  the  ranks  of  both — labourers  and  soldiers — 
being  filled  almost  entirely  by  forced  labour. 

Loud  were  the  complaints  made  to  us  in  our  recent 
journeys  through  the  Congo  of  the  incessant  demands  for 
labour  by  the  Administration. 

Wearied  with  a  day  of  struggle  through  Congo  forests 
and  swamp,  I  was  resting  one  moonlight  evening  in  the 
centre  of  a  primitive  Congo  village  ;  a  group  of  native 
chiefs  were  sitting  round  me  discussing  political  con- 
ditions. The  absence  of  a  certain  token  led  me  to  question 
one  individual  somewhat  pointedly  as  to  the  cause. 
"  If  I  tell  you,  white  man,  you  won't  betray  me  ?  " 
"  Your  chief  knows  me  well  enough  for  that,"  I 
replied. 

"  Well,  there  were  eight  of  us,"  he  explained,  "called 
by  Bula  Matadi.  We  were  bound  to  go,  bound  to  leave 
our  wives  and  our  children  and  go  down  river  several 
days  by  steamer.  When  we  arrived,  the  head  white 
official  gave  us  a  *  book  '  (contract)  for  three  years,  and 
sent  us  to  cut  a  road  for  the  *  Nsinga  '  (telegraph  wire) . 
We  worked  for  some  days,  discussing  every  night  how 
we  could  escape.  One  afternoon  the  white  man  went 
into  the  forest  and  four  of  us  who  were  working  together 
ran  down  to  the  river  where  we  found  an  old  canoe  and 
one  paddle  hidden  in  the  grass.  We  crowded  in  and 
pushed  off,  one  guiding  the  canoe  with  the  single  paddle, 
whilst  the  others  paddled  with  their  hands.  We  managed 
to  get  into  a  creek  hiding  ourselves  until  the  next  night, 
when,  with  the  help  of  some  stout  sticks  for  paddles,  we 
began  the  long  journey  home,  paddling  in  the  night  and 


BELGIAN  FORCED  LABOUR  153 

hiding  ourselves  and  our  canoe  during  the  day.  We 
lived  on  roots  and  nuts  for  eight  days,  and  then,  when 
hiding  in  the  forest,  we  heard  some  women  talking  we 
'  frightened  '  them  and  they  fled,  leaving  their  baskets 
behind.  These  contained  palm  nuts,  on  w^hich  we  lived 
for  another  six  days.  On  the  fifteenth  day  we  reached 
home  again,  but  our  people  did  not  at  first  recognize  us." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Because,  white  man,"  chimed  in  the  old  chiefs, 
"  they  were  so  emaciated  that  the  flesh  had  shrunk  from 
their  cheek-bones,  their  ribs  stood  out  like  skeletons, 
and  they  could  barely  speak." 

Such  is  Belgian  forced  "  Contract  Labour  "  in  the 
Congo. 

What  are  the  boundary  lines  between  legitimate  forced 
labour  and  that  which  public  opinion,  as  trustee  for 
native  rights,  should  refuse  to  tolerate  ? 

The  broad  line  of  division  is  unquestionably  between 
genuine  works  of  public  utility  on  the  one  hand,  and 
profit-bearing  works  on  the  other. 

Road-making,  bridge-building,  creek-clearing,  are  all 
of  them  works  from  which  the  whole  community  benefits, 
but  the  requisition  of  this  labour  should  not  be  left  to  the 
arbitrary  will  of  a  temporary  official,  but  subject  to 
clearly-defined  regulations.  Any  legislation  upon  forced 
labour  for  works  undertaken  for  the  public  good  should 
only  permit  the  requisition,  in  lieu  of  taxation,  as  is  the 
case  in  German  Togoland,  where  the  native  has  the 
alternative  of  paying  a  head  tax  of  six  marks  per  annum 
or  giving  his  labour  for  twelve  days,  subject  to  the  labour 
being  required  for  the  improvement  of  his  own  district. 


154  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

As  in  Ceylon  and  other  British  colonies,  the  natives 
should  be  allowed  to  commute  the  labour  b}^  a  money 
payment.  To  labour  exacted  under  these  rigid  con- 
ditions, there  can  assuredly  be  no  strong  objection,  and, 
generally  speaking,  the  native  tribes  would  loyally 
co-operate  in  such  proposals. 

To  employ  forced  labour  upon  any  kind  of  work  which 
carries  with  it  a  financial  advantage  partakes  of  slavery. 
A  merchant  obtaining  forced  labour  at  his  own  price  is 
thereby,  in  principle,  engaging  in  slavery,  and  if  by 
obtaining  such  labour  he  is  able  to  enter  into  unfair 
competition,  he  is  further  guilty  of  doing  a  gross  injustice 
to  his  fellow-merchants.  The  Belgians  are  extremely 
prone  to  this  form  of  labour.  In  the  Congo  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  State  commercial  enterprise,  which  may 
yet  ruin  the  individual  merchant.  The  Belgian  Govern- 
ment is  doing  the  larger  proportion  of  transport  on  the 
vast  fluvial  system  of  the  Congo,  and  thereby  competes 
with  the  Dutch  House  and  other  transport  companies. 

These  transport  steamers  are  all  driven  with  wood 
fuel  cut  from  the  forests.  Every  few  miles  along  the 
banks  of  the  Congo  river  there  may  be  seen  stacks  of  fire 
logs  cut  into  lengths  of  about  eighteen  inches,  which 
have  been  either  cut  by  the  employees  of  the  Government 
or  by  the  villagers.  No  company  is  permitted  to  purchase 
Government  wood,  and  ordinary  steamers  purchasing 
from  the  villagers  have  to  pay  2  francs  a  fathom  for  such 
fuel.  Journeying  down  the  Congo  a  few  months  ago, 
three  of  us  carefully  examined  conditions  at  one  of  the 
wooding  posts,  manned  by  twenty-six  men  and  ten 
women,  most  of  whom  had  been  "  demanded  "  from  the 


FORCED   LABOUR   AND   PROFITS  155 

chiefs  in  more  distant  parts  of  the  Congo,  and  drafted  to 
the  spot  in  question.  Several  had  aheady  served  three 
years — the  nominal  term  of  the  contract — but,  without 
any  option  in  the  matter,  their  contracts  had  been 
renewed.  Each  of  the  men  had  to  cut  one  fathom  of 
wood  per  diem  ;  some  were  paid  7  francs  and  others  only 
5  francs  a  month,  with  a  3-francs  allowance  for  food.  The 
maximum  cost,  therefore,  was  10  francs  for  the  thirty 
fathoms  of  wood  cut  in  the  month.  Thus  the  State 
provides  itself  with  wood  at  a  fraction  over  threepence 
per  fathom,  for  which  company  steamers  must  pay 
2  francs.  Under  such  systems  not  only  are  human 
liberties  violated,  but  commerce  suffers  prejudice.  There 
is  not  a  little  danger  that  the  Belgian  authorities  intend 
giving  a  considerable  extension  to  State  enterprises,  which 
in  all  probability  will  be  prosecuted  with  this  form  of 
forced  labour. 

The  question  of  State  railways  and  telegraph  lines  is 
a  difficult  one,  both  partaking  of  works  of  public  utility, 
yet  both  are  as  a  rule  profit-bearing.  There  is  the  further 
consideration  that  all  profits  go  to  relieve  local  taxation. 
Given  representative  Government  or  given  even  an  elective 
element  in  the  Administration,  there  may  be  some  justice 
in  imposing  this  form  of  forced  labour  upon  the  general 
community,  but  under  the  autocratic  systems  of  Crown 
Colony  Administration,  large  demands  for  forced  labour 
cause,  not  unnaturally,  widespread  disaffection.  Fortu- 
nately British  colonies  are  almost  entirely  free  from  the 
employment  of  such  labour  and  to  this  no  doubt  is  due 
the  excellent  management  of  all  railway  systems  under 
British  control. 


156  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

The  most  economic  and  the  most  politic  Une  to  follow 
is  that  of  the  employment  of  free  labour.  Supervision 
is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  abuses  of  authority  are  rare, 
the  work  goes  more  smoothly,  the  song  takes  the  place 
of  the  boot  and  the  lash,  the  native  labourer  goes  home 
when  the  day's  toil  is  over  vowing  vengeance  on  no  one, 
and  the  white  man  returns  to  his  somewhat  primitive 
home  with  a  mind  undisturbed  by  conscious  wrong- 
doing. 


II 

LAND  AND    ITS   RELATION  TO  LABOUR 

It  will  not,  I  think,  be  contested  that  throughout  West 
Africa  there  is  no  native  conception  of  private  ownership 
of  land.  This  is  almost  an  article  of  religious  faith 
amongst  the  African  races  generally.  Let  one  tribe 
murder  a  member  of  another  community  and  a  palaver 
will  be  called  and  compensation  paid.  If  wife-stealing 
or  kidnapping  of  boys  takes  place,  the  tribes  involved  will 
remain  calm  and  settle  their  dispute  by  making  peaceful 
and  honourable  amends.  Let  one  tribe  exploit  the  palm, 
or  without  leave  settle  on  the  lands  of  another,  and,  on 
the  instant,  the  ultimatum  is  despatched — "  Depart 
forthwith,  or  accept  the  alternative  !  "  Indeed  the  occu- 
pation of  the  communal  lands  of  another  tribe  is  recog- 
nized by  most  tribes  as  an  overt  act  of  warfare,  the  signal 
that  all  negotiations  for  peace  are  at  an  end. 

Perhaps  no  more  eloquent  testimony  of  the  attach- 
ment of  native  tribes  to  their  lands  is  to  be  found  any- 
where than  in  the  great  Equatorial  regions  of  the  Congo. 
The  early  'eighties  witnessed  in  the  Congo  basin  three 
convulsive  movements  ;  the  entrance  of  the  white  man 
from  the  west,  following  on  Stanley's  journey  across  the 
continent ;  the  incursion  of  the  Arabs  from  the  north, 
and  the   Lokele   wars   towards   the  south.     This  latter 


158  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

movement  was  destined  to  change  the  whole  situation 
in   the   Equatorial   regions,    south   of   the   main   Congo. 
The  Lokeles,  probably  pressed  by  the  Arabs  from  the 
north,  started  a  "  land  war  "  with  their  southern  neigh- 
bours, the  object  being  to  obtain  an  extension  of  tribal 
land.     This  pressure  set  in  motion  a  land  war,  which 
ultimately  extended  over  an  area  nearly  five  times  the 
size  of  Great  Britain  and  ran  right  through  the  south 
reaching  down  to  the  Lukenya  river,  and  in  some  places 
even  across  the  greatest  of  the  southern  tributaries — 
the  Kasai.     Tribes  fought  each  other  for  the  maintenance 
of  their  ancient  boundaries  until  the  whole  of  the  Equa- 
torial region  was  in  a  state  of  warfare,  which  only  ceased 
when  starvation  claimed  victims  by  the  thousand.     Then 
only  were  boundaries  re-adjusted  by  peaceful  agreements ; 
even  so  the  whole  population  for  months  was  in  such 
dire  straits  for  food,   that  men  sold    their  wives,   and 
mothers  their  children,  for  a  single  basket  of  manioca. 
One  realizes  how  passionately  the  natives  are  attached 
to  their  lands  as  they  recount  the  horrors  of  those  terrible 
years.     Said  one  to  me  recently — "  At  first  we  fought 
to  protect  our  lands,  but  in  the  end  we  had  to  fight  to 
obtain    *  meat ' — ^human    flesh — to    stay    the    pangs    of 
hunger." 

The  native  boundaries  are  almost  invisible  to  the 
European  eye,  but  to  the  African  student  of  nature  those 
boundaries  are  fixed  and  immovable  as  the  eternal 
hills.  The  limits  of  tribal  lands,  within  the  orbit  of 
which  the  clans  may  move  and  hunt  whenever  they  will, 
are  the  stream,  the  palm  plantation,  the  hilly  range  and 
the  bridges  across  streams  and  rivers. 


FIXED   LAND   BOUNDARIES  159 

Upon  the  chief  and  his  advisers  devolves  the  sacred 
duty  of  maintaining  intact  these  tribal  lands,  alienation 
being  foreign  to  the  native  ideas.  So  jealously  is  this 
guarded  that  many  paramount  chiefs  in  native  law  have 
no  power  to  grant  even  occupancy  rights.  For  six  months 
the  cession  of  Lagos  to  the  British  Crown  was  held  up 
because  King  Docemo  had  signed  a  treaty  which  appeared 
to  violate  this  principle  of  native  law.  The  population 
declared  that  the  ownership  of  the  land  of  Lagos  was  not 
vested  in  the  paramount  chief,  but  in  the  seven  White 
Cap  chiefs,  who,  fearing  the  terrible  consequences  of 
alienating  the  tribal  lands,  fled  to  the  bush.  It  became 
necessary  for  the  British  representatives  to  give  the  most 
explicit  assurances  and  sacred  promises  on  the  point, 
in  order  to  secure  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  cession. 

It  is  perfectly  true  that  titles  have  been  granted  to 
native  tribes  and  to  white  men,  but  it  is  equally  true  that 
originally  there  was  never  the  remotest  idea  that  this 
involved  the  European  conception  of  total  alienation. 
In  the  Holt  v.  Rex  case  of  Southern  Nigeria,  the  Crown 
held  that  "  under  native  law  strangers  cannot  obtain 
freehold  rights — only  occupancy  rights."  The  tribal 
conception  of  occupancy  rights  also  carries  with  it  the 
communal  idea  ;  a  native  clan  settling  by  permission 
within  the  territory  of  another  tribe  really  constitutes 
the  first  step  in  progressive  incorporation.  In  the  first 
instance  of  white  settlers,  there  are  abundant  stories  of 
the  native  interpretation  of  this  principle — some  of  them 
distinctly  objectionable,  although  there  were  pure  motives 
behind  them  ;  others  are  amusing,  such  as  that  of  the 
chiefs  "  borrowing  "  saws,  axes,  string,  rope,  nails  and 


i6o  DAWN    IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

what  not.  Again  and  again  they  have  freely  and  openly 
helped  themselves  to  palm  nuts  and  other  produce  from 
the  white  man's  ground.  No  doubt  much  of  what  the 
European  calls  "  pilfering  "  was  really  quite  innocently 
founded  upon  the  communal  conception  of  the  primitive 
races. 

The  impetuous  scramble  for  African  territory,  which 
began  thirty  years  ago,  made,  and  continues  to  make,  a 
considerable  breach  in  this  old  primitive  system.  White 
men,  acting  through  the  doubtful  medium  of  interpreters 
not  infrequently  corrupted  in  advance,  have  secured  from 
chiefs  titles  to  land  of  all  dimensions.  These  chieftains, 
as  a  whole,  never  fully  grasped  the  meaning  of  the  titles 
obtained  with  honeyed  words,  and  which  they  are  now 
unable  to  repudiate.  That  this  is  so  is  partly  proved  by 
the  fact  that  in  some  colonies  areas  have  been  conceded 
twice  and  even  three  times  over.  Swaziland  is,  of  course, 
the  most  flagrant  example,  where  it  will  be  remembered 
a  situation  so  complex  was  created  that  it  ultimately 
became  impossible  for  any  Court  to  decide  as  to  who 
were  the  real  owners  of  specific  areas. 

In  West  Africa  things  are  not,  and  never  can  be, 
quite  so  bad,  although  in  some  colonies,  the  Gold  Coast 
for  example,  German  Cameroons  and  French  Congo, 
land  difficulties  are  being  piled  up  for  the  endless  con- 
fusion of  future  administrators.  In  Belgian  Congo 
there  is  no  immediate  probabihty  of  trouble,  due  partly 
to  the  fact  that  capital  has  little  confidence  in  Belgium's 
heritage,  but  more  because  the  major  part  of  the  popula- 
tion has  disappeared. 

There  is  a  vital  connection  between  land  and  labour 


LAND   AND   LABOUR  i6i 

in  all  tropical  and  sub-tropical  colonies.  The  economic 
future  of  native  races  is  immobilized  in  the  proportion  in 
which  their  lands  are  taken  from  them.  The  almost 
phenomenal  success  of  the  cocoa  industry  in  the  British 
colony  of  the  Gold  Coast  is  due  entirely  to  the  fact  that 
the  natives  are  the  proprietors  of  the  cocoa  farms. 
Throughout  the  colonial  world,  there  is  no  more  striking 
contrast  between  a  landed  and  a  landless  native  com- 
munity than  the  British  Gold  Coast  colony  and  the  neigh- 
bouring Portuguese  colony  of  San  Thome.  In  both 
territories  cocoa  flourishes,  both  produce  excellent  cocoa, 
in  both  nature  is  very  kind,  but  while  the  one  will  march 
on  conquering  the  cocoa  markets  of  the  world,  the  other 
is  doomed  to  ultimate  disaster. 

The  San  Thome  cocoa  producer  is  only  a  labourer — 
in  fact  a  slave — and  he  is  perishing  at  such  a  rate  that 
the  depleted  ranks  must  be  filled  from  outside  sources 
to  the  number  of  3000  to  4000  labourers  every  year. 
This  constant  inflow  of  labour  cannot  continue  in- 
definitely, even  if  European  sentiment  permitted — which 
it  will  not — the  revolting  concomitants  by  which  this 
labour  has  been  maintained.  The  economic  future  of 
these  colonies  from  which  the  supplies  are  drawn  will 
soon  forbid  the  emigration  which  at  present  is  necessary 
to  the  island  of  San  Thome.  The  population  of  the  Gold 
Coast,  on  the  other  hand,  happy  in  the  enjoyment,  in 
the  main,  of  its  own  lands,  reproduces  and  to  some  extent 
even  increases  itself  every  year.  The  native  occupies 
his  rightful  place  as  producer,  while  the  white  man  finds 
his  true  sphere,  first  as  the  inspirer  of  native  efforts  to 
place  on  the  market  cocoa  of  increasingly  good  quality, 

M 


i62  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

secondly  as  the  medium  by  which  the  cocoa  produced  is 
conveyed  to  the  manufacturer,  and  thirdly  that  by  which 
surplus  European  manufactures  are  brought  to  the  door 
of  the  native  in  exchange  for  his  products. 

This  relationship  of  land  to  labour  is  receiving  in- 
creasing recognition  by  students  of  colonial  policy.  The 
Republican  Government  of  Portugal,  finding  both  labour 
and  land  problems  in  hopeless  confusion  in  the  African 
colonies,  has  recently  introduced  a  comprehensive  measure 
embracing  both  factors  in  the  development  of  African 
colonies.  The  ordinance  is  probably  too  generous  in 
proportions  to  be  carried  through  effectively  in  any 
colony,  and  stands  little  chance  of  complete  application 
in  Portuguese  colonies,  which  suffer  already  from  an 
excess  of  legislation,  coupled  with  a  rooted  contempt  for 
"  Lisbon  dictation."  This  new  ordinance,  however, 
is  a  valuable  contribution  to  West  African  legal 
literature. 

The  Provisional  Government  first  lays  down  the 
proposition  that  every  native  in  the  Portuguese  colonies 
is  under  "  a  moral  and  legal  obligation  to  work."  The 
proposition  upon  land  is  in  the  following  terms  :  "In 
all  the  Provinces  beyond  the  seas,  wherever  there  are 
public  lands  vacant,  uncultivated,  and  not  used  for  any 
special  purpose,  natives  may  occupy  and  cultivate  them 
subject  to  conditions  laid  down  in  the  present  ordinance." 

The  native  in  Portuguese  colonies,  therefore,  must 
work.  The  sphere  of  labour  he  may  choose,  but  idleness 
is  henceforth  a  punishable  offence. 

Women,  sick  men,  minors  under  fourteen  years  of 
age,  chiefs  and  those  in  regular  employment,  are  either 


LAND   AND   LABOUR  163 

exempt  from  the  operation  of  the  ordinance  or  deemed 
to  have  fulfilled  its  obligations. 

Any  native  may  contract  his  services,  but,  in  the  first 
instance,  for  a  period  limited  to  two  years.  The  agree- 
ment is  null  and  void  unless  the  wages  are  fixed  and 
recorded  in  the  contract.  Any  clause  giving  the  employer 
the  right  to  administer  corporal  punishment  likewise 
renders  the  contract  invalid.  The  engagement  may  be 
made  with  or  without  the  assistance  of  Government 
officials,  but  any  document  signed  in  the  presence  of  a 
Government  authority  carries  with  it  both  the  right  and 
the  responsibility  of  official  intervention  in  any  subse- 
quent dispute  between  the  parties.  If,  however,  the 
contracting  parties  enter  into  the  agreement  without 
reference  to  the  authorities,  the  employer  cannot  look 
for  official  assistance  in  disputes  with  the  employes, 
although  the  latter  under  all  circumstances  may  rely 
upon  official  protection  and  assistance.  All  contracts 
must  bear  the  impress  of  the  labourer's  thumb.  Wages 
may  not  be  withheld,  nor  may  pressure  be  exerted  to 
force  merchandize  upon  the  employe  in  lieu  of  wages. 

Recruiting  agents  must  obtain  a  licence  from  the 
Governor  of  the  province,  and  any  infraction  of  this 
section  of  the  ordinance  is  punishable  by  a  fine  of  £100  to 
£1000.  A  heavier  penalty  still  awaits  any  recruiting 
agent  who  attempts  to  contract  labourers  for  prescribed 
regions :  presumably  that  death-trap  of  Portuguese 
colonies,  the  island  of  Principe.  The  punishment  for 
such  violation  may  be  imprisonment  for  one  year,  a  fine 
of  £200,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  imprisonment, 
expulsion  from  the  colony.     Similar  penalties  await  any 


i64  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

agent  contracting  labourers  beyond  the  bounds  of  his 
judicial  area. 

The  Republican  Government  evidently  realizes  that 
contract  labour,  however  benevolent  it  may  be  made  to 
appear  on  paper,  is  not  always  a  heavenly  condition,  and 
that  the  labourer  may  repent  of  his  bargain  before 
expiration.  Section  i8  provides  for  almost  every  con- 
comitant which  attaches  to  restrained  labour.  The  pill, 
however,  is  sugared  by  a  preliminary  and  somewhat 
unctuous  preamble,  that  the  whole  trend  of  employment 
must  be  that  of  "  moral  education."  In  pursuance  of 
this  laudable  object,  powers  of  arrest  are  conferred, 
"  precautions  "  against  running  away  are  permitted,  and 
if  a  second  offence  occurs,  the  offender,  "  when  caught," 
may  be  taken  to  the  authorities  "  to  be  chastised."  There 
are,  however,  certain  limits  to  these  powers,  for  the  em- 
ployer may  neither  shackle  nor  chain  an  employe,  nor 
may  he  deprive  the  labourers  of  food,  nor  impose  any 
fines  which  involve  deductions  from  wages. 

If  the  native  of  the  Portuguese  colonies  dislikes  the 
yoke  of  any  master,  he  may,  like  Adam,  "  till  the  soil," 
for,  as  already  stated,  all  vacant  public  and  uncultivated 
lands  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  colonists.  The  first 
general  restriction  is  that  this  liberty  is  only  open  to 
those  "  who  do  not  possess  immovable  property  to  the 
value  of  £io."  The  object  of  this  restriction  is  nowhere 
elucidated,  but  apparently  it  is  that  of  fixing  the  popula- 
tion upon  definite  areas. 

If,  then,  the  native  does  not  possess  immovable 
property  to  that  amount,  he  may  occupy  a  piece  of  land 
measuring  2|  acres  for  himself,  and  an  additional  acre 


LEASEHOLD   BECOMES   FREEHOLD      165 

for  every  member  of  his  family  with  the  exception  of 
males  above  fourteen  years  of  age. 

A  man  with  two  wives,  a  mother,  three  daughters, 
and  also  three  sons  under  fourteen  years  of  age,  could 
occupy  under  this  regulation  a  little  over  ten  acres,  but 
the  occupation  must  be  an  effective  one.  A  dweUing- 
house  must  be  erected,  and  two-thirds  of  the  area  must 
be  under  cultivation,  otherwise  the  title  becomes  void, 
and  the  authorities  will  expel  the  occupants.  The  right 
of  occupancy  is  inalienable. 

During  the  first  five  years  of  occupation,  the  colonist 
is  exempt  from  all  dues,  but  at  the  close  of  this  period 
taxation  is  levied  and  may  be  paid  either  in  cash  or  kind. 
Failure  to  pay  these  dues  renders  the  occupier  liable  to 
eviction  without  any  compensation  for  improvements. 

After  an  occupation  of  twenty  years,  characterized 
by  the  fulfilment  of  all  legal  responsibilities,  the  occupier 
automatically  acquires  the  freehold.  These  cultivators 
or  small  holders  are  exempt  from  serving  either  in  the 
army  or  the  poHce  ;  they  are  likewise  freed  from  any  form 
of  forced  labour,  hammock  carrying,  or  paddling,  but 
they  are  not  exempt  from  taking  part  in  military  opera- 
tions with  their  respective  chiefs,  when  such  expeditions 
are  undertaken  by  command  of  the  authorities. 

District  commissioners,  civil  and  military  officials 
are  urged  to  induce  natives  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
land  provisions,  and  are  empowered  to  assign  them  plots 
of  land.  They  are  also  instructed  to  prepare  local  regu- 
lations safeguarding  the  rights  of  the  colonists,  compile 
land  registers,  etc.,  for  which  no  fees  are  to  be  exacted 
from  the  natives. 


i66  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

If  a  native  will  not  labour  for  another,  if  he  will  not 
sow  a  field  or  trade  in  produce,  if  in  short  he  is  only 
prepared  to  stretch  forth  an  unwashed  hand  and  mutter 
"  Matabeesh,  Senhor  !  "  then  the  official  representative 
of  the  Government  will  deal  with  him.  The  danger  is 
that  other  than  "  wastrels  "  may  be  swept  into  the  official 
net,  particularly  whilst  such  operations  are  so  highly 
profitable  to  the  Portuguese  colonies. 

First  the  delinquent  is  summoned  to  answer  the  charge 
of  idling  without  visible  means  of  support  ;  then  the 
paternal  authorities  are  to  read  him  a  homily  on  "  moral 
education,"  and  forthwith  despatch  him  to  a  place  where 
work  is  waiting  for  him.  If  he  still  refuses  to  w^ork  he 
may  be  sent  to  "  correctional  labour."  There  he  will 
receive  food  and  lodging  and  be  given  one-third  the  market 
rate  of  wages.  "  Correctional  labourers  "  may,  according 
to  Section  58,  be  hired  out  by  private  persons  upon  the 
same  terms  as  the  prisoners  of  State.  Such  persons 
willing  to  employ  "  correctional  labourers  "  are  requested 
to  make  formal  application,  but  only  those  are  eligible 
to  receive  such  labourers  who  have  never  been  con- 
victed in  any  court.  If  they  receive  such  labourers  a 
given  sum  per  capita  must  be  paid  to  the  State  and  a 
fine  of  £20  paid  for  any  shortage  in  "  returns  "  alive 
or  dead,  the  number  hired  out  must  be  returned  to  the 
Authorities.  If,  however,  escape  is  feared,  the  correc- 
tional labourers  may  be  returned  to  State  prisons  each 
night. 

If  the  whole  ordinance  is  to  be  applied  to  the  Portu- 
guese colonies  in  a  measure  of  completeness  hitherto 
foreign  to  the  Portuguese  possessions,  then  there  is  some 


HUMAN   VALUES  167 

hope  that  even  the  leopard  may  be  able  to  change  his 
spots. 

There  is  little  likelihood  that  the  Portuguese  land  laws 
will  be  rendered  effective  on  the  spot,  especially  when  we 
remember  that  many  thousands  of  miles  throughout  which 
such  laws  are  intended  to  operate  are  not  yet  under  any 
sort  of  administrative  control.  The  step  which  is  finding 
most  favour  in  British  West  African  colonies  is  that  of 
declaring  all  lands,  whether  occupied  or  not,  as  native 
land  under  some  sort  of  ultimate  trusteeship  of  the 
Governor  for  the  benefit  of  the  natives.  No  purpose 
can  be  served  by  denying  that  this  would  place  very  large 
powers  in  the  hands  of  a  single  individual,  even  though 
the  powers  so  conferred  may  only  be  exercised  "  in 
accordance  with  native  law  and  custom."  It  would 
beyond  question  give  to  the  Governor  powers  which  in 
the  hands  of  some  individuals  might  be  exceedingly 
dangerous. 

The  majority  of  British  Governors  of  Crown  colonies 
could  undoubtedly  be  allowed  to  supersede  the  paramount 
chiefs  in  every  respect,  providing  the  constitution  of  the 
Crown  colonies  permitted  the  bringing  into  full  play 
of  this  one  vital  condition,  viz.  that  his  actions  would 
always  be  "in  accordance  with  native  law  and  custom," 
but  Crown  Colony  government  excludes  at  present  any 
form  of  representative  government  which  is  the  un- 
written law  of  every  African  tribe. 

Docemo,  and  his  successor  Prince  Eleko,  in  Southern 
Nigeria,  exacted,  and  exact  to-day,  an  abject  obeisance 
from  their  counsellors,  which,  if  demanded  by  a  British 
Governor,  would  secure  his  prompt  recall.     No  chieftain, 


i68  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

whether  he  be  Mohammedan  or  Pagan,  ever  enters  the 
presence  of  the  native  Council  Chamber  of  Lagos  without 
prostrating  himself  flat  upon  the  ground  and  kissing  it 
three  times  before  receiving  permission  to  sit  down.  Yet 
this  paramount  chief  could  not  alienate  a  square  yard  of 
land  without  the  sanction  of  his  advisers. 

No  British  Governor  is  at  present  in  this  position. 
In  practice,  his  powers  under  Crown  Colony  government 
are  in  the  ultimate  resort  absolute  and  uncontrolled, 
except  by  question,  answer  and  debate,  in  the  British 
House  of  Commons.  When,  however,  the  subject-matter 
reaches  this  stage,  the  man  on  the  spot  has  probably 
already  committed  the  Government,  and  the  department 
is  therefore  bound  to  defend  him. 

Admittedl}^,  somebody  must  protect  the  native  from 
the  wiles  of  unscrupulous  white  speculators,  no  less  than 
from  the  subtle  and  treacherous  conduct  of  individual 
natives.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Governor,  as  the  responsible 
authority  of  the  Crown  and  trustee  of  native  welfare,  to 
do  this  ;  let  him  by  all  means  have  power  to  prevent  the 
alienation  of  land  and  to  grant  occupancy  rights,  but 
under  a  system  of  government  which  will  give  the  natives 
themselves  that  which  they  possess  by  native  law  and 
custom — a  collective  voice  in  such  decisions.  It  should 
not  be  beyond  the  wit  of  man  to  frame  a  system  of  govern- 
mental control  over  native  tribal  lands  which  would 
satisfy  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  for  let  it  never  be 
forgotten  that  Africans  in  the  aggregate  are  reasonable 
and  by  no  means  difficult  to  deal  with  along  lines  which 
are  demonstrably  equitable. 


Ill 

PORTUGUESE  SLAVERY 

In  Portuguese  West  Africa  one  sees  the  best  and  the 
worst  treatment  of  native  races.  The  best  for  the  free 
native,  the  best  for  the  educated  coloured  man  and  the 
best  for  the  coloured  woman.  In  every  other  colony — 
and  in  this  respect  British  colonies  are  becoming  the 
worst — race  prejudice  not  only  prevails  but  is  on  the 
increase.  In  the  Portuguese  colonies  there  is  a  pleasing 
absence  of  race  prejudice  ;  natives  of  equal  social  status 
are  as  freely  admitted  to  Portuguese  institutions  as  white 
men ;  the  hotels,  the  railways,  the  parks  and  roads 
possess  no  colour-bar,  and  if  the  Portuguese  colonies 
could  be  purged  of  their  foul  blot  of  slavery,  the  natives 
of  other  African  colonies  might  well  envy  their  fellows 
in  Portuguese  Africa.  Alongside  intimate  social  relations 
with  the  native  is  a  widespread  plantation  slavery  in 
Angola,  San  Thome  and  Principe. 

Angola,  one  of  the  largest  political  divisions  of  West 
Africa,  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Congo,  the  east 
by  Rhodesia  and  on  the  south  by  German  Damaraland ; 
a  considerable  section  of  the  northern  territory,  including 
the  whole  Lunda  country,  comes  within  the  operations 
of  the  General  Act  of  Berlin.  Apart  from  the  Lunda 
province   and   strips   of  land   bordering  the   rivers,   the 


170  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

colony  cannot  be  said  to  give  any  promise  of  an  agri- 
cultural future,  although  if  one  nation  is  adept  over  all 
others  in  turning  wastes  into  gardens,  that  nation  is  the 
Portuguese,  to  whom  gardens  and  plantations  are  second 
nature.  A  Portuguese  house  without  its  shady  vinery, 
its  delicate  ferner}^  and  luxuriant  kitchen  garden  is  un- 
thinkable ;  even  the  little  children  in  the  streets,  instead 
of  building  castles  and  grottos,  find  infinite  delight  in 
laying  out  miniature  gardens,  in  which  they  arrange 
flowers  and  ferns  with  artistic  taste. 

Economically,  however,  Angola  does  not  pay,  its 
finances  are  like  many  of  its  old  houses — very  unstable 
and  subject  to  leakage.  Walk  its  streets,  visit  its 
families,  Government  departments  or  merchants'  houses, 
and  certain  it  is  that  every  other  man  you  meet  will  re- 
mind you  forcibly  of  Micawber.  The  Portuguese  com- 
munity in  any  part  of  Angola  can  be  roughly  classed  as 
the  Moneylenders  and  Borrowers.  Each,  however,  ap- 
pears to  be  supremely  happy  and  fives  in  absolute  assur- 
ance that  something  will  turn  up  every  day  to  render  fife 
more  agreeable. 

Loanda,  the  capital,  is  a  strange  admixture  of  ancient 
and  modern  dwellings,  old  churches,  a  roofless  theatre 
and  dilapidated  bull-rings.  But  despite  its  shortcomings, 
the  Portuguese  have  made  Loanda  the  most  restful 
health-restoring  sea-port  in  West  Africa.  Boma,  the 
capital  of  the  Congo,  is  distant  only  twenty-four  hours' 
steam,  but  it  is  surely  the  most  unhealthy  and  the  most 
foodless  place  in  Africa.  The  Belgians,  if  they  hked, 
might  supply  fresh  provisions  to  its  starving  and  dying 
population, — for  everyone  in  Boma  is  dying,  it  is  only  a 


ANGOLA  171 

question  of  time.  In  Boma,  fowls,  eggs,  fruit,  fish  and 
vegetables  are  priceless,  while  every  day  shiploads  can 
be  purchased  very  cheaply  in  Loanda,  and  if  shipped 
twice  a  week  to  the  Lower  Congo,  \\ould  at  least  make 
life,  though  short,  more  comfortable. 

There  is  one  place  every  visitor  to  Loanda  should 
inspect— the  old  Dutch  Church  dedicated  to  "  The  Lady 
of  our  Salvation."  Some  American  dollars  would  be 
weh  spent  in  preserving  this  relic,  for  it  is  one  of  the  many 
instances  which  demonstrate  that  slaving  was  a  pious 
occupation  in  the  early  seventeenth  century.  The  whole 
of  the  interior  was  once  composed  of  blue  and  white 
tiles  of  pictorial  design,  and  one  on  the  north  wall  of 
the  chancel  is  still  complete  ;  this  apparently  represents 
the  conquest  of  Angola  by  the  Dutch,  who  are  seen  in 
broad-brimmed  hats,  braided  coat-tails  and  parade  boots, 
fighting  and  slaughtering  the  hosts  of  savages.  The 
whole  operation  against  the  unfortunate  infidels  is  being 
directed,  and  presumably  blessed,  by  the  Lady  of  our 
Salvation  enthroned  in  the  clouds. 

If  Portuguese  enterprise  has  made  Loanda  a  restful 
spot  for  weary  travellers,  British  capital — in  the  person 
Robert  Williams — has  turned  an  unknown  strip  of  desert 
land  into  a  flourishing  sea-port  now  known  as  Lobito 
Bay.  It  is  from  this  port,  with  excellent  anchorage  and 
transport  facilities,  that  the  West  Coast  will  connect 
with  the  Cape  railway.  This  Lobito — Katanga  railway, 
though  it  has  only  completed  some  450  of  the  1200  miles 
to  Katanga,  promises  commercial  success  when  opened, 
for  it  should  then  constitute  the  cheapest  transport  route 
to  Rhodesia  and  the  Congo  ;  that  is  unless  the  Portuguese, 


172  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

with  their  usual  short-sighted  economic  pohcy,  kill  the 
enterprise  with  tariffs  before  it  has  had  a  real  chance  of 
life. 

There  are  only  two  other  ports  of  any  consequence  in 
Portuguese  Angola — Mossamedes  and  Benguella  ;  the 
latter  a  harbour  with  perpetual  "  rollers  "  which  make 
a  stay  on  board  anything  but  a  comfortable  experience. 
The  town  itself,  like  most  Portuguese  institutions,  is 
going  to  ruin  :  the  only  redeeming  feature  being  the 
maintenance  of  its  public  gardens,  fountains  and 
Eucalyptus  avenues.  Catumbella,  an  inland  town,  Ues 
midway  between  Lobito  Bay  and  Benguella,  and  with 
the  latter  town,  constituted  the  principal  centre  of  the 
slave-trade.  The  old  slave-compounds  and  prison-houses 
confront  the  traveller  in  every  part  of  Catumbella  and 
Benguella,  and  although  many  have  fallen  into  disuse, 
some  still  have  the  appearance  of  occasional  occupation. 

Loanda,  Lobito  and  Benguella  all  possess  "  hotels." 
Those  of  the  capital  proper  are  a  strange  mixture  of 
cleanliness,  tobacco-ash  and  half-hidden  dirt,  but  at  least 
they  are  free  from  the  presence  of  those  unfortunate 
white  women  who  intrude  themselves  with  such  persistence 
on  the  attention  or  inattention  of  passing  white  travellers 
in  Benguella,  and  live  by  running  accounts  paid  irregularly 
by  white  men  in  that  most  loathsome  of  all  towns  in  West 
Africa.  Those  wishing  to  visit  Benguella  should  order 
their  rooms  months  ahead  and  not  be  surprised  if  on 
arrival  Senhor  has  forgotten  all  about  the  order  and  has 
neither  room  nor  bed  at  his  disposal.  A  sound  and 
vigorous  rating,  however,  will  generally  extort  a  promise 
of  a  room  somewhere,  a  promise  which  will  seldom  be 


CHANCEL    AND    NORTH    WALL    OF    DISUSED    DUTCH    CHURCH,    LOANDA. 


See  p.  171. 


PORTUGUESE   "HOTELS"  173 

fulfilled  until  all  other  guests  have  retired  to  beds  severally 
robbed  of  one  portion  or  another  to  make  up  an  in- 
complete set  for  the  newly-arrived  guests.  Nor  must 
the  tired  travellers  be  surprised  if  a  black  boy  enters  the 
bedroom,  without  knocking,  and  demands  the  "  other 
master's  pillow,"  only  to  be  followed  later  by  another 
woolly  pate  thrust  round  the  doorway  sleepily  requesting 
the  surrender  of  a  counterpane  or  towel,  for  yet  "  another 
master." 

It  is  useless  to  expostulate  with  the  hotel  manager, 
who  will  reply  with  a  veritable  flood  of  apologies  and 
threaten  to  break  the  head,  and  neck  if  necessary,  of 
every  black  boy  in  the  place,  and  yet  the  guest  knows 
with  mathematical  certainty  that  he  will  again  have  to 
go  through  the  same  course  of  torture  before  getting  a 
troubled  sleep  on  that  straw  mattress  in  yonder  white- 
washed room.  This  is  the  whole  trouble  with  the  Portu- 
guese, commercially  and  diplomatically  ;  their  eternal 
protestations  of  sincerity,  integrity  and  courtesy  on  the 
one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  a  total  incapability  of 
observing  the  most  sacred  promises.  It  is  an  old  story, 
the  same  which  confronted  Wellington  in  the  early 
nineteenth  century.  The  Portuguese  is  very  like  the 
African  ;  you  despair  of  curing  him  of  his  weaknesses — 
which  are,  after  all,  seldom  intentionally  vicious — 
and  yet  you  love  him,  because  his  kindly  nature 
compels  you. 

The  chief  interest  for  the  British  public  in  Portuguese 
colonies  arises  from  two  distinct  causes — financial  interests 
and  treaty  obligations.  Our  financial  interests  are  not 
large  ;    they  involve  certain  railway  schemes,  the  supply 


174  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

of  labour  for  the  Transvaal  mines,  and  a  few  plantation 
and  merchant  enterprises.  Our  treaty  obligations, 
binding  us  in  definite  alliance  with  Portugal,  may  at  any 
moment  involve  Great  Britain  in  a  grave  international 
situation.  The  value,  or  otherwise,  of  such  an  alliance 
is  open  to  a  difference  of  opinion.  It  is,  however,  impera- 
tive that  our  ally  should  observe  all  moral  standards 
which  the  civilized  Powers  are  pledged  to  maintain  with 
all  the  forces  at  their  disposal.  Travellers,  consuls, 
merchants,  sea  captains  and  government  officials  have 
repeatedly  called  attention  to  the  prevailing  slavery  and 
slave-trade  in  Portuguese  West  Africa  ;  both  of  which 
detestable  practices  are  in  gross  violation  of  Anglo- 
Portuguese  treaties,  the  Brussels  and  Berlin  Acts.  All, 
or  any,  of  the  civilized  Powers  can  at  any  moment — and 
in  point  of  responsibility  should — intervene  and  demand 
the  abohtion  of  slavery  in  Angola,  San  Thome  and  Principe, 
and  if  Portugal  continued  to  beg  the  question  by  calling 
slavery  by  some  other  name,  that  Power,  or  those  Powers, 
could,  if  they  so  desired,  shake  her  out  of  her  indifference 
by  casting  the  anchor  of  a  battleship  in  sight  of  the  ports 
of  San  Thome  and  St.  Paul  de  Loanda.  I  am  not  advo- 
cating such  a  course  for  one  moment,  but  it  is  vital  that 
the  British  public  should  reahze  that  in  the  event  of  any 
Power  signatory  to  anti-slavery  Conventions  waking  up 
for  any  reason,  disinterested  or  otherwise,  to  treaty 
obUgations,  and  making  some  effort  to  discharge  those 
liabilities,  such  Power  would  be  at  once  confronted  by  the 
possibility  of  Britain's  navy  defending  Portuguese 
colonies,  although  run  by  slave  labour.  A  pretty  spectacle 
indeed,   Britain's  matchless  fleet   defending  the  slaver, 


COCOA    CARRYING,    BELGIAN    CONGO. 


ENTRANCE    TO    COCOA    ROrA,    PRINCIPE    ISLAND.         (PORTUGUESE.) 


MAINLAND   SLAVERY  175 

only  wanting  old  Jack  Hawkins  on  the  Bridge,  to  complete 
the  picture  ! 

Portugal  shares  with  every  other  West  African  Power 
the  problem  of  shortage  of  labour  and  with  it  the  short- 
sighted energy  of  the  impatient  employer,  who,  beyond 
the  ken  of  the  official  eye,  frequently  resorts  to  illegal 
means  for  increasing  his  supply.  Domestic  slavery 
survives  in  Portuguese  Angola  as  well  as  in  Nigeria,  and 
in  Belgian  and  French  Congo.  One  can  only  estimate 
very  roughly  the  slave  population  of  Africa,  but  probably 
not  less  than  a  million  human  beings  are  to-day  ignorant 
of  the  blessings  of  personal  liberty.  Mr.  Nevinson,  in 
his  admirable  book  on  "  Modern  Slavery,"  says  of  Angola 
alone,  "  including  the  very  large  number  of  natives  who, 
by  purchase  or  birth,  are  the  family  slaves  of  the  village 
chiefs  and  other  fairl}^  prosperous  natives,  we  might 
probably  reckon  at  least  half  the  population  as  living 
under  some  form  of  slavery."  We  cannot  acquit  many 
Powers  in  Africa  from  the  charge  of  profiting  adminis- 
tratively from  this  form  of  human  chattelage,  but  when 
Portugal  sets  up  a  tu  quoque  plea  we  are  compelled  to 
differ.  The  dividing  line  between  the  Powers  is  that 
whilst  many  of  them  profit  by  this  practice  occasionally 
and  for  restricted  periods,  the  Portuguese  descend  to  the 
lowest  level,  adopt  the  native  practice  themselves  and  thus 
become  not  the  "  hirers,"  but  the  owners.  In  this  way 
they  endeavour  to  meet  their  interminable  shortage  in 
the  labour  supply.  To  what  lengths  they  are  prepared 
to  carry  this  system  may  be  gathered  from  the  report  of 
Professor  A.  Prister  in  the  Hamburger  Fremden-Blatt  for 
28th  July,   1906  : — "  In  Angola,  even  in  San  Paolo  de 


176  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

Loanda,  under  the  eyes    of    the    Governor,  the    Bishop 
and    the    high    officials/'   he    alleges,   are   to   be   found 
"regular    'bridewells'    for    the    production    of   slaves." 
One  of  these,  he  says,  he  visited  on  the  estate  of  "  one  of 
the   richest   Portuguese,"    sixteen    miles    from    Loanda. 
There  he  saw  a  large  number  of  women,  with  only  a  few 
men,  at  work.     "  Each  woman  has  a  little  hut,  in  a  court- 
yard enclosed   by  a  wall,  in  which  she   lives  with   her 
young    ones.      The    woman    is    always    pregnant,    and 
carries  her  last  child  on  her  back,  during  work,  in  Kaffir 
manner.      The  overseer  of  this  plantation,  who  treated 
me  in  every  respect  with   Portuguese  friendliness,   and 
took  me  for  a  great  admirer  of  his  breeding  establish- 
ment, told   me  that  about   four   hundred  negroes  were 
there,  and  added  with  a  laugh  that  he  had  over  a  hundred 
young  ones  in  the  compound.     This  is  just  as  if  a  cattle- 
breeder  were  boasting  of  the  fine  increase  in  his  herds. 
When  the  young  one  is  so  far  grown  up  that  he  can  be 
put  to  some  use,  at  from  six  to  eight  years  of  age,  he 
enters  into  a  so-called  contract,  or  he  steps  quite  simply 
into  the  place  of  a  dead  servigal.     For  instance,  Joseph 
is   told  that   his  name  is  no  more  Joseph  but  Charles, 
and    immediately   the    dead    Charles   is   replaced.      He 
never  fell  ill  ;    he  never  died  ;    he   only  lives   a   second 
life."      It   is   to   be  hoped  that  such  incidents  are  rare 
even  in  Angola,  but  it  brings  home  forcibly  to  the  British 
mind  the  sort  of  colonies  the  "  matchless  navy  "  of  Great 
Britain  may  be  called  upon  one  day  to  defend. 

Certain  apologists  of  the  Portuguese  are  very  fond  of 
comparing  the  British  indentured  labour  S3^stem  with 
labour   conditions   on   the    Angolan    mainland    and    the 


CONTRACT  LABOUR  AND   SLAVERY        177 

islands.  The  labour  system  of  the  East  and  West  Indies 
are  by  no  means  ideal,  but  there  is  a  world  of  difference, 
not  only  in  the  daily  management  of  this  labour,  but 
fundamentally. 

In  San  Thome  the  contracted  labourer  from  Angola 
is  a  slave  :  he  calls  himself  a  slave,  and  the  Mozambique 
free  man  holds  him  in  contempt  as  a  slave  ;  either  he  was 
captured,  or  purchased  on  the  mainland  with  cash  by  the 
plantation  owners  just  as  men  purchase  cattle  or  capture 
wild  animals.  Every  single  slave  with  whom  I  spoke, 
both  on  the  mainland  and  on  the  islands,  gave  me  the 
clearest  account,  replete  with  convincing  detail,  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  or  she  had  been  either  kidnapped  or 
purchased.  Not  a  few  of  the  slaves  had  "  changed 
hands  "  several  times  before  the  ultimate  sale  to  the 
planter. 

The  Slave's  Case 

In  the  back  streets  of  Angolan  ports,  on  the  highways 
of  Lobito  and  Benguella,  and  in  the  shady  by-paths  of 
Catumbella,  the  traveller  may  at  any  time  penetrate  the 
secrets  of  the  tragedies  which  attach  themselves  to  the 
souls  of  men  and  women  who  have  lost  their  freedom. 
The  same  tragedies  but  with  attendant  secrets  darker  still, 
are  locked  within  the  breasts  of  the  slaves  on  the  Portu- 
guese cocoa  islands  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  There  by  the 
roadside,  on  the  banks  of  crystal  streams,  up  in  the  cocoa 
rogas,  and  along  the  valleys  thick  with  cocoa-trees,  the 
traveller  has  abundant  opportunities  for  penetrating  the 
secrets  of  the  miserable  slaves. 

Behind  the  mountainous  coast  of  Angola,  the  town  of 

N 


178  DAWN    IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

Novo  Redondo  hides  itself  in  a  hollow,  as  if  ashamed  of 
its  history,  or  perhaps  so  that  its  traffic  in  human  beings 
during  past  centuries  might  escape  the  attention  of  watch- 
ful cruisers.  There,  amongst  a  group  of  slaves  and  freemen, 
I  met  a  woman  with  a  story  more  eloquent  than  others 
because  it  was  also  so  recent,  so  vivid  and  so  forceful. 
She  had  not  been  long  on  the  coast,  for  only  a  few  months 
ago  she  had  for  the  first  time  witnessed  the  Atlantic 
breakers  tossing  themselves  with  their  impetuous  fury 
on  that  strip  of  rocky  shore.  The  hour  was  that  of 
the  mid-day  rest,  and  the  woman  was  sitting  sadly  apart 
from  the  other  labourers.  A  glance  at  her  attitude, 
coiffure  and  other  characteristics  rendered  her  a  somewhat 
singular  figure  in  that  group  of  servigaes,  still  there  was 
a  familiarity  which  surely  could  not  be  mistaken — 
somewhere  in  Central  Africa  those  cicatrized  arms,  that 
braided  head,  had  a  tribal  home. 

"  True,  white  man,  I  have  come  from  far  ;  from  the 
land  of  great  rivers  and  dark  forests." 

"  How  were  you  enslaved  ?  "    I  asked. 

"  They  charged  me  with  theft  and  then  sold  me  to 
another  tribe,  and  they  in  turn  to  a  black  trader.  This 
man  drove  me  for  many  *  moons  '  along  the  great  road 
until  a  white  man  at  D bought  me  and  sent  me  here." 

"  Where  am  I  going  now  ?  Who  can  tell  ?  I  suppose 
I  shall  be  sold  to  a  planter." 

There  was  no  need  of  the  slave's  reiterated  assertion 
that  she  had  been  nearly  ten  months  marching  down  to  the 
coast ;  the  locality  of  her  tribe  was  plainly  set  forth  on 
the  forearm  by  the  indelible  cicatrizing  knife  of  her  race. 
The  journey  from  the  Batetela  tribe  of  the  Congo  to  the 


THE   VOICE   OF   THE   SLAVE  179 

shores  of  Novo  Redondo  cannot  be  much  less  than  1,500 
miles.  This  was  one  of  the  most  recent  cases  we  dis- 
covered and  shows  that  the  slave  trade  in  Portuguese 
territory  is  a  question  of  the  moment. 

Fifty  years  ago,  it  is  said,  a  ragged  urchin  ran  the  streets 
of  San  Thome,  holding  sometimes  for  a  five  rets  piece, 
sometimes  for  as  many  kicks,  the  heads  of  mules  and 
horses  for  the  affluent  slave-planters  of  that  island.  That 
ragged  urchin  to-day  possesses  a  mansion  in  three  capitals 
of  Europe,  and  a  stately  car  rushes  to  and  fro  with  the 
sovereign  lord  of  some  thousands  of  slaves.  The  syco- 
phants, time-servers,  and  others  of  the  crowd  of  parasitic 
admirers,  who  cluster  round  this  august  person,  care 
little  for  the  misery  beneath  that  sordid  splendour.  His 
wretched  slaves  spend  their  days  from  5.30  in  the  morning 
until  sunset  cultivating  cocoa,  that  their  master  may 
fare  sumptuously  every  day  in  Europe,  and  finance 
dethroned  Royalty  which  is  not  ashamed  to  use  these 
ill-gotten  funds  in  half-hearted  endeavours  to  regain  a 
discredited  crown.  The  slaves  know  nothing  of  this  ; 
one  thing  only  they  know  is  that  when  the  bell  rings  at 
sunrise  they  must  devote  their  energies  to  the  production 
of  the  cocoa  bean  until  sunset,  and  that  this  weary 
monotony  has  in  it  not  a  glimmer  of  hope  of  cessation. 

Along  that  picturesque  road,  known  as  the  Mother  of 
God  road  (philosophers  might  give  us  some  reason  why  the 
slavers  in  all  history  annex  the  Holy  Virgin),  we  once 
met  a  group  of  slaves  with  a  sadness  written  on  their  faces 
which  seemed  almost  to  cry  out,  "  We  are  lost  souls." 

"  Are  you  well  fed  ?  " 

"  Yes,  white  man,  we  are  fed." 


i8o  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

"  Housed  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Are  you  freemen  ?  " 

"  No,  we  are  only  slaves." 

"  Would  you  like  your  liberty  ?  " 

"  Aye,  would  we  not,  but  Master  won't  liberate  us." 

Amongst  that  group  was  one  old  man  quite  grey, 
who  declared  he  had  been  on  the  islands  over  thirty 
years,  and  his  conversation  so  interested  me  that  I  asked 
him  to  describe  his  journey  to  the  coast.  This,  though 
a  story  over  thirty  years  old,  was  full  of  terrible  interest. 
The  old  man  had  by  this  time  gained  some  confidence, 
and  when  speaking  of  the  district  where  he  was  first  sold 
I  became  convinced  that  his  home  was  in  the  far  hinterland 
of  the  Congo.  With  unexpected  suddenness  I  startled 
him  by  uttering  one  of  the  rhythmic  morning  greetings 
of  his  native  tongue.  The  old  man  started  at  first,  as  if 
struck  with  a  whip,  then,  like  a  man  half  awake,  he 
appeared  to  reach  after  some  unseen  thing  ;  then  at  last 
it  suddenly  broke  in  upon  him  that  the  language  he  had 
heard  was  the  music  of  his  boyhood  ;  his  wrinkled  old 
face  was  wreathed  in  smiles,  his  tired  eyes  lit  up,  and  then 
in  short  animated  sentences  he  poured  forth  question 
after  question. 

"  Oh  !  white  man,  tell  me  about  Luebo,  tell  me  about 
Basongo." 

"  Tell  me  is  Kalamba  still  ahve  ?  " 

The  impetuosity  of  the  questions,  the  lively  gestures, 
the  hungering  look  in  those  brown  eyes  showed  how  the 
old  man  thirsted  for  information  of  his  little  village  away 
on  the  banks  of  the  broad  Kasai. 


'»■<■'»»■ 


^ippfl 


■4 


"-^jT^B^te- 


^LA^•]•;s  ox   SAX    ihomk. 


I! 


DISUSED    SLAVE    COMPOUND    IN    REAR    OF    HOUSE,    CATUMBELLA. 


THE   VOICE   OF   THE   SLAVE  i8i 

The  island  of  Principe  has  a  horror  all  its  own,  for  it 
is  infested  with  the  dread  sleeping  sickness.  Conditions 
are  so  bad  that  the  Portuguese  dare  not  send  the  free 
labourers  from  Mozambique,  lest  their  current  of  labour 
from  that  part  of  West  Africa  should  take  alarm  and  cease. 
White  men  and  women  are  fleeing  from  danger,  but  the 
authorities  still  keep  slaves  within  biting  distance  of  the 
fever  impregnated  fly.  Dr.  Correa  Mendes,  a  courageous 
Portuguese  medical  authority,  has  urged  that  every 
living  animal  should  be  killed  as  the  only  hope  of  saving 
Principe  ;  but  none  have  yet  dared  to  propose  the  libera- 
tion of  the  slaves. 

The  slaves  of  Principe  present  an  even  more  melancholy 
appearance  than  do  those  of  San  Thome.  They  appear 
to  possess  an  instinctive  knowledge  that  they  are  confined 
in  a  death-trap,  and  their  appeals  for  liberation  are 
piteously  violent. 

I  cannot  readily  forget  a  conversation  with  four 
young  slaves  on  Principe.  Of  these,  but  two  had  known 
freedom  ;  the  others  had  been  born  of  slave  parents. 
On  the  features  of  one,  the  traces  of  sleeping  sickness  in 
an  advanced  stage  were  plainly  marked,  and  though  still 
labouring  at  his  task,  it  was  plain  that  death  had  already 
marked  him  for  its  own. 

I  asked  the  usual  questions. 

"  Are  you  well  fed  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Senhor." 

"  Clothed  and  housed  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Senhor." 

"  You  are  not  flogged  or  beaten  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  are  we  not  !  " 


i82  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

"  But  I  am  told  the  planters  never  beat  you." 

"  Tell  me  then,  Senhor,  how  was  this  deep  wound 
caused  ?  " 

In  support  of  this  statement  the  whole  group  of  slaves 
chimed  in  with  exclamations  and  assertions  that  they 
were  constantly  flogged  and  beaten. 

"  Do  you  desire  your  freedom  ?  " 

"  Senhor,  wh}^  taunt  us  ?  Did  you  ever  know  an 
African  who  did  not  love  his  home  and  country  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  think  there  are  people  in  Europe  who  will 
endeavour  to  emancipate  you." 

"  Senhor,  I  fear  when  you  get  on  3'onder  ocean,  3^ou 
will  forget  the  poor  slaves  of  Principe  and  San  Thome  !  " 

This  latter  reply  was  uttered  with  so  desponding  a 
note  that  I  ventured  to  make  the  slaves  a  promise,  which 
British  honour — no  less  than  British  responsibility — 
should  see  fulfilled. 

"  Listen,  I  am  now  going  to  Europe  and  shall  soo^ 
meet  the  liberty-loving  British  people.  I  know  how  they 
detest  slavery  ;  I  know  how  they  will  struggle  for  your 
liberty.  Take  this  promise  yourselves — and  pass  the 
word  round  the  plantations  to  the  other  slaves — God 
helping  us,  we  will  set  you  free  within  two  years." 

The  effect  of  this  promise  was  good  to  behold,  the 
eyes  brightened,  there  was  an  elasticity  in  movement 
and  grateful  word  of  thanks  as  the  slaves  resumed  their 
never-ending  task.  Even  the  slave  in  the  fell  grip  of 
sleeping  sickness  appeared  to  share  in  the  joy  of  a  freedom 
he  could  not  hope  to  experience. 

Not  all  the  slaves  are  purchased  for  plantation  work, 
as  the  following  typical  instances  will  shew.     Beautiful 


THE   VOICE   OF   THE   SLAVE  183 

black  women  have  their  price.  The  day  was  indeed  a 
hot  one  as  I  strolled  along  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Congo,  when  a  finely-built  young 
woman  met  me.  Originally  captured  over  2,000  miles 
away,  her  fine  figure  and  bright  features  had  obtained 
for  her  captor  a  high  price  as  "  domestic  "  for  the  white 
man.  To  him  it  was  nothing  that  she  longed  to  exchange 
her  captive  life  for  that  home  away  in  the  far  interior, 
or  that  the  roar  of  the  waves  was  a  perpetual  reminder 
of  the  gentle  lappings  of  the  lake  shore  of  Tanganyika. 
The  woman  was  his  slave,  purchased  with  "  honest  money  " 
— his  slave  until  he  ceased  to  want  her,  and  then — well, 
he  would  sell  her  to  the  nearest  planter  and  buy  another, 
for  healthy  young  girls  are  always  marketable  not 
only  in  Portuguese  territory  but  in  other  parts  of  West 
Africa. 

Another  day  two  white-clad  European  travellers 
might  have  been  seen  moving  in  and  out  amongst  the 
villages  outside  a  Portuguese  town  of  Angola,  exchanging 
greetings  with  half-dressed  natives.  Presently  it  is 
realized  that  this  is  no  casual  visit  of  curious  strangers, 
for  it  is  obvious  that  the  white  man's  handshake  is  but 
an  excuse  for  a  closer  scrutiny  of  the  arm,  the  temple,  or 
the  chest,  and  the  natives  gather  round  the  travellers  as 
they  proceed  from  group  to  group.  Something  now 
arrests  attention,  for  the  white  man  is  sitting  down 
amidst  a  party  of  four  or  five  women. 

In  a  few  minutes  confidence  has  been  gained,  and  the 
women  submit  to  an  examination  of  certain  marks  cut 
years  ago  on  their  arms  and  foreheads.  The  white  man 
first  tries  a  sentence  in  a  tongue  unknown  to  the  group 


i84  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

of  interested  onlookers,  but  there  is  no  response  from 
those  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  He  tries  another,  and 
there  is  a  sudden  silence  ;  all  eyes  are  directed  to  a  woman 
who,  after  a  faint  cry  of  amazement,  is  gazing  fixedly 
into  space,  for  the  white  man  had  by  that  sentence  struck 
a  chord  silenced  by  long  years  of  sorrow  and  suffering. 
The  woman  gazed  on  silently  and  intently  as  if  trying  to 
recall  a  half -forgotten  past.  She  travels  in  thought 
back  over  yonder  mountains,  across  the  hot  plain,  and 
on  by  rippling  streams  and  through  valleys  thick  with 
ripe  corn,  away  across  the  Cuanza  river,  on  for  months  to 
Lake  Dilolo,  where  she  sees  again  as  in  a  vision  the  white 
man  who  bought  her  from  the  native  slave-trader.  In 
fancy  she  leaves  the  cornfields  of  Angola,  crosses  the  upper 
Kasai,  and  is  away  north  beyond  Lusambo,  and  westward 
to  the  little  Congo  village  with  its  deep  green  plantain 
groves  and  manioca  fields. 

A  remark  breaks  the  spell,  and  she  realizes  that  it  was 
but  a  dream,  for  she  is  still  a  captive  ;  but  the  white  man 
speaking  her  native  tongue  is  no  dream— he  is  still  there 
speaking  the  language  that  sounds  like  the  far-off  music 
of  another  life.  The  light  of  hope  dawns  in  her  eyes  as 
she  turns  on  the  traveller,  pleading,  "  White  man,  can't 
you  take  me  home  ?  " 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  the  San  Thome 
planters  on  the  island  beheve  in,  or  defend,  present  con- 
ditions, any  more  than  it  must  be  supposed  that,  without 
exception,  they  are  habitually  guilty  of  inhuman  mal- 
treatment of  the  slaves.  The  charge  of  maintaining  slavery 
most  of  them  emphatically  deny,  and  in  support  of  their 
contention  point  to  legal  contracts  which  cover  the  original 


-^ 


SLAVES    ON    COCOA    ROrA,    PKIN'CIPE    ISLAND. 


THE     END    OF    THE    SLAVE.        TWO    SLAVES    CARRYING    DEAD    COMRADE 
IN    SACK    TO    BURIAL. 


THE   PLANTERS'   CASE  185 

transaction  by  which  the  labour  was  obtained.  They 
also  remind  the  investigator  that  the  labourers  are  paid. 
There  are,  however,  some  honest  planters  who  admit 
that  the  original  "  contract  "  was  not  altogether  genuine, 
and  the  statements  made  by  the  planters  and  the  slaves 
respectively  with  regard  to  the  wages  paid,  differ  so 
absurdly  that  one  is  compelled  to  dismiss  both. 

To  many  managers  definite  acts  of  cruelty  would  be 
highly  repulsive.  It  is  furthermore  very  obvious  that 
not  a  few  owners  and  planters  do  everything  which  science 
and  money  can  provide  to  make  the  lot  of  the  slave  a 
happy  one.  The  planters  argue  with  much  warmth  and 
sincerity  of  conviction  that  the  labourers  are  better 
housed,  fed,  and  clothed  on  the  plantations  than  they 
would  be  in  their  mainland  villages.  Their  melancholy 
demeanour  and  their  insistent  desire  for  liberty,  the  low 
birth  rate  and  frightful  mortality  amongst  the  slaves  is 
put  down  very  largely  to  the  gross  obstinacy  and  stupidity 
of  the  enslaved  negroes. 

If  the  planters  are  questioned  upon  the  desire  of  the 
slaves  to  regain  their  liberty  they  reply  that  this  would 
be  an  act  of  injustice  because  many  of  the  labourers  have 
forgotten  the  districts  from  which  they  were  originally 
"  recruited "  and  that  even  if  complete  repatriation 
were  carried  through  the  men  and  women  repatriated 
would  probably  fall  a  prey  to  evil  influences  on  the 
mainland. 

The  attitude  assumed  by  the  Portuguese  authorities 
towards  the  question  of  slavery  in  their  West  African 
colonies  has  hitherto  been  first  of  all  one  of  inferential 
denial  that  slavery  exists,  and  secondly  they  call  attention 


i86  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

to  the  elaborate  regulations  framed  for  protecting  the 
natives  from  any  infringement  of  their  liberties. 

On  paper,  the  labourers  are  contracted  for  short 
periods  of  service  in  Angola  and  the  cocoa  islands  ;  are 
said  to  have  a  happier  lot  than  any  other  contract  labourers 
in  the  world  ;  and  that  any  who  so  desire  are  free  to  return 
to  their  homes  at  the  termination  of  their  contracts.  A 
great  deal  more  is  on  paper  which,  if  practices  only 
accorded  with  the  minimum  of  professions,  would  assure 
the  cessation  of  slavery  in  Portuguese  West  Africa. 

Perhaps  nothing  written  in  the  earlier  days  upon  this 
question  has  brought  out  so  forcibly  the  "  ownership  " 
feature  of  labour  conditions  as  the  disclosures  made  in 
the  Cadbury — Standard  libel  action.  In  that  trial  Sir 
Edward  Carson  called  attention  to  a  circular  forwarded 
to  Messrs.  Cadbury  referring  to  the  sale  of  an  estate  in 
San  Thome.  The  stock  enumerated  included  one  item, 
"  Two  hundred  black  labourers  .  .  .  £3555."  This  gives 
the  average  price  of  the  slaves  as  £18  per  capita,  taking 
the  sick  with  the  healthy  and  the  young  with  the  old. 
Various  prices  are  quoted  as  the  value  of  the  slaves,  but 
this  depends,  of  course,  upon  physique,  sex  and  age. 
Mr.  Joseph  Burtt,  the  Commissioner  of  the  cocoa  firms, 
gives  £25  to  £40,  whilst  Mr.  Consul  Nightingale  stated  £50 
as  the  average  price.  When  in  Portuguese  West  Africa 
several  of  the  slaves  were  even  able  to  tell  us  the  prices 
at  which  they  were  purchased  by  the  different  middlemen, 
and  occasionally  even  by  Portuguese  themselves. 

The  evidence  now  to  hand  of  the  existence  of  both 
the  slave-trade  and  slavery  is  overwhelming. 

On  November  22nd,   1909,   the  Portuguese  Foreign 


SIR  EDWARD  GREY'S   ''BEYOND  DOUBT"      187 

Minister  called  upon  Sir  Edward  Grey,  apparently  with 
the  object  of  discussing  this  question,  and  in  conversation 
the  Foreign  Minister  informed  M.  Du  Bocage  that  the 
information  he  "  had  received  from  private  sources  placed 
beyond  doubt  *  the  fact  that  it  had  been  the  custom  for 
natives  to  be  captured  in  the  interior  by  people  who  were 
really  slave-dealers ;  the  captured  natives  were  then 
brought  down  to  the  coast  and  went  to  work  in  the 
Portuguese  islands." 

On  the  26th  of  October  last,  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge, 
whose  intimate  knowledge  of  slavery  questions  is  probably 
unequalled,  informed  the  Portuguese  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  that  when  he  was  in  Brussels,  he  "  had  heard 
serious  complaints  in  official  circles  at  Brussels  of  the  way 
in  which  slaves  were  kidnapped  by  Angola  caravans  from 
the  Kasai  district  of  the  Congo,  which  shewed  that  the 
charges  made  did  not  emanate  solely  from  missionaries 
or  philanthropic  sentimentalists." 

In  July,  1909,  an  exhaustive  series  of  regulations  were 
issued  from  Lisbon.  The  139  articles  covered  almost 
every  actual  and  conceivable  feature  of  the  whole 
labour  question,  but  as  Mr.  Consul  Mackie  pointedly 
remarked — 

"  The  Angolan  native  ...  is  contracted  in  a 
"  wild  state  under  circumstances  of  doubtful  legality, 
"  and  is  so  convinced  that  he  is  a  slave  that  nothing 
"  short  of  repatriation,  which  should  therefore  be 
"  compulsory,  would  serve  to  persuade  him  that,  at 
"  least  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  he  is  a  free  agent.  It 
"  would    obviously    be    useless    to    argue    that    the 

*  Italics  mine. — J.  H.  H. 


i88  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

"  '  servigal '   is   not   a  slave  merely  because  he  is 

"  provided  with  a  legal  contract,  renewable  at  the 

"  option  of  his  employer,  in  which  he  is  officially 

"  proclaimed  to  be  free." 

The  evidence,  therefore,  that  the  Portuguese  colonial 

labour  systems  are  pure  slavery  is  confirmed  (a)  In  a 

British  Law  Court,  (b)  by  the  British  Foreign  Minister, 

(c)  by  the  British  Consul  on  the  spot,  and  (d)  by  Sir  Arthur 

Hardinge.      Could  anyone  desire  more  emphatic  evidence 

than  is  now  provided  ?    and  this  does  not  exhaust  the 

available  sources,  for   even  the  Portuguese  themselves 

have  now  been  forced  to  admit  that  the  slave-trade  is 

very  much  in  evidence. 

Writing  to  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge  on  October  23rd  last, 
the  Portuguese  Foreign  Minister  admitted  that  there 
was — 

"  Slave-traffic  with  the  inhabitants  with  Luando, 
in  the  district  of  Lunda.  ...  It  was  ascertained 
that  in  reality  the  Bihean  natives  were  in  the  habit 
of  settling  their  debts  and  disputes  by  means  of 
*  servigaes.'  Two  convoys  proceeding  from  Luando 
were  captured,  and  the  servi9aes  handed  over  to 
the  delegate  of  the  Curator  concerned,  to  be  re- 
tained until  claimed  by  their  relatives,  to  whom 
the  necessary  notice  was  sent." 
It  is  instructive  to  note  that  the  Portuguese  Minister 
in  this  passage  makes  no  distinction  between  servigaes 
and  slaves,  yet  when  unofficial  critics  declare  that  in 
practice  the  terms  are  indistinguishable,  they  are  con- 
demned for  deliberately  confusing  the  public  mind.  It 
is  also  of  importance  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  Lunda 


PORTUGUESE   OFFICIAL  ADMISSION       189 

Province  is  included  in  the  territories  which  come 
under  the  operations  of  the  Berhn  Act,  whereby  every 
European  Power  is  under  the  most  solemn  responsibility 
to  secure  throughout  these  territories  the  abolition  of 
slavery. 

There  is  further  the  evidence,  from  a  Portuguese  source, 
in  the  fact  that  in  191 1  eleven  Portuguese  are  reported 
to  have  been  expelled  for  engaging  in  the  slave-trafhc. 
The  Governor  of  Angola  informed  Mr.  Drummond  Hay 
that  nothing  severer  than  the  order  of  expulsion  was 
administered  owing  to  the  lack  of  "  conclusive  evidence," 
but  four  months  later  the  Portuguese  Foreign  Minister 
admitted  that  the  Europeans  "  by  the  inquiry  were 
found  guilty  of  acts  of  slave- traffic."  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge 
pointed  out  that 

the  5th  article  of  the  Brussels  General  Act  con- 
templated severer  penalties  in  the  case  of  persons 
engaging  in  the  slave-trade  than  an  order  of 
expulsion  before  trial  or  a  prohibition  to  return 
to  the  colony,  which  such  persons,  if  convicted  of 
a  serious  criminal  offence  there,  would  hardly 
need." 

When,  therefore,  the  long  stream  of  unofficial  testimony 
upon  the  existence  of  the  slave-trade  and  slavery  in  the 
Portuguese  colonies  is  confirmed  in  turn  by  the  British 
Minister  at  Lisbon  and  by  the  British  Consul  of  Angola, 
and  moreover  when  Sir  Edward  Grey,  who  always  chooses 
language  with  exceptional  care,  officially  informs  civiliza- 
tion that  the  charges  are  proved  "  beyond  doubt,"  and 
finally  when  the  Portuguese  authorities  are  driven  to 
admit  it,  then  surely  the  time  has  come  to  cease  gathering 


190  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

evidence  and  to  set  about  some  substantial  and  far- 
reaching  measures  of  reform. 

To  meet  a  situation  which  is  a  grave  international 
scandal  and  a  potential  menace  to  European  peace, 
what  do  the  Portuguese  offer  to  civilization  ?  They  claim 
good  treatment  of  the  labourers,  humane  regulations 
and  repatriation  of  the  slaves. 

It  is  common  ground  that  the  slaves  upon  the  islands 
are,  generally  speaking,  well  fed,  housed  and  fairly  well 
clothed,  but  the  slaves  themselves  are  emphatic  in  their 
assertions  that  they  are  frequently  beaten.  This  the 
Portuguese  deny,  but  those  who  know  West  Africa  are 
perfectly  well  aware  that  it  is  impossible  to  keep  something 
like  40,000  slaves  working  on  the  cocoa  farms  at  the  rate 
of  "  a  man  per  hectare  "  without  a  considerable  amount  of 
"  pressure." 

The  regulations  are  exhaustive  upon  every  feature 
of  the  labourer's  life  except  emancipation,  from  the  time 
he  is  "  recruited  "  until  he  is  buried,  but  as  Mr.  Consul 
Mackie  has  recently  pointed  out,  "  The  absence  of  any 
(regulations)  for  the  return  journey  in  the  event  of  the 
labourer  declining  to  accept  the  conditions  of  the  contract 
is  somewhat  suspicious."  That  the  keeping  of  statistical 
records  is  part  of  the  ordinary  administrative  routine  is 
a  common-place,  but  that  this  elementary  duty  may  be 
performed,  a  regulation  was  issued  three  years  ago,  yet  to 
this  day  that  instruction  has  never  been  carried  out,  with 
the  result  that  no  reliable  information  is  possible  with 
regard  to  the  birth  and  death  rates. 

According  to  regulations,  every  labourer's  history  is 
carefully  recorded  and  the  fullest  details  endorsed  upon 


MORE   REGULATIONS  191 

the  contract,  yet  in  the  case  of  135  out  of  163  slaves 
repatriated  in  the  early  part  of  last  year  it  was  impossible 
to  state  how  long  they  had  been  upon  the  islands.  This 
is  not  only  a  further  evidence  of  the  futility  of  Portuguese 
regulations,  but  it  constitutes  additional  evidence  as  to 
the  fictitious  nature  of  the  supposed  "  contract  systems." 

To  the  tragedy  of  slavery  on  Principe  is  added  the 
ever  present  horror  of  sleeping  sickness  which  is  every- 
where raging  on  the  island.  To  the  lasting  disgrace  of 
the  Portuguese  Government  it  still  permits  the  retention 
of  slaves  on  the  island  where  conditions  are  so  bad  that, 
as  I  have  already  pointed  out,  the  eminent  Dr.  Mendes 
has  advised  the  killing  of  all  the  cattle  on  the  island  in 
the  hope  of  checking  the  ravages  of  the  disease.  Here 
again  the  Portuguese  Government  has  been  content  to 
meet  the  situation  with  paper  "  regulations,"  which 
would  be  comic  if  it  were  not  for  the  distressing  condition 
of  these  wretched  slaves.  According  to  these  regulations 
all  the  slaves  "  must  wear  trousers  to  the  heel,  blouses 
with  sleeves  to  the  wrist,  and  high  collars  .  .  .  they 
must  wear  on  their  backs  a  black  cloth  covered  with 
glue  !  "  It  is  barely  necessary  to  state  that  these  regula- 
tions are  openly  disregarded  in  every  particular. 

Finally  the  Portuguese  point  to  their  highly-regulated 
system  of  repatriation.  Sir  Edward  Grey  and  Sir  Arthur 
Hardinge  have  emphasized  that  "  one  excellent  test  "  of 
a  desire  for  reform  "  will  be  the  rate  and  method  of 
repatriation."  Since  the  year  1888  some  67,614  slaves 
are  known  to  have  been  shipped  to  San  Thome  and 
Principe  from  the  Angola  mainland,  but  it  is  also  known 
that  a  good  deal  of  smuggling  has  been  carried  on.     Then, 


192  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

too,  there  are  some  slaves  born  on  the  islands  prior  to 
the  year  1888,  and  these  are  claimed  as  the  property  of 
the  planters.  At  the  same  time  the  death  rate  has  been 
very  high  and  the  birth  rate  extremely  low,  with  the 
result  that  the  estimate  of  the  slave — or  according  to 
the  Portuguese  the  Angola  servi9al — population  of  about 
37,000  is  probably  fairly  accurate. 

In  1903  a  repatriation  fund  was  established  with  the 
object  of  providing  the  repatriated  slaves  with  a  sum  of 
money  upon  their  landing  again  on  the  mainland,  and 
there  was  a  further  complicated  arrangement  which  could 
have  no  chance  of  being  effectively  carried  out,  whereby 
"  recontracted "  slaves  should  receive  their  bonus  in 
6  per  cent,  instalments  every  quarter.  This  was  no 
philanthropic  contribution,  but  actually  represented  a 
regular  deduction  of  50  per  cent,  from  the  "  wages  "  of 
the  slaves  and  servigaes,  until  May,  191 1,  when  the 
deduction  was  raised  to  two-thirds,  leaving  the  labourer 
only  one-third,  and  as  most  of  the  slaves  appear  to  die 
prematurely,  the  benefit  they  receive  from  their  "  wages  " 
is  a  negligible  quantity. 

From  the  year  1903,  when  this  fund  was  instituted, 
until  1907  these  deductions  from  wages  were  actually 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  planters.  .In  December,  1907, 
they  admitted  to  holding  £100,000 — a  not  inconsiderable 
capital  fund  for  working  their  plantations.  In  1908  the 
fund  was  transferred  to  the  Government  bank,  but  in 
the  autumn  of  that  year  it  had  by  some  means,  yet  to 
be  discovered,  shrunk  to  about  £62,000.  After  about 
nine  years'  working  this  fund  stands  to-day  at  approxi- 
mately £100,000. 


METHODS   OF   EMANCIPATION  193 

In  Sir  Edward  Grey's  despatch  to  Sir  Francis  Hyde 
Villiers  of  November  3rd,  1910,  he  pointed  out  that 
pubUc  opinion  would  be  favourably  impressed  with  a 
**  regular  and  satisfactory "  method  of  repatriation. 
During  the  early  part  of  this  year  900  slaves  were  repatri- 
ated to  Angola  and  500  more  were  due  to  leave  at  the  end 
of  June.  Probably,  therefore,  it  may  be  safely  estimated 
that  since  1908  something  like  2000  will  have  been 
returned  to  the  mainland  before  the  close  of  this  year, 
but  even  so  this  still  leaves  something  like  35,000  still  in 
slavery.  Though  this  "  rate  of  repatriation "  shews 
some  improvement,  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  satisfactory 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  unless  it  is  materially  accelerated, 
it  will  take  not  less  than  twenty  years  to  liberate  the  whole 
of  the  slaves  on  the  two  islands. 

Turning  to  the  method  of  repatriation,  it  is  clear  that 
this  is  being  carried  on  in  the  most  inhuman  and  barbarous 
manner.  When  we  were  at  Benguella,  the  condition  of 
the  repatriated  slaves  was  so  distressing  that  we  offered  the 
Governor  a  sum  of  money  to  provide  the  miserable  creatures 
with  food  and  medicine.  This  His  Excellency  could  not 
receive,  nor  could  he  allow  the  Curador  to  accept  it. 

The  planters,  realizing  that  civilization  demands  that 
"  repatriation  "  should  take  place,  are  just  now  permitting 
it,  but  they  are  at  the  same  time  doing  everything  in  their 
power  to  discredit  it.  There  is  some  evidence  that  they 
are  only  liberating  the  sick  and  worn  out,  for  of  twenty- 
eight  slaves  recently  liberated,  whose  ages  were  known, 
Mr.  Consul  Drummond  Hay  tells  us  their  average  age  was 
forty-two  years,  and  their  period  of  labour  on  the  islands 
averaged  thirty-one  years. 


194  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

The  Portuguese  journal  Reforma  in  its  issue  of 
August  19th,  191 1,  exposes  in  convincing  language  the 
condition  and  real  objects  of  this  so-called  repatriation  : — 

"  The  greater  part  of  these  *  servigaes  '  were  put 
"  on  board  without  being  told  what  their  destination 
"  was,  and  without  any  money. 

"  The  first  batches  that  came  here  had  some 
"  money — one  of  them  had  150,030  reis  (£30) — but 
"  the  last  lots  arrived  without  any  ;  thus  some  were 
"  expatriated  instead  of  being  repatriated. 

"  These  people  did  not  bring  a  single  penny,  and 
"  it  was  through  charity  alone  that  they  received 
'*  food  and  shelter.  Almost  every  one  of  these 
"  unfortunate  people,  who  have  done  twenty  years 
"  of  hard  labour,  arrived  in  ruined  health,  and  some 
"  of  them  died  shortly  after  their  arrival. 

"It  is  probable  that  this  form  of  repatriation  is 

"  a  stratagem  which  will,  on  account  of  the  protests 

"  that   will  be   raised   against   it   in   this   province, 

"  enable  the  planters  to  argue  that  repatriation  is 

"  unproductive  of  any  good  results,   and  that  the 

"  truth  is,  as  they  have  said  all  along,  that  people 

"  who  have  once  gone  to  those  islands  never  want  to 

"  leave  them  again,  well  knowing  that  they  could 

"  not  find  a  better  spot  in  this  world." 

The  Brussels  Conference  of  1890  foresaw  this  danger 

and  made  provision  for  it  in  Articles  52  and  63.     The 

latter  stipulated  that : — 

"  Slaves  liberated  under  the  provisions  of  the 
"  preceding  Article  shall,  if  circumstances  permit, 
"  be  sent  back  to  the  country  from  whence  they  came. 


THE   "ARRIERE   PENSEE  "  195 

"  In  all  cases  they  shall  receive  letters  of  freedom 
"  from  the  competent  authorities  and  shall  be 
"  entitled  to  their  protection  and  assistance  for  the 
"  purpose  of  obtaining  means  of  subsistence." 
Portugal  was  signatory  with  other  European  Powers 
to  the  Brussels  Act. 

Further  evidence  of  the  inhuman  manner  in  which 
the  slaves  are  repatriated  appeared  in  the  Portuguese 
journal,  A  Capital,  of  June  last.  The  writer,  Hermano 
Neves,  reported  that  an  officer  on  a  Portuguese  ship 
informed  him  that  in  one  trip  there  were  269  liberated 
servigaes,  that  of  these  unfortunate  beings  landed  at 
Benguella  only  one  was  given  any  money  ;  the  remainder, 
unable  to  obtain  employment  and  without  money  to  buy 
food,  were  left  to  starve.  "  A  few  days  later,  there  lay 
in  the  outskirts  of  Benguella,  out  in  the  open,  no  less 
than  fifty  corpses  ;  those  who  did  not  or  cared  not  to 
resort  to  theft  in  order  to  live  had  simply  died  of 
starvation." 

How  comes  it  that  in  spite  of  endless  "  regulations," 
almost  every  line  of  which  boasts  humane  sentiments, 
and  of  a  Government  in  Portugal  which  blazes  upon  the 
housetops  its  devotion  to  the  cause  of  human  freedom, 
these  deplorable  conditions  prevail  in  the  West  African 
colonies  ?  The  reason  has  been  advanced  without  any 
equivocation  for  years,  namely  : — the  Portuguese  colonies 
are  out  of  control.  Portugal  may  send  a  shipload  of 
regulations  out  of  the  Tagus  every  week  and  the  planters 
will  welcome  them — as  waste  paper.  Some  of  us  have 
said  this  for  years  and  have  suffered  the  inevitable  abuse, 
but  with  the  publication  of  the  recent  ^\^lite  Book,  we 


196  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

actually  find  this  contention  corroborated  by  the  Portu- 
guese Government.  Senhor  Vasconcellos,  replying  to 
Sir  Arthur  Hardinge's  representations  upon  the  abuses, 
admitted  that : — 

*'  The  Governors  whom  he  had  sent  out  to  give 
"  effect  to  its  (the  Government's)  instructions  had 
"  been  to  a  great  extent  paralysed  by  the  power  of 
"  vested  interests." 
This  is,  of  course,  obvious  to  all  those  who  realize 
the  inner  meaning  of  the  fact  that  within  ten  years  the 
cocoa    islands    have    had    something    like    twenty-five 
Governors.     An  admission  of  this  nature  by  the  respon- 
sible Portuguese  Minister  goes  quite  as  far,  if  not  farther, 
than   the    most    extreme   critic    of    Portuguese    colonial 
administration. 

The  existence  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade  now 
corroborated  by  officials  of  the  first  rank  in  London  and 
Lisbon,  supported  by  Consuls,  and  now  by  the  Portuguese 
themselves,  leaves  no  longer  any  need  for  unofficial 
persons  to  spend  further  efforts  in  an  endeavour  to  estab- 
lish the  fact.  Sir  Edward  Grey's  "  beyond  doubt  "  is  in 
itself  sufficient  for  the  great  mass  of  sane  men.  With 
the  breakdown  of  the  Portuguese  regulations  and  the 
violation  of  international  treaties,  coupled  with  the 
Portuguese  admission  that  their  colonies  are  out  of  hand, 
what  can  be  done  to  set  free  the  slave  in  San  Thome 
and  Angola  ? 

The  question  is  frequently  asked  what  would  be  done 
if  the  slaves  were  set  free.  We  are  told  that  to  dump 
down  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa  40,000  penniless  slaves 
originally  drawn  from  homes  in  the  far  hinterland,  might 


BRITISH   SUBJECTS   ENSLAVED  197 

involve  great  hardship.  We  all  agree,  for  we  now  know 
that  thousands  of  slaves  were  obtained  for  Portuguese 
colonies  from  Belgian  Congo,  through  the  help  of  the 
revolted  Congo  State  soldiery — a  body  of  men  numbering 
according  to  circumstances,  from  1000  to  5000,  who  only 
kept  up  their  rebellion  by  purchasing  slaves  with  arms 
and  ammunition  from  the  Portuguese  half-castes  and 
natives.  Again,  no  one  can  read  the  thrilling  story  by 
Colonel  Colin  Harding  in  "Remotest  Barotseland"  with- 
out being  convinced  that  the  Portuguese  obtained  many 
slaves  from  British  territory.  Lake  Dilolo,  the  greatest 
of  all  the  slave-markets,  is  but  a  comparatively  short 
march  from  Rhodesia,  and,  in  view  of  local  conditions,  it 
is  inconceivable  that  natives  of  British  Rhodesia  have  not 
been  drawn  into  the  slave-traders'  toils  in  that  region. 
This  feature  has  recently  received  an  emphatic  confirma- 
tion from  Mr.  F.  Schindler,  a  missionary  of  over  twenty 
years'  experience  in  Angola.     He  writes  : — 

"  I  have  seen  thousands  of  slaves  coming  from 
the  Belgian  Congo  and  Rhodesia  being  taken 
westwards  by  Bihean  slave-traders  and  in  some 
cases  by  half-caste  Portuguese,  and  both  by  their 
tribal  mark  and  by  their  speech  I  had  no  difficulty 
in  recognizing  them  as  belonging  to  tribes  that  are 
not  found  in  Angola." 
How  many  of  these  slaves  were,  and  are,  enslaved  on 
the  mainland,  and  how  many  ultimately  found  their 
destination  to  be  the  cocoa  islands,  it  is  impossible  to 
say,  but  we  do  know  that  generally  it  was  the  hinterland 
native  which  the  slave-traders  shipped  to  San  Thome  and 
Principe.     Moreover,  some  of  us  have  seen  these  people 


198  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

of  the  Batetela  and  Kasai  tribes  on  the  roads  and  planta- 
tions of  the  islands,  the  cicatrized  arms,  legs,  chests  and 
backs  plainly  indicating  their  origin. 

The  first  essential,  therefore,  is  that  of  determining  the 
countries  of  origin  of  the  slaves  on  the  islands.  To  whom 
can  this  task  be  assigned  ?  Obviously  not  to  the  planters  ; 
it  might  be  entrusted  to  a  disinterested  Portuguese 
Commission,  but  others  have  responsibilities  and  vital 
interests — Great  Britain  and  Belgium  would  both  possess, 
if  not  the  right  of  membership,  certainly  the  right  to 
watch  proceedings  on  behalf  of  any  natives  whom  they 
had  reason  to  believe  had  been  obtained  originally  from 
British  or  Belgian  colonies. 

The  planter  holds  that  the  slaves  are  happier  on  the 
islands  than  they  could  ever  be  on  the  mainland  ;  this 
interested  and  ex  parte  statement  cannot  obviously  be 
accepted  as  final.  The  native,  and  the  native  alone, 
should  be  allowed  to  determine  his,  or  her,  destiny.  I 
admit  it  is  conceivable  that  a  few  slaves,  for  various 
reasons,  would  elect  to  stay  with  their  owners,  and  no 
compulsion  should  be  put  upon  such  to  leave  the  islands, 
but  beyond  all  question  the  majority  of  the  37,000  slaves 
have  a  deep-rooted  and  a  passionate  desire  to  return  to 
the  homes  of  their  birth.  When  visiting  the  cocoa  islands 
in  October,  1910,  Mr.  Consul  Drummond  Hay  sent  his 
interpreter  amongst  the  slaves  to  ascertain  whether  they 
desired  their  liberty,  and  in  his  report  to  Sir  Edward  Grey 
says  :  "  My  interpreter  went  among  the  Angola  *  servigaes  ' 
and  his  inquiries  as  to  whether  they  wished  to  be 
repatriated  were  mostly  answered  in  the  affirmative." 
This,  be  it  remembered,  was  said  by  the  slaves  on  what 


THE   APPEAL   FOR   LIBERTY  199 

are  admittedly  the  show  plantations.  Take  these  slaves 
aside  and  engage  them  in  conversation,  and  before  many 
minutes  have  passed,  the  appeal  will  involuntarily  burst 
forth,  "  White  man,  give  us  our  liberty  !  " 

Having  ascertained  the  districts  of  Central  Africa  of 
those  who  desire  emancipation  and  a  return  to  their 
villages,  it  should  then  be  the  duty  of  the  representatives 
of  Portugal,  Britain  and  Belgium,  to  see  to  it  that  their 
respective  subjects  are  quickly  and  safely  returned. 
Much  has  been  made  of  the  difficulties  which  would 
attend  any  schemes  of  repatriation,  but  in  many  quarters 
these  difficulties  have  been  purposely  exaggerated.  Given 
an  honest  desire  to  repatriate,  the  task  would  at  once 
become  simple.  Take  first  the  Angola  natives.  The 
Portuguese  could,  if  they  chose,  send  them  back  in  batches 
of  50  or  100  for  a  given  district  ;  a  body  of  such  dimensions 
attaching  itself  to  an  up-country  caravan,  travelling 
under  official  protection  and  possibly  with  a  small  escort, 
would  present  too  solid  a  company  to  permit  of  attack. 
Moreover,  officials,  traders  and  missionaries,  might  all 
be  notified  of  such  companies  journeying  from  the  coast 
and  instructed  to  aid  them  as  far  as  possible.  The 
Lobito — Katanga  Railway  Company  would  doubtless  be 
willing  to  give  cheap  passes  to  batches  of  slaves  originally 
secured  from  the  different  centres  through  which  its  line 
now  passes.  It  would  be  distinctly  to  their  interest  to 
do  so,  apart  from  humanitarian  considerations. 

We  now  know  that  providing  the  Portuguese  Govern- 
ment would  set  at  liberty  the  slaves  originally  captured 
from  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Kasai,  the  Belgian  Govern- 
ment is  prepared  to  send  ships  to  San  Thome  to  carry 


200  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

them  back  to  the  Congo,  transfer  them  to  steamboats 
which  would  take  them  back  to  their  homes,  or  at  least 
within  a  day  or  two's  march.  This  journey  could  now 
be  accomplished  in  less  than  a  month,  whereas  several 
of  the  slaves  obtained  from  Belgian  territory  informed 
us  that  their  original  journey  in  the  chain  gang  to  the 
coast  had  involved  a  tramp  of  considerably  over  one 
year.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  not  only  would 
Belgium  undertake  this  task,  but  she  would  do  so  without 
requiring  any  financial  return  whatever. 

The  third  and  probably  the  smallest  section  of  the 
slaves  on  the  islands — British  subjects — can  assuredly 
present  no  difficulties.  Great  Britain  could  with  the 
greatest  of  ease  collect  her  slaves  at  San  Thome  and 
transfer  them  to  Rhodesia  and  Barotseland,  via  the 
Cape. 

Portugal  should  be  invited  to  send  an  international 
commission  to  West  Africa,  composed  principally  of 
Portuguese,  but  with  a  British  and  Belgian  element, 
assisted  by  men  experienced  in  the  tribal  languages  and 
cicatrices  of  the  hinterland  peoples.  This  commission  to 
be  empowered  to  investigate  the  whole  question  and  to 
issue  freedom  papers  to  all  slaves  appealing  for  liberty. 
In  view  of  the  advertised  hatred  in  which  the  present 
Portuguese  Government  professes  to  hold  every  form  of 
servitude,  such  commission  might  easily  be  appointed  in 
friendly  co-operation  with  the  Powers  primarily  concerned. 
If  this  were  done,  the  Portuguese  Government  and  nation 
would  at  once  merit  and  undoubtedly  receive  the  warm 
appreciation  and  support  of  the  civilized  world. 

If,    however,     the     Portuguese     Government,    after 


A   GRAVE   STATEMENT  201 

admitting  their  incapacity  to  control  their  West  African 
colonies,  refuse  the  co-operation  of  friendly  Powers  and 
maintain  a  system  of  labour  which  violates  in  several 
respects  international  treaty  obhgations,  it  is  obvious 
that,  however  much  Great  Britain  may  regret  it,  she  cannot 
continue  an  Alliance  which  may  at  any  moment  involve 
her  in  a  position  of  the  utmost  gravity. 

It  would  be  idle  to  overlook  the  extremely  serious 
nature  of  the  statement  made  by  Sir  Edward  Grey  in 
the  House  of  Commons  on  April  3rd,  1912.  The  Foreign 
Secretary  then  declared  that  the  defensive  treaty  of 
alliance  between  Great  Britain  and  Portugal,  though  it 
had  not  been  confirmed  since  1904,  was,  like  all  similar 
treaties  which,  "  not  being  concluded  for  any  specified 
term,  are  in  their  nature  perpetual." 

Thus  it  would  seem  that  if  any  one  or  more  Powers 
signatory  to  the  anti-slavery  clauses  of  either  the  Berlin 
or  Brussels  Acts,  should  aw^ake  to  their  clear  rights  and 
solemn  responsibilities  and  proceed  by  any  show  of  force 
to  insist  upon  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  slave- 
trade  in  Portuguese  colonies,  the  maritime  and  land 
forces  of  Great  Britain  could  under  this  Alliance  be  forth- 
with summoned  to  protect  these  Portuguese  colonies 
against  the  **  Aggressors." 

There  are  some  things  impossible  to  the  strongest  of 
Ministers,  and  the  Portuguese  Government  must  realize 
that  the  British  people,  however  much  they  might  desire 
to  do  so,  cannot  allow  the  continuance  of  an  Alliance 
with  a  Power  which  by  persistent  violation  of  international 
obligations  exposes  not  only  herself,  but  her  ally,  to  a 
defence  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade.     Now  is  the  time 


202  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

for  Portugal  to  accept  the  friendly  advice  and  help  of 
Great  Britain,  but  as  Mr.  St.  Loe  Strachey  has  recently 
said 

"  Either  the  Portuguese  must  put  an  end  to  slave- 
owning,    slave-trading    and     slave-raiding    in    the 
"  colonial  possessions  which  we  now  guarantee  to  them, 
"  or  else  our  guarantee  must  at  once  and  for  ever 
cease." 


IV 

THE  FUTURE  OF  BELGIAN  CONGO 

Belgium  for  the  time  being  is  in  the  saddle,  but  for  how 
long  ?  Will  she  prove  strong  enough,  wise  enough, 
great  enough  to  bring  order  out  of  the  chaotic  state  of 
affairs  into  which  her  late  ruler  plunged  the  Congo  terri- 
tories ?  It  would  require  a  bold  man  to  give  an  un- 
quahfied  affirmative  to  this  question.  Cover  several 
thousand  miles  of  that  territory,  live  for  months  with 
the  aboriginal  tribes,  discuss  administrative  problems 
with  Congo  officials,  watch  the  operations,  and  listen  to 
the  conversations  of  the  German  and  Portuguese  merchants 
— and  a  permanent  Belgian  control  of  the  Congo  becomes 
a  matter  of  considerable  doubt. 

Belgian  Congo,  the  largest  single  political  division  of 
Africa — French  Sahara  alone  excepted — possesses  land 
and  climate  of  distinct  features,  and,  properly  administered, 
could  pour  into  the  European  markets  raw  materials  now 
demanded  by  many  of  our  industries.  The  total  area  of 
the  old  Congo  State  was  just  over  900,000  square  miles, 
or  eight  times  the  size  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
A  considerable  proportion  of  the  territory  is  covered  by 
a  series  of  gigantic  swamps,  with  ribs  of  dry  land  and 
ironstone  ridges  dividing  rivers  and  lakes.  The  whole  of 
these  low-lying  territories  are  covered  with  thick  forest 


204  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

undergrowth,  which  renders  them  impenetrable  except 
along  the  native  tracks.  Throughout  the  Equatorial 
regions  it  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  discover  a  single 
acre  of  open  country,  and  in  the  territory  covered  by  the 
Bangalla  and  its  tributaries  it  is  only  with  difficulty  that 
even  a  camping  ground  can  be  obtained.  Mobeka,  the 
State  Post  at  the  confluence  with  the  main  Congo,  was 
actually  built  by  gangs  of  forced  labourers  carrying  baskets 
of  soil  in  an  almost  endless  stream  for  a  distance  of  nearly 
two  miles  inland.  This  post  was  formerly  the  head- 
quarters of  the  notorious  Lothaire  and  it  remains  to-day 
a  monument  to  the  luxury  with  which  he  surrounded 
himself ;  the  carved  woodwork  from  Europe,  the  doors 
and  windows,  and  general  upholstery  are  indicative  of 
the  high  favour,  or  fear,  in  which  this  gentleman  was 
held  by  King  Leopold.  Northward  beyond  the  Aruwimi 
and  southward  of  the  Kasai  the  character  of  the  country 
changes  considerably.  The  eternal  forests  of  the  Equa- 
torial regions  give  place  to  rolling  veldt  or  open  plains. 
Instead  of  swamps  and  marshes  there  are  hills  and  valleys, 
although,  unhappily,  neither  fertile  nor  occupied  by  a 
virile  or  extensive  population. 

For  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  Congo  territories 
have  suffered  from  uncontrolled  exploitation.  Twenty- 
five  years  ago  the  forests  were  thick  with  mature  Lan- 
dolphia  rubber  vines.  This  species  of  rubber  is  of  very 
slow  growth  and  probably  some  thousands  of  the  larger 
vines  extend  over  loo  years.  Scientifically  tapped  in  the 
season,  this  great  vegetable  asset  would  to-day  have  been 
almost  unimpaired  and  the  Congo  could  still  have  con- 
tinued pouring  forth  5000  tons  of  rubber  per  annum  to 


ECONOMIC   EXHAUSTION  205 

Europe.  Nothing  of  the  kind  was  attempted  ;  the  stores 
of  vegetable  wealth  carefully  husbanded  by  nature  for 
generations  were  exposed  to  ruthless  plunder,  the  mad 
scramble  for  rubber  at  any  cost  to  humanity  and  common- 
sense  denuded  the  forests.  The  vine  growths  of  a  genera- 
tion were  hacked  to  pieces,  and  even  to-day  millions  of 
dead  fragments  of  vine  may  be  seen  scattered  all  over  the 
hinterland  forests.  Even  the  roots  were  not  spared,  for 
the  unhappy  natives,  driven  to  desperation  by  the  white 
rubber  collectors  tore  up  the  roots  and  forced  them  to 
disgorge  their  stores  of  latex.  Rubber  is  still  to  be  found, 
but  in  much  smaller  quantities,  in  the  Aruwimi  district 
in  the  north,  the  Lomame  and  Lukenya  basins  in  the 
east,  and  also  in  certain  districts  in  the  Lake  Leopold 
region,  but  no  merchant  should  to-day  enter  the  Congo 
with  a  view  to  making  money  from  virgin  rubber. 

King  Leopold  knew  all  along  what  the  Belgian  Govern- 
ment now  knows — that  the  greatest  economic  asset  of  the 
Congo  would  have  disappeared  by  the  time  the  Belgians 
inherited  the  colony,  and  he  met  the  situation  by  the  issue 
of  two  decrees  :  one  instructing  all  agents  and  Government 
officials  to  lay  down  rubber  plantations  round  every 
factory,  and  the  other  promulgating  heavy  fines  and 
penalties  for  the  severance  of  indigenous  rubber  vines. 
The  latter  decree  was  generally  treated  by  whites  and 
natives  alike  as  an  instruction  "  pour  rire  " — a  fact  known 
and  probably  anticipated  by  King  Leopold.  The  instruc- 
tion to  lay  down  rubber  plantations  happened  to  meet 
to  perfection  a  feature  in  the  system  of  Congo  State 
exploitation. 

In   those   early   days — from    about    1897   to    1904 — 


2o6  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

there  might  be  seen  at  every  rubber  collecting  centre 
gangs  of  men,  women  and  even  children,  chained  or 
roped  together  by  the  neck,  and  these  were  the  hostages 
which  were  being  held  by  the  "  Administration  "  until 
a  sufficiency  of  rubber  had  been  brought  in  to  redeem 
them.  Generally  these  hostages  were  captured  from 
amongst  the  old,  the  sick  and  afflicted,  or  even  from  the 
women  and  children,  the  object  being  to  force  the  young 
and  able-bodied  into  the  forests  to  gather  the  rubber 
which  would  "  redeem  "  the  father,  mother,  sister  or 
child. 

The  question  which  had  hitherto  confronted  the 
officials  was  that  of  finding  work  for  the  hostages,  for  the 
Royal  Rubber  Merchant  was  known  to  favour  every 
expedient  which  would  strengthen  the  faith  of  the  natives 
in  the  dignity  of  labour.  The  instructions,  therefore,  to 
lay  down  rubber  plantations  exactly  met  the  situation, 
and  the  thousands  of  hostages  throughout  the  Congo 
were  forthwith  set  to  the  task  of  clearing  forests  and 
planting  rubber.  This  removed  from  the  wretched 
hostages  their  last  hope  of  prolonged  liberty,  for  it  became 
doubly  advantageous  to  capture  and  retain  them.  The 
sUghtest  shortage  of  rubber  was  a  sufficient  pretext  for 
capturing  more  hostages  and  thus  provide  labour  for  the 
plantations.  A  perfect  equation  was  in  this  way  main- 
tained— if  less  rubber  came  in  from  the  forests,  more 
hostages  would  be  laying  down  this  new  source  of  potential 
revenue.  Tongue  cannot  tell,  neither  can  pen  portray 
the  miseries  involved  in  the  laying  down  of  these  planta- 
tions, but  the  sight  of  the  suffering  natives  can  never 
be  effaced  from  memory.     The  Congo  chain  gang  respected 


THE  CHAIN   GANG  207 

neither  position,  age  nor  sex,  sickness  or  health  ;  it  held 
fast  alike  the  old  chief,  the  weakly  man,  the  young  girl 
and  the  expectant  mother — a  terrified  mass  of  humanity 
trembling  under  the  dreaded  crack  of  the  whips.  The 
sentry  overseers  regarded  them  as  the  carrion  of  the 
Congo,  for  their  relatives  were  guilty  of  the  greatest  of 
all  offences,  inability  to  satisfy  the  impossible  demands 
for  rubber.  The  infant  in  terror  clung  closer  to  the 
mother,  as  the  woman  winced  under  the  lash  of  the  whip. 
The  young  wife  brought  forth  her  first-born  in  her  captivity 
and  was  left  without  any  attention  to  battle  with  her 
weakness,  or  to  succumb.  To  make  a  recovery  was  to 
resume  her  work  of  rubber  planting  within  two  or  three 
days,  with  the  new-born  babe  tied  to  her  back.  Darker 
deeds,  too,  were  committed,  and  some  rubber  trees  of 
to-day  were  literally  planted  in  the  blood  of  victims. 

A  writer,  "  Father  Castelin,"  greatly  impressed  with 
the  wisdom  of  this  undertaking,  but  apparently  caring 
nothing  about  its  tragedy  of  human  suffering,  estimated 
from  documents  placed  at  his  disposal  that  the  "  new 
source  of  revenue  "  which  had  been  bequeathed  to  the 
Belgian  nation,  provided  13,000,000  rubber  trees.  This 
"  new  source  of  revenue  "  could  hardly  fail  to  provide 
an  annual  return  of  less  than  two  francs  a  tree,  thus 
assisting  the  budget  with  an  asset  of  more  than  a  million 
sterling  per  annum.  This  alluring  prospect  so  impressed 
the  new  Belgian  Colonial  Minister  that  he  added  to  his 
difficult  and  recently  acquired  administrative  task  that 
of  rubber  production  on  a  "  business  basis." 

When  Monsieur  Renkin  introduced  his  famous  Congo 
reform  bill,  it  contained  a  proposal  to  extend  the  existing 


2o8  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

plantations  by  50,000  acres.  This  in  itself  was  a  serious 
departure  from  recognized  colonial  principles  in  that  it 
wedded  the  newly  acquired  colony,  for  better  or  for  worse, 
to  commercial  undertakings.  The  whole  enterprise  from 
beginning  to  end  is  beyond  question  a  miserable  fiasco. 

In  our  recent  travels  we  have  visited  large  numbers 
of  these  plantations.  They  are  all  of  them  characterized 
by  neglect,  the  majority  have  been  abandoned  and  are 
everywhere  falling  a  prey  to  rapidly  growing  forest 
undergrowth.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the  trees,  as 
if  in  protest  against  the  violence  which  their  planting 
involved,  are  now  drying  up  from  the  roots.  In  spite  of 
the  millions  of  rubber  trees  planted  in  the  Congo,  many 
of  these  being  more  than  ten  years  old,  no  plantation 
rubber  has  yet  been  profitably  exported,  nor  is  there  any 
hope  entertained  by  the  officials  on  the  spot  that  plantation 
rubber  will  ever  be  an  economic  success. 

Inseparably  interwoven  with  the  exhaustion  of  the 
economic  resources  is  the  exhaustion  of  the  people 
themselves  and  the  break  up  of  their  social  life.  Stanley 
estimated  the  whole  of  the  Congo  population  at  something 
over  40,000,000.  This  was,  of  course,  the  merest  guess, 
but  probably  the  Powers  at  Berlin  did  commit  to  the  care 
of  King  Leopold  not  less  than  half  that  number,  i.e. 
20,000,000.  To-day  the  official  estimate  gives  the  total 
population  at  something  under  8,000,000.  It  may  be 
asked  whether  I  should  estimate  that  more  than  12,000,000 
of  people  perished  under  King  Leopold's  regime.  I  can 
only  reply — certainly  not  less.  The  only  ascertainable 
data  upon  which  an  estimate  can  be  based  would  amply 
confirm  such  a  statement.     Many  towns  whose  population 


SOME   BELGIAN   BLUNDERS  209 

was  known  almost  to  a  man  twenty-five  years  ago  have 
disappeared  entirely,  and  there  is  not  one  town  to-day 
but  has  lost  over  75  per  cent,  of  its  population  within  the 
last  three  decades.  There  is  one  redeeming  feature,  viz., 
that  since  Belgian  occupation  there  is  some  evidence  that 
in  several  districts  the  appalhng  death  rate  and  low  birth 
rate  show  signs  of  regaining  a  more  normal  standard. 
This  was  the  most  apparent  in  the  old  sleeping  sickness 
areas,  for  we  noticed  that  wherever  the  Belgian  reforms 
had  been  most  completely  applied,  there  the  ravages  of 
sleeping  sickness  appeared  to  be  more  or  less  checked. 

When  Belgium  annexed  the  Congo,  she  for  many 
months  retained  the  old  Congo  State  flag  ;  she  still  retains 
the  sobriquet  "  Bula  Matadi  "  ;  she  retained,  and  still 
retains  many  of  the  old  Congo  officials,  and  finally  she 
retained  her  interest  in  rubber.  These  indications  did 
not  escape  the  notice  of  the  natives  who  are  never  slow 
to  detect  circumstantial  evidence,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
enlightening  influence  of  the  old  witch  doctor  !  The 
consequence  is  that  the  natives  distrust  the  new  "  Bula 
Matadi  "  as  much  as  they  did  the  old  one,  for  to  many 
of  them  there  is  no  visible  change.  Thus  Belgium  finds 
herself  in  possession  of  a  colossal  colony  whose  economic 
resources  are  exhausted,  whose  population  has  been 
seriously  diminished,  and  whose  native  tribes  everywhere 
mistrust  her  administration. 

The  foregoing  features  present  Belgium  with  a  problem 
not  to  be  solved  easily  by  the  most  experienced  and  power- 
ful of  colonizing  Powers.  International  obligations,  too, 
cannot  but  make  that  task  more  difficult.  The  Congo 
must   still  work  out   its  salvation   under  the   guardian 

p 


2IO  DAWN   IN   Dx\RKEST   AFRICA 

eye  of  the  fourteen  signatories  to  the  Berhn  Act.  It  is 
still  the  duty  of  each  of  these  Powers  to  "  watch  over  the 
moral  and  material  welfare  of  the  native  tribes."  Not 
only  so,  but  the  Congo  colony  is  further  restricted  by 
separate  treaties  with  all  the  Great  Powers,  which  together 
provide  a  shoal  of  difficulties  through  which  it  will  not 
be  easy  to  steer  the  Administration  without  disaster. 

The  Congo  territories,  however,  are  not  without  assets, 
which,  in  the  hands  of  a  bold  statesman,  are  capable  of 
making  Central  Africa  one  of  the  greatest  wealth-producing 
areas  of  the  Continent. 

The  first  asset  is  in  the  riverine  system  of  the  Congo. 
The  main  river  has  five  large  tributaries,  each  of  which 
provides  from  500  to  1000  miles  of  navigable  waterway  ; 
the  Busira,  for  example,  200  miles  from  the  mouth  gives 
no  soundings  at  a  depth  of  1000  feet.  Each  of  these  in 
turn  possesses  numerous  smaller,  but  still  navigable 
tributaries.  Altogether  this  fluvial  system  renders  water 
transport  possible  for  over  10,000  miles,  whilst  for  large 
canoes  and  launches  there  is  more  than  twice  the  water- 
way. I  know  of  no  district,  no  matter  how  remote  from 
the  great  fluvial  highway,  which  is  removed  more  than 
four  days'  march  from  a  river  bank.  In  some  parts  of 
the  main  river  the  width  is  considerably  over  five  miles, 
and  in  others  it  takes  a  canoe  nearly  half  a  day  to  thread 
its  way  between  the  network  of  islands  which  cover  the 
river  between  north  and  south  banks.  There  is,  however, 
the  outstanding  drawback  that  as  a  commercial  asset  the 
whole  waterway  is  blocked  at  the  mouth,  strictly  speaking 
ninety  miles  from  the  ocean.  There  the  cataract  region 
begins    which    has    hitherto    defied    engineering    skill. 


THE   CONGO   RAILWAY  211 

Between  Matadi  and  Leopoldville,  a  distance  of  just  over 
350  miles,  seven  such  natural  impediments  prove  an 
insurmountable  barrier  to  water  transport.  This  distance 
is  covered  by  a  railway  which  connects  the  lower  river 
with  Stanley  Pool,  the  upper  river  port.  The  line  is 
undoubtedly  a  thing  of  beauty,  but  travelling  on  it  is 
certainly  not  a  "joy  for  ever,"  climbing  up  almost 
impossible  slopes,  skirting  ravines  and  lightly  circling 
mountain  ranges — a  triumph  of  engineering  skill,  whose 
construction,  it  is  estimated,  cost  a  life  a  sleeper.  Its  2  ft. 
6  in.  gauge  and  its  miniature  rolling  stock  are,  however, 
totally  incapable  of  dealing  with  the  potential  transport 
of  a  colony  more  than  half  as  large  as  Europe. 

At  present  transport  on  the  Congo  railway  is  in  hope- 
less confusion  and  the  merchant  is  fortunate  indeed  whose 
goods  occupy  less  than  a  month  traversing  that  350  miles, 
for  the  bulk  of  goods  require  six  weeks  to  reach  Leopold- 
ville, the  port  of  Stanley  Pool,  from  Matadi  on  the  lower 
river.  When  we  were  at  Matadi  there  was  still  1000  tons 
awaiting  transport,  a  small  task  for  European  and 
American  freight  trains,  but  an  entirely  different  matter 
on  a  line  where  we  saw  a  Congo  engine  with  twenty  tons 
only  in  her  trucks  make  no  less  than  three  attempts  up  an 
ordinary  incHne.  The  Congo  railway,  at  present  the  only 
link  between  the  ocean  and  the  Upper  Congo,  presents 
to  the  Belgian  Government  a  two-fold  problem.  The 
first  question  is  whether  it  is  possible  to  turn  the  whole 
track  into  a  broad  gauge,  capable  of  bearing  heavier 
rolling  stock  with  reasonable  safety — an  initial  problem 
of  doubtful  solution,  and  with  it  the  second  is  coupled. 
If  this  line  were  practically  rebuilt,  at  immense  cost  to 


212  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

the  Belgian  Exchequer,  what  reasonable  guarantee  has 
Belgium  that  for  all  time  the  French  Government  will 
refrain  from  constructing  a  railway  from  the  seaboard  of 
French  Congo  to  Kwamouth  on  the  confluence  of  the 
Kasai  with  the  main  Congo  ?  Given  such  a  condition,  it 
is  all  over  with  the  Belgian  Congo  railway.  We  know 
that  many  patriotic  and  far-sighted  Frenchmen  are 
seriously  considering  this  proposition.  Then,  too,  the 
French  are  great  railway  engineers,  and  I  am  informed 
that  the  physical  conditions  of  the  country  through 
which  such  railway  would  pass  are  entirely  good.  If  the 
French  line  were  built,  the  Upper  Congo  would  be  brought 
at  least  five  days  nearer  Europe  for  passengers  and  mails, 
while  merchandise  would  probably  save  three  weeks  to  a 
month  in  reaching  its  destination. 

Even  if  Belgium  provided  an  unchallengeable  connect- 
ing link  between  the  lower  and  upper  reaches  of  the  two 
fluvial  systems,  the  Congo  river  is  beset  with  political 
potentialities  of  no  mean  order.  It  remains  to-day  an 
international  highway  which  presumably  any  five 
European  Powers  may,  if  they  so  choose,  bring  under 
the  control  of  a  five-Power  river  board  of  management. 
As  an  asset  the  Congo  river  is  gravely  depreciated  by  the 
topographical  features  from  Stanley  Pool  to  the  mouth 
which  place  the  whole  Congo  colony  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Power  which  holds  French  Congo,  and  thereby  the  high- 
way to  the  ocean. 

Given  security  of  control  and  also  of  communication, 
what  economic  future,  actual  and  potential,  is  there  for 
Belgian  Congo  ? 

That  rubber  of  the  indigenous  kind  exists  to-day  in 


VEGETABLE   ASSETS  213 

the  recesses  of  the  forest  is  true.  This,  as  I  have  said, 
appUes  especially  to  the  Aruwimi,  Lake  Leopold  and  Kasai 
regions,  but  only  in  comparatively  small  quantities.  This 
indigenous  product  finds  a  sale  to-day  only  because  of  the 
high  prices  which  rubber  has  commanded  during  recent 
years.  Many  manufacturers  are  now  refusing  to  touch 
native  rubber  at  all,  because  it  is  so  full  of  impurities. 
There  are,  indeed,  many  competent  observers  who  state 
that  when  in  a  few  years'  time  the  yield  of  cultivated 
rubber,  coupled  probably  with  a  successful  manufacture 
of  synthetic  rubber  has  forced  down  the  price  of  the  better 
qualities,  then  the  common  and  impure  varieties  from 
West  Africa  will  be  driven  out  of  the  market  altogether. 
Of  the  various  classes  of  rubber,  that  of  the  Congo  is 
probably  the  worst,  consequently  the  future  of  the  colony 
cannot  be  based  on  an  exploitation  of  the  indigenous 
rubber  latex. 

Ivory  has  in  the  past  figured  largety  in  the  Congo 
budgets,  but  the  ruthless  exploitation  of  rubber  had  its 
counterpart  in  the  wanton  destruction  of  elephants  in 
order  to  obtain  rapidly  every  tusk  of  ivory.  The  old 
Congo  State  agents  frequently  sent  out  parties  of  soldiers 
in  search  of  elephants  ;  to  these  men  ivory  took  a  secondary 
place  to  "  meat,"  naturally,  therefore,  they  cared  very 
little  for  the  ivory,  and  the  results  of  these  battues  were 
frequently  deplorable.  I  remember  once  witnessing  one 
of  these  parties  return  with  "  meat  "  from  two  young 
female  elephants  and  in  the  canoes  they  had  also  brought 
with  them  the  dead  bodies  of  two  baby  elephants  which 
they  had  deliberately  killed. 

The  two  remaining  products  to-day  are  gum  copal  and 


214  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

palm  oil.  In  the  closing  year  of  the  Congo  State  the 
former  was  certainly  exploited  en  regie,  but  mainly  in 
those  districts  where  exhaustion  was  overtaking  the 
rubber  forests.  The  latter  produce  has  never  formed 
any  appreciable  article  of  export. 

Gum  copal  is  to-day  found  in  almost  unlimited  quan- 
tities in  many  parts  of  the  Equatorial  Zone  and  throughout 
the  towns  and  villages  the  traveller  meets  natives  every- 
where engaged  in  its  preparation.  The  gum  taken  from 
the  upper  part  of  the  tree  and  near  the  surface  of  the  earth 
is  excellent  in  quality  and  much  of  it  would  easily  com- 
mand IS.  a  lb.  in  Birmingham  or  London.  The  natives, 
however,  readily  accept  2d.  per  lb.  but  with  any  degree 
of  competition  prices  would  of  course  rise.  Several  com- 
panies are  buying  to-day  faster  than  they  can  export. 

Whilst  passing  through  the  towns,  we  were  frequently 
assailed  with  the  cry,  "  White  man,  won't  you  buy  our 
copal  ?  "  I  questioned  some  of  the  merchants  upon  the 
possibility  of  an  early  exhaustion  and  was  informed  that 
in  the  Equatorial  regions  the  exudation,  if  removed, 
replaced  itself  within  a  single  season.  My  observation 
of  some  hundreds  of  copal  trees  in  different  areas  leads 
me  to  regard  this  as  a  somewhat  optimistic  statement. 
It  is  certain  that  considerable  profit  can  be  made  from  the 
purchase  and  export  of  this  virgin  product,  for  at  the 
rate  now  ruling  it  can  be  purchased  and  transported  to 
Europe  at  an  inclusive  cost  of  about  4^.  per  pound. 

Palm  oil  exists  all  over  the  Congo.  In  many  districts 
the  palm  forests  cover  several  square  miles,  but  whether 
it  can  be  produced  at  a  profit  is  somewhat  doubtful. 

There  remain,  therefore,  but  two  actual  virgin  products 


.LM    COPAL    FOR    SALE,    UPPER    CONGO. 


GOVERNMENT    IVORY    AND    RUBBER,    UPPER    CONGO. 


OTHER  ASSETS  215 

possessing  any  certainty  of  a  future — copal,  and  the 
fruit  of  the  palm  tree  ;  rubber  can  only  be  regarded  as 
an  ever  decreasing  asset. 

What,  then,  are  the  potential  assets  ? 

In  the  mineral  world  there  are  some  possibilities  in 
gold,  diamonds  and  copper,  but  all  these  are  somewhat 
doubtful  assets  and  contribute  but  little  to  the  general 
welfare  of  the  community  which  must  rest  primarily  upon 
agricultural  development. 

Almost  any  tropical  product  will  grow  in  the  Congo, 
for  the  area  is  so  vast  that  it  provides  land  suited  in  one 
part  or  another  to  coffee,  cotton,  rubber,  cocoa,  hemp  and 
corn.  The  product  of  the  future  will  not  be  determined 
only  by  the  nature  of  the  land  upon  which  a  given  article 
can  be  grown,  but  rather  by  the  one  that  is  most  suited 
to  the  native  agriculturist. 

The  real  difficulty  is  that  few  Belgians  seem  capable 
of  thinking  anything  beyond  rubber  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  native  as  a  servile  labourer  on  the  other.  Colonial 
opinion  in  Belgium  and  on  the  Congo  itself  appears  to  be 
firmly  wedded  to  this  restricted  view  of  colonial  expansion. 
This  circumscribed  vision  can  comprehend  the  serf,  the 
labourer,  or  the  domestic  slave,  but  the  free,  industrious 
and  successful  coloured  citizen,  carving  out  an  economic 
future,  in  which  the  State  can  indirectly  share,  is  appa- 
rently beyond  the  mental  horizon  of  most  of  those  who  at 
present  control  the  destinies  of  the  Congo  tribes.  True 
statecraft  would  have  placed  a  halo  round  Annexation  Da}^ 
making  it  one  of  great  rejoicing  throughout  the  Congo  by 
declaring  that  through  the  action  of  a  generous  Adminis- 
tration rubber  collecting  by  the  State  would  from  that 


2i6  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

date  cease  for  all  time.  But  through  lack  of  colonial 
imagination  this  great  opportunity  for  regaining  the 
confidence  of  the  native  tribes  was  thrown  away,  and  the 
Administration  rehoisted  the  old  Congo  State  flag  with  a 
miniature  Belgian  flag  relegated  to  the  corner,  at  the 
same  time  letting  it  be  known  that  upon  rubber  pro- 
duction— the  synonym  of  horror  to  the  native  mind — 
the  future  would  depend. 

The  failure  of  the  rubber  cultivation  enterprise  is  com- 
plete. \\Tiatever  the  man  in  the  street  may  think,  the 
Belgian  Government  knows  that  Monsieur  Renkin's 
scheme  for  relieving  the  Belgian  Exchequer  has  utterly 
failed.  The  twenty  to  thirty  millions  of  productive 
rubber  trees  dangled  before  the  eyes  of  the  Belgian 
tax-payer  exist  only  on  paper. 

Cotton  has  been  proposed,  but  what  possibilities  has 
cotton  cultivation,  not  only  in  the  Congo  but  anywhere 
in  West  Africa,  where  it  comes  into  competition  with 
cocoa  or  palm  oil  ?  Cotton  requires  that  the  worker 
should  toil  under  the  fierce  rays  of  a  tropical  sun  ;  it 
demands  constant  attention  if  it  is  to  be  kept  free  from 
weeds  and  undergrowth,  and  when  the  harvest  is  gathered 
the  native  can  never  receive  the  financial  reward  which 
attaches  to  palm  oil  and  kernels  or  to  cocoa.  In  a  crude 
way  the  West  African  is  a  careful  mathematician,  and 
though  in  his  primitive  condition  he  knows  nothing  about 
square  yards,  acres  and  compound  interest,  he  can  soon 
tell  what  products  he  can  grow  most  profitably  on  a 
given  piece  of  ground — and  cotton  is  not  one  of  them. 

If  the  Belgian  colonial  authorities  could  divorce 
themselves  from  rubber  and  concentrate  on  cocoa  they 


CONGO  POSSIBILITIES  217 

might  yet  turn  the  Congo  wilderness  into  a  garden.  A 
few  enterprising  Belgians  have  already  seen  possibilities 
in  the  cocoa  bean.  Its  cultivation  is  at  present  under- 
taken by  the  Belgian  Government,  the  Roman  Catholic 
Missions,  and  by  a  few  small  companies.  The  principal 
area  is  that  of  the  Mayumbe,  a  compact  territory  between 
the  Belgian  Congo  and  the  Portuguese  river,  the  Chilo- 
ango  ;  there  are  other  plantations  a  thousand  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Congo  on  the  banks  of  the  Aruwimi  and 
also  of  the  main  Congo,  but  these  latter  are  characterized 
by  such  neglect  that  no  one  regards  them  seriously. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  tract  of  country  more 
ideally  suited  to  the  cultivation  of  cocoa  than  that  of 
Mayumbe.  The  hills  and  valleys  abound  in  water-courses, 
the  soil  is  good  and  the  climate  reminds  the  traveller  very 
much  of  the  Gold  Coast  territories.  Some  of  the  planta- 
tions run  for  miles  along  winding  valleys,  but  the  great 
trouble  with  Mayumbe  is  that  perpetual  nightmare — 
common  to  the  whole  of  West  Africa — scarcity  of  labour  ! 

Within  three  days'  steam  of  the  Congo,  the  British 
colony  of  the  Gold  Coast  has  solved  the  question  of  labour, 
has  started  an  industry  which  gives  the  native  producer 
a  return  of  over  a  million  and  a  half  sterling  per  annum, 
has  provided  the  European  consumer  with  a  great  cocoa 
area  which  twenty-five  years  ago  produced  little  beyond 
internecine  warfare  and  jujus,  and  yet  the  Belgian  Govern- 
ment has  never  even  given  a  practical  consideration  to 
this  unique  example  of  colonial  expansion  which  could 
so  easily  be  applied  to  the  Congo. 

Rubber  and  cotton  have  but  a  small  future  in  the 
Congo.     Sisal,  gold  and  copper  have   a    possibility,  but 


2i8  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

cocoa,  the  products  of  the  palm  tree,  and  any  other 
vegetable  oils,  give  promise  of  a  real  future,  provided  cheap 
transport  and  sound  statesmanship  are  forthcoming. 

An  oppressive  sense  of  hopelessness  affects  the  traveller 
in  the  Congo  as  he  speeds  up  and  down  those  mighty 
rivers,  across  the  numerous  lakes,  or  tramps  through  the 
silent  forests.  He  sees  the  possibilities  of  that  land,  the 
earth  he  treads  gives  forth  an  intoxicating  odour  of 
fertility.  The  tribes  amongst  whom  he  lives  and  moves 
are  nature's  children  and  the  little  incidents  of  daily 
travel  impress  him  with  the  fact  that,  given  a  chance, 
those  sturdy  bodies  and  stout  limbs  could  turn  Congo- 
land  into  a  paradise  of  affluence  and  luxury.  Then,  as 
he  muses  on  these  things  and  dreams  of  ideal  homes  and 
villages,  and  tropical  plantations  pouring  forth  exchange 
values  of  oil  and  cocoa  for  cotton  goods  and  hardware, 
the  practical  mind,  like  Newton's  apple,  comes  down  to 
earth  again  and  weighs  actualities  and  asks  the  pertinent 
question — "  Can  Belgium  do  it  ?  " 

The  Congo  demands  large  financial  aid  from  the 
Mother  country.  This  is  a  fact  which  has  never  been 
realized  by  the  ordinary  Belgian — and  he  might  object 
if  he  knew.  Even  the  British  subject,  whose  colonial 
conception  has  grown  with  him  from  childhood,  has  very 
little  idea  of  the  large  sums  of  money  which  are  found 
by  Great  Britain  towards  aiding  her  Crown  colonies  along 
the  path  of  progress.  Belgium  cannot  expect  to  run  the 
Congo  successfully  without  large  drafts  from  her  home 
Exchequer ;  her  colony,  measuring  nearly  a  million 
square  miles,  will  require  at  the  very  least  a  million 
pounds  sterling  per  annum  for  twenty  years. 


BRITISH   COLONIAL  CONCEPTION         219 

Belgium  can  beyond  question  find  that  sum  of  money, 
providing  her  people  are  prepared  to  share  the  black 
man's  burden  which  their  late  Sovereign  made  so  heavy. 
The  difficulty,  however,  is  that  King  Leopold  and  his 
entourage  made  such  prodigious  fortunes  that  the  Belgian 
people  have  always  regarded  the  Congo  as  a  veritable 
El  Dorado.  The  Belgian  colonial  authorities  reiterated 
again  and  again,  until  quite  a  recent  date,  that  the  Congo 
would  never  involve  the  nation  in  financial  sacrifices. 
Couple  this  impression,  so  wickedly  fostered  by  politicians 
who  should  have  known  better,  with  the  fact  that  the 
Belgian  has  no  colonial  conception,  and  the  reader  will 
agree  that  any  statesman  will  have  a  difficult  task  in 
persuading  the  Belgian  nation  to  make  large  and  con- 
tinuous grants  from  the  Home  Exchequer. 

The  British  conception  rests  upon  a  profound  belief 
in  the  old  scriptural  paradox  :  "He  that  loseth  his  life 
will  save  it."  The  Colonial  Office  in  Downing  Street 
does  not,  like  its  sister  bureau — the  Foreign  Office — display 
texts  of  scripture  on  its  ceilings,  and  the  Colonial  Secre- 
taries might  not  in  this  material  age  admit  scriptural 
guidance  in  Imperial  affairs,  but  woven  into  the  fibre  of 
our  administration  is  a  basis  of  Christian  philosophy 
which,  though  it  admits  occasional  incidents  of  a  regret- 
able  nature,  yet  pursues  in  the  long  run  the  straight 
course  of  sacrificing  men  and  money  for  backward  nations 
and  countries,  quite  regardless  of  consequences.  The 
cynic  will  say,  "  Yes,  with  the  certainty  that  the  goose 
well  cared  for  will  lay  golden  eggs."  Certainly,  but  that 
is  part  of  the  Divine  contract  for  pursuing  that  which 
is  right.     This,  however,  is  what  few  Belgians  understand 


220  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

— or  any  other  colonial  Power  for  that  matter — but  it 
is  part  and  parcel  of  colonial  statecraft  without  which 
tropical  colonies  at  least  can  never  be  a  success. 

The  financial  problem,  difficult  though  it  may  be, 
is  the  easiest  of  solution.  That  of  finding  the  men  is  at 
present  insoluble.  This  is,  in  part  at  least,  due  to  another 
fatal  error  made  by  Belgium  when  she  annexed  the 
Congo — the  retention  in  her  service  of  all  the  old  Congo 
officials.  They  are  there  to-day,  many  of  them  pressing 
on  to  higher  positions  in  the  colony.  The  fact  that  these 
men,  trained  to  oppression  by  King  Leopold  and  openly 
upholding  the  old  Leopoldian  conceptions,  are  still  in 
high  favour  does  not  escape  the  quick-witted  native,  and 
of  course  tends  to  alienate  still  further  the  native  and 
governing  communities. 

There  are,  however,  other  dangers  arising  from  this 
situation.  These  "  old  hands  "  are  educating  the  juniors, 
and  in  the  process  are  instilling  into  their  young  and 
inexperienced  minds  a  dissatisfaction  with  present  con- 
ditions and  emphasizing  to  them  that  the  older  system 
of  **  teaching  the  natives  the  dignity  of  labour  "  was 
better  all  round.  They  are  always  careful  to  add  "  without 
atrocities,  of  course,"  but  what  they  cannot  see  is  that 
the  old  Leopoldian  system  was  impossible  "  without 
atrocities."  It  will  be  readily  agreed  that  when  the 
burden  of  the  Congo  begins  to  make  itself  felt  upon  the 
Belgian  nation  these  reactionaries — *'  Men  from  the 
spot,"  "  Men  of  long  experience  " — will  find  a  ready  echo 
throughout  Belgium.  Again,  as  in  the  financial  position 
so  also  in  the  administrative  future  of  the  colony,  the  call 
comes  for  the  really  bold  statesman,  strong  enough  to 


LACK   OF  MEN  221 

break  completely  with  the  past  and  to  clean  out  of  the 
Congo  these  soi  disant  administrators,  who,  incapable 
of  appreciating  colonial  requirements,  should  return  to 
their  original  employments  of  running  music  halls,  tram 
driving,  breaking  stones  on  the  highway,  'bus  conductors, 
waiters,  bricklayers,  clerks,  and  so  forth. 

"  How,"  I  am  often  asked,  "  could  these  men  be 
replaced  ?  "  First,  the  very  fact  that  such  men  are  no 
longer  in  the  service  would  undoubtedly  attract  the  better 
families  of  Belgium,  for  it  may  be  remarked  that  many 
of  the  merchant  houses  are  able  to  obtain  an  excellent 
type  of  man.  I  asked  some  of  them  why  they  did  not 
enter  the  Government  service,  but  almost  invariably  I 
received  this  kind  of  answer  :  "  What  !  join  a  service  with 

A in  it !  "     "  What !  accept  a  position  under  B !  " 

These  replies  were  eloquent  and  convincing  to  one  who 
easily  realized  how  utterly  impossible  it  would  be  for  the 

better  type   of  man  to   associate  with   "  A "   and 

"  B ,"  their  records  being  so  well  known  in  the  Congo, 

however  much  they  might  be  covered  up  at  home.  Here 
again  is  further  evidence  of  the  lack  of  colonial  imagina- 
tion amongst  the  higher  officials  in  Brussels.  If  Belgium 
cannot  find — as  admittedly  she  cannot — a  sufficiency  of 
experienced  men  in  Belgium,  cannot  she  find  them  in 
France  and  England  ?  She  can  find  them,  of  course,  in 
both  countries,  but  hesitates  to  employ  other  nationalities 
for  the  higher  positions,  with  the  result  that  very  few  men 
are  prepared  to  accept  positions  with  futures  "  only  for 
Belgians." 

A  Scandinavian  captain  recently  gave  me  a  good 
example  of  the  results  of  this  folly.     He  informed  me  that 


222  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

a  friend  of  his  reached  Stanley  Pool  one  day  with  his 
ship  after  an  up-river  journey  of  three  weeks.  Arriving 
at  "  The  Pool,"  as  the  upper  river  port  is  designated,  the 
then  superintendent  of  the  marine — who,  it  was  openly 
stated,  knew  more  about  the  manufacture  of  cheap 
pickles  than  stevedoring — instructed  him  to  load  up 
90  tons  of  cargo  and  sail  within  three  hours  ! 

In  vain  the  captain  protested  that  it  could  not  be  done 
in  the  time,  and  the  only  reply  he  received  was  a  batch 
of  natives  hurried  down  to  bundle  the  cargo  peU  mell  on 
board  ;  they  pitched  the  cargo  into  the  holds  in  any  order 
and  the  captain  heaved  up  his  anchor  and  got  away  as 
instructed  "  within  three  hours,"  but  the  task  of  sorting 
the  whole  cargo  at  every  little  post  over  that  1000  miles' 
run,  turned  a  normal  journey  of  two  weeks  into  one  of 
over  a  month.  I  cannot  vouch  for  this  incident,  but  it 
is  typically  Congolese. 

The  Congo  territories  denuded  of  their  stores  of  virgin 
wealth,  with  no  new  sources  in  sight ;  the  people  decimated 
and  disheartened ;  the  Home  Government  possessing  no 
Colonial  experience,  and  still  worse  no  Colonial  con- 
ception ;  the  local  officials  still  firmly  wedded  to  the  old 
theories,  constitute  anything  but  a  happy  augury  for  the 
future.  That  Belgium  possesses  many  men  animated 
by  the  loftiest  sentiments  is  beyond  question,  but  mere 
sentiment  does  not  meet  a  situation  which  requires  a 
broad  outlook,  a  large  experience  and  real  sacrifice  both 
in  men  and  money. 


PART    IV 

MORAL   AND   MATERIAL   PROGRESS 

I. — The  Products  of  the  Oil  Palm. 
II. — The  Production  of  Rubber. 
III. — The  Production  of  Cocoa. 
IV. — The  Progress  of  Christian  Missions. 


THE  PRODUCTS  OF  THE  OIL   PALM 

With  the  date  palm  we  have  been  long  famihar,  the 
cocoa-nut  palm  likewise,  and  those  too  which  decorate 
our  ball-rooms,  galleries  and  banqueting  halls,  we  greet 
as  delightsome  friends,  but  what  is  the  oil  palm — the 
Eloesis  Guineensis  of  West  Africa  ?  It  is  said  that  five 
thousand  years  ago  its  sap  was  used  by  the  Egyptians  for 
the  purpose  of  embalming  the  bodies  of  their  great  dead. 
To-day  by  its  aid  we  travel  thousands  of  miles  at  express 
rate  ;  it  has  been  so  handled  by  modern  science  that  it 
enters  largely  into  our  diet ;  the  merchants  in  Hamburg 
and  Liverpool  make  fortunes  out  of  it ;  millions  of  coloured 
people  live  by  it,  and  yet  it  is  barely  known  to  the  civilized 
community.  A  fortnight's  fairly  pleasant  steam  from 
Liverpool  brings  the  traveller  in  sight  of  the  high  red 
clay  coast  line  of  Sierra  Leone,  and  there  the  oil  palm 
first  greets  the  traveller  in  all  its  luxuriant  grandeur. 

From  Freetown  away  down  the  coast  as  far  as  San 
Paul  de  Loanda,  the  traveller  is  never  far  from  the  home 
of  the  oil  palm — the  most  valuable  tree  of  West  Africa — 
probably  the  most  prolific  source  of  human  sustenance 
in  the  world.  She  greets  the  traveller  everywhere  as  he 
steps  ashore  ;  she  invites  him  to  the  cool  shade  of  her 
avenues    leading    to    some    hospitable    bungalow ;     she 

Q 


226  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

affords  a  shelter  at  intervals  along  the  scorching  dusty 
track — as  welcome  as  an  oasis  of  the  desert ;  she  waves 
at  him  vigorously  from  the  hill-top  like  some  fluttering 
banner,  or  gently  nods  her  graceful  plumes  in  the  still 
valley  ;  she  stands  as  sentinel  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
native  village,  or  like  some  giant  memorial  column  on 
the  plain.  All  nature  strikes  the  African  traveller  dumb 
with  admiration,  but  above  all  in  entrancing  loveliness 
the  graceful  oil  palm  reigns  supreme. 

To  the  parched  and  weary  she  is  at  once  meat  and 
drink  and  friendly  shelter.  Her  palm  cabbage  and  nut 
oil  are  no  less  palatable  than  her  foaming  fresh-drawn  wine, 
and  if  no  other  home  affords,  her  branches  offer  a  tem- 
porary and  not  comfortless  dwelling.  She  provides  her 
guest  with  oil  to  lubricate  his  gun,  with  fibre  to  plug  his 
boat  if  it  springs  a  leak  ;  her  fronds  serve  as  a  weapon 
to  combat  the  infinite  torment  of  flies,  or  interlaced  as  a 
basket  to  carry  a  meal.  To  her  the  native  goes  for  a  tool 
or  a  cooking-utensil,  a  mat  or  a  loin  cloth,  a  basket  or  a 
brush,  a  fishing  net  or  a  rope,  a  torch  or  a  musical  instru- 
ment, a  roof  or  a  wall.  To  him  she  is  a  necessity,  to  the 
traveller  a  luxury,  to  the  merchant  a  fortune,  to  the  artist 
a  subject  full  of  charm. 

Professor  Wyndham  Dunstan  has  stated  that  the 
oil  palm  "  does  not  occur  thickly  much  beyond  200  miles 
from  the  coast."  Since  those  words  were  written  we  have 
learnt  that  whole  forests  of  the  oil  palm  exist  over  a 
thousand  miles  from  the  coast.  It  thrives  throughout 
West  Africa  wherever  the  atmosphere  is  sufficiently  humid, 
but  it  loves  best  of  all  the  swampy  valleys  of  Sherboro 
sland  and  Nigeria,  the  cocoa  farms  of  San  Thome,  the 


PROPAGATING    THE    OIL    PALM  227 

Gold  Coast  and  the  Congo,  which  are  by  it  provided  with 
the  necessary  protection  from  the  scorching  sun  and  from 
the  fierce  tornados  which  sweep  periodically  over  the 
land.  In  the  strictest  sense  the  oil  palm  has  never  yet 
been  an  object  of  cultivation  in  West  Africa,  neither  is  it 
in  the  literal  sense  self-propagating.  The  housewife, 
separating  the  fibrous  pericarp  from  the  nuts,  tosses  the 
latter  aside  or  scatters  the  residue  on  to  the  rubbish  heap 
behind  the  hut,  with  the  inevitable  result  of  an  early  and 
vigorous  crop  of  young  palms.  In  the  course  of  time  the 
inhabitants  of  the  village,  according  to  African  custom, 
pick  up  not  only  their  beds,  but  also  their  huts,  and  walk, 
perhaps  something  less  than  a  mile  away,  where  they 
clear  another  piece  of  forest  land  and  build  up  another 
village.  The  old  site,  thus  abandoned  to  nature,  is 
quickly  covered  with  vigorous  growth,  but  in  the  race 
for  supremacy  the  graceful  palms  lead  the  way  and  become 
the  communal  property  of  the  former  inhabitants. 

The  screeching  grey  parrot  of  West  Africa  with  its 
horny  bill  tears  the  oily  fruit  from  the  bunch,  after 
consuming  most  of  the  oleaginous  fibres  of  the  pericarp, 
drops  the  nuts  whilst  flying,  far  and  wide.  These,  in 
turn,  add  to  Africa's  economic  wealth,  and  thus  do  man 
and  animal  join  in  spreading  through  ever  wider  regions 
the  growth  of  the  oil  palm. 

Within  ten  years  the  tree  begins  to  push  out  its 
bunches  of  fruit,  beginning  with  tiny  bunches  of  the  size, 
shape  and  appearance  of  an  ordinary  bunch  of  black 
grapes.  Some  trees  bear  in  eight  years,  and  an  earlier 
date  still  is  claimed  for  certain  varieties,  but  the  fruit 
at  this  stage  seldom  yields  any  appreciable  quantity  of 


228  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

oil.  From  fifteen  onwards  to  a  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  the  palm  plantations  give  forth  an  almost  continuous 
supply  of  fruit,  every  tree  bearing  twice  a  year.  In  the 
rainy  season  the  supply  is  most  abundant,  but  in  the 
second  period,  known  by  many  as  the  "  short  wet  " 
season  there  is  a  fair  secondary  harvest.  All  the  trees 
do  not,  however,  bear  at  the  same  time,  and  in  many 
areas  of  the  Equatorial  regions  where  the  seasons  are  not 
sharply  defined  or  always  regular,  the  supply  of  nuts  is 
never  exhausted. 

In  appearance  a  head  of  fruit  resembles  a  huge  bunch 
of  grapes  with  long  protecting  thorns  protruding  between 
each  nut,  and  a  good  bunch  will  contain  from  1500  to 
2000  nuts.  A  single  fruit  in  appearance  is  about  the 
size  of  a  large  date,  and  the  pericarp  is  composed  of  fibre 
matted  closely  together  with  a  yellow  solidified  oil,  which 
fibrous  substance  envelops  a  nut  or  "  stone  "  ;  this  in 
turn  encloses  a  kernel  of  the  size  and  shape  of  a  large 
hazel  kernel,  in  appearance  and  composition  indistinguish- 
able from  the  well-known  "  Brazil  nut."  From  the  fibre 
a  dark  reddish  oil  is  obtained,  whilst  the  kernels  that  are 
shipped  to  Europe  yield  a  finer  white  oil. 

The  almost  universal  practice  amongst  the  natives 
in  harvesting  the  nuts  is  to  climb  the  tree  by  walking  up 
the  trunk  with  the  aid  of  a  loop  of  stout  creeper. 
Arriving  at  the  top  at  a  height  of  sixty  or  eighty  feet,  the 
man  deals  a  few  vigorous  blows  with  an  axe  which  severs 
the  bunch  or  bunches  from  the  tree  and  they  then  fall 
to  the  ground.  As  the  whole  family  usually  takes  part 
in  the  production  of  oil  and  in  the  division  of  labour,  the 
man,  having  cut  down  the  fruit,  descends  the  tree,  picks 


COLLECTING  THE  NUTS  229 

up  his  protective  spear  or  gun,  and  returns  home,  closely 
followed  by  the  wife  and  daughters,  who  transport  the 
bunches  of  nuts  in  the  wicker  baskets  which  they  have 
woven  in  their  spare  moments. 

In  every  colony  a  similar  process  is  adopted  to  separate 
the  fruit  from  the  parent  stem.  Until  it  is  over  ripe, 
the  fruit  not  only  adheres  firmly  to  its  stem  but  the 
porcupine  thorns  sometimes  two  inches  long,  make  separa- 
tion anything  but  a  pleasant  task.  The  tribes  every- 
where collect  the  clusters  or  bunches  into  heaps  and 
cover  them  with  plantain  or  banana  leaves,  exposing  them 
to  the  sun  for  from  three  to  six  days,  the  effect  of  which 
is  that  the  nuts,  subjected  to  the  hot  rays  of  a  tropical 
sun  and  cut  off  from  the  refreshing  sustenance  of  the 
mother  tree,  lose  their  tenacious  grip  and  readily  drop 
away  from  their  stem. 

The  methods  adopted  to  force  the  oil  from  the  fibrous 
pericarp  differ  considerably  in  the  several  political 
divisions  of  West  Africa.  Roughl}^  however,  they  fall 
into  two  divisions  :  (a)  by  fermentation  ;  (b)  by  boiling  ; 
and  in  certain  parts  of  the  Kroo  Coast  by  a  combination 
of  both  methods. 

The  fermenting  process  is  carried  out  by  placing  a 
large  quantity  of  separated,  but  hard,  nuts  into  a  hole 
about  four  feet  deep,  this  having  been  first  lined  with 
plantain  leaves.  In  the  regions  nearer  the  coast 
towns,  these  pits  are  either  paved  or  cemented  inside 
and  in  some  cases  they  are  both  paved  and  cemented. 
The  nuts  are  covered  up  and  then  left  for  some  weeks, 
even  months,  to  ferment  thoroughly.  They  are  then 
either  pounded  in  the  pit  with  wooden  pestles,  or  they 


230  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

may   be    taken   out    and   treated   in   prepared   wooden 
mortars. 

The  process  of  boiling  is  more  expeditious.  The  nuts 
are  boiled  or  steamed  until  the  firmly  coagulated  fibre 
shows  signs  of  yielding  ;  then  they  are  placed  in  an  old 
canoe  or  large  mortar  and  pounded  with  wooden  pestles. 
In  both  processes,  whether  by  fermentation  or  by  boiling, 
the  oily  fibre  separates  itself  from  the  hard  inner  "  stone." 
The  fibre,  which  is  by  this  time  a  tangled  mass  of  yellow 
and  brown,  is  then  taken  and  squeezed,  sometimes  with 
the  aid  of  water,  through  a  woven  press  and  a  stream  of 
golden  liquid  results.  Sometimes  loads  of  the  oily  fibre 
are  thrown  pell-mell  into  a  large  canoe  half  filled  with 
water  in  which  the  children  delight  to  paddle,  causing 
the  oil  to  rise  to  the  surface,  when  the  elders  skim  it  from 
the  top  and  carry  it  in  earthenware  pots  for  boiling  and 
straining  before  sending  it  on  its  way  to  the  market  and 
the  European  consumer. 

The  oil,  however,  is  but  one  exportable  product  of 
the  palm  tree  ;  the  value  of  the  inner  kernel  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  over  four  million  pounds' 
worth  of  palm  kernels  are  sent  to  Europe  every  year. 
This  kernel  is  encased  in  an  extremely  hard  shell,  which 
varies  so  much  in  size  that  until  quite  recently  there  was 
no  satisfactory  "  stone  "  cracking  machinery  in  Africa. 
There  are  now  several  machines  on  the  market,  but  the 
old  grey-haired  lady  of  the  West  African  kraal,  with 
her  primitive  upper  and  nether  grind  stones,  still  makes 
by  far  the  most  reliable  "  cracker." 

At  Victoria,  in  German  Cameroons,  we  saw  an 
elaborate  set  of  machinery  for  dealing  in  turn  with  the 


"  WALKING  "     UP    TO    GATHER    FRUIT.         WEAVER    BIRDS' 
NESTS    ON    THE    PALM    FRONDS. 


HEADS    OF    OIL    PALM    FRbll. 


OIL  AND   KERNEL  TRADE 


231 


oily  fibrous  pericarp  of  th^  nut,  and  later,  extracting  the 
kernel  from  the  inner  stone.  The  latter  process  was 
that  of  a  general  crushing,  then  throwing  the  entire  mass 
into  a  brine  bath  and  so  separating  the  shells  from  the 
kernels,  which  were  then  taken  out  and  dried  in  the  sun. 
This  process,  while  being  infinitely  more  expeditious, 
has  the  obvious  drawback  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
kernels  are  so  bruised  and  broken  that  it  entails  a  con- 
siderable wastage  of  oil. 

The  Palm  in  Tonnage  and  in  Figures  Sterling. 
Exports  in  round  figures  for  the  year  191 1 — 


Oil. 

Ke 

RNELS. 

Tons. 

Values. 

Tons. 

Values. 

French  Senegal  . 

I 

36 

1,418 

14,300 

,,      Guinea 

53 

1,300 

4,500 

36,600 

Ivory  Coast 

5,800 

107,100 

5,340 

45,500 

Dahomey 

14,400 

254,100 

34,200 

400,000 

Congo     . 

125 

3,100 

570 

7,600 

British  Gambia  . 

— 

— 

447 

4,758 

,,      Sierra  Leone 

2,902 

69,930 

42,893 

649.347 

„      Gold  Coast 

•     6,441 

128,916 

13,254 

175,891 

Nigeria    . 

.    77,180 

1,696,875 

176,390 

2,574,405 

German  Cameroons     . 

3,000 

63,000 

13,500 

177,530 

„        Togoland 

3,050 

61,600 

8,100 

101,700 

Belgian  Congo 

(approximately) 

700 

20,000 

2,500 

40,000 

113,652     ;^2,405,957     303,112     ;^4,227,63i 


Oil      . 

Kernels 


TOTAL  OUTPUT. 

Tons. 
.    113,652 
.    303,112 


Values. 

;^2,405,957 
;^4,227,63i 


416,764 


;^6,633,588 


232  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

The  proportionate  output  from  the  palm  trees  from 
the  different  colonies  of  West  Africa  is  therefore — 


Square  mileage 

of  territories. 

Tons. 

Values. 

French 

.    992,000 

66,407 

;^869,636 

Belgian 

,    900,000 

3,200 

60,000 

British 

.    454,160 

319.507 

5,300,122 

German 

.    224,830 

27,650 

403.830 

Production  in  figures  sterling  per  square  mile  under 
the  several  colonizing  Powers — 


£ 

s. 

d. 

II 

13 

3  per  square  mile 

I 

16 

0         ,, 

0 

17 

8 

0 

I 

4 

Great  Britain 
Germany 
France 
Belgium   . 


Whilst  the  palm  provides  one  of  the  principal  exports 
of  West  Africa  for  consumption  in  Europe,  its  domestic 
uses  are  inseparable  from  native  life.  The  fruit  is  used 
by  the  natives  in  many  sections  of  primitive  culinary 
art.  Pounded  with  manioca  leaves,  Indian  corn  and 
red  peppers,  a  savoury  pottage  is  manufactured  which  is 
a  universal  delight.  One  of  the  choicest  vegetables  in 
the  African  continent  is  the  pearly  white  head  of  the 
palm,  which,  in  small  trees  of  two  years'  growth,  weighs 
about  I  pound,  but  in  trees  of  many  years'  growth,  may 
turn  the  scale  at  56  pounds.  The  substance  of  this  vege- 
table differs  in  appearance  and  taste  but  little  from  the 
Brazil  nut,  but  when  cooked  provides  a  succulent  dish 
not  unlike,  though  superior  to,  sea  kale.  The  natives 
cook  this  in  palm  oil,  but  Europeans  usually  prefer  it 
boiled  and  served  with  a  white  sauce,  or  baked  in  a 
custard.     To  obtain  this  vegetable  is  almost  invariably 


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OIL  AND  WINE  233 

to  destroy  the  tree,  consequently  it  seldom  figures  on  the 
every-day  menu. 

Meat,  fish  and  fowl  are  all  of  them  stewed  in  palm 
oil,  and,  as  African  meat  is  deficient  in  fat,  the  palm 
oil  makes  an  excellent  and  appetizing  substitute.  I 
once  smelled  a  very  savoury  native  "  hot  pot  "  which, 
upon  examination,  revealed  a  wonderful  mixture.  The 
liquid  was  golden  with  palm  oil,  and  floating  about, 
adding  to  the  compendium  of  flavours,  I  detected  bats 
and  beetles,  a  flat  fish  "cheek  by  jowl "  with  a  monkey's 
head,  caterpillars  fitting  themselves  in  with  sections  of 
field  rats  and  parrots — altogether  a  stew  delightful  to 
the  nostrils,  at  least  of  the  African  boys  and  girls  who 
squatted  around  the  huge  clay  cooking  pot.  The  white 
man,  though  he  usually  has  no  keen  appetite  for  native 
stews  or  pottage,  lunches  and  dines  off  "  palm  oil  chop  " 
with  as  great  a  relish  as  does  his  Indian  confrere  upon 
"  curries."  The  "  chop  "  may  be  fish,  flesh  or  fowl, 
but  it  all  goes  by  the  name  "  palm  oil  chop,"  which  has  a 
happy  and  almost  essential  knack  in  West  Africa  of  hiding 
a  multitude  of  "  foreign  bodies." 

No  African  meal  can  be  regarded  as  complete  without 
the  addition  of  palm  oil,  and,  as  a  beverage,  palm  wine  is 
extensively  though  moderately  consumed.  This  sparkling 
beverage  closely  resembles  in  appearance  the  "  stone 
ginger  "  of  civilization.  The  tribes  on  the  Upper  Kasai 
are  probably  the  greatest  consumers  of  palm  wine  in 
Africa.  In  those  parts  of  the  tropics  where  quantities 
of  sugar  cane  are  cultivated,  palm  wine  competes  with  a 
sister  product  from  the  cane  ;  the  sweet  and  somewhat 
insipid  taste  of  the  latter  being  more  palatable  to  some 


234  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

tribes  than  the  sharp  flavour  of  the  palm  wine.  The 
Eloeis  wine  is  the  sap  of  the  palm  tree  itself,  extracted  by 
various  means,  generally  by  cutting  off  the  male  flower- 
spike  and  fixing  a  calabash  to  the  wound  to  catch  the 
juice  which  is  removed  every  morning.  Another  method 
is  to  remove  the  palm  cabbage  or  head  ;  yet  another, 
to  cut  down  the  tree  and  "  dig  "  a  hole  in  the  heart  of 
the  trunk,  from  which  the  liquid  is  then  scooped  into 
a  calabash  or  earthenware  pot.  Europeans  generally 
prefer  the  wine  when  fresh  from  the  tree,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  after  a  few  hours  it  begins  to  ferment  and  loses 
its  sweetness. 

The  oil  palms  of  West  Africa  are  taking  an  increasing 
share  in  supplying  the  temporal  wants  of  both  the  white 
and  the  coloured  man.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  is  no 
tree  in  the  universe  capable  of  providing  to  so  great  and 
varied  an  extent,  the  daily  wants  of  the  human  organism. 


FINi;    lIIiAD--    UF    OIL    PALM    FRUIT. 


II 

THE   PRODUCTION   OF   RUBBER 

Rubber  has  been  known  for  the  last  four  hundred  years, 
but  it  is  only  within  the  last  century,  or  little  more,  that 
it  has  been  put  to  practical  use.  Civilization  was  for 
nearly  three  hundred  years  content  with  the  historical  fact 
of  Pincon's  Indians  of  Brazil  playing  "ball"  with  crude 
lumps  of  rubber,  and  then  it  awoke  to  the  fact  that  rubber 
could  be  used  to  erase  pencil  marks.  In  our  boyhood 
Charles  Macintosh  had  established  its  use  as  a  protective 
from  rain,  but  in  our  manhood  the  annual  demand  of 
Great  Britain  alone  for  rubber  has  grown  to  nearly 
50,000  tons.  We  have  lived  through  the  sensation  of 
a  "  Rubber  Boom  "  which  is  only  now  commencing  to 
exact  its  toll  for  the  immeasurable  folly  of  the  thoughtless 
investing  public. 

The  native  use  of  rubber  in  West  Africa  as  also  among 
the  Brazilian  Indians,  was  first  as  an  aid  to  merrymaking, 
in  the  form  of  heads  of  drum-sticks,  and  in  that  capacity 
evoked  harmonious  chords  from  the  goat-skins  tightly 
stretched  over  the  hollowed  forest  log.  How  little  these 
early  Africans  dreamed  that  this  simple  aid  to  the  charms 
of  music  would  one  day  deluge  their  Continent  in  human 
blood !  There  are  to-day  very  few  colonies  in  West 
Africa  without    rubber  forests  which  nature — ^prodigal 


236  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

here  as  everywhere  with  her  economic  gifts — planted 
generations  ago. 

The  discovery  of  the  great  West  African  rubber  sup- 
pUes  dates  back  about  thirty  years,  but  it  is  a  remark- 
able fact  that  Stanley  in  his  books  on  the  Founding  of 
the  Congo  Free  State,  laid  very  little  stress  upon  the 
future  of  rubber  in  the  Congo. 

In  1882  Sir  Alfred  Maloney  urged  Southern  Nigeria 
to  wake  up  to  the  possibilities  of  rubber,  and  in  1894  Sir 
Gilbert  Carter,  to  whom  our  Nigeria  colony  owes  so  much, 
invited  a  party  of  Gold  Coasters  to  explore  the  hinterland 
forests  with  the  result  that  they  discovered  an  abundance 
of  what  appeared  to  be  rubber-bearing  plants  and  trees. 
The  native  community  then  set  about  vigorously  search- 
ing for  rubber  with  the  result  that  the  *'  Ireh  "  tree  was 
discovered,  and  specimens  of  its  latex  forwarded  to  Kew 
in  1895.  Although  it  had  been  discovered  in  the  Gold 
Coast  colony  ten  years  earlier  the  administration  in 
Nigeria  was  apparently  in  ignorance  of  the  fact. 

There  is  some  evidence  that  King  Leopold  received 
the  first  intimation  of  the  almost  fabulous  stores  of  rubber 
in  the  Congo  forests  between  the  years  1888  and  1890, 
and  the  alert  mind  of  that  astute  monarch  lost  no  time 
in  formulating  plans  for  its  exploitation  in  the  Congo 
Free  State,  and  what  is  less  generally  recognized  in  the 
French  Congo  also. 

Since  1885,  when  the  African  product  first  made  its 
presence  felt  in  the  rubber  market,  the  natives  of  that 
continent  have  gathered  and  sent  to  Europe  over  250,000 
tons  of  rubber,  the  outstanding  fact  being  that  all  this 
latex    represents    sylvan    produce,    the    replacement    of 


WEST  AFRICAN   VARIETIES  237 

which  is  extremely  doubtful.  Dr.  Chevalier  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  natives  themselves  received  for  the  total 
output  500,000,000  francs  or  approximately  gd.  per  pound. 
This  I  very  much  doubt,  for  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
a  large  proportion  of  the  rubber  was  obtained,  if  not  for 
nothing,  then  for  very  little. 

The  principal  sources  of  rubber  latex  are  the  Funtumia 
(Ireh)  and  the  Landolphia  varieties,  which,  to  the  ordinary 
reader,  fall  respectively  under  the  classification  of  trees 
and  vines.  The  full-grown  Funtumia  tree  measures 
from  2  ft.  6  in.  to  4  ft.,  or  more,  in  circumference.  The 
growth  of  the  Landolphia  is  wild  and  erratic,  creeping 
along  the  ground  sometimes  for  several  yards,  then 
gradually  winding  its  way  through  the  undergrowth 
and  away  up  the  limbs  and  branches  of  the  firmly  rooted 
forest  giants  to  a  height  of  forty  to  fifty  feet,  then  in  the 
full  enjoyment  of  light,  it  becomes  vigorously  prolific, 
sending  its  leafy  branches  in  all  directions,  and  interlacing 
the  trees  overhead.  Most  scientists  seem  to  agree  that 
it  is  only  when  the  Landolphia  emerges  into  the  sunlight 
at  the  tree  tops  that  material  size  is  imparted  to  the 
main  stem.  From  the  economic  standpoint  it  is  impor- 
tant to  bear  in  mind  that  ordinarily  a  Landolphia  vine 
takes  from  ten  to  twenty  years  to  climb  its  way  up  the 
tree  trunk  of  the  average  forest  tree,  at  which  period  the 
main  stem  of  the  vine  is  seldom  more  than  one  inch  in 
diameter. 

Beyond  question  by  far  the  larger  proportions  of 
rubber  from  Central  Africa  have  been  obtained  from  the 
Landolphia  vines,  that  from  the  Congo  basin  almost 
entirely    so.     Next    in    order    comes    the    output    from 


238  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

Funtumia  forests  of  the  more  northerly  latitudes,  and 
beyond  this  a  certain  amount  of  grass  rubber  has  been 
obtained,  but  the  results  barely  justify  the  trouble 
involved. 

The  extraordinary  development  and  almost  general 
investment  in  the  rubber  industry  have  familiarized  the 
public  with  rubber  production.  Almost  every  schoolboy 
could  write  an  essay  upon  the  herring-bone  or  half 
herring-bone  tapping,  coolie  lines,  spacing  and  so  forth. 
The  production  of  rubber  conveys  to  most  minds  well- 
ordered  estates  of  upright  trees,  model  workmen's  dwellings, 
drying  and  boiling  sheds,  constructed  by  skilled  Europeans, 
rolling  tables,  hot  and  cold  water  supplies,  all  under  the 
control  of  neatly  clad  coolies.  None  of  these  conditions 
apply  to  West  Africa,  for  there  everything  is  to-day 
primitive. 

The  larger  Funtumia  trees  are  tapped  in  a  very  rough 
"  herring-bone  "  manner  and  the  latex  caught  either  in 
leaves  or  in  a  calabash,  and  then  transferred  to  a  wooden 
receptacle  for  coagulation,  but  large  numbers  of  trees 
have  been  bled  to  death  through  the  almost  incessant 
tapping  to  which  they  have  been  subjected.  Funtumia 
more  than  any  other  variety  requires  carefully-regulated 
tapping,  and  it  is  well-nigh  hopeless  to  expect  the  native 
collector  in  the  hinterland  regions  to  exercise  that  degree 
of  care  which  the  Funtumia  tree  demands  as  the  price 
of  giving  forth  a  sustained  output.  The  damage  done  to 
the  bark  alone  in  the  rough  and  ready  methods  of  ex- 
traction almost  invariably  renders  the  tree  unfit  for  future 
tapping  ;  the  trees  will  live  sometimes  for  a  few  years, 
but  before  long  they  perish. 


METHODS   OF  EXTRACTION  239 

Dr.  Chevalier,  writing  of  the  Ivory  Coast,  says  : 
"  Wherever  exploitation  has  spread  it  has  caused  the 
adult  Funtumia  trees  to  disappear  very  rapidly.  Some 
are  cut  level  with  the  ground  by  the  natives  in  order  to 
extract  their  maximum  yield,  others,  tapped  too  fre- 
quently, die  standing,  at  last  there  remain  only  young 
Funtumia  trees,  under  fifteen  years  of  age."  This  is 
true  of  the  major  part  of  the  rubber-bearing  regions  of 
West  Africa. 

Several  methods  are  followed  in  the  extraction  of  the 
latex  from  the  Landolphia.  In  every  case  that  has 
come  under  our  notice  the  vines  were  cut  down  with  little 
thought  for  the  future.  Indeed  in  the  upper  regions  of 
the  Congo  the  natives  sever  the  vine  close  to  the  ground 
and  then  tearing  it  from  the  trees  to  which  it  clings,  they 
cut  the  vines  into  lengths  of  about  eighteen  inches  and 
pile  them  into  stacks  so  that  from  the  severed  ends  the 
latex  may  bleed  into  forest  leaves  or  gourds.  Many  of 
the  tribes  raise  the  stack  of  severed  creepers  upon  forked 
sticks  and  kindle  a  slow  fire  beneath  as  they  assert  that 
the  latex  flows  more  freely  and  completely  with  the 
application  of  heat. 

The  whole  process  is  beyond  question  most  wasteful, 
particularly  where  the  natives  not  only  sever  the  vine, 
but  dig  up  the  roots,  compelling  these  also  to  yield  up 
their  stores  of  latex.  To-day  as  the  traveller  marches 
through  the  rubber  forests  of  the  Congo  basin  he  meets 
every  few  yards  little  heaps  of  decaying  vine  from  which 
the  rubber  has  been  taken.  Frequently  too,  one  sees 
overhead  a  tangled  mass  of  dead  vine  which  has  withered 
away  through  the  main  stem  having  been  severed.     The 


240  DAWN  IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

natives  were  either  in  too  great  a  hurry,  or  else  unable 
to  climb  for  those  spreading  vines  which  would  often 
measure  some  hundreds  of  yards. 

Another  method  is  that  adopted  by  the  native  tribes 
in  the  Kasai  River  of  the  Congo,  and  the  Lunda  province 
of  Portuguese  Angola.  Wliole  families  or  tribes  will 
make  a  temporary  home  in  the  forest,  pitching  their  little 
huts  on  a  piece  of  high  ground  near  a  stream.  Every 
day  the  men  will  scatter  in  all  directions  cutting  down  and 
gathering  the  vines  into  bundles  which  they  will  convey 
to  these  little  encampments. 

The  bark  of  the  vines  is  then  stripped  off  and  laid  out 
on  blocks  of  wood,  old  canoes,  boards,  or  trunks  of  trees, 
preparatory  to  beating  it  with  heavy  wooden  mallets, 
which  process  gradually  reduces  the  bark  to  a  stringy 
mass  not  unlike  shredded  tobacco.  It  is  then  threshed 
with  smaller  mallets  which  in  time  gradually  pulverize 
the  wood  element  into  fine  powder,  leaving  "  pancakes  " 
of  red  rubber,  about  the  size  of  a  breakfast  plate.  These 
are  then  cut  into  thin  strips,  starting  from  the  outer 
edge,  and  wound  into  balls,  just  as  the  manufacturers 
wind  balls  of  knitting  wool.  This  method  though 
equally  wasteful  in  collection,  conserves  the  whole  of  the 
rubber  latex. 

Travellers  in  the  Kasai  territories  of  the  Congo  are 
generally  first  aware  of  their  approach  to  human  habita- 
tion by  hearing  the  distant  thud,  thud,  of  the  rubber 
mallets  which  is  a  feature  of  almost  every  village  of 
that  region. 

Hand  in  hand  with  the  rubber  work  of  the  Congo  is 
that  of  cane  basket  making,  which  the  busy  women  weave 


CARRYING    RUBBER    VINES    TO    VILLAGE. 


XIRACTING    RUBBER,    KASAI    RIVER,    UPPER    CONGO. 


THE   FUTURE  241 

in  all  sizes  for  packing  the  rubber,  thus  avoiding  the  heavy 
cost  of  importing  "  shooks  "  or  barrels  from  Europe. 
Every  year  some  hundreds  of  thousands  of  these  light 
but  very  strong  hampers  are  made  for  conveying  the 
rubber  to  the  buying  stations  and  thence  to  the  European 
markets. 

The  West  African  rubber  problems  of  to-day  which 
overshadow  all  others  are  those  of  exhaustion  and 
replenishment.  Are  the  forests  denuded  of  rubber,  and 
if  so,  is  there  any  probability  or  possibility,  of  rubber 
cultivation  to  replace  the  exhausted  supply  ?  Both 
these  phases  of  the  question  are  difficult  of  complete  and 
categorical  answer. 

For  thirty  years  now  exploitation  has  been  running 
wild  through  the  forests,  and  within  the  last  fifteen 
years  the  rate  and  methods  of  exploitation  have  from 
every  point  of  view  been  ruinous.  The  Funtumia 
trees  have  been  ruthlessly  cut  down  and  even  where 
tapping  has  taken  place,  it  has  been  done  at  any  and 
every  season  of  the  year,  and  in  general  practice  tapped 
whenever  and  wherever  the  tree  would  yield  an  ounce  of 
rubber. 

Dr.  Chevaher  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  Funtumia 
will  replace  itself  owing  to  the  remarkable  habit  of  self- 
propagation  which  the  tree  possesses.  The  light  feathery 
seeds  are  easily  carried  upon  every  breeze  it  is  true,  but 
unfortunately  there  is  little  hope  of  preserving  these 
young  trees  from  crude  and  reckless  tapping  in  the  farther 
recesses  of  the  forests.  It  is  generally  accepted  that  the 
rubber  vine  areas  are  being  rapidly  exhausted.  Mr. 
Consul  Mackie  says  of  the  Congo,  "  Wild  rubber  in  districts 

R 


242  DAWN   IN  DARKEST  AFRICA 

in  which  it  has  been  worked  on  an  extensive  scale,  is  now 
becoming  scarce  in  places.  Many  of  the  large  rubber 
zones  have  been  worked  out  completely." 

We  were  informed  by  natives  of  the  Kasai  who  were 
bringing  in  their  rubber  to  the  factories,  that  whereas 
ten  years  ago  they  had  only  to  go  one  or  two  days  into 
the  forests  before  finding  rubber,  they  now  have  to  journey 
nearly  a  fortnight  before  they  can  locate  an}^  appreciable 
number  of  vines.  Throughout  the  Equatorial  regions 
of  the  Congo,  the  rubber  vines  and  trees  are  so  completely 
worked  out  that  the  natives  have  given  up  attempting  to 
collect  rubber  and  devote  all  their  energies  to  gum  copal 
and  palm  oil. 

Most  disinterested  "  coasters "  will  support  Dr. 
Christy  in  the  opinion  that  if  the  African  rubber  industry 
is  to  depend  upon  the  wild  forests  there  is  very  little 
chance  of  its  survival. 

Within  the  last  fifteen  years  efforts  have  been  made 
in  various  colonies  to  cultivate  rubber.  The  most  promis- 
ing results  are  certainly  in  Nigeria,  where  the  Benin 
communal  plantations  are  proving  so  successful  that 
villages  in  other  districts  are  commencing  similar  planta- 
tions. Many  thousands  of  Funtumia  trees  are  now  ready 
for  tapping  and  some  of  the  rubber  obtained  has  secured 
6s.  6d.  per  pound.  Individual  native  farmers  are  now 
taking  up  rubber  planting,  and  in  Southern  Nigeria  we 
saw  some  well-ordered  plantations  under  native  control, 
one  of  which  started  in  1896  has  over  30,000  trees  and 
gives  promise  of  a  good  output.  In  the  Gold  Coast  the 
natives  are  interspersing  Funtumia  trees  with  their  cocoa 
plants,  under  the  instruction  of  Government  advisers. 


CULTIVATION  IN  THE  CONGO  243 

In  Belgian  Congo  vigorous  efforts  have  been  made  for 
the  last  twelve  years  to  cultivate  rubber.  In  the  year 
1899  a  Royal  decree  was  issued  requiring  that  150  trees 
or  vines  should  be  planted  for  every  ton  of  rubber 
exported,  and  in  June,  1902,  the  number  of  plants  was 
raised  to  500.  As  a  further  incentive  some  of  the  Con- 
cessionnaire  Companies  gave  a  bonus  to  their  agents  for 
every  tree  planted.  The  ordinary  Belgian  being  very 
keen  on  piling  up  his  banking  account  the  planting  was 
pursued  with  vigour.  As,  however,  the  ordinance  did 
not  specify  the  variety  to  be  planted  the  Agents  of  the 
State  and  Concessionnaire  Companies  planted  varieties 
good  and  bad,  known  and  unknown  !  until  on  paper 
the  total  number  of  trees  planted  ran  into  many 
millions. 

Every  few  months  an  Inspector  was  supposed  to  visit 
these  areas,  but  as  this  official  usually  had  an  area  of 
about  25,000  square  miles  under  his  control,  he  was  seldom 
able  to  visit  more  than  one  centre  every  year.  Badly 
paid,  with  little  allowance  for  provisions,  this  man  usually 
responded  to  the  warm  hospitality  of  his  planter  host, 
and  generally  did  not  make  exhaustive  inquiries  into  the 
rubber  planting.  On  one  occasion  such  an  inspector 
visited  a  district  after  the  Agent  had  gone  to  Europe, 
in  order  to  "  check  "  the  trees  and  vines  before  the 
new  Agent  arrived  to  take  over  the  stock  and  plantations. 
He  asked  me  if  I  could  direct  him  to  one  plantation  of 
60,000  trees  and  vines  of  which  he  possessed  a  neatly 
drawn  chart.  I  could  only  direct  him  to  where  the 
plantation  was  supposed  to  exist,  and  he  immediately 
set  off  on  what  I  hinted  was  a  useless  journey,  and  as  I 


244  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

expected  returned  in  the  afternoon  without  having 
discovered  a  single  vine  ! 

Apart  from  these  paper  plantations  there  are  certainly- 
several  millions  of  rubber  trees  in  the  Congo,  and  every 
species  almost  has  been  tried.  At  one  time  the  Belgian 
taxpayer  was  told  that  the  Manihot  Glaziovii  was  going 
to  provide  fabulous  returns,  but  when  the  floods  came 
and  the  winds  blew,  the  spreading  Manihots  caught  the 
force  of  the  elements  and  toppled  over  in  all  directions 
like  ninepins.  The  Funtumia  was  then  going  to  save 
the  Congo  from  financial  disaster,  but  the  "  borers  "  took 
a  fancy  to  the  tree  and  this,  coupled  with  the  fact  that 
in  the  Congo  the  Funtumia  yields  but  little  rubber,  all 
serious  attempts  at  the  extension  of  Funtumia  have 
been  abandoned. 

Hopes  are  now  being  centred  upon  the  Hevea 
Brazilensis,  but  though  many  of  these  trees  are  of  ten 
years'  growth  the  yield  is  equally  disappointing. 

In  German  Cameroons  rubber  planting  is  being  pushed 
forward  mainly  with  the  Funtumia  and  Hevea  varieties. 
In  Portuguese  West  Africa  hopes  are  centred  upon 
Manihot  and  Funtumia. 

The  best  that  can  be  said  of  the  rubber  cultivation  in 
West  Africa  is  that  it  has  not  yet  passed  the  experi- 
mental stage,  and  that  there  is  some  promise  of  success 
in  the  Gold  Coast  and  Southern  Nigeria. 

There  is,  however,  one  other  factor  which  must  not 
be  overlooked,  Mr.  Herbert  Wright  pointed  out  last  year 
that  cultivated  plantation  rubber  would  soon  be  arriving 
in  quantities  which  would  cause  embarrassment  to  the 
rubber  merchants.     It  is  certain  that  when  this  happens 


RUBBER  COMPETITION  245 

prices  are  bound  to  fall,  perhaps  dramatically.  The 
question  for  the  West  African  rubber  planting  com- 
munity to  ask  is  :  can  they,  when  prices  fall,  compete 
with  the  West  and  East  Indies,  where  labour  is  plentiful 
and  cheap,  and  where  there  is  practically  no  costly  land 
transport.  A  merchant  from  the  Straits  Settlements 
once  informed  me  that  West  African  rubber  producers 
must  be  prepared  to  compete  with  the  East — at  g^.  per 
pound.  If  that  prediction  should  be  justified  by  future 
events  then  West  Africa  will  be  wise  to  concentrate  upon 
its  trusty  friends  the  Oil  Palm  and  Cocoa  Tree. 


II 

THE   PRODUCTION  OF   COCOA 

Cocoa  to  most  individuals  is  suggestive  of  carefull}^  and 
tastefully  packed  tins,  or  in  chocolate  form,  of  delightful 
little  packages  done  up  in  neat  silver  paper  and  prettily 
tied  with  bows  of  silk  ribbon.  To  others  it  means  a 
welcome  and  fragrant  breakfast  or  supper  beverage. 
To  few,  indeed,  does  it  represent  anything  else.  The 
man  in  the  street,  if  he  thinks  at  all  upon  investing  his 
savings  in  cocoa,  argues  that  after  all  there  is  a  limit  to 
human  digestion,  particularly  where  sweetmeats  are 
concerned,  consequently  he  need  not  trouble  himself 
about  "  futures  "  in  cocoa  for  the  field  is  at  best  a  re- 
stricted one.  It  never  occurs  to  him  that  the  demand  for 
every  species  of  vegetable  oil  and  fat  is  becoming  more 
clamant  every  day.  Somehow  he  never  asks  himself 
why  Bournville,  York  and  Bristol  cocoa  is  2s.  6d.  per 
pound,  and  Dutch  only  is.  per  pound.  He  presumes, 
and  if  he  tries  it  he  knows,  that  one  quality  is  better  than 
the  other,  but  it  does  not  occur  to  him  that  there  is 
something  in  the  one  beverage  which  is  lacking  in  the 
other.  The  butter  from  the  latter — the  pure  fat  too 
expensive  to  eat,  but  not  too  expensive  to  incorporate 
in  pomades  for  personal  adornment,  has  been  extracted. 


COCOA  ON  SAN  THOMK.    TKRMITE  TRACK  VISIBLE  ON  THE  TRUNK  OF  TREE. 


COCOA   IN   CULTIVATION  247 

There  is  no  more  rigid  limit  to  the  demand  for  cocoa 
than  to  the  demand  for  rubber  ;  not  only  so,  but  nothing 
has  yet  appeared  even  on  the  horizon  of  our  imagination 
that  can  take  the  place  occupied  to-day  by  the  cocoa 
bean,  both  for  internal  and  external  consumption.  This 
cannot  be  said  with  regard  to  rubber,  wool  or  silk. 

The  total  world's  supply  is  to-day  close  on  a  quarter 
of  a  million  tons  of  cocoa  per  annum.  The  East  and  West 
Indies  and  the  great  Amazonian  Valleys,  have  for  genera- 
tions poured  their  supplies  into  Europe,  but  it  is  only  within 
the  last  thirty  years  that  West  Africa  has  made  her 
influence  felt  upon  the  cocoa  markets  of  Europe.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  obtain  reliable  evidence  as  to  the  colonists 
who  first  introduced  cocoa  to  West  Africa,  probably  the 
credit  for  it  belongs  to  the  Portuguese,  whose  love  of 
colonization  is  everywhere  evinced  by  the  plants,  fruits 
and  grain  which  they  conveyed  in  past  years  from  one 
continent  to  another. 

Given  a  humid  atmosphere,  a  well-watered  land  and  a 
tropical  sun,  cocoa  will  grow  almost  anywhere  up  to  a 
height  of  nearly  1500  feet.  Of  such  lands  enjoying 
atmospheric  conditions  highly  suitable  to  the  production 
of  cocoa,  there  are  nearly  one  million  square  miles  in  the 
tropical  regions  of  the  West  African  continent.  San 
Thome  and  Principe,  with  less  than  300  square  miles 
under  cultivation,  supply  to  the  world's  markets  over 
30,000  tons  of  cocoa  every  year  ;  if,  therefore,  but  one 
quarter  of  the  potential  cocoa  producing  areas  of  West 
Africa  could  be  brought  under  cultivation  at  the  same 
rate,  there  could  be  produced  over  25,000,000  tons  of 
cocoa. 


248  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

To-day  cocoa  is  being  cultivated  in  the  German 
colonies  of  Togoland  and  Cameroons  ;  in  the  Portuguese 
colonies  of  Cabenda,  San  Thome  and  Principe  ;  in  the 
Belgian  Congo  ;  in  the  Spanish  island  of  Fernando  Po, 
and  in  the  British  colonies  of  the  Gold  Coast  and  Nigeria. 
In  all  these  the  production  has  distinctive  features. 

From  the  standpoint  of  plantation  arrangements  and 
the  apphcation  of  scientific  methods,  the  Portuguese  in 
San  Thome  are  easily  first.  This  no  doubt  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  for  over  twenty  years  the  planters  have  been 
concentrating  all  their  efforts  upon  the  cocoa  bean. 
Throughout  their  whole  area  San  Thome  and  the  sister 
island  of  Principe  are  under  cocoa  cultivation  and  the 
traveller  never  gets  away  from  the  sour  odour  of  ferment- 
ing cocoa.  A  series  of  high  hills  and  deep  valleys  with 
numerous  rivulets  represent  the  physical  features  of  the 
islands.  The  hill  ranges,  for  the  most  part,  rise  tier  above 
tier,  until  they  culminate  in  the  Pico  da  San  Thome  with 
an  altitude  of  just  over  7000  feet.  The  summit  of  the 
peak  is  seldom  seen,  for  the  island  lies  bathed  in  mists, 
which  warmed  by  a  tropical  sun  provide  the  ideal  cocoa- 
growing  climate. 

The  streams  which  flow  unceasingly  down  the  hill- 
sides are  scientifically  trenched  so  that  a  continuous 
supply  of  water  traverses  the  cocoa  groves  all  over  the 
islands,  and  the  farms  in  the  centre  of  each  group  of 
plantations  all  enjoy  a  plentiful  supply  of  excellent 
water. 

The  fermenting  sheds  are  all  of  them  organized  in  an 
up-to-date  manner  for  which  a  knowledge  of  industries 
in  other  Portuguese  colonies  hardly  prepares  the  traveller. 


PORTUGUESE  COCOA  249 

Nowhere  throughout  West  Africa  are  there  such  scientific 
and  elaborate  cocoa  drying  grounds  as  one  sees  on  these 
Portuguese  islands.  The  majority  of  cocoa  planters  in 
West  Africa  are  satisfied  with  cemented  drying  grounds 
in  open  courtyards.  The  cocoa  is  spread  out  to  dry  and 
left  in  the  open  not  only  during  the  whole  day,  but 
throughout  the  night.  On  several  rogas  on  the  cocoa 
islands,  the  Portuguese  have,  at  enormous  expense, 
fitted  up  drying  grounds  which  are  mechanicall}^  moved 
into  shelter  whenever  a  storm  threatens.  Doubtless  it 
is  due  to  the  great  care  exercised  by  the  Portuguese  in 
the  work  of  fermenting  and  drying  that  their  cocoa  is  so 
uniformly  good. 

Altogether  there  are  nearly  300  rogas  on  the  two 
islands  and,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  they  are  in  Portu- 
guese hands  ;  there  is  a  Belgian  plantation,  and  one  or  two 
are  owned  by  natives  whose  ability  to  make  cocoa  pro- 
duction a  financial  success  is  demonstrated  by  the 
fact  that  one  who  died  recently  left  £6000  for  the  education 
of  the  children  of  San  Thome. 

The  cocoa  plantations  on  these  islands  are  all  so  com- 
pact and  within  such  easy  reach  of  the  sea-shore  that 
transport  is  quite  easy.  Both  horses  and  mules  live 
fairly  well  on  the  islands,  and  these,  coupled  with  bullock 
carts  and  some  1500  kilometres  of  Decauville  railway 
throughout  the  islands  and  running  out  to  the  pier,  render 
unnecessary  the  porterage  which  constitutes  such  a 
problem  for  the  cocoa  planters  in  every  other  colony  in 
West  Africa.  It  is  a  melancholy  thought  that  this 
industry,  built  up  at  so  great  cost  to  human  life — both 
white    and    coloured — stands    only    a    bare    chance    of 


250  DAWN    IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

permanence.  The  lack  of  indigenous  labour,  coupled 
with  the  absence  of  statesmanship  on  the  part  of 
the  Home  Government,  can  only  lead  to  irretrievable 
disaster. 

The  nearest  approach  to  the  Portuguese  systems  of 
cocoa  production  is  to  be  found  in  Belgian  Congo,  where 
physical  and  climatic  conditions  are  almost  identical 
with  those  of  the  Portuguese  islands.  The  first  planta- 
tions are  met  with  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  the 
Mayumbe  country,  but  before  reaching  the  next  one  has 
to  traverse  nearly  a  thousand  miles.  These  are  situated 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Aruwimi  river  and  the  main  Congo, 
and  there  are  besides  several  small  plantations  on  the 
Aruwimi  itself.  As  cocoa-producing  enterprises,  the 
only  ones  to  take  into  serious  consideration  are  those  of 
the  Mayumbe  country,  south  of  the  Chiloanga — the 
Portuguese  river,  which  enters  the  sea  at  Landana.  The 
plantations  are  run  under  three  separate  interests,  and 
may  be  classified  as  State  controlled,  Roman  Catholic 
and  Merchant.  The  merchants  complain  that  their 
difficulty  in  obtaining  labour  is  greatly  increased  owing  to 
the  missions  and  the  State  using  forced  labour  for  their 
plantations.  It  seems  incredible  that  this  should  be  so, 
but  these  complaints  are  neither  new  nor  isolated.  The 
Commission  of  Enquiry  sent  to  the  Congo  by  King  Leopold 
had  evidence  before  it  which  shewed  that  the  Mission 
farms  at  least  were  largely  staffed  with  forced  labour. 
The  following  passage  is  an  extract  from  the  report  of 
that  Commission  in  1905  : 

"  The  greater  part   of  the  natives  which  people 
"  the  chapel  farms  are  neither  orphans  nor  workmen 


GERMAN   COCOA  251 

"  engaged    by    contract.     They    are    demanded    of 

"  the  Chiefs,  who  dare  not  refuse  ;    and  only  force, 

"  more  or  less  disguised,  enables  then  to  be  retained." 

If  the  Belgian  Government  could  concentrate  upon  a 

serious  development  of  the  Mayumbe  country  by  laying 

down  railways,  making  roads,  building  bridges,  opening 

up  creeks,  and  rivers,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  Mayumbe 

country  should  not  increase   its  yearly  output  of  cocoa 

by  many  thousands  of  tons. 

The  Spanish  contribution  to  the  world's  supply  is  not 
yet  or  ever  likely  to  be  anything  material,  for  as  colonists 
in  Africa  the  Spaniards  have  ceased  to  count. 

In  German  colonies  cocoa  growing  is  extending 
rapidly  and  from  a  financial  point  of  view  satisfactorily. 
The  German  Administration  in  the  Cameroons,  however, 
seems  to  favour  such  enterprises  mainly  as  European 
undertakings  in  which  the  natives  are  mere  labourers. 
Within  recent  years,  probably  in  view  of  the  success  of 
the  Gold  Coast  production,  some  effort  has  been  made 
to  encourage  the  natives  by  gifts  of  seed  and  young 
plants  to  lay  down  their  own  plantations.  But  the 
prevailing  German  opinion  has  been  set  forth  in  a  German 
report,  published  in  Der  Tropenpflanzer  (No.  i,  January, 
1912),  wherein  it  is  stated  : — 

"  What  is  required  in  the  Cameroons  is  a  more 
"  liberal  policy  on  the  part  of  the  German  Govern- 
"  ment  towards  the  plantations,  both  as  regards  the 
"  terms  for  acquiring  land,  and  on  the  part  of  the 
"  district  officials  to  obtain  better  facilities  for 
"  getting  labour,  in  order  to  warrant  and  make 
"  possible  a  large  and  profitable  extension  of  the 


252  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

cocoa-planting  area.  This  will  mean  a  material 
improvement  in  the  prosperity  of  the  colony,  for 
it  is  evident  that  what  the  Gold  Coast  has  achieved 
by  means  of  an  intelligent  population,  and  under 
suitable  climatic  conditions,  can  and  will  never 
be  done  in  Cameroons  with  such  material  as  the 
Bakwiris,  Dualas,  etc." 
Whilst  colonial  Germans  take  this  view,  the  native 
certainly  will  never  emulate  the  Gold  Coast  tribes,  for  the 
African  has  a  habit  of  acting  up,  or  down,  to  European 
expectations.  The  Editor  of  Tropical  Life  truly  remarked 
that  whilst  these  views  are  held  in  Berlin,  "  Germany 
would  never  do  any  good  with  the  Bakwiris  and  Dualas  ; 
neither  did  she  with  the  Herreros,  and  so  *  punished  ' 
them  because  they,  poor  wretches,  could  not  under- 
stand the  German  method  of  ruling  Africa  as  do  the 
German  Michels  at  home." 

There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  cultivation 
of  the  cocoa  bean  began  in  Cameroons  and  Victoria  some 
years  earlier  than  that  on  the  Gold  Coast,  and  it  is  even 
claimed  by  some  that  the  phenomenally  successful  industry 
of  the  British  colony  was  commenced  with  a  seed  pod 
obtained  from  Ambas  Bay 

There  is  probably  no  single  feature  in  colonial  enterprise 
which  can  compare  with  the  cocoa  romance  of  the  British 
colony  of  the  Gold  Coast.  The  honour  of  having  intro- 
duced the  industry  into  that  colony  is  eagerly  debated. 
Everyone  agrees  that  it  belongs  to  either  the  Basel 
Mission  through  their  introduction  of  West  Indian 
Christians,  or  to  a  certain  native  carpenter  returning 
from  Ambas  Bay,  or  Victoria.     Mr.  Tudhope,  the  Director 


A   ROMANCE  IN   COCOA  253 

of  Agriculture,  is  inclined  to  give  credit  to  the  native,  but 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Basel  Mission  authorities 
possess  the  most  circumstantial  evidence  in  support  of 
their  claim.  One  of  their  oldest  missionaries  at  Christians- 
borg  states  that  about  the  year  1885  he  saw  the  original 
cocoa  tree  at  Odumase  ;  another,  that  he  saw  this  tree 
in  full  bearing  in  1895.  It  is  instructive  to  recall  that  the 
first  export,  amounting  to  80  lbs.  weight,  was  in  the  year 
1891 — that  is  six  years  after  the  original  tree  was  seen 
at  Odumase. 

The  missionaries,  however,  readily  admit  that  soon 
after  their  agents  introduced  cocoa  at  Odumase,  a  native 
arrived  from  the  Cameroon  colony  and  planted  beans 
at  Mampong.     From  these  two  centres,  fifteen  miles  apart, 
the  industry  has  established  itself  in  every  district  of  the 
colony  and  penetrated  ten  days'  march  beyond  Kumasi. 
The  organization  is  of  the  simplest  kind — purely  and 
solely  a  native  industry,  few  of  the  plantations  being 
large  ones,  none  more  than  about  twenty-five  to  thirty 
acres    and    the   majority  not   more   than  two   to    five 
acres.     We  saw  none  owned    by  white  men,   although 
I  believe  there  are  one  or    two,   which  are,   however, 
quite   insignificant.     The  volume   of  cocoa  which  pours 
out  from  the  Gold  Coast  colony  flows  almost  exclusively 
from    countless    small    holdings    spread    all    over    the 
hinterland.     The  farms   are    not   so   close   together    as 
those  of  San  Thome,  but  the  traveller  cannot  walk  many 
miles  anywhere  without  passing  through  the  plantations 
of  cocoa  and  palm  trees. 

The  atmospheric  conditions  resemble  the  Mayumbe 
country  and  San  Thome,  the  rainfall  varying  between 


254  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

32-09  and  54*92  per  annum,  otherwise  the  territory  is 
not  so  well  watered  as  the  Belgian  and  Portuguese  posses- 
sions. In  spite  of  this,  the  colony  can  produce  a  quantity 
and  quality  of  cocoa  that  compares  well  with  other  areas. 
When  at  the  Botanical  Gardens  of  Aburi,  we  saw  a  plot 
of  cocoa  measuring  one  and  two-fifths  acres  with  259 
trees  planted  fifteen  feet  apart.  The  yield  from  this  plot 
between  October  23rd  and  December  31st,  1909,  was 
18,200  pods.  Mr.  Anderson,  reporting  upon  this  experi- 
mental plantation  says,  "  Such  results  will  not  often  be 
exceeded  in  any  cocoa-growing  country." 

In  the  year  1891,  we  almost  see  that  Gold  Coast 
native  offering  for  sale  the  first  harvest  of  cocoa.  It  is 
only  80  lbs.  in  weight  and  with  the  greatest  ease  he  carries 
it  to  the  white  man's  store.  To  the  amazement  of  his 
native  friends  the  grower  received  £4  for  that  basket  of 
cocoa ! 

Twenty  years  later  the  export  of  80  lbs.  weight  has 
grown  to  nearly  90  millions.  Since  the  day  that  the  native 
husbandman  disposed  of  his  80  lbs.  of  cocoa,  the  industry 
has  never  wavered.  We  were  informed  by  white  men 
who  have  been  long  on  the  coast  that  when  the  natives 
realized  the  value  of  cocoa  there  was  an  impetuous  and 
overwhelming  demand  for  seed  until  competition  became 
so  keen  that  a  sovereign  a  bean  was  the  general  rate  ! 

In  1902  the  export  had  exceeded  £100,000  ;  in  1907 
it  had  passed  half-a-million,  and  in  191 1  leaving  gold  in 
the  rear  of  competition  for  first  place  it  raced  away  beyond 
the  finger  post  of  a  million  and  a  half  sterling.  The 
whole  of  this,  be  it  remembered,  is  a  native  industry  ! 

The  Gold  Coast   natives   are  justly  proud   of  their 


THE   COCOA  CARRIER  255 

extensive  enterprise  and  assert  that  they  will  not  cease 
extending  their  plantations  until  every  acre  they  can 
cultivate  and  every  man  they  can  use  is  producing  cocoa. 

Not  the  least  interesting  spectacle  in  the  Gold  Coast 
is  the  transport  of  cocoa,  the  bulk  of  the  inland  produce 
being  carried  by  porters  to  the  railhead,  and  sometimes 
the  roadways  as  far  as  the  eye  can  penetrate  are  one  long 
line  of  cocoa  bags  on  the  heads  of  hundreds  of  carriers. 
This  carrying  trade  has  produced  an  extraordinary  flow 
of  free  labour  into  the  whole  hinterland  of  the  Gold  Coast. 
At  Adawso,  a  buying  station  nearly  fifteen  miles  from  the 
railhead,  one  firm  alone  employs  in  the  season  over  3000 
carriers  who  cover  the  distance  to  the  rail  station  of  Pakro 
once,  frequently  twice,  a  day  with  a  bag  of  cocoa.  The 
remuneration  being  according  to  the  quantity  carried, 
there  is  an  eagerness  to  earn  the  maximum  within  the 
twelve  hours  of  daylight.  The  men  who  leave  by  day- 
break will  return  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
often  to  pick  up  another  load  and  carry  it  to  the  railhead, 
returning  again  by  moonlight. 

The  carriers  are  mostly  Hausas,  but  the  fame  of  the 
Gold  Coast  carrier  traffic  has  spread  far  into  the  northern 
regions  of  Africa  with  the  result  that  recognized  caravan 
routes  now  come  right  down  through  the  northern 
territories.  These  carriers,  many  of  them  from  around 
and  even  beyond  Lake  Chad,  drive  herds  of  cattle  down 
to  the  Gold  Coast  colony  about  harvest  time.  They  sell 
the  cattle  and  then  carry  cocoa  for  the  season.  When  the 
main  harvest  is  over  and  there  is  little  cocoa  carrying, 
they  will  purchase  loads  of  kola  nuts  which  they  carry 
back  with  them  to  the  far  interior  and  sell  en  route  at  a 


256  DAWN    IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

considerable  profit.  Thus  they  make  a  threefold  financial 
return — on  the  sale  of  cattle,  cocoa  carrying,  and  profits 
on  the  kola  nut  trade. 

The  transport  of  cocoa  is  chiefly  in  the  hands  of 
alien  labour,  and  should  the  flow  of  this  labour  cease  from 
any  cause  whatever,  the  cocoa  industry  would  suffer  a 
check  from  which  it  would  take  years  to  recover.  The 
coastal  regions  are  fairly  secure,  for  most  of  the  districts 
within  twenty  miles  of  the  coast  are  reached  by  a  daily 
service  of  motor  lorries  under  the  management  of  the 
European  cocoa-buying  firms.  Many  of  the  native  farmers 
within  thirty  miles  of  Accra,  however,  with  true  African 
trading  instinct  prefer  selling  their  cocoa  at  a  higher 
price  at  the  port  of  embarkation,  and  so  have  created  the 
interesting  system  of  "  barrel  rolling."  In  the  season 
these  strongly  bound  and  ponderous  casks  are  pur- 
chased from  the  European  stores,  filled  with  cocoa, 
and  rolled  to  the  sea-shore.  Travelling  along  the 
somewhat  primitive  Gold  Coast  roads  one  meets  at 
frequent  intervals  perspiring  natives  struggling  with 
the  barrels  which,  filled  with  cocoa,  weigh  considerably 
over  half-a-ton.  They  may  be  "  holding  on  "  to  a  barrel 
racing  down  a  steep  incline,  or  three  of  them  straining 
their  utmost  to  force  the  ponderous  weight  up  a  steep 
hill.  Occasionally  they  come  to  grief,  for  we  saw  more 
than  one  cask  which  had  fallen  over  a  cliff  into  a  deep 
gorge  below.  Generally  speaking,  three  men  will  under- 
take to  roll  two  barrels  to  the  coast,  the  three  concentrating 
their  efforts  upon  a  single  barrel  going  uphill,  while  on  the 
level  road  or  down  hill  they  control  the  two  barrels 
between  them.     We  met  three  such  men  who  had  rolled 


TRANSPORT  DIFFICULTIES  257 

two  casks  for  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles,  a  task  of  two 
days,  for  which  they  receive  20s.  per  cask. 

The  problem  which  faces  administrator,  merchant  and 
native  producer  is  that  of  transport.  This  threatens  to 
become  acute,  for  we  were  informed  by  a  merchant  who 
recently  journeyed  beyond  Kumasi  that  large  consign- 
ments of  cocoa  were  lost  owing  to  the  lack  of  transport 
facilities.  At  the  same  time,  given  a  fair  price  for  cocoa 
in  the  home  market,  just  treatment  for  transport  labourers, 
the  extension  of  roads  and  light  railways,  there  is  no 
reason  why  a  single  ton  of  cocoa  should  fail  to  reach 
the  coast. 

In  the  Gold  Coast  colony  the  white  man  occupies  his 
normal  position  in  the  tropics — the  connecting  link  or 
middle-man  between  the  European  manufacturer  and  the 
native  producer.  The  Government  very  wisely  endeavours 
to  keep  the  industry  in  the  hands  of  the  native  farmers 
and  assists  them  by  sending  lecturers  through  the  colony, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  advise  the  farmers  upon  pruning, 
fermentation,  drying,  the  danger  of  pests,  and  the  general 
principles  of  modern  agricultural  science.  With  inherent 
instinct,  the  British  Government  recognizes  that  the  real 
asset  of  the  colony  is  the  indigenous  inhabitant,  whose 
material  and  moral  progress  is  not  only  the  first,  but  the 
truest  interest  of  the  State. 

The  other  British  colony  in  which  cocoa  has  a  future 
is  Southern  Nigeria.  To  read  the  Government  reports 
of  ten  years  ago  there  seemed  little  hope  that  the  natives 
of  this  colony  would  become  cocoa  farmers,  or  indeed 
that  they  would  ever  do  much  more  than  vegetate  in  the 
agricultural  world.     Africa  is  the  land  of  surprises,  and 

s 


258  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

more   and   more   the   African   is   surprising   Europe   by 
exploding  "  the  lazy  nigger  theory." 

The  Acting  Secretary  of  Southern  Nigeria,    writing 
his  1903  report  from  Old  Calabar,  said  : — 

"  With  every  year  that  passes,  it  becomes  in- 
creasingly important  that  new  exports,  indicating 
new  areas  of  work  and  development,  should  make 
an  appearance  on  the  export  lists  of  the  Protec- 
torate. That  '  Palm  Oil  '  and  '  Palm  Kernels  ' 
will  ever  cease  to  be  the  dominant  products  is  more 
than  unlikely  ;  but  these  products  demand  nothing 
from  the  native  in  the  way  of  labour  that  the 
veriest  bushman  cannot  carry  out.  Portions  of 
this  Protectorate  must  be  gradually  turned  over — 
and  education  may  succeed,  where  persuasion 
fails — to  the  production  of  other  commodities.  It 
is  not  in  the  nature  of  the  average  West  African 
to  lay  out  capital  for  which  there  is  no  immediate 
return.  He  can  understand  the  yam  growing  at 
his  door  ;  he  can  understand  the  cask  of  oil  to  be 
filled  before  his  *  boys  '  can  return  with  the  required 
cloth,  pipe,  or  frock-coat,  but  he  will  not  sow  for 
his  son  to  reap  ;  nor  will  a  village  work,  of  its  own 
initiative,  for  the  benefit  of  the  next  generation 
that  is  to  occupy  it.  It  is  this  difficulty  that  has 
rendered  so  great  the  task  of  encouraging  the 
rubber  industry.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  cocoa 
and  coffee  have  never  been  properly  taken  up  by 
the  natives  themselves." 
This  is  just  what  the  Belgian  and  German  Govern- 
ments are  proclaiming  to-day. 


DOUBLING  THE   OUTPUT 


259 


At  this  period  cocoa  was  just  beginning  to  grip  the 
native  mind  in  Southern  Nigeria  ;  he  had  begun  to  "  sow 
for  his  son  to  reap  "  ;  he  had  begun  to  understand  some- 
thing more  "  than  the  yam  growing  at  his  door  "  ;  he  had 
in  fact  just  dispatched  300,000  lbs.  of  cocoa  to  Europe. 
The  very  next  year  the  Acting  Governor  was  able  to  write  : 
"  There  has  been  an  enormous  development  in  cocoa," 
and  the  Southern  Nigeria  natives,  as  if  in  unconscious 
protest  against  the  Governor's  1903  report,  poured  into 
the  European  markets  over  1,000,000  lbs.  of  cocoa  beans ! 
Two  years  later,  the  export  had  risen  to  1,500,000  lbs. 
Turning   to   the   Government   report  three   years   later 
again,  we  find  that  the  export  had  again  doubled  itself, 
and  was   then   over   3,000,000    lbs.      "  These   figures," 
said  the    Colonial   Secretary,    "  indicate   the   extraordi- 
nary expansion  that  has  taken  place   of  late  years  in 
the  cultivation  of  this  plant."     Finally,  turning  to  the 
most  recent  report,  we  find  that  the  export  has  again 
doubled  itself  in  two  years,  i.e.  over  6,000,000  lbs. 
The  actual  figures  are  as  follows  : — 


1903 

288,614  lbs. 

£3.^52 

1904 

.  1,189,460  ,, 

/18.874 

1906 

.  1,619,987  ,, 

;^27,054 

1908 

.  3,060,609  ,, 

£50.587 

I9I0 

.  6,567,181  „ 

;^ioo,ooo  (approxi 
mately) 

It  is  somewhat  doubtful  whether  this  ratio  of  doubling 
the  output  every  two  years  will  be  sustained,  for  it  is  con- 
siderably in  excess  even  of  the  Gold  Coast  rates  of  increase. 
There  are  advantages  possessed  by  Southern  Nigeria 
which  natural  conditions  deny  to  the  Gold  Coast — the 


26o  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

heavy  surf,  and  the  lack  of  good  shipping  accommoda- 
tion, tell  heavily  against  the  merchants  and  the  native 
producers  of  the  Gold  Coast,  whereas  it  is  possible  to  load 
and  unload  cargoes  in  Lagos  without  their  suffering  any 
damage  from  sea  water.  Again,  the  cocoa  areas  of  Southern 
Nigeria  enjoy  in  the  main  a  more  generous  water  supply 
than  those  of  the  Gold  Coast. 

The  general  statistics  of  the  cocoa  trade,  compiled 
upon  the  materialistic  basis  of  tons  and  sovereigns,  are 
not  without  interest  to  the  man  outside  the  cocoa  com- 
munity. For  example,  the  Portuguese  at  present  produce 
more  cocoa  on  their  two  little  islands  of  San  Thome  and 
Principe  than  any  other  cocoa-producing  area  in  the 
world.  They  produce  from  those  400  square  miles  of 
volcanic  rocky  land  more  than  twice  the  quantity  produced 
by  the  Republic  of  Venezuela  with  a  tropical  region  of 
nearly  400,000  square  miles.  At  the  same  time  out  of 
the  eighteen  cocoa-consuming  countries  of  the  world  the 
Portuguese  are  proportionately  the  smallest  consumers 
of  Linnaeus'  "  Food  of  the  Gods."  Another  interesting 
feature  is  the  growth  of  the  British  export  from  the  West 
African  colonies.  Within  ten  years  this  has  multiplied 
itself  something  like  twelve  times  over,  i.e.  in  round 
figures  from  about  2500  tons  in  1902  to  over  30,000 
tons  to-day. 

Cocoa  grows  apparently  with  greater  ease  in  West 
Africa  than  in  any  other  cocoa-producing  area  in  the  world. 
The  elaborate  systems  of  manuring  which  seem  imperative 
in  most  tropical  colonies  never  enter  the  head  of  the  West 
African  producer.  He  piles  the  fermenting  husks  in  heaps 
between  the  rows  of  trees  and  then  when  thoroughly 


SPACING  261 

decayed  he  throws  the  refuse  round  the  base  of  the 
trees. 

Insect  pests  abound,  in  fact  it  is  seldom  one  sees  a 
cocoa  tree  free  from  the  tunnels  of  the  devouring  ter- 
mite, and  the  bark-boring  beetle  too  makes  his  presence 
felt,  particularly  in  the  German  Cameroons,  but  in  the 
great  cocoa-producing  colonies  of  the  Gold  Coast  and 
San  Thome,  the  natives  and  the  Portuguese  are  profound 
believers  in  the  principle  of  "  live  and  let  live,"  at  least 
in  favour  of  the  insect  world.  The  Germans,  in  all  things 
scientific,  have  attempted  to  deal  with  the  pest-ridden 
area  by  manuring  with  superphosphate  and  potassium 
chloride,  and  a  largely  increased  yield  is  claimed  for  areas 
treated  in  this  manner. 

In  very  few  plantations  that  we  visited  was  there  any 
adherence  to  the  wide  spacing  so  strongly  advised  by 
expert  agriculturists.  The  British  Botanical  Gardens  of 
Aburi  set  an  example  by  laying  out  experimental  plots 
with  cocoa  trees  fifteen  feet  apart,  but  the  natives  in 
that  colony,  and  also  in  Southern  Nigeria,  ridicule  this 
advice  and  declare  that  at  such  distance  they  find  the 
rays  of  the  sun  are  able  to  penetrate  so  freely  that  the 
ground  becomes  baked  and  the  roots  are  robbed  of  the 
humidity  which  is  vital  to  the  growth  of  good  cocoa 
trees.  It  is  noteworthy  that  on  Grenada  and  other  West 
Indian  estates,  there  is  also  a  tendency  to  plant  more 
closely  than  the  experts  advise.  Neither  in  the  Gold 
Coast  nor  in  Southern  Nigeria  do  many  plantations  give 
wider  spacing  than  eight  feet  apart,  and  thus  many  of 
them  crowd  from  500  to  700  trees  upon  a  single  acre. 
The  plantations  in  British  West  Africa  being   entirely 


262  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

under  native  control,  there  are  no  very  reliable  statis- 
tics upon  the  annual  yield  per  tree.  One  official  at  the 
Botanical  Gardens  of  Aburi  estimated  that  the  natives 
obtain  about  7  lbs.  of  cocoa  per  tree  per  annum  ;  this  is 
a  very  high  average,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  seldom 
attained,  for  in  Trinidad  the  annual  yield  is  somewhere 
about  I  lb.  per  tree.  We  visited  one  large  cocoa  planta- 
tion in  Southern  Nigeria,  where  a  native  had  planted 
100,000  cocoa  trees  about  one-half  of  which  were  already 
yielding,  and  from  the  50,000  he  had  obtained  within 
the  year  30  tons  of  cocoa,  or  an  average  per  tree  of  a  little 
over  I J  lbs. 

The  most  important  question,  that  from  which  the 
planter  is  never  free,  is  that  of  labour.  The  Germans 
put  the  labourers  on  contracts  of  twelve  months  with 
wages  of  8s.  to  los.  per  month  with  food,  but  the  con- 
ditions of  these  plantations  are  not  likely  to  inspire  any 
great  enthusiasm  amongst  humanitarians  or  economists. 
The  abject  fear  exhibited  by  the  natives  whenever  the 
white  man  approaches  is  too  eloquent  to  be  mistaken, 
moreover  the  whip  is  carried  by  the  planters  as  openly 
as  a  man  in  Europe  carries  a  walking-stick.  Wiips  and 
free  contracts  seldom  go  together.  Under  another 
section  I  have  dealt  with  Portuguese  labour  which  in  the 
main  is  a  system  of  slavery,  although  it  carries  with  it  a 
paper  wage  of  about  los.  per  month  and  rations. 

The  native  farmers  of  Southern  Nigeria  and  the 
Gold  Coast  employ  a  good  deal  of  native  labour  and  gener- 
rally  speaking  find  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  all  they 
want.  These  native  farmers,  however,  prepare  their 
contracts    somewhat    differently    from    the    European, 


COST  OF  LABOUR  263 

generally  they  are  for  "  twelve  months  of  thirty  working 
days,"  and  the  wages  vary  from  15s.  to  205.  per  month, 
whilst  a  foreman  will  get  30s.  a  month.  The  labourers 
are  free  to  go  at  any  time,  but  those  who  complete  their 
contracts  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  employer  are  usually 
given  a  bonus. 

Cocoa  growing  is  probably  the  least  arduous  labour 
in  the  tropical  world  of  agriculture,  as  it  involves  less 
exposure  and  at  no  stage  can  it  be  called  dangerous 
as  is  the  case  with  copra,  palm  oil  and  indigenous  rubber. 
The  proportion  of  labourers  employed  varies  according 
to  the  colony  and  circumstances.  In  the  island  of 
Fernando  Po,  the  planters  endeavour  to  employ  one  man 
per  acre,  but  the  restricted  supply  of  labour  seldom 
permits  so  ideal  a  proportion.  In  the  Portuguese  island 
of  San  Thome,  one  labourer  is  allowed  for  each  hectare 
under  cultivation,  but  it  must  require  a  good  deal  of 
"  persuasion  "  to  get  a  native  to  control  an  average  of 
at  least  2^  acres  of  cocoa. 

Concurrently  with  native  labour  is  the  question  of 
white  supervision  which  is  necessarily  costly.  On  one 
cocoa  plantation  of  San  Thome,  with  a  total  expenditure 
of  £23,000  no  less  than  ;f3000  is  spent  upon  white  control. 
Upon  those  Belgian  plantations  of  Mayumbe  which  are 
cultivated  by  free  labour,  there  is  barely  any  white 
supervision,  whilst  on  the  Portuguese  islands  the  pro- 
portion of  employes  works  out  at  about  one  white  man 
to  every  thirty  natives. 

So  far  as  it  is  possible  at  the  moment  to  forecast  the 
future  of  cocoa  production  in  West  Africa,  the  British 
system  alone  rests  upon  a  solid  basis,  for  the  obvious 


264  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

reason  that  all  other  fields  are  dependent  upon  systems 
of  labour  supply  which  have  little  chance  of  continuance, 
much  less  extension.  The  indigenous  industry  of  the 
British  colonies  working  in  its  own  interests,  unen- 
cumbered by  the  heavy  cost  of  European  supervision 
and  the  drawbacks  of  imported  contract  labour,  will, 
under  the  guidance  of  a  paternal  and  sympathetic  adminis- 
tration, certainly  outdistance  and  leave  far  behind  in 
the  race  for  supremacy  such  systems  as  those  which 
prevail  in  San  Thome  and  Principe. 

This  virile  British  enterprise  which  is  bounding 
forward  throughout  the  Gold  Coast  and  Southern  Nigeria 
has  only  one  real  enemy — the  concessionnaire  hunter. 
Fortunately,  the  British  Government  is  fully  alive  to  the 
danger  and  is  determined,  so  far  as  possible,  to  keep  the 
agricultural  land  in  the  hands  of  the  natives.  If  this 
can  be  secured  without  placing  powers  in  the  hands  of 
the  Government  which  would  lead  to  widespread  dis- 
affection and  unrest  amongst  the  natives,  then  the  cocoa 
industry  of  British  West  Africa  promises  to  eclipse  all 
other  cocoa-producing  areas  of  the  world. 


IV 

THE  PROGRESS  OF   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS 

The  day  has  gone  by  when  the  world  could  dismiss 
Christian  missions  in  West  Africa  with  a  contemptuous 
sneer,  for  Christian  missionary  effort  with  its  eloquent 
facts,  definitely  established,  can  no  longer  be  ignored. 
Of  all  the  forces  which  have  made  for  real  progress  in 
West  Africa,  Christianity  stands  some  say  first,  others 
second,  but  none  can  place  it  last.  To  it  belongs  primarily 
in  point  of  time  at  least,  the  economic  prosperity  of  the 
Gold  Coast.  To  it  belongs,  almost  entirely,  the  credit 
for  the  native  clerks  and  educated  men  on  the  coast. 
To  it  the  natives  owe  their  knowledge  of  useful  crafts. 
To  one  section  of  the  Christian  Church  at  least  belongs 
the  honour  of  having  on  the  spot  saved  the  Congo  natives 
from  extirpation. 

Whilst  all  missions  have  much  in  common,  the  in- 
vestigator cannot  but  observe  the  fact  that  administra- 
tors and  commercial  men  alike  will,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  hold  in  a  measure  of  contempt  the  Protestant 
missionary,  whilst  they  esteem  highly  his  Catholic 
brethren.  One  searches  for  a  reason  for  this  attitude, 
which  can  neither  be  found  in  the  devotion  of  the 
missionary — for  heroes  abound  in  both  sections — nor  is 
it   to  be  found   in  the  character   and   success  of  their 


266  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

respective  missionary  labours,  for  in  this  particular  both 
sections  are  witnessing  encouraging  results.  The  only- 
answer  which  the  administrator  and  trader  will  give  is 
that  Father  O'Donnell  is  "  a  good  fellow."  It  is  difficult 
to  escape  from  the  conclusion  that  the  good  father  is 
more  "  diplomatic  "  than  his  bluff  and  somewhat  puri- 
tanical Protestant  confrere.  The  Protestant  mission- 
aries with  greater  freedom  than  that  allowed  to  the 
Catholic  Fathers,  criticize  administrations,  report  abuses, 
and  generally  give  any  form  of  oppression  or  iniquity 
a  quick,  even  reckless  exposure.  The  colossal  crime  of 
the  Congo  was  exposed  on  the  spot  almost  entirely  by 
the  Protestant  missionaries,  although  far  outnumbered 
by  the  Catholics.  In  the  French  Congo  are  established 
several  Roman  Catholic  Orders,  yet  hardly  a  priest  has 
raised  his  voice  against  the  atrocities  committed  there. 
The  slavery  of  Angola  and  San  Thome  has  been  exposed 
primarily  by  Protestants,  the  priests  standing  by  and  for 
the  most  part  content  to  witness  the  traffic  in  human 
beings  without  a  protest.  I  do  not  condemn,  but  merely 
state  facts.  I  know  too  well  how  the  sufferings  of  native 
tribes  have  appealed  to  generous  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  but  no  review  of  Christian  missions  in 
West  Africa  would  be  honest  or  complete  without  some 
reference  to  this  fundamental  difference  between  the  two 
great  sections  of  the  Christian  Church. 

My  chief  reason,  however,  for  calling  attention  to 
this  feature  is  that  the  antipathy  towards  Christian 
missionaries  is  hardly  Ukely  to  become  less  marked  in 
the  near  future.  The  great  changes  which  are  taking 
place  may  precipitate  a  grave  situation  within  the  next 


MISSIONARIES  AND  ABUSES.  267 

twenty  years.  The  attitude  of  administrators  is  no 
longer  the  benevolent  tutelage  of  native  races.  There 
is  an  increasing  autocracy  in  most  colonies  ;  the  martial 
spirit  with  its  harsh  regulations  and  rigorous  discipline, 
so  out  of  place  in  nature's  calm  paradise,  is  permeating 
every  department  of  affairs.  This  spirit  brooks  no 
opposition,  knows  no  sympathy,  and  sometimes  even 
forgets  justice.  It  blows  hot  or  cold,  where  and  when 
it  listeth,  but  it  tends  always  towards  menacing  native 
peace  and  progress.  High-minded  Christian  men  must 
be  driven  by  this  restless  spirit  into  an  increasingly 
resolute  defence  of  their  native  communities. 

Commercial  methods,  too,  are  undergoing  a  still  more 
far-reaching  change.  As  I  have  already  pointed  out, 
the  old-time  merchant  is  giving  place  to  the  highly 
organized  syndicate,  which  possesses  neither  heart  nor 
conscience  and  is  generally  strong  enough  in  influence 
at  home  and  power  abroad  to  menace  any  administration, 
and,  if  necessary,  threaten  the  various  Governments  in 
two,  three  and  even  more  countries  at  one  time.  The 
missionary,  bold  in  his  isolation,  knowing  no  higher 
earthly  authority  than  his  highly  tempered  conscience, 
willing,  if  need  be,  to  suffer  any  extremity,  is  bound  to 
find  himself  more  and  more  in  conflict  with  the  exploiting 
energy  of  these  vigorous  dividend  seekers.  This  conflict 
is  of  course  an  excellent  tonic  for  the  Church,  but  it  makes 
the  lot  of  these  isolated  men  and  women  in  Central 
Africa  very  much  harder  to  bear. 

The  forces  of  Christianity  have  not  yet  made  much 
headway  in  the  far  hinterland  of  the  Sierra  Leone  Pro- 
tectorate,  the   northern   territories   of   the   Gold   Coast, 


268  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

nor  in  Northern  Nigeria.  In  the  Sierra  Leone  colony, 
where  slaves  liberated  during  a  period  of  fifty  years  were 
dumped  down  as  they  were  released  by  British  battleships, 
Christianity  has  permeated  fairly  completely  the  life 
and  habits  of  the  people  ;  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  popu- 
lation are  nominally  Christian,  whilst  the  Mohammedans 
number  less  than  one-tenth.  In  the  Gold  Coast  the 
traveller  may  witness  some  of  the  most  effective  mis- 
sionary work  in  West  Africa.  The  Basel  Mission  alone 
has  over  30,000  adherents  who  find  about  £5000  a  year 
towards  mission  expenses.  Another  notable  fact  is  that 
the  natives  have  invested  in  the  Mission  Savings  Bank 
over  £23,000,  a  sum  considerably  in  excess  of  the  amount 
deposited  with  the  Government.  As  was  the  attitude 
towards  the  Quaker  bankers  of  Puritan  England,  the 
Christian  community  of  the  Gold  Coast  is  regarded  by 
the  natives  as  the  safest  repository  for  the  wealth  of  both 
worlds. 

In  Southern  Nigeria  Christian  missionaries  find  them- 
selves confronted  with  a  firmly  entrenched  Mohammedan 
community.  Something  over  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  popu- 
lation is  Mohammedan,  and  that  of  a  most  attractive 
order.  None  can  meet  the  leading  Mohammedans  of 
that  colony  without  being  impressed  with  their  simple 
piety  and  their  tenacity  to  what  they  regard  as  their 
invincible  faith.  Officialdom  opposes  the  advance  of  the 
emissaries  of  Christianity  in  the  more  northerly  territory, 
on  the  ground  of  trouble  with  the  Moslem  community. 
This  attitude  is  regarded  by  most  Mohammedans  as 
anything  but  a  compliment  to  their  religious  faith, 
holding  firmly  as  they  do  that  the  Koran  is  powerful 


CHRISTIANITY  AND   MOHAMEDANISM       269 

enough  to  withstand  all  the  assaults  of  another  creed. 
Below  Nigeria,  that  is  south-east  of  the  Niger  delta, 
Mohammedan  influence  is  left  behind,  and  Christianity 
is  confronted  with  simple  paganism.  Not  the  blood- 
thirsty and  strongly  entrenched  barbaric  paganism  which 
confronted  Livingstone  in  East  Africa,  Ramseyer  at 
Kumasi,  Hannington  in  Uganda,  and  Grenfell  in  the 
Congo,  but  a  paganism  so  broken  by  the  forces  of 
civilization,  so  rent  and  riven  by  internal  mistrust, 
that  the  masses  of  the  people  are  crying  out  :  "  Who 
will  show  us  any  good  ?  " 

Efforts  to  win  West  Central  Africa  to  Christianity 
divide  themselves  into  two  periods.  The  first  effective 
efforts  were  made  by  the  Portuguese  and  Dutch  settlers 
in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  The  first 
period  was  almost  exclusively  due  to  Roman  Catholic 
zeal,  which,  under  the  blessing  of  the  Pope,  regarded  the 
tropics  as  a  preserve  of  the  Vatican.  The  nineteenth 
century  witnessed  but  little  advance,  until  Livingstone's 
enthusiasm  and  his  romantic  career  lighted  a  flame 
which  spread  throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  Pro- 
testantism, awaking  to  its  opportunity,  began  to  pour 
missionaries  into  the  tropical  regions  of  West  Africa. 
The  Basel  Mission  attempted  the  Gold  Coast,  and  its 
first  missionaries  perished  to  a  man  ;  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  pushed  on  its  work  from  Sierra  Leone 
away  up  the  Niger,  where  men  and  women  did  little  more 
for  a  time  than  replace  the  dead  and  dying  ;  the  Metho- 
dists, never  behind  any  other  denomination  in  enthusiasm, 
began  work  in  Sierra  Leone,  Calabar,  and  the  islands  of 
the  Gulf  of  Guinea  ;   the  Baptists  established  an  excellent 


270  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

mission  in  the  Cameroons,  where  they  were  "  elbowed 
out  "  by  the  Germans,  and  at  a  later  date  commenced 
their  great  work  in  the  Congo. 

Little  remains  in  the  social  life  of  Africa  as  a  result 
of  the  work  of  the  early  Roman  Catholic  missionaries. 
The  tribes  have  no  settled  church  organization  based 
upon  the  devoted  efforts  of  three  centuries  ago.  Ruins 
may  be  seen  in  several  parts  and  extremely  interesting 
ones  too.  On  the  islands  of  San  Thome  and  Principe, 
we  frequently  saw  the  partial  structure  of  churches,  one 
of  which  must  have  been  erected  very  early  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  for  a  tomb  close  to  the  chancel,  grey 
with  age  and  moss  grown,  was  dated  1542.  If  the 
colonists  of  San  Thome  were  zealous  slavers,  they  cer- 
tainly gave  much  of  their  ill-gotten  gain  to  the  erection 
of  churches.  Fragments  of  these  edifices  are  lying  about 
in  the  tropical  undergrowth  and  an  examination  will 
show  that  marble  pillars,  fagades,  altars,  even  common 
stone,  had  been  gathered  from  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth  to  build  ornate  "  Houses  of  God  "  on  these  isolated 
rocks  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  Visiting  one  of  these  ruins 
we  were  struck  by  the  pathetic  reverence  with  which 
the  natives  regarded  those  crumbling  walls  ;  the  priest 
had  long  since  died,  and  there  was  none  to  lead  those 
almost  hopeless  souls  along  the  path  of  religious  faith. 
Standing  inside  those  four  walls,  gazing  at  the  broken 
altar  and  the  creeper-clad  walls,  we  were  forced  to  keep 
our  heads  covered,  for  the  ruin  had  lost  its  roof  genera- 
tions before,  and  the  equatorial  sun  was  pouring  its 
direct  rays  upon  us.  Directing  a  question  to  some  of 
the  natives  standing  near  by,  we  were  amazed  to  find 


RELIC  WORSHIP  271 

that  they  refused  to  answer  ;    two  or  three  times  we 
repeated  our  questions,  but  they  all  maintained  immov- 
able positions  and  refused  to  utter  a  single  word.     A 
man  close  at  my  elbow  then  informed  me  that  no  native 
could  reply  whilst  the  white  man  kept  his  hat  on  his 
head  in  the  House  of  God  !     The  silent  rebuke  of  those 
simple  natives  forced  us  to  leave  the  precincts  of  the  old 
ruin  and  pass  into  the  Httle  chapel  which  still  remains 
more  or  less  watertight.     Into  this  place,  not  more  than 
ten  feet  square,  the  natives  had  moved  the  images  of  the 
Virgin  and  Apostles,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  room  a 
native  palm  oil  lamp  sent  forth  its  unpleasant  odour. 
This  lamp  was  half  African  fetish  and  half  salvation  to 
those  natives,  for  their  worship  had  degenerated  into  a 
sort  of  corrupt  Zoroastrianism,  and  the  Alpha  and  Omega 
of  their  religion  seemed  to  be  the  uninterrupted  burning 
of  this  light.     They  were  most  insistent  that  since  the 
foundation  of  the  church,  between  1500  and  1530,  the 
light  had  never  been  allowed  to  go  out  ! 

This,  however,  was  but  one  testimony  to  the  relic 
worship  of  the  slave  islands.  Along  the  roadsides,  in 
secluded  corners  of  out  of  the  way  ro9as,  nestling  in 
plantain  groves,  the  traveller  may  see  miniature  chapels 
constructed  from  rustic  forest  tree  branches,  very  similar 
to  the  fetish  houses  of  the  mainland  of  Africa.  In  most 
of  these  one  also  sees  little  prayer-stools,  and  in  all  of  them 
a  rude  cross  roughly  cut  out  with  the  native  axe  and  the 
cross  pieces  bound  together  with  forest  vines.  Most  of 
these  crosses  are  surrounded  by  native  pagan  charms, 
and  thus  all  that  is  least  essential  in  Christianity  is 
joined   together    in    native    religious    fervour  with  the 


272  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

superstitions  of  paganism,  and  this  gives  a  melancholy 
impression  of  the  result  of  the  years  of  toil  and  sacrifice 
by  men  and  women  devoted  to  the  theory  of  the  Christian 
Faith. 

Ichabod  is  written  along  every  roadside  and  in  every 
ruined  chapel ;  the  very  images  in  decay  seem  to  utter 
the  word,  and  the  mind  is  compelled  to  recall  the  fact 
that  Christianity  in  creed  only,  without  Christian  practice, 
is  foredoomed.  Surely  the  curse  of  the  miserable  slaves 
of  generations  ago  rests  upon  everything  on  those  islands  ; 
by  their  agony  and  bloody  sweat  they  toiled  to  erect 
those  magnificent  c^iurches,  the  crack  of  the  whip  on 
the  slave  plantations  extorted  the  gold  which  purchased 
the  images  of  the  Virgin,  to  add  lustre  to  countless 
churches  and  to  purchase  images  of  the  compassionate 
Christ  for  the  cross  roads  and  public  places.  One  wonders 
what  all  this  parade  meant  to  the  slaves  at  the  time. 
They  have  long  ceased  to  suffer  the  bonds  of  slavery,  or 
the  crack  of  the  whip  ;  those  slaves  whose  toil  built  the 
churches  and  bought  the  crucifixes  have  gone,  and  though 
decay  everywhere  marks  the  one-time  existence  of  an 
unholy  Christianity,  one  element  remains  and  flourishes 
— a  slavery,  without  any  hope  beyond  that  which  may 
be  inspired  by  the  hybrid  of  effete  Christianity  wedded 
to  African  superstition. 

The  results  accruing  to  the  second  period  of  Christian 
propaganda  have  the  unmistakable  signs  of  a  vitality 
which  will  revolutionize  Central  Africa.  Whilst  purely 
missionary  zeal  centres  itself  upon  the  heroic  figure 
of  Livingstone,  recognition  must  be  given  to  Henry 
Stanley,  and  also — though  one  hesitates  to  couple  the 


J 


THE    CRUCIFIX    IN    AFRICAN    FETISH    HUT    ON    THE    ISLAND    OF    SAN    TIlo.Ml' 


RUIN    OF    ONCE    IMPOSING    CHURCH    ON    THE    ISLAND    OF    i'Kl.Xcni,. 


ICHABOD  273 

name  with  these  two  heroes — to  King  Leopold.  Looking 
back  upon  African  history,  one  fact  emerges  above  all 
others,  that  the  work  of  Livingstone  and  Stanley  together 
had  created  an  international  interest  in  the  position  of 
the  peoples  and  the  possibilities  of  the  countries  in  those 
regions.  This  condition  observed  by  King  Leopold,  his 
master  mind  promptly  seized  and  exploited  it.  The 
crafty  Belgian  monarch  saw  that  by  preaching  Chris- 
tianity and  civilization  for  the  African,  his  long-awaited 
opportunity  for  colonial  expansion  and  a  place  in  history 
would  be  gratified, — a  place  in  history  he  has  that  none 
assuredly  will  envy  ;  his  people,  too,  possess  a  colony, 
and  though  they  do  not  see  it  to-day,  they  will  yet  heap 
their  curses  upon  the  sovereign  who  has  fastened  the 
millstone  round  their  necks. 

The  labours  of  Livingstone,  Stanley,  and  King 
Leopold,  culminated  in  the  Conference  of  Berlin,  which 
was  unique  in  that  it  had  for  its  programme  not  only  the 
interests  of  honest  commercial  expansion,  the  suppression 
of  the  slave-trade,  the  sale  of  arms,  ammunition  and 
alcohol,  but  also  that  of  stimulating  Christian  missionary 
propaganda,  and  by  its  subsequent  treaty,  missionaries 
were  encouraged  to  win  pagan  tribes  from  barbarism. 
The  immensity  of  the  area  which  by  this  historic  event 
was  thrown  open  under  international  stimulus  to  the 
forces  of  Christianity  is  not  generally  realized.  The  Congo 
basin  extends  far  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  Belgian 
colony.  Its  northern  frontier  reaches  the  tributaries  of 
the  Niger  and  the  Nile,  while  its  eastern  border  includes 
a  large  section  of  German  East  Africa,  and  in  the  south 
and  west  larger  areas  still  of  both  British  Central  Africa 

T 


274  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

and  Portuguese  Angola  come  under  the  operations  of 
the  Act  of  Berhn.  In  and  around  this  great  pagan  area, 
almost  as  large  as  the  European  continent,  the  forces 
of  Christianity  have  within  the  last  half  century  been 
concentrating  their  energies. 

Christian  effort  in  these  regions  is  confined  to  no 
single  country,  and  is  the  monopoly  of  no  single  denomina- 
tion. Great  Britain,  America,  Germany,  Sweden,  and 
France  have  all  found  devoted  men  and  women,  and  have 
all  poured  forth  most  generously  the  necessary  funds. 
Anglicans,  Roman  Catholics,  Free  Churchmen,  and 
Lutherans,  have  all  taken  their  share,  selecting  spheres 
which  for  various  reasons  they  considered  themselves  best 
able  to  manage. 

The  character  of  the  work,  however,  differs  consider- 
ably. At  first  Protestant  missions  revolted  against  the 
idea  of  industrial  missions  ;  they  had,  and  it  must  be 
admitted  they  still  have,  a  constitutional  objection  against 
anything  which  provides  a  "  return."  It  is  difficult  to 
find  a  reason  for  this,  but  probably  it  is  due  to  a  revulsion 
from  the  practices  of  Pizarro  and  his  miscreants  in  Peru, 
and  of  the  slave-dealing  work  of  the  Portuguese,  in  which 
the  Church  of  Rome  became  so  deeply  involved.  This 
dislike  for  any  other  work  than  that  of  simple  preaching 
and  teaching  left  to  the  Roman  Catholics  the  whole  field 
of  industrial  enterprise  and  right  splendidly  they  have 
occupied  it.  There  are  many  separate  features  which 
one  dislikes,  but  looked  upon  as  a  complete  work 
the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  are  rendering  noble 
service  to  stable  progress.  I  shall  not  readily  forget 
visits  to  their  farms  on  the  Congo  ;    to  their  admirable 


THE  MEDICAL   MISSION  275 

outfitting,  printing,  house-building,  and  wheelwright 
departments  of  German  Togoland.  In  Lome  we  saw 
a  score  of  lads  learning  bootmaking  under  the 
patient  tuition  of  a  lay  brother.  In  the  tailoring  shop 
another  score  were  cutting  out  and  making  suits  of 
every  description,  from  the  cheap  20-mark  ducks  to 
the  150-mark  dress  suit  to  which  the  superintending 
Father  was  putting  finishing  touches — and  made  for  a 
native  too  ! 

If  in  earlier  years  Protestant  missions  hesitated  to 
engage  in  remunerative  industrial  pursuits,  they  scored 
heavily  over  their  Catholic  confreres,  and  continue  to 
score,  in  medical  work.  It  was  at  first  difficult  to  make 
the  native  see  the  advisability  of  even  comparative 
cleanliness,  for  ablutions  of  any  kind  are,  with  many 
natives,  a  degrading  practice  only  fitted  for  the  effeminate 
white  race.  "  What !  I  wash  ?  "  exclaimed  an  old  chief 
to  us  in  horror-stricken  tones,  w^hen  once  I  asked  him 
to  take  a  journey  to  the  river  before  sitting  near  our 
table.  However,  as  he  proceeded  to  do  a  worse  thing — 
scrape  himself — I  withdrew  and  apologized  for  the  in- 
sulting suggestion  !  There  is  some  hope  that  the  medical 
fraternity  will  in  time  bring  the  natives  to  realize  the 
value  of  the  bountiful  streams  which  God  has  given  them, 
though  they  may  retort  that  the  devil  has  filled  them 
with  crocodiles. 

It  is,  however,  certain  that  the  tribes  of  Africa  are 
beginning  to  value  the  generous  and  devoted  medical 
work  of  the  Protestant  missionaries.  Journeying  up  the 
Congo  one  day  we  had  on  board  a  chieftain  who  three 
months  before  had  left  his  village  for  an  operation  at  a 


276  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

mission  station  hundreds  of  miles  below  his  home.  The 
senior  missionary  in  this  man's  district  had  persuaded 
him  to  take  the  journey  and  run  the  risk.  The  man  had 
been  bedridden  for  years  with  an  elephantiasis  growth  ; 
his  wives  had  forsaken  him  and  most  of  his  friends  had 
abandoned  him.  He  had  long  given  an  obstinate  refusal 
to  the  missionary's  proposal,  but  ultimately  he  was  pre- 
vailed upon  to  make  the  journey  to  the  distant  mission 
post.  The  day  for  departure  came,  and  with  it  funeral- 
loving  friends,  and  weeping  women  who  made  the  track 
echo  with  a  monotonous  death  wail  as  the  man  was 
carried  on  board  the  steamer, — never,  as  they  believed, 
to  return  alive.  Two  months  later  the  man  had  come 
through  the  operation  and  seemed  to  be  in  perfect  health. 
He  boarded  the  steamer  in  full  vigour,  carrying  his  own 
box  and  sundry  goods  which  the  travelling  native  collects 
from  the  long-lost  brothers  and  cousins  whom  they  have 
a  habit  of  discovering  in  every  town.  After  three  weeks' 
steam,  we  were  nearing  the  chieftain's  home  ;  what  a 
dressing  of  the  hair  and  anointing  of  the  body  took  place 
during  several  hours  before  the  village  itself  was  sighted  ! 
Within  hail,  lusty  voices  shouted  to  the  villagers  that 
their  chief  was  aboard  and  was  well  and  strong.  The 
cry  passed  from  lip  to  lip  until  the  beach  was  lined  with 
incredulous  natives,  the  most  hopeful  amongst  them 
anticipating  nothing  better  than  that  the  man  would  be 
carried  ashore.  Fifteen  minutes  later  the  ship  was  at 
anchor,  the  "  gangway  "  run  ashore  and  lo  !  the  first 
man  to  stride  off  the  ship  was  the  erstwhile  bedridden 
chief !  It  was  too  much  for  the  majority  who  promptly 
took  to  their  heels  and  bolted  to  a  safe  distance  !     In  a 


MISSIONARIES   AND   OPPRESSION  277 

few  minutes,  however,  they  reahzed  that  it  was  not  a 
spirit,  but  the  real  man  returned  ahve  and  well.     Gradu- 
ally they  surrounded  him,  questioned  him,  gesticulated 
excitedly,    rang   the   drums   to   inform   the   countryside 
that  so  great  a  miracle  had  taken  place,  and  generally 
made  such  a  din  and  noise  that  it  was  only  with  difficulty 
conversation  became  at  all  possible.     That  sort  of  sermon 
is  far  more  eloquent  to  the  native  than  many  discourses   '. 
on  Christian  ethics  preached  with  the  inevitable  limita- 
tions of  a  foreign  tongue  and  at  the  best  often  misunder- 
stood ;     moreover,    it    renders    him    very    receptive    to 
Christian  teaching. 

The  advantage  of  medical  work  in  Protestant  mis- 
sionary propaganda  has  indeed  been  great.     But  it  does 
not  stand  alone,  for  the  natives  have  of  recent  years 
witnessed  and  wondered  at  another  spectacle — to  them 
no  less  miraculous — white  man  opposing  white  man  on 
their  behalf.     It  is  a  grave  misfortune  to  Christianity, 
and  to  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  themselves,  that 
they  have  hitherto  been  unable  to  make  common  cause 
with    their    Protestant    brethren    in    protecting    natives 
from   oppression.     There   is,    however,    some  hope   that 
this  feature  is  passing  away  and  that  the  future  will 
witness   their   co-operation    with   those   who   fight    and 
struggle  for  native  freedom,  for  at  present  the  prestige 
which    accrues    to    the    championship    of    native    rights 
belongs  almost  exclusively  to  the  Protestant  communities. 
How  powerfully  this  has  operated  was  brought  out  in  the 
report  of  the  Commissioners,  whom  King  Leopold  was  com- 
pelled to  send  to  the  Congo,  in  1904.     Writing  in  this  con- 
nection. Monsieur  Janssens  and  his  Committee  said  : — 


278  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

"  Often,  also,  in  the  regions  where  evangelical 
"  stations  are  established,  the  native,  instead  of 
"  going  to  the  magistrate,  his  natural  protector, 
"  adopts  the  habit,  when  he  thinks  he  has  a 
"  grievance  against  an  agent  or  an  Executive  officer, 
"  to  confide  in  the  missionary.  The  latter  listens 
"  to  him,  helps  him  according  to  his  means,  and 
"  makes  himself  the  echo  of  all  the  complaints  of  a 
"  region.  Hence  the  astounding  influence  which  the 
"  missionaries  possess  in  some  parts  of  the  territory. 
"  It  exercises  itself  not  only  among  the  natives 
"  within  the  purview  of  their  religious  propaganda, 
"  but  over  all  the  villages  whose  troubles  they  have 
"  listened  to.  The  missionary  becomes,  for  the 
"  native  of  the  region,  the  only  representative  of 
"  equity  and  justice  ;  he  adds  to  the  ascendency 
"  acquired  from  his  religious  zeal  the  prestige  which, 
"  in  the  interest  of  the  State  itself,  should  be  in- 
"  vested  in  the  magistrates." 

Without  doubt  the  advent  of  the  late  King  Leopold 
as  an  Administrator  in  Central  African  affairs  was  a 
calamity  almost  impossible  to  exaggerate  and  had  his 
influence  continued  it  would  sooner  or  later  have  overrun 
the  surrounding  territories  administered  respectively  by 
Britain,  France,  and  Germany.  That  they  indeed  suffered 
contamination  was  only  too  clearly  demonstrated  in  the 
case  of  French  Congo,  while  German  Cameroons  was  not 
altogether  free  from  the  Leopoldian  taint.  On  the  Congo 
itself,  the  very  name  of  white  man  was  made  to  stink  in 
the  nostrils  of  the  native  tribes  for  all  time,  by  reason  of 


THE   "INGLEZA"  279 

the  enormities  in  which  King  Leopold  figured  as  the  chief 
actor.  But  even  that  wily  monarch  outwitted  himself ; 
by  his  protestations  of  Christianity  and  Philanthropy  he 
was  bound  by  the  clauses  of  the  Berlin  and  Brussels  Acts 
to  countenance  and  encourage  missionary  enterprise,  and 
in  practice  to  admit  to  the  vast  regions  of  the  Congo 
Valley  the  Heralds  of  the  Cross.  And  this  was  his  un- 
doing, for  thereby  came  those  exposures  of  almost  in- 
credible abuses,  which  shocked  the  civilized  world,  and 
branded  the  arch  culprit  for  all  time  as  a  murderer  of 
milHons.  The  same  fatal  blunder  in  his  diplomacy 
worked  on  the  spot  salvation  for  the  remnant  of  the 
people.  They  flocked  from  all  quarters  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  missionary,  who  was  to  them  the  personi- 
fication of  justice. 

What  wonder  that  the  word  "  Ingleza "  (EngHsh) 
became  a  passport  to  any  native  community,  no  matter 
how  wild  and  how  averse  to  the  white  man.  It  is  re- 
corded that  the  Belgian  rubber  merchants,  recognizing 
this,  have  sought  safety  when  travelling  amongst  hostile 
tribes  in  adopting  the  name  and  manner  of  the  English- 
man. A  certain  Belgian  tells  how  two  of  his  colleagues 
when  travelling  were  attacked  by  infuriated  natives 
whose  relatives  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  rubber- 
mongers,  and  on  being  told  that  it  was  the  natives'  in- 
tention to  first  mutilate  them,  as  they  themselves  had 
been  mutilated,  and  then  to  put  them  to  death,  one  of 
them  in  his  extremity  sought  refuge  in  the  reputation 
of  the  missionary  and  replied,  "  What,  put  Ingleza  to 
death  !  "  While  stoutly  repudiating  the  assertion  that 
they  were  English,  the  natives  requested  them  to  sing 


28o  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

a  hymn,  and,  fortunately  for  the  desperate  men,  one  of 
them  remembered  and  sang  a  verse  of  a  hymn  he  had 
learnt  somewhere,  and  so  amazed  the  natives  that  they 
let  them  go  miharmed. 

"  Ingleza  nta  fombaka  "  (the  Englishman  never  hes), 
has  passed  into  a  proverb  and  is  spreading  not  only 
throughout  the  Congo,  but  even  into  Portuguese  Angola. 
Possessing  the  unbounded  confidence  of  the  native  mind, 
the  Christian  missionary,  reinforced  by  practical  medical 
work,  may,  if  he  desires,  possess  the  vast  unoccupied 
fields  of  the  continent  and  obtain  there  an  ever  firmer 
foothold. 

Within  recent  years,  however,  Protestant  missions 
have  taken  up  with  increasing  zeal  industrial  and  com- 
mercial enterprises  in  the  interests  of  the  natives.  We 
were  unfortunate  in  being  unable  to  visit  what  I  am 
told  is  one  of  the  finest  industrial  enterprises  in  West 
Africa — the  Scotch  Calabar  Mission,  but  apart  from 
those  of  the  Roman  Catholics  we  inspected  several 
Protestant  establishments.  The  British  Government, 
recognizing  what  is  now  becoming  common  ground,  that 
a  purely  literary  and  spiritual  education  does  not  pro- 
duce the  most  robust  type  of  civilized  African,  is  now 
combining  technical  training  in  industries  with  literary 
studies,  and  no  longer  gives  grants  of  lump  sums  to 
missions,  but  so  much  per  head  for  the  "  finished  pro- 
duct," e.g.  a  native  attaining  a  given  literary  and  technical 
standard.  In  the  Gold  Coast  the  maximum  per  annum 
is  27s.  6d.  per  capita.  In  a  school  at  Christiansborg,  the 
annual  upkeep  of  which  costs  £500,  over  £170  was  earned 
in  one  year  by  the  ability  of  the  scholars  in  this  way. 


PROTESTANT  EXPENDITURE  281 

The  Primitive  Methodists  have  a  very  effective  httle 
Industrial  Mission  on  the  Spanish  island  of  Fernando  Po. 
Under  the  vigorous  and  enlightened  leadership  of  the 
Rev.  Jabez  Bell  the  mission  situated  at  Bottler  Point 
is  now  so  prosperous  that  the  returns  from  the  cocoa 
farms  together  with  subscriptions  from  the  native 
members,  more  than  cover  the  expenditure.  If  in  any 
forthcoming  rearrangement  of  the  Map  of  Africa  Fer- 
nando Po  should  come  under  Germany  the  character 
of  the  Primitive  Methodist  Mission  on  that  island  is 
bound  to  appeal  to  the  practical-minded  Teuton. 

The  price  which  Christian  missions  have  paid  for 
religious  work  amongst  the  pagan  tribes  of  West  Central 
Africa  can  never  be  correctly  estimated.  In  the  Congo 
alone  Protestant  missions  have  spent  nearly  one  and  a 
quarter  millions  sterling  within  the  last  twenty-five 
years.  Out  of  some  550  missionaries,  over  170  have  gone 
to  an  early  grave,  many  not  living  six  months,  some 
only  a  few  days.  These  men  and  women  were  not  only 
the  matured  youth  of  their  countries,  but  they  were  com- 
pelled to  pass  the  most  rigid  medical  examination  prior 
to  acceptance  by  the  missionary  boards.  They  were 
indeed  the  flower  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  moreover, 
the  very  difficulties  and  dangers  which  were  known  to 
exist,  served  to  attract  none  but  the  strongest  characters. 
Some  people,  incapable  of  recognizing  sterling  qualities 
in  any  but  themselves,  have  written  and  spoken  of 
missionaries  as  those  who  could  not  have  made  their  way 
in  any  other  sphere  of  life.  Whatever  may  be  true  of 
other  mission  fields,  so  far  as  the  missionaries  of  West 
Africa  are  concerned,   the  majority  resigned  good  and 


282 


DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 


assured  positions  and  accepted  a  comparative  pittance 
in  order  that  they  might  serve  what  surely  is  the  greatest 
of  all  causes.  I  have  failed  to  obtain  statistics  from  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  but  the  foregoing  applies 
equally  to  the  devoted  men  of  that  body.  With  them, 
as  with  the  Protestants,  it  has  been  via  cruets  via  lucis. 

The  following  statistics,  so  far  as  they  are  a  guide  to 
Christian  progress,  show  some  of  the  results  achieved 
by  the  missionary  forces  of  Protestantism  in  West 
Africa  : — 


Sierra  Leone 
Anglican 
Methodists    . 

Nigeria 
Anglican 
United  Free  Church 


Adherents. 
12,700 

7.584 


Annual 

Native 
Scholars.    Contributions. 


Methodists,   including  French  Dahomey, 
German  Togoland,  and  Fernando  Po    . 

Gambia 

Methodists    ...... 

Gold  Coast 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
Methodists    ...... 

Basel  Mission         .  .  .  .  • 


Congo 
Baptists 

American  Baptists 
Presbyterian 
Swedish 
French  Protestants 


A  ngola 

Methodists    ...... 

Other  Missions  in  West  Africa  Estimate 

Totals  .... 


40,700 
6,431 

7.137 
1,058 


3,283 
2,665 

15,089 
3.675 

3.793 
594 


;^7.267 


;^II,676 

;^2,834 


3,273 

— 

;^677 

61,481 

7,821 

— 

35.000 

— 

£9.500 

4.536 

11,637 



5.230 

7,500  (est 

)  — 

10,000 

8,000 

— 

1,821 

5,721 

— 

1,800 

1,000 

— 

750 

1,083 

;^325 

15,000 

8,000 

400 

214,501         79,861       ;^32,679 


INDUSTRIAL   RESULTS  283 

From  the  statistical  tables  of  the  Protestant  Missions, 
we  have  a  known  membership  and  communicant  list  of 
over  200,000  men  and  women,  and  nearly  80,000 
scholars  under  daily  Christian  instruction.  If  to  this  be 
added  an  equal  number  in  connection  with  the  Roman 
CathoHc  Church — probably  a  generous  estimate — West 
Central  Africa  possesses  a  Christian  Church  of  something 
approaching  half  a  million  strong.  This,  however,  does 
not  take  into  account  the  large  native  interest  in  Chris- 
tianity evidenced  by  the  considerable  purchase  of  the 
Scriptures.  Every  year  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  ships  some  thousands  of  pounds  worth  of  Bibles 
to  the  different  colonies,  the  natives  contributing  an 
increasing  sum  to  the  Bible  Society,  which  gives  a 
"  return  "  in  cash  from  the  native  Christian  community 
of  the  Protestant  Churches  of  over  £30,000  per  annum, 
or  an  average  contribution  of  over  4s.  3^.  per  head 
throughout  the  Churches. 

The  fact  that  the  results  of  missionary  industrial 
enterprise  are  hampered  by  a  not  unreasonable  dislike 
to  "  profit-making  "  prevents  embarkation  upon  those 
bye-products  of  industrial  activity  which  render  com- 
mercial enterprise  financially  sound.  A  missionary  is 
usually  quite  willing  to  teach  men  to  adze  timber,  plane 
boards,  square  joints,  lay  bricks,  and  grow  cotton  and 
rubber,  but  he  knows  that  his  Board  and  its  supporters 
regard  "  profit "  with  a  very  critical  eye.  Richard 
Blaize,  an  educated  native  of  Abeokuta,  left  his 
fortune  to  meet  this  difficulty  and  now  extensive 
workshops  are  erected  at  Abeokuta,  and  all  the 
public  buildings  of  that  splendid  city  have  been  erected 


284  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

"at    a   profit  "    by  the   Christian   Industrial   School  of 
Abeokuta. 

In  the  Gold  Coast  the  German  Basel  Mission  leads 
the  way  with  engaging  vigour  in  the  matter  of  industrial 
missions.  The  commercial  section  of  the  Mission  includes 
industrial  training  institutes,  and  nothing  could  be  more 
pleasing  than  the  interest  and  energy  with  which  the 
natives  devote  themselves  to  cabinet  work,  coach- 
building,  and  agricultural  pursuits ;  but  the  main 
activities  of  this  department  are  those  of  the  ordinary 
African  merchant  with  the  exception  that  the  agents 
are  forbidden  to  sell  spirituous  liquors.  This  branch  of 
the  work,  which  is  conducted  by  twenty- three  "  mer- 
cantile "  missionaries,  is  in  every  respect  admirable. 
One  of  the  leading  railway  managers  remarked  to  me 
that,  "  The  most  business-hke  commercial  house  in  the 
colony  is  the  Basel  Mission  ;  their  men  always  know 
how  many  trucks  they  will  require,  their  trolleys  are 
to  time,  their  goods  properly  bagged  and  labelled,  and 
their  whole  organization  so  smart  and  up-to-date  that 
they  never  dislocate  the  traffic."  There  can  be  httle 
doubt  that  the  attention  given  to  business  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Mission  is  due  to  the  type  of  white  men 
they  can  command — none  are  accepted  unless  they  agree 
to  make  their  employment  a  matter  of  conscience,  and 
develop  their  commercial  undertakings  with  the  same 
motive  as  that  which  animates  their  spiritual  brethren, 
with  whom  they  share  all  things  in  common,  with  the 
exception  of  salaries,  those  of  the  mercantile  brethren 
being  considerably  higher  and  based,  to  some  extent, 
upon  returns.     The  white  agents  are  assisted  by  coloured 


\ 


INDUSTRIAL   RESULTS  285 

men  in  charge  of  branches,  many  of  whom  can  show  a 
record  of  service  extending  from  12  to  15  years,  and  some 
of  them  are  now  drawing  salaries — including  commission 
— of  £500  per  annum.  These  men  are  to  be  found  on 
Sundays  teaching  in  the  Sunday  schools,  and  preaching 
at  the  out-stations  of  the  Mission. 

The  capital  for  these  operations  is  derived,  in  the 
main,  from  three  sources  :  (i)  the  Basel  Mission  itself  ; 
(2)  shareholders  connected  with  the  Mission,  whose 
dividends  are  limited  to  5  per  cent,  per  annum  ;  (3)  from 
funds  in  the  Mission's  Savings  Bank,  into  which  the 
natives  of  the  colony  have  placed  for  security  consider- 
ably over  £20,000  at  interest  varying  from  3J  to  5  per 
cent. 

The  results  of  the  Mission's  work  can  be  seen  all  over 
the  colony  ;  the  polite  native  clerks,  the  managers  of 
stores,  the  English-speaking  planters,  the  coloured 
Government  officials  have  nearly  all  of  them  received 
their  training  at  the  Basel  Mission  schools,  and  the 
Acting  Governor  does  not  hesitate  to  recognize  that  his 
best  officials  have  been  produced  by  the  Mission.  Testi- 
mony of  this  nature  is  unhappily  seldom  forthcoming 
from  other  colonies. 

The  industrial  section  usually  executes  orders  to  the 
value  of  about  £4000  per  annum  ;  its  go-carts,  trolleys, 
traps,  and  waggonettes  are  sent  into  almost  every  colony 
from  Sierra  Leone  to  German  Cameroons.  The  net 
profits  of  this  department  average  slightly  over  £400  per 
annum. 

The  commercial  department  is  certainly  one  of  the 
most  profitable  enterprises  in  the  colony,  and  the  stores 


286  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

of  the  Mission  are  crowded  with  purchasers  throughout  the 
day.  The  exigencies  of  business  naturally  precluded  the 
possibility  of  obtaining  with  any  degree  of  exactness 
the  volume  of  trade  done  by  the  Mission,  but  some  of 
the  figures  are  eloquent  testimony  to  the  confidence  the 
natives  have  in  these  mercantile  missionaries.  In  the 
year  1909-1910,  the  Mission  exported  35  tons  of  rubber, 
14,000,000  lbs.  of  palm  kernels,  600,000  gallons  of 
palm  oil,  and  nearly  17,000,000  lbs.  weight  of  cocoa 
beans. 

The  profit-bearing  transactions  of  the  Basel  Mission 
cannot  be  much  under  £150,000,  which  on  the  moderate 
basis  of  8  per  cent,  net  profit  would  provide  the  Mission 
Exchequer  with  a  sum  of  £12,000  per  annum.  Govern- 
ment grants-in-aid  of  educational  work  amounted 
in  1910  to  £240.  There  are  also  periodic  collections 
in  aid  of  Mission  funds  ;  the  native  Church  at  Nsaba, 
for  example,  collected  £240  last  year.  The  whole 
expenditure  of  this  Mission  must  be  almost,  if  not 
completely,  covered  by  its  income  from  the  various 
operations. 

Whatever  the  actual  financial  position  of  this 
Mission,  its  general  business  operations,  splendid  educa- 
tional institutions,  its  devoutly  spiritual  atmosphere, 
combine  in  forming  one  of  the  greatest — if  not  the  greatest 
— force  for  progress  in  the  Gold  Coast  colony.  But  the 
price  has  to  be  paid,  for,  according  to  the  report  of  the 
Acting  Governor,  "  The  highest  death-rate  was  again 
amongst  the  missionaries  !  " 

The  future  of  Christianity  in  West  Africa  is  hopeful 
but  it  has  its  dangers.     First  its  very  success  may  lead 


DANGER   AHEAD  287 

to    disastrous    consequences.     In    the    early    years    thF[ 
mission  work  was  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  i, 
extreme   evangelical   section  of   the   Church,   who  sub-  ' 
ordinated   everything  to   the  actual  work  of  preaching.  : 
We  understand  and  sympathize  with  the  fiery  zeal  that  { 
believes    in    doing    all    the    preaching,    but    the   native  i 
thinks   the   preacher    a    strange    being,    and   frequently 
does  not  understand  two  sentences  of  Anglicized  Bantu, 
or  worse  still,  his  Bantuized  English  !      Circumstances  ] 
have  broadened   the   outlook   and   men  are   beginning 
to  realize  the  value  of  training  the  native  to  do  the 
preaching,    contenting    themselves    with    an    apparently 
more   restrictive   sphere   in   the   class-room   and   study. 
The  native  preacher  thus  prepared  is  zealous  to  a  degree, 
and  that  he  is  ready  to  suffer  incredible  hardships  and 
even  torture,  we  know  from  the  romantic  history  of  the 
Uganda  Mission.     He  is  willing  and  able  to  carry  his 
message  further  afield  than  the  white  man  could  ever 
hope  to  do  ;   he  is,  moreover,  able  to  present  his  message 
through  the  medium  of  a  complete  mastery  of  the  native 
tongue.     The   results   of   this   form   of   propaganda   are^, 
becoming  almost   startling.     Christian  evangelists  from 
one  territory  are  meeting  those  of  far  distant  regions 
and  in  this  manner  the  whole  of  the  riverine  systems 
of  Central  Africa  are  coming  rapidly  under  the  influence 
of    Christianity.      It    is    in    this    respect,    rather    than 
in    tabulated    statistics,     that    one    sees     the     onward 
march    of    the    Christian    Faith.       The    bush     native 
no    longer  clings   to  and  prides  himself    in    paganism  ; 
if  he  is  not    a  Mohammedan,  he  will  tell  you  he  is  a 
Christian,  even  though  his  life  and  conduct  would  shut 


288  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

him   out   of   the    formal    communion    of   any   Christian 
Church. 

This  condition  of  affairs  may  lead  to  a  grave  situation, 
for  already  in  several  colonies  the  natives  are  restive 
under  an  inadequate  white  control  or  leadership.  EdifA 
cated  in  the  principles  of  liberty,  but  without  much 
respect  for,  or  belief  in,  the  nobler  tenets  of  the  Christian  i 
Faith,  they  are  breaking  away  from  Christian  government  \ 
and  forming  themselves  into  Christian  communities  in 
which  personal  desire  is  never  allowed  to  conflict  with 
accepted  standards  of  ethics.  One  day  I  visited  a 
leading  "  Christian  "  in  a  certain  colony  ;  he  showed  me 
round  the  district,  took  me  over  his  delightful  little  farm, 
pointed  out  his  model  dwellings,  machinery  houses,  and 
so  forth  ;  then  I  inspected  a  building  with  three  com- 
partments and  was  informed  that  one  section  was  used 
as  a  "  gin  store,"  the  middle  section  for  prayer  meetings, 
and  in  the  third  the  man  kept  his  wives  !  All  this 
he  boldly  asserted  could  be  justified  by  reference  to  the 
Scriptures.  I  was  not  prepared  to  contest  the  assertion, 
because  my  host  claimed  his  own  conscience  as  the  final 
arbiter  of  interpretation.  The  extent  to  which  these 
secessions  may  go  can  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  one 
such  seceding  church  in  West  Africa  claims  a  membership 
of  over  10,000  adults. 

The  missionary  societies,  unable  to  supply  sufficient 
men  to  cope  with  these  vast  areas,  are  forced  to  leave  the 
movement  almost  alone  and  thus  it  spreads,  and  will 
continue  to  spread,  until  Central  Africa  is  completely 
brought  under  the  influence  of  a  form  of  Christianity 
which  for  many  years  will  be  a  caricature  of  the  religion 


THE   LIGHT   ETERNAL  289 

of  Christ.  The  only  hope,  and  happily  a  probable  develop- 
ment, is  that  the  religious  wave,  which  is  now  moving 
irresistibly  across  the  central  regions,  will  be  followed 
by  an  ethical  wave  which  will  give  the  "  Light  eternal  " 
to  the  Dark  Continent. 


PART   V 

I. — The  Map  of  Africa  re-arranged. 


THE  MAP  OF  AFRICA   RE-ARRANGED 

For  some  months  past  eminent  publicists  in  Europe 
have  been  busily  engaged  in  rearranging  the  map  of  Africa 
in  the  interests  first  of  one  Power,  then  of  another,  but 
the  unfortunate  native  has  found  scant  place  in  these 
arguments.  The  only  question  which  seems  of  any 
significance  is  the  *'  price  "  this  or  that  Power  will  pay 
for  a  given  slice  of  the  African  continent.  It  would  be 
rather  interesting  surely  to  know  what  the  natives  them- 
selves think  of  the  proposed  change.  Some  of  them  have 
strong  views  upon  the  morality  of  disposing  of  other 
people's  rights,  to  say  nothing  of  treaty  obligations  which 
they  obtained  when  agreeing  to  European  sovereignty. 

Four  territories  are,  so  to  speak,  in  the  melting  pot 
of  pohtical  speculation — British  Gambia,  French  Congo, 
Belgian  Congo,  and  the  Portuguese  colonies  of  East  and 
West  Airica.  None  of  the  Powers  in  control  of  these 
territories  desire  to  add  another  foot  of  tropical  Africa 
to  the  burden  they  carry  already.  Great  Britain  has  a 
full  share  of  responsibilities  in  the  African  continent. 
France,  Belgium  and  Portugal,  even  if  they  desired  to 
enlarge  their  tropical  dependencies,  have  not  yet  estab- 
lished a  case  for  expansion.  Quite  the  reverse.  One 
Power  alone — Germany^ — is  not  only  capable  but  appa- 
rently desirous  of  adding  to  her  colonial  possessions. 


294  DAWN   IN  DARKEST  AFRICA 

Though  Great  Britain  may  have  no  wish  to  add  to 
her  responsibilities,  her  people  cannot  allow  her  to  relegate 
any  portion  of  them  to  another  Power.  British  Gambia 
must  never  be  allowed  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  France, 
and  the  quicker  the  French  Government  is  told  this, 
the  better,  not  only  for  Anglo-French  amity,  but  for  the 
tranquillity  and  progress  of  our  oldest  African  colony. 
Thanks  to  our  merchant  adventurers  and  the  goodwill  of 
the  natives,  Gambia  was  able  to  hold  her  own  against  the 
Portuguese,  French  and  Dutch,  until  the  British  Govern- 
ment assumed  direct  control. 

The  British  Government  made  a  solemn  agreement 
with  the  native  tribes  for  a  Protectorate  over  the  Gambia 
colony,  and  "  this  agreement  shall  stand  for  ever."  The 
British  Minister  who  sets  that  agreement  aside  will  be 
guilty  of  a  crime  against  the  fair  fame  of  his  country, 
but  more  especially  against  the  loyal  natives  who  so 
implicitly  trust  the  unalterable  promise  of  an  Englishman. 

The  foregoing  ethical  argument  cannot  fail  to  find  an 
echo  in  the  breast  of  every  Britisher,  but  there  are 
Imperial  reasons  which  reinforce  that  argument.  The 
Gambia  river  possesses  a  draught  of  30  feet  right  up  the 
river  to  a  position  of  twenty  miles  beyond  Bathurst, 
providing  altogether  forty  miles  of  deep  waterway.  I 
am  told  this  is  the  only  safe  anchorage  for  a  British  fleet 
in  West  Africa,  safe,  that  is,  from  attack.  This  httle 
colony  of  4000  square  miles  is  contentedly  following  on 
in  the  path  of  progress,  its  inhabitants  are  loyally  and 
affectionately  attached  to  the  British  Crown.  Only 
one  thing  troubles  the  population  of  Gambia  and  that  is 
the  periodic  rumours  of  a  transfer  to  another  Power. 


BRITISH   GAMBIA  295 

A  categorical  and  clear  statement  from  a  Minister  of  the 
Crown  that  no  such  transference  is  contemplated  or  would 
be  entertained  is  the  least  the  native  has  a  right  to  expect, 
and  the  Empire  to  demand. 

Next  in  order  of  discussion  has  been  the  question  of 
Portuguese  colonies,  and  it  has  been  mooted  more  than 
once  that  these  should,  either  as  a  whole  or  in  part,  be 
transferred  by  Portugal  to  Germany  for  a  financial 
consideration.  The  territories  in  question  comprise  Portu- 
guese East  and  West  Africa  together  with  the  islands 
of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  ;  the  area  of  the  mainland  posses- 
sions being  778,000  square  miles  and  that  of  the  islands 
460  square  miles,  making  a  total  area  of  778,460  square 
miles. 

No  experienced  Power  would  be  prepared  to  purchase, 
even  if  Portugal  would  be  prepared  to  sell,  a  portion  only 
of  the  Portuguese  possessions,  because  the  several 
colonies  properly  managed  dovetail  into  each  others' 
requirements  in  such  a  manner  that  a  separation  of  either 
would  in  all  probability  spell  ruin  to  all.  The  richest 
of  the  colonies  is  that  small  island  of  San  Thome,  but  it 
cannot  maintain  its  financial  prosperity  unless  fed  by 
labour  from  the  mainland  colonies  of  East  and  West 
Africa.  Then  the  Angola  finances  are  nearly  balanced 
by  the  financial  position  of  the  cocoa  islands. 

Another  argument  is  put  forth,  to  the  effect  that  the 
Portuguese  treatment  of  natives  demands  a  transfer  of 
the  territory  to  some  more  progressive  Power,  such  as,  for 
instance,  Germany.  Are  those  who  advocate  this  policy 
quite  sure  that  the  **  Progressive  Power  "  would  treat 
the  natives  better  than  the  Portuguese  ?    if  so,  where  is 


296  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

the  evidence  ?  Does  East  Africa  provide  it  ?  Does  the 
treatment  of  the  Herreros  and  the  shooting  of  British 
Kaffirs  demonstrate  it  ?  Those  who  support  a  transfer 
on  this  ground  should  not  lightly  pass  over  these  and 
similar  incidents.  They  can  be  absolutely  certain  of 
this  one  thing,  that  Germany  would  be  *'  progressive  " 
enough  to  see  to  it  that  the  cocoa  plantations  of  San 
Thome  had  an  abundant  supply  of  labour — no  matter 
what  the  consequences  to  such  a  subordinate  issue  as 
labour  conditions. 

Then  I  am  told  that  **  in  any  case  the  condition  of 
the  natives  as  a  whole  could  not  be  so  bad  under  Germany 
as  under  the  Portuguese."  To  this  I  cannot  agree,  for 
though  I  admit  that  a  number  of  colonial  Portuguese  are 
slave  traders,  and  that  slavery  is  prevalent  on  the  main- 
land and  on  the  islands,  I  must,  in  fairness  to  the  Portu- 
guese, point  out  first  that  the  Portuguese  have  a  kindly 
nature  to  which  one  can  appeal,  and  secondly  that  signs 
are  not  wanting  of  an  awakening  of  the  conscience  of  the 
Portuguese  nation  in  a  manner  which  may  lead  to  a 
thorough  cleansing  of  the  colonial  possessions  of  the 
Republic.  Thirdly,  there  is  no  colour-bar  in  the  Portu- 
guese dominions. 

To  this  argument  I  get  the  reply,  "  Public  opinion  in 
Germany  would  insist  on  the  abolition  of  existing  slavery," 
but  this  is  an  argument  which  has  no  shred  of  foundation 
in  fact ;  Germany  is,  in  many  respects,  a  progressive 
Power,  but  she  has  no  philanthropic  soul  for  the  well- 
being  of  native  races.  A  single  word  from  Germany 
indicating  a  willingness  to  co-operate  with  Great  Britain 
during  the  Congo  agitation  would  have  saved  thousands, 


BELGIAN   CONGO  297 

if  not  millions,  of  lives.  That  word  was  never  spoken, 
the  Congo  tribes  were  left  to  perish,  and  German  pubhc 
opinion  maintained  a  cynical  attitude  until  the  end.  A 
merchant  or  two  rendered  yeoman  service,  but  they  were 
as  voices  crying  in  the  wilderness. 

Let  Portugal  retain  her  colonies,  and  resolutely  begin 
to  purify  their  administration  and  abolish  slavery,  but 
she  must  do  it  quickly  if  she  is  to  retain  the  goodwill  of 
those — and  they  are  still  many — who  would  deplore  her 
disappearance  from  the  map  of  Africa.  She  has  said  with 
an  intensity  demanding  appreciation  that  she  will  not 
dispose  of  her  ancient  colonies,  and  this  courageous  reply 
evoked  a  warm  response  from  all  her  colonists  who  to  a 
man  are  intensely  patriotic,  but  if  Portugal  should  refuse 
to  abolish  slavery,  she  cannot  expect  that  her  most  power- 
ful Ally  will  be  allowed  to  maintain  an  Alliance  valued 
to-day  by  many  of  us,  yet  viewed  with  increasing  uneasi- 
ness by  a  large  section  of  the  British  Public.  No  one 
wishes  to  utter  a  word  which  can  be  construed  as  a  threat, 
but  every  one  knows  that  there  are  paths  along  which 
no  British  Foreign  Minister  can  lead,  much  less  force  the 
nation. 

Belgian  Congo  figures  largely  in  every  proposal  for  a 
rearrangement  of  the  map  of  Africa.  It  is  claimed  that 
Belgium  has  annexed  more  territory  than  she  can  safely 
administer  ;  certain  it  is  that  in  annexing  the  Congo  she 
did  not  take  over  an  ordinary  colony.  When  Great 
Britain  assumed  responsibility  for  her  African  colonies 
their  virgin  wealth  was  practically  untapped  ;  the  people 
inhabiting  the  colonies,  as  a  whole,  welcomed  the  advent 
of  her  rule,  and  moreover  Great  Britain  had  in  all  her 


298  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

territories,  with  the  exception  of  Egypt,  a  free  hand. 
To  a  greater  or  less  extent  this  appUes  to  all  African 
Powers,  other  than  Belgium.  When  Belgian  annexation 
took  place,  the  Congo  w^as  in  every  respect  a  "  squeezed 
orange  "  ;  not  only  so,  but  the  administration  of  that 
territory  must  remain  subject  to  the  paternal  control 
of  the  European  Powers.  There  is  another  feature  which 
should  not  be  overlooked,  and  which  may  yet  cause 
difficulty.  In  the  event  of  a  general  insurrection  in  French 
or  British  colonies,  or  in  the  event  of  invasion,  these 
Powers  can  at  once  bring  in  an  outside  coloured  army, 
which  can,  if  necessary,  be  reinforced  with  white  troops. 
Belgium  can  do  neither.  Let  any  material  section  of 
the  native  army  revolt,  which,  by  the  way,  is  the  ever 
present  fear  of  its  officers,  and  the  Europeans  must  run 
for  their  lives.  They  would  call  in  vain  for  troops  from 
the  Mother  Country,  for  by  the  Belgian  Constitution  the 
army  may  not  be  ordered  abroad,  and  for  other  reasons 
European  forces  could  hardly  be  used  in  the  Congo.  With 
the  unification  of  language  amongst  the  native  troops 
which  is  rapidly  taking  place,  with  the  ever  increasing 
spread  of  knowledge  as  to  the  use  of  arms,  this  peril  has 
been  gravely  accentuated  within  recent  years. 

Apart  from  these  general — and  some  of  them,  remote — 
difficulties,  there  are  existing  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  extensive  Congo  territories  are  too  heavy  a  responsi- 
bility for  Belgium.  The  country  is  over  eighty  times 
the  size  of  Belgium,  a  proportion  to  the  Mother  Country 
not  by  any  means  without  parallel,  but  circumstances 
differ  so  widely  that  they  remove  the  question  from  all 
comparison  with  any  other  incident  of  colonial  expansion. 


BELGIAN   CONGO  299 

The  only  countries  which  at  all  compare  with  the  Congo 
are  Uganda  and  Southern  Nigeria,  but  these  have  not 
suffered  as  the  Congo  has  done  from  thirty  years  of  the 
maddest  form  of  exploitation  since  Pizarro  plundered 
Peru. 

Uganda  is  just  about  100,000  square  miles  and  the 
Imperial  grant-in-aid  during  the  last  ten  years  in  direct 
administrative  assistance  (excluding  railway  credits)  is 
no  less  than  £1,075,000,  or  an  average  annual  grant-in-aid 
of  £107,500.  This,  it  will  be  observed,  is  approximately 
an  annual  grant-in-aid  of  a  sovereign  per  square  mile. 

The  Belgian  Congo  cannot  be  managed  upon  less  than 
Uganda,  therefore  it  should  require  grants-in-aid  from  the 
Imperial  Exchequer  for  the  next  twenty  years,  of  not 
less  than  £1,000,000  sterling  per  annum.  To  this, 
however,  must  be  added  the  exceptional  demands  from 
which  no  colony  escapes.  The  question,  therefore,  is 
this  :  Are  the  Belgians  ready  to  invest  a  sum  of  twenty 
to  thirty  millions  sterling  in  the  Congo  during  the  next 
twenty  to  twenty-five  years  ? 

The  Congo  is  thirteen  times  the  size  of  Southern 
Nigeria  ;  and  though  the  density  of  the  Congo  popula- 
tion is  considerably  less,  the  tribes  are  much  more 
widely  scattered,  and  therefore  require  almost  the  same 
measure  of  white  supervision,  particularly  in  view  of  the 
direct  taxation  which  everywhere  prevails.  There  is 
the  further  consideration  that  many  of  the  Belgian 
"  officials  "  are  to-day  necessarily  occupied  with  work 
which  in  other  colonies  is  rightly  left  to  the  merchant. 
In  view  of  these  considerations  a  pro  rata  white  personnel 
would  seem  to  be  essential.     In  Southern  Nigeria  Great 


300  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

Britain  has  from  800  to  1000  white  men  of  all  grades 
engaged  in  its  administration.  Taking  the  lowest  figure 
as  a  basis,  the  Belgium  Congo,  with  its  900,000  square  miles 
of  territory,  coupled  with  the  varied  enterprises  of  the 
administration,  would  require  over  10,400  men,  but  the 
colonial  authorities  find  the  greatest  difficulty  in  main- 
taining an  official  personnel  of  about  2000  ! 

With  a  few  notable  exceptions,  the  type  of  official 
on  the  Congo  gives  but  little  promise  of  any  really  effective 
and  enlightened  administration.  Can  the  Belgian 
Government  find  the  men  which  the  colony  requires  ? 
None  can  say  actually  what  she  may  be  able  to  do, 
although  none  will  deny  that  up  to  the  present  she  has 
failed  to  find  either  the  number  or  the  class  of  men  vital 
to  successful  colonial  government. 

The  question  the  Belgians  would  do  well  to  ask 
themselves  is — whether  it  would  not  be  wiser  for  them  to 
administer  a  smaller  colony  properly  than  to  continue  an 
attempt  to  govern  a  vast  region  like  the  Congo  basin, 
which,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  would  be  an  enormous 
task  even  for  the  most  affluent  European  Power. 

If  Belgium  could  retain  the  Lower  Congo,  or  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  it,  and  transfer  almost  the  whole  of 
the  upper  regions  to  another  Power,  the  indemnity  she 
might  expect  to  receive  would,  in  such  a  case,  permit  of 
the  development  of  the  Lower  Congo  in  a  manner  which 
would  absorb  all  the  activity  that  she  could  throw  into 
it  for  generations.  There  are  great  possibilities  in  the 
Lower  Congo,  possibilities  unprejudiced  by  the  difficulties 
which  obtain  in  the  Upper  Congo. 

If  the  Belgians  would  agree  to  the  disposal  of  the 


GERMANY   AND   BELGIAN   CONGO        301 

major  part  of  the  Upper  Congo,  the  problem  which  would 
then  confront  statesmen  w^ould  be  that  of  findmg  another 
Power  willing  to  assume  so  large  a  responsibility.  France 
has  the  reversionary  right,  but  could  not  be  expected  to 
add  to  her  already  too  great  African  responsibilities. 
Clearly  Great  Britain  could  not  accept  the  burden  in  view 
of  the  lead  she  took  in  the  work  of  securing  reforms. 
Portugal  cannot  effectively  administer  the  territories  she 
already  possesses.    We  are  thus  driven  to  look  to  Germany. 

It  seems  to  be  everywhere  accepted  that  Germany 
would  be  willing  to  spend  men  and  money  on  the  adminis- 
tration of  a  large  tropical  colony,  but  again,  is  she  pre- 
pared to  accept  the  task  of  governing  the  Upper  Congo  ? 

A  readiness  to  do  so  could  hardly  be  other  than 
welcome  to  the  European  Powers,  always  providing  that 
Belgium  were  willing  to  share  her  present  burden  with 
Germany. 

Such  a  transfer  would  not  only  unite  the  German 
colony  of  Cameroons  with  the  Congo  colony,  but  also 
with  German  East  Africa,  thus  giving  to  Germany  a  great 
and  uninterrupted  trans-African  colony  larger  than  that 
possessed  by  any  European  Power  in  Africa.  But  the 
fatal  objection  to  this  re-arrangement  is  that  there  is  no 
short  and  easy  route  to  the  sea  which  would  be  essential 
to  a  German  control  of  the  Congo.  Even  if  the  Matadi- 
Leopoldville  railway  territory  were  transferred,  which 
would  be  extremely  unlikely,  the  German  Government 
would  know  that  it  was  only  a  temporary  route  to  the 
ocean. 

Is  it  impossible  for  the  Powers  of  Europe  to  take  a 
truly  large  view  of   the  situation   and  by  making   an 


302  DAWN   IN   DARKEST   AFRICA 

immediate  sacrifice,  which  in  point  of  fact  would  be 
advantageous  to  each  Power  concerned,  and  thereby 
place  the  peace  of  the  world  upon  a  lasting  basis  ?  Is  it 
entirely  out  of  the  question  to  persuade  France  for  an 
adequate  quid  pro  quo  to  transfer  the  major  part  of 
French  Congo  also  to  Germany  ? 

France  knows  how  she  has  been  drawn  into  an  almost 
impossible  situation  in  that  wretched  colony,  she  knows 
how  difficult  it  is  for  her  to  cleanse  and  administer  it 
upon  lines  which  are  in  accord  with  the  obligations 
imposed  upon  her  by  the  Berlin  Conference.  If  France 
and  Belgium  together  could  be  persuaded  to  transfer  the 
whole,  or  the  greater  part,  of  French  and  Belgian  Congo 
to  Germany,  a  comparatively  quick  route  to  the  ocean 
would  be  possible  for  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Congo  basin. 
If  these  two  Powers  could  be  brought  to  agree  to  such 
a  transfer  to  Germany,  they  would  individually  be  im- 
measurably the  gainers,  they  would  secure  the  peace  of 
the  world,  and  they  would  thereby  add  a  lustre  to  their 
names  which  neither  time  nor  eternity  could  tarnish. 

Experience  has  shewn  us  that  commerce  need  have 
no  fear,  for  Germany  welcomes  and  treats  fairly  the 
commercial  houses  of  all  nations.  No  favour  is  granted 
to  a  German  firm  which  is  prejudicial  to  the  representatives 
of  other  Powers,  whereas  to-day  the  notorious  fact  is 
that  merchants  refuse  to  extend  their  commercial  enter- 
prises in  French  and  Belgian  Congo  owing  to  the  restric- 
tions and  irritating  dues  and  charges  which  are  imposed. 

The  remaining  difficulty  and  the  chief  one  is  that  of 
the  treatment  of  the  natives.  Doubtless  if  it  were  possible 
to  consult  them,  they  would  in  both  colonies  vote  for  a 


PEACE   IN   THE   WORLD  303 

transfer,  not  because  they  know  anything  of  German  rule, 
but  because  they  would  hope  that  a  change  would  not 
involve  them  in  a  worse  condition  than  they  suffer  at 
present.  German  administration  of  French  Congo 
certainly  could  hardly  be  more  oppressive  than  the  French 
Government  permits  to-day.  In  Belgian  Congo  the 
natives  would  probably  be  treated  as  humanely  and 
probably  more  justly  than  at  present.  Finally  it  is 
hoped  that  the  German  administration  will,  with  the 
march  of  time,  become  less  rigorous  in  theory  and  more 
humane  in  practice.  On  the  whole,  both  from  the 
commercial  and  native  standpoint,  the  Congo  basin 
stands  to  gain  by  a  transfer  to  the  German  Empire. 

This  transfer,  joining  as  it  would  the  Cameroons  with 
German  East  Africa,  would  provide  Germany  with  a 
single  African  colony  of  something  over  two  million  square 
miles  in  extent ;  occupied  by  a  population  of  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  millions  of  people.  A  fertile  colony  larger 
than  our  Indian  Empire,  and  approximately  the  same 
square  mileage  as  the  total  possessions  of  Great  Britain 
in  the  African  continent. 

The  paramount  question  is,  of  course,  what  quid  pro 
quo  could  Germany  give  in  return  for  a  re-arrangement  of 
the  African  continent  which  would  provide  her  with  so 
vast  a  domain  ?  Belgium  would  probably  be  willing  to 
accept  a  cash  indemnity  with  the  retention  of  such 
portion  of  the  Congo  territory  as  she  could  safely  and 
effectively  administer.  France  is  the  only  difficulty  ;  but 
if  France  chose  to  be  generous  enough  to  part  with  French 
Congo,  might  not  such  a  spirit  find  an  echo  across  the 
Rhine  ?     To  put  this  into  plain  language,  would  not  this 


304  DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 

vast  colonial  expansion  thus  placed  in  the  hands  of 
Germany  be  worth  a  rectification  of  the  frontier  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine — or  at  least  the  gift  of  autonomy  ? 

Such  a  solution  of  a  great  African  problem  would 
give  a  ray  of  light  and  hope  to  the  darkest  regions  of  the 
"  Dark  Continent,"  whilst  in  Europe  it  would  settle  for 
generations  the  peace  of  the  world  ;  surely  a  fitting 
monument  to  erect  to  the  memory  of  the  martyred 
millions  of  the  Congo  ! 


Boundary  of  Con^o  free  frad&  /Irea/^^ 


Stanfords  OeiyrafiA  fS-itai^,  London . 


/' 


Bcpunctary  of  Con^o  free  Trade  /Irea/^ 

L-  L 


JtMfvni}  b'r^yn^  UtTai^,  ImdfA  ■ 


INDEX 


Abeokuta,  loi,  283 

Absinthe  and  natives,  99 

Aburi,  254,  261 

Accra,  256 

African,  artisan,  the,  109  ;    doctor, 
the,  no,  120  ;  educated,  the,  108 

Anglo-Portuguese  AUiance,  174,  201 

Angola,  169 

Anklets,  brass,  34 

"  Anti-Slavery    Society,"     Portu- 
guese, 138 

Ants,  driver,  18 


Baketi  tribe,  the,  24 
Bakuba   ,,      the,  29,  40 
Bakwala ,,      the,  39 
Bakwiri  ,,      the,  252 
Baluba    ,,      the,  27 
Bangalla  ,,      the,  27 
Bangalla  River,  26 
Baptist  Mission,  the,  269 
Barrel  rolling,  256 
Barrister,  native,  the,  51 
Basamba  custom,  144,  145 
Basel  Mission,  the,  47,  252,  269,  285 
Bashilele  tribe,  the,  29 
Basongo,  180 
Batanga,  32 
Batanga  canoes,  13 
Batetela  tribe,  the,  27,  178,  198 
Bathurst,  294 
Belgian  Congo,  the,  203 
Belgian  Congo,   commerce  in,   92, 
154 


Bell,  Rev.  J.,  281 

Benguella,  172 

Benin  Rubber  Plantations,  242 

Bennett,  E.  N.,  96 

Bihean  Slave  Traders,  197 

Blaize,  Richard,  283 

Socage,  M.  Du,  187 

Boela  tribe,  the,  33 

Boma,  170 

Bopoto,  26 

Bridewells,  176 

Brine  bath,  the,  231 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 

the,  283 
"  Bula  Matadi,"  152 
Burial  customs,  25 
Burroughs  Wellcome  and  Company, 

81.  83 
Burtt,  Joseph,  186 
Bushongo  tribe,  the,  28 


Cadbury — Standard  Trial,  the,  186 

Calabar  Missions,  280 

Cameroons  cocoa,  248,  251 

Camwood  production,  33 

Canoes,  dugout,  12 

Cape  Railway,  the,  171 

Capital  A,  The,  195 

Carrier,  the,  4,  151 

Carson,  Sir  Edward,  186 

Castelin,  Father,  207 

Cathohc  missionaries,  Roman,  265 

Chapel  farms,  250 

Charms,  37 

Chevalier,  Dr.,  237,  239,  241 

Chinese  Labour,  135 


I 


H 


INDEX 


Abeokuta,  loi,  283 

Absinthe  and  natives,  99 

Aburi,  254,  261 

Accra,  256 

African,  artisan,  the,  109  ;    doctor, 
the,  no,  120  ;  educated,  the,  108 

Anglo-Portuguese  AlUance,  174,  201 

Angola,  169 

Anklets,  brass,  34 

"  Anti-Slavery    Society,"     Portu- 
guese, 138 

Ants,  driver,  18 


Baketi  tribe,  the,  24 
Bakuba    ,,      the,  29,  40 
Bakwala ,,      the,  39 
Bakwiri  ,,      the,  252 
Baluba     ,,      the,  27 
Bangalla  ,,      the,  27 
Bangalla  River,  26 
Baptist  Mission,  the,  269 
Barrel  rolling,  256 
Barrister,  native,  the,  51 
Basamba  custom,  144,  145 
Basel  Mission,  the,  47,  252,  269,  285 
Bashilele  tribe,  the,  29 
Basongo,  180 
Batanga,  32 
Batanga  canoes,  13 
Batetela  tribe,  the,  27,  178,  198 
Bathurst,  294 
Belgian  Congo,  the,  203 
Belgian  Congo,   commerce  in,   92, 
154 


Bell,  Rev.  J.,  281 

Benguella,  172 

Benin  Rubber  Plantations,  242 

Bennett,  E.  N.,  96 

Bihean  Slave  Traders,  197 

Blaize,  Richard,  283 

Bocage,  M.  Du,  187 

Boela  tribe,  the,  33 

Boma,  170 

Bopoto,  26 

Bridewells,  176 

Brine  bath,  the,  231 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 

the,  283 
"  Bula  Matadi,"  152 
Burial  customs,  25 
Burroughs  Wellcome  and  Company, 

81.  83 
Burtt,  Joseph,  186 
Bushongo  tribe,  the,  28 


Cadbury — Standard  Trial,  the,  186 

Calabar  Missions,  280 

Cameroons  cocoa,  248,  251 

Camwood  production,  33 

Canoes,  dugout,  12 

Cape  Railway,  the,  171 

Capital  A,  The,  195 

Carrier,  the,  4,  151 

Carson,  Sir  Edward,  186 

Castelin,  Father,  207 

CathoUc  missionaries,  Roman,  265 

Chapel  farms,  250 

Charms,  37 

ChevaUer,  Dr.,  237,  239,  241 

Chinese  Labour,  135 


3o6 


DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 


Christiansborg,  253,  280 

Christy,  Dr.,  242 

Church  Missionary  Society,  269 

Cicatrization,  26,  28 

Cicatrization,  object  of,  30 

Cocoa,  Butter,  246 

Cocoa,  Gold  Coast,  4,  161,  247,  253 

Cocoa,  Nigerian,  257 

Cocoa,  Portuguese,  249 

Cocktails,  75 

Cogill,  Mr.,  139 

Cold  storage,  85 

Collars,  brass,  34 

Commissioners,  Assistant  District, 
96 

Congo,  Belgian  annexation,  209, 
215,  220 ;  assets,  210 ;  cocoa, 
217,  250  ;  cotton,  216  ;  railway, 
211  ;   rubber,  213,  216,  237,  243 

Convict  leasing,  166 

Correctional  labour,  166 

Cotton  growing,  57 

Cotton,  price  of,  57 

Cromer,  the  Earl  of,  144 

Cursing,  fear  of,  36 


D 

Dagomba  tribe,  the,  69 
Daysman,  the,  42 
Death  customs,  36,  37 
Dennett,  Mr.  R.  E.,  143 
Dilolo,  Lake,  184,  197 
Docemo,  King,  159,  167 
Dualla  tribe,  the,  252 
Du  Chaillu,  Dr.,  36 
Dunstan,  Professor  W.,  226 


Educational  grants,  112 

Egyptians,  225 

Elder     Dempster     and     Company, 

Messrs.,  84 
Eleko,  Prince,  167 
Eloesis  Guineensis,  225 


Fernando  Po,  263,  281 

Fiji,  labour  contracts  in,  141 

Flogging,  127,  181 


Gambia,  the,  293 

German    colonies    and     commerce, 

88,  90,  302 
German  Cameroons,  301,  313 
German  East  Africa,  301,  303 
Gin  "  banked,"  loi 
Gold  Coast  cocoa,  217 
Gold  Coast  rubber,  242 
Grants-in-aid,  299 
Grenada,  261 
Grey,  Sir  Edward,  40,  187,  189,  191, 

196,  201 
Gum  copal,  214 


H 


Hairdressing,  native,  32 

Hamburg  merchants,  225 

Harding,  Colonel  Colin,  197 

Hardinge,  Sir  Arthur,  187,  189,  196 

Hausa  carriers,  255 

Hawkin,  Mr.  R.  C,  135 

Hawkins,  Jack,  175 

Hay,  Mr.  Drummond,  189,  193,  198 

Herreros,  the,  252,  296 

Holt  &  Co.,  Messrs.  John,  81,  93 

Holt  V.  Rex,  159 

Hospitality,  native,  106 

Hostages,  rubber,  206 

Hostage  system,  Congo,  206 

"  Hot  Pot,"  native,  233 


India  Office,  the,  135,  137 
Indians,  Pincon's  Brazilian,  235 
"  Ingleza,"  the,  279 


INDEX 


307 


Janssens,  Monsieur,  277 
Johnston,  Sir  Harry,  132 
Jones,  the  late  Sir  Alfred,  81 
Justice,  British,  117 

K 

Kalamba,  180 

Kid,  the  sacrificial,  24 

Koran,  268 

Kroo  boys,  93 

Kumasi,  253,  257,  269 


Labour,  contract,  139,  140  ;  re- 
cruiting, 141,  163  ;  recruiting, 
official,  142  ;    forced,  149 

Lactation,  period  of,  68  ;  prolonged, 
68 

"  Lady  of  our  Salvation,"  the,  171 

Lagos  island,  41,  120,  260 

Land  tenure,  157 

Land  war,  158 

"  Lazy  Nigger,"  the,  126 

Leopold,  King,  67,  205,  208,  219, 
220,  273,  278 

Liberian  labour  supply,  131 

Liquor  Traffic  and  Native  Races 
Committee,  98 

Livingstone,  David,  269,  272 

Loanda,  170,  172 

Lobito  Bay,  171 

Lokele  war,  158 

Lome,  89,  275 

Luebo,  180 

Lulua  tribe,  the,  28 

Lunda  country,  169,  240 

Lunda  slave  traffic,  188 

Lusambo,  184 


M 


Macintosh,  Charles,  235 

Mackie,  Mr.  Consul,  187,  191,  241 


Maloney,  Sir  A.,  236 
"  Mammies,"  The,  123 
Manioca,  preparation  of,  52,  158 
Mayumbe,  28,  217,  251,  253,  263 
Medical  missions,  277 
Mendes,  Dr.  Correa,  181,  191 
Missionary  statistics,  283 
Mobeka,  204 
Mohammedanism,  268 
Money  lending,  35 
Mongo  tribe,  the,  34 
Monkey  calls,  8 
Mortality  statistics,  78 
Motherhood,  68 


N 


Negrophobia,  107 
Neves  Herniano,  195 
Nevinson,  H.  W.,  175 
Nigeria,  Christianity  in,  268 
Nigeria,  cocoa  cultivation,  257 
Nightingale,  Mr.  Consul,  186 
Ngombe,  the  tribe  of,  32 
Novo  Redondo,  178 


O 

Oil  palm,  the,  227,  234 
Oil  rivers,  69,  90 
Ogowe,  the,  85 
Orator,  the  African,  42 


Paddler,  the,  10 

"  Palaver  "  described,  41 

Palm  cabbage,  226,  232 

"  Palm  oil  chop,"  54 

Palm  wine,  103,  226,  234 

Peace  and  arbitration,  African,  40 

Pico  da  San  Thome,  248 

Polygamy,  59 

Polygamy  and  Christianity,  61,  67 

Polygamy,  obligatory,  59 

Polygamy  and  the  birth  rate,  63,  65 


3o8 


DAWN   IN   DARKEST  AFRICA 


Portuguese  Republic,  162 
Principe,  island  of,  82 
Prister,  Professor,  175 
Prohibition,  difficulty  of,  102 
Protestant  missions,  265 

R 

Race  prejudice,  169 

Reforma,  the  Portuguese,  194 

Renkin,  Monsieur,  207,  216 

Repatriation  fund,  192  ;  problem 
of,  199 

Rio  del  Rey,  85 

Rouge,  native,  33 

Rubber,  discovery  of,  235,  237  ; 
Funtumia,  237 ;  Hevea  Brazi- 
liensis,  244 ;  Ireh,  236 ;  Lan- 
dolphia,  237  ;  Manihot  Glaziovii, 
244 


San  Thome  cocoa,  247,  264 

Schindler,  F.,  197 

Sherboro,  Bai,  117 

Sheridan,  42 

Slave  capture,  147 

Slavery,  domestic,  142,  144,  175 

Slavery  in  French  Guinea,  147 

Slavery,  Portuguese,  161,  262,  266, 

271 
Sleeping    sickness,    132  ;     Uganda, 

132  ;   Principe,  132,  i8i 
Stanley,  Sir  H.  M.,  208,  236,  272 
Strachey,  J.  St.  Loe,  202 
Swastika  cicatrice,  28 


Termites,  20,  261 

Togoland,     88 ;      taxation,     153 

cocoa,  248  ;   transport  in,  90 
Trader,  the  African,  49 
Trinidad  cocoa,  262 
Tudhope,  Mr.,  252 
Twin  customs,  69 
Twin  murder,  70 


U 

Uganda  grant-in-aid,  299 
Uganda  mission,  287 
Uncle  Remus  in  Africa,  24 


Vasconcellos,  Senhor,  196 

Venezuela,  260 

Victoria,  79,  230 

Villiers,  Sir  Francis  Hyde,  193 


W 

Wages,  native,  46 
"  White  Cap  "  chiefs,  the,  159 
WiUianis,  Robert,  91,  171 
Wilhelmstal,  incident  of  the,  136 
Wright,  Herbert,  244 
Wuta  the  Conqueror,  27 


THE  END 


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