Observers' Field Reports 143 



the Cameroun. European vegetables also do well in the south. The posts and trading fac- 

 tories have gardens of potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, turnips, haricot beans, and peas. 

 One can not obtain potatoes beyond Ngaoundere, though onions, tomatoes, and haricot 

 beans are found at every post as far north as Fort Lamy. At towns like Tibati, Ngaoun- 

 dere, Rei Bouba, and Garoua, where daily markets are held, butter, milk, and beef 

 can be procured; the country north of Garoua also supplies these foods, besides rice 

 and honey. 



A rifle, a shot gun (12 bore, 8 large shot to the cartridge), and a revolver are necessary, 

 not so much on account of the natives as the wild beasts. Buffaloes and gorillas sometimes 

 attack without provocation, and leopards in certain districts enter the villages and carry 

 natives off into the bush. A first aid case is necessary and also a good supply ot quinine. 

 Electric pocket lamps are of little use, owing to the rapid deterioration of dry batteries. 

 Though the northern Cameroun is fairly dry, the forest regions in the south are very 

 humid, and for this reason tin water-tight boxes and trunks are desirable for books, 

 papers, and clothes. As a load must not exceed 60 pounds in weight, a serviceable tin 

 trunk should be about 31 inches long, 15 inches wide, and 9 inches deep. Except in 

 the coastal areas, cool clean water can be procured at most places, and thus the develop- 

 ment in the field of photographs is not difficult. Good results were obtained with a 

 Kodak camera and a daylight developing tank. The developing powders in glass tubes, 

 sold by the Kodak Company, are preferable to those supplied in cartons or tins. Money 

 can be obtained in the interior at several points on money orders purchased at Douala. 

 For work in the north and central Cameroun, a boiling-point apparatus for altitude work 

 might be useful. 



In addition to the main routes followed by the observer, there are many others 

 which would present no difficulty, within the Cameroun Territory. A main road leads 

 from Nkongsamba, the terminus of the Northern Railway, 100 miles from Douala, to 

 Garoua or Yola via Fumban, Banio, and Kontcha. This route runs through a basaltic 

 formation near Fumban, and is very mountainous. In the central Cameroun a road can 

 be followed from Yaounde to Deng-Deng, thence to Kunde, and thence to Ngaoundere 

 or to Bouar and Bangui. Another route from Yaounde leads through Akonolinga to 

 Doumie and thence eastward to Youkaduna and Nola on the Sanga River. 



The caravan routes across the Sahara from Lake Tchad to Tripoli or Alexandria 

 are still closed by hostile natives who take refuge in the mountains of Tibesti, and the 

 French have withdrawn from their outposts in that region. From Kano, the terminus 

 of the railway from Lagos in Nigeria, a route leads northward to Zinder and thence 

 across the Sahara Desert by way of Agades, Haggar, and In-salah to Algiers. An alter- 

 native route from Kano to Zinder and Nguigmi passes along the north Nigeria from Kano 

 to Maidugari and Dikoa to Nguigmi. In the dry season, from about November to 

 July, there is motor service between Kano and Maidugari and a motor service between 

 Kano and Zinder will probably be organized in the future. A road leads from Zinder 

 eastward to the posts of Gaedam and Nguigmi. Nguigmi has a wireless station and is 

 situated near the northwest corner of Lake Tchad. From Nguigmi the oasis Bilma can 

 be reached without any difficulty by way of Bedouram and Agadem. At Bilma, where 

 the French government post is equipped with a wireless station, the traveler would have 

 a choice of three routes: (a) The old caravan road to Murzuk and Tripoli, (b) The route 

 leading through Djanet, Rhat (Ghatt), Ghadames, to Tunis or Ouargla; north of Bilma 

 there are fewer wells and more danger from brigands; between Bilma and Ghatt there 

 is said to be but one well, that of Djanet. (c) An emergency route from Bilma west- 

 southwest to the oasis of Agades and thence northward to Algiers. 



The best time for the Sahara journeys is the wet season, when the pasturage is good, 

 between May and November. The route from Zinder to Agades 1 is dotted with per- 

 manent villages through half the distance, and pasturage and wells are found throughout. 



' See Mission Foureau, Documents Scientifiques de la Mission Sabarienne, Paiis. 



