Mr. Churchill's Journey 



in villafres. At the base of the mountains were 

 broken hills composed of huge granite rocks, the 

 foundations of mountains that had long since 

 decayed. Upon all these strong positions were 

 the villages. There were, perhaps, thirty or so 

 situated in the vale and on the heights along: the 

 base of the mountain ; but at this season only 

 the tops of the huts were visible above the high 

 dhurra, which was just ripening, although the 

 general harvest had not yet commenced. 



There is no covert so much in favour of native 

 warfare as the high dhurra, which perfectly con- 

 ceals the movements of those passing through it 

 without hampering their progress. 



I believe that if it were possible to convert 

 the greater portion of African savages into dis- 

 ciplined soldiers, this would be the most rapid 

 stride towards their future civilization. The 

 enforcing of obedience, order, industry, and dis- 

 cipline, together with clothing and cleanliness, is 

 all that is absolutely required to bring a savage 

 within the bounds of good management. A 

 savage who has led a wild and untutored life 

 must learn to obey authority before any great 

 improvement in his condition can be effected. 

 A soldier must obey, and he learns to respect his 

 officers as his superiors ; thus a savage who has 

 learnt all he knows from his officers, whom he 

 admits as his superiors, will quickly adopt their 

 religion as he has been obliged to adopt their mili- 



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