770 



WEST AFRICA. 



town. At the end of September Col. Willcocks 

 dispersed a force of 4,000 rebels northwest of Ku- 

 massi which fought with desperate courage, giving 

 way only after three bayonet charges. This was 

 the last considerable rebel force still in the field, 

 and when it was broken up by Major Cobbe, who 

 chased the rebels beyond the Ofin river, the work 

 of pacification became easy. 



LHIHIS lies between Southern Nigeria and the 

 French colony of Dahomey. The colony proper 

 ha- an area of 985 square miles and 85,007 inhab- 

 itants. The Lagos protectorate, including the 

 Yoruba country, has about 21,000 square miles, 

 with 3,000.000 inhabitants. The principal products 

 are palm oil, palm kernels, rubber, ivory, gum co- 

 pal, cotton, cacao, and coffee. Spirits, cotton 

 goods, tobacco, and hardware are imported. There 

 is a railroad from the town of Lagos to Abeokuta, 

 00 miles, and it is being continued to Ibadan. The 

 Governor is Sir William McGregor. The revenue 

 collected in 1898 was $200,444, of which 170,792 

 were derived from customs; expenditure, 203,- 

 803. The value of imports was 908,351, of which 

 339.779 were for cottons, 77,062 for spirits, and 

 21,043 for tobacco. The value of exports was 

 ,i;ssj.. ;_!'.>. of which 362,539 represent palm ker- 

 nels, 97,337 palm oil, and 285,410 rubber. The 

 tonnage entered and cleared during 1898 was 822,- 

 378 tons. An advance from the British Govern- 

 ment of 792,000 for railroad construction was 

 authorized by Parliament in 1899. 



Mi/i'ria has an area of about 400,000 square 

 miles and perhaps 30,000,000 inhabitants. There 

 are populous towns, such as Kano with 100,000, 

 Ilorin with 50,000, Yakoba with as many, and 

 Bida with 90,000 inhabitants. The territory is 

 divided for administrative purposes into Northern 

 .and Southern Nigeria by a line running from Owo 

 east to Ashaku. The import and export duties 

 levied by the Royal Niger Company have been 

 abolished since the territories passed into the con- 

 trol of the Crown. The revenues for the northern 

 territory will be apportioned by the Ministry of 

 the C'olonies in London from those collected in 

 Southern Nigeria and in Lagos. In 1899 the rev- 

 enue of the Niger Coast protectorate, since merged 

 in Southern Nigeria, amounted to 169,568, of 

 which 160,753 came from customs. The value of 

 imports was 732,640, and of exports 774,648. 

 The number of vessels entered was 379, of 559,912 

 inns and cleared 375, of 551,555 tons. Northern 

 Nigeria embraces the Fula empire of Sokoto, with 

 the tributary sultanates o'f Gandu, Kano, Katsena, 

 Hanchi, Bakundi, Donga. Takum, Muri, Zaria, 

 ll< 11 in, Nupe, and the British part of Adamawa; 

 also a large part of the former kingdom of Bornu 

 and of the Borgu group of pagan states. The 

 Hausas. who form a majority of the population, 

 though subject to the Fula rulers, have long been 

 sought as soldiers by the European administra- 

 tion- in Africa. The people of these Mohammedan 

 state- IM!--. a considerable degree of civili/ation, 

 and are especially skilled in growing and weaving 

 cotton ami in curing leather. They raise also a 

 dc-irable kind of indigo. The Ilausas are the 

 traders of the country, and send their caravans 

 northward to Tunis and Tripoli and eastward to 

 Egypt. The British maintain 2.500 native troops 

 in the country under the command of Col. Will- 

 cocks. The High Commissioner of Northern Ni- 

 geria is Brig.-Gen. F. J. D. Lugard. Southern 

 Nigeria, inhabited by pagan tribes, produces or 

 exports palm oil and kernels, ivory, rubber, eboiiv. 

 camwood, indigo, jrurn. barwood, and hides. A 

 military force of 800 native soldiers is maintained. 

 'I IK- High Commissioner i Sir R. 1). R. Moor, and 

 the Deputy Commissioner is Major H.. L. Gall- 



wey. The Royal Niger Company had an ordinance 

 forbidding the sale of spirituous liquors north of 

 6 12' of north latitude. The British Government 

 maintains the prohibition for Northern Nigeria, 

 most of whose inhabitants are Mohammedans, and 

 intends to establish a zone between 7 of north 

 latitude, the boundary between the northern and 

 southern territories, and 6 12' within which spir- 

 its may be sold but not stored in large quantities, 

 the object being to prevent any smuggling into 

 Northern Nigeria. 



The occupation and subjugation of Nigeria was 

 prosecuted vigorously after the Imperial Govern- 

 ment had taken the direction of military affairs 

 from the Royal Niger Company and collected a 

 large force to oppose the extension of the French 

 sphere into the region of the middle Niger. In 

 1899 the towns in the Kwo Ibibio country made 

 their submission after 19 of their number had been 

 destroyed. The resistance of the chiefs in the 

 Benin territory was broken by the occupation of 

 Benin city, the occupation of 4,000 miles of terri- 

 tory and burning of rebellious villages, and the 

 capture and execution of Ologbosheri, the leader 

 of the hostile chiefs. In 1900, though amicable 

 relations w r ith the Sultan of Sokoto and the Fu- 

 lani chiefs were cultivated, the British still en- 

 countered much opposition to their occupation of 

 the country, which they endeavored to break down 

 by punitive expeditions. In extending the tele- 

 graph from Lokoja up the Benue river to Ibi the 

 troops were attacked by the Munchi people, who 

 killed several European officers and soldiers as well 

 as native soldiers, and were not brought to sub- 

 mission until considerable re-enforcements arrived 

 to punish them. Parties were dispatched by (.'en. 

 Lugard in various directions to seek a healthy 

 site for the seat of the new Government, the val- 

 leys of the Niger and its principal tributaries 

 being very unhealthy. One of them, commanded 

 by Lieut. Monck-Mason, which explored the Gu- 

 rara river, was attacked and several casualties 

 occurred, the leader himself being wounded. The 

 columns led by Col. Morland up the Kaduna 

 tributary of the Benue and by Lieut.-Col. Lowry 

 Cole up the Kwokwana tributary on their return 

 united in an expedition to punish the troublesome 

 pagan town of Limu, and met with heavy fighting, 

 in which most of the Europeans were wounded 

 before the town was taken. 



The West African frontier force that has been 

 organized to establish British rule throughout Ni- 

 geria consists of 2 battalions of infantry, 3 batter- 

 ies of artillery, 1 company of engineers, with a 

 telegraph section, and an admirably equipped hos- 

 pital service. The rank and file are drawn in 

 about equaKnumbers from the Hausa and Yoruba 

 tribes, with a sprinkling of Nupes. Jebba, 500 

 miles up the Niger, was made the headquarters. 

 but nearly half the force was stationed at Lokoja. 

 200 miles farther down, where the Niger is joined 

 by the Benue. A battalion consists of 8 companies 

 of 150 men. each having 3 British officers and ." 

 British noncommissioned officers, with a Maxim 

 and gun detachment, the men being armed with 

 Lce-Knfield carbines. Two of the batteries consist 

 each of 4 7-pounder guns and the third of (> Maxim 

 Nordenfelts. Col. Willcocks is in command of tin- 

 entire force, and each battalion is commanded by 

 a lieutenant colonel. Other divisions of the \\f-t 

 African frontier force are assigned to the other 

 posses-ions, the total strength being 5.400 men. of 

 which number 2,500 are allotted to Northern Ni 

 geria, 1,000 to Southern Nigeria. 7(><) to Lagos, and 

 1,200 to the Gold Coast colony and protectorate. 

 The political and territorial powers of the IJoyal 

 Niger Company were transferred to the British 



