Chapter XXI 



MORE AFRICAN FRIENDS OF THE FOREST 



To arrest the desiccation coming down from the north 

 I found it necessary to estabHsh forest barriers. This was 

 no easy matter, for the land was owned by many dif- 

 ferent Chiefs who were not always friendly amongst 

 themselves and often regarded each other with suspicion. 

 But without the willing cooperation of every one of 

 them along the line of my proposed barrier my work 

 would not have been completely successful. 



With the friendly cooperation of responsible Political 

 Officers and District Commissioners I was able to ar- 

 range palavers with many district heads and finally, hav- 

 ing in each case obtained their confidence, I brought 

 them together and they all agreed to contribute a strip 

 of forest and thus I was able to bring forward proposals 

 for a Forest Reserve approximately four hundred miles 

 in length which contained over a quarter of a million 

 acres of trees. Inside this area, farming was to be re- 

 stricted and the Forest maintained and added to as op- 

 portunity occurred. 



In all my work I was greatly assisted by my native 

 staff, and I cannot speak too highly of their splendid 

 devotion to duty. There was dear old Igabon, my faith- 



20I 



