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AFRICA SPEAKS 



hend. However, his ignorance was no greater than 

 that of a white pohce officer, whom I later met in 

 Lagos. This representative of law and order could 

 not miderstand how we had arrived in Nigeria without 

 coming through some seaport. When I told him we 

 had entered the country via Maidugari, he wanted to 

 know why the port officials there had failed to make 

 us comply with the immigration regulations. 



Our average speed to Riga Chikun was twelve miles 

 an hour, although I believe the train could make better 

 time. Upon our arrival there and also at Birnin Yaro 

 and Farin Rua, we were greeted by the entire popu- 

 lation. The train crew mingled with their numerous 

 friends on the platforms, while the station masters, in 

 their rear-admiral's uniforms, paraded for the benefit 

 of the assembled throng. As Zaria is only about forty 

 miles from Kaduna, we finally arrived, and there I 

 went to the house of a friend, Mr. Bostock. 



Zaria is a walled city similar to Kano, but I had 

 little time to go sight-seeing; in fact, my zest for such 

 things was at low ebb ; besides, most of my visit there 

 was spent in playing host to a bug which took up its 

 quarters in my left ear. After driving thousands of 

 miles through the heart of Bugland in the Congos 

 without any untoward incident, a green and yellow 

 Nigerian insect with fuzzy legs had to choose my ear 

 for its final resting place. While going through its 

 horrible death struggles, it felt the size of a humming 

 bird, but when the doctor finally dislodged it, after 

 two days, we found my visitor to be only a medium- 

 sized bug. 



Upon my return to Kaduna we placed both trucks 

 on flat cars and that evening boarded the train for 



