284 Timehri. 
A Bir or Hausa History, 
But here 1 must give you a little bit of the history of the Hausa 
States. Rather more than a hundred years ago there wandered into 
Hausaland a tribe of gipsy-like people, the Foulani, whose business was 
keeping cattle. Their place of origin is unknown, but they seem to have 
heads on their shoulders, and to have had a great talent for organization 
and government. They did not mix with the people of the country, but 
as the soil of Hausaland was rich their cattle increased mightily, and 
when cattle became currency the Foulani became rich, This was their 
first step to power. Later they became bankers, lending money to 
little kinglets who wanted to fight one another. There seems to have 
been a fine opening for this sort of business in Hausaland at the time, 
since it was one of the customs of the country to have frequent wars 
with your nearest neighbours—something like the way the English 
counties play one another at cricket every summer, except that in the 
Hausa war games they only played adjacent countries and war was 
always in season. This sort of thing went on for some time until there 
arrived on the scene a gentleman of the name of Othman Fodio. The 
idea occurred to him that if you financed war you only got your com- 
mission, but if you took a hand in it as a principal and financed it your- 
self you secured the entire profit. The publishing houses of Hausaland 
do not seem to have brought out any work at the time the exact 
equivalent of Mr. Norman Anvell’s ‘‘ Great Illusion,” written to prove 
that war does not pay. So Othman’s mind was shaken by no doubts, 
and he put his project into execution, with the result that he became 
master of all Hausaland. As everywhere he appointed Foulani Governors 
and petty Governors the whole Foulani race shared in his good fortune, 
and became the rulers of Hausaland and the Hausers became their hewers 
of wood and drawers of water. It is worth noting in passing that Othman 
started operations about the same time as Napoleon Bonaparte, but 
seems to have had more staying power, as the Foulani Empire did not 
begin to decline until the Germans were on the boulevards. Whatever 
the Hausas lost in national prestige by this change they gained in security. 
For although the Foulani collected tribute in slaves, Hausa fecundity 
which Mr. Hazzledine insists is immense, was proof against this blood- 
tax and as tribal wars ceased and slave-raiders from the coast were 
absolutely barred out during the height of the Foulani power, Hausa 
fecundity asserted itself and their numbers increased immensely. With 
the decline of the Foulani power, however, all the old bad conditions 
returned. As outlying provinces broke away from the central power at 
Sokoto, petty kingdoms multiplied and tribal wars began again, and the 
slave-raiders from the coast took advantage of the confusion in the 
country to resume business. Hausa fecundity could not stand against 
the waste of human life that took place, and the country became greatly 
depopulated. 
When the English came a strong power was badly wanted. They 
have restored the security the country enjoyed under the Foulani dynasty 
