MY JOURNEY FROM LOKO TO DORRORO 185 



the interpreter, whom it is extremely difficult to detect, 

 waxes fat on his ill-gotten gains, and buys horses and wives 

 and assumes the position of a " big man." 



They are highly paid, earning £3 a month, big money for 

 a black man, but this fact would not have accounted for one, 

 Amadu, who came to us at Ibi possessing little more than 

 the bernouse upon his back, being by the time we reached 

 Kaddai the owner of several changes of fine clothes and 

 wives and horses. We did not trust him, but though 

 he enjoyed our favour, hanging on at times by a 

 very thin thread, he was clever enough to escape 

 detection. Jose's knowledge of Hausa and his position, 

 which gave him the opportunity of keeping the men under 

 close observation, acted as a wholesome check on fellows 

 of this sort later on when the Expedition was more 

 together. 



My remarks upon interpreters apply also to any black 

 intermediary between the white man and the natives, such 

 as tax collectors or resident's clerks. And here I would 

 urge the importance of all Government officials being obliged 

 to pass an examination in the practical use of Hausa, or 

 whatever may be the lingua franca of the colony. They 

 would then not only have more power to check the abuses 

 I have mentioned, but they would also come to understand 

 better the character of the natives and gain their confidence. 

 I remember a case which came under my notice in the Gold 

 Coast Hinterland, where the native agent of a High Commis- 

 sioner, who was visiting a new country to hear complaints, 

 sat with a bowl by his side into which the supphant dropped 

 money for a hearing. He also levied a tax on all cases of 



