394 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



OULED NAIL DANCING GIRLS 



Photo by Bougault, Biskra. From "The Desert Gateway," by S. H. Leeder. Cassell & Co. 

 Mr. Leeder's book is a fascinating and very sympathetic account of the Arab denizens of the 

 great desert. 



cessive years of drought. With rapid 

 shrinking, fish perish by millions, cattle 

 die, large game migrate, and tribes aban- 

 don the resultant salt marshes. Much of 

 interest was gained relative to the natives, 

 the Boudaman tribes to the south being 

 agricultural and peaceful, while those to 

 the north were pastoral and warlike. 



BRITISH ACTIVITIES 



Much the greater proportion of civil- 

 ized peoples in Africa being under Eng- 

 lish control, British activities have natu- 

 rally turned towards vital problems of 

 finance, administration, and government. 

 These questions assume extreme impor- 

 tance from their practical bearing on 

 trade, commerce, and transportation, on 

 which factors the future prosperity of 

 Africa depends. 



Though subordinated to these special 

 activities, British explorations have, 

 nevertheless, been fruitful, especially in 

 connection with the eight boundary com- 

 missions, which have penetrated many 

 unexplored regions, thus adding wealth 

 of knowledge as to various tribes and 

 their environment. Major Whitlock 

 traced the Nigerian frontier 300 miles, 

 surveying large areas under adverse con- 

 ditions of hostility, which entailed severe 

 losses in killed and wounded. Com- 

 mander Whitehouse distinguished him- 

 self by an admirable survey of Victoria 

 Nyanza and Ommanney through his 

 astronomical work in Nigeria. In ad- 

 dition to the Uganda-Kongo surveys, 

 Major Bright explored the Ruwenzori 

 Mountains and measured through that 



