208 
THOMPSON YATES LABORATORIES REPORT 
Lokoja is the most important town of Northern Nigeria. It is situated at the 
confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers, at a distance of about four hundred miles from 
the sea coast. Behind the town is a hill — Mount Patti — reaching about one thousand 
feet in height, and running almost parallel to the direction of the river bank. The hill 
slopes steeply down for a distance of about seven hundred feet, from which point the slope 
is less steep and takes the form of four low ridges with intervening vales running at 
right angles to the river bank. The most southerly of these ridges is called the 
' hospital hill ' — on which are built the European hospital, the quarters of the 
medical officers and of nurses and dressers. 
The next is the 'barracks' hill with the bungalows of the officers of the First 
West African Frontier Force. The third may be called the 'Residency' hill, having 
the quarters of the government resident, the post office, and behind these the 
houses of a number of native clerks and other government employes. On the fourth 
hill and on the area beyond between Mount Patti, which here approaches nearer 
to the river, and the bank is the native town. 
A road about three miles in length starts from the neighbourhood of the 
hospital, and, crossing the barracks and residency hills, enters the native town. On 
each side of this road, as it passes down the side of the hospital hill and up the 
barracks hill, are grouped the huts of the native soldiers, not very far distant from 
the bungalows of the Europeans officers. Several other native houses are dotted about 
near these bungalows. 
In each of the valleys between the hills runs one or more small hill streams. 
Between the residency and the river, on the sides of the road already men- 
tioned, a bank and other European quarters are in course of construction. 
On the water's edge and completely surrounded on one side and at the back 
with native huts, which reach up almost to the very boundary rail of the compound, 
is the factory of the Niger Company. Here there are usually some ten or twelve 
Europeans employed, while at the barracks live often as many as thirty. 
Soldier Town is the name given to the district near the river at the base of 
the ridge known as ' hospital hill,' which is occupied by the greater number of the 
soldiers of the force with their families. 
It is not difficult when one considers the manner in which the dwellings of 
Europeans are everywhere surrounded by those of natives at Lokoja, to under- 
stand how the town has gained for itself a reputation of unhealthiness, and more 
particularly the barracks of the West African Frontier Force, which might with very 
little trouble be made quite healthy. 
The European quarters have throughout the town been allowed to become 
encroached upon by the native huts. As already mentioned, the Niger Company's 
factory has native houses close to its boundary rails : the bungalows of the officers 
have a collection of soldiers' huts, and a few other scattered huts not very 
