In Afric’s Forest and Jungle 
1 
ALONG THE COAST 
For four eventful years, far from civilization, 
my young wife and I lived among the barbarous 
people inhabiting that part of Western Central 
Africa lying between the Bight of Benin and the 
Niger river and between parallels five and seven, 
north latitude. In this section of the continent 
about four millions of people speak a language 
known as “Yoruban.” The natives, however, 
recognize a number of entirely separate principal¬ 
ities. The most important are Egbar or Abeokuta, 
Ejayboo, Yoruba, lllorin, Ejesha and Benin. In 
color, these tribes range from black through 
brown to copper. They are reasonable, brave 
and patriotic, and are capable of a very high de¬ 
gree of intellectual culture. 
The contest for African Empire between Eng¬ 
land and France has recently brought these peo¬ 
ple prominently to the notice of the whole civi- 
9 
