Discovery And Exploration

DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. The large bay or estuary in the Gulf of Guinea, lying south of Nigeria and facing the island of Fernando-Po, was discovered by Portuguese navigators in the fifteenth or sixteenth century and christened the Rio dos Camaroes (the River of Prawns), from the abundance of Crustacea that infested its waters. The name was also used to designate the neighbouring mountains, which rise to the north-west of the bay. The English usage, until the end of the nineteenth century, was to confine the term, the Cameroons, to the mountain range, and to speak of the estuary as the Cameroon River. It was left to the acquisitive Germans to extend the use of the name in its Teutonic form--Kamerun--to the whole Protectorate. The establishment of German trading firms and factories at various places on the West African coast suggested to the Imperial Chancellor the practicability of laying the foundations of his projected German Colonial Empire in the Cameroon region of the Dark Continent. On March 19th, 1884, Dr. Nachtigal, a former Consul at Tunis, was instructed to proceed on this civilising mission, and on July 5th and 6th he hoisted the German flag at Bayida and Lome, in Togoland. On the 10th of that month the English gunboat _Goshawk_ entered the Cameroon River, and the mission’s hope of further extending the sphere of German influence on the coast of West Africa appeared doomed to extinction. But the _Goshawk_ departed on the following day, leaving the field clear for Nachtigal, who rushed through some agreements with the chiefs Deido, Bell and Akva, declared the country to be under the protection of Germany on July 14th, and appointed Doctor Buchner Provisional Governor of the newly acquired territory. The new Governor acknowledged the protest against German occupation, which was formally made by the British Consul on July 19th, and proceeded to hoist the German flag at Bumbia, Maliba, and Batanga. In this nefarious and undignified manner the German Government obtained a foothold in the Gulf of Guinea, but it still remained for them to regulate their intrusion among the nations already established in the region. In order to solidify the position they had taken up, and, in the phrase employed by Siegfreid Passarge, “to withstand the intrigues and provocations of the English,” who laid claims to Victoria and the Rio del Rey coast, it was necessary to have the treaty of occupation confirmed. On May 7th, 1885, a treaty was concluded by which the British waived their claims in favour of Germany, who reciprocated by renouncing their nominal claims to Forcados, at the mouth of the Niger, and to St. Lucia. In the same year the French ceded Great Batanga and the island west of Kwakwa-Kriek in exchange for the German possession of Konakry. These treaties legalised the position, and Germany was left a free hand to develop her possessions in the Cameroons, under the Governorship of Baron von Goden. In July, 1911, the German cruiser _Panther_ appeared off the coast of Morocco, at Agadir, for the alleged purpose of protecting German interests, of which no trace existed in that quarter of the globe. The incident was ultimately closed by the cession to Germany of the French territory to the south of their Cameroon colony, which was subsequently incorporated with it under the name of New Cameroon. The transfer was made in June, 1913. Under French domination, three military stations, garrisoned with a total force of four officers, twelve non-commissioned officers, and 200 native troops, had been sufficient to preserve order, but the new rulers had their own ideas as to the military requirements of their growing Empire. We read in _Jahrbuch über die Deutscher Kolonien_ (1913) that the German defence force numbers 185 Europeans and 1,550 natives, while it was the intention of the Government to form an additional corps of mounted infantry, to establish a stud farm for the breeding of troop horses, and to arm all the troops with 98·3 carbines. Since the declaration of war in August last, Togoland has capitulated to the French and British, and the German Cameroons are now being systematically and successfully invaded by the allied forces. The political future of these territories is, as yet, undetermined, but however they may be ultimately allocated, German domination in West Africa, with its blundering mismanagement and bumptious militarism, is a chapter of colonial history that is closed for ever. THE EXPLORATION OF THE INTERIOR. Although the commercial activities of the tribes inhabiting the African Mohammedan empires, and the construction of trade routes connecting Senegal with the Red Sea, had opened up the Soudan to Europeans, the territory which since 1884 has been known as German Cameroon was practically unexplored at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1822 an English expedition succeeded in reaching Lake Tchad and exploring its western and southern boundaries. This discovery was supplemented in 1851-52 by Barth and Overweg. Barth went from Kuka to Yola, and discovered the upper course of the Benue. He penetrated further, through the country south of Lake Chad to Bagirmi. In 1854 Baikie went up the Benue, as far as Djen, about fifty kilometres from Yola. Rohlf’s journey in 1865-67 and Nachtigal’s in 1869-74 are of little importance. In 1879 began the activity of Edward Flegel, who, on the steamer _Henry Benn_, navigated the Benue as far as Garna. Of much greater importance were the explorations of the Benue district in 1882 and 1883, the southern limit of which was marked by the towns of Ngaumdere, Banjo, Gaschaka, and Takum. The knowledge of the coastal district was extremely limited. Burton and Mann had ascended the Cameroon mountains in 1861-62. In 1872-75 three German scientists, Buchholz, Reichenow and Lüders, made important zoological discoveries, while Rogozinsky, a Pole, in 1883, reached as far as Lake Barombi. But all efforts to penetrate into the interior were frustrated by the impracticable condition of the roads, the unhealthiness of the coast district--which was for the greater part uninhabited virgin forest--and by the hostile attitude of the natives. After many fruitless endeavours to explore this coastal region, an expedition in 1888 succeeded in crossing from Batanga by way of Njong and Sanaga, and in settling the boundary between Bantio and Sudannegern. The effort to reach the Cameroon estuary was frustrated by the opposition of the Bakoko; and after a journey of much difficulty the expedition returned to the coast. In 1899 a station was established and a foothold secured. In the same year the region north of Duala was explored, and the forest district traversed, the plateau of Baliland was ascended, and the grassy lands reached. With indescribable difficulty the districts from Ibi on the Benue to Yola were traversed. In 1902-4 an Anglo-German expedition, after a very minute survey, fixed the boundary line between Yola and Lake Chad, and in 1908 an agreement was made between Germany and France regarding the south and east boundaries. In 1907-8 the frontier between Cameroon and the Nigerias was surveyed by the British and German representatives, and the approximate line of demarcation subsequently settled between the two Governments was fixed and marked by an Anglo-German commission in 1912-13. BOUNDARIES AND TOWNS. The Cameroons are bounded on the north-west by Nigeria, on the north-east and east by the French possessions of the Military Territory of Chad and the Middle Congo and the French possession of Gaboon. The frontier runs in a north-easterly direction from near Calabar in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria to Lake Chad, and then in a general south-south-east direction to about lat. 2° N., from whence it strikes south-west by west, reaching the Atlantic just south of Spanish Guinea, which is thus surrounded on the north, east and south by German territory. The general outline of the country thus described is broken in the middle east by a triangular piece of land which gives access to the Ubangi river, an affluent of the Congo, at Singa, in lat. 3° 40´ N.; whilst in the south-east corner a strip of land seventy miles broad runs southwards, giving access to the Congo itself in about lat. 1° S. The Protectorate, with an area of 290 square miles, had in 1913 an estimated native population of 2,650,000, and a European population of 1,871, of whom 1,643 were Germans. The chief towns on the coast, from north to south, are Victoria, Duala (the capital), Kribi, and Ukoko. Buea is a large town on the eastern slopes of the Cameroon mountain, and Edea is on the Sanaga, about forty miles from its mouth. In the mountainous region in the north-west are Bare, Dschang, Bali, Bamenda, Wum, Esu, and Kentu; to the east of these is Fumban, and to the west, in the low-lying country near the Nigerian border, Ossidinge. In the western portion of the plateau are Tibati, Banyo and Tingere, and in the centre, at the junction of the main routes of the interior, is Ngaumdere. In the country north of the plateau the chief towns are Garua, an important trading centre on the Benue, Lere, Binder, Marua, Mora, Dikoa, and Kusseri. In the southern part of the country are Yaunde, Dume, Bertua, Gaza, Carnot, Bania, Lomie, and Akoafim. Molondu is in the extreme south-east. THE PROGRESS OF THE PROTECTORATE. In the first twenty-eight years of their occupation the Germans had established courts of justice at Buea, Duala, Kribi, and Lomie, custom houses at Duala and Buea, thirty-eight post offices throughout the territory, and had maintained order among the natives by means of twelve companies of Imperial troops. They had constructed and opened 108 kilometres of the 1-m. gauge line of 160 kilometres from Duala to the Manenguæ Mountains, and had opened the central line from Duala to Widimange, on the Nyong River--a distance of 293 kilometres of 1-m. gauge line--as far as Edea, ninety kilometres from Duala. The imports had increased from 9,296,796 marks in 1898 to 29,317,514 marks in 1911, and their exports in the same period had risen from 4,601,620 to 21,250,883 marks, a total increase in the trade of the colony of nearly thirty-seven million marks. The want of means of communication was found a hindrance in the economic development of the territory, which was admittedly possessed of “unlimited liabilities.” Vast tracts in the interior were proved to be suited for cotton cultivation; oil palms, cocoa, and rubber were ascertained to be of “incalculable wealth,” and the Cameroons were described by Dr. Grotewold as among the most productive countries in the world. But the administration, or the critics of the administration of the Protectorate, had discovered that the lack of proper means of communication was not the only factor that retarded the progress of this richly endowed country. The unrest amongst the natives had revealed on the part of the authorities the lack of that sympathetic understanding of their native subjects which makes for successful colonisation. Their treatment of the natives was culpably injudicious, and their mistakes in dealing with them were so frequent and serious that the relations between the Government and the native population were constantly strained, and the services of the Imperial troops were in great demand. GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. The country on the whole is mountainous and forms the north-west limit of the central African plateau. The coastland is flat alluvial country spreading out on either side of the Cameroon Mountains, and broken up with mangrove swamps, lagoons and deep estuaries. The Rio del Rey region on the west of the Cameroon Mountains is a stretch of alluvial land with a breadth of thirty to forty kilometres, which forms the extreme eastern portion of the great alluvial plain extending from the Gold Coast to the Cameroon, and attaining its greatest development in the Niger Delta. Within the alluvial the volcanic massive of the Cameroon Mountain rises to a height of 4,070 m., and divides the land into two parts, which are connected only by a small and high strip of territory. To the east of the dividing mountain lies Dualaland. The other three orographical regions which comprise the Cameroon country includes the Cameroon plateau, which forms the largest and most important part of the colony; the enormous region of Adamana, which is generally level and nowhere reaches an elevation of more than 600 metres; and the extensive swampy lands of the Lake Chad basin which are under water during several months of the year. The greater part of the colony is covered with red, loamy, sandy weatherings, which are characteristic of the tropics. If this red earth contains hard concretions of brown iron ore, they are named “Laterit.” These cellular-like volcanic scoria are characteristic of the surface of the soil generally, and especially in those districts where the loamy deposits have been washed away by heavy rains. Vegetable soil is more abundant in the rainy regions of the south, and also in the lowlands. Indeed the result of this humid weathering is a kind of whitish yellowy kaolin, or china clay, which is found in the south plateau. A blackish mould to a thickness of one or two feet covers the lowland south of Lake Chad, and is there called “Firki.” Whilst in the south of the colony red and yellow clayey soil preponderates, the further north one goes to the dryer regions, reddish sand, a product of the physical weathering, is to be found. CLIMATE. In the coast region of the Cameroons the climate is warm and moist, with a high rainfall. The temperature is not excessively high, the heat being tempered by the cold Benguela current coming northward from the Polar regions. According to Knox (_The Climate of Africa_) February is the warmest month and July the coolest, the maximum and minimum temperatures being 89·7° F. and 66° F. respectively. The mean temperature at Victoria and Duala is about 77° F. The coast is one of the most unhealthy places in Africa, but the conditions are considerably better and more suited to Europeans in the high-lying districts in the north. The climate of the latter is largely of the continental type, characterised by extremes of temperature. At Bali the mean temperature is about 64° F., the maximum 87° to 90° F., and the minimum 43° to 45° F. At Fort Crampel, on the eastern side of the plateau, the maximum temperature reaches 113° F., and the minimum 49° F. On the Ngaumdere plateau it is sometimes very cold, and sleet storms are not uncommon, the temperature sometimes falling to 37° F. As regards rainfall, there are as a rule four more or less distinct seasons in the southern and central regions--the chief dry season at the beginning of the year, the so-called long wet season from June to September, a short dry season in October and November, and a short period of great rainfall in part of November and in December--but the divisions indicated are by no means well marked. The Adamana district, situated on the north of the plateau, lies beyond the equatorial beet, and there are consequently only two seasons, one wet and one dry. The massive of the Cameroon Mountains presents a district which is singular with regard to its climate, vegetation and animal life. At its base is a primeval forest, and the climate is tropical and humid. Debundja and Bibundo have practically no dry season, the rain being continuous nearly the whole year round. On the east side, the rainy season lasts for only two to three months in the year. Buea, which lies on the lower slopes of the misty region, has a fresh, cool climate, and is quite free from malaria. The temperature varies frequently, in some cases from 1·5° to 2° Cent. in the course of two or three minutes. Instead of the usual heavy tropical rains, it has only a drizzling rain, and the humidity penetrates everywhere, even the dwellings. On the upper slopes, when the north-east wind blows, it is icy cold, except at midday. Hoar frost is frequent and snow fairly so. The mountain is nearly always cloud-capped, and it is seldom possible to obtain a really clear view of the summit. VEGETATION AND FORESTRY. The combination of tropical heat and rain in the alternate regions of forests and brushwood swamps produces a tropical growth of cocoa palms, cotton plants, flax and fibrous trees, and rubber vines in prodigal luxuriance and variety. The virgin forests are tropical to a height of about 1,000 m., when they become less dense, and the oak ferns make their appearance. Between 1,500 and 1,800 m. the wild coffee shrub grows abundantly, the oak ferns disappear, and are succeeded by glades and brushwood. At an altitude of 2,200 m. the forest suddenly comes to an end and the grass land begins. Only in the ravines, in which the soil is moist and sheltered from the winds, the forest continues to the 2,700 m. level. The high forest--the most magnificent of all tropical forest formations--is characterised by its amazing variety of entirely different trees, including, among others, the great wool tree, the mahogany tree, the yellow and red wood trees, the oil-palm, and rubber. Among the trees of the brushwood districts the principal are acacias and the oil-palm, which to a height of from 700 to 900 m. covers the slopes of the Cameroon plateau to the coast. The chief planting activity appears to have been at Johann-Albrechts-Höhe, and in the Dibombari district on the Northern Railway. A forestry plantation at Manoka, near Duala, was abandoned on account of its remoteness, the difficulty of water supply, and the constant lack of labour. The principal work for the making of forest and state reserves has been conducted in Yabassi, Yaunde, Edea, and Dschang. The efforts of the forest department and of private persons have been concerned mainly with: (_a_) Investigations of woods suitable for beams, wharves, and for boat and waggon building; (_b_) trials of woods resistant to _teredo navalis_ for small boats; and (_c_) experimental shipments to German South-West Africa of woods serviceable for building, mining and street paving. A large increase, amounting to 270 per cent. in the production of building and other timber, took place in 1911. The first place in the exports is held by Cameroons mahogany, which is stated to be increasing gradually in value in the market; its exports having risen in value from £7,022 in 1910 to £22,000 in 1912. The next wood in importance is Cameroons ebony, the exports of which have been as follows: 1909, 672 tons, worth £3,038; 1910, 1,221 tons, worth £6,090; 1911, 1,652 tons, worth £6,777; whilst in 1912 the value of the shipment was £9,055. The increase of exports has been largely due to an increase of cutting by the natives, and this has entailed a considerable amount of robbery by them. As a consequence, timber exploitation on Government lands was entirely prohibited to natives in the period 1912-13, and concessions were given to Europeans with much caution; a decrease in the production was therefore expected. A difficulty regarding the exploitation of timber in the Cameroons is the lack of good waterways in the forest regions. CATTLE RAISING. In spite of the very great difficulties caused by the tsetse fly, much attention has been paid to stock-breeding in the Cameroons, although with the exception of certain efforts made in Kusseri, in the extreme north, and in Garua, in Adamana, nothing in the nature of methodical horse-breeding by natives exists. The indigenous cattle are of two kinds, the dwarf cattle and the humped cattle. Cattle-breeding in the proper sense is only found among the Fulla tribe in Adamana, in Banyo and the Lake Chad regions. From these places there was once an active export of cattle to the neighbouring British and French Protectorates, but this has been diminished in recent years owing to a large export duty. The interest in cattle-production on the part of the natives has been increased in recent years, under official encouragement, in the districts of Dschang and Bamenda. The Fulla cattle are greatly prized in the central districts, in which, by reason of the ravages of the tsetse fly, no cattle can be bred, and when railway communication has cleared the infected regions, a thriving cattle export industry to the coast will be developed. The increased prosperity of the rubber districts of the south, especially Molondu, Dume and Lomie, has led, in recent years, to a demand for meat among the natives, and this has been supplied from the Hausa and Fulani herds. In 1911 about 20,000 head of large stock and 8,000 of small stock were sent from Adamana to the south, and this is estimated to mean an exchange between the north and the south to the value of about £150,000. As is usual in West Africa, the natives possess neglected goats, sheep and fowls, and in some cases pigs, though this is only true to a very small extent in the southern districts. NATIVE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. The chief agricultural products of the Cameroons are rubber, palm kernels, cocoa and palm oil, and the Protectorate may be said, in a general way, to present three chief agricultural areas: the southern, with rubber in increasing production; the middle province around the Cameroon river basin, with their plantations and areas rich in oil palms; and the grass country, northward, suited specially for cattle breeding. Nearly all the rubber exploited has been derived from the native exploitation of wild plants. Almost all the male population of Lomie, Molondu, Dume, and Dengdeng was concerned in rubber collection in 1910-11, in which years more than 1,000 coloured middlemen bought the rubber from the natives and sold it to the forty-nine mercantile firms who had no fewer than 230 stations established for its purchase. The comparatively small share of rubber plantations in the whole production of the Protectorate is shown by the fact that, of a total export of 5,957,516 lbs. in 1911, all except 23,912 lbs. was from wild plants; whilst in 1912 cultivated plants accounted for only 53,040 lbs. in a total shipment of 6,184,222 lbs. The results of the attempts to induce the natives to take up new cultivations depend on the presence or absence in their district of wild plants that they can exploit. Whilst, for example, the inhabitants of the Lomie district, who still know of rich stands of wild rubber plants, are hardly to be excited to commence rubber cultivation, it has been experienced in Kribi, where these do not exist, that the distribution of young plants are gratefully received and readily planted. It is also recorded that oil-palm cultivation has been introduced with some success to the natives, in the districts of Lomie and Yaunde, but any “cultivation” by the natives is very simple in nature, consisting merely in the keeping of the stands clear of “bush.” The large decrease in the exports of ivory in recent years is due in great measure to the exhaustion of the stores of ivory hoarded by the natives and the extent of elephant shooting in the past ten years. The exports in 1910 amounted to sixteen tons, valued at £124, and although there was a slight increase of quantity in the following year, the export in 1912 showed a large diminution. The other native products are chiefly djair nuts, shea nuts, kola, and gum arabic, but there has been comparatively little activity as regards the actual cultivation of crops, because of the natural richness of the country in products which enable the inhabitants to buy what they require. The raising of food crops exists, however, for special demands, such as arise near railways, administrative stations and larger towns, and the chief places on the caravan routes and rivers. Near such places the native raises maize, plantains, bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes and ground nuts, as well as sorghum (dura or dari) in the northern districts, and some kola and sesame in isolated places. In several districts a certain amount of tobacco is planted; there is also some little fruit raising, notably in the villages of Ambam. In the highlands of Dschang, and in other places, such as Ebelowe and Yaunde, new crops, such as the English potato, “black bush” beans and turnips, for which the climate seems to be suited, have been introduced. Numerous inhabitants of the districts of Duala and Edea have in recent years laid out farms for the raising of cassava, plantains, maize, yams, and other products. North of the watershed the principal crops are guinea-corn, millet, ground-nuts, cassava, and sweet potatoes; cotton and tobacco are also cultivated by the Chamba pagans, Zumperis and Munchis. The corn is planted in April at the end of the rainy season, the method of cultivation being as follows. The ground is first cleared of weeds and the remains of the last year’s crop. It is then prepared for sowing by digging shallow trenches with a rough kind of hoe, the earth being piled up to form ridges between the trenches. Guinea-corn (_Sorghum vulgare_), the staple food of the country, is planted in these ridges. It grows to a great height, often fifteen to twenty feet, and is harvested in November. Millet is planted in the furrows; it ripens rapidly and is harvested in July. Cotton is ready for picking after December; tobacco and cassava are cultivated during the dry season on the hillsides, the streams being used for irrigation. From October to March, during the dry season, the natives are engaged in stacking their corn into mud-walled granaries, and threshing what they require for immediate use. These months are also spent in repairing the damage done to the villages, grass being cut and tied into bundles for thatching roofs, and making new zana matting. The dry season is also the hunting season, when the long grass has been laid low by fire. This grass-burning is an annual institution, although the Government has given orders prohibiting it on account of the damage done to trees. But the hill tribes care very little for trees or grass, and a good deal for meat. As in all parts where the tsetse fly prevails, and the employment of cattle for ploughing is impossible, the land is chiefly cultivated with the hoe; and as the West African hoe is a tool which calls for the exercise of patience rather than skill or strength, the native leaves the field work to his women. From this form of servitude the women will not be emancipated until cattle are rendered immune from tsetse fly and the hoe is supplanted by the plough.