Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-12-08
LAKE JEWELLERS IN AFRICA.
Thousands of Blacks Who Rear Thei
Huts on Piles In the Denham Waters.

Thousands of Blacks Who Rear Their
Huts on Piles in the Denham Waters.
Much attention was recently called
to the region around Kotonou, on the
Gulf of Guinea, near which place sew
eral hundred of the women warriors OF
the king of Dahomey were killed i'm
battle by the French troops One of
the most interesting features of this
region is the large native villages and
towns that have been built i'm the wa
ter. The inhabitants many years ago
took this means of trying to escape
from the terrible raids of the king of
Dahomey. Many hundreds of people
were actually driven by the powerful
king into the water. |: happens that
the Dahomians are very superstitious
about travelling in canoes or crossing
streams. and the fugitives took advan-
tage of this fact to secure protection
for themselves.
On any good map one may see the
"Denham waters" near Kotonou. This
is the home of these lake dwellers.
The towns have each a population of
from 200 TO 800 souls to as many
thousands Physically the people are
fine and healthy specimens of Africans,
and as a rule they are free from disease.
Governor MOloney, of Lagos, says the
houses are built upon piles or straight
branches of hard wood three to six
inches in diameter.
They are driven into the bottom of
the lake. The upper ends are secured
by cross pieces, on which is laid a
bamboo flooring, two-thirds or one
half of which is covered in by u house.
The uprights of the house are fixed
first and secured below the platform
to the supporting piles. The roof
frame is next made on the platform,
and is covered with grass or bamboo
leaves and raised to its position. The
remaining portion of flooring is used
as veranda. In the construction no
nails are used.
These natives are fishermen and also
a pastoral people. 1t is a curious fact
that they keep cattle in pens adjoining
their houses built on piles over the
water like their dwellings. Sometimes
during the dry season the shallowness
of the water admits of the cattle being
allowed to wander on terra firma, but
fodder is brought in canoes to many
less fortunate animals, which are com
PEELED to exc out their existence in
these pens surrounded by water until
such time as they are tethered and
transported by canoe to the butcher
The present natives are still in dread
of the Dahomians, but even if this fear
no longer existed it is probable that
the habit which they and their fathers
before them have long followed would
lead them to prefer these aquatic resi-
dences.
1t is not known how many lake dwell
ers there are, but it is supposed there
are at least 10, 600 of them among the
various tribes whose huts cover the
Denham waters. Once i'm a willis
these tribes make war on one another,
and they conduct their fighting i'm ca
noes capable of holding two or three
persons, and their weapons are guns,
harpoons, spears and clubs.
In some other parts of Africa, par
ticularly in the Congo basin, the habit
of dwelling in huts sustained on piles
in lakes or rivers is very largely fol-
lowed, and perhaps a million or two Of
the people of Africa are still perpetual
ting the phase of life of which we have
relics in the remains of the lake dwelers
of the prehistoric era.-New York Sun.