The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-04

en- the company trouble because they could
no longer obtain the drink. All the gin
which tnds its way TO Idah now is snug
gled.
Below the seventh parallel we enter up.
on the real gin counTy-Assaba, Onitsha.
Abutshi and other towns where gin in pint
bottles and rum in demijohns are sod in
large quantities. The people of these
towns belong to the powerful and numer-
Gus Ibo tribe From these towns gin "a
dates inland, until in some interior towns
gin imported by the Niger Company and
gin imported by the merchants of the Nj
ger Coast Protectorate can be found in the
same market. The two streams of i'm
ported spirits, viz, that by way of the
Niger river and that by way of the small
rivers and creeks of the delta, meet in
these regions. In this interior country gin
is much sought after by the natives. A
flintlock gun or a soldiers red coat are
always acceptable, but a case of gin
makes the heart glad of a very big king
Royal Drinking Bouts.
When he possesses the treasure. he can
take two or three of his wives, throw Il
cloth around him, have a large log fire
made, and sit Qiteraly) on his fathers
grave and imbibe, while his admiring wives
squatting beside him toss off the spirit
in small calabashes. The King of Omit
shaObo used 10 do this when l knew him
sit for hours and drink himself into a
maudlin condition in the company of his
devoted spouses 1t was curious thing
that the King inevitably chose the site
of his fathers grave "a few cowrie shells
stuck in the ground marked the spoO for
the drinking bouts. In Abutshi and Omit
sha there is gin everywhere, although the
| Church Missionary Society and the Ro.
man Catholic Missions have tried TO fight
against it. A stroll through an Ibo town
induces reflection Instead of calabashes
| filled with yam, fish and palm wine, which
YOU observe in villages that the gin trade
has not vet tappeo. the calabashes con-
tain nothing, or next TO nothing, but gin
and rum, The type of nature too, Is
altogether different. In remote villages ne
is, when you get to know him, free and
easy, ana happy withal in his own way
Here the signs of drink are visible at ev-
cry turn, in bleary, palsied, parched up
| looking creatures, with the curious gray
| dry skin look about them which the ex-
| perienced know well. The old men grow
| "dOtty," and the young men get soft and
| quarrelsome, while the women after a
few years, either cease child bearing al
together or give birth to sickly infants
During my residence among the Ibos /
was struck by the scars visible on hum
| dreds of men and women, generally in the
| small of the back As these natives be-
| ieve in extensive blood letting for sick
| ness. l Old not for some time pay very
great attention TO the matter But the
! particular place on the body where the
| sears were usually noticeable puzzled me.
and one day l inquired the cause l was
| tod that the people suffered severe pains
! in their insides which they attributed 10
| sin drinking. and found relief by cutting
! themselves. 1t was evident to me that the
| excessive drinking was affecting their kid
neys. which explained the frequency of
! the gashes in that particular region of the
/ body. In my opinion, the drink saps their
strength, although, owing to excessive
( sweating, actual drunkenness. such as we
| see al home is not as noticeable as one
would expect, At home the effect takes
an outward form; here It works inner and
| more deadly ravages. Many a native has
! said 70 me. speaking of the matter: Dom
man"-pontng out a comrade-"he no IT.
| hab pickins he drink them mine var 0bo
] for gin) too much Che drinks so much that
/ he has no chidrem.