River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-05-29

ties, and this foreign export trade is
growing to such an extent that boats
of much larger size than haunted, a
short time ago, the mouth of the Niger
river now venture above the conf1u-
ence of the River Benue, and small
launches run their prOws into the little
tributaries, seeking the heart of the
country. The thick tropical forests
of this territory furnish also cargoes
of indiarubber; and while the india
rubber trade is of mparatively re-
cent origin it promises, under the pres
ent systematic programme, to attain
to considerable proportions. In the
Niger River country, as in all new
provinces which have for ages been
given over to the fercest of beasts and
of men, trade relations with the out
side world increase by easy and gradu-
al stages, gathering momentum natu-
rally. The suspicious native is first
induced to bring to a given landing the
orange colored fruit of the shea tree,
which only he knows where to find in
quantities and which only he can Sc
cure with the minimum of effort. The
white man with his. genius for con-
verting natural products into mate
rails for remunerative export trade
attends to the extracting of oil and
grease. Soon whole tribes of natives
are employed in bringing their burdens
of fruit and oil nuts in packs, on their
heads. by long and tortuous paths i'm
possible to the feet of the white trad
err. So gradually does this process con-
tinue that the world takes little heed
until, suddenly, the products of a new
colony have come to be a large and i'm
portant factor in the competitive
struggle to supply the worlds needs.
In this way the Niger River country
has quietly been developing
But new expeditions must be depend
ed upon to give added spurts and slim
ulation to the development of natural
resources. Such expeditions the Brit
ish government has been recently I'M
dertalIing in the Arc and the previous
Orion campaigns. In partially hostile
portions of the country over which she
has assumed a protectorate she has
landed soldiers under cover of her gun
boats, instructing them to make treat
les with the natives, or, failing in this,
to subdue them, as a preparation for
modern commercial supremacy.
This brings us to a curious state of
affairs which is common in all newly
partitioned countries: that of paint
brush annexation" 1t is much easier
to make map than to conquer a coun-
try, and that this method is invariably
the first resort is at once apparent,
Large tracts in new countries take on
the map color many long years before
the native tribe that inhabit them
have been reekoned with
The Portuguese, the French. the
English, the Germans, all scramblinp
for territory on the western coast of
Africa and all adopting the ''Hinter-
land" policy, it was inevitable that
their interests should clash about so
fertile region as that which reaches
back from the famous delta of the Nj
ger. The term Cumberland" is a very
common phrase in the colonies. or
rather in the high councils of the va
rious powers. 1t is humorouslv de-
fined as meaning 'as much as we can
get''-first by bluff and second by a
combination of armed display and
diplomatic Juggling. "Hinterland'' is
supposed to refer to such portion of
the interior of the new country as
ones shore line posse ssions might rea-
sonably be expected to entitle one to
exercise a protectorate over. The
term is very indefinite one and, ac-
cording to the French Interpretation,