Arizona republican., 1907-09-28
LITERARY AFRICAN CHIEF.
A Successful Author and Publisher of
 German East Africa.

l fulness as the friend and ally, as wei as subject, of the ruling white power Every public act and many of thu private enterprises of the Sultan Nut ahangarua are deemed worthy of rec ord in the German newspapers, be-
 cause he has much power and uses il wisely for the good of his people and the Germans. as well as for the ad- vancement of his own interests. Mutahangarua is lord over a beauti- full and healthful region to the west oi Victoria NyanZa in the Bukoba pro- vince of the colony. His country is the Kisiba district, d land of plain and mountain from 1000 to 5000 feet above the sea. More than 50.000 peo- pie own him as their native ruler. The Germans give him entire charge of the collection of the hut tax on the 0.OOO habitations of his subjects and pay him a commission for the work.
 This is one\of the few districts in the colony where the white rulers have no difficulty in collecting the full tax i'm posed upon the natives.
 When Mutahangarua first heard of
 the arts of reading and writing he be-
 came very eager to acquire them and
 gave a hearty welcome to the teachers
 who came into his country. He has
 been a student for nearly twenty years,
 and is now one of the most proficient
 native scholars in tropical Africa. II He has some imagination and a gift
 of literary expression and has recently
 begun to publish his writings both in
 his native language and in ki-Suahelo.
 the coast tongue which is known all over tropical East Africa and to some
 extent even to the Atlantic coast. II The following facts from the Deutsch- ! CCtafrikanische Zeitung of Oar es Sa-
 laam, the capital of the colony. are the
 latest that have been published about | this remarkable man.
 \ He knew long ago that some of the
 learned men of Europe were especially desired to collect information about the customs and arts of the less advanced
 races, to study their history and to i record their folklore and traditions. 1 This was an opportunity which the Sultan gladly embraced.
 He wrote a history of his people as 1 far as tradition and the memory of l living men could hand it down. He made a large collection of the tales. fables. proverbs. songs and myths that are current in his country.
 | He described his land with it's di- versity of resources. the advent of the new civilization and its effect upon his subjects. He wrote from fitness of knowledge and with the advantage which his high position and exception al intelligence gave him.
 Of course his writings are not scien- tific works, but they have their special value as giving the native point of view and as a large collection Of facts recorded by a man who desires to tell the truth and is well qualified to get at the real gist of things. If a large proportion of Arab blood mingled with the Bantu blood in Mutahangarua's veins he would have been more diff fuse and indulged in many specula- tions. But his style is concise and his statements are not long spun out. He has collected the raw material for the anthropologist who will doubtless give full credit to the native historian and chronicler.
 X man of means. he is able to be his own publisher. His writings are now being issued from his own printing press.
 Many of his subjects can read and write. and bright students are not lacking among them. He saw to it that the art of printing was represent ed among the industries taught to his subjects.
 He imported a printing press, and trained natives are now putting his pages into type and turning out the printed sheets. The Sultan is the first native author near the shores of the greatest African lakes.
 A while ago Mutahangarua decided that his residence did not befit his po- sition in the world. and he is now erecting a new palace. which is to be wonderful building for Central Af- rica. It is three stories and is to have a number of towers. plenty of windows and European furniture.
 When ground was broken the Sul- tan appropriated s10.0OO for the bare building. Perhaps he will find. as other builders do. that first estimates must he supplemented by later ap- propriations.
 The Sultan was the first native to introduce coffee culture on the noun tain slopes of Central Africa. and his plantations are larger than those of any of the German planting companies. though most of his trees have not yet come into bearing. He employs hun dreds of workmen to care for his trees, about 1.000,0OG in number. that spread along the mountain sides for many miles.
 His first planting. of S0.000 trees. is now yielding well, and British steam CTS calling at the port of Bukoba take the output to the Uganda railroad. which carries it to Mombasa for ship ment to Europe. where it brings a good price.
 It was thirty-seven years after Stan ley tramped through this region before a single trace of white influence reach ed it. No one would have dreamed that such a story as this could be written today of the enlightened ruler steeped in barbarism.-New York Sun.
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