The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-04-21
TRIBES
French and Germans Explore
African Hinterland.
NATIVES FOND OF ROTATIONS
LaeaE Live In Perpetual state Of
Bleary-eyed Intoxication, with Luz
cid. Rem0rNefuI InteryaIs-some
Experiences 1et with in Determine
ing Boundary Between Colonies.

London, April 20.~Throughout the year
1906 F'raneo-Gerpan commissions have
been engaged in the delimitation Of the
frontier q the French Congo and the Ger
man colony Ct the Cameroons. Until
these commissions got to work last year,
a great part Of the border land had never
been visited b. white men; indeed. few
parts OF Africa were less known. and the
deiimitation has been a veritable piece
Of exploration which has been fruitful Of
results.
Couimandant Molla. the leader of the
more important Of the two French COM
missions. has returned and has made
known the outlines of his march and
some experiences with the natives. One
Of the most notable facts ascertained
was the great diversity Of languages
spoken by the natives. 1t was frequently
found that the people Of one village could
not understand the language spoken by
the people in the next village The only
native tongue al ali widely understood
was the Fula, a country between Lake
Tchad and the Tana, an afflusnt Of THs
Congo. The difficulty Of getting interpTe
- ~ AAtE US VI TIC 44A11ltt-s7s
which were also repeatedly detained by
the natives 10 act as carriers. as, in gen
eral, each little tribe was az war with It's
neighbors. No promises OF high payment
induced carriers TO enter hostile village,
as they feared they would be seized and
sold as slaves Again, porters en-
gagged in the districts where the usual
food is msnioc absolutely refused to
travel In districts where the staple food
Is millet.
Are Great Beer Drinkers.
But the most remarkable OF the OBJ
stacles encountered by the missions was
the state Of almost continuous intoxiea~
ton IN which the inhabitants Of the re-
gion called Laca lived. Potent beer is
brewed from millet, and the natives give
themselves up as much as possible to
eaF0usals. on such occasions the appear
ance Of a stranger Is likely to lead to
dangerous consequences. Lieut.. George
member Of the Mollas expedition, had
curious experience. from which ardent
teetotalers can draw many morals. To-
gether with an escort Of tirailleurs. the
lieutenant arrived one day at a Laca
village while the beer was flowing IN
rivers. The villagers were induced to
plaee some huts az the lieutenants dis
posal, and then returned 10 their feast
presently indulging In various dances. in
which they invited their guests to assist
When the dancing was over the village
chief. turning to Lieut.. George, said;
Now 10 finish the day. II you like, for
your amusement, we will have fight
with your soldiers
The representative OF France declared
that such a contest would not afford
sufficient entertainment. Happily. the
answer was received ia good part. 'Very
well. said the chief. ''in that case we will
have a night between ourselves" And IN
less than a quarter Of an hour twenty
villagers were killed. among the first TO
fan being the chief. CQmmandant M0lla
states that when drunk tho IAcas are
great thieves, but or regaining sobTiety
they would bring back the goods they
had stolen.
The Franco-German missions in thirteen
months marched L. 40 miles. The frontier
was fixed az nearly 2oo points astrGnom-
ically, and the missions gathered valuable
information about the economic condition
OF the country The southern part is
dense forest land, while the north Is
open land. suitable for the cultivation OF
cotton.