The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-12
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Creek, Portuguese East Africa.

Bamboo Creek Portuguese East Africa
 A WAY out here in the jungle, in the "A miasmatic lowlands back of the \ Indian ocean, about 9O0O miles northeast of Cape Town, in the heart of Portuguese Africa, l find an American managing a cotton plantation. He is em- ployed by the Rhodesia company, and he has set out a tract of about 300 acres along the line of the railroad, which runs from Beira to Bulawayo His work is en- tirely experimental. The Company owns three miles on each side its tracks, and it hopes to develop great cotton industry in the Portuguese possessions.
 The cotton is now ? months old and 1t is already knee high The plants look thrifty. s..- the fields ar@ as clean as garden. They are watched day and night to keep out the rhinoceroses aDl hippo potami, and during the rainy season one has to be careful how he wades through the rows for fear of losing a leg to a hungry crocodile.
 I have had a long talk with the man. ager His name Is Stillson, and he comes from Meridian, Miss. He tells me that one of the chief dangers is from the wild beasts The country has many lions, and his men killed young leopard with their hoes the other day. The leopard was asleep and they sneaked up on him and sung their mattocl-s into his brain. Mr. Stillson says that the tracks the hippo potami make are each as big round as dinner plate. and that if they get into the fields they ruin the plants.
 Cotton In South Africa.
 I talked with this man as to the pros- poets of raising c.-@ton in this part Of the world He tells me that there is vast deal of available land, both in this region and farther south. Some cotton has been grown on the Maputo river, not far from Lorenco Marques, and experiments are being made in other parts of PoftT~1ese East Africa The cotton raised here at Bamboo Creek has longer fibre than that from the same seed when grown in America. MT. Stillson is experimenting with our cotton and with Egyptian cotton. He uses a steam blow to break up the ground, and then runs American cuti vators over it. The cotton that is now grown here was planted last December. an1 tine first picking took place in May. The plants ripen at different times and the Egyptian cotton later than the Amer ican cotton. The picking season continues throughout the summer.
 I understand that the Mozambique company, which controls this great ter ritory, has sold 5000 acres of land to a syndicate in the province of Mozam-
 
 to raise cotton upon it. The land is 70 be irrigated and tramways are already being built on the plantation. Steam and motor blows are to be imported and the estate will have the most up- to-date of labor savings appliances.
 An Odd Contract Labor System.
 During my talk with MT. Stillson, I asked him some questions as to the men who work his plantation. Said he:
 we use the negroes and hire them through the Mozambique company. This company has control of the natives and they are forced to do as it says. We are now paying about, $3.SO per month for a good man. We hand this over to the company, and it allows the man $3 and takes the 80 cents as it's commits sion. This is the way all labor is furnished here. We have now 150 men in the fields, and we get them all from the companv If a man shirks or re- fuses to work. we send him to the mil- Nary commandant for punishment, and h he will not york after that he is pt in jail and another man Is sent in " place."
 EWhat punishments are used in such F"
 We most common one is slapping
 tip An on the hand with a web strap.
 v Asucks up the skin. The suction .ot1 4 that of a piece of leather Nagainst a fiat stone. It Is very