The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-07-26

the swamp We're Of no consequence
whatever.
Another man, who pretended to be a
maltese. but who looked like an Eu-
raslan, told me that he had lost several
porters by death from exposure during
a recent trading trip. and that he had
liogsed one until he dropped The wages
Or such porters is about cents a day
ana they feed themselves. They carry
roads Of about seventy pounds each.
ana they trot along all day with such
roads on their heads. I am told that
they are cheated by the traders in ev-
cry possible way. Their wages are
paid IN cloth, and short measure is
usually given, three yards being made
to go for four
Tho 18th mentioned in the contract
Is often Americana or American sheet
ing. but the traders will try to palm off
indian cottons, which are little better
than cheese-cloth, instead. Indeed, the
English and Indian traders make no
bones of telling how they cheat the
natives, and they laugh over it as they
do so.
FORESTS AND ELEPHANT GRASS.
Not far back from Tanga is one of
the greatest forest regions of this part
OF East Africa. The government has
reserved several hundred thousand
acres, but the remainder is open to ex-
pioitation. and prospectors are now GO
ing over it with the view to shipping
the timber out to the coast. | under
stand that there is great deal of fine
hard wood, as well as cedar and other
timber of value
Much of the country near the coast
of German East Africa is covered with
mango trees and cocoanut palms.
Higher up there are acaeias, sycamores
and banians There are vines and
trees which produce rubber and also
valuable fiber plants. Down along
the coast the Germans are now setting
out coeoanut plantations, and are ex-
perimenting with caeoa, tobacco, vanil
la and the cinchona tree, from whose
bark our quinine comes.
Much of the interior of this region
is not unlike the country about Lake
Victoria. and many of the plains are
covered with elephant grass This
grows twice as high as one S head. T
have seen stalks fifteen feet tall, and
on recent trip through the interior
/ had myself photographed to show you
their height. In the rainy season this
grass often grows a foot in a night.
1t is much like bamboo fishing rod,
having joints like cane. 1t is usually
burnt off at certain times of the year,
and L have travelled over roads with
great flames one side of me where, if
the wind had changed, l would have
been in serious danger. When the
grass is set aire the flames roll up in
great masses. As the canes burn they
burst apart, each making noise like
the shot of a pistol. The fire is az.
by a continual crash and
the scenes are grand to an extreme. In
German East Africa many of the trade
routes go through grass of this kind.
They consist of mere paths which wind
his way and that over the country.
When it rains the grass holds the wa
5er, and after shower it is often
hours before one can keep dry.
TRAINING ZEBRAS.
I have written of the experiments
which the British are making in at
empting to raise the zebra for agri-
cultural use. They are being carried
IN at Maroon anu on bhe government
arm near Lake Navaisha, in British
Cast Africa. The Germans are making
imilar experiments in their territory,
md so far they have been quite sue
;essful. They are trying to train the
ebras as riding animals, with the idea
hat they may eventually be able to
utft the native cavalry with them. In
he barracks at Oar es Salaam [ was
hown a half dozen zebras tied up in
he stalls side by side with horses. The
Ulcers told me that they had been
roken to riding, and that they were {
asily tanned. In another stable / was :