Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-04-08
eERMANY'S PRIZE COLONY.
Toeoand, on the Gulf of Guinea, Has
Been Most Successful.


Concerning Togoland, one Of the ear
liest and richest Of German colonies,
whose disposition is being considered
by the peace conference, the National
Geographic society has issued the fol-
lowing bulletin from its headquarters
in Washington:
"Togoland is shaped like hogshead,
with a 32/mile base rest on the Gulf
of Guinea, its sides swelling to more
than three times that width, crowding
the British Gold Coast possessions to
the west, and French Dahomey on the
east, and it's narrow top tapering into
the Niger region.
Germany annexed Togoland in
1884, the year she launched upon her
colonial expansion with the acquisition
also Of northeastern New Guinea and
the Bismarck Archipelago. Togoland
was the first colony to dispense with
imperial subsidy.
Along the seacoast Togoland's soil Is
rich and sandy, its climate warm and
moist. The hinterland is higher, wood
ed and drier, but seldom arid. Thus
the land is adopted to q wide variety
of products, among which the growing
Of cocoanuts, corn, rice, tobacco and
coffee already have been highly sue
cessful. The exports include consider
able quantities Of ivory, kernels, copra,
palm Oil and rubber.
This colony affords commentary
upon Germany's application Of bureau
cratic methods to her possessions. Des-
pite heavy German emigration to the
United States and South America, and
despite her effort to divert this flow to
her colonies, only about 800 Germans
were to be found among the million
natives Of Togoland in 1910. Most Of
the 800 were engaged in government
service, either in the coast cities Of
LONE, a made-to-order town which
Germany planted on the site Of fish
ing village, and Little Popo, or the in
land government stations at Misahohe,
or Bismarkburg.
"Togoland lies along the famous
Slave Coast Of Africa. Behind the
treacherous shoals and bars slave trad
ers defied cruisers from the shelter Of
lagoons and inlets that abound along
the shores where they obtained their
human stock in trade. They found the
native chiefs, especially the Dahomeys,
coastal people Of Togoland as well as
Of Dahomey, only too ready to barter
human beings for rum and trikets.
Tribal leaders made forays to supply
the demand. Frequently they burned
villages by night and corralled the in
habitants when they fled.
Northern tribes of Togoland are
mostly Hausa, a mixed negro race, who
have become civilized and industrious.
But the Dahomeys, in the south, pre-
sent curious blend Of shrewdness,
cruelty, and superstition. Small, ro-
bust and athletic, they climb trees like
monkeys, easily become fluent lin
gusts, but cling to fetichism and still
practice cannibalism.
The King Of the Dahomeys is tri-
bal Deity. He controls the lives and
property Of his subjects. Formerly he
was regarded as more ethereal than hu-
man; he was believed to require
neither food nor sleep. He strengthen
ed that impression by having all food
served to him in solitude. and hearing
/ hah irl
sultation with his ministers was car
ried on through his wives, who were
state dignitaries. Genuine Amazons
formed his bodyguard, and these war
rior women were reputed to be as fear
less and brave as those Of Greek my
thology, and much more critical.
"Only the sons Of the dada, or
queen, were regarded as heirs. From
among the Amazons the sovereign Sc
lected other wives, but all except the
favored few were celibates. The king
was considered the father Of all his
subjects.
1.-The Bolsheviki are doing nothing
new in their reported arrangement for
interchange of infants among the va
rious mothers of the community nur-
series set up by the Soviets. In Da-
honey children we're taken from their
mothers at an early age and given to
other families so they might form no
ties which would conflict with their
allegiance to the king.
ANY object blessed by the Dahomey
priests became a fetch. Snakes were
held in special esteem. Formerly chill
dren were regularly sacrificed and hu-
man beings were roasted for food. Tri-
bal dances were amazingly intricate,
some lasting So hours. So imbued were
| the DahomeyS with belief in immor-
tality that they readily volunteered for
sacrifice and the wives Of Dahomey,
like those of India, often chose to die
when their husbands did.
| "Togoland's area is about equal to
that Of Maine. Two northern towns
| Yendi and Sansane Mangu, lie along
the caravan route from Ashanti to the
Niger region.
| Germany edged into tie Slave Coast
because, in 1884, the narrow portion
still ruled by King Togo was the only
part from the Gambia to the Niger not
controlled by some civilized power
Bremen merchants had stations there
So Germans persuaded the Togo ruler
to place Togoland under the suzeraln'
ty of Germany. Subsequently the Ger
mans made claims to inland terrltor!
which brought about boundary dis
putes with France and Great Britain
until the frontiers were fixed in 1899
| Logical Wish.-On the outskirts o.
PHILADELPHIA is an admirable STOCK
farm. One day last summer some poor
HI