Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-15

| men and animals have to transplant
themselves to avoid the rising waters.
| The natives quit their usual fishing
places, their tobacco plantations and
their rice fields.
They cannot take with them their
dwellings, built of bamboo and grass,
which are speedily carried off by the
flood. AS both labor and materials
are cheap in these regions, however,
their owners do not worry much over
the loss.
AS for the birds, ducks. geese and
many waders make off to cooler
climes. while the rest assemble in the
marshes round Lake Tchad and breed
there. The appropriateness disappear
| into the lower forestregions. or else
| keep to the wooded islands, now
largely under water. There being
| no longer any sandbanks for them to
| lie out on in the sun, the crocodiles
have to make shift with what accom-
mediation they can find among tree
trunks and heaps Of stones.
* X X
| A MOTHER habitue of the Myers
"A banks during the dry season is
the python. It's normal home Is In
the brush-wood which adjoins the
soft, grassy meadows and marshlands,
but when these dry up and the grass
| withers, it has to resort to the river
side.
Creeping in among the reeds or the
sedgy clumps, it lies in wait for birds
and beasts that come down to the
water to drink. Ducks and geese fall
an easy prey, but sometimes 1t goes
for bigger game, such as wild boars
and antelopeS.
ri
banks become flooded, the python re
turns to it's usual haunts. but as 1t is
loath to leave a neighborhood III
which ii has lived for months. 1t
hangs on as long as 1t can. At
| last however. a day comes when the
water enforceS its retreat, and that Is
why one so often sees these great
serpents swimming down stream dur
| ing the rainy season.
On one occasion, at the beginning OF
August, I was journeying down the
Benue, the Myers biggest tributary
after spending some months at Yola.
where I had been taking part In the
work Of defining the boundary De-
tween Nigeria and the Cameroons.
AS was anxious to be back in Lo-
koia by a certain date, / had not
waited for the arrival of the river
steamer at Yola, but had decided to
travel in a large. steel canoe, manned
| bv eight powerful Nupe negroes, quite
| capable, if necessary, of keeping up
| speed of from six to seven knots an
| hour.
Late one afternoon I landed at the
village of Mosum. on the left bank,
about 20 miles from the Benue S
mouth.
The Niger Company had had sta
| ton there some years carrier, put had
| given it up on account Of the UNI
healthful situation of the place
| Mosum is surrounded by great
marshes, which, during the rainy sea-
son, are under water. All the year
| round they are infested by mosquitoes
| and other flies, and most OF the Eu-
! ropeanS who were so unlucky as 10
go there died of malaria.
The station now belonged to the ma
| val administration Of the colony, and
was utilized as a coaling station for
| the river steamers. A native clerk
and 20 Hausa negroes, employed in
coaling the vessels, constituted the
entire population of the village.
In addition to big coal shed and
| the dwellings of the clerk and the
negroes. the naval administration had
put up two huts for the use Of Euro
| peans travelling in this neighborhood
| and needing to spend a night there.
| They were like the native huts, cir
cular in shape, but somewhat strong
er, and provided with windows. The
| floors and walls were made OF sun
dried clay, the roofs Of stout bamboo
| canes, covered with thick prairie
| grass.
AS had to go through the station S
accounts and inspect the stock Of coal.
| it was too late for me to continue my
Journey the same day, and as it
seemed much more convenient to
spend the night in one of the nuts
than on board the canoe, ! got my
| crew to carry up part of my baggage
to the quarters.
When 1 had finished my inspection
and gone through the books, had my
dinner, and then, about o'clock
in the evening, went over to the hut,
in which my man had arranged things
for me for the night. On these jour
neys Of mine l always used kind OF
collapsible canvas bed, provided with
four fairly long brass rods upon
which my mosquito net was fixed up
On this occasion l did not have