Evening star., 1927-09-30
once SAVAGE LAND
RICH IN COTTON
-@Uganda, Wild African Coun.
try 80 Years Ago, Is Pros
porous Area.

"Uganda, where less than 80 years
ago natives and wild animals roamed
ct will. seldom seen by the white man,
new is an important source Of Brit
~ain,s cotton" says bulletin from the
headquarters of the National Geo.
graphic Society.
"a, -tIIemmed in from the sea by Kenya
e,Cdony on the east, the Anglo Egyp.
tian Sudan on the north, Lake Victoria
and Tanganyika Territory on the
south and the jungles of the Belgian
Kongo on the west, the protectorate,
which is about twice the size of New
York state, has become self-support-
ing. And 30 per cent Of Uganda's ex-
ports are cotton.
Natives Are Cotton "BarOns."
"The cotton crop in 1905 yielded
about $50 bales" says the bulletin.
Now more than zoo, 900 bales are pro-
duced annually. 1t is not the white
population but the black. woolly head
ed. fiatnosed natives who are the
Uganda cotton barons.' There are
about 1,70O white inhabitants among
a total population of more than 3,000,.
900. Many of them are experts who
operate experimental farms and in.
.5struct the natives in cotton culture.
More than a half million acres Of cot.
ton-growing land are tended by the
tribesn1en. In eastern Uganda, where
the best cotton is grown, native chiefs
have large holdings. Their tribesmen
take keen interest in small planta-
tions, some of which are smaller than
half an acre.
1.-The main outlet to the sea Of the
protectorate is through ports on Lake
Victoria, where lake boats transport
freight to Kisumu, British East
Africa, the western terminus Of the
Uganda Railway, that does not touch
the land for which it was named.
However, a branch line to the pro-
tectorate is now under construction.
Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean, at the
eastern end of the railroad, is Ugan-
8 seaport.
- Boats leaving Uganda, when not
filed with cotton, transport coffee,
" rubber, cocoa, sugar, bananas and
elephant grass, used in the manufac-
ture Of paper; also rattan canes,
which are suitable for the manufac-
ture Of furniture, ana tea and iron.
A small quantity Of tobacco and fax
Is grown and a small amount of gold
and silver is mined.
villages Now Prosperous Towns.
= ''Where small native villages once
stood the traveller now sees prosper
GUS towns. Entebbe, the capital, Is
beautiful little town Of bungalows,
surrounded by well kept lawns bor-
dering wide streets, shaded from the
tropical sun by huge trees. It occu.
PIES a peninsula almost surrounded
hxy a hlnn Victoria
Nearly every bungalow is a seaside
cottage.
THE government house is q gabled
bungalow, overlooking the lake. Save
for a little business carried on In the
Indian bazaars and the arrival Of lake
boats at the pier twice week, En-.
tebbe is quiet. It suggests q Summer
resort rather than the seat Of govern
ment OF a large, prosperous colony.
Although the capital is a little more
than stones throw from the eQua-
tor, its climate is not unpleasant. The
thermometer reaches IFS degrees by
day, bu. the nights are cool, the mer
curry sometimes dropping as low as SO
degrees.
Contrary to popular opinion that
central Africa Is jungle-bound, Uganda
has a large network Of roads linking
UP various trade centers. On the
roads between important towns 1t is
not uncommon to see natives riding
bicycles and driving pleasure automo.
ndleS and motor trucks. And beete3e
the road modern steel plows are often
seen turning the soil that only q few
years ago had never been touched by
anything but the crudest implements.
Kampala Is Largest.
"A good road connects Entebbe with
Kampala, Uganda's largest and Oldest
town. kampala was occupied by the
British in 1890. Now it has popula-
ton OF about 10000 natives, Indians
and whites. There are seven hills in
kampala, whose crests are occupied
by the population, while in the val.
leys are banana plantations and thriv-
ing gardens. The Nakasero hill Is the
ryDvernment headquarters. Nearby
the Mengo hill contains the residence
ana headquarters Of the native King
Of Buganda and his principal chiefs
Buganda is the main province Of sew.
eral that make up the protectpfate.
"Jinta, at the exit Of the Nile from
Lake Victoria, is one Of Uganda's chief
ports. 1t is the southern terminus Of
the Busoga Railway, which parallels
the Nile for 62 miles inland. The
Ripon Falls and miles Of cataracts
make the river unnavigable for
greater portion of its length in the
protectorate. Motor trucks also con.
meet the city with outlying districts,
so that Jinja is an important concen.
tration point for shipping. The con-
slant influx of goods for export keeps
the town in a hustle. Cotton ginning
is its chief industry.
Numerous Tribes There.
From Jinja one can see Mount Ell.
gon, rising more than $4,000 feet. In
Uganda 1t is surpassed in height only
by Ruwenzori, on the western border,
which is more than 1000 feet higher.
There are numerous tribes in
Uganda, but it is the Buganda natives
with whom the traveller usually comes
in contact. The forests of the west are
inhabited by pygmies. Lions, leopards,
monkeys, hippopotamuses and ele.
plants are still to be found there,
The Buganda natives are intelligent,
and, according to the missionaries.
easy to convert. Unlike many African
tribes, they do not severely marx or
deform their bodies and have readily
taken to dress
Both men and women usually wear
wide cotton cloth, sometimes bright.
ly colored, draped about their bodies
from the shoulders to the knees. The
cloth worn by a native may have been
made from the raw product Of his own
plantation. after having been woven
In the mills at Manchester, England.
Tan. clumsily built and ugly, the men
are brave. polite to travellers and
happy. The women, while not beau