The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-04-25


tribes-their language is the one in
common use in the colony. If one
speaks Swahili he can find some one
to converse with him from Natal to
Alden and from Mombasa to the
Congo.
Uganda, westward of, and farther
inland than Kenya, is a land where
30 years ago natives and wild ami
mails roamed at will, seldom seen by
the white man. Now the protectorate
is an important source of Britain's
cotton.
Land of Cotton.
Hemmed in from the sea by Kenya
colony on the east, the Anglo-Egyp-
tian Sudan on the north, Lake Vic
toria and Tanganyika territory on the
south, and the jungles of the Belgian
Congo on the west, the protectorate,
which is about twice the size of New
York state, has become self-support-
ing. And 80 per cent Of Uganda's
exports are cotton.
The cotton crop in 1905 yielded
about $50 bales. Now more than
100000 bales are produced annually.
1t is not the white population but the
black, woolly-headed, flat-nosed ma
tives who are the Uganda cotton
barons." There are about 1900 white
inhabitants among a total population
of more than 100000. Many of the
whites are experts who operate eX-
perimental farms and instruct the ma
tives in cotton culture. More than
half-million acres of cotton growing
land are tended by the tribesmen. In
eastern Uganda, where the best cot
ton is grown, native chiefs have large
holdings. Their tribesmen take keen
interest in small plantations, some of
which are smaller than half an acre.
One outlet of the protectorate to
the sea is through ports on Lake Vic
toria where lake boats transport
freight to Kisumu, British East At
RIGA, the western terminus of the
Uganda railway that does not touch
the land for which it was named.
Freight may also move by rail from
the lake, 62 miles north to Mama
sagali, the head of steamboat traffic
on the Nile. A branch railway line
to the protectorate from the railways
of Kenya has also been constructed.
Mombasa, at the eastern end of the
Kenya railroad system, is Uganda's
Indian ocean port.
Cities REPLACE Native Huts,
Where small native villages once
stood. the traveller now sees prosper
Gus towns. Entebbe, the capital, is
beautiful little town of bungalows sur
rounded by well-kept lawns bordering
wide streets, shaded from the tropical
sun by huge trees. 1t occupies PEN
insula almost surrounded by the blue
water Of Lake Victoria. Nearly every
bungalow is a lakeside cottage.
The government house is gabled
bungalow overlooking the lake. Save
for little business carried on In the
Indian bazaars and the arrival of lake
boats at the pier twice week, En-
tebbe is quiet. 1t suggests summer
resort rather than the seat of govern
ment of a large, prosperous colony.
Although the capital is little more than
a stones throw from the equator, its
climate is not unpleasant. The Their
mometer reaches 115 degrees by day
but the nights are cool, the mercury
sometimes dropping as low as 80 de-
grees.
Contrary to popular opinion that
central Africa Is junglebound, Uganda
has a large network of roads linking
up various trade centers. On the
roads between important towns it is
not uncommon to see natives riding
bicycles and driving pleasure automo-
biles and motor trucks. And beside
the road, modern steel plows are often
seen turning the soil that only few
years ago had never been touched by
anything but the crudest implements.
From Jinja one can see Mount
Elgon rising more than $4,000 feet.
In Uganda it is surpassed In height
only by Ruwenzori. on the western
border. which Is more than 1000 feet
higher
Natives Accept Civilization.
There are numerous tribes in Ugan-
da but it is the Buganda natives with
whom the traveller usually comes in
contact. The forests of the west are
inhabited by pigmies. 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 mark or
deform their bodies and have readily
taken to dress.
Both men and women usually wear
a wide, cotton cloth, sometimes bright
ly colored, draped about their bodies
from the shoulders to the knees. The
cloth worn by native may have been
made from the raw product Of his own
plantation, after having been woven
in the mills at Manchester. England.
Tall, clumsily built and ugly, the men
are brave. polite to travellers, and
happy. The women, while not beauti-
full. usually wear smile rather than
the glum countenance of some of their
neighboring sisters.