The Coolidge examiner., 1934-07-27

Trvr.ared - Na.sanAl Grerres.Hse EreitsT,
WasNlaasaa. - c-WNU Service
a F1GH rolling over the Ihou.
u sands q smooth roads ~ the
L n United States. Il is q thrlil
Ing adventure "a mouut n s.dc-car'
equipped motorcycles and three
wheel- across Nigeria from Lagos,
the chief port on the shore of the
Atlantic. 20 Kano. near the north.
ern Nigeria border.
on down The main street %
Lagos you roar. followed by hali
the black population o. the city. all
craning their necks 90 see what Is
going on. Soon you are popping
along through the coastal Jungle.
Towering walls of troplc green
cry push In on the narrow road
from either side. clasp limbs and
tendrlls overhead. and drop long.
Elnuous tsntacles through the
gloom. Southern Nigeria Is thlckly
populated. and as you joli along
over the trail you know from the
sounds that aoat out from the
jungle that back behind those seem
lnEiy lmpencirnble walls are hun
dreds Of little farmsteads and plan.
tations.
Every now and then you catch a
glimpse % one through the matted
tangle of ferns and creepers-just
a squat. overgrown grass beehive
OF hut. surrounded by q patch 81
cocoa trees. Gulnean corn tdarral.
or peanuts. with a woolly headed
Yoruha husbandman grubhllng In the
mold and half a dozen little black
man-cubs romplng In the sun; or
occasionally a village % dozen
huts or 50 Willing the day through
ia pagan cnnieni.
They are not bad folk. these
Yoruha. considering their opportu-
nlties-ambliious enough for the
climate. law-ahldlng. and quicker
AT thinking than the average West
African. They number more than
100000 and most OF them occupy
the country south and west OF the
Niger 10 Dahomey.
Most Yoruba men wear loose
flowing robes A woman wraps a
piece OF home spun about herself
and the -picken" that elings 10 her
back. Little girls wear a fringe or
a string OF coral beads around the
waist: little boys seldom fret about
clothes.
The various tribes or families
are distinguished by facial marks
inflicted during Infancy and rubbed
with ashes and Irritating herbs 10
produce permanent scar-a Gus
tom frequently met with In negro
land. In many localities the people
file deep notches In their lnclsorS.
but otherwise they take good care
of their teeth. brushing them con
stanily with tie frayed end OF a
small stick. In one or two local
titles. 20 propose marriage a man
sends his toothbrush 10 the lady by
one of his friends Modesiy de-
nands that she refuse Il twice. but
n she really wants him she takes
no further chances.
Taking Tea With the Alake.
On the evening oi the first day
out from Lagos you put up with
some American missionary friends
in Ahenkuta. G. miles inland. and
the next day 20 TO pay your re-
spects 70 the Alake. black pofentate
~ this branch ~ the Yoruha na.
tton and ruler over some 10000
souls lie serves tea from exquisite
china. with all the aplomb OF an
ambassador from the Court of 81.
James. and speaks oxford English.
But his face. anthraciteblack and
shiny beneath the ponderous silver
coronei given his predecessor by
Queen Victoria. Ia slashed with the
Egha tribal marks. and his thick
llns open and close over q row ~
fled teeth. And across the court
yard you see one OF the Alake's
wives and her several lnky on
spring sitting on the floor eating
conscous with their fingers ont OF a
biz carven calabash.
Some rs miles inland you come 10
Ihadan. n pagan metropolis sprawled
over n score of hills Largest city
In tropical Africa is Ibadan-Z50oo0
people sweating. working. loving,
diving. year after year back there
In the jungle one wonders what
life holds for them. And yet. In
sfrolllng through the market place,
YOU note that NJ least every third
citizen Ia smiling. Poor. benighted