ber of days. Courage was tested by nightly vigils in lonely spots, such as cemeteries. Another feature in these initiations was purification. This was accomplished by refraining from eating certain things, isolating one's self in the forest, and by vigorous bathing.

The sweat house was used for bathing. It was a small hut or framework of sticks covered with fir-boughs and earth, or with the skins of animals. In the floor was dug a small hole to receive stones heated in a fire outside. Upon these heated stones water was sprinkled, and the subject, while reclining on a thick bed of fir boughs, enjoyed a steam bath comparable to our Turkish bath. After this she rushed out and plunged into a cold mountain stream. Some of the sweat houses were made in the form of a small lodge. If near a lake, a plunge into its cold water was substituted for a bath in the mountain stream.

The social system was exceedingly simple. Marriage ceremonies consisted in an exchange of presents and the good will of all concerned. The chiefs were men acting as such by common consent because of their recognized expertness and ability, rather than because of any strong social ties. This very simple social organization again differentiates these people from the coast tribes and reminds us of the plateau peoples. Some of the shrewd old men and women became shamen and attended to the instruction of the young when they were to receive their manitous and enter tribal society. They were religious advisers, and, in order to carry out their teachings, resorted, at times, to tricks and sleight-of-hand. Their knowledge and use of herbs in case of sickness, however, was often proper and truly helpful. In this sense they were real doctors.

The religion of these Indians guided them in many of their acts. According to their idea the earth was square. The coyote was considered to have been a transformer who put the world into shape. Many mysterious beings were believed to exist, and some places in the lakes were said to be inhabited by them; it was believed that should one go to such places the water would become rough and he would be drowned. The "milky way" was called the trail of the dead by these people, who believe in a spirit world. They prayed to guardian spirits for help and protection. Animals as well as people were supposed to have souls, and when animals were killed for food the Indians prayed to that animal's soul, asking to be forgiven. They believed it was wrong to steal, lie, or be unvirtuous. They made fun of lazy people. The missionaries have broken down the old beliefs to a certain extent, but unfortunately they have not always given these Indians substitutes which they understand; hence in many ways they have degenerated from their old morality and uprightness.

The art of the Thompson Indians was pictographic in character and largely represented realistic things. It is most characteristically shown by the red paintings on the rocks and the sculptured war club handles. It largely resembles the art of the region eastward as far as the Great Lakes, but the sculpture shows influence from the coast. The natural forms were also conventionalized, as is seen on their baskets.

The dependence on many resources instead of upon a few, the conical lodge, and the method of burial in the ground, affiliate these people with the Plains Indians. The tubular pipe and their basketry ally them with the tribes of the rolling plateau to the southward. These things differentiate them from the coast Indians, but seashells, the use of whalebone, the sculpture, the dice game, and lack of knowledge of the potter's art, point out coast influence.

The culture of the Thompson Indians is passing away, and like that of other tribes is merging into the culture of America. We need to have a knowledge of these various cultures in all stages of evolution in order to understand the growth of civilization, and, more important still, the laws of human development. All this will be of use to us in the coming years. If this knowledge is to be obtained and put on record in books for future reference it must be done quickly.

T

AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

THIRD PAPER: MODERN METHODS

BY MONROE N. WORK

In charge of the Research Department of Tuskegee Institute

HE African is showing much promise that in time he will develop into an efficient modern farmer. Especial efforts are being made by England, France, and Germany to develop agriculture in their African possession. These nations' efforts are being crowned with success, particularly in the development of the cultivation of cotton, maize, and cocoa.

It is only within the past ten years that serious efforts have been made to grow African cotton for export. In 1900 a number of cotton experts were secured from Tuskegee Institute by the German Government and sent to its possessions in Togoland to teach the natives how to raise cotton according to American methods. A little later another party of experts from Tuskegee Institute went to the Egyptian Soudan to assist in developing the cotton industry in that part of Africa. About this time a vigorous campaign was begun in British West Africa to induce the natives to increase the acreage in cotton and by improved methods of cultivation to increase the output and improve the quality. The British Cotton Growing Association, through its West African Section, has taken the lead in this movement. It sent out experts to teach the natives and also established farms of its own which were designed to answer a double purpose; that is, to enable the Association to engage directly in the growing of cotton and also to have demonstration farms for the teaching of the natives. Ten thousand acres of land were leased from one of the native chiefs in Sierra Leone for a cotton plantation. A cotton gin was imported and erected. In addition to its own cotton, the Association purchased all the cotton it could obtain from the natives at a fair price. In 1904 between fifty and sixty bales were exported. The Government now came to the aid of the Association and gave a grant of 1500 pounds per annum for three years. The Association on its part agreed to expend during the

same period not less than 10,000 pounds sterling in the cultivation of cotton. All machinery and implements were to be carried “freight free" by the Sierra Leone Railroad and the cotton purchased and grown was to be brought down to Freetown free of charge.1 In much the same manner efforts to promote the increase and improvement of cotton growing were made in other colonies in West Africa. The natives were quick to respond. At a meeting of the West African Section of the British Cotton Growing Association held at Manchester, England, November 3, 1905, reports from its field employes were read. These showed that in the Gold Coast country and in Southern Nigeria much progress was being made in cotton raising. In 1906 an official report to the Lagos Government said: "To anyone interested in the raw cotton trade and sceptical as to its possibilities, a visit to Ake-Ho would be a revelation. When nearing the latter place I passed farm after farm, all under cotton; the plants looked in splendid condition; and it was the same coming away from the town. At present I understand that all the cotton grown is used locally for the manufacture of yarn, and, in turn, country cloths." 2 In 1906, at an exhibition held in Oldham, England, of cotton grown in the various parts of the British Empire, there were samples from seven regions and countries of Africa; namely, East African Protectorate, Central Africa, Uganda, Rhodesia, the Gold Coast, Lagos, and Southern Nigeria. In 1903 two and onehalf tons of cotton seed were distributed to certain chiefs in Uganda. Instructions for sowing and cultivation were issued and carefully explained. A successful beginning was thus made and the cotton industry has since developed with remarkable rapidity. In 1905 about forty bales were exported; in 1908, 2500 bales were exported.3

The natives everywhere take readily to modern methods of ginning cotton. For example, in Southern Nigeria men, women, and children come to the ginnery stations with baskets, bags, and any other receptacles they can obtain that will hold cotton.

In 1907 one steamer brought to Liverpool from Southern Nigeria a load of cotton consisting of 1050 bales. This shipment was the largest that had been brought from West Africa up to this time and indicated the enormous strides that had been made there in the growing of cotton for export. This shipload contained almost twice as much cotton as was shipped from the whole of West Africa four years before. In 1909 British West Africa exported over 20,000 bales of cotton.

1 The experiments in Sierra Leone have not been very successful and the Association's efforts have been discontinued there.

2 The African Mail, March 16, 1906, p. 1207: Ibid, 1207, 1208; Ibid, Aug. 9, 1907, p. 469. 3 Journal of the African Society, April 1909, 282.

German East Africa last year increased its cotton production 10 per cent and Togoland 38 per cent.1 It appears, however, that it is the Western Soudan which is destined to be the great cotton producing section of Africa. Here is a region as large as the cotton territory of the United States. The climatic conditions are almost perfect. Generally the rains are of the right amount and are followed by a long period of sunshine which is very desirable. As soon as the transportation facilities of the Soudan are improved, which is being rapidly done by the French and English, great quantities of cotton will be exported. It is estimated that already between the Niger and Lake Tchad the natives are raising 100,000 bales of cotton annually. Practically all of this is consumed locally. The Soudan has the further advantage over the West African coast in that it has a considerable civilization, a common language (Hausa), vast towns and courts and judges. The Sudanese are born agriculturists and have produced cotton from time immemorial.

MAIZE, or Indian corn, is another product that is being extensively

cultivated by the natives of West and South Africa. Although a great deal of it, like cotton, is used locally, it is rapidly becoming one of the great chief exports from the West Coast. The first export of maize from this section was in 1901 when about 1400 bushels were exported from Southern Nigeria. In 1905 over 330,000 bushels were exported from there, and in 1908, 559,000 bushels.

A report on trade conditions in Southern Nigeria in 1905, published in the Lagos Government Gazette says: "Good as the results have been it is not altogether surprising that our small farmers have taken so kindly to this product, for it is one which entails very little outlay, and the results are quickly seen. It is the first coarse cultivated short crop product for which the native agriculturists have had a free and ready market in unlimited quantities, and that fact will, I believe, have farreaching effects upon the development of agriculture generally in the colony."2 This forecast is being rapidly substantiated.

The growing of maize is well understood by the natives. They will not usually grow, in large quantities for exporting, any article with which they are not familiar, and for which they cannot readily obtain a price that satisfies them. The cultivation of maize meets their requirements and for this reason it would seem that it is destined to soon become a commercial product.

1 Verhandlungen des Kolonial Wirtschaftlichen Komitees. 1910. No. 1, 14

2 The African Mail, April 12, 1906, 62.