attention." In the interior "terrifying depopulation," a "universal exodus." "In the Ubanghi-Shari," wrote De Brazza, "I have found an impossible situation, the continuous destruction of the population—purely and simply."
Another Frenchman of note, Auguste Chevalier, whose reputation as an expert in tropical forestry is world- wide, has since recorded in a bulky volume the state of the French Congo, whither he was sent on an official scientific expedition. His descriptions are pen pictures not of the more revolting atrocities, but of the daily, deadly, permanent effects of the "System" upon native life. They help, too, to bring home to us, all that there was of promise in these primitive peoples, before they were handed over body and soul to the cynical vileness of modern capitalistic finance. Commenting upon the ruined and abandoned villages on the river banks, as he proceeds on his northward journey, he writes:
It is impossible to describe the lamentable impression made upon one in the contemplation of these huts torn asunder by the storms. The neglected fruit trees and fields of manioc,[1] where monkeys and hippopotami now find nourishment. And yet how considerable was the effort involved on the part of these so-called lazy people. They had to conquer the forest and carve out of it their few acres of cultivated lands, fight the forest continuously to prevent it from winning back its ascendancy. And now, once again, the forest invades the site. The seeds of forest trees have germinated in the fields, and the high grasses grow upon the desolate pathways.
He goes on:
The majority of the inhabitants, terrified by the military oppressions, have fled… One gathers a very favourable impression from those that remain… Their thatch-roofed houses are spacious and clean… They have goats, hens, cats and dogs. Their plantations are most excellently kept. (He enumerates seven different cultivated vegetables, besides bananas and plantains.)
No doubt remains in my mind as to the cause of all these disturbances… The Concessionaires and the Senegalese soldiers treat the natives in the cruellest fashion, impose all kinds of forced labour upon them, often pillage without restraint. The agents of the Companies call the native a brute who will not gather rubber for them, talk of suppressing them and importing labour from other countries. It is odious and absurd. But some of the officers who are travelling on this steamer, especially the higher grade officer?, agree with these views. The natives fly at the approach of the steamer. (He- ↑ The tropical plant, "Janipha-maniot" from which tapioca, and cassava—one of the staple food supplies of the Congo peoples—are prepared.
