The Wateree messenger. (Camden, S.C.) 1884-1942, July 14, 1925, Image 2
Young Somali Mother and Bab?.
( Prepared by the N?tlo..*l Oeocraiihlc 80.
clety. WimhlriK tun. L?. C )
-y UHA1.ANL), I11 eastern Africa, now
J under Ilrltlsh control, has been de
! sired l>y Italy ever sinpe she eci
j lered the World war, and diplo
matic negotiations in regard to the
proposed change of ownership are still
In progress. (Jetting possession of
Jubaland would not mean an entry by
Italy Into a new region. She already
owns Ltalian Somalilund, the adjoining
territory to the northeast, and of this
Jubaland would doubtless become a
part.
Jubaland Is now the northeastern
portion of Kenya colony, extending
from t lie Juba river (the Italian boun
dary) westward for some '200 miles,
i he distance north and south across
Jubaland is about 300 miles. It th<t-e
fore has an area about equal to that
of the state of Georgia.
?The Juba Is the only year-round
stream in all this region, and It rises
In Abyssinia and receives practically
all Its drainage from that country.
There Is a thin line of plantations In
the Juba valley, and patches of farm
ing land In Kenya hedge Jubaland
round on other sides. Rut most of
Jubalnnd's 00,000 square miles arj not
capable of supporting agriculture, and
probably never will be. It is, In fnct,
a great part-time desert, a sort of
geographic Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
?a withered waste during the dry sea
son and a good grazing area during
the wet period.
Not Like an American Desert.
This dual aspect of the cour^ry hns
molded the Somali and creates diffi
cult problems for any government that
rules over the region. When the ruins
bring out the grass and fill the water
holes, these dusky nomads piiBh Inland
with their herds of camels, cattle,
sheep and goats, centering their Jour
neys about a good pool or traveling
from water hole to water hole. As
the land dries up> there is the reverse
movement, the natives driving thelV
animals east to the Juba, west to the
Lorain swamp, and south to the Tana
river of Kenya. During these move
ments there are inevitable clashes over
water rights. In addition the Somali
are unblushing cattle "rustlers," and
welcome an opportunity to add to their
herds by raiding weaker tribes.
The desert of Jubaland is quite un
fike anything In America. Instead of
bolng a sandy or rocky waste, much of
it Is of good soil which supports a
denso, and in places almost an Im
penetrable growth of thorn hushes
higher than n man's head. In the dry
season these bushes are leafless, and
the ground Is dry and dusty. After
the rains the thorn plants take on a
tropical luxurance, while grass springs
up beneath them. The most charac
teristic feature of the Interior of Ju
baland Is Its little parklike prairies
which one suddenly encounters In the
midst of the bush. Many of these are
merely limited prairies, bare and dusty
during the dry season, covered with
succulent grass after the rains, lint
In the center of others are the water
holes. These may become entirely
dry at times, or after exceptionally
bcavy rains may expand until the
whole prairie becomes a swamp.
Water. From the Yak Tree.
The Innd slopes Imperceptibly to
ward the typical Jubaland water hole,
and the presence*of these bodies of
water Is always a surprise to the
stranger when he stumbles upon them.
The Somali Insist that they were
scooped out by an earlier people. This
seems highly Improbable; but a project
that has been discussed seriously by
the Itrltlsh Is to enlarge and deepen
these reservoirs, to minimize their
seepage, and to construct roads
through the hush between the pools
by enlarging tlio existing game and
cattle trails. It Is believed that as a
result of such procedure the various
tribe* could he Induced to settle
around the water holes or to limit their
travels to a small group of them, so
that the undesirable features of the
presebt nomadism would be eliminated.
i The most useful Jubnland plants are
i the yak trees. They have thick stunt- [
' ed stems, most of which have In the
upper sides large cavities. The heavy
rains of the wet season und even the
showers of other seusons, fill these i
cavities with water which is protected |
from evaporation by the numerous f
small stems that grow up along the j
edges of the cavity. A single yak tree i
has been known to contain f>0 gallons ;
of rain water. Natives spot the yak j
trees that have a water supply by no- :
tlcing those in which birds gather
morning and evening. So important
are the yak trees as a source of drink
ing water in the Jubaland bush that
all travelers, native and white, carry
"drinking sticks" with which to ob
tain the liquid. These are hollow
sticks about two feet long and half an j
Inch In diameter. It is impossible to
dip water from many of the small
mouthed cavities, but it is a simple
matter to insert the "drinking stick"
and use it like a glguntlc soda-foun
tain straw to suck the water up.
One of the most Interesting parts of
the country Is the Lorain swamp In
southwestern Jubaland, which might
be described as a gigantic water hole
fed and emptied by a river. The Lo
rain region consists of three swamps
strung along the river, the largest be
ing about fifty miles In circumference.
The outer rim is of grass land, the
j swamp proper Is covered with a rank
growth of reeds ten and twelve feet
I high, while the stream flows In sev
eral relatively open channels. Above
ond below the swamp, the river (the
Uasho Nylro) Is Hired by a narrow
bond of tropical vegetation, for the
Lorain Is only u few miles from the
equator.
The Lorain region will probably be
come In time one of the few agricul
tural areas of Jubaland. The Uasho
Nylro carries a lurge quantity of water
the year round to the Lorain swamp
and u short distance beyond. The soil
In the swamp area and above Is good.
It would be possible to control the riv
er's flow, saving the wuter which now
wastes and using It for Irrigation.
Jubaland abounds In n variety of
game. Great numbers of antelope,
gazelle, zebras, giraffes, elephants,
rhinos, and the carnlvora that prey
on them spread over the land during
the season of good grass, ond, like the !
cattle and the Somali, shift to the
I.oroln ond other sources of periaa
j nent water dtirlng the dry season.
8omalla Are "Superior."
The Somalls, who make up the great
er port of the population of Jubaland,
have migrated Into the country from
Italian Somalllaml and eastern Ahys
slnla on the north. Here Is another
people with n well-defined "superlor
1 lty complex." They despise all non
Somalls, and their attitude Is not Il
logical. They are far more Intelligent
than the (Julian and other local na
tives. The Somalls possess many
(Jalla slave*.
The activities of the Somali braves
Include a certain amount of herding,
but their favorite pastimes are loafing,
while the women work, and cattle
"rustling." They ore Mohammedans
and follow (he outward forms of their
religion meticulously. They dress In
white, toga like robes. It Is a pictur
esque sight to see tlw> white-clad,
dusky Somali warriors, resting crane
like on one leg, leaning against their
long, broad hlnded spears.
It Is Interesting to observe the So
malls settling down In a new location
after one of their trips In search of
grass and wuter. Their beehive
shaped huts ore carried from place to
place, usually on camel back, but some
times on the broad backs of docile
steers. A fitted framework of wood
Is first set up, and over this are lashed
rough mats of straw. The completed
dwellings look superficially like hoy
stacks. Around the huts Is quickly
thrown up a fence of thorns about
three feet high, a protection alike
against wild animals and human en
emlen. Into these enclosures the cat
tle are driven for the night.
OUR COMIC SECTION
Events in the Lives of Little Men
THE FEATHERHEADS
V
COnRAD BRAGGART i%
All Right -he Took my
Side in The ARGUMENT wiTm
The detective - if it hadn't
BE EM TOR (3DNNY I MiGHT
MOT HAVE 8L"CN HERE
Ik
AIL That YOUNG UPST ART
does 15 brag about him
self , fLiP Cigarette
ASHES on MY rugs, s.
Throw burnt matches
behind t^e radiator
a*d' "Then there was Roderick sebnitz, the mam
?xho SHARED Hi? PEANUTS With YOU AT ThE BALL
game ? Tbu ThoT he was Some Rich man's son
& he Turned out to be an elephant tender
AT ThE CIRCUS
You Tell Him, Fanny
you're always BRINGING the queerest people >
HOME With you ? TAKE for instance otto verplopp
that man who loaned ydu a nickle on Twe tk-olley
one night? you thgt he was noBiuty in disguise
AND HE PROVED To BE JUST A DlSH WASHER AT
GRabbs lunch Room
and Then there was i*a "Rantach , the man
wo helped you when you skidded on The
banana peel -Tou ThoT he was A PHILANTHROPIST.
and he Turned out to be a /
PANHANDLER f
MICKIEy THE PRINTER'S DEVIL
No Wonder He Looked Groggy
f VAER, 0\l WAU,
GlkAAAC A ?<SA&E
{/THOUGH! uc Cex,
. I v< <2AH NOU SUPPORT I
J MH DAUGHTER,
> 'me S>T4l? T?> WHICH!
^9MC IS [
r * VeB0E WOT, W>
r \ MSU>?, \ eAU I
I HER- "tb -THE )
I siMte. tu vumew \
^ CMi soppoar wer*
x:
. 'VV . v^A??'
^ Wmw Mr ^if?
r JP^
^ 7 UE LOOKED
K\HO OF GROGrG^I r
\WMEU 1 l^FTjL
/lti
,AO*
Guard at New York
State Penitentiary
Suffered Ten Years
From Catarrh
Now
Well
He
Used
PE-RU-NA
Mr. Charles S. Many, 12 Water
St., Ossining, N. Y., writes : ? "I had'
catarrh for ten. years, tried a lot
of medicines, spent a lot of money,
but it did me no good. Instead of
getting better I grew worse. My
eyes were bloodshot, my nose
smelled bad, and I would get so
dizzy I would be forced to catcb
hold of something to keep from
falling. I used about ten bottles
of Pe-ru-na and am cured of
catarrh, the dizzy feeling has left
me and I am not bothered any
more. I keep Pe-ru-na in the house
and when I feel a cold coming on
1 take a little. It does mc good."
Ask for the original and genuine
Pe-ru-na the recognized treatment
for catarrh and catarrhal condi
tions for more than fifty years.
Your dealer has Pe-ru-na in both
tablet and liquid forms.
H ave I
Resinol '
ready
for burns or
cuts. It quickly stops
the painful throbbing
and hastens healing
Resinol
Green's
August Flower
for Constipation,
Indigestion and
Torpid Uvar
Successful for 69 year*.
80c and 90c bottles?
ALL DUO (I CllStS
Lighter Boots for Miner a
Miners (if Kuropp have abandoned
heavy bouts for ] i kIi t ?? r weight styles
aii'l makers of i lie heavy footwear ro
i rently fuct'tl the choice of maklnf
j light boot* or iiuittlnn business.
CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP IS
CHILD'S BEST LAXATIVE
I ' ' " "
IIUUItY MOTHER! Even a fretful,
peevish child loves the pleasant tnate
! 'jf "f_'allfornla FIk Syrup" and it never
falls to open the bowels. A teaspoon
ful toUuy may prevent n sick child to
morrow.
Ask your druggist for genuine "Call
fornta Fig Syrup" which has directions
for babies and children of all ages
printed on the lx>tt)e. Mother! You
fimst say "( 'nllfornla" or you may get
*n Imitation fig nyrup.
Homea and Irimh Laborert
Holding that luborers have ns full
ri nh t to n\vi> homes as farmers, Stran
orlur ruriit district council of Ireland
ri'iently culled on th?> government to
foinimlate a pbtn to enable workers to
hti V the houses In w li I <??? ilmv i(t-?
A Better
Heel
to
Walk On
SPRing-'sTEP
Rubber*Heets
IWqrlm ol ftpraymH Ruhhmr ? th*
puromt, iouffhmmi and moaf
uniform ruhhmr known
tnrf tor thm hmmt mho* molm you mvmr htni-~
USKIDE
?#/??? wondnr malm for i vmar
United States Rubber Company
VV. N. U,, CHARLOTTE. NO. 28 192&. '