Chapter I: Preface (1)

The present conspicuous position which Northern Nigeria holds in the public eye is of very recent attainment, and its development has been, comparatively speaking, the work of a moment. The discovery of tin in paying quantities within its boundaries is the secret of its sudden leap to an eminence from which it compels interest, and attracts to itself more than ordinary curiosity and attention. It is with Northern Nigeria as it was with New South Wales and California, with the Malay Peninsula and Rhodesia. Their potentialities were admitted long before the existence of their mineral wealth was made known, but it was not until their minerals were discovered that they loomed into absorbing prominence.

The importance of Northern Nigeria as a British possession was demonstrated by the Niger Company; her possibilities as an exporter of cotton, rubber, and other vegetable products were early admitted; but it needed the revelation of her enormous alluvial tin deposits in the Province of Bauchi to attract to the development of her resources the capital and enterprise which alone can ensure the growth of a country’s commerce.

But this sudden and surprising discovery also served to expose the widespread ignorance which prevailed in connection with our newest Protectorate, while it generated a desire for information concerning it. This little volume is put forward to satisfy this new-felt want, and it has, I think, the merit of being the first issued with that object. It has been compiled in haste, but care has been taken to verify the facts, and, as far as possible, the data has been derived from official sources.

I believe that no apology will be required for the illustrations, but for the use of the photographs from which they were produced I tender my grateful and sincere thanks to his Excellency Sir Walter Egerton, K.C.M.G., Governor and High Commissioner of Southern Nigeria; Sir William Wallace, K.C.M.G., late Acting Governor of Northern Nigeria; Mr. H. W. Laws, Engineer to the Niger Company; Mr. C. G. Lush, Consulting Engineer to the principal Nigerian Tin Companies; Mr. S. R. Bastard, Chairman and Director of several of the most important Nigerian tin mining companies; the Editor of the _Engineer_, Mr. R. Ernest Hope; Messrs. John Holt & Co., Ltd.; Mr. G. W. Christian; Messrs. E. H. Stein & Co., Ltd., and other prominent traders in Northern Nigeria.

A. F. CALVERT.

“ROYSTON,” ETON AVENUE, LONDON.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATE

Part of Marina, Lagos, Southern Nigeria 1

Marina, showing Customs, Lagos, Southern Nigeria 2

Lagos 3

Lagos. Amongst the Palms 4

Bird’s-eye View showing Marina and Town, Lagos 5

A portion of Lagos Town from Roof of New Mosque 6

Lagos 7

West End of Lagos from the French Factory 8

Steam Tram, Marina, Lagos 9

Lagos 10

Business Premises, Marina, Lagos 11

Part of Marina, Lagos 12

The Marina, Lagos 13

Club House, Lagos 14

Post Office, Lagos 15

Government House, Lagos 16

Public Wash “Houses,” Lagos 17

Public Washing Place, Elegrata, Lagos 18

Railway, Iddo 19

Yams (potatoes) on the Beach, Lagos 20

Fruit Market, Lagos 21

Corner of Market, Lagos 22

Iddo Station, Lagos 23

Railway Engine, Iddo 24

Fulani Sheep, Lagos 25

Bullock Cart 26

Forcados, Southern Nigeria 27

“Sir Alfred” Dry Dock, Forcados 28

Botanical Gardens, Ebute Metta, Lagos 29

Botanical Gardens, Ebute Metta, Lagos 30

Railway Crossing, Ebute Metta, Lagos 31

On the Road to Ebute Metta, Lagos 32

The Market, Burutu, Southern Nigeria 33

Burutu Market 34

Government Boat at Burutu 35

Palm Oil Stores, Burutu 36

Hospital, Burutu 37

Kwa River, Calabar Motor Boat “Spider,” Draught 9 inches 38

Two Jakrie Women, Burutu, Southern Nigeria 39

Jakrie Chief and one of his Wives 40

Large “Cotton Tree” at Okuni, Cross River 41

Jakrie Woman, Burutu 42

Chief Okrododo and two of his Sons, Burutu 43

Chief Okrododo, his Sons and Daughters: Jakrie Tribe, Burutu 44

Native Dancers at Awka in the Onitsha Hinterland, between Niger
and the Cross River 45

Native Market at Itu on Cross River 46

A Landing-place on Cross River 47

On the Ewayong, a Tributary of the Cross River 48

A Bridge over Auja River near Ogoja 49

Bridge built of Vines by Pagans 50

The “Spider” at Itu 51

Oshogbo Railway Station: Lady Egerton and District Commissioner
Mr. Gladstone, in Foreground 52

Cocoanut and Banana Palms 53

Sir Walter Egerton, Lady Egerton, Capt. Lawrence, Private Secretary,
Capt. Lloyd, A.D.C. 54

Lower Niger 55

Lower Niger 56

On the Banks of the Lower Niger 57

Shipping Rubber, Lower Niger 58

Village on the Lower Niger 59

Idah, River Niger 60

Messrs. G. W. Christian’s Store at Idah, Niger River 61

Ejaws: Village Scene, Lower Niger 62

Bridge of Sighs, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 63

Main Street, Lokoja Market 64

Native Judge or Alkale at Lokoja (A Copy of the Koran on his Lap) 65

Asaba Boys, Southern Nigeria 66

“Boys” who work the Cargo 67

Shipping Cotton, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 68

Niger Company’s Depot at Lokoja 69

Produce Stores, Lokoja 70

Lokoja Market 71

Lokoja Market 72

Lokoja Market 73

Lokoja Market 74

Yams on the Beach, Lokoja 75

At the River-side, Lokoja 76

Lokoja 77

Lokoja 78

Marine Bungalow, Lokoja 79

European Hospital, Lokoja 80

Canteen at Lokoja 81

Bank, Lokoja 82

King Abiga, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 83

Devil Man, Lokoja 84

Lokoja 85

Lokoja 86

Camp Road, Lokoja 87

Camp Road, Lokoja 88

Barracks, Lokoja 89

The Serrikin (King of Lokoja) and his Chiefs at the King’s House 90

Meat Market, Lokoja 91

Guard on Government Treasury, Lokoja 92

Messrs. Christian’s Store, Lokoja 93

Hausas Love Soap and Water 94

Coming in from the Country, Lokoja 95

Lokoja 96

Bridge of Sighs, Lokoja 97

Government Officials and others watching Gymkana, Lokoja 98

Hausa Women Hairdressing, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 99

Barbers, Lokoja Market 100

Native Barber 101

Preparing Foofoo (Crushed Yams), Lokoja 102

Children at Play, Lokoja 103

Children in the Market, Lokoja, Northern Nigeria 104

Washing up, River Nigeria 105

A Quarrel, Lokoja Market 106

Washing Day on the Niger River, Northern Nigeria 107

Native Trading Canoe, Upper Niger, Northern Nigeria 108

Group of Hausa and Nupe Chiefs (Serrikin of Lokoja in Centre) 109

Black Bluejackets on the Government River Steamer “Kapelli” 110

S. W. “Ndoni” (Cargo Boat) on the Niger River 111

“Halstead” (Cargo Boat) on Niger River 112

High Commissioner’s Yacht “Corona” on the Niger 113

Hausa Canoe 114

Chief’s Canoe being saluted on the Niger 115

Nupe Town of Egga on the Niger 116

Egga, Northern Nigeria 117

Egbohu, Northern Nigeria, Landing-place of Expedition against Beda 118

Part of Rabba Village, Northern Nigeria 119

Unloading Salt, Jebba 120

Loading Steamer, Jebba 121

The S.S. “Scarborough” at Jebba 122

Looking up the Niger from Jebba 123

Mohammedan Mosque, Northern Nigeria 124

Palm Village, Northern Nigeria 125

Shonga, Northern Nigeria 126

Fulani Cattle, Northern Nigeria 127

On the Benue River 128

Camping on Benue River 129

Market at Lamugo, near Keffi 130

Cowrie Men paying Carriers per Basket 131

Making Lama Mats 132

Making Stools 133

Grinding Guinea Corn 134

Jukums at Abinsi 135

The Emir of Kano. (Now a Prisoner in Lokoja. Was the cause of the
Kano Rising in 1907) 136

Three Hausa Traders with Bundles of Skins from Kano 137

Cattle, near Nafada 138

Camels at Nafada 139

Selling Cotton in Nafada Market 140

Chief of Kanam 141

Head Men in Vom 142

Miango Chief and Head Men (Ex-Chief on Left) 143

Chief of Wase 144

Camps in Hos 145

Hausa Loom 146

Second Chief at Ibi 147

Wase Rock 148

Amo Men 149

Hausa Girl 150

Kabba Boy 151

Hausa Woman 152

Hausa Boy 153

Brother Healy and some of his Pupils, Onitsha 154

View on the Niger River 155

Messrs. G. W. Christian’s Store, Onitsha 156

Sir William Wallace, K.C.M.G. 157

Mr. S. R. Bastard 158

Mr. Laws in front of Office with Bars of Tin ready for Transport 159

First Camp at the Tin Mines, Naraguta 160

Naraguta Camp 161

Part of the Fuel Market, Bauchi 162

Surveying Party at Juga 163

Pagans paying a Visit to discuss Matters at Jos 164

Pagans bringing in a Present, Jos 165

Naraguta. Pagans coming in for Tin Loads to Jermaan. (We were
fighting them a year before) 166

Carriers leaving Naraguta Camp 167

Carriers crossing Delimi River 168

Naraguta. 190 Bars of Tin leaving Camp by Asab Pagans 169

A Camp. Survey Camp at Jos 170

Horses being brought as Tax 171

Part of actual Working Face, Naraguta 172

Launders at end of Tail Race at River’s Edge, Naraguta 173

Naraguta. Making Dam 174

Naraguta. Construction of Dam. Rukubar Pagans 175

Naraguta. View showing Back of Dam 176

Naraguta Dam 177

Naraguta 178

Naraguta 179

Naraguta 180

Naraguta. Four Sluice-boxes in Labourers’ Creek 181

Naraguta 182

Naraguta. View of Sluice-boxes, Labourers’ Creek 183

Naraguta. Moving Boxes to Face of Stope, Bala’s Stope 184

Naraguta. Two Sluice-boxes 185

Naraguta 186

Naraguta 187

Naraguta Camp 188

Opening Foot-bridge, Delimi River, Naraguta 189

Labourers’ Camp on the Tin Fields 190

Naraguta. Tin-workers working the Bed of the River in dry season 191

Naraguta. Construction of Leat by Rukubar Pagans 192

Naraguta. Construction of Leat by Rukubar Pagans 193

Washing Tin in Delimi River, Naraguta 194

Delimi River 195

View of Delimi River between Naraguta and Jos 196

Naraguta. View showing Flood-boxes on Leat 197

Naraguta 198

A Camp 199

Naraguta. Tributers washing Tin 200

Tin Washing 201

Naraguta. Half-length new Main Tail Race 202

Naraguta. No. 2. Looking up Main Tail Race 203

Naraguta. Lower View, No. 2, Main Tail Race 204

Naraguta. Close to Main Working Face, No. 2 Stope 205

Naraguta. Tin Mining. Yorubus Working in the Ground 206

Troops leaving Naraguta Camp for Bauchi 207

Nafuta Gorge, looking towards Juga. The Juga River runs down
the centre and passes to the Nafuta Flats 208

Nafuta Gorge. The River at this point is lost to sight to thirty
feet below the big boulders in the middle of the Ravine 209

Proposed Dam Site, Juga 210

Prospecting on Dubbo or Topaz Valley 211

Mr. C. G. Lush’s Camp at Juga 212

Camp of Messrs. Lush, Huddart and Walter Wethered 213

Messrs. Huddart and Lush prospecting on one of the Creeks of the
Dubbo or Topaz Valley Property 214

Face of Alluvial, 16 feet deep, averaging about 6 lbs. of Tin per
cubic yard; Dubbo or Topaz Valley Mine 215

Juga Camp: Pay-day 216

Rafinsiroma Camp 217

Rafinsiroma Dam, looking south-east 218

House-building, Rafinsiroma Tin Mines 219

A Group of Natives 220

View in Amo 221

A View in Vom 222

Mr. G. W. Christian, a Nigerian Trader 223

Steamers discharging at Baro 224

Baro Yard 225

Baro Beach just before the Railway was begun: Baro-Kano Railway 226

Setting out Earthwork at Patatifi, Baro-Kano Line 227

Temporary Bridge over the Bakogi River, Baro-Kano Line 228

Engine of the Emir Class on Steel Bridge, Baro-Kano Line 229

Earthwork in Progress, Baro-Kano Line 230

Straightening Road at Railhead, Baro-Kano Line 231

Niger End of the Line: View from Baro Hill 232

General View of Baro Station 233

Mr. H. W. Laws, Engineer to the Niger Company 234

Map of Southern Nigeria 235

Map of Northern Nigeria 236

Map showing Route of Railway from Baro to Rigachika 237

Map showing Railway and Roads to Tin Fields 238

Alluvial Tin Districts in the Bauchi Province 239

Plan of the Naraguta Tin Mines showing Workings 240

Properties of the Juga (Nigeria) Tin & Power Company, Limited 241

Properties of the Lucky Chance Mines, Limited, in the Dubbo
District 242

The Dubbo or Topaz Valley Property, belonging to the Lucky Chance
Mines, Limited 243

Rafinsiroma Tin Property, belonging to the Lucky Chance Mines,
Limited 244

The Polchi Alluvial Tin Property, belonging to the Lucky Chance
Mines, Limited 245

The Bilidi Alluvial Tin Property, belonging to the Lucky Chance
Mines, Limited 246

The Federri Alluvial Tin Property, the Tin Fields of Northern
Nigeria, Limited 247

Doss or Dila Tin Property, the Tin Fields of Northern Nigeria,
Limited 248

The Kurdum River Alluvial Tin Area 249

The Rein, Forum, Ribon, and Kurdum Alluvial Tin Areas 250

The Rein Alluvial Tin Area 251

The Farum Alluvial Tin Area 252

The Shen Alluvial Tin Area 253

South Bukeru Tin Area 254

Juga District 255

Gel Tin Lode and Alluvial Company 256

The Northern Nigeria (Bauchi) Tin Mines 257

Route from Minna to Tin Fields 258

New road from Railhead to Tin Fields 259

NIGERIA & ITS TIN FIELDS

EARLY DAYS IN NIGERIA

In 1879, when Sir George Taubman Goldie organised the amalgamation of the rival trading firms of the Lower Niger and formed the United Africa Company, only a few far-sighted people could have had any idea of the possibilities of future commercial greatness that were possessed by this utterly unattractive and uncivilised region. “The Niger,” as Colonel Mockler-Ferryman tells us, “was absolutely tabooed; its name was mentioned only in whispers, and the British public regarded it as an unlucky, pestilential spot, out of which no good could ever come.” It must be remembered, in explanation of this pessimistic attitude, that all attempts to explore Nigeria and open up commerce on the river had failed more or less completely; a great number of lives had been sacrificed in successive expeditions, and no practical good had been accomplished. McGregor Laird, some quarter of a century earlier, had founded the African Shipping Company, with monthly sailings to the West African ports and, with the grudging co-operation of the Government, had contracted to keep a steamer on the Niger. But Laird died in 1857, when his spirited enterprise appeared to be on the point of yielding tangible results, and the country was still under a cloud when, twenty years later, the first organised attempt was made to develop its commercial resources.

THE PROTECTORATE PROCLAIMED

The United Africa Company’s efforts were recognised by the grant of a Royal Charter in 1886, but its mission and its potentialities failed to appeal to the general public; and even when in 1900 the Territory, with its area equal to that of Germany and the British Isles combined, was added to the Dependencies of the Empire, the new Protectorate was regarded with indifference and suspicion as a present burden and a probable source of future trouble.

That was but a decade since, yet it was only the other day that Lord Crewe declared that “there is no part of the Empire about which higher hopes may properly be entertained than the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria;” and the Colonial Report, in emphatic corroboration of this optimistic opinion, asserted that “very few countries have witnessed such great changes for the better in such a short space of time, as has been the case with this Cinderella of the British Dominions.”

It must be admitted that the Nigerias have been of late years more favoured in the matters of ocean transport and inter-communication. Since McGregor Laird started his monthly service to Lagos, the African Shipping Company has been succeeded by six shipping lines—the British and African Steam Navigation, African Steamship, Elder Dempster, Woermann, Hamburg-America, and the Hamburg-Bremen-Africa—the first three of which, to all intents and purposes, may be classed as Elder Dempster’s. Twenty-five liners and Elder Dempster’s regular services call at Lagos each month—one nearly every day of the week. Two vessels of some four thousand tons are exclusively employed in bringing Welsh coal to Lagos; and a cargo service, another Elder Dempster enterprise, now runs from inside Lagos Lagoon to Hamburg, thus avoiding the transhipping of cargo in Lagos Roads or at Forcados. Persons who only know of Elder Dempster’s famous service of ocean liners, which leave Liverpool every Wednesday and arrive at Lagos Roads sixteen days later, may be surprised to learn that they have a large and distinct inter-colonial service between Lagos and Secondi. These vessels, built of light draught to enable them to cross Lagos bar, not only afford shippers a short and rapid means of forwarding their produce, but are of immense service to the growing number of natives who travel, mostly for trade purposes, between Lagos and the smaller ports along the Gold Coast; while another Elder Dempster service runs weekly to and from Porto Novo in Dahomey and Lagos, carrying general outward cargo and bringing back produce for shipment to the United Kingdom and the Continent.

These services, which cater for the ramifications of the commercial activities of West Africa, are practically unknown at home, and the organisation and development of this enormous industry was, to a great extent, the work of one man—the late Sir Alfred Lewis Jones. It has been said of him that “when the story of our times comes to be written comprehensively, he will be bracketed with Cecil John Rhodes. One obtained a large territory for the Empire; the other enhanced immeasurably countries formerly judged as of questionable value. He was a pioneer in building up their commerce, and is of still higher estimate—he was instrumental in making them more fit to live in by revolutionising the health conditions.” His varied commercial enterprises in West Africa are well known, and it is unnecessary here to enlarge upon them. They ranged from coaling and engineering companies with dry docks, to banking—which facilitated relations between the natives and the European traders—and included his cold-storage scheme, which the medical faculty admit has been one of the most powerful factors in lowering the mortality of West Africa. This object was also largely assisted by the investigations carried out at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. The school was financed by Sir Alfred Jones, who also provided the means for putting the resultant discoveries into practice. He further established a branch of the School at Grand Canary, and arranged with Elder Dempster a cheap service from the West African Coast to the Canary Islands for malaria patients, whose lives depend upon their reaching that Mecca for invalids. By such means the dead merchant prince has lowered the death-rate among Europeans and natives in West Africa to a degree unthought of fifteen years ago, and he has built in that part of the Continent a monument to his name more enduring than brass, because the foundation was made for the betterment of his fellow-men.

THE NIGER COMPANY

But if the Elder Dempster Line have accomplished great things in establishing regular communication between England and the new Dependencies, much splendid pioneer work has been done in the country by the Niger Company. During the last few years they have opened up the Bauchi tin field in Northern Nigeria, and their trading and transport facilities have made it possible for them to carry out an enormous amount of development under great difficulties. The directors have had the courage of their convictions. In forwarding their own interests they have benefited the Protectorate, and if they have profited by their enterprise they have made the country a source of profit for others.

From the proceeds of the surrender of its charter to the British Government in 1900, the company were able to make a special distribution to its shareholders amounting to 145 per cent., and the sale of certain of their mining rights in the Bauchi Province has more than repaid them for the work that they had carried on in the district since 1902, and resulted in raising their dividend payment in 1909 from ten to twenty per cent. And in addition the Niger Company possess practically a monopoly of the transport to the tin fields, the value of which cannot be overestimated.

The Niger Company’s share of the credit that is due for effecting this great improvement in the present condition and future prospects of the Protectorate may be at once admitted; but much has been accomplished since the control of the country devolved upon the British Colonial Office. In 1900 only some 30,000 square miles, out of a total of 250,000 in Northern Nigeria, were under some form of organised control. The remainder was controlled and ruled under conditions giving no guarantee of liberty or even life. To-day the whole condition of the country is entirely altered. Sixteen provinces, comprising the entire Protectorate, have been organised by the never-ceasing efforts of Residents, and the sum total of the unadministered area does not now exceed the 30,000 square miles that were under administration ten years ago.

PROGRESS OF SOUTHERN NIGERIA

At the date of the proclamation of the Nigerian Protectorates the Southern Colony was in a much more advanced state of development than its Northern neighbour, and was naturally regarded as the paramount partner. It had a sea border, a port at Lagos, which to-day is the most important town in West Africa, and it was destined to be the terminus of the first railway to be built in the new Dependencies. The markets and trading stations of the Niger Company were within its boundaries, the fertility of the soil was proved, its richness in rubber, tobacco, and coal was established, and its wealth of other vegetable products was well known. It is not at all surprising, then, that British pioneers and capitalists saw the splendid commercial future that was before Southern Nigeria, and were somewhat neglectful of the distant, isolated, and inaccessible Northern territories. Nor were they wrong, for the advance of its trade justified the most sanguine predictions, and, as will be seen by a glance at the appended tables (prepared in francs by Mr. C. A. Birtwistle, the Commercial Intelligence Officer of the Colony), its commerce to-day practically equals the total of the French Colonies of Senegal, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and Dahomey:—

All French
West African Colonies. Nigeria.
Imports and Exports. Imports and Exports.
Value in Francs. Value in Francs.

1899 116,843,000 78,000,000
1900 129,861,000 90,575,000
1901 131,459,000 96,625,000
1902 130,906,000 112,325,000
1903 161,819,000 111,700,000
1904 155,949,000 130,100,000
1905 152,471,000 128,775,000
1906 163,442,000 144,925,000
1907 177,436,000 192,550,000
1908 193,090,000 184,550,000

It will be noted at a glance that whilst French West African trade has increased by 65 per cent., that of Nigeria has grown by 136 per cent.

ANTICIPATIONS OF NORTHERN NIGERIA’S FUTURE

Northern Nigeria, however, was known to be rich in iron, and the existence of other minerals was suspected; its suitability as a field for the exploitation of the cotton-growing industry was realised and the British Cotton-Growing Association reported a few years ago that “in Northern Nigeria alone lies the possible salvation of Lancashire.” Moreover, the Directors of the Niger Company had always foretold the ultimate importance that would be attained by the regions north of the Niger and the Benue. The company’s trade flourished in the south, new products were being continually discovered and new factories opened, and the optimism of its shareholders was justified by the declaration of substantial dividends, but Sir George Goldie consistently predicted the boundless potentialities of the unopened North, and as far back as 1889 declared: “We can hardly impress too strongly upon our shareholders that our hopes of future prosperity rest far less on the lower regions of the Niger than upon the higher, inner, and recently explored country.”

Sir Percy Girouard and others have warned the public against confusing Northern and Southern Nigeria, and running away with the idea that there is no great difference between them. As Colonel Mockler-Ferryman says: “Commencing with what is called the Niger Delta, we have a land of swamps and impenetrable forests, intersected by a vast network of streams and creeks and inhabited by numerous pagan tribes addicted to every species of vile custom, including even cannibalism and human sacrifices.... Above the pagan land—_i.e._, at the confluence [of the rivers Niger and Benue] there is a marked change, not only in the type of the people but also in the nature of the country. Mohammedan influence commences to show itself, and low swampy wastes are superseded by rocky hills or far-extending grassy plains, well studded with magnificent trees.”

NATIVE TIN WASHING

The existence of alluvial tin in these Northern regions was known for some considerable time, but until a year or two ago its value as a commercial asset was not seriously considered. Rumours of such sources of wealth frequently reached the Niger Company, and quantities of small faggots of very pure metal, which occasionally found their way down to the coast, afforded evidence that the natives had been working and smelting tin for a lengthy period. It was subsequently discovered that the procedure adopted by the native Nigerian tin miners, and described by Mr. Nicolaus, is as follows:

“The washers, usually working in gangs of three or four, wade into the river, tributary creeks and gullies, generally at or near some shallow rapids, and, loosening the gravel under water with a short hoe-like implement, scoop it into large calabashes about 18 inches to 24 inches in diameter. As soon as sufficient gravel is collected (about 30 lbs.), it is washed, and the resulting rough concentrate placed in a smaller calabash, 6 inches to 8 inches in diameter, and thoroughly cleansed, nearly all the fine tinstone being lost. The resulting ‘black tin’ containing the equivalent of from 60 to 65 per cent. metal, is sun-dried, and packed in bags and skins for transport to the smelting furnaces.

“This ‘black tin’ is usually smelted in various parcels on a royalty basis, exclusively by members of one family, who hold the process a profound secret. Only three native smelting furnaces are in use, and these are each capable of turning out about 2 cwt. of metal per diem. They are built of well-puddled clay, and are 3 feet 6 inches in diameter, and have at the back four tuyère holes conducting the blast from primitive sheepskin bellows to the hearth. The tin is reduced by means of charcoal, and runs through a channel 2 feet 6 inches long and 4 inches broad to a catch-pot, whence it is ladled by small gourds or calabashes and poured. The tin is cast in the form of thin bars of about an eighth of an inch in diameter and 12 inches long, which are produced by pouring the molten metal on semi-circular banks of clay, 18 inches high, perforated by dry Guinea corn-halms.”

THE DISCOVERY OF BAUCHI TIN

The first actual discovery of tin in the Protectorate, or the first conclusive evidence of its actual existence there, has hitherto been ‘wrop in mystery,’ but, thanks to the courtesy of Sir William Wallace, late acting Governor of Northern Nigeria, I am in a position to dispel all uncertainty on the subject. In the course of a letter I received from Sir William, dated 21st October 1910, he says:—“Up to ’84 we used to believe that the tin used by the Hausa people for tinning their brass ware was brought across the desert. I then, being busily engaged opening up the Benue River to trade, got a hint that the tin was being smelted in some of the Hausa States, and, on making inquiries, found that it was being produced in Bauchi. We did all possible to develop the trade in the tin straws, but with little success, as the pagan tribes would have no dealings with the Hausa merchants, and rightly so, as it would have only led to the subjection of the tribes to the Fulani, whom they kept at bay till our advent in 1902. Early in that year I went with the little army as Political Agent to subdue the Emir of Bauchi, and after settling that matter I was able to get messengers through to the Delimi River, close to the Naraguta, from whence they brought about a quarter of a hundredweight of the tin sands, the first ever procured or seen by Europeans. This sample I brought home, and submitted to the Directors of the Niger Company, who shortly afterwards took out a prospecting licence over 1000 square miles. Since then, thanks principally to Mr. Laws, the mining industry has slowly forged ahead, until the rush came along this year. Year in, year out, I have been urging companies and encouraging prospectors to come along until I almost despaired of success; but now, given a railway to the tin field, the industry cannot but prosper if the Government do not hamper it with too many restrictions.”

THE NIGER COMPANY’S EXPEDITION

Sir William Wallace’s tribute to the work done by Mr. Laws, the plucky and importunate mining adviser of the Niger Company, is entirely merited. The existence of paying tin was regarded with some scepticism. It has also been surmised that the officials and civil servants had too comfortable berths to risk the disappointments and discomforts of prospecting work. Moreover, the Niger Company was in a flourishing condition, and its directors were not anxious to launch into mining enterprises. But Mr. Laws and his assistants were indefatigable. In 1902 and 1903 three expeditions were despatched to locate the tin areas. The little party, under the protection of an armed escort—for at that time the natives, now so friendly, were somewhat hostile—proceeded to make a geological examination of the country east of the Niger, and eventually found tin in the Province of Bauchi, some 600 miles to the north-east of Lokoja. Further prospecting located the stanniferous area to the outlines of the Gura Mountains, a small range known as the Naraguta and Shere Hills in the Badiko district of that province.

THE FIRST GEOLOGICAL REPORTS

The geology of the area, as described by Mr. R. C. Nicolaus, is composed of granites, igneous intrusions of diabase and porphyry forming the prominent peaks of the hill range. Near the river a coarse grey gneiss forms a contact with the granite, both of which rocks are traversed by lenticles and gash veins of quartz, and several small igneous dykes cross diagonally the general strike of country, which is north-east and dips west.

Although the stream tin had so far only been prospected in the neighbourhood of the rivers, there was abundant evidence to show that the source of the tin supply came from a stockwork formation in the granite at the slopes and at the base of the foot-hills. A somewhat remarkable feature of this deposit was that a considerable quantity of metallic tin was discovered under the river banks during prospecting operations. It was found in small grains and nodules about the size of a bean, its surface very thinly coated with only a trace of iron. It was very ductile, and emitted, on crushing, the peculiar tin cry. Its mode of occurrence in the gravels, associated with coarse grains of stream tin at a depth of some 15 feet under the surface, did not at first allow its genesis being determinable, but it was unhesitatingly put down as “native tin”—a mineral up to that time of very rare occurrence.

FIRST SHIPMENT OF TIN

Mr. Laws and his engineers were so well satisfied with their work, and the results they produced were so encouraging, that the Niger Company applied in 1905 for a number of mining leases in selected areas. In spite of slight difficulties arising from a scarcity of water in the dry season, a considerable amount of development work was accomplished, and the company secured an output of one ton of black tin per diem. These results proved that the gravels could be worked profitably, while the geological structure of the country compelled experts to the conclusion that the field represented by far the most important discovery of native tin that had been made. Further examination of the district, which fully confirmed the expectations raised by the first reports, has inspired the prediction that this Northern Nigerian tin field is perhaps the richest in the world.

The Niger Company continued to treat the alluvial in the old primitive method, which consists in the main of the use of calabash and sluice boxes, by which they have, up to the present time, secured over 1000 tons of black tin. Still, the mineral resources of the colony were not, until recently, appreciated in accordance with the proved facts. Lord Scarborough year after year had told the British public, in his annual speech to the shareholders of the Niger Company, that there was treasure in Northern Nigeria in the shape of alluvial tin. He told them, in March 1907, that during the previous fifteen months roughly 240 tons of black tin, of the approximate gross value of £30,000, had been obtained from one property, the Naraguta, or an average of 16 tons a month. He told his shareholders in 1908 that the Niger Company had won £29,933 worth of tin for that year. Last year he said: “As regards tin development, we have brought home and marketed an increased quantity of ore compared with the previous year.” This year the chairman of the Niger Company declared a 2s. dividend per share as a result of the sale of a small portion of their mining lands.

OFFICIAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW FIELD

The first official recognition of the importance of the Bauchi tin deposits was conveyed to the public in the Colonial Report on Northern Nigeria in 1905, and in 1906 was published the First Report on the Results of the Mineral Survey of Northern Nigeria, 1904-5. “The mineral resource of Northern Nigeria being virtually unknown” (to quote the report), “a mineral survey of the Protectorate to be carried out under the general supervision of the Director of the Imperial Institute by surveyors nominated by him, was proposed by Sir F. Lugard, the High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria, and sanctioned by the Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1904.” It was arranged that the officers of the Survey should spend about eight months of each year in Northern Nigeria in exploring the mineral deposits of selected districts.

In the general introductory summary of the first report of the surveyors, the prospects of the tin fields of Northern Nigeria are described with the customary official reserve. “Tin, in the form of cassiterite,” the report stated, “has now been found in the stream beds of other districts. It is probable that as soon as suitable transport is provided Northern Nigeria will become an important tin-producing country. Already deposits in the Bauchi Province are being worked by the Niger Company, and the metal smelted on the spot. The first consignment of tin from the Protectorate has reached this country.”

The prospect presented by this information, backed up by substantial shipments of tin, might have been expected to stimulate the curiosity of both prospectors and capitalists, and that other Richmonds would have made an appearance in the Bauchi field. But any hopes of such a result were doomed to disappointment. The Niger Company continued to win mineral, and the Mineral Survey persisted in their efforts to prove the extent of country over which the granites were tin bearing. It is possible that the remoteness and inaccessibility of the Protectorate operated unfavourably in the minds of mining adventurers, and the evil reputation which had been erroneously given to the country may have moved financiers to an excess of cautiousness. The colony made no new friends, and, as will be shown later, it was not until last year and then only by the accident of failure in another direction, that capital was diverted into the new tin field.

TINSTONE CONCENTRATES ANALYSED

Eleven specimens of tinstone concentrates from the Zagi River, south of Bauchi, from Bula, Tilde, and the river beyond Joss were forwarded to the Imperial Institute, and with only one exception were found upon analysis to contain tin in quantities of from mere traces up to 80.85 per cent, of tin oxide, equivalent to 63.5 per cent. of metallic tin in the concentrate.

The official general remarks on the specimens analysed were as follows:

“Most of the concentrates were obtained from the plateaux of Tilde, Rukuba, Joss, and Ngell. On the first three of these the principal surveyor reports that the Niger Company has prospecting camps. The finest grained tinstone is found on the Tilde plateau, the coarser material coming from Joss and Ngell. The tinstone is said to be irregularly distributed, and adjoining pits may furnish such different yields as 10 lbs., or less, and 400 lbs. per ton on gravel worked. The average yield at the Rukuba camp is 25 lbs. per ton. The present works, it is stated, are all in the near neighbourhood of the river Delimi, but it appears that the gravels are more or less rich in tin over the whole surface of the plateau. The river-beds in some cases contain valuable tinstone-bearing gravels, as is shown by the results of the analysis of the concentrate from the river-bed at Tilde, which contained 68 per cent. of tinstone. That from beyond Joss contained only 40 per cent. of tinstone, possibly owing to the difficulty of separating the ilmenite from the tinstone by washing. The concentrate from the Kende River consisted almost entirely of ilmenite. The presence of the latter mineral in the stream beds will introduce a difficulty in the concentration of the tinstone, as it is not readily distinguishable by inspection from tinstone, and collects with it in the first concentration.

“The results so far obtained show that tinstone is widely distributed in the province of Bauchi in the alluvium of both the high and low plateaux. As these tinstone districts are in process of being prospected, it is scarcely worth while to discuss the commercial value of the tin concentrates here, but it may be pointed out that several of these concentrates contain monazite, and this may be worth recovering. The amount of monazite present is usually small, and it is scarcely likely that its recovery under present circumstances would pay for the working of an electro-magnetic concentrator, which would be required to effect its separation. If, however, it becomes necessary to use such concentrators in order to separate the ilmenite, which occurs with the tinstone, then it would probably be worth while to recover the monazite as a by-product.

“The question of the origin of the tinstone occurring in this region is of great interest, and the officers of the Survey propose to devote further attention to the subject.”

The Colonial Report for 1907-8 carried us no further, as the third Survey party which arrived in the country in December 1907 were still upon their seven months expedition, and the results of their work had not been received. The report referred, however, to the fact that the Niger Company, continuing its work on its licensed area in the Bauchi Province, were exporting black tin to the amount of 500 tons per annum, and added: “The main difficulty in the development of this promising industry is its situation. With the construction of the railway through Zaria it should be possible to place the mines in close connection with it by means of a road, which should also serve the Bauchi Province.”

THE REPORTS OF EXPERTS

In one of his reports on the Bauchi tin area, Mr. Lush says:

“There is not the slightest doubt that before very long many of the deep alluvial flats that are some distance from the shallow and more easily worked tin ground will be worked. The values may turn out to be poorer than the shallow ground, but the natural facilities are better owing to the water supply being sufficient for continuous working without the expense of erection of dams. On the other hand, when you get out of the granite country, the further you are away from the source of the tin the greater are the impurities mixed with it. The numerous creeks, after passing through the schists and other rocks emptying into the main river, all tend to this, and titanic iron, tourmaline, rutile, and gem sand form a large percentage of the concentrates. However, if on boring, the deep ground turns out payable, there should be no difficulty in getting rid of the impurities and dressing the tin up to 70 per cent.”

Mr. L. H. L. Huddart, writing on this subject in his report on the South Juga property, says:

“_Sources of the Tin._—The black tin is probably derived from the granite of which it is a rock constituent, and from stockworks in the granite quartz porphyry occurs very similar to the ‘elvans’ in Cornwall.

“_Nature of the Wash._—In the upper end the wash is a fine whitish granite, containing no large pebbles or boulders, and is near the original source of some of the Juga tin. The surface is slightly cemented with iron oxides in which cassiterite often grows. The whole wash very easily breaks down with water. The ground further down the property is similar except that the alluvial has travelled further, and consequently has been sorted to a greater extent.

“Taken generally, the tin bearing is the product of denudation from the granite of which the bed-rock, and sides of the valley are composed. The tin occurs in the wash right up against the granite on both sides of the valley. The topaz is abundant in the wash, and with some zircon and rootile is almost the only mineral besides cassiterite occurring in the concentrates.”

In his report on the Kurdum River Tin Concession, Mr. Huddart says:

“_Geology._—The base rock is a foliated gneiss and schist; the great granite _massif_ forming the Jarawa Hills lies to the west of the property. There is a good deal of granite on the property, with some dolerite. The rocks are compact, and show considerable signs of regional metamorphism.

“_Source of the Tin._—The tin has been carried down from the rich placers at the head water of the Kurdum River, and form feeders that come in above the property from the Jarawa and Fuersum country. In one or two places the natives work the river-bed, an indication in itself of high value, as it does not pay them to work any but rich gravel. The alluvial ground is a quartz gravel with sand near the top. There is very little clay, and long boulders are unlikely, and the wash is friable and easy to work. The river-bed gravel where coarse is very rich.

“_Concentrates._—These contain usually minerals such as ilmenite, rootile, zircon, and some topaz and garnet. The tin is of good quality, and varies in colour from black to ruby and pale yellow. A little monazite is found, and an occasional colour of gold. There should be no difficulty in shipping concentrates that will assay 71 or 72 per cent. metallic tin. The tinstone is of a good average size for saving in the sluice boxes which can be given a good grade.”

FRESH DISCOVERIES ANNOUNCED

The Government Report on Northern Nigeria for 1908-9 contained the announcement that tin in paying quantities had been located in the Provinces of Bauchi, Nassarawa, and on the Kobba-Ilorin border, and this information has since been supplemented by the Akerri (Nigeria) Tin Company Ltd., which has taken up a tin area in an entirely fresh district, one day’s journey west of Zungeru, and one and a half day’s journey north-east of Jebba.

Meanwhile, in a White Paper on “Nigeria, September 1910,” issued in the following month of October, we get an official reference to the new tin industry:

“Mr. Parkinson states that in the Oban Hills, Southern Nigeria, there are tourmaline pegmatites, and Schmeisser has recorded that since the discovery of an apparently rich tin deposit near Banyo, there has been much prospecting for that mineral in the Cameroons. Surface tin is found in Northern Nigeria by the natives, and sold, chiefly to the Niger Company, but mines on a large scale have not as yet been worked. The geological surveyors sent out by the Imperial Institute have detected the presence of alluvial tin in many sand and river gravels. At Uwet, in Old Calabar, Mr. Parkinson reports the occurrence of tinstone during the year 1906, and of the washed samples 80 per cent. was tinstone, and the remainder was garnet, tourmaline, quartz, and columbite.”

CONFIDENCE IN THE FIELD ESTABLISHED

The Bauchi tin won by the Niger Company is of rich quality, and commands a considerably higher price than ordinary English tin; but while Lord Scarborough persistently told the public of the results of their operations, mining was not energetically proceeded with, and as has been said the new field attracted less attention than it deserved. But as prospecting work in the district became more general, it was realised from the virgin nature of the area, the cheapness and abundance of labour available in the district, and the enormous extent of the surface deposits, that the regions were extremely valuable and presented potentialities of great and continuous profits. In the face of this later information the first feeling of scepticism with which the discovery was received passed away, doubt yielded to confidence, and it was soon known that some of the most astute and influential groups in the City were interested in the exploitation of the new field.

But although the future of the Bauchi tin district was assured, it was necessary for some one to be first in the systematic development of the new field. Every report emanating from the colony confirmed the story of the richness of Nigerian tin, and a Royal Colonial Institute address had admitted that “if the professional reports were anything like approximately correct and the supply is regulated, a fabulous amount of wealth is waiting to be extracted,” but the opportunity to make fortunes out of Northern Nigeria was neglected until the Champion Gold Reefs of West Africa, Ltd., who had abandoned their gold property on the Gold Coast, boldly threw their remaining capital of £12,000 into the new field.

THE PIONEERS OF NORTHERN NIGERIAN TIN

The credit, therefore, for placing the Nigerian tin fields before the British investor is due to Messrs. Walter and Oliver Wethered, and Mr. S. R. Bastard. It was Mr. Walter Wethered, being impressed by the large quantities of metal which were being brought down by the natives and sold to the Niger Company, who formed the opinion that these fields might be suitable for working on a large scale. Having satisfied himself on this point he was able to induce Mr. Bastard, and his brother, Mr. Oliver Wethered, to join in the business, and as a result the Champion Gold Reefs of West Africa, Ltd., of which Mr. Bastard was Chairman, decided in the month of September 1909 to embark its remaining capital and all its energies in the exploitation of the new Nigerian tin field. In October the first members of their staff were sent out to the properties they had already secured, to be followed on 3rd November by Mr. C. G. Lush, the well-known tin expert, who was to advise them as to the best method of developing their properties. Everything that happened satisfied this pioneer group of the value of the field, and they formed the Tin Fields of Northern Nigeria, Ltd., which was registered on 7th October 1909, with a capital of £100,000. Mr. Bastard became chairman of this company.

The Nigerian Tin Corporation, Ltd., was registered on 14th October 1909, with a capital of £100,000. On this occasion Mr. Oliver Wethered took the chairmanship. No further company was floated during the year 1909, but on 15th January 1910 this same group issued the Naraguta (Nigeria) Tin Mines, Ltd., with a capital of £175,000. This company has already, in the few months it has been working, recovered over 300 tons of tin, and has declared its first dividend. The next venture to be floated by the Champion Gold Reefs company was the Northern Nigerian (Bauchi) Tin Mines, Ltd., registered on 2nd February 1910, with a capital of £200,000, of which Mr. Oliver Wethered became a director.

The foregoing were the first five companies registered for the sole purpose of working the alluvial tin deposits of Northern Nigeria, and they were all promoted by this pioneer group, comprising Messrs. Walter and Oliver Wethered, and Mr. S. R. Bastard. All these companies are doing excellent work, and showing good results. After February of this year others entered the field, and since March last a large number of companies and syndicates have been registered and formed, several of which are at work.

It was only to be expected that such brilliant results as these would have the effect of inducing the more conservative firms to enter into the fields of Northern Nigerian mineral enterprise, and now Messrs. Wernher, Beit, the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, Fanti Consolidated, and many other leading groups of bankers and capitalists are represented in the Bauchi Province.

THE INACCESSIBILITY OF THE FIELD

But while the prospecting and actual mining work being done on the Bauchi field are establishing an ever-widening recognition of its mineral wealth, its inaccessibility and the difficulties of transport, which represent its chief drawbacks, have not yet been overcome, and it may be opportune to explain here the methods of transport employed in the two Nigerias, to describe the railway system, and to give some ideas of the difficulties of carriage with which the mine owners of Northern Nigeria have to contend.

Southern Nigeria, through which the Northern Protectorate is reached from the coast, is covered with a network of waterways, which are the natural transport roads of the entire region, and the Marine Department is continually surveying old and overgrown streams and opening up new river routes. It is possible, travelling by the Niger River from Forcados to the confluence at Lokoja, and following from that point the Benue River to Loko, to arrive within about 180 miles of Bauchi, or going by rail from Lagos to Jebba, the present northern terminus of the line, to get, as the crow flies, within 300 miles of that centre. The river route is obviously the quickest and cheapest, and is the one still in use, the natives carrying the tin in parcels of 60 lbs. weight on their heads from the field to Loko, travelling about 15 miles a day. At Loko, the metal is put into small steamers or barges, according to the season, and conveyed to the confluence, where it is transferred to Niger boats and taken to Forcados for shipment to Liverpool, the entire journey occupying thirty-five days and costing £29 10s. per ton.

COST OF TRANSPORT

When the construction of the Kano Railway from Baro on the Niger to railhead is opened, and the road connecting the railway to Bauchi is made, the journey will be appreciably shortened. The completion of the railway from Lagos in 1911 should further reduce it to about twenty-eight days, and again when motors are available on the new road, to about three weeks.

The cost per ton by the Forcados-Baro route will be:—

£ _s._ _d._

By sea to Forcados 2 0 0

Forcados to Baro by boat and by train from
Baro to railhead by cheapest rate 7 12 6

From railhead to tin field, about 9 0 0
-------------
£18 12 6

This will be increased when the maximum rate is charged, and will be reduced when the motor transport on the new road is available.

THE RAILWAYS OF NIGERIA

The future cost and time of transport depends upon the completion of the railway construction at present in hand, and the decision of the Government with regard to the suggested new line to connect the tin fields with some selected spot upon the Baro-Kano line of railway. The Lagos railway to Jebba in Northern Nigeria is 307 miles in length, but although the last constructed stretch of 60½ miles from Ilorin was only opened in August last, the line has already been continued for some 50 miles beyond the Niger, and the balance of 70 miles to be completed to Zungeru, the capital of Northern Nigeria, is expected to be finished early in the coming year. By this route, when the connecting line from Zungeru to the Baro-Kano railway is constructed, and the branch from the latter railway to Bauchi is built, it will be possible to carry machinery all the way from Lagos to the new field by train, and bring the metal down to the port by the same service.

But although this Lagos railway, as it is still called, taps a fertile and thickly populated country and connects the capital of the north with the coast, it became, with the commencement of the new Baro-Kano line the second, instead of the first, most important factor in the development of Northern Nigeria. Until the year 1907 the Northern Protectorate possessed in the way of railways but one light 2 feet 6 inch tramway of 22 miles in length, which connected its capital, Zungeru, with Baro, the nearest navigable point on the river.

It was in May 1907 that Sir Percy Girouard, the Governor, whose name had already become famous in connection with his splendid railway work in the Sudan and in South Africa, formulated the railway policy, and recommended the construction by the Public Works Department of the Protectorate of a 3 feet 6 inch gauge railway from Baro, on the Niger River, to Kano, a distance of a little short of 400 miles, on an estimate of £3000 per mile. In August of the same year the Imperial Government sanctioned the construction of the proposed line.