The Shebshi Mountaineers
“The Shebshi Mountains are interesting from the fact that they would form the principal obstacle, a well-nigh insuperable one, to the construction of a direct line of railway from Calabar, or a point on the Cross River, via Takum and Bakundi, to Yola. Yola is one of the few important points in Nigeria which does not appear likely to be linked up with the coast by a railway for many years to come. The German railway from Duala to the north, if it ever does reach Garua, will pass to the east of the Shebshis, where many obstacles, almost as formidable, will have to be overcome....
“The people inhabiting the Shebshi Mountains and their foothills are principally Chamba and Dakka pagans. They have many points in common with other hill pagans of Northern Nigeria and Adamawa. The effect of Mohammedan inroads upon these tribes is especially evident. They may be divided into two classes: firstly, those who are slaves and mingle freely with the Fulanis, their villages being in the plain; and, secondly, those who hold themselves aloof on the hill-tops. The former have copied many things from the Fulanis, such as clothing, houses, &c.—almost everything, in fact, except their pastoral proclivities. The pagan will keep goats and fowls, but he will have nothing to do with horses and cattle.
“It is with the hill-top pagans, however, that we are principally concerned, as nine-tenths of the whole boundary zone are inhabited by people of this denomination. The first sign of the lower stage of civilization is the absence of clothing. A tuft of grass is the national dress, and even this is often dispensed with.
“The villages consist of little beehive-shaped huts of mud or grass, perched on apparently inaccessible heights, or cunningly hidden away in mazes of dense tropical vegetation. The inhabitants bear a great resemblance to monkeys, being small in stature, but extraordinarily active. The steepest and most difficult ascent over rocks and ravines is to them as easy as a straight, broad, level road. In fact, I have often noticed that these pagans, made to carry a load on the level, are utterly at a loss. They only come down from their rocky fastnesses to cultivate their fields, or to make war on their neighbours. They are armed with bows and poisoned arrows, from which it is never safe for them to be parted, even when working in the fields. They are almost invariably at war with a neighbouring village, the probable reason being that some of their women have been carried off. No regular trade is indulged in, but they are very fond of salt, which they obtain from Hausa traders. A bag of salt which costs half-a-crown on the coast has a purchasing power of at least ten shillings in this country.
“Each village is an independent community under a chief. The inhabitants are entirely ignorant of the world beyond the next village to their own. The nominal chief of the village has not, as a rule, as much influence as the local ju-ju man or witch doctor, whose power over these extremely superstitious people is directly proportionate to his success in imposing upon their credulity. Any calamity, such as an epidemic of sickness or a sudden death, is always attributed to the evil eye, and some member of the community is at once suspected, and either killed or sold to passing Hausa traders. If a chief dies, the village always moves to another site. This partly accounts for the number of deserted villages and ruins found in the Shebshi Mountains.
“The Chambas are industrious agriculturists, and keep large numbers of goats and fowls in their villages. The farms are generally at the foot of the hills. After the harvest the people brew large supplies of spirit from the grain, and get drunk for several days together. These orgies generally result in fighting among themselves. The principal industry, besides agriculture, is working in iron. They make their own farm implements, spear and arrow heads, and pipe-stems.”