IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 94, 14 January 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

“Treks and Palavers,” by R. R. Oakley (London: Seeley Service).

Captain Oakley spent some time after the war as a political officer and magistrate in Northern Nigeria, so that he is well qualified to write about the country and its peoples. He was attracted to the country by the prospect of a life among primitive peoples in a land where ponies and camels feature largely and where the tropical jungles are full of game. Northern Nigeria is a country where the progress of civilization was arrested for centuries and even today its people are less spoiled by contacts with white men than in most African States. The people of Northern Nigeria are in part an aristocratic caste of Moslem and in part are pagans. Captain Oakley studied the traits and customs of the tribes and writes of his experiences among them in a most interesting manner. He describes his many journeys through the country and his many and varied duties as a magistrate m such way that it will not be surprising if young readers turn their eyes toward Northern Nigeria and similar States when deciding upon a career. He shows that administrative work in tropical Africa is both interesting and exacting—a job worth doing well. “Treks and Palavers” is well illustrated with photographs and contains also a useful sketch map. AN OUTLAWED DOG “Exmoor Rover,” by C. R. Acton, illustrated by C. Gifford Ambler (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode).

Mr. Acton was motoring over Exmoor one evening when he and his companions saw a wild dog limping along. They tried to catch him but he was too suspicious of humans to allow them to come near him. However, this dog gave Mr. Acton the idea for his story, “Exmoor Rover.” He has written the story of just such an outlawed sheep-stealing dog. The incidents related are things that happened to real dogs, though not til ways in Exmoor, and the whole makes an exciting story.

Mr. Gifford Ambler has illustrated tile talc with delightful pencil sketches, so that the book is one that will charm all dog lovers.