CHAPTER XXI

THE MAHOGANY TRADE

“The traveller who wanders through the dim recesses of the tropical forest of Western Africa soon feels the sense of its beauty lost in that of its mournful grandeur, and there steals over him a profound feeling of solitude and a deep consciousness of the solemnity, majesty, and utter loneliness of this great, gloomy wilderness.”—Dr. AUSTIN FREEMAN.

The great forest region of Africa is one of the wonders of the world. It is a moot point whether Africa should be described as possessing two forest belts or only one. Roughly speaking, the forest region takes the form of an inverted hatchet or axe, with French Congo, the Congo Free State, and a portion of the Great Lakes districts as the blade; while the West Coast, from Sierra Leone downwards, provides the handle. There are gaps here and there; in the Cameroon hinterland; among the mangrove swamps of the Niger Delta, and behind Lagos on the Niger side. The forest is densest in the Upper Congo, where Stanley, we know, struggled in it for many weary weeks, as though held in the grip of some hideous nightmare from which there was no escape.

In this natural hot-house, always bathed in an atmosphere of humidity and steam, vegetation flourishes in the wildest profusion and exuberance, and with the widest diversity of size and species, from the mighty _bombax_ to the creeping lichen. So abundant is this luxurious growth, so thick the canopy formed by the spreading branches and creepers overhead, that, save here and there, where some giant has fallen and broken down the surrounding undergrowth, leaving a gap overhead through which the sunlight penetrates flickeringly, the forest is plunged in eternal gloom. This gloom and the silence which accompanies it are the two great characteristics of the African forest. Except for the occasional chattering of monkeys, the crash of a falling tree, or the far-off chirrup of birds, who seek the sunlight in the topmost branches, the silence broods everlastingly. The effect of living amongst this gloom and silence is most depressing to the European, and it is no matter for surprise that the terrific solemnity of their environment should have exercised a profound influence upon the naturally superstitious minds of the native Africans who dwell therein. It is amongst the dwellers in the forest region that we find the lowest type of African humanity[167] and the most sombre developments of African religious conceptions. All European travellers who have spent some time in this great forest region have been alike impressed by its grandeur and its melancholy, and their descriptions bear witness to the way in which their feelings have been wrought upon by the natural phenomena with which they were surrounded.

It is only within quite recent years that European enterprise has concerned itself with the potential riches of this vast forest region, or rather of that portion of it which it is as yet possible to commercially develop, viz. the belt on the West Coast—or, to refer to the illustration given above, the handle of the axe. The results already achieved in a short period of effort, which can hardly be called more than tentative and unsystematic, are such as to warrant the most sanguine expectations for the future, when facilities of transport shall have brought the main portion of the forest region within reach of the European markets. It is curious to observe how, in its main lines, the trade of Western Africa has arisen in a succession of well-defined stages. The earliest trade was in gold-dust, and, so far as we know, confined to gold-dust, unless the gorilla (or more probably the chimpanzee) skins brought home by Hanno be counted as trade—which would be a somewhat humorous classification. Then ensued a long period of absolute neglect of West Africa by civilised man. When once more the latter turned his attention to that part of the world, gold was again the principal item of trade, accompanied by ivory, and later on by slaves—the later a monstrous evil, whose Nemesis is to-day making itself felt in the United States. The gold trade died out, the ivory trade languished, and the gum, palm oil and kernel trades came into existence, to be followed by the rubber trade, and lastly by the timber trade—principally confined to mahogany. On the principle of _plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose_, the gold industry is now again reviving, although on very different lines from the old barter system. That is, of course, a general statement. There have been, now and then, exceptions to prove the rule, and so far as timber is concerned, a not inconsiderable business was carried on in the Gambia and Sierra Leone some fifty years ago.

[Illustration: FELLING A MAHOGANY-TREE]

[Illustration: SQUARING THE TREE]

Sir Alfred Moloney, however, was able to write in 1887 that, after having made many inquiries, such timber trade as had previously existed “may be said to have altogether ceased or to have sunk into the export done in dye-woods and ebony.” The following tabulated statement shows how insignificant was the timber trade in West Africa between the years 1878 and 1885:

WOOD AND TIMBER EXPORTS FROM WESTERN AFRICA, 1878 TO 1885.

Year. Articles. Countries whence imported. Quantity. Value. Tons. £

1878 Wood and timber From the West of Africa, Nil. Nil. unenumerated not particularly designated 1879 ” ” ” ” 1880 ” ” 1733 14,892 1881 ” ” No mention. 1882 ” ” 1458 10,750 1883 ” ” 1441 11,100 1884 ” ” 1395 9,980 1885 ” ” 1181 9,565

In 1889 the total import of African mahogany was only 68,000 feet, and in 1890—or a little over ten years ago—it did not amount to more than 259,000 feet. To-day the mahogany trade has grown to be one of the most important branches of commerce in West Africa. Enormous quantities of logs are shipped home from the Gold Coast, Lagos and the Ivory Coast, and the mahogany exports from the Niger Coast Protectorate,[168] which were started in August, 1899, produced 23,983 superficial feet in the year 1899-1900.

The industry is carried on by two categories of shippers, viz. the European merchant established on the coast, who either employs native labour to cut down his own trees, or who buys timber direct from the native; and the native merchant who ships home on commission. The chief centres of the mahogany trade on the coast are: for the Gold Coast—Axim, Twin Rivers, Sekondi and Chama; for the Ivory Coast—Assinie, Half Assinie, Lahou and Grand Bassam; for Southern Nigeria—Benin and Sapelli. Lagos timber is carried round to Forcados in branch boats, and there shipped on the homeward-bound steamers. The South Coast mahogany trade is chiefly confined to Botica Point, Gaboon, Eloby and Mayumba, although a few logs have been sent home in the steamers of the Cie Belge Maritime du Congo, from near Boma in the Congo Free State. The South Coast timber trade appears to be dying out, owing chiefly to the pale colour of the wood, which does not now commend itself to buyers.[169] The vast forests of the Upper Congo cannot, with advantage or profit, be tapped until the Congo Railway Company lowers its preposterous rates, and until the administration of the country is in other hands than the monopolist clique which controls it.

[Illustration: DRAGGING THE SQUARED LOG THROUGH THE BUSH]

[Illustration: SAPELLI, SOUTHERN NIGERIA’S PRINCIPAL TIMBER PORT]

It may be interesting to give the actual exports of timber from the Gold Coast and Lagos from 1895 to 1899, showing the wonderful strides which have taken place. The Gold Coast, it may be stated, has a total forest area of 12,000 square miles.

EXPORTS FROM THE GOLD COAST.

Year. Value.

1895 £28,245 1896 52,234 1897 90,509 1898 110,331 1899 87,076

EXPORTS FROM LAGOS.

Year. Value.

1895 Nil. 1896 £275 1897 8,271 1898 12,944 1899 34,737

Liverpool, Havre, Hamburg, Marseilles and Bordeaux absorb nine-tenths of the exports of mahogany from Africa, but a certain proportion finds its way from those ports to the United States.[170] Of the ports mentioned, Liverpool holds far and away the first place. The statistics of Liverpool imports from 1889 to 1900 inclusive will be found in the Appendix.

In view of the evidence given of the phenomenal increase of the mahogany trade, it seems almost incongruous to say that the existing condition and the future prospects of the trade have, for some months past, been causing much apprehension in West African commercial circles. The truth is that the growth of the trade has been checked, and for the last twelve months has even been showing signs of decay. There was a decreased export in 1901 of over 11,000 tons, and the figures for the first six months of the present year show a further decline, although prices have considerably advanced and the demand for good logs exceeds the supply.

It is a fact recognised by all the interested parties that the export of mahogany from West Africa has received a serious check. What are the reasons? They differentiate with the localities. In the Gold Coast the falling off which has occurred is due, in the first place, to labour being attracted from the timber to the gold-mining industry, and to the needs of railway construction. Many thousands of natives have thus been drawn away from timber-felling to work on the railway; for the mines, or as carriers for the various prospecting expeditions into the interior. A second contributory cause has been the necessarily trade-disturbing element of warfare, otherwise stated, the Ashanti War, in the shape of the general unrest and disorganisation brought about by the excessive demands for carriers, &c. In the Ivory Coast, prospecting expeditions have also affected the output. As far as Lagos is concerned, the remarks of the Governor in the last report of that Colony for last year afford the requisite explanation.[171]

The freight question is undoubtedly held to militate against the development of the timber industry, and it had been freely prophesied that the effect would begin to make itself felt last year. How much the decline was due on the whole to high freights, and how much to other causes mentioned, it would be difficult to say. With the technicalities of the subject I will not bore my readers. Suffice it to say that the principal objection which is advanced against the steamship owners, is the way in which the system known as the “sliding scale” is worked out. At present logs over two tons pay increased freight, and a further increase is made upon logs of three tons and upwards. It is urged that, if the principle of the bigger the log the better the timber were sound, this would be all right enough; but it so happens that the average sale price of a one-ton log is much the same as that of a two-, three- or four-ton log, except when the heavier log is what is termed a good “figured”[172] log. Figured logs fetch any price, according to the fancy of the purchaser, and in such cases the question of freight is a bagatelle. But the vast majority of the logs do not possess these qualifications, and the increased freight on the heavier logs tells very heavily against the merchant, and may even go so far, when low prices prevail on the home market, as to render any profit on the sale impossible. Of course, the steamship owner has his reply ready; and, so far, he considers it good enough to justify the existing rates.

When all is said and done, the fact remains that the timber trade is languishing. It would be a thousand pities to allow this to continue, if it can be avoided. A trade once abandoned or paralysed is not easily restarted. It is in the interest of all the parties concerned to arrive at a _modus vivendi_ which shall allow the native who cuts and squares the wood, the merchant who ships it, and the steamship owner who carries it, to make a profit. In this as in other respects one would like to see some systematic measures of instruction adopted, under joint official and commercial auspices, to show the natives how the best logs can be selected for felling, which would avoid the sending home of a mass of worthless and immature timber calculated at times to flood the market and depreciate prices, while damaging the forests in Africa.