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Show LAKE DWZLLERS IN AFRICA. Thousands or marks who Krar Tholr Hats on rile In tho Denhaiu Wslers, Much attentiou was recently called to the region arouud Kntanuu, on the Gulf of Guinea, near which place several sev-eral hundred of the womeu warriors of the King of Dahomey were killed in battle by the French troops. Oue of the most interesting features of this region is thu largo native villages and towns that have been built iu the water. The inhabitants many years ago took this means of trying to escape from tho terrible raids of the King of Dahomey. Many hundreds of people were actually driven by the powerful King into the water. It happens that tho Dahumians are very superstitious about traveling iu canoes or crossing streams, anil the fugitives took advantage advan-tage of I his fact to secure protection for themselves. On any good map oue may see the "Denhani waters" ucar Kotouou. This is the home of these lake dwellers. Tho towns have each a population ol from '.'00 or 300 souls to as many thousands. thou-sands. Fhysically the people are tin and healthy specimens of Africans, and as a rule they are free from disease. dis-ease. Gov. Moloney of Lagos says the houses are built upon piles or straight branches of hard wood three to six inches iu diameter. They are driven into tho bottom of the lake. The upper up-per ends are secured by cross pieces, on whi'-'h aro laid a bamboo flooring, two-thirds or one-half of which is covered cov-ered in by a house. The uprights of the house are fixed first and secured below the platform to the supporting piles. The roof frame is next made on the platform, and is covered with grass or bamboo leaves, and raised to its position. Tho remaining portion of flooring is used as a veranda, lu the construction no nails are used. These natives are fishermen aud also a pastoral people. It is a curious fact that they keep cattle in pens adjoining their houses built on piles over the water like their dwellings. Some-limes Some-limes during the dry season the shallowness shal-lowness of tho water admits of the cattle cat-tle being allowed to wander on terra lirnia; but fodder is brought in canoes to many less fortunate animals which are compelled to eke out their existence exist-ence iu these pens surrounded by water until sticli time as they are tethered and transported by canoe to tho butcher. Tho present natives are still in dread of the Dahomiaus, but even if this fear uo longer existed it is probable that the habit which they and their fathers before thcui have long followed would lead them to prefer these nquatio residences. It is notkuowa how many lake dwellers there are, but it is supposed sup-posed thero nre at least 10,000 of them amoug the various tribes whose huts cover the Dcuham waters. Once in a while these tribes make war on one another, and they couduet their lighting light-ing iu cauocs, capable of holding two or three persons, and their weapons are guus, harpoons, spears and clubs. In some other parts of Africa, particularly par-ticularly in the Congo basin, the habit of dwelling in huts sustaiued on piles iu lakes or rivers is very largely followed, fol-lowed, and perhaps a milliou or two of the people of Africa are still perpetuating perpet-uating the phase of life of which we have relics in the remains of the iake dwellers of the uro-historic era. |