subject of four treaties in ten years.

One of these agreements laid out the northern boundary line of the
British possessions on the west coast, the Niger territory as it is
called, but it failed to come to any decided understanding about the
western boundary.

You must understand that these tracts of land which have been taken
possession of by the European powers are not by any means deserted or
uninhabited lands. On the contrary, many of them teem with people, and
these lands on the west of Africa are especially populous. You must bear
in mind that the extensive slave trade which existed for so many years
was carried on with the west coast of Africa.

Many of these black people are intelligent races of men, and all are
divided into tribes and kingdoms governed by rulers and kings.

To obtain possession of these lands, it has been necessary for the
different nations of Europe to fight, or make treaties with numberless
small native rulers and kings. The Europeans have seized the country
belonging to these people, but have allowed the kings and rulers to
retain their positions, provided they paid tribute and performed certain
services for their conquerors. You remember about the King of Benin. He
was one of these tributary kings, and his country lay in this very Niger
territory about which we are now speaking.

When the French wished to define the northern boundary line between
their possessions and those of the English, it was quite easy to do so,
because they had already made treaties with the rulers of the various
provinces and their rights in the country were established.

With the western side it was not so easy, for there were two great
stumbling-blocks in the way. One was the kingdom of Gando, the other
the territory of the Borgus.

You will find Gando marked on your maps on the west of the Niger
territory. Borgu, or Bussang, lies just below it, and forms the northern
boundary of Dahomey.

Borgu and Gando had opposed the advance of both France and England, the
Borgus being an especially fierce and warlike tribe who refused to be
conciliated.

After a while the British succeeded in settling their differences with
the King of Gando, but Borgu was still in doubt.

In 1894 it came to the knowledge of the English that a French expedition
had been sent out to make treaties with the Borgus.

Immediately the news reached them the Niger Company sent out an English
expedition to Nikki, the capital of Borgu, t