West African Studies

PREFACE TO THE READER

I ask those of you who may come across this book to distinguish carefully between the part of it written by others and the part written by me.

Anything concerning West Africa written by Count original: "M. le Comte" C. de Cardi or Mr. John Harford of Bristol requires no apology or explanation; however, anything written by me on this, or any subject, does. Count de Cardi possesses an unrivaled knowledge of the indigenous people of the Niger Delta. As all "West Coasters" A term for Europeans living or working along the West African coast. know, he gained this through years of personal experience. He had to test the truth of his ideas about these people not against what was written in books, but against the facts of reality. His very life and property depended on the accuracy of his knowledge, rather than mere theory.

I have always wished that men with this kind of firsthand, well-tested knowledge regarding West Africa could be persuaded to publish it for the benefit of students, and to establish a foundation of true knowledge concerning the people of West Africa in the minds of the general public. I feel certain that if this type of knowledge were available, the student of ethnology The study of the characteristics of various peoples and the differences and relationships between them. would be saved from many fantastic theories, and the general public would be enabled to