"This town, Atakpame, is in the half of Togoland allotted to the French, so the British troops have left the place. It is now occupied by Senegalese (French native troops, and fine fighting men). . . . This is a magnificent country, and Atakpame is beautifully situated up in the hills. . . . This letter leaves by the last English mail out of Atakpame, which has been under three different flags in less than three weeks--German, British, and French.
By this time Kamerun, German South-West Africa, and German East Africa had been attacked. I will tell you how they resisted later on, when we come to the period at which they were finally conquered.
[Footnote 129: Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902), for nearly a quarter of a century the most powerful man in South Africa. Rhodesia was named after him.]
[Footnote 130: Born 1850, died 1894. Scottish novelist and poet. All boys and girls should read his _Treasure Island_, _The Black Arrow_, _Kidnapped_, and _Catriona_. Many of his verses are in the earlier books of the _Highroads of Literature_.]
[Footnote 131: See Stevenson's _A Footnote to History_.]
[Footnote 132: With the exception of Guam, the largest, which belongs to the United States.]
[Footnote 133: Reproduced in Vol. I., p. 142.]
[Footnote 135: Capital of the Gold Coast.]
When the war broke out there was a German squadron of ships of war in Eastern waters, its base being Tsing-tau. Admiral von Spee, who commanded it, did not attempt to go to the rescue of the Pacific islands when the British attacked them, but departed with most of his ships for the west coast of South America. Two of his smaller cruisers--the _Königsberg_ and the _Emden_--were, however, detached to prey on British commerce in the East. You have read[136] how the _Königsberg_ caught H.M.S. _Pegasus_ unawares, in Zanzibar harbour, and disabled her. I shall tell you later how this vessel was finally destroyed. In this chapter we will learn something of the career of the _Emden_.
A ship of war can do as much mischief amongst peaceful merchantmen as a cat among pigeons. Ordinary trading ships are entirely at the mercy of a fast cruiser armed with big guns. They have no means of resisting, and must surrender when called upon to do so. During the American Civil War a ship, afterwards known as the _Alabama_, was built at Birkenhead for the Southern States. By some mistake she was allowed to leave the Mersey and proceed to the Azores, where she was fully equipped as a vessel of war. In August 1862 she began to prey on the merchantmen of the Northern States, and by June 1864 she had captured and destroyed about sixty-eight of their ships. By hoisting the British flag she decoyed them within reach of her guns, and then they were obliged to yield. In the end the _Alabama_ was chased by a Northern ship of war to the English Channel, and a fight took place off the French shore near Cherbourg. In an hour the _Alabama_ was shattered, and her career was ended for ever.[137] Up to the time when the _Emden_ left Kiao-chau, in August 1914, the _Alabama_ was the most successful commerce-raider of history. The Emden, however, soon deposed her from that pride of place. In two short months she did more damage than the _Alabama_ did in two years.