Another small French detachment in Africa has been cut to
pieces on its way to Lake Tchad, or, more precisely, at or near Togbau, 9° 42' North latitude. Lieutenant Bretonnet had only two subordinate officers with him and thirty Senegalese, and had asked for a reinforcement, which was sent, but growing impatient he started by the Bagirmi. He was in July attacked by Rabab, the adventurer who has made himself a Sultan, and with his European followers and twenty-seven Senegalese was cut to pieces. The papers in Paris are asking what the use of these little expeditions is, and indeed it was almost time. They are intended, of course, to earmark large dis- tricts as belonging to the French "sphere of influence," but they cannot establish an " effective occupation," while when well managed they excite the jealousy of all native grandees, and when ill managed the vindictive hostility of entire popu- lations. The French have a right to their share of Africa, but only upon condition that they govern the territories they claim.
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