126 
EUROPE AND AFRICA 
ing the Gaboon and Congo Rivers. The French statesmen, 
studying eagerly the map of the continent, determined to 
push their pioneers and explorers east from the Niger and 
north from the Upper Congo until they met at Lake Chad, 
and then to join hands with them from Algeria across the 
Sahara Desert. 
In order to execute successfully such a plan, it was neces- 
sary, first of all, for the French Republic to consolidate its 
holdings and establish itself firmly in West Africa and on 
the Congo. Under the able leadership of such men as Cap- 
tain Gallieni, Colonel Frey, and Colonel (later General) 
Archinard, their forces, beginning on the Upper Senegal. 
worked their way rapidly east and south. Between 1880 and 
1890, they occupied the territory lying between the Senegal 
and Niger Rivers, set up a strong outpost at Bamaku on the 
Niger, subdued the southern portion of the kingdom of the 
Ahmadu, drove the armies of Samory beyond the Niger, 
made numerous treaties with native chieftains, and, finally 
established a direct connection between Senegal and their 
little colony of French Guinea. 
By 1891, Colonel Archinard had overrun the greater part 
of the Ahmadu country as far as Nioro and Segu; but he 
found Samory difficult to handle. This able and crafty 
chief, although of humble origin and a native of Segu, 
possessed a commanding personality and a remarkable 
talent for organization. Through intrigue, treachery, and a 
skillful use of force, he had succeeded in constructing an 
extensive kingdom, extending in 1880 from the Kong 
Mountains nearly to the Senegal River and embracing 
both banks of the Upper Niger, with its capital at Bis- 
sandugu. His army was well disciplined and armed with 
modern rifles; and he lived in comparative luxury with the 
government of his realm well in hand. He opposed the 
French vigorously at the opening of their campaign for