106
Bangwa and Conrau (and subsequently the Germans)
centered around the secret objects he took
away,61 it seems the true source was his promise
to safely return home the workers he had taken to
the coastal plantations, a promise he was unable
to fulfi ll because many of them died there from the
hard labor they were unfamiliar with and coastal
tropical fevers to which they had little resistance.
We know from a letter Conrau wrote to von Puttkamer
on December 11, 1899, that the inhabitants
of the Highlands had been informed that a number
of their people whom Conrau had taken to
work on the coastal plantations had perished and
he was being detained until such time as the matter
could be resolved. He requested rescue, add-
ing that in a few days, if the situation didn’t calm
down, he might attempt to escape by night. This
letter was not received until December 24, 1899.62
Conrau indeed tried to escape one night soon
thereafter but was injured in the foot, apparently
accidentally by the young Bali servant who both
accompanied him and reportedly had urged him
to leave Azi. When they encountered a group of
Bangwa men—possibly members of the Night Society—
who were returning at night from a trip,
Conrau shot at them and fl ed. Being pursued and
fi nding himself in a hopeless position, he chose to
shoot and kill himself. His Bali companion was
also killed. At least this is the account in a state-
FIG. 25 (left):
Male fi gure. Bangwa, Cameroon. 19th century.
Wood. H: 90 cm.
Collected by Gustav Conrau, 1898 or 1899.
Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin, inv. III C 10515.
Photo © Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu
Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz.