Snakes killed on the march, Nigeria, 1902

Photograph, West Africa, 1902.

Hostile tribes and slave-traders were not the only threat to soldiers in West Africa. Here a soldier of the Northern Nigeria Regiment poses with two snakes killed while the regiment was on the march. The Northern Nigeria Regiment was formed as part of the West African Frontier Force in 1901 after Nigeria had become a British protectorate. Nigerian men served in the regiment as private soldiers and as non-commissioned officers (NCOs). They were led by British officers.

From an album of 145 photographs associated with the Nigeria Regiment and West Africa, 1901-1902.