 Hans Dominik became the Jaunde post commander in 1904 . For the next six years , Atangana accompanied him on at least fifteen administrative patrols and probative excursions . Atangana proved an astute diplomat , in one case negotiating with a group of rebellious Manguissa and thus averting a confrontation between the tribesmen and the Germans . Atangana helped open posts in such wide @-@ ranging places as Bafia , Abong @-@ Mbang , Mouloudou , Ngaoundéré , Garoua , and Maroua . The Germans largely kept themselves segregated from their African subjects , but Dominik and Atangana defied these standards and grew close , even dining together in the same tent on occasion . Back in Jaunde , Atangana gained responsibilities valued by the regime , such as overseeing a poll tax in October 1908 . 
