The Larvae Of The British Species
Of That Family Exude A Fetid Yellow Thickish Fluid When Alarmed,
But He Has Not Heard That Any Of Them Are At All Poisonous."
-
The village of Tete is built on a long slope down to the river,
the fort being close to the water.
The rock beneath is gray sandstone,
and has the appearance of being crushed away from the river:
the strata have thus a crumpled form. The hollow between each crease
is a street, the houses being built upon the projecting fold.
The rocks at the top of the slope are much higher than the fort, and of course
completely command it. There is then a large valley, and beyond that
an oblong hill called Karueira. The whole of the adjacent country
is rocky and broken, but every available spot is under cultivation.
The stone houses in Tete are cemented with mud instead of lime,
and thatched with reeds and grass. The rains, having washed out
the mud between the stones, give all the houses a rough, untidy appearance.
No lime was known to be found nearer than Mozambique; some used in making
seats in the verandas had actually been brought all that distance.
The Portuguese evidently knew nothing of the pink and white marbles
which I found at the Mbai, and another rivulet, named the Unguesi, near it,
and of which I brought home specimens, nor yet of the dolomite
which lies so near to Zumbo: they might have burned the marble into lime
without going so far as Mozambique. There are about thirty European houses;
the rest are native, and of wattle and daub. A wall about ten feet high
is intended to inclose the village, but most of the native inhabitants
prefer to live on different spots outside. There are about
twelve hundred huts in all, which with European households
would give a population of about four thousand five hundred souls.
Only a small proportion of these, however, live on the spot;
the majority are engaged in agricultural operations in the adjacent country.
Generally there are not more than two thousand people resident,
for, compared with what it was, Tete is now a ruin. The number of Portuguese
is very small; if we exclude the military, it is under twenty.
Lately, however, one hundred and five soldiers were sent from Portugal
to Senna, where in one year twenty-five were cut off by fever.
They were then removed to Tete, and here they enjoy much better health,
though, from the abundance of spirits distilled from various plants,
wild fruits, and grain, in which pernicious beverage they largely indulge,
besides partaking chiefly of unwholesome native food, better health
could scarcely have been expected. The natives here understand
the method of distillation by means of gun-barrels, and a succession
of earthen pots filled with water to keep them cool. The general report
of the fever here is that, while at Kilimane the fever is continuous,
at Tete a man recovers in about three days. The mildest remedies only
are used at first, and, if that period be passed, then the more severe.
The fort of Tete has been the salvation of the Portuguese power
in this quarter. It is a small square building, with a thatched apartment
for the residence of the troops; and, though there are but few guns, they are
in a much better state than those of any fort in the interior of Angola.
The cause of the decadence of the Portuguese power in this region
is simply this: In former times, considerable quantities of grain,
as wheat, millet, and maize, were exported; also coffee, sugar,
oil, and indigo, besides gold-dust and ivory. The cultivation of grain
was carried on by means of slaves, of whom the Portuguese possessed
a large number. The gold-dust was procured by washing at various points
on the north, south, and west of Tete. A merchant took all his slaves
with him to the washings, carrying as much calico and other goods
as he could muster. On arriving at the washing-place,
he made a present to the chief of the value of about a pound sterling.
The slaves were then divided into parties, each headed by
a confidential servant, who not only had the supervision of his squad
while the washing went on, but bought dust from the inhabitants,
and made a weekly return to his master. When several masters united
at one spot, it was called a "Bara", and they then erected a temporary church,
in which a priest from one of the missions performed mass.
Both chiefs and people were favorable to these visits,
because the traders purchased grain for the sustenance of the slaves
with the goods they had brought. They continued at this labor
until the whole of the goods were expended, and by this means
about 130 lbs. of gold were annually produced. Probably more than this
was actually obtained, but, as it was an article easily secreted,
this alone was submitted to the authorities for taxation.
At present the whole amount of gold obtained annually by the Portuguese
is from 8 to 10 lbs. only. When the slave-trade began, it seemed to many
of the merchants a more speedy mode of becoming rich to sell off the slaves
than to pursue the slow mode of gold-washing and agriculture,
and they continued to export them until they had neither hands to labor
nor to fight for them. It was just the story of the goose and the golden egg.
The coffee and sugar plantations and gold-washings were abandoned,
because the labor had been exported to the Brazils. Many of the Portuguese
then followed their slaves, and the government was obliged
to pass a law to prevent further emigration, which, had it gone on,
would have depopulated the Portuguese possessions altogether.
A clever man of Asiatic (Goa) and Portuguese extraction, called Nyaude,
now built a stockade at the confluence of the Luenya and Zambesi;
and when the commandant of Tete sent an officer with his company
to summon him to his presence, Nyaude asked permission of the officer
to dress himself, which being granted, he went into an inner apartment,
and the officer ordered his men to pile their arms.
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