For I Am Holier Than Thou." The
Slave-Trader, Imbued No Doubt With Certain Kindly Feelings, Yet
Pursuing A Calling
Which makes him a fair specimen of a human fiend,
stands grouped with those by whom the slave-traders are
Employed, and
with all the workers of sin and misery in more highly-favoured lands,
an awful picture to the All-seing Eye.
We arrived at Katosa's village on the 15th October, and found about
thirty young men and boys in slave-sticks. They had been bought by
other agents of the Arab slavers, still on the east side of the
Shire. They were resting in the village, and their owners soon
removed them. The weight of the goree seemed very annoying when they
tried to sleep. This taming instrument is kept on, until the party
has crossed several rivers and all hope of escape has vanished from
the captive's mind.
On explaining to Katosa the injury he was doing in selling his people
as slaves, he assured us that those whom we had seen belonged to the
Arabs, and added that he had far too few people already. He said he
had been living in peace at the lakelet Pamalombe; that the Ajawa, or
Machinga, under Kainka and Karamba, and a body of Babisa, under
Maonga, had induced him to ferry them over the Shire; that they had
lived for a considerable time at his expense, and at last stole his
sheep, which induced him to make his escape to the place where he now
dwelt, and in this flight he had lost many of his people. His
account of the usual conduct of the Ajawa quite agrees with what
these people have narrated themselves, and gives but a low idea of
their moral tone. They have repeatedly broken all the laws of
hospitality by living for months on the bounty of the Manganja, and
then, by a sudden uprising, overcoming their hosts, and killing or
chasing them out of their inheritances. The secret of their success
is the possession of firearms. There were several of these Ajawa
here again, and on our arrival they proposed to Katosa that they
should leave; but he replied that they need not be afraid of us.
They had red beads strung so thickly on their hair that at a little
distance they appeared to have on red caps. It is curious that the
taste for red hair should be so general among the Africans here and
further north; in the south black mica, called Sebilo, and even soot
are used to deepen the colour of the hair; here many smear the head
with red-ochre, others plait the inner bark of a tree stained red
into it; and a red powder called Mukuru is employed, which some say
is obtained from the ground, and others from the roots of a tree.
It having been doubted whether sugar-cane is indigenous to this
country or not, we employed Katosa to procure the two varieties
commonly cultivated, with the intention of conveying them to Johanna.
One is yellow, and the other, like what we observed in the Barotse
Valley, is variegated with dark red and yellow patches, or all red.
We have seen it "arrow," or blossom. Bamboos also run to seed, and
the people are said to use the seed as food. The sugar-cane has
native names, which would lead us to believe it to be indigenous.
Here it is called Zimbi, further south Mesari, and in the centre of
the country Meshuati. Anything introduced in recent times, as maize,
superior cotton, or cassava, has a name implying its foreign origin.
Katosa's village was embowered among gigantic trees of fine timber:
several caffiaceous bushes, with berries closely resembling those of
the common coffee, grew near, but no use had ever been made of them.
There are several cinchonaceous trees also in the country; and some
of the wild fruits are so good as to cause a feeling of regret that
they have not been improved by cultivation, or whatever else brought
ours to their present perfection. Katosa lamented that this locality
was so inferior to his former place at Pamalombe; there he had maize
at the different stages of growth throughout the year. To us,
however, he seemed, by digging holes, and taking advantage of the
moisture beneath, to have succeeded pretty well in raising crops at
this the driest time. The Makololo remarked that "here the maize had
no season," - meaning that the whole year was proper for its growth
and ripening. By irrigation a succession of crops of grain might be
raised anywhere within the south intertropical region of Africa.
When we were with Motunda, on the 20th October, he told us frankly
that all the native provisions were hidden in Kirk's Range, and his
village being the last place where a supply of grain could be
purchased before we reached the ship, we waited till he had sent to
his hidden stores. The upland country, beyond the mountains now on
our right, is called Deza, and is inhabited by Maravi, who are only
another tribe of Manganja. The paramount chief is called Kabambe,
and he, having never been visited by war, lives in peace and plenty.
Goats and sheep thrive; and Nyango, the chieftainess further to the
south, has herds of horned cattle. The country being elevated is
said to be cold, and there are large grassy plains on it which are
destitute of trees. The Maravi are reported to be brave, and good
marksmen with the bow; but, throughout all the country we have
traversed, guns are enabling the trading tribes to overcome the
agricultural and manufacturing classes.
On the ascent at the end of the valley just opposite Mount Mvai, we
looked back for a moment to impress the beauties of the grand vale on
our memory. The heat of the sun was now excessive, and Masiko,
thinking that it was overpowering, proposed to send forward to the
ship and get a hammock, in which to carry any one who might knock up.
He was truly kind and considerate.
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