To The Question, "Would They Work For
Europeans?" An Affirmative Answer May Be Given, If The Europeans
Belong To The Class Which Can Pay A Reasonable Price For Labour, And
Not To That Of Adventurers Who Want Employment For Themselves.
All
were particularly well clothed from Sandia's to Pangola's; and it was
noticed that all the cloth was of native manufacture, the product of
their own looms.
In Senga a great deal of iron is obtained from the
ore and manufactured very cleverly.
As is customary when a party of armed strangers visits the village,
Pangola took the precaution of sleeping in one of the outlying
hamlets. No one ever knows, or at any rate will tell, where the
chief sleeps. He came not next morning, so we went our way; but in a
few moments we saw the rifle-loving chief approaching with some armed
men. Before meeting us, he left the path and drew up his "following"
under a tree, expecting us to halt, and give him a chance of
bothering us again; but, having already had enough of that, we held
right on: he seemed dumbfoundered, and could hardly believe his own
eyes. For a few seconds he was speechless, but at last recovered so
far as to be able to say, "You are passing Pangola. Do you not see
Pangola?" Mbia was just going by at the time with the donkey, and,
proud of every opportunity of airing his small stock of English,
shouted in reply, "All right! then get on." "Click, click, click."
On the 26th June we breakfasted at Zumbo, on the left bank of the
Loangwa, near the ruins of some ancient Portuguese houses. The
Loangwa was too deep to be forded, and there were no canoes on our
side. Seeing two small ones on the opposite shore, near a few
recently erected huts of two half-castes from Tette, we halted for
the ferry-men to come over. From their movements it was evident that
they were in a state of rollicking drunkenness. Having a waterproof
cloak, which could be inflated into a tiny boat, we sent Mantlanyane
across in it. Three half-intoxicated slaves then brought us the
shaky canoes, which we lashed together and manned with our own canoe-
men. Five men were all that we could carry over at a time; and after
four trips had been made the slaves began to clamour for drink; not
receiving any, as we had none to give, they grew more insolent, and
declared that not another man should cross that day. Sininyane was
remonstrating with them, when a loaded musket was presented at him by
one of the trio. In an instant the gun was out of the rascal's
hands, a rattling shower of blows fell on his back, and he took an
involuntary header into the river. He crawled up the bank a sad and
sober man, and all three at once tumbled from the height of saucy
swagger to a low depth of slavish abjectness.
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