The San Francisco call., 1903-12-20
NOTRUCTNEJ STUDIES
By NOIEDfAffEsN AND
uIAS1)N1EN

lie down upon carpet of green Orna-
mented with fragrant flowers. 1t was
the spring Of the year and everything
was as fresh and beautiful as could be
imagined. Birds of brilliant hue were
singing in the branches of the trees,
and gayly painted butterflies were
darting to and fro. Every step brought
new surprises of delight.
on the fourth day out our troubles
commenced. After marching hard all
day we laid down to rest Up to this
time we had not encountered many
mosquitoes but this night we had a
visit from some Of the most blood
thirsty specimens of the tribe that
have ever had the misfortune to meet.
The swamps Of the Missouri and Mis-
sissippi River bottoms are not to be
. compared in this respect with this part
Of the Congo basin; nor is any other
place in Africa that 1 know Of These
mosquitoes are as intelligent as they
are vicious. They would crawl under
the blankets. 1t was no use trying to
elude them
About u o'clock it commenced to
rain. and everything got soaked and
sodden. To sleep was an impossibility.
Next day we marched through a tor
rent Of rain, and from this on to Man
yanga we had bad time. 1t was only
four days longer. but these four days
seemed like a month. The streams were
swollen by the rains and the swamps
inundated, but we pushed on, wading
and swimming when necessary. 1 had
the misfortune to poison one of my
feet, and it was almost a solid blister,
but we kept jogging along, and got to
Manyanga at last.
The carriers are an interesting lot.
Some Of them are small boys, not over
3 years old. I am sure I am not under
estimating their age At that tender
age they are compelled to carry a load
almost equal to their own weight, and
to keep up with the caravan. We came
across several caravans, in which were
boys Of Z. s. 9 and 10 years Of age.
would judge that the majority were be-
tween the ages Of and 16. Now that
the native traders are carrying for
themselves and the State imposes upon
them a fixed tax for every load, they
carry as heavy burdens as it is posi-
bic for them TO stagger under It is as
if a civilized person had the oppor-
AL4A4Ag VI Adh4il6 cM c1g dS l4uNu BOlQ DIS
he could carry. Three bags of salt.
fifty pounds each, rations and a can
or two Of gunpowder constitute a not
uncommon load.
The natives are slightly built as a
rule, and viii not average in weight
more than 140 pounds. Their rations
do not amount TO much when they are
on the road. They generally consist Of
a small piece Of guanga that will not
weigh eight ounces, and possibly an
ounce of dried fish served two or three
times day. They pick up what palm
nuts they can gather by the way. but
these viii not amount to more than
four or five ounces a day per man.
Their main standby is the kola nut
which has wonderful sustaining power
The natives are as patient as Job un-
der their big loads. I doubt whether I
could carry one Of them a mile They
trudge on al day long, tOttering under
their heavy burdens, which have to be
lifted uDon their shoulders or hoisted
up by the ingenious device Of using
their staff as a lever.
When we arrived at Manyanga we
rested two days and got four other re-
cruits, so that for our slender stock Of
goods we had carriers to spare. Our
carriers were nothing but boys and
they carried small loads. We had a
heavy downpour of rain and conse-
quently bad roads, and one afternoon
marched for two hours in water from
knee-high to places where it was up to
our necks.
Food supplies in Africa are generally
sold at markets. When a market has
been broken up by war or other cause.
the natives say the market is dead. :,
Markets are always held outside the
villages and generally on the tops of
hills where there is not much shade.
Everybody goes, the mother carving
her infant on her back and a great load
/ Of chaquanga on her head, the infant
I hanging on like little monkey. I'm
der the trees the men talk over the
/ important trades for tusks Of ivory.
cloth, guns, etc, while the women bar
Z ter for food. The malafu or palm wine
: sellers let each person taste their wine
to see that it is not too much diluted
with water and the price is struck ac-
cordingly. The currency here is cloth
/ and metace-that is, brass wire cut in
lengths Of ten inches and an eighth of
an inch in diameter. These rods have
/ undergone constant clipping until
/ during the last ten years they have
come down from the first standard Of
+ twenty-four inches to about four.
/ Money now is slowly taking their place.
] The villages near the coast are few
and far between, and the natives some
times have to carry their produce fifty
T or seventy-five miles to market. The
markets seem to be very ancient insti-
( tutions. They are held frequently and
7 are called after the village nearest.
I They are usually held every four days.
/ sometimes every eight