A Thousand Miles in a Machilla 



machilla teams and porters ready for us ; these men 

 were to go as far as Fort Jameson, where they 

 were to be given the option of either returning 

 home or accompanying us to the end of our 

 journey, but the servants were engaged to go to 

 Broken Hill. 



John, a Blantyre boy who spoke English well, 

 was recommended for the post of headman ; he 

 was of the Yao tribe, a fine race tracing its descent 

 from the Zulus ; his certificates were good, and 

 showed he had been employed in various parts of 

 the country, including North- East Rhodesia, also 

 on the railway. He conducted us safely over a 

 thousand miles, and besides doing his work well 

 was a pleasant fellow to deal with, a bit of a 

 sportsman and a bit of a wag. 



A good headman is most essential; the comfort 

 of his master and the well-being of the caravan 

 absolutely depend on the manner in which he 

 performs his many and various duties. First of 

 all he is the interpreter, so must be a linguist. 

 Swahili and the so-called "kitchen kaffir" of South 

 Africa are not understood in Nyasaland ; Chin- 

 nyanje is the language of this country and is 

 also understood in North- East Rhodesia, but the 

 Angonies, the Achepeta, the Wawembe, and Alala 

 tribes have different dialects, and with all these 

 John coped tolerably well. 



In addition, he was responsible for the whole 

 of the executive work of the caravan ; he had to 

 get the porters up in the early morning, see to the 

 striking of the tents, the packing of the baggage, 



18 



