A Thousand Miles in a Machilla 



capitao." He takes his turn of duty like the others, 

 but is supposed to keep them in order and arrange 

 everything connected with the work of the machilla. 



A 's capitao, a slim, copper-coloured native with 



refined features, we nicknamed "The Image," from 

 his resemblance to an Egyptian statue. A few days 

 after starting he was down with fever and cold on 

 his chest, and finding that he had no blanket, and 

 nothing but his calico dotee, we lent him a couple 

 of tent bags until he recovered, which he very 

 soon did with the aid of a strong pill, quinine, and 

 mustard plaster. He was rather weedy-looking at 

 first, but regular work and plenty of meat soon 

 made him fill out and become strong again. 



My capitao, Antonio by name, was not a 

 success. He was a good-looking black with a fine 

 presence and much swagger, but very lazy and a 

 bit of a scoundrel. The night before we reached 

 Lilongwe he got drunk, and deserted next day. I 

 do not think his departure caused any regret, even 

 to his brother, who was also in my team. 



Four men carry the machilla on the road ; extra 

 men are often required when passing through 

 marshes or deep water, and up and down steep 

 banks, and at times we have had practically the 

 whole team at work. The carriers change shoulders 

 pretty frequently ; my Blantyre boys liked doing 1 

 so all together with a shout, but as this practice 

 invariably resulted in a very unpleasant jolt, I had 

 to break them of it. They were full of swagger, 

 and delighted in showing off on every possible 

 occasion. 



24 



