350 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. 



July, of these poor creatures, whose savage masters were cruelly mal- 

 1875. treating them. 



In the morning I received from Alvez an impertinent mes- 

 sage that I was to come to him, and although this rather ruffled 

 my temper, I thought it better to go at once and ascertain the 

 meaning of this strange conduct. On meeting, he complacent- 

 ly told me that he had received news of Coimbra being in the 

 vicinity, and that therefore we should wait for him. 



My remonstrance and objection on the ground that we had 

 already wasted too much time, and that so small a party could 

 easily overtake us, j^assed unheeded. Alvez merely turned on 

 his heel, saying he was master of the caravan, and not my serv- 

 ant, and should travel or stop as he pleased. 



I felt a strong inclination to shake the filthy old rascal out 

 of his rags, but considered it better not to soil my fingers by 

 touching him. 



Coimbra arrived in the afternoon with a gang of ffty-tioo 

 women, tied together in lots of seventeen or eighteen. Some 

 had children in arms, others were far advanced in pregnancy, 

 and all were laden with huge bundles of grass-cloth and other 

 plunder. These poor, weary, and foot-sore creatures were cov- 

 ered with weals and scars, showing how unmercifully cruel had 

 been the treatment received at the hands of the savage who 

 called himself their owner. 



Besides these unfortunate women, the party — which had been 

 escorted from Totela by some of Kasongo's people — consisted 

 only of two men belonging to Coimbra ; two wives, given him 

 by Kasongo, who proved quite equal to looking after the slaves ; 

 and three children, one of whom carried an idol presented by 

 Kasongo to Coimbra, which worthy thought it as good a god as 

 any other, though he professed to be a Christian. 



His Christianity, like that of the majority of the half-breeds 

 of Bihe, consisted in having been baptized by some rogue call- 

 ing himself a priest, but who, being far too bad to be endured 

 either at Loanda or Benguela, had retired into the interior, and 

 managed to subsist on fees given him for going through the 

 form of baptizing any children that might be brought to him. 



The misery and loss of life entailed by the capture of these 

 women are far greater than can be imagined except by those 



