110 THROUGH ANGOLA 



Bihe Chiefs, jealous of a brother's popularity, sold 

 him as a slave, when he accidentally fell into the 

 hands of the Portuguese at Loanda. The growing 

 unpopularity of the Bihe Chief caused the people 

 to send for the brother, and the Portuguese 

 Governor, seizing his opportunity, not only freed 

 the princely slave, but helped him to regain his 

 kingdom, and in doing so established a new 

 Portuguese commercial centre, that of Belmonte, 

 the present capital of Bihe. 



P" These Bihenos are by nature traders and 

 travellers, and through Portuguese example they 

 have learnt the value of commercial travelling. 

 They quickly learned this trade, purchasing goods 

 at Benguella to sell them to distant tribes, who 

 readily exchanged valuable ivory and slaves for 

 any worthless European goods brought them. 



Carriers are nowadays obtained in the Bihe 

 country through the Government or European 

 traders, but a few years ago they could only be 

 obtained through the Chiefs, by giving presents, 

 or recruited by volunteers from the natives. 

 In the Bihe, the merchant engages carriers in 

 groups, led by a chief carrier or " pombeiro," who 

 may speak a little Portuguese, and negotiates the 

 terms on which the men engage. The carriers 

 arc paid a wage rate in proportion to the distance 

 travelled. They have to be fed on the journey, 

 except for the first three days, when they feed 

 themselves. The Bihe carriers and their pom- 

 beiros have traversed most of Central and South 

 Africa, and an old IJihe porter bus nsiinlly a wide 

 I knowledge of the continent. 



