ABUSE OF AUTHORITY 2oi 



but went about his work as cheerfully as if nothing 

 had happened. A rumour of this most scandalous 

 treatment reached the ears of his commanding officer, 

 and I was glad to hear subsequently that the young 

 man found himself in considerable trouble. I have 

 related this episode as an instance of the danger 

 of leaving the young and uneducated sous-officiers, 

 who have no experience of the country, in positions 

 of authority and responsibility. The number of the 

 staff of the Congo State is so wretchedly inadequate, 

 that it is not uncommon for a youth to find himself 

 in sole charge of a large district before he has 

 had time to learn the language of the country. 

 In the hands of commissioned officers the natives 

 are safe enough, but the same cannot always be 

 said of the sous-officiers, who are seldom of higher 

 rank than corporal in the Belgian army, and are 

 not accustomed to the proper exercise of authority. 



We were detained by illness at Bobandana for 

 several days, during which the sous-officier tried 

 to bribe our Uganda boys to enter his service, 

 thinking that, being so far from home, they would 

 not be able to run away ; but though they accepted 

 his bribes, they elected to stay with us. I did 

 not hear of this till I was on my legs again, and 

 then I spoke words to him which made me feel 

 a great deal better, and gave him food for thought. 

 On our departure from Bobandana, he presented us, 

 by way of a peace-offering, with the weaklings of 

 his flock of sheep — little skeleton creatures hardly 



