GLIMPSES OF EAST AFRICA AND ZANZIBAR 



It was rarely that I could get him to talk, and I 

 had to ask a number of questions before I could 

 elicit various details of his life as a little boy, or 

 anything about his relations, the Masai. Certainly 

 in his servant's attire he looked very different to his 

 painted and befeathered brethren. We hired a 

 Goanese cook who wanted forty-five rupees a month 

 for wages, was extravagant in marketing, and cooked 

 fairly well when we were alone, but was uncertain 

 if friends came to dinner. The Goanese have a 

 trades union, and none of them are allowed to go 

 as cooks for wages less than thirty-five rupees a 

 month. They are usually addicted to drink and 

 are often found drunk on the evening of a dinner 

 party, although the host may not know it, as the 

 cook's boy comes to the rescue and finishes the 

 dishing-up. In fact, most of the wine given out for 

 the soup and sweets goes down their throats. As 

 my cook did not talk English and I could not talk 

 Hindustani nor Portuguese, Baruku had to stand 

 and interpret when I gave the orders for the day, 

 although the man knew very little Swahili either. 



The cook had his " toto " or " pots and pans " boy, 

 who did the washing-up, and when he went market- 

 ing this boy followed behind to carry the purchases 

 in a basket on his head. I knew very little of him, 

 beyond paying him, and finding him in tears on 

 several occasions, when on making inquiries he said 

 the cook had beaten him. 



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