THE CARAVAN, HEADMAN, ETC. 177 



if he is dishonest, he has every opportunity of pilfering ; but 

 at the same time it is better to trust him, as should he find 

 that his master is suspicious, and goes too much into details, 

 it is quite certain that he will ' do ' him in other ways. All 

 orders should be given to him direct. Whatever his pay may 

 be and there is no fixed rule he is only entitled by custom 

 to double a porter's posho, whether it be rice, flour, beans, 

 potatoes, or bananas, or cloth or beads to buy it with. Once a 

 week, or every ten days, it is as well to give him a few strings 

 of beads or a piece of cloth to buy ' kitiweo,' which may be 

 anything he can get, such as a fowl, honey, &c., to make his 

 meal of flour or beans more palatable, when there is no meat 

 in camp. It is a recognised thing that each headman is 

 allowed one porter to carry his tent (which he supplies and 

 makes himself), bedding, &c., and if he thinks himself a great 

 swell he may ask for two porters if he does, and he is really a 

 good man, it is as well to let him have them. Besides carrying 

 his belongings, these porters will cook his food, collect firewood, 

 and fetch water for him. One neapara is enough for every 

 fifty ' pagazi ' (porters) and ' askari ' (soldiers). 



A caravan askari is in reality a spare man, and there should 

 be one askari to every ten porters. When the porters have 

 been divided into companies or messes of ten men, each of these 

 messes is put in charge of an askari. This man receives into his 

 care one ' sufria ' (cooking pot), one ' senia ' (plate to eat off), and 

 two axes to cut firewood, &c. He also receives from the headman 

 the whole of the posho for his company, and is also responsible 

 for the loads his men carry, and for their general good behaviour. 

 Apart from seeing that the men of their own companies do 

 their work, the duties of the askaris are various. They keep 

 watch at night, turn and turn about, superintend the men 

 building the ' boma' (zereba) ; stack the loads in camp, and give 

 their own men their proper loads in the morning ; carry the 

 load of a porter (not necessarily one of their own company) 

 into camp, should he be taken ill or become lame on the march, 

 and run messages, &c. Although it is not the custom, it is not 



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