SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. 41 



weighs 900 Ibs. a minimum of 30 bearers would be required to 

 carry it, with 3 or 4 additional bearers to carry food for the head 

 boy, gun boy etc. By making each bearer carry a 12 Ib. bag at 

 meal, sufficient to last him for six days, in addition to his 60 Ib. 

 load, the number could be reduced by 4, but it is not advisable 

 to overload bearers at the beginning of a long march. 



Where meat can be purchased or game is abundant, the meal 

 ration can of course be partly replaced by meat. It should be re- 

 membered in this connection that Mohammedans will not eat meat 

 unless one of their religion has cut the throat of the animal before 

 it is dead. 



Wages. In Rhodesia native bearers are paid from 15/- to 25/- 

 per month with their food. In East Africa, where the rupee is 

 standard currency, the usual monthly wages for head boys, porters 

 etc. are as follows: 



Head Boys 25 to 40 Rs. 



Porters 10 Rs. 



Gun Bearers 25 to 30 Rs. 



Tent Boys 20 Rs. 



Cook Boys 25 to 30 Rs. 



A couple of Askaris are sometimes taken to guard the camp. 

 They are paid 20 Rs. per month. 



As regards equipment each porter receives before starting a new 

 blanket and jersey ; a cotton bag for his meal ration and a cord to 

 tie up his load. 



Every six porters are allowed a light tent, and every three 

 porters a three legged cooking pot. 



The head boy is allowed a small tent with fly, a blanket and 

 canteen. 



The cook and gun bearers are provided with hunting knives, 

 boots and a cheap khaki suit; also with a tent and blankets. 



The Askaris may be given a khaki suit and blanket; they bring 

 their own rifles. 



The cost of equipping the natives of a caravan, consisting of a 

 headman, cook, cook's mate, two tent boys, two gun bearers and 

 thirty bearers is about 380 Rs., equivalent at the present rate of 

 exchange to about 41.0.0. 



The Machilla. In the Portuguese colonies and Nyassaland travellers 

 are frequently carried in large shaded hammocks known as machillas. 

 A team of from 8 to 14 natives are employed and they will cover 



