HARD TIMES 207 



in abundance. The inhabitants, too, had every- 

 where welcomed them with enthusiasm, for the 

 Portuguese rule was not of a character to com- 

 mand either the respect or the liking of its subjects. 

 The Germans were hailed by the poor Shensis as 

 being nothing less than heaven-sent deliverers 

 from their cruel and cowardly oppressors. The 

 Germans, of course, seized, looted, and burned 

 every one of the Portuguese bomas they came 

 across, the little garrisons invariably bolting on 

 the approach of even the smallest party of the 

 enemy. Every burned boma was to the native 

 population a little Bastille going up in flames. 

 We English, as the friends of the Portuguese, 

 naturally found the inhabitants against us, and, 

 generally speaking, throughout the P.E.A. cam- 

 paign we Intelligence men never got the slightest 

 voluntary help or information from any native. 

 On the other hand, the Germans were advised 

 immediately of any of our movements, and could 

 always obtain guides, porters, etc., from the 

 Shensis whenever needed. An enemy askari 

 whom we captured told me, " Night and day the 

 Shensis are coming into us with news/' I knew 

 that frequently our notes to and from the columns 

 were taken into the German camps. The contrast 

 with German East, where we were amongst 

 friendly people, was most striking to us Intelli- 

 gence men ; but I was myself stupidly slow to 

 realise it sufficiently, and before long I had to 

 pay severely for this mistake. 



