22 AFRICA AND HER FUTURE. 



On the western shore of Lake Nyassa there are already- 

 known fifteen different tribes, speaking as many different 

 languages, each having numerous dialects. This entire 

 absence of homogeneity and the lack of peace among the 

 tribes has undoubtedly been one great cause for their 

 failure to progress. On this account they are suspicious 

 and fearful, being always in danger of being attacked and 

 captured. 



They certainly are a people which has not shown any 

 genius for organization, and apparently they are unable 

 to advance by their own unaided efforts. As far as can 

 be judged by appearances or by records, the progress even 

 of centuries is insignificant. There is no large confed- 

 eration or union among the tribes, and no one tribe has 

 attained to a commanding position so as to dominate any 

 considerable section. Some are more advanced than are 

 others, have some added comforts in their homes, and there 

 are instances where decoration is used in domestic archi- 

 tecture, but among none is there anything like a city or 

 a well organized state. There is mention of the pigmies 

 hundreds of years ago, but they are probably the same 

 now as then. They never leave the forest, and though 

 fond of bananas, which constitute most of the vegetable 

 food there, they never raise them, but obtain them only 

 from the plantations of the larger natives who do culti- 

 vate them. But most of the natives do plant gardens and 

 sometimes large plantations ; they keep goats and fowls 

 and in a few sections large herds of cattle. Wherever 

 they have been tried they have been found to be willing 

 to work and not wholly lacking in industry. 



But they have never been trained to work. They can 

 hunt the elephant and obtain the valuable and easily 

 disposed of ivory and naturally they neglect other and 

 less profitable forms of labor. When they plant, the 

 productive soil gives speedy and abundant returns, their 

 crops never fail, their wants are few, there is no demand 



