THE SUAHILI. 343 



A Catholic priest after spending two hours in 

 describing the probable future state of an old 

 Suahili, was met by the following overwhelming 

 reply : " Mimi Mzee nataka ku karibia moto " (I 

 am an old man, I like to be near the fire) ! 



In fact, they are totally incapable of looking 

 forward even a day ahead. A man will sell his 

 tent to buy a goat, although he knows this means 

 sleeping in the cold for months, as well as great 

 personal danger from hyenas and leopards. The 

 manner in which some travellers attempt to 

 replace corporal punishment by fines is for this 

 reason perfectly useless as well as cruel. 



When an unfortunate porter gets 10 rupees a 

 month for carrying a heavy load some 10 miles a 

 day, it is too bad to diminish that scanty sum ; 

 and the man cannot realise that you will do it, 

 even if you have the necessary cruelty in your 

 disposition. Along with this absence of foresight 

 one finds curious, even pathetic, instances of long- 

 headedness. Several of my men carried parrots 

 for months to sell when they reached the coast. 

 One poor fellow was carrying about 10 lbs. weight 

 of hippopotamus teeth, in addition to his load, for 

 several months, with the intention of selling it at 

 the coast for 3 rupees. 



Another man of mine, who had fallen into the 

 hands of some Hindu moneylender in Mombasa, 

 was having all his wages stopped under the head 

 of " family remittance ' to pay off his debts. 



