422 MEN" FLOGGED. Chap. XXI. 



declined very materially, from the elephants being nearly all 

 killed, or driven off from the part of the country formerly 

 hunted. 



The canoes hired at Mazaro for the return voyage were at 

 Tette when we arrived. They had brought up stores for the 

 Portuguese Government, and had been accompanied by an 

 officer who had a number of the men flogged, though they 

 were freemen, because he said they were lazy, and lost 

 time in coming up. The backs of the poor fellows were badly 

 cut. Public law exists in theory ; in practice punishment is 

 often inflicted at the caprice of individuals. On one occa- 

 sion we sent a couple of the Shupanga thieves, caught with 

 the booty on them, to the nearest official ; we received a 

 note next day asking what punishment was to be inflicted ; 

 we preferred letting the criminals go free to giving a sen- 

 tence. Between men of equal standing, a threat is often 

 made of using the musket, by the name of the '''minister 

 of justice." The canoe-men receive their pay and food 

 for the trip before starting. When the canoes are heavily 

 laden, and the water low, they often eat up all their food 

 before they reach Tette, and have none left for the return 

 passage, unless they purchase more with their wages. This 

 was the case with our men. Food was cheap, and, wishing 

 to make them strong for their work, we gave them con- 

 siderably more than they were accustomed to receive, 

 with a pig and a goat besides, and they worked remarkably 

 well. Starting, of their own accord, at the first dawn of day, 

 and keeping on till dusk, they resolutely kept up with the 

 boat, and readied Shupanga in four days and three-quarters. 

 The merchants complain much of the dishonesty of the canoe- 

 men, and sometimes they actually do make off with a whole 

 cargo of cloth, and no punishment can reach them. One thing 

 is certain, there is no love lost between these parties. 



