DECADENCE OF PORTUGUESE POWER. 589 



nor yet of the dolomite which lies so near to Zumbo ; 

 they might have burned the marble into lime without 

 going so far as Mozambique. There are about thirty 

 European houses ; the rest are native, and of wattle and 

 daub. A wall about ten feet high is intended to enclose 

 the village, but most of the native inhabitants prefer 

 to live on different spots outside. There are about 1200 

 huts in all, which with European households would give 

 a population of about 4500 souls. Only a small proportion 

 of these, however, live on the spot ; the majority are 

 engaged in agricultural operations in the adjacent country. 

 Generally there are not more than 2000 people resident, 

 for, compared with what it was, Tete is now a ruin. The 

 number of Portuguese is very small ; if we exclude the 

 military, it is under twenty. Irately, however, 105 soldiers 

 were sent from Portugal to Senna, where in one year 

 twenty-five were cut off by fever. They were then 

 removed to Tete, and here they enjoy much better health, 

 though, from the abundance of spirits distilled from the 

 various plants, wild fruits, and grain, in which pernicious 

 beverage they largely indulge, besides partaking chiefly 

 of unwholesome native food, better health could scarcely 

 have been expected. The natives here understand the 

 method of distillation by means of gun-barrels, and a 

 succession of earthen pots filled with water to keep them 

 cool. The general report of the fever here is that, while 

 at Kilimane the fever is continuous, at Tete a man recovers 

 in about three days. The mildest remedies only are used 

 at first, and, if that period be passed, then the more severe. 

 The fort of Tete has been the salvation of the Portuguese 

 power in this quarter. It is a small square building, with 

 a thatched apartment for the residence of the troops ; 

 and though there are but few guns, they are in a much 

 better state than those of any fort in the interior of 

 Angola. The cause of the decadence of the Portuguese 

 power in this region is simply this. In former times con- 

 siderable quantities of grain, as wheat, millet, and maize, 

 were exported, also coffee, sugar, oil, and indigo, besides 

 gold-dust and ivory. The cultivation of grain was carried 

 on by means of slaves, of whom the 'Portuguese possessed 

 a large number. The gold-dust was procured by washing 

 at various points on the north, south, and west of Tete. 

 A merchant took all his slaves with him to the washings, 

 carrying as much calico and other goods as he could 



