590 DECADENCE OF PORTUGUESE POWER. 



muster. On arriving at the washing-place he made a 

 present to the chief, of the value of about a pound sterling. 

 The slaves were then divided into parties, each headed by 

 a confidential servant, who not only had the supervision 

 of his squad while the washing went on, but bought dust 

 from the inhabitants, and made a weekly return to his 

 master. When several masters united at one spot, it 

 was called a " Bara," and they then erected a temporary 

 church, in which a priest from one of the missions per- 

 formed mass. Both chiefs and people were favourable to 

 these visits, because the traders purchased grain for the 

 sustenance of the slaves, with the goods they had brought. 

 They continued at this labour until the whole of the 

 goods were expended, and by this means about 130 lbs. 

 of gold were annually produced. Probably more than 

 this was actually obtained, but, as it was an article easily 

 secreted, this alone was submitted to the authorities for 

 taxation. At present the whole amount of gold obtained 

 annually by the Portuguese is from 8 to 10 lbs. only. 

 When the slave-trade began, it seemed to many of the 

 merchants a more speedy mode of becoming rich, to sell 

 off the slaves, than to pursue the slow mode of gold- 

 washing and agriculture, and they continued to export 

 them, until they had neither hands to labour nor to fight 

 for them. It was just the story of the goose and the 

 golden egg. The coffee and sugar plantations and gold- 

 washings were abandoned, because the labour had been 

 exported to the Brazils. Many of the Portuguese then 

 followed their slaves, and the Government was obliged to 

 pass a law to prevent further emigration, which, had it 

 gone on, would have depopulated the Portuguese posses- 

 sions altogether. A clever man of Asiatic (Goa) 

 and Portuguese extraction, called Nyaude, now built a 

 stockade at the confluence of the I/uenya and Zambesi ; 

 and when the Commandant of Tete sent an officer with his 

 company to summon him to his presence, Nyaude asked 

 permission of the officer to dress himself, which being 

 granted, he went into an inner apartment, and the officer 

 ordered his men to pile their arms. A drum of war 

 began to beat a note which is well known to the inhabitants. 

 Some of the soldiers took the alarm on hearing this note, 

 but the officer, disregarding their warning, was, with his 

 whole party, in a few minutes disarmed and bound hand 

 and foot. The Commandant of Tete then armed the whole 



