THE EAST AFRICAN CARAVAN. 



339 



act of desertion they show intelligence : they seldom 

 run away when caravans first meet, lest their employer 

 should halt and recover them by main force, and, ex- 

 cept where thieves and wild beasts are unknown, they 

 will not fly by night. The porter, however, has one 

 point of honour ; he leaves his pack behind him. The 

 slave, on the other hand, certainly robs his employer 

 when he runs away, and this, together with his unwill- 

 ingness to work and the trouble and annoyance which 

 he causes to his owner, counterbalances his superior 

 dexterity and intelligence. 



Caravans, called in Kisawahili safari (from the Arab 

 safar, a journey) and by the African rugendo orlugendo, 

 "a going," are rarely wanting on the main trunk-lines. 

 The favourite seasons for the upward-bound are the 

 months in which the greater and the lesser Masika or 

 tropical rains conclude— in June and September, for 

 instance, on the coast — when water and provisions are 

 plentiful. Those who delay till the dry weather has 

 set in must expect hardships on the march ; the ex- 

 pense of rations will be doubled and trebled, and the 

 porters will frequently desert. The down-caravans set 

 out in all seasons except the rainy ; it is difficult to 

 persuade the people of Unyanyembe to leave their fields 

 between the months of October and May. They will 

 abandon cultivation to the women and children, and 

 merrily take the footpath way if laden with their own 

 ivory, but from the merchant they will demand exorbi- 

 tant wages, and even then they will hesitate to en- 

 gage themselves. 



Porterage varies with every year and in every cara- 

 van. It knows but two limits: the interest of the 

 employer to disburse as little as possible by taking 

 every advantage of the necessities of his employe, and 



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