MOSAMBIftUE. 
59 
©r, in plainer terms, murdering all those that remained, on an 
unproved charge of having attempted to poison some Portuguese 
horses ; though the real cause appears to have been, that, as they 
were proceeding on an incursion into the interior, they did not 
dare to leave them behind. . 
To follow any European settlers through the scenes of blood- 
shed and injustice by which they have established their foreign 
possessions is an ungrateful and disgusting task. It will here 
be sufficient to observe, that, in the atrocity of the means which 
the Portuguese used to attain their purposes in the East, they 
were not behind-hand with the Spaniards in the West. Their 
success, however, was by no means parallel ; the natives of 
Africa were not tame enough, like the feeble inhabitants of 
South America, to crouch at the feet of an invader, or to yield 
their country without a struggle. On the contrary, they from 
the first undertook, and maintained a kind of warfare, which, 
if not always successful, at least deserves to be so ; they fought, 
arid they retired; they left their towns and their plantations a 
prey to the devastations of the foe, but, the instant he relaxed 
from pursuit or rested on his arms, they returned with redoubled 
vigour to the attack, and made him pay dearly for his ravages. 
This prudent system of defence saved their country from being 
overwhelmed ; and the Portuguese in repeated expeditions to 
get at the mines, which formed the main object of their pursuit, 
were invariably foiled. 
The most daring of these attempts was undertaken at the 
immediate command of Sebastian the First, in 1570, by Francis 
Baretto, who for this express purpose was made Governor-* 
