88 
A COLONY IN THE MAKING 
CHAP. 
clean and doesn’t make a habit of it, I would commend 
a little short-sightedness to this amiable weakness. 
Swahilis sometimes cook quite fairly. Natives are 
nearly always villainous, their repertoire being mainly 
confined to “ roasti ” and “ chopsi,” and their kitchens 
are generally in a state of filth such as makes one 
shudder to contemplate. The wages of a Goanese 
cook vary from £3 to £$ a month. A Swahili would 
be about £2 , and a native anything between ios. and 
a sovereign. While well aware that one must cut 
one’s coat according to one’s cloth, I would suggest that 
cooking is one of the least desirable expenses in which 
to economise ; a statement in which, I believe, the 
male sex will usually concur. The desirability of the 
settler’s wife having herself a knowledge of cooking 
cannot be too strongly pointed out. 
The next servant wanted will be the butler or head 
houseboy, on whom, to a great extent, the ordinary 
comfort of the home will depend. Here we are 
faced with the same choice, with the addition of 
Somalis. I would suggest that an Indian is ex¬ 
travagant ; moreover, one Indian in the kitchen may 
be good, but two Indians about the place are a 
nuisance. Some Somalis are good, and are essentially 
clean and nice-looking. Against this, however, they 
are certain to quarrel with the other servants ; nor is 
honesty by any means their strong card. Let us 
therefore plump for a Swahili whom we ought to 
obtain for about 30.9. per month. 
The cook will probably have a lad or “ toto ” under 
him, and the butler one or two, as the case may be. 
These three will average 10/- a month. 
Here, then, is a comfortable establishment for a man 
and his wife :— 
