The- god they look up to is the king, or the master, who
rules them by terror. When any one dies of disease the
body is thrown into the river, except in the immediate
vicinity of the town. The bodies of those who have been
killed by order of the chief are invariably given to the
crocodile.
Among almost all the tribes in the vast valley a fandango
follows in the wake of every fate, whether it be a birth,
marriage, or death. Every birth has its omen : at every
death a man is bewitched. The native’s measure of day is
in the sun ; his months are in the moons ; and his years
are in the chronologies of kings.
Senhor Luis Joaquin Vieira Braga, the governor, treated
me with great kindness and unvarying courtesy, giving
all the information he possibly could give with regard to
the contiguous tribes, the character of'the country, its prospects
and past history.
The governor is a man of moderate stature, and erect
bearing. His complexion is bronzed, and he has, or had, a
long, black moustache.
Holding rank as a major in the army, his career had been
full of successes. He had served in various native campaigns
and had acquitted himself in a manner which had won the
favourable notice of the authorities at Lisbon ; a fact which
was evidenced by the number of decorations that had been
conferred upon him. He was well liked by the Portuguese,
both at Tette and at Quillimane.*
Senhor Braga seemed to understand most thoroughly the
native character, and there was no doubt that he ruled them
with the indispensable rod of menace., Between him and
the natives there seemed to be no love lost. Afterwards I
learned that the natives called him Chakundakoro, which
* Recently Senhor Braga has resigned his appointment as governor.
THE GOVERNOR OF TETTE. 45
meant all the ¡unutterable things that could be thought or
dreamt of.
I found him a most, ënergetic. man, doing everything he
possibly Could to check the ravages of time, by rebuilding,
so far as was in his power,, the dismantled fabrics of the
town. The barracks, hospital, and governor’s house, had
been rebuilt by him, and under his directions the promenade
SENHOR LUIS JOAQUIN VIEIRA BRAGA—-GOVERNOR OP TETTE.
had also been constructed. I t runs parallel with the river
bank from the front of his house to the barracks, a distance
of about 800 yards.
All this was done by native labour. The artizans work
on the weekly system, and are paid in goods, consisting of
articles of merchandise, principally algodon—white cotton.
The soldiers were blacks, armed with muskets and