By the rules of the force they should never
be absent from head-quarters for more than six months; their transport
costs next to nothing, as they march by bush-paths. And yet they are kept
for years on outpost-duty, where it would require a Glover to discipline
them and to make them steady soldiers. They live by plunder. A private on
a shilling a day will eat three fowls, each worth 9_d_. to 10_d_., and
drink any taken amount of palm-wine. There are no means of punishment, or
even of securing a criminal; the colony cannot afford irons or handcuffs;
there is no prison, and a Haussa, placed under arrest in a bamboo-hut,
cuts his way out as easily as a rat from a bird-cage.
One of these men was accused of murdering a woman in one of the villages
on the way. His comrades brought in husbands, wives, and children
indiscriminately, not sparing even the chiefs. Bimfu, of Insimankao, was
among the number; next morning, however, he threw his pack, bolted to the
bush, and eventually reported his grievances to Axim. The second headman
of Tumento, when pressed, managed to secure a very small load. But as
payment is by weight, 6_d_. per 10 lbs. from the river to Effuenta, and no
subsistence is allowed, his gains were small in proportion; he received
for three days only 9_d_.
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