It was interesting to notice that the English prisoners whom we took with us, for the most part, accepted as a matter of course the hardships of the long marches, the constant crossing of rivers and the countless difficulties connected with supplies and transport; they realized that we Germans had exactly the same hardships to endure as themselves and were in addition burdened with a number of further duties such as patrol expeditions, fighting, carrying of supplies and watch-keeping. They bore everything with a certain humour and it was obviously interesting to them to see the war from the German point of view. It was quite otherwise with the Portuguese officers. It is true they were in an unenviable position: for the most part they were infected with syphilis and were carefully avoided by the English prisoners. In addition they were not real campaigners. They had received a generous share of the booty captured at Namacurra, but had not learned how to make the best of it. They had at once consumed the precious oil with rice and it was too much to expect that the Germans should now share with them their own meagre ration. Marching was a burden to them, their boots were torn to pieces—in short, their spokesman, the general staff officer captured at Namacurra, was continually complaining to me of the inconveniences which with the best will in the world I could not help. He was continually asking to be released. I should have been only too glad to consent if he would have given his parole not to fight against us, but this he would not do. I could not be expected to release people without any obligation and so put them in a position to attack us again immediately. Considerations of supply drove us on. After the failure of the Oriva neighbourhood to come up to our expectations in this respect, I planned to reach the territory east of the Ligonja, which was marked on the map as thickly populated and well cultivated. On the way the advance guard, under Captain Müller, quickly took Boma Tipa, where several days’ supplies, particularly pig-nuts, fell into our hands. The weak Portuguese garrison offered only slight resistance and then fled at once; the leader, a Portuguese sergeant, was the only prisoner captured.