Reminiscences of a Goan Pioneer

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Mr. Joachim Lewis Sequeira of Tivim, was born in 1875 and educated in Poona. In 1896 he joined the East Africa Protectorate Government and served in the Offices of the Provincial Commissioners at Mombasa, Nairobi, and Naivasha holding various posts of trust and responsibilities. He is one of the few Goan pioneers, who, in the early days of the Protectorate, travelled with caravans from Mombasa to Nairobi over regions which were regarded as savage wilderness. He

was a founder and President of the Goan Institute, Nairobi. He took an active part in all Goan

affairs.

He retired on pension in 1919 and settled down in Belgaum. He is an elected member of the Cantonment Board and President of the Belgaum Catholic Club and Catholic Co-operative Credit Society. He is 82 years old and would, I am sure, spiritually participate in our festivities.

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After many years of absence from the country and far away from the scenes of recollections, it is a pleasure to write an article for publication in the Goan Institute Review entitled "The Pioneers", the first number of which will be issued

on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebrations.

As one of the oldest and perhaps the earliest Goan pioneers, it is my special privilege to contribute this article to "The Pioneer". I say my special privilege not only as the earliest pioneer, who in the early days of the British East Africa Protectorate and before the commencement of the construction of the Uganda Railway, made a walk ing journey from Mombasa on the coast to Machakos in the interior, travelling over regions which were regarded as savage wilderness, but also because of my close association with the social and political activities of the Goan community and my intimate connection with the foundation and establishment of the Goan Institute, Nairobi.

It is not possible within the limited space of this article to narrate everything I have seen and heard during the twenty-five years I lived in the country in those pioneering days. To endeavour to describe all my thrilling experiences

during a long and hazardous journey extending over three hundred miles in the interior, through territories- inhabited by savages and abounding with wild beasts would be a work of considerable magnitude. I present here but an outline of my

impressions of the countrv where I lived and spent some of the best and happiest years of my life.

The influx of Goan emigrants into British East Africa commenced during the construction of the Uganda Railway sometime between 1897 and 1898. Before that there were a few Goans in Mombasa only. It reached its peak between 1899 and 1900 when the Railway Headquarters were shifted from Kilindini to Nairobi.

I was appointed at Mombasa in the month of Janúary 1896 and ordered to proceed to Machakos to take up my duties in the offiče of Mr. John Ainsworth. C.M.G., Sub-Commissioner and Vice Consul, UKamba Province.

The distance irom Mombasa to Machakos by caravan route was over three hundred miles and with a safari of porters carrying loads weighing sixty pounds on their heads took about twenty-five to thirty days to reach Machakos walking ten

to twelve miles daily at the rate of three to four miles per hour. The entire journey was an arduous one over rugged hills and dales, plains and deserts, jungles and forests, rivers and valleys, without roads and bridges, but with only traces of foot-paths left by passing caravans. My safari consisted of a Headman (Niapara), six safari askaris and fifty Swahili porters besides my two servants. They carried besides my camp equipment and provisions loads for the Government Station at Machakos.

THE JOURNEY

We started from Mombasa on 2nd February, 1890. The Makupa Creek which separates the Island of Mombasa from the mainland was crossed by boats as there was no bridge. From here we marched on to our first camp at Changhamwe, six miles from Mombasa, but by the time we could reach our destination dusk had set in. Here excitement, noise and confusion prevailed search ing for missing luggage, pitching tents, fetching water and fuel, etc. Early next morning we resumed our journey to the next station at Mazeras which was ten miles from Changhamwe. The scenery around here was extremely pretty. Dotted here and there were beautiful shambas with fruit trees and groves of coconut palms. No interference was encountered on the way from the notorious rebel chief Mbaruk or his followers about whose aggressive activities great apprehension was felt before leaving Mombasa.

From Mazeras we shifted our camp from place to place as far as Samburu, forty-three miles from Mombasa. From Samburu to Voi the whole country, nearly sixty miles long, was a vast scrub jungle known as the Taru Desert. The climate here was hot and dry and in the absence of water, the intense heat of the day under a burning sun, made travelling very difficult. Anyhow the desert was crossed by long and hard marching sometimes by day and sometimes by night.

At Voi there was excellent water from the river of the same name. On the 12th we reached Ndii--the administrative station of the Teita district. We pitched our camp about three hundred yards from the "Bhoma" and halted here for two days in order to give our men sufficient rest after the severity of the journey and also to replenish our supply of "posho". During the night

I heard lions roaring in the hills but no untoward incident occurred here during our stay. Some months afterwards when I heard that a European road Foreman who was employed in construcing a road from Ndii to Taveta was attacked by a lion whilst sleeping in his tent at night and carried off, I thanked Providence for having spared me from a similar tragedy during the course of my

journey.

From Ndii we proceeded to Tsavo. Here we camped on the north bank of the river of the same name. As the camp was said to be infested by lions we lit a big fire in the centre of the camp. This must have frightened the lions to approach our camp. The river was crossed by a good ford in waist-deep water. I was carried across by a porter on his back. A couple of years afterwards when the Railway line reached this point, Tsavo station became a scene of great panic and confusion on account

of the presence in the neighbourhood of man eating lions. Night after night the Railway camps were attacked and coolies carried off from their tents and devoured. This created such a reign of terror that the work was actually brought to a standstill. Many ghastly and blood-curdling tales were told of the men who had fallen victims to the man-eaters of Tsavo.

From here we followed the caravan route to Machakos by stages of ten to twelve miles a day. On 2nd March we reached Machakos. It was the thirtieth day since our start from Mombasa.

SCENERY

Part of the country from the coast was uphill and the traveller gradually but almost unperceptibly ascended higher and higher through a wooded park-like country giving beautiful glimpses of the Indian Ocean far away in the distance. A little later came the waterless tract of the Taru Desert with thick undergrowth. At about ninety miles from the coast the scenery again changed into a beautifully wooded country. From here the high mountains of Ndii and Teita hills could be seen at a distance. The ice-clad peak of the great Mount Kilimanjaro could be seen far away to the south. Some distance beyond Ndii was Tsavo River, a swiftly running stream always cool. Its source was said to be the great ice-caped Mt. Kilimanjaro

The country around here was generally dry and barren. There was an absence of varietv in the scenery of the riverside as throughout its length the banks were lined with vegetation, but the rich bright green charmed the beholder and the eye

did not weary with the lofty green trees and thick masses of luxuriant foliage which were ever blended with grace and harmony.

From Tsavo the caravan route passed through a country of thick jungle famous for its Flora and Fauna. From Makindu the country was generally open and large herds of game could be seen almost without interruption. Now it is a sanctuary of Game Reserve which makes it one of the most fascinating countries of the world.

As the entire journey was performed in broad daylight except for parts of the waterless tract of the Taru Desert, which were passed during night, we had a splendid opportunity of seeing the country and the landscape, its flora and fauna in their pristine glory.

At Kiu, Nzawi and Machakos the climate was extremely healthy. Thick clouds of mist almost touching the ground hung over the surrounding hills mornings and evenings. In June and July the country was generally shrouded with fog until midday

MACHAKOS

This chief Administrative station and Headquarters of the Ukamba Province lay three hundred miles from the coast at an altitude of about 5,250 feet above sea level. It was the principal station on the caravan route for the supply of rations for safaris proceeding from Mombasa to Uganda and vice versa. The other stations were Ndii and Kikuyu. There was no Nairobi. I served at Machakos from March 1896 to June 1900 as Postmaster and Registrar of Porters. In 1897 I acted as Transport Clerk in forwarding loads for the troops employed in quelling the Uganda Rebellion and Sudanese Mutiny. This was in addition to and independent of my duties as Postmaster and Registrar of Porters. In July 1900 I was transferred as Head Clerk of the Provincial Commissioner's Office, Nairobi.

NAIROBI

At the end of the Athi plains and at the base of the Kikuyu Hills lay Nairobi, now the capital of Kenya. It was originally the haunts of the Masai tribe. The site which was originally chosen as a Railway station and Headquarters was afterwards found to be unsuitable for a large town as it was a flat swampy plain where drainage was difficult. The surrounding hills, however, were perfectly healthy and it was on these hills that Government quarters for European officers and men were built. Nairobi which in 1900 appeared like a large Canvas Camp soon developed into a big town, and the idea of shifting it to another site had to be abandoned. Now it is a City-a rendezvous of tourists, traders and settlers.

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