We can infer that the natives were slaves to the white man. Marlow is horrified to see these starving men chained in a line carrying various things, " I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope." There was one native who "strolled despondently, carrying a rifle by its middle. He had a uniform jacket with one button off, and seeing a white man on the path, hoisted his weapon to his shoulder with alacrity." He was given a shred of dignity and power for the sole purpose of torturing his own people. THat was a snapshot of the "new forces at work."