What is Marlow’s attitude to cannibals, (they surprise him for a specific reason) and what does he say about their working conditions?

From the text:

"Fine fellows—cannibals—in their place. They were men one could work with, and I am grateful to them. And, after all, they did not eat each other before my face: they had brought along a provision of hippo-meat which went rotten, and made the mystery of the wilderness stink in my nostrils. Phoo! I can sniff it now."