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ANGOLA 
 
 THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 / 
 
•ANGOLA 
 
 AND 
 
 THE EIVEK CONGO: 
 
 BY 9j\llAy^ 
 
 JOACHIM JOHN iMONTEFKO 
 
 ASSOCIATK OV TIIE ROV^AL SOHOOL OF MINKS, AND COFtHKSI'ONDING 
 MKMiJER OK THI.; ZOOLOGICAL SOCIKTY. 
 
 W/TH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 I^t^ forh: 
 MACMILLAN AND 0. 
 
 1876. 
 

 X'i^^12> 
 
 . • * • 
 
 '• • • 
 • ••• 
 
 .• : • 
 
 •• 
 
 ?••••- • 
 
t 
 
 TO 
 
 EOSE, MY WIFE 
 
 IN LOVING KEME31BBANCE OF THE HAPPY DAYS WE PASSED TOGETHER 
 IN THE PEACEFUL STILLNESS AND TROPICAL LUXURIANCE 
 OF THE VAST SOLITUDES OF ANGOLA. • 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 The following description of the country between the 
 Kiver Zaire or Congo, and Mossamedes or Little Fish 
 Bay, comprising ten degrees of latitude, is the result of 
 many years of travel in and exploration of that part of 
 the coast. 
 
 My aim has been to present an accurate and truthful 
 account of its more striking features and productions, and 
 of the manners and customs of the various tribes which 
 inhabit it. 
 
 I have avoided mentioning more names of places and 
 persons than are necessary, as they would be of little 
 or no interest to the general reader. I have also omitted 
 detailed lists and descriptions of plants and animals that 
 I have collected, as such would only interest naturalists, 
 who are referred to the different scientific publications in 
 which they have been described. 
 
 This being the iirst detailed account of a most inte- 
 resting and rich part of Tropical Africa, I leave it with 
 confidence to the indulgence of my readers, assuring them 
 that at all events a want of truth is not included in its 
 shortcomings. 
 
C vii ) 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAQR 
 
 History .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 
 
 CHAPTER ir. 
 Physical Geography — Character of Vegetation — Rivers 13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The River Congo a Boundary — Slave Trade — Slavery — 
 Ordeal by Poison — Insensibility of the Negro — In- 
 gratitude .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 30 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The River Congo — Banana — Porto da Lenha — Boma — 
 MussuRONGO Tribe — Pirates — Mushicongo Tribe — Fish 
 
 — Palm Chop — Palm Wine .. .. .. .. ..45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Country from the River Congo to Aubriz — Vegetation — 
 Trading — Civilization — Commerce — Products — Ivory 
 
 — Musserra — Sleep Disease — Salt — Mineral Pitch 56 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 fAOB 
 
 Ambriz — Trade — Malachite — Road to Bembs — Travel- 
 ling — Mosquitoes — Quiballa to Quilumbo — Natives 
 — Quilumbo TO Bembe .. ,. .. .. .. .. 84 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Bembe — Malachite Deposit — Root Parasite — Ekgongui — 
 Mortality of Cattle — Fairs — King of Congo— Recep- 
 tions — Customs — San Salvador — Fevers — Return to 
 Ambriz .. .. .. ,. .. .. .. .. 104 
 
 CHAPTER YUL 
 
 Character of the Negro — Fetish — Customs — Arms and 
 AVar — Dress — Zombo Tribe — Burial — Insanity . . 131 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Customs of the Mussurongo, Ambriz, and Mushicongo 
 Negroes — Mandioca Plant; its Preparations — Chili 
 Pepx'er — Bananas — Rats — White Ant — Native Beer 
 — Strange Sounds .. .. .. .. .. .. 154 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Country from Ambriz to Loanda — Mossulo — Libongo — 
 Bitumen — River Dande — River Bengo — Quifandongo 1G8 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 City of Loanda — Natives — Slavery — Convicts — Theatre 
 and Morals ,. .. .. ,. .. .. .. 178 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 r ^^^^ 
 
 I )b' Division of Akgola — Weetched Pay of Officials — Abuses 
 
 y BY Authorities — Evils of High Import Duties — Silver 
 Mines of Cambambe — Journey to Cambambe — Explora- 
 tion — Volcanic PiOCks — Hornbill — The Plant ain- 
 eatek — Hyenas .. .. .. .. .. .. 195 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Province of Cazengo — Golungo Alto — Gold — Wild Coffee 
 — Iron Smelting — Former Missionaries — Customs — 
 Natives — Productions .. .. .. .. .. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 River Quanza — Calumbo — Bruto — Muxima — Massangano 
 
 — DoNDo — Falls of Cambambe — Dances — Musical In- 
 struments — QUISSAMA — LiBOLLO .. .. .. .. 223 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Country South of the River QUanza — Cassanza — Novo 
 Redondo — Celts — Cannibals — Lions — Hot Springs — 
 Bees — Egito — Scorpions — River Aniia — Catumbella 249 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Town of Benguella — Slave-trade — Mundombes — Customs 
 
 — Copper — Hyenas — Monkeys — Copper Deposit — 
 Gypsum — Hornbills — Birds — Fish — Lions .. .. 265 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Country between Benguella and Mossamedes — Mossamedes 
 — Curious Deposits of Water — Hyena — Welwitschia 
 mibabilis — Mirage .. .. .. 282 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 TAGE 
 
 Climate — Cookery — Drunkenness — Fever — Native 
 Treatment — Ulcers — Smoking Wild - hemp — Native 
 Remedies .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 294 
 
 CHAPTER XIX, 
 
 Customs — Burial — White Ant — Wasps — Fruits — 
 Scents — Spitting -snake — ScARABiEUS — Lemur .. .. 313 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Conclusion ,. „ 334 
 
 Appendix.. .. »• •• •• .. •• •• 339 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Drawn on Wood by Mh. Edward Fielding; the Views from 
 Sketches by Mrs. Monteiro, and from Photographs; the 
 Implements, &c., from the Originals. 
 
 Map .. .. .. .. .. ., .. Frontispiece. 
 
 Travelling in Angola — View near Ambriz .. .. To face page 13 
 
 Porto da Lenha .. .. .. .. .. „ 45 
 
 View on the Congo, above Boma .. .. „ „ 55 
 
 Ankle-ring — Ring to ascend Palm-trees — 
 Cage for carrying Ivory tusks — Eugongui— 
 Fetish figure — Mask — Pillow . . . . „ 78 
 
 Granite Pillar of Musserra — Hoe — Pipe — 
 
 Knives^ — Clapping hands and Answer .. „ 80 
 
 View in the hilly country of Quiballa — 
 
 Camoensia maxima .. .. .. .. „ 97 
 
 Quilumbo .. .. .. .. .. .. „ 102 
 
 Bembe Valley .. .. .. .. ,. „ 104 
 
 Bembe Peak „ 127 
 
 View of the City of St. Paul de Loanda .. .. „ 178 
 Bellows — Marimba — Native smiths — Rat- 
 trap „ 218 
 
 Maxilla and Barber's shop — Carrying corpse for 
 burial — Quissama Women, and maimer of 
 pounding and sifting meal in Angola .. .. „ 247 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 Mundombes and Huts .. .. .. ., Tofacejpage 208 
 
 Xativc-smeltcd Copper — Powder-flask — Mun- 
 dombe Axe — Manner of securing Fish for 
 drying — Hunters' fetish (Benguella) — Man- 
 ner of carrying in the hand (native jug) — 
 Gourd-pipe for smoking Diamba — Wooden 
 dish — Double-handled hoe .. .. .. „ 270 
 
 Welwitschias growing in a plain near Mossa- 
 
 medes .. .. .. .. .. .. „ 291 
 
 Pelopaus spirifex and nest — Devil of the Road — 
 Dasylus sp. — Caterpillars' nests — Mantis and 
 Nest — Manis multiscutatura and Ants' nests ,, 318 
 
ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HISTOKY. 
 
 The folloAYing sketcli of the discovery and earlier liistory 
 of Angola is translated and condensed from an interesting 
 work in Portuguese by Feo Cardozo, on the * History of 
 the Governors of Angola ' (Paris, 8vo, 1825) : — 
 
 *' The Portuguese, engrossed by the great hof)es raised by 
 the conquest of Brazil and the Indies, did not determine to 
 establish themselves in Angola till eighty-four years after 
 they had discovered it. The King of Angola, jealous 
 of the advantages that he supposed his neighbour the 
 King of Congo derived from his trade and intercourse 
 with the Portuguese, determined to send several of his 
 subjects to Portugal to beg the like friendship for 
 himself. Queen Catherine, acceding to his request, sent 
 to him Paulo Diaz de Novaes, grandson of the famous 
 Bartolomeo Diaz, who had discovered the greater part of 
 the West Coast and the Cape of Good Hope. Paulo Diaz 
 left Lisbon in September, 1559, with three ships, a few 
 soldiers, and a present for the King, bearing instructions 
 to open commercial relations with the latter, and to convert 
 him to Christianity. After many dangers he arrived in 
 May, 1560, at the mouth of the Kiver Quanza ; the King 
 of Angola was dead, but his son, who then reigned, re- 
 newed on his arrival his father^s request for friendly 
 relations with the Portuguese. Paulo Diaz, relying on 
 his statements, landed with only twenty men, and leaving 
 
 B 
 
.•r. ; U I y I \4'N^^L1 ^^^ID^THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 the rest on board the ships ordered them to return to Por- 
 tugal if within a certain time he should not come back to 
 them. He immediately marched to the Court of Angola, 
 Avhere he and liis present were received by the King with 
 acclamation. 
 
 *• After the lapse of a few days, Paulo Diaz, Avishing to 
 retire to his ships, was prevented by the King under the 
 pretence of his aid being required in some wars he was then 
 engaged in. He was thus detained a prisoner until the 
 King, hard pressed by the revolt of one of his power- 
 ful vassals, determined to allow him to return to Por- 
 tugal, so that he might bring him assistance. From the • 
 missals, altar-stones, and old-fashioned church furniture 
 that he saw in the hands of the negroes during his expe- 
 dition into the interior, Paulo Diaz concluded that mis- 
 sionaries had already been in the country many years 
 before. Pteturning to Portugal he gave an aecoiint of 
 what he had seen to the King, Don Sebastian, who sent 
 him back with the title of Conqueror, Coloniser, and 
 Governor of Angola, and conceded to him ample powers 
 for the establishment of the new colony. 
 
 *' Paulo Diaz left Lisbon in October, 1574, with a fleet of 
 seven ships, and seven hundred men, and sighted land 
 after a passage of three montlis and a half. Landing on 
 the island facing the present city of Loanda, he took formal 
 possession of it in the name of the King of Portugal. An 
 immense number of negroes witne.>^sed the ceremony, as 
 well as forty Portuguese who had retired from the kingdom 
 of Congo, owing to the wars amongst the negroes of that 
 country. 
 
 " The King of Angola received the Portuguese with great 
 joy, and in return for the presents that Dom Sebastian had 
 sent him, gave Paulo Diaz several armlets of silver and 
 of copper, and sticks of Quicongo wood ; the silver of the 
 armlets was afterwards made into a chalice and presented 
 to the church of Belem at Lisbon. 
 
 " Finding that the island was not suitable for establishing 
 the new colony, the Portuguese removed to the mainland, 
 and choosing the spot now occupied by the fortress of 
 
HISTORY. 
 
 San Miguel, built a church and founded their first colony 
 in Angola. They then aided the King, and enabled 
 him speedily to reduce his rebel vassal to obedience. 
 After several months passed in the greatest friendship, 
 the King of Congo attempted to intrigue against the 
 Portuguese, but without success. Perfect peace existed 
 between the Portuguese and the blacks of Angola for 
 six years, when it was destroyed by the base perfidy of 
 a. Portuguese, who begged the King to make him his 
 slave, as he wished to disclose a most important secret. 
 Astonished at this proposition, the King called together 
 his 'Macotas' or council, and in their presence ordered 
 the infamous traitor to divulge it ; on which he said that 
 Paulo Diaz planned despoiling him of his kingdom and 
 mines, for which purpose he had collected great stores 
 of powder and ball. Next day the King caused all the 
 Portuguese to appear before him, and in their presence 
 the tyaitor repeated his story. The Portuguese, in 
 astonishment, attempted to refute the calumny, but with- 
 out attending to their explanations the King ordered them 
 from his presence, and taking counsel of his * Macotas * was 
 persuaded by them to destroy at once all the Portuguese, and 
 thus avert the threatened danger. Approving their advice, 
 he feigned forgetfulness of the occurrence, then under 
 pretence of a war in the interior, sent forward the Portu-- 
 guese, who, ignorant of the stratagem, were all suddenly 
 set upon and murdered, together with the Christian slaves, 
 numbering over a thousand. A similar fate befel all the 
 Portuguese engaged in trading in different parts of 
 the country, and their goods and property were taken 
 possession of. The traitor received the just punishment 
 of his infam}^, for the King ordered him to be executed, 
 saying, it was not right that one should live who had 
 caused the death of his countrymen. This cruel butchery 
 concluded, the King sent Paulo Diaz, who was on his 
 journey from Loanda, an order not to proceed beyond the 
 spot at which he should receive it. 
 
 " The Governor, though totally ignorant of the horriblo 
 catastrophe, distrusted the message, and, retiring to 
 
 B 2 
 
ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 Anzelle, erected a wooden intrencliment, and fortifying 
 it witli two small camion, awaited the solution of the 
 affair. But few days had elapsed before he received 
 tidings of the dreadful tragedy, and of the advance of a 
 great army of blacks to annihilate him and the remaining 
 Portuguese. This news, far from terrifying him, inspired 
 him with the hope of speedily avenging the murder of 
 his countrymen. Animating his garrison, of only 150 
 men, with the same sentiment, he, with the aid of their 
 two guns, repelled the attack of the blacks, causing such 
 havoc among them that they were completely routed and 
 dispersed; he also sent his lieutenant into the interior to 
 ravage it with fire and sword. This was accomplished so 
 successfully, that the King, repenting of his barbarity, 
 turned against the Macotas who had counselled him, 
 and ordered them all to be put to death. 
 
 *' Paulo Diaz being reinforced from Portugal, defeated 
 several of the *Sobas,' or chiefs of Quissama, who at- 
 tempted to impede his navigation of the Eiver Quanza, 
 defeated a second time the King of Angola, and conquered 
 the greater part of the Provinces of Quissama and Illamba, 
 the whole of which he could not occupy from want of men. 
 He then, resolving to acquire the silver mines said to 
 exist in the mountains of Cambambe, fortified himself 
 with his Lieutenant, Luis Serrao, and 120 men, at Tacan- 
 dongo, which is a short distance from the supposed mines. 
 
 " Here they were approached by the third army of the 
 King of Angola, so numerous that it extended for two 
 leaeues. The Governor attacked it on the 2nd February, , 
 1583, before it had had time to form on the plain below, 
 and with the assistance of several native chiefs fell on the 
 black multitude with such success as to disperse it com- 
 pletely in a few hours, leaving the field covered with dead. 
 Paulo Diaz ordered the noses of all the slain to be cut off,, 
 and sent several loads of them to Loan da as evidence of 
 his victory, and to inspire the blacks with the fear of his 
 arms. The King of Angola, rendered desperate by these 
 repeated defeats, attempted with a fourth army to obtain 
 a victory over the Portuguese, but was again routed with 
 
BISrORY. 
 
 ^reat slaughter. In celebration of the above victory 
 Paulo Diaz founded the first settlement in the interior at 
 Massangano, under the title of Nossa Senhora da Victoria. 
 
 *'In 1597, 200 Flemish colonists arrived at Loanda, 
 but nearly the whole of them quickly died from the effects 
 of the climate. 
 
 *' About the same time the colony of Benguella was 
 founded by a party of seventy soldiers, but fifty of these 
 having walked out unarmed on the beach, to amuse 
 themselves by fishing, were surprised by a large number 
 of blacks, who cut their heads off, and then attacked the 
 twenty mon in the fort. They defended themselves bravely 
 until all but two, who managed to escape, were killed. 
 
 *' Constantly engaged in wars with the powerful 
 ' Sobas ' and savage populous nations of the interior, the 
 Portuguese gradually extended and established their 
 power in Angola. 
 
 "In 1595, Jeronymo d' Almeida, with 400 men and 
 twenty-one horses, again started from Loanda to take 
 possession of the silver mines of Cambambe, and on his 
 way established the fort at Muxima on the Kiver Quanza. 
 Continuing his march, he fell ill, and was obliged to 
 return to Loanda, leaving his officers in command. These 
 w^ere unfortunately drawn into an ambuscade in a rocky 
 ravine at Cambambe, where, an immense number, of blacks 
 falling on them, 206 of the Portuguese were slain, not- 
 withstanding their bravest resistance, and only seven 
 men escaped the wholesale slaughter. 
 
 " In the same year Joao Furtado de Mendonpa arrived 
 at Loanda, bringing with him twelve white women, the 
 first that had ever arrived in Angola, and who are said to 
 have all married immediately. 
 
 "The new Governor's first acts were to retrieve the 
 losses suffered by his predecessor, but starting in the 
 worst season of the year, he remained some time on the 
 banks of the River Bengo, where 200 men died of fever, 
 the rest suffering greatly from hunger. At last, cun- 
 tinuing his march with the remains of his force, he very 
 successfully reduced the rebellious ' Sobas' to obedience, and 
 
ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 relieving the little garrison at Massangano, inflicted great 
 loss on the blacks in a battle at that place. Eetnrning 
 down the Kiver Quanza, he re-established at Muxima 
 the fort that had been abandoned. 
 
 "In 1602, Juao liodrigues Coutinho arrived as Governor 
 with reinforcements of men and ammunition, and full 
 powers to promote the conquest of the silver mines of 
 Cambambe. A powerful and well-appointed expedition 
 again started for this purpose, but on arriving at a place 
 called Cacullo Quiaquimone he fell ill and died. Manoel 
 Cerveira Pereira, his successor, resolving to carry out his 
 predecessor's intentions, marched into Cambambe, and on 
 the lOtli August, 1G03, offered battle to the Soba Cafuxe, 
 whom he defeated in a great engagement ; continuing his 
 march lie built a fort in Cambambe and forced the Soba 
 Cambambe to submit. 
 
 " About 1606, the first attempt was made to communi- 
 cate across the continent of Africa with the Kiver Senna, 
 on the eastern coast, and for this expedition Balthazar 
 Eebello de Aragao was chosen, but after proceeding for a 
 considerable distance he was obliged to return to relieve 
 the garrison at Cambambe, closely besieged by the 
 blacks. 
 
 '* Though constant wars were necessary to reduce the 
 warlike Sobas of the interior to obedience, the successes 
 of the Portuguese continued, and their efforts were also 
 directed to the conquest of Benguella and settlement there. 
 
 '*In the year 1621, the famous Queen Ginga Bandi 
 came to Loanda as head of an embassy from her brother, 
 the Gola Bandi ; she arranged a treaty of peace with tlie 
 Portuguese, was converted to Christianity and baptized 
 under the name of Ginga Donna Anna de Souza. She 
 was proclaimed Queen of Angola on the death of her 
 brother, whom she ordered to be poisoned, never forgiving 
 him for having killed her son. She then not only forsook 
 Christianity, but forgetting the manner in which she had 
 been treated by the Portuguese, bore them a deadly hatred 
 iTor upwards of thirty years, during which time she was 
 unsuccessful in all her w^^rs against them. 
 
HIS TOBY. 
 
 '^ The Dutch, who for several years had greatly annoyed 
 tlie Portuguese on the West Coast, attempted to possess 
 themselves of some of their ports for the purpose of 
 obtaining a supply of slaves for their colonies in America. 
 During the governorsliip of Fernan de Souza the Dutcli 
 despatched a fleet of eight ships commanded by Petri 
 Petrid, who attempted to force the bar of Loanda, but 
 meeting with a determined resistance retired from the 
 coast after a stay of three months, having oidy captured 
 four small vessels. 
 
 '*The Count of Nassau, considering that without an 
 abundant supply of slaves from the west coast the Dutch 
 possessions in America would be of little value, determined 
 to take stronger measures for obtaining them, and sent a 
 powerful fleet of twenty vessels, under the command of 
 General Tolo. On the 24th August, 1641 , this formidable 
 fleet appeared at Loanda, and such was the consternation 
 it caused that the Governor and inhabitants abandoned 
 the city and retired to Bembem. The Dutcli landing next 
 day became, without opposition, masters of the place and 
 of a large booty. 
 
 "Pedro Cezar retired to the Eiver Bengo, bnt, pursued 
 by the Dut(^h, retired to Massangano, where the Portuguese 
 suffered terribly from the effects of the climate. Many of 
 the native chiefs, taking advantage of the occasion, rose 
 in arms against them. Queen Ginga and several other 
 powerful chiefs immediately formed an alliance with the 
 Dutch. The Portuguese attempted, but unsuccessfully, 
 to punish several of them. The Dutch subsequently 
 formed a truce with the Portuguese, in consequence of 
 news arriving from Europe of a treaty of peace having 
 been concluded between the two powers ; but shortly 
 after, treacherously attacking the Portuguese, they killed 
 the principal officers and forty men, and took the Governor 
 and 120 men prisoners. 
 
 "Those that escaped fled to IMasj-angano until another 
 truce was concluded, and means were found to enable 
 Pedro Cezar to escape from the fortress of San ]\Iiguel, 
 where he was imprisoned. 
 
ANGOLA AND THE EIVER CONGO. 
 
 " Francisco de Soutomayor now arrived from Portugal 
 as Governor of Angola, and with the remnant of the troops 
 at Benguella, where he had landed, proceeded to Massan- 
 gano, without knowledge of the enemy. Queen Ginga, 
 influenced secretly by the Dutch, was collecting her 
 forces for the purpose of attacking the Portuguese, but 
 was completely defeated, leaving 2000 blacks dead on 
 the field of battle. A few days after, the Dutch again 
 broke their truce, and the Portuguese, incensed at their 
 repeated treachery, declared war against them. Thus they 
 remained till the arrival of Salvador Correa de Sa e 
 Benavides, Governor of Rio Janeiro, from which place 
 he started in May, 1648, Avith a fleet of fifteen vessels and 
 900 men. Towards the expenses of this expedition the 
 inhabitants of Eio Janeiro largely contributed, as they 
 saw how hurtful to their interests the loss of Angola 
 would be from tiie failure in the supply of slave labour. 
 
 '' Arrived at Loanda, he sent a message to the Dutch 
 Governor that although his orders were to preserve peace 
 with him, still, as he had so treacherously and repeatedly 
 broken it with the Portuguese, he considered himself free 
 to declare war against him ; but, to prevent bloodshed, he 
 gave the Dutch the option of surrendering, assuring them 
 of an honourable capitulation. The Dutch asked for 
 eight days to consider; Salvador Correa accorded them 
 two, at the end of which he sent his secretary on shore, 
 with orders to signal whether the Dutch accepted his 
 terms or meant to defend themselves; they chose the 
 latter, and the Portuguese immediately landed, and in- 
 vested the fortress of San Miguel. The Dutch had 
 abandoned six guns, these with four others from the ships 
 were the same night planted on two batteries, and the 
 fortress bombarded. This not having the desired effect, 
 Salvador Correa ordered a general attack. The Portu- 
 guese were, however, repulsed with a loss of 163 men 
 killed and wounded. Tiie Dutch, unaw^are of tliis great 
 loss, and expecting a secon 1 attack, hoisted a white flag, 
 and sent to arrange the terms of capitulation, which being 
 done, the gates, on the 15th of August, 1648, were throwu 
 
BISTORT. 
 
 open, and there issued forth 1100 Dutch, German, and 
 French infantry, and as many bLacks, who were all sur- 
 prised, on passing the Portuguese troops, at the smallness 
 of their number?!, and repented their hasty submission. 
 Salvador Correa sent them all on board three vessels to 
 await their countrymen away in the interior. On their 
 arrival these were also placed on board, and they set sail 
 the same day. Shortly after he caused the Dutch esta- 
 blishments at Pinda and Loango to be demolished, and 
 their expulsion being completed, he next fell on and 
 defeated the native chiefs. 
 
 "It was in the time of this Governor that the Italian 
 Capuchin Friars passed from the kingdom of Congo 
 to Loanda, to establish in the interior their excellent 
 missions. For several years the Portuguese waged a 
 constant war with the Libollos, the Quissamas, the Soba 
 jN'goUa Caboco, the Chiefs of Benguella, and the Dembos 
 Ambuillas at Encoge. 
 
 ''In the year 1694 the first copper coinage was intro- 
 duced from Portugal into Angola, the currency up to 
 that time being in the shape of little straw mats called 
 *Libongos,' of the value of fifty reis each (about 2d.). 
 (These little mats are at present only employed as money 
 in Cabinda.) 
 
 " In 1758, the Portuguese established themselves at 
 Encoge. In 1783, an expedition was despatched to the 
 Port of Cabinda, to establish a fort; 300 men, however, 
 quickly died there from the effects of the climate, and 
 the rest surrendered to a French squadron, sent to de- 
 molish any fortifications that might impede the free 
 commerce of all nations on the coast of Loango. 
 
 "Shortly after 1784, the Portuguese had a great war 
 with the natives of Mossulo, which lasted some five years 
 before they were finally defeated. 
 
 "It was during the government, and by the efforts of 
 Antonio de Saldanha da Gama (1807-1810), that direct 
 intercourse was established with the nation of the Moluas, 
 and through their intervention overland communication 
 with the eastern coast was obtained. 
 
10 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 " The first attempt to communicate directly across the 
 continent, from Angola to Mo(^aml)ique, was made as 
 already noticed in the j^ear 1003. Two expeditions were 
 proposed to start simultaneonsly from IMopimhique and 
 Angola, andjneet in the interior. The former, unler the 
 command of the naturalist, Dr. Lacerda, started from the 
 River Senna, and reached Cazembe, where Lacerda fell a 
 victim to the insalubrity of the climate. 
 
 '* Antonio de Saldanha, anxious to realize a project so 
 interesting to geographical knowledge, and which he judged 
 might besides be of great importance to Portugal, had re- 
 newed the inquiries and investigations that might suggest 
 the means of attaining its accomplishment. At Pungo 
 Andongo, there lived one Francisco Honorato da Costa, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel of Militia, a clever man, and Chief 
 of Cassange, the farthest inland of the Portuguese vassal 
 provinces. Through him Antonio de Saldanha learnt 
 tiiat the territory of the Jaga, or Soba of Cassange, was 
 boun led to the east by another and more powerful king- 
 dom, that of the Moluas, with whom the Jaga was in 
 constant intercourse, but whom he prevented from treating 
 directly with the Portuguese, so as to derive the great 
 advantage of monopolizing all the trade with the latter. 
 For this end the Jaga employed several absurd state- 
 ments to intimidate the Muata Yamba, or King of 
 the Moluas, whose power he feared, telling him that the 
 Portuguese (or white men) issued out of the sea, that 
 they devoured negroes, that the goods he traded in were 
 manufactured in his dominions, and that if the Moluas 
 invaded these, the Portuguese would avenge him. 
 
 " As soon as the Governor was informed of these 
 particulars, he ordered Honorato to make himself ac- 
 quainted with the position of the nation of the Moluas. 
 Honorato succeeded in sending his ' Pombeiros ' (black 
 traders) to their principal town, where the JMuata Yamba 
 resided, and where they were hos[)itably received. Con- 
 vinced by them of the falsehoods of the Jaga Cassange, the 
 Muata, though still in fear, decided to send his wife, who 
 lived at some distance oflf,on an embassy to the same effect 
 
HISTORY. 11 
 
 to Loanda. Accoiopanied by Honorato's * Pombeiros/ the 
 embassy, unable to pass the territory of the Soba Cassanp^e, 
 through his opposition, proceeded to the country of the 
 Soba Bomba, who not only allowed them free passao^e, 
 but likewise sent an ambassador to the Portuguese. They 
 arrived in January, 1808, at Loanda, where they were 
 received in state by the Governor. 
 
 "On arriving at the door of the audience-room, they ad- 
 vanced towards the General with great antics, and delivered 
 to him the presents they had brought, which consisted of 
 slaves, a zebra skin, several skins of ' ferocious monkeys,' a 
 mat, some straw baskets, two bars of copper, and a sample 
 of salt from Cazembe. After receiving the greatest hospi- 
 tality, thoy were sent back with "presents for their re- 
 spective sovereigns. The ambassadors wore long beards, 
 their heads adorned with a great bunch of parrots' feathers, 
 grey and red, their arms and legs covered with brass and 
 iron rings ; from a large monkey skin twisted and hanging 
 from one shoulder depended a large knife, — in their left 
 hand a spear, in the right a horse's tail, as an emblem of 
 authority, and round the waist a striped cloth, over which 
 liung a monkey skin, giving them altogether a very wild 
 and showy appearance. The * Pombeiros ' described the 
 Moliias as a somewhat civilized nation ; that the * Banza,* 
 or town of the Muata, was laid out in streets and shaded 
 in summer, to mitigate the heat of the sun and prevent 
 dust ; that they had a flour and grain market for the 
 housing and regular distribution of provisions, and many 
 squares or open spaces of large extent. 
 
 " The wife of the Muata lived at a distance from him 
 of thirty or forty leagues, in a country where she reigned 
 as Queen absolute, and only saw her husband on certain 
 days in the year. The executions in the ' Banza' of the 
 Queen amount* d to eight, ten, and filteen blacks per day, 
 and it is probable that in that of the Muata the number 
 wjis not less. The barbarity of their laws, and the want 
 of communications by means of which to get rid of their 
 criminals, was the cause of this horrible number of 
 executions." 
 
12 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 Feo Cardozo, who expresses himself most strongly 
 against slavery, here observes: "Despite the theories and 
 declamation of sensitive minds led away by false notions 
 of the state of the question, as long as the barbarity and 
 ignorance of the African nations shall exist, the barter 
 of slaves will always be considered by enlightened philan- 
 thropists as the only palliative to the ferocity of the laws 
 that govern those nations. 
 
 " It was further ascertained from the ^ Pombeiros,' that 
 the nation of Cazembe, where Dr. Lacerda had di6d, was 
 feudatory to the Muata Yamba, and in token of its vas- 
 salage paid him a yearly tribute of sea salt, obtained 
 from the eastern coast. jLhe possibility of communication 
 with the east coast through the interior being now 
 evident, the Governor Saldanha instructed the * Pom- 
 beiros' to retrace their steps towards the east, and 
 continue in that direction. 
 
 *' It was during the succeeding Governorship of Jose 
 d'Oliveira Barboza, however, that the feasibility of such 
 communication was finally proved, for he sought out a 
 black trader to go to Mopambique across the interior, and 
 return by t)ie same route, bringing back answers from the 
 Governor of that Colony to letters sent him from Loaiida. 
 This fact added nothing to geographical knowledge,- from 
 the ignorance of the man who accomplished it. 
 
 "In 1813, this Governor formed the plan of conveying 
 the waters of the River Quanza into the city of Loanda, 
 from a distance of about fourteen leagues, by means of 
 a canal, which was commenced in that year, and the 
 workings continued during 1814 and 1815, but abandoned 
 after being cut for a length of 3000 fathoms, on account 
 of the difficulties encountered for want of a previous 
 survey." 
 
 No attempt has since been made to supply the city 
 with water from the Quanza, or from the still nearer 
 Eiver Bengo; besides the great boon such a*Avork would 
 confer on the hot and dry town, it could not fail to be a 
 great success from a monetary point of view. 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY — CHARACTER OF VEGETATI05T — 
 RIVERS, 
 
 The Portuguese possegsions of Angola on the south-west 
 coast of Africa extend from Ambriz in 7° 49' S. Lat. to 
 Cape Frio in 18° 20' S. Lat. Their farthest establish- 
 ment soutli is, however, at Mossamedes, or Little Fish 
 Bav, in 15" 20' S. Lat. 
 
 Throughout this book in speaking of Angola I include 
 not only tlie country from Mossamedes to Ambriz, at pre- 
 sent occupied by the Portuguese, but farther north, as far 
 as the Elver Congo, that being its strong natural limit of 
 climate, fauna, and ethnology, as I shall further explain. 
 
 This long extent of coast comprises, as may be readily 
 imagined, considerable variety in geological formation, 
 physical configuration, climate, vegetation, and natural 
 productions, tribes of natives, and different languages, 
 habits, and customs. 
 
 The coast-line is nowhere very bold ; level sandy bays, 
 fringed with a belt of the dark evergreen mangrove, 
 alternate with long stretches of cliffs, seldom attaining 
 any great lieight or grandeur, and covered with a coarse 
 branching grass {Eragrostis sp.), small patches of shrubby 
 scrub, a tall cactus-like tree Euphorbia, and the gigantic 
 towering Baobab with its fantastic long gourd-like fruit. 
 (Plate L) 
 
 The " Calema," or surf-wave, with its ceaseless roar, 
 breaks heavily in long white lines on the smooth beach, 
 and pulverizes the hardest rock, and every particle of 
 shell and animal structure. It dashes against the ba?e of 
 the cliffs, resounding loudly in its mad fury as it has done, 
 wave after wave and hour after hour, for unknown ages ; 
 
U • ANGOLA AND THE PdVER CONGO. 
 
 and the singular absence of gulls or any moving living 
 objects, or noises, to divert the eye or ear from the dread- 
 ful monotony of constantly recurring sound, and line after 
 line of dazzling white foam, gives a distinctive and exces- 
 sively depressing character to the coast, in harmony, as 
 it were, with the enervating influence of its climate. 
 
 Tlie character of tlie ^Vngolan landscape is entirely 
 difierent trom that of the West Coast proper; say from 
 Cape Yerde to the Gaboon and the lUver Congo. Along 
 that great length of coast are hundreds of square miles of 
 brackish and sult-water lagoons and swamps, level with 
 the sea, and often only separated from it by a narrow 
 mangrove-fringed beach. The bottom of these lagoons is 
 generally a soft deep black fetid mud, and a stick plunged 
 into it comes up thickly coveied with a mass nearly ap- 
 proaching in appearance to paste blacking. In the dry 
 season great exj)anses of the bottom of these swamps 
 become partially dry, and fermenting in the hot tropical 
 sun cause a horrible stench, from the decayed millions of 
 small fi.4i, crabs, ka., left ex[)osed on the surface. The 
 number of fish and some of the lower forms of life in- 
 habiting the mud and water of the lagoons is almost in- 
 credible. If one keeps quite still for a few minutes, the 
 slimy ground becomes perfectly abve and hissing from 
 the legions of small brightly coloured land crabs that issue 
 simultaneously from thousands of round holes, from the 
 size of a quill to about an inch and a-half in diameter. 
 
 It is in these gigantic hotbeds of decomposition that the 
 deadly types of African fever are, I believe, mostly gene- 
 rated ; and these pest waters and mud, when swept into 
 the rivers by the floods in the rainy season, are carried 
 far and wide, with what effect to human life on that coast 
 it is needless to mention. 
 
 On those parts of the West Coast where level swampy 
 ■ground is not the rule, a most agreeable change is seen in 
 the character of the landscape, although, perhaps, the 
 climate is just as unhealthy. Drenched constantly by 
 pelting thunderstorms, and drizzling mists that roll down 
 from the high lands and mountain-tops, the country is 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGEAPEY 
 
 covered by the most luxuriant forest vegGtation, in one 
 exi)anse of the deepest unvarying green, the combiiied 
 result of excessive moisture and the tropical sun of an 
 almost uninterrupted summer. 
 
 This alternation of swamp and dense forest ends com- 
 pletely on arriving at the River Congo, and a total change 
 to the com])aratively arid country of Angola takes place ; 
 in fact, at about 13^ S. Lat. it becomes almost a perfectly 
 arid, rocky, and sandy desert. 
 
 I may say that, without exception, from the River Congo 
 to Mossamedes no dense forest is seen irom the sea, and 
 irom thence not a single tree, it is said, for hundreds of 
 miles to the Orange River. A little mangrove, lining the 
 insigniticaut rivers and low places in their vicinity, is all 
 that varies the open scrub, of which the giant Adansonias 
 and Euphorbias have taken, as it were, exclusive posses- 
 sion. Nowhere on the coast is seen more than an indi- 
 cation of the wonderful vegetation, or varied beauty and 
 fertility, which generally begins at a distance of from 
 thirty to sixty miles inland. 
 
 At this distance, a ridge or hilly range runs along the 
 Avhole length of Angola, forming the first elevation; a 
 second elevation succeeds it at about an equal distance ; 
 and a third, at perhaps twice the distance again, lands 
 us on thetcentral high plateau of Africa. 
 
 From the few and insignificant streams traversing 
 Angola to the coast, which at most only reach safh- 
 ciently far inland to have their source at this third eleva- 
 tion or central plateau, it would seem that a great central 
 depression or fall drains the waters of that part of Africa 
 in either an easterly or southerly direction. 
 
 1 think it is very doubtful whether the Congo, with its 
 vast body of water and rapid current, drains any large 
 extent of country in an easterly direction to the interior, 
 beyond the first rapids. The gradual elevation from the 
 coast to the ridge beyond- which the central plateau begins, 
 and from which the streams that drain Angola seem to 
 have their source, may have been formed by the upheaval 
 of the country by volcanic action. Of this there is 
 
16 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 evidence in the trachytes and basalts of Cambambe and 
 the country to the south of Benguella, which form an 
 anticlinal axis running the whole length of Angola, and 
 thus prevent the drainage of the interior to the sea on 
 this part of the coast. 
 
 These successive elevations inland are accompanied by 
 very remarkable changes in the character of the vegetation 
 covering the surface of the country, and in my several 
 excursions and explorations to the interior from Ambriz 
 to Bembe, from Loanda to the Pungo Andongo range, 
 from Novo Bedondo to Mucelis, and to the interior of 
 Benguella and Mossamedes, I have had frequent oppor- 
 tunities of remarking these very singular and sudden 
 changes. These are due, I believe, as Dr. Welwitsch 
 has pointed out, to the difference of elevation alone, 
 irrespective of its geological formation. 
 
 A sketchr of the vegetation of the country traversed by 
 the road from Ambriz to Bembe, where is situated the 
 wonderful deposit of malachite, — a distance of about 120 
 miles E.N.E. — will give an idea of the general character 
 of the change observed in travelling towards the interior 
 of Angola. For about twenty-five miles from Ambriz 
 the vegetation is, as already described, principally com- 
 posed of enormous Baobabs, Euphorbias, a tall Agave 
 (or aloe), a tree called *• Muxixe " by the natkes, bear- 
 ing curious seed-pods (StereuUa tomentosa), a few small 
 slender creepers, great abundance of the Sanseviera 
 Angolensis in ttie thickets of prickly bushes, and 
 coarse short tufty grasses, — the branching grass being 
 only found near the coast for a few miles. The country 
 is pretty level, dry, and stony, of weathered large-grained 
 gneiss. At Matuta the scene suddenly and magically 
 changes, and in so striking a manner as to impress even 
 the most unobservant traveller. The Baobabs become 
 much fewer in number, the Agaves, the Sanseviera, the 
 Euphorbias, suddenly and almost completely disappear, as 
 also do most of the prickly shrubs, the fine trailing and 
 creeping plants, the Muxixe, and several other trees, qjid 
 a number of smaller plants. A new set of larger, shadier 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. lY 
 
 trees and shrubs take their place, the grass becomes tall 
 and broad-leaved, and one seems to be travelling in an 
 entirely new country. 
 
 This character is preserved for another stretch of road 
 till Quiballa is reached, about sixty miles from the 
 coast, where the rise in level is more marked; and 
 again the vegetation changes, almost as lemarkably as at 
 Matuta, where, however, the difference in altitude is not 
 so sudden, but a gradual rise is noticed all the way from 
 Ambriz. Creepers of all kinds, attaining a gigantic size, 
 here almost monopolize the vegetation, clasping round 
 the biggest trees, and covering them with a mass of foliage 
 and flower, and forming most exquisite festoons and 
 curtains as they web, as it were, one tree to another in 
 their embrace. No words can describe the luxuriance of 
 these tree creepers, particularly in the vicinity of the 
 shallow rivers and rivulets of the interior. Several trees 
 together, covered from top to bottom with a rich mantle 
 of the India-rubber creeper (Landolj^hia florida ?), Avith 
 bright, large dark-green leaves somewhat resembling those 
 of" tlie magnolia, thickly studded with large bunches of 
 purest white jasmine-like flowers, loading the air for a 
 considerable distance with its powerful bitter-almond per- 
 fume, and attracting a cloud of buzzing insects, form alto- 
 gether a sight noL easily forgotten. Once at Bembe I 
 saw a perfect wall or curtain formed by a most delicate 
 creeper, hung from top to bottom with bottle-brush-like 
 flowers about three inches long ; — but the grandest view 
 presented to my eyes was in the Pungo Andongo range, 
 where the bottom of a narrow valley, for quite half a mile 
 in length, was filled, as they all are in the interior, by a 
 dense forest of high trees; the creepers, in search of 
 light, had pierced through and spread on the top, where 
 their stems and leaves had become woven and matted into 
 a thick carpet on which their flowers were produced in 
 such profubiun that hardly a leaf was visible, but only one 
 long >ea of beautiful purple, like a glacier of colour — tilling 
 the valley and set in the frame of green of the luxuriant 
 grass-covered hill sides. The very blacks that accom- 
 
 c 
 
18 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 panied me, so little impressed as they are usually by the 
 beauties of nature, beat their open mouths with the palm 
 of the hand as tbey uttered short " Ah ! ah ! ahs !" their 
 universal mode of expressing astonishment or delight, so 
 wonderful, even to them, appeared the magnificent mass of 
 colour below us as it suddenly came in view when we 
 arrived at the head of the valley, down one side of which 
 we descended to the plain below. 
 
 I have seen the surface of a large pool of water thickly 
 covered with a layer of purple pea-shaped flowers, fallen 
 from the large Wistaria-like bunches of blossom of a 
 creeper overgrowing a mass of trees standing at the edge : 
 it seemed as if Nature, loth that so much beauty should 
 fade quickly, had kept for some time longer the fallen 
 flowers fresh and lovely on the cool still water of the shady 
 lake. This abundance of creeping plants is more or kss 
 preserved till at about sixty miles farther inland we arrive 
 at Bembe and the comparatively level country stretching 
 away to the interior ; the oil-palm {Elseis Guineensis) then 
 becomes again abundant, these trees being only found on 
 the coast in any number in the vicinity of the rivers; the 
 beautiful feathery papyrus also again covers the Idgoons 
 and wet places. 
 
 The comparatively short and spare thin-leaved and 
 delicate tufted grasses of the first or littoral region are 
 succeeded in the second, as I have already said, by 
 much stronger kinds, attaining an extraordinary develop- 
 ment in the highest or third region. Gigantic grasses 
 from five to as much as sixteen feet high, growing 
 Inxuriantl}^, cover densely the vast plains and tracts 
 of country in these two regions where tree vegetation is 
 scarce. The edges of the blades of most of these tall 
 grasses are so stiff and finely and strongly serrated as to 
 be quite sharp, and if passed quickly over the skin will 
 cause a deep cut, as clean as if done with a knife ; one 
 species is called by the natives " Capim de faca " in 
 Portuguese, or *' knife grass," from the manner in which 
 it cuts if handled, or in going through it. 
 
 I have often had my hands bleeding^ from cuts inflicted 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 19 
 
 by this grass when in going down steep, dry, slippery 
 places I have clutched at the high grass on each side of 
 me to prevent falling. To any one accustomed to grass 
 only a lew inches high, the dimensions that these species 
 attain are simply incredible. Like snow and ice in 
 northern latitudes, grasses in interior tropical Africa for 
 some six months in the year take undisputed possession 
 of the country and actually interrupt all communication 
 in many places. 
 
 It is a very strange feeling when travelling in a ham- 
 mock, to be forced through grass so dense and so high 
 that nothing but the sky above can be seen, — a wall 
 of dry rustling leaves on each side shutting out all 
 view sometimes for mile after mile, and so intensely 
 hot and breathless as to be almost unbearable, causing 
 the perspiration to run in drops off the wet, shining, 
 varnished skins of the almost naked blacks. In going 
 through places where the grass has nearly choked up 
 all signs of a path, it is necessary to send in advance 
 all the blacks of the party, so as to open aside and 
 widen it sufficiently to allow the traveller in his hammock 
 to be carried and pushed through the dense high mass: 
 even if there be a moderate breeze blowing it is, of 
 course, completely shut out; the _persi)iration from the 
 negroes is wiped on the grass aslliey push through 
 it, now shoving it aside with their hands and arms, 
 now forcing their way through it backwards, and it is 
 most disagreeable to have the wetted leaves constantly 
 slapping one's face and hands, to say nothing of the 
 horrible stink from their steaming bodies. It is a power- 
 ful odour, and the quiet hot air becomes so impregnated 
 with it as to be nearly overpowering. It is difficult to 
 compare it with any other disagreeable animal smell; 
 it is different from that of the white race, and the nearest 
 comparison I can give is a mixture of putrid onions and 
 rancid butter well rubbed on an old billy-goat. In some 
 it is a great deal worse than in others, but none, men or 
 women, are free from it, even when their bodies are at 
 rest or not sensibly perspiring; and it being a natural se- 
 
 c 2 
 
20 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEB CONGO. 
 
 cretion of the skin, of course no amount of washing oi 
 clean h'ness will remove it. The mulattoes, again, have it, 
 but different, and not generally so strong as the pure 
 black, and with a more acid odour, reminding one stron<rly 
 of the caprylic and similar acids known to chemists. The 
 natives themselves naturally do not notice it, and after 
 some time of residence in the country, except in very 
 powerful cases, strangers become comparatively accus- 
 tomed to it, and, as showing how a person may in time 
 become used to nastiness, T have even partaken of a dish in 
 whifh were some forcemeat balls tliat I had previously 
 watched the negro cook roll with the palm of his hand 
 on his naked stomach, to make them of a proper round 
 shape, without spoiling my appetite or preventing me 
 from joining in the deserved praise of the stew that con- 
 tained them. 
 
 The Portuguese and Brazilians call the smell that 
 exhales from the bodies of the blacks "Catinga," and 
 I witnessed an amusing instance of its effect on a dog, 
 when it smelt it for the first time. On my second voyage 
 to Angola, I took with me a beautiful " perdigueiro," 
 or Portuguese pointer, from Lisbon ; this animal had 
 evidently never smelt a negro before our arrival at 11 ha 
 do Principe (Prince's Island) ; for, on two of the blacks 
 from the custom-house boat coming on the poop, it 
 began sniffing the air at some distance from where they 
 were standing, and carefully and slowly approached them 
 with its neck and nose at full stretch, with a look on 
 its intelligent face of the greatest curiosity and surprise. 
 On approaching within three or four yards, the smell 
 of the blacks, who kept quite still, being afraid it might 
 bite them, seemed too much for its sensitive nose, 
 and it sneezed and looked perfectly disgusted. It con- 
 tinued to approach them and sneeze and retreat repeat- 
 edly for some little time, evidently unable to get used to 
 the poweriul perfume. The poor dog's unmistakeable 
 expression of thorough dislike to the odour of the black 
 race was most comical. 
 
 An old Brazilian mule that I had at Benguella could 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 21 
 
 not bear the blacks to saddle her or put her bridle 
 and head-gear on; she would throw back her ears, and 
 suddenly make a snap with her teeth at the black who 
 attempted it. She was a very tame animal, and would be 
 perfectly quiet to a white man. She had been seventeen 
 years in Benguella before she came into my possession, but 
 never became used to negroes; whether she disliked them 
 from their disagreeable odour, or from some other reason, 
 I could not discover ; but judging from the dog's decided 
 antipathy, I presume their smell was her. principal objec- 
 tion, and yet it is very singular that wild animals in Africa 
 will scent a white sooner than a black hunter. I have 
 heard this from many persons in Angola, both blacks and 
 whites. It would be interesting to know if our hunters at 
 the Cape have noticed the same thing. The fact that, 
 notwithstanding the "Catinga," black hunters can lie in 
 ambush, and antelope and other game come so close to them 
 that they can fire the whole charge of their flint muskets, 
 wadding and all, into them, is well known in Angola. 
 
 Whilst exploring for minerals in Cambambe, I was 
 prevented for a long time from visiting several localities, 
 from the paths to them being choked up with grass. 
 It is difficult to imagine how exhausting it is to push 
 through thick, high grass; in a very short time one be- 
 comes completely out of breath, and the arms hang power- 
 less with tUe exertion : the heat and suffocating stillness 
 of the air may have as much to do with this as the amount 
 of force exerted to push aside the yielding, rustling mass. 
 
 Shortly after the rains cease in May, tiie grass, iiaving 
 flowered and attained its full growth, rapidly dries up 
 under the hot sun, and is then set on fire by the blacks, 
 forming the wonderful " Queimadas," literally *' burnings," 
 of the Portuguese, and " smokes " of the Eno;li8h in the 
 Bights. If only the leaves are sufficiently dry to catch 
 fire, the stems are left green, with a black ring at every 
 joint or base of the leaf, and the mass of whip-like stems 
 then looks like a forest of long porcupine quills. This is 
 very disagreeable to travel through, as the half-burnt 
 sterna spring back and cross in every direction behind the 
 
22 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 front bearer of the hammock, and poke into the traveller's 
 face, and thrash the hands when held up to save the 
 eyes from injury, and after a day's journey one ^ets quite 
 black, with eyes and throat sore and parched Jrom the 
 charcoal dust and fine alkaline ash. 
 
 When Ihcvgrass has become thoroughly dry, the efiect 
 of the " Queimada " is indescribably grand and striking. In 
 the daytime the line of fire is marked by a long cloud of 
 beautiful white steam-like smoke curling slowly up, dense 
 and high in the breathless air, in the most fantastic forms 
 against the clear blue sky. This cloud of smoke is closely 
 accompanied by a perfect flock of rapacious birds of every 
 size and description, from the magnificent eagle to the 
 smallest hawk, circling and sailing high and grandly in 
 the air, and now and then swooping down upon the 
 unfortunate rats, mice, and small animals, snakes, and 
 other reptiles, burnt and left exposed by the conflagration. 
 
 Near the blazing grass the scene is very fine, a deafening 
 noise is heard as of thousands of pistol shots, caused by 
 the imprisoned air bursting every joint of the long 
 stems, and the loud rush and crackling of the high sheet 
 of flame, as it catches and consumes the dry upright 
 straw. One is inspired with awe and a feeling of puny in- 
 significance before the irresistible march of the flames 
 that are rapidly destroying the enormous extent of the 
 dense, nearly impenetrable mass of vegetation covering 
 the surface of the country, leaving it peifectly bare with 
 the exception of a few charred root stumps.of grass^ and a 
 few stunted, scorched shrubs and trees. At night the 
 effect is wonderfully fine : the vast wall of fiie is seen over 
 hill and valley, as far as the eye can reach; above the 
 brilliant leaping flames, so bright in the clear atmosphere 
 of the tropical night, vast bodies of red sparks are shot up 
 hi<ih into the cloud of smoke, which is of the most magni- 
 ficent lurid hue from the reflection of the grand blaze 
 below. 
 
 No trees or shrubs are consumed by the burning of the 
 grasses, everything of a larger growth being too green 
 to take fire; a whitening or drying of the leaves is generally 
 
PHYSICAL GEOOHAPIIY. 23 
 
 the only effect even where tlie llglit annual creepers 
 growing on them have been consumed. Forest or jungle 
 in Angola, unlike other countries, never burns, and is 
 consequently the refuge of .all the larger animals and 
 birds from the " Queimadas," which are undoubtedly the 
 cause iu ^nany parts of Angola of the great scarcity of 
 animal and insect life which so strikes a traveller expecting 
 to meet everywhere the great abundance known to exist 
 in the interior. 
 
 Great is the alarm of the natives on the near approach 
 of these fires fo their towns, the whole population 
 turning out, and with branches of trees beating out the 
 fire. It is seldom, however, that their huts are consumed, 
 as the villages are generally situated in places where 
 trees and shrubs abound, and the different huts are mostly 
 separated by hedges of different species of Euphorbiacea?. 
 Many vilhiges are entirely surrounded by a thick belt 
 of these milky-juiced plants, effectually guarding them 
 from any chance of fire from the grass outside. Where 
 the huts are not thus protected, the danger, of course, 
 is very great, but the natives sometimes take the pre- 
 caution of setting fire to patches of the grass to clear a 
 space around the huts or village. There is no danger in 
 travelling from these grass fires, for, when they are seen 
 approaching, their rate of progress being slow, it is suffi- 
 cient to set fire to the dry grass to leeward to clear a 
 space in which to encamp in safety. 
 
 The change in vegetation is also accompanied by 
 difference of climate, but it is difficult to say whether they 
 react on each other, and if so, in what proportion. The 
 rains are very much more abundant and constant towards 
 the interior of the country, where the vegetation is 
 densest: on the coast the rains are generally very 
 deficient, and some seasons entirely fail; this is more 
 especially the case south of about 12° Lat., several suc- 
 cessive rainy seasons passing without a single drop of rain 
 falling. A three years' drought in the interior of Loanda 
 is still vividly remembered, the inhabitants, from their 
 improvident habits, perishing miserably by thousands from , 
 
24 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO, 
 
 starvation. In my mining explorations at Benguella I 
 was at Cuio under a cloudless sky for twenty-six months, 
 in the years 1863 and 1864, with hardly a drop of water 
 falling'. 
 
 I had under my charge at that time twenty-four white 
 men, and between 400 and 600 blacks at work on a 
 copper deposit, mining and carrying ore to the coast, 
 distant about four miles; and no one accustomed to a 
 constant sujiply of water, can imagine the anxiety and 
 work I had to go through to obtain the necessary amount 
 for that large number of thirsty people, very often barely 
 sufficient for drinking purposes ; no water fit for drinking 
 or cooking was to be had nearer than six miles, and as no 
 bullock carts could be employed, it had all to be carried 
 in kegs on men's shoulders, and by a troop of the most 
 miserable, small, idiotically stubborn donkeys that can 
 be imagined from the Cape de Yerde Islands. It ^vas 
 impossible always to be looking after the blacks told off 
 daily on water duty, and words cannot express the annoy- 
 ance and vexation that the rascals constantly caused us, 
 by getting drunk on the road, wilfully damaging the 
 kegs, selling the water to natives on their way back, 
 bringing the filthiest water out of muddy pools instead of 
 clear from the proper place, sleeping on the road, and 
 keeping all waiting, sometimes Avithout a drop of water, 
 very often till far into the night. This was no joke when, 
 we were thirsty, hungry, dusty, and tired, after a hot day's 
 work blasting rock, breaking up copper ore in the sun at 
 the mine in the bottom of a circular valley, where the 
 little air above seldom reached, and where the dazzling 
 white sand and gneiss rock, bare of nearly all vegetation, 
 reflected and intensified the glare and heat almost 
 unbearably in the hot season. 
 
 In going from north to south the character of the vege- 
 tation changes very insensibly from the River Congo to 
 Mossamedes. As far as Ambrizzette the Mateba palm 
 (Hyphcene Guineensis) is very abundant. This palm-tree, 
 unlike the oil-palm, which is only found near water, or in 
 rich soil, grows on the dry cliffs and country of the littoral 
 
PHYSICAL GEOQBAFHY, 25 
 
 region yery abundantly as far as about Ambriz. The 
 leaves of this palm-tree are employed to make small bags, 
 in which most of the ground nuts are exported from the 
 coast. The Cashew-tree (Anacardium occidentale) grows on 
 this part of the coast from Congo to Ambrizzette still more 
 abundantly, in many places there being hardly any other 
 tree or shrub ; it is also very plentiful again around Loanda, 
 bnt to the south it nearly disappears. A thin stemmy 
 Euphorbia, nearly leafless, is a principal feature of the 
 landscape about Loanda, and gives it a very dull and 
 arid appearance. The cactus-like, upright Euphorbia is 
 a notable characteristic of the whole coast of Angola. 
 
 South of Benguella the country is extremely arid, the 
 gneis-J., gypsum, and basalt, of which it is principally com- 
 posed, appearing only to afford nourishment to a very 
 limited vegetation, both in number or species, principally 
 spiny trees and shrubs with numbers of dreadful recurved 
 prickles, nearly bare of leaves a great part of the year, — 
 and over immense tracts of very uneven ground even 
 these are scarce : only the gigantic Euphorbias, and the 
 stunted roots of grass sparingly distributed, break the 
 monotony of a silent, dry, rocky desert. 
 
 A yery curious creeper, a species of Cas.sytha, is ex- 
 tremely abundant in Benguella, covering the shrubs and 
 small trees closely with its network of leafless string-like 
 stems. The Sanseviera Angolensis is very plentiful all 
 over the littoral region of Angola ; the flat-leaved species 
 {8. longiflora) is only noticed north from Ambriz to Congo, 
 and only growing very near the sea : the 8. Angolensis is 
 but rarely seen with it, and it is very curious how dis- 
 tinctly these two species are separated. In the immediate 
 vicinity of all the rivers and streams of Angola the 
 vegetation is, as might be expected, generally very luxu- 
 riant, particularly north of Benguella. 
 
 The total absence of horned cattle among the natives 
 on the coast, from the Kiver Congo to south of tlie 
 Kiver Quanza, is very remarkable; due, I believe, as 
 much to some influence of climate, or poisonous or irritant 
 nature of the vegetation, as to the neglect of the natives 
 
20 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 to breed them, though a few small herds of cattle to be 
 seen at Ambrizzette and Quissembo belonging to the 
 Avhite traders, and brought by the natives i'ar from tlie 
 interior, appear to thrive very well, and several Portu- 
 guese have bred fine herds at the Kiver Loge, about three 
 miles from Ambiiz; they would not thrive, however, at 
 Bern be, where those that were purcliased from the ivory 
 caravans from the interior gradually became thin and 
 died. The natives south of the Quanza beyond the Quis- 
 sama country, as far as Mossamrdes, breed large numbers 
 of cattle — their principal wealth, in fact, consisting of 
 tlieir herds. The district of Loanda cannot supply itself 
 with cattle sufficient for its moderate consumption, a 
 large proportion having to be brought from Cambambe 
 and Pungo Andongo, and even much farther from the 
 interior. 
 
 South of the Congo there is only one navigable river, 
 the Quanza, in 9° 20' S., and even the bar and mouth of 
 this are shifty, and so shallow as only to admit vessels 
 drawing not more than five or six feet of water, and this 
 only at high tides. The Kivers Dande and Bengo are 
 only navigable by barges for a few miles ; others, such as 
 the Ambrizzette, Loge, Novo Pcdondo, Quicombo, Egito, 
 Anha, Catumbella, and Luache, barely admit the entrance 
 of a canoe, and their bars are often closed for a consider- 
 able time in the dry season ; the beds of others are com- 
 pletely dried up for miles inland at that time of the year, 
 and it is very curious to see the level sandy bed without 
 water between the luxuriant and creeper-covered banks, 
 and the borders of sedge and grass. 
 
 Although dry on the surface, cool delicious water is met 
 with at a few inches below. I shall never forget, on my 
 first journey into Cambambe, the haste with which we 
 puslied forward, on an intensely hot morning, in order to 
 arrive at the Eiver Mucozo, a small stream running into 
 the Quanza. We had encamped the night before at a 
 place where only a small supply of water was to be had 
 from a filthy and muddy hole, and so thick and ochrey 
 was it that, even after boiling and straining, it was nearly 
 
rnrsTCAL geograpet. 27 
 
 iindrinkable ; on reaching the high bank^ t)f the Mucozo, 
 great was my disappointment to see the bed of the 
 river one long expanse of dry sand shining in the hot sun, 
 and my hope of water, as I thought, gone ! Not so the 
 blacks, who raised a loud shout as they caught sight of it, 
 dashed in a race down the banks, and throwing them- 
 selves on the sand quickly scooped out a hole about 
 six inches deep with their hands, and lying flat on their 
 bellies stuck their faces in it, and seemed never to finish 
 drinking to their hearts' content the inexpre.'^sibly refresh- 
 ing, cool, filtered water. After having only dirty and thick 
 water to drink, not improved by coffee or bad rum, after 
 a long, hot day's journey, tired and exhausted, the ground 
 for a bed, mosquitoes, and a smoky fire on each side to 
 keep them off, fleas and other biting things from the sand, 
 that nip and sting but are not seen or caught, snatches of 
 sleep, feverish awakening in the morning, with parched 
 mouth, the perspiration dried on the face and skin, gritty 
 and crystallized and salt to the feel and taste, no water 
 to drink or wash with, the sun out and shining strong 
 again almost as soon as it is daylight, and hurry, hurry, 
 through dry grass and sand without a breath of air, and 
 Avith the thermometer at 90° in the shade, for four or five 
 hours before we reached the Mucozo — it was no wonder I 
 was disinclined to move from the place till the afternoon 
 came, and the great heat of the day was passed ; or that I 
 thought the water, fresh and cold from its clean sandy bed, 
 the most delicious drink that could be imaginefl ! 
 
 The delight of a drink of pure cold water in hot climates 
 has over and over again been described by all travellers, 
 but it is impossible to realize it fully without experiencing 
 the sensations that precede and cause the thirst that only 
 cold water seems to satisfy. 
 
 The liiver Luache, at Dombe Grande, near the sea, in 
 the province of Benguella, is dry for some miles inland 
 every year, and its bed of pure, clean, deep sand is as 
 much as half a mile broad at that place. Tlie first great 
 rains in the interior generally come down the dry beds of 
 these rivers suddenly, like a great torrent or wave, and I 
 
28 ANGOLA AND THE UIVER CONGO. 
 
 was fortunate enough to be at Dombe Grande once when 
 the water came down the Luache from the interior. It 
 was a grand sight to see a wave the whole breadth of the 
 river, and I shor.ld judge about eight feet high, driving 
 befoie and carrying with it an immense mass of trees and 
 branches, roots, sedges, and grasses all confused and rol- 
 ling irresistibly to the sea, with a dull rushing roar, quite 
 unlike the noise one would imagine a body of water to 
 make, but more like a rush of rocks down a mountain in 
 the distance; and very strange and agreeable was the 
 change in the landscape — a broad desert of white sand 
 suddenly transformed into a vast running river of fresh 
 water, bringing gladness to all living things. 
 
 The sandy bars of some of the other small rivers of 
 Angola become closed sometimes for several months, but 
 the stream remains of about the sam« volume, or opens 
 out into a pool or lake, or partly dries up into lovely 
 sedgy pools inhabited by wildfowl of various kinds, and 
 fields of beautiful aquatic grasses and papyrus plants, in 
 which I have often seen caught by hand the singular fresh- 
 water fish *'Bagre" (Clarias Capensis, Bagrus, &c.) vigor- 
 ously alive, left behind by the diminishing waters, in 
 grassy swampy places where the foot hardly sank ankle 
 deep in water, and where it was certainly not deep enough 
 to cover them. The dry sandy beds of rivers in the rain- 
 less season are often completely covered with a magnificent 
 growth of the Palma Christi, or Castor Oil plant, with 
 its beautiful large leaves. This I have noticed more 
 particularly in the district of Kovo Eedondo and Ben- 
 guella. 
 
 Sharks, so frightfully dangerous in the surf of the West 
 Coast, are unknown south of the Eiver Congo. I have 
 never iieard of a person being attacked by one, although 
 at Loanda the white population bathe off the island in 
 front of the town, and blacks dabble about in the sea 
 everywhere, and swim to and from the boats and barges. 
 
 No strikingly high mountain, I believe, exists in An- 
 gola ; no hills of any great importance till we arrive at 
 the first rise, which, as we have seen, extends the whole 
 
PHYSICAL OEOGRAPEY. 29 
 
 length of Angola at a distance of from thirty to sixty miles 
 from the sea. The second and third elevations contain 
 some line mountain or hill ranges, as at Bembe, Pungo 
 Andongo, Cazengo, Mucellis, and Capangombe. To the 
 south of Benguella as far as Mossamedes flat-topped or 
 table hills, perfectly bare of vegetation, are a very promi- 
 nent feature, seen from the sea ; they are of basalt, and 
 are about 200 or J300 feet in height, and are in many 
 places the only remains left of a higher level. In others, 
 this higher level still exists for a considerable extent, 
 deeply cut by narrow gorges and ravines leading towards 
 the sea, with nearly perpendicular sides. 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE EIVER CONGO A BOUNDARY — SLAVE TRADE — SLAVERY 
 — ORDEAL BY POISON — INSENSIBILITY OF THE NEGRO — 
 INGRATITUDE. 
 
 The River Congo, or Zaire, is a very striking and well- 
 marked line of division or boundary, in respect of climate, 
 fauna, natives and customs, between Angola and the rest 
 of the West Coast. 
 
 The difference in the scenery and vegetation from those 
 of the north is very great indeed, and not less so is that 
 of the birds and animals. I have noticed enough to con- 
 vince me that it would well repay a naturalist to investi- 
 gate the number of species this river cuts off, as it were, 
 from Angola; the gorilla and chimpanzee, for instance, 
 are only known north of the Congo; they are found at 
 Loan go and Landana, and from reports of the natives, 
 even near to the river itself; many species of monkeys, 
 very abundant at Cabinda and on the north bank, are 
 quite unknown in Angola ; and the ordinary grey parrot, 
 which is to be seen in flocks on the Congo, is also un- 
 known to the south — the only exception to this rule, as 
 far as I have been able to ascertain, being at Cassange, 
 about 300 miles to the interior of Loanda, where the rare 
 "King parrat," with red feathers irregularly distributed 
 among the grey ones, is not uncommon. Of small birds I 
 have noticed many at Cabinda that I never observed in 
 Angola ; the same with butterflies, and other insects. 
 
 The Congo is very deep, and the current is always very 
 strong; even above Boma (or M'Boraa), about ninety miles 
 distant from the sea, the river is a vast body of water, 
 and the current still very swift. From the mouth to 
 beyond this place the banks are deeply cut into in- 
 
THE RIVER CONGO A BOUNDARY. 31 
 
 numerable creeks and rivers, and form many large islands. 
 The enormous quantity of fresh water poured by this 
 river into the sea gives rise to many curious speculations 
 as to its extent and probable sources. I am inclined to 
 believe that the River Congo, or its principal branch, 
 after going in a north-east direction for a comparatively 
 short distance, bends to the southward, and will be found 
 to run for many degrees in that direction. 
 
 In the preceding chapter we have seen that south of 
 the Congo no river deserving of that name, or draining 
 more than the country up to the third elevation, exists 
 in Angola. The vast country from the River Congo to 
 perhaps the Orange River, or about 1200 miles, has there- 
 fore no outfall for its waters into the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 The existence of volcanic rocks in Cambambe and 
 Mossamedes appears to explain the elevation of this part 
 of the coast ; how much farther to the south this eleva- 
 tion has taken place is as yet unknown, and I can only 
 reconcile the vast body of water of the River Congo with 
 the absence of any large river farther south, by supposing 
 it to bend down and drain the long line of country up- 
 heaved on the sea-board : it is not likely to drain much 
 country to the north from the existence of several rivers 
 such as the Chiloango, Quillo, Massabi, and Mayumba, in 
 a distance of about 360 miles from its mouth to that of 
 the River Gaboon under the Equator. 
 
 For many years, and up to about the year 1868, the 
 Congo was the principal shipping place for slaves on the 
 South-West Coast, the large number of creeks in it 
 affording safe hiding-places for loading the ships engaged 
 in the traffic, and the swift current enabling them to go 
 out quickly a long way to sea, and clear the line of 
 cruisers. Boma was the centre or point for the caravans 
 of slaves coming from different parts of the interior, and 
 there was little or no trade in produce. 
 
 It may not be out of place here to say a few words on 
 the slave-trade of the South Coast, because a great deal of 
 ignorance and misconception exists on the subject from 
 iudging of it as having been similar to the slave-trade in 
 
32 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEB CONGO. 
 
 Horth and East Africa. Repugnant and wicked as is the 
 idea of slavery and dealing in human flesh, philanthropy 
 must be debited with an amount of unknowing cruelty and 
 wholesale sacrifice of life perfectly awful to contemplate, 
 as a set-off against its well-intentioned and successful 
 efforts to put a stop to slavery and the known horrors of 
 the middle passage, and subsequent ill-treatment at the 
 hands of the planters. 
 
 In no part of Angola or among tribes to the interior 
 have slave-hunts ever existed as in the north ; there are 
 no powerful or more civilized nations making war on 
 weaker tribes for the purpose of obtaining slaves, and 
 devastating the country by lire and sword. There is very 
 little cruelty attending the state of slavery among the 
 natives of Angola, I believe I may say even in the 
 greater part of the rest of tropical Africa, but I will 
 restrict myself to the part of which I have an intimate 
 knowledge. It is a domestic institution, and has existed, as 
 at present, since time immemorial ; and there is no more 
 disgrace or discredit in having been born of slave parents, 
 and consequently in being a slave, than there is in Europe 
 in being born of dependents or servants of an ancestral 
 Louse, and continuing in its service in the same manner. 
 
 There is something patriarchal in the state of bondage 
 among the negroes, if we look at it from an African 
 point of view (1 must again impress on my readers 
 that all my remarks apply to Angola). The free man, 
 or owner, and his wile, have to supply their slaves 
 with proper food and clothing, to tend them in sickness 
 as their own children, to get them husbands or Avives, 
 as the case may be, to supply them with the means 
 of celebrating their festivals, such as their marriages, 
 births, or burials, in nearly the same way as amongst 
 themselves, the slaves, in fact, are considered as their 
 family, and are always spoken of as " m.y son," or " my 
 daughter." If the daughters of slaves are chosen as 
 ">vives or concubines by their owners or other fjee men, it 
 is considered an honour, and taeir children, though looked 
 upon as slaves, are entitled to special consideration. 
 
THE SLA VE TRADE. 33 
 
 There is consequently no cruelty or hardship attending 
 tlie state of slavery ; a male slave cannot be made 
 by his master to cultivate the ground, which is women's 
 \York, and the mistress and her slaves till the ground 
 together. 
 
 A stranger set down in Angola, and not aware of the 
 existence of slavery, would hardly discover that such an 
 institution prevailed so universally amongst them, so little 
 apparent difference is there between the master and slave. 
 A not very dissimilar condition of things existed in tlie 
 feudal times in England and other countries. Yet many 
 hundred thousand slaves were brought down to the coast to 
 be sold to the white men and shipped off, and I will now 
 explain how this was the case, paradoxical though it may 
 appear after what I have just said. The number was 
 partly made up of surplus slave population sold oif by the 
 owners, probably fiom inability to feed or clothe them ; 
 cases of famine from failure of the crops, from drought, &c., 
 a common local occurrence, also supplied large numl)ers 
 of slaves; but by far the greatest part were furnished 
 by the effect of their own laws, almost every offence being 
 punishable by slavery, to which not only the guilty party, 
 but even in many cases every member of his family was 
 liable. 
 
 Offences against property are especially visited by the 
 severe penalties of slavery, fine, or death. Any one caught 
 in the act of stealing, be the amount ever so small, becomes 
 at once the property or slave of the person robbed. It is 
 a common thing to see blacks working in chains at fac- 
 tories and houses where they have been caught stealing, 
 the custom among the Europeans generally being to detain 
 them until their relatives shall have paid a ransom for 
 them. I must do the natives the justice to say that they 
 are very observant of their own laws, even to a white man 
 alone in their territory, who claims their protection against 
 offenders. Certain offences that we should consider trifling, 
 are by some tribes visited with heavy punishment, such 
 as stealing Indian corn whilst growing, or an e^g frcra 
 under a sitting hen. In other tribes breaking a plato 
 
 D 
 
34 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 or other article of crockery is a great offence : this is 
 especially the case to the interior of Novo Eedondo, Avliere 
 the punishment is death or slavery. 
 
 I was told there of the amusing manner in uhicli a 
 Portuguese trader turned the tables on a Soba, or chief of 
 a town, where he had established himself, and who an- 
 noyed him greatly by his constant demands for presents, 
 by plucing a cracked plate under a sheet on his bed, on 
 which the Soba was in the habit of sitting during his too 
 frequent visits. On the Soba sitting down as usual, on 
 the trap prepared for him, he, of course, smashed the plate 
 to atoms, to his great surprise; frightened at the possible 
 result of the accident, he humbly begged the trader not to 
 let a soul in the place know of it, promising restitution ; 
 the wished-for result of the scheme was attained, as he 
 ceased all his importunities during the remainder of the 
 trader's stay in the country. - 
 
 But all these sources of slaves for shipment were but a 
 fraction of the number supplied by their belief in witch- 
 craft. Witchcraft is their principal, or only belief; every 
 thing that happens has been brought about by it; all 
 cases of drought, sickness, death, blight, accident, and 
 even the most trivial circumstances are ascribed to the evil 
 influence of witchery or " fetish." 
 
 A " fetish " man is consulted, and some poor unfortunate 
 accused and either killed at once or sold into slavery, and, 
 in most cases, all his family as well, and every scrap of 
 tlieir property confiscated and divided amongst the whole 
 town ; in other cases,^ however, a heavy fine is imposed, 
 and inability to pay it also entails slavery ; the option of 
 trial by ordeal is sometimes afforded the accused, who 
 often eagerly demand it, such is their firm belief in it. 
 
 This extremely curious and interesting ordeal is by 
 poison, which is prepared from the thick, hard bark of a 
 laige tree, tlie ilrythro^lilveum Guineense (Oliver, * Flora 
 of Tropical Africa,' ii. 320). Dr. Brunton has exa- 
 mined the properties of this bark, and finds that it pos- 
 sesses a very remarkable action. The powder, when 
 inhaled, causes violent sneezing; the aqueous extract, 
 
ORDEAL BY POISON. 35 
 
 when injected under the skin of animals, causes vomiting, 
 and has a remarkable effect upon the vagus iierve, which 
 it first irritates and then paralyses. The irritation of this 
 nerve makes tlie he »rt beat slowly. (Fuller details may 
 be found in the * Proceedings of the Koyal Society ' for 
 this year.) 
 
 It is called *'casca" by the natives, and I obtained a 
 specimen at Bembe, whicli was brought to me concealed in 
 rags, by a half-witted water-carrier in my service, and he 
 procured it for me only after my promising him that I 
 would not tell anyone. He said it was from a tree growing 
 about half a day's journey off, but I could not get him to 
 take me to it. The other blacks denied all knowledge of it, 
 and said it was " fetish " for anyone to have it in his pos- 
 session. On two occasions afterwards, I obtained some more 
 specimens from natives of Cabinda, where the tree is 
 said to be abundant, and the natives very fond of re- 
 ferring all their disputes and accusations to its decision. 
 
 " Casca " is prepared by the bark being ground on a stone 
 to a fine powder, and mixed with about half a pint of cold 
 water, a piece about two inches square being said to be a 
 dose. It either acts as an emetic or as a purgative ; should 
 the former effect take place, the accused is declared in- 
 nocent, if the latter, he is at once considered guilty, and 
 either allowed to die of the poison, which is said to be 
 quick in its action, or immediately attacked . with sticks 
 and clubs, his head cut off and his body burnt. 
 
 All the natives I inquired of agreed in their description 
 of the effect produced on a person poisoned by this bark; 
 his limbs are first affected and he loses all power over 
 them, falls to the ground, and dies quickly ; without much 
 apparent suffering. 
 
 It is said to be in the power of the "fetish" man to 
 prepare the " casca" mixture in such a manner as to deter- 
 mine w hich of the effects mentioned shall be produced ; in 
 case of a dispute, both parties drink it, and according as 
 he allows the mixture to settle, and gives one the clear 
 liquid and the other the dregs, so does it produce vomiting 
 in the former, and acts as a purgative in the latter case. 
 
 D 2 
 
3G ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO, 
 
 I have very little doubt that as the " fetish " man is bribed 
 or not, so he can and does prepare it. 
 
 The Portuguese in Angola strictly prohibit the use of 
 " casca," and severely punish any natives concerned in a 
 trial by this bark, but it is nevertheless practised in secret 
 everywhere. 
 
 The occasion of the test is one of great excitement, and 
 is accompanied by much cruelty. In some tribes the 
 accused, after drinking the potion, has to stoop and pass 
 under half-a-dozen low arches made by bending switches 
 and sticking both ends into the ground ; should he fall 
 down in passing under any of the arches, tliat circum- 
 stance alone is sufficient to prove him guilty, without 
 waiting for the purgative effect to be produced. 
 
 Before the trial the accused is confined in a hut, closely 
 guarded, and the night before it is surrounded by all the 
 women and children of the neighbouring towns, dancing 
 and singing to the horrid din of their drums and rattles. 
 On the occasion of the ordeal the men are all armed with 
 knives, matchets, and sticks, and the moment the poor 
 devil stumbles in going under one of the switches, he is 
 instantly set upon by the howling multitude and beaten to 
 death, and cut and hacked to pieces in a few minutes. I 
 was at Mangue Grande on one occasion when a big dance 
 was going on the night before a poor wretch was to take 
 *' casca." I went to the town with some of the traders at 
 that place, and we offered to ransom him, but to no pur- 
 pose ; nothing, they said, could save him from the trial. 
 I learnt, however, that he passed it successfully, but I 
 think I never heard such a hideous yelling as the 400 or 
 500 women and children were making round the hut, 
 almost all with their faces and bodies painted red and 
 white, dancing in a perfect cloud of dust, and the whole 
 scene illuminated by lllazing fires of dry grass under a 
 starlit summer sky. 
 
 The most insignificant and extraordinary circumstances 
 are made the subject of accusations of witchcraft, and en- 
 tail the usual penalties. 
 
 I was at Ambrizzette when three Cabinda women had 
 
OUDEAL BY POISON. 37 
 
 been to the river with their pots for water ; all three were 
 fillmg them from the stream together, when the middle one 
 was snapped up by an alh'gator, and instantly carried away 
 under the surface of the water, and of course devoured. 
 The relatives of the poor woman at once accused the other 
 two of bewitching her, and causing tlie alh'gator to take 
 her out of their midst! When I remonstrated with them, 
 and attempted to show them the utter absurdity of the 
 charge, tlieir answer was, "Why did not the alligator take 
 one of the end ones then, and not the one in the middle ? " 
 and out of this idea it was impossible to move them, and 
 the poor women were both to take *' casca." I never heard 
 the result, but most likely one or both were either killed 
 or passed into slavery. 
 
 At a place near the mountain range of Pungo Andongo, 
 about 150 miles inland of Loanda, I was once the amused 
 spectator at a curious trial of a man for bewitching the 
 spirit of his dead wife. Her sister, it appeared, suffered 
 from violent headaches, and sleepless nights, which were 
 said to be caused by the wife's spirit being unable to 
 rest, on account of the widower being a wizard. A 
 large circle of spectators was formed round the sick 
 sister, who was squatting on the ground; a fetish man 
 was beating a drum, and singing, or rather droning, 
 some incantation ; after a little while, the woman began to 
 give short yelps, and to close her eyes, and on being inter- 
 rogated by the fetish man, said the spirit of her sister had 
 spoken to her, and that she could not rest until her 
 husband had made restitution of her two goats and her 
 baskets, &c., which he had appropriated, and which she 
 had desired should be given to her sister. The man 
 instantly rose, and brought the goats, baskets, clothes, 
 &c., and laid them before his sister-in-law, and the trial 
 was over. If he had denied the accusation, he would 
 inevitably have had to take " casca." 
 
 When we consider the great population of the vast 
 country that supplied the slave trade of the coast, and 
 that, as I have explained, the state of their laws and cus- 
 toms renders all transgressions liable to slavery, the 
 
38 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 absence of necessity for the slave wars and hunts of the 
 north of Africa and other extensive and thinly populated 
 districts is sufficiently proved. I have been unable to 
 collect positive information as to the statistics of the 
 slaves shipped in Angola (from Congo to Benguella inclu- 
 sively), but the number could not have been far short of 
 lOOjOUO per annum. I was told by some of the old inha- 
 bitants, that to see as many as ten to twelve vessels loading 
 at a time at Loanda and Benguella was a common occur- 
 rence. At the time of the last shipments from Benguella, 
 about ten years ago, I have seen as many as 1000 slaves 
 arrive in one caravan from the interior, principally from 
 Bih6. 
 
 Up to within a very few years there existed a marble 
 arm-chair on the wharf at the custom-house at Loanda, 
 where the bishop, in the slave-trading times, was wont to 
 sit, to baptize and bless the batches of poor wretches as 
 they were sent off in barge-loads to the vessels in the har- 
 bour. The great slaughter now going on in a great part 
 of Africa, which I have mentioned as the result of the sup- 
 pression of the slave shipments from the coast, can now be 
 understood ; whereas formerly they were sent to the coast 
 to be sold to the white men and exported, they are now 
 simply murdered. On the road down from Bembe in 
 April last, we passed the ashes and bones of a black who 
 had stolen a trade-knife, a bit of iron in a small wooden 
 handle, and made in Germany at the rate of a few shillings 
 per gross, and passed on the coast in trade ; on the top of 
 his staff was stuck his skull and the knife he had stolen, a 
 ghastly and lasting warning to passers-by of the strict 
 laws of the country respecting property. 
 
 If a famine overtakes any part of the country, a 
 common occurrence, the slaves are simply taken out and 
 knocked on the head to save them from starvation. I 
 was told by the natives that the slaves offered no re- 
 sistance to that fate, but accepted it as inevitable, and 
 preferable to the pangs of hunger, knowing that it was no 
 use going to the coast to save their lives at the hands of 
 the white men by being shipped as slaves. At Musserra, 
 
INSENSIBILITY OF THE NEGRO. 39 
 
 « — 
 
 three Cabinda blacks from tlie boats' crews joined three 
 natives in robbing one of the factories : on complaint being 
 made to the king and principal men of the town, they 
 marched off the three Cabindas, promising to punish them, 
 which they did by cutting off' their heads, unknown to 
 the white men; they then brought the three natives 
 to deliver up to tlie traders as their slaves, but on these 
 refusing to accept them, and demanding that a severe 
 punishment should also be passed on them, they quietly 
 tied a large stone to their necks, took them out in a 
 •canoe to the bay, and dropped them into the sea. 
 
 It is impossible to reclaim tlie hordes of savages in- 
 habiting the interior even of An2;ola from their horrid 
 customs and their disregard for life ; the insalubrity of 
 the country, though it is infinitely superior in this respect 
 to the rest of the West Coast, would be an almost in- 
 superable bar to their improvement ; their own progress 
 is still more hopeless. In my opinion, it would be neces- 
 sary that tropical Africa should undergo a total physical 
 revolution, that the long line of unhealthy coast should 
 be upheaved, and the deadly leagues of pestiferous swamps 
 be thus drained, before the country would be fitted for the 
 existence of a higher type of mankind than the present 
 negro race. 
 
 It can only have been by countless ages of battling 
 with malaria, that they have been reduced physically and 
 morally to their present wonderful state or condition of 
 withstanding successfully the climatic influences, so fatal 
 to the white and more highly organized race — the sun 
 and fevers of their malignant and dismal mangrove 
 swamps, or the mists and agues of their magniticent 
 tropical forests, no more affecting them than they do 
 the alligators and countless mosquitoes that swarm 
 in the former, or the monkeys and snakes that inhabit 
 the latter. It is really astonishing to see the naked 
 negro, without a particle of covering on his head (often 
 shaved), in the full blaze of the fierce sun, his daily food 
 a few handfuls of ground-nuts, beans, or mandioca-root, 
 and very often most unwholesome water for drink. At 
 
40 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 niglit he throws himself on the ground, anywhere, covers 
 himself with a thin grass or cotton cloth, nearly tran- 
 sparent in texture, without a pillow, like a dog, and 
 awakes in the morning generally wet through with the 
 heavy dew, and does not suffer the least pain or incon- 
 venience from the climate from infancy to ohl age unless 
 his lungs become affected. 
 
 The way babies are treated would be enough to kill a 
 white child. The women when at work on the plantations 
 generally place them on a heap of grass or on the ground, 
 and are not at all particular to put them in the shade, and 
 I have often seen them naked and filthy, and covered with 
 a thick mass of large buzzing flies over their faces and 
 bodies, fast asleep, with the sun shining full on them. 
 The women, in carrying them tied behind their backs, 
 seldom include their little heads in the cloth that secures 
 them, but leave them to swing and loll about helplessly in 
 every direction with the movement of walking. 
 
 Children, of any age, seldom cry, and when they do it 
 is a kind of howl ; when hurt or punished, they very rarely 
 shed tears, or sob, but keep up a monotonous noise, which 
 would never be imagined to be the crying of a child, but 
 rather a song. 
 
 I once saw, in one of the market-places in Loanda, a 
 boy of about sixteen lying on the ground, nearly naked, 
 with his face and body covered wnth flies, but none of the 
 busy thronging crowd had thought that he was dead and 
 stiff, as I discovered when I touched him with my foot, 
 but thought he was simply asleep and basking in the 
 sun : his being covered with flies was too trivial a circum- 
 stance to attract any attention. 
 
 The manner in which negroes receive most severe 
 wounds, with apparently little pain and absence of ner- 
 vous shock, is most extraordinary. I have often been 
 told of this by the Portuguese surgeons, who remark 
 the absence of shock to the system with which negroes 
 undergo amputations and other severe operations (without 
 chloroform), which are attended by so much danger to the 
 white race. I was staying at Ambrizzette when a man 
 
INSENSIBILITY OF THE NEGRO. 41 
 
 carao there with his right hand blown to a mass of shreds, 
 from the explosion of a gun-barrel ; he was accompanied 
 by his relatives, who took him to the different factories to 
 beg the white men to cut off the hanging shreds of flesh 
 and dress the injured part. All refused to attend to the 
 man, till a Frenchman gave them a sharp razor, arnica, 
 and balsam, and some bandages, and made them go out of 
 the house and enclosure to operate on the sufferer them- 
 selves, away from the factories ; which they did. About 
 an hour after I was passing a group of natives sitting 
 round a fire, and amongst them was the wounded man 
 laughing and joking quite at his ease, and with his left 
 hand roasting ground-nuts with the rest, as if nothing had 
 happened to him. 
 
 The reason tlie white men refused to help the wounded 
 black was not from want of charity or pity, as all would have 
 done everything in their power to alleviate his sufferings, 
 but it was the singular custom of the natives that prevented 
 their doing so. Had he died, the white man who ministered 
 to him would have been made responsible for his death, and 
 would have been almost as heavily fined as if he had mur- 
 dered him ! If he got well, as he did, his benefactor would 
 have been inconvenienced by heavy demands for his- main- 
 tenance and clothing, and expected to make presents to the 
 king, &c., for he would be looked upon as having saved 
 his life, and consequently bound to support him, to a 
 certain extent, as he was, though alive, unable from the 
 accident, to get his own living as readily as if he v.ere 
 uninjured. The Frenchman got over this risk by giving 
 the remedies, not to the wounded black himself, Jbut to 
 his friends, and also making them clear out of the 
 precincts of the house ; so that in no case, whether the 
 man died or lived, could any claim be made against him. 
 
 The only way to put a stop to the awful bloodshed now 
 going on in the interior would be to organize an emigration 
 scheme, under the direct supervision of the several govern- 
 ments who have entered into treaties for the abolition of 
 slavery, and transport the poor wretches, now being mur- 
 dered in cold blood by thousands, to tropical climates 
 
42 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 where lliey might earn their living by the cultivation of 
 those articles necessary for consumption in civilized 
 (>*oiintries ; their constitution would enable them to resist 
 the climate, and they would gradually become civih'zed. 
 
 One great bar to their civilization in Angola, is that no 
 tribe on the coast can be induced to work for wages, except 
 as servants in houses and stores, and even these are mostly 
 slaves of other natives, or work to pay off some fine or 
 penalty incurred in their towns. For some years that I 
 Slave been collecting the inner bark of the Adansonia 
 digitata, or Baobab tree (the applic ition of which to 
 paper-making I discovered in 1858, and commenced 
 working as a commercial speculation in 1865), I have 
 been unable to induce one single native to hire himself 
 to work by day or piecework ; they will cut, prepare, and 
 dry it, and bring it ibr sale, but nothing will induce them 
 to hire themselves, or their slaves, to a white man. 
 
 There are at present in Angola several sugar and cotton 
 plantations worke 1 by slaves, called at present *•' libertos," 
 who are meant by the Portuguese Government to work 
 ten years, as a compensation to their owners for the capital 
 expended in their purchase and for their clothing, educa- 
 tion and medical treatment. At a near date, the total 
 abolition of slavery in Angola has been decreed, and will 
 come into force ; with the inevitable result of the ruin 
 of the plantations, or of its becoming a dead letter in 
 the province*. 
 
 By the native laws, a black once sold as a slave, and 
 escaping back to his tribe, is considered a free man, so 
 that a planter at present has no hold on his slaves; if 
 they escape into the neighbouring towns, the natives 
 will only deliver them up on the payment of a certain 
 amount, very often more than he had cost in the first 
 instance. 
 
 No amount of kindness or good done to a negro will 
 have the slightest inflwence in preventing him from 
 leaving his benefactor without as much as a '* good-bye," 
 or a shadow of an excuse, and very often going from a 
 pampered existence to the certainty of the hard fare and 
 
INQRATITUDE. 43 
 
 life of their free condition, and this, not from the sh'ghtest 
 idea of love of freedom, or anything of the kind, but 
 simply from an animal instinct to live a lazy and vegeta- 
 tive existence. 
 
 When I was at Cuio, working a copper deposit, a 
 black called Firmino, the slave of a Portuguese there, 
 attached himself very much to me, and was, seemingly, 
 never so happy as when accompanying me in my trips 
 and rambles, and not from any payment I gave him, 
 beyond a small and occasional present. When his master 
 was leaving tlie place, Firmino came crying to me, begging 
 me to buy him, that he might remain in my service as 
 my slave, promising that he would never leave me. 
 
 His master generally treating him with harshness, if 
 not cruelty, I took pity on him, and gave 13Z. 10s. for him, 
 a high and fancy price there, but he was considered worth 
 it from his great size and strength, his speaking Portuguese 
 perfectly, and good qualities generally. 
 
 I explamed to him that although I had bought him, he 
 was a free man, and could go at once if he liked ; but that 
 as long as he ren)ained in my service as my personal at- 
 tendant, he should have clothes and pay. He went on 
 his knees to thank me and to swear in negro fashion, by 
 making a cross in the dust with his forefinger, that he 
 would never leave me. A fortnight after, having to send 
 him with a bundle of clothes from Benguella to Cuio, he 
 delivered them to the person they were addressed to, 
 but joined three slaves in stealing a boat and saihng to 
 Loanda. 
 
 A month after 1 received a letter from the police there 
 advising me that a nigger called Firmino had been caught 
 with others in an extensive robbery, and claimed to be my 
 slave. I answered that he was no slave of mine, detailing 
 the circumstances of my freeing him, and asking that he 
 should be dealt with as he deserved. He was punished 
 and drafted as a soldier at Loanda, and on my meeting 
 him there one day and asking him his reason i'or leaving 
 me, and treating me so ungratefully, he said that "he did 
 not know why he had done so ;" and I do not believe he 
 
44 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 did, or ever tried to find out, or bothered his head any 
 more about it. • 
 
 It is no use dis2;uising the fact that the negro race is, 
 mentally, differently constituted from the white, however 
 disagreeable and opposed this may be to the usual and 
 prevailing, ideas in this country. I do not believe, and I 
 fearlessly assert, that there is hardly such a thing possible 
 as the sincere conversion of a single negro to Christianity 
 whilst in Africa, and under the powerful influence of their 
 fellows. No progress will be made in the condition of the 
 negro as long as the idea prevails that he can be reasoned 
 out of his ignorance and prejudices, and his belief in fetish, 
 or that he is the equal of the white man ; in fact, he must 
 remain the same as he is now, until we learn to know liim 
 properly, and what he really is. 
 
 Loanda was discovered in the year 1492, and since 1576 
 the'white race has never abandoned it. The Jesuits and 
 other missionaries did wonders in their time, and the results 
 of their great v/ork can be still noticed to this day : thousands 
 of the natives, for 200 miles to the interior, can read and 
 write very fairly, though there has hardly been a mission 
 or school, except in a very small way, at Loanda itself, for 
 many many years, but those accomplishments are all that 
 civilization or example has done amongst them. They all 
 believe firmly in their fetishes and charms, and though 
 generally treated with the utmost kindness and equality 
 by the Portuguese, the negro race, and even the mulattoes, 
 have never advanced further than to hold secondary ap- 
 pointments, as writers or clerks, in the public offices and 
 shops, and to appear (in public) in the most starched and 
 dandyfied condition. I can only recollect one black man 
 who had at all distinguished himself in trade ; keeping low 
 and filthy grog-shops being about the extent of their busi- 
 ness capacity. Another honourable exception is a Captain 
 Dias, who is the captain or governor of the district of the 
 ** Barra do Bengo," near Loanda, a very intelligent man, 
 and from whom 1 several times experienced great kindness 
 and hospitality. 
 
■BiiSli 
 
 i"'^!iit1:!:i?ii:::i'^:i|n!* itW'f 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 IS 
 MMmmJij 
 
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( 45 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE EIVER CONGO — BANANA — PORTO DA LENHA — BOM A 
 — MUSSURONGO TRIBE — PIRATES — MUSHICONGO TRIBE 
 — FISH— PALM CHOP — PALM WINE. 
 
 At the mouth of the River Congo and on its north bank 
 a long spit of sand separates the sea from a small creek or 
 branch of the river. On this narrow strip, called Banana, 
 are established several factories, belonging to Dutch, 
 French, and English houses, and serving principally as 
 depots for their other factories higher up the river and on 
 the coast. The Dutch house especially is a large establish- 
 ment, and it was in one of their small steamers that my 
 wife and myself ascended the river in February 1873. 
 
 The first place we touched at was Porto da Lenha, about 
 forty or forty-five miles from Banana. The river banks up 
 to this point are sheer walls of large mangrove trees rising 
 out of the water ; at high water, particularly, hardly a dry 
 place can be seeu where one could land from a boat or 
 canoe. ^ The natives have, of course, openings known to 
 themselves, under and through the mangrove, where their 
 little canoes dart in and out. 
 
 Porto da Lenha (Plate II.) consists of half-a-dozen trading 
 factories, built on ground enclosed from the river by piles, 
 forming quays in front, where large vessels can dischar<2:e 
 and load close alongside. The wharves are continually 
 sinking, and have to be replaced by constant addition of 
 new piles and layers of thick fresh-water bivalve shells, 
 very abundant in the river. We here found growing in 
 the mud, and with the roots covered by tiie river at high 
 water, the lovely orchid '^ Lissochilus giganteus''' in full 
 bloom; we collected some of its roots, which reached 
 
46 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 England safely, and are now growing in Kew Gardens. 
 Several fine creepers were also in flower, and we observed 
 numerous butterflies, which were not easy to capture from 
 the difficulty of getting at them, as at the back of the 
 houses the dense bush grows out of swamp> and only those 
 specimens crossing the small dry space on which the houses 
 are built could be collected. Little creeks divide one 
 house from another; in some cases a plank bridge affords 
 communication, but it is mostly efiected by boats. A few 
 days before our arrival a flood had covered the w hole of the 
 ground with several inches of water. Considering the con- 
 ditions of the place, it does not seem to be so unhealthy 
 to Europeans as might be expected. Next day w^e pro- 
 ceeded to Boma, also situated on the north bank of the 
 river, about ninety-five miles from Banana. 
 
 Tiie scenery completely changes after leaving Porto da 
 Lenha, the mangrove totally disappears, and several kinds 
 of bright green bushes, interspersed with different palms 
 and trees, cover the banks for many miles. Near Boma, 
 however, the banks are higher, and become bare of trees 
 and shrubs, the whole country being comparatively free of 
 any other vegetation but high grass ; we have arrived, in 
 fact, at the grass-covered high country before mentioned 
 as beginning at the third elevation from the coast over 
 the wdiole of Angoln. 
 
 We were most hospitably received by a young Portu- 
 guese, Senhor Chaves, in charge of an English factory 
 there, picturesquely situated, overlooking the banks of the 
 river. A high hill opposite Boma and across the river is 
 covered from the top right down to the water's edge with 
 an impenetrable forest, and it is not easy to explain this 
 vegetation, as it stands in such singular relief to the com- 
 parative barrenness of the surrounding country, gigantic 
 Baobabs being the great ti-ee-feature of the place. We 
 crossed the river several times to this thickly-wooded liill, 
 and were only able to find ju.-t sufficient shore to land 
 under the branches of the trees, one of which (Loneho- 
 carpus sericeus) was in beautiful bloom. The current of 
 the river is so strong, and the stream so broad, that it 
 
BOM A. 47 
 
 took us balf-an-liour to get across in a good boat with ten 
 strong Kroomen paddling. 
 
 The view from a high hill on the north bank is magnifi- 
 cent.: a Biiccession of bends of the river, and as far as tlie 
 sight could reach, the flat country to the south and west 
 cut into innumerable islands and creeks, of the brightest 
 green of the water-grass and papyrus reed, divided by the 
 sunlit and quicksilver-like streams of the vast rapidly- 
 flowing river. 
 
 Boma, as before observed, was formerly the great slave- 
 trade mart, thousands arriving from all quarters of the 
 interior ; they generally carried a load of provisions, 
 chiefly small beans, a species of the haricot, for sale to 
 the traders, and on which the slaves were chiefly fed, 
 in the barracoons and on board the vessels in which they 
 were shipped, and the Congo used in this way to su[)ply 
 the coast, even to Loanda, with abundance of beans, 
 raandioca-meal, &c. ; but since the cessation of the slave- 
 trade there has been such great scarcity of native grown 
 food produce, not only in the river but everywhere on the 
 coast — the cultivation of other products, such as ground- 
 nuts, being of greater advantage to the natives — that 
 Europeans are sometimes reduced to great straits for 
 food for the natives in their service, and even for the 
 fowls. This is one of the curious changes produced in 
 the country by the abolition of the slave-trade. A very 
 large trade quickly sprang up at Boma in ground-nuts, 
 palm-oil, palm-kernels, &c. ; but a foolish competition 
 amongst the white traders has induced them to go higher 
 up the river to trade; the consequence has been that 
 Boma, so capitally situated in every way for a trading 
 station, is now nearly reduced to a depot for produce 
 brought from liirther up the river. 
 
 We were a fortnight at Boma, but were greatly dis- 
 appointed at the small number of species of insects wo 
 collected, and the poverty in plants as well. All the 
 lovely coloured finches and other birds of the grassy 
 regions were here most conspicuous in number and bril- 
 liancy, and it was re^^Jly beautiful to see the tall grass 
 
48 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEU CONGO. 
 
 alive with the brightest scarlet, yellow, orange, and velvet 
 black of the many different species, at that season in their 
 full plumage. 
 
 We were very much amused at a pretty hnbit of 
 the males of the tiny little sky-blue birds (Estrelda 
 cyanogastra) that, with other small birds such as the 
 Spermestes, Estreldas, Pytelias, &c., used to come down 
 ill flocks to feed in the open space round the house. The 
 little mites would take a grass flower in their beaks, 
 and perform quite a hoppy dance on any little stick or 
 bush, bobbing their feathery heads up and down, whilst 
 their tiny throats swelled with the sweetest little song- 
 notes and trills imaginable. This was their song to the 
 females, who were feeding about on the ground below 
 them. The long-tailed little whydah birds [Vidua jprin' 
 ci/palis) have a somewhat similar habit of showing off 
 whilst the hens are feeding on the ground ; they keep 
 hovering in the air about three or four feet above them, 
 twit-twitting all the time, their long tails rising and 
 falling most gracefully to the up-and-down motion of 
 their little bodies. 
 
 One Sunday during our stay Senhor Chaves organized 
 a pic-nic of the principal white traders to a native village 
 in the interior, where he had arranged that the nine kings 
 who govern Boma and receive "customs" from the traders, 
 should meet us, in order that he might make them each 
 a " dash " which he wished my wife to present, in com- 
 memoration of a white woman's visit. We started in 
 ham.mocks, and after about two hours' journey, arrived 
 at the place of meeting, where a gcod breakfast awaited 
 us. Our road was over hilly ground, rough and rocky 
 (mica schist), and was remarkably bare of vegetation; 
 we passed one or two large and well-cultivated ravines. 
 
 After breakfast the nine kings appeared on the scene, 
 and a miserable lot they were, with one exception, a fine 
 tall old grizzly negro ; their retinues were of the same de- 
 scription, and wretchedly clad. There was a big palaver, 
 the customary amount of rum was consumed by them, 
 and they each received, from my wife, their " dress " of 
 
BOM A. 49 
 
 several yards of cloth, piece of cotton handkerchiefs, red 
 baize sash, and red cotton niglitcap. One old fellow had 
 a Very curious old crucitix, which lie did not know the 
 age of; he could only tell that he was the fifth Soba or 
 kmg tliat had iidn rited it. It liad evidently belonged to 
 the old Catholic Portuguese missionaries of former times. 
 
 Crucitixes are often seen as *' fetishes " of the kings in 
 Angola. Nothing will induce them to part with them, as 
 they behmg to part of tlie "fetishes" that have been 
 handed down from king to king from time immemorial, 
 and mu4 not be lost or disposed of. 
 
 An amusinjj^ incident occurred on our way at a large 
 village, where a grent crowd, chiefly of women and 
 children, had collected to cheer the white woman, seen 
 for the first time in their lives. Mj hammock was a 
 little way behind, and on arriving at the village I was 
 met with great shouts and much shaking of hands; as 
 the other white men had not been similarly received, I 
 inquired the reason why, and was then informed that it 
 was to denote their satisfaction at seeing the " proprietor 
 or owner of the white woman," as they expressed it. 
 
 The natives here, in fact above Porto da Lenha, are 
 Mushicongos, and are not a bad set of blacks ; but, like all 
 this large tribe, are weak and puny in appearance, dirty 
 in their habits, and scanty of clothing. They have not 
 as yet allowed white men to pass from Poma, or any 
 other point of the river, to St. Salvador, and several 
 Portuguese who have wished to go from St. Salvador to 
 Porna have been dissuaded from attempting the journey 
 by the king and natives, not from any objection on their 
 parr, but Irom the certainty that the blacks near the 
 river would make them turn back. 
 
 There is a very great objection on the part of all the 
 tribes of the interior of Angola, and particularly of those 
 not in the actual territory held by the Portuguese, to 
 the passage of a white man through the country. This 
 is due in the first place to the natural distrust and sus- 
 picion of the negro character, and secondly to their fear 
 of the example of the occupation of Ambriz and the 
 
 E 
 
60 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEIl CONGO, 
 
 ]>embe mines by the Portuguese. It is impossible for 
 blacks to understand that a white man will tiavel for 
 curiosity's sake ; it is perfectly incomprehensible to them 
 that he should spend money in carriers, making presents, 
 &c., only for the pleasure of seeing the country ; they are 
 never satisfied without what they consider a good reason ; 
 consequently they always imagine it must be ior the purpose 
 of establishing a factory for trade, or else to observe the 
 country for its occupation thereafter. This is the reason 
 why natives will never give reliable information regai ding 
 even the simplest question of direction of roads, rivers, 
 distances, &:c. It is very difficult to obtain exact infor- 
 mation, and it is only after being very well acquainted 
 with them tliat their natural suspicions are lulled, and 
 they will freely afford the knowledge desired. 
 
 Their explanations of our object in collecting insects, 
 birds, and other objects of natural history were very 
 curious. Our statements that we did so to show in the 
 white man's country what plants, insects, birds, &c., were 
 to be found in Africa, as ours were so different, never 
 satisfied them ; they always thought that the specimens 
 must be worth a great deal of money amongst the white 
 men, or as others did not devote themselves to collecting, 
 it was to make *' fetishes " of them when we got home : 
 some, who considered themselves wiser than the others, 
 said it was to copy designs for the Manchester prints, and 
 that they would see the flowers, butterflies, and birds, copied 
 on the trade cloth as soon as I got back to my country. 
 
 Their idea of my manufacturing the specimens into 
 "fetishes" was a perfectly natural one in my case, as 
 my nickname at Ambriz and on the coast is "Endoqui," 
 or I'etish man, from my having introduced the new trade 
 01 collecting and pressing the bark of the Adansonia tree, 
 and from my wonderful performances in working a small 
 steam engine, and putting up the hydraulic presses and a 
 corrugated iron store, the first they had seen, and which 
 caused great surprise. 
 
 I'he natives of the Congo Iliver, from its mouth to a 
 little above Porto da Lenha, belong to the Mussurongo 
 
MUSSUBONGO TRIBE.— PIRATES. 51 
 
 tribe, and are an ill-favoured set — they are all piratical 
 robbers, never losing an opportunity of attacking a loaded 
 barge or even ship, unless well armed or keeping in the 
 centre of the river, where the great current prevents 
 tliem from collecting around it in their canoes. These 
 pirates have been continually attacked by the Portuguese 
 and Englisli men-of-war, generally after some more than 
 usually daring robbery, and have had several severe 
 thrashings, but without their taking the slightest ex- 
 ample by them, the next ship or boat that runs aground 
 on the numerous sandbanks being again immediately 
 attacked. They have taken several white men prisoners 
 on such occasions, and have exacted a ransom for their 
 liberation. They have, however, always treated them 
 well whilst detained in their towns. The principal houses 
 now do their trade by steamers, which the Mussurongos 
 dare not, of course, attack. 
 
 A few years ago, a notorious pirate chief called Manoel 
 Vacca, who had caused great loss to the traders by his 
 piracy, was captured by them at Porto da Lenha and 
 delivered to the British Commodore, who, instead of 
 hanging him at the yard-arm as he deserved, and as 
 an example to the nest of thieves of which he was the 
 chief, took him to St. Helena, and after some time 
 brought this savage back carefully to Porto da Lenlia 
 to his disconsolate followers, who had been unable to find 
 a fit leader for their piratical robbeiies. Manoel Vacca, 
 of course, quickly forgot his promises of amendment made 
 whilst on board the British man-of-war, and again became 
 the pest he had formerly been, and when we were up the 
 river had exacted, without the slightest pretence but that 
 of revenge, a large payment from the traders at Porto da 
 Lenha, threatening to stop all trade, rob all boats, and 
 kill the "cabindas" or crews, on the river, if not im- 
 mediately paid, and — on our way from Boma — we 
 nariowly escaped being involved in a fight there, in con- 
 sequence of this scandalous demand, which I afterwards 
 heard had been complied with. The traders vowed that 
 if ever they caught him again, they would not deliver 
 
 E 2 
 
52 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 him to have his education continued at St. Helena, but 
 would finij<h it on the spot. 
 
 The MussuroDgos are very fond of wearing ankle- rings, 
 which, Avhen of brass, are Birmiugliam made, and ob- 
 tained from the traders, but in many cases are made by 
 the natives of iron forged by their smiths, and cast-tin or 
 pewter, wliich they obtain in trade in the form of little bars. 
 Those made by the natives are invariably ornamented with 
 one peculiar design (Plate IV.). These rings are seldom 
 above a few ounces in weight, and are worn by men and 
 women alike, very different from the natives of Cabinda, 
 on the north of the River Congo, Avhose women wear them 
 as large and heavy as they can be made. I have in my 
 possession two copper ankle-rings which I purchased for 
 six shawl-handkerchiefs of a little old Cabinda w^oman at 
 Ambriz, weighing seven pounds each. It cost a smith 
 some considerable time and trouble to take them off, 
 as from their thickness it was very difficult to wedge 
 them open without injury to the woman's legs. It seems 
 almost incredible that Fashion should, even among these 
 uncivilized tribes, compel the dark sex to follow her arbi- 
 trary exactions, to the extent of carrying the enormous 
 weight of fourteen pounds of solid metal on their naked 
 feet. Till the ankles become hardened and used to the 
 rings, the wearers are obliged to tie rags round them, to 
 protect the skin from injury by the heavy weight. 
 
 The Eiver Congo teems with animal life : above Porto 
 da Lenha hippopotami are very abundant ; alligators, of 
 course, swarm, and are very dangerous. 
 
 Of the few small fish that I caught with a line at 
 Boraa, no less than four were new species, and have been 
 named by Dr. A. Giinther, of the Bi itish Museum, as the 
 Bryconoethiops microstoma, Alestes holargyreus, Disti- 
 chodus affinis, and jMormyrus Monteiri (si^e ' Annals and 
 Magazine of Natural History' for August, 187:>). 
 
 At Boma the Koodoo (Traffelaphus Sj)e7cei, Sclater) ante- 
 lope must be very abundant, judging irom the number of 
 times that we there ate of its delicious ftesh, brought in 
 for sale by the natives. In my former visits to Banana I 
 
« PALM CllOr:' 53 
 
 made several shooting excursions to neighbouring villages 
 of friendly natives, in company with a Portuguese called 
 Chico, employed at the Dutch factory, who was a keen 
 sportsman : we generally started in the evening, and slept 
 at a village a few miles off, rising at daybreak to shoot 
 Mild fowl in the lovely creeks and marshes, before the 
 sun forced us to return to breakfast and the welcome 
 shade of the palm-trees, under which were the pretty huts 
 of the village. 
 
 Our breakfast invariably consisted of *"' palm chop," a 
 delicious dish when properly prepared, and from the fresh 
 nut. This dish has been so abused by travellers, who have 
 perhaps hardly tasted it more than once, and who might 
 have been prejudiced by the colour of the oil, or the idea 
 that they were eating waggon-grease or palm-soap, that I 
 must give an accurate description of its j)reparation and 
 defend its excellence against its detractors. The nuts of 
 the oil-palm {Eldeis Guineensis) are about the size of large 
 chestnuts, the inner pait being excessively hard and stony, 
 and containing an almond (technically ** palm-kernel "). it 
 is enclosed or surrounded by a thin outer mass of fibre and 
 pulp containing the oil, and covered with a rich red-brown 
 skin or husk somewhat thinner than that on a chestnut. 
 The pulpy oil and fibrous portion being separated from 
 the nuts, is melted in a pot over the fire to further sepa- 
 rate all the fibres, and tlie rich, thick oily mass is then 
 ready to be added to a dismembered duck or fowl, or any 
 other kind of meat, and the whole stewed gently together 
 with the proper amount of water, with the addition of 
 ground green Chili peppers and salt to taste, until it is 
 quite done, and in appearance like a rich curry, with which 
 it can best be compared ; a squeeze of lime or lemon is a 
 great improvement. The flavour of this dish is not at all 
 like what might be expected from the strong smell of 
 the often rancid palm oil received in this country. It is 
 always eaten with some boiled preparation of maize flour, 
 or better still of meal from tlie mandioca root. A good 
 cook will make a very good '-palm chop" with fre^h oil; 
 in the absence of the new nuts. 
 
C4 ANGOLA AND THE PJVER CONGO, 
 
 Another excellent disli is the ordinary haricot bean 
 stewed with palm oil and Chili peppers till quite tender 
 and thick. 
 
 It is from the oil-palm that the finest palm wine is 
 obtained, and it is curious how few travellers have accu- 
 rately described this or its properties. The blacks ascend 
 the trees by the aid of a ring formed of a stout piece of the 
 stem of a creeper which is excessively strong and supple : 
 one end is tied into a loop, and the other thrown round 
 the tree is passed through the loop and bent back (Plate 
 IV.) : the end being secured forms a ready and perfectly 
 safe ring, which the operator passes over his waist. The 
 stumps of the fallen leaves form projections which very 
 much assist him in getting up the tree. This is done by 
 taking hold of the ring with each hand, and by a suc- 
 cession of jerks, the climber is soon up at the top, with 
 his empty gourds hung round his neck. With a pointed 
 instrument he taps the tree at the crown, and attaches 
 the mouth of a gourd to the aperture, or he takes advan- 
 tage of the grooved stem of a leaf cut off short to 
 use as a channel for the sap to flow into the gourd sus- 
 pended below. This operation is performed in the evening, 
 and in the early morning the gourds are brought down 
 with the sap or juice that has collected in them during 
 the night. The palm wine is now a slightly milky fluid, 
 in appearance as nearly as possible like the milk in the 
 ordinary cocoa-nut, having very much the same flavour, 
 only sweeter and more luscious. 
 
 When cool in the morning, as brought down fresh from 
 the tree, it is perfectly delicious, without the slightest 
 trace of fermentation, and of course not in the least intoxi- 
 cating ; in a few hours, or very shortly if collected or kept 
 in old gourds in which wine has previously fermented, it 
 begins to ferment rapidly, becoming acid and intoxicating ; 
 not so much from the quantity of alcohol produced, I 
 believe, as from its being contained in a strongly efferv- 
 escent medium, and being drunk by the natives in the 
 hot time of the day, and when they are heated by 
 travelling, &c. ' Even in the morning the wine has some- 
 
FALM WINE. 55 
 
 times a slightly acid flavour, if it has been collected in 
 an old calabash. We used to have new gourds employed 
 for ourselves. The uatiA^es, again, can never be trusted to 
 bring it for sale perfectly fresh or pure, always mixing it 
 with water or old wine, and of course spoiling it, and 
 I have known the rascals take Mater in the calabashes 
 up the tree to mix with the pure juice, when they thought 
 they should not have an opportunity of adulterating it 
 before selling it. 
 
 Tiie smell of the palm wine, as it dries on the tree tops 
 where they have been punctured, is very attractive to 
 butterflies, bees, wasps, and other insects, and these in 
 their turn attract the many species of insectivorous birds. 
 This is more particularly the case with the beautiful little 
 sun-birds (Nectarinise) , always seen in numbers busily 
 employed in capturing their insect prey, actively flitting 
 from top to top, and darting in and out of the leaf-stems, 
 with a little song very much like that of the cock-robin. 
 
( 56 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 COUNTRY FROM THE RIVER CONGO TO AMBRIZ — VEGETA- 
 TION — TRADING — CIVILIZATION — COMMERCE — PRODUCTS 
 — IVORY — MUSSERRA — SLEEP DISEASE— SALT — MINERAL 
 PITCH. 
 
 The soutliern point, at the entrance of the River Congo, 
 is called Point Padrao, from a marble "Padrao," or monu- 
 ment raised by tlie Portuguese to commemorate the dis- 
 covery of the River Congo by Diogo Cam, in 1485. At a 
 short distance from it there formerly existed a monastery 
 and missionary establishment dedicated to Santo Antonio. 
 Tiiat part of the southern bank of the river opposite 
 Banana is called Santo Antonio to this day, and a few years 
 ago a Portuguese trader opened a house there for the pur- 
 pose of trade ; in this he was followed by the agent of a 
 Liverpool firm, but the result, naturally to be foreseen, 
 took place, and both factories were robbed and burnt down 
 by the rascally Mussurongos. Some time before this took 
 place, I was waiting at Banana for some means of convey- 
 ance by sea to Ambriz, but none appearing, I determined, 
 in company with a Brazilian who was also desirous of pro- 
 ceeding to the same place, to cross over to Santo Antonio, 
 and try if we could induce the natives to allow us to 
 pass thence overland to Cabepa da Cobra. This we did, 
 and remained at the trader's house till we got carriers 
 and permission, on making a small present to the king 
 of Santo Antonio town, to pass through. No white man 
 had been allowed to do so for many years. 
 
 We started one night as soon as the moon rosp, about one 
 o'clock, and after travelling a couple of hours, almost the 
 whole time over marshy ground and through a dry wood, 
 which we had to pass on foot, — as it was a fetish wood and 
 it would have been highly unlucky to cross it in our ham* 
 
VEGETATION. 
 
 mocks, — we arrived at the town of Santo Antonio, which 
 appeared large and well populated. Here we rested for a 
 little while, whilst we got some fresh carriers, and the king 
 and several of the natives came to see us and received two 
 pieces of cotton handkerchiefs, and a couple of gallons 
 of rum, which we had brought for them. The old bells 
 of tlie monastery are still preserved in the town, hung 
 from trees, and we were treated with a din on them in 
 return for our present. We then continued our journey 
 over good dry ground till we arrived at Cabepa da Cobra, 
 or "Snake's Head," in time for a late breakfast at the 
 house of a Portuguese trader. Here Senhor Fernando Jose 
 da Silva presented me with a letter of introduction he had 
 brought with him from Lisbon some years previously, and 
 which he had not before had an opportunity of delivering. 
 
 I at once engaged him to help me in developing my dis- 
 covery of the application of the fibre of the Baobab {Adan- 
 sonia digitata) to paper-making, and in introducing among 
 the natives the new industry of collecting and preparing it, 
 and I must here render him a tribute of gratitude for his 
 friendship and the unceasing activity and energy with 
 which he has laboured to assist me in permanently estab- 
 lishing this new trade, in the face of the greatest difficul- 
 ties, privations, and hard work for long years on the coast. 
 
 The coast line from Cabepa da Cobra to Ambriz is prin- 
 cipally composed of red blutfs and cliffs, and the road or 
 path is generally near the edge of the cliffs, affording fine 
 views of the sea and surf-beaten beach below. The country 
 is arid and thinly wooded, and is covered with hard, wiry, 
 branched grass; and the curious Mateba palm grows 
 in great abundance in the country from the lliver Congo 
 to Moculla, where it is replaced by the Cashew tree as lar 
 as Ambrizzette. The flat-leaved Sanseviera {S. longijiora) 
 is extremely abundant, and disappears soutli almost en- 
 tirely about Musserra, where it is in its turn replaced by 
 Sanseviera Angolensis. These changes are very curious 
 and striking, being so well marked on a comparatively 
 small extent of coast. The Baobab tree is everywhere seen, 
 its vast trunk throwing, by comparison, all other trees into 
 
58 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 insignificance : it is less abundant perhaps from tlie Eiver 
 Congo to about Ambrizzette ; from that place, southwards, 
 the country is one open forest of it. 
 
 The natives as far as Mangne Grande are Mussurongos. 
 From this to Ambriz tliey are a branch of the Musliicongo 
 tribe. The Mussurongos are at present an indolent set, Lut 
 there aie signs that they are becoming more industrious, i:o\v 
 that they have given up all hope of seeing the slave-trade 
 again established, which enabled them, as one said to me, to 
 be rich without working. Since the last slave was shipped 
 from this part of the coast, about the year 1868, the develop- 
 ment of produce in the country itself and from the interior 
 has been very great indeed, and promises in a few years 
 to be still more, and very important in amount. This will 
 be more particularly the case when the present system 
 ceases, by which the natives of the coast towns act as middle- 
 men to the natives from the interior. At present nearly 
 the entire bulk of the produce comes from the interior, no 
 extensive good plantation grounds being found before ar- 
 riving at the first elevation, "which ^\Q have seen to com- 
 mence at from thirty to sixty miles from the coast, the ivory 
 coming from not less than 2(J0 to 300 miles. 
 
 The blacks, on arriving from the interior, put up at the 
 towns on the coast, where the natives, having been in 
 constant intercourse with the whites for years, all speak 
 Portngnese, and many of them English. It is a fact tiiat 
 the natives speak Portuguese more correctly than they 
 do English, which I attribute to the good custom of the 
 Portuguese very seldom stooping to murder their lan- 
 guage when speaking to the blacks, which the English 
 universally do, under the mistaken idea of rendering 
 themselves more intelligible. 
 
 These blacks act as interpreters and brokers, and are 
 thereby enabled to satisfy fully and successfully their 
 innate propensity for roguery by cheating the natives 
 from the interior to their heaits' content. They bargain 
 the produce with the white men at one price, telling the 
 natives always that it is for a much lower sum, of course 
 pocketing the difierence, sometimes amounting to one-half 
 
TRADING. 59 
 
 and more. It is a common thing to be asked to have 
 only so much, — naming the amount for which they have 
 pretended to have sold the produce, — paid whilst the 
 owners are present, and getting a ** book " or ticket for 
 the rest, which they receive from the white trader at 
 another time. 
 
 It has been found impossible to do away with this custom, 
 as the white men are almost dependent for their trnde upon 
 these rogues, called " linguisteres " (derived evidently fi om 
 the Portuguese term " lingoa," *• tongue," or interpreter). 
 These have their defence for the custom, first, that it has 
 always existed, a great argument with the conservative 
 negro race ; secondly, that it is their commission for looking 
 after the interests of the natives from the interior, who would 
 otherwise be cheated by tlie white men, who woukl take 
 advantage of their want of knowledge of the selling prices 
 on the coast ; and thirdly that they have to make presents 
 to the natives out of these gains, and give them diink at 
 the towns to keep them as their customers and prevent 
 their going to other towns or linguisteres. The natives 
 from the interior, again, are very sus[)icious and afraid of 
 the white man, and they would hardly dare approach him 
 without being under the protection of the coast negroes. 
 There is no doubt that the development of the trade from 
 the interior would increase greatly if the natives and owners 
 of the produce obtained the full price paid by the white 
 men. There is almost a certainty, however, that the 
 system will not last much longer, as the natives are be- 
 ginning to find out how they are cheated by their coast 
 brethren, and are already, in many cases, trading direct 
 with the white men. 
 
 The system adopted in trading or bartering with the 
 natives on the coast, comprehended between the River 
 Congo and Ambriz, is somewhat complicated and curious. 
 All produce (except ivorv) on being brought to the trader, 
 is put on the scales and the price is agreed, in "longs" in 
 English, or "pe9as" in Portuguese. This *'pe9a" or 
 "long" is the unit of exchange to which all the multifa- 
 rious articles of barter are referred : for instance, six yards 
 
60 ANGOLA AND THE lUVER CONGO. 
 
 of the ordinary kinds of cotton cloth, such as stripes, 
 unbleached calico, blue prints, cotton checks, are equal to 
 a "long;" a yard and a half of red or blue baize, five 
 bottles of rum, five brass rods, one cotton umbrella, 
 3000 blue glass beads, three, six, eight, or twelve cotton 
 handkerchiefs, according to size and quality, are also 
 severally equal to a *-long;" articles of greater value, 
 such as kegs of powder, guns, swords, knives, &c., are two 
 or more "]ongs" each. 
 
 As each bag of coifee (or other produce) is weighed and 
 settled for, the buyer writes the number of "longs" that 
 has been agreed upon on a small piece of paper called by 
 the natives "Mucanda," or, by those who speak English, 
 a " book ;" the bm^r continues his weighing and pur- 
 chasing, and the " books " are taken by the natives to 
 the store, which is fitted up like a shop, with shelves on 
 which are arranged at hand the many different kinds 
 of cloth, &c., employed in barter. The natives cannot 
 be trusted in the shop, which contains only the white 
 man and his "Mafuca" or head man, so the noisy, 
 Avrangling mob is paid from it through a small window. 
 We will suppose, for instance, that a "book" is pre- 
 sented at the window, on which is marked twenty 
 " longs " as the payment of a bag of coffee ; the trader 
 takes — 
 
 A gun — value 
 
 One keg powder . 
 
 One piece of 18 yards stripes 
 
 One of 18 yards grey calico 
 
 One of 18 yards checks . 
 
 Eight handkerchiefs 
 
 Five bottles of rum 
 
 One table-knife 
 
 Three thousand beads . 
 
 Five brass rods 
 
 Total 
 
 4 
 
 longs 
 
 2 
 
 jj 
 
 3 
 
 j> 
 
 3 
 
 j> 
 
 3 
 
 jj 
 
 
 j> 
 
 
 » 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 >' 
 
 
 J5 
 
 20 
 
 longs. 
 
 I 
 
TRADING. CI 
 
 This is now passed out, the trader making such altera- 
 tions in the payment as the natives desire within certain 
 limits, exchanging, for instance, the handkerchiefs for red 
 baize, or the piece of calico for a sword, but there is an 
 understanding that the payment is to be a certain selec- 
 tion, from which only small deviations can be made. If 
 such were not the case the payment of 100 or more 
 " books " in a short time would be impossible. It is by 
 no means an easy task to trade quickly and successfully 
 with the natives ; long practice, and great patience and 
 good temper are necessary. A good trader, who is used 
 to the business, can pay the same *''book" for a great 
 deal less value than one unaccustomed to the work, 
 and the natives will often refuse to trade with a new 
 man or one not used to their ways and long known to 
 them. 
 
 It is rather startling to a stranger to see and hear a 
 couple of hundred blacks all shouting at the top of their 
 voices to be paid first, and quarrelling and fighting over 
 their payment, or pretending to be dissatisfied with it, or 
 that they have been wrongly paid. 
 
 Ivory is purchased in a different manner ; the tusk is 
 weighed, and an offer made by the trader in guns, barrels 
 of powder and " longs," generally in about the proportion 
 of one gun, one keg of powder, and two longs ; thus a tusk, 
 we will say, is purchased for twelve gnns, twelve kegs of 
 powder, and twenty-four "longs." The natives do not 
 receive this, but a more complicated payment takes place ; 
 of the twelve guns they only receive four, the rest being 
 principally in cloth, on a scale well understood, the guns 
 being calculated generally at four " longs " each ; the same 
 process is carried out with the kegs of powder, only a 
 certain number being actually given in that commodity : 
 the twenty-four " longs " are given in cloth and a variety 
 of small objects, including razors, cheap looking-glasses, 
 padlocks, ankle rings, playing-cards, empty bottles, hoop- 
 iron off the bales, brass tacks, glass tumblers and decanters, 
 different kinds of beads, &c. The amount first agreed 
 upon is called the "rough bundle," and the trader, by 
 
62 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 adding the value of tbe guns, powder, and " lonirs," and 
 dividing tie sum by the weight of the tusk, can tell very 
 nearly what the pound of ivory will cost when rednced by 
 the substitution of the various numerous articles given in 
 lieu of the guns and powder agreed upon on the purchase 
 of the tusk. 
 
 The small extent of coast comprised between Ambriz 
 and the lliver Congo is a striking example of the won- 
 derful increase of trade, and consequently industry, among 
 the negroes, since the extinction of the slave trade, and 
 evidences also the great fertility of a country that with 
 the rudest appliances can produce such quantities of 
 valuable produce; about a dozen years ago, a very few 
 tons, with the exception of ivory, of ground-nuts, coffee, 
 and gum copal only, were exported. Last year .the 
 exports from Ambriz to, and not including, the River 
 Congo, were as follows : — 
 
 Adansonia fibre 
 
 . 1500 tons 
 
 Ground-nuts 
 
 . 7500 „ 
 
 Coffee . 
 
 . 1000 „ 
 
 Sesamum seed 
 
 . 650 „ 
 
 Red gum copal 
 
 . 50 „ 
 
 White Angola gum 
 
 . 100 „ 
 
 India-rubber 
 
 . 400 „ 
 
 Palm-kernel 
 
 . 100 „ 
 
 Ivory . . . . 
 
 . 185 „ 
 
 Besides this amount of ])roduce, the value of which may 
 be estimated at over 300,000Z., a considerable quantity of 
 ground-nuts find their way to the River Congo from the 
 interior of the country I am now describing. This is 
 already a most gratifying and interesting result, and one 
 from which valuable lessons are to be deduced, when we 
 come to compare it with what has taken place in other 
 parts of the coast, most notably in the immediate neigh- 
 bouring country to the south in the possession of the 
 Portuguese, and is a splendid example of the true 
 principles by which the African race z?i Africa can be 
 successfully civilized, and the only manner in which the 
 
CIVILIZATION, 63 
 
 riches of the West Coast can be developed and made 
 available to the wants of the rest of the world. < 
 
 There can be no doubt that our attempts to civilize 
 the negro by purely missionary efforts have bsen a signal 
 failure. I will say more: so long as missionaiy work 
 consists of simply denominational instruction and con- 
 troversy, as at present, it is mischievous and retarding 
 to the material and mental development and prosperity 
 of Africa; Looking at it irom a purely religious point of 
 view, I emphatically deny that a single native has been 
 converted, otherwise than in name or outward appearance, 
 to Christianity or Christian morality. Civih'zation on the 
 coast has certainly succeeded in putting a considerable 
 number of blacks into uncomfortable boots and tight and 
 starched clothes, and their women outwardly into grotesque 
 caricatures of Paris fashions, as any one may witness by 
 spending even only a few hours at Sierra Leone, for 
 instance, where he will see the inoffensive native trans- 
 formed into a miserable strutting bully, insolent to the 
 highest degree, taught to consider himself the equal of the 
 white man, as lull as his black skin can hold of over- 
 weening conceit, cant, and hypocrisy, without a vice or 
 superstition removed, or a virtue engrafted in his nature, 
 and calling the native whose industry supplies him with 
 food, " You nigga ! Sah ! " 
 
 This is the broad and characteristic effect of present mis- 
 sions on the coast, I am sorry to say, and they will continue 
 to be fruitless as long as they are not combined with indus- 
 trial training. That was the secret of the success of the 
 old Catholic missionaries in Angola ; they were traders as 
 well, and taught the natives the industrial arts, gardening, 
 and agriculture. What if they derived riches and power, 
 the envy of which led to their expulsion, from their efforts, 
 so long as they made good carpenters, smiths, masons, and 
 other artificers of the natives, and created in them a new 
 life, and the desire for better clothing, houses, and food, 
 which they could only satisfy by work and industry ? 
 
 On landing at Bonny from the steamer, to collect plants 
 and insects on the small piece of dry land opposite tho 
 
64 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 hulks ill the river, we saw the pretty little church and 
 schoolroom belonging to the mission there, in which were 
 a number of children repeating together, over and over 
 again, like a number of parrots, '* I know dat I hab a soul, 
 because I feel someting widin me." Only a few yards off 
 was the village in which they lived, and a large fetish 
 house exactly the same as any other ; not a sign of work 
 of any kind, not a square }'ard of ground cleared or planted, 
 not a fowl or domestic animal, save a lean cur or two, to 
 be seen ; the children, and even big girls, or young women, 
 in a complete state of nudity, — nothing in fact to show any 
 ditlerence whatever from any other town in the country. 
 Can any one believe for a moment that the instruction 
 afforded by that mission was of any avail, that the few 
 irksome hours of repetition of texts, writing and reading, 
 explanations of the Bible, &c., could in the least counteract 
 the influence of the fetish house in the village, or the 
 superstition and ignorance of the children's parents and 
 elders, or remove the fears and prejudices imbibed with 
 their mothers' milk ? Is it not more natural to suppose, as 
 is well known to be the case, that this imperfect training 
 is just sufficient to enable them when older to be sharper, 
 more dishonest, and greater rogues than their fellows, and 
 to ape the vices of the white man, without copying his 
 virtues or his industry ? 
 
 I remember at Ambrizzette a black who could read and 
 wn ite, forging a number of *•' books " for gunpowder, and 
 thus robbing some of the houses to a considerable extent. 
 The natives wanted to kill him, but on the white men 
 interceding for his life, they chopped off the fingers of his 
 right hand with a raatchet, to prevent his forging any 
 more. Educated blacks, or even mulattoes, cannot be 
 trusted as clerks, with the charge of factories, or in other 
 responsible situations. I do not remember a case in 
 which loss did not sooner or later result from their 
 employment. 
 
 Trade or commerce is the great civilizer of Africa, and 
 the small part of the coast we are treating of at present is 
 a proof of this. Commerce has had undisturbed sway for 
 
COMMERCE. 65 
 
 a few years, with the extraordinary result already stated. 
 The natives have not been spoilt as yet by contact with 
 the evils of an ignorant and oppressive occupation, as in 
 Portuguese Angohi, or, as on the British West Coast on 
 the other hand, by having been preached by a dozen 
 opposed and rival sects into a muddled state of assumed 
 and insolent equality with the white race, whom they hate 
 in tlieir inmost hearts, from the consciousness of their 
 infinite inferiority. 
 
 Commerce has spread before them a tempting array of 
 Manchester ^ooda, guns, gunpowder, blankets, rugs, coats, 
 knives, looking-glasses, playing-cards, rum and gin, 
 matchets, tumblers and decanters, beads, silver and biass 
 ankle-rings, and many other useful or ornamental articles, 
 witliout any duties to pay, or any compulsory regulations 
 of passports, papers, tolls, or hindrances of any kind ; the 
 only key necessary is a bag of produce on the scales ; a 
 fair, and in many cases, even high price is given in return, 
 and every seller picks and chooses what he or she desires ; — 
 and let not rum or gin be abused for its great share in the 
 development of produce, for it is a powerful incentive to 
 work. A black dearly loves his drop of drink ; he will 
 very often do for a bottle of rum, what he would not even 
 thiidj: of stirring for, for three times the value in any other 
 article, and yet they are not great drunkards, as we shall 
 see, when describing their customs ; they so divide any 
 portion of spirits they can obtain, that it does them no 
 harm whatever. The rum and gin, though of the very 
 cheapest description, is pure and unsopliisticated, the 
 only adulteration being an innocent one practised by the 
 traders, who generally mix a liberal proportion of water 
 with it. 
 
 When a black does give way to intemperate habits, his 
 friends make him undergo "fetish" that he shall drink no 
 more, and such is their dread of consequences if they do 
 not keep their '* fetish" promise, that I have known very 
 few cases of t+ieir breaking the *' pledge.'' Sometimes a 
 black is " fetished " for rum or other spirit-drinking, but 
 not against wine, which they are beginning to consume in 
 
 V 
 
G6 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 increasing quantity ; the kind tliey are supplied with being 
 the ordinary red Lisbon. 
 
 In describing the different kinds of produce of this 
 country, the first on the list, the inner bark of the 
 *' Baobab," or Adansonia digitata, claims j)recedence, 
 it being the latest discovery of an African production as 
 an article of commerce, and of great importance from its 
 application to paper-making, and also from its opening a 
 new and large field to native industry. 
 
 It was on my first arrival in Ambriz in February 1858, 
 that this substance struck me as being fit for making 
 good paper: a few simyjle experiments enabled me to 
 make specimens of bleached fibre and pulp from it, prov- 
 ing to me conclusively its suitableness for that purpose. 
 
 Having been engaged in mining in Angola, it was not 
 till the year 1865 that I finally determined to proceed to 
 Ambriz, with the view of developing my discovery, and 
 I have ever since been actively engaged in establishing 
 houses on the part of the coast I am now describing, for 
 bartering tlie Adansonia fibre, — pressing and shipping the 
 same to England. In my long and arduous task I have 
 met with more than the ordinary amount of losses and 
 disappointments, from commercial failures and other causes 
 that seem to fall to the lot of discoverers or inventors in 
 general ; but I have triumphed over all obstacles and 
 prejudices, and have established its success as a paper- 
 making material beyond any doubt. 
 
 The Baobab, or *' monkey fruit tree," is well known 
 from descriptions as one of the giants of the vegetable 
 kingdom. It rears its vast trunk thirty or forty feet high, 
 with a diameter of three or four feet in the baby plants, to 
 usually twenty to thirty feet in the older trees. Adansonias 
 of more than thirty feet in diameter are rare, but they 
 have been measured of as great a size as over 100 feet 
 in circumference; the thickest trunk I have ever seen 
 was sixty-four feet in circumference, and was clean and 
 unbroken, without a crack on its smooth ba*k. 
 
 The leaves and flowers are produced during the rainy 
 season, and are succeeded by the long pendant gourd-liko 
 
PRODUCTS. 67 
 
 fruit, like hanging notes of admiration, giving tlie gigantic, 
 nearly leafless tree a most singular appearance. Millions 
 of these trees cover the whole of Angola, as they do in 
 fact the whole of tropical Africa, sufficient to supply an 
 incalculable amount of paper material for years, but for 
 the indolence of the negro race. I have no doubt, liow- 
 ever, that they will in time follow the example of the 
 Ambriz blacks, and a very large trade be developed as in 
 the case of the palm-oil and the india-rubber trade. 
 
 The leaves of the Baobab when young are good to eat, 
 boiled as a vegetable, and in appearance are somewhat 
 like a new horse-chestnut leaf about half grown, and of a 
 bright green ; the flowers are very handsome, being a 
 large ball of pure white, about four or five inches across, 
 exactly like a powder puff, with a crown of large thick 
 white petals turned back on top of it. After a few days 
 the flowers become tipped with yellow, before dropping 
 from the tree. The trunks, even of the largest trees, 
 have properly speaking no wood, that is to say, a plank 
 could not be sawn out of it, or any work made from it ; — a 
 section of a trunk shows first a thin outer skin or covering 
 of a very peculiar pinkish ashen white, somewhat like that 
 of a silver birch, some appearing quite silvery against the 
 colour of other trees and foliage ; then there Ibllows about 
 an inch of substance like hard mangold wurzel with fibres, 
 then the thick coat of fibrous inner bark, which readily 
 separates ; next, the young wood, very much like the inner 
 bark, and lastly, layers of more woody texture, divided or 
 separated by irregular layers of pith, the most woody 
 parts having no more firmness than perfectly rotten mil- 
 dewed pine wood, and breaking quite readily with a ragged 
 and very fibrous fracture. 
 
 The centre of these vast trunks easily rots, and becomes 
 hollow from the top, where the stem generally branches off 
 laterally into two or three huge arms. This is taken ad- 
 vantage of by the Quissama blacks, who inhabit the south 
 bank of the River Quanza, to use them as tanks to store rain- 
 water in against the dry season, as it is a country very 
 destitute of watei*. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 The hollow Baobabs are very seldom open from the 
 sides ; I only remember one large tree of this kind in 
 which an aperture like a door gave admittance into the 
 em})ty centre ; this was in Cambambe, and the hollow was 
 large enongh for two of us to sit inside, with a small box 
 between us fur a table, and have our breakfast, and room 
 to spare for our cook to attend on us. Whilst we were 
 comfortably enjoying our meal in its grateful shade, our 
 cook suddenly gave a shout and rushed out, crying 
 " Nhoca, Nhoca," " Snake, Snake," and sure enough there 
 was a fine fellow about four feet long overhead, quietly 
 surveying our operations ; a charge of shot settled him 
 very quickly, and down he fell, a victim to his curiosity. 
 
 The inner bark of the Adansonia is obtained by first 
 chopping oif the softer outer bark of the tree with a 
 matcliet, and then stripping the inner bark in large 
 sheets. The smaller trees produce the finest and softest 
 fibre, and it is taken off all round the tree, which does not 
 appear to suffer much iujury. A fresh layer of bark 
 glows, and is thick enough to take off in about six to 
 eight years. The bark is only taken off the large trunks 
 in places where the outer bark is smooth and free from 
 knobs, &c. In the course of time, the trunk growing, 
 shows the scar, high above the ground, of the place where 
 the bark has been taken off years before. The layers of 
 inner bark when cut are saturated with sap ; the pieces 
 are beaten with a stick to soften them, and shaken to get 
 rid of some of the pithy matter attached to them. The 
 bark is then diaed in the sun, when it is ready for 
 pressing into bales, and shipping. 
 
 This inner bark is put to a variety of uses by the 
 natives. It is twisted into string and rope for all sorts of 
 purposes, or used in strips to secure loads, and to tie the 
 sticks, &c., in making their huts. Einer pieces are pulled 
 out so as to resemble a coarse network, and the edges 
 being sewn together, make handy bags for cotton, or gum, 
 grain, &c. ; and very strong bags are woven from thin 
 strips, in which coffee and ground-nuts are brought down 
 from Cazengo to the coast. 
 
PRODUCTS, 69 
 
 Several amusing incidents occurred on my introducing 
 the trade in Baobab fibre among the natives. I bad 
 great difficulty at first in inducing them to take to it, but 
 they soon saw the advantage of doing on a large scale 
 what they had been accustomed to do for their own small 
 necessities; their principal reason for suspicion about 
 it was that it had never before been an article purchased 
 by the white men ; they would not believe it was for 
 making paper, but thought it must be for making cloth, 
 and one old fellow very sagely affirmed that it was to be 
 used for making mosquito curtains, from the open texture 
 of the finer samples. It was debated at the towns whether 
 it should be allowed to be cut and sold, and finally agreed 
 to, and the trade was fully established at Ambriz for 
 several months, when a report spread amongst the natives 
 that the object of my buying it was to make it into ropps 
 to tie them up some fine day when they least expected it, 
 and ship them on board the steamers as slaves. Such was 
 the belief in this absurd idea that all the natives employed 
 at the factories disappeared, and not a man, woman, or 
 child appeared in Ambriz for several days, and the place 
 ^vas nearly starved out. 
 
 I had an old black as my head man of the name of 
 *' Pae Tomas " (Father Thomas) who was very much 
 respected in the country; he had been with me for some 
 years, and it took all his influence to get the natives to 
 return to Ambriz and to bring in fibre again for sale. 
 
 Another instance of how any little variation fiom tlie 
 usual state of things will excite the suspicions of these 
 natives, even accustomed as they have been to contact 
 with white men for many years, was the appearance at 
 Ambriz of a four-masted steamer, — one of the Lisbon 
 monthly line: such a thing as a "ship with four sticks" 
 had never been seen before, and without waiting to 
 inquire, every black ran away from Ambriz, and the same 
 thing happened on her return from Loauda; it was only 
 after repeated voyages that the natives lost their fear of 
 her ; they could give no other reason than that it had 
 never been seen before, and that therefore it must be a 
 
70 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 signal for the white men to do something or other they 
 could not undf^rstand. 
 
 It was not till some time after putting up and working 
 the hydiaulic press at Ambriz that I was al)le to go nf)rth 
 and establish them at other places. I had to invite the 
 King and Council of Musserra to come to Auibriz and see 
 it at work, and convince them that it was quite an inof- 
 fensive machine, and could only squeeze the fibre into 
 bales ; only by this means could I get their leave to land 
 one there and erect it and begin ihe trade, and 1 believe 
 that had I not been already long known to them I should 
 have been unable to do it so soon. They som^ehow had 
 the idea that the cylinder w^as a great cannon, and might 
 be fired off with gunpowder, and I might take the country 
 from them with it, but they w^ere reassured when they 
 saw it had no touch-hole at the breech, and that it was 
 set upright in the ground and \vorked by water. 
 
 At Kimpoa^a, a neighbouring town was averse to one 
 being landed there, but as I had obtained the leave of the 
 king and the townspeople they felt bound to allow^ me to 
 set it up, and for about a fortnight that the surf prevented 
 its being landed the whole of the inhabitants were on the 
 beach every day with loaded guns, to fight the other 
 town, if necessary, as they had threatened forcible oppo- 
 sition to its being put up — it all w^ent off quietly, however, 
 but a couple of years after, the rains having failed to come 
 down at the proper time, the fetish men declared that the 
 '^matari ampuena," or the "big iron," had fetished the 
 rain and prevented its appearance. 
 
 The matter was discussed in the country at a meeting 
 of the people of the neighbouring towns, and it was deter- 
 mined to destroy the press and throw it into the sea if it 
 was found to be a '* feiticeiro," or wizard. This was, of 
 course, to be proved by the ordeal by poison, namely, by 
 making it take 'casca," the bark that I have already 
 described as determining the innocence or guilt of any one 
 accused of witciicial't; but this difficulty presented itself 
 to their minds, that as the " big iron " had no stomach or 
 insides, the " casca " could have no action, so after much 
 
PRODUCTS. 71 
 
 deliberation it was resolved to cet over the difficulty by 
 giving tlie dos3 to a slave of tlie Idna*, who represented 
 the hydraulic pi-ess. Very luekily the poison acted as an 
 emetic, and the press was proved innocent of bewitching 
 the rain. After some time, the rains persisting in not 
 coming down, the poor slave was again forced to take 
 "casca/' but with the same fortunate result, — the press was 
 saved, and the natives have never again suspected it of 
 complicity with evil spirits. 
 
 It was these hydraulic presses for baling the baobab 
 fibre, at Ambriz and elsewhere, which more than anything 
 else firmly established amongst the natives the name they 
 had given me of "Endoqui ampuena," or, the great wizard. 
 There is something to them so marvellous in the siniple 
 working of a lever at a distance, by a little water in a 
 tank, that no rational explanation is possible to their 
 minds, — it is simply a case of pure witchcrait. 
 
 The fruit of the baobab is like a long gourd, about 
 fourteen to eighteen inches in leuf^lh, covered by a 
 velvety greenish-brown coating, and hanging by a stalk 
 two to three feet long. It is filled inside with a. curious 
 dry, pulverulent, yellowish-red substance, in Mhich the 
 seeds, about the size of pigeon-beans, are imbedded. The 
 seeds are pounded and made into meal for food in times 
 of scarcity, and the substance in which they are embedded 
 is also edible, but strongly and agreeably acid. This 
 gourd-like fruit is often used for carrying water or storing 
 salt, &c., the walls, or shell, being very hard and about 
 a quarter of an inch thick. From its shape it makes a 
 very convenient vessel for baling water out of a canoe, 
 one end being cut slantwise, and it is used by the natives 
 everywhere on the coast for this purpose. 
 
 The finest orchilla weed is found growing on the baobab 
 trees near the coast, and the natives ascend the great 
 trunks by driving pegs into them one above the other, 
 and using them as steps to get to the branches. These 
 trees are the great resort of the several species of doves so 
 abundant in Angola, and their favourite resting-place on 
 account of the many nooks and spaces on the monstrous 
 
72 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 trunks and branches in wliicli they can conveniently build 
 their flat nests and rear their young. 
 
 There is something peculiarly grand in the near appear- 
 ance of these trees, and it is impossible to describe the 
 sensation caused by these huge vegetable towers, that 
 have braved in solitary grandeur the hot sun and storms 
 of centuries ; and very pleasant it is to lie down under the 
 shade of one of these giants and listen to the soft plaintive 
 *'coo — coo — coo " of the doves above, the only sound that 
 breaks the noonday silence of the hot and dry untrodden 
 solitude around. 
 
 A lowly plant, but perhaps the most important in native 
 , tropical African agriculture, the ground-nut (J.rac7iz*s /ly- 
 poffsea)j next deserves description. Many thousand tons 
 of' this little nut are grown on the whole West Coast of 
 Africa, large quantities being exported to Europe, — prin- 
 cipally to France, — to be expressed into oil. We have 
 already seen what a great increase has taken place in the 
 cultivation of this nut in the part of the coast I am now 
 specially describing, and I believe that it is destined to 
 be one of the most important oil-seeds of the future. 
 
 The native name for it is " mpinda " or '* ginguba," and 
 it is cultivated in the greatest abundance at a few miles in- 
 land from the coast, where the comparatively arid country 
 is succeeded by better ground and climate. It requires a 
 rich soil for its cultivation, and it is chiefly grown, there- 
 fore, in the bottoms of valleys, or in the vicinity of rivers 
 and marshes. The plant grows from one to two feet high, 
 with a leaf and habit very much like a finely-grown 
 clover. The bright-yellow pea-like flowers are borne on 
 long slender stalks ; these, after flowering, curl down, and 
 force the pod into the ground, where it ripens beneath 
 the soil. Its cultivation is a very simple affair. The 
 ground being cleared, the weeds and grass are allowed 
 to dry, and are then burnt; the ground is then lightly 
 dug a few inches deep by the women with their little hoes 
 — their only implement of agriculture — and the seeds 
 dropped into the ground and covered up. The sowing 
 takes place in October and November, at the beginning 
 
PRODUCTS. 73 
 
 of the rainy season, and the first crop of nuts for eating 
 green is ready about April ; but they are not ripe lor 
 nine mouths after sowing, or about July or August, when 
 they are first brought down to the coast for trade. 
 
 A large plantation of ground-nuts is a very beautiful 
 sight : a rich expanse of tlie most luxuriant foliage of the 
 brightest green, every leaf studded with diamond-like 
 drops glittering in the early sun. The ground-nut is an 
 important part of the food of the natives, and more so in 
 the country from Ambriz to the Kiver Congo than south 
 at Loanda and Benguella. It is seldom eaten raw, but 
 roasted, and when young and green, and roasted in the 
 husks, is really delicious eating. It is excessively 
 oily when fully ripe, and the natives then generally eat 
 it with bananas and either the raw mandioca root, or some 
 preparation of it, experience showing tiiem the necessity 
 of the admixture of a farinaceous substance with an 
 excessively oily food. The nuts are also ground on 
 a stone to a paste, with which to thicken their stews and 
 messes. This paste, mixed with ground Chili pepper, 
 is also made into long rolls, enveloped in leaves of the 
 Phrynium ramosissimuni, and is eaten principally in the 
 morning to stay the stomach in travelling till they reach 
 the proper camping-places for their brealdast or first 
 meal and rest, generally about noon It is called "quitaba," 
 and I shall never forget the first time I tasted this com- 
 position : I thought my palate and tongue were blistered, 
 80 great was the pi'oportion of Chili pepper in it. 
 
 A considerable quantity of oil used to be prepared by 
 the natives from this nut by the most rudimentary process 
 it is possible to imagine. The nuts are first pounded into a 
 mass in a wooden mortar; a handful of this is then taken 
 between the palms of the hands, and an attendant pours 
 a small quantity of hot water on it, and on squeezing the 
 hands tightly together the oil and water run out. Since 
 the great demand ibr, and trade in, the ground-nut, but 
 little oil is prepared by the natives, as they find it more 
 advantageous to sell the nuts than to extract the oil 
 trom them by the wasteful process I have just described. 
 
74 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 Ground-nut oil is very thin and clear, and is greatly used 
 in cookery in Angola, for which it is well adapted as it 
 is almost free from taste and smell. 
 
 The greater part of the several thousand tons of nuts 
 that at present constitute the season's crop in this part 
 of the country is grown in the Mbamba country, lying 
 parallel with the coast, at a distance of from thirty to 
 eighty miles inland, or at the first and second elevation. 
 Some idea of the great population of this comparatively 
 small district may be formed from the fact that the 
 whole of the above ground-nuts are shelled by hand, 
 and brought down to the coast on the heads of the 
 natives. It is difficult for any one unacquainted with 
 the subject to realise the vast amount of labour im- 
 plied in the operation of shelling this large quantity 
 by hand. 
 
 The trade in coffee is almost entirely restricted to 
 Ambriz, and it comes principally from the district of 
 Encoge, a considerable- quantity also being brought from 
 the Dembos country and from Cazengo, to the interior of 
 Loanda, from which latter place the trade is shut out by 
 the stupid and short-siglited policy of high custom-house 
 duties on goods, and other restrictions on trade of tlie 
 Portuguese authorities. Very little of the coffee produced 
 in the provinces of Encoge and Dembos is cultivated ; it 
 is the product of coffee-trees growing spontaneously in the 
 virgin forests of the second elevation. The natives, of 
 course, have no machinery of any kind to 'separate the 
 berry from the pod, these being dried in the sun and then 
 broken in a wooden mortar, and the husks separated by 
 winnowing in the o})en air. 
 
 The sesamum seed (Sesamum indicum) has only very re- 
 cently become an article of trade in Angola. It was culti- 
 vated sparingly by the natives, who employ it, ground to 
 a paste on a stone in the same manner as the ground-nut, 
 to add to their other food in cooking. It is as yet culti- 
 vated lor trade principally by the natives about Mangue 
 Grande, and only since about the year 1868, but there is 
 no doubt it will be an important product all over Angola, 
 
PRODUCTS. 75 
 
 as it is found to grow near the coast, in soil too arid fov 
 the ground-nut. 
 
 The red gum copal, called " niaquata " by the natives, 
 is of the finest quality, and is almost entirely the product 
 of the Mossulo country. It is known to exist north, in 
 the vicinity of Mangue Grande, but it is *' fetish" for the 
 natives to dig it, and consequently they will not bring it 
 for trade, and even refuse to tell the exact place where it 
 is fonnd, but tliere can be no doubt about it, as they 
 formerly traded in it with the white men. 
 
 Until about the year 1858, it was a principal article 
 of export from Ambriz; vessels being loaded with it, 
 chiefly to America, but with the American war the trade 
 ceased, and it has never since attained anything like its 
 former magnitude. I believe it to be a fossil gum or 
 mineral resin. I have examined quantities of it, to discover 
 any trace of leaves, insects or other remains, that might 
 prove it to have been of vegetable origin, but in vain. 
 
 It is obtained from a part of Angola where white men 
 are not permitted by the natives to penetrate, and I have 
 consequently not been an actual observer of the locality 
 in which it occurs; but by all the accounts received from 
 intelligent natives, it is found below the surface of a highly 
 ferruginous hard clay or soil, at a depth of a few inches to 
 a couple of feet. It is very likely that if the ground were 
 properly explored, it would be found deeper, but most 
 probably this is as deep as the natives care to dig for it, if 
 they can obtain it elsewhere nearer the surface. It is said 
 to be found in irregular masses, chiefly flat in shape, and 
 from small knobs to pieces weighing several pounds. 
 These are all carefully chopped into small nearly uniform 
 pieces, the object of this being to enable the natives to 
 sell it by measure, — the measures being little '* quindas " 
 or open baskets; the natives of the country where it is 
 obtained not only bring it to the coast for barter, but also 
 sell it to the coast natives, who go with goods to purchase 
 it from them. 
 
 The blacks of the gum-country are so indolent that they 
 will only dig for the gum during and after the last and 
 
76 ANGOLA AND TEE EIVER CONGO, 
 
 heaviest rains, about March, April, and May, and these, 
 and June and July, are the months when it almost all 
 makes its appearanoe, and they will only allow a certain 
 quantity to leave the country, for fear that its price on 
 the coast may fall ;• hence only a few tons of this beautiful 
 gum ar.^ now obtained, where some years ago hundreds 
 were bought. It is said by the natives that no trees 
 grow on or near the places where the gum copal is found^ 
 and that even grass grows very sparingly : the very small 
 quantities of red earth and sand sometimes attached to 
 the gum show it to be so highly ferruginous, that I should 
 imagine such was really the case. 
 
 The white Angola gum is said to be the product of a 
 tree growing near rivers and water, a little to the interior 
 of the coast. I have never had an opportunity of seeing 
 the tree myself, however. 
 
 We now come to one of the most curious products of 
 this interesting country, namely, india-rubber, called by 
 tlie natives " Tangandando." It had been an article ex- 
 ported in considerable quantities north of the River Congo, 
 and knowing that the plant from which it was obtained 
 grew in abundance in the second region, about sixty miles 
 inland from Ambriz, I distributed a number of pieces of 
 the india-rubber to natives of the interior, and offered a 
 high price for any that might be brought for sale. In a 
 very short time it began to come in, and the quantity has 
 steadily increased to the present day. 
 
 The plant that produces it is the giant tree-creeper 
 {Landolphia, florida?), covering the highest trees, and 
 growing principally en those near rivers or streams. Its 
 stem is sometimes as thick as a man's thigh, and in the 
 dense woods at Quiballa I have seen a considerable extent 
 of forest festooned down to the ground, from tree to tree, 
 in all directions with its thick stems, like great hawsers ; 
 above, the trees were nearly hidden by its large bright 
 dark-green leaves, and studded with beautiful bunches 
 of pure white star-like flowers, most sweetly scented. 
 Its fruit is the size of a large orange, of a yellow colour 
 when ripe, and perfectly round, with a hard brittle shell ; 
 
IVOBY, 77 
 
 bsicle it is full of a soft reddish pulp iu which the seeds 
 are contained. This pulp is of a very agreeable acid 
 flavour, and is much liked by the natives. The ripe fruit, 
 when cleaned out, is employed by them to contain small 
 quantities of oil, &c. It is not always easy to obtain ripe 
 seeds, as this creeper is the favourite resort of a villainous 
 semi-transparent long-legged red ant — with a stinging 
 bite like a red-hot needle — which is veiy fond of the 
 pulp and seeds. 
 
 Every part of this creeper exudes a milky juice when cut 
 or wounded, but unlike the india-rubber tree of America 
 this milky sap will not run into a vessel placed to receive 
 it, as it dries so quickly as to form a ridge on the wound 
 or cut, which stops its further flow. 
 
 The blacks collect it, therefore, by making long cuts in 
 the bark with a knife, and as the milky juice gushes out, 
 it is wiped off continually with their fingers, and smeared 
 on their arms, shoulders, and breast until a thick covering 
 is formed ; this is peeled off their bodies and cut into small 
 squares, which are then said to be boiled in water. 
 
 From Ambriz the trade in this india-rubber quickly 
 spread south to the liiver Quanza, from whence considerable 
 quantities are exported. 
 
 The ivory that reaches this part of the coast is brought 
 down by natives of the Zombo country. These are similar 
 in appearance to the Mushicongos, to which tribe they are 
 said to be neighbours, and are physically a poor-looking 
 race, dressed mostly in native grass-cloth, and wearing the 
 wool on their heads in very small plaits, thickly plastered 
 with oil and charcoal dust, which they also plentifully 
 apply to their faces and bodies. 
 
 They are about thirty days on the journey from their 
 country to the coast, which can therefore be very closely 
 calculated to be about 300 miles distance. The road they 
 follow passes near Bembe, and the caravans shortly after- 
 wards divide into three portioiis, one taking the road to 
 Moculla, another to Ambrizzette, and the third to Quis- 
 sembo, the three centres, at present, of the ivory trade. 
 The caravans of ivory generally travel in the " cacimbo '* 
 
78 ANGOLA AND THE lilVEIt CONGO, 
 
 or dry season, on account of the great number of streams 
 and gullies they liave to cross on their lono; journey, and 
 almost impassable in the rainy season. I'hese caravans 
 never bring down any other produce with them but ivory, 
 except at times a few grass-cdoths, some bags of white 
 haricot-beans, and fine milk-white onions, neither of which 
 are cultivated by the natives near the coast. The tusks are 
 carried by the natives on their heads or shoulders, and to 
 prevent their slipping, are fastened in a sort of cnge of four 
 short pieces of wood (Plate IV.). Very heavy teeth are 
 slung to a long pole and carried by two blacks. The largest 
 tusks I have seen were two that came to Quissembo, 
 evidently taken from the same animal; they weighed 
 respectively 172 and 174 pounds ! 
 
 The knives on Plate V. were obtainel from natives 
 composing these caravans. 
 
 From all the more intelligent natives I always obtained 
 the same information respecting the origin of the ivory 
 brought down to the coast, namely, that it was all from 
 animals killed, and not from elephants found dead. The 
 natives from the interior always laughed at the idea of 
 ivory becoming scarce from the numbers of elephants that 
 must necessarily be killed to supply the large number of 
 tusks annually brought down, — the number slaughtered 
 must therefore be very small in comparison to the living 
 herds they must be in the habit of seeing on the vast 
 plains of the interior. They are said to be shot, and that 
 the natives put such a charge of powder and iron bullets 
 into their guns that when fired from the shouldt^r the 
 hunter cannot use his gun again that day, so great is the 
 kick he gets from its recoil. I can well understand that 
 this is not an exaggerated account, from the manner in 
 ■which blacks always load a gun, the charge of powder 
 being one handful, as much as it can hold, then a wadding 
 of baobab fibre, then lead shot, or lead or iron bullets (in 
 default of which they use the heavy round pieces of 
 pisolitic iron ore very common in the country), another 
 wad of baobab fibre, and the gun must tlien show that it is 
 loaded a " palm," or about eight or nine inches of the barrel, 
 
Ankle-ring —2. Ping to ascend Palm-trees.— 3. Cage for carrying Ivory Tusks 
 
 4. Kngongui .— 5. Fetich figure.- 6. Mask.— 7. Pillow. y» foMt jage 78, 
 
MUSSERRA— SLEEP DISEASE. 79 
 
 On festive occasions, or at their burials, the guns are 
 loaded with a tamping of " fuba," or fine mandioea-raeal, 
 instead of other wadding, and they then give a terrific 
 report when fired off, and not unfrequently bur<t. 
 
 This coast abounds with fish, but very few of the natives 
 engage in their capture, as they make so much by trading 
 that they will not take the trouble. Several fish, such as 
 the *• Pungo " weighing as much as three " arrobas," or 
 ninety-six pounds, visit the coast only in the " cacimbo " 
 or cold season of the year, or from June to August. 
 
 The Bay of Musserra is a noted place for large captures of 
 this fine fish, as many as forty or fifty being caught in a day 
 by the natives, with hook and line, from their small curious 
 shaped canoes. It is a very firm-fleshed fish, and cut up, 
 salted, and dried in the sun, was a gr^at article of trade 
 at Musserra, being sold to the natives from the interior, 
 particularly to the " Zombos " composing the caravans of 
 ivory, who are very fond of salt fish. There was a great 
 row in the season 1870, which was a very scarce one for 
 ground-nuts, between the natives of the interior and the 
 blacks at Musserra, on account of the latter taking to 
 collect Adansonia fibre in preference to catching *'Pnngo," 
 and therefore disappointing the inlanders of their favourite 
 salt delicacy. 
 
 The canoes on this part of the coast, and as far north 
 as Cabinda, are very curious, and totally unlike any that 
 I have seen anywhere else. They are composed of two 
 rounded canoes lashed or sewn together below, and 
 open at the top. This aperture is narrow, and each canoe 
 forms, as it were, a long pocket. The natives stand or 
 sit on them with their legs in the canoe, or astride, as 
 most convenient according to the state of the surf, on 
 which these canoes ride beautifully. 
 
 The town of Musserra was formerly a large and popu- 
 lous one, but small-pox and " sleep disease" have reduced 
 it to a mere handful. 
 
 This '* sleep disease" was unknown south of the River 
 Congo, where it formerly attacked the slaves collected in 
 the barracoons for shipment. It suddenly appeared at the 
 
80 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 town of Musserra alone, where, I was told by the natives 
 as many as 200 of the inhabitants died of it in a few 
 months. This was in 1870, and, curious to say, it did not 
 spread to tlie neii»libouring- towns. I induced the natives 
 to remove from the old town, and the mortality decreased 
 till the disease died out. 
 
 This singular disease appears to be well known at 
 Gaboon, &c., and is said to be an affection of the cerebel- 
 lum. The subjects attacked by it suffer no pain whatever, 
 but fall into a continual heavy drowsiness or sleep, having 
 to be awakened to be fed, and at last become unable to eat 
 at all, or stand, and die fast asleep as it were. There is 
 no cure known for it, and the patients are said to die gene- 
 rally in about twenty to forty days after being first attacked. 
 
 Tliere was nothing in the old town to account for this 
 sudden and singular epidemic ; it was beautifully clean, 
 and well built on high, dry ground, surrounded by man- 
 dioca plantations, and the last place to all appearance to 
 expect such a curious outbreak. 
 
 About four or five miles inland of Musserra, on a ridge 
 of low hills, stands the remarkable granite pillar marked on 
 the charts, and forming a capital landmark to ships at sea, 
 (Plate v.). 
 
 The country at that distance from the coast is singularly 
 wild in appearance, from the whole being broken up into 
 what can only be compared to a vast granite quarry: — huge 
 blocks of this rock, of every imaginable size and shape, 
 arie scattered over the hilly ground, thickly interspersed 
 with gigantic baobabs and creepers. Some of the masses 
 of rock imitate grotesquely all manner of objects : a very 
 curious one is exactly like a htige cottage-loaf stuck on the 
 top of a tall slender pillar. Others are generally rounded 
 masses, large and small, piled one on top of another, and 
 poised and balanced in the most fantastic manner. This 
 extraordinary appearance is due to softer horizontal layers 
 or beds in the granite weathering unequnlly,and to strongly- 
 marked cleavage planes running N.N.E. and S.S.W. 
 
 The granite pillar itself stands on the top of one of the 
 last of the low hills forming the rocky ridge that comes 
 
Granite Pillar of Mutscrra.— 1. Wooden Trumpet.— 2. Hop.— 3. Pipe.— 4. Knives.— 
 5 and 6. Clapping Hands, and Answer. To face page 80. 
 
SALT. 81 
 
 down to within a few miles of the coast. It consists of a 
 laige slice or flat piece of granite, facing the sea, standing 
 npright on another block that serves it for a pedestal. 
 The top piece is about forty-five feet high, and twenty- 
 seven broad at the base, and eight to ten feet thick. Its 
 faces correspond to the cleavage plane of the granite of the 
 country, and from large masses that h'e around on the same 
 hill, it is clear that these have fallen away from each side, 
 and left it alone standing on the top. The square pedestal 
 on which it stands is about forty feet long, and twenty- 
 high, by twenty-seven wide. I climbed once to the top of 
 this square block by the help of a small tree growing against 
 it, and found that the top piece rested on three points that 
 I could just crawl under. Under some lichen growing 
 there I found numbers of a beetle (Pentalohus harbatus, 
 Fabr.), which I presented to the British Museum. 
 
 A considerable quantity of salt is made by the natives 
 of tliis part of the coast, from Quissembo to Ambrizzette, 
 particularly at the latter place, in the small salt marshes 
 near the sea, and with which they carry on a trade with 
 the natives from the interior. 
 
 At the end of the dry season the women and children 
 divide the surfiice of these marshes into little square por- 
 tions or pans, by raising mud walls a few inches high, so 
 as to enclose in each about two or three gallons of the 
 water, saturated with salt from the already nearly eva- 
 porated marsh. As the salt crystallizes in the bottom 
 of these little pans, it is taken out, and more water added, 
 and so the process is continued until the marsh is quite 
 dry. In many cases a small channel is cut from tlie marsh 
 to the sea (generally very close to it) to admit fresh sea- 
 water at high tide. 
 
 It is an amusing s;ght to see numbers of women and 
 children, all stark naked, standing sometimes above tht ir 
 knees in the water, baling it into the " pans'* with small 
 open baskets or " quindas," and all singing loudly a mono- 
 tonous song; — others are engaged in filling large ** quindas'*' 
 with dirty salt from the muddy pans, whilst others 
 again are busily washing the crystallized salt by pour- 
 
 G 
 
82 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEB CONGO. 
 
 iiig sea-water over it till all the mud is washed away, and 
 the basketfuls of salt shine in the suii like driven snow. 
 
 Towards evening long lines of women and children will 
 be seen carrying to their towns, on their heads, the harvest 
 of salt, and great is the fini and chaff irom them ii" they 
 meet a wliite man travelling in a hammock, — all laughing 
 and shouting, and wanting to shake hands, and running to 
 keep pace with the hammock-bearers. 
 
 The proprietress of each set of little evaporating pans 
 marks them as her property by placing a stick in each 
 corner, to which is attached some " fetish " to keep others 
 from pilfering. This " fetish " is generally a small bundle 
 of strips of cloth or rags, or a small gourd or baobab fruit 
 containing feathers, fowl-dung, '* taenia" (red wood), or 
 very often some little clay or wooden figure, grotesquely 
 carved, and coloured red and white. 
 
 Quantities of little fish are also captured about the 
 same time from these marshes, being driven into corners, 
 &c., and prevented from returning to the marsh by a 
 mud wall. The water from the enclosure thus formed is 
 then baled out by the women with baskets, and the fish 
 caught in the mud. I have often seen as many as 
 twenty women all standing in a line, baling out the water 
 from a large pool in which they had endosed shoals of 
 little fish. These are spread out on the ground to dry in 
 the sun, and the stench from them during the process is 
 something terrific. When dry they are principally sold 
 to natives from the interior. 
 
 Many kinds of aquatic birds of all sizes flock in the 
 dry season to these marshes, where a rich abundance of 
 finny food awaits them, and it is curious to see what little 
 regard they pay to the women collecting salt or baling 
 water, and singing loudly in chorus, very often quite close 
 to them. The reason of this tameness is that the natives 
 seldom fire at or molest them, only a very few hunters 
 shooting wild ducks for sale to the white men, though 
 they will always eat any kind of rank gull or other bird 
 that a white man may shoot. Very beautiful are tlie long 
 lines of spoonbills, flamingoes, and herons of different 
 
MINERAL PITOH. 
 
 species, standing peacefully in these shallow marshes, 
 their snow-white plumage and tall graceful forms brightly 
 reflected on the dark unruffled surface of the water. 
 
 The marshes on this coast are fortunately not extensive 
 enough to influence much the health of the white resi- 
 dents; they are all perfectly snlt, and free from mangrove 
 or other vegetation, and generally dry up completely 
 (with rare exceptions) in the dry season, when some- 
 times the stench from them is very perceptible. 
 
 The worst season for Europeans is about May, June, 
 and July, when the marshes are quite full from the last 
 heavy rains, and exhale no smell whatever. 
 
 The point at Musserra is composed of sandstone, the 
 lower beds of which are strongly impregnated with bitu- 
 men, so strongly, indeed, that it oozes out in the hot season. 
 
 At Kinsao, near Mangue Grande, and a few miles to 
 the interior, a lake of this mineral pitch is said to exist, 
 but of course the natives will not allow a white man to 
 visit the locality to ascertain the fact, and it is also 
 "fetish" fur the natives to trade in it. The fear of 
 armexation of the country by the white men has caused 
 the natives to " fetish " and absolutely prohibit even the 
 mention of another very important article — malachite — of 
 which there is every reason to believe a large deposit 
 exists, about six miles up the river at Ambrizzette. The 
 scenery up this little river is very lovely, but the natives 
 will not allow white men to ascend more than a few miles 
 or up to a hill beyond which the deposit or mine of 
 malachite is believed to exist. In the slave-trading time 
 quantities of this mineral in fine lumps used to be pur- 
 chased of the natives from this locality, but on tlie occu- 
 pation of Ambriz by the Portuguese, in 1855, for the 
 purpose of reaching the malachite deposit at Bembe, the 
 natives of Ambrizzette closed the working of their mine, 
 and it remains so to this day, and nothing will induce 
 them to open it again. 
 
 I have had many private conversations with them, and 
 tried hard to make them work it again, but, as might be 
 expected, without success. 
 
 G 2 
 
( 84 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AMBBIZ — TRADE — MALACHITE — ROAD TO BEMBE — TRA- 
 VELLING — MOSQUITOES — QUIBALLA TO QUILUMBO — 
 QUILUMBO TO BEMBE. 
 
 Ambriz, seen from the sea, consists of a high rocky cliflf 
 or promontory, with a fine bay sweeping with a level 
 beach northward nearly to tlie next promontory, on 
 which stand tlie trading factories forming the place called 
 Quissembo, or Kinsembo of the English. 
 
 In the bay the little River Logo has its mouth, and 
 marks the nortliern limit of the Portuguese possession 
 of Angola. The country beyond, described in the last 
 chapter, is in the hands of the natives, under their o\mi 
 laws, and owing no allegiance or obedience to any white 
 power. Ambriz was, up to the year 1855, when it was 
 occupied by the Portuguese, also in the hands of the 
 natives, and was one of the principal ports for the ship- 
 ment of, and trade in slaves, from the interior. 
 
 There were also established tliere American and Liver- 
 pool houses, trading in gum copal, malachite, and ivory, 
 and selling, for hard cash, Manchester and other goods 
 to the slave dealers from Cuba and the Brazils, with 
 which goods the slaves from the interior were all bought 
 by barter from the natives. 
 
 The Portuguese, following their usual blind and absurd 
 policy, at once established a custom-house, and levied 
 high duties on all goods imported. The consequence wa;*, 
 that the foreign houses, to escape their exactions, at once 
 removed to Quissembo, on the other side of the River 
 Loge, and the trade of Ambriz was completely annihilated 
 and reduced to zero. For many years the revenue barely 
 sufficed to pay the paltry salaries of the cnstom-house 
 
AMDRIZ. 85 
 
 ofiScials, but when I established myself at Ambriz, I suc- 
 ceeded in induciog the Governor-General of Angola to 
 reduce the duties, so as to enable us at Ambriz to compete 
 successfully with the factories at Quissembo, six miles off, 
 where they paid no duties whatever, with the annual ex- 
 ception of a few pounds' worth of cloth, &c., in "customs" 
 or presents to the natives. 
 
 The Governor, Francisco Antonio Gonjalves Cardozo, 
 a naval officer, had the common sense to perceive that 
 moderate duties would yield a greater revenue, and would 
 be the only means of bringing back trade to the place. 
 An import duty of six per cent, advalorem was decreed, 
 notwithstanding the violent opposition of the petty mer- 
 chants, and ignorant officials at Loanda. The experiment, 
 it is needless to say, was highly successful, and the receipts 
 of the Ambriz custom-house now amount to a considerable 
 sum, of which a third is devoted to public works. The 
 factories at Quissembo are at present doing but little trade, 
 except in ivory, which has not yet been coaxed back to 
 Ambriz. 
 
 The town of Ambriz consists principally of one long, 
 broad street or road, on the ridge that ends at the cliff or 
 promontory forming the southern point of the bay. At 
 the end of the road a small fort has been built in which 
 are the barracks for the detachment of troops forming the 
 garrison. This useless fort has been a source of consider- 
 able profit to the many ill-paid Portuguese governors or 
 commandants of Ambriz, and though it has cost the 
 country thousands of pounds, it is not yet finished. There 
 is a tumble-down house for the commandant, and an 
 attempt at an hospital, also unfinished, though it has been 
 building for many years. There are no quarters for the 
 officers, who live as best they can with the traders, or 
 hire whatever mud or grass huts they can secure. 
 
 The custom-house is in ruins, notwithstanding many 
 years of expenditure, for which, in fact, fort, hospital, 
 barracks, custom-house, and all other government and 
 public works might have been built long', ago, of stone 
 and building-materials from Portugal. A church was 
 
8G ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 commenced to be built by subscriptions, the walls only 
 were raised, and thus it remains to this day. There is a 
 government paid priest who celebrates mass on most 
 Sunday n^ornings in a small room in the commandant's 
 house, but for whom no school-room, residence, or any 
 convenience whatever is provided, and who lives in a 
 hut in a back street, where he trades for produce with the 
 natives on week days. 
 
 The garrison is badly armed and disciplined. Some 
 time ago the soldiers revolted, and for some days amused 
 themselves by firing their muskets about the place, and 
 demanding drink and money from the traders. There 
 was nobody killed or wounded, no house or store robbed 
 or sacked, the mutineers in fact behaving remarkably 
 well. The commandant kept indoors until the news 
 reached Loanda, and after several days the Governor- 
 General arrived in a Portuguese man-of-war with troops, 
 which were disemb:irked, the valiant Governor-General 
 remaining on board till order was restored, when lie 
 landed, had a couple of the ringleaders thrashed, made 
 a speech to the rest of the mutineers, and returned to 
 Loanda, leaving the tall commandant to twirl his mous- 
 taches. The Governor-General was at that time an officer 
 called Jose da Ponte e Horta, and though not one of the 
 most competent men that Portugal has sent to Angola 
 as governor, the inhabitants of Loanda have to thank 
 him for paving a great part of their sandy city. 
 
 Were not the natives of Ambriz such a remarkably 
 inoHensive and imwarlike race, they would long ago have 
 driven the Portuguese into the sea. It is a great pity 
 that Portugal should neglect so disgracefully her colonies, 
 so rich in themselves, and offering such wonderful advan- 
 tages in every way for colonization and development. 
 
 In the year 1791 the Portuguese built a fort at Quincollo, 
 about six miles up the Eiver Loge, on a low liill command- 
 ing the road from Ambriz to Bemibe and St. Salvador, 
 Avhere they then had a large establishment, and the masses 
 of masonry still remain, a standing memorial of the former 
 energy and bravery of the Portuguese Avho subjugated the 
 
AMBRIZ. 81 
 
 tlien powerful kingdom of Congo and tlie savage tribes of 
 the coast, so strikingly in contrast to the present spiritless 
 and disgraceful miliiary misrule of Angola. 
 
 Ambriz boasts of the only iron pier in Angola, and this 
 was erected at my instigation. It is 200 feet long, and is 
 a great advantage in loading and discharging cargo into 
 or from the lighters. 
 
 Ambriz is an open roadstead, and vessels have to anclior 
 at a considerable distance from the beach, and though the 
 surf sometimes interferes with the above operations on 
 the beach, vessels are always safe, such things as storms 
 or heavy seas being unknown. 
 
 Behind the beacli a salt, marshy plain extends inland 
 for a mile or so, and nearly to Quissembo in a northerly 
 direction. Along the edge of this plain is the road to 
 Quincollo, and many little ravines or valleys lead into it. 
 These, in the hot season particularly, are most lovely in 
 their vegetation, the groups of gigantic Euphorbias fes- 
 tooned with many delicate-leaved creepers being especially 
 quaint and beautiful. 
 
 A handsome orange and black diurnal moth is found 
 abundantly about Ambriz, and is curious from its ex- 
 haling a strong smell of gum benzoin, so strong indeed 
 as to powerfully scent the collecting box. It is the 
 '* Eusemia ochracea" of entomologists. 
 
 In 1872, the ship "Thomas Mitchell" took a cargo of 
 coals from England to Eio de Janeiro, and after discharging 
 proceeded in ballast to Ambriz. The crew on arrival were 
 suffering from '^ chigoes " or '* jiggers" in their feet, which 
 they contracted in the Brazils. These pests were quickly 
 communicated to the black crews of our boats and intro- 
 duced on shore, and in a short time everyone in Ambriz 
 had them in their feet and hands. Many of the blacks 
 were miserable objects from the ravages of this horrid 
 insect on their feet and legs, in the skin of \\hich they 
 burrow and breed. They gradually extended up the 
 coast, but. not towards the interior. By last advices they 
 appear to be dying out at Ambriz. It is to be hoped that 
 such is the case, and that this fresh acquisition to the insect 
 
88 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 scourges of tropical Africa may be only temporary. A 
 friend just arrived from the coast tells me that they have 
 already reached Gaboon, and they will doubtlessly run 
 all the way up the coast. 
 
 Previous to the occupation of Ambriz by the Portuguese 
 in 1855, the natives used to bring down a considerable 
 quantity of fine malachite from Bembe for sale. A Bra- 
 zilian slave-dealer, a man of great energy and enterprise, 
 called Francisco Antonio Flores, who_, after the abolition 
 of the slave-trade, laboured incessantly to develop the 
 resources cf Angola, in which effort he sank the large 
 fortune he had previously amassed, obtained the concession 
 of the Bembe mines from the Portuguese G-overnment, 
 who sent an expedition to occupy the country, and 
 succeeded without any opposition on the part of the 
 natives. 
 
 Ill January, 1858, I was engaged by th.e Western 
 Africa Malachite Copper Mines Company, who had ac- 
 quired the mines from Senhor Flores, to accompany a 
 party of. twelve miners sent under a Cornish mining 
 captain to explore them. We arrived at Bembe on the 
 8th IMarch, and the next day seven of the men were down 
 with fever ; the others also quickly fell ill, and for three 
 months that followed of the heavy rainy season, they 
 passed through great discomforts from want of proper 
 accommodation. Ultimately eight died within the next 
 nine months, and the rest had to be sent home, with the 
 exception of one man and myself. This result was not so 
 much the effect of the climate, as the want of proper 
 lodgings and care. 
 
 The superintendent was at that time the Portuguese 
 commandant, who of course did not interfere with the 
 mining captain, an ignorant man, who made tlio men 
 work in the same manner of day and night shifts as if 
 they were in Cornwall, in the full blaze of the sun, in 
 their wet clothes, &c. 
 
 An English superintendent next arrived, but he unfor- 
 tunately was addicted to intemperance, and soon died 
 from the effects of the brandy bottle. After being at 
 
MALACHITE, 89 
 
 JBembe eight or nine months, the mining captain, either 
 from stupidity or wilfulness, not only had not discovered a 
 single pound of malachite, but insisted that there was 
 none in the place, where the natives for years previously 
 had extracted from 200 to 300 tons every dry season ! In 
 view of his conduct I took upon myself the responsibility 
 of taking charge of the mining operations, and sent him 
 back to England. A few days alter we discovered fine 
 blocks of malachite, fifteen tons of which I sent to the 
 Company in the same steamer that took liim home. 
 
 It would not interest the reader to describe minutely 
 the causes that led gradually to the abandonment of the 
 working of these mines, and to the heavy loss sustained by 
 the Company, but I am convinced that, had diily qualified 
 and experienced men directed the working from the be- 
 ginning, they would have proved a success. Many hundred 
 tons of malachite were afterwards raised, with the help of 
 a very lew white miners, but too late to correct the pre- 
 vious mistakes and losses. 
 
 During the years 1858 and 1859, I travelled the road 
 from Anibriz to Bembe eight times, and in the month 
 of April 1873, I went again, for the last time, with my 
 wife. 
 
 Lieutenant Grandy and his brother had been our guests 
 at Ambriz,.Avhere we had supplied them with the greater 
 part of the beads and goods they required for their 
 arduous journey into the interior. These gentlemen, it 
 will be recollected, were sent by the Royal Geographical 
 Society to discover the source of the Congo, and to meet 
 and aid Dr. Livingstone in the interior should he have 
 crossed the continent from the east coast, as it was 
 imagined he might probably do. 
 
 We had arranged to proceed together from Anibriz as 
 far as Bembe, but owning to the great mortality in tlie 
 country from two successive visitations of small-pox, whicli 
 had ravaged the coast, we were unable to obtain the 
 necessary number of carriers. The two brothers alone 
 required nearly 200, and as only a few comparatively 
 could be had at a time, they went singly first, and about a 
 
90 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO, 
 
 week after they had both started my wife and myself were 
 able to get together sufficient carriers to leave also. 
 
 To travel in a country like Angola it is necessary to be 
 provided with almost everything in the way of food and 
 clothing, and goods for money, and as everything has to 
 be carried on men's heads, a great number of carriers are 
 necessarily requisite. 
 
 The "tipoia," or hammock, is the universal travelling 
 apparatus in Angola (Plate I.), and is of two forms, the 
 simple hammock slung to a palm pole (the stem of the leaf 
 of a Metroxylon, Welw.) which is very strong and ex- 
 tremely light, or the same with a light-painted waterproof 
 cover, and curtains, very comfortable to travel in, and 
 always used by the Portuguese to the interior of Loanda, 
 where the country is more open, and better paths or roads 
 exist, but they would quickly be torn to pieces north, and 
 on the road to Bembe, from the very dense bush, and in 
 the wet season the very high grass ; consequently the plain 
 hammock and pole only are generally employed, the 
 traveller shading himself from the sun by a movable 
 cover held in position by two cords, or by using a white 
 umbrella. When travelling long distances six or eight 
 bearers are necessary ; — the two hammock carriers gene- 
 rally run at a trot for about two hours at a stretch, when 
 another couple take their places. 
 
 On any well-known road the natives have established 
 changing or resting places, which, when not at a town, are 
 generally at some shady tree or place where water is to 
 be had, — or at the spots where fairs are held, or food cooked 
 and exposed for sale by the women. 
 
 When the road was clear of grass, in the dry season, I 
 have more than once travelled from Ambriz to Bembe — ■ 
 a distance of not less than 130 miles — in four days, with 
 only eight bearers and light luggage, and this without in 
 any way knocking up or distressing the carriers, and only 
 running from daybreak to nightfall; — very often they 
 joined in a " batuco " or dance, for several hours into 
 the night, at the town I slept at, and were quite fresh 
 and ready to start next morning. 
 
TRAVELLING, 91 
 
 It is only the stronger blacks that are good hammock- 
 bearers, especially the coast races, very few of the natives 
 of the interior, such as the Mushicongos, being sufficiently 
 powerful to cany a hammock for any distance. The 
 motion is extremely disagreeable at first, from the strong 
 lip and down jerking experienced, but one soon becomes 
 quite used to it, and falls asleep whilst going at full trot, 
 just as if it were perfectly still. The natives of Loanda 
 and Benguella, though not generally such strong carriers 
 as the Ambriz blacks, take the hammock at a fast walk 
 instead of the sharp trot of the latter, and consequently 
 hammock travelling there is very lazy and luxurious. 
 
 The pole is carried on the shoulder, and rests on a 
 small cushion generally made of fine grass cloth stuffed 
 with wild cotton, the silky fibre in the seed pod of the 
 "Mafumeira," or cotton-wood tree {Eriodendron anfrac- 
 tuosum), or "isca," a brown, woolly-like down covering 
 the stems of palm-trees. Each bearer carries a forked 
 stick on which to rest the pole when changing shoulders, 
 and also to ease the load by sticking the end of it under 
 the pole behind their backs, and stretching out their 
 arm on it. No one, who has not tried, can furm an idea 
 what hard, wearying work it is to carry a person in a 
 hammock, and it is wonderful how these blacks will run 
 Avith one all day, in the hot sun, nearly naked, with bare 
 shaved heads, and not feel distressed. 
 
 On arriving at any stream or pool they dash at once 
 into the water, and wash off the perspiration that streams 
 from their bodies, and I never heard of any ill consequence 
 occurring from this practice. The hammock-bearers do 
 not as a rule carry loads ; by native custom they are only 
 obliged to carry the white man's bed, his provision box, 
 and one portmanteau. To take my wife, myself, a tent, 
 — as it was the rainy season — provisions, bedding, and a 
 few changes of clothes, only what was absolutely neces- 
 sary for a month's journey, we had to engage exactly 
 thirty carriers ; this included our cook and iiis boy with 
 the necessary pots and pans, our "Jack Wash," as the 
 laundry boys are called, with his soap and irons, and one 
 
92 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 man with the drying papers and boxes for collecting plants 
 and insects. \Ve also took a Madeira cane chair, very 
 usefid to be carried in across the streams or marshes we 
 should meet with. 
 
 All being ready we started off, passing Quincollo and 
 arriving at Quingombe, where we encamped for the night 
 on top of a hill to be out of the way, as I thought, of a 
 peculiarly voracious mosquito very abundant there, and 
 of which I had had experience in my former journeys to 
 and from Bembe. 
 
 I shall never forget the first night I passed there in 
 going up to the mines with the twelve miners. There 
 was at that time a large empty barracoon built of sticks 
 and grass, for the accommodation of travellers. Soon 
 after sunset a hum like that of distant bees was heard, 
 and a white mist seemed to rise out of the marshy 
 land below, which was nothing less than a cloud of 
 mosquitoes. The men were unprovided with mosquito 
 nets, and the consequence was that sleep was perfectly out 
 of the question, so they sat round the table smoking and 
 drinking coffee, and killing mosquitoes on their hands and 
 faces all night long. I had been given an excellent mos- 
 quito bar or curtain, but the ground was so full of sand- 
 ileas, that although I was not troubled with mosquitoes, 
 the former kept me awake and feverish. In the morning 
 we laughed at our haggard appearance, and swollen faces 
 and hands ; luckily we were not so troubled any more on 
 our journey up. 
 
 \Vhere mosquitoes are in such abundance, nothing but 
 a proper curtain will avail against them ; smoking them 
 out is of very little use, as only such a large amount of 
 acrid smoke will effectually drive them away as to make 
 the remedy almost unbearable. The substances usually 
 burnt in such cases are dry cow-dung, mandioca-meal, or 
 white Angola gum. 
 
 There are several species of mosquito in Angola ; tliat 
 found in marshes is the largest, and is light brown in 
 colour, and very sluggish in its flight or movements. 
 When the fellow settles to insert his proboscis, it is quite 
 
MOSQUITOES. 93 
 
 sufficient to put the tip of a finger on him to annihilate 
 him, but none of the others can be so easily killed ; two 
 or three species —notably a little black shiny iellow, only 
 found near nmning water — are almost impossible to catch 
 when settled and sucking, even with the most swiftly 
 delivered slap. Another species is beautifully striped or 
 banded with black, body and legs. 
 
 Mosquitoes rarely attack in the daytime, except in 
 shady places, where they are fond of lying on the under 
 side of leaves of trees. Some with large beautiful plumed 
 antennae appear at certain times of the year in great num- 
 bers, and are said to be the males, and are not known to 
 bite or molest in any way. 
 
 Although we pitched our tent on top of a hill to escape 
 the marsh mosquitoes, and had a terri tic rain-storm nearly 
 the whole of the night, they found us out, and in the 
 morning the inner side of our tent was completely covered 
 with them ; — had we not slept under a good mosquito net, 
 we should have passed just such another night as 1 have 
 described. We had to stop a second night on this hill 
 to wait for our full number of carriers. The scenery 
 from it is magnificent, low hills covered with dense bush 
 of the prickly acacia tree {A. Welioitschii), high grass, 
 baobabs and euphorbias, and in the low places a great 
 abundance of a large aloe, with pale crimson flowers in 
 tall spikes. 
 
 At last all loads were properly distributed and secured 
 in the '* mutetes," an arrangement in which loads are very 
 conveniently carried. They are generally made from the 
 palm leaves, the leaflets of which are woven into a kind of 
 basket, leaving the stems only about ^\\q or six feet long ; 
 a little shoe or slipper, made of wood or hide, is secured 
 to the under side. When the carrier wishes to rest, he 
 bends down his head until the palm stems touch the 
 ground, and the load is then leant up against a tree. If 
 there is not a tree handy, then the eiid of their stick or 
 staff being inserted into the shoe, forms with the two ends 
 three legs, on which it stands securely. This shoe is also 
 useful with the staff when on the journey, to rest the 
 
94 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 carrier for a few minutes by easin2^ the weight of the load 
 off his head without setting it down. The natives of the 
 interior carry loads on their heads that they aie unable to 
 lift easily from the ground, and the *' mutete " is therefore 
 very convenient. In carrying a large bag of produce, a 
 long stick is tied on to each side, to act in the same way 
 as the " mntete." 
 
 In four days we arrived at Quiballa, where we rested a 
 couple of days, to collect plants and some fine butterflies 
 from the thick surrounding woods, and to dry the jilants 
 we had gathered thus far. The country we had passed 
 was compiratively level, and the scenery for the most part- 
 was very like that of a deserted park overgrown with rank 
 grass and weeds. 
 
 As Quiballa is approached the country becomes very 
 hilly in all directions, and the vegetation changes to fine 
 trees and creepers, conspicuous amongst which is the India- 
 rubber plant already described. 
 
 Quiballa is a large town most picturesquely situated 
 on a low, flat-topped hill, surrounded on all sides by 
 other higher hills, and separated from them by a deep 
 ravine filled with magnificent forest vegetation, -and in 
 the bottom of which a shallow stream of the clearest 
 water runs swiftly over its fantastic rocky bed — all little 
 waterfalls and shady transparent pools. Our finest speci- 
 mens of butterflies, such as Gcdartia Trajamis, Bomaleo- 
 soma losinga, B. medon, Euryphene Plidonax and others, 
 were collected in these lovely woods ; they do not come 
 out into the sunny open, but flit about in the shadiest 
 part under the trees, flying near the ground, and occa- 
 sionally settling on a leaf or branch on which a streak of 
 sunshine falls through the leafy vault above. Other 
 species, such as the Papilios (P. menestheus, P. hriitus, 
 P. demoleiis, P. erinus, Diadema misuppus), &c. (S:c., on 
 the contrary, we only found in the lull sunshine, on the 
 low bushes and flowering plants, skirting, as with a broad 
 belt, the woods or forest. 
 
 The change in vegetation from the coast to Quiballa 
 may be due not only to difference of altitude, but partly 
 
QUI BALL A. 95 
 
 to tlie rock of the country, wliich is a large-grained, very 
 qiiartzose mica rock or gneiss from the coast to near 
 Quiballa, where it changes to a soft mica slate, easily 
 decomposed by water and atmospheric; influences. Several 
 species of birds, very abundant on the coast and as far as 
 Matuta, disappear about Quiballa, the most notable being 
 the common African crow (Corvus seapulatus), the bril- 
 liantly-coloured, starlings {Lamj)rocoUus)f and the several 
 rollers; doves also, so abundant on the coast, are com- 
 paratively rare after passing Quiballa. 
 
 The Coracias caudata, the most beautiful of the African 
 rollers, has a very extraordinary manner of flying, 
 tumbling about in a zig-zag fashion in the air as if 
 drunk, and chattering loudly all the time. I once 
 shot at one on the top of a high tree at JMatuta ; it 
 fell dead, as I thought, but on picking it up I was gladly 
 surprised to find it quite uninjured, and only stunned 
 apparently. I placed it in a hastily-constructed cage, 
 and took it wiih me to Bembe, where it became quite 
 tame, and I liad it several months, till my boy, feeding 
 it one morning, left the door of its cage open, and it flew 
 away. In its native state it feeds principally on grass- 
 oppers ; in captivity its food was mostly raw meat, which 
 it ate greedily. 
 
 The starlings of darkest shades of blue, with bright 
 yellow eyes, are strikingly beautiful when seen flying, the 
 sunshine reflecting the metallic lustre of their plumage. 
 
 The cooing of the doves serves the natives at night 
 instead of a clock, as they coo at the same hours as the 
 common cock, and in travelling, if the natives are asked 
 the time during the night, they always refer to the *' dove 
 having sung," as they term it, or not. Its cooing a little 
 before day-dawn is the signal to prepare ibr the start that 
 day. 
 
 At the town of Quirillo, where we slept one night, 
 
 the Madeira chair first came into use, to cross a stream 
 
 \and marsh in which the water came up to the men's necks. 
 
 Our hammock-boys thought it fine fun to pass us over the 
 
 different streams in the chair ; all twelve would stand in 
 
96 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO, 
 
 the water close together, with the chair on their shoulders, 
 and pass my wife across first, singing in chorus, *' Mun- 
 delle mata-bicho, Mundelle mata-bicho " (Mundelle = 
 white-man, mata-bicho = a '*dash" of a drink of rum). 
 On landing her safely they would yell and whistle like 
 demons, accompanied by all the rest on the banks, and 
 splash and dabble about like ducks in the water. The 
 chair would then come back for me, and the same scene 
 be again enacted. A bottle of rum, or a couple of 
 bunches of beads, was always the reward for crossing us 
 over without wetting us. 
 
 Quiballa is by far the largest town to be met with from 
 Ambriz, and contains several hundred huts distributed 
 irregularly over the flat top of the hill on which it 
 stands. The huts are square, built of sticks covered 
 with clay, and roofed with grass. The principal room 
 in the largest hut was swept out, and placed at our 
 disposal by the king, and we made ourselves very com- 
 forta(de in it. The king, Dom Paolo, is a fine, tall old 
 negro, and knowing of our arrival sent his son and a num- 
 ber of men to meet us, when they took my wife's ham- 
 mock, and raced her iuto the town at a great pace. He 
 has considerable influence in the country, where his is an 
 important town, as it marks the limits of the coast or 
 Ambriz race, and that of the Mushicongo tribe beyond. 
 
 Tiiere is a jrood deal of rivalry between the two races ; — 
 the Ambriz blacks do not like going beyond Quiballa, and 
 the Mushicongos object to go into the x\mbriz country. 
 Before the road Avas taken possession of by the Portuguese, 
 Quiballa was the great halting-place for the two tribes, 
 the Mushicongos bringing the proceeds of the copper 
 mines at Bembe to sell to the Ambriz natives, who then 
 carried it to the traders on the coast. With the increased 
 trade in other produce, a great deal of this separation has 
 been done away with, and both tribes now mingle more 
 freely; but at the time I was engaged at the Bembe mines 
 we were obliged to have a large store at Quiballa to receive 
 loads goini< up from Ambriz, and copper ore coming down 
 from Bembe, and there change carriers. 
 
VIEW IN THK HILLY COUNTRY OF QUIBALLA- 
 
 -0AM0EN8IA MAXIMA. 
 
 3b fact page 97. 
 
QUIBALLA. 97 
 
 The Ambriz negroes, being very much stronger never 
 objected to any loads, however heavy, some of the>e going 
 np the c(-untry with sixteen or twenty carriers, such as tlie 
 heavy pieces of the steam-engine, saw mill, pnmps, &c. 
 There was great difficulty in inducing the Mushicongos to 
 take thf'se heavy and very often cumbersome loads from 
 Quiballa to Bembe, and once, when loads for upwards of 
 lOuO carriers had accumulated at the store, I was obliged 
 to hit upon the following plan to get the Mushicongos to 
 take them up, and it succeeded admirably. 
 
 I engai-ed 1000 carriers at Bembe to go empty-handed 
 to Quiballa for the cargo there, and paid them only the 
 customary number of beads for rations on the road, 
 rations for the return journey to be paid at Quiballa, 
 and pay for the whole journey at Bembe, on delivery of 
 tlie loads. My calculation was that the greater number 
 would be forced from hunger to take them, and so it hap- 
 pened. The morning after we arrived at Quiballa they all 
 flatly refused to take a single load of the machinery in the 
 store ; — I very quietly told them they might go about their 
 business, and for three days I was yelled at by them, but 
 they were at last forced to accept my terms, and I returned 
 to Bembe with 800 loads. 
 
 It was at Quiballa that we were so fortunate as to 
 obtain specimens of the flowers, and a quantity of ripe 
 seeds of the beautiful plant named " Camoensia maxima " 
 by its discoverer. Dr. Welwitsch. We saw it growing 
 along the sides of the road as soon as we left the gneiss 
 formation and entered on the mica slate, but most* abun- 
 dantly in the more bare places on the sides of the liills at 
 Quiballa, in the very hard clay of the decomposed mica 
 slate. 
 
 The Ca7noensia maxima (Plate VI.) grows as a hard, 
 woody bush, with rather straggling long branches covered 
 with fine large leaves, and bearing bunches of flowers, the 
 lower, and by far the largest petal of which is shaped like a 
 shell, of a delicate creamy white, with its edges exquisitely 
 crisped, bordered wath a golden rim, and nearly the size of 
 an open hand. Its roots spread underground to great 
 
 n 
 
93 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 distances and shoot out into other plants, so that on at- 
 tempting to remove what we thought nice small plants, wo 
 always came on great thick roots which we followed and 
 found to proceed from old bushes at a considerable dis- 
 tance. Several small plants that we brought away alive 
 died subsequently at Arabriz. Half a dozen of the seeds 
 germinated on arrival at Kew Gardens, so that I hope 
 this lovely flower will be shortly in cultivation, a welcome 
 addition to our hot-houses. All the plants that we collected 
 and dried are deposited in the herbarium at Kew Gardens. 
 
 A peculiarity of the towns on the coast inhabited by 
 the Ambriz blacks, and which disappears inland, is their 
 being surrounded by a thick, high belt or hedge of a 
 curious thin, very branching Euphorbia. 
 
 The huts in coast towns are all built separately, but 
 near one another, in a clear space, and not separated by 
 trees or hedges ; in the interior, however, the space occu- 
 pied by the towns is very much larger, and many of the 
 huts are built in a square piece of ground and enclosed 
 by a hedge either of a square-stemmed, prickly, cactus-like 
 Euphorbia, or more generally of the Physic-nut plant 
 (Jatropha curcas), the "Purgueira" of the Portuguese, and 
 from the greater number of trees and palms left standing, 
 the towns are very much prettier, some beicg remarkably 
 picturesque. Most of them are situated in woods, which 
 aie not found in the littoral region. The huts of the 
 Mushicongos, from the greater abundance of building 
 materials, are very much larger than those of the Ambriz 
 blacks, and very often contain two rooms. The towns of 
 both are remarkably clean, and are always kept well swept, 
 as are also the interiors of their huts ; — their brooms are a 
 bundle of twigs, and the dust, ashes, &c., are always thrown 
 into the bush surrounding the towns. 
 
 A cleanly habit of all blacks, and one which it always 
 struck me might be imitated with advantage by more 
 civilized countries, is that of always turning away their 
 faces to expectorate, and invariably covering it with dust 
 or sand with their ieet. 
 
 At certain places on the road, generally in the vicinity 
 
QUIBALLA. 99 
 
 of water or where several trees afford a convenient shade, 
 a kind of little mnrket is held all day, of plantains, green 
 Indian corn, manclic ca roots, and other articles of food for 
 the supply of the carriers or natives passing np and down. 
 Here the women from the neighbouring towns come with 
 their pots, and cook food, such as dr}'' fish and beans, and 
 sell "garapa" or "uallua," as a kind of beer made from 
 Indian corn is called. 
 
 My wife, of course, excited the greatest curiosity in all 
 the towns we passed through; only two white women 
 (both Portuguese) had before made the journey to Bembe, 
 and the remarks and observations made on her appear- 
 ance, principally by the women, were often very amusing. 
 One old woman at a town where we stayed to breakfast, 
 and who was the king's mother, after watching us for 
 some time, expressed her satisfaction at our conduct, and 
 said we appeared to be a very loving pair, as I had helped 
 my wife first to food and drink. She was very thankful 
 for a cup of coffee, and a handful of lumps of sugar for 
 her couoh. Their greatest astonishment, however, was at 
 our India-rubber bed and bath, and the whole town would 
 flock round in breathless amazement to see them blown 
 out ready for use, when our tent had been put up. Some 
 would ask to be allowed to touch them, and would then 
 look quite frightened at their peculiar feel. 
 
 In the mornings on coming out of our tent we would 
 generally find a large audience squatted on the ground 
 waiting for our appearance, to wish us good morning, 
 though curiosity to see the finishing touches of our toilette 
 was the principal cause. 
 
 My wife's last operations of hair-dressing, which could 
 not be conveniently effected in the closed tent, seemed to 
 cause them most surprise. Beyond this very natural 
 curiosity to see us, we were never once annoyed by any 
 rudeness or impropriety on the part of tlie natives. 
 
 Having rested a couple of days at Quiballa, we again 
 started on our journey. The road (which is nowhere 
 other than a narrow path, only admitting the passage 
 of blacks in single file), after leaving Quiballa, winds 
 
 H 2 
 
100 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 around some rocky hills, which are succeeded by a couple 
 of miles of level valley thickly grown with cane and very 
 high grass!, until the hill called Tuoo is reached, tJje first 
 great sudden elevation. On the left is a deep valley, 
 filled with an almost impenetrable forest of the moet 
 luxuriant foliage and creepers; the great trunks and 
 branches of the high trees are mostly white and shiny, 
 and contrast in a singular manner with the dark green of 
 their leaves. On the right the hill-side is also covered 
 with trees and bush on which was growing abundantly a 
 beautiful creeper, b'earing large liandsome leaves and 
 bright yellow fiowers (Liiffa sp.). From the top, looking 
 back tow^arls Quiballa, a magnificent view is obtained. 
 As far as the eye can reach is seen a succession of 
 forest-covered mountains brightly lit in the cloudless sun 
 to the distant horizon, shaded off into a haze of lovely 
 blue. It is almost impossible to imagine a more ex- 
 quisite panorama, and words fail to describe its beauty 
 and grandeur. 
 
 After this hill is passed, the country continues com- 
 paratively level for some miles, and is very beautiful, 
 being covered with dense vegetation, in which are seen 
 abundance of dark feathery palms, relieved by the bright 
 green patches of the banana groves, planted round the 
 little towns. The soil is very fertile, and many ground- 
 nut and mandioca plantations are seen everywhere. 
 
 Our first halt was at Ngungungo, a large and very 
 picturesque town, where there is a considerable trade 
 carried on in mandioca root and its different preparations, 
 as well as in beans and ground-nuts, the produce of the 
 country around. 
 
 After passing this town the road becomes very rocky 
 and ston)^ necessitating getting out of the hammocks 
 and walking a good deal over the rough ground. Farther 
 on, another steep but bare hill had to be ascended, and 
 finally we reached a little new town called Quioanquilla, 
 where we slept. This had been a large and important 
 town, but the natives having robbed several caravans 
 going up to the mines, the Portuguese punished them 
 
Q UIBALLA T& ^ ^ff. \}^Md. "' ^ '' r«. S '• ^ : /joi 
 
 by burning it some years ago. We saw a considerable 
 quantity of wild pineapples growing about this town, but 
 the natives make no use of its tine fibre, contenting 
 tbemselves with eating the unripe fruit. 
 
 Next day's journey brought us, early in the afternoon, 
 to a very prettily situated new town, of which a little old 
 woman was the queen ; her two sons were the head men, 
 and we were most hospitably received by them. 
 
 We had, fortunately, thus far escaped rain-storms during 
 the day whilst travelling ; rain had always come down at 
 night, when we v/ere comfortably housed in our tent or 
 in the hut at Quiballa. We put up our tent in an open 
 space in the middle of the town, and took the precaution, 
 as usual, of cutting a small trench round it to carry away 
 the water in case of rain. When we retired the weather 
 Avas fine, but we liad not been asleep long before we were 
 awakened by a terrific thunderstorm, accompanied by tor- 
 rents of rain. The trench overflowed, and a stream of water 
 began to enter our tent. In the greatest hurry I cut another 
 trench along the side of our bed, a foot wide and about 
 nine inches deep, and for two hours did this drain run full 
 of water, such was the downpour of rain. Next morning 
 we continued our journey, and in about half-an-hour's time 
 arrived at a rivulet that drained what was usually a large 
 marsh, but the storm of the previous nif^ht had turned 
 the marsh into a lake and the rivulet into a roaring 
 stream quite impassable. After trying it lower down, 
 and finding we could not ford it, we had no alternative 
 but to return to the town and remain there for that day, 
 or till the water should have subsided sufficiently to enable 
 us to cross. The remainder of the day we employed in 
 collecting insects and in drying the plants we had gathered 
 the last few days. 
 
 A child was born whilst we were in this town, and, 
 being a girl, it was at once named Eose, after my wife, 
 who had therefore to make the mother a present of a, 
 piece of handkerchiefs and an extra fine red cotton one 
 lor the baby. 
 
 Next day we were able to pass the swollen stream in 
 
102^ : : ; y li^N^'aLA^iA'^'Do'pHE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 our cLair, after a couple of hours spent in cutting away 
 branches of trees, &c., that obstructed the passage, at a 
 place where the depth of water was about live feet. In 
 a fish-trap I here found the curious new fish described by 
 Dr. A. Giinther, and named by him Gymnalldbes apus 
 ('Annals and Magazine of Natural History' for August, 
 1873). 
 
 That day's journey, through a country alternately covered 
 with lovely forest and high grass, brought us to the large 
 town of Quilumbo, beautifully situated in a forest, and 
 with a great number of oil-palm trees (Plate YIL). Tliis 
 is at present tlie largest and most important town on 
 the road to Bembe, containing several hundred huts and 
 quite a swarm of inhabitants. About noon we halted for 
 breakfast at a market-place near a town on the Eiver 
 Lifua. Here were about forty or fifty armed blacks, with 
 the king from the neighbouring town, all getting rapidly 
 drunk on " garapa," or Indian-corn beer ; their faces and 
 bodies painted bright red, with a few white spots, look- 
 ing like so many stage demons, dancing, singing, and 
 flourishing their guns about. They were all going to a 
 town where we heard the kings of five towns were to 
 have their heads cut off that day for complicity in tlie 
 murder of a woman by one of them. They were accom- 
 panied by a man blowing a large wooden trumpet of most 
 extraordinary form (Plate V.). 
 
 This trumpet is made of the hollow root and stem of a 
 tree, said to grow in the mud of rivers and marshes ; it 
 does not appear to have been thinned away much at its 
 narrow end, but seems to have grown naturally from the 
 large flat root to a thin stem at a short distance above 
 it. I immediately wanted to buy this instrument, but 
 nothing would induce the king to part with it till I offered 
 to exchange it for a brass bugle. I had to give them a 
 " mucanda" or order for one at our store at Ambriz ; even 
 then it w^as not delivered to me, but tlie king agreed to 
 send one of his sons to Ambriz with it on my return from 
 Bembe, which he did, and thus I became possessed of it. 
 • Next day's journey was through pretty undulating 
 
QUILUMDO TO BEMBE, 103 
 
 country, covered principally with high grass, and after 
 passing a couple of small towns we arrived, early in the 
 afternoon, at the River Luqueia, which we passed over on 
 a very good plank bridge, just built by the Portngnese 
 officer commanding the small detachment at Bembe. 
 Here our carriers stopped for about an hour, bathing in 
 the river, and dressing themselves in their best cloths 
 and caps, that they had brought with them carefully 
 packed— so as to make their appearance in a dandy con- 
 dition on entering Bembe, which we did in about half-an- 
 hour's time, having to w^alk up a stiff hill, too steep to be 
 carried up in our hammocks. 
 
 We had thus travelled the whole distance from Ambriz 
 to Bembe, which, as I have before stated, is certainly not 
 less than 130 miles, in eight travelling days. This will 
 give some idea of the endurance of the Ambriz natives, 
 as, from having to take down and pack the tent every 
 morning, and make hot tea or coffee before starting, it 
 Mas never before seven or eight o'clock that we were on 
 the move. Moreover, from the rain and heavy dew at 
 night, the high grass was excessively wet, and it would 
 not do to start till it had somewhat dried in the morning 
 sun. In going through woods we generally got out of 
 our hammocks in the grateful, cool shade, and collected 
 butterflies, the finest being found in such places. In 
 rocky and hilly places my wife, of course, could not get 
 over the ground on foot so <3^uickly as a man might have 
 done. 
 
 A description of the dress she adopted may be useful to 
 other ladies who may travel in similar wild countries, as 
 she found it exceedingly comfortable and convenient for 
 going through wet grass and tangled bush, and through 
 the excessively spiny trees and thorny bushes of the first 
 thirty or forty miles of the road. It was very simple and 
 loose, and consisted of one of my coloured cotton shirts 
 instead of the usual dress-body, and the skirt made short 
 and of a strong material, fastening the shirt round the 
 waist ; either or both could then be easily and promptly 
 changed as required. 
 
( 104 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BEMBE — MALACHITE DEPOSIT — BOOT PARASITE — EN- 
 GONGUI — MORTALITY OF CATTLE — FAIKS — KING OP 
 CONGO — RECEPTIONS — CUSTOMS — SAN SALVADOR — 
 FEVERS — RETURN TO AMBRIZ. 
 
 Bembe is the third great elevation, and it stands boldly 
 and cliff-like out of tlie broad plain on which we have been 
 travelling-, and at its base runs the little river Liiqueia. " 
 
 Approaching it from the westward, we see a high 
 mountain to the right of the plateau of Bembe, separated 
 from it by a narrow gorge thickly wooded that drains the 
 valley, separating in its turn the table land of Bembe from 
 the high flat country beyond, in a north and easterly 
 direction. TJiis valley, in which the great deposit of 
 malachite exists, is about a mile long in a straight line, 
 and runs KN.W. by S.S.E. (Plate VIII.). 
 
 It is a cul-de-sac at its northern end, terminating in a 
 beautiful waterfall which tb.e waters of a rivulet have worn 
 in the clay slate of the country. This rivulet, after running 
 at the bottom of the valley, takes a sudden bend at its 
 southern end, and escapes through the narrow gorge des- 
 cribed above as separatino' the peak or mountain from the 
 table-land of Bembe. The side of the valley next to 
 Bembe is very steep along its whole length, and shows the 
 clay slate of the country perfectly ; the other side, how- 
 ever, is a gradual slope, and is covered by a thick deposit 
 of clayey earths, in which the malachite is irregularly 
 distributed for the wdiole length of the valley. 
 
 The malachite is often found in large solid blocks ; — 
 one resting on two smaller ones weighed together a little 
 over three tons, but it occurs mostly in flat veins without 
 any definite dip or order, swelling sometimes to upward* 
 
i 
 
 
'''cii^i^i'^j 'I i^'--/: 
 
 C C C c 
 
BEMBE— MALACHITE. 105 
 
 of two feet in thickness, and much fissured in character 
 from admixture with dark oxide of iron, with which it is 
 often cemented to the clay in which it is contained. 
 
 Two kinds of clay are found, a ferruginous red, and an 
 unctuous black variety. The malachite occurs almost 
 entirely in the former. A large proportion was obtained 
 in the form of small irregularly-shaped shot, by washing 
 the clay in suitable apparatus. Large quantities had been 
 raised by the natives from this valley before the country 
 was taken possession of by the Portuguese. 
 
 For about fifteen years previously, as before stated, 
 from 200 to 300 tons per annum had been brought down 
 to Ambriz by the natives for sale. The mining captain 
 sent out by the English Company did not judiciously 
 employ his force of miners in properly exploring the 
 deposit, so that its extent was never fully ascertained ; no 
 shafts were sunk to more than six or ei;^ht fathoms in 
 depth at the bottom of the valley, from the quantity of 
 water met with, but in several places the bottom of these 
 shafts was found to be pure solid malachite. In no case 
 was malachite ever found in the clay slate rock of the 
 country, and there can be no doubt that this vast deposit 
 was brought and deposited in the valley by the agency of 
 water. No other mineral is to be found in the valley, and 
 only some rounded, water-worn pieces of limestone were 
 found in the clay and associated with the malachite. 
 
 In some pieces of this a few crystals of atacaraite are to 
 be rarely seen. The clay slate is completely bare of 
 minerals, — with very few veins of quartz, which is highly 
 crystalline, — has well-defined cleavage planes, with a strike 
 of N.W. by S.E., and dips to the 8.S.W. at an angle of 
 about 55°. 
 
 In no part of Angola, except at Mossaraedes, have any 
 regular lodes or deposits of copper or other metals (except 
 iron) been found in situ ; all bear unmistakeable evidences 
 of having been brought from elsewhere, and deposited by 
 the action of water in the places where they are now 
 found. 
 
 I have no doubt that the country farther to the interior 
 
lOG ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 will be found immensely rich — in copper principally — 
 where the lodes most likely exist that iiave supplied tlie 
 enormous amount of copper carbonates found all over 
 Angola, and farther nortli at Loango. 
 
 Some idea may be formed of the great extent of the 
 Bembe deposit, if we consider the manner in which the 
 natives formerly extracted the malachite. It was entirely 
 by means of little round pits, about three or four feet in 
 diameter, simk in the bottom of the valley and along its 
 whole length, particularly at several places where the water 
 draining from the country above had. washed away the clay, 
 and formed little openings on the same level as the bottom 
 of the valley. When I arrived at Bembe, many of these 
 pits were still open for a couple of fathoms deep, as many 
 as eight or nine pits being sunk together in a rich spot. 
 They sunk them only in the dry season, and as deep as 
 four or live fathoms, but of course, they were never canied 
 down quite perpendicularly, but in an irregular zigzag 
 fashion, and not being timbered they often fell together, 
 and numbers of blacks were buried alive in them every 
 year. We several times came across bones of blacks who 
 had thus lost their lives. During the rainy seascm, of 
 course, these pits were filled up with water and mud, and 
 fresh ones had to be dug in the succeeding dry season. 
 
 To as(;end and descend them the natives drove wooden 
 pegs into the walls, and their only mining tools were the 
 little hoes used in clearing and cultivating tlie ground 
 and the cheap spear-pointed knives, ten or eleven inclies 
 long, they received in barter at Ambriz from the traders. 
 
 The mines belonged to several of the towns in the imme- 
 diate neighbourhood, principally to one called Matuta ; but 
 they allowed the natives of other towns to extract mala- 
 chite from them, on payment of a certain quantity of the 
 ore they raised. 
 
 The natives of Ambriz who went up to Bembe to buy 
 malachite of the Mushicongos, were seLlora allowed to 
 pass the River Luqueia, where the malachite was brought 
 down for sale by measure, in little baskets, being like the 
 red gum copal, broken into moderate-sized pieces, except 
 
MALACHITE, 107 
 
 the finer lump?, wliich were sold entire. Most of the 
 malachite lias since been obtained by means of levels 
 driven into the side from the bottom of the valley, but 
 the great mass, below the level at which water is reached, 
 remains practically untouched. 
 
 The failure of the English Company, from causes to which 
 it is here unnecessary further to advert, caused the works 
 at the mines to be gradually abandoned, and for the last 
 few years the Portuguese have allovved the blacks to work 
 them in their own fashion again, and I was very sorry to 
 see the place in a complete state of ruin, ^^ith only a few 
 stone walls overgrow n with a luxuriant growth of creepers 
 and other plants to mark the places where the houses and 
 stores formerly stood, and where several hundred natives 
 used to be daily at work. 
 
 During the years 1858 and 1859, when I was first at 
 Bam be, any number of natives could be had from the 
 neighbouring towns, willing to work at the mines, and as 
 many as 2U0 to 300 were daily employed, principally in 
 carrying the ore and clay to clie washing floors, cutting 
 timber, clearing bush, &c. ; they were generally engaged 
 for a week's time, their pay ranging from one to three 
 cotton handkerchiefs, and twenty or thirty beads for rations 
 per day. Some few worked steadily for several weeks or 
 even months, when they would go off to their towns, with 
 periiaps only a few handkerchiefs, leaving the rest of their 
 earnings to the care of some friend at Bembe till their 
 return, as, if they took such an amount of wealth to 
 their towns, they ran the risk of being accused of "fetish" 
 and of having the whole taken from them, with perhaps a 
 beating besides. Yery often they would go " on the spree '* 
 for a week or more till they had spent it all on drink and 
 rioting, when they would return to visit their towns nearly 
 as poor as when they arrived. 
 
 Our best workmen were the soldiers of the garrison, 
 mostly blacks and mulattoes from Loanda, and belonging 
 to a sapper corps, and consequently having some know- 
 ledge ot working, and of tools and implements. It was 
 great trouble to teach the natives the use of the pick and 
 
lOS ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 shovel, and the wheelbarrow was a special difficulty and 
 stumbling-block; — when not carrying it on their heads, 
 wliich they always did when it was empty, two or three 
 would carry it, but the most amusing manner in which I 
 saw^ it used, was once where a black was liolding up the 
 handles, but not pushing at all, whilst another in front 
 was walking backward, and turning the Avheel round to- 
 wards him with his hands. As many as 1000 carriers 
 at a time could easily be had from the neighbouring 
 towns to carry the copper ore to Quiballa or Ambriz, by 
 giving them two or three days' notice. 
 
 The carriers, either at Bembe or on the coast, are always 
 accompanied by a head-man, called a *' Capata" (generally 
 from each town, and bringing from ten to 100 or more car- 
 riers), who is responsible for the loads and men. The load 
 of the carriers used to be two and a half " arrobas " or eighty 
 pounds of malachite, and some few strong fellows used to 
 carry two such loads on their heads all the way to Ambriz. 
 Their pay was one piece of ten cotton handkerchiefs, and 
 300 blue glass beads for each journey — the " Capata " 
 taking double pay and no load. This was equal to about 
 bl, per ton carriage to Ambriz. At present the cost 
 would be much more on account of the great decrease of 
 population from several epidemics of small-pox, and from 
 the very large carrying trade in ground-nuts and coffee. 
 
 At the end of the valley, where it joins the narrow gorge 
 that drains it, an enormous mass of a very hard metamor- 
 phic limestone, destitute of fossil remains, rises from the 
 bottom to a height of about thirty feet, and in it are con- 
 tained two caverns or large chambers. This mass of rock 
 is imbedded in a dense forest, and is overgrown by trees 
 and enormous creepers, the stems of which, like great 
 twisted cables, hang down through the crevices and open- 
 ings to the ground below. 
 
 Great numbei-s of bats inhabit the roof of the darkest 
 of these caverns, and some that I once shot were greatly 
 infested with a large, and very active, nearly white species 
 of the curious spider-looking parasite Nyctiribia, that lives 
 on this class of animals. 
 
BOOT PARASITE, 109 
 
 In the thick damp shade of the trees surrounding this 
 mass of rock, we collected the rose-coloured flowers of that 
 extremely curious root parasite, the Thonningea sanguinea 
 (Dr. Hooker, Transactions of the Linnean Society, 1856). 
 — These specimens are now in the Kew Museum. 
 
 The Portuguese built a fine little fort at Bembe, with a 
 dry ditcli round it, which has stood one or two sieges; 
 but tlie Mushicongos are a cowardly set without any idea 
 of fighting, so that they were easily beaten off by the small 
 garrison. 
 
 At the time of my first arrival at Bembe, there were 
 about 200 men in garrison, who were well shod, clothed, 
 and cared for. They had a band of music of some fifteen 
 performers, and the manner in which it was got up was 
 most amusing. One of the officers sent to Loanda for a 
 number of musical instruments, and picking out a man for 
 each, he was given the option of becoming a musician, or 
 of being locked up in the calaboose on bread and water for 
 a certain period. Tliey all, of course, preferred the former 
 alternative, and there happening to be a mulatto in the gar- 
 rison who had been a bandsman, he was elevated to the post 
 of bandmaster, and forthwith ordered to teach the rest. 
 
 The performances of this band may be best left to the 
 imagination, but wonderful to relate, the governor (An- 
 drade) used to take pleasure in listening to the excru- 
 ciating din, which would have delighted a Hottentot, and 
 would make them play under his quarters several evenings 
 a week. 
 
 On the anniversary of the signing of the *•' Carta Con- 
 stitucional," a great day in Portugal, the same governor 
 invited us all to a picnic at the top of the Peak, where a 
 large tent had been erected and a capital breakfast pro- 
 vided: a three-pounder gun had been dragged up to fire 
 salutes, and we enjoyed a very pleasant day. From the 
 summit a magnificent view of the surrounding country is 
 obtained, and on descending, we proceeded to visit the 
 town of Matuta, some little distance off. On approaching 
 the town, the band struck up, accompanied by the big 
 drum beaten to the utmost. Our approach had not been 
 
110 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 pereeiverl, and at the unaocoimtable uproar of the band as 
 we entered the town, a most hiiigliable effect was produced 
 on the inhabitants, who fled in all directions in the j^reatest 
 dismay, with the children crying and yelling as only small 
 negroes can. A iter onr sitting down and holding out bottles 
 of rum, and bunches of beads, they quickly becatne con- 
 vinced of our peaceable intentions and flocked round us, 
 and in a little time, the king, a short thin old man, made 
 his appearance, dressed in a long red cloak, a large 
 cavalry helmet on Ids head, and carrying a cutlass upright 
 in his hand, at arms' length. After the usual drinks and 
 compliments, the band played again, to tlie now intense 
 enjoyment of the inhabitants, who capered and danced 
 and sliouted around like demons. So great was the effect 
 and pleasure produced on them by the band, that they 
 made a subscription of beads, and presented it to the per- 
 formers. 
 
 From this town we went to another close by, separated 
 only by a small stream, which was governed by another 
 king, also a very old man, who, we found, was nearly 
 dying of age and rheumatism. In -crossing the stream, 
 our king of the red cloak and helmet presented a comical 
 appearance, for to save his finery from wetting, he tucked 
 it up rather higher than was necessary or dignified. 
 This same king, having on one occasion brought into 
 Bembe a couple of blacks who had robbed their loads in 
 coming up the country from Ambriz, got so drunk upon 
 the rum which he received as part of the reward for cap- 
 turing them, that his attendants stripped him of his state 
 uniform and helmet, and left him by the side of the road 
 stark naked, with a boy sitting by his side holding an 
 umbrella over him till his everyday clothes were sent 
 from his town, and he was sufficiently sober to walk home. 
 In Africa, as everywhere else, there is often but a step 
 from the sublime to the ridiculous! 
 
 Mr. Flores's agent at Bembe used to buy ivory, though 
 after a time he had to give up trading there, partly on 
 account of having to carry up the goods for barter "from 
 Ambriz, and from the natives wanting as much for the 
 
ENGONQUI. Ill 
 
 tusks as tliey were in the habit of getting on the coast ; — 
 bhicks having no rpgard whatever for time or distance, 
 eight or ten days' journey more or less being to tliem per- 
 fectly iinnuxteriaL The road followed by the caravans of 
 ivory from the inteiiur jiasses, as 1 have said before, near 
 Bembe; consequently a good many caravans lell the usual 
 track and came there to sell their ivory, or if they could 
 not agree on the terms, passed on to the coast, and it was 
 interesting to see them arrive, and watch the process of 
 bartering. 
 
 From Bembe we could descry the long black line of 
 negroes composing the ** Quibucas " or caravans, far away 
 on the horizon across the mine valley, and it was here 
 that I became convinced of the superiority of the negro's 
 eyesight over the white man's. Our blacks, particularly 
 old Pae Tomas, could tell with the naked eye the number 
 of tusks, and the number of bags of '*fuba" or meal, in a 
 caravan, and whether they brought any pigs or sheep with 
 them, at such a distance that not one of us could distin- 
 guish anything without a glass — in fact, when we could 
 only see a moving black line. Caravans of 200 and 300 
 natives, bringing as many as 100 large tusks of ivory, were 
 not unfrequent. 
 
 As soon as they came within hearing distance, they 
 beat their *• Engongui," as the signal bells are called, one 
 of which accompanies every "Quibuca," and is beaten to 
 denote their approach, the towns answexing them in the 
 same manner, and intimating whether they can pass or not, 
 if there is war on the road, and so on. These " Engongui " 
 (Plate IV.) are two fiat bells of malleable iron joined 
 toi!:ether by a bent handle, and are held in the left hand 
 whilst being beaten with a short stick. There is a regular 
 code of signals, and as each bell has a different note, a 
 great number of variations can be produced by striking 
 each alternately, or two or three beats on one to the same, 
 or lesser number on the other; a curious effect is also 
 produced by the performer striking the mouths of the 
 bells against his naked stomach whilst they are reverber- 
 ating from the blows with the stick. 
 
112 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 As the caravans were coming down the valley, Pao 
 Tomas used to amuse himself sometimes by signalling 
 " war," or that the road was stopped, when the whole 
 caravan would squat down, whilst the ** Capatas," or 
 head-men in charge, would come on alone, but at the 
 signal *' all right," or *' road clear," all would start forward 
 again. 
 
 Only one "Engongui" can be allowed in each town, and 
 belongs to the king, who cannot part with it on any 
 account, as it is considered a great "fetish," and is 
 handed down from king to king. To obtain the one in 
 my possession, I had to send Pae Tomas to the " Mujolo " 
 country, where they are principally made, but as he was 
 away only four days, I believe he must have got it nearer 
 Bembe than the "Mujolo," which lies to the N.N.E. of 
 Bembe, but according to all accounts at many days' 
 journey, which I am inclined to believe, as these 
 *' Mujolos " never come down to the coast, and were 
 formerly very rarely brought as slaves in the caravans. 
 They are greatly prized as slaves by the Portuguese, as 
 they are very strong and intelligent, and work at any trade 
 much better than any other race in Angola. They have 
 very peculiar square faces, and are immediately known by 
 their cheeks being tattooed in fine perpendicular lines, 
 in fact the only race in Angola that tattoo the face at 
 all. They are said to be a very savage race, and to 
 practise caimibalism. 
 
 When the caravans approached Bembe, the " Capatas " 
 would dress themselves in their best and each carry an 
 open umbrella, or when the "Capata" was a very im- 
 portant personage, the umbrella used to be carried 
 before him by a black, whilst he followed behind in the 
 sun. 
 
 The day of their arrival was always spent in looking 
 over the stock of goods, and receiving presents of clotii 
 and rum, and generally a pig for a feast. The next day 
 the tusks would be produced and the barter arranged in 
 the manner explained in the preceding chapter. 
 
 The caravans seldom brought any curiosities, only very 
 
MORTALITY OF CATTLE. 113 
 
 rarely a few mats or skins ; one skin that I purchased 
 proved to be that of a new monkey, described by Dr. 
 jP. L. S<:later as the Golohus Angolensis (* Proceedings of 
 the Zoological Society of London,' May, 1860). 
 
 A few slaves were sometimes brought to Bembe from 
 the interior, and sold to the Cabinda blacks, who were 
 our washer-boys, and also to the Ambriz men, our ser- 
 vants, slaves being amongst the natives in Angola the 
 ])rincij)al investment of tlieir savings. The prices paid 
 for them varied according to size, sex, and age, and 
 freedom from blemish or disease, and ranged from one 
 to two pieces of " chilloes " (a Manchester made cloth, 
 in pieces of fourteen yards, and costing about 3s. each) 
 for a boy or girl ; to six or seven pieces, at most, for a 
 full-grown man or woman. 
 
 Gum Elemi, called **Mubafo," used to be brought in 
 large cake-j, and is said to be very abundant not many 
 days' journey from Bembe, but its low price in Europe 
 does not allow of its becoming an article of trade from 
 this part of Africa at present. 
 
 There are no cattle from the Eiver Congo to the latitude 
 of Loanda. At Bembe a few oxen used to arrive from a 
 country eight to ten days' journey off, in a S.E. direction, 
 but, although carefully tended, would gradually lose flesh 
 and die in a few months. On the coast they seem to 
 thrive very well in the hands of "white men, but yet the 
 natives never breed them, whether from indolence, or from 
 the climate not being quite suitable to them, it is difficult 
 to say, but most likely from the former. 
 
 The Portuguese expedition to occupy Bembe took 
 mules, donkeys, and camels from the Cape de Verde 
 Islands, but they all died, though in charge of a A^eterinary 
 surgeon, who attributed their death to the character of 
 the grass, most of the species having the blades very 
 serrated, and according to him causing death by injury to 
 the coats of the stomach. 
 
 In connection with the mortality of cattle and other 
 animals, I may mention that all the cats at Bembe had 
 their hind quarters more or less paralysed, generally 
 
 I 
 
114 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 when a few months old, sometimes even when quite young 
 kittens, when it certainly could not be the result of any 
 blow. This was the case without exception during the 
 two years I was at Bembe ; I have seen the same occur on 
 the coast, but more rarely. 
 
 Sheep and ^oats breed very well, particularly about 
 Ambrlzzette. The sheep are a very peculiar variety, long- 
 legged, and covered with short hair. The goats are small 
 but especially beautiful, and generally black and white in 
 colour. Cocks and hens are small and tasteless and always 
 scarce, as the natives are too indolent to rear any, only 
 keeping a few animals that can find their own living: 
 they never think of giving any of them any food or water 
 unless they are actually dying, the consequence is that 
 only sheep and goats and a few fowls thrive or are seen 
 in their towns. I have only seen a few pigeons in two or 
 three towns. Their pigs, as might be imagined, are painful 
 to look upon, living on grass and what few roots they can 
 grub up, and on all the excrement and filth of the towns ; 
 it is impossible to conceive anything more distressingly 
 thin and gaunt than the poor pigs, perfectly flat, and 
 hardly able to trot along. 
 
 On our journey to Bembe the natives were greatly 
 surprised at our giving some boiled rice from our plates to 
 a brood of pretty little chickens at a town where webreak- 
 fanted, as tliey did not belong to us. Their dogs, wretched, 
 small, starved, long-eared animals, like little jackals, live 
 like the pigs, upon rubbish, and hunt rats and other small 
 game. I once saw a dog eating the grains off a green 
 Indian corn cob, which he was holding down with his two 
 front paws, nibbling it as a sheep would, and seeming to 
 enjoy it. Cats are very rarely seen in the towns ; — they 
 are greatly esteemed by the Mushicongos for food, and 
 their skins for wearing as an ornament. I once shot a 
 half wild cat that used to visit my fowl-yard, and had 
 eaten some chickens ; my cook skinned it, and sold the 
 flesh for 800 beads, and the skin for 200 — 300 beads being 
 then a fancy price for the largest fowl, ordinary chickens 
 usually averaging 100 beads each, only. 
 
FAIRS. 115 
 
 Provisions at that time were fabulously clieap, though 
 not more so, perhaps, than should be expected from the 
 wonderful fertility of the soil, the little trouble the natives 
 have in its cultivation, and their small necessities. Egers 
 and bananas were sold at one blue glass bead each, of a kind 
 made in Bohemi^i, and costing wholesale under twopence 
 for a bunch of 600. Mandioca-meal, beans, &c., were sold 
 at a similar rate. 
 
 One ugly black was the principal purveyor of eggs ; he 
 used to collect them at all the towns and fairs around, 
 and bring them into Bembe for sale, but he was a sad 
 rogue, and never sold a basketful of eggs but a number 
 were sure to be found rotten. At the fort he was once 
 tied over a gun and well thrashed, but this did not cure 
 him, and at last, tired of buying bad eggs from, him, I had 
 him held by a couple of our servants the next time he 
 brought me a basket of eggs for sale, whilst my cook broke 
 them into a basin one by one, the rotten ones being rubbed 
 on his great woolly head, en which he had allowed the 
 hair to grow like a great frizzled bush. His appearance 
 when released was most comical, and produced tlie greatest 
 excitement among the rest of the niggers, who danced and 
 yelled and hooted at him as he ran along crying to the 
 stream at the mines to wash himself. The cure was 
 effectual this time, and we never had further cause of 
 complaint against him. 
 
 There are four weekly fairs or markets held near Bembe, 
 the principal one being at Sona, about six miles off. To 
 this market natives from many miles distant come with 
 produce, &c., to barter for cloth, rum, and beads from the 
 coast. To travel two or three days to attend a fair is 
 thought nothing of by the blacks, — this is not to be won- 
 dered at when we consider the climate, and that a mat to 
 sleep on is the most they need or carry with them on a 
 journey. Their food being almost entirely vegetable and 
 uncooked, they either take it with them, or buy it on 
 the road. 
 
 Another celebrated fair is at Quimalenpo, on the road 
 to Bembe, and about thirty miles distant, and our servants 
 
 I 2 
 
IIG ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 and blacks working at the mine were constantly asl^ing 
 leave to go to it. Both at Sona and the latter fair no 
 blacks are allowed with sticks or knives, a very wise pre- 
 caution, considering the quantity of palm wine, garapa, 
 and other intoxicating liquors consumed. I have seen 
 not less than 2U00 natives assembled at these fairs, 
 selling and buying bean«, mandioca roots and moiil of 
 different kinds, Indian corn, ground-nuts, palm-nuts and 
 oil, pigs, sheep, goats, fowls, cotton cloth, handkerchiefs, 
 &c., crockeiy, clay pipes, and pipe stems, but not a single 
 article manufactured by themselves, with the exception, 
 perhaps, of a few sleeping mats, and the conical open 
 baskets called *• Quindas," in which the women carry roots, 
 meal, and other produce, on their heads. 
 
 During my first stay in Bembe, the King of Congo 
 having died, his successor, the Marquis of Catende, carnp 
 in state to Bembe to ask the Portuguese to send pi-iests 
 to San Salvador, to bury his predecessor and to crown him 
 king. In former times, San Salvador, the capital of the 
 kingdom of Con^o, was the chief missionary station of the 
 Portuguese, who built a cathedral and monasteries there, 
 the ruins of which still exist ; they appear to have been 
 very successful in civilizing the natives, and thougli the 
 mission was abandoned more than a hundred years ago, 
 their memory is revered in the country to this day. I 
 have been told by the Portuguese priests and officers who 
 have been at San Salvador that the graves of the former 
 missionaries are still carefully tended and preserved, with 
 every sign of respect, and that missals and other books, 
 letters, chalices, and other church furniture of the olden 
 time still exist, and the natives would not part with them 
 on any account. 
 
 In times past tho King of Congo was very powerful, all 
 the country, as far as, and including Loanda, the Kiver 
 Congo, and Cahinda, was subject to him, and paid him 
 tribute. The missionaries under his protection worked far 
 and wide, attained great riches, and were of immensD 
 benefit to the country, where they and the Portuguese 
 established and fostered sugar-cane plantations, indigo 
 
 J 
 
TEE KING OF CONGO. 117 
 
 manufacture, iron smelting, and other industries. With, 
 the discovery and colonization of the Brazils, hovvever, 
 and the expnlsion of the Jesuits from Angola, the 
 power of the Portuguese ,and of the King of Congo has 
 dwindled away to its present miserable condition. The 
 King of Congo is now only the chief of San Salvador and 
 a few other small towns, and does not receive the least 
 tribute from any others, nor does he possess any power in 
 the land. Among the natives of Angola, however, he still 
 retains a certain amount of prestige as King of Congo, and 
 all would do homage to him in his presence, as he is con- 
 sidered to possess the greatest *• fetish " of all the kings 
 and tribes, though powerless to exact tribute from them. 
 
 The Marquis came to Bembe attended by a retinue of 
 300 blacks and his private band, consisting of eight elephant 
 tusks blown like horns, and six drums, lliese tusks were 
 moderate sized, about three to three and a half feet long, 
 and were bored down the centre nearly to the point, to a 
 small hole, or narrow aperture cut in the side, to which 
 the lips are applied to produce the sound, which is deep 
 and loud, but soft in tone, and can be heard at a great 
 distance. The drums are hollowed out of one piece of 
 wood, generally of the *' Mafumeira" tree, which is very 
 soft and easily worked : the open end is covered with a 
 sheepskin tightly stretched and rubbed over with bees-wax, 
 a small portion of which is left sticking in the middle: — 
 before use, these drums are slightly warmed at a fire to 
 soften the wax and make the skin a little sticky, when 
 being struck by the flat of the fingers (not the pidms of 
 the hands) they adhere slightly, and cause the blows to 
 produce a more resonant sound. The better made ones 
 are rubbed quite smooth on the outside with the dry leaf 
 of a certain tree, Avhich is very rough, and acts like sand- 
 paper, and then dyed a bright red with the fresh red pulp 
 enveloping the seeds of the Annatto plant {Bixa Orellana), 
 which I have seen growing wild in the interior. 
 
 When the Marquis approached Bembe he made known 
 his coming by his band blowing the horns and thumping 
 the drums, and we could see the caravan in the distance 
 
118 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 slowly winding tlirongh the grass. On arriving at the edge 
 of the mine vnlley they all halted, and the band ngain struck 
 up. Tlie Marquis got out of highammoclc, attired like any 
 other black, unlocked a small box containing his wardrobe, 
 and proceeded to dress himself, in which operation he was 
 assisted by his two secretaries; — first he put on a white 
 shirt, but not having taken the precaution to unbutton the 
 front, it was some time before his head emerged fi'om it ; 
 a gaily-coloured cloth was next produced from the box, 
 and fastened round his waist, a blue velvet cloak edged 
 ^vith gold lace was put on his shoulders, and on his head a 
 blue velvet cap, which completed his royal costume; his 
 feet bare of course. 
 
 They then came into Bembe, and proceeded to the fort 
 where they were received with a salute of four guns, 
 which it was the Mai-quis's riglit to receive from the Por- 
 tuguese, but which being evidently unexpected, made (me 
 half of the crowd scamper as fast as they could, till they 
 were recalled. At the gate the guard turned out and pi-e- 
 sented arms, and, preceded by the band of the fort, he was 
 taken to the Governor's quarters, where we were all 
 assembled to meet him. 
 
 The usual complimentary speeches then took place, his 
 secretary translating for him, and the Governor's cook 
 being interpreter on our side. The Marquis spoke only a 
 few words of Portuguese, and never having been among 
 white men, he was rather strange to the use of knives and 
 forks, so at dinner his meat was cut up small for him, 
 wiiich lie forked slowly into his mouth, now and then 
 draining a whole tumblerful of Lisbon wine. The dinner- 
 service of crockery and glass, &c., seemed to strike him as 
 being of marvellous magnificence. 
 
 After first tasting a glass of beer myself, according to 
 the fashion of the country, I offered it to him, to see how 
 he would like it ; he took a mouthful, but immediately 
 turned round and spat it out, with a very wry face. He 
 passed the remainder to his two secretaries, who were 
 squatted on the ground behind him, eating stewed fowl 
 and mandioca-meal out of a dish with their fingers. As it 
 
THE KING OF CONGO. 110 
 
 would have been an unpardonable incivib'tj'- on their part 
 not to drink whatever he gave them, they each took a 
 mouthful from tlie glass, though he was making fares and 
 wiping his moutli with the sleeve of his shirt, but both got 
 u}) instantly and hurried outside, where we could hear 
 them spitting and sputtering at the bitter draught. 
 
 On handing round the '* palitos " or toothpicks after 
 dinner, he took one, but did not know what to do witli it 
 till he saw to what use they were applied by us, when he 
 burst out laughing, and said in Congo language, "that the 
 white men were very strange people, who, after putting 
 such delicious food into their mouths, must needs pick out 
 the little bits from their teeth with a stick," and he asked 
 for a few, which he gave to his secretaries to keep, to take 
 back to his country as curiosities. 
 
 He is a handsome, stout, middle-aged man, and with a 
 very much better cast of countenance than is usual among 
 the Mnshicongos. 
 
 During the time that he was at Bembe, the kings of 
 the neighbouring towns came together one morning to pay 
 him homage, and his state reception was a very amusing 
 and interesting ceremony. 
 
 The kings and their people appeared, not in their best, 
 but in the poorest and most rugged condition possible, 
 whether according to custom, or from a fear that the Mar- 
 quis might, in view of their riches, demand tribute from 
 them as ibrmerly, I know not. The Marquis was seated 
 on a chair placed on a large mat, with his bare feet on 
 a leopard skin ; — behind his chair squatted the whole of 
 his retinue. 
 
 The kings, with their people, not less than 100 blacks, 
 on arriving at some little distance, dropped on their knees, 
 bowed their heads to the ground, and then clapped their 
 hands, to which the Marquis replied by moving tlie fingers 
 of his right hand to them ; one of his secretaries, a very 
 tall, lanky negro, dressed in a quaker coat with a very 
 high, straight collar, then knelt before him, and presented 
 him with the sword of state, which the Marquis pulled out 
 of the scabbard and returned to him. 
 
120 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER QONGO. 
 
 The tall secretary now borrowed a red cloak from one 
 of tlie retinue, which he secured round his waist with his 
 left hand, allowing it to drag behind him like a long red 
 tail, and commenced a series of most extraordinary antics, 
 dancing about brandishing his sword, and pretending to 
 cut off heads, to exemplify the fate in store for his majesty's 
 enemies. 
 
 Approaching the kneeling embassy, he shook his sword 
 at tbein like a harlequin at a clown in a pantomime, when 
 they all rose and followed him for a few paces, and then 
 dropped on their knees whilst he went through the dance 
 and sword exercise again; this performance repeated, 
 brought them nearer the Marquis, and a third time brought 
 the whole lot to his feet, where they all rubbed their fore- 
 heads and lingers in the dust, whilst the secretary knelt 
 and placed the sword across his knees ; then came a 
 general clapping of hands, and the King of Matuta and 
 several others made long speeches, to which the Marquis 
 replied, not to them directly, but to his secretary, who 
 repeated it, every twenty or thirty words being interrupted 
 by a great blowing of the horns and beating of the drums, 
 lasting for a couple of minutes. 
 
 After the speeches the kings presented their offering, 
 which consisted only of a gourd of palm wine, of which, 
 according to custom, the Marquis had to drink. 
 
 The Governor of Bembe had provided him with a 
 couple of bottles of Lisbon wine for the ceremony, and also 
 a tumbler ; this last was filled with palm wine from the 
 gourd, and given to the secretary, and he handed it to the 
 Marquis, who made the sign of the cross over it with his 
 hand, repeating at the same time some words in Latin : 
 this they have learnt from the ceremonies of the mass in 
 the old Roman Catholic missals still in their possession. 
 
 The Marquis, not feeling inclined to drink palm wine, 
 availed himself of the custom of the kings of Congo not 
 eating or drinking in public, to practise a little deception. 
 Whilst two attendants held up a large mat before him, he 
 passed the tumblerful of palm wine to his secretaries, who 
 quickly swallowed its contents, and taking up one of the 
 
CUSTOMS, 121 
 
 bottles of Lisbon wine from under his chair, put it to his 
 month, and nearly emptied it at a dranght. The curtain 
 was then removed, and the nearly empty bottle of wine 
 parsed to the King of Matnta, who poured the contents 
 into the tumbler, took a drink himself, and passed it to 
 the re.^t, who had a sip each till it was drained dry. 
 Speeches were again made, and the embassy having once 
 more lubbed their foreheads and fingers in the dust, got 
 up and bent nearly double, then turned and walked away 
 very slowly and carefully, reminding me most comically 
 of cats alter they have been fighting. 
 
 A singular custom of the kings of Congo, is that of 
 never expectorating on the ground in public, it being 
 " fetish " to do so, and foretelling some calamity. When 
 the Marquis wislied to clear his throat, the lanky secretary 
 would kiieel before him, and taking a dirty rag out of a 
 grass pouch suspended from his shoulder, would present 
 it to him witli both his hands, to spit into ; the rag was 
 then carefully doubled up, kissed, and replaced in the 
 pouch. 
 
 I was told by the padre at Bembe, who went on a 
 mission to Engoge, tbat the king there, the '*Dembo 
 Ambuilla," also has the same custom, but performed in a 
 much more disgusting manner, as, instead of spitting into 
 a rag like the King of Congo, the *' Dembo " expectorates 
 into the palm of an attendant's hand, who then rubs it on 
 his head ! 
 
 Having heard at Loanda that Dr. Baslian had passed 
 through »San Salvador, I inquired of the Marquis whether 
 he had seen him ; he replied that a white man, whose 
 name he knew not, had lately been through his town 
 (a little distance from San Salvador), and had given him 
 a " mucanda " or letter, which he would show me : and, 
 taking me into his hut, he took out of his box a parcel 
 of rags, which he carefully undid till he came to a half- 
 sheet of small paper, on which was engraved the portrait 
 of some British worthy dresj^ed in the high collared coat 
 in fashion some thirty or forty years ago. As the lower 
 half of the sheet was torn off*, there was no inscription on 
 
122 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 it by which I could identify the portrait, which spemed to 
 have been taken from a small octavo volume. The Mar- 
 quis would not show the portrait to the Governor or any 
 Portuguese, as he was afraid that it might say something 
 that would compromise him with them, and on my assuring 
 him that there was no danger whatever in it, he seemed 
 to be much easier in his mind. 
 
 On the Sunday morning the Marquis attended the 
 garrison's military mass, and caused much amusement by 
 bringing his band with him, which played during the ser- 
 vice. Although he had never before heard mass, his 
 conduct, and that of the head men who accompanied him, 
 was most proper and decorous ; they knelt, crossed them- 
 selves, and seemed to pray as earnestly as if they had 
 been brought up to it all their lives. 
 
 A visit they paid the works at the mines greatly 
 interested them, the steam engine and saw mill specially 
 attracting their attention ; but the most incomprehensible 
 wonder to them was an ordinary monkey, or screw-jack, 
 which was fixed under one end of a huge trunk of a tree 
 lying on the- ground, and on which as many blacks vvere 
 asked to sit as it could carry ; — great was their astonish- 
 ment to see me lift the whole tree and blacks by simply 
 turning the handle of the monkey. After much clapping 
 of their hands to their mouths,' the universal way of 
 expressing surprise by the blacks, the Marquis asked, 
 through his tall secretary, how I had performed the won- 
 derful " fetish ? '* I explained as well as I could, that it 
 was due to the mechanism inside, but I could see they 
 did not believe me, and I afterwards ascertained that they 
 thought the power was contained in the handle. 
 
 The king only spoke a few words of Portuguese, but 
 the tall secretary not only spoke, but wrote it very fairly. 
 He assured me that he had not been taught by tiie white 
 men, but by blacks whose ancestors had acquired the 
 language from the old missionaries. I am inclined to 
 believe that he must have been a native of Ambaca, or 
 some other province of the interior of Angola, where a 
 great many of the natives at the present day can read 
 
SAN SALVADOB. 123 
 
 and write Portuguese, transmitted from father to son 
 since the oklen time. 
 
 Some time after the Marquis left, the Portuguese sent 
 a padre from Loanda to join the one at Bembe, and 
 proceed together to San Salvador, with an escort in 
 charge of the officer at Bembe, an ignorant man, who, 
 after the old lung had been buried, became frightened 
 and suddenly decamped without allowing them to crown 
 the Marquis of Catende. A second expedition of 100 
 soldiers was then sent. The priests were welcomed with 
 demonstrations of the greatest joy by the natives, who 
 loaded them with presents ; but the military were coldly 
 received, and not a single present was given to them or 
 the officer in command, who, alarmed at their hostility 
 and vexed at the reception given to the padres, again 
 retreated to Bembe as fast as he could, and to screen 
 his Mant of success and cowardice, intrigued with the 
 Governor-General at Loanda, and the padres were censured 
 lor that for which he himself was alone to blame. 
 
 Nearly 200 blacks presented themselves to the padre?, 
 saying that they were the descendants of the slaves of 
 the former missionaries, and offering to rebuild the church 
 and monasteries, if they were only directed and fed. 
 
 Had the Portuguese allowed the padres to go to San 
 Salvador alone, unaccompanied by a military force, which 
 gave an air of conquest to the expedition, a great step 
 would have been made in the introduction of trade and 
 civilization in that part of the interior, and it would 
 have opened the way to geographical discovery. I am 
 convinced that the invincible opposition to Lieutenant 
 Grandy's passage into the interior was due principally to 
 the iear of the natives that the Portuguese might follow 
 in his steps, and annex the country from whence they 
 derive their ivory. 
 
 The soil about Bembe is magnificent, and will produce 
 almost anything. Sugar-cane grows to a huge size, and 
 vegetables flourish in a remarkable manner. During the 
 time I was there I had a fine kitchen garden, and not 
 only kept the miners supplied with vegetables, but almost 
 
114: ANGOLA AND THE BIVEll CONGO. 
 
 every day sent as much as one, and sometimes two, blacks 
 could carry, to the fort for the soldiers. Greens of all 
 kinds and cabbages grow beautifully, although the latter 
 seldom form a hard head ; all kinds of salad grow equally 
 well, such as endive, lettuce, radishes, mustard and cress, 
 &c. ; peas, turnips, carrots, mint and parsley, also flourish, 
 and tomatoes larger tlian I ever saw them, even iu 
 Spain and Portugal. Cucumbers, melons, and vegetable 
 marrows, we obtained very fine the first season, but the 
 succeeding year a swarm of very small grasshoppers 
 prevented us from getting a sin^ile one. Broad beans, 
 although growing and flowering luxuriantly, never pro- 
 duced pods. I gave seeds to the old King of Matuta, and 
 promised to buy their produce from him, and we very 
 quickly had a load of beautiful vegetables every day. 
 
 It is almost impossible to estimate tlie advantage, in a 
 country and climate like Africa, of an abundant supply 
 of fresh salad and vegetables, and yet, although growing 
 so luxuriantly, and with so small an amount of trouble, 
 they are never cultivated by the natives of any part of 
 Angola, and rarely by the Portuguese ; the market at 
 Loanda, for instance, is very badly supplied with vegetables. 
 
 Benguella and Mossamedes — particularly the latter — 
 are the only exceptions to tlie general and stupid want 
 of attention to the cultivation of vegetables. The only 
 vegetable introduced by the former missionaries that still 
 exists in cultivation in the country is the cabbage, which 
 is sometimes seen in the towns (generally as a single 
 plant only), growing with a thick stem which is kept 
 closely cro})ped of leaves, and as much as four or five feet 
 high, surrounded by a fence to keep the goats and sheep 
 from browsing on it; but I have never seen it in their 
 plantations. 
 
 About Bembe a handsome creeper (Mucuna jpruriens), 
 with leaves like those of a scarlet-runner, and bearing 
 large, long bunches of dark maroon bean-like flowers, 
 grows very abundantly. The flowers are succeeded by 
 crooked pods covered with fine hairs (cow itch) which 
 cause the most horrible itchins: when rubbed en the skin. 
 
FEVERS. 125 
 
 The first time I pulled off a bunch of the pods I shook 
 some of the hairs over my hand and face, and the sensa- 
 tion was alarming, like being suddenly stung all over 
 with a nettle. I have seen blacks, when clearing bush for 
 plantations, shake these hairs on their hot, naked bodies, 
 and jump about like mad, until they were rubbed with 
 handfuls of moist earth. 
 
 I saw at Bembe a striking illustration of the immunity 
 of Europeans from fever and ague when travelling or 
 otherwise actively employed. 
 
 One hundred Portuguese soldiers having misconducted 
 themselves in some way at Loanda, were ordered to Bembe 
 as a punislirapnt. They marched Irom Ambriz in the worst 
 part of the rainy season without tents (which, singular 
 to say, are never used in Angola by the Portuguese 
 troops), and were a fortnight in reaching Bembe. 
 
 They were not a bad-looking set of men, and were well 
 shod and clothed, but had been badly fed on the road, 
 principally on beans and mandioca-meal, and had had 
 only water from the swollen pools and rivers to drink. 
 Notwithstanding the exposure and hardships, only twelve 
 fell ill on the march, and of those, only four or five had 
 to be brought into Bembe in hammocks. 
 
 Fine barracks at the fort had been prepared for them, 
 but next morning, on inspection by the doctor, no less 
 than forty were ordered into hospital; next day thirty 
 more followed, and within a week of their arrival every 
 one of the 100 men had passed through the doctor's 
 hands, suffering principally from attacks of intermittent 
 fever and ague, remittent fever, and a few cases of diarr- 
 hoea ; but, to show the comparatively healthy climate of 
 Angola, only one man died. 
 
 We were not so fortunate with our Cornish miners, all 
 fine, strong, healthy, picked men ; several causes contri- 
 buted to their ill-health and deaths; exposure to sun and 
 wet whilst at work, bad lodging, but principally great 
 want of care on their part in eating and drinking whilst 
 recovering from an attack of illness. 
 
 One circumstance that struck the doctor greatly, was 
 
IL'G ANGOLA AND THE EIVER CONGO, 
 
 the total want of pluck in the Cornishmen when ill ; tliey 
 used actually to cry like children, and lie down on their 
 beds when suffering from only a slight attack of fever that 
 a Portuguese would think nothing of. When they were 
 seriously ill, it was with the greatest difhculty we could 
 make them keep up their spirits, which is so essential to 
 recovery, in fevers particularly. When convalescent, on 
 the contrary, they could not be kept from eating or drink- 
 ing everything, however indigestible or objectionable, that 
 came in their way ; and often was our good doctor vexed, 
 and obliged to employ the few words of abuse he knew in 
 English, on finding them, after a serious illness, eating 
 unripe bananas, or a great plateful of biscuit and cheese 
 and raw onions. 
 
 So constant were their relapses, from want of the com- 
 monest care on their part, that the doctor at last refused 
 to attend them unless they were placed under lock and 
 key till fit to be let out and feed themselves. Their 
 complaints and grumblings, when well even, were incessant, 
 and they were the most unhandy set imaginable ; they 
 could not even mend a broken bedstead, or put up a hook 
 or shelf to keep their things from the wet or rats. There 
 was but one exception, a boiler-maker, named Thomas 
 Webster, who was a universal favourite from his constant 
 good humour and willingness. Poor fellow ! after recover- 
 ing from a very severe attack of bilious fever, he died at 
 Ambriz, whilst waiting for the steamer that was to take 
 him home. 
 
 The worthy Portuguese officer in command at Bembe 
 on my last visit. Lieutenant Vital de Bettencourt Vas- 
 conceilos Canto do Corte Keal, had prepared for our use 
 the old house in which I had formerly lived, and received 
 us most hospitably. AVe breakfasted and dined with him 
 for the eight days of our stay, and with Lieutenant Grandy 
 and his brother, who were also his guests. We were all 
 the more thankful for Lieutenant Vital's very kind recep- 
 tion, from our cook having fallen ill the day before we 
 arrived, and being consequently unable to prepare our food. 
 
 We made several excursions to the mines and to the 
 
|illliiliiiiiii,niiniiiHiiiiWiiihiinii::|ii!i:ii.;:i4iii^ 
 
RETURN TO AMBRIZ. 127 
 
 caves, and one morning my wife and myself ascended to 
 the top of the peak or mountain (Plate IX.), and break- 
 fasted there. 
 
 On the 15th April, 1873, we bade good-bye to Bembe^ 
 and to the brothers Grandy and Lieutenant Vital, who 
 accompanied us to the Kiver Luqueia. On the third day 
 we arrived at Quiballa, where we remained four days, 
 employing them, as before, in collecting butterflies and 
 drying some fine plants, amongst others the beautiful large 
 red flowers almost covering a fine tree {Sjpathodea campa- 
 nulata — K. de B. ?). 
 
 The second afternoon we were visited by a terrific 
 thunderstorm ; one vivid flash of lightning was followed 
 almost instantaneously by a deafening clap of thunder; 
 the former must have struck the ground very near our 
 hut, as both my wife and myself felt a slight shock pass 
 through our ankles quite distinctly, and on asking the 
 owner of the hut and one of our blacks who were with 
 us, if they had felt anything, they both described having 
 felt the same sensation. 
 
 So much rain fell during this storm that we were forced 
 to remain a couple of days longer, as some carriers had 
 been obliged to return to Quiballa, unable to pass the 
 rivers. It was now nearly the end of the rainy season, 
 when the heaviest falls occur, and we had already, after 
 leaving Bembe, found that a lovely bank on the Eiver 
 Lifua, on our journey up the country, had been swept away 
 "by a flood, and a high pile of sand covered the beautiful 
 carpet of flowers and ferns. 
 
 A small dog that we had taken a fancy to on board the 
 steamer in which we went out, and who had been our 
 constant companion, also accompanied us on this journey, 
 and it was amusing to see her attempts to swim the swift 
 currents, where she generally had to be carried across. The 
 faithful creature seemed to know that there was danger in 
 crossing the swollen streams, and she would yelp and cry 
 on the bank till my wife and myself had been carried over, 
 when she would express her delight by tearing along the 
 banks and paths like mad. 
 
128 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 Her solicitude for our safety was sometimes rather 
 embarrassing, as whenever she had passed a swamp, in 
 which her legs generally sank deep into the black mud, 
 she would always insist on jumping up on the hammocks, 
 evidently to ascertain that we were all right, and of course 
 quite unmindful of the dreadful mess she made with her 
 wet paws. 
 
 Like all European dogs, she never got over a certain, 
 antipathy to the black race, and although on the best 
 terms with our own boys, who delighted in petting her, 
 she always showed her contempt for the natives by making 
 sudden rushes at them, from under her mistress's ham- 
 mock, when in passing through a town the women and 
 children came running along cheering and shouting, to see 
 the " white woman." Though she never bit them, her 
 sudden and fierce-looking attack would generally scatter 
 the crowd, who, however, always took it in good part. At 
 night we always put her under the Madeira chair, which 
 made a very good kind of cage, and which we placed at 
 the foot of our bed under the mosquito curtain, thus 
 saving her from these pests, and also preventing her from 
 rushing out at any noise outside the tent. 
 
 The evening before we reached Quingombe, we raced 
 the blackest thunderstorm I have ever witnessed. About 
 four o'clock in the afternoon of the very fierce, hot and 
 sultry day, the wind began to lull and distant thunder was 
 heard behind us. The sky indicated plainly that no ordi- 
 nary storm was gathering, the clouds deepening in colour 
 till at last they seemed to descend and touch the gi ound, 
 forming a nearly black curtain, which as it slowly advanced 
 hid hills, trees, and everything behind it ; the top part of 
 this thick black curtain seemed to travel" at a faster rate 
 than the rest below, and slowly formed a black arch over- 
 head ; at about five o'clock it seemed to be only a few 
 hundred yards behind us, like a solid angry night trying to 
 overtake us. Sudden flashes and long streaks of liglitning 
 seemed to shoot out of it, up and down and in all direc- 
 tions, with scarcely any intermission of the explosions of 
 thunder that accompanied them. 
 
RETUliN TO AMDLIZ. 129 
 
 Our carriers seemed perfectly frightened, and ran us 
 along in our hammocks as if racing for life, till, a little 
 before sunset, we reached ti small village near the road, 
 just as the advancing raindrops at last overtook and began 
 pattering down upon us. We hurried with our baggage 
 into a Imt, bat tiie wind suddenly seemed to increase in 
 power from the south, and blew the storm away from its 
 path to the westvvard, so that it only rained for about half 
 an hour, and we had just time to set up our tent before 
 the darkness of night, calm and cool, came on. Some of 
 our carriers, who had remained behind and not been able 
 to keep ahead of the storm, described the rain as coming- 
 down on them like a perfect deluge. 
 
 Next day we arrived late in the afternoon at Quin- 
 gombe, and our carriers tried to dissuade us from 
 proceeding on to Ambriz, alleging that the heavy rains 
 Jiad filled the marshes, so that they were impassable in the 
 dark ; but disbelieving them, I hurried them on, and 
 reached the swamp that separates the town of Quingombe 
 from the ferry on the Eiver Loge at Quincollo ; — sure 
 enough it was one sheet of water, but unwilling to brave 
 another night of mosquitoes we pushed on. Twice we had 
 to get out of our hammocks (which were slung as high as 
 they could possibly be) on to the Madeira chair, to be 
 carried across deep places ; and for about two miles there 
 was hardly a dry j^laee, our poor dog swimming and carried 
 most of the time. 
 
 At last, at seven in the evening, we arrived at 
 Quincollo to find that the river had overflowed the 
 banks, and that, with the exception of a house and cane 
 mill, there was not a footjof dry ground to encamp upon, 
 except a great heap of cane refuse from the mill. This 
 and the house belonged to a convict, who had been a 
 swineherd in Portugal, but in consequence of the abolition 
 of capital punishment iu that country, had escaped hang- 
 ing, after committing a cruel murder. He is now a large 
 slaveholder, agent to the line of steamers from Lisbon 
 owned by an English firm at Hull, and much protected by 
 the Portuguese authorities at Loanda ! 
 
 K 
 
130 ANGOLA AND THE ItlVEB CONGO. 
 
 Not caring to sleep on his premises, we encamped on 
 the heap of refuse, on which we found it impossible to 
 put up our tent, contenting ^ourselves with hangin^^ up 
 tlie mosquito-bar alone. We had reached our last biscuit 
 and tin of preserved provision, and had just finished 
 our tea and supper when the white man in charge of the 
 convict's premises, with his servants, came out with torches 
 and armed, to find out who we were, fearing it might be 
 an attack of the natives of Quingombe. He was most 
 kind and pressing in his oifers of shelter, in the absence 
 of the owner, but we declined. He made us promise, 
 however, that we would accept a canoe of his in tlie 
 morning, wliich took us down the river about six miles to 
 the bar, from whence we rode in our hammocks along the 
 beach to Ambriz, thus happily ending our last excursion 
 in Africa. 
 
 We had been absent just one month, in the worst part 
 of the rainy season, without the slightest illness, and 
 returned laden with a Very interesting collection of insects 
 and plants. 
 
( 131 > 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE NEGRO — FETISH — CUSTOMS — 
 ARMS AND WAR — DRESS — ZOMBO TRIBE — BURIAL — 
 INSANITY. 
 
 The language, customs, and habits of the Mussurongo, 
 Auibriz, and Mushicongo tribes are very simihir, and are 
 distinguished in many particulars from those of the natives 
 of the district of Loanda, who speak the Bunda language. 
 This is not astonishing, vihen we consider that Loanda 
 has been constantly occupied by the white race since its 
 discovery, and that this intercourse has necessarily mo- 
 dified their character to a certain extent. The former 
 tribes are, however, still almost in their primitive or 
 natural condition, and should be studied or described 
 apart and before continuing the description of the country 
 south of about 8°, their limit in latitude. 
 
 I believe that it is very difficult to understand correctly 
 the character of the negro race in Africa, and that it re- 
 quires long intercourse with, and living amongst them, to 
 get behind the scenes, as it were, and learn their manner 
 of thought or reasoning, and in what way it influences 
 their lite and actions. 
 
 Ill the first instance, it is not easy to dispossess oneself 
 of the prejudices both against and in favour of the negro. 
 It is so natural to judge him by our own standard, and 
 as we should wish him to be ; — so easy to think of him 
 as agreeing with the preconceived idea that he is just 
 like one ot ourselves, but simply in a state of innocent 
 darkness, and that we have only to show him the way for 
 him to become civilized at once. 
 
 It is very disagreeable to fuid in the negro an entirely 
 
 K 2 
 
132 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 new and different state of things to that we had fondly 
 imagined, and to have to throw overboard our cherished 
 theories and confess our ignorance and that we liave been 
 entirely mistaken ; but he truth must be told, and we 
 shall have to run counter to the self-satisfied wisdom of 
 the great number of people who judge from not always 
 wilfully false reports, but from hasty or superficial descrip- 
 tions or tales that agree with their foregone conclusions, 
 and whose benevolent feelings and sympathy for the 
 negro are therefore established upon baseless grounds. 
 
 It is not my intention to deprecate any efforts for the 
 benefit of the negro race, but simply to show that the 
 good seed in Africa ivill fall on bare and barren ground, 
 and -svhere weeds loill rise and choke it ; and I must warn 
 philanthropy that its bounty is less productive of good 
 results on the negro of tropical Africa than_ perhaps on 
 any other race. 
 
 It is heartrending to see money, lives, and efforts squan- 
 dered and wasted under the misguided idea of raising the 
 negro to a position wliich, from his mental constitution, he 
 cannot possibly attain, whilst so many of our own race are 
 doomed from innocent infancy to grow up among us to a 
 future of misery and vice, and when we know that the 
 charity so lavishly shown to the negro and almost com- 
 pletely wasted would enable many of these poor children 
 to become good and useful members of society. Let us, by 
 all means, bring in the frozen vipers, and feed the famished 
 wolves and the hungry vultures, but do not let us expect 
 that because we have done so they will change into harm- 
 less snakes, noble dogs, or innocent doves, or neglect to 
 succour the lambs and sheep of our own flock. 
 
 I cannot help thinking that so long as (in a rich country 
 like England) we read of poor creatures perishing from 
 starvation on doorsteps and in garrets, more care should 
 be taken of our starving poor at home and less charity 
 showered upon the negro, who has growing close to his hut 
 all lie wants to sustain life in almost absolute laziness. 
 
 The character of the negro is principally distinguished 
 not so much by the presence of positively bad, as by the 
 
CHARACTER OF TEE NEGRO. 133 
 
 absence of good qualities, and of feelings and emotions 
 tliat we can hardly understand or realize to be wanting in 
 human nature. It is hardly correct to describe the negro 
 intellect as debased and sunken, but rather as belonging 
 to an arrested stage. There is nothing inconsistent in 
 this ; it is, on the contrary, perfectly consistent with what 
 we have seen to be their physical nature. It would be 
 very singular indeed if a peculiar adaptation for resisting 
 so perfectly the malignant influences of the climate of 
 tropical Africa, the I'esult of an inferior physical organiza- 
 tion, was unaccompanied by a corresponding inferiority of 
 mental constitution. It is only on the theory of "Natural 
 Selection, or the survival of the fittest " to resist the 
 baneful influence of the climate through succes.sive and 
 thousands of generations — the " fittest '* being those of 
 greatest physical insensibility — that the present fever- 
 resisting, miasma-proof negro has been produced, and 
 his character can only be explained in the corresponding 
 and accompanying retardation or arrest of development 
 of his intellect. 
 
 The negro knows not love, affection, or jealousy. Male 
 animals and birds are tender and loving to their females ; 
 cats show their affection by delicious purring noises and by 
 licking ; horses by neighing and pawing ; cocks by calling 
 their hens to any food they may find ; parroquets, pigeons, 
 and other birds, by scratching one another's polls and billing 
 and cooing ; monkeys by nestling together and hunting for 
 inconvenient parasites on each other's bodies ; but in all 
 the long years I have been in Africa I have never seen a 
 negro manifest the least tenderness for or to a negress. 
 I have never seen a negro, even when inebriated, kiss a 
 girl or ever attempt to take the least liberty, or show by 
 any look or action the desire to do so. I have never 
 seen a negro put his arm round a woman's waist, or give 
 or receive any caress whatever that would indicate the 
 slightest loving regard or affection on either side. They 
 have no words or expressions in their language indi- 
 cative of aflection or love. Their passion is purely of 
 an animal description, unaccompanied by the least sym- 
 
134 ANGOLA ANB THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 pathetic affections of love or endearment. It is not 
 astonishing:, therefore, that jealousy should hardly exist ; 
 the greatest breach of conduct on the part of a married 
 woman is but little thoug:ht of. The husband, by their 
 laws, can at most return his wife to her father, who has 
 to refund the [)resent he received on her marriage ; but 
 this extreme penalty is seldom resorted to, fining the 
 paramour being considered a sufficient satisfaction. The 
 fine is generally a pig, and rum or other drink, with 
 which a feast is celebrated by all parties. The woman is 
 not punished in any way, Eor does any disgrace attach to 
 her conduct. Adultery on the part of the husband is not 
 considered an offence at all, and is not even resented by 
 the wives. 
 
 It might be imagined that this lax state of things 
 would lead to much immorality : but such is not the 
 case, as from their utter want of love and appreciation 
 of female beauty or charms, they are quite satisfied and 
 content with any woman possessing even the greatest 
 amount of the hideous ugliness with which nature has so 
 bountifully provided them. Even for their offspring they 
 have but little love beyond that which is implanted in all 
 animals for their young. Mothers are very rarely indeed 
 seen playing with or fondling their babies : as for kissing 
 them, or children their mothers, such a thing is not even 
 thought of. At the same time I have never seen a woman 
 grossly neglect or abandon her child, though they think 
 nothing of laying them down to sleep anywhere in the 
 sun, where they soon become covered with flies; but as 
 this does not appear to hurt or inconvenience them in the 
 least, it can "hardly be termed neglect. 
 
 The negro is not cruelly inclined ; that is to say, he will 
 not inflict pain 'for any pleasure it may cause him, or for 
 revenge, but at the same time he has not the slightest idea 
 of mercy, pity, or compassion for suffering. A fellow- 
 creature, or animal, writhing in pain or torture, is to him 
 a sight highly provocative of merriment and enjoyment. 
 I have seen a number of blacks at Loanda, men, women, 
 and children, stand round, roaring with laughter at seeing 
 
CEABACTER OF THE NEGRO. 135 
 
 a poor mongrel dog that had been run over by a cart, 
 twist and roll about in agony on the ground, where it was 
 yelping piteously, till a wiiite man put it out of its misojy. 
 An animal that does not belong to them, might die a 
 thousand times of hunger and thirst before they would 
 think of stirring a foot to give it either food or drink, nnd 
 I have already described how even their own animals 
 are left to i'are and shift as best they can on their own 
 resources, and their surprise that my wife should feed some 
 little chickens that did not belong to her, at a town on the 
 road to Bembe. 
 
 Tn the houses it is necessary to see for oneself that 
 all the animals are regularly fed and watered every day, 
 or they would quickly die of neglect. We cannot, there- 
 fore, be surprised to find the negro so completely devoid 
 of vindictive feelings as he is. He may be thrashed 
 to within an inch of his life, and not only recover in a 
 marvellously short space of time, but bear no malice what- 
 ever, either at the time or afterwards. In Angola, the 
 attempt to take a white man's life by his slaves, ior ill- 
 tieatment or cruelty to them, is extremely' rare. If any 
 amount of bad treatment is not resented, no benefit or 
 good, however great, done to a negro, is appreciated or 
 recognised by him : such a thing as gratitude is quite 
 unknown to him ; he will express the greatest deligiit at 
 receiving a present or any benefit, but it is not from 
 thankfulness ; he only exhibits the pleasure he feels at 
 having obtained it without an effort on his part. He can- 
 not be called ungrateful exactly, because tliat would 
 imply a certain amount of appreciation for favours conferred, 
 which he does not feel. In. the same way his constant 
 want of truth, and his invariable dishonesty are the result, 
 not so much of a vicious disposition, as of the impossibility 
 to understand that there is anything wrong in being either 
 a liar or a thief: that they are not vicious thieves is shown 
 by the iew concerted robberies practised by them, and the 
 comparative safety of property in general ; their thieving, 
 as a rule, is more of a petty and pilfering description, in 
 which, as might be expected, they are very cunning indeed. 
 
136 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 To sum up the negro character, it is deficient in the pas- 
 sions, and in their corresponding virtues, and the life of 
 the negro in his primitive condition, apparently so peace- 
 ful and innocent, is not that of an unsophisticated state of 
 existence, but is due to what may be described as an or- 
 ganically rudimentary form of mind, and consequently 
 capable of but little development to a higher type ; mere 
 peaceable, vegetarian, prolific human rabbits and guinea 
 pigs, in fact ; they may be tamed and taught to read and 
 write, sing psalms, and other tricks, but negroes they must 
 remain to the end of the chapter. The negro has no idea 
 of a Creator or of a future existence, neither does he adore 
 the sun nor any other object, idol, or image. His whole 
 belief is in evil spirits, and in charms or "fetishes :" these 
 ** fetishes " can be employed for evil as well as to counter- 
 act, the bad effect of other malign "fetishes" or spirits. 
 Even the natives of Portuguese Angola, who have received 
 the idea of God or Creator from the white men, will not 
 allow that the same Power rules over both races, but that 
 the God of the white man is another, and different from 
 the God of the black man ; as one old negro that I was 
 once arguing with expressed it, " Your God taught you to 
 make gunpowder and guns, but ours never did," and it is 
 perfectly established in their minds that in consequence 
 of our belonging to another and more powerful God, their 
 "fetishes" are unavailing either for good or evil, to the 
 white man; our ridiculing their belief in "fetish" only 
 serves to make them believe the more in it. 
 
 In almost every large town there is a " fetish house '* 
 under the care of a "fetish man." This house is generally 
 in the form of a diminutive square hut, with mud walls, 
 painted white, and these covered with figures of men and 
 beasts in red and black colours. The spirit is supposed 
 to reside in this habitation, and is believed to watch 
 over the safety of the town : the hut also contains the 
 Btock in trade of the " fetish man." These '* fetish 
 men " are consulted in all cases of sickness or death, as 
 also to work charms in favour of, and against every 
 imaginable thing; for luck, healthy rain, good crops, 
 
FETISH. 137 
 
 fecundity ; against all illness, storms, fire, surf, and mis- 
 fortunes and calamities of every kind. No death is at- 
 tribiithid to natural causes, it is always ascribed to the 
 person or animal having been "fetished" by some spirit 
 or living person, and the " fetish man " is consulted to 
 find out, and if the latter, the culprit is fined, sold into 
 slavery or executed, or has to take " casca," to prove his 
 innocence. The " fetish man " also prepares the charms 
 airainst sickness, &c., with which every man, woman, and 
 child, as well as their huts and plantations, is provided. 
 
 These charms are of many kinds, and are worn round 
 the neck and waist, or suspended from the shoulder. A 
 short bit of wood with a carved head, with a couple of 
 beads, cowries, or brass tacks for eyes, and contained in a 
 little pouch, with the head left sticking out, and hung by. 
 a string round the neck, is a very common form. A pouch 
 stuffed full of fowls' dung, feathers, and " taenia," is also 
 a favourite *' fetish." A bundle of rags or shreds of cotton 
 cloth of all kinds, black with filth and perspiration, is often 
 seen suspended from the shoulder or hung in their huts. 
 The large flat seed of the " Entada gigantea " is also a 
 common " fetish " to hang from the neck. A couple of 
 iron bells like the "Engongui" described in page 111 but 
 very much smaller, and with a small bit of iron as a 
 clapper inside, are often hung from the neck or waist. 
 Small antelopes' horns, empty or filled with various 
 kinds of tilth, are also suspended round the neck for 
 charms. Children are never seen without a string 
 tied round the waist, with or without some beads 
 strung on it, and the ends hanging down in front. 
 The land shells {Achatina Welwitschii and Zehrina) are 
 filled uith fowls' dung and feathers, *•' taenia," &c., and 
 stuck on a stick in the plantations and salt pits, to pro- 
 tect them from thieves; also the gourd-like pods or iruit 
 of the Baobab tree, likewise filled with various kinds of 
 filth, and painted on the outside white and red, with 
 "pemba" (a white talcose earth j'rom the decomposition 
 of mica and mica schist) and " tacula." A great '* fetish" 
 in childbirth and infancy is made in the shape of a little 
 
138 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 ponch about two inches long and the thickness of the 
 middle finger, very prettily woven of fine grass; thes^e 
 are filled with fowls' dung and " taenia," and a couple are 
 placed in a small vessel containing water ; the father of 
 the child squeezes the pouches in the water, much in the 
 manner that a washerwoman does her blue-bag, till it 
 becomes coloured by the dirt and dye in the pouch ; he 
 then sprinkles the mother and newly-born child with the 
 dirty water, and ties one of the pouches round the mother's 
 neck, and the other round the child's. If this be not done, 
 the blacks believe that the mother and child would quickly 
 die ; — the pouches are not taken off till the child can walk. 
 Another great *' fetish" in childbirth is a large bunch 
 of a round hollow seed like a large marble, which is 
 hung round the mother's neck, and not taken off till the 
 child is weaned, generally in twelve moons, or a year's 
 time. 
 
 Hung in the huts, and outside over the doors are all 
 kinds of " fetishes," and in the towns and about the huts 
 are various figures, generally roughly carved in wood, and 
 sometimes made of clay, but always coloured red, black 
 and white. The finest " fetishes " are made by the Mus- 
 surongos on the Congo River. Plate IV. represents 
 one obtained at Boma. Some of these large "ietishes" 
 have a wide-spread reputation, and the " fetish men " to 
 whom they belong are often sent for from long distances 
 to work some charm or cure with them. I have con- 
 stantly met them carrying these great ugly figures, and 
 accompanied by two or three attendants beating drums 
 and chanting a dismal song as they go along. 
 
 On the coast there are several "fetish men" who are 
 believed to have power over the surf, and their aid is 
 always invoked by the natives when it lasts long, or is so 
 strong as to prevent them going out in their canoes to 
 fish. There is a celebrated one at Musserra, and I have 
 often seen him on the high cliff or point going through 
 his incantations to allay the heavy surf; he has a 
 special dress for the occasion, it being almost covered 
 with shells and sea-weed ; he is called the " Mother of the 
 
FETISH. 139 
 
 AYater," and his power is held in great dread by the 
 nativ-es. ^o white man can go to the Granite Pillar at 
 ]\Iusst^rra without having propitiated him by a present. 
 This one, however, being half idiotic, is a poor harmless 
 black, but others are not so, and render themselves very 
 troublesome to tlie white traders by working mischief 
 against them amongst the natives. A young Englishman 
 established at Ambrizzette, although well known to them 
 for many years, having been formerly engaged amongst 
 them in the slave trade, was obliged to escape from there 
 for a time, in consequence of an epidemic of small-pox 
 being ascribed by the "fetish men" as having been intro- 
 duced into the country by him, in a jar ! 
 
 Others take advantage of the dread the natives have of 
 spirits, to commit robberies. One at Bembe robbed several 
 houses during the absence of the white owners, by mewing 
 like a cat, when, such was the fear of the blacks, that they 
 instantly lay on the ground, face downwards, and covered 
 their heads till he had gone away; meantime he had coolly 
 walked in and helped himself to whatever he pleased ; — 
 in this way he went off with a trunk full of clothes from 
 the doctor's house, the servants not daring to lift up their 
 heads as soon as they heard the mewing approaching, in 
 the firm belief that they would be instantly struck dead if 
 they even saw him. I heard this man mewing in the high 
 grass behind my house one night, when I instantly fired a 
 charge of small shot in the direction of the noise, and I 
 did not hear him again till a few days after, when, having 
 been captured by a Portuguese soldier whilst attempting 
 to rob his hut, he was tied on a gun at the fort, and by 
 a tremendous thrashing made to mew in earnest. All 
 the blacks in the place went to .see him punished, jeering 
 at him, and telling him the white man's " fetish " was 
 stronger than his. 
 
 The negroes have great confidence in the power of 
 "fetit^hes" to protect their houses, &c., from fire or other 
 misibitune, and an instance that I witnessed at Bembe 
 proves their blind faith in them. The Cabinda negroes 
 who were working as washer-boys, &c., lived apart from 
 
140 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 the other natives, as they always do, in a little town or 
 collection of huts by themselves ; one afternoon one of 
 these huts caught fire, and such was their belief in their 
 '• Manipanzos " as they call their '• fetish " figures, to pre- 
 serve the huts from fire, that they did notiiing either to 
 put it out, or to prevent the flames spreading ; in a very 
 short time the town was consumed, and the Cabindas lost 
 the whole of their property; they ran about like madmen, 
 throwing up their arms and crying out, and abusing the 
 "Endochi" (their name for Endoqui) in Cabinda who had 
 cheated them with useless " fetishes," and vowed vengeance 
 on him when they should return to their country. 
 
 The Mussurongo, Ambriz, and Mubhicongo negroes, are 
 much afraid of going about at 'night, unless there is moon- 
 light ; if one is sent with a message on a dark night, he 
 always takes one or two more with him for protection, for 
 fear of spirits. 
 
 As already noticed when speaking of the present want 
 of power of the King of Congo, there are no very great 
 chiefs in the country from the River Congo to the district 
 of Loanda, the most important or powerful being the 
 King of N'Bamba and the "Dembo Ambuilla," or King 
 of Encoge. Every town has its own king and council, 
 generally of ten or twelve of the oldest men, who are 
 called *-*MacGtas," and who together administer the laws, 
 settle disputes, &c. A king has no power by himself, the 
 natives simply reverencing him as being invested with 
 the "fetish" of chief, and he receives very little tribute 
 from the natives of his own town ; the fines and penalties 
 levied he has also to divide with the " Mcicotas." 
 
 In all the tribes of Angola that I am acquainted with, 
 the office of king descends from uncle to nephew (or in 
 want of nephew, to niece), but by the sister's side, as, from 
 what we call morals being but little understood by them, 
 the paternity of any child is liable to very great doubt ; 
 but as a black once explained to me, " there is no doubt 
 that my si^ter and myself came from the same mother, 
 and there is no doubt, therefore, that my sister's cliild 
 must be my nephew." This necessity for a positive or 
 
CUSTOMS. 141 
 
 certain descent is very curious, as no record is kept of 
 their pedigree or history. 
 
 The only division of time being into moons or months, 
 and into dry and wet seasons, and no record of any kind 
 being kept, bracks are quite unable to estimate then* own 
 age ; servants keep an account of the months they are in 
 service by tying a knot on a string for every moon. 
 
 Every king has a stick of office ; this is in form like 
 a straight, thick, smooth walking-stick, generally made 
 of ebony, or of other wood dyed black, almost always 
 plain, but sometimes carved with various patterns and 
 ornamented with brass tacks, or inlaid \\ith different 
 designs in brass or tin plate. These sticks are always 
 sent with a messenger from the king, and serve to au- 
 thenticate the message. The principal insignia of the 
 king's office is the cap, which is hereditary. It resembles 
 a short nightcap, and is made of fine tibre, generally that 
 of the wild pineapple leaf, and some are beautifully woven 
 with raised patterns. The king never wears it in the 
 usual way, but on any occasion of ceremony it is carried 
 on the head doubled in four. The "Macotas" also use 
 the same kind of cap, but worn properly on the head, 
 and, like the king, only on occasions of ceremony. 
 
 When a white man, travelling, stops to rest for meals, 
 or to sleep at .a town, it is usual for the king and " Ma- 
 cotas " to give him a ceremonious reception, for which 
 the king dresses himself in his best, and when they are all 
 assembled they send word to say that they are ready to 
 make their compliments. The meeting is generally in 
 front of the king's hut, or else under the largest tree in 
 the town (usually a Baobab), where ceremonials have 
 taken place from time immemorial. The king only is 
 seated, another seat being placed at a little distance in 
 front for the traveller. All the hammock-boys and ser- 
 vants belonging to the latter attend and squat behind him; 
 on the king's side is generally tho whole available popu- 
 lation of the town, for whom the occasion is an excitement, 
 the front rows squatting on the ground, and the rest stand- 
 ing crowded together in a circle. The traveller's retiuue 
 
142 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 first begin by clapping hands to the king and "Macotas." 
 This is performed in a peculiar manner by hollowing both 
 pahns, as in the action of filling them with water, and 
 then bringing them together cros-iwise, when a much 
 louder and deeper sound is produced than by chippint^ 
 the hands in the ordinary manner. The king returns the 
 salute by extending the left hand before him horizontally, 
 with the pahn towards him, and placing the back of the 
 right hand flat in the palm of the left, and the, fingers 
 projecting over it are then waved quickly in succession 
 in that position. (Plate V.," Figs. 5, 6.) This is the uni- 
 versal manner of greeting in Angola between an inferior 
 and superior of high rank; when the difference is not so 
 great, as children to their parents, slaves to their masters, 
 ordinary natives to their " Macotas," &e., both clap their 
 hands, but the inferior has to do it first, and both sqnat 
 down for a moment to do it. A powerful king answers a 
 salute by simply lifting his right hand, and waving his 
 first and second finger only. 
 
 The king then speaks to one of the '•' Macotas " who can 
 best translate his speech to the wliite man, welcoming him 
 to the town, and inquiring after his health ; the traveller 
 then calls one of his attendants to act as interpreter, and 
 returns the compliments and makes the king a present of 
 a few handkerchiefs and beads for his wives, but the cere- 
 monial is not considered complete without the traveller 
 presenting a bottle or a drink of wine or rum, which the 
 king first partakes of, and then passes to the " Macotas ; '' — 
 thewhite man then shakes hands with the king and takes 
 his leave, the king always sending him some little present, 
 gen^erally a fowl or pig, for which, however, another present 
 equal to' its value is expected. It is not considered eti- 
 quette for the king to speak Portuguese on these occasions, 
 however well' he may know or understand it, but always 
 to use his native language, and employ an interpreter; 
 the white man must also employ an interpreter to translate 
 his speech. 
 
 Besides rubbing the forehead on the ground to a 
 powerful king, which I liave described as practised to the 
 
ARMS AND WAB. 143 
 
 King of Congo, the blacks have another way of rendering 
 homage ; this is by rubbing the fingers of both hands on 
 the ground, and transferring tlie dust tliat adheres to 
 them to the eyebrows, ears, and cheeks. 
 
 The appearance of some of the kings dressed in their 
 fine ch^thes is very ridiculous, A red or blue baize cloak 
 thrown over the shoulders is considered the correct thing, 
 particularly over an old uniform of any kind, with the 
 more gold lace on it the better. The old King of Quirillo, 
 on the road to Bembe, was as amusing a fii^ure as any 
 I have seen. He always used to appear in a woman's 
 brightly-coloui'ed chintz gown, with a short red cloak 
 over his shoulders, and a great brass cavalry helmet on 
 his head, his black wrinkled face in a bi-oad grin of 
 satisfaction at the admiration that his brilliant costume 
 appeared to excite among the natives. 
 
 The blacks in this part of the country are armed with 
 flint muskets, of which, many thousands are annually passed 
 in trade on the coast. They Lke the heavy pattern of 
 gun, unlike the natives to the south, who will only have 
 very light flimsy Liege made guns. They are fond of 
 ornamenting the stock with brass tacks ; — I have seen the 
 whole of the woodwork of some of their muskets completely 
 covered with them. They have no idea of using them 
 properly, generally firing them from the side without any 
 regard to aim or the distance that they can carry. Their 
 manner of loading them I have already described. 
 
 These natives are arrant cowards, and in their so-called 
 wars or disputes between one town and another they seldom 
 re>ort to firearms to settle their differences. If one man is 
 killed or wounded it is considered a very great war indeed, 
 although a great deal of powder may have been burnt in 
 mutual defiance at a safe distance. The Portuguese were 
 engaged in war on several occasions on the road to Bembe, 
 and punished, by burning, a number of towns where rob- 
 beries had been committed, and where, from the thickness 
 of the bush and forest, the ridiculously small force at their 
 command would have been quickly massacred, had not 
 the natives been such craven cowards and so incapable of 
 
14i ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 using their firearms. A shot from a six-pounder gun, by 
 which a king and seven other blacks were killed — swept 
 off a path where they were standing in file at what 
 they considered a safe distance — contributed more than 
 anything else to restore peace on the road. 
 
 The boats that used to navigate the Kiver Congo were 
 formerly armed with a small carronade, to protect them- 
 selves from any attack by the piratical Mussurongos on that 
 river. One of these carronades falling into the hands of 
 those blacks was by them sold to a town in the interior. 
 The natives of this became involved in a dispute with those 
 of a powerful neighbouring town, who proceeded to attack 
 it. The natives of the former town, who depended on the 
 carronade as their principal means of defence, placed it 
 on the path, loaded to the muzzle with powder and stones, 
 and laying a long train of powder to it awaited the alvanco 
 of the enemy ; when it appeared in sight the train was 
 fired, and the inhabitants took to their heels. The assail- 
 ing army, hearing such a terrific report, paused to consider, 
 and prudently decided to return to their town. Next day 
 they sent proposals of peace to the little town, saying that 
 as the latter had such a big " fetish," they could not think 
 of making war any more. 
 
 The Mussurongo and Ambriz blacks knock out the two 
 middle front teeth in the upper jaw on arriving at the age 
 of puberty. The Mushicongos are distinguished from them 
 by having all their front teeth, top and bottom, chipped 
 into points, which ^ives them a very curious appearance. 
 These tribes, like all blacks, have magnificent sets of teeth, 
 and the , great care they take to keep them beautifully 
 clean is most singular, considering their generally dirty 
 habits and want of cleanliness. A negro's first care in the 
 morning is to rinse out his mouth, generally using his 
 forefinger to rub his teeth ; the big mouthful of water with 
 which they wash their mouths is always squirted out after- 
 wards in a thin stream on their hands, to wash them with, 
 this being about the extent of their ablutions. Many use 
 a bit of cane switch or soft stick with the end beaten into 
 a brush of fibres to clean their teeth with, this brush being 
 
 I 
 
DBESS. 145 
 
 often carried su^^pended from a piece of string rouud their 
 necks. After eveiy meal they always wash their moutlis 
 and teeth, and I have seen them dip their forefinger into 
 the clean sharp sand of a river, and use it vigorously as 
 tooth-powder. 
 
 Polygamy is of course an established institution among 
 the natives of Angola, and the number of Avives that a 
 black may keep is only regulated by his means to main- 
 tain them. This applies to free blacks, the wives or 
 married women being all free. A free man may also keep 
 as many slaves and concubines as he can clothe. 
 
 There is no ceremony of marriage amongst the Mussu- 
 rongo, Ambriz, or Mushicongo blacks, except mutual 
 consent, but the bridegroom has to make his father-in-law 
 a present of from two to three pieces of cloth an<:l some 
 bottles of rum. He has, besides, to provide a feast to 
 which all the relatives of both families are invited, and in 
 which a pig is an indispensable element, and as much 
 rum or other drink as his means will allow. The bride's 
 trousseau is also provided by him, but this, among the 
 poorer Musliicongos, very often only consists of a couple 
 of handkerchiefs or a fathom of cotton cloth. In many 
 cases the bride is delivered over naked to the bridegroom. 
 He has to provide her with clothing, baskets, hoe, pipe, 
 pots for cooking, wooden platters, &c., and a separate hut 
 with sleeping mat for each wife ; in return for this the 
 wives have to cook and cultivate the plantations and to 
 keef) themselves and the husband in food. Should he be 
 unable to supply a wife Avith the customary clothing, &c., 
 she can leave him and return to her parents, in which case 
 he loses her, and the amount he gave for her as well. 
 
 The dross of the blacks near the coast is, as might 
 be expected, not so scanty as those farther inland. The 
 men wear a waistcloth reaching to the knees, tied round 
 the waist with a strip of red baize, and those who can 
 afford it fringe the ends of the cloth, which are allowed 
 to hang nearly to, and in some cases to trail on, the ground. 
 The women sew together two widths of cotton cloth, which 
 is worn wrapped round the body, covering it from under 
 
 L 
 
146 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEB CONGO. 
 
 the arm-pits to the knees, and tied in the same manner 
 round the waist with a strip of baize; — the top-end being 
 lucked in, secures the cloth under the arms over the 
 breast, but when travelh'ng or working in the fields, they 
 allow the top width to fall down on their hips, and leave 
 the upper part of the body exposed. In the poorer towns 
 the men only wear a small waistcloth of cotton cloth or 
 matting; the women also wear a short waistcloth, and a 
 handkerchief folded diagonally and tied tightly under the 
 arms, with the ends hanging over and partly concealing 
 the breasts. Girls and young women generally wear a 
 single handkerchief tied by a string round their hips, the 
 ends of the handkerchief not meetinii^ at the side, leaving 
 one thigh exposed. Children run about stark naked, or 
 with a piece of string tied round the waist and the ends 
 hanging down in front. Their covering at night is only 
 the waistcloth or mat, which is generally long enough to 
 cover them from head to foot. Tliese mats are made from 
 the cuticle of the leaves of a dwarf palm, which is peeled 
 off when green and dried in the sun. It is only very fe\v 
 of the richer folks who have a baize cloth or other covering 
 for their bodies at night. As might be expected, they are 
 very glad to get cast-off garments, and they will wear any 
 article of clothing however ragged it may be. One of my 
 boys, to whom I had given an old shirt without a back, 
 fastened it on by lacing it up behind with a string, and 
 the contrast presented by his shiny black back and his 
 clean shirt front, collar, and sleeves, was most comical. 
 Another hammock-boy made his appearance in a wide- 
 awake, blue silk tie, pair of slippers, and the body-part of 
 an old pair of white duck-trousers I had given him, the 
 legs of w hich he had cut off to make a present of to his 
 brother. The cotton umbrellas they receive in barter 
 from the traders, each segment of which is a different 
 bright colour, when old are taken off the ribs, the hole at 
 the top is enlargefl to pass the head through, and they are 
 then \vorn on the shoulders like a cape. 
 
 The coast tribes do not interfere with nature in the 
 development of the female figure, but the Mushicongoi 
 
DRESS. 147 
 
 object to prominent breasts, and girls tie a string tightly- 
 round the chest to reduce the growing breasts to the per- 
 fectly flat shape in fashion ; — the appeai-ance of some of tlie 
 old negresses .with their breasts lianging low and flat in 
 front is very disgusting. 
 
 The bUxcks have a great admiration for a wliite woman's 
 costume, and I shall never forget an old "Capata's" 
 description of a Portuguese officer's wife that he had seen 
 at Ambriz, or his imitation of her slim waist and flowing 
 dress. I tol 1 him I would send him a thin-waisted wite 
 from England if he promised to put away the three he 
 then had ; he refused then, but next day came to me and 
 said that, having considered my offer, he would accept it ! 
 
 The Mussurongo, but not the Ambriz or Mushicongo 
 men, wear ankle-rings made of brass (European make), or 
 of tin, made by themselves from bar-tin obtained in trade 
 from the white men. The women of the three tribes are 
 very fond of wearing rings both on their arms and legs; 
 these are sometimes made in one piece of thin brass wire 
 wound loosely round the arm or leg, but a number of 
 separate rings, about the size of ordinary rings on curtain- 
 rods, is most esteemed, and they must be solid ; they are 
 not appreciated if hollow. Some of the richer women wear 
 as many as twenty of these rings on each leg and arm, the 
 Aveight rendering them almost unable to move, but six or 
 eight is a very usual number to wear on each limb. It 
 must not be understood that this is the universal custom, 
 as it is only the wives of the kings or " Macotas '' who can 
 afford these ornaments. 
 
 These three tribes generally keep their heads shaved, 
 or else only allow their hair to grow very short, and 
 cut or shave it into various patterns, sometimes very 
 complicated in character. Where razors or scissors are 
 scarce, I have seen blacks shave heads with a piece of 
 glass split from the bottom of an ordinary bottle, the 
 operator stretching the skin of the scalp tightly towards 
 him with the thumb of the left hand, while he scrapes 
 away from him with the sharp edge of the wedge-shaped 
 piece of glass in his right. Did they not keep their woolly 
 
 L 2 
 
148 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 heads so free from hair, great would be the production of 
 a certain obnoxious insect, under the combine 1 influence 
 of dirt and heat. Amongst the Mnsliicongos tlie chiefs* 
 wives and other more aristocratic ladies allow their hair to 
 grow into a huge worsted-looking bush or mop, which is 
 carefully combed straight up and out, and of course 
 swarms with insect inhabitants. A very curious plan is 
 adopted to entrap them : — a number of little liask-shaped 
 gourds, about the size of an ordinary pear, are strung 
 through their necks on a string, whicli is tied round the 
 greasy forehead ; a little loose cotton-wool is stuffed into 
 each, and the open narrow ends stick into the bush of hair; 
 they are taken off* each morning, the cotton-wool is pulled 
 out, and the little innocents that have crawled into it are 
 crunched on the ground with a stone ; the wool is replaced, 
 and they are again hung round the^back of the head as 
 before. These traps in fact act in the same way as the 
 little pots turned upside down and filled with hay, which 
 our gardeners employ to capture earwigs on dahlias. 
 
 Hunting them by hand is of course very much in vogue, 
 and I was once greatly amused at the way the chase was 
 carried on on a woman's head at a town called Sangue, 
 near Bembe. She was sitting on a low stool, and two 
 girls were busily turning over her hair and collecting the 
 lively specimens, which, as they were caught, were pinched 
 to prevent their crawding, and placed in the open palm of 
 a child's hand, who also stood in the group. My curiosity 
 Avas excited as to the reason of the specimens being thus 
 carefully preserved, and on asking one of my hammock- 
 boys, he told me 'Hhat is for the payment" — they are 
 afterwards counted, and the girls get a glass bead for 
 every one they have caught. 
 
 I thought that a bead each was rather high pay for the 
 work, and told him so ; his answer was-, " If you had a 
 hundred on your head, would you not give a hundred beads 
 to have them caught ? " and I was obliged to confess that 
 I should consider it a cheap riddance. 
 
 The Zombo and other natives farther to the interior, 
 who come to the coast with ivory, &c., seldom shave their 
 
THE ZOMBO TBIBE. 140 
 
 heads : the common lot let their hair grow anyhow, with- 
 out apparently ever combing it out — a confused mass of 
 wool, dirt, and palm oil — so that it gives them a wild 
 appearance; others comb it straight up, letting it grow 
 about six inches long, and ornament the front with a 
 cock's leather or a red flower, or sometimes stick two or 
 three brass tacks in it ; others shave their heads all round, 
 leaving the hair in the middle to grow uprii>ht, but the 
 most usual manner is to plait their hair in little strings 
 all over the head ; some twist and plait these strings again 
 round the head, ending at the top in a round knob, so 
 that they look exactly as if they had a basket on their 
 heads. 
 
 Any malformation with which a child may be born is 
 considered a '' fetish " by the negroes in Angola. A very 
 short or sunken neck is thought a very great fetish indeed. 
 I saw two blacks in the Bembo country who seemed to 
 have no necks at all. 
 
 Albinos are not at all uncommon, and very repulsive 
 looking creatures they are, with their dirty white, scabby, 
 shrunken skins. Blacks with six fingers and toes are often 
 seen, and are also considered as "fetish." 
 
 Women bear children with the greatest facility. In 
 every town there are one or more old women who act as 
 midwives, and I was informed that very few deaths indeed 
 occur from childbirth, and in a very short time after the 
 mothers may be seen about. 
 
 A very striking instance of the ease with which women 
 go through this trial, happened to my knowledge whilst I 
 was at Benguella. Senhor OonceiQao, the agent of the copper 
 mine I was exploring there, had occasion to send up a number 
 of poles to the mine, which was about six miles inland. He 
 called his slaves together early one morning and told them 
 that all who were able to carry poles should take up one and 
 go off to the mine with it ; — these wooden poles weighing 
 about thirty to forty pounds each. About twenty of the 
 slaves in the yard shouldered one, and away they went, 
 merrily singing together. Amongst them was a woman 
 near her continemeut, who need not have gone with 
 
150 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 her companions if she had chosen to remain behind. 
 After breakfast we proceeded to the mine, and on arriving 
 at a place about four miles off we noticed a few of the 
 poles on the ground, but none of the bearers near; our 
 hammock-boys shouted for them, thinking they had 
 perhaps gone into the bush and laid down to sleep, leaving 
 their loads on the road. A woman came out of a thicket 
 and explained that the pregnant woman's time had arrived, 
 and that the child had just been born. Senhor Concei^ao 
 ordered the women to remain with her till we should arrive 
 at the mine, when he would send bearers with a hammock, 
 blanket, wine, &c., to carry her back. After some time 
 they returned, saying that she and the other women had 
 gone! and Avhen we reached Benguella in the evening, 
 Senhora Concei9ao described to us her surprise at seeing 
 the women return carrying green boughs, singing merrily, 
 and accompanying the woman bearing her new-born baby 
 in her arms, she having walked back all the way, not caring 
 to wait for the hammock ! 
 
 An allowance of grog was served out, and a ''batuco," 
 or dance, was held by all the slaves in honour of the event, 
 whilst the woman coolly sat on a stone in their midst, 
 nursing her baby as if nothing had happened. 
 
 The burial of kings, or head men, and their wives in 
 this part of Angola is very singular. When the person 
 dies, a shallow pit is dug in the floor of the hut in which 
 he or she died, just deep enough to contain the body. 
 This, which is seldom more than skin and bone, is placed 
 naked in the trench on its back, and then covered with a 
 thin layer of earth. On this three fires are lighted and 
 kept burning for a whole moon or month, the hot ashes 
 being constantly spread over the whole grave. At the 
 end of this time the body is usually sufficiently baked cr 
 dried : it is then taken out and placed on its back on an 
 open framework of sticks, and fires kept burning under it 
 till the body is thoroughly smoke-dried. During the 
 whole time the body is being dried, the hut in which the 
 operation is performed is always full of people, the women 
 keeping up a dismal crying day and night, particularly 
 
BURIAL. ■ 151 
 
 the latter ; —I have often been annoyed and liad my rest 
 disturbed by their monotonous and unceasiug howl on 
 tliese occasions. 
 
 At the pretty town of Lambo I was obliged one night 
 to leave and bivouac at some distance under a Baobab, to 
 escape the noise kept up over the dead body of one of the 
 king's wives, which was undergoing the Inst process of 
 drying over a fire ; I looked into the hut and saw a naked 
 bloated body stiff and black on the frame, over a good 
 fire, where, as one of my hammock-boys told me, it would 
 take long in drying, as she was " so fat and made so much 
 dripping." The stench from the body and the number of 
 blacks in the hut was something indescribable. 
 
 When the body is completely desiccated it is wrapped in 
 cloth and stuck upright in a corner of the hut, where it 
 remains until it is buried, sometimes two years after. The 
 reason for this is, that all the relations of the deceased must 
 be present at the final ceremony, when the body is wrapped 
 in as many yards of cloth as they can possibly afibrd, some 
 of the kings being rolled in several hundred yards of 
 different cloth. On the occasion of the burial a '* wake " 
 or feast consisting of " batnco," or dancing, with firing of 
 guns and consumption of drink, roast pig, and other fuod, 
 is held for the whole night. 
 
 It is believed that the spirit of the dead person will 
 haunt the town where he died, and commit mischief if the 
 " wake " is not held. 
 
 About Ambriz, and on the coast, it is the fashion to 
 place boots or shoes on the feet of free men when they 
 are buried, and old boots and shoes are considered a great 
 gift from the whites for this purpose. The body is gene- 
 rally buried in the same hut occupied by the person 
 during life. In some few places they have a regular 
 burial ground, the graves, generally simple mounds, 
 being ornamented with broken crockery and bottles. The 
 natives have great veneration for their dead, and I found 
 it impossible to obtain a dried body as a specimen, 
 although I offered a high price for one. 
 
 Very little ceremony is used in burying blacks found 
 
152 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 dead, Avho do not belons^ to the town in or near which 
 they have died ; the wrists and knees are tied together 
 and a pole pissed through, and they are then carried by 
 two men and buried outside, anywhere ; — if tlie corpse is 
 that of a man, his staff and "mutete" are hiid ou the 
 grave ; if a woman, a basket is placed on it. (Plate XII.) 
 
 Their mourning is simple and inexpensive; a few 
 ground-nuts are roasted in a crock till they are nearly 
 burnt, and being very oily are then readily ground into a 
 perfectly black paste. This, according to the relationship 
 with the deceased, is either rubbed over the whole, or only 
 part of the face and head ; in some cases this painting is 
 a complicated affair, being in various devices all over the 
 shaven head and face, and takes some time and pains to 
 effect ; and to prevent its being rubbed off at night by 
 the cloth with which they cover themselves, they place 
 a basket kind of mask on their faces. (Plate IV.) This 
 mask is also employed to keep off tlie cloth from the face 
 and prevent the mosquitoes from biting through. 
 
 Circumcision is a universal custom among the blacks of 
 Angola. They have no reason for this custom other than 
 that it would be " fetish " not to perform it, and in some 
 of the tiibes they cannot marry without. 
 
 The operation is only performed in a certain "moon" 
 (June), the one alter the last of the rainy season, and on 
 a number of boys at a time. For this purpose a large 
 barracoon is built, generally on a hill and at some little 
 distance from .any town. There the boys live for a "moon" 
 or month under the care of the " fetish man " or doctor, 
 and employ their time in beating drums and singing a 
 wild kind of chant, and in hunting rats in the fields 
 immediately the grass is burnt down. The boys' food is 
 taken up daily by the men of the towns, women not being 
 allowed to approach the barracoon during the time : the 
 path leading to it is marked where it joins the main path 
 by one or two large figures made either of clay or straw, 
 or smaller ones roughly carved of wood, and always of a 
 very indecent character. At the end of the month the 
 boys return to their towns, wearing a head-dress of 
 
INSANITY. 
 
 153 
 
 feathers, singing and beating drums, and preceded by the 
 *' fetish man." 
 
 Insanity exists, though rarely, among blacks. I have 
 only seen several natural born idiots, but I have been 
 informed by the natives that they have violent madmen 
 amongst them, whom they are obliged to tie up, and 
 sometimes even kill; and I have been assured that some 
 hmatics roam about wild and naked in the forest, living 
 on roots, sometimes entering the towns when hard pressed 
 by hunger, to pick up dirt and garbage, or pull up the 
 mandioca roots in the plantations. This can only be in 
 this part of the country, where the larger carnivora are 
 scarce, or with the exception of the hysena, almost entirely 
 absent. 
 
( 154 ) 
 
 . . CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CUSTOMS OF THE MUSSUKONGO, AMBRIZ, AND MUSHICONGO 
 
 NEGROES — MANDIOCA PLANT ITS PREPARATIONS — 
 
 CHILI PEPPER — BANANAS — RATS — WHITE ANT — 
 NATIVE BEER — STRANGE SOUNDS. 
 
 The ]\Iussurongo, Ambriz, and Mushicongo negroes have 
 hardly any industrial or mechanical occupation ; they 
 weave no cloths of cotton or other fibre ; their only manu- 
 factures being the few implements, baskets, pots, &c., 
 required in their agriculture and household operations. 
 
 The reason for this want of industry, apart from t!ie 
 inherent laziness and utter dislike of the negroes for work 
 of any kind, is to be found in their socialistic and con- 
 servative ideas and laws. 
 
 No man can be richer than his neighbour, n,or must 
 he acquire his riches by any other than the usual or 
 establislied means of barter or trade of the natural pro- 
 ducts of the country, or of his plantations. 
 
 Sliould a native return to his town, after no matter how 
 long an absence, with more than a moderate amount of 
 cloth, bea !s, &c, as the result of his labour, he is imme- 
 diately accused of witchcratt or '* fetish," and his property 
 distributed among all, and is often fined as well. 
 
 1 have already mentioned how the natives at Bembe, 
 on receiving their pay, would squander it in riot before 
 leaving for their towns, knowing that it Mould only be 
 taken away from them, and so preferring to enjoy them- 
 selves with it first. 
 
 Some of the black traders on the coast, who acquire 
 large values in the ivory trade, have to invest them in 
 slaves, and even form towns consisting of their wives and 
 
CUSTOMS. 155 
 
 slayes, and entirely maintained by them ; — even these 
 traders are constantly being accused of *' fetish," from 
 wliich they have to clear themselves by heavy payments. 
 
 We have ah-eady seen how there are hardly any social 
 distinctions among tlie negroes, and consequently no ne- 
 cessity for finer clothing, food, liouses, &c. ; it is even 
 considered very mean for one black to. eat or drinlv by 
 himself. Any food or drink, however little, given to 
 them, is always distributed amongst those present. The 
 Portuguese convict whom I have described as owning the 
 sugar-cane phmtation at Quincollo, goes under the nick- 
 name among the blacks of "riadia,"or one who eats alone, 
 from his having, when first starting a grog shop, lived in 
 a hut apart, and as the blacks said " when he ate his 
 dinner no other white man saw him, and what was over he 
 kept for the next day." 
 
 Nature favours the habits and customs of the blacks, 
 removing all inducement to work by providing with a 
 prodigal hand their few necessities, and exacting scarcely 
 any exertion on their part in return. Their principal 
 food or staff of life, the mandioca root, does not even 
 require harvesting or storing. A knife or matchet, a hoe, 
 a sleeping mat, and a couple of pots and baskets, enable 
 persons about to marry to begin life and rear a large 
 family without the least misgiving for the future, or 
 anxiety for the payment of rent, doctor's and tailor's 
 bills, schooling, rates or taxes. 
 
 The materials for their huts grow around them in the 
 greatest abundance, a few forked upright poles form the 
 walls, and bear others forming the roof; thin sticks tied 
 horizontally or perpendicularly to the uprights, both inside 
 and out, forming a double wall, complete the framework 
 of the hut, which is then plastered with clay or earth, or 
 covi-red with grass or **loandos," or mats made of the 
 dried stem of the papyrus. The roof is of grass neatly 
 laid on in layers like tiiatch, on a frame of light cane or 
 the mid-rib of the palm-leaf. The door is made of slabs 
 of the **i\Iafumeira" or cotton-wood tree, or of palm-leaves 
 woven together ; the door is always about a foot from the 
 
15G ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 ground, and the threshold generally the trunk of a small 
 tree, forming the usual seat of the inmates during the day. 
 
 The IMushicongos, living on the mica schist and clay 
 slate formations, which decompose readily, forming tena- 
 cious clayey soils, and are the favourite habitat of the 
 white ant, are obliged to prepare with great care the 
 poles employed in building their huts, in order to pre- 
 serve them from the ravages of that most destructive 
 insect. 
 
 For this purpose the poles are soaked for months in 
 stagnant pooh, until they become black with fetid mud 
 or slime, and the end which is intended to be stuck in the 
 ground is then held over a fire till the surface is charred. 
 The smoke from the fire, always kept burning in a hut, 
 preserves it perfectly from the attacks of the white ant, 
 the interior becoming in time perfectly black and shining 
 as if varnished, there being of course no chimney and very 
 seldom a window, though sometimes an open space is lett 
 at the top ends for the smoke to issue from. 
 
 The furniture is restricted to a bed, made of a frame- 
 work of sticks or palm-leaves plaited together, and resting 
 on two logs of wood or short forked sticks, so as to raise it 
 about six inches or a foot from the ground. On the bed 
 is laid a sleeping-mat made by the natives of the interior, 
 and sometimes there is a mat-pillow stuffed \^ith wild 
 cotton, but this is seldom more than an inch or two thick ; 
 — blacks mostly sleep without pillows, with their heads 
 resting on the extended arm. 
 
 The negroes from the interior are sometimes seen using 
 curious small pillows made of wood (Plate IV.) and carved 
 in fanciful patterns; they carry them slung from the 
 shoulder. A very singidar habit of all negroes is that of 
 never slinging anything across the shoulders and chest as 
 we do, but always from one shoulder, and hanging under 
 the arm. 
 
 Building huts is man's work, and as no nails of any kind 
 are employed in their construction, the sticks only being 
 notched and tied together with baobab fibre, a few days, 
 with but little trouble, suffices to buijd one. 
 
THE MANDIOCA PLANT. 157 
 
 Women's work is entirely restricted to cultivating the 
 ground and preparing the food. Their simple agricul- 
 tural operations are all performed with one implement, a 
 single-handed hoe (Plate V.). This hoe is made of iron, 
 nearly round, about the size and shape of a large oyster- 
 shell, and has a short spike which is burnt into the end of 
 the handle, a short knobbed stick about eighteen inches 
 long. With tliis Jioe the ground is cleared of grass and weeds, 
 which are gathered into heaps when dry, and burnt. The 
 ground is then dug to a depth of about six to eight inches, 
 and the loose broken earth scraped together into little hil- 
 locks ready for planting the mandioca. This plant, the 
 Cassada or Cassava of the West-Indies, &c. (Manihot aijn), 
 grows as a peculiar thick round bush from three to six 
 feet high, bearing an abundance of bright green, handsome 
 deeply-cut leaves ; it flowers but sparingly, and bears few 
 seeds ; it is propagated by cuttings, any part of the stem 
 or branches, which are soft, brittle, and knotty, very readily 
 taking root. About the beginning of the rainy season is 
 the usual time of planting, — two or three short pieces of 
 stem, about a foot long, being stuck in each hillock. In 
 some places two of the pieces are of equal length, and 
 planted near each other, the third piece being shorter, and 
 planted in a slanting position across the other two. This 
 method of planting is supposed, but with what truth I 
 know not, to produce a greater crop of roots than any 
 other. The mandioca is of rapid and luxuriant growth, 
 and in favourable soil the plant throws out many branches. 
 The roots are very similar in outward appearance to those 
 of the dahlia, thougli of course, very much larger; the 
 usual size is about a foot long, but roots two feet long and 
 several inches wide throughout are of common occurrence. 
 When fresh they are white and of a peculiar compact, 
 dense, brittle texture, more like that of the common chest- 
 nut than anything else I can compare it to, and not un- 
 like it in taste, though not so sweet, and more j'licy. 
 They are covered by a thin, dark, rough, dry skin, which 
 is very easily detached. Gentle hill slopes are the places 
 generally chosen for the mandioca plantations, to ensure 
 
15S ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 good di-ninage, as the roots are said to rot readily in plar*es 
 M'heie water stagnates. The mandioca-root is sufficiently 
 larue and good to eat, about nine months after planting, 
 but is only pulled up then in case of need, as it does not 
 attain its iull perfection for filteen or eighteen months 
 after the cuttings are planted, and as it can lemain in the 
 ground for two or. even three years without damage or 
 deterioration, there is no need of a regular time for digging 
 it np. ^t is eaten fresh and raw as taken out of the 
 ground, tliongh the natives are fondest of its various 
 preparations. 
 
 TJie roots peeled and dried in the sun constitute what 
 is called ^'bala," and are eaten t^us or roastfd. *-Bomb6" 
 is prepared by placing the roots in water for four or five 
 days, running streamy being preferred to stagnant pools 
 fur this pui-pose; the outer black skin then peels off very 
 readily and the roots have suffered a kind of acetous ler- 
 meiitation affecting the gluten and gum, and setting Uqq 
 tlie starcli — of which the bulk of the root is compos-^d ; — 
 they now have a strong disagreeable ardd taste and flavour, 
 but on dr}ing in the sun become beautifully white and 
 nearly tasteless, and so disintegrated as to be readily 
 crushed between the fingers into the finest flour. Ihis 
 "bomlo" is also eaten thu.s dry or roasted, but most 
 usually it is pounded in a wooden mortar and sifted in the 
 " uzanzos " or baskets, into the white flour called " fuba." 
 From this is prepared the "infundi," the food most bked 
 by the natives, which is made in this way: — into an earthen 
 ])ot half full of water, kept boiling on three stones over a 
 lire, the ''fuba" is gradually added, and the^whole kept 
 constantly stirred round with a stick ; when the mass 
 attains the consistency of so!t dough the pot is taken off 
 the fire, and being secured by the woman's toes if she be 
 sitting down, or by her knees if kneeling, it is vigorously 
 stirred with the stick worked by both hands, lor some 
 minutes longer, or till it no longer slicks to the side of 
 the pot. Portions of the semi-transparent viscous mass 
 are then transferred with the stick to a small basket or 
 " quinda," dusted with dry " fuba," and rolled round into a 
 
MANDIOCA :■ PREP ABA TION. 159 
 
 flat cake about three or four inches in diameter and a 
 couple of inches thick. It is eaten hot, bits of the sticky 
 cake being pulled out with the fingers and dipped for a 
 flavour into a mess of salt fish, pork, or beans, or into a 
 gravy of stewed mandioca or bean-leaves, Chili pepper 
 and ml. This "infundi," or "infungi" as it is also pro- 
 nounced by some of the natives, is delicious eating with 
 "palm-chop." 
 
 " Quiquanfra" is also a very important preparation 
 cf the mandicca-root, large quantities being prepared in 
 the interior and brought down to the coast for sale and fur 
 barter for dried fish, salt, &c. The fresh roots are placed 
 in water for a few days, in the same manner as described 
 for *'bomb6," and peeled, but instead of being dried in 
 the sun, are transferred wet as they are taken out of the 
 water to the wooden mortars, and pounded to a homo- 
 geneous paste; this is rolled between the hands irito long 
 flattened cakes about eight inches in length, or into round 
 thick masses. These are rolled neatly in the large, strong 
 smooth leaf of the Phrynium ramcsissimum — a beautiful 
 trailing plant with a knotted stem, growing very abun- 
 dautl)^ in moist and shady places, — and steamed over a pot 
 of boiling water carefully covered up to keep tlie f-team 
 in, and then left to dry in the sun or air. The cakes then 
 become fit to keep for a long time, and are of a very close, 
 cheesy, indigestible character, with a disagreeable acid 
 flavour. Cut into thin slices and toasted, tlie ".quiquanga" 
 is not a bad substitute for bread or biscuit. 
 
 It is curious that in the district of Loauda and as far 
 south as Mossamedes, the principal food of the people 
 should be a preparation of the mandioca-root, which is 
 hardly ever used by the natives of the country from Am- 
 briz to the Eiver Congo: this is the meal called by the 
 Portuguese and Brazilians " Farinha de pao." It is made 
 by rasping the fresh roots, previously peeled, on a grater, 
 generally a sheet of tin-plate punched with holes or slits, 
 and nailed over a hole in a board. The grated pulp is then 
 put into bags and squeezed in a rude lever-press to extract 
 as much of the juice as possible, and then dried on large 
 
ICO ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 round iron or copper sheets fitting on a low circular 
 stone wall, where a wood fire is kept burning. When 
 thoroughly dry it is nearly white, and has the appearance 
 of coarse fioury saw-dust, and is excellent eating. Care- 
 fully prepared, it appears on all Angolan and Brazilian 
 tables, and is taken dry on the plate to mix with the 
 gravy of stews, &c. Scalded with boiling water, and mixed 
 with a little butter and salt, it is very nice to eat with 
 meat, &c. 
 
 Another very favourite way of cooking it is by boiling 
 it to a thick paste with water, tomatoes, Chili pepper, 
 and salt, with the addition of some oil or butter in wliich 
 onions have been fried. This is called *'pirao," and a 
 dish of it appears at table as regularly as potatoes do 
 with us. 
 
 With cold meat, fish, &c,, it is also eaten raw, 
 moistened with water, oil, vinegar, pepper, and s dt, or, 
 better still, with orange or lemon juice, with pepper and 
 salt. This is called "farofa," and is an excellent accom- 
 paniment to a cold dinner. The natives generally eat it 
 dry, or slightly moistened with water, and from its being 
 carelessly prepared it is always very gritty with sand and 
 earth, and is the cause of the molars of the natives 
 being always ground very flat. A negro never makes any 
 objection to grit in his food. Fish is always dried on 
 the sandy beach ; mandioca-roots or meal, it' wet, are also 
 spread on a clean bit of ground and swept up again when 
 dry, and he crunches up his always sandy food with the 
 most perfect indifference, his nervous system not being 
 of a sufficiently delicate character to **set his teeth on 
 edge " during the operation, as it would those of a white 
 man. 
 
 Next to the mandioca-root, as an article of food among 
 the blacks, is the small haricot bean ; these are of various 
 colours, the ordinary white bean being scarce. A species 
 is much cultivated, not only for the beans, Mhicli are 
 very small, but also for its long, thin, fleshy pods, which 
 are excellent in their green state. Beans are boiled 
 in water, with the addition of palm or ground-nut oil 
 
PEPPER. BANANAS, 161 
 
 or other fat, salt, and Chili pspper. The leaves of the 
 bean, mandioca, or pumpkin phmts are sometimes added. 
 
 Chili pepper is the universal condiment of the natives 
 of Angola, and it is only one species, with a small pointed 
 fruit about half-an-inch long, that is used. It grows every- 
 where in the greatest luxuriance as a fine bush loaded 
 with bunches of the pretty bright green and red berrie.«. 
 It seems to come up spontaneously around the huts and 
 villages, and is not otherwise planted or cultivated. It 
 is eaten either freshly-gathered or after being dried in 
 the sun. It has a most violent hot taste, but the natives 
 consume it in incredible quantities ; their stews are 
 generally of a bright-red colour from the quantity of this 
 pepper added, previously ground on a hollow stone with 
 anoiher smaller round one. Their cookery is mostly a 
 vehicle for conveying this Chili pepper, and the "in- 
 fundi" is dipped into it for a flavour. 
 
 Eating such quantities of this hot pepper often affects 
 the action of the heart, and I remember once having to 
 hire a black to carry the load of one of my carriers, who 
 was unable to bear it from strong palpitation of the 
 heart, brought on from the quantity of Chili pepper he 
 had eaten with his food. 
 
 In our gardtn at Bembe we grew some "Malagueta" 
 peppers, a variety w ith a long pod, and perhaps even 
 hotter than the Chilies. Our doctor's cook, coming to 
 me once for a supply of vegetables, was given a few of 
 these, and commenced eating one. I asked him how he 
 could bear to eat them alone? He laughed, and said 
 he *• liked them with rum early in the morning." To try 
 him, I gave him a couple and a glass of strong hollands 
 gin, and he coolly chewed them up and drank the spirit 
 without the slightest indication that he felt the pungency 
 of the fiery mixture. A round and deliciously-scented 
 variety, bearing pods the "size of a small marble, is also 
 grown, but is not commonly seen. 
 
 Bananas, or plantains, grow magnificently, as might be 
 expected, and without requiring the least trouble ; yet, 
 such is the stupid indolence of the natives that there is 
 
 M 
 
1G2 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 often a scarcity of tliem. They are principally grown 
 in valleys and other places, where the rich, moist earth in 
 which they delight is found, and where, protected by 
 palm and other trees, they rear their magnificent leaves 
 unbroken by a breath of air. A grove of banana-trees 
 thus growing luxuriantly in a forest clearing is one of 
 the most beautiful sights in nature ; — the vast leaves, re- 
 flecting the rays of the hot sun from their bright-green 
 surface, contrast vividly with the dark-hued foliage of 
 the trees around, and show off the whorls of flowers 
 with their fleshy, metallic, purple-red envelopes and the 
 great bunches of green and ripe yellow fruit. Numbers 
 of butterHies flit about the cool stems and moist earth, 
 whilst the abundant flowers are surrounded by a busy 
 crowd of bees and other flies, and by lovely sunbirds tiiat, 
 poised on the wing in the air, insert their long curved 
 beaks into the petals in search of the small insects and 
 j)erhaps honey that constitute their food. 
 
 The negroes of Angola always eat the banana raw, 
 but it is roasted by the whites when green, when it be- 
 comes quite dry and a good substitute for bread, or 
 boiled, to eat with meat instead of potatoes; and when 
 ripe, roasted whole, or cut lengthways into thin slices and 
 fried in batter and eaten ^Yith a little sugar and cinnamon 
 or wine, forming a delicious dish for dessert. A very 
 large plantain, growing as long as eighteen or twenty 
 inches, is cultivated in the interior, and is brought down 
 to the coast by the " Zombos " with their caravans of 
 ivory. Indian corn is the only other plant that is grown 
 and used as food by the negroes of Angola, except the 
 ground-nut already described. It is sparingly cultivated, 
 though bearing most productively, and is eaten in the 
 green state, raw or roasted, and sometimes boiled. About 
 Loanda the dry grain is occasionally pounded into meal 
 and boiled into a stiff paste witli water, and eaten in the 
 same manner as the " infundi" from the mandioca-root. 
 
 Other edible plants, though not much cultivated by 
 the natives, are the sweet potato ; the common yam 
 (which is very rarely seen, and I am quite unable to give 
 
BATS. 163 
 
 a reason for its not being more commonly cultivated) ; the 
 Cajanus indicus, a shrub bearing yellow pea-like flowers 
 and a pod with a kind of flat pea, which is very good 
 eating when young and green ; the purple egg-plant, or 
 " berenjela " of the Portuguese ; the *' ngillo " (Solanum 
 sp.), bearing a round apple-like fruit, used as a vegetable ; 
 the ordinary pumpkin, and a species of small gourd ; 
 and, lastly, the '*quiavo" or '*quingomb6" (Abelmoschus 
 esculentus) of the Brazilians. 
 
 The Ambriz and Mushicongo natives make but little 
 use of animal food, seldom killing a domestic animal, 
 and of these the pig is the most esteemed by them. Very 
 little trouble would enable them to rear any quantity of 
 sheep, goats, and other live stock; but, such is their 
 indolence, that, as I have already stated, these animals 
 are quite scarce in the country, and are daily becoming 
 more so. 
 
 Blacks, as a rule, seldom engage in the chase. Ante- 
 lopes, hares, &c., are only occasionally captured or shot, 
 though they are abundant in many places ; but they are 
 very fond of field rats and mice, though house rats are 
 held in disgust as articles of food. Immediately after the 
 annual grass-burnings the inhabitants of the towns turn 
 out with hoes and little bows and arrows to dig out and 
 hunt tlie rats and mice. Various devices are also em- 
 ployed to entrap them. A small framework of sticks, 
 about a foot high, is raised across the footpaths, leaving 
 small apertures or openings into which the open ends of 
 long funnel-shaped traps of open flexible wickerwork are 
 inserted. Tlie bushes are then beaten with sticks, and 
 the rats, frightened out of their haunts, rush along t!ie 
 paths into the traps, in which they cannot turn round, 
 and as many as four or five are caught at a time in each 
 (Plate XI.). 
 
 Another common trap is made by firmly fixing in 
 the ground one end of a strong stick, and bending down 
 the other end, to which is attached a noose inserted in 
 a small basket-trap, and so arranged as to disengage the 
 bow and catch the unlucky rat round the throat and 
 
 M 2 
 
1G4 ANGOLA AND THE lUVER CONGO. 
 
 strangle it as soon as it touches the bait. The rats, as 
 soon as killed, are skewered from head to tail on a long 
 bit of stick, and roasted over a fire in their "jackets" 
 whole, without any cleaning or other preparation, generally 
 five on each skewer. 
 
 Frogs are only eaten by the Mushicongos. They are 
 also very fond of grasshoppers, which are beaten down 
 with a flapper, like a battledore, made out of a palm-leaf, 
 their legs and wings pulled off, and roasted in a pot or 
 crock over a fire; they smell exactly like stale dry 
 shrimps. 
 
 A large king cricket {Brachytrypes acliaiinus) is greatly 
 relished everywhere, and the blacks are wonderfnlly clever 
 at finding the exact spot where one is chirping in the 
 ground, and digging it out from perhaps the depth of a 
 foot or more. It is incredible how puzzling it is to dis- 
 cover the exact place from whence the loud chirp of this 
 insect proceeds. 
 
 A large white grub or larva, the interior of which is 
 very streaky in appearance, and which is roasted and eaten 
 spread on a cake of " infundi " as we should spread marrow 
 on a slice of toast, is considered a great delicacy, as also is 
 a very large yellow caterpillar. I have seen, when travel- 
 ling, all the blacks of my party suddenly rush off with the 
 greatest delight to a shrub covered with these caterpillars, 
 which they eagerly collected to eat in the same way as 
 the grubs I have just described. 
 
 The "salale," or white ant, is eaten by the natives ot 
 Angola when it is in its perfect or winged state ; they are 
 captured by hand as they issue from holes in the ground, 
 stewed with oil, salt, and Chili pepper, and used as a 
 sauce or gravy with Avhich to eat the '* infundi." They 
 have a very sharp taste, from the formic acid contained in 
 them. 
 
 'J' he natives of Angola manufacture but one kind of 
 drink, called "uallua" in the district of Ambriz, and 
 **garapa" in the rest of Angola. It is a sort of beer, 
 prepared from Indian corn and " bala," or dry mandioca 
 root. The Indian corn is first soaked in water for a few 
 
NATIVE BEER. 165 
 
 days, or until it germinates ; it is then taken out and ^ 
 thinly spread on clean banana leaves, and placed on the 
 ground in the shade, where it is left for two or three 
 days; at the end of that time it has become a cake or 
 mass of roots and sprouts; it is then broken up and 
 exposed in the hot sun till it is quite dry, then pounded 
 in wooden mortars and sifted into fine flour; the dry 
 mandicjca roots are also pounded fine and mixed in 
 equal parts with the Indian corn. This mixture is now 
 introduced in certain proportions, into hot water, and 
 boiled until a thick froth or scum rises to the surface. 
 Large earthen pots, called '**sangas," are filled with this 
 boiled liquor, which when cold is strained through a closely 
 woven straw bag or cloth, and allowed to stand for one 
 night, when it ferments and is ready for use. It is slightly 
 milky in appearance, and when frei>hly made is sweetish 
 and not disagreeable in taste, but with the progress of 
 fermentation becomes acid and intoxicating. The ra- 
 tionale of the process of making " garapa " is the same as 
 that of the manufacture of beer. The germination of the 
 Indian corn, in which part of its starch is changed into 
 sugar with the production of diastase, and the arrest of 
 this process by drying, corresponds to the '^ malting," and 
 the boiling in water with mandioca flour to the *• mashing;" 
 the diastase acting on the starch of the mandioca root, 
 transforms it into sugar, which in its turn is fermented 
 into alcohol, rendering the "garapa" intoxicating, and 
 ultimately becoming acid, or sour, from its passing to the 
 state of acetous fermentation. 
 
 The "quindas" or baskets, used by the natives of 
 Angola, are of various sizes and all conical in shape. 
 They are made of straw, but are not woven. A kind of 
 thin rope is made by covering a quantity of straight 
 straws or dry grass stems, about the thickness of an ordi- 
 nary lead pencil, with a flat grass, or strips of palm leaf, 
 and the basket is built up by twisting this rope round 
 and round, and tightly sewing it together. A coarser 
 kind is made at Loanda for carrying earth or rubbish. 
 It is very curious that no other form of basket should be 
 
166 ANGOLA AND TBE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 made in the country, and when a cover is required, 
 another basket inverted is employed. 
 
 The "louiigos," or "h:>Miid()s" are laro:e mats about four 
 to five feet long, and from two to four wide; they are 
 made of the dry straii>ht flattened stems of the papyrus 
 phmt {Papyrus antiquorum), and like the baskets are also 
 not woven or plaited, but the stems are passed throu<:h or 
 sewn across at several places with fine string made of 
 Baobab fibre. These mats are stiflt', but at the same time 
 thick and soft; they are used lor a variety of useful 
 purposes, such as for fencin<r, for lying or sitting upon, 
 and for placing on the ground on which to spread roots, 
 corn, &c., to dry in the sun, but principally to line or 
 cover huts and houses. The papyrus grows most luxu- 
 riantly in all the pools, marshes, and wet places of 
 xingola, and in many parts lines the banks of the rivers. 
 I have seen it growing everywhere, from a few hundred 
 yards distance from the sea, to as far in the interior as I 
 have been. It is always of the brightest bluish-grey 
 green, and the long, graceful, smooth stalk surmounted by 
 the lar^e feathery head, waving in every breath of wind, 
 makes it a beautiful object. It often covers a large extent 
 of ground in low places, particularly near rivers, to the 
 exclusion of any other plant, and forms then a most lovely 
 cool patch of colour in the landscape, and hides numbers 
 of happy water birds which, unmolested, boom and churrr 
 and tweet in its welcome shade. 
 
 Very curious are the sounds that issue in the stillness 
 of the night from these papyrus covered fields, principally 
 from difi'erent species of water-fowl, and I have often re- 
 mained awake for hours listening to the weird trumpetings, 
 guttural noises and whistlings of all kinds, joined to the 
 croak of frogs and the continual, perfectly metallic, ting, 
 ting, ting — like the ring of thousands of tiny iron ham- 
 mers on steel anvils — said to be made by a small species 
 of frog. 
 
 Nothing gives sueh an idea of the wonderful multiplicity 
 of bird or insect life in tropical Africa, as the number 
 and variety of sounds to be heard at night. Every square 
 
 i 
 
STEANOE SOUNDS. 1(37 
 
 foot of ground>or marsh, every tree, bnsli, or plant, seems 
 to give out a buzz, cliirp, or louder noise of some sort. 
 With the fii-st streak of daylight these noises are suddenly- 
 hushed, to be quickly succeeded by the various glad notes 
 of the awakened birds, and later on, wlien the sun's rays 
 are clear and hot, the air is filled with the powerful whirr 
 of the cicads on every tree. 
 
 The " uziinzos " are a kind of sieve in the form of an 
 openwork basket, rather prettily and neatly made of 
 tlie thin and split midrib of the palm leaflets, in which 
 the women sift mandioca, Indian corn, or \vhatever else 
 tliey may pound into meal in their wooden mortars. 
 These latter are '*uzus," and the long wooden pestles 
 employed with them are termed *' muinzus " (PLite XII.) 
 
 These mortars are made of soft wood, mostly of the 
 cotton wood tree, which is easily cut with a knife ; for 
 scooping out the interior of the mortars the natives use a 
 tool made by bending round about an inch of the point of 
 iin ordinary knife, which they then call a " locombo." 
 
 The last article to be described, in daily use amongst 
 
 the natives of Angola, is a small wooden dish, which is 
 
 more rarely made now owing to the large quantity of 
 
 earthenware plates and bowls that have been introduced 
 
 jhy the traders on the coast. These dishes are invariably 
 
 lade square in shape (Plate XIV.). 
 
( 168 ) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 COUNTRY FROM AMBRIZ TO LOANDA — MOSSULO — LI- 
 BONGO — BITUMEN — RIVER DANDE — RIVER BENGO — 
 QUIFANDONGO. 
 
 The distance from Ambriz to Loanda is about sixty miles, 
 and tlie greater part of the country is called Mossulo, from 
 being inhabited by a tribe of that name. These natives 
 have not yet been reduced to obedience by the Portuguese, 
 not from any warlike or valorous opposition on their part, 
 but entirely from the miserable want of energy of the 
 latter iti not taking the few wretched towns on the road. 
 Incredible as it may appear, it is nevertheless a fact that 
 to the present day the Mossulos will not allow a white 
 man to pass overland from Li bongo (about half-way from 
 Loanda) to Ambriz, although this last place was occupied 
 in 1855, and several expeditions have since been sent to 
 and from Ambriz to Bembe and San Salvador. Nothing 
 could have been easier than for one of these to have passed 
 through the Mossulo country and to have occupied it, at 
 once doing away with the reproach of allowing a mean 
 tribe to bar a few miles of road almost at the gates of 
 Lo inda, the capital of Angola. 
 
 One of these expeditions, on its return from chastising 
 the natives of a town on the road to Bembe for robbery, 
 was actually sent to Loanda by road. The Governor- 
 General (Amaral) was then at Ambriz, and being unac- 
 qOainted with the negro character, and having mistaken 
 humanitarian ideas, gave strict orders that the natives of 
 Mossulo, who had committed several acts of violence, 
 should not be punishe J, but that sjieeches should be made 
 to them warning them of iuture retribution if they con- 
 tinued to misconduct themselves. Their towns and pro- 
 
AMBFilZ TO LOANDA: COUNTRY. 1G9 
 
 perty were not toncbecl, nor were hostages or other security 
 exacted for their future good conduct. 
 
 The natural consequence was that this clemency was 
 ascribed by the natives to weakness, and that the Portu- 
 guese were afraid of their power, as not a liut had been 
 burnt, a root touched, or a fowl killed, and they conse- 
 quently, in order to give the white men an idea of their 
 power and invincibility, attacked some American and 
 Euglish factories at Mossulo Bay, the, white men there 
 having the greatest difficulty to save their lives and pro- 
 perty ; a Portuguese man-of-war landed some men, and so 
 enabled tije traders to get their goods shipped, but the 
 factories were burnt to the ground. This was in Septem- 
 ber, 1859. 
 
 I was at Ambriz when the expedition started, so I de- 
 termined to join it, and examine the country to Loanda. 
 
 Tlie expedition consisted of 150 Portuguese and black 
 soldiers, and as many armed '^Libertos," or slaves, who 
 are freemen after having served the Government ibr seven 
 years ; these "Libertos" dragged a light six-pounder gun. 
 The commander was Major (now General) Gamboa, an 
 officer who had seen upwards of twenty years service in 
 MofJimbique and Angola, and to whom I was indebted for 
 great fiiendship during the whole time I was in the country. 
 The major and two officers rode horses ; tw^o others and 
 myself were carried in hammocks. We started one after- 
 noon and halted at a small village consisting of only a few 
 huts, at about six miles south of Ambriz. There we supped 
 and slept, and started next morning at daybreak. The 
 start did not occupy much time, as tlie Portuguese troops 
 and officers in Angola do not make use of tents when on 
 the march, and their not doing so is undoubtedly the cause 
 of a good deal of the sickness and discomfort they suffer. 
 In the evening we arrived at the Bay of Mossulo, where 
 we were hospitably entertained by the English and Ameri- 
 can traders there established. 
 
 The country we passed through on our march was of 
 that strange character that I have described as occurring 
 in the littoral region of Ambriz. In the thickets dotted 
 
170 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 over the country a jasmine {Corissa Sjp.) is a principal 
 plant. It grows as a large bush covered with long rigid 
 spines, and bears bunches of rather small white flowers 
 having the scent of the usual jasmine. Also growing in 
 these thickets, and very often over this species, are two 
 creeping jasmines — the *• Jasminum auriculatum " (/. tet- 
 tensis f Kl), and '- Jasminum multipartitum ? " 
 
 Various kinds of birds abounded, principally doves 
 and the beautiful purple starlings, and on the ground 
 small flocks (I'rom two to four or five) of the bustards 
 Otis rnficrista and Otis picturata were not uncommon, 
 appearing in the distance like snakes, their heads alone 
 being visible over the tops of the short rough grass as they 
 ran along. ' A small hare is found in abundance, and also 
 several species of ducks in some small marshes near Great 
 Mossulo. Of larger game only some small kinds of ante- 
 lope are found. 
 
 1 had gone on some distance ahead of the troops, and 
 on approaching one large town, about a dozen natives armed 
 with muskets stopped my hammock, and told me I must 
 return to Ambriz, as no white man could be allowed to 
 pass. I told them that the soldiers were close behind, 
 •and that resistance would be useless, as their town would 
 be taken and burnt if they attempted any ; they, however, 
 still persisted in not letting me go forward, so I had to 
 wait for a few minutes till they saw Major Garnboa and 
 the two officers approaching on horseback, when they 
 scampered off into the bush without even saying good-bye, 
 and on our entering the town we found it deserted save 
 by the king and a few other old men, who were all humility, 
 and protested that they would never more insult or ill- 
 treat white men. 
 
 * Major Gamboa was perfectly convinced of the useless- 
 ness of only talking to blacks, his intimate knowledge of 
 them telling him that the only safe plan would have been 
 to have burnt the towns on the road and taken the king 
 and old men to Loanda as hostages, but he had to obey 
 his instructions, and the result was that thoy attacked 
 the factories and killed a number of natives. The Portu- 
 
LIB ON GO. 171 
 
 guese, however, instead of punishin.2^ this outrage, tamely 
 pocketed the affront, and left the Mossulos in undisputed 
 possession of the road. 
 
 In these towns were the largest *• fetish " houses I have 
 sfeen in Angola. One "was a large hut built of mud, the 
 walls plastered with white, and painted all over inside and 
 out with grotesque drawings, in black and red, of men and 
 animals. Inside were three life-size figures very roughly 
 modelled in clay, and of the most indecent description. Be- 
 hind this hut was a long court the width of the length of the 
 hut, enclosed with walls about, six feet high. A number of 
 figures similar in character to those in the hut were stand- 
 ing in this court, which was kept quite <;lean and bare of 
 grass. What, if any, were the uses to which these " fetish " 
 houses were applied I could not exactly ascertain. I do 
 not believe that they are used for any ceremonials, but 
 that the " fetishes " or spirits are supposed to live in them 
 in the same manner as in the *' fetish " houses in the 
 towns in the Ambriz and Bembe country. At one of the 
 towns we saw a number of the natives running away 
 into the bush in the distance, carrying on their backs 
 several of the dead dry bodies of their relatives. I 
 hunted in all the huts to find a dry corpse to take away 
 as a specimen, but without success; they had all been 
 removed. 
 
 Next day we continued our journey, and bivouacked on 
 the sea shore, not very far from Libongo, and near the 
 large town of Quiembe. 
 
 On the beach we found the dead trunk of a large tree 
 that had evidently been cast ashore by the waves, and had 
 been considered a "fetish;" for what reason, in this case, 
 I know not, as trees stranded in this way are common. It 
 was hung all over with strips of cloth and rags of all kinds, 
 shells, &c. As it was dry, it was quickly chopped up for 
 firewood by the soldiers and blacks. 
 
 The following morning our road lay along the beach 
 till we reached the dry mouth of the River Lifune, a 
 small stream that only runs during the rainy season. We 
 then struck due inland for about three miles to reach the 
 
172 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 Portuguese post of Libongo, consisting of a small force 
 commanded by a lieutenant. This officer (Loforte) I had 
 known at Bern be, and he gave us a cordial welcome. 
 
 The *' Resideucia," or residence of the " Chefe," as the 
 commandants are called, was a large rambling old house 
 of only one floor, and it contained the greatest number of 
 rats that I have ever seen in any one place. 
 
 One large room was assigned to the use of Major Gamboa, 
 two officers, and myself, a bed being made in each corner 
 of the room. We had taken the precaution of leaving the 
 candle burning on the floor in the middle of the room, but 
 we had scarcely lain down when we began to hear lively 
 squeaks and rustlings that seemed to come from walls, 
 roof, and floor. In a few minutes the rats issued boldly 
 from all parts, running down the walls and dropping in 
 numbers from the roof on to the beds, and attacking the 
 candle. We shouted, and threw our boots, sticks, and 
 everything else that was available at them, but it was of 
 no use, and we could hardly save the candle. It was use- 
 less to think of sleep under these circumstances, for we 
 considered that if the rats were so bold with a light in the 
 room, they would no doubt eat us up alive in the dark, so 
 we dressed ourselves, and pitched our hammocks in the 
 open air, under some magniticent tamarind-trees, and there 
 slept in comfort. 
 
 Libongo is celebrated for its mineral pitch, which was 
 formerly much nsed at Loanda for tarring ships and boats. 
 The inhabitants of the district used to pay their dues or 
 taxes to government in this pitch. It is not collected at 
 the present time, but I do not know the reason why. 
 
 I was curious to see the locality in which it was found, 
 as it had not been visited before by a white man, so Lieu- 
 tenant Loforte supplied me with an old man as guide, and 
 Major Gamboa and myself started one morning at daybreak. 
 
 \Ve had been told that we might reach the place and 
 return in good time for dinner in the evening, and con- 
 sequently only provided a small basket of provisions for 
 breakfast and lunch we travelled about six miles, and 
 reached a place M'here we found half-a-dozen huts ' of 
 
BITUMEN. 173 
 
 blacks belonging to Libongo, engaged in their mandioca 
 plantations. These tried hard to dissuade us from pro- 
 ceeding farther, saying that we sliould only reach the 
 pitch springs next morning. I, of course, decided to pro- 
 ceed, but Major Gamboa, who did not take the interest in 
 the exploration that I did, determined to return to break- 
 fast at Libongo at once, leaving me the provisions for my 
 supposed two days' journey. 
 
 After a short rest I started off again, and about mid-day 
 arrived at the place I was in search of. It was the head 
 of a small valley or gully, worn by the waters from the 
 plain on their way to the sea, which was not far off, as 
 although it could not be seen from where I stood, the roll 
 of the surf on the beach could just be heard. It must have 
 been close inland to the place where we had bivouacked a few 
 nights before, and had burnt the " fetish " tree for firewood. 
 
 The rock was a friable tine sandstone, so impregnated 
 with the bitumen or pitch, that it oozed out from the 
 sides of the horizontal beds and formed little cakes on the 
 steps or ledges, from an ounce or two in weight to masses 
 of a couple of pounds or more. 
 
 Although it was very interesting to see a rock so impreg- 
 nated witli pitch as to melt out with the heat of the sun, 
 I was disappointed, as from the reports of the natives 
 I had been led to believe that it was a regular spring or 
 lake. My guide was most anxious that I should return, 
 and as I was preparing to shoot a bird, begged me not to 
 fire my gun and attract the attention of the natives of 
 the town of Quiengue, close by, whom we could hear 
 beating drums and firing off muskets. Next day we knew 
 at Libongo that these demonstrations had been for the 
 purpose of calling together the natives, to attack the 
 factories at Mossulo Bay. 
 
 There was great talk at Loanda about sending an expe- 
 dition to punish these natives, but, as usual, it ended in 
 smoke, and no white man has since been allowed to pass 
 through the Mossulo country. 
 
 Several years after, the King of Mossulo sent an embassy 
 to me at Ambriz, begging me to open a factory at Mossulo. 
 
174 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO 
 
 On condition that I, or any white man in my employ, slioukl 
 be free to pass backwards and forwards from Loanda to 
 Ambriz, I promised to do so, and was taken to the king's 
 town at Mossulo, where it was all arranged. I did not 
 believe *tliem, of course, but I gave a few fathoms of cloth 
 and other goods that they might build me a hut on the 
 cliff at Mossulo Bay, which they did, and I tlien declared 
 myself ready to send a clerk with goods to commence 
 trading, as soon as they should send me hammock-boys to 
 carry me to Loanda. As I expected, they never sent them, 
 and for several years, whilst the hut on the cliff lasted, it 
 served as a capital landmark to tlie steamers and ships on 
 the coast. The Governor-General at Loanda, to prevent 
 traders from establishing factories at IMossulo Grande, 
 warned us at Ambriz that if we did so we must take all 
 risks, that he would not only not protect us, but that all 
 goods for trading at Mossulo would have to be entered and 
 cleared at the Loanda custom-house. Far from such dis- 
 graceful pusillanimity being censured at Loanda, it was, 
 with few exceptions, considered by the Portuguese there 
 as a very praiseworthy measure. 
 
 The rock of the country at Libongo is a black shale ; 
 also strongly impregnated with bitumen. A Portuguese 
 at Loanda, believing that this circumstance indicated coal 
 in depth, sunk a shaft some few fathoms in this shale, and 
 I visited the spot to see if any organic remains were to be 
 found in the rock extracted, but could not discover any. 
 About half way from Libongo to the place where 1 saw 
 the bituminous sandstone formation, I observed a well- 
 defined rocky ridge of quartz running about East and West, 
 which appeared to have been irrupted through the shale. 
 
 The ground about Libongo is evidently very fertile, the 
 mandioca and other plantations being most luxuriant, and 
 I particularly noticed some very fine sugar-cane. Some 
 of the tamarind-trees were extremely fine, and on the stem 
 of a very large one a couple of the *•' engonguis," or double 
 bells, were nailed, which had belonged to the former native 
 town there, and as they ape considered **' fetish," no black 
 would steal or touch them. 
 
THE lUVERS DANDE AND BEN GO. 175 
 
 A few hours journey (or about fifteen miles) to the 
 south of Libongo is the Kiver Dande, navigable only by 
 large barges, and draining a fertile country. 
 
 It is only within the last two years that the value of 
 this river, lor trading or produce, has attracted attention 
 at Loanda, and I am glad to say that it was owing to two 
 foreign houses that trading was commenced there on any- 
 thing like a respectable scale. The interior is rich in 
 coffee, gum-copal, ground-nuts, and india-rubber, and 
 this country promises an important future ; cattle thrive 
 here, and Loanda is now supplied with a small quantity 
 of excellent butter and cream cheese from some herds in 
 the vicinity of this river near the bar. 
 
 Limestone is also burnt into lime, which is sold at a 
 good price at Loanda, and were the Portuguese and 
 natives more enterprising and industrious, the banks of 
 the river would be covered with valuable gardens and 
 plantations ; but apathy reigns supreme, and the authori- 
 ties at Loanda prevent any attempt to get out of this state 
 by the ok^tructions of all kinds of petty and harassing im- 
 posts, rules, and regulations, having no possible aim but 
 the collection of a despicable amount of fees to keep alive 
 and in idleness a few miserable officials. 
 
 The country is comparatively level, and calls for no 
 particular description, till about eighteen miles southward 
 the high and bold cliff of Point Lagostas (Point Lobsters) 
 marks the bay into ^hich runs the beautiful little river 
 Bengo, or Zenza, as it is called farther inland. 
 
 This is even a smaller river than the Dande, though 
 more important from its near proximity to Loanda, and the 
 remarks as to the wonderful indifference and hindrance 
 to the development of the Kiver Dande, apply with still 
 greater force to the Bengo, a very mine of wealth at the 
 doors of Loanda ! It is hardly possible to restrain within 
 reasonable limit's the expression of surprise at the fact 
 that Loanda, with its thousands of inhabitants, should be 
 still destitute of a good supply of drinking water, when 
 there is a river of splendid water only nine miles off, 
 whence it receives an insignificant and totally inadequate 
 
170 ANGOLA AND THE EIVER CONGO. 
 
 supply brouglit in casks only, carried by a few rotten 
 barges and canoes that are often prevented from leaving 
 or entering the river for days together, on account of the 
 surf at the bar. A small cask of Bengo water, holding 
 about six gallons, costs from twopence to fourpence ! All 
 kinds of fruit and vegetables grow luxuriantly on the banks 
 of the Bengo, and yet Loanda, where nothing can grow 
 from its sandy and arid soil, is almost unprovided with 
 either — a few heads of salad or cabbage, or a few turnips 
 and carrots being there considered a fine present. 
 
 At Point Lagostas a good deal of gypsum is found, and 
 also specimens of native sulphur. 
 
 Both the Eiver Bengo and the Kiver Dande are greatly 
 infested by alligators, and a curious idea prevails amongst 
 all the natives of Angola, that the liver of the alligator is 
 a deadly poison, and that it is employed as such by the 
 '* feitieeiros " or ''fetish" men. 
 
 The Manatee is also not uncommon in these rivers ; — 
 this curious mammal is called by the Portuguese " Peixe 
 mulher" or woman fish, from its breasts being said to 
 resemble those of a woman. Near the mouth of the 
 Dande this animal is sometimes captured by enclosing a 
 space, during the high tides, with a strong rope net made 
 of baobab fibre, so that when the tide falls it is stranded 
 and easily killed. I was never so fortunate as to see one of 
 these animals, and am therefore unable to describe it from 
 personal observation, but it is said to be most like a 
 gigantic seal. I once saw a quantity of the flesh in a 
 canoe on the Eiver Quanza, and was told that the greater 
 part had been already sold, and I had given me a couple 
 of strips of the hide of one that had been shot in the 
 Kiver Loge at Ambriz. These strips are about seven feet 
 long and half-an-inch thick, of a yellowish colour, and 
 semi-transparent. They are used as whips, being smootli 
 and exceedingly tough. The flesh is good eating, though 
 of no particular flavour, and is greatly liked by the natives. 
 
 The marshes and lagoons about the Kiver Bengo are 
 full of wild duck and other water-fowl, and are favourite 
 sporting places of the officers of the English men-of-war 
 
QUIFANDONOO. 177 
 
 when at Loanda. The Portuguese, not having the lovo 
 of sport greatly developed, seldom make excursions to 
 them. 
 
 The country from tlie Bengo to Loanda rises suddenlj', 
 and the coast line is high and bold, but the soil is very 
 arid and sandy, the rocks being arenaceous, evidently of 
 recent formation, and full of casts of shells. 
 
 There is much admixture of oxide of iron, and some of 
 the sandy cliffs and dunes close to Loanda are of a beautiful 
 red from it. The vegetation is, as might be expected, of a 
 sterile character, being principally coarse grass, the San- 
 seviera Angolensis, a few shrubs, euphorbias, and a great 
 number of giant baobabs. Though the vegetation is com- 
 paratively scarce, birds of several species are common ; dif- 
 ferent kinds of doves are especially abundant, as are several 
 of the splendidly coloured starlings ; kingfishers are very 
 common, and remarkable for their habit of choosing a 
 high and bare branch of a tree to settle on, from whence, 
 in the hottest part of the day, they incessantly utter their 
 loud and plaintive whistle, and, after darting down on the 
 grasshoppers and other insect prey, return again to the 
 same branch. 
 
 The exquisitely coloured roller (Coraeias caudata) is also 
 very common in the arid country surrounding Loanda. 
 
 The pretty runners (Cursorius Senegalends, and G, hisig- 
 natuSj n. sp.) are also seen in little flocks on the sandy 
 plains, and are most elegant in their carriage as they swiftly 
 run along the ground. Two or three species of bustards 
 are also common. 
 
 The great road from the interior skirt.': the River Bengo 
 for some miles to the bar, where it turns south to Loanda, 
 and the last resting or sleeping place for the natives carry- 
 ing produce, is at a place called Quifandongo, consisting of 
 a row of grog shops and huts on either side of the road. 
 
 It is a curious sight to see hundreds of carriers from the 
 interior lying down on the ground in the open air, each 
 asleep with his load by his side. A march of two hours 
 brings them to a slope leading down to the bay, at the 
 end of which Loanda is built. 
 
( 178 ) 
 
 CHAPTEK XL 
 
 CITY OP LOANDA — NATIVES — SLAVERY — CONVICTS — 
 THEATRE AND MORALS. 
 
 The city of St. Paul de Loanda is situated in a beautiful 
 bay, backed by a line of low, sandy cliff that at its southern 
 end sweeps outward with a sharp curve, and terminates at 
 the water's ed^^e in a bold point, on which is perched the 
 Fort of Scin Miguel (Plate X.). 
 
 The "Cidade Baixa," or lower town, is built on the 
 shore of the bay, on the flat sandy ground thus enclosed 
 on the land side. 
 
 The " Ciflade Alta," or high town, is built on the high 
 ground, at the end of which stands the fort above named. 
 
 In front of the bay a long, low, and very narrow spit of 
 pure sand stretches like a natural breakwater, and pro- 
 tects the harbour of Loanda perfectly from the waves and 
 surf of the ocean. 
 
 A small opening called the Barra (or bar) da Corimba, 
 about a mile south of Loanda, breaks the end of this long 
 spit into an island ; the rest joins the mainland about 
 twelve miles to the south. 
 
 The whole length of the spit is very low and narrow, 
 so that in high tides the waves break over it in places, 
 but, singular to say, it has never been washed away at any 
 place. 
 
 The bay was formerly much deeper ; — vessels could 
 anchor quite near the town, and could pass out of the 
 Bcirra da Corimba, but now they have to anchor about a 
 couple of miles to the north of the town, and boats only 
 can pass over this bar. 
 
 A number of huts inhabited by native fishermen are 
 
p^iisiiipf* 
 
 Flll'lh;. ' .'! JiPlilil ll III ' i I 1 llllil'lill B 
 
 p 
 
 ill 
 
 
 •i i f iijil'i i I 
 
 IJIIIIIiiiii!^ 
 
 Mm 
 mm 
 
 Mm 
 'Mm 
 
 III 
 
 lit 
 
 I ii li iilliiiii 
 
 iiill 
 
 l!|llllNIIII{||i 
 
 ■I I ' 
 
 iij iiiiiillliil:i:ir 
 
LOAN DA. 
 
 built on tlie island, also a few houses belonging to the 
 Portuguese, who are fond of going over to it for the pur- 
 pose of bathing in the open sea beyond. The cocoanut- 
 palm tree thrives very well on this sandy spit, but only a 
 comparatively small number are growing on it. 
 
 Some years ago the Government sent to Goa for a 
 Portuguese planter to plant this valuable palm, and to 
 teach the natives its cultivation. On his arrival he was 
 only afforded means to sow a very small numb?r, and 
 was then appointed postmaster of Loanda, an office he 
 held for many years, till his death, and I do not believe 
 that a single cocoa-palm has been planted since, either by 
 Government or private individuals ; and thus a valuable 
 and easy branch of cultivation and source of wealth is 
 entirely neglected. 
 
 Loanda contains about 10,000 or 12,000 inhabitants, of 
 whom about one-third are whites. The houses are gene- 
 rally large and commodious, built of stone, and roofed 
 with red tiles ; blue is a favourite colour for painting 
 window-sills, door-posts, &c., and gives a very pretty 
 appearance to the city. The greater part of the houses 
 consist only of a ground floor, — the better class have a first, 
 but rarely a second floor. Verandahs more or less open are 
 the rule, in which it is customary to take meals. 
 
 Not many houses have been built within the last few 
 years ; they mostly date from the time when Loanda was 
 a wealthy city, and the chief shipping port for slaves to 
 the Brazils, when as many as twelve or fifteen vessels were 
 to be seen at a time taking in their cargoes of blacks. 
 The slavers on their way out to Loanda used to bring 
 timber from Rio de Janeiro for the rafters and flooring 
 of the houses, and so hard and durable was it that it 
 can be seen at the present day in the old buildings, as 
 perfect and sound as when first put down, resisting per- 
 fectly the white ant, beetle larva), dry rot, and mildew- 
 that soon attack and destroy native woods. 
 
 Loanda has improved immensely since I first landed 
 there in February 1858. It was then in a very dilapi- 
 dated and abandoned condition. No line of steamers 
 
 N 2 
 
180 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 communicating with Europe then existed ; four and six 
 months elapsed without a vessel arriving, except perhaps 
 one from Kio de Janeiro with sugar and rum ; the slave- 
 trade had ceased there for some years, and hardly any trade 
 in produce had been started, a little wax, ivory, and 
 orchilla-weed, being almost the only exports. 
 
 There was no trade or navigation whatever on the 
 Eiver Quanza, and hardly any shops in the town, so 
 that provisions and other necessaries were constantly 
 exhausted and at famine prices. A large subsidy was 
 granted to the colony by Portugal, to defray its ex- 
 penses, always far in excess of its receipts. Now there is 
 a monthly line of large steamers from Lisbon, another 
 from Liverpool, and a considerable number of sailing- 
 vessels constantly loading and discharging, to attest to the 
 wonderful increase in the trade of the place. The colony 
 now pays its own expenses, and shows a yearly surplus ; 
 and a couple of steamers running constantly from the 
 River Quanza to Loanda can hardly empty the river of 
 its produce. 
 
 All the public buildings are in an efficient state, a 
 larize extent of flat, stinking shore has been filled up 
 and embanked, ruins of churches and monasteries cleared 
 away, walks and squares laid out and planted, a large 
 new market is being built, and good shops and stores are 
 now abundantly supplied with every description of Euro- 
 pean goods, and if a good supply of water were brought to 
 the city from the River Beugo, there would certainly not 
 be a finer place to live in on the whole Western Coast of 
 Africa. 
 
 From most of the houses having large yards, in which 
 are the kitchens, stores, well, and habitations for the 
 slaves and servants, the city is luckily very open, and 
 there is as yet no overcrowding ; the roads and streets 
 are also wide and spacious. The principal street, running 
 through the whole length of the town, is remarkably wide, 
 and for some distance has a row of banyan trees in the 
 centre, under the shade of which a daily market or fair is 
 held of cloth and dry goods. 
 
LOANDA. 181 
 
 This is called a ** quitancia," the native name for a 
 market, and the sellers are almost all women, and are 
 either free blacks, who trade on their own account, or are 
 the slaves of other blacks, mulattoes, or whites. 
 
 Many of the natives and carriers from the interior pre- 
 fer buying their cloth, crockery, &c., of these open-air 
 retailers, to going into a shop. 
 
 Four sticks stuck in the ground, and a few ** loandos," 
 or papyrus mats, form a little hut or booth in which pre- 
 sides the (generally) fat and lazy negress vendor. 
 
 On the ground are laid out temptingly pieces of cotton, 
 gaily coloured handkerchiefs, cheap prints, indigo stripes, 
 and other kinds of cloths ; " quindas," or baskets with 
 balls and reels of cotton, seed-beads, needles, &c. ; knives, 
 plates, cups and saucers, mugs and jugs, looking-glasses, 
 empty bottles, and a variety of other objects. At other 
 stalls may be seen balls of white clay called " pemba," 
 and of "taenia," a red wood of the same name rubbed to 
 a fine paste with water on a rough stone, and dried in the 
 sun. Kesting against the trunks of the trees are long 
 rolls of native tobacco, plaited like fine rope and wound 
 round a stick, which a black is selling at the rate of a 
 few inches for a copper coin, the measure being a bit of 
 stick attaclied by a cord to the roll of tobacco, or round 
 the neck of the black. Others sell clay tobacco-pipes and 
 pipe stems, and as all men and women smoke as much 
 tobacco as they can afford, a thriving trade is driven in 
 the fragrant weed. All the tobacco used by the natives 
 is grown in the country; but little is imported from 
 abroad, and this is mostly purchased by the Portuguese 
 for the weekly allowance which it is customary in Angola 
 to make to the slaves. 
 
 " Diamba," or wild hemp for smoking, is also largely 
 sold. 
 
 The women vendors at these booths are amongst the 
 best-looking and cleanest to be seen in Loanda, and with 
 olten quite small and well-formed hands and feet ; they 
 are nqyj sharp traders, and all squat or lie down at full 
 length on the hot sand, enjoying the loud gossip and chatter 
 
182 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 so flear to the African woman, with their friends and cus- 
 tomers. 
 
 A square at tlie back of the custom-house is the 
 general market of Loanda, and presents a curious scene, 
 from the great variety of articles sold, and the great 
 excitement of buyers and sellers crying out their wares 
 and making their purchases at the top of their voices. 
 The vendors, here again, are mostly women, and, as no 
 booths are allowed to be put up, they wear straw hats with 
 wide brims, almost as large as an ordinary umbrella, to 
 shade themselves. Every kind of delicacy to captivate the 
 negro palate and fancy is to be had here : — Avooden dishes 
 full of small i^ieces of lean, measly-looking pork ; earthen 
 pots full of cooked beans and palm-oil, retailed out in small 
 platters, at so much a lai'ge wooden spoonful, and eaten 
 on the spot; horrible-looking messes of fish, cakes, and 
 pastry, &c., everything thickly covered witli black flies 
 and large bluebottles ; large earthen jars, called "sangas," 
 and gourds full of " garapa," or indian-corn beer ; live 
 fowls and ducks, eggs, milk, Chili peppers, small white 
 tomatoes, bananas, and, in the season, oranges, mangoes, 
 sour-sop, and otlier fruits, "quiavos," a few cabbage-leaves 
 and vegetables, firewood, tobacco, pipes and stems, wild 
 hemp, mats, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, palm and ground- 
 nut oil, and dried and salt fish. The women squat on 
 their heels, with their wares in front, all round and over 
 the square, while hundreds of natives are jabbering and 
 haggling over their bargains, as if their existence depended 
 on their noisy exertions. 
 
 To the markets, especially, the black women take their 
 dirty babies (they all seem to have babies, and the babies- 
 seem always dirty) and they let them roll about in the 
 sand and rubbish, along with a swarm of children, mongrel 
 dogs, and most miserable, lean, long-snouted pigs that turn 
 over the garbage and quarrel for the choice morsels. 
 
 There are two other marketing places, one principally 
 for fruit and firewood, the other where fried fish is the 
 chief article, and where a number of negresses are always 
 busy frying fish in oil in the open air. The natives 
 
LOANDA. 183 
 
 swarm round to buy and eat the hot morsels which the 
 greasy cooks are taking out of the hissing pans placed on 
 stones on the ground over a wood fire, — these they put 
 into wooden platters by their side, and then suck their 
 oily fingers with their thick lips or rub them over their 
 warm and perspiring faces and heads. 
 
 Loanda is most abundantly suppb'ed with fisli of many 
 kinds, and fortunate it is for many of its inhabitants that 
 the sea is so prodigal of its riches to them. The fish- 
 market is an open space at the southern end of the town, 
 under the cliff on which stands the Fort of San Miguel. 
 
 Here, in the early morning and in the afternoon, come 
 the iishermen watli laden canoes and toss their cargoes 
 on the sandy beach, loud with a perfect Babel of buyers 
 and vendors. The smallest copper coin enables a native 
 to buy enough fish for one day ; — the crowd that collects 
 daily at the fish-market, and the strange scene that it 
 presents of noisy bustle, can therefore be imagined. 
 
 A number of women and children are always busy 
 scaling and gutting fish, or cutting the large "pungos" 
 and sliarks into small pieces in large wooden tubs, where 
 they lie slopping in their reddish, w^atery blood ; others 
 are frying tish, and roasting a fish like a herring, held 
 in cleft sticks (Plate XIV.), six or seven in each, stuck 
 upright in the sand all round a fire, or opening fish flat to 
 dry in the sun for sale to the natives from the interior. 
 The fish are caught, both in the bay and out at sea, with 
 hook and line and with nets made of native-spun cotton. 
 
 The quantity of fish on the coast is incredible. I have 
 often watched the bay at night to listen to the wonderful 
 swishing noise made by the fish on the surface of the 
 water, as they were scared by every flash of lightning. 
 Steaming once into Ambriz Bay, its whole surface was 
 alive and boiling, as it were, with fish. The captain of 
 the steamer, who had in his lifetime been to all parts of 
 the world, declared that he had never witnessed such a 
 sight. 
 
 A small shark is often caught which is much esteemed 
 by the natives, and is dried in the sun ; also the " pungo," 
 
184 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 ^vllicll attains to as mucli as a huDdred pounds in weight. 
 It is no unusual sight to see one slung on a stick passed 
 through the gills and carried on the shoulders of two 
 blacks, Avith the tail dragging on the ground. It has 
 very large, flat scales, and the flesh is not at all coarse in 
 flavour. Latterly, the Portuguese have salted this fish 
 in barrels, and when I was last at Loanda I was told of 
 one man who had already salted 2000, and the season 
 was not then over. It is this fish that is said by the 
 natives to make the very loud and extraordinary noise 
 that one hears so plainly at night or early morning, when 
 in a boat or ship ; it is said to press its snout against 
 the vessel and then make the curious sound. I have 
 heard it so strongly and plainly when lying in a bunk 
 on board steamers that I have no doubt whatever the 
 fish must have been touching the side of the vessel, and 
 I have seen the blacks at other times splashing the water 
 with an oar, because the loud drumming of the pungo 
 kept them awake when lying in the bottom of a barge. 
 The sound is like a deep tremolo note on a harmonium, 
 and is quite as loud, but as if played under water. This 
 low, sustained note has a very strange effect wlien first 
 heard so unexpectedly in the still water. It is a migratory 
 fish, and comes in shoals on the coast only from about June 
 to August. 
 
 Another fish like a small cod, called '* corvina," is also 
 migratory, visiting the coast from July to September, and 
 appears to come from a northerly direction, as it is a 
 month later in arriving at IMossamedes than it is at 
 Benguella, a distance of about 160 miles. 
 
 Till quite lately the roads and streets of Loanda were 
 of fine, loose, red sand, rendering walking difiicult and 
 uncomfortable, particularly in the daytime, when the sand 
 becomes burning hot from the sun's rays ; hence very few 
 people ever walked even short distances, and the conse- 
 quence was the constant recourse to the " maxilla " for 
 locomotion. This is a flat frame of wood and cane-work, 
 with one, or sometimes two arms at the side, and a low 
 back provided with a cushion. This frame is hung by 
 
LOANDA, 185 
 
 cords to hooks on a " bordao," or palm-pole, about fifteen 
 or eighteen feet long, and is carried by two blacks (Plate 
 XII.). It is a very comfortable and lazy contrivance, 
 and the carriers take it easily at the rate of about three 
 to four miles an hour. The maxilla is provided with a 
 light painted waterproof cover, and with curtains to draw 
 all round and effectually hide the inmate, if necessary. 
 The Portuguese ladies were never seen walking out at 
 any time, and when going to church or paying visits 
 always went in a maxilla closely curtained that no one 
 might see them. It is difficult to explain the reason for 
 this, but I believe that a fear of Mrs. Grundy was at the 
 bottom of it. 
 
 There is a very fair military band at Loanda, which 
 plays twice a week in the high town, and once in a square 
 near the bay. When I was last at Loanda with my 
 wife, two other English ladies were also there with their 
 husbands, and as we all listened to the band regularly, 
 enjoying the cool evening promenade we, no doubt, at 
 h'rst, shocked the Portuguese greatly by so doing. It 
 had at last, however, the good elTect of bringing many of 
 the Portuguese ladies out also, and they did not draw 
 the curtains of their maxillas quite so closely as they 
 used. An officer from Lisbon explained to my wife that 
 the reason his countrywomen did not like to go about 
 and be seen was that they were so ugly ! But 1 can em- 
 phatically testify that this was an ill-natured libel on the 
 white ladies of Loanda. 
 
 There is a commodious custom-house in the centre of 
 the town. On the quay are some benches, on which the 
 merchants sit in the afternoon to discuss current events 
 and to retail the choice bits of scandal of the day. There 
 are several large and roomy Koman Catholic churches in 
 the lower town, at which the attendance, however, is not 
 very great, except at some of the principal festivals. I 
 once saw, in a procession from one of the churches, in 
 carnival time, a number of little black girls dressed to 
 represent angels, with white wings affixed to their backs, 
 and intensely funny they looked. On these occasions, and 
 
186 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 also at weddings, christenings, &c., quantities of rockets 
 are sent up in the daytime, no feast being considered 
 complete without an abundant discharge of these fire- 
 works, to the immense delight of the black juvenile popu- 
 lation, who yell and scream like demons and throw and 
 roll themselves about in the sand. 
 
 At several places may be seen open barbers' shops for 
 the natives, distinguished by a curious sign, namely, . 
 two strips of blue cloth edged with red, about three or 
 four feet long and six inches wide, stretched diagonally 
 over the entrance (Plate XII.). Inside, a chair covered 
 Avith a clean white cotton cloth — with the threads at the 
 ends pulkd out for about four inches, to leave a lace-like 
 design, called '* crivo " — invites customers to enter and sit 
 down, and have their heads shaved quite bare, the usual 
 custom at Loanda, particularly of the negro women. 
 
 The dress of the blacks at Loanda is the same as else- 
 where in Anjrola ; — a cloth round the waist reaching to the 
 knees or ankles and another thrown over the shoulders, 
 or a cotton shirt, is the most common. Those who can 
 afford it are fond of dressing in white man's costume of 
 coat and trousers, but the grand ambition of all is to 
 possess an ordinary chimney-pot hat, which is worn on 
 special occasions, no matter whether the wearer be dressed 
 in cloths or coat. 
 
 The costume of the black women of Loanda is hideous. 
 An indigo black cotton cloth is folded round the body 
 and envelopes it tightly from the armpits t'o the feet; 
 another long piece of the same black cloth covers the 
 head and is crossed over the bosom, or hangs down loosely 
 over the shoulders, showing only the face and arms. 
 
 The correct costume is to have a striped, or other cotton 
 cloth or print under the black cloths, but as only these 
 latter are seen, the women have a dreadfully i'unereal 
 appearance. The poorer class, and slaves, wear bright 
 cotton prints, &c., and always a white or red handker- 
 chief folded narrow and wound round the head very 
 cleverly, suiting their dark skins remarkably well. A very 
 common ornament round the forehead is a narrow strip of 
 
NATIVES. 187 
 
 seed bead-work of different colours and patterns, and the 
 women are fond of copying the hirge capital letters of the 
 advertisements in the Portuguese newspapers, quite un- 
 conscious, of course, of the meaning of their pattern : — I 
 once saw "Piannos para alugar" (Pianos for hire) worked 
 in beads round the head of a bhick woman: 
 
 The Loanda women have a singular habit of talking 
 aloud to themselves as they walk along, which at first 
 strikes a stranger very forcibly ; the men do the same, but 
 to nothing like the extent tliat the women do. All loads 
 are carried by the women on their heads, in all parts of 
 Angola, and the ease with which they balance anything 
 on their shaven heads is wonderful. It is not difficult to 
 understand that baskets or heavy loads can be easily 
 balanced, but it is no uncommon thing to see women and 
 girls walking along with a tea-cup, bottle, tumbler, or 
 wine glass on their heads, and turning round and talking 
 without the least fear of its dropping off. The manner in 
 which they balance the "sangas," or earthen pots, in 
 which they carry water is the most curious of all ; these 
 are large, and have round, rather pointed bottoms; a 
 handkerchief is rolled round into a small cushion and put 
 on the side of the head, and the " sanga " is placed on it, 
 not quite on its bottom, but a little on one side. 
 
 All the natives of Angola, but particularly the women of 
 Loanda, are very fond of" cola," the beautiful rose-coloured 
 fleshy fruit of the Sterculia Cola. The tree bearing it is 
 very handsome, with small pretty flowers having a power- 
 ful and most djsgusting odour. The first time I became 
 acquainted with the tree was at Bembe. I was out walking, 
 and suddenly noticed a very bad smell, and on asking a 
 black with me where it could possibly come from, thinking 
 it was from some dead animal in a high state of decompo- 
 sition, he laughed, and pointing to a tree said it came 
 from the flowers on it ; — I plucked a small bouquet of them, 
 and when I reached home put them in a wine glass of 
 water to keep them fresh, and left them on the table of 
 the padre (with whom I was then staying). When he 
 went into his room he began to call out for his servants, 
 
188 ANGOLA AND THE EIVER CONGO. 
 
 and asked them why they had allowed cats to get into his 
 room, and it was some time before he was ])acified or 
 convinced that the few innocent-looking flowers had made 
 the room stink to that degree. The flowers are succeeded 
 by large pods, in which are contained five or more large 
 seeds like peeled chestnuts, closely wedged together, soft 
 and fleshy, and with a very peculiar disagreeable, acrid, 
 bitter flavour. The natives eat a small piece of '*cola" 
 with a bit of green ginger the first thing in the morning, 
 and wash it down with a dram of gin or other spirit. 
 
 Amongst tlie mulattoes and black women it is usual 
 to send a fresh " cola " as a present, and there is a sym- 
 bolical language expressed by the number of nicks made 
 on it by the nail, of greeting, good wishes, &c. 
 
 A considerable quantity of ''cola" was formerly ex- 
 ported to Rio de Janeiro from Loanda, packed in moist 
 clay or earth to keep it fresh. 
 
 Servants in Loanda are almost all slaves. It is very 
 difficult to hire free men or women. Tho>e seekins: 
 service as carriers, porters &c., are nearly all slaves to 
 other natives. Slaves as a rule are very well treated in 
 Angola by the Portuguese, and cases of neglect or ill- 
 usage are rare. Public opinion is strongly opposed to 
 ill-treatment of slaves, and there is a certain amount 
 of rivalry in presenting household slaves, especially, well- 
 dressed, and with a healthy appearance, and even on 
 the plantations inland, or removed from such influence, I 
 nevei- knew or heard of slaves being worked or treated in 
 the hard and cruel manner in which they are said to have 
 been in the Southern States of America, or at the present 
 day in Cuba. It is easy for slaves in Angola to run away, 
 and it is hardly worth while to take any steps to recapture 
 them, and if they have any vice or bad habit, it is so well 
 known that harsh measures will never cure them of it that 
 they are sold at once. An ordinary slave is not worth 
 mucli, 3Z. to bl. being the utmost value. If proficient in 
 any trade, or good cooks, then they fetch as much as 20/. 
 or more. Many of the old-established houses make it a 
 point of never selling a slave they have once bought; 
 
SLAVERY. 189 
 
 and when a slave requires correction or punishment, he 
 is delivered over to the police for that purpose, and as 
 desired, he is either placed in the slave-gang, chained by 
 the neck to others, and made to work at scavengering, 
 carrying stone, &c., or receives a thrashing with a eat-o'- 
 nine-tails, or a number of strokes on the palms of the hands 
 with a flat, circular piece of wood pierced with five holes 
 and with a short liandle. 
 
 The abolition of slavery in the Portuguese possessions 
 was decreed some years ago. The names of all the exist- 
 ing slaves had to be inscribed in the Government office as 
 "Libertos," and the owners were obliged to supply them 
 with proper food, clothing, and medicine, and were not 
 allowed to punish them ; while they, on their part, were 
 required to work for seven years as compensation to their 
 owners, at the expiration of which time they were to be 
 free. This has been allowed to remain virtually a dead- 
 letter, the slaves never having had the law explained to 
 them, and the authorities not troubling themselves to en- 
 force their liberation at the end of the seven years. 
 
 The complete abolition of slavery in Angola has, however, 
 been decreed to take place in the year 1878, and should 
 the measure be strictly enforced, the total annihilation and 
 ruin of the thriving and rising cotton and sugar-cane plan- 
 tations, &c., will be the result, Avith a vast amount of misery 
 to the thousands of liberated blacks. 
 
 It is a pity that philanthropy should blindly put so 
 sudden a stop to a custom that has existed from time im- 
 memorial, and of which the evils are, in a country like 
 Angola, exceedingly slight. The eifect of this measure 
 will be to destroy its nascent industry, the only means for 
 its progress and development, and will plunge a great 
 part of its population into helpless misery for years to 
 come. Let slavery be abolished by all means, but only, 
 in the most gradual manner, and in proportion to the 
 industrial and moral advancement of the race. 
 
 The natives of Angola are specially fitted for the intro- 
 duction of habits of industry and usages of civilization, as 
 they are naturally of a peaceable, quiet, and orderly dis- 
 
190 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 position. The difference between tbem and the natives 
 of Sierra Leone and the rest of the West Coast is very- 
 striking and pleasing. They have none of the disgusting 
 swagger, conceit, or cant of the former, but are invariably 
 civil and kindly,. and under a firm arid enlightened policy 
 they would become more really civilized and industrious 
 than any other natives of the West Coast. 
 
 That such woukl be the case is abundantly proved by 
 what has already been done under the Portuguese in An- 
 gola, nothwithstanding the intolerable system of rapine 
 and oppression which the natives have borne for so many 
 years from their government, a system in which only 
 quite recently has any improvement been noticed. Were 
 the natives otherwise than inoffensive and incapable of 
 enmity, they would long ago have swept away the rotten 
 power of the Portuguese in that large extent of territory. 
 
 Two good paved roads lead from the lower to the upper 
 town of Loanda ; in this are the Governor's palace, the 
 prison, the treasury and other pu-blic offices, the barracks, 
 and the military and general hospital. This is the 
 healthiest part of the town, being fully exposed to the 
 strong sea breeze, and splendid views are obtained from 
 it of the bay, shipping, and town to the north, and of the 
 coast and the " llha " or island to the south. 
 
 The country inland, immediately beyond the town, is 
 dotted with "mosseques" or country houses and planta- 
 tions, and in one depression or valley are situated the 
 huts comprising the dwelling-places of the native popu- 
 lation, which have lately been removed from the back 
 of the lower town, where they were a nuisance. In the 
 '•' Cidade Alta " there existed till lately the ruins of the 
 former cathedral : these Avere cleared away and a tower 
 built on the spot, in which are a few meteorological 
 instruments, and observations of temperature, height of 
 barometer, fe, are taken daily. The extensive ruins of a 
 monastery have also been levelled, and a public garden 
 laid out on their site. These ruins gave some idea of the 
 importance of Loanda in former and richer times. 
 
 A tame pelican has lived in the "Cidade Alta" for 
 
CONVICTS. 191 
 
 some years. He is fed daily with a ration of fresh fish 
 from the Governor's palace, and flies over every morning 
 to the ishuid to have his ba\h and plume himself at tlie 
 water's edge, returning regularly afte» completing his 
 ablutions. He is very playful and is I'ond of giving the 
 nigger children sly pokes and snaps, or trying to pick the 
 buttons off people's coats. On the evenings when the 
 band plays he may be seen promenading about with 
 becoming gravity as if he enjoyed the music. He is very 
 fond of being taken notice of a;id having his head and the 
 soft pouch under his long bill stroked. 
 
 About a mile from the high town, on the road south 
 to Calunibo on the Eiver Quanza, is an old and deep well 
 called the "mayanga," where hundreds of blacks flock 
 daily to draw a limited supply of clear though sliglitly 
 brackish water, but tlie best to be had in Loanda, the 
 usual wells affording water quite unfit for drinking 
 purposes. 
 
 The vegetation about Loanda is scanty, but a milky- 
 juiced, thin-stemmed euphorbia, called " Cazoneira," and 
 the cashew-tree, grow very abundantly on the clitts, and 
 inland about the " mosseques ;" — mandioca, beans, &c., 
 grow sparingly in the sandy, arid soil. 
 
 Oxen thrive, but very little attention is given to rearing 
 them, Loanda being supplied with cattle from the interior 
 for the beef consumed by the population. 
 
 Angola is one of the penal settlements of Portugal, 
 where capital punishment was abolished some years ago, 
 and whence the choicest specimens of ruffians and whole- 
 sale assassins are sent to Loanda, to be treated with the 
 greatest consideration by the authorities. On arriving 
 on the coast, some are enlisted as soldiers, but the more 
 important murderers generally come provided with money 
 and letters of recommendation that ensure them their 
 instant liberty, and they start grog-shops, &c., where they 
 rob and cheat, and in a few years become rich and 
 independent and even influential personages. 
 
 Although most of the convicts are sentenced to hard 
 labour, veiy few are made to work at all ; but I must do 
 
192 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 tliese gentlemen the justice of saying that their behaviour 
 in Angola is generally very good, and murders or violence 
 committed by them are extremely rare, though they may- 
 have been guilty of many in Portugal, — the reason of this 
 furnishes an argument against the abolition of capital 
 punishment; it is because they have the certainty of 
 being killed if they commit a murder in Angola, whereas 
 in their mother country they may perpetrate any number 
 of crimes with the knowledge that if punished at all, it is 
 at most by simple transportation to a fine country like 
 Angola, where many. have made their fortunes, and where 
 no hardships await them. 
 
 In Angola they are thrashed for every crime, and none 
 survive the punishment if such crime has been of any 
 magnitude. One of the few cases that I remember at 
 Loanda was that of two convicts who agreed to kill and 
 rob another who kept a low grog-shop, and who was sup- 
 posed to be possessed of a small sum of money. They 
 accomplished their purpose one night, and returned to the 
 hut where one of them lived, to wash av/ay the traces 
 of their crime, and hide the money they had stolen. 
 A little girl, the child of one of the murderers, was in bed 
 in a small room in the hut at the time, and heard the 
 whole of the proceedings. Before leaving, the other 
 assassin, suddenly remembering the presence of the child 
 in the adjoining room, declared that she miglit have heard 
 their doings and that it was necessary to kill her also, lest 
 she might divulge their crime. The monsters approached 
 her little bed for that purpose, but she feigned sleep so 
 successfully that they spared her life, thinking she had 
 been fast asleep. 
 
 The next day the child informed a woman of what she 
 had heard the night before, and the inhuman father and 
 his companion were arrested, tried, and condemned to 
 receive a thousand stripes each. They were thrashed until 
 it was considered that they had had enough for that day, 
 but luckily both died on their way to the hospital. At 
 the investigation or inquest held on their bodies, the doctor 
 certified that their deaths had been caused by catching 
 
THEATRE. MORALS. 193 
 
 cold when in a heated condition on their way to the hos- 
 pital from the place of punishment ! 
 
 In Angola convicts cannot run away, nor would thej 
 meet with protection anywliere, and they would most cer- 
 tainly be killed off quietly for any cri'me they might com- 
 mit, and no one would care to inquire how they came by 
 their death. 
 
 The police of Loanda are all blacks, but officered by 
 
 Portuguese. They manage to preserve public order pretty 
 
 ^ell, and are provided with a whistle to call assistancCj as 
 
 in Portugal. No slave is allowed to be about at night 
 
 after nine o'clock unless provided with a pass or note 
 
 from his master. 
 
 The lighting of the city is by oil-lamps suspended at 
 the corners of the streets oy an iron framework, so hinged 
 as to allow the lamp to be lowered when required for clean- 
 ing and lighting, and it is secured by a huge flat padlock. 
 
 The military band plays twice a week. There are no 
 places of public amusement except the theatr'e, which is 
 a fine one for so small a place as Loanda, but only- 
 amateur representations are given. It was once closed 
 for a considerable length of time on account of a dif- 
 ference of opinion amongst the inhabitants as to whether 
 only the few married and single ladies should be admitted, 
 or whether the many ladies living under a diversity of 
 arrangements should be on equal terms with the rest. 
 Tliis very pretty quarrel was highly amusing, and gave 
 rise to most lively scandal and recrimination between 
 the two contending parties, but the latter and more 
 numerous and influential section carried the day, and 
 ever since the doors have been open to all classes of the 
 ' fair sex, and the boxes on a gala night may be seen filled 
 with the swells of the place, accompanied by the many 
 black, mulatto, and white lady examples of the very elastic 
 state of morals in fashion in Angola. 
 
 There is a well-attended billiard-room and cafe, and 
 lately an hotel was opened. There is not much society in 
 Loanda, as but few of the Portuguese bring their wives and 
 families with them, and there are but few white women. 
 
194 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 An official gazette is published weekly, but it seldom 
 gives any news beyond appointments, orders, and decrees, 
 movements of shipping, &c. ; a newspaper was attempted, 
 but owing to its violent language it was suppressed for a 
 time and its editors imprisoned. There are at present two 
 newspapers, but they indulge abundantly in scurrilous 
 language and personalities. There is no doubt that a well- 
 conducted newspaper, exposing temperately the many 
 abuses, and ventilating the questions of interest in the 
 country, would be of great benefit. 
 
( 193 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 DIVISION OF ANGOLA — WRETCHED PAY OF OFFICIALS — 
 ABUSES BY AUTHORITIES — EVILS OF HIGH IMPORT 
 DUTIES — SILVER MINES OF CAMBAMBE — JOURNEY TO 
 CAMBAMBE — EXPLORATION — VOLCANIC ROCKS — HORN- 
 BILL — THE PLANTAIN EATER — HYENAS. 
 
 The province of Angola is divided by the Portuguese into 
 four governments, viz., Ambriz (or Dom Pedro V.), Loanda, 
 Bengnella, and Mossamedes. These are again subdivided 
 into districts, each ruled by a military *• cliefe " or chief 
 subordinate to the governors of each division, and these 
 in their turn to the Governor-General of the province at 
 Loanda. In this great extent of country under Portuguese 
 rule, from the difficulty and delay in the communications 
 with the central head of military and civil government at 
 Loanda, and from the fact that the '' chefes " combine 
 both military and civil functions, the tyrannical injustice 
 and spoliation the natives have so long suffered at their 
 hands can be easily imagined. 
 
 Other causes also concurred to produce this disgraceful 
 state of things in Angola. The wretched pay cf the Por- 
 tuguese officers almost, obliged them to prey upon the 
 utterly defenceless population. The great bribery and cor- 
 ruption by means of which places that bled well or yielded 
 "emoluments," as they were called, were filled; the igno- 
 rant and ordinary class of officers, as a rule, who could be 
 forced to serve in Angola ; and the knowledge that scarcely 
 any other future was open to them than the certainty of 
 loss of health after years of banishment in Africa — must 
 be mentioned as causes of the despotic oppression that 
 crushed the whole country under its heel, depopulating it, 
 
 o 2 
 
19G ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 and stifling any attempt at industrial development on the 
 part of the natives. That this is a truth, admittinc: of no 
 denial or defence, is at once shown by the fact that the 
 sources of the great exports of native produce are all places 
 removed from the direct misrule of the Portuguese. 
 
 The pay of the Governor-General of Angola is 1333?. 
 per annum. That of the Colonial Secretary is 444Z. A 
 major's pay is now lOZ. per month; that of a capiain 
 Ql. Vds. id. ; a lieutenant's, 51. 12s. Id. ; a sub-lieutenant's 
 4?. 8s. lid. Some few years ago the pay was actually, 
 incredible as it may appear, thirty seven and a half per 
 cent, below the above amounts: the present pay is only 
 the same as in Portugal. When in command, a major 
 and captain have thirty per cent., and a lieutenant and 
 sub-lieutenant twenty-five per cent, in addition. 
 
 For the above mean and miserable pay Portugal sent, 
 and still continues to send, men to govern her extensive 
 semi-civilized colonies. Can any one in his senses be 
 astonished at the result ? Not a penny more did a poor 
 officer get when perhaps sent miles away into the interior, 
 Avhere the carriage of a single load of provisions, &c., from 
 Loanda would cost half a sovereign or more, and where 
 even necessaries were often at enormous prices. 
 
 In the fifteen years that I have principally lived in, and 
 travelled over a great part of Angola, and passed in inti- 
 mate intercourse with the natives and Portuguese, I have 
 had abundant opportunities of witnessing the miserable 
 state to which tliat fine country has been reduced by the 
 wretched and corrupt system of government. This state 
 is not unknown to Portugal, and she has several times 
 sent good and honest men as governors to Loanda to try 
 to put a stop to the excesses committed by their subordi- 
 nates, but they have been obliged to return in despair, as 
 without good and Avell-paid officials it was no use either to 
 change, or to make an example of one or two where all 
 were equally bad or guilty. There is, of course, but little 
 chance of any change until Portugal sees that it is to her 
 own advantage tliat this immensely rich possession should 
 be governed by enlightened and well-paid officials. Let 
 
ABUSES BY AUTEOBITIES. 197 
 
 her send to Angola independent and intelligent men, 
 and let them report faithfully on the causes that have 
 depopulated vast districts, that have destroyed all in- 
 dustry, and that continually provoke the wars and wide 
 dissatisfaction among tribes naturally so peaceable and 
 submissive, and amenable to a great extent to instruction 
 and advancement. 
 
 A few instances will give an idea of the persecution that 
 the natives were subject to in Angola from the rapacity of 
 their rulers, and from which no redress was possible. 
 
 To assist the traders established at Pungo Andongo, 
 Cassange, and other parts of the interior to transport their 
 ivory, wax, and otlier produce to the coast, the govern- 
 ment directed that a certain number of carriers should be 
 supplied by the "Soba"or native king of each district, 
 and that a stipulated payment should be made to these 
 carriers for their services by the traders. This was 
 immediately turned by the Portuguese " chefes " to their 
 own advantage : —the carriers were fr)rced to work 
 without any pay, which was retained by the " chefe," and 
 as fines and imprisonments helped to depopulate whole 
 districts, and carriers became more difficult to obtain, the 
 "chefes" in their rapacity exacted a larger and larger 
 sum from the traders for each, over and above the stipu- 
 lated pay. This frightful abuse existed in full force till 
 1872, when the forced liability of the natives to serve as 
 carriers was abolished by law. 
 
 So easy and successful a robbery w^as this, that large 
 sums were spent and much interest employed for the sake 
 of getting the post of " chefe " to the more important dis- 
 tricts, such as Golungo Alto, Pungo Andongo, &c., even 
 for a short time. The " chefe " being military commandant 
 and ci\il judge, the population were perfectly incapable of 
 resistance or complaint, and if such reached Loanda, it was 
 of course quashed by the friends of the despot in power, 
 who had themselves received a heavy sum to obtain him 
 the post. 
 
 While I was exploring the district of Cambambe, an 
 order arrived from Loanda for the " Chefe " to draw up 
 
198 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 and forward a list of the number of men capable of bearing 
 arms and being called out as a native militia. Such an 
 apparently simple order supplied the "chefe" with a 
 means of committing a dastardly robbery on the defenceless 
 natives, and he in his turn was cheated of more than half 
 of it by his subordinates, two mulatto militia officers, who 
 were sent by him with half-a-dozen black soldiers to scour 
 the country and obtain the desired information. 
 
 I was staying at the house of a Portuguese trader, at a 
 place called Khangui-a-pepi, on the road to Pungo An- 
 dongo, and about half-way between that place and Dondo, 
 when these two scoundrels arrived, and arranged the ful- 
 lowing plan with the trader, whose name was Diaz. They 
 had agreed with the " chefe " of Cambambe at Dondo, to 
 receive a small share of the plunder they were to collect 
 for him, but as they considered this share was not suffi- 
 ciently liberal, they proposed to Diaz to send him part of 
 the horned cattle they should obtain, for which he was 
 to jDay them in cash a certain amount, — below the value 
 of course. This was agreed to, and they departed in high 
 spirits. 
 
 A month after, on calling again on Diaz, I found that 
 the two villains had already sent him seventy oxen, and 
 that their journey was not yet completed ! How many 
 they had sent to the " chefe " at Cambambe of course I 
 could not ascertain. 
 
 The manner of proceeding was simple and ingenious. 
 They pretended that the Governor-General at Loanda had 
 sent an order that all men in the district should be enlisted 
 fts soldiers and ^ent to the coast to serve in some war, that 
 the names of all were down from the registers at Cam- 
 bambe, and they had come to revise the list, and that all 
 would be liable to serve and be taken from their homes 
 unless they were bribed to have the names erased. 
 
 In this way they robbed the poor inhabitants wholesale, 
 of oxen, sheep, goats, fowls, money, &c., with what success 
 will be seen from the number of cattle only that they sent 
 Diaz in one month, an^ from a part only of an extensive 
 district. 
 
ABUSES BY AUTHORITIES. 199 
 
 On my arrival at Loanda some months later, I informed 
 the Governor personally of what I had witnessed, but he 
 declared himself unable to prevent it or punish the cul- 
 pritSj from the impossibility of obtaining le<i^al proofs, and 
 from the influential position held by the principal robber. 
 
 Shortly after the commencement of steam navigation 
 on the River Quanza, the Governor-General was asked to 
 order the *' chefes " of Cambambe and Muxima to cause 
 stumps and snags that were dangerous to the steamers to 
 be removed from the river. By a similar ingenious inter- 
 pretation this inoffensive order of the Government was 
 converted into a means of levying black-mail on the natives 
 of the river. The subordinates intrusted with the execu- 
 tion of the measure declared that they had oiders to cut 
 down all palm-trees on or near the banks of the river, and 
 would do so unless bribed to S[)are the.m. In this way a 
 considerable sum of money was netted by the rogues in 
 power. 
 
 The natives of the interior of Loanda are veiy fond of 
 litigation, and this again is a source of considerable profit 
 to the "chefes," as they will not receive any petition, 
 issue a summons, &c., without being bribed, and the crooked 
 course of justice may in consequence be imagined. 
 
 A friend told me, that being once with tlie '' chefe" of 
 a district in the interior, they saw two bullocks approach- 
 ing the " chef'e's" house, and on his asking a black standing 
 near whose cattle they were, he answered very coolly that 
 " they were two oxen that were bringing a petition ! " 
 
 I need not say that I have known some honest " chefes" 
 who discharged the duties of their ill-paid and thankless 
 office honourably and with intelligence, but these excep- 
 tions are too rare to influence in the least the sad state 
 into which the country has been sunk by long years of 
 rapacity on the part of its irresponsible rulers. Only a 
 total change in the system of government can again 
 people the vast deserted tracts with industrious inha- 
 bitants to cultivate its rich land ; but, I am sorry to say, 
 a termination to the long reign of corruption that has 
 existed in Angola is not to be expected for years to come. 
 
200 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 Whilst in Portugal itself patriotism and public morality 
 are debased by an unchecked system of bribery and greed 
 of money and power, it is too much to expect that her rich 
 colonies will be purged of their long-existing abuses. 
 
 As might be expected, the great peninsular obstruction 
 and impediment of high custom-house duties, so fatal to 
 all commercial and industrial development, is in full and 
 vexatious force in Angola, Avith the exception of Ambriz, 
 where the total annihilation of trade from this cause, after 
 its occupation by the Portuguese, was so striking, that I 
 at last prevailed upon the Governor, Francisco Antonio 
 Gonfalves Cardozo, to reduce the duties to a moderate 
 figure, with what wonderful results I have already explained 
 in a former chapter. 
 
 With the great want of roads and carriers, or other 
 means of conveyance, either for goods into or produce 
 from the interior, transport is very expensive, and it is 
 evident that the levying of high import duties besides on 
 all goods for trade so enhances their value, that it becomes 
 impossible to offer an adequate return or advantage to the 
 native for the result of his labour or industry, or to leave 
 much margin for profit to the merchant; consequently, 
 the development of the country becomes completely para- 
 lysed and the revenue of the state remains small in 
 proportion. Such a simple fact, apparent to the meanest 
 understanding, is perfectly incomprehensible to the Por- 
 tuguese ! To mention one instance only : the last time 
 I was at Golungo Alto the price of gunpowder was 
 nearly six shillings a pound, and that of other goods in 
 proportion ! That the natives of Angola will cultivate 
 large quantities of produce, if they can get moderately 
 well paid for their trouble, is evidenced by the con- 
 siderable exports from the country from Ambriz to the 
 River Congo, where there are no custom-houses, and also 
 on the Eiver Quanza, where steam-navigation enables 
 goods to be sent up the country cheaply, and so to bear the 
 almost prohibitive duties levied on them at Loanda. 
 
 It is not only the excessively high duties paid to the 
 custom-house that are complained of by the merchants 
 
HIGH IMP OUT D UTIES. 201 
 
 at Loancla, but the absurd, petty, and vexatious manner 
 in which the whole system is worked ; the mean prohi- 
 bitions and regulations attending tlie loading, discharging, 
 and clearing of goods, vessels, and boats ; tlie great delay 
 and trouble about the simplest operations ; the intense ob- 
 tuseness of the officials, and tlie utter want of reason or 
 object for such irritating proceedings. They do not prevent 
 smuggling, as that can be most easily effected by any one 
 desiring to do so, the lower officers and police being all 
 common blacks or mulattoes in the receipt of miserable 
 pay ; and I remember one of the first merchants of Loanda 
 once opening a drawer in his office, and showing me sig- 
 nificantly, when speaking on this subject, a number of 
 vouchers for small sums of money he had advanced on 
 loan to the petty officers employed by the custom-house, 
 and paid liberally at the rate of a few pence a day to 
 prevent smuggling ! 
 
 It would be amusing to see fo much imposing bombast 
 in the custom-house of a little place like Loanda, de- 
 pending on a lot of poor, ragged, and starving blacks 
 for its preventive service, were it not so annoying to 
 see the effect of the high duties in hindering the 
 development of the riches of the country, whose com- 
 mercial prosperity is at present the only remedy for 
 the evils of its misgovernment. 
 
 From olden times the report has been handed down 
 of the occurrence of silver in the district of Cambambe, 
 and the object of the Portuguese in some of their first 
 wars in the interior was to obtain possession of the mines. 
 There is, however, no record to show that they were 
 successful in their endeavours, and beyond the statement 
 that the natives of Cambambe paid tribute to the Portu- 
 guese in silver, part of which was made into a service for 
 a church in Lisbon, nothing more was definitely known 
 about it. 
 
 AVhen I left the Bemba mines I was engaged by 
 Senhor Flores of Loanda to explore the supposed locality 
 of the silver mines, as well as various sites in Cambambe 
 believed in former days to Lave been copper workings. 
 
202 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 I made a preliminary trip into the interior in September 
 1859, and then left Africa, returning a few months later 
 with miners and the necessary tools and apparatus for 
 a more complete exploration, which the indications 1 had 
 noticed warranted me in undertaking. 
 
 I luckily had with me six capital Ambriz carriers, who 
 had brought me from Ambriz to Loanda in my journey 
 through the country of Mossulo, which J have described 
 in a preceding chapter, and I readily induced them to 
 take me to Cambambe. I say luckily, as we found the 
 greatest difficulty in obtaining carriers on the road, and 
 we should have had to walk much greater distances 
 than we did, if I had not had the Ambriz blacks. I was 
 accompanied by a Senhor Lobato, of Massangano, the 
 first man who had started trade on the River Quanza by 
 means of barges to and from Loanda. Our route lay 
 from Loanda to the Eivcr Bengo, and from thence inland, 
 in an easterly direction, on the high road to Cassange — 
 the farthest point occupied by the Portuguese in Angola. 
 
 The road, lor a couple of days' journey or more, is on 
 and near the south bank of the River Bengo, and passes 
 through some of the most fertile land imaginable, but, 
 with the exception of small mandioca and other food- 
 plantations, producing but little beyond the requirements 
 of the few inhabitants of the country, owing to the absence 
 of cultivation. 
 
 We passed many places where towns had formerly 
 existed, but the inhabitants had been obliged to remove 
 farther into the interior, or to the country about the River 
 Dande, to escape the wholesale robbery and exactions of 
 the Portuguese *' chefes." 
 
 The second night after leaving Loanda we dined and 
 slept at the house of the "chefe " of the distiict of Icol!o 
 e Bengo, a very intelligent young man, newly appointed 
 to that place, and he gave us a painful description of the 
 wretclied condition in which he had found his district. 
 
 We weie unable to obtain carriers here at any price, 
 those that had brought us from Loanda having beenhirKi 
 for that distance only, as they would not trust themselves 
 
JOURNEY TO CAMBAMBE. 203 
 
 farther inland, fearing they miglit be forced to carry- 
 back heavy loads, for whi( h they would be jaid only a 
 miserable pittance, or perhaps nothing at all. 
 
 \\q had, consequently, to rely only on the six Ambriz 
 men we had with ns, but subsequently we were fortunate 
 enough to j)i(dv up a few more on the road. In six days 
 we arrived at Poito Domingos, on the Eiver Lucala, a 
 tributary of the Quanza. In these six days we jasscd 
 through very varied scenery, due not oidy to the irradual 
 elevation of the country irom tiie coast, as noticed en 
 the roal from Ambriz to Bembe, but also to the 
 variety of geological formations. On leaving Loanda hori- 
 zontal l>eds of limestone, and then fine sandstones, occur. 
 Near the junction, at a place called Tantanbondo, there 
 are curious lines of nodules embedded in the limestone, 
 and numbers loose on the surface from the weatliering 
 of the latter. These nodules are generally fractured, and 
 re-cemented with crystalline calcspar; tho>e not fractured 
 are mostly of a singular, rounded snape, like an ordinary 
 cottage-loaf. At Icollo e Bengo, finely micaceous iron ore 
 is found ; and at Calunguembe trap-rock occurs, which 
 gives a most picturesque peaky appearance to the country. 
 
 Porto Domingos is one of the most lovely })laces 1 have 
 seen in Airica; the vegetation of palm-trees, baobabs, 
 cottonwood-trees, and creepers of many kinds on the 
 banks of the river is wonderfully luxuriant. We found, 
 traces everywhere of a former very much larger popu- 
 lation, and the same true tale of the inhabitants having 
 been driven farther inland by the rapine of their Portu- 
 guese rulers. 
 
 Alter leaving Porto Domingos we arrived next day at 
 the dry bed of the Kiver Mucozo, a small stream running 
 only in the rainy season and joining the Eiver Quanza at 
 Dondo. We passed through a thick wood, the road being 
 the dry bed of a small stream running through it, and 
 the ground a sandy dust of a bright red colour from oxide 
 of iron. We and our carriers presented a comical appear- 
 ance after walking an hour and a half through the wood. 
 
 The rock of the country is a kind of conglomerate, with 
 
204 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 a matrix containinp^ much oxide of iron. At the Kiver 
 Mucozo this formation is succeeded by a very hard white 
 quartzose rock, containing but little mica or feldspar, and 
 the scenery is very beautiful, the country being very hilly 
 and broken. 
 
 Three days' journey over a wild and rocky country 
 brought us to the *'Soba" Dumbo, formerly a very 
 powerful king, and from whom the Portuguese have 
 always derived great assistance in their wars, but only 
 a handful of natives remain at the present day in the 
 countrv, to mark the place of the once populous kingdom 
 of the *' Soba " Dumbo. 
 
 In the next two or three succeeding days I visited the 
 places where, from the heaps of stones lying close to holes 
 and excavations, it was likely that the natives had formerly 
 worked for minerals ; and that copper was what they had 
 extracted or searched for was evident from the indications 
 of blue and green carbonate of copper in these heaps. 
 I saw enougli to convince me that an exploration of the 
 country was desirable, and likely to result in meeting 
 with important deposits of copper. Of silver or other 
 metals I saw no indications whatever. 
 
 We crossed in a southerly direction to Nhangui-a-pepi, 
 and from thence to Dondo and down the Eiver Quanza in 
 a canoe to Calumbo. A night's journey in a hammock 
 brought us back to Loanda, having been absent exactly a 
 fortnight on this very interesting journey, and though we 
 suffered several times from hunger and thirst, and walked 
 a great part of the distance from want of carriers, it was 
 performed without any accident whatever or ill effects to 
 health. 
 
 On my return to Africa in November 1860, I was 
 accompanied from Lisbon by two Portuguese miners, to 
 assist me in the exploration of these localities and in my 
 search for the ancient silver mines. One of these men 
 died on arrival at Loanda of an epidemic of malignant 
 fever then raging there, and the other died shortly 
 after reaching Cambainbe, whither I had immediately 
 proceeded. 
 
VOLCANIC BOCKS, 205 
 
 From November to June I was actively occupied in 
 exploring this district, and I cleared out several of the old 
 workings, but failed to discover metallic deposits or indi- 
 cations of any value, though malachite and blue carbonate 
 of copper were to be noticed abundantly distributed 
 everywhere. 
 
 I made many excursions, sometimes of several days' 
 duration, in that time — one in the direction of the district 
 of Puque de Braganpa to a place called Ngombi Ndua 
 on the fine range of granite mountains ending south at 
 Pungo Andongo ; but beyond the universal indications of 
 carbonates of copper, my explorations yielded no result. 
 
 A very interesting excursion was one I made about 
 thirty miles in a northerly direction, where I passed 
 through most beautiful mountain scenery, the formation 
 of the country being trachyte or volcanic rock. 
 
 This evidence of ancient volcanic action is extremely 
 interesting, as it may have caused the ridge or elevation 
 running the whole length of Angola, which elevation has 
 prevented the drainage of the plateau of the interior of 
 that part of Africa from flowing to the Atlantic. This too 
 strengthens my idea of the great Kiver Congo being found 
 to bend to the south, and be the outlet for the waters of 
 the hundreds of miles of country lying behind Angola, 
 and perhaps far beyond to the south, where, as I have 
 already stated, there is no river of any consequence to be 
 found. 
 
 The only other example of volcanic rock I have met 
 with in Angola is the narrow belt or strip of basalt found 
 at Mossamedes, and on the sea shore to the north of it for 
 about thirty or forty miles. 
 
 This trachyte of part of Cambambe is no doubt con- 
 nected with the trap-rocks noticed in my journey over- 
 land from Loanda to that district. The greater part of 
 Cambambe is rocky, and destitute of forest or large trees ; 
 large tracts are covered with grass and shrubs, and of these 
 the "Nborotuto" {Cochlospermum Angolense, Welw.), a 
 small shrubby tree with large, bright yellow flowers about 
 four inches across, and like gigantic buttercups in shape 
 
206 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 and colour, is extremely common, and very conspicuous. 
 In the cacimbo, or f-ry season, some very beautiful bnlhs 
 and orcliids spring up after the ground has bet-n cleared 
 of grass by burning. 
 
 Birds of lUMuy species and of beautiful colouring are 
 abundant, and in a small collection 1 made (see *Tiie 
 Ibis ' for October 1862), Dr. Hartlaub found several new 
 species, and I have no doubt this distii/t would well repay 
 a collector. The most extraordinary bird in appearance 
 and habits is certainly a large black hornbill (Bucorax 
 Ahyssinicus), called by the natives Engungoashito. It 
 is about the size of a large turkey, but longer in the 
 body and tail. The following is from my notes on this bird 
 in the above publication : — 
 
 "They are Ibund sparingly nearly everywhere in Angola, 
 becoming abundant, however, only towards the interior. In 
 the mountain-range in which Pungo Andongo is situated, 
 and running nearly N. and S., they are common, and it 
 was near the base of these mountains that I shot these 
 two specimens. They are seen in flocks of six or eight 
 (the natives say, always in equal number of males and 
 females). Farther in tlie interior, I was credibly informed 
 that they are found in flocks of from one to two hundred 
 individuals. 
 
 "The males raise up and open and close their tails 
 exactly in the manner of a turkey, and tilling out the 
 bright cockscomb-red, bladder-like wattle on their necks, 
 and with uings dropping on the ground, make quite a 
 grand appearance. 
 
 "They do not present a less extraordinary appearance as 
 they walk slowly with an awkward gait, and peer from 
 side to side with their great eyes in quest of food in the 
 short grass, poking their large bills at any frog, snake, 
 &c., that may come in their way. 
 
 " Their flight is feeble, and not long-sustained. When 
 alarmed, they generally fly up to the nearest large tr>-^e, 
 preferring such as have thick branches with but little 
 foliage, as the Adansonia " Mucuzo " (a wild fig). Here 
 they squat close on the branches, and, if further alarmed, 
 
THE nORNBlLL. 207 
 
 raise themselves quite upright on their legs in an attitude 
 of listening, with wide-open bills. 'Jhe iirst to notice a 
 person at once utters its customary cry, and all fly off 
 to the next tree. 
 
 *'They are very wary; the grass near the mountains 
 being comparatively sliort, and with but little scrub or 
 bush, it is very difficult to approach them without being 
 oK-^erved from the high trees. I followed a flock of six for 
 upwards of two liours, crawling flat on my stomach, negro 
 fashion, before I obtained a chance of a shot, when I was 
 80 fortunate as to break the wing of a male without other- 
 wise injuring it. It was quickly captured by the blacks. 
 
 "They are omnivorous in their food: reptiles, birds, eggs, 
 beetles, and all other insects, mandioca-roots, ginguba or 
 ground-nuts, constitute their food in the wild state. In 
 conh'nement I have fed this bird upon the same food, also 
 upon fresh fish, which it showed itself very fond of, as 
 well as on the entrails of fowls, &c. On letting it loose in 
 Loanda, in a yard where tiiere were several fowls with 
 chickens, it immediately gulped down its throat six of the 
 latter, and finished its breakfast with several eggs ! 
 
 "The note or cry of the male is like the hoarse blast of 
 a horn, repeated short three times, and answered by the 
 i'emale in a lower note. It is very loud, and can be heard 
 at a considerable distance, particularly at night. 
 
 " They are said to build their nest on the very highest 
 Adansonias, in the hollow or cavity formed at the base or 
 junction ot the branches with the trunk." 
 
 Another bird (the Scopus umhretta) is singular from tlio 
 curious story of its habits as described by the natives, 
 but unfortunately I had not an opportunity of investi- 
 gating their statements, to ascertain the exact foundation 
 for them. 
 
 All the more intelh'gent blacks in Cambambe gave me 
 exactly the same description, and I leave it for i'uture 
 collectors to verify the statement. It is a small heron- 
 like bird of a very uniform chestnut-brown colour, and is 
 found near pools and marshes. It is aflirraed by the 
 natives that it never builds its own nest, but that other 
 
208 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO, 
 
 birds, of different species, make one lor it, and also that 
 if a person bathes in the pool in which this bird is in the 
 habit of washing and pluming itself, he becomes quickly 
 affected with a cutaneous eruption similar to the itch. 
 
 The lovely " plaintain-eaters," principally the Corytliaix 
 Paulina, are very abundant all over Angola where thick 
 forests are found. They are common in the country about 
 Pungo Andongo, and also near the Eiver Quanza. They 
 have a very loud, hoarse cry quite unlike that which a 
 bird might be imagined to produce, which has a very 
 singular and startling effect when heard in a forest. 
 
 it is its unearthly cry that makes this bird an object 
 of superstition to the natives of the whole of Angola. It 
 is said by them to be a " feiticeiro," or sorcerer, and that 
 it warns travellers of danger by frightening with its cry 
 p.nimals or robbers lying in wait for them. If one of 
 these birds should perch on a hut or on a tree within the 
 enclosure of a town and sing, it is thought such a bad 
 omen that the inhabitants vacate it and remove to another 
 place. When the natives bring them in cages from the 
 interior for sale on the coast, they never take them into 
 the towns on the road for fear they should sing whilst in 
 them, and at night the carrier, for the same reason, sleeps 
 with his bird at some little distance from any town. 
 
 One most singular circumstance connected with this 
 bird is the fact that the gorgeous blood-red colour of its 
 wing-feathers is soluble, especially in weak solution of 
 ammonia, and that this soluble colouring matter contains 
 a considerable quantity of copper, to which its colour may 
 very probably be due. My attention was first called to 
 this extremely curious and unexpected fact by Professor 
 Church's paper in the 'Phil. Trans.' for 1869 ; and on my 
 last voyage home from the Coast I purchased a large 
 bunch of the red wing-feathers in the market at Sierra 
 Leone, with which my brother-in-law Mr. Henry Bassett, 
 F.C.S., has verified Professor Church's results conclusively, 
 and has found even a larger proportion of copper in the 
 colouring matter extracted from these feathers. 
 
 The ammoniacal solution is of a magnificent ruby-red 
 
THE PLANTAIN-EATER, 209 
 
 colour by transmitted light. Mr. Bassett obtained the 
 following as the result of his investigation : — 
 
 " From oOO feathers obtained 1*04:5 grin, turacin. Two 
 copper determinations, made by fusing with nitre and car- 
 bonate of soda, washing out with water, then dissolving the 
 oxide of copper in nitric acid, filtering, and precipitating 
 with potasli, gave quantities of oxide of copper correspond- 
 ing to 7'6 and 8 per cent, of metallic copper. Cijurch 
 found (j per cent. ; on the other liand, the feathers yielded 
 him a larger quantity of the colouring matter. General 
 characters, appearance, &c., exactly in accordance with 
 Chuich's description; insoluble in benzol, sulphide car- 
 bon, tetrachloride carbon. The copper to be unmistakably 
 seen by burning the smallest portion of a feather in a 
 Bunsen burner." 
 
 It is difficult to say whether this copper is derived from 
 the metal contained in the food of these birds, or whether 
 they pick up, with sand and gravel, the attractive looking 
 particles of malachite so universally distributed over 
 Angola. Their habits would seem to favour somewhat 
 this view, as they are extremely inquisitive in their wild 
 state, running along the large branches of the trees in an 
 excited and fussy manner, with outstretched neck and 
 expanded wings, and peering down on any intruder with 
 (.very expression of interest and curiosity. 
 
 At the same time, two birds that 1 have had in con- 
 finement in England, both for live or six years, moulted 
 regularly every year, and reproduced the splendidly 
 coloured feathers of the same brightness without the 
 possihility of getting any copper except what might have 
 entered into the composition of their food, which was most 
 varied, consisting of every ripe fruit in season, cooked vege- 
 tables and roots, rice, bread, biscuits, dried fruits, &c. 
 
 In Angola many of the '' plantain-eaters" to be obtained 
 from thtj natives will only eat bananas, and refuse all 
 ether food, so tliat they cannot be brought to Europe; 
 others, however, readily adapt themselves to almost every 
 kind of soft food. 
 
 My first bird was a Corythaix Livingstoniiy and was 
 
 p 
 
210 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 beautifully tame and gentle; it was most amusing in its 
 habits, and in the notice it took of everything around it ; — 
 a cliange of dress, or even new or differently coloured 
 ribbons to what it had been in the habit of seeing, excited 
 its attention greatly, and it would utter a loud cry and 
 open out its lovely wings in astonishment, and coming 
 close to the cage bars examine it with the greatest curiosity. 
 It was very fond of having a picture-book shown it, 
 noticing especially those pictures ^lat were most vividly 
 coloured. It was very fond of a bath, which it used to 
 coine out and take in a large pie-dish full of water placed 
 on the table. At night it roosted in a little, flat basket, 
 in which it would not readily nestle till one of my sisters 
 sang to it for a few minutes, when it would utter a satis- 
 fied kind of low, rumbling noise, and at once squat down 
 quietly to sleep. 
 
 My List live specimen, a Corytliaix Paulina was also 
 very tame, and has only recently died from the breaking 
 of an egg inside its body. A former eg^^ that it laid is 
 now in the collection of the British Museum. It had only 
 just moulted before it died, and the skin is in beautiful 
 plumage. 
 
 It is pleasing to record an instance of a bird being 
 considered of good omen ; this is one called " Quioco " 
 by the natives, which has a beautifully clear and loud 
 song, and this is believed to be a sign of good luck when 
 heard near their huts. Its scientitic name is Telejphonus 
 erythropterus. 
 
 Cattle thrive excellently in this district, and might be 
 reared in any number, as also goats, sheep, and poultry. 
 Game is comparatively scarce. Wild animals are princi- 
 pally the spotted and striped hyena and the black-backed 
 jackal. Leopards I only heard of as infesting the country 
 about half-way between Nhangui-a-pepi and Dondo, where, 
 during the time I was in Cambambe, they had carried 
 away cattle and attacked several blacks. The hyenas 
 used to visit us almost every night in Cambambe, and at 
 one place, where my cook slept by himself in a small hut, 
 which was also the kitchen, they frightened him so by 
 
HYENAS. 211 
 
 snortiiif^ under the door and trying to force tlieir way in, 
 attracted no doubt by the smell of the pots and pans, that 
 he refused to pass anotlier night in it, and I had to let 
 liim sleep in my hut. One night we heard a noise of 
 smashing of crockery and falling of pots, &c., from the 
 kitchen, and in the morning we fouud that a hyena had 
 forced his way into the hut (built of sticks and grass) and 
 had taken away a sheepskin from a wooden irame that 
 served as a table, on which my cookh ad carefully placed 
 my stock of plates and cooking utensils to dry, bringing 
 the whole to the ground, and considerably reducing my 
 limited stock of china and glass. 
 
 Nothing comes amiss to these voracious creatures, their 
 powerful jaws and teeth enabling them to crunch up any 
 bones, skin, &c. The hides of the oxen that were killed 
 for food used to be thrown on the roofs of the huts tc dry, 
 and the hyenas would sometimes get at them, and if not 
 taken away bodily we would find them almost entirely 
 eaten up, their sharp teeth having cut through the tough 
 raw hide as perfectly, and seemingly as easily, as a pair 
 of shears ; the ox skull and other bones of course always 
 disappeared completely during the night. 
 
 When driven by hunger they become very bold, but 
 rarely attack man. At 13enguella, where they are very 
 abundant, such a thing as an attack on a native was 
 unknown, although at night many blacks sleep out of 
 doors, and often in a drunken and helpless state; but at 
 Golungo Alto, after an epidemic of small-pox, wlien the 
 hyenas preyed upon the bodies of natives who had died 
 of the disease, I was told that they had got into a habit 
 of attacking the live blacks at night, but no fatal case 
 occurred. 
 
 Hyenas always hunt in couples, a male and female 
 according to the natives, and very often several couples 
 together. 
 
 That they seek their prey in pairs I believe to be the case, 
 from an instance that occurred to myself in Cambambe. 
 I had built a long hut of sticks and grass for two white 
 men (Portuguese soldiers and military convicts) from 
 
 p 2 
 
212 AN Q OLA AND THE EIVER CONGO. 
 
 Loanda, who had been sent me on the death of the miner 
 1 liad brought with me from Portugah The two men 
 occupied one end of the hut, the other being taken up with 
 the mining tools, stores, &c., and one nif>ht two sheep had 
 been placed there also, for safety. One was tied to a 
 bundle of shovels, and the other to a wheelbarrow, to pre- 
 vent them from straying about in the hut. 0[)posite to 
 where tliey were secured was a door made of green sticks 
 and withes. 
 
 Whilst the men were asleep a hyena forced his way 
 under the door, and carried off one of the sheep ; its crieu 
 and the noise awoke the men, who jumped out of bed and 
 rushed out to try and save the poor sheep, but in the 
 darkness of the night nothing could be seen, and all that 
 was heard was the rush of the animals and shovels down 
 the rocky and stony ground — the liut being built on a small 
 steep rise or hill. Whilst the men were thinking what 
 they should do, and standing only a few yards from the hut, 
 another hyena got into it through the now open door and 
 carried off the second sheep and the wheelbarrow, which 
 went banging down the hill over the loose stones. In the 
 morning the shovels and wheelbarrow were found at some 
 little distance at the foot of the hill, but not a trace of 
 the poor sheep. 
 
 The hyenas are remarkably wary and cautious, only 
 coming near habitations in the darkest nights, and 
 generally near daybreak. I was never able to shoot one 
 in the ordinary way, though I often watched with gun 
 ready through an opening in the walls of my hut. I once, 
 however, killed a tine spotted hyena by tying my gun 
 to a couple of stakes in the ground, and putting an ox's 
 gullet on the muzzle as a bait, so arranged with a string 
 to the trigger as to fire off the gun on the animal attempting 
 to pull it away. 
 
 The next time I arranged this infernal machine it nearly 
 killed a tine pig that had set its heart on the bait, but as 
 he luckily did not approach it in the right direction, I 
 lost the charge of powder and ball, and the pig found his 
 anticipated titbit suddenly vanish in smoke. 
 
( 213 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PROVINCE OF CAZEXGO — GOLUNGO ALTO — GOLD — WILD 
 COFFEE — IRON SMELTING — FORMER MISSIONARIES — 
 CUSTOMS — NATIVES — PRODUCTIONS. 
 
 The farthest inland district in Angola under the rule 
 of the Portuguese was that of Cassange, but a successful 
 revolt of the natives against the oppression of the Portu- 
 guese " chefes " led to its being abandoned a few years 
 
 Malange is now the iiirthest point, the two next being 
 Pungo Andongo and Duque de Braganfa ; the latter is 
 at present of no value or importance whatever. 
 
 The Portuguese traders are, however, established in 
 considerable force at Cassange, as well as at JVIalange and 
 Pungo Andongo, and a large trade in ivory and wax has 
 always been carried on from that part of the country. 
 
 I am unable to describe these localities from personal 
 observation, but they are stated to be very fine and 
 healthy, and mostly well watered. The natives have no 
 antijjathy or objection whatever to the Portuguese, their 
 opposition being entirely to the military rulers who had 
 abused their position; and recently the 'natives of the 
 country of the Dembos, between Golungo Alto and Duque 
 de BragauQa, have also risen in arms for the same reason, 
 and they have had tl^ advantage so far in the struggle. 
 
 In the year 1807 I visited Cazengo and Golungo Alto, 
 on my way to a part of the country called Lombige, wliere 
 gold in dust had been discovered, and where two white 
 men ^^ith a party of blacks were " prospecting " for Senhor 
 Flores. It is impossible to describe in words the beauty 
 of the districts of Cazengo and Golungo Alto, and the 
 
214 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 country about the Iliver Loinbige, a small tributary of the 
 Kiver Zenza, as the Eiver Beiigo is called inland. 
 
 Mountains and deep valleys tilled with magnificent vir- 
 gin forests cover the country. Streams and springs of the 
 clearest water abound, and the valleys are full of monkeys 
 and beautifully coloured birds and butterflies. Most won- 
 derful and vaiied effects of rollino: mists, suni;^se and 
 sunset, are to be seen in this earthly paradise, and the 
 clearness and lightness of the atmosphere are most exhila- 
 rating and agreeable after the dull oppressiveness of the 
 air on the coast. 
 
 At Cazeiigo I saw the largest trees I have ever seen, 
 and conspicuous amongst these the cottonwood-tree (Erio- 
 dendron anfraduo&um) towering to an immense height 
 straight as an arrow, without the slightest break, to the 
 small branches at the very top covered with feathery- 
 looking foliage, and studded with puffy balls like white 
 silk, from the burst seed-pods. The stems and branches 
 are thickly studded with hard, short, conical, sharp-pointed 
 spikes, and at the base of the stem vast flattened buttre^ses 
 project, which give a wonderful idea of strength and sta- 
 bility. In these grand forests the splendid j:iant touraco 
 {Turaeus cristatus), the largest of the tropical African 
 plantain-eaters, finds a fitting habitat, and from its great 
 size compared with the other much smaller species, is 
 evidence of the magnificence of the forests and scenery of 
 Cazengo and Gobmgo Alto. 
 
 I cannot he p having a feeling of reverent affection and 
 admiration for this lamily of birds, whose exquisite plumage 
 has most likely been evolved through ages of tlie greatest 
 tropical beauty of dazzling sunshine, bright flowers, and 
 luxuiiant vegetation in lovely valley and mountain chain. 
 
 CoHee is found growing wild in these virgin forests, but 
 it is confidently believed to have oeen originally intro- 
 duced by the old missionaries, and since been spread by 
 the agency of monkeys and birds. 
 
 Several important cofiee plantations have been esta- 
 blished, principally in Cazengo, and with slave labour ; but 
 they exist under great disadvantages, owing to the want 
 
 J 
 
CAZENGO. GOLUNGO ALTO. 215 
 
 of road's and means of conveyance, this last bein^^ entirely 
 effected by carriers, who are difficult to obtain even at 
 considerable expense. The coffee irom the Portuguese 
 plajiters is all sent to Doudo, and thence down thn river 
 to Loanda and the sea. That cropped by the natives is 
 carried by them ibr sale to the River Quaiiza and to Loanda, 
 but a considerable part is taken across the country all the 
 way to Arubriz, where, from the low custom-house duties, 
 they leceive from the traders a much larger amount of 
 goods and powder in exchange than at Loanda. I noticed 
 on the natives certain kinds of cloth customardy passed in 
 trade in Ambriz, and I had a further proof of the Caztngo 
 and Golungo Alto coffee thus going northward, in the con- 
 siderable number of natives recognised in Cazengo hy my 
 servant, as having been seen by him trading coffee at 
 Ambriz, his native place. 
 
 The town of Cazengo consists of half a dozen houses, 
 occupied principally by Portuguese traders, the " resi- 
 denc.a" or house of the "chefe," and the huts of a small 
 native population. It is about two days' jjurney from 
 Doudo (on the Kiver Quanza), and the Eiver Lucalla is 
 passed about six miles before arriving there. 
 
 The district of Golungo Alto gives the same name to 
 its town, which is most picturesquely situated and sur- 
 rounded by luxuriant vegetation, and is reached in 
 anotlier two days' journey from Cazengo,* through exqui- 
 site scenery. Starting from the town of Golungo Alto 
 in a northerly direction, I arrived in the afternoon at the 
 Kiver Zenza, and slept a few miles beyond it at a ])lace 
 called Gonguembo, at the house of a respectable black, 
 who was a kind of government official for that district, 
 and who was married to a very comely black woman from 
 Loanda. I was most hospil^bly treated by these good 
 people, and a clean bed in a niee airy room was prepared 
 for me ; they would not accept any remuneration for their 
 kindness, so I had to content myself with making them a 
 present of some handkerchiefs 1 had with me. Next day 
 1 continued to travel in the same direction, sleeping at 
 night in a wood, and the day after arrived at a place called 
 
216 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 Maj^ngo, near the Eiver LomI)ige, there only a noisy 
 mountain torrent of most beautifully clear water. It was 
 here that the two white men with the party of blacks were 
 exploring for gold, and they had already obtained a few 
 ounces of dust from the sand of the river by washiug it in 
 pans and a couple of rockers. 
 
 The following morning I proceeded about ten miles 
 farther in the direction of the course of the Lombige, to 
 another place where a little gold dust had also been 
 obtained. 
 
 The formation of the country from Golungo Alto to 
 the auriferous ground of the Lombige is a hard clay slate, 
 in which I observed only a few small quartz veins, and 
 in my opinion it is a poor gold country. Not more than 
 a couple of pounds weight of gold were obtained after many 
 months working, and the exploration was finally aban- 
 doned on the death of Senhor Flores, which happened at 
 the Lombige. 
 
 My friend, Mr. Richard Smith, of the Metallurgical 
 Laboratory at the Koyal School of Mines, has kindly 
 assayed a sample of gold from Lombige, with the following 
 results : — 
 
 Gold 93-860 
 
 Silver 5-352 
 
 Copper 0-404 
 
 99-616 
 
 equal to 22 J carats fine. 
 
 From Golungo Alto to the south the geological formation 
 is a hard, compact, quartzose p^ranite rock. At Cazengo 
 is founa gneiss, granite, and a hard quartzose slaty rock, 
 with in places a curious rock seemingly composed of disin- 
 tegrated granite and clay slate. The strike of the clay 
 slate is about E. and W., and it dips to the S.S.W. 
 
 The few natives I saw about the Lombige seemed rather 
 a fine race. They belong to a tribe called the Dembos, 
 which is the name of that part of the country, and they 
 have lately driven back the Portuguese, who had attempted 
 
WILD COFFEE, 217 
 
 to encroach on their territory with the customary exactions 
 of the " chefes." 
 
 To show that they bore no ill-will to the Portuguese, 
 but only desired to resist tlie grasping oppression of 
 the '*chefes," they escorted to the River Zenza, near 
 Golungo Alto, a small number of unfortunate troops they 
 had surrounded, and who, without pay, provisions, ammu- 
 nition, shoes, or clothing, had been obliged to surrender, 
 and they greatly insulted the Portuguese by offering to 
 give these poor soldiers a month's pay in cash ! " I was at 
 Loanda when several batches of soldiers, composing the 
 so-called expedition to the Dembos, arrived, via the Kiver 
 Quanza, in a di.>graceful state of starvation and rags, and 
 the poor devils were loud in their complaints of the way 
 they had been treated and robbed by their own govern- 
 ment and officers. 
 
 A more shameful manner of exposing men to disease 
 and the enemy cannot be imagined. A local newspaper 
 at Loanda exposed the scandalous way in which the war 
 was conducted, and the merchants represented the true 
 state of the case to the government at Lisbon, but no 
 attention was given to them, as the governor at Loanda 
 reported that there was nothing going on in Angola to call 
 for special notice. 
 
 The great forests on the slopes of the chains of moun- 
 tains and valleys of the country about Golungo Alto and 
 the Dembos are also full of coffee trees growing wild, and 
 they are gradually being cleared of bush or underwood by 
 the natives so as to enable them to collect the berry. I 
 did not hear anywhere that they had taken to planting 
 coffee, nor are they likely to do so as long as they can 
 find it growing wild. As far as has been ascertained, 
 wild coffee is only found growing in the forests of the 
 country of the second elevation from the coast, nor does it 
 grow well in the littoral region, where the air is much 
 too dry : it is a plant requiring a moist heat and the shade 
 of large trees ; and a certain amount of elevation above 
 the level of the sea may possibly have something to do 
 with its proper growth. 
 
218 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 The future production of coffee on the whole West Coast 
 of Africa might be simply unlimited, as far as extent of 
 ground eminently suitable for its cultivation is concerned : 
 it becomes only a question of time and labour. The coffee 
 plant is not the only one formerly introduced by tlie mis- 
 sionaries or Portuguese, which has spread itself over a 
 large extent of country in xVngola, as I saw beautiful 
 watercress growing wild, most luxuriantly in several of tlie 
 rivulets and wot places in Cazengo, and Dr. Welwitsch 
 found parsley and fennel growing wild abundantly at 
 Punofo AndonGfO. 
 
 Cazengo lias been celebrated from time immemorial for 
 its iron, smelted by the natives, and the bellows (Plate XI.) 
 employed in the process appears to date from the earliest 
 times, being in fact identical with that used by the 
 ancient Egyptians. 
 
 The object of the double arrangement is to obtain a 
 constant current of air from the nozzle ; there are no 
 valves in it, and the tops of the cylinders are tightly closed 
 with a peak-shaped cover of sheepskin in which there is 
 no hole or aperture. They are worked alternately and 
 very rapidly, and blow into a baked clay tuyere about 
 twelve inches long, of which the under end is much 
 wider than the nozzle of the bellows that just rests inside 
 it ; the object of this is apparent, as, from the bellows 
 having no valve for the admission of air, which therefore 
 enters it through the nozzle, were this to fit tightly in the 
 tuyere it would alternately blow into and draw air from 
 the lire. For ordinary blacksmith's work the forge is simply 
 a small round cavity scooped out in the ground, the fuel 
 being charcoal, and in this, with one bellow^s, a welding 
 heat is obtained, and they are enabled to make hoes, 
 &c., out of ordinary iron hooping or other waste scrap- 
 iron. 
 
 Iron smelting from the ore is but little practised now 
 in Angola, as the iron hooping from bales obtained from 
 the traders nearly suffices for the few purposes for 
 which this useful metal is required ; but I once had the 
 opportunity whilst travelling of seeing the operation of 
 
BELLOWS — RIARIMIiA — NATIVE SMITHS —KAT-TKA P. 
 
 To face page 213. 
 
IRON SMELTING. 219 
 
 smelting going on at Cazengo, and of obtaining the follow- 
 ing information on the process. There was no furnace 
 proper, simply a somewhat larger excavation in the ground, 
 with three ptlir of bellows hard at work at equal distances 
 round it. There was neither cover nor chimney to the 
 fire, which was fed with charcoal. The ironstone was a 
 gossan y-looking brown ore, and was broken into bits about 
 the size of small walnuts. 
 
 I was informed that the first operation took some hours, 
 and did not reduce the iron to the fused state, but only to 
 an apparently metallic spongy condition, without much 
 diminution in the size of the pieces. These reduced pieces 
 are separated from those only imperfectly acted on, the 
 latter being again submitted to the first process with fresh 
 ore ; the former are then raised to a high heat and welded 
 together with a hammer, on a block of iron for an anvil, 
 into a small bar. 
 
 In the management of the fire, and in welding, the 
 natives employ water and sand in the same way that our 
 smiths do. The bellows and the tuyere are slightly in- 
 clined downwards, and are secured to the ground by strong- 
 stakes driven into it on each side, to which are attached 
 cross pieces passing over the bellows and tuyere. (Plate 
 XL). 1 have seen these bellows in every part of Angola, and 
 in lioango and Cabinda, north of the Kiver Congo, among 
 tribes speaking entirely different languages, but it is of 
 exactly the same pattern everywhere. 
 
 The natives of the interior, like those of Loanda, that is 
 to say, ot the country comprised between the Rivers Dande 
 and Quanza, speak the Bunda language. The division on 
 the latter river is very marked, the Quissamas and the 
 Libollos on the southern bank speaking a distinct language. 
 The natives beyond the Eiver Dande speak the Congo 
 language, and its dialects of Ambriz and Mossulo. 
 
 This large Bunda-speaking population offers points of 
 great interest, and most strongly and favourably impresses 
 the observer, auguring well for its future civilization as far 
 as it can go. It speaks volumes for the superiority of this 
 part of the negro species to know that very fair reading 
 
220 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 and writing in Portuguese has been handed down from 
 father to son from the time of the former missionaries to 
 the present day. 
 
 It is impossible not to admire and honour the wonderful 
 work of'those good men. Palpable signs of their industry, 
 and of their example and teaching, may still be seen 
 everywhere in Angola. Plantations of cocoa-nut and oil- 
 palm trees, groves of orange, lemon, and other fruit trees, 
 the introduction of the coffee and other useful plants, the 
 ruins of extensive monasteries with which were associated 
 their schools of industrial arts, all bear witness to their 
 good work, and last but not least the love and veneration 
 in which their name is held amongst all classes of blacks, 
 who consider a padre almost as a god ; — their name for a 
 priest is Ngana Nganga (God's sir), Ngana being " Senhor," 
 sir, and Nganga their word for God. 
 
 Although as completely imbued as their more uncivi- 
 lized brethren with the belief and practice of '* fetishes" 
 of all kinds, they still retain many of the usages taught 
 them by the missionaries ; — they will hav^e their children 
 baptized by a padre to give them one or more Saint*s 
 names, and though they will call a girl or boy such a 
 name as *• Thursday," if he or she happens to have been 
 born ofi that week-da}^ or the name of a tree or plant, 
 or place, or any circumstance they may fancy connected 
 with its birth, yet it must also bcvar the name of Antonio 
 Domingos, or Maria Roza, or some other favourite com- 
 bination of Portuguese Christian names. The christening 
 is celebrated with the usual accompaniment of sponsors, 
 and, as is customary in Catholic countries, these will not 
 intermarry or live together as man and wife, or with the 
 parents of the child. 
 
 A sheet of foolscap paper is a very usual article to 
 receiv^e from the traders with other goods in barter for 
 produce ; this they roll up carefully, and hang by a bit of 
 string to their stick or pack. 
 
 I^or pen they use the quill of any bird ; their ink is 
 charcoal or burnt ground-nuts ground fine with the juice 
 of the wild tomato ; for wax or gum they use the very 
 
CUSTOMS. 221 
 
 sticky mass enveloping the seeds of a beautiful red-flowering 
 parasite (Loranthus sp.). 
 
 These natives are extremely fond of writing to one 
 another, and also to the "chefes" or authorities, and 
 their letters and petitions are sometimes most amusing 
 and laughable, as they have the usual love of their race 
 for pompous or high-sounding words and phrases. 
 
 Ibey are fond, on oceasions, of wearing coats and 
 trousers, often made of very extraordinary quality and 
 patterns of cloth, and boots and shoes. Their houses ch.* 
 huts, and customs otherwise are not distinguishable from 
 those of the natives of other parts of Angola. 
 
 A curious hard- wood shrub (Decamera Jovis-ionantis, 
 Welw.), called by the natives Ndui, is considered a sure pre- 
 servative against lightning, and branches of it are placed 
 on the huts to save them from being struck by the electric 
 fluid. This belief is peculiar to the Jiunda-speaking race. 
 It is also only among these people that tapioca is pre- 
 pared, though rarely, from the starch of the mandioca-root, 
 by drying it over iron or copper plates. 
 
 A very singular custom is common to them and to the 
 natives of Novo Eedondo farther south. When a relative 
 or other person visits them, a dish of "infundi " or '*pirao" 
 is prepared, and should there not be a bit of meat or fish 
 in the larder (no uncommon circumstance by the })ye) 
 they send out to a neighbour for the *' lent rat" as it is 
 called. This is a field rat roasted on a skewer, and it is 
 presented to the guest who, holding tiie skewer in his 
 left hand, dabs bits of the " infundi " on the rat before he 
 swallows them, as if to give them a flavour, but he is very 
 careful not to eat the rat, or even the smallest particle of 
 it, as this would be considered a great crime and offence, 
 and would be severely punished by tlieir laws. It is sup- 
 posed that the host has duly preserved the dignity of his 
 house and position, and has performed the rites of hos- 
 pitality in presenting his guest with meat and "infundi," 
 though he has not tasted a morsel of the former, which is 
 returned intact to the owner from whom it was borrowed. 
 This example of a sham knowingly played by both host 
 
222 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEIi CONGO. 
 
 and guest as an act of politeness, seems very curious in 
 the extremely unsopliisticated state of the negro : — in our 
 superior state of society, shams as patent to all are too 
 common to attract attention. 
 
 The Bunda-speaking natives of Angola are extremely 
 indolent : by the better class, suck as those who can 
 read and write, it is considered derogatory to perform any 
 manual work whatever. A little trading in wax or other 
 produce is the most they indulge in, and this is principally 
 made the means of obtaining goods or money on credit 
 from the traders, or in some other way imposing on them. 
 They are specially clever at any little roguery of this kind. 
 
 In the mornings, the rising generation may be seen 
 assembled in groups squatted on the ground, wrapped up 
 in a cotton cloth manufactured in the country, and \vith a 
 printed alphabet in their hands lazily learning their letters. 
 
 No inducement that I could offer of pay or anything else, 
 whilst I was exploring in Carabambe, would make them 
 work, and aS their style of living is exactly the same as 
 that of other blacks, the plantations, tended by their w^omen 
 and female slaves, suffice them for their daily wants. I 
 lived on beans for a week on that occasion, as I would not 
 pay half a sovereign in money or cloth for a single fowl, 
 and sheep and goats in proportion. When the tax-gatherer 
 came round with the soldiers, and they had not the 
 wherewithal to pay him, I had my revenge, and bought 
 a large number of fowls at a penny each^ goats and sheep 
 at about a shilling a head, and fat oxen at five to ten 
 shillings each, from the very blacks who a day or two 
 before had refused to sell oxen at any price, and fowls, &c., 
 only at such exorbitant prices. 
 
 I had to provide food for the forty or fifty blacks wdio 
 were with me, and an ox was generally killed every day 
 for them, but not being used to so much animal food it 
 did not agree with them. One morning they came to 
 me headed by an old native of Ambaca, who presented me 
 with*a petition written in high-flown language, praying 
 that I would not give them any more meat, but that I 
 would order beans and '^infundi" to be cooked for their 
 
NATIVES. 223 
 
 rations instead. Of course, I assented to the desired change, 
 which, moreover, was more economical. 
 
 The natives of Pungo Andongo are the most deceitful, 
 and the worst generally. Those of the district of Ambaca, 
 contiguous to Cazengo and Golungo Alto, are a very ex- 
 traordinary set of blacks. They are distinguished by a 
 peculiar expression of countenance, manner, and speech, 
 which enables them to be at once recognised as surely as 
 a raw Irishman or Scotchman is with us. They are the 
 deverest natives of Angola, speak and read and write 
 Portuguese best of any, are the greatest cheats of all, 
 and are well described by the Portuguese as the Jews 
 and gipsies of Angola. They are the greatest traders in 
 the country, and collect and deal in all manner of hides, 
 skins, and other articles, for which they travel great 
 distances and amongst other tribes. They will least of 
 all work at any manual labour ; trade and roguery are 
 their forte, and they have often suffered at the hands of 
 otlier tribes for their cupidity. 
 
 During a famine, a few years back, in the Q.uissama 
 country, wdiich the Ambaquistas (as the natives of Ambaca 
 are called) used to visit with farinha, &c., for the purpose 
 of purchasing rock-salt to trade with in other places, 
 they bought a large number of the Quissamas as slaves, 
 at the rate of a small measure of meal each ; but the suc- 
 ceeding season, on a number of Ambaquistas going to 
 Quissama, they were robbed, flogged, branded with hot 
 irons, and otherwise tortured and punished, and finally put 
 into canoes and started down the river, arriving at 
 Muxima in a lamentable condition, and only a few recovered 
 from their ill-treatment. This revenge was taken by 
 the Quissamas because the Ambaquistas took advantage of 
 their dire necessity for food to buy their sons and daughters 
 as slaves for small portions of meal. To the present day, 
 to vex an Ambaquista, it is sufficient to ask him if he has 
 any Quissama rock-salt for sale ! 
 
 Of course, tiiey have never been to Quissama since ; 
 and should the Portuguese desire to conquer that country, 
 as yet not reduced to submission, they could count upon 
 
224 ANGOLA AND THE lUVER CONGO. 
 
 a largo contingent of volunteers from Ambaca. Ambaca 
 is said to be comparatively flat, but very fertile, and it 
 has lately been sending a large quantity of ground-nuts 
 to the River Quanza. 
 
 In Cazengo and Pungo Andongo, the largest gourds 
 I Lave ever seen are grown, which when dried are em- 
 ployed by the natives as vessels to carry oil, water, 
 *' garapa," or other liquids ; or, the top being cut off, are 
 used as baskets for meal, beans, &c. I have seen them 
 so large that they were enclosed in a rope-net, antl 
 when iuU of " garapa " or water were a good load for two 
 men to carry, slung to a pole on their shoulders. The 
 plants are generally trained up the sides and on the grass 
 roofs of the hut.«, on which they produce a plentiful crop 
 of flowers and fruit. I have also seen the gourds sup- 
 ported on a kind of nest of dry straw or giass, placed in 
 the fork of a three-branched stick stuck in the ground. 
 
 Cotton is grown sparingly everywhere. It is picked 
 from the seeds and beaten on the ground with a switch 
 to open it out, and then spun by hand. This was the 
 constant employment of the natives, particularly of the 
 womefn and girls, but quite lately this industry has 
 greatly fallen off, owing to the greater importation of 
 Manchester goods. The cotton-thread was woven by the 
 natives into strong thick cloths, but these are now not 
 easy to obtain for the same reason. 
 
 Food is most abundant: — mandioca, maize, beans, 
 massango (a land of millet), ground-nuts, &c., growing 
 with the greatest luxuriance in the fertile ground and 
 lovely climate. Beautiful and tame cattle are easily 
 reared, as well as sheep, goats, and poultry ; but, as usual, 
 the great indolence of the natives prevents them from 
 availing themselves of the wonderful capabilities of the 
 soil and climate to any but an infinitesimal degree. 
 
 It is rare to see any stores of food, so that if, as some- 
 times happens, especially in the littoral region, the rains 
 should fail, a famine is the result, and hundreds die. 
 
 When a little indian-corn or other seed is kept, it is 
 enclosed in large, smooth, spindle-shaped masses of long 
 
PRODUCTIONS. 225 
 
 straw, and these are hung to the branches of the trees. 
 The straw keeps the wet from entering to the corn, and 
 it also keeps out rats, as, should they run down the short 
 rope, they slip off the straw and tumble to the ground. 
 
 Large and small pots for cooking and holding water 
 are made in many places. They are made of clay, and 
 are burnt by being built up in a heap in the open air 
 with dry grass and covered with the same, which is then 
 set on tire and allowed to burn out ; when cold, the pots 
 are found completely baked, without the use of anything 
 like a kiln. Clay pipes for smoking are also made, and 
 burnt in the same manner (Plate V.). 
 
 Many of the towns in the interior, in the more out-of- 
 the-way places, are completely isolated for several months 
 by the growth of the high grass towards the end of the 
 rainy and the beginning of the dry season. In travelling, 
 it is the custom of the guides to lay a handful of grass on 
 the paths that they wish the rest of the party to avoid ; 
 and this is the universal practice of the natives all over 
 Angola, to indicate the path to be taken by others fol- 
 lowing them, and which from the height of the grass and 
 the number of intersecting paths, would be difficult to 
 keep without some such mark. Blacks, of course, never 
 travel but in single file, and I was once asked by a 
 negro the reason why white men always walked side by 
 side, and not one behind tlie other as they did, but my 
 reply failed to convince him of the advantage of our plan. 
 
 For some years the " chefes " have had the paths 
 leading from each capital town of their divisions kept 
 clear of grass and weeds for a breadth of from six to 
 twelve feet by the natives of the town nearest it, but 
 even then the blacks not only walk in single file, but, 
 what is very curious, tread out and follow a winding path 
 in it from side to side. Their own ])aths are never straight 
 but invariably serpentine, and this habit or instinct is 
 followed even when a broad, straight road is offered them. 
 
 Whilst I was at Cambambe, a somewhat eccentric 
 Portuguese (not a military man) was "chefe" of Pungo 
 Andongo, and he took it into his head that he would 
 
 Q 
 
22G ANGOLA AND TEE MIVER CONGO, 
 
 break the natives of this habit of walkin<^ in single file, 
 and he actually fined and otherwise punished a number 
 of them, but, of course, he never succeeded in making 
 them alter the custom except when passing before his |j 
 house. The blacks will never move a stone or other im- ' 
 pediment in the road. If a tree or brancli fall on it, and 
 it is too large to walk over comfortably, no one pushes it 
 aside, however easy such an operation may be, but they 
 deviate from the [^ath and walk round it, and this devia- 
 tion continues to be used ever after, although the obstacle 
 may rot away or be otherwise removed. 
 
 1 twice saw in Cambambe the remarkable "spit-frog" 
 described by Dr. Livingstone. This insect is of the same 
 shape as the ordinary British " spit-frog," but is quite 
 three-quarters of an inch in length. Its scientific name is 
 Ftyelus olivaceus. The larvaB, like the British species, have 
 tlie property of secreting a copious watery iroth, in which 
 they envelop themselves, a number being found together 
 on a thin twig or branch, and the amount of water secreted 
 is so great as to drop constantly from the branch on which 
 they are living, so that the ground beneath becomes quite 
 wet. Though the amount of water abstracted from the 
 atmosphere is something enormous for so small a crea- 
 ture, the very hygioscopic state of the air there is quite 
 sufficient to account for its source. 
 
 Lizards are very abundant on the rocks, and there are 
 some very pretty and brightly-coloured species. Chameleons 
 are also abundant, and the natives are everywhere afraid 
 to touch them ; tlie Mushicongos believe that if they once 
 fasten on the wool of a black's head, nothing can take 
 them off, and that they are poisonous ; but their dislike of 
 these harmless creatures does not prevent tliem from 
 trying a curious though cruel experiment — the quick 
 and mortal action of nicotine on them. They insert a bit 
 of straw or grass into the wooden stems of their pipes, so 
 as to remove a small portion of the nicotine and other 
 products of the combustion of the tobacco, and when the 
 poor chameleon opens its jaws in fear, they pass the moist- 
 ened straw.across its tongue and mouth, and in a very few 
 
PRODUCTIONS. 227 
 
 seconds it turns on its side, stiffens, and is quite dead. 
 This very small quantity of the poison is wonderfully 
 rapid in its fatal action. 
 
 The ground is cultivated with a hoe like that described 
 in use about Ambriz, but with a double instead of a single 
 handle (Plate XIV.). 
 
 The natives, like those of the country to the north, eat 
 considerable quantities of the ground-nut, and from the 
 following analysis by B. Corenwinder (* Journal de Pharm. 
 et Chiraies ' 4th series, xviii. 14) its great value as an article 
 of food is apparent : — 
 
 Water 676 
 
 Oil 5P75 
 
 Nitrogenous matter ..... 21*80 
 
 Non-nitrogenous matter containing starch . 17*66 
 
 Phosphoric acid .... 0'64 \ „^ 
 Potash, chlorine, magnesia, &c. . 1*39 J 
 
 100-00 
 
 The proportion of phosphoric acid found in 
 
 the perfectly white ash was . . . 31*53% 
 
 I am convinced tliat, from the amount of nitrogenous 
 matter, and the form in which the large quantity of oil is 
 masked in the ground-nut, its use by invalids and persons 
 of delicate constitution would be attended witli valuab e 
 results. The nuts are delicious simply roasted, or, better 
 still, afterwards covered with a little sugar dried on them 
 in the pan. 
 
 A small plant bearing pods containing one or two 
 roundish seeds, and like the gronnd-nut ripening beneath 
 the soil, is also sparingly cultivated in C<imbambe and 
 the surrounding districts. It is the Voandzeia suhterranea 
 of botanists. 
 
 The round fruit, about the size of a small apple, of a 
 handsome leaved plant is employed by the natives of the 
 same places for washing their cloths, &c., instead of 
 soap, and Dr. Welwitsch numed the plant the Solarium 
 saponaceum from this circumstance. 
 
 Q 2 
 
( 228 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 mVER QUANZA — CALUMBO — BRUTO — MUXIMA — MAS- 
 SANGANO — DONDO — FALLS OF CAMBAMBE — DANCES — 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS — QUISSAMA — LIBOLLO. 
 
 The River Qnanza is the gem of the Portuguese possession 
 of Angola. South of the great River Zaire, or Congo, it 
 is the only river navigable for any distance, and is the 
 natural highway to the most fertile and liealthy countries 
 of the interior, yet such has been the apathy of the Portu- 
 guese, and so utterly and culpably neglectful have they 
 been in developing the vast resources of their rich pos- 
 session?, that, till the year 1866, only an insignificant 
 amount of produce or trade came to Loanda by that 
 river. 
 
 Mr. Augustus Archer Silva, an American, long esta- 
 blished in business at Loanda, obtained from the Portu- 
 guese Government a concession for the steam navigation 
 of the river, after great trouble and opposition, and on the 
 21st of September, 1866, 1 accompanied him in the steamer 
 '* Andrade " on her first trip to the Quanza. 
 
 AVe started from Loanda at midnight, and arrived at 
 about eight o'clock in the morning opposite the bar, where 
 a dozen of the so-called bar pilots came on board, and a 
 more surprising manner of coming through the heavy 
 surf that breaks over it can hardly be imagined. 
 
 On their knees, and squatted on their heels, each on a 
 perfectly flat, plain piece of thick board, about eiglit or 
 nine feet long and two or three feet wide, evidently the 
 bottom of an old canoe, the blacks pushed off from the 
 shore, and with a single-bladed paddle propelled their 
 primitive boats to the steamer, a distance of over a mile. 
 
THE RIVER QUANZA. 229 
 
 At hi^i^h tide there was sufficient depth, of water, and the 
 "Andrade" steamed safely into the river. Our trip that 
 time was only as far as a place called Bruto, about 
 thirty miles up the river, and we returned to Loanda in a 
 few days, the steamer decorated with flags and branches 
 of palm-trees, making her look like a floating island. 
 
 This trip was the commencement of the most important 
 era in the modern development of Angola. The great 
 and yearly increasing trade on that river is entirely due 
 to its steam navigation, and fostered principally by the 
 efforts of its spirited promoter. 
 
 The trade of Loancla has since increased to a wonderful 
 extent, and has enabled the province to pay its own 
 expenses, which were formerly supplemented by a grant 
 from Portugal. 
 
 Several large and small steamers hardly suffice to bring 
 to Loanda the large quantity of palm-oil, palm-kernel, 
 coffee, ground-nuts, and other produce from that river. 
 Mr. Silva has unfortunately lately died on his way home, 
 unrewarded by Portugal for his signal services to Angola ; 
 and it is to be feared tliat his widow even will not receive 
 any recognition of the great benefits that his long years 
 of disinterested efforts so justly merit. 
 
 My first visit to the itiver Quanza was in 1859, when 
 almost the only trader there was a Portuguese of the name 
 of Manoel Lobato, established at Massangano. 
 
 Travelling was then performed in a large canoe, with 
 two or three or four blacks, who punted it with long poles 
 along the sides of the banks. The trip from Caluinbo to 
 Dondo used to be perfornied in this way in about six days, 
 and very pleasant indeed it was. Only a few barges used 
 to leave the river for Loanda with produce, and these 
 would sometimes remain at the bar for weeks, under the 
 excuse of waiting for a good bar, but generally from the 
 attractions of a small town near, where the crews (natives 
 of Cabinda) would stop and amuse themselves. Even of 
 canoes there were but few, and the banks were consequently 
 covered with different kinds of waterfowl and other birds, 
 and on several occasions when I subsequently had to travel 
 
230 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 in a canoe on this river, I used to supply myself and the 
 half-d-dozen blacks with me with abundance of ibod in the 
 shape of ducks, &c., simply by shooting them off the banks 
 or 111 the water as we went along. In the mornin<58 I 
 would walk for miles along the river side, under the shade 
 of the tiiick palm forest. 
 
 With the steamers and increased traffic it is more rare 
 to see birds on the banks in the same numbers ; they have 
 mostly taken to the lagoons and marshy places extensively 
 bordering this beautiful river. 
 
 The mouth of the lliver Quanza is about fifty miles 
 south of Loanda; the course of the river is then so far 
 northerly, that a well-kept path or road south from Loanda 
 reaches it at a distance of twenty-one miles at a place 
 called Calumbo. This road to Calumbo used formerly to 
 be much infested with lions, but with the greatly increased 
 traffic they are seldom now seen or heard of. Lions used 
 to come close to Loanda even, and I was shown a walled 
 enclosure which one had cleared, dragging a calf with him 
 over it. The blacks always use the word "Ngaoa," or 
 *• Sir," when speaking of the lion, as they believe that he is 
 ** fetish/' and would not fail to punish them for their want 
 of respect if they omitted to do so. 
 
 The scenery on this road is very pretty, but is of the 
 same character as that of the littoral region at Ambriz 
 and Mossulo ; gigantic baobabs, euphorbias, aloes, prickly 
 shrubs and trees, delicate creepers, and hard, wiry grass. 
 
 From the mouth of the river to Calumbo there are 
 large mangrove marshes, and there is a native town called 
 Tumbo, the inhabitants of which are mostly engaged as 
 pilots, mangrove wood-cutters, and fishermen. 
 
 The mangrove tree grows here to a large size, and is 
 cut and sent to Loanda for beams, piles, &c. ; the longer 
 thin trees are also in great request for roof timbers, 
 scaffoldings, and other uses. The mangrove is a very hard 
 and heavy wood ; a pole of it sinks in water almost like a 
 bar of iron, and it is magnificent ior fuel. It is sent to 
 Loanda in rafts floated out of the river to the sea, and 
 navigated with a sail. 
 
CALUMBO. 231 
 
 As the man srrove- wood is so heavy, the natives first 
 make a bed of palm-stems, which are also vahiable ibr 
 hammock-poles, roofs, &c., and on these the mangrove 
 timber is piled, and all securely tied together with tough 
 creeper-stems. These rafts, called " balpas," are worth at 
 Loanda Irom 200^. to 3007. and upwards each. 
 
 Calnmbo boasts of a " chefe," and of the most voracious 
 mosquitoes in Angola. 
 
 There is a considerable assemblafje of huts and mud- 
 plasteied houses at Calumbo, belonging to the native 
 population, but the river floods the whole place almost 
 every year. There is also a beautiful avenue of cocoa-nut- 
 palm trees planted by the old missionaries, who appear 
 to have had an extensive establishment here, but all that 
 remains of it at the present day is a pretty church iu 
 very good repair, and picturesquely situated on a slight 
 eminence on the banks of the river about a mile from 
 Calumbo. The low ground about Calumbo is exceedingly 
 fertile, and is beautifully cultivated immediately alter 
 the floods. 
 
 The best land is on the southern bank of the river; 
 on the northern bank there is but little ground under 
 cultivation, and the marshes are left to breed clouds of 
 mosquitoes. 
 
 The river from its mouth to Calumbo p)asses through 
 level country, and the banks are covered with mangrove, 
 '*bordao" palm, and other trees and plants. The man- 
 grove disappears before arriving at Calumbo, where the 
 water is perfectly sweet, and the banks are mostly bare 
 or lined with sedges and papyrus. The appearance of the 
 low, hilly ground behind is very much like that of the 
 cliffs on the sea shore, being mostly covered with a perfect 
 forest of baobabs. At Calumbo there grew a baobab with 
 a monstrous trunk: this was with great difiiculty cut 
 down by order of the vandalic idiot of a "chefe," who 
 objected to the leviathan tree because it stood in the 
 middle of the road along the bank of the river ! 
 
 A few miles higher up the river we arrive at Bruto, 
 belonging to my friend Senhor Felicianno da Silva 
 
232 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 Oliveira, who has there a magnificent sugar-cane plan- 
 tation, distillery, and farm, and also does a consider- 
 able trade with the natives in ground-nuts and other 
 produce. This gentleman is Avell known as one of the 
 most intelligent and energetic industrial explorers of 
 Angola. I knew him first in Eenguella Velha, where he 
 had extensive cotton plantations, &c. ; but, convinced of 
 the great resources of the River Quanza, lie started some 
 years back the cultivation of sugar-cane at Bruto with 
 complete success, but entailing incessant work that only 
 those who have any experience of the vast difficulties of 
 such an undertaking, without capital and in a wild country, 
 can appreciate. 
 
 A large extent of cultivated ground, well built and 
 commodious houses and stores, steam sugar-cane mill, 
 and stills for the production of rum from the juice of 
 the sugar-cane, beautiful herds of cattle, garden, lime- 
 kiln, &c., are proud monuments of his well-directed 
 efforts, and a bright example to his, in general, apathetic 
 countrymen. It is to such men that the authorities should 
 give every assistance, but I am sorry to say that it only 
 takes the form, at most, of empty praise. Tiie Govern- 
 ment at Lisbon, to ftivour men who devote their energies 
 to the development of her provinces, did give exceptional 
 privileges to the " Banco Ultramarino " or Colonial Bank 
 for this purpose, but its operations at Loanda, instead of 
 being prmcipally directed to aiding planters, &c., Avith 
 capital, have been hitherto restricted to a system of 
 miserable usury. 
 
 In a draft on England for a small amount that this 
 bank once discounted, it was stipulated that it should be 
 paid in gold, and not in Bank of England notes, as from 
 information that had reached Loanda of a commercial 
 panic in London, it was considered a proper precaution to 
 adopt, in case such notes should suffer de^ireciation in 
 value! 
 
 In digging the foundations of the cane-house, Senhor 
 Oliveira discovered a beautifully carved ivory crucifix in 
 the most perfect state of presei:vation. This work of art 
 
BRUTO. MUKIMA, 233 
 
 is about two feet highland evidently belonged to some 
 monastery existing there. 
 
 At Bruto there is a fine lagoon in which abundance 
 of tisli is netted, and there are some lovely woods and 
 valleys near, which abound with birds and monkeys. 
 
 I obtained some exquisite little kingfishers (Cory- 
 tJiomis cijanostigma) from a kind of little bay in the 
 banks ot the river near Bruto; this bay was covered 
 witli the leaves and flowers of the water-lily (Nymplisea 
 dentata and stellata), and trailing on these were long 
 stems of a plant many yards in length, covered with 
 bright green leaves and lovely purple bell-shaped flowers. 
 I sat down behind a bush and watched this beautiful nook 
 for some time, looking at a number of water-hens and 
 other birds running over the water-lilies, and with the 
 kinirfishers chasing their insect and finny prey. 
 
 Beyond Bruto the river scenery is much finer, cliffs and 
 hills on either side covered with the everlasting baobab, 
 and the valleys filled with a luxuriant green forest of trees 
 and creepers, with here and there brilliant patches of 
 colour from the abundant flowers of the latter — the banks 
 of tlie river a foreground of papyrus and sedges of un- 
 fading green. 
 
 At intervals the lines of hills recede inland, and show 
 vast spaces occupied by lakes and lagoons iringed with 
 almost impenetrable virgin forests containing trees of fi4ie 
 timber. 
 
 At about fifty or sixty miles from the coast, and about 
 half-way to Dondo, on the southern bank of the Qiianza, is 
 the town of Muxima, built on a bare white limestone 
 rock, on which the hot 3un seems to have baked the 
 mud huts with their straw roofs to a dark brown. A 
 fine large red-tiled church, and the ruins of a small fort 
 on the top of a steep rocky hill, give a picturesque ap- 
 pearance to the otherwise glaring and scorched desolation 
 of the place. Hardly any movement of the natives is 
 ever seen at Muxima when passing it on the river; there 
 is no trade or industry whatever in the place, and the 
 town has always the appearance of a deserted ruin as 
 
234 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 represented in a dissolving view. The Portuguese Lave 
 a '• cliefe " here, with a few black soldiers, but it is such a 
 forsaken, dead-alive place that there is always a difficulty 
 in finding an officer for the post. 
 
 The church at Muxima is held in the greatest venera- 
 tion by the natives far and wide; it is considered as a 
 great "fetish," and even the natives from Loanda seek 
 there the interce.ssion of the Virgin Mary as represented 
 by an image in that church ; and I was shown a chest full 
 of plate, chains, rings, and other offerings of the pious 
 pilgrims to its shrine. 
 
 Alligators abound, and places are staked round on the 
 banks of the river to enable the natives to fill their vessels 
 with water without danger of being drawn in by these 
 hideous monsters. On a hot day they may be seen dozing 
 on the mudbanks, stretched out flat like great logs of 
 wood. The blacks affirm that the alligator is fonder of 
 eating women and girls than men; — this belief may very 
 likely be due to the fact that it is the women who 
 generally fetch water from the river, and that con- 
 sequently a greater number of them fall victims to this 
 brute. They have also the belief, common to the natives 
 of all Angola, that the alligator's liver is poisonous, 
 and that it is used as a poison by the " feiticeiros " or 
 sorcerers. 
 • Numbers of liippopotami also inhabit this river, but 
 since the steamers are constantly navigating it they are 
 seldom seen, and appear to have migrated more to the 
 lagoons. Formerly it was most amusing to watch these 
 huge and inoffensive beasts; I have seen them lift their 
 great heads out of the water and stare quite familiarly for 
 two or three minutes with every appearance of curiosity 
 in their little round eyes at the canoe passing, and then 
 slowly sink with a snort and great bubbling of the water 
 from their nostrils. One wide bend of the river, where the 
 water is very still, used to be the favourite resort of the 
 hippopotamus, and was called by the natives *' hippo- 
 potamus corner" from this circumstance. I once sto])ped 
 my canoe off there for some time, to witness the gambols 
 
MUXIMA. 235 
 
 of some twenty of these animals, large and small, evidently 
 playing and chasing one another, lifting their heads and 
 shoulders right out of the water, and snorting and booming 
 away at a great rate. 
 
 There were formerly natives who used to hunt these 
 animals for the sake of their flesh, fat, and teeth, and 1 
 went ashore to two or three huts where some of these 
 blacks lived to buy for my boatmen a quantity of the dry 
 and salted flesh and bacon of a hippopotamus they had 
 recently killed. It was cut into long thin strips \Vhich 
 were hanging to dry over some lines stretched from poles 
 in the ground. I tasted some of the flesh and fat cooked 
 with beans by my men, and it was very nice ; and had I 
 not known what it was, I should never have distinguished 
 the taste from that of insipid pork or bacon. 
 
 The manatee is also not uncommon, and also a large 
 fresh-water tortoise {Trionyx nihtica) which is speared by 
 the natives and much esteemed for food. 
 
 Fish is extremely abundant, particularly a short thick 
 fish called *' cacuS'O," which is the principal food of the 
 natives on that river. A fisherman, once gave me the 
 names of over forty species of fish to be obtained in the 
 Quanza, and at Dondo a large fish is caught and is much 
 valued by the Portuguese for its delicious flavour. 
 
 Fish is principally caught by throw nets, or by hook 
 and line, also in fish baskets or traps. 
 
 Beyond Muxima the appearance of the banks becomes 
 really charming. A delicious panorama of mile after 
 mile of the most beautiful dark forest of high feathery- 
 topped oil-palms, stretches on both sides, but principally 
 on the north bank. 
 
 Under the shade of these palms is seen a succession of 
 picturesque huts, in every variety of unsymmetrical quaint- 
 ness, of weathered grass roofs, mud walls and whitewash, 
 and crooked doors and windows. Many of these huts are 
 embosomed in a fence of growing hog-plum stakes, and 
 surrounded by a thicket of lime and orange trees, plan- 
 tains, papaws, &c., the luxuriant and ever bright green 
 foliage contrasting beautifully with the sombre, almost 
 
236 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 black hue and shade of the palms. Where there are no 
 palm-trees the vegetation is equally lovely, a profusion 
 of creepers festooning and covering the highest trees. 
 Amongst these, the cotton wood-trees and giant baobabs 
 are the most conspicuous, their sparsely-covered branches 
 generally crowded with hundreds of long-legged herons 
 and other birds. One of these vast trees with but few 
 leaves, and the branches thickly covered with lines of 
 long-legged and long-necked grey or white birds standing 
 bolt upright, has a most extraordinary and unexpected 
 appearance. 
 
 The pahn forests resound with the cooing of innume- 
 rable doves, and are a favourite haunt of a wh.ite-lipaded 
 eagle or vulture, complained of by the natives for the havoc 
 that it commits on the palm-nuts, on wliich it is said chiefly 
 to subsist. 
 
 The palm-tree is also the favourite resort of several 
 species of the beautiful little nectarinso or snn birds, who 
 appear to find on the crown and leaves the small spiders 
 and other insects that constitute their principal food. 
 They are always especially busy about the gourds placed 
 at the tops of the trees for the purpose of collecting the 
 palm wine ; — whether it is that they are fond of the juice, 
 or whether this attracts the insect prey they are in search 
 of^ I know not. Palm-trees standing alone generally have 
 as many as a hundred or more of the pretty nests, made 
 by a species of weaver-bird, suspended from the leaflets. 
 These birds are very noisy, and take not the least notice 
 of the people passing beneath — in fact, they seem to prefer 
 building their nests in solitary palms in the middle of a 
 native town. The natives never think of molesting small 
 birds, and the children have not the cruel propensity for 
 stone-throwing and bird-nesting that our more civilized 
 boys have. 
 
 Many of the sandy islets and shallows of the river are 
 frequented by clouds of different species of gulls, attracted 
 no doubt by the great abundance of fish. 
 
 The scenery continues of the same character as far as 
 Dondo, 
 
MASSANGANO. 237 
 
 A little above Maxima there is a fine perpendicular 
 cliff, at the foot of which runs the river. This is called 
 the '* Pedra dos Feiticeiros," or " Fetish Hock," and from 
 it the Quissamas throw into the river the unfortunate 
 wretches accused of witchcraft. They are said to be first 
 stunned by a blow on the head from a knobbed stick and 
 then thrown over the cliff, to ensure their not escaping 
 the alh'gators by swimming ashore. Before arriving at 
 Dondo we reach the important district of Massangano, 
 where the Eiver LucaHa, the largest tributary of the 
 Quanza, runs into it. 
 
 The town of Massangano stands on higli ground, but 
 only the old fort and "residencia" of the "chefe" are 
 seen from the river, these being built on the high cliff 
 overlooking it. The fort contains a couple of ancient iron 
 guns, evidently loaded by the breech in some way which is 
 not at present very clear. From the fort an extensive 
 view is obtained of the splendid country below. I once 
 spent a few days at Senhor Lobato's house at Massangano, 
 and made several excursions in the neiglibourhood. The 
 country around is beautiful and very fertile. There are a 
 number of traders established there, and a large assem- 
 blage of native huts and houses. There is also a fine 
 old church, the only remaining evidence of the existence 
 of the old missionaries. Both this and the church at 
 Muxiraa contain great numbers of small bats. The roof 
 inside is completely covered with them. I have noticed a 
 very curious circumstance in Angola with regard to these 
 bats, and that is the way they issue at dusk from any 
 window or crevice communicating with the interior of the 
 roofs or other dark places that they occupy during the 
 day. 
 
 At regular intervals of about thirty seconds to one 
 minute, a small puff or cloud of these bats is seen to issue 
 together, and so they continue till all are out. This strange 
 habit of leaving their hiding-places intermittently, and 
 not continuously as might be expected, cannot easily be 
 explained, nor why they assemble together to go forth 
 in distinct batches only. Whether they return in the 
 
238 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 same manner I cannot say. Once out, they seem to 
 spread apart immediately, and fly away in all direc- 
 tions, and do not appear in the least to keep in 
 flocks like birds, though they may roost together in 
 communities. 
 
 The town of Dondo is about twenty miles from Massan- 
 gano. It stands in a small tiifingular level plain sur- 
 rounded by hills on all side?, the baseof thetr'angle being 
 the liiver Quanza and the low line of hills on its southei ii 
 bank. From the conHguration of the ground, shut in on 
 all sides from winds, it is perhaps, as might be imagined, 
 the hottest corner of Angola. The heat in a calm sum- 
 mer's day is almost stilling, and the nights, geneially 
 cool everywhere else, are not less oppressive. Formerly 
 the town was on the high land above, at Cambarabe, as 
 the town itself was called, but the exigencies of trade have 
 peopled the present town of Dondo. 
 
 It is a growdng and flourishing place, where a number 
 of traders and agents of Loanda houses are established, 
 and is the receiving port for embarkation of the produce 
 and trade of the neighbouring districts and of those of 
 the interior. Thousands of tons. of ground-nuts, coffee, 
 wax, palm-oil, ivory, &c., are shipped yearly at Dondo for 
 Loanda by the steamers. There is a fine large Square in 
 the middle of the town, where a fair or market is held 
 every day, and to this the natives resort from all parts 
 around with produce and provisions. Many different tribes 
 from the interior are to be seen at Dondo, both from the 
 northern and southern banks of the river, who have 
 brought produce for sale to the white men. The *•' resi- 
 dencia " of the '* chefe " is on a hill to tlie south of the 
 town, and the view from it is truly magnilicent. As far 
 as the eye can reach it is one gorgeous scene of mountains, 
 dark palms, and forests, range after range, till lost to view 
 in the horizon. There .ire two views in Angola that would 
 alone almost repay the tiouble of travelling there. One 
 is that just described, and the other from the hill at Tuco 
 on the, road from Ambriz to Bembe. 
 
 About six or eight miles from Dondo up the river are 
 
FALLS OF CAMBAMBE. 239 
 
 the first cataracts of Cambambe. Immediately on leaving 
 Dondo the river is enclosed by high hills or clifi's on both 
 sides, and winds a good deal, so that a succession of 
 fresh and seemingly more beautiful pictures is constantly 
 presented to the traveller's admiration as he ascends the 
 river in a boat. The river is wide and deep, and the slopes 
 and perpendicular sides of the hilly walls on either side 
 are of endless variety of colour, both of roclc, moss and 
 lichen, plant and tree. Deep red iron-stained sandstone, 
 conglomerate, blue clay slate, huge white-stemmed baobabs, 
 dark masses of palm-trees, plots of large-leaved j)lantains, 
 masses of trees overgrown with creepers, meet the eye in 
 ever varying combination, and gradually the wide valley 
 worn by the water becomes narrower and narrower, until at 
 last it is a deep gorge with almost upright walls of clay slate, 
 and the passage for the great body of water is barred right 
 across by vast rocky ledges and peaks, over which, in the 
 rainy season, it rushes and dashes with a deafening wild 
 roar and mad flinging up into the air of showers of water 
 and foam. The last time I saw these rapids I was accom- 
 panied by my wife, and we landed on a bank of graA^el a 
 little below the cataract and walked and scrambled on 
 the rocks till we were on a great ledge quite close to,' 
 and but little over the level of the waters ; but, it being 
 the end of the dry season, they were so far reduced as to 
 run between the rocks in a swift dark oily-looking mass, 
 and at such a considerable inclination and speed as to give 
 the idea of vast and irresistible force. On the rocks, 
 covered over and splashed by the water, were growing 
 masses of a curious semi-transparent plant with thick 
 stems, and bearing minute white flowers. 
 
 The singular appearance of this plant, so exactly like a 
 sea-weed, attracted our attention, and as I had never before 
 observed it anywhere in my travels in Angola, we secured 
 specimens, which we dried and preserved, and on forward- 
 ing them to Kew it was found to be a new genus of Podo- 
 stemacedSy and has been described by Dr. Weddell in the 
 * Journal of the Linnean Society,' xiv. 210, t 13, as the 
 Angoleea fluitans. 
 
240 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 It is said that coal has h\tely been discovered near tlie 
 river on its soutliern bank, and not far from Dondo. 
 
 Of the ohl town of Cambambe, situated on the hi^^h 
 ground over the cataract, but little else remains than the 
 church and a few houses. The Iliver Quanza is not navi- 
 gable beyond the rapids, except perhaps for short distances 
 and for small canoes. At Nhangui-a-pepi it is only a broad 
 shallow stream, but with a very rocky bed; its source, 
 however, is far beyond Piingo Andongo. 
 
 About the higher parts of the river a gigantic species 
 of the " Bagre " (Bagrus) is found. This is a siluroid fish, 
 and my attention was first called to its extraordinary 
 dimensions by seeing a black using the flat top of the 
 skull of one as a plate or dish. I was then in the province 
 of Cambambe, and several times had an opportunity of 
 asking natives fiom Pungo Andongo the size of these fish : 
 one man told me that they were captured so large that 
 two men were required to carry one fish slung on a pole 
 on their shoulders, by passing the pole through the gills, 
 and that the tail then drags on the ground. Another 
 black who was a river fisherman explained to me that the 
 " bagres" were caught witli an iron hook made on purpose 
 by the native smiths and baited with a piece of meat ; he 
 gave me an idea of the thickness and size of the hook with 
 a piece of twig, and it was as large as an ordinary shark- 
 hook ; he furtlier drew on the ground the size of this large 
 fish, and it was six feet long. Other natives Avho were 
 with him joined in the description and corroborated him, 
 and I am perfectly convinced that they spoke the truth 
 and were not exaggerating much. I wrote to some Portu- 
 guese traders at Pungo Andongo, asking them to send me 
 the head of one in spirits, but of course I never got it. 
 
 Only the northern bank of the Quanza is subject to the 
 Portuguese (with the exception of the town of Muxima), 
 and the natives inhabiting it are greatly civilized and 
 well behaved, and very civil. They are, of course, not 
 \ industrious, the women cultivating the usual mandioca 
 ^ and other produce for food, and manufacturing palm oil. 
 A little tobacco is also cultivated bv them, and the leaves 
 
DANCES. 241 
 
 when fully grown are gathered and a string passed through 
 the stem. This string of leaves is stretched round their 
 huts to dry, and the large leaves thus hanging give them 
 a curious appei ranee. 
 
 The first trips of the steamers caused the natives on 
 either bank the most intense astonishment; they would 
 race them along the banks, shouting and yelling; and 
 when the steamers stopped at any place, crowds would 
 flock round and come on board to stare at the machinery, 
 which was universally pronounced to be a Avhite man's 
 great "fetish." 
 
 All natives are very fond of the *' batuco " or dance, of 
 which there are two kinds. The Arabriz blacks and those 
 of the Congo country dance it in the following manner : — 
 a ring is formed of the performers and spectators; "ma- 
 rimbas" are twanged and drums beaten vigorously, and 
 all assembled clap their hands in time with the thumping 
 of the drums, and shout a kind of chorus. The dancers, 
 both men and women, jump with a yell into the ring, two 
 or three at a time, and commence dancing. This consists 
 almost exclusively of swaying the body about with only a 
 slight movement of the feet, head, and arm,«, but at the 
 same time the muscles of the shoulders, back, and hams, 
 are violently twitched and convulsed. The greatest ap- 
 plause is given to those who can most strongly shake 
 their flesh all over in this way. It is difficult to do, and 
 appears to require considerable practice, and seems very 
 fatiguing, for in a few minutes the dancers are streaming 
 with perspiration and retire for others to take their places, 
 and so they will often continue for a whole night long, or 
 in dark nights, as long as the great heap of dry grass that 
 they have provided lasts — the illumination being obtained 
 by burning wisps of this grass, two or three blacks gene- 
 rally having the care of that part of the performance. 
 The natives at these dances are dressed as usual in the 
 ordinary waistcloth, the men arranging theirs so as to 
 allow the ends to trail on tlie ground. There is nothing 
 whatever indecent in them. 
 
 The " batuco" of the Bunda-speaking natives of Loanda 
 
 B 
 
212 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 and the interior is different. The ring of speotators and 
 dancers, the illuminations, the " marimbas " and drums 
 are the same, but only two performers jump into the ring 
 at a time, a man and a girl or woman; they shnfHe their 
 feet with great rapidity, passing one another backwards 
 and forwards, then retreat facing one another, and sud- 
 denly advancing, bring their stomachs together with a 
 whack. They then retire, and anotlier couple instantly 
 take their places. This performance might be called 
 somewhat indecent, but I do not believe that the natives 
 attach the most remote idea of harm to the "batueo." 
 
 The '•' marimba " is the musical instrument par excel- 
 lence of the natives of Angola. In Plate XI. is repre- 
 sented the better made ones. It consists of a flat piece 
 of wood, generally hollowed out^ and with a number of 
 thin iron tongues secured on it by cross bits, but so as to 
 allow them to be pulled out more or less for the purpose 
 of tuning. In front is affixed a wire, on which some glass 
 beads are loosely strung that jangle when the instrument 
 is played, which is done by holding it between both hair's 
 and twanging the tongues with the thumbs. 'J'he light 
 wood of which the '* marimbas" are made is that of the 
 cotton-woo I tree. They are also made with s]i|)s of the 
 hard cuticle of the stem of the palm-leaf instead of the 
 iron tongues, but these are the commoner instruments. 
 Others are made smaller and with iewer tongues. 
 
 The more complete ones have an empty gourd attached 
 to the under part, which is said to give them greater 
 sonorousness. The blacks are excessively fond of these 
 instruments everywhere in Angola, playing them as they 
 walk along or rest, and by day or night a "marimba" is 
 at all hours heard twanging somewhere. The music played 
 on it is of a very primitive description, consisting only of 
 a few notes constantly repeated. 
 
 Another common instrument of noise, much used to 
 accompany the " marimbas " and drums at the " batucos," 
 is made by splitting a short piece of palm stem about ibiu* 
 or five feet long down one side, and scooping out the soft 
 centre. The hard cuticle is then cut into little grooves 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 243 
 
 across the slit, and these, energetically rubbed with a stick, 
 produce a loud, twanging, rattling kind of noise. 
 
 A musical instrument sometimes seen is made by 
 stretching a thin string to a bent bow, about three feet 
 long, passed through half a gourd, the open end of which 
 rests against the performer's bare stomach. The string is 
 struck with a thin slip of cane or palm-leaf stem held in 
 the light hand, and a finger of tlie left, which holds the 
 instrument, is laid occasionally on the string, and in this 
 way, with occasional gentle blows of the open gourd 
 against the stomach, very pleasing sounds and modulations 
 are obtained. 
 
 Another very noisy instrument with which the drums 
 and *' marimbas" are sometimes accompanied at the 
 *' batucos," is made by covering one end of a small powder 
 barrel or hollow wooden cylinder (open at both ends) with 
 a piece of sheepskin tied tightly round it. A short piece 
 of round wood, about six or seven inches long, is pushed 
 through a hole in the middle of the sheepskin cover, a 
 knob at the end preventing it from slipping quite in. 
 The hand of the performer is then wetted and inserted 
 into the cylinder and the piece of wood is lightly grasped 
 and pulled, allowing it to slip a little, the result being a 
 most hideou?!, booming sound. 
 
 I would strongly recommend my j^outhful readers, if 
 they would like to create a sensation in a quiet household, 
 to manufacture one of these simple and efficacious musical 
 instruments, and I would suggest the application of a 
 little powdered resin instead of water to the hand, to 
 produce a full tone. 
 
 i once saw at a town near Bembe a musical in- 
 strument which I thought rather ingenious. A small 
 rectangular pit had been dug in the ground, and over its 
 mouth two strings, about six inches apart, were stretched 
 with pegs driven in the ground. Across these strings ten 
 or twelve staves from a small powder-barrel were fastened. 
 These were struck with a couple of sticks, on the end of 
 which was a little knob or lump of india-rubber, and an 
 agreeable sound was produced. I have seen two Kroo- 
 
 R 2 
 
244 ANGOLA AND THE EIVER CONGO. 
 
 men from the West Coast, at the River Zaire, playing on 
 a similar kind of instrument, but the flat pieces ^vere 
 laid across two small plantain-stems, and were of different 
 sizes and thickness, so as to produce a kind of scale when 
 struck by the performers with a couple of sticks each. 
 The rapidity with which this instrument was played was 
 really marvellous, and the music sounded like variations of 
 their usual plaintive song, always in a minor key, and one 
 
 ^ 
 
 -^-±rfz 
 
 r=w- 
 
 --^- 
 
 5 
 
 seemed to be playing bass to the other's rapidly-executed 
 treble. This air is played or sung ad infinitum, and the 
 second bar is often repeated. The Kroomen on board the 
 steamers on the coast always sing it and harmonize it 
 prettily, when it has a very pleising effect indeed. 
 
 The southern bank of the Quanza, from its mouth to 
 opposite Dondo, is called the Quissaina country, and is 
 inhabited by the peculiar race or tribe of negroes of the 
 same name. They have not been subjected to the Portu- 
 guese in modern times, and I apprehend that in former 
 years, when the Portuguese were in great strength on 
 the Kiver Quanza, they were never considered worth the 
 trouble of subjugatin«r, as they certainly are not now. 
 The former missionaries also do not appear to have been 
 able to do anything with them, as not a trace exists there 
 of the habits of civilization they so successfully intro- 
 duced, and which are so apparent in the natives of the 
 greater part of Angola, where they were formerly esta- 
 blished. Their greatest stations were on tlie Quanza, 
 where their efforts were most successful ; and there can 
 be no reason to suppose that any other obstacle existed 
 to the Quissama natives participating in their teach- 
 ing or example than the resistance due t3 the very low 
 type, both physical and mental, of this tribe, so ap- 
 parent at the present day. The missionaries must have 
 had a station of some importance at Muxima, in their 
 own country, as shown by the very fine church still 
 
QUI S SAM A. 245 
 
 existing there, besides those at Calumbo, Massangano, 
 Cambambe, and perhaps at Bruto. 
 
 The Quissama iiegioes are very black in colour, under- 
 sized, exceedingly dirty, and have a remarkably ugly 
 cast of countenance. With the exception of the tribe of 
 Muquandos, soutli of Benguella, the Quissama blacks are 
 the most miserable-looking race in Angola. They have 
 a wild, savage look, not seen in the faces of any other 
 tribe, and have not the free mien or attitude of perfect 
 ease of other blacks, but appear frightened and very sus- 
 picious. Everywhere on the river they cross over daily 
 with their produce for sale to the different houses of the 
 white traders, as well as to the petty native grog-shops 
 and traders on the river from Calumbo to JJondo, but 
 they never drop their distrustful behaviour, and cross 
 over to their own side without delaying more than 
 necessary. They will not allow traders to establish on 
 their side of the river; — one or two that are said to have 
 done so were robbed, and their houses burnt. They are 
 on terms of perfect friendship with the natives and white 
 men of the northern bank, and at Calumbo and a few 
 other places their land is cultivated by the natives of 
 those places. 
 
 The greater part of the Quissama country is very 
 barren, and perfectly destitute of water except on the 
 banks of the river itself, the Quissamas employing baobab 
 trees hollowed out for the purpose, as reservoirs for the 
 rain-water falling in the wet season. It is very scantily 
 populated except near Massangano and Dondo, where 
 their chief towns are, and where they manufacture a 
 considerable quantity of palm-oil. 
 
 When the oil-season is approaching, the white traders 
 go over from Dondo to their principal towns to settle 
 with the " sobas " or kings the price per measure at which 
 the oil is to be sold. Though so wild in appearance, they 
 are most inoffensive and peaceable, and are in the greatest 
 fear lest the Portuguese should take it into their heads to 
 annex their territory, which they could most easily do if^ 
 they thought it advisable. 
 
24G ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 The Libollos, or natives of the Libollo country, are a 
 very much finer and cleaner race than tlieir neighbours 
 the Quissamas, and their country (according to the 
 accounts I received from several Portuguese and natives) 
 most beautiful and fertile, and covered in great part with 
 palm-trees. 
 
 The manner in whicli tliey have lately cultivated large 
 quantities of ground-nuts, and increased the pioduction of 
 palm-oil, proves that they are an industrious race. 
 
 They are antagonistic to the Quissamas, and very 
 favourable to the Portuguese, and have often offered to 
 reduce them to the power of the latter, if these will give 
 them leave and supply them w^ith guns and ammunition. 
 Ou one occasion, when I was at Dondo, an embassy arrived, 
 through the Libollo country^ from some powerful tribes of 
 the Bailundo district — the most warlike of the tribes of 
 the interior — also offering to conquer the country for the 
 Portuguese on condition of being allowed to plunder and 
 carry off prisoners as slaves. 
 
 These warlike tribes to the south of the Libollo and 
 Quissama countries are known in Angola by the name of 
 Quinbundos, and are the handsomest natives of any, being 
 all very tall and well formed. They come in caravans 
 to Dondo, principally laden with beeswax, singing on 
 the march, and at night when assembled together, a 
 song with chorus with great efiect. They put up at 
 the Libollo and Quissama towns, and come over to the 
 northern bank to trade with the white men. They plait 
 their hair in thin strings all round their heads, and in 
 each j)lait they put several beads, mostly made of red 
 paste in imitation of coral. The Quissamas are not 
 cannibals, as described by an English tourist, whose sen- 
 sational story about them, written after a few days' trip in 
 the steamers on the Quanza, is full of gross inaccuracies. 
 
 The dress of the men is a waistcloth of fine matting 
 or cotton cloths, obtained from the traders; that of the 
 women is very singular, being the soft, beaten inner bark 
 cf the baobab-tree made into a thick sort of skirt, whicli 
 is fastened round the waist, and has extra lavers at the 
 
Maxilla, and Barber's Shop.— Carrying Corpse to Burial.— Quissama Women, and 
 
 manner of pounding and sifting Meal in AiigoU To face page 247. 
 
LIBOLLO. 247 
 
 back to puff it out still more, something in tbe manner 
 of the '* dress improvers " Avorn by the fair sex in our own 
 country (Plate XIL). Nature has provided tlie Quissama 
 ladies with an abundant development of what the Spaninrds 
 call " enthui^iasra," and On this account the use of the extra 
 thicknesses on the back of their skirts is really quite 
 unnecessar}', but they are not satisfied, and consider this 
 fashion an improvement. Their appearance, therefore, 
 is very comical, particularly when they rim, as the thick 
 short skirt moves up and down, and swings round with 
 every motion of the body. 
 
 They are very dirty in their habits, never appearing to 
 make use of water for washing, and their baobab skirts 
 are always black v/ith grease, smoke, and perspiration. I 
 had to order the two dresses in my possession, one for a 
 married woman and the other for a girl or young woman, 
 to be made on purpose, as I could not touch any of those 
 offered to me for sale. 
 
 The women, when they come over to the northern 
 bank, sometimes wear a handkerchief or other cloth over 
 the brta-^t, and even over the baobab skirt, but this latter 
 they mu.-t wear, according to the custom of their country. 
 They carry the produce of their plantations in large 
 coniral baskets on their backs, secured by a band round 
 the forehead (Plate XIL). It is, as far as I know, the only 
 tribe in Angola that carries a load in this manner. 
 
 The Quissama blacks are extremely poor, their arid 
 country producing hardly anything besides the food neces- 
 sary for their bare subsistence, and a little beeswax. The 
 principal food of those near the river is fish. 
 
 There is a deposit of rock-salt in the Quissama country 
 somewhere between Muxima and Calumbo (said to be 
 south of the former), and at some distance from the river. 
 It has never to my knowledge been visited by any white 
 man, nor would the Quissamas readily allow one to go to 
 the place ; but the most curious thing connected with this 
 salt is that they cut it into little bars with five or six 
 sides or facets, about eight or nine inches long and about 
 an inch thick, tapering slightly to the ends, and closely 
 
248 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 encased in cane- work. These pass as money, not only on 
 the river, but in the interior, >vhere they are at last per- 
 haps consumed. 
 
 During tlie Abyssinian war, some of the correspondents 
 described exactly the same sliaped pieces of rock-salt en- 
 cised in similar wicker-work, as being obtained and em- 
 ployed in that country for the same purpose. This is 
 extremely interesting, and opens several questions as to a 
 possible common origin for the custom in the far and dim 
 past, and the case of the bellows already described is 
 another similar instance. 
 
 Many of the native words mentioned by the same cor- 
 respondents are identical with those used in diiferent 
 places in Angola. I am very sorry now that I did not 
 devote more attention to the investigation of the lan- 
 guages of the natives of Angola, and in particular that 
 of the Quissama tribe, which is different to the Bunda 
 language, and is also said to be different to that of Ben- 
 guella Velha and Novo Redondo ftirther south. The 
 number ot* distinct languages and dialects in Angola is 
 very curious, and a similar multiplicity of tongues has 
 been noted by travellers in other parts of Tropical Africa. 
 None of the languages in Angola are guttural, or spoken 
 with a "click." 
 
 There is a great deal of most interesting detail to be 
 worked out in Angola in every branch of natural history 
 and ethnology. 
 
 My chapters are little more than an indication of the 
 wealth that lies there buried for future explorers, and of 
 the success that will attend their investigations. 
 
( 249 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COUNTRY SOUTH OF THE RIVER QUANZA — CASSANZA — 
 NOVO REDONDO — CELIS — CANNIBALS — LIONS — HOT 
 SPRINGS — BEES — EGITO — SCORPIONS — RIVER ANHA 
 — CATUMBELLA. 
 
 The country south of tlie Eiver Quanza is very different 
 from that to the north of it, just described, not only in its 
 physical aspect, but also in the tribes of natives inhabiting 
 it. The evide'nces of a former degree of civilization, and 
 of the good work of the old missionaries, are not hero 
 visible, and I should almost imagine that this part of 
 Angola was not under their care to anything like the 
 same extent. 
 
 From June 1861 to the end of 1863, 1 was engaged in 
 working two copper deposits at Cuio and Benguelia, and 
 in exploring the coast from Cassanza, about eighty miles 
 from the Kiver Quanza, as far as, and including Mossa- 
 medes or Little Fish Bay. 
 
 In these explorations I did not go inland a greater 
 distance than about thirty or forty miles at Mossainedes, 
 and forty or fifty at Novo Eedondo. I cannot, therefore, 
 speak from personal knowledge of those most interesting 
 places in the interior, Bihe and Bailundo, or the Portu- 
 guese districts of Caconda, Quillengues, Huilla, Capan- 
 gombe, &c. 
 
 The geological character of the coast-line from the 
 Quanza to Mossamedes is gneiss, mostly very quartzose, 
 then with a good deal of hornblende and mica near Cuio, 
 passing to a fine-grained porphyry and fine granite with 
 large, distinct feldspar about Mossamedes. Close to the 
 sea these primary rocks are joined by a line of tertiary 
 
250 ANGOLA AND THE JilVER CONGO. 
 
 deposits, principally massive gypsum, and sandstones of 
 different thicknesses curiously separated by layers of 
 the finest dust. Farther south, between the Eiver San 
 Nicolao in 14'' S. lat. and Mossamedes, there is a strip 
 of columnar basalt and trap-rock of only a few miles in 
 width. 
 
 The character of these rocks is sufficient to account for 
 the very sterile nature of the country ; in fact, most of it 
 is completely a rocky desert, without a drop of water, 
 and covered with but little grass and f right! idly thorny 
 bushes. Although this is the general character, there are 
 numerous places of the greatest beauty, ])articularly at 
 a distance of twenty to thirty miles from the coast, where 
 the first elevation is reached, and where the vegetation, 
 as in the rest of Angola, changes to a luxuriant cha- 
 racter. 
 
 I'he country about Cassanza is level and well-covered 
 with grass, and the natives appeared inoffensive and quiet. 
 They have a considerable quantity of fine cattle, and what 
 is rare amongst the natives of Angola, they milk the cows 
 regularly twice a day, the milk being a principal article 
 of food with them. The few days that I was there in 
 1803, I enjoyed the abundance of beautiful milk im- 
 mensely. 
 
 The Portuguese with whom I was staying was then en- 
 gaged in cotton planting, but the ground did not appear 
 very suitable for its cultivation. He also had a beautiful 
 cotton and sugar-cane plantation at Benguella Yelha, and 
 at a pretty place called Cuvo, where there is a small river 
 and good ground near its mouth. 
 
 On that occasion I had come up in a sailing barge from 
 Benguella to Novo Kedondo, to explore that district for 
 copper, specimens of the ere having been found in several 
 places. The river at Novo Eedondo had overflowed its 
 banks, and the road we had to follow was under water foi* 
 some miles, and whilst waiting for the river to subside, I 
 started to Cuvo and Cassanza to see the C(nintry and my 
 friend. On returning to Novo Kedondo I obtained for 
 guide the services of a jovial and useful black named 
 
NOVO REDONDO. CELTS. 251 
 
 David, wlio had been educated at Bengnella. He could 
 read and write Portuguese, which language he s|)oke 
 perfectly, and was a man of great impoitanco in the Novo 
 Kedond') country, as he was the hereditary king of the 
 place, and was to be proclaimed as such as soon as he 
 could make up his mind to eat a man's head and heart, 
 roasted or stewed, as he should fancy. David was not at 
 all inclined either to forego his kingship, or to eat any 
 part of one of his fellow-creatnre?, which by the custom 
 of his country it was imperative he should do to be pro- 
 claimed king. 
 
 He had been putting off the disagreeable ceremony 
 for some two years, if I remember right, but his people 
 were getting impatient at not having a king, and were 
 threatening to elect another. How he got over the diffi- 
 culty, or if he at last submitted to overcome his repug- 
 nance to roast or stewed negro, I never hearil. 
 
 The " Mucelis," or natives of Novo Eedondo and of the 
 country inland callel "Cells," are cannibals, and, as far as 
 I could ascertain, tliere are no others in Angola. 
 
 The Portuguese have no stations inland on that part of 
 the coast, that of Caconda, to the interior and south of 
 Bengueila, being the first, and they do' not allow the 
 practice of cannibalism at the town of Novo liedondo 
 itself, as they strictly prohibit and punish there, as in 
 the rest of Angola, any fetish rite or custom, but I fonnd 
 that at Cuacra, the second large town I passed on my 
 way inland, human flesh was eaten, and in several other 
 towns I passed 1 saw evidences of this custom in a heap 
 of skulls of the blacks that had been eaten in the centie 
 of the towns, and on the trees were also the clay pots in 
 which the Hesh was cooked, and which, according to their 
 laws, can only be used for that purpose. 
 
 One night I walked out of my hut at a town where I 
 was sleeping, and seeing that no one was about, I chose a 
 nice skull from the heap, and brought it home and pre- 
 sented it to my friend Professor Huxley, who exhibited it 
 at a meeting of the Anthropological Society. I had pre- 
 viously asked whether I might take one of these skulls. 
 
252 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 but had been told that it would be considered a great 
 " fetish " if I did, and David begged me not to do so, as 
 there would be a great disturbance, so I was obliged to 
 steal one in tlie way I hay'e described, and hide it care- 
 fully in my portmanteau. 
 
 It is only natives who are killed for '* fetish" or witch- 
 craft that are eaten, and the " soba " or king of the town 
 where they are executed has the head and heart as his 
 share. 
 
 I was informed that at tliese feasts every particle of the 
 body was eaten, even to the entrails. At the principal 
 towns of Anibuin and Sanga (said to be the capital) I was 
 told that as many as six and seven blacks were eaten 
 every month, and that the "sobas" of those two towns, 
 and their wives, only used human iat to anoint their 
 bodies with. 
 
 I was shown at one of the towns the little axe with 
 which the poor wretches were decapitated, and which was 
 distinguished from others used by the natives by having 
 a lozenge-shaped hole in the blade. 
 
 1 was very much surprised to find that, notwithstanding 
 their cannibal propensities, the natives of Novo Redondo 
 were such an extremely fine race; in fact, they are the 
 finest race of blacks, in every way, that I have met Avith 
 in Africa. 
 
 Cannibalism may possibly be one reason of their supe- 
 riority, from this custom supplying them with a certain 
 amount of animal food more than other tribes make use 
 of, or it may be due to their usual food, which is prin- 
 cipally a mixture in equal parts of haricot beans and 
 iiidian-corn, being very much more nutritious than the 
 diet of mandioca meal, of almost pure starch, that sup- 
 plies the staple food of other tribes. Whatever the reason 
 may be, there can be no question of the superior physique 
 and qualities of this cannibal tribe. 
 
 When about to start on my journey, I saw that only 
 four carriers had been provided for my hammock, and 1 
 refused to start with less than six or eight, as I made 
 sure, judging from every other place in Africa I had 
 
CELIS, 253 
 
 travelled in, that I should have to walk a g^reat deal, as 
 four men, even in Ambriz, where I had found the best 
 carriers, would not be able to carry me, day after day, 
 on a long journey. I was assured that it was never 
 customary to have more than four, that two would carry 
 me from daybreak till noon, and the other two from noon 
 till sunset, and that I might have six or more, but that 
 four alone would carry me every day. This I found was 
 the case, not only in that journey, but also when returning 
 overland fj"om Novo Redondo to Benguella, a distance of 
 about ninety miles. 
 
 Another extremely curious feature, distinguishing them 
 favourably from all other negro races, is their degree of 
 honesty and honour. 
 
 Any white or other trader going into the interior agrees 
 to pay the "soba" of a town the customary dues, and he 
 provides the trader with a clean hut, and is responsible 
 for tlie goods in it. The trader may go away farther 
 inland, and he is perfectly certain that on coming back 
 he will find his property untouched, exactly as he left it. 
 Whilst I was at Novo Redondo, an embassy arrived from 
 a town in the interior, where a Portuguese had established 
 himself to trade in palm-oil and beeswax, and where he 
 had died, bringing every scrap of produce and goods 
 belonging to him to deliver the same to the "chete." 
 
 They were paid and rewarded for their honesty, and I 
 was told that it was the usual thing for these natives to 
 do, on the death of a trader in their country. I do not 
 know of any other part of Africa where such an example 
 would be imitated, certainly not by the Christian negroes 
 at Sierra Leone. 
 
 There is a magnificent palm forest on the banks of the 
 river at Novo Redondo. This river is small, but brings 
 down a considerable body of water in the rainy season. 
 
 I crossed it on the second day of my journey inland by 
 means of a curiously constructed suspension-bridge at- 
 tached to the high trees on either side. This bridge was 
 made entirely of the stems of a very tough tree-creeper, 
 growing in great lengths, and about the thickness of an 
 
254: ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 ordinary walkiiig-stiek. From two parallel ropes made 
 of this creeper, light across the stream and about two feet 
 apart, hung a Irame or open, Iar<2:e, meshed ha^ket-wurk 
 alDout three feet deep, forming a kind of flexible net or 
 trough o[)en at the top. The bottom or floor of tliis 
 trough was made of the same creeper, woven roughly and 
 openly in the same manner as the sides, and when walking 
 in it, I found it necessary to be careful to tread on the 
 network, or my feet would have sh'pped through, and to 
 help myself along by holding on to the guys or ropes at 
 the top, which readied up to about my waist. 
 
 The length of the bridge must have been some thirty 
 paces. Near it I noticed, on a flat-topped tree of no 
 great height, a large bird of the eagle species sitting on 
 Its eggs in an open nest, and the male bird on a branch 
 near his mate ; this tree was quite close to the road or 
 path, and tliough numerous natives passed under it to and 
 fro, neither they nor the birds seemed to heed one another 
 in the least. 
 
 The Cells country is infested with lions, but I was not 
 so fortunate as to see one, though one morning we came 
 upon the fresh footprints of what the natives affirmed to 
 be a family consisting of a full-grown male and female 
 and three half-grown young ones. To my inexperienced 
 eyes there appeared to have been more, so numerous 
 seemed the plainly-marked footprints in the moist sand 
 of the bottom of a small ravine. 
 
 We escaped an encounter with one the day we started 
 on our trip. About half past four in the afternoon we 
 arrived at a pretty clump of trees round a pool of deli- 
 ciously cool water, and near a low line of rather bare- 
 looking hills. David would not allow our carriers to tarry 
 at this pool, as he knew it to be the evening drinking- 
 place for the lions living in the low hills near. We went 
 on, and shortly after we met an old Cabinda man on his 
 way to Novo itedondo, carrying a letter tied in a cleft 
 stick (the usual way to send a native with a letter in 
 Angola). He was an acquaintance of David's, who had a 
 talk with him, and we went on our several ways. Next 
 
EOT SPRINGS. 255 
 
 morning we heard that the poor fellow had been caught 
 by a lion not more than an hour after, and at the very 
 pool of water where David had warned us not to stop long. 
 Tiie lion liad evidently eaten part of the body at the pool 
 itself, and had carried off the re>t to its lair in the hills. 
 
 I went t) several places where indications of copper had 
 been found, but was disappointed in finding any worth 
 exploring. They were all in the recent beds at the junction 
 or near the primary rock of the country, and consisted of 
 indications of blue and green carbonate of copper in the 
 fine sedimentary uind and sandstone beds. Tliese indi- 
 cations are most abundant everywhere in that district, 
 and curiously enough the plantain-eaters are also most 
 abundant, more so than in any other part of Angola I 
 have been in. I went as i'ar as a range of very quartzose 
 schist rock or gneiss mountains, called Ngello, which I 
 suf)pose to be between forty and fifty miles from the sea ; 
 and at a pass called Tocota on the road to some important 
 town in the interior, named Dongo, I visited a hot-water 
 spring about half way up the mountain side. I had no 
 tliermometer with me, but the water, as it issued from a 
 crevice in the rock, was so hot that I could only keep my 
 hand in it for a few seconds. 
 
 The direction of the mountain range was about N.N.E. 
 byS.S.W. ; the rock composing it was nearly vertical, 
 inclining slightly to the west, and with a strike about 
 north and south. There is a most picturesque little town 
 of huts stuck on a rocky ledge, and the natives use the 
 \\ater from the hot springs to drink, but first allow it to 
 stand a day to cool. It has a very pleasant taste when 
 cold, with just the slightest ferruginous flavour. From 
 this range of mountains magnificent views are obtained, 
 the scenery and vegetation reminding me strongly of 
 Cazengo ; and there can be no question that it is likewise 
 capable of growing the coifee-plant to perfection. Some 
 sugar-cane I saw growing there was as fine as I have ever 
 seen it, and the native plantations were most luxuriant. 
 I do not know whether trade at Novo Kedondo has 
 increased in the same ratio as on the Quanza and Ambriz, 
 
256 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 but that it is destined to be a very rich country I have no 
 doubt. There is a great deal of white gum in the country, 
 collected from a tree of which whole forests are said to 
 be found. 
 
 The principal article of trade at Novo Redondo when I 
 Avas there w^as palm-oil, which was mostly bought in ex- 
 change for rum, measure for measure, and I often saw the 
 very gourds and pots in wdiich the natives brought the 
 palm-oil filled up with the rum in exchange without 
 any more cleansing than allowing the vessels to well 
 drain off the oil. 
 
 I noticed a great variety of birds, and I am sure the 
 country would well repay a collector's trouble. In the 
 middle of a small cultivated valley I saw a low, flat-topped 
 baobab, which had been taken possession of by a flock of 
 eight or ten birds about the size of a thrush, of a black 
 colour, with smoky white feathers on the wings. They 
 had built a common nest on the flat top of the tree, and 
 were all sitting hatching their eggs together, quite unpro- 
 tected from the sun. This bird is the Amydrus Jidvijpennis, 
 S\v., of ornithologists. 
 
 1 also saw numbers of a beautiful green pigeon (Treron 
 ealva)y which is very fat and good to eat. The food of 
 this bird is principally fruit and berries, especially the 
 small figs of the " Slucozo," a large-leaved, handsome tree. 
 They are generally seen in small flocks, and they sit very 
 close on the trees whilst feeding, during which operation 
 they utter a curious low noise, as of people talking at a 
 distance. If alarmed, they suddenly hush and stop eating 
 until the alarm has passed away, when they re-commence 
 feeding. The natives state that if a man is completely 
 concealed, he can shoot a number, one after the other, off 
 the same tree where a flock Tuay be feeding, as the dis- 
 charire of the gun is not sufficient to fi-io'hten them awav 
 if they do not see the sportsman. 
 
 The natives here are great bee-keepers, as are also the 
 natives on both banks of the Quanza. The hives are to 
 be seen on almost every baobab, this being the tree 
 chosen in preference to any other, and as many as four 
 
BEES. 257 
 
 or five hives may be seen on one tree. They are made 
 by splitting? a piece of wood, e^enerally a branch of a tree 
 Avith the bark on, about five feet long and ten or twelve 
 inches in diameter ; the centre is scooped out, leaving the , 
 ends entire; the two halves are securely tied together, 
 and three holes large enough to admit the little finger 
 are bored at each end. An aperture is cut in the middle 
 of the hollow cylinder, where the two halves are joined 
 together, large enough to admit the hand. This aper- 
 ture is closed with a piece of wood, and clayed over to 
 thoronghly prevent any rain from getting in. The hive 
 is securely placed in the branches of the tree, and a quan- 
 tity of dry grass put over it as a roof or thatch. 
 
 Once a year the owner climbs the tree and draws up a 
 basket for the wax and honey with a cord, and al>o some 
 dry grass and fire. He opens the aperture, and, lighting 
 wisps of grass, smokes the bees as they issue out. Most 
 of tliem drop half suffocated to the ground, and tlie comb 
 is extracted, a small quantity being left behind to induce 
 the bees to work again in the same hive. If no comb be 
 left, the natives affirm that they will not return to the 
 hive. In some places the natives are careful not to kill 
 any of the bees, and are said to extract the comb as often 
 as three times a year. Bee-hives are the principal wealth 
 of these blacks, and some families possess as many as three 
 and four hundred. 
 
 I was told that very little wild honey or wax was found, 
 and that a bird was known to the natives that showed 
 them where the wild bees' nests were. They called it 
 *' sole," and described it as having a white bar across its 
 tail, and making its nest of the hair of different animals 
 which it collected for the purpose. 
 
 The IMucelis have a curious custom which I have not 
 heard of as existing in any other tribe, namely, that on 
 the death of the great " sobas " of Ambuin and Sanga, all 
 fires in the kingdom must be put out, and relighted 
 by the succeeding '• soba " from fire struck by rubbing two 
 sticks together. 
 
 Their laws, principally those relating to the protection 
 
 s 
 
258 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 of property, are very strict, slavery being the punishment 
 forevea tritiing" robberies, such as a cob of growing indian- 
 corn, or an e^^. Oddly enough, tliey liave the same custom 
 of the *' lent rat " as in Cambambe, and the punishment if 
 it is not returned entire is a heavy fine, or in default 
 slavery. 
 
 To show the extent of some beliefs in Angola amongst 
 tribes far apart, speaking dififerent languages, and having 
 not the slightest communication with each other, I may 
 mention that amongst the Mushicongos a certain field- 
 mouse is believed to drop down dead if it crosses at the 
 point where one path is intersected by another, and I 
 found this absurd idea entertained exactly in the same 
 manner in the Celis country. I presented a skin of this 
 mouse to the British Museum. It is nearest to the Mus 
 Gambianus in the same collection. 
 
 Some of the natives from the interior of Novo Redondo 
 had the most extraordinary way of wearing their hair of 
 jany I have seen in Africa ; amongst other curious fancies 
 jthe most usual and striking was that of fashioning it into 
 the exact resemblance of a large Roman helmet with a 
 projecting round horn in front. The custom of wearing a 
 great thickness of strings of flat beads made of shell, 
 and called *'dougos," is universal. They are also worn 
 by the Mundombes, or natives of Benguella, and are 
 mostly made in the Celis country. They are made from 
 the shell of the Achatina monetarla, Morelet, which is 
 broken and chipped into little round pieces about the 
 size of a fourpenny bit, and these are strung on a string. 
 Tlie labour and time taken in their manufacture may be 
 imagined, as it takes several yards of these flat beads 
 coiled round the neck to make a proper necklace, about 
 the thiQkness of a man's arm. This once put on is never 
 taken off again during life, and becomes a filthy mass of 
 dirt, grease, and perspiration. The women also wear these 
 strings or "Quirandas" (weighing sometimes as much as 
 20 to 30 lbs.) round the waist, and they pass as money in 
 the country. 
 
 From Novo Eedondo I returned overland to Benguella, 
 
EGITO. SCORPIONS. 259 
 
 fording the Kiver Quicombo, at the mouth of which the 
 Portuguese have a small detachment, and where a few 
 traders are established. This river is broad, but shallow 
 where I crossed it, about six miles from the sea. 
 
 The road was generally good and not far from the sea ; 
 it passed along and across several ravines, in which I 
 noticed a great quantity of the castor-oil plant growing 
 most luxuriantly. 
 
 Late in the evening I arrived at the edge of the valley 
 of the River Egito, at the mouth of which is situated the 
 Portuguese station of Egito. It was getting dark, and 
 there was a steep and long hillside to descend, and some 
 distance to go afterwards before reaching the house of the 
 " chete," \vhose guest I was to be. I therelbre determined 
 to make snug for the night under a great baobab growing 
 close to a wall of rock, and my carriers were clearing a 
 space from leaves and branches for my bed and mosquito 
 curtain, when one cf them was stung in the foot by a 
 scorpion. 
 
 These poisonous creatures are extremely abundant in 
 the whole of the district of Benguella, and cases are con- 
 stantly occurring of persons being stung by them. In 
 some places hardly a stone or piece of wood can be lifted 
 from the ground \\itliout finding one or more scorpions 
 under it. They are of all sizes, up to six and seven 
 inches long. Their sting is rarely fatal, except to old 
 people or persons in a bad state of health. The effects of 
 the sting are, however, very extraordinary ; in severe cases 
 it appears to paralyse all the muscles of the body, some- 
 times with much pain, in others with little or none. 
 
 The black stung on the occasion I am describing com.- 
 pluined of a good deal of pain during the night, but only 
 after some hours, or I might have thought of burning the 
 part with a hot iron at first ; his comrades applied hot oil 
 to his foot, but in the morning he had lost the use of his 
 legs completely. I had to put him into my hammock and 
 have him carried to Egito. Here I remained with my 
 friend the " chefe " for four days, and the wounded black 
 was laid in the sun every day to keep him warm, the 
 
 s 2 
 
260 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 usual custom in such cases, a sensation of cold always 
 accompanyinij: tlie subsequent stages of a scorpion bite. 
 On the fourth day lie had acquired so much use of his 
 limbs that he could drag himself in a sitting position on 
 tlie ground to a sunny corner, still complaining of cold, 
 but his appetite seemed good. 
 
 I left liim to the care of the '* chefe," asking him to 
 send him on to me at Benguella as soon as he should be 
 able to walk. A week after he came to me there quite 
 recovered. Another case of scorpion-bite was described 
 to me by a Portuoruese officer (a mulatto) who was *' chefe " 
 of the district of Dombe Grande, to the south of Benguella. 
 The man, a tall, stout, powerful and healthy fellow, whilst 
 sitting one evening outside his house, smoking: and talking 
 with his family, chanced to drop one of his slijipers while 
 crossing one \eg over the other ; on rising after some time 
 and putting his foot into the slipper, a scorpion that had 
 taken refuge in it stung him in the big toe. He did not 
 think much of the occurrence, but he gradually became 
 worse, and next day could not rise from his bed ; his legs 
 and arms were completely paralysed, but without any 
 pain, and his tongue being but little affected he could 
 speak and swallow without difficulty. His mind was per- 
 fectly clear, and he only felt a certain degree of numbness 
 and cold. Not expecting to survive he dictated his will, 
 and remained thus paralysed for five or six days, when 
 he gradually recovered, and was well in about a fortnight's 
 time and without the least inconvenient after-effect. 
 
 The view from the top of the valley of Egito was one 
 of the grandest sights I have ever seen. The river was 
 visible for a considerable distance inland, fringed by a 
 dark band of palm forest. The level spaces between it 
 and the high rocky sides of the valley in which it ran 
 "were filled with luxuriant cultivated fields, and as the vast 
 rolling mists were dissipated by the morning rays of the 
 sun, presented a panorama of peaceful pastoral beauty 
 that I have never seen surpassed. 
 
 The Portuguese have here a pretty little fort on an 
 eminence, a small garrison being necessary as the natives 
 
THE RIVEE ANHA. 261 
 
 from the interior sometimes give considerable trouble, 
 by coming down and attacking the plantations farthest re- 
 moved from the town, but without doing any great damage 
 beyond keeping the inhabitants in a state of alarm. 
 
 From Egito I continued my journey, sleeping the next 
 night at the valley of the River Anha, where I had been 
 warned against an attack of the natives, several Portuguese 
 traders having been robbed there. I did not take any 
 goods with me, and provided myself with a few bottles of 
 rum as a present for the " soba," feeling convinced that 
 no harm would be done me by them. 
 
 On arriving at the river, a small stream flowing through 
 a valley of lovely forest scenery, 1 crossed and encamped 
 under a tree on the southern bank. I then sent one of 
 my blacks, who knew the " soba," with a bottle of rum 
 and a request that he would come and have a drink with 
 me. When he arrived, with about a dozen of the old 
 men of the town, I was just sitting down to my dinner. 
 Being well up in the customs of the blacks of An^iola, I 
 made him sit down on my portmanteau, and asked him 
 through one of my men who acted as interpreter, how he 
 and his wives and sons were, and if his country " was well," 
 to which he duly answered, and asked me in my turn 
 where I had come from, and where I was going? Proper 
 answers being given, I filled a tumbler with wine, and 
 after drinking a portion (to show that there was no 
 "fetish" in it) I handed the rest to him, and a couple of 
 bottles of rum for his old men. I then gave him some of 
 my dinner, which happened to be boiled fowl, rice, and 
 sweet potatoes, a portion of all which, with biscuit or bread, 
 must be given, put on the plate, and a spoon to eat it with. 
 There is a significance in all these minutiae to which great 
 importance is attached by the blacks, and by which they 
 know if the white man is a gentleman or a common man. 
 IMy seating him on my portmanteau was considered equi- 
 valent to a chair, because it was part of my furniture, and 
 a " soba " must not sit on the ground if there is a chair or 
 stool to be had. 
 
 If I had nothing else then I should have had to provide 
 
262 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 a mat for him to squat upon. Giving liirn my own wine 
 to drink, and rum to the rest, was equal to showing him a 
 special regard as distinguished from that shown to them ; 
 tlie plateful of every part of my dinner, that I con- 
 sidered liim as an equal'; and the spoon, that I also 
 believed him to be a big chief who did not eat iiis food 
 with his fingers. 
 
 After finishing his plateful he retired with his old men, 
 and shortly alter sent me a couple of fowls and a basket 
 with fresh mandioca roots for my blacks ; I returned tlie 
 compliment witli a lew yards, of cotton cloth, and went to 
 sleep knowing that I should not be distiiibed in any way. 
 He could not attack or rob me after drinking my wine 
 and eating my dinner, as it would havei)een great "fetish," 
 according to the customs of the blacks in Angola. 
 
 They \\ould, besides, have been afraid of the^ con- 
 sequences, not only of having committed "fetish," but also 
 of the heavy fine that 1 could have made the "soba" and 
 his people pay, through any other neighbouring tribe to 
 whom 1 might have complained of such a crime having 
 been perpetrated in their country. Had 1 been molested, 
 any accident or ill luck, want of rains, sickness or death 
 that might have happened to his tribe, would be at once 
 attribuied to the " fetish " committed by the " soba "^and 
 his council of old men. 
 
 I started again early next morning, and at noon arrived 
 at the bay of Lobito, a beautiful and singular natural 
 dock with a narrow deep mouth, and large enough to hold 
 a great fleet. This would be an invaluable site for a city, 
 the only disadvantage being the absence of a stream of 
 fresh water in the ira medial e vicinity. Jn tlie evening I 
 arrived at Catumbella, after passing through a thick 
 jungle of a shrub (Seshania punctata, Pers.) bearing bright 
 yellow pea-like flowers thickly spitted with purple, and 
 alwavs found growing in swamps and inarshy places in 
 Angola, both near the sea and inland. 
 
 Catumbella is an injportant place, and is about nine 
 miles to the noith of the town of Benguella. The Por- 
 tuguese have there a fine little fort on a hill, a commo- 
 
CATUMBELLA. 263 
 
 dious ** residencia " of the " chefe," and a small detach- 
 luent of soldiers from Bengiiella. 
 
 There is here a pretty little river, very brond and 
 shallow, so tlint it can always be forded except during the 
 heavy rains. It is very full of allig^ators, which are con- 
 stantly carrying off l»lacks whilst ciossing. 
 
 The scenery at. Catiimbella, about three or four miles 
 from ^the sea, and i'or some little distance inland, is 
 exquisite, from the hilly and rocky cliaracter of the 
 country and the luxuriance of the vegetation, both wild 
 and cultivated. 
 
 From the top of a mountain near Caturabella which, 
 with one opf)osite, forms the deep gorge or valley through 
 which the river, dotted with green islands, passes, the 
 view is one ofthe greatest loveliness. 
 
 There are many traders established here, and a large 
 trade is done with the natives of the interior in wax, ivory, 
 gum-copal, white gum, &c. - 
 
 It is on the high road to those very important and 
 extensive countries of tlie interior, Bailundo, Bihe, and 
 others, reputed to enjoy excellent climate and most fertile 
 soil, and never yet visited except by a very few Por- 
 tuguese traders, who have gone very far beyond, even 
 nearly reaching the east coast, after ivory. 
 
 I had a very unpleasant experience once- at Catumbella 
 of the sufffrings of hunger and thirst. I went with an 
 old Portuguese to vi^it the place inland where a very fine 
 sample of copper ore had been found by the natives. We 
 started at daybreak, and our pretended guide told us 
 that we couLl reach the place and be back at noon for 
 breakfast. Kelying on his statement, we only took half 
 a dozen biscuits and a tin of jam with us. 
 
 It was noon when we left the Kiver Catumbella, after 
 travelling over several miles of very rocky ground, and 
 struck due south.' Shortly after, we luckily met with an 
 intelligent young Mundombe, who told us we were going 
 quite wrong and volunteered to show us- the place, as it 
 was some considerable distance off in quite another direc- 
 tion. To cut a long story short, .we only got to a spring 
 
264 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO, 
 
 of beautiful water in the evenin<^, where we finished our 
 three biscuits each and tin of sweets. 
 
 Next day we journeyed on, aud only reached the locality 
 we souoht at noon. Having had nothing to eat or drink, 
 we started back as fast as we could to Catumbella, only 
 reaching the river at sunset, and the way we rushed to 
 the water's edge to drink was amusing. We had then a 
 long high hill to ascend, and only at midnight arrived at 
 a black trader's hut, who most fortunately had prepared a 
 good dinner for us, as he had expected us the evening 
 before. 
 
 My companion was more dead than alive. However, 
 some wine our black friend had had the forethought to 
 send to Catumbella for, and the excellent fowl soup he 
 had prepared soon set him to rights, and we left again to 
 reach Catumbella at daybreak, completely worn out with 
 fatigue and want of sleep. 
 
 Our friends had prepared an expedition to seek for 
 us, almost giving us up for lost, as they knew we had 
 taken no provisions with us. The country was very arid 
 and stony, and the vegetation mostly prickly trees and 
 bushes. I subsequently sent a miner ^^ith a party of 
 blacks from Benguella to bring away the little copper ore 
 at the place I visited. The total weight raised was about 
 half a ton of very good quality, but no more was to be 
 seen. The manner in which small quantities of copper 
 ore are thus found, in many places in Benguella, is most 
 extraordinary. 
 
( 265 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 TOWN OF BENGUELLA — SLAVE-TRADE — MUNDOMBES — 
 CUSTOMS — COPPER — HYENAS — MONKEYS — COPPER 
 DEPOSIT — GYPSUM — HORNBILLS — BIRDS — FISH — 
 LIONS. 
 
 The: town of Benguella is situated on a level plain near 
 tlie sea, and backed, at a distance of about six miles, by a 
 line of bills. The appearance of the town from the sea 
 is rather picturesque ; to the north, at a distance of little 
 more than a mile, is seen the green belt of forest marking 
 the course of the River Cavaco, a white sandy bed in the 
 dry, and a broad, shallow running stream in the rainy 
 season. 
 
 1 he town is large, consisting of good houses and stores, 
 irregularly distributed over several fine squares and roads ; 
 the custom of the houses having laige walled gardens 
 and enclosures for slaves, in the former times, stamping it 
 witb a wide straggling character. 
 
 In the wet season the squares and roads are all covered 
 with a luxuriant growth, of grass and weeds in flower, 
 giving the town the appearance of a wild garden. 
 
 The soil of Bengueila is very fertile, and all kinds of 
 fruit and vegetables grow splendidly. The trade is large 
 and increasinii: yearly, particularly in beeswax, of which 
 a great quantity is exported. There is, of course, the 
 usual incubus of the custom-house, with its high duties 
 and vexations weighing heavily on all enterprise and 
 commerce. Not far from tlie beach is a large fort, garri- 
 soned with a force of soldiers that supplies detachments 
 to the districts of Dombe Grande, Egito, Novo Redondo, 
 Catumbella, Caconda, and Quillengues. 
 
26G ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 During the time of the slave-trade Bengnella was one of 
 the principal shipping ports of Angola, many tliousands 
 of slaves being sent oflf from it to the Brazils aiid Cuba. 
 The last two or three shipments took place whilst 1 was 
 working the copper deposits near Cuio Bay and at Qnileba, 
 near Benguella. They were principally brought for sale 
 by the natives of Bihe ; and I once saw a caravan of nearly 
 3000 blacks arrive, of whom 1000 were slaves for sale. 
 The whole caravan was loaded with beeswax and other 
 produce lor barter. 
 
 Of these and other slaves that constantly arrived only 
 a few were shipped ; the rest were then in great demand 
 for extensive cotton-plantations from Benguella to Mossa- 
 medes. Uhe average price of a full-grown, healthy man 
 or woman was about three pounds in cloth or other 
 goods, and as low as five shillings for a little nigger. I 
 must do the traders at Benguella the justice to say that 
 they never separated mother and child ; as for other ties 
 of relationship, they did not seem to exist amongst the 
 sla^es brought down for sale, and I never heard of any 
 being claimed by them. There was no cruelty whatever 
 in the manner the slaves were brought in the caravans 
 from the interior, and they were never bound or coerced 
 in any way. 
 
 The last shipments of slaves took place from "Bahia 
 Farta,'* a few miles south of Benguella. Every one in 
 Benguella, from the governor of the district to the lowest 
 employe, knew of the transaction, and received the regular 
 scale of fees for shutting their eyes to it. 
 
 I am happy to say, however, that every one of the 
 shipments turned out a total loss to the shippers, though 
 they stood to gain enormous profits, the price of the raw 
 article being, say three pounds, and worth some thirty 
 pounds each on arrival at Cuba. The slave-trade in the 
 district of Benguella died out entirely from the activity 
 of the cruisers off' the coast of Cuba, and from the Spanish 
 authorities captuiing the slaves after they were landed on 
 the island. The Spanisli slave-dealers also no longer sent 
 cash and vessels to Angola for the purchase and shipment 
 
BEN QUELL A: SLAVE-TIiADE. 267 
 
 of slaves, and the consequence was that tlie proceeds of 
 several cargoes shipped at the expense of the Portuguese 
 traders on the coast were enth-ely appropriated by the 
 Spaniards, who did not even vouclisafe an acknowledgment 
 of the cargoes, but left the captains and supercargoes to 
 think themselves lucky that they escaped with their lives. 
 
 Only a very large number ^of cruisers on the Angolan 
 coast could have prevented the shipment of slaves, as 
 every man and woman, white or black, was interested in the 
 trade, and a perfect system of communication existed from 
 all points, overland and by sea. The few foreigners wdio, 
 like myself, were not interested in the slave-trade, knew 
 better than to risk their lives by meddling with what 
 it was absolutely impossible they could prevent. Other 
 foreigners and Englishmen were indirectly interested in 
 the trade, such as the traders at Ambriz and farther 
 north, who, as already mentioned, received hard cash in 
 Spanish gold, at a profit of two to three hundred per 
 cent, for the goods of pious Manchester and Liverpool, 
 with which almost every one of the thousands of slaves 
 shipped were bought. 
 
 Before the war in America raised the price of cotton 
 so high as to induce the Portuguese at Benguella and 
 Mossamedes to plant cotton on a large scale, a great many 
 slaves were employed in picking orchilla-weed, which 
 grew abundantly on the trees and bushes within the in- 
 fluence of the sea air; and I knew men who had their 
 two or three hundred slaves thus engaged, collecting as 
 much as from two to three tons a day. Tliere is very little 
 collected at present, the country having been picked 
 nearly bare, and the aniline dyes so reducing the price 
 in Europe that it was no longer worth seeking. These 
 slaves were gradually employed in cotton-planting instead, 
 and fortunes were made by the successful planters. 
 
 All these flourishing plantations will be completely de- 
 stroyed on the coming liberation of the slaves, as no- 
 thing will induce the natives of Benguella to work at 
 anything of the kind. They belong to a tribe called the 
 Mundombes, who are of a wild, roving disposition, and very 
 
208 ANGOLA AND THE UIVER CONGO, 
 
 unlike the reslrof the tribes inhabiting Angola. Their 
 clothing is principally skins and hides of sheep or wild 
 animals, and they rub their bodies and heads with rancid 
 cow's butter or oil, with which they are fond of mixing 
 charcoal dust, and they arc the only natives in Antrola 
 who wear sandals (made of raw hide) on their feet. They 
 are very dirty, never making use of water for washing; 
 are generally about the middle height, and ngly in face. 
 The women especially are very rarely comely, either in 
 face or figure, and they will not live with or intermarry 
 with blacks of other tribes. Their huts are mostly round- 
 roofed and low. (Plate XIII.) They are very independent, 
 and will not hire themselves to any kind of work.' 
 
 The women cultivate the ground for the indispensable 
 mandioca and beans; the men hunt, and tend large herds 
 of cattle that thrive remarkably well in the country, and 
 also flocks of sheep which they rear for food. 
 
 Cattle are their principal riches, and are seldom killed 
 for food, except when the owner dies, when, if he be 
 a *'soba" or chief, as many as 300 oxen have been 
 known to be killed and eaten at one sitting, lasting for 
 several days. On these occasions the whole tribe and 
 friends are assembled, heaps of firewood collected, fires lit, 
 and oxen killed one after the other till the herd is eaten 
 up, not a native moving away from the feast or gorge till 
 the last scrap is consumed. The flesh is cut into long 
 thin strips and wound round long skewers,— these are 
 stuck upright round the fires, and the meat only allowed 
 to cook slightly. The meat is eaten alone, without any 
 other food whatever and without salt, as that would 
 make them drink, which they do not do as they affirm 
 it would prevent them from eating much meat ; the blood, 
 entrails, and even the liide, toasted to make it eatable, 
 are consumed, a big feast lasting from ten to fifteen days, 
 or sometimes more. 
 
 I have often seen Mundombes rolling on the ground 
 groaning with pain, and on asking what was the matter 
 with them, have been answered with a iaugli, " Oh ! he 
 has eaten too much meat ! ! " 
 
III: 
 
 ssiiii!iiii:iii pifiu <^ 
 
 
MUNDOMBES: CUSTOMS. 269 
 
 They are fond of dividing their cattle into herds of 
 100 head each, and are wonderfully clever at tracking 
 strayed cattle, and also in recognizing any they may have 
 once seen. • 
 
 A most singular custom of tlicse natives is that of 
 the women and girl?:, with their heads covered with 
 green leaves and carrying branches of trees in their 
 hands, and singing in chorus, taking round to all their 
 friends and acquaintances any young woman of their tribe 
 who is about to be married ; but the most curious part 
 of the ceremony is the manner in which the interesting 
 3^oung bride is prepared. She is stripped perfectly naked, 
 and whitewashed from head to foot with a thick mixture 
 of a kind of pipe-clay and water, which dries perfectly 
 white, and in this manner she is taken in procession to 
 visft and receive the congratulations of her friends. 
 
 I never could learn what -the meaning of this ceremonj^ 
 was; they always confined themselves to telling me "that 
 it was their custom to do so." 
 
 It appears that this extraordinary custom is also com- 
 mon to some hill tribes in India and in the Andes of 
 South America, but I never heard of it anywhere else 
 in Africa. 
 
 The richer Mundombes have an odd manner of making 
 their beds. A layer of clay about six or nine inches thick 
 and about two feet wide is made in the huts, and when 
 dry constitutes their sleeping place; this they rub over 
 with rancid butter to make it smooth, and they lie on it 
 without any skin or cloth under them ! 
 
 The Mundombes generally wear their hair in a large 
 woolly bush, but the young men and women cut it into a 
 variety of strange forms and patterns. 
 
 Their arms are knobbed sticks often fancifully carved, 
 small axes (Plate XIV.), bows and arrows, and '*assagaias" 
 or spears, generally much ornamented with beads, &c. 
 They are expert hunters, and the abundance of large game 
 supplies them with more animal food than other tribes of 
 Anjjola. 
 
 They are a hard, wiry I'ace, capable of undergoing 
 
270 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEB CONGO. 
 
 great fatigue and hunger, and a very good trait in their 
 character is that they are gooduatured and merry. They 
 are not a bad race, but are Avild, roving, and intract- 
 able to teaching or civilization. Not one of them can be 
 induced to work beyond carrying loads or a hammock, 
 which latter they have also a unique way of doing. 
 Supposing eight to be carrying a wliite man in a ham- 
 mock, three will range themselves and run along on each 
 side ; at a loud clap of their hands, one Mundombe from 
 the right will shove his shoulder under the pole behind 
 the carrier in front, who passes to the left. Another on 
 the left does the same with the carrier behind, who passes 
 to the right, and so they go changing round and round 
 every few yards, and running along all the time without 
 stopping a moment. 
 
 It took me several months before I could induce the 
 ]\Iundombes at Benguella to carry the copper ore from 
 the mine at Quileba to Benguella, and this was more from 
 distrust of not being paid than anything else. I used to 
 give them a load of ore, and a small ticket which was 
 either paid in copper money or was endorsed by the agent 
 at Benguella, and was then passed by them at any shop 
 in payment of the cloth or rum they might purchase. 
 
 Next to the Cabindas I think the Mundombes are 
 more fond of rum or other spirits than any tribe in Angola, 
 and they seem capable of drinking almost any quantity 
 without other effect than making them extremely jolly. 
 They will never stop in Benguella at night, but all 
 clear out before sunset to their towns and villages a little 
 way off. 
 
 Pieces of copper are sometimes brought to Benguella 
 by the caravans, which are said to be smelted by the 
 natives of Lunda. They are cast in a very peculiar 
 form, something like that of the letter X. All I have 
 seen have been of this shape, and all have thick inner 
 edges joined by a ridge (Plate XIV.). 
 
 1 have never been able to ascertain or guess what the 
 mould could possibly be that invariably gives this cha- 
 racter to them, for m hatever variation there may be in 
 
1. Native-smelUd Copper.— 2. Powder-flapk. 
 Fish for dryiu>r. - 5. Hunters' Fetish 
 hand (native jwg). — 7. Gourd Pipe 
 Double-handled Hoe. 
 
 —3. Mnndombe Axe.— 4. Manner of securing 
 Benguella).— 6. Manner of carrying in the 
 for s-mokiiig Dianiba.— 8. Wooden Dish.— 9. 
 To face jiage 270 
 
COPFEU. HYENAS. 271 
 
 the length of the arms or waist, the thicker inner edge, 
 connected with a more or less prominent ridge, is always 
 there. 
 
 The first hills seen from the sea behind the town of 
 Benguella are composed of layers of fine sandstone of ail 
 thicknesses, from a foot or two to an eighth of an inch, 
 and separated by layers of the finest dust, so that slabs of 
 any desired thickness can be obtained without difficulty; 
 a good deal of massive gypsum or sulphate of lime is also 
 found in these hills. Immediately behind these recent 
 sedimentary deposits (in which I never found the least 
 trRce of fossil remains) comes the gneiss rock of the 
 country. 
 
 At a place called Quileba, about six miles due inland 
 from Benguella, I explored a deposit of copper ore at the 
 junction of the gneiss with the sedimentary beds. This 
 deposit yielded about 2000 tons of very good ore, mostly 
 earthy green carbonate containing some sulphide, and 
 was found adhering to the gneiss in an irregnlar-shaped 
 mass, from the surface of the ground to a depth of about 
 three or four fathoms. Not an ounce more could be found 
 either deeper, or in the vicinity, when this mass was ex- 
 hausted. The whole of the ore was raised and sent to 
 Benguella for shipment in less tlian two year.-^, and was 
 all carried by blacks, men and women, who came from 
 Benguella lor that purpose. These were partly Mun- 
 dombes, and partly slaves of the inhabitants of Benguella. 
 I also had about fifty miserably small donkeys from the 
 Cape de Verde Islands, but they were more troublesome 
 than useful. 
 
 One of the principal plants around Benguella is the 
 shrubby jasmine, and it grows in such quantities as to 
 present a very pretty appearance when in flower, the clumps 
 in which it grows being covered with white blossoms; 
 and in the still, early mornings the air is so strongly 
 loaded with the scent of these flowers as to give people a 
 headache who pass through the bush for any distance. 
 
 Jackals and hyenas are very abundant at Benguella, 
 and were much more so in the slave-trade times, 
 
272 ANGOLA AND THE EIVER CONGO. 
 
 when the blacks who died were simply taken out a little 
 distance and thrown into the bush. Graves have to be 
 dug deep and covered over with a heap of heavy stones 
 to prevent the hyenas from digging out the corpses and 
 crunching them up. A great fat Cabinda in my service 
 at Cuio Bay fell down dead one afternoon whilst ^ancing 
 with some others of his countrymen, and I had to defer 
 burying him till notice of his sudden death had been 
 given to the "chefe" at Dorabe Grande, tliat he might 
 send to ascertain that the man had not died from any 
 foul play. This took some days, during which his body 
 smelt anything but nice to us, but was evidently most 
 appetizing to the hyenas, who every nigiit flocked, howled, 
 and laughed round the hut where it lav, watched over by 
 his countrymen. He was at last buried, and covered over 
 with the usual heap of stones, but the ground was dry 
 and soft, and the smell of the body strong, and next 
 morning we found that a number of hyenas must have 
 been at work, and had actually burrowed into tlie grave 
 from the edge of the heap of stones, had pulled the body 
 out, and eaten it on the spot! Not a particle of bone 
 even could be seen, and besides the scratched and trodden 
 ground, a few shreds and scraps of rags of the cloths the 
 Cabinda had been wrapped in, were all the evidence of the 
 grand supper of negro flesh the hyenas had had. 
 
 On dark nights especially the hyenas perambulate 
 all over the town in search of bones and offal of every 
 description, and I have often heard them fiofhting and 
 making a terrific noise in the open squares at Ben^ella. 
 
 Zebras are abundant in the rocky country aboift Ben- 
 guella and Mossamedes, and their bray is very peculiar, 
 being like that of the donkey without the long drawn 
 notes made during inspiration. 
 
 A large dog-faced monkey (Ci/nocephaliis sp.) is very 
 abundant in the rocky and arid littoral zone of Benguella, 
 going about in troops of from twelve to twenty. When 
 feeding, they always have two or more of their number 
 perched on the high rocks as sentinels, and on the least 
 sign of danger they utter a hoarse grunt and all take to 
 
MONKEYS. 273 
 
 flight, the young ones tightly clasping their mothers' 
 backs. It is said by the natives that if a monkey sentinel 
 does not perform his duty properly, the others set upon 
 him and worry him well as a punishment, and a Portu- 
 guese assured rae that such was the fact, and that he had 
 witnessed one being punished in this manner. 
 
 It seems at first sight almost incredible how these lar^je 
 creatures can find sufficient food on the desert rocks 
 where tliey are found, but I ascertained that their prin- 
 cipal food is tlie thick fleshy root and stem of a low bush, 
 and several species of large onion-looking bulbs. There 
 are also a number of trees and bushes that yield them 
 food in the shape of berries and fruits, especially one 
 called "Umpequi" (Ximenia Americana), bearing plenti- 
 fully an astringent plum-like fruit, from the large kernel 
 of which the natives of Mossamedes manufacture a fine 
 oil. 
 
 On this part of the coast the natives use the w^ood of 
 the "Bimba" tree (Eerminiera Elaphroxylon) to construct 
 a kind of boat or raft, which is perfectly unsinkable in 
 the lieavy surf at the mouths of the rivers. Tin's tree prin- 
 cipally grows in the stagnant water of marshes, and is 
 about twenty feet high; its trunk attains to as much as 
 a foot in diameter. It is covered with spines, and bears 
 very large and beautiful pea-Lke flowers of a golden orange 
 colour ; the wood is solt, and as light as pith. 
 
 The peeled stems are skewered together in two or three 
 layers, with sides about a foot and a half to two feet high, 
 and th^ends finished off in a point, the whole looking 
 like a punt built of thin logs. The water, of course, is 
 free to rush in and out everywhere, and the " bimba," as 
 the boat is also called, floats like a dry cork on the sea. 
 People in it may get washed over and wetted through by 
 the surf, but the " bimba " never upsets or sinks. 
 
 About twenty or twenty-four miles to the south of 
 Benguella is situated the district of Dombe Grande. 
 There is here a large native population on the southern 
 bank of the river San Francisco or Capororo, governed 
 by a Portuguese " chefe." The road to it from Benguella 
 
274 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 passes over slightly undulating ground, but very arid in 
 character, alternately sandy, dusty, and of gypsum rock. 
 
 About half way, at a place called Quipnpa, there is a 
 small spring of ferruginous water, which is the halting- 
 place of the natives who frequent the road to and IVom 
 Uombe Grande. It is a wonderful relief from the desert 
 road to arrive at the River San Francisco, and see stretched 
 for mi!e.s the beautiful green expanse of Dornbe Grande, 
 The river is perfectly dry for one-half of the year, and is 
 then a broad band of pure, dazzling, white sand, but the 
 land near it is extremely fertile, and very large quantities 
 of mandioca and beans are grown. The mandioca is 
 made into *'farinha" or meal, and thousands of bushels 
 are sent by road to Benguelhi, or to Cuio Bay for ship- 
 ment. The sand of the river will even grow splendid 
 crops of tliis root as soon as the w^ater dries up. 
 
 Towards the sea the valley of this river is very broad, 
 and it is here that the extensive cotton plantations, to 
 which I have already referred, exist. This part of the 
 country is called " Luache," and in it there are some very 
 curious lagoons and quicksands. One of these lagoons is 
 extremely deep. A Portuguese told me he had tried to 
 sound it, but had failed to touch the bottom. 
 
 At another place the road for some considerable dis- 
 tance is over a narrow path composed of the roots of large 
 sedge-like plants interwoven and grown together, and 
 yielding under every step. The Mundombes take their 
 cattle over this path, but should one walk away from it 
 at the side, it sinks immediately in the black mi^ and is 
 seen no more. 
 
 There is a great deal of pure sulphur in the gypsum 
 hills on the northern bank of the river at Dombe Grande, 
 and going across them once, I came to a small eminence 
 tluit seemed to be all sulphur, and with a knife and a 
 stick and a few wedges that I cut, I managed to detach a 
 solid block of sulphur &f about thirty pounds in weight. 
 
 At Luache the trees and bu.^he.s ai-e covered with a vast 
 quantity of a curious leafless parasite. This is a creeper, 
 which grows luxuriantly in great masses of long, thin, 
 
COPPER DEPOSIT. GYPSUM. 275 
 
 green strings or stems, sometimes completely covering the 
 tree. These are full of tasteless mucilage wlu-n fresh, 
 and are employed in decoction as an emulf€'nt in conglis 
 and eolds. When dry these wire-like stems become black 
 and hard, and give the trees a very mournful and dismal 
 appearance. This plant is a s[)ecies of Ca-ssytha (0. Gui- 
 neensis?) and although exces^ively abundant in the pro- 
 vince of Benguellfj, becomes scarce to the noith. 
 
 About nine miles south of IJonibe Grande is the little 
 bay of Cuio, in 13° S. lat., to the interior of which I 
 explored a copper deposit in 1861-1863. This deposit 
 "was situated four miles from the bay in the bottom of a 
 small circular depression or valley in the gneiss rock of 
 the country. It was evident that the copper ore had been 
 brought from a distance by the action of water, and pre- 
 cipitated in the bottom of this cup or basin. 
 
 The lower part consisted of a bed of the rare indigo- 
 blue sulphide intimately mixed together with quartz 
 gravel or sand, the blue sulphide forming the matrix of 
 this curious conglomerate, in which were also found huge 
 rounded, smooth, water-worn masses of hard compact 
 gneiss. This bed alone yielded nearly 1000 tons. 
 Another lODO or 12ll0 tons were obtained from a 
 higher part of the valley, and consisted of a hard 
 amorphous mixture of sulphide and blue and green car- 
 bonate, the latter apparently due to the surface decompo- 
 sition of the former. Some small masses of this copper 
 ore contained silver, from a mere trace to over 100 ounces 
 in the ton. In one place I found a few tons of lead ore, 
 earthy carbonate and sulphate, with only a trace left of 
 the galena that had no doubt supplied the two by its 
 decomposition. Specimens of these ores were exhibited 
 in the London International Exhibition of 1862, and were 
 awarded honourable mention. 
 
 I was the first in Africa to make plaster of Paris from 
 the gypsum rock of the country, and to apjdy it to cover 
 walls of houses, for flooring, and even for roofing. I had 
 to build stores at Cuio mines, and liouses for twenty-two 
 white miners, and as there was no grass or other material 
 
 T 2 
 
£70 ANGOLA AND THE BIVEB CONGO. 
 
 fit to roof them with, I put a layer of plaster of Paris, about 
 an inch and a half thick, on a framework of palm-leaf 
 stems, and it withstood the rain admirably. It is magni- 
 ficent material for flooring in that country, absorbing 
 moisture and preventiug the white ant from getting 
 through. The Portuguese soon after made great use of 
 this material, which had existed in inexhaustible quantities 
 unknown to them for so many years. 
 
 The road from Dombe Grande to Cuio passes through 
 some deep perpendicular ravines cut in solid gypsnm rock 
 by the action of the waters, and in other parts of Ben- 
 guella it is equally abundant. It requires no kiln for 
 burning ; it is sufficient to make a pile of small piec^^s of 
 the rock with any kind of fuel or brushwood at liand, to 
 burn it into proper plaster of Paris; in fact, if burnt in a 
 kiln or exposed to too great a degree of heat it will not 
 set afterwards when mixed with water. 
 
 In the bare, arid country of Benguella there are a 
 number of birds, the colouring of whose plumage so closely 
 accords with that of the ground as to be barely. distinguish- 
 able at a little distance. Such are the sand-grouse 
 (Pterocles namaquus) and three species of bustards, one of 
 which (Otis ^idurata, Hartl.) was a new and undescribed 
 species. 
 
 These bustards are very abundant, and are found in 
 pairs ; they have a curious loud, hoarse, clucking cry, 
 which can be heard at a considerable distance, and are 
 very shy ; they run along the ground with great rapidity, 
 and when alarmed fly off in a straight line, but very little 
 above the ground, and when they alight they always run 
 on for some distance. Their flesh is excellent. Several 
 Portuguese attempted to keep them in their gardens, and 
 rear them, but without success. 
 
 In the woods of thorny trees and bushes, and particu- 
 larly in the sandy ravines, several species of small horn- 
 bills are very common. Two were und<^scribed species 
 (Toccus eleganSy and Toccus Monteiri), and are very odd 
 birds in appearance and habits. I found that their food 
 consisted of grubs, grasshoppers, and other insects, hornets' 
 
EORNBILLS. BIBDS. 277 
 
 nests, and hard seeds. They dig in the sand with their 
 long curved bills, when seeking their food, throwing the 
 sand behind them between their legs. They IooIj: very 
 comical when sitting on a tree, their soft feathers puffed 
 out like those of an owl, and they raise and depress their 
 crest feathers, uttering loud, long-drawn, unearthly cries, 
 like the squall of a sick baby. 
 
 They are considered as " fetish " birds by the natives, 
 who state positively that it is the male bird who sits on 
 the eggs, and that the female shuts him up in the nest so 
 that he cannot get out, and feeds him till he has hatched 
 the eggs, when she tears down the nest and lets him out. 
 The imprisoned bird is then very lean and in ragged 
 plumage, and the natives have several proverbs bearing 
 upon this singular habit. In Bengnella, Avhen a man 
 looks very thin and miserable, they always say, *'he looks 
 like the hornbill when he has been let out of the nest." 
 
 I offered a large reward to any black who would find 
 me a nest of these birds, as I wanted to verify this 
 extraordinary story, but I never succeeded in seeing one. 
 There is no doubt that the statements of the natives are 
 correct, as other species of the same bird, in India, &c., 
 have exactly the same habit ; the only particular in which 
 I think the natives may be wrong is in the male bird 
 being imprisoned by the female ; it is more natural to 
 suppose that the contrary takes place, and that it is the 
 female who is boxed up. 
 
 The " Panda," or wattled crane {Grus cariinculata) is 
 common in the country to the interior of Benguella, and 
 is often brought for sale to the coast by the caravans. 
 They get very tame and playful, and it is amusing to 
 see them make rushes in fun at the women. and children, 
 with their wings and beaks wide open. 
 
 A trader at Egito had one that used to play for hours 
 with a young donkey. The crane would run at and flap 
 his wings in the donkey's face till it started after him for 
 a race, when he would keep just a little ahead and only 
 take to flight when hard pressed, on seeing which the 
 donkey would generally give a loud bray of disappoint- 
 
278 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO, 
 
 ment. At other times the crane would chase tlie donkey, 
 and it was very comical to see the perfect understanding 
 that seemed to exist b;^t\veen them, and their evident 
 enjoyment of play and fun. 
 
 The ox-l)ird {Buflmga Africana) is very commonly seen 
 on the cattle at Benguella, and the following description 
 of it is from my notes on a collection of birds I made 
 there (' Proceedings of the Zoological Society ' for 1865) : — 
 *• Abundant all over Angola, which, generally speaking, 
 abounds in cattle. It appears to feed entirely on ticks : 
 the stomach of this specimen contained no less than 
 twenty-five. Its flesh is very dark-coloured, strong- 
 smelling, and its blood extremely thick and dark. It is 
 curious to watch the manner in which they crawl all 
 over the body of an ox or large animal, under its belly 
 and between its legs, which they are enabled to do by 
 their strong claws tipped with exceedingly sharp hooked 
 nails, 
 
 '• The beak is soft, of a bright red at the tip, graduating 
 to bright yellow at the base. I once saw a nest of these 
 birds, which they appeared to be finishing. It was large, 
 loose, of dry grass, and nicely lined with long hair, seem- 
 ingly taken from the tails of cattle. These birds were 
 constantly robbing the hair from the tail of an old mule 
 I bad at Ijenguella. They will accompany a herd of cattle 
 only for a certain distance, when they will return to their 
 usual locality, and others immediately make their appear- 
 ance and appear to take charge of the herd." 
 
 The neighbouihood of Benguella, Catumbella, and 
 Dombe Grande is famous for the variety of its small and 
 beautifully-coloured birds, and the Mundombes capture 
 them in thousands, to sell to the Portuguese at Benguella, 
 who export them to Loanda and Lisbon. These birds are 
 said to be more hardy, and to live better in confinement 
 than those caught at Loanda. 
 
 Several of these little birds are greatly esteemed by the 
 Portuguese as cage song-birds ; such are the *' Maracachao " 
 {Pytelia ehgans), noted for its exquisitely sweet song, the 
 "Bigode" {Crithagra ictera) or "moustache bird," the 
 
FISIL 279 
 
 " Viiiva " or long-tailed whydah finch ( Vidua paradisea), 
 and others. 
 
 They are captured with birdlime, the very sticky, gummy 
 matter enveloping the seeds of tlie beautiful parasite — • 
 a s[)ecies of Luranthus — already mentioned as biing em- 
 ployed by the natives of Cambambe as gum fur sealing 
 letters. This plant grows very abundantly on trees, but 
 must usually on the thinly-leaved spiny bushes near the 
 coast, and even on herbaceous plants. I have olten 
 observed it growinnr bixuriantly on cotton bushes. 
 
 Many kinds of ducks and other beautiful aquatic birds 
 inhabit two lagoons, called the ** Bimbas," about seven or 
 eight miles inland from Benguella. From Benguella to 
 Mossamedes almost all the numerous bays on the coast are 
 inhabited by Portuguese, who employ their slaves either 
 in fishing or in cotton and sugar-cane planting. The prin- 
 cipal plantations are at Equimina and Carun Jamba. For- 
 merly all were engaged in orchilla-weed picking, as 
 already stated. 
 
 There is no trade whatever between Benguella and 
 Mossamedes, the littoral region being very desert in cha- 
 racter, and but little populated, and the small quantity 
 of produce from the interior finding its way to either ono 
 or the other of those places. 
 
 The fishery on that part of the coast is mostly carried 
 on by deep lines, and the fish caught are opened flat, and 
 salted and dried in the sun. Yery large quantities are 
 thus prepared and shipped to Loanda and to the Portu- 
 guese islands of St. Thome and Principe. A great pro- 
 portion is consumed by the slaves on the plantations. 
 
 Great numbers of a dogfish, called " Cassao," are also 
 caught. The livers of this fish are thrown into large iron 
 pots and melted into a strong-smelling oil, which is shipped 
 to Europe, and employed to adulterate whale and other 
 fish-oils. It takes about 300 livers to make a quarter- 
 cask of oil. In the season (for these fish are not always 
 on the coast) a boat with two or three blacks will take 
 from 60 or 70 to 300 fish each night, the latter being 
 considered a large take. 
 
280 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVEB CONGO. 
 
 The lines and nets of the fishermen are prepared or 
 tanned by steeping them in the juice of an exceedingly 
 curious plant growing in the sand. This plant, specimens 
 of which I sent to Dr. Hooker, proved to be a new species 
 of the genus Hydnora, a Kafflesiaceous plant. It is an 
 underground parasite on the roots of the euphorbia trees 
 and bushes, and consists of a square stem from one to two 
 inches thick, soft in texture, and of a beautiful rose-colour. 
 This stem is covered with a thin dark skin, and is full of 
 tubercles ; it has no leaves, and is attached to the roots 
 of the euphorbia, from which it derives its nourishment. 
 
 At certain seasons it sends up a thick stalk through the 
 sand, on the end of which it bears a large red flower of a 
 very extraordinary shape, and with an offensive odour of 
 badly decayed meat. There are only three other species 
 known ; two in South Africa, and one in Buenos Ayres. 
 Besides its use for tanning lines and nets, it is also em- 
 ployed by the natives as a valuable astringent in cases of 
 diarrhoea. 
 
 During the latter years of the slave-trade, these various 
 industries were turned to a double account. When a 
 vessel was on the coast seeking a cargo of slaves, the 
 planters, &c., of course always had a stock ready. At 
 other times, any objection or suspicion was met by the 
 fact that the large number of slaves on the coast were 
 employed in the legitimate pursuits above mentioned, so 
 that no slave barracoons existed, and all were as indus- 
 trious as bees when a cruiser, or some local Portuguese 
 governor or " chefe," fired by zeal, or by disgust at the 
 little games carried on, sometimes without his usual fee, 
 appeared on the scene. 
 
 Lions are common in the country, more especially to 
 the south of Dombe Grande, about Carunjamba and Lucira. 
 I spent a week once at Carunjamba, arriving there 
 shortly after a number of lions had caused the proprietor 
 of a fine plantation to be in forced confinement for days 
 withiu the high walls enclosing his house and grounds, 
 and in which his slaves and herds of cattle and sheep 
 were lodged every night to preserve them from the attacks 
 
LIONS, 281 
 
 of these animals. I saw the ground all trodden down with 
 their footprints, where they had gone round and round, 
 attracted by the scent of the cattle within. 
 
 These incursions of lions are periodical, and happen 
 shortly after the first rains have covered the sterile ground 
 on the coast witli a beautiful crop of young grass. The 
 antelopes come from the interior to feed on this sweet 
 grass, and the lions follow their steps to feed on them. 
 
 Numbers of slaves used to be eaten by the lions in the 
 orcliiila-pieking time. I knew one man who lost twelve in 
 a short lime at the Bay of Bomfim, and another seventeen 
 at Lucira, and they had to give up collecting till the lions 
 retired. If a lion once tastes negro flesh, he prefers 
 it to beef, and has been known to kill the black herds- 
 man and not touch a head of his cattle. 
 
 Tlie Portuguese in Angola are not valiant at lion- 
 hunting. Tlie proprietor of the large sugar-cane planta- 
 tion at Equimiua used to recount how he went out one 
 night to shoot a lion that had devoured several of his 
 slaves, and used to visit the cattle enclosure nightly. He 
 saw the lion approach him as he knelt on one knee near 
 the high stump of a tree against which he leant his gun 
 to steady his aim, and waited till he thought it was 
 sufficiently near, when he fired both barrels between its 
 eyes. A tremendous roar instantly followed his shot, 
 and he ran for his life and bounded over the high 
 thorny fence forming the enclosure. Nothing more being 
 heard of the lion, he went with his blacks in search with 
 torches, and found it dead, and so firmly clasping the 
 stump of the tree with its paws and claws, that they were 
 with difficulty detached from it. 
 
 He used to say that the thought that he might have 
 been in the lion's dying embrace instead of the stump, 
 cured him of going out lion-hunting ; and he never could 
 make out how he had managed to clear the high fence 
 at one jump, as he did on that night when terror lent 
 wings to his feet. 
 
( 282 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 COUNTRY BETWEEN BENGUELLA AND MOSSAMEDES — 
 MOSSAMEDES — CURIOUS DEPOSITS OF WATER — HYENAS 
 — WELWITSCHIA MIRABILIS — MIRAGE. 
 
 The country between Benguella and Mossamedes abounds 
 with ]aro;e animals: elands, spring-bok, and other ante- 
 lopes, zebras, wild buffaloes^ &c. The natives affirm posi- 
 tively that the eland and other antelopes in their wild 
 state capture and eat small birds. 
 
 It would be curious to ascertain if this strange habit 
 or taste in a herbivorous animal is true, or has been 
 observed in South Africa, where these animals are still 
 more abundant. 
 
 I was once fortunate enough to see, from a low rocky 
 ridge, a vast herd of spring-bok running at full speed 
 across a plain near IVlossamedes, and it was really a fine 
 sight. This very beautiful animal has a quantity of long, 
 snovv-white hair completely hidden in a fold of the skin 
 along its spine; — when running, its pace seems to be a 
 succession of high leaps, in which tliis long white hair is 
 alternately exposed and hidden at each jump. The effect 
 of these flashes of pure white in the sun was most striking 
 and beautiful, as the thousands of spring-bok sped rapidly 
 across the plain at our feet, and gradually vanished in the 
 distance. Although I had been prepared to see large 
 herds of antelopes at Mossamedes, from the accounts of 
 the Portuguese there, and from what I had read in books 
 of travel in Southern Africa, I could not help being asto- 
 nished at the sight, and feeling how impossible it was to 
 realize, except from actual observation, the appearance of 
 thousands of these lovely animals assembled together and 
 scudding like a cloud across the face of the great bare 
 plain. 
 
BENGUELLA TO MOSSAMEDES, 283 
 
 The large tree euphorbias, so common near the coast 
 at Ambriz and Loanda, become scarcer in the country to 
 the south till we get to the desert hills and cliffs about 
 Elephant Bay, and beyond to I\Iossamedes, where they 
 completely disappear. 
 
 Perfectly flat-topped hills are a striking feature of this 
 part of the coast, and are appropriately termed " mezas " 
 or "tables" by the Portuguese. The coast, more par- 
 ticularly from the River San Nicolau, is deeply cut by 
 ravines with almost perpendicular sides, and leading no 
 great distance inland, evidently worn by the action of the 
 water through the basalt and other friable rock. It malvcs 
 travelling on foot hard work, as the usual road is near the 
 sea and some of the walls of cliff are difficult and dangerous 
 to ascend and descend. 
 
 In one of my excursions in this part of the coast, I saw 
 the dead body of a black lyhig at the foot of one of these 
 precipices, seemingly fallen from the top. It was nearly 
 devoured by birds, crabs, and small animals. There is 
 another road, a very good one, a few miles farther inland. 
 
 There are no elepliants to be met with now on the coast 
 at any part of Angola ; the last were said to have been 
 seen about Elephant Bay, from which it may probably 
 have derived its name. They do come down occasionally 
 on the Quissama side of the River Quanza, and one was 
 lately shot at Bruto, most likely having swum the river. 
 
 On Cape Santa Maria, the southern point of the " Bahia 
 dos Passaros" (Bay of Birds), there is an old marble 
 column, placed there by the Portuguese in olden times to 
 commemorate the discovery of this cape, in 1486, by the 
 navigator Diogo Cam. I once went with a Portuguese 
 in a boat from Cuio to Catara, a small bay beyond Cape 
 Santa Maria. Our men had been rowing all the moonlight 
 night long, and at daybreak we landed at the Bahia dos 
 Passaros, and found an empty hut that had been occupied 
 by a curer during the fishing season ; this was Taken pos- 
 session of by. our blacks, who went fast asleep in it, 
 after hauling up the boat. We had our breakfast under 
 the shade of the boatsail, and then followed their example. 
 
284 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 We had slept about a couple of hours when I was a\Yak- 
 ened by the loud cawing of the pretty white-banded crows 
 of the coast (Corvus scapulatus), I threw a stone at the 
 noisy birds, and happening to look in the direction of the 
 sea, noticed that our boat was gone ; I looked into the hut 
 thinking our men had gone oif with it in search of birds' 
 eggs, but they lay like logs, still fast asleep. I woke my 
 companion, and we ran to the beach and saw our boat at 
 the noithern end of the bay slowly drii'ting away, the tide 
 having risen and floated it while we slept. Our men 
 run along the beach and swam off to the boat, and we 
 thanked the crows with the remains of our breakfast. 
 It is astonishing how soon a number of these birds will 
 appear after any one lands in these desolate bays, to pick 
 up any food that may be left about. This bay derives its 
 name from the number of sea-gulls that inhabit a high- 
 peaked rock rising out of the sea at a short distance from 
 the shore. 
 
 The fliver San Nicolau only runs in the rainy season, 
 which is likewise the case with all the other rivers on this 
 part of the coast, south of the River Quanza, and even 
 this shifts its bar a mile or more to the north in the dry 
 season. 
 
 At the little Bay of Baba, I saw a very extraordinary 
 sight, and one that shows the great quantity of fish in 
 tiie sea of that coast. I had started on foot early in the 
 morning, from the house of a Portuguese who was en- 
 gaged in the fishing trade, on my way to Mossamerles, 
 and as I walked along the beach for more than a mile, I 
 saw for the whole distance, in the calm water, a small 
 species of fish, about a foot long, in countless numbers, 
 packed side by side so closely as almost to touch one 
 another, and their snouts touching the sand. Farther 
 south, fish are said to be even more plentiful. 
 
 At Port Pinda a three-masted fishing vessel arrived 
 with a crew of fishermen from Algarve, and they caught 
 such quantities that they found the work of curing too 
 hard, and they gradually gave up fishing and employed 
 their vessel in earning freights up and down the coast. 
 
MOSSAMEBES. 285 
 
 I was told by the captain of a British man-of-war that 
 at Walwish Bay he had seen eight tons of fish taken at 
 one haul of the seine net. 
 
 The town of IMossamedes (or Little Fish Bay of the 
 English charts) is very prettily built on the shore of the 
 little bay from which it derives its name. The houses are 
 of stone, well built and commodious, and the town has 
 quite a clean and imposing appearance as seen from the 
 sea. The bay is very pretty, and protected from the 
 " calema " or surf. A fort commands it, and is built on 
 a low cliff immediately south of the town. At a little 
 distance off a low line of hills hides the further view of 
 the interior, and all around nothing but an arid waste of 
 pure white sand meets the eye with a very depressing 
 effect. Three miles to the noith are the "hortas" or 
 "kitchen gardens" of the Portuguese, where the fertile 
 sandy soil grows every kind of root and vegetable. The 
 common potato grows there in perfection and was the 
 principal article of cultivation a few years ago, when the 
 American whalers used to call there from the fisliery on 
 the coast. The English cruisers also used to touch there 
 for cattle and fresh provisions. Cattle used to be so 
 abundant that the ordinary price of a bullock was from 
 ten shillings to one pound. There is a considerable quan- 
 tity of sugar-cane grown there and conveited into rum, 
 several thousand pipes being the yearly production. The 
 little River Giraul runs through these pUmtations, and its 
 overflow sometimes c luses considerable damage. 
 
 I saw excellent gum-arabic at Mossamedes, brought 
 from the Gambos country, and I sent a large tinfidl of it 
 \o London, where it was reported upon as being equal to 
 the best quality in the market. 
 
 At Mossamedes oxen are trained for riding ; the cartilage 
 of the nose is perforated, and through the opening a thin, 
 Bhort piece of round iron is passed, at tlie ends of which 
 are attached the reins, and the animal is guided by them 
 in the same manner as a horse. A good budock will trot 
 well, and even gallop for a short distance. They are most 
 useful in that country, and are very comfortable to ride. 
 
286 ANGOLA AND THE EIVER CONGO. 
 
 The saddle is made of leather, and is oidy a well-padded 
 cusliion with stirrups. A riding ox will go faster, if re- 
 quired, than blacks on foot can accomftany it, but as in 
 travelling a caravan of blacks with provisions and b ig^ajie 
 is always necessary, there is no need of greater speed. 
 Tiiey will live on such spare dry grass as can be obtained 
 on the roaH, and are much safer over the stony and sandy 
 ground than horses, and not so liable to lamo or be 
 knocked up; — they will also go a much longer time 
 without water. 
 
 On one of my visits to Mossamedes I was away a 
 fortnight in the bush, on an excursion to explore several 
 places where copper ore had been found, and re-ached 
 about forty miles into the interior, to near the first range 
 of mountains called the "Xellas" (pronounced Sheilas). 
 Our road lay north till w^e had crossed the dry, sandy bed 
 of the Kiver Giraul, and then in an easterly direction. 
 The Hrst deposits met with are recent clayey beds, gypsum- 
 dust, and sandstones, and in some places the perpen- 
 dicular faces of the high masses are covered with an 
 abundant efflorescence of almost pure sulphate of magnesia. 
 This had attracted the attention of some of the i^ortuguese, 
 who imagined that it might be nitre. One man sent a 
 cask full of it to Lisbon to be reported upon, and 
 the answer he received was, *' that it was not nitre as it 
 would not make gunpowder, and that they could not tell 
 wh;it else it was ! " 
 
 'Jdiis formation is succeeded by massive basalt, contain- 
 ing in places small quantities of double refracting calcspar 
 and heulandite. 
 
 This narrow belt or strip of basalt is followed farther 
 inland by a highly quartzose schistose rock with much 
 iron and horneblende. This insensibly changes to a 
 quartzose granite, then to more schist, and in some places 
 to a fine-grained porphyry. In these are found quartz 
 veins with small strings or lodes of very rich sulphide of 
 copper. These were the only copper lodes m situ that I 
 have been able to find in Angola, but unfortunately, 
 although coutaining the very richest copper ore, they are 
 
CURIOUS DEPOSITS OF WATEB, 287 
 
 so poor in size, and under such disadvantages otherwise, 
 that they would be quite proiitless to work or explore. 
 
 About twenty or thirty miles from Mossamedes the 
 granite country is very peculiar. In some places Imge 
 single rocks rise out of the nearly level plain ; in others, 
 hills of rocks, in several of which deposits of rain-water 
 are found at the very top. One of these was a natural 
 tank with a narrow entrance, and so dark that we had to 
 light an old newspaper to see it. It contained, I should 
 say, not less than three or four hundred gallons of water, 
 which was exquisitely clear and cool. It was covered by- 
 vast slabs of granite, ftom which the rain drained into 
 it, so that the sun was unable to evaporate it during the 
 hot season, when not a drop of water is to be found for 
 miles anywhere else. 
 
 A still more singular phenomenon is that of the " Pedra 
 Grande," or ''big stone," on the road to the interior at 
 over thirty miles from Mossamedes. This, as its name 
 implies, is .a huge rounded mass of granite rising out of 
 the granitic, sandy plain. 
 
 On the smooth side of this rock, about twenty or thirty 
 feet above the plain, is a circular pit about nine or ten 
 feet deep and five or six wide. The .rainfall on that part 
 of the rock that lies above this pit, drains into it, and is 
 said to fill it completely every rainy season. The form of 
 the pit is like that of the inside of a crucible, narrowing 
 gently to the bottom. The walls are perfectly smooth 
 and regular, and it can contain several thousand gallons 
 of water. The mass of granite rock is of the closest and 
 hardest description, and no explanation seems possible of 
 the formation of this pit, except that of a bubble in the 
 rock when primarily formed, or that there was a mass of 
 easily soluble or decomposible mineral contained in it 
 that has since been dissolved out. I must say, however, 
 that there is no evidence anywhere visible to corroborate 
 this latter theory. There are, it is true, one or two other 
 small and similar pits near the great one, but this does 
 not throw any more light upon their probable formation. 
 This grand deposit supplies the Mundombes and travellers 
 
288 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 with an abundant supply of water during the dry season, 
 and is tlierefore a prnicipal halting-place. 
 
 Tliis is a lioa country, but on both occasions that I was 
 at Mossamedes it was not the season in which they 
 abounded, so that I saw but little signs of them. 
 
 They come regularly to the "hortas" near the town, 
 and several have been shot there by the Portuguese. I 
 was shown the hut of a German emigrant where a lion 
 came ihrough the grass roof on to the table at which he 
 was seated at supper with his wife. 
 
 It appeared that the lion had chased a cat on to the 
 roof from an outhouse, and the roof being of a frail natuie, 
 had given way under his weight, but luckily the cries of 
 the man and his wife so frightened the astonished beast, 
 that he forced himself through the slender walls of the 
 hut and ran away. 
 
 On an excursion to visit a copper locality inland of 
 Baba Bay, where a Portuguese convict alleged he had 
 discovered and extracted a basket full of good specimens 
 of ore, I put up one night at a hut belonging to a 
 Portufruese engaged with a number of slaves in collecting 
 orchilla-weed. At a distance of about two or three 
 hundred yards from the hut was a pool of brackish water, 
 in a grove of trees at the foot of a rocky hill. During 
 the night, which was pitch dark, the blacks declared that 
 a lion had captured some animal at the pool, and was 
 eating it. At daybreak we turned out and came on about 
 a dozen black and white dog-like animals, about the size 
 of a Newfoundland dog, that ran quickly up the hill on 
 our approach. Close to the pool we found the remains of 
 an eland that had been killed by the lion. The other 
 animals, which are said to follow it, and wait till the royal 
 beast has had its fill of the game it has killed, and devour 
 the remainder, had not had time to finish it, and there was 
 enough left to afford us a good breakfast of venison steak, 
 and our blacks a feast of fresh meat. 
 
 Thick eland steak is delicious, both from its juiciness 
 and flavour, and its exquisite tenderness. 
 
 My excursion was unsuccessful in discovering a copper 
 
HYENAS, 289 
 
 mine, as I found that the rogue of a convict, -who had 
 been promised a large sum of money for the mine by a 
 friend of mine at ]\rossamedes, Senhor Accacio d'Oliveira, 
 had buriel a basketful of copper ore taken from some 
 other locality, in a hole, where he pretended to iind it 
 when my friend sent his own blacks with him to bring 
 away larger samples. 
 
 Hyenas are very common, and I saw at Mossamedes a 
 magnificent wolfhound (from the Serra da Estrella, in tl.ie 
 north of Portugal) and his dam, who always used to run 
 out together at night and chase away any hyena that 
 came near their master's house. One night, however, 
 they did not return, so their owner turned out to seek for 
 tliem as soon as it was daylight, and found them at some 
 little distance lying down bleeding and exhausted, and 
 between them the dead body of a huge hyena whicli they 
 had fought with and killed. Some idea may be formed 
 of the size of the hyena, and of the ferocious nature of 
 the fi«>ht, when I state that the dogs . were young, as 
 powerful and as large as any I have ever seen, and that 
 they were protected by thick collars studded with strong 
 iron spikes. These beautiful animals recovered from their 
 wounds, but they never ran out after hyenas again. 
 
 The country about Mossamedes is exposed to periodical 
 irruptions of the Monanos, or natives from the Nano 
 country, which is inland, and nortii of Mossamedes. They 
 come down in large expeditions, laying waste the country 
 by driving off the cattle and sheep belonging to the Mun- 
 dombes. One of these marauding columns came down to 
 the very town of Mossamedes, but they agreed to retire on 
 the payment of a certain amount of cloth and other goods 
 by the Portuguese, and amongst other articles that they 
 stipulated for were a number of dogs, which they wanted 
 for food. This condition was easily complied with, as 
 Mossamedes always contains a number of maimed and 
 horribly mangy mongrels, who try to pick up a living 
 from the remains of fish and other offal on the beach. 
 
 The few native inhabitants about Mossamedes are 
 Mundombes, like those of Benguella, but between the 
 
 u 
 
290 ANGOLA AND THE PdVER CONGO, 
 
 two places there is a district peopled by a curious tribe 
 callea the Mucoandos. This district lies to the interior, 
 and between Point Santa Maria and the River San Kicohiu. 
 These Mucoandos are a roving, migratory tribe, rearing 
 flocks of sheep, which are their only wealth ; it is said 
 that they hardly ever cultivate the ground, and only build 
 temporaiy huts or shelters. They go about nearly naked, 
 only wearing a small piece of sheepskin round their loins, 
 and are a quiet and inoflensive tribe. They are said to be 
 gradually dying out. 
 
 A still more curious tribe are the Muquices, of whom 
 only a few now remain. They are found near the sea, 
 between Mossamedes and Carumjamba. They do not keep 
 sheep or cattle, or any live stock whatever, and never cul- 
 tivate the ground or build huts to live in. Their food is 
 principally fish, which they catch with hook and line, and 
 'sliell-tish, particularly mussels, which are very abundant 
 and fine on the rocks, and oysters. They cook their food 
 by roasting it at a fire, and at night they each make a 
 small half circle of stones about a foot high, against which 
 they curl up like dogs as a shelter irom the wind, very 
 otten on the bare tops of the cliffs overhanging the sea. 
 They also take advantage of the ledges of rock and open 
 caves or holes to sleep in, but they are always on the move, 
 never remaining more than a few days at each place. I 
 o'tpn saw these encampments, with the usual accom- 
 paniments of heaps of mussel-shells and ashes, the remains 
 of their food and fires, on the cliffs. 
 
 I once saw a party of eight of these IMuquices at Point 
 Giraul, the northern end of Mossamedes Bay, where I had 
 gone with some friends for a day's picnic of fish, oysters, 
 and mussels off the rocks. This was the largest number 
 I had seen together. They were living in a large hole in 
 the soft rock, and were very pleased to have a talk, and 
 get a drink and a few small presents. 
 
 They are rather light -coloured, with very decided 
 obliquely-set eyes, which gives them a singular Chinese 
 expression of face. They are slow and gentle in their 
 manner and are said to be what tbeir appearance indi- 
 
WELWITSCIIIA MIRABILIS. 291 
 
 cates, very quiet and inoffensive. The Portuguese often 
 employ them as letter-carriers up and down that part of 
 the' coast. 
 
 Their constantly roving habits do not allow them to 
 I'.ave old or infirm people; — when these cannot walk and 
 keep up with the rest, they are killed by being knocked 
 on the bead from behind with a stick. The eldest son, or 
 nearest male relative, does the deed, and the victim is not 
 apprised beforehand of his fate. 
 
 About Mossamedes that most singnlar plant the Wel- 
 witscliia mirdbilis is found growing, and the country about 
 the l\iver San Nicolan, or 14° 8. lat., seems to be its 
 northern limit. It has been found south, in Damara Land. 
 I was fortunate enough to be able to collect specimens of 
 the plant, flowers, and cones for Dr. Hooker, which sup- 
 plied some of the materials for his splendid monograph 
 on this wonderful plant. These specimens are now pre- 
 served in the Kew Museum. 
 
 Tlie following account of it is an extract from Dr. 
 Hooker's work : — " The ' Welwitschia ' is a woody plant, 
 said to attain a century in duration, with an obconic 
 trunk, about two feet long, of which a few inches rise above 
 the soil, presenting the appearance of a flat, two-loberl, 
 depressed mass, sometimes (according to Dr. Welwitsch) 
 attaining fourteen feet in circumference (!), and looking 
 like a round table. When full grown, it is dark-brown, 
 hard, and cracked over the whole surface (much like the 
 burnt crust of a loaf of bread) ; the lower portion forms a 
 stout tap-root, buried in the soil, and branching downwards 
 at the end. From deep grooves in the circumference of 
 the depressed mass two enormous leaves are given off, 
 each six feet long when full grown, one corresponding to 
 each lobe: these are quite flat, linear, very leathery, and 
 split to the base into innumerable thongs that lie curling 
 upon the surface of the soil. Its discoverer describes tin se 
 same two leaves as being present from the earliest condi- 
 tion of the plant, and assures me that they are in I'act 
 developed from the two cotyledons of the seed, and are 
 persistent, being replaced by no others. From the cir- 
 
 u 2 
 
292 ANGOLA AND TEE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 cumference of the tabular mass, above but close to the 
 insertion of the leaves, spring stout dichotomously branched 
 cymes, nearly a foot high, bearing small erect scarlet 
 cones, which eventually become oblong and attain the size 
 of those of the common spruce-fir. The scales of the cones 
 are very closely imbricated, and contain when young and 
 still very small, solitary flowers, which iu some cones are 
 hermaphrodite (s^tructnrally but not functionally), in others 
 female. The hermaphrodite flower consists of a perianth 
 of four pieces, six monadelphous stamens with globose 
 three-locular anthers, surrounding a central ovule, the 
 integument of which is produced into a styliform sigmoid 
 tube, terminated by a discoid apex. The female flower 
 consists of a solitary erect ovule contained in a compressed 
 utricular perianth. The mature cone is tetragonous, and 
 contains a broadly-winged fruit in eacb scale." 
 
 I first saw the plant in my first journey inland from 
 Mossamedes. On a second visit to Mossamedes I went 
 one day specially to obtain the large specimens now at 
 Kew, which, were growing about six miles south of the 
 town on the sandy plain near the sea. 
 
 I found a considerable number of the plants growing, 
 and having secured my specimens, placed fresh cones in 
 spirit, and transplanted a couple of the small plants into a 
 box of earth, I prepared to return. I had ridden an old 
 mule, and taken with me a number of blacks with poles 
 to carry the specimens. I tied the old mule to a pole and 
 left her to graze about on the scanty tufts of grass whilst 
 I dug out the plants. The little refreshment she had 
 picked up made her quite skittish, and all our efibrts to 
 catch her were unavailing. For more than an hour did 
 she manage to elude us over the burning white sand, and 
 I was fairly tired out when she was at last caught. 
 
 1 several times witnessed the *• mirage" at Mossamedes. 
 At a distance of a few hundred yards before me I seemed 
 to see the surface of the ground covered with about two 
 feet of water, and only the tops of the grass and bushes 
 could be seen out of it. The illusion is absolutely perfect ; 
 the little waves and ripples of the water, and the reflection 
 
MIRAGE, 293 
 
 of the sun from the surface, are all there, and only seeing 
 the tops of the grass still further increases the reality of 
 the impression, which continues sometimes for more than 
 a quarter of an hour. 
 
 I found most agreeable society at Mossamedes, many of 
 the Portuguese there having their wives and families with 
 them, which was not the case at Benguella or elsewhere 
 in Angola. 
 
 The climate at Mossamedes is remarkably healthy, and 
 for many years fevers were quite unknown there. I saw 
 the white children looking as healthy and rosy and strong 
 as in Europe, and the white men working in the planta- 
 tions as in Portugal. Subsequently fever made its appear- 
 ance there, and once of a rather severe type, which I 
 cannot help thinking originated from the total want of 
 sanitary arrangements for the greatly increased population. 
 
 The Portuguese in Angola are everywhere remarkably 
 neglectful and careless of these matters, so necessary for 
 the preservation of health, especially in a hot climate. 
 
( 204 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CLIMATE — COOKERY — DRUNKENNESS — FEVER — NATIVE 
 TREATMENT — ULCERS— SMOKING WILD HEMP — NATIVE 
 REMEDIES. 
 
 The climate of Angola is not so hot as might bs expected 
 from its latitude. Near the coast the sea-breeze, which 
 sets in about nine or ten o'clock in the mornine, and lasts 
 till sunset or an hour later, always blows strongly, and 
 consequently cools the burning rays of the sun in, the hot 
 season : it is very often too strong to be agreeable, blowing 
 everything about in the houses, which always have the 
 doors and windows open. The thermometer in the hot 
 season is -seldom more than 80^ to 8G° Fahrenheit in the 
 shade during the day ; 90"^ and over is not often attained. 
 In the ** cacimbo," or cool season, the usual temperature 
 is 70° to 75° Fahrenheit, and at night as low^ as 60^ to (35°., 
 The nights are always cool, and for not less than six 
 months in the year a blanket on the bed at night is found 
 comfortable. 
 
 Towards the interior, away from the influence of the 
 sea-breeze, the temperature is rather higher, but soon the 
 greater elevation of the country Towers it, so that the 
 thermometer ranges about the same. 
 
 Rain only falls in the hot season, or from the end of 
 October to the beginning or middle of May, when violent 
 storms with but little wind deluge the country. There is 
 generally a cessation of the rains during the month of 
 January and part of February; the List rains are the 
 heaviest, and seldom occur after the 12t]i or 15th of 
 May. During the cool or "cacimbo" season, the sun is 
 often not visible for days together, a thick uniform wdiite 
 
CLIMATE. 295 
 
 sky preventing its position being seen at any time of 
 the day. A thick white mist covers the ground at night, 
 and in the mornings valleys and low places are completely 
 enshrouded in it. 
 
 As the wind and sun dissipate these rolling vapours, 
 very beautiful effects are seen, particularly among the 
 valleys and mountains in the interior. When looking 
 down into a deep valley, the mist is exactly like a cloud 
 of steam from a locomotive. The "cacimbo" is the 
 best season for Europeans newly arrived on the coast, 
 but is always disagreeably felt by those who have lived in 
 the country for some years, the sudden fall of the ther- 
 mometer checking the action of the skin. It has a very 
 depressing effect on old stagers, who are then more than 
 usually disinclined for any kind of work, bodily or mental. 
 To new comers, apt to be distressed by heat, the cool 
 season is delicious, as it enables them to go about freely, 
 carry a gun, -work, &c., without protection from the sun. 
 
 The climate of the coast of Africa is everywhere more 
 or less enervating, and it requires the exercise of a strong 
 will and determination to overcome its influence, and 
 resist the natural tendency to produce inactivity of mind 
 and body. This being the case when in perfect health, it 
 can easily be imagined how much more this is required 
 when a touch of fever, however slight, still further enleebles 
 the system. 
 
 I am not competent to speak medically on the subject 
 of the action of the African climate and fevers on Euro- 
 peans, which. I believe to be very difficult and obscure, 
 but a few detached facts and observations I have noted 
 may be interesting. I fancy there must be something in 
 the action of an atmosphere so completely saturated with 
 moisture^ to account for the sensation of exhaustion and 
 prostration that is felt in Africa at any bodily exertion, 
 generally accompanied by a clammy perspiration. I have 
 ielt this more especially in the cool or rainless but misty 
 season, when the air is, I believe, even more saturated with 
 moisture than in the rainy season, with its almost daily 
 storms, but bright atmosphere, blue sky, and hot sun. 
 
296 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO, 
 
 Keys or penknives in use, and kept constantly in the 
 pocket, get rusty to an extraordinary degree, and steel- 
 springs of every kind become brittl© and break very 
 readily ; I never saw a sbot-pouch or powder-flask of which 
 the spring did not very shortly snap in two, sometimes 
 even before it had become rusty, and when only a thin 
 line or streak of rust could be seen on it. 
 
 For the first few months after arrival, Europeans have 
 enormous appetites, and all increase in weight ; — it is very 
 rarely that fever attacks those first arriving on the South- 
 AVest Coast. 
 
 Persons of a nervous temperament, of a thin, active, 
 muscular habit of body, and not above medium height, 
 I have found to be the most likely to resist the climate. 
 
 Previous good health and sobriety are no guarantees 
 against the probable effects of the climate, and I believe 
 that the best and surest indication is to be obtained not 
 from the physical, but from the mental constitution of 
 the individual. Those of a light-hearted and happy dis- 
 position, naturally disposed to make the best of circimi- 
 stances, and whom no inconveniences or annoyances can rob 
 for long of their good humour, are almost certain to enjoy 
 their health on the South-West Coast, whilst those diffi- 
 cult to please, who worry themselves about every little 
 unpleasantness, and who are irritable and unhappy under 
 difficulties, are soon attacked by fever and ague, although 
 apj arently just as strong and healthy as the former. 
 
 I have always observed that an educated man has a 
 great advantage over one who is without education, in 
 resisting disease on the coast; this shows very strongly 
 the preservative action of the healthy and active mind. 
 
 Amongst uneducated men, 1 have found that Portu- 
 guese, Spaniards, and Italians enjoy better health than 
 Englishmen or Germans, and have vastly more endurance 
 and . pluck in sickness than the latter. A Portuguese 
 working man, soldier, or convict, will roll himself up and 
 shiver and groan under a strong attack of fever or ague, 
 and as soon as it is over will quickly go about his occu- 
 pation without making any fuss or complaint, whereas the 
 
COOKERY. 297 
 
 English miners, strong and powerful as navvies when well, 
 were, as I have said before, pitiable sights under even a 
 slight attack. 
 
 The reason for the greater immunity enjoyed by the 
 natives of southern over those of northern Europe from 
 attacks of fever and ague, may be due not only to the fact 
 of that race inhabiting a hot climate, but also to their 
 mode of living and greater sobriety. 
 
 Their cookery is inHnitely better adapted to a climate 
 like that of Africa than ours ; their soups, stews, and made 
 dishes more or less higlily seasoned, or condimented, give 
 less trouble to the stomach naturally debilitated by the 
 action of the climate, and present tlie food in a better 
 condition for easy 'digestion, than the solid ill-cooked 
 masses of roast or boiled meat preferred by the English ; 
 always freshly killed, and rarely of good quality or in 
 proper condition, from tlio impossibility of hanging it long 
 enough to allow it to get tender without being tainted. 
 The natives of south Europe also make great use of two 
 vegetable products, which I consider to be of great benefit 
 in preserving health — the common tomato and garlic. The 
 former, apart from what I believe to be its valuable medi- 
 cinal properties, gives a delicious zest to every kind of 
 cooked food from its slightly acid taste, often transforming 
 an uninviting dish of cold meat, fowl, or fish, into a 
 savoury mess, the very smell of which is sufficient to 
 make one's mouth water, and raise the enfeebled appetite. 
 
 A common and very delicious dish on the coast is called 
 " muqueca," and is thus prepared : the bottom of a frying- 
 pan is covered with sliced tomatoes, on these a layer of 
 small fish is put, or pieces of larger fish, and some salt ; a 
 little salad-oil is poured over the whole, and lastly the fish 
 is covered with thin slices of bread. No water is added, 
 the tomatoes and fish supplying quite enough liquid to 
 cook the whole, which is allowed to stew slowly till done. 
 It should be made hot to taste with green Chiiies, cut up 
 and added with the salt. C(d 1 fried-fish is equally good 
 for making a " muqueca," which is always served at table 
 in the frying-pan, or, better still, flat earthen pan in which 
 
298 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 it lias been cooked. A plate or close cover over the pan 
 whilst cookinj]: the ^'mnqneca" is desirable, as it keeps in 
 tlie moisture better, and the bread becomes nice and s-o't 
 in the rich gravy. The proportion of tomato to tish is 
 soon ascertained by i)ractice, but it is never a fault to 
 have too much of the I'ormer. 
 
 Garlic I consider a most valuable article of food in a 
 hot climate, especially eaten raw. I never travelle 1 \\\i\\' 
 out a siipjjly of garlic, and I found its beneticial i-ffe< ts 
 on the stomach and system most marked. Wi.en very 
 hungry and fatigued I have found notliing to equal a few 
 pieces of raw garlic, eaten with a crust of bread or a 
 biscuit, for producing a few minutes after a delightful 
 sensation of repose, and that feeling of the stomach being 
 ready to receive food, generally absent when excessive 
 emptiness or exhaustion is the case. 
 
 The Portuguese in Angola as a rule rarely drink any- 
 thing stronger than Lisbon red wine. Many undoubtedly 
 drink a great deal more cold water than is necessary or 
 good for them, as constantly drenching the stomach with 
 water must weaken it greatly. 
 
 The English and other foreigners on the coast, on the 
 contrary, make use of too much brandy and spirits, which 
 is a primtijjal cause of the sickness amongst them, but 
 I am happy to say that drunkenness has very greatly 
 decreased of late years ; it would not be easy to see now 
 such scenes as I have witnessed at Quissembo and Cabinda 
 only a few years ago. 
 
 I was at the former place when an Englishman died 
 from the effects of intemperance a few hours after his 
 arrival from Cabinda, where a three days' orgie had 
 been held to bid him good-bye previous to his return to 
 England. 
 
 Kis body was laid on a table, candles were lit all round 
 it, and a kind of wake held nearly all night, during which 
 time two casks of bottled ale and several cases of spirits 
 were consumed amongst not more than a dozen pet>ple. 
 In the morning a hole was dug in the sand, and the body, 
 in a wooden cofHn, lowered into it, whilst the few English 
 
 I 
 
DRUNKENNESS. 299 
 
 in tbe pl«^ce stood around, most of tliem crying, and held 
 by their black servants to prevent them from fallin*^ jiito 
 the gra\e, the etVects of the ** wake " not allowii g them to 
 be sufficiently steady to stand without assistance. An 
 Americ-m, since dead, pnor fellow! tried to read t\.e 
 burial service, but lie was obliged to give up the task, his 
 utterance being most amusingly choked with sobs and 
 liiccups. 
 
 I have known an Englishman to invite the rest of his 
 countrymen to dinner on Christmas-day, and only a very 
 small numlier make their appearance, the rest having been 
 overpowered by drink at breakfast and during the day. 
 
 At Cabinda, on one occasion, a poor fellow who was 
 dying was taken out ,of his b( d, seated on a chair at the 
 head of the table, and his head held up to make him diink 
 to his own health, whilst the rest sang, '* For he is a jolly 
 good fellow ! " Next morning he was found dead and stiff' 
 on his bed. 
 
 The reason for this disgraceful state of things must 
 not be laid entirely to the fault of the men or the 
 climate, but greatly to the false economy of the stu})id 
 and bad system of inducing a certain class of young men 
 to go out at a nominal salary for several years, under the 
 pretence of learning the African trade. 
 
 It is rather too much to expect a young man to devote 
 his entire time and to work hard on the coast of Africa, 
 away Irom his family and every amusement and relaxa- 
 tion, placed very often in a responsible situation, and 
 knowing that his employers are making large profits, 
 whilst he is earning the munificent sum of 201., 30/., and 
 4.01., for the first, second, and third year of his engage- 
 ment, and that also liable to various deductions, and with 
 a very remote chance of ever becoming a head agent. 
 
 I am certain that the popular idea against the use of 
 brandy or win^e in African travel is erroneous and very 
 mischievous, and may be the cause of the loss of valuable 
 lives in future exploration if not refuted. To the traveller 
 in perfect health, spirits of any kind are no doubt unneces- 
 sary, and should not be made use of at all under ordinary 
 
300 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 circumstances, but I am decidedly of opinion that wine 
 and water (in equal parts) is almost a necessity, and 
 should be taken at meals as long as it can be procureil. 
 Lisbon red wine, which has more body but is not stronger 
 than claret, is unquestionably the best for this purpose. 
 
 When chilled with wet, exhausted by fatigue, or when the 
 stomach and bowels are deranged by the heat, or bad food 
 and water, brandy is worth its weight in gold, and is better 
 and more efficacious than any medicine. It is all very 
 well for strong healthy people in Europe to cry down 
 brandy because its use is abused, and because any fatigue 
 they may undergo, in a comfortable manner, is easily dis- 
 pelled at a good fire, with a cup of nice ten, buttered toast, 
 and warm slippers, but let them travel in Alrica, pt-rhaps 
 drenched by lain, with clothes and food all soaked, or 
 weak with profuse perspiration and bad food, stomach, &c., 
 out of order, and gasping for breath under the hot sun, 
 and they will confess to the wonderfully reviving effect of 
 a drop of good brandy ! It is almost as suicidal to travel 
 in tropical Afiica without brandy as without quinine. 
 Both should of couise only be used on occasions when 
 nec-essaiy. During eight months of the rainy season when 
 I was exploring the province of Cambambe, 1 only suffered 
 from one fit of ague, lasting half an hour, and an attack of 
 simple intermittent fever for about four hours, and my 
 consumption of spirits for the whole time was about a litre 
 bottle full of brandy, but 1 am positive that it saved me 
 from illness on several occasions. The risk from the 
 climate to Europeans in tropical Africa is quite sufficient, 
 without incieasing it by withholding such a valuable pro- 
 tection as brandy from our explorers, simply from tear 
 of its abuse, or in deference to popular claptrap. 
 
 A very important rule to b3 observed (and invariably 
 adopted by the Portuguese) is to take a cup of coffee or 
 tea immediately on rising at daybreak." I made my 
 miners at Benguella take a mugful of hot coffee and a 
 biscuit every morning before going to work, with great 
 benefit to them. 
 
 JMy whole experience on the coast has taught me no 
 
FEVER. 301 
 
 lesson more strongly than that of immediately attending 
 to the slij^htest indication of illness or fever, and I believe 
 that the great secret or means of enjoying health depends 
 almost entirely on this. It is very rarely that a fever or 
 ague comes on without some premonitory indisposition, 
 very often so slight as to be disregarded — a dryness of the 
 mouth, or thirst, or a nervous exhilaration, being often 
 the forerunner of an attack of fever. 
 
 If rest be taken (a slight aperient if necessary), and 
 attention paid to not exposing the body to the sun, the 
 attack is generally slight, or does not come on at all. If 
 it does, cooling drinks must be plentifully made use of, 
 and means adopted to cause copious perspiration as it 
 passes off, and care taken to avoid any chill or cold. 
 
 A most important measure is to take the sulphate of 
 quinine immediately the pulse is reduced to its natural 
 beat, but not beibre : tliree to five grains are to be taken 
 every half hour, until fifteen to twenty-five grains have 
 been swallowed, either in solution or made into pills with 
 a little camphor, and one grain of opium to twenty of 
 sulphate of quinine. 
 
 Any kind of cooling drink most palatable to the patient 
 may be made use of liberally, and only chicken or other 
 bi-oth as food. 
 
 This treatment in the majority of cases will suffice to 
 stop the fever or ague. Ten or twelve grains of quinine 
 (in small doses) should be given a few hours before the 
 completion of the twenty- four hours after the commence- 
 ment of the attack, when its recurrence takes place if the 
 amount of quinine first given has not been sufficient to 
 arrest it. Should the attack come on a second time, the 
 same treatment must be adopted, with an increased amount 
 of quinine. For a couple of days or so nothing but fowl- 
 soup, or other light nutritious food, should be given, only 
 increasini!: it as the appetite becomes fully developed, and 
 when it is certain that the attack has been successfully 
 combated. A very strong but false appetite is often 
 developed immediately after a fever, which it is necessary 
 to be very careful not to satisfy with strong food, as this 
 
302 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 would be quite sufficient to cause indigestion, and ^ith 
 certainty produce a worse attack of lever, often compli- 
 cated with dangerous bilious derangement, vomiting, <S:c. 
 Bilious fevers of a bad type are comparatively rare in 
 Angola; and if the foregoing all-important precaution is 
 taken, of attending carefully to a lever at firat, the;e is 
 but little fear of the dangerous type. 
 
 A great deal of the sickness on the coast is entirely 
 owing to the want of this precaution. People get into a 
 careless habit of going about with a little fever on them 
 every day, and it is ordy when they become very reduced 
 in strength, or unwell, that they call the doctor or place 
 themselves under proper treatment or regimen. 
 
 It is perfectly impossible to account for the origin of 
 fevers in Africa. They do not always depend upon the 
 proximity of marshes or stagnant water. They were very 
 lYe(|uent at Bembe, where I believe the thick forest around 
 had something to do with their occurrence, as it l.ecame 
 healthier as these were gradually cleared away. Fever is 
 sometimes common in places near the sea, where there 
 are neither marshes nor forests for considerable distances. 
 
 Again, the banks of rivers may be comparatively free 
 from fevers, whilst at the same time places apparently 
 least likely are suffering from them. In any case, even 
 in the dangerous type, there is never any long convales- 
 cence or recovery, as happens with the agues and fevers 
 of the marshy places in Europe. A few days suffice to 
 restore people to health after an attack of African fever 
 and ague, and in a short time flesh and stiength are 
 picked up. 
 
 There is no effectual substitute for quinine as yet 
 known ; its use by subcutaneous injection has not yet been 
 adopted in Angola. Many Portuguese have a prejudice 
 against quinine, and in its stead make use of a common 
 plant called "Fedegozo" {Cassia occidentalis). 
 
 The root, which is excessively bitter, is made into 
 decoction. The seeds also are roasted and ground, and 
 their infusion taken either alone, or generally mixed 
 with coffee. 
 
NATIVE TREATMENT. 303 
 
 The natives suffer but little from fever and ague, and 
 then it is generally the result of a chill, on the change 
 from the hot to the cold season. Their treatment almost 
 alsvays con>ists in lying quiet until nature works her own 
 cure, but they also make use of a strong infusion of the 
 leaves of the ''Malulo," an excessively bitter plant {Ver- 
 nonia {Elephanto])its) Senegalends). 
 
 This is a handsome, herbaceous shrub, and is curious 
 from its habit of being (like the nettle with us) the first 
 to take possession of and grow luxuriantly on all bare 
 open places where habitations or plantations have existed. 
 The infusion of this plant is also universally employed by 
 the natives in bowel complaints. A common method 
 they have of curing fever is to induce strong perspiration 
 by squatting over an earthen pot (just removed from the 
 fire) sunk in a hole in the ground, in which "Herva Santa 
 Maria" (Chenoj)odium amhrosioides) and "Sangue-sangue" 
 have been boiled. The patient is well covered over, and 
 the aromatic vapour-bath soon produces its desired effect. 
 I have seen blacks cured of severe attacks of fever with 
 one or two applications of this simple remedy. " Sangue- 
 sangue " is the name given to the large seed-heads of a 
 strong, tall grass (a species of Oijmhojpogon)^ which ex- 
 hales a very powerlul aromatic odour when crushed. 
 
 The " Herva Santa Maria " grows very abundantly every- 
 where in Angola, and, as in other warm countries where 
 it is found, its medicinal properties are held in great repute. 
 It is a small annual plant, generally about a foot and a 
 half high, very green and bushy, and every part of it is 
 hotly and strongly aromatic. 
 
 In almost every complaint the natives first apply this 
 plant as a remedy. For internal pains Ci qnqvj kind 
 it is taken as decoction, or the crushed phint rubbed 
 over the seat of the pain ; for blows, swellings, and bruises, 
 a poultice of the fresh plant is employed. "When the 
 back aches from carrying a heavy load, &c., fresh leaves 
 are rubbed on the spine, and a handful of the crushed 
 plant is placed between the skin and the waistcloth. In 
 cases of head-ache, the crushed plant is rubbed over the 
 
304 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 head, and plugs of the leaves inserted in the capacious 
 nostrils ; for this pain they also paint the forehead with 
 the milky juice of the mandioca plant, and place one 
 or more white dots on the temples of "pemba" or white 
 clay. A shrub growing near streams, called "Entuehi" 
 (the botanical name of which I know not), the leaves 
 and young shoots of which, when freshly crushed, exhale 
 a delicious smell of bitter almonds, is also used, to plug 
 the nostrils in cases of headache. 
 
 There is remarkably little diarrhoea or dysentery in 
 Angola, either amongst the natives or whites. The treat- 
 ment for it adopted by the natives consists exclusively 
 in taking decoctions of yarious astringent and aromatic 
 plants. 
 
 The principal are " Empebi," the aromatic seeds of the 
 Anona muricata; '*Mucozo," the thick, fleshy, rose-coloured 
 bark of a large, handsome iiir-tree, and yery strongly 
 astringent ; the " Jindungo N'Congo " (Congo-pepper), 
 the carpels of the Xylojna wtMoj)ica, with a disagreeable, 
 resinous taste ; " Ensacu-sacu," the small, knobby roots of 
 a plant growing in marshy places, and with a strong 
 smell of turpentine, and the roots and stems of the 
 Hydnora already described. 
 
 A singular disease of a dysenteric character, and pe- 
 culiar to the blacks, is called " macule," and. is quickly 
 fatal if not attended to promptly, when it is easily cured. 
 It commences with strong diarrhoea, but its chief cha- 
 racteristic is the production in the anal oritiee, botli 
 internally and externally, of little ulcers containing mas^- 
 gots. The native method of treatment is quickly effi- 
 cacious, and consists in plugging the orifice with a wad 
 of crushed " Herva Santa Maria " dipped in strong rum 
 and ground gunpowder, and any kind of astringent medi- 
 cine is given at the same time. This disease was very 
 previilent in the slave barracoons ; and I was told that at 
 the French depot at Banana, when they shipped some 
 thousands of blacks some years ago under the name of 
 "free emigrants," the slaves were dying at the rate of 
 fifty and sixty each day from this disease, whilst under 
 
ULCERS. 305 
 
 Ihe care of the Frencli surgeons; but that when these 
 left from ill health, and the slaves were entrusted to the 
 care of black medicine-men skilled in the treatment of 
 "maculo," the deaths decreased immediately to a very- 
 small number. 
 
 This disease is due to overcrowding and improper food ; 
 but change of place will also produce it. Slaves from the 
 interior mostly have it on coming into possession of the 
 white man, when it is probably induced by the change 
 from tlieir usual poor food to the very much better sus- 
 tenance given them by their new masters. 
 
 Sores and ulcers on the feet and legs are extremely 
 common, and are troublesome to heal, whether in natives 
 or Europeans. The blacks use a variety of remedies, and 
 are sometimes very successful in the cure of stubborn 
 cases. 
 
 I had a boy at Bembe called *' Brilhante " (Brilliant), 
 about fourteen years of age, a fine, sharp little fellow, the 
 son of a *• capata " or head-man of a number of carriers 
 from the town of Musserra. A fetid ulcer appeared on 
 his leg, and I put him in the military hospital under the 
 doctor's care, where he remained for three months without 
 the least improvement, although every care was taken of 
 him, and every remedy employed that could be thought 
 of. At last, his father said he would take him to the 
 coast, and see whether the native treatment could cure 
 him. Two months after, he returned to Bembe, bringing 
 me little Brilhante perfectly cured. Our doctor was 
 astounded, but although I offered the boy's father a 
 large reward if he would obtain for me the plants, &c., 
 employed by the medicine-man, he never did. Their 
 principal remedy, however, is powdered malachite, with 
 or without lime-juice. Lime-juice is also used by itself, 
 or with powdered " mubafo " or gum elemi, which is very 
 abundant in the Mushicongo country. Poultices and de- 
 coctions made of crushed '• Herva Santa Maria," and of 
 various other plants are also applied to the sores, which 
 are protected from dust and Hies by a piece of rag, or 
 very often by a light shield made ixpm. a piece of dry 
 
 X 
 
303 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 gourd. Ointments are never made use of by the natives 
 in the treatment of ulcers, and they are not much in 
 favour with the Portuijuese. 
 
 From the sudden fall of the high temperature of the 
 hot season to the **cacimbo" the natives, as might be 
 expected, suffer most from diseases of the respiratory 
 organs. No provision whatever is made by the bulk of 
 the natives against this great change, and the quick 
 transition from the clear warm nights of the hot season 
 to the cold wet ones of the " cacimbo," when the ground 
 is covered with a heavy mist, tells on their nearly naked 
 and unprotected bodies with terribly fatal* effect. In fact, 
 by far the greater part of the blacks die from this cau^!e ; 
 and so true is this, that it is rare to see a white-headed 
 native in Angola. 
 
 There is no doubt that this is a wise provision of nature 
 for keeping down the otherwise excessive numbers of the 
 human animal in that country, and it is certainly more 
 natural and merciful than the supplementary measures 
 adopted by themselves, of poisoning by '* casca " or other- 
 wise killing one another for "fetish " or witchcraft, or in times 
 of famine. Should the negro race ever be civilized, they 
 must be taught to be more industrious, or else means must 
 be adopted to enable the teeming millions to seek work 
 and food in other countries ; subjects, I am afraid but too 
 little regarded, by philanthropists in their present anxious 
 solicitude for the welfare of these lazy, happy brutes. 
 
 It is a w^onderful scene when travelling with a caravan 
 in the "cacimbo" season, to see perhaps two or three 
 hundred blacks wake up in the cold misty mornings, and 
 crouch in circles of ten or a dozen together round a fire, 
 shivering and chattering their teeth. It is then that they 
 enjoy smoking the "diamba" {Cannabis sativa), which is 
 the name they ^ive to the wild hemp, the flowering tops 
 of which are collected and dried for this purpose. It is 
 burnt in a straight clay-pipe bowl inserted in the closed 
 end of a long gourd, in which is contained a small quantity 
 of water, and through which the smoke is forced and 
 washed when the open end of the gourd is put to the 
 
SMOKING WILD HEMP. 307 
 
 mouth and suction applied. (Plate XIV.) Four or six 
 long deep inspirations from tlie gourd are as much as a 
 man can bear of the disagreeable acrid smoke, which makes 
 them cough and expectorate as if their lungs were coming 
 out of their mouths. The gourd is rapidly passed from 
 one to another in each circle, and the mighty chorus of 
 violent coughing and hawking lasts for about ten minutes 
 or a quarter of an hour. The effects of the wild hemp 
 (from which the " hasheesh " of other countries is pre- 
 pared) are curious, and appear to be different from those 
 described as attending its use in other parts of the world. 
 There is no intoxicating effect produced, but, on the con- 
 trary, the blacks affirm that it wakes them up and warms 
 their bodies, so that they are ready to start up with 
 alacrity, take up tlieir loads, and trot off quickly. 
 
 I^Jatives who smoke "diamba" immoderately, and make 
 themselves slaves to the habit, have their brains affected in 
 time, and become stupid and listless. When they arriv^e 
 at this stage, they are '*fetished" like drunkards. The 
 Portuguese prohibit their slaves from indulging in tliis 
 habit. The plant is cultivated round the huts every- 
 where in Angola, but except in the cold season diamba- 
 smoking is not very general. 
 
 The natives have no efficient remedies or treatment for 
 bronchitis, pleurisy, and pneumonia, from which they suffer 
 so much and so fatally in the cold season. They chew the 
 stem of a kind of rush growing in streams and marshy 
 places, the juice of which has an agreeable taste of acetic 
 acid, and make a few emulcent drinks from the leafless 
 parasite Cassytha, a large mallow, and the seed-heads of 
 the Sangue-sangue ; these, and rubbing the chest with 
 *' tacula " mixed with a pulp of the bruised leaves of 
 *•' Herva Santa Maria," '* Ensuso-ensuso," " Brucutu," and 
 other plants, are their only applications. With slaves or 
 other blacks under the care of Europeans, only the most 
 energetic medical treatment will save their lives when 
 attacked by these complaints, so dangerous and rapid is 
 the effect on their constitutions. 
 
 Ophthalmia, or any affection of the eyes, is extremely 
 
 X 2 
 
808 ANGOLA AND THE lUVER CONGO. 
 
 rare in Angola, either amongst natives or Europeans, 
 which is singular, considering that the littoral region is 
 so white and sandy in many places. 
 
 A kind oF itch called *• sarna " is very common among 
 the blacks: it appears as little watery pustules on the 
 hands and feet, and in severe cases on the elbows and 
 knees, and on the arms and legs. These pustules break 
 into sores, which become covered with matter and scales, 
 and are accompanied by a little swelling and pain, but 
 not much itching. It does not appear to be contagious, 
 and I was unable to find acari in several cases that I 
 examined under the microscope. 
 
 I believe it is principally the result of dirt and filth, 
 but is not always so, as the Cabindas and the cleaner 
 tribes have it, although not to such an extent as tribes 
 like the Mushicongos, who are so muchdirtier in their habits. 
 Europeans are almost sure to have it after some years 
 residence in the country, and I have known this to be the 
 case with some who were scrupulously clean in their per- 
 sons and habits. It readily gives way to sulphur ointment, 
 and the blacks have no native remedy so efficacious as 
 this, which is therefore often asked for by them. 
 
 I remember, on my first arrival in Africa, witnessing a 
 little episode that produced some impression on my then 
 inexperienced mind. I saw one morning, from my window 
 at Bembe, a black w^oman and a little girl go out into 
 the enclosure at the back of my neighbour's house, both 
 carrying kitchen pots and pans, plates, and cups and 
 saucers, which they placed ready for washing up on the 
 usual " tarimba," a kind of table or framework of sticks 
 on four uprights, to be seen in every yard for this pur- 
 pose. Before going on with her work, how^ever, the 
 woman stripped the child naked, and proceeded with both 
 hands to rub her little body all over with sulphur ointment, 
 she being covered from head to foot with this *• sarna." 
 When she had thoroughly rubbed in the ointment to her 
 satisfaction, she del.berately, without even so much as 
 wiping her hands on a rag, poured some water into a 
 frying-pan and cleaned it w ith her hands ; she did the 
 
NATIVE REMEDIES. 309 
 
 same with the rest of the pans and crockery, and left 
 them to drain on the " tarimba " ready for preparing her 
 master's breakfast ! 
 
 I afterwards, in the course of time, had any little squeam- 
 ishness or prejudices that I had brought with me from 
 England rubbed off by other instances of similar insigni- 
 ficant negh'gences on the part of the black cooks in Africa. 
 I once found a fine cutting of a big-toe nail on a beefsteak ; 
 another time, a round head with a beak and large eyes, 
 and a body of an indistinct and cloudy nature, in a rice- 
 pudding, from a half-hatched egg having been stirred into 
 it in its manufacture; and in a roast fowl I was disap- 
 pointed in cutting open what I fondly tliought was its 
 stuffed breast, to find that it was the poor hen's crop, full 
 of indian-corn, cockroaches, and a fine centipede, I 
 also, as I have said before, once saw my cook at Ambriz 
 making some forcemeat-balls quite round and smooth 
 by rolling them with the palm of his hand on his naked 
 stomach ! 
 
 Another skin disease, principally attacking children, 
 and said to be very contagious, appears in the form of 
 little bladders filled with water. The treatment for this 
 disease is to touch the vesicles with caustic, when they 
 soon heal ; but the natives adopt a barbarous and painful 
 process, which is to rub them off with a rough indian-corn 
 cob and sand and water, and then cover the raw places 
 with powdered malachite and lime-juice. When at Bembe, 
 my \Mfe was horrified at finding two or three women busily 
 engaged in the cure of this complaint on a child near a 
 very pretty pool of water, to which we had gone to collect 
 butterflies; but instead of using a corn cob, they Avere 
 actually scraping the poor, yelling little unfortunate's 
 sores with a piece of sharp potsherd! It is, however, 
 satisfactory to know that the treatment, although cruel, 
 is efficacious. 
 
 The purgatives made use of by the negroes are the 
 castor-oil seeds ground and mixed with a little water, and 
 the juice of the plant bearing the physic-nut (Jatrojjha 
 curcas). This is collected on a leaf from a cut made in 
 
310 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 the stem of the plant, and at once swallowed ; — from five 
 to ten drops appear to be a dose. 
 
 Epsom salts are a very favourite medicine of the blacks 
 living with the white men near the coast, and I have seen 
 them take a great mugjul of a strong solution of this Kalt 
 without making a wry face. Tiiey are also very fond of 
 being cupped for any pain, and it is rare to see a man *jv 
 woman wiiose back or shoulders do not bear signs of this 
 opera* ion. 
 
 Bleeding seems to suit the negro constitution admir- 
 ably, and the Bnnda-speaking natives ara very skilful in 
 the use of the lancet, often with dreadfully blunt instru- 
 ments. 
 
 One of the natives in my service at Cambambe was 
 a capital hand at bleeding, but his lancet was in such 
 shocking condition, that I took some pains to sharpen it 
 properly on a hone : the first time he used it afterwards, 
 he nearly killed the man he operated upon, for, accus- 
 tomed to find considerable resistance to its blunt point, he 
 applied the same force to it when sharpened. He told me 
 confidentially that he was much obliged to me for " fetish- 
 ing" the lancet, as he was sure I had not made it so sharp 
 by merely grinding on a stone, and he also told me that 
 no blood-letter, would be able to compete with him. 
 
 For sweljings in the feet, &c , they are fond of making 
 a number of little incisions in the skin with a razor or 
 common knife, and I have often lent them my sharp pen- 
 knife lor tliis purpose. 
 
 For inflammation of the bowels, colic, or other violent 
 pains, great use is made of the fresh leaves of the tobacco 
 plant, applied as gathered to the abdomen, or better still, 
 alter dipping in boiling water. They are also chopped up 
 and niade into a poultice with castor-oil. I have heard 
 such wondeiful accounts of the efficacy of this remedy iu 
 those cases, both from the natives and Portuguese who 
 have used it, that I hope some of my medical readers 
 may be induced to give it a trial, ^^hich could easily be 
 done even here, where tobacco is now so generally grown 
 out of doors as an ornamental plant in our gardens. 
 
NATIVE REMEDIES, 311 
 
 The leaves of the castor-oil plant are also employed in 
 the same manner, but are said not to be so efficatiions. 
 
 A short, broad-leaved grass covered with hairs, exuding 
 a sticky gum, and with a resinous smell, ^rows in the in- 
 terior, and when very tired the natives drink an infusion 
 of it, which they say acts with great benefit. 
 
 There are a variety of other plants employed by the 
 natives in the cure of various complaints, but of their 
 positive efficacy I can only speak in two cases. One is a 
 shrub with a very peculiar leaf, but which unfortunately 
 I did not observe in flower, and therefore did not collect a 
 specimen, so that I cannot ascertain its botanical name. 
 About Benguella its name is '*Mboi." The root is sliced, 
 and the decoction employed to rinse the mouth in scurvy. 
 
 A Portuguese trader at Novo Kedondo first told me of 
 this plant, and that it had quickly cured him of a dread- 
 fully ulcerated mouth from scurvy, after every other 
 remedy lie had had from the druggists at Loanda had 
 failed. On arriving at Egito 1 found my friend the 
 "chefe" there also suffering from a very bad mouth. I 
 went into the bush in search of this plant, and obtained 
 a bundle of the roots for him ; a few days after, I had 
 the satisfaction of receiving a letter telhng me it had 
 cured him perfectly. 
 
 Another remedy for stomach and liver complaints, from 
 which I have seen great benefit derived by the Portuguese 
 who have used it, is the root of a creeper bearing very 
 pretty small white flowers {Boerhaavia sp.), and growing 
 most abundantly everywhere in Angola. 
 
 A clerk of mine at Ambriz, who complained of pain in 
 his stomach, and who was in ill health for several months, 
 notwithstanding the doctor's care, was quite cured in a 
 short time by the use of the decoction of this root. I gave 
 it to him, having seen its good results in several cases at 
 Benguella. 
 
 Singularly enough, there is very little rheumatism 
 amongst the natives of Angola. Europeans also suffer 
 but little from this complaint; but a few years ago an 
 epidemic of a kind of rheumatic fever attacked the natives 
 
312 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 and nearly every white at Loanda and its neighbourhood. 
 It was like a simple fever, but accompanied with sudden 
 pain in every joint, rendering the slightest movement 
 almost impossible. This lasted only a few days, and the 
 patients gradually got well. If I remember right, there 
 was no fatal termination to any case among the Euro- 
 peans. This disease is known in Angola by the name of 
 *' Catolo-tolo," and nearly forty years had elapsed since 
 its previous appearance at Loanda. 
 
 Leeches are extremely abundant in the fresh-water 
 lagoons of Angola, and are much used by the Portuguese. 
 
 In former days when there was more intercourse between 
 Angola and the Brazils, leeches were an important article 
 of export, as they fetched a high price in the latter 
 country. I have often bought a large clay-pot full of 
 fine leeches for a few fathoms of cotton cloth. 
 
 The acrid, milky juice of the euphorbias is very dan- 
 gerous to the eyes i'f it should drop into them, no un- 
 common circumstance in clearing away bush, &c. As a 
 remedy the natives employ the juice of the Sanseviera 
 Angolensis^ Welw. I imagine that any good effect of this 
 plant in such cases is more mechanical than otherwise, as 
 it is so full of watery juice that, by simply twisting the 
 rod-like leaves, abundance of it immediately squirts out. 
 
( 313 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CUSTOMS — BURIAL — WHITE ANT — WASPS — FRUITS — 
 SCENTS — SPITTING SNAKE — SOARABiEUS — LEMUR. 
 
 There are several peculiar habits and customs, common 
 to the natives of Angola, that I have not mentioned in 
 tlie preceding chapters. One of the most striking and 
 pleasing is their regard for their parents and old people. 
 These are always consulted before they undertake a 
 journey, or hire themselves as carriers or for other 
 service, and they always bid them good-bye, and leave 
 them some little present of beads or rum. On returning 
 to their towns they immediately see their fathers and 
 mothers and the old people, and squat down and " beat 
 hands " to them, and give an account of their doings. A 
 little food is then eaten together, and they consider that 
 they have done their duty. Neither the men nor women 
 will smoke whilst speaking to their old people, but always 
 take their pipes out of their mouths, or if their hands are 
 engaged, hold the pipe-stem across their teeth. Other 
 marks of respect always practised to their old men, to 
 their kings, and to white men, are, when passing between 
 or close to them, to bend their bodies slightly and snap 
 their lingers : if they meet them on the road, they will 
 stand aside without moving, till they have passed, and if 
 carrying a load on the head, always remove it to the 
 shoulder, or lift it above the head on both hands. A guij 
 is never carried on the shoulder in similar cases, but 
 always in the hand, horizontally at the side.. 
 
 Smoking is universal, but although they are very 
 fond of the habit, and the pUnt grows luxuriantly and 
 
3U ANGOLA AND THE EIVER CONGO. 
 
 ^Yithout any trouble, tobacco is comparatively dear in all 
 parts of Angola. It is a very usual thing to see a native 
 put a great piece of lighted charcoal in his empty pipe- 
 bowl, and puif away, as he says, to warm himself. They 
 generally carry the bits of plaited tobacco behind the 
 ear. Tobacco is always smoked pure. Only amongst the 
 Mushicongos have I seen them put small chips of a sweet- 
 smelh'ng root (probably a species of orris) in their pipes 
 with the tobacco, to give a flavour to the smoke. This 
 root they call ''Ncombo" or "goat," its beautiful scent 
 being compared by the natives to that of a billy-goat ! - 
 
 Snuff-taking is also very general, the Mushicongos and 
 the natives of the Zombo country beyond, who bring down 
 the ivory to the coast, being the tribes most addicted to 
 the habit. The tobacco leaf is well dried over a fire, and 
 ground on a stone, when it is ready for nse, but the above- 
 mentioned tribes are not satisfied with it in its pure con- 
 dition, and to make it stronger mix it with a white ash 
 obtained by burning the twigs of a bush which appears to 
 be very alkaline. This even is not sufficiently strong for 
 many of their delicate noses, and dried ground Chili 
 (cayenne) pepper is also added to obtain the degree of 
 strength desired. 
 
 Their snuff-box is generally a length of cane between 
 two knots, the open end being closed by a small wooden 
 stopper, secured to the snuff-box by a bit of string passing 
 through a hole in the centre. Snuff-boxes are also carved 
 out of wood, and variously ornamented. The ordinary 
 way of taking a pinch of snuff, between the forefinger and 
 thumb, is unknown to the blacks, and would be considered 
 a very unsatisfactory method. They pour about a tea- 
 spoonlul of snuff into the palm of the hand, and burying 
 their wide and capacious nostrils in the peppery mixture, 
 snort it up loudly, aided by a rotary motion of the half- 
 closed hand. 
 
 Many allow a scrubby, woolly moustache to .grow for 
 the sole purpose of plastering it thickly with snuff, so that 
 when on a journey and carrying a load, they can take it by 
 simply curling up the upper "lip and sniffing strong! v. 
 
CUSTOMS. 315 
 
 without stoppino^ or laying down the load to open the 
 box and. take it in the ordinary way. 
 
 Neithei- infanticide nor abortion are practised in iVngola ; 
 on the contrary, it is considered a misfortune not to have 
 children, and their marriages may be dissolved if they prove 
 barren. 
 
 The Mundombes have a carious custom in connection 
 with this desire for children. A banana-tree is planted on 
 the day of their marriage, and if on its producing its first 
 bunch of fruit, which is generally in nine or ten months 
 after, a child should not have been born, the contract is 
 considered void, and they may marry again. 
 
 The common way amongst blacks to assert the truth of 
 a statement, is to go on their knees and rub the forefinger 
 of each hand on the ground, and then touch their tongues 
 and forehead with the dusty tips ; this is equivalent to 
 an oath. About Loanda they make the sign of the cross 
 on the ground with a finger, for the same purpose, and 
 this is evidently derived from some old custom introduced 
 by the former missionaries. 
 
 Some of the actions of the blacks are exactly the same 
 as those performed by monkeys. In using their hands and 
 fingers to clean or polish a piece of brass work, for instance, 
 the feeble and nerveless manner of holding the bit of oiled 
 rag, and the whole action of the hand and arm, is strikingly 
 like that of a monkey when it rubs its hands on the ground 
 when they are sticky or dirty. Their manner of sliding 
 their hands up and down on the edge of a door or on a 
 door-post, or along the edges of a table whilst waiting or 
 speaking, is very monkey-like, and no black — man, woman, 
 or child — ever goes along, a corridor or narrow passage 
 without rubbing both hands on the walls. 
 
 Blacks, especially women, have a singular way of carrying 
 any object in the hand, which always appeared to me to 
 be very uncomfortable. A plate or glass, for instance, is in- 
 variably carried as in Plate XIV., the hand being thrown 
 back and the object taken on the flat, extended palm. The 
 greater flexibility of the joints in the negro race may 
 have something to do with this, as also with the fact of their 
 
316 ANGOLA AND THE lUVER CONGO. 
 
 squatting on their heels, but with their knees not touching 
 the ground, for a considerable length of time, and then 
 getting up apparently without the slightest stiffness from 
 what would be to most of us a very uncomfortable 
 position. 
 
 Blacks have an odd habit, Mhen they feel cold, of 
 placing their hands on their shoiilders, not with their 
 arms crossed, as would be most natural for us to do, but 
 each hand on its corresponding shoulder, and if they feel 
 very cold, they bring their elbows together in front and 
 shrink their heads into their shoulders, so that the ears 
 touch the sides of the hands. 
 
 They are fond of gambling, particularly the inhabitants 
 of Loanda, and also the slaves and servants of the white 
 men on the coast. For this they use playing-cards, and 
 also small round pieces of crockery ground on a stone to 
 the size of a sixpence, and these they shake in the hands 
 and throw up in the same way as a handful of halfpence 
 in our game of *' toss," and according as a greater or lesser 
 number of the plain or coloured sides come down upper- 
 most, so do the players win or lose. I have also seen in 
 several places a board in which were a number of shallow 
 pits, and in these a few seeds or round pebbles, which 
 were rapidly shifted about into the different holes by the 
 two players, but I could never make out the plan of the 
 game. Beyond this, and the " batuco " or dance, and 
 playing the "marimba," the natives of Angola have abso- 
 lutely no game or amusement of any kind whatever. 
 
 The youngsters have no toys or playthings, and never 
 race or play together as ours do. 
 
 None, either young or old, know or practise a single 
 game of skill or strength ; there is not an indication any- 
 where that they ever contended at ball, stick, wrestling, 
 or any other exercise or feat. Tin's to my mind is striking 
 in the highest degree, and most suggestive of a singularly 
 low type, one in which no sentiment of emulation or rivalry 
 exists, and consequently very difficult to work upon with 
 much chance of success for its advancement. 
 
 I have never seen or heard of any monument, or sculp- 
 
BURIAL. 317 
 
 tured rocks or stones, being found in the country, whicli 
 might indicate the existence of a previous race ; and the 
 most curious thing is that even tradition of any kind is 
 unknown to the blacks of Angohi. In no case could they 
 trace events further back than during the reign of five 
 " sobas ;" no very great length of time when it is con- 
 sidered that these are generally old men when elected. 
 They do not even know the history of the crucifixes now 
 existing amongst them as *' fetishes" of the '* sobas," and 
 when I have explained to them that they formerly belonged 
 to the missionaries, they were astonished, and gave as a 
 reason for their ignorance and my knowledge, that the 
 white men could write, whereas, when they died, nothing 
 they had seen or known was preserved, as our writings 
 were, for the information of their children. 
 
 This again, I think, is very indicative of their low 
 type; as also is the fact that no animal is tamed or 
 utilized by the negro, or made subservient to his comfort 
 in any way. Even the cows or goats are not milked except 
 by the natives south of the liiver Quanza. In no part of 
 Angola (and the same holds good, I believq, of the whole 
 negro race) is a single animal employed in agriculture as 
 a beast of burden, or for riding. 
 
 The burial places of the blacks of Angola are almost 
 everywhere alike. A square place is raised about a foot 
 from the ground, and the earth enclosed by short stakes 
 or fiat pieces of rock, and on this raised space broken 
 bottles and crockery of every description are placed. 
 
 The ordinary burial places, like those mentioned about 
 Ambriz, are merely mounds of earth or stones, with a 
 stick to mark the grave of a man, and a basket that of 
 a woman ; and sometimes a slab of rock is stuck upright 
 in the ground to indicate the head of the grave. Occa- 
 sionally, in the case of a big *-soba," there are several 
 tiers of earth raised one above the other, and ornamented 
 with broken glass and crockery and various figures repre- 
 senting '• fetishes," and I have also seen a shade of sticks 
 and grass erected over the whole, to keep it from the 
 rain. 
 
318 ANGOJ.A AND THE BIVER CONGO, 
 
 The '' Salale " or " white ant," as the larva of quite a 
 small black ant is called, is, from its numbers and the 
 ravages it commits, a very important insect, and merits 
 some notice. It is most abundant in the interior, where 
 the soil, from the decomposition of the clay and mica 
 slate, is more earthy or clayey, as it is not fond 
 of rocky, stony, or sandy ground unless it is very ferru- 
 ginous. Tlieir nests are sometimes large, pointed 
 masses of earth three and four feet high, and as many in 
 diameter at the base, internally tunneled in every direc- 
 tion, and swarming with ants, eggs, and larvae; but the 
 usual nests are about a foot or eighteen inches high, like 
 a gigantic mushroom, with from one to six round curved 
 heads placed one on top of the other (Plate XVI.). These 
 nests are very hard, and the exceedingly fine earth or clay 
 of which they are made must be mixed with some gummy 
 secretion, by means of which it becomes so hard on 
 drying. 
 
 My cook at Cambambe was very clever at making 
 small dome-shaped ovens from old ants' nests, which he 
 ground fine and mixed to a thick paste or mortar. When 
 the oven was dry (nothing else being used in building it 
 but this mortar), he lit a fire in it, and it burnt to almost 
 the hardness of stone, and without a crack or flaw in it ; 
 it was then ready for use, and lasted a long time. These 
 ovens were big enough to bake three small loaves of bread 
 at a time. 
 
 These nests are sometimes so numerous, particularly in 
 the grassy plains of the interior, as to render walking 
 difficult in many places, and, when the grass has been 
 burnt off, they give a very peculiar appearance to the 
 surface, looking something like a field of brown cauli- 
 flowers. They are, like the larger ones, perforated with 
 galleries in every direction, and also full of ants and 
 larvae. It is curious that considering the existence of 
 the countless millions of these ants over large areas of 
 country, no bird, and with the exception of the rare 
 Manis muUiscutata, no animal, should be found to feed 
 on them. This animal is something like an armadillo, 
 
Peiupasus spirifex and nest. — Devil of the Road. — Dasylus sp.— Caierpillars' nosts. — Mantis and 
 nest. — Munis multiscuiatum and Ants' nosts. /oce page 318. 
 
WHITE ANT. .".19 
 
 with a long tail, and covered with large, hard, long scales 
 (Plate XVI). Specimens are sold at Loanda and elsewhere, 
 and used as " fetishes " by the natives. A species of the 
 " ant-bear," apparently the same as that found at the Cape, 
 is not uncommon in Benguella, but I have seen its burrows 
 in situations near tlie sea, in salt, dusty plains, &c., where 
 very little or no *' Salale " is found, and from examination 
 of the dung, I found that its food must consist prin- 
 cipally of small lizards and larvce of insects, and beetles, 
 especially the Psammodes ohlonr/a, Dej., so extremely 
 abundant in its haunts. 
 
 The natives of Benguella say there are two kinds, 
 one very much larger than the other. I once tasted a 
 roasted leg of the ant-bear, called " Jimbo" by the natives, 
 and its flavour was very much like pork. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that the white ant is most 
 destructive to timber and woodwork of every description, 
 as well as to all clothes and fabrics. Nothing comes amiss 
 to its insatiable jaws, with the exception of metal and 
 some very few woods, (xoods, provisions, &c., must be kept 
 on tables or frames built on wooden legs, as if placed on 
 the ground they would quickly be destroyed ; but even 
 then care must be taken to examine the legs or supports 
 of the frames every day, as they will run up the^^e in 
 search of the good things on the top. The white ant 
 is about a quarter of an inch long, juid its body is very 
 soft and white, but with a black head provided with most 
 powerful jaws for so small a creature. 
 
 It never ventures into the light, and when it leaves the 
 shelter of the ground always protects itself by building a 
 flattened tube of earth or sand as it goes along; it will 
 carry this tube up a wall to reach a window-sill or other 
 woodwork, or riglit up to the roof timbers. Any object 
 left for a little time on the ground, particularly in a closed 
 or dark store, is quickly covered over with earth, and then 
 completely eaten away. I have known a pair of shoes 
 thus covered in one night, and the thread, being the softest 
 part, devoured, so that the leathers came apart at the 
 seams when they were lifted. 
 
320 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 I once left a trunk full of clothes at Loanda wLilst I 
 ^vas away for about a month on an excursion inland. AVhen 
 I returned the trunk seemed all right, but on opening 
 it I found that a black cloth coat I had laid at the 
 top was at the bottom, and under it about a couple of 
 handsful of dust Avas all that remained of my boxful of 
 clothes. 
 
 Window or door-frames I have seen completely eaten 
 away from the walls, leaving only a thin covering often 
 not thicker than a sheet of brown paper, or little more 
 than the thickness of the paint. 
 
 Whilst lying awake one night, I noticed a peculiar 
 thrumming noise made by the white ant when manufac- 
 turing a tube up the wall near my bedside. In the 
 morning I carefully peeled off the top of the tube with 
 a penknife, just suificiently to observe the motions of the 
 little masons within, and I saw a string of larvae coming 
 up loaded witli little pellets of clay, which they delivered 
 to others at the top, who simultaneously, and at intervals 
 of four or five seconds, patted them down, thus producing 
 the noise I had heard. This noise can be very plainly 
 heard if the larvae are working on the "loandos" or 
 mats with which the huts or stick-houses are covered. 
 
 Towards the end of the rainy season the Avhite ant 
 attains its perfect form, and on a still, warm evening, 
 generally after a shower of rain, a wonderful sight pre- 
 sents itself when the perfect winged insects issue forth in 
 countless myriads from the ground. This is everywhere 
 i'ull of little holes, about the size of a goose-quill, from 
 which the ants are forcing their way out, not singly, but 
 in a solid compact body or stream. They instantly take 
 wing and rise uj)wards for about six to twelve feet, when 
 the breeze wafts them about in every direction. The air 
 becomes so full of these ants, that a mist seems to hang 
 over the ground, and I have seen the whole of the bottom 
 of the valley at Bembe completely enshrouded by them. 
 Great is the feast of birds and animals at this time.. Birds 
 of all kinds are attracted by the sight and collect in 
 numbers, flying low, and gorging themselves with them. 
 
WHITE ANT. 321 
 
 I have shot hawks and eagles with their crops full to their 
 beaks. Poultry eat them till they go about with their 
 beaks open, unable to find room lor any more. Several 
 tame monkeys I had at Bembe used to sit on the 
 ground, and, taking pinches of the ants as they issued 
 from their holes, bite off the succulent bodies and throw 
 away the wings. 
 
 On our last journey to Bembe my wife was very much 
 amused to see two little children come out of a hut, each 
 with a slice of ** quiquanga," and sitting down on the 
 ground close by an ant-hole, proceed to take pinches of 
 the ants (exactly as I have described the monkeys as 
 doing), and eat them as a relish to their " quiquanga." 
 
 After rising in the air for a very little whde, the ants 
 quickly fall, lose their wings, and disappear in the ground, 
 leaving it covered with the pretty, delicate, transparent 
 Avings. These lie so thickly that a handful can easily be 
 collected together. This will give some idea of the num- 
 ber of these destructive pests, which Nature seems to 
 provide with wings simply to enable them to spread about 
 and form new colonies. It is very fortunate that they 
 do not attack live plants or roots. These soft, delicate 
 little mites doubtless play an important part in Nature's 
 most wonderful plan for the balance of life by quickly 
 destroying all dead timber and other vegetable matter that 
 the quick growing and ever luxuriant vegetation would 
 otherwise soon completely cover, thereby choking up the 
 surface of the country. These ants do not wait for the 
 fall of a dead tree, or even a branch, for they will find the 
 latter out, and carrying their earthen tube up the tree 
 quickly consume the rotten limb. I do not know how 
 intelligence of a likely morsel is conveyed to the larvai 
 underground, but it is most likely carried by the ants. 
 They will construct four or five feet of tube up a wall in 
 one night, straight to a coat or any other object that may 
 be hanging up ; they will also come through a wall, in 
 which they have bored, exactly behind anything placed / 
 against it that may be likely food for their jaws. 
 
 There are many other species of ants in Angola ; one 
 
 Y 
 
322 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 very large black kind migrates in columns of perhaps 
 eight to ten abreast, and as much as ten or twelve yards 
 in length ; they walk very fast, and do not deviate Ironi 
 their intended path unless compelled to do so by an 
 impassable obstacle. 
 
 On touching one of these columns with a stick, a curious 
 fizzing noise is produced, which is communicated to the 
 whole body, and they instantly open out in all directions 
 in search of the supposed enemy ; after a great deal of 
 running backwards and forwards with their powerful hooked 
 mandibles open and upraised, they again collect and fall 
 into a column and proceed on their way. 
 
 I remember a laughable incident that happened at a 
 /?mall town on the road to Bembe, wdiere I once put up for 
 the night. Some of my carriers had gone to sleep in a 
 hilt, and towards morning I was awakened by screams and 
 shouts, and saw a number of these blacks coming pell-mell 
 out of it, dancing, jumping, and running about like mad. 
 All the town was alarmed, and the natives came running 
 out of their huts to ascertain what was the matter. I had 
 hardly got on my feet when the cries were mixed with 
 peals of laughter, they having quickly found out the cause 
 of the terrific uproar. 
 
 It was nothing else than a column of these ants that 
 had passed through the hut and had instantly fastened 
 on the bodies of the sleeping blacks with whiL-h. it was 
 filled. They fasten their great jaws into the skin so tightly, 
 that their bodies can be pulled oil' their heads without 
 relaxing their hold. The mandibles must discharge a 
 poisonous fluid into the wound, as their bite feels exactly 
 like a sharp puncture from a red-hot needle, and they 
 always draw blood. 
 
 I once unconsciously put my foot upon a column, but 
 luckily only three or four fastened on my ankle and leg, 
 and I shall never forget the sudden and sharp hot bite of 
 the wretches. 
 
 There is another kind very abundant on bushes and 
 trees, of a semi-transparent watery-red colour, with long 
 legs ; their bite is also very sharp. They build nests by 
 
WASPS, 323 
 
 attaching the leaves together with fine white web ; these 
 nests are from the size of an apple to that of a hat. 
 
 Their food must be principally the frnit and seeds of 
 the plants they are usually found on. Some seeds, par- 
 ticularly those of the india-rubber creeper, I had the 
 greatest difficulty in obtaining ripe, from tliese ants eating 
 them up whilst green. 
 
 A minute red ant, like that which infests our kitchens 
 and houses, is extremely abundant, and is very difificult to 
 keep out of sugar and other provisions ; the best way is to 
 place the legs of the table in saucers of vinegar and water, 
 or have safes suspended by a rope, which must be tarred^ 
 or they will find their way down. If anything op which 
 they are swarming is placed in the sun, they immediately 
 vanish. A small piece of camphor, tied up in a bit of rag 
 and placed in a sugar-basin or safe, will effectually keep 
 them out without flavouring the sugar, &c., in the least. 
 
 The best and cheapest preventive against the white ant 
 is ordinary petroleum ; they will not come near a place 
 where the least trace of its smell exists. 
 
 Of otlier insects the most abundant and worthy of note, 
 besides the mosquitoes already described, are the many 
 species of wasps. One of these, brightly barred with 
 yellow and having a comical habit of dropping down its 
 long legs in a bunch straight under its body as it flies, 
 is the Pelopoeus sjpirifex (Plate XVI.) — (called ** marim- 
 bondo " by the natives) — and is one of the large family 
 found in the tropics and called ** mud-daubers " from their 
 habit of making clay or mud nests in which they store 
 up spiders and caterpillars as provision for the grubs or 
 larvae. It is a very singular fact that of the fifty or sixty 
 species known to entomologists, all are male', the females 
 not having yet been discovered. It is supposed that the 
 latter are parasites on other insects, or perhaps in ants* 
 nests, &c. I have opened many hundreds of the clay 
 cells and invariably found a grub or perfect male insect, 
 or the empty chrysalis of one ; and I further ascertained 
 that the male insect does not bring the female in its legs 
 or mouth to lay the egg in the cell, nor does he bring the 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. 
 
 egg, but the young, hatched grub. I watched one nest 
 being built, and when it was ready, I saw the insect fly 
 away and return and go into it, and on examination I 
 found that it had deposited the small grub at the bottom. 
 In its next journeys it brought spiders till the cell was 
 full of them, when it procured some clay and quickly 
 plastered over the aperture. To procure the spiders it 
 first stabs them with its dreadful sting, and then picks 
 them up and flies away with them to its nest. 
 
 Whilst at Bembe, I fortunately witnessed a fight between 
 a large specimen of these wasps and a powerful spider which 
 had bnilt its fine web on my office wall. The spider nearly 
 had the wasp enveloped in its web several times, and by 
 means of its long legs prevented the wasp from reaching 
 its body with its sting, but at last, after a few minutes 
 hard fighting, the wasp managed to stab the spider right 
 in the abdomen, when it instantly curled up its legs and 
 dropped like dead to the ground. The wasp pounced 
 down on it, but I interfered, and picking up the spider 
 placed it under a tumbler to ascertain how long it would 
 live, as I had noticed that the spiders stored in the nests 
 were always alive, although unable to drawl away when 
 taken out. It lived for a week, and, although moving its 
 legs when touched, had no power of locomotion, showing 
 that the poison of the wasp has a strong paralysing effect. 
 I have counted as many as twenty spiders in a single cell, 
 and there are seldom less than three cells together, and 
 sometimes as many as eight or ten. 
 
 These wasps are fond of building their nests in the 
 houses, on curtains, behind picture-frames, books, or fur- 
 niture, and I once found the inside of a harmonium full of 
 them. Each cell is about the size of a thimble ; they are 
 very smoothly and prettily made, and a wasp will build 
 one in a day easily. I never found anything else in these 
 cells but spiders and caterpillars. 
 
 It is satisfactory to know that these savage destroyers 
 of spiders have in their turn enemies from which they 
 have no escape. These are large, long-bodied, brown flies 
 (Dasijlus sp. and Basijpogon sp.) (Plate XVI.) with long 
 
WASPS. 325 
 
 legs and a very quiet inoffensive look and manner of flying. 
 They settle on the backs of the different species of wasps, 
 their long legs enabling them to keep at such a distance 
 that the wasp cannot reach them with its sting, then insert 
 a long sharp proboscis into the wasp's back and suck its 
 body dry, Avhen they fly off in search of another. Other 
 beautiful flies of splendent metallic colouring {Stilbum sp.) 
 also prey on the wasps and mud-daubers. These flies again 
 are an easy prey to the numerous insectivorous birds, and 
 thus we get a series of links of the complicated chain of 
 the apparently somewhat cruel law of Nature, by means of 
 which the due proportion of animal life would appear to 
 be principally adjusted, and an undue preponderance of 
 one kind over another prevented. 
 
 On the stems of the high grass may very often be seen 
 little round nests about the size of a hen's e^^, having the 
 appearance of rough glazed paper, and made by the dif- 
 ferent species of Mantis (Plate XVI.). These nests are 
 applied by the black women to an odd use ; they rub the 
 soles of their children's feet with them in the belief that 
 it will make them good walkers when they grow up, 
 and I have often seen the little brats struggling and 
 yelling in their mothers' laps whilst being thus tickled. 
 
 A large species of wasp {Synagris cornuta) is called 
 the " devil of the road " by the natives, from the alleged 
 poisonous character of its bite and sting. It is a ferocious 
 looking creature with very large and powerful mandibles 
 (Plate XVI.). It is an inch and a half long, and is said to 
 have a habit of settling on the paths : hence its name, and 
 the natives then always give it a wide berth. 
 
 The sting of this class of insect is poisonous. One very 
 small species once stung me in the back of the neck, and 
 it was greatly swollen for several hours ; and I have seen a 
 black who had been stung in the ear by a moderate sized 
 one, with not only his ear but the side of his face very 
 much swollen for a couple of days. 
 
 Centipedes are very abundant, but their bite is not dan- 
 gerous. I was bitten by one in the shoulder whilst asleep, 
 and on awaking, and putting my hand instinctively to the 
 
326 ANGOLA AND THE TtlVER CONGO, 
 
 place, I was bitten a second tirae in the wrist, and al- 
 thongh it was a large specimen, leyond the sharp pnnctnre 
 and considerable irritation near the spots, no other ill 
 effect was produced. Whilst I was at Bembe a Por- 
 tuguese officer was bitten between the fingers, and his 
 hand and arm as far as the shoulder were swollen slightly 
 for two or three days, but without much pain. 
 
 Many of the caterpillars are very gorgeously coloured 
 and fancifully ornamented with tufts of hair, but generally 
 the moths and butterflies are of a more dull and sombre 
 colouring than might be expected from the tropical lati- 
 tude of Angola. Insect life as a rule is scarce, with the 
 exception of ants and mosquitoes, and not only very local 
 in its occurrence but also confined to a short space of time. 
 Hardly an insect of any kind is to be seen in the " ca- 
 cimbo," and in the hot season the different species of but- 
 terflies only appear for a very few weeks, and sometimes 
 only days. Beetles are remarkably scarce at any time. 
 The finest butterflies are, of course, found in the forest 
 region of the first and second elevation, and almost exclu- 
 sively in the places most deeply shaded, where they flit 
 about near the ground between the trees. The sunny open 
 places full of flowering plants are not so much frequented 
 by butterflies as might be expected, but the great abun- 
 dance of insectivorous birds may possibly supply an 
 explanation of this circumstance. 
 
 The following interesting note on the butterflies of An- 
 gola has been kindly written by my friend, Mr. W. C. 
 Hewitson, so well known from his magnificent collection, 
 and his beautiful work on ' Exotic Butterflies ' : — 
 
 " Until very recently we knew nothing of the butterflies 
 of Angola, and very little of those of Africa north of the 
 Cape of Good Hope, except what we could learn from the 
 plates of Drury. The great genus llomaleosoma, so pecu- 
 liar to that country, and remarkable foi its rich colour, 
 rivalling even Agrias of America, was only represented in 
 the British Museum. Now we Irave them in abundance, 
 and several species are plentiful in Angola. 
 
 " We have had large collections from that country 
 
BUTTERFLIES. 327 
 
 during tlio last two years from Mr. Rogers, a collector 
 sent out by me, and from Mr. Monteiro, who, with the 
 assistance of his wife, caught and brought home a fine 
 collection of Lcpidoptera. 
 
 " With the first collections of Mr. Rogers, made on the 
 banks of the Riyer Quanza, I was greatly disappointed. 
 With a very few exceptions they contained those butter- 
 flies oidy which we had preyiously received in abundance 
 j'rom tlie Cape and from Natal. A collection from the 
 mountainous district of Casengo was much more promising, 
 and supplied us, together with some new species, with 
 several varieties little known before, amongst them Clia- 
 raxes Anticlea and Harma JVestermanni. 
 
 " Mr. Monteiro's collection, though also deficient in new 
 species, contained seyeral of great value, and only recently 
 discovered — Godartia Trajanus, so remarkable for its 
 nearly circular wings, whicli had been preyiously taken by 
 Mr. Crossley on the Oameroons ; the rare Charaxes Lysia- 
 nassa, figured by Professor Westwood in his ' Thesaurus ;' 
 Charaxts Bohemani, which we had previously received from 
 the Zambesi ; the very beautiful Crenis Benguella, described 
 by iVIr. Chapman ; and a number of varieties oi' Acrsea Euryta, 
 and the Diademas, which so closely resemble them. 
 
 "The mo?t remarkable new species in the collection 
 was the large Euryphene FUsfonax, since figured in the 
 ' Exotic Butterflies.' 
 
 " It is interesting to learn that the same species of 
 butterflies are in x\frica spread over a very large extent of 
 counfry. The distance from the Cape of Good Hope to 
 Angola is 1400 miles. Seyeral new species which I have 
 had I'rom the West Coast have been received by Mr. Ward 
 i'rom Zanzibar, a distance of 36 degrees. Two new species 
 of Papilio, remarkable because unlike anything previously 
 seen from Africa, which I had received from Bonny, were 
 very soon afterwards sent to Mr. Ward from Zanzibar." 
 
 Mr. H. Druce has published a list of the butterflies we 
 collected in the * Proceedings of the Zoological Society ' 
 feu- 1875. 
 
 Several caterpillars form yery curious nests or houses 
 
S28 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 to protect their bodies. One is made of bits of twig 
 about an inch and a Imlf long, attached round a strong 
 cocoon or web (Plate XVI.) ; the head and front legs alone 
 are protruded at will, which enables the insect to walk 
 about on the under side of the leaves on which it feeds. 
 Another is built up on the same plan, but the bits of tvvig 
 are short and laid across the lengtli of tlie cocoon, and 
 the whole enveloped in a strong white web (Plate XVI.). 
 
 The coast of Angola has never to my knowledge been 
 dredged for shells. The surf grinds and destroys any that 
 may be thrown up on the beach, but as this is almost 
 everywhere sandy and very slightly shelving from the land, 
 dredging would probably prove its fauna to be rich. Land 
 and fresh-water shells are rare. 
 
 I have seen land tortoises at Eenguella and Musserra 
 only, and they appear to be confined to the gneiss and 
 granite rocks of those two places. They are only found 
 in the hot season, and according to the natives they 
 hybernate in holes in the rock during the **cacimbo." 
 The natives eat them, so that it is not easy to obtain live 
 specimens. Two that I brought home from Musserra lived 
 for some time at the gardens of the Zoological Society, 
 and were described by Dr. Sclater as the Cinixys erosa 
 and the Cinixys helliana (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871). 
 
 Porcupines are not uncommon, and I often found their 
 quills lying on the ground. The natives are fond of the 
 ilesh of this pretty animal ; they are also fond of sticking 
 the quills in the wool of their heads as an ornament, but they 
 have no acquaintance with the story of their being able to 
 project their quills when angry, or as a means of defence. 
 
 Fruits are by no means so abundant in Angola as they 
 might be. It is only within the last few years that the 
 Portuguese have followed the good example of the old 
 missionaries in planting fruit-trees. Most of the European 
 fruit-trees grow remarkably well. Oranges are of delicious 
 quality. Mulberries bear most abundantly, but only a 
 very few trees are to be seen. Limes grow wild in many 
 places. Mangoes {Mangifera Indica) grow splendidly, b,ut 
 are scarce everywhere except about the Eengo country; 
 
FRUITS, SCENTS. 329 
 
 there are none on the Quanza, the natives having a pre- 
 judice against planting the tree, as tliey believe it would 
 be unlucky. Sweet and sour Sop {Anona sp.) and Papaw 
 (Carica Papaya) are very common. The Guava (Fsidium 
 Guaiava) grows wild in abundance in many places, and 
 Ihe Araya, another species (P. Ara(}a) is also cultivated. 
 Tlie Jam bo (Jamhosa vulgaris) is found growing wild, and, 
 although rather insipid, it has a delicious scent of attar of 
 roses. The " jMunguengue " is the name of a tree (a 
 species oi Spondiacese) bearing bunches of yellow plum-like 
 iruit of a very delicious flavour and scent, and its pulp 
 mixed with water and sugar makes one of the nicest 
 drinks I have tasted. It is a very handsome tree with 
 leaves of a bright, spring green, of which goats, sheep, and 
 other animals are exceedingly fond. The wood is sott and 
 useless for carpentry, but the branches are much used for 
 fences round huts and enclosures, as any piece stuck in 
 the ground quickly takes root, and soon grows into a fine 
 shady tree. The natives on the coast eat the fruit of the 
 Chrysobolamus Icaca, var." which they call "Jingimo"; 
 it is like a round, black-purple plum, tasteless and astrin- 
 gent. It is a common sea-side plant, covering large 
 stretches of coast and growing from large trailing masses 
 a few inches liigh, to small bushy trees. It has a round, 
 bright, shiny, green leaf. Pineapples are generally very 
 fine, and might be grown to any extent. Grapes and figs 
 are sparingly grown, but bear well. 
 
 The only plants employed by the natives as scents are 
 the seeds of the Hibiscus Ahelmoschus, smelling strongly 
 of musk, and a very sweet-smelling wood. These they 
 keep in their boxes with their cloths, &c., and also rub 
 them over the head and body. The natives from the 
 interior also rub themselves over with a stinking nut 
 something like an acorn, with a powerful smell like rotten 
 onions. These are brought to the coast for sale to the 
 natives of Ambriz. On my asking one of them how he 
 could bear to rub his body with such a bad- smelling sub- 
 stance, he answered by another question, "Do not you 
 whites use Eau-de-Cologne ? " 
 
330 ANGOLA AND THE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 The blacks also use the skin of the musk or civet-cat, 
 which is very common in the interior, to scent their cloths 
 and bodies. The smell of this animal is so powerful that 
 the clothes of a person passing through grass where one 
 has previously been, acquire such a strong smell of musk 
 as to retain it perceptibly for days. 
 
 Angola is poor in dyes, and only a few are employed by 
 the blacks. For red they use the fresh pulp enveloping 
 the seeds of the " annatto " {Bixa Orellana) ; for yellow 
 they employ yellow ginger. The ^uissamas and some of 
 the natives on the River Quanza "dyB~thT?ir cloths of a 
 bluish-black w^ith the black mud of the river, mixed with 
 the infusion of a plant that I believe to be a species of in- 
 digo. Cloths are also made black by rubbing them with 
 charred ground-nuts reduced to a fine paste, and, as already 
 mentioned, a fine red for painting their faces, bodies, and 
 houses, is obtained by rubbing Tacula-wood to a pulp 
 with water on a rough stone, and drying the resulting 
 paste. 
 
 Large land lizards are rare except at Benguella, where 
 they abound. They are brown, and from two to three feet 
 long. I tried very often to preserve them alive, but with- 
 out success, although I gave them every kind of food I 
 could think of. A very long yellow-spotted water lizard 
 {Monitor Niloticus), with a handsome bead-like pattern on 
 its back and legs, and as much as six or eight feet long, is 
 common in the rivers, and is said to be very destructive to 
 poultry. The natives state that this lizard feeds upon the 
 eggs and young of the alligator. 
 
 Snakes are nowhere very abundant — I may say singu- 
 larly scarce — and in the years that I have travelled in 
 Angola I have not only never trodden on or been attacked 
 by one, but have only seen them a very few tijnes. The 
 most common is the boa-constrictor, but only in the 
 marshy places near rivers. In these the River Jack (CIo- 
 tho nasicornis) is also found ; one of these which had been 
 caught in a fish-basket set to catch " Bagre " in the River 
 Luqueia, was brought alive to me at Bembe. It was a 
 very fine one and very brilliantly marked. I kept it in a 
 
SPITTING SNAKE. 331 
 
 large box covered with wire-gauze. It lived for several 
 months, and died a natural death shortly after shedding 
 its skin. It is called "Uta-maza" (water-snake) by the 
 natives, and is held in the greatest fear by them, its bite 
 being said to be deadly, and no antidote or cure for it 
 known. I can well believe this from witnessing the effect 
 of its bite on the live rats with which I fed it. 
 
 I was obliged to feed it on live rats, as it refused to eat 
 any kind of animal or bird that it had not itself killed. 
 If I placed a dead rat in its cage witli tlie live one, I 
 would find in the morning it had swallowed the one it 
 had killed, but had left the dead one. On placing a rat 
 in the cage, the snake, which was generally coiled up in a 
 corner, would lift up its head and hiss slightly at the rat, 
 which seemed conscious of its danger, and would run about 
 seeking for some means of escape. The snake would con- 
 tinue to watch it with uplifted head till it passed close 
 enough, when it would suddenly strike it a blow with in- 
 credible rapidity, the action being so instantaneous that I 
 could never see how the fangs were projected forwards, or, 
 in fact, how the blow was delivered. The poor rat would 
 only give a small squeak on receiving the blow, run a 
 few paces, then stagger, fall on its side, stretch itself out, 
 and die after a few feeble convulsions. 
 
 This snake would never make more than one dart at its 
 prey, and would only swallow it at night ; and although I 
 watched it for hours in perfect quiet, and with a shaded 
 light, I never succeeded in seeing it eat. 
 
 There is a dangerous snake (Naja heje) not uncommon 
 about Benguella. It is small in size, but remarkable from 
 its habit of spitting to a considerable distance, and its 
 saliva is said to blind a person if it touches the eyes. It 
 is called '* Cuspideira " by the Portuguese. One of these 
 snakes was captured by the natives and brought to the 
 mine at Cuio, where it was placed in a cage. An English 
 miner was standing over the cage, which was on the ground, 
 teasing the snake with a stick ; when it spat up in his 
 face, and he felt some of the liquid enter one of his eyes. 
 He immediately had it washed out with water, but the 
 
332 ANGOLA AND TEE BIVER CONGO. 
 
 eye was very much irritated for several days after. I 
 was absent at the time, and the snake was uui'ortunately 
 destroyed, but 1 have no reason for doubting the miner's 
 statement or that of his companions, corroborated as it is 
 by that of the natives and Portuguese. A harmless snake 
 is found under floorings of houses and stores, and is very 
 useful in ridding them of rats and mice. 
 
 One of these snakes once gave me considerable trouble 
 at Loanda. ]\Iy bedroom was on the ground-floor under 
 an office, and outside my door was the staircase leading 
 to it. Every morning, just a little before daybreak, I used 
 to be awakened by hearing a loud crack on the table as 
 if made by a blow from a thick .whip. This excited my 
 curiosity greatly, as I could find no possible explanation 
 for the noise. At last I determined to be on tlie watch. 
 I had lucifers and a candle ready, and was luckily awake 
 when 1 heard the noise repeated on my table. I instantly 
 s'ruck a light, and saw a snake about six feet long glide 
 off the table on to the ground and quickly disappear in 
 a hole in a corner of the room. I then ascertained that 
 Mr. Snake went up the staircase every night to tlie office 
 above, where he hunted about for rats, and towards morn- 
 ing returned through a hole in the flooring immediately 
 above my table, dropping a height of about ten feet, and 
 producing the whip-like sound that had so perplexed 
 me for many nights. A bung in the hole in the floor 
 above stopped his return that way for the future, but I 
 could not help being thankful that my bed had not been 
 placed where the table stood, for, notwithstanding that I 
 believed it was simply a harmless and inoffensive rat- 
 catcher, still six feet of cold snake wriggling over my 
 face and body might not have been quite pleasant in the 
 dark. 
 
 We. collected a number of sphynx raotlis, both at 
 Ambriz and on the road to Bembe. At Ambriz they 
 always came to the flow^ers of the shrubby jasmine I have 
 described as being so abundant near the coast {Corrissa 
 sj),) Farther inland we saw them flitting about only on 
 the white flowers of a herbaceous plant (Gynandropsis 
 
SPHYNX MOTHS. 333 
 
 2)entaphi/lla, D.C.), a yery common weed, particularly 
 around the towns and in open, cleared spaces. 
 
 A large scarabaeus beetle (which my friend, Mr. H. W. 
 Bates, finds to be a new species, and has named Ateuchus 
 Angoleiisis) is very abundant wherever cow-dung is found ; 
 and it is amusing to see them at work, making it up into 
 balls nearly the size of a billiard-ball, an e^^^ having 
 been deposited in each. Two or three may olten be seen 
 pushing the ball along backwards — the custom of these 
 beetles everywhere. I once saw a curious episode at 
 Ambriz; — one beetle was on the top of a ball fussing 
 about as if directing two others that were pushing it along 
 with all tlieir might ; suddenly he came down and com- 
 menced fighting with one of them, and after a hard tussle 
 (during which they made quite a perceptible hissing 
 noise), beat him off and took his place. 
 
 I discovered at Benguella a very beautiful lemur, 
 named by Mr. A. D. Bartlett the Galago Monteiri, and 
 described and figured in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological 
 Society ' (June 1863). It is of a light, chinchilla-grey 
 colour, with black nose and ears, and dark brown feet and 
 toes. This animal can turn back and crumple up its 
 rather large and long ears at will. Its tail is long, and, 
 like the rest of the body, very furry. It is very quiet 
 and gentle, nocturnal in its habits, and sleeps much 
 during the day. The natives use its long, fine fur to 
 stanch bleeding from cuts or wounds. 
 
C 334 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CONCLUSION, 
 
 I HAVE now brought to a close ray description of a small 
 portion of the terra incognita, comparatively speaking, of 
 Africa, and it may not be out of place, in conclusion, to 
 note those results of my long experience in Angola that 
 bear on the important questions of the civilization and 
 mental advancement of the negro race, and the material 
 development of Tropical Africa. 
 
 I have given the reasons that have convinced me of 
 the rudimentary quality of the negro intellect, naturally 
 correspondinof to the peculiar insensibility of his organiza- 
 tion, the result of the *' Natural Selection " that, through 
 perhaps thousands of years of struggling against malaria, 
 has at last resulted in his adaptability to inhabit with per- 
 fect impunity what to the white race is the deadly, un- 
 healthy climate of a great part of Tropical Africa. I have 
 also attempted to sliow that the malignity of the climate 
 of the West Coast is, as I believe, principally due to its low 
 level, and that this unhealthy character or influence is 
 continued in many places far inland, although perhaps 
 resulting from other canses. 
 
 From the mental constitution of the race, and the im- 
 possibility of ameliorating the climate, I can see no hope 
 of the negro ever attaining to any considerable degree of 
 civilization, owing to his incapacity for spontaneously 
 developing to a higher or more pei-fect condition, and the 
 impossibility of the white race peopling his country in suffi- 
 cient numbers to enforce his civilization: consequently, 
 should science not discover a means for the successful^com- 
 bating of the African climate, the negro must ever remain 
 as he has always been, and as he is at the present day. 
 
CONCLUSION. 335 
 
 The greatest good or ijnpi'ovement we can hope for, is, 
 tliat ill the comparatively healthy parts, as Angola for 
 instance, the more barbarous customs or habits may be 
 abolished by the more intimate contact with Europeans; 
 but even this gain or advantage will not be an unmixed 
 good, as it will be (counterbalanced by the creation of an 
 amount of vice and immorality unknown to the negro in 
 his native or unsophisticated state. 
 
 That this is not an imaginary result, but one inevitably 
 following the contact of tiie white race with one of so in- 
 ferior a type as the negro, is for example notably evidenced 
 at Sierra Leone. The contact of the l*ortuguese with 
 the natives of Angola, however, does not appear to have 
 acted so prejudicially as ours in Sierra Leone, for although 
 there is not much difference for the better in the morals 
 of the whites or of the civilized natives, the latter certainly 
 have not the astounding impudence and cant of the Sierra 
 Leone blacks. It is true that in Angola the natives have 
 not been muddled by the present style of missionary work, 
 which I am sorry to say is not only nearly useless, but 
 must be blamed as the cause of the above very objection- 
 able characteristics. It does seem a pity that so much 
 money and well-intentioned zeal should for so many years 
 have been expended on the negro of British West Africa 
 with an almost negative result. 
 
 There is more hope for the development of the material 
 resources of Tropical Africa. The negro is capable of being 
 acted upon to a certain extent by the desire for something 
 more than the absolute necessaries of life, to satisfy which 
 he is willing to work a little. The country is so exten- 
 sive, and the soil and natural productions so rich, that a 
 very little exertion on the part of the piopulation sufRces 
 to bring forth a considerable amount of produce; but 
 another and more industrious race will have to take tlie 
 place of the negro in Africa if its riches and capabilities 
 are to be fully developed. 
 
 The introduction ot Coolies and Chinese into Tropical 
 Africa would, in my opinion, be the most important and 
 valuable step that could be devised. The starving mil- 
 
33G ANGOLA AND THE MIVER CONGO. 
 
 lions of China and other parts pf the East would fiad in 
 Africa a congenial climate, and a bountiful reward for 
 their industry, with the greatest benefit to themselves 
 and the rest of mankind. Tlie useless negroes would 
 then sooner follow their apparent fate of future extinction, 
 or become merged into a more highly organized and 
 industrious race. 
 
 The indefensible injustice and cruelty of tlie former 
 slave-trade has created a wrong impression in our minds 
 of the actual condition of the negro in Africa, and, based 
 upon this false idea, our sympathies are unduly excited 
 for a state of misery and wretchedness tliat in reality has 
 no existence. Our blind philanthropists crowd to hear 
 the stereotyped tale of the missionary in Africa, and the 
 greatest interest is taken in the efforts to ameliorate the 
 assumed unhappy state of the much-pitied negro — who is 
 lying in perfect enjoyment and nakedness under a magni- 
 ficent sky, feurrounded by exquisite scenery, supplied by 
 nature with food without any work or trouble, and in- 
 sensible alike to physical suffering and hardship, or mental 
 worry and vexation. Meantime thousands of our race are 
 plunged into hopeless misery and suffering, unpitied and 
 often unrelieved by those who are so anxious to minister 
 to the imaginary wants of the poor heathen ! 
 
 It is impossible for any one who has lived much amongst 
 natives of tropical climates not to contrast the life led by 
 them with that endured by a great portion of our own so 
 highly civilized race — to compare their, as a rule, harm- 
 less, peaceful, healthy, and I may say sinless existence, 
 with the grinding, despairing poverty of our cities ; with 
 the awful misery that hides in noisome dens under a cruel, 
 rigorous climate, without warmth, air, water, or food ; with 
 the constant hopeless toil of thousands in our manufacturing 
 districts, and the frightful barbarity, ignorance, and vice 
 underlying our civilization, with all its religions, wealth, 
 and luxury. We spend large sums in the fruitless attempt 
 to reclaim and convert the negro from his so-called dark 
 state, and we allow thousands of our innocent children at 
 home to grow up as thieves anl worse than savages. 
 
CONCLUSION. 337 
 
 It is lucky tliat the negro is unaware that those who are 
 so anxious tor his weltVire and conversion i'rom a compara- 
 tively innocent condition, come from a countiy where a 
 state of ferocity, poverty, and vice exists of which he has 
 happily no conception, or it wonld make him look npon 
 us with horror and suiprise. 
 
 Amonizst the pleasant remembrances of tlio years I have 
 spent ill Angola, the hospitality of the Portuguese oltrm 
 recurs. jMauy a time in travelling I have had my ham- 
 mock hidden, and have been obliged to stay for two or 
 three days with strangers, in all bi^: name, or friends 
 perhaps of persons I knew at other places. At any time of 
 the night that a traveller may arrive, he is made wel -ome, 
 and the cook is instantly told to prepare coffee or kill a 
 fowl and make a "canga," as fowl-soup thick with rice, 
 and flavoured with ham, &c., is called. 
 
 I have been especially grateful to the officers com- 
 manding the districts in the interior, and to all, without 
 exception, whether civilians or military, that I have met 
 with in my long travels, I have to oiler my thanks for 
 thrir great kindness and hospitality — doubly pleasing 
 from its disinterestedness and spontaneity. 
 
 I have hardly alluded to tl»e wonderful safety and 
 absence of all risk or danger in travelling over almost any 
 part of Angola, espec'ally in those parts in the occupation 
 of the Portuguese. The natives are everywhere civil if 
 well treated; and if only good humour exists on tlie part 
 of the traveller, and due allowance be made for the lazi- 
 ness and procrastination of the negro, no great inconve- 
 nience need ever be felt in going anywhere through the 
 country. A knowledge of Portuguese is of course almost 
 essential, as, with the exception of some places on the 
 River Congo, and as far south of it as Ambriz, where some 
 of the natives speak English, a great number speak only 
 Portuguese besides their own lanuuage. 
 
 Money of most nations passes in Angola, the English 
 sovereign being perha{)S the most useful of any, and at 
 those ] daces where goods of various kinds are principally 
 required for payments of cairiers, provisions, &c., they 
 
 z 
 
338 ANGOLA AND THE IIIVER CONGO, 
 
 can be readily obtained at moderate rates from the 
 traders. 
 
 I have now, to the best of my ability, described the 
 customs and productions of this wonderful and beautiful 
 country, and 1 shall be glad if the perusal of these pages 
 should induce others to explore more fully the rich Held 
 it presents to the naturalist and geographer. 
 
( 339 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The habit of the negro, when employing European lan- 
 guages, of using an absurd and inflated style is well known, 
 and I cannot help attributing this peculiarity to the effect 
 of the specifically constituted mind of the race. The 
 natives of Angola are no exception to this rule, and I 
 have often been amused at their writings in Portuguese. 
 
 I cannot better illustrate this very curious characteristic 
 than by transcribing the following pamphlet, written by a 
 highly educated native of Sierra Leone : 
 
 " The Athletic Sjports at Falcon Bridge Battery, Freetown, 
 Sierra Leone, June 4, 1869, graj^hicaUij sketched. 
 
 I " The dull monotony of the city was revived and the hearts 
 of the denizens exhilarated by the celebration — under the 
 auspices of those holding the reins of government in this 
 settlement — of athletic games at the above period. 
 
 " A grand fepcctacle indeed it was ! Countless numbers of 
 persons came to witness this magnificent sight. The arena 
 of athletic contention. — limited by boards geometrically con- 
 structed, guarded by an efficient constabulary corps, not less 
 rotund in their size than prodigious in their height— was 
 crowded, almost to suffocation by those who were voluntary 
 to signalize themselves by their feats. The mountain was 
 really in labour and brought forth no ridiculous mouse. 
 
 " The time for the commencement of the games was fixed 
 for 2 P.M. If recollection fails not, so it was. The hilarity- 
 evinced by the spectators reminded one of ancient Greece 
 and Eome ; when, in the leaps, wrestles, quoits, &c., of the 
 former, and the gladiatorial combats, &c., of the latter, com- 
 batants vied with each other, and the victors were amply 
 
 z 2 
 
310 APPENDIX. 
 
 remunerated ; when emulation was cultivated ; when, as ex- 
 pressed by Thompson in his ' Castle of Indolence ' — 
 
 * It was not by vile loitering at ease. 
 That Greece obtaiu'd the brightttr palm of aii;. 
 That soft yet ardent Athens kaint to please. 
 To keen the >vit and to sublime the heart ; 
 III all supreme — complete in ov'ry part — 
 It was not thence majestic Rome arose, 
 And o'er the nations shook her conqjing dart.' 
 
 Ancient Olympia, with her inhabitants, would have rejoiced 
 to behold 8ucli a pleasing scene. 
 
 " At the appointed time the programme was followed, 
 despite the absence of His Excellency; because ' procrastina- 
 tion is the thief of time.' The ringing of a bell announced 
 the beginning of every race. The adroitness of the athletes, 
 combined with tlie thought of there being some who equalled 
 in all points almost the notorious Gogmagog in English 
 histoiy, were things akin to the incredible. The scene bad 
 commenced, but two sine qua nons were wanting. A lew 
 moments after, one appeared — viz., the band of the 1st West 
 Indian Zouaves, Avhose services will ever be remembered 
 whilst music reverberates its harmonious peals throughout 
 the four corners of this stupendous cosmos, headed by one 
 through whom music wakes. But there was a pause. The 
 pbiy stood in need of a coup de grace. The sports were a 
 little after full going, when, lo I His excellency was kenned. 
 His arrival to the spot was not one of inactivity. Seated 
 gallantly on a restive hor.^e, ' round- hoofed, short-jointed, 
 fetlocks shag and long, broad breast, full eye, small head, 
 high crest, short ears, straight legs, thin mane, thick tall, 
 tender hide, nostrils drinking the air,' whose foams and yells 
 made part of the spectators stand aghast — he, with excellent 
 dexterity, skilfully contrived to be a match for him, and 
 made his way to the spot at a graceful pace. And ere ho 
 reached the spot for rest, 'God save the Queen' was heard, 
 the splendid band playing that which 
 
 * Language fades before its spell.* 
 
 Far a little from the scene of action — untrodden by insig- 
 nificant individuals — supplied with all kinds of food for 
 rofreshraent— decorated with such things as beautify nature 
 
APPENDIX, 341: 
 
 — amidst tlie pathless intricacies of countless nniltitudes — 
 was erected a Grand Stand. On the arrival of the Governor 
 at tlie stand, he was most cordially greeted and received by 
 ladies of rank and wit and gentlemen of respectability and 
 erudition who were the tenants of that localit}'. The games 
 became more lively. Clergymen, editors of the different local 
 papers, and great many of the well-to-do, with their consorts, 
 &c., entered into conversation, and were viewing the sight. . 
 A very gratifying circumstance it was that all who were 
 there present were superbly clad in the latest Parisian styles. 
 Ladies with their bonnets and other dresses almost inde- 
 scribable, and gentlemen attired in costly vestments, observed 
 the most faultless etiquette. Some of the gentlemen must 
 have, no doubt, interested the little band, either with the 
 light bantering of Addison or the ponderous verbiage of 
 Johnson. Added to this, the place %vas like a perfumer's, 
 where odoriferous unguents delight the smell of the visitants. 
 Needless it is to speak of the natural accomplishments of 
 these personages, as they soar beyond the pen of description. 
 Suffice it to say, that the gentlemen, breathing ambrosial 
 scents around their heads, were taciturn, loquacious, sedate, 
 and grave ; and the ladies, as 
 
 ' Coy as Thetis, fair as Flora, 
 lieautiful as young Aurora.' 
 
 " They spoke : and, during the time the games were being 
 directed by a very able-bodied European, whoso reward was 
 a sprained foot after the celebration of the sports, were very 
 jolly, and remained in that position until the sports were 
 over, without a violation of any trifling minutiae of civility. 
 
 " Not to speak of the High Jumps, Flat Eaces, &c., it was no 
 ordinary treat to see lasses running with all their might to 
 have some pieces of cloths for their prizes. An event like 
 this induced the ladies and gentlemen in the Grand Stand to 
 rise from their seats and take a clearer view of the scene. 
 Many were (I think) halting between two opinions — either 
 to look at the sports or listen to the charming music. Would 
 that there were ten eyes and ears to each ! 13ut impossibility 
 18 impossibility. 
 
 "One of the actors, well-nigh approaching to a British 
 Grenadier, tumbled during the High Jumps on the ground, 
 and was a victor of not even a ridiculous prize. 
 
342 APPENDIX, 
 
 "The scene went on amidst the hurrahs and applauses of the 
 spectators: anions; them the always-the-same ' Allangbas,' * 
 and the never-to-be-polished vnlg^ir. But afterwards nature 
 — either disgusted at, or fatigued by, the event — for a while 
 interrupted the scene by her somewhat violent inundations: 
 but subsequently being appeased she again charmed us with 
 her usual smiles. With her well-prepared instruments she 
 was ready to depict in the most masterly language the pro- 
 ceedings of the day. 
 
 * Who can paint 
 Like nature ? Can imagination boast. 
 Amid its gay creation, hues like hers ?' 
 
 "All those successes of the actors were the results of the 
 like energy which 'built,' observes Harris, 'the mountain 
 pyramids of Egy^t — which reared the Chinese wall — by 
 which Alexander conquered the old world — Columbus dis- 
 covered the new — and Kewton elaborated the system of the 
 universe.' 
 
 " The scene of action commanded, like the Acropolis of 
 Athens, a most picturesque sight opposite the ^ea. The fairy 
 landscape, viewed in conjunction with the stately and com- 
 modious houses by which it was adorned, and the trees 
 already in full bloom which cast their shades on the un- 
 dulating and glittering waves of the sluggish and ceaseless 
 sea during ebb tide, formed an unrivalled spot fur the pencil 
 of the artist. How delightful would it have been to see a 
 Boswell ready to describe in the most sparkling language the 
 proceedings of this auspicious day. The effusions of a poet 
 would have been excessive and Byronian delineations tre- 
 mendous — for the sight was delightful ; the gentlemen were 
 masterpieces of nature ; and the ladies each a belle ideal of 
 symmetrical beauty. What topics were touched upon by 
 the grandees on this occasion were so momentous that, like 
 Elsie, 
 
 * Their words fell from Uicir h'ps 
 Like roses from the lips of Angelo : and Angels 
 Might stoop to pick them up !' 
 
 " Donkeys were not a whit behind the spectators and con- 
 tenders ; thej^ created their own excitement. On the backs 
 
 * The Timnehs are here meant. 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 of these heady brutes were to bo seen two lads who en- 
 deavoured with all their wits to ride them, but all in vain ! 
 Although guided by some gentlemen who willingly lent them 
 a helping hand, they were tumbled on the ground as many 
 times as they attempted to ride. The consequence was 
 that a uniA^ersal roar of laughter ran through the whole 
 spot. 
 
 " Besides this there was another interesting sight. A 
 greasy pole, having at the end a leg of mutton, was offered 
 to him who would scale it to its top. The attemj^ts were 
 fruitless. The pole, finding no Alexander, stood like the 
 Gordian knot, and set at the utmost defiance men of 
 magnanimity, those possessing massive bodies and Herculean 
 prowess. Ihus the scene proceeded; and, in reality, the 
 Kubicon remained uncrossed. 
 
 " Whilst on the one hand you would see the refined natives 
 leaping and exercising within the circus with inimitable 
 grace, you would, on the other, without the pale of the 
 circus, see Timnehs in their usual garb performing feats, — 
 by whirling themselves as a well-constructed steamer in 
 Scylla or Chary bdis,— without any taste or attraction. 
 
 " Not to speak of the other exercises, the victors, with 
 the prizes awarded them, claim the most paramount im- 
 portance. 
 
 " \\ ithout chaplets of flowers, without laurel wreaths, with- 
 out ovations or triumphs, without the prizes in brief, anciently 
 awarded to gladiators, warriors, comedians, lyric, tragic, and 
 epic poets, and other innumerable worthies, humble as the 
 premiums were, this is certain — that prizes, acting as an 
 incentive and a stimulus to be up and doing, were awarded 
 to the victors. And so it was, if the news is to be credited, 
 and the veracity of the inaugurators of the games is unim- 
 peacbed. 
 
 " Among all who merited rewards, two were more especially 
 noticed. At every race almost, they went winning and to 
 win. The prodigious feats performed by these two, coupled 
 with those of the others, are sufiicient to entitle each being 
 honoured with the sobriquet of ' Yalentinian.' 
 
 *' During the whole of the procedure the spectators were not 
 a little cheered up by the matchless music of the band, whose 
 stirring strains silently spoke of the perfect order of the 
 regiment, the worth of the bandmaster, the avidity of the 
 
344 APPENDIX, 
 
 men to master such an excellent science, by its being per- 
 formed sostenuto. Not descanting on the selections, overtures, 
 &c., performed on piccolos, flutes, cornets, and clarionets, on 
 the whole it was 'ear's deep sweet music' The Sicilian 
 Muses, if present, would have stood astounded, doubting 
 whether such was excellently managed by jnortals or 
 celestials. 
 
 " One great desideratum wanting on that occasion to grace 
 it to perfection was that, while the men were employed in 
 doing such athletics, the ladies in the Grand Stand were not 
 engaged in performing Terpsichorean gymnastics. The why 
 and wherefore veiled in a mystery was unravelled. 
 
 " '1 he jDopular excitement was unbounded. The enthusiasm 
 marked by the plaudits of the spectators ; enthusiasm evinced 
 by the actors ; enthusiasm, the great propeller to immortal 
 acts — seen not only in the horizon, but even on the spot 
 where the games were celebrated — was equal to, in every 
 way (if it surpassed not), that of the subtle and sophistical 
 Athenians, when the ridiculer* of the Eleusinian mysteries, 
 noted for his ' versatile genius and natural foibles,' returned 
 home from his expedition against the Lacedemonians. 
 
 " It is gratifying to know that, despite the countless multi- 
 tudes that thickened the paths on the occasion, there was no 
 emeute, as might have been expected ; all things went on in 
 perfect harmony. Everyone was active, each had his post, 
 all acted heart and hand, and put forth an undivided atten- 
 tion to render all things energetic and attractive. 
 
 " The proceedings of the day went on as at the commence- 
 ment, till about half-past 6 p.m. with quickened step brown 
 night appeared, and terminated the affair never to be for- 
 gotten in the archives of Western Africa. 
 
 " If the city and the rural districts should, at all times, be 
 exhibiting shows, and be ready and willing to excite public 
 admiration by horse-races, regattas, &c., and by grand con- 
 certs, where comic and such like songs delight the ears of the 
 audience : then by such emulations and amusements, not only 
 will we find that in process of time the Colony shall be, 
 under an All-wise Providence, one of ph} sical improvement, 
 but by vieing with each other in the pure sciences, the 
 intelligence of the inhabitants shall arrive at its climax, and 
 
 Alcibiades. 
 
APPENDIX. 345 
 
 it shall equal the admirable Crichton's, who ' acted the 
 divine, the lawyer, the mathematician, the soldier, and the 
 physician, with .such inimitable grace, that every lime he 
 appeared upon the theatre he seemed to be a different 
 per.s(m.' 
 
 " Thus this event, like all other things human, had its end ; 
 and, amidfit the unbounded praises and acclamations of the 
 spectators, combined with the heart-stining strains of the 
 band which cast weariness on this occasion to absolute 
 nothingness, and which was eminently calculated to magnify 
 the sigHt, every one, with much eclai, went to his domicile 
 prepared to relate to his absent friend or friends the dexterity 
 and vigour evinced at the athletic arena, and all bade the 
 scene of action their tender farewells! 
 
 Sierra Leone, Jan. 1870." 
 
( 3« ) 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ABUSES. 
 
 A. 
 
 Abuses by authorities of Angola, 
 197. 
 
 Adansonias, abundance of, from 
 Piiver Conj^o to Mossamedes, 15. 
 
 African fevers, facts and observa- 
 tions about, 295. 
 
 Agave, 16. 
 
 Alligators, 37, 234. 
 
 Ambaca, natives of, 223. 
 
 Ambaquista, natives of Ambaca, 
 223. 
 
 Ambriz, description of town, 84, 
 85; trade of, ib.; iron pier at, 
 87 ; author's return to, 127 ; ne- 
 groes, customs of the, 154. 
 
 , vegetation of, 1(5, 17 ; exports 
 
 from in 1874, 62. 
 
 to Mossamedes, 13. 
 
 to Loanda country, 168. 
 
 Ambrizzette, witchcraft at, 36 ; 
 treatment of a black for forgery, 
 64. 
 
 Amydrus fulvipenmn, 256. 
 
 i^ndrade, on buard the, to Quanza, 
 229. 
 
 Angola, discovery and early history, 
 1 ; Portuguese possessions of, 13 ; 
 physical geogniphy of, ib.; de- 
 scription of coast-line, ib. ; cha- 
 
 AUTIIOR. 
 
 racter of landscape, 14 ; change 
 of landscape at 13" S. lat., 15 ; 
 vegetation of from Ambriz to 
 Bembe, 16 ; slave trade in, 33 ; 
 etatistics of slaves shipped in, 38 ; 
 division of, 195 ; pay of governor 
 and army officers, 196 ; abuses 
 by authorities of, 197 ; climate 
 of, 294 ; effect of climate on 
 Europeans, 296 ; customs of the 
 natives, 313. 
 
 Angolceafiuitaris, 239. 
 
 Anha Kiver, 261. 
 
 Animal food of the natives, 163. 
 
 Arachis liypogcea, native name of, 
 " mpinda," or " ginguba," 72 ; de- 
 scription of, ib. ; its cultivation, 
 ib. ; preparation of the nut and 
 Chili pepper, 73. 
 
 Arms and war, 143. 
 
 Atacamite, where found, 105. 
 
 Author buys a slave, 43 ; the slave's 
 ingratitude to, ib. ; reception of 
 by Senhor Chaves at Boma, 46; 
 at a picnic organized by Senhor 
 Chaves, 48 ; catches four new 
 species of fish at Boma, 52 ; dis- 
 coverer of the baobab fibre as a 
 substance for paper-making, 66; 
 manages a malachite mine, 88 ; 
 accompanies Mr. Augustus Archer 
 Silva to Quanza, 228. 
 
S48 
 
 • 
 INDEX. 
 
 AUTHOK. 
 
 Author, mining explorations of, at 
 Benguella, 24, 271, 275. 
 
 B 
 
 Baba Bay, abundance of fish at, 284. 
 
 Babies, treatment of, 40. 
 
 Bagre tish, 28. 
 
 Bagrus, *' Bagre" fish, 240. 
 
 Baobab-tree — Adansonia digitata, 
 13, 16. 
 
 bark, its application to paper- 
 making (discovered by author in 
 1858), 42 ; baobabs at Boma, 46. 
 
 or Adansonia digitata^ as a 
 
 substance lor paper-making, 66; 
 description of the tree, and use 
 of the trunk, 67 ; mode of taking 
 off the bark, 68; its fruit, and 
 mode of climbing it, 71. 
 
 Banana, trading factories at, 45. 
 
 Bananas, or plantains, 161 ; as food, 
 162. 
 
 Barra da Corimba, 178. 
 
 Basalt, 286. 
 
 Bats, abundance of in churches, 237. 
 
 Bed-clothing of the natives, 146. 
 
 Beer, native, manufacture of, 165. 
 
 Bees — mode of getting honey, 257. 
 
 Bellows, native, 218. 
 
 Bernbe, vegetation of, 16, 17, 18; 
 description of, 104. 
 
 Fort, 109 ; soil about, 123. 
 
 Bengo river, 175. 
 
 Bengo to Loanda, vegetation, 177. 
 
 Benguella, 16 ; mining opt'rations 
 at, 24 ; country sontti of, 25. 
 
 town, 258 ; fertility of its soil, 
 
 trade, &-c , 265 ; slave-trade at, 
 267. 
 
 and Mossamcdcs, country be- 
 tween, 282, 283. 
 
 Berenjela, egg plant, 163. 
 
 Bigoie, or moustache-bird (Critha- 
 gra iciera\ 278. 
 
 CARDOZO. 
 
 Bimba tree (Herminieria Elaphro- 
 
 aylort), 273. 
 Bimbas, birds at, 279. 
 Birds of Boma, 47 ; habits of various 
 
 kinds, 48. 
 Bitumen, 173. 
 Bleeding, fondness of the natives for, 
 
 310. 
 Boma, as centre for slave-trade, 81 ; 
 
 cultivation of, 47 ; birds cf, ib. ; 
 
 distrust of natives at, 50. 
 Bombo, preparation, 158. 
 Bonny, landing at, 63. 
 Brachytrypes achalinus (king 
 
 cricket), 164. 
 Brandy, use of in Africa, 300. 
 Bronchitis, &c., native treatment of, 
 
 307. 
 Bruto, plantation at, 232. 
 Bucorax Ahyssinicus (hornbili), 
 
 206. 
 Bunda-speaking natives, indolence 
 
 of, 222. 
 Burial among the natives, 151. 
 
 and burial-places, 317. 
 
 Bustards, 170. 
 
 Bustards at Benguella, 276. 
 
 Butterflies, species of, 327. 
 
 Cabofa da Cobra to Ambriz — de- 
 scription of coast-line, 57 ; vege- 
 tation, ih. 
 
 Cajanus indicus, shrub, 163. 
 
 Calumbo, scenery, vegetation, &c., 
 230. 
 
 Cambambe, high grass at, 21 ; water 
 at, 26 ; description of journey to, 
 263 ; cataracts at, 239. 
 
 Camoensia maxima, plant, 97. 
 
 Cannibalism, 252. 
 
 Capatas, or captains of the carriers, 
 lOS, 111. 
 
 Cardozo, Feo, on the " History of 
 the Governors of Angola," 1. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 349 
 
 CASCA. 
 
 Casca, preparation of, 35 ; effect by 
 
 poisoning from, «&., 71. 
 Cashew-tree, 25. 
 Cassao, dogfish, 279. 
 Cassanza, countiy about, 250. 
 Gassy t ha— (C. Guineensisf), 25 ; at 
 
 Liiache, 275. 
 Castor-oil plant in Xovo Eedondo 
 
 and Benguella, 28. 
 Catinga, or odour of the natives, 20. 
 Cattle, cause for absence of, 25. 
 and other animals, mortality 
 
 of, 113. 
 Catumbella, scenery and vegetation, 
 
 263. 
 Cazongo, 213-215 ; abundance of 
 
 food at, 224. 
 Cells country, 252. 
 Chameleons, 226. 
 
 Circumcision among the natives, 152. 
 Civilization of the negro, 63. 
 Climate of Angola, etlcct on Euro- 
 peans, 296. 
 Coffee-trade, 74. 
 ColTee plantations, 214 ; wild, about 
 
 Golungo Alto and the Dembos, 
 
 217. 
 Cola fruit, 187. 
 Commerce, 65. 
 Congo lliver, 13, 15; a boundary, 
 
 30 ; depth, ib. ; mouth of, 45. 
 
 , probable sources of, 31, 205. 
 
 to Ambriz, the country from, 
 
 50. 
 lliver and Ambriz, system of 
 
 trading, 59. 
 
 , king of, 117 ; customs of, 121. 
 
 Cooktry of Angola native?, 297. 
 Copper at Benguella, 264; at Qui- 
 
 leba, 271. 
 Copper ore at Ciuo Bay, 275. 
 Coracias caudata, manner of flying, 
 
 &c., 95, 177. 
 Corythaix Paulina, plantain-caters, 
 
 suix-Tstitiuus dread of by the na- 
 tives, 208. 
 
 ELAND. 
 
 Corytliomis cyanostigma, kingfisher, 
 
 233. 
 Cotton growth at Cazengo, 224. 
 Creepers, description of, 17, 18, 25. 
 Crime, punishment for in Angola, 
 
 192. 
 Crows (Corvus scapulatufi), 284. 
 Cuacra, cannibalism at, 251. 
 Cuio Bay, 275. 
 Cursorius SenegaUnsis, 177. 
 Cu«toms of natives of the interior, 
 
 221. 
 CynocephaluH sp. of dog-faced 
 
 monkey, 272. 
 
 D 
 
 Dances of the natives, 241. 
 Dande Elver, 175. 
 Dead, "drying" of the, 151. 
 Decamera Jovis-tonantis, hard-wood 
 
 shrub, preservative against light- 
 
 nins, 221. 
 Diamba, hemp for smoking, 181, 
 
 307. 
 Dias, Captain, governor of Barra 
 
 do Bengo, 44. 
 Dirty habits of the natives, 308. 
 Dish, Angola native, 167. 
 Dog's sense of smell when nearing a 
 
 negro, 20. 
 Dombe Grande, rush of water down 
 
 the Luache, 28. 
 
 , district of, 273. 
 
 Dondo town, 238. 
 Dress of the kings, 143. 
 
 natives, 145. 
 
 Drunkenness of Englishmen, 299. 
 
 Dyes and paints, 330. 
 
 Dysentery, native treatment of, 304. 
 
 E. 
 
 Egg trade, 115. 
 
 Egito river, 259. 
 
 Eland steak, a breakfast of, 288. 
 
350 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ENGONGUI. 
 
 Engonoiui sijrnal-lxills, 111. 
 
 Etituclii, shrub, used for curing 
 headache, 304. 
 
 Ep^om- salts, 310. 
 
 Lriodendton anfractuosiim, cotton- 
 wood tree, 214. 
 
 Erythrophlccum Guinrense, action 
 of poison extracted from, 34. 
 
 Euphorbia tree, 13 ; abundance of, 
 Irom liiver Congo to Mossamedes, 
 15 ; in Atnbriz, 16. 
 
 Euaemia ochracea, moth, 87. 
 
 F. 
 
 Fairs, 115. 
 
 Falls of Cambambe, 239. 
 Farofa, ]ireparation, 160. 
 Farinha de pao, preparation, 159. 
 Fedegozo {Cassia occidentalt's) as 
 
 a substitute for quinine, 302. 
 Fet ish, as a punisliment to drunkards, 
 
 Go. 
 " Fetishes" of the negro, fetish men, 
 
 &c., 136-139. 
 Fetish-house, 171. 
 Fever, its prevention and cure, 301. 
 
 , native treatment of, 303. 
 
 Fevers at Bembe, 125. 
 
 Fish, mode of cooking at Loanda, 
 
 183. 
 
 caught at Loanda, 184. 
 
 and fisheries between Benguella 
 
 and Mossamedes, 279. 
 Food, abundant growth at Cazengo, 
 
 224. 
 Frogs as food, 164. 
 Fruits, 329. 
 Furniture of the natives, 155. 
 
 Gamboa, General, 169. 
 
 Garapa, drink, 164. 
 
 Garlic as a food for hot climate, 298. 
 
 Gigantic grasses, 18. 
 
 INDIA-KUBBER. 
 
 Giraul river, 285. 
 
 Gold at Lombige, 216. 
 
 Golungo Ah 0,2 13-215. 
 
 Gorilla and Chimpanzee, where 
 found, 30. 
 
 Gourds of Cazengo and Pungo An- 
 dongo, 224. 
 
 Grandy, Lieut., 89. 
 
 Grass, " Capim de faca " or knife- 
 grass, 18. 
 
 , description of burning, 22. 
 
 Ground-nut, analysis, 227. 
 
 Gum-arabic at Mossamedes, 285. 
 
 Gum Elenii, called "mubalb," 113. 
 
 Gun-loading by the natives, 78. 
 
 Gypsum, 176. 
 
 H. 
 
 Habits and customs of natives in 
 
 Angola, 313. 
 Hammock, description of, 90. 
 Haricot-bean, 54. 
 Head, mode of shaving the, 148. 
 , *' inhabitants " of the, trap for 
 
 catching, and professional catchei-s, 
 
 148. 
 Herva Santa Maria {Chenojpodium 
 
 ambrosioides), 303. 
 Hippopotami in the River Quanza, 
 
 234. 
 Hornbill, the, 207. 
 (7'occus elegans and Toccus 
 
 Monteiri), at Benguella, 276. 
 Hot-spring at Dongo, 255. 
 Hijdnora,a. Haflflesiaccous plant, 280. 
 Hydraulic-press for baleing the 
 
 baobab fibre, 70. 
 Hyenas, 211 ; steal the author's 
 
 sheep, 212; attack of by wolf- 
 
 hoimd, 289. 
 
 L 
 
 Import-duties, 201. 
 India-rubber creeper, description of, 
 17, 76. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 asi 
 
 INDIAN-CORX. 
 
 Indian-corn, 162. 
 
 Indolence of the Bunda-speaking 
 
 natives. 222. 
 Infundi, prei)arrttion, 158. 
 Iiil<, ingredients of native, 220. 
 Insanity among the natives, 153. 
 It on-smelting at Cazcngo, 219. 
 Ivjry, 77. 
 
 J. 
 
 Jasmine at Benguella, 271. 
 Jasminum anriculatnm, 170. 
 multipaititum, 170. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kew Gardens, author's collection of 
 plants in the herbarium at, 98. 
 
 Kimpoaca, aver-ionot" natives to the 
 landing of hydraulic press, 70. 
 
 King Parrot, where found, 30. 
 
 Kingfishers, 233. 
 
 Kinsao, mineral pitch at, 83. 
 
 L. 
 
 Landolp7iia,floridaf the tree-creeper 
 that produces india-rubber, 76. 
 
 Language of the different races, 219. 
 
 Lead ore, 275. 
 
 Leeches, abundance of, 312. 
 
 Lemur, Oalago Monteiri, 333. 
 
 Libollo country, 247. 
 
 Libongo, 172. 
 
 Lions at Carunjamba, 280. 
 
 Lissochilus giganteuSj found at Porto 
 do Lenha, 45. 
 
 Little Fish Bay, 13. 
 
 Lizards, 226. 
 
 Loanda, 16 ; baptizing slaves at, 38. 
 
 •, death of a boy in market-place 
 
 at, 40. 
 
 , vegetation, 176. 
 
 , city of St. Paul de, 178 ; 
 
 population, 179 ; style of build- 
 ing, ib. ; market of, 180 ; custom 
 
 MIRAGE. 
 
 of the ladies of, 185 ; dress of 
 the people, 186 ; slavery in, 1H8 ; 
 vegetation, 191; j^olice of, 193; 
 lighting of the city, 193 ; theatre 
 at, ib. ; morals, ib. 
 
 Loangos or Loandos' mats, 166. 
 
 Lobato, Senhor, 202. 
 
 Lobito Bay, 262. 
 
 Loi-anthus, seed of, used as bird- 
 lime, 279. 
 
 Luache river at Dombe Grande, 27. 
 
 , quicksands at, 274. 
 
 M. 
 
 " Macotas " or the council, 140. 
 Maculo, a disease peculiar to blacks, 
 
 its treatment, 304. 
 Malachite, 89, 105. 
 , how and where found, 105- 
 
 108. 
 Malagueta pepper, 161. 
 Malulo, Vernonia {Elepliantopus) 
 
 JSenegahnsis. 
 Manatee, or woman-fish, 176, 235. 
 Mandioca plant, cultivation of, 157; 
 
 preparation, 159, 274. 
 Mangrove tree, 230. 
 Manis muUiscutata, ant-eatiiig 
 
 animal, 318. 
 Manoel Vacca, notorious pirate, 51. 
 Maquata, the red gum-cnpal, 75. 
 Maiacachao bird (Pytdia elegans\ 
 
 278. 
 Marble column at Santa Maria Cape, 
 
 commemorating its discovery, 
 
 283. 
 Marriage law of the natives, 145. 
 Massangano town, 237. 
 Mateba palm, abundance of, from 
 
 Biver Congo to Ambrizzette, 24. 
 Matuta, change of scenery and ve^ 
 
 getation, 16. 
 
 , visit to, 109. 
 
 Mineral pitch, 83. 
 
 Mirage at Mossamedcs, 292. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 MOSSAMEDES. 
 
 PEPPER. 
 
 Mossamcdes, 13, 15, 16. 
 
 Nedarinice^ 55. 
 
 (Little Fish Bay), 285. 
 
 Negro cook making forcemeat balls, 
 
 , climate, society, &c., 293. 
 
 20. 
 
 Mosquitoes, 92. 
 
 , insensibility of the, 39-41 ; 
 
 Mourning of the natives, 152. 
 
 ingratitude of the, 43 ; character 
 
 Mucelis, 16. 
 
 of the, 131 ; absence of afleclion 
 
 ^. customs, 257. 
 
 in the, 133 ; social laws of the, 
 
 Mucoandos tribe, 290. 
 
 134; absence of sympathy in the. 
 
 Mnc;)Zo river, 26, 203. 
 
 ib. ; absence of cruelty in the. 
 
 Mundombes, the inhabitants of Ben- 
 
 135 ; " fetishes " of the, 136 ; 
 
 gueUa, their clothing, vegetation, 
 
 toilet of, 144 ; mode of shaving 
 
 mode of eating meat, &c., 268 ; 
 
 the head, 148. 
 
 their arms, 269. 
 
 Negroes, ankle-rings, worn hy, 52; 
 
 Muinzus or pestles, 167. 
 
 customs of, 154 ; odour of, 20. 
 
 Mule, dislike to being harnessed by 
 
 Ngillo, vegetable, 163. 
 
 a negro, 20. 
 
 Novo lledondo, 16. 
 
 Muqueca, its ingredients, 297. 
 
 natives of, 251-253. 
 
 Muquices tribe, 290. 
 
 Nymphoea dentata aud stellata^ 
 
 Mus Gamhianus, 258. 
 
 water-lily, 233. 
 
 Mushicongo negroes, customs of. 
 
 
 154 ; mode of building their huts, 
 
 0. 
 
 156 ; furniture of the, ib. 
 
 
 Musical instruments of the natives. 
 
 Oil, do-fish, 279. 
 
 242. 
 
 Oil-palm at Bembe, 18. 
 
 Mussera, town, 79. 
 
 Ophthalmia, its rarity, 308. 
 
 Mussurongo tribe, pirates, 51 ; ankle- 
 
 Orange River, 15. 
 
 rings worn by, 52; customs of. 
 
 Orchilla-weed, 267. 
 
 154. 
 
 Ordeal by poison, 34. 
 
 Muxima town, 233. 
 
 Ornaments of kings' and macotas 
 
 Muxixe tree, 16. 
 
 wives, 147. 
 
 
 Ox-bird (Buphaga Africana), 278. 
 
 N. 
 
 Oxen trained for riding, 285. 
 
 Native remedies for diseases, 310. 
 
 P . 
 
 Natives, custom of, in case of death, 
 
 after the administration of medi- 
 
 Palm-chop, 53. 
 
 cine, or after the performance of 
 
 tree, mode of climbing, 52. 
 
 an operation, 41 ; objection of to 
 
 wine, 54. 
 
 work for wages, 42 ; fear of at 
 
 Panda or wattled crane (^Grus 
 
 sight of a steamer, 69; customs 
 
 carunculafa), 211. 
 
 of the, 141 ; bed-clothing, 146. 
 Navigation of Elvers Dande, Bengo, 
 
 Paper-making, baobab tree in its 
 application to, 42. 
 
 &c., 26. 
 
 Papyrus, growth of, 163. 
 
 Nborotuto shrub, 205. 
 
 Pedra grande, or " big stone," 2S7. 
 
 Ncomboor goat-root, used to flavour 
 
 Pentalohus harhatus, beetle, 81. 
 
 tobacco, 314. 
 
 Pepper, Chili, &c., 161. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 353 
 
 PICNIC. 
 
 Picnic at Boma, visit of the nine 
 
 kings, 48. 
 Pirao, preparation, ICO. 
 Pitch, mineral, 172. 
 Plants used by natives for cure of 
 
 dysentery or diarrha?a, 304. 
 Plaster-of-paris, manufactured by 
 
 author from gypsum-rock, 275. 
 Polygamy among the natives, 145. 
 Porcupini'S, 328. 
 Porto da Lenha, description of, 45. 
 
 Domingos, 203. 
 
 Potato, sweet, 162. 
 
 Productions of Cazengo, 224-227. 
 
 Products, 60-75. 
 
 Ptyelus qlivaceus, or spit-frog, 226. 
 
 Pungo Andongo range, description of 
 
 scenery, 17. 
 
 , natives of, 223. 
 
 Pungo fish, 79. 
 
 Purgatives used by the natives, 309. 
 
 Q 
 
 Quanza Kiver, 26, 228. 
 
 " Queima<la," burning grass, de- 
 scription of, 22. 
 
 Quiavo. or Quingombo, 163. 
 
 Quiballd, 17 ; description of country, 
 94. 
 
 to Quilumbo, 101. 
 
 Quifiindongo, 177. 
 
 Quileba, cojiper at, 271. 
 
 Quilumbo, 102; from, to Bembe,103. 
 
 Quinbun o natives, 246. 
 
 Quiiicollo, 129. 
 
 Quindas or bas^kets, 165. 
 
 Quingombe, P29. 
 
 Quinine — frdegozo used as a substi- 
 tute by Toi tu'^ue.se, 302. 
 
 Quioco bird, 210. 
 
 Qui]mpa, spring of ferruginous water 
 at, 274. 
 
 Quiquanga, preparation, 159. 
 
 Quirandas, shell bead ornaments, 
 258. 
 
 SLAVE-TEADE. 
 
 Quissama country, 245. 
 
 ladies, fashions of the, 247. 
 
 R 
 
 Pain, fall of, 23. 
 
 Pat-catching, 163. 
 
 Rnts, as food, 164 ; at Libongo, 172. 
 
 Root parasite, 109, 280. 
 
 Salale, or white ant, 164, 318. 
 
 Salt, 81. 
 
 San Francisco River, 274. 
 
 San Salvador, 1 23. 
 
 Sand-grouse — Pterocles namaquuSy 
 27()^ 
 
 Sangue-sangue, tall grass, 303. 
 
 Sanseviera plant, 16, 25. 
 
 Santa Maria Cape, 283. 
 
 Sarna, a kind of itch common 
 among blacks, 308. 
 
 Scents, 329. 
 
 Scorpions, effects of their stimr, 259, 
 260. 
 
 Scopus umhretfa, heron-like bird, 
 207. 
 
 Senhor Chaves, 46 ; organizes a 
 picnic, 48, 
 
 Sesamum indicum seed, 74. 
 
 Seshania punctatayVcrs., shrub com- 
 mon in marshes, 262. 
 
 Sharks, absence of south of River 
 Congo, 28. 
 
 Silva, Mr. Augustus Archer, accom- 
 panies author to Quanza, 228. 
 
 Silver in Cambnmbe, 201. 
 
 Skin-disease, treatment of, 309. 
 
 Slave, author buys a, 43. 
 
 Slaves shipped in Angola, statistics 
 of, 38 ; treatment of in case of 
 famine, 38; native laws regard- 
 ing, 42 ; cost of, 113. 
 
 Slave-trade, 31 ; explanation of in 
 Angola, 33. 
 
 2 A 
 
354 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 Slave-trade at Bengnella, 2C7. 
 Slavery, 32 ; observance of laws, 
 
 33 ; w itclicraft in, 34 ; ordeal by 
 
 poison, ih. ; in Loandi, 189 ; 
 
 aiilhor's views on abolition of, 
 
 189. 
 Sleep-disease, 79 ; description of, 80. 
 Simkes, 330. 
 
 Subn, a, visits the author, 261. 
 Dumbo, formerly a powerful 
 
 kin-, 104. 
 Solunum saponaceum, apple of the, 
 
 used as soap, 227. 
 Sole, bird, 257. 
 Sounds of birds, &c., 1G7. 
 Sphynx moths, 333. 
 Spit-frog, the, 226. 
 Spring-bok, near Mossamedes. 226. 
 Sterculia tomentosa, 16. 
 Sulphate of magnesia, 286. 
 Sulphur at Dombe Grande, 274. 
 Suspension-bridge at Novo Kedondo, 
 
 254. 
 
 T. 
 
 " Tangandando," india-rubber, 76. 
 Tobacco, its efiicacy for inflammation 
 
 of bowels, 310 ; its use by natives, 
 
 314. 
 Toilet of the negro, 144. 
 Trading between River Congo and 
 
 Ambriz, 59. 
 Traps to catch " inhabitants " of 
 
 the htad, 148. 
 Travelling, mode of, 91. 
 Treron calva, 256. 
 Trial of a man for bewitching the 
 
 spirit of his dead wife, 37. 
 Trionyx iiilotka, tortoise, 235. 
 U'uracus cristatus, plantain- cater, 
 
 214. 
 
 ZOMBO. 
 
 U. 
 
 Uallua, drink, 164. 
 Ulceis, native remedies for, 305. 
 Uzanzos, baskets or sieves, 167. 
 Uzus, or mortars, 167. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vegetables, growth of, at Bembe, 
 
 125. 
 Vegetation of Angola, from Ambriz 
 
 to Bcmbe, 16 ; fiom liiver Congo 
 
 to Mos.-arnedes, 24. 
 Viuva, or long-taihd whydah-finch 
 
 ( Vidua pai adised), 279. 
 Voandzeia sublerranea, 227. 
 Volcanic rocks, 205, 283, 286. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wages of Englishmen in Africa, 
 299. 
 
 Water, mode of getting, in dry 
 season, 24 ; finding of at Cam- 
 bambe, 26; curious deposits of, 
 287. 
 
 Watercress, 218. 
 
 AVasps, 323, 325. 
 
 Welwitschia mirahilis, plant, 291. 
 
 White men, reception of, by king, 
 141. 
 
 Wil<t-hemp smoking, 307. 
 
 Witchcraft at Ambrizzette, 36. 
 
 Women's work, 157. 
 
 Writing, style of employed by na- 
 tives, 339. 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zebras at Bengnella, 272. 
 Zombo tribe, mode of dressing the 
 hair, &c., 148. 
 
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