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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..83027b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68110 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68110) diff --git a/old/68110-0.txt b/old/68110-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2954c50..0000000 --- a/old/68110-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7366 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Angola and the River Congo, by Joachim -John Monteiro - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Angola and the River Congo - -Author: Joachim John Monteiro - -Illustrator: Edward Fielding - -Release Date: May 17, 2022 [eBook #68110] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Peter Becker and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANGOLA AND THE RIVER -CONGO *** - - - -[Illustration: - - MAP OF - ANGOLA - Compiled by - J. J. MONTEIRO] - - - - - ANGOLA - - AND - - THE RIVER CONGO. - - BY - JOACHIM JOHN MONTEIRO, - - ASSOCIATE OF THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF MINES, AND CORRESPONDING - MEMBER OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. - - - IN TWO VOLUMES. - - VOL. I. - - _WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS._ - - - London: - MACMILLAN AND CO. - 1875. - - _All Rights Reserved._ - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, - STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. - - - - - TO - - ROSE MY WIFE - - I Dedicate this Work - - IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF THE HAPPY DAYS WE PASSED TOGETHER - IN THE PEACEFUL STILLNESS AND TROPICAL LUXURIANCE - OF THE VAST SOLITUDES OF ANGOLA. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The following description of the country between the River 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 first detailed account of a most interesting 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. - - - - - CONTENTS. - PAGE - - CHAPTER I. - - HISTORY 1 - - - CHAPTER II. - - PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY--CHARACTER OF VEGETATION--RIVERS 23 - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE RIVER CONGO A BOUNDARY--SLAVE TRADE--SLAVERY--ORDEAL BY - POISON--INSENSIBILITY OF THE NEGRO--INGRATITUDE 53 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE RIVER CONGO--BANANA--PORTO DA LENHA--BOMA--MUSSURONGO - TRIBE--PIRATES--MUSHICONGO TRIBE--FISH--PALM CHOP--PALM WINE 81 - - - CHAPTER V. - - COUNTRY FROM THE RIVER CONGO TO AMBRIZ--VEGETATION--TRADING-- - CIVILIZATION--COMMERCE--PRODUCTS--IVORY--MUSSERRA--SLEEP - DISEASE--SALT--MINERAL PITCH 100 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - AMBRIZ--TRADE--MALACHITE--ROAD TO BEMBE--TRAVELLING--MOSQUITOES-- - QUIBALLA TO QUILUMBO--NATIVES--QUILUMBO TO BEMBE 152 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - BEMBE--MALACHITE DEPOSIT--ROOT PARASITE--ENGONGUI--MORTALITY - OF CATTLE--FAIRS--KING OF CONGO--RECEPTIONS--CUSTOMS--SAN - SALVADOR--FEVERS--RETURN TO AMBRIZ 189 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - CHARACTER OF THE NEGRO--FETISH--CUSTOMS--ARMS - AND WAR--DRESS--ZOMBO TRIBE--BURIAL--INSANITY 238 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - CUSTOMS OF THE MUSSUBONGO, AMBRIZ, AND MUSHICONGO NEGROES--MANDIOCA - PLANT; ITS PREPARATIONS--CHILI PEPPER--BANANAS--RATS--WHITE - ANT--NATIVE BEER--STRANGE SOUNDS 280 - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - _Drawn on Wood by_ MR. 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_ 23 - - Porto da Lenha ” 81 - - View on the Congo, above Boma ” 99 - - Ankle-ring--Ring to ascend Palm-trees--Cage for carrying Ivory - tusks--Engongui--Fetish figure--Mask--Pillow ” 140 - - Granite Pillar of Musserra--Wooden trumpet--Hoe--Pipe--Knives-- - Clapping hands and Answer ” 145 - - View in the hilly country of Quiballa--Camoensia - maxima ” 177 - - Quilumbo ” 185 - - Bembe Valley ” 189 - - Bembe Peak ” 231 - - - - -ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -HISTORY. - - -The following sketch of the discovery and earlier history 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 hopes 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 River Quanza; the King of Angola was dead, -but his son, who then reigned, renewed 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 the rest on -board the ships ordered them to return to Portugal if within a certain -time he should not come back to them. He immediately marched to the -Court of Angola, where he and his present were received by the King -with acclamation. - -“After the lapse of a few days, Paulo Diaz, wishing 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 -powerful vassals, determined to allow him to return to Portugal, 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 expedition into the interior, Paulo Diaz concluded -that missionaries had already been in the country many years before. -Returning to Portugal he gave an account of what he had seen to the -King, Dom 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 months -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 witnessed 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 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 -traitor repeated his story. The Portuguese, in astonishment, attempted -to refute the calumny, but without 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 Portuguese, who, ignorant of the -stratagem, were all suddenly set upon and murdered, together with the -Christian slaves, numbering over a thousand. A similar fate befell 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 infamy, 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 horrible catastrophe, -distrusted the message, and, retiring to Anzelle, erected a wooden -intrenchment, and fortifying it with two small cannon, 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 attempted to impede his navigation -of the River 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 Serrão, and 120 -men, at Tacandongo, 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 leagues. 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 completely 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 Loanda 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 great 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 men -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 River Quanza. -Continuing his march, he fell ill, and was obliged to return to -Loanda, leaving his officers in command. These were 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, -notwithstanding their bravest resistance, and only seven men escaped -the wholesale slaughter. - -“In the same year João Furtado de Mendonça 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, continuing -his march with the remains of his force, he very successfully reduced -the rebellious ‘Sobas’ to obedience, and relieving the little garrison -at Massangano, inflicted great loss on the blacks in a battle at that -place. Returning down the River Quanza, he re-established at Muxima the -fort that had been abandoned. - -“In 1602, João Rodrigues 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 10th August, 1603, -offered battle to the Soba Cafuxe, whom he defeated in a great -engagement; continuing his march he built a fort in Cambambe and forced -the Soba Cambambe to submit. - -“About 1606, the first attempt was made to communicate across the -continent of Africa with the River Senna, on the eastern coast, and -for this expedition Balthazar Rebello de Aragão 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 the 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 -for upwards of thirty years, during which time she was unsuccessful in -all her wars against them. - -“The Dutch, who for several years had greatly annoyed the 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 governorship of Fernan de Souza the -Dutch 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 -only 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 Dutch -landing next day became, without opposition, masters of the place and -of a large booty. - -“Pedro Cezar retired to the River Bengo, but, pursued by the Dutch, -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 Massangano until another truce was -concluded, and means were found to enable Pedro Cezar to escape from -the fortress of San Miguel, where he was imprisoned. - -“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 Massangano, 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 Sá e Benavides, Governor of Rio -Janeiro, from which place he started in May, 1648, with a fleet of -fifteen vessels and 900 men. Towards the expenses of this expedition -the inhabitants of Rio Janeiro largely contributed, as they saw how -hurtful to their interests the loss of Angola would be from the 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 invested 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 Portuguese were, -however, repulsed with a loss of 163 men killed and wounded. The Dutch, -unaware of this great loss, and expecting a second 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 thrown open, and -there issued forth 1100 Dutch, German, and French infantry, and as many -blacks, who were all surprised, on passing the Portuguese troops, at -the smallness of their numbers, 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 establishments 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 N’golla -Caboco, the Chiefs of Benguella, and the Dembos Ambuillas at Encoge. - -“In the year 1694 the first copper coinage was introduced 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 -2_d._). (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 demolish 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. - -“The first attempt to communicate directly across the continent, from -Angola to Moçambique, was made as already noticed in the year 1606. -Two expeditions were proposed to start simultaneously from Moçambique -and Angola, and meet in the interior. The former, under 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 renewed 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 that the territory of the Jaga, or Soba of Cassange, -was bounded to the east by another and more powerful kingdom, 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 statements 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 acquainted with the position of the nation -of the Moluas. Honorato succeeded in sending his ‘Pombeiros’ (black -traders) to their principal town, where the Muata Yamba resided, -and where they were hospitably received. Convinced 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 off, on an embassy -to the same effect to Loanda. Accompanied by Honorato’s ‘Pombeiros,’ -the embassy, unable to pass the territory of the Soba Cassange, through -his opposition, proceeded to the country of the Soba Bomba, who not -only allowed them free passage, 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 advanced 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 -hospitality, they were sent back with presents for their respective -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 hung a monkey skin, giving -them altogether a very wild and showy appearance. The ‘Pombeiros’ -described the Moluas 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 amounted to eight, ten, and fifteen blacks per day, and -it is probable that in that of the Muata the number was 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.” - -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 philanthropists -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 died, was feudatory to the Muata Yamba, -and in token of its vassalage paid him a yearly tribute of sea salt, -obtained from the eastern coast. The possibility of communication with -the east coast through the interior being now evident, the Governor -Saldanha instructed the ‘Pombeiros’ to retrace their steps towards the -east, and continue in that direction. - -“It was during the succeeding Governorship of José d’Oliveira Barboza, -however, that the feasibility of such communication was finally -proved, for he sought out a black trader to go to Moçambique across -the interior, and return by the same route, bringing back answers from -the Governor of that Colony to letters sent him from Loanda. 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 River Bengo; besides the great boon -such a work would confer on the hot and dry town, it could not fail to -be a great success from a monetary point of view. - -[Illustration: PLATE I. - -TRAVELLING IN ANGOLA--VIEW NEAR AMBRIZ. - - _To face page 23._] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY--CHARACTER OF VEGETATION--RIVERS. - - -The Portuguese possessions 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 establishment south is, however, at Mossamedes, or -Little Fish Bay, in 15° 20´ S. Lat. - -Throughout this book in speaking of Angola I include not only the -country from Mossamedes to Ambriz, at present occupied by the -Portuguese, but farther north, as far as the River 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 height 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 I.) - -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 -base of the cliffs, resounding loudly in its mad fury as it has done, -wave after wave and hour after hour, for unknown ages; and the singular -absence of gulls or any moving living objects, or noises, to divert the -eye or ear from the dreadful monotony of constantly recurring sound, -and line after line of dazzling white foam, gives a distinctive and -excessively depressing character to the coast, in harmony, as it were, -with the enervating influence of its climate. - -The character of the Angolan landscape is entirely different from that -of the West Coast proper; say from Cape Verde to the Gaboon and the -River Congo. Along that great length of coast are hundreds of square -miles of brackish and salt-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 covered with -a mass nearly approaching in appearance to paste blacking. In the dry -season great expanses 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 fish, crabs, &c., left exposed on -the surface. The number of fish and some of the lower forms of life -inhabiting the mud and water of the lagoons is almost incredible. If -one keeps quite still for a few minutes, the slimy ground becomes -perfectly alive 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 generated; 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 covered -by the most luxuriant forest vegetation, in one expanse of the deepest -unvarying green, the combined result of excessive moisture and the -tropical sun of an almost uninterrupted summer. - -This alternation of swamp and dense forest ends completely on arriving -at the River Congo, and a total change to the comparatively 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 from the sea, and from thence not a single -tree, it is said, for hundreds of miles to the Orange River. A little -mangrove, lining the insignificant 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 possession. -Nowhere on the coast is seen more than an indication 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 whole 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 the central high plateau of Africa. - -From the few and insignificant streams traversing Angola to the coast, -which at most only reach sufficiently far inland to have their source -at this third elevation 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. - -I 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 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 -Redondo to Mucelis, and to the interior of Benguella and Mossamedes, -I have had frequent opportunities 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 sketch 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 composed of enormous -Baobabs, Euphorbias, a tall Agave (or aloe), a tree called “Muxixe” by -the natives, bearing curious seed-pods (_Sterculia tomentosa_), a few -small slender creepers, great abundance of the _Sansevieria Angolensis_ -in the 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 Sansevieria, -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, and a number of smaller plants. A new -set of larger, shadier 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 remarkably -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 (_Landolphia florida_?), -with bright, large dark-green leaves somewhat resembling those of -the magnolia, thickly studded with large bunches of purest white -jasmine-like flowers, loading the air for a considerable distance with -its powerful bitter-almond perfume, and attracting a cloud of buzzing -insects, form altogether a sight not 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 profusion that hardly a leaf was visible, but only one -long sea of beautiful purple, like a glacier of colour--filling the -valley and set in the frame of green of the luxuriant grass-covered -hill sides. The very blacks that accompanied me, so little impressed -as they are usually by the beauties of nature, beat their open mouths -with the palm of the hand as they 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 less 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 (_Elæis 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 lagoons 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 -development in the highest or third region. Gigantic grasses from five -to as much as sixteen feet high, growing luxuriantly, 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 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 few 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 hammock, 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 perspiration from the negroes is wiped on the grass as they -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 -powerful 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 secretion of the skin, of course no amount of -washing or cleanliness 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 strongly 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 accustomed to it, and, -as showing how a person may in time become used to nastiness, I have -even partaken of a dish in which were some forcemeat balls that 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 contained 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 Ilha 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 continued to approach them and sneeze and -retreat repeatedly for some little time, evidently unable to get used -to the powerful 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 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 objection, 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 -becomes completely out of breath, and the arms hang powerless with the -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, the grass, having 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 English 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 stems spring back and cross in every direction behind the -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 gets quite black, with eyes and throat sore and -parched from the charcoal dust and fine alkaline ash. - -When the grass has become thoroughly dry, the effect 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 insignificance 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 perfectly 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 fire 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 -high into the cloud of smoke, which is of the most magnificent 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 the only effect even where the -light 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 in many parts of Angola of -the great scarcity of animal and insect life which 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 -to 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 Euphorbiaceæ. Many villages 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 precaution 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 sufficient 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 successive 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 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 supply 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 -Verde Islands. It was impossible always to be looking after the blacks -told off daily on water duty, and words cannot express the annoyance -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 without 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 vegetation changes -very insensibly from the River Congo to Mossamedes. As far as -Ambrizzette the Mateba palm (_Hyphæne 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 -region very 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, but 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 gneiss, gypsum, -and basalt, of which it is principally composed, 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 very curious creeper, a species of Cassytha, is extremely abundant -in Benguella, covering the shrubs and small trees closely with its -network of leafless string-like stems. The _Sansevieria Angolensis_ is -very plentiful all over the littoral region of Angola; the flat-leaved -species (_S. longiflora_) is only noticed north from Ambriz to Congo, -and only growing very near the sea: the S. Angolensis is but rarely -seen with it, and it is very curious how distinctly 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 -luxuriant, particularly north of Benguella. - -The total absence of horned cattle among the natives on the coast, -from the River Congo to south of the River 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 -to breed them, though a few small herds of cattle to be seen at -Ambrizzette and Quissembo belonging to the white traders, and brought -by the natives far from the interior, appear to thrive very well, and -several Portuguese have bred fine herds at the River Loge, about three -miles from Ambriz; they would not thrive, however, at Bembe, where -those that were purchased from the ivory caravans from the interior -gradually became thin and died. The natives south of the Quanza beyond -the Quissama country, as far as Mossamedes, breed large numbers of -cattle--their principal wealth, in fact, consisting of their 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 Rivers Dande and Bengo are only -navigable by barges for a few miles; others, such as the Ambrizzette, -Loge, Novo Redondo, Quicombo, Egito, Anha, Catumbella, and Luache, -barely admit the entrance of a canoe, and their bars are often closed -for a considerable time in the dry season; the beds of others are -completely 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 pushed forward, on an intensely hot morning, -in order to arrive at the River 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 undrinkable; on reaching the high banks of 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 -themselves 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 -inexpressibly refreshing, 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 with 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 imagined! - -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 River 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. -The first great rains in the interior generally come down the dry -beds of these rivers suddenly, like a great torrent or wave, and I -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 should judge about eight feet -high, driving before and carrying with it an immense mass of trees -and branches, roots, sedges, and grasses all confused and rolling -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 same volume, or opens out into a pool or lake, or partly dries up -into lovely sedgy pools inhabited by wild-fowl 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.) vigorously 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 rainless 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 Novo Redondo and -Benguella. - -Sharks, so frightfully dangerous in the surf of the West Coast, are -unknown south of the River Congo. I have never heard 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 Angola; no hills of -any great importance till we arrive at the first rise, which, as we -have seen, extends the whole length of Angola at a distance of from -thirty to sixty miles from the sea. The second and third elevations -contain some fine 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 prominent feature, seen from the sea; they are of basalt, -and are about 200 or 300 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. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - THE RIVER 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 convince me that it would well repay a -naturalist to investigate 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 Loango 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 unknown 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 parrot,” 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’Boma), 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 innumerable 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 therefore -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 elevation 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 upheaved on the seaboard: 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 judging of it as having been similar to -the slave-trade in North 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 fire 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 house, 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 (I must again -impress on my readers that all my remarks apply to Angola). The free -man, or owner, and his wife, have to supply their slaves with proper -food and clothing; to tend them in sickness as their own children, to -get them husbands or wives, 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 -“my son,” or “my daughter.” If the daughters of slaves are chosen as -wives or concubines by their owners or other free men, it is considered -an honour, and their children, though looked upon as slaves, are -entitled to special consideration. - -There is consequently no cruelty or hardship attending the state of -slavery; a male slave cannot be made by his master to cultivate the -ground, which is women’s work, 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 the 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 off by -the owners, probably from inability to feed or clothe them; cases of -famine from failure of the crops, from drought, &c., a common local -occurrence, also supplied large numbers 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 factories 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 egg from under a sitting -hen. In other tribes breaking a plate or other article of crockery is -a great offence: this is especially the case to the interior of Novo -Redondo, where the punishment is death or slavery. - -I was told there of the amusing manner in which a Portuguese trader -turned the tables on a Soba, or chief of a town, where he had -established himself, and who annoyed him greatly by his constant -demands for presents, by placing 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 witchcraft. 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 their 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 large tree, the _Erythrophlæum -Guineense_ (Oliver, ‘Flora of Tropical Africa,’ ii. 320). Dr. Brunton -has examined the properties of this bark, and finds that it possesses -a very remarkable action. The powder, when inhaled, causes violent -sneezing; the aqueous extract, when injected under the skin of -animals, causes vomiting, and has a remarkable effect upon the vagus -nerve, which it first irritates and then paralyses. The irritation of -this nerve makes the heart beat slowly. (Fuller details may be found -in the ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society’ for this year.) It is called -“casca” by the natives, and I obtained a specimen at Bembe, which 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 possession. 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 referring 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 innocent, 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 determine which 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. 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, that circumstance 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 purpose; 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 blazing fires of dry -grass under a starlit summer sky. - -The most insignificant and extraordinary circumstances are made the -subject of accusations of witchcraft, and entail the usual penalties. - -I was at Ambrizzette when three Cabinda women had been to the river -with their pots for water; all three were filling them from the stream -together, when the middle one was snapped up by an alligator, 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 the alligator to take her out of -their midst! When I remonstrated with them, and attempted to show -them the utter absurdity of the charge, their 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 interrogated 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 customs renders all transgressions liable to -slavery, the 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 inclusively), but the number could not have been far short of -100,000 per annum. I was told by some of the old inhabitants, that to -see as many as ten to twelve vessels loading at a time at Loanda and -Benguella was a common occurrence. 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 Bihé. - -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 harbour. The great slaughter now going on in a great part of -Africa, which I have mentioned as the result of the suppression 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 passersby 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 -resistance 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, three Cabinda blacks from the 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 the 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 the hordes of savages inhabiting the -interior even of Angola 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 insuperable bar to their improvement; their own progress is -still more hopeless. In my opinion, it would be necessary 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 magnificent 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 -night he throws himself on the ground, anywhere, covers himself with -a thin grass or cotton cloth, nearly transparent 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 inconvenience -from the climate from infancy to old 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 with 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 circumstance to attract any -attention. - -The manner in which negroes receive most severe wounds, with apparently -little pain and absence of nervous 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 came 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 themselves, 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 the 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 -murdered him! If he got well, as he did, his benefactor would have been -inconvenienced by heavy demands for his maintenance 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 were uninjured. The Frenchman -got over this risk by giving the remedies, not to the wounded black -himself, but 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 governments who have entered into treaties -for the abolition of slavery, and transport the poor wretches, now -being murdered in cold blood by thousands, to tropical climates where -they might earn their living by the cultivation of those articles -necessary for consumption in civilized countries; their constitution -would enable them to resist the climate, and they would gradually -become civilized. - -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 have been collecting the inner bark of the Adansonia digitata, -or Baobab tree (the application 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 for -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 -worked 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, education 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 -influence 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 life of -their free condition, and this, not from the slightest idea of love of -freedom, or anything of the kind, but simply from an animal instinct to -live a lazy and vegetative 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 the 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 13_l._ 10_s._ 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 explained 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 remained in my -service as my personal attendant, 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 sailing to Loanda. - -A month after I 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 for 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 did, or ever tried to find out, or bothered his head any more about -it. - -It is no use disguising 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 him 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 work 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 appointments, 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 -business 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 I several times -experienced great kindness and hospitality. - -[Illustration: PLATE II. - - PORTO DA LENHA. _To face page 81._] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - THE RIVER CONGO--BANANA--PORTO DA LENHA--BOMA--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 depôts for their other factories higher up the river and on the -coast. The Dutch house especially is a large establishment, 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 seen 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 discharge 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 the river at high water, the -lovely orchid “_Lissochilus giganteus_” in full bloom; we collected -some of its roots, which reached 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 effected by boats. A few days -before our arrival a flood had covered the whole of the ground with -several inches of water. Considering the conditions of the place, it -does not seem to be so unhealthy to Europeans as might be expected. -Next day we proceeded to Boma, also situated on the north bank of the -river, about ninety-five miles from Banana. - -The 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 whole of Angola. - -We were most hospitably received by a young Portuguese, 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 comparative -barrenness of the surrounding country, gigantic Baobabs being the great -tree-feature of the place. We crossed the river several times to this -thickly-wooded hill, and were only able to find just sufficient shore -to land under the branches of the trees, one of which (_Lonchocarpus -sericeus_) was in beautiful bloom. The current of the river is so -strong, and the stream so broad, that it took us half-an-hour to get -across in a good boat with ten strong Kroomen paddling. - -The view from a high hill on the north bank is magnificent: a -succession of bends of the river, and as far as the 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 supply the coast, even to -Loanda, with abundance of beans, mandioca-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 depôt for produce brought from farther up the river. - -We were a fortnight at Boma, but were greatly disappointed at the small -number of species of insects we 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 brilliancy, and it -was really beautiful to see the tall grass 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 habit 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 in 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 principalis_) 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 commemoration -of a white woman’s visit. We started in hammocks, and after about two -hours’ journey, arrived at the place of meeting, where a good 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 description, 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 several yards of -cloth, piece of cotton handkerchiefs, red baize sash, and red cotton -nightcap. One old fellow had a very curious old crucifix, which he did -not know the age of; he could only tell that he was the fifth Soba -or king that had inherited it. It had evidently belonged to the old -Catholic Portuguese missionaries of former times. - -Crucifixes are often seen as “fetishes” of the kings in Angola. Nothing -will induce them to part with them, as they belong to part of the -“fetishes” that have been handed down from king to king from time -immemorial, and must not be lost or disposed of. - -An amusing incident occurred on our way at a large village, where a -great crowd, chiefly of women and children, had collected to cheer the -white woman, seen for the first time in their lives. My 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 Boma, or any -other point of the river, to St. Salvador, and several Portuguese who -have wished to go from St. Salvador to Boma have been dissuaded from -attempting the journey by the king and natives, not from any objection -on their part, but from 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 suspicion of the negro character, and secondly to their fear of -the example of the occupation of Ambriz and the Bembe mines by the -Portuguese. It is impossible for blacks to understand that a white man -will travel 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 for 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 -regarding even the simplest question of direction of roads, rivers, -distances, &c. It is very difficult to obtain exact information, and it -is only after being very well acquainted with them that 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 fetish man, from my having introduced the new -trade of 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. - -The natives of the Congo River, from its mouth to a little above Porto -da Lenha, belong to the Mussurongo 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 them -from collecting around it in their canoes. These pirates have been -continually attacked by the Portuguese and English men-of-war, -generally after some more than usually daring robbery, and have had -several severe thrashings, but without their taking the slightest -example 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 Lenha to -his disconsolate followers, who had been unable to find a fit leader -for their piratical robberies. 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 immediately paid, and--on our way from Boma--we narrowly -escaped being involved in a fight there, in consequence 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 him to have his education continued at St. Helena, but would -finish it on the spot. - -The Mussurongos are very fond of wearing ankle-rings, which, when of -brass, are Birmingham made, and obtained from the traders, but in many -cases are made by the natives of iron forged by their smiths, and -cast-tin or pewter, which 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, whose 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 woman 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 arbitrary 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 River 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 Boma, no less than -four were new species, and have been named by Dr. A. Günther, of the -British Museum, as the Bryconœthiops microstoma, Alestes holargyreus, -Distichodus affinis, and Mormyrus Monteiri (see ‘Annals and Magazine of -Natural History’ for August, 1873). - -At Boma the Koodoo (_Tragelaphus Spekei_, Sclater) antelope must be -very abundant, judging from the number of times that we there ate of -its delicious flesh, brought in for sale by the natives. In my former -visits to Banana I 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 wild 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 preparation and defend its -excellence against its detractors. The nuts of the oil-palm (_Elæis -Guineensis_) are about the size of large chestnuts, the inner part -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 separate all the fibres, and the 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 the mandioca -root. A good cook will make a very good “palm chop” with fresh oil, in -the absence of the new nuts. - -Another excellent dish 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 accurately 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 succession 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 advantage of -the grooved stem of a leaf cut off short to use as a channel for the -sap to flow into the gourd suspended 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 intoxicating; 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 effervescent -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 sometimes a slightly acid flavour, if it has been collected in an -old calabash. We used to have new gourds employed for ourselves. The -natives, 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 water 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. - -[Illustration: PLATE III. - - VIEW ON THE CONGO, ABOVE BOMA. _To face page 99._] - -The 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 sunbirds (_Nectariniæ_), 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. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - COUNTRY FROM THE RIVER CONGO TO - AMBRIZ--VEGETATION--TRADING--CIVILIZATION--COMMERCE--PRODUCTS--IVORY--MUSSERRA--SLEEP - DISEASE--SALT--MINERAL PITCH. - - -The southern point, at the entrance of the River Congo, is called Point -Padrão, from a marble “Padrão,” or monument raised by the Portuguese -to commemorate the discovery 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. That 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 purpose 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 conveyance by sea to Ambriz, but none appearing, -I determined, in company with a Brazilian who was also desirous of -proceeding to the same place, to cross over to Santo Antonio, and try -if we could induce the natives to allow us to pass thence over land to -Cabeça 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 rose, 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 hammocks,--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 -the 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 Cabeça da -Cobra, or “Snake’s Head,” in time for a late breakfast at the house of -a Portuguese trader. Here Senhor Fernando José 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 discovery of the -application of the fibre of the Baobab (_Adansonia 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 establishing this new -trade, in the face of the greatest difficulties, privations, and hard -work for long years on the coast. - -The coast line from Cabeça da Cobra to Ambriz is principally composed -of red bluffs 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 River Congo to Moculla, where it is -replaced by the Cashew tree as far as Ambrizzette. The flat-leaved -Sansevieria (_S. longiflora_) is extremely abundant, and disappears -south almost entirely about Musserra, where it is in its turn replaced -by Sansevieria 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 insignificance: it is less abundant perhaps from -the River Congo to about Ambrizzette; from that place, southwards, the -country is one open forest of it. - -The natives as far as Mangue Grande are Mussurongos. From this to -Ambriz they are a branch of the Mushicongo tribe. The Mussurongos are -at present an indolent set, but there are signs that they are becoming -more industrious, now 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 development 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 arriving at the first elevation, which we have seen -to commence at from thirty to sixty miles from the coast, the ivory -coming from not less than 200 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 Portuguese, and many of them English. It is -a fact that 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 language 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 hearts’ 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 -difference, sometimes amounting to one-half 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 trade upon these rogues, -called “linguisteres” (derived evidently from 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 the white men, who would 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 drink 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 suspicious 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 beginning 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 ivory) on being brought to -the trader, is put on the scales and the price is agreed, in “longs” in -English, or “peças” in Portuguese. This “peça” or “long” is the unit of -exchange to which all the multifarious articles of barter are referred: -for instance, six yards 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 “longs” each. - -As each bag of coffee (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 buyer continues his weighing and -purchasing, 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, wrangling mob is paid -from it through a small window. We will suppose, for instance, that a -“book” is presented at the window, on which is marked twenty “longs” as -the payment of a bag of coffee; the trader takes-- - - A gun--value 4 longs - One keg powder 2 ” - One piece of 18 yards stripes 3 ” - One of 18 yards grey calico 3 ” - One of 18 yards checks 3 ” - Eight handkerchiefs 1 ” - Five bottles of rum 1 ” - One table-knife 1 ” - Three thousand beads 1 ” - Five brass rods 1 ” - -- - Total: 20 longs. - -- - -This is now passed out, the trader making such alterations 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 selection, 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 guns, -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 adding the value of the guns, powder, and “longs,” and dividing the -sum by the weight of the tusk, can tell very nearly what the pound -of ivory will cost when reduced 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 River -Congo is a striking example of the wonderful 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 produce, the value of which may be estimated at -over 300,000_l._, 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 neighbouring country to the south in the -possession of the Portuguese, and is a splendid example of the true -principles by which the African race _in Africa_ can be successfully -civilized, and the only manner in which the 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 been a signal failure. I will say more: so -long as missionary work consists of simply denominational instruction -and controversy, as at present, it is mischievous and retarding to the -material and mental development and prosperity of Africa. Looking at -it from 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. Civilization 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 transformed into -a miserable strutting bully, insolent to the highest degree, taught to -consider himself the equal of the white man, as full as his black skin -can hold of overweening 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 missions on the -coast, I am sorry to say, and they will continue to be fruitless as -long as they are not combined with industrial 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 the hulks in 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 yard 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 difference 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 write, 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 matchet, 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 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 -Angola, 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 their inmost hearts, from the consciousness of their infinite -inferiority. - -Commerce has spread before them a tempting array of Manchester goods, -guns, gunpowder, blankets, rugs, coats, knives, looking-glasses, -playing cards, rum and gin, matchets, tumblers and decanters, beads, -silver and brass ankle-rings, and many other useful or ornamental -articles, without 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 think 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 unsophisticated, 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 their 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 increasing quantity; the kind -they 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 precedence, 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 simple -experiments enabled me to make specimens of bleached fibre and pulp -from it, proving 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 the 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 bark. - -The leaves and flowers are produced during the rainy season, and are -succeeded by the long pendant gourd-like fruit, like hanging notes of -admiration, giving the 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, however, 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 follows 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 mildewed 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 advantage 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 water. - -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 empty centre; this was in Cambambe, and the hollow -was large enough for two of us to sit inside, with a small box between -us for 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 over-head, quietly surveying our operations; a -charge of shot settled this very quickly, and down he fell, a victim to -his curiosity. - -The inner bark of the Adansonia is obtained by first chopping off the -softer outer bark of the tree with a matchet, 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 injury. A fresh layer of bark grows, 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 dried 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. Finer 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. - -Several amusing incidents occurred on my introducing the trade in -Baobab fibre among the natives. I had 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 ropes -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 was nearly starved out. - -I had an old black as my head man of the name of “Pae Tomás” (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 from the 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 Loanda; 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 signal for the white men to do -something or other they could not understand. - -It was not till some time after putting up and working the hydraulic -press at Ambriz that I was able to go north and establish them at -other places. I had to invite the King and Council of Musserra to come -to Ambriz and see it at work, and convince them that it was quite an -inoffensive 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 the trade, and I believe that had I not been already long -known to them I should have been unable to do it so soon. They somehow -had the idea that the cylinder was a great cannon, and might be fired -off with gunpowder, and I might take the country from them with it, but -they were reassured when they saw it had no touch-hole at the breech, -and that it was set upright in the ground and worked by water. - -At Kimpoaça, 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 opposition to its being put -up--it all went 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 determined 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 witchcraft; -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 deliberation it was resolved to get over the difficulty by -giving the dose to a slave of the king, who represented the hydraulic -press. Very luckily 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 simple -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 witchcraft. - -The fruit of the baobab is like a long gourd, about fourteen to -eighteen inches in length, 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 which -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 trunks and -branches in which they can conveniently build their flat nests and rear -their young. - -There is something peculiarly grand in the near appearance 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 (_Arachis hypogæa_), 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,--principally 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 inland 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, therefore, 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 of the rainy season, -and the first crop of nuts for eating green is ready about April; -but they are not ripe for nine months 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 the 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 River 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 them 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 ramosissimum_, and is -eaten principally in the morning to stay the stomach in travelling till -they reach the proper camping-places for their breakfast or first meal -and rest, generally about noon. It is called “quitaba,” and I shall -never forget the first time I tasted this composition: I thought my -palate and tongue were blistered, so great was the proportion 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 for, 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 from them by the wasteful process I have just -described. 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 implied 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-sighted policy of high custom-house duties on -goods, and other restrictions on trade of the 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 open air. - -The sesamum seed (_Sesamum indicum_) has only very recently become an -article of trade in Angola. It was cultivated 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 -cultivated for 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, as it is found to grow near the -coast, in soil too arid for the ground-nut. - -The red gum copal, called “maquata” 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 -found, but there 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 heaviest rains, about March, -April, and May, and these, and June and July, are the months when it -almost all makes its appearance, 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 are 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 the natives “Tangandando.” -It had been an article exported 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 on -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; inside it is full of a soft reddish pulp in 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 very 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 -River 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 afterwards divide into three portions, one taking the -road to Moculla, another to Ambrizzette, and the third to Quissembo, -the three centres, at present, of the ivory trade. The caravans of -ivory generally travel in the “cacimbo” or dry season, on account of -the great number of streams and gullies they have to cross on their -long journey, and almost impassable in the rainy season. These caravans -never bring down any other produce with them but ivory, except at -times a few grass-cloths, 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 -cage 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! - -[Illustration: PLATE IV. - -1. Ankle-ring--2. Ring to ascend Palm-trees.--3. Cage for carrying -Ivory Tusks. 4. Engongui.--5. Fetish figure.--6. Mask.--7. Pillow. - - _To face page 140._] - -The knives on Plate V. were obtained 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 shoulder 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 then show that it is loaded a “palm,” -or about eight or nine inches of the barrel. - -On festive occasions, or at their burials, the guns are loaded with a -tamping of “fuba,” or fine mandioca-meal, instead of other wadding, and -they then give a terrific report when fired off, and not unfrequently -burst. - -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 great 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 -“Pungo,” 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 populous 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 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 the -neighbouring 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 cerebellum. 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 generally in about -twenty to forty days after being first attacked. - -There 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 mandioca 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.). - -[Illustration: PLATE V. - -Granite Pillar of Musserra.--1. Wooden Trumpet.--2. Hoe.--3. Pipe.--4. -Knives.--5 and 6. Clapping Hands, and Answer. - - _To face page 145._] - -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, are 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 huge 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 unequally, 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 down to within a few miles -of the coast. It consists of a huge slice or flat piece of granite, -facing the sea, standing upright 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 lie 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 (_Pentalobus -barbatus_, Fabr.), which I presented to the British Museum. - -A considerable quantity of salt is made by the natives of this 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 surface -of these marshes into little square portions 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 -evaporated 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 the marsh to the sea (generally very close to it) -to admit fresh sea-water at high tide. - -It is an amusing sight to see numbers of women and children, all stark -naked, standing sometimes above their knees in the water, baling -it into the “pans” with small open baskets or “quindas,” and all -singing loudly a monotonous 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 pouring sea-water over it till -all the mud is washed away, and the basketfuls of salt shine in the sun -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 -fun and chaff from them if they meet a white 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, “tacula” (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 enclosed -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 the -long lines of spoonbills, flamingoes, and herons of different 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 residents; they are all -perfectly salt, and free from mangrove or other vegetation, and -generally dry up completely (with rare exceptions) in the dry season, -when sometimes 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 bitumen, 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” for the natives to trade in it. The fear of -annexation 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 purchased of the natives from this locality, but on the occupation -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. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - AMBRIZ--TRADE--MALACHITE--ROAD TO - BEMBE--TRAVELLING--MOSQUITOES--QUIBALLA TO QUILUMBO--QUILUMBO TO BEMBE. - - -Ambriz, seen from the sea, consists of a high rocky cliff or -promontory, with a fine bay sweeping with a level beach northward -nearly to the next promontory, on which stand the trading factories -forming the place called Quissembo, or Kinsembo of the English. - -In the bay the little River Loge has its mouth, and marks the northern -limit of the Portuguese possession of Angola. The country beyond, -described in the last chapter, is in the hands of the natives, under -their own 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 shipment of, and trade in slaves, from the -interior. - -There were also established there American and Liverpool 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 was, 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 custom-house officials, but when I established myself -at Ambriz, I succeeded in inducing 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 exception of a few pounds’ worth of -cloth, &c., in “customs” or presents to the natives. - -The Governor, Francisco Antonio Gonçalves 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. ad valorem was decreed, -notwithstanding the violent opposition of the petty merchants, 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 considerable -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 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 mornings 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 disembarked, the valiant Governor-General -remaining on board till order was restored, when he 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 moustaches. The Governor-General was at that time an officer called -José 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 inoffensive and -unwarlike 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 -advantages in every way for colonization and development. - -In the year 1791 the Portuguese built a fort at Quincollo, about six -miles up the River Loge, on a low hill commanding the road from Ambriz -to Bembe and St. Salvador, where 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 who subjugated the then -powerful kingdom of Congo and the savage tribes of the coast, so -strikingly in contrast to the present spiritless and disgraceful -military 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 anchor 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 beach 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 festooned 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 exhaling 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 Rio 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 introduced on -shore, and in a short time every one 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 which 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 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 Brazilian 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 of Angola, in which effort he sank the large fortune he had -previously amassed, obtained the concession of the Bembe mines from the -Portuguese Government, who sent an expedition to occupy the country, -and succeeded without any opposition on the part of the natives. - -In January, 1858, I was engaged by the Western Africa Malachite Copper -Mines Company, who had acquired 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 March, 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 the 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 unfortunately was -addicted to intemperance, and soon died from the effects of the brandy -bottle. After being at Bembe 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 after we discovered fine blocks -of malachite, fifteen tons of which I sent to the Company in the same -steamer that took him 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 duly qualified and experienced men directed the working from the -beginning, they would have proved a success. Many hundred tons of -malachite were afterwards raised, with the help of a very few white -miners, but too late to correct the previous mistakes and losses. - -During the years 1858 and 1859 I travelled the road from Ambriz 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, where -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 Ambriz as far as Bembe, -but owing to the great mortality in the country from two successive -visitations of small-pox, which 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 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 extremely 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 generally 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. - -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 carry a hammock -for any distance. The motion is extremely disagreeable at first, from -the strong up 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 anfractuosum_), 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 form an -idea what hard, wearying work it is to carry a person in a hammock, and -it is wonderful how these blacks will run with 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 necessary for a month’s journey, we had to engage -exactly thirty carriers: this included our cook and his boy with the -necessary pots and pans; our “Jack Wash,” as the laundry-boys are -called, with his soap and irons; and one man with the drying-papers and -boxes for collecting plants and insects. We also took a Madeira cane -chair, very useful 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 mosquito bar or curtain, but -the ground was so full of sand-fleas, 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. - -Where 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; that 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 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 fellow, only found near running -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 antennæ appear at certain times of the year in -great numbers, 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 terrific 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 I 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. Welwitschii_), -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 five 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 end 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 carrier for a few minutes by -easing the weight of the load off his head without setting it down. The -natives of the interior carry loads on their heads that they are 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 “mutete.” - -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 plants we had gathered thus far. The country we -had passed was comparatively 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 specimens of butterflies, such -as _Godartia Trajanus_, _Romaleosoma losinga_, _R. medon_, _Euryphene -Plistonax_ 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 occasionally 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. -brutus_, _P. demoleus_, _P. erinus_, _Diadema misuppus_), &c. &c., on -the contrary, we only found in the full 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 to the rock of the country, -which is a large-grained, very quartzose 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 -scapulatus_), the brilliantly-coloured starlings (_Lamprocolius_), -and the several rollers; doves also, so abundant on the coast, are -comparatively 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 Matuta; 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 with me to Bembe, where it became -quite tame, and I had 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 grasshoppers; 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 for 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 the water close together, with the chair on their shoulders, and -pass my wife across first, singing in chorus, “Mundelle 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 comfortable in it. The king, Dom Paolo, is a -fine, tall old negro, and knowing of our arrival sent his son and a -number of men to meet us, when they took my wife’s hammock, and raced -her into 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. - -There is a good deal of rivalry between the two races;--the Ambriz -blacks do not like going beyond Quiballa, and the Mushicongos object -to go into the Ambriz country. Before the road was 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 going up -from Ambriz, and copper ore coming down from Bembe, and there change -carriers. - -The Ambriz negroes, being very much stronger, never objected to any -loads, however heavy, some of these going up the country with sixteen -or twenty carriers, such as the heavy pieces of the steam-engine, -saw-mill, pumps, &c. There was great difficulty in inducing the -Mushicongos to take these heavy and very often cumbersome loads from -Quiballa to Bembe, and once, when loads for upwards of 1000 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 engaged 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 the -loads. My calculation was that the greater number would be forced from -hunger to take them, and so it happened. 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 abundantly in the -more bare places on the sides of the hills at Quiballa, in the very -hard clay of the decomposed mica slate. - -[Illustration: PLATE VI. - -VIEW IN THE HILLY COUNTRY OF QUIBALLA--CAMOENSIA MAXIMA. - - _To face page 177._] - -The _Camoensia 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 with a golden rim, and nearly the -size of an open hand. Its roots spread underground to great distances -and shoot out into other plants, so that on attempting to remove what -we thought nice small plants, we always came on great thick roots which -we followed and found to proceed from old bushes at a considerable -distance. Several small plants that we brought away alive died -subsequently at Ambriz. 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 occupied 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 being -remarkably picturesque. Most of them are situated in woods, which are -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 feet. - -At certain places on the road, generally in the vicinity of water, or -where several trees afford a convenient shade, a kind of little market -is held all day, of plantains, green indian-corn, mandioca roots, -and other articles of food for the supply of the carriers or natives -passing up and down. Here the women from the neighbouring towns come -with their pots, and cook food, such as dry 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 -appearance, 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 cough. 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 the 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 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 Tuco is reached, the first great -sudden elevation. On the left is a deep valley, filled with an almost -impenetrable forest of the most 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, bearing large -handsome leaves and bright yellow flowers (_Luffa sp._). From the top, -looking back towards 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 -exquisite panorama, and words fail to describe its beauty and grandeur. - -After this hill is passed, the country continues comparatively 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 stony, -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 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 fine fibre, contenting themselves 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 were -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 was fine, -but we had not been asleep long before we were awakened by a terrific -thunderstorm, accompanied by torrents 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 night -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 Rose, after my wife, who had therefore to make the mother -a present of a piece of handkerchiefs and an extra fine red cotton one -for the baby. - -Next day we were able to pass the swollen stream in our chair, 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 -five feet. In a fish-trap I here found the curious new fish described -by Dr. A. Günther, and named by him _Gymnallabes apus_ (‘Annals and -Magazine of Natural History’ for August, 1873). - -[Illustration: PLATE VII. - - QUILUMBO. _To face page 185._] - -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 VII.). This is at present the 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 River 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, looking 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 the murder of a -woman by one of them. They were accompanied 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 was not delivered to me, but the 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 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 -Portuguese 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 -condition on entering Bembe, which we did in about half-an-hour’s time, -having to walk 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 was 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 quickly 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. - -[Illustration: PLATE VIII. - - BEMBE VALLEY. _To face page 189._] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - BEMBE--MALACHITE DEPOSIT--ROOT PARASITE--ENGONGUI--MORTALITY - OF CATTLE--FAIRS--KING OF CONGO--RECEPTIONS--CUSTOMS--SAN - SALVADOR--FEVERS--RETURN TO AMBRIZ. - - -Bembe is the third great elevation, and it stands boldly and cliff-like -out of the broad plain on which we have been travelling, and at its -base runs the little river Luqueia. - -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. This valley, in which the great deposit of malachite exists, -is about a mile long in a straight line and runs N.N.W. by S.S.E. -(Plate VIII.). - -It is a _cul-de-sac_ at its northern end, terminating in a beautiful -waterfall which the 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 described above as separating 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, however, is a gradual slope, and is -covered by a thick deposit of clayey earths, in which the malachite is -irregularly distributed for the whole 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 upwards 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 eight 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 atacamite 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 S.S.W. -at an angle of about 55°. - -In no part of Angola, except at Mossamedes, have any regular lodes or -deposits of copper or other metals (except iron) been found _in situ_; -all bear unmistakable 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 will be found -immensely rich--in copper principally--where the lodes most likely -exist that have supplied the enormous amount of copper carbonates found -all over Angola, and farther north 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, sunk 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 five fathoms, but of course they were never carried 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 season, of course, -these pits were filled up with water and mud, and fresh ones had to be -dug in the succeeding dry season. - -To ascend 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 the ground, and the cheap spear-pointed -knives, ten or eleven inches long, they received in barter at Ambriz -from the traders. - -The mines belonged to several of the towns in the immediate -neighbourhood, principally to one called Matuta; but they allowed the -natives of other towns to extract malachite 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 seldom 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 -the finer lumps, which were sold entire. Most of the malachite has -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 -allowed 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, with only a -few stone walls overgrown 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 Bembe, any number -of natives could be had from the neighbouring towns, willing to work at -the mines, and as many as 200 to 300 were daily employed, principally -in carrying the ore and clay to the 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 -perhaps 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. Very 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 knowledge of working, and of tools and -implements. It was great trouble to teach the natives the use of the -pick and shovel, and the wheelbarrow was a special difficulty and -stumbling-block;--when not carrying it on their heads, which 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 -holding up the handles, but not pushing at all, whilst another in front -was walking backward, and turning the wheel round towards 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 10 to 100 or more carriers), 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 5_l._ 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 metamorphic limestone, destitute -of fossil remains, rises from the bottom to a height of about thirty -feet, and in it are contained 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 openings to the ground below. - -Great numbers 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. - -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 ditch -round it, which has stood one or two sieges; but the 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. They all, of course, -preferred the former alternative, and there happening to be a mulatto -in the garrison 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 (Andrade) used to take pleasure -in listening to the excruciating 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 Constitucional,” 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 provided: 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 -perceived, and at the unaccountable uproar of the band as we entered -the town, a most laughable effect was produced on the inhabitants, -who fled in all directions in the greatest dismay, with the children -crying and yelling as only small negroes can. After our sitting down, -and holding out bottles of rum and bunches of beads, they quickly -became convinced 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 his head, and -carrying a cutlass upright in his hand, at arm’s-length. After the -usual drinks and compliments, the band played again, to the now intense -enjoyment of the inhabitants, who capered and danced and shouted 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 performers. - -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 capturing 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 tusks as they were in the habit of getting on the -coast;--blacks having no regard whatever for time or distance, eight or -ten days’ journey more or less being to them perfectly immaterial. The -road followed by the caravans of ivory from the interior passes, as I -have said before, near Bembe; consequently a good many caravans left -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 Tomás, 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 distinguish 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 -answering 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 flat bells of malleable iron joined together 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 reverberating from the blows with the stick. - -As the caravans were coming down the valley, Pae Tomás 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 Tomás 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 -cannibalism. - -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 important 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 cloth 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 rarely a few -mats or skins; one skin that I purchased proved to be that of a new -monkey, described by Dr. P. L. Sclater as the _Colobus 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 servants, slaves being amongst the natives in -Angola the principal investment of their savings. The prices paid for -them varied according to size, sex, 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 -3_s._ 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 cakes, 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 River 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 veterinary 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 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 goats breed very well, particularly about Ambrizzette. 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 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 we breakfasted, as they 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 300 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. - -Provisions at that time were fabulously cheap, 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. Eggs and bananas were sold at one blue glass bead -each, of a kind made in Bohemia, 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, on which he had allowed the hair to grow like -a great frizzled bush. His appearance when released was most comical, -and produced the 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 wondered 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 Quimalenço, on the road to Bembe, and -about thirty miles distant, and our servants and blacks working at the -mine were constantly asking leave to go to it. Both at Sona and the -latter fair no blacks are allowed with sticks or knives, a very wise -precaution, considering the quantity of palm wine, garapa, and other -intoxicating liquors consumed. I have seen not less than 2000 natives -assembled at these fairs, selling and buying beans, mandioca roots and -meal of different kinds, Indian corn, ground-nuts, palm-nuts and oil; -pigs, sheep, goats, fowls; cotton cloth, handkerchiefs, &c.; crockery, -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, came in state to Bembe to ask the -Portuguese to send priests to San Salvador, to bury his predecessor and -to crown him king. In former times, San Salvador, the capital of the -kingdom of Congo, 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 though 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 the King of Congo was very powerful; all the country, as -far as and including Loanda, the River Congo, and Cabinda, was subject -to him, and paid him tribute. The missionaries under his protection -worked far and wide, attained great riches, and were of immense -benefit to the country, where they and the Portuguese established and -fostered sugar-cane plantations, indigo manufacture, iron smelting, and -other industries. With the discovery and colonization of the Brazils, -however, and the expulsion 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 considered 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. These 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 palms -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, which 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 slowly winding through the grass. On arriving -at the edge of the mine valley they all halted, and the band again -struck up. The Marquis got out of his hammock, 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 from it; a gaily-coloured cloth was next produced from the box -and fastened round his waist; a blue velvet cloak edged with 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 Marquis’s right -to receive from the Portuguese, but which being evidently unexpected, -made one half of the crowd scamper as fast as they could, till they -were recalled. At the gate the guard turned out and presented 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, which he -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 would have been an unpardonable -incivility on their part not to drink whatever he gave them, they each -took a mouthful from the glass, though he was making faces and wiping -his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, but both got up 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 with 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 Mushicongos. - -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 ragged condition possible, whether according to -custom, or from a fear that the Marquis might, in view of their -riches, demand tribute from them as formerly, 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 the 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. - -The tall secretary now borrowed a red cloak from one of the 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 them 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 foreheads and fingers 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 bottles of Lisbon wine from under his chair, put it to his mouth, -and nearly emptied it at a draught. The curtain was then removed, and -the nearly empty bottle of wine passed to the king of Matuta, who -poured the contents into the tumbler, took a drink himself, and passed -it to the rest, who had a sip each till it was drained dry. Speeches -were again made, and the embassy, having once more rubbed 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 after 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 wished to clear his throat, the lanky -secretary would kneel before him, and taking a dirty rag out of a grass -pouch suspended from his shoulder, would present it to him with 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, -that 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. Bastian 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 dressed 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 it by which I could identify -the portrait, which seemed to have been taken from a small octavo -volume. The Marquis 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 service. 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 themselves, 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 were asked to sit as -it could carry;--great was their astonishment 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 wonderful “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 the 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 and write Portuguese, transmitted from -father to son since the olden 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 king 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 -want of success and cowardice, intrigued with the Governor-General at -Loanda, and the padres were censured for that for which he himself was -alone to blame. - -Nearly 200 blacks presented themselves to the padres, 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 fear 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 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 than I ever saw them even -in 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 single one. -Broad beans, although growing and flowering luxuriantly, never produced -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 the 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 the 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 cropped -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 pruriens_), 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 itching when rubbed on the skin. The first -time I pulled off a bunch of the pods I shook some of the hairs over -my hand and face, and the sensation 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 punishment. They marched -from 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 diarrhœa; 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 contributed 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 the total want -of pluck in the Cornishmen when ill; they 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 difficulty 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 drinking 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 commonest 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 recovering -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 Vasconcellos Canto do Corte Real, had -prepared for our use the old house in which I had formerly lived, and -received us most hospitably. We 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 reception, from our cook having fallen ill the day -before we arrived, and being consequently unable to prepare our food. - -[Illustration: PLATE IX. - - BEMBE PEAK. _To face page 231._] - -We made several excursions to the mines and to the caves, and one -morning my wife and myself ascended to the top of the peak or mountain -(Plate IX.), and breakfasted 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 River 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 (_Spathodea campanulata_--R. 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 River 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. - -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 -hammock, 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 ordinary storm was gathering, the clouds deepening in colour -till at last they seemed to descend and touch the ground, 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 lightning seemed to shoot out of -it, up and down and in all directions, with scarcely any intermission -of the explosions of thunder that accompanied them. - -Our carriers seemed perfectly frightened, and ran us along in our -hammocks as if racing for life, till, a little before sunset, we -reached a 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 hut, but the wind suddenly seemed to increase in power -from the south, and blew the storm away from its path to the westward, -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 Quingombe, and our -carriers tried to dissuade us from proceeding on to Ambriz, alleging -that the heavy rains had 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 River 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 place, 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 foot of 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 in that country, -had escaped hanging, 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! - -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 hanging up the 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 offers 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 the morning, which 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. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - CHARACTER OF THE NEGRO--FETISH--CUSTOMS--ARMS AND WAR--DRESS--ZOMBO - TRIBE--BURIAL--INSANITY. - - -The language, customs, and habits of the Mussurongo, Ambriz, and -Mushicongo tribes are very similar, 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, when we consider -that Loanda has been constantly occupied by the white race since its -discovery, and that this intercourse has necessarily modified 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 requires 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 life and actions. - -In 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 of 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 find in the negro an entirely 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 have been entirely mistaken; but the 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 descriptions 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 _will_ fall -on bare and barren ground, and where weeds _will_ 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 squandered and -wasted under the misguided idea of raising the negro to a position -which, 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 completely 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 harmless -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 he 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 absence of good qualities, -and of feelings and emotions that 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 result of an inferior physical -organization, 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 successive 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 -indicative of affection or love. Their passion is purely of an animal -description, unaccompanied by the least sympathetic 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 thought of. The husband, by their laws, can at -most return his wife to her father, who has to refund the present 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, nor -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 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 white man put it out of its misery. -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, and I have already described how even their -own animals are left to fare 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. - -In 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, therefore, 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 whatever, either at the time -or afterwards. In Angola, the attempt to take a white man’s life by -his slaves, for ill treatment 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 delight 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 cannot be called -ungrateful exactly, because that 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 few 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. - -To sum up the negro character, it is deficient in the passions, and in -their corresponding virtues, and the life of the negro in his primitive -condition, apparently so peaceful and innocent, is not that of an -unsophisticated state of existence, but is due to what may be described -as an organically 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 counteract 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 stock-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, health, rain, good crops, fecundity; -against all illness, storms, fire, surf, and misfortunes and calamities -of every kind. No death is attributed 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 against 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 “tacula,” 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 203 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 filth, 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 _Zebrina_) are filled with fowls’ dung and -feathers, “tacula,” &c., and stuck on a stick in the plantations and -salt pits, to protect them from thieves; also the gourd-like pods or -fruit 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 from the decomposition of mica and mica schist) and “tacula.” -A great “fetish” in childbirth and infancy is made in the shape of a -little pouch about two inches long and the thickness of the middle -finger, very prettily woven of fine grass; these are filled with fowls’ -dung and “tacula,” 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 Mussurongos on the Congo River. Plate IV. represents one -obtained at Boma. Some of these large “fetishes” 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 -constantly 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 Water,” and his power is held in great -dread by the natives. No white man can go to the Granite Pillar at -Musserra 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 the 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 -introduced 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 “fetishes” to protect -their houses, &c., from fire or other misfortune, 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 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 preserve the huts from fire, that they did nothing 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 Mushicongo negroes, are much afraid of -going about at night, unless there is moonlight; 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 “Macotas,” 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 -“Macotas.” - -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 -sister and myself came from the same mother, and there is no doubt, -therefore, that my sister’s child must be my nephew.” This necessity -for a positive or 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, blacks are quite -unable to estimate their 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 with different -designs in brass or tin plate. These sticks are always sent with -a messenger from the king, and serve to authenticate 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 fibre, -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 “Macotas” 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 servants belonging to the -latter attend and squat behind him; on the king’s side is generally -the whole available population of the town, for whom the occasion is -an excitement, the front rows squatting on the ground, and the rest -standing crowded together in a circle. The traveller’s retinue first -begin by clapping hands to the king and “Macotas.” This is performed -in a peculiar manner by hollowing both palms, as in the action of -filling them with water, and then bringing them together crosswise, -when a much louder and deeper sound is produced than by clapping the -hands in the ordinary manner. The king returns the salute by extending -the left hand before him horizontally, with the palm 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 universal 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,” &c., both clap -their hands, but the inferior has to do it first, and both squat 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 white 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 -ceremonial 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;”--the white man then shakes hands with -the king and takes his leave, the king always sending him some little -present, generally a fowl or pig, for which, however, another present -equal to its value is expected. It is not considered etiquette 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 have described as practised to the 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 the dust that adheres to them to -the eyebrows, ears, and cheeks. - -The appearance of some of the kings dressed in their fine clothes 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 figure as any I have -seen. He always used to appear in a woman’s brightly-coloured 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 broad 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 like 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 resort 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 robberies -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 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 River Congo were formerly armed -with a small carronade, to protect themselves 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 advance of the enemy; when it appeared in sight the train was -fired, and the inhabitants took to their heels. The assailing 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 gives 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 afterwards 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 often carried suspended from -a piece of string round their necks. After every meal they always wash -their mouths 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 wives that a black may keep is only regulated -by his means to maintain 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 Mussurongo, 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 -and 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 Mushicongos, 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 keep -themselves and the husband in food. Should he be unable to supply a -wife with 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 dress 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 the arm-pits to the knees, and -tied in the same manner round the waist with a strip of baize;--the -top-end being tucked in, secures the cloth under the arms over the -breast, but when travelling 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 meeting 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. These -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 few 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 which 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 enlarged to pass the head through, and they are -then worn on the shoulders like a cape. - -The coast tribes do not interfere with nature in the development of -the female figure, but the Mushicongos object to prominent breasts, -and girls tie a string tightly round the chest to reduce the growing -breasts to the perfectly flat shape in fashion;--the appearance of some -of the old negresses with their breasts hanging low and flat in front -is very disgusting. - -The blacks have a great admiration for a white 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 told him I would send him a thin-waisted -wife 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 weight -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 heads so free from hair, great would be the -production of a certain obnoxious insect, under the combined influence -of dirt and heat. Amongst the Mushicongos the 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 flask-shaped gourds, -about the size of an ordinary pear, are strung through their necks -on a string, which 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 crawling, and placed in the open palm of a child’s hand, who -also stood in the group. My curiosity was excited as to the reason of -the specimens being thus carefully preserved, and on asking one of my -hammock-boys, he told me “that 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 heads: the common lot let -their hair grow anyhow, without 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 feather 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 upright, -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 Bembe -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 -Conceição, 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 confinement, who need not have gone with 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 Conceição -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 when we reached Benguella in the evening, Senhora -Conceição 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 or 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 the -latter;--I have often been annoyed and had my rest disturbed by their -monotonous and unceasing howl on these 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 last 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 -afford, 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 “batuco,” or dancing, with firing of guns and consumption -of drink, roast pig, and other food, 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 generally 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 dead, who do not -belong to the town in or near which they have died; the wrists and -knees are tied together and a pole passed through, and they are then -carried by two men and buried outside, anywhere;--if the corpse is that -of a man, his staff and “mutete” are laid on 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 the 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 tribes they cannot marry without. - -The operation is only performed in a certain “moon” (June), the one -after 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 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 lunatics 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 hyena, almost entirely absent. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - CUSTOMS OF THE MUSSURONGO, AMBRIZ, AND MUSHICONGO NEGROES--MANDIOCA - PLANT--ITS PREPARATIONS--CHILI PEPPER--BANANAS--RATS--WHITE - ANT--NATIVE BEER--STRANGE SOUNDS. - - -The Mussurongo, Ambriz, and Mushicongo negroes have hardly any -industrial or mechanical occupation; they weave no cloths of cotton or -other fibre; their only manufactures being the few implements, baskets, -pots, &c., required in their agriculture and household operations. - -The reason for this want of industry, apart from the inherent laziness -and utter dislike of the negroes for work of any kind, is to be found -in their socialistic and conservative ideas and laws. - -No man can be richer than his neighbour, nor must he acquire his riches -by any other than the usual or established means of barter or trade of -the natural products of the country, or of his plantations. - -Should a native return to his town, after no matter how long an -absence, with more than a moderate amount of cloth, beads, &c., as -the result of his labour, he is immediately accused of witchcraft or -“fetish,” and his property distributed among all, and is often fined as -well. - -I 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 would only be taken away from them, and so preferring to enjoy -themselves 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 slaves, and entirely maintained by -them;--even these traders are constantly being accused of “fetish,” -from which they have to clear themselves by heavy payments. - -We have already seen how there are hardly any social distinctions among -the negroes, and consequently no necessity for finer clothing, food, -houses, &c.; it is even considered very mean for one black to eat or -drink 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 plantation at Quincollo, goes -under the nickname among the blacks of “Fiadia,” 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 -covered 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 thatch, -on a frame of light cane or the mid-rib of the palm-leaf. The door is -made of slabs of the “Mafumeira” or cotton-wood tree, or of palm-leaves -woven together; the door is always about a foot from the ground, and -the threshold generally the trunk of a small tree, forming the usual -seat of the inmates during the day. - -The Mushicongos, living on the mica schist and clay slate formations, -which decompose readily, forming tenacious 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 preserve -them from the ravages of that most destructive insect. - -For this purpose the poles are soaked for months in stagnant pools, -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 left at the top ends for the smoke to issue -from. - -The furniture is restricted to a bed, made of a framework 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 with 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 singular 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 -build one. - -Women’s work is entirely restricted to cultivating the ground and -preparing the food. Their simple agricultural 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 this hoe -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 -hillocks ready for planting the mandioca. This plant, the Cassada or -Cassava of the West Indies, &c. (_Manihot aipi_), 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, though 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 chestnut -than anything else I can compare it to, and not unlike it in taste, -though not so sweet, and more juicy. 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 -good drainage, as the roots are said to rot readily in places where -water stagnates. The mandioca-root is sufficiently large 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 full perfection for fifteen or -eighteen months after the cuttings are planted, and as it can remain in -the ground for two or even three years without damage or deterioration, -there is no need of a regular time for digging it up. It is eaten fresh -and raw as taken out of the ground, though the natives are fondest of -its various preparations. - -The roots peeled and dried in the sun constitute what is called “bala,” -and are eaten thus or roasted. “Bombó” is prepared by placing the roots -in water for four or five days, running streams being preferred to -stagnant pools for this purpose; the outer black skin then peels off -very readily and the roots have suffered a kind of acetous fermentation -affecting the gluten and gum, and setting free the starch--of which -the bulk of the root is composed;--they now have a strong disagreeable -acid taste and flavour, but on drying in the sun become beautifully -white and nearly tasteless, and so disintegrated as to be readily -crushed between the fingers into the finest flour. This “bombó” is -also eaten thus 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 liked by the natives, which is made in this way:--into an earthen -pot half full of water, kept boiling on three stones over a fire, the -“fuba” is gradually added, and the whole kept constantly stirred round -with a stick; when the mass attains the consistency of soft 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, for some minutes longer, -or till it no longer sticks 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 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 oil. This “infundi,” or “infungi” as it is also -pronounced by some of the natives, is delicious eating with “palm-chop.” - -“Quiquanga” is also a very important preparation of the mandioca-root, -large quantities being prepared in the interior and brought down to the -coast for sale and for barter for dried fish, salt, &c. The fresh roots -are placed in water for a few days, in the same manner as described -for “bombó,” 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 homogeneous paste; this is rolled between the -hands into 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 ramosissimum_--a beautiful trailing plant with a -knotted stem, growing very abundantly in moist and shady places,--and -steamed over a pot of boiling water carefully covered up to keep the -steam 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, the “quiquanga” is not a bad substitute for bread -or biscuit. - -It is curious that in the district of Loanda 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 Ambriz to the River Congo: this is the meal called by -the Portuguese and Brazilians “Farinha de pão.” 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 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 floury saw-dust, and is -excellent eating. Carefully 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 which onions have been fried. This is called -“pirão,” 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 salt, or, better still, with orange or -lemon juice, with pepper and salt. This is called “farofa,” and is an -excellent accompaniment 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, if 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, which 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 or other fat, salt, and -Chili pepper. The leaves of the bean, mandioca, or pumpkin plants 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 everywhere in the greatest luxuriance -as a fine bush loaded with bunches of the pretty bright green and -red berries. 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 another -smaller round one. Their cookery is mostly a vehicle for conveying this -Chili pepper, and the “infundi” 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 garden at Bembe we grew some “Malagueta” peppers, a variety with -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 often a scarcity of them. 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, reflecting 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 butterflies 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 that, poised on the wing -in the air, insert their long curved beaks into the petals in search of -the small insects and perhaps 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 becomes 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 with 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 with 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 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 -“ngilló” (_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 “quingombó” (_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. Antelopes, 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 the rats -and mice. Various devices are also employed 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. The -bushes are then beaten with sticks, and the rats, frightened out of -their haunts, rush along the 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 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 achatinus_) is greatly relished -everywhere, and the blacks are wonderfully 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 discover 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 travelling, 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 “salalé,” or white ant, is eaten by the natives of 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 which to eat the “infundi.” -They have a very sharp taste, from the formic acid contained in them. - -The natives of Angola manufacture but one kind of drink, called -“uállua” 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 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 mandioca-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 freshly made is sweetish and not -disagreeable in taste, but with the progress of fermentation becomes -acid and intoxicating. The rationale 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 ordinary 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 made -in the country, and when a cover is required, another basket inverted -is employed. - -The “loangos,” or “loandos” are large mats about four to five feet -long, and from two to four wide; they are made of the dry, straight, -flattened stems of the papyrus plant (_Papyrus antiquorum_), and like -the baskets are also not woven or plaited, but the stems are passed -through or sewn across at several places with fine string made of -baobab fibre. These mats are stiff, but at the same time thick and -soft; they are used for a variety of useful purposes, such as for -fencing, 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 luxuriantly -in all the pools, marshes, and wet places of Angola, 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 large 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 different species -of waterfowl; and I have often remained 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 hammers on -steel anvils--said to be made by a small species of frog. - -Nothing gives such 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 foot of ground or marsh, every tree, -bush, or plant, seems to give out a buzz, chirp, or louder noise of -some sort. With the first streak of daylight these noises are suddenly -hushed, to be quickly succeeded by the various glad notes of the -awakened birds, and later on, when the sun’s rays are clear and hot, -the air is filled with the powerful whirr of the cicads on every tree. - -The “uzanzos” are a kind of sieve in the form of an openwork basket, -rather prettily and neatly made of the thin and split midrib of the -palm leaflets, in which the women sift mandioca, Indian corn, or -whatever else they may pound into meal in their wooden mortars. These -latter are “uzus,” and the long wooden pestles employed with them are -termed “muinzus” (Plate 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 an 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 by the traders on the coast. These dishes are invariably -made square in shape (Plate XIV.). - - -END OF VOL. I. - - - - -INDEX. - - - A - - Abuses by authorities of Angola, i. 54. - - Adansonias, abundance of, from River Congo to Mossamedes, i. 27. - - African fevers, facts and observations about, ii. 236. - - Agave, i. 29. - - Alligators, i. 65, ii. 123. - - Ambaca, natives of, ii. 103. - - Ambaquistas, natives of Ambaca, ii. 103. - - Ambriz, description of town, i. 153; - trade of, _ib._; - iron pier at, 157; - author’s return to, 233; - negroes, customs of the, 281. - - ----, vegetation of, i. 30; exports from in 1874, 111. - - ---- to Mossamedes, i. 23. - - ---- to Loanda country, ii. 1. - - Ambrizzette, witchcraft at, i. 65; - treatment of a black for forgery, 115. - - _Amydrus fulvipennis_, ii. 164. - - Andrade, on board the, to Quanza, ii. 113. - - Angola, discovery and early history, i. 1; - Portuguese possessions of, 23; - physical geography of, _ib._; - description of coastline, _ib._; - character of landscape, 25; - change of landscape at 13° S. lat., 26; - vegetation of from Ambriz to Bembe, 29; - slave trade in, 59; - statistics of slaves shipped in, 67; - division of, ii. 51; - pay of governor and army officers, 52; - abuses by authorities of, 54; - climate of, 223; - effect of climate on Europeans, ii. 237; - customs of the natives, ii. 268. - - _Angolœa fluitans_, ii. 133. - - Anha River, ii. 173. - - Animal food of the natives, i. 297. - - _Arachis hypogœa_, native name of, “mpinda,” or “ginguba,” i. 129; - description of, 130; - its cultivation, _ib._; - preparation of the nut and Chili pepper, 132. - - Arms and war, i. 261. - - Atacamite, where found, i 192. - - Athletic sports at Sierra Leone, account of, ii. 315. - - Author buys a slave, i. 77; - the slave’s ingratitude to, _ib._; - reception of by Senhor Chaves at Boma, i. 83; - at a picnic organized by Senhor Chaves, 87; - catches four new species of fish at Boma, 95; - discoverer of the baobab fibre as a substance for paper-making, 118; - manages a malachite mine, 161; - accompanies Mr. Augustus Archer Silva to Quanza, ii. 112. - - ----, mining explorations of, at Benguella, i. 43, ii. 191,199. - - - B - - Baba Bay, abundance of fish at, ii. 216. - - Babies, treatment of, i. 71. - - Bagre fish, i. 50. - - _Bagrus_, “Bagre” fish, ii. 134. - - Baobab-tree--_Adansonia digitata_, i. 24, 29. - - ---- bark, its application to paper-making (discovered by author in - 1858), i. 75; - baobabs at Boma, 84. - - ---- or _Adansonia digitata_, as a substance for paper-making, i. 118; - description of the tree, and use of the trunk, 120.; - mode of taking off the bark, 122; - its fruit, and mode of climbing it, 128. - - Banana, trading factories at, i. 81. - - Bananas, or plantains, i. 294; - as food, 295. - - Barra da Corimba, ii. 21. - - Basalt, ii. 220. - - Bats, abundance of in churches, ii. 129. - - Bed-clothing of the natives, i. 266. - - Beer, native, manufacture of, i. 301. - - Bees--mode of getting honey, ii. 165. - - Bellows, native, ii. 93. - - Bembe, vegetation of, i. 31; - description of, 109. - - ---- Fort, i. 190; soil about, 225. - - Bengo river, ii. 16. - - Bengo to Loanda, vegetation, ii. 18. - - Benguella, i. 28; - mining operations at, 43; - country south of, 45; - fertility of its soil, trade, &c., ii. 181; - slave-trade at, 184. - - ---- and Mossamedes, country between, ii. 212. - - Berenjela, egg plant, i. 296. - - Bigode, or moustache-bird (_Crithagra ictera_), ii. 205. - - Bimba tree (_Herminiera Elaphroxylon_), ii. 195. - - Bimbas, birds at, ii. 206. - - Birds of Boma, i. 86; - habits of various kinds, _ib._ - - Bitumen, ii. 11. - - Bleeding, fondness of the natives for, ii. 262. - - Boma, as centre for slave-trade, i. 56; - cultivation of, 85; - birds of, 86; - distrust of natives at, 90. - - Bombó, preparation, i. 287. - - Bonny, landing at, i. 114. - - _Brachytrypes achatinus_ (king cricket), i. 299. - - Brandy, use of in Africa, ii. 245. - - Bronchitis, &c., native treatment of, ii. 258. - - Bruto, plantation at, ii. 119. - - _Bucorax Abyssinicus_ (hornbill), ii. 71. - - Bunda-speaking natives, indolence of, ii. 100. - - Burial among the natives, i. 276. - - ---- and burial-places, ii. 275. - - Bustards, ii. 5. - - Bustards at Benguella, ii. 201. - - Butterflies, species of, ii. 295. - - - C - - Cabeça da Cobra to Ambriz--description of coast-line, i. 102; - vegetation, 103. - - _Cajanus indicus_, shrub, i. 296. - - Calumbo, scenery, vegetation, &c., ii. 116. - - Cambambe, high grass at, i. 38; - water at, 47; - cataracts at, ii. 133. - - _Camoensia maxima_, plant, i. 177. - - Cannibalism, ii. 157. - - Capatas, or captains of the carriers, i. 196, 203. - - Cardozo, Feo, on the “History of the Governors of Angola,” i. 1. - - Casca, preparation of, i. 63; - effect by poisoning from, 127. - - Cashew-tree, i. 44. - - Cassão, dogfish, ii. 207. - - Cassanza, country about, ii. 153. - - Cassytha--(_C. Guineensis?_), i. 45; - at Luache, ii. 198. - - Castor-oil plant in Novo Redondo and Benguella, i. 51. - - Catinga, or odour of the natives, i. 30. - - Cattle, cause for absence of, i. 46. - - ---- and other animals, mortality of, i. 207. - - Catumbella, scenery and vegetation, ii. 178. - - Cazengo, abundance of food at, ii. 84-88. - - Celis country, ii. 105. - - Chameleons, ii. 109. - - Circumcision among the natives, i. 278. - - Civilization of the negro, i. 113. - - Climate of Angola, effect on Europeans, ii. 237. - - Coffee-trade, i. 134. - - Coffee plantations, ii. 87; - wild, about Golungo Alto and the Dembos, ii. 92. - - Cola fruit, ii. 37. - - Commerce, i. 117. - - Congo River, i. 26; - a boundary, i. 53; - mouth of, i. 81. - - ----, probable sources of, i. 54, ii. 69. - - ---- to Ambriz, the country from, i. 100. - - ---- River and Ambriz, system of trading, i. 105. - - Congo, king of, i. 213; - customs of, 221. - - Cookery of Angola natives, ii. 239. - - Copper at Benguella, ii. 179; - at Quileba, 191. - - Copper ore at Cuio Bay, ii. 198. - - _Coracias caudata_, manner of flying, &c., i. 172, ii. 19. - - _Corythaix Paulina_, plantain-eaters, superstitious dread of by the - natives, ii. 74. - - _Corythornis cyanostigma_, kingfisher, ii. 121. - - Cotton growth at Cazengo, ii. 105. - - Creepers, description of, i. 31, 45. - - Crime, punishment for in Angola, ii. 46. - - Crows (_Corvus scapulatus_), ii. 215. - - Cuacra, cannibalism at, ii. 155. - - Cuio Bay, ii. 198. - - _Cursorius Senegalensis_, ii. 19. - - Customs of natives of the interior, ii. 99. - - _Cynocephalus sp._ of dog-faced monkey, ii. 194. - - - D - - Dances of the natives, ii. 137. - - Dande River, ii. 15. - - Dead, “drying” of the, i. 275. - - _Decamera Jovis-tonantis_, hard-wood shrub, preservative against - lightning, ii. 99. - - Diamba, hemp for smoking, ii. 26, 257. - - Dias, Captain, governor of Barra do Bengo, i. 80. - - Dirty habits of the natives, ii. 259. - - Dish, Angola native, i. 305. - - Dog’s sense of smell when nearing a negro, i. 36. - - Dombe Grande, rush of water down the Luache, i. 49. - - ----, district of, ii. 196. - - Dondo town, ii. 130. - - Dress of the kings, i. 260. - - ---- natives, i. 263. - - Drunkenness of Englishmen, ii. 243. - - Dyes and paints, ii. 299. - - Dysentery, native treatment of, ii. 252. - - - E - - Egg-trade, i. 209. - - Egito river, ii. 169. - - Eland steak, a breakfast of, ii. 224. - - Engongui signal-bells, i. 203. - - Entuchi, shrub, used for curing headache, ii. 251. - - Epsom-salts, ii. 262. - - _Eriodendron anfractuosum_, cottonwood tree, ii. 86. - - _Erythrophlœum Guineense_, action of poison extracted from, i. 61. - - Euphorbia tree, i. 24; - abundance of, from River Congo to Mossamedes, 27; - in Ambriz, 29. - - _Eusemia ochracea_, moth, i. 158. - - - F - - Fairs, i. 209. - - Falls of Cambambe, ii. 133. - - Farofa, preparation, i. 291. - - Farinha de pao, preparation, i. 290. - - Fedegozo (_Cassia occidentalis_) as a substitute for quinine, ii. 249. - - Fetish, as a punishment to drunkards, i. 117. - - “Fetishes” of the negro, fetish men, &c., i. 243-253. - - Fetish-house, ii. 7. - - Fever, its prevention and cure, ii. 246; - native treatment of, 249. - - Fevers at Bembe, i. 227. - - Fish, mode of cooking at Loanda, ii. 30. - - ---- caught at Loanda, ii. 31. - - ---- and fisheries between Benguella and Mossamedes, ii. 206. - - Food, abundant growth at Cazengo, ii. 105. - - Frogs as food, i. 298. - - Fruits, ii. 297. - - Furniture of the natives, i. 282. - - - G - - Gamboa, General, ii. 3. - - Garapa, drink, i. 300. - - Garlic as a food for hot climate, ii. 240. - - Gigantic grasses, i. 33. - - Giraul river, ii. 218. - - Gold at Lombige, ii. 90. - - Golungo Alto, ii. 85. - - Gorilla and Chimpanzee, where found, i. 53. - - Gourds of Cazengo and Pungo Andongo, ii. 104. - - Grandy, Lieut., i. 162. - - Grass, “Capim de faca” or knife-grass, i. 33; - description of burning, 39. - - Ground-nut, analysis, ii. 110. - - Gum-arabic at Mossamedes, ii. 218. - - Gum Elemi, called “mubafo,” i. 206. - - Gun-loading by the natives, i. 141. - - Gypsum, ii. 16. - - - H - - Habits and customs of natives in Angola, ii. 268. - - Hammock, description of, i. 163. - - Haricot-bean, i. 97. - - Head, mode of shaving the, i. 269. - - ----, “inhabitants” of the, trap for catching, and professional - catchers, i. 269. - - Herva Santa Maria (_Chenopodium ambrosioides_), ii. 250. - - Hippopotami in the River Quanza, ii. 124. - - Hornbill, the, ii. 73. - - ---- (_Toccus elegans_ and _Toccus Monteiri_), at Benguella, ii. 201. - - Hot-spring at Dongo, ii. 162. - - _Hydnora_, a Rafflesiaceous plant, ii. 207. - - Hydraulic-press for baleing the baobab fibre, i. 125. - - Hyenas steal the author’s sheep, ii. 81; - attacked by wolf-hounds, 225. - - - I - - Import-duties, ii. 61. - - India-rubber creeper, description of, i. 31, 137. - - Indian-corn, i. 296. - - Indolence of the Bunda-speaking natives, ii. 100. - - Infundi, preparation, i. 288. - - Ink, ingredients of native, ii. 98. - - Insanity among the natives, i. 279. - - Iron-smelting at Cazengo, ii. 95. - - Ivory, i. 139. - - - J - - Jasmine at Benguella, ii. 192. - - Jasminum auriculatum, ii. 5. - - ---- multipartitum, ii. 5. - - - K - - Kew Gardens, author’s collection of plants in the herbarium at, - i. 178. - - Kimpoaca, aversion of natives to the landing of hydraulic press, - i. 126. - - King Parrot, where found, i. 53, - - Kingfishers, ii. 121. - - Kinsao, mineral pitch at, i. 150. - - - L - - _Landolphia, florida?_ the tree-creeper that produces indiarubber, i. - 31, 137. - - Language of the different races, ii. 96. - - Lead ore, ii. 199. - - Leeches, abundance of, ii. 266. - - Lemur, _Galago Monteiri_, ii. 306. - - Libollo country, ii. 145. - - Libongo, ii. 9. - - Lions at Carunjamba, ii. 209. - - _Lissochilus giganteus_, found at Porto da Lenha, i. 82. - - Little Fish Bay, i. 23. - - Lizards, ii. 109. - - Loanda, cause for change of vegetation, i. 28; - baptizing slaves at, 68. - - ----, death of a boy in market-place at, i. 72. - - ----, vegetation, ii. 18. - - ----, city of St. Paul de, ii. 20; - population, 22; - style of building, _ib._; - market of, 25; - custom of the ladies of, 33; - dress of the people, 35; - slavery in, 39; - vegetation, 44; - police of, 48; - lighting of the city, _ib._; - theatre at, _ib._; - morals, _ib._ - - Loangos or Loandos’ mats, i, 302. - - Lobato, Senhor, ii. 63. - - Lobito Bay, ii. 176. - - Loranthus, seed of, used as bird-lime, ii. 205. - - Luache river at Dombe Grande, i. 49. - - ----, quicksands at, ii. 197. - - - M - - “Macotas,” or the council, i. 255. - - Maculo, a disease peculiar to blacks, its treatment, ii. 252. - - Malachite, ii. 161, 191. - - ----, how and where found, i. 191-195. - - Malagueta pepper, i. 294. - - Manatee, or woman-fish, ii. 17, 125. - - Mandioca plant, cultivation of, i. 287; - preparation, 291, ii. 197. - - Mangrove tree, ii. 117. - - _Manis multiscutata_, ant-eating animal, ii. 278. - - Manoel Vacca, notorious pirate, i. 92. - - Maquata, the red gum-copal, i. 134. - - Maracachão bird (_Pytelia elegans_), ii. 205. - - Marble column at Santa Maria Cape, commemorating its discovery, ii. - 216. - - Marriage law of the natives, i. 264. - - Massangano town, ii. 128. - - Mateba palm, abundance of, from River Congo to Ambrizzette, i. 44. - - Matuta, change of scenery and vegetation, i. 29. - - ----, visit to, i. 199. - - Mineral pitch, i. 150. - - Mirage at Mossamedes, ii. 231. - - Mossamedes, i. 23, 27, 28. - - ---- (Little Fish Bay), ii. 217. - - ----, climate, society, &c., ii. 232. - - Mosquitoes, i. 167. - - Mourning of the natives, i. 277. - - Mucelis, i. 28. - - Mucoandos tribe, ii. 226. - - Mucozo river, i. 47, ii. 66. - - Mundombes, the inhabitants of Benguella, their clothing, vegetation, - mode of eating meat, &c., ii. 186; - their arms, 188. - - Muinzus or pestles, i. 304. - - Mule, dislike to being harnessed by a negro, i. 37. - - Muqueca, its ingredients, ii. 239. - - Muquices tribe, ii. 227. - - _Mus Gambianus_, ii. 168. - - Mushicongo negroes, customs of, i. 280; - mode of building their huts, 284; - furniture of the, _ib._ - - Musical instruments of the natives, ii. 139. - - Mussera, town, i. 143. - - Mussurougo tribe, pirates, i. 92; - ankle-rings worn by, 93; - customs of, 280. - - Muxima town, ii. 122. - - Muxixe tree, i. 29. - - - N - - Native remedies for diseases, ii. 263. - - Natives, custom of, in case of death, after the administration of - medicine, or after the performance of an operation, i. 73; - objection of to work for wages, 75; - fear of at sight of a steamer, 125; - customs of the, 257; - bed-clothing, 266. - - Navigation of Rivers Dande, Bengo, &c., i. 47. - - Nborotuto shrub, ii. 70. - - Ncombo, or goat-root, used to flavour tobacco, ii. 270. - - _Nectariniæ_, i. 99. - - Negro cook making forcemeat balls, i. 36. - - Negro, insensibility of the, i. 69-75; - ingratitude of the, 77; - character of the, 238; - absence of affection in the, 242; - social laws of the, 242; - absence of sympathy in the, 243; - absence of cruelty in the, 245; - “fetishes” of the, 246, 247; - toilet of, 263; - mode of shaving the head, 269. - - Negroes, odour of, i. 36; - ankle-rings worn by, 94; - customs of, 181. - - Ngilló, vegetable, i. 296. - - Novo Redondo, i. 28. - - ---- natives of, ii. 155-159. - - _Nymphœa dentata_ and _stellata_, water-lily, ii. 121. - - - O - - Oil, dog-fish, ii. 207. - - Oil-palm at Bembe, i. 32. - - Ophthalmia, its rarity, ii. 258. - - Orange River, i. 27. - - Orchilla-weed, ii. 184. - - Ordeal by poison, i. 61. - - Ornaments of kings’ and macotas’ wives, i. 268. - - Ox-bird (_Buphaga Africana_), ii. 204. - - Oxen trained for riding, ii. 218. - - - P - - Palm-chop, i. 97. - - ---- tree, mode of climbing, i. 97. - - ---- wine, i. 97. - - Panda or wattled crane (_Grus carunculata_), ii. 203. - - Paper-making, baobab-tree in its application to, i. 118. - - Papyrus, growth of, i. 302. - - Pedra grande, or “big stone,” ii. 221. - - _Pentalobus barbatus_, beetle, i. 146. - - Pepper, Chili, &c., i. 293. - - Picnic at Boma, visit of the nine kings, i. 87. - - Pirão, preparation, i. 291. - - Pitch, mineral, ii. 9. - - Plants used by natives for cure of dysentery or diarrhœa, ii. 252. - - Plaster-of-paris, manufactured by author from gypsum-rock, ii. 200. - - Polygamy among the natives, i. 263. - - Porcupines, ii. 297. - - Porto da Lenha, description of, i. 83. - - ---- Domingos, ii. 66. - - Potato, sweet, i. 296. - - Productions of Cazengo, ii. 105. - - Products from River Congo to Ambriz, i. 119-141. - - _Ptyelus olivaceus_, or spit-frog, ii. 108. - - Pungo Andongo range, description of scenery, i. 31. - - ----, natives of, ii. 102. - - Pungo fish, i. 142. - - Purgatives used by the natives, ii. 262. - - - Q - - Quanza River, i. 47, ii. 113. - - “Queimada,” burning grass, description of, i. 39. - - Quiavo, or Quingombó, i. 297. - - Quiballa, i. 30; - description of country, 171. - - ---- to Bembe, i. 181-187. - - Quifandongo, ii. 19. - - Quileba, copper at, ii. 191. - - Quilumbo, i. 185. - - Quinbundo natives, ii. 146. - - Quincollo, i. 236. - - Quindas or baskets, i. 301. - - Quingombe, i. 235. - - Quinine--fedegozo used as a substitute by Portuguese, ii. 249. - - Quioco bird, ii. 79. - - Quipupa, spring of ferruginous water at, ii. 196. - - Quiquanga, preparation, i. 289. - - Quirandas, shell-bead ornaments, ii. 169. - - Quissama country, ii. 144. - - ---- ladies, fashions of the, ii. 147. - - - R - - Rain, fall of, i. 42. - - Rat-catching, i. 298. - - Rats, as food, i. 298; - at Libongo, ii. 8. - - Root parasite, i. 198, ii. 207. - - - S - - Salalé, or white ant, i. 299, ii. 277. - - Salt, i. 147. - - San Francisco River, ii. 196. - - San Salvador, i. 225. - - Sand-grouse--_Pterocles namaquus_, ii. 201. - - Sangue-sangue, tall grass, ii. 250. - - Sanseviera plant, i. 29, 45. - - Santa Maria Cape, ii. 214. - - Sarna, a kind of itch common among blacks, ii. 259. - - Scents, ii. 299. - - Scorpions, effects of their sting, ii. 170, 171. - - _Scopus umbretta_, heron-like bird, ii. 73. - - Senhor Chaves, i. 83; - organizes a picnic, 87. - - _Sesamum indicum_ seed, i. 134. - - _Sesbania punctata_, Pers., shrub common in marshes, ii. 176. - - Sharks, absence of south of River Congo, i. 51. - - Silva, Mr. Augustus Archer, accompanies author to Quanza, ii. 112. - - Silver in Cambambe, ii. 62. - - Skin-disease, treatment of, ii. 261. - - Slave, author buys a, i. 77. - - Slaves shipped in Angola, statistics of, i. 67; - treatment of in case of famine, 69; - native laws regarding, 76; - cost of, 205. - - Slave-trade, i. 56; - explanation of in Angola, 58. - - ---- at Benguella, ii. 185. - - Slavery, i. 56; - observance of laws, 59; - witchcraft in, 61; - ordeal by poison, _ib._; - in Loanda, ii. 39; - author’s views on abolition of, 41. - - Sleep-disease, i. 143; - description of, 144. - - Snakes, ii. 300. - - Soba, a, visits the author, ii. 173. - - ---- Dumbo, formerly a powerful king, ii. 67. - - _Solanum saponaceum_, fruit of the, used as soap, ii. 111. - - Solé, bird, ii. 166. - - Sounds of birds, &c., i. 304. - - Sphynx moths, ii. 304. - - Spit-frog, the, ii. 108. - - Spring-bok, near Mossamedes, ii. 213. - - _Sterculia tomentosa_, i. 29. - - Sulphate of magnesia, ii. 220. - - Sulphur at Dombe Grande, ii. 197. - - Suspension-bridge at Novo Redondo, ii. 159. - - - T - - “Tangandando,” india-rubber, i. 137. - - Tobacco, its efficacy for inflammation of bowels, ii. 263; - its use by natives, 269. - - Toilet of the negro, i. 263. - - Trading between River Congo and Ambriz, i. 105. - - Traps to catch “inhabitants” of the head, i. 269. - - Travelling, mode of, i. 165. - - _Treron calva_, pigeon, ii. 164. - - Trial of a man for bewitching the spirit of his dead wife, i. 66. - - _Trionyx nilotica_, tortoise, ii. 125. - - _Turacus cristatus_, plantain-eater, ii. 86. - - - U - - Uallua, drink, i. 300. - - Ulcers, native remedies for, ii. 253. - - Uzanzos, baskets or sieves, i. 304. - - Uzus, or mortars, i. 304. - - - V - - Vegetables, growth of, at Bembe, i. 225. - - Vegetation of Angola, from Ambriz to Bembe, i. 29; - from River Congo to Mossamedes, 43. - - Viuva, or long-tailed whydah-finch (_Vidua paradisea_), ii. 205. - - _Voandzeia subterranea_, ii. 111. - - Volcanic rocks, ii. 69, 220. - - - W - - Wages of Englishmen in Africa, ii. 243. - - Water, mode of getting, in dry season, i. 43; - finding of at Cambambe, 47; - curious deposits of ii. 221. - - Watercress, ii. 93. - - Wasps, ii. 287, 291. - - _Welwitschia, mirabilis_, plant, ii. 229. - - White men, reception of, by king, i. 257. - - Wild-hemp smoking, ii. 257. - - Witchcraft at Ambrizzette, i. 65. - - Women’s work, i. 285. - - Writing, style of employed by natives, ii. 315. - - - Z - - Zebras at Benguella, ii. 194. - - Zombo tribe, mode of dressing the hair, &c., i. 271. - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, - STANFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -A few minor errors in punctuation were fixed. - -“Sanseviera Angolensis” changed to “Sansevieria Angolensis” in a few -locations throughout the text. - -The index has been copied from the second volume into the first, -although it is not present in the original. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANGOLA AND THE RIVER -CONGO *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Angola and the River Congo</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Joachim John Monteiro</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Edward Fielding</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 17, 2022 [eBook #68110]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Peter Becker and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO ***</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w50" alt="MAP OF ANGOLA" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">MAP OF ANGOLA<br />Compiled by J. J. MONTEIRO</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h1> ANGOLA<br /> - -<span class="vsmall">AND</span><br /> - -THE RIVER CONGO.</h1> - -<p class="center p2"> BY - JOACHIM JOHN MONTEIRO,</p> - -<p class="center small"> ASSOCIATE OF THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF MINES, AND CORRESPONDING - MEMBER OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.</p> - - -<p class="center p2"> IN TWO VOLUMES.</p> - -<p class="center"> <span class="smcap"><abbr title="Volume">Vol.</abbr> I.</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"> <i>WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS.</i></p> - - -<p class="center p4"> London:<br /> -<span class="big">MACMILLAN AND <abbr title="company">CO.</abbr></span><br /> - 1875.</p> - -<p class="center small"> <i>All Rights Reserved.</i> -</p> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - - -<p class="center small p2"> LONDON:<br /> - PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,<br /> - STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</span></p> - - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p class="center p2"> TO</p> - -<p class="center big"> ROSE MY WIFE</p> - -<p class="center"> I Dedicate this Work</p> - -<p class="center small"> IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF THE HAPPY DAYS WE PASSED TOGETHER - IN THE PEACEFUL STILLNESS AND TROPICAL LUXURIANCE - OF THE VAST SOLITUDES OF ANGOLA. -</p></div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2> -</div> -<hr class="r5" /> - -<p>The following description of the country between the River 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>This being the first detailed account of a most interesting 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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<th colspan="2" class="tdr"> -PAGE -</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_1"><span class="smcap">History</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_1">1</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_23"><span class="smcap">Physical Geography—Character of Vegetation—Rivers</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_23">23</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_53"><span class="smcap">The River Congo a Boundary—Slave Trade—Slavery—Ordeal by Poison—Insensibility of the Negro—Ingratitude</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_53">53</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_81"><span class="smcap">The River Congo—Banana—Porto da Lenha—Boma—Mussurongo Tribe—Pirates—Mushicongo Tribe—Fish—Palm Chop—Palm Wine</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_81">81</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_V"> CHAPTER V.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_100"><span class="smcap">Country from the River Congo to Ambriz—Vegetation—Trading—Civilization—Commerce—Products—Ivory—Musserra—Sleep Disease—Salt—Mineral Pitch</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_100">100</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</span> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_1"><span class="smcap">Ambriz—Trade—Malachite—Road to Bembe—Travelling—Mosquitoes—Quiballa to Quilumbo—Natives—Quilumbo to Bembe</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_152">152</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_189"><span class="smcap">Bembe—Malachite Deposit—Root Parasite—Engongui—Mortality of Cattle—Fairs—King of Congo—Receptions—Customs—San Salvador—Fevers—Return to Ambriz</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_189">189</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_238"><span class="smcap">Character of the Negro—Fetish—Customs—Arms and War—Dress—Zombo Tribe—Burial—Insanity</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_238">238</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#Page_280"><span class="smcap">Customs of the Mussubongo, Ambriz, and Mushicongo Negroes—Mandioca Plant; its Preparations—Chili Pepper—Bananas—Rats—White Ant—Native Beer—Strange Sounds</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_280">280</a> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> -</div> -<hr class="r5" /> -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><i>Drawn on Wood by</i> <span class="smcap"><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Edward Fielding</span>; <i>the Views -from Sketches by</i> <span class="smcap">Mrs. Monteiro</span>, <i>and from Photographs; -the Implements, &c., from the Originals</i>.</p> -</div> - - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img001"><span class="smcap">Map</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img001"><i>Frontispiece</i>.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img002">Travelling in Angola—View near Ambriz</a></td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<i>To face page</i> <a href="#Page_23">23</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img003">Porto da Lenha</a></td> -<td class="tdr page">”      <a href="#Page_81">81</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img004">View on the Congo, above Boma</a></td> -<td class="tdr page">”      <a href="#Page_99">99</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img005">Ankle-ring—Ring to ascend Palm-trees—Cage for carrying Ivory tusks—Engongui—Fetish figure—Mask—Pillow</a></td> -<td class="tdr page">”    <a href="#Page_140">140</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img006">Granite Pillar of Musserra—Wooden trumpet—Hoe—Pipe—Knives—Clapping hands and Answer</a></td> -<td class="tdr page">”    <a href="#Page_145">145</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img007">View in the hilly country of Quiballa—Camoensia maxima</a></td> -<td class="tdr page">”    <a href="#Page_177">177</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img008">Quilumbo</a></td> -<td class="tdr page">”    <a href="#Page_185">185</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img009">Bembe Valley</a></td> -<td class="tdr page">”    <a href="#Page_189">189</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#img010">Bembe Peak</a></td> -<td class="tdr page">”    <a href="#Page_231">231</a> -</td> -</tr> -</table><p> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center xbig">ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO.</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="r5" /> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /><span class="small">HISTORY.</span></h2> - - - - -<p>The following sketch of the discovery and earlier history 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):—</p> - -<p>“The Portuguese, engrossed by the great hopes 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span> 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 River Quanza; the King of Angola was dead, -but his son, who then reigned, renewed 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 the rest on -board the ships ordered them to return to Portugal if within a certain -time he should not come back to them. He immediately marched to the -Court of Angola, where he and his present were received by the King -with acclamation.</p> - -<p>“After the lapse of a few days, Paulo Diaz, wishing 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span> of one of his -powerful vassals, determined to allow him to return to Portugal, 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 expedition into the interior, Paulo Diaz concluded -that missionaries had already been in the country many years before. -Returning to Portugal he gave an account of what he had seen to the -King, Dom 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.</p> - -<p>“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 months -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 witnessed 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.</p> - -<p>“The King of Angola received the Portuguese with great joy, and in -return for the presents that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>“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 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span> 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 -traitor repeated his story. The Portuguese, in astonishment, attempted -to refute the calumny, but without 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 Portuguese, who, ignorant of the -stratagem, were all suddenly set upon and murdered, together with the -Christian slaves, numbering over a thousand. A similar fate befell 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 infamy, 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span> -to proceed beyond the spot at which he should receive it.</p> - -<p>“The Governor, though totally ignorant of the horrible catastrophe, -distrusted the message, and, retiring to Anzelle, erected a wooden -intrenchment, and fortifying it with two small cannon, 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.</p> - -<p>“Paulo Diaz being reinforced from Portugal, defeated several of the -‘Sobas,’ or chiefs of Quissama,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span> who attempted to impede his navigation -of the River 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 Serrão, and 120 -men, at Tacandongo, which is a short distance from the supposed mines.</p> - -<p>“Here they were approached by the third army of the King of Angola, so -numerous that it extended for two leagues. 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 completely 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 Loanda 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span> but was again routed with great 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.</p> - -<p>“In 1597, 200 Flemish colonists arrived at Loanda, but nearly the whole -of them quickly died from the effects of the climate.</p> - -<p>“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 men -in the fort. They defended themselves bravely until all but two, who -managed to escape, were killed.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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 River Quanza. -Continuing his march, he fell<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span> ill, and was obliged to return to -Loanda, leaving his officers in command. These were 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, -notwithstanding their bravest resistance, and only seven men escaped -the wholesale slaughter.</p> - -<p>“In the same year João Furtado de Mendonça 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.</p> - -<p>“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, continuing -his march with the remains of his force, he very successfully reduced -the rebellious ‘Sobas’ to obedience, and relieving the little garrison -at Massangano, inflicted great loss on the blacks in a battle at that -place. Returning down the River Quanza, he re-established at Muxima the -fort that had been abandoned.</p> - -<p>“In 1602, João Rodrigues Coutinho arrived as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> 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 10th August, 1603, -offered battle to the Soba Cafuxe, whom he defeated in a great -engagement; continuing his march he built a fort in Cambambe and forced -the Soba Cambambe to submit.</p> - -<p>“About 1606, the first attempt was made to communicate across the -continent of Africa with the River Senna, on the eastern coast, and -for this expedition Balthazar Rebello de Aragão 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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span></p> - -<p>“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 the 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 -for upwards of thirty years, during which time she was unsuccessful in -all her wars against them.</p> - -<p>“The Dutch, who for several years had greatly annoyed the 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 governorship of Fernan de Souza the -Dutch 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 -only captured four small vessels.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p> - -<p>“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 Dutch -landing next day became, without opposition, masters of the place and -of a large booty.</p> - -<p>“Pedro Cezar retired to the River Bengo, but, pursued by the Dutch, -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;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> but shortly after, -treacherously attacking the Portuguese, they killed the principal -officers and forty men, and took the Governor and 120 men prisoners.</p> - -<p>“Those that escaped fled to Massangano until another truce was -concluded, and means were found to enable Pedro Cezar to escape from -the fortress of San Miguel, where he was imprisoned.</p> - -<p>“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 Massangano, 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 Sá e Benavides, Governor of Rio -Janeiro, from which place he started in May, 1648, with a fleet of -fifteen vessels and 900 men. Towards the expenses of this expedition -the inhabitants of Rio Janeiro largely contributed, as they saw how<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> -hurtful to their interests the loss of Angola would be from the failure -in the supply of slave labour.</p> - -<p>“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 invested 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 Portuguese were, -however, repulsed with a loss of 163 men killed and wounded. The Dutch, -unaware of this great loss, and expecting a second attack,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> hoisted a -white flag, and sent to arrange the terms of capitulation, which being -done, the gates, on the 15th of August, 1648, were thrown open, and -there issued forth 1100 Dutch, German, and French infantry, and as many -blacks, who were all surprised, on passing the Portuguese troops, at -the smallness of their numbers, 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 establishments at Pinda and Loango to be demolished, -and their expulsion being completed, he next fell on and defeated the -native chiefs.</p> - -<p>“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 N’golla -Caboco, the Chiefs of Benguella, and the Dembos Ambuillas at Encoge.</p> - -<p>“In the year 1694 the first copper coinage was introduced from Portugal -into Angola, the currency<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> up to that time being in the shape of little -straw mats called ‘Libongos,’ of the value of fifty reis each (about -2<i><abbr title="pence">d.</abbr></i>). (These little mats are at present only employed as money -in Cabinda.)</p> - -<p>“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 demolish any -fortifications that might impede the free commerce of all nations on -the coast of Loango.</p> - -<p>“Shortly after 1784, the Portuguese had a great war with the natives of -Mossulo, which lasted some five years before they were finally defeated.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“The first attempt to communicate directly across the continent, from -Angola to Moçambique, was made as already noticed in the year 1606. -Two expeditions were proposed to start simultaneously<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span> from Moçambique -and Angola, and meet in the interior. The former, under the command of -the naturalist, <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> Lacerda, started from the River Senna, and reached -Cazembe, where Lacerda fell a victim to the insalubrity of the climate.</p> - -<p>“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 renewed 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 that the territory of the Jaga, or Soba of Cassange, -was bounded to the east by another and more powerful kingdom, 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 statements to intimidate the -Muata Yamba, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>“As soon as the Governor was informed of these particulars, he ordered -Honorato to make himself acquainted with the position of the nation -of the Moluas. Honorato succeeded in sending his ‘Pombeiros’ (black -traders) to their principal town, where the Muata Yamba resided, -and where they were hospitably received. Convinced 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 off, on an embassy -to the same effect to Loanda. Accompanied by Honorato’s ‘Pombeiros,’ -the embassy, unable to pass the territory of the Soba Cassange, through -his opposition, proceeded to the country of the Soba Bomba, who not -only allowed them free passage, but likewise sent an ambassador to the -Portuguese. They arrived in January, 1808, at Loanda, where they were -received in state by the Governor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span></p> - -<p>“On arriving at the door of the audience-room, they advanced 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 -hospitality, they were sent back with presents for their respective -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 hung a monkey skin, giving -them altogether a very wild and showy appearance. The ‘Pombeiros’ -described the Moluas 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> and many squares or open spaces of large extent.</p> - -<p>“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 amounted to eight, ten, and fifteen blacks per day, and -it is probable that in that of the Muata the number was 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.”</p> - -<p>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 philanthropists -as the only palliative to the ferocity of the laws that govern those -nations.</p> - -<p>“It was further ascertained from the ‘Pombeiros,’ that the nation of -Cazembe, where <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> Lacerda had died, was feudatory to the Muata Yamba, -and in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span> token of its vassalage paid him a yearly tribute of sea salt, -obtained from the eastern coast. The possibility of communication with -the east coast through the interior being now evident, the Governor -Saldanha instructed the ‘Pombeiros’ to retrace their steps towards the -east, and continue in that direction.</p> - -<p>“It was during the succeeding Governorship of José d’Oliveira Barboza, -however, that the feasibility of such communication was finally -proved, for he sought out a black trader to go to Moçambique across -the interior, and return by the same route, bringing back answers from -the Governor of that Colony to letters sent him from Loanda. This fact -added nothing to geographical knowledge, from the ignorance of the man -who accomplished it.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span></p> - -<p>No attempt has since been made to supply the city with water from the -Quanza, or from the still nearer River Bengo; besides the great boon -such a work would confer on the hot and dry town, it could not fail to -be a great success from a monetary point of view.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img002"> - <img src="images/002.jpg" class="w75" alt="Plate I - Traveling in Angola" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> I.<br />TRAVELLING IN ANGOLA—VIEW NEAR AMBRIZ.<br /><i>To face page 23.</i></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /><span class="small">PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY—CHARACTER OF VEGETATION—RIVERS.</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>The Portuguese possessions of Angola on the south-west coast of Africa -extend from Ambriz in 7° 49´ <abbr title="South">S.</abbr> <abbr title="Latitude">Lat.</abbr> to Cape Frio in 18° 20´ <abbr title="South">S.</abbr> <abbr title="Latitude">Lat.</abbr> -Their farthest establishment south is, however, at Mossamedes, or -Little Fish Bay, in 15° 20´ <abbr title="South">S.</abbr> <abbr title="Latitude">Lat.</abbr></p> - -<p>Throughout this book in speaking of Angola I include not only the -country from Mossamedes to Ambriz, at present occupied by the -Portuguese, but farther north, as far as the River Congo, that being -its strong natural limit of climate, fauna, and ethnology, as I shall -further explain.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span></p> - -<p>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 height or grandeur, and covered -with a coarse branching grass (<i>Eragrostis</i> sp.), small patches -of shrubby scrub, a tall cactus-like tree Euphorbia, and the gigantic -towering Baobab with its fantastic long gourd-like fruit. (<a href="#img002">Plate I.</a>)</p> - -<p>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 -base of the cliffs, resounding loudly in its mad fury as it has done, -wave after wave and hour after hour, for unknown ages; and the singular -absence of gulls or any moving living objects, or noises, to divert the -eye or ear from the dreadful monotony of constantly recurring sound, -and line after line of dazzling white foam, gives a distinctive and -excessively depressing character to the coast, in harmony, as it were, -with the enervating influence of its climate.</p> - -<p>The character of the Angolan landscape is entirely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> different from that -of the West Coast proper; say from Cape Verde to the Gaboon and the -River Congo. Along that great length of coast are hundreds of square -miles of brackish and salt-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 covered with -a mass nearly approaching in appearance to paste blacking. In the dry -season great expanses 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 fish, crabs, &c., left exposed on -the surface. The number of fish and some of the lower forms of life -inhabiting the mud and water of the lagoons is almost incredible. If -one keeps quite still for a few minutes, the slimy ground becomes -perfectly alive 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.</p> - -<p>It is in these gigantic hotbeds of decomposition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span> that the deadly types -of African fever are, I believe, mostly generated; 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.</p> - -<p>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 covered -by the most luxuriant forest vegetation, in one expanse of the deepest -unvarying green, the combined result of excessive moisture and the -tropical sun of an almost uninterrupted summer.</p> - -<p>This alternation of swamp and dense forest ends completely on arriving -at the River Congo, and a total change to the comparatively arid -country of Angola takes place; in fact, at about 13° <abbr title="South">S.</abbr> <abbr title="Latitude">Lat.</abbr> it becomes -almost a perfectly arid, rocky, and sandy desert.</p> - -<p>I may say that, without exception, from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span> River Congo to Mossamedes -no dense forest is seen from the sea, and from thence not a single -tree, it is said, for hundreds of miles to the Orange River. A little -mangrove, lining the insignificant 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 possession. -Nowhere on the coast is seen more than an indication of the wonderful -vegetation, or varied beauty and fertility, which generally begins at a -distance of from thirty to sixty miles inland.</p> - -<p>At this distance, a ridge or hilly range runs along the whole 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 the central high plateau of Africa.</p> - -<p>From the few and insignificant streams traversing Angola to the coast, -which at most only reach sufficiently far inland to have their source -at this third elevation 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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span></p> - -<p>I 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 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.</p> - -<p>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 -Redondo to Mucelis, and to the interior of Benguella and Mossamedes, -I have had frequent opportunities of remarking these very singular -and sudden changes. These are due, I believe, as <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> Welwitsch has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> -pointed out, to the difference of elevation alone, irrespective of its -geological formation.</p> - -<p>A sketch 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 composed of enormous -Baobabs, Euphorbias, a tall Agave (or aloe), a tree called “Muxixe” by -the natives, bearing curious seed-pods (<i>Sterculia tomentosa</i>), -a few small slender creepers, great abundance of the <i>Sansevieria -Angolensis</i> in the 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 Sansevieria, the Euphorbias, suddenly and almost completely -disappear,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> as also do most of the prickly shrubs, the fine trailing -and creeping plants, the Muxixe, and several other trees, and a number -of smaller plants. A new set of larger, shadier trees and shrubs take -their place, the grass becomes tall and broad-leaved, and one seems to -be travelling in an entirely new country.</p> - -<p>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 remarkably -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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span> creeper (<i>Landolphia florida</i>?), -with bright, large dark-green leaves somewhat resembling those of -the magnolia, thickly studded with large bunches of purest white -jasmine-like flowers, loading the air for a considerable distance with -its powerful bitter-almond perfume, and attracting a cloud of buzzing -insects, form altogether a sight not 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 profusion that hardly a leaf was visible, but only one -long sea of beautiful purple, like a glacier of colour—filling the -valley and set in the frame of green of the luxuriant grass-covered -hill sides. The very blacks that accompanied me, so little impressed -as they are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> usually by the beauties of nature, beat their open mouths -with the palm of the hand as they 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.</p> - -<p>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 less 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 (<i>Elæis Guineensis</i>) -then becomes again abundant, these trees being only found on the coast -in any number in the vicinity of the rivers; the beautiful feathery<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> -papyrus also again covers the lagoons and wet places.</p> - -<p>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 -development in the highest or third region. Gigantic grasses from five -to as much as sixteen feet high, growing luxuriantly, 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.</p> - -<p>I have often had my hands bleeding from cuts inflicted 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 few inches high, the dimensions that these species -attain are simply<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>It is a very strange feeling when travelling in a hammock, 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 perspiration from the negroes is wiped on the grass as they -push through it, now shoving it aside with their hands and arms, now -forcing their way through it backwards, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> 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 -powerful 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 secretion of the skin, of course no amount of -washing or cleanliness 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 strongly 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 accustomed to it, and, -as showing how a person may in time become used to nastiness, I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> have -even partaken of a dish in which were some forcemeat balls that 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 contained them.</p> - -<p>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 Ilha 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> for its sensitive nose, and it sneezed and looked -perfectly disgusted. It continued to approach them and sneeze and -retreat repeatedly for some little time, evidently unable to get used -to the powerful perfume. The poor dog’s unmistakeable expression of -thorough dislike to the odour of the black race was most comical.</p> - -<p>An old Brazilian mule that I had at Benguella could 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 objection, 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 -becomes completely out of breath, and the arms hang powerless with the -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.</p> - -<p>Shortly after the rains cease in May, the grass, having 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 English 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> 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 stems spring back and cross in every direction behind the -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 gets quite black, with eyes and throat sore and -parched from the charcoal dust and fine alkaline ash.</p> - -<p>When the grass has become thoroughly dry, the effect 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> 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 insignificance 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 perfectly 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 fire 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 -high into the cloud of smoke, which is of the most magnificent lurid -hue from the reflection of the grand blaze below.</p> - -<p>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 the only effect even where the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> -light 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 in many parts of Angola of -the great scarcity of animal and insect life which strikes a traveller -expecting to meet everywhere the great abundance known to exist in the -interior.</p> - -<p>Great is the alarm of the natives on the near approach of these fires -to 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 Euphorbiaceæ. Many villages 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 precaution of setting fire to patches -of the grass to clear a space around the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> 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 sufficient to set -fire to the dry grass to leeward to clear a space in which to encamp in -safety.</p> - -<p>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° <abbr title="Latitude">Lat.</abbr>, several successive 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 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.</p> - -<p>I had under my charge at that time twenty-four white men, and between -400 and 600 blacks at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> work on a copper deposit, mining and carrying -ore to the coast, distant about four miles; and no one accustomed to -a constant supply 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 -Verde Islands. It was impossible always to be looking after the blacks -told off daily on water duty, and words cannot express the annoyance -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 without 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>In going from north to south the character of the vegetation -changes very insensibly from the River Congo to Mossamedes. As far -as Ambrizzette the Mateba palm (<i>Hyphæne Guineensis</i>) 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 region very 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 -(<i>Anacardium occidentale</i>) 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, but 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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> The cactus-like, upright -Euphorbia is a notable characteristic of the whole coast of Angola.</p> - -<p>South of Benguella the country is extremely arid, the gneiss, gypsum, -and basalt, of which it is principally composed, 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.</p> - -<p>A very curious creeper, a species of Cassytha, is extremely abundant in -Benguella, covering the shrubs and small trees closely with its network -of leafless string-like stems. The <i>Sansevieria Angolensis</i> is -very plentiful all over the littoral region of Angola; the flat-leaved -species (<i>S. longiflora</i>) is only noticed north from Ambriz to -Congo, and only growing very near the sea: the S. Angolensis is but -rarely seen with it, and it is very curious how distinctly these two -species are separated. In the immediate vicinity of all the rivers and -streams of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> Angola the vegetation is, as might be expected, generally -very luxuriant, particularly north of Benguella.</p> - -<p>The total absence of horned cattle among the natives on the coast, -from the River Congo to south of the River 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 -to breed them, though a few small herds of cattle to be seen at -Ambrizzette and Quissembo belonging to the white traders, and brought -by the natives far from the interior, appear to thrive very well, and -several Portuguese have bred fine herds at the River Loge, about three -miles from Ambriz; they would not thrive, however, at Bembe, where -those that were purchased from the ivory caravans from the interior -gradually became thin and died. The natives south of the Quanza beyond -the Quissama country, as far as Mossamedes, breed large numbers of -cattle—their principal wealth, in fact, consisting of their 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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p> - -<p>South of the Congo there is only one navigable river, the Quanza, in 9° -20´ <abbr title="South">S.</abbr>, 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 Rivers Dande and Bengo are only -navigable by barges for a few miles; others, such as the Ambrizzette, -Loge, Novo Redondo, Quicombo, Egito, Anha, Catumbella, and Luache, -barely admit the entrance of a canoe, and their bars are often closed -for a considerable time in the dry season; the beds of others are -completely 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.</p> - -<p>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 pushed forward, on an intensely hot morning, -in order to arrive at the River 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span> that, even after boiling and straining, -it was nearly undrinkable; on reaching the high banks of 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 -themselves 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 -inexpressibly refreshing, 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> hurry, hurry, through dry grass and sand without a -breath of air, and with 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 imagined!</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The River 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. -The first great rains in the interior generally come down the dry -beds of these rivers suddenly, like a great torrent or wave, and I -was fortunate enough to be at Dombe Grande once when the water came -down the Luache from the interior. It was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span> a grand sight to see a wave -the whole breadth of the river, and I should judge about eight feet -high, driving before and carrying with it an immense mass of trees -and branches, roots, sedges, and grasses all confused and rolling -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.</p> - -<p>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 same volume, or opens out into a pool or lake, or partly dries up -into lovely sedgy pools inhabited by wild-fowl 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” -(<i>Clarias Capensis</i>, <i>Bagrus</i>, &c.) vigorously 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span> -deep enough to cover them. The dry sandy beds of rivers in the rainless -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 Novo Redondo -and Benguella.</p> - -<p>Sharks, so frightfully dangerous in the surf of the West Coast, are -unknown south of the River Congo. I have never heard 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.</p> - -<p>No strikingly high mountain, I believe, exists in Angola; no hills of -any great importance till we arrive at the first rise, which, as we -have seen, extends the whole length of Angola at a distance of from -thirty to sixty miles from the sea. The second and third elevations -contain some fine 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 prominent feature, seen from the sea; they are of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> basalt, -and are about 200 or 300 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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /><span class="small">THE RIVER CONGO A BOUNDARY—SLAVE TRADE—SLAVERY—ORDEAL BY -POISON—INSENSIBILITY OF THE NEGRO—INGRATITUDE.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 convince me that it would well repay a -naturalist to investigate 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 Loango 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> quite unknown in Angola; and the ordinary grey parrot, which is to -be seen in flocks on the Congo, is also unknown 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 parrot,” 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.</p> - -<p>The Congo is very deep, and the current is always very strong; -even above Boma (or M’Boma), 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 innumerable 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> and will be -found to run for many degrees in that direction.</p> - -<p>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 therefore -no outfall for its waters into the Atlantic Ocean.</p> - -<p>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 elevation 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 upheaved on the seaboard: 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.</p> - -<p>For many years, and up to about the year 1868, the Congo was the -principal shipping place for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 judging of it as having been similar to -the slave-trade in North 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span> -nations making war on weaker tribes for the purpose of obtaining -slaves, and devastating the country by fire 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 house, and continuing in its service in the -same manner.</p> - -<p>There is something patriarchal in the state of bondage among the -negroes, if we look at it from an African point of view (I must again -impress on my readers that all my remarks apply to Angola). The free -man, or owner, and his wife, have to supply their slaves with proper -food and clothing; to tend them in sickness as their own children, to -get them husbands or wives, as the case may be, to supply them with the -means of celebrating their festivals, such as their marriages, births, -or burials, in nearly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> the same way as amongst themselves; the slaves, -in fact, are considered as their family, and are always spoken of as -“my son,” or “my daughter.” If the daughters of slaves are chosen as -wives or concubines by their owners or other free men, it is considered -an honour, and their children, though looked upon as slaves, are -entitled to special consideration.</p> - -<p>There is consequently no cruelty or hardship attending the state of -slavery; a male slave cannot be made by his master to cultivate the -ground, which is women’s work, and the mistress and her slaves till the -ground together.</p> - -<p>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 the 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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span> -The number was partly made up of surplus slave population sold off by -the owners, probably from inability to feed or clothe them; cases of -famine from failure of the crops, from drought, &c., a common local -occurrence, also supplied large numbers 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.</p> - -<p>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 factories 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> are by some tribes visited with heavy punishment, such as -stealing Indian corn whilst growing, or an egg from under a sitting -hen. In other tribes breaking a plate or other article of crockery is -a great offence: this is especially the case to the interior of Novo -Redondo, where the punishment is death or slavery.</p> - -<p>I was told there of the amusing manner in which a Portuguese trader -turned the tables on a Soba, or chief of a town, where he had -established himself, and who annoyed him greatly by his constant -demands for presents, by placing 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.</p> - -<p>But all these sources of slaves for shipment were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span> but a fraction of -the number supplied by their belief in witchcraft. 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.”</p> - -<p>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 their 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.</p> - -<p>This extremely curious and interesting ordeal is by poison, -which is prepared from the thick, hard bark of a large tree, the -<i>Erythrophlæum Guineense</i> (Oliver, ‘Flora of Tropical Africa,’ -ii. 320). <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> Brunton has examined the properties of this bark, and -finds that it possesses a very remarkable action. The powder, when -inhaled, causes violent sneezing;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> the aqueous extract, when injected -under the skin of animals, causes vomiting, and has a remarkable effect -upon the vagus nerve, which it first irritates and then paralyses. The -irritation of this nerve makes the heart beat slowly. (Fuller details -may be found in the ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society’ for this year.) -It is called “casca” by the natives, and I obtained a specimen at -Bembe, which 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 possession. 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 -referring all their disputes and accusations to its decision.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> an emetic -or as a purgative; should the former effect take place, the accused is -declared innocent, 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>It is said to be in the power of the “fetish” man to prepare the -“casca” mixture in such a manner as to determine which 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. I have very -little doubt that as the “fetish” man is bribed or not, so he can and -does prepare it.</p> - -<p>The Portuguese in Angola strictly prohibit the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> use of “casca,” and -severely punish any natives concerned in a trial by this bark, but it -is nevertheless practised in secret everywhere.</p> - -<p>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, that circumstance alone is sufficient -to prove him guilty, without waiting for the purgative effect to be -produced.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> 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 purpose; 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 blazing fires of dry -grass under a starlit summer sky.</p> - -<p>The most insignificant and extraordinary circumstances are made the -subject of accusations of witchcraft, and entail the usual penalties.</p> - -<p>I was at Ambrizzette when three Cabinda women had been to the river -with their pots for water; all three were filling them from the stream -together, when the middle one was snapped up by an alligator, 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 the alligator to take her out of -their midst! When I remonstrated with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span> them, and attempted to show -them the utter absurdity of the charge, their 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.</p> - -<p>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 interrogated 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span> 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.”</p> - -<p>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 customs renders all transgressions liable to -slavery, the 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 inclusively), but the number could not have been far short of -100,000 per annum. I was told by some of the old inhabitants, that to -see as many as ten to twelve vessels loading at a time at Loanda and -Benguella was a common occurrence. At the time of the last shipments -from Benguella, about ten years ago, I have seen as many as 1000 -slaves<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span> arrive in one caravan from the interior, principally from Bihé.</p> - -<p>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 harbour. The great slaughter now going on in a great part of -Africa, which I have mentioned as the result of the suppression 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 passersby of the -strict laws of the country respecting property.</p> - -<p>If a famine overtakes any part of the country,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> 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 -resistance 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, three Cabinda blacks from the 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 the 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.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to reclaim the hordes of savages inhabiting the -interior even of Angola from their horrid customs and their disregard -for life; the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> insalubrity of the country, though it is infinitely -superior in this respect to the rest of the West Coast, would be an -almost insuperable bar to their improvement; their own progress is -still more hopeless. In my opinion, it would be necessary 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.</p> - -<p>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 magnificent 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span> 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 -night he throws himself on the ground, anywhere, covers himself with -a thin grass or cotton cloth, nearly transparent 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 inconvenience -from the climate from infancy to old age unless his lungs become -affected.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 with 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 circumstance to attract any -attention.</p> - -<p>The manner in which negroes receive most severe wounds, with apparently -little pain and absence of nervous 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 came there with his right hand blown to a mass of shreds,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span> 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 themselves, 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.</p> - -<p>The reason the 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 -murdered him! If he got well, as he did, his benefactor would have been -inconvenienced by heavy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span> demands for his maintenance 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 were uninjured. The Frenchman -got over this risk by giving the remedies, not to the wounded black -himself, but 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.</p> - -<p>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 governments who have entered into treaties -for the abolition of slavery, and transport the poor wretches, now -being murdered in cold blood by thousands, to tropical climates where -they might earn their living by the cultivation of those articles -necessary for consumption in civilized countries; their constitution -would enable them to resist the climate, and they would gradually -become civilized.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span></p> - -<p>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 have been collecting the inner bark of the Adansonia digitata, -or Baobab tree (the application 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 for -sale, but nothing will induce them to hire themselves, or their slaves, -to a white man.</p> - -<p>There are at present in Angola several sugar and cotton plantations -worked 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, education 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span> of the ruin of the plantations, or -of its becoming a dead letter in the province.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>No amount of kindness or good done to a negro will have the slightest -influence 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 life of -their free condition, and this, not from the slightest idea of love of -freedom, or anything of the kind, but simply from an animal instinct to -live a lazy and vegetative existence.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> payment I gave him, beyond a small and -occasional present. When his master was leaving the 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.</p> - -<p>His master generally treating him with harshness, if not cruelty, I -took pity on him, and gave 13<i><abbr title="pounds">l.</abbr></i> 10<i><abbr title="shillings">s.</abbr></i> 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.</p> - -<p>I explained 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 remained in my -service as my personal attendant, 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 sailing to Loanda.</p> - -<p>A month after I received a letter from the police<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> 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 for 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 did, or ever tried to find out, or bothered his head any more about -it.</p> - -<p>It is no use disguising 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span> white man; in fact, he must remain the same as he is now, -until we learn to know him properly, and what he really is.</p> - -<p>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 work 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 appointments, 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 -business capacity.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> 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 I several times -experienced great kindness and hospitality.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img003"> - <img src="images/003.jpg" class="w75" alt="Plate II - PORTO DA LENHA" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> II.<br /><span class="allsmcap">PORTO DA LENHA.</span><br /><i>To face page 81.</i></p> - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /><span class="small">THE RIVER CONGO—BANANA—PORTO DA LENHA—BOMA—MUSSURONGO -TRIBE—PIRATES—MUSHICONGO TRIBE—FISH—PALM CHOP—PALM WINE.</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>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 depôts for their other factories higher up the river and on the -coast. The Dutch house especially is a large establishment, and it was -in one of their small steamers that my wife and myself ascended the -river in February 1873.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> high -water, particularly, hardly a dry place can be seen 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.</p> - -<p>Porto da Lenha (<a href="#img003">Plate II.</a>) consists of half-a-dozen trading factories, -built on ground enclosed from the river by piles, forming quays in -front, where large vessels can discharge 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 the river at high water, the lovely -orchid “<i>Lissochilus giganteus</i>” in full bloom; we collected -some of its roots, which reached 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> collected. Little -creeks divide one house from another; in some cases a plank bridge -affords communication, but it is mostly effected by boats. A few days -before our arrival a flood had covered the whole of the ground with -several inches of water. Considering the conditions of the place, it -does not seem to be so unhealthy to Europeans as might be expected. -Next day we proceeded to Boma, also situated on the north bank of the -river, about ninety-five miles from Banana.</p> - -<p>The 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 whole of Angola.</p> - -<p>We were most hospitably received by a young Portuguese, Senhor Chaves, -in charge of an English<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span> 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 comparative -barrenness of the surrounding country, gigantic Baobabs being the great -tree-feature of the place. We crossed the river several times to this -thickly-wooded hill, and were only able to find just sufficient shore -to land under the branches of the trees, one of which (<i>Lonchocarpus -sericeus</i>) was in beautiful bloom. The current of the river is so -strong, and the stream so broad, that it took us half-an-hour to get -across in a good boat with ten strong Kroomen paddling.</p> - -<p>The view from a high hill on the north bank is magnificent: a -succession of bends of the river, and as far as the 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.</p> - -<p>Boma, as before observed, was formerly the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> 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 supply the coast, even to -Loanda, with abundance of beans, mandioca-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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> station, is now nearly -reduced to a depôt for produce brought from farther up the river.</p> - -<p>We were a fortnight at Boma, but were greatly disappointed at the small -number of species of insects we 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 brilliancy, and it -was really beautiful to see the tall grass alive with the brightest -scarlet, yellow, orange, and velvet black of the many different -species, at that season in their full plumage.</p> - -<p>We were very much amused at a pretty habit of the males of the tiny -little sky-blue birds (<i>Estrelda cyanogastra</i>) that, with other -small birds such as the Spermestes, Estreldas, Pytelias, &c., used to -come down in 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span> the ground below them. -The long-tailed little whydah birds (<i>Vidua principalis</i>) 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.</p> - -<p>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 commemoration -of a white woman’s visit. We started in hammocks, and after about two -hours’ journey, arrived at the place of meeting, where a good 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.</p> - -<p>After breakfast the nine kings appeared on the scene, and a miserable -lot they were, with one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span> exception, a fine tall old grizzly negro; -their retinues were of the same description, 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 several yards of -cloth, piece of cotton handkerchiefs, red baize sash, and red cotton -nightcap. One old fellow had a very curious old crucifix, which he did -not know the age of; he could only tell that he was the fifth Soba -or king that had inherited it. It had evidently belonged to the old -Catholic Portuguese missionaries of former times.</p> - -<p>Crucifixes are often seen as “fetishes” of the kings in Angola. Nothing -will induce them to part with them, as they belong to part of the -“fetishes” that have been handed down from king to king from time -immemorial, and must not be lost or disposed of.</p> - -<p>An amusing incident occurred on our way at a large village, where a -great crowd, chiefly of women and children, had collected to cheer the -white woman, seen for the first time in their lives. My hammock was a -little way behind, and on arriving at the village I was met with great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 Boma, or any -other point of the river, to <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Salvador, and several Portuguese who -have wished to go from <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Salvador to Boma have been dissuaded from -attempting the journey by the king and natives, not from any objection -on their part, but from the certainty that the blacks near the river -would make them turn back.</p> - -<p>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 suspicion of the negro<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> character, and secondly to their fear of -the example of the occupation of Ambriz and the Bembe mines by the -Portuguese. It is impossible for blacks to understand that a white man -will travel 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 for 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 -regarding even the simplest question of direction of roads, rivers, -distances, &c. It is very difficult to obtain exact information, and it -is only after being very well acquainted with them that their natural -suspicions are lulled, and they will freely afford the knowledge -desired.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 fetish man, from my having introduced the new -trade of 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.</p> - -<p>The natives of the Congo River, from its mouth to a little above Porto -da Lenha, belong to the Mussurongo tribe, and are an ill-favoured -set—they are all piratical robbers, never losing an opportunity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> of -attacking a loaded barge or even ship, unless well armed or keeping -in the centre of the river, where the great current prevents them -from collecting around it in their canoes. These pirates have been -continually attacked by the Portuguese and English men-of-war, -generally after some more than usually daring robbery, and have had -several severe thrashings, but without their taking the slightest -example 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span> him to <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Helena, and -after some time brought this savage back carefully to Porto da Lenha to -his disconsolate followers, who had been unable to find a fit leader -for their piratical robberies. 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 immediately paid, and—on our way from Boma—we narrowly -escaped being involved in a fight there, in consequence 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 him to have his education continued at <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Helena, but would -finish it on the spot.</p> - -<p>The Mussurongos are very fond of wearing ankle-rings, which, when of -brass, are Birmingham made, and obtained from the traders, but in many -cases are made by the natives of iron forged by their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> smiths, and -cast-tin or pewter, which they obtain in trade in the form of little -bars. Those made by the natives are invariably ornamented with one -peculiar design (<a href="#img005">Plate IV.</a>). 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, whose 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 woman 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 arbitrary 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.</p> - -<p>The River Congo teems with animal life: above<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span> Porto da Lenha -hippopotami are very abundant; alligators, of course, swarm, and are -very dangerous.</p> - -<p>Of the few small fish that I caught with a line at Boma, no less than -four were new species, and have been named by <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> A. Günther, of the -British Museum, as the Bryconœthiops microstoma, Alestes holargyreus, -Distichodus affinis, and Mormyrus Monteiri (see ‘Annals and Magazine of -Natural History’ for August, 1873).</p> - -<p>At Boma the Koodoo (<i>Tragelaphus Spekei</i>, Sclater) antelope must -be very abundant, judging from the number of times that we there ate of -its delicious flesh, brought in for sale by the natives. In my former -visits to Banana I 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 wild 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.</p> - -<p>Our breakfast invariably consisted of “palm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span> 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 preparation and defend its -excellence against its detractors. The nuts of the oil-palm (<i>Elæis -Guineensis</i>) are about the size of large chestnuts, the inner part -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 separate all the fibres, and the 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span> 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 the mandioca -root. A good cook will make a very good “palm chop” with fresh oil, in -the absence of the new nuts.</p> - -<p>Another excellent dish is the ordinary haricot bean stewed with palm -oil and Chili peppers till quite tender and thick.</p> - -<p>It is from the oil-palm that the finest palm wine is obtained, and it -is curious how few travellers have accurately 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 (<a href="#img005">Plate IV.</a>): 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span> getting up the tree. This is done by -taking hold of the ring with each hand, and by a succession 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 advantage of -the grooved stem of a leaf cut off short to use as a channel for the -sap to flow into the gourd suspended 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.</p> - -<p>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 intoxicating; 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span> being contained in a strongly effervescent -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 sometimes a slightly acid flavour, if it has been collected in an -old calabash. We used to have new gourds employed for ourselves. The -natives, 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 water 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.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img004"> - <img src="images/004.jpg" class="w75" alt="Plate III -VIEW ON THE CONGO, ABOVE BOMA." /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> III.<br /><span class="allsmcap">VIEW ON THE CONGO, ABOVE BOMA.</span><br /><i>To face page 99.</i></p> - - - -<p>The 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 sunbirds (<i>Nectariniæ</i>), 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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /><span class="small">COUNTRY FROM THE RIVER CONGO TO -AMBRIZ—VEGETATION—TRADING—CIVILIZATION—COMMERCE—PRODUCTS—IVORY—MUSSERRA—SLEEP -DISEASE—SALT—MINERAL PITCH.</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>The southern point, at the entrance of the River Congo, is called Point -Padrão, from a marble “Padrão,” or monument raised by the Portuguese -to commemorate the discovery 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. That 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 purpose 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span> rascally -Mussurongos. Some time before this took place, I was waiting at Banana -for some means of conveyance by sea to Ambriz, but none appearing, -I determined, in company with a Brazilian who was also desirous of -proceeding to the same place, to cross over to Santo Antonio, and try -if we could induce the natives to allow us to pass thence over land to -Cabeça 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.</p> - -<p>We started one night as soon as the moon rose, 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 hammocks,—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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> brought for them. The old bells of -the 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 Cabeça da -Cobra, or “Snake’s Head,” in time for a late breakfast at the house of -a Portuguese trader. Here Senhor Fernando José 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.</p> - -<p>I at once engaged him to help me in developing my discovery of the -application of the fibre of the Baobab (<i>Adansonia digitata</i>) 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 establishing this new -trade, in the face of the greatest difficulties, privations, and hard -work for long years on the coast.</p> - -<p>The coast line from Cabeça da Cobra to Ambriz is principally composed -of red bluffs and cliffs, and the road or path is generally near the -edge of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> 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 River Congo to Moculla, -where it is replaced by the Cashew tree as far as Ambrizzette. The -flat-leaved Sansevieria (<i>S. longiflora</i>) is extremely abundant, -and disappears south almost entirely about Musserra, where it is in its -turn replaced by Sansevieria 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 insignificance: it is less abundant -perhaps from the River Congo to about Ambrizzette; from that place, -southwards, the country is one open forest of it.</p> - -<p>The natives as far as Mangue Grande are Mussurongos. From this to -Ambriz they are a branch of the Mushicongo tribe. The Mussurongos are -at present an indolent set, but there are signs that they are becoming -more industrious, now that they have given up all hope of seeing the -slave-trade<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> 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 development 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 arriving at the first elevation, which we have seen -to commence at from thirty to sixty miles from the coast, the ivory -coming from not less than 200 to 300 miles.</p> - -<p>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 Portuguese, and many of them English. It is -a fact that 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 language<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span> when speaking to the blacks, -which the English universally do, under the mistaken idea of rendering -themselves more intelligible.</p> - -<p>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 hearts’ 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 -difference, sometimes amounting to one-half 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.</p> - -<p>It has been found impossible to do away with this custom, as the -white men are almost dependent for their trade upon these rogues, -called “linguisteres” (derived evidently from 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span> 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 the white men, who would 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 drink 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 suspicious 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 beginning to find out how they -are cheated by their coast brethren, and are already, in many cases, -trading direct with the white men.</p> - -<p>The system adopted in trading or bartering with the natives on the -coast, comprehended between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span> the River Congo and Ambriz, is somewhat -complicated and curious. All produce (except ivory) on being brought to -the trader, is put on the scales and the price is agreed, in “longs” in -English, or “peças” in Portuguese. This “peça” or “long” is the unit of -exchange to which all the multifarious articles of barter are referred: -for instance, six yards 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 “longs” each.</p> - -<p>As each bag of coffee (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 buyer continues his weighing and -purchasing, and the “books” are taken by the natives to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span> 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, wrangling mob is paid -from it through a small window. We will suppose, for instance, that a -“book” is presented at the window, on which is marked twenty “longs” as -the payment of a bag of coffee; the trader takes—</p> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr><td>A gun—value</td><td>4 longs</td></tr> -<tr><td>One keg powder</td><td>2  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td>One piece of 18 yards stripes</td><td>3  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td>One of 18 yards grey calico</td><td>3  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td>One of 18 yards checks</td><td>3  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td>Eight handkerchiefs</td><td>1  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td>Five bottles of rum</td><td>1  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td>One table-knife</td><td>1  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td>Three thousand beads</td><td>1  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td>Five brass rods</td><td>1  ”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">Total:</td><td class="bt page">20 longs.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p> - -<p>This is now passed out, the trader making such alterations 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 selection, 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span></p> - -<p>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 guns, -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 adding the value of the guns, powder, and “longs,” and dividing the -sum by the weight of the tusk, can tell very nearly what the pound -of ivory will cost<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> when reduced by the substitution of the various -numerous articles given in lieu of the guns and powder agreed upon on -the purchase of the tusk.</p> - -<p>The small extent of coast comprised between Ambriz and the River -Congo is a striking example of the wonderful 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:—</p> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr><td>Adansonia fibre</td><td class="tdr">1500 tons</td></tr> -<tr><td>Ground-nuts</td><td class="tdr">7500    ”  </td></tr> -<tr><td>Coffee</td><td class="tdr">1000    ”  </td></tr> -<tr><td>Sesamum seed</td><td class="tdr">650    ”  </td></tr> -<tr><td>Red gum copal</td><td class="tdr">50    ”  </td></tr> -<tr><td>White Angola gum</td><td class="tdr">100    ”  </td></tr> -<tr><td>India-rubber</td><td class="tdr">400    ”  </td></tr> -<tr><td>Palm-kernel</td><td class="tdr">100    ”  </td></tr> -<tr><td>Ivory</td><td class="tdr">185    ”  </td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span></p> - -<p>Besides this amount of produce, the value of which may be estimated -at over 300,000<i><abbr title="pounds">l.</abbr></i>, 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 neighbouring country to the south in -the possession of the Portuguese, and is a splendid example of the -true principles by which the African race <em>in Africa</em> can be -successfully civilized, and the only manner in which the riches of the -West Coast can be developed and made available to the wants of the rest -of the world.</p> - -<p>There can be no doubt that our attempts to civilize the negro by purely -missionary efforts have been a signal failure. I will say more: so -long as missionary work consists of simply denominational instruction -and controversy, as at present, it is mischievous and retarding to the -material and mental development and prosperity of Africa. Looking at -it from a purely religious point of view,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span> I emphatically deny that a -single native has been converted, otherwise than in name or outward -appearance, to Christianity or Christian morality. Civilization 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 transformed into -a miserable strutting bully, insolent to the highest degree, taught to -consider himself the equal of the white man, as full as his black skin -can hold of overweening 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!”</p> - -<p>This is the broad and characteristic effect of present missions on the -coast, I am sorry to say, and they will continue to be fruitless as -long as they are not combined with industrial training. That was the -secret of the success of the old Catholic missionaries in Angola; they -were traders as well, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span> 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?</p> - -<p>On landing at Bonny from the steamer, to collect plants and insects on -the small piece of dry land opposite the hulks in 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 yard 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 difference whatever from -any other town in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span> 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?</p> - -<p>I remember at Ambrizzette a black who could read and write, 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 matchet, to prevent his forging any more. Educated -blacks, or even mulattoes, cannot be trusted as clerks, with the charge -of factories, or in other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span> responsible situations. I do not remember a -case in which loss did not sooner or later result from their employment.</p> - -<p>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 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 -Angola, 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 their inmost hearts, from the consciousness of their infinite -inferiority.</p> - -<p>Commerce has spread before them a tempting array of Manchester goods, -guns, gunpowder, blankets, rugs, coats, knives, looking-glasses, -playing cards, rum and gin, matchets, tumblers and decanters, beads, -silver and brass ankle-rings, and many other useful or ornamental -articles, without any duties to pay, or any compulsory regulations -of passports, papers, tolls, or hindrances of any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span> 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 think 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 unsophisticated, the only adulteration being -an innocent one practised by the traders, who generally mix a liberal -proportion of water with it.</p> - -<p>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 their breaking the “pledge.” Sometimes a black -is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span> “fetished” for rum or other spirit-drinking, but not against wine, -which they are beginning to consume in increasing quantity; the kind -they are supplied with being the ordinary red Lisbon.</p> - -<p>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 precedence, 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.</p> - -<p>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 simple -experiments enabled me to make specimens of bleached fibre and pulp -from it, proving to me conclusively its suitableness for that purpose.</p> - -<p>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 the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 bark.</p> - -<p>The leaves and flowers are produced during the rainy season, and are -succeeded by the long pendant gourd-like fruit, like hanging notes of -admiration,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> giving the 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, however, 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span> pinkish ashen white, somewhat like that of a silver -birch, some appearing quite silvery against the colour of other trees -and foliage; then there follows 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 mildewed pine wood, and breaking quite readily -with a ragged and very fibrous fracture.</p> - -<p>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 advantage 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 water.</p> - -<p>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 empty centre; this was in Cambambe,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> and the hollow -was large enough for two of us to sit inside, with a small box between -us for 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 over-head, quietly surveying our operations; a -charge of shot settled this very quickly, and down he fell, a victim to -his curiosity.</p> - -<p>The inner bark of the Adansonia is obtained by first chopping off the -softer outer bark of the tree with a matchet, 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 injury. A fresh layer of bark grows, 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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span> 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 dried in the sun, when it is ready for pressing into bales, and -shipping.</p> - -<p>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. Finer 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.</p> - -<p>Several amusing incidents occurred on my introducing the trade in -Baobab fibre among the natives. I had 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span> 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 ropes -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 was nearly starved out.</p> - -<p>I had an old black as my head man of the name of “Pae Tomás” (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.</p> - -<p>Another instance of how any little variation from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> the 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 Loanda; 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 signal for the white men to do -something or other they could not understand.</p> - -<p>It was not till some time after putting up and working the hydraulic -press at Ambriz that I was able to go north and establish them at -other places. I had to invite the King and Council of Musserra to come -to Ambriz and see it at work, and convince them that it was quite an -inoffensive 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 the trade, and I believe that had I not been already long -known to them I should<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span> have been unable to do it so soon. They somehow -had the idea that the cylinder was a great cannon, and might be fired -off with gunpowder, and I might take the country from them with it, but -they were reassured when they saw it had no touch-hole at the breech, -and that it was set upright in the ground and worked by water.</p> - -<p>At Kimpoaça, 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 opposition to its being put -up—it all went 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.</p> - -<p>The matter was discussed in the country at a meeting of the people of -the neighbouring towns, and it was determined to destroy the press and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span> -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 witchcraft; -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 deliberation it was resolved to get over the difficulty by -giving the dose to a slave of the king, who represented the hydraulic -press. Very luckily 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span> to them so marvellous in the simple -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 witchcraft.</p> - -<p>The fruit of the baobab is like a long gourd, about fourteen to -eighteen inches in length, 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 which -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.</p> - -<p>The finest orchilla weed is found growing on the baobab trees near -the coast, and the natives ascend<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span> 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 trunks and -branches in which they can conveniently build their flat nests and rear -their young.</p> - -<p>There is something peculiarly grand in the near appearance 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.</p> - -<p>A lowly plant, but perhaps the most important in native tropical -African agriculture, the ground-nut (<i>Arachis hypogæa</i>), 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,—principally to France,—to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>The native name for it is “mpinda” or “ginguba,” and it is cultivated -in the greatest abundance at a few miles inland 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, therefore, 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span> -the seeds dropped into the ground and covered up. The sowing takes -place in October and November, at the beginning of the rainy season, -and the first crop of nuts for eating green is ready about April; -but they are not ripe for nine months after sowing, or about July or -August, when they are first brought down to the coast for trade.</p> - -<p>A large plantation of ground-nuts is a very beautiful sight: a rich -expanse of the 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 River 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 them 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span> to thicken -their stews and messes. This paste, mixed with ground Chili pepper, -is also made into long rolls, enveloped in leaves of the <i>Phrynium -ramosissimum</i>, and is eaten principally in the morning to stay the -stomach in travelling till they reach the proper camping-places for -their breakfast or first meal and rest, generally about noon. It is -called “quitaba,” and I shall never forget the first time I tasted this -composition: I thought my palate and tongue were blistered, so great -was the proportion of Chili pepper in it.</p> - -<p>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 for, 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 from them by the wasteful process I have just -described. Ground-nut<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 implied in the operation -of shelling this large quantity by hand.</p> - -<p>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-sighted policy of high custom-house duties on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span> -goods, and other restrictions on trade of the 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 open air.</p> - -<p>The sesamum seed (<i>Sesamum indicum</i>) has only very recently become -an article of trade in Angola. It was cultivated 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 -cultivated for 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, as it is found to grow near the -coast, in soil too arid for the ground-nut.</p> - -<p>The red gum copal, called “maquata” by the natives, is of the finest -quality, and is almost entirely the product of the Mossulo country. -It is known<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span> 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 -found, but there can be no doubt about it, as they formerly traded in -it with the white men.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>The blacks of the gum country are so indolent that they will only dig -for the gum during and after the last and heaviest rains, about March, -April, and May, and these, and June and July, are the months when it -almost all makes its appearance, 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 are 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>We now come to one of the most curious products of this interesting -country, namely, india-rubber, called by the natives “Tangandando.” -It had been an article exported 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.</p> - -<p>The plant that produces it is the giant tree-creeper (<i>Landolphia, -florida?</i>), covering the highest trees, and growing principally -on those near rivers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span> 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; inside it is full of a soft reddish pulp in 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 very fond of the pulp and seeds.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>From Ambriz the trade in this india-rubber quickly spread south to the -River Quanza, from whence considerable quantities are exported.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>They are about thirty days on the journey from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span> 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 afterwards divide into three portions, one taking the -road to Moculla, another to Ambrizzette, and the third to Quissembo, -the three centres, at present, of the ivory trade. The caravans of -ivory generally travel in the “cacimbo” or dry season, on account of -the great number of streams and gullies they have to cross on their -long journey, and almost impassable in the rainy season. These caravans -never bring down any other produce with them but ivory, except at -times a few grass-cloths, 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 -cage of four short pieces of wood (<a href="#img005">Plate IV.</a>). 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!</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img005"> - <img src="images/005.jpg" class="w50" alt="Plate IV" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> IV.<br />1. Ankle-ring—2. Ring to ascend Palm-trees.—3. Cage for carrying -Ivory Tusks. 4. Engongui.—5. Fetish figure.—6. Mask.—7. Pillow.<br /><i>To face page 140.</i></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span></p> - -<p>The knives on <a href="#img006">Plate V.</a> were obtained from natives composing these -caravans.</p> - -<p>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 shoulder 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span> the heavy round -pieces of pisolitic iron ore very common in the country), another wad -of baobab fibre, and the gun must then show that it is loaded a “palm,” -or about eight or nine inches of the barrel.</p> - -<p>On festive occasions, or at their burials, the guns are loaded with a -tamping of “fuba,” or fine mandioca-meal, instead of other wadding, and -they then give a terrific report when fired off, and not unfrequently -burst.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 great article of trade at Musserra, being sold to the natives from -the interior, particularly to the “Zombos” composing the caravans of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span> -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 -“Pungo,” and therefore disappointing the inlanders of their favourite -salt delicacy.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The town of Musserra was formerly a large and populous one, but -small-pox and “sleep disease” have reduced it to a mere handful.</p> - -<p>This “sleep disease” was unknown south of the River Congo, where it -formerly attacked the slaves collected in the barracoons for shipment. -It suddenly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span> appeared at the 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 the -neighbouring towns. I induced the natives to remove from the old town, -and the mortality decreased till the disease died out.</p> - -<p>This singular disease appears to be well known at Gaboon, &c., and is -said to be an affection of the cerebellum. 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 generally in about -twenty to forty days after being first attacked.</p> - -<p>There 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 mandioca plantations, and the last place to -all appearance to expect such a curious outbreak.</p> - -<p>About four or five miles inland of Musserra, on a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span> ridge of low -hills, stands the remarkable granite pillar marked on the charts, and -forming a capital landmark to ships at sea (<a href="#img006">Plate V.</a>).</p> - - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img006"> - <img src="images/006.jpg" class="w50" alt="Plate V-Granite Pillar of Musserra" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> V.<br />Granite Pillar of Musserra.—1. Wooden Trumpet.—2. Hoe.—3. Pipe.—4. -Knives.—5 and 6. Clapping Hands, and Answer.<br /><i>To face page 145.</i></p> - - - -<p>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, are 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 huge 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 unequally, and to -strongly-marked cleavage planes running N.N.E. and S.S.W.</p> - -<p>The granite pillar itself stands on the top of one of the last of the -low hills forming the rocky ridge that comes down to within a few miles -of the coast. It consists of a huge slice or flat piece of granite, -facing the sea, standing upright on another block<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span> 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 lie 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 (<i>Pentalobus -barbatus</i>, Fabr.), which I presented to the British Museum.</p> - -<p>A considerable quantity of salt is made by the natives of this 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.</p> - -<p>At the end of the dry season the women and children divide the surface -of these marshes into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span> little square portions 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 -evaporated 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 the marsh to the sea (generally very close to it) -to admit fresh sea-water at high tide.</p> - -<p>It is an amusing sight to see numbers of women and children, all stark -naked, standing sometimes above their knees in the water, baling -it into the “pans” with small open baskets or “quindas,” and all -singing loudly a monotonous 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 pouring sea-water over it till -all the mud is washed away, and the basketfuls of salt shine in the sun -like driven snow.</p> - -<p>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 -fun and chaff from them if they meet a white man travelling in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span> -hammock,—all laughing and shouting, and wanting to shake hands, and -running to keep pace with the hammock-bearers.</p> - -<p>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, “tacula” (red wood), or very -often some little clay or wooden figure, grotesquely carved, and -coloured red and white.</p> - -<p>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 enclosed -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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span> they are principally sold to natives from the interior.</p> - -<p>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 the -long lines of spoonbills, flamingoes, and herons of different 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.</p> - -<p>The marshes on this coast are fortunately not extensive enough to -influence much the health of the white residents; they are all -perfectly salt, and free from mangrove or other vegetation, and -generally dry up completely (with rare exceptions)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span> in the dry season, -when sometimes the stench from them is very perceptible.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The point at Musserra is composed of sandstone, the lower beds of which -are strongly impregnated with bitumen, so strongly, indeed, that it -oozes out in the hot season.</p> - -<p>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” for the natives to trade in it. The fear of -annexation 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span> 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 purchased of the natives from this locality, but on the occupation -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.</p> - -<p>I have had many private conversations with them, and tried hard to make -them work it again, but, as might be expected, without success.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /><span class="small">AMBRIZ—TRADE—MALACHITE—ROAD TO -BEMBE—TRAVELLING—MOSQUITOES—QUIBALLA TO QUILUMBO—QUILUMBO TO BEMBE.</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>Ambriz, seen from the sea, consists of a high rocky cliff or -promontory, with a fine bay sweeping with a level beach northward -nearly to the next promontory, on which stand the trading factories -forming the place called Quissembo, or Kinsembo of the English.</p> - -<p>In the bay the little River Loge has its mouth, and marks the northern -limit of the Portuguese possession of Angola. The country beyond, -described in the last chapter, is in the hands of the natives, under -their own 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span> and was one of the -principal ports for the shipment of, and trade in slaves, from the -interior.</p> - -<p>There were also established there American and Liverpool 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.</p> - -<p>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 was, 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 custom-house officials, but when I established myself -at Ambriz, I succeeded in inducing 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 exception of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span> few pounds’ worth of -cloth, &c., in “customs” or presents to the natives.</p> - -<p>The Governor, Francisco Antonio Gonçalves 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. ad valorem was decreed, -notwithstanding the violent opposition of the petty merchants, 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.</p> - -<p>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 considerable -profit to the many ill-paid Portuguese governors or commandants<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 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 mornings 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.</p> - -<p>The garrison is badly armed and disciplined.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span> 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 disembarked, the valiant Governor-General -remaining on board till order was restored, when he 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 moustaches. The Governor-General was at that time an officer called -José 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.</p> - -<p>Were not the natives of Ambriz such a remarkably inoffensive and -unwarlike race, they would long ago have driven the Portuguese into the -sea. It is a great pity that Portugal should neglect so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span> disgracefully -her colonies, so rich in themselves, and offering such wonderful -advantages in every way for colonization and development.</p> - -<p>In the year 1791 the Portuguese built a fort at Quincollo, about six -miles up the River Loge, on a low hill commanding the road from Ambriz -to Bembe and <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Salvador, where 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 who subjugated the then -powerful kingdom of Congo and the savage tribes of the coast, so -strikingly in contrast to the present spiritless and disgraceful -military misrule of Angola.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Ambriz is an open roadstead, and vessels have to anchor 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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span></p> - -<p>Behind the beach 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 festooned with many -delicate-leaved creepers being especially quaint and beautiful.</p> - -<p>A handsome orange and black diurnal moth is found abundantly about -Ambriz, and is curious from its exhaling a strong smell of gum benzoin, -so strong indeed as to powerfully scent the collecting box. It is the -<i>Eusemia ochracea</i> of entomologists.</p> - -<p>In 1872, the ship “Thomas Mitchell” took a cargo of coals from England -to Rio 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 introduced on -shore, and in a short time every one in Ambriz had them in their feet -and hands. Many of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span> blacks were miserable objects from the ravages -of this horrid insect on their feet and legs, in the skin of which 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 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.</p> - -<p>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 Brazilian 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 of Angola, in which effort he sank the large fortune he had -previously amassed, obtained the concession of the Bembe mines from the -Portuguese Government, who sent an expedition to occupy the country, -and succeeded without any opposition on the part of the natives.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span></p> - -<p>In January, 1858, I was engaged by the Western Africa Malachite Copper -Mines Company, who had acquired 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 March, 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.</p> - -<p>The superintendent was at that time the Portuguese commandant, who of -course did not interfere with the mining captain, an ignorant man, who -made the 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.</p> - -<p>An English superintendent next arrived, but he unfortunately was -addicted to intemperance, and soon died from the effects of the brandy -bottle.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span> After being at Bembe 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 after we discovered fine blocks -of malachite, fifteen tons of which I sent to the Company in the same -steamer that took him home.</p> - -<p>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 duly qualified and experienced men directed the working from the -beginning, they would have proved a success. Many hundred tons of -malachite were afterwards raised, with the help of a very few white -miners, but too late to correct the previous mistakes and losses.</p> - -<p>During the years 1858 and 1859 I travelled the road from Ambriz to -Bembe eight times, and in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span> the month of April 1873, I went again, for -the last time, with my wife.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Grandy and his brother had been our guests at Ambriz, where -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 <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> Livingstone -in the interior should he have crossed the continent from the east -coast, as it was imagined he might probably do.</p> - -<p>We had arranged to proceed together from Ambriz as far as Bembe, -but owing to the great mortality in the country from two successive -visitations of small-pox, which 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 week after they had -both started, my wife and myself were able to get together sufficient -carriers to leave also.</p> - -<p>To travel in a country like Angola it is necessary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>The “tipoia,” or hammock, is the universal travelling apparatus in -Angola (<a href="#img002">Plate I.</a>), and is of two forms, the simple hammock slung to a -palm pole (the stem of the leaf of a <i>Metroxylon</i>, Welw.), which -is very strong and extremely 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 generally run at a trot for about two hours at a -stretch, when another couple take their places.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 carry a hammock -for any distance. The motion is extremely disagreeable at first, from -the strong up and down jerking experienced, but one soon becomes quite -used to it, and falls asleep whilst going at full<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 -(<i>Eriodendron anfractuosum</i>), 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 form an -idea what hard, wearying work it is to carry a person in a hammock, and -it is wonderful how these blacks will run with one all day, in the hot -sun, nearly naked, with bare shaved heads, and not feel distressed.</p> - -<p>On arriving at any stream or pool they dash at once into the water, -and wash off the perspiration<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span> 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 necessary for a month’s journey, we had to engage -exactly thirty carriers: this included our cook and his boy with the -necessary pots and pans; our “Jack Wash,” as the laundry-boys are -called, with his soap and irons; and one man with the drying-papers and -boxes for collecting plants and insects. We also took a Madeira cane -chair, very useful to be carried in across the streams or marshes we -should meet with.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>I shall never forget the first night I passed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span> 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 mosquito bar or curtain, but -the ground was so full of sand-fleas, 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.</p> - -<p>Where 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span> unbearable. The substances usually -burnt in such cases are dry cow-dung, mandioca-meal, or white Angola -gum.</p> - -<p>There are several species of mosquito in Angola; that 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 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 fellow, only found near running -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.</p> - -<p>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 antennæ appear at certain times of the year in -great numbers, and are said to be the males, and are not known to bite -or molest in any way.</p> - -<p>Although we pitched our tent on top of a hill to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span> escape the marsh -mosquitoes, and had a terrific 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 -I 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 (<i>A. -Welwitschii</i>), high grass, baobabs and euphorbias, and in the low -places a great abundance of a large aloe, with pale crimson flowers in -tall spikes.</p> - -<p>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 five 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span> a tree. If there is not a tree handy, then the end 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 carrier for a few minutes by -easing the weight of the load off his head without setting it down. The -natives of the interior carry loads on their heads that they are 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 “mutete.”</p> - -<p>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 plants we had gathered thus far. The country we -had passed was comparatively level, and the scenery for the most part -was very like that of a deserted park overgrown with rank grass and -weeds.</p> - -<p>As Quiballa is approached the country becomes very hilly in all -directions, and the vegetation changes to fine trees and creepers, -conspicuous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span> amongst which is the india-rubber plant already described.</p> - -<p>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 specimens of butterflies, -such as <i>Godartia Trajanus</i>, <i>Romaleosoma losinga</i>, <i>R. -medon</i>, <i>Euryphene Plistonax</i> 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 -occasionally settling on a leaf or branch on which a streak of sunshine -falls through the leafy vault above. Other species, such as the -Papilios (<i>P. menestheus</i>, <i>P. brutus</i>, <i>P. demoleus</i>, -<i>P. erinus</i>, <i>Diadema misuppus</i>), &c. &c., on the contrary, -we only found in the full sunshine, on the low bushes and flowering -plants, skirting, as with a broad belt, the woods or forest.</p> - -<p>The change in vegetation from the coast to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span> Quiballa may be due -not only to difference of altitude, but partly to the rock of the -country, which is a large-grained, very quartzose 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 (<i>Corvus scapulatus</i>), the brilliantly-coloured starlings -(<i>Lamprocolius</i>), and the several rollers; doves also, so abundant -on the coast, are comparatively rare after passing Quiballa.</p> - -<p>The <i>Coracias caudata</i>, 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 Matuta; 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 with me to Bembe, where it -became quite tame, and I had it several months, till my boy, feeding -it one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span> morning, left the door of its cage open, and it flew away. In -its native state it feeds principally on grasshoppers; in captivity its -food was mostly raw meat, which it ate greedily.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 for the start that day.</p> - -<p>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 the water close together, with the chair on their shoulders, and -pass my wife across first, singing in chorus,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span> “Mundelle 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.</p> - -<p>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 comfortable in it. The king, Dom Paolo, is a -fine, tall old negro, and knowing of our arrival sent his son and a -number of men to meet us, when they took my wife’s hammock, and raced -her into the town at a great pace. He has considerable influence in the -country, where his is an important town, as it marks the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span> limits of the -coast or Ambriz race, and that of the Mushicongo tribe beyond.</p> - -<p>There is a good deal of rivalry between the two races;—the Ambriz -blacks do not like going beyond Quiballa, and the Mushicongos object -to go into the Ambriz country. Before the road was 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 going up -from Ambriz, and copper ore coming down from Bembe, and there change -carriers.</p> - -<p>The Ambriz negroes, being very much stronger, never objected to any -loads, however heavy, some of these going up the country with sixteen -or twenty carriers, such as the heavy pieces of the steam-engine, -saw-mill, pumps, &c. There was great difficulty in inducing the -Mushicongos to take these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span> heavy and very often cumbersome loads from -Quiballa to Bembe, and once, when loads for upwards of 1000 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.</p> - -<p>I engaged 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 the -loads. My calculation was that the greater number would be forced from -hunger to take them, and so it happened. 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<i>Camoensia maxima</i><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span> by its discoverer, <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> 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 abundantly in the -more bare places on the sides of the hills at Quiballa, in the very -hard clay of the decomposed mica slate.</p> - - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img007"> - <img src="images/007.jpg" class="w50" alt="Plate VI-VIEW IN THE HILLY COUNTRY OF QUIBALLA—CAMOENSIA MAXIMA" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> VI.<br />VIEW IN THE HILLY COUNTRY OF QUIBALLA—CAMOENSIA MAXIMA.<br /><i>To face page 177.</i></p> - - -<p>The <i>Camoensia maxima</i> (<a href="#img007">Plate VI.</a>) 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 with a golden rim, and nearly the -size of an open hand. Its roots spread underground to great distances -and shoot out into other plants, so that on attempting to remove what -we thought nice small plants, we always came on great thick roots which -we followed and found to proceed from old bushes at a considerable -distance. Several small plants that we brought away alive died -subsequently at Ambriz. Half a dozen of the seeds germinated on arrival -at Kew Gardens, so that I hope this lovely flower will be shortly in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span> -cultivation, a welcome addition to our hot-houses. All the plants that -we collected and dried are deposited in the herbarium at Kew Gardens.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 occupied 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 (<i>Jatropha curcas</i>), the -“Purgueira” of the Portuguese, and from the greater number of trees -and palms left standing, the towns are very much prettier, some being -remarkably picturesque. Most of them are situated in woods, which are -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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 feet.</p> - -<p>At certain places on the road, generally in the vicinity of water, or -where several trees afford a convenient shade, a kind of little market -is held all day, of plantains, green indian-corn, mandioca roots, -and other articles of food for the supply of the carriers or natives -passing up and down. Here the women from the neighbouring towns come -with their pots, and cook food, such as dry fish and beans, and sell -“garapa” or “uallua,” as a kind of beer made from indian-corn is called.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span> made on her -appearance, 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 cough. 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span> this very natural curiosity to see us, we were never -once annoyed by any rudeness or impropriety on the part of the natives.</p> - -<p>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 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 Tuco is reached, the first great -sudden elevation. On the left is a deep valley, filled with an almost -impenetrable forest of the most 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, bearing large handsome -leaves and bright yellow flowers (<i>Luffa sp.</i>). From the top, -looking back towards Quiballa, a magnificent view is obtained. As far -as the eye can reach is seen a succession of forest-covered mountains -brightly lit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span> in the cloudless sun to the distant horizon, shaded off -into a haze of lovely blue. It is almost impossible to imagine a more -exquisite panorama, and words fail to describe its beauty and grandeur.</p> - -<p>After this hill is passed, the country continues comparatively 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>After passing this town the road becomes very rocky and stony, -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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span> had been a large and important town, but the -natives having robbed several caravans going up to the mines, the -Portuguese punished them 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 fine fibre, contenting themselves with -eating the unripe fruit.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>We had, fortunately, thus far escaped rain-storms during the day -whilst travelling; rain had always come down at night, when we were -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 was fine, -but we had not been asleep long before we were awakened by a terrific -thunderstorm, accompanied by torrents of rain. The trench overflowed,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span> -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 night -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.</p> - -<p>A child was born whilst we were in this town, and, being a girl, it was -at once named Rose, after my wife, who had therefore to make the mother -a present of a piece of handkerchiefs and an extra fine red cotton one -for the baby.</p> - -<p>Next day we were able to pass the swollen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span> stream in our chair, 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 -five feet. In a fish-trap I here found the curious new fish described -by <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> A. Günther, and named by him <i>Gymnallabes apus</i> (‘Annals -and Magazine of Natural History’ for August, 1873).</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img008"> - <img src="images/008.jpg" class="w75" alt="Plate VII-QUILUMBO" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> VII.<br />QUILUMBO.<br /><i>To face page 185.</i></p> - - -<p>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 (<a href="#img008">Plate VII.</a>). This is at present the 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 River 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, looking like so many -stage demons, dancing, singing, and flourishing their guns about. They -were all going to a town<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span> where we heard the kings of five towns were -to have their heads cut off that day for complicity in the murder of a -woman by one of them. They were accompanied by a man blowing a large -wooden trumpet of most extraordinary form (<a href="#img006">Plate V.</a>).</p> - -<p>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 was not delivered to me, but the 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.</p> - -<p>Next day’s journey was through pretty undulating 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span> plank bridge, just built by the -Portuguese 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 -condition on entering Bembe, which we did in about half-an-hour’s time, -having to walk up a stiff hill, too steep to be carried up in our -hammocks.</p> - -<p>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 was 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span> finest being -found in such places. In rocky and hilly places my wife, of course, -could not get over the ground on foot so quickly as a man might have -done.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img009"> - <img src="images/009.jpg" class="w75" alt="Plate VIII-BEMBE VALLEY" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> VIII.<br /><span class="allsmcap">BEMBE VALLEY.</span><br /><i>To face page 189.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br /><span class="small">BEMBE—MALACHITE DEPOSIT—ROOT PARASITE—ENGONGUI—MORTALITY -OF CATTLE—FAIRS—KING OF CONGO—RECEPTIONS—CUSTOMS—SAN -SALVADOR—FEVERS—RETURN TO AMBRIZ.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p>Bembe is the third great elevation, and it stands boldly and cliff-like -out of the broad plain on which we have been travelling, and at its -base runs the little river Luqueia.</p> - -<p>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. This valley, in which the great deposit of malachite exists, -is about a mile long in a straight line and runs N.N.W. by S.S.E. -(<a href="#img009">Plate VIII.</a>).</p> - -<p>It is a <i>cul-de-sac</i> at its northern end, terminating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span> in a -beautiful waterfall which the 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 described above as separating 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, however, is a gradual slope, and is -covered by a thick deposit of clayey earths, in which the malachite is -irregularly distributed for the whole length of the valley.</p> - -<p>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 upwards 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.</p> - -<p>Two kinds of clay are found, a ferruginous red, and an unctuous black -variety. The malachite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 eight 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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span></p> - -<p>In some pieces of this a few crystals of atacamite 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 S.S.W. -at an angle of about 55°.</p> - -<p>In no part of Angola, except at Mossamedes, have any regular lodes -or deposits of copper or other metals (except iron) been found <i>in -situ</i>; all bear unmistakable evidences of having been brought from -elsewhere, and deposited by the action of water in the places where -they are now found.</p> - -<p>I have no doubt that the country farther to the interior will be found -immensely rich—in copper principally—where the lodes most likely -exist that have supplied the enormous amount of copper carbonates found -all over Angola, and farther north at Loango.</p> - -<p>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, sunk in the bottom of the valley and along -its whole length, particularly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span> 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 five fathoms, but of course they were never carried 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 season, of course, -these pits were filled up with water and mud, and fresh ones had to be -dug in the succeeding dry season.</p> - -<p>To ascend 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 the ground, and the cheap spear-pointed -knives, ten or eleven inches long, they received in barter at Ambriz -from the traders.</p> - -<p>The mines belonged to several of the towns in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span> immediate -neighbourhood, principally to one called Matuta; but they allowed the -natives of other towns to extract malachite from them, on payment of a -certain quantity of the ore they raised.</p> - -<p>The natives of Ambriz who went up to Bembe to buy malachite of the -Mushicongos were seldom 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 -the finer lumps, which were sold entire. Most of the malachite has -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.</p> - -<p>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 -allowed 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, with only a -few stone walls overgrown with a luxuriant growth of creepers and other -plants to mark the places where the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span> houses and stores formerly stood, -and where several hundred natives used to be daily at work.</p> - -<p>During the years 1858 and 1859, when I was first at Bembe, any number -of natives could be had from the neighbouring towns, willing to work at -the mines, and as many as 200 to 300 were daily employed, principally -in carrying the ore and clay to the 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 -perhaps 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. Very 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.</p> - -<p>Our best workmen were the soldiers of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span> garrison, mostly blacks -and mulattoes from Loanda, and belonging to a sapper corps, and -consequently having some knowledge of working, and of tools and -implements. It was great trouble to teach the natives the use of the -pick and shovel, and the wheelbarrow was a special difficulty and -stumbling-block;—when not carrying it on their heads, which 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 -holding up the handles, but not pushing at all, whilst another in front -was walking backward, and turning the wheel round towards 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.</p> - -<p>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 10 to 100 or more carriers), 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span> 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 5<i><abbr title="pounds">l.</abbr></i> 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.</p> - -<p>At the end of the valley, where it joins the narrow gorge that drains -it, an enormous mass of a very hard metamorphic limestone, destitute -of fossil remains, rises from the bottom to a height of about thirty -feet, and in it are contained 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 openings to the ground below.</p> - -<p>Great numbers 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span> parasite -Nyctiribia, that lives on this class of animals.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Thonningea sanguinea</i> (<abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> Hooker, ‘Transactions of -the Linnean Society,’ 1856).—These specimens are now in the Kew Museum.</p> - -<p>The Portuguese built a fine little fort at Bembe, with a dry ditch -round it, which has stood one or two sieges; but the Mushicongos are -a cowardly set without any idea of fighting, so that they were easily -beaten off by the small garrison.</p> - -<p>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. They all, of course, -preferred the former alternative, and there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span> happening to be a mulatto -in the garrison who had been a bandsman, he was elevated to the post of -bandmaster, and forthwith ordered to teach the rest.</p> - -<p>The performances of this band may be best left to the imagination, -but wonderful to relate, the governor (Andrade) used to take pleasure -in listening to the excruciating din, which would have delighted a -Hottentot, and would make them play under his quarters several evenings -a week.</p> - -<p>On the anniversary of the signing of the “Carta Constitucional,” 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 provided: 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 -perceived, and at the unaccountable uproar of the band as we entered -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span> town, a most laughable effect was produced on the inhabitants, -who fled in all directions in the greatest dismay, with the children -crying and yelling as only small negroes can. After our sitting down, -and holding out bottles of rum and bunches of beads, they quickly -became convinced 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 his head, and -carrying a cutlass upright in his hand, at arm’s-length. After the -usual drinks and compliments, the band played again, to the now intense -enjoyment of the inhabitants, who capered and danced and shouted 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 performers.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span> 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 capturing 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!</p> - -<p><abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> 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 tusks as they were in the habit of getting on the -coast;—blacks having no regard whatever for time or distance, eight or -ten days’ journey more or less being to them perfectly immaterial. The -road followed by the caravans of ivory from the interior passes, as I -have said before,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span> near Bembe; consequently a good many caravans left -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.</p> - -<p>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 Tomás, 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 distinguish 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.</p> - -<p>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 -answering them in the same manner, and intimating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span> whether they can -pass or not, if there is war on the road, and so on. These “Engongui” -(<a href="#img005">Plate IV.</a>) are two flat bells of malleable iron joined together 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 reverberating from the blows with the stick.</p> - -<p>As the caravans were coming down the valley, Pae Tomás 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span> king. To obtain the -one in my possession, I had to send Pae Tomás 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 -cannibalism.</p> - -<p>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 important personage, the umbrella used to be -carried before him by a black, whilst he followed behind in the sun.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span></p> - -<p>The day of their arrival was always spent in looking over the stock of -goods, and receiving presents of cloth 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.</p> - -<p>The caravans seldom brought any curiosities, only very rarely a few -mats or skins; one skin that I purchased proved to be that of a new -monkey, described by <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> P. L. Sclater as the <i>Colobus Angolensis</i> -(‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,’ May, 1860).</p> - -<p>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 servants, slaves being amongst the natives in -Angola the principal investment of their savings. The prices paid for -them varied according to size, sex, 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 -3<i><abbr title="shillings">s.</abbr></i> each) for a boy or girl; to six or seven pieces, at most, -for a full-grown man or woman.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span></p> - -<p>Gum Elemi, called “Mubafo,” used to be brought in large cakes, 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.</p> - -<p>There are no cattle from the River 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.</p> - -<p>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 veterinary 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.</p> - -<p>In connection with the mortality of cattle and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span> other animals, I may -mention that all the cats at Bembe had their hind quarters more or -less paralysed, generally 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.</p> - -<p>Sheep and goats breed very well, particularly about Ambrizzette. 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 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span> towns. It is impossible to conceive anything more distressingly -thin and gaunt than the poor pigs, perfectly flat, and hardly able to -trot along.</p> - -<p>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 we breakfasted, as they 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 300 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.</p> - -<p>Provisions at that time were fabulously cheap,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span> 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. Eggs and bananas were sold at one blue glass bead -each, of a kind made in Bohemia, and costing wholesale under twopence -for a bunch of 600. Mandioca-meal, beans, &c., were sold at a similar -rate.</p> - -<p>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, on which he had allowed the hair to grow like -a great frizzled bush. His appearance when released was most comical, -and produced the greatest excitement among the rest of the niggers,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 wondered 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.</p> - -<p>Another celebrated fair is at Quimalenço, on the road to Bembe, and -about thirty miles distant, and our servants and blacks working at the -mine were constantly asking leave to go to it. Both at Sona and the -latter fair no blacks are allowed with sticks or knives, a very wise -precaution, considering the quantity of palm wine, garapa, and other -intoxicating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span> liquors consumed. I have seen not less than 2000 natives -assembled at these fairs, selling and buying beans, mandioca roots and -meal of different kinds, Indian corn, ground-nuts, palm-nuts and oil; -pigs, sheep, goats, fowls; cotton cloth, handkerchiefs, &c.; crockery, -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.</p> - -<p>During my first stay in Bembe, the king of Congo having died, his -successor, the Marquis of Catende, came in state to Bembe to ask the -Portuguese to send priests to San Salvador, to bury his predecessor and -to crown him king. In former times, San Salvador, the capital of the -kingdom of Congo, 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 though the mission was abandoned more than a hundred -years ago, their memory is revered in the country to this day. I have -been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>In times past the King of Congo was very powerful; all the country, as -far as and including Loanda, the River Congo, and Cabinda, was subject -to him, and paid him tribute. The missionaries under his protection -worked far and wide, attained great riches, and were of immense -benefit to the country, where they and the Portuguese established and -fostered sugar-cane plantations, indigo manufacture, iron smelting, and -other industries. With the discovery and colonization of the Brazils, -however, and the expulsion 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span> 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 considered to possess the greatest “fetish” of all -the kings and tribes, though powerless to exact tribute from them.</p> - -<p>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. These 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span> of the fingers (not the palms -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, which 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 (<i>Bixa Orellana</i>), -which I have seen growing wild in the interior.</p> - -<p>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 slowly winding through the grass. On arriving -at the edge of the mine valley they all halted, and the band again -struck up. The Marquis got out of his hammock, 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 from it; a gaily-coloured cloth was next produced from the box -and fastened round his waist; a blue velvet<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span> cloak edged with 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.</p> - -<p>They then came into Bembe, and proceeded to the fort, where they were -received with a salute of four guns, which it was the Marquis’s right -to receive from the Portuguese, but which being evidently unexpected, -made one half of the crowd scamper as fast as they could, till they -were recalled. At the gate the guard turned out and presented 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.</p> - -<p>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, which he -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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span></p> - -<p>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 would have been an unpardonable -incivility on their part not to drink whatever he gave them, they each -took a mouthful from the glass, though he was making faces and wiping -his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, but both got up instantly and -hurried outside, where we could hear them spitting and sputtering at -the bitter draught.</p> - -<p>On handing round the “palitos” or toothpicks after dinner, he took one, -but did not know what to do with 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span> to keep, to take back to his country as curiosities.</p> - -<p>He is a handsome, stout, middle-aged man, and with a very much better -cast of countenance than is usual among the Mushicongos.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The kings and their people appeared, not in their best, but in the -poorest and most ragged condition possible, whether according to -custom, or from a fear that the Marquis might, in view of their -riches, demand tribute from them as formerly, 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.</p> - -<p>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 the 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>The tall secretary now borrowed a red cloak from one of the 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.</p> - -<p>Approaching the kneeling embassy, he shook his sword at them 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 foreheads and fingers 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span> swallowed its contents, and taking up one of -the bottles of Lisbon wine from under his chair, put it to his mouth, -and nearly emptied it at a draught. The curtain was then removed, and -the nearly empty bottle of wine passed to the king of Matuta, who -poured the contents into the tumbler, took a drink himself, and passed -it to the rest, who had a sip each till it was drained dry. Speeches -were again made, and the embassy, having once more rubbed 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 after they have been fighting.</p> - -<p>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 wished to clear his throat, the lanky -secretary would kneel before him, and taking a dirty rag out of a grass -pouch suspended from his shoulder, would present it to him with both -his hands, to spit into; the rag was then carefully doubled up, kissed, -and replaced in the pouch.</p> - -<p>I was told by the padre at Bembe, who went on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span> a mission to Engoge, -that 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!</p> - -<p>Having heard at Loanda that <abbr title="Doctor">Dr.</abbr> Bastian 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 dressed 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 it by which I could identify -the portrait, which seemed to have been taken from a small octavo -volume. The Marquis would not show the portrait to the Governor or any -Portuguese, as he was afraid that it might<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 service. 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 themselves, and seemed to pray as -earnestly as if they had been brought up to it all their lives.</p> - -<p>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 were asked to sit as -it could carry;—great was their astonishment 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span> way of -expressing surprise by the blacks, the Marquis asked, through his tall -secretary, how I had performed the wonderful “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.</p> - -<p>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 the 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 and write Portuguese, transmitted from -father to son since the olden time.</p> - -<p>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 king had been buried, became frightened and suddenly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span> -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 -want of success and cowardice, intrigued with the Governor-General at -Loanda, and the padres were censured for that for which he himself was -alone to blame.</p> - -<p>Nearly 200 blacks presented themselves to the padres, 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span> 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 fear of the natives that the Portuguese -might follow in his steps, and annex the country from whence they -derive their ivory.</p> - -<p>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 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 than I ever saw them even -in Spain and Portugal. Cucumbers, melons, and vegetable-marrows, we -obtained very fine the first season, but the succeeding year a swarm -of very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span> small grasshoppers prevented us from getting a single one. -Broad beans, although growing and flowering luxuriantly, never produced -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.</p> - -<p>It is almost impossible to estimate the 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.</p> - -<p>Benguella and Mossamedes—particularly the latter—are the only -exceptions to the 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 cropped -of leaves, and as much as four or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>About Bembe a handsome creeper (<i>Mucuna pruriens</i>), 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 itching when rubbed on the skin. The first -time I pulled off a bunch of the pods I shook some of the hairs over -my hand and face, and the sensation 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.</p> - -<p>I saw at Bembe a striking illustration of the immunity of Europeans -from fever and ague when travelling or otherwise actively employed.</p> - -<p>One hundred Portuguese soldiers having misconducted themselves in some -way at Loanda, were ordered to Bembe as a punishment. They marched<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span> -from 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 diarrhœa; but, to show the -comparatively healthy climate of Angola, only one man died.</p> - -<p>We were not so fortunate with our Cornish miners, all fine, strong, -healthy, picked men;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span> several causes contributed 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.</p> - -<p>One circumstance that struck the doctor greatly, was the total want -of pluck in the Cornishmen when ill; they 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 difficulty 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 drinking 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.</p> - -<p>So constant were their relapses, from want of the commonest care on -their part, that the doctor at last<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span> 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 recovering -from a very severe attack of bilious fever, he died at Ambriz, whilst -waiting for the steamer that was to take him home.</p> - -<p>The worthy Portuguese officer in command at Bembe on my last visit, -Lieutenant Vital de Bettencourt Vasconcellos Canto do Corte Real, had -prepared for our use the old house in which I had formerly lived, and -received us most hospitably. We 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 reception, from our cook having fallen ill the day<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span> -before we arrived, and being consequently unable to prepare our food.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img010"> - <img src="images/010.jpg" class="w75" alt="Plate IX-BEMBE PEAK" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> IX.<br /><span class="allsmcap">BEMBE PEAK.</span><br /><i>To face page 231.</i></p> - - -<p>We made several excursions to the mines and to the caves, and one -morning my wife and myself ascended to the top of the peak or mountain -(<a href="#img010">Plate IX.</a>), and breakfasted there.</p> - -<p>On the 15th April, 1873, we bade good-bye to Bembe, and to the brothers -Grandy and Lieutenant Vital, who accompanied us to the River 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 (<i>Spathodea campanulata</i>—R. de B.?).</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span></p> - -<p>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 River 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Her solicitude for our safety was sometimes rather embarrassing, as -whenever she had passed a swamp,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 -hammock, 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.</p> - -<p>The evening before we reached Quingombe, we raced the blackest -thunderstorm I have ever witnessed.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span> 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 ordinary storm was gathering, the clouds deepening in colour -till at last they seemed to descend and touch the ground, 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 lightning seemed to shoot out of -it, up and down and in all directions, with scarcely any intermission -of the explosions of thunder that accompanied them.</p> - -<p>Our carriers seemed perfectly frightened, and ran us along in our -hammocks as if racing for life, till, a little before sunset, we -reached a 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 hut, but the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span> wind suddenly seemed to increase in power -from the south, and blew the storm away from its path to the westward, -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.</p> - -<p>Next day we arrived late in the afternoon at Quingombe, and our -carriers tried to dissuade us from proceeding on to Ambriz, alleging -that the heavy rains had 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 River 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 place, our poor -dog swimming and carried most of the time.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</span></p> - -<p>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 foot of 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 in that country, -had escaped hanging, 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!</p> - -<p>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 hanging up the 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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span> He -was most kind and pressing in his offers 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 the morning, which 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br /><span class="small">CHARACTER OF THE NEGRO—FETISH—CUSTOMS—ARMS AND WAR—DRESS—ZOMBO -TRIBE—BURIAL—INSANITY.</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>The language, customs, and habits of the Mussurongo, Ambriz, and -Mushicongo tribes are very similar, 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, when we consider -that Loanda has been constantly occupied by the white race since its -discovery, and that this intercourse has necessarily modified 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.</p> - -<p>I believe that it is very difficult to understand<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span> correctly the -character of the negro race in Africa, and that it requires 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 life and actions.</p> - -<p>In 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 of 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.</p> - -<p>It is very disagreeable to find in the negro an entirely 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 have been entirely mistaken; but the 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span> descriptions or tales that agree with their -foregone conclusions, and whose benevolent feelings and sympathy for -the negro are therefore established upon baseless grounds.</p> - -<p>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 <em>will</em> -fall on bare and barren ground, and where weeds <em>will</em> 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.</p> - -<p>It is heartrending to see money, lives, and efforts squandered and -wasted under the misguided idea of raising the negro to a position -which, 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 completely 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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span> but do not let -us expect that because we have done so they will change into harmless -snakes, noble dogs, or innocent doves, or neglect to succour the lambs -and sheep of our own flock.</p> - -<p>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 he wants to sustain life in almost absolute laziness.</p> - -<p>The character of the negro is principally distinguished not so much by -the presence of positively bad, as by the absence of good qualities, -and of feelings and emotions that 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span> Africa, the result of an inferior physical -organization, 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 successive 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span> 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 -indicative of affection or love. Their passion is purely of an animal -description, unaccompanied by the least sympathetic 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 thought of. The husband, by their laws, can at -most return his wife to her father, who has to refund the present 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, nor -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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</span> 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 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 white man put it out of its misery. -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, and I have already described how even their -own animals are left to fare 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.</p> - -<p>In 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, therefore, 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span> space of time, but bear no malice whatever, either at the time -or afterwards. In Angola, the attempt to take a white man’s life by -his slaves, for ill treatment 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 delight 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 cannot be called -ungrateful exactly, because that 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 few 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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span></p> - -<p>To sum up the negro character, it is deficient in the passions, and in -their corresponding virtues, and the life of the negro in his primitive -condition, apparently so peaceful and innocent, is not that of an -unsophisticated state of existence, but is due to what may be described -as an organically 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 counteract 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 stock-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, health, rain, good crops, fecundity; -against all illness, storms, fire, surf, and misfortunes and calamities -of every kind. No death is attributed to natural causes, it is always -ascribed to the person or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</span> 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 against sickness, &c., with which every man, woman, and -child, as well as their huts and plantations, is provided.</p> - -<p>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 “tacula,” 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 203 but very much smaller, and -with a small bit of iron as a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span> clapper inside, are often hung from the -neck or waist. Small antelopes’ horns, empty or filled with various -kinds of filth, 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 (<i>Achatina Welwitschii</i> and <i>Zebrina</i>) are filled -with fowls’ dung and feathers, “tacula,” &c., and stuck on a stick -in the plantations and salt pits, to protect them from thieves; also -the gourd-like pods or fruit 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 from the decomposition of mica and -mica schist) and “tacula.” A great “fetish” in childbirth and infancy -is made in the shape of a little pouch about two inches long and the -thickness of the middle finger, very prettily woven of fine grass; -these are filled with fowls’ dung and “tacula,” 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 Mussurongos on the Congo River. <a href="#img005">Plate IV.</a> represents one -obtained at Boma. Some of these large “fetishes” 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 -constantly met them carrying these great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span> ugly figures, and accompanied -by two or three attendants beating drums and chanting a dismal song as -they go along.</p> - -<p>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 Water,” and his power is held in great -dread by the natives. No white man can go to the Granite Pillar at -Musserra 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 the 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span> for a time, in consequence of an -epidemic of small-pox being ascribed by the “fetish men” as having been -introduced into the country by him, in a jar!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span> to see him punished, jeering at him, and -telling him the white man’s “fetish” was stronger than his.</p> - -<p>The negroes have great confidence in the power of “fetishes” to protect -their houses, &c., from fire or other misfortune, 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 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 preserve the huts from fire, that they did nothing 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.</p> - -<p>The Mussurongo, Ambriz, and Mushicongo negroes, are much afraid of -going about at night,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span> unless there is moonlight; 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.</p> - -<p>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 “Macotas,” 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 -“Macotas.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</span> of any child is liable to very great -doubt; but as a black once explained to me, “there is no doubt that my -sister and myself came from the same mother, and there is no doubt, -therefore, that my sister’s child must be my nephew.” This necessity -for a positive or certain descent is very curious, as no record is kept -of their pedigree or history.</p> - -<p>The only division of time being into moons or months, and into dry and -wet seasons, and no record of any kind being kept, blacks are quite -unable to estimate their own age; servants keep an account of the -months they are in service by tying a knot on a string for every moon.</p> - -<p>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 with different -designs in brass or tin plate. These sticks are always sent with -a messenger from the king, and serve to authenticate 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 fibre, -generally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>When a white man, travelling, stops to rest for meals, or to sleep at a -town, it is usual for the king and “Macotas” 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 servants belonging to the -latter attend and squat behind him; on the king’s side is generally -the whole available population of the town, for whom the occasion is -an excitement, the front rows squatting on the ground, and the rest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</span> -standing crowded together in a circle. The traveller’s retinue first -begin by clapping hands to the king and “Macotas.” This is performed -in a peculiar manner by hollowing both palms, as in the action of -filling them with water, and then bringing them together crosswise, -when a much louder and deeper sound is produced than by clapping the -hands in the ordinary manner. The king returns the salute by extending -the left hand before him horizontally, with the palm 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. (<a href="#img006">Plate V.</a>, figs. 5, 6.) This is the universal 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,” &c., both clap -their hands, but the inferior has to do it first, and both squat 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.</p> - -<p>The king then speaks to one of the “Macotas”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</span> who can best translate -his speech to the white 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 -ceremonial 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;”—the white man then shakes hands with -the king and takes his leave, the king always sending him some little -present, generally a fowl or pig, for which, however, another present -equal to its value is expected. It is not considered etiquette 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.</p> - -<p>Besides rubbing the forehead on the ground to a powerful king, which -I have described as practised to the 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 the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</span> dust that adheres to them to -the eyebrows, ears, and cheeks.</p> - -<p>The appearance of some of the kings dressed in their fine clothes 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 figure as any I have -seen. He always used to appear in a woman’s brightly-coloured 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 broad grin of -satisfaction at the admiration that his brilliant costume appeared to -excite among the natives.</p> - -<p>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 like 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>These natives are arrant cowards, and in their so-called wars or -disputes between one town and another they seldom resort 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 robberies -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 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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</span></p> - -<p>The boats that used to navigate the River Congo were formerly armed -with a small carronade, to protect themselves 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 advance of the enemy; when it appeared in sight the train was -fired, and the inhabitants took to their heels. The assailing 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</span> -are distinguished from them by having all their front teeth, top -and bottom, chipped into points, which gives 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 afterwards 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 often carried suspended from -a piece of string round their necks. After every meal they always wash -their mouths 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.</p> - -<p>Polygamy is of course an established institution among the natives of -Angola, and the number of wives that a black may keep is only regulated -by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</span> his means to maintain 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.</p> - -<p>There is no ceremony of marriage amongst the Mussurongo, 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 -and 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 Mushicongos, 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 keep -themselves and the husband in food. Should he be unable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</span> to supply a -wife with 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.</p> - -<p>The dress 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 the arm-pits to the knees, and -tied in the same manner round the waist with a strip of baize;—the -top-end being tucked in, secures the cloth under the arms over the -breast, but when travelling 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</span> 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 meeting 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. These -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 few 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</span> silk tie, pair of slippers, and the -body-part of an old pair of white duck-trousers I had given him, the -legs of which 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 enlarged to pass the head through, and they are -then worn on the shoulders like a cape.</p> - -<p>The coast tribes do not interfere with nature in the development of -the female figure, but the Mushicongos object to prominent breasts, -and girls tie a string tightly round the chest to reduce the growing -breasts to the perfectly flat shape in fashion;—the appearance of some -of the old negresses with their breasts hanging low and flat in front -is very disgusting.</p> - -<p>The blacks have a great admiration for a white 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 told him I would send him a thin-waisted -wife from England if he promised to put away the three he then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</span> had; he -refused then, but next day came to me and said that, having considered -my offer, he would accept it!</p> - -<p>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 weight -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.</p> - -<p>These three tribes generally keep their heads shaved, or else only -allow their hair to grow very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</span> 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 heads so free from hair, great would be the -production of a certain obnoxious insect, under the combined influence -of dirt and heat. Amongst the Mushicongos the 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 flask-shaped gourds, -about the size of an ordinary pear, are strung through their necks -on a string, which 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</span> 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.</p> - -<p>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 crawling, and placed in the open palm of a child’s hand, who -also stood in the group. My curiosity was excited as to the reason of -the specimens being thus carefully preserved, and on asking one of my -hammock-boys, he told me “that is for the payment”—they are afterwards -counted, and the girls get a glass bead for every one they have caught.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The Zombo and other natives farther to the interior, who come to the -coast with ivory, &c., seldom shave their heads: the common lot let -their hair grow anyhow, without 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 feather 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 upright, -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.</p> - -<p>Any malformation with which a child may be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</span> 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 Bembe -country who seemed to have no necks at all.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>A very striking instance of the ease with which women go through this -trial, happened to my knowledge whilst I was at Benguella. Senhor -Conceição, 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</span> 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 confinement, who need not have gone with 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 Conceição -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 when we reached Benguella in the evening, Senhora -Conceição described to us her surprise at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</span> 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!</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 or dried: it is then taken out and placed on its back on an open -framework of sticks, and fires kept burning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</span> 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 the -latter;—I have often been annoyed and had my rest disturbed by their -monotonous and unceasing howl on these occasions.</p> - -<p>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 last 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</span> 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 -afford, 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 “batuco,” or dancing, with firing of guns and consumption -of drink, roast pig, and other food, is held for the whole night.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 generally 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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</span></p> - -<p>Very little ceremony is used in burying blacks found dead, who do not -belong to the town in or near which they have died; the wrists and -knees are tied together and a pole passed through, and they are then -carried by two men and buried outside, anywhere;—if the corpse is that -of a man, his staff and “mutete” are laid on the grave; if a woman, a -basket is placed on it. (Plate XII.)</p> - -<p>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. (<a href="#img005">Plate -IV.</a>) This mask is also employed to keep off the cloth from the face and -prevent the mosquitoes from biting through.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</span></p> - -<p>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 tribes they cannot marry without.</p> - -<p>The operation is only performed in a certain “moon” (June), the one -after 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 feathers, singing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</span> and -beating drums, and preceded by the “fetish man.”</p> - -<p>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 lunatics 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 hyena, almost entirely absent.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br /><span class="small">CUSTOMS OF THE MUSSURONGO, AMBRIZ, AND MUSHICONGO NEGROES—MANDIOCA -PLANT—ITS PREPARATIONS—CHILI PEPPER—BANANAS—RATS—WHITE -ANT—NATIVE BEER—STRANGE SOUNDS.</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>The Mussurongo, Ambriz, and Mushicongo negroes have hardly any -industrial or mechanical occupation; they weave no cloths of cotton or -other fibre; their only manufactures being the few implements, baskets, -pots, &c., required in their agriculture and household operations.</p> - -<p>The reason for this want of industry, apart from the inherent laziness -and utter dislike of the negroes for work of any kind, is to be found -in their socialistic and conservative ideas and laws.</p> - -<p>No man can be richer than his neighbour, nor must he acquire his riches -by any other than the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</span> usual or established means of barter or trade of -the natural products of the country, or of his plantations.</p> - -<p>Should a native return to his town, after no matter how long an -absence, with more than a moderate amount of cloth, beads, &c., as -the result of his labour, he is immediately accused of witchcraft or -“fetish,” and his property distributed among all, and is often fined as -well.</p> - -<p>I 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 would only be taken away from them, and so preferring to enjoy -themselves with it first.</p> - -<p>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 slaves, and entirely maintained by -them;—even these traders are constantly being accused of “fetish,” -from which they have to clear themselves by heavy payments.</p> - -<p>We have already seen how there are hardly any social distinctions among -the negroes, and consequently no necessity for finer clothing, food,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</span> -houses, &c.; it is even considered very mean for one black to eat or -drink 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 plantation at Quincollo, goes -under the nickname among the blacks of “Fiadia,” 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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</span></p> - -<p>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 -covered 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 thatch, -on a frame of light cane or the mid-rib of the palm-leaf. The door is -made of slabs of the “Mafumeira” or cotton-wood tree, or of palm-leaves -woven together; the door is always about a foot from the ground, and -the threshold generally the trunk of a small tree, forming the usual -seat of the inmates during the day.</p> - -<p>The Mushicongos, living on the mica schist and clay slate formations, -which decompose readily, forming tenacious 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 preserve -them from the ravages of that most destructive insect.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</span></p> - -<p>For this purpose the poles are soaked for months in stagnant pools, -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 left at the top ends for the smoke to issue -from.</p> - -<p>The furniture is restricted to a bed, made of a framework 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 with 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.</p> - -<p>The negroes from the interior are sometimes seen using curious small -pillows made of wood (<a href="#img005">Plate IV.</a>)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</span> and carved in fanciful patterns; -they carry them slung from the shoulder. A very singular 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.</p> - -<p>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 -build one.</p> - -<p>Women’s work is entirely restricted to cultivating the ground and -preparing the food. Their simple agricultural operations are all -performed with one implement, a single-handed hoe (<a href="#img006">Plate V.</a>). 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 this -hoe 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 hillocks<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</span> ready for planting the mandioca. This plant, the -Cassada or Cassava of the West Indies, &c. (<i>Manihot aipi</i>), 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, though 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</span> common occurrence. When fresh -they are white and of a peculiar compact, dense, brittle texture, more -like that of the common chestnut than anything else I can compare it -to, and not unlike it in taste, though not so sweet, and more juicy. -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 good drainage, as the roots are said -to rot readily in places where water stagnates. The mandioca-root is -sufficiently large 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 -full perfection for fifteen or eighteen months after the cuttings are -planted, and as it can remain in the ground for two or even three years -without damage or deterioration, there is no need of a regular time for -digging it up. It is eaten fresh and raw as taken out of the ground, -though the natives are fondest of its various preparations.</p> - -<p>The roots peeled and dried in the sun constitute what is called “bala,” -and are eaten thus or roasted. “Bombó” is prepared by placing the roots -in water<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</span> for four or five days, running streams being preferred to -stagnant pools for this purpose; the outer black skin then peels off -very readily and the roots have suffered a kind of acetous fermentation -affecting the gluten and gum, and setting free the starch—of which -the bulk of the root is composed;—they now have a strong disagreeable -acid taste and flavour, but on drying in the sun become beautifully -white and nearly tasteless, and so disintegrated as to be readily -crushed between the fingers into the finest flour. This “bombó” is -also eaten thus 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 liked by the natives, which is made in this way:—into an earthen -pot half full of water, kept boiling on three stones over a fire, the -“fuba” is gradually added, and the whole kept constantly stirred round -with a stick; when the mass attains the consistency of soft 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</span> the stick worked by both hands, for some minutes longer, -or till it no longer sticks 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 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 oil. This “infundi,” or “infungi” as it is also -pronounced by some of the natives, is delicious eating with “palm-chop.”</p> - -<p>“Quiquanga” is also a very important preparation of the mandioca-root, -large quantities being prepared in the interior and brought down to the -coast for sale and for barter for dried fish, salt, &c. The fresh roots -are placed in water for a few days, in the same manner as described -for “bombó,” 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 homogeneous paste; this is rolled between -the hands<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</span> into 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 <i>Phrynium ramosissimum</i>—a beautiful trailing -plant with a knotted stem, growing very abundantly in moist and shady -places,—and steamed over a pot of boiling water carefully covered -up to keep the steam 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, the “quiquanga” is not a bad substitute -for bread or biscuit.</p> - -<p>It is curious that in the district of Loanda 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 Ambriz to the River Congo: this is the meal called by -the Portuguese and Brazilians “Farinha de pão.” 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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</span> 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 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 floury saw-dust, and is -excellent eating. Carefully 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.</p> - -<p>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 which onions have been fried. This is called -“pirão,” and a dish of it appears at table as regularly as potatoes do -with us.</p> - -<p>With cold meat, fish, &c., it is also eaten raw, moistened with water, -oil, vinegar, pepper, and salt, or, better still, with orange or -lemon juice, with pepper and salt. This is called “farofa,” and is an -excellent accompaniment to a cold<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</span> 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, if 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.</p> - -<p>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, which 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 or other fat, salt, and -Chili pepper. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</span> leaves of the bean, mandioca, or pumpkin plants are -sometimes added.</p> - -<p>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 everywhere in the greatest luxuriance -as a fine bush loaded with bunches of the pretty bright green and -red berries. 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 another -smaller round one. Their cookery is mostly a vehicle for conveying this -Chili pepper, and the “infundi” is dipped into it for a flavour.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</span> the quantity of Chili pepper -he had eaten with his food.</p> - -<p>In our garden at Bembe we grew some “Malagueta” peppers, a variety with -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.</p> - -<p>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 often a scarcity of them. 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</span> -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, reflecting 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 butterflies 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 that, poised on the wing -in the air, insert their long curved beaks into the petals in search of -the small insects and perhaps honey that constitute their food.</p> - -<p>The negroes of Angola always eat the banana raw, but it is roasted by -the whites when green, when it becomes 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 with a little sugar and cinnamon or wine,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</span> 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 with water, and eaten in the same manner as the “infundi” from -the mandioca-root.</p> - -<p>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 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 -“ngilló” (<i>Solanum sp.</i>), bearing a round apple-like fruit,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</span> -used as a vegetable; the ordinary pumpkin, and a species of small -gourd; and, lastly, the “quiavo” or “quingombó” (<i>Abelmoschus -esculentus</i>) of the Brazilians.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Blacks, as a rule, seldom engage in the chase. Antelopes, 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 the rats -and mice. Various devices are also employed 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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</span> ends of long -funnel-shaped traps of open flexible wickerwork are inserted. The -bushes are then beaten with sticks, and the rats, frightened out of -their haunts, rush along the 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.).</p> - -<p>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 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</span></p> - -<p>A large king-cricket (<i>Brachytrypes achatinus</i>) is greatly -relished everywhere, and the blacks are wonderfully 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 discover the exact place from whence the loud chirp of this -insect proceeds.</p> - -<p>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 travelling, 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.</p> - -<p>The “salalé,” or white ant, is eaten by the natives of 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 which to eat the “infundi.” -They have a very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</span> sharp taste, from the formic acid contained in them.</p> - -<p>The natives of Angola manufacture but one kind of drink, called -“uállua” 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 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 mandioca-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<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</span> ferments and is ready for use. It is -slightly milky in appearance, and when freshly made is sweetish and not -disagreeable in taste, but with the progress of fermentation becomes -acid and intoxicating. The rationale 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.</p> - -<p>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 ordinary lead -pencil, with a flat grass, or strips of palm leaf, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</span> 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 made -in the country, and when a cover is required, another basket inverted -is employed.</p> - -<p>The “loangos,” or “loandos” are large mats about four to five feet -long, and from two to four wide; they are made of the dry, straight, -flattened stems of the papyrus plant (<i>Papyrus antiquorum</i>), and -like the baskets are also not woven or plaited, but the stems are -passed through or sewn across at several places with fine string made -of baobab fibre. These mats are stiff, but at the same time thick and -soft; they are used for a variety of useful purposes, such as for -fencing, 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 luxuriantly -in all the pools, marshes, and wet places of Angola, and in many parts -lines the banks of the rivers. I have seen it growing everywhere, from -a few<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</span> 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 large 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.</p> - -<p>Very curious are the sounds that issue in the stillness of the night -from these papyrus-covered fields, principally from different species -of waterfowl; and I have often remained 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 hammers on -steel anvils—said to be made by a small species of frog.</p> - -<p>Nothing gives such an idea of the wonderful multiplicity of bird or -insect life in tropical<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</span> Africa, as the number and variety of sounds to -be heard at night. Every square foot of ground or marsh, every tree, -bush, or plant, seems to give out a buzz, chirp, or louder noise of -some sort. With the first streak of daylight these noises are suddenly -hushed, to be quickly succeeded by the various glad notes of the -awakened birds, and later on, when the sun’s rays are clear and hot, -the air is filled with the powerful whirr of the cicads on every tree.</p> - -<p>The “uzanzos” are a kind of sieve in the form of an openwork basket, -rather prettily and neatly made of the thin and split midrib of the -palm leaflets, in which the women sift mandioca, Indian corn, or -whatever else they may pound into meal in their wooden mortars. These -latter are “uzus,” and the long wooden pestles employed with them are -termed “muinzus” (Plate XII.).</p> - -<p>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 an ordinary knife, which they then call a “locombo.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</span></p> - -<p>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 by the traders on the coast. These dishes are invariably -made square in shape (Plate XIV.).</p> - - -<p class="center p2">END OF VOL. I.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</span></p> - - -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX.</h2> -</div> -<hr class="r5" /> - -<p class="center"> -A</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Abuses by authorities of Angola, i. <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Adansonias, abundance of, from River Congo to Mossamedes, i. <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">African fevers, facts and observations about, ii. 236.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Agave, i. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alligators, i. <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, ii. 123.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ambaca, natives of, ii. 103.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ambaquistas, natives of Ambaca, ii. 103.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ambriz, description of town, i. <a href="#Page_153">153</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">trade of, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">iron pier at, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">author’s return to, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">negroes, customs of the, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, vegetation of, i. <a href="#Page_30">30</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">exports from in 1874, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— to Mossamedes, i. <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— to Loanda country, ii. 1.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ambrizzette, witchcraft at, i. <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">treatment of a black for forgery, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Amydrus fulvipennis</i>, ii. 164.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Andrade, on board the, to Quanza, ii. 113.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Angola, discovery and early history, i. <a href="#Page_1">1</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">Portuguese possessions of, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">physical geography of, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">description of coastline, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">character of landscape, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">change of landscape at 13° S. lat., <a href="#Page_26">26</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">vegetation of from Ambriz to Bembe, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">slave trade in, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">statistics of slaves shipped in, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">division of, ii. 51;</li> -<li class="isuba">pay of governor and army officers, 52;</li> -<li class="isuba">abuses by authorities of, 54;</li> -<li class="isuba">climate of, 223;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</span></li> -<li class="isuba">effect of climate on Europeans, ii. 237;</li> -<li class="isuba">customs of the natives, ii. 268.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Angolœa fluitans</i>, ii. 133.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Anha River, ii. 173.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Animal food of the natives, i. <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Arachis hypogœa</i>, native name of, “mpinda,” or “ginguba,” i. <a href="#Page_129">129</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">description of, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">its cultivation, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">preparation of the nut and Chili pepper, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Arms and war, i. <a href="#Page_261">261</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Atacamite, where found, i <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Athletic sports at Sierra Leone, account of, ii. 315.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Author buys a slave, i. <a href="#Page_77">77</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">the slave’s ingratitude to, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">reception of by Senhor Chaves at Boma, i. <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">at a picnic organized by Senhor Chaves, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">catches four new species of fish at Boma, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">discoverer of the baobab fibre as a substance for paper-making, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">manages a malachite mine, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">accompanies <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Augustus Archer Silva to Quanza, ii. 112.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, mining explorations of, at Benguella, i. <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, ii. 191, 199.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">B</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Baba Bay, abundance of fish at, ii. 216.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Babies, treatment of, i. <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bagre fish, i. <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Bagrus</i>, “Bagre” fish, ii. 134.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Baobab-tree—<i>Adansonia digitata</i>, i. <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— bark, its application to paper-making (discovered by author in 1858), i. <a href="#Page_75">75</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">baobabs at Boma, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— or <i>Adansonia digitata</i>, as a substance for paper-making, i. <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">description of the tree, and use of the trunk, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.;</li> -<li class="isuba">mode of taking off the bark, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">its fruit, and mode of climbing it, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Banana, trading factories at, i. <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bananas, or plantains, i. <a href="#Page_294">294</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">as food, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Barra da Corimba, ii. <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Basalt, ii. 220.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bats, abundance of in churches, ii. 129.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bed-clothing of the natives, i. <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beer, native, manufacture of, i. <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bees—mode of getting honey, ii. 165.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bellows, native, ii. 93.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bembe, vegetation of, i. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">description of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— Fort, i. <a href="#Page_190">190</a>; soil about, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bengo river, ii. 16.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bengo to Loanda, vegetation, ii. 18.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Benguella, i. <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">mining operations at, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">country south of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">fertility of its soil, trade, &c., ii. 181;</li> -<li class="isuba">slave-trade at, 184.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— and Mossamedes, country between, ii. 212.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Berenjela, egg plant, i. <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bigode, or moustache-bird (<i>Crithagra ictera</i>), ii. 205.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bimba tree (<i>Herminiera Elaphroxylon</i>), ii. 195.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bimbas, birds at, ii. 206.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Birds of Boma, i. <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">habits of various kinds, <i>ib.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bitumen, ii. 11.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bleeding, fondness of the natives for, ii. 262.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Boma, as centre for slave-trade, i. <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">cultivation of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">birds of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">distrust of natives at, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bombó, preparation, i. <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bonny, landing at, i. <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Brachytrypes achatinus</i> (king cricket), i. <a href="#Page_299">299</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Brandy, use of in Africa, ii. 245.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bronchitis, &c., native treatment of, ii. 258.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bruto, plantation at, ii. 119.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Bucorax Abyssinicus</i> (hornbill), ii. 71.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bunda-speaking natives, indolence of, ii. 100.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Burial among the natives, i. <a href="#Page_276">276</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— and burial-places, ii. 275.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bustards, ii. 5.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bustards at Benguella, ii. 201.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Butterflies, species of, ii. 295.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</span></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">C</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Cabeça da Cobra to Ambriz—description of coast-line, i. <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">vegetation, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Cajanus indicus</i>, shrub, i. <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Calumbo, scenery, vegetation, &c., ii. 116.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cambambe, high grass at, i. <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">water at, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">cataracts at, ii. 133.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Camoensia maxima</i>, plant, i. <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cannibalism, ii. 157.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Capatas, or captains of the carriers, i. <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cardozo, Feo, on the “History of the Governors of Angola,” i. <a href="#Page_1">1</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Casca, preparation of, i. <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">effect by poisoning from, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cashew-tree, i. <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cassão, dogfish, ii. 207.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cassanza, country about, ii. 153.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cassytha—(<i>C. Guineensis?</i>), i. <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">at Luache, ii. 198.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Castor-oil plant in Novo Redondo and Benguella, i. <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Catinga, or odour of the natives, i. <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cattle, cause for absence of, i. <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— and other animals, mortality of, i. <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Catumbella, scenery and vegetation, ii. 178.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cazengo, abundance of food at, ii. 84-88.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Celis country, ii. 105.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Chameleons, ii. 109.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Circumcision among the natives, i. <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Civilization of the negro, i. <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Climate of Angola, effect on Europeans, ii. 237.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Coffee-trade, i. <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Coffee plantations, ii. 87;</li> -<li class="isuba">wild, about Golungo Alto and the Dembos, ii. 92.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cola fruit, ii. 37.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Commerce, i. <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Congo River, i. <a href="#Page_26">26</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">a boundary, i. <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">mouth of, i. <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, probable sources of, i. <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, ii. 69.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— to Ambriz, the country from, i. <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— River and Ambriz, system of trading, i. <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Congo, king of, i. <a href="#Page_213">213</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">customs of, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cookery of Angola natives, ii. 239.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Copper at Benguella, ii. 179;</li> -<li class="isuba">at Quileba, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Copper ore at Cuio Bay, ii. 198.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Coracias caudata</i>, manner of flying, &c., i. <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, ii. 19.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Corythaix Paulina</i>, plantain-eaters, superstitious dread of by the natives, ii. 74.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Corythornis cyanostigma</i>, kingfisher, ii. 121.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cotton growth at Cazengo, ii. 105.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Creepers, description of, i. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Crime, punishment for in Angola, ii. 46.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Crows (<i>Corvus scapulatus</i>), ii. 215.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cuacra, cannibalism at, ii. 155.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cuio Bay, ii. 198.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Cursorius Senegalensis</i>, ii. 19.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Customs of natives of the interior, ii. 99.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Cynocephalus sp.</i> of dog-faced monkey, ii. 194.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">D</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Dances of the natives, ii. 137.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dande River, ii. 15.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dead, “drying” of the, i. <a href="#Page_275">275</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Decamera Jovis-tonantis</i>, hard-wood shrub, preservative against lightning, ii. 99.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Diamba, hemp for smoking, ii. 26, 257.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dias, Captain, governor of Barra do Bengo, i. <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dirty habits of the natives, ii. 259.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dish, Angola native, i. <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dog’s sense of smell when nearing a negro, i. <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dombe Grande, rush of water down the Luache, i. <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, district of, ii. 196.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dondo town, ii. 130.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dress of the kings, i. <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— natives, i. <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Drunkenness of Englishmen, ii. 243.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dyes and paints, ii. 299.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dysentery, native treatment of, ii. 252.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">E</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Egg-trade, i. <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Egito river, ii. 169.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Eland steak, a breakfast of, ii. 224.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Engongui signal-bells, i. <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Entuchi, shrub, used for curing headache, ii. 251.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Epsom-salts, ii. 262.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Eriodendron anfractuosum</i>, cottonwood tree, ii. 86.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Erythrophlœum Guineense</i>, action of poison extracted from, i. <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Euphorbia tree, i. <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">abundance of, from River Congo to Mossamedes, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">in Ambriz, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Eusemia ochracea</i>, moth, i. <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">F</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Fairs, i. <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Falls of Cambambe, ii. 133.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Farofa, preparation, i. <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Farinha de pao, preparation, i. <a href="#Page_290">290</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fedegozo (<i>Cassia occidentalis</i>) as a substitute for quinine, ii. 249.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fetish, as a punishment to drunkards, i. <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">“Fetishes” of the negro, fetish men, &c., i. <a href="#Page_243">243</a>-<a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fetish-house, ii. 7.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fever, its prevention and cure, ii. 246;</li> -<li class="isuba">native treatment of, 249.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fevers at Bembe, i. <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fish, mode of cooking at Loanda, ii. 30.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— caught at Loanda, ii. 31.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— and fisheries between Benguella and Mossamedes, ii. 206.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Food, abundant growth at Cazengo, ii. 105.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Frogs as food, i. <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fruits, ii. 297.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Furniture of the natives, i. <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</span></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">G</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Gamboa, General, ii. 3.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Garapa, drink, i. <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Garlic as a food for hot climate, ii. 240.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gigantic grasses, i. <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Giraul river, ii. 218.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gold at Lombige, ii. 90.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Golungo Alto, ii. 85.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gorilla and Chimpanzee, where found, i. <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gourds of Cazengo and Pungo Andongo, ii. 104.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Grandy, Lieut., i. <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Grass, “Capim de faca” or knife-grass, i. <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">description of burning, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ground-nut, analysis, ii. 110.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gum-arabic at Mossamedes, ii. 218.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gum Elemi, called “mubafo,” i. <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gun-loading by the natives, i. <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gypsum, ii. 16.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">H</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Habits and customs of natives in Angola, ii. 268.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hammock, description of, i. <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Haricot-bean, i. <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Head, mode of shaving the, i. <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, “inhabitants” of the, trap for catching, and professional catchers, i. <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Herva Santa Maria (<i>Chenopodium ambrosioides</i>), ii. 250.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hippopotami in the River Quanza, ii. 124.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hornbill, the, ii. 73.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— (<i>Toccus elegans</i> and <i>Toccus Monteiri</i>), at Benguella, ii. 201.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hot-spring at Dongo, ii. 162.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Hydnora</i>, a Rafflesiaceous plant, ii. 207.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hydraulic-press for baleing the baobab fibre, i. <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hyenas steal the author’s sheep, ii. 81;</li> -<li class="isuba">attacked by wolf-hounds, 225.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</span></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">I</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Import-duties, ii. 61.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">India-rubber creeper, description of, i. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Indian-corn, i. <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Indolence of the Bunda-speaking natives, ii. 100.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Infundi, preparation, i. <a href="#Page_288">288</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ink, ingredients of native, ii. 98.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Insanity among the natives, i. <a href="#Page_279">279</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Iron-smelting at Cazengo, ii. 95.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ivory, i. <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">J</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Jasmine at Benguella, ii. 192.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Jasminum auriculatum, ii. 5.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— multipartitum, ii. 5.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">K</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Kew Gardens, author’s collection of plants in the herbarium at, i. <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kimpoaca, aversion of natives to the landing of hydraulic press, i. <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">King Parrot, where found, i. <a href="#Page_53">53</a>,</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kingfishers, ii. 121.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kinsao, mineral pitch at, i. <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">L</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst"><i>Landolphia, florida?</i> the tree-creeper that produces indiarubber, i. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Language of the different races, ii. 96.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lead ore, ii. 199.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Leeches, abundance of, ii. 266.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lemur, <i>Galago Monteiri</i>, ii. 306.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Libollo country, ii. 145.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Libongo, ii. 9.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lions at Carunjamba, ii. 209.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Lissochilus giganteus</i>, found at Porto da Lenha, i. <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Little Fish Bay, i. <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lizards, ii. 109.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Loanda, cause for change of vegetation, i. <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">baptizing slaves at, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, death of a boy in market-place at, i. <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, vegetation, ii. 18.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, city of <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Paul de, ii. 20;</li> -<li class="isuba">population, 22;</li> -<li class="isuba">style of building, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">market of, 25;</li> -<li class="isuba">custom of the ladies of, 33;</li> -<li class="isuba">dress of the people, 35;</li> -<li class="isuba">slavery in, 39;</li> -<li class="isuba">vegetation, 44;</li> -<li class="isuba">police of, 48;</li> -<li class="isuba">lighting of the city, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">theatre at, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">morals, <i>ib.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Loangos or Loandos’ mats, i, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lobato, Senhor, ii. 63.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lobito Bay, ii. 176.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Loranthus, seed of, used as bird-lime, ii. 205.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Luache river at Dombe Grande, i. <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, quicksands at, ii. 197.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">M</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">“Macotas,” or the council, i. <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Maculo, a disease peculiar to blacks, its treatment, ii. 252.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Malachite, ii. 161, 191.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, how and where found, i. <a href="#Page_191">191</a>-<a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Malagueta pepper, i. <a href="#Page_294">294</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Manatee, or woman-fish, ii. 17, 125.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mandioca plant, cultivation of, i. <a href="#Page_287">287</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">preparation, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, ii. 197.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mangrove tree, ii. 117.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Manis multiscutata</i>, ant-eating animal, ii. 278.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Manoel Vacca, notorious pirate, i. <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Maquata, the red gum-copal, i. <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Maracachão bird (<i>Pytelia elegans</i>), ii. 205.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Marble column at Santa Maria Cape, commemorating its discovery, ii. 216.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Marriage law of the natives, i. <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Massangano town, ii. 128.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mateba palm, abundance of, from River Congo to Ambrizzette, i. <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Matuta, change of scenery and vegetation, i. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, visit to, i. <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mineral pitch, i. <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mirage at Mossamedes, ii. 231.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mossamedes, i. <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— (Little Fish Bay), ii. 217.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, climate, society, &c., ii. 232.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mosquitoes, i. <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mourning of the natives, i. <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mucelis, i. <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mucoandos tribe, ii. 226.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mucozo river, i. <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, ii. 66.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mundombes, the inhabitants of Benguella, their clothing, vegetation, mode of eating meat, &c., ii. 186;</li> -<li class="isuba">their arms, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Muinzus or pestles, i. <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mule, dislike to being harnessed by a negro, i. <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Muqueca, its ingredients, ii. 239.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Muquices tribe, ii. 227.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Mus Gambianus</i>, ii. 168.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mushicongo negroes, customs of, i. <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">mode of building their huts, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">furniture of the, <i>ib.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Musical instruments of the natives, ii. 139.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mussera, town, i. <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mussurougo tribe, pirates, i. <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">ankle-rings worn by, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">customs of, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Muxima town, ii. 122.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Muxixe tree, i. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</span></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">N</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Native remedies for diseases, ii. 263.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Natives, custom of, in case of death, after the administration of medicine, or after the performance of an operation, i. <a href="#Page_73">73</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">objection of to work for wages, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">fear of at sight of a steamer, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">customs of the, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">bed-clothing, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Navigation of Rivers Dande, Bengo, &c., i. <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nborotuto shrub, ii. 70.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ncombo, or goat-root, used to flavour tobacco, ii. 270.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Nectariniæ</i>, i. <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Negro cook making forcemeat balls, i. <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Negro, insensibility of the, i. <a href="#Page_69">69</a>-<a href="#Page_75">75</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">ingratitude of the, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">character of the, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">absence of affection in the, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">social laws of the, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">absence of sympathy in the, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">absence of cruelty in the, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">“fetishes” of the, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">toilet of, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">mode of shaving the head, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Negroes, odour of, i. <a href="#Page_36">36</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">ankle-rings worn by, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">customs of, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ngilló, vegetable, i. <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Novo Redondo, i. <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— natives of, ii. 155-159.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Nymphœa dentata</i> and <i>stellata</i>, water-lily, ii. 121.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">O</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Oil, dog-fish, ii. 207.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Oil-palm at Bembe, i. <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ophthalmia, its rarity, ii. 258.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Orange River, i. <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Orchilla-weed, ii. 184.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ordeal by poison, i. <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ornaments of kings’ and macotas’ wives, i. <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ox-bird (<i>Buphaga Africana</i>), ii. 204.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Oxen trained for riding, ii. 218.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</span></li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">P</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Palm-chop, i. <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— tree, mode of climbing, i. <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— wine, i. <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Panda or wattled crane (<i>Grus carunculata</i>), ii. 203.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Paper-making, baobab-tree in its application to, i. <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Papyrus, growth of, i. <a href="#Page_302">302</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pedra grande, or “big stone,” ii. 221.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Pentalobus barbatus</i>, beetle, i. <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pepper, Chili, &c., i. <a href="#Page_293">293</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Picnic at Boma, visit of the nine kings, i. <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pirão, preparation, i. <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pitch, mineral, ii. 9.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Plants used by natives for cure of dysentery or diarrhœa, ii. 252.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Plaster-of-paris, manufactured by author from gypsum-rock, ii. 200.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Polygamy among the natives, i. <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Porcupines, ii. 297.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Porto da Lenha, description of, i. <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— Domingos, ii. 66.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Potato, sweet, i. <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Productions of Cazengo, ii. 105.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Products from River Congo to Ambriz, i. <a href="#Page_119">119</a>-<a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Ptyelus olivaceus</i>, or spit-frog, ii. 108.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pungo Andongo range, description of scenery, i. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">——, natives of, ii. 102.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pungo fish, i. <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Purgatives used by the natives, ii. 262.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">Q</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Quanza River, i. <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, ii. 113.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">“Queimada,” burning grass, description of, i. <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quiavo, or Quingombó, i. <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quiballa, i. <a href="#Page_30">30</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">description of country, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— to Bembe, i. <a href="#Page_181">181</a>-<a href="#Page_187">187</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quifandongo, ii. 19.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quileba, copper at, ii. 191.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quilumbo, i. <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quinbundo natives, ii. 146.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quincollo, i. <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quindas or baskets, i. <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quingombe, i. <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quinine—fedegozo used as a substitute by Portuguese, ii. 249.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quioco bird, ii. 79.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quipupa, spring of ferruginous water at, ii. 196.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quiquanga, preparation, i. <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quirandas, shell-bead ornaments, ii. 169.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quissama country, ii. 144.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— ladies, fashions of the, ii. 147.</li> -</ul> - -<p class="center">R</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Rain, fall of, i. <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rat-catching, i. <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rats, as food, i. <a href="#Page_298">298</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">at Libongo, ii. 8.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Root parasite, i. <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, ii. 207.</li> - -</ul> -<p class="center">S</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Salalé, or white ant, i. <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, ii. 277.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Salt, i. <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">San Francisco River, ii. 196.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">San Salvador, i. <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sand-grouse—<i>Pterocles namaquus</i>, ii. 201.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sangue-sangue, tall grass, ii. <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sanseviera plant, i. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Santa Maria Cape, ii. 214.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sarna, a kind of itch common among blacks, ii. 259.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Scents, ii. 299.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Scorpions, effects of their sting, ii. 170, 171.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Scopus umbretta</i>, heron-like bird, ii. 73.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Senhor Chaves, i. <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">organizes a picnic, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Sesamum indicum</i> seed, i. <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Sesbania punctata</i>, Pers., shrub common in marshes, ii. 176.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sharks, absence of south of River Congo, i. <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Silva, <abbr title="Mister">Mr.</abbr> Augustus Archer, accompanies author to Quanza, ii. <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Silver in Cambambe, ii. 62.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Skin-disease, treatment of, ii. 261.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Slave, author buys a, i. <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Slaves shipped in Angola, statistics of, i. <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">treatment of in case of famine, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">native laws regarding, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">cost of, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Slave-trade, i. <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">explanation of in Angola, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— at Benguella, ii. 185.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Slavery, i. <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">observance of laws, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">witchcraft in, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">ordeal by poison, <i>ib.</i>;</li> -<li class="isuba">in Loanda, ii. 39;</li> -<li class="isuba">author’s views on abolition of, 41.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sleep-disease, i. <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">description of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Snakes, ii. 300.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Soba, a, visits the author, ii. 173.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">—— Dumbo, formerly a powerful king, ii. 67.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Solanum saponaceum</i>, fruit of the, used as soap, ii. 111.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Solé, bird, ii. 166.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sounds of birds, &c., i. <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sphynx moths, ii. 304.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Spit-frog, the, ii. 108.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Spring-bok, near Mossamedes, ii. 213.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Sterculia tomentosa</i>, i. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sulphate of magnesia, ii. 220.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sulphur at Dombe Grande, ii. 197.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Suspension-bridge at Novo Redondo, ii. 159.</li> -</ul> - -<p class="center">T</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">“Tangandando,” india-rubber, i. <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tobacco, its efficacy for inflammation of bowels, ii. 263;</li> -<li class="isuba">its use by natives, 269.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Toilet of the negro, i. <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Trading between River Congo and Ambriz, i. <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Traps to catch “inhabitants” of the head, i. <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Travelling, mode of, i. <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Treron calva</i>, pigeon, ii. 164.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Trial of a man for bewitching the spirit of his dead wife, i. <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Trionyx nilotica</i>, tortoise, ii. 125.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Turacus cristatus</i>, plantain-eater, ii. 86.</li> -</ul> - -<p class="center">U</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Uallua, drink, i. <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ulcers, native remedies for, ii. 253.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Uzanzos, baskets or sieves, i. <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Uzus, or mortars, i. <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.</li> -</ul> - -<p class="center">V</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Vegetables, growth of, at Bembe, i. <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vegetation of Angola, from Ambriz to Bembe, i. <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">from River Congo to Mossamedes, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Viuva, or long-tailed whydah-finch (<i>Vidua paradisea</i>), ii. 205.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Voandzeia subterranea</i>, ii. 111.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Volcanic rocks, ii. 69, 220.</li> -</ul> - -<p class="center">W</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Wages of Englishmen in Africa, ii. 243.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Water, mode of getting, in dry season, i. <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">finding of at Cambambe, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">curious deposits of ii. 221.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Watercress, ii. 93.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wasps, ii. 287, 291.</li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Welwitschia, mirabilis</i>, plant, ii. 229.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">White men, reception of, by king, i. <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wild-hemp smoking, ii. 257.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Witchcraft at Ambrizzette, i. <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Women’s work, i. <a href="#Page_285">285</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Writing, style of employed by natives, ii. 315.</li> -</ul> - -<p class="center">Z</p> -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Zebras at Benguella, ii. 194.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Zombo tribe, mode of dressing the hair, &c., i. <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</li> -</ul> - - -<p class="center p4"> -LONDON:<br /> -PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,<br /> -STANFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.<br /> -</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - - -<p>A few minor errors in punctuation were fixed.</p> - -<p>“Sanseviera Angolensis” changed to “Sansevieria Angolensis” in a few -locations throughout the text.</p> - -<p>Some of the plate references refer to the second volume and as such, have been left unlinked.</p> - -<p>The index has been copied from the second volume into the first, although it is not present in the original.</p> -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - 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