Observers' Field Reports 145 



Benguela, 23 miles from Lobito, is a well-planned town on the seacoast, with large 

 cool houses of stone and plaster, many of which are surrounded by high-walled com- 

 pounds, a relic of the old slave-days. Soon after leaving Benguela, the railway climbs 

 over an arid mountainous region, after which it runs over a pleasant wooded plateau, 

 where the fresh cool air is a delightful sensation to the traveler from the west coast. 

 There are no large settlements, though the region round Huambo and Bailundu is 

 suitable for agriculture and grazing. After the completion of observations at Huambo 

 (5,400 feet above sea-level), where one station (1916) was reoccupied and another 

 established, the journey was continued by rail to Bela Vista, where I was hospitably 

 received by the American Board Mission Station. Owing to the difficulty of engaging 

 carriers at the rail-head, Xinguari, a caravan was formed at Bela Vista and the overland 

 journey commenced April 7. Observations were made at the rail-head the same day, 

 and the party continued to Belmonte, the administrative capital of the Bie plateau, a 

 journey of about 75 kilometers. An automobile meets the weekly mail train, but as there 

 is no arrangement for baggage, we did not use it. In general, the motor-road was fol- 

 lowed over a wind-swept, rolling plateau, with grassy, well-watered valleys and wooded 

 ridges. A few native villages were passed en route, besides a few plantations worked 

 by white men. There are no rest-houses and it is therefore necessary to camp. The 

 natives carry loads of 30 kilos, besides the 5 kilos they add for their few personal effects 

 and rations for the journey. It is customary to give each man 1 kilo of meal flour, 

 a few beans, and a spoonful of salt for a day's ration. 



Belmonte was reached on the morning of April 10. It is a small town with a hotel 

 and a few stores built around the early settlement made by the Portuguese pioneer 

 Selva Porte. A motor road has been constructed to the Cuanza River, about 70 miles 

 distant, but again it was necessary to trek with carriers because the equipment and 

 supplies for the long overland journey were too bulky. A caravan of 30 carriers was 

 assembled at the American Board Mission station of Camundongo with the kind help 

 of the missionary, Mr. W. H. Sanders, and a start was made for Moxico, April 15. Be- 

 yond the Cuanza lies the "Hungry Country," so named because for a march of 250 

 kilometers no supplies are obtainable. There is but one Portuguese post, midway, and 

 but one village. This stage of the journey therefore presents some difficulty to the 

 traveler, as food for about 15 days must be carried. The custom is to give to every two 

 carriers a youth to carry their food; hence for the 20 men employed to transport the 

 equipment and supplies, 10 boys were taken. The Biheans, or Umbundu tribe of the Bie 

 district, are fine carriers, and by early contact with the Portuguese, are somewhat 

 civilized. In the slave raiding days they were sent in parties far into the interior, with 

 supplies of guns and powder, knives and cloth to barter for slaves with the various 

 chiefs. Their wanderings often took them as far as Lake Tanganyika and even across 

 to the Lower Zambezi. The slaves so procured were then marched down to the west 

 coast, carrying loads of ivory and rubber. 



The climate on the Bihe Plateau was delightful; fine, sunny, cloudless days, com- 

 fortably warm in the sun, and cold nights. In June and July (winter months), frost 

 and ice form in the valleys. It is good cattle country, while European fruits and vege- 

 tables, besides oranges, lemons and limes, are grown with great success. 



After leaving Camundongo, we regained the motor-road at Belmonte (18 kilometers) 

 and followed it to the Cuanza Fort, after a stay for observation midway at Chissamba. 

 The road gradually descends from an altitude of 5,500 feet at Belmonte to 4,300 feet at 

 the Cuanza River, which is crossed by a pontoon, large enough to take wagons. The 

 fort was reached April 20 and observations were made the same day. On April 22 the 

 "Hungry Country" was entered in real earnest, and several human skeletons were 

 passed during the morning's march, the remains of unfortunate carriers who had fallen 



