XXX.] 



THE RIVER KWANZA. 389 



CHAPTEE XXX. 



The Kwanza.— Its Navigation.— Neat Villages.— Convivial Gathering.— A Head of 

 Hair.— Cattle-plague.— The Kokema.— Filthy Villages.— A Lively Chase.— Recep- 

 tion of Alvez. — Payment of his Porters. — Soap and Onions. — My Ragged Crew. — 

 Alvez cheats Me at parting.— A Man in Tears.— An Archery-meeting. — A Torna- 

 do. The Town of Kagnombe. — Its Size. — Kagnombe's Officials. — A Secretary un- 

 able to write. — Mshiri's Men. — Their Journeys from Coast to Coast. — Kagnombe's 



Levee. My Seat of Honor. — Kagnombe's Best Clothes. — His Full Style and Title. 



—Strong Drink.— Fetich Place.— Skulls.— Graves.— His Guards.— His Hat.— Sen- 

 hor Gon9alves.— His House.— Breakfast.— He tells Me his History.— His Kindness 

 and Hospitality.— The Influence of Men of his Type. 



Early on the 2d of October we broke up our camp, and, de- October, 

 scending a bank twenty-five feet in lieiglit, came upon a dead ^^"i^- 

 level a mile and a half across. On the farther side of this 

 flowed the Kwanza, which floods the whole of this plain in the 

 rainy season. ' 



Before reaching the river we passed several small pools and 

 swampy places, where numerous water -fowl were disporting 

 themselves, and I shot a small but very pretty snow-white her- 

 on. The river was sixty yards wide, and more than three fath- 

 oms deep in the middle, with a current of barely three-cpiarters 

 of a knot. 



On the opposite side were two villages situated on a bank 

 similar to that near our last camp. They were inhabited by 

 the ferry people, who owned numerous canoes ; but they were 

 very miserable, rickety constructions, from sixteen to eighteen 

 feet long, with only eighteen inches beam. 



Instead of intrusting my box of journals and instruments to 

 them, I put my india-rubber boat into working order, and fer- 

 ried my people and stores across in her, much to the astonish- 

 ment of the natives. It was fortunate I adopted this course, 

 for several canoes capsized, and some slaves narrowly escaped 

 drowning. Two who were tied together, and were unable to 



