440 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. 



.Fanuary, shoi'tl)^ afterward lier sister-ship, the 8do Jodo de Ulloa, being 

 1876." for sale, the consul and myself bought her for one thousand 

 pounds, and fitted her out for the cruise. 



There then seemed no prospect of finding any one to navi- 

 gate her round the Cape, and I therefore made up my mind to 



do it myself. 



Fortunately I was relieved from the necessity of this duty by 

 Captain Carl Alexanderson, F.R.G.S.— well known to the Eoyal 

 Geographical Society for his survey of the lower waters of the 

 river Kwanza — volunteering to take the command. Knowing 

 him to be a thoroughly good sailor, I intrusted him with the 

 connnand, feeling perfectly confident that the navigation of the 

 schooner — which, on transfer to the English flag, I had renamed 

 the Frances Cameron, after my mother — could not be in better 

 hands. 



In refitting tlie schooner, we were assisted by men kindly lent 

 from the Portuguese guard-ship by Admiral Andrade, and I 

 also received help from the Cygnet when she was in harbor. 



Some little trouble arose on a few occasions between my 

 men and the native police, and it was amusing to see my fel- 

 lows bringing a policeman's cap or sword to the consulate, to 

 complain of the conduct of the man to whom either of these 

 belonged. They rightly judged that the owner must reclaim his 

 property, and then they would be able to identify him and state 

 their grievance. Owing to the great consideration and kindness 

 of the governor-general and Lieutenant Mello, nothing serious 

 came of these squabbles. 



As the schooner could not be ready to leave Loanda for some 

 time, I went up to Kinsembo with Mr. Tait, a merchant who 

 had a house there, that I might have an insight of a trader's 

 life when away from any settlement. AYe had a tedious and 

 disagreeable passage in a sailing-boat generally used for cargo, 

 the bilges not being as clean as they might have been. 



Kinsembo consists of half a dozen establishments belonging 

 to difl^erent firms, and, being north of the Portuguese boundary, 

 trade is carried on without any formalities as to custom-house, 

 etc. I wished much to visit a famous rock called the Column 

 of Kinsembo, on which there are reported to be inscriptions by 

 Vasco de Gama and other early Portuguese discoverers ; but 



