COUNTRY AROUND CASSANGE. 2S7 



manners of superiors to inferiors is probably the result of 

 the position they occupy, — a few whites among ttu usands 

 of blacks; but nowhere else in Africa is there so much 

 good-will between Europeans and natives as here. If some 

 border-colonists had the absolute certainty of our Govern- 

 ment declining to bear them out in their arrogance, we 

 should probably hear less of Caffre insolence. It is inso- 

 lence which begets insolence. 



From the village of Cassange we have a good view of 

 the surrounding country : it is a gently-undulating plain, 

 covered with grass and patches of forest. The western 

 edge of the Quango valley appears, about twenty miles 

 off, as if it were a range of lofty mountains, and passes by 

 the name of Tala Mungongo, ("Behold the Kange.") In 

 the old Portuguese map, to which I had been trusting in 

 planning my route, it is indicated as Talla Mugongo, or 

 "Castle of Bocks!" and the Coanza is put down as rising 

 therefrom; but here I was assured that the Coanza had 

 its source near Bihe, far to the southwest of this, and we 

 should not see that river till we came near Pungo Andonga. 

 It is somewhat remarkable that more accurate information 

 about this country has not been published. Captain Nevea 

 and others had a correct idea of the courses of the rivers, 

 and communicated their knowledge freely; yet about this 

 time maps were sent to Europe from Angola representing 

 the Quango and Coanza as the same river, and Cassange 

 placed about one hundred miles from its true position. 

 The frequent recurrence of the same name has probably 

 helped to increase the confusion. I have crossed several 

 Quangos, but all insignificant except that which drains this 

 valley. The repetition of the favorite names of chiefs, as 

 Oatende, is also perplexing, as one Catende may be mis- 

 taken for another. To avoid this confusion as much as 

 possible, I have refrained from introducing many names. 

 Numerous villages are studded all over the valley; but 

 these possess no permanence, and many more existed pre- 



