238 SALE OP IVORY. 



vious to the Portuguese expedition of 1850 to punish the 

 Bangala. 



This valley, as I have before remarked, is all fertile in 

 the extreme. My men could never cease admiring its 

 capability for raising tneir corn (Holcus sorghum) and 

 despising the comparatively-limited cultivation of the in- 

 habitants. The Portuguese informed me that no manure 

 is ever needed, but that the more the ground is tilled the 

 better it yields. Virgin soil does not give such a heavy 

 crop as an old garden ; and, judging from the size of the 

 maize and manioc in the latter, I can readily believe the 

 statement. Cattle do well, too. Viewing the valley as a 

 whole, it may be said that its agricultural and pastoral 

 riches are lying waste. Both the Portuguese and their 

 descendants turn their attention almost exclusively to 

 trade in wax and ivory; and, though the country would 

 yield any amount of corn and dairy-produce, the native 

 Portuguese live chiefly on manioc, and the Europeans 

 purchase their flour, bread, butter, and cheese from the 

 Americans. 



As the traders of Cassange were the first white men we 

 had come to, we sold the tusks belonging to Sekeletu, which 

 had been brought to test the difference of prices in the Ma- 

 kololo and white men's country. The result was highly 

 satisfactory to my companions, as the Portuguese give 

 much larger prices for ivory than traders from the Cap© 

 can possibly give, who labor under the disadvantage of con- 

 siderable overland expenses and ruinous restrictions. Two 

 muskets, three small barrels of gunpowder, and English 

 calico and baize sufficient to clothe my whole party, with 

 large bunches of beads, all for one tusk, were quite delight- 

 ful for those who had been accustomed to give two tusks 

 for one gun. With another tusk we procured calico, which 

 here is the chief currency, to pay our way down to the 

 coast. The remaining two were sold for money to purchase 

 a horse for Sekeletu at Loanda. 



The superiority of this new market was quite astound- 



