MASSANGANO. 263 



levied upon the fishermen of the Coanza. This fish is so 

 much relished in the country that those who do not wish 

 to eat them can easily convert them into money. The 

 commandant of the district of Massangano, for instance, 

 has a right to a dish of three hundred every morning, as 

 part of his salary. Shell-fish are also found in the Coanza, 

 and the " Peixemulher," or woman-fish of the Portuguese, 

 which is probably a Manatee. 



We found the town of Massangano on a tongue of rather 

 high land formed by the left bank of the Lucalla and right 

 bank of the Coanza, and received true Portuguese hospi- 

 tality from Senhor Lubata. The town has more than a 

 thousand inhabitants : the district has 28,063, with only 

 315 slaves. 



Massangano district is well adapted for sugar and rice, 

 while Cambambe is a very superior field for cotton ; but 

 the bar at the mouth of the Coanza would prevent the ap- 

 proach of a steamer into this desirable region, though a 

 small one could ply on it with ease when once in. 



The latitude of the town and fort of Massangano is 9° 

 37' 46" S., being nearly the same as that of Cassange. The 

 country between Loanda and this point being compara- 

 tively flat, a railroad might be constructed at small ex- 

 pense. The level country is prolonged along the north 

 bank of the Coanza to the edge of the Cassange basin, and 

 a railway carried thither would be convenient for the trans- 

 port of the products of the rich districts of Cassange, 

 Pungo Andongo, Ambaca, Cambambe, Golungo Alto, Ca- 

 zengo, Muchima, and Calumbo, — in a word, the whole of 

 Angola and independent tribes adjacent to this kingdom. 



Returning by ascending the Lucalla into Cazengo, we 

 had an opportunity of visiting several flourishing coffee- 

 plantations, and observed that several men, who had begun 

 with no capital but honest industry, had in the course of 

 a few years acquired a comfortable subsistence. One of 

 these, Mr. Pinto, generously furnished me with a good 

 supply of his excellent coffee, and my men with a breed 



