DECADENCE OF PORTUGUESE POWER. 407 



power in this quarter. It is a small square building, with 

 a thatched apartment for the residence of the troops ; and, 

 though there are but few guns, they are in a much better 

 state than those of any fort in the interior of Angola. 

 The eause of the decadence of the Portuguese power in 

 this region is simply this : — In former times, considerable 

 quantities of grain, as wheat, millet, and maize, were ex- 

 ported; also coffee, sugar, oil, and indigo, besides gold-dust 

 and ivory. The cultivation of grain was carried on by 

 means of slaves, of whom the Portuguese possessed a large 

 number. The gold-dust was procured by washing at various 

 points on the north, south, and west of Tete. A merchant 

 took all his .slaves with him to the washings, carrying as 

 much calico and other goods as he could muster. On 

 arriving at the washing-place, he made a present to the 

 chief of the value of about a pound sterling. The slaves 

 were then divided into parties, each headed by a confiden- 

 tial servant, who not only had the supervision of his squad 

 while the washing went on, but bought dust from the inhabit- 

 ants and made a weekly return to his master. When several 

 masters united at one spot, it was called a "Bara;" and 

 they then erected a temporary church, in which a priest 

 from one of the missions performed mass. Both chiefs 

 and people were favorable to these visits, because the 

 traders purchased grain for the sustenance of the slaves 

 with the goods they had brought. They continued at this 

 labor until the whole of the goods were expended ; and by 

 this means about one hundred and thirty pounds of gold 

 were annually produced. Probably more than this was 

 actually obtained, but, as it was an article easily secreted, 

 this alone was submitted to the authorities for taxation. At 

 present the whole amount of gold obtained annually by 

 the Portuguese is from eight to ten pounds only. When 

 the slave-trade began, it seemed to many of the merchants 

 a more speedy mode of becoming rich to sell off the slaves 

 than to pursue the slow mode of gold-washing and agricul- 

 ture :md thov continued to- export them until they had 



