GUIDES PREPAID. 383 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Guides prepaid. — Bark Canoes. — Deserted by Guides. — Mistakes respecting the 

 Coanza. — Peelings of freed Slaves. — Gardens and Villages. — Native Traders. — 

 A Grave. — "Valley of the Quango. — Bamboo. — White Larva used as Food. — 

 Bashinje Insolence.-^A posing Question. — The Chief Sansawe. — His Hostility. 

 — Pass him safely. — The River Quango. — Chiefs mode of dressing his Hair. — 

 Opposition. — Opportune Aid by Cypriano. — His generous Hospitality. — Ability of 

 Half-castes to read and write. — Books and Images. — Marauding Party burned 

 in the Grass. — Arrive at Cassange. — A good Supper. — Kindness of Captain 

 Neves. — Portuguese Curiosity and Questions. — Anniversary of the Resurrection. 

 — No Prejudice against Color. — Country around Cassange. — Sell Sekeletu's Ivory. 

 — Makololo's Surprise at the high Price obtained. — Proposal to return Home, and 

 Reasons. — Soldier-guide. — Hill Kasala. — Tala Mungongo, Village of. — Civility of 

 Basongo. — True Negroes. — A Pield of Wheat. — Carriers. — Sleeping-places. — 

 Fever. — Enter District of Ambaca. — Good Fruits of Jesuit Teaching. — The Tam- 

 pan ; its Bite. — Universal Hospitality of the Portuguese. — A Tale of the Mam- 

 bari. — Exhilarating Effects of Highland Scenery. — District of Golungo Alto. — 

 Want of good Roads. — Fertility. — Forests of gigantic Timber. — Native Carpen- 

 ters. — Coffee Estate. — Sterility of Country near the Coast. — Musquitoes. — Fears 

 of the Makololo. — Welcome by Mr. Gabriel to Loanda. 



24tA. Ionga Panza's sons agreed to act as guides into the 

 territory of the Portuguese if I would give them the shell given 

 by Shinte. I was strongly averse to this, and especially to give 

 it beforehand, but yielded to the entreaty of my people to ap- 

 pear as if showing confidence in these hopeful youths. They 

 urged that they wished to leave the shell with their wives, as a 

 sort of payment to them for enduring their husbands' absence 

 so long. Having delivered the precious shell, we went west- 

 by-north to the River Chikapa, which here (lat. 10° 22 / S.) is 

 forty or fifty yards wide, and at present was deep ; it was seen 

 flowing over a rocky, broken cataract with great noise about 

 half a mile above our ford. We were ferried over in a canoe, 

 made out of a single piece of bark sewed together at the ends, 

 and having sticks placed in it at different parts to act as ribs. 

 The word Chikapa means bark or skin ; and as this is the only 

 river in which we saw this kind of canoe used, and we heard 



