A SOLDIEE-GUIDE. 405 



they could to make my men and me comfortable during our stay ; 

 but, there being no hotels in Loanda, they furnished me with let- 

 ters of recommendation to their friends in that city, requesting 

 them to receive me into their houses, for without these a stranger 

 might find himself a lodger in the streets. May God remember 

 them in their day of need ! 



The latitude and longitude of Cassange, the most easterly sta- 

 tion of the Portuguese in Western Africa, is lat. 9° 37' 30" S., and 

 long. 17° 49' E. ; consequently we had still about 300 miles to 

 traverse before we could reach the coast. We had a black militia 

 corporal as a guide. He was a native of Ambaca, and, like nearly 

 all the inhabitants of that district, known by the name of Amba- 

 kistas, could both read and write. He had three slaves with him, 

 and was carried by them in a " tipoia," or hammock slung to a 

 pole. His slaves were young, and unable to convey him far at a 

 time, but he was considerate enough to walk except when we came 

 near to a village. He then mounted his tipoia and entered the 

 village in state ; his departure was made in the same manner, and 

 he continued in the hammock till the village was out of sight. It 

 was interesting to observe the manners of our soldier-guide. Two 

 slaves were always employed in carrying his tipoia, and the third 

 carried a wooden box, about three feet long, containing his writing 

 materials, dishes, and clothing. He was cleanly in all his ways, 

 and, though quite black himself, when he scolded any one of his 

 own color, abused him as a "negro." When he wanted to pur- 

 chase any article from a village, he would sit down, mix a little 

 gunpowder as ink, and write a note in a neat hand to ask the 

 price, addressing it to the shopkeeper with the rather pompous 

 title, " Illustrissimo Senhor" (Most Illustrious Sir). This is the 

 invariable mode of address throughout Angola. The answer re- 

 turned would be in the same style, and, if satisfactory, another 

 note followed to conclude the bargain. There is so much of this 

 note correspondence carried on in Angola, that a very large quan- 

 tity of paper is annually consumed. Some other peculiarities of 

 our guide were not so pleasing. A land of slaves is a bad school 

 for even the free ; and I was sorry to find less truthfulness and 

 honesty in him than in my own people. We were often cheated 

 through his connivance with the sellers of food, and could perceive 

 that he got a share of the plunder from them. The food is very 



