TALA MUNGONGO. 407 



was steep and slippery ; deep gorges appear on each side of it, 

 leaving but a narrow path along certain spurs of the sierra for the 

 traveler ; but we accomplished the ascent in an hour, and when 

 there, found we had just got on to a table-land similar to that we 

 had left before we entered the great Quango valley. We had 

 come among lofty trees again. One of these, bearing a fruit 

 about the size of a thirty-two pounder, is named Mononga-zambi. 



We took a glance back to this valley, which equals that of the 

 Mississippi in fertility, and thought of the vast mass of material 

 which had been scooped out and carried away in its formation. 

 This naturally led to reflection on the countless ages required for 

 the previous formation and deposition of that same material (clay 

 shale), then of the rocks, whose abrasion formed that, until the 

 mind grew giddy in attempting to ascend the steps which lead up 

 through a portion of the eternity before man. The different 

 epochs of geology are like landmarks in that otherwise shoreless 

 sea. Our own epoch, or creation, is but another added to the 

 number of that wonderful series which presents a grand display 

 of the mighty power of God : every stage of progress in the earth 

 and its habitants is such a display. So far from this science 

 having any tendency to make men undervalue the power or love 

 of God, it leads to the probability that the exhibition of mercy we 

 have in the gift of his Son may possibly not be the only mani- 

 festation of grace which has taken place in the countless ages dur- 

 ing which works of creation have been going on. 



Situated a few miles from the edge of the descent, we found 

 the village of Tala Mungongo, and were kindly accommodated 

 with a house to sleep in, which was very welcome, as we were all 

 both wet and cold. We found that the greater altitude and the 

 approach of winter lowered the temperature so much that many 

 of my men suffered severely from colds. At this, as at several 

 other Portuguese stations, they have been provident enough to 

 erect travelers' houses on the same principle as khans or cara- 

 vanserais of the East. They are built of the usual wattle and 

 daub, and have benches of rods for the wayfarer to make his bed 

 on ; also chairs, and a table, and a large jar of water. These 

 benches, though far from luxurious couches, were better than the 

 ground under the rotten fragments of my gipsy-tent, for we had 

 still showers occasionally, and the dews were very heavy. I con- 



