DISTRICT OF AJMBACA. 413 



to give up observations by night altogether. The inside of the 

 only covering I now had was not much better, but under the 

 blanket one is not so liable to the chill which the dew produces. 



It would have afforded me pleasure to have cultivated a more 

 intimate acquaintance with the inhabitants of this part of the 

 country, but the vertigo produced by frequent fevers made it as 

 much as I could do to stick on the ox and crawl along in misery. 

 In crossing the Lombe, my ox Sinbad, in the indulgence of his 

 propensity to strike out a new path for himself, plunged overhead 

 into a deep hole, and so soused me that I was obliged to move 

 on to dry my clothing, without calling on the Europeans who live 

 on the bank. This I regretted, for all the Portuguese were very 

 kind, and, like the Boers placed in similar circumstances, feel it a 

 slight to be passed without a word of salutation. But we went 

 on to a spot where orange-trees had been planted by the natives 

 themselves, and where abundance of that refresning fruit was ex- 

 posed for sale. 



On entering the district of Ambaca, we found the landscape en- 

 livened by the appearance of lofty mountains in the distance, the 

 grass comparatively short, and the whole country at this time look- 

 ing gay and verdant. On our left we saw certain rocks of the 

 same nature with those of Pungo Andongo, and which closely re- 

 semble the Stonehenge group on Salisbury Plain, only the stone 

 pillars here are of gigantic size. This region is all wonderfully 

 fertile, famed for raising cattle, and all kinds of agricultural prod- 

 uce, at a cheap rate. The soil contains sufficient ferruginous 

 matter, to impart a red tinge to nearly the whole of it. It is 

 supplied with a great number of little flowing streams which 

 unite in the Lucalla. This river drains Ambaca, then falls into 

 the Coanza to the southwest at Massangano. We crossed the 

 Lucalla by means of a large canoe kept there by a man who farms 

 the ferry from the government, and charges about a penny per 

 head. A few miles beyond the Lucalla we came to the village 

 of Ambaca, an important place in former times, but now a mere 

 paltry village, beautifully situated on a little elevation in a plain 

 surrounded on all hands by lofty mountains. It has a jail, and 

 a good house for the commandant, but neither fort nor church, 

 though the ruins of a place of worship are still standing. 



We were most kindly received by the commandant of Ambaca, 



