THE KUMBANZO. 



693 



The Kumbanzo Leaves, Pods, and Seeds. 



foot or fifteen inches in length, and contain a groove on their 

 inner sides. The thick soft bark of the root is the part used by 

 the natives ; the Portuguese use that of the tree itself. I imme- 

 diately began to use a decoction of the bark of the root, and my 

 men found it so efficacious that they collected small quantities of 

 it for themselves, and kept it in little bags for future use. Some 

 of them said that they knew it in their own country, but I never 

 happened to observe it. The decoction is given after the first 

 paroxysm of the complaint is over. The Portuguese believe it to 

 have the same effects as the quinine, and it may prove a substi- 

 tute for that invaluable medicine. 



There are numbers of other medicines in use among the na- 

 tives, but I have always been obliged to regret want of time to 

 ascertain which were useful and which of no value. We find a 

 medicine in use by a tribe in one part of the country, and the 



