484 PLANTS AND TEEES FROM ANGOLA. Chap. XXIY. 



man, who had offended the Balonda by taking honey from a hive 

 which did not belong to him, Kolimbota had got wounded by a 

 shot in the thigh ; but that he had cured the wound, given him a 

 wife, and sent a present of cloth to Sekeletu, with a full account 

 of the whole affair. From the statement of Shinte, we found that 

 Kolimbota had learned, before we left his town, that the way we 

 intended to take was so dangerous, that it would be better for him 

 to leave us to our fate ; and as he had taken one of our canoes 

 with him, it seemed evident that he did not expect us to return. 

 Shinte, however, sent a recommendation to his sister Nyamoana, 

 to furnish as many canoes as we should need for our descent of 

 the Leeba and Leeambye. 



As I had been desirous of introducing some of the fruit-trees 

 of Angola, both for my own sake and that of the inhabitants, we 

 had carried a pot containing a little plantation of orange, cashew 

 trees, custard-apple trees (anona), and a fig-tree, with coffee, aracas 

 (Araga pomifera), and papaws ( Carica papaya). Fearing that, if 

 we took them further south at present, they might be killed by 

 the cold, we planted them out in an enclosure of one of Shinte's 

 principal men, and, at his request, promised to give Shinte a share 

 when grown. They know the value of fruits, but at present have 

 none except wild ones. A wild fruit we -frequently met with in 

 Londa is eatable, and when boiled yields a large quantity of 

 oil, winch is much used in anointing both head and body. He 

 eagerly accepted some of the seeds of the palm-oil tree (Ulceis 

 G-uineensis), when told that this would produce oil in much 

 greater quantity than their native tree, winch is not a palm. 

 There are very few palm-trees in tins country, but near Bango 

 we saw a few of a peculiar palm, the ends of the leaf-stalks of 

 which, remain attached to the trunk, giving it a triangular shape. 



It is pleasant to observe that all the tribes in Central Africa 

 are fond of agriculture. My men had collected quantities of 

 seeds in Angola, and now distributed them amongst their friends. 

 Some even carried onions, garlic, and bird's-eye pepper, growing 

 in pannikins. The courts of the Balonda, planted with tobacco, 

 sugar-cane, and plants used as relishes, led me to the belief, that 

 care would be taken of my little nursery. 



The thermometer early in the mornings ranged from 42° to 

 52°, at noon 94° to 96°, and in the evening about 70°. It was 



