Chap. XIX. HOSTILITY" OF THE BASHINJK. 245 



countenance. There cannot have been much intercourse 

 between real Portuguese and these people, though they live 

 so close to the Quango, for Sansawe asked me to show him my 

 hair, on the ground that he had never seen straight hair. 

 The difference between their wool and our hair caused him 

 to burst into a laugh, and the contrast between the exposed 

 and unexposed parts of my skin seemed to strike him with 

 wonder. I then showed him my watch, and wished to win 

 my way into his confidence by conversation ; but when I 

 proceeded to exhibit my pocket compass he desired me to 

 desist, as he was afraid of my wonderful things. As it was 

 getting dark, he asked leave to go, and, when his party moved 

 off a little way, he sent for my spokesman, and told him that, 

 "if we did not add a red jacket and a man to our gift of a 

 few copper rings and a few pounds of meat, we must return 

 by the way we had come." I said in reply, " that we should 

 certainly go forward next clay, and if he commenced hostilities 

 the blame before God would lie on Sansawe ; " to which my 

 man added of his own accord, " How many white men have 

 you killed in this path ? " implying that he had never killed 

 one, and that he was not likely to do so this time. 



3rd April. — At daybreak we were astir, and, setting off in 

 a drizzling rain, passed close to the village. This rain pro- 

 bably damped the ardour of the robbers ; for, though we 

 expected to be fired upon from every clump of trees, or from 

 some of the rocky hillocks among which we were passing, we 

 were not molested. After two hours' march we began to 

 breathe freely, and my men remarked, in thankfulness, " We 

 are children of Jesus." We continued our course, notwith- 

 standing the rain, across the bottom of the Quango valley, 

 which we found broken by clay-shale rocks cropping out from 

 a nearly horizontal stratum. The grass in the hollows was 

 about two feet higher than my head while sitting on ox-back, 

 and, being saturated with rain, it acted as a shower-bath upon 

 us. We passed several villages, one of which possessed a 

 flock of sheep ; and after six hours we halted near the river 

 Quango (lat. 9° 53' S., long. 18° 37' E.), which maybe regarded 

 as the eastern boundary of the Portuguese coast territory. 

 As I had now no change of clothing, I was glad to cower 

 under the shelter of my blanket, t) antral to God for His 



