Chap. XIX. TALA MUNGOXGO. 255 



bargain. There is so much of this note correspondence carried 

 on in Angola, that a very large quantity of paper is consumed 

 in it. Some other peculiarities of our guide were not so 

 pleasing. We were often cheated through his connivance 

 with the sellers of food, and could perceive that he got a 

 share of the plunder from them. Food, though very cheap, was 

 generally made dear enough for us, until I refused to allow 

 him to come near the place where we were bargaining. 

 However, he took us safely down to Ambaca, and I was glad 

 to see, on my return to Cassange, that he was promoted to be 

 sergeant-major of a company of militia. 



Having left Cassange on the 2 1st, we traversed the remain- 

 ing portion of the valley to the foot of Tala Mungongo. 

 We crossed a fine little stream called the Lui on the 22nd, 

 and another named the Luare on the 24th, then slept at the 

 bottom of the western range, which, on my return, I estimated 

 to be from twelve to fifteen hundred feet high. The clouds 

 which came floating along the valle} 7 broke against the sides 

 of the ascent, and the dripping rain rendered the tall grass 

 anything but agreeable as it flapped against the face of the 

 rider. This edge of the valley is exactly like the other ; 

 jutting spurs and defiles give it the same serrated appearance 

 as that on the side of the highlands of Londa. The whole of 

 this vast valley has been removed by denudation, for pieces 

 of the plateau which once filled the vacant space stand in it, 

 and present the same structure of red horizontal strata of 

 equal altitudes with those of the acclivity which we are now 

 about to ascend. One of these insulated masses, named 

 Kasala, bore E.S.E. from the place where we made our exit 

 from the valley, and about ten miles W.S.W. from the village 

 of Cassange. It is remarkable for its perpendicular sides ; 

 even the natives find it extremely difficult to reach its 

 summit. 



The ascent of Tala Mungongo was not so arduous as I was 

 led to suppose. We accomplished it in the course of an 

 hour by a steep, slippery path, bordered on each side by a 

 deep gorge, and at the summit found a table-land similar to 

 that on the other side of the valley, and similarly clothed 

 with trees. We found the village of Tala Mungongo, situated 

 a few miles from the edge of the descent, and were kindly 



