Chap. XIX. THE QUIZE— CARRIERS. 257 



seeing a field of wheat growing luxuriantly without irriga- 

 tion, the ears being upwards of four inches long. This small 

 field was cultivated by a Portuguese merchant, whose garden 

 also was interesting, as showing the capabilities of the land 

 at this elevation, for we saw in it European vegetables in a 

 flourishing condition. The coffee-plant grows wild in certain 

 parts of this same district, and may be seen on the heights of 

 Tala Mungongo, where it was first introduced by the Jesuit 

 missionaries. 



We spent Sunday the 30th of April at Ngio, on the banks 

 of the Quize. The country here becomes more open, but is 

 still well wooded and abundantly fertile, with a thick crop of 

 grass between two and three feet high. The villages of the 

 Basongo are dotted over the landscape, and frequently a 

 square house of wattle and daub, belonging to a native- 

 Portuguese, is erected among them for purposes of trade. The 

 people possess both cattle and pigs. The different stations 

 on our path, from eight to ten miles apart, are marked by a 

 cluster of sheds made of sticks and grass. There is a constant 

 stream of people either going to or returning from the coast 

 The goods are carried on the head, or on one shoulder, in a 

 basket attached to the extremities of two poles between five 

 and six feet long, and called Motete. AVhen the basket is 

 placed on the head, the poles project forwards horizontally ; 

 and when the carrier wishes to rest, he either props up the 

 burden against a tree, or simply plants the poles on the ground, 

 and holds the burden until he has taken breath, thus in either 

 case avoiding the trouble of placing the burden on the ground 

 and lifting it up again. When a party of travellers arrives 

 at a station, immediate possession is taken of the sheds, and 

 any subsequent comers must then erect others for them- 

 selves, which is easily done with the long grass. No sooner do 

 any strangers appear at the spot than women may be seen 

 emerging from the villages bearing baskets of manioc-meal, 

 loots, ground-nuts, yams, bird's-eye pepper, and garlic, which 

 they exchange for calico. They were civil, and, judging from 

 the amount of talking and laughing in bargaining, they 

 enjoyed their occupation. 



Pitsane and another of the men had violent attacks of fever, 

 from the excessive humidity both of the ground and of the 



