350 A SOLDIER-GUIDE. 



mendation to their friends in that city, requesting them 

 to receive me into their houses, for without these, a 

 stranger might find himself a lodger in the streets. 

 May God remember them in their day of need ! 



The latitude and longitude of Cassange, the most 

 easterly station of the Portuguese in Western Africa, is 

 lat. 9 37' 30" S., and long. iy° 49/ E. ; consequently we 

 had still about 300 miles to traverse before we could reach 

 the coast. We had a black militia corporal as a guide. 

 He was a native of Ambaca, and, like nearly all the inhabi- 

 tants of that district, known by the name of Ambakistas, 

 could both read and write. He had three slaves with 

 him, and was carried by them in a " tipoia," or hammock 

 slung to a pole. His slaves were young, and unable to 

 convey him far at a time, but he was considerate enough 

 to walk except when we came near to a village. He then 

 mounted his tipoia and entered the village in state ; his 

 departure was made in the same manner, and he continued 

 in the hammock till the village was out of sight. It 

 was interesting to observe the manners of our soldier- 

 guide. Two slaves were always employed in carrying 

 his tipoia, and the third carried a wooden box, about 

 three feet long, containing his writing materials, dishes, 

 and clothing. He was cleanly in all his ways, and, 

 though quite black himself, when he scolded any one of 

 his own colour, abused him as a " negro." When he 

 wanted to purchase any article from a village, he would 

 sit down, mix a little gunpowder as ink, and write a note in 

 a neat hand to ask the price, addressing it to the shop- 

 keeper with the rather pompous title, " Illustrissimo 

 Senhor " (Most Illustrious Sir). This is the invariable 

 mc d 1 c f address throughout Ang 1 1. The answer returned 

 would be in the same style, and, if satisfactory, another 

 note followed to conclude the bargain. There is so much 

 of this note correspondence carried on in Angola, that a 

 very large quantity of paper is annually consumed. 

 Some other peculiarities of our guide were not so pleasing. 

 A land of slaves is a bad school for even the free ; and I 

 was sorry to find less truthfulness and honesty in him, 

 than in my own people. 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. The food 

 is very cheap, but it was generally made dear enough, 

 until I refused to allow him to come near the place where 



