358 A TAMPAN BITE. 



this country. It sucks the blood until quite full, and is 

 then of a dark-blue colour, and its skin, so tough and 

 yielding, that it is impossible to burst it by any amount of 

 squeezing with the fingers. I had felt the effects of its 

 bite in former years, and eschewed all native huts ever 

 after, but as I was here again assailed in a European 

 house, I shall detail the effects of the bite. These are, a 

 tingling sensation of mingled pain and itching, which 

 commences ascending the limb until the poison imbibed 

 reaches the abdomen, where it soon causes violent vomiting 

 and purging. Where these effects do not follow, as we 

 found afterwards at Tete, fever sets in ; and I was assured 

 by intelligent Portuguese there that death has sometimes 

 been the result of this fever. The anxiety my friends at 

 Tete manifested to keep my men out of the reach of the 

 tampans in the village, made it evident that they had seen 

 cause to dread this insignificant insect. The only incon- 

 venience I afterwards suffered from this bite was the 

 continuance of the tingling sensation in the point bitten, 

 for about a week. 



May 1 2th. — As we were about to start this morning, the 

 Commandant, Senhor Arsenio, provided bread and meat 

 most bountifully for my use on the way to the next station, 

 and sent two militia soldiers as guides, instead of our 

 Cassange corporal, who left us here. About mid-day we 

 asked for shelter from the sun in the house of Senhor 

 Mellot, at Zangu, and though I was unable to sit and 

 engage in conversation, I found on rising from his couch 

 that he had at once proceeded to cook a fowl for my use ; 

 and at parting he gave me a glass of wine, which prevented 

 the violent fit of shivering I expected that afternoon. 

 The universal hospitality of the Portuguese was most 

 gratifying, as it was quite unexpected. And even now, 

 as I copy my journal, I remember it all with a glow of 

 gratitude. 



We spent Sunday, the 14th of May, at Cabinda, which 

 is one of the stations of the sub-commandants, who are 

 placed at different points in each district of Angola, as 

 assistants of the head-commandant, or chefe. It is 

 situated in a beautiful §len, and surrounded by plantations 

 of bananas and manioc. The country was gradually 

 becoming more picturesque, the farther we proceeded 

 west. The ranges of lofty blue mountains of Libollo, 

 which in coining towards Ambaca, we had seen thirty or 



