GOIVUNGO AI/TO. 361 



as a day's journey is never more than from eight to ten 

 miles, the expense which must be incurred for this com- 

 pulsory labour is felt to be heavy by those who were accus- 

 tomed to employ slave labour alone. Yet no effort has 

 been made to form a great line of road for wheel carriages. 

 The first great want of a country has not been attended 

 to, and no development of its vast resources has taken 

 place. The fact, however, of a change from one system 

 of carriage to another, taken in connection with the great 

 depreciation in the prices of slaves near this coast, proves 

 the effectiveness ot our efforts at repressing the slave- 

 trade on the ocean. 



The latitude of Golungo Alto, as observed at the resi- 

 dence of the Commandant, was 9 8' 30* S., longitude 

 15 2' E. A few days' rest with this excellent young man 

 enabled me to regain much of my strength, and I could 

 look with pleasure on the luxuriant scenery before his 

 door. We were quite shut in among green hills, many 

 of which were cultivated up to their tops with manioc, 

 coffee, cotton, ground-nuts, bananas, pine-apples, guavas, 

 papaws, custard-apples, pitangas, and jambos, fruits 

 brought from South America by the former missionaries. 

 The high hills all around, with towering palms on msny 

 points, made this spot appear more like the Bay of Rio 

 de Janeiro in miniature than any scene I ever saw ; and 

 all who have seen that, confess it to be unequalled in the 

 world beside. The fertility evident in every spot of this 

 district was quite marvellous to behold, but I shall reserve 

 further notice of this region till our return from Luanda. 



We left Golungo Alto on the 24th of May, the winter 

 in these parts. Bvery evening, clouds come rolling in 

 great masses over the mountains in the west, and pealing 

 thunder accompanies the fall of rain during the night or 

 early in the morning. The clouds generally remain on the 

 hills till the morning is well spent, so that we become 

 familiar with morning mists, a thing we never once saw 

 at Kolobeng. The thermometer stands at 8o° by day, 

 but sinks as low as 7 6° by night. 



In going westward we crossed several fine little gushing 

 streams which never dry. They unite in the Iyuinha 

 (pronounced Lueenya) and I^ucalla. As they flow over 

 many little cascades, they might easily be turned to good 

 account, but they are all allowed to run on idly to the 

 ocean. We passed through forests of gigantic timber, 



