392 PUNGO ANDONGO. 



in order to visit the famous rocks of Pungo Andongo. 

 As soon as we crossed the rivulet I,otete, a change in the 

 vegetation of the country was apparent. We found trees 

 identical with those to be seen south of the Chobe. The 

 grass too stands in tufts, and is of that kind which the 

 natives consider to be best adapted for cattle. Two species 

 of grape-bearing vines abound everywhere in this district, 

 and the influence of the good pasturage is seen in the 

 plump condition of the cattle. In all my previous in- 

 quiries respecting the vegetable products of Angola I was 

 invariably directed to Pungo Andongo. Do you grow 

 wheat ? " O yes, in Pungo Andongo." — Grapes, figs, 

 or peaches ? " O yes, in Pungo Andongo." — Do you 

 make butter, cheese, &c. ? The uniform answer was, 

 " O yes, there is abundance of all these in Pungo An- 

 dongo." But when we arrived here, we found that the 

 answers all referred to the activity of one man, Colonel 

 Manuel Antonio Pires. The presence of the wild grape 

 shows that vineyards might be cultivated with success ; 

 the wheat grows well without irrigation ; and any one who 

 tasted the butter and cheese at the table of Colonel Pires 

 would prefer them to the stale produce of the Irish dairy, 

 in general use throughout that province. The cattle in 

 this country are seldom milked, on account of the strong 

 prejudice which the Portuguese entertain against the 

 use of milk. They believe that it may be used with safety 

 in the morning ; but if taken after midday, that it will 

 cause fever. It seemed to me that there was not much 

 reason for carefully avoiding a few drops in their coffee, 

 after having devoured ten times the amount in the shape 

 of cheese at dinner. 



The fort of Pungo Andongo (lat. o° 42' 14" S., long. 

 15 30' K.) is situated in the midst of a group of curious 

 columnar-shaped rocks, each of which is upwards of three 

 hundred feet in height. They are composed of con- 

 glomerate, made up of a great variety of rounded pieces 

 in a matrix of dark red sandstone. They rest on a thick 

 stratum of this last rock, with very few of the pebbles 

 in its substance. On this a fossil palm has been found, 

 and if of the same age as those on the eastern side of the 

 continent, on which similar palms now lie, there may be 

 coal underneath this, as well as under that at Tete. The 

 asserted existence of petroleum-springs at Dande, and 

 near Cambambe, would seem to indicate the presence 



