396 ANCIENT BURIAL PEACES. 



form, two or three yards in diameter, and shaped like a 

 haycock. There is not a single vestige of any inscription. 

 The natives of Angola generally have a strange predilection 

 for bringing their dead to the sides of the most frequented 

 paths. They have a particular anxiety to secure the 

 point where cross-roads meet. On and around the graves 

 are planted tree euphorbias and other species of that 

 family. On the grave itself, they also place water-bottles, 

 broken pipes, cooking vessels, and sometimes a little bow 

 and arrow. 



The Portuguese Government, wishing to prevent this 

 custom, affixed a penalty on any one burying in the roads, 

 and appointed places of public sepulture in every district 

 in the country. The people persist, however, in spite of 

 the most stringent enforcement of the lav/, to follow their 

 ancient custom. 



The country between the Coanza and Pungo Andongo 

 is covered with low trees, bushes, and fine pasturage. In 

 the latter, we were pleased to see our old acquaintances 

 the gaudy gladiolas, Amaryllis toxicaria, hymanthus, and 

 other bulbs in as flourishing a condition as at the Cape. 



It is surprising that so little has been done in the way of 

 agriculture in Angola. Raising wheat by means of irriga- 

 tion has never been tried ; no plough is ever used ; and 

 the only instrument is the native hoe, in the hands of 

 slaves. The chief object of agriculture is the manioc, 

 which does not contain nutriment sufficient to give 

 proper stamina to the people. The half-caste Portuguese 

 have not so much energy as their fathers. They subsist 

 chiefly on the manioc, and, as that can be eaten either 

 raw, roasted, or boiled, as it comes from the ground ; or 

 fermented in water, and then roasted or dried after 

 fermentation, and baked or pounded into fine meal ; or 

 rasped into meal and cooked as farina ; or made into 

 confectionery with butter and sugar, it does not so soon 

 pall upon the palate as one might imagine, when told that 

 it constitutes their principal food. The leaves boiled 

 make an excellent vegetable for the table ; and, when 

 eaten by goats, their milk is much increased. The wood 

 is a good fuel, and yields a large quantity of potash. If 

 planted in a dry soil, it takes two years to come to per- 

 fection, requiring, during that time, one weeding only. 

 It bears drought well, and never shrivels up, like other 

 plants, when deprived of rain. When planted in low 



