FEEDERS OF THE CONGO. 417 



is one of the chief articles conveyed into the country, 

 became considerably lighter as we went along, but the 

 carriers shielded themselves, by saying that it had been 

 melted by the rain. Their burdens were taken from 

 them every evening, and placed in security under the 

 guardianship of Senhor Pascoal's own slaves. It was 

 pitiable to observe the worrying life he led. There was 

 the greatest contrast possible between the conduct of his 

 people, and that of my faithful Makololo. 



We crossed the Loange, a deep but narrow stream, by a 

 bridge. It becomes much larger, and contains hippopo- 

 tami, lower down. It is the boundary of Londa on the 

 west. We slept also on the banks of the Pezo, now 

 flooded, and could not but admire their capabilities for 

 easy irrigation. On reaching the river Chikapa (lat. io° 

 10' S., long. 19 42' E.), the 25th of March, we found it 

 fifty or sixty yards wide, and flowing E.N.B. into the 

 Kasai. The adjacent country is of the same level nature 

 as that part of Londa formerly described ; but, having come 

 further to the eastward than our previous course, we found 

 that all the rivers had worn for themselves much deeper 

 valleys than at the points we had formerly crossed them. 



Surrounded on all sides by large gloomy forests, the 

 people of these parts have a much more indistinct idea of 

 the geography of their country, than those who live in 

 hilly regions. It was only after long and patient inquiry, 

 that I became fully persuaded that the Quilo runs into 

 the Chikapa. As we now crossed them both considerably 

 further down, and were greatly to the eastward of our 

 first route, there can be no doubt that these rivers take 

 the same course as the others, into the Kasai, and that I 

 had been led into a mistake in saying that any of them 

 flowed to the westward. Indeed it was only at this time 

 that I began to perceive that all the western feeders of 

 the Kasai, except the Quango, flow first from the western 

 side towards the centre of the country, then gradually 

 turn, with the Kasai itself, to the north ; and, after the 

 confluence of the Kasai with the Quango, an immense 

 body of water, collected from all these branches, finds 

 its way out of the country by means of the river Congo or 

 Zaire on the west coast. 



The people living along the path we are now following 

 were quite accustomed to the visits of native traders, and 

 did not feel in any way bound to make presents of food, 



2 E 



