318 



CIMBEBAS TRIBE. 



[1829. 



shore a distance of two cables' length ; and when once at the head of 

 this spacious harbour, and at anchor in five or four fathoms of water, 

 you may lie in perfect safety, with one anchor ahead, all the year 

 round. 



Ships in running along this coast will often judge themselves farther 

 off-shore than they really are, on account of the light sandy colour of 

 the coast, and the extreme haziness of the atmosphere that generally 

 prevails. I would advise navigators, on all occasions, unless they 

 wish to make a harbour, to give this coast a good berth, as there is a 

 tremendous heavy swell thundering in upon it all the year round, 

 from Cape Negro to the Cape of Good Hope. This remarkable 

 swell, which incessantly sets in from the west-south-west, renders it 

 very unpleasant for ships in calms, which often prevail in the night. 

 I have frequently seen these rollers break in four fathoms of water ; 

 and they often threaten to break at the distance of three or four miles 

 from the land, in seven and eight fathoms of water, near the full and 

 change of the moon. 



Fish Bay is one of the first places in the world for fishing with a 

 seine, by which thousands of barrels of excellent fish may be caught 

 in the course of a year. This might be made a first-rate business, by 

 taking the fish to the Portuguese colonies, a little farther north, and 

 exchanging them for the products of the country ; or they might be 

 taken to St. Helena, or to the Brazil coast, where they would com- 

 mand a ready market and an excellent price. 



May 18th. — On Monday, at one, P. M., we landed on the south- 

 east side of the bay, with the intention of making an excursion into 

 the country. We were met on the beach by a small party of the 

 Cimbebas tribe, who gave us a very pressing invitation to accompany 

 them to their village, which was about ten miles from the coast, in the 

 direction of east-by-south. It is situated in a well-watered valley of 

 three miles in length, and two in breadth, surrounded by moderately 

 elevated hills. The springs which water it are never dried up, by the 

 longest droughts, as we were assured by the natives. 



The villages of these people are neither large nor populous ; never 

 exceeding one hundred and fifty huts, and about four hundred inhabit- 

 ants. The former are constructed of closely-woven mats of coarse 

 grass, or of the fibres of some plant. The two sides generally cor- 

 respond with each other, as do also the two ends, with the exception 

 that there is a door or opening in one end, just large enough for the 

 occupants to creep in and out. Each hut is covered with an arched 

 or sloping roof, supported by upright posts fixed in the ground, and 

 thatched with matting. The materials are all so light that they can be 

 removed at a very short notice, and without much trouble. I have 

 seen them taken down and put together again in thirty-five minutes. 

 The value of one of these huts is that of a sheep. 



The habitations of the chiefs are constructed with much more 

 labour, skill, and taste ; and are consequently of proportionably greater 

 value. One of these has eight or ten posts along the sides, and is 

 covered with palm-leaves, sewed together in a zigzag manner, with 

 a supple- creeping plant. They are often enclosed with a circular 



