SKETCH OF GABOON. 
435 
principal man in the Congo, and he sung his boat chorus as a 
specimen of the language, " Malava napa, raalava mabootaj, ma- 
bootaj/' He said, MangofF lived at Barrima. He spoke of a 
place called Ohlobe, but I omitted to minute the particulars. 
The master of a Liverpool ship, laying in Gaboon river, having 
visited the Congo annually for many years, I availed myself of 
an opportunity of conversing with him also. He mentioned Boma 
as the principal place of trade, but he did not consider it more 
than forty miles up the river ; it was so called after a chief, whose 
son has now succeeded him. Binda, a secondary place of trade, 
he reckoned to be ninety miles from the entrance of the river, on 
the north side ; but there are so many arms or branches there, that 
it is very difficult to distinguish the Congo itself, which he had 
always understood to terminate soon afterwards.* The houses he 
* " Captain Tuckey could only learn that the paramount Sovereign was named Blindy 
N'Congo, and resided at a banza named Congo, which was six days journey, in the 
interior from the ' Tall Trees,' where, by the account of the negroes, the Portuguese 
had an establishment, and where there were soldiers and white women. This place is 
no doubt the St. Salvador of the Portuguese. The following is the description in Dapper: 
La province de Pembo est la plus considerable de tout le royaume dont elle contient la ville 
capitale, et forme comme le centre. Cette ville porte le nom de banza chez les Ethiopiens, 
les Portugais la nomment presentement S. Salvador, et Marmol I'appelloit Ambas Congo. 
Elle est presqueau milieu de la province, situee sur une roche fort haute, a 'J6 Ueues de 
France ou 150 milles de la mer, au sud-est de la riviere de Zaire, et ombragee de 
Palmiers, de Tamarins, de Bacoves, de Colas, de Limcniers et d'Orangers. Le cotau 
sur lequel elle est batie est si haut, que de dessus son sommet on porte la vue aussi loin 
qu^elle se peut etendre, sans qu'aucune montagne I'arrete, II n'y a point de murailles 
autour de cette ville, si ce n'est d'un cote de devers le Midi, qu« le premier roi chretien 
donna aux Portugais pour les mettre a couvert des insultes, II fit aussi fermer de mu- 
railles son palais et toutes les maisons royales qui sont aux environs, laissant une place 
vuide ou I'on batit ensuite un palais et un cimetiere. La cime de la montagne est occupe 
par des maisons baties fort pres Tune de I'autre : les personnes de qualite en posse- 
dent la plus grande partie, et sont des enceintes de batimens qui ressemblent a mm 
