40 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
south-east ; it prevented my landing and inspecting the 
old Dutch guns, which Bowdich says are remains of the 
Portuguese. Both this and Parrot Island, lying some 
five miles south by west, are masses of cocoas, fringed 
with mangroves ; a great contrast with the pr air illon of 
the neighbouring Point Ovindo. At last, worn out by a 
four-knot current and a squall in our teeth, we anchored 
in four fathoms, about five miles south-east of Ivonig. 
From this point we could easily see the wide gape of 
the R.embwe, the south-eastern influent, or rather fork, 
of the Gaboon, which rises in the south-western versant 
of some meridional chain, and which I was assured can 
be ascended in three tides. The people told me when 
too late of a great cavity or sink, which they called 
Wonga-Wonga ; Bowdich represents it to be an unin- 
habited savannah of three days’ extent, between Em- 
poongwa and Adjoomba (Mayumba). I saw nothing of 
the glittering diamond mountains, lying eastward of 
Wonga-Wonga, concerning which the old traveller was 
compelled to admit that, “ when there was no moon, a 
pale but distinct light was invariably reflected from a 
mountain in that quarter, and from no other.” It has 
now died out — this superstition, which corresponds with 
the carbuncle of Hoy and others of our Scoto- Scandi- 
navian islands. 
Resuming our cruize on the next day, we passed on 
the right a village of “ bad Bakele,” which had been 
blown down by the French during the last year ; in this 
little business the “ king ” and two lieges had been 
killed. The tribe is large and important, scattered over- 
several degrees north and south of the equator, as is 
proved by their slaves being collected from distances of 
several weeks and even months. In 1854 Mr. Wilson 
numbered them at 100,000. According to local experts 
they began to press down stream about 1830, driven 
a tergo by their neighbours, the Mpangwe (Fan), even 
as they themselves are driving the Mpongwes. But 
they are evidently the Kaylee or Kalay of Bowdich, 
whose capital, “ Samashialee,” was “ the residence of the 
king, Ohmbay.” He places them in their present 
