484 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
formed, by ordinary processes, into spades, axes, war- 
hatchets, arrow-heads, assegais, nails, knives, and bullets 
for fire-arms, and even occasionally fire-arms themselves, 
the iron being tempered with ox-grease and salt. I have 
seen a good many of these guns carry as well as the best 
pieces made of cast steel. 
During; the whole of the time that these labours last 
no woman, under any pretext, is allowed to go near the 
miners’ camp, for fear, as they say, of the utter ruin of 
the metal. My own opinion is, that the object of the 
prohibition is to prevent the men being distracted in 
their work, which, as I have stated, is kept up night 
and day. So soon as the metal is converted into articles 
of trade, the miners return to their homes laden with 
their manufactures, which they subsequently dispose of 
by sale, after reserving what they require for their own 
necessities. 
At last the expedition reached the Bilie country, a 
magnificent plateau region, the capital of which is about 
250 miles from the west coast. Both country and people 
are so remarkable, that Major Pinto devotes considerable 
space to them. 
The Bihe is bounded on the north by the country 
of the Andulo; on the N. W. by the Bailundo ; on 
the west by the Moma country; on the S. W. by the 
Glonzellos of Caquingue; and on the south and east by 
the free Ganguella tribes. The river Cuqueima is 
almost a natural boundary of the Bihe on the west, 
south and east; but, in point of fact, the authority of 
the native king of the Bihe extends beyond that river 
at various points. The country is small in extent, but 
is thickly peopled for Africa. I roughly estimated its 
area at 2500 square miles, and a still rougher calculation 
made me estimate its population at 95,000 inhabitants, 
yielding thus barely 38 inhabitants to the square mile ; 
and although this number appears to us very small, as 
being less than a third of that in our own country, it is 
considerable for South Central Africa, where the popu¬ 
lation is, as a rule, very scattered. Not so very long- 
ago, this territory of the Bilie was covered with dense 
