Chap. XIX. 
TALA MUNGONGO. 
377 
was steep and slippery; deep gorges appear on eacli side of it, 
leaving but a narrow path along certain spurs of the sierra for 
the traveller; hut we accomplished the ascent in an hour, and 
when there, found we had just got on to a table-land similar to 
that we had left, before we entered the great Quango valley. We 
had come among lofty trees again. One of these, bearing a fruit 
about the size of a thirty-two pounder, is named Mononga-zambi. 
We took a glance back to this valley, which equals that of the 
Mississippi in fertility, and thought of the vast mass of material 
which had been scooped out and carried away in its formation. 
This naturally led to reflection on the countless ages required for 
the previous formation and deposition of the same material (clay 
shale) ; then of the rocks, whose abrasion formed that, until the 
mind grew giddy in attempting to ascend the steps, which lead up 
through a portion of the eternity before man. The different 
epochs of geology are Like landmarks in that otherwise shoreless 
sea. Our own epoch, or creation, is but another added to the 
number of that wonderful series which presents a grand display 
of the mighty power of Grod: every stage of progress in the 
earth and its habitants, is such a display. So far from this 
science having any tendency to make men undervalue the power 
or love of God, it leads to the probabflity that the exhibition of 
mercy we have in the gift of his Son, may possibly not be the 
only manifestation of grace which has taken place in the countless 
ages, during wliich, works of creation have been goiag on. 
Situated a few miles from the edge of the descent, we found 
the village of Tala Mungongo, and were kindly accommodated 
with a house to sleep in, wliich was very welcome, as we were all 
both wet and cold. We found that the greater altitude, and the 
approach of winter, lowered the temperature so much, that many 
of my men suffered severely from colds. At this, as at several 
other Portuguese stations, they have been provident enough to 
erect travellers’ houses on the same principle as khans or cara¬ 
vanserais of the East. They are built of the usual wattle and 
daub, and have benches of rods for the wayfarer to make his bed 
on; also chairs and a table, and a large jar of water. These 
benches, though far from luxmdous couches, were better than the 
ground under the rotten fragments of my gipsy-tent, for we had 
stiU showers occasionally, and the dews were very heavy. I con- 
