386 
GOLUNGO ALTO. 
Chap. XIX. 
must pay a tax to the Government of 1000 reis, or about three 
shiUings per load carried. The trader is obhged to pay the 
carrier also the sum of 50 reis, or about twopence a day, for his 
sustenance. And as a day’s journey is never more than from 
eight to ten miles, the expense which must be mcurred for this 
compulsory labour is felt to be heavy by those who were accus- 
stomed to employ slave laboiu’ alone. Yet no effort has been 
made to form a great line of road for wheel carriages. The first 
great want of a country has not been attended to, and no develop¬ 
ment of its vast resources has taken place. The fact, however, 
of a change from one system of carriage to another, taken in con¬ 
nection with the great depreciation in the prices of slaves near 
this coast, proves the effectiveness of om: efforts at repressing the 
slave-trade on tlie ocean. 
The latitude of Golungo Alto, as observed at the residence 
of the Commandant, was 9° 8' 30" S., longitude 15° 2' E. A 
few days’ rest with this excellent young man, enabled me to 
regain much of my strength, and I could look with pleasure on 
the luxuriant scenery before his door. We were quite shut in 
among green hills, many of which were cultivated up to their tops 
vdth manioc, coffee, cotton, ground-nuts, bananas, pine-apples, 
guavas, papaws, custard-apples, pitangas, and jambos, fruits 
brought from South America by the former missionaries. The 
high hills aU around, with towering palms on many points, made 
this spot appear more like the Bay of Kio de Janeiro in miniature 
than any scene I ever saw; and all who have seen that, confess 
it to be unequalled in the world beside. The fertility evident 
in every spot of this district was quite marvellous to behold, but 
I shall reserve further notices of this region till our return from 
Loanda. 
We left Golungo Alto on the 24th of May, the winter in these 
parts. Every evening, clouds come rolling in gveat masses over 
the mountains in the west, and peahng thunder accompanies the 
fall of rain during the night or early in the morning. The clouds 
generally remain on the hills till the morning is well spent, so 
that we become familiar with morning mists, a thing we never 
once saw at Kolobeng. The thermometer stands at 80° by day, 
but sinks as low as 76° by night. 
In going westward we crossed several fine little gusliing streams 
