Chap. XIX. 
TRADEES—A GRAVE. 
359 
a few beads to barter for bees’-wax. They are all armed with 
Portuguese guns, and have cartridges with iron balls. Wlien we 
meet, we usually stand a few minutes. They present a little 
salt, and we give a bit of ox-hide, or some other trifle, and then 
part with mutual good wishes. The hide of the oxen we 
slaughtered had been a valuable addition to our resources, for we 
found it in so great repute for girdles aU through Londa, that we 
cut up every skin into strips about two inches broad, and sold 
them for meal and manioc as we went along. As we came nearer 
Angola we found them of less value, as the people there possess 
cattle themselves. 
The village on the Kweelo, at which we spent Sunday, was 
that of a civil, Kvely old man, called Sakandala, who offered no 
objections to our progress. We foimd we should soon enter on 
the territory of the Bashinjd (Cliinge of the Portuguese), who 
are mixed with another tribe, , named Bangala, which have been 
at war with the Babind^e or Portuguese. Eains and fever, as 
usual, helped to impede our progress until we were put on the 
path, which leads from Cassange and Bihe to Matiamvo, by a 
headman named Kamboela. This was a weU-beaten footpath, 
and, soon after entering upon it, we met a party of half-caste 
traders from Bihe, who confirmed the information we had 
already got of this path leading straight to Cassange, through 
which they had come on their way from Bihe to Cabango. They 
kindly presented my men with some tobacco, and marvelled 
greatly when they found that I had never been able to teach 
myself to smoke. On parting with them we came to a trader’s 
gTave. Tliis was marked by a huge cone of sticks placed in the 
form of the roof of a hut, with a palisade around it. At an 
opening on the western side an ugly idol was placed: several 
strings of beads and bits of cloth were hung around. We learned 
that he had been a half-caste, who had died on his way back 
from Matiamvo. 
As we were now alone, and sure of being on the way to the 
abodes of civilisation, we went on briskly. 
On the 30th we came to a sudden descent from the high land, 
indented by deep, narrow valleys, over which we had lately been 
travelling. It is generally so steep, that it can only be descended 
at particular points, and even there I was obhged to dismount, 
