44 
The Cruise along Shore. 
nightly flame suggest the fires of St. John lighted 
by the goatherds of Tenerife. They greatly excite 
the gallant “ Griffons,” who everywhere see slaver- 
signals, and the system is old upon this coast as 
the days of Hanno and Herodotus. At this 
season they are an infallible sign that the dries are 
ending; the women burn the capim (tall grass) 
for future forage, and to manure the land for 
manioc, maize, and beans. The men seek present 
“ bush-beef: ” as the flames blow inland, they 
keep to seaward, knowing that game will instinc¬ 
tively and infallibly break cover in that direction, 
and they have learned the “ wrinkle ” of the prairie 
traveller to make a “ little Zoar” in case of acci¬ 
dental conflagration. 
At 2 p.m. on the 24th we were abreast of Ambriz, 
an important settlement, where a tall red and white 
cliff, with a background of broken blue hill, showed 
a distinct “ barra,” or river mouth, not to be con¬ 
founded with the English “ bar.” The north 
point of the Rio dos Ambres, of the “ green ” or 
“ raw copal,” is low and mangrove-grown, throw¬ 
ing into high relief its sister formation, Ambriz 
Head or Strong-Tide Corner, which stands up 
gaunt and bluff. 
A little to the south-east lies the fort, flying the 
argent and azure flag, and garrisoned by some 
200 men ; five large whitewashed houses and the 
usual bunch of brown huts compose the settlement. 
