CHAPTER XI.

Chapter 156,458 wordsPublic domain

CONCLUSION.

I have now brought to a close my description of a small portion of the terra incognita, comparatively speaking, of Africa, and it may not be out of place, in conclusion, to note those results of my long experience in Angola that bear on the important questions of the civilization and mental advancement of the negro race, and the material development of tropical Africa.

I have given the reasons that have convinced me of the rudimentary quality of the negro intellect, naturally corresponding to the peculiar insensibility of his organization, the result of the “natural selection” that, through perhaps thousands of years of struggling against malaria, has at last resulted in his adaptability to inhabit with perfect impunity what to the white race is the deadly, unhealthy climate of a great part of tropical Africa. I have also attempted to show that the malignity of the climate of the West Coast is, as I believe, principally due to its low level, and that this unhealthy character or influence is continued in many places far inland, although perhaps resulting from other causes.

From the mental constitution of the race, and the impossibility of ameliorating the climate, I can see no hope of the negro ever attaining to any considerable degree of civilization, owing to his incapacity for spontaneously developing to a higher or more perfect condition, and the impossibility of the white race peopling his country in sufficient numbers to enforce his civilization; consequently, should science not discover a means for the successful combating of the African climate, the negro must ever remain as he has always been, and as he is at the present day.

The greatest good or improvement we can hope for is, that in the comparatively healthy parts, as Angola for instance, the more barbarous customs or habits may be abolished by the more intimate contact with Europeans; but even this gain or advantage will not be an unmixed good, as it will be counterbalanced by the creation of an amount of vice and immorality unknown to the negro in his native or unsophisticated state.

That this is not an imaginary result, but one inevitably following the contact of the white race with one of so inferior a type as the negro, is, for example, notably evidenced at Sierra Leone. The contact of the Portuguese with the natives of Angola, however, does not appear to have acted so prejudicially as ours in Sierra Leone, for although there is not much difference for the better in the morals of the whites or of the civilized natives, the latter certainly have not the astounding impudence and cant of the Sierra Leone blacks. It is true that in Angola the natives have not been muddled by the present style of missionary work, which I am sorry to say is not only nearly useless, but must be blamed as the cause of the above very objectionable characteristics. It does seem a pity that so much money and well-intentioned zeal should for so many years have been expended on the negro of British West Africa with an almost negative result.

There is more hope for the development of the material resources of tropical Africa. The negro is capable of being acted upon to a certain extent by the desire for something more than the absolute necessaries of life, to satisfy which he is willing to work a little. The country is so extensive, and the soil and natural productions so rich, that a very little exertion on the part of the population suffices to bring forth a considerable amount of produce; but another and more industrious race will have to take the place of the negro in Africa if its riches and capabilities are to be fully developed.

The introduction of Coolies and Chinese into tropical Africa would, in my opinion, be the most important and valuable step that could be devised. The starving millions of China and other parts of the East would find in Africa a congenial climate, and a bountiful reward for their industry, with the greatest benefit to themselves and the rest of mankind. The useless negroes would then sooner follow their apparent fate of future extinction, or become merged into a more highly organized and industrious race.

The indefensible injustice and cruelty of the former slave-trade has created a wrong impression in our minds of the actual condition of the negro in Africa, and, based upon this false idea, our sympathies are unduly excited for a state of misery and wretchedness that in reality has no existence. Our blind philanthropists crowd to hear the stereotyped tale of the missionary in Africa, and the greatest interest is taken in the efforts to ameliorate the assumed unhappy state of the much-pitied negro--who is lying in perfect enjoyment and nakedness under a magnificent sky, surrounded by exquisite scenery, supplied by nature with food without any work or trouble, and insensible alike to physical suffering and hardship, or mental worry and vexation. Meantime thousands of our race are plunged into hopeless misery and suffering, unpitied and often unrelieved by those who are so anxious to minister to the imaginary wants of the poor heathen!

It is impossible for any one who has lived much amongst natives of tropical climates not to contrast the life led by them with that endured by a great portion of our own so highly civilized race--to compare their, as a rule, harmless, peaceful, healthy, and I may say sinless existence, with the grinding, despairing poverty of our cities; with the awful misery that hides in noisome dens under a cruel, rigorous climate, without warmth, air, water, or food; with the constant hopeless toil of thousands in our manufacturing districts, and the frightful barbarity, ignorance, and vice underlying our civilization, with all its religions, wealth, and luxury. We spend large sums in the fruitless attempt to reclaim and convert the negro from his so-called dark state, and we allow thousands of our innocent children at home to grow up as thieves and worse than savages.

It is lucky that the negro is unaware that those who are so anxious for his welfare and conversion from a comparatively innocent condition, come from a country where a state of ferocity, poverty, and vice exists of which he has happily no conception, or it would make him look upon us with horror and surprise.

Amongst the pleasant remembrances of the years I have spent in Angola, the hospitality of the Portuguese often recurs. Many a time in travelling I have had my hammock hidden, and have been obliged to stay for two or three days with strangers, in all but name, or friends perhaps of persons I knew at other places. At any time of the night that a traveller may arrive, he is made welcome, and the cook is instantly told to prepare coffee or kill a fowl and make a “canga,” as fowl-soup thick with rice, and flavoured with ham, &c., is called.

I have been especially grateful to the officers commanding the districts in the interior, and to all, without exception, whether civilians or military, that I have met with in my long travels, I have to offer my thanks for their great kindness and hospitality--doubly pleasing from its disinterestedness and spontaneity.

I have hardly alluded to the wonderful safety and absence of all risk or danger in travelling over almost any part of Angola, especially in those parts in the occupation of the Portuguese. The natives are everywhere civil if well treated; and if only good humour exists on the part of the traveller, and due allowance be made for the laziness and procrastination of the negro, no great inconvenience need ever be felt in going anywhere through the country. A knowledge of Portuguese is of course almost essential, as, with the exception of some places on the River Congo, and as far south of it as Ambriz, where some of the natives speak English, a great number speak only Portuguese besides their own language.

Money of most nations passes in Angola, the English sovereign being perhaps the most useful of any, and at those places where goods of various kinds are principally required for payments of carriers, provisions, &c., they can be readily obtained at moderate rates from the traders.

I have now, to the best of my ability, described the customs and productions of this wonderful and beautiful country, and I shall be glad if the perusal of these pages should induce others to explore more fully the rich field it presents to the naturalist and geographer.

APPENDIX.

The habit of the negro, when employing European languages, of using an absurd and inflated style is well known, and I cannot help attributing this peculiarity to the effect of the specifically constituted mind of the race. The natives of Angola are no exception to this rule, and I have often been amused at their writings in Portuguese.

I cannot better illustrate this very curious characteristic than by transcribing the following pamphlet, written by a highly educated native of Sierra Leone:

“_The Athletic Sports at Falcon Bridge Battery, Freetown, Sierra Leone, June 4, 1869, graphically sketched._

“The dull monotony of the city was revived and the hearts of the denizens exhilarated by the celebration--under the auspices of those holding the reins of government in this settlement--of athletic games at the above period.

“A grand spectacle indeed it was! Countless numbers of persons came to witness this magnificent sight. The arena of athletic contention--limited by boards geometrically constructed, guarded by an efficient constabulary corps, not less rotund in their size than prodigious in their height--was crowded almost to suffocation by those who were voluntary to signalize themselves by their feats. The mountain was really in labour and brought forth no ridiculous mouse.

“The time for the commencement of the games was fixed for 2 P.M. If recollection fails not, so it was. The hilarity evinced by the spectators reminded one of ancient Greece and Rome; when, in the leaps, wrestles, quoits, &c., of the former, and the gladiatorial combats, &c., of the latter, combatants vied with each other, and the victors were amply remunerated; when emulation was cultivated; when, as expressed by Thomson in his ‘Castle of Indolence’--

‘It was not by vile loitering at ease, That Greece obtain’d the brighter palm of art, That soft yet ardent Athens learnt to please, To keen the wit and to sublime the heart; In all supreme--complete in ev’ry part-- It was not thence majestic Rome arose, And o’er the nations shook her conq’ring dart.’

Ancient Olympia, with her inhabitants, would have rejoiced to behold such a pleasing scene.

“At the appointed time the programme was followed, despite the absence of His Excellency; because ‘procrastination is the thief of time.’ The ringing of a bell announced the beginning of every race. The adroitness of the athletes, combined with the thought of there being some who equalled in all points almost the notorious Gogmagog in English history, were things akin to the incredible. The scene had commenced, but two _sine qua nons_ were wanting. A few moments after, one appeared--viz., the band of the 1st West Indian Zouaves, whose services will ever be remembered whilst music reverberates its harmonious peals throughout the four corners of this stupendous cosmos, headed by one through whom music wakes. But there was a pause. The play stood in need of a _coup de grâce_. The sports were a little after full going, when, lo! His Excellency was kenned. His arrival to the spot was not one of inactivity. Seated gallantly on a restive horse, ‘round-hoofed, short-jointed, fetlocks shag and long, broad breast, full eye, small head, high crest, short ears, straight legs, thin mane, thick tail, tender hide, nostrils drinking the air,’ whose foams and yells made part of the spectators stand aghast--he, with excellent dexterity, skilfully contrived to be a match for him, and made his way to the spot at a graceful pace. And ere he reached the spot for rest, ‘God save the Queen’ was heard, the splendid band playing that which

‘Language fades before its spell.’

“Far a little from the scene of action--untrodden by insignificant individuals--supplied with all kinds of food for refreshment--decorated with such things as beautify nature--amidst the pathless intricacies of countless multitudes--was erected a GRAND STAND. On the arrival of the Governor at the stand, he was most cordially greeted and received by ladies of rank and wit and gentlemen of respectability and erudition who were the tenants of that locality. The games became more lively. Clergymen, editors of the different local papers, and great many of the well-to-do, with their consorts, &c., entered into conversation, and were viewing the sight. A very gratifying circumstance it was that all who were there present were superbly clad in the latest Parisian styles. Ladies with their bonnets and other dresses almost indescribable, and gentlemen attired in costly vestments, observed the most faultless etiquette. Some of the gentlemen must have, no doubt, interested the little band, either with the light bantering of Addison or the ponderous verbiage of Johnson. Added to this, the place was like a perfumer’s, where odoriferous unguents delight the smell of the visitants. Needless it is to speak of the natural accomplishments of these personages, as they soar beyond the pen of description. Suffice it to say, that the gentlemen, breathing ambrosial scents around their heads, were taciturn, loquacious, sedate, and grave; and the ladies, as

‘Coy as Thetis, fair as Flora, Beautiful as young Aurora.’

“They spoke: and, during the time the games were being directed by a very able-bodied European, whose reward was a sprained foot after the celebration of the sports, were very jolly, and remained in that position until the sports were over, without a violation of any trifling minutiæ of civility.

“Not to speak of the High Jumps, Flat Races, &c., it was no ordinary treat to see lasses running with all their might to have some pieces of cloths for their prizes. An event like this induced the ladies and gentlemen in the Grand Stand to rise from their seats and take a clearer view of the scene. Many were (I think) halting between two opinions--either to look at the sports or listen to the charming music. Would that there were ten eyes and ears to each! But impossibility _is_ impossibility.

“One of the actors, well-nigh approaching to a British Grenadier, tumbled during the High Jumps on the ground, and was a victor of not even a ridiculous prize.

“The scene went on amidst the hurrahs and applauses of the spectators: among them the always-the-same Allangbas,[1] and the never-to-be-polished vulgar. But afterwards nature--either disgusted at, or fatigued by, the event--for a while interrupted the scene by her somewhat violent inundations: but subsequently being appeased she again charmed us with her usual smiles. With her well-prepared instruments she was ready to depict in the most masterly language the proceedings of the day.

[1] The Timnehs are here meant.

‘Who can paint Like nature? Can imagination boast, Amid its gay creation, hues like hers?’

“All those successes of the actors were the results of the like energy which ‘built,’ observes Harris, ‘the mountain pyramids of Egypt--which reared the Chinese wall--by which Alexander conquered the old world--Columbus discovered the new--and Newton elaborated the system of the universe.’

“The scene of action commanded, like the Acropolis of Athens, a most picturesque sight opposite the sea. The fairy landscape, viewed in conjunction with the stately and commodious houses by which it was adorned, and the trees already in full bloom which cast their shades on the undulating and glittering waves of the sluggish and ceaseless sea during ebb tide, formed an unrivalled spot for the pencil of the artist. How delightful would it have been to see a Boswell ready to describe in the most sparkling language the proceedings of this auspicious day. The effusions of a poet would have been excessive and Byronian delineations tremendous--for the sight was delightful; the gentlemen were masterpieces of nature; and the ladies each a belle ideal of symmetrical beauty. What topics were touched upon by the grandees on this occasion were so momentous that, like Elsie,

‘Their words fell from their lips Like roses from the lips of Angelo: and Angels Might stoop to pick them up!’

“Donkeys were not a whit behind the spectators and contenders; they created their own excitement. On the backs of these heady brutes were to be seen two lads who endeavoured with all their wits to ride them, but all in vain! Although guided by some gentlemen who willingly lent them a helping hand, they were tumbled on the ground as many times as they attempted to ride. The consequence was that a universal roar of laughter ran through the whole spot.

“Besides this there was another interesting sight. A greasy pole, having at the end a leg of mutton, was offered to him who would scale it to its top. The attempts were fruitless. The pole, finding no Alexander, stood like the Gordian knot, and set at the utmost defiance men of magnanimity, those possessing massive bodies and Herculean prowess. Thus the scene proceeded; and, in reality, the Rubicon remained uncrossed.

“Whilst on the one hand you would see the refined natives leaping and exercising within the circus with inimitable grace, you would, on the other, without the pale of the circus, see Timnehs in their usual garb performing feats,--by whirling themselves as a well-constructed steamer in Scylla or Charybdis,--without any taste or attraction.

“Not to speak of the other exercises, the victors, with the prizes awarded them, claim the most paramount importance.

“Without chaplets of flowers, without laurel wreaths, without ovations or triumphs, without the prizes in brief anciently awarded to gladiators, warriors, comedians, lyric, tragic, and epic poets, and other innumerable worthies, humble as the premiums were, this is certain--that prizes, acting as an incentive and a stimulus to be up and doing, were awarded to the victors. And so it was, if the news is to be credited, and the veracity of the inaugurators of the games is unimpeached.

“Among all who merited rewards, two were more especially noticed. At every race almost, they went winning and to win. The prodigious feats performed by these two, coupled with those of the others, are sufficient to entitle each being honoured with the sobriquet of ‘Valentinian.’

“During the whole of the procedure the spectators were not a little cheered up by the matchless music of the band, whose stirring strains silently spoke of the perfect order of the regiment, the worth of the bandmaster, the avidity of the men to master such an excellent science, by its being performed _sostenuto_. Not descanting on the selections, overtures, &c., performed on piccolos, flutes, cornets, and clarionets, on the whole it was ‘ear’s deep sweet music.’ The Sicilian Muses, if present, would have stood astounded, doubting whether such was excellently managed by mortals or celestials.

“One great desideratum wanting on that occasion to grace it to perfection was that, while the men were employed in doing such athletics, the ladies in the Grand Stand were not engaged in performing Terpsichorean gymnastics. The _why_ and _wherefore_ veiled in a mystery was unravelled.

“The popular excitement was unbounded. The enthusiasm marked by the plaudits of the spectators; enthusiasm evinced by the actors; enthusiasm, the great propeller to immortal acts--seen not only in the horizon, but even on the spot where the games were celebrated--was equal to, in every way (if it surpassed not), that of the subtle and sophistical Athenians, when the ridiculer[2] of the Eleusinian mysteries, noted for his ‘versatile genius and natural foibles,’ returned home from his expedition against the Lacedemonians.

[2] Alcibiades.

“It is gratifying to know that, despite the countless multitudes that thickened the paths on the occasion, there was no _émeute_, as might have been expected; all things went on in perfect harmony. Everyone was active, each had his post, all acted heart and hand, and put forth an undivided attention to render all things energetic and attractive.

“The proceedings of the day went on as at the commencement, till about half-past 6 P.M. with quickened step brown night appeared, and terminated the affair never to be forgotten in the archives of Western Africa.

“If the city and the rural districts should, at all times, be exhibiting shows, and be ready and willing to excite public admiration by horse-races, regattas, &c., and by grand concerts, where comic and such like songs delight the ears of the audience: then by such emulations and amusements, not only will we find that in process of time the Colony shall be, under an All-wise Providence, one of physical improvement, but by vieing with each other in the pure sciences, the intelligence of the inhabitants shall arrive at its climax, and it shall equal the admirable Crichton’s, who ‘acted the divine, the lawyer, the mathematician, the soldier, and the physician, with such inimitable grace, that every time he appeared upon the theatre he seemed to be a different person.’

“Thus this event, like all other things human, had its end; and, amidst the unbounded praises and acclamations of the spectators, combined with the heart-stirring strains of the band which cast weariness on this occasion to absolute nothingness, and which was eminently calculated to magnify the sight, every one, with much _éclat_, went to his domicile prepared to relate to his absent friend or friends the dexterity and vigour evinced at the athletic arena, and all bade the scene of action their tender farewells!

“SIERRA LEONE, _Jan. 1870_.”

INDEX.

Abuses by authorities of Angola, i. 54.

Adansonias, abundance of, from River Congo to Mossamedes, i. 27.

African fevers, facts and observations about, ii. 236.

Agave, i. 29.

Alligators, i. 65, ii. 123.

Ambaca, natives of, ii. 103.

Ambaquistas, natives of Ambaca, ii. 103.

Ambriz, description of town, i. 153; trade of, _ib._; iron pier at, 157; author’s return to, 233; negroes, customs of the, 281.

----, vegetation of, i. 30; exports from in 1874, 111.

---- to Mossamedes, i. 23.

---- to Loanda country, ii. 1.

Ambrizzette, witchcraft at, i. 65; treatment of a black for forgery, 115.

_Amydrus fulvipennis_, ii. 164.

Andrade, on board the, to Quanza, ii. 113.

Angola, discovery and early history, i. 1; Portuguese possessions of, 23; physical geography of, _ib._; description of coast-line, _ib._; character of landscape, 25; change of landscape at 13° S. lat., 26; vegetation of from Ambriz to Bembe, 29; slave trade in, 59; statistics of slaves shipped in, 67; division of, ii. 51; pay of governor and army officers, 52; abuses by authorities of, 54; climate of, 223; effect of climate on Europeans, ii. 237; customs of the natives, ii. 268.

_Angolœa fluitans_, ii. 133.

Anha River, ii. 173.

Animal food of the natives, i. 297.

_Arachis hypogœa_, native name of, “mpinda,” or “ginguba,” i. 129; description of, 130; its cultivation, _ib._; preparation of the nut and Chili pepper, 132.

Arms and war, i. 261.

Atacamite, where found, i. 192.

Athletic sports at Sierra Leone, account of, ii. 315.

Author buys a slave, i. 77; the slave’s ingratitude to, _ib._; reception of by Senhor Chaves at Boma, i. 83; at a picnic organized by Senhor Chaves, 87; catches four new species of fish at Boma, 95; discoverer of the baobab fibre as a substance for paper-making, 118; manages a malachite mine, 161; accompanies Mr. Augustus Archer Silva to Quanza, ii. 112.

----, mining explorations of, at Benguella, i. 43, ii. 191,199.

Baba Bay, abundance of fish at, ii. 216.

Babies, treatment of, i. 71.

Bagre fish, i. 50.

_Bagrus_, “Bagre” fish, ii. 134.

Baobab-tree--_Adansonia digitata_, i. 24, 29.

---- bark, its application to paper-making (discovered by author in 1858), i. 75; baobabs at Boma, 84.

---- or _Adansonia digitata_, as a substance for paper-making, i. 118; description of the tree, and use of the trunk, 120; mode of taking off the bark, 122; its fruit, and mode of climbing it, 128.

Banana, trading factories at, i. 81.

Bananas, or plantains, i. 294; as food, 295.

Barra da Corimba, ii. 21.

Basalt, ii. 220.

Bats, abundance of in churches, ii. 129.

Bed-clothing of the natives, i. 266.

Beer, native, manufacture of, i. 301.

Bees--mode of getting honey, ii. 165.

Bellows, native, ii. 93.

Bembe, vegetation of, i. 31; description of, 109.

---- Fort, i. 190; soil about, 225.

Bengo river, ii. 16.

Bengo to Loanda, vegetation, ii. 18.

Benguella, i. 28; mining operations at, 43; country south of, 45; fertility of its soil, trade, &c., ii. 181; slave-trade at, 184.

---- and Mossamedes, country between, ii. 212.

Berenjela, egg plant, i. 296.

Bigode, or moustache-bird (_Crithagra ictera_), ii. 205.

Bimba tree (_Herminiera Elaphroxylon_), ii. 195.

Bimbas, birds at, ii. 206.

Birds of Boma, i. 86; habits of various kinds, _ib._

Bitumen, ii. 11.

Bleeding, fondness of the natives for, ii. 262.

Boma, as centre for slave-trade, i. 56; cultivation of, 85; birds of, 86; distrust of natives at, 90.

Bombó, preparation, i. 287.

Bonny, landing at, i. 114.

_Brachytrypes achatinus_ (king cricket), i. 299.

Brandy, use of in Africa, ii. 245.

Bronchitis, &c., native treatment of, ii. 258.

Bruto, plantation at, ii. 119.

_Bucorax Abyssinicus_ (hornbill), ii. 71.

Bunda-speaking natives, indolence of, ii. 100.

Burial among the natives, i. 276.

---- and burial-places, ii. 275.

Bustards, ii. 5.

Bustards at Benguella, ii. 201.

Butterflies, species of, ii. 295.

Cabeça da Cobra to Ambriz--description of coast-line, i. 102; vegetation, 103.

_Cajanus indicus_, shrub, i. 296.

Calumbo, scenery, vegetation, &c., ii. 116.

Cambambe, high grass at, i. 38; water at, 47; cataracts at, ii. 133.

_Camoensia maxima_, plant, i. 177.

Cannibalism, ii. 157.

Capatas, or captains of the carriers, i. 196, 203.

Cardozo, Feo, on the “History of the Governors of Angola,” i. 1.

Casca, preparation of, i. 63; effect by poisoning from, 127.

Cashew-tree, i. 44.

Cassão, dogfish, ii. 207.

Cassanza, country about, ii. 153.

Cassytha--(_C. Guineensis?_), i. 45; at Luache, ii. 198.

Castor-oil plant in Novo Redondo and Benguella, i. 51.

Catinga, or odour of the natives, i. 30.

Cattle, cause for absence of, i. 46.

---- and other animals, mortality of, i. 207.

Catumbella, scenery and vegetation, ii. 178.

Cazengo, abundance of food at, ii. 84-88.

Celis country, ii. 105.

Chameleons, ii. 109.

Circumcision among the natives, i. 278.

Civilization of the negro, i. 113.

Climate of Angola, effect on Europeans, ii. 237.

Coffee-trade, i. 134.

Coffee plantations, ii. 87; wild, about Golungo Alto and the Dembos, ii. 92.

Cola fruit, ii. 37.

Commerce, i. 117.

Congo River, i. 26; a boundary, i. 53; mouth of, i. 81.

----, probable sources of, i. 54, ii. 69.

---- to Ambriz, the country from, i. 100.

---- River and Ambriz, system of trading, i. 105.

Congo, king of, i. 213; customs of, 221.

Cookery of Angola natives, ii. 239.

Copper at Benguella, ii. 179; at Quileba, 191.

Copper ore at Cuio Bay, ii. 198.

_Coracias caudata_, manner of flying, &c., i. 172, ii. 19.

_Corythaix Paulina_, plantain-eaters, superstitious dread of by the natives, ii. 74.

_Corythornis cyanostigma_, kingfisher, ii. 121.

Cotton growth at Cazengo, ii. 105.

Creepers, description of, i. 31, 45.

Crime, punishment for in Angola, ii. 46.

Crows (_Corvus scapulatus_), ii. 215.

Cuacra, cannibalism at, ii. 155.

Cuio Bay, ii. 198.

_Cursorius Senegalensis_, ii. 19.

Customs of natives of the interior, ii. 99.

_Cynocephalus sp._ of dog-faced monkey, ii. 194.

Dances of the natives, ii. 137.

Dande River, ii. 15.

Dead, “drying” of the, i. 275.

_Decamera Jovis-tonantis_, hard-wood shrub, preservative against lightning, ii. 99.

Diamba, hemp for smoking, ii. 26, 257.

Dias, Captain, governor of Barra do Bengo, i. 80.

Dirty habits of the natives, ii. 259.

Dish, Angola native, i. 305.

Dog’s sense of smell when nearing a negro, i. 36.

Dombe Grande, rush of water down the Luache, i. 49.

----, district of, ii. 196.

Dondo town, ii. 130.

Dress of the kings, i. 260.

---- natives, i. 263.

Drunkenness of Englishmen, ii. 243.

Dyes and paints, ii. 299.

Dysentery, native treatment of, ii. 252.

Egg-trade, i. 209.

Egito river, ii. 169.

Eland steak, a breakfast of, ii. 224.

Engongui signal-bells, i. 203.

Entuchi, shrub, used for curing headache, ii. 251.

Epsom-salts, ii. 262.

_Eriodendron anfractuosum_, cottonwood tree, ii. 86.

_Erythrophlœum Guineense_, action of poison extracted from, i. 61.

Euphorbia tree, i. 24; abundance of, from River Congo to Mossamedes, 27; in Ambriz, 29.

_Eusemia ochracea_, moth, i. 158.

Fairs, i. 209.

Falls of Cambambe, ii. 133.

Farofa, preparation, i. 291.

Farinha de pao, preparation, i. 290.

Fedegozo (_Cassia occidentalis_) as a substitute for quinine, ii. 249.

Fetish, as a punishment to drunkards, i. 117.

“Fetishes” of the negro, fetish men, &c., i. 243-253.

Fetish-house, ii. 7.

Fever, its prevention and cure, ii. 246; native treatment of, 249.

Fevers at Bembe, i. 227.

Fish, mode of cooking at Loanda, ii. 30.

---- caught at Loanda, ii. 31.

---- and fisheries between Benguella and Mossamedes, ii. 206.

Food, abundant growth at Cazengo, ii. 105.

Frogs as food, i. 298.

Fruits, ii. 297.

Furniture of the natives, i. 282.

Gamboa, General, ii. 3.

Garapa, drink, i. 300.

Garlic as a food for hot climate, ii. 240.

Gigantic grasses, i. 33.

Giraul river, ii. 218.

Gold at Lombige, ii. 90.

Golungo Alto, ii. 85.

Gorilla and Chimpanzee, where found, i. 53.

Gourds of Cazengo and Pungo Andongo, ii. 104.

Grandy, Lieut., i. 162.

Grass, “Capim de faca” or knife-grass, i. 33; description of burning, 39.

Ground-nut, analysis, ii. 110.

Gum-arabic at Mossamedes, ii. 218.

Gum Elemi, called “mubafo,” i. 206.

Gun-loading by the natives, i. 141.

Gypsum, ii. 16.

Habits and customs of natives in Angola, ii. 268.

Hammock, description of, i. 163.

Haricot-bean, i. 97.

Head, mode of shaving the, i. 269.

----, “inhabitants” of the, trap for catching, and professional catchers, i. 269.

Herva Santa Maria (_Chenopodium ambrosioides_), ii. 250.

Hippopotami in the River Quanza, ii. 124.

Hornbill, the, ii. 73.

---- (_Toccus elegans_ and _Toccus Monteiri_), at Benguella, ii. 201.

Hot-spring at Dongo, ii. 162.

_Hydnora_, a Rafflesiaceous plant, ii. 207.

Hydraulic-press for baleing the baobab fibre, i. 125.

Hyenas steal the author’s sheep, ii. 81; attacked by wolf-hounds, 225.

Import-duties, ii. 61.

India-rubber creeper, description of, i. 31, 137.

Indian-corn, i. 296.

Indolence of the Bunda-speaking natives, ii. 100.

Infundi, preparation, i. 288.

Ink, ingredients of native, ii. 98.

Insanity among the natives, i. 279.

Iron-smelting at Cazengo, ii. 95.

Ivory, i. 139.

Jasmine at Benguella, ii. 192.

Jasminum auriculatum, ii. 5.

---- multipartitum, ii. 5.

Kew Gardens, author’s collection of plants in the herbarium at, i. 178.

Kimpoaca, aversion of natives to the landing of hydraulic press, i. 126.

King Parrot, where found, i. 53.

Kingfishers, ii. 121.

Kinsao, mineral pitch at, i. 150.

_Landolphia, florida?_ the tree-creeper that produces indiarubber, i. 31, 137.

Language of the different races, ii. 96.

Lead ore, ii. 199.

Leeches, abundance of, ii. 266.

Lemur, _Galago Monteiri_, ii. 306.

Libollo country, ii. 145.

Libongo, ii. 9.

Lions at Carunjamba, ii. 209.

_Lissochilus giganteus_, found at Porto da Lenha, i. 82.

Little Fish Bay, i. 23.

Lizards, ii. 109.

Loanda, cause for change of vegetation, i. 28; baptizing slaves at, 68.

----, death of a boy in market-place at, i. 72.

----, vegetation, ii. 18.

----, city of St. Paul de, ii. 20; population, 22; style of building, _ib._; market of, 25; custom of the ladies of, 33; dress of the people, 35; slavery in, 39; vegetation, 44; police of, 48; lighting of the city, _ib._; theatre at, _ib._; morals, _ib._

Loangos or Loandos’ mats, i. 302.

Lobato, Senhor, ii. 63.

Lobito Bay, ii. 176.

Loranthus, seed of, used as bird-lime, ii. 205.

Luache river at Dombe Grande, i. 49.

----, quicksands at, ii. 197.

“Macotas,” or the council, i. 255.

Maculo, a disease peculiar to blacks, its treatment, ii. 252.

Malachite, ii. 161, 191.

----, how and where found, i. 191-195.

Malagueta pepper, i. 294.

Manatee, or woman-fish, ii. 17, 125.

Mandioca plant, cultivation of, i. 287; preparation, 291, ii. 197.

Mangrove tree, ii. 117.

_Manis multiscutata_, ant-eating animal, ii. 278.

Manoel Vacca, notorious pirate, i. 92.

Maquata, the red gum-copal, i. 134.

Maracachão bird (_Pytelia elegans_), ii. 205.

Marble column at Santa Maria Cape, commemorating its discovery, ii. 216.

Marriage law of the natives, i. 264.

Massangano town, ii. 128.

Mateba palm, abundance of, from River Congo to Ambrizzette, i. 44.

Matuta, change of scenery and vegetation, i. 29.

----, visit to, i. 199.

Mineral pitch, i. 150.

Mirage at Mossamedes, ii. 231.

Mossamedes, i. 23, 27, 28.

---- (Little Fish Bay), ii. 217.

----, climate, society, &c., ii. 232.

Mosquitoes, i. 167.

Mourning of the natives, i. 277.

Mucelis, i. 28.

Mucoandos tribe, ii. 226.

Mucozo river, i. 47, ii. 66.

Mundombes, the inhabitants of Benguella, their clothing, vegetation, mode of eating meat, &c., ii. 186; their arms, 188.

Muinzus or pestles, i. 304.

Mule, dislike to being harnessed by a negro, i. 37.

Muqueca, its ingredients, ii. 239.

Muquices tribe, ii. 227.

_Mus Gambianus_, ii. 168.

Mushicongo negroes, customs of, i. 280; mode of building their huts, 284; furniture of the, _ib._

Musical instruments of the natives, ii. 139.

Mussera, town, i. 143.

Mussurougo tribe, pirates, i. 92; ankle-rings worn by, 93; customs of, 280.

Muxima town, ii. 122.

Muxixe tree, i. 29.

Native remedies for diseases, ii. 263.

Natives, custom of, in case of death, after the administration of medicine, or after the performance of an operation, i. 73; objection of to work for wages, 75; fear of at sight of a steamer, 125; customs of the, 257; bed-clothing, 266.

Navigation of Rivers Dande, Bengo, &c., i. 47.

Nborotuto shrub, ii. 70.

Ncombo, or goat-root, used to flavour tobacco, ii. 270.

_Nectariniæ_, i. 99.

Negro cook making forcemeat balls, i. 36.

Negro, insensibility of the, i. 69-75; ingratitude of the, 77; character of the, 238; absence of affection in the, 242; social laws of the, 242; absence of sympathy in the, 243; absence of cruelty in the, 245; “fetishes” of the, 246, 247; toilet of, 263; mode of shaving the head, 269.

Negroes, odour of, i. 36; ankle-rings worn by, 94; customs of, 181.

Ngilló, vegetable, i. 296.

Novo Redondo, i. 28.

---- natives of, ii. 155-159.

_Nymphœa dentata_ and _stellata_, water-lily, ii. 121.

Oil, dog-fish, ii. 207.

Oil-palm at Bembe, i. 32.

Ophthalmia, its rarity, ii. 258.

Orange River, i. 27.

Orchilla-weed, ii. 184.

Ordeal by poison, i. 61.

Ornaments of kings’ and macotas’ wives, i. 268.

Ox-bird (_Buphaga Africana_), ii. 204.

Oxen trained for riding, ii. 218.

Palm-chop, i. 97.

---- tree, mode of climbing, i. 97.

---- wine, i. 97.

Panda or wattled crane (_Grus carunculata_), ii. 203.

Paper-making, baobab-tree in its application to, i. 118.

Papyrus, growth of, i. 302.

Pedra grande, or “big stone,” ii. 221.

_Pentalobus barbatus_, beetle, i. 146.

Pepper, Chili, &c., i. 293.

Picnic at Boma, visit of the nine kings, i. 87.

Pirão, preparation, i. 291.

Pitch, mineral, ii. 9.

Plants used by natives for cure of dysentery or diarrhœa, ii. 252.

Plaster-of-paris, manufactured by author from gypsum-rock, ii. 200.

Polygamy among the natives, i. 263.

Porcupines, ii. 297.

Porto da Lenha, description of, i. 83.

---- Domingos, ii. 66.

Potato, sweet, i. 296.

Productions of Cazengo, ii. 105.

Products from River Congo to Ambriz, i. 119-141.

_Ptyelus olivaceus_, or spit-frog, ii. 108.

Pungo Andongo range, description of scenery, i. 31.

----, natives of, ii. 102.

Pungo fish, i. 142.

Purgatives used by the natives, ii. 262.

Quanza River, i. 47, ii. 113.

“Queimada,” burning grass, description of, i. 39.

Quiavo, or Quingombó, i. 297.

Quiballa, i. 30; description of country, 171.

---- to Bembe, i. 181-187.

Quifandongo, ii. 19.

Quileba, copper at, ii. 191.

Quilumbo, i. 185.

Quinbundo natives, ii. 146.

Quincollo, i. 236.

Quindas or baskets, i. 301.

Quingombe, i. 235.

Quinine--fedegozo used as a substitute by Portuguese, ii. 249.

Quioco bird, ii. 79.

Quipupa, spring of ferruginous water at, ii. 196.

Quiquanga, preparation, i. 289.

Quirandas, shell-bead ornaments, ii. 169.

Quissama country, ii. 144.

---- ladies, fashions of the, ii. 147.

Rain, fall of, i. 42.

Rat-catching, i. 298.

Rats, as food, i. 298; at Libongo, ii. 8.

Root parasite, i. 198, ii. 207.

Salalé, or white ant, i. 299, ii. 277.

Salt, i. 147.

San Francisco River, ii. 196.

San Salvador, i. 225.

Sand-grouse--_Pterocles namaquus_, ii. 201.

Sangue-sangue, tall grass, ii. 250.

Sanseviera plant, i. 29, 45.

Santa Maria Cape, ii. 214.

Sarna, a kind of itch common among blacks, ii. 259.

Scents, ii. 299.

Scorpions, effects of their sting, ii. 170, 171.

_Scopus umbretta_, heron-like bird, ii. 73.

Senhor Chaves, i. 83; organizes a picnic, 87.

_Sesamum indicum_ seed, i. 134.

_Sesbania punctata_, Pers., shrub common in marshes, ii. 176.

Sharks, absence of south of River Congo, i. 51.

Silva, Mr. Augustus Archer, accompanies author to Quanza, ii. 112.

Silver in Cambambe, ii. 62.

Skin-disease, treatment of, ii. 261.

Slave, author buys a, i. 77.

Slaves shipped in Angola, statistics of, i. 67; treatment of in case of famine, 69; native laws regarding, 76; cost of, 205.

Slave-trade, i. 56; explanation of in Angola, 58.

---- at Benguella, ii. 185.

Slavery, i. 56; observance of laws, 59; witchcraft in, 61; ordeal by poison, _ib._; in Loanda, ii. 39; author’s views on abolition of, 41.

Sleep-disease, i. 143; description of, 144.

Snakes, ii. 300.

Soba, a, visits the author, ii. 173.

---- Dumbo, formerly a powerful king, ii. 67.

_Solanum saponaceum_, fruit of the, used as soap, ii. 111.

Solé, bird, ii. 166.

Sounds of birds, &c., i. 304.

Sphynx moths, ii. 304.

Spit-frog, the, ii. 108.

Spring-bok, near Mossamedes, ii. 213.

_Sterculia tomentosa_, i. 29.

Sulphate of magnesia, ii. 220.

Sulphur at Dombe Grande, ii. 197.

Suspension-bridge at Novo Redondo, ii. 159.

“Tangandando,” india-rubber, i. 137.

Tobacco, its efficacy for inflammation of bowels, ii. 263; its use by natives, 269.

Toilet of the negro, i. 263.

Trading between River Congo and Ambriz, i. 105.

Traps to catch “inhabitants” of the head, i. 269.

Travelling, mode of, i. 165.

_Treron calva_, pigeon, ii. 164.

Trial of a man for bewitching the spirit of his dead wife, i. 66.

_Trionyx nilotica_, tortoise, ii. 125.

_Turacus cristatus_, plantain-eater, ii. 86.

Uallua, drink, i. 300.

Ulcers, native remedies for, ii. 253.

Uzanzos, baskets or sieves, i. 304.

Uzus, or mortars, i. 304.

Vegetables, growth of, at Bembe, i. 225.

Vegetation of Angola, from Ambriz to Bembe, i. 29; from River Congo to Mossamedes, 43.

Viuva, or long-tailed whydah-finch (_Vidua paradisea_), ii. 205.

_Voandzeia subterranea_, ii. 111.

Volcanic rocks, ii. 69, 220.

Wages of Englishmen in Africa, ii. 243.

Water, mode of getting, in dry season, i. 43; finding of at Cambambe, 47; curious deposits of ii. 221.

Watercress, ii. 93.

Wasps, ii. 287, 291.

_Welwitschia, mirabilis_, plant, ii. 229.

White men, reception of, by king, i. 257.

Wild-hemp smoking, ii. 257.

Witchcraft at Ambrizzette, i. 65.

Women’s work, i. 285.

Writing, style of employed by natives, ii. 315.

Zebras at Benguella, ii. 194.

Zombo tribe, mode of dressing the hair, &c., i. 271.

LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

Transcriber’s Notes

A few minor errors in punctuation were fixed.

Page 74: “plaintain-eaters” changed to “plantain-eaters”

Page 201: “_Toccus elegans_, and _Toccus Monteiri_” changed to “_Tockus elegans_, and _Tockus Monteiri_”

Page 301: “bit being said” changed to “bite being said”