Read Ebook: Stand By The Union by Optic Oliver Bridgman L J Lewis Jesse Illustrator

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COUNTRY FROM AMBRIZ TO LOANDA--MOSSULO--LIBONGO--BITUMEN--RIVER DANDE--RIVER BENGO--QUIFANDONGO 1

CITY OF LOANDA--NATIVES--SLAVERY--CONVICTS--THEATRE AND MORALS 20

PROVINCE OF CAZENGO--GOLUNGO ALTO--GOLD--WILD COFFEE--IRON SMELTING--FORMER MISSIONARIES--CUSTOMS--NATIVES--PRODUCTIONS 84

COUNTRY SOUTH OF THE RIVER QUANZA--CASSANZA--NOVO REDONDO--CELIS--CANNIBALS--LIONS--HOT SPRINGS--BEES--EGITO--SCORPIONS--RIVER ANHA--CATUMBELLA 151

TOWN OF BENGUELLA--SLAVE-TRADE--MUNDOMBES--CUSTOMS--COPPER--HYENAS-- MONKEYS--COPPER DEPOSIT--GYPSUM--HORNBILLS--BIRDS--FISH--LIONS 180

COUNTRY BETWEEN BENGUELLA AND MOSSAMEDES--MOSSAMEDES--CURIOUS DEPOSITS OF WATER--HYENAS--WELWITSCHIA MIRABILIS--MIRAGE 212

CLIMATE--COOKERY--DRUNKENNESS--FEVER--NATIVE TREATMENT--ULCERS--SMOKING WILD-HEMP--NATIVE REMEDIES 233

CUSTOMS--BURIAL--WHITE ANT--WASPS--FRUITS--SCENTS--SPITTING-SNAKE-- SCARABAEUS--LEMUR 268

CONCLUSION 307

Bellows--Marimba--Native smiths--Rat-trap " 93

Maxilla and Barber's shop--Carrying corpse for burial--Quissama Women, and manner of pounding and sifting meal in Angola " 147

Mundombes and Huts " 185

Native-smelted Copper--Powder-flask--Mundombe Axe--Manner of securing Fish for drying--Hunters' fetish --Manner of carrying in the hand --Gourd-pipe for smoking Diamba--Wooden dish--Double-handled hoe " 190

Welwitschias growing in a plain near Mossamedes " 229

Pelopoeus spirifex and nest--Devil of the Road--Dasylus sp.--Caterpillars' nests--Mantis and Nest--Manis multiscutatum and Ants' nests " 277

ANGOLA AND THE RIVER CONGO.

COUNTRY FROM AMBRIZ TO LOANDA--MOSSULO--LIBONGO--BITUMEN--RIVER DANDE--RIVER BENGO--QUIFANDONGO.

The distance from Ambriz to Loanda is about sixty miles, and the greater part of the country is called Mossulo, from being inhabited by a tribe of that name. These natives have not yet been reduced to obedience by the Portuguese, not from any warlike or valorous opposition on their part, but entirely from the miserable want of energy of the latter in not taking the few wretched towns on the road. Incredible as it may appear, it is nevertheless a fact that to the present day the Mossulos will not allow a white man to pass overland from Libongo to Ambriz, although this last place was occupied in 1855, and several expeditions have since been sent to and from Ambriz to Bembe and San Salvador. Nothing could have been easier than for one of these to have passed through the Mossulo country and to have occupied it, at once doing away with the reproach of allowing a mean tribe to bar a few miles of road almost at the gates of Loanda, the capital of Angola.

One of these expeditions, on its return from chastising the natives of a town on the road to Bembe for robbery, was actually sent to Loanda by road. The Governor-General was then at Ambriz, and being unacquainted with the negro character, and having mistaken humanitarian ideas, gave strict orders that the natives of Mossulo, who had committed several acts of violence, should not be punished, but that speeches should be made to them warning them of future retribution if they continued to misconduct themselves. Their towns and property were not touched, nor were hostages or other security exacted for their future good conduct.

The natural consequence was that this clemency was ascribed by the natives to weakness, and that the Portuguese were afraid of their power, as not a hut had been burnt, a root touched, or a fowl killed, and they consequently, in order to give the white men an idea of their power and invincibility, attacked some American and English factories at Mossulo Bay, the white men there having the greatest difficulty to save their lives and property; a Portuguese man-of-war landed some men, and so enabled the traders to get their goods shipped, but the factories were burnt to the ground. This was in September 1859.

I was at Ambriz when the expedition started, so I determined to join it, and examine the country to Loanda.

The expedition consisted of 150 Portuguese and black soldiers, and as many armed "Libertos," or slaves, who are freemen after having served the Government for seven years; these "Libertos" dragged a light six-pounder gun. The commander was Major Gamboa, an officer who had seen upwards of twenty years' service in Mo?ambique and Angola, and to whom I was indebted for great friendship during the whole time I was in the country. The major and two officers rode horses; two others and myself were carried in hammocks. We started one afternoon and halted at a small village consisting of only a few huts, at about six miles south of Ambriz. There we supped and slept, and started next morning at daybreak. The start did not occupy much time, as the Portuguese troops and officers in Angola do not make use of tents when on the march, and their not doing so is undoubtedly the cause of a good deal of the sickness and discomfort they suffer. In the evening we arrived at the Bay of Mossulo, where we were hospitably entertained by the English and American traders there established.

Various kinds of birds abounded, principally doves and the beautiful purple starlings, and on the ground small flocks of the bustards Otis ruficrista and Otis picturata were not uncommon, appearing in the distance like snakes, their heads alone being visible over the tops of the short rough grass as they ran along. A small hare is found in abundance, and also several species of ducks in some small marshes near Great Mossulo. Of larger game only some small kinds of antelope are found.

I had gone on some distance ahead of the troops, and on approaching one large town, about a dozen natives armed with muskets stopped my hammock, and told me I must return to Ambriz, as no white man could be allowed to pass. I told them that the soldiers were close behind, and that resistance would be useless, as their town would be taken and burnt if they attempted any; they, however, still persisted in not letting me go forward, so I had to wait for a few minutes till they saw Major Gamboa and the two officers approaching on horseback, when they scampered off into the bush without even saying good-bye, and on our entering the town we found it deserted save by the king and a few other old men, who were all humility, and protested that they would never more insult or ill treat white men.

Major Gamboa was perfectly convinced of the uselessness of only talking to blacks, his intimate knowledge of them telling him that the only safe plan would have been to have burnt the towns on the road and taken the king and old men to Loanda as hostages, but he had to obey his instructions, and the result was that they attacked the factories and killed a number of natives. The Portuguese, however, instead of punishing this outrage, tamely pocketed the affront, and left the Mossulos in undisputed possession of the road.

In these towns were the largest "fetish" houses I have seen in Angola. One was a large hut built of mud, the walls plastered with white, and painted all over inside and out with grotesque drawings, in black and red, of men and animals. Inside were three life-size figures very roughly modelled in clay, and of the most indecent description. Behind this hut was a long court the width of the length of the hut, enclosed with walls about six feet high. A number of figures similar in character to those in the hut were standing in this court, which was kept quite clean and bare of grass. What, if any, were the uses to which these "fetish" houses were applied I could not exactly ascertain. I do not believe that they are used for any ceremonials, but that the "fetishes" or spirits are supposed to live in them in the same manner as in the "fetish" houses in the towns in the Ambriz and Bembe country. At one of the towns we saw a number of the natives running away into the bush in the distance, carrying on their backs several of the dead dry bodies of their relatives. I hunted in all the huts to find a dry corpse to take away as a specimen, but without success; they had all been removed.

Next day we continued our journey, and bivouacked on the sea-shore, not very far from Libongo, and near the large town of Quiembe.

On the beach we found the dead trunk of a large tree that had evidently been cast ashore by the waves, and had been considered a "fetish;" for what reason, in this case, I know not, as trees stranded in this way are common. It was hung all over with strips of cloth and rags of all kinds, shells, &c. As it was dry, it was quickly chopped up for firewood by the soldiers and blacks.

The following morning our road lay along the beach till we reached the dry mouth of the River Lifune, a small stream that only runs during the rainy season. We then struck due inland for about three miles to reach the Portuguese post of Libongo, consisting of a small force commanded by a lieutenant. This officer I had known at Bembe, and he gave us a cordial welcome.

The "Residencia," or residence of the "Chefe," as the commandants are called, was a large, rambling old house of only one floor, and it contained the greatest number of rats that I have ever seen in any one place.

One large room was assigned to the use of Major Gamboa, two officers, and myself, a bed being made in each corner of the room. We had taken the precaution of leaving the candle burning on the floor in the middle of the room, but we had scarcely lain down when we began to hear lively squeaks and rustlings that seemed to come from walls, roof, and floor. In a few minutes the rats issued boldly from all parts, running down the walls and dropping in numbers from the roof on to the beds, and attacking the candle. We shouted, and threw our boots, sticks, and everything else that was available at them, but it was of no use, and we could hardly save the candle. It was useless to think of sleep under these circumstances, for we considered that if the rats were so bold with a light in the room, they would no doubt eat us up alive in the dark, so we dressed ourselves, and pitched our hammocks in the open air, under some magnificent tamarind-trees, and there slept in comfort.

Libongo is celebrated for its mineral pitch, which was formerly much used at Loanda for tarring ships and boats. The inhabitants of the district used to pay their dues or taxes to government in this pitch. It is not collected at the present time, but I do not know the reason why.

I was curious to see the locality in which it was found, as it had not been visited before by a white man, so Lieutenant Loforte supplied me with an old man as guide, and Major Gamboa and myself started one morning at daybreak.

We had been told that we might reach the place and return in good time for dinner in the evening, and consequently only provided a small basket of provisions for breakfast and lunch; we travelled about six miles, and reached a place where we found half-a-dozen huts of blacks belonging to Libongo, engaged in their mandioca plantations. These tried hard to dissuade us from proceeding farther, saying that we should only reach the pitch springs next morning. I, of course, decided to proceed, but Major Gamboa, who did not take the interest in the exploration that I did, determined to return to breakfast at Libongo at once, leaving me the provisions for my supposed two days' journey.

After a short rest I started off again, and about mid-day arrived at the place I was in search of. It was the head of a small valley or gully, worn by the waters from the plain on their way to the sea, which was not far off, as although it could not be seen from where I stood, the roll of the surf on the beach could just be heard. It must have been close inland to the place where we had bivouacked a few nights before, and had burnt the "fetish" tree for firewood.

The rock was a friable fine sandstone, so impregnated with the bitumen or pitch, that it oozed out from the sides of the horizontal beds and formed little cakes on the steps or ledges, from an ounce or two in weight to masses of a couple of pounds or more.

Although it was very interesting to see a rock so impregnated with pitch as to melt out with the heat of the sun, I was disappointed, as from the reports of the natives I had been led to believe that it was a regular spring or lake. My guide was most anxious that I should return, and as I was preparing to shoot a bird, begged me not to fire my gun and attract the attention of the natives of the town of Quiengue, close by, whom we could hear beating drums and firing off muskets. Next day we knew at Libongo that these demonstrations had been for the purpose of calling together the natives, to attack the factories at Mossulo Bay.

There was great talk at Loanda about sending an expedition to punish these natives, but, as usual, it ended in smoke, and no white man has since been allowed to pass through the Mossulo country.

Several years after, the King of Mossulo sent an embassy to me at Ambriz, begging me to open a factory at Mossulo. On condition that I, or any white man in my employ, should be free to pass backwards and forwards from Loanda to Ambriz, I promised to do so, and was taken to the king's town at Mossulo, where it was all arranged. I did not believe them, of course, but I gave a few fathoms of cloth and other goods that they might build me a hut on the cliff at Mossulo Bay, which they did, and I then declared myself ready to send a clerk with goods to commence trading, as soon as they should send me hammock-boys to carry me to Loanda. As I expected, they never sent them, and for several years, whilst the hut on the cliff lasted, it served as a capital landmark to the steamers and ships on the coast. The Governor-General at Loanda, to prevent traders from establishing factories at Mossulo Grande, warned us at Ambriz that if we did so we must take all risks, that he would not only not protect us, but that all goods for trading at Mossulo would have to be entered and cleared at the Loanda custom-house. Far from such disgraceful pusillanimity being censured at Loanda, it was, with few exceptions, considered by the Portuguese there as a very praiseworthy measure.

The rock of the country at Libongo is a black shale; also strongly impregnated with bitumen. A Portuguese at Loanda, believing that this circumstance indicated coal in depth, sunk a shaft some few fathoms in this shale, and I visited the spot to see if any organic remains were to be found in the rock extracted, but could not discover any. About half way from Libongo to the place where I saw the bituminous sandstone formation, I observed a well-defined rocky ridge of quartz running about east and west, which appeared to have been irrupted through the shale.

The ground about Libongo is evidently very fertile, the mandioca and other plantations being most luxuriant, and I particularly noticed some very fine sugar-cane. Some of the tamarind-trees were extremely fine, and on the stem of a very large one a couple of the "engonguis," or double bells, were nailed, which had belonged to the former native town there, and as they are considered "fetish," no black would steal or touch them.

A few hours' journey to the south of Libongo is the River Dande, navigable only by large barges, and draining a fertile country.

It is only within the last two years that the value of this river, for trading or produce, has attracted attention at Loanda, and I am glad to say that it was owing to two foreign houses that trading was commenced there on anything like a respectable scale. The interior is rich in coffee, gum-copal, ground-nuts, and india-rubber, and this country promises an important future; cattle thrive here, and Loanda is now supplied with a small quantity of excellent butter and cream cheese from some herds in the vicinity of this river near the bar.

Limestone is also burnt into lime, which is sold at a good price at Loanda; and were the Portuguese and natives more enterprising and industrious, the banks of the river would be covered with valuable gardens and plantations; but apathy reigns supreme, and the authorities at Loanda prevent any attempt to get out of this state by the obstructions of all kinds of petty and harassing imposts, rules, and regulations, having no possible aim but the collection of a despicable amount of fees to keep alive and in idleness a few miserable officials.

The country is comparatively level, and calls for no particular description, till about eighteen miles southward the high and bold cliff of Point Lagostas marks the bay into which runs the beautiful little river Bengo, or Zenza, as it is called farther inland.

This is even a smaller river than the Dande, though more important from its near proximity to Loanda, and the remarks as to the wonderful indifference and hindrance to the development of the River Dande, apply with still greater force to the Bengo, a very mine of wealth at the doors of Loanda! It is hardly possible to restrain within reasonable limits the expression of surprise at the fact that Loanda, with its thousands of inhabitants, should be still destitute of a good supply of drinking water, when there is a river of splendid water only nine miles off, whence it receives an insignificant and totally inadequate supply brought in casks only, carried by a few rotten barges and canoes that are often prevented from leaving or entering the river for days together, on account of the surf at the bar. A small cask of Bengo water, holding about six gallons, costs from twopence to fourpence! All kinds of fruit and vegetables grow luxuriantly on the banks of the Bengo, and yet Loanda, where nothing can grow from its sandy and arid soil, is almost unprovided with either--a few heads of salad or cabbage, or a few turnips and carrots being there considered a fine present.

At Point Lagostas a good deal of gypsum is found, and also specimens of native sulphur.

Both the River Bengo and the River Dande are greatly infested by alligators, and a curious idea prevails amongst all the natives of Angola, that the liver of the alligator is a deadly poison, and that it is employed as such by the "feiticeiros" or "fetish"-men.

The Manatee is also not uncommon in these rivers;--this curious mammal is called by the Portuguese "Peixe mulher" or woman fish, from its breasts being said to resemble those of a woman. Near the mouth of the Dande this animal is sometimes captured by enclosing a space, during the high tides, with a strong rope-net made of baobab fibre, so that when the tide falls it is stranded and easily killed. I was never so fortunate as to see one of these animals, and am therefore unable to describe it from personal observation, but it is said to be most like a gigantic seal. I once saw a quantity of the flesh in a canoe on the River Quanza, and was told that the greater part had been already sold, and I had given me a couple of strips of the hide of one that had been shot in the River Loge at Ambriz. These strips are about seven feet long and half an inch thick, of a yellowish colour, and semi-transparent. They are used as whips, being smooth and exceedingly tough. The flesh is good eating, though of no particular flavour, and is greatly liked by the natives. The marshes and lagoons about the River Bengo are full of wild duck and other water-fowl, and are favourite sporting places of the officers of the English men-of-war when at Loanda. The Portuguese, not having the love of sport greatly developed, seldom make excursions to them.

The country from the Bengo to Loanda rises suddenly, and the coast line is high and bold, but the soil is very arid and sandy, the rocks being arenaceous, evidently of recent formation, and full of casts of shells.

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