More than ten minutes
at a time; and as we came down the declivity above the city of Loanda
on the 31st of May, I was laboring under great depression of spirits,
as I understood that, in a population of twelve thousand souls,
there was but one genuine English gentleman. I naturally felt anxious to know
whether he were possessed of good-nature, or was one of those crusty mortals
one would rather not meet at all.
This gentleman, Mr. Gabriel, our commissioner for the suppression
of the slave-trade, had kindly forwarded an invitation to meet me
on the way from Cassange, but, unfortunately, it crossed me on the road.
When we entered his porch, I was delighted to see a number of flowers
cultivated carefully, and inferred from this circumstance that he was,
what I soon discovered him to be, a real whole-hearted Englishman.
Seeing me ill, he benevolently offered me his bed. Never shall I forget
the luxurious pleasure I enjoyed in feeling myself again
on a good English couch, after six months' sleeping on the ground.
I was soon asleep; and Mr. Gabriel, coming in almost immediately,
rejoiced at the soundness of my repose.
Chapter 20.
Continued Sickness - Kindness of the Bishop of Angola
and her Majesty's Officers - Mr. Gabriel's unwearied Hospitality -
Serious Deportment of the Makololo - They visit Ships of War -
Politeness of the Officers and Men - The Makololo attend Mass
in the Cathedral - Their Remarks - Find Employment
in collecting Firewood and unloading Coal - Their superior Judgment
respecting Goods - Beneficial Influence of the Bishop of Angola -
The City of St. Paul de Loanda - The Harbor - Custom-house -
No English Merchants - Sincerity of the Portuguese Government
in suppressing the Slave-trade - Convict Soldiers -
Presents from Bishop and Merchants for Sekeletu - Outfit - Leave Loanda
20th September, 1854 - Accompanied by Mr. Gabriel as far as Icollo i Bengo
- Sugar Manufactory - Geology of this part of the Country -
Women spinning Cotton - Its Price - Native Weavers - Market-places -
Cazengo; its Coffee Plantations - South American Trees -
Ruins of Iron Foundry - Native Miners - The Banks of the Lucalla -
Cottages with Stages - Tobacco-plants - Town of Massangano -
Sugar and Rice - Superior District for Cotton - Portuguese Merchants
and foreign Enterprise - Ruins - The Fort and its ancient Guns -
Former Importance of Massangano - Fires - The Tribe Kisama -
Peculiar Variety of Domestic Fowl - Coffee Plantations -
Return to Golungo Alto - Self-complacency of the Makololo -
Fever - Jaundice - Insanity.
In the hope that a short enjoyment of Mr. Gabriel's generous hospitality
would restore me to my wonted vigor, I continued under his roof;
but my complaint having been caused by long exposure to malarious influences,
I became much more reduced than ever, even while enjoying rest.
Several Portuguese gentlemen called on me shortly after my arrival;
and the Bishop of Angola, the Right Reverend Joaquim Moreira Reis,
then the acting governor of the province, sent his secretary to do the same,
and likewise to offer the services of the government physician.
Some of her majesty's cruisers soon came into the port, and,
seeing the emaciated condition to which I was reduced, offered to convey me
to St. Helena or homeward; but, though I had reached the coast,
I had found that, in consequence of the great amount of forest,
rivers, and marsh, there was no possibility of a highway for wagons,
and I had brought a party of Sekeletu's people with me,
and found the tribes near the Portuguese settlement so very unfriendly,
that it would be altogether impossible for my men to return alone.
I therefore resolved to decline the tempting offers of my naval friends,
and take back my Makololo companions to their chief,
with a view of trying to make a path from his country to the east coast
by means of the great river Zambesi or Leeambye.
I, however, gladly availed myself of the medical assistance of Mr. Cockin,
the surgeon of the "Polyphemus", at the suggestion of his commander,
Captain Phillips. Mr. Cockin's treatment, aided by the exhilarating presence
of the warm-hearted naval officers, and Mr. Gabriel's unwearied
hospitality and care, soon brought me round again. On the 14th
I was so far well as to call on the bishop, in company with my party,
who were arrayed in new robes of striped cotton cloth and red caps,
all presented to them by Mr. Gabriel. He received us,
as head of the provisional government, in the grand hall of the palace.
He put many intelligent questions respecting the Makololo,
and then gave them free permission to come to Loanda as often as they pleased.
This interview pleased the Makololo extremely.
Every one remarked the serious deportment of the Makololo. They viewed the
large stone houses and churches in the vicinity of the great ocean with awe.
A house with two stories was, until now, beyond their comprehension.
In explanation of this strange thing, I had always been obliged
to use the word for hut; and as huts are constructed by the poles being let
into the earth, they never could comprehend how the poles of one hut
could be founded upon the roof of another, or how men could live
in the upper story, with the conical roof of the lower one in the middle.
Some Makololo, who had visited my little house at Kolobeng,
in trying to describe it to their countrymen at Linyanti, said,
"It is not a hut; it is a mountain with several caves in it."
Commander Bedingfeld and Captain Skene invited them to visit their vessels,
the "Pluto" and "Philomel". Knowing their fears, I told them
that no one need go if he entertained the least suspicion of foul play.
Nearly the whole party went; and when on deck, I pointed to the sailors,
and said, "Now these are all my countrymen, sent by our queen for the purpose
of putting down the trade of those that buy and sell black men."
They replied, "Truly!
