This Plant Can Not Bear The Direct Rays Of The Sun;
Consequently, When A Number Of The Trees Are Discovered
In the forest,
all that is necessary is to clear away the brushwood,
and leave as many of the tall
Forest-trees as will afford good shade
to the coffee-plants below. The fortunate discoverer has then
a flourishing coffee plantation.
This district, small though it be, having only a population of 13,822,
of whom ten only are white, nevertheless yields an annual tribute
to the government of thirteen hundred cotton cloths, each 5 feet
by 18 or 20 inches, of their own growth and manufacture.
Accompanied by the commandant of Cazengo, who was well acquainted
with this part of the country, I proceeded in a canoe down the River Lucalla
to Massangano. This river is about 85 yards wide, and navigable for canoes
from its confluence with the Coanza to about six miles above the point
where it receives the Luinha. Near this latter point
stand the strong, massive ruins of an iron foundry, erected in
the times (1768) and by the order of the famous Marquis of Pombal.
The whole of the buildings were constructed of stone, cemented with
oil and lime. The dam for water-power was made of the same materials,
and 27 feet high. This had been broken through by a flood,
and solid blocks, many yards in length, were carried down the stream,
affording an instructive example of the transporting power of water.
There was nothing in the appearance of the place to indicate unhealthiness;
but eight Spanish and Swedish workmen, being brought hither
for the purpose of instructing the natives in the art of smelting iron,
soon fell victims to disease and "irregularities". The effort of the marquis
to improve the mode of manufacturing iron was thus rendered abortive.
Labor and subsistence are, however, so very cheap that almost
any amount of work can be executed, at a cost that renders
expensive establishments unnecessary.
A party of native miners and smiths is still kept in the employment
of the government, who, working the rich black magnetic iron ore,
produce for the government from 480 to 500 bars of good malleable iron
every month. They are supported by the appropriation of a few thousands
of a small fresh-water fish, called "Cacusu", a portion of the tax levied upon
the fishermen of the Coanza. This fish is so much relished in the country
that those who do not wish to eat them can easily convert them into money.
The commandant of the district of Massangano, for instance,
has a right to a dish of three hundred every morning, as part of his salary.
Shell-fish are also found in the Coanza, and the "Peixemulher",
or woman-fish of the Portuguese, which is probably a Manatee.
The banks of the Lucalla are very pretty, well planted with orange-trees,
bananas, and the palm (`Elaeis Guineensis') which yields the oil of commerce.
Large plantations of maize, manioc, and tobacco are seen along both banks,
which are enlivened by the frequent appearance of native houses
imbosomed in dense shady groves, with little boys and girls
playing about them.
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