The Meadow-Lands Adjacent To
The Senza And Coanza Being Underlaid By That Marly Tufa
Which Abounds Toward The Coast, And Containing The Same Shells,
Show That, Previous To The Elevation Of That Side Of The Country,
This Region Possessed Some Deeply-Indented Bays.
28TH SEPTEMBER, KALUNGWEMBO.
- We were still on the same path
by which we had come, and, there being no mosquitoes, we could now
better enjoy the scenery. Ranges of hills occupy both sides of our path,
and the fine level road is adorned with a beautiful red flower
named Bolcamaria. The markets or sleeping-places are well supplied
with provisions by great numbers of women, every one of whom
is seen spinning cotton with a spindle and distaff, exactly like those
which were in use among the ancient Egyptians. A woman is scarcely ever seen
going to the fields, though with a pot on her head, a child on her back,
and the hoe over her shoulder, but she is employed in this way.
The cotton was brought to the market for sale, and I bought a pound
for a penny. This was the price demanded, and probably double
what they ask from each other. We saw the cotton growing luxuriantly
all around the market-places from seeds dropped accidentally.
It is seen also about the native huts, and, so far as I could learn,
it was the American cotton, so influenced by climate as to be perennial.
We met in the road natives passing with bundles of cops,
or spindles full of cotton thread, and these they were carrying to other parts
to be woven into cloth.
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