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. The banks are steep, the water having cut out its bed
in dark red alluvial soil. Before every cottage a small stage is erected,
to which the inhabitants may descend to draw water without danger
from the alligators. Some have a little palisade made in the water for safety
from these reptiles, and others use the shell of the fruit of the baobab-tree
attached to a pole about ten feet long, with which, while standing
on the high bank, they may draw water without fear of accident.
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