Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 2 — John Shaqi
Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 2Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
History
Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 2
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Africa, West -- Description and travel; Congo River -- Description and travel; Ethnology -- Africa, West
The night gave us a fine study of the Kinsembo mosquito, a large
brown dipter, celebrated even upon this coast. A barrel of water
will act as nursery; at times the plagues are said to extinguish
a lantern, and to lie an inch deep at the bottom. I would back
them against a man's life after two nights of full exposure: the
Brazilian "Marimbondo" is not worse. At 7 A.M. on the next day we
descended the easiest of the ramps, which are common upon this
coast, and were paddled over the Kinsembo River. Eleven miles
off, it issues from masses of high ground, and at this season it
spreads out like the Ambriz in broad stagnant sheets, bordered
with reeds and grass supplying fish and crabs, wild ducks and
mosquitoes. Presently, when the Cacimbo ends in stormy rains and
horrid rollers, its increased volume and impetus will burst the
sand-strip which confines it, and the washed-away material will
recruit the terrible bar.
Leaving the ferry, wre mounted the "tipoias," which Englishmen
call "hammocks" after the Caribs of Jamaica, and I found a
strange contrast between the men of Kinsembo and of São Paulo.
The former are admirable bearers, like their brethren of
Ambrizette, famed as the cream of the coast: four of them carried
us at the rate of at least six miles an hour; apparently they
cannot go slowly, and they are untireable as black ants. Like the
Bahian cadeira-men, they use shoulder-pads, and forked sticks to
act as levers when shifting; the bamboo-pole has ivory pegs, to
prevent the hammock-clews slipping, and the sensation is somewhat
that of being tossed in a blanket.
Quitting the creeper-bound sand, we crossed a black and fetid
mire, and struck inland to a higher and drier level. The
vegetation was that of the Calumbo road, but not so utterly
sunburnt: there were dwarf fields of Manioc and Thur (Cajanus
indicus), and the large wild cotton shrubs showed balls of
shortish fibre. As we passed a euphorbia-hedged settlement,
Kizúlí yá Mú, "Seabeach Village," a troop of women and girls,
noisy as those of Ugogo, charged us at full gallop: a few silver
bits caused prodigious excitement in the liberal display of
charms agitated by hard exercise. The men were far less
intrusive, they are said not to be jealous of European rivals,
but madly so amongst themselves: even on suspicion of injury, the
husband may kill his wife and her lover.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account