The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

BEXGUELLA. 49Velha, or "Old Benguella," wliicli was erected in the fifteenth century on a headlandoverlooking the north side of the Cuvo estuary, has been abandoned. Thetown of Kovo-Redondo, which replaces it some distance farther south, is a merecluster of hovels perched on a cliff nearly inaccessible from the sea. At the footof the escarpment, and of a fortress founded in 1769, flows the little river Gimza,fringed with shad_y palms, but obstructed at its mouth by a sand}' bar.Accordingto Ladislas Magyar deposits of sulphur occur at some distance inland, but theylie idle, as do also the copper mines of Suinhe-Ainlchi, near the mouth of theCuvo.Qiiicomho, south of Xovo-Redondo, is a group of factories and a re-victuallingstation for passing ships. Egiio or Lticifo, midway between Xovo-Redondo andEenguella, is merely a military post commanding the entrance of the river of likename.Till recently it was, so to say, permanently blockaded by the surroundingtribes, so that about every two months the little garrison had to close the gatesand fire on the assailants.Ben(jueUa, capital of the central province of the same name, although a muchsmaller place than its northern rival, Loanda, presents none the less a charmingprospect, being pleasantly grouped in amphitheatrical form on the slopes of asteep escarpment. Its low but spacious houses, enclosing large courts and surroundedby gardens, occupy a considei-able space, which is still further extendedby the public promenades and shady avenues. The citadel of San-FUippc, fromwhich the town itself takes its official designation, was erected in 1617 on theheadland which projects seawards on the southwest side.The rivulet of Cavaco,which in the dry season is merely a sandy bed, flows to the north of the townsome miles beyond the point where the Catunihella reaches the coast.This river,which during the floods gives access to the quays of a small trading station, iscommanded by a fort of the same name.The hills encircling Benguella are clothed with brushwood, which till recentlywas the haimts of wild animals. The inhabitants being too few to protect themselvesfrom their inroads, artillery had to be employed to scare away the eleiihants,who were laying waste the neighbouring plantations.The white population consistspartly of convicts or criminals banished to this remote station, while themixed native element represents all the races in the Portuguese possessions inAfrica. Bihenos here jostle natives of Cabinda, Ambaquistas mingle with Kiokos,and when the caravans reach the Catumbella river from the interior, the observermight fancy himself suddenly transported to seme market town in the kingdomof the Muata Yamvo. Several European traders have built their villas along theneighbouring beach, which being exposed to the marinethan Benguella.breezes is more healthyThis seaport, whose annual exchanges average from £200,000 to £240,000, isconnected with the Bihe plateau by a trade route or track, which runs eastwardsalong the valley of the Catumbella. But two other and longer routes make adetour to the south, one by the valley of the Cavaco and the village of Snpa, theother by the basin of the Capororo river. This watercourse, which separates theVOL. XIIT. E