the people against the
government, and were supplanted by priests, concerning whom no regret
is expressed that they were allowed to die out. In viewing the present
fruits of former missions, it is impossible not to feel assured that,
if the Jesuit teaching has been so permanent, that of Protestants,
who leave the Bible in the hands of their converts, will not be less
abiding. The chief Bango has built a large two-story house close by the
convent, but superstitious fears prevent him from sleeping in it.
The Portuguese take advantage of all the gradations into which native
society has divided itself. This man, for instance, is still a sova
or chief, has his councilors, and maintains the same state as when the
country was independent. When any of his people are guilty of theft, he
pays down the amount of goods stolen at once, and reimburses himself out
of the property of the thief so effectually as to be benefited by the
transaction. The people under him are divided into a number of classes.
There are his councilors, as the highest, who are generally head men of
several villages, and the carriers, the lowest free men. One class above
the last obtains the privilege of wearing shoes from the chief by paying
for it; another, the soldiers or militia, pay for the privilege of
serving, the advantage being that they are not afterward liable to
be made carriers. They are also divided into gentlemen and little
gentlemen, and, though quite black, speak of themselves as white men,
and of the others, who may not wear shoes, as "blacks". The men of all
these classes trust to their wives for food, and spend most of their
time in drinking the palm-toddy. This toddy is the juice of the
palm-oil-tree ('Elaeis Guineensis'), which, when tapped, yields a sweet,
clear liquid, not at all intoxicating while fresh, but, when allowed
to stand till the afternoon, causes inebriation and many crimes.
This toddy, called malova, is the bane of the country. Culprits are
continually brought before the commandants for assaults committed
through its influence. Men come up with deep gashes on their heads; and
one, who had burned his father's house, I saw making a profound bow to
Mr. Canto, and volunteering to explain why he did the deed.

There is also a sort of fraternity of freemasons, named Empacasseiros,
into which no one is admitted unless he is an expert hunter, and can
shoot well with the gun. They are distinguished by a fillet of buffalo
hide around