Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

108 DHOW-CHASING.
Latham Island ; the necessity for it will be seen
by the fact that it lies at the entrance of the
Zanzibar Channel, with the current sweeping
past at a rate varying from 24 to 100 miles a
day, not into the channel, where there is little
or no current, but outside it, and across the
entrance ; several ships have been lost on this
island, and when we anchored in
five fathoms'
water just in time to avoid going on it, we supposed
the
ship (allowing for the usual current)
to be thirty-nine miles to windward of it. I
should advise ships cruising on this part of
the
coast to fix a temporary light on it for their
own convenience. Trees might possibly grow
on the top of the bank, if planted and taken
care of for a time, and would be seen at a distance
during the clear nights.
On arrival at Zanzibar, I met, for the first
time, Dr. Seaward, then acting consul, his wife,
and Dr. Kirk, in whose society I have since
spent many pleasant hours, and have witnessed,
to some extent, his anxious endeavours and indefatigable
exertions in all matters relating to the
celebrated African explorer Dr. Livingstone.