Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

THE CRUISE OF THE " PANTALOON." Ill
ber, October, and November numbers of tliem
may be seen leaving every day for tbe northward,
bound, some for India, some for the Red
Sea, and some for the Arabian Coast . and
Persian Gulf.
From Quiloa (or Keelwa), 200 miles south of
Zanzibar, to Lamoo, 230 miles north, on the East
Coast of Africa, the slave-trade is a legal trade;
and although the clause in the treaty between
Zanzibar and England nominally limits the
number of slaves to be carried to
that required
by the Sultan for agricultural purposes, he
alone is the judge of such requirements, and
the clause is
practically inoperative,^ for whatever
number is required by the traders, they
have only to pay the tax and apply for a hcence
for that number, and they obtain it from the
Custom House ;
and any vessel possessing such
licence is exempt from detention and capture
on the part of our cruisers ;
and even supposing
*
The estimate of what is really required for agricultural
purposes on Zanzibar territoiy has been given as 1700 slaves,
the number imported into Zanzibar, annually, has been
variously estimated from 20,000 to 60,000.