Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

THE CEUISE OF THE " PANTALOON." 115
reported to have erected a fort farther north
stilL
We may possibly obtain, hereafter, some
clue to the advantages to be gained by the
Sultan being allowed to extend his dominions.
On the arrival
of a slave dhow at Lamoo her
licence ceases ; if she proceeds farther towards
the Arabian Coast or Persian Gulf, it is at her
own risk, and, acting on the old proverb that
" one may as well be hung for a sheep as a
lamb," the captains take in as many more slaves
as they can possibly carry; and ascertaining
first, by messengers sent as far north as the
Juba Kiver, the probability of the coast being
pretty clear of English cruisers, they start for
the northward, keeping close to the land, with
the intention of running their vessels on shore
if chased, with the chance of saving some of
their slaves that are not drowned in the act ;,
and also, if not molested in any way, of touching
at the various ports
on their way north, to
obtain a handful of rice and a cup of water per
slave on board, to fill up the gaps in the cargo
caused by the
death of many of them, and to
ascertain if the coast is clear still farther to the