Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

THE CRUISE OF THE "DAPHNE." 163
with a will, and we succeeded in crossino-.
getting only one heavy breaker over us from
stem to stern ; the boat, however, going through
it like a fish.
We had the poor children stowed
in the bottom of the boat. We looked anxiously
round after we had passed to see if the sea had
taken one of them out, indeed it was a miracle
it did not. On inquiry we heard fi'om them
that the dhow was crammed with slaves, but
that on seeing the ship the Arabs said, pointing
to the smoke from our funnel, " White man is
lighting a fire to cook nigger with," and by this
they persuaded the poor creatures to risk
jumping into the water when they grounded.
On the 29th we chased a full slaver on shore
in the same way. The moment they saw us they
steered through the breakers, and we could see
one or two hundred negroes landing from her.
Our boats were able to land clear of the surf, but
only rescued one male slave, who was in such a
wretched condition that he could not crawl from
the beach.
He told us that there were 119 in the
dhow, that some oftliem,in the same state as himself,
were carried up the hill by the other slaves.