Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

PORTUGUESE POSSESSIONS. 237
but I have been led to refer to tlic condition of
slaves, and to the slave-trade on this part of the
coast, in consequence of the mistaken impression
that seems to exist with regard to the abolition
of slavery in the Portuguese possessions in the
Mozambique Channel.
On the 14th July, we were anchored in
Mozambique harbour, where I found a rumour
in circulation which would have surprised me
in any other place, not being Portuguese, on
the coast, to the effect that a slave had been
flogged to death in the town by his master, and
that so many cruelties had been practised of
late, that a complete panic existed amongst the
slaves, and upon inquiry we found this was
true.
In the daytime, slaves would hide away
in any nook they could find underneath the
wooden pier, which extends sixty or seventy
yards into the harbour, watching their opportunity
to escape to the " Daphne," and as soon
as the sun had gone down, and darkness had
set in, the beach and pier were dotted with
these unfortunate creatures, waiting anxiously
for a boat or canoe to come off in.