Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

32 DHOW-CHASING.
water. Crossing tlie bar, we anchored off a
village a sliort distance up the river. The
natives, who at first seemed to view us with
suspicion, would not come near us, but at last,
on our making signs to them that we were
friends, and throwing them some empty bottles,
they approached us in their canoes, and, after
receiving tobacco, &c., for what they had to sell
in the way of fruit and eggs, they showed us
where we could obtain water and helped
us to
fill our casks. Leaving the river again before
dark, we stood along the coast to the northward
for the night, keeping a look-out for
dhows.
Sailing along the coast during the night,
with scarcely a ripple on the water and
just enough wind to fill the sails, one of the
grandest scenes I ever witnessed, and of
which nothing but familiarity could
lessen the
charm, presented itself to our eyes. The starlight
was so brilliant that every object was
as clearly visible as in a bright moonlight
night in England. The low" coast lay outstretched
before us from north to south