Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

54 DHOW-CHASING.
voices witli the monotonous beat of the
tom-toms. Walking np to the hut of the
chief, we were presented with some fowls and
rice, and were assured by him that he never
had anything to do with the slave-trade,
a statement which we knew how far to give
credence to.
We boarded several dhows on this coast;
and it may be asked. If the slave-trade is so
extensive, why none were captured? some
of these
dhows must surely have been slavers,
or had slaves in them ? And so they had, no
doubt; but no one in the boat had had any
experience in the service before, and we had
no interpreter with us, so that we could find
out little or nothing about those we boarded,
excepting the name of the place they sailed
from and whither bound ; nor had we any instructions
or documents relating especially to
the East Coast trade, or the experience of
any officers who had been engaged in that service
previously, to give us information as to
the numerous dodges practised by these Arabs.
We expected to find " fittings," " tanks,"