THE WAY OPEN. 719 



"Xo great difficulty would be encountered in establishing a 

 Christian mission a hundred miles or so from the east coast. 

 The permission of the Sultan of Zanzibar would be necessary, 

 because all the tribes of any intelligence claim relationship, or 

 have relations with him ; the Banyamwezi even call themselves 

 his subjects, and so do others. His permission would be readily 

 granted, if respectfully applied for through the English consul. 

 The Suaheli, with their present apathy on religious matters, 

 would be no obstacle. Care to speak politely, and to show 

 kindness to them, would not be lost labor in the general, effect 

 of the mission on the country, but all discussion on the belief 

 of the Moslems should be avoided ; they know little about it. 

 Emigrants from Muscat, Persia, and India, who at present pos- 

 sess neither influence nor wealth, would eagerly seize any formal 

 or offensive denial of the authority of their prophet to fan their 

 own bigotry, and arouse that of the Suaheli. A few now as- 

 sume an air of superiority in matters of worship, and would 

 fain take the place of Mullams or doctors of the law, by giving 

 authoritative dicta as to the times of prayer; positions to be 

 observed ; lucky and unlucky days ; using cabalistic signs ; 

 telling fortunes ; finding from the Koran when an attack may 

 be made on any enemy, etc.; but this is done only in the field 

 with trading parties. At Zanzibar the regular Mullams super- 

 sede them. 



" Xo objection would be made to teaching the natives of the 

 country to read their own languages in the Roman character. 

 Xo Arab has ever attempted to teach them the Arabic-Koran ; 

 they are called guma, hard, or difficult as to religion. This is 

 not wonderful, since the Koran is never translated, and a very 

 extraordinary desire for knowledge would be required to sustain 

 a man in committing to memory pages and chapters of, to him, 

 unmeaning gibberish. One only of all the native chiefs, Mon- 

 yumgo, has sent his children to Zanzibar to be taught to read 

 and write the Koran ; and he is said to possess an unusual ad- 

 miration of such civilization as he has seen among the Arabs. 

 To the natives, the chief attention of the mission should be di- 

 rected. It would not be desirable, or advisable, to refuse ex- 

 planation to others; but I have avoided giving offence to 

 intelligent Arabs, who have pressed me, asking if I believed 



