444 -LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



depth of three feet from ridge to dell, a wave would swamp the largest laden 

 canoe. Wind currents appear common. In a few hours a stream will be 

 traversed setting strongly to the east, and crossed by a southerly or south- 

 westerly current. High gales in certain localities, when the waves set upon 

 a flat, flush shore, drive the waves from fifteen to twenty feet beyond the 

 normal mark. This circumstance may partly explain the Arab belief in a 

 regular ebb and flow, which they maintain has been observed in the Tangan- 

 yika and Nyassa lakes, and which Mr. Anderson believes to exist in lake Ngami. 

 A mass of waters so large must be, to a certain extent, subject to tidal in- 

 fluences ; but the narrowness of the bed from west to east would render this 

 effect almost unobservable. 



" The navigation of Tanganyika is as yet undeveloped. It has neither 

 quay nor jetty, except strips of sand ; nor harbours, save shallow bays, or 

 dwarf creeks, winding through hedges of stiff rush. In former times the 

 Arabs built sailing vessels, bought gangs of slaves, and trained them to row 

 instead of paddling. In 1858, there remained but one dhow, or small quarter- 

 decked sailing-craft, capable of carrying about fifty men ; it belonged to an 

 Arab merchant, Hamid bin Sulyman, who, professing willingness to let it for 

 a voyage, nullified his concession by removing the crew. The native boats 

 are long, narrow canoes, rudely hollowed with the axe — the application of 

 fire being unknown — in fact, mere logs of mvule, or some other large tree. 

 The most considerable are composed of three parts — clumsy, mis-shapen 

 planks, forming, when placed side by side, a keel and two gunwales, the latter 

 fastened to the centre-piece by cords of palm-fibre passing through lines of 

 holes. The want of caulking causes excessive leakage. The cry Senga! — bale 

 out! — rarely ceases, and the irregular hollowing of the tree-trunks makes them 

 lie lopsided in the water. These vessels have neither masts nor sails ; an 

 iron ring, fixed in the stern, is intended for a rudder, which, however, seldom 

 appears except in the canoes of the Arabs, and a flag-staff, or a fishing-rod, 

 projects from the bow. Layers of palm-ribs are strewed over the interior, 

 to raise the cargo — which is often of salt — above the bilge-water. The crew 

 sit upon narrow benches, extending across the canoe, and fastened with cords 

 to holes in the two side-pieces ; upon each bench, despite the narrowness of 

 the craft, two place themselves side by side. The stout, stiff mats used for 

 hutting and bedding, are spread for comfort upon the seats; and for conve- 

 nience of paddling, the sailors, when at work, incline their bodies over the 

 sides. In the centre there is a square place about six feet long, kept clear of 

 benches ; here also cargo is stored, passengers, cattle, and slaves are carried, 

 the paddles, gourds, and other furniture of the crew, are thrown. It is 

 often ankle-deep in water, and affords no convenience for leaning or lying 

 down. The most comfortable place, therefore, is near the stern or bow of 

 the boat. The spears are planted upright at one or two corners of the hold, 



