CONSTRUCTION OF A LIGHT BOAT. 6'29 



way in which he followed my explanations, though it was evident that he had 

 not the sh'ghtest idea of what an African jungle path was like. He under- 

 stood what I meant by ' portability,' but his ideas of that quality naturally 

 suggested a broad highway, an English turnpike-road, or at the utmost a path 

 over treeless fields or commons. I doubt if even now the gentleman under- 

 stands the horrors of a jungle path, with its intricate and never-ending crooked 

 curves, beset on each side by a depth and intensity of vegetation through 

 which we must struggle, and twist, and contort our bodies in order that we 

 may pass along with our burdens, while almost blinded by perspiration, we 

 grope, and stumble, and halt in the sickly, dull twilight which reigns there. 

 To convey anything very large, or wide, or high, or long, through such a 

 tangle, is out of the question under such circumstances ; and I endeavoured 

 to describe such a locality to the boat-builder as vividly as my powers would 

 enable me. Mr. Messenger accepted the contract to build a boat of light, 

 well-seasoned cedar, forty feet in length, and six feet in width, in five sec- 

 tions, each of which was not to exceed more than 1201bs. in weight. I saw 

 the boat after it was constructed, and before it was sawn up into sections, and 

 her beautiful lines and the skilled workmanship lavished on her elicited at 

 once from me unqualified approbation. Before departing from his yard I 

 suggested to Mr. Messenger that he should weigh her as she stood, and divide 

 her, if he found her of greater solidity than he or I anticipated, into sections 

 not exceeding the weight named above. This boat, completed and packed 

 with care, followed me to Zanzibar by the next mail. When I opened the 

 packages a perfect marvel of river architecture was revealed ; every bolt and 

 uut worked close and free, and all who saw the sections admired them. In a 

 transport of joy, I ordered the scales to be rigged up, and each section 

 weighed carefully. Four of the sections weighed 2801bs. each, and one 

 3101bs. ! The utter impossibility of rectifying this mistake in a place like 

 Zanzibar made me despair at first, and I thought the best thing to do was to 

 ship the boat back to England ; but, upon enquiring for a carpenter, a young 

 shipwright, named Ferris, was introduced to me, and recommended for his 

 intelligence. I exhibited the beautiful but totally unmanageable boat, and 

 told him that in her present state she was useless to me and to everybody else, 

 because she was too heavy and cumbersome — that I could not possibly carry 

 her, and that time was short with me. I desired him to cut her down six 

 inches, and subdivide each section, and to complete the work in two weeks, 

 for that was the utmost time I could give him. To effect these improvements, 

 the two after sections had to be condemned, which would curtail her length 

 considerably, and, of course, mar her beauty. I can now congratulate my- 

 self (good Mr. Ferris having completed his work to my entire satisfaction) on 

 possessing a boat which I can carry any distance without distressing the port- 

 ers, competent to hold twelve men, rowing ten oars and two short paddles, 



