Pec. 37, 1883.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



431 







The Ih'st of the 



(.'anal being as yet uudug, A frica was not entirely surrounded j 

 by water; it is now, and I, sailing and steaming, have; 

 nearly circumnavigated it. 



While at the' Cape, I had sought counsel as to my route I 

 cast, for three were open to my choice. The first, usually' 

 adopted by steamers, making a direct nearly northeast track 

 to Java Head; as a steamer we might try that - The second, 

 usually adopted by sailing vessels, due east in latitude 40°, 

 sight St. Paul's Island, steer north for Ceylon, thus getting 

 the best of the southeast trades; as a sailing ship we might 

 and did try that one to our heart's content. Both of these 

 were, good and well traveled; the third, via the Mozam- 

 bique to the Line, then due east through the U s : Channel "was 

 dangerous." The Mozambique Channel was but imperfectly 

 charted; unknown rocks and reefs abounded, the currents 

 were, very uncertain, and there were whirlpools and squalls 

 of terrific violence to be encountered, and if shipwrecked 

 the native tribes were exceedingly ferocious, if we escaped 

 the dangers of the channel, we had yet a tedious passage 

 along the line, with but one chance of a breeze, and that 

 was the catching a touch of a cyclone from the Arabian 

 Sea or the Bay of Bengal, and we must thread the needle by- 

 passing through the narrow 1-i-' Channel, between Atols of 

 the Andaman group, where, if shipwrecked, the worst fate 

 would befall us, for the natives wore tails and were cannibals. 

 These warnings, and tales which I was told of the awful 

 fate which had befallen some wuo had attempted this route, 

 -decided me, and I left the channel out of my plans. But a 

 week of the "forties" changed my mind greatly. Our poor 

 little boat, neither steamer nor "ailing vessel, but a limited 

 combination of both, like a combination rod, warranted for 

 fly and bait fishing, could do well in neither capacit}-, and I 

 thought better to fly "the ills I had, and bear to others of 

 which 1 knew little," consoled by the axiom: 



"Larger ships may venture more, 



Little boats must keep near shore." 



The results proved that the choice w T as a wise one. As 



we made northing the winds moderated to a calm, the water 



became Smooth, the weather warm and pleasant, and by 



contrast, delightful. 



Presently we caught the lirsl of the southeast trade, draw- 

 ing nearly south through the channel ; we uncoupled the 

 propeller" hauled tires and slid along nicely with all sail set 

 to a five-knot breeze. Everything in the ship was wet, and 

 everything came on deck for a dry; the lower rigging was 

 decked with damp bedding; the clotheslines stopped full of 

 musty shirts and pea-jackets; tape-gossamers and oil skins 

 covered the booms, and every available sunny spot was covered. 

 No fear of the lucky bag saved even the sacred precincts of 

 the quarter-deck, and the holds gave forth their [trustiness. 

 We had the blessed consciousness that once well dried, then 

 would come "stow away for a full due." A sand-covered 

 tarpaulin spread out in the lee gaugway, proved a paradise 

 for the poor bedraggled fowls released for a run, and on it 

 they rolled and dusted, and shook themselves off from their 

 feeble legs in attempts to free their salt-encrusted feathers. 

 Dick, the pet bantam of the foretopmen, emerged from his 

 retreat under the heel of the bowsprit, where mortified aDd 

 broken-spirited he had hidden for five days, and made most 

 ludicrously feeble attempts at crowing and love-making. 

 "Dennis, Jr.," the pet pig; "Jake," the monkay; "Nigger." 

 our little black dog; "Shellback," out pet tortoise"" the 

 parrots and miuot birds, were happy reveling in warmth 

 and sunlight. A few .lays of this luxurious yachting carried 

 us in safety past Europa Island, the Bassade Im' .a shoals, 

 Juao de Nova reefs, all of which we found to be just where 

 the. chart placed them; we encountered no unknown dan- 

 gers, and such currents as we found were favorable, and 

 thus it happened that early in the morning of July 2 the 



grand peak of Mayotta appeared breaking our northern 

 horizon, and as we ncared it, that of Johanna came in sight, 

 and soon we were in the midst of the Cormoro Islands. 



This group, of which the principal islands are Johanna, 

 Mayotta, Cormoro, Mohillo and Glorioso, occupy a good por- 

 tion of the northern entrance of the Mozambique "Channel, 

 in latitudes from 10" to 12° S. 



The inhabitants arc of Arabian descent, and are thrifty- 

 people, cultivating large areas of ground, fishing the adja- 

 cent seas, and carrying on commerce between themselves 

 and the Arabian coast, Mauritius and the Seychellc Arehe- 

 pelago. Some of their prahus making even more extended 

 voyages to the Maldives, Lacadives and Bombay. 



About 5 P. M. we were off the harbor of Johanna, and the 

 island intercepting the breeze, wc coupled the propeller, got 

 up steam and ran in. 



As we approached, the scene'was enchanting. In "Omoo" 

 and ' 'Typee" Herman Melville has exhausted the resources of 

 descriptive language in depicting the beauties of the isles of 

 the tropics. I could with safety and with truth apply here 

 the most vivid of his descriptions, but, not possessing his 

 talent, I shall content myself with more simple language. 



The harbor was bordered by a white sand beach, upon 

 which many prahus, some very large, were hauled up. In 

 the background a chain of moderately high mountains, above 

 which Johanna Peak rose conspicuously. From the beach, 

 and toward the mountains, there radiated a number of low, 

 long hills, their slopes and the valleys between being varied 

 by large cultivated patches and dense growth of palms, cocoa- 

 nut and other tropical trees. On a tableland to our left, 

 elevated perhaps a hundred feet from the sea, appeared a 

 city of snow white houses, of quaint and curious structure, 

 surrounded by a snow T white wall, some ten feet high, and 

 it in many places where not sheltered by forest, glistening in 

 the sunlight. Many boats, prahus, felluccas and canoes w-ere 

 moving about the harbor, and builders were at work on un- 

 finished vessels on the beach. 



Three hours before the sun went down, we anchored: and 

 then began for me an experience, both novel and pleasant. 

 Never before had it been (nor has it since) my fortune to as- 

 sociate on most intimate footing with royalty, to exchange 

 friendly notes and visits with a' Sultan, to be" accompanied 

 on my strolls by a Prince, to be taught words in foreign 

 tongue by a Princess, to hobnob, smoke and drink eau-siicre 

 with a Duke, to dine en familk, and exchange souvenirs and 

 autographs with Kings, Princes. Dukes and Kadis, to review 

 a regiment and attend a bull fight given in my honor. Such 

 was my experience in Johanna, and all concentrated in a 

 little over two days. 



Soon after we had auchored, the quartermaster reported 

 to the officer of the deck: "There is a prow coming 

 alongside, sir, and I guess the King of them islanders is in 

 her." 



The prahu was a very large one, flying an Arabian flag, 

 and rowed by twenty men, whose white turbans contrasted 

 strongly with their naked glistening brown backs. The 

 boatswain's mate (we did not rate a boatswain) hurried up 

 the side boys, and "piped over the side" a most distin- 

 guished and dignified old gentleman of about sixty years, 

 who. with se«veral low salaams introduced himself to me, 

 the First Luff, and officer of the deck, as the Duke Omash, and 

 handed to me a paper on which was written his title in full, 

 viz. : "Dragoman Omash, eben (son of) Sultan Ali, eben Sul- 

 tan Hassan, and uncle to Sultan Abdallah," (the reigning 

 monarch). 



Omash was tall for an Arab, of light bronze conplexion, 

 bright black eyes, regular features, and a patriarchal snow 

 white beard, descending nearly to his girdle. He was 

 richly attired in silk robes and turban, embroidered sandals, 

 and around his waist a very valuable cashmere scarf. 



supported a yataghan, which, until later I saw others, I 

 thought unequalled in beauty, the blade being of tine Damas- 

 cus, and the sheath and hilt mounted with gold, richly set 

 with jewels. Altogether he was a most sightly man; the telfl 

 was, however, somewhat marred by two little blood 

 red streaks reaching from each corner of his mouth; these 

 and the hideous red cavity, fronted by jet black teeth, which 

 he displayed during our interview, as from time to time a 

 gentle roll of the gunboat produced uncomfortable sensations, 

 which lie sought to relieve by a yawn, proclaimed him a de- 

 votee to the use of the betel nut, scrapings of which, mingled 

 with a little lime, and rolled up in a leaf— I believe of the 

 Arecii palm— are used by most of the Malayan, Hindoo 

 and other Indian people, as our people use tobacco. 



'in,! h -.poke English very fluently, also read and wrote 

 it, hi fact. «'a- the most learned scholar in the kingdom, and 

 bifi official position was Minister of Foreign Affairs: in this 

 capacity he visited us. With many extravagant and com- 

 plimentary Oriental expressions, heinformed me that "he came 

 to bid us welcome in the name of the Sultan Abdallah, whom 

 may Almighty God soon restore to health, that he may re- 

 turn from the place he is now honoring with his presence, 

 and where he is resting from the cares of State, and enjoying 

 the breeze, from the sea." The place was a sugar plantation 

 on the south side of the island, owned and managed by His 

 Majesty, who is a most thrifty monarch, and derives much 

 revenue from the sales of sugar, of which he exports annu- 

 ally to Mauritius from 600 to 800 tons. 



Omash thanked Allah and the Prophets, devoutlyin our he- 

 half, for our safe voyage, and intimated that "your (my) ex- 

 cellency would earn the blessings of the Almighty by going 

 around to the plantation, and bringing His Majesty home in 

 your noble ship." 



A rapid mental calculation convinced me, that such a voy- 

 age w T Ould draw too heavily upon our stock of coal, already 

 below safe limits for the long journey ahead of us. So after - 

 learning that the usual conveyance fbr His Majesty was the 

 back of an ass, I concluded that he had best to again utilize 

 that safe, humble but blessed mode of travel. 1, however, 

 based my declining on more diplomatic grounds, and ex- 

 plained that the motion of the little steamer, and the odors 

 from the engine room (we w r ere hauling and wetting down 

 tires) would be greatly increased, were we out at sea, and 

 that I was sincerely aprehensive of the deleterious effect 

 they might have on the Sultan's health, "whom God pre- 

 serve and defend,*' and thus I got out of it. and the ass fid- 

 filled his functions without competition. 



The Duke then informed me that very soon His August 

 Highness, Prince Syd Alle, brother of the Sultan, Prime 

 "Minister and Acting King, would pay me a visit. He then 

 took his leave, carrying to the Prince my assurance, in the 

 most oriental style 1 could command, of the felicity 1 should 

 experience from such visit. 



At the appointed time, the State prahu, this time with an 

 additional flag fqjward, came alongside, and with all of the 

 officers and crew in uniform, four side boys, and three rolls 

 of a drum, Prince Syd Alle was received with due honors. 

 Omash accompanied him, to act as staff and interpreter, 

 also another handsome young fellow, who I learned was 

 Prince Mahoramed, a still younger brother of the Sultan. 



Syd Allle was a very handsome young man, of about 

 thirty: bright, piercing, black eyes," aquiline nose, good 

 mouth and chin, of medium size but straight and wiry look- 

 ing. His dress was of the same general style as that of Duke 

 Omash, but of richer material, his yataghan much more 

 valuable, and on his ring finger he wore a large cut jewel 

 signet. He spoke some English, but left most of the conver- 

 sation to Omash, through whom I answered questions Syd 

 Alle himself asked. 



They sat with me half an hour, and gave ice considerable 

 information about the islands and their resources. Except- 

 ing occasional visits from American whalers, which drop 

 in for fresh provisions and water, very few foreign ships had 

 ever visited them, and it had been many years since a vessel 

 of war had anchored in the harbor. The last steamer of 

 war was the Confederate privateer Alabama, which paid 

 them frequeut visits, and earned the hearty ill-will of the 

 inhabitants, partially by excesses committed by her hetero- 

 geneous crew while on shore, but mainly by the fact that 

 through her pregefte American whale ships "were deterred 

 from their usual visits, and from these they had derived con- 

 siderable revenue. 



The Island is very fertile, and much of it under cultiva- 

 tion, the principal exports being arrowroot and sugar. Of 

 the latter large quantities are sent yearly to Mauritius, the 

 Sultan being the principal producer and exporter. 



The full title of the Sultan is Abdallah, eben (son of) 

 Selirn, son of Ali, etc., etc., through a long line of Sultan 

 forefathers, terminating, or rather beginning, with Mahoir- 

 med the Prophet, from whom it is claimed Abdallah is a 

 lineal descendant. He is Sultan of the entire group, and in 

 addition King of Johanna, each of the other islands having 

 also a king. 



Our interview was pleasant, and after inviting me to dine 

 with him on the morrow, Syd Ali bade me good-bye. aud 

 salaamed himself over the side. Not so the Duke, who re- 

 turned from the gangway and revealed a new phase in his 

 character and accomplishments, in which he proved himself 

 a most useful Duke. He informed me that if we were in 

 need of supplies of any kind he would furnish them 

 promptly, and at low prices ; also that if we would entrust 

 to his care our soiled linen it should bo promptly returned, 

 well washed, ironed and mended. 



At first I was somewhat embarrassed at calling upon so 

 high an official for such petty services, but when 1 saw him 

 the next morning in the bum-boat alongside, divested of his 

 robes ofjoffice, and with a short, sharp coeoanut-opener, sub- 

 stituted for the yataghan, driving sharp bargains with the 

 sailors, with whom he seemed on most familial terms, call- 

 ing them "Jack" indiscriminately, and they him by the. 

 name "Oh, My," which they had given him, my scruples 

 vanished, and from that time the Duke Omash fulfilled 

 most successfully his functions as Minister of Foreign and 

 Domestic Affairs. 



Sharp as he was at a bargain, we could not complain of 

 the prices. My market book shows me that in the way of 

 sea stores my steward laid in 2 kids, I dozen ducks, 3 dozen 

 fowls, 10 dozen eggs. 6 large bunches of bananas, 50 green 

 cocoanuts, and 2 bushels each of oranges, limes, sweet pota- 

 toes aud yams, all for the sum of §14. The Steward told 

 me afterward that he tried to procure a couple of pigs, 

 but failed badly. The demand was too much. It was neces- 

 sary, as a Mahbmmedan nobleman, that Omash should draw 

 the" line somewhere, and he drew it at pork; and expreseed 

 himself as wounded in feelings that he could bethought 

 capable of pandering to such unclean tastes. With this ex- 

 ception, as both Duke and purveyor, Omash was a success, 



