46 



BOLLAERT, R US CHENBER GER. 



and the shores of the Icy Sea. 1 During the 

 same year the energetic Mr W. Bollaert ma- 

 tured the plan of an expedition, to be conducted 

 by himself, from Zanzibar across the continent. 

 It was laid before the Geographical Society in 

 1837, but it was not carried out, funds being 

 deficient. In 1835 the U. S. frigate Peacock 

 visited the island during a treaty-making tour, 

 and was supplied with all her wants gratis, the 

 port officials declaring that 6 H. H. the Sultan 

 of Muscat had forbidden them to take any re- 

 muneration.' The surgeon, Dr Huschenberger 

 (Narrative of a Voyage round the World in 

 1835 — 1837), left a realistic description of the 

 city in those its best days. He acknowledges 

 the hospitalities of 6 Captain Hasan bin Ibrahim, 

 of the Arab Navy,' superintendent of the c Prince 

 Said Carlid.' The latter was the late Sayyid 

 Khalid, then 16 years old. The book, being 

 written by a ' Dutch-American ' in 1835, is of 

 course bitterly hostile to England. We are told 

 that the keel of the Peacock, passing between 

 Tumbatu Island and Zanzibar, scraped over 

 coral reefs not in Owen's charts— which may be 

 true. Followed the American Captains Fisher, 



1 We must not, however, forget that in ' all-enlightened 

 England' Smollett could complain of the 'people at the other 

 end of the island knowing as little of Scotland as of Japan.' 



