72 



NATIVE CRAFT. 



bar, Morocco, and West Africa, it was adopted 

 by their Portuguese conquerors. The machua 

 or 6 little boats ' of the Lusiads, which De Barros 

 calls 6 Sambucos,' 1 are still the same, except that 

 a disproportionecl sail of nierkani (American 

 domestics), based upon a pair of outriggers, now 

 supplies the primitive propeller, 



'd'humas folhas de palma bem tecidas.' 



The outrigger is rarely neglected. Here and 

 there a giant shark shoots up from the depths, 

 and stares at the fishermen with a cruel, fixed, 

 and colourless eye, that makes his blood run 

 cold. Only the poorest of poor devils will ven- 

 ture into a ' dug-out,' which is driven before 

 the wind or paddled with a broad, curved, spoon- 

 like blade. These Matumbi, or hollowed logs, 

 form a curious national contrast with the 

 launches and lighters that land European mer- 

 chandise ; ponderous and solid squares, their 

 build shows nothing graceful or picturesque. 



The N. E. monsoon is now (December) doing 

 its duty well, and bringing various native craft 



1 I have described (Pilgrimage to El Medinah and Meccah) 

 the modern Sambuk of the Eed Sea, and find the word ' Son- 

 boiik ' in the French translation of Ibn Batutah. Sir Gardner 

 "Wilkinson quotes Athenseus, who makes the ' Sambuca ' (a 

 musical instrument) 'resemble a ship with a ladder placed 

 over it.' 



