MECHANICS. 



327 



work is at most 5 hours; of these men \ 

 barely did in 4*3 what 2 ship-carpenters managed 

 in 5 days. The blacksmith and tin-man receive 

 from 80.50 to $1 per diem ; the goldsmith is 

 paid according to the value of what he takes in 

 hand — so much per dollar- weight. 



The merchants, par excellence of Zanzibar, are 

 the enterprising Bhattias or Catch Banyans. 

 The Periplus (chap, xiv.) mentions an extensive 

 import trade for Ariake and Barugaze, the latter 

 generally identified with Baroch. 1 Yasco da 

 Gama found £ Indians/ especially Calicut men, at 

 Mozambique, Kilwa, Mombasah, and Melincle, 

 and by their information he reached their native 

 city. Prom the beginning of the present century 

 the monopoly fell into the hands of the Bhattia 

 caste. At first they were obliged to make Zanzi- 

 bar, via Maskat, in a certain ship which sailed 

 once a year : they were exposed to many hard- 

 ships and perils : several of them were murdered, 

 and when a Hindu died the Arabs, like the 

 Turks of Masawah, claimed the droit d'aubaine. 

 They rose in mercantile repute by commercial 

 integrity, frugality, and perseverance, whilst the 

 inability of the Moslem Sarraf to manage ac- 



1 Pliny, however (vi. 35), calls Baricazu a 1 town of 

 Ethiopia.' 



