6 



THE GREEN ISLAND. 



ing till 10 — 11 p. M., after wliicli every man 

 slept as unanimously. The only water was poor 

 Said, who with red eyes and peeling nose suf- 

 fered crispations when the squalls came on. 

 About 9 A. M. (January 10) we sighted for the 

 first time Pemba, the Emerald Isle of these 

 Eastern Seas ; and after three days' stumbling 

 over 33 miles from Kokoto-ni, Pemba channel, 

 with the hills of the Mrima clear on our left, 

 appeared at 3 p. m. To the right rose the tree- 

 grown banks, and the verdant coral-ledges, which 

 have given a name to the Green Island of the 

 Arabs. Except from the mast-head it is in- 

 visible at an offing of 12 miles, this forest-clump 

 emerging from the blue and buoyant wave, and 

 therefore it was neglected by the Periplus. In 

 A. ij. 1G98 the bold buccaneer Captain Kidd here 

 buried his blood-stained hoards of gold and 

 jewels, the plunder of India and of the further 

 Orient. The people have found pots of ' nug- 

 gets,' probably intended for buttons, in order 

 that the pirate might wear his wealth. Thus it 

 is that the modern skipper, landing at Mada- 

 gascar, or other robber haunts of the older day, 

 still frequently witnesses the disappearance of 

 his brass buttons, whilst the edge of a knife 

 resting upon his throat secures the quiescence 



