278 



THE RAISED SEA-BEACH. 



phical Society, 'Mulionyera' .... 'elevated sea- 

 beach, lines of pink, quartzose rounded pebbles.' 



On this beach, as on the flat below, were 

 frequent traces of manual labour: the tree, 

 however, is not common, — only two appeared 

 within half a mile. Mdnji proceeded to show 

 me the digging process, which was of the 

 simplest : he crowed a hole with a sharpened 

 stick in the loose sand, and disclosed several bits 

 of the bitumenized and semi-mineral gum. One 

 of the slaves sank a pit about three feet deep : 

 the earth became redder as he descended, crimson 

 fibrous matter appeared, and presently the 

 ground seemed to be half sand, half comminuted 

 copal. There was neither blue clay nor tree-roots 

 as in Zanzibar Island, nor did I find this formation 

 in any of the wells or excavations examined upon 

 the coast. According to the guide, the only 

 subsoil is this ruddy arenaceous matter : his 

 people, however, never dig lower than a man's 

 waist. They use the Jembe, or little iron hoe, 

 and when 'grist for the mill ' is wanted they 

 form small gangs, who proceed to the 'jungle ' 

 for two or three days, carrying with them the 

 necessaries of life. 



The whole of this Zangian coast produces the 

 copal of commerce : specimens have been brought 



