78 



Notes on Zanguebar. [No. 11, new series. 



miles to the north and make the land at point Poonah. By steer- 

 ing that course, the ship will not be influenced by the strong cur- 

 rent which runs from Moussia to Zanguebar, she will not lose sight 

 of the land, even during a very dark night, and she will be in a 

 position to anchor any where between Poonah and the southern 

 end of Zanguebar, as soon as she reaches soundings of from 10 to 

 12 fathoms. 



Latham Island and reef lie due south from the southernmost 

 end of Zanguebar : it is a very dangerous place, the highest spot 

 on the Island is not six feet above the level of the sea, it is sur- 

 rounded by a coral reef with very shallow water for nearly two 

 miles round the centre of the Island. 



There are not less than 50 fathoms of water at a cable's length 

 from the reef, so that during the night soundings could not be of 

 any use — the noise of the breakers is the only warning of the ap- 

 proach of this dangerous reef — the currents are always very violent 

 near Latham, and on approaching Zanguebar for the first time, 

 ships must so shape their course as to get clear of that danger before 

 the night- 



When passing two miles and half to leeward of Latham, we 

 could smell the ground, and the ship was surrounded by clouds of 

 birds. In 1846 Mr. Peters, agent to the London firm of Coghen 

 and Co., had a hut built on the Island of Latham for affording 

 shelter to a few fishermen who were engaged in collecting the 

 guano on the reef ; the same fishermen were employed in fishing 

 for sharks whose flesh and liver find a ready sale at Gunsebar, 

 while the fins are prepared and sent to Bombay and thence to 

 China. In February 1847 a very violent sea (raz de maree) wash- 

 ed over the Island and carried away huts, fishermen and guano. 



In 1848 Mr. Peters died, and since that time nobody has at- 

 tempted to land at Latham ; the current report in 1849 was that 

 there was a large deposit of guano on the Island, but it is not im- 

 probable that this may have been originated by some designing 

 Arab to attract European speculators. 



Point Poonah is a moderately elevated land, covered with trees, 

 amongst which the cocoanut predominates, and far in the interior 

 is observed a range of high mountains, or rather hills, covered 



