May 1861.] 



Notes on Zanguebar. 



79 



with large trees. During a clear star light night Point Poonah 

 from a distance of six miles may be easily seen soon enough to 

 avoid accidents. The water is deep very close in shore and there 

 is no shoal or rock jutting outside. 



The southern end of Zanguebar is very flat and low, and the heads 

 of the cocoanut trees appear on the horizon, sometime before any 

 land is to be seen. The channel between the Coast of Africa and 

 the Island of the Zanguebar is broad and safe — the water is every 

 where clear and transparent ; and an intelligent man at the lookout 

 will easily see the dangers in time to avoid them, in case the ship 

 be keeping a bad course. There are a number of small rocky Is- 

 lands along the western Coast of Zanguebar which must all be left " 

 to the eastward ; and on coming abreast of the islet of Shomby the 

 town of Zanguebar is discovered. To the south of the town and 

 far from any other building is an elegant little Mosque belonging 

 to the Indian Mussulmans, Shiahs or followers of Ali, it is situated 

 exactly on the spot marked on the map of Captain Owen, as " the 

 ruins of a Mosque." In the eastern part of the town, toweling above 

 all the surrounding buildings, there is a Minaret, the only one in the 

 town, in the shape of an elongated sugar loaf. When the Minaret 

 is observed to be exactly over the Mosque of Captain Owen, the ship 

 must steer upon these marks and keep them in line until at three 

 cables' length from shore, then rounding parallel to the shore, she 

 will pass the point Shingony and enter the harbour, where good 

 anchorage is every where to be had, the spots preferred being 

 opposite the English and American Consulates. 



In 1849 the Imam had a buoy placed on each side of the north 

 and south channel leading into the harbour, so that the difficulty 

 in making the anchorage has been lessened. There are no pilots 

 at Zanguebar, but should any ship feel diffident of coming in with- 

 out such assistance she may by carrying to obtain the services of 

 experienced Arabs. The harbour is formed by a chain of reefs 

 and small islets covered with cocoanut trees, and there are a few 

 white houses to the westward of the town. There is deep water 

 between each islet, so that a ship of any size might with fair wind 

 take either of these passages, though some care and knowledge 

 of the locality are required. Ships of war go generally a little 



