Suahili-Land a7id the Wasuahili, 53 
busy, bustling, noisy, dirty places, repulsive to every . 
sense. 
To the south-east of the town, and facing the north- 
east, built on slightly elevated ground, and overlook- 
ing both town and harbour, stands the fort, certainly 
the most formidable-looking estabHshment of the kind 
to be found anywhere upon this coast. A Portuguese 
inscription over the doorway bespeaks its origin, but 
in the hands of the Arabs and Wasuahili it has be- 
come a very different place to what it must have been 
originally. A few old honey-combed guns still peep 
through its walls ; but many, dismounted and fallen, 
lie embedded in the sand below. It has a somewhat 
eventful history, upon which the Wasuahili love to 
dilate, though in no way honourable to them. It has 
seen its best days, and is now in a state of decay. It 
is at present garrisoned by a Jemadar and a company 
of Belooch, the mercenary askar of Sayid Barghash. 
One half of the towm is enclosed by thick walls, 
which may have done service in the past, though 
they answer no purpose now, and are crumbling to 
dust. To the south-west of the fort are the ruins of 
another but a much smaller one, near to which stands 
a pillar till lately surmounted by a cross, a solitary 
relic of the Christian faith which prevailed here under 
the Portuguese. We remember pushing our way, 
five years ago, through the jungle of that part of the 
island to examine these remains. At that time the 
cross was there. Soon afterwards, however, it was 
removed, or additional masonry has been built around 
it so as to hide it, for it is no longer to be seen. 
Muhammadan bigotry may have stepped in to destroy 
the obnoxious relic. 
