Unika. 
73 
to the west of this green spot, the other side being 
left quite bare when the tide is lowest. The creek 
now divides itself into three parts, the one we are to 
follow running in a northerly direction to Makerunge, 
another in a north-westerly course up to the district 
of Rabai, and the third to the south-west toward 
Duruma. 
From Port Tudor we pursued the course of a 
broad straight sheet of water up to the village of 
Monguya, a Kisuahili settlement; and an offshoot 
from the larger one of Jomvu, lying a short distance 
behind it. Monguya has been built upon a high 
tongue of land, reaching to the creek in this spot, 
but the banks of the river are elsewhere low, covered 
with a dense growth of mangrove. These trees rise 
from a soft bed of dark mud, alive with myriads of 
tiny crabs, insects, and other creeping things, and 
reeking with noxious vapours. The roots spring 
from the mud, several feet high, into a perfect maze of 
pointed arches, whence issue stems and branches that 
break out into evergreen foliage of the brightest de- 
scription — a feast for the eyes. The tree produces a 
long, pointed, bolt-like seedling, which when ripe 
drops into the mud, and thus planting itself, soon 
starts into another tree. These woods supply ordi- 
nary firewood, fuel for tanu (lime kilns), also poles 
and rafters for building purposes. 
Beyond Monguya, the river being narrower and very 
serpentine, sailing soon became impracticable. Pad- 
dles were tried, but these had eventually to give way 
to the pondo (pole). After a good deal of crush- 
ing among the trees, which overhung the creek, for 
the latter part of the way, we found ourselves at 
