134 To Sdnga- Tanga and Back . 
Briefly, it was 9 a.m. before we doubled Point 
Nyonye, which had now been so long in sight. 
With wind, tide, and current dead against us, we 
hugged the shore where the water is deep. The 
surf was breaking in heavy sheets upon a reef or 
shoal outside, and giving ample occupation to a 
hovering flock of fish-eating birds. Whilst re¬ 
turning over water smooth as glass I observed the 
curious effect of the current. Suddenly a huge 
billow would rear like a horse, assume the shape 
of a giant cobra s head, fall forward in a mass of 
foam, and subside gently rippling into the calm 
surface beyond ; the shadowy hollow of the break¬ 
ers made them appear to impinge upon a black 
rock, but when they disappeared the sea was 
placid and unbroken as before. This is, in fact, 
the typical “ roller ” of the Gaboon coast—a happy 
hunting ground for slavers and a dangerous place 
for cruizers to attempt. As the sea-breeze came 
up strong, the swell would have swamped a 
European boat; but our conveyance, shaped like a 
ship’s gig, but Dalmatian or Dutchman-like in the 
bows, topped the waves with the buoyancy of a 
cork, and answered her helm as the Arab obeys 
the bit. To compact grain she added small 
specific gravity, and, though stout and thick, she 
advanced at a speed of which I could hardly 
believe her capable. 
Past Nyonye the coast forms another shallow 
