Touching At Mohilla, One Of The Comoro Islands, On Our Return, We
Found A Mixed Race Of Arabs, Africans, And Their Conquerors, The
Natives Of Madagascar.
Being Mahometans, they have mosques and
schools, in which we were pleased to see girls as well as boys taught
to read the Koran.
The teacher said he was paid by the job, and
received ten dollars for teaching each child to read. The clever
ones learn in six months; but the dull ones take a couple of years.
We next went over to Johanna for our friends; and, after a sojourn of
a few days at the beautiful Comoro Islands, we sailed for the Kongone
mouth of the Zambesi with Bishop Mackenzie and his party. We reached
the coast in seven days, and passed up the Zambesi to the Shire.
The "Pioneer," constructed under the skilful supervision of Admiral
Sir Baldwin Walker and the late Admiral Washington, warm-hearted and
highly esteemed friends of the Expedition, was a very superior
vessel, and well suited for our work in every respect, except in her
draught of water. Five feet were found to be too much for the
navigation of the upper part of the Shire. Designed to draw three
feet only, the weight necessary to impart extra strength, and fit her
for the ocean, brought her down two feet more, and caused us a great
deal of hard and vexatious work, in laying out anchors, and toiling
at the capstan to get her off sandbanks.
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