ON THE RESOURCES OF EASTERN AFRICA.
“Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.”
_Psalm LXVIII., v. 31._
In the foregoing pages of this work, attention has been drawn to the
capabilities which East Africa offers, on its coast line, for the
production of the finest cotton, by the fact of its whole sea-board
being washed by that great ocean-current which subsequently, in its
course on the east coast of America, obtains the name of the Gulf Stream.
The wonderful effect which the heat contained in this great body of
water has on the climate of England, and other more torridly-situated
countries, is a fact too well attested to be disputed. For my present
purpose it will be simply necessary for me to state that the long and
beautiful staple of the sea-island cotton is produced by the warm yet
humid atmosphere arising from the Gulf Stream, accompanied by the saline
breezes on the islands and coast of America; and similarly that cotton
of the sea-island quality may be likewise produced on the east coast of
Africa, and the islands of the Ethiopian archipelago, bathed by this
great oceanic current. In proof of which, I would point to the cotton now
grown on the Seychelles, and also to that produced on the coast line of
the British colony of Natal.
Labour along the whole of the east sea-board of Africa has, for more
than three hundred years, been found in such abundance that it has
been forcibly transported to the great continent of America and the
neighbouring Antilles.
So permanent and profitable has this supply of labour been to the
western inter-tropical portion of the earth, that the Europeans, Arabs,
and Asiatics, located on the east sea-board of Africa, have neglected
to develop the resources of the country where nature is so prolific,
and have confined their attention to speedily enriching themselves, and
retiring to more healthy parts of the globe, to enjoy those riches which
they have rapidly amassed by supplying labour for less densely populated
portions of the world.
Since 1834, when England so resolutely took her stand at the head of
the nations progressing in humanity and civilization, by paying twenty
millions sterling for the liberation of her slaves, a gradual but visible
change for the better has taken place in the state of the natives of
Eastern Africa and the neighbouring archipelago.
In Mauritius slavery has entirely ceased, so also in its dependency of
the Seychelles.
Madagascar has had the gospel of Jesus Christ preached on its soil; the
germ of civilization has been planted in that extensive island; and the
slave-trade is no longer tolerated among the Malagasy people.
In the African dominions of the Imâm of Muskat the slave-trade is
forbidden; spice-gardens have arisen, the cocoa-nut is cultivated, and
large exports of simsim seed annually take place.
In the south-eastern portion of the continent the small but
rapidly-developing British colony of Natal has been established, forming
a nucleus of civilization, which is already beginning to have a visible
effect on the amelioration of the state of the natives of that portion of
Africa.
The discoveries of Dr. Livingstone have drawn attention to the vast
interior of that continent, to which access may be obtained by the
Zambesi and other rivers, which are soon destined to become highways
of commerce and civilization; while recent events on the east coast of
Africa have arrested the attention of civilized communities, and commerce
seeks for instruction as to the productions of this portion of the world,
in order that with her enterprise and fostering care the nations of that
continent may be brought into close connection with the other portions of
our globe.
I have already, in the course of these pages, touched upon the
productions of Eastern Africa, following the coast as high as the city of
Mozambique, and I propose now briefly continuing that account as far as
Cape Guardafui, and thence up the Red Sea to Suez.
The natives from the far interior bring down to Messuril, on the
mainland, opposite the city of Mozambique, every year, gold, silver,
ivory, wax, skins, and malachite, the latter in considerable
quantities—showing that there are mines of copper in the Monomoises’
country.
In 1856 many of these natives who came down to trade were seized by the
Portuguese to supply the (so-called) French Free-Labour Emigration, since
which occurrence they have not made their appearance at Messuril.
When Mozambique was in the hands of the Arabs, an important trade was
carried on between it, Arabia, and India; but for the last two hundred
years, under its present rulers, the trade, principally carried on by
Banyans to Cutch and Goâ, has been gradually decreasing.
At present it exports ivory, annually two hundred and fifty thousand
pounds, bees-wax, sesame seed, orchella, rhinoceros horns, cocoa-nut
oil, castor oil, ground-nut oil, coir, arrowroot, sago, coffee,
tortoise-shell, indigo of inferior quality (from ignorance in
manufacturing it), and a spirit made from the cachu.
There are large plantations of cocoa-nut trees, which for the last three
years have been much neglected; coffee plantations, likewise in the same
position; and a coir manufactory has for the same period of time ceased
to work: all caused by the new impetus given to the slave-trade, under
the denomination of French Free-Labour Emigration, which was established
in 1854.
Some few of the residents at Mozambique I induced to clear away and
cultivate the cotton shrubs; and, with the intention of encouraging
legitimate commerce, I wrote to H.M. Ambassador in the United States,
and also to the Chamber of Commerce of Manchester, asking for the three
descriptions of cotton seeds—viz., the _Nankin_, _green seed_, and _sea
island_—intending to send the two former into the interior, and to plant
the “sea-island” on the coast, where the saline breezes from the ocean
would favour its growth.
Having discovered the mulberry tree growing close to my house on the
mainland, and that it was indigenous to the soil, I wrote to England
for eggs of the silkworm, and addressed a letter to His Excellency the
Governor of Bombay, praying his lordship to send me some eggs of the
Tussah and other moths indicated in my letter.
Similarly I drew the attention of His Excellency the Governor-general of
Mozambique to a very important discovery which I had made, and of which
the Portuguese were entirely ignorant, viz., that both the gutta-percha
tree, and also a tree yielding india-rubber, were to be found in large
numbers on the banks of the Zambesi; and after having pointed out to
him the commercial value of these trees, I begged him to issue an order
forbidding any gutta-percha trees to be cut down—but, instead, pointing
out that they should be tapped longitudinally, by which the supply would
indeed be less, but permanent; whereas, if cut down for the purpose of
extracting the juice, these trees, as at Singapore, would, in the course
of a few years, disappear.
The present enlightened Governor-general of Mozambique, Colonel Almeida,
responded to my endeavours by drawing attention to my communication
in the official bulletin, calling upon all proprietors to preserve
and increase the mulberry trees, and by inserting an article on the
gutta-percha and india-rubber trees in the Bulletin.
Ibo, in latitude 12° 20′ S. and longitude 40° 38′ E., is admirably
situated for trade. At present it is the great warehouse for slaves.
Zanzibar, the capital of the African dominions of the Imâm of Muskat, in
latitude 6° 28′ S. and longitude 39° 33′ E., exports gold, ivory, drugs,
coir, cocoa-nuts, gums, bees-wax, tortoise-shell, spice, rice from Pemba,
sesame-seed from Angoxa, and a great quantity of timber annually to the
Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
In 1818 cloves were introduced into Zanzibar from Mauritius; they thrive
so well that the cultivation of them has in a great measure superseded
that of the sugar-cane, and even the cocoa-nut.
The imports are—Surat and Dunjaree cloths from Cutch; iron, sugar, and
rice from Bombay; salt fish and ghee from Socotra; cloths, cotton,
china-ware, earthen jars, toys, and ornaments from Surat; dates from
the Gulf of Persia; ivory, drugs, bees-wax, tortoise-shell, gums, and
sesame-seed, from Angoxa and other parts of the coast. These imports may
be valued at 500,000_l._ per annum.
Mombas and Melinda are both well adapted for trade, which at one time was
of considerable importance between these places and India and Arabia;
but Melinda, in less than a century after it had been conquered by the
Portuguese, ceased to be a place of any importance.
Lamu, in latitude 2° 15′ 45″ S., and longitude 41° 1′ 5″ E., is a
place of considerable trade, more especially in hides and the general
exports from Zanzibar. Brava, in latitude 1° 6′ 40″ N. and longitude
44° 3′ E., carries on a considerable trade with India and Arabia, and a
rapidly-increasing one with America.
The exports are—hides, bullocks, horses, and camels, oil from the joints
of camels, salt beef, great varieties of the skins of wild animals, taken
by Gallas who go from Zanzibar to Cape Guardafui. Small horses, purchased
here from five to six dollars each, will realize from sixty to seventy
dollars at the Mauritius.
The Sumalis inhabit the sea coast north from the equator, round Cape
Guardafui to Zeyla; the whole of this vast extent of country is but
little known to us.
The kingdom of Kimweri, or Usambara, more generally known as the Pangany
district, is rich in produce, which may be increased to supply any
demand. The sugar-cane is very luxuriant in its growth, and forests of
magnificent timber await the woodman’s axe, with the Pangany and its
tributaries to carry it to the ocean.
Dr. Krapf, in describing one of these forests, writes, “This forest is
worth millions of money for its fine, long, and straight timber, being as
useful for ship-building as for carpentering;” and again, “We descended
into a large forest of timber, sufficient for centuries to come. The
trees are big and straight, from 70 to 100 feet in height.”
The recent discoveries of Captains Burton and Speke, in the country
immediately to the south of this, throw a new light on a region hitherto
wrapped in the deepest mystery, and give access into the far interior,
even to the Victoria Tanganyka lake, and perhaps to the sources of the
Nile.
To the northward of Malinda the river Dana, under the name of Osi,
reaches the Indian Ocean. It is stated to flow from the eastern side of
Mount Kenia; that it is navigable for boats, from the India Ocean to the
Ukambani country; that there are no rocks in the way of navigation, and
that even during the dry season the water reaches as high as a man’s
neck, while during the rains it cannot be forded. Its ordinary breadth is
two hundred yards, and it is the privilege of the people of Mbé to carry
strangers proceeding to Kikuyu, or other countries, from one bank to
another.
A small steamer placed on this river would soon open the country to
European commerce; and from the source of the Dana to that of the White
Nile can be no great distance.
By the Dana, or Kilimansi, is assuredly the most direct route for
settling the great geographical question of the sources of the Nile.
About 200 miles from Cape Guardafui lies the island of Socotra, the
principal commercial products of which are derived from the wild plants,
and are aloes and dragon’s-blood. The aloe plant (_Aloe spicata_ or
_Socotrina_) in the western districts covers the hills for many miles,
at an elevation of from 500 to 2000 feet above the plains. This aloe is
also to be found along the whole east coast of Africa, even as far south
as the Cape of Good Hope. The dragon’s-blood tree also grows on the
western portion of Socotra, at an elevation of from 800 to 2000 feet;
and, as well as the aloe, is in such abundance that at least ten times
the quantity of these drugs which at present is exported from the island
might be easily procured.
Berbera has been for centuries the outlet for north-eastern Africa, and
especially Harrar. In former times it was one of the numerous emporia of
the Arabs at the entrance of the Red Sea, and its harbour is by no means
ill-adapted for steam communication.
Zeyla, or Zeïla, if properly encouraged by the British Government, would
be a very good outport, as the descent to that place from the interior
is easier than to Massoa, and it is the best outlet of ancient Ethiopia.
It is situated opposite Aden, where steam communication would place its
productions at once in European markets.
A great trade may be carried on at Zeyla in all the produce of Abyssinia;
viz., gold, ivory, coffee, gums, musk, ostrich-feathers, neats’-foot oil
from the wild animals (quantities of it are sent to America), tallow,
hides, horns, hoofs, &c. Fairs are held at Zeyla in April and October, at
which mules are sold very cheap, and, if purchased here for Réunion and
Mauritius, they would have the advantage of avoiding the Red Sea passage.
Mocha and Jedda, in Arabia, are already too well known to require any
notice but that of their names.
Massoa, the national outport of Abyssinia, in consequence of the descent
from the interior being so easy, exports ivory, musk, wax, coffee, senna,
linseed, ostrich-feathers, &c., and carries on a large trade with Jedda.
The imports are of the value of about four hundred thousand dollars per
annum.
Suez has already become a place of vast importance, foreshadowing the
future greatness which awaits it, when the Egyptian transit shall be
completed, and leviathan ships like the “Great Eastern,” on a trunk line
to India and China, will make that port their western terminus, and Suez
and Alexandria become the emporia of the East and West.
Having thus briefly stated what articles of commerce Eastern Africa can
produce, I feel that it would be a very imperfect notice of this portion
of the earth’s productions, were I to omit the valuable islands on the
coast.
In the Mozambique Channel, Europa Island stands conspicuous, from its
central position in the southern end of this channel. At present it is
used as a place of resort for dhows from the whole of the eastern coast
of Africa, to land their cargoes of slaves, here awaiting some large
European vessel to carry them to their future place of bondage.
This island is well situated for a lighthouse and a depôt, which would
command the trade of the Mozambique Channel both on the African and the
Madagascar coasts.
On the north side there is a good anchorage, plenty of water and fuel,
fish in abundance, turtle, and also land-turtle; and the island has also
orchella weed on it. From its insular position there is an entire absence
of _miasmata_.
Reference has already been made to the Comoro Islands, Seychelles, and
Madagascar, called the Great Britain of Africa.
Having thus briefly pointed out the resources of Eastern Africa, let us
consider the best means for the development of them.
At present the mail, by way of the Atlantic Ocean, reaches the Cape of
Good Hope in thirty-five days, and Natal in forty days.
When at Mozambique in 1857, I wrote to Sir Roderick Murchison, the
President of the Royal Geographical Society, proposing that the mail
should be carried to those two British colonies by way of Aden, touching,
on the way down the east coast of Africa, at Zanzibar and Mozambique.
By this route a letter would reach Natal in twenty-five days, and the
Cape of Good Hope in thirty days. A line of light would be thrown along
the whole east coast of Africa, now darkened by the mist of ages, and
polluted by the traffic in human beings; an inter-colonial trade would be
established between the British colonies in South Africa, the Portuguese
settlements, and the rich Sumali possessions of the Imâm of Muskat, and
the slave-trade would be entirely superseded by legitimate commerce. In
the presidential address of Sir Roderick Murchison, delivered before the
Royal Geographical Society this year, mention is made of this route, and
I am in hopes that it may soon be adopted for the carriage of the mail;
more especially as the electric telegraph is now working at Aden, from
which place a steamer might convey a message to Cape Town in fourteen
days.[8]
This route once established, the merchants of the Cape and Natal could
visit Mozambique and Zanzibar, and establish houses at those places,
where they would have a good climate during seven months of the year,
which is the healthy as well as the trading season, viz., from the end of
April to the month of November. By the establishment of this route there
is nothing in the climate to prevent merchants from Europe annually
visiting their establishments, and personally supervising the prosperity
of their factories for trade.
In the accompanying chart of Eastern Africa I have laid down a series
of electric cables, as proposed by me for connecting Great Britain with
the South and East African British colonies by way of Aden. This is
by no means in advance of the requirements of the times; for, at this
moment, we are completing the telegraphic communication with London and
Bombay; and the enterprising colonists of Natal have, for more than two
years, resolved upon connecting themselves, by means of a cable, with the
neighbouring wealthy colony of Mauritius. Telegraphic communication is
fully contemplated between Graham’s Town and Petermaritzburg, the capital
of Natal, and there is nothing in the intervening space between Mauritius
and Aden, by way of the Seychelles and Abd-el-Kuri, or Cape Guardafui,
either as to distance or depth of water, to render this proposed
electric route to the Cape Colony either impracticable, _doubtful_, or
_hazardous_.
The advantages, both politically and commercially, which such a
communication will afford to the mother country, by uniting it with its
rich African colonies, through our own possessions of Aden, Seychelles,
and Mauritius, are too apparent to be dwelt upon, and of too vital
importance to British interests in the Indian Ocean to be neglected.
Along the whole of the east coast of Africa, and the island of
Madagascar, we are outstripped by the Americans, Germans, and French.
Almost the whole of the ivory-trade is now in the hands of the Americans.
Large quantities of beef are salted down on the west coast of Madagascar,
and taken to America; hides, horns, hoofs, and tallow find a ready
market there, while the French take the oils and oil-seeds. One Hamburg
house sends annually fourteen vessels to Zanzibar, ordered to call at
Mozambique since a British consul is established there, for cargoes of
cowries, with which they proceed to the rivers on the west coast of
Africa, and purchase cargoes of palm-oil.
Few British vessels are seen in these parts—as, in the first place, the
trade is unknown in England, and, secondly, British merchants consider
that, at present, there is a degree of risk and uncertainty attending
any ventures in a portion of the world where our commerce is wholly
unprotected, and where, hitherto, vessels have been seized, and redress
has been sought but not obtained.
In the proper quarter I have already suggested that, for the development
of the resources of Eastern Africa, and the opening up of a highly
remunerative trade for Great Britain, a consular officer should be
appointed from Natal to Suez, including Madagascar and the other islands
on that coast; that he should be furnished with a small steamer, which
would be entirely for the consular service—by which means the whole coast
could be constantly visited, our trade encouraged, new markets for our
manufactures made known, and our acquaintance with Eastern Africa become
more intimate in a few years than it would be in a century by any other
mode of procedure.
At first sight the expense attending a vessel for that service may
apparently cause an objection; but when we reflect upon the great results
to which such an appointment must lead, and its obviating the necessity
of a cordon of consular agents on such a coast, with the accompanying
expenses and sacrifice of valuable lives, I feel assured that the country
will cheerfully respond to the call which it is hoped the merchants of
Great Britain will make upon the legislature.
The young Prince Madji, who has inherited the rich Sumali possessions
of the late Imâm of Muskat, has declared his intentions resolutely to
follow in the steps of his great father, by discouraging and eventually
abolishing the traffic in our fellow-beings.
The facts stated in the foregoing pages of this work having been brought
under the notice of Napoleon III., by the circumstances attending the
seizure of the celebrated “CHARLES ET GEORGES,” the Emperor addressed the
following loyal letter to his cousin:—
“To PRINCE NAPOLEON, “Minister of Algeria and the Colonies.
“St. Cloud, Oct. 30, 1858.
“MY DEAR COUSIN,
“I have the liveliest desire that, at the moment when the
differences with Portugal relative to the ‘Charles et Georges’
have terminated, the question of the engagement of free
labourers on the African coast should be definitely examined,
and finally settled on the truest principles of humanity and
justice. I energetically claimed from Portugal the restitution
of the ‘Charles et Georges’ because I will always maintain
intact the independence of the national flag; but, in this case
even, it was only with the profound conviction of my right that
I risked with the King of Portugal a rupture of those friendly
relations which I am glad to maintain with him. But as to the
principle of the engagement of the negroes, my ideas are far
from being settled. If, in truth, labourers recruited on the
African coast are not allowed the exercise of their free will,
and if this enrolment is only the slave-trade in disguise, I
will allow it on no terms; for it is not I who will anywhere
protect enterprises contrary to progress, to humanity, and to
civilization. I beg you, then, to seek out the truth with the
zeal and intelligence which you bring to bear on all affairs
about which you employ yourself. And as the best method of
putting a stop to what is a continual cause of dispute would
be to substitute the free labour of Indian coolies for that
of the negroes, I beg you to come to an understanding with
the Minister for Foreign Affairs to resume with the English
Government the negotiations which were entered upon a few
months ago. On this, my dear cousin, I pray God to have you in
his holy keeping.
“NAPOLEON.”
In the above letter the Emperor Napoleon emphatically states, “If, in
truth, labourers recruited on the African coast are not allowed the
use of their free will, and if this enrolment is only the slave-trade
in disguise, I will have it on no terms; for it is not I who will
anywhere protect enterprises contrary to progress, to humanity, and
to civilization.” Admitting, on the one hand, that he may have been
deceived by those who had induced him to believe that free labour might
be obtained on the east coast of Africa without re-establishing the
slave-trade, on the other hand, he approved of that policy adopted by
Great Britain in Eastern Africa, which had for its result the thus
forcibly bringing before the world the horrors which were being renewed
by this so-called Free Labour Emigration.
No higher approval of the conduct of the British functionary who had
pursued the path of duty, undaunted by continued persecution, could have
been afforded to the world; while the subsequent decree, ordering this
traffic to cease on the east coast of Africa, proved the loyalty of
Napoleon, and prepared Europe to hail in him the liberator of Central
Italy.
The two greatest powers of Europe have resolved that Africa shall have
the opportunity of developing her own material resources; and it now only
remains for Portugal to prove that her professions for the abolition of
the slave-trade are as sincere and as loyal as the great head of the
French nation has shown his to be.
Our beloved Queen succeeded to the throne on the 20th of June, 1837,
and was crowned sovereign of these realms at Westminster, June 28,
1838. Great Britain had previously to that, in 1834, voted twenty
millions sterling for the liberation of the slaves throughout our
colonies; but still a large number of our fellow-beings groaned in
slavery under the apprenticeship system. On the 1st of August, 1838,
the first returning anniversary, after the Queen’s coronation, of that
auspicious day when the house of Brunswick ascended the throne of these
realms, the world beheld the sublime spectacle of the Virgin Queen of
Great Britain pronouncing on earth the will of heaven, that—Slavery in
every form should cease where Britain ruled; and Queen Victoria, on
that day, made eight hundred thousand _slaves_ eight hundred thousand
loyal subjects—thus inseparably uniting the HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK with the
imperishable monument of ENGLAND’S GREATEST DEED.
In distant ages, when the glories of the “Isles of the West” are told,
the memory of BOADICEA, the Queen of the British Iceni, who boldly met
the invading Roman legions, may be forgotten; so, likewise, that of
QUEEN ELIZABETH and the Spanish Armada may fade from the memory of man;
but while the world lasts, and humanity has a heart for other’s woes, the
tale of VICTORIA AND THE SLAVE shall not pass away, while generations yet
unborn will exclaim: “Blessed art thou among women.”
With such an inspiring example before him, is it possible that the young
King of Portugal can pause in the course which duty, interest, and
humanity alike dictate? No! Dom Pedro the Fifth will now see slavery as
it exists in his African dominions; his decree will go forth that slavery
shall cease wherever the Portuguese flag flies; he will thus ally the
House of BRAGANZA with that of BRUNSWICK by ties more indissoluble than
those of blood—namely, the memory of good deeds. The curse of slavery
shall pass away from his land; Portugal will again resume her position
among the first powers of civilization, and admiring posterity will point
to Dom Pedro the Fifth as the regenerator of Portugal and the saviour of
Africa.
APPENDIX.
A.
The reader’s attention is called to the following note from “Buxton on
the Slave-trade,” London, 1839, in connection with the accompanying
notice of trees, shrubs, and plants to be found on the Zambesi:—
“Many beautiful kinds of wood have been discovered by accident amongst
the billets of fire-wood brought home in the slave-ships of Liverpool.
Mr. Clarkson gives the following anecdote in his ‘Impolicy of the
Slave-Trade.’ After mentioning the tulip-wood, and others found in this
manner, he says:—‘About the same time in which this log was discovered
(A.D. 1787), another wood vessel, belonging to the same port, brought
home the specimen of the bark of a tree that produced a very valuable
yellow dye, and far beyond any other ever in use in this country. The
virtues of it were discovered in the following manner:—A gentleman
resident upon the coast ordered some wood to be cut down to erect a
hut. While the people were felling it he was standing by; during the
operation some juice flew from the bark of it, and stained one of the
ruffles of his shirt. He thought that the stain would have washed out,
but, on wearing it again, found that the yellow spot was much more
bright and beautiful than before, and that it gained in lustre every
subsequent time of washing. Pleased with the discovery, which he knew to
be of so much importance to the manufacturers of Great Britain, and for
which a considerable premium had been offered, he sent home the bark now
mentioned as a specimen. He is since, unfortunately, dead, and little
hopes are to be entertained of falling in with this tree again, unless a
similar accident should discover it, or a change should take place in our
commercial concerns with Africa.
“I shall now mention another valuable wood, which, like all those that
have been pointed out, was discovered by accident in the same year.
Another wood vessel, belonging to the same port, was discharging her
cargo; among the barwood a small billet was discovered, the colour of
which was so superior to that of the rest, as to lead the observer to
suspect that it was of a very different species, though it is clear
that the natives, by cutting it off the same size and dimensions, and
by bringing it on board at the same time, had, on account of its red
colour, mistaken it for the other. One half of the billet was cut away in
experiments. It was found to produce a colour that emulated the carmine,
and was deemed to be so valuable in the dyeing trade, that an offer was
immediately made of sixty guineas per ton for any quantity that could
be procured. The other half has been since sent back to the coast, as a
guide to collect more of the same sort, though it is a matter of doubt
whether, under the circumstances that have been related, the same tree
can be ascertained again.” P. 9.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS TREES, BUSHES, HERBS, AND PLANTS of a
Medicinal character to be found about the town of Tete; with an account
of the application which the natives of the country make of them, for the
mechanical uses of life, and in the treatment of the diseases to which
they are subject:—
The town of Tete is situated sixty leagues N.W. of the town of Seña,
which is also sixty leagues from the town of Killimane, built on the
northern mouth of the river Zambesi, which discharges itself into the
Indian Ocean on the east coast of Africa.[9]
TREES.
_Muxetéco_, or root of St. Augustine, as it is called at Mozambique.—The
flower of this tree, which blooms in the months of November and December,
is small, of a yellow colour, and sweet scented. It produces pods of the
colour of cinnamon, more than two and a half spans in length; the beans
inside are of the size of the tamarind stone. These pods, after being
dried, are used for torches by the natives when entering caves in search
of the porcupine. An infusion of the bark of the tree is applied in cases
of indigestion, toothaches, colics, vomits, and also as a healing wash
for wounds. It is used to promote menstruation.
_Mucorongo._—This tree is called jambalaõ in Inhambane. The flower is
white, round, and like that of the mangoe-tree, or elder-tree. From the
fruit both wine and vinegar are made. Its fruit, which is eaten, is
like that of the olive of Elvas, in Portugal; and, when ripe, it is the
colour of red wine. The juice of the fruit is also of the same colour. A
decoction of the root used in a hip bath is a remedy for hemorrhoids, and
checks purgations (anti-cathartic?) Cut up into small pieces and strung
on a thread, like beads, it is worn round the neck, as a remedy for
ophthalmia.
_Mutarára._—This tree is found principally in the sand-hills of Muxem.
The flower is very small, and of the same colour as the leaves. The fruit
is of the size of the Agriote (sour cherry), and of a yellow colour, when
ripe and fit to be eaten; the skin is very coarse, the seed round, and
the colour of red-wine. A decoction of the root is used for rinsing the
mouth, as a cure for toothache. The stems being straight and elastic, the
negroes use them in making those bows which they call Uta.
_Mupanda-panda._—A decoction of the root of this tree, made into pulp, is
applied in the shape of a poultice, as a remedy for chest diseases.
_Chirussa._—The flower is yellow, and similar to that of _casula
cheirosa_. The fruit is like the apple-seed. By rubbing the body with the
dried leaves heated, a copious perspiration is produced, which arrests
fever. A decoction of the bark pounded is used in a hip-bath, as a remedy
for tenesmus.
_Mutacha._—The flower is small, and of the colour of the dried rose. The
fruit is very sweet, and of the size of the small olive; when ripe it
assumes a yellow colour, and it is then fit to be eaten. When dry the
bark is reduced to flour, and mixed with the flour of Indian corn; it is
then used as a poultice. A decoction of the bark is used for rinsing the
mouth, as a cure for toothache. A decoction of the bark, when drank, is a
remedy for hemorrhage of the smaller veins. A decoction of the bark and
the root is used as a cure for hernia.
_Tussi_, called by the natives of India “Curo.”—The fruit of this tree is
in the form of very long pods, within which there is a species of cotton
or down. The natives of the country and Banyans attribute to it the same
effects and virtues as cinchona, and therefore give a decoction of the
bark to those who have fever, which is also used as a healing wash for
wounds.
_Mupumpua._—The root of this tree is applied as a cure for bubos and
gonorrhœa, by drinking the water in which it has been steeped.
_Goóo._—The flower is small and yellow. The fruit is the size of a small
grain, and in clusters. The negroes use this fruit in proving cases of
feiticeros (witchcraft), for which purpose they pound the peel, mix it
with cold water, then strain it; and after it has assumed a darkish
shade they add a portion of boiling water, making it just drinkable.
Two, three, and even five gamellas (bowls) full are given to drink to
the person under trial. Should it act as a purgative the accused is
pronounced guilty, and punished as a feitecera. On the other hand, if
it acts as an emetic, the accused is acquitted. This judicial proof is
called by the negroes Muavi or Lucasse.
_Mutóa._—This tree is the height of an orange-tree. The leaves are long.
The bark resembles that of the cork-tree in colour and thickness. A
species of milk is extracted from the trunk and branches by making an
incision. The wood is very oily, and the Cazembé and the Regulos Maraves
use it cut up into lengths like candles, which they use as lights.
_Nhamucu-ucúu._—The bark of this tree, reduced to powder and used in the
way of snuff, is an efficacious remedy for giddiness; and the same effect
is caused by a decoction of the leaves, when applied to the head as a
sudorific.
_Musequesse._—The leaf of this tree resembles that of the vine. The
full-grown leaves are applied to heal wounds; and an infusion of the
young leaves is used in chest complaints. The bark is thick, and very
much cracked; it resembles that of the Goóo, and an infusion of it is
drunk as an antidote for the Goóo prepared for the Muravi or Lucasse.
_Mudáma._—The flower is of a white colour; leaves rough, large, and
stiff. The juice of the leaves mixed with cold water, when drunk, is an
efficacious remedy for the diarrhœa, with which Europeans are attacked in
that country.
_Mupubuzo._—The branches and the trunk of this tree are covered with
large and thick prickles. The negroes use the root to give the vermilion
colour to threads, cords and straw, with which they braid their hair.
_Muziquezi._—It is called in Inhambane Mafurreira, and the fruit of it is
called Mafurra. This tree is very lofty, shady, and fragile. The flower
is small, white, and similar to that of the elder-tree. The leaves are
long and narrow. The fruit is in clusters, and of the size of a small
fig; it has a strong rind, covered with down; when ripe it splits of
itself, and lets out a seed of a black colour, with vermilion eyes, from
which oil and tallow are extracted. The bark, when bruised in either hot
or cold water, assumes the colour of milk, with which the natives season
their food and make poultices. The tallow is used for curing erysipelas,
by anointing with it the inflamed part.
_Mucuiu._—Is that which in sacred history is called the sycamore tree.
The tree itself, and its mode of fructification, resemble the fig-tree,
with this difference—that the fruit is smaller, and indigestible. The
water in which its root has been steeped, when drunk, cures colics and
palpitation of the heart. The powder of the root, dried in the sun, mixed
with any liquid, produces the same effects.
_Canunca-utare._—Its roots are orange colour, and have the property of
driving away snakes by the pungency of the smell, for which purpose they
are used.
_Mucuniti._—The flower is like that of the lemon-tree, with the
difference of being long. The fruit is round and small. The wood is of
a purple colour, and is most excellent for cabinet work. It is very
sweet-scented, and the roots more so.
_Fundi._—This is a species of palm-tree. The leaves are long and narrow
like grass, with lines running the length of them. The leaves are used
for making brooms and brushes. In Zumbo the Caffres use the leaves to
stop the leaks in their vessels.
_Mussonzóa._—The fruit of this tree is like the gall-nut, with this
difference, that it has no prickles upon it. It produces the same
effects. The Caffre women use it for dyeing cloth a black colour, in
the following manner:—The fruit is well pounded, and gradually mixed up
with a kind of black earth, known to them, which has in it particles of
copper. It makes a very black fixed dye. Poultices made of the roots are
applied in cases of hernia, which it cures very quickly.
_Mussio._—The nature of this tree is very much like that of the acacia
in leaf, spines, and flower, with the difference of not being scented.
It produces a species of bean called quissio, which the natives use in
the same way as the fruit of the Mussonzóa. As these beans are very
astringent, wounds are washed with the water in which they have been
steeped.
_Mutengueni_, called by the natives of India “_Nino_.”—This bush, which
flourishes in the months of November and December, has a small white
long flower, which, when it opens, presents the fruit called Tengueni,
which is the size of an almond. When ripe and fit to be open, it is of a
vermilion colour; it is very acid, and the oil which is extracted from
it is used for softening skins, and also for reducing tumors. The leaves
reduced to powder, and mixed with the juice of the lemon, are a cure for
troublesome ulcers; and the juice of the leaves when taken as a drink
destroys intestinal worms.
_Cangóme._—The flower and fruit of this bush are like that of the Mocha
coffee. The fruit serves as food for the negroes in time of famine, by
boiling it, when green, three or four times, and mixing with it, in the
last boiling, some ashes to remove the bitter taste. The powder of the
root, when dried, or of the bark when fresh, is used to cure contusions,
by laying it over the part affected. An infusion of the bark is used for
the cure of sores of long standing, for which a powder of the root is
also used.
_Canémbe-Numbe._—The flower is yellow, and resembles much that of the
Muxetero. It has no aroma. The fruit is in pods of half a palm in length,
which are eaten when tender. An infusion of the root is a strong diuretic.
_Catungúro._—The flower is a bright yellow, and resembles tassels of
fringe. The fruit, when ripe, is the colour and size of the lemon.
The root is of the consistency of the common potatoe; when cut into
pieces, dried in the sun, and reduced to powder, it is applied to the
cure of bubos. Bubos are also cured by washing them with an infusion of
the root when it is fresh. The leaves pounded are used in the cure of
wounds caused by blows; and the boiled leaves applied to the head, as a
sudorific, are a cure for mistiness and cataracts of the eyes. Also, the
root when fresh, pounded, and thrown into a lake, destroys all the fish
in it.
_Tindinhava Sensitiva._—The flower forms first a small bud like the
pine-apple, of the size of a small seed, which gradually opens, and forms
a suspiro of a brown colour, having the tops of the stamens of a pale
green colour. The fruit is in pods, flat, of two inches in length, or
a little less, snuff-coloured, and covered with down. It is found near
brooks, and on banks of rivers. On touching the leaves, they contract as
far as the tremour of the touch extends. The root is very soft, and when
tied over an inflamed part of the body it removes the swelling. Baths of
the bark pounded and boiled are used for erysipelas.
_Mutava-Nherere._—The name of Nhere which this bears implies that it
is persecuted by ants. The flower is yellow, similar to that of the
ganalinho. The fruit is the size of the mad-apple. They grow in clusters.
The leaves pounded are applied in cases of pleurisy, when they act as a
blister. A decoction of the roots is applied in hip-baths as a remedy for
diarrhœa.
_Mutavan-sato._—The flower is similar to that of the apple-tree. The
fruit is small, and always surrounded by leaves. The juice of the leaves,
mixed with water and taken daily, cures diseases of the spleen. An
infusion of the root is used to rinse the mouth, as a cure for toothache.
_Buaze._—The flowers of this bush are small, and of the form of
guergelin. These flowers swell like the pepper of India. The leaves are
small. The seed is properly linseed, both in size, colour, and form. The
negroes make use of the thread which it gives to form their fishing,
hunting, and bird-nets. In short, it has a perfect resemblance to the
flax which is manufactured in Europe.
_Mudia-coro._—Mudia signifies “that which eats;” coro, “macaca,” monkey.
The leaves are white on the under side, as if they had been sprinkled
with lime or ashes. The root is used by the negroes, either by chewing
it, infusing it, or by drying it in the sun, and reducing it to powder,
when it is mixed with their pombe. It has the same effect as cantharides,
and is taken internally for the same purpose.
_Titifiti._—This bush is to be found in marshy places, upon the banks
of rivers and rivulets. The leaf resembles that of the carmagasuro, and
it is very aromatic. Of it, and of other herbs and plants, a decoction
is made and applied in hip-baths to those who suffer from tenesmus. A
decoction of the leaf is used as a sudorific, and produces a very copious
perspiration. The root cut in small pieces, and worn about the neck like
beads, is a remedy for nervous attacks. And for greater efficacy in this
respect the bedroom ought to be fumigated with the root and leaves of
this bush.
_Capande._—The flower is small, and inclining to purple in colour. The
seed is of the size of the agriote, and similar to the fruit of the
matarara. The Caffres use this bush as a muavi (an oath of judicial
proof among them), prepared in the same manner as the goóo, which also
is muavi among them, as already stated. An infusion of the root is
applied to the fever itáca—causing a copious perspiration—having a very
beneficial effect. The powder of the root, dried in the sun, is used as
snuff, giving great relief in severe colds.
_Enteca._—This is the same as capande in its characteristics and its
effects.
_Carangasúro._—This herb has a yellow flower similar to camomile. A
decoction of it is as a sudorific in a hip-bath to those who suffer from
tenesmus. Mixing it with the herb cacici, or escorcioneira, and with the
roots of the bush capande, and applying the mixture as a sudorific, fever
is alleviated.
_Cacici camuzuqua_, or _escorcioneira_.—There are two qualities of this
herb—one large, the other small. The flower is yellow, and very minute
in proportion to the size of the leaves. It resembles the saffron of
Portugal. The fruit is of the size of a small bead. A decoction of the
leaves is applied as a sudorific to the head in cases of headache. The
bark of the root, boiled along with the root of wild endive, and drunk,
arrests fevers in their progress towards the malignant stage. A simple
decoction of the root is applied to tertian fevers; and, when mixed with
that of the root of the mucoronga, is applied in cases of complicated
gonorrhœa.
_Cacici camuzuqua pequena_, or _escorcioneira menor_.—By anointing the
body with a decoction of the root of this herb, mixed with the filings
of ivory, orange peel, and leaves of the orange-tree, pounded, fever is
destroyed.
_Avenca._—A plant well-known among the negroes, but it does not seem to
be made any use of by them.
_Munhaze._—The leaves are oily and sticky. The negroes use the root in
the composition of the oil of Friar Pedro, which has the property of
drawing the poison out of a wound made by a poisoned arrow.
_Uombue._—This herb has broad leaves like a gourd, but at the same time
long and very hairy. It produces a potatoe very large, which, when
pounded and thrown in water where fish are, destroys them. A poultice of
the root pounded, applied to pleurisies, destroys the pain.
_Casuzumire._—It is a very small herb like mint. A decoction of it used
in baths is a remedy for hemorrhoids and diarrhœa.
_Cacumate._—This herb has the appearance of the claws of the sparrow-hawk
when dead. A decoction is applied to intermittent fevers, and fevers
produced by fatigue. The negroes place it in vessels in which their young
animals drink, through a superstition which they have, that the leaves
being shrunk and similar to the claws of the sparrow-hawk, their young
birds or poultry which drink this water will never be taken by the kite,
sparrow-hawk, or any other bird of prey.
_Mudossua; figueiro do inferno_ (the fig-tree of Hell, Palma
Christi.)—The flower of this plant is large, white, and funnel-shaped.
The fruit like the poppy of Amphiaõ, with the difference of having spines
or prickles like the pipons of St. Gregory (wild cucumber). It is always
in leaf, and the leaves are applied entire as plasters in the cure of
scalds. They have the property of eating away corrupt flesh. From the
kernel of the poppy an oil is extracted, which, mixed with any liquid,
produces sleep. In short, it produces the same effect as laudanum.
_Bange, é o canamo de Portugal_ (the hemp of Portugal).—The negroes, at
the time this plant begins to wither, collect it, stalk by stalk, and
make it into bundles. They smoke it through water, and then drink the
water through which the smoke has passed, which immediately acts as an
emetic. The natives of the interior cultivate it in their villages; and
there are some, as the Morenges, who smoke it with a mixture of tobacco,
long pepper, and galinhaça, which makes them very nervous. The smoke of
the leaves and seed received into the eyes cures _belida_, or web, that
grows over the eye.[10]
_Conge._—This plant is what in Brazil is called Pita. The negroes of
Muzezuro, a part of the interior where gold is found, work it into thread
to make clothes for covering themselves, and the Zimbas, a people of
Zimbave, as also the Caffres, make nets of it for hunting and fishing.
_Inhafoncori._—This plant grows in stems, or stalks, straight and scaly.
The leaves are very small, and resemble those of purslane; although dry,
when made into an infusion they recover their green colour. An infusion
of it is employed for pectoral diseases.
_Carúco-ruco._ The flower is small, and of a light yellow colour. The
fruit is always in pairs, and similar to the fruit of the panheira. After
it is ripe it opens and gives out a yellow down, which is a species of
cotton. The two parts of the shell of the fruit remain like two spoons,
hence the name “carúco-ruco,” which signifies “small spoons.” The root
when dried in the sun is made into a powder, and is used as a remedy for
venereal sores, by sprinkling it over them. A decoction of the root is
used for rinsing the mouth as a cure for toothache.
_Combe._—This climbing plant has a long fruit, more than a span in
length; it has a strong shell like an almond. The fruit grows in pairs,
and the interior of the fruit contains small beans; and in the spaces
between the beans there is a kind of small hair, which, combined with the
said beans and reduced to powder, is mixed with the gall of the alligator
and that of the cobra capella; this mixture is employed to poison arrows
and lances. This poison is so powerful that when any animal is wounded
with an arrow or lance prepared with this poison, it dies in less than
half an hour, through the subtilty of the poison, which immediately
passes through every part of the body, leaving the injured part quite
black.
_Mupessa._—A wild fig-tree, the fruit of which is somewhat acid, and
of a purple colour. A decoction of the root is applied to the cure of
pleurisy, by drinking it; also by placing on the part affected the root
boiled and softened in vinegar. The same decoction is also employed to
reduce apostumes; swellings caused by falls; to expel after-births; to
remove the pains of colics; and also for gonorrhœa.
_Mutubzi._—The flower is round, and of a yellow colour. The fruit is
flat, and one bean only. A decoction of the flower is applied in cases of
tenesmus, flux, &c. It is also used as a sort of gruel for sick people.
This plant has an insufferable smell.
_Abutua._—The root of this creeping plant, made into pombe, is given as
a drink to those who have received injuries from severe falls. The same
pombe heated is applied as a plaster over the inflamed part.
B.
TIMBER TO BE FOUND IN EASTERN AFRICA, MADAGASCAR, AND THE SEYCHELLES.
List of specimens of Woods from the River Zambesi, to be seen at the
rooms of the Royal Geographical Society, 15, Whitehall-place:—
1. _Inhampásse._—Planks six feet long, eight inches broad, and three
inches thick, may be procured.
2. _Pingué—ou Páo preto_ (beautiful wood)—Six feet in length, and six
inches square.
3. _Mocua._—About fourteen feet in length, eight to ten inches square;
and, from its being forked, is peculiarly adapted for knees and futtocks
in ship-building.
4. _Imbila._—From fifteen to eighteen feet long, twelve inches square; a
very flexible wood for ship-building purposes.
5. _Muramanhâma._—About eighteen feet in length, twelve inches square,
and bright red in colour.
6. _Mocunca._—Fifteen to eighteen feet in length, eight to ten inches
square; grows crooked, and well adapted for the tiers of wheels.
7. _Mocôzo._—From thirty-five to forty-five feet in length, three to
four feet square; this wood is of a canary colour, which dyes cotton,
silk, and wool that colour, without any other preparation than by simply
pouring boiling water on it.
8. _Mucunite_—Or sandal wood; planks six to eight feet in length, and
eight inches broad, but the greater part of it is not straight.
9. _Pumburo._—This is a sort of shrub, which does not exceed the
thickness of one’s arm, including the white part which surrounds the
heart, from which a colouring matter, gold colour, is extracted; and from
the white part a canary colour, by simply infusing in water, is given to
silk, cotton, and wool.
10. _Peám._—Eighteen feet long, sixteen inches square.
11. _Mussangara._—Twelve feet long, not very straight, ten inches square.
12. _Taxa._—Twenty feet in length, twenty inches square.
13. _Mocundo-cundo._—Thirty-six feet in length, three to four feet
square; well adapted for vessels’ masts; the bark of this tree supplies
quinine, and from the wood also quinine may be extracted.
14. _Mucorongo._—Eighteen feet long, twelve inches square.
15. _Raiz de Pingué on Páo-preto._—This is the root of the Páo-preto or
Pingué (beautiful wood) (No. 2), which is adapted for cabinet-work.
16. _Monangare._—Fifteen feet long, fifteen inches square, not very
straight, but adapted for block-making and wheelwrights.
17. _Mocossocossa._—Eighteen feet long, twenty inches square; adapted for
joiner’s work, and takes a high polish.
18. _Páo-ferro._—Iron-wood, twenty-four feet long, eight inches square;
well adapted for furniture, takes a high polish, and is suitable for
tree-nails in ship-building, and wherever it can be substituted for iron.
19. _Páo-ferro Mais escuro._—Iron-wood, of a darker quality; dimensions
as No. 18.
20. _Panguira._—Thirty feet in length, straight, twenty inches square;
well adapted for ship-building and beams of houses.
21.—_Páo-fava._—Twenty-two feet in length, straight, twelve inches square
at least.
22. _Meterral._—Twenty-four feet in length, straight, twelve inches
square.
23. _Mugunda._—Forty to sixty feet long, straight, from three to six feet
square; well adapted for ship-building.
24. _Morrondo._—Fifteen feet long, two feet square; adapted for
ship-building.
25. _Moáno._—Fifteen feet long, twelve inches square; generally straight.
26. _Luabo._—Twelve feet long, and ten inches square.
In addition to the above specimens of wood brought home by me, Dr.
Livingstone has found teak, or African oak, as well as lignum-vitæ, on
his way up to Tete.
LIST OF WOODS TO BE FOUND ON THE ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR.
Red Tacamaca, ninety feet long; Colofan, of great length. Red Tacamaca
and Colofan are impervious to the Teredo Navalis, and they may both be
easily obtained, and in any quantity, on the north-east end of Madagascar.
The Bois de natte.
The Faux gaiac.
Sandal-wood and ebony—also a very valuable wood; iron and steel
instruments inserted in which will not corrode.
On the west side of Madagascar, from Bombatok to the north, opposite
Nossi-Bé, rosewood and ebony abound.
NOTES ON THE WOODS OF THE SEYCHELLES.
Specimens of which are to be seen at the rooms of the Royal Geographical
Society, 15, Whitehall-place.
Tacamaca red; tacamaca white.
The bois de natte, both descriptions—the large and the small leaf.
Olive-wood.
The faux gaiac, which is as strong and durable as iron.
Sandal-wood; bonnet carré; l’arbre à pommes de suisse; ebony; rosewood;
the filao; le badinier; le ledanier; le var; le rima; the white acajou;
l’ontelier; le capucin; l’arequier; l’arbre fougère; and the vacoa.
Many of these trees are of great grandeur, and of immense size.
With tacamaca canoes are made in one piece, twenty-four, thirty, and
thirty-six feet in length, and five to six feet beam.
Many vessels have been built at these islands; see the report on the
“Thomas Blyth.”
“Admiralty, 19th February, 1859.
“SIR,—In pursuance of the directions of the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty, I transmit herewith a copy of a report,
dated the 11th instant, from the timber-inspector at Woolwich
Dock-yard, on the specimens of woods from the Zambesi, the
Seychelles, and Madagascar, presented by you to the Royal
Geographical Society; and, with reference to the specimens
numbered in the enclosed Report, 12, 17, 21, and 22, from the
Zambesi, and 17, 18, and 19 from Seychelles, I have to request
you will state, after being so obliging as to confer with me
on the subject, what steps you would recommend should be taken
for obtaining a supply of these descriptions of timber, and for
conveying the same to England.—I am, Sir, your humble servant,
“R. DUNDAS,
“Storekeeper-General of the Navy.
“TO LYONS M’LEOD, ESQ., Late H.M. Consul at Mozambique.”
* * * * *
“Woolwich Dock-yard, Feb. 11, 1859.
“SIR,—I have the honour to report, that, in obedience to
your order of the 2nd instant, I visited the rooms of the
Royal Geographical Society, and inspected the under-mentioned
specimens of woods brought from Mozambique by Mr. M’Leod, late
H.M. Consul there:—
“1. Inhampásse; 2. Pingué ou Páo-preto; 3. Mocua; 4.
Imbila; 5. Muramanhâma; 6. Mocunca; 7. Mocôzo; 8. Mucunite,
or sandal-wood; 9. Pumburo; 10. Peám; 11. Mussangara; 12.
Taxa; 13. Mocundo-cundo; 14. Mucorongo; 15. Raiz de Pingué on
Páo-preto; 16. Monangare; 17. Mocosso-cosso; 18. Páo-ferro,
iron-wood; 19. Páo-ferro mais escuro; 20. Panguira; 21. Páo
fava; 22. Metteral; 23. Mugunda; 24. Morrondo; 25. Moána; 26.
Luabo.
“After a careful examination of the above specimens, I find
they may be classed as follows:—
“1st. All those which are of small dimensions, and do not
attain in their growth the size of timber-trees, but, being of
good quality, may be useful for local purposes—such are Nos. 1,
2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 15, 16, 18, 19, 25, and 26.
“2nd. Those which are of small dimensions, and do not attain to
the character of timber-trees, and, being of inferior quality,
are not likely to be of any value in manufacture—such are Nos.
4, 5, 10, 11, and 14.
“3rd. All those trees of finer growth and nobler dimensions,
the quality of which is inferior, and apparently not of a
durable character—of this class are Nos. 7, 13, 20, 23, and 24.
“4th. The woods of good quality which just attain in their
growth the minimum of length which would fit them for naval
purposes—these are Nos. 12, 17, 21, and 22.
“Assuming that the character of the woods enumerated in classes
1 and 2 are sufficiently explained, it will only be necessary
to remark further, that in determining their classes I have
been guided by the dimensions given me by Mr. M’Leod, and that
I have taken these for my data throughout.
“Class 3 requires a fuller notice, as the trees are reported to
be of large growth.
“No. 7, Mocôzo, produces timber thirty-five to forty-five feet
in length, and from three to four feet square; its specific
gravity is about forty-seven pounds; it is of yellowish colour,
and is said to possess dyeing properties; the wood is porous,
and inferior in quality.
“No. 13, Mocundo-cundo, produces timber thirty-six feet in
length, and from three to four feet square; its specific
gravity is about forty-one pounds. The wood is yellow in
colour, porous, and inferior in quality. From the bark of this
tree quinine is extracted.
“No. 20, Panguira, produces timber thirty feet in length,
and will square about twenty inches; its specific gravity is
fifty-three pounds; the wood is of a dark brown colour, porous,
and inferior in quality. It is, however, stated to be used at
Mozambique for both house and ship-building purposes.
“No. 23, Mugunda, produces timber forty to sixty feet in
length, and squaring from three to six feet; its specific
gravity is thirty-eight pounds; it is of straight growth,
yellowish in colour, light, porous, and inferior in quality.
“No. 24, Morrondo, produces timber fifteen feet in length, and
two feet square; its specific gravity is about forty-seven
pounds; the wood is yellowish in colour, porous, and apparently
inferior in quality; it is stated to be used for ship-building
purposes at Mozambique.
“There is, probably, some mistake, either as to length, or in
the size, given for this tree, and in some others, as they do
not appear proportionate.
“Class 4 appear to be trees of a more useful description.
“No. 12, Taxa, produces timber twenty feet in length, and
twenty inches square; its specific gravity is about sixty-seven
pounds; the wood is close in the grain, heavy, of a reddish
colour, and apparently of good and durable character. I have no
information as to whether it has been used at the Mozambique
for any purpose; but it might be taken as a substitute for
African oak, or sabian, in ship-building, if greater lengths
can be found, as would seem probable, if it square up to twenty
inches.
“No. 17, Mocosso-cosso, produces timber eighteen feet in
length, and twenty inches square; its specific gravity is
fifty-nine pounds; it is a little lighter in colour than
mahogany, and somewhat resembles that wood in its grain; it
might be used as a substitute for it in ship-building and
cabinet-work; its quality is apparently good, and, if greater
lengths are procurable, would be valuable.
“No. 21, Páo-fava, produces timber twenty-two feet in length,
and twelve inches square; its specific gravity is forty-eight
pounds; it is of straight growth, has a fine clear grain, and
is apparently of good quality, it may be used as a substitute
for mahogany.
“No. 22, Metteral, produces timber twenty-four feet in length,
and twelve inches square; its specific gravity is fifty-six
pounds; it is darker in colour than the Páo-fava, heavier, and
better in quality; it may be used as a substitute for mahogany
in ship-building and cabinet-work.
“It is somewhat remarkable that among the trees of the largest
growth they should nearly all be found of inferior quality, and
apparently liable to early decay—yet such is their character,
when considered in reference to the specimens examined.
“The trees of more moderate dimensions assume a better
character, and if greater lengths, in proportion to the given
diameter, can be obtained in the Taxa and the Mocosso-cosso,
they would be found useful for beams, keelsons, &c. The
Páo-fava and the Metteral are both very good woods, but
an increased length and size is wanting to give them value
for beams, planks, &c. Further information is needed from
Mozambique on these four last-named woods, us to whether
greater lengths are procurable, and as to the quantities to be
found in the forests; if these are easy obtainable in large
quantities, and they can be brought readily to a port for
shipment, they would be deserving of a trial in our dock-yards.
“Mr. M’Leod states that Dr. Livingstone has found African oak
and lignum-vitæ up the Zambesi.
“The under-mentioned woods from the Seychelles and the
Mauritius were examined:—
“1. Tacamaca red; 2. Tacamaca white; 3. Bois de natte; 4.
Bois de natte; 5. Tacamaca rouge; 6. Tacamaca blanc; 7. Bois
montagur; 8. Bois danner blanc; 9. Bois blanc; 10. Bois marri
petite feuille; 11. Bois rouge; 12. Bois de pomme; 13. Bois de
ronde; 14. Bois d’olive; 15. Faux gayac d’ile de Solomon; 16.
Tambalicoque; 17. Capuchin; 18. Calofan; 19. Bois puant.
“The foregoing may be classed as follows, viz.:—
“1st. All those of small dimensions, that scarcely attain to
the character of timber-trees, and including the larger woods
of inferior quality—of these are Nos. 1 to 16 inclusive.
“2nd. The trees of large growth—these are Nos. 17 to 19
inclusive.
“No. 17. Capuchin, a red, hard wood, heavy, and apparently of
good quality; it is stated to grow to an enormous size at the
Seychelles, and to be durable. The specimen examined was too
small to enable me to form a correct opinion of its qualities
as a ship-building wood.
“18. Colofan, stated to grow to the height of forty to fifty
feet before branching, and from two to three feet in diameter,
at the Seychelles.
“No. 19, Bois puant, stated to grow to a very large size at
the Mauritius, and to be durable. The specimens of both 18 and
19 were very small, and it would be unsafe to give an opinion
based on this inspection, as to the value of these woods for
ship-building purposes; it may, however, be mentioned, that
Mr. M’Leod informed me that nearly all the woods found at the
Seychelles are used in building such vessels as are required at
that place.
(Signed) THOS. LASLETT,
“Timber-Inspector.
“To the Hon. R. DUNDAS, Storekeeper-General of the Navy.”
* * * * *
“15, Whitehall-place, May 3, 1859.
SIR,—With reference to your letter of the 19th February last,
politely inquiring what steps should be taken for obtaining
a supply of the descriptions of woods approved of from the
Seychelles and the river Zambesi, I have the honour to state
that the ‘Thomas Blyth,’ a vessel of 500 tons, built at the
Seychelles in 1837, of timber grown on those islands, is now
lying in the West India Dock. Her owners, Messrs. Blyth,
Brothers and Co., Philpot-lane, City, have kindly consented to
allow her to be submitted to any inspection that you may deem
necessary for the purpose of satisfying the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty as to the fitness of the timber from the
Seychelles for ship-building.
“Hoping to be favoured with a copy of the report of survey on
the ‘Thomas Blyth,’—I have, &c.
“J. LYONS M’LEOD.”
“To the Hon. R. DUNDAS, Storekeeper-General of the Navy.”
* * * * *
“11th June, 1859.
“SIR,—Referring to your letter of the 3rd ultimo, I have
to request, in pursuance of the directions of the Lord
Commissioners of the Admiralty, that you will be so obliging as
to state what you would consider the most practicable method
for obtaining a supply of a few logs of the descriptions of
woods approved of, from the Seychelles.
“I have also, in compliance with your request contained in your
letter above referred to, to transmit on the other side hereof
a copy of a report, dated the 23rd ultimo, from Mr. Luke, of
the department of the Surveyor of the Navy, on the ship ‘Thomas
Blyth.’—I am, Sir, your humble servant,
“R. DUNDAS,
“Storekeeper-General of the Navy.”
“To J. L. M’LEOD, Esq.”
* * * * *
“Admiralty, 23rd May, 1859.
“Having inspected the ship ‘Thomas Blyth,’ lying afloat in the
West India Docks, I beg to state that the timber and planking
of which she was built at the Seychelles in 1837 appear to be,
at the present time, in sound and good condition.
“This wood is of a chocolate colour, close, hard, and somewhat
stringy in its texture, and free from shakes.
“The degree of natural curvature in the growth of the frame
timbers could not be ascertained, the vessel being ceiled.
“The scantlings of this vessel are small, the timber squaring
from nine to twelve inches, and the lengths of her beams and
shifts of planking about twenty-six feet.
“Judging from the appearance of this wood, where it could be
inspected, and its durability, I consider it to be fit for
ship-building purposes, if it can be procured of sufficiently
large size for ships of war, of the same quality as the smaller
timber used in the construction of the vessel above referred to.
“Two pieces of the wood taken from the inside planking of the
‘Thomas Blyth’ are herewith forwarded as samples.
(Signed) “J. LUKE.”
C.
ON THE POSITION OF OPHIR.
1. _That Ophir was in India._
On behalf of the conjecture that places Ophir in India, the following
arguments are alleged:—
That it is most natural to understand, from the Sacred narrative, that
all the articles enumerated as forming the cargoes of the ships belonging
to Solomon which visited Ophir were procurable in the country where Ophir
was situated; and that all those articles were alone to be found in India.
The Septuagint translators appear to have held this opinion from
rendering אוֺפִיר (Ophir) Σωφιρ, Σουφιρ, Σωφιρά, which is the
Egyptian name for India.
Josephus also states: “Moreover, the king built many ships in the
Egyptian bay of the Red Sea, in a certain place called Ezion-geber;
it is now called Berenice, and is not far from the city Eloth. This
country belonged formerly to the Jews, and became useful for shipping
from the donations of Hiram, king of Tyre; for he sent a sufficient
number of men thither for pilots, and such as were skilful in navigation,
to whom Solomon gave this command:—That they should go along with his
own stewards to the land that was of old called Ophir, but now the
Chersonesus Aurea, which belongs to India, to fetch gold. And when they
had gathered four hundred talents together they returned to the king
again.”—_Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews_, book viii. c. 6, 4.
And again:—“About the same time there were brought to the king from the
Chersonesus Aurea, a country so called, precious stones and pine-trees,
and these trees he made use of for supporting the temple and the palace,
as also for the materials of musical instruments, the harps and the
psalteries, that the Levites might make use of them in hymns to God. The
wood which was brought to him at this time was larger and finer than
any that had ever been brought before; but let no one imagine these
pine-trees were like those which are now so named,” &c.—(_Ibid_, viii.
c. 7. 1.) The vulgate renders the words “the gold of Ophir” (Job xxviii.
16), by “tinctis Indiæ coloribus.” _See_ Wahner, _De Regione Ophir_;
Tychsen, “De Commerc. Hebr.” in Commentt. Gott. xvi. 164, &c.; Huetti
Commentatio de Navigatione Solomonis; Reland, Dissertt. Miscell., i. 172;
or in Ugolini Thesaurus, vii.; Vitringa, and others.
Professor Heeren, in his excellent work on the Commerce of the
Phœnicians, states that he is of opinion that the fleet of Solomon
did visit India; but, on his own showing, this was unnecessary,
for if the Phœnician colonies trading to India did, at the time of
the Hebro-Phœnician voyage, exist in the Persian Gulf, it would be
unnecessary for Solomon’s fleet to proceed further than to those colonies
in the Persian Gulf to obtain all the produce of India which they were
constantly importing. This opinion, held by Seetzen, has evidently
induced him to place Ophir in the Persian Gulf.
Although the large majority of writers on this subject seek for Ophir
in India, they are by no means united as to the exact locality; some
believing it to be the town of Σομπάρα, at or near Goâ, mentioned by
Ptolemy, Ammianus, and Abulfeda, while the majority place it on the
island of Trophane, generally recognized as that of Ceylon.
2.—_That Ophir was in the Persian Gulf._
Some have sought Ophir in the islands of this Gulf; while others have
proceeded up the Euphrates in search of it. Among the latter may be
mentioned Calmet, in his “Dissertation sur le Pays d’Ophir,” who places
the Ophir of Solomon in Armenia. To carry out this theory, he makes the
fleet of Solomon to pass through the Persian Gulf up the Tigris and
Euphrates, as far as these rivers were navigable, and to where they
receive the produce of Armenian Ophir. It will be subsequently shown
that, by the building of Tadmor in the wilderness, Solomon commanded the
Phœnician trade, by this route, from India to Tyre, and that it would
therefore have been useless for Hiram and Solomon to dispatch a fleet
up the Persian Gulf. The Rev. Charles Foster, B.D., in “The Historical
Geography of Arabia,” London, 1844, places the Ophir of Solomon in the
east of Arabia, recognizing that locality in the town of Ofor, situated
at about 60 or 70 miles from the sea-coast—having a river running a few
miles from that town, and discharging itself into the Persian Gulf. After
arguing the subject very fully, he sums up his opinion as to the above
being the locality in the following words—“From these collective premises
may unpresumptuously be drawn the conclusions—1. That the Ofor of Sale
and d’Anville, a town and district in the mountains of Omân, west of the
coast of Maham, is the Ophir of the Old Testament. 2. That the _littus
Hammœum ubi auri Metalla_, or GOLD COAST, mentioned by Pliny, was the
true term of the famous voyage in the reign of Solomon, from Ezion-geber,
or Akaba, at the head of the Gulf of Elah. 3. And, lastly, that this
Ophir or Ofor, the country of the Kottabani of Ptolemy, one of the many
tribes known generally in Arabia by the denomination of Beni Kahtan or
Kahtanys, was the primitive and proper seat of the family of Ophir, the
son of Joktan, which, like so many other districts denominated from the
brethren of this patriarch, still preserves, at the present day, the
name and memory of their fathers.” The Rev. Mr. Foster adds in a note,
“The name of this Joktanite patriarch, and of the famous gold country of
Arabia, which, in the time of Ptolemy and Pliny, bore, and which still
retains, his name, is a curious specimen of the flexibility of proper
names in the Arabic, and its kindred dialects. For _Ophor_ can be traced
through, at least, eight varieties of form—thus, in the prophecies of
Jeremiah and Daniel (Jer. x. 9, Dan. x. 5), it is written _Uphaz_; in the
Song of Solomon (v. 11) [?] _Paz_, (LXX. vers.) _Kephaz_; in Chronicles
(2 Chron. iii. 6) _Paravim_; by Eupolemus, _Orphe_; by Ptolemy,
_Appa_; by Niebuhr, _Efi_; and by Sale d’Anville, and all subsequent
authorities, _Ofor_. M. Niebuhr notices variations nearly as numerous in
the pronunciation of the word _Simoom_.” “Vent empoisonné, qu’on nomme
Sâm, Smum, Samiel, ou Samêle, suivant les différens prononciations des
Arabes.”—_Descript. de l’Arabie_, tome iii. p. 7; _Historical Geography
of Arabia_, vol. i. p. 171. To the opinion expressed by the Rev. Mr.
Foster the objection already made to that of Calmet equally applies,
viz., that Hiram and Solomon already commanded all the trade of the
Persian Gulf which reached Tyre and Jerusalem by way of Tadmor.
3.—_That Ophir was situated in South Arabia._
M. Niebuhr may be quoted as the great authority for Ophir being situated
in South Arabia, although he failed in pointing out its exact position,
as may be learned from the following:—“Je n’ai point trouvé de nom
ressemblant à celui d’Ophir; mais je ne doute pas que si quelq’un
avoit occasion de parcourir le pays depuis Aden jusqu’à Dafar, comme
je l’ai parcouru de l’Mâm, il ne la trouve quelque part. Ophir étoit
vraisemblablement le principal port du royaume des Sabéens, et il étoit
san doute situé entre Aden et Dafar, peut-être même étoit-ce le port que
les Grecs appellent Cana.”—_Niebuhr_, tome iii. p. 253.
4. _That Ophir was situated at Sofala._
Two thousand years before the Christian era, we learn that Semiramis,
the great Queen of Assyria, not contented with the extensive dominions
left to her by her husband, Ninus, enlarged them by the conquest of a
great part of Ethiopia. (_Rollin_, book iii. chap. i. sec. 5. See also
_Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettres_, vol. iii. p. 343, _et seq._
for two learned dissertations upon the Assyrian Empire, and particularly
on the reign and actions of Semiramis.)
Sesostris, one of the most powerful kings of Egypt, ascended the throne
on the death of his father, B.C. 1491. He formed no less a project than
the conquest of the known world. He began his expedition by the conquest
of Ethiopia, and obliged the nations of that country to furnish him,
annually, with a certain quantity of ebony, ivory, and gold. Having
fitted out a fleet of four hundred sail, he advanced to the Red Sea,
and made himself master of the isles and coasts of that sea, proceeding
afterwards to India. In the countries which he conquered, he left
pillars on which the following inscription was engraved:—“Sesostris,
king of kings, and lord of lords, subdued this country by the power of
his arms.” His empire extended from the Ganges to the Danube. Diodorus
Siculus tells us that he cut canals from Memphis to the Red Sea, opening
Egypt to the commerce of Libya, Ethiopia, and Arabia. (_Herod._ l. ii.
chap. 102, 110. _Diod._ l. 1, sec. 48, 54.)
In the sublime poem of Job—now generally attributed to Moses, and
supposed to have been written previous to the Egyptian Exodus, during
some part of Moses’ residence with his hospitable father-in-law, Jethro,
in that district of Idumæa which was named Midian—about 1520 B.C.—mention
is made of the gold of Ophir, Job xxviii. v. 16, showing that the gold of
Ophir was at the date of this poem known to the Arabs of Idumæa, where
the poem was written. In Genesis and Exodus frequent mention is made
of myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, and aloes, articles which were imported by
the Arabs of the south of Arabia from India and Africa, but which were
believed by the Hebrews to be the produce of Arabia.
David, in Psalm xlv. v. 8, 9, mentions myrrh, aloes, cassia, ivory
palaces, and the gold of Ophir.
The Queen of Sheba, in Luke xi. v. 31, is called the “Queen of the
South,” that is to say, of the country the most remote known to the
Hebrews; see 1 Kings x. 1 and 2, Chron. ix. 1. In vol. ii., p. 233,
I have shown how Arabia was situated for commerce, and, bearing its
position in mind, it may now be proper to refer to the account of
this expedition of Solomon. “And King Solomon made a navy of ships in
Ezion-geber, which is Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land
of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, ship-men, that had
knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to
Ophir; and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and
brought it to King Solomon.... And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the
fame of Solomon, concerning the name of the Lord, she came to Jerusalem
with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much
gold and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon, she communed
with him of all that was in her heart: and Solomon told her all her
questions; there was not any thing hid from the king which he told her
not. And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the
house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of
his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and
his cup-bearers, and his ascent by which he went up into the house of
the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It
was a true report that I heard in mine own land, of thy acts, and of thy
wisdom. Howbeit, I believed not the words until I came, and mine eyes had
seen it. And behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity
exceedeth thy fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy
servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
Blessed be the Lord thy God which delighteth in thee, to set thee on
the throne of Israel, because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore
made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king one
hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and
precious stones; there came no more such abundance of spices as these
which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.... And the navy, also, of
Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty
of almug trees, and precious stones. And the king made, of the almug
trees, pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house; harps
also, and psalteries for singers; there came no such almug trees, nor
were seen unto this day. And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba
all her desire, whatsoever she asked; besides that which Solomon gave of
his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her
servants.”
Some have looked upon the Queen of Sheba as the Queen of Sabia, situated
in the kingdom of Sofala, on the east coast of Africa; but for our
present purpose it will only be necessary to recognize in her the head of
that portion of the Arabs commanding the south of Arabia, and the Emporia
_there located_, and also on the opposite adjoining north-east coast of
Africa—although she may have been Queen of the Arabian kingdom of Sheba,
and also the African-Arabic kingdom of Sabia.