Through the Dark continent Author:Henry Morton Stanley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: VIEW OF A PORTION OF THE SEA-FROXT OF ZAKZIiiAR, FROM THE WATEIi BATTEBY TO SHANGANI POINT. (From a photograph by Mr. Buchanan, of Xatnl.) CHAPTER I. ... more » Arrival at Zanzibar Island — Life at Zanzibar — The town of Zanzilmr, its roadstead and buildings — The One Cocoa-nut tree and the red cliffs — Selection and purchase of goods for the journey — Residence of Prince Barghash — Busy mornings — Pleasant rides and quiet evenings. 1874. Twenty-eight months had elapsed between my de- Se1't- 2L parture from Zanzibar after the discovery of Livingstone and my re-arrival on that island, September 21, 1874. The well-remembered undulating ridges, and the gentle slopes clad with palms and mango trees bathed in warm vapour, seemed in that tranquil drowsy state which at all times any portion of tropical Africa presents at first appearance. A pale blue sky covered the hazy land and sleeping sea as we steamed through Zanzibar. ARRIVAL AT ZANZIBAR ISLAND. 29 fhe strait that separates Zanzibar from the continent. 1874 Every stranger, at first view of the shores, proclaims his pleasure. The gorgeous verdure, the distant purple ridges, the calm sea, the light gauzy atmosphere, the semi-mysterious silence which pervades all nature, evoke his admiration. For it is probable that he has sailed through the stifling Arabian Sea, with the grim, frowning mountains of Nubia on the one hand, and on the other the drear, ochreous-coloured ridges of the Arab Peninsula; and perhaps the aspect of the thirsty volcanic rocks of Aden and the dry brown bluffs of Guardafui is still fresh in his memory. But a great change has taken place. As he passes close to the deeply verdant shores of Zanzibar Island, he views nature robed in the greenest verdure, with a delightful freshness of leaf, exhali...« less