Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
in the hot, smelly streets, sleep out on their doorsteps. Last
night at Zanzibar, Wayland and I went ashore after dinner
and stayed till nearly midnight tramping through the narrow,
devious pathways. There was a native wedding and when
they saw us they played 'God Save the King' and shouted
and danced.
The German places are totally different. They first of all
blow up all the native kraals and then plan out a regular town
like an English sea side resort - with a promenade along the
sea front - hotels, gardens and so on. Apart from the palms
and natives it is impossible to believe that one is in Africa.
I am very pleased with Africa so far and have been as
much as four miles inland. Where we are going seems to be
one of the healthiest points of the continent and we are all
looking forward to a pleasant and interesting expedition.
Whether this was said for his parent's benefit or whether he
was actually ignorant of the truth is unclear, but contrary to
Holmes' enthusiasm for Mozambique, Reid, who had been
exploring Africa for twenty years, had a very di¬erent opinion:
The territory as a whole is unhealthy, and the sanitary conditions in
Mozambique and Mosuril are vile. The natives su¬er much from leprosy
and venereal diseases and in one or two places we noted entire villages
had been deserted - from the native's description, I should say through
the ravages of smallpox. Although the natives are excellent workers and
will carry heavy loads for a 15 mile journey without a murmur, they are
dirtier in their persons than the usual run of African native, and dis-
gusting feeders, often never troubling to cook their food.
The capital town of Mozambique, also called Mozambique,
was situated on a small island about seven miles o¬shore and
was one of the oldest settlements on the coast of East Africa.
The country had been occupied by the Portuguese for 400 years,
but they had allowed it to become very run down and only
recently had facilities such as the telegraph been installed. The
expedition's headquarters were established in the town of
Mosuril on the mainland, opposite the island of Mozambique.
