mainland,
but seized upon stations on the islands which offered decent harbors.
Thus their chief settlements, such as Mozambique and Ibo, were on islands lying off the coast, and until recent years they made no serious attempt to occupy the mainland.
Arabs
and Banyans carried.on the commercial traffic of the country, as they
still do, and they were more truly the masters of this coast than were
the Portuguese, who were little more than nominal rulers. Trading to
and from India in their small dhows, the Arabs and Banyans had full
knowledge of the value of pearls, and undoubtedly secured all that were
obtainable. But they observed no restrictions, and without doubt—for a
time, at any rate—greatly impaired the productive power of the
fisheries.
The
principal pearl reefs of East Africa, so far as known at present,
extend along the coast of the German East African territory from the
Province of Uzaramo to the Rovuma River, the southern limit of that
territory, and also into Portuguese East Africa as far south as Pemba
Bay, a total distance of about 300 miles. Along much of this coast,
there are islands lying from one to two miles off shore, and between
these islands are barriers of reefs, which create a series of lagoons.
In these lagoons, protected by the islands and the reefs from the
influence of the surf formed by the Indian monsoons, there are large
patches of coral rock and groups of living coral, which form excellent
attachments for the pearl-oysters.
It
is only recently that serious attention has been paid to these pearl
resources, although year by year a considerable number of' pearls have
been collected by the natives and sold to Arabs and Banyans, who have
sent them chiefly to India by way of Zanzibar. The natives of these
parts are not very expert in diving, and they collect the oysters
principally by wading out as far as they can at low tide. They do not
wait for the mollusks to attain a proper age, and as a result they find
few pearls of large size. Many parcels of pearls fished in this very
elementary way pass through-the custom-house, where they are subject
to a small duty for export, and others are smuggled out of the country.
Quantities of seed-pearls are sent to India, where they are used
principally as a medicine and in cosmetics ; and occasionally there
are rumors that some choice pearls have been discovered.
In
the German territory a concession of the fisheries was granted a few
years ago to Dr. Aurel Schulz ; and, although we are not in position
to say what success he has met with, it is reported that he has secured
a considerable number of pearls under four grains in weight, of fair
shape and quality and of good marketable value.
A
concession of the pearl fishery on the Portuguese coast north of Ibo
has been granted to the East African Pearl Company. For this
