12 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

inhabitants. The town of Zanzibar with its suburbs

is comprised in a very small area, the people being crowded closely together. There are no good streets,

but in the best parts of the town are some well-

built stone houses of two and three stories in height,

inhabited by Europeans

, "and the more wealthy Indian and Arab traders. The houses of the poorer

class of Indians and the wattle-and-daub huts of

the negro population have already been mentioned.

The town and suburbs of Zanzibar are divided

into numerous mita or quarters, having each its own name, which is frequently derived from some

particular feature connected with it : e.g. FoTthani, " at the custom house ;

"

Grerazani, " at the fort ;

"

Mnazi moja,

" the one cocoanut palm ;" Mzambarauni, " at the mzambarau tree," and so on.

The population of Zanzibar is composed of repre-

sentatives of a considerable variety of nationali-

ties Arabs, Hindus, Banyans, Persians, Negroes,

Waswahili, Malagasies, Europeans, Americans and

Goanese.

The most important class are the Arabs, as to them the island belongs, and many of them are large landed proprietors, possessing extensive mashamba

or plantations, and great numbers of slaves. They are also the principal traders with the interior of

the continent of Africa, and considerable numbers

of them leave Zanzibar every year for the mainland

with large caravans and a numerous retinue, and,