324 
particularly the village, where they have endeavoured to 
procure a supply by sinking wells in the coral-bank; but 
the produce, though fit for use, is rather brackish. 
* We left St. Leu early in'the morning of the 14th, and 
pursued our journey over a road encumbered with stones, 
but nearly destitute of those ravines which had rendered our 
progress during the preceding stage so slow and difficult. 
The land is cleared and cultivated to a great height along 
the acclivity of the mountain; and the only memorials re- 
maining of its former state, are a few Lataniers and Benzoin 
trees, battered by the winds, and verging gradually to decay. 
About twelve miles from St. Leu, we passed a remarkable 
sand-bank, which extends upwards of a mile in length, and 
seems to be creeping slowly up the side of the mountain. 
The sand is of a bluish-grey colour, and affects the form of 
ridges or wreaths, in the manner of drifted snow. It might 
almost be supposed that some extraordinary cause had 
accumulated all the sand in the island on this particular 
spot, as there is hardly a particle to be seen in any other place. 
“ The church of St. Louis, for there is no village in the 
district of that name, stands about four miles from the 
bank. We purposed halting here for a night, and called on 
a planter to whom we had letters of introduction; but he 
happened to be from home, and we agreed to prolong ou 
ride to St. Pierre. Close by St. Louis we crossed the River 
St. Etienne, at this time an inconsiderable stream, but with 
a channel several hundred yards wide, and obstructed by 
huge masses of stone jammed against each other. Within 
two miles of St. Pierre, we passed over a high rampart of 
lava, the uncommon aspect of which excited our attention. 
It is a confused mass of gravel, pebbles, and 
fragments of trap, firmly agglutinated by a cement of de 
appearance of mud, and differing very little, on a superne 
view, from conglomerate. As this rampart is com 
several distinct beds lying over each other, with a 52 
nearly destitute of vegetation, it may be reasonably infer 
that it is the result of successive and comparatively 
of 
