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six hundred yards farther back is another of three guns ; 

 and one of two guns flanks the cantonment ; on the opposite 

 side of the anchorage is the battery of La Harmonic, of 

 twelve guns, by which a heavy cross-fire can be maintained 

 with that of Lapreneuse. At the former, a barrack has 

 been erected for the accommodation of one hundred men. 



" As soon as our arrangements wxre completed at the 

 post, I made an excursion, in company with Colonel Leitch 

 and Captain Rutherford, to the district of the Savanne. 

 On our way thither, we slept the two first nights at the 

 plantation of M. Chazal de Chamarel. This property is 

 one of the most extensive and most fertile in the island. 

 Situated at a great elevation, it never experiences those 

 scorching heats and protracted droughts that give a check 

 to vegetation for a great part of the year along the coast. 

 Embosomed in the forest, and surrounded by some of the 

 highest peaks in the island, it enjoys a perpetual succession 

 of refreshing showers, and is shaded by a thick canopy of 

 clouds that moderate the temperature of the air. The 

 humidity, however, consequent on this state of atmosphere, 

 has a pernicious effect on the health of his slaves, which he 

 finds it necessary to counteract by warmer clothing and less 

 intense labour. Transported hither from the burning 

 regions of Mosambique and Madagascar, the ' green slaves' 

 are speedily attacked with pulmonary diseases, which, when 

 they do not prove fatal, degenerate into chronic disorders 

 that render them unfit for any sort of sustained labour. 



" All agricultural labour is performed by slaves ; and the 

 only implements used are the hoe and the dibble. With the 

 former they prepare the soil and keep it clear of weeds. 

 All sorts of pulse and grain are planted with the latter. 

 The ground is, for the most part, so much encumbered 

 with stones, that neither the plough nor the harrow can 

 ever be used with advantage. The labour of the slaves, 

 however, from its very multiplicity, is neither so constant 

 nor so systematically conducted as in our West India 

 Islands ; but the unfortunate facility of procuring fresh 

 supplies, has hitherto more than balanced this advantage, 



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