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little village, consisting of from eighty to an hundred houses, 

 is built without any rigid regard to regularity; but is inter- 

 spersed with Cocoa and Date-palms, that give it a pretty 

 rural air. It is situated on a low coral bank thrown up by 

 the sea against the base of the mountain. It has a small inn, 

 the only house of entertainment in the whole island, at 

 which we took up our quarters for the night. In the course 

 of the evening, we witnessed a method of fishing, common 

 enough in Mauritius, but in Bourbon confined to this par- 

 ticular spot. A party of about a dozen blacks, having a net 

 fifty yards in length, walked out on the reef, where the water 

 was from three to four feet deep. Having stretched the net 

 across the reef, with a man at each end of it, the rest of the 

 party formed a circle two or three hundred yards wide, and 

 began flogging the water with long switches, shouting and 

 screeching, and making every sort of noise, to frighten the 

 fish. In this manner they gradually contracted their circle, 

 and, closinor in towards the net, drew the ends of it tooether. 

 Their labour this evening, however, was entirely fruitless. 

 The only fish usually taken by this process is that which 

 they call the Licorne, {Acanthurus Unicornis,) a dry, insipid 

 fish, used only by the slaves. 



" The only part of Bourbon edged with a coral-reef, is 

 that portion of coast which extends from St. Leu to St. 

 Pieri'e; around the rest of the island the shore sinks abruptly 

 to a depth at which it is probable that the coral-worms 

 cannot live. This depth, however, is in a progressive state 

 of diminution, from the spoils of the mountains annually 

 swept down by the torrents, and deposited along the shore. 

 From St. Benoit to St. Paul, round the north end of the 

 island, there is an uninterrupted bank of water-worn pebbles, 

 partly thrown back by the waves, partly rolled into the deep 

 water, and forming a series of roadsteads along that part of 

 the coast. 



" The district of St. Leu enjoys the reputation of pro- 

 ducing the best coffee in the island, and perhaps in the 

 world, excepting that of Mocha alone. For the greater 

 part of the year it labours under a scarcity of water, more 



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