64 Voyage of the Novara. 



traordinary privileges and immunities were deemed necessary in 

 order to reconcile the holders with the dubious character of the 

 early settlers in the island ; for, though in those times the 

 highest families in Portugal took part in all adventurous 

 expeditions, yet most of the settlers were taken from prison 

 and convict hulks; and the first settlement of Madeira had 

 much more the character of a place of banishment for crimi- 

 nals than that of a colony of free emigrants . 



With a view to obtain more ground for cultivation, the 

 first settlers are said to have set on fire so large a portion of 

 the primeval forests, that they were soon unable to check 

 the conflagration. According to old writers, the fire, par- 

 ticularly in the south of the island, lasted several years ; and 

 the heat is said to have been so intense, that many persons 

 in order to escape from it, sought refuge on board the ships in 

 the roads of Funchal.* 



This act of vandalism against nature, which is confirmed 

 by ancient and modern authors, is being avenged even at 

 present, though centuries have passed since the deed. The 

 cedar, once a denizen of the island, is no longer to be found ; 

 and only the ceilings of the cathedral and of old houses, which 

 are constructed of this costly material, show the magnitude 

 which this noble tree formerly attained in the island. Of the 

 dragon tree {JDraccBna Draco)^ which was once the ornament 

 of the forests of Madeira, there are at present, in the whole 



* The name Madeira, signifying in Portuguese " timber or wood," justifies the 

 statement that the island was at one time richly wooded. 



