190 NARRATIVE. 



sides, the strata lie as follows ; three feet of basalt, with coulies 

 running eastward, and lighter coloured upwards, where not washed 

 by the sea ; two feet of grit with layers of shells, (apparently an 

 aqueous formation) mingled with sharp, angular pieces of basalt ; 

 a thin layer of red earth or tufa, formed from the decomposition 

 of the basalt. The pier rock seems to have a bed of sand under- 

 neath it, and below that is a blue compact basalt. The surface 

 of the island is covered with sand, intermingled with patches of 

 conglomerated sand and hme, in which we found innumerable 

 shells. The grit rock also contained shells, and whole masses 

 of the bones of asterue. The botany presented nothing curious, 

 as will be seen in the appendix. The sahne plants were the 

 most abundant, and a Dane once made an experiment to extract 

 alkalies from them, but they did not yield sufficient to make them 

 answer for commerce. 



All the quadrupeds were of a domestic kind. Senhor Martins 

 confirmed the account given by Dampier, of the turtles coming 

 from the main land in June, July, and August, to lay their 

 eggs in the sand. There is also a tradition, that by eating the 

 flesh of these animals, and anointing with their blood, leprosy is 



cured. 



The inhabitants of Bona Vista are so well supplied with 

 necessaries, and even luxuries, from Portugal, England, and 

 America, that there is but little encouragement for any manu- 

 facturer, particularly as they have no native productions to tempt 

 their industry. There was a black man, however, residing there 

 during my stay, an artisan from the opposite part of the continent, 

 who wove beautiful pagnes or scarves, both of silk and of cotton, 

 being suppUed with the material for the former by his employers. 

 His loom was small, after the African fashion, but his web was 

 considerably wider than that of the cloths made on the leeward 

 coast. The patterns, of his own invention, were very pretty, but 



