836 THE ISLE REUNION, OR BOURBON. 



handsomer fisTi than the bull sperm-whale. The calf 

 was about fifteen feet long — lacking none of the 

 peculiarities of the older fish, except the teeth, which 

 as yet were not cut ; but on getting the jaw on deck 

 we penetrated the gum, and found perfectly-shaped 

 teeth, about an inch and a half in length. The fol- 

 lowing day we cut them in, and tried them out. 

 They yielded, altogether, a trifle over twenty barrels 

 of oil. 



After taking these whales, we ran several degrees 

 to the eastward, and spent a w^eek in cruising, 

 during which we saw whales three times — in each 

 case going to wdndward eyes out, without giving U8 

 the shadow of a chance to lower for them. We re- 

 traced our course, and on the 23d passed Mauritius. 

 The following day we coasted along the Isle Re- 

 union, or Bourbon — an island under the dominion 

 of France, and so beautifully fertile as to be called the 

 Garden of the Indian Ocean. From hence the Mau- 

 ritians obtain most of their agricultural supplies, and 

 quite a fleet of coasting vessels is employed in the 

 carrying trade between the two islands. Some idea 

 may be formed of the amount of this trade when I 

 quote the remark of one of the citizens of Port Louis, 

 that, " were it not for the productions of Bourbon, 

 all the inhabitants of Port Louis would starve to 

 death." All the tillage and other laborious work 

 on this island is performed by the natives of Mada- 

 gascar, introduced here by the French, under the 

 same apprentice-system as that practised by Great 

 Britain. 



The island, like Mauritius, is composed principally 

 of very high land, some points being elevated many 



