92 THE VOYAGE : PASSING IMPKESSIONS 



told us he was going nigger hunting to the Coast. We had 

 no commission to catch slavers or to do mischief further 

 than resenting personal injuries. 



If Madeira afforded the first vision of real tropical verdure, 

 the Cape de Verdes intensified it with the unimagined grace 

 and beauty of a cocoanut grove, the one redeeming feature 

 of the prevailing Saharan desolation near the coast. The 

 fertile interior was twelve miles away from Porto Praya ; still, 

 in a week here, during the bad season, Hooker managed to 

 collect 110 species in a tolerable state and saw perhaps 100 

 more in a useless state a very fair proportion of the 300 

 brought home by a previous collector. Of the famous Baobab 

 tree he remarks that neither to himself nor to Captain Eoss 

 did it give the impression of being such a slow growing and 

 ancient tree as was reported by those who had seen one cut 

 down. 



Distance was not the only obstacle confronting the botanist. 

 Eeturning from their first day's outing they found that * the 

 Consul had very thoughtfully left word for us to prepare our- 

 selves for the coast fever (or yellow fever), which was certain 

 to lay hold of all Europeans who should expose themselves 

 as we had done.' Nevertheless they went not once again, but 

 twice, further afield to the beautiful valley of St. Domingo in 

 the interior, the first time entirely, the second half way, on foot. 



The Consul persuaded us to ride, assuring us that a walk 

 of twelve miles there and twelve back would assuredly be 

 followed by fever. We therefore hired two ponies, the 

 only two we could procure, and the very worst I ever saw, 

 and a Jackass for which we drew lots. Mr. McCormick 

 and I soon relinquished our beasts, and sent them back 

 before leaving the Town, and .the Jackass, having performed 

 the feat of unassing Mr. Hallett and running through the 

 Town with our poor purser hanging to his neck, we deter- 

 mined to walk. 



After the Saharan desolation of the lower country, where 

 under the tropical sun the soil of black volcanic slag and ashes 

 scorched the feet in walking, the picture changed suddenly. 



