,372 B O U R 



Bourbon. l ava has reached as far as the sea. But should this 

 ^ V volcano, which, we have every reason to believe, has 

 already traversed the whole island, make another 

 tour, and renew its devastations in some other quar- 

 ter, this desolate region might easily be recovered, 

 and rendered habitable and fertile. 



In the line of contact of these two mountains, 

 which runs from N.E. to S.W. the ground rises on 

 both sides with a gentle ascent from the sea. In this 

 line are the Plaine des Cafres, and the Plaine des Pal- 

 mistes, through which lies the only road of commu- 

 nication between the opposite side's of the island, 

 and which, by way of eminence, is called the Plain. 

 The Plaine des Cafres is very unequal, and is rather a 

 number of flats rising insensibly one abore the other, 

 than a level plain. Its highest elevation is 4,800 

 feet above the level of the sea, while its lowest is only 

 3,600. It is' little better than a desert. A tree is 

 scarcely to be seen. A few tutts of shrubs are its 

 only productions, and the more elevated places are 

 absolutely bare, or covered only with heath. On 

 the N.E. lies the Plaine des Palmistes, which forms 

 a striking contrast to the sterility of the Plaine des 

 Cafres. It is every where covered with the most 

 luxuriant verdure, and is watered by the river Seche, 

 which traverses its surface in a serpentine direction, 

 and receives from its sloping sides many tributary 

 streams. This plain resembles an immense circle, 

 surrounded on every side, except towards the ocean, 

 by a rampart rising gradually from the centre to the 

 height of 1,800 feet above its base, and 2,700 above 

 the level of the sea. It received its name from a spe- 

 cies of tree with which it abounds, and concerning 

 which a circumstance is mentioned by M. Bory, 

 which is particularly worthy of observation. We give 

 it entirely upon that gentleman's authority, and in his 

 own words. " Si 1'on est assez heureux pour svir- 

 prendre ces hautes montagnes dans un moment de 

 calme profond, ct lorsque tous les vents sembknt re- 

 tenir leur haleins, on pourra verifier 1'observation 

 suivante, qui me parut si singuliere que je n'osai pas 

 d'abord m'en rapporter a moi-meme. ,le consultai, 

 a ce suject, 1'exact M. Hubert, qui m'a assure avoir 

 remarquer comme moi, qne les frondes flexibles des 

 palmistes,* lorsque la paix des airs le permet, se diri- 

 gent par un mouvement insensible vers le milieu de 

 file ; il faut ctre tres attentif pour saisir cet ordre 

 apparent, qui est peut-etre du a 1'attraction que les 

 montagnes ex ercent:-f- cet ordre est apeine visible sur 

 un senl arbre, c'est snr 1'ensemble de tous les palmis- 

 tes vus a-la-fois, qu'il faut le chercher. J'ai apercu, 

 au milieu d'un de ces calmes profonds, des risecs m- 

 dociles echappees d'une gorge agiter toutes les tetes 

 qui se trouvaient sur leur route ; bientot apres les 

 feuilles balancees, perdant peu a peu leur agitation, 

 reprenaient leur direction premiere." Voyage, &c. 

 torn. ii. p. 389. 



Near the middle^of the island is a lake about half a 

 mile in diameter, surrounded on every side by a slo- 

 ping bank, which rises nearly 600 feet above the le- 

 vel of its centre. This lake is called by the inhabi- 

 tants the Grand Etang, or Great Pond. Itis between 

 .'JO and 40 feet deep ; and has no other source of sup- 



BON. 



ply than the rains which fall in its neighbourhood. Eonrl 

 During a dry season it is sometimes completely emp- 

 ty, which must be produced entirely by evaporation, 

 as it has no other outlet whereby"it can discharge it- 

 self. A few swallows are the only inhabitants ot the 

 place A thick cloud, in general, rests upon its 

 surface, and the atmosphere around is always fog- 

 gy and unhealthy. 



The rivers of Bourbon find no resemblance in Riven 

 those of any other country. Instead of sheets of 

 water flowing in a level and uniform course, and 

 refreshing the vallies which they embellish ; these 

 are torrents, sometimes weak, sometimes strong, 

 tumbling down the sides of the mountains through 

 deep gulleys, which they have formed, or widen- 

 ed, during a long succession of ages ; and such 

 is the impetuosity with which they rush through 

 their channels, that huge masses of rock are carried 

 down in their current, whose crash is heard long be- 

 fore thoy appear, and which, accumulating at their 

 junction with the ocean, form at each side of their 

 mouths lofty and impassable ramparts. These tor- 

 rents have so furrowed the declivities of the moun- 

 tains, that one cannot traverse the island, in aline pa- 

 rallel to the horizon, without encountering precipi- 

 ces at every step. The sides of their channels, in many 

 places, form an angle of from 4,5 to 70 degrees, and 

 those of some of the principal rivers are about 600 feet 

 in elevation. The chief rivers are. riviere tie .S7 De- 

 nis, riviere St'cJic, riviere dc I'E&t, riviere du Mat, 

 and riviere dcs lien-parts; yet none of these are sap- 

 plied by springs which issue from the earth, but are 

 indebted entirely to the rains which fall in their 

 neighbourhood, and to the snow and mists, which 

 continually rest upon the summits of the moun- 

 tains. 



In Bourbon the towns, and the only appearance of 

 cultivation, are confined entirely to the coast, and its 

 neighbourhood ; the interior is uninhabited, and even 

 uninhabitable. It is divided, according to M. Bory, 

 into eleven parishes ; St Denis, St Marie, St 

 Suzanne, St Andre, St Benoit, St Rose, St Jo- 

 scph, St Pierre, St Louis du Gaul, St Leu, and St 

 Paul, each having a town of the same name. St De- 

 nis is the capital of Bourbon, and the residence of 

 the governor, the supreme council, and other public 

 functionaries. This town is little better than a vil- 

 lage. The church is its only edifice, and the houses 

 are low, and built chiefly of wood. The streets arc 

 bordered with trees, and covered with large flrnts ; 

 and resemble, in every respect, many of our com- 

 mon roads in Britain. It is divided into the high 

 and the low quarters; the latter of which is si- 

 tuated at the mouth of the river, and consists merely 

 of a row of shops, possessed by the poorer classes of 

 the inhabitants. The other is built a little behind at 

 the bottom of the hills, and is inhabited entirely by- 

 wealthy colonists. The batteries and public maga- 

 zines are well supplied with cannon and military stores, 

 and the ordnance captured last year at this place, and 

 St Paul's, amounted to 120 pieces of cannon of all ca- 

 libres, besides a large quantity of shot, shells, cartrid- 

 ges, and powder, and about 900 muskets with bayonets. 



into e 

 parish 



StDei 



Fausct nut the Areca of Linnaeus. 



-|- This singular fact cannot possibly arise from the attraction of. the mountains, as Bory imagine?, 

 true explanation of it will he found in some optical illusion. ED. 



We suspect that the 



