86 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



soon discovered that these unsightly remains of 

 digestion were carefully collected by the islanders, 

 who pounded them together with chopped straw, 

 and employed the compound as a substitute for 

 wood or other fuel. The method of drying this 

 substance consists in spreading large masses of it 

 against the sides of a rock or wall, and leaving it 

 exposed to the action of the sun and air until it is 

 thoroughly dried and can be detached in large flat 

 cakes. I have often seen otherwise well kept 

 houses covered with this singular tapestry, which 

 certainly would seem more in harmony with the re- 

 ligious ideas of the Hindoos than with those which we 

 entertain in France in relation to cleanliness. I have 

 been informed that the bois d'herbes gives a clear and 

 bright flame free from smoke or from any offensive 

 smell. 



In addition to the native Brehatains, the island 

 contains an isolated colony of strangers. Brehat 

 serves as one of the principal stations for the coast- 

 guard, and there is generally a large number of these 

 officers on the island, who are constantly engaged in 

 trying to overcome the artifices and incessant activity 

 of the smugglers. On account of the importance of 

 the island in the event of a maritime war, several of- 

 ficials connected with the war administration are 

 always quartered at Brehat. Like a true fortress, 

 the place has its commandant, who, however, is only 

 a non-commissioned officer ; its garrison, which con- 

 sists of seventeen men, including the sergeant and 

 corporal in command ; its second in command, who is 

 no less a personage than the mayor, and the master 



