nobHicwEz, MAURITIUS And reunion-. 445 



sympathy eveiy where manifested, especially from the mother coun^ 

 try, were facing the disaster bravely and cheerfully. 



To turn to sport. During- our stay several of the wealthy 

 proprietors organized ch'isses in our honour, on which occasions 

 many deer were killed, but the system that obtains of killing small 

 stags is disastrous and unsportsmanlike and must lead to the 

 deterioration of the species at no distant period, if not to its 

 extinction. The hospitality of the land-owners induces them to 

 invite so many of their friends, that sport is apt to degenerate into 

 slaughter. The performance always winds up with a sumptuous 

 banquet. Of other kinds of game there are wild pigs — " Cochon 

 Marron,'^ partridges of two kinds, Guinea-fowls, &c., &c. 



It was a beautiful evening on August 3rd, when the " Boadicea " 

 and her two little satellites, the " Redbreast " and " Lapwing," slij)ped 

 their moorings in Port Louis, and spreading their canvas to the 

 breeze, glided out of the harbour ui route to Madagascar. 



REUNION. 



Owing to the very strict quarantine regulations which enforce 

 21 days upon any ships leaving Mauritius, we were unable to land 

 at this fine island, so we merely anchored off the town, saluted the 

 French flag, and exchanged complimentary letters with the Governor. 

 At the time of the disaster at Mauritius the people of Reunion were 

 prompt and generous in coming to their assistance, and this is the 

 more creditable from the fact that Reunion is not a rich island, and 

 is not self-supporting as Mauritius is, the French Government 

 devoting annually large sums for its maintenance. The island has 

 no harbour, the usual anchorage off the town of St. Denis being 

 merely an open roadstead, but a wet dock has been constructed 

 about a mile to the westward of Shingle Point (Point de Galets). 

 This dock is nearly 40 acres in extent, and can accommodate ships 

 300 feet long, and has a depth of 26 feet inside and 29' at the 

 entrance. Like Mauritius, Reunion is of volcanic formation, one 

 mountain, the Grande Brule, being an active volcano. Being in 

 the track of hurricanes it is also liable to those visitations, 

 causing great damage to the crops. Heavy rollers, looally called 

 " Ras de Maree," occasionally appear on the coast without previous 

 59 



