CACAO. 259 
crowned with waving branches, a notable object in 
surrounding vegetation, the cacao seldom reaches a 
height of over thirty feet, and would be passed by 
without notice, were it not for its peculiar fruit. It 
flourishes only in damp valleys, on the sides of shady 
hills, and embosomed among mountain forests, where 
the surrounding scenery is eminently interesting. 
So little care does it need, and growing, as it does, 
in soil so rocky that it will produce nothing else, 
nearly every negro in the island has a. few trees 
around his hut, which yield him sufficient for his 
simple wants. I found this to operate greatly to my 
disadvantage, where, among the mountains, all lug- 
gage must be transported on the heads of the people, 
as I could get no one to carry my camping equip- 
ments. By the aid of a half crazy mulatto, named 
Maunie, I was able to reach a valley on the eastern 
side of the mountain range; but once there he left 
me, and for several days I was obliged to remain 
among the cacao groves, unable to return. My stay 
was made delightful by the attentions of the physician 
of the district, Doctor Lang, and the parish priest, 
Canon Bond, both genial and cultivated gentlemen. 
Through the valley ran the largest river in the 
island, Cacao River, which in the rainy season over- 
flowed its banks and committed great havoc among 
the trees of the cacaotiére, or cacao grove. The trees 
grow to the height of twenty feet, some to thirty, 
with a leaf something like that of the chestnut. The 
tops of the trees are intergrown, forming dense shade, 
beneath which, among the smooth stems, one can 
walk in comfort even at noon. Dead and fallen 
leaves strew the ground thickly, even as the chestnut 
