470 MAJOR H. DB HAGA HAIG ON THE [Aug. 1895, 



occurs near Arsenal Bay at an elevation of about 13 feet, while 

 close by, some feet lower, is a mass of raised reef-coral. In many 

 parts of the island there are plains of coral-sand and debris, several 

 feet above the sea ; the principal are Grand Bay, Pointe aux Sables, 

 Tamarin Bay, Black River Bay, the Morne Brabant, Bel Ombre, 

 near Mahebourg, and at Palmar estate in Placq. Besides, many of 

 the small islands close around Mauritius consist of nothing but 

 -coral-rock, originally forming part of the fringing-reefs before the 

 elevation ; such are the lies Roche, Marianne, Fous, Fouquets, 

 Vaquois, de la Passe, les Benitiers, while those called Barclay 

 Island and lie du Morne, etc., are nothing but coral debris. Others 

 again are wholly or partly of volcanic origin, such as He Ronde, He 

 aux Serpents, Pigeon Bock, Plat Island, Gabriel Island, Gunner's 

 Quoin, He d'Ambre, lies aux Cerfs, aux Egrettes, aux Singes, Four- 

 neau, Souffleur, etc. 



The most interesting feature of Mauritian geology is the occur- 

 rence, in at least two places, of sedimentary rocks at considerable 

 elevations ; one is in the Black Biver Mountains, near theChamarel 

 xoad, at about 1200 feet above the sea, and the other near Midlands, 

 in the Grand Port group of mountains, at an elevation of about 

 1700 feet. The first is a coarse clay-slate which stands up out of 

 the volcanic rocks in a little hill, covered with vegetation of dif- 

 ferent species from that clothing the surrounding slopes. The lines 

 of hedding are very indistinct, but appear to be approximatively 

 horizontal. The beds near Midlands consist of crystalline chloritic 

 schist, and form a mountain called La Selle, which stands up bare 

 of trees among the luxuriant tropical forest covering the surround- 

 ing hills, and only clothed with grass and a few scattered bushes, 

 principally of heather. The lines of bedding are distinct, especially 

 on weathered surfaces, as are also the imperfect lines of cleavage. 

 The thickness of the strata cannot be less than 300 feet; they are 

 bounded by cliffs on three sides, and, although much contorted, 

 appear to have a general dip to the south or south-east. The talus 

 at the foot of the southern cliff contains coral, serpulae, and beach- 

 sand, showing that this hill once stood up as an island in the sea, 

 which then probably covered the as yet unformed Mauritius. 



These sedimentary rocks could hardly have been formed from the 

 sediment washed down from Mauritius, before it reached its present 

 shape and size, and they point to the existence of a more extensive 

 land at no great distance. 



There is a fact which would also lead one to suspect that land, 

 which has since disappeared, once existed in the Indian Ocean, this 

 namely, that the ruling race in Madagascar, the Hovas, are of a Malay 

 type, and speak a language allied to Malay. They have a tradition 

 that they came from over the sea, and the place of their landing is 

 approximately known by the ruins of iron-smelting furnaces, they 

 being the race which introduced that art into the island. One 

 can hardly believe that they came all the way from Malacca, or 

 Sumatra, without touching at any intervening land, and if they 

 did land anywhere they surely would have left some trace. But 



