32 PASSAGE FROM MADEIRA 
to be a black man. Knowing that the regulations required permis- 
sion for vessels to depart, the request was made during the interview, 
which he readily granted at any hour we chose. 
The town of Porto Praya is prettily situated on an elevated piece 
of table land, and looked well from the anchorage. 
The bay is an open one, but is not exposed to the prevailing 
winds. There is generally a swell setting in, which makes the 
landing unpleasant and difficult. The only landing-place is a small 
rock, some distance from the town, and under a high bank, on which 
there is, or rather was, a fortification, for it is now entirely gone to 
decay. It commands the bay, and is situated about two hundred feet 
above the sea. The horizontal stratification of the red and yellow- 
coloured sandstone shows most conspicuously in this cliff, and forms 
one of the most remarkable objects on this part of the island. It is of 
tertiary formation, and contains many fossils. I regretted extremely 
that my time did not permit me to make a longer stay, as we left the 
island under the impression that there is much here to be found that 
is new in the various departments of natural history. Between this 
bluff and the town is an extensive valley, in which are many date- 
palms, cocoa-nuts, and a species of aloe. 
On landing, a stranger is immediately surrounded by numbers 
of the inhabitants, with fruit, vegetables, chickens, turkeys, and 
monkeys, all pressing him with bargains, and willing to take any 
thing for the purpose of obliging their customers. Many of them 
continue to follow until they meet with some new customer. 
The soil, rocks, and every thing around on the surface, show 
unequivocal marks of volcanic origin. The rock above the tertiary 
formation is a thick bed of cellular lava, with fragments of the same 
strewn in every direction over it. A thin and poor soil gives but 
little sustenance to a light herbage. Goats and asses are found in 
great numbers grazing upon it. 
The length of our visit did not permit us to make much exa- 
mination, yet the character of the vegetation was unequivocally 
African. 
The walk from the landing to the town is exceedingly fatiguing, 
and the road deep with sand. The first view of the town on 
entering it is any thing but striking, and all the ideas formed in its 
favour are soon dispelled. The houses are whitewashed, and in 
general appearance resemble those inhabited by the lower orders in 
Madeira, but they are much inferior even to them. The northeast 
