264 



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CAPE VERDS — BONA VISTA. 



[1828. 



CHAPTER II. 



Island of Bonavista — Town and Harbour — Interview with the Governor — The 

 Art of Begging illustrated — View of the Island — Natural Productions — Sail- 

 ing Directions — The Leton Rocks — Island of Mayo — St. Jago, or Santiago — 

 Port Praya — Breakfast with the Captain-general — A walk with the Ladies — A 

 Peep at the Country — View the Fortifications — Military Establishment — A 

 Dinner-party — Bay and Anchorage — Volcano of Fogo, or Fuego — Island of 

 Brava — Imaginary Dangers. 



In approaching the island of Bonavista, or Buena-vista, it presents 

 a beautiful appearance to the eye of the tasteful and scientific voyageur ; 

 and to this circumstance it owes its imposing appellation. It lies about 

 nine leagues south of Sal, and a little more than seventy west from the 

 coast of Africa. Its form is an irregular pentangular figure, with a 

 diameter of about twenty miles. The surface of this island is low to- 

 wards the sea, but the interior is considerably elevated and hilly, par- 

 ticularly towards its north-east extremity, where there is a lofty emi- 

 nence, which, from its conical and truncated shape, appears to have 

 once been a volcano. Towards the south-west there is another hill 

 still more elevated, to the westward of which the land is quite high. 

 The island is known at a distance by several white banks on its north 

 side, where the shore is bold, and where a rapid river discharges itself 

 into the sea. 



The harbour in which we anchored is on the west side of the island, 

 and is formed by a small island which shelters the northern extremity 

 of the English Road or bay. The anchorage is between this small 

 island and the mainland of Bonavista, a little south of the town or 

 village. In going in to the anchorage we doubled close round the 

 south point of Small Island, within about two cables' length from the 

 shore, leaving a single rock to the south of the vessel, at the distance 

 of about two hundred fathoms. There is only eight feet of water on 

 this rock at low tide, and the sea breaks on it in rough weather. There 

 is a flag-staff on Small Island, which we brought to bear north-north- 

 west, and were then within the sunken rock before mentioned. Here 

 we had the choice of anchorage in from seven to four fathoms of water ; 

 but as it is best to be as near the east side of the island and the town 

 as possible, we anchored in three fathoms, as before stated. Vessels 

 should never attempt to pass on the north side of Small Island, as 

 there is a sand-spit runs from it to the main island, in a due east 

 direction. 



The town, which has a sandy foundation, consists of two rows of 

 hovels, constructed of stone and mud. These are thatched with 

 branches of the date-tree and a long coarse grass, and are chiefly in- 

 habited by negroes, who have little about them that indicates comfort 

 or economy. This description, however, does not include eight or ten 



