28 



of America, we were sure of not being carried 

 back to Europe. 



The island of Tobago presents itself under a 

 very picturesque aspect. It is a heap of rocks 

 carefully cultivated. The dazzling whiteness of 

 the stone forms an agreeable contrast with the 

 verdure of some scattered tufts of trees. Cy- 

 lindric and very lofty opuntia crown the top of 

 the mountains, and give a peculiar physiognomy 

 to this tropical landscape. Their sight alone is 

 sufficient to remind the navigator, that he has 

 arrived at an American coast ; for cactuses are 

 exclusively peculiar to the New World, as heaths 

 to the Old*. The north-west part of the island 

 of Tobago is the least mountainous ; according 

 to the angles of height, taken with the sextant, 

 the most lofty points of the coast do not appear 

 to exceed 140 or 150 toises. At South-west 

 Cape, the land descends toward Sandy Point, 

 the latitude of which I found to be 10° 20' 13", 

 and the longitude 62° 47' SO". We perceived 

 several rocks on a level with the water, on which 

 the sea broke violently, and we distinguished a 

 great regularity in the inclination and direction 

 of the strata, which dip to the south-west at an 

 angle of 60 p . It were to be wished, that the 

 tour of the West Indies, from the coast of Paria 

 to Cape Florida, were made by a good mineral- 



* Essay on the Physiognomy of Plants. See my Views 

 of Nature, vol. i ; p. 47. 



