Maud or Si. J ago. 

 Town of Porlo Pray*. 



TU RIO JANEIRO. 



BttMtfM of Porto Praya. 

 Pnaul.it k«n. 



7 



ran over tlio locality without perceiving anj tliiug 

 that indicated a shoal. 



Tlio situation of the Bom Felix Shoal, laid down 

 about tea leagues to the south of the above, was 

 passed over in the same manner, sounding re- 

 peatedly for bottom with three hundred fathoms 

 of line, but no appearance of a shoal w:ib observed. 



Tlie reported position of the Unnetta Rocks 

 ta xi claimed our attention, in latitude lb" 32' N., 

 and longitudo 2(> 3 57' \V. After this locality had 

 been wt-ll examined, a course was steered over its 

 supposed lveariilg from Honavista, one of the Cape 

 do Verde Inlands. The vessels nf the squadron 

 Hounding ever)- half hour during the night, which 

 was ch ar and bright moonlight •. 



On the night of the fith of Oember, we ho\ i i. off 

 the island of St. Jago, Seldom have we seen the 

 sen exhibit sn much phosphoivwuco. Its bril- 

 lianey was so great, that it might truly be said to 

 have the appearance of being on fire. We made 

 some experiments to ascertain the depth to which 

 these phosphorescent aninuileuhe extended. After 

 many trial*, they were not found below eighteen 

 fathoms. The temperature of the wnter at that 

 deptli was 7(*°. at the surface fUlP, and at one hun- 

 dred fathoms depth oil 3 . The mean temperature 

 of the air from Madeira until our arrival off this 

 port, wan found to hnve increased from (>\t to 7» c , 

 while the difference in the water was from t\' 

 to 81°. 



On the morning of the 7<h, we anchored in Porto 

 Praya bay. The island of St. Jago presents a very 

 different appearance from Madeira, particularly the 

 south-eastern portion of it, though its formation is 

 known to be similar. There are many high peaks 

 and mountains in its centre, which afford a fine 

 background for the barren nnd uninteresting coast 

 scenery. 



Tie'* time ofnnr arrival was just after the rainy 

 season, the island consequently presented a more 

 verdrmt appearance than it does at oilier reason; of 

 the year. 



Our consul, F. Gardiner, esq., came on board, 

 and made us welcome to all tho island afforded. 

 An officer was despatched to call upon his excel- 

 lency tli<> governor, to report our arrival, who 

 proved to be a black man. Knowing that the re- 

 gulation* required permission for vessels to depart, 

 the request was made during the interview, which 

 he readily granted at any hour wc chose. 



The town of I'orto Praya is prettily situated on 

 an elevated piece of table land, and looked well 

 from the anchorage. 



The Uay is an open one, but is nr>t exposed to the 

 prevailing win-is. There is generally a swell 

 sotting 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 forti- 

 liLMtiou, for it Lb now entirely gone to decay. It 



• Jjlnco our examination, 1 hove iren a letter from the 

 American eon«ul at Porto Praya, F. Gardiner, e»tj.. detallinp. 

 Hie wreck of the British ship Charlotte In ISO, and placing 

 Mi ahoal in latitude IS" IV N., longitude J2° 31' W„ St' 

 lu longitude and 15' in latitude from tlie position 1 *<?nrrhrd 

 far tt in ; whence it appear* that It it the »amc reef on whirh 

 the MagdelaSuc waa lout. 1 have no kind of Mount but that 

 thty ought all to tie referred to tho Hartwdl Reef. The 

 aame gentleman km confident at the time I aaw him that 

 the Mn^ikUlite h.ut Wen lost on ihi reef u( that name. 



commands the bay, nnd is t-itnated ubout two hun- 

 dred feet above the sea. The horizontal stratifica- 

 tion of the red and yellow-coloured sandstone shows 

 moat conspicuously in this cliff, and forms one of 

 the moat remarkable objects on this juirt of the 

 island. It is of tertiary formation, and contains 

 many U sails. 



On landing, a stranger is immediately sur- 

 rounded by numbers of tlie inhabitant*, 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 soino new customer. 



The soil, rocks, and every thing around on tlie 

 surface, show unequivocal marks of volcanic origin. 

 The rock above the tertiary format! rm 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 pustciinuce to n light herb- 

 age. Oouts and a-s».sare found in great numbers 

 grazing up>>u it. 



The walk from the landing to the town Li i xce< I- 

 ingly fatiguing, and the road deep with sand. The 

 first view of the town on entering it is any thing 

 but striking, am] all the ideas formed in its favour 

 are soon dL-pellcd. 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 north-east part of the 

 town is composed of rough stone houses, covered 

 with palm leaves. The streets are wide, aud in the 

 centre is a large public square, tlie middle of w hich 

 is occupied by a small wooden monument said to be 

 emblematical* of royalty 1 A chapel, iail, and bar- 

 racks constitute the principal public buildings. 

 The fort, which flanks the town, is almost entirely 

 in decay. This is the case with almost every thing 

 wi sa« lure; lite placets, indeed, little better than 

 an African town. The houses are of stone, one 

 story high, partly thatched, and others tiled. Their 

 interior presents only a few articles of absolute 

 necessity. Of comfort and cleanliness, in our sense 

 of the w'ords, they have no idea. The houses nnd 

 streets arc filthy in the extreme ; and in both of 

 them, pigs, fowls, and monkeys appear to claim, 

 and really possess, equal rights with the occupants 

 and owner. 



Tlie population is made up of an intermixture of 

 descendants from the Portuguese, natives, and 

 negroes from the adjacent coast. The negro race 

 seems to predominate, woolly hair, flat uoses, and 

 thick lips being most frequently met with. The 

 number of inhabitants in St. Jago is about thirty 

 thousand. Porto Praya contains two thousand 

 three hundred, of which number one hundred are 

 native Portuguese, 



The lauguoge spoken is a jargon formed by a 

 mixture of the Portuguese and negro dialects, 

 Mu.M of tin.- blacks speak tlnir native tongue. Mr, 

 Hale, our philologist, obtained ho re a vocabulary 

 of the Mai i dingo language, ond found it to ngrvo 

 with that given by Mango Park. 



The officers of this garrison were, Hke the 

 governor, all black. The latter made a brilliant 

 appearance, dressed in a military frock coat, red 

 sardi, two large silver epaulettes, and a military 

 cross on his breast. He was good-looking, all hough 

 extremely corpulent, and speaks both French and 

 Spanish well. Il> was very civil and attatttff*. 



