OF THE DIABLOTIX IN DOMINICA. 35 
is not in my power to give any idea, to those who have not seen 
it, of the beauty of the tropical vegetation which surrounded us; 
broad-leaved Plantains, Ilcliconias, and groves of Tree Ferns rising 
to a height of thirty to forty feet, not as single plants, but covering 
the slopes of the mountains, llelow us was the broad expanse 
of the Caribbean Sea, exquisite in its colours, ever varying and 
changing from the shadows cast upon it, from the great masses 
of cloud wafted over by the strong breath of the trade-wind. 
The squadron, at anchor in the bay beneath us, and here and 
there peeping through the foliage that surrounds them, the houses 
and buildings of the little town of Portsmouth, straggling along 
the sea-line, gave just sufficient animation to the scene : it was 
an ideal picture of repose and beauty. When we turned our 
glances • upwards to the mountains, very different was the aspect 
of things. Vast masses of lowering cloud and vapour surrounded 
their summits; but at times the trade-wind, blowing strong at that 
altitude, dispersed and scattered those, and from out of the 
mist the tops of the mountains appeared, green and radiant. 
At an elevation of about 1200 feet our path led us into the 
liigh-wood or primeval forest, and there we rested for a few 
minutes, as the more serious part of our undertaking was about 
to commence. 
Our guides had now brought us to the base of the sharp ridge 
which forms the water divide of Morne au Diable, between the 
Atlantic and Caribbean Seas. Apparently the mountain is only 
accessible by this one route, for on all other sides it seems to rise 
in precipitous faces, covered with forest. After once entering into 
the high-wood, it became impossible for us to see many yards on 
either side, owing to the denseness of the foliage, and the track 
had to be cut, laboriously and slowly, by the cutlasses of our 
woodsmen. The ascent was severe ; in many places we had to 
haul ourselves up by the roots of the trees or dependent lianas. 
In addition to the forest growth, there was a close under-growth 
of Mountain Cabbage Palms, Ferns, Tree Ferns, and Heliconias, 
which fell on either side to the slashes of our cutlass-men. They 
hacked and cut with right good will, but often we had to stop 
to enable the men to select the route, in doing which they were 
guided by keeping as much as possible on the very crest of the 
ridge. The general direction of the ascent seemed to be well 
D 2 
