HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
483 
guava trees, and particularly a tree whose fruit resembles our damson, which leave 
an agreeable flavour on the palate several minutes after it has been eaten : they all 
grow without any regularity or order, and receive no advantage from cultivation : 
some cover the tops of the mountains, others shade the water-falls, or thicken in the 
vallies ; the whole forming a terrestrial paradise, in comparison of which the finest 
gardens of France, with their statues and canals, their parterres and their fountains, 
exhibit but a poor and meagre scenery. 
“We quitted with regret this charming spot, after having admired its beauties, and 
which still added more to our pleasure, having nothing to fear from wild beasts, or 
poisonous animals. We then returned to our tent, well rewarded for the fatigue 
we had undergone in our excursion.” 
This island produces several other kinds of fruit besides those already mentioned; 
among which there is a remarkable kind of sweet orange ; it is about the size of a 
common lemon, but of a much more delicious taste than those that grow in Portu¬ 
gal. The principal domestic animals are cattle, sheep, and hogs; the bullocks are 
of a moderate size, like those in the East Indies, and are remarkable for large fleshy 
excrescences on their backs : their flesh is very sweet, and the excrescence, when it 
has been well salted, eats like marrow: the natives prefer it to the tongue. 
The woods abound with monkeys of different kinds, but there is no beast of prey, 
or venemous creatures: there are also two animals of the monkey kind, one is 
called the mongoo, and the other the mauaulo. The mongoo is of the size of a 
small cat, and its head resembles that of a fox; its eyes are black, with a yellow 
circle round the pupil; near the eyes the skin is black, and descends in a point to the 
nose, which is also black; but there is a small white space between the eyes and 
the nose, which continues from the face to the ears; the upper part of the head, the 
hinder parts, the tail, and the limbs, are of an ash colour, while the belly is white ; 
the hair has a tendency to wool; the feet resemble those of a man, with flat nails, 
except one sharp talon on the hinder feet; the tail of this animal is long, and its 
hair is thick and soft; its actions resemble those of the monkey; it lives on fruits 
and herbs, but, in general, will eat any thing, not excepting fish. There are several 
kinds of these, but they do not appear to differ, except in their colour. It is gentle 
in its nature, and has no apparent means of defending itself. 
The mauaulo is of the size of a common cat, but its body and limbs are much 
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