MAURITIUS 
191 
the water in the neighbourhood of Mauritius, as La 
Ronde, La Plate, Coin de Mire, He aux Cerfs, etc. This 
proves that the area in which Mauritius is situated is 
at the present time one of upheaval, like that of the 
East African coast. 
The slight elevation of the ground does not permit 
of such a cooling of the moist trade wind as takes place 
in the island of Reunion, and thus the amount of rain 
allotted to it is less uniform. At the time of the tro¬ 
pical winter rains the brooks are quickly flooded, while 
in the dry season they are short of water. Of course 
the increasing destruction of the forests bears its part 
in this. As cultivated land was gained for the sugar 
plantations the space occupied by the forests, which was 
of great extent in the last century, has been gradually 
reduced to a few estates of no great size in the interior; 
this has lessened the fertility of the country. The cli¬ 
mate is in consequence comparatively hot, and the island 
is not free from fever. 
The principal streams are the rivers des Lataniers, de 
la Terre Rouge, du Tombeaux, des Pamplemousses, du 
Rempart, Noire, and du Tamarin. In the south there are 
crater lakes of small extent. 
The settlement of the island has not remained confined 
to the coast, as was necessarily the case in the moun- 
tanous sister isle, the interior being also fitted for culti¬ 
vation, and consequently the population here is much 
denser. According to the statistical returns of the year 
1894, Mauritius numbers 376,200 inhabitants, and thus 
has a population of 504 to the square mile. 
The single large town is Port Louis. It has 70,000 
inhabitants and owes its rise to its excellent harbour, which 
is well protected by coral reefs. As the Creole element, 
despite the English Government, clings tenaciously to 
its original Erench character, the life of the people is in 
full accordance with that of the sister isle. 
