MAURITIUS 
193 
creation of a Creole artist, has recently been erected 
there in honour of these beings, who are held sacred by 
all inhabitants of Mauritius. 
The remaining towns of the island are not of importance. 
Curepipe, which lies high up, has made progress, being 
used as a place of recreation during the hot season by 
the planters, on account of its fine air; but the well-to-do 
people more frequently go to Reunion, to spend the hot 
winter months in the mountains of Salazie, where the 
reception of visitors has become a regular industry, or 
to make use of the curative hot springs of the island. 
On the east coast, near a well-sheltered harbour, lies the 
village of Mahebourg, which possesses a certain historical 
interest, as it was here that the Dutch founded their first 
settlement. South of this village the “ Souffleur ” or spout- 
ing-rock is pointed out as a curiosity. This is a basaltic 
rock hollowed out by water in such a manner as to throw 
up a jet of water 50 ft. high when struck by the waves 
of the sea. 
Extensive lines of rail lead inland to the several plan¬ 
tations, and a diagonal railroad connects Port Louis with 
Mahebourof. 
The country is little suited for breeding cattle, and most 
of the meat is brought from Madagascar, where cattle 
are to be had in abundance. 
Industry is almost limited to planting, and the pre¬ 
dominant object of culture is the sugar-cane. In the 
sixties the sugar industry sent out as much as 120,000 
tons of sugar, and the 40 distilleries produced 450,000 
gallons of rum besides. The whole of this branch of 
industry has seriously retrograded, owing to keen compe¬ 
tition, to exhaustion and deterioration of the soil, and 
also to destructive parasites, among which the borer has 
proved especially injurious. 
Trade, which is carried on almost exclusively at Port 
Louis, has diminished in a corresponding manner, the 
