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Show 2 ST. JAGO-CAPE DE VERD ISLANDS. Jan. 1832. prospect of au utterly sterile Ian~ posses~es a grandeur which more 'vegetation might spOIL A smgle green leaf can scarcely be discovered over wide .tracts of the lava plains ; yet flocks of goats, together w1th a fe~ cows, contrive to exist. It rains very seldom, but durmg a short portion of the year heav! torre~ts fall, and imme~iat.ely afterwards a light vegetatiOn sprmgs out of every creVIce. This soon withers · and upon such naturally-formed hay the animals live. At ~he present time it has not rained for an entire year. The broad, flat-bottomed, valleys, many of which serve during a few days only in the season as a watercourse, are clothed with thickets of leafless hushes. F~w living creatures inhabit these va~leys. . The comm~nest b1rd is a kingfisher (Dacelo jagoenszs), whiCh tamely s1ts on the branches of the castor-oil plant, and thence darts on the grasshoppers and lizards. It is brightly coloured, but not so beautiful as the European species : in its flight, manners, and place of habitation, which is generally in the driest valleys, there is also a wide difference. One day, two of the officers and my-self rode to Ribeira Grande, a village a few miles to the eastward of Porto Praya. Until we reached the valley of St. Martin, the country presented its usual dull brown appearance; but there, a very small rill of water produces a most refreshing margin of luxuriant vegetation. In the course of an hour we arrived at Ribeira Grande, and were surprised at the sight of a large ruined fort and cathedral. The little town, before its harbour was filled up, was the principal place in the island : it now presents a melancholy, but very picturesque appearance. Having procured a black Padre for a guide, and a Spaniard, who had served in the Peninsular war, as an interpreter, we visited a collection of buildings, of which an ancient church formed the principal part. It is here the governors and captain-generals of the islands have been buried. Some of the tombstones recorded dates of the sixteenth century.* • The Cape de Verd Islands were discovered in 1449. Jan. 1832. ST. JAGO-CAPE DE VERD ISLANDS. 3 The heraldic ornaments were the only things in this retired place that reminded us of Europe. The church or chapel formed one side of a quadrangle, in the middle of which a large clump of bananas were growing. On another side was a hospital, containing abou~ a dozen miserable-looking inmates. We returned to the "Venda" to eat our dinners. A considerable number of men, women, and children, all as black as jet, were collected to watch us. Our companions were extremely merry; and every thing we said or did was followed by their hearty laughter. Before leaving the town we visited the cathedral. It does not appear so rich as the smaller church, but boasts of a little organ, which sent forth most singular I y inharmonious cries. We presented the black priest with a few shillings, and the Spaniard, patting him on the head, said, with much candour, he thought his colour made no great difference. We then returned, as fast as the ponies would go, to Porto Praya. Another day we rode to the village of St. Domingo, situated near the centre of the island. On a small plain which we crossed, a few stunted acacias were growing; their tops, by the action of the steady trade-wind, were bent in a singular manner-some of them even at a right angle to the trunk. The direction of the branches was exactly N. E. by N., and S.W. by S. These natural vanes must indicate the prevailing direction of the force of the trade wind. The travelling had made so little impression on the barren soil, that we here missed our track, and took that to Fuentes. This we did not find out till we arrived there ; and we were afterwards very glad of our mistake. Fuentes is a pretty village, with a small stream ; and every thing appeared to prosper well, excepting, indeed, that which ought to do so most-its inhabitants. The black children, completely naked, and looking very wretched, were carrying bundles of firewood half as big as their own bodies. Near Fuentes we saw a large flock of guinea-fowl-probably fifty or sixty in number. They were extremely wary, B 2 |