lar are remarkably good; and as they are not to be procured at Rio de Janeiro, it is advisable to lay in a large stock of them here: fowls cost about half a crown each sheep are scarce, and bad; and hogs neither cheap nor good *. The only fish we saw, were large mackarel, vast shoals of which come into the bay at this season; they are caught with hook and line, and attracted towards the boats by fires of the dried pine, which give a bright blaze, and of a serene evening the bay presents the appearance of a magnificent marine illumination.

Between England and Teneriffe we lost four convicts by death; two of these

* Beef is about 4d. per pound. The price of Teneriffe wine has increased within a few years; the beft is now 20l. a pipe, and that of inferior quality 161.

had

had been embarked in the last stages of consumption, vainly hoping that a warmer climate might restore their healths.

From Teneriffe, we pursued our course towards the Cape Verd Islands, and on the 25th of May made the isle of Sal, along which we coasted at the distance of six or seven miles, without seeing any thing that could induce a stranger to land on it from choice; not a trace of cultivation, nor of inhabitants, was to be seen; nor did a single shrub enliven the dreary brown of the parched soil. This island has but few stationary inhabitants, but is frequented for the salt which is collected on it, with which it supplies America, and the West Indies.

On

On the morning of the 26th, we stood close in for St. Jago, the largest of the Cape Verd Islands, and ranged along its S. E. fide at from one to two miles distance. This side of the island is broken, and uneven, in some places bound by projecting shelves of rock, the lower parts being excavated by the continual action of the water; in other spots are small sandy coves, defended by reefs on which the sea beats with violence. This island affords an agreeable prospect to the distressed mariner; the sides of the more gently ascending hills are covered with a verdant carpet, upon which numerous herds of cattle are seen grazing, and in the vallies are groves of cocoa-nuts and bannanas surrounding the habitations of the natives. The harbour of Praya, laying on the south

side

side of the island, is, during the regular N. E. trade-wind, perfectly secure,

but it is exposed to the tornadoes, which

in the months of August and September often blow from the southward. The natives appeared desirous of our landing, by waving their handkerchiefs on the rock as we passed along hoping some of them might be induced to come on board with fruit, we stood close into the bay, but not a canoe was to be seen, and it was not an object of sufficient consequence, to suffer any delay by sending a boat on shore. The town, from which we were distant about five miles, is the seat of government; to appearance it consists of a few wretched clay huts adjoining the fort, which alone is white-washed. Alucrative trade is carried on from this island to America and

the

the West Indies in mules: by breeding these animals, and by supplying ships with refreshments, the inhabitants support themselves. The mother-country feels so little the importance of these islands, that scarce any precautions are taken for their defence: a Creole is often governor-general; and the inferior islands are sometimes governed by Mulattoes.

A thick haze always obscures these islands, and prevents their being seen at the distance that might be expected from their altitudes: this, I suppose, proceeds from the exhalations arising from the Salt lakes, and this haze is much thicker and more opake when the sun is in the Northern tropic.

CHAP.