Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/64

52 S. Antao, the most north-westerly of the group, has an area of 240 square geographical miles, and a population of about 29,000. Its surface is very rugged, and the interior lofty. The Sugar Loaf, its highest mountain, is thought to reach the altitude of 8000 feet. This island is reputed to be at once the most picturesque, the healthiest, the best watered, and the most fertile of the archipelago. On the other hand, the difficulty of passing from one part to another is very great. There are three indili erent landing-places, of which the most frequented is Ponta do Sol, where the custom-house stands, distant more than a league from the chief town, Ribeira Grande, situated in the north-west of the island, a place of about 7000 inhabi tants. Tarrafal Bay is spacious, and is sheltered from the prevalent winds. The island produces good coii ee and sugar, and abundance of fruit; but the people are reputed to be indolent and inattentive to the advantages which soil and water afford them. Lead is said to be obtained, and there is a current opinion that other metals exist. Somewhere on the island is an extinct crater, from which the people declare that a wind occasionally issues so strong as to Ming back any object that may be cast into the hollow. S. Vicente (St Vincents) lies adjacent to S. Antao on the east. It -has a superficies of 70 square miles, and a population of about 1700. At Porto Grande, on the north-west coast, is an extensive and excellent harbour, with a coaling station for British steamers ; and barracks and municipal buildings arc in course of erection. The island is so exposed to the fury of the north-east winds that not a tree will flourish. Its soil yields very little, and the inhabitants are supplied with grain and fruit from S. Antao. The distance from S. Vicente to S. Antao is about 8 miles, to S. Luzia about 4 miles. Santa Luzia is a small island between S. Vicente and S. Nicolao, with an area of about 18 square miles. The inhabitants, who are wholly occupied in attending to their cattle, do not exceed a dozen. Much orchil was formerly gathered. A little to the south are the two uninhabited islets of Branca and Rasa. S. Nicolao is a long narrow island of a crescentic shape, with an area of about 115 square geographical miles, and a population of about 6000 persons. The climate is not very healthy. Maize, kidney-beans, manioc, sugar-cane, and vines are cultivated ; and in ordinary years grain is exported to the other islands. The interior is mountainous, and has two remarkable hills which can be seen for many leagues ; one has the shape of a sugar-loaf, and is near the middle of the island ; the other, Monte Gordo, is near the west end, and has a height of 4280 feet. All the other islands of the group can be seen from S. Nicolao in clear weather. Vessels fre quently enter Freshwater Bay, near the south-east extremity of the island, for water and fresh provisions ; and the custom-house is here. The bishop of the archipelago has his headquarters in the island, and there is also a seminary for priests. The distance from S. Nicolao to S. Vicente is over 20 miles, to Sal, nearly 60 miles. Sal, a narrow island, through whose centre passes the meridian of 23, has a length of 20 miles, an area of 70 square geographical miles, and a population of about 750 persons, one-third of whom are em ployed in the manufacture of salt, of which about 15,000 tons are manufactured in favourable years. The name is derived from a natural salt-spring, at which the trade commenced ; but this has now been abandoned for artificial salinas more conveniently situated. A space of nearly 20 miles intervenes between Sal and Boa Vista. Boa Vista, the most easterly island of the group, lies in lat. 16 5 N. and long. 22 55 "W. Its length from east to west is about 17 miles, and its breadth from north to south is about 16 miles. Its coast is indented by numerous shallow bays, the largest of which, situated on the western side, serves as a road for shipping. A chain of heights traverses the middle of the island, and there are inferior hilly ranges on each side ; the loftiest peak attains the altitude of 1260 feet. All the hills have basaltic summits. The plateau from which the hills rise has a height of about 60 feet above the sea, and is composed chietly of calcareous sandstone. Near Porta Sal Rey are tufas containing abundance of marine remains ; and near the same place is a raised beach containing shells, &c. The superficial calcareous sandstone also abounds in shells. In the north-western angle of the island there is a low tract covered with loose sand, which is blown about by the winds, to the great annoyance of the inhabitants. This part is inundated with water during the rainy season ; and here are some extensive salt-pans, where the sea-water is evaporated by the heat of the sun. The inhabitants number about 5000, and the island is in great part uncultivated. Horned cattle and goats are tolerably numerous. Salt and orchil are exported. "With the exception of a few cocoa-nut trees, there is no wood ; and in the dry season the island offers to the eye nothing but an arid waste. The little vegetation that then exists is in the bottom of ravines, where corn, beans, and cotton are cultivated. The springs of good water are few. Porto Sal Key, on the western side of the island, is the chief town (population about 1000) ; and there are several villages scattered about the island. Remittent fevers are common during and after the rainy season, and diarrhoea, pectoral complaints, and ophthalmia occasionally occur. A good deal of fish is taken on the coast, and supplies the impoverished islands with much of their food. Towards the end of 1845 yellow fever broke out in the island, and carried oft about a fourteenth of the population. About the beginning of the century there resided on this island a certain Senhor Manoel Martins, who had great influence and power. He it was who constructed the salt-works in Sal, and laid down there the first iron railway that the Portuguese dominions pos sessed, for the purpose of conveying the salt from the salinas to the shore. Maio has a length of 15 miles, and its area is about 50 square geographical miles. The inhabitants, who number 773, derive their support chiefly from their cattle and from the exportation of salt. Fish is abundant. This island is a barren treeless waste, surrounded by dangerous rocks. The best landing-place is at English Road, on the west side. Maio is 35 miles from Boa Vista, and is separated from San Thiago by a channel 7 miles wide. San Thiago (St Jago), the largest but also the most unhealthy island of the archipelago, has a length of 37 miles, an area of 360 square geographical miles, and a population of 32,000 persons. Its geological structure is volcanic, and part of it has been minutely described by Mr Darwin in his Observations on Volcanic Islands, 1844. Its interior is very hilly, the highest point being a pointed conical mountain called Pico de Antonio, which attains the altitude of 4500 feet. There are numerous ravines which bring down per ennial streams, and in these ravines there is a good deal of cultivated ground, where crops of sugar-cane, maize, kidney-beans, rice, and manioc are raised. Some of the produce is exported to the other islands. Spirit is distilled from the juice of the sugar-cane, and a coarse sugar is also made. The purgerra or physic-nut tree is largely grown, and in 1869 the crop amounted to no less than 15,750 tons. Fine specimens of the baobab may also be seen. The chief poit is at Villa da Praia, a town at the southern extremity of the island, with 2000 inhabitants. At this place, called Porta Praya by the English, the governor-general usually resides. Before the establish ment of the coal depot for British steamers at S. Vicente, it was better known to voyagers than any other town in the group. It stands on a basaltic plateau overhanging the bay, and presents a not unpleasing appearance, with its numerous cocoa-nut trees, and the lofty peak of Antonio rising from behind successive steps of table land in the background. The streets are wide and well laid out, and there is a large square in the heart of the town. The neighbourhood has a desolate aspect from its utter sterility. On the west coast an inlet penetrates several miles into the interior, but does not afford secure anchorage. In the ravine, at its head, is the town of Ribeira Grande, the former capital of the island, which, with its ruined fort and cathedral, has a picturesque appearance. Fogo. This island is 30 miles distant from San Thiago, and lu-s between the parallels of 14 42 and 15" 1 N. lat., and 24" 8 and 24 32 W. long. It measures about 12 leagues from N. to S., and about 14 leagues from E. to W. Its area is estimated at 144 square geographical miles. Through the middle runs a mountain ridge of a semicircular form, the concavity being towards the east, and about the centre there rises a volcanic cone to the height of 9150 feet. This volcano produced fire uninterruptedly from 1680 to 1713. It has been active several times since then, the last eruptions having taken place in 1847, when a current of lava flowed to the sea ; the summit still emits vapour. In one part of the island there are a number of extinct craters where much sulphur could be collected. The only anchorage for vessels of burden is in Luz Bay, on the west side. Deep ravines add to the inequalities of the island, and cany off the rain as soon as it falls. The inhabitants, with great want of foresight, have been in the habit of felling trees, without replanting, so that very few trees are now to be found. The water is good but not abundant. The population amounts to about 8400. Sao Felippe, the largest town, and the only place with any commerce,has a popula tion of about 1000. The chief articles of produce are sugar-cane, ground nuts, sweet potatoes, and cassava. There are few goats and swine, but horned cattle are abundant. This island is reputed to 1 e one of the healthiest of the group ; but in addition to the UKUP! endemic, remittent and intermittent fevers manifest themselves in October and November, the intensity of which is in proportion to the abundance of the rains. In July 1855 there was an outbreak of cholera, which attacked upwards of a fourth of the entire population, and carried off nearly 650 persons. Brava, the most southerly of the group, has an area of 36 squnre geographical miles, and its population amounts to nearly 7500, so that it is the most densely populated of all. Its distance from Fogo is about 12 miles. The interior is mountainous, but near the coast the soil is comparatively fertile ; its agricultural productions are numerous, and much maize is exported. Whalers resort to this island for supplies, and by their means the scanty resources of the population are eked out. This island is usually covered with dense clouds, otherwise its high land would be seen from a great distance. C. de Chelmicki andT. A. de Varnhagen, Corografia Calo-Verdi- ana, Lisbon, 1841-2 ; Charles Darwin, Geological Observations on Volcanic Islands, London, 1844 ; J. J. Lima, Ensaios sobre a Estatistica da possessors Fortuguesas na Africa occidental e oriental,

Lisbon, 1844.