I visited the island this morning in company with the Surgeon, and
called on the Governor. The surf was too heavy to land, but we found a
bolsa moored at some distance from the shore, and transferring ourselves
to this we were very skillfully put through the surf by three or four
naked fellows, two of them not having even a breech-cloth about their
loins. Fine, well-made fellows they were too. We found horses in
waiting, and rode about a mile to the village and residence of the
Governor--a Major in the Brazilian army; passing an immense sand-drift,
which we had not expected to find on this volcanic rock.
We found the Governor at breakfast, and he insisted on our seating
ourselves, and making a second breakfast with him in company with his
wife--a sprightly, bright mulatto--and a pretty girl, quite white, of
about sixteen, and the _padre_. After breakfast we were introduced to a
number of what appeared to be the gentry of the island, and who had
assembled thus early to meet us. Having smoked and chatted awhile, we
remounted for a ride over the island.
We were not in the saddle more than twenty minutes when one of those
showers, so sudden in this climate, overtook us, and gave us a complete
drenching; we had other showers during the day, but were compensated by
the sun hiding himself during the entire ride. We passed under the
shadow of the gigantic peak, and soon reached the summit of the island,
which spreads out into a most beautiful and productive plain of some two
or three hundred acres.
Pages:
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318