Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.3)

Sept. 1836. TERCEiBA. 597 is not cultivated, numbers are emigratinoj to Brazil, where the contract to which they are bound differs but httle from slavery. It seems a great pity that so fine a population should be compelled to leave a land of plenty, where every article of food — meat, vegetables, and fruit — is exceedingly cheap and most abundant : but the labourer finds his labour of proportionally little value. Another day I set out early in the morning to visit the town of Praya situated towards the N.E. extremity of the island. The distance is about fifteen miles ; the road ran during the greater part of the way, not far from the coast. The country is all cultivated, and scattered over with houses and small villages. I noticed in several places, that the solid lava, which in part formed the road, was worn into ruts of the depth of twelve inches from the long traffic of the bullock- waggons. This circumstance has been noticed with surprise in the ancient j^avement of Pompeii, for it does not occur in any of the present towns of Italy. The waggon-wheels here have a tire surmounted by singularly large knobs of iron; perhaps the old Roman wheels were thus furnished. The country during our morning^s ride was not interesting ; ex- cepting always when enlivened by the pleasant sight of the healthy peasantry. The harvest was lately over, and near the houses, the fine yellow heads of the Indian corn were tied in large bundles, to be dried, to the poplar-trees ; and these, seen from a distance, appeared weighed down by some beautiful fruit, — the very emblem of fertility. One part of the road crossed a broad stream of lava, which from its rocky and black surface seemed to be of com- paratively recent origin : indeed, the crater, whence it had flowed, could be distinguished. The industrious inhabitants have turned this space into vineyards ; but for this purpose it was necessary to clear away the loose fragments, and to pile them up into a multitude of walls, which enclose little patches of ground a few yards square, thus covering the country with a network of black lines. The town of Praya is a quiet, forlorn, little place : many