CHAPTER VII.The Vale Estate—Departure from Mauritius—Réunion—Ex-mayor of St. Denis—History of Seychelles—Equable Temperature—Magnificent Harbour of Refuge in the Centre of the Indian Ocean—Actors in the Reign of Terror—Products—Sperm Whale—Turtle—Coco de Mer—Exports.
The Vale Estate—Departure from Mauritius—Réunion—Ex-mayor of St. Denis—History of Seychelles—Equable Temperature—Magnificent Harbour of Refuge in the Centre of the Indian Ocean—Actors in the Reign of Terror—Products—Sperm Whale—Turtle—Coco de Mer—Exports.
After a stay of ten weeks at Mauritius, two steamers having arrived from Aden without any instructions not to proceed to England, as indicated in my telegram to the Foreign Office, and feeling that we were sufficiently recovered to bear the fatigue of travelling, we embarked on board the mail steamer “Granada,” chartered by the Mauritian government for the conveyance of the mail to and from Aden.
Our restoration to health was in a great measure to be attributed to the kind attentions of our friends at the “Vale Estate,” where we were guests during the last four weeks of our stay at Mauritius. Here I had an opportunity of making myself acquainted with the manufacture of sugar, the cultivation of the cane, and the general management of a sugar estate, under the tuition of my esteemed friend, Mr. Thomas Wade West.
We embarked on board the “Granada,” on the afternoon of the 11th of September, where we found a number of kind friends who had gone on board to say farewell to us; among whom was the worthy Lord Bishop, whose attention, together with that of his wife and family, had been most unremitting during our sojourn on the island.
The moorings were slipped—our friends departed—the screw revolved—and the beautiful “Granada” glided out of Port Louis. The next day we were off Réunion, where we had to call for the mails, and the aspect alone of the island, when compared to Mauritius, told at once in favour of the latter.
Mauritius has two splendid harbours, and a number of minor ones; but Réunion has not a single harbour. Vessels anchor all round Réunion, for every place is equally safe and equally dangerous; when it comes on to blow there is nothing for it but to stand out to sea. The French Imperial Government have voted a million and a half of francs for the construction of a harbour; and there is one part of the island where this may be effected. In the hurricane months it is extremely dangerous even to approach the island—for in case of being dismasted, and the island becoming a lee shore, during the violence of the tempest there is no safety to be found in anchor or cable; and destruction awaits the barque that reaches the surrounding reefs or the surf-beaten shore.
While we were embarking the mails, I observed the small war-steamer “Mahé Lebourdonnais,” which had afforded me such valuable aid at Mozambique, when the Portuguese doctors refused to visit the patients in my house who were attacked with fever. I regretted exceedingly that I was not able to go on board to thank both the commanderand surgeon for the aid they afforded me at a very trying moment, but I hope to have the pleasure of doing so at some future time.
We embarked two passengers at Réunion with the mails, and proceeded on our voyage. One of these passengers was the captain of a French merchant vessel. He was excessively amusing, and kept us company to Marseilles. It appears that he had loaded his ship in the Malay Islands with a very valuable cargo, and, having put the mate in charge to bring her to France, was travelling home express. He was a very sharp fellow, and up to everything going on at Madagascar. Finding that I had learned a little, he became very communicative, and confirmed much that I had heard.
The other passenger from Réunion was the ex-mayor of St. Denis, the capital of the island. At first he was very civil, but having learned my name, and that I was Her Majesty’s consul for Mozambique, he told his countryman that I was the destroyer of Réunion, for that I had completely stopped the French free labour emigration from Mozambique to the French island. For the remainderof the voyage I had nothing but black looks from the ex-mayor, and it was very evident that he regarded me as one who had caused him the loss of large sums of money. This led to inquiry on my part, and I learned that the ex-mayor was the principal labour importer for Réunion.
In a week after leaving Mauritius we anchored for a few hours in the magnificent harbour of Port Victoria, in the island of Mahé, the principal of the archipelago known as the Seychelles.
Proceeding on shore, we called on the acting commissioner, Mr. Charles Telfair; and as his lady was not only a countrywoman, but a namesake of my own, we at once received a “hearty Highland welcome” in this paradise of the Indian Ocean.
The following sketch of the Seychelles is principally from information afforded to me by Mr. Telfair during my short stay there, and any omission I hope may be attributed to the writer rather than to his obliging informant.
These islands, twenty-nine in number, form an archipelago which is the most considerable of the dependencies of the island of Mauritius; theyextend from 3° 33′ to 5° 35′ south latitude, and from 55° 15′ to 56° 10′ east longitude; they lie at a distance of 915 miles from Mauritius, 550 miles from Madagascar, and 1500 miles from the continent of India.
The Seychelles were first discovered by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century—probably by the squadron belonging to that nation, which, under the command of Fernan Suarez, was driven upon the coast of San Lourenço or Madagascar by a hurricane,A.D.1506.
The Portuguese called them theSevenBrothers, from a group of seven islands near Mahé.
They are all mountainous, well watered, and richly wooded. In 1742 they were explored by Captain Lazare Picault, in the tartane “L’Elizabeth,” despatched from the isle of France by Mahé de Labourdonnais.
Captain Picault, having taken possession in the name of the King of France, called them Labourdonnais Islands, after the great governor of the Isle of France; and the principal one Mahé—which name has been retained to this day; but subsequently that of Seychelles was substituted forLabourdonnais, in honour of Viscount Herault de Seychelles, at that time marine minister of France. The Seychelles islands are composed of:—
1. Isle Mahé; 2. Ste. Anne; 3. Aux Cerfs; 4. Anonyme; 5. Sud-Est; 6. Longue; 7. Moyenne; 8. Ronde; 9. Thérèse; 10. La Conception; 11. Silhouette; 12. Du Nord; 13. Praslin; 14. Ladigue; 15. Curieuse; 16. Ronde; 17. Aride; 18. Félicité; 19, 20. Les Deux Sœurs; 21. Marianne; 22. Aux Récifs; 23. Les Mamelles; 24, 25. Cousin et Cousine; 26. Aux Frégates; 27. Aux Vaches Marines; 28. Denis, the most northerly; 29. Plate, the most southerly.
They rest upon a bank of sand and coral. The climate of the Seychelles is mild, and considered very healthy; from the mountainous formation of these islands, and an entire absence of marshy districts, there is no predisposing cause for malaria or miasma, and they are exempt from all epidemic diseases and endemic fevers.
The Mauritius and Réunion hurricanes do not extend to the Seychelles, their limit being about 10° S: so likewise those hurricanes which strike the north end of Madagascar, and devastate theMozambique coast, do not approach the Seychelles. This may fairly be attributed to the equable temperature which they enjoy.
Although situated near the equator, these islands do not experience the great heat so common to the countries in their neighbourhood, the temperature being always about the same, viz., from 80° to 84° Fahrenheit: the extremes are from 70° to 74° at night in the cool season, and from 84° to occasionally 92° in the hot and rainy season.
The two monsoons known at the Seychelles Islands are the S.E., prevailing from May to October, the cool season; and the N.W., from November to April, the hot and rainy season. During the N.W. monsoon, occasionally, squalls, accompanied by lightning and very heavy rains, make their appearance. These islands, situated in almost the middle of the Indian Ocean, at nearly equal distances from the neighbouring countries, in addition to their salubrious climate, possess a large and wonderfully safe harbour, in which fleets may lie in security, even during the hurricane season, when it is dangerous to remain in any port of the neighbouring countries.
Although these islands were known to the navigators of the sixteenth century, and the Arabs, they were not colonized before 1742, after the exploration of Captain Lazare Picault, when a few French settlers from Bourbon and Mauritius established themselves on the principal island—Mahé. Unfortunately, in clearing the ground for their plantations of manico, maize, rice, &c., forests of valuable timber were destroyed by fire. In 1750 a commandant and a civil commissioner was appointed by the French government—the last of whom, M. Quean de Quincy, in 1794, capitulated to a small British squadron, consisting of the “Orpheus,” “Centurion,” and “Resistance,” under the command of Commodore Newcome.
In 1801 the French government banished from France 132 of the wretches who had acted in the most atrocious scenes of the Reign of Terror. Having been prevented from landing at the Isle of France they were conveyed to the Seychelles, which resulted to France in the loss of the two vessels employed upon the service; for the “Chiffonne,” whilst refitting at Seychelles,was captured by the “Cybèle,” Captain Adams—and the “Flèche,” after a long chase and a gallant resistance on her part, was sunk by the “Victor,” Captain Cullis.
In 1814 these islands were formally ceded to Great Britain, as one of the dependencies of Mauritius. Mahé, the principal island, is about seventeen miles long, and about four miles broad; it attains an elevation of 2,000 feet in height, and may be seen at a distance of twelve to fifteen leagues.
It is mountainous, of primary formation, hard granite rock, the soil varied and productive, watered with numerous rivulets, and, being well wooded, the scenery is very picturesque.
On the east side of the island is a magnificent bay, about four miles deep, and three and a half miles wide; it is enclosed, excepting towards the north, by several small islands, the outermost of which is Ste. Anne; outside of these islands are extensive reefs of coral, an opening through which, easily approached, leads to this harbour of refuge, formed by nature, in the Indian Ocean.
The roadstead could contain from 300 to 400 vessels, while in the harbour five or six sail of the line might be safely moored, with sufficient room for smaller vessels.
Hurricanes and gales of wind are never known there: even during the N.W. monsoon the squalls from W. to S.W. or N.W. to N. are not so heavy as to require more than one good anchor and cable—the holding-ground being pipe-clay, with an intermixture of shell.
From the harbour, a narrow channel through the reefs (which might be easily enlarged) leads to an inner harbour, or rather basin, where large ships may be hove down for repair.
The adjoining land is well adapted for dry docks and ship-building yards.
The coral which would have to be removed for the improvement of the outer and inner harbours could be employed for building the upper portions of the wharves—as, on being removed from the sea, and exposed to the air, it hardens and assumes the appearance of white marble; when in its soft state it is easily worked; and, already, at Seychelles it is used forbuilding purposes. A beautiful little church which is now being erected there is entirely composed of this coral.
In 1841, by special permission of the Queen, the name of Port Victoria was given to this magnificent harbour.
In the bight of the bay lies the town; the houses being built of wood and covered with shingles, it has not a very imposing appearance.
Situated in the opening of a ravine, at the foot of a range of hills covered with wood, and immediately under the highest, is the “Morne Blanc,” rising to an elevation of 1300 feet; in the course of time, when the capabilities of these islands will have become known, and the coral extensively used for building purposes, a city worthy of the name of the port may grace the spot which nature has already rendered beautiful and lovely in the extreme.
During the S.E. monsoon there is good anchorage on the west side of Mahé; but heavy gusts come over the high land when the winds are moderate and steady on the east side.
From 1817 to 1827, a flourishing and lucrativecotton-trade was carried on at the Seychelles, and it requires only labour to compete with America in this article, which it produces of the very finest, silky sea-island quality.
The sugar-cane grows luxuriantly. A sugar-house and mill were erected at Mahé some time since, at considerable expense; but it is not working, simply for the want of labour.
There is no tobacco superior to that grown at Seychelles; yet very little is exported.
Rice of the very best quality, far superior to that brought from India for the supply of Mauritius, might be exported from the Seychelles, but at present rice is sent from Mauritius to these islands.
Vessels, from small coasters up to ships of 400 and 500 tons, have been built at Seychelles; they have always been found strong and durable, and being built of wood impervious to the toredo navilis, they are peculiarly adapted for tropical seas.
Timber, for ship-building, furniture, and all domestic purposes, is to be found in abundance.
Forests of excellent wood, called “Capuchin,” one of the most durable kinds known, are falling daily, and rotting on the ground.
The “bois puant,” so well adapted for the spokes of cart and carriage wheels, is in great abundance; it is very valuable, and spokes in large numbers might be prepared for exportation.
The “bois de natte” is an ornamented wood, suitable for furniture; it is of a reddish colour, very closely grained, and marked something like fine heart of oak.
This wood is highly esteemed at Mauritius; it has been observed that the most curiously marked grows on rocky places—where, from the difficulty and slowness of its growth, it becomes contracted and stunted. Nearly the whole of the forests belong to government, and require only roads, so as to get at them, to become very remunerative; the roads for this purpose would be easy of construction, and could be made at no very great expense.
The sperm whale is found about the Seychelles, but the numerous whaling-vessels, both English and American, visit the Comoro Islands for supplies, being, I am told, deterred from entering Port Victoria by the heavy harbour dues. With thelarge herds of cattle, and ample supplies of vegetables, to be obtained at these islands, it would be but a wise policy to make this port free to all vessels simply calling for supplies.
The domestic animals comprise the cow, sheep, dog and cat. Pigs and poultry in all varieties are to be found in abundance—as are likewise fish, tree and rock oysters, guinea fowl, pigeons, doves, and willow birds; rice, maize, manioc, coffee, sugar-cane, chocolate, cloves, cinnamon; among the fruits may be named pine-apples, bread-fruit, raspberries, grapes, maniæ tamarinds, mangoes, bananas, limes, oranges, guavas; among the vegetables, yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, pumpkins, &c.; and there is even a description of tea called hyapunna.
The oranges are the most delicious I ever tasted. Last year two-thirds of the cloves that were produced by the remains of the spice gardens established by Mahé Labourdonnais were left on the ground for want of labour to gather them. Pine-apples are in such abundance, that I proposed, when there in the month of September 1858, that they should be used for making wine. At Natalwine is made from the pine-apple, which is stated to be a superior champagne.
These islands are visited by the hawk-billed turtle, from which the natives obtain the tortoise-shell. In some countries, where the fishermen take the turtle alive, they bury it in sand as far as the edge of the shell, and by kindling a fire on its back, or by pouring boiling water on it, the shell becomes detached, and the turtle is then liberated. By some it is stated that Nature furnishes it with a new shell, but the Seychellois sacrifice the animal to obtain the shell.
The hawk-billed turtle weighs from 100 to 150 pounds, and yields from two to six pounds of tortoise-shell, worth from six to nine dollars per pound. The flesh of the hawk-billed turtle is considered poisonous, but some affirm it to be fit for food.
Green turtle, the flesh of which is so delicious, are also found in great numbers; oil is extracted from them, and occasionally the flesh is salted and exported to Mauritius. Even the shell of this species has lately come into use—inEurope for veneering purposes—and is melted into an imitation of tortoise-shell. The green turtle weighs from 200 to 300 pounds, and the flesh is worth about four dollars per pound. Both descriptions of turtle are obtained, when they come on shore to lay their eggs, by turning them on their backs, when they are quite helpless; and also by striking them at sea with a light harpoon.
The best months for procuring the hawk-billed turtle are from July to December, and from December to March the green turtle are easily obtained, those being the laying seasons.
They both lay many hundreds of eggs in large holes, which they scoop out with their fins in the sand, and, having covered them over, they leave them to be hatched by the sun and by time.
It is worthy of remark that the hawk-billed turtle comes on shore to lay during the day, and the green turtle, with but few exceptions, during the night. The Seychellois call the hawk-billed turtle “Caret,” and the green turtle “Tortue.”
These islands have obtained a world-widecelebrity, from being the only place yet known where the Coco de Mer (the most curious of the palms, so justly styled by Linnæus the prince of the vegetable kingdom), is found. This species of palm—known as theLadoicea Sechellarum, the double cocoa-nut, theCoco de Mer, theCocos Maldivicusof Rumphius, andNux Medicaof Clusius—is from 50 to 120 feet in height, and from 12 to 15 inches in diameter, with scarcely any difference in size to the top, where it is crowned with a tuft of leaves; and the whole of the stem is so flexible that the tops of those trees which stand in each other’s vicinity strike against and chafe each other in a strong breeze.
On the stem rings, four inches apart, mark the annular age of this palm, which, even in this archipelago, is confined to Praslin, Curieuse, and Ronde, on which islands alone it appears to bear fruit.
The leaves are very large and open, like a fan; they are from 20 to 30 feet in length, including the petiole, which is of sufficient strength to support a man.
The tree is twenty or thirty years old before it bears fruit, and always 130 years are required before it attains its full development.
The fruit is generally double, sometimes triple and even quadruple; when young the fruit is refreshing, and not unlike ice sherbet in appearance, and in taste it somewhat resembles the common cocoa-nut, and is remarkably cold when taken out of the shell.
The germ when developed is a sweet dish. The fruit remains on the tree about three years, and when ripe it drops off the tree and is no longer fit for food. In a few months, if not exposed to the rays of the sun, the fallen nut germinates and a new plant is formed.
It bears only one spadix in each year, and yet it is said to have above ten in bloom at once—thus bearing flowers and fruit of all ages at the same time.
The crown of the trunk is called cabbage, and is eaten like that of the true cabbage palm. This part of the tree, like that of the common cocoa-nut when parboiled, tastes like cooked chestnuts; and when cut into strips about eight incheslong and well-boiled, is remarkably like asparagus.
The trunk is employed for making palisades and water-troughs.
The leaves are taken to thatch houses, and even fences.
The down, which is attached to the young leaves, serves for filling mattresses and pillows.
With the ribs of the leaves and fibres of the petiole, baskets and brooms are made.
The young unexpanded leaves are bleached in the sun until they become quite white; they are then cut into longitudinal strips, and plaited for making beautiful hats and bonnets; elegant fans, and also fancy baskets, are made from the young leaves, by the Seychelles ladies, who excel in this work.
Out of the nut, beautiful vessels of different forms and for various uses are made; amongst other articles, shaving dishes, black, beautifully polished, set in silver and carved, are made from it.
A long and remarkably correct account of theLodoicea Seychellarumis given by Sir W. J.Hooker in the “Botanical Magazine and Register,” vol. xii., from which I have largely borrowed information relative to this wonder of the vegetable kingdom.
In a recent communication to me from that distinguished botanist, relative to the Seychelles, Sir William says, “I may add, too, that though these islands are British, with the exception of the Coco de Mer, and one or two objects, such as curiosities, we are as ignorant of the vegetable productions as if it were a region in the very centre of Africa or Australia, where no human foot has yet trod.”
The venilla bean is cultivated at Mauritius and Bourbon, despite the hurricanes, which in their visits to these islands destroy this article of commerce; it has lately been introduced into the Seychelles, and will in these islands, free from tempests, become a source of wealth to the inhabitants.
The exports through the customs at Seychelles, for the year ending 7th of July 1858, were as follows:—
The above is the total production of 7000 inhabitants, with the sexes about equally divided.
The largest item, the vacoa bags, exported to Mauritius for holding sugar, might be produced by one hundred persons in a year; and it appears that the oil is made by Creoles sent from Mauritius—the Seychellois being at present a lazy, indolent people, given to pleasure and idle amusements; the soil they will not cultivate, preferring to gain a subsistence from the sea.
This love of the ocean might be turned to advantage, by encouraging maritime pursuits and commercial relations between these islands, Madagascar, and the whole of the east sea-board of Africa, for which the Seychellois are already acclimatized. Nuts and seeds yielding oil might be carried to the Seychelles, the oil made there, and exported to Europe from these islands; thecolouring matter from the orchella weed, at present conveyed round the Cape of Good Hope, might be extracted at the Seychelles and sent home by way of Suez.
The employment of these islands for the above purposes would cause a great saving in the freight of ships now carrying the raw materials to Europe, and would at the same time develop the resources of these valuable islands.
With regard to the cultivation of the soil, if the government of Mauritius was to introduce one thousand coolies from India direct, and give some encouragement to the inhabitants of Mauritius to emigrate there, by granting lands on favourable terms, capital would soon be found, from the Mauritius, for the development of these islands, which, already possessing a harbour of refuge suitable for their position, nearly in the middle of the Indian Ocean, would soon rival Mauritius in their productions and commercial and political importance.
At present, to keep up the establishment there, they cost the government of Mauritius about £3000 per annum: with a judicious expenditureof a few thousand pounds for the opening of roads to get at the valuable timber, and the building of wharves for the inner harbour, the Seychelles would soon yield a large and profitable revenue to Mauritius.