THE MAURITIUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 918, 3 July 1869, Page 9

THE MAURITIUS.

The foUbw^aeV^ptiWof- tHia island,by a gentteWanwKo'hW raided^e^l'for, some time t > and/who is at : pre&enton,a visit to Dunedin* will be read ( with inte-, roß t : — ■' ' The MaiiHtiilaf is an island, 1 Bituatedin* the Indian 1 Ocean, uV2O deg. Sj lat. and' 6rdeg. Bridng. ;±tlinaUy canuS /iatb' the possession of tho English in 1810, after two attempts'totake it. The first of theso ; took plaoe at -Black river, which failed ; wad the second- at- a small bay on the Mapou coast, which: was successful. This island' can be Been at a great distance by ships, owing to the high mountains which it contains. On. approaching, it fromthe northf the first mountain seen is the Pouce; so called from its,resemblance to- the 'thumb: Next comes ?Peter Botte, so naindd after' the/ first man who ascended it; whiles it belonged s-to the Dutoh. The ascent of this ' mountain is very difficult, owing; to. its- shape being conical, with a large • ball- 1 on the top. It has; however*- been ascended- about six times • . by. means of rope*- fired over the balLat the toft thus permitting ladders to be fixed. The last asoent of this mountain was made a few months ago by Captain Purcell, of the Centaur, and a few officers of the garrison, who hoisted the English flag on the top, and left a box with 1 their names in it, . to be seen by other'visitors who feel inclined to make another asoent After these mountains come in sight, others of less elevation come into view. Among these is the Signal mountain^ which overlooks Port Louis/ the* capital, and from whence the name of the Vessel is telegraphed down to the Harbour* Office in the town. As soon as a vesselis made out, a- pilot proceeds outside ;thffßell; thff ßell buoy, which is placed at the entrance, and meets it. After the usual enquiries regarding the health of those on board, the pilot boards and hands over'theport regulations, at the same time keepingthe' vessel outside the harbour until' the medical officer oomes on board to give the ship pratique, when, if the weather permits, she enters, either sailing, or by the assistance of a tug. Vessels approaohing the harbour by night have no longer any difficulty in doing so, a light ship being placed outside the Bell buoy. This light ship can be s&en on a clear night at a distance of ten mile». • On entering the harbour, one begins to feel oneself quite in a tropical country, not only on account of the intense heat, but also from the various colours of the boatmen in the boats, and the dress they wear. The landing is very easy, as a plytog boat will take the visitor on shore in a *ew minutes to the landing steps, where, i£*b> has luggage with him, he will be r^oeived by men of all nations, coolies all parts of India, Africans and' Creoles, or natives of the Sand, all hating with each other to see who will have «» preference as , porter. On landing at the steps, the first imposing buildings s^n «ire the Custom HousS and the' n,^ P«* Z building. In front, .*tthe head of the landing-place, is Government House, a Cge buSding, with a flt^hf on which the ensign is hoisted when the Governor uin town. Walking from tte steps up to Government House, a distance of about a quarter of a mile, the «tree 6 >. or place as it is called, is lined on both sides by hired carriages, for the convenience of anyone who wishes to take a drive about the town or into the country. The place is well supplied with shady trees, under which, during the forenoon, may be neen planters from their different sugar estates. Their sunburnt faces, and the extraordinary oriental hats they wear, resembling a large white mushroom, more than anything else mark them out unmistakeably. There ia*y also be seen a few brokers and merchants all talking over the business of the day, some sitting on benches with their cigars in their mouths, othersstanding under trees, and all appearing to bo absorbed in important conversation. Passing on, the visitor now enters* one of the principal streets on the right hand, called the Chausße"e, lined on both sides with shops of all descriptions. There may be seen Creole ladies and gentlemen walking about, the former gaily -dressed, but usually without bonnets. Their ourly African hair, however, is well dressed, not to mention *he quantity of oil on it Proceeding <up the OhaussSo one arrives at the barirack gate. The barracks are a fine spacious pieoe of ground with the m«n s •quarters all round, capable of holding upwards of a thousand men. They were abandoned, however, on aooount of the epidemlo or ferer which has been raging in Port Louis and the island generally for the lMt threo yean ; and although thu epldemio has greatly abated thebarraoke ere still unoooupled, and tht troop now •» scattered over tUthe outpojU of the island, their head quarters being ftt M*k*Mrg, ftbottt 80 mil* from the

stdwnj in a^ieasaiiiilipot^where they|enjby, ithejßeaibreeze'all4heiyeaii thejBeaibreeze'all4heiyeais i ;long.ti4\ v^n^ < i^Aniongthd'-prinoipalubuadingß'ittfPJbirfc LbuiS I^may "mentionHhe bazaar^ or •mar-j feet-* place,- which < is^'usually- filled^ <in the'- eariy^-mornirig Awith stewards^fr'om ship's! and 11 people, of the^tbwnf laying in f . their prdvisions < for ' the? day. ln> thei bazaar 7 you*" meet*"* butchers" with their different .stalls,* and- others. who sell <aU' 'sorts^ of', vegetables' >vandi> other articles -" of household cbnsumptiori. « Of lace years, this' building haa^ been "greatly improved^ and i it would * now reflect 1 credit j upon 1 any town of the same size 5 to 4 be found - elsewhere. At the gate there- is always . stationed a Btaff of policemen, ready to give assistance to any stranger who may; think he ; is imposed* upon;* i Another > building : which i* highly thought of,' even by k people fromEngland' and the - Continent of >Europe,> is the 1 theatre. < Every season it; is occupiedby- a' fine troupe, Lastsyetr one came from -Paris/- and theftheatre was-:crowded every night. • Another sight worth seeing' is'the 1 Champ de Mars/ 1 where .'every ydar. theracesare held; thesearesometimes very good, as high - priced horses" are importedfrom England and the Cape. The stakes also are handsome. During, the' race week in Mauritius- the town seems quite in' an exoited state, owners of horses making their books up, and everybody talking about the various horses. The last day of the meeting is a Saturday, and always a holiday, when the greater^portion of the population of the island assembles on the course; Thifl is a sight particularly interesting to a stranger/ owing to the various nations and dresses he will then see. Among the coloured population especially a great many months' wages have been saved up to see who will appear the most gaudily dressed on the' occasion. Among the buildings in Port Louis, besides those already mentioned, are an Hospital, Sailors' Home, Cathe» dral, where the Bishop of Mauritius preaches on Sundays j several offices, the principal of which are those of the Colonial Secretary, Treasurer, AuditorGeneral, and Police; office hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p-m.^ A great deal of business is carried on in the town in the day time by mercantile houses and banks, as well as by brokers, lawyers, Jandjvarious tradesmen. A railway has now been opened. The central station, which is in Port Louis, is a large building covered with glass. From it trams take their departure several times a day down to Makebourg, on one side of the island, which can be reached in less than two hours. The line also passes over: the higher parts of the island, of which Curepipe is one of the stations, which is a great advantage to Europeans, who are thus enabled to reside at this cool spot, which they were unable to do formerly, as the distance from the town is fifteen miles, and the road to it is altogether up-hilL The other line starts from thesftmestationatPort Louis, and terminates at Grand River, S. E. One of the stations it passes is Pamplemousses, so well known in connection with the story of Paul and Virginia, who are supposed to have been buried there, and which people still visit for the purpose of seeing their tombs. From these large pieces have been taken away by visitors as mementos. At Pamplemousses are the Government Botanical Gardens, which are well worth seeing. A large staff of Europeans is kept here, and the walks are now neatly arranged and well kept In these gardens may be wen growing specimens of sugarcanes from various parts. The Principal of these gardens, Dr Mellor, has been sent by Government to different parts of the world, to collect more species of cane, to see how they will grow in the island.

Mauritius U not an island where many animals exist, as they are chiefly imported from other countries. Horses, for instance, were brought from England, France, the Cape, and Australia ; cattle from England and the Cape ; and sheep from India and the Cape. A great many bullooks and poultry are brought from Madagascar. A good deal of game exists on the island, suoh as deer, hares, partridges, and quails. The game laws are enforced in the same way as in mest other places, a licenoo having to be taken to enable a person to shoot The deer are very numerous, and parties assomblo at different times of the year to shoot them. Sportsmen are stationed in various parts of the wood and beators are employed to drive the deer as close as possible 1o where thoy are. Stags only are allowed to be shot, and sometimes eighteen or twenty fall in • day. These stag* have beautiful horns. Hares are sotaumerous in the island that on almost every estate there it » keeper with a set of dogs, who goes out every morningtohuutthem down, m they commit groat ravages on the yonn? canoe. In the season, partridges *ro plentiful, aa many as fourteen brace being tomotimos shot in an afternoon on •The chief produce of the Island Is nig**, whiob v m*nufMtur»d on lupr

■Istates, t . of*? whfeh:^herej r ,are fe al great jmany-dn t Uhe* /'lsland. as; , planted in square pieces iOf tgroundf which, are cultivated* by coolies. The, latter are. natives of "Indian 1 who <are- -broughtoto Mauritius' under engagement for a certain number of yearsi' and as soon' as their time is up they are at liberty to re-engage before a magistrate, or have a free passage f back! to India. Most of them, hbwever, remain on. the .estates, for many years, until; they have .saved a large sum, when they | return rich men to their, native! country. Their . expenses on the. estate are , very small,, as- they -wear no clothing except a cloth round' their waist and a turban. Their food consists of ' rice, dill, <&c, , whioh is all they require. The sugar canes, from first planting, take about fifteen ' months to reach maturity,' which is generally in the month of July, when planters commence cutting them down. On large > estates the < average amount of acres cut in a day, is seven. The > canes are brought from the fields to the mill and crushed ' until' theyiform a syrup; 1 > THisrsyrupis boiled into i a crust, and. then, passes, through various processes until it is found .fit. to be made into. sugar. . It is then put. into sacks and sent to Port Louis to be sold. A planter's life is a hard one, as he has, during the crop, to commence bis work perhaps -at one o'clock in the morning, and it may be 10 o'clock at night before he leaves off, as great attention . must be paid, for the least neglect might spoil several tons of sugar. The crop usually commences in July and endß in December. After a. cane field has been cut down and all the canes removed, it is set on fire, in order to burn the insects,' which commit great ravages among the. canes. After the fire has. been- extinguished, ooolies are sent to clean, it, .and the same roots are allowed to push up for the four following crops. They are then dug up, and the ground allowed to rest ; or manioo is planted so an to enrich the earth. The firat year canes are planted, the plantero do not require to use guano ; but afterwards it is increasingly used every year until the last. The canes then remaining are generally left, more to make up any deficiency on the ground than anything else, and for this guano would be too expensive. The harbour of Port Louis is well situated, and placed so that ships are able to ride well under shelter during, the hurricane months, which generally prevail from November to April. These hurricanes,- if they come late in the season, cause much damage to the planters, as often the cane fields are entirely ruined by their violence. .- I