Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/143

 SAM-TH0M6. in colony, and all its three thousand inhabitants are Negroes or people of colour, descended from shipwrecked sailors or slaves introduced by the first Portuguese occupiers. They are devout Catholics, or, at least, observers of the outward forms of the Church. Sam- Antonio da Praia, the chief village of this little black republic, lies on the north side, where it supplies passing vessels with water, wood and fruit, especially exquisite oranges. Sam-Thome. Sam Thome (Saint Thomas), like all the others, is of oval form, but much larger than Annobon, covering an area of 370 square miles. There appear to have been several centres of eruption, the profile showing not one dominating cone, but several lofty peaks, such as the central, Santa- Anna de Chaves, and Sam-Thome on the west side, which rises to a height of 7,000 feet, or a little more than its rival. The peak, whose wooded slopes have been scaled by several travellers, is flanked on the north and east by a semicircular ridge known as the Cordilheira de Sam-Thome, which is supposed to be the fragment of an old crater. Several islets rise above the neighbouring waters, of which the largest are Cabras ( " Goat " ) and Rolas ( " Doves " ), separated by the equator from the larger island. The temperature is somewhat moderated by the relatively cooler southern current, which, at times, encircles the whole island. To this cause is due the greater salubrity enjoyed by Sam-Thome compared with the other lands lying nearer the marshy regions of the continent. The months of June, July, and August, which are the most unhealthy on the mainland and in Fernando-Po, are the least trying for Europeans in Sam-Thome, although still dangerous for the Negroes, who then suffer from chills and rheumatism. Europeans readily become pcclimatised on the uplands, where the heats are less intense, and every plantation is a sanatorium. This is an important consideration in the neighbourhood of such unhealthy coastlands as those of Calabar, the Kameroons, and Gaboon, where the attempts of the whites to acclimatise themselves have hitherto had but partial success. At the same time the coast of Sam-Thome is also generally regarded as very dan- gerous to strangers. The island is situated in the intermediate zone between the oceanic and tropical African climates ; its rainfall is abundant, and every valley has consequently its ribeira, or mountain torrent, rushing in successive falls from rock to rock. The best known of these streams is the Agoa Grande, on the north- east slope, at the mouth of which stands the capital. At the Blu-Blu cascade its limpid waters descend in a body down to the gardens, refreshing with their spray the overhanging foliage of the bananas. Flora and Fauna. Sara-Thome lies not more than 150 miles from Cape Lopez, the nearest con- tinental headland. Hence the local vegetation, represented by about four hundred and thirty species, greatly resembles that of the mainland. Nevertheless, certain