Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/672

Rh 640 MAURITIUS island is in the south-western mass of hills, the Montagne de la Riviere Noire, which is 2711 feet above the sea. The principal ranges in this mountain mass are three in number, arranged in a triangular form, and are called respectively the mountains of La Pierre Rouge, La Riviere Noire, and Savanne. The south-eastern group of hills consists of one chief range, the Montagne du Bambou, with several spurs running down to the sea. In the interior are extensive fertile plains, some 1200 feet in height, and forming the districts of Moka, Vacois, and Plaines Wilhelms ; and from nearly the centre of the island rises an abrupt peak, the Piton du Milieu de File, to a height of 1932 feet above the sea-level. Other prominent summits are the Trois Mamelles, the Montagne da Corps de Garde, the Signal Mountain, near Port Louis, and the Morne Brabant, at the south-west corner of the island. The rivers are of course small, and none of them are navigable beyond a few hundred yards from the sea. In the dry season most of them are little more than brooks, although they soon become raging torrents when swollen by the heavy rains of the wet period of the year. The principal stream is the Grande Riviere, with a course of about 10 miles. A remarkable and very deep lake, called Grand Bassin, is found in the south of the island, and is probably the extinct crater of an ancient volcano ; other similar lakes are the Mare aux Vacois and the Mare aux Jones, and there are some other deep hollows which have a like origin. The geological structure of Mauritius is undoubtedly a result of volcanic action, all the rocks being of basalt and greyish-tinted lavas, excepting some beds of upraised coral. Columnar basalt is seen in several places. There are many caverns and steep ravines, and from the character of the rocks the ascents are rugged and precipitous. The island has few mineral productions, although iron, lead, and copper in very small quantities have in former times been obtained. The climate is pleasant during the cool season of the year, but oppressively hot in summer (December to April), except in the interior plains, where the thermometer ranges from 70 to 80, while in Port Louis and the coast generally it ranges from 90 to 96. The mean temperature for the year at Port Louis is 78 G. During the last thirty years the island has been subject to severe epidemics, which have been extremely fatal. In 1854 a visitation of Asiatic cholera swept off 17,000 people; and in 1867 a still more destructive inroad of malarial fever, of an unusually fatal type, almost paralysed the whole community for many weeks, carrying off 30,000 people, and greatly affecting the finances of the colony. The seasons are divisible into two, the cocl and comparatively dry season, from- April to November, and the hotter season, during the rest of the year. From the month of January to the middle of April, Mauritius, in common with the neighbouring islands and the surrounding ocean from 8 to 30 of S. lat., is subject to severe and destructive cyclones, accompanied by torrents of rain, which often cause great destruction to houses and plantations. These hurricanes generally last about eight hours, but they appear to be now less frequent and violent than in former times, owing, it is thought, to the destruc tion of the ancient forests and the consequent drier condi tion of the atmosphere. The soil of the island is of considerable fertility ; it is a ferruginous red clay, but so largely mingled with stones of all sizes that no plough can be used, and the hoe has to be employed to prepare the ground for cultivation. The woods with which the island was largely clothed when first discovered have been to a great extent cut down, and the greater portion of the plains is now a vast sugar plantation. The bright green of the sugar fields is a striking feature in a view of Mauritius from the sea, and gives a peculiar beauty and freshness to the prospect. The soil is suitable for the cultivation of almost all kinds of tropical produce, and it is to be regretted that the prosperity of the colony depends entirely on one article of production, for the con sequences are serious when there happens to be a failure, more or less, of the sugar crop. Guano is extensively imported as a manure, and by its use the natural fertility of the soil has been increased to a wonderful extent. For purposes of law and government Mauritius is divided into nine districts, named respectively Port Louis, Pamplemousses, Riviere du Rempart, Flacq, Grand Port, Savanne, Moka, Plaines Wilhelms, and Riviere Noire. The capital and seat of government, the city of Port Louis, is situated on the north-western side of the island, at the head of an excellent harbour, a deep inlet about a mile long. This is protected by two forts, Fort William and Fort George, as well as by the citadel in the city, and its value is further increased by three graving docks con nected with the inner harbour. Lighthouses have been erected on Flat Island and at Cannonier s Point. Port Louis has a population of about 70,000, but from the lofty mountains by which it is enclosed its situation is hot, and from the small amount of tide in the harbour effectual drainage is difficult, so that it is not a very healthy town. The public buildings are of no great architectural beauty, the government house being a three-storied structure with broad verandas, of no particular style of architecture, while the Protestant cathedral was formerly a powder magazine, to which a tower and spire has been added. The Roman Catholic cathedral is more pretentious in style, but is tawdry in its interior. In the city are large barracks and military stores. A maximum contribution of .45,000 is paid to the imperial government by the colony towards the expenses of the troops stationed in the island, but this sum is reduced when the garrison is below a certain standard. In 1880 the amount paid was 29,972. The governor and chief officers of government reside out of Port Louis in the cooler uplands of the interior, as do also a large number of the principal inhabitants, especially since the completion of the railways has made access easy to many portions of the island. The most favourite place of residence is at Curepipe, a place situated about 1800 feet above the sea; here the climate resembles that of the south of France, and it has been so much resorted to of late years that it is rapidly becoming a large town. The construction of the Mauritian railways has given a great impetus to the trade of the colony ; the system embraces two lines, of a total length of 87 miles. The main roads of the island are kept in good order, but much yet remains to be done before the road system can be said to be complete throughout all the districts. The prosperity of Mauritius, as already mentioned, depends almost entirely upon its sugar-crop, and the export trade of the island has greatly increased during the last twenty years, as will be seen by the following statistics: 18C4. 1808. 1873. 1S77. I 1880. Imports ... Exports... 2,r,S2,9SO 2,249,740 2,200,098 2,339,342 2,4.-4,101 3,375,401 2,359,449 4,201,2SG 2.1(!9,672 3,634,788 Of the imports the principal items are rice (about a fifth of the whole), wheat, and other grains, plain and coloured cottons, and haberdashery. Madagascar supplies cattle to the colony, and also rice, although the greater portion of the latter import comes from India. Horses are imported from the Cape, ponies from Burmah and Pegu, mules from Spain, and sheep from Bombay and the Cape, Of the exports, sugar forms of course the great item, amounting, on an average, to nearly nineteen-twentieths of the whole ; the increase in its production is shown