Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/41

 of stone about five feet high, with the roof rising from all sides to a pole. They are thatched with broom, and contain only one room. There is no need of a chimney, as a fire is seldom required. The women wear bodices and very short petticoats. They have shoes and stockings, but only put them on when they wish to appear fine, usually going barefoot. The children are poorly clad. They have but one garment, and that is often ragged and dirty. The men wear trousers that reach to the knees, with a shirt or jacket of gaudy colors. For a head-dress, both sexes wear funnel-shaped caps of  cloth, tied under the chin with a string.

Here in this delightful climate grow all varieties of fruits, such as oranges, citrons, lemons, bananas, plantains, figs, pomegranates, apples, currants, pears, plums,  peaches, melons, tomatoes, and the egg-plant. Here, on the summit of the mountains, flourishes the potato,  solitary and alone. While anchored here, our ship was well supplied with plenty of fresh beef, vegetables and  fruits of all kinds. I suppose there is no place in the known world which produces finer beef, fruit, and vegetables than this island. While here, some of the officers, scientific men, and some of the crew were busily engaged surveying the island and learning the manners  and customs of the natives. This was done in all the places that we visited. The mountain paths we traveled in our surveying expeditions were almost impassable. In many places our mountain ponies were compelled to leap from rock to rock, frequently at an angle of forty- five degrees with the horizon. In passing through Machico we visited a small church, said to have been