31st Jan 1832

St Jago
This morning the view was very fine, the air being singularly clear and the mountains were projected against dark blue or black clouds. Judging from their appearances I should have thought the air was saturated with moisture. The Hygrometer proved the contrary, the diff: between Temp and Dew point being 29.6: this is nearly double what it has been any other morning: on the 20thand 21st it was 15.5. The dew formed at 42.2 and atmosphere was 71.8. On the previous morning the diff was only 8.8: and dew point 64,4. This uncommon dryness of the air was accompanied by continued flashes of lightning, consequent I suppose on the great change from unusual dampness to such extreme dryness.

The whole of this day I have been working very hard with microscope at yesterdays produce.

30th Jan 1832

St Jago
Walked to the coast West of Quail Island with King, and collected numerous marine animals, all of extreme interest. I am frequently in the position of the ass between two bundles of hay, so many beautiful animals do I generally bring home with me.

In the morning a few drops of rain fell.

29th Jan 1832

St Jago
Divine service was performed on Board, it is the first time I have seen it: it is a striking scene and the extreme attention of the men renders it much more imposing than I had expected. Every thing on board on Sunday is most delightfully clean, the lower decks would put to shame many gentlemens houses.

28th Jan 1832

St Jago
Collected a great number of curious and beautiful animals from the little pools left by the tide. The colours of the sponges and corallines are extremely vivid and it is curious how all animated nature becomes more gaudy as it approaches the hotter countrys. Birds, fishes, plants, shells are familiar to every one, but the colours in these marine animals will rival in brilliancy those of the higher classes.

27th Jan 1832

St Jago
Employed in working at yesterdays produce.

26th Jan 1832

St Jago
Rowlett, Bynoe and myself started early in the morning on a riding expedition to Ribera Grande. We went to Praya to get our horses and there had our breakfast. The greatest shopkeeper in the place was our host: He is an American and has married a Spanish woman and seems one of the most influential people in the place. After we had finished our Coffee in his large and airy rooms, we mounted our ponys.
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The road to Ribera for the first six miles is totally uninteresting and till we arrived at the valley of St Martin the country presented its usual dull brown appearance: here our eyes were refreshed by the varied and beautiful forms of the tropical trees. The valley owes its fertility to a small stream and following its course Papaw trees, Bananas and Sugar cane flourished. I here got a rich harvest of flowers, and still richer one of fresh water shells. After having watered our active and sure footed little horses, we again commenced climbing. In the course of an hour, we arrived at Ribera and were astonished at the sight of a large ruined fort and a Cathedral: Ribera Grande which lies 9 miles to the West of Praya and was till within later years the principal place in the island. The filling up of its harbour has been the cause of the overthrow of its grandeur. It now presents a melancholy, but very picturesque appearance. The town is situated at the foot of a high black precipice, through which a narrow and abrupt valley has cut its way.
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The vegetation in this little corner was most beautiful; it is impossible sufficiently to admire the exquisite form of the Cocoa-nut tree, and when, as in this case, they are seen waving their lofty heads above the dark green of an Orange Grove, one feels convinced that all the praise bestowed on tropical scenery is just. Having procured a black padre for a guide, and a Spaniard who had served in the Peninsular war for our interpreter, we visited a collection of buildings of which an antient Church forms the principal part. It is here the Governors and Captain Generals of the Islands are buried, some of the tombstones recorded dates of the fourteenth century; the heraldic ornaments were the only things in this retired place that reminded one of Europe.
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This Church or Chapel formed one of the sides of a Quadrangle, in which Bananas were growing. On two of the others were the buildings in which the the people connected with the institution lived. On the fourth was a hospital, containing about a dozen of miserable looking inmates. In one of the rooms, to our surprise, we were shown a collection of tolerable paintings, the colouring and drawing of the drapery was excellent.
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We then, accompanied as before, returned to the "Venda" and eat our dinner. To see which operation a concourse of black men, women and children had collected. We luckily had brought some cold meat: as the only things the men helped us to were wine and crumbs made from Indian corn. Certainly the whole scene was most amusing, our companions the blacks were extremely merry, every thing we said or did was followed by their hearty laughter. Our Spanish interpreter now left us, before mounting his donkey, he loaded a formidable pistol with slugs quietly remarking, "this very good for black man".
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Before leaving Ribera, we visited the Cathedral. It is a building of some size, but does not appear from the absence of plate to be so rich as the smaller Church. It boasts however of a small organ, which sent forth most singularly inharmonious notes. We presented our friend the black priest (which the Spaniard with much candour said he thought made no difference) with a few shillings and wishing him good morning returned as fast as the Ponys would carry us to Porto Praya.

25th Jan 1832

St Jago
Collected some marine animals at Quail Island and spent most part of the day in examining them.

24th Jan 1832

St Jago
After our one oclock dinner, Wickham, the Captain and myself walked to the famous Baobob tree and measured it more accurately. Cap FitzRoy first took an angle by a pocket sextant and afterward climbed the tree and let down a string, both ways gave the same result, viz. 45 feet in height. Its circumference measured 2 feet from the grounds (there being no projecting roots) gave 35. Its form is oval, and its greatest visible diameter was 13 feet. So that in an accurate drawing its breadth height would be 3.4 of its height breadth. Cap FitzRoy made a sketch which gave a good idea of its proportion, yet in this the height was only about 2.4 of breadth. Proving, what one so often observes, that a faithful delineation of Nature does not give an accurate idea of it. We returned home, after our merry and pleasant walk, just as it was dark.

A very pretty schooner came in this morning: it is strongly suspected that she is a slaver in disguise, she says she is a general trader to the coast of Africa. The Captain means to overhaul her in the morning and make out what she is. I suppose every thing is well concealed, else she would not have come into a harbour where a pennant was flying.

23rd Jan 1832

St Jago
Walked with Maccormick to Flag Staff Hill. We passed over an extended plain of table land. There was scarcely one green leaf on the whole tract, yet large flocks of goats, together with some cattle, contrive to live. It rains but very seldom in this country and when it does a mass of vegetation springs up; this soon drys up and withers: and upon this such miserable sort of hay that the animals exist: at present it has not rained for a year, and I suppose will not till the proper time next year, viz. November and October. At these periods the island is very unhealthy: one ship some years past lost six of its junior officers.

A little to the North of the hill, we found a very curious ravine, not much above 30 yards across, about 200 feet high. We with some difficulty found one single path at the very end, where we descended. In this wild dell we found the building places of many birds. Hawks and Ravens and the beautiful Tropic bird were soaring about us: a large wild cat bounded across and reached its den before Maccormick could shoot it. The place seemed formed for wild animals: large blocks of rocks, entwined with succulent creepers and the ground strewed over with bleached bones of Goats would have been a fine habitation for a Tiger.

22nd Jan 1932

St Jago
This day has passed (and it is a subject for wonder) very much like any other Sunday out of the Magic line of the Tropics. In the evening I strolled about Quail Island and caught myself thinking of England and its politicks, it is my belief that the word reform has not passed the lips of any man on board since we saw Madeira. So absorbing is the interest of a new country.

21st Jan 1832

St Jago
All day I have been working at yesterdays produce. Geology is at present my chief pursuit and this island gives full scope for its enjoyment. There is something in the comparative nearness of time, which is very satisfactory whilst viewing Volcanic rocks.

There have been two bright meteors passing from East to West.

20th Jan 1832

St Jago

I took a long walk with Maccormick into the interior. Although in such a country the objects of interest are few, yet perhaps from this very reason, each individual one strikes the imagination the more. We followed one of the broad water courses, which serves as a road for the country people, by the greatest good luck it lead us to the celebrated Baobob trees. I had forgotten its existence, but the sight immediately recalled a description of it which I had formerly read. This enormous tree measured 36feet 2 inches at the height of 2’ 8” from ground. Its altitude in no way corresponds with its great thickness. I should not suppose it was 30 feet high. This tree is supposed to be one of longest lived that exists. Adanson supposed that some reached to the age of 6000 years. This one bears on its bark the signs of its notoriety it is as completely covered with initials and dates as any one in Kensington Gardens.

We passed on with nothing except the novelty of the scene that could give us any enjoyment: the glowing sun above our heads was the only thing that reminded us we were in the tropics. Nature is here sterile, nothing breaks the absolute stillness, nothing is seen to move: we may indeed except a gay coloured kingfisher and its prey, the less gaudy grasshopper. At midday, we seated ourselves under the shade of a Tamarind and measured out our small portion of water. The bluish green tint of its colour and the extreme lightness of its pinnate foliage gives to this Acacia a most pleasing appearance. We then left the valley and crossed over to Red hill, which is 1300 high and composed of more recent Volcanic rocks.

On road, two black men brought us some goats milk, to pay them we put some copper money on our open hands: they took a farthing, and when we gave them a penny, we hardly could prevent them pouring down a quart of milk into our very throats. These merry simple hearted men left us in roars of laughter. I never saw anything more intelligent than the Negros, especially the Negro or Mulatto children. They all immediately perceived and are astonished at the percussion guns, they examine every thing with the liveliest attention, and if you let them the children chattering away, will pull everything out of your pockets to examine them it. My silver pencil case was pulled out and much speculated upon. When catching a stinging ichneumon, the children pinched themselves in order to show that the insect would pain me.

We scaled the top of the Red hill and from it had a good view of the most desolate countrys in the world. Our road home, near to Praya, lay through a more fertile valley and few will imagine how refreshing is the sight of the dark green of the Palm.

We returned to the vessel very thirsty and covered with dust, but not much fatigued, neither did I suffer much from the heat of the sun.

19th Jan 1832

St Jago
I took a walk with Musters. I went to the West along the coast, and then returned by a more inland path. My imagination never pictured so utterly barren a place as this is, it is not the absence of vegetation solely that produces this effect: every thing adds to the idea of solitude: nothing meets the eye but plains strewed over with black and burnt rocks rising one above the other. And yet there was a grandeur in such scenery and to me the unspeakable pleasure of walking under a tropical sun on a wild and desert island. It is quite glorious the way my collections are increasing. I am even already troubled with the vain fear that there will be nobody in England who will have the courage to examine some of the less known branches.

I have been so incessantly engaged with objects full of new and vivid interest: that the three days appear of an indefinite length. I look back to the 16th as a period long gone by.

18th Jan 1832

St Jago
I have been excessively busy all day and have hardly time to write my days log: the little time I was out of my cabin, I spent geologising on Quail Island. The day has been very hot: and I have feasted on Tamarinds and a profusion of oranges, for dinner I had Barrow Cooter for fish and sweet potatoes for vegetables: quite tropical and correct.

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Note

Santiago (also spelled São Tiago or Sant'Iago) is the biggest island of the archipelago. It was the first to be discovered by the Portuguese navigators, in the 15th century. It was the first to be settled (followed by Fogo). It has more than half of the population in the archipelago. Santiago is also dry, but its hinterland has big mountains and some humidity that allows some farming. (RR)