Jamaica* mils of the central ridge; What is called the Blue Mountain Peak rifes
7431 feet above the level of the lea :*and the precipices are interipeffed
with beautiful favannas. There are about on’®- bandied rivi|pt^’of
which the Black River, running to fee'Xoufey is the moft cojifilerable.
Same .fifiphureous and chalybeate fprings likewil^^ur* 4 prf^dpiat
the Spaniards worked mines of .copper- if not filver ^and^ne^ffed
has been recently difeovered. ' One olthe moft remarkable natural; cu-
-riofities feems to be ^hat is -called the vegetable fly, a Angular M p s ,
alfo found,in one of the French Weft India ifl%nds. It is faid to ahcfnnd
on the fnmmit of a high rock,.in the lhape of a hay-coek,feu^ea|fd the
©olphinstPiead^ near fee .town ofLucea, in that N* W. extrq^i^r of
the ifle called the parifti of Hanover.5 This mo^ri%TilddenIy; fr<jip a
flat country; and the negroes hefitate to climb the lofty prep|plc^,^ A
more important objeft is fee bread-fruit tree, which, wit^jfe^r ;i^ful
plants, has been introduced by the exertions of Sirjqfepti. Banks, than
■ which-none can be, more beneficial, or more worthy of applaufe.
P O R T O R I C O :
THiJhifle, which belongs to Spain, is about i2'o”B.:inil^|n .length,
by 40 in breadth.. Its fize and conference are well known p r jh e
poffeffors, being a fertile, beautiful, and -well watered country.? ..-The
chief trade is in fugar, ginger, cotton, hides; with fom&drogs, Traits,
and fweetmeats: and fee northern part is faid td contain mines^lfgold
and filver. ' Porto Rico was difeovered by Colon in 1493 ; and was fub-
jugated by Ponce de Leon, the firft explorer of Florida, about 1509.
The Spanifh voyagers and authors, whofe imagination magnified every
feature of the new world, reported the native population at 600,000;
while perhaps a real enumeration might have reduced them to 60,000,
if not to 20,000.
5 From the information of a Jamaica planter.
b See Mr. Edwards’s Hiftory of the Weft Indies, *d edit,, y. i. p. xxv.
THE 00RIB B EE ISLAN'M&y
T h;|5 r a n g e e xt c i jd s j f ta ^ g n v iM.-ltMlaHthOn the. Virgin*iflands Cambbse
in the^ortiT;. and lhJufe J^irbltd.ocs, w hllLftandV, rather det^cnea to- Islands‘
wardsythc*!gaft, sthii ty-fc^ degrees,fröm^tlm African
■ iMGape Verd. The Caribbee Iflands eommgi:-
cM^adyantage. jthe chief nofleflurs,, being»thej»giini.ancf French. t Bar-.
St. .wncmt, ^omTni^^Tferenada,
far^the^mp,^-impopt a nt5) as> it is 1 nnp)oi.e.cL t ^ ‘.i^ qqq.^ lute JnhaJfi-r
tantswhile, thAlMhers:jm èllr é^^ud^^i^^TTlic, lreru.Ii Onbbee'
i|^nd^;a'£êtMartiniq.ue^ifeutócloup^|lt^&cle,T^bjgo, aiiïlor¥epflets»-
The,, Dan^;poflefs^t^ G|oix, St. Thomas;- andjfiik, lohn,,(AAich<ibel-°ng
%the ^irgin. ,grqpp; while ,the' Swedes iholfl.; St^Bar^hoJ^ihew^ and feq,
Dutch S t ^ ^ 0 ^ f c fOf kbe,. whole gr,oup, I^rbadpes.and^G^deloupe'
ajffifiar to be the m«^|, important gand the larf:, including Grand fe/re
and Bafle; Terrors, the' moft confiderable iii fize^bemg about da^B*,milgs*. ■
in;,-length, by 25. to breadth. The Caribbee iflands im general were di£-
cqggrejd hy,CjQl&h,;^n, hi’s feepnd voyage, when he.wifited - boédinica*.
GjiMeloupe. and Antigua: but .they .Were n^e&edfey-ythe Spaniards^,
eagê|fln quelLqf the gold of fee larger iflands. ^ jBa^hadee^is.if^id^to, Batbadoes.
hg^eJbeen diffpyered hy.the,, Portuguefej yfhp. ha^jng .made -p®. fettle-
mentj.-it was feized by fee Englilh in the r.e^gp, J^mps;I j,^nd;the^
fojindation of James,Town was laid- in 4 624. * T.hough-fe^iflefee’Qnly
abmi,t',twenty,.miles. in length, and thirteen In breadth,.yet this early
EggMi.-fettlement.has profpered to a furpriflng degree* -è^porfing. 3hQu.t
IO,,öp|> hhds, of fugar, and 6000 puncheons of, rüm, befides cotton
ginger, &c.* Grenada, and moft of the others, were originally fettled
by the French, towards the middle of the feventeenth century. St.
Chriftopher’s was however a very early Britifh fettlement. Antigua is
alfo faid to have been planted by the Englifh in 163-2 ; while thé French
began to fend colonies td Guadeloupe about 1630. The fubfequent
* In a hurricane. 10th Oil ober 1780, the blacks and whites who perilhéd were computed, at
4326, and the damage atS 1,320,564!. 15s. fterling. ’ Edwards, i, .347.