“These islands lie between thirty-six and forty, north latitude, and twenty-five and thirty-two, west longitude. They are a province of the kingdom of Portugal, and are represented in the general Cortes, Madeira and the Azores having five deputies. The islands are subdivided into three districts,—the eastern, western, and central,—according to location. You observe that the islands are considerably scattered, and it takes more than a day’s sail for a fast steamer to go from one extremity of the group to the other.
“Corvo and Flores form the western district. The latter is the larger island, about ten miles by seven; and the other is about half its size. They are of volcanic origin, like all the group; and are mountainous, some of the peaks being about three thousand feet high. Santa Cruz is the chief town of Flores: it is seldom visited by ships, except whalers, which obtain supplies there cheaper than at the other islands.
“The central district is composed of five islands, of which Fayal and Pico are the principal. It is three and a quarter miles across the channel between them at the narrowest place. Fayal takes its name from faya, a beech-tree, and is about a dozen miles in diameter. Of its population of thirty thousand, one-third are here in Horta, and the rest in nine villages in the interior. This place is the capital, and it has the best harbor in the island; but it is exposed to winds from the north and north-east, and from the south-east to the south-west. The south-east gales are the worst ones, and they rake the anchorage so that it sometimes becomes necessary for ships to put to sea to keep out of danger.
“Of course you have noticed the high mountain to the south-east of us; it is the peak of Pico, from which the island takes its name. This island is twenty-five miles long, and from two to nine miles wide. It is covered with extinct volcanoes. The sugar-loaf peak of Pico is over seven thousand feet high. The kind of clouds which gather around the mountain indicate the coming weather, so that it is a barometer to those who have the skill to read the signs. The island contains a large population. By the Statesman’s Year Book, I find that the area of these islands is a little less than a thousand square miles, and the population about two hundred and fifty thousand. The grape disease, of which I have spoken before, extended to the Western Islands; and since that time the wine-trade has been very small. The principal production is oranges. The wine from this island was called Pico-Madeira; and it is still manufactured to some extent.
“St. George is thirty miles long, and five wide; and has a peak four thousand feet high in the centre. Griciosa is about seven miles in diameter, and noted for its fertility, producing all kinds of grain in abundance. Terceira was so called because it was the third island discovered by the Portuguese, the word being the feminine of the ordinal ‘third.’ It is about twenty miles in diameter, and exceedingly fertile. It has been called the principal island of the group. Angra was formerly the capital of the islands, and is a larger place than Horta, containing over ten thousand inhabitants, which is a quarter of the population of the island. Its harbor is sheltered from the west by the promontory of Monte Brazil, over five hundred feet high. It is one of the finest of the Atlantic cities.
“Sao Miguel, or St. Michael, is the largest and most populous of the Azores. Its length is variously given from thirty-five to fifty miles and from five to twelve miles wide. Like the other islands, it is full of volcanoes, and is remarkable for some curious changes in its surface; as a grassy plain, covered with trees and foliage, was raised two thousand feet by volcanic action in a year. Old craters become lakes; and I hope you will see an example of this kind here in Fayal. In 1811 an island rose out of the sea, less than two miles from the shore, and the English took possession of it; but when they came to look for their new territory, a few weeks later, it ‘had gone down to drink,’—had disappeared in the ocean.
“Ponta Delgada is considered the third city of the Portuguese Dominion, and is on the south side of this island; its population has been estimated as high as fifty thousand. It looks like most of the Portuguese cities you have seen. The island is very productive, making a large commerce for this city, which is its principal port.
“One of the principal industries of Fayal is basket-making; and stores for the sale of these wares are to be found in Boston and New York. Lace and fine needle-work are also specialties, for the wages of working-women are only a fourth of what they are in the United States. One hundred and fifty dollars a year will support a Portuguese family, but not an American. These islands are very much resorted to by people from our own country who are troubled with pulmonary complaints, though the climate is hardly so free from changes as that of Madeira, and certainly not as Orotava, in the Canaries. Some of us have seen the bark Kate Williams coming out of Boston Harbor, with her deck crowded with passengers for these islands; and one or two other vessels ply between the same city and Fayal.”
The professor finished his talk; and the next morning a boat expedition was organized, in which all the cutters and barges of the fleet took part. Wainwright and Scott, by changing with a couple of officers in the captain’s gig of the Prince, obtained places in the same boat with Dr. Winstock, Sheridan, and Murray. The view from the anchorage was magnificent, covering an expanse of green hill-sides and of burnt and blackened mountains, the highest in sight being the peak of Pico.
“Can you tell me where the Praca Constitution is, doctor?” asked Scott, as he gazed at the pretty white houses of the town.