ST. HELENA—ASCENSION ISLAND—ST. VINCENT
For the first few days at sea after leaving Cape Town I was obliged to
keep my bunk, but the care of the doctors, the solicitous attentions of
Green, who went to all sorts of length to produce delicacies for me,
and the good salt air worked wonders, and I began to regain strength
and was soon up and about.
As I was in bed the following is quoted verbatim from Macklin’s diary:
_July 14th._
A lovely sunny day with smooth sea, and the _Quest_ behaving
better than she has ever done before. Surely this is a prelude to
something wicked—I do not trust the _Quest_ when she is good.
Worsley took the ship close in to Sea Point to enable us to signal
good-bye to our many friends there, after which we put out to the
open ocean. We passed close to a small fishing boat and called
her alongside to enable one of our members to pass over a letter
for his latest best girl. A sailor, of course! with a girl in
every port, but I omit his name. I took the opportunity of buying
some fresh fish, for which I exchanged some tobacco and ship’s
biscuits.
It was a lovely afternoon, and all about the ship were numbers of
seabirds—gulls, albatross and shags. In the water were penguins (a
type not found in the Antarctic), seals, turtles and sharks. This
part of the ocean must simply teem with life to support all these
large animals.
About 5 P.M. a big Castle liner passed us homeward bound, and
Wuzzles changed course to enable us to give a shout to Cookie, who
was aboard. The skipper, however, must have been watching through
his glasses, and, seeing what a crowd of toughs we were (Wuzzles
prominent on the bridge), sheered widely off and passed us too far
away to distinguish individuals.
Commander Wild is very limp. He had a very bad attack of “flu.”
He’s a hard case, and it takes a lot to upset him. A few of
Green’s egg-flips and the salt air will soon set him on his feet
again.
_Sunday, July 16th._
Yesterday was a fine day, most of which I spent below hatches
making, with Marr’s assistance, a final stowage and getting things
ready for sea.
To-day has been perfectly lovely. Had the 4.0-8.0 A.M. watch, and
Dell, Mick and I had just scrubbed down decks, and made a jolly
good job of it too, when the stokers started cleaning pipes and
simply covered the whole ship with soot and ashes. We blessed them
fervently for this good beginning to a Sabbath Day, the rest of
which we spent trying to get our cabins and living quarters clear
of the mess they had made.
Commander Wild is much better, though he is not yet all right, as
he seems to think. I allowed him up to sit in the sun for a little
while.
The _Windsor Castle_ passed and signalled us “A pleasant voyage.”
We dipped ensigns. There is something rather nice about these sea
courtesies.
Bosson, Green’s new mate, entrusted with a carving knife,
succeeded in nearly severing one finger.
_July 19th._
Weather has continued fine, with fair, following winds. Commander
Wild improving steadily and eating better than I have ever known
him to do. He has a good deal to make up, for he lost a great deal
of weight in Cape Town.
Yesterday I stowed some cases for Jeff and bound them with
pyrometa wire. To-day Jeff and Dell removed the wardroom stove,
which we shall no longer need, thank goodness, for with the down
draught from squaresail and topsail the smoke nearly always went
the wrong way.
_July 20th._
Engines stopped, and we lay to for a bottom dredging. We wound
in the line by hand. Good old man-power!—we always come down to
it in the end. The whole job took about eight hours; it is good
exercise, but towards the end becomes a bit of a toil. Whilst
stopped we were surrounded by albatross, and Green and Watts
succeeded in catching some alive. Good-looking birds were passed
to Wilkins, the poorer specimens were set free (this is subject
for a moral).
The next few days were uneventful. I had by now quite got over my
illness and begun to go about as usual.
On July 27th we arrived at St. Helena, which was of interest to me
because in my first voyage as a boy in an old sailing ship we had
called here and I had not been back since.
This island has a most interesting history. It was first discovered
in 1592 by Juan de Nova Castilla, one of the enterprising Portuguese
navigators of those days, who claimed it for Portugal. Since then it
has two or three times changed hands. The East India Company used it
as a port of call for a long time, but handed it over to the British
Government in 1833. Under the company’s administration the island
prospered exceedingly. The famous navigator, Captain Cook, who visited
the island in 1775, speaks of finding its people “living in delightful
little homes amongst pleasant surroundings,” and describes them as the
nicest people of English extraction he had ever met. The Government,
on taking over, seemed to have a much less sympathetic understanding
of the island and its people, for since that time its prosperity has
steadily declined. It was used and is chiefly known to the world as the
prison of such men as Napoleon, Cronje and others.
From the sea the island is very unprepossessing, rising steeply from
the water’s edge and looking bare, hot and dry. Jamestown, the port,
lies in a valley which runs backwards and upwards from the sea in
a straggling and ever-narrowing line. From the anchorage one gets
a refreshing glimpse of green on the inner slopes. One of the first
things that catches the eye on looking ashore is a huge ladder, nearly
a thousand feet long and over six hundred feet high, which passes
from Jamestown to the summit of Ladder Hill. It contains seven hundred
steps, to the top of which, in days gone by, a postman carrying his bag
of letters used to run without a halt.
Having passed through the usual port formalities, I got ready to go
ashore. Whilst preparing to leave, the ship was called up from the
“Observatory,” and I received an invitation from H.E. the Governor to
lunch at his house, together with two or three of my officers. I took
Worsley, McIlroy and Macklin with me.
Jamestown is protected from the sea by a wall, and we entered through
iron gates which no doubt in the days of Napoleon always had an armed
guard. There is nothing of that sort to-day, and, indeed, St. Helena
is an island that has “seen better days.” At one time a flourishing
settlement and an important military station famous as the prison of
Napoleon, it is now almost forgotten by the rest of the world.
We procured a carriage, drawn by two small but sturdy horses, and
set off for the “Plantations” at the summit of the island where the
Governor’s house is situated. The climb was a stiff one, and to ease
the horses we walked up most of the way. At first the road was bare and
dry, cut from rocks of obviously volcanic origin, the only vegetation
an occasional dusty cactus growing here and there. As we mounted,
however, we entered a greener area, with vegetation which increased in
luxuriance till, at the top, we saw that the inner parts of the island
were really very fertile. The air also was purer and more fresh. I was
struck by the appearance of the “mina” birds, which have a pretty dark
brown and white colouring, and at first sight resemble magpies. They
were introduced to the island for the purpose of killing insects.
We had a most pleasant lunch with H.E. the Governor (Colonel Peel) and
his wife. The house has a very fine outlook down a valley to the sea,
and is situated in very beautiful grounds which contain a number of
interesting trees: oaks, Scotch firs, spruces and Norfolk pines, and
a tree with dark foliage and brilliant scarlet blossom. Numerous white
arum-like lilies grow in profusion, and many other flowers, including a
beautiful small blue flower with a pleasant fresh scent. It was a very
happy change from our sea life. We were introduced to a huge tortoise,
reputed to be two hundred years old, which sometimes leaves the grounds
for the road and causes all the horses which encounter it to shy. When
this happens a cart is sent out to fetch it home. It takes six men to
lift it off the road.
After lunch we paid a visit to the tomb of Napoleon and the house at
Longwood where he lived whilst on the island. The tomb is in a deep
hollow, and for so great a man is very unimposing. It is covered with
a large marble slab, blank, with no inscription of any sort. Some time
after his death his body was exhumed and taken to Paris, when it was
laid finally in _Les Invalides_, where a magnificent and more fitting
tomb has been erected to his memory. The house at Longwood also is
unimposing. One can imagine how his restless spirit must have chafed
at its confinement. The rooms are kept spotlessly clean, but are bare
except that in the small chamber where he died there is a bust set on
a long pedestal hung with a few bedraggled pieces of tricolour ribbon.
It contained also, when we were there, a baby’s perambulator, but was
otherwise empty. The sight of this house caused me to feel a great pity
for its prisoner.
I learned from the Governor that whilst alive he had been well treated,
having had an allowance from the English Government of £12,000 per
annum.
The island inland from the sea is very hilly and divided into numerous
ridges and valleys. There is not a really good piece of flat land
anywhere. The valleys are very fertile. Owing to the steepness of
the roads we proceeded most of the way on foot, leaving the paths,
which zigzagged, and making straight traverses across the fields.
Brambles grow profusely, and at this time a number of blackberries
were ripe. Gorse and broom covered the hillsides with yellow. The
chief industry of the island seems to be the growing of New Zealand
flax and the making of it into fibre. During the war they obtained the
most phenomenal prices, which, however, have since dropped to normal.
The flora generally of St. Helena is very interesting, for there are
over sixty native species of plants, nearly all of them peculiar to
the island. Every now and then we caught glimpses of pretty little
residences situated in gardens of their own. We met numerous people,
including a number of British folk, driving in their carriages—it seems
to be the custom here to greet everyone one meets.
The natives we met showed unmistakable signs of a very mixed origin.
In the days of the East India Company labour was imported from India
and from China, and on frequent occasions natives of different parts of
Africa have been introduced. The African type predominates.
We next visited the station of the Eastern Telegraph Company, where we
met the manager and his wife. They have a very nice place, situated in
beautiful grounds containing masses of bougainvillæa, geranium, scarlet
hibiscus and many other kinds of blossom. They have bananas and guavas
in abundance, but oranges do not grow well.
They told me that the natives of the island, of which there are about
3,000, are very badly off, for there is practically no work for them to
do. Some of them look half starved. A lace industry was started about
twenty years ago by an Englishwoman. The lace is said to be of good
quality, but I did not have the opportunity of seeing any.
We returned to the ship about 6.30 P.M., and immediately set off for
Ascension Island.
In the meantime Douglas had made a brief geological examination of the
main features of the island. There was not time to do more.
Bosson, the new hand taken on at Cape Town, whom I had allowed to go
for a run ashore, fell into a cactus bush, and did not forget the fact
in the next few days.
We had an uninterrupted run to Ascension Island, where I intended to
take in coal. As we approached we saw hundreds of birds, which flew
squawking overhead, but were apparently intent on their fishing, and
took very little notice of the ship. We arrived and dropped anchor
about 8 P.M. on August 1st.
From the shore we received a signal to ask if we had a clean bill of
health, and soon after the officer commanding the station came off to
visit us in a boat pulled by several hefty bluejackets. He announced
that at the moment of our arrival an interesting and unusual event had
taken place: the birth of a child. I learned from him that I could get
what coal I required to take me on to St. Vincent.
August 2nd was a rather muggy day. The ship was surrounded by thousands
of fish of a dark purple colour with white patches on their tails. They
rushed at anything edible that was thrown overboard, and the water
was lashed into foam by their efforts to get at it. It was really a
wonderful sight. They could not be induced to take a hook and fought
very shy of anything with a line on it. Green, the enthusiast, tried
all morning to catch some, but without success. He succeeded, however,
by putting out more line, in catching a red spiny variety at a deeper
level. He also caught a shark.
I sent ashore the scientists, and later went myself with McIlroy and
Macklin. On landing, Macklin saw an officer of marines to whom he said:
“Your face is familiar to me. Where have I seen you before?” Apparently
they had met somewhere in Russia. It was rather extraordinary meeting
again in this out-of-the-way little spot in tropical mid-Atlantic.
We went on to the “Club,” where we met several more officers of the
station and a number of the Eastern Telegraph Company’s officials.
The island is bare, sandy and desolate looking. The barracks and
officers’ quarters are at sea level. The latter consist of neat little
bungalows, about which some pretty blossom has been induced to grow.
The troops and naval ratings wear solar topees, khaki shorts and shoes.
Usually they have no stockings. The soldiers have khaki shirts, and
the ratings white jumpers. There are a number of women on the island.
They wear light cotton dresses and often have no stockings—a sane and
healthy fashion for this part of the world.
After lunch Macklin went off to see one of the sights of the island—the
nesting-ground of the “Wideawakes.” He writes:
After leaving Commander Wild and Mick, I walked out to “Wideawake
Valley,” so called because of the number of birds which nest
there. It is an extraordinary sight. There are millions of them,
covering the ground for acres. They lay a single egg, about the
size of a bantam’s and spotted. Many of the chicks had hatched
out. If one goes too near they rush frantically about and lose
their parents, and if they intrude too much on their neighbours
sometimes get pecked to death. Many of the birds rise up and
come flying, with raucous din, all about one’s head. The noise
is maddening. Having seen what I wanted to see, I was glad to get
away. I left the track I had come by and returned across country.
The going off the tracks is very bad indeed, the surface of
the island being much broken and covered with a short dry grass
amongst which were numerous stones and boulders, which tired one’s
feet very much. The heat, too, was considerable, and I was glad
when I reached the club and obtained a long, cool drink, which was
very comforting to my parched throat.
During the afternoon the _Durham Castle_ came in. This is a bi-monthly
event, and throws the whole island into a fluster. I took Worsley,
McIlroy and Macklin aboard, when we met the captain and the ship’s
doctor. I dined in the evening with the commandant.
On August 3rd preparations were started for the coaling. The coal is of
the poorest quality, consisting of dust and slag, and the price we were
charged was exorbitant, but I was obliged to the commandant for being
at pains to give us the best he could under the circumstances.
Scientific work was continued, and Macklin and Kerr went off in the
boat to another part of the island to obtain some different varieties
of fish.
In the evening we dined at the mess of the Eastern Telegraph Company,
where we had a very merry evening. Most of us slept ashore, being
kindly put up by members of the telegraph company. Douglas and Marr,
who had ascended to the high part of the island, were very kindly
accommodated by Mr. and Mrs. Cronk at their pretty house on the hill.
[Illustration: THE ABANDONED WIRELESS STATION ON ASCENSION ISLAND
_Photo: Dr. Macklin_]
[Illustration: FLOWERING PLANTS GROWING IN THE VOLCANIC ASH AT
ASCENSION ISLAND
_Photo: Wilkins_]
[Illustration: WIDEAWAKE PLAIN, ASCENSION ISLAND, WHICH IS COVERED WITH
THOUSANDS OF BIRDS]
[Illustration: A WIDEAWAKE]
Coaling was continued on the 4th. The coal is put into bags at the
dump and loaded into lighters, which are taken off by a tug and laid
alongside the ship. The work is often awkward on account of the swell.
It was a messy business, and the ship soon became covered in every part
of her with dust. It took us many days to get really clean again. In
order to keep an eye on things, I stayed near the scene of operations.
Macklin ascended to the summit, and the following account from his
diary is fairly descriptive of the island:
I went ashore early with Wilkins, who had with him his camera and
cinematograph machine. He was going off with the commandant in a
pinnace to an island where there was a large number of birds.
I first of all walked about the station and took a number of
snapshots, after which I set off up the dusty track leading to
Green Hill. It was a blazing hot day, and I wore nothing but
singlet, shorts and shoes, and had a good sun hat. This garb was
cool and gave a delightful sense of freedom in movement, but it
proved, to my cost, to be an inadequate protection from the sun.
I passed _en route_ the wireless station, which has been
abandoned. Its six immense poles are cemented and stayed in such
a manner as to make the removal of them not worth the labour.
The track led up a gentle slope over sandy ground that supported
a few low-lying shrubs but very little else. Farther towards the
summit the vegetation increased a little, with cactus plants and
a few aloes. Still farther up an attempt had been made to plant
trees along the sides of the track, and, considering the dry, hard
nature of the earth, they were growing not badly, but gave little
impression of greenery. I continued along the main track till
I reached eventually a point marked by the two halves of a boat
which had been set up on either side of the road. The gentle slope
was now replaced by a more steeply rising mountain face, up which
the main track zigzagged so much as to make the total distance a
very long one. I accordingly left it for a steeper but straighter
track. The air was now fresher, and the higher one climbed the
more abundant became the vegetation, which included trees—palms,
pines, firs, eucalyptus—and a tree with bright yellow flowers
which I did not recognize. There were ferns of several sorts,
small flowering shrubs, thistles with a yellow flower, and, higher
up the mountain, a species of scarlet hibiscus.
Grasshoppers were numerous. They hopped off the ground in much
the same manner as an English grasshopper, but were capable of a
certain power of flight. I saw also a number of beetles, rats and
land-crabs, but animal life generally is scarce.
Near the top of Green Mountain there are a few little residences
situated in very pretty gardens. Indeed, the whole of the island
above a certain level is very beautiful and a paradise as compared
with the hot, dusty garrison at the base.
Near the summit I came to a house surrounded by a picturesque
garden containing many trees and shrubs with bright blossom. I
learned that it belonged to the “Farm Superintendent.” At this
point a corporal of marines approached me, and remarking that
I looked hot, asked me if I would like a glass of beer. I _was_
hot, and the suggestion was too alluring to be refused, though I
had doubts as to the wisdom of it, seeing that I had still many
miles of hot walking ahead of me. There is a small signal station
here, and the corporal took me to his quarters, from where I had
a magnificent view of the slopes of the island and of the sea,
covered with twinkling points, stretching like a flat board to
a far distant horizon. There is a small farm which supplied the
station with fresh meat, milk, etc. I had a look at the cowhouses,
which literally swarmed with rats of enormous size. There are also
some hen-runs and pig-sties, and a number of sheep graze on the
hills.
Thanking the friendly corporal, I pushed on over a grassy slope
dotted about with trees, and finally reached the summit, where
there is a thick plantation of bamboos, the stems of which rattled
in the strong south-east trades. In the middle of it there is a
pond of very stagnant water. The view from the top is wonderful,
every part of the island being clearly visible. All about the
upper slopes are asphalted watersheds leading to storage tanks.
All the water for the garrison and the other buildings at the base
of the island comes from the summit, and is conducted there by
pipes.
Descending the farther slopes, I came to the entrance to a
long narrow tunnel cut through the hill. It had been dug by the
military detachment many years before, quite for what purpose I
did not learn. It is low, narrow and pitchy black, but there is a
hand-wire by using which as a guide one can go steadily forward.
It emerges in a corner of the farm superintendent’s garden.
I had lunch on the summit with Mr. and Mrs. Cronk. They have
two pretty children. Mr. Cronk has been farm superintendent for
twenty-five years. It must be a funny life in this remote spot. He
is responsible for all the vegetation, and takes a great pride in
his work—certainly he has made his mark on the world. The whole
garrison is being removed, and is due to leave in a few months.
He goes too, and regrets that no one is being left to carry on
the work he has so carefully inaugurated. He has had to overcome
many difficulties, and is disappointed that the labour of so many
years will be thrown away. The big plants grow all right and do
not require much attention. The young ones must be shaded from the
fierce sun, and unless this shade is provided artificially the
only seeds that flourish are those which fall beside the parent
plant and derive shade and a certain amount of moisture from it.
The summit of the island, being often clouded in mist, is very
damp, and those who live there for any length of time suffer
considerably from rheumatism.
I descended towards “Wideawake” Plain again, visited the circular
crater of a volcano, and crossed it to enter a belt of loose,
broken pieces of cellular lava. The inside was covered with sand,
was bare of vegetation, and had round it a circular track which
gives it the name of the “Devil’s Horse-ring.”
On my way back I passed again over a sandy plain, where I saw
a number of small rabbits. I enjoyed my day immensely and was
pleasantly fatigued after my climbing. I suffered badly from
sunburn, which will probably get worse in the next few days. My
neck and legs are chiefly affected. Marr, who had spent the day
with Douglas on a geological expedition, was also badly burned,
and had a temperature of 103° F. I had to put him to bed....
The coaling was completed during the afternoon.
We had many visitors to see us off, and left finally at 4.30 P.M.,
setting course for St. Vincent.
The next part of our journey proved uneventful. We crossed the equator
to run into hotter weather, the sun being near its northern limit of
declination. With a light following wind there was no draught, and
the ship was covered daily with dust and ashes from the very dirty
Ascension Island coal. So bad did it turn out that Kerr and his staff
had the greatest difficulty in maintaining a sufficient pressure of
steam, and the work of the stokers was consequently very hard. Young,
Ross and Murray (a new hand taken on at Cape Town) stuck splendidly to
their work during this uncomfortable and trying stage of the journey.
[Illustration: WEATHERPOST HILL, ASCENSION ISLAND, LOOKING EAST
The whiteness is due to the Laterite, which is a weathered
product of Trachyte
_Photo: Wilkins_]
[Illustration: A VIEW IN SAN MIGUEL IN THE AZORES
_Photo: Wilkins_]
We obtained at Ascension Island a number of live baby turtles, which I
proposed to present to the Marine Biological Laboratory at Plymouth.
On its staff are two old shipmates of mine, Messrs. Hodson, of the
_Discovery_, and Clark, of the _Endurance_. We placed the turtles in
one of the waterbutts on the after deck, where Wilkins fed them on
small pieces of flying fish. They spent the whole day diving for pieces
and fought with each other for possession of them. They are curious
little creatures.
One of the men brought off a small rabbit, of which a few run wild on
Ascension Island. It became a great pet and was most extraordinarily
tame.
We arrived at St. Vincent on August 18th, where we completed our
coaling. Here, as on our outward trip, we received kindness from
the members of Messrs. Wilson, Sons and Company, Limited, and were
entertained by the Eastern Telegraph Company mess.
Douglas and Wilkins carried on their investigations. Macklin, Jeffrey
and Green, our fishing enthusiasts, went off to bring in a supply of
fish, but returned with a small result, their time having been spent
apparently in sailing the surf-boat out to Bird Rock and in bathing.