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We fpent fourteen days in very tempeftuous weather, which made our paffage thelonger ; but on the ninth of June at five in the evening, we got fight of the ifland ofSt. Helena , and about eleven the next day we anchored at Chappel-Valley.
The ifland of St. Helena is fo called, becaufe it was firft difcovered by the Por-tuguefe on St. Helena ’s day, being the 20th of April. It lies in the latitude offixteen degrees fouth, and longitude from London three hundred and fifty-threedegrees forty-three minutes, being about twenty two miles in circumference. Whenit was firft difcovered, it had not only no inhabitants, but even not as much as afour-footed beaft, fruit, or any eatable herb except wild purflain, with which it abounds :but the Portuguefe ftored it with goats, hogs, hens, &c, and alfo with fig, orange, andlemon trees, &c. which have throve there ever fince very well.
The Spaniards took it from the Portuguefe, and afterwards it was alternatelypoffeffed by the Englifh and Dutch ; till at laft the Cape of Good-Hope being quittedto the latter, the Englifh remained foie poffeffors of this ifland, though the Cape bepreferable by far to it. But he that was chief of the Englifh fettlement at the Capebeing, as I am informed, bribed by the Dutch, reprefented to the government ofEngland, that the natives were cannibals, and moft terrible cruel creatures, fo that itwas impoflible to hold out againft them, (which was utterly falfe) he had orders toquit it. Whereupon the Dutch fettled themfelves there, and have kept it everfince in a moft flourifhing condition.
The air of this ifland is very wholefome, and recovers very foon thofe perfons thatare fet on fhore there fick, their diftemper being generally either a fever, or thefcurvy. The inhabitants are all Englifh, except their flaves ; whereof they have agreat number. The women, even thofe born there, (as moft of them are,") havegenerally a very fair complexion, notwithftanding the heat of the climate. They all havea great defire to fee England, which they call home, though many of them never fawit, nor can have any true idea thereof.
The ifland is fo high, hilly, and of fuch difficult afcent, that it is a commonfaying, that a man may chufe whether he will break his heart in going up, or hisneck in coming down. It is very ftrong by nature, becaufe of the fteepnefs of therocks, and the impoffibility of landing, except in thofe places which have of late beenfo fortified, that it is in a manner impregnable. We were formerly forced to afcendby a rope ladder, which gave the place the name of ladder-hill; but now the afcentis made much eafier by the care of the prefent governor Pike, efpecially that pathwhere the ladder was. His whole ftudy is employed for the advantage of the ifland,and the Company’s intereft ; of which I could give feveral inftances, which I omit,as being foreign to the prefent purpofe.
The country is very pleafant, and affords almoft all things neceffary for the ufe ofman, as oxen, hogs, goats, and fome fheep lately tranfported thither, whereofthe governor takes care to improve the breed; alfo hens, turkeys, ducks,partridges, pigeons, larks, moor-hens, and a fort of long-legged birds like ourwheat-ears, which eat very fweet, but are not fo fat as ours. Here is a great varietyof fea-fowl ; and at certain feafons you may fill your boat with their eggs, which youfind on the rocks. They are fo tame, that they will fuffer you (when they lie on theireggs) to take them up with your hands. But more of this when I come to the iflandof Afcenfion. The gardens abound with fruit, as pomegranates, figs, apples, &c.and the valleys with lemons and oranges. It is in vain they fay, to fow corn, forthere is fuch a multitude of rats, that they would devour the feed before it would havetime to fpring up. Here are alfo a vaft number of cats, that went away from the
4 houfes,