C H A P . X.
Pajfage from St*. Helena to the IVefiem IJlands, with a
Defcription o f the I f and o f Afcenfion and Fernando
Noronha.
ON the 21ft in the evening, I took leave o f the Governor,
and repaired on board. Upon my leaving the Ihore,
I was faluted with thirteen guns; and upon my getting
under fail, with the Dutton in company, I was faluted with
thirteen more ; both of which I returned.
After leaving St. Helena the Dutton was ordered to fleer
N. W. by W. or N. W. by compafs, in order to avoid falling
in with Afcenfion ; at which ifland, it was faid, an illicit
trade was carried on between the officers of the India Company’s
Ihips, and fome veffels from North America, who, of
late years, had frequented the ifland on pretence of fifliing
whales-or catching turtle, when their real defign was to wait
the coming of the India ffiips. In order to prevent their
homeward bound fhip from falling in with thefe fmugglers,
and to put a flop to this illicit trade, the Dutton was ordered-
to fleer the courfe above-mentioned, till to the northward of
Afceftfion. I kept company with this fhip till the 24th,
when, after putting a packet on board her for the Admiralty,
we parted; fhe continuing her courfe to the N. W.}
and I fleering for Afcenfion.
In the morning of the 28th I made the ifland; and the
fame evening, anchored in Crofs Bay on the N. W. fide, in
ten
ten fathoms water, the bottom a fine fand, and ' I 7 half a mile MJtafyf.i
from the fhore. The Crofs Hill, fo called on account of a v-—.— j
Sunday z8.
crofs, orflag-ftaff eredted upon it, bore by compafs S. 38°Eaft;
and the two extreme points of the Bay extended from N. E.
to S. W. We remained here till the evening of the 31ft, and wednef. 31,
notwithftanding we had feveral parties out every night, we
got but twenty-four turtle, it being rather too late in the
feafon; however, as they weighed between four or five hundred
pounds each, we thought ourfelves not ill off. We
might have had a plentiful fupply of fifli in general; efpeci-
ally of that fort called Old Wives, I have no where feen fuch
abundance; there were alfo cavalies, congor eels, and various
other forts; but the catching of any of thefe was not
attended to, the objedt being turtle. There are abundance
of goats, and aquatic birds, fuch as men of war and tropic
birds, boobies, &c.
The ifland of Afcenfion is about ten miles in length, in
the diredtion of N. W. and S. E., and about five or fix in
breadth. It fliews a furface compofed of barren hills and
vallies, on the moft of which not a fhrub or plant is to be
feen for feveral miles, and where we found nothing but
ftones and fand, or rather flags and afhes ; an indubitable
fign that the ifle, at fome remote time, has been deftroyed by
a volcano, which has thrown up vaft heaps of ftones, and
even hills. Between thefe heaps of ftones we found a
fmooth even furface, compofed of afhes and fand, and very
good travelling upon i t ; but one may as eafily walk over
broken glafs bottles as over the ftones. If the foot deceives
you, you are fure to be cut or lamed, which happened to
fome of our people. A high mountain at the S. E. end of
the ifle, feems to be left in its original Hate, and to have
V ol. II. N n efcaped