RED ON B A AND ITS PHOSPHATES. 79 



serrat and there re-embarking in a small sloop which served as 

 the means of communication between Redonda and the outside 

 world. The sloop was chartered by the phosphate company, and 

 made trips, whenever required, to Montserrat and St. Kitts for 

 mails and supplies. The former island is about fourteen miles 

 away and in plain sight, while the latter is -thirty miles distant, 

 but it is the nearest cable office. 



The Bermuda first touched at St. Kitts, and to reach Mont- 

 serrat it was necessary to pass within four miles of Redonda, and 

 it was with great interest that we watched for it to appear. Ap- 

 proached from the northwest, it presented the appearance of two 

 rounded hillocks, one much higher and broader than the other. 

 No trees could be seen and no signs of life, but some small white 

 objects on the southwest side near the sea and some more half- 

 way toward the summit were thought to be houses. 



A sail of three hours in the sloop carried us from Montserrat 

 to the island, which we reached just as the sun was setting on the 

 last evening in June. Viewed from the south, the larger peak 

 only of the island could be seen, and this gave it a domelike yet 

 one-sided appearance, owing to the western side being steeper 

 than the eastern. 



A nearer approach to the island showed that it rose from the 

 sea with vertical walls to the height of several hundred feet, with 

 the highest cliffs on the western side. At the southern end was a 

 plateau, back of which rose the domelike peak. At the foot of 

 the western cliffs was a narrow beach covered with large bowlders 

 fallen from above, and here a small pier projected into the sea. 

 As we approached the pier, a boat manned by two negroes put 

 off to meet us, with a strongly built man with pleasant face and 

 brown beard and dressed in white linen sitting in the stern. The 



man proved to be Captain H , the superintendent of the mine, 



who welcomed us to Redonda and transferred us with our luggage 

 to the shore. 



The beach was only a few yards in width, and above us tow- 

 ered the cliffs, over five hundred feet high. Groups of men stood 

 on their brink, looking down at us and appearing like silhouettes 

 against the clear sky. Not far from the wharf the cliffs were 

 broken down by a strep, narrow gorge. The ascent to the plateau 

 above was up this gorge, and was accomplished upon an aerial 

 tramway. 



Two stout, heavy wire cables were stretched up the gorge and 

 firmly anchored at both ends. Upon each cable ran a trolley, from 

 which was suspended a large iron bucket. To each trolley was 

 attached the end of a light yet strong wire cable, which passed 

 over a set of heavy pulleys at the top of the cliff, thus causing 

 one bucket to ascend as the other descended. When passengers 



