226 THE ATLANTIC. [chap. iv. 



Like Tristan d'Acunha, Ascension was first formally occu- 

 pied by Great Britain as a military station in 1815, during the 

 confinement of the Emperor Napoleon on St. Helena. After 

 the death of I^apoleon, it was determined by the Admiralty 

 to make Ascension a depot for the refreshment of the African 

 squadron, and a detachment of marines relieved the garrison 

 in 1822. 



The climate of Ascension is wonderfully healthy, with pure 

 clear air, an equable temperature, and a perfectly dry soil, with- 

 out any thing like a swamp or marsh, and with no decaying 

 vegetation. Thei-e seem to be none of the usual endemic dis- 

 eases ; and patients suffering from the terrible marsh fevers of 

 the African coast pick up rapidly the moment they are landed. 

 For many years the chief function of Ascension was that of 

 a sanitarium, the hospital below being filled with fever cases 

 landed from the African ships, which were removed as soon 

 as possible to a charming convalescent hospital on Green 

 Mountain. 



On one occasion the island paid dearly for its benevolence. 

 In the year 1823, a virulent fever was unfortunately introduced 

 by H.M.S, Bann, which carried off nearly half the population. 



Of late years, for various reasons, fever has become of so 

 much less fi-equent occurrence on the African station that the 

 hospitals of Ascension are usually nearly or quite empty. The 

 demand for fresh provisions is, however, an increasing one, and 

 great care is bestowed on the cultivation of the garden and 

 farm on Green Mountain. On a little plateau a few hundred 

 feet below the peak there is a small barrack, with a mess-room ; 

 and near it several neat, detached houses with gardens, occu- 

 pied by marine ofiicers and their families, and the stables and 

 farm-buildings. The large farm-garden — for only a few vege- 

 tables and fruits are cultivated, and these in large quantity, for 

 the supply of the station and passing ships — is over the ridge 

 on the south side. Sheep thrive fairly on the shoulder of the 



