98 TRISTAN DA CUNIIA. 



about them, in which a few vegetables are grown, and pigs 

 and geese roam about. The potato fields are all walled for 

 shelter from the wind. A large quantity of potatoes are grown, 

 and form the principal source of food. 



The islanders had about 400 or 500 head of cattle and 

 about as many sheep. They often lose cattle in the very cold 

 weather from exposure. There is no horse on the island. 

 Formerly there were numbers of wild rabbits, but they are 

 now almost, if not quite, extinct, as are certainly the wild goats 

 and pigs, which have been entirely killed off. 



The Sea Elephants {ATorunga elephaniina) have almost 

 entirely deserted the island. The last was seen two years be- 

 fore our visit on the beach, just below the settlement. Seals 

 are seldom seen on the island. The islanders make yearly 

 visits to Inaccessible and Nightingale Islands in pursuit of 

 seals, but these are becoming scarcer every year. 



A mouse lives about the houses in the settlement, but 

 there is no rat on the island. 



This I gathered from conversation with some of the islanders 

 in one of the cottages, the walls of which were decorated all 

 over with pictures from illustrated newspapers. Several of the 

 women were dark, of mixed race, from the Cape of Good Hope. 



On the way down to the beach I saw two willow bushes 

 growing in the stream running down from the settlement. 

 The stream has cut deeply into the alluvial soil, and the 

 willows, here entirely sheltered from the wind, thrive well. 

 They could only grow in such a place. 



We got geese, sheep, beef, and potatoes from the Tristan 

 people, who knew well how to charge the full value for every- 

 thing. They are all sharp at a bargain, and as on an average 

 twelve ships visit them each year, or one a month, they 

 manage to live pretty comfortably without working very hard. 



Four or five of them who came on board to receive the 

 money for the provisions, stayed as long as ever they could, 

 till the ship was well under way, begging for all sorts of things, 

 such as matches and copybooks for their children, and putting 

 down all the drink they could get. They never have any store 

 of strong drinks on shore, because when any spirits are landed 

 the liquor is cleared out at once in a single bout. At last the 

 men went over the side, and we made off for Inaccessible 

 Island, where, as we heard from the Tristan people, there 

 were two Germans, who might be in distress. 



The appearance of Tristan da Cunha, as seen in the distance, 

 is very remarkable. The snowy peak up in the clouds shows 

 out far above the high dark plateau, with its precipitous cliffs 

 everywhere leading down to the sea. 



