DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND "OF ST. HELENA. 373 



their answer to my inquiry as to what kind of place 

 it was, being characteristic of their class (which is 

 largely represented in the whaling fleet), "That 

 Jamestown is a sailor's paradise." " Why so, my 

 hearty ?" " Because there is neither lack of women 

 nor wine." 



We will now turn to the next comer; he is a 

 "Western man, from Milwaukie, Wisconsin, of Scotch 

 parentage, has been with us all the voyage, and is 

 one of the best and most reliable men in the ship ; 

 to a naturally strong mind, he unites an acute per- 

 ception of men and manners, and, withal, a high 

 moral tone pervades all he says and does. 



His statement was, that on going ashore he found 

 a stepping-stone, some twenty feet in width, in front 

 of the town, for the convenience of boats landing ; 

 they pulled to it and landed, but the swell continually 

 heaving in, rendered it impossible to moor the boat 

 without certainly calculating on her being stoven ; 

 so a couple of the boys, of whom numbers were 

 swarming along ashore, were entrusted witli her, and 

 our fellows went on a cruise about the town. He 

 described the town as not unlike other colonial cities, 

 with the usual number of government buildings, and 

 red-coated soldiery standing guard, as if to keep these 

 massive stone heaps from escaping. The inhabitants 

 were of all colors, from black to white, each moving 

 in its particular sphere. The blacks are slaves, cap- 

 tured by British cruisers, and sent here to labor and 

 pay the expenses of their capture. Some months 

 since, a cargo of six hundred of these Africans was 

 landed in Eupert's Valley ; they w.ere awarded by the 

 Government a twelvemonths' stay at St. Helena; at 

 32 



