358 ASCENSION. [CHAP, xxi, 



force of the wind : an invisible barrier, two yards in width, separated 

 perfectly calm air from a strong blast. 



I so much enjoyed my rambles among the rocks and mountains of 

 St. Helena, that I felt almost sorry on the morning of the I4th to 

 descend to the town. Before noon I was on board, and the Beagle 

 made sail. 



On the iQth of July we reached Ascension. Those who have beheld 

 a volcanic island, situated under an arid climate, will at once be able 

 to picture to themselves the appearance of Ascension. They will 

 imagine smooth conical hills of a bright red colour, with their summits 

 generally truncated, rising separately out of a level surface of black 

 rugged lava. A principal mound in the centre of the island, seems the 

 father of the lesser cones. It is called Green Hill; its name being 

 taken from the faintest tinge of that colour, which at this time of the 

 year is barely perceptible from the anchorage. To complete the 

 desolate scene, the black rocks on the coast are lashed by a wild and 

 turbulent sea. 



The settlement is near the beach ; it consists of several houses and 

 barracks placed irregularly, but well built of white freestone. The 

 only inhabitants are marines, and some negroes liberated from slave- 

 ships, who are paid and victualled by government. There is not a 

 private person on the island. Many of the marines appeared well 

 contented with their situation; they think it better to serve their 

 one-and-twenty years on shore, let it be what it may, than in a ship ; 

 in this choice, if I were a marine, I should most heartily agree. 



The next morning I ascended Green Hill, 2,840 feet high, and thence 

 walked across the island to the windward point. A good cart-road 

 leads from the coast-settlement to the houses, gardens, and fields, 

 placed near the summit of the central mountain. On the roadside 

 there are milestones, and likewise cisterns, where each thirsty passer-by 

 can drink some good water. Similar care is displayed in each part of 

 the establishment, and especially in the management of the springs, so 

 that a single drop of water may not be lost : indeed the whole island 

 may be compared to a huge ship kept in first-rate order. I could not 

 help, when admiring the active industry which had created such effects 

 out of sucb means, at the same time regretting that it had been wasted 

 on so poor and trifling an end. M. Lesson has remarked with justice, 

 that the English nation alone xvould have thought of making the island 

 Ascension a productive spot ; any other people would have held it as 

 a mere fortress in the ocean. 



Near this coast nothing grows ; further inland, an occasional green 

 castor-oil plant, and a few grasshoppers, true friends of the desert, may 

 be met with. Some grass is scattered over the surface of the central 

 elevated region, and the whole much resembles the worse parts of the 

 Welsh mountains. But scanty as the pasture appears, about six 

 hundred sheep, many goats, a few cows and horses, all thrive well' on 

 it. Of native animals, landcrabs and rats swarm in numbers. Whether 

 the rat is really indigenous, may well be doubted ; there are two 



