178 THE SEA. 



loon-shooting- to be had, or an excursion to the lighthouse, a few miles from the town, 

 where the writer found children, of several years of age, who had never even beheld the 

 glories of Port Stanley, and yet were happy ; and near which he saw on the beach sea-trees 

 for " sea-weed " would be a misnomer, the trunks being several feet in circumference 

 slippery, glutinous, marine vegetation, uprooted from the depths of ocean. Some of them 

 would create a sensation in an aquarium. 



The harbour of Port Stanley is usually safe enough, but, in the extraordinary gales 

 which often rage outside, does not always afford safe anchorage. The steamship on which 

 the writer was a passenger lay far out in the bay, but the force of a sudden gale made 

 her drag- her anchors, and but for the steam, which was immediately got up, she would 

 have gone ashore. A sailing-vessel must have been wrecked in the same position. Of course, 

 the power of the engines was set against the wind, and she was saved, Passengers ashore 

 could not get off for two days, and those on board could not go ashore. No boat could 

 have lived, even in the bay, during a large part of the time. 



The West Indian Station demands our attention next. Unfortunately, it must not 

 take the space it deserves, for it would occupy that required for ten books of the size of this 

 ay, twenty to do it the barest justice. Why ? Read Charles Kingsley's admirable 

 work, " At Last " one, alas ! of the last tasks of a well-spent life and -one will see 

 England's interest in those islands, and must think also of those earlier days, when 

 Columbus, Drake, and Raleigh sailed among the waters which divide them days of 

 geographical discovery worth speaking of, of grand triumphs over foes worth fighting, and 

 of gain amounting to something. 



On the 31st July, 1499, Columbus, on his third voyage, sighted the three hills which 

 make the south-eastern end of Trinidad. He had determined to name the first land he 

 should sight after the Holy Trinity, and so he did. The triple peaks probably 

 reminded him. 



Washington Irving tells us, in his " Life of Columbus/' that he was astonished at the 

 verdure and fertility of the country, having expected that it would be parched, dry, and 

 sterile as he approached the equator; whereas, he beheld beautiful groves of palm-trees, 

 and luxuriant forests sweeping down to the sea-side, with gurgling brooks and clear, deep 

 streams beneath the shade. The softness and purity of the climate, and the beauty of the 

 country, seemed, after his long sea voyage, to rival the beautiful province of Valencia itself. 

 Columbus found the people a race of Indians fairer than any he had seen before, " of good 

 stature, and of very graceful bearing." They carried square bucklers, and had bows and 

 arrows, with which they made feeble attempts to drive off the Spaniards who landed at 

 Punta Arenal, near Icacque, and who, finding no streams, sank holes in the sand, and so 

 filled their casks with fresh water as is done by sailors now-a-days in many parts of the 

 world. "And there/' says Kingsley, "that source of endless misery to these harmless 

 creatures, a certain Cacique so goes the tale took off Columbia's cap of crimson velvet, 

 and replaced it with a circle of gold which he wore." 



Alas for them ! that fatal present of gold brought down on them enemies far more 

 ruthless than the Caribs of the northern islands, who had a habit of coming down in their 

 canoes and carrying off the gentle Arrawaks, to eat them at their leisure after the fashion 



