138 ST. HELENA 



Conspicuous in the centre of the huge basin, the rocky 

 pyramids of Lot and Lot's Wife shoot their weather-worn 

 pinnacles abruptly out of the surrounding scoria, while at 

 a short distance from these is the peculiar columnar pile 

 " Asses' Ears." Lot is a monolith of hard grey stone shaped 

 like a cone, situated on a ridge about 1,440 feet above the 

 sea, and rising from a base 100 feet in diameter to a height 

 of nearly 300 feet. About a mile to the south-west lies 

 Lot's wife, another monolith about 260 feet high, and 1,550 

 feet above the sea ; this has the peculiarity of being narrower 

 at the base than at the top. 



On the gentle slope, where vegetation is rife, there are 

 houses and cultivated grounds, vegetable and corn-fields 

 all snugly placed amid thick groves of trees ; the coffee 

 grown on this slope is the best obtainable, while the pasture- 

 lands, dotted with grazing cattle and sheep, form a contrast 

 indeed to the lower part, where the prospect closes in with 

 the distant sea, whose narrow fringe of surf rushes in between 

 the black and craggy cliffs, whitening them with its spray. 

 Beyond lies the vast Atlantic Ocean. From the small beach 

 which it washes, a party of prisoners of war tried to effect 

 an escape in an open fishing-boat which they endeavoured 

 to buy from the fishermen. The latter, it is said, held the 

 prisoners in parley while one of their number went to the 

 camp and reported the matter. The arrival of a military 

 guard, under whose escort they were marched to camp, 

 ended the matter. Had they taken the boat, there is no 

 doubt but that all would have perished, for it was 

 very old and dilapidated, and, not a fortnight after, 

 during a heavy sea, became entirely unfit for use except 

 as firewood. 



Limestone of an excellent quality is in abundance in 

 Sandy Bay, and is said to be a concretion of shells with sand 

 or sometimes clay. The heights close to Sandy Bay beach 

 are chiefly composed of it. Lot's Wife beach is covered with 

 a white sand consisting almost entirely of fragments of 

 limestone. On the opposite side of the island (north) in 

 Rupert's Bay, and Bankses Battery, lime is also found. 

 That it was burnt and in use as late as 1886 may be seen 

 from the following advertisement culled from the St. Helena 

 Advertiser : 



