ST. HELENA 177 



which means we have saved the season, and believe the best way 

 now is to fence in fifty or sixty acres of it immediately, and proceed 

 in planting what grain we have, corn and beans, etc. 



As also when fenced in to transplant all the Yam Succors in the 

 upper part of it. And a pond must be made to resist the force 

 and fury of the water course in the raines, as well as to save the 

 water for the dry season, after the land is fenced in, and we must 

 be obliged to burn lime with wood for that purpose, and if the season 

 should set well in, we might make a shift with that one pond, till a 

 ship comes from England that may bring coles, which will save 

 the company a great deal of charge, nor will the charge he says 

 amount to halfe as much money as he proposed in the consultation 

 of the 9th of January as aforesaid, because two-thirds of the water- 

 course is cut out of rocks and clay, so that it won't require above 

 a third of it to be done with lime, and by what he can see yet there 

 will be no occasion to repair the watercourse in many years, even 

 as it is now cut, in the next place there will not be occasion for 

 so many ponds for the current is pretty strong now, notwithstanding 

 the long dry windy weather we have had, and we may reasonably 

 expect that the current three-quarters of the year will be three 

 times bigger than it is. 



And as he has gained a great deal of ground by raising the water 

 a-top of that hill by several acres higher than he first measured, 

 so that that plantation, well managed, will supply a thousand 

 people with yams, corn, beanes and potatoes, besides the advantage 

 of sugar plantations, and vinyards. And the antient constant 

 custom of buying yams of the planters will be altered in twelve 

 months time, if please God to give a blessing to our endeavours. 



Ordered. 



That the land and plantation aforesaid be fenced in, as the Gover- 

 nor shall please to direct, and that Capt. Mashborne do proceed in 

 planting the same accordingly. 



At a consultation held on Thursday the 29th day of March 1711, 

 at the United Castle in James' Valley, present John Roberts, Esq., 

 Governor, etc. 



Mrs. Grace Coulson declares that black Oliver was her slave, and 

 also his wife, and when the Dutch took the Island they went to 

 Brazile, and there sold the said Oliver her slave to an English mer- 

 chant one Mr. Abram by name ; Capt. Anthony Beale, and Captn. 

 Metford, Commander of the Humphrey and Elisabeth, hired a sloop 

 at Brazile to come and cruise to the windward of this island, to give 

 notice to all merchant men that the Island was taken by the Dutch 

 and they persuaded Mr. Abram to let the said Oliver go in the afore- 

 said sloop because he knew the Island; being upon her cruise to 

 the windward of the Island they met Sir Richard Munden to whom 

 they gave notice as aforesaid, and black Oliver being well acquainted 

 with the Island took him out of the sloop, and ordered him to con- 

 duct his men into the country to retake the island, which he per- 

 formed, for that good service Sir Richard Munden gave him his free- 

 dom, and sent the money to his master to Brazile, and five pound 



M 



