252 ST. HELENA 



;^io,o<x>. To add to this dreadful calamity the whole of the passage 

 boats lying at their moorings were destroyed and so many poor 

 famiUes deprived of support. Fourteen of these boats were over- 

 whelmed by one sea. 



The force and height of the sea is shown also by its breaking 

 over Lower Chubb's Battery, taking with it a 24-pounder carronade, 

 with a parapet wall on both sides ; also splitting the solid rock at 

 the landing steps, on which the foundation of the wharf is built, and 

 detaching a mass of rock hundreds of tons in weight. 



That the above was not an exaggeration is shown by the 

 following, which corroborates it, and which, emanating 

 from another eye-witness, was published also in the St. 

 Helena Gazette of that time : — 



The fearful height of the rollers which set in on our shores on 

 Tuesday had at an early hour drawn many spectators to the wharf 

 and lines, the writer among the number. The atmosphere was dense 

 and heavy, the harbour at the outside filled with black heavy 

 clouds and fog, and everj-thing betokened the scenes which fol- 

 lowed. 



The sultry and oppressive steam had the day previously brought 

 forth a remark that it was such as preceded an earthquake in the 

 West Indies, and a remarkable fall of the barometer, a circumstance 

 hitherto unknown at St. Helena, had been also noticed. 



At ten o'clock two prizes (one of them the Descobrador) with four 

 persons on board — the shipkecpcr. his wife, a Lascar, and an island 

 boatman attached to the Marine Department — were torn from their 

 anchorage, and in a moment were drawn into the beach. The 

 empty one was soon stranded and shivered into a thousand pieces, 

 but the otiier, after passing through the break of the rollers for a 

 moment, lay quiet in a lull, when the Lascar and the boatman seized 

 the opportunity to jump over and swim to the beach. The vessel 

 was immediately after driven into the eastern corner of the beach, 

 leaving the spectators in breathless expectation of seeing her hurled 

 to pieces. There were some, however, who actually engaged them- 

 selves in rendering assistance to the frightened couple on board, 

 but witliout success, till an American seaman swam through the 

 surf and got on board. He. with much coolness and self-possession, 

 fastened the rope round the female's waist, and then jumped over- 

 board with her, when she was dragqed on shore safe from a watery 

 grave, but apparently lifeless and helpless from fright. Several 

 prizes were by this time dashed from their anchorage, although every 

 one had been firmly fixed by four anchors each. 



Fortunately the warning had been given and the shipkeepers 

 had all been removed. I say fortunately, for neither ship that fol- 

 lowed would have allowed the spectators the slightest chance of 

 saving any human beings on board. Indeed in this the pood hand 

 of Him who in the midst of deserved wrath remembers mercy, was 

 plainly manifest, for I had forgotten to mention that not only was 



