i 7 8 



ST. HELENA 



more that he had paid for him to Mr. Coulson. And his wife the 

 antient old company bought her of them, and sent her to her husband, 

 and repaid Sir Richard Munden for black Oliver, who was made a 

 free planter and bestowed this twenty acres of land upon him, 

 and all other encouragements that free planters then had, as appears 

 by the 33rd paragraph of a letter from the antient old company 

 dated 19th September, 1673, as may appear. 



The following records on the names of localities will be 

 found interesting : — 



" Alarm House " called so from 2 guns (stationed here prior to 

 1692) which were fired as alarm guns whenever ships were signalled. 



There is an order in Record of Sept. 12, 1692, that 



" The alarm of two guns from Prosperous Bay is to be repeated 

 by the alarm guns on the main ridge of two guns. But if more 

 than one ship, then three or more guns, on which not only the planters 

 but their blacks must also attend." 



Governor Pyke proposed to plant this ridge with trees, being of 

 opinion it would make this valley (James Valley) as healthy and 

 fruitful as formerly, he says : — 



" We are confirmed in this opinion by a sort of experience. Those 

 who best remember this place say that the fine Lymon and other 

 fruit trees that used to grow in such abundance in this valley thrived 

 till after the cutting away of wood on this ridge, and it is a sort of 

 demonstration that Mr. Powell, whose house stood on a ridge exposed 

 to bleak winds and rain, people used by way of derision to call 

 .it Stark-naked House, yet, Mr. Powell being obliged by a most 

 useful law made in Governor Roberts, his time, to plant part of 

 that land with wood, since the wood has grown up, everything has 

 flourished and he has now plenty of Lymons. 



Bankses, mentioned by this name on June 27th, 1678, but on 

 1 st May, 1734, called King William's Fort with an explanation that 

 it was in the drift of the island called Bankses platform — the plat- 

 form was first built there, and retained the Builders name, but at 

 Bankses platform they could not call to any ships, and the men of 

 war that came here, in King William's time contrived the fort above 

 the hill above Bankses, which they called King William's fort ; 

 and it is this place that all ships that intend for the island go as 

 near as they can, so that we usually hale them from this place, and 

 they hear well what is said to them, but the wind there coming 

 alway off the shore, we cannot so well hear what they answer — but, 

 if they ewe heard, a messenger is always dispatched thence to the 

 Governor, and they run along the side of the hill in a dangerous path 

 which all strangers usually admire to see." 



Briars — mentioned as a Yam plantation of the Company on 16th 

 May, 1733. This plantaiton was given up in September, 1739. In 

 August, 1827, it was repurchased by the Company for £6,000 to 

 make a mulberry plantation for feeding silkworms. Since then the 

 property has been famed as the residence of Napoleon while Long- 



