250 ST. HELENA 



In the year 1828 His Majesty's sloop Redwing was prevented from 

 sailing in consequence of surf which precluded all communication 

 (except by telegraph) between the shore and the shipping. 



Besides several persons severely hurt, two lives were lost, one a 

 woman washed off the wharf, and the other a Lascar who in the 

 attempt to save her was so bruised that he could not survive. 



The wharf was cleared of everything movable, including a wooden 

 house and a sentry-box. The Governor withdrew the sea-gate 

 guard as one of the sentries narrowly escaped drowning with the 

 loss of his firelock. Nothing but the substantial manner in which 

 the new part of the wharf and crane was completed could have 

 saved them from destruction, for the wall and wharf showed serious 

 breaches. The rollers beat over the counterscarp in Jamestown 

 and filled the ditch, also rushing through the portcullis at Rupert's ; 

 while the lower battery at Bank's sustained much damage — in 

 short, " neither the remembrance of any person here nor tradition 

 can furnish an instance of the sea having run so high at any former 

 time." 



On February 7, 1846, the St. Helena Gazette contains the 

 following : — 



Toward the close of last month the island was visited with un- 

 usually heavy rollers. By them the sea wall and wharf has been 

 greatly damaged, and while they lasted the vessels in harbour were 

 pervented from obtaining their ordinary supply of water. It has 

 been remarked that heavy gales of wind are usually felt at the 

 Cape some days previous to having " rollers " at St. Helena. No 

 " storms " are known at St. Helena, but it is not improbable that 

 the rollers which occasionally visit us are consequent on some dis- 

 tant gale, the fag end only of which reaches this island. 



And a week after this was written came the terrific rollers 

 known as " Rollers of 1846." These, which occurred on 

 February 16 and 17, were drawn by an eye-witness, and from 

 the drawing an excellent painting has been made by Mr. 

 Thomas Bruce (postmaster). By the kindness of Mr. R. R. 

 Bruce, I am enabled to give an illustration from the painting. 



From the Gazette I append the account of an eye- 

 witness : — 



At sunset on the evening of Monday, 16th, a few heavy rollers 

 broke upon the beach in front of the town and gradually increased 

 during the night. At daybreak on Tuesday morning the sea was 

 one mass of foam, with tremendous rollers breaking some distance 

 from the shore. Eighteen slave vessels were lying in the roads, 

 some of which had been condemned and sold and were partially 

 broken up. About 11 a.m. the Descobrador slaver brig, 127 tons, 

 lifted her anchors and fell broadside on the schooner Cornelia, both 

 of which were by the force of the rollers carried on to the beach 



