1832. 



FERNANDO NORONHA. 



59 



Next morning I landed with difficulty for observations, the 

 surf being so high that any common boat would have been 

 swamped. By taking great care, our broad and well-built whale- 

 boats landed the instruments and a small party, and re-em- 

 barked them afterwards, withoyt accident. 



We landed in a small bay under the (so called) citadel, but 

 there is a safer and in every way preferable landing-place about 

 a mile to the northward. My object being chiefly to take 

 sights of the sun, for time, and compare the chronometers used 

 on shore as soon as possible with those on board, I preferred 

 landing as near as I could to the place where the lamented 

 Captain Foster observed : — but it was difficult to ascertain 

 the house in which his pendulum observations were made. Not 

 even the governor could tell me, for he had arrived since Cap- 

 tain Foster''s departure ; and most of the inhabitants of the 

 island had changed their dwellings frequently, being all exiles 

 from Brazil. 



The governor was a major in the Brazilian service, born at 

 Pernambuco, and under his command were two hundred black 

 troops, and about eight hundred human beings, only thirty 

 of whom were women, and a very few children. 



We obtained some fire-wood from one of the islets north- 

 ward of the principal island ; but it was full of centipedes and 

 other noxious insects, from which it was no^ easy to free it 

 even by charring and washing. Water we did not try to get, 

 because of the heavy surf, but there is no scarcity of it on 

 the island. Neither live-stock nor vegetables could be pro- 

 cured from the apathetic inhabitants. 



This place is rather picturesque ; and the lofty barren peak, 

 already mentioned, is conspicuous from every point of view. 

 Near the summit is a station from which a look-out is kept, 

 not only over all the island, but over many leagues of the sur- 

 rounding sea ; so that neither ship nor boat can approach 

 or depart, during daylight, without being noticed. 



No boats are allowed to be kept on the island, and no 

 intercourse is held with shipping without permission and the 

 strictest inspection. 



We sailed from Fernando Noronha the bame evening, passed 



