96 THE VOYAGE : PASSING IMPBESSIONS 
of the shore, a grapnel was dropped and the boat was 
then backed to the rocks, a bowman carefully paying out 
the rope ; then taking advantage of a lull another sea- 
man with a lead hne jumped ashore and made it fast ; a 
third was stationed at this line in the boat, then, as the 
surf rose, the grapnel hne was held tight and the lead line 
paid out, thus preventing the boat from being cast ashore ; 
when the reflux came the contrary was done. In the 
intervals we jumped ashore and the instruments were 
handed out after us. To gain the beach from this we 
had to walk along a ledge of rock up to our middles in 
water, carrying the instruments by turns, both men and 
officers. ... 
After ascending about GOO feet of a shelving debris we 
found ourselves at the foot of a continuous precipice, that 
shut us in completely. The rocks were in most places 
perpendicular and smooth, without a sign of vegetation 
but a few hchens ; in other places the rocks were broken 
up into quadrangular blocks, which when moved came 
tumbling down and bringing others with them, which con- 
tinued their course till they reached the Captain's instru- 
ments on the beach where he was conducting his [magnetic] 
experiments. These were materially affected by the iron in 
the rocks. 
As bearing on the problem of distribution, the population 
of this lonely island is carefully noted. Besides the sea-birds. 
Noddy and Tern, whose eggs were sought by the Grapsus 
crab, ' of insects I saw a Hemerobius, a small fly, cockroaches 
from the wreck of a vessel, common house-fly, and some 
spiders.' The land crab was as much in evidence then as to 
more recent visitors to the island— ' a very short, strong, 
tliick-set animal,' with ' an enormous mouth and large savage 
black eyes. When threatened he takes up his post under a 
stone, and commences opening his claws, and putting them 
to his mouth in a menacing attitude, evidently expressing a 
desire to eat you, opening his formidable mandibles at the 
same time.' 
Arrival at St. Helena was the more welcome because of 
the slowness of the voyage. 
