DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11290#0048
DEE NBUENHEIMEE.
25
dreadful feeling of being battened down beneath the hatches.
Again, a death at sea is one of the saddest things that can
happen. It is so dreadful to think of the wide, wide ocean
and this one body consigned to the deep. The ship is stopped.
The body is brought sewn in canvas with six shot at its feet.
Those last sad words are spoken, a splash, and we are moving
again and it is all over.
There are other little excitements such as the false
alarms of " Fire," " Man overboard," etc., which, though
necessary and frequent, are apt to give one little cold shivers
in the middle of lunch and make one tear on deck to see if
the real thing has happened or if it is only " sham." On the
sixteenth day of our vo}'age we sight land. St. Helena is in
sight. The island on the horizon seems to rise abruptly from
the sea and appears to be a mass of solid rock from the sea-
line to the summit.
As we come closer however, bright green verdure is seen
inland through the valleys, and white houses are dotted about.
Jamestown, the capital and only town is situated between
two steep rocky slopes—the sides of a narrow valley protected
on either side by a strong fort. In James' Bay we drop
anchor. The Harbour-master comes on board, sees everything
is right and we get our luggage together, and having said
farewell to our friends on board, and having taken a last
look round the good old ship, we step into the boat and are
rapidly pulled ashore. Here there is some difficulty in
landing on account of the heavy rollers which are one of the
features of this part of the world. The boat lies alongside
the jetty and you wait for the roller to come in, and as it
reaches the top of the landing stage taking the boat with it,
you grasp the pole, which is fixed to every boat at the stern,
and jump ashore. The landing accomplished, we make the
best of our way along the sandy road leading to the gateway
of the town. Directly opposite us as we proceed—that is to
say to the right of the town—is " St. Jacob's ladder " going
up one side of the mountain, which is called Ladder Hill.
Here are the chief barracks. This ladder consists of between
700 and 800 steps, and is the largest in the world. On the
25
dreadful feeling of being battened down beneath the hatches.
Again, a death at sea is one of the saddest things that can
happen. It is so dreadful to think of the wide, wide ocean
and this one body consigned to the deep. The ship is stopped.
The body is brought sewn in canvas with six shot at its feet.
Those last sad words are spoken, a splash, and we are moving
again and it is all over.
There are other little excitements such as the false
alarms of " Fire," " Man overboard," etc., which, though
necessary and frequent, are apt to give one little cold shivers
in the middle of lunch and make one tear on deck to see if
the real thing has happened or if it is only " sham." On the
sixteenth day of our vo}'age we sight land. St. Helena is in
sight. The island on the horizon seems to rise abruptly from
the sea and appears to be a mass of solid rock from the sea-
line to the summit.
As we come closer however, bright green verdure is seen
inland through the valleys, and white houses are dotted about.
Jamestown, the capital and only town is situated between
two steep rocky slopes—the sides of a narrow valley protected
on either side by a strong fort. In James' Bay we drop
anchor. The Harbour-master comes on board, sees everything
is right and we get our luggage together, and having said
farewell to our friends on board, and having taken a last
look round the good old ship, we step into the boat and are
rapidly pulled ashore. Here there is some difficulty in
landing on account of the heavy rollers which are one of the
features of this part of the world. The boat lies alongside
the jetty and you wait for the roller to come in, and as it
reaches the top of the landing stage taking the boat with it,
you grasp the pole, which is fixed to every boat at the stern,
and jump ashore. The landing accomplished, we make the
best of our way along the sandy road leading to the gateway
of the town. Directly opposite us as we proceed—that is to
say to the right of the town—is " St. Jacob's ladder " going
up one side of the mountain, which is called Ladder Hill.
Here are the chief barracks. This ladder consists of between
700 and 800 steps, and is the largest in the world. On the