Passage from St Helena to the Western Islands, with a Description of the Island of Ascension and Fernando Noronha.
1775 May
On the 21st in the evening, I took leave of the governor, and repaired
on board. Upon my leaving the shore, I was saluted with thirteen guns; and upon my getting under sail, with the Dutton in company, I was saluted with thirteen more; both of which I returned.
After leaving St Helena, the Dutton was ordered to steer N.W. by W. or
N.W. by compass, in order to avoid falling in with Ascension; at which
island, it was said, an illicit trade was carried on between the
officers of the India Company's ships, and some vessels from North
America, who, of late years, had frequented the island on pretence of
fishing whales or catching turtle, when their real design was to wait
the coming of the India ships. In order to prevent their homeward-bound
ships from falling in with these smugglers, and to put a stop to this
illicit trade, the Dutton was ordered to steer the course
above-mentioned, till to the northward of Ascension. I kept company with
this ship till the 24th, when, after putting a packet on board her for
the Admiralty, we parted: She continuing her course to the N.W., and I
steering for Ascension.
In the morning of the 28th I made the island; and the same evening
anchored in Cross Bay on the N.W. side, in ten fathoms water, the bottom
a fine sand, and half a mile from the shore. The Cross Hill, so called
on account of a cross, or flag-staff erected upon it, bore by compass S. 38° E.; and the two extreme points of the bay extended from N.E. to S.W. We remained here till the evening of the 31st, and notwithstanding we had several parties out every night, we got but twenty-four turtle, it being rather too late in the season; however, as they weighed between four or five hundred pounds each, we thought ourselves not ill off. We might have had a plentiful supply of fish in general, especially of that sort called Old Wives, of which I have no where seen such abundance. There were also cavalies, conger eels, and various other sorts; but the catching of any of these was not attended to, the object being turtle. There are abundance of goats, and aquatic birds, such as men-of-war and tropic birds, boobies, etc.
The island of Ascension is about ten miles in length, in the direction
of N.W. and S.E., and about five or six in breadth. It shews a surface
composed of barren hills and vallies, on the most of which not a shrub
or plant is to be seen for several miles, and where we found nothing but
stones and sand, or rather flags and ashes; an indubitable sign that the
isle, at some remote time, has been destroyed by a volcano, which has
thrown up vast heaps of stones, and even hills. Between these heaps of
stones we found a smooth even surface, composed of ashes and sand, and
very good travelling upon it; but one may as easily walk over broken
glass bottles as over the stones. If the foot deceives you, you are sure
to be cut or lamed, which happened to some of our people. A high
mountain at the S.E. end of the isle seems to be left in its original
state, and to have escaped the general destruction. Its soil is a kind
of white marl, which yet retains its vegetative qualities, and produceth
a kind of purslain, spurge, and one or two grasses. On these the goats
subsist, and it is at this part of the isle where they are to be found, as also land-crabs, which are said to be very good.
I was told, that about this part of the isle is some very good land on
which might be raised many necessary articles; and some have been at the
trouble of sowing turnips and other useful vegetables. I was also told
there is a fine spring in a valley which disjoins two hills on the top
of the mountain above-mentioned; besides great quantities of fresh water
in holes in the rocks, which the person who gave me this information, believed was collected from rains. But these supplies of water can only be of use to the traveller; or to those who may be so unfortunate as to be shipwrecked on the island; which seems to have been the fate of some not long ago, as appeared by the remains of a wreck we found on the N.E. side. By what we could judge, she seemed to have been a vessel of about one hundred and fifty tons burthen.