to the island, to leave a Krooman[3] in her pay, for the purpose of cutting wood for the ship, in readiness for her return. As there are generally several vessels on the coast, so are there also several Kroomen belonging to them, who join together, and go out to cut wood, lending each other mutual assistance. The wood is then brought down to the coast, and stacked in piles, one for each ship, the name of the particular ship being written on it.
As the Nemesis was furnished with a letter from the Admiralty, requiring all Her Majesty's ships to give her every assistance in their power, she was not long in taking on board the whole stock of wood already laid up for the little squadron. Captain Tucker, then commanding the Wolverine, was most active in lending his aid, and even gave up the supply of wood he already had on board. In this way about seventy tons of good hard wood were at last taken on board the Nemesis, and, as plenty of coal still remained, there could be little doubt that, with this reinforcement, she would be able to reach the Cape of Good Hope without difficulty. Water is easily procured in the immediate neighbourhood of the landing-place, of excellent quality; and thus two very important items for the recruiting of a ship are to be found in abundance in Princes' Island. Pigs, poultry, and goats are to be had in any quantity, as well as yams, Indian corn, coffee, bananas, pineapples, and limes. Above all, the anchorage at Princes' Island is good in all seasons, and of easy access, either by day or night. It is consequently a very valuable place of call for vessels going by the eastern passage to the Cape, which in some seasons is to be preferred to the western route, particularly for steamers.
On the side of the island opposite to West Bay, or the north-east, is the town and harbour of Port St. Antonio, where the governor of the island resides. It is tolerably secure, but confined, and by no means equal to West Bay for shipping. There is a respectable Portuguese merchant there, who is in the habit of supplying the ships at West Bay with various stores that they may require; and, with the view of furnishing all the information which could be procured, in case any other steamer should touch there, application was made to Mr. Carnaero, the reply to which was, that he would supply any quantity, at the rate of one Spanish dollar for every hundred logs;[4] but if they were required to be cut into smaller pieces it would cost more, as negroes would have to be hired for the purpose, at the rate of one dollar a day for every three men. Further, as regarded the time necessary, he thought it would require from thirty to forty days to provide five thousand logs. Coals were to be had at West Bay, of course imported from England, but only at the enormous rate of about £6 sterling per ton.
Princes' Island is being greatly benefited already by the demand for its wood. Land is, in consequence, being cleared and planted, and the coffee grown there is of good quality, and cheap. In fact, from its position and capabilities, it is likely to become a place of great resort, as steam communication, viâ the Cape of Good Hope, gradually becomes more extended.
It must be mentioned here, that ships sailing much along the coast are pretty sure to get their bottoms covered with large barnacles; and the Nemesis, so far from being exempt from this annoyance, being entirely of iron, was, perhaps, more troubled with them than a coppered ship would have been. The quantity, in fact, was enormous, and they adhered so firmly, that it was with some difficulty they were taken off, commonly bringing away the paint with them. Kroomen belonging to the men-of-war were employed to dive under the ship's bottom for the purpose, and a very curious and amusing scene it was. It is quite astonishing how long these men can remain at work under water, and no light work either. Great, muscular, black, curly-headed fellows, bobbing down under water, some with brooms, some with scrapers, and others with bits of iron bar; anything, in short, with which they could attack the tenacious visiters which clung so lovingly to the iron Nemesis. The Kroomen are an active, laborious, and faithful race, as all will testify who have occasion to employ them on the coast. They are received as seamen in our men-of-war upon the station; and, on her return to Calcutta, after long and arduous service, the Nemesis had still two of them remaining on board, out of three who accompanied her from the coast, the other having died in the service.
At length, on the 22nd of May, the steam was once more got up, boats hoisted in, anchor weighed, and the word "full speed" being passed below, away went the still mysterious Nemesis, as the sun had just dipped below the horizon. Her course would necessarily lead her towards the island of St. Thomas's, another Portuguese settlement, lying as nearly as possible under the Line, and, therefore, scarcely a day's voyage from Princes' Island. She accordingly approached it on the following afternoon, and did not lose the opportunity of entering the Bay of Chaves, where lies the principal town, called St. Anne de Chaves.
Some parts of this small island are very pretty and picturesque, others are wild and thickly wooded. It produces large quantities of fruit and vegetables, but is principally valuable on account of the excellence of its coffee, which, however, is not cultivated in very large quantity. St. Anne, the principal town, lies at the bottom of a lovely bay. The greater part of the inhabitants of St. Anne are negro slaves and Kroomen. The latter come over from the coast to the northward of the Line, and are tall, athletic men, very industrious, (in this respect different from most other Africans,) intelligent, and, when well treated, faithful and honest. All the Kroomen are strongly attached to the English, and willingly serve on board our ships. They have great faith in an Englishman's word, and, to whatever part of the world they may be carried, they always feel confident of being sent back to their own country free of expense, whenever their services are no longer required. They are an independent people, and have never been connected with slave-dealers, whom, indeed, they seem to hold in great contempt. Nevertheless, they have the woolly hair and thick lips and nose of the true negro. Of all the Africans whom I have seen, they appear most to resemble the Abyssinians in their character and habits, though improved by more frequent contact with our countrymen.
The governor's house is the best in the place, and is distinguished from the more humble ones around it by the luxury of a green verandah. Across the entrance to the principal apartment, a large curtain or screen of drapery was hung, richly emblazoned with the arms of Portugal, and almost the only real token of her power.
It was naturally a matter of curiosity to visit his Excellency in state, and, accordingly, Captain Hall and his officers were ushered into the presence by a grand Master of the Ceremonies, who was also commandant of the island. This person was a huge black negro, "richly caparisoned" for the occasion, and, as he spoke a little English, he proceeded, immediately after the presentation, to expound to his Excellency the object of the visit. That object was, first, of course, to pay respect to so distinguished an officer, and next, to ascertain whether, in case a steamer should happen to touch there at any other time, a depôt for coal could be formed on the island, and whether wood could be procured for fuel, and a proper place provided for storing it until required. His Excellency condescended to be extremely polite, saying that both these matters could be accomplished, and that he should be happy to lend his assistance in any manner he could. He added that he perfectly well remembered that the Enterprise, a wooden steamer, had touched there on her way to India many years before, but that he had never till now heard of an iron one.
The interview was soon ended, and was so far perfectly satisfactory. But, as the party were on the way down to the ship again, the black master of the ceremonies, aide-de-camp, commandant, &c., made a particular request that no salute should be fired, for that they happened to be "very badly off for powder" themselves, and should find it inconvenient to be obliged to return it; probably a gentle hint that a little powder would be acceptable.
Little time could be devoted to the further examination of the island, which would seem to be of very small value to its masters. There is reason, however, to believe, that to a certain degree, although unacknowledged and in secret, it is made use of as a sort of intermediate trading-place for slaves.
It was on this island that the distinguished Major Sabine conducted his scientific and interesting observations upon the swinging of the pendulum in 1822, as it lies as nearly as possible under the Line.
