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level ground of consequence is on the N. E. side, at the foot of a mountain rising upwards of 8000 perpendicular feet from the flat, in extent about five miles; the principal part of which may be cultivated easily, having been cleared of the brushwood by fires, and left in a state to receive the plough or spade. The island looks to be inaccessible on the other parts. Probably, in moderate weather, and a smooth sea, boats may land; but the only road across would be over the mountains; to walk round is impossible, the sea beating in many places against the perpendicular cliffs.

Stone for building to be had; but none of the kind the lime is produced from could be seen. A very good sort of reed for thatching grows in abundance.

The common tree of the island appears a species of gum-tree, very sappy, and only of use for firewood and common purposes.

The island is well supplied with water. Three falls run near the habitable part; one convenient for ships, who may fill casks in their boat with a hose. The seasons are described as being irregular; the climate very good, and particularly healthy. The spring commences the latter end of September, and the winter in April, which is mild, never too cold to hurt the vegetation. Snow is seen on the mountains from April to September. Prevailing winds from S. E. to W. N. W.; seldom wore to the eastward; but when from that quarter, it blows with its greatest strength. It rains moderately throughout the year, and never at any time to hurt the ground. Ice has never been seen; thunder seldom heard.

When Buonaparte was sent to St Helena, it was deemed expedient to examine these islands, and, if necessary, to take possession of them. The Falmouth frigate was despatched for this purpose, and arrived there in August 1816. Two men were found living on the island, who, it appeared, had been on this desolate spot for some years, and who were both overjoyed in placing themselves under the protection of the British flag. One of these men, of the name of Thomas Currie, gave the following account of his coming to the island.

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My first coming to the island was in an American ship called the Baltic, Captain Lovel, belonging to Boston.

We arrived from Rio de Janeiro 27th December 1810.

"I came under an agreement to remain one year, and to have a passage found me to the Cape of Good Hope, in case I should not wish to remain on the island. My agreement was 12 Spanish dollars per month, besides the one-third of 20 per cent. on all produce during the time I might remain.

"The man I agreed with was not Captain Lovel, but Jonathan Lambert, an American, who intended to make a settlement on the island. He remained on it till the 17th May 1812, when he and two other Americans, under pretence of fishing and collecting wreck, took the boat and left the island. Í never heard of them since; but I must not omit mentioning, that the said Jonathan Lambert took possession of the three islands of Tristan d'Acunha in a formal manner.

"I never received either money nor any other remuneration from Lambert for all my labour. I suffered the greatest distress from want of clothes and provisions. I have been constantly robbed by the Americans, whether vessels of war or merchantmen. They took away my live stock, and the produce of the land, which I had cleared with my own hard labour and industry since my first arrival.”

Thomas Currie has fifteen or twenty acres of ground cultivated, sown with vegetables, which were thriving very well, and three huts thatched with reed.

The other person on the island lad whom he called his apprentice), came from an English ship, having agreed to serve two years for wages: is a native of Minorca.

The stock on the island belonging to Thomas Currie consisted of, Forty breeding sows, Two boars,

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of the wild breed. No fowls or ducks left; the last taken away by the American privateers.

He stated that, in the mountains, there were many wild pigs and goats.

The following is the document left by Jonathan Lambert on the island, by which he constituted himself sole monarch of this group of islands:

"Know all men by these presents, that I, Jonathan Lambert, late of Salem, in the state of Massachussets, United States of America, and citizen thereof, have this 4th day of February, in the year of our Lord 1811, taken absolute possession of the island of

Tristan d'Acunha, so called, viz. the great island, and the other two, known by the names of Inaccessible and Nightingale Islands, solely for myself and my heirs for ever, with the right of conveying the whole, or any part thereof, to one or more persons, by deed of sale, free gift, or otherwise, as I, or they (my heirs), may hereafter think fitting or proper.

"And as no European, or other power whatever, has hitherto publicly claimed the said islands, by right of discovery, or act of possession: Therefore be it known to all nations, tongues, and languages, that from and ever after the date of this public instrument, I constitute my individual self the sole proprietor of the above-mentioned islands, grounding my right and claim on the rational and sure principle of absolute occupancy; and, as such, holding and possessing all the rights, titles, and inmunities properly belonging to proprietors by the usage of

nations.

"In consequence of this right and title by me thus assumed and established, I do further declare, that the said islands shall, for the future, be denominated the Islands of Refreshment, the great island bearing that name in particular; and the landingplace on the north side, a little to the east of the cascade, to be called Reception, and which shall be the place of my residence. The isle formerly called Inaccessible, shall henceforth be called Printard Island; and that known by the name of Nightingale Isle shall now be called Lovel Island.

"And I do further declare, that the cause of the said act, set forth in this instrument, originated in the desire and determination of preparing for myself and family a house where I can enjoy life, without the embarrassments which have hitherto constantly attended me, and procure for us an interest, and property, by means of which a competence may be ever secured, and remain, if possible, far removed beyond the reach of chicanery and ordinary misfortunes.

"For the above purpose, I intend paying the strictest attention to husbandry, presuming, where it is known in the world, that refreshments may be obtained at my residence, all vessels, of whatever description, and belonging to whatever nation, will visit me for that purpose, and, by a fair and

open traffic, supply themselves with those articles of which they may be in need.

"And I do hereby invite all those who may want refreshinents, to call at Reception, where, by laying-by, opposite the Cascade, they will be immediately visited by a boat from the shore, and speedily supplied with such things as the islands may produce, at a reasonable price.

"And be it further known, that by virtue of the aforesaid right and autho rity above-mentioned, I have adopted a flag. This flag is formed of five diamonds, which shall for ever be the known and acknowledged flag of these islands.

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"And that a white flag shall be known and considered as the common flag for any vessel in the merchant service, which may now, or hereafter, belong to any inhabitants of these islands. And, lastly, be it known, that I hold myself and my people, in the course of our traffic and intercourse with any other people, to be bound by the principles of hospitality and good fellowship, and the laws of nations (if any there are), as established by the best writers on that subject, and by no other laws whatever, until time may produce particular contracts, or other engagements.

(Signed) "J. LAMBERT." "Witness to this signature," (Signed) "ANDREW MILLET."

The following is a copy of the last letter written by the unfortunate sovereign of Tristan d'Acunha, before his disappearance from the seat of go

vernment.

"Great Island, Tristan d'Acunha, "21st Dec. 1811.

"Captain John Briggs, "DEAR SIR,-COMPLIANT to your de sire, when I saw you last year at Rio Janeiro, I now drop you a few lines, to be sent by the first vessel stopping here. I should have written by Captain Lovel, on his return from this place; but as I had nothing worth communicating, I reserved myself until I could, by a year's residence, give you some account of my situation, and of the soil, clime, and productions of this island, and the surrounding waters. But however I have classed them above,

I shall begin with the climate, which is very healthy, being neither hot nor cold, but exceeding temperate. It never freezes, nor is there heat enough for ripening melons; I think, at least, not without enclosures, of which I have none. It is rather windy, but no severe gales as yet. In the winter and spring it rains often, rendering it very disagreeable to us, who have but a sorry Jaaçkstraw's hut, thatched with coarse grass, without floor, &c. But we have weeks together as fine weather as summer, and vegetation goes on finely through the year. All the hardy kinds of kitchen garden stuff flourish better in winter than summer, as in the latter they are apt to run for seed, such as cabbage, French, Lapland, and round turnips, beet, carrots, parsnips, pease, raddish, lettuce, onion, parsley, &c. Potatoes suit the soil, which is a light one, and composed, for the most part, of vegetable mould. A stream of water, which might vie with many celebrated streams. There are three constant streams on this north side of the island. The land is covered with wood quite up to the mountains, but of a creeping kind of shrub, many of the size of an appletree. Ships may procure what wood and water they may want for all culinary purposes. Of land fit for cultivation, I think there are 3 or 400 acres on this side, including a fine meadow of about 12 or 15 acres on this cattle may feed the year round. I have a small flock of geese, which give me no trouble to feed, as they find abundance of green herbage throughout the year; and as I do not mean to kill any of them, except, perhaps, some spare ganders, until I have 50 breeding geese, I may expect in a little time to have a good stock of them. Dunghill fowls breed three or four times a-year. I have one now setting for the fourth time, and think she will make out to bring the fifth set of chickens before winter. Of ducks I have only ten; having lost all my turkeys, Muscovy ducks, and all of the English ducks, except three, by their eating fish-guts last winter. I have a piece of ground, about 10 or 12 acres, containing two ponds, where the sea elephants abound; here I have 8 sows, and 4 boars quite tame; all of which, save 5, we have caught on the island, of which there are many more; some we have shot,

and some knocked down, &c. All this stock, together with ourselves, live at present on the flesh of the elephant. The pigs, however, may live altogether on herbage where they are; for which purpose, indeed, I put them down there; but I give them an elephant once in ten or fifteen days to keep them in heart. The dandelion grows here in the greatest luxuriance, and very abundant. All the wild pigs live on those, and on a very pleasant smelling strawberry-leaved kind of geranium, We have shot a few wild goats, of which there are, I suppose, 12 or 16 left. I want a few sheep, tame goats, and rabbits, to stock the island with game. We have the little black cock in great numbers, and, in the fall, are very fat and delicate. We caught some hundreds last year with a dog, but I have none proper for them, such as a terrier would be. The mountains are covered with albatross, mollahs, petrals, sea-hens, &c.; and a great deal of feathers might be had, if people were to attend to it.

"For the waters, they are well furnished. Fish are had at any time for the trouble of taking them, whenever the sea is smooth enough to fish from the rocks. We have no boat, and of course cannot have them so often as we want them; but on a kind of raft of six pieces we push off on a smooth time, and take many sheephead crayfish, gramper, and large mackerel. From the rocks, which is the mode we are obliged to take, we supply ourselves sometimes, but are obliged to use a large piece of elephant meat to entice them near enough the rock. A boat would be victuals and drink to us. In the deep waters there are large fish, as cavallas, and a kind fat as salmon, and I have no doubt but very large gramper are to be found there. Sea-elephants are plenty, and they pup yearly, coming up in the months of August and September for that purpose. About a month or five weeks they take the male, and then go off to feed, and in six weeks come up, and remain a month or two to shed their old coat, and get a new one, and from that time are, for the most part, lying in the sun asleep. The males; however, stay off longer, as they are more exhausted by their commerce with the females, and are three times longer, of course require a longer period to feed. Their

food is chiefly kelp, but I have found squid in their stomach. During the pupping season, the black-fish are very numerous, and equally rapacious, always on the look-out for the elephants, great or small, young or old. I have seen them attack old ones, and carry young ones off. They run themselves aground on the beach very often, so that we lance them frequently, and shoot into them. This last season I think 1000 pups we brought forth on this island, and as many more on the other two; and I suppose, when I passed near those islands, in the passage out to Bengal, in the Grand Turk, they must have been almost innumerable; seeing some parties or other have been oiling here ever since, and so many yet remain. If they are not disturbed for two or three years, the increase must be great and profitable, especially if their skins are attended to, and salted. We have killed about 80 since we landed, and suppose we shall kill about two a-week through the year. We have made about 1000 gallons of oil, for the purpose of buying a boat, if possible. Of seals we have not taken a dozen. Our situation, like all new settlers, has not been very comfortable. We have not ate bread these six months; that parcel you supplied me with lasted about that time. But turnips have been bread to us. I hope to have as many potatoes in three or four months as will always stand by us while we remain on the Island, but cloth I shall want, and must depend upon vessels for a supply of them. The prospect of one day making something of the oil and skins of the elephant and seals, from the fish and other matters, consoles me for all other privations. I shall now submit, for your consideration, a proposal which may perhaps be feasable, and which you may, on reflection, adopt, viz. to join me in the business of making oil and skins on these islands. The mode I shall recommend will be simple, and the least expensive that can be undertaken, that is, to buy a small fishing schooner of about 50 tons, such as may often be had in the spring, or late in the fall, in Cape Cod, for 500 S., and if you wish to give your brother Jonson employment for a year or two, send him here in her with ten or twelve men. Two or three of those

kind of boats called at Cape Cod half boats; a kind of whale boat which cost about 25S.there, with provision enough for twelve months. For the purpose of saving the oil, a cistern, as they have at the Cape of Good Hope, should be made; stones enough are on the spot; lime and a mason or two (many of a roving disposition may be found in these times cheap), with a frame suitable to the size of the cistern, with boards, &c. to cover and make it tight. A plaud flooring to support the casks, which should be filled from a small wooden pump let down into the cistern. The building would answer for the men to live in. Some hhds. salt, which, at Cape D. cost 50 per hhd., and two or three asses to carry blubber and skins from a dis◄ tance; for the greatest part of the work of the oilers is to carry the blubber to the coppers. Two boilers of iron, holding from 60 to 90 gallons each, with ladle, skimmer, cooler, strainer, knives, steel, grindstone, beaming knives, a clank for beams, &c. By, the time a vessel gets here, I shall be able to supply a considerable part of their daily food from my pigs, potatoes, and other vegetables, besides fish, &c. A cistern, 40 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 10 feet deep, would contain from 1000 to 1100 barrels, which may be made in fifteen months, if the boilers are kept properly going. And as the elephant in general makes about a barrel of oil, though some of the males will produce 100 gallons, of course there would be as many skins as barrels of oil, besides, at least, 1000 pup skins, which are very fine and pretty, and would, no doubt, average a dollar each. The oil in the cistern would require barrels to carry it to market, but if it remained for some time it would be always safe, and growing better for standing to settle; and, as the cistern would last many years, the expense once defrayed, either by oil, skins, &c., it may be always kept full at very little expense, and ready to ship whenever a market was to be found for it. If the proposal should be relished, I should like to be jointly concerned in it, but, as I have no money to advance, I could only, at the first, lend my assistance towards completing the business, while it would be your part to furnish the means to get it once underway.

"I do not in the above estimates in clude the seal-skins, but there are many about these islands; and perhaps 1000 or 1200 might be taken in 15 or 18 months, without neglecting any other part of the business, or costing a farthing to obtain them. Fish would be an article worth attending to, as they are, when salted and dried, very fine, and such as I have seen at the Isle of France for S.6 the 110lbs. ; that however, and the seal-skins, may remain in the back-ground, making use of them when occasion may require to fill a small vessel with an assorted cargo of oil, skins, fish, &c. for the Rio market, if it be thought proper. Oil was worth 50 cts. when you were there, and that is more than it is worth in America, and a much nearer market. Empty pipes are plenty at Rio, and cheap, and put in proper order might be stowed in the hold, and filled from the cistern by means of btts. or half-btts., and carried on board with great ease and safety, and the easks always fresh furnished, if the oil sold at Rio. Even if the oil sold at Rio for 30 cts. per gallon, it would be worth pursuing; for the cistern only once filled, could, with very little aid from men and a few asses, be always kept full, and the small craft may make what speed she pleases to take it away, besides the means of being so readily furnished with casks, and the vicinity of the market to the cistern. Elephant skins, I have seen in an English paper, sell well in London; why then may not Rio furnish a market for them also, when well salted and dried, seeing so many English merchants and agents are constantly buying up every thing which will answer as remittances, &c.; and surely, being a Roman Catholic country, the fish would sell as well as in most places? Upon the whole, I feel satisfied, that a voyage (if a voyage it may called, the interest of which would not cease with the end of that voyage) of the kind would in the present times answer very well,-and your brother Jonson would find it abundant opportunity and encouragement for his well-known talents and abilities. At any rate, the oil fit would not be great, say S.2000, and the benefit would be lasting to you. The men may be had upon shares; and

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when the cistern becomes full, new ar◄ rangements can be made with the crew; if necessary, bear in your mind that one ass is equal to two men in carrying blubber, consequently four or six asses, with three men, would equal a crew of ten or fifteen men, eight or ten of whom would require very dif ferent provision from asses, the latter finding food at every step. Two men at the boiler, and one to load the asses and drive them, would be the work of many men, and save great expences in provisions and shares of the oil as wages.

"I leave it now to your consideration how far it will suit you to enter into a concern of the kind. At any rate, the business should begin small, in order to see first what may be done (there is no doubt in my mind but it will succeed and become very lucrative), what I have related above respecting the elephant, seal-fish, &c. may be relied upon; and I could, with two or three more men, procure in a season a ton of feathers equal to any in the market. Should any vessel be bound to the Cape, or round it, do drop me a line to inform me of the receipt of this if it comes to hand. Respects to your brother Jonson; and believe me, with great respect, your obedient servant, J. LAMBERT."

The original of this Letter is in my possession ;-it was brought by Captain Beville from Tristan d'Acunha after the death of Mr

Lambert. ALEXR. WALTON.

Plants on the Island of Tristan.

1. Dock. 2. Celery. 3. Parsnip. 4. Fern.

5. Sweet Herb.

6. Geranium.

7. Wormwood.

8. Grass, called Tussue.

9. Do. Small.

10. Do. Round Species in Tufts. 11. Ice Plant.

12. Creeping Moss.

13. Berry Bush.

14. A Trailer like Sweet Briar. 15. Do.

16. Samphire.

17. Dandelion.

18. A plant growing like Fern 19. Tree.

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