Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/134

 104 WEST AmiCA. about 1 840, and which, five years afterwards, had half ruined Jamestown. It cost £60,000 to repair the damage done by these destructive insects. The surrounding waters abound in tunny and other fishes. Inhabitants. St. Helena was occupied soon after its discovery, and in 1513 some Portuguese soldiers, mutilated by Albuquerque for the crime of desertion, were left here with a few slaves, domestic animals, and supplies. After this the island was again completely abandoned till 1651, when the Portuguese were succeeded by the Dutch, and these again by the English, amongst whom were several families ruined by the great fire of London in 1666. Some Negroes and other African slaves were also introduced, and Chinese and Malay coolies for the first time in 1810. Formed of so many different elements, the race is far from possessing the florid English complexion, but is nevertheless distinguished by a general grace and beauty of features. On Christmas Day, 1818, fifteen years before the abolition of slavery in the other British colonies, the future offspring of slaves were declared free, and in 1822 the six hundred and fourteen still remaining slaves were emancipated. The name of this little Atlantic rock has become famous in the history of France and the world. Here Napoleon, prisoner of England, passed in exile the last six years of his life, and during this period of calm, after so many wars and political convulsions, all eyes were steadily fixed "on this reef beaten by the melancholy ocean," this hitherto unknov/n block of lava, where the great captain was dying a lingering death. In the history of science St. Helena also recalls great memories. Mount Halley, which rises towards the centre of the island to a height of 2,410 feet, is the peak on which in 1676 the famous English astronomer of this name set up his observatory to prepare a catalogue of the southern constel- lations and observe the transit of Mercury across the sun. Another summit was chosen by Sabine in 1840 for a magnetic observatory. Lastly, Darwin and some other naturalists have made studies of supreme importance in St. Helena on physical geography and the distribution of vegetable species. Trade, Besources, Decadence. But this famous island no longer possesses much economic value in the markets of the world. Formerly, when voyages round the globe or the continents were rare events, St Helena was an important station, where vessels called for supplies, and for a long time it served as an international post-office for seafarers in the Atlantic. The block of lava is still preserved under which were placed the letters and packages of passing vessels. But the substitution of steamers for sailing vessels has brought about great changes, while the opening of the Suez Canal has diverted most of the traffic from the Austral seas. St. Helena has thus lost nearly all its importance as a port of call for orders or supplies. It no longer exports anything except the produce of the American whalers, and the inhabitants, accustomed largely to depend on the visits of strangers and the bounty of the