We made the island about the 15th of December, when the weather was such as the season of the year might induce us to expect, it being then summer.  We hove off to the north or windward side of the island, about two miles from the shore; we dared not go nearer on that side, for fear of what are called the “Rollers”—­a phenomenon, it would appear, of terrific magnitude, on that sequestered little spot.  On this extraordinary operation of nature, many conjectures have been offered, but no good or satisfactory reason has ever been assigned to satisfy my mind; for the simple reason, that the same causes would produce the same effect on St Helena, Ascension, or any other island or promontory exposed to a wide expanse of water.  I shall attempt to describe the scene that a succession of Rollers would present, supposing, what has indeed happened, that a vessel is caught on the coast when coming in.

The water will be perfectly smooth—­not a breath of wind—­when, suddenly, from the north, comes rolling a huge wave, with a glassy surface, never breaking till it meets the resistance of the land, when it dashes down with a noise and a resistless violence that no art or effort of man could elude.  It is succeeded by others.  No anchorage would hold if there were anchorage to be had; but this is not the case; the water is from ninety to one hundred fathoms deep, and consequently an anchor and cable could scarcely afford a momentary check to any ship when thus assailed; or, if it did, the sea would, by being resisted, divide, break on board, and swamp her.  Such was the fate of the unfortunate ——­, a British sloop of war; which, after landing the captain and six men, was caught in the rollers, driven on shore, and every creature on board perished, only the captain and his boat’s crew escaping.  This unfortunate little vessel was lost, not from want of skill or seamanship in the captain or crew, for a finer set of men never swam salt water; but from their ignorance of this peculiarity of the island, unknown in any other that I ever heard of, at least to such an alarming extent.  Driven close in to the land before she could find soundings, at last she let go three anchors; but nothing could withstand the force of the “Rollers,” which drove her in upon the beach, when she broke in two as soon as she landed, and all hands perished in sight of the affected captain and his boat’s crew, who buried the bodies of their unfortunate shipmates as soon as the sea had delivered them up.

There is another remarkable peculiarity in this island:  its shores, to a very considerable extent out to sea, are surrounded with the plant, called fucus maximus, mentioned by Captain Cook; it grows to the depth of sixty fathoms, or one hundred and eighty feet, and reaches in one long stem to the surface, when it continues to run along to the enormous length of three or four hundred feet, with short alternate branches at every foot of its length.  Thus, in the stormy ocean,