Dec 23-24, 1792 Home Flinders's Log Dec 27, 1792
Revised Sep 17 2021
♂ [Tuesday] December 25th Christmas Day – Moderate Land Breeze pleasant cloudy Weather – employed compleating the Holds Several Officers & Gentlemen from the Atalanta on board to see the Green houses – AM. A Party sent to gather Water cresses and the Launch with the empty Casks to fill – Squared the yards and cleaned the Ship fore and aft – the People ordered to clean themselves several on Liberty on shore and aboard the two Ships – The Allowance of Grog for the People as usual every other Day – Cloudy Weather
☿ [Wednesday] December 26th Moderate Breezes and fine Weather a little drizling rain towards Night. Most of the officers on shore – at 6 Received on board 35 Pots containing [blank] Plants for the West India Islands and His Majestys Botanic Garden – the greatest Part of these are useful plants and mostly fruit. AM. Water cresses gathered as usual – Struck the Main Top Gallant Mast hooped it where sprung and swayed it up again – At 8 Up Top Gallant yards &c as usual – Some Hands stowing the Spriit room – Washed and cleaned the Gun, Orlop and Cockpit decks – Preparing Ship for Sea. the Assistant appears to be ready having got her Launch in, Top Gallant sails bent &c – we rather expected she would have been sent to Asscension Island to catch Turtle for the two Ships and waited for us but that does not appear to be the Case – Thomas Mathers (Gunners Mate) discharged his Affairs being in an embarrassed situation in England he preferred staying here. Spruce Beer for the People today
This Island is of a good Height and I make no Doubt on a clear Day might be seen 15 or 20 Leagues –
when [blank] Leagues and bearing West we saw it with this Appearance –
there are two small rocks off its South End, and at the Top of the Mountain is a remarkable Chasm which opens
when you bring it to bear about SSW – Its Appearance when in that Direction was nearly this –
distant 4 or 5 Miles
the principal thing to be observed in coming in with the Land is to keep it close on board, a Westerly Current
running 1½ or 2 Knots makes it almost impossible to beat up again if once passded. but before you come
thus near it will be necessary to send a Boat to inform the Commanding Officer who you are that he may give
the proper Signals to the Forts to let you pass – when abreast of the first, a Man of War will be
saluted by the Battery up Ladder Hill, under which on the East side lays James Town. the 
age
is very good any where from a ¼ to ¾ of a Mile off the Shore in 10 to 15 Fathoms – This
Place is well fortified – having no less than 11 Forts in one View here, in good repair and well
garrisoned, so that it must not be a diminutive Force that would take it and I do not conceive it worth
the Expence of a large one, so that it is doubly safe and the more so, as the same Force that would reduce
thi9s would take the Cape Good Hope a much more valuable
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Place – the Shore itself is inaccessible except
at the regular landing Place and a small Creek which is fortified. the Mountains or rather Mountain for it is
all such, has the most barren inhospitable Appearance of any we have yet seen, and the unusually dry Seasons
they have had lately makes it more so – Nevertheless there are some narrow Vallies inland which produce
Oxen, a few Sheep, plenty of Potatoes and most other common Vegetables and up the Hills are a good Number of
Goats – From the East India Ships which are constantly touching here, they are supplied with rice, Tea,
Sugar and all the Productions of the East. by the two annual Ships from England and other occasional ones
they procure the Commodities of Europe and keep up a Correspondence with the India Directors who are the
sole Masters & Proprietors of this Island. they have likewise one or two Ships which make occasional
Trips to the Cape and other Places so that they are by no means without the Comforts and indeed the Luxuries
of Life add to this the salubrity of the Climate neither too hot or too cold, makes St Helena by no Means
an unpleasant Situation – and if we may judge from the Improvements they have lately made in erecting
and repairing Forts, in the additions to the roads which run all over along the steep sides of the Mountains,
in the Houses they have lately built and particularly the Governors, and in the many barren spots they have
rendered fertile by blowing up rocks &c we may conclude them in flourishing vigorous Condition –
these Improvements have received a considerable Check by the late great Draught [drought], in which they have
suffered almost irreparable Injury amongst their Cattle of which they have lost more than 1500 Head in the
last three years and greatest Part of the Vegetation. this of Course makes every thing extremely dear &
scarce, which we found the Case except those brought from India which were moderate particularly Rice,
Tea &c
Dec 23-24, 1792 Home Flinders's Log Dec 27, 1792