Book contents
- Frontmatter
- INTRODUCTION
- Contents
- CHAPTER I WHY WE WENT
- CHAPTER II THE VOYAGE
- CHAPTER III ST. HELENA
- CHAPTER IV WHAT ASCENSION LOOKED LIKE
- CHAPTER V ASCENSION PAST AND PRESENT
- CHAPTER VI ROUND ABOUT GARRISON
- CHAPTER VII A NIGHT ON THE CLINKER
- CHAPTER VIII CHANGE AND CHECK
- CHAPTER IX MARS BAY
- CHAPTER X A SUNDAY SCENE
- CHAPTER XI THE OPPOSITION OF MARS
- CHAPTER XII THE SEA-SHORE AND THE ROLLERS
- CHAPTER XIII GREEN MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XIV SUNDAY AT THE MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XV WHY WE HAD ONLY A GALLON OF WATER
- CHAPTER XVI TRIPS FROM GARDEN COTTAGE
- CHAPTER XVII MARS BAY WITHOUT A COOK
- CHAPTER XVIII WIDE-AWAKE FAIR
- CHAPTER XIX LAST DAYS AT MARS BAY
- CHAPTER XX CHRISTMAS IN GARRISON
- CHAPTER XXI ABOUT THE KROOMEN
- CHAPTER XXII CLINKER CEMETERIES
- CHAPTER XXIII CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
- CHAPTER XXIV THE DEVIL'S RIDING SCHOOL
- CHAPTER XXV HOMEWARD BOUND
CHAPTER VI - ROUND ABOUT GARRISON
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2011
- Frontmatter
- INTRODUCTION
- Contents
- CHAPTER I WHY WE WENT
- CHAPTER II THE VOYAGE
- CHAPTER III ST. HELENA
- CHAPTER IV WHAT ASCENSION LOOKED LIKE
- CHAPTER V ASCENSION PAST AND PRESENT
- CHAPTER VI ROUND ABOUT GARRISON
- CHAPTER VII A NIGHT ON THE CLINKER
- CHAPTER VIII CHANGE AND CHECK
- CHAPTER IX MARS BAY
- CHAPTER X A SUNDAY SCENE
- CHAPTER XI THE OPPOSITION OF MARS
- CHAPTER XII THE SEA-SHORE AND THE ROLLERS
- CHAPTER XIII GREEN MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XIV SUNDAY AT THE MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XV WHY WE HAD ONLY A GALLON OF WATER
- CHAPTER XVI TRIPS FROM GARDEN COTTAGE
- CHAPTER XVII MARS BAY WITHOUT A COOK
- CHAPTER XVIII WIDE-AWAKE FAIR
- CHAPTER XIX LAST DAYS AT MARS BAY
- CHAPTER XX CHRISTMAS IN GARRISON
- CHAPTER XXI ABOUT THE KROOMEN
- CHAPTER XXII CLINKER CEMETERIES
- CHAPTER XXIII CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
- CHAPTER XXIV THE DEVIL'S RIDING SCHOOL
- CHAPTER XXV HOMEWARD BOUND
Summary
Our first work was, of course, the Observatory, for observations ought to begin on the 17th of July, and it was necessary that no time should be lost in getting ready.
Our twenty tons of baggage had been landed on the evening of our arrival. At 6 o'clock on the following morning, carts were busy bringing up the numerous cases from the pierhead, and marines were at work unscrewing box-lids and unsoldering tin-lined cases. The sound of hammer and saw woke an echo in the still morning, and by breakfast time the croquet ground was littered with extraordinary heaps of queershaped materials.
In the south-west corner, masons were laying down a level bed of cement for the sleepers of the circular railway on which the Heliometer House revolves; for, as stars had to be observed in all parts of the heavens, the opening of the Observatory must necessarily be arranged to view any part of the sky. This was managed as follows.
A strong octagonal frame was mounted on flanged wheels rolling on the railway, and this frame carried a structure of iron gas-pipes, screwed together and stiffened by cross ties of iron wire—the whole forming a species of cage. To make this a good water-tight house, it was necessary then to cover it with canvas, previously shaped and fitted with means of attachment to the frame.
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- Information
- Six Months in AscensionAn Unscientific Account of a Scientific Expedition, pp. 69 - 81Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1878