Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-06-15
The Longest Ladder in the world.

On approaching the roads of james
TOWN. in the island of St. Helena, your at
tention is attracted by an enormous ladder
that extends from the town beneath, to a
fortidirectly over the town. on the summit
of hill, eight hundred feet high. On in
qdfry1 found that sentinels were placed
both below and above, for the purpose Sof
preventing any one ascending or descend
ing without an order from the town major.
This regulationwas adopted in consequence
OF the lumber of accidents, attended with
fatal n u'eonseauenees,s that had oceurred.s
Together with aseomeanion, after dinner, L.
rambled down to the guard-housess and
having found the town, major there, Yves
obtained an order to permit our ascent.v,
The ladder is composed of steps more
than three feet i'm width, and some four
inches in breadth, firmly fastened in sides
ofgreat strength. On either side Is a hand
rail, such a width that you can convent
entity lay q hand on either side The steps
are upward of eighteen inches apart and
great numbers of them much decayed., At
regular distances ARE small seats for fest@
ing places. Il On one side, withouta the lads
der,Sa Description of slide has been formed,
along which pdlIeys are fixed. Tor the pur-
poset It. would seem, of1raising anything
from the town beneath; or lowering from
thefoft above. The face of the hill against
which the ladder is erected, is extremely
steep, SO as utterly to preclude the idea Of
places there are perfect precipices, the
rocks completely overhanging.
At the bottom We found no sentry, and
proceeded TO ascend at once, but had not
attained above the height of hundred
feet when we heard voice hailing us, and
who in his walk had been concealed from
us when below by an intervening pro-
lection. Down we had to 60, and having
shown our pass, and satisfied the Cerebus,
commenced our ascent again. AT first we
proceeded rapidly, but soon found it not to
answer, the height of each step causing
considerable exeftion.s More slowly then
we e,moVed along, attained the third resting
place, where we seated ourselves, and turn
ed to view the town beneath, with its mar
row streets and confined situation, COVER
ing, as it were, between the two mighty
hills that seem to press it on either side.
Aloft we turned our eyes, anX0usly wish
ing ourselves at the top, but we had the
best part of the ascent yet to accomplish,
andto eur task WeYonce more Ewent AS
we attained 4 greater height, we found the
steps getting more and more out OF repair,
in some places two or three steps together
broken, so that we had to Chamber up the
best way we could. On, on we went, with
alternatesfests; the town, the bay and the
shipping beneath gradually became more
and more minute, the moving bodies SEEM
ing almost mites. When,we reached with
in q a'hundredfeet of the top, the unusual
fatigue almost overpowered us-the dizzy
height so affected US that we felt as if We
could scarce preserve ourselves from fah-l
iug-yet we persevered, and did succeed in
reaching the top.
A moment later, human being would
have passed into another world. my COM
panion, who was before me, had scarce
passed the gate at the top when he tainted,
completely overcome, and he afterwards
deeIared TO me- that for. the last hundred
feetso so, nothing prevented his ply steal
energies from being overcome by the IA
tigue and the position he was in, but the
immediate prospect ofTreaching place of
safety. Many lives have been lost on this
ladder, partic ularly those of passengers,
whom curiosity induced to attempt the as
cent. The artillerymen and garrison of
the tort are NOT, however, used to going upa
or down, exempt from casualties, and it
was only the week before my visit fe1 st.
Helena that an artilleryman was killed in
attempting to deseendF the ladder against
time, for wager. Ladder-Hill Fort COM
pletely hangs over the bay;Iit is of great
streggth' and c9ppa9ds the roadstead De-
In the batteries are mounted, generally,
eighteen tWenty-fonrZ and thjrty-two
pouRders4 but there are some fewygun OF q
larger caiibef.A a singular accident hap
pened few years previous on this battery.
A passenger from one of the ships in the
bay to- the fort and fookingd
from the fst1parts Of one of the batteries,
perceived his vessel beneaths and thought
ne could reach her with stone, but in his
atte4btt 70 DO, 50, Hyef ba1anced hfmselk and 1
fell from the awful height, being dashed
literally to Vieces IN the fall. After passing
an hour a6 the fort, we descended, but by
the road, which ~ cut iaaa zigzag manner
in the side Of the hills.