Evening star., 1922-03-15
ISLAND IS RULED
I LIKE NAVY VESSEL
Small British Possession
Has Only Captain, Officers,
Crew and Turtles.

"An island that is by official fiction
a ship"
Such Is Ascension island. between
Africa and South America. says
bulletin from the National Geo.
graphic Society. 1t is this island, ac-
cording to dispatches from England.
which the British admiralty Is
seriously considering evacuating as u
means of saving the 20O.000-odd
dollars which it costs British tax
payers annually.
Ascension island Is unique among
British possessions because Of the
method by which 1t is governed" con-
tinues the bulletin by way of ex-
PLANTATION. "A naval captain under
controls the rather limited destiny
OF the six by seven mile territory. for
all the world as his fellow captains
control their ships. The little garri-
son and it's families. and the servants.
who are largely negroes from Liberla
only 200 or 300 inhabitants at most
make up the crew Of the good
ship Ascension. The queer govern
mental arrangement has worked out
most satisfactorily since the island
was first occupied by the British in
1915. and has won the praise of such
an observer as Charles Darwin. who
stopped for a while on Ascension dur
Ing voyage for scientific study.
Companion Island to st. Helena.
Ascension is, broadly speaking. a
companion isle to st. Helena, 500
| miles to the southeast. Both were
probably created by the same general
| volcanic upheaval which pushed
| number of pinnacles above the sur
! face OF the south Atlantic. But AS
! cension has not been able to boast
| of being the place of residence of an
eXiled monarch, though its occupa-
| ton was connected in a way with
Napoleon's exile. The island was oc-
! cupied by the British navy in 1915
| largely for the purpose of more COM
| pletely guarding the isolation Of the
distinguished prisoner. 1t has since
| been maintained in the double ca
pacity Of a supply station for British
| naval vessels and the mountain site
Of a sanatorium for sailors and ma
| rines sick as a result Of duty on the
| tropical coast Of Africa.
THE isolation of Ascension is more
! marked even than that of Robinson
Liberia. the nearest point in Africa,
! and 1.400 miles from the eastern tip
| Of South America Like practically
all of the other islands of the south
! Atlantic, Ascension was discovered
by the Portuguese. That was in 1901.
| 1t was uninhabited and remained un-
| occupied until the time Of Napoleon's
| exile.
Land Of Gigantic Turtles.
There was nothing about Ascen-
sion to prove attractive to settlers.
All of the lower part Of the island
| was practically without plant life, be-
cause of drought. Only the upper
part Of Green mountain. which
| reaches height Of more than $500
feet. supported a growth Of grass
and shrubs. 1t is near the summit
of this mountain that a sanatorium
has been maintained. A limited
acreage in the uplands is cultivated
to furnish vegetables and fruits for
the sanatorium and for the little
hamlet of Georgetown, established on
the lee shore near an anchorage.
Grasses and shrubs also have been
planted on the lower uplands
mo vertebrate life was found on
the >island. But in the spring 1t has
always been land of gigantic tur-
ties. Thousands OF the reptiles,
weighing 500 to 500 pounds each,
swarm to the beaches at that time
and deposit their eggs in the sand.
'Flocks' Of turtles are kept in ponds
and from time to time individuals are
made into soup and other delicacies
Tor the garrison