Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1869-03-04

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vegetables -cabbages, turnips, parsnips, radishes
water-cresses parsley and sorrel, with pimento
pepper by way of seasoning. The climate wa:
splendid, with two-months Winter, and that o.
the midest description.
Selkirk built himself two huts of pimento wood
lining them with goat-skins, and covering then
with grass. The smallest of the two contained hi
culinary utensils and served as kitchen the
larger one he used as living and bedroom Steele
drawing upon his imagination, describes this as 8
most delicious bower, wherein the ownerlay famed
with continued breezes and gentle aspirations Of
wind making his repose, after the fatigues of the
chase, equal to the most sensual pleasures. In
truth, it was long time before he could repose
there with any comfort, by reason of its being the
favorite rendezvous of multitude of rats, who
nibbled his toes and gnawed his clothes After 8
time, however, he got round him band of tame
cats, who, mounting guard in his bedchamber
scared the rats away. His invaluable friend, the
pimento-tree, supplied him with candles and fra.
grant fuel Goats abounded everywhere in the
island, and by dint Of practice, by the time his
ammunition was used up, he had grown so fleet Of
foot, that he could run down his game when he
wanted dinner. To provide against contingen,
ces, Sekirk reared la large number of kids, tanning
them and teaching them and his cats all sorts Of
tricks In this way he insured a supply Of food,
in case he should be prevented hunting-a thing
that only happened once, when he was laid up for
ten days by falling over precipice while pursuing
goat Of course, the rough life soon wore out
his clothes; but he contrived to make himself a
suit of goat-skin which was servceable, if not be-
coming. Shoes he failed with, although he had
learned the art of making them. During his So
pass, but only two entered the harbor. From them
some Spaniards landed, who, catching sight of Al
exander, gave chase but he easily outdistanced
them. He was not disturbed in his privacy again
until he received the visitors with whom he left
his little domain forever after residence of four
years and four months
/ In l7OS, some Bristol merchants, persuaded by
Dampier, sent the Duke and the Duchess Cap
tains Rogers and Dover, to the South Seas, Dam
pier himself acting as pilot. On the last day Of
January, the expedition arrived off Juan Fernan-
dez, and while they were yet four leagues from the
land, Dover determined to go ashore with the pin
mace. Captain Rogers says: Gas soon as it was
dark, we saw light ashore our boat was then
about league from the island, and bore away for
the ships as soon as she saw the light. We put
out lights aboard for the boat, though some were
of opinion the light we saw was our boats light
but as night came on it appeared too large for that
We fired our quarterback gun and several mus
kets showing lights in our mizzen and fore shrouds.
About two in the morning our boat came on board.
We are all convinced the light is on the shore, and
design to make our ships ready to engage, believ-
ing them to be French ships at anchor: and we
must fight them or want water. All this stir and
apprehension arose from one poor naked man, who
passed in our imagination for Spanish garrison,
body of French, or crew of pirates The light
was fire Selkirk had kindled, in the belief that
the ships were English ones. When the vessels
stood in, he waved a white flag, and received his
countrymen with joy, entertaining them with the
best his larder contained. 1t required some per-
suasion to induce him to 60 on board only consent
ing upon receiving promise that he should be al
lowed to leave again if he chose; but "he found
such entertainment as made him no longer fond Of
his solitary retirement" Rogers describes him as
man clothed in goats skins, looking wilder than
the first owners Of them. Dampier gave him a
good word, and he was offered and accepted the
mateship of the Duke. The Governor, as the
sailors dubbed him, could at first hardly make
himself understood; he seemed to speak all his
words by halves but he soon felt himself at home
among his messmates, and was eager to leave the
place where he had so long lived alone. Some ten
years afterwards, the island was again occupied by
four runaways from an English ship, but they only
remained there two months In 1920, the Speed
well was wrecked off Juan Fernandez, and the
crew stad there some months till they built bark
when they departed, leaving behind them eleven
white men and thirteen blacks and Indians, who
are supposed to have surrendered to the Spaniards
as two years afterwards no signs of them were to
be seen on the island.
Peter Serrano, the Spaniard who bequeathed his
name to the sterile islandrock in the Caribbean Sea
upon which he passed four years of his life, was
not so favored by fortune as Selkirk. The sea was
his only purveyor-its cookies, shrimps and turtle,
his only food Undaunted by the prospect, Serra-
no. like wise man, made the best of circumstan-
ces His first care was to provide against any ces-
sation of supplies by drying as much turtle-Aesh
as he could get the larger shells he converted in
to water-jars, filling them by ladling up the rain
puddles by means of the smaller ones. Soon be-
coming tired of eating his fish diet raw, he set his
wits to work to get fire; steel he had in his
pocket but although he travcrsed this island
from one end to the other, stones he found none
so he took himself to his storehouse, the sea; and
after diving again and again, brought up couple
of flints, which he found would answer his pur-
pose. Tinder he procured by robbing his shirt.
Then he gathered together sea-weed, shells and
ships planks, and made himself fire, which he
protected from rain by wall Of turtle shells. AL
though he managed to shelter his fire, his ingenui
ty failed him when he sought to shelter himself
from the heat of the sun; and he was compelled
when its rays grew unbearable, to plunge into the
sea. His clothes soon wore out; and being unable
either to replace or repair them, he did as Adam
had done before him, went without. In this way
he lived for three years and eight months, the
smoke-sgnals he sent up to attract the attention Of
passing ships, only serving to make them give the
rock wider berth. Then came a visitor who had
Aoated thither from wreck. If the new arriva
was astonished, the old inhabitant was equally So
Considering the appearance Serrano must have cu
with his naked body covered with coarse bristles
and beard reaching to his waist the new comer's
dismay was excusabe; but Peter was actually the
more frightened of the two-he thought Satar
himself had come to see him; and it was not unit
the fresh castaway had shouted out few credoe
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