The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1869-10-14
ROBINSON causoE's ISLAND.

VI tuo 1CuVWuCu 1toukUoUu STuSOc.
The latter may properly be mention
ed in, the same category with the for
NOR, but with the difference that
epoor old Crusoe's" adventures were
founded on actual facts. The princi-
pal island Of the Juan Fernandez
group lying about $50 miles due west
from Valparaiso, Chill, was the
scene of Silkirk's adventures, upon
which ho was cast away and impris-
oned for over four years. This island
is indiferontly knownto sailors and
gcographers as "Mas o. TERRA" as
aSilkirk's" and as "Hobinson Cru
soe's." 1t is claimed by tho Chilian
government; colony OF Chillcnos
has been implanted there, and the
bosom Of the island once abandoned
to solitude is now covered with or
ange groves and plantations, cultiva.
ted by an enterprizing and intelli-
gent population. It ie tho favoritc
resort Of whalers cruising In the
South Pacific ocean, and islthe way
station OF California clippers, which
there rcplenish their stocks Of fresh
provisions, and fill up their water
tanks from tho verffailing springs
which bubble out, clear and cold,
from tho hill sides. l
The U. s. steam sloop Dacotah,
Capt. Spicer, was ordered by the
Admiral to show the American flag
in Juan Fernandex4 ports, and the
writer, with nnusuaF good fortune,
was o guest of the wafd-room officers
during the reconkoisaHce. Tho
steamer weighed anchor one beauti-
full morning, in the port OF Valparai
SO, and after an easy run Of two days
under steam and saillet go her right
bower Cooper in the bay Of Dulce,
on she verge of which stands the
town of Santa Rosa. We wero
ashore bright and early, cruising
over the very waters upon which
the famous adventurer was borne TO
his solitary habitatian; landing on
the very beach whore Crusoe ID sup.
posed to have emerged from the
waters which had well nigh proved
his destruction. We were assured by
the inhabitants that Santa Rosa
stands on the identical spot occupied
by the hut and plantation of the gay
old boy,-and, indeed, We hit upon
many circumstances and incl
dents which strongly corroberated
the truth of the statement. The
confguration Of the land, the inlet,
the stream, the springs ard tho
wood, Tailed well with their descrip-
tion as given IN the book, and prov
&C incontestlbly that its author had
the facts directly from the MSS. of
the man whose fortune it was to
have been cast away on this terra tn
cognito. De Foe has been charged
with having surreptitiously taken
tho story of Crusoe from the papers
of Silkirk. There can be no doubt
that tho material facts were taken
from the papers; but, it is equally
certain that De Foe himself supplied
the romance, and wove the whole
into a fabric that will last as long as
the rocks of Mas a-1icrrG themselves.
As we assembled little knoll in the
rear of the town, and with our glass
es scanned the beach, the plain and
wood, we almost expected the ghost
OF Crusoe, fanked by the shadowy
outline of his man Friday, to arise in
our very midst. We almost fancied
that we could sec those horrid canni-
balls, on tho beach in the midst of
their Internal orgies; aud in our exu-
berant enthusiasm pictured tho STRAIT
egic movements of Crusoe as he was
preparing to fall single-handed upon
the wretches there feasting, uncon-
scious Of danger, upon the bodies of
their enemies. But instead Of COB
Inns; in lieu of man-eaters, we saw
only the waving banana groves, the
orange trees laden with their golden
fruit, the busy little town, the vessels
riding lazily in the harbor, and the
sugar and cotton factories OF that
great yankee, Josh. Fullalove, which
dotted the plain on either hand
Fullalove is character, He was
originally whaling captain, is now
q planter, ship owner aud u king
pin among the islanders, generally
He figures in tho Reade Boureioauit
novel called "Foul Play" and the
character is correctly dclincatcd
thcrein. His name is also correctly
stated-a singular liberty on The part
of the authors.
Alexander Selkirk's $ case has bccn,
and always will, beinvolvodin doubt.
Whether he was shipwrecked, or
whether hc was deserted on the un-
inhabited island by an inhuman cap
tain, is the point contested. The
better opinion, however, is that his
vessel was wrecked in the year 1904,
and that he tho solo survivor
reached tie island in safety, whence
he was rescued four years and four
months afterwards by one Capt. Rog-
ers, who landed him in England
Be that as it may, his story, handed
down SO long, is one of the most in
teresting on record-cven when di-
vested Of all the glamour and ro-
nance with which Do Foe has sur
rounded it. Macaulay said "what
man does not remember with pleas
| ure, mingled with regret, the first
time that he read Robinson Crusoe 2"
| Valuable lessons have been learned
and m orals drawn from the story
Leigh Hunt has said: "thero are
Robinson Crusoes in tho moral as
we'll as physical world men cas-. on
the desert islands Of thought and
speculations without companionship;
without resources forced to arm aud
cloth themselves out Of tho remains
OF shipwrecked hopes, and to make a
house of their solitary hearts in tho
hooks aud corners OF Imagination" !"
We were amplyrepaid for our visit
to tho island. The people We're kind
and hospitable their fruits were de-
licious, and their tables were bounti-
fully spread. Ii was with universal
regret that we saw the Prov Of the
| steamer headed for Valparaiso.