The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1872-07-11
POOR ROBINSON CRUsOE.


q
The Asassiz Expedition Upon the ISL
tA- nnd 81 Juan Fernandez.
Ths correspoIrlcrso sof TIE NewyorkHp-
faid with the iEisslers expeJ;tion tdus tjc-
siriles alc ishad Of jass FerpaRl lez, With
its relics of the long and solitary residence
! Of Alexander Selkifk: sTH0 : ,TG gEE
! InlGsl a Mosquito Ind an wa. lef; there,
lived solita'iy for three years, and was then
removed In l7c4 4Ncxander Sekirls was
landed from, 81 an.sh galley AMI remained
there alone till be was Suc;orc in i7G]
/ 1t is to his story, as told by himself to De-
( foe, that we owe Robinson Crusoe," per
/ haps the most widely known of all works
Of fiction in all ages. 1t does not, it is trne,
adhere closely to Selkirk's narrative, and,
J indeed, the story, as written b. Defoc,
would place its hero on an island in the
Atlantic, and not far from the equator.
Probably T obago corresponds more closely
than any other to the description given. 1t
was, hrwevcr, from Selkirk that Defoo li-st
received the stimulus to undertake, and tb.
groundwork upon which to base thc tale,
which has made them both infinitely more
lannon's than they would have been if Dcfe
had simply Transcribed and published Sell
kirk's account. In lIil Lord Anson land
Ell on Juan Fernandez with the remnant Of
the crews Of three vessels. The scurvy was
making frightfu havoc among them, but
/ the fresh TOO ;.rsI midi climate of tlre isl
aal restorci Them III t, health, and thcy
wentawag to sing itsspraiseS. In 1851
! Spanish settlement was started there, but
was soon destroyed by the great earthquake
and Tor Il number of years subsequently the
island was only tr;,usieutly and irr,,c aIarlv
inhabited. In 1919 a penal colony was cs-
/ tabished tl,ere hy the Gillian Government,
but the prisoners. growing too numerous,
rose on the troops and ovcrpowcrcd them.
! Ihe expense Of maintaining Il military force
strong enough to quel such insurrcction,
vas iou,;d to be 50 great that the island
was again abandoned 70 solitude.
We had expected to find a German set
I tlcmcnt there, but on going on shore We
were met by an intelligent Chiian, who
spoke excellent English, aud who informed
IL that the island was ut present leased
from the Chlian Government bv a .,crtlc-
man residing in Valparaiso. There arc but
/ twelve people in all now living there whose
Iocc,Te,tion iS the cultivation of the soil and
I the care "f the live stock, which consists Of
Nime iiuc cattle AMI Il few fowls The wild
goats were said to- he as numerous as ever,
but the dogs had been hunted and Killed
IN their turn until there ya~ bat one soil
t,ry individual left on the i;lauI Beef,
vegetables, and f.c,', milk are soltto YES
>cl> >t"pr,ns f, 7 supplies AMI especially to
American wha,rr$, whI &rr the rhicf els
TONER'S. nurn., the twent four hours of
'nr stay there everything Wa done in tho
ray or coI'ccir- which was possiols-f-h-
IS, crabs, >trimpe, AMI Holsters of yari"uS
.c,cr! bcn. obtained from the bay, It few
birds from t!,n hills, an | :, variety ct m,iu>-
81 along the shore. 4 shark "f the family
fc""f'ins was iarDpbncl E,r one Of the Of
jcrrs from the stern of the vessel, ard was
i>>cctr,l AND preserved. The whi!c island
Evcncl tons distinctly volcanic, the rocks
consisting of h,tstlt;c green stone and trap,
...,t ,,,.,,,a ...r,-..-. .-s.r r'.r,',
scconl lo>iuoa # Which has produce II
moderately fertile hHt loose aud crp"b.'"s
soil. The botany was foli.d t" hc "i -5rcA,
interest, IN | rcscn,l,c That Of C!tili mnc!
! more than Wa tl,nu-ht probable from the
Erection Of the prevailing winlS and cur
,mts. We subsequently discovered, "'
more carefully comlarim. specimens, tina
g il WAS only rc,rmlance, aul that Their
A..rr very few c,s,: Of iieAtity of species
rhe dark foliage Of the myrtio prc'lnnlnatr
on the hill-s,Ies, but h., peach, cherry, az
ple aud other fruit trees grow IN abundance
ana Palm, flourish on tn. samn!ts, thoug
they do not dcsccuI into the valleys. II
oats, wild radi>hcS, straw berry plants, ma"
tree ferns, liehens and mOSscs were ais
t seen in great abundance, and parasitic We;
3 etaiion seems torosscss iuxuriancc Il
y mos, tropical High up on one of the hi
a a bronze plate was found, fastened IN tt
IS rocky wall of mountain path, aud bcariT
II the following inscriptii%1ny: OF
IS ALIEN ANDER >tIhlRN.
hAKINEE,
an tive OF /. egg, in the count nl rue So
I'd lant, wno i've on TITS is and IA co 'il&t.s &
- -. I',orJ tr,,m tie Caimaus PorIS, : lley oil
r. u,uety-.ix tons and sixteen Gut :, IA l't I,'
us VS. taken of IN tie Duke, privit err ~ ~
:. ruary 11Ug. lie ite Lieutenant "t II NJ. ..
~ WEYMOUTH A. D 1i2S. aged Il years.
m ThIs lapiet is srr,ted ae"r Se.hi' h : looh
;; ,t hv ,,nmmo Ior, Pow ell and tue ON cers o.
:, f. VI S. Topaz, A. ISIS.
- al E~.Y..'- -'s'''' -
The most Interesting spot on the lsia