The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1886-07-06
Robinson Crusoe.
Cor. New York Times.

Cor. New York Times.
Two little boys on board the ship, who
were returning 10 their home In Trini-
dad, happened to bave copy OF Rob
inson Crusoe' with them, and as We
we're steaming past the island of Toba-
go, borrowed it and went 10 the Cap
tain's room. Captain Fraser brought
out his charts and together we went care.
fully over the passage in Robinson
Crusoe" describing his voyage and ship
wreck, folloming The course of Crusoe's
ship on the chart. 1t was the plainest
thing imaginable that she could have
struck no other land than the island Of
Tobago, and it is beyond doubt, in my
mind, that Defoe had this island in view
when he wrote that story.
1t is said by some Of his biographers
that be made geographical blunder in
locating bis island but there is no blum.
der there; everything is as correct and
clear as possible, Aud Tobago corre-
spopds in every particular with the de-
scrip,ion Of Robinson Crusoe's island
There is no other island near but Trini.
dad, and if he bad been wrecked there
it would have taken him long time 10
discover that he was not on the main
land, Trinidad is 80 large. Anybody
who will take the trouble to look at even
an ordinary map, and follow closely the
thread of the story, will see that Toba-
60 was the island on which the ship
struck So, having shown, as ] think,
that this is really the island on which the
imaginary Robinson Crusoe lived, | shall
invite you to take look at it.
Tobago is small island, thirty-two
miles long and twelve miles broad, lying
in latitude IL degrees Is minutes 6Ode
grees 40 minutes west. 1t is sixteen
miles northeast Of Trinidad and eighty.
two miles southeast OF Grenada. On
clear days Trinidad may EASILY be seen
from any high mill, and so may the cas-
tern spur of the Andes, on the mainland
of South America, and it was no doubt
theee mountains that Crusoe saw when
he wrote: II now resolved TO travel
quite across to the sea-shore on that
side; so, taking my gun, Ratchet and
my dog, and larger quantity OF pow.
der and shot ihsn usual, with two bis
cult cakes and great bunch of raisins in
my pouch tor nv store, began my
journey. When | had passed the vale
where my bower stood, ss above, came
within view Of the sea to the west, and,
it being very clear day, fairly descri.
bed land, whether an island or continent
/ could not tell but 1t Law very high, ex.
tending from the west to west-south-
west at very great distance; by my
guess it could not be less than fifteen or
twenty lesgues off
This is another illustration OF Defoe's
wonderful faculty Of giving accurate de-
scriptions Of places'he had never seen;
for he never visited the New World, and
vet be could not have described the view
from Tobago more accurately il he had
been sitting on one of her hills when he
wrote. We must not expect TO find To-
bago the wild place 1t was 10 Crusoe's
time. 1t has since been settled by the
English, and has towns, plantations,
roads, forts, and military establish
meut. There are nearly hundred es.
tates, through which twelve rivers flow;
and this latter tsct Defoe must haze
been acquainted With, for he could not
safely have jumped at the conclusion
that there we're rivers in Tobago, as very
few OF ttese Caribbean Islands have any
rivers at all
The island was at one time in the pos
session of the French, and then there
were twenty-five forts on it-one on the
shore of each OF the twenty-five bays
that indent its coast Near the north
east corner OF the island Is an islet call
ed Little Tobago, about two miles long
by one broad. The population is COM
posed very largely Of negroes, and it is
a little unromantic to learn that or Rob-
inson Crusoe's island more than half a
century ago, the negroes made little
revolt that deprived the white inhabitants
of all their vegetables. Notwithstand
ing the example OF industry and perser.
vance that Robinson Crusoe had set
them, they were all either too lazy OF
too proud to cultivate the soil, except to
raise sugar, coffee and tobacco, and this
work was all done by slaves. They
thought it beneath their dignity even to
have vegetable gardens. But each slave
was allowed a little piece of land for
.'provision ground" and on these
grounds they raised vegetables enough
to supply both themselves and the whites.
They carried these to market, and, ny
selling them, supplied themselves with a
little money AS they had q monopoly
OF the business, they charged such exor.
hitant prices for their vegetables, that the
Legislature passed an act regulating the
prices they might demand. Like mod.
ern monopolista, however, they we're
ready with "little scheme" They just
stopped raising vegetables, and in a
short time there we're none on the island,
80 the'Legislature bad to rescind the act,
and let the darkies 60 on charging their
own prices. In August, 1880, all the
slaves on the island we're set free, and
on that day they dressed up in their best
clothes and went to the churches to offer