The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-09-05
ROBINSON CRUS0E'S ISLE.
,r.NEzRNANDaZ ASIrIS AND ITS
HUNDRED INHABITAN

sbore at Juan Fernandez, Is TO start Tor
.so famous Lookout, from the top of which
40 saws the historian-poor Crusoe used to
,.otch for a sail, land yet no sail from day
,odavn But he is likely to be long on the
nav though it is less than mile from the
landing place, because there are several
Il ooints of interest to be viewed en- route.
4 First. there are the people-a hundred hands
81 no shaken and thousand eager questions
4 - he answered, for the arrival of ship is
nv no means a matter of every day, and
Tban one does appear in the harbOr. the
q lonesome islanders, old and young, troop
q down to me t her. Though voluntary ex-
Il lies in this beautiful place. where nature
has been lavish in supplying everything
q recessary to sustain life without labor, the
n coionists pine for news from the distant
world. whose echoes come to Them like
a sogels' visits, few aud far between"
Though no longer convict colony, as in
days long past, the island is virtually Il
4 nrison. whose bolts and bars are ocean bill
lows. ard many u modern Crusoe voices his
N predecessors sentiments:
oh. Solitude! Where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy faceg
Retter dwell in the midst of alarms
Than reign in this horrible p acct
There are about 100 residents on Juan
Fernandez. mostly German and Chilean
rancbmen and their families; for some
wears ago the island was leased to a rich
cattle company, who have now as many as
$4,000 head Of horned cattle and twice as
many horned sheep, grazing in the narrow
valleys and on the green foothills. The
cottages Of the colonists are mostly within
sight OF the landing. set in the midst of
orchards on the side of hill sloping down
to the sea, and the oppressive silence Of
Selkirk's time has given place to the bleat-
ing and lowing of 1ocks and herds,
the merry shouts of children and
sounds of human activity. The houses
are extremely picturesque, and made
Of the bright yellow straw of wild
oats, woven in and out through bamboo
wattles aud matched with the same. Their
high, peaked roofs project all around far
beyond the walls, and the doorways are
shaded by straw-thstched porches, remind
ing one Of French-C Canadian cottages or
ehaets in the valley of the Seine. Each
little home is enclosed within wall of
stones and brushwood, its rustic gateway
overrun with luxuriant vines; and within
the enclosures are granaries, storehouses
and other outbuildings, all set up on poles
to Keep them out of the water during the
heavy rains of June, July and August.
There is no winter in this latitude, but the
wet season, though short, is more trying
than northern ice and snow.
Whoever goes to Juan Fernandez finds
himself enthusiastically welcomed by every
soul on the island. aud receives Just as many
pressing invitations to lunch, to dine, and to
stop over until some other boat comes along,
es there are homes on the island, and if he
has been so thoughtful as to bring along a
few old books or newspapers, he has earned
the lasting gratitude of the people. Besides
caring for their focks, the settlers raise
fruits and vegetables to sell to passing yes
sells. The soil is wonderfully productive,
especially in the northern valleys, where de-
cayed vegetable matter and rich deposits of
burned earth have washed down from the
mountains Grass and oats spring up spon-
taneously in the open space, and vegetables
OF all kinds grow abundnntly wherever the
seeds are scattered. Wild grapevines and
fig trees bearing excellent fruit flourish on
the slopes, and there are many natural
orchards grown from seeds planted cen.
tury ago by Selkirk and other mariners.
Besides peaches, apricots, pears, ounces
and other fruits common to temperate
climates, the chuta is everywhere-s species
OF palm which produces delicious berry
aud among an endless variety OF indigenous
lockwood and myrtle.
1t appears that Lord Arson, an English
man. has done more for the settlement
and cultivation OF the island than the gov-
eminent that owns it. He stopped here
first by chance IN the year 1741 for the pur-
pose Of recruiting his ships after a success
Ion OF disasters in their passage around
Cape Horn. The loss and danger he had
experienced led him to establish a sort of
recruiting station on Jnan Fernandez for
ms own and other disabled ships He de-
voted months to the production here of such
fruits and vegetables az sailors crave, and
caused quantities Of seeds to be scattered all
over the islands that future voyagers might
gud variety Of refreshment. lie also
ielt ashore great many domes-
Tic animals, that they might become
numerous, for the benefit of vessels in dis
tress for provisions, castaways, and ship
wrecked mariners. He who plants an
owe, plants for his children's children"
Lord Arson could not expect TO derive
much personal advantage from these
benevolent acts. but how many lives have
oeen saved by his philanthropy there is no
human record to show After his death
ms ms papers fell into the hands of Richard
walters, chaplain of the Centurion, who
compiled from them the most reliable
description and accurate Typographical
survey OF Juan Fernandez that has ever
been made.
:, lhongh the tillable area is small, because
there is so little level ground, it is asserted
tnat several thousand people might subsist
oO.ulIortaoly on the main island alone, with
ou1 any supplies from other countries be-
yonu exchanging their surplus productions
"iIu passing VESSELS for clothing and gro
eolleS. Inc not very enterprising inhabi-
ahts OF to-day live chiefly on fish and goat
Aesn, OF which there is an exhaustIess SUP
py; BOAT loads of the finest cod, rock fish,
ca arieS' poosters, lamprey cells. ETC.. may be
Ut as last as they can be hauled in any
; uoie around the shores, and pheasants,
ptseons and other birds ara as abundant as
'ue wlld goats and rabbits.
n1'enued by numerous volunteer guides
. In among the bospitable settlers, we
osSin SCI out for the Lookout, but turned
ia a'ue MIDWAY between the cliff and the
.anuln &c explore some Observation-Disclosures
caves In hillside, topped bv ruined forti-
ncations. These are all that remain of the
snS founded here by Spain in 1850.
IN nt - VI one Chllian penal colony es ablished
~ Tue same spot in 1919 The Standards
~ great Tort and a town, both of which
IT,. destroyed the following wear by a vio-
,eIt earthquake. They We're Immediately
b.bil', and were in good order and in
I9er 'eu "nen Carteret visited the leland in
49, earthquakes are frequent in the
m ,ocnulpelago, and several within the memory
coSniG3ry OF people now living have done
tb Saslderaole damage. Nothing remains of
ro.. enclent Tort but its foundations and a
S SEiS On OF ITS ramparts, embedded in red
IT, ciay and grown over with weeds.
80 no convict colony was established as
s sUn as Chile gained her independence. and
h era more than 1000 criminals we're
vi COurse. altar thu mo r,nnr. Of