Morning journal and courier., 1892-01-21
CRUSoR,s ISLAND.
How Juan hernandez Appears 60 ,
Tourist ofTo-day.

HOW Juan hernandez Appears 20 n
Tourist of To-day.
from the Chicago Herald
The first thing tourist does on going
ashore at Juan Fernandez is to start for
the famous Lookout, from the top of which
80 says the historian-poor Crusoe used
to watch for q sail, land yet no sail from
day to day." But he is likely to be long
on the way, though it is less than a mile
from the landing place, because there are
several points of interest to be viewed en-
route. First, there are the people, hun
dred hands to be shaken and a thousand
eager questions to be answered; for the ar
rival of q ship is by no means a matter of
every day, and when one does appear in the
harbor the lonesome islanders, old and
young, troop down to meet her.
Though voluntary exile in this beautiful
place, where nature has been lavish in sup
plying everything necessary to sustain life
without labor, the colonists pine for news
from the distant world, whose echoes come
to them like angels visits, ''few and far be-
tween" Though no longer q convict col
ony as in days past, the island is virtually
a prison, whose bolts and bars are ocean
pillows, and many a modern crusoe voices
his predecessors sentiment:
Oh, solitude. Where are the charms
That ssges have seen in thy faceg
Better dwell in the midst of alarms
Than reign in this horrible place!
There are about 100 residents on Juan
Fernandez, mostly German and Chilian
ranchmen and their families; for some years
ago the island WAS leased to q rich cattle
company, who have now as many as 30, 900
head of horned cattle and twice as many
sheep grazing in the narrow valleys and on
the green foot hills. The cottages of the
colonists are mostly within sight of land
ing, set in the midst of orchards on the
side of hill sloping down to the ses, and
the oppressive silence of Selkirk's time has
given place to the bleating and lowing of
focks and herds the merry shouts of chill
drsn 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 and thatched with the same Their
high peaked roofs project all around far
beyond the walls, and the doorways are
shaded by straw -thatched porches, remind
ing one of the French Canadian cottages or
chalets in the valley of the Seine. Each
little home is enclosed with wall of stones
and brushwood, its rustic gateway overrun
with luxuriant vines, and within the in
closure are grsnaries, storehouses and 9TH
er out buildings, 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 sea-
son, though short, is more irving than
northern ice and snow.
Whoever goes to Juan Fernandez finds
himself enthusiastically welcomed by every
soul on the island, and receives Just as
many pressing invitations to lunch, to dine
and to stop over until some other boat
comes along, as there are homes on the is
land, and If he has been SO thoughtful as
to bring along few old books or newspa-
pers he has earned the last gratitude of the
people. Besides caring for their Hocks the
settlers raise fruits and vegetables to sell
to passing vessels. The sod L. wonderful
ly productive. especially in the northern
valleys, where decayed vegetable matter
and rich deposits of burned earth have
been washed down from the mountains.
Grass and oats spring up spontaneously
in the open space, and vegetables Of all
kinds grow abundantly wherever the seeds
are scattered. Wild grapevines and hg
trees. bearing excellent fruit, flourish on
the Slopes, and there are many natural
orchards grown from seeds planted a cen
tury ago by Selkirk and other mAriners
Besides peaches, apricots, pears, ounces
and other fruits common to temperate cli-
mates, the chuta Is sverywhere-a species
of palm-which produces delicious berry.
and among the endless variety of indigen-
GUS trees are pimento (pepper(, sandal,
lockwood and myrtle.