Omaha daily bee., 1898-08-21

valleys on the north Of the island. OF late,
however, am told that this business has
almost entirely disappeared, the cattle are
allowed to go wild, and there are now on
the island wild sheep, wild goats and wild
mules. I give this statement on the au-
thority Of Photographer Spencer.
There Is no doubt but that Juan Fernan-
dez is a rich island as far as the soil of the
northern part Of 1t Is concerned, and with
this new colonizing scheme 1t may support
quite a large number of people The hills
are covered now with wild oats, and there
is good grass in every open spot. The fruit
trees planted more than a hundred years
ago by selkirk and others have reproduced
themselves and there are many wild fruits,
while the grapes which you find in the
woods are as delicious as those which Rob-
inson Crusoe dried for raisins. There are
peaches, pears and ounces growing wild,
and also wild vegetables. A peculiar plant
is the panga, which has leaves forming a
cup as big as an umbrella This fills with
water when it rains and stays full as long
as it is cloudy. When the sun comes out 1t
begins to wilt and the water flows out.
Robinson Crusoe's Cave.
There are number of caves ON Juan Fer
nandez and several are pointed out in which
1t is said that Alexander Selkirk lived. One
Of these, which lies in a ridge OF volcanic
rock, is as large as the average parlor with
a roof from ten to fifteen feet above the
floor. The door to this cave Is about fifteen
feet high, and its extent to the rear at least
thirty feet. It shows signs Of having been
lived in. There are little holes, or pockets
scooped out of the walls, such as are men,
toned In Robinson Crusoes description of
his cave-home, and here and there on the
| lie htnI,
used by those who have lived here in the
past 1t is said that the cave was the re-
sort of the buccaneers who once ravaged
! the coast and ships of this part Of the
| world. The nails may have been driven into
| the walls by them, and from the same
source probably comes a stone oven, which
has been built in the rear of the cave. Other
! caves are covered with ferns and the vege-
tation is so luxuriant that 1t is easy to i'm
agine that Selkirk, like Robinson Crusoe,
might have set out hedges about his caves,
which would soon have become walls OF
| trees and have hidden them from view.
| At one time Chilli had a penal settlement
on Juan Fernandez. More than 1000 crimi-
nails were kept here under the charge OF
| a governor and guards. You can still see
the ruins of the Notifications of that time
J One of the sights of the island are the
| udiHp leTu-CoNeIeu uuH5eohS WhiNh
were dug out of the bluff facing the har-
Dor. These dungeons were among the most
horrible ever constructed by Spanish
cruelty for the torture of men. They were
entered by vaulted passages which led from
| one damp chamber to another. They were
without ventilation and were as dark as
Egypt, at the time of the plague. Some OF
the cells were far underground and were
| so small that their occupants could moi
stand upright within them. The prisoners
at one time murdered the guards and 800
Of them escaped and landed on the shores
of Chill. Here they were captured and
were taken to Valparaiso and shot, The
| other prisoners who had been left upon thu
island escaped, and by different ships found
their way to other countries.
Alexander Selkirk's Monument.
There Is a monument to Selkirk on tn
Island OF Juan Fernandez. 1t is a marble
tablet set In the rocks at Robinson Cru
soe's Lookout" 1t was placed there b.
some English naval officers about thirt!
years ago. The inscription reads as fol
lows:
| In Memory of
| Alexander Selkirk,
| Mariner,
A native of Largo, In the County Of Fife
| in complete Solitude, Four years
and four months.
He was landed from the Cinque Ports K, gal
ley. s6 tons. IL guns. A. u. 11o%