Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-13

north, an island in the West Indies.
And had he lived till this time he might
find himself neighbor of ours, for his in
sular domain lies only five hundred miles
to the southeast of our newly acquired
tropical island. Porto Rico.
Yes, the place where Defoe wrecked his
hero. and where for twenty-six years or
SO he lived a solitary life, is the British
island of Tobago. which lies about twenty
miles from Trinidad, where the most Of our
asphalt is obtained, out Of the famous Pitch
lake. Prove it? Most assuredly, and out
of the narrative itself. If our readers have
not forgotten their "Crusoe," and can re-
member the opening scenes of his adven-
lures. they VIII recall that Robinson ran
away TO sea when he was quite young.
After beng wrecked on the coast CT Africa
and living for two years Moorish cap
tive, ne escaped and finally arrived off the
coast Of Brazil He was adopted by q
Planter OF Brazil and four years later set
on for Africa again for a cargo of negro
slaves, and then began his real adventures,
to which these are only PREDATORY A storm
overlook his vessel when they were few
Gays out, and they were driven before the
fury Of a gale, until-''the storm abating a
little, the master made an observation and
found that he was in about eleven degrees
.(1D OF north latitude. SO that we were got
ten beyond the coast of Guiana and beyond
the river AmaZones, toward the river Oroo-
noque tOrinoco) commonly called the
Great river"
When Land Was Sighted.
This quotation from "Crusoe" shows the
approximate latitude just before the wreck
of his vessel. and totally precludes the sup
position that he could by any means have
doubled Cape Horn and reached the Island
OF Juan Fernandez, forty degrees to the
southwark of his last observation. But let
him tell the story: so we changed our
course and steered away N W. by W. in
order to reach some of the English Islands
(of the West lndies). but a second storm
came upon US and drove US so cut of the
way OF all humane commerce that had all
our lives been spared to the sea- we
were rather in danger of being devoured by
the saivages than OF ever returning to our
own country. In this distress one OF our
men early in the morning cried Land
ana we haC no sooner ran cut CT the cabin
TO look, in the hopes of seeing whereabouts
IN the world we were, but the ship struck
upon rock, and in moment her motion
being stopped. the sea broke over her in
sucn manner that we expected we should
all have persisted Immediately"
Alone on the Island.
All but Crusoe did perish, in truth, and
ne alone escaped, made his way TO shore
and began the life of a hermit, in a sone-
what perfunctory manner, as though with
malice aforethought'-as John Hay saws
OF the location of Madrid as the capital of
Spain We have his relative location. now
let US clinch the fact by a reference to his
subsequent discoveries. 1t was long time
after Crusoe had made house, ENLARGED
MS cave, captured wild goats made him
sell a suit of goat-skin garments and an
thsoreua OF the same material, and had a
companion in his faithful Man Fr:day"
whenever he took his walks abroad he was
accompanied by the faithful Friday and in
one OF these pronenades the twain reached
Ihe summit OF the mountain running
. Io Nd
there before, for he was an arrant coward
ara cared rot venture far from his cave
alone and unattended. But, when /
passd the Vale where my Bower stood +
came within View of the Sea and II being
GEAR day. fairly 6escried iand-whetter
an island or Continent. could not tell
Out IL lay very hig1 and at a Distance
'askd Friday how far 1t was
from our Island to that Shore and whether
canoes were not often lost. And he told
me there was no Danger. for little Ways
out AT Sea there was Wind and a Cur
rent always one Way in the Morning and
another In the Afternoon. This / under
STOOD 10 De no more than the setting of the
dyde. as going out and coming in; but
afterwards understood 1t TO be occa stoned
by the great draught and refiux OF the
mighty River Oroonolue. in the Mouth or
Gulph OF which our Island lay. And the
Land which / perceived was the great
Island of Trinidad, on the north Point of
the Mouth of the River"
That settles the location of the island.
sNlS4Ss LII tiASfS u no Oller Island than
IooaSo lying at the distance mentioned
from Trinidad; and. again, the strong Orr
Doco currents Crusoe describes are corrob-
oratiye evidence Of the strongest character:
Tor they sweep the Tobago coast at a rate
sometimes. CT three or four miles an hour
and have forced many craft large and
small upon the outlying coral reefs.
CruaOe and seikirk.
Since We must admit that no other island
answers to the description. and that. ac-
cording to .Crusoe himself, he was wrecked
In or about latitude IL degrees Forth 0he
position Of TOBACCO, how comes It that the
popular impression prevails tina, Crusoe
lived his hermit life on Juan Fernandez
forty degrees farther south. end that he
and one Alexander Selkirk are the Same
or similar personages? Well. when Defoe
wIote his Life and Strange, Surprising
Adventures OF Robinson Crusoe of York
Mariner" he must already have seen the
story Of Providence Display'd, Or q very
SEror!zsng ACCOUNT OF one Mr.. Alexander
Seik:rk, sfas.er OF Merchant-Aian caird
the Cirque Ports: who, dreaming that the
SHIP would be lost, he desired TO be left on
desoiats Island In the South Seas, whsso