The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-21
CRUSOE'S DESERT ISLAND
CHILE PLANNING TO ESTABLISH
4 COLONY UPON 1T

bnG IL EIsIeG w
How the Island of Juan Fernan-
Gez Looks in IS9S-its Relics of
Which Suggested Robinson CrusOe
Copyrighte5. 1898. by Frank G. Carpenter
VALPARAISO, Chile, Aug. Robin
son Crusoe's island is to be coloniZed.
The government of Chile has just
adopted resolutions to that effect, and
by the time this letter shall have been
published an inspector will have been
appointed, and in all probability a num-
Der Of new inhabitants will have been
carried to the island of Juan Fernan-
de-. Within the past few weeks the
president of Chile has visited this ISL
and on a tour of inspection, and both
himself and his officials report that
1t can be made of great value to the
country 1t has been decided to give
each settler a house and certain
amount of land, and the idea is to make
a large fishing colony there. The cod
fish which are caught off the shores OF
Juan hernandez are especially fine.
They swarm about its shores, and, in
connection with Holsters and other
shell-fish, might form the basis of
great industry. There are also many
seals walruSes and other marine ami
mails in the waters near by, and the
mainland has in its woods many wild
goats, wild sheep and wild mules.
There are parts of the island which
are very fertile, and 1t is thought that
they can really be made a valua bic
property.
REAL ROBINSON CRUSOE.
The island of Juan Fernandez lies
Inst q ,fu
In the South Pacific ocean. 1t can only
be reached by special steamers, which
make excursions there once or twice
year, and 1t will not be possible for
me to visit it at this time | have.
however, met members of the presi-
dents party who have just returned.
and have also had the assistance of
Mr.. Spencer, of Santiago, an American
photographer, who accompanied the
expedition, and from whose photo
graphs this article is illustrated. Be
fore l describe the island as It is in
this year OF cur Lord 1898, let me tell
you something of its history, and how
II came to be the inspiration for that
wonderful tale of Robinson Crusoe.
The story dates back to 1904 almost
goo years. At that time an English
snip of ninety tons, known as the
Cirque Ports, was sailing through the
South Pacific ocean. Upon her was the
first real Robinson Crusoe. He was a
Scotchman, named Alexander Selkirk.
He was the sailing master of the ship.
out for some reason or other fell out
with the captain, and one story Is that
ne headed a mutiny and was given
the choice of being hanged at the yard
arm or of being placed on this desert
Island of Juan Fernandez. He accepted
the latter alternative, and, with a
small supply of provisions, he was
handed in what is now called Cumber-
land bay. This was In September, 1704.
He lived there for four years and four
months, when the English privateer
Duke was attracted by his watch fire
and came to anchor at the island and
carried him home to England.
During his stay Selkirk had many of
the, adventures described in De Foes
book, although De Foe having a better
knowledge of the islands north Of Bra
I'll in the Caribbean sea has made
much of his story correspond to these
in its descriptions of scenery, products
and climates. The skeleton or plan of
DE Foe was undoubtedly suggested by
Selkirks adventures, and You can al
most trace poor Robinson Crusoe's
wanderings in the story of Selkirk
and Juan Fernandez. In the first
place, the terrors which assaulted Sell
kirk when he found himself all alone
on this wild spot were the same as
those Of Crusoe. He wished for
time that he had chosen to be hanged
rather than have come ashore
don't know about the finding Of the
footprints in the sand, but shortly
after Selkirk came an Indian was lost
in the woods, having landed with a
party Which Selkirk did not see. This
Indian he adopted and his story con-
corning him was the foundation Of
Robinson Crusoe's man Friday. You
remember the nursery rhyme as to
how Robinson Crusoe was dressed:
Poor old Robinson Crusoe! Poor old Rob-
inson Crusoe!.
He made him a coat of an cd nanny goat
i wonder how he could do so.'
Well when Selkirk was found &C
cording to the narrative of Capt. Rod
gers, who took him to England, The
was clad in goat skins and was run
ming about as though crazy He had
built fire upon what is now known
or the island as Robinson Crusoe's
Lookout, and had in this way attract
ed the ships attention. This Look
out is an Immense hill, which rises al
most straight up from the shore and
the top Of which can be seen for miles
around.
HOW DE FOE WROTE CRUSOE.
When Selkirk arrived in London his
story became the talk of the town. It
was told in all of the clubs and coffee
houses, and Sir Richard Steele made
a paper describing Selkirk's adventures
in one of his papers. He tells how
SellIirk at first landing in England
seemed to have lost the character of
the average man by his solitude, but
how later Cn this strangeness wore off
Selkirk published a little pamphlet Of
twelve pages describing his wander
iEgs. The bulk of the story of Robin
son Crusoe, however, was from the
brain of Daniel De Foe, and it was his
genius that made it the greatest story
of adventure the world has ever
known. 1t was written In London and
Yves first published 179 years ago. A
copy of the first unabridged and origi-
nal edition is to be seen in a glass case
in the British Museum library. Later
editions have been considerably chang
ed, and it is said there are few books
which have been 80 mutilated by the
printers. Robinson Crusoe is now to
be found in almost every known Ian
guage. It has been printed in Span