The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-02-11
ROBINSON CRUSOE'S ISLAND,
Frank G. Carpenter Gives a De-
" scription Of Juan Fernandez
as 1t is To-Day.

Valparaiso, Chili-Robinson Cru,
soe's island is to be colonized. The gov.
ernment of Chilli has just adopted reso-
lutions to that effect, and by the time |
this letter shall have been published |
an inspector will have been appointed
and in all proba blity a number of new
inhabitants will have been carried to
the island of Juan Fernandez. With
In the past few weeks the president of
Chilli has visited this island On a tour
Of inspection, and both himself and his
officials report that it can be made of
great value to the county. It has
been decided to give each settler
house and a certain amount of land,
and the idea is to make large fish
ing colony there. The Goldfish caught !
off the shores Of Juan Fernandez are
especially fine. They swarm about its
shores, and, in connection with Holsters
and other she'll fish, might form the
basis of great industry. There are
also many seals, walruses and other
marine animals in the waters near by,
and the mainland has in it's woods
mules. There are parts of the island
that are very fertile, and it is thought
that they can readily be made yalna-
Bile property.
The island of Juan Fernandez lies
just about 400 miles west of Valparaiso
in the South Pacific ocean. It can be
reached only by special steamers, which
make excursions there once or twice a
year, and it will not be possible for me
to visit it at this time. I have, how
ever, met members Of the presidents
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 photographs this article is
illustrated The island is bleaker and
colder than De Foes picture of it. It
is only twelve miles long by about
r. seven miles wide, but parts Of It are
the picture of desolation- It is a great
mass OF rocks, which rise upwards
from the waters for more than thou
sand feet. It is made up OF hills and
mountains, of little ravines and val
leys. The northern half of the island
is covered with dense vegetation, but
the southern half is as bleak and bare
as the western slopes of the Andes in
the rear of the Peruvian desert. Most
of the shores are inaccessible. The
best landing place is at Cumberland
bay, at which point there is now fish
ing settlement, which includes about
all the people of the island. There
are. it is said, only fifteen people now
living there. Back Of the settlement
On the bay there are cottages, Or straw
huts, which once formed the homes of
a number Of settlers who lived there
These huts are made of cane waited
with straw. There are gardens about
some Of them, and at one time there
was an agricultural colony here. One
man attempted to start stock-raising
plantation, and he had, it is said, as
many as 10000 head Of cattle and an
equal number of sheep grazing in the
valleys on the north OF the island. Of
late, however, I am told that this busi-
ness 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 authority Of Photog-
rapher Spencer. ..
There is no doubt but that Juan Fer
nandeZ is g rich island as far as the
soil of the northern part of it is con-
cerned, and with this new colonizing
scheme it may support quite large
number Of people. The hills are COW
cred now with wild oats, and there is
good grass in every open spot The
fruit trees planted more than 100 years
ago by Selkirk and others have repro
duced themselves, and there are many
wild fruits, while the grapes found in
the woods are as delicious as those
which Robinson Crusoe dried for raj
sins. There are peaches, pears and
ounces growing wild, and also wild
vegetables. A peculiar plant is the
panga, which has leaves forming 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 it begins to wilt and the
water flows out.
Robinson Crusoe's Cave. ~
There are number Of caves on Juan
Fernandez, and several are pointed out
in WHICH it is said that Alexander Sell
kirk 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 ground.
The door to this cave is about fifteen
feet high and its extent to the rear at
least thirty feet. 1t shows signs of
having been lived in. There are three
little holes or pockets scooped out of
the walls, such as are mentioned in
Robinson Crusoe's description Of his
cave-home, and here and there on the
walls are rusty nails used by those who