The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-12-06
CRUSOES ISLAND.


e4aA In lis cI&p opa
! 4 visit 10 the Island where A,exand-
er Selkirk passed nva 50 ltary years
an island which several tines o. .sta
yeas has been reported as sunk
while on his sing e-aalded" voyage
around >he world n his soop the Spray
| Capt. joshua Slocum describes as fol
lows:
Tie Spray beng Sc urei. the isl
anders returned to the coffee and
doughnuts, and | was more than fat
tered when they id not light my buns
as t.he professor had done in the Strait
of Magellan. Be- ween buns and
a0ugInuts there was lgto.e d ference
except in name. Both had been fried
in tallow. which was the strong point
in hc1n, for there was no.h.ng On the
iS.and f3tcer than q goa, and a goat
is but lean beast, % make the best nj
IL. So with view to business I
hooked my steelyards TO the boom at
once, ready to weigh out tallow, there
being no custom officer to say, why
do you do 500" and before the sun
went down the islanders had learned
he art Of making buns and doughnuts.
[ did not charge high price for what
sold. but the ancient and curious
coins I got in payment. some OF them
from the wreck Of a ga.leon sunk in
the bay, no one knows when, + sold
afterward to antiquarians for more
than face value. In this way | made
a reasonable profit | brought away
money of all denominations from the
island, and nearly all there was, so far
as | could find out.
Juan Fernandez, as a pace of call,
is a lovely spot. The hills are we'll
wooaed, the valleys fertile, and pour
ing down through many ravlnes ere
streams of pure water. There are no
serpcnts on the island, and no wild
beasts other than p gs and goats. Of
which | saw a number. with possibly
a dog or two. The people lived with
out the use Of rum Or beer of any sort.
mere was not a police officer or law
yer among them. The dome-tic eoonn
my of the island was simplicity itself
The fashions of Paris did not affect
the inhabitants, each dressed accord
ing to his own taste. Although there
was no doctor, the people were all
healthy. and the children were all beau
tiful There were about fOrtv-fve
souls on the island all told The adults
were mostly from The mainland of
soutG America. One lady there, from
Iulie, WHO d IyluS JlU lOI ulC
Spray. taking her paw in tal'ow would
be called belle at Newport Blessed
island of Juan Fernandez! Why Alex
ander Selkirk ever left you was more
than I could make cut
A large ship which had arrived some
time before. on fire had been stranded
at the head of the bay, and as the sea
smashed her TO pieces on the rocks
after the fire was drowned the sand
ers picked up the timbers and utilized
them in the constru ot;on of houses,
which naturally presented a s'hip-like
appearance. The house of the king of
Juan Fern,andez, Manuel Carroza by
name, besides resembling the ark,
wore polished brass knocker on its
only door. which was painted green.
In front of This gorgeous entrance was
a flag lriqst all ataun'o, and near 1T
smart whale boat painted red and blue,
the delight of the kings old age.
!, of course, made pilgrimage to the
old lookout place at the top of the
mountain where se7kirk spent many
days pearing into the distance for the
ship which came at last The
cave in which Se1k'rk dwell while on
the island is 81 the head of the bav.
row called Robinson Crus-e bay. /
is around bold head'and west O the
present anchorage and LANDING. Ships
have anchored there but 1t affords
very indifferent berth. Juan
Fernandez was once a convict station
A number of caves in which the pris
oners were kept, damp, unwho' es0me
dens. are no LONGER in use. and 70
more prisoners are sent to The island.