Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1903-04-09


sion OF disasters in their passage
around Cape Horn. TAe loss and
danger he had experienced led him
20 establish q sort Of recruiting sta
ton on Juan Fernandez. for his own
and other disabled ships. He de-
voted months 70 the production here
Of such fruits and vegetables as sail
ors crave, and caused quantities OF
seeds TO be scattered al over the Is
land. that future voyagers might
find q variety of refreshment. He
also left ashore q great many domes-
tic animals. that they might become
numerous, for the benefit Of vessels
in distress for provsions. cast aways
and shipwrecked mariners. He
who plants en- olive, plants for his
chi]dren's childran- y kzaSl Anso.
could not expect to derive H6uch per-
sonal advantage from these benevo-
lent acts. but how many lives have
been saved by his philanthropy there
is no human record to show. Aft
er his death his papers fell into the
hands OF Richard Walters, chaplain
of the Centurion, who compiled from
them the most remarkable descrip-
tion and accurate typographical sur
vey of Juan Fernandez that has ever
been made.
Animal Life Abundant.
Though the tillable area is small,
because there is ssolittle level ground,
it is asserted that several thousand
people might subsist comfortably on
the main island alone without any
supplies from other countries beyond
exchanging their surplus produc-
tions with passing vessels for cloth
ing aud groceries. The not very en-
terprising inhabitants of today live
chiefly on fish and goat flesh, of
which there is an exhaustible sup
ply. Boat loads Of the finest cod,
rock fish, mullet, Holsters, lamprey
eels, ETC., may be caught as fast as
they can be hauled in anywhere
around the shores, and pheasants,
pigeons and other birds are as abun-
dant as the wild goats and rabbits.
Attended by numerous volunteer
guides from among the hospitable
settlers, we again set out for the
Lookout, but turned aside midway
between the cliff aud the landing to
explore some remarkable looking
caves in hillside topped by ruined
Notifications. These are all that re-
main Of the settlement founded here
by Spain in 1850. and Of the Chilean
penal colony established an the same
spot in 1919. The Spaniards built
great fort and town, both of which
were destroyed the following year
by a violent earthquake. They were
Immediately rebuilt, and were in
good order and inhabited when Car
teret visited the island in 1867.
Earthquakes are frequent in the ar
chipelago, and several within the
memory of the people now living
have done considerable damage.
Nothing remains of the ancient fort
but its foundation and portion of
the ramparts embedded in reddish
clay and overgrown with weeds.
The Convict Colony,
The convict colony was establish
ed as soon as Chile gained her indie
pendence. and sometimes more than
a thousand criminals were here. OF
course, after the manner of Chileans,
they were subjected to the most bar
barous treatment in these gloomy
dungeons, which are dug into the
brow of the blum facing the harbor,
and extend several hundred feet un-
der ground in the form of vaults
and passages somewhat resembling
the Catacombs at Rome. The gates
by which the entrances were secur-
ed disappeared long ago. aud the pas
sages that have not fallen in are pre-
empted by wild dogs, bats, toads
and centipedes.
At last, about thirty years after
the founding Of the colony, some
three hundred prisoners broke loose
from their chains, murdered the
guards and escaped. They seized
the garrison, and for several days
held possession Of the island. The
seized the captain and CON-
PEELED him to take on board as many
of their number as the vessel could
possibly carry. Two hundred of
them crowded in, and they threat
eued the ships officers with instant
death in case OF failure TO land them
on the coast of Peru, whittier they
determined TO 60 70 escape the ven-
geance of the Chilean government.
The captain of the whaler ran over
TO the nearest land on the coast of
Chile, and leading the convicts to
believe that il was Peru. put them
ashore only about thirty miles north
Of Valnaraiso They soon found out