Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-02-27
JOHN [. LAIRD, OF SPIRIT LAKE,
RELATES INTERESTING Elk.
PERlENcEs IN 1850.
CARRIED sY ADVERSE WINDS
TO JUAN FERNANDEZ ISLAND
Journey TO California Gold Fields In.
tsrruptsd by Stop at Historical 10.
Iand-spsnt Three Months at Sup.
posed Residence Of Alexander Sci.
kirk-Nins Whites on Isle.
special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Eldora, Feb. 27.-Not many men now
in life have had the opportunity of living
for time, or of picking fruit, upon
the island made famous by De Foe as
the castaway home Of Robinson Crusoe.
But Iowa has such a man in John W.
Laird, Of Spirit Lake, who in the year
1850 picked peaches upon the island
where early in the eighteenth century
Robinson Crusoe spent twenty hermit
years in company with his dog, his par
rot and his man Friday, This island
which Is known in modern geography
as Juan Fernandez, lies off the west
coast of Chilli, latitude 35 south Of the
equator and in longitude 80 west from
Greenwich, made as famous by the
habitation Of Alexander Selkirk as was
st. Helena in later years by the en-
forced exile Of Papoleon Bunaparte.
Three Months On island.
John w. Laird was born in 1925 at
Barnett, Va, where he lived until 1S49.
At this time the California gold fever
had struck the country and young
Laird was selected by seven of his
companions to go to Boston and pro-
cure tickets on a sailing vessel which
was bound for the gold fields. He Sc
cured tickets upon the good ship Cell
amoran, bought a tent, shovels, picks
and all of the necessary equipment and
on Nov. 90 1S49. the company set sail
by way of Cape Horn for the land of
gold. They took a course due south.
but in passing around the Cape they
were blown out Of their course until
they were driven SO far south that they
touched latitude 81 where the north
star was not visible After passing
thru many dangers. among them pos
sible collisions with icebergs, they
rounded the Cape and put in for water
on March s, 1850, at Robinson Crusoe
island After over three months spent
upon the water and in many dangers
the ships men were glad to go ashore.
Nine Whites Inhabited Isle.
or Their visit to Crusoe's island Mr..
Laird says: We went ashore and
found peaches which were just getting
ripe on the mountain side. There were
hundreds Of bushels of them and also
many figs. I gathered about two bush
els Of peaches, while others brought in
all they could. We went across the
Island to where Robinson Crusoe's cave
was or had been. about two miles from
where We landed. and there we found
large red onions growing in abundance.
AS far as we could discover there were
but nine people living upon the island
and they We're white. They lived in
bamboo huts on the mountain side near
our landing place and sold fruit and
water to all ships that put in at the
island. Near our landing place there
were evidences Of the laying out Of
town for we could still see where the
streets ran and at each corner there
was yet small cannon stuck down
into the ground. While on the island
l saw a green plant about eight feet
high. with leaves six feet long and the
plant so large that at least a dozen
men could have found shelter behind it
from storm. After we had left the
island for our boat we spent a short
time in fishing and found the fish very
plentiful. We soon set sail for Cali
fornia, however, and altho the island
had romantic interest to us we shud-
dered as We thought of the awful lone
illness of Crusoe's existence there.
Mine Gold in California.
On the 6th CT May, 1850. we landed in
San Francisco after six months trip
AASAAA INsSoA' VIC tHeIl lOOh DOdG lOT
Sacramento and the first person we
met after landing wanted to hire us
to cut hay, for which labor he offered
us SIG per day. We would rot consider
it, however, and hiring a team we tool,
a store Of provisions to the mines anG
went to work on the north fork OF the
American river We bought a cradle
in which to wash our gold at cost OF
oy,I l..
to pay for 1t. We worked our claim
out, doing well, finding several hun
cred dollars in. We built dam to turn
the waters course. but that was fail
ure and we had to leave it. We then
went up the river two miles to the
American bar. There we put in wing