The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-04-13

Fernandez in the SOuth racine
ocean, $50 miles off the coast
of South America. Juan Fernandez
lies under about the thirty-seventh
parallel of south latitude and is a lit
tie south of west from Valparaiso,
Chile, from which it is distant about
600 miles. Close upon the Island of
Juan Fernandez is the much smaller
island of Santa Clara, and something
more than 100 miles farther out to sea,
west by a trifle south, is a lone island
of the name of M%asafuera. There are
no islands between Juan Fernandez
and the mainland. And 1t lies in a
particularly lonesome part of the vast
ocean. The eightieth parallel of long
itude passes nearly a hundred miles
west of Juan Fernandez, and that par
allel passes between two small Islands,
st. Felix and st. Ambrose, nearly 1000
Clara and Masafuera.
Not only have there been recent ref
erences to Juan Fernandez island, but
frequent references to it may be read
in the public prints, and nearly always
Is 1t referred to as Robinson Crusoe's
island. Yet the reference is inexact
and many thousands of miles out Of
the way. However, it is probable that
the geographical or literary error has
been given too much Roadway ever to
be overtaken and corrected, and no
doubt 1t will be perpetuated.
Not crusoe's Island.
There are few places in the world
which have given so much interest
and entertainment to boys as the lone
" island on which Robinson Crusoe
and his man Friday had their adven-
lures. There is no telling just where
| Defoe thought Robinson Crusoe's
island was. but it most certainly was
not in that part of the world where
the Island OF Juan Fernandez lies. If
anywhere, it was on the Atlantic side
of the great continent of South Amer
lea, off the eastern coast of Venezuela
or the north coast of British Guiana,
somewhere about the mouth Of the
Orinoco river. But then there are sew
eral mouths to that vast river and,
though there are islands there, no evil
dence of occupancy by Robinson Cru
soc has been found and none of the
footprints of Friday have been discov'
cred.
The only clue to the island is found
in Defoe's magnificent story itself
where Robinson Crusoe speaks as fol
lows:
81 asked him how far 1t was from
our lands to the shore and whether
the canoes were not often lost; he
told me there was no danger, no ca
noes were ever lost, but that after @
little way out to sea there was a cur
rent and wind, always one way in the
morning, the other way in the after
noon. This / understood to be no more
than the sets of the tide as going on
and coming in; but l afterwards un
derstood that it was occasioned by tn,
great draft and refiux Of the might!
River Oroonooko, In the mouth or gul
Of which river, as / found afterward
our island lay, and this land which
p~erceived to the west and nprthwes
was the great island of Trinidad oil
the north point of the mouth of tn
river"
Where Selkirk Was Marooned.
, The Island of Juan Fernandez be
|. came associated with the story of Rot
inson Crusoe from the fact that o
, that island Alexander Selkirk was pr
, ashore at his own request after a Quai
rel with the captain of the ship Clinqu
Ports, of which he was sailing mastel
Selkirk lived on the island for fou
years, and in 1T12 there appeared
/, book entitled "CruisIng Voyage ROM
! the World" which was written b
Capt. Wordes Rogers, who had re
I cued Selkirk from the island. Pa
! Of the adventures Of Selkirk were tol
in that story. and it is supposed tht
It was this hint which stirred Defoe