The mirror., 1919-04-10
ECENTLY references to
the Island of Juan Fer
nandez in the south Pa
ciic ocean. $50 miles off

0EiK3S nanQeZ IN Cne SOutn "a
lAgy cific ocean, $50 miles off
the coast of South America. have
been made. Juan Fernandez lies
under about the thirty-seventh
parallel of south latitude and is
little south of west from Valpa-
raiso. Chile, from which it is dis
tant 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 trifle south, is a lone island of
the name of Masafuera. There
are no islands between Juan Fer
nandez and the mainland. And it
lies in particular lonesome part
of the vast ocean. The eightieth
meridian of longitude passes nearly
a hundred miles west of Juan Fer
nandez, and that meridian passes
between two small islands, St.
Felix and St. Ambrose, nearly
1000 miles north of Juan Fernan-
dez, Santa Clara and Masafuera.
Not only have there been recent
references to Juan Fernandez
island, but frequent references to
it may be read in the public prints,
and nearly always is it 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 headway ever
to be overtaken and corrected, and
no doubt it will be perpetuated.
There are few places in the
world which have given so much
interest and entertainment to boys
as the lonely island on which Rob-
inson Crusoe and his man Friday
had their adventures. 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 any,
where, it was on the Atlantic side
of the great continent of South
America, 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 several mouths to
that vast river and, though there
are islands there, no evidence of
occupancy by Robinson Crusoe
has been found and none of the
footprints of Friday have been dis
covered.
The only clue to the island is
found in Defoe's magnificent story
itself, where Robinson Crusoe
speaks as follows:
Il asked him how far it was
from our land to the shore and
whether the canoes were not often
lost; he told me there was no dan
ger, no canoes were ever lost, but
that after little way out to sea
there was a current and wind, al
ways one way in the morning, the
other way in the afternoon. This
/ understood to be no more than
the sets of the tide as going out
and coming in; but / afterwards
understood that it was occasioned
by the great draft and refux of
the mighty River Oroonooko, in
the mouth or gulf of which river,
as l found afterward, our island
lay, and this land which 1 per-
ceived to the west and northwest
was the great island of Trinidad
on the north point of the mouth of
the river"
The island of Juan Fernandez
become associated with the story
of Robinson Crusoe from the fact
that on that island Alexander Sell
kirk was put ashore at his own re-
quest after quarrel with the cap
tain of the ship Clinque Ports, of