IN THE PACIFIC. 53 



departure of the ship he inundated our worthy 

 consul, Mr. Drummond Hay, with a voluminous 

 correspondence on the subject, the result of 

 which I apprehend has been rather to fill the 

 consular waste-paper basket than his own 

 pockets. 



The morning of our departure from Juan 

 Fernandez we paid a visit to Selkirk's cave, 

 about three miles south-west from the anchorage, 

 where we found much to interest us : the place 

 bore unmistakeable traces of having been in- 

 habited for some time, and there is no doubt 

 that Selkirk lived there during his residence on 

 the island. 



As his story may not be familiar to all, I will 

 repeat it : 



In the year 1709 Captain Eogers touched at 

 the island, and found Alexander Selkirk living 

 on it, having been landed upwards of four years 

 before from the ship " Cinque Ports :" curiously 

 enough Dampier was both in that ship and in 

 the one which afterwards took him off. Selkirk 

 subsequently related his adventures to Defoe, 



