APPENDIX. 259 



a galley, mounting sixteen guns and carrying sixty-three 

 men, commanded by Captain Pickering. The crew was 

 chiefly Irish and Scotch, and among the latter was a 

 cliap named Alexander Selkirk, from Largo, county of 

 Fife. 



" While upon the coast of Brazil the Cinque Ports lost 

 her commander, and the first mate, Stradling, was ap- 

 pointed in his place. In January, 1704, they doubled Cape 

 Horn and bore away for the island of Juan Fernandez, 

 which was the place of rendezvous they had agreed upon, 

 and which several of the men on board had visited before. 

 They arrived at Juan Fernandez in March, and the vessel 

 being somewhat leaky they determined to beach and calk 

 her. With this view her guns and stores were hoisted 

 out, and tents erected to accommodate the ship's company. 

 After the vessel was repaired and preparations were being 

 made to resume the cruise, two French men-of-war hove 

 in sight, heading for the port, and as our vessel was no 

 better than a pirate and would assuredly have been cap- 

 tured and the crew condemned to the galleys had they re- 

 mained, she slipped her cables and ran away, leaving on 

 shore three of the crew, who were employed at some dis- 

 tance from the port in getting wood and water. Of these 

 three men my grandfather was one, and Alexander Sel- 

 kirk another. The third man was Irish, and belonged to 

 Kinsale. 



'* They remained on this island for six months, during 

 which time they explored every part of it, and became 

 convinced of its delightful climate and abundant resources. 

 Selkirk, it seems, had made up his mind to remain even 

 before they were left on the island. In view of this re- 

 solve he had pilfered many articles from the ship while 

 she was undergoing repairs, and had hidden them in the 

 sand. Some of these he would bring forth when their 

 necessities urged, but as he had many hiding places they 

 never could force him to disclose his whole stock. 



