APPENDIX. 261 



plenty of goats on the island, plenty of trees, plenty of shell- 

 fish, and plenty of fresh water. The climate is so favor- 

 able that the trees and grass preserve a perpetual verdure. 

 The winter ends in June or July. The hottest season is 

 in January. There is but little frost or snow. The rainy 

 season lasts from August to April, the heavy rains from 

 November to March. There is no venomous or savage 

 creature in the place — indeed, no large quadruped except 

 goats. During Selkirk's stay upon the island he killed 

 five hundred goats for food and skins — this was an aver- 

 age of about one to every three days. He also caught five 

 hundred more for diversion and marked them on the ear, 

 then set them at liberty. His method of catching them 

 was by his superior swiftness of foot. To test this he was 

 matched one day against a bulldog from the Duke, when 

 he outstripped both the dog and the wild goats they were 

 pursuing. This was before Captain Rogers's ship left the 

 island. Selkirk built two huts of pimento wood, covered 

 with long grass and lined with goatskins in place of lath 

 and plaster. These were visited by most of us, although 

 the way was so rugged and intricate that we reached them 

 with great difiiculty. So far was Selkirk from being anx- 

 ious to leave the island, that he built his residence where 

 it could scarcely hope to be seen and where no one could 

 have penetrated without his guidance. During his soli- 

 tude several Spanish ships put into the port, but he never 

 went near them, for fear they might condemn him to the 

 slavery of the gold mines in Chili, which, he said, was 

 worse than hanging, for it was perpetual labor with in- 

 sufficient food, and no escape but a slow and loathsome 

 death. One of these parties of Spaniards saw and pursued 

 him, but he managed to escape and hide himself in a tree. 

 Presently they came and sat down at the foot of this same 

 tree, but did not discover him and soon went away. 



" One day in pursuing a goat he overtook nis prey on 

 the verge of a precipice of which he was not aware, and 



