A GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE JUAN FERNANDEZ ISLANDS 



69 



Fig. 87. Ruins of the old Spanish fort in Cumberland Ray. — Photo C. Skottsberg 28/4 191 7- 



in full swing between the islands and Perii. Toward the middle of the i8th century 

 there cannot have been very much left on either island, or the sandal-wood should 

 not have escaped Anson and his men who spent months there and must have 

 known of the former trade. 



The hunt for sandal-wood ended in the extermination of this species and 

 had, I presume, serious effects on the forest in general, with the final result that 

 all the lower slopes became cleared of trees, leaving the field open for an in- 

 vasion of weeds; Ulloa for instance was struck by the abundance of Avena. 



Having suffered serious losses from the raids of the martial English navi- 

 gators the Spaniards took possession in 1750 and made up their mind to trans- 

 form Masatierra into a stronghold. I shall not dwell upon the history, enough said 

 that in 1779 7 places were fortified. Part of the walls in Cumberland Bay are still 

 standing (fig. 87), and old guns lie about in other places (fig. 33). Nor have I any 

 good reason to retale the melancholy history of the time when Masatierra served 

 as a prison for banished patriots during the years of resurrection and later. Its role 

 as a depository for undesirable citizens came to a definite close in 1855. Then 

 came the tenants. 



A source of destruction of the forest, not at all negligible, were the fre- 

 quent visits of American whalers during the 19th century who called to supply 

 themselves with water, wood and goats' meat. The large herds of goats had been 

 II ""537351 T^h^ Nat. Hist, of Juan Fernandez and Easter Isl. Vol. I. 



