120 THP] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Vegetation op Juan Fernandez. — The trees, of which the wnods on the northern side of (he islaml are composed, are most of 

 them aromatics, and of many (iitfereut sorts. There are none of them of a size to yield any cnnsiderable timber, except the myrtle trees, 

 which are the largest ou the island, and supplied us with all the timber we made use of; but even these would not work to a greater 

 length than forty feet. The top of the myrtle tree is circular and appears as if it had been clipped by ait ; it bears on its bark an 

 excrescence like moss, which in taste and smell resembles garlic, and was used by our people instead of it. We found here, too, the 

 the plemento (palmetto ?) tree, and likewise the cabbage tree, though iu no great plenty ; and, beside, a great number of jilauts of various 

 kiuds which we were not botanists euough either to describe or attend to. 



To the vegetables 1 have already mentioned, of which we made perjietual use, I must add that we found many acres of ground 

 covered with oats and clover; there were also some few cabbage trees upou the island, as was observed before; but as they generally 

 grew upon the precipices and in dangerous situations, aud as it was necessary to cut a large tree for every single cabbage, this was a 

 dainty that we were rarely euabled to indulge iu. 



The excellence of the climate aud the looseness of the soil render tliis place extremely proper for all kinds of vegetation ; for if the 

 ground be anywhere accidentally turned up it was immediately overgrown with turnips and Sicilian radishes. 



This nuiy in g(^neral suffice as to the soil and vegetable productions of this place, but the face of the country, at least the north part 

 of the island, is so extremely singular that I canuot avoid giving it a particular eonsi<leration. I have already taken notice of the wild, 

 iuhosi)itable air with which it first appeared to us, and the gradual improvement of this uucouth laudsca|ie as we drew i.earer, till we were 

 at last captivated by the numerous beauties we discovered on the shore. And I must now add that the inland parts of the island did iu 

 no way fall short of the sanguine prepossessions which we first entertained iu their favor. For the woods which covered most of the 

 steepest hills were free from all bushes and underwood, and afl'orded an easy jiassage through every part of Ihem; ami the irregularities 

 of the hills and precipices in the northern part of the island necessarily traced out by their various combinations a great number of 

 romantic valleys, most of which had a stream of the clearest water running through them, that tumbled in casca<h'S at the bottom of the 

 valley by the course of the neighboring hills, was at any time broken into a sharp, sudden descent; some particular spots occurred iu 

 those valleys where the shaded fragrance of the contiguous woods, the loftiuess of the overhanging trees, and the transparency and 

 frequent falls of the neighboring streams, presented scenes of such elegance and dignity as would be with ditHeulty rivaled by any other 

 ])art of the globe. It is in this place, perhaps, that the simple productions of unassisted nature may be said to excel all the fictitious 

 (lesciiptions of the most animated imagination. - 



Axi.MALS OF Juan Fernandez. — It remains now only that we speak of the animals and the provisions which we met with at this 

 lilace. Former writers have related that this island abounded with vast numbers of goats; aud their accounts are not to be questiouid, 

 this place being the usual haunt of the buccaneers and privateers vvho formerly frequented these seas. And there are two instances, 

 one of a Mosquito Indian aud the other of Alexander Selkirk, a .Scotchman, who were left here by their respective ships, and lived alone 

 upon this island for some years, and consequently were no strangers to its producH. Selkirk, who was the last, after a stay of between 

 four and five years, was taken off the place (iu 170-1) by the Duke aud Dutchess privateers of Bristol, as may be seen at large in the 

 journal of their voyage. His manner of life, during his solitude, was iu most iiarticulars very remarkable ; but there is one eircumstaneo 

 which he relates, which was so strangely verified by our o«'u observations, that I canuot help reciting it. He tells ns, among other things, 

 that he often caught more goats than he wanted ; he sometimes marked their ears and let them go. This was about thirty-two years before 

 our arrival on this island. Now, it happened that the first goat killed by our people at their landing had its ears slit, whence we 

 concluded that he had doubtless been formerly under the power of Selkirk. This was indeed an animal of most venerable aspect, dignified 

 with an exceeding majestic beard, aud with many other symptoms of antiquity. During our stay ou the islands we met with others 

 marked in the same manner, all the males being distinguished liy an exuberance of beard and every other characteristic of extreme age. 



But the great u'umber of goats, which former writers describe to have been found iipon this island, are at present very much 

 diminished ; as the Spaniards, being informed of the advantages which the buccaneers and privateers drew from the provisions which 

 goats" flesh here furnished them with, have endeavored to extirpate the breed, thereby to deprive their enemies of this relief. For this 

 jiurjiose they have put on shore great numbers of large dogs who have increased apace and have destroyed all the go.ats in the .accessible 

 pait of the country; so that there now remain only a few amongst the crags and precipices, where the dogs cannot follow them. These 

 are divided into separate herds of twenty or thirty each, which inhabit distinct fastnesses, and never mingle with each other. By this 

 means we found it extremely ditiicnlt to kill them ; and yet we were .so desirous of their flesh, wbich we all agreed much resembled 

 venison, that we got knowledge, I believe, of all their herds, and it was conceived, by comparing their number together, that they 

 scarcely exceeded two hundred upon the whole island. « » » These dogs, who are masters of all the accessible parts of the island, 

 are of various kinds, some of them very large, and are multiplied to a prodigious degree. They sometimes came down to our h.abitations 

 at night, and stole our provisions, and once or twice they set upou single persons ; but, assistance being at hand, they were driven off 

 without doing any mischief. As at present it is rare for gnats to fall in their way, we conceived that they lived principally upon young 

 sealj ; and, in.stead, some of our people had the curiosity to kill dogs, sometimes, and dress them, and it seemed to be agreed uiion that 

 they had a fishy taste. 



Seals at Ju.vn Fernandez. — Goats' flesh, as I h.ave mentioned, being scarce, we r.arely being .able to kill above one a day, and our 

 people growing tired of fish (which as I shall hereafter observe abound at this place), they at last condescended to cat seals, which by 

 degrees they came to relish and called it lamb. The seal, numbers of which haunt this island, hath been so often nicntioiied by former 

 writers, that it is unnecessary to .say anything particular about them in this place. But there is another amphibious creature to be met 

 with here, called a sea-lion, that bears some resemblance to a seal, though it is much larger. This, too, we eat under the denomination 

 of beef; and as it is so extraordinary an animal, I conceive it well merits a particular description. [This is the southern sea- 

 elephant, Macrorhinus honinus; not the sea-lion, Otaria juhata. — H.W. E.] They are in size, when arrived at their full growth, 

 from twelve to twenty feet iu length, and from eight to fifteen in circumference. They are extremely fat, so that after having 

 cut through the .skin, which is about an inch in thickness, there is at least a foot of fat, before you can come at either lean or 

 bones; and we experieuced more than once that the fat of some of the largest afforded us a butt of oil. They are likewise viry 

 full ot blood; for if they are deeply wounded in a dozen places, there will instantly gush out as many fountains of blood; spouliug 

 to a considerable distance; and to try what quantity of blood they contained, we shot one first and then cut its throat, and 

 measuring the blood that came from him, we found that beside what remained in the vessels, which, to be sure, was considerable, we got 

 at least two hogsheads (!). Their skins are covered with a short hair, of a light dun color, but their tails and their fins, which si'rve them 

 lor leet ou shore, jy^i almost black ; their fins, or feet, are divided at the ends like fingers, and the web which joins them not reaching to 

 the extremities, and each of these fingers is furnished with a. nail. They have a distant resemblance to an overgrown seal, though in some 

 jiarticnlars there is a manifest dittercnce between them, esi)ecially in the males: these have a large trunk, or .snout, hanging down five or 

 six inches below the end of the upper jaw, which the females have not, and this renders the couuteuance of the male aud the female 



