lyo C. SKOTTSBERG 



a great asset during the era of the corsairs, and in order to stop this traffic 

 mastiffs were landed as early as in 1686 or 87 (Burney IV p. 210). The result 

 was that the goats had become very shy at the time of Anson's visit; he estim- 

 ated them to be about 200 only, but the dogs were plentiful, savage and dan- 

 gerous. His men saw no dogs on Masafuera, whereas goats abounded, but later 

 dogs were introduced also to this island which was spoken of as "Isla de Perros". 

 There were some dogs left when Johow went to Masafuera in 1892, but none 

 in 1908. In 1830 they were exterminated on Masatierra. Freed from their worst 

 enemies, the goats increased in number; in 1877 Viel estimated them at 3000. 

 The new lessee von Rodt persecuted them for the sake of their hide, and in 

 1892 the number had sunk to about 1000, while there were 200 on Santa Clara 

 and 4000 on Masafuera; if these figures are reliable is hard to tell. We came 

 across a small herd on the south side of Masatierra in 191 7, and once in a while 

 a daring hunter brought down a buck from the inaccessible crags where they liked 

 to hide themselves. At that time they enjoyed the protection of the Government — 

 the descendants from Robinson Crusoe's goats were regarded as sacred. They 

 were abundant on Masafuera, and even if their number was reduced during the 

 time of the convict station, they soon recovered. To judge from what Weber tells 

 us the island swarmed with goats after the departure of the convicts in 1930, 

 and they went right down to the beach. Their damage to the indigenous vegeta- 

 tion (and thereby to the fauna) cannot be estimated nor disputed. Their ravages 

 had left their marks everywhere, and several peculiar endemic plant species 

 were on the verge of extinction in 191 7. 



Beside goats Juan Fernandez brought pigs which ran wild; but they were 

 killed off long ago, nor are there any wild asses left, while cattle and horses 

 came to stay. I suppose that ever since the first Spanish colony 200 years ago 

 domestic animals have existed on Masatierra. In 18 13 there were 1000 sheep, 100 

 goats, 500 cows, 200 horses, 10 mules and 40 pigs (Guzman p. 178), but a decade 

 later very few seem to have been left. Again the Government stocked the island 

 (Sutcliffe 2 p. 206), and in 1833 there were 350 sheep, 120 tame goats, 70 cows, 

 15 horses, 8 mules and 30 pigs (Guzman I.e.), but the tenants took no interest 

 in farming, and in i860 Mackenna registered 15 sheep, 98 cows, 15 horses and 

 15 mules only. In 1878 and 1892, only horses remained. 



It is easy to understand that the early visitors got a very favourable impres- 

 sion of Masatierra, its agreeable climate, volcanic soil, evergreen forests, luxuriant 

 verdure and good water, and concluded that the island was fertile if only its 

 natural resources were utilized. Certainly they did not fail to observe that there 

 was very little level and moderately sloping land, but the valleys of Cumberland 

 Bay and Pto Ingles must have looked inviting. We can also understand that in 

 those times it did not occur to anybody that the living world was unique, but 

 it is strange that educated people like Governor Sutcliffe or Mrs. Graham could 

 dream of Masatierra as fit not only to feed a considerable population but to be 

 able to export its products. Mrs. Graham, cited by Sutcliffe (2), wrote in 1824: 

 "The island might maintain easily 2000 persons, exchanging the surplus of beef, 

 wines, brandy, for bread and clothing; and its wood and water would render it 



