NORTH-WESTERN PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
. are plentiful. His companions, five Spa- 
- niards, were on the other side of the island, 
following their customary pursuit, and 
came to see him once a-week, during which 
time he was left to take charge of the little 
bark and other property. The poor fellow, 
when he first observed us, took us for pi- 
rates, as we were all armed, and abandon- 
ing his hut, fled to the woods, but hearing 
us speak English, he sprang from his re- 
treat and welcomed us with a pleasure 
which it would be difficult to describe. 
He had spent five weeks here, and meant 
to stay about as much longer. His cloth- 
ing consisted of a pair of coarse woollen 
trousers, of which it would be hard to de- 
tect the original material and colour, with 
a cotton and a flannel shirt, and a hat (he 
preferred, however, going bareheaded), but 
no coat. The surgeon and I gave him all 
that we could spare from our own slender 
stock, for which he was very thankful. His 
little hut was built of stones and turf, 
«thatched with the straw of the wild oat. 
In one corner lay a bundle of straw and 
his blanket; a log of wood to sit upon 
composed all the furniture. His only cook- 
mg utensil was a common cast-iron pot, 
with a wooden bottom, in which he boiled 
his food by sinking it a few inches in the 
floor of his dwelling, and placing the fire 
round the sides. He longed to taste roast 
beef (having had none for seven years), 
and one day tried to bake some, as he 
termed it; but the bottom of his culinary 
apparatus, as might be expected, gave way 
1n the process, so that poor Clark was un- 
able to accomplish his new fashion of pre- 
paring the national dish. 
It was agreeable to find that this poor 
exile possessed a good deal of information ; 
is library amounted to seventeen volumes, 
—a Bible and Common Prayer- Book, 
Which he kept concealed in a secret place 
When his Spanish companions were with 
him; some odd volumes of Tales of my 
Landlord and Old Mortality; several of 
Voyages; and Cowper's Poems, out of 
n: which he had learnt by heart the one upon 
Alexander Selkirk; and what is still more 
: wortliy of notice, a finely-bound copy of 
85 
Robinson Crusoe, of which the poor fellow 
might himself be considered the latest and 
most complete edition. Like most English 
sailors, he had no aversion to rum; I gave 
him a single dram, which, as he had been 
long unaccustomed to it, made him forget 
his exile, and like the heroes of Troy, 
** He fought his battles o'er again, 
And slew the slain three times." 
A few years ago the Spaniards formed a 
colony here, but it is now abandoned, the 
houses and fort are destroyed, and twenty- 
six pieces of large “cannon lay upon the 
beach. The vestiges of a church are still 
to be seen, with the following inscription 
upon the lintel of the door— La casa de 
Dios es la puerta del cielo, y se colocada, 
24 Septembre, 1811."—The house of God 
is the gate of heaven, built 24 Sept. 1811. 
Near this is a circular oven, built of Lon- 
don fire-brick, seven feet in diameter with- 
in, bearing a date 1741, and therefore pro- 
bably built by Anson during his residence. 
Some pigeons, of a small blue species, now 
occupy it as their cote. There were eggs 
in, but no young ones ; I pointed it out to 
Clark, and advised him to make use of this 
colony. In the old gardens were Peaches 
of three or four sorts, growing luxuriantly 
with fruit about half ripe; Quinces, Ap- 
ples, and Pears. We took some of these 
fruits for puddings, with abundance of 
Figs in a vigorous state of bearing. Vines 
thrive well, and were in blossom. The 
only fruit which was, however, in perfec- 
tion, was a large, pale-reddish Strawberry, 
of which the fruit had a not unpleasant 
flavour; the leaves, stem, and calyx very 
downy. I dried a paper full of-its seeds, lest 
the species should prove indigenous to this 
island or the coast of Chili. 
Before leaving Juan Fernandez, I sowed 
a small quantity of Vine, Pears, and other 
fruit-seeds which I had brought with me, 
and a portion of culinary vegetables, leav- 
ing some with Clark, whom I rec 
to try them in various part 
as radishes were the only vegetable he 
had. We spent part of a day in fishing, 
and caught a sort of cod and a 
smaller fish, which was unknown to me, 
s of the island, 
