TEE SETTLEMENT PAST AND PRESENT. 341 
berries, and cherries are also obtainable in their 
seasons. Twenty-four varieties of ferns were found 
by the collectors, and myrtle-trees abound in great 
numbers over the island. 
Since the discovery of the island in 1563 it has 
been the scene of many vicissitudes. At first it was 
much visited by the old buccaneers, when on their 
marauding expeditions against the Spaniards ; and 
during one of these visits, in 1681, a negro (from the 
West Indies) belonging to one of the vessels was 
accidentally left behind, and remained in solitude for 
three years until rescued. Twenty years alter this 
(1704) we hear of Selkirk’s solitary life, and of 
several others, each of whom has at times been the 
solitary inhabitant of Juan Fernandez ; which seems 
to entitle the island to be called the land of Robinson 
Crusoe. In 1717 the Spanish government, jealous 
of other nations coming here, established a colony ; 
but it was soon after almost totally destroyed by a 
dreadful earthquake, a calamity the island has been 
subject to on more than one occasion since. In 1810, 
when the Chilians gained their independence, this 
island formed a part of their possessions; and in 
1819 they formed it into a penal settlement, and 
have had as many as five hundred prisoners at a time 
here. But it was found expensive; and in 1835 the 
prisoners mutinied, and for a short time overcame 
the troops. After this the convicts were removed to 
the mainland, and the island was again deserted, and 
