sot
cultivate the soil, ami raise potatoes, had been defeated hy the
destructive ravages of a worm.
By sending a boat to the east point of the bay, to fish in forty
fatlioms water, a most delicious kind of cod-fish may be taken,
in such numbers, that two men, in half an hour, could fill the
lioat. Craw-fish, of large size, are almost equally abundant ;
thev are taken with a hooked stick : one of our boats caught
forty-five in a verv short time. The inhabitants catch them, and
cure their tails, by exposure to the sun, for exportation to
Chile, where they are much esteemed, and fetch a high price.
AVild-goats are very numerous among the inaccessible parts
of the island, but are not easily obtained ; the)' are sometimes
shot, or taken with a lazo. These animals, according to AA^oodes
Rogers, and other writers, were originally left on the island by
Juan Fernandez, who, for a short time, lived there. According
to the ‘ Noticias Sécrétas,’ p. 50 to 56, they are supposed
to have been landed by the Buccaneers, who frequented this
island. Certain it is, that, without such refreshments, the Buccaneers
would not have been able to cany on their harassing war
of plunder against the Spanish possessions on the American
coast to such an extent; nor should we, perhaps, have heard
anything more about Commodore Anson, and the crews of the
Centurion and Gloucester, who were, ou their arrival at this
island, in the last stage of scurvy.
To prevent Juan Fernandez from being so tempting a resort
to Buccaneers, the A^iceroy of Peru caused a great many dogs
to be landed, which hunted down and destroyed the goats in
great numbers : this in some measure has prevented their
subsequent increase. The dogs however drove the goats to
places where they could not follow them, and were then obhged
to destroy seals for food. Large troops of these dogs still range
about the lower grounds ; but the heights are in the undisturbed
possession of wild-goats ; which may he seen in numbers browsing
on elevated and almost inaccessible places, where they live
in safety.
The geological character of this island, according to Air.
Caldcleugh, who accompanied me in this trip, is of basaltic
g reen-stone, an d tra p , which appeai-s, a t first sig h t, to be volcanic
; b u t, on a more p a r tic u la r examination, th e laR'a-like
ap jtearance o f th e ro ck does n o t seem to ai-ise from an ig neous
origin.
The green-stone is full of crystals of olivine, which, as they
decompose, leave hollows, resembling those of scoria. Mr. Caldcleugh
communicated an account of the structure to the Geological
Society.* In Captain Hall’s interesting journal, there
is a list of Geological and Mineralogical specimens, of which
one from Mas-a-fuera-f- is named ‘ A''esicular Lava.’ May it not
be this same rock in a decomposed state .i"
The late Signor Bertero, whose botanical collections from
Chile have enriched many of the principal herbaria in Furope,
accompanied me to make a collection of the Flora of the
island ; and he considered that the character of the vegetation
was very little allied to the Chilian, hut partook more of that
of California. The sandal-wood, which has heen described as
indigenous to this island, was not found by us, growing, but
a large quantity was collected about the hills and vallies, in a
dry state, and apparently very old. It is of the red kind, and
S tiU preserves a strong scent. The mayor-domo told me there
were no sandal-wood trees in the island; but we had reason
to think his information was incorrect, for one of the inhabitants
would have taken us to a place where he said they were
growing in large quantities, had not our arrangements for sailing
interfered.
The island produces several kinds of grass; but the most
abundant herbaceous plant is a species of oat, which grows
very luxuriantly, and towards the westward covers the ground
for many miles. The neighbourhood of Cumberland Bay is
over-run with strawberry plants, wild radishes, mint, and
balm, besides peach, apple, cherry, and fig trees, which are
• Phil. Journal, and Annals of Philosophy, for March 1831 (new
series x.), 220.
t Juan Fernandez is called ‘ de T ie rra ,’ becanse it is neai-er the mainland
than another adjacent island, w hich is called ‘ M as-a-fuera ’ (farther
oif, or more in the distance).
VOL. I. x