CRUSOE'S ISLAND:
A
Ramble in the Footsteps of Alexander Selkirk.
WITH
SKETCHES OF ADVENTURE
IN
CALIFORNIA AND WASHOE.
BY J. ROSS BROWNE,
AUTHOR OF
"ETCHINGS OF A WHALING CRUISE," "YUSEF," &c.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1864.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, by
Harper & Brothers,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.
CONTENTS.
CRUSOE'S ISLAND.
CHAPTER PAGE I. THE BOAT ADVENTURE 9 II. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ISLAND 22 III. GOING ASHORE 25 IV. CONDITION OF THE ISLAND IN 1849 28 V. ROBINSON CRUSOE'S CAVE 37 VI. THE VALLEY ON FIRE 48 VII. THE CAVE OF THE BUCCANEERS 54 VIII. LODGINGS UNDER GROUND 55 IX. COOKING FISH 62 X. RAMBLE INTO THE INTERIOR 71 XI. THE VALLEY OF ENCHANTMENT 75 XII. A STRANGE DISCOVERY 77 XIII. THE STORM AND ESCAPE 86 XIV. THE AMERICAN CRUSOE 91 XV. CASTLE OF THE AMERICAN CRUSOE 96 XVI. DIFFICULTY BETWEEN ABRAHAM AND THE DOUBTER 99 XVII. THE MURDER 106 XVIII. THE SKULL 112 XIX. THE GOVERNOR'S VISION 117 XX. THE DOUBTER'S DYSPEPTIC STORY 120 XXI. BAD DREAM CONCERNING THE DOUBTER 123 XXII. THE UNPLEASANT AFFAIR OF HONOR 127 XXIII. DR. STILLMAN'S JOURNAL 142 XXIV. CONFIDENTIAL CHAT WITH THE READER 147 XXV. EARLY VOYAGES TO JUAN FERNANDEZ 151 XXVI. ALEXANDER SELKIRK AND ROBINSON CRUSOE 161A DANGEROUS JOURNEY.
I. THE CANNIBAL 167 II. THE MIRAGE 172 III. A DEATH STRUGGLE 180 IV. THE OUTLAW'S CAMPOBSERVATIONS IN OFFICE.
I. MY OFFICIAL EXPERIENCES 249 II. THE GREAT PORT TOWNSEND CONTROVERSY, SHOWING HOW WHISKY BUILT A CITY 270 III. THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 284A PEEP AT WASHOE.
I. INTRODUCTORY 309 II. START FOR WASHOE 322 III. ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS 350 IV. AN INFERNAL CITY 365 V. SOCIETY OF VIRGINIA CITY 385 VI. ESCAPE FROM VIRGINIA CITY 394 VII. MY WASHOE AGENCY 404 VIII. START FOR HOME 416 IX. ARRIVAL IN SAN FRANCISCO 430LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
CRUSOE'S ISLAND.
Map of Juan Fernandez Page 9 Leaving the Ship 13 Boat in a Storm 16 Struck by a Flaw 18 Shipwrecked Sailor 19 Juan Fernandez 23 Crusoe's Castle 26 Crusoe at Home 27 Plan of the Convict Cells 28 Convict Cells 30 Chilian Huts 31 Walrus, or Sea Lion 36 Crusoe's Cave 39 A Relic of Crusoe 40 Crusoe's Devotions 41 The Valley with the Cave and CliffA DANGEROUS JOURNEY
Mirage in the Salinas Valley 168 Pass of San Juan 173 Antelopes in the Mirage 175 Vulture in the Mirage 176 Soledad 178 A Duel à la Mort 186 The Camp 192 Jack 193 A lonely Ride 210OBSERVATIONS IN OFFICE
The Duke of York, Queen Victoria, and Jenny Lind 274 The Diggers at Home 285 Out in the Mountains 301 Protecting the Settlers 305A PEEP AT WASHOE
The Bummer 311 Going to Kern River 312 Returning from Kern River 313 Ho! for Frazer River 315 Returned from Frazer River 318 Hurrah for Washoe 321 The Agency 323 "I say, Cap!" 326 Dollars with Spider legs (a Dream) 327 "Go it, Washoe!" 329 The Pocket Pistol 331 California Stage-driver 333 Whisky below 334 "Carambo! Caraja—Sacramento!—Santa Maria!—Diavolo!" 335 Board and Lodging 337 Grindstones 339 A Speculator 341 Dinner at Strawberry 345 The Lay-out 348 The Stocking-thief 349 The Trail from Strawberry 351 "We are waiting for you" 354 A short Cut 355 Diogenes 358 Carson City 362 The Stage 369 The Devil's GateCRUSOE'S ISLAND.
CHAPTER I.
THE BOAT ADVENTURE.
MAP OF JUAN FERNANDEZ.
My narrative dates as far back as the early part of the year 1849. Then the ship Anteus was a noted vessel. Many were the strange stories told of strife and discord between the captain and the passengers; pamphlets were published giving different versions of the facts, and some very curious questions of law were involved in the charges made by both parties. It appeared from the statement of the passengers, who were for the most part intelligent and respectable Americans, that, on the voyage of the Anteus to California, their treatment by the captain was cruel and oppressive in the extreme; that, before they were three weeks from port, he had reduced them almost to a state of absolute starvation; and, in consequence of the violence of his conduct, which, as they alleged, was without cause or provocation on their part, they considered their lives endangered, and resolved upon making an appeal for his removal at the port of Rio. On the arrival of the vessel at Rio the captain was arraigned before the American consul, and pronounced to be insane by the evidence of six physicians and by the testimony of a large majority of the passengers. It was charged, on the other hand, that the passengers were disorderly, mutinous, and ungovernable; that they had entered into a conspiracy against the captain, and in testifying to his insanity were guilty of perjury. The examination of the case occupied several weeks before the American consul; voluminous testimony was taken on both sides; the question was submitted to the American minister, to the British consul, and to the principal merchants of Rio, all of whom concurred in the opinion that, under the circumstances, there was but one proper course to pursue, which was, to remove the captain from the command of the vessel. He was accordingly deposed by the American consul, and a new captain placed in the command. This was regarded by the principal merchants of New York as an arbitrary exercise of authority, unwarranted by law or precedent, and a memorial was addressed by them to the President of the United States for the
It is not my intention now to go into any argument in regard to the merits of this case; the time may come when justice will be done to the injured, and it remains for higher authority than myself to mete it out. I have simply to acknowledge, with a share of the odium resting upon me, that I was one of the rebellious passengers in the Anteus. My companions in trouble so far honored me with their confidence as to give me charge of the case. I was unlearned in law, yet possessed some experience in sea-life; and believing that the lives of all on board depended upon getting rid of a desperate and insane captain, aided to the best of my ability in having a new officer placed in the command. To the change thus made, unforeseen in its results, I owe my eventful visit to the island of Juan Fernandez.
It was the intention of our first captain to touch at Valparaiso for a supply of fresh provisions. In the ship's papers this was the only port designated on the Pacific side except San Francisco. Our new commander, Captain Brooks, assumed the responsibility of leaving the choice between Valparaiso and another port to the passengers. It was put to the vote, and decided that we should proceed to Callao, so that we might pass in sight of Juan Fernandez, and have an opportunity of visiting Lima, "the City of the Kings."
Early on the morning of the 19th of May, 1849, we made the highest peak of Massa Tierra, bearing N.N.W., distant seventy miles. The weather was mild and clear. As the sun rose, it fell calm, and the ship lay nearly motionless. A light blue spot, scarce bigger than a hand-spike, was all that appeared in the horizon. It might have passed for a cloud but for the distinctness of its outline. Weary of the gales we had encountered off Cape Horn, it was a pleasant thing to see a spot of earth once more, and there was not a soul on board but felt a desire to go ashore. For some days past, myself and a few others had talked secretly among ourselves about making the attempt in case we went close enough; but now there seemed to be every prospect of a long calm, and we took it for granted the captain would clap on all sail if we took the trades. There was no other chance but to lower one of the boats and row seventy miles. A party of us agreed to do this, provided we could get a boat. The ship's boats we knew it would be impossible to get without permission of the captain, and that we were not willing to ask. Mr. Brigham, a fellow-passenger, was owner of one of the quarter-boats. We broached the matter to him, and he gladly joined in the adventure, together with his partner and some friends, so that we made in all a very pleasant party of eleven. The proper number of men for the boat was six, but in consideration of the great distance and the necessity of a change at the oars, five more were crowded in. We had been in the habit of rowing about the vessel whenever it was calm, and this we thought would be a good excuse for lowering the boat. Being in great haste, lest the captain should object to letting us go, we only thought of a few necessary articles in case we should be cast away or driven off from the island. Two small demijohns of water, a few biscuits, a piece of dried beef, and some cheese and crackers comprised our entire stock of provisions; and for nautical instruments we had only a lantern and a small pocket compass. Not knowing but there might be outlaws or savages ashore who might undertake to murder us, we armed ourselves with a double-barreled gun, a fusee, and an old harpoon, which was all we could smuggle into the boat in the excitement of starting. Captain Brooks happening to come on deck, perceived that there was something unusual going on, and, suspecting our design, took occasion to warn us of the folly of such an expedition. At the same time, thinking there was more bravado than reality about it, he laughed good-humoredly when we acknowledged that we were going ashore. "Be sure," said he, as we went over the side, "not to forget the peaches. You will find plenty of them up in the valleys. Only don't lose sight of the vessel. You may exercise yourselves as much as you please, but keep the royals above water, whatever you do. Bear in mind that you are more than seventy miles from that peak!" We promised him that we would take care of ourselves, and come back safe in case we were not foundered.
At 9 A.M. we bade our friends good-by, and with three cheers pushed off from the ship. The boat was only twenty-two feet long and an eighth of an inch thick: it was made of sheet-iron, and was very narrow and crank. Most of us, except myself and a whaleman named Paxton, were unused to rowing, so that the prospect of reaching land depended a good deal upon the day remaining calm, and upon keeping the boat trimmed, the gunwales being only ten inches out of the water.
LEAVING THE SHIP.
There was no excuse for this risk of life, save that insatiable thirst for novelty which all experience to some extent after the monotony of a long voyage. I will only say, in regard to myself, that I was too full of joy at the idea of a ramble in the footsteps of Robinson Crusoe to think of risk at all. If there was danger, it merely served to give zest to the adventure.
By a calculation of the distance and our rate of going, we expected to reach the land by sundown or soon after; and then our plan was to make a tent of the boat-sail, and sleep under it till morning, when by rising early we thought we could take a run over the island, and perhaps get some fruit and vegetables. By that time, should a light breeze spring up during the night, we thought it likely the ship would be well up by the land, and we could pull out and get on board without difficulty. Before long we found that distances are very deceptive in these latitudes where the atmosphere is so clear; for notwithstanding the statement of the captain that by the reckoning we were seventy miles from land, we believed that he only told us so to deter us from going, and that we were not much more than half that distance. In rowing we made a division of our number, taking turns or watches of an hour each at the oars, so as to share the labor. Once fairly under way, with a smooth sea and a pleasant day before us, we became exceedingly merry at the expense of our fellow-passengers whom we had left in the ship to drift about in the calm, and it afforded us much diversion to think how they would be disappointed upon finding that we were in earnest about going ashore. Before long we had cause to wish ourselves back again in the ship, which goes to prove that apparently the most unfortunate are often less so than those who seem to be favored by circumstances.
At noon we took a lunch, and refreshed ourselves with a drink of water all round. We had also a good supply of cigars, which we smoked with great relish after our pull; and I think there never was a happier set than we were for the time. Still there was but a single peak on the horizon. It was blue and dim in the distance, and apparently not much higher than when we saw it from the mast-head, from which we inferred that there must be a current setting against us. The Anteus was hull down, yet we seemed as far from the land as when we started.
A ripple beginning to show upon the water, we hoisted our
One large black mass of clouds rose up on the weather quarter; a low moaning came over the sea, and the air became suddenly chill, and the waters rippled around us, and were tossed about by the unseen Power, and we trembled, for we beheld the coming of the storm that was soon to burst upon us in all the majesty of its wrath. For a while there was the stillness of death; then "the Lord thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice," and out of the darkness came the storm. In fierce and sudden gusts it came, terrible in its resistless might; lashing the sea into a white foam, tossing and whirling overhead, with its thousand arms outstretched; grasping up the waters as it raged over the deep, and scourging them madly through the air, while it moaned and shrieked like the dread spirit of desolation.