The others pulled away lustily
with their oars. The king, I soon learned, was king only by courtesy.
Having lived longer on the island than any other man in the
world,--thirty years,--he was so dubbed. Juan Fernandez was then under
the administration of a governor of Swedish nobility, so I was told. I
was also told that his daughter could ride the wildest goat on the
island. The governor, at the time of my visit, was away at Valparaiso
with his family, to place his children at school. The king had been
away once for a year or two, and in Rio de Janeiro had married a
Brazilian woman who followed his fortunes to the far-off island. He
was himself a Portuguese and a native of the Azores. He had sailed in
New Bedford whale-ships and had steered a boat. All this I learned,
and more too, before we reached the anchorage. The sea-breeze, coming
in before long, filled the _Spray's_ sails, and the experienced
Portuguese mariner piloted her to a safe berth in the bay, where she
was moored to a buoy abreast the settlement.
CHAPTER XI
The islanders at Juan Fernandez entertained with Yankee doughnuts--The
beauties of Robinson Crusoe's realm--The mountain monument to
Alexander Selkirk--Robinson Crusoe's cave--A stroll with the children
of the island--Westward ho! with a friendly gale--A month's free
sailing with the Southern Cross and the sun for guides--Sighting the
Marquesas--Experience in reckoning.
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