John Selkirk

“ The chest and cup which Selkirk had with him on the island, are in the possession of a family in Nether Largo, in Fifeshire, who reside in the house in which he was born. The former is in excellent preservation although at least 123 years old. It is made of cedar, strongly built, and very massy. The initials A. S. are rudely carved on the lid. The cup is the shell of some kind of nut which probably grew on the island. ”

“ The state of depression produced by these unavailing efforts may be seen in the fact that in 1835 a party of one hundred and ten persons, all Scotch settlers, left the colony for the United States, "solely because at the Selkirk settlement they had neither minister nor church of their own." ”

“ Forty years before this an enterprising Scottish nobleman, Lord Selkirk, became a leading partner in the Hudson's Bay Company, and shortly after undertook to settle a colony of Highlanders on the banks of Red River. The colonists had come in three separate companies, by way of Hudson Bay, and by a difficult route ascended the water courses to the very heart of North America, and settled on the banks of Red River. With true Highland fervor they longed for a minister and a place of worship. ”

“ As for Selkirk’s fines, they were paid jointly by the Hudson’s Bay Company and himself. William Williams, a swashbuckler military man, is appointed at £1,000 a year to succeed Semple and force the trade so that the Nor’Westers will be compelled to sue for union and accept what terms are offered. More men are to be sent up from Montreal to capture Athabasca. The Rev. John West is appointed clergyman of Red River in 1819, at £100 a year. Annuities of £50 each are granted for life to Semple’s two sisters. ”

“ John M'Leod was a man of faith. He expected that Lord Selkirk's colony would soon be again firmly on its feet, and he was not to be disappointed. A fourth contingent of settlers arrived during the month of October 1815, having left Scotland in the spring. This band comprised upwards of ninety persons, nearly all natives of Kildonan. These were the most energetic body of settlers so far enlisted by the Earl of Selkirk. They experienced, of course, great disappointment on their arrival. ”

“ He appeared to them as wild as the first owners of the skins which he wore. At length they began to converse, and he invited them to his hut: but its access was so very intricate, that only Captain Fry went with him over the rocks which led to it. When Alexander had entertained him in the best manner he could, they returned to the boat, our hero bearing a quantity of his roasted goat’s-flesh, for the refreshment of the crew. During their repast, he gave them an account of his adventures and stay upon the island, at which they were much surprised. ”

“ John Brydone, lineal descendant of the gallant town-clerk, is still alive, and possessed of the reliques mentioned by Mr Robertson. The old man, though in an inferior station of life, receives considerable attention from his fellow-citizens, and claims no small merit to himself on account of his brave ancestor.
Thus far concerning the tradition of the exploits of the men of Selkirk, at Flodden field. Whether the following verses do, or do not, bear any allusion to that event, is a separate and less interesting question. ”

“ Selkirk running to the boat.
When the day at length opened, he still saw them, but at a distance from the shore. His fire had caused great wonder on board, for they knew the island to be uninhabited, and supposed the light to have proceeded from some French ships at anchor, with which nation, England was then at war. In this conclusion they prepared for action, as they must either fight or want water and other refreshments, and stood to their quarters all night ready to engage; but, not perceiving any vessel, they next day, about noon, sent a boat on shore, with Capt. ”

“ The best modern biography is the Life and Adventures of Alexander Selkirk by John Howell (1829) . In 1868 a tablet was put up on Juan Fernandez at a point on the hill road called “Selkirk's Look-out,” where in a gap in the trap rock a magnificent view may be had of the whole island, and of the sea north and south, over which the exile must have often watched for an approaching sail. It bears the following inscription:—“In memory of Alexander Selkirk, mariner, a native of Largo in the county of Fife, Scotland, who was on this island in complete. solitude for four years and four months. ”

“ As the northern part of the island where Alexander lived, is composed of high craggy precipices, many of which are almost too hilly to climb, though generally covered with wood, the soil is loose and shallow, so that on the hills the largest trees soon perish for want of nourishment, and are then very easily overturned. This was the cause of the death of a seaman belonging to the Dutchess, who being on the high ground in search of goats, caught hold of a tree to aid his ascent, [Pg 27] when it gave way and he rolled down the hill. ”

“ These new settlers were not all Germans, but had among them a number of Swiss and Piedmontese. The regiments had been employed by Britain in the war of 1812-15, and were disbanded in Montreal at its close. Lord Selkirk engaged four officers and one hundred men to go to Red River. The men were promised certain wages, as well as land grants at Red River. In the autumn of 1816 the party arrived at Fort William, which they seized and the camping place on the Kaministiquia River is still called Point De Meuron. ”

“ The "Highland clearances" have left a stain on the escutcheons of more than one nobleman. Lord Selkirk, whose estates were in the south of Scotland, and who had no special connection with [Pg 55] the Celts, nevertheless took pity on the helpless Highland exiles. Ships were prepared, and the following are the numbers of Highland colonists sent out in the respective years:
The names of these settlers were those still well known in Manitoba, as Sutherland, McKay, McLeod, McPherson, Matheson, Macdonald, Livingstone, Polson, McBeth, Bannerman, and Gunn. ”

“ He permitted several of the persons named in the letter to proceed at once to Selkirk's camp, and assured Lord Selkirk that they had never been prisoners. John Bourke and Michael Heden he still retained, because their presence was demanded in the courts at Montreal. ”

“ When urged by hunger, he fed upon seals and such shell-fish as he could pick up along the shore. The reason of this was the aversion he felt to leave the beach, [Pg 14] and the care he took to save his powder. Though seals, and shell-fish were but sorry fare, his greatest cross was the want of salt and bread, which made him loathe his food until he got used to it.
It was in the beginning of October (1704,) which in those southern latitudes is the middle of spring, when nature appears in a thousand varieties of form and fragrance, quite unknown in northern climates ”

“ The courts of Lower Canada alone were empowered to deal with offences in the Indian Territories. The governor-general of Canada could, however, transfer the trial of such cases to Upper Canada, if he saw fit. This had been done in the case of the charges against Selkirk, and Sir John Sherbrooke, after consulting with the home authorities, decided to refer Selkirk's charges against the Nor'westers, in {135} connection with the events of 1815 and 1816 on the Red River, to the court of the King's Bench at its autumn sitting in York. ”

“ One mile east of Lundin lies Largo (pop. of parish 2046) , consisting of Upper Largo, or Kirkton of Largo, and Lower Largo. The public buildings include Simpson institute, with a public hall, library, reading-room, bowling-green and lawn-tennis court, and John Wood’s hospital, founded in 1659 for poor persons bearing his name. A statue of Alexander Selkirk, or Selcraig (1676–1721) , the prototype of “Robinson Crusoe,” who was born here, was erected in 1886. Sir John Leslie (1766–1832) , the natural philosopher, was also a native. ”

“ After the troubles of the Red River colonists with the North West employés (1814-16) , a company of troops, guided by John Tanner, was sent (1817) by Selkirk to avenge his settlers. These captured the North West fort at Pembina, and restored Fort Daer, which was maintained until 1823; when, on being found to be south of the international boundary, it was dismantled and removed some miles farther north. Meanwhile a small settlement of métis had grown up on the site; Long (1823) found here about sixty log-cabins, and three hundred and fifty people. ”

“ Shall never rise again.
(Several verses omitted.)
Clio.
From The Pocket Magazine, Vol. III. Published by John Arliss, London. 1819.
——:o:——
SOLITUDE.
Supposed to have been written by Alexander Selkirk, a shipwrecked sailor, who lived four years in the uninhabited Island of Juan Fernandez.
I am monarch of all I survey,
My right there is none to dispute;
From the centre all round to the sea,
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
Oh, Solitude! where are the charms
Which sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
Than reign in this desolate place. ”

“ The effect was twofold: sea-otter were becoming scarce from being slaughtered indiscriminately, male and female, young and old; the fur trade was becoming bedevilled from rival traders using rum among the savages. The life of a fur trader on the Pacific coast was not worth a pin's purchase fifty yards away from the cannon mouths pointed through the netting fastened round the deck rails to keep savages off ships. Just as Lord Selkirk indirectly brought about the consolidation of the Hudson's Bay fur traders with Nor'westers, and John Jacob Astor attempted the same ends between the St. ”

“ Selkirk hastens to transport thither his hatchets, his guns, his seal-skins and goat-skins, his Bible, his spy-glass, his pipes, his ladder, his stools, even his traps; all his riches! it is a complete removal.
On taking possession of the island, he had engraved on the bark of several trees the date of his arrival; he now inscribes upon them the day of his departure. For many months his reckoning has been interrupted; to determine the date is impossible; he knows only the day of the week. ”

“ He comprehends then what an error he has committed in the complete destruction of the wild cats which peopled the island. With the most generous intentions, how often is man mistaken in the object he pursues! We think we are ridding us of an enemy, and we are depriving ourselves of a protector. God only knows what he does, and he has admitted apparent evil, as a principle, into the admirable composition of his universe; he suffers the wicked to live. Selkirk had been more severe than God, and he repents it. ”

“ He hesitates—thrice returning to his first resolution, he brings the gun to his forehead; thrice he removes it. At last, to drive away this demon of suicide, he fires it in the air.
Scarcely has he thus uselessly thrown away this precious shot before he repents. He approaches the shore; it is at the moment when the tide is at its lowest ebb; the sun touches the horizon. Selkirk lies down on the damp beach:—'When the wave returns,' said he, 'if it be God's will, let it take me!'
Slumber comes first. Exhausted with emotion, yielding to the lassitude of his mind, he falls asleep. ”

“ Pale, bent double, with his hair standing upright, clinging to some projection of his barque, he in vain attempts to fix his glance on certain strange objects which he sees ascending, descending, and rolling around him.
They are the trunks of the trees which formed a part of his raft, limbs detached from its body, and which, now drawn into the same whirlpool, are by their repeated shocks, aiding in his complete destruction.
In face of this imminent, implacable death, Selkirk ceases to struggle against it. He has now but one resource; the belief in another life. ”

“ Ste. Anne's, 304. St. Charles, Fort, massacre, 86. St. James, Fort, outbreak, 398. St. John's College, 421. St. Pierre, Legardeur de, 89. Sargeant, Governor, 52. Saskatchewan River discovered, 89. Saulteaux Indians, 431. Sault Ste. Marie, 310. Sayer "rising," 441. Schoolcraft, H. R., Explorer, 332. " " discovers Lake Itasca, 333. Schultz, Dr., rescued, 444. Scoresby, Capt. W., 313. Scott, Thomas, executed, 467. Selkirk, Earl of, 202. " " purchases H.B.C. stock, 206. Selkirk, Earl of, on Emigration, 205. " " Colony to Prince Edward Island, 205. Selkirk, Earl of, colony to Red River, 208-213. ”

“ Suddenly, and without any known cause, he became poor, closed his business and lived a life of seclusion. At last, he disappeared and no one seemed to know with certainty whither he had gone.
I found various rumors respecting him. One person said he had gone to the Island of Juan Fernandes, and now lived there alone as Alexander Selkirk had done before him. I was told by another that he had become a friar, and lived as a hermit near the foot of one of the snow-capped mountains of the Andes. ”

“ Lord Selkirk did not attend the trials of the Nor'westers at York, and seems to have returned to Britain with his wife and children before the end of the year 1818. He was ill and in a most melancholy state of mind. {136} Unquestionably, he had not secured a full measure of justice in the courts of Canada. A man strong in health might have borne his misfortunes more lightly. As it was, Selkirk let his wrongs prey upon his spirit. ”

“ On his right, where the land declines, he sees little valleys linked together with charming undulations; but on the mountains at his left, in the valleys at his right, among the hills in the distance, his eye vainly seeks the vestige of a human habitation.
He sets out in search of one. The boat from which he landed has deposited on the shore his effects—his arms, his nautical instruments, his charts, a Bible, and provisions of various kinds. Notwithstanding his piratical sentiments, the captain of the Swordfish has not designed to precede exile by confiscation. Selkirk takes his gun, his gourd ”