2-982-114 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sketches from H.M.S. Challenger, by Mr. J. J. Wild: the Challenger in Cumberland Bay, Juan Fernandez, 1876. '...the Island of Juan Fernandez, the scene of Alexander Selkirk's sojourn from 1704 to 1709. The island is a steep volcanic ridge, extending from east to west a distance of about twelve miles, with a breadth of only a few miles. The highest peak, called by the Spaniards "El Yuuque," from its resemblance to an anvil, rises to a height of 45000 ft. The south side of Juan Fernandez forms an almost vertical wall of bare rock...the ancient hiding-place of buccaneers, now leased by the Chilian Government to a breeder of cattle...'. The islands lie 670 km (416 miles) off the coast of Chile. From "Illustrated London News", 1876.