The piece of ground which the commodore chose in which to pitch his tent, was a small lawn on a gentle ascent, about half a mile from the sea.  In front of the tent was a large avenue, opening through the woods to the shore, and sloping with a gentle descent to the water, having a prospect of the bay and the ships at anchor.  This lawn was screened behind by a wood of tall myrtle trees, sweeping round in a crescent form, like a theatre, the slope on which the wood grew rising more rapidly than the open lawn, yet not so much but that the hills and precipices of the interior towered considerably above the tops of the trees, and added greatly to the beauty and grandeur of the view.  There were also two streams of water, pure as the finest crystal, which ran to the right and left of the tent within the distance of an hundred yards, and which, shaded by trees skirting either side of the lawn, completed the symmetry of the whole.

It only now remains that we should mention the animals and provisions which we met with at this island.  Former writers have related that this island abounded with vast numbers of goats, and their accounts are not to be questioned, as this place was the usual resort of the buccaneers and privateers who used formerly to frequent these seas.  There are two instances, one of a musquito Indian, and the other of Alexander Selkirk, a Scotsman, who were left here by their respective ships, and lived alone upon the island for some years, and were consequently no strangers to its productions.  Selkirk, who was here the last, after a stay of between four and five years, was taken off by the Duke and Duchess privateers, of Bristol, as may be seen at large in the journal of their voyage.  His manner of life, during his solitude, was very remarkable in most particulars; but he relates one circumstance, which was so strongly verified by our own experience, that it seems worthy of being mentioned.  He tells us, as he often caught more goats than he had occasion for, that he sometimes marked their ears, and let them go.  This was about thirty-two years before our arrival, yet it happened that the first goat killed by our people after they landed, had its ears slit; whence we concluded that it had doubtless been formerly caught by Selkirk.  This was indeed an animal of a most venerable aspect, dignified with a most majestic beard, and bearing many other marks of great age.  During our residence, we met with others marked in the same manner, all the males being distinguished by exuberant beards, with every other characteristic of extreme age.

The great number of goats, which former writers describe as having been found on this island, were very much diminished before our arrival.  For the Spaniards, aware of the advantages derived by the buccaneers and pirates from the goats-flesh they here procured, have endeavoured to extirpate the breed, on purpose to deprive their enemies of this resource.  For this purpose, they put on shore great numbers of large