William Dampier: 1679-1707
Dampier stopped at Juan Fernando's Island off the coast of Chile seeking an Indian man who had been left alone there for several years. He had survived surprisingly well. "All this may seem strange to those that are not acquainted with the sagacity of the Indians; but it is no more than these Moskito men are accustomed to in their own country, where they make their own fishing and striking instruments, without either forge or anvil ..." A distinctly more difficult challenge faced the Scotsman Alexander Selkirk, who was abandoned there later, following a mutiny. Dampier picked him up in 1709, and his story inspired Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719.
Natives of the Isthmus of America from Voyage de Guillaume Dampier aux Terres Australes, à la Nouvelle Hollande, &c. Fait en 1699 ... Amsterdam: Chez Paul Marret, 1705.
This French translation of Dampier's Voyage portrays a group of Miskito Indians. He often relied upon the Indians during his travels in Middle America.
Dampier: Page 10 of 13. The second voyage.	back   next